Zechs Merquise

I just hope some games can be played using the classic controller as well! I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I love to just sit back in my chair and relax with a game, the controller sat in my lap, no effort - just an enjoyable experience. I don't relish the thought of hoping around my living room swinging my arms around the place in order to control Link. On one hand it is a cool idea, and one that I'm sure will appeal to many, and I for one think will get the attention of the public. However, I do like to relax a bit with some games!

I agree about Mario Mario Sunshine, I was totally hooked! People may knock it (and I don;t know why) but try naming a better platform game - with using the words Mario 64! Oh, and Resident Evil REmake was awesome, I remember when my girlfriend got me it for my birthday (years ago) and we were both totally blown away by the graphics and totally immersive feeling we had playing it.

I agree, XBOX was an ugly oversized console, but it wasn't purple. I think that colour made the Gamecube unfriendly to the average living room. Sure, it fits well in any kids bedroom, but a purple box under your widescreen silver TV looks a little silly. I'm well aware that you could get them in black from launch, as I did, I have two actually, and both are black (I got the second to get the Zelda compilation). Sadly, though the purple was what people saw, it was the 'standard', it was the one on adverts, the one in on show in the display pods. Bad choice. Which brings me on to a positive - the Wii looks fabulous. It looks very hi-tech, very sleek, can stand on it's side or be layed down. It comes in a lovely modern colour. It's the nicest looking of the next gen consoles. The PS3 looks ugly (in my opinion) and the 360 looks cool, but not as nice as Wii. It kind of reminds of the cool look of the iPod. I hope the standard controller is nice on the hand, this is something I have very few doubts about, as for me Nintendo has always produced the best controllers of any generation. SNES vs Megadrive, those Megadrive controllers were horrid, absolutely horrid, the SNES pad just clung to my hands. Then came the N64 - best controller ever, and one that shaped the future of gaming forever. I also love the gamecube on, it kinda just clings to my hand and the analogue sticks feel great. As for Dual Shock, lets say no more!

With Wii literally just a few months away and Gamecube releases drying up fast, that little box under my TV is now in it's final days. But hey we've had some great times! There's a lot of negative stuff on here, so I thought maybe we should have a positive thread, what were your favorite moments on the Gamecube? Some of mine, in no particular order: Metroid Prime - Walking out into Phendrana drifts for the first time, wow, how beautiful? Zelda WW - Feeling like I was playing a cartoon brought to life TimeSplitters 2 - Infiltrating a Russian facility and having that Goldeneye feeling all over again Battalion Wars - Launching a full scale offensive Resident Evil 4 - Watching heads go pop through the scope of my automatic rifle These are just a few, but I'd love to hear other people's fave moments, lets give that little box the send off it deserves.

Looking back to Nintendo's last two consoles, the N64 and Gamecube it was a couple of issues (like the graphical one with Wii) that kept them from achiving true greatness and being THE console of the day. For the N64 it was the use of cartridges rather than CDs which pushed up costs for developers and prevented them from using more detailed textures and including FMV and the kind of music that helped to sell games like Wipeout. Now, I always feel slightly hypocritical giving criticsm to the N64, as for me I can't remember a system which had so many classic and ground breaking games, Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, Goldeneye, Lylat Wars etc. Plus it brought the innovation of analogue control, rumble feedback and for me the most comfortable controller ever made. However, it still must be said that with CD storage, it may have achieved more. As for the Gamecube, again I love my Gamecube and play it almost everyday. It has seen some of the best games of this generation. For me, the best game of this generation was Metroid Prime. But, I feel Nintendo missed out. With the lack of DVD playback, which I feel now is a nothing as everyone has a stand alone player - but back at release was a nice extra. I also felt that the colour - PURPLE, I mean PURPLE!!! It pt people off the console, it looked silly. I shock my head in dismay when years later they released the silver version, WOW - the coolest looking console to date? It look wonderful, that sat under your widescreen TV look wonderful, a perfect compliment to your living room. Why not launch with silver? But no, it was purple. For me, I feel Nintendo has always made the best games, this generation there has been only two reasons I played on my mate's PS2 - MGS2 and MGS3. The only games that attracted me to the XBOX were Halo, Halo 2 and the great tactical FPSs which were superior on that system. However Nintendo has given us Metroid Prime, Smash Bros, Pikmin, Zelda WW, Mario Sunsine, Mario Kart, Battalion Wars, Donkey Konga, Fire Embelm... the list ges on. Plus we've had some great 3rd party support. The kind of diversity and brilliance seen in Nintendo titles is not seen anywhere else in video games. But making the best games just doesn't seem to be enough today. The system must be marketed right, it must be attractive to the general public and be seen as 'cool' and cutting edge. I just wish Nintendo could get it totally right, they have the best games, bring us TRUE inovation which then goes on to be industry standard. But then go on to make silly decisions - PURPLE anyone?

I can see Nintendo's point of view on HD, I think HD will not truly be any sort of standard for years to come. Most people I know are still running on standard CRT TVs, a few have plasma or LCD screens and fewer still have HD ready sets. But it's a nice option to have, and I think by the end of this coming generation's lifespan HD will have a much much wider user base and it will be an attractive prospective to play games in HD. Although I would've liked Nintendo to include HD, I would've been happy simply with the same graphical power as the 360 (minus HD). I think it's because Nintendo has been such an important part of my life since I was 8, I feel I've grown up with Characters like Link, Mario and Samus. Because of this I would've liked to see them in even more glorious detail. On a side note, pleased to see there are plenty of Gundam Wing fans on here. They used to show it on Toonami (formerly CNX on Sky/Cable). I loved it, I also liked Outlaw Star, that was awesome, anyone else catch that?

I'm pleased you enjoyed reading my thoughts on this. I agree that the Wii is a breath of fresh air, and for this I'm grateful. I do also agree that there are many moments on the Gamecube which have been fabulous and haven't been based around a graphic WOW factor. Battalion Wars was fabulous from start to finish and the graphics for that whilst very clean, smooth and wonderfully stylish were hardly ground breaking. Also Donkey Konga could probably have been done on the N64, but damn was it fun. And to hammer the point home I reckon I probably had as much fun out of the Zelda collection disk than I did any other game on the Gamecube. I just have this yearning to see Hyrule and Samus' Universe in the beautiful detail it that other gamers will be experiencing MGS, Halo etc. As for Game and Watch, damn I loved those things, I still have the Legend of Zelda Game and Watch fully boxed and in fully working order. Game and Watch were magical.

I also have to say that those on these boards who are simply parroting the rubbish that 'it's the gameplay that counts not the graphics' are really missing the point. Everyone knows that it's great gameplay which makes a game stand out, but graphics count too. They enhance the playing experience and make it a more immersive experience. I remember when I first walked out onto Hyrule Field in the Ocarina of time, the wow factor was fantastic, that game was so beautiful for it's time. Or when I was expoloring the rich world of Metroid Prime, the icy wastes were just jaw droppingly beautiful. The beautiful graphics added to the playing experience. I remember when I showed my friends Super Mario 64 and Turok on the N64, they were blown away. Just as everyone at my school was when we first played Street Fighter 2 Turbo on the SNES. The problem for Nintendo of entering the next generation console battle with a system that doesn't produce next generation visuals is that it will put a lot of people off. As for me, I just wish we were going to see Link and Samus in the same beautiful detail that Halo fans will be seeing Master Chief or Metal Gear fans will be seeing Snake.

I have been reading this site since back when it was an N64 site, however I have never been a member of the forum. However with the current controversy surrounding the Wii I felt I wanted to have my say. I’ll start off by saying that I’ve been playing Nintendo since the days of the NES, in fact before then, when Game & Watch were the must have toy in the playground. I got my first home console back in 1988 at Christmas, it was the Mario and Duck Hunt pack, and I still have it in its original box. I loved that machine, and played it to death. I went on to own a SNES, N64 and now a Gamecube, all of which I loved. Now 18 years later I’m looking toward a Christmas with a new Nintendo console and I’m not filled with my usual giddy joy, but instead very mixed feelings indeed. I’m actually happy in a way that Nintendo has taken the direction it has with the new controller. I think this opens up vast new gaming opportunities and can definitely revolutionise the way we play games. However at the same time I worry, I worry because I can imagine developers trying to implement Wii-mote features to games where this controller wouldn’t be suited. I think games like Farcry and Metroid Prime would work great with this new scheme, but at the same time I am less than thrilled at the thought of playing the new Zelda title with it. I hope there are options with many games that allow us to us the regular controller. I also worry that instead of genuinely innovative design (which I am sure Nintendo themselves will implement with the Wii-mote) many developers will use it as a gimmick or simply tag on a few poorly implement Wii-mote ‘extras’ as we have seen with the use of the second screen and stylus on the DS. I’m happy that Nintendo are putting the emphasis on the game play rather than just on a technological race to produce the prettiest games. However at the same time I’m saddened that we won’t be seeing Hyrule in beautiful HD with all the bells and whistles that could have been there if this game was running on a system with the power of the XBOX 360 or the PS3. Whilst I will no doubt still buy these games, and I’m in no doubt at all that the experience of playing them will be just as rich in terms of game play, I would love to explore Samus’ universe in the level of graphical beauty that this next generation of consoles is capable of. I also worry that because of the lack of graphical power we won’t see as many multi-platform games coming to the Wii, and if we do they’ll be a stripped down and ugly version. I fear that we may not see the next instalments of the Rainbow Six series, or the Time Splitter series, or the next true Resident Evil game. Then on the other hand I’m overjoyed about the virtual console, being able to download and play every classic Nintendo title from the NES, SNES and N64, all on one console. The possibility of a full library of Nintendo titles right from the 8-bit days is great, and a real selling point. This coupled with the Gamecube backwards compatibility makes me extremely happy. So all in all, I reckon the Wii looks like a mixed bag. I just wanted to know if my thoughts are echoed with any other long time Nintendo fans.