Kid_A

"certain levels tend to jump in difficulty so drastically that they’ll take any player several tries just to complete"

This is ridiculously unspecific. 98% of platformers have levels that take several tries to complete. And if so...so? Is that a bad thing? Is "several" bad? If it had been only "a few" tries would it be better?

Just awkward wording, is what I'm saying.

Is this really a fact we need to face?

Super Mario 3D Land is the best Mario game of all time, but NSMB2 has great multiplayer and tons of content so I can see why it made it on the list.

I'm glad I read some reviews of this. I'm a sucker for colorful platformers but I haven't read a single good thing about Power of Illusion.

Nintendo Life! Where "news" is in parentheses!

I approve.

Awesome!
Hopefully with Nintendo behind it we'll be able to get it from some digital outlets as well. I'm replaying Twilight Princess at the moment, and I'm not sure I ever fully appreciated how somber and heartbreaking its soundtrack is. Can't wait to hear some proper renditions of them.

Horrible.

"Piece of kit" doesn't make any sense, even for a britishism.

Wow. That genuinely struck a cord with me. Like so many people my age, the latest Nintendo Power was always like getting a present in the mail. There was a time before the Internet, before gaming news was an obnoxious bombardment. I still love seeing it in my mailbox, even if it's no longer as revelatory.

I find the entire idea of a console review very strange. A system should be judged by the end of its run, not when it's just starting. The DS was absolutely panned when it came out and now it could be argued to be Nintendo's best console. A system is defined by its games, not its tech.

Dang. I need a Wii U.
Very well-written review, sir.

@Retro_On_theGo
Maybe I just need to play it more. It just felt a little "meh" to me after the brilliance of Champs/Shantae/MilkyWay.

Honestly, I don't understand the intense love for this game. It's got a horrendously boring art style and lifeless controls. It felt like a step back after Mighty Milky Way, which was so visually unique and played like nothing before it.

Switch Force isn't a bad game, certainly, but there are about a dozen more interesting indie action-puzzlers I'd rather play.

Zelda II update doesn't work.
Grrr!

The DS and Wii were built on outdated graphical technology but they remain two of Nintendo's most popular and diverse consoles, and they had incredibly long life spans in technology terms. I have no worries about the Wii U.

WHERE DO I SIGN?

Brilliant game. Probably my favorite in the series.
I love the fact that they described it as a "Sticker Adventure Game" because that's definitely what it is. Just as I found myself not missing the turn-based battles in Super Paper Mario, I find myself not missing leveling up in Sticker Star.

"Truth in advertising."
HaHA!

I really don't get why they changed the name for the UK. PushMO and CrashMO makes sense because the characters are suMOs.

I'm debating on whether or not to get Sticker Star or Assassin's Creed III. Both seem to have somewhat mixed critical reception, but I'm leaning toward Mario if nothing else because of the Club Nintendo reward.

I do love how people act like an 8/10 is a terrible score that means the game isn't worth playing.

I'm about to drop a truth bomb on y'all about the Thousand Year Door:

It ain't as good as Paper Mario or Super Paper Mario

The critic in me wants another Prime or Super Metroid.

The fanboy in me wants to fly Samus' awesome ship and bomb pirate bases.

DROOLS

It was barely advertised and had a pretty lukewarm critical response; and I never heard anybody tell me it was a must-play. Can't say I'm surprised, but it doesn't bode well for other 3rd party developers, I suppose.

Night Sky and NSMB2 DLC for me, please!

Good list, though I personally would have included Last Story, Punch-Out!! and Metroid Other M.

I pronounce it "Tiddly Winks."

This is one of the most bizarrely-received games. Critics couldn't be bothered with it but every Kirby fan out there treats it like something of a minor masterpiece. I've never played it myself, but I've always been curious to see what all the fuss is/isn't about.

Feels like I've been waiting for this one forever. Glad to see it was worth the wait; with Nicalis it always is

@EveryoneComplainingAboutLackOfMultiplayer/WiiConnectivity

I'd be nice, but I'm going to go ahead and assume
it's a lot trickier than pushing a couple buttons. I'd rather Nintendo concentrate on bringing us new stuff than meticulously updating old stuff.

@Philip_J_Reed
You can't talk to me like that! I'm an extremely popular critic of Before Watchmen comics!

DISAGREEMENT!
I gotta say, this is perhaps the best golf game I've ever played. From its charm to its reliable mechanics to its amazing soundtrack, it doesn't get much better than this, for me at least. Some people may prefer realism, but I prefer cute-as-heck graphics and cartoonish charm

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
I love Ikachan! Beautiful little game.

I will be playing the crap out of some Mario Golf, please and thank you.

Patcher: Professional Douchebag

At the very least the N64 remakes should be bargain priced. Considering Ocarina of Time and Star Fox 64 are both available on the Wii Shop Channel for $10 a pop, it would be insane to charge 4x the price for slight graphical overhauls.

The reason I often buy music digitally is that it's cheaper. If it cost just as much as a CD, I wouldn't bother. CDs I'm really excited for, though, I'm willing to shell out some extra cash to have a physical item. Selling downloadable retail games for say, $10 cheaper, would cause me to buy more games. More games sold means more money. This isn't hard, Nintendo.

@RupeeClock
Very much agreed. The retail 3D reimagining was basically garbage. It looked like the most cheap, ugly 3D modeling I've ever seen. The eShop version, however, is gorgeous.

Shame about Curly Mode, though. Seems like Nicalis can't catch a break when it comes to delays and glitches and such.

Not to the "that guy" but it should say "Which we did" instead of "which we did so."

Also this is the most ridiculous lawsuit ever.

The NSMB2 DLC is REALLY dang fun. The Nerve Wrack pack is definitely...exactly what it says it is.
And Nicalis suckered me into buying Cave Story for a fourth time.

I WANT ZELDA II AND WARIO LAND 2 GOSH DARN IT!

But...yes, La Mulana should be lovely.

James let me write for this site for two years, and he always trusted in my material, even when other people didn't. Good luck, buddy. You're good people.

I'm really enjoying this one. I've always wanted to really sink my teeth into an old, text-based RPG and this seems to be a perfectly fine fix.

Skyward Sword is a grave omission. GRAVE, I SAY!
Also, although NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams is a pretty polarizing game, it has, undoubtedly, one of the best soundtracks of this generation. Seriously. You can pick it up for like $3 at Gamestop and it is 100% worth it for the soundtrack alone.
Other great Wii soundtracks:
Sonic Colors
Rayman Legends
Super Mario Galaxy 2
World of Goo
LostWinds
Super Paper Mario
Metroid Other M (great study in atmospheric sound design)
Epic Mickey

@alphabingo1
Thank you. This is what I was trying to say.

This is laughably untrue. These quotes read like dumb teenagers making crap up. "Yeah the graphics just aren't as good. It's the uh...shaders (I think I read that word somewhere). I mean it does SOME stuff (high tech developers say "stuff right?) better, but that's mostly due to its more modern design."
It does some things better but only due to its more modern design? What could that possibly mean? These quotes are so childishly nonspecific that it makes them impossible to take seriously.

Anybody keep their receipt?

Super Mario 3D Land might be the greatest game of all time. Went there.

My top faves:
1. Super Mario 3D Land
2. Kid Icarus Uprising
3. Pushmo
4. Mario Kart 7
5. Metal Gear Solid 3D Snake Eater
6. Ocarina of Time 3D
7. Pilotwings Resort
8. VVVVVV
9. Steel Diver
10. Star Fox 64 3D

@Haywired and @HighWinter
That article seemed pretty ridiculous to me. Seemed like baseless conspiracy theories formed by some sort of grudge for the magazine.