Grazza

I know, I was just being silly. Very poor attempt at humour by me. You're right though, the monster does look very sci-fi and machine-like. A mixture of nature and technology. So pleased they've gone cel-shaded. This pic is what I've been trying to describe over the years: Everything about this reveal tells me Nintendo has listened. The fact Aonuma sat in front of the gameworld for a while... They were just saying "This is what you want!"

Yeah, but monsters can do that anyway.

Thought this was stunning: * Gorgeous world with forests and mountains * Cel-shaded Adult Link!! * Slightly sci-fi (the bow) Basically perfect! I can't believe they didn't finish with footage from this and some dramatic music!

Enjoyed it, but in a calm, contented way, rather than an excited way. * Laughed at Reggie vs. Iwata. Silly but funny. * Yoshi's Woolly World looks visually nice, but it's still just a Yoshi game. Sort of thing I could fall asleep in front of with a cup of tea and some biscuits. * Zelda looks just right. Aonuma had me worried for a moment, talking about the 2D ones, but it was actually the opposite of what I feared, and exactly what I wanted. Whether it'll ever be released on the Wii U, who knows? I don't really care, to be honest - it showed their heart's in the right place and I can't wait for it. * Captain Toad looks quite nice. * Splatoon - not my sort of thing, but at least it is an answer to the "New IP" requests. Not all that interested in many of the other games (a lot of "mascot" platformers, as usual), but I don't really need a high quantity as long as I've got something big to look forward to. Overall, what they showed looked quite nice, but sometimes they have no sense of drama. I mean, why finish with the announcement of a character in Smash Bros ("Have we put enough Smash Bros into this conference?" "No, put some more in at the end.") and a tease for Star Fox? A tease! Surely the old Nintendo would have taken the best footage from the new Zelda game and put that to some dramatic music? But as I say, I honestly am happy with it, just not that excited. It's nice to know there is still a company making charming, wholesome games, and not relying on violence. Nintendo are the right chaps for me to follow, even if they put me into a trance as often as they get my blood pumping.

Harsh, but I genuinely did an LOL.

I always like horse riding, but never particularly miss it. You know me, King V - my dream is for a Zelda where you can climb on horses, dragons and all sorts of creatures!

I really see where @Wii is coming from on this. If you look at what he said... ...he didn't say "controversial art style = bad game". I even have a similar feeling - said so on the first page! Just a few points: * To me, the Zelda Cycle doesn't exist. Wind Waker looked great the first time I saw it (in a shop - not the E3 unveiling) and played great from the moment I slotted it into my GameCube, easily becoming my favourite Zelda after a few play sessions. * On a similar note, Twilight Princess hasn't suddenly become a perfect game (most people see it as 8/10-ish, right?) It's just that no one knew Zelda would drift even further from its peak afterwards. A lot of people yearn for something as atmospheric as TP again, and I'm not ashamed to be amongst them. * A difference this time is that the E3 2011 demo could easily be in-game graphics, running on an updated Zelda game engine. This is in contrast to the Link vs Gandondorf footage, which, in hindsight, was a touch unrealistic to expect the GameCube's Zelda to look like. So that's my overall view on the matter. Nintendo has shown how a Wii U Zelda could work, and it looked very good indeed. I think the concern is that the actual game could be contrary to what people have come to want out of a console Zelda, not necessarily in terms of art style, but overall, in exactly the same way Super Mario 3D World was rather unusual and hard to appreciate in its first showing. Anyway, I must be an idiot wading into this when we'll (probably) find out tomorrow. I might be proven wrong, and certainly hope to be.

Samus could do with a bit more hip-wiggle.

As sad as this is, they just showed some clips from Bottom on the news and I found it impossible not to laugh myself hoarse. What Rik Mayall and Adrian Edmondson achieved in that programme is the purest form of comedy I've ever seen. Pure, undiluted belly laughs. From the outpourings about this on Facebook, I'm sure Rik Mayall was one of those rare comedy actors that everyone loved, across all ages and classes. If you've seen his stuff, you've probably laughed. Hard. Never really seen as many people as gutted as this. What a sad, sad day, but what an awesome legacy.

But that's a prequel! This still could be the conclusion. Ah, forgiven then.

Well, that's the best thing I've seen all day. * Love the character at 1:04 * Really cool outfit at 1:20 * Genie statue at 1:28 * Massive bosses LOVE this trailer. It shows that Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is made of the right stuff. But wait a minute... Conclusion?

Thank you, sir, and I'm pretty sure we'll be watching the announcements tomorrow, hoping to be fired up all over again.

Genuinely gutted about this. I loved being a teenager in the 1990s and Bottom was one of the reasons why. To this day, it still makes me laugh without fail. Richie's sea shanty at the top of the stairs in the Burglary episode will forever bring a smile to my face when I think of it, like so many of the other brilliant moments.

Love this game so, so much. I'm taking it slowly, but it's reminding me of its brilliance every step of the way: * Taking a Bokoblin's sword and using it to smash the thick, wooden panels. * Grabbing a flaming torch and throwing it across a chasm, burning the panels so you can land on the ledge. The physics in Wind Waker are so satisfying. * That moment when the first Moblin is dropped into the arena. Not that I couldn't beat it, but it absolutely clobbered me with its staff! (I don't see this game as ultra-easy as others do.) * Feeding the fish men, who kindly fill in your map and tell you about mysterious things on the Great Sea. * The height! I associate this game with mountains almost as much as the sea - now in HD too. If ever there was any doubt you were up high at certain points, there certainly isn't now, as you can see miles into the distance - far ledges, switches and people in pin-sharp detail. * That charming jingle as the sun rises and a new day dawns on the massive, blue expanse. It is just pure "Zelda". * The Deku Leaf. Climbing up the Forest Haven and working out all the ledges and mini-islands I can glide to. Personally, I like both the cartoony style as well as the more realistic styles Zelda has had, but one thing that impresses me so much is the way Wind Waker is built. How much fun there is to be had in this magical world. Whatever the visual style of the next Zelda, I just hope it is built as well as Wind Waker. It's just utter genius, it really is.

Whether a "Wii 2" (motion control) would have been successful, I don't know, but I'm glad they didn't do it. I wouldn't say the Wii U is the opposite of the Wii though - more like in the middle - and that's exactly the problem. To put it simply, it's not as "casual" as the Wii or quite as "hardcore" as the GameCube, thus only the most devoted fans have bought it. In fact, I'd say the stumbled start came from trying to keep hold of the Wii so much. Look at Nintendoland... one player uses the GamePad, the others use the Wii remotes. I'm sorry, but I can't be bothered with all that. The Wii remotes were for the Wii and I'd rather leave them there. It could be argued the Wii U is gaining slightly more success the more traditional it's becoming, as games start to drop motion control and GamePad-specific usage, and start to pretty much resemble what would have happened if the GameCube philosophy had been continued. Anyway, those are my thoughts on the matter. I'm happy with mine. It's a good machine with great graphics, decent controls and the potential for some amazing games until Nintendo decides what its next console will be like.

I'd actually rather have one with built-in GameCube ports, and all games going forward compatible with it. Existing owners could use the adaptor.

GameCube for me: * Fits perfectly into your hands * All the buttons you'd ever need (for Nintendo games) * Wired * Good rumble * Doesn't need charging or batteries I consider it to have only one flaw - a poor D-pad - but that didn't really matter in the days before Virtual Console. The best controller ever - bring it back, Nintendo!

I think there are two demos of it on the eShop, darksnowman. Personally, I couldn't get to grips with it at all, and my copy is still sealed. Shame, because I like the visual style. As far as I'm concerned, Etrian Odyssey IV is easily the best RPG on 3DS. Easily!

Agree. Raquna is definitely my favourite. I've got my Guild Card back now and it's better than expected (didn't take long - I was just letting frustration get the better of me). It does have all the achievements, thankfully. I do think you're meant to play Story Mode first, then switch to Classic any time after the credits. There is no real story after the 5th Stratum, although there is some story-based dialogue for one of the Quests that is specific to the Story Mode characters. I'm glad I got all the drops with the Story team, though, as I can kit-out my Classic team with the best equipment right away. I've chosen the team I originally beat Primevil with - Landsknecht (Axe), Protector, Medic, Alchemist and Survivalist. I'm hoping their slightly different skills (plus stat boosts from Retiring) will make the battle go a bit easier, at least until the "random luck" stage.

Yeah, I agree with this. Trying to bring "casual" gamers into traditional gaming has never sat right with me. The idea that they'll be "converted" to core gaming would be somewhat sinister if it wasn't such a fantasy. I also know people who've bought these machines for Nintendogs/Wii Sports/Brain Training, then they try Metroid/Zelda and it's just too confusing for them. Not in a "needs to be dumbed-down" sort of way (please no! It's been tried), but on a fundamental level. It's not that I'm a snob (I'm honestly not). Everyone should be welcome if they are interested in what gaming is, but trying to make gaming something it's not affects the hardware and software in a way that arguably satisfies no-one. If people are not massively interested in gaming, I'd rather they had Candy Crush to play on phones/Facebook instead of it influencing the existing industry.

This little beauty is now sitting in my Wii U. To be honest, I wondered if it would live up to the memory, but it definitely does. The sea is bluer, the sky is bluer... everything is sharper and better. It's not just that it's gorgeous though (although it is) - there's something about Wind Waker that, to this day, feels more advanced than the other Zeldas. The controls, the way the islands are modelled and have height, width and depth... It's not necessarily that the others are "wrong", just that this one is so "right". That said, I still haven't left Outset Island. Looking out at that vast expanse of blue sea, thinking of all the islands - large and small - to discover... it's just one of many aspects of Wind Waker that speaks to something deep inside of me.

Also, it's really good value now. Not a desperate, giveaway price, but for circa £200 you can get the console, Mario Kart and another genuinely great game free. Massively agree with the bolded bit, although I'm not sure they need their absolute biggest titles at launch. WaveRace, F-Zero and 1080 would have done it for me - something to show off the graphics. Nintendoland is not my sort of thing, NSMB looks nice and sharp, but not really "wow" and Pikmin 3 was the right sort of thing but can't 100% shake off its Wii origins. That said, I'm a hypocrite, as I can't wait to but Pikmin and NSMB now.

There's not much that makes me feel my age more than grappling with modern technology. As I say, my Wii U arrived at approximately 12.15pm today, and I managed to have a quick blast of Mario Kart 8 no later than 10pm! In all seriousness, I went to the gym first and didn't tackle the Wii U until the evening, but this is why it was so complex/time-consuming (think this is the correct order): 1) Imported my Mii from 3DS 2) Did a System Update 3) Linked Wii U to my NNID 4) Linked Wii U eShop to my Club Nintendo account 5) Transferred Wii software to Wii U Phew! Not rocket science, but it was a lot for a Luddite to cope with! Anyway, let's get the grumbles out of the way first. I really don't like the fact you can't plug the GamePad into the console itself (via the USB ports, for example) and block the wireless signal. I know there is software like Panorama View, but it's not exactly Wii Sports so I don't see why the controller has to be wireless at all times. The other thing I really don't like is that, unlike the 3DS, I can't find an option to turn Wi-Fi off. In theory that could be fixed with a system update, and as for the controller, I'm personally hoping future games can be played with GameCube pads (naïve, maybe, but that's what I hope). Anyway, when I finally did experience three minutes of Mario Kart 8 I was extremely impressed. The graphics are brilliant. In no way does the Wii U feel behind the times. I'll have another go in a minute, and soon I'll be able to play the beautiful Wind Waker HD - a remake of pretty much my favourite game ever. Had a few browses on the eShop too and am very tempted to buy so much on there. I haven't fallen in love with it quite as quickly as the 3DS, but I do like it a lot more than the Wii. When I used to play on the GameCube I always wondered where Nintendo would go in the future. Now we have a machine with gorgeous HD graphics and traditional(-ish) controls. Give or take a few issues, Wii U is pretty much the Nintendo machine I've been waiting for.

Wii U + Mario Kart + ticket to WW HD has just arrived!

Being a curmudgeon, I actually love the fact it lets you use the wired versions, rather than wireless. If they let you play every Wii U game from now on with a wired, GC controller (as unlikely as that is), it'd be a dream come true.