Grazza

Exactly, Fused King. We need "hunks" like Captain Falcon and Link, and a "role model" like Samus Aran. They'll love them!!

I don't know why, but this game doesn't want you to be able to protect against ice, even in the post-game! Most other elements, yes, but not ice. Yes, very true. I also love how all your Denpa Men level up at basically the same rate, even if you've left them in the house. You'll be able to access that room in time. There's no special way of getting there; you'll stumble upon it a bit later on. As for the second area (with the poison), that's worth doing, but you just have to wait until you're at a higher level than you generally need for that stage.

Well, I'm still doing the post-game. Went out just now and bagged me a nice, red Denpa Man! EDIT - Actually, I'm enjoying it more now. I must have an obsessive personality as I really take to post-games, like DQ VIII, IX and Etrian Odyssey. At the risk of getting technical, there are really four factors to consider in your Denpa Men strategy: Antenna - This determines whether they can heal, cure, buff, debuff or have a weapon (eg, fire, ice). Colour of their suit - This signifies elemental defence. Clothes - Some clothes have status effects but I mainly value them for their elemental defence. Equipped item - This is your chance to balance-out your Denpa Man's elemental defence, protect against status ailments or add an attack bracelet. Anyway, my strategy is to nullify the main element of any particular dungeon. The clothes aren't good enough to do that early on, but they are later. In this game, a rating of 4 = nullify. Let's say you're in a volcano. You want to protect against fire, so if you've got any red Denpa Men that's +2 already. The right clothes add another 2, so that's it nullified. You can use the "Equip" slot to have a Water Bracelet, for example, which adds water to your normal attack. Sorry for rambling on, it's just that I can feel myself becoming obsessed with this now.

Did you know the demo of this is in the European eShop too? I gave it a spin a few days ago. The first thing I want to say is: don't take the criticisms of the controls too seriously. It doesn't feel slow or floaty at all, and pressing A twice to attack is no problem whatsoever. I'm not being nostalgic about Castle of Illusion, but I honestly think this was a case of reviewers wanting everything to feel the same. Unfortunately, I can't say the same about the painting and thinning. I actually do hate to criticise a game like this, which has been created with a great deal of fondness towards Castle of Illusion, but the painting/thinning just gets in the way of the platforming. You have to do it a lot more than I expected - almost every step of the way. It would have been a lot better not having it at all, and instead being a full-blown platformer.

Just a note to say that Stargazing Live is on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on BBC2 this week. Also, tonight on BBC1 is Patrick Moore's final The Sky At Night.

I'm certain of it!

This has certainly made me want it even more. @Fused King will be pleased! If it becomes huge in Japan, I suppose that's a little bit more chance of us getting it over here. There are pros and cons, but on your specific question, no, I've never been distracted in-game at all.

Well, I have daytime things and evening things. When I get up, I'll either go to work or go to the gym. I walk everywhere, so it takes a good few hours out of the day. When I get in, I check the internet, which I don't feel bad about at all as it's great! A bit later on, I'll play video games, watch a TV programme (if there's one I want to watch) or, occasionally, write and draw. It's all by hand though as I'm old-fashioned.

6' 3" and about 14 stone, but I don't weigh myself (I only know I'm 14 stone because the gym instructors have checked on occasion). Instead, I use the pinch test. If I can pinch a fair bit of fat, then I want to get rid of it, as I feel better when I'm lean and tight. However, I do not do any special exercise to get rid of it. Weight-training, a lot of walking and 5 minutes' warm-up before weights should get rid of it on its own.

I couldn't agree more, @Lens of Truth. The 3DS is my favourite handheld ever - I absolutely love it. And yet so many of the games are 8/10 for me, maybe 9/10, but no real classic yet. I'm hoping to enjoy something as much as Etrian Odyssey or Dragon Quest IX on the DS, because the hardware deserves it!

I'm happy with forest, snow mountain etc as long as they're well done. The danger is that if developers try too hard to avoid those very natural, intuitive themes, we'll end up with weird themes that just don't work and are different just for the sake of it. That said, Thousand Year Door's train level is a textbook example of how to do it right.

Had that on Metroid Prime Pinball and I never had any idea why. I'm quite "pleased" to see it's a known problem, actually, rather than my one just being damaged.

I've just had one of the funniest gaming experiences ever. Firstly, I should say I was getting frustrated with the type of Denpa Men available. Despite what I thought, it seems they are not influenced by light or colour. No, Denpa Men really do live on the radio waves! This is OK when you first get the game, but after you've collected a few in your own house, the only ones that become available after that wear black clothes (which have no resistance) and have no antennae. So, in search of new Denpa Men I took my 3DS round the neighbourhood, and there were many. Striped ones, glowing ones... I must have looked quite a sight! If you try this, please be extra careful and only look for them when you're standing still, as I stumbled a few times. It would be so easy to trip and drop your 3DS). Anyway, I now have lots more Denpa Men. The only problem is that they are too difficult to catch when you're also concentrating on your footing. I do not like Augmented Reality in general. The fact they reside on radio waves is a clever idea, but I think it would be better handled by StreetPass, ie. you tour your neighbourhood, pause every so often, then check which Denpa Men you "caught" when you get home. Either way, I'm looking forward to getting back to it now!

Wow, I never knew Majora's Mask caused that much trouble!

Just a guess, but I suspect we were allowed to download them as soon as it became 1st January in Australia, as technically that is our territory (or rather, Australia is combined with the European territory).

Well, I finished Etrian Odyssey and finally got round to trying out Denpa Men. I think this is the first game I've felt bad about ignoring! The first thing that surprised me is that you actually do have to turn your Wifi on when you search for the Denpa Men. I assumed it was just a gimmick, but no, you really do need to detect radio waves! I can't say I'm a fan of this bit, as they're a bit irritating to catch and it's annoying waiting for the colour you want. The ones with antennae on their head are the best, as that represents a skill, but the colour of their clothes determines their elemental resistance. Although I can't find much information, it seems the amount of light reaching your 3DS has an effect on which Denpa Men are available... But onto the game itself. Not surprisingly, it's a neat little RPG that is reminiscent of Dragon Quest IX's Grottoes. Clothing has been simplified into various all-in-one suits (onesies?!!) and weapons are entirely via the Denpa Men's antennae, but there are a wide range of accessories to equip. Not that they're affordable at first - money is very tight. Using the Auto Battle doesn't feel like cheating, as there are so few options - Skill, Attack or Item are the only three I can remember offhand. Like DQ IX, Agility matters - Denpa Men of similar speed will combo their normal attacks, although unlike DQ IX it doesn't seem to stack. All in all, it's a nice little RPG with several nods and winks to Dragon Quest.

No, I didn't play the others as I have never been very familiar with importing. Tempted though!

BUMP So, it's been three years since I played Etrian Odyssey. Basically, I got frustrated at the post-game boss, Primevil, and sold it on. This year, I decided to re-buy Etrian Odyssey, plough through all 30 floors again, get the best equipment (or near enough), and... I have finally beaten Primevil!!! But first, a few comments about the experience in general. There's a large difficulty spike on B6F, an unbelievably tedious Quest on B8F and an annoying bit where you have to keep travelling between B18F and B20F. Other than that, I did not have a problem with the difficulty of this game. Apart from the post-game boss, that is. Primeval was just as difficult as I remembered, and I almost gave up again! The problem is, once you have his health in the red, he hits you with a OHKO move. I don't normally use the word "unfair", but a move that OHKOs all five of your party members at once is just that. But as I say, I did beat him. Binds don't work (unless you're unbelievably lucky), so I quickly threw out my Dark Hunter + Hexcaster strategy. The team I beat him with was this: Front line: Landsknecht (using Axes), Protector, Medic Back line: Alchemist, Survivalist I won't go into details because I know not everyone is as obsessed as me, but the key is to beat him within 20-25 turns and just hope he doesn't use his OHKO move. Now I've finally beaten it, I can forget about this particular Etrian Odyssey and play Denpa Men! I still want to play Etrian Odyssey IV though, as I hear they lowered the difficulty from III onwards. As I say, I've no problem with the general difficulty of the games, I just don't really want another boss like Primeval, who is pretty much the hardest RPG boss I've ever beaten!

I couldn't really ask for better RPGs than a Dragon Quest, an Etrian Odyssey and an old-style, Final Fantasy-type RPG (Bravely Default). However, as others have said, the issue is whether they're localised or not. I'm pretty hopeful about Dragon Quest VII as it's not yet out in Japan (and Nintendo have been very supportive of Dragon Quest). I'm not too worried about Bravely Default, as it hasn't been out long and will take a while to localise. The one I'm most doubtful about is Etrian Odyssey IV, as it has been out a while in Japan, and II & III didn't get released here. But like Hero-of-Time, I'm very interested in the Vita, I just don't think I can buy it for back-catalogue only (partly because I get very confused between what's a PSOne, PSP or digital Vita title!) Hopefully the RPG situation will pick up (for both handhelds!) It's still early days. RPGs take a long time to even make in the first place, then they take time to translate into English, then even longer for Europe.

Yep, I can't disagree. I'd honestly rather be on friendly terms with you again, Ronnie, than "win" any arguments or debates about it. I know how much we loved thos moments in Wind Waker and I hope we have more like that to celebrate in the future!

Yes!! Your hunch is probably right, @Dcubed, as this coincides with Code of Princess getting a digital release anyway: http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2012/12/code_of_princess_is_going_digital_on_january_3rd It's a great way to bring over games like this that (maybe) they're unsure about. It also stops the temptation I have to sell-on every game I buy, which I often regret! Just one thing: if there's not a retail release, I hope the download is a reasonable price - after all, they wouldn't have to worry about annoying/offending shops. But hey, a retail release would be good as well, I'm just pleased we're getting it.

That's a good point, Rummy, but you'd still have to do each dungeon efficiently. It takes time to work out the puzzles and then put that into practice. The more I think about it, the more I want a 3DS remake of it!

I thought that was easily Steven Moffat's best Christmas Special yet. Very entertaining, with loads of funny bits! I have to say, I've enjoyed this years mini-series and the Christmas Special more than the past two years'. I really think they've improved it a lot. Clara is darn sexy too!

Alright, @Ronnie, it's not worth arguing about mate, what with all the terrible things in the world. I'm sure we both just want to play another great Zelda, even if we express it differently. (Offers olive branch...)