HyperSonicEXE

Two articles in a row?

Seriously?

GLADLY

We've got a company to get back on-track.

Capcom!
More Battle Network!
Period! ...exclamation mark!

Hopefully working with Nintendo has shown them how to put some substance in their games, and not style only.

@Mister_Wu
By the way, I tested out auto drift-boost.

It's about half as effective as jumping.

Which, hey, is a good start, but let's see MK9 automatically give the player the jump turn radius and the full drift-boost accrual without jumping.

But, cool to see.

@Mister_Wu
Well, just from my numerous conversations and critiques on massive imageboards and forums online, MK7 was fairly solid but a bit lacking. I have to agree with that, but then, I've played this series since the first. By comparison, a new player wouldn't know "what's good" or not, and might think the level of content is fine.

An improvement, perhaps, but still susceptible. I'm really surprised this wasn't stamped out after MKWii. I imagine balancing the weight classes is harder than it looks, sure, but shrinking the weights from 7-8 to 3 has got to make the process easier.

@Mister_Wu
Well that would have been nice to know! Geez, they completely took out the Automatic option, so everyone I know figured that was gone. Thanks for that!

Yes, and they've had these one or two clear-best setups since. And MK8 has several weight classes, not 3.

You can't just flash up reviews and say a game doesn't have issues.
I'm sure Hideki Konno would still disagree with any of our most well-reasoned points, just because that's how everyone's perceptions work. And he's got more data than we do!

@Mister_Wu
I'm not saying to get rid of the drift boost. But since new players are finding that jumping into turns is unintuitive, it might be worth it to only use an altered automatic mode from MKWii.
And I'm not saying to necessarily get rid of unlockable Karts, either. But, since there are always balance issues, it's time to do away with karts parts and the individual stats, and go back to focusing on only three weight classes. This way, karts can make a light character heavy, or a medium character light, and so on. That way, you can play whoever you like, you can be any weight class you want, and Nintendo should be able to balance between three weight classes.

To be sure, MK8's Battle Mode could use some more choices. Like arenas, like a non-elimination mode, turning CPU players off, etc. MK7 might have sold well enough, But the critical reception of it has been mild at best. And it's warranted, it's a fairly mediocre game.

@Mister_Wu
Now now, don't get off track here. I agree that the arenas are woefully missing, but, things like parts with stats and Coins and needless things like anti-grav and driving underwater are scaring people away from the game. It's hard enough just to get people that come over to play who don't play it very often or are new to jump into turns and drift-boost (which are basic and crucial).

@Dr_Corndog
I play it all. Pure random, stock (begrudgingly, because people tend to camp), time, FD only, Battlefield only, Items, no Items - I've been playing since I rented it in Japanese to play on my US N64.

What I'm upset by, is that there's this camp of pseudo-elitists from Melee that, like Snaking in MKDS, broke the game and think they're somehow superior for not playing by the rules. When, in reality, they get their asses beat without their tricks because they can't strategize or can't make turns well.

A good portion of fighting game fans are like this. Not all, but many.

@Yorumi
Yes, but, that's two separate ways to play. And two separate communities.

As much as the UE4 videos are getting a little out of hand, sending the message to Nintendo that we want impressive graphics for once is never out of style.

@Yorumi
That's both Nintendo's fault and the buying public's fault.

They kept screwing Metroid, F-Zero, Starfox, and the like, that only their biggest franchises were worth buying.

Flipside, the buying public chose to go with simpler, lower-cost games.

Flopside, Nintendo didn't simplify their games while making solid stories, promote their brands well, and adapt to mobile. MK9 has got to cut features, because MK8 was overly complicated. And Smash is trying too hard to be competitive AND fun, mutually exclusive things.

Trying to remind myself of the Laws and the general speed of battle so I don't sink another 300 hours of my life, lol

@Seacliff
Nah, Buxer kinda danced around the fact.
This solidifies it.

Assault Krystal's flightsuit or bust.

And no remarks like "And I do mean -bust-" outta any of ya!

Remember kids, it's okay to fap and ogle at various anatomy parts and put them on an unhealthy pedestal,
But it's not okay to romantically touch the ones you love.

@amiiboacid
...WHY? HOW? Most of it was live action! It's very little CGI!

@EnjoyTheRide
Solid basics!
A few too many of the original sound effects and chiptune flair,
But the tracks stay pretty true to the originals, which is far more than I can say for other remixes!

Tell the boys to keep practicing - I'd like to see TMNT IV SNES to get proper treatment one day, and some real instrumentation like this to accompany it!

@Spin
Yeah, Reshelled was the arcade version. Man, beating that on Hardcore was some stuff!

But the TMNT II-IV are classics, and even the younger generation likes playing them.
...for 3 or 4 levels.

I have that album on my phone - many of the tracks have anywhere from 0:30-1:00 of intro before getting to the good stuff. Now if someone can confirm that those have been cut out, I'd give this a shot! Technodrome and Neon Night Riders are amazing remixes.

On this note:
TMNT IV spiritual successor for mobile with gamepad support - Y/N?

Saved my rear!
Thanks, NL!

Canceled my Star Fox Zero pre-order, but if there's a really nice Arwing amiibo or something, I'll support Star Fox that way instead.

EDIT: Oh, wait, it'd have that God awful orange 0 on it, wouldn't it? Yuck, maybe not.

Then why have the console part at all? If they try to pull a 3DSXL, they're risking everything.

So SMM was 20 years in the making?

Huh.
Then I'm surprised it's lacking things like slopes, water tiles, etc., you'd think they'd go all out on principle.

@Damo
I believe so. Amazing how much of this tech we're seeing from the games industry is just recycled or a slightly more advanced version of something prior.

That said, the Pokéwalker being the best pedometer is very surprising.

I remember action figures coming with readable chips back then, especially Star Wars figures around the time of the Star Wars 1-3.
This doesn't seem that farfetched.

Can't they just make a game using the mobile ports as a basis? Because those are excellent.

Speaking of which, between the 3D Classics and S1/2/CD Mobile, Sonic Team's hand is finally forced to do something about S3&K, if they want that revenue. The only "feature" I can think to add is to make a mode that's an official version of 'Sonic 3 Complete.'

@Xjarnold
Especially, when, even if this hype-building is unintentional, if the game fails to live up to the kind of hype that we're seeing on the press sites, it'll damage the series.

"Lucas and the Next Wave of Animals"
Lo and behold, we have the next hit band!

Anyone else sick of all the Sonic teases?

Kinda just want them to unveil whatever mediocre stuff they've got so we can move on.

I want Sonic to be good, but at this point, it just seems too far gone.

@CatMarioTime
"Don't you guys think you're acting a bit entitled because the battery saves in your old as @$!# GBA games are dying and you'd like the convenience of having some of the old great games be able to play on your new hardware and the TV/Sound System to which you've attached it?"

This is how you sound.

...
Where was this in October? Wild Gunman on the 22nd?

I mean really...

tl;dr - Nintendo's not ready for mobile yet nor do consumers want to buy a Nintendo-branded phone, so better to merge the portable/console hardware.

Ehhhhh, this isn't really the appropriate series to do this with. LoZ is a much - beloved series that happens to reiterate itself every so often.

We're not taking Super Metroid and putting it into jaw - dropping 3D and atmospheres,
We're not fine-tuning Kirby Superstar's graphics and physics,
We're not even talking about taking a classic like Final Fantasy 7 and updating its references, story, and inner workings,

We're probably talking about taking an "old" (when it's not really) game and slapping one graphical effect on it, because that's exactly what Nintendo has done with WW and TP.
OoT and MM were given 3D renditions, and some gameplay improvements. That's fine, and I bought (and traded) both.
But not the lazy updates to WW and TP.

Again, LoZ gets "remade" more or less with each entry. That's the charm of this story. Frequent remaking would cheapen the series' value, not enhance it like Metroid Prime and Kirby Superstar Ultra did.

@Quorthon
It did in several Morph Ball puzzles to get powerups. But yeah, I can't recall any times that standing Samus was locked-down.

True that. On top of those points, the QTE's were what finally made me throw my hands up and trade in the game. I made it past the lava fish at the beginning of the second section, no problem, but the idea of putting up with more of what I had seen in the first section was just unbearable. I traded it in and watched videos of the rest of the game.

@Quorthon
Absolutely - I reference Other M as a means of approving of that 2D/3D shift for use in future games that would largely be 2D (whereas Prime was 3D occasionally locking the camera and movement to 2D).

@Quorthon
Point well made and I empathize - let me clarify what I meant on Other M and upgrades:
Regarding Missiles and Energy Tanks, the idea of actually observing the environment and/or figuring out a way to it, instead of shooting random squares of ground, is a very welcomed evolution of the gameplay. And the idea of this working in 2D and then switching to 3D for the brainy part of it, was brilliant.

And, fans had long had a qualm about Samus not having her upgrades from the prior game. Not to mention it being utterly unbelievable that Chozo Statues would be on a manmade space station. Understandable. This isn't something like Mega Man where you can say "Mega Man's not carrying the old weapons because none of them are the current robot Masters' weaknesses and won't really help," these suckers are hard-wired to Samus' Power Suit.

Unfortunately, these strokes of genius got buried under an abysmal and melodramatic plot. I'm sure we'll see environmental clues to powerups, as that has been an M.O. for Nintendo in games like Mario or Metroid Prime. But for the one time it could be used, the idea of Samus having to restrain herself as military and soldiers must in order to preserve life was an interesting twist that solved the "lost upgrades" issues. That makes sense from a management standpoint - not everyone thinks like that. Rather than "questionable Federation," which was already done well enough in Fusion, the focus should have been on following up on Fusion's moral dilemma regarding preserving life/playing God/fighting the natural order by throwing Samus' power into the mix, focusing more on -why- she can't use her weaponry and her ability to adapt accordingly. Not the Adam relationship and the Federation making bioweapons and all the limitations for no good, clear reason, when you get to kill all the alien species you want willy-nilly (same as any other Metroid game).

And yes, if it's anything like the suspense of walking up on the first captive Metroid in Metroid Prime, VR Metroid with its isolation, atmosphere, and fluctuating moods ranging from calm to utterly intense would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

@Quorthon
Baloney! There's plenty of room for growth in Metroid, in terms of gameplay and story! Super Metroid isn't some grand masterpiece that people make it out to be. Like Chrono Trigger, Super Metroid was fantastic at the time, but would be best described as uninteresting and disjointed by today's standards. Not that Fusion or Other M are good approaches at storytelling - Zero Mission drove you forward into the story while still letting you explore at your pace and break some sequence. And as far as gameplay, Other M and Metroid Prime did have an excellent approach to upgrades by making environmental clues or whole access puzzles to solve, something many of the 2D games lacked in large quantities. Super Metroid, for example, if you wanted 100%, you more or less needed to Super Bomb the walkable parts of the map. And as far as story, an SMG or Star Fox Zero could be pulled (which would take care of the Ridley size in Smash issue), or even then, there could be another planet onto which Space Pirates smuggled Metroids or a bounty hunting/Sylux plot throwing just a few moral dilemmas at the player as an aside, the Chozo, just numerous plots yet.

Plenty of ways to make a new Metroid game, but Nintendo has yet to really pull itself away from needlessly and haphazardly "reinventing the gameplay wheel." E3 showed us a picture of a Nintendo trying to make simple gameplay to draw in the mobile crowd, but not understanding that the mass crowd that had the Wii do not want Nintendo's outspecced hardware and they want to use their current hardware and certainly won't take on additional hardware and cost for more of the same inane games that they're already playing for exponentially less cost.

Once Nintendo gets out of this weird period, concedes handhelds in favor of mobile development (I'd buy a Bluetooth controller for my phone from them) and makes engaging, top-of-the-line specced games like my generation enjoyed on the console hardware again, they'll be back in business.

@DylanCuthbert
That...that's a difficult pill to swallow, but not unexpected given his nature of using SF as a "testing ground" and his desire to use "immersive" controls (see: Wii Music, LoZ:Skyward Sword, LoZ:Spirit Tracks, motion control versions of Pikmin for Wii, etc.)
I will probably get Star Fox U just to support the series, but...man...all I can hope is that Miyamoto's business head kicks in and sees what happened with those 2 games, and how to still make the formula interesting without going overboard.

Thank you very much for clarifying.

@DylanCuthbert
Let me start off by saying that, for as much as Star Fox 64 is a classic and you may not have had much involvement in it though I would say Star Fox 2 influenced it greatly, your team's remake "Star Fox 64 3D" was a literal dream come true - to see the Lylat System and outer space in 3D. I purchased an original-model 3DS just to play it. Many games have come and gone for the system for me, including the recent edition of Super Smash Bros., but Star Fox 64 3D is the one 3DS title I kept. That game was spitshined and the multiplayer dramatically improved, making it a perfect 10/10, much like how Kirby Superstar Ultra reduced the sprite-to-screen ratio, added appropriate content, and tightened many hitboxes and frame timings. From the bottom of the heart of a 28-year old man whose first game was SMB1 when he was 3, thank you for this masterpiece.

I must ask, though, if you would be kind enough to answer:
Star Fox 64's use of All-Range Mode was appropriate and refreshing, and I never tire of shooting down Star Wolf I and Star Wolf II/True Andross. However, Starfox Assault and Starfox Command focused so heavily on it, that they became a chore to play.
Who spearheaded this change, and do you think we are due to see the same in the upcoming Star Fox title for Wii U?

I doubt it means ill health - just that the Nintendo deal allowed them to do some operational restructuring (I.e. get rid of bad people and overpaid positions).

What is THAT THING supposed to be????
Yokai Watch can take over - Pokemon has clearly run its course.

"Kirby: Triple Deluxe ($24.49, normally $34.99)"

Try $9.99, Nintendo.

@DiscoGentleman
Not surprised.

@Neferupitou
Ditto.
DLC is valid if it legitimately expands the game outside of the development cycle and after release, something that wasn't available with old-school, but that instance of DLC is rare. For all Smash4's problems, I certainly appreciate the balance patches that they've been applying.

@Lizuka
Same way that music industry labels make millions upon millions - people buying music en masse at an ultimately arbitrary overall price.

This is no different, especially considering these are Veterans, not even Newcomers.

@Hotfusion
"Don't like DLC then quit gaming."

Hey, edge-lord, it doesn't work that way - companies' IP's like EA's, Ubisoft's, and Capcom's crumble after DLC is introduced. The companies "quit gaming" long before the consumer does (OF they do).

@IceClimbers
$5 amongst how many people?
I mean really, they'll more than recover their costs, far more.

That still doesn't mean their data wasn't scrapped completely, to safely erase any trace. And besides, Smash isn't the only offender.

NSMB is the easiest one to point to, but I'd also point out the new Yoshi games, the new Kirby platformers, and DKCR. SM3DW was borderline, the stages did not mesh with their worlds most of the time. DKCTF had definite improvement, but the menus were bland and the Snowmads are just too one-off. And Smash4 is just a reskin of Brawl.

@DiscoGentleman
Yes, there will be, because the price point for Mewtwo and Lucas is outrageous. Furthermore, content is being locked behind paywalls, Day One.

This isn't MGWT, nor HW, nor MK8, which have provided content after release.
And we still have NO ASSURANCE that said DLC content wasn't already created in the normal development cycle and simply held back until a 'proper' gray area time where it could be argued and thus rationalized in the buyer's mind.

"B-but industry standard! Sony and Microsoft get away with it!"
If everyone jumped off a cliff, would you? Nintendo just did. Their answer to competing with more convenient, cheaper smartphone games that, albeit shallow, satisfy the consumers' needs was to CHARGE MORE.

Well guess what, this DLC costs as much as a decent game that will be played by millions more. Furthermore, those games don't cost the consumer an extra piece of hardware that's awkward and underspec'd. The monetary Value Proposition of Nintendo is gone - that all takes away from Nintendo's content being "premium." Even furthermore, all recent entries by Nintendo have either been generic and lackluster, or have been hyped very far up AND THEN ALSO screwed up in major ways that used to be non-issues or 'things of the past/old, bad game design.'

If the NX is underspec'd again (which Miyamoto already indicated with his comments about why they weren't using on 'this' console, as opposed to a new one), awkward from a hardware standpoint (it needs to be convenient - no more hapless VC, loyalty program, and ideally be both portable and console in one), and the games continue to fail to deliver as they are doing now both in terms of base content/DLC and the quality of the aesthetics, stories, music (BAH BAH BAH-BAH), and gameplay, Nintendo WILL find themselves in Capcom's shoes, because this is exactly what happened to them on a much larger scale.

Hopefully this gen is just a slump, a frontier, for Nintendo, and they get their act together next gen.
Because Sony and MS games just aren't worth playing.

No Ness. No Jigglypuff. I have the other 10 of the original 12. But now?

No, Nintendo is not being entertaining or providing a good diversion. They're just going the way of Capcom.

Do it for the sake of novelty, and make sure it meshes well within the valid, existing story of female Zelda wanting to be with male Link forever, by her choice.

A female Link is just asking for extra drama and baggage - if not in the actual story when the inevitable primary differences get highlighted for the sake of the simple story and gameplay variety, then in the perception by the gaming public which will jump down Nintendo's throats for "caving to politics."

The concept of ages of Link have also been thrown around - perhaps start with Adult Link, then introduce an item or mechanic by which you can become Female Link (different NPC interactions, more defense, less attack), Young Link (different NPC interactions, faster combat speed, can't use heavy items but does well in air/wind situations), and Sage Link (select NPC's actually will respond more, increased Magic Power and attack, less defense, increased attack with special skills).

And (and this getting a little heavy-handed, but...) have the message of the story being comfortable with and confident in one's own self. Have Zelda say a line along the lines of, "I know you've had different forms in your quest, and you may even miss them. But, if you weren't you, the way you are, Hyrule might not have been saved. So, thank -you-."

Ooh, glad for the layouts. It's hard to see some of the pictures on the themes sometimes.