Linkuini

Call me pessimistic, but if that's the full set of features, it sounds like this is going to be an early example of phoning in an old game and just adding some 3D effects as an afterthought. Still, nice to hear they're bringing back the boss fights from Space Bust-a-Move. Those were cool.

Well, if these achievements are actually compelling people to, say, attempt to beat Mega Man 9 without taking damage, that's a pretty sinister end by itself.

I kinda like Nintendo's point too. I didn't need any reward to feel like I'd achieved something in Super Mario 64 DS by making Yoshi lay a cubical egg. If a little noticed popped up to tell me I'd unlocked an achievement, some of the magic wouldn't be there. It would feel like less of a discovery if it just got ticked off a little list, where it shared space with "Got 5 Stars!" and other stuff that we only do because the game tells us to.

Well, I'm glad Bob the Goldfish wasn't like this in Earthworm Jim.

I actually didn't like the new art style at first, but I read in a developer interview that it was intended to compliment the swordfighting better.

Wind Waker's art style wouldn't work as well because players would have a hard time connecting their own movements with those of a stubby-armed, huge-headed kid. The grittier look of Twilight Princess would make it too difficult to make enemies' weak points stand out (without just making them all exceptionally disgusting ).

From that standpoint, it seems to me like this style is the best fit for the game after all.

Oh, please. Do you all really think Gaijin Games would cap off the series with something as simple as a mirrored version of its first installment? I have a feeling that we'll be surprised and very confused when more details emerge.

For me, the moment that sticks out is scrolling through the results of the "Sports" theme contest in WarioWare D.I.Y. and seeing my microgame, "Carted Off", in the list among the other downloadable entrants. Anyone else get a game published by Nintendo this year? Maybe someday I'll make PlayPasta a real game company...

Ouch! I'm not even a fan of EA, but I don't think the reason they're losing money on Wii is because of universally poor quality. Would we all be saying the same thing if we heard something like this from Marvelous, the people responsible for games like Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Little King's Story? The latter of which was a critical darling made with involvement from Cing, which brought us some gems Nintendo published themselves and is now bankrupt? It's a harsh market, however you look at it.

In fact, I don't even know who to blame for all this. I know about dozens of third-party games I would like to buy; I've seen ads, read pages of sparkling critical praise, and played demos. Yet, given the price of steadily advancing technology and even the time it takes to play through one of today's games, I have to leave so many on the shelf no matter how lovingly crafted and aggressively marketed it is. And I don't think I'm alone.

Lowering prices for games and hardware would ease the pain a little, but it would also inevitably result in smaller development budgets. Inspired gameplay and imaginative presentation are historically good substitutes for astronomical production values and hours of content, but we can't count on every café-based one-man development studio to demonstrate this. Third-parties with potential for greatness are just as likely (if not more likely) to be lost in a crowd of mediocre app-makers as they are to be overshadowed by a celebrated developer like Nintendo. Besides, even if Apple's business model is working, that isn't the game industry's cue to abandon large-scale productions like the ones Nintendo is famous for in favor of condensed gameplay concepts that can fit into a tight budget and schedule. Alas, this takes us right back where we started: good third-party output going to waste because we just can't afford it most of the time.

I already smell the burning logs. Or maybe that's just the sarcasm wafting from that article.
This doesn't actually look too bad for what it does. Then again, if the preview and comments about it are this funny, I can't wait 'til it gets roasted in the reviews.

Sora? Squall? Cloud? They'd just drag everything down. Don't listen to them, Square Enix, angst and sports taste horrible together!

So, yeah, those clips have me intrigued. Cactuar's special move is hilarious.

Funny that he should mention DQIX. I often try using its tag mode feature in densely populated areas and find that nobody else is doing it. You know what they are doing? Playing games on iPhones. Or on BLACKBERRIES! I thought to myself that I would probably be able to "canvass more guests" if DQIX were an iPhone game (may Yuji Horii forbid such a travesty). That's what made me realize that, yes, Apple is indeed a factor in the games industry, especially in the demographic Nintendo's going after.

And as stated above, Reggie's comparison between Angry Birds and Dragon Quest doesn't prove a thing. It's like comparing apples to oranges – or Apple's to Nintendo's, in this case. Ahaha... ha... and I'll leave now.

The dungeons are also more engaging than what you find in a real Final Fantasy game, too. It's so much more fun poking around a tricky maze using Zelda-style equipment to advance without having to worry that each step brings you closer to another spontaneous fight that'll eat up the health and magic points you're trying to save for the boss at the end.

Game's got more charm, too. RPG fans who are bored with the same old static monsters will appreciate how the ones in Mystic Quest change appearance as they take damage. Not only is it priceless to see a Gorgon go bald before you finish her off, but it also clues you in to how close you are to beating a boss with lots of HP.

So while I agree that Mystic Quest is a good pick for players new to RPGs, I also recommend it if you feel like playing an RPG but are hesitant to put up with some of the genre's more bothersome tropes.

Will this whole game really fit in a teensy DS game card?

Well, the concept and presentation look like "A" material to me already. Stickmen Studios would have to ruinously fumble the execution to make this anywhere near as bad as their previous WiiWare output.

That's nothing: I saw a photo of the rubble that used to be my preschool a while ago. I'm over it though. Still, it did come to mind when I saw this, which speaks for itself, I guess.

Kinda reminds me of Dewey's Adventure. This looks a lot more sophisticated though. Hopefully keeping a big pile of liquid together will be easy enough not to distract from some of the neat levels on display in that trailer.

Thanks! I bet this will work great for my records in WarioWare D.I.Y. and the sound files for my custom Bangai-O stages. Maybe now they'll be audible when I play them back.

Pfft. I don't care what anyone says. To me, Sonic Unleashed proved that there's a Sonic game that can stand toe-to-toe with a Mario game. But yeah, I hope they start making it soon.

Say, anyone play Carted Off yet? That's a game I made that's available under the "Sports" themed design contest. Incidentally, I'm polishing up the art in a Sonic-themed microgame, but you play as Eggman in a rolling machine with mounted turrets, so... I kind of doubt Prosody would be a fan of it.

Oh, come on, is it that hard to tell that the thing on the water-type's belly is an oyster (pretty sure that's the right mollusk) shell? Could we all get over ourselves please?

I don't consider this either art or pornography. My stance is that it is an overreaction to even call this a debate, for however it concerns the quality and overall effect of the game. Of course, the exception is if this is simply a less drastic example used to make conversation which would be very applicable in a more extreme scenario. In that case, I have heard of a few games that offer censored and uncensored graphics, but much of the time that's more of a joke than anything else. Come to think of it, that kind of says something in itself, doesn't it?

I don't think it'll be the same as SMG just because it's part of the same genre, has good graphics, and also looks fun. For starters, it seems to be more vehicle-based. It certainly seems to show how much of a shock it is when a third-party developer starts making something this promising, though.

This seems to be a whole different genre from Endless Ocean, actually.

Whoa! Has anyone played this? Looks pretty awesome from the trailer, and I was ready to dismiss it for the cutesy anime characters and the title that seems to have nothing to do with the game!

Also, the name of this studio reminds me of the Grolgoth from Rayman 2. Weird.

No more Mario Party! It's been running out of steam ever since we were allowed to play as Birdo!

If it's possible to reinvent the party genre, I'd like to see it. Despite insisting to ignore Miis, this game actually seems more interesting and ambitious than many games I've seen with "Party" in the name. Go for it, Hudson!

The way this article harps on how everything Miyamoto says can be turned into a rumor makes it sound like you guys are parodying yourselves or something. Which is awesome, by the way.

The amazing online features were what made it worth upgrading to the fourth generation of Pokémon. I'm hoping they'll have something that big for this next one, otherwise this series just isn't worth the effort it takes to keep up with it.

I just added a view to a kitten video. God forgive me.

I didn't watch the kitty video, but it can't be as good as "Hello World". It had that same combination of creepy and hilarious that made World of Goo so... interesting. Note to self: try out the 10-second games in the Experimental Gameplay link at next available opportunity.

I think the part at the end was supposed to make you think the controls were busted as an April Fool's joke. Not sure, though.

Actually, Rowdy Rodimus, I interpreted "genre-defining" as a word applied to a game considered one of the best that a genre has to offer, rather than inventing the genre in the first place, and that seems to be this game's level of recognition. As such, while I'm not a strategy buff myself (I get headaches trying to remember how castling works in chess ), this game would probably be the one that would convince me to dip my toe in the genre. That's the kind of game that deserves a 10, I think.

You gotta hand it to High Voltage Software; so many of their games either cancelled or released to lukewarm response but they still try hard enough to make us pay attention when they come up with something new. Someday we'll play something truly awesome from them, the only question is how soon...

For me, SMB3 just barely edges out SMW thanks to its tighter focus on nail-biting action (still the most fun a gamer can have on an airship), but there's plenty to be said for the intricacy and scope of SMW: the incentive to poke around each level is unparalleled to this day.

The fact that so many of us consider Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario 64 DS to be low points just speaks for how great this series is. Actually, Sonic's kinda similar now that I think about it. Except he gets torn up by his "fans" if Sega even hints that they're trying something new with him. (No offense, James, I'm just talking about the ones that kept panning Sonic 4 before we had any more than a 12-second teaser for it) No wonder he keeps trying to get into games with Mario.

Cool, something's actually happening in this video. Good to see they haven't lost track of the action amidst all the pretty graphics and slightly deeper plot. Not worried about this one.

I think I saw this news already. In fact, it may have been on Wikipedia. To be fair, though, we all know how much trust to invest there.

You mean snoopy Japanese press, right Metroid_Fan?

I've never played a Suda51 game since all the ones I've seen from him so far are either really good but M-rated, or just T-rated but mediocre (that's okay, of course, considering he tries so many new things that they can't all turn out brilliant).

Getting this as soon as possible. Depending on how many microgames I make, I may even gift the Showcase to my friends. Then they, too shall hear my amateurish game music remixes and play such gems as "Sniper No Sniping"!

Whoa, did you hear that? That's the kind of musical update that should have been in Cave Story.

"Modern Urban Combat"? Brilliant! For a second I thought it might have been part of the Modern Warfare Series! Plus, they claim it's a new game exclusively for Wii when it's already out in another country where nobody seems to want to remember it! Best! Video Game Scam! Ever!

Gee Corbie, are you hogging the good ones or what?

Anyway, I couldn't care less about the glitched maps in this game; you have to stop the action to bring them up, they don't tell you where you actually are, and it hurts my eyes to look at them in the first place. They might as well be mislabeled, upside-down, and stained with ketchup for all I care, because I can hardly read 'em anyway.

Oh, and for the record, I have no problem with Balrog's Kool-Aid man impression. None at all.

Trash talk? Compared to the usual stuff, this is practically a friendly greeting!

Even with the logistical issues we've named already, just considering it as a game mechanic makes it sound like the most annoying thing to get stuck on since those button-mashing challenges in Star Fox Adventures! With any luck, Nintendo will think of its earlier successes and use the Vitality Sensor to, say, measure one's pulse. We don't have to weigh every new idea in terms of Zelda, you know.

So what happens if you just take your finger out of the thing? Does your character lose their pulse and collapse? Ugh, this is starting to get out of hand.

Even with the kind of creativity that dreamed up the Wii in the first place, this seems like a really silly thing to have to buy when the vast majority of game developers still haven't really embrace MotionPlus.

I hope these don't go away really soon since I'm planning on getting the game a couple weeks after release. I wonder if they'll be archived on the Showcase like the downloadable puzzles in Picross DS. That would be nice.

I'm glad he thought to say that. Seeing how the games and characters he created have evolved, you just can't ignore the people keeping them up to the same standards he established (and by no narrow margin!). Certainly a proud moment for Nintendo, and probably the whole game industry.

Better suited to WiiWare than retail anyhow. Still, there are enough games similar to this for free on the internet that Hudson will have to pull out a few tricks to make this worth anybody's attention.

Every now and then, it's nice to remember the things that don't make us feel jealous of Japan.

Would I still like this game even though I hate Castlevania Dracula X? Because this one would have to be a lot better. The review mentioned good level design – perhaps the levels in Rondo of Blood are better suited for a character as aggravatingly slow as Richter than the ones in Dracula X?

Err, just so we're clear, technically the community rules page says we're only allowed to post in English. Given the context, though, is this page a reasonable exception?

I'm creeped out by that mustache guy and his eyebrows, if anything.