Kifa

@jdkipfer - What you said. I too hope that the smaller amount of levels isn't just out of them being lazy. If even Nintendo internal developers ignored the 3DS, the system would be as good as dead.

@tealovertoma - I agree with what you said about the game's mechanics. Pixel-hunting parts were... well... just wrong and obsolete, like the simply couldn't come up with anything special. I also missed Morph Ball puzzles from Prime series, but that's just me.

As for Samus being afraid of Ridley - note that MOM is the first Metroid game to give her ANY kind of personality, the only exceptions so far being short text interruptions in Zero Mission and Fusion. They attempted to bring the character from manga into the games and I think it was fairly well done. Maybe overexaggerated at times, but accurate.

And besides, as Dragoon said - we should stop throwing dirt around and at one game or another. It's the anniversary of the WHOLE SERIES. Take it, or leave it.

@JakobG and @UncleWolf - it's probably because many people thought of Samus as some Master Chief with boobs, without any relevant personality, keen only on shooting stuff. And when the character is suddenly portrayed in the way corresponding with the official manga and canon biography, they raged because their imaginations about the character were proven wrong. Other M is far from the best part of the series, but it's still a very good game. Way better than Prime Hunters in my opinion.

As for the video - it's great to see some of the people and I am a bit surprised by the appearance of Yuki, the best Samus Aran cosplayer out there. I wonder if Nintendo themselves will do anything to celebrate this anniversary though...

I've finished every existing Metroid game and Echoes is one of the most memorable, surpassed only by the first Prime. It has unique style and is more challenging than any other game in the series (ok, NES Metroid is harder) and has the best looking suit Samus has ever wore - the Light Suit. I have the original Gamecube version, so the Boost Guardian frustration is not unknown to me, but still - this is hell of a game!

For me it's the first time I've reached Metroid Queen in Metroid II (it was my very first game in the series and I was very, very youg back then). The feeling of fighting it, the sense of respect it instigated when Aran died for the first time and the joy of finally defeating it - I will never forget that. And the ending sequence with Samus taking off her helmet (I sucked at this game back then, so no bikini for me) was simply one of the greatest moments in my entire gamer life. Say what you want about "Return of Samus", I still love that game.

Come to think of it - don't you think that it would be perfect to get the re-release of Metroid 2 on 3DS VC? I'm not talking a remake of any sort, but a vanilia GameBoy version. I still have the original cartridge stashed safely in a metal box, along with three of my GameBoys (Classic, Pocket & Color), but it would be super cool to have this on a backlit screen. Please, Nintendo?

Happy birthday Samus Aran! We hope for at least 25 more in your company!

And for all those Other M haters - I've played through EVERY Metroid game out there and read through the official manga. And I'm telling you, there is nothing wrong with Samus' personality in latest game. She's just portrayed with more detail that were omitted in previous games (for many reasons). And besides - after MOM she's more of a person and less a Master Chief with boobs. So stop hating.

Honestly, I have as much as 0 (zero) Miis in the MiiPlaza. Basically I've never managed to StreetPass anyone - 3DS seems totally unpopular in my area. :/ But I guess additional content allowing players to actually do something with their collected Miis is a good move from Nintendo.

Now that is what is called 'pixel ART'. Can't wait to see it in motion and to actually play it!

As for the Mighty Flip Champs - I've initially thought of buying it, but after seeing some gameplay videos reading about it's gameplay mechanics decided to skip it. Not necessarily a bad game, but not quite what I expected from WayForward.

@WaveBoy - I'd say that it depends. Xevious has it's own, slower-paced style, while Twin Bee is a bit weird in design and considerably more intense. A matter of personal taste in my opinion, though I'll be getting both as soon as I can spend a bit of cash on the eShop.

Eff yeah! The sequel might be superior in almost every way possible, but for me the NES edition has unbelievable amounts of nostalgia stored in it's ROM. I think I'll get this on release day.

Hmm... Pac-Man... I don't suppose I'll be picking this one up. Already have Championship DX on my PS3 (yes, this thing actually has any games, believe it or not) and after the Pac-Man & Galaga Dimensions thing turned out to be a flop I lost interest in Namco's franchise. And besides - I think there is a good chance that we will get NES Pac-Man in the Ambassador Program (just a gut feeling, don't pull my leg on it), so duh.

@RYBlast - yest, you will get them as you first logged into the eShop before the "deadline". You don't have to have a constant access to WiFi.

I am quite surprised by all this, but it's great news for every 3DS early adopter. My 16GB SDHC card is ready for it!

They probably did a ba... uhhh... you-know-what and avoided putting that line into the trailer not to feed any more wicked fan videos. Or at least that's my conspiracy theory. Anyway - it looks awesome and I can't wait to lay my hands on that game!

And who else thinks that those weird squeaky noise after each transmission sounds like R2D2 from Rouge Squadron?

Yep, mine is also prepared. :]

@ MaxiMillionG - it actually will cost the exact same amount of money. Excitebike was sort of a promotion to everyone who purchased 3DS early, but Nintendo needs to make money and no more free 3D Classics for us. I'm holding up on this one until a review comes up anyway.

Now that's a massive amount of content, although I'm curious to see how much of that time was spent just on grinding and not doing anything really interesting.

@honza_skypala - odd, I live in Poland and it works perfectly, content started downloading right away. Should work fine for everyone able to download the app... O.o

Honestly, I am surprised - until this "generation" it was the US who got stuff earlier and better, with Europe trailing far, far behind. Suddenly we see a switch, at least for Nintendo (other companies never had that issue developed that much though). I'm curious to see what comes out of it in the future...? And more importantly - will this app be available in the entire European Union, or just selected countries? If it's not available at my place, I'll be angry...

Just got that game and... wow, just... wow. It's easy to understand by anyone, control is perfect, and the physics engine is one of the best 2D ones that I've ever seen in my entire gaming life. The price tag might seem a bit hefty, but it's still a steal for 1200 points. Great game!

I think IslandRE can be right about Nintendo trying to test the "3D selling point" here. Urban Champion was never good, surely nowhere near as good as Excitebite or Xevious. Wireless multiplayer is a curious addition (why is there no such functionality in Excitebike is beyond me) but it won't sell this game to me.

As for other games - Ice Climber seems a reasonable option and I'd consider buying it, provided it had the multiplayer component. Metroid... I don't know, there already was a Metroid remake, called Zero Mission (GBA). It was awesome and I don't hink Nintendo would tap into that again (and despite being a Metroid nerd and owning every single Samus' adventure - pinball included - I wouldn't get it because of that). If anything, we could see a 3D remake of Metroid 2 from GameBoy.

Oh, gods, this game rocks in co-op, I play it sometimes with my brothers and it's total fun. Of course if someone wants the whole series in one place and does not mind wierd controls (you can't use the Classic Controller in the disc release AFAIK), the Anthology is the way to go, but otherwise - Metal Slug for VC is worth it's 900 points I think. And aside from it's playability, it also includes some of the best 2D graphics I've ever seen, both technically and artistically.

Great platformer, with tons of replayability (ah, the completion meter... ) and own, charming style. The game's easier than I thought, not that it does not provide some kind of challenge, it's just on the easier side. The music is not as good as in SMB though.

Ah, the SMB, first game I've ever played on any system... And it's just as old as I am, almost. It's a classic and I got that first when I got some points to spend. I still happen to suck at the game, but despite that and all those years that passed since it's release it's still a blast and a 'living' definition of "platform gaming", and only Sonic the Hedgehog can be considered the second pure platformer. Absolute musthave!

I must admit that I missed out Sonic until buyng this on VC - never had any system on which it was released originally - and I regret that a lot. This is platforming in it's purest form I'd say, comparable only to Super Mario Bros. That doesn't change the fact that I downright suck at Sonic right now and will need a lot more practice to get through the game... :]

Ah, I remember playing this with my friend loooong time ago on his PC - it was total fun, and well - how can I resist getting it on VC? Just let me get some points now...