Rensch

Not really sold on the SNES-coloured buttons. Other than that, this is the first time I feel compelled to upgrade to a newer iteration of a Nintendo handheld while owning an earlier model.

I hope this means Rayquaza will play a similar role as it did in Emerald.

It's Pokémon so I will not be able to resist it. It's basically always the same, but just that much more polished and refined that you want to buy it again every year.

While I think digital is the future, the file size is why I still choose physical if available. I like the pretty boxes and the way you can borrow games from friends as well.

I voted for SMB3, which I think is objectively the best one. Personally I like the Galaxy games a lot, the second one in particular. World is great as well. I must admit that I haven't played NSMB Wii and U yet nor 3D World. The latter looks particularly amazing.

This looks amazing. One thing worth mentioning is that you can also play SEGA Master System with a special adapter. Kind of a bummer it doesn't play that standard but still worth remembering to get more out of it. I'd really like to get one of these.

Got this back in 2010. An accurate description would be Metroid mixed with Super Mario Bros. 2. One of the more obscure gems on the Virtual Console library.

I also get a distinct Chrono Trigger vibe from this. Looks like a great game.

I've always considered Rayman one of the most suitable characters for Smash Bros.

As much as they shamelessly cash in on what started as a Freeware title, I want to try this because of the radically different presentation. Great to see it available for download as I can't find it in stores anymore.

No way Sega is going to allow this, unless they are willing to take over the project.

Hyruly Warriors with Tingle. You know you want to.

Give us a new Metroid sidescroller already. The last time we had one of those was in 2004 with Zero Mission and that was kind of a remake of Metroid with Super Metroid mechanics.

This only makes sense since its Pokèmon Ruby counterpart, Mawile, had a Mega Evolution in X and Y.

LEGO is the most visually versatile construction toy of all the major brands. As nice as K'Nex was as a kid, LEGO was the one that you could really make everything with.

The first one I played was the one on the DS, which blew me away at the time. The fact that you could play online was a novelty, but the execution was very dissapointing. Only half of the tracks were included (and the fantastically creative Waluigi Pinball course was not one of them for some obscure reason). With its first major online title, the Nintendo WFC immediately set its reputation for frequent disconnections. The snaking technique being exploited by so many people didn't really help getting into the online multiplayer, either. Thankfully the online experience we were waiting for was found in MK Wii and MK7. (The latter of which has Waluigi Pinball available for online play. It really is among the best Mario Kart tracks ever, you know.)

Still the DS version will have a special place in my heart. It brought back the retro cups first seen in Super Circuit and is still one of the best-looking games on the double-screened portable. I also liked how you could make your own decal, adding something personal to the online mode.

And it had R.O.B. the robot as a playable character three years before Super Smash Bros. Brawl. How awesome is that?

Konami Krazy Racers is oft-forgotten, but was a surprisingly solid package back then. It benefited from the fact that it was a launch title, unlike MK: Super Circuit, which launched several months later. While it lacks the sheer amount of tracks SC has, it does have several unlockable characters. That is a feature which had not yet been adopted by the Mario Kart series in those days. Finding all four of those hidden characters was actually a huge challenge if you didn't want to rely on GameFaqs.com or similar sites. I remember finding this game for a low price several years after its release. Sure had loads of fun playing this game on my trusty GBA SP in the summer sun. The funny thing is that I never played MK:SC until the DS had been out for years.

Why didn't Damien use the Blue Shell on Tom's car? Guaranteed hit!

@NinjaWaddleDee

Unless you can't get used to the Mode 7 graphics, I'd say you are. Both hold up surprisingly well.

@revolverocelot

Apart from the Chomps that you need to avoid, I found that to be a rather boring course compared to the touch-as-nails counterparts in other Mario Kart games. Biggest dissapointment in the game if you ask me.

Is it me or is the GBA's Super Circuit the least remembered of all the Mario Kart titles? If so, it really is undeserved, as it is one of the best. The fact that you could unlock slightly altered versions of the classic SNES tracks was an amazing feature. Nowadays we take the retro cups for granted, but back in 2001 it was a clever new feature that made Super Circuit into one of the most complete and fully realized titles in the GBA library. The basic nature of the SNES tracks provided a nice contrast to the more creative likes of new courses like Cheese Land, Ribbon Road or Sunset Wilds. Still one of the biggest, most replayable titles to come out of the GBA era. Quite a feat when you take into account that the game was released only months after the initial release of the system. They could have just done the same as they did with so many other NES and SNES classics and just port the first game and people would have bought it in a heartbeat. Instead, they went the extra mile and made a completely new game that had much of the SNES game's content as an unlockable feature. It turned out to be everything it needed to be and more by proving a Mario Kart game could not only work on a handheld, but also provide - and even exceed - the level of content the console versions had. Wonderful game!

I am very surprised about this. It's awesome, but unexpected.

This looks out of place but in a cool sort of way. Can't pass up a cool freebie.

Back in say, 2005, I didn't have a Wi-Fi network at home. This was still quite common at the time, so Nintendo had a solution for that: a Wi-Fi dongle that would fit in the USB port of your computer. In retrospect, the thing was ridiculously overpriced. Getting it to work properly was rather annoying. I remember trying out Mario Kart DS. While the service was plagued by disconnections, and some of the coolest courses in the game weren't even available in multiplayer, the fact that I could play a handheld game online was a revelation.

Two years later came Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the first two Pokémon games with a much-desired online mode. For the first time ever catching 'em all was not quite as impossible as it had been before. One of the most brilliant yet flawed innovations was the Global Trade Station. Put a pokémon up for offer or search for one you want and see what people want in exchange. On paper it worked well, but in practice people would ask for lv. 100 Palkia in exchange for their awesome lv.3 Bidoof. Hackers and illegitimate lv.1 shiny Dialgas and Kyogres littered the system.... and continue to do so to this day. Why even allow players to ask for a lv.1 Mewtwo. It never happens unless you cheat.

But even then, the fact that a Diamond player like me could get his hands on a Pearl-exclusive Murkrow in exchange for Diamond-native Misdreavus was wonderful. No more getting together with friends and buying clunky link cables to get that one elusive Pokémon like we used to as kids in the schoolyard. No, you'd just put up that Misdreavus and within an hour or so, you would have yourself a Murkrow from some nameless dude in Japan. Fair trades were usually rewarded. Sure, it felt less like socializing, but it was so much more streamlined and easy than before.

HeartGold and SoulSilver kept most of the additions of Crystal intact. I hope OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire do the same with Emerald-exclusive features. There was plenty of interesting new stuff in Emerald like the Battle Tents, a bigger Safari Zone, Trainer Hill, Mirage Tower, Desert Underpass and off course the immense challenge of the Battle Frontier. I would be really dissapointed if they do not add the Battle Frontier. I expect some new areas as well.

And please, Game Freak, add the cool Rayquaza scene from Emerald. Imagine how awesome that'd be in 3D. I imagine they don't make both Teams Magma and Aqua be your enemy in these new versions - like in Emerald - but they could at least keep the Kyogre vs. Groudon thing and Rayquaza in the main story.

@Luneth Oh yes! That would be a match made in heaven. It would be a major fail if they do not use that.

If they don't wanna show anything substantial, why didn't they just wait until E3 to show this game off in a full trailer?

Looking forward to this. I wonder how much I will enjoy this game compared to FireRed and LeafGreen or HeartGold and SoulSilver, though. I have played through the original Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald versions so many times, I wonder if I will enjoy it quite as much. I know Hoenn through and through by now, making it somewhat less exciting than playing Kanto or Johto again. I hadn't played much of those games in a few years when their remakes came out. I kinda hoped it was a sequel, rather than a remake, but I am satisfied with a Sevii Islands kind of situation.

'New World'. I hope this means it is more than just a remake. I will play it to death either way.

While earning gold on all cups certainly isn't easy on any Mario Kart game, this one in particular is unforgiving. Still a great game, though.

NintendoLife should review this thing.

Please, for the love of God, follow suit Nintendo of Europe. I still wanna buy Mario Kart 7, New SMB 2 and DK Country Returns 3D. Especially Mario Kart 7 is high on my wishlist right now.

I am wondering, though. Is this going to be one of those 'greatest hits' lines. That'd make perfect sense to me.

I can't believe I fell for this for a sec.

The memes were fantastic. Cranky is truly a great old geezer.

Finally the actual environments are made of LEGO as well. The lack of that always bothered me about all these LEGO games.

The download code version should be available already. At least I got it. I'd say this is perhaps even better than the NES version also downloadable on VC. You can unlock The Lost Levels in this as well, but I believe they stripped some secret levels from that, so you might still be better off just buying that separately.

Why not on 3DS?

@GuardianKing They are referring to the Medichamite you can get at the Sundial after getting the Mega Ring.

I really hope they ditch those timed events and just make them permanently available. Why not make them available through Global Link to players who have accumulated enough Poké Miles or Dream Points or whatever? It would still require effort, but at least it would still be easier to obtain all Pokémon for those who didn't buy the game within the first few months after release. Heck, for all I care they make it paid DLC. Every generation they add more of these Mew-esque creatures that often end up being ugly holes in your Pokédex if you don't pay attention to those timed events.

What about Kiddy Kong, Dixie's companion in DK Country 3. Quite an omission there Nintendo Life.

This is wonderful. The only things I find stange are a.) why the Poké Transporter is not fully integrated but a separate app and b.) why you can only use box 1 to transfer Pokémon from your DS games to Bank. You first have to put all Pokémon you wanna tranfer in Box 1. Why can't you just select from any box like with Pal Park and the Tranfer Machine?

It did not happen the first time, but seeing that Nintendo might be more willing to license out its brands according to rumours, this might actually happen one day. I think it would be awesome.

I already have many of the games I really wanted for GBA. Still a few I am looking for, though. Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland (excellent remake of the already available Kirby's Adventure) Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, Wario Land 4 just to name a few.

I didn't know you could use those chains of Pokémon to get certain egg moves otherwise unavailable. That's pretty cool.

Already have it on Wii and GBA, so I'm not sure yet.

Well, that sucks big time. Time to drain the North Sea.

I dislike it but I guess that is reasonable.

@Psychomalone You are incorrect. He is Fire/Flying in Red/Blue, but in Yellow he gains the ability to learn Fly, which is absent in Red/Blue.

Squirtle, even in the long run, has the least weaknesses. They mention 12 leaders, but I assume they mean the Elite Four too.

What is still beyond me is why they didn't simply bring all the games already on the service for the first Wii system over to the new generation.

Still, when you think about it, if there is any video game brand at all that is like the Disney of video games, I think we can all agree that would be Nintendo. It's just as recognizable, just as loved by old and young and has similarly recognizable characters. Miyamoto really is the Walt Disney of video games.