So glad Ninja Five-O got some love. A very underrated game that was a staple in my old GBA Library. Another series few played that I wish had more exposure- Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation.
This is all well and good, but I just want a standard account system. As opposed to the one console unless transferred nonsense. It's honestly kept me from buying my son his own 2/3DS and certain games digitally because the bulk of our content is locked to my machine. And we've all heard the horror stories of people needing to recover data in the event of a system breaking or being lost. It's a problem I don't have with Sony, Microsoft, any digital PC service I use, iOS, Google Play, or Amazon. Nintendo's policy sticks out like a sore thumb, and we just let them get away with it because, hey, Zelda and Smash are pretty fun (I'm no different, Just venting).
I think it makes sense, when you consider Nintendo isn't aiming to just cheaply emulate but rather to deliver a perfect replica. Emulations goal is to be playable, which is a lower benchmark. I have a couple of quality emulators on my phone from experienced devs. My phone has 2 gb of ram and a 2.7ghz quad core processor. Every game runs "pretty good" but needs some management of frame skipping and audio settings. Snes sound effects are often a little off. Games with certain chips stutter a little. Very playable, but not "perfect." The old 3ds has 128mb of ram and a dual core processor rated in MHz (I forget exactly how much). Much less powerful than a modern phone. There is an snes emulator via home brew for 3ds but it's far from perfect. Nowhere near as good as what you can get on a PSP, which itself isn't perfect.
I'd be excited about this if, 1, I haven't had this in my PSP for years and, 2, they didn't just put out a fantastic version on mobile that I consider to be definitive. It's coming to steam soon too.
@Spoony_Tech I'm torn, and maybe a little spoiled. Space Hulk is basically on a discount here, considering it costs about $40 to get it for PS3 or Vita. However, it's only $25 on Steam... And $5 on iOS.
@crzysortagamer It's about the seeming lack of effort on NoA's part. Compare with the European update, which brings five games and a truckload of holiday promotions, our update has half of the deals and ONE game. Call it entitled if you want, but it is the holiday and every digital store is competing right now. What's here to draw my attention from the steam winter sale, or the truckload of premium sales on the App Store? Not much.
@Semudara still, impressions shouldn't be hard to find. This game has been on iOS, Android, and PSN for ages. I used to play this on my first generation iPad lol
@JellySplat the part I disagree with is how quickly they sold out. You mention in a week... Fair enough. One hour! Lol
Console aside, I think it's actually worse regarding the Majoras Mask (game) limited edition. Sold out about as fast. I was actually able to order the console, but not the game. Then, as a US citizen, i look at Europe having a bundle of the system, game, statue, and power cord... It makes one question NOA's decisions.
It does. I just rechecked, and Witcher 3s special edition is now out of stock. It was up for a long time though. Just to compare, while the Witcher doesn't pull Zelda figures, it isn't a slouch. Witcher 2 sold around 2 mil, Ocarina 3D a little over 3 mil units I believe. That's not counting digital in either case, those are hard to track, but we're talking about interest in physical media anywanot
Some of the others I mentioned... Look at Activision. Their games tend to sell 8-10 million per platform, and nobodyhads much difficulty ordering their special editions or console bundle promotions if they want them. These things tend to be limited in that they won't be reprinted, not in that they were gated to whoever wasn't at work for one hour on a specific day. Can we agree that this stuff selling out in one hr is a failure on their part?
It reminds me of the Wii. My experience buying an Xbox 360: I walked into Gamestop and bought one. Ditto my PS3. Wii? Six month epic treasure hunt after my pre-order was cancelled by an overwhelmed retailer lol
@JellySplat my problem with the logic of "well they're limited editions" is that it was too limited. Just like the special edition of the game itself. Compare with, say, Witcher 3. I believe you can still go directly to their site and order the limited edition with significant physical bonuses, and that's been up for months. A number of triple A titles have their special editions up for sale on their main sites AFTER release. There should be a limited order window to gauge demand, not an artificial stock number that won't survive an hour.
Shantae is now at the price I expected it to be (and what it honestly should be, considering there's an upgraded console version with no cross buy support at this point). I'm going to go ahead and pick that up.
No two player is a big problem, especially as a console release. I already have the original, and play with my son. I would get this in a heartbeat on 3DS...but Nintendo would rather these portable games be blown up on our HD TV's lol. I don't get it. Honestly I bought Golden Sun as a show of support, then promptly emulated it on my phone (dumped my rom ages ago due to a failing system).
A fair and measured review! To me, this game suffers from middle child syndrome. CotM was the game I bought with my GBA, and it was a whole new level for portable gaming. Aria, of course, was a late-gen game that pushed the hardware to the edge. Harmony is a solid action adventure title, but with the bland score and Juste looking like Alucard with a coat, it came off feeling like a half-step. It lacks the nostalgia of Circle and the technical masterpiece of Aria. That said, it only disappoints when compared to its siblings. Judged fairly on its own merits, it IS one of the best games on the GBA.
Forget Goldeneye, THIS was my friends' go to multi-player game!
Interesting note, Conker recently appeared on a list of franchises Microsoft (who owns these rights, via Rare) may be looking to revive. Killer Instinct did well, so they seem to be looking at the Rare catalog and may bring back Conker and Banjo.
I'm picking it up soon. My son is still playing X2, so after that. I do genuinely like X3. I also like X4 and 5 (kinda fell off at 6). Honestly, I don't get the hate for 3, which I didn't even know was a thing! I thought the new tweaks to the armor parts where fun, and they found more imaginative uses for X's upgraded weapons. Compare to X 1 where those upgraded attacks had minor effects, aside from that one area in Sigma's fortress you may want to use the Chameleon Sting's cloak to breeze through.
I agree with the people saying it's a 7/10. It's a good game, and went over well when it came out. Revisiting it here and there over the years hasn't hurt it. It has it's flaws (Zero is sort of an afterthought, some stages are a bit too long, and handful of music tracks are repetitive). The chip system was a nice touch, and earning the gold armor and z saber made you feel like a god lol. It also has a more coherent story than the previous too (not saying a whole lot, but still).
tl;dr: if you're just thinking about grabbing one mega man game, look elsewhere. By if you got X 1 and 2, you might as well grab this and finish. It's not a "5/10," and it sounds like a handful of unmet expectations for the reviewer lead to a lower score than necessary (just in my opinion).
@tysonfury made all the worse when you consider that Mass Effect Trilogy edition launched on the other consoles at nearly the same time. I understand that game pad support for all three would take effort, but what a wasted opportunity. I honestly would have bought it, and I own it and most of the dlc for 360.
The only detriment to me is that I really don't like Zexal.
While the lack of multiplayer is puzzling for a 3DS game that focuses on playing with others (especially when the DS games had wireless multiplayer), it isn't a deal breaker to me. Those DS games ran so slow over the network, and were plagued by players disconnecting (both rage quitting and server kicks), that I only went online as a novelty. I probably spent more time with e Tag Force series on PSP, which was ad-hoc only. Realistically, I spent most of my time with these games in single player as it is.
I'm curious if the loss of those GameSpy servers may have impacted the ability to implement wireless connectivity. I know 3DS wasn't generally impacted, but I wonder if there are extra development steps that Konami opted out of at the late stages of development. Anybody know about that?
I actually quite enjoy Phoenix Write on my iPad. Whether you like to "game" on your phone or not, PW games are borderline visual novels that control mostly through tapping rough dialogue, dialogue choices, and a handful of light touch screen puzzles. There is 0 superiority to playing it on a DS/3DS. The improved visuals and sharper text is a nice touch, too.
Wait, GC controller as a fight pad? With the sole exception of a Smash, that was not the best controller for fighters. It was serviceable enough, but to call it a "fight pad..."
I took a break from Dynasty Warriors after 5 (the series' swan song on PS2). So, despite the general sameness of these games, I think I'm ready for another.
@redivgamer90 But that's no different from PC. This argument is like saying Half-Life, Starcraft, Deus Ex, and Neverwinter Nights don't exist because of the existence of Facebook games and random flash mini games (many of which were precursors to ios shovelware, if not fodder for direct porting).
tl;dr- when I was fighting the Atma Weapon in FF6 over the weekend, my thought was "this is awesome, great memories." Not "lol this device I'm on only has freemium games." Nobody likes an elitist attitude.
Yea, what's with the double standard?? I listed a number of great titles on iOS, and people are willing to ignore shovelware on consoles and then act like mobile shovelware is all there is?
Again, if you think there are only "pay to win" or mindless cheap physics puzzlers on the app store, you are ignoring the presence of legit great games. Highly rated games. Final Fantasy 1-6, After Years, Dimensions, Tactics, and Dragon Quest 8 all have mobile versions. And a port of Chrono Trigger DS. FTL is highly regarded. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are the definition of epic, as is Knights of the Old Republic. X-Com: Enemy Unknown is on my iPad. The World Ends With You. Controller-enabled versions of Terraria, Bastion, R-Type 1 and 2, Metal Slug, Blazing Star. Loads of classic Cave shooters (EspGaluda 2, the Dodonpachi and Bug Princess series', Deathsmiles). Telltale's Walking Dead S1 and 2, and Wolf Among Us. The Another World remake everyone is gushing over on here? Port of the iOS version from years ago. What about updated Sonic the Hedgehog on eshop? iOS and Android had that first, full treatment to Sonic 1, 2, and CD so far with controller support for each. Upcoming HD rerelease of Phoenix Wright 1-3? Came out over a year ago on iOS.
And that's just the ports! I've also gone into titles unique to the platform.
I'm not saying mobile gaming will crush Nintendo the way some predict. Two different markets in many regards.
But, if you're going to keep chanting that mobile has no good games, just free to play crap...you're being JUST as biased as the people who claim Nintendo is worthless because it just has casual games and "kiddy crap."
@DilMan33 I don't disagree with your point about Nintendo remaining viable. Also, we have to keep in mind, it's not a 1:1 comparison like it is against, say the Vita. What is a "smart device?" You have smartphones of varying power and ability, low end readers that have ventured into tablet territory, and higher end tablets that function as portable computers more or less. It's hard (and unfair) to do a direct device sales comparison.You'd essentially be saying that all Windows, Android, and Apple phones and tablets and touch media players (IPod Touch for example) outsold the 3DS. Well of course lol!
That's why I prefer to consider those devices as offshoots of computers, rather than direct console analogs. I mean, Steam draws people away from consoles to a degree, but the console market is still making money.
I absolutely disagree with you that these devices offer no quality content. This is subjective, sure, But I listed a number of games in my earlier post, many of which are highly regarded. FTL, I fell in love with that on Steam, but consider the iPad version the definitive version. I know some people decry ports, but I in the age of virtual console, PS1/2 classics, Gog, and cross platform and even cross gen releases I really don't see the problem with options. For example, Telltale's games (Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us) are always planned for iOS, there's just usually a small delay. At first it was a month or weeks, these days sometimes it's the same week. So that's no different from the same games launching on both PC and console as well.
There are a number of games like that I love. I won't re-list them all, but just read my earlier post. There's also mobile-exclusive content that is great. Not all devs are going freemium to make a buck. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP was very enjoyable. Wayward Souls is amazing, and has controller support planned in the next update I believe. Oceanhorn, while derivative of Zelda, has great production values (including a musical score co-produced by Final Fantasy's Nobuo Uematsu!) and controller support. I play it on my iPod Touch with my Moga controller shell, and it doesn't feel much different from playing on a PSP.. Infinity Blade is basically Punch Out for the dark fantasy crowd, and the third game in particular really shines. Battleheart Legacy honestly blew me away and has very intuitive controls and a lot of depth and customization. The Chaos Rings series by Square Enix are solid classic-style jrpgs for the platform. Just to name a few.
@Link506 I agree, in so far as I prefer an android phone. I prefer my iPad due to the game selection on the app store. Which is why I jailbreak, giving me nearly the same level of customization as on my phone
@Token_Girl I think you're spot on. My son has been playing Plants vs Zombies since he was 3. It was decent math practice haha, he's quite proficient at it now. It also cost...$3? The same game cost I think $15 o Ds/DSi and looks terrible to boot (they redrew all the assets horribly low res). He also loved the Rayman runner titles. Now that he is 5 and has a feel for platformers, he's "graduated" to Rayman Origins and Legends on consoles. But when he was learning PvZ and some of the simpler iOS platformers (Paper Monsters for example), he could not grasp Mario. Again, he was 3 and 4 at that point. I think I was about his age now when I even saw a Nintendo, so the tablet gave him a head start.
@DilMan33 it's denial that people say any game you might play on a phone or tablet = angry birds. You see this quite often. To be fair, when the App Store was new, this wasn't far off. Infinity Blade and a port of Sega CD classic Vay aside, it was mostly physics puzzlers, simple swipe games, and of course the rise of freemium leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. But I have more gb worth of "real games" on my iPad than they even sell in Vita memory card sizes. Just have to know what you're looking for.
They're touch-enabled computer monitors, and you have your good games and your bad. I think the reason kids are warming up to them is because they are all purpose. Parents have smart phones and tablets, or get one for the kids. Students maybe want a tablet for school, etc. Once they have one, they wind up on the app store. Just like how many get laptops or PCs for functionality and media, then discover Steam, Gog, etc. People also forget that controllers are taking off on these, mitigating the "lol touch controls" critique. I have a Moga Pro for my phone (looks and feels more or less like a 360 controller) and the Moga Ace for my iTouch. There's a shell for iPad Mini coming soon that I can't wait to try also.
If you think of a tablet as a "tablet PC," you can see how some games are suited for it. Puzzle and tower defense are easy ones, as well as rpgs and strategies titles. The Autumn Dynasty series of strategy games are exclusive to the platform and very fun. 4x games are great (my fav being Starbase Orion, a spiritual successor to PC classic Masters of Orion). Ravenmark and Wesnoth (the latter is a PC port) are great.Mecho Wars, an Advance Wars clone, is fun, as is Great Big War Game.
Battle Heart Legacy has great depth and mobile controls. Anyone who has ever played the DS Zelda, or Star Fox, or any number of titles where everyone raved about the INTUITIVE STYLUS CONTROLS can't sit here and act like there is no room for creative input here. It's just sad when a dev simply slaps a touch dpad on a console-esque title and expects that to work. Also, everyone knows the DS was no stranger to shovelware.
But yeah, when my son is playing Spy Mouse, Plants vs Zombies, the classic Sonic games (I prefer buttons, growing up with Genesis, but they are simple enough that he doesn't have that nostalgia keeping him from doing quite well), Oceanhorn, etc, he has just as much fun as he has on the 3DS or Wii U.
And for my part, when I'm playing FTL, Baldur's Gate, Final Fantasy Tactics, King of Dragon Pass, The Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers, Dodonpachi (or any Cave shooter), a port of 3DS' Liberation Maiden, Chaos Rings II, The World Ends With You, Stealth Inc, Dokuro, Wayward Souls, VVVVVV, Infinity Blade 2 or 3Hearthstone ETC ETC ETC, nobody can tell me I'm not enjoying "real games." I can't wait for the iPad port of The Banner Saga, as I rarely have time to sit at my computer long enough to play it but I take my tablet almost everywhere. .
@Sampras I assume you are talking about Sony? I won't disagree- they are not my primary choice. I have supported their portable devices, but I haven't owned their consoles since PS2. I'm not a fanboy of any particular console brand, but I did go Wii60 last gen and have essentially just "upgraded" this gen.
That said, I do think PSN is a progressive model for digital distribution. Xbox Live trades blows with them. eShop is still finding it's footing, though it has improved a great deal from its inception, and the old Dsi/Wiiware days.
I would like to see account systems, because it is basically the industry standard. Nintendo knows this, but doesn't have the model fully in place. Think of it this way- Iwata discussed how their research showed that people who made one digital purchase would often make more, realizing the convenience of digital downloads. They push this option nearly as hard as their competitors. But without that account system in place, this option is quite limiting. The only reason my son doesn't own his own 2DS is that most of my physical games are for me- titles I've pre-ordered or collected over the years. My five year old isn't going to be playing Devil Survivor Overclocked, SMT IV, Shinobi, etc anytime soon. So basically his options on a second system are Star Fox, and in another year Ocarina. On MY system, though, we picked up Sonic Lost World, Mario 3D Land, and a host of Virtual Console games (all the old school Zelda, Mario, and Mega Man a young gamer could ask for). He can only play this content on my 3DS, rendering the second purchase moot. That's money out of Nintendo's hands that I would otherwise throw at them.
In comparison, I'm thinking about getting the Playstation TV. I downloaded Rayman Origins digitally, have a few other games he plays via PS+ (some free, some from discounts), and some kid-friendly PS1 classics. All of this from my PSP and/or Vita, and most of it (barring touch screen heavy games that won't be compatible) will be ready for download as soon as I log in to my PSN account, no hassle.
@electrolite77 you are absolutely right. If I lose or break my Vita, my games are backed up with their backup program on my hard drive and the permissions are tied to my account. The only hassle is contacting a rep to deactivate the old system in favor of the new one. Same problems with a 3DS? You're going to need a Nintendo rep to specifically cater to your need (as the infrastructure of their service doesn't address this natively) and getting your software is going to be title by title. I make manual SD card saves, but that's mainly for the sake of save data.
@dereq that sounds like reaching. Since account based games don't have any way to transfer content to other accounts, they can't take your games unless you are completely unable to recover your password. If they've hacked you to such a degree that they just now own your Steam or PSN account and related email account for verification, and (in Steam's case) possibly your cell phone for further verification...you have bigger problems than just which console you support,
@Sampras you implied that the argument being made was purely about price, and listed other factors that may matter to a buyer. Among them, you mentioned supporting certain business practices. I (admittedly in a sarcastic tone, tho no offense was meant) was pointing out that this is precisely why we speak out about that. Again I refer to Square Enix on ios. They put out two separate apps for their games for iPhone and iPad for years. And they charge $15-20 for games most companies charge $5-10. Including themselves. You'd spend $30ish bucks to buy FF Tactics War of the Lions on ios for devices, when the same game is $10 on PSN and downloadable on any compatible device with a single purchase. You don't HAVE to buy both, of course. But consumers holding off on purchases and providing feedback to the practice has lead them in recent years to adopt the Universal app model. FF IV AND after Yrs, FF V, VI, Dimensions, Dragon Quest VIII, really about everything after TWEWY Solo Edition has been a single app. Their customers expressed a desire for them to match the industry standard set forth by, basically, all of their competitors, and eventually they changed to meet this demand. Another example- Democracy 3 was a daily deal upon Steam for $7 and change. Someone pointed out that Gog was selling it for $4ish. YES to your point, there are many factors beyond price. I, myself, bought it on my iPad Mini for $10, because I wanted it portable. But someone pointing out the lower price point of a similar distribution service is helpful, not whining.
Sorry if that sounds whiney. It's just odd to me, as a multiple device owning person who frequents different sites, to see the defensive lockdown. If a game comes out in regular/HD apps for ios (meaning, two separate apps to buy if you want iPhone and iPad versions), this is noted in most reviews. The Universal build is much more common those days, and even Square Enix has adopted it (they were notorious for putting out two expensive apps rather than a universal until recently). In Nintendo's case, that's not even in the infrastructure as a possibility. Even if the publisher wanted to, they couldn't offer you a 3DS code for buying the Wii U version. I think VC is the most glaring, having to buy, rebuy, "upgrade" the same 20-30 yr old games repeatedly. In the case of a release like this, people will discuss value. And this will include deals on other platforms. If someone says they want a 360 game, and I see it on Steam flash sale, I'm going to let them know. Especially if it's a title that doesn't go on sale on Xbox. Am I insulting Microsofts entire business model, or just being a good consumer?
The device-locked vs unified account system IS Nintendo's "fault." They've also acknowledged it a number of times and claim to be working on it.
I don't know why people are getting so huffy about it. I think this is a neat game. I may skip this release, as I have it on ios. Is someone going to get offended now that I'm not throwing money at the eshop, or am I allowed as a consumer and fellow online commentator to say my personal choice without someone getting all defensive?
@Morph but it IS fair to note competitor practices and deals, etc. physical stores do it all the time. They watch competitors, make market adjustments, some store offer to meet a competitors price or coupon, etc.
One easy example- I feel bad for people who bought Angry Bird Trilogy for $30-40 (depending on platform). Getting the oldest games in that series, which retail on mobile for $1-3 bucks each...when they aren't being given away for free. The only reason I didn't impulse buy Plants vs Zombies on my Vita is that they wanted $15 and it was $3 on iPad with a free sequel alongside it,
In this case, it's fair to note that Sony is giving a free backup copy, or in general that PSNs account-based system is more lenient than eShops device-based system. If you go on a PSP and buy Final Fantasy VII, you can download that on any compatible registered system with your account. So you can play on your tv with PS3, and transfer if you upgrade to a vita. If you even just bought a new PSP you could just manage the actives in your main account, and then download your content. When I bought my 3DS XL, I had to transfer content directly from the old system to new. Buying Ninja Gaiden on VC doesn't put it in my VC account for Nintendo- I'd have to rebuy it to play on Wii or Wii U VC. I don't understand why they are separate services when the whole concept is legacy preservation. Nobody wants to buy Zelda 1 three times, come on. I haven't bought my son his own system because he's been sharing mine. We have digital games. Mario 3D Land, for example - I'm not paying another $40 for it, so he can't play it on another system. I wish I'd bought it physical so he could. As it stands, hat copy is locked to one 3DS, so it remains the community 3DS unit for the house. If their system was more in line with, well, every other company , I'd have bought him a 2DS by now.
Not to take anything away from the Wii U's capabilities, but the statement about the PS360 to their successors isn't a good parallel. They were a good deal stronger than the Wii to begin with, and their consoles have been out for a yr. Wii U has more experienced in-house devs + is being compared to a console that was (from a technical standpoint) the weakest last gen.
Comments 415
Re: Sega of America Will Be Publishing Atlus Games in North America from Now On
@OdnetninAges I don't even know where to start.
Re: Nintendo Download: 24th March (North America)
Yoshi! My son is going to flip! That'll be an upgrade fee for us lol
I'll probably grab Gunstar too.
Re: Feature: Ten Game Boy Advance Games You Should Play
So glad Ninja Five-O got some love. A very underrated game that was a staple in my old GBA Library. Another series few played that I wish had more exposure- Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation.
Re: Reggie Fils-Aime Shares Hope That Miitomo and My Nintendo Will Connect Users With Company Brand
@zool King
Re: Reggie Fils-Aime Shares Hope That Miitomo and My Nintendo Will Connect Users With Company Brand
This is all well and good, but I just want a standard account system. As opposed to the one console unless transferred nonsense. It's honestly kept me from buying my son his own 2/3DS and certain games digitally because the bulk of our content is locked to my machine. And we've all heard the horror stories of people needing to recover data in the event of a system breaking or being lost. It's a problem I don't have with Sony, Microsoft, any digital PC service I use, iOS, Google Play, or Amazon. Nintendo's policy sticks out like a sore thumb, and we just let them get away with it because, hey, Zelda and Smash are pretty fun (I'm no different, Just venting).
Re: Here's Why SNES VC Games Can Only be Played on a New 3DS
I think it makes sense, when you consider Nintendo isn't aiming to just cheaply emulate but rather to deliver a perfect replica. Emulations goal is to be playable, which is a lower benchmark. I have a couple of quality emulators on my phone from experienced devs. My phone has 2 gb of ram and a 2.7ghz quad core processor. Every game runs "pretty good" but needs some management of frame skipping and audio settings. Snes sound effects are often a little off. Games with certain chips stutter a little. Very playable, but not "perfect." The old 3ds has 128mb of ram and a dual core processor rated in MHz (I forget exactly how much). Much less powerful than a modern phone. There is an snes emulator via home brew for 3ds but it's far from perfect. Nowhere near as good as what you can get on a PSP, which itself isn't perfect.
Re: Video: Here's What Final Fantasy IX Looks Like On The New Nintendo 3DS
I'd be excited about this if, 1, I haven't had this in my PSP for years and, 2, they didn't just put out a fantastic version on mobile that I consider to be definitive. It's coming to steam soon too.
Re: Nintendo Download: 14th January (North America)
@Spoony_Tech I'm torn, and maybe a little spoiled. Space Hulk is basically on a discount here, considering it costs about $40 to get it for PS3 or Vita. However, it's only $25 on Steam... And $5 on iOS.
Re: Nintendo Download: 31st December (North America)
Whelp... Back to the Steam sale!
Re: Nintendo Download: 24th December (North America)
@crzysortagamer
It's about the seeming lack of effort on NoA's part. Compare with the European update, which brings five games and a truckload of holiday promotions, our update has half of the deals and ONE game. Call it entitled if you want, but it is the holiday and every digital store is competing right now. What's here to draw my attention from the steam winter sale, or the truckload of premium sales on the App Store? Not much.
Re: Dragon Fantasy: The Volumes of Westeria is the Next Wii U and 3DS Cross-Buy Release
@Semudara still, impressions shouldn't be hard to find. This game has been on iOS, Android, and PSN for ages. I used to play this on my first generation iPad lol
Re: Best Buy Is Cancelling Majora's Mask New 3DS XL Pre-Order Duplicates
@JellySplat the part I disagree with is how quickly they sold out. You mention in a week... Fair enough. One hour! Lol
Console aside, I think it's actually worse regarding the Majoras Mask (game) limited edition. Sold out about as fast. I was actually able to order the console, but not the game. Then, as a US citizen, i look at Europe having a bundle of the system, game, statue, and power cord... It makes one question NOA's decisions.
Re: Best Buy Is Cancelling Majora's Mask New 3DS XL Pre-Order Duplicates
It does. I just rechecked, and Witcher 3s special edition is now out of stock. It was up for a long time though. Just to compare, while the Witcher doesn't pull Zelda figures, it isn't a slouch. Witcher 2 sold around 2 mil, Ocarina 3D a little over 3 mil units I believe. That's not counting digital in either case, those are hard to track, but we're talking about interest in physical media anywanot
Some of the others I mentioned... Look at Activision. Their games tend to sell 8-10 million per platform, and nobodyhads much difficulty ordering their special editions or console bundle promotions if they want them. These things tend to be limited in that they won't be reprinted, not in that they were gated to whoever wasn't at work for one hour on a specific day. Can we agree that this stuff selling out in one hr is a failure on their part?
It reminds me of the Wii. My experience buying an Xbox 360: I walked into Gamestop and bought one. Ditto my PS3. Wii? Six month epic treasure hunt after my pre-order was cancelled by an overwhelmed retailer lol
Re: Best Buy Is Cancelling Majora's Mask New 3DS XL Pre-Orders
@JellySplat my problem with the logic of "well they're limited editions" is that it was too limited. Just like the special edition of the game itself. Compare with, say, Witcher 3. I believe you can still go directly to their site and order the limited edition with significant physical bonuses, and that's been up for months. A number of triple A titles have their special editions up for sale on their main sites AFTER release. There should be a limited order window to gauge demand, not an artificial stock number that won't survive an hour.
Re: Nintendo Download: 8th January (North America)
Shantae is now at the price I expected it to be (and what it honestly should be, considering there's an upgraded console version with no cross buy support at this point). I'm going to go ahead and pick that up.
Re: Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World
No two player is a big problem, especially as a console release. I already have the original, and play with my son. I would get this in a heartbeat on 3DS...but Nintendo would rather these portable games be blown up on our HD TV's lol. I don't get it. Honestly I bought Golden Sun as a show of support, then promptly emulated it on my phone (dumped my rom ages ago due to a failing system).
Re: Nintendo Download: 1st January (Europe)
I wish Sacred Stones would get proper support on 3DS, with standard VC features
Re: Review: Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance (Wii U eShop / Game Boy Advance)
A fair and measured review! To me, this game suffers from middle child syndrome. CotM was the game I bought with my GBA, and it was a whole new level for portable gaming. Aria, of course, was a late-gen game that pushed the hardware to the edge. Harmony is a solid action adventure title, but with the bland score and Juste looking like Alucard with a coat, it came off feeling like a half-step. It lacks the nostalgia of Circle and the technical masterpiece of Aria. That said, it only disappoints when compared to its siblings. Judged fairly on its own merits, it IS one of the best games on the GBA.
Re: Iwata Cites "Same-Generation Hypothesis" For Strong Smash Bros. And Pokémon Performance
And Halo: The Master Chief Collection is generating buzz as well (compared to, say, the Metro and Sleeping Dogs upgrades). Nostalgia sells.
Re: Review: Paper Monsters Recut (Wii U eShop)
I've had this on iPad for years. Great game, my son loves the heck out of it.
Re: Nintendo Download: 16th October (Europe)
So, Donkey Kong Country...returns?
...I'll see myself out
Re: Nintendo 64x64: Conker's Bad Fur Day
Forget Goldeneye, THIS was my friends' go to multi-player game!
Interesting note, Conker recently appeared on a list of franchises Microsoft (who owns these rights, via Rare) may be looking to revive. Killer Instinct did well, so they seem to be looking at the Rare catalog and may bring back Conker and Banjo.
Re: Review: Mega Man X3 (Wii U eShop / Super Nintendo)
I'm picking it up soon. My son is still playing X2, so after that. I do genuinely like X3. I also like X4 and 5 (kinda fell off at 6). Honestly, I don't get the hate for 3, which I didn't even know was a thing! I thought the new tweaks to the armor parts where fun, and they found more imaginative uses for X's upgraded weapons. Compare to X 1 where those upgraded attacks had minor effects, aside from that one area in Sigma's fortress you may want to use the Chameleon Sting's cloak to breeze through.
Re: Review: Mega Man X3 (Wii U eShop / Super Nintendo)
I agree with the people saying it's a 7/10. It's a good game, and went over well when it came out. Revisiting it here and there over the years hasn't hurt it. It has it's flaws (Zero is sort of an afterthought, some stages are a bit too long, and handful of music tracks are repetitive). The chip system was a nice touch, and earning the gold armor and z saber made you feel like a god lol. It also has a more coherent story than the previous too (not saying a whole lot, but still).
tl;dr: if you're just thinking about grabbing one mega man game, look elsewhere. By if you got X 1 and 2, you might as well grab this and finish. It's not a "5/10," and it sounds like a handful of unmet expectations for the reviewer lead to a lower score than necessary (just in my opinion).
Re: Watch Dogs Will be the Only "Mature" Ubisoft Game on Wii U in Upcoming Lineup
@tysonfury made all the worse when you consider that Mass Effect Trilogy edition launched on the other consoles at nearly the same time. I understand that game pad support for all three would take effort, but what a wasted opportunity. I honestly would have bought it, and I own it and most of the dlc for 360.
Re: Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal World Duel Carnival (3DS)
The only detriment to me is that I really don't like Zexal.
While the lack of multiplayer is puzzling for a 3DS game that focuses on playing with others (especially when the DS games had wireless multiplayer), it isn't a deal breaker to me. Those DS games ran so slow over the network, and were plagued by players disconnecting (both rage quitting and server kicks), that I only went online as a novelty. I probably spent more time with e Tag Force series on PSP, which was ad-hoc only. Realistically, I spent most of my time with these games in single player as it is.
I'm curious if the loss of those GameSpy servers may have impacted the ability to implement wireless connectivity. I know 3DS wasn't generally impacted, but I wonder if there are extra development steps that Konami opted out of at the late stages of development. Anybody know about that?
Re: Capcom Releases Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies on iOS, at a Lower Price
I actually quite enjoy Phoenix Write on my iPad. Whether you like to "game" on your phone or not, PW games are borderline visual novels that control mostly through tapping rough dialogue, dialogue choices, and a handful of light touch screen puzzles. There is 0 superiority to playing it on a DS/3DS. The improved visuals and sharper text is a nice touch, too.
Re: Nintendo Download: 7th August (North America)
Cybernator makes me sad, because I've played Assaults Suits Valken.
Re: PDP GameCube-Styled Wired Fight Pad For Wii U and Wii Listed With November Release Date
Wait, GC controller as a fight pad? With the sole exception of a Smash, that was not the best controller for fighters. It was serviceable enough, but to call it a "fight pad..."
Re: Atlus Teases New Game Announcements Plus Brand New IP
Devil Survivor 2: Break Record please!
Re: Review: Guacamelee! Super Turbo Championship Edition (Wii U eShop)
This was going to be a day one purchase for me. Then my xbox gave it to me for free lol
Re: First Impressions: Hyrule Warriors Is Zelda, But Not As We Know It
I took a break from Dynasty Warriors after 5 (the series' swan song on PS2). So, despite the general sameness of these games, I think I'm ready for another.
Re: Stats Suggest That UK Kids Are More Likely To Game On A Tablet Than A Nintendo 3DS
@redivgamer90 But that's no different from PC. This argument is like saying Half-Life, Starcraft, Deus Ex, and Neverwinter Nights don't exist because of the existence of Facebook games and random flash mini games (many of which were precursors to ios shovelware, if not fodder for direct porting).
Re: Review: Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark (3DS)
Had me at "Super Robot Wars"
Re: Stats Suggest That UK Kids Are More Likely To Game On A Tablet Than A Nintendo 3DS
tl;dr- when I was fighting the Atma Weapon in FF6 over the weekend, my thought was "this is awesome, great memories." Not "lol this device I'm on only has freemium games." Nobody likes an elitist attitude.
Re: Stats Suggest That UK Kids Are More Likely To Game On A Tablet Than A Nintendo 3DS
Yea, what's with the double standard?? I listed a number of great titles on iOS, and people are willing to ignore shovelware on consoles and then act like mobile shovelware is all there is?
Again, if you think there are only "pay to win" or mindless cheap physics puzzlers on the app store, you are ignoring the presence of legit great games. Highly rated games. Final Fantasy 1-6, After Years, Dimensions, Tactics, and Dragon Quest 8 all have mobile versions. And a port of Chrono Trigger DS. FTL is highly regarded. Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 are the definition of epic, as is Knights of the Old Republic. X-Com: Enemy Unknown is on my iPad. The World Ends With You. Controller-enabled versions of Terraria, Bastion, R-Type 1 and 2, Metal Slug, Blazing Star. Loads of classic Cave shooters (EspGaluda 2, the Dodonpachi and Bug Princess series', Deathsmiles). Telltale's Walking Dead S1 and 2, and Wolf Among Us. The Another World remake everyone is gushing over on here? Port of the iOS version from years ago. What about updated Sonic the Hedgehog on eshop? iOS and Android had that first, full treatment to Sonic 1, 2, and CD so far with controller support for each. Upcoming HD rerelease of Phoenix Wright 1-3? Came out over a year ago on iOS.
And that's just the ports! I've also gone into titles unique to the platform.
I'm not saying mobile gaming will crush Nintendo the way some predict. Two different markets in many regards.
But, if you're going to keep chanting that mobile has no good games, just free to play crap...you're being JUST as biased as the people who claim Nintendo is worthless because it just has casual games and "kiddy crap."
Re: Stats Suggest That UK Kids Are More Likely To Game On A Tablet Than A Nintendo 3DS
@DilMan33 I don't disagree with your point about Nintendo remaining viable. Also, we have to keep in mind, it's not a 1:1 comparison like it is against, say the Vita. What is a "smart device?" You have smartphones of varying power and ability, low end readers that have ventured into tablet territory, and higher end tablets that function as portable computers more or less. It's hard (and unfair) to do a direct device sales comparison.You'd essentially be saying that all Windows, Android, and Apple phones and tablets and touch media players (IPod Touch for example) outsold the 3DS. Well of course lol!
That's why I prefer to consider those devices as offshoots of computers, rather than direct console analogs. I mean, Steam draws people away from consoles to a degree, but the console market is still making money.
I absolutely disagree with you that these devices offer no quality content. This is subjective, sure, But I listed a number of games in my earlier post, many of which are highly regarded. FTL, I fell in love with that on Steam, but consider the iPad version the definitive version. I know some people decry ports, but I in the age of virtual console, PS1/2 classics, Gog, and cross platform and even cross gen releases I really don't see the problem with options. For example, Telltale's games (Walking Dead, Wolf Among Us) are always planned for iOS, there's just usually a small delay. At first it was a month or weeks, these days sometimes it's the same week. So that's no different from the same games launching on both PC and console as well.
There are a number of games like that I love. I won't re-list them all, but just read my earlier post. There's also mobile-exclusive content that is great. Not all devs are going freemium to make a buck. Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP was very enjoyable. Wayward Souls is amazing, and has controller support planned in the next update I believe. Oceanhorn, while derivative of Zelda, has great production values (including a musical score co-produced by Final Fantasy's Nobuo Uematsu!) and controller support. I play it on my iPod Touch with my Moga controller shell, and it doesn't feel much different from playing on a PSP.. Infinity Blade is basically Punch Out for the dark fantasy crowd, and the third game in particular really shines. Battleheart Legacy honestly blew me away and has very intuitive controls and a lot of depth and customization. The Chaos Rings series by Square Enix are solid classic-style jrpgs for the platform. Just to name a few.
Re: Stats Suggest That UK Kids Are More Likely To Game On A Tablet Than A Nintendo 3DS
@Link506 I agree, in so far as I prefer an android phone. I prefer my iPad due to the game selection on the app store. Which is why I jailbreak, giving me nearly the same level of customization as on my phone
@Token_Girl I think you're spot on. My son has been playing Plants vs Zombies since he was 3. It was decent math practice haha, he's quite proficient at it now. It also cost...$3? The same game cost I think $15 o Ds/DSi and looks terrible to boot (they redrew all the assets horribly low res). He also loved the Rayman runner titles. Now that he is 5 and has a feel for platformers, he's "graduated" to Rayman Origins and Legends on consoles. But when he was learning PvZ and some of the simpler iOS platformers (Paper Monsters for example), he could not grasp Mario. Again, he was 3 and 4 at that point. I think I was about his age now when I even saw a Nintendo, so the tablet gave him a head start.
Re: Stats Suggest That UK Kids Are More Likely To Game On A Tablet Than A Nintendo 3DS
@DilMan33 it's denial that people say any game you might play on a phone or tablet = angry birds. You see this quite often. To be fair, when the App Store was new, this wasn't far off. Infinity Blade and a port of Sega CD classic Vay aside, it was mostly physics puzzlers, simple swipe games, and of course the rise of freemium leaves a bad taste in everyone's mouth. But I have more gb worth of "real games" on my iPad than they even sell in Vita memory card sizes. Just have to know what you're looking for.
Re: Stats Suggest That UK Kids Are More Likely To Game On A Tablet Than A Nintendo 3DS
They're touch-enabled computer monitors, and you have your good games and your bad. I think the reason kids are warming up to them is because they are all purpose. Parents have smart phones and tablets, or get one for the kids. Students maybe want a tablet for school, etc. Once they have one, they wind up on the app store. Just like how many get laptops or PCs for functionality and media, then discover Steam, Gog, etc. People also forget that controllers are taking off on these, mitigating the "lol touch controls" critique. I have a Moga Pro for my phone (looks and feels more or less like a 360 controller) and the Moga Ace for my iTouch. There's a shell for iPad Mini coming soon that I can't wait to try also.
If you think of a tablet as a "tablet PC," you can see how some games are suited for it. Puzzle and tower defense are easy ones, as well as rpgs and strategies titles. The Autumn Dynasty series of strategy games are exclusive to the platform and very fun. 4x games are great (my fav being Starbase Orion, a spiritual successor to PC classic Masters of Orion). Ravenmark and Wesnoth (the latter is a PC port) are great.Mecho Wars, an Advance Wars clone, is fun, as is Great Big War Game.
Battle Heart Legacy has great depth and mobile controls. Anyone who has ever played the DS Zelda, or Star Fox, or any number of titles where everyone raved about the INTUITIVE STYLUS CONTROLS can't sit here and act like there is no room for creative input here. It's just sad when a dev simply slaps a touch dpad on a console-esque title and expects that to work. Also, everyone knows the DS was no stranger to shovelware.
But yeah, when my son is playing Spy Mouse, Plants vs Zombies, the classic Sonic games (I prefer buttons, growing up with Genesis, but they are simple enough that he doesn't have that nostalgia keeping him from doing quite well), Oceanhorn, etc, he has just as much fun as he has on the 3DS or Wii U.
And for my part, when I'm playing FTL, Baldur's Gate, Final Fantasy Tactics, King of Dragon Pass, The Walking Dead and Wolf Among Us, Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers, Dodonpachi (or any Cave shooter), a port of 3DS' Liberation Maiden, Chaos Rings II, The World Ends With You, Stealth Inc, Dokuro, Wayward Souls, VVVVVV, Infinity Blade 2 or 3Hearthstone ETC ETC ETC, nobody can tell me I'm not enjoying "real games." I can't wait for the iPad port of The Banner Saga, as I rarely have time to sit at my computer long enough to play it but I take my tablet almost everywhere. .
Re: Two Separate Bayonetta 2 Retail Releases Confirmed for Europe
Disc version for me. I don't think my HD can survive two downloads. I made that mistake on my Vita with a digital purchase of FF X/X-2 HD lol
Re: Review: Another World - 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U eShop)
@Sampras I assume you are talking about Sony? I won't disagree- they are not my primary choice. I have supported their portable devices, but I haven't owned their consoles since PS2. I'm not a fanboy of any particular console brand, but I did go Wii60 last gen and have essentially just "upgraded" this gen.
That said, I do think PSN is a progressive model for digital distribution. Xbox Live trades blows with them. eShop is still finding it's footing, though it has improved a great deal from its inception, and the old Dsi/Wiiware days.
I would like to see account systems, because it is basically the industry standard. Nintendo knows this, but doesn't have the model fully in place. Think of it this way- Iwata discussed how their research showed that people who made one digital purchase would often make more, realizing the convenience of digital downloads. They push this option nearly as hard as their competitors. But without that account system in place, this option is quite limiting. The only reason my son doesn't own his own 2DS is that most of my physical games are for me- titles I've pre-ordered or collected over the years. My five year old isn't going to be playing Devil Survivor Overclocked, SMT IV, Shinobi, etc anytime soon. So basically his options on a second system are Star Fox, and in another year Ocarina. On MY system, though, we picked up Sonic Lost World, Mario 3D Land, and a host of Virtual Console games (all the old school Zelda, Mario, and Mega Man a young gamer could ask for). He can only play this content on my 3DS, rendering the second purchase moot. That's money out of Nintendo's hands that I would otherwise throw at them.
In comparison, I'm thinking about getting the Playstation TV. I downloaded Rayman Origins digitally, have a few other games he plays via PS+ (some free, some from discounts), and some kid-friendly PS1 classics. All of this from my PSP and/or Vita, and most of it (barring touch screen heavy games that won't be compatible) will be ready for download as soon as I log in to my PSN account, no hassle.
@electrolite77 you are absolutely right. If I lose or break my Vita, my games are backed up with their backup program on my hard drive and the permissions are tied to my account. The only hassle is contacting a rep to deactivate the old system in favor of the new one. Same problems with a 3DS? You're going to need a Nintendo rep to specifically cater to your need (as the infrastructure of their service doesn't address this natively) and getting your software is going to be title by title. I make manual SD card saves, but that's mainly for the sake of save data.
Re: Review: Another World - 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U eShop)
@dereq that sounds like reaching. Since account based games don't have any way to transfer content to other accounts, they can't take your games unless you are completely unable to recover your password. If they've hacked you to such a degree that they just now own your Steam or PSN account and related email account for verification, and (in Steam's case) possibly your cell phone for further verification...you have bigger problems than just which console you support,
Re: Review: Another World - 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U eShop)
@Sampras you implied that the argument being made was purely about price, and listed other factors that may matter to a buyer. Among them, you mentioned supporting certain business practices. I (admittedly in a sarcastic tone, tho no offense was meant) was pointing out that this is precisely why we speak out about that. Again I refer to Square Enix on ios. They put out two separate apps for their games for iPhone and iPad for years. And they charge $15-20 for games most companies charge $5-10. Including themselves. You'd spend $30ish bucks to buy FF Tactics War of the Lions on ios for devices, when the same game is $10 on PSN and downloadable on any compatible device with a single purchase. You don't HAVE to buy both, of course. But consumers holding off on purchases and providing feedback to the practice has lead them in recent years to adopt the Universal app model. FF IV AND after Yrs, FF V, VI, Dimensions, Dragon Quest VIII, really about everything after TWEWY Solo Edition has been a single app. Their customers expressed a desire for them to match the industry standard set forth by, basically, all of their competitors, and eventually they changed to meet this demand.
Another example- Democracy 3 was a daily deal upon Steam for $7 and change. Someone pointed out that Gog was selling it for $4ish. YES to your point, there are many factors beyond price. I, myself, bought it on my iPad Mini for $10, because I wanted it portable. But someone pointing out the lower price point of a similar distribution service is helpful, not whining.
Re: Review: Another World - 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U eShop)
@Sampras "supporting certain business practices." Nail on the head, thanks for making our point!
Re: Review: Another World - 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U eShop)
Sorry if that sounds whiney. It's just odd to me, as a multiple device owning person who frequents different sites, to see the defensive lockdown. If a game comes out in regular/HD apps for ios (meaning, two separate apps to buy if you want iPhone and iPad versions), this is noted in most reviews. The Universal build is much more common those days, and even Square Enix has adopted it (they were notorious for putting out two expensive apps rather than a universal until recently). In Nintendo's case, that's not even in the infrastructure as a possibility. Even if the publisher wanted to, they couldn't offer you a 3DS code for buying the Wii U version. I think VC is the most glaring, having to buy, rebuy, "upgrade" the same 20-30 yr old games repeatedly. In the case of a release like this, people will discuss value. And this will include deals on other platforms. If someone says they want a 360 game, and I see it on Steam flash sale, I'm going to let them know. Especially if it's a title that doesn't go on sale on Xbox. Am I insulting Microsofts entire business model, or just being a good consumer?
Re: Review: Another World - 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U eShop)
The device-locked vs unified account system IS Nintendo's "fault." They've also acknowledged it a number of times and claim to be working on it.
I don't know why people are getting so huffy about it. I think this is a neat game. I may skip this release, as I have it on ios. Is someone going to get offended now that I'm not throwing money at the eshop, or am I allowed as a consumer and fellow online commentator to say my personal choice without someone getting all defensive?
Re: Review: Another World - 20th Anniversary Edition (Wii U eShop)
@Morph but it IS fair to note competitor practices and deals, etc. physical stores do it all the time. They watch competitors, make market adjustments, some store offer to meet a competitors price or coupon, etc.
One easy example- I feel bad for people who bought Angry Bird Trilogy for $30-40 (depending on platform). Getting the oldest games in that series, which retail on mobile for $1-3 bucks each...when they aren't being given away for free. The only reason I didn't impulse buy Plants vs Zombies on my Vita is that they wanted $15 and it was $3 on iPad with a free sequel alongside it,
In this case, it's fair to note that Sony is giving a free backup copy, or in general that PSNs account-based system is more lenient than eShops device-based system. If you go on a PSP and buy Final Fantasy VII, you can download that on any compatible registered system with your account. So you can play on your tv with PS3, and transfer if you upgrade to a vita. If you even just bought a new PSP you could just manage the actives in your main account, and then download your content. When I bought my 3DS XL, I had to transfer content directly from the old system to new. Buying Ninja Gaiden on VC doesn't put it in my VC account for Nintendo- I'd have to rebuy it to play on Wii or Wii U VC. I don't understand why they are separate services when the whole concept is legacy preservation. Nobody wants to buy Zelda 1 three times, come on. I haven't bought my son his own system because he's been sharing mine. We have digital games. Mario 3D Land, for example - I'm not paying another $40 for it, so he can't play it on another system. I wish I'd bought it physical so he could. As it stands, hat copy is locked to one 3DS, so it remains the community 3DS unit for the house. If their system was more in line with, well, every other company , I'd have bought him a 2DS by now.
Re: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy Case Begins on 3DS eShop in Winter 2014
I may skip this, as I have the iOS trilogy release. Glad it's coming out, though!
Re: Video: Check Out This Mario Kart 8 And Mario Kart Wii Moo Moo Meadows Comparison
Not to take anything away from the Wii U's capabilities, but the statement about the PS360 to their successors isn't a good parallel. They were a good deal stronger than the Wii to begin with, and their consoles have been out for a yr. Wii U has more experienced in-house devs + is being compared to a console that was (from a technical standpoint) the weakest last gen.