S.C.G

Literally just pre-ordered mine. If you are buying the limited edition for £49.99 and you add a cheap keyring to take it over £50 then you can get a free 2016 calander (worth £7.99) with the following codes... KARTCALENDAR1 MARIOCALENDAR1 ZELDACALENDAR1 CROSSINGCALENDAR1 Worth it if you needed or wanted a 2016 calendar. : peace:

Ah OK, I take it we should see a pre-order up on the Nintendo Store UK within the month then hopefully.

How handy, that's when my next holiday from work is. Where/when can I pre-order? : peace:

So erm... yeah. Even after... *Sigh* And to think I was doing so well... The rabbit made me do it... the Rabbit MADE ME do it... THE RABBIT MADE ME DO IT!!!! But they look so nice on the home screen, and it came with that - incriminating - theme for FREE! But not free... as it was really for spending £1.80 but still. I don't know what to say, I have no defence apart from I love pixel art consoles. I got the entire set apart from the SNES... and the rabbit was there saying to me... Rabbit - "You need that one to complete the set skip... buy some free plays! you can get all the Game Boys and the SNES in just five plays... go on skip, you know you want to" *rabbit gives that doughy-eyed look* Me - "Well... I don't like the idea but OK! just this once" A few minutes and £1.80 later... Me - "What have I done!" Rabbit - "The contract is sealed!" *rabbit gives the evil-eyed look* You win this round Nintendo...

Amazing, it looks like the concept for Super Mario Maker and indeed simplified user-created content and game-making was something which existed in a patent by Nintendo as early as the Nineties... Just imagine if that had come out when it did, no doubt it would have been expensive but still, I wonder if any working prototypes were ever made? Probably not but still, pretty amazing stuff... : peace:

Me too, but then I kind of expected it, I haven't played in a while. Thanks for the games though, I really enjoyed it.

This is a very good point, in my head I was thinking that it would be an extra standalone dungeon but the thought of parts of one game carrying over via the amiibo is quite exciting stuff. Kind of like perhaps in the same way as Stop 'n Swop was going to be implemented between Banjo-Kazooie & Tooie on the N64 but in a more robust and functional way thanks to the NFC technology employed by the figures... Perhaps carrying over a new key item from Twilight Princess HD which would enable you to discover a "secret" area hidden deep within the expansive overworld of Zelda Wii U. An exciting prospect indeed, one thing is for certain, these next few months are going to prove very interesting indeed depending on what imformation crops up. : peace:

Oh that's true, OK then... Tales of Billy Hatcher's Monster Hunter Stories it is then! On a sidenote I absolutely adored Billy Hatcher! Wouldn't it be amusing if there were sets of crossover armours for this game consisting of Tales of... and Billy Hatcher themed costumes, I'd buy them.

Yeah, personally I don't have too much of a problem with it being that it is extra content and I buy the amiibo figures anyway, but you can just see it now as there will be lots of people who will buy just the game and be expecting that extra content to be included without having to unlock it using an amiibo. I understand what you're saying about dlc practices as well, themes for Xbox 360? I think I paid for a few, didn't have a problem with it, mostly I tended to get the pre-order bonus ones, on the 3DS I have bought a few themes but only the ones I really like, I don't have a problem with either company doing it but you're right there are some who would say that other companies are evil for doing it and yet Nintendo can do no wrong when they end up doing the same thing essentially. On the whole I think Nintendo have been fairly decent with the dlc, Mario Kart 8 leads the way in this, Super Smash Bros. isn't perfect in its payment model but it's still not bad and at least offers a discount. Should there be a way of buying this extra dungeon for say... £3 though? For people who want the dungeon but really don't want the amiibo figure.

The way in which the amiibo use is implied could mean that certain Zelda amiibo just give you say... three hearts every hour or so, it's open to interpretation. Also things like Arrows are usually quite easy to obtain, so I can't see myself using this unless I actually got stuck without them which virtually never happens. Do I like the idea of them being included? Not really... Am I completely set against it? Not particularly... Would I have liked them to have been used in another way? Yes... If it was me, I would have incorporated an in-game trophy system similar to the one in The Wind Waker which uses either amiibo or rupees in-game so that you could have a "go" on a contrption in-game which is like a Medievil capsule machine, which still limits you to a certain amount per day no matter how you play, that I would have been OK with. The extra dungeon is cool but then... should we be limiting it to just people who only have the amiibo? Sheikah is right in that we should at least be questioning this kind of integration, not necessarilly condemning it completely but at the very least asking ourselves... Is this really what we want Nintendo games to become in the long-term? I think a Thread-Rip is required here, starting with this page. : peace:

RIP Alan Rickman Hans Gruber is gone... I know he's been in many other films but that was one of his most memorable roles in the original Die Hard, for me personally anyway. I'm saddened to hear of his passing as I'm sure many others will be. What a way to start 2016. :/

The style looks so amazing. But yeah... show us some gameplay soon please Capcom. Also, did anyone else think that they'd taken inspiration from the Tales of... series for some of their character designs in particula? There's definitely at least chibi Lloyd and Zelos in their from Tales of Symphonia... it's undeniable, to me at least.

They are the sort of figures that I wouldn't pay a lot for because I don't really have any interest in the game they are attacked to, but if at any point down the line I happened to find them at a car boot or something... I'd pay a couple of pounds just to have them. This may sound a bit harsh but, I just never liked the idea of Skylanders... but then I don't think the game series has ever been aimed at me anyway so this makes sense. It's still a good move for Nintendo though but I hope they don't make a habit of it... don't go including Samus or Link in the next game for instance complete with Samus' Gunship and Epona just to make me think about buying the figures. No really Nintendo, please don't.

For some reason I still find it mind-blowing that Mario Kart 8 is 12-player online, I know that technically you could have up to 16 players on Mario Kart Double Dash on a LAN with a lot of tehnical setting up but not many would have got to experience that I'd imagine. Still though, 12 player online which works well most of the time, it really is an achievement and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here. : peace: For now though Mario kart 8 surely has many more years left in it, so I can't wait to rejoin the league tonight, I'll be there, writing myself a reminder now so I don't forget.

N-Europe Presents VC Weekly #366 Game & Watch Gallery Advance Polarium Advance VC catch-up week continues with a reviews of my personal favourite Game & Watch Gallery and the lesser-known Polarium Advance. I hope you'll enjoy reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. : peace:

Yep, just enter the code and redeem it, I'm OK until March 2017 now. :awesome: Now I've just got to get into playing my Playstation platforms more, which I will be doing this year.

...roasted on an open fire?

Let's face it, anyone buying the limited edition Pokémon consoles really isn't going to be bothered about the fact that the game is pre-installed, these are Virtual Console games so they will be £5 - £7 each at the most surely? It's not like when bundles have full retail digital titles on them worth nearly £30... When I purchased a Majora's Mask New 3DS XL, I already knew I was still going to buy the physical game anyway, the price of the console was just what it was - to me anyway - the inclusion of a digital title doesn't really affect the value either way surely? Maybe it's just me... Granted it would be nice to have had them as redeemable codes to give you options but I can't see that being a deal-breaker in this instance.

I'm glad to hear that it's appreciated. My thanks to you both and Hazel for giving me the direct inspiration for it. : peace: I genuinely can't finish a Kirby stage without at the very least singing the Kirby Dance Song in my head... ...sometimes it is sung out loud without me being conciously aware of it. Either way it only adds to ones enjoyment of Kirby games. Speaking of which... my Kirby folder on the Wii U is ever-growing, there still must be more Kirby titles yet to be released though? I can think of... Kirby's Avalanche (released on Wii VC but not Wii U) Kirby's Tilt 'n Tumble (GBC the tilt mechanism could be emulated?) Kirby's Dream Collection (Not released in EU, technically not VC but still... digital Wii release?) Kirby's Air Ride (when we get GC games, not if) Any that I have foolishly forgotten about or is that about it for the Kirby titles which might feasibly get released?

N-Europe Presents VC Weekly #365 Kirby Mass Attack Kirby: Power Paintbrush After a bit of a hiatus, here are two Kirby reviews to start this year in the pink. Enjoy! : peace:

Time to rejoin the league I think. : peace: IN!

Name: Nintendo XS -eXtra System - (Home Console) Nintendo XP - eXtra Portable - (Handheld) Graphical capability: Superior to Xbox One/PS4 on parity with a reasonably high-end PC (Home Console) Wii U in portable form (Handheld) Controller style: Home console has an enhanced GC controller with additional triggers, possibly similar to the patent as well(?) Portable console is a smaller gamepad with improved form factor. The gimmick: Home console base unit can function independently as a device which will play all future Nintendo games in addition to backwards compatability with Wii U software - can still pair your old game pad with it or the new handheld as an option - while everything else will be easily downloadable on the newly improved Virtual Console which will have - hopefully - every major release from NES, SNES, N64, GC, Wii, GB/C/A, DS, 3DS(?) you can choose which platform you want to play them on, all previous purchases linked to NNID carry over, return of MD and TG-16 games(?) new VC categories through Sega partnership including Saturn and Dreamcast. Hard drive size: 1TB SSD home console 128GB built in memory portable console Launch lineup: Zelda Wii U/NXS (NXS version will be superior), Metroid X (home console) Super Metroid DX (portable console), Super Mario Universe (home console) Advance Wars: X (portable console), some crappy Ubisoft filler title which will fail to meet expectations in some way - it's tradition! -, Resident Evil main title, Super Smash Bros Ultimate Edition (port for both consoles) amiibo title. No. of Bundles available at launch: Bundles of home console or portable with Metroid games, bundles of both with mario and zelda, mega bundle with both consoles and all nintendo games. Price: £199.99 Home console, with a game £129.99 Portable console, with a game, £429.99 for Both consoles with All Nintendo games, other bundles somewhere inbetween. Release date: November 18th 2016 I'll be amazed if any of this comes true but, I thought it's worth guessing just to see. : peace:

It will be nice when something solid is actually announced. Speculation is all well and good but it only seems to lead to unrest due to the uncertainty of it all. At this point it doesn't feel like much fun and I'm usually one for finding enjoyment in discussing what may or may not become reality. Personally I think it's likely that Nintendo will end up surprising us all again in an unexpected way but hopefully in the sense that it will be a pleasant surprise which many of us will be able to appreciate even if it doesn't end up pleasing everyone, which is an unrealistic aim anyway. One thing is for certain, 2016 will be a year to remember in gaming. : peace:

While I can understand Nintendo wanting to retain an image which is faithful to the original, I suppose it would be nice to have the option of removing the filter... Though I don't think it's caused me too many issues yet, certainly not on the TV screen anyway; I'm just happy enough to have some 60Hz N64 games finally at my disposal. : peace: