jonathantown

Good point on Mega CD2 guys - you knew what I meant but also I concede defeat!

@Tate24 Interestingly during my playthrough I never experienced any crashes or bugs, although I'm seeing plenty of other folk reporting the opposite.

@andrea987 Yep, you're right, thanks. The perils of proof-reading at midnight!

@Captain_Toad It's a good point, I have requested an edit to the review Thanks!

@Vandy Hello - thanks for the comments, I actually played through the entire game for the review and I get what the game is trying to achieve. I just personally don't think it works very well from a playability point of view; even though it's designed in such a way for Pac-Man to do his own thing, it can make for a rather annoying experience in my opinion. As for my comments at the end, it stands to reason if you're a Pac-Man fan looking for more Pac-Man, you'll probably be more likely to enjoy a compilation of various arcadey Pac-Man games than an unexpected point and click adventure. It's great that people have a soft spot for this game and I'm glad you enjoyed it back in the day. The Smash Bros. end comment is just for fun (and Pac-Man is in Smash of course).

@yokokazuo Sorry only just seen your comment - I couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the online shop to be honest; there are items in there for sale, but it never seems to connect to the internet, so unless it's just all been opened for offline I have no idea...

@JaguarWong 4:3 is a good thing, not a negative. Would have been nice with the extra graphics drawn into the edges (for an option) as M2 did with Out Run and a few of the others though.

@JaguarWong for me, there are others in this genre I prefer. Just my opinion For you it might be a perfect ten. 9 or 10, it's still bloody fantastic...

@Eight-Bit-Yoshi borders on the sides buddy if playing on a widescreen TV. Same on gamepad.

@timp29 the review focusses more on what's different about the Wii U version specifically in terms of features etc.

The review is in context of the source hardware - if it came out today, it would be a different product. So you need to appreciate the technical artistry from an N64 point of view, then rate the game as a game. Not how I think it compares with other games - of course the 3DS version is 'better' in some regards, but it doesn't make the original worse. If all games were reviewed against each other, there would be a single best game and you may as well play no other games! Why did I rate it a ten? Because I love the game. (Not because I thought it was a default score that had to be given). It's a wonderful piece of work and I'm thoroughly enjoying playing it again. We should be positive about great games, and there are plenty of them, especially on Nintendo consoles.

@Gen0neD On an XL, it fills enough of the screen for you to quickly forget, but it is kind of a shame but definitely not a deal breaker imo.

@AlexSora89 You can select any of the starting four anyway, then use the save state option as a kind of 'free' continue if you so choose to do so?

@CanisWolfred Yeah, once you've picked up a weapon (doesn't matter which) and the second slot is active, you can then cycle between any you like. Instant access!

@LeonBelmontX you're very much correct, that was the wrong paragraph, must have been a glitch in the matrix or something. Please re-read as it's now how it should be Sorry about that!

A few thoughts for you - marketing isn't just spending a million pounds on TV ads. Also remember the UK office is a branch of Nintendo Europe, and a lot of the assets / strategy is fed down from there.

@vonseux Hi there - thanks for the comments. If you're really interested, I completed the game on my third try using the available credits, then a 1cc about an hour later. My biggest personal issue is the gameplay isn't that great, regardless of the beautiful graphics. Out Run has a wonderful learning curve and plenty of replay value in mastering the routes and learning how to react to the random nature of the other vehicles on the road. I love playing arcade games for mastery, but for me, Thunder Blades isn't worth as much effort because of the points raised in my review. It's a decent game, just not a great one - even when playing it in the context of a score based arcade game. Glad you're enjoying it though.

@Donjwolf

@Donjwolf PS 6/10 isn't a bad score - just not a great one

@Donjwolf thanks for the feedback - as a 38 year old arcade kid (love traditional shmups) I get where your coming from. The score is based on Thunder Blade being an average game, not purely down to length. Although I would say the length of the stages is way too short, and you don't really need to learn much in order to be half decent at it. Great for a quick credit, not really a lasting experience for me personally. Glad you're enjoying it though, M2 did a great job of the conversion!

@OptometristLime I like to take my time and experiment

@Kirk It's definitely an interesting debate, I don't personally categorise myself as a particular type of gamer, indeed I like a good throwaway 5 minute experience, but when that 5 minute experience locks away 95% of the game by forcing you to play the same thing for hours on end, it's no longer a 5 minute experience, it's an endless grind to be able to access the rest of the game. It's incredibly badly structured, which could easily be fixed with a little more thought. For example, why provide the option of 3 different dogs, when you can't actually use 2 of them unless you are willing to 'play' for weeks on end? (Note in the official trailer it states 'choose your favourite' - there's no 'choice' at the beginning) This would be fine if there was a learning curve or some progression, but unfortunately there is none. It's not enjoyable as a game and when a game isn't enjoyable, it's quite a problem.

Also, not being able to interact with other people/friends scores essentially means the only thing to actually do is beat local scores, which is achieved by just playing for more hours, not from learning how to be better, because there's nothing to learn.

I don't have any issue at all with casual games, when they are done well - however locking away content and attempting to force longevity doesn't fit with an experience like this one.

As I said previously, a few tweaks could fix many of the issues that ruin this. I played many, many hours of Jet Dog for this review and it's simply not a good game.

Thanks for your comments though, I enjoy a good discussion.

@Kirk I've never had as little fun playing any game as this one, for all the reasons I state in the review. One of the biggest issues is the amount of effort required for any kind of reward - the (in-game) cost of items and extra dogs is way too high and takes way too long to grind up. The 'game' (swipe once, watch Dog fly) is dull enough without forcing you to play it for hours on end to unlock items that don't really change much other than increasing your non-sharable high score. It could have had the most awe-inspiring graphics and rockin' great tunes of any game ever made, however that wouldn't change the fact that the core experience is dull as dishwater, there are no objectives or progression and the upgrade mechanic is one of the most ill-conceived I've ever seen.

If the game was free, it would not be a better game, the price is just the final nail in the coffin. I'll also add this final thought - it would be an instantly better game if every item and dog was unlocked from the beginning, and there was a strategy to choosing items to equip in order to affect distance. But they aren't, and there isn't.

Hello! I wrote this review and I've been reading all your comments with interest.

Of course, Super Mario 64 will always cause huge differences of opinion as will a ‘perfect’ 10/10 score. For me, Mario 64 does everything right as a platformer – it eases you in without being dull (play begins instantly) teaches you game mechanics through playing and there’s a huge world to explore. This world can be tackled in many different ways, making this one of the most non-linear 3D platformers in terms of game structure and even to this very day, few games have come close to replicating that wonderful feeling of exploration.

Has it aged? Games don’t age like humans do – it’s not any worse looking today than it was on launch. It is, in fact, exactly the same. Of course it’s going to appear ‘worse’ due to advancements in graphical fidelity since, but with that logic in place does that mean Super Mario 3D World will be a 5/10 game in ten years’ time because graphics have advanced?

I didn't review Mario 64 based on what I thought it should score twenty years ago, I actually reviewed it in context of what I feel it’s worth today and now. And honestly, I had a more fun and rewarding experience replaying Mario 64 than I have had in a long time. If 10/10 meant ‘perfect’ nothing on earth would ever get 10/10, because nothing is perfect to everyone. Think about a movie, or a new album by your favourite band – how do you rate something that’s so personal to each individual? Mathematically 10/10 is 100% of course, so to some it’s never going to make sense, but to me 10/10 is a score given to a game that rises above its peers, is wonderfully executed, imaginative, rewarding and has a certain magic which can’t be easily explained. A game that once completed leaves you wanting more and reminds you why you fell in love with gaming in the first place. Mario 64 is one of those games in my opinion, and it always will be. But if you don’t agree, that’s cool, because we’re all different, right?

Thank you for reading the review, if you'd like to you can chat with me on Twitter @moomootown - I love to talk videogames, especially Nintendo!

Have a good day!

@BulbasaurusRex nah, I'm not biased against Battleship, however a game reliant on guess work and deduction is flawed when playing against AI that seems to guess right a little too much... With human players the flow of play and interaction isn't exactly tip-top either. Give me the board game anyday!

@GloryQuestor I like Battleship in principal, and loved it as a kid. But this piece of software manages to make the whole experience very very dull... Unfortunately

@LemonSlice heh

@dok5555555 the first stage is laid out slightly different in the original japanese version and there's a few little bugs ironed out that you probably wouldn't notice. If you google Sega Blog they have a great interview with the developers which details some of them out.

@617Sqn generally they go up between 2 and 3pm...

@XyVoX you have to reach all 5 endings (A,B,C,D and E) to unlock the option for 'arcade' mode. The screen sizes are in the settings straight away, I find using the 4:3 size together with stand up cabinet (gets rid of the image of the steering wheel at the bottom which annoys me) is most authentic to the original look.

@Ootfan98 Also - lovely Head over Heels profile pic

@Ootfan98 There are two versions of the course layouts - in the original Japanese release the order is different to the more well known western version. The 3DS game has both options

If you do pick it up, I also recommend checking out the staff credits option in the menu for a few nice surprises...

@Beechbone I didn't experience any game crashes, although if I was connected online and closed the system for a break then re-opened it, there was an error message due to the disconnection - but I'd expect that.

@manu0 It's not too difficult to finish stage 1 with the Golden Armour, and you can at that point choose the tougher top route, or go with an easier one. There's always a choice But if you can keep to the top, then, as you rightly point out, you are definitely a master of the game...

@Obito_Sigma Precisely that - the review is in context of the Wii U VC version, and as such it's much less essential than it may have been originally on GBA. I loved it back in the day though, but when you can choose between this or the SNES version, SNES is the one to go for in my opinion

For me, 3D Powerdrift is the one I REALLY want M2 to announce...!