Grazza

We need another remake! Only half joking

Excellent points, S.C.G. I too feel this development is very natural. Seeing the bigger picture, Nintendo has probably been thinking about this kind of progression ever since Wind Waker, and this is the first time they can implement it. One thing I hope is that they don't pare-down item usage too much. Playing Wind Waker HD, it's clear most of the weapons and items are there for a purpose, and all are the key to different types of gameplay (let's face it, most of them are from OOT and before - with very good reason). Hookshot lets you reach higher places, Deku Leaf lets you glide to ledges, Gauntlets let you cast obstacles aside... etc. I just wouldn't like to get rid of all these for the sake of it.

My experience of ICO was very similar to yours - fairly hard to get into, but a good game in the end. However, I then went onto Shadow of the Colossus and found it genuinely exciting.

Yeah, the pixel sprites are terrible on the TV (unless it's just my TV, but I don't think so), whereas the cutaways are awesome. The pixel sprites look good on the GamePad and (especially) the 3DS. Hope you enjoy it!

I'll get back to you on that, but I do believe it's the standard speed run. Or many other people's, I should imagine. I only questioned you saying it wasn't worth it, rather than you not being prepared to pay it. A bit pedantic of me, perhaps, but I seriously think people may be underestimating the quality of this. Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission are brilliant! I presume you are prepared to pay for those because they are/will be cheaper (£6.29 for Fusion on the eShop), not because you think they are longer/better? Most people take about 10 hours to complete Shantae & the Pirate's Curse, so at £16 that's £1.60 per hour. Pricey, I admit - and yes, I was surprised it was quite that expensive. However, I've already spent 20 hours on it! It just depends on how you see it. For one thing, I see this being less revered than Shovel Knight (not by you personally, Wii), which doesn't seem an accurate representation of the quality to me. Maybe Yacht Club Games were better at promotion and sending out review codes than WayForward, but the quality of this seriously matches Shovel Knight every step of the way (and I think exceeds it). Sprites look best on 3DS. Character art looks best on Wii U. GamePad is a good compromise. Overall, I'd say the boost you get from the character art being HD is better than the boost you get from the sprites matching the 3DS's pixels. As I say though, I think you should see the comparison as 3DS vs 480p, rather than 3DS versus HD. I definitely wouldn't play it on a TV. Even so, my preference is for the 3DS version - that's the one I keep playing. If I only bought one, it'd be the 3DS version. Here are most of the screenshots I've taken so far, so you can compare the two versions:

I'm actually pleased mine didn't arrive today. Back to my favourite half-genie!

Completed this for a 2nd time last night. I must admit, I probably did exaggerate the difficulty. It's simply a difficulty spike, which is to say it seemed hard compared to what had preceded it, but once you know you can do it, it's fine. I got 100% completion in 3:57. If that makes the game sound short, it's not - there is something called Pirate Mode, which is the equivalent of Samus Aran starting out with Speed Boost and Screw Attack. Normal speed run is less than 2 hours. 100% speed run is probably under 3 hours (either that or they haven't patched the European version yet). I've never seen the 100% speed run wallpaper, so it's quite possibly not patched into any version yet.

Yeah, very interested, but only have moderate expectations of it. I'm expecting it to be a very simple but polished platformer, if you know what I mean? Ow, that's harsh. Haven't they read your reviews? Not sure about the cross-buy deal, to be honest, but I do expect it to expire (assuming the deal of Shovel Knight isn't still on?)

It would be quite strange for a remake to actually have a drop in resolution, which is exactly what would happen if Twilight Princess went from GameCube to 3DS. I would love a remake of TP, but maybe on their next handheld.

Yeah, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is a seriously good game - we need your opinion on it, @S\.C\.G. of course.) Unless Zelda Wii U is better, it's probably going to be my Game of the Year. Next I've got Majora's Mask, and then, when I've got time, there are loads more Sega 3D Classics up for grabs. What a great start to the year, just on 3DS!

It's instinct. Human psychology seeks to understand how things are placed. Reviews may primarily be about whether you should buy the game, but scores are not. Similarly, every now and then someone will say "Boss battles are outdated" just because they played some that were badly designed. However, boss battles continues to thrive, because they just make sense.

True, but I feel this is giving in to the crowd who see it as a competition. Metacritic is not a bad idea for a site at all, even if some people use it for the purposes you describe. I still say there's a significant difference between 4/10 all the way to 10/10.

I'll be in the minority here and speak up in favour of review scores. Honestly, scoring something is part of people's instinct. I'd feel a bit cheated if the reviewer can't rise to the challenge and give it a score. I know there are still going to be three categories (or "scores" if you like), but it's been widely established over the years that the 1-10 scale is right for games. There's a real difference between 8/10, 9/10 and 10/10.

Yep, I think Afterburner II and Super Hang-On are the two best so far.

OK, but many of the reviews marked it down for difficulty, didn't they? Maybe you're just a super player. Personally, I think it's a clear 9/10. Agreed. This felt similar to the 1st game at times, but much easier to move around in. My overwhelming feeling was that this was one last Shantae aimed at the hardcore fans. It has pretty much all the enemy types and locations from the original game. It's hard, and uses pixel art. To be honest, as much as I like this and RR, I'm not at all optimistic about the series' future. I think they're aiming at a very different audience from now on. (By they way, I must apologise for calling Half-Genie Hero a "prequel". Apparently it's not - I shouldn't have said without being sure.) Yep. Quite elaborate for a bonus. If you've got all the Heart Squids and Cackle Bats, they must do. The "Recover" move is well worth having anyway, in my opinion. That's a good point. The main "alternative" sprite is absolutely beautiful - I don't know why they don't let you play as that, like in the Director's Cut of Risky's Revenge.

I'm not going to say this specific project was going to be an amazing game, but one thing in particular bothers me: Why not keep it 2D then? Why have Nintendo themselves stopped being able to make 2D (pixel art) games? The DS was perfect for them, as is the 3DS, but they've left it to other companies. The way Shantae moves in Pirate's Curse, that is the 3DS's 2D Metroid. It's staggering Nintendo is letting themselves be outclassed on their own platform. This is one 2D game that's actually desired more than most though. I agree Metroid has potential in 3D as well, but Nintendo has wasted the chance for 2D entries on the two machines that would actually suit them - DS and 3DS. By the time Nintendo gets their next handheld out, I might agree the lines have become more blurred between handheld and console Metroids, and we might get something like Prime, but why they never made Metroid Dread/Metroid V in the meantime I'll never know.

Hmm, as @Ike said, it does sound like a battery degradation issue, H-o-T. Unless you were playing online? Could be the Wi-Fi draining it. Same here, although it's worse for me as I've already bought two! Out of interested, have you ever been interested in the XL, or do you prefer to keep it portable? Personally, if I only had the launch model and not an XL, I'd love that as an excuse to get the New 3DS.

I think that's the best guess. Sort of the right demographic, especially if this was in the last ten years or so.

Yes, and I highly recommend playing Risky's Revenge first (although I think you probably have, FK?) I'm not normally one to take stories seriously, and I don't particularly recommend the first (GBC) game unless you've played RR and PC and want more, but the story of RR is genuinely important to this one.

Too hard. Now I know I am a bit of a wuss, but keep in mind I play the Ghouls & Ghosts series. In those (the Mega Drive and SNES ones anyway), I find there's enough leeway for you to make mistakes and still get through, as long as you think on your feet. In this, however, the difficulty is not about enemies coming at you from all directions (there is that, but those scenarios are more about patience than anything) - it's about precision timing. There are a handful of corridors at the end that test your skills (I'd say five of them are hard). One of them has a button press so precise, it's definitely in the split-seconds, and I'd love to know how much by. It's got to be a tenth of a second, or even smaller. Anyway, I don't want to put people off the game, I'm just being honest about it. I thought it did at first, but soon stopped using it. I'll say this - I was wrong to suggest it was helpful for judging platforms. There was an early moment that made me think that, but this is not a game that has that sort of problem. Put it this way, I don't regret buying the 3DS version. So far (not completed the Wii U version yet), I honestly think it depends on which machine you prefer in general.

Finished the game now. As brilliant as it was, I felt the difficulty of the last tower took a little bit of sheen off the game. Amazing final boss though.

Well, the stereoscopic 3D is quite useful at times, but not essential, whereas the advantage of the Wii U version is HD character art. The actual sprites and backgrounds were designed for the 3DS, so match its screen pixel for pixel. Personally, I'm going to buy the Wii U version as well, but 3DS was my priority. I much prefer playing on 3DS - laying back in bed without being tethered in any way to a console, but for anyone who prefers playing on the Wii U, then I'm sure that version is the best. Have you played it, Wii? £16 is only two to three hours' work on the Minimum Wage - well worth it for the amount of entertainment it offers. At the end of the day, it's a 2D game of the utmost quality. The staff at WayForward have spent years making it, and it needs to be paid for somehow. £15.99 is a perfectly fair price.

So, the day has come! Ever since 2011 when I played Risky's Revenge, I became obsessed with the world of Shantae and looked forward to the sequel. Well, it's here and sitting in my 3DS! The first obstacle for me in a Shantae game is getting past the title screen. Why? Well, it's because Jake Kaufman's Aladdin-esque title theme blares out. I feel I've got the best seat in a theatre and the band is warming us up for one heck of a show. Then it's the Game File screen... oh man, I could be here all day! As catchy as ever, and following on from the Dubstep of Mighty Switch Force 2, Jake Kaufman's remixed tunes seem to be more bass-heavy this time around. After the music, the next most noticeable thing is of course the graphics. Unlike some other 2D games on the system, the graphics in Pirate's Curse match the 3DS pixel for pixel, and thus look beautifully sharp. I must admit, before there were any previews of Pirate's Curse, I often dreamt of how they would improve the graphics next time round. Perhaps understandably, however, WayForward seems to have kept the same sprites (from the 2nd game, not the 1st) and used the relatively small boost in resolution the 3DS offers to simply zoom out and see the action from further away. On the other hand, the brand new sprites that do use the extra resolution - such as the Royal Guards - are fantastic. Specifically regarding the character portraits, they are gorgeous in their own right, but thus far (in my opinion) have lost a little bit of the charm they had in Risky's Revenge. More rounded and less sleek, if you like. Whilst this suits the new NPCs perfectly, Risky Boots and Shantae herself look a tiny bit "off" to me. Shantae wouldn't be Shantae without constant humour, puns and references to other things. Safe to say, Pirate's Curse delivers 100% in this regard. So what of the gameplay? From the very start, the 1st game is reconstructed, rather than the 2nd. The Ammo Baron's assault on Scuttle Town is suitably explosive (what a scoundrel) and serves as an exciting introduction to the gameplay. Pirate's Curse is much harder than Risky's Revenge. For reasons best known to WayForward, they've brought back those bloomin' dragons that pop out of fountains (why oh why?!), plus the Kid Icarus-like snakes that drop down. Gone are the animals transformations, this time replaced with Metroid-type weapons and abilities. This works perfectly well. What works less well, in my opinion, is the dropping of the Magic Meter and its replacement with single-use items. One of the reviews mentioned that it was sometimes hard to judge which platforms can landed on. This is true, but whilst the review attributed it to the game's bright colours, my personal view is that it's because the game was designed to be viewed in stereoscopic 3D. Considering I mostly play in 2D, jumping is sometimes a case of trial & error. As it stands, I've completed the 1st dungeon, which offered a thrilling and satisfying boss battle. Now I've had a drink, snack and a type-up (this), I'll bid you farewell, because I'm delving back into the world of Shantae and the Pirate's Curse!

Out of interest, does anyone know how many blocks Shantae & the Pirate's Curse takes up? EDIT - Seems like it's 2,315

I spent the 1980s playing on home computers like the Sinclair Spectrum and Amstrad CPC 464. I'd invite my friends round, plug in two joysticks and slot the cassette in. Oh, how eagerly we waited as the tape screeched and groaned, until eventually the game had loaded. Double Dragon! Gauntlet! Bad Dudes vs Dragonninja! The title screen appeared, we'd press start and... and... desperately try to convince ourselves that the collection of lines and pixels bore a resemblance to the coin-ops! Maybe I'm an ungrateful sod, but home computer games not matching their arcade equivalents was one of the most frustrating things to me as a kid! Then, one day I went into Comet and saw the Sega Mega Drive running Altered Beast. It was a revelation. From that moment on, to me the Mega Drive was the most desirable piece of consumer electronics imaginable. 16 bits! In my mind, it was better because it had 16 "bits" making it up! Christmas 1991 arrived and I was lucky enough to get one, as did another of my school friends. Ironically, I had become a little bit out of touch with arcade games at that particular time, but my friends assured me Golden Axe was a safe buy. They were right! I received that game along with the Mega Drive on Christmas Day and took it round my friend's (long story). When the title screen loaded up, I knew I had made the right choice. Apart from Altered Beast and Golden Axe, another game that made the early days for me was Ghouls & Ghosts - one of the few "hard" games I actually have patience for. I also had Revenge of Shinobi, although my Nintendo-loving neighbour liked it more than I did. One other of my neighbour's had also received the Mega Drive that Christmas. Whereas I was a violent little git and liked fighting games, she preferred platformers. From her, I borrowed Castle of Illusion, Quackshot, Fantasia and, of course, Sonic the Hedgehog. I think the one I borrowed the most from her, though, might have been Robocod - a curious "little" game that you could get lost in for hours. I used to visit a shopping mall in Ilford a lot, which had a Virgin Games shop. Imagine my excitement when one day I went in and saw they had a brand new game - Golden Axe 2! It was a bit strange I had not seen a review (or even a preview) in a magazine, but the fact they got it into the shops so quickly meant it must have been good, right...? In all honesty it was not a bad game at all, just rushed and uninspired. It didn't really matter though as it was perfectly playable and, like its predecessor, offered plenty of 2-player fun. When I was back home, my friend called round for a bike ride. I showed him the game case, however, and we played that for an hour or instead. See, even then, Sega was saving us from getting fresh air! It wasn't just consoles though. In 1991, Sega brought Spider-Man to arcades (courtesy of its System 32 board) - quite possibly the greatest beat-'em-up ever made. Presumably licensing issues are a reason this hasn't been seen since, but if Sega and Marvel could work out some sort of deal to bring this to various eShops, I'd be their greatest fan. In 1993, I went with two friends to the local seaside arcades. Our jaws dropped as, in front of us, was Golden Axe: Revenge of Death Adder. Like Spider-Man, this was a 4-player game on the System 32 board. 4-player! Unlike the Mega Drive's Golden Axe 2, this was completely brilliant. We blasted away at it, then argued for ages whether to call it Golden Axe 2 or 3, before deciding on "Golden Axe 2/3". 1st Friend: "Maybe it's Golden Axe 2/3?" Me: "Yeah, right..." 2nd Friend: (laughs so hard he spits out his lemonade) I can't finish talking about the Mega Drive without mentioning Landstalker (also released at the end of 1993). Like a Sega version of Zelda, this took you to a mysterious island and offered countless dungeons and villages. I was in love. The thing about Sega was that it wasn't just about consoles - it was about consoles, peripherals and arcade hardware. Although games magazines became rather sterile later on, back then you could flick through one and have no idea what you'd see - VR, the Mega CD, Wonder Mega, Multi-Mega, the 32X, new arcade boards... It's no exaggeration to say Sega was like a less weird version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. It genuinely gave me things to hope for as a teenage lad. The Polygon Era raised its head, and Sega was at the forefront once again. It's hard to understand how amazing Virtua Racing was at the time, even featuring on the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year. Imagine a game interesting enough to feature on it now. Personally, I was a fan of Sega's Model 1 games more than Model 2 (or indeed, Model 3), but I enjoyed them all to some extent. Like the Mega Drive before it, the main thing that excited me about the Saturn was its ability to run very close copies of arcade games - in this case, Virtua Fighter. I was now a late teenager, and I spent these years playing the Saturn and following Sega's coin-ops. However, times were changing. Whereas I always stuck up for Sega and the Saturn, most other people were convinced that Namco and the PlayStation were superior. I could see which way the wind was blowing. I won't say too much about the Dreamcast or the late Saturn games, apart from that Panzer Dragoon Saga and Skies or Arcadia are as good as people say (I love the dragon/ship battles - genuinely a new level of strategy). Whereas my appreciation of Nintendo is based on the admiration of their craft (and how well they put Mario and Zelda into 3D), my appreciation of Sega is based on pure affection. Only now are we really getting copies of Sega arcade games that really run like they should (M2's 3D Classics range) and so, if Sega never hits the heights again, I say "Thanks for the memories" and hopefully we'll be able to fully experience and appreciate their back catalogue in this downloadable age.