larry_koopa

I'm going to avoid the fire-storm that will be this comment section today. All I'm going to say is the following: fire Iwata.

Great collection of screen shots right there!

Personally I don't really care whether it's the GBA version or the SNES version - it's the exact same game either way and I have no idea why people are complaining. Just be happy that you can finally play the game on a TV screen again as opposed to a 3DS or GBA screen. The game looks beautiful and if you're playing with a classic controller it might as well be the SNES version (after you re-map a few buttons anyways).

Oh, and the original also suffered from frame-rate drops in places. That's not specific to the GBA version. But like Martin says it in no way ruins the experience.

I've heard this story (or something very similar) before, but I've always found it interesting nonetheless. In fact in general I'm always interested to see how box art differs between the different territories.

Well, this doesn't look amazing or anything.

This is a great idea and I applaud Nintendo for doing this. I live in North America and already own the two out of those four games that I care about (Mario and Zelda) but still; for all the people that are going to be buying their Wii U on May 30 specifically because of Mario Kart 8 this is simply outstanding news.

I enjoyed reading this much more than actually watching that this morning. Maybe the North American broadcast was more annoying than the European version??

Regardless I could not be more excited for this game. One month from today we'll all be enjoying it!!

Okay, framing this as a cheesy, pre-paid advertisement/infomercial was stupid and very annoying to sit through, but that doesn't change the fact that this game is going to be incredible.

Just show us footage and talk about it normally. All this other fluff really wasn't necessary.

@TeeJay

I know. Over 300 comments of people ranting and raving about Nintendo's E3 strategy while stories like this largely go by unnoticed. I know we all come to sites like this for gaming news, but in my mind there's always room for stories like these as well.

Those are some great pieces of art and this is a great cause. Love this.

Looks great!!

Can I just say how amazing it is to finally be able to play Yoshi's Island on a TV again? It was the only beloved SNES title from my childhood to not be released on the Wii VC, so this was a long time coming.

@WhiteTrashGuy

But yes, it was very Burnout-like. Burnout 2 on the GameCube is one of my all time favourite racing games.

@WhiteTrashGuy

I wouldn't recommend that game to you. I had it and it froze about 20 times in 30 hours of gameplay. It once froze 4 times in 5 minutes. It'd be a great game if it actually ran probably on the Wii U. It's a shame as I was really looking forward to the game when it came out. If possible I suggest picking it up on another console if that's an option for you.

This looks nice, but after my experience with Need for Speed: Most Wanted U I swore that I would never buy another third-party game for the Wii U. If this game actually turns out to be good I'll buy it for the PS4 some day. Otherwise I'll just stick with my trusty Forza 4.

Good read. Personally, I'm not a big supporter of DLC. Gaming is an expensive enough hobby as it is and I am not willing to pay extra cash for content packs or new maps or new character skins or whatever they're trying to pitch. A game should stand on its own the day you buy it, not requiring DLC down the road which half the time only gives you the content that you should have had from the beginning when you paid full price for the game.

Unless we're talking about free bonus content (like Sonic Lost Worlds) I'm just generally not interested.

Not a fan of this series, but I still hope that it gets a Western release for the fans. I do think that this could be a perfect fit for the Wii U and the GamePad.

I fondly remember the Christmas when I got both a Game Boy and a Super Nintendo. It started a lifelong love of video games that will never go away. And while I've spent more time with my PS3 than either my 3DS or Wii U in recent years, my gaming roots will forever be Nintendo.

Played lots of Forza 4 and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit today. Tomorrow I plan to break into the 2012 reboot of Twisted Metal, which I just bought brand new yesterday. Finally, I'll likely throw some Tropical Freeze in there between everything else.

Happy holiday weekend and happy gaming to everybody!

I just came here to say how much I love Rayman Legends. It is simply one of the most beautiful games that I have ever played.

Diablo 3 on PS3, and starting Dragon's Crown on my Vita.

I would love if something really special was unlocked after you beat every Cup on 150cc – something other than Mirror Mode. Once I get gold in everything in Mirror Mode I never play it again and I don’t think I’m alone on that one, so I wish that Nintendo would include something that I’ll actually want to return to once I beat everything. Maybe some extra Cups or one really long and special final track or something??

Don't get me wrong - I am super hyped for both Smash Bros and Mario Kart, but Nintendo better have a plan in place for once these two games are released. Otherwise we could be in store for a major draught a la the first year of the Wii U's lifecycle. Just a concern...

I'm waiting for Yoshi's Island a little bit later in the month.

Also I just realized that you can no longer pick up a second item when you are dragging one behind your kart. That's going to take some getting used to.

@ThomasBW84

Tom, if you're playing with a Pro Controller during single player does the HUD show you the position of the racers and the items that they have along the left-hand side of the screen (like in Mario Kart 64 or Wii), or can you only access that info if you're playing with the GamePad? Thanks

Awesome preview! It only furthered my excitement for this game. And as somebody who can’t stand the GamePad its lack of original ideas here does not bother me at all. Pro Controller all the way for this guy! If it weren’t for those 3 levels in Super Mario 3D World my GamePad would not have been used at all in over 8 months: I never use it for Wind Waker or for Tropical Freeze and I never play Nintendo Land anymore.

Anyways, this game is going to be my life in less than two months!! And my goodness does the inclusion of the Koopa Kids make me happy!!

I've beaten this game about 5 times over and never experienced this.

The Wii U is simply a different beast when compared to the XB1 and PS4. Yes it's under-powered when compared to those two boxes, but it's also aimed at another demographic entirely. For the audience that the Wii U is targeted at it's doing it's job.

I don't enjoy Sonic games, but even still I love everything about this idea. Not only is it really clever DLC, but it's free. Sega is really doing justice to the fans of this game.

One more comment and then I’ll leave this alone. I just checked with my Activity Log and I have played New Mario Bros. U, 3D World, Wind Waker, and DKC collectively for 147 hours. Not a single freeze with any of those games in that time. Therefore, there is no excuse for Need for Speed to freeze over a dozen times in 20 hours of gameplay.

@wombatkidd

You're right. Nintendo clearly knows what they're doing with the system. It's the third-parties who are doing something wrong. They're either not putting in enough time or effort or simply not caring. Wind Waker, both Mario games, and DKC - all 100% fine. Mass Effect, Darksiders, AC III, Need for Speed - multiple freezes in each during my time with them.

@lebad

The load times in that game really are not that bad. It loads for a few seconds before and after each level and for about 10-15 seconds to get to the file select screen when you first start the game up. How dare the game load during a loading screen.

I love how I'm not the only one who clearly has freezing issues with their system. However, since I've stopped playing third-party games on the system it hasn't frozen once. Funny how I've never had a single issue with any of Nintendo's own games on the console, just third-party ones. 90 combined hours in Tropical Freeze and 3D World without a single freeze, but over 12 freezes in 20 hours of Need for Speed Most Wanted and 3 freezes in 2 hours of Assassin's Creed 3. Thankfully I now own other consoles which actually successful run third-party games. For the few games that I'll ever own on the Wii U I'm very happy with it now. I assume, now that I'll never play a third-party game on the console again, that I will not have any more freezing issues.

I really need to stop checking my gaming sites at 6am on April Fool's day...

April Fools?

Congrats, Tom. This is much deserved. Your reviews and various features are always fair, well argued, and just generally spot on and enjoyable to read. All the best to you.

I'll be playing them on my TV, thank you very much.

I'm just glad that I downloaded DKC 1 and 2 onto my Wii when I had the chance.

@Xtremetdifan

I'm sure it's easier to see on an HDTV screen than it is on a computer screen. It's clearly Mario and Luigi, though. But yes, the quality of the screenshot isn't the greatest.

Have this downloaded on the Wii, so no need for a double-dip on the Wii U. Such a classic, though. It's funny - this is the only game in the series where I've actually enjoyed the Battle Mode.

I own multiple systems that I could potentially play this on and I have zero interest in playing it on any of them.

I'm not a fan of Sonic games, but this is pretty cool!

I won't be getting this because I'm not a golf fan, but I'm happy that the 3DS is getting another solid title added to its library.

April 24 then. So glad that I held off on Yoshi's Subpar Island. $8 for the 1995 masterpiece or $44.99 for that 'New' piece of trash? Pretty easy decision.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The 3DS is one of the best systems out there.

Racing has always been one of my favourite genres, so I'm excited about this!

I know for me the newest Mario Kart always sells itself; in my opinion few games out there are a 'sure thing' like Mario Kart is. But in general I love the idea of demos and trial periods. It's something that I take real advantage of on the PSN.

This really shouldn't surprise anybody. I love my Wii U but I have it only so I can play Nintendo first-party software. The Assassin's Creed series got its start on the PS3 and 360 - that's where the fan base is for these titles. I'm sure III and Black Flag on Wii U sold a fraction of what they sold on Sony and Microsoft's consoles, so who can blame Ubisoft for not investing time and resources into a product that hardly anybody will buy? The fact that the PS4 surpassed the Wii U in total sales in a matter of weeks is not something that is lost on developers and publishers.

I'm not trying to be mean here, but if you really want these third-party experiences and you're limiting yourself to just a Wii U you're kind of out of luck. There's nothing wrong with supporting more than one home console.

Other than the fact that they're holding their blasters I like the style. Unless Fox is in the Landmaster for one or two stages he has no business being on the ground at all. Just make a game with awesome graphics and with the same structure as Star Fox 64... it really shouldn't be that difficult...