Grazza

Thanks for doing this, Ike. I was wondering what 3DS releases there were this year (genuinely wondering, not necessarily thinking there weren't any). Personally, I'm looking forward to: Senran Kagura Burst - I'm not sure how good it'll be, but want to support it. Etrian Odyssey Untold - Oh man! I've still to finish IV, which is a good game but I can't find the time at the moment. Weapon Shop De Omsasse - Not sure about this one, but I actually like the idea more than any of the the other Guild 01 games. Dragon Quest VII - If it's out. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse - At the moment, this is the game I'm looking forward to most this year.

The best thing to do is make a joke/comment about a nearby object or something that's going on. If a girl likes you, you can talk about any old rubbish.

They were one of my least favourite bits too, it's just that I forgot what they were called and referred to them as "Trials". They are one of things I think of most when I say the game is like a series of scenes set up for you to play through.

Yeah, x2 for me. Definitely wouldn't want to play it at normal speed. If I'm honest, I've got myself into a right muddle with this. Would it actually make a character physically weaker if I train them as a Mage, then back into a Knight?

With hindsight, I'd have just stuck to a few favourite jobs, then used them as a base for the next one. I love the Knight job, for instance. It has some great moves that make a character stronger even once they change classes (as long as you keep Knight as a sub-class). As I say, with hindsight I'd have done it like this... Tiz - Monk, Thief Agnes - White Mage, Summoner Ringabel - Black Mage, Ranger Edea - Knight, Spell Fencer I haven't played it as smoothly as I'd like, but in my opinion, half the pleasure with this specific type of RPG is tinkering about with the job system. Might switch Agnes back to White Mage, with Summoner as a sub-class. I don't know if it's my imagination (or we've all just got high HP), but she doesn't seem to heal very well as a Summoner. I actually hadn't thought of that tactic. I tend to Brave the first four rounds, then risk what'll happen next - a good tactic for normal battles, but maybe not bosses! In all seriousness, I am very stuck in my ways about RPG battle systems, but I have found the Brave or Default system very easy to pick up.

I honestly think Normal + Newcomer is the best way to enjoy this game. Fire Emblem can just be too intense otherwise! Replay, replay, replay... It breeds obsession!

That's just what I was thinking. The jobs become so time-consuming to master, it feels like the game wants you to just get the first few levels of each one. I've also started to just use the character suggested in the "demo" video for each job.

I think it does quite a good job, it's just that there's so much to learn. Personally, I still haven't used Summon, Abilink or Special, because I'm not sure which ones are part of the intended experience, and which are "cheats" for newer players. I'm very much in favour of features like this for less experienced players, I just need to take time to work out which is which. It's like being able to set the encounter rate to zero. It's great for running back to town when you've run out of MP, but I'm not sure if I should really just be using a potion! Anyway, I'm still loving this game. Got the Time Mage and Sword Fencer jobs. Very tempted to make Edea a Spell Fencer, as it seems to suit her, but I'm reluctant for her to abandon the Black Mage class. Still haven't found a class I really love for Tiz. Thief seems to work best at the moment, which surprisingly makes him more powerful than he is as a Monk.

Thanks. Got that and Merchant now.

It's strange to complete a game, yet have the feeling I never learnt how to play it. That's how I view Skyward Sword. As accurate as the controls were, I thought they were only enjoyable as a novelty (and a showcase of motion controls), rather than anything that could improve the Zelda series. I disliked the combat system even more than the controls, and completed the game purely through waggle (neither satisfying nor enjoyable, but it was the only way I could). My dislike of the controls and combat meant I didn't enjoy the three Ghirahim fights, or the one with his boss. Not only that, the three main overworlds were so cramped - many were just a series of narrow paths - it was a pain to go anywhere in them. Good design involves spacing things out when necessary, which is why so many of us are still fond of Lon Lon Ranch in the middle of OOT's Hyrule Field. Furthermore, none of the overworlds were properly linked to the hub world, meaning the game as a whole was anything but seamless. The other main thing I disliked was how the game felt like a series of scenes set up for you to take part in, especially the frustrating Trials and (to a lesser extent) the fights with The Imprisoned. On a positive note, I did enjoy the non-swordfighting boss encounters, especially Koloktos. Something about that just felt so right, especially the way you could swing his swords at him. Skyloft Bazaar, too, was impressive, with the way the stallholders became more lively as you got closer to them. I also quite liked the Wind Waker-type hub world, for what there was of it. With some of the islands, it actually mattered where you dismounted onto them (unfortunately not with Skyloft itself, which was just represented by a model). Overall, Skyward Sword is not a game I'm fond of, but may actually have been the right Zelda game for the Wii. I say this because a lot of people genuinely wanted a motion-controlled Zelda. Whether I like it or not, I do think it suits the Wii. Now we know what a motion-controlled Zelda is like, though, I sincerely hope all future games in the series stick to a more traditional type of control.

I'm afraid I just don't really "get" this programme any more, which is a shame as I genuinely loved the first two series. For me, it's just become too epic, too melodramatic - especially with all the weird, surreal scenes. It's almost like full-on fantasy now.

Hmm, I have missed the Thief job, and I'm at almost exactly the same place as you. I am using Martial Artist (Tiz), White Mage (Agnes), Knight (Ringabel) and Black Mage (Edea) - all of which I felt the game was suggesting, so I just went with it. I'm still waiting for another "real-scale" RPG like Dragon Quest VIII where the towns are modelled the same as the overworld and, indeed, you can go through all the doors and into all the buildings. So many RPGs are like this, where the town is really just a false background. Also, I know I keep saying this about 3DS games, but the art style really seems like it's been designed for a higher resolution than the 3DS can offer. The areas have been designed as artwork first and foremost (and very nice artwork too), but seeing some of the scenes zoomed out is just crazy compared to what the 3DS can display.

Just started playing this. I knew from the moment it was announced I wanted to buy it, and indeed bought it at release, it's just that I've been too busy to start it before now. Well... it's fantastic! Bravely Default is like a love letter to classic Final Fantasy, especially FF III (which is a particular favourite of mine), somehow managing to get that feel just right. Once upon a time I might have been overwhelmed by the amount of options, but it is all explained well in the tutorials. Truth be told, the game gives you subtle nudges as to which decisions to make. Nonetheless, the choices are still yours.

No, I didn't download it, because I feel a bit annoyed at it being the Megadrive version when the arcade original is available. However, I don't think it's half as bad as people say. It's quite thrilling to get the power-ups, and I can play it all the way through, which puts it way above loads of other games I've played. I actually used to cycle to a not-so-local fish & chip shop just to play it.

Finally got round to playing this! I can't sum it up any better than @Dcubed or @Ville, but it is indeed a good game. Basically, you dig down through very large mine shafts, which have smaller caves within them. Along the way you dig ore, which is traded-in on the surface for better equipment. For example, stronger pickaxe (for earth), drill (for rock) or punch (combat), as well as more efficient use of water, fuel etc. These upgrades are very gradual and more about keeping the game balanced as you progress, rather than being particularly noticeable at the time. The upgrades you get in the smaller caves, however, are much more important and similar to Samus Aran's upgrades in Metroid. It must be said, though, that most of them just help your movement and jumping. There is not really an "Ice Beam" moment where you suddenly feel your combat abilities have massively improved. One issue I had was that, at least early on, your pouch gets full very quickly. You also run out of water (used for drilling, punching and larger jumps) and fuel (for your lantern) at a similar rate, which all mean you have to make your way back up the mine shaft. Early on in the game, this is very difficult to do, as your abilities are so modest. For a game that is so much about frequently returning to town, it makes it very time-consuming to do so. Teleporters are very, very rare. You can make your own, but it will cost precious orbs, so is not a good idea to do very often if you want all the upgrades. Another issue is that large areas of mine shaft can suddenly collapse because of explosives, or simply the enemy's actions, making it impossible to get back upwards without the right equipment. If this happens, you generally have three options: a) continue downwards until you find a teleporter b) continue downwards until you are destroyed c) self destruct To be fair, I could have made far more use of the ladders (which you can buy). The biggest suggestion I could make, though, is that Steamworld Dig would be so much more enjoyable to play if there was a teleporter at the entrance to every cave. As I neared the end of the game, I became concerned that I might not be able to afford all the upgrades from the shops. Not surprisingly, however, the ore becomes much more valuable towards the end, so as long as you're careful, you should be fine (I was destroyed 12 times and still managed to buy everything). I also wondered if there would be a "Screw Attack" moment, where your manoeuvrability vastly improves. Whilst there is nothing quite on that level, there's something very similar, so by the end of the game you have complete freedom of the mine shafts and can find most of the ore + orbs. It's all finished off with a pretty satisfying final boss. As it stands, I'm not really sure how Steamworld Dig can be played at a fast pace, but it says a lot about the game's quality that I want to play it again and find out. I'm not sure if Steamworld Dig is the best Metroid-style game on the 3DS, but it's certainly up there with the likes of Cave Story etc. Hopefully it will inspire Nintendo to show us how it's done with a 2D Metroid of their own!

Personally, I loved Mark Gatiss' opening episode. There were a few bits I didn't like, such as Watson physically attacking Holmes (how many times has Gatiss been headbutted, I wonder? Was it funny?), but overall it was extremely impressive. There were two problems I had with the 2nd episode (written by all three?) Firstly, it was incredibly convoluted. I know it's easier said than done, but good plotting is about one bit causing the next to happen, not suddenly bringing many disparate threads together at the end. Yes, it all made sense, but there was no satisfaction of following the story. Secondly, whether it's sci-fi, fantasy or whatever, your characters have to be believable. Benedict Cumberbatch is sheer dynamite, but much of the time I simply couldn't believe it was Sherlock on screen. We know Sherlock respects Watson, but why did he have to be so sentimental, and so many times too? Holmes is a good person, but he's also a sociopath. At the same time, his vast intelligence should have allowed him to easily construct a speech, even if he just analysed other speeches in a technical way. Don't get me wrong, I do like humour in Sherlock, but only when you can believe the character. The way he ordered Mrs Hudson to go and get him biscuits was obnoxious, rather than simply lacking social skills, as was they way he urgently summoned Lestrade for something trivial. Come on, he's an intelligent man; he should know how to phrase things so that they don't mislead and distract a police detective from an important case. I suspect this was a blip rather than the series having "jumped the shark". If all three writers contributed, maybe it was a case of "Too many cooks"? Until now the programme's strength has been how much it felt like the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, which were quirky but not sentimental.

For me, the reason it would have been good to have WaveRace/1080/F-Zero/Star Fox is that it would have sent a totally different message. All four of those would have shown off the machine's graphical capabilities, as well as reassuring core gamers the Wii U was for them (at least as much as the 3DS). I sat down to E3 2012 hoping to see something at least as impressive as the Zelda demo from 2011, but there was nothing of the sort (and this was meant to be a more important E3 than the year before). I really think E3 2012 was the moment that set alarm bells ringing. It's not that I want to keep moaning about it, it's just that WaveRace, F-Zero etc. are exactly what the console needed back then. By showing a preview of games like that, it would have made core gamers much more confident about the Wii U and totally changed the vibe around it.

Completed Code of Princess last night. The main game took just over four hours, but there are lots of "Bonus Quests" and unlockables, so I'm not quite done with it yet. Found it an enjoyable game in the end. The mayhem generally matches Guardian Heroes, more or less. To describe the game, it's basically a button-mashing, side-scrolling beat-'em-up. I think I got by with strong attack, weak attack and two special moves, which is actually fine if you're not keen on memorising lots of button combinations. The arenas are very small - not quite as small as a "Vs." fighting game like Street Fighter II, but certainly not as big as a traditional brawler like Final Fight. Within each stage, there is no sense of progressing through environments whatsoever. This does mean each level is short (bosses have levels entirely to themselves), which is quite useful if you make a mistake and need to try again. It's not a particularly difficult game (I noticed just the one difficulty spike, halfway through), but there are a few bosses I'm glad I didn't have to fight at the end of a long level. Like Guardian Heroes, skill points are assigned as you level-up (which you can do quite a few times after some levels). This time, however, you also have typical, RPG-like equipment. Rather than making you massively more powerful, the equipment is more about balancing your strengths and weaknesses for the task ahead. Personally, I just equipped anti-boss items and didn't put much thought into any other strategy. Like most RPGs, I found I could complete the game at around Level 50. Stylistically, Code of Princess is a triumph. The music is quite nice and the art design is fantastic, particularly Solange and some of the bigger monsters, like the dragons. All in all, this would have made for a nice "CD + art book" collectors' edition. A lot has been made about Solange's outfit, but it really does work very well in-game, and is artistically-pleasing as it was intended, rather than anything vulgar. Overall, I feel Code of Princess would have been much better as a physical release, although I'm glad I had the chance to play it one way or another. The one thing I couldn't shake from beginning to end is that the art style would have been much better in HD. Rather than designed for the individual pixels of the 3DS (like WayForward's games, for instance), it seems to me these 2D character models could scale to all sizes. Not only that, there is a lot of slowdown at times, adding to the feel that it could/should be on a more powerful system. I'd be absolutely amazed if there wasn't an Xbox 360/PS3 version planned at some point. If there is (or a sequel), I feel those machines would be the best to play it on. For the time being, Code of Princess is a pretty nice game that I would somewhat recommend, particularly if it was more like £14.99.

Yeah, I bought Steamworld Dig precisely the week before it went on sale, which is why I think this will too. I'm enjoying Code of Princess a lot more now. It's starting to feel more like Guardian Heroes (which is what I wanted).

Good news and bad news. The good news is that I've just paid full price for this, so I can guarantee it'll be reduced soon! The "bad" news is that I'm really not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. I just feel that the 3DS is too low-res for the art style and it really needs to be seen in HD (which it was designed in, perhaps?) It just has that feel that it was conceived as high-res, but shrunk down (as opposed to the spritework in, say, Mighty Switch Force 2, which is sharp and colourful). Gameplay is bash-bash-bash at the moment, but maybe it'll get better. Massive file size, by the way. Overall, I think this is something that I'm going to regret having as a download, but would have been happy to have on cartridge. They really should have done a physical release in Europe.

Wow, that's pretty strong then! I'm actually jealous now! That's a very strict rule for retail. I'm surprised.

I see myself as a Sega fan who latched onto Nintendo. All my nostalgia is with the Megadrive and Sega coin-ops rather than the NES (one reason I'm enjoying Sega's 3D Classics so much). My first Nintendo console was the SNES - I appreciated the quality of the games, but could never quite "feel" the console as much as the Megadrive. That said, I had become pretty much an equal Sega/Nintendo fan by the time of the Saturn/N64, and experiences like Ocarina of Time were too powerful not to sway me. By the time of the next generation, there was no doubt in my mind - as respected as the Dreamcast is, I enjoyed the GameCube far, far more. In short: Nintendo fan with a huge portion of Sega in my soul.

Do you think you would still have the friendship, though, without the attraction? In my experience there's normally some sort of attraction within that sort of heightened friendship. I'm not saying men and women can't be platonic friends - it's just that when you are in contact with a female friend beyond the necessary, there's usually something else behind it. Sorry if I'm assuming too much, it's just that I have often found the friendship fizzles out at the same time as the attraction.

And this is why I couldn't, hand on heart, say it was my favourite game of the year. In all honesty, I can't decide whether I think it's brilliant or awful! Animal Crossing: the game that makes you want to do everything too fast, but doesn't let you do enough while you're still interested! Don't get me wrong, I've had a lot of fun from Animal Crossing: New Leaf and enjoyed the deep, satirical side I believe it has, but I now only want to do two more things in the game: catch the last fish and catch the last crab. There's other stuff I once wanted to do as well, but I can no longer justify the time or effort (if I ever could).