Grazza

I think I know what you mean there. I'm at the end of Dragon Quest VIII now (will buy DQIV soonish) and I think I will be able to play the other games better knowing the general tactics of the game. With hindsight, I wouldn't have distributed my skill points so evenly (I didn't know if I'd lose my weapons and need "Fisticuffs", for example). I also wouldn't have sold the "rare" items, so I could use them for Alchemy later. My fault though, as the shopkeepers did warn me! Still, for all I know the other DQ games might be very different! I look forward to finding out.

Be optimistic, but not naive, that's what I say! After all, you have to have hope! However, since the new DS is almost guaranteed, I really don't think we'll be seeing any Wii games on Thursday.

Absolutely. Zelda needs to regain its status as THE best game out there. That can only be done by making the game more fluid, more smooth-flowing and more kinetic. It needs to be at the cutting edge of how easy it is to move around and interact with the game world. Why can't we switch from 1st-person, 3rd-person and over-the-shoulder, for example, whenever we like, even in shops and towns? There's no real reason for it nowadays. Personally, I think the story should be kept as simple as possible. Something like: "There's a very bad man called Trevor. Go and hit him with your sword." If the game needs a new "hook", how about flight? I think it would be a genuine improvement to fly anywhere in the overworld whenever you liked. You should be able to take off from any village or location, fly around and land anywhere without any loading times. This isn't just a substitute for teleportation; this would be a huge improvement in moving around the overworld. Maybe Link could be cursed and grow wings, and the game simply about him trying to stop his (gradual - this isn't an excuse for a "Twilight Realm") transformation, rather than stop any megalomaniac. Or, Link could call griffins, dragons and other beasts to use as transport. I don't mean this would be like an RPG, where you press a button and then enter a different mode. You'd actually have to climb on, like the boars and horse in Twilight Princess. The Darknuts were good in Twilight Princess, but Stalfos needs to be reinstated as a challenging enemy, not just a small skeleton that you can fire a bomb-arrow at. They also need to reintroduce Moblins - one of the best enemies, which were modelled for Twilight Princess (29 seconds into the first trailer - he whacks Link with a pole) but cut out. Why, why, why? I'd also like to see Wizzrobes again (like the Moblins, not seen since Wind Waker). It's fun to launch fire, ice and light arrows at them! The combat needs to be adrenaline-pumping, but not frustrating like Metroid Prime. They could also take a leaf from the Team ICO games, which really explain very little, but there is enough information there for you to work out the story. I would try and reduce voice-acting and cut scenes as much as possible. This way, the game feels a little bit like meditation.

It must be true if Reuters say so, although they do call it a "game gear"! I'm quite keen on this. Of course, I'd prefer a DS 2 (let's hope it is!), but I'll still probably buy this if it's a good enough design. I certainly thought the Game Boy Micro was fantastic and well worth doing.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's played it! Do you remember the elemental creatures that followed you around? You obtained an extra one at the end of each dungeon and could then choose which one accompanied you. The hero had a sword and a bow; I can't remember much else, but the enemies were great. Big armoured knights, that sort of thing. Great sprites. The series is called "Beyond Oasis" in the USA, so I suppose this is "Beyond Oasis 2". I've never played the Megadrive original.

Very well said! Most people I meet haven't played or heard of Shadow of the Colossus or Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath, yet they were the single best games I played on the PS2 and Xbox respectively. OK, I don't look down on them for it, but it's just not true that 360/PS3 owners seek out the aficionado's games. For the record, I don't particularly want SFIV on the Wii (especially considering how cheap 360s are now), but I hope it's made available for those who want it.

Yes, it is better than Starfox Adventures. I completed Beyond Good & Evil, but just couldn't get into SFAdv.

Because there aren't many games in this genre and I thought Beyond Good & Evil was a 6/10 - above average, but no more than that.

Hmm, that was interesting. I liked the Xbox 720 prototype. My way of looking at it is this: How much use do Nintendo want to get out of Wii Sports Resort and MotionPlus? This peripheral reminds me strongly of the N64's RAM pak. 2010? The sooner the better, I say, but I still stick by my prediction of late 2011. It's true that HDTVs are becoming almost the only type of TV you can buy, and it would be better to upscale at source (ie. the console) rather than hope you get a TV that's good at it.

I prefer that idea to banishing the cel-shaded games to handheld, as I think the Wind Waker style deserves the full power of a console. Of course, it'd need a new development team dedicated to the "Wind Waker" games. I don't think it should have a new hero though. He could just get older and not need his "Hero of Time" abilities. I would certainly be in favour of shortening the dungeons in this theoretical series, as they actually took me out of my immersion a little bit (in Wind Waker) and reminded me it was a game. Maybe it's just me, but full-length dungeons seem a bit old-fashioned now when you could have much more action in the overworld. But, hand on heart, I think Nintendo should make all their games like playable cartoons, whether that means cel-shading or something newer and better. We could have much better colours and contrast in future, and with an adult Link too. I think it'd be the best of both worlds. Yes, I know what you mean. It's the main sword, yet not always the strongest! It does have more "evil banishing" power than the others, but still... I thought Twilight Princess got it right, as did Wind Waker the way you powered it up in stages. I also like the way the shield goes: Wooden, Hylian, Mirror Shield in most games. If they ever put MotionPlus in the Nunchuk (maybe for Wii 2), we could control the shield again with a gyroscope.

I know I'm very late, but thank you, King V. Ah, the room full of mirrors you had to find, position and bounce light off... Most enjoyable puzzle I've ever seen in any game.

Tingle was fantastic! For me, the moment Tingle appeared in Wind Waker was one of the best moments in gaming. Sounds odd, I know, but not long after I'd completed Majora's Mask, I thought "That's it, I'm bored with gaming" and sold my Saturn, N64 and Dreamcast. Eventually I became aware that there was a new Nintendo console and a new Zelda game, so I knew I had to get them. Wind Waker was so fresh and new, and I'd forgotten the details of the older Zelda games anyway. I'd certainly completely forgotten about Tingle. Anyway, the moment I saw Tingle I remembered him from Majora's Mask, and realised that the design team had recreated all the magic in a completely different setting. I metaphorically tipped my hat to them for achieving something I'd never seen in gaming before. I'm indifferent to the character outside of Zelda, but he works really well in the context of a Zelda adventure. He grounds it; sets the right tone...

Yes, thanks Hero-of-Time. That's what I like to hear! I must admit, I have been paying this game more attention recently, upgrading it from "quite a laugh" to "looks very good"! I'm very impressed with the artistry - it's looks gorgeous! It clearly was a labour of love. The graphics are so good I'd like to see Metroid, Donkey Kong and even Mario done in this style.

Yeah, the Nintendo event will be 1st- or 2nd-party games. I just got confused about ONM saying games from "big developers" are on the way. I wouldn't have thought they meant Nintendo. Factor 5 and Amusement Vision doing Kid Icarus and F-Zero respectively would certainly fit the bill, I think. Not Capcom, I admit, although I know it'd be nice if they did another Zelda: Four Swords (I think that development team has been let go, more's the pity). Paper Mario 3 by Intelligent Systems could be on the cards, and I still say whoever did Star Fox Command had exactly the right idea for that particular series. Out of interest, when would everyone like to see the next real Zelda? I think anything later than December 2010 would be too late. In which case, I really wouldn't mind seeing something now, or at least by E3 2009.

"Big developers"? Sounds like it could well be Factor 5 with Kid Icarus, and I know a lot of us would like Sega (Amusement Vision) to do another F-Zero. I think it's more likely, though, to be ports of Capcom games like SFIV and RE5.

Yeah, why do they always say that? It's my understanding that orchestral music can't change "on the fly" like MIDI can. I'd rather have dynamic music than something that has to load all the time.

I would like to see Gannondorf (and especially Ganon) rendered much more boldly than that, with stronger colours and stronger lines/contrast. Basically, really cartoony like Space Ace or Mario Galaxy. For some reason, I think a giant pig-man would suit it more than a humanoid! Imagine a really simple, bold opening where Ganon swoops down and kidnaps Zelda, then flies off in his flying saucer! That's it, game begins! But hey, it's purely personal taste.

True. I didn't mean I wanted them to help the PS3, just that they could count on people making sure they had whatever console DQIX was released on (maybe I'm wrong). But yes, the DS has a huge userbase, and I do like playing on mine.

Very true. It wasn't generic, just dangerously close to generic in one or two parts. It's definitely better than rival adventure games last generation like Beyond Good & Evil, Starfox Adventures and Okami. I mean, just riding on fields fighting the boar-riders is above most games! That's true. I think the music is one of the underrated things about the game. I'm always humming it! Ballad of the Wind Fish from Link's Awakening. Beautiful. Actually, you're right, it should be medium. I just don't mind personally if they're on the easy side in combat (like WW or TP). I've got all 120 Shines. Whee! You've got a very good point there. Take Phantom Hourglass. I thought the touchscreen controls worked well for the weapons, but not movement. I completed it twice, so I was fine with it, but it wasn't an actual improvement. It worked in terms of fitting the game to the DS, but it didn't actually improve the series. See, as much as I like your posts, I do actually disagree with that somewhat. Neither Majora's Mask nor Wind Waker were the traditional "Hyrule adventure", but I thought they got the feeling just right. For me, Zelda is about a feeling of magic, and when the designers are on form, they can pull it off in different settings. I'm sure I'm in the minority, but I wouldn't mind a sci-fi Zelda. Think "Space Ace" (yes, I know it's a terrible game!) more than "Metroid". I think it would be a great achievement for the designers to prove they can recreate the same atmosphere and gameplay in space (a bit like Mario Galaxy).

I didn't want to criticise this game any more, but there have been some excellent points: Foresight. I think you've hit the nail on the head there. When I first saw the 2004 trailer, I thought it would be a side-quest of some type (like Majora's Mask). I was very surprised when it turned out it would be a full "Hyrule" adventure. Like I say, I think the best model for any one console is 1 main Zelda + 1 spin-off/side-quest game using the same engine. If TP had been about exploring a strange land with different villains and locations, it would have had more identity of its own. I wouldn't have minded a much shorter game if they had got the atmosphere and gameplay just right. Indeed. One thing I thought was that it felt a bit too much like an RPG and not a fluid adventure game. Recently I played Final Fantasy XII and was surprised how similar the tone and atmosphere was to Twilight Princess. Zelda should be so good that no one can match it! I thought not being able to see the detail on the characters in Castle Town was just like FFXII (and many other RPGs). This is one of those odd things that I suspect might have been due to the delay/Wii version. If (and I stress if) they took out the Mirror Shield and other items it would be awkward for the Wii to do, it's easy to imagine them redesigning other items and dungeons. I'd forgotten about that too, but you're right. It's an awfully strange thing thing to take out of the game, especially so late in the development (remember, it was still in some of the promotional screenshots!) People say the game lacked "magic". Well, a lot of it could literally be due to the lack of a magic bar! It's just one of many things that make me suspicious about the game. Exactly. It's all this physics-based improvisation that sets Zelda apart from an RPG. Shareholders. You've hit the nail on the head again. It seems to me that shareholders are lessening many forms of entertainment, because they only want a quick return and don't actually understand what makes a product good or why the fans like them. I honestly would have taken TP as it came, but all this delay/Wii version business certainly made me suspicious about the whole thing. Anyway, onto difficulty... I'm all in favour of Nintendo making games easier and more accessible, as long as there is enough challenge for other gamers. Besides, Twilight Princess may have had easy combat, but the puzzles were as difficult as ever, don't you think? The Mario games have it just right: moderately easy to complete the game, but you need superhuman reflexes to get all the stars! Super Mario World is my favourite and it's one of the easiest. Now, quite honestly, I thought Mario 64 and Sunshine were too difficult for the average "casual" gamer to get through. Not me, but I don't see why little kids should get frustrated trying to play them. I know people who gave Mario Sunshine a good go, but just couldn't get very far at all. I'd be in favour of all Mario and Zelda games being easy to complete, with optional medium and difficult challenges. Mario has the hub world, but this could be applied to Zelda by having an easy main adventure, but optional bosses and "100 levels" challenges. I thought the desert challenge in TP was not bad at all. At the end of the day, it's never going to be Metroid Prime (thankfully!)

The Saturn was one of the consoles I was fondest of. It specialised in sprites, but was no slouch with polygons either. The two I most strongly recommend are Guardian Heroes, a scrolling beat-em-up with split paths and levelling-up; and Story of Thor 2, which is like Zelda and very underrated. Both had beautiful sprite-scaling. I also really liked Bust-a-Move 2, Bubble Bobble Collection (or whatever it was called) and Sega Ages (which had great conversions of OutRun, Space Harrier and Afterburner). Two good exclusives were Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Panzer Dragoon Saga, the latter an RPG. It featured dragon battles which were similar to the ship battles in Skies of Arcadia. I wouldn't pay silly money for it though, if I were you. Then there were the great coin-op conversions like Virtua Fighter 1+2, Virtua Cop 1+2, Sega Rally, Street Fighter Alpha 2 and Marvel Super Heroes. I recommend these less because you can now get Virtua Fighter 5 on the current-gen consoles, as well as equivalents of the others.

Isn't it odd that Dragon Quest IX is a DS exclusive? It's basically a portable N64, so that's one generation back from the last game (which was PS2) and two generations back from what it could be. I know it has to be released on a machine that has made it big in Japan, but surely if Dragon Quest is Japan's No.1 series, people would buy PS3s just to play it? I looked on the back of the box of the Wii spin-off game, and it looked like the monsters had been graphically improved from Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2. Now they have to go backwards. Just a thought. I'm looking forward to it anyway.

I've got a feeling a MotionPlus-enabled Punch Out would be the moment any remaining sceptics (myself included) are convinced motion controls really are a giant step forwards. Other than that, I'd really like to see Zelda and Kid Icarus - just something done in the colourful Nintendo style that proves motion controls really can improve traditional games. I really want to be convinced!

Ah, sorry, I forgot about that. Yes, the "Four Links" is one of those things that didn't seem to fit into that game very well, although I loved Four Swords Adventures on the GC. I must have been lucky, because it's irritating when you can't beat a final boss. My personal nemesis is the Metroid Prime! I will admit that if the fans wanted a longer, more epic game, then they did get that. Speaking as someone who loves the atmosphere and style of both Wind Waker and the N64 games, I didn't take part in the criticism of WW. What I do think though, is that the 2004 trailer depicts the game people really wanted. Dare I say it, I think this game started to go off the rails as early as May 2005, its 3rd major showing and when it became known as Twilight Princess. I'd go as far to say that the wolf, twilight and even Midna detracted from the original vision (or at least what it had seemed like). In my opinion, the 2004 trailer depicts a simple game, heavy on atmosphere. Link is a swordfighting hero travelling on horseback on vast plains, fighting boar-riding enemies. Most of that was in the game, of course, it's just that there was too much tedium between the "wow" moments. It took me 54 hours to finish the first time (28 the second time), which I thought was too long, so I can't exactly say I wanted more sidequests. So yes, Eiji Aonuma may have wanted more time to finish "Twilight Princess", but I'd go as far as saying too much detail was added early on - the very detail that made it "Twilight Princess". I really think they bit off more than they could chew, and therefore there was too much to finish off. But - this is important - I would never criticise Eiji Aonuma or the Zelda team for trying something new. It's just my observation of the game, that's all. The only thing that actually annoyed me was the dual-release stuff, but I've said enough about that, and it certainly wasn't the Zelda Team's fault. I really think the next game should focus on combat and exploration - be adrenaline-pumping like Shadow of the Colossus.

I agree with Sheikah's "lite" comment, as Minish Cap's graphics felt like they were poor versions of characters designed and perfectly realised in Wind Waker. The GameCube is two generations ahead of the SNES/GBA, so it just didn't work for me. It would have been great with Link to the Past graphics, but still, it just wasn't one of my favourite Zeldas in general. EevilMurray, Vaati's final form did take me two or three attempts, but if you get plenty of hearts, potions and the right technique from a good FAQ (I can't remember much about it, personally), it's not too bad.