zipmon

Woohoo, 1080° for me!

@theblackdragon I'm playing through it now and it's totally turn-based, old-school goodness!

Ha, I love that the magazine's called Rising Star Magazine! Thanks for the review @dudey300!

Also for anybody contemplating both, Style Savvy is amazing. My most played 3DS game after ACNL & Fire Emblem!

Yeah, I'd heard really good things about Battle for Bikini Bottom, so I was disappointed that this one doesn't seem to live up to that legacy at all!

Thanks to everybody here for making Nintendo Life what it is - the staff for keeping things running smooth & always steering the ship towards exciting new adventures, my fellow writers for knocking it out of the park this year (and making me spend way too much on games after reading their awesome reviews), and to the readers & commenters for being the kindest, coolest group of gamers anywhere on the net - seriously. You guys are the best!!!

Happy Year of Luigi 2 everybody!!! Let's make it the best one yet!

@TwoTheNines It's on my list!!

@MikalM That's great! Thanks so much for checking!

That's a shame - this was going to be a Christmas present for my fiancée!

At least it'll be here before the free trial offer ends at the end of January, 'cos I was planning to grab the bundle for the Balance Board & Fit Meter and then use them to keep the free eShop version forever - no disc required!

@McHaggis Awesome, thanks!!

Ha, that's awesome! I've got a RaspberryPi at home that I still haven't touched - still trying to think up the ideal use for it. I get StreetPass hits pretty consistently where I live now, and I like the "local" aspect of it, so I don't think this is for me - but still a way cool concept!

@gregrout That's awesome to hear! I think RF4 is such a breath of fresh air, it's friendly, funny, and just has a ton of heart. I keep coming back to this one in-between all the other great games this year, and I know it'll be in a few people's stockings this Xmas from me too =D

@Superconsole You know me! Was that Time & Eternity? I was almost going to pick that up just for the art style but I'm so glad I read your review first, I definitely wouldn't have been able to deal with that!

Question for @RType88 or any of our lovely European readers who've picked this up: does the UK version include the other European language localizations on the cart? (Specifically, Italian?) Or is it just English & Japanese?

Awesome!! =D I have to admit I've never played Space Harrier (in any form!), but Panorama Cotton is one of my favourite MD games ever and this reminds me so much of it that I have to check it out!

Oh man, that's such a shame Rune Factory 4 is a masterpiece, and it's a rare thing to find a developer who pours so much heart into their games. I hope we get to see more from them in future somehow!

Absolutely fantastic review!! Thanks @RType88, I can't wait to get my mitts on this! =)

@MaximusMansteel I would! It's definitely simpler platforming than Mario, and Pac's homing attack requires a lot less precision than stomping Goombas. Plus the controls are nice and simple - no separate run button for instance (which is often needed for clearing gaps, etc. in Mario). That said, I think the best "practice" platformer ever is Kirby's Epic Yarn - fun and beautiful from start to finish & there's no way to die!

@Sean_Aaron It's on the eShop as well!

@DRL Thanks mate! I think you'll get a big kick out of it!

Wooow! That is hilarious about the city name change! Great review as always Phil!

HNNNG. Thanks for the awesome review, @MegaWatts!! Looks like I've got another top-notch 3DS game to add to the list before the year's up!

Phil is my hero!

@LinktotheFuture That's how Wario's made his vast fortune!

Such a good deal! I paid $60 on launch day and haven't regretted a cent of it!

Ohh awesome!!! Umihara is one of my favourite SFC games, and I've been hoping this one would come out here!!

@1upsuper thanks for the heads up on that - I had no idea there was a DS version!

Ah, fantastic!! Like @Ron_DelVillano I've definitely had the black version in my shopping cart on Nintendo's site a few times before backing down, so I'm going to grab a yellow one to match my Pika XL this time!

Awesome review mate!! Can't wait to download this!

@NImH Definitely! It was my first one and I'm hooked! It's easy to get the hang of (especially if you've played a Harvest Moon game before), has a great interactive (and actually interesting!) tutorial system, and the story's totally self-contained - the references to the earlier games are just fun little connections & easter eggs.

Great review mate, this looks like a blast in co-op!!

@njechranjec This is the only one I know about, and if you really like table tennis it's definitely a good option - but if you're open to the idea of regular tennis along this game's style, I'd recommend Family Tennis 3D instead!

@Jared1984 Haha, absolutely! It's been the focal point of lots of incredibly fun evenings with friends & family - think I've put something like 30 hours into it all up. I'm a big fan of some of the single-player attractions too, like the DK cart game & Balloon Trip update!

@DRL & @Windy You're very welcome! Thanks for the kind words guys! Fishing Resort looks great btw, and for $1.99 I think I might have to check that out! Thanks!!

@JJtheTexan With all the fish in the sea I think that'd definitely be helpful! I can at least tell you that between the two I've reviewed (this one and Reel Fishing 3D Paradise Mini), Fish On 3D will be more up your alley if you enjoy fast-paced fishing (ala Sega Bass Fishing), and Reel Fishing 3D is better if you're looking for a slower-paced, more relaxing experience. RF3D has pre-rendered backgrounds that are pretty to look at, and several different species of fish, which makes moving onto new locations more interesting than in Fish On 3D - overall I'd say that RF3D is a more pleasant (and definitely more polished) experience, but FO3D will be better if you're looking for something more challenging and arcadey.

Alternatively, if you're up for some retro reeling, Legend of the River King on the VC is fantastic!

@Morphtorok You got it! It is totally the kind of thing that'd be fun for a sale price - if you do end up picking it up, I hope you like it!

@Yasume It's awesome, right?? I wasn't expecting much but it's really a blast. She's loving it & so am I!

=O That's fantastic!!!

Fantastic review @ThomasBW84!! Can't wait to pick this one up!!

Great review Mike!! One of my all-time favourite games and the first one I ever remember beating! It also introduced me to the wonderful world of dating sim games - <3 Nina! (Nina also happens to be the name of my fiancée IRL )

Wow, what an awesome house! I love the individual Pikmin rooms!

I like to think that, instead of just doing all this via code & a back-end interface, there's a person at Nintendo whose actual job is to play Animal Crossing enough to set up all these amazing SpotPass houses.

@Windy Haha, always happy to help mate!

@unrandomsam Have you tried Cotton 100% on the SNES? That's my favourite of the 2D Cottons, it takes inspiration from the original but has better level design (IMO) and a much brighter, more colourful atmosphere!

@CyberNature Glad to hear you're enjoying it! I wondered about the DMC too and checked the credits - "David Márquez de la Cruz" is the main developer! P.S. Nice avatar!

@WiiLovePeace You got it mate!!

@laxking97 Yup! Gu Huo Niao is the most demon-butt I recall seeing, and there's definitely nothing graphically sexual. I think the SMT games get the M rating for Nudity every time just bc of the "Mara" demon (one of the phallus phantoms)!

@laxking97 Quite a few of the human-like demons (both male and female) are wearing very little clothing and/or sexualized in their portrayal, and there are a couple of demons that could charitably be described as "phallic". I'd say they're a minority though; there are lots of demons based on birds, mammals, sea creatures, dragons, devils, angels, etc. that are just as you'd expect, plus plenty of human-like demons wearing battle-appropriate and/or more modest attire! If you want to get an idea, here's a list of the demons in SMTIV with pictures:

http://megamitensei.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Shin_Megami_Tensei_IV_Demons

(For an example of the type of "nearly-nude" demons I'm talking about, check out Gu Huo Niao, Narcissus, or Vouivre.)

@WiiLovePeace I hear ya, I'm the same way! I'd never be able to play The Last of Us, Resident Evil, or any horror games, but I didn't have any trouble with this one. There's some blood, but mostly just in the 2D combat sequences (and then only when you KO an enemy with a gun skill; each element has its own animation and the rest are totally innocuous), and the graphics are lo-fi enough that it's more a suggestion than a graphic depiction. (Certain claw attacks will "cut enemies in half", for instance, but it's just the sprite shifting apart in the middle, definitely nothing gory.) The environments are pretty dark, in that they're post-apocalyptic and also literally dark, but the interface & AR-elements are super bright & colourful and I think that helps balance it out; it certainly never felt oppressive. The dark tone mostly comes from the story, and you'll have to make some uncomfortable choices, but I'd put it more in line with dystopian sci-fi than horror.

Since I don't normally like "dark" games at all myself and I've totally loved this one, my inkling would be to say that if the game mechanics appeal to you I think you'll really enjoy it!

@ricklongo I think so - if you can stick it through the first 5 hours or so, you'll get a proper overworld The main similarity between this and EO is first-person combat, other than that they're pretty different styles of game; this one's much more about story, snappy combat, and collecting cool demons, rather than grinding and just-a-little-further exploration.

@Prof_Elvin_Gadd Thanks!!

@Canis_Wolfred It's an amazing game! But there are a few things that hold it back; the fact that one of the two worlds is reduced to one big menu really cuts down the immersion for a while. The game felt much more "alive" to me once I got to the second area (with a 3D world map, shops you can actually walk to, NPCs you can see, etc.), and revisiting Mikado after that always feels a little like a downgrade. And I'm not sure why they went with that jaggy NPC sprite style from Soul Hackers - I liked them there, but they feel out of place in this game, the rest of it looks too good!

For @mumof3kids82 and anyone wondering if this'll be too tough, the Easy mode really does make a big difference, and it's really well done! I bounced back and forth between both modes in separate save files, and battles are still plenty exciting on Easy, and there's still lots of strategy, but it's almost never frustrating - and for me that makes for a much better experience! You might die more often than in say, the PS Final Fantasy games, but it's much easier (and more user-friendly) than something like Etrian Odyssey. (For my personal file I went with Easy mode and have no regrets!)

Another thing that helps make this easier to get into is that the quest system is really good at keeping you from getting lost / forgetting what you're supposed to be doing. You'll have all the info you need right in the menu, instead of having to glean it from NPCs.

@DrKarl I switched back and forth over a few different save files, but I'd say regardless of difficulty you're looking at 50-60 hours of game, easy! Plus, the three paths make it more replayable than most big RPGs!

One more thing I forgot to mention in the review: there's full support for touch control, and you can do pretty much anything in the game with the stylus. It might not sound like a big deal, but once you've done demon fusion with the stylus you won't want to go back!

Haha, 10 points for that tagline @TimLatshaw!

It's OK Iwata you have like a 98% approval rating in my heart

@iPruch What makes me the most sad about 8 bit versions is that most people think that are mere ports when in reality they are two totally different and new games full of Sonic essence and magic.

Exactly! I love that about these games. As a kid who grew up with a Game Gear but no home consoles, I really appreciated having these new & different experiences instead of second-rate ports! The 8-bits are still some of my favourite Sonics, especially for the music

@FFL2and3rocks Hardest boss in the game, IMO! It's a lot easier on the Master System version with the wider screen, but on the GG that little ant-lion is killer.

@manu0 Ha! You're totally right. Semantic slip!

"...ingrain a place on your 3DS"

::thumbs up::

Great review mate! Think I'll be sticking to Harvest Moon, but I'm glad this is around for hardcore harvesters!

Dang, that's a shame - maybe they should've gone with "Micro" instead?! Looks like I'll be looking for the boxed game then!

Thanks for the review, Phil!

Thanks for the comments everybody!!

And @OdnetninAges & @MagicBox - I LOVE Skypatrol, and I thought I was totally alone in that. It's such a unique game - reminds me of NiGHTS meets Cotton meets Ristar staring Tails - and the graphics/sound are some of my favourite on the system. It'd be fantastic on the 3DS!

@SethNintendo @Ausboss Thanks! I love it, but I can definitely see the advantage of being closer to "town" too - I have to hike across the whole map to get to Re-Tail!