Looking sexier all the time. Very much looking forward to playing this when it's released; hopefully that's by the end of the month. I can dream, at least. ^_~
Go, LostWinds 2! Here's hoping it only goes higher on the charts by next week. Just completed the game yesterday and it quite deserves to sell well. Great sequel, great game.
Excellent day for Europe. Grats on the fine releases! I'm very jealous. Here's hoping we see the same releases stateside in just a few days. Can't wait to get my hands on LostWinds 2. Looks to be a terrific sequel.
Wow. This game looks better and better the more information is released about it. Fantasy-styled Punch-Out gameplay with strategy-based gameplay and now Motion Plus support?
Like vakama94 said, the ending to Prime 3 very much left the hole wide open for the series to continue. Though I find it hard to believe how on earth Samus could manage to squeeze any more missions into the time between her defeat of the Space Pirates at Zebes and her eventual task to exterminate the Metroids at SR-388.
Ugh. Lame update is lame. I'm halfway tempted by You, Me, and the Cubes but it looks almost a little too... bizarre, even for my tastes. I have to shake my Wiimote to create humanoid creatures called "Fallos"? ...Really, Nintendo? Surely even you had to see the implications behind that one.
In any event, I'm waiting for the review of it before I make a decision one way or the other and can only hold out hope that the next couple weeks hold in store some better releases than these.
But, hey... at least Spyborgs comes out this week!
Soul Blazer is a great game but I find the spiritual successors, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma, to both be superior. The series just kept getting better as it went and it's a real shame that the latter has still not seen any form of release (outside of emulation) in the United States. How I'd love to see all three of these games pop up on the VC eventually. They're all must-plays.
Much as I'd love to see it on WiiWare, DSiWare definitely needs some quality platforming love... hell, it needs more quality games, period. This will make a great addition to it and I hope it bodes well for a future DSi VC release of the original Game Boy Color game somewhere down the road.
Dude. Pretty sure I'm more excited about this right now than I am Bit.Trip Void. And that is supposedly shortly on the way too. And Cave Story. And LostWinds 2.
So much awesome coming to WiiWare. Really looking forward to seeing what Konami does with this 8-bit Castlevania reboot.
Mart Racer looks... pretty lame, to be honest. I just downloaded Spaceball: Revolution and from my first runthrough playing it (before succumbing to a Game Over), I quite enjoyed it. Not amazing but definitely a competent reflex puzzler that will be very fun to come back to. I can see it getting quite vindictive on later difficulty levels since you really have to think and shoot ahead.
It's a wise business decision considering the price cut on the 360 and PS3. It just makes sense. Good call on Wal-Mart's part and it gets the system in the hands of those who still want the system for an even cheaper price. Nothing to complain about there.
Sounds good to me. Will definitely be downloading this one. And the notion that they'll be releasing up to nine additional chapters worth of level content is immensely appealing. Here's hoping the game does well enough to warrant at least four or five additional chapters.
Haven't cared for the Madden series... ever. Much less their recent reinvention on the Wii. I'll stick with Tiger Woods so long as they continue to implement the fantastic Motion Plus scheme.
Besides, Wii gamers have better games to play at the moment than Madden. A lot more and a lot better.
I like the look of this game a lot. Varied art design, compelling, unique puzzler gameplay, challenging-looking levels... though coming from the same publisher as Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam, I shall remain skeptical until the review of it pops up here. Here's hoping it's every bit as good as the trailer makes it look. I love a good puzzler.
I played the PC version of this and was never anything close to impressed. Far too much micromanagement going on in the game for my tastes, so I'm not exactly hopeful about the WiiWare version being any less drab.
@cr00mz: You can indeed use either the D-Pad or analog sticks for movement purposes.
And to all those who don't have the game yet, I've been playing it solid for the past few days and it kicks all kinds of ass. Not just a mindless button masher either; lots of strategy involved in the fighting. Gorgeous hand-drawn visuals and some absolutely exceptional boss battles. Great stuff.
@Machu: "I thank those here who chose not to mock me and brandish labels. This news was important to me."
I meant no offense, Machu. As I said, I was venting my frustrations over the situation in general from all the ramblings I've read elsewhere and seeing the news carried here to NintendoLife was the straw that finally broke the camel's back for me. I apologize if it felt like I was targeting you specifically; I assure you I was not. You certainly have a right to be upset for wanting the games as you remember them. It is important, however, to keep the bigger picture in mind too. "Can't see the forest for the trees" and all that jazz.
I had a damn good time with this game and I still have three more difficulties to go (and from the taste I had of Hard, it should be no short amount of before I actually complete all of them). Good times killing hordes upon hordes of alien scum in classic 16-bit form... with Genesis-esque music, nonetheless. Really was not expecting that. Still, they did a great job with all of it. 8 / 10 is a very well-deserved, accurate score.
@Machu: I can think of one reason they didn't release Trilogy on three discs: pricing. One disc undoubtedly allowed them to keep the price down (after all, a Wii disc can hold three times that what a Gamecube disc could) where printing three discs per package would undoubtedly have cranked up the cost. And if you don't have a Wii that reads dual layered discs properly, send your Wii in for repairs (which you may have already done; I don't know) or trade it in for a newer Wii that will allow you to play Trilogy. Contact Nintendo Support directly if you have to in order to make sure you have a system that can actually play the game. There are always solutions to these problems, regardless of the hassle involved. The hassle is just an unfortunate fact of life.
And what about the truth made my tone unlikeable? My tone was one of aggrivation not towards you but directed at those (mainly on the GameFAQs boards) who have taken this issue to a new level of nonsensical. You want your particle effects? Fine. Go play the Gamecube version. I, for one, really don't understand how four unrepresented, non-essential particle effects across the entire stretch of the three games makes this a deal-killer for so many, considering how many visual enhancements, refinements, and gameplay superiorities the first two titles now contain. Retro clearly didn't think it was worth the time, effort, and resources to overhaul the Prime code just to get a few particle effects back on screen that even they knew wouldn't be missed by most. They've spent the most time with these games; they oughta' know.
Should Nintendo R&D go back into Super Metroid to make sure that each beam has a particular "particle" effect when charged? Of course not. Whether they were there to begin with or not, they have no bearing whatsover on the gameplay itself and we wouldn't even be having this discussion had they not existed in the first place. The rest of the ambient effects have all been left intact, certain textures now look sharper, AI has been improved, and the enhanced 16x9 view makes the entire experience of the first two games that much more immersive. I simply don't see the "big deal" over four minimalistic particle effects. That's all.
The original game may be the epitome of obscurely laid-out NES titles and certainly gets no love from me, but I really have to admire what WayForward is trying to do here to give the nostalgia and characters a new lease on life. The fresh animation and hand-drawn design of the game is stunning, the gameplay looks terrific, and it just feels like it's going to mesh this time around. The levels look to be of good, varied challenge and I love the design of having to solve each in the form of a platformer-puzzler with a lot of varied gameplay mechanics using the blob not just for climbing and jumping but offense and defense purposes.
The NES original had the right idea but was developed incredibly poorly and padded by utterly absurd and vague design. This reboot looks like a breath of fresh air and proof that even those games which we do not remember fondly can be given new life under the proper development hands. It is also further proof that a game does not have to push billions of pixels to be soulful and gorgeous from a visual standpoint. WayForward seems to have put a lot of heart into every aspect of this game and I can't wait to play it in just over a month.
This post is basically every other thread over on the GameFAQs boards and has been addressed to death so many times it's getting ridiculous.
The particle effects on the gun were removed for a very simple reason: poor coding on the part of the Gamecube version. The effects themselves were on their own seperate layer and didn't actually move with the gun itself. Retro fixed this problem for Prime 2 and 3 but since they went to the superior motion control setup, they had to ditch them for the original game. I imagine the same is true for the water effects, which could also have something to do with the Wii's own video hardware. Who knows and better yet, who cares? Boo-hoo... big loss. We lost a couple of barely noticable particle effects (because we ALL know that pedantic water motion effects which can only be seen in 2% of the entire game while in morph ball form makes or breaks the game) while managing to pick up all the superior fixes made to the PAL and Japanese versions of the game. I honestly never would have noticed these differences had not a dozen or so graphic whore, hissy-fit nit-pickers on GameFAQs brought it up. I guess they can't pick it apart on its near-flawless gameplay, so they have to try and take it down a peg by bitching about how pixels aren''t exactly as they should be when a particular texture tile is looked at up close. They probably have two TVs set up just to compare both versions knowing how much time these people seem to have on their hands to be this idiotically and overly analytical.
As for the textures themselves, I'm going to have to go ahead and call total BS on the claims that somehow the texturing is worse. There are a lot of textural improvements which are quite noticable if you grew up on the Gamecube version and up close nothing looks worse than it did on the Gamecube version (a seven year-old game, as is); as reviews all across the board have said, the games still look better than most Wii titles. Reviews wouldn't be saying that if texture resolution was noticably lacking over the originals. Again, there are a lot of areas where one can actually notice definite improvement in texture resolution and detail; there's no question about that. Not to mention the bloom lighting in the first game, which makes certain boss fights even more epic (I'm looking at you, Thardus).
If one equates "looking worse than the original" to "missing a couple nonessential particle effects which may as well have been nonexistent to begin with," then... yeah, I guess it looks "worse." If you do equate those two, however, then perhaps you're better off being a programmer yourself if you so desperately want to make sure the original Metroid Prime never has to be rereleased sans four particle effects ever again.
Absolute must-buy for me. Been waiting for this one for a while considering how long Japan has had it but I can't wait to play it here in the next couple days.
And for the five gazillionth time, people: Just because a game is short does not make it bad. I get truly tired of this nonsensical equation, especially by virtue of how "short" every Contra game has been.
Ugh. People need to buy better games; that just about sums up every week I see this Top 20 list. No Mega Man 9, Onslaught, LostWinds, Bit.Trip Beat or Core, Art Style games, Neves Plus, Eduardo, Gradius ReBirth, Swords & Soldiers? Sigh...
Looks beautiful visually and I love the sound of the new gameplay mechanics being added in for this sequel. Great-looking game thus far and I can't wait to see it released. The original was quite the treat and this one should be just as delightful.
I've been following Stemage's Metroid Metal work for the past four years or so and have loved seeing just how much it has evolved. There's not an arrangement he and his band have done that I haven't loved and that doesn't feel like it really sticks close to the original intent and heart of the original tune. For anyone who hasn't heard Stemage's outstanding work, I highly recommend you remedy that now.
@Starkiller: I have all three Metroid Prime games in their originally released forms and was thrilled to get Metroid Prime Trilogy. The ability to play the first two games with the superiority of the Wii motion controls made the buy a no-brainer for me on day one. It's a whole new experience being able to play through Prime and Echoes the way they were meant to be played. And if it means supporting Retro's future efforts with more of my money, then I'm even happier to do that. After the Metroid Prime titles, that little Texas studio deserves all of our support as gamers and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.
Color me very freaking excited. I love the look of the new gameplay elements and... it's another LostWinds game. It's going to be awesome. Here's hoping we get to play it soon!
Didn't that last hint they dropped lead us to believe the third game would be Bit.Trip Space? I mean, through the fence, we are technically staring into space. Either that or it is going to be called Bit.Trip Void. Either way, bring it on! I can't freaking wait.
Great to see NyxQuest doing so well. I've been hoping the game would sell well in order to bolster the development of more games like it. I know I couldn't get enough of seeing more innovative, original platformers on WiiWare.
This game is looking better all the time. Looking forward to getting my hands on it in a month. I'm all about developers making current gen brawlers! Now if only someone would get on a modern-day take on Streets of Rage.
Absolutely epic. Cannot wait to get this game and its lovely pre-order art scroll bonus at Gamestop in just a couple weeks. Definitely looks to be every bit as wondrous a game as it has since I saw the very first couple screenshots.
Saw this game at the store recently and thought it looked like another cash-in piece of shovelware garbage... and the screenshots have done nothing to dissuade me from that notion. Not to mention the terrible reviews the game is getting.
I was expecting Bethesda to develop a game from the ground up for the Wii, not merely publish one by another development crew. Ugh. Way to let us all down big time, Bethesda. This game looks horrible. I mean... have they seen the visuals Speed Racer and especially Excitebots put out? Speed Zone looks like an N64 title by comparison. Bleck.
It's only taken two years to get this to the states, but at least it finally made it. I think a two year gap was about right though considering how it's basically the same game as Curious Village just with a new story. Even so, I'm incredibly excited to see what cool new puzzles this game has in store for me this time around. I also love the downloadable weekly puzzles and I look forward to seeing what the Hidden Secret from the first game is once I find the code in Diabolical Box to unlock it.
Anyone else hope the in-puzzles music is different this time around? I don't think I can take that music box melody from the original any more. ^_~
I can only feel sorry for anyone who doesn't buy this phenomenal trilogy. The entire package is about as flawless a collection of masterpieces as we're bound to see in many, many years. The first two games visually expanded to 16x9/480p with surgical texture replacement throughout for higher resolution images, full bloom lighting on the original Prime, extra achievements to gain medals from in the first two titles, and let us not forget the far superior, sharp control scheme of the third title applied to the first two.
Unbelievably great deal at $50 since any gamer is liable to get a good hundred hours or so across the board playing these games. If you're just not into Metroid, now is the time I feel most sorry for you and I hope you have a change of heart. These are truly three of the greatest adventure/action titles ever made by human hands.
Now if only Retro Studios would let us know what they've got up their sleeves next...
Excellent update, all things considered. And besides, these three titles are obviously not the big draw this week with Nintendo for two reasons: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box and Metroid Prime Trilogy. Those are truly the two games to really care about this week, though I will definitely download Super Empire Strikes Back eventually and Mr. Driller W looks quite good.
Loved the look of this unique platformer when I first saw it on Steam, but I don't have the system requirements to play it myself. Hearing about this WiiWare release has me all kinds of jazzed now that I'll actually get to play it. Looks like a very solid little platformer; and the 90 degree rotation aspect has all sorts of great, challenging implications.
Love the looks of this. Platformers are the best and I love the concept behind this particular game. Jumping on the shadows of the platforms themselves? Very cool and presents some definite challenges.
Comments 314
Re: Solitary Castlevania Rebirth Screenshot Rises From Its Grave
Looking sexier all the time. Very much looking forward to playing this when it's released; hopefully that's by the end of the month. I can dream, at least. ^_~
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (21st Oct)
Go, LostWinds 2! Here's hoping it only goes higher on the charts by next week. Just completed the game yesterday and it quite deserves to sell well. Great sequel, great game.
Re: First Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth Screens Appear
Do. Want.
Re: Nintendo Download: LostWinds, Happy Holidays, Final Fight, Wonder Boy, Dragon Quest and Photo Clock (EU)
Excellent day for Europe. Grats on the fine releases! I'm very jealous. Here's hoping we see the same releases stateside in just a few days. Can't wait to get my hands on LostWinds 2. Looks to be a terrific sequel.
Re: Rage of the Gladiator to Support Wii MotionPlus
Wow. This game looks better and better the more information is released about it. Fantasy-styled Punch-Out gameplay with strategy-based gameplay and now Motion Plus support?
Sign me up, please.
Re: Capcom Cordially Invites You To Decide The Next Versus Title
I'm with skywake. Disney Vs. Capcom sounds absolutely epic.
Just imagine Chun-Li and Mulan going at it. winky
Re: More Metroid Prime in the Pipeline?
Like vakama94 said, the ending to Prime 3 very much left the hole wide open for the series to continue. Though I find it hard to believe how on earth Samus could manage to squeeze any more missions into the time between her defeat of the Space Pirates at Zebes and her eventual task to exterminate the Metroids at SR-388.
Re: Nintendo Download: Cubes, Ninjas, Tennis, Strategy Games and Cameras (US)
Ugh. Lame update is lame. I'm halfway tempted by You, Me, and the Cubes but it looks almost a little too... bizarre, even for my tastes. I have to shake my Wiimote to create humanoid creatures called "Fallos"? ...Really, Nintendo? Surely even you had to see the implications behind that one.
In any event, I'm waiting for the review of it before I make a decision one way or the other and can only hold out hope that the next couple weeks hold in store some better releases than these.
But, hey... at least Spyborgs comes out this week!
Re: Review: Soul Blazer (Super Nintendo)
Soul Blazer is a great game but I find the spiritual successors, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma, to both be superior. The series just kept getting better as it went and it's a real shame that the latter has still not seen any form of release (outside of emulation) in the United States. How I'd love to see all three of these games pop up on the VC eventually. They're all must-plays.
Re: Review: Mart Racer (WiiWare)
I find myself being completely unsurprised by the score this game received. It look like garbage from the get-go.
Re: Shantae Coming to DSiWare
Much as I'd love to see it on WiiWare, DSiWare definitely needs some quality platforming love... hell, it needs more quality games, period. This will make a great addition to it and I hope it bodes well for a future DSi VC release of the original Game Boy Color game somewhere down the road.
Re: Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth Coming This Month
Dude. Pretty sure I'm more excited about this right now than I am Bit.Trip Void. And that is supposedly shortly on the way too. And Cave Story. And LostWinds 2.
So much awesome coming to WiiWare. Really looking forward to seeing what Konami does with this 8-bit Castlevania reboot.
Re: Nintendo Download: Spaceballs, Shopping Carts, Poker, Street Challenges, Art and Toys (US)
Mart Racer looks... pretty lame, to be honest. I just downloaded Spaceball: Revolution and from my first runthrough playing it (before succumbing to a Game Over), I quite enjoyed it. Not amazing but definitely a competent reflex puzzler that will be very fun to come back to. I can see it getting quite vindictive on later difficulty levels since you really have to think and shoot ahead.
Re: Wal Mart: Wii Price to be Rolled Back Next Month
It's a wise business decision considering the price cut on the 360 and PS3. It just makes sense. Good call on Wal-Mart's part and it gets the system in the hands of those who still want the system for an even cheaper price. Nothing to complain about there.
Re: Review: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (DS)
This game is getting incredibly high marks everywhere I look. Once I play through the first two, I'm definitely snagging this one. Sounds fantastic.
Re: Review: Spaceball: Revolution (WiiWare)
Sounds good to me. Will definitely be downloading this one. And the notion that they'll be releasing up to nine additional chapters worth of level content is immensely appealing. Here's hoping the game does well enough to warrant at least four or five additional chapters.
Re: Castlevania Comes to WiiWare
Words cannot express how giddy this news makes me. Konami... I love you guys so much right now.
Re: Wii Version of Madden NFL 10 Selling Poorly
Haven't cared for the Madden series... ever. Much less their recent reinvention on the Wii. I'll stick with Tiger Woods so long as they continue to implement the fantastic Motion Plus scheme.
Besides, Wii gamers have better games to play at the moment than Madden. A lot more and a lot better.
Re: Spaceball: Revolution Coming to NA on Monday
I like the look of this game a lot. Varied art design, compelling, unique puzzler gameplay, challenging-looking levels... though coming from the same publisher as Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam, I shall remain skeptical until the review of it pops up here. Here's hoping it's every bit as good as the trailer makes it look. I love a good puzzler.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (11th Sept)
Hot damn. Was not expecting Contra ReBirth to do so amazingly well but way to go, Konami! A well-deserved #1 spot for a terrific game.
Re: Toribash Has Finished Development
I played the PC version of this and was never anything close to impressed. Far too much micromanagement going on in the game for my tastes, so I'm not exactly hopeful about the WiiWare version being any less drab.
Re: Rage of the Gladiator Ixthid Trailer
It's Gladiatorial Fantasy Punch-Out!! I, too, am liking the looks of this game the more I see of it.
Re: Muramasa: The Demon Blade Launch Trailer
@cr00mz: You can indeed use either the D-Pad or analog sticks for movement purposes.
And to all those who don't have the game yet, I've been playing it solid for the past few days and it kicks all kinds of ass. Not just a mindless button masher either; lots of strategy involved in the fighting. Gorgeous hand-drawn visuals and some absolutely exceptional boss battles. Great stuff.
Re: Metroid Prime Trilogy: Visually Worse Than Original Releases?
@Machu:
"I thank those here who chose not to mock me and brandish labels. This news was important to me."
I meant no offense, Machu. As I said, I was venting my frustrations over the situation in general from all the ramblings I've read elsewhere and seeing the news carried here to NintendoLife was the straw that finally broke the camel's back for me. I apologize if it felt like I was targeting you specifically; I assure you I was not. You certainly have a right to be upset for wanting the games as you remember them. It is important, however, to keep the bigger picture in mind too. "Can't see the forest for the trees" and all that jazz.
Re: A Boy and His Blob Transforms into Video Footage!
@Swerd_Murd: This is a retail disc release, not WiiWare.
Re: Metroid Prime Trilogy: Visually Worse Than Original Releases?
@Machu:
"Again, I'm not sure why you feel this story is worth so many of your words."
Because I like words. And lots of them.
Re: Review: Contra ReBirth (WiiWare)
I had a damn good time with this game and I still have three more difficulties to go (and from the taste I had of Hard, it should be no short amount of before I actually complete all of them). Good times killing hordes upon hordes of alien scum in classic 16-bit form... with Genesis-esque music, nonetheless. Really was not expecting that. Still, they did a great job with all of it. 8 / 10 is a very well-deserved, accurate score.
Re: LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias Teaser Trailer Appears
This is truly going to be a great sequel. Looking forward to it, Frontier.
Re: Metroid Prime Trilogy: Visually Worse Than Original Releases?
@Machu: I can think of one reason they didn't release Trilogy on three discs: pricing. One disc undoubtedly allowed them to keep the price down (after all, a Wii disc can hold three times that what a Gamecube disc could) where printing three discs per package would undoubtedly have cranked up the cost. And if you don't have a Wii that reads dual layered discs properly, send your Wii in for repairs (which you may have already done; I don't know) or trade it in for a newer Wii that will allow you to play Trilogy. Contact Nintendo Support directly if you have to in order to make sure you have a system that can actually play the game. There are always solutions to these problems, regardless of the hassle involved. The hassle is just an unfortunate fact of life.
And what about the truth made my tone unlikeable? My tone was one of aggrivation not towards you but directed at those (mainly on the GameFAQs boards) who have taken this issue to a new level of nonsensical. You want your particle effects? Fine. Go play the Gamecube version. I, for one, really don't understand how four unrepresented, non-essential particle effects across the entire stretch of the three games makes this a deal-killer for so many, considering how many visual enhancements, refinements, and gameplay superiorities the first two titles now contain. Retro clearly didn't think it was worth the time, effort, and resources to overhaul the Prime code just to get a few particle effects back on screen that even they knew wouldn't be missed by most. They've spent the most time with these games; they oughta' know.
Should Nintendo R&D go back into Super Metroid to make sure that each beam has a particular "particle" effect when charged? Of course not. Whether they were there to begin with or not, they have no bearing whatsover on the gameplay itself and we wouldn't even be having this discussion had they not existed in the first place. The rest of the ambient effects have all been left intact, certain textures now look sharper, AI has been improved, and the enhanced 16x9 view makes the entire experience of the first two games that much more immersive. I simply don't see the "big deal" over four minimalistic particle effects. That's all.
Re: Metroid Prime Trilogy: Visually Worse Than Original Releases?
@warioswoods: Spot on.
Re: A Boy and His Blob Transforms into Video Footage!
The original game may be the epitome of obscurely laid-out NES titles and certainly gets no love from me, but I really have to admire what WayForward is trying to do here to give the nostalgia and characters a new lease on life. The fresh animation and hand-drawn design of the game is stunning, the gameplay looks terrific, and it just feels like it's going to mesh this time around. The levels look to be of good, varied challenge and I love the design of having to solve each in the form of a platformer-puzzler with a lot of varied gameplay mechanics using the blob not just for climbing and jumping but offense and defense purposes.
The NES original had the right idea but was developed incredibly poorly and padded by utterly absurd and vague design. This reboot looks like a breath of fresh air and proof that even those games which we do not remember fondly can be given new life under the proper development hands. It is also further proof that a game does not have to push billions of pixels to be soulful and gorgeous from a visual standpoint. WayForward seems to have put a lot of heart into every aspect of this game and I can't wait to play it in just over a month.
Re: Metroid Prime Trilogy: Visually Worse Than Original Releases?
This post is basically every other thread over on the GameFAQs boards and has been addressed to death so many times it's getting ridiculous.
The particle effects on the gun were removed for a very simple reason: poor coding on the part of the Gamecube version. The effects themselves were on their own seperate layer and didn't actually move with the gun itself. Retro fixed this problem for Prime 2 and 3 but since they went to the superior motion control setup, they had to ditch them for the original game. I imagine the same is true for the water effects, which could also have something to do with the Wii's own video hardware. Who knows and better yet, who cares? Boo-hoo... big loss. We lost a couple of barely noticable particle effects (because we ALL know that pedantic water motion effects which can only be seen in 2% of the entire game while in morph ball form makes or breaks the game) while managing to pick up all the superior fixes made to the PAL and Japanese versions of the game. I honestly never would have noticed these differences had not a dozen or so graphic whore, hissy-fit nit-pickers on GameFAQs brought it up. I guess they can't pick it apart on its near-flawless gameplay, so they have to try and take it down a peg by bitching about how pixels aren''t exactly as they should be when a particular texture tile is looked at up close. They probably have two TVs set up just to compare both versions knowing how much time these people seem to have on their hands to be this idiotically and overly analytical.
As for the textures themselves, I'm going to have to go ahead and call total BS on the claims that somehow the texturing is worse. There are a lot of textural improvements which are quite noticable if you grew up on the Gamecube version and up close nothing looks worse than it did on the Gamecube version (a seven year-old game, as is); as reviews all across the board have said, the games still look better than most Wii titles. Reviews wouldn't be saying that if texture resolution was noticably lacking over the originals. Again, there are a lot of areas where one can actually notice definite improvement in texture resolution and detail; there's no question about that. Not to mention the bloom lighting in the first game, which makes certain boss fights even more epic (I'm looking at you, Thardus).
If one equates "looking worse than the original" to "missing a couple nonessential particle effects which may as well have been nonexistent to begin with," then... yeah, I guess it looks "worse." If you do equate those two, however, then perhaps you're better off being a programmer yourself if you so desperately want to make sure the original Metroid Prime never has to be rereleased sans four particle effects ever again.
Re: Review: Contra ReBirth (WiiWare)
Absolute must-buy for me. Been waiting for this one for a while considering how long Japan has had it but I can't wait to play it here in the next couple days.
And for the five gazillionth time, people: Just because a game is short does not make it bad. I get truly tired of this nonsensical equation, especially by virtue of how "short" every Contra game has been.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (2nd Sept)
Ugh. People need to buy better games; that just about sums up every week I see this Top 20 list. No Mega Man 9, Onslaught, LostWinds, Bit.Trip Beat or Core, Art Style games, Neves Plus, Eduardo, Gradius ReBirth, Swords & Soldiers? Sigh...
Re: Frontier Officially Announces LostWinds Sequel
Looks beautiful visually and I love the sound of the new gameplay mechanics being added in for this sequel. Great-looking game thus far and I can't wait to see it released. The original was quite the treat and this one should be just as delightful.
Re: Features: Metroid's Metal Makeover
I've been following Stemage's Metroid Metal work for the past four years or so and have loved seeing just how much it has evolved. There's not an arrangement he and his band have done that I haven't loved and that doesn't feel like it really sticks close to the original intent and heart of the original tune. For anyone who hasn't heard Stemage's outstanding work, I highly recommend you remedy that now.
Re: Review: Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii)
@Starkiller: I have all three Metroid Prime games in their originally released forms and was thrilled to get Metroid Prime Trilogy. The ability to play the first two games with the superiority of the Wii motion controls made the buy a no-brainer for me on day one. It's a whole new experience being able to play through Prime and Echoes the way they were meant to be played. And if it means supporting Retro's future efforts with more of my money, then I'm even happier to do that. After the Metroid Prime titles, that little Texas studio deserves all of our support as gamers and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next.
Re: LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias Announced
Color me very freaking excited. I love the look of the new gameplay elements and... it's another LostWinds game. It's going to be awesome. Here's hoping we get to play it soon!
Re: Gaijin Games Releases Teaser for New Game
Didn't that last hint they dropped lead us to believe the third game would be Bit.Trip Space? I mean, through the fence, we are technically staring into space. Either that or it is going to be called Bit.Trip Void. Either way, bring it on! I can't freaking wait.
Re: Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (27th Aug)
Great to see NyxQuest doing so well. I've been hoping the game would sell well in order to bolster the development of more games like it. I know I couldn't get enough of seeing more innovative, original platformers on WiiWare.
But... why is My Aquarium still so high?! WHY?!
Re: Brand New Spyborgs Screenshots & Video
This game is looking better all the time. Looking forward to getting my hands on it in a month. I'm all about developers making current gen brawlers! Now if only someone would get on a modern-day take on Streets of Rage.
Re: Rage of the Gladiator Horlan the Crusher Trailer and Exclusive MP3
The more I see of this game, the more I like it. Looking forward to future gameplay videos. It's shaping up to be a very fine looking title.
Re: Muramasa: The Demon Blade Boss Trailer
Absolutely epic. Cannot wait to get this game and its lovely pre-order art scroll bonus at Gamestop in just a couple weeks. Definitely looks to be every bit as wondrous a game as it has since I saw the very first couple screenshots.
Re: Metroid Prime: Trilogy Now Available for Wii
The galaxy...
Is at peace.
Re: Bethesda To Publish Wii Racing Game
Saw this game at the store recently and thought it looked like another cash-in piece of shovelware garbage... and the screenshots have done nothing to dissuade me from that notion. Not to mention the terrible reviews the game is getting.
I was expecting Bethesda to develop a game from the ground up for the Wii, not merely publish one by another development crew. Ugh. Way to let us all down big time, Bethesda. This game looks horrible. I mean... have they seen the visuals Speed Racer and especially Excitebots put out? Speed Zone looks like an N64 title by comparison. Bleck.
Re: Professor Layton Unravels Another Mystery
It's only taken two years to get this to the states, but at least it finally made it. I think a two year gap was about right though considering how it's basically the same game as Curious Village just with a new story. Even so, I'm incredibly excited to see what cool new puzzles this game has in store for me this time around. I also love the downloadable weekly puzzles and I look forward to seeing what the Hidden Secret from the first game is once I find the code in Diabolical Box to unlock it.
Anyone else hope the in-puzzles music is different this time around? I don't think I can take that music box melody from the original any more. ^_~
Re: Review: Metroid Prime Trilogy (Wii)
I can only feel sorry for anyone who doesn't buy this phenomenal trilogy. The entire package is about as flawless a collection of masterpieces as we're bound to see in many, many years. The first two games visually expanded to 16x9/480p with surgical texture replacement throughout for higher resolution images, full bloom lighting on the original Prime, extra achievements to gain medals from in the first two titles, and let us not forget the far superior, sharp control scheme of the third title applied to the first two.
Unbelievably great deal at $50 since any gamer is liable to get a good hundred hours or so across the board playing these games. If you're just not into Metroid, now is the time I feel most sorry for you and I hope you have a change of heart. These are truly three of the greatest adventure/action titles ever made by human hands.
Now if only Retro Studios would let us know what they've got up their sleeves next...
Re: Nintendo Download: Jedis, Drills and Bubbles (US)
Excellent update, all things considered. And besides, these three titles are obviously not the big draw this week with Nintendo for two reasons: Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box and Metroid Prime Trilogy. Those are truly the two games to really care about this week, though I will definitely download Super Empire Strikes Back eventually and Mr. Driller W looks quite good.
Re: And Yet It Moves Coming to WiiWare
Loved the look of this unique platformer when I first saw it on Steam, but I don't have the system requirements to play it myself. Hearing about this WiiWare release has me all kinds of jazzed now that I'll actually get to play it. Looks like a very solid little platformer; and the 90 degree rotation aspect has all sorts of great, challenging implications.
Re: Konami and Hudson To Build The Tower of Shadow On Wii
Love the looks of this. Platformers are the best and I love the concept behind this particular game. Jumping on the shadows of the platforms themselves? Very cool and presents some definite challenges.