nf_2

This actually looks really fun. Depending on pricing I'll be picking this one up at some point

E3 04 for the TP reveal is by far the only right answer if you saw it live. I remember watching on G4/Tech TV at the time and just going nuts. Otherwise I thought 06 was good because of all the Wii games (which I think included Brawl and Xenoblade, at the time called Monado). I can't really remember any other E3 for good reasons. A lot of those Wii years were pretty rough.

The idea of releasing VR midway through a console's life is terrible. It basically guarantees that it will fail, and there are enough supporting examples. Wii Motion+, Kinect, Move, New 3DS are recent examples if you look at the last generation, but there's tons of Gameboy add-ons that failed such as the Printer, E-Reader, etc. Changing the hardware of a system mid-generation basically makes it harder to make any software that uses that software successful. I hate the term, but it truly makes it a gimmick more than anything else.

Something like VR needs to be integral to the experience or absent entirely.

@Emaan Don't worry, I'm sure that'll be the main (and perhaps only) way to do that for some portion of the game

@bezerker99 The single player campaign is pretty poor. There's only 2 or 3 distinct bosses (which are repeated) and it's incredibly short. You can always just play against bots but it would probably get boring pretty quickly.

@Moon I'm a little cautious as well. We haven't actually seen how battles go, but it does seem like it'll be rather bland ala Pokemon Rumble

@DarkJamD My understanding is that you'll download both but one you reach the point in the story where you choose your path, you get locked into that version.

From my experience, Birthright is very traditional but I didn't particularly enjoy anything about all that much outside of the remixed classes and weapons. Conquest is far and away the better version in every sense. The story breaks the fire emblem mold (somewhat) and the map/battle variety is the best in the series. If you're only getting one, get Conquest. If you're getting both, play Birthright first. It'll make you appreciate Conquest even more given the perspective changes.

The review makes the game sound at least a point higher than the given score. Aside from the technical issues, which I admit can be gamebreakers for me, I don't really see any major complaints. The whole review appears to be nothing but what the game is without much comment on how well anything is implemented.

Better late than never right? I own a copy of the original so there's no need for me but this is great for everyone who missed it before and want to play it as intended.

Interesting that they're only having one playable game. I do like the idea of a more portable, simple FE. I really miss the old sprite based FEs. I'm blinded by nostalgia, but I have not enjoyed FE as much as either of the GBA titles.

I'm seeing that Slaptoon is 30% off in the US on the My Nintendo site, not 15%.

If you haven't played this and you even slightly like RPGs, you have to get these game. I've put over 400 hours into this. Absolutely one of the best GBA games released.

I doubt I'll pick any of this up. I won't getting my special edition until the same time I get TP HD, and I find it hard to justify spending $100 for one game. I don't see enough value right now in those maps to justify an extra $20.

I'm disappointed the tag line isn't "Top Notch"

I'm thankful. I didn't want to have the play these stupid Pokemon-Amie style things just to build up character relationships. I'd rather they not have wasted time on such a mechanic in the first place.

Everyone needs to get FF Tactics Advanced if they've never played it before. It's one of my favorite GBA games ever. FFTA2 on the DS is also among my top 5, so like someone above mentioned you should pick it up should you ever track a copy down.

I mean it's cool, but it doesn't really, you know, show any games coming up. If Pokemon Go was on there at all (as in actually seen on a phone), it would cause an uproar.

I have yet to play the game, but I know this was probably my biggest complaint with the original Xenoblade.

I'm in the same boat on Xenoblade. Aside from the last 3-4 hours of the game, I honestly can't think of any other gaming experience that comes close to what Xenoblade offers. I've played a few games that I've enjoyed more than XC, but there's something about it that truly was unique and unexplainably enjoyable.

And I'm glad you pointed out the soundtrack. Playing XC really shows you how much a perfect soundtrack can engross the player.

I'm really surprised that Pushmo World and Child of Light aren't even there... I can't say I was all that impressed by a lot of the games that made the top "10" here. Child of Light is better than at least half of the games on the list, and Pushmo World is the best entry in Nintendo's best eShop series.

Anytime reviews are withheld, that's a bad sign about the game. Either way, I wasn't interested in this game unless single player was remotely possible or fun. Looks like I'll be passing.

This was by far my least favorite game of the series. There's basically no story, the dialogue is pointless and predictable, the graphical presentation is muddy and bland, the class system makes every character basically worthless, and the characters themselves have absolutely no development outside of Marth. Unless you're desperate to learn about Marth's story (which this game barely provides), I would pass on this.

I'm curious what kind of game they'll be releasing. It's almost certainly going to have Mario but other than that who knows. I could see DeNA doing something along the lines of what they did with FF with Record Keeper (or whatever it's called).

For most Nintendo series, one release per console is fine. Smash and MK would have been fine without DLC, but having those has helped extend their value. MK's DLC is absolutely wonderfully handled, and that's what I'd like to see more of. Smash's DLC is a bit much. A new fighter shouldn't be more than $5, but I don't want to get off topic too much.

FE: Awakening's DLC was pretty bad too. The vast majority of the DLC (especially early on) was completely over priced. FE: Fates may have fixed the problem with additional STORY RELATED content as DLC instead of buying characters with some new maps.

Pokemon is an interesting case. Because there's such a desire for the remakes and there's a precedent for second versions, it's hard to space out the releases. The fact that there's not a release this year is astounding to me. That said, I would like to have more than a year between releases. There's not enough change in between releases to justify buying every game, and after ORAS I'm really starting to feel burnt out on the series.

Review is spot on. The game is basically a must have for an RPG fan because it's good enough but with a fantastic price.

Awesome week for the Wii U VC. Onimusha Tactics is a pretty good game if you're interested in a TRPG other than Fire Emblem, and I don't need to say anything about how awesome Golden Sun is.

How much is the reader?

"A remaster of a fondly remember PS2 title"

Probably should say "remembered" instead.

Otherwise I don't care for a lot of the games released, but this is definitely a good week.

Child of Light is a must have at that price. AC Black Flag for $15 is worth it too. One of my favorite games in recent years. Definitely worth it.

Since Nintendo has no interest in trying to keep up in terms hardware, 3rd party support isn't going to come back until that changes. That said, I'm fine with them not trying to rejoin the power arms-race, but they need to find a way to get some of the major 3rd party multiplatform titles back on their consoles if they want to compete again. They can say what they want, but they are in direct competition with Sony and MS in the home console market. There's no way around it.

Otherwise, I like the concept behind the Wii U, but I feel like only one gamepad limited the experience a lot. I do understand that multiple gamepads would be incredibly expensive though. I can't help but think that there couldn't be some way to integrate smartphones as "controllers" of some sort, if nothing else to help.

If nothing else, my biggest thing would be backwards compatibility, especially with the eShop and controllers. Nintendo has botched their online structures for 10 years now, and it's way past time to fix it. The eShop as it is now is functional, but it's still a bit of a mess as far as finding games - there's no filters or anything. With NIDs, there's finally a unified account system, but that needs to be extended to friend lists and some form of actual useful communication - game invitations and messaging would be nice.

I'd like to use my Ike amiibo (and eventually Roy), but I don't have a New 3DS and I'm not buying that silly amiibo port for the older versions... This is a nice touch for the few people who can actually enjoy it though.

Even if it is copying from Galaxy, it just doesn't look like it'd end up being very good. That, and the sounds incredibly low quality.

I loved Twisted Metal, and with this being an eShop game, this could be a real hit for me. Definitely interested.

Also just noticed, but the woman with glasses on the bottom right in the picture is definitely featured somewhere in Little Inferno.

I love both 2D Boy/Tomorrow Corporation games and I will continue to blindly support them.

And yes, I realize the heavy irony in this statement.

Since I've not picked up MH4 yet, I may just wait to get this. Looks absolutely incredible.

I have an Ike amiibo but I refuse to buy that dock just to use it with this game unless it's dirt cheap.

This looks really cool. I can't get any idea of how deep this feature goes but if there are branches for buildings, etc. this could be a huge addition to the series.

Cool update. The super catch thing would have been useful before I went and caught the current 200+ available Pokemon... but I guess better late than never right? Mega Pokes getting their own levels is a bit of a game changer though. Not sure if it's worth the trouble of trying to grind some of them up or not, but definitely helpful.

@Priceless_Spork

You give an email. I'm not sure what you have to provide if you pay through Paypal or Swype, but I paid through Amazon and they didn't even ask for my name.

@ikki5

If you give someone the download code anyone should be able to redeem them. There's also an option to gift the codes to somebody else when you go buy them.

@Gerbwmu
You get a download code when you purchase them so yeah, you can give people codes if you want. EDIT: You get a download code for each individual game, that is.

Anyone know how often more games are added to these bundles? It says more games coming soon so I'm kinda curious what the precedent is.

For just $10 I finally get Guacamelee, Stealth Inc, and Steamworld Dig. I don't care for the other games so much, but I'm sure I can trade the codes for a Don't Starve code ot something.

Awesome deal.

I have no idea what is happening in the video but it looks gorgeous and fun. I'm interested.

Having almost finished the game, I agree with the review mostly. One change from the first game that I'm a little disappointed about though is the campaign progression. The original divided the campaign up better by separating the different army types so each campaign had its own distinct personality. The campaign in this one blends the armies together and I never felt like I got a good feel on what each army had to offer.

I'm also a little disappointed that there are only 3 armies again, and only the vikings return (and they're significantly different than what they were in the original). It helps that you can mix and match units in Skirmish mode, but I'd like to see the Chinese ad Aztecs back.

I've been waiting for Swords and Soldiers for way to long to not get it. I recall the original being $15 on wiiware and it ended up being one of favorite games in the console. $20 might be a little steep but I know I'll get good value out of it.

And I think I'll pick up Retro City Rampage. It's been on my radar for a long time but I can't beat that price.

@RudysaurusRex
Whoops. That's what it was.

@Shire Check the "gameplay" they showed in the video again from Metroid Dread and compare it to Rogue Agent. It's just a re-skin.

Metroid Dread was a mod of Goldeneye Rogue Agent on the DS. It was never real.

I like the system the way it is now, it just needs to be modernized a bit. If you buy a game, it should be available on all systems linked to your eShop account. If that's implemented, that justifies the current pricing and basically gets rid of every other problem I'd have (GBA games not on the 3DS???).

I'm not sure using circles in an SRPG is innovative or unique. Arc the Lad did it on PS2 and I'm sure other games have. Not that I'm complaining or anything, but it always irks me when things are described that way...