Grazza

No, I actually have less faith in Nintendo than ever. First of all, let's look at the 3rd-party games. They've obviously done something right here as the Wii U will have far more multiformat games than the Wii was ever going to have. As demonstrated, a lot of people on here are happy about that so, as I say, they've done well there. However, don't forget that the Xbox 360 had already been out a year when the Wii launched. In other words, the next gen had started. This time, the current gen has got a couple more years, so it's natural that the Wii U will get multiformat games for a while. Don't kid yourselves though: the next gen will be a massive leap over the 360/PS3/Wii U. Microsoft and Sony's machines will be capable of 4K resolutions compared to the Wii U's maximum 1080p (sure, we don't know how many games will run in 4K, but we do know anything remotely complex on Wii U will be 720p). In other words, it's going to be exactly the same situation again. Extraordinarily profitable series like Call of Duty will still get Wii U versions, but I don't expect many others to be scaled-down for Nintendo's machine. But the saddest thing is how Nintendo seems to have accepted everyone else's definition of "hardcore", and thus the Wii U launch line-up equals Nintendo "bridge" (or casual) games + violent games. It's not surprising that Pikmin 3 won't make launch day, but think about it: without Pikmin, Nintendo does not have an actual "hardcore" game of their own for launch! Sure, New Super Mario Bros U will play like a dream, but it's hardly an exciting launch game. If someone had told me six years ago that Mario's first HD game would be an entry in the NSMB series, I'm not sure I'd have believed them. I won't lie, I didn't like the Wii. When the full picture about that machine began to form, I thought to myself "Nintendo's development teams will have to put up with poor hardware over the next six years, and so will we, but at least the games still might be good." The presence of Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 at least showed Nintendo were on the same page as the fans in terms of software. This time, however, there is nothing like that. Pikmin 3 might be the only 1st-party game of its calibre until next Christmas (that's if it's not delayed until next Christmas!) The funny thing is that the Wii U could turn out to have much better games than the Wii. Who knows? The hardware is much better (it's the leap many of us wanted last time) and they could be working on Metroids, Marios and Zeldas to trump them all... but we don't know that. This topic is about faith, and as far as Nintendo goes, my faith has run out.

Xenoblade... no, sorry, I'm just not on the same page with that one. I can appreciate many people enjoyed it, but I didn't. If you want to know what I think is a genius RPG, it's Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2. Out of all the games killer kirby listed, the only one I could potentially see as "genius" is Super Mario Galaxy. I, however, consider it slightly (just slightly) overrated, as I believe it inferior to Super Mario Sunshine (the GameCube game is better becaue it has dual analogue and a more coherent theme, to name two reasons). Super Mario Galaxy's main innovations are gravity effects and running on the underside of planets, neither of which I liked. Don't get me wrong, it's a good game (as are some of the others in the list), I just can't put it up there with Wind Waker. To be fair, I don't think I could put any Mario game up there with a truly great Zelda like WW. Fair enough, you think Brawl, Galaxy and Xenoblade were some of the best games of their generation (assuming you mean Wii/360/PS3 as opposed to GC/Wii)? Sure, I don't want to argue with that. What I'm saying is that I haven't played anything I personally consider genius since the GameCube/PS2/GBA. I'm expressing a disappointment with modern times, not bashing Nintendo. The reason I said "Nintendo, won't you show us your genius once more...?" is because if anyone can do it, it's them. Anyway, it's all hugely subjective. For the record, I think Wind Waker is the last brilliant, AAA, 10/10 game Nintendo made, along with Metroid Fusion. It might not be a coincidence that both were released around the same time (2002 in Japan, 2003 elsewhere).

1. The price is a bit hefty - I think it should be more like £200 for the Basic and £250 for the Premium. More than anything, I regret how much the controller must add to the cost. 2. Launch, probably. 3. Premium, if only for the extra storage and 10% online discount. 4. New Super Mario Bros U and wait for Pikmin 3. 5. I didn't actually watch it, but Bayonetta was a surprise. No real highlights. 6. It wasn't disappointing, but expectations were much lower than E3. No new Nintendo games were going to be shown, but that's what's needed to get people really excited about the console. 7. I had hoped to hear about the Virtual Console, especially new, HD versions of SNES and GameCube games. Nintendo arguably has the best back catalogue around - it shouldn't be underestimated how much excitement could have been generated with the promise of HD versions of Link to the Past, Super Metroid or Wind Waker.

Wow, that looks good! So many games I won't be able to decide which version to buy!

Nope, sorry, all you've done is list some good games. None of them are that good. I'm talking about true genius, like Wind Waker. Nintendo knew that was a darn good idea and they didn't care whether people would "get it" or not.

Funnily enough I found an article about Wind Waker yesterday on Nintendo Everything. It generally just explains why the graphics are so good:http://nintendoeverything.com/97142/zelda-wind-wakers-tech-analyzed/ Nintendo, won't you show us your genius once more...?

Flipping heck, you run Shinesparkers? That's a great site. Any friend of Metroid is a friend of mine!

Okey dokey. I'm still not sure if there is any proper post-game content myself. Does anyone know if there any proper post-game levels/bosses or is it just things like "Gather 500 webs" in a level you've already done?

Well, I completed this over the summer. Enjoyed playing it in the caravan - not the longest game in the world, but a nice diversion. @Rummy - I saw you were talking about struggling to play this game in the General Board. I've still got it and would happily help you get through some of the levels, if it would give you moral support? (It's not a difficult game, I just thought you might like some company.) I can't pretend I play online a lot (in fact, I don't at all!) but I could be available for an evening or two a week, and I've no need to pick up any of the loot! Get in touch if you want to play it.

Nowadays it would have to be: I used to wait until everything was about £20 (can't believe I did that with what turned out to be some of my favourite games), but since then I've become more obsessed. Plus, there's the camaraderie you get from playing something along with some of the people on here. The third factor is that it's really not that expensive if you use the right websites and get pre-order discounts/codes.

Realistically, I'm not expecting anything other than price, release date etc. In other words, the details. I don't want to hype myself up into expecting new games. On the other hand, I am excited about it (I can't help it) and would certainly have the day off work if I could!

Wii U price: £200 (no game included) Nintendoland = £50 (includes Wii Remote Plus) One of the cheapest ways to make sure everyone who buys Nintendoland has both controllers. 1st-party launch games: Nintendoland, New Super Mario Bros

Out of all those suggested, I think Donkey Kong is the most likely, followed by Wario Land (or possibly Kirby). Unless it's New Super Mario Bros 3.

The Wii was a strange console for me. I gave a lot of games a chance, but just didn't want to finish them. Started, but didn't finish: Punch Out Little King's Story Red Steel 2 Xenoblade A Boy & His Blob Wario Land: Shake Dimension ...Out of all those, the one I'd like to finish most would be A Boy & His Blob. It's a great game, but the puzzles became too fiddly for me in World 4. The one that really bugs me though is Super Mario Galaxy 2. I consider myself to have "completed" it (as I got 241 Stars), but wish I'd got all 242. Then again, I had hundreds of tries and it genuinely made me feel ill (one of the strangest experiences I've had), so you have to call it a day sometime. Anyway, it's all academic as I've sold them all! Didn't buy (but would quite like to): New Super Mario Bros Donkey Kong Country Returns Kirby's Epic Yarn

I hope it's something that hasn't been revealed, maybe one of the following: Shantae 3 New Kid Icarus Metroid V (not really a platformer, but still...!)

You've really got the wrong impression about Ace Attorney! Courtroom gameplay involves two main actions: "Press" and "Present". Both are activated via the touchscreen. OK, the first two games have one moment just before the end credits where you have to say it out loud, but just wait until you're in your hotel room!

To me, the Ace Attorney series seem like the best fit if you want something relaxing to play on holiday. Brilliant stories and music, and you don't need your reflexes. The only problem is that it might be frustrating if you can't work out what to do, but that's like any game. Assuming you'll have the internet, just go on GameFAQs if you get stuck. Personally, I'm still stuck in the mentality that holiday = no internet, but maybe that's just me!

Well then, let's all type in "Oracle of Ages" and "Oracle of Seasons"!

To say I've changed my opinion about how much I'm looking forward to this would be an understatement! New Super Mario Bros 2 has reminded me how much I like these games. Does this game have a level creator? I got the impression that one of them did (and it's not the 3DS game!) I'd love to design some levels full of cannon pipes!

I wouldn't say so, apart from perhaps the final Castle/s. There was not a bit in NSMB 2 that frustrated me as much as one particular Mini Mario mission in the DS original (although there are some difficult Mini Mario bits).

(Changes search to "Metroid Dread".)

True, but the DS was also an odd machine in one specific way - it was generally capable of polygon-based games, but didn't have an analogue stick. It might even be the only games machine with that particular issue. Personally, I'd have said "The machine's got a d-pad, let's make a d-pad Zelda (ie. a wholly 2D one)", but there you go. I hope Nintendo stops focusing on touch and motion controls because I think they're barking up the wrong tree (not totally eliminate them; just use touch for things like shop displays). As I say, I think things like autosave, Super Leaf/Super Guide and a (very carefully done) map screen/level select system could be better ways to refine games in a way that makes them more welcoming.

Are we sure the Game Boy was weaker than the NES? Could it not have had some sort of advantage? Another thing is that Game Boy games were a lot more generous with having battery back-up. Take Metroid. There are no Save Points at all in the NES game, but there are in the GB sequel. Then again, Legend of Zelda also has battery back-up, so this theory doesn't explain the Zelda series. That's true, but I always wondered if Phantom Hourglass was the result of questionable thinking. The DS wasn't powerful enough to deliver an N64 experience, yet at the same time, they no longer had faith in the Link to the Past/Minish Cap model. Now we have a handheld that at least should be able to deliver an OOT/MM-quality Zelda (I don't believe the 3DS could do Wind Waker justice), so I'm hoping we get something like that. As for Mario, we could have had a Mario 64-style Zelda, sure. Again, I hate to say it but I think Super Mario 3D Land was another example of confused thinking. 2D Mario? Great. 3D Mario? Great. 3D Mario largely confined to side-scrolling levels? Not so great.

Oh yeah, it's far less complex than the other games, but if they ever made a remake, a map would be very welcome. As you say, the actual worlds are clearly defined, but they are complicated enough that a map would help.

Another thing about this game is that you can only use a maximum of six Energy Tanks, even if you collect all of them. Do you know how to get the one in Kraid's room? It just seemed impossible to me (I didn't have the Screw Attack at the time, if that helps?) Very true. I also didn't have anything like as much trouble with Metroid II as I did Metroid. Metroid II would benefit from a map, and it would help if the Save Points restored your health, but it still feels much more modern than the NES game. Personally, I think the next step in ease-of-play is autosave, but perhaps I should leave that for another thread. I was surprised New Super Mario Bros 2 didn't have it, actually.