Grazza

The eShop updates every Thursday, so it should become that price sometime tomorrow.

Tutorials aren't really a problem if the gameplay and controls feel natural. For example, everything in Ocarina of Time was built upon Z-targeting (or L-targeting), moving and pressing some button or another. If Skyward Sword took too long to get going, then maybe the controls and some of the gameplay ideas just weren't very natural.

Personally, I found it too confusing having to switch between two screens - quite a shame, as everything else about it was fine. I think there's a demo on the eShop, darksnowman.

Fair play to them, they caused quite a stir this year. Quite a few people were eager to show me the new Zelda, and that overworld view got quite a bit of exposure over Facebook.

Those two have definitely caused me to stay up too late, but I don't dream about the gameplay in the same way. Don't remind of that bugger. (Goes back to strengthening Shield, making him the toughest Protector in the land.) I'll get you, Primevil!!!

Yeah, that's a very accurate description. Also, personally, I began to really dislike the combat system. The game encourages you to "Brave" for random battles, ie. attack 4x in a row, which can also be set for Auto-Battle. You have a team of four, so that's 4x4 = 16 pre-set moves. The problem is, the tactics from one battle to the next can be the complete opposite of each other, so you end up walking around with 16 inappropriate commands. For example, let's say you are using ice swords, and the enemy you encounter has an ice resistance - you will actually heal it by attacking, rather than the ice simply being ineffective. So, you change to fire swords, and then encounter an enemy with fire resistance. And so on... What at first seemed like a very well-judged homage to classic Final Fantasy is unfortunately so much more tedious and irritating to play.

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! ("That's English for 'Stop a horse'".) I adore turn-based combat in RPGs and will defend it to the end. What I'm less fond of are turn-based strategy games. When I play Etrian Odyssey or Dragon Quest, the combat is very smooth and I can go to bed without it haunting my dreams. Something like Advance Wars, though, I go to sleep thinking "This unit trumps that one. This one can move three spaces; the other one two." and it plagues my dreams all bloomin' night. Same reason I don't play puzzle games like Tetris. PS - You're right about the issues though.

This episode is on BBC2 tonight, 10:30pm. I love it when he sneaks into Mr Rottweiler's house and Richie, being Richie, can't resist a peek at Mrs Rottweiler.

If 2.5D games are NOT easier/cheaper to make than fully 3D ones, then that's even worse. That means Nintendo has spent countless hours and money on them instead of something comparable to Zelda which would bring more owners to the system.

At the moment, my hunch is that the views in this game are rather fixed, and the things you can see at the back of the field scene are definitely the edges. For example, the two highest bits - Death Mountain and the "Ravine" - I suspect you will be able to climb them, but not be able to climb down the other side (maybe too steep). Another thing that interests me is whether you'll be able to see that main field view from the opposite angle. Everything suggests that it's the starting village/area (farming activity etc), and so I can't imagine there's anything major that is closer to the player (so to speak).

Yeah, I completely agree with the premise of this thread. As Nintendo fans, we give attention to everything they come up with. Take a step back, however, and if you look at it from a wider-industry point of view, only Zelda stood out from this E3. All the news sites were reporting "Nintendo Unveils New Legend of Zelda" or similar, and people are getting genuinely excited about it. It's going to sell Wii Us. That's because you can look at one screenshot and think about how you're going to travel to all the locations in the distance, what tools and weapons you're going to use, etc. Now imagine if Nintendo had got its other teams to develop less games, but ones as exciting as Zelda. Could be Metroid, could be a new take on Kid Icarus, could be Ice Climber or something new but the key thing is they need to have that same sort of exploration, adventure and aspiration as Zelda. If you look at the 2D games or the "mascot" platformers like Yoshi, Kirby or Donkey Kong, they don't have that sense of finding new places or, as I say, deciding what weapons or tools to apply. Now don't get me wrong, I love 2D, but I'd rather have it as proper sprite/pixel art games on a handheld. A powerful console gives the potential for so much more. I suppose a lot of this is because of Nintendo: a) having to support the Wii U by itself b) feeling the need to prove the GamePad In both cases you see lots of cheaper, quicker and (frankly) less interesting games, when really they could so with some more system sellers.

My thoughts on the GBA games... Wario Land 4 - I don't really have a valid opinion on this one as, for some reason, Wario games irritate me! I've only played the beginning and couldn't be bothered with it after that. If you like Wario, however, this is probably a good choice (after all, it was your first instinct, right?) Metroid Fusion - The best! Utterly brilliant. The only caution I'd advise would be if you're not a fan of the genre. I don't think it's a massively difficult game, but it's a bit more linear than the others, so has a tendency of dropping you into difficult situations. Minish Cap - My 2nd-favourite out of what's available at the moment. It's a solid 2D Zelda, although personally I'm happy with it just on my 3DS for now. F-Zero Maximum Velocity - Be careful with this one. Whilst I'm a fan of the series, this entry is extremely difficult and inaccessible. Klonoa: Empire of Dreams - Not played. Advance Wars - Not played (turn-based strategy is not for me). Yoshi's Island - Not a favourite of mine, as it is about collecting everything and re-completing levels perfectly. Not bad though. Golden Sun - Not played (didn't like the DS one.) Wario Ware Inc - Kirby & the Amazing Mirror - This is an extremely rambling game, with a confusing game world and a ridiculous number of different doors to go through. Not recommended unless you really love the character. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - Completed this. It's not bad, but to me the Mario & Luigi games are great scripts rather than great RPGs. ...So to me the clear winners are Metroid Fusion and (until Zero Mission is available) Minish Cap, but I think you might like Wario Land 4.

Wow, this video is amazing. I can't believe all the detail they found in the background when they enhanced it.

WaveRace - OK, you've got a point. I think a lot of people just wanted to see what the Wii U could do with the graphics, to be honest. F-Zero on the other hand is Nintendo's best racing series - far, far better than Mario Kart.

I know I'll be in the minority here, but something about Nintendo's E3 felt a bit "off" to me, and I'm left feeling quite flat. I suppose it depends what you want out of E3 - if it's to reassure you there are lots of decent games coming, it delivered. If you want a few days' entertainment, it delivered. I completely agree with everyone about Treehouse, and how it'll probably be copied. Brilliant. But personally what I want out of E3 is one 45-60 minute show that excites and inspires. Whilst some of it was funny, and Zelda looked great, that was the only bit that had me cheering. Even that was a bit strange, as we have no idea how it plays. If you think back to Wind Waker HD's unveiling, that really did look raw and not truly ready to show (glad they did though). Zelda Wii U, on the other hand, did not look raw at all - it actually looked very polished, and so I can't shake the feeling they are hiding something about it. Most of the other new offerings looked decent, particularly Captain Toad, but I would swap them all for less, but more inspiring ones. Many of them appeared fairly low-budget/easy to make/based off existing ideas, and so I can't help but wonder if we really are in the "Let the Wii U ride out as cheaply as possible" phase that some suggested. The exception is Zelda, of course, but we know so little about it I think it's got more chance of doing a "Twilight Princess" than Skyward Sword ever did. As I say, though, Zelda did look good, and so I thought "Wow, they must have some amazing stuff not to put that last." The Kid Icarus vs. Link anime was great, and I hoped it was there to introduce a Link & Pit team-up game, but no, it was just another character in Smash Bros. Then immediately afterwards came the strangest game reveal ever! I must admit, I am not a massive Star Fox fan, but if they ever made a new one I expected them to introduce it with a space battle or asteroids flying at the player. Instead we got Miyamoto sitting in front of a blurry screen. Tell me honestly it doesn't seem as though Nintendo have just grabbed one of their classic franchises to bolt GamePad controls onto. What really put me in a bad mood though was the 3DS game on Thursday. They've let us believe it would be Majora's Mask 3D or (even better) a new Metroid. In reality, it was something that (frankly) most people will be less interested in. I'm not against the game existing, but really think it could have been in the Digital Event, and I could have done without all the Metroid teasing. So, without F-Zero, WaveRace, 1080 or especially Metroid, this was not the fan-pleasing E3 some implied was going to happen. When they constantly rely on Kirby, Yoshi and Mario characters, it feels like they are leading-on fans of other series a bit, or just people who want games that are a bit bigger and more aspirational.

I won't lie. I'd still love this game, and generally think it looks better than what they've come up with.

They're obviously winding down the 3DS now. It doesn't bother me because there are a lot of games left to play, but they're mainly localisations and small/medium projects. I could still see a "reused engine" game at GDC next year, like Fire Emblem Awakening 2 or A Link Between Worlds 2, but at this stage I think it's very, very unlikely they'd develop anything truly new for it. Bit of a shame they never made a Metroid for the 3DS, and for what it's worth I think they should have got Majora's Mask 3D out years ago, but as long as they localise Dragon Quest VII I'll be happy. Onwards and upwards. Looking forward to the next handheld - hopefully that really does turn out to be more of a Metroid/Dragon Quest machine.

Pac Land has got me thinking... we need coin-ops on the Wii U VC. Was so satisfying to download Golden Axe on the Wii (one of the best games, quite honestly), but now it's just sitting there in Wii mode. I really want Final Fight, Double Dragon (I & II) and all the other stuff from my teenage years.

I believe Aonuma that the game is truly openworld and that you'll be able to move seamlessly to anywhere in the background you can see (ie. the mountains). However, what I have my doubts about is how zoomed-out that screen is. Aonuma stressed that it was how the game looked when being played, and of course I believe him, but I hoped the camera would then zoom in and show us what it's like to traverse that world. Whilst I understand the point was to show how big the world was (and it worked), it's a bit frustrating to not have any more reassurance about the actual game. My concern is that the game will be split into two types of area: overworld and sub-areas, so whilst you can travel to any mountain, it might become fixed-view areas when you get there. Going back to the "field" screen, on the other hand, it's so incredibly detailed that I find it very hard to believe you will be as much a part of it as you were in OOT/TP. You might be able to approach things from most angles, but can you actually view it from other angles? And are all the features of the map properly modelled, or are they just icons for you to press "A" when you're next to them? Will you be able to explore the nooks and crannies of that cottage? Will those trees in the background tower over you when you get to them, or will everything remain zoomed-out? The new Zelda looks great, it really does, but its reveals tells us less about how it will feel to play than any other Zelda I can remember.

We definitely need some more high-quality RPGs on the 3DS. As long as you can play offline (and it gets a European release, of course), count me in.

Agreed, it's something of a concern. None of the footage - literally none of it at all - reminded me of the camera angles when playing Wind Waker or Majora's Mask, for instance. That bit where Link and the horse run into the forest... it was a very strange angle to present that from. Cinematic, but unnatural compared to the game engines they've previously built. Hmm...

Yeah, thinking about it, it would be weird if Link was a blood relative of Ganondorf! I love how the clues are there and we're piecing it together. Typical Nintendo! My personal favourite is the one in Twilight Princess. It actually had a wide expanse to run across, plus all those boars and Bulblins around their campfires.

Yeah, definitely now you've pointed it out! In fact, it might even tie-in to this... I think you're right. Let's look at this video: (REMOVED) 0:25 - At this moment during the Digital Event, I actually thought "Link's female this time?" but soon forgot about it. My clue was the hair/pony tail. However, if you pause it on 0:25 exactly (which I did accidentally), you can clearly see the outline of a breast (feels wrong saying that about Link!) 0:38 - The character looks exceptionally slender, even for Link. So, only two clues, but big ones. Definitely think Link is from the all-female Gerudo tribe this time! EDIT - I think the videos are being taken down, but you get the idea. The moment where Link takes off his/her hood and the close-up a little bit afterwards.

The thing I'm most worried about is whether it switches to a different scale when you're in the overworld, like Ni No Kuni and many other RPGs. Well, not a different scale in this case, but zoomed-out. They deliberately showed Link riding seamlessly into the woods, but if you can only have normal gameplay in areas set aside from the overworld, that would be a concern. I don't want to control the tiny avatar of Link on a horse in some scenes, and then it zooming-in for others. Doesn't change how much I like the look of it in general, but it's a potential issue.

Is it any coincidence he looks a bit more masculine in that pic?