Tony3DS

Wow votes for Earthbound went from 2 to 24 in a few minutes. I've never played it and just this once I won't even wait for the review. I want to feel like part of the "it" crowd and just buy it right away. You get the strategy guide too for $10 that's great.

Great article I knew about the N64 Japan only but not how it was later re-translated back from the Treehouse version. I loved the original much more than Wild World because of the holidays and virtual console games. Starting a new leaf right now though, just waiting on the download!

Nice review, I was going to wait to read it in case of spoilers, but I couldn’t help myself!

I bet the game will look amazing no matter what. I don’t often turn 3D on but I’m still glad it’s there. If it wasn’t I could always use the magic eye technique and just let my eyes go kind of cross. I do it all the time and it works really well with the 3DS in particular. Kind of weird like that I am.

@zipmon I see what you did there...lololol, oh thank Goddess for the gift of laughter!!!... On a serious note I hope to see more of these kind of loyalty discounts too.

@Damo Great tagline Damien! Ah the 90’s! Us children of the night...I, I mean nineties, remember Winona Ryder when she was a cool actress and before she stole that stuff!

Thank you for posting these NL!

I panicked and then realized I have purchased this game. Now if only we could get SimCity 64 localized to the US. Hopefully it will reappear for those who missed out, but I’d like to mention it’s cheap for the original cartridge. Also, check out Utopia for SNES if you like this.

I'm really pleased that it DOES support over the air TV (broadcast was the second option), now if it could just adjust my antenna w/o me having to get up.

Expensive is such a relative term. This is more than my new car payment, but I have 60 of those to look forward to and only one of these (plus maybe one more for games per year). I’ll wait for a lot of games to go on sale or just buy great eshop games in lieu of. The eshop and VC has greatly reduced my retail spending. Also I have a backlog of Metroid Other M & Kirby’s Epic Yarn that I purchased for $5 each last year, and Zelda Skyward Sword for $29. I suppose I’ll have Nintendoland as my only Wii U game for a while.

I thought “industry analysts” were supposed to analyze facts in order to form educated opinions. This article from 2010 states 63 third-party games on the DS sold more than 1 million copies, how is that “no one did well”???

http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/02/25/nintendo-boasts-third-party-sales-success

My 32” TV is 720p anyway. I saw some crazy 2000+p IBM monitors in EPCOT and the representative was so proud explaining how the human eye couldn’t detect the pixels (this was before Apple retina displays). I couldn’t help thinking at the time that if I can’t even tell a difference past 1080p what’s the point? I hope SM Galaxy 3 is in 1080p though I doubt I’d be able to tell even if I had a better TV.

I’m waiting to buy the 3DS XL because it’s not available in white. I like that purple regular 3DS but I really want the XL. Still feeling the burn of having to get a “black fingerprint magnet” just to get the deluxe version of the Wii U. I’m happy and so excited even still.

I paid the $50 for Animal Crossing City Folk because I loved that franchise. Less than a year latter it was selling for $20, but I had no regrets because I had so much fun that year. Usually I wait for games to go on sale, just because I can’t keep up with playing them all. I’m getting the deluxe Wii U with Nintendoland and I’ll probably wait for other games to go on sale at least a bit. I guess I am accustomed to paying $50 or less, but still, I spend a lot on Nintendo games and hardly any anywhere else.

Yeah, that’s okay in about a year or two they’ll have a new “slim” or “capacitive touch screen” and several games that take advantage of a second gamepad. I’ll buy one when that comes out.

Will you be able to play old wii games on the Gamepad? Looking forward to playing out of doors or in bed ☔

Thanks for the review Phil! I was thinking about getting it just because it was a cheap time waster and I'm sad I won't be able to play NSMB2 for a while (I have Fri-Sat off but I'm busy next week). But based on your review of this and your mention of Bird Mania 3D I think I'll get that instead and be much more entertained and calmed (dang US release date for Mario).

Nice, I was about to spend $15 for a used copy on this. Now I can save money (probably?) but at the same time support the developers, get bonus content and not have to keep up with another cart (still buying nsmb2 physical retail though). Sweet!

Thomas, Waxxyone, and Destroyer64: Thank you all for the article and comments, they are so enlightening. I always wondered why there were not more multiplayer options for the VC games and now it makes sense. Also, I never got the whole changing controller thing on SMB. However unlikely here’s hoping they come out with multiplayer for Mario Kart Super Circuit and sell it in the eshop (since I have an ambassador system but my wife doesn’t). ::sigh:: Maybe I should just break down and by another GBA SP and a link cable though.

@GameCube…yeah we get cheap video games but America’s screwed up, if you have a college degree you’re still lucky to make $10/hour and your employer still takes $300/month of that away for health insurance

I almost wish it would cost more, really. The screens are going to be big & beautiful I think, but it seems Nintendo went all cheap to keep the cost down. For example the original 3DS has that light-up green “3D”, the back has the silver and flat screws by the game card slot, and the glitter metallic paint with glossy finish makes me feel special. I will always fondly think of the original one as the “compact premium”

@tovare…totally agree it’s a hard decision

After I saw “unless Nintendo adds Virtual Boy support” I sort of blacked out. Not because that wouldn’t be cool it would, but rather because it’s almost 3am in the part of the US where I am. As always, thank you Nintendo Life for keeping me up late reading all your great articles!

I get it, I really do, physical discs cost very little to produce and ship (I’m not sure about 3DS carts) so I don’t expect some big cut in price because of that. But I rarely pay full retail price. I wonder what Nintendo’s plan is when games have been out a long time and retailers undercut them? Or even a short time (I got Kirby’s Epic Yarn for $5 new from Best Buy over the holidays and felt guilty getting it that cheap)…So if they are charging $49 and at the store its $25 or less what then? I am looking forward to having a few titles with me at all times though (Animal Crossing 3DS, Brain Age 3 I'm looking at you!)

Thank you James, Corbie, and all of you at Nintendo Life and Happy New Year everyone! My first Nintendo was an original Gameboy that I received for Christmas in 1990 and I didn't know what it was. It was still exciting though as my dad explained all the games and accessories while I opened them (anyone remember lightboy?)

Thanks James! I'm very excited to try all these out (especially Kirby never had that one). I still play Minish Cap & Wario Ware on my DS Lite (because I love how much better it looks than on the GBA SP). Now it will be interesting to see how much better they look on a 3DS screen than DS Lite, don’t you think? Of course Gameboy Player on a nice TV isn’t too bad, but not portable.

Nice review Phil and I can't say that Corbie didn't warn me but with the 7/10 score on Xevious, but I got that anyway and want my points back for this. It looks way more fun, can anyone who owns both concur with that?

@HappyPwny.....I really loved GBA games too, but I play a lot more DS games while my GBA carts collect dust now. If I do play a GBA game it's on my DS lite, don't you love how much brighter it is than the SP screen?

Luckily I've only paid for 1 Wiiware version...Beat so far, and I’ve got the free demos on the rest. I’d feel bad if I had bought them all and then they came out with this nice collection. I think Complete looks better, I do like the tilt controls and I want the soundtrack and all the bonuses.

But now Saga has all six games when I thought I read somewhere that it was only going to have 4 a while back. Must have been my imagination?

…and 3D portability would be great, so conflicted….so many games so little time.

Utopia: Creation of a Nation.....anyone?

I think the Wii without GC will be $99 so that'll be good for some. And for the rest of us who want GC, well, we already have Wiis what's the big deal? Also there will be pleanty of used Game Cubes and Wiis on the cheap for years to come.

New Super Load Runner! Can't wait.

I've always like strange, obscure, Jaleco titles (like Utopia on SNES) so maybe I give this one a buy. Yeah, I think I will.

I just counted my stack of DS games and it’s 33…not trying to brag but I love my DS Lite. I can’t imagine only having 5 games for it. I’d like to take this opportunity to mention some of my not well known favorites: Populous DS, Retro Game Challenge, Age of Empires: Mythologies (and yes I like it better than the PC version).

@TheAmazingRacoon: My previous comment was incorrect as well. I found another stack of DS game cases plus a few I lost cases for so I have 48 DS games and only two 3DS (so no palindrome for me  maybe I’ll just have to buy more to make it so again ). My Wii count was at 37 and it seems fitting since I’ve had the DS (fat) from day one and it was a year and a half after launch before I got a Wii. It seems we’ve been way upstaged by someone with 100+ in both cases (SKTTR, you might consider professional help)

”Bet they are not the same ones”….I’d like to compare titles would it be nice if we had 70% of the same ones? Maybe we should start a forum topic for that.

I know everyone is saying that’s not enough titles for Nintendo to put out because of Wii U. But now with this Ambassador program, I mean 20 titles even if they are old…that’s going to keep me so busy until the holidays, plus Zelda OOT. Then once the holidays do come we’ll have Zelda SS, MK7 and Super Mario Land 3D. Wow, it’s going to be a VERY Happy New Year! And I still haven’t beat DK Returns from last year (so hard to get all the puzzle pieces).

@4. jtr235
CY= calendar year Q4= 4th quarter Oct, Nov, Dec

I can’t imagine watching Netflix on a 3DS when I have the Wii attached to my 32 inch television at home. Of course I’m excited to try it out at least, and hopefully they will have streaming 3D movies available some day soon (please Netflix!...at least a few). The only other time this might come in handy if I’m on vacation at a hotel with Wi-Fi. But on vacation you don’t want to waste too much time watching movies.

Jacque Fresco (if you’ve ever seen the movie Future by Design) claims he was working on glasses-free 3D movie projectors way back in the 1960’s or something (he’s 94 years old now). Basically, he said, the movie production company wouldn’t spend the cash for him to perfect it. He thought he could figure out the angle and distance problem in a theater still without glasses, and I believe him.

My point is almost every inventor or invention has stolen tech from some previous to it. I’m sure Nintendo took out their own patents on the 3DS design and who knows this guy might have a case, but I really doubt they will stop selling 3DSes.

This works perfect for me.
1. Wii trade in value is probably less than $80 right now, let alone when the Wii U comes out. So I’m keeping it.
2. Wii goes upstairs to watch Netflix and play Animal Crossing in bed before I go to sleep (always nice dreams when you play AC before bed).
3. I still have my Gamecube with GameBoy Player that can now come downstairs and sit right next to a new Wii U.
4. The best part…..buy a second copy of Mario Kart Wii, play against my wife upstairs without split screen. She doesn’t play video games unless it’s a to the death match of MK Wii!

@11
I bet the cost per touchscreen controller will be closer to a DS Lite price, and hopefully under $100. For having friends over of course they can bring their own or possibly use a DSi or 3DS as the 2nd/3rd/4th controllers.

I agree that the Gamecube was not that innovative. However, I'd like to point out the Game Boy Advanced Link that I still play sometimes with Zelda Wind Waker and Zelda Four Swords. Also that little island you could go to on Animal Crossing I thought was pretty innovative. The system itself was not all that new, but many of the games were like Odama (mic controls). I expect the new Wii not to be too over the top but lots of little innovations on the Wii concept.

@ 20. IanUniacke.........I love that "navel gazing prediction".

My prediction 3DSphone, August 2012 (10m first day sales) you heard it hear first!

Last time I was at the store the DS section was 2 aisles long with about 100 plus games. Even if I liked the PSP better they had such a sad little display with 9 or 10 games tops. ::yawn::

I would like to purchase one....for my "game room' basement. Although I do not think a $25,000 check would even procure one, if I had such a check or such a basement.

I wanted to say that I don't regret buying this game, but there are some other annoying factors I didn't see mentioned. Periscope mode comes after completing a mission mode only allows you to play for 30 seconds. During that time you can earn "decals" which are a nice bonus for your sub. The problem is you can only get a few in the 30 second time period and you need a minimum of 3 for the decals special effects to work (i.e. damage to your sub decreased). So this means you have to play one of the eight missions over and over again at 5 to 10 minutes to collect all the dozens of decals 3, 5 or 7 times. You can play Periscope mode from the main menu for a long time, but not earn decals. Having said all that I still enjoy the game play, music, and 3D-niss of it all. It just seems like too much work.

First of all in the US they are 39 not 49. Secondly stores are always having sales a few months after. Maybe there’s a middle ground between 99 cents and $39, how do you make any money selling a game for 99 cents anyway, even without physical production costs?

I played a $39 piece of plastic all day yesterday called Steel Diver. It was great. And it really only cost me $15 after my Amazon credit (buy a 3ds get a $25 credit). I also downloaded Angry Birds Rio for free last week on the Amazon app store for Android, although I’ve been uninspired to try that yet.

Konno, Nintendo, and to whom it may concern please offer demos. I've purchased games that were well reviewed without a demo (World of Goo, Bit Trip Core..too hard..and others) and felt cheated because I didn't like the game. Now I will not buy a download game without a demo. But if the game is really good quality AND I like it I'm willing to pay full price immediately (Cave Story).....Plus I purchased a game I would have never considered had it not had a demo (Urbanix, even with it's flaws).

I don't think it matters because I'm so busy playing Pokemon Black and I plan to be busy with Steel Diver and all the preloaded software. Not to mention the free Wiiware demos I haven't got a chance to spend any of my 3300 remaining Nintendo points in the last 6 months.....Anybody else running out of room on their 2gb sd card with all these demos? I'm going to future proof my 3ds with an 8gb card at least...maybe a 16gb.

Ipods are for music.
Nokias are for phone calls.
Garmins are for GPS....and Nintendos are for video games.

My Ipod classic has almost 100 GB of music so that rules out any iphone model or DSi. My Android phone calls the wrong number every other time (I miss you Nokia). When I wake up every morning I want to play Pokemon HG for a few minutes in bed....Mario All-Stars and DKC in the afternoon, and Animal Crossing to relax at night.

I know a wide range of people and not one of them plays Farm-whatever (maybe they are ashamed).

Thank you Apple for the gift of music without cd-wallets.
Thank you Nokia for a clear cell phone call no matter what carrier.
Thank you Nintendo for all the great games!

I love Nintendo games and I like artwork and packaging but I love fresh air and clean water to drink a lot more. Pretty soon the planet is going to be destroyed if we all keep getting a new cell phone every 6 months. I can't wait for the 3ds to come out though, I skipped the Dsi and XL to do my part for the planet (and my wallet). My DS lite is looking pretty shabby.

I'd like to see LKS on Wiiware or Dsiware in chapters or episode format. That would solve the problem of store selves. I'm buying less and less discs these days, I've upgraded my SD card on my Wii to 8gb.

There is a lot of shovel ware on smart phones. I personally haven't paid a dime for any apps on my android phone, all the best apps are free. But I do have to pay $25 extra a month data plan which i use very little away from my home wi-fi....and I always feel like I'm getting ripped off, that could have paid for 4 or 5 good games on Wii or DSi ware. Also, the touch screen always lets you down at critical moments.