Grazza

Yeah, like that, but with the ceiling as well.

In my humble opinion, the DS was not at all a good system for 1st-party games, which is probably what we'll get. Game Boy, GBA and 3DS arguably all have much better Mario and Zelda titles (and some of them actually have Metroid games too!) When I think of the DS, it's mainly 3rd-party games like Dragon Quest, Etrian Odyssey and Aliens: Infestation that I look back most fondly on, which are possible, but less likely. Don't get me wrong, the fuller the Virtual Console service is the better, but overall I'd rather build up a collection of handheld games on my handhelds.

But Sumo did OutRun 2/2006! There's not really anyone better.

Done quite a lot of Chapter 4, but really want to get the Vampire job before I move on. This game is reminding me quite a lot of my playthrough of Final Fantasy XII several years ago. I'm not quite as baffled as I was with that game, but I do have the constant feeling of not quite getting to grips with the gameplay. That's not necessarily a complaint, but this is definitely a continuation of the Final Fantasy style and has reminded me that, though I do have time for that sort of RPG, I'm much more in the Dragon Quest camp.

But look on the bright side. If she liked you, she'll remember you and be looking out for you too. I still remember girls who I walked past in the street 15 years ago!

Why does Nintendo seem to think the only two options are either "copy Microsoft and Sony" or "go casual"? What saddens me is that they don't realise they have changed, regardless of what the competition's like. They don't seem to remember they used to put out profit-making hardware (N64/GC), even if the sales were fairly modest. They don't seem to remember their old consoles had no gimmicks; instead, they had reasonable price points and gave the feeling you were getting your full money's worth of processing power. Remember how Nintendo's software used to be so much more artistic? It wasn't just "Fun! Fun! Fun! Innovation! Innovation! Innovation!" all the time. Nintendo's games actually used to make you feel emotions. I will never forget the way Link left Termina, having made friends with the SkullKid. Or those ReDeads leaping on him in Ocarina of Time, or how Nabooru implied she would thank him more generously if he was older. Over the past eight years, I have started most Nintendo games knowing they'll be fun and mechanically-sound, but won't really have anything like that in them. Sure, the Wii was immensely successful, but it might as well have been a toaster for the amount it grew the Nintendo audience. I know this is only anecdotal evidence, but I know so many gamers that are in no way bloodthirsty or immature, but haven't touched Nintendo since they started their "Wii" and "Wii U" venture. Generally, they are fans of Ocarina of Time, Goldeneye and Metroid Prime, and made Twilight Princess their last Nintendo game (GameCube version, of course). They just don't want the hassle with the weird controllers the company has insisted on ever since. I would say "their loss", but it isn't really, is it? I'm sure people will bring up Mario Galaxy, but it really is just a good game, not something to justify the whole ethos Nintendo has had for the past two generations. Sorry, but I'm just tired of the N64/GameCube approach continually being seen as not viable. In those days, Nintendo made games that were critically acclaimed, commercially successful (unless you're immensely greedy) and enchanted generations of gamers. Maybe, just maybe, it's that sort of thing that will keep an audience interested more than anything else? People can knock that approach all they want, but when Nintendo stuck to that ethos they never had an annual loss three years in a row. Nor did they chase their tails forever, desperately trying to come up with 3rd pillar after 3rd pillar.

As @Hero\-of\-Time said, a 2D Metroid by the peerless WayForward. I don't know what else they have to do to prove they could handle it. It's be awesome! All the lasers, armour and abilities done with WayForward's usual tight control and gorgeous art style.

If they thought like that, and had tried to make games + consoles more in line with the N64/GameCube, I dare say they'd be in much better shape than they are now.

For the sake of legacy, I think it'd be a very healthy thing if all games from now on could use a traditional controller and not need the GamePad at all. I can cope with Nintendoland and Zombie U forever needing a GamePad to play them, but not the next Zelda. What if it's a classic and the only way to play it is on a Wii U? Sure, put an optional map on it or something, but I know I'd be happier sitting down to it with a traditional pad.

I was disappointed with the Pirate class. Although I will max it out eventually, it doesn't seem to have a very strong attack. So far, I've fared better when using other attacks with the Thief rather than the Pirate's debuffs. Personally, I managed to defeat the Fire Temple boss by Defaulting until it had used Energy Burst. It's tempting to attack as soon as it's lowered its shield, but I found only failure that way. As soon as it had used Energy Burst, I had all four characters perform their strongest attacks (I used Thief, Black Mage, Spell Fencer and Ranger, but I'm sure others are just as good/better). If you have Spell Fencer as a sub-class, you can apply Thundara to their weapon at the very beginning of the battle. It lasts 10 turns, so it's still active when you go to attack.

Honestly, I'm not going to have a go at him for having a different opinion to me, but I thought that article was ridiculous. Allowing Manhunt 2 on the Wii went against my morals far more than this (which doesn't at all). Heck, I thought the violence and gore in the Bayonetta 2 videos was disgusting, and completely put me off the game, but I don't see a big fuss about that. For one thing, what is wrong with objectification? If you're going to get annoyed at this or Code of Princess, you might as well get annoyed at women going to see male strippers (or topless men portrayed as "hunky"), but most people don't because it provides enjoyment for some, and is neutral to the rest of us. There is no excuse for being a creep - that is to say, getting a thrill from someone unwilling. It's totally and utterly wrong to spy on people or grope them, but perfectly OK to enjoy the bodies of those who want to show them off, like models. Game characters are the equivalent of models (if fact, they literally are!) And you know what, I don't even find the character designs in this game very sexy - it's more of a giggle than anything. Senran Kagura won't damage gaming. It's far more damaging to gaming if there are perfectly natural themes that it can never explore.

Alright, thanks @Ike. Pleasantly surprised it can be posted (assuming it's lenticular). New trailer:

Thanks to your advice, I have now completed Chapter 3! Would you believe it, I wasn't using Special Moves at all until you suggested it! Used the Lightning one, as advised, made my main attackers immune to poison and made sure they were the only ones who kept using "Brave" all the time. Really wasn't hard in the end; think I was just getting tired/impatient. Pretty good story development between the two chapters, and I'm now really looking forward to the next bit.

I completely agree with that, but customers know the PS4 is technically a big leap over the PS3. Even if games don't yet have the "wow" factor, visually (which I don't think they do), they still require extra processing power to run. From now on, developers will be using the Xbox One and PS4 as a basis to design their games on. The Wii U is more like the PS3/Xbox 360, so customers will quite rightly realise it's not "in" the current generation the same way the PS4/Xbox One are, and thus won't get the same games.

Is that online, @Ike, or just in-store?

Not sure, to be honest. At first I thought it was absolutely brilliant, but I've been stuck on Chapter 3 for over a week. I'm not saying Chapter 3 is bad, just that the game has started to drag so much, at least for me. I don't think the Brave/Default system helps, as it means you need to input 4x the commands. This is OK for most random battles (as you can put it on Auto), but it's annoying when you want your Mage to switch between Fire, Ice etc. If an enemy is resistant to a particular element, you will actually regenerate its health if you use the wrong attack. For boss battles, the Brave/Default system doesn't make a great deal of sense either, as they can require you to Default on successive turns, yet it's hard/impossible to guess which ones. I've had trouble with two bosses in Chapter 3, despite being (going by my gut feeling) over-levelled. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's an unnecessary variation on normal turn-based combat. I hope you enjoy it, but there is definitely room for a better RPG on the 3DS.

Quite. To me it means things like Twilight Princess, Metroid Prime and F-Zero GX. In my opinion there's really been a certain "feel" missing in recent years. I remember the days when many of us used to read IGN, with Matt Casamassina talking a lot about the Metroid games etc. Nintendo of America seemed much more important in those days (at least that's my perception). Times change, of course, but it's just so different now. It's not too much of an exaggeration to say that all Nintendo's big games have an obvious mascot in, like how Retro's game is Donkey Kong (as you say), rather than anything that'd show us what sort of 3D worlds the Wii U can create. I hope things change for the better because I want that "GameCube" feeling again, where I'm looking forward to something like Twilight Princess. Personally, I'm greatly anticipating their next handheld and think that'll be their next priority (and probably in 2016). Even if Wii U completely flops (like not being sold in shops at all), I think Nintendo would release their next handheld first. That said, do you remember those reports about the next console and handheld being very closely linked and sharing the same architecture? There's always the possibility that they'll be launched at exactly the same time.

Super Mario Sunshine is the game that showed me what that console generation was going to be like - that is to say, very, very good indeed. It was the first game I played on the GameCube, and so was the first time I saw how far Nintendo's hardware had come on since the N64. I loved it before I'd even pressed Start. Miyamoto apparently wanted to make us feel like we were on holiday - well, he succeeded. Super Mario Sunshine transported me to a tropical paradise and genuinely helped me forget any troubles I might have had at the time. Very often I jumped into a zone depending on what mood I was in, whether it was the Caribbean-esque Gelato Beach, the towering Noki Bay or my personal favourite, the Hawaiian-styled Sirena Beach. All this was aided by the superlative GameCube controller, which fitted my hand like a glove. With its built-in rumble and twin analogue sticks, Mario has still never controlled better. Most amazing of all were the analogue triggers, which I actually didn't understand how to use until some way into the game. Discovering I could perform a gentle squirt, a powerful blast or something in between thrilled me far more than motion control ever could. Difficulty level was quite well-judged. With some effort, I managed to get all 120 Shines - some annoying moments, for sure, but I never got as frustrated as in Super Mario Galaxy 2. By the time I was exploring the Pianta's Village, I felt I was truly au fait with the new generation. Overall, I feel Super Mario Sunshine is entirely indicative of the GameCube itself and much of its other software - massively underrated, lovingly crafted and the peak of Nintendo in recent times. 95/100 - 3D Mario has never climbed higher, before or since.

2D Metroid is the main one. Fusion and Zero Mission are too good to ignore, and nothing since has played quite like them or been as good. The other one (which might be asking for too much) is a 3D Zelda. I love A Link Between Worlds, but ever since I got the 3DS I wondered what a proper 3D Zelda would be like on the machine. It might be something that has to wait for the next handheld, but I know I wouldn't particularly like handheld Zelda to stay 2D-only, especially as the handhelds themselves become more and more capable.

I probably don't know enough about it, but I think they made two massive mistakes. The first of which was to keep releasing expensive hardware that didn't get supported properly (particularly the Mega CD and 32X). The Saturn was actually good, but expensive. People no longer seemed to "follow" Sega, which brings me onto the 2nd point... Sega never, ever knew how to keep their franchises going over successive consoles. They had the market in the palm of their hands with Sonic and Sonic 2, but never made them a focus of future consoles. The same with their other franchises like Golden Axe, Streets of Rage etc. By the time they'd worked out how to put Sonic into 3D (Sonic Adventure on the Dreamcast), the market had disappeared. Personally, I don't think the average person who had enjoyed the Megadrive games could have got to grips with it anyway. Sega could have got Climax to develop Landstalker into their own Zelda equivalent, but it stayed a one-off. Whilst Nintendo was putting out Ocarina of Time and Mario 64, Sega didn't really have anything like that. In many ways it's to Sega's credit that they were so original and didn't rely on franchises, but I'm sure this didn't help with keeping the wider fan base. Anyway, I know you didn't want a history of Sega, but if you look at what they kept making into recent years, it was the continuation of arcade-style games like Virtua Fighter, Afterburner and OutRun. All well-respected, I believe, but not much for a fan base to get their teeth into. It was nothing at all like waiting for the next Metroid or Zelda. What I'm trying to say is that, despite my doubts, I do think Nintendo would have much more chance of success (as a 3rd-party developer) than Sega. Nintendo still makes those deeper, longer games that fans get passionate about. Despite any trouble Nintendo may encounter, "Mario" and "The Legend of Zelda" really do still mean something amongst the wider gaming market. Whatever the quality of the games would be, I guarantee Nintendo would still have many people's attention as it ventured into the multi-platform world.

I know what you mean, it's just the shareholders aspect of it that bothers me. Speculation on my part, of course, but I can't seen them keep signing the cheques (so to speak) if they're not seeing a return.

The way I see it, Nintendo puts immense focus on any games machine when it's new, then moves the teams over to the next one. I do see the 3DS in decline, yes, but it really has had an extraordinary run. Now Nintendo has released all its main games for the 3DS, I'm afraid I don't see them making another huge title for it, but arguably that has happened with all their handhelds. After Link's Awakening, Zelda was given over to Flagship; Minish Cap was the only Zelda on the GBA; and the DS only got another same-engine Zelda, with Spirit Tracks (which I think might happen with the 3DS, but no more than that). If you look at Mario, arguably that's had more effort put into it than on any other handheld, with both 3D and 2.5D entries. I'm sure Nintendo's teams are all working away on the Wii U now, and the effort will pay off, at least in terms of making the Wii U sought-after by gamers. Then, they'll start to focus on the 3DS's successor. It's the way of things. The huge difference this time, though, is that 3rd-parties aren't coming in to support the handheld. I remember I spent the last few years of the DS almost just playing Dragon Quest titles. If they never do step in, Nintendo will just have to move on. They've done a lot and they can't make the same sort of effort again if it's not going to shift more units. One thing's for sure, though, Nintendo hasn't properly finished with the 3DS until they've created a 2D Metroid for it.

In theory, it'd be great. We'd be able to play Zelda on the most powerful consoles, with a traditional controller. In practice, without their own hardware to sell, I think Nintendo would no longer be able to justify 3-year+ development cycles. They'd probably just rely on brand names to create cheap, high-profit software that they could put out iterations of every year. It'd still be decent, but I don't think we'd ever get another "Majora's Mask" or "Wind Waker" that way.

Can't believe I missed that one. No, it's fine. I'm perfectly happy to... ...flipping heck!