Grazza

I do trust Nintendo in this regard. I don't even mind paying a couple of quid for the extra coding (eg. turning Wii Virtual Console games into Wii U ones), as it has to be done.

Fantastic news that we're getting the 60Hz US versions! Nintendo takes a lot of flak nowadays, but this is a great move.

I think that's why I liked them more. I rarely believe the hype about new ways to control, new ways to play, that sort of thing. It's only later when developers calm down and stop worrying about it that we get the real gems.

The Nintendo DS is the only games machine that has totally transformed my opinion of it over the years, going from quite disliking it to genuinely loving it. I remember being quite baffled when it launched back in 2005 - it was the first Nintendo machine I didn't understand. "Try it!" was the mantra. Well, I tried it and still didn't understand it! My local GAME had a demo unit with Wario Ware, which I had a play about with but just didn't like. The months went on and it got Mario Kart and Animal Crossing. Its popularity was growing, but I still didn't see the appeal. Things changed a bit when I saw New Super Mario Bros - that did look good, and I knew I would buy it when I eventually had a DS. Most of all though, Zelda was on its way. Well, I can't miss out on a Zelda, so by October 2007 I had my own DS Lite and Phantom Hourglass. It was a nice game. I enjoyed it, but I was far from convinced that the DS hardware had done anything for Zelda (in fact, I still think the Game Boy and GBA perform better in this regard). Nonetheless, I went on to enjoy several more games, such as the atmospheric Phoenix Wright series (utterly perfect for the DS), various RPG remakes (Final Fantasy III, Dragon Quest IV, V and VI) and the entertaining Star Fox Command. Gradually, I was being won over by the touch screen - if not for game control, at least for the immediacy it can bring to maps and menus. Although I wasn't overly excited when Zelda: Spirit Tracks was announced, when the game actually arrived it was quite the experience, with a great overworld and evocative music. I am convinced Nintendo made the best Zelda they possibly could within the limitations of the game engine/hardware. You a know a Nintendo machine was well-supported though when your Top 3 games aren't even by Nintendo. I was very disappointed when I heard Dragon Quest IX would be on DS and not PS3 (or even PS2). How could they go from the sublime VIII to something more like an N64 title? Well, they did, but it didn't take me any time at all to enjoy the game. More than that though, it was an amazing experience - an experience I'd never have guessed at in those early days of doubting the DS. I'll never forget the year I spent playing it with N-Europe members, exploring Grottoes, fighting bosses and collecting Metal King Armour. But what am I talking about when I say "playing"? It wasn't online! In reality, we were just talking about our experiences and sharing screenshots, but it was so powerful it was as though we were actually playing it together. I should say that by this point I had bought a DSi XL (specifically for Dragon Quest IX). It was worth every penny and I'm still using it, but the reason I mention this is that playing on a DSi XL represents quite a leap from the original DS "Phat". I would never have guessed the handheld would be refined so well. The other reason I mention it is because another of my Top 3 games is actually a DSi exclusive - Shantae: Risky's Revenge. This game is just sublime - simply the best platformer of its type I have played. The other game/series in my Top 3 is Etrian Odyssey. Although I first played the original game on my DS Lite, it is the XL that I played I-III on and most enjoyed them. This is a very intense game - you can't fully complete it without learning all its nooks & crannies. By the time I had done so, I liked this series almost as much as Dragon Quest, and it probably even has a few aspects that are better. So, the DS... I went from apathy (or dislike) to absolutely loving it - proof, if it was needed, that it really is all about the games.

I'm not trying to be a know-it-all, but in case you were wondering: Fire Emblem = turn-based strategy Pikmin = real-time strategy (RTS)

Personally, I think they should start as they mean to go on - ie. launch the Virtual Console with the main 1st-party games everyone wants, then add the 3rd-party ones later (assuming that's not so easy for them). Something like this: SNES - Super Mario World, Super Metroid, A Link to the Past N64 - Super Mario 64, Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask ...Then add Capcom, Konami etc as time goes on. And yeah, at least represent every Nintendo console they plan to support. Personally, I don't think Wii U will feature GameCube games on the Virtual Console though, which might have contributed to their decision to remake Wind Waker.

Surely Spirit Tracks was just a same-engine sequel like Majora's Mask? The New Super Mario Bros games, on the other hand, only appear once per console and are always optimised for that machine (graphics, resolution etc). Personally, I enjoy both approaches as long as the game is good.

Personally, I've already got Luigi's Mansion 2 and will buy Fire Emblem: Awakening and Donkey Kong Country, choosing Animal Crossing: New Leaf as my free one. If Animal Crossing is anything like the GameCube original, I'll enjoy it at first, then start thinking "I could get some money back for this..." With the downloaded version, though, I won't be tempted to sell it!

When live subtitles don't recognise a spoken word, they guess, and substitute something else that is in their database. In this case, the fact his name has a "z" and an "o" in it might have been enough to confuse him with Zooey Deschanel.

Wow, what a fantastic deal! I've got one of those and am interested in three of the others. Does it matter that I registered Luigi's Mansion 2 last week (before this promotion)?

Just building coasters and getting the results can be good. I spent a lot of time doing that in RCT2 (bet Rez did too!), probably more than I played the main game, actually. Whether there's ever another game as good as RCT2 is another matter.

I don't know, I don't normally like the Zelda ones. Was very tempted by the Fire Emblem one though - that looks great.

Wow, I thought "Cold War" by Mark Gatiss was absolutely brilliant! Great atmosphere, humour and something to think about. Overall, I think Matt Smith's 3rd season has been much better than the first two.

Let's face it, A Link to the Past didn't need a proper remake, and it seems Nintendo realised this some of the way along. Oh, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't mind it higher-res, sharper, smoother, that sort of thing, but I was thinking more "Four Swords Adventures" or "3D Classics" rather than rendered to look 3D. FSA on GameCube was basically like a thrill ride through the best-ever 2D depiction of Hyrule. With that in mind, Nintendo's best bet with this is to go all-out and make a game we'll love on its own terms. Take all the best ideas from Link to the Past/Link's Awakening/Minish Cap and just build on them - loads of destroyable walls, secrets, fun-but-uncessary upgrades for all your items etc. Right, having watched this, I have to take back any reservations I had about it (reckon I was just tired yesterday). It looks (and sounds) absolutely brilliant! Now I've watched this I just cannot wait to play it.

No strong reason, but I think it stayed full price for a long time, didn't it, like New Super Mario Bros Wii? There were a few Wii platformers I missed out on/wasn't that bothered about, but I am looking forward to this on 3DS.

Yeah, but if it was, wouldn't there be more chance of Tennant coming back (in the lead role, I mean)? The way they're doing it makes it seem like it really is just a one-off.

Yeah, I don't really mind things like that. If I had time to play it and I could, I would, but then I'm also looking forward to Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons and, of course, this.

Yeah, I have to say I agree with what @Jonnas and @RedShell are saying. I just don't smell a rat with Pikmin 3. The last delay I was annoyed at was Twilight Princess, but I genuinely don't think they've done anything like that since. We can argue perhaps Nintendo polishes games too much nowadays - after all, they used to seem to go from crude to finished pretty quickly; now they go from polished, to more polished, to even more polished! But the most likely explanation is that Nintendo is simply struggling with HD, which hurts them more than anyone. Let's hope they get used to it and we're all blown away by many more classics.

I really want to play A Link to the Past on the 3DS now. It's not that I haven't played it (the SNES original was my first Zelda, and I've also owned the GBA cart), it's just that I'd really love to to play it on my 3DS - either a 3D Classics version or just the SNES original via Virtual Console.

Yes, I wonder about that. Take this Eiji Aonuma quote from January 2012: http://mynintendonews.com/2012/01/09/nintendo-working-on-new-zelda-game-for-nintendo-3ds/ At the time I took that as a blatant hint that Zelda 3DS = Wind Waker style. However, Aonuma also refers to Skyward Sword as having a "sailing time", so perhaps I was getting ahead of myself. Assuming it was a hint though, I wonder what this means now. Did they shelve a Wind Waker-type Zelda for the 3DS, are they still working on one or was he just referring to the remake of the original game on Wii U? Quote from @Serebii: So, if we take a Link to the Past remake and a Link to the Past sequel as meaning the same thing (after all, it sounds like Nintendo were very undecided about which it would be), it sounds to me like there was another 3DS Zelda which Aonuma was more focused on. I hope it still exists.

Perhaps that was the plan all along. E3 2013 will open with Miyamoto saying "I really am going to throw the Pikmin this time!" The audience will wonder which of them will be lucky enough to catch it as the Pikmin flies through the air... only to sprout wings and fly off. Miyamoto: "Pikmin 3 has new flying type in it!!"

Never played this on the Wii. I won't lie, I'm just going to jump straight in with Easy Mode!

I do actually quite like these! They were great to play with four GameCube controllers. Whether I'll ever get more than two 3DSes in the same place... probably not.

It was a decent enough Nintendo Direct, just not a Mega Show. Personally, I'm not one to ask for "New IP". I tend to think they got all their best ideas out years ago, and I don't really mind them just building on those. OK, sometimes it's natural to make a new franchise, such as when the GameCube allowed (more than) 100 characters on screen, and so we got Pikmin. Other than that, I don't really want them to keep making new franchises just for the sake of it. The reason the reliance on Mario does set alarm bells ringing for me is that, yes, they may be different games, but they are making iteration after iteration in the same series, whilst ignoring other (arguably better) series. There was a Yoshi's Island on the DS, for example, and now there's another one. There were two Mario & Luigi RPGs on the DS, now there's another one. And yet there wasn't a 2D Metroid on the DS, nor is there sign of one yet. It's as though Nintendo no longer believes in some of its best ideas, or realises how awesome those GBA Metroids were. It's as though Iwata doesn't really have the confidence to stand there and present anything like that, in case the "new audience" doesn't like it as much as people in Luigi costumes. That's the real issue for me. But as I say, there was good to this Nintendo Direct. It's reassuring to know Oracle of Ages/Seasons and Bravely Default are on their way. The new Legend of Zelda game is very exciting, and I know I would have been absolutely ecstatic if it had just looked the part a bit more.

A Link to the Past = Top Tier 2D Wind Waker = Top Tier 3D