Grazza

I tried to buy it too, but it wasn't there. Boo!

[spoiler=] LOL! Very funny, but I didn't think there was anything strange about it really. I took the citizens to really admire the king and were waiting for him to cheer up. They weren't so much depressed themselves, as stopping themselves from being overtly cheerful. Haha, good stuff!

My Top 3 are Zero Mission, Fusion and Prime. I was surprised I enjoyed Metroid Prime more than Super Metroid in the end, and I don't have any "problem" with Super whatsoever. Then again, there hasn't been a bad Metroid (that I've played - haven't played Metroid II or Hunters)!

Sorry, darksnowman, I was in a terrible mood last night and I thought you were having a go at me (well, you were, weren't you? ) Another thing about Yoshi's Island is that the "aim your eggs" gameplay doesn't seem very natural. For a 2D game, "jump" (Mario) or "jump and attack" (Metroid) seems more natural to me. As for Super Metroid, it's good, but I honestly think both GBA Metroid games bettered it. It really is the easiest, for a start. Some of the bosses are impossible if you don't know the "secret", and then ridiculously easy when you do. It's also far easier to find the upgrades than the other two (Zero Mission is the hardest in this regard - the speed boost puzzles are crazy). Also, when you compare Mother Brain in each game - in Super Metroid, it's a case of aiming up diagonally and dodging the occasional attack. In Zero Mission, you have to keep your cool, keep your positioning, dodge the important things and not worry about the unimportant things. The final boss is quite a challenge too. The bosses in Fusion are a mix between the two, as they seem harder than the other two games at first, but have a clear technique to learn. Zero Mission, on the other hand, seems to keep its challenge more, as there is no real "easy" way to beat the bosses. Maybe that's just because I played it again on Hard mode. They're all good though.

I forgot OLED screens are potentially foldable. That would be a great solution. As for the d-pad, I always used the analogue stick on the GameCube for 2D games because the d-pad was so bad. Admittedly, the DS has a good d-pad. However, maybe Nintendo have invented a really good analogue slider (after all, this is a handheld) that "snaps" to left, right, up and down slightly easier than it does the other 356-degrees.

Get over it. I told you, it came with it. And, like I said, I enjoyed it with the guide. Unlike Super Mario World's secret exits, the secrets in Yoshi's Island were uncovered by going through the levels multiple times, exploring every hole. It's an OCD game.

I don't have strong feelings about the hub, but I'll say this: The point of a map screen in the 2D games was that it made sense to view the level selection from overhead, whereas the gameplay was side-scrolling. Therefore two different displays were needed (ie. map screen + gameplay screen). However, with 3D, a seamless transition between level selection and gameplay is possible. That's why, to me, a hub makes sense.

Yoshi's Island - I loved it on the SNES, but when I played it on the GBA I found the controls and gameplay too fussy. On the SNES it came packaged with an official guidebook with all the maps. As such, it was a joy to play and I completed it 100%. However, without the guidebook, there are far too many secrets, things to collect and different paths per level. It's just not very focused.

Couldn't agree more, Pyxis. I hope the 3D display doesn't, as you say, compromise the resolution (or the graphical power, I think). Nintendo often preach "gameplay over graphics". The irony is that 3D is just a type of display, whereas processing power does actually allow improvements in gameplay. We're going to need a decent jump in processing power if the handheld Zeldas are ever going to be N64/GameCube quality.

I must admit, I did get overexcited yesterday, but the difference between Nintendo in the "Virtual Boy" days and now is that they used to reach for the sky, whereas the modern Nintendo doesn't do anything until it's affordable, profitable and works reasonably well. Satoru Iwata is incredibly level-headed. The 3DS is more likely to be slightly disappointing than something that just doesn't work.

I'm surprised you don't have them. Then again, the secret of those sites is that they are based in the Channel Islands - Jersey for Play and Guernsey for HMV (don't know where Zavvi is based, I just used to go in the shops). The equivalent would be if Australia owned some islands off New Zealand, or something like that.

A Boy & His Brilliance! I ejected Little King's Story last night and put this in instead. It's hugely charming, has good graphics and decent controls. Basically works well within the Wii's capabilities. The puzzles are quite hard, but the infinite lives and generous checkpoints mean it's not frustrating. So far I've done 16 levels (8 normal + 8 "challenge"). Another thing I like is how thoughtful and modern the game design feels, with autosave etc. It's the best sub-game/B-game I've played on Wii so far!

I am actually ecstatic about this! My mind is racing. If they pull it off properly, it will make all rival devices look prehistoric. I don't just mean the PSP, I mean the iPad, everything. If good 3D truly can be done on a screen with no need for glasses, it will revolutionise still image technology. At the very least, we're bound to have a cracking new Zelda. Imagine Wind Waker/Spirit Tracks quality in 3D!!! And as for the backlash, I think some people actually like being cynical and pessimistic. Maybe I'm naive, but Nintendo are on very good form at the moment, much better than when they launched the Wii.

Hey, if you borrow a lot of money, you've got to pay it back somehow. EDIT - Sorry, not sure if you were talking about Little King's Story or my joke. The game has a lot of good points, but features hugely inconsistent gameplay, poor graphics and is often very frustrating. It's worth a look, but it's no Pikmin.

Well, it's better than sex with man, but that's about it...!

Nintendo do make mature games though. Zelda is full of life lessons. If they wanted they could add extra blood to Zelda and Metroid and get a "Mature" rating in the US, but what would be the point? I don't get it.

I really like art and glamour because everything is deliberate, almost constructed - hair, make-up, lighting, pose, contrast, shadows etc. The photographer thinks of what they want to convey and then creates it, so to me that is more of artform than the more photojournalistic pictures (no offence intended whatsoever).

I beat the first three kings and have chosen the Egg King as the next one (I'm not sure if you can choose). I thought the pinball boss was a tad unappealling, as the graphics weren't sharp enough to see the play area properly (just being in HD would have helped tremendously). However, I do love pinball, so I took plenty of miners and bashed him losing only one man. To be honest, the Egg King has been a real low point for me. The riddles are OK, but I'm not very good at associating music with the correct area, voices with characters etc.

I don't either. That is the brilliance of Nintendo - they show that the very best entertainment has nothing gratuitous in it whatsoever - nothing to arouse you, nothing to horrify you, nothing to make you feel aggressive (as such) - just brilliant, exciting, wholesome fun like Mario and Zelda.

Now we know Sakamoto wanted a 2D game using just the Wiimote and Team Ninja wanted a 3D game using the Nuchuk as well, I can't help but think Other M might be a better game if one of them had got their way, rather than fusing the two.

And that is how Bungie invented Master Chef. Well, it's not exactly Page 3, is it?

LOL, I like the pants!

Just like real gekko lizards.

I don't think so. If you look at Super Mario Galaxy, it generally feels right and was well-received. A bit hard to get used to, but not disappointing in any way. All the enemies look as they should and in every way it feels like Mario done properly (same goes for Wind Waker). Then if you look at Twilight Princess, much of it really didn't feel right. There are no Moblins or Octoroks, and none of the enemies looked as they should, really, some of them completely wrong like the Dodongos. My prediction is that the next time Nintendo makes a truly great Zelda, we'll realise Twilight Princess really was slightly sub-par, rather than look at it with rose-tinted glasses.

Spears for Hero, Axes for Yangus. Swords aren't bad either but, trust me on this, if you want to do the post-game content before you reach Level 65, you'll be glad you put 59 (77 for extra strength) into Spears and 66 (82 for extra strength) into Axes. It's a long, intense game, so you have to pay attention. You can't just keep attacking like in IV and V.