In terms of earlier appearances, I think Dion Blaster from 1080° Snowboarding needs to be acknowledged. To my knowledge he was the first "realistic" (not cartoon) Black character playable in a Nintendo game. An article about him and Black characters in the 1080° and Wave Race series in general can be found here: https://spielkritik.com/2017/09/15/black-characters-in-games-folge-2-dion-blaster-in-1080-snowboarding/ (It's in German, but you can use Google Translate.) Also the Black US-President(!) from Perfect Dark is worth mentioning. If you want to count that as a "Nintendo" game.
The article says: " Users will be able to add funds to their accounts until March 27th, 2018; after that, you won’t be able to buy games from the shop on either the Wii or the Wii U."
So doesn't that mean that you able to add AND SPEND funds until March 27th, 2018? And after that date, you'll merely be able to re-download what you already have? Or is that a translation error?
Schlag den Star is technically not a quiz show. Only a small proportion of the show, maybe 30 percent, revolve around knowledge and answering questions. The other games require skill or are sports adaptions. So I'd assume we should expect a mini-game collection rather than a quiz show. In fact, there were already several adaptions of this show, then called Schlag den Raab, for the Wii. AFAIK they were quite successful, with altogether three installments released.
Not bad! I'd definitively go for 1080p@30fps, as in a title in the Warriors-series, frame rate hardly affects the gameplay, and personally I wouldn't even care if it should occasionally drop below a solid 30fps. 60fps give certain games a nice classy feel, but the mass battles of Fire Emblem warriors should profit more from the higher resolution. But it's nice they included the alternative, as a good number of players seem to prefer the 720p@60fps option.
OMG Excitebike 64 finally! Hope it's coming to Europe soon. The best racing game on the N64. ...and I hope it'll be followed by releases of ExciteTrucks and ExciteBots.
It's not among my favorites in the series, but as I don't own a copy myself, I may give this version another try if it goes on sale one day or a My Nintendo based reduction.
It's hard to imagine that Nintendo would release the console without touch screen support or some very good substitute. The touch technology is cheap compared to other components and it would allow fort some sort of compatibility with WiiU and DS games/ports, as well as mobile device ports.
I'm wondering in how far the controllers could have motion controll support. The guy in the airplane seems to use both controller parts separately and indeed they could work like a wiimote and a nunchuck, something I always imagined and wished for.
I enjoyed this game very much, but to me its biggest problem is its very basic photo scoring method. Sure, you are free to take photos in any way you like, but in terms of highscores Pokemon Snap doesn't honor creativity or even the simplest rules of aesthetics. Get the Pokemon in the middle of the photo, and as large as possible. That's pretty much all. Sure, I understand that any more sophisticated system would have been a huge challenge to the programmers, so I cannot really see how this could have been improved. But still, it makes the photo shooting a bit too mechanic at times.
Naming Mario Sports Mix "one of the various minigame titles" seems rather unfair to me. It's FOUR sports may not offer the deepest experiences, but minigames they are not.
If the retail version should indeed cost a mere 20 euro only, I'd even buy that on day one, to show my support for that decision. Given that the port is decent, of course.
The original does look somewhat dated though (also in comparison to the sequel), so I hope the graphics will be improved even on the WiiU version.
I think it's not that a 3D-Sonic could not be great: Even some of the less accomplished 3D-installments carried that potential. It's more that SEGA tends to release games that are, at best, a bit too rough around the edges. Even Mario & Sonic is an example for that: the quick attempt to cash in, on a regular basis, on a popular franchise. (That's the opposite of what Nintendo is doing with at least the main series titles of its most popular franchises.) And then it's decided that a new title needs to be released, because it needs to generate profits and will do so on the licence alone, though it's far from accomplished. Instead a huge proportion of the budged is used for some eye-catching FMVs. I don't know if that's really only a problem on the management side or if SEGA directors and producers themselves have the tendency to be satisfied with subpar results / overly confident with respect to what they achieved. I'm confident that with budgets used more wisely and considerably longer production cycles, several of the 3D Sonic games could have met critical acclaim in the way AAA-Nintendo titles have. SEGA was known for a certain sloppiness even as they were a major player in the industry, but combined with a strategy that's hunting for short-term profits, it's particularly Sonic (as cash cow number one) who has to suffer from this. I'm therefore not sure if looking for inspiration in the series' past will truly improve the quality of the games. Perhaps it's just another attempt of cashing in quick and easy on fans' nostalgia as well as of exploiting the more general wave of retro-hype of recent times.
I couldn't care less what genre Color Splash is – as long as the game is good. And while the earliest installments in the series succeeded in being great role playing games, it's not as if Paper Mario had become famous for the excellency of its RPG elements. It's becoming truly problematic how "fans" increasingly attack games (or the companies behind them) not because the game was bad, but merely because it isn't the way they wished it would be. So, I'm certainly looking forward to a new Paper Mario adventure. It's looking great, that much can be said.
Finally something interesting! The Karaoke ticket, it really helps me to actually save some money, instead of requiring me to spend money to spend less.
Does anyone know, or has already tried, if the Karaoke ticket can be purchased more than one time?
I loved Darksiders II quite a lot and I'd definitively be interested in playing the first one, even though it may not be just as good... If the port is decent, I'd buy it for sure.
My favorite in the series. I hate the pirate setting of the second one, whereas the first is somewhat too basic, both in terms of settings and gameplay. And I love Kiddy Kong.
Metroid Prime Hunters is a great game, probably close to the best Metroid Prime experience the DS could hope for. In terms of graphics and sound it's downright impressive. The multiplayer was great, though fairly hardcore, which is the reason why personally I didn't enjoy playing casually against random opponents quite so much. Still, the multiplayer is the heart of the game and it's a great drawback it's missing here. Compared to the games of the MP main series, the Hunters singleplayer is quite generic – but then again, it offers most of what made MP so great, so it's still fun to play. I'm not sure if the controls will work better or worse on the WiiU gamepad though...
That should be the most disappointing week in months. I don't get it why Nintendo can't at least manage to put one or two VC titles on the WiiU eShop in a week like that... Especially as the previous weeks weren't exactly exciting either.
I want more physical copies of Fatal Frame in Europe. Even for a limited edition, the number of copies issued was incredibly low. Same thing with Star Fox, by the way.
I guess the problem with the 13 $ is that too many people have at least one of these rather old, rather cheap-to-get games already and/or are only interested in getting games for one of the systems. I'm curious about the games to be announced in May, expecting there may at least be one first-party title among them.
Only Mario Party 1 is truly great in my eyes. Why? Because it had stick-rotation-minigames, because it had NO items, and because the maps had a finish line upon reaching you got 10 coins each time. MP2 was a great disappointment, with boring maps and a weird, blurry zoom, and MP3 was only slightly better. However, I'm hoping this time we'll see MP3 coming to the WiiU VC regardless.
I had the chance to play a demo of the game already. Firstly, the aiming is really not that difficult from Splatoon. It took me quite a while to get used to Splatoon, at first I even turned the motion controls of, but in the end it became second nature. So if you are used to Splatoon, Starfox Zero won't feel so strange. Secondly, certain aspects of the controls certainly feel different or even strange at first, especially if you are used to the control scheme of Starfox 64. But that's simply something to get used to. Thirdly, the controls are extremely complex. That is, at first, the biggest issue. One reason for this complexity are the many different vehicles which all come with unique complex controls. If you're having a mere quick look into the game, you may be frustrated when you got used to one vehicle and then you have to adjust to another one. However, for one thing it's everything but necessary to be aware of all the subtler aspects of the controls already in the beginning. This includes the use of the gamepad screen, you can easily do without it for a while. The other side is: I'm sure that just this complexity will allow for an incredibly amount of depth, truly honoring players who got the skill (comparable to Wonderful 101, speaking of Platinum Games). All the time you hear Nintendo gamers complaining that Nintendo's games had become too casual, too unambitious, lacking innovation..., and now finally Nintendo is about to release a true hardcore experience that isn't afraid of posing a challenge to the player, of demanding skill and devotion while honoring it, and the same people are proclaiming a lack of fun or whatever. Surely, there could have been an entirely different, equally good or even better way of making a new Starfox. The franchise has nearly unlimited potential (while on the other hand one should also keep in mind that the franchise itself is not that strong or popular) and I myself would have desired something wholly different, more focused on story and a blow-away presentation. But it's no use evaluating what could have been, but to judge that what we get for what it is. And from what I have seen, Starfox Zero is a very distinguishable and highly interesting game which I may enjoy precisely because it's so different from anything I could have imagine myself. Actually, it seems quite a problem of many players nowadays that they won't receive a game they get with an open mind – then play it and like it or not like it, that's also a matter of taste, of course – but that from the start they reject everything which doesn't meet their expectations and their preferences, or even only if it isn't exactly the way they wished it to be.
One can argue that Wario Land The Shake Dimension might be a tiny bit too generic for a modern home console title and therefore a slightly forgettable experience if you confine yourself to a mere playthrough. But that aside, it really is a great game and there are tons of secrets to discover. Some may argue it's still the best Good-Feel has developed so far, and while I haven't played Yarn Yoshi yet, it terms of gameplay I found it indeed more enjoyable than Kirby's Epic Yarn. One thing that's certain though: It's definitively the most hardcore thing Good-Feel has done with a Nintendo franchise. Anyone can complete the game, no worries, but in complete contrast to Kirby getting some of the many secrets is insanely though.
@Meowpheel Oh, that's a shame. Thank you for the information, though! I hadn't heard about that before. May these deficits in the code perhaps even be the reason why the game eventually never came to Europe?
However, in the light of that information it seems weird to me that HM64 is running without noteworthy problems on PC emulators for ages, something that still can't be said of many N64 games.
Totally agree. It's not just the motion control the Wii Remote brought, but a thoroughly new feel of having a controller in your hands. The Wii U Gamepad surely had some interesting aspects too, but it was a sort of 180° turn.
Don't have the time to go into more detail. In any case. Great article.
Oh, wait... I'd like to add: It wasn't just third party developers who were incapable or lazy of utilizing the capabilities of the Wii Remote, but also - perhaps increasingly - Nintendo itself. Surely, there were Zelda SS and the Wii Sports Games, and a few others, and surely, SSBB or DKCR were great with their mostly traditional controls and I would not want to have them any other way, but aside from some very late Wii Motion Plus games even Nintendo failed to gave the Wii Remote motion controls a more sophisticated meaning. The original Wii Sports showed what the Wiimote is capable of - even without WMPlus - but ironically Wii Sports set the standard for years, at least until the arrival of WMP. A Super Mario Galaxy for instance was great and it used the Wii Remote in a useful way, no doubt about it, but its controls were certainly not revolutionary like those of Wii Sports. Punch Out for example, a great game - when using buttons. The motions controls were no more than a replacement of those.
Unfortunately, with the Wii U Gamepad Nintendo failed in a similar way. Arguably it may still be Nintendo Land that makes best use of its capabilities.
It looks far too neat to me, not like some Nintendo product to have fun with. Possible that the concept may go in this direction, but the design appears rather unbelievable to me.
Link's Awakening was my first Zelda game and may forever remain my favorite (Zelda) game ever. This personal affection aside, I consider it to be the single best game on the original GameBoy (Color) and the first truly great installment in the series (I never came to found ALttP anything more than "good").
Majora's Mask is noch necessarily objectively better than it's predecessor OoT, but I opted for MM for the following reasons: The disappointment I felt back in the days, about OoT. Given the hype and the superior hardware, I had expected more – but found a game that, at that time, seemed to me inferior to Link's Awakening (though now I would consider them equal). Secondly, OoT receives so much attention anyway. But most importantly: Majora's Mask is thoroughly unique not only as part of the Zelda series, but in the gaming history in general. Whereas OoT, no matter how great in its own right, is less outstanding in the light of ALttP or Twilight Princess.
Skyward Sword is not perfect, seems slightly unfinished towards the end, and is definitively inferior to the other two titles on my list, but its the best Zelda game in recent years (with the best dungeons too), with a lot to love about it. And it deserves more attention. Wind Waker was bad by Zelda standards and just above average in general. Twilight Princess does a lot right but can be very rough around the edges. The first hours are weak and the last dungeons appear unfinished.
Oracle of Ages and Seasons are actually really great, with basically nothing to criticise about them. In many ways they improve on Link's Awakening. Just somehow..., they lack that special "something" that's hard to define.
Phantom Hourglass deserves special mentioning of being close to being the most fitting Zelda imaginable on a DS.
Among my favorite games of all time: Link's Awakening Majora's Mask Ocarina of Time
Great: Oracle of Ages / Seasons Skyward Swords
Very good: Twilight Princess Phantom Hourglass
Certainly not bad but feeling no special affection towards them: Legend of Zelda (NES original) A Link to the Past Wind Waker
Not played / not played enough: Zelda II Minish Cap Spirit Tracks Link Between Worlds Four Swords (Adventures) Triforce Heroes
Regarding JFG as one of the 3 greatest N64 games ever, I had certainly been interested in playing anything more from the series. It would be interesting to see a bit of actual gameplay.
Certainly not unrealistic. For one thing, Nintendo has confidence in the series, keeping it alive. For another thing, it's not a series that needs an all too high budget, which is important on a console with a rather small user base. And finally, it should both satisfy hardcore-players looking for a lengthy game at the end of a cycle, as well as sell well among the more casual users, looking for another Mario game.
Black & White are the best in the series, imo. For their time, Red & Blue were equally great, but in direct comparison to Black & White their gameplay exhibits a fair number of flaws, though the overall concept, plot and feel remain just as great.
Comments 440
Re: Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Exposé Reveals Torrid State Of Affairs At Nintendo Software Technology
@PikaPhantom Ha, indeed! Nice follow-up to my eight-year-old comment.
Re: Soapbox: Indies Lead The Way But Nintendo Shows Progress Representing People Of Colour
In terms of earlier appearances, I think Dion Blaster from 1080° Snowboarding needs to be acknowledged. To my knowledge he was the first "realistic" (not cartoon) Black character playable in a Nintendo game. An article about him and Black characters in the 1080° and Wave Race series in general can be found here: https://spielkritik.com/2017/09/15/black-characters-in-games-folge-2-dion-blaster-in-1080-snowboarding/ (It's in German, but you can use Google Translate.)
Also the Black US-President(!) from Perfect Dark is worth mentioning. If you want to count that as a "Nintendo" game.
Re: Nintendo Has Announced the End of the Wii Shop Channel
The article says: " Users will be able to add funds to their accounts until March 27th, 2018; after that, you won’t be able to buy games from the shop on either the Wii or the Wii U."
So doesn't that mean that you able to add AND SPEND funds until March 27th, 2018? And after that date, you'll merely be able to re-download what you already have? Or is that a translation error?
Re: Switch's Latest Exclusive Is Based On A German Quiz Show
Schlag den Star is technically not a quiz show. Only a small proportion of the show, maybe 30 percent, revolve around knowledge and answering questions. The other games require skill or are sports adaptions. So I'd assume we should expect a mini-game collection rather than a quiz show.
In fact, there were already several adaptions of this show, then called Schlag den Raab, for the Wii. AFAIK they were quite successful, with altogether three installments released.
Re: You'll Be Able To Sacrifice Resolution For Frame Rate In Fire Emblem Warriors On Switch
Not bad!
I'd definitively go for 1080p@30fps, as in a title in the Warriors-series, frame rate hardly affects the gameplay, and personally I wouldn't even care if it should occasionally drop below a solid 30fps. 60fps give certain games a nice classy feel, but the mass battles of Fire Emblem warriors should profit more from the higher resolution.
But it's nice they included the alternative, as a good number of players seem to prefer the 720p@60fps option.
Re: Check Out The Mummy Demastered, WayForward’s Next Project
Hmm. Never heard of that movie before, but that first screenshot looks interesting.
Re: Nintendo Download: 4th May (Europe)
Nintendo is sometimes so unpredictable, I wonder if there's still hope for ExciteBots coming on the European WiiU eShop.
Re: Random: Princess Zelda's Voice Actor Had To Pay For Breath Of The Wild Just Like Everyone Else
Uhm, voice "actor"!? Wouldn't it be more fitting to call her a voice "actress"? o.O
Re: Nintendo Download: 15th December (North America)
OMG Excitebots!! It's weird it's being released before Excite Truck... However, I just hope it'll make the jump to Europe this time!
Re: European Wii U and 3DS eShop Cyber Deals Now Confirmed
That's pretty weak. Considering the offers for Halloween, I had expected more.
Re: Nintendo Download: 17th November (North America)
OMG Excitebike 64 finally! Hope it's coming to Europe soon. The best racing game on the N64.
...and I hope it'll be followed by releases of ExciteTrucks and ExciteBots.
Re: Nintendo Confirms That Upcoming European Release of F-Zero X is the 60Hz Version
It's not among my favorites in the series, but as I don't own a copy myself, I may give this version another try if it goes on sale one day or a My Nintendo based reduction.
Re: Nintendo Declines to Comment On Touchscreen Enquiry but Confirms Switch Dock and amiibo Features
It's hard to imagine that Nintendo would release the console without touch screen support or some very good substitute. The touch technology is cheap compared to other components and it would allow fort some sort of compatibility with WiiU and DS games/ports, as well as mobile device ports.
I'm wondering in how far the controllers could have motion controll support. The guy in the airplane seems to use both controller parts separately and indeed they could work like a wiimote and a nunchuck, something I always imagined and wished for.
Re: Poll: What Are Your Most Anticipated Wii U and 3DS Games For the Rest of 2016?
Darksiders.
Re: Review: P.N.03 (GCN)
It may not be a masterpiece, but a 3/10!? No way. In fact, the review even makes it sound like a 5 or so, and if you look what other games got a 3...
Re: Review: Pokémon Snap (Wii U eShop / N64)
I enjoyed this game very much, but to me its biggest problem is its very basic photo scoring method. Sure, you are free to take photos in any way you like, but in terms of highscores Pokemon Snap doesn't honor creativity or even the simplest rules of aesthetics. Get the Pokemon in the middle of the photo, and as large as possible. That's pretty much all.
Sure, I understand that any more sophisticated system would have been a huge challenge to the programmers, so I cannot really see how this could have been improved. But still, it makes the photo shooting a bit too mechanic at times.
Re: Nintendo Download: 11th August (North America)
Naming Mario Sports Mix "one of the various minigame titles" seems rather unfair to me. It's FOUR sports may not offer the deepest experiences, but minigames they are not.
Re: Nintendo Share Price Stabilises After Worst Weekly Performance Since 1989
It tells a lot about investors' lack of specialized knowledge that they believed Nintendo'd be the main profiteer of Pokemon Go's success.
Re: Nintendo Download: 28th July (Europe)
Warning! I've played the German release of Secret Files a short while ago. The WiiU port is atrocious. Better get any other version instead.
Re: Darksiders is Coming to Wii U
If the retail version should indeed cost a mere 20 euro only, I'd even buy that on day one, to show my support for that decision. Given that the port is decent, of course.
The original does look somewhat dated though (also in comparison to the sequel), so I hope the graphics will be improved even on the WiiU version.
Re: Talking Point: SEGA Has the Right Idea With Its Upcoming Sonic Projects
I think it's not that a 3D-Sonic could not be great: Even some of the less accomplished 3D-installments carried that potential. It's more that SEGA tends to release games that are, at best, a bit too rough around the edges. Even Mario & Sonic is an example for that: the quick attempt to cash in, on a regular basis, on a popular franchise. (That's the opposite of what Nintendo is doing with at least the main series titles of its most popular franchises.) And then it's decided that a new title needs to be released, because it needs to generate profits and will do so on the licence alone, though it's far from accomplished. Instead a huge proportion of the budged is used for some eye-catching FMVs. I don't know if that's really only a problem on the management side or if SEGA directors and producers themselves have the tendency to be satisfied with subpar results / overly confident with respect to what they achieved. I'm confident that with budgets used more wisely and considerably longer production cycles, several of the 3D Sonic games could have met critical acclaim in the way AAA-Nintendo titles have. SEGA was known for a certain sloppiness even as they were a major player in the industry, but combined with a strategy that's hunting for short-term profits, it's particularly Sonic (as cash cow number one) who has to suffer from this. I'm therefore not sure if looking for inspiration in the series' past will truly improve the quality of the games. Perhaps it's just another attempt of cashing in quick and easy on fans' nostalgia as well as of exploiting the more general wave of retro-hype of recent times.
Re: Hands On: Painting a Clearer Picture of Paper Mario: Color Splash
I couldn't care less what genre Color Splash is – as long as the game is good. And while the earliest installments in the series succeeded in being great role playing games, it's not as if Paper Mario had become famous for the excellency of its RPG elements.
It's becoming truly problematic how "fans" increasingly attack games (or the companies behind them) not because the game was bad, but merely because it isn't the way they wished it would be.
So, I'm certainly looking forward to a new Paper Mario adventure. It's looking great, that much can be said.
Re: Two Short-Term Rewards Are Added to My Nintendo in Europe
Finally something interesting! The Karaoke ticket, it really helps me to actually save some money, instead of requiring me to spend money to spend less.
Does anyone know, or has already tried, if the Karaoke ticket can be purchased more than one time?
Re: Nordic Games is Actually Working on a Wii U Release
I loved Darksiders II quite a lot and I'd definitively be interested in playing the first one, even though it may not be just as good... If the port is decent, I'd buy it for sure.
Re: Review: Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! (New 3DS / SNES)
My favorite in the series. I hate the pirate setting of the second one, whereas the first is somewhat too basic, both in terms of settings and gameplay. And I love Kiddy Kong.
Re: Nintendo Download: 2nd June (North America)
Metroid Prime Hunters is a great game, probably close to the best Metroid Prime experience the DS could hope for. In terms of graphics and sound it's downright impressive. The multiplayer was great, though fairly hardcore, which is the reason why personally I didn't enjoy playing casually against random opponents quite so much. Still, the multiplayer is the heart of the game and it's a great drawback it's missing here. Compared to the games of the MP main series, the Hunters singleplayer is quite generic – but then again, it offers most of what made MP so great, so it's still fun to play. I'm not sure if the controls will work better or worse on the WiiU gamepad though...
Re: Nintendo Download: 2nd June (Europe)
That should be the most disappointing week in months. I don't get it why Nintendo can't at least manage to put one or two VC titles on the WiiU eShop in a week like that... Especially as the previous weeks weren't exactly exciting either.
Re: Review: Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together (SNES)
That cover artwork looks amazing.
Re: Review: The Deer God (Wii U eShop)
A shame. I had high hopes for that, it looks great.
Re: Limited Run Games Would Like to Distribute Physical Copies of Phoenix Wright: Dual Destinies
I want more physical copies of Fatal Frame in Europe. Even for a limited edition, the number of copies issued was incredibly low. Same thing with Star Fox, by the way.
Re: Reminder: This is the Final Day for a Number of My Nintendo Rewards
In Europe some new rewards have become available already, in particular Captain Toad.
Re: Humble Friends of Nintendo Bundle Passes 60,000 Sales in Under 24 Hours
I guess the problem with the 13 $ is that too many people have at least one of these rather old, rather cheap-to-get games already and/or are only interested in getting games for one of the systems.
I'm curious about the games to be announced in May, expecting there may at least be one first-party title among them.
Re: Video: Learn a Few Quirky Facts About the Mario Party Franchise
Only Mario Party 1 is truly great in my eyes. Why? Because it had stick-rotation-minigames, because it had NO items, and because the maps had a finish line upon reaching you got 10 coins each time. MP2 was a great disappointment, with boring maps and a weird, blurry zoom, and MP3 was only slightly better. However, I'm hoping this time we'll see MP3 coming to the WiiU VC regardless.
Re: Reminder: Six Wii U Games Are Now Discounted to Nintendo Selects Prices in the European eShop
Getting DKC on disc sooner or later. Especially happy about the reduction on the Luigi DLC.
Re: Headup Games Lines Up More Intriguing Titles for the Wii U eShop
Apart from Windscape, they all look very interesting. And Seum looks like great fun.
Re: Rumour: More Claims Made For New Legend of Zelda on Wii U and NX, Gender Choice For Playable Character
That would all be pretty amazing.
@indienapolis How true.
Re: Soapbox: No, Star Fox Zero's Controls Are not Bad or Broken
I had the chance to play a demo of the game already. Firstly, the aiming is really not that difficult from Splatoon. It took me quite a while to get used to Splatoon, at first I even turned the motion controls of, but in the end it became second nature. So if you are used to Splatoon, Starfox Zero won't feel so strange. Secondly, certain aspects of the controls certainly feel different or even strange at first, especially if you are used to the control scheme of Starfox 64. But that's simply something to get used to. Thirdly, the controls are extremely complex. That is, at first, the biggest issue. One reason for this complexity are the many different vehicles which all come with unique complex controls. If you're having a mere quick look into the game, you may be frustrated when you got used to one vehicle and then you have to adjust to another one. However, for one thing it's everything but necessary to be aware of all the subtler aspects of the controls already in the beginning. This includes the use of the gamepad screen, you can easily do without it for a while. The other side is: I'm sure that just this complexity will allow for an incredibly amount of depth, truly honoring players who got the skill (comparable to Wonderful 101, speaking of Platinum Games). All the time you hear Nintendo gamers complaining that Nintendo's games had become too casual, too unambitious, lacking innovation..., and now finally Nintendo is about to release a true hardcore experience that isn't afraid of posing a challenge to the player, of demanding skill and devotion while honoring it, and the same people are proclaiming a lack of fun or whatever.
Surely, there could have been an entirely different, equally good or even better way of making a new Starfox. The franchise has nearly unlimited potential (while on the other hand one should also keep in mind that the franchise itself is not that strong or popular) and I myself would have desired something wholly different, more focused on story and a blow-away presentation. But it's no use evaluating what could have been, but to judge that what we get for what it is. And from what I have seen, Starfox Zero is a very distinguishable and highly interesting game which I may enjoy precisely because it's so different from anything I could have imagine myself. Actually, it seems quite a problem of many players nowadays that they won't receive a game they get with an open mind – then play it and like it or not like it, that's also a matter of taste, of course – but that from the start they reject everything which doesn't meet their expectations and their preferences, or even only if it isn't exactly the way they wished it to be.
Re: Nintendo Download: 7th April (Europe)
One can argue that Wario Land The Shake Dimension might be a tiny bit too generic for a modern home console title and therefore a slightly forgettable experience if you confine yourself to a mere playthrough. But that aside, it really is a great game and there are tons of secrets to discover. Some may argue it's still the best Good-Feel has developed so far, and while I haven't played Yarn Yoshi yet, it terms of gameplay I found it indeed more enjoyable than Kirby's Epic Yarn. One thing that's certain though: It's definitively the most hardcore thing Good-Feel has done with a Nintendo franchise. Anyone can complete the game, no worries, but in complete contrast to Kirby getting some of the many secrets is insanely though.
Re: Natsume May Bring Some of its DS Games to Virtual Console Soon
@Meowpheel Oh, that's a shame. Thank you for the information, though! I hadn't heard about that before. May these deficits in the code perhaps even be the reason why the game eventually never came to Europe?
However, in the light of that information it seems weird to me that HM64 is running without noteworthy problems on PC emulators for ages, something that still can't be said of many N64 games.
Re: Natsume May Bring Some of its DS Games to Virtual Console Soon
I'd rather want Harvest Moon 64.
Re: Soapbox: Nintendo Was Wrong To Turn Its Back On The Wii Remote
Totally agree. It's not just the motion control the Wii Remote brought, but a thoroughly new feel of having a controller in your hands. The Wii U Gamepad surely had some interesting aspects too, but it was a sort of 180° turn.
Don't have the time to go into more detail. In any case. Great article.
Oh, wait... I'd like to add: It wasn't just third party developers who were incapable or lazy of utilizing the capabilities of the Wii Remote, but also - perhaps increasingly - Nintendo itself. Surely, there were Zelda SS and the Wii Sports Games, and a few others, and surely, SSBB or DKCR were great with their mostly traditional controls and I would not want to have them any other way, but aside from some very late Wii Motion Plus games even Nintendo failed to gave the Wii Remote motion controls a more sophisticated meaning. The original Wii Sports showed what the Wiimote is capable of - even without WMPlus - but ironically Wii Sports set the standard for years, at least until the arrival of WMP. A Super Mario Galaxy for instance was great and it used the Wii Remote in a useful way, no doubt about it, but its controls were certainly not revolutionary like those of Wii Sports. Punch Out for example, a great game - when using buttons. The motions controls were no more than a replacement of those.
Unfortunately, with the Wii U Gamepad Nintendo failed in a similar way. Arguably it may still be Nintendo Land that makes best use of its capabilities.
Re: Rumour: New Nintendo NX Controller Images Surface and Set the Web Alight
It looks far too neat to me, not like some Nintendo product to have fun with. Possible that the concept may go in this direction, but the design appears rather unbelievable to me.
Re: Nintendo Download: 24th March (Europe)
Only 5 euro for Starfox? Without any conditions? I am not a fan of the game and I own the original, but in that case...
Re: Poll: Vote for Your Favourite Legend of Zelda Games - 30th Anniversary Edition
I've voted for:
1. Link's Awakening
1. Majora's Mask
3. Skyward Sword
Link's Awakening was my first Zelda game and may forever remain my favorite (Zelda) game ever. This personal affection aside, I consider it to be the single best game on the original GameBoy (Color) and the first truly great installment in the series (I never came to found ALttP anything more than "good").
Majora's Mask is noch necessarily objectively better than it's predecessor OoT, but I opted for MM for the following reasons: The disappointment I felt back in the days, about OoT. Given the hype and the superior hardware, I had expected more – but found a game that, at that time, seemed to me inferior to Link's Awakening (though now I would consider them equal). Secondly, OoT receives so much attention anyway. But most importantly: Majora's Mask is thoroughly unique not only as part of the Zelda series, but in the gaming history in general. Whereas OoT, no matter how great in its own right, is less outstanding in the light of ALttP or Twilight Princess.
Skyward Sword is not perfect, seems slightly unfinished towards the end, and is definitively inferior to the other two titles on my list, but its the best Zelda game in recent years (with the best dungeons too), with a lot to love about it. And it deserves more attention. Wind Waker was bad by Zelda standards and just above average in general. Twilight Princess does a lot right but can be very rough around the edges. The first hours are weak and the last dungeons appear unfinished.
Oracle of Ages and Seasons are actually really great, with basically nothing to criticise about them. In many ways they improve on Link's Awakening. Just somehow..., they lack that special "something" that's hard to define.
Phantom Hourglass deserves special mentioning of being close to being the most fitting Zelda imaginable on a DS.
Among my favorite games of all time:
Link's Awakening
Majora's Mask
Ocarina of Time
Great:
Oracle of Ages / Seasons
Skyward Swords
Very good:
Twilight Princess
Phantom Hourglass
Certainly not bad but feeling no special affection towards them:
Legend of Zelda (NES original)
A Link to the Past
Wind Waker
Not played / not played enough:
Zelda II
Minish Cap
Spirit Tracks
Link Between Worlds
Four Swords (Adventures)
Triforce Heroes
Re: Nintendo Download: 18th February (North America)
I wished they'd discount Ninja Gaiden WiiU one day...
Re: Video: Check Out the Introduction to the Jet Force Gemini Game That Never Was
Regarding JFG as one of the 3 greatest N64 games ever, I had certainly been interested in playing anything more from the series. It would be interesting to see a bit of actual gameplay.
Re: Rumour: Intelligent Systems Is Working On New Paper Mario For Wii U
Certainly not unrealistic. For one thing, Nintendo has confidence in the series, keeping it alive. For another thing, it's not a series that needs an all too high budget, which is important on a console with a rather small user base. And finally, it should both satisfy hardcore-players looking for a lengthy game at the end of a cycle, as well as sell well among the more casual users, looking for another Mario game.
Re: Random: Take a Look at These Unused Alternate Sonic Boom Logos
Dudes vs. Evil, hell yea.
Re: The Custom Hydra Splatling, Splatoon's Last Update Weapon, Goes Live on 15th January
@Lizuka Me too. Splattershot Jr.
Re: Feature: A Pokémon Retrospective: Generation 5 - 2010 to 2013
Black & White are the best in the series, imo. For their time, Red & Blue were equally great, but in direct comparison to Black & White their gameplay exhibits a fair number of flaws, though the overall concept, plot and feel remain just as great.