Mike

I agree - it needs to be out here by the end of June at the latest, otherwise we won't be getting it until at least September, I'd bet, what with Nintendo's bizarre refusal to release anything when people are off school / uni and actually want new games to play. And I agree with you, skarmachild, part of what made The Wind Waker such a let down (compared to other Zeldas) was that enemies hardly did any damage, and heart refills were all over the place. I also agree that the dungeons were far too linear - I much explored exploring the N64 games' dungeons. I just hope that, as the forest temple is the first one in the game, it's the easiest, and later ones get much harder / less linear.

To be honest, they're both pretty much the same game, except you play a different character and the story is slightly different in XD. If I was to recommend one, I'd say Colosseum, if only because XD refers to events in it. Gimo80 is right about them being nowhere near as good as the GBA games, though - the way XD has turned out has certainly made me trust Reggie less, what with his, 'it's a proper RPG like Ruby and Saphhire!' comments..

1. Ocarina of Time The first Zelda game I ever played, and one that could have so easily passed me by. For some reason, I didn't like the sound of it from reviews, but I borrowed it off a friend, and got completly hooked. The graphics, the puzzles, the story, the length, the interactivity... There was so much to do, and it never got boring. I don't think any game will ever surpass the feeling I had whilst playing this. 2. Metroid Prime 3. Super Mario 64 4. Super Mario World 5. Super Smash Bros. Mêlée Unoriginal, ain't I? :p

DS VIP pack - it was great to get it a month before its UK release. Mario Controller - I haven't used it yet, because it's been a bit quiet on the GameCube front, but I'm getting Pokemon XD tomorrow, so I'll try it out then.

Since when has the fourth dimension been smell? :p

Another thought, if this is true, and I still don't see any reason for us to think it is, would it be the first game in which Link is ambidextrous? Or would we have to hold the Revolution remote in our left hand (the hand Link usually uses for his sword)?

Until Nintendo confirm this, I can't see it being more than speculation. I mean, the front of the magazine screams 'Revolution Release Date Revealed! Exclusive!!' at you, and inside, it says, 'Well.. It's the end of 2006 sometime... Probably November.' As if we couldn't have guessed that ourselves. If you want my opinion, NGC are just hedging their bets and making a few informed guesses to fill out their 2006 preview. Because, let's face it, there aren't exactly many confirmed facts about what Nintendo's doing after March next year yet, are there? And a preview of Zelda with 'confirmed' release dates and Revolution compatability sounds a lot more exciting that, 'Play Animal Crossing and Partners In Time months after the Americans! Wario Ware: Twisted - Out over a year late! We might even get Electroplankton, Chibi Robo and Metroid Prime Pinball if we're lucky'!

I didn't realise they had an F-Zero machine at the Trocadero. When I went to London a few months ago I had a good look there, just in case they had one, but I didnt spot it.

Thanks for letting us know that! That's only about half an hour away from me.. I'll try to get over there some time in the holidays.

That's about as likely as Nintendo letting Sony release all the Mario, Zelda and Metroid games on the PS3...

Great quotes! I'm pleased to see that so many developers have got excting plans for the Revolution.

I'll see if I can find a copy of this at the weekend. Speaking of NOM, though, I just got the very first issue of it through the post today, which I won off eBay for £4.00.

It's my favourite anime of all time.

I've hardly bought any GameCube games this year. Out of all the ones I did get, I'd strongly recommend DK: Jungle Beat. Starfox Assault was all right as well, and Mario Power Tennis kept me occupied for a while. Apart from that, the only other games I got were Mario Party 6 and Donkey Konga 2, which I'd only really recommend if you haven't played any of the other games in the series.

Brilliant work, Sprout, I'm really enjoying these. Cant wait to se who you cast as the three ghosts.

I can't think of any that haven't been suggested millions of times before, but personally, I'd like to see Wario, Waluigi, Olimar, a space pirate, Darunia, one of the Wario Ware characters, and, to up the number of female characters so my girlfriend would want to play more, maybe Toadette, Misty, Princess Ruto and Cackeletta (from Superstar Saga). What I don't want, like people have already said, are clones of existing characters (although extra clones are better than nothing at all, I suppose) and any non-Nintendo characters.

We should get Reggie in return.

Oh well. I suppose we should be used to getting our hopes up about Nintendo speeches and not finding anything new by now.

Still no news on this? It's already mid-afternoon in Japan..

Congatulations. You say it took 'a while' to pass - how long was it? I was taking weekly lessons for two years before I managed it. Now that was a good feeling when the examiner told me I'd passed.

Every so often you might be lucky enough to get something more interesting than a game, too. I got a Mario GameCube controller through the post last week, which I'd bought from the stars catalogue. I probably won't use it until I get my next GC game (at Christmas), but it looks nice next to my GameCube anyway.

I'm not getting that message anymore - now I'm getting an 'Internal Server Error'. I wonder what's going on..

I'll probably get it if ever it gets released over here - it looks pretty fun.

The last game I completed was Kirby: Canvas Curse, back in August. The only game I've really played since then is the 'uncompletable' Nintendogs.

Just got back from the film and I absolutely loved it. GOF is my favourite of the books, and I wasn't expecting the film to do it justice at all, but I'm pleased to say it did. Good pacing, and just the right amount of seriousness (e.g. reaction to Cedric dying) and comedy (Hagrid touching up Madame Maxime; Moaning Myrtle, etc.). Best film of the yeare so far for me. I agree with CompSci that Dumbledore just wasn't right in the film, though. He's a bit too grumpy for my liking - I just picture him being how he looks on the back of the first book - kindly and endearing, yet wise.