Grazza

I thought it was a bit out of order, just because it was a baby. I can understand older children wanting to dress up as Balotelli, but this just seemed a bit "off" to me.

I wonder is this is because we played the 50Hz version? I'm really hoping all SNES Virtual Console games are 60Hz from now on, so we can see how they were meant to feel. But I did love A Link to the Past when it was released, I just don't find it quite so good to go back to. Link's Awakening, however, is just as good now as it was then.

Japanese voice acting with English subtitles would do me just fine!

Yeah, I think a £200 Premium would do it for me too, especially if it had Pikmin 3 in it (when that's out). I do want one, but I can't quite justify £250 on it. I gave Monster Hunter on 3DS a few goes, but the series in general really isn't for me. And I don't mean to be flippant, but to me the biggest news about this is that ASDA actually stocks the Wii U!

I'm sure he means Star 242. Much harder than anything in Sunshine, in my opinion.

I think the hardest game that requires fast reactions and I have completed 100% is Super Mario Sunshine. Before Galaxy 2, getting 120 Shines used to be considered one of the hardest challenges in the Mario series. Didn't frustrate me that much either. As for RPGs, it has to be defeating every Legacy Boss in Dragon Quest IX at Level 99 (that is to say, they are at Level 99). I know RPGs don't usually require fast reflexes, but it was still incredibly hard to beat them at that level. They don't follow a set pattern, so you really do have to choose the right moves every round, and adapt to the situation.

I love the Healslime on the "+" button, and as for having a Liquid Metal Slime on the Escape key... very clever indeed.

The only objectivity I really acknowledge with gaming is things like: Mega Drive games had better sprites than Master System games; PS3 has better polygon models than N64... that sort of thing. But, to answer Oxigen Waste's question, I have to split it into genres, but yes, the ones I think are the best are also my favourites. Link's Awakening is (in my opinion) the best 2D Zelda, and my favourite. Same goes for Metroid Fusion in its own genre. Yes, what exactly is Zelda? I've been thinking about this recently, and it could even be its own thread. I'm of the opinion that the best ones, like Ocarina of Time, are amazingly-advanced games.

I think so - I've been going through the game with iron weapons so as not to "waste" the more powerful ones, and yet I thought I'd tried using the best swords (with Eirika) and it wasn't very effective. I'm glad to hear Lyon's Resistance is higher than his Defence, because I just haven't been using the mages, and don't have any who can use Rank S spells.

Very good point, Dcubed. Very likely I'd say.

I bought a PS3 the other day. At first I was wowed - I've no complaints at all - but now I'm back playing Etrian Odyssey II on the DS! So it got me thinking - do you prefer handhelds or consoles? Back in the day, I loved home consoles, all the way from the Mega Drive to the GameCube, but after that generation there hasn't been one that grabbed me in the same way. It's not that there's anything wrong with them, it's just that I haven't played anything on them recently that's wowed me. I'd even go as far as saying that Twilight Princess on GameCube (going by release date) was the last thing I played that was anything close. There are some PS2 games I loved from the same era, but that's about it. In the meantime, handhelds have got better and better. I remember I actually didn't like the DS at first, as it seemed so weak and low-res, but a stellar software catalogue later - Dragon Quest IX, Etrian Odyssey - it actually provided experiences I enjoyed more than this console generation. Then the 3DS was released and there was no going back. Good graphics and controls, fairly decent resolution, functions such as photo-viewing and web-browsing (which is primitive now, but does suit handhelds very much)... Handhelds are now at a point where I feel they can deliver games at a level which I felt was the optimum (ie. the "GameCube" type level). With Nintendo merging their console and handheld divisions, I honestly wouldn't mind it if their next console and handheld played exactly the same games, with you simply choosing the one that suits you most. So, which do you prefer?

It does sound very good indeed (rushes to finish II and III).

Yep, Ross is a Berserker and Gerik is a Hero. Both have seemed very strong until now, but I just can't find a weapon that's effective. When I look at the "Might" stat, I'm getting single-digit numbers. Those two, Ephraim and everyone else were Level 20 before I promoted them too.

Finally ploughed through to the final stage of Fire Emblem: the Sacred Stones. I've just found it quite difficult to play. Anyway, I got to Lyon but couldn't beat him. I haven't got anyone who can use the best spells, and I saved my game (so no levelling-up). Is it possible for me to beat him?

My favourite when I was a young teenager was Bad Influence, with Andy Crane and Violet Berlin. There was nothing "alternative" about it, which I actually found quite charming. During the GameCube days I liked When Games Attack! A very funny programme presented by Dominic Diamond.

Been playing this over a couple of sessions now. I do like it (I'm hooked) and Ding Dong Dell is one of the most charming RPG villages I've seen, but I do have a few reservations: 1) The overworld. First of all, I really must quote Eurogamer's recent article about Dragon Quest VIII (and how it relates to Ni no Kuni). http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-02-03-dragon-quest-8-journey-of-the-cursed-king-retrospective Lack of abstraction, lack of abstraction... Ever since I read that, I haven't been able to get it out of my head. See, an issue I have with Ni no Kuni is that it takes RPG overworlds back to a different scale to the rest of the game. When you leave a town, you are blatantly aware that you are entering a different "game mode". 2) The other thing (arguably related) is that the game is just not as solidly-built as DQ VIII. The town is gorgeous, as I say, but underneath it actually reminds me more of Final Fantasy XII or Xenoblade Chronicles than Dragon Quest. You can't go in any of the normal houses at all, and only the "counter area" of the few shops you can enter. The inn, too, is just a counter. The upstairs is roped-off. There are also invisible walls all over the place. It's not much good having better graphics if the world isn't as explorable. Ding Dong Dell has a very large castle as its focal point, yet this too is basically just a throne room. When the King told me he didn't know where his wand was, I thought I was going to be able to search the castle... but no. It's a shame, because the castle looks absolutely fantastic! In Dragon Quest, you even have to find the throne rooms yourself - you can also climb up all the spiral staircases, climb the turrets, look down from the battlements etc. ... Anyway, I am enjoying this game and I realise it's not meant to be Dragon Quest, but considering it's Level-5's first "big" game since DQ VIII I had hoped they'd carry a bit more of that quality over. I've just got a nagging feeling that the PS2 game was a complete one-off.

I don't like DLC at all, let alone console-exclusive DLC. A game should be fully-balanced as you buy it on the disc. Any extras (ie. DLC) should be completely unnecessary and therefore pointless.

I believe System Transfer overwrites everything. I've only done it one way (3DS to 3DS XL) but the only data left on my XL was what came from my original 3DS.

Actually, I can't think of a single flaw in Link's Awakening. It's pretty much a perfect game.

Haven't connected it to the internet yet, but will try to do that tomorrow. As well as exclusives I'll be using it for multiformat games. I really fancy Crysis 2, for some reason. I'm not really into FPS, but I've got more time for the sci-fi type ones.

Got my PS3, got my HDTV, got Ni no Kuni...! Fired it up (the console) and it's quite amazing to see it displaying in 1080/60. Spent quite a long time marvelling at that, just admiring how sharp the words and letters were! Just looking forward to getting more games now.

Got mine today. What it's all about for me is that I didn't really enjoy the show, but think the console itself is top notch. During the show, I sort of felt alienated by what the games industry has become. It reminded me of a cross between the PSOne in the '90s (I console I never understood the appeal of, yet everyone around me did) and the modern, very Westernised, FPS-type culture we have today. Whereas with Nintendo they tend to strike a tone I understand more. I'm not saying they have so far with the Wii U, but Pit, Link and Samus are three characters who I think get the balance right. But as I say I give the PS4 specs 10/10 and, as usual it all comes down to whether it has games I want to play! (The Witness did look very good.) I think people have been proven right that the graphical jump next-gen is hardly noticeable, yet at the same time it is a new power tier, and the Wii U will probably miss out just as much as last time. I can honestly say, though, the fact the Wii U is a generation behind doesn't bother me anything like as much this time. After the GameCube, I was desperate for "the next level". Now we have it, it's just that Sony and Microsoft have it a bit more. PS - I think people are really underestimating Microsoft, and overestimating how "casual" they are! If the leaked specs are right, it's a powerful machine - right up there with the PS4. I applaud Sony for making sure their console has no weaknesses this time, but what really counts is which machine becomes the lead format. Microsoft's exclusives, combined with Xbox Live and the usual multiformat games (which are probably more important than exclusives) mean Microsoft could still achieve that aim.

Two are fighting it out in my head, but I'm going to go for... Dragon Quest VIII The overworld, the characters, the journey... The tactics (use Spears and Axes!)... Exploring villages, meeting kings and climbing up castles... Sleeping in inns, running along the coastline, sailing the ocean... That moment when you realise a Metal King Slime is front of you and will very probably run away... The moment when you have got the best armour and finally defeat the toughest dragon... And the sweeping, orchestral soundtrack deserves its own paragraph. Yep, if I could only play one game it'd be DQ VIII. ...That or Wind Waker

And this is what confuses me. I'm not trying to bash Nintendo here but - thus far - I've not been able to understand why they thought it would sell. To me, it all dates back to E3 2012. Since then, I've never really understood why they thought the software would grab people. Or how they could include a 6" touchscreen and still get the console out at a good price-point.

One game that I don't think is flawed in any significant way is Metroid Fusion. It's got everything important: exploration, in-game storytelling, great controls, a full line-up of bosses... I prefer it to Super Metroid because I think it's better to have a little bit of direction and, if not "tutorials", exactly, it at least makes you aware of your abilities, unlike Super Metroid where you don't necessarily know what you can do and get can stuck very easily.