Grazza

Excellent! It started out as a pixel art series reminiscent of the old Wonder Boy in Monster World games. In the first two games, monster transformations let you access different areas. Shantae (GBC, 3DS VC) - A difficult game with a sprawling overworld. It has its fans due its generous length and full set of monster transformations. I wouldn't massively recommend this one, personally. Risky's Revenge (DS, Wii U VC, Steam, PS Store, iOS) - Short but perfectly formed - a good game to start with. This entry is much criticised for its short length,, but personally I loved it. Has less animal transformations than the original, but generally keeps the best ones. The graphics were completely overhauled from the GBC game, and it has an awesome soundtrack. Pirate's Curse (3DS, Wii U, Steam, Xbox One) - For many the best in the series. Highly recommended. It's longer, but more linear than the 2nd game. There are no animal transformations and the overworld is not continuous, but it still retains enough to be a worthy sequel. The graphics are pretty much the same, but with some new sprites and it's a bit more like Metroid than Wonder Boy this time around. Half-Genie Hero (Wii U, Steam, PS4, Vita, Xbox One) - This is the first HD entry in the series. It looks set to be more linear than the others, and the animal transformations are back. It's a great series, drahkon. I can vouch for the 2nd and 3rd games.

Yep. Can't wait. : peace: Not sure if Europe is getting it this year though, even digitally?

What a load of junk. Mandatory internet connections are one of my two biggest gripes about modern gaming. The internet should have given people options, not shackles. Not that I have an iOS device anyway, but let's hope they're not planning anything similar to this sort of nonsense for Switch.

It'd be good if you could choose the breed. I'd probably have an Irish Wolfhound.

Yeah, it's funny to think there's a machine they never showed at E3 before launch. I'm loving what I see more and more though - powerful hardware, impressive graphics, traditional controls, 3D Mario, Zelda, GC Virtual Console and (probably) analogue triggers. This has everything going for it.

Wow. If the Switch version actually runs at 60fps, that'd be brilliant. I've wanted 3D Zelda to be 60fps for ages.

Pleasingly, that works on two levels. : peace:

Only if Switch is a success and they keep to the same architecture in future. If it's not, and they do actually make a dedicated home console again, I can see them charging an upgrade fee for VC once more.

Do we know for sure whether Switch is more like the X1 or X2 (I know it's custom)? From what Eurogamer was saying about (non-optimised) emulation on the X1, I honestly think GameCube games are going to be at 480p, but it's still good news.

Good point. I had forgotten about that, but it's infamous for it, really. Anyway, I really think @Josh64 nailed it with the point he made on the last page. What's happening with BotW is basically like waiting for a port to completely different architecture.

It looks like a light switch fitting!

I'd recommend looking at the screenshots on eShop and seeing if you like the way they fit the screen. I was all set to get it on 3DS, but in the end preferred the way it looked on the Wii U's GamePad.

I always hoped for a proper Wind Waker series. They could use what they wanted from its Zelda roots, but not be constrained by it. The idea was just too good. For anyone in general, I would most recommend: A Link to the Past Link's Awakening (not for the lore - it's just brilliant) Ocarina of Time Wind Waker Twilight Princess But for you, I don't think it's worth the hassle of tracking down a GC/Wii U just for WW and TP. Honestly, I think a grounding in the 2D games would be enough to prepare you for Breath of the Wild. If you enjoy using your Wii, go for LttP and OOT. If you prefer the 3DS, you'd be just as well advised to download Link's Awakening. EDIT - Retro Link pointed out two ways to play the games that I'd forgotten. WW on Wii and OOT on 3DS are about the best two to go for.

Now this is the really pertinent point. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this trend of remakes and HD remasters - it's all about choice. Nintendo, however, has a habit of winding people up by taking away that type of choice and making dual releases where each holds back the other. Not that I'm emotionally invested in the game this time (unlike Twilight Princess). I still think it looks great and will probably prefer it on Switch. I just thought it was a good point.

Yeah, that's definitely a female Link at 0:51, I'd say. Admittedly Nintendo once said otherwise, but what they say doesn't always end up accurate! Anyway, trailer looks great, just what I was hoping for.

Brilliant! I've wanted 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 for ages.

(The Bad...) For me, the transition from GameCube to Wii represents Nintendo falling from its total zenith to its absolute nadir. I'd never anticipated a console so much, and yet never been so disappointed with one either. It can't be overstated how surprising it was that Nintendo was going release a next generation machine whilst keeping a level of technology very similar to the previous one. As Sony, Microsoft and almost all publishers and developers were preparing for a new level of hardware, middleware and graphics engines, Nintendo was effectively repackaging the GameCube in a new case and adding motion controls - a technology that felt more like something that had caught their fancy rather than a heartfelt improvement in gaming. Gamers were desperate to understand this move. I've never seen so many wild rumours and such hopeful speculation as to how Nintendo would make up for the Wii's technical shortcomings. Perhaps its "Hollywood" GPU would be so astounding, it would make up for the lack of grunt? Or perhaps that slot on the front would fire projections at the wall? It was naïve, but understandable. By the time the Wii was released, I'd begun to feel like a total outsider. As every pub and bar had the console set up with Wii Sports, I couldn't understand how I, who had trawled through Wind Waker's Great Sea taking Pictographs, or had tracked down all the Missile Expansions and Energy Tanks in Metroid Prime, could be less interested in new Nintendo hardware than the average person in the street. Nonetheless, I eventually bought a Wii U with Metroid Prime 3, but took a while to get to grips with the console. At first I blamed the accelerator-based motion controls. This would be rectified, I told myself, when the gyroscope-focused MotionPlus was released. And sure, I was impressed with Wii Sports Resort at first, and similarly with the controls in Skyward Sword. The protagonist actually mimicked how I held the remote in real life - this actually was quite amazing. Eventually, however, I realised these new controls, as impressive as they were, did not have anything to do with the reasons I had enjoyed console games in the past, and at least in their pure form, were unlikely to be conducive to the successful progression of video games in general. (The Uglii...) The Wii's software line-up was neither great nor terrible. Although nothing matched the classic Wind Waker/Metroid Prime/Mario Sunshine trio, a certain level of ambition was on display that at least suggested Nintendo's software developers wanted to carry on broadly as they were. Metroid Prime 3 was a good start. I missed the dual-analogue controls of its GC predessors, but at least Nintendo was still making these games back then. Other M, on the other hand, was almost the opposite - less polished but more fun. Mario Galaxy was almost as good as the hype, even though I found the planetoid gimmick annoying (nonetheless I thought it was worth a try). Mario Galaxy 2 was better, although I never collected Star 242. Unfortunately, my relaxation techniques were lacking. The common theme throughout all of these was that I really missed the GC pad with its R-trigger, analogue triggers and C-stick. Everything about the Wii seemed extremely cumbersome. Even if it had been the best console in the world, it would still have been hampered by some of its bizarre control solutions. The way the Wii Remotes took AA batteries, for instance, or how they could not be recharged directly. Or how the Classic Controller needed to be plugged into the Wii Remote, and couldn't just be plugged directly into the GC ports. (The Good...) To end on a positive note, the Wii era introduced some very good (and enduring) software ideas. Whilst not many people would like to see Miis replace Link or Samus, they are actually a great form of avatar - the perfect balance between detailed and simple. I loved seeing my Mii land a plane in Pilotwings Resort on the 3DS. Just as great, if not better, was the Virtual Console. This was carried out with real ambition and relish - not only could you download several 1st- and 3rd-party games for Nintendo systems, Nintendo also bothered to get Sega and SNK on board, not to mention my favourite of all - the Virtual Console Arcade. I cannot explain how much of a pleasure it is to have the genuine Golden Axe coin-op in my hands.

As we know, they have form... Gamers rewarded them for it last time, so they're doing it again. I waited a week and bought the GC version. This time, however, I'd probably rather play it on Switch, but it's the principle that counts. As for the actual month of release, I still can't see it being June when it's so much more "Nintendo" to delay it until Christmas!

I agree with this so much. At the end of the day, I couldn't honestly say anything on Wii U was up there with Wind Waker/Metroid Prime/Mario Sunshine. Like you, I'm not saying this to be negative, only to point out that we haven't recently had a gauge of how genuinely top class Nintendo software can shift consoles.

This would also be a great opportunity to re-launch Virtual Console. It goes without saying it'd be great to have SNES on there, but this would also be a good chance to bring Sega consoles back, as well as Neo Geo (which I believe weren't 60Hz last time) and genuine resolution-boosted N64 and GameCube. Even more than that, I'd love a return of Virtual Console arcade, and to have all those coin-ops I loved on the Switch.

It's a highly individual thing, but I like what I'm seeing. Mario Kart, Smash Bros and Xenoblade X were released on the system they were promised on (so that much was fair), but this gives them a chance of being more successful and for other gamers to play them. Personally, I would be far more inclined to play things like Skyrim on Switch than I would via one of the other consoles on a TV. I'd also like to have a go at some of the other multi-format games that haven't been on Nintendo, like the full Mass Effect series, but we'll see.

Took out shield control with R. Lengthened the beginning so Wii players could get used to the controls. All this was ported back to the GC.

This Pokémon business is nowhere near as bad as what Nintendo did with Twilight Princess - actually altering the GameCube version (the one they'd used to get people's interest) to be in line with the Wii port, and then having the cheek to release it one week later so most gamers would buy it on their new console! Sometimes I think certain Nintendo fans can't bring themselves to criticise Nintendo itself, but will happily criticise The Pokémon Company for very similar (less bad, in my opinion) practices.

A lot of this is to do with how good a newspaper's service is, rather than people seeking to reinforce their own views. The Daily Mail website, for instance, is a masterclass with its interactive voting system and constant stream of new stories. At work I'll read The Sun for entertainment and The Telegraph for news. The latter's website is nowhere near as good as it used to be, as it limits the amount of stories you can view and is highly censorious in terms of comments. If I'm particularly interested in a story, I'm not averse to the BBC or Guardian. As much as I'm inclined to disagree with some of the latter's columnists, its readership is actually pretty free-thinking and the comments section is one of the better ones. That said, I'm more a radio man these days, and most of the time listen to LBC or BBC Radio London. I like the fact you get to listen to ordinary people's opinions, rather than me being swayed by either's political leaning (if there was one). In terms of echo chambers, I'm careful not to take social media too seriously, mainly because they seem more fertile ground for arguments than most places - arguments that I'd rather not get into on a platform I use to keep in touch with people. For what it's worth, I'm somewhat conservative/right-leaning, and I didn't see Brexit or Trump coming. Considering the political climate of the past decade or so, I personally believe conservative-minded people are less enthusiastic about getting into arguments; instead, they keep quiet and make their voice heard in the polling station.