artofmana

It doesn't look like Mega Man to me. The realistic guns, bullets and armor just don't entice me. I can see a game like this working, but I think they would really need to reassess the style. This is too gritty in my opinion.

Excellent article. You make some great points. Nintendo seems to be pretty with it lately.

After seeing Ubisoft's last E3 presentation and then Ancel and his studio it just seems like they are already two entirely different entities. Maybe the team will find a home closer linked to Nintendo. That seems a better match.

Ugh! The punctuation is off! Geez, is it that hard on a single line of words?!

Tasuki, Tiger handhelds were actually pretty cool. I'm sure many of us who were alive then had those as they were a lot less expensive. I would also bet most of us remember them fondly.

It seems right in the tradition of Donkey Kong Land. It makes perfect sense to make a portable version of this game. I'd like to see what comes out of it but either way it's Donkey Kong on the 3DS!

Brilliant!

I do like Rayman and Jungle Run on the iPad is one of my favorite apps for iOS. I just wanted to point that out.

Yeah, their whole PR shtick is getting very thinly veiled. They couldn't stop praising Nintendo's latest work and now they're changing tune. I don't know, ever since their E3 presentation I've had some hesitations about this company. It was the first time I saw any keynote of theirs but it felt very unprofessional.

Ouch! That's a really disappointing announcement. Doesn't it seem like releasing the game as a Wii U exclusive would do nothing but help Ubisoft and Nintendo? Ubisoft would be looking at having the system-seller/killer-app on a Nintendo console which is a rare place for a third-party developer. I think they should have taken advantage of it.

Am I missing something or would an HD release be missing 3-D? Or, I suppose it could be 3-D with glasses, right?

I maybe wrong but this doesn't appear to be a straight HD upscale. It looks like they are creating all new assets. Why wouldn't they charge full price?

I maybe wrong but this doesn't appear to be a straight HD upscale. It looks like they are creating all new assets. Why wouldn't they charge full price?

I maybe wrong but this doesn't appear to be a straight HD upscale. It looks like they are creating all new assets. Why wouldn't they charge full price?

Long live pinball!

Great interview. I never heard of the guy but will check out his site for sure.

I love these retro articles, too!

Thanks for the summary. This was a great Direct. I'm really excited about Yoshi. Isn't it funny that everyone was saying Kirby's Epic Yarn should've had Yoshi in it? It made sense to Nintendo too, I guess.

It's nice to hear that you all had positive reactions to this. I sure did.

I don't know. I don't yet have a 3DS but I can imagine I would use this for games I like enough to want both in a physical and digital format. I still prefer physical but if I have some games I love to pick up and play and I want to travel it would be nice to have a couple as digital. If this software allowed save data to go both ways I'd be even happier. I could imagine using that.

Also, it seems a little arbitrary when Darth Vader and the Joker can make a list like this. I know there are games that they are the villains in but does that really count?

I think it's strange that so many new games are on this list. If this is meant to be an all time greats list it seems very particular to 2012.

This Yoshi's Yarn game has me stoked. Really, there was a ton of great stuff but it was a wonderful surprise to see the Yoshi gameplay.

Wow. That's a shame. I remember THQ displayed on quite a few (it seems) old games that I was fond of.

Sweet! I'd be very interested in how this one turns out.

Personally I hope they use the same or similar art style to the tech demo. I think it is a good balance between light and colorful and "realistic." That coupled with some of the non-linearity of the original would probably be great! I'd love to feel like I'm an adventurer in a large world with some directive and a lot of opportunities I have to choose between.

This was one of the most exciting announcements from the Direct! Thanks, Nintendo!

By the time GameCube came out I was too busy with school and had moved temporarily away from video games. I got to play this game and a few others a little bit with friends so when the Wii came out I was very excited about its backwards compatibility. I've since bought and beaten Wind Waker and it really is one of my favorite Zelda games. I'm excited for this. For one thing, the addition of off-screen play means I could play through this one in bed!

As soon as I have access to the eShop, this will be a purchase of mine. I thought it was brilliant on iOS and would be an even better fit on a Nintendo product since it seems to pay homage to so many Nintendo franchises or franchises that originated on Nintendo consoles. I was originally a strong proponent of Apple mobile gaming but lately am concerned with the devaluing of games by potential purchasers and by the free-to-play/freemium business model and its game-crippling money-grabbing. Certainly that's not every game, but it does seem to be a trend.

I've never played a game from the series but the antlered creature looks cool and this could be a good jumping in point.

Thank you for these articles. When I was younger I really enjoyed the original series and the X series but with so many subsequent games and genres it got very confusing to be a Mega Man fan. It kind of pushed me away from the series as a whole other than playing the old games.

I've recently been looking at some of the games I've missed in the original and X series and am even considering trying some of the others. Zero and ZX have my attention but I may even try getting into Legends.

Go for it, Nintendo. If you have options that are creative and fun, we will buy into it. Even if it's not that great, the advantage here is we wouldn't have to buy a cable.

So amazing! Very good production value for something like this. It made it very enjoyable.

Hmm, after reading the Wired article I was disheartened to hear these were made with donar carts. I would feel much better if I knew no original carts were hurt in the making of this reproduction.

This is so great! I remember reading about this game in my Nintendo Power. I would love to play this on my Virtual Boy. It is a great system and one that you really can't emulate elsewhere. Tis an experience all its own. I would love to see competent home brew games packages in cartridges and sold.

No Game Boy Pocket, Advance SP or Virtual Boy? Probably a few others too? Good stuff, though!

I don't care for the bloodiness in the post's pictures, though. I like the image of Link standing in the third image. It's what I most relate to. Anyway, thanks for sharing these.

Thanks Sony_70, what you posted are the closest images to Link I had in my head as a kid. I still remember pretending to be Link on the playground.

Dang people! Not a lot of love for these images.

I like them. They remind me of how Link appeared in my head when I was a kid playing the original. Thankfully someone mentioned Katsuya Terada because his has always been my favorite depictions of the Zelda franchise and Secret of Mana.

Final thought: when I was a kid, pixel art translated to much more Western looking artwork. Now, graphics are so good, there is no mistaking the anime influence on Link. I love Link's many styles through the years, but there is a place in my heart for something along these lines.

Tsuchiya said:
Bloomin' heck.
Give the damn console room to shine before knocking it. It's only 8 days old
Wii U will do just fine.

Thanks man! That's a brilliant comment.

I presume game saves would be transferred in this process and could also be transferred via SD card alone for non online games.

I'm incredibly excited. I would make a day one purchase but unfortunately, finances dictate a wait. I just hope I can still buy a white version for a while. I'm not a fan of the black, personally--even with the extra internal storage.

Ha ha! That is a very clever post. Thanks so much. It certainly lightens the mood of election time here in the USA. I had to go with Zelda since she has had the most experience governing. But I like what @Eryan64 pointed out.

I agree and disagree with Vinsanity.  I would agree that Sony is building up a really strong collection of IP's though I'm not sure how it all works because I think that technically a number of the franchises he mentioned may be second party.  I think a couple are third party, too.  I may be wrong.  I don't follow Sony business that closely.  Either way, it's clear to me that Nintendo has made more IP's in their history and in my opinion they have treated them better.  Granted, they weren't technically first party but I feel really bad for Spyro and Crash Bandicoot as an example.

But boy!--Vinsanity listed some great games.  And he's right that Nintendo lacks many shooters.  However, I don't see many 2D platformers showing up on Sony's first party radar.  They barely exist on Sony and Microsoft's consoles period.  Nintendo has been focussing a lot of their energies on this genre during the current generation and I couldn't be happier because I was sad when it all but disappeared.

My biggest disagreement however is that I wouldn't dare argue Nintendo hasn't created new first party games or innovated genres this generation.  The big N has been spending time on non-traditional genres and games that break down barriers.  You may have already forgotten about Wii Sports but with it Nintendo once again defined a new genre of game that is now being imitated by the other two major companies.  Games like Wii Fit and Fling Smash are unique and new examples of first party games coming to Nintendo's Wii.  Nintendo has been on a roll but I think many gamers turn a blind eye because they aren't seeing on the Wii the type of genre they are most attracted to (which is increasingly becoming the shooting genre in the west) whether it be first or third party.  And really, this is a case where lack of third party support really stings because people perceive Nintendo as lacking.  A strong third party showing makes a company--like Microsoft or Sony now--look good.  A poor third party showing--like for Nintendo now--makes a company look bad.

Yeah, for what it's worth I enjoy both games and actully think Sonic and the Black Knight is fun. Ridiculous and buggy, yes, but I enjoy it and proudly own and play it.

Let me tell you as someone who owns two Virtual Boy consoles and picks them up regularly, the Virtual Boy has a great, albeit small, library. The first thing I wanted was Virtual Console support as the Virtual Boy system is less convenient to set up than a 3DS. Now it seems Nintendo--or at least Myamoto--might be considering remastered/remake versions of the games. I wouldn't mind that in addition as I would definitely buy Wario in red and full color again! Those who have never played any of the games probably has their opinion tainted by the things said of the system post mortum. Truly, every game released for it is worth playing. Well, maybe not Waterworld. . . .

@Link71 and @turtlelink and @jackaroo I really enjoyed the first episode, too. It had just the right mix for a fun game and I appreciated its length since so many of the games I own take a million years to complete and I like feeling I can accomplish something in that mix.

Simple: No.

More nuanced: While I prefer physical media, I think Nintendo needs to step up their digital distribution game and actually make their own WiiWare/3DSWare entries. I think there are some games that benefit from retail packaging and storage but I also think there is room for a few titles that could be downloaded to the portable device (or on an SD card) so that you don't have to carry as many games around if you're traveling. I happen to like a few small, pick-up-and-go type games. Games that you can play for a moment or two while you're in line. These are great on my iPad or iPod. On the Wii, sometimes I like to just have a few games there on my screen without having to insert a disc. Something that is fun and can be played in a short blast between watching Netflix and playing a disc-based game.

So much for glasses-less 3D!

@10 I totally agree with you. I should double check what the rating for Secret of Mana was on this site because if it wasn't a ten, I'd be disappointed. I prefer Secret of Mana, if you couldn't guess.