Grazza

One of the things I like about the 2D Zeldas/older Zeldas is that they have gameplay elements which don't necessarily match the story. If it's fun, it's in. I'm not saying newer Zeldas have gritty realism, but there generally has to be a reason for everything. The story has to make "sense" in a basic way.

I never gave my thoughts on the last series, but I'd be sorry to see Matt Smith leave. He's a fantastic actor and made the Doctor likeable. Personally, I never liked the overcomplication or "dark fairytale" tone of Steven Moffat's first two series, but I always liked Matt Smith himself. Series 3 got it just right, in my opinion. My favourite episodes were The Power of Three, Hide and Cold War (Ice Warrior was very cool). Strax made me laugh my head off in the last episode and Clara was just perfect all the way through. So, overall, I'm not keen on a shake-up just as they've perfected the formula!

It definitely supercedes the original, in my opinion, even if there are some compromises here and there. There's no way I'd buy an original instead of an XL now. If you're going to carry it in a bag, that'll be fine. The only way I've found it more cumbersome is that it doesn't fit in my trouser pocket as well (it fits, but it's harder to walk).

Between Dungeons 2 and 3 (Oracle of Ages)... fetch quest bonanza!

Link's Awakening is the best 2D Zelda, in my opinion. It's simple, original and has a charm of its own. When you play it, you are in a fantasy world. After a day of playing Oracle of Ages, I still like it but feel it's a bit too "fussy" to challenge Link's Awakening. This is due to the dual world mechanic (I know they're popular, like LttP's, but I prefer Zelda without them). It's also strange to see a game so influenced by Ocarina of Time (story- and character-wise), but built on a pre-OOT game engine! Still, it's always good to have more games based on Link's Awakening (mechanically). It's rock hard too, by the way. I don't mind admitting I found the puzzles in the 2nd dungeon quite difficult, and I can't work out how to beat its boss either.

One of the funniest things I've seen in ages. The bit with the donkey made me laugh so hard!

I made a thread for the Zeldas because I thought they're bound to have enough in them to justify their own thread. Loving it (Ages) so far!

Thought we could definitely make use of these games having their own thread. Downloaded both today. Starting playing Ages. It's genius, I honestly love it already. The beauty of the 2D Zeldas is their rigidity: how the d-pad keeps movement to left, right, up or down; and how the overworld itself is based on rigid grids and squares. How destroyable walls lead to hidden passages, that in turn let you access portions of the map you've seen but not been able to reach. I'll be honest, it appeals to my obsessive side, as you cut every bit of grass, dig every square etc! Think this is going to be a good one...

I'm playing it, I just didn't want to be negative. I've completed the first two worlds and am still trying to get into it. My main issue is the zoomed-out camera/lower resolution. It's just so clear this is a port, and not an enhanced one either (I'm surprised Nintendo didn't optimise it like the GBA's SNES ports). At times everything is so small, it's crazy. The game was designed for full-SD resolution and it just doesn't scale-down to the 3DS. The other issue is the framerate. I knew it wasn't going to be 60fps, but at times it seems way less than 30fps to me. Far less. Also, is it my ears or is the music far too quiet? Compared to every single other game/bit of software on the handheld, I mean. But don't get me wrong, I'm sure many people will get a lot of enjoyment from this game (which is why I didn't want to be negative). The atmosphere and inventiveness are amazing at times. I also love the vine-clinging and barrel-blasting. It's just that I think it could have been so much better if they'd optimised it for the 3DS's lower-res screen and locked the framerate at 60fps, however much that would have simplified the visuals.

Does anyone know what time of day Oracle of Ages and Seasons will become available? The eShop lists them as "New For 30th May" (or whatever), but they're not on there.

"Spectrum" makes me think it could play games from many different platforms. It would be good if it was a console that could download every Sega game ever made, drawing from all its arcade boards and consoles. Yes, even the licensed ones they can't possibly own the rights to any more!

Personally, I bought Luigi's Mansion 2, Fire Emblem: Awakening and Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D, and am getting Animal Crossing: New Leaf as my free one. With hindsight, I would only have got Fire Emblem (which is awesome) and (we'll see) Animal Crossing, but you don't know until you've played them.

It's definitely more mainstream (comes from the days when the graphics were very impressive for a SNES game), so yeah, think you might be right there!

Yeah, you've just got to prioritise what you really want. I know for me, anything Zelda or WayForward is Day 1.

Are the Mega Man X games any more forgiving than the NES-style/NES entries? I like the look of them, but just couldn't get on with Mega Man 9.

Thanks so much. I just knew you'd gone off to do that. I can perform some of the special moves, it's just that I don't know which ones at which moments.

I love Ulala (Ooh la la - great humour!) The way she came in dancing as all the Sega characters attacked cracked me up, especially the bloke from Space Harrier! It's bonkers! Do you think you can complete the demo with just standard attacks, if you time them well? I don't really understand the special moves, cross attacks, supports etc.

I really love the look of this new GCI woodie. It looks so neat and fun:

I didn't understand it either! So, it's a turn-based strategy with real-time battles (similar to the Tales series). You do have to be somewhat competent at fighting games, I think, as the special moves require fairly complex button combinations. Whilst I'm baffled at the moment, it could be good if I get to grips with it. The presentation is too good to ignore!

I agree, but I hope they don't feel that's their only option. In my opinion, their fastest route to respect would be to make more games like F-Zero GX, Metroid Prime and (considering how excited we all were for it) Twilight Princess.

I think they meant that Xbox One itself is a metaphorical watercooler, particularly the TV features. In other words, you actually share thoughts, ideas and programme suggestions over the internet like how you do when you're standing next to a real watercooler. Anyway, what this means for Nintendo... It means there's a new power tier, one that Nintendo probably won't be involved in. From what I'm seeing on Facebook, the show worked. There is buzz about Xbox One, in the way that there has never been about the PS4 or Wii U. Gamers know the PS4 will be good, but the "Xbox" brand now enjoys the loyal following Sony once had with the PlayStation and PS2. Reminds me of the days when I tried to support the Saturn and Dreamcast. What Nintendo must do is just get on with making great games and prove that you can sell a machine if the price/package is good enough, regardless of the competition. I also hope they can achieve profitability as soon as possible - if Nintendo can always do this, there can be no real argument that they can't carry on what they're doing.

I don't think I've ever bought one of their games apart from Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath on the Xbox.

Yeah, I did wonder why Greece entered such a good song, considering what would happen if they won it. A lot of songs are all chorus, but this had a great verse, bridge and chorus. I loved the way it built excitement. Petra Mede was fantastic. I am always in awe (and a little bit ashamed) when someone's English is so good and it's not their native language. She was funny too. Graham Norton expressed a lot of respect for her on the commentary. By the way, I genuinely had this dream last night. I went to watch a Eurovision show (it was like a tour) and the halfway act was 2010's entry from Armenia: The singer came up to me and touched my arm. I was so excited I ran around shouting "The Apricot Stone woman touched my arm!"

I'm really not that surprised. I know a lot of people thought the snub was political (and I haven't discarded that possibility myself), but maybe, maybe, EA has developed new game engines that either a) don't work on the Wii U, or b) take so much effort to pair-down, it's not really worth it compared to potential sales? I don't give two hoots about EA, but you have to acknowledge the reality of where the games industry is.

Glad I wasn't the only one.