Grazza

Well, there's Mighty Switch Force 2 on Thursday, isn't there?

Not sure, to be honest. I normally just see them, fumble about for my net, and they either attack me or run off.

Sorry about the disconnection, @Cube. Lovely looking fish, that is. As for bugs, I think I only need seven of them, but I haven't caught a tarantula yet and also need to leave a turnip for flies!

Yeah, Pikmin is a model, with their leaves visible above the earth. Yeah, there are five fish and seven bugs that it's best to catch before July:

Yes please - Do you want a Fire Flower or Pikmin in exchange? Also got a lot of fossils if anyone wants to swap. Anyway, I finally caught all 54 fish available in June! The Gar was the hardest. Now, onto bugs!

Good news, I think. I'd be much more likely to play this than the Wii/Wii U version, although I still wouldn't pay a monthly fee.

My personal feeling is that the GameCube era was 100% hardcore, and thus we got F-Zero, Metroid Prime etc. "Hardcore" is perhaps a silly word, but to me it defines a game that needs you to learn the controls, have patience, be able to explore 3D worlds. Basically, it's something that needs you to care. The Wii era was undoubtedly one where Nintendo mostly targeted the casual market. Early on, more traditional games were developed pretty much as normal, but there was a price to pay for the console having such a simplified control scheme. Twilight Princess had camera and shield control removed. As for Mario Galaxy, whilst most people admit it is good, there have always been those of us for whom it is not a personal favourite. D-pad camera control wasn't as good as Sunshine's C-stick control, as you couldn't keep nudging the camera behind Mario. Whatever I think of Super Mario 3D World is unrelated to whether I wanted Galaxy 3 (I didn't). One of the most significant events in the Wii's lifespan was the success of New Super Mario Bros. From this moment, Nintendo knew they could make a success out of "bridge" games. They didn't have to be easy, they didn't need a gimmick... but they did need to be accessible. Imagine all the people who bought Mario Galaxy 1 & 2 but couldn't play them - whether we like it or not a huge amount of gamers just cannot control them or understand the objectives. Which brings me to the Wii U era. I get the distinct feeling that Nintendo is now scared of releasing anything which the consumer might not understand - they're not "casual", exactly, just accessible. Complex games are allowed on the system, for sure - Wind Waker is there because it's a fan favourite, and Nintendo knows only keen gamers will buy X, the Xenoblade sequel (similar situation for Bayonetta 2) - but the thing that's really telling is Super Mario 3D World. Whilst this has every chance of being an excellent game, the form it takes (multiplayer, mostly isometric/overhead) will have a huge effect on the experience. If you think back to Sunshine and all the things it asked of you - mastery of dual analogue sticks, analogue triggers, exploration, objective-solving... It's very unlikely there will be any levels in 3D World as tall or complex as Sunshine's Noki Bay, for example. (Before anyone accuses me of being revisionist, Mario Sunshine has been my favourite Mario since I played it on the GC, same goes for WW as my favourite Zelda.) In summary, I'm confident the Wii U will have a very good games line-up and be worth buying. Accessibility is no bad thing, but are we ever going to get Mario, Metroid and Zelda again as those deep, technical experiences we used to love? I'm not so sure.

I also think it's more of a "game" than it's often given credit for. You do actually need good reflexes to catch everything, as well as spatial awareness to use all the items. Planning, strategy... all sorts of gaming skills really. Last night I went to the Island and saw two pieces of furniture I really wanted - only problem was that I didn't have enough medals. So, I spent the next hour playing the mini-games ("Tours") in a frantic bid to earn them! Balloon-popping, Scavenger Hunting... my heart really was beating as I tried to complete the games in time!

I've had Fire Flower, Master Sword, Arwing, Fire Flower (again), Hero's Boots and Pikmin. Really want the Varia stuff! Anyway, today I have finally caught all the fish and bugs that will disappear in July! My next target is to catch all the ones that are available this month.

Silly question, but have you been back inside it yet? The 98,000 upgrade is still a single floor, but considerably larger (think it goes from 4x4 to 6x6). As you've paid it off, you can order an even bigger expansion if you speak to Tom Nook.

(Sorry if this is too late, I've only just got in.) There's only one thing that would bother me about that layout - the coast is segmented on the western side. Now maybe this wouldn't bother you, but what if you saw a shark (or something rarer) and wanted to run up the coast, but couldn't do it fast enough? Don't get me wrong, you get these sorts of things with any layout (I'm always seeing things I want to catch on the other side of the river) - it's just the first thing that came to mind.

I'm quite good with sharks, but I had something like that just now. I'm wondering if it was something rarer. Most fish go nudge... nudge... then that sort of "double sound" that means you have to reel in. Sometimes it's the first or fourth sound you hear, but usually it's the second or third. Had one just now though that seemed to require faster reflexes than that.

Appreciated, thanks. To be honest, it's somewhat new to me. I played the GameCube original, but am not exactly sure how you can trade things (do you just visit each other's village, stand face-to-face and select "Trade?") Certainly hope to this with fossils as well - want the full diplodocus! Jealous of @Kaytee with her catch! Well done!

This game is just awesome, a real 10/10. From the fortune cookies so far I've got a Fire Flower (OK) and Master Sword (hooray!) They make great sound effects. I most want all the Varia Suit pieces. Fossil collection is coming along nicely - it's something I want to prioritise - but mostly I'm just catching things and donating them or, if they're duplicates, selling them. Plonked a shark in my house, even though it's not really big enough yet, for that Doctor Evil feel!

SNES owners used to use that so much as a way of saying it was better than my Mega Drive.

Reminds me of this: http://metro.co.uk/2013/06/14/the-best-games-of-e3-2013-awards-for-best-graphics-best-publisher-and-more-3841098/ I'm still looking forward to Mario a bit more though. It was just a surprise.

I don't mind waiting, but it would be a terrible decision if we never got Dragon Quest VII.

With the Bug-Off, can you still win a prize if you don't attend the ceremony? Apparently it's 6-9pm tonight, which there's no way I can make.

Ah, genius... Why is it so good? It's ridiculous! Put my house right by the coast. It doesn't have an interesting background, but it's in a nice, sunny spot. Tom Nook did warn me that they would have to move trees and/or digging spots to put it there, but I went ahead anyway. How many digging spots are you all finding? I've only found three, so hope I haven't permanently lost any. The native fruit is my favourite - apple - and I noticed one of the ones I collected is a "perfect apple". Not sure what to do with that, so I haven't sold it yet. Was pleased to get a Styracosaurus skull on my first day - one of my favourite dinosaurs.

My most-played 3DS game? Fire Emblem: Awakening. 2nd-most played 3DS game? Fire Emblem: Sacred Stones. Wasn't a fan before the 3DS either.

Mega Drive - Altered Beast SNES - Super Mario World Game Boy - Tetris or Super Mario Land Saturn - Virtua Fighter N64 - Super Mario 64 GBA - Final Fight Dreamcast - PowerStone GameCube - Luigi's Mansion PS2 - Okami Xbox - Halo 2 or Forza DS - Phantom Hourglass Wii - Wii Sports 3DS - Pilotwings Resort PS3 - Ni no Kuni

I'm just going to be honest here: When I heard Miyamoto wanted to remake A Link to the Past (or do a sequel), I hoped it would use the same graphics, be sprite-based and be eShop-only. Basically, a cheap bit of fun (I don't mean that to sound bad!) I'm glad A Link Between Worlds is out this year (ie. quite quickly), because I hope this isn't the main Zelda on the 3DS. Ever since I played Pilotwings Resort and saw how well the 3DS handled Ocarina of Time, I've imagined how good an original, 3D Zelda could be on the 3DS. Whether that's OOT-style or Wind Waker-style, I hope we still get one.

Personally, the fact Nintendo chose Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker as their remakes is a source of great reassurance to me. Out of all the Zeldas, those two are the ones that are near-perfect "complete games", if you like. It's true that Wind Waker didn't really need a remake as such, but it's probably the main GameCube game that people want to play, and so at least needed adjusting for 1080p TVs. It's only receiving the benefit of one generational jump, graphically, but that's the same with OOT 3D and that was worth it. I agree Twilight Princess would look fantastic in HD, as proven by the 2011 Zelda demo, but I think that would benefit more from being a brand new game. Although I love the graphical style, TP itself doesn't have an enormous amount that couldn't be bettered with a new iteration. Maybe, but isn't that down to melody? The actual sound quality was very high. Also, what did you think about the orchestrated Wind Waker and Twilight Princess suites on the bonus CD? I thought they were fantastic - Twilight Princess being especially-improved.

I mean, obviously there are illegal things I hate, but there are two legal things I really don't understand: Horror/violence in films - Really don't get it, especially when people freak out over sex/nudity. Cruelty - Like playing pranks etc. I like having a laugh, but I don't understand anything nasty.

Well, this is a bit rubbish. Nintendo hasn't sent me my code for Animal Crossing and the banner no longer appears on the Club Nintendo website either. EDIT - Got it now.