PixelatedPixie

My favourite moment was when Reggie asked himself the hypothetical question of what the Wii U stood for.

"Is it unique, unifying, maybe even utopian?"

I've never laughed so hard in all my life. So bad!

X2? I'm on board.

I wouldn't be interested in three 20 hour zelda 'episodes', but I might actually prefer a self-contained 20 hour Zelda experience. I'm beginning to really dislike the amount of unnecessary fluff that comes with each new Zelda game. I'd gladly take a lean and focused 20 hour Zelda game over a bloated and slow 60 hour Zelda game any day.

An Art of Balance sequel, free DLC for Might Switch Force, and a Virtual Console game? NOE seems to be on a role recently when it comes to the eShop and Wii Virtual Console.

I just arrived at the Ice Pyramid and while I found the game really enjoyable up to that point, I found that particular stage to be frustrating. The map was almost completely useless and the lack of saves points before the stage boss became a serious issue where in previous stages it had just been annoying. I still think the game is good overall, but I think I'm going to put it down for a few days before it rubs me the wrong way.

I just finished the Wii version today and I have to say, I couldn't imagine playing this game on the 3DS. Even on the Wii I found that the camera was zoomed out the extent that I found it difficult to see the action, with Rayman often becoming a spec on the screen. I'm not sure how much ammendments have been made for this 3DS release but if it's comprobable to the Wii version then the smaller screen could become a serious problem.

Nought for me unfortunately. I'm still playing through the player created levels of 'VVVVVV' though and still have to download Monster Hunter IV, so I can't complain.

I'm kind of surprised to see Paper Mario on the list. It's personally one of my favourite N64 games and it does have Mario in the title, so perhaps it's not that surprising, but I might have expected Ocarina of Time to best in the VC charts.

VVVVVV and Rayman Origins for me. I might also finally get around to beating the final level of Sacred Stones.

With the exception of Adventure, Dream Course and Epic Yarn, I've found the majority of Kirby games to be either elementary or forgettable. For those reasons I think I'll give this a pass. I am glad though that NOE are continuing their run of releasing virtual console games. I very much hope this continues.

I was ecstatic with this weeks releases. VVVVVV and Monster World IV? Crazy awesome week for Nintendo downloads. Keep it up NOE!

Nicalis is probably to blame for the delay but I wonder if blame for the cost should be layed at Nintendo's feet. Is it not Nintendo that take the ultimate decision as to what charge bracket a game is put into? I'm sure a Nintendolife staffer could clarify one way or the other (hint).

Monster World IV and VVVVVV?! Wait...What's the catch? Does this mean Europe has been given it's quota of awesome for the year and it's all down hill from here? This is very unlike Nintendo. There just has to be a catch.

I just checked the price for this on Nintendo.co.uk. I've been looking forward to this game for a quite a while now, but £7.20 seems a little steep to me. If Nintendo are going to compete with the likes of Apple in the area of downloadable games they might want to try offering more competitive prices. At £7.20 (around $12) this game is far from being an impulse purchase.

I have to agree with @Adam. The amount of people who have issues with the controls and the fact that a peripheral was included to facilitate the default scheme for me seems to demonstrate that there are fundamental issues with how the game controls. I appreicate that there are those out there who don't have issues with the controls, but there needs to be similar recognition that a significant proportion of players have had problems with the controls. This is not an issue that can be chalked up to people holding the system or controlling the game incorrectly.

@TimboBaggins - I believe there is an auto-shoot option, but that might prevent you from using charge shots. Not sure though as I haven't used it myself.

@Duney - I'm certainly not playing it wrong. I actually played Uprising exactly as mr Sakurai suggests. I think it's great that you along with many people don't have the issues I describe, but sufficient people do that you must at least acknowledge it as an issue with the game. Even if Mr Sakurai is correct and all those people who have experienced discomfort with the control scheme are simply using the controls incorrectly, surely the responsibility for that error still lies with the designer for not conveying how the game should be played. In any case, I don't think that's true. In my personal opinion (and that's all it is) I think the control inputs are poorly designed.

@AbuJaffer - Calling someone an ass is...well. being kind of an ass. Ironic. Sorry, couldn't resist. Anyway, I'm not trying to be an ass, but I really do think that Nintendo's approach to controls this generation has been incredibly arrogant and this is just one such example. Metroid: Other M, DKCR, Uprising. These are all examples of games where Nintendo had ample opportunity to either address control problems with alternatives or to design around certain issues and they chose not to. And yes, blaming players for valid complaints is, I think, incredibly arrogant.

@BenAV - As someone who has played acoustic guitar and ukulele for about 12 years I can tell you my hands are as strong and as dexterous as most, and although I wouldn't say that I had discomfort throughout my experience with Uprising I would say that it felt perpetually...well awkward. I was constantly having to adjust my grip, often trying to prop the system on the right side (the hand I was using the stylus with) with my palm, my knee, a loose finger. It just wasn't a fun experience for me, especially when trying to enjoy the fabulous 3D graphics.

@Duney - It's not a question of not liking a certain type of game. In fact, I've been the biggest Treasure fan for years, with Sin & Punishment and it's sequel being considered among my favourite games. Uprising had the potential to be up there with them. That's partially why I find the control problems with Uprising so frustrating, because I can appreciate that there's a good game there, but it's sorely undermined by a lack of thought and care when it came to user experience.

I'm not mad about it in the slightest. Despite my issues with game I feel I got enough enjoyment out of the game to warrant the purchase. Weirdly though, quite a lot of that enjoyment came from the visuals, story and characters. I say that's weird because normally I'm sold on a game by it's gameplay and, yes, it's controls.

Anyway, it seems to me that people seem to get mad when Mr Sakurai is criticised or called arrogant. So I'll just shut up now. For the record though I kind of hate Smash Bros and Kirby, so...there's that.

So he's basically saying that if playing Uprising hurts your hands you're playing it wrong? What complete and utter arrogance. Uprising is ill-suited to the platform and it's control scheme is imprecise (having a character dash around like a smash bros character does not work in 3D, not the mention the unintuitive camera controls) and uncomfortable (at least for many people if not all). To blame players for this problem is arrogance of the highest order.

I have to say, I still don't see the appeal of the Wii U. I'm open to the idea of it being great but at the minute I just don't see it. Saying that the Wii U is designed to do what is impossible for current systems seems like a misnomer to me. HD graphics, touch screens, and motion controls have all been done. Sure the Wii U is perhaps the first system to bring these technologies together on one platform but Nintendo will have to demonstrate what exactly this means for gameplay. I seem to be ending my comments alot recently with this statement, but E3 this year is going to be crucial.

For some reason I read that as a hypothetical question. As in, is an '"Overwhelmingly Rich" Wii U Launch Line-Up "Too Much" to ask for? Haha. I thought Iwata-san had lost his marbles.

@19Robb92

You're probably right in saying that the reason Nintendo have chosen this option is because they would prefer to save money. I just wish Nintendo were more progressive and would act in the interests of all their customers. I really want the Wii U to succeed but everytime I hear anything about the system I become increasingly less enthusiastic. We of course don't know all the facts about the Wii U and much of what we're talking about is speculation, but between archaic touch screen technology, reported lack of graphical power, the system apparently only supporting one tablet, and the absence of a HHD, I have genuine concerns.

I guess we'll just have to wait to E3 to find out one way or the other.

If downloading games is such a big focus for the Wii U and Nintendo's strategy going forward why should I have to purchase an external hard drive? I also agree with @rjejr that not having a built in hard drive will be especially unintuitive for more casual gamers for whom the Wii U might be their first experience of downloading games.

Well that explains how we'll download games. Now we just need to know to what they'll be downloaded to. Nintendo can't rely on SD cards forever.

For a company who release video games Nicalis are really bad at...you know...releasing video games. Especially here in Europe.

Mario trying to walk left was pretty funny.

I would have to agree with what some commentators have said. Twilight Princess was for me simply a better Zelda game. What Skyward Sword brought to the table was an interesting art style, novel controls, and a change to how temples/dungeons were integrated into the overworld. Unfortunately, in the process, Skyward Sword also managed to feel more like a string of motion-control mini games and less like an adventure. Rolling bombs, Flying the Beetle, Skydiving, Balancing on a rope, Balancing on a boulder, Sword Fighting, Twisting and turning the golden keys to open locked doors, these were all things we'd seen before in either the Wii Sports titles, the Mario Galaxy games, or Metroid Prime 3. Nintendo did their best to adapt these concepts to the Zelda universe but each time I had to perform one of these tasks it took me right out of the experience. Not that they weren't enjoyable, but they're just not what I'm looking for from a Zelda game.

My biggest complaint of Skyward Sword, however, is that the world did not feel cohesive or grand. It lacked the wide open spaces and vistas that had made Hyrule and Termina feel like real places. In Skyward Sword there were no expansive fields, huge lakes, or imposing castles. Even when eventually you were given a larger area to explore (a certain sea) it felt unconnected to the rest of the game and more like something designed to be seen once and then forgotten. Again, it just didn't feel like a cohesive world to me.

I don't think Skyward Sword is a bad game, I just don't think it's a particularly good Zelda game.

Well, it's worth pointing out that those games placed at 1 - 12 are for systems which have been on sale for about 6 years and their install base is therefore much larger than that of the 3DS. I don't find it at all surprising that games for a system that has only been out for one year might sell less.

That's unfortunate. Two rhythm games on the same day? I wasn't intending on getting Theatrhythm myself, but for those who were interested in both they're likely to be forced to pick one over the other.

This is just getting ridiculous.

grumble, grumble...VVVVVV...grumble...Mutant Mudds...grumble...Sakura Samurai...grumble

And yes, I know that VVVVVV is coming soon, but I'm impatient.

This for me is representative of the insidious side of these kickstarter campaigns. Some projects are clearly deserving of attention and, if the audience is receptive, of donations, but having the audience become a business partner or having them become effectively the publisher is dangerous territory.

On a separate note, I've only seen the Giantbomb Quick Look for this game and have not actually played it, but from what I've seen this game looked absolutely terrible.

...but...I....ahm....HOW!?

@Duney - Fair enough, it wasn't 'shifted' over from Wii. If anything, however, the fact that this game was designed from the ground up for 3DS makes their control scheme transgressions all the more unbelievable.

I should say that I also really enjoyed the game, and it is one of the best on the 3DS. However, that does not excuse the fact that (in my opinion, and that's all it is) the game itself is ill-suited to the platform. Having Uprising be released as a 3DS game was certainly beneficial for the system, as it's yet another good game for the growing catalogue, but I don't think it was beneficial for the game.

@AbuJaffer - "Let's think about this for a second; you've got dozens of enemies, all requiring expert precision, and you want motion controls?".

Well, to be fair most people seem to be suggesting that IR pointer controls might be the best control scheme. I don't think anyone would argue that Uprising would be a better game had accelerometers and waggle been the primary control input.

I agree that using the stylus, in theory, is just as intuitive as using the IR pointer in Sin & Punishment 2. That's only in theory though. In reality, bearing the full weight of the 3DS with the left hand, while using the left index finger to compess the trigger is incredibly uncomfortable. You can of course work around this by contorting your hands in to various poses, propping the right side of the system up with a knee, using the plastic stand etc. but surely the fact that people are having to do these sorts of gymnastics just to play a game is proof that there are serious problems with the controls.

As I see it, Nintendo could have resolved this problem in one of two ways (both of which I'm sure would have been time consuming and expensive). A) they could have switched the game's development over to the Wii when they realised that the 3DS in it's current form would be unable to provide a comfortable experience for users. B) they could have pulled the whole thing apart and designed a game around controls which the system was capable of supporting. In the end Nintendo opted to do neither of these things, and even when a potential solution presented itself in the form of the Circle Pad Pro they ignored it. From the outside looking in, I have to say, it just looks like arrogance.

Makes sense. I've always said that this game would have benefitted greatly from an analogue stick/IR pointer control scheme ala Sin & Punishment 2.

What doesn't make sense is why this game was shifted over to the 3DS. You know, besides the fact that Nintendo needed to have some games for the new hardware they were planning to release. No thought seems to have been given to whether or not this type of game made sense for the platform.

Other than the addition of 3D, I can honestly say that there's not one substantive thing that Uprising gains by being on the 3DS, and in fact I would go so far as to say that the game is hampered by being on the platform. They made a friggin' plastic stand so people could play what is supposed to be a portable system for crying out loud. This fact alone demonstrates that there is a fundamental mismatch between the game and the platform.

Rant over.

Finally! Jeez!

Wait. Is Nightsky coming to Europe in June/July or is that for America only?

As @onlyaman says, this comment is kind of odd in light of the popularity of Streetpass Quest.

@Radixxs - I too have been patiently waiting for Nightsky since it was first announced for WiiWare. I know I could simply download the PC version but I really would prefer to experience it on a Nintendo platform with a D Pad and buttons. Hopefully it comes to 3DSWare soon.

This game looks Grey-t. See what I did there?

grumble...grumble...Mutant Mudds...grumble...VVVVVV...grumble...grumble...Sakura Samurai...grumble

It's a shame that they don't give you individual coins for each game, because I have absolutely no intention of buying Pandora's Tower but I own Last Story and Xenoblade.

A downloadable game makes more sense to me. I enjo F-zero, but not to the extent that I would be willing to pay full retail price for.

@James - Well, if they're suggesting that the Wii U game will be a different game from the one that is being released on 360 and PS3 then that's fair enough, but If they're going to say that then I hope for their sake that it's a substantive difference and not a few minor interface changes.

I don't know about that. If a senior producer is referring to it as a port then it's probably a port. I can see why a Community Manager might not like the term 'port' because it doesn't carry the best connotations, but I think we all know that's exactly what it is. Video games tend to have a main SKU and then are ported to other platforms, it's the nature of the business.

I kind of feel bad for not buying Rhythm Thief, especially given that we're unlikely to get more of these sorts of games from Sega in the immediate future. I still intend on purchasing it at a later date, but at the minute I'm still enjoying Kid Icarus and I'm awaiting delivery of Henry Hatsworth from Amazon.

Yeah, I'll appreciate the addition of the save state feature for Zelda (which I've never got around to actually beating despite owning it on multiple platforms).

Still though, I'm beginning to lose my patience for Mutant Mudds and VVVVVV. Hell, I'd even be excited to see Sakura Samurai at this point.

Mega Man 5...Finally!

Uprising is without a doubt one of the largest and most fully featured portable games I've ever played, and it might have been one of the best had it not been for the complete disregard shown for how the game controls.

@ScreamoPichu

That was said with my tongue firmly in my cheek. It was intended as a little gibe at all the perfect scores that Skyward Sword received, including from this very website. In all seriousness though, Famitsu scores aren't what they used to be and Skyward Sword is my least favourite 3D Zelda.

I have to agree with Highwinter and Haywired. Getting a perfect score from Famitsu is at this point almost meaningless. I mean, they gave Skyward Sword a perfect score for crying out loud.

As much as I hate Yoshi, I have to say he was utilised well in Galaxy 2.

I think a Wario cameo would be pretty cool. It would be cool if Wario was a sort of returning antagonist throughout a Mario game similar to Shadow Mario/Bowser Jr. in Sunshine. He could maybe be on his own greedy adventure which crosses paths with Mario's at certain points.

As much as I love the series I find it very hard to go back to this game and the gameboy follow up. It's probably because I played Super Metroid, Metroid Fusion and Metroid Prime prior to playing the NES original, but personally I don't think it holds up.