Grazza

After much effort, I have completed Chapter 2. Whereas Chapter 1 focuses on mining and metalwork, the second has more of an emphasis on fabric and carpentry. As much as I like the game in general, I did find Chapter 2 a real slog. The base area is no bigger than the first one, yet you have to cram in more; and the learning curve goes up quite a bit, with you having to farm and cook. On a positive note, the writing is brilliant - hilarious one moment, then extremely dark the next. Square-Enix has nailed the tone of this one - to me, it's more "Dragon Quest" than anything since VIII.

That's curious timing - I hadn't noticed Etrian Odyssey V was discounted this week. Just going by the other 3DS ones, they do become very good value on the eShop.

This game has hooked me so much, shortly after starting Chapter 2, I felt the urge to go back and do the challenges in Chapter 1. My base in Cantlin became like a fortress, impenetrable to all but the strongest enemies. The humour was excellent throughout (just my thing), and I found all the secret accessories. The Featherfall Footwear shields you from harm when you fall, and the Dragon Scale (obtained by defeating the three dragons) improves your defence. I even built a Cantlin Garden! Just from Chaper 1 alone, I felt this was a near-perfect game, but I can already tell it's one I'll feel differently about depending on each chapter. Still, it's a slice of Dragon Quest, and one that feels very authentic at that.

I much enjoyed playing Etrian Odyssey V, but for personal reasons, the review was delayed. I've finished it now, and here it is: Etrian Odyssey V: Beyond the Myth Thanks, as ever, to the stalwart @S.C.G for the graphic.

I finished Chapter 1 last night and am absolutely gripped. Didn't really mind that my town got a bit bashed up in the final boss fight. I've done enough for them - the buggers can rebuild it themselves! Whilst I expected to agree with the consensus on this game's drawbacks, I actually don't. Yes, you do lose all your materials when you progress onto a new chapter (which are set in a different land to the previous one), but I quite liked having a fresh start. And whilst you also lose any blueprints, you don't actually lose recipes (at least in this Switch version). They're all still there, and besides, a lot of this game is about upgrading basic versions of rooms - Workshop, Bedroom, Inn etc. In Chapter 2, you won't actually want the exact same rooms you used in Chapter 1. Still, I'm not far in, so obviously don't have as much experience as others, but it's not a problem for me so far. My only complaint is that this has the curse of so many modern games - it's way too big and "open world"! The lands are much bigger than necessary, meaning you can spend days travelling to a single destination, with not much useful in between. I wouldn't mind, but it also has the dreaded breakable weapons and a hunger meter - neither of which make it more entertaining for me. You'd also better build a few bedrooms on your travels, or you'll be walking about in the dark. Overall, I'm really enjoying this game and can't wait to get back to it.

This game is very much my sense of humour.

Is it a puzzle game? I'll see it in my sleep!

Those sound like some much needed improvements to a fundamentally solid game. I was very borderline about getting the full game, but I definitely will now. I'm just going to delete the demo and start anew.

Well, I think they emulate the hardware, and then the original code runs on it without tweaking. This way, they have been able to supply Neo Geo games in particular every week without actually having to port them. I do agree in principle though. How long it would take to get rid of the slowdown, I don't know, but if they could do it, an option would be appreciated. Fair enough. I still think it's a good game though. Whereas Double Dragon 4 simulated the NES style (complete with floaty jumps), I think Arcade Archives Double Dragon holds up as a fast and entertaining experience.

There's quite a lot, especially on Stage 4, but my best guess is it's exactly the same as the coin-op. Only really a problem when you've got a lot of Abobos or Willy!

Massively, yeah. The Megadrive was the only one that matched the graphics, I thought, but even that didn't have the sound. Unless you mean previous downloadable versions of the coin-op?

I can't really explain how important Double Dragon was to my childhood. I first found it in 1987, at a sports centre, and became obsessed with it thereafter. Whether I was at a holiday camp or a seaside arcade, I tried to find this machine and slot my (old-sized) 10p pieces into it. It was always my ambition to own the real arcade game at home, and now I do. Last night I plugged in my headphones, loaded up Double Dragon and spent half an hour of retro bliss. This isn't just nostalgia, it's time travel! Suffice to say, Abobo is still a badass, the moving walls are still annoying and Marian's dress still doesn't cover her pants! Now bring on Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja!

Cheers. If the original was 256x240, I'm just going to make it full screen vertically, which on Switch should be 720 (a x3 multiplication)? Neo Geo could do 320×224, so was slightly different.

After many decades, I have finally got the arcade version of Double Dragon on my console! @Dcubed - Do you have any ideas about the perfect way to display this? If the coin-op was 256×240, should I set it to multiples of 240?

I'm afraid it falls upon me to be the negative one, but this seems like The Emperor's New Clothes. When I was a kid there were toys called Zoids - make-your-own robotic dinosaur/animal kits. Not only were they engineering marvels, they were aesthetically fascinating. Lego was also a very high quality toy - even better, in my opinion, before they used so many film licences. This, though, seems incredibly cheap and throwaway. $70-80 for sheets of cardboard? If this is successful, the profit margins are going to be astronomical! It really does feel like the Wii days - Nintendo's success has made them confident (possibly overconfident) and they have gone back to thinking any sort of playing about they do will be interesting, rather than let a genuinely compelling idea drive the software and hardware. Not that it'll do any harm - it's a 3rd pillar, after all - but I think this is going to end up in the recycling bin!

I thought Nintendo were at their "expanded audience" best with the 3DS. StreetPass/Quest struck a chord with me more than Wii Sports/Fit, Letterbox was a brilliant way of communicating with real character (shame how it ended) and Animal Crossing: New Leaf was phenomenal. To me, Switch is a fundamentally good, non-gimmicky console, so I'm sure they can get the balance right.

Finished the demo and thought it was the best thing I've played for ages. As I understand it, this game is Minecraft with a Dragon Quest theme? Well, I've no previous experience with Minecraft, but it applies the Dragon Quest feel very well. It's addictive to build the houses, and you can fill them with quintessentially DQ items such as pots and chests. I've read the criticism and will probably agree with it when I get that far, but I have a feeling I'll enjoy the game enough to overcome it. Can't wait to play the full release!

Not sure if this is known, but there's now a demo available for the first game on the Nintendo eShop.

Ys VIII looks quite interesting, although I'm not sure what the gameplay is like. I've never played Hyrule Warriors, so this might be a chance to play that. SNK Heroines is not a bad idea, but I'd rather they'd gone for hand-drawn 2D over polygons.

Well, I'm finished with Etrian Odyssey V, and I reckon it's the best so far. I beat the post-game boss in 5 turns! And I suspect it could be done in 3 turns with a fully-retired team, but I don't really want to grind that up just to see. Still, a great game indeed.

Does anyone know what happened to Double Dragon? It's still in my watch list, but not possible to buy.

I hadn't, but thanks for the heads-up. LizardCube were pretty honest about what I think is the game's one objective flaw - namely how obscure it becomes later on. Personally, I would have liked some particle effects to signpost the hidden doors, and a few hints about the other things mentioned, but to me it's not a huge deal. Other than that, though, I think this game is of medium difficulty rather than anything more. There are 8-bit games that get trotted out - Metroid, Kid Icarus, Legend of Zelda - that I wouldn't dream of playing without save states. Not Dragon's Trap though - it's fine. Checkpoints aren't part of the design, just as they aren't everywhere in Super Mario Bros. Developers always ask you to complete certain stretches without checkpoints, and I don't think Wonder Boy's are too big. What I love about this game is how considered the overall design seems - neither overly simple nor overly complicated. The overworld isn't too big or too small. You find your way to a boss, defeat it, gain a new transformation, access an area you couldn't before, defeat the next boss... and so on. There's no DLC or ridiculous amount of sidequests. To me, it's this proper (but limited) design many people have nostalgia for, not necessarily the difficulty.

If you have a TV you actually like playing on, I'd go for the PS2 original. The 3DS version may have extras, but it's also been snipped quite a bit. DQ VIII on the PS2 was my first foray into Dragon Quest, and I couldn't have asked for a better introduction. Just be careful you don't sell anything too valuable, and you can't reset your skill points either (not sure about 3DS), so it's best to plan that carefully (I'm happy to advise).

To be fair, I didn't know there was a thread for it either.

And Data East now! I'm hoping we get Bad Dudes, Crude Buster and Joe & Mac. http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2017/12/data_east_arcade_titles_are_coming_to_switch_courtesy_of_one_of_gamings_worst_mascots