Grazza

A lot of people say Feng Shui does count for the basement, even though the HHA doesn't score it (I hope this is the case, as my basement is full of red/yellow/green junk!) http://www.gamefaqs.com/3ds/997811-animal-crossing-new-leaf/faqs/65246

When I've been in France I've had Asterix snacks and Grenadine. To us, Grenadine is a mixer, but in France it's just another type of cordial/syrup (and the best, in my opinion). We had Capri Sun's Mountain Cooler over here. I miss that. There's also something I remember from holiday camps in the 1980s but I'm not sure if it really existed - Canada Dry Coke. Was this Coke mixed with something made by Canada Dry, or was it Canada Dry's own cola? Either way, I remember loving it.

I can't help but fell I've really mucked up my StreetPass usage in the past two days. I went into town yesterday and got three rubbish StreerPasses. Went into town again today and couldn't make it work (I didn't get one StreetPass), despite my 3DS telling me there were several Nintendo Zones. Is there a 24-hour limit to StreetPass Relay (within the same Nintendo Zone) or is it more likely my 3DS wasn't working properly?

Mine's still sealed. It's not that I don't want to play it, I just want to play other games more. Also, I need to play the demo again until I'm 100% sure I'll be able to understand the gameplay. Shame, because I love the vibe of the thing.

It's honestly not the same thing. I've always loved Wind Waker, personally, although I agree there has generally been a revision of attitudes to it over the years. Twilight Princess was just... slightly disappointing. It couldn't live up to the incredible hype, but no one ever said it was a bad game. I've never seen anyone claim it's less than 8/10. I don't want to keep bashing Skyward Sword, but it's the first one I haven't wanted to replay. I was pretty keen to replay Twilight Princess no longer than 12 months after it had been released (and I loved it that time), but Skyward Sword feels like too much effort to even think of replaying.

I'm not sure a remake can ever really be a 10/10 (I felt the same about OOT 3D too). The Wii U can do so much more than the GameCube (apart from analogue triggers ). Being "10/10 impressed" with something on the GameCube is not the same as being 10/10 impressed with something on the Wii U, but we'll see. My ratings: Wind Waker - 10 Ocarina Of Time - 10 Majora's Mask - 9 (but 10 in terms of quality/atmosphere) Twilight Princess (GameCube) - 8 Skyward Sword - 6 Twilight Princess was way better than Skyward Sword. To this day I remember starting TP and feeling there was a large world to explore. It wasn't perfect, but it was so much closer to the proper Zelda formula. The main thing I liked about Skyward Sword was the Bazaar in Skyloft. That actually was good, and a big improvement over the shops in Twilight Princess, but other than that I can't think of much. Koloktos was a good boss too because of the swords. But the "overworld"... as others have said, it's just three disconnected zones with a hub. The story was also like a series of scenes set up for you take part in, like stopping the Imprisoned, or taking part in the Trials. And when you sailed the Sand Sea, it became another sort of mini-game, moving a boat with a model Link stuck on top. There was no sense you could find underground tunnels that would lead to other areas of the overworld. If Nintendo had made a game called "Motion Swordsman" it might have been alright, but once you got over the novelty of the sword swinging at the same angles you were swinging the Wii remote, it became clear the combat was absolutely terrible. It wasn't like Zelda, it was like Punch Out! As for Ghirahim... awful. I never thought I'd be fighting a boss in a Zelda game, just moving my hand one way then waiting to move it to the other side. Supposedly Miyamoto didn't know what to do and thought it was impossible when he first fought him. That's one teatable he should have upended! Sorry, but to me Skyward Sword is that game where I clashed against swords/shields, changed my batteries, clashed against some more shields, changed my batteries again... It was a fair experiment, but the idea of replaying it pains me.

I did start collecting the Mermaid set but I've been to the island every day since it has been possible to do so and never, ever had the Mermaid Lamp or Mermaid Closet available to buy. Similarly, I've never seen the Cabana Bed or Cabana Wall. Besides, I've decided to be kind to StreetPassers and only use furniture that can be ordered. As I say I'm going for trendy: Sleek, Modern, Minimalist, Stripe and Astro. The trendy music like K. K. Fusion and K. K. D&B (Drum & Bass) also happen to be my favourites, which is a happy coincidence!

Don't know if I agree with that (haven't played it), but it made me laugh.

Can't wait!

Finally got 150,000 points in the HHA yesterday! Is that good, or did everyone else get that ages ago? I've got three complete sets, but am going for a "trendy" house with Sleek, Modern, Minimalist, Stripe and Astro furniture. Caught a Petaltail Dragonfly and Rice Grasshopper today. Unless I've miscalculated, there are only six Bugs left to go: Bell Cricket (September) Cricket (September) Red Dragonfly (September) Bagworm (October) Mole Cricket (November) Dung Beetle (December) http://acwiki3ds.wikispaces.com/Bugs

Anyone been testing out StreetPass Relay? Seems to work really well. I went out yesterday and got five StreetPasses, which is pretty good for my area (a couple more than I'd usually get). I went to the first Nintendo Zone, held my 3DS out and waited for the green light. Sure enough, it started blinking. Took me a while to get any more, and I think I might have been the first person to "load" my data onto the 3rd Nintendo Zone I found (is it deleted daily?), but came home with plenty of StreetPasses. It used to be that most Miis didn't have a Puzzle Piece for me. Now I'm afraid it's me who's become behind, although StreetPass Relay makes completing them so much more enjoyable. Seriously thinking of buying the games now.

Yes, Isabelle sent me a suitcase (it's red, so you can use it for Feng Shui). Did Pete not deliver one to you?

From my point of view, we had the perfect controller with the GameCube, but Nintendo has been reinventing the wheel ever since. That's why it's a bit irritating. Some of were looking forward to more Wind Wakers and Mario Sunshines, but Nintendo's next controller, the Wii remote, couldn't do half of what the GameCube pad could. The idea of choice and everyone using their favourite controller is a nice theory but it doesn't work in practice. If something has to be able to use the Wii remote, you can't let anyone use all the buttons on the GameCube pad (see Twilight Princess). If a game has to be able to use the Wii U GamePad, you can't let anyone use analogue triggers.

I'm leaning towards the former, although I can see why they had the idea. There's something instinctive about cutting grass or smashing pots to get items. It just feels "right". It's also very satisfying to upgrade your bomb bag or quiver - that moment when you can finally carry more (sometimes because you've won at a mini-game), and the possibility you could make it even bigger. I'm not saying it's fun to run out of bombs or arrows, and I can understand why they want to get rid of that mild frustration, but the replenishing system they had in place was extremely instinctive and was thought up for a good reason.

Oh, that sounds OK then. Do you know if it misses anything out?

I'm a bit confused about this game/series. Is this the first Senran Kagura game on the 3DS or the 2nd?

They'll probably explain StreetPass Relay as well. Just been reading up on it and, basically, when you pass a Nintendo Zone you "StreetPass" the last person who went by, like passing the baton in a relay. EDIT - As Guy said.

Since it's probably just about known games, I would like release dates for: Dragon Quest VII Shantae and the Pirate's Curse

Are there not? I remember that was a big deal. There was even one hidden on the cover!

Is that the feature where it holds people's data in Nintendo Zones? If so, fantastic - I've got quite a few Nintendo Zones in the area.

Ah, well done. I've just got the Petaltail Dragonfly to go. I've caught them on Island tours, but not seen one in my town.

Yes, a few - fairly late at night and in a normal bit of river. Their shadows are quite small, so if you try and catch everything smaller than a bass you should eventually get one. No, it's the bit where the river widens greatly. It's not near the waterfall in my town. I'm not sure there are any special catches at the inland waterfall, actually (the Char is at the ocean waterfall). The thing is, you can actually get extremely near them as long as you don't run and don't have your net out. Just get your net out when they're facing away from you and enter stealth mode (hold down "A") as soon as possible (one tip is to not have many tools on you, so you can access it quickly). They might still turn around and warn you, but they won't attack if you stand still. Then you simply have to follow it when it walks away from you and swing your net when you're close enough.

He was so good in it this year too. The episodes with him and Jenna Coleman were dynamite.

I think it'll be Aneurin Barnard.

Standardisation happens for a reason. The wheel is round because that's the best shape for it. Game controllers have a certain form because it suits our hands. Sony and Microsoft's consoles are powerful because that's what people want. I'm in favour of innovation when there's a good reason like d-pads, rumble or analogue sticks/triggers. What I'm not in favour of is forced innovation. Because unfortunately, that's why Nintendo differentiates itself so much at the moment - it feels it has to. Supposedly Nintendo's executives were very split on whether to use motion control with the Wii. They went ahead with it and it paid off, but it was entirely a business decision, not a drive to improve gaming. Regarding game engines and console architecture, Sony and MS have used PC architecture and processors because time and time again developers have told them that's the easiest/best way. Why try to push water uphill? It's a similar situation with game engines. Games are taking longer and longer to develop, so what's the alternative? We can't force developers to work 24/7 for low wages, and we do want higher resolutions and better graphics, don't we? Don't get me wrong, I'm happy with what we've got at the moment, but graphical progress is perfectly natural. I'm already seeing less games of the type I like (Japanese RPGs). Whilst this is probably due to market forces, I certainly don't want it to be because developers don't have time to model their own blades of grass. Shared resources and standardisation can only be helpful. When good innovation becomes possible, it'll happen. What I don't want is for companies to sit around inventing screens I can wear on my sleeve just so it's something different to the Xbox and PlayStation.