Grazza

I haven't played all that many Fire Emblems (just Sacred Stones and Awakening, if I recall correctly), but I thought they were both brilliant. My take on the whole "relationships" thing is that it made it a bit more interesting that certain pairs had a bond, if only just because it made them more effective when fighting side-by-side. Awakening introduced marriage (if I'm correct), and though I don't really understand the whole "waifu" thing, to me it just added a little bit of enjoyment to form a closer bond with one of them. I don't really care whether it's in it or not, I just don't want a watered-down version of what the Japanese got. Fates was censored so much, I assumed it was a given that the Switch game wouldn't have anything as controversial in it. In short, however much this ends up focusing on relationships, I still think this has a chance of being a very respectable S-RPG.

Well, it looks like that was a brilliant Direct. I didn't see it, but the amount of news it created was fantastic. Link's Awakening DX - A remake of what is definitely, in my opinion, the best 2D Zelda. Fire Emblem - I haven't really paid much attention to the specifics of this entry, but they're always good. Mario Maker 2 - I somewhat wanted to get into this on Wii U, but would much rather relax building levels with it on my Switch. Final Fantasy VII and IX - Nice surprise with the latter. Dragon Quest Builders 2 - A sequel to my favourite Switch game so far. Dragon Quest XI - Brilliant news. There is simply nothing I'd rather play. Those alone are enough for me, but with Animal Crossing as well, that makes quite an incredible line-up.

Whilst I do like the graphics, I think it looks a bit too much like you're controlling a little model, rather than an actual character with expressions. The Game Boy's limitations made the Link sprite very simple, but we could use our imaginations for his expressions. Here, they've made it very explicit that he doesn't have any. As I say, I do quite like it in general, but think some improvements could be made, especially with the eyes. I thought that was going to be about the nude hippo, but it was even stranger. The original German translator certainly had fun with that!

I didn't even know this was in the Direct yesterday, but I was really pleased to see it on the eShop today. I'll get Mario Maker 2 as well, but am definitely more excited for this.

I was very, very tempted to buy a PS4 for this, I really was, but I'm glad I waited. It's not the money; I just genuinely like playing the Switch in handheld mode so much. I hope they port VIII using this engine as well.

Oh yes!!! There's not a single game I want to play more. Clever way to integrate the 3DS version too. At 17 seconds in it looks like an Yggdrasil tree. Funny how often this idea turns up in things.

Daft question, but is the green woman She-Hulk or Gamora?

Looks like a (hopefully) less violent version of Bayonetta? I must admit, I've never tried those games because I'm not too keen on the blood and gore. This though could be a seriously awesome game for the Switch.

Wow! Looks like I missed a good Direct. I used to be a pixel art purist, but I've played too many great games - A Link Between Worlds, Metroid: Samus Returns - that have proved me wrong. I think this is going to be brilliant.

Hopefully we will see a bit of Animal Crossing. There was a rumour of a September release, and they've already shown us the basic graphics of it, so I think there's a decent chance of a bit more this time. It will be good to see Fire Emblem as well - between those two, they'll have updated pretty much the best 3DS titles, in my opinion.

I've just seen my go-to 3DS game, Alchemic Dungeons, is coming to the Switch. It's frustrating but brilliant. The DX version has four new characters to choose from, and I don't think I'm going to be able to resist buying it. I just hope it's a bit more generous with the item drops this time, as it was really annoying when you were trying to build a Gold, Dragon or Samurai set and couldn't!

Quite possibly the best thing on the eShop! That game is an absolute dream!

My retail backlog is not too bad. There's nothing I haven't played at all, but I want to replay Breath of the Wild sometime, do the post-game of Super Mario Odyssey and possibly finish Ys VIII. I download too many games, though. Again, there aren't many that I haven't completed, but I feel like I need to master the arcade games - Bad Dudes, Two Crude Dudes, Final Fight, Metal Slug etc. I'd really like to be able to 1-cred them, although perhaps that isn't realistic. As for SD card space, I'm pretty good at deleting games I've decided I dislike, but still only have space for one retail download. There were some mid-size downloads I deleted, such as Hollow Knight and Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition. The only released game I haven't bought but definitely want to play is Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom, so I regard that as in my psychological backlog.

This game is quite hard to get your head around. Instead of one huge labyrinth, there is a map screen with various locations on. These host text-based quests, NPC events or small collections of dungeon floors. At the moment I've defeated the equivalent of one stratum boss, which felt a lot like a re-tread of IV. My party is looking like this: Hero / Pugilist Zodiac / Survivalist / Medic They seem to have the best skills at early levels, although I've registered all 19 classes and they are gaining EXP at the Guild. Overall, the team feels a little bit weaker than it should, especially the Pugilist, although I like them for the binds. The new Hero class is excellent. Interestingly, the art book that came with the game pairs up various classes on double pages: Protector + War Magus Highlander + Pugilist Nightseeker + Arcanist Shogun + Sovereign Landsknecht + Zodiac ...So perhaps that's Atlus giving us a hint of some good combos. I knew about the Nightseeker/Arcanist combo and also Landsknecht/Zodiac, but not the others. I might add a Highlander or Landsknecht to give me more oomph.

Just a heads-up - there's a lot of free DLC at the moment. You can download all the portraits from I & II, III, IV, V and a couple of other specialist pieces of artwork. Actually, one of the "New Challenger" versions of the Landsknecht is really good, but it's specifically the Landsknecht from IV, whereas I'm more nostalgic about the one from the first game.

Yeah, sorry @drahkon, as others have said, if you haven't enjoyed the first chapter, you probably won't enjoy the rest of the game. Personally, I loved it, but you have to like playing games a certain way. For example, it takes time to get your head around collecting every material - not just the treasure, but the actual chests too! And it's more enjoyable if you play about with different room designs, as better rooms give you more buffs. Unfortunately it's not for everyone, but I do think it's a great game.

It's that time again when I get to play a new Etrian Odyssey! My copy arrived today and I've been playing it on and off today. I must admit, I was never that taken with the idea of a "greatest hits" EO, and although I'm as hooked as usual, my impressions are not as positive as with previous entries. There are 19 classes to choose from, which I'd say is too many. The satisfaction in previous games was largely about choosing which five classes to use out of a possible ten or so - which ones can do binds, elements etc. Here, there's too much choice. I'm not convinced they've used the best character portraits they've ever had either, although to be fair it's understandable they've gathered them from 3DS assets rather than DS. What does make it feel a little bit shoddy is that there's only Japanese voice acting this time around, which is a shame as the English voice actors in previous games were particularly good. It's the first time an EO game's localisation has felt less than perfect. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving what I'm playing, and can't wait to get back to it. It's just that it feels less essential than usual, that's all.

I still don't understand why they made Octopath Traveler's post-game so annoying either. I wanted to grind all eight characters to level 99, but there was nowhere to reasonably do this. Sure, RPGs have grinding, but others give you enemies with enough EXP to benefit from. It quickly went from a 9/10 game to one I don't think all that positively about.

I can't imagine much better gaming fun than playing Metal Slug (the original or X) or Final Fight (Capcom Beat 'Em Bundle) 2-player. I'm not 100% sure they're 2-player local, though, I'm just assuming. Also, Sky Force Reloaded. I haven't personally played it 2-player (although there are videos of it on YouTube), but it's a brilliant game.

On the plus side, his next suit's going to be really good!

Yes indeed. I'm afraid the only things I can remember about the story are an Anthony Hopkins style narration, a bunny woman in a thong and the final boss throwing a tantrum!

Is that Tony Stark and Nebula 14 seconds in? I was worried she'd buggered off and left him!

I actually preferred Final Fantasy XII to Xenoblade Chronicles, although I could see why some find the latter more engaging. Whereas in Xenoblade Chronicles you have to be on top of what special moves each character is performing, FF XII's Gambit system is more about setting up what each character will tend to do in any given situation. It's sort of like setting up simple A.I. for your team - quite ambitious really. I'm looking forward to replaying FF XII, because I played it so badly the first time around. Unlike Xenoblade Chronicles, I did complete it, but I trained everyone in the same weapon and never even developed any elemental magic!

The "Psycho Santa" bit is way more annoying (and dodgy) than I remember! I used to be good at the Mega Drive version and could reliably complete it with the credits it gave you, but I'm not sure how I'd do the same with the coin-op. Perhaps the home conversion was just better, gameplay-wise?

In the early 1990s I was reading a section of Sega Pro previewing upcoming Mega Drive games. One of them - Two Crude Dudes - caught my attention straight away. Just from the brilliant name and one colourful screenshot, I knew I was going to love it. I ranted to my classmates about how good this game looked, and one of them told me a local seaside arcade had it. Sure enough, in that concrete palace on the sand, was Crude Buster (the Japanese name for the coin-op). I inserted one credit, was overwhelmed and amused by the humour, and went home to await the Mega Drive release. So excited was I for this game, it's the only cartridge I had that was Genesis rather than Mega Drive. I'd bought it from a mail order company and they'd sent me the US import. I remember thinking the PAL release seemed to take ages to appear after that. The home version had remarkably good graphics and featured a number of tweaks that were actually an improvement on the coin-op. There was music over the intro screens, if I recall correctly, and gone were the "Pick Up!!" signs that I'd found a little bit... crude in the arcade! The cola machine had also been turned into a mini-game, rather than just a comical graphic between levels. This release is a port of the US coin-op, Two Crude. I actually think it loses a lot by not having the word "Dudes", because that was all part of the joie de vivre. Even so, I'm such an arcade snob that I'd rather have the coin-op every time, and it's nice to have all the speech that was cut out of the MD version ("Catch!") Like all the other Johnny Turbo's Arcade titles, it does lack some presentation options - personally, I'm hoping they get updated with a "perfect pixel match" mode sometime, like Capcom's Beat 'Em Up Bundle did (some of the older Data East games are more square than 4:3). Nonetheless, it's still one of the best ways to revisit this classic. Two Crude Dudes builds upon Bad Dudes with not just jump and attack, but also a throw button, and that's what it's really about. After all these years, there's something that still puts a massive smile on my face about throwing a car or tank at a giant mutant enemy! Nothing says "1990" more than Crude Buster. The jokey machismo, I believe, represents something deep within us. And not that it's necessarily a good thing, but I don't even think there are any female characters! I love playing these old games because I feel they were made with more human instinct than the carefully targeted products of today. Either way, Two Crude is a great laugh. Data East's coin-ops may not have aged as well as Capcom's, for example, but they were as much a part of the gaming landscape at the time. Bad Dudes... Caveman Ninja... When I play these, I ask myself if the difficulty is fair. Can they really be mastered? In this regard I don't think they gave aged very well (although I might just be rusty with this particular one). However, I do believe with the awesome sprite work, likeable humour and general enjoyment factor, Two Crude Dudes stands up the best of the lot. "What a day...!"