S.C.G

Serebii... you have no idea. So I intended to visit the Badge Arcade earlier in the day as I knew we were to go out visiting shortly on in the day, that didn't happen... it was time to go and I just managed to load up the software before leaving the house. *3DS goes into sleep mode* On the way there I open it up again and then I discover that it's time for the Majora's Mask badges! Eager to redeem my free plays I attempt to press A but because I'm not connected to an access point, I can't redeem them until I get back to within range of one... then I think well I already have the WEP key for the router to where I was going so it'll be fine. It turns out that it doesn't work like that, so instead of actually getting to play something while in the car there and back I had to keep my 3DS in sleep mode because you have to use your free plays there and then or lose them if you exit out of the catcher so as soon as I did get back home I used the "try connecting again" option in the software, all was good and I managed to get three mask badges including Fierce Deity Link which I really wanted. Let this be a cautionary tale to everyone else though, you have to be within the range of wi-fi even to redeem your Free Plays so don't do what I did and caught between access points while actually in the catcher as it means you can't really use your 3DS until you get back home, lest you wish to lose your free plays... well played Nintendo. I still haven't paid a penny towards this software but I'm damned if I'm going to lose any free goes on it!

N-Europe Presents VC Weekly #364 Double Dragon III: The Sacred Stones Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom The Adventures of Bayou Billy After a rather hectic run up to Christmas followed by some much needed relaxation... VC Weekly returns in style with brand new reviews of two Ninja Gaiden titles by Dcubed. And some reminiscing from myself over Double Dragon III along with a bizarre encounter with Bayou Billy. With four 8-bit reviews to choose from, it's a NES extravaganza filled with nostalgia. Enjoy! : peace:

Finally! 1080 Snowboarding and Wave Race on a Nintendo console again. It's a start Nintendo, it's a start. : peace:

I've put in a rather pitiful 12 hours or so? I can't even remember... into this game, I really should put in the time but I'm having too much fun playing other games currently plus I have VC games to catch up with and review. I will say this though, it's definitely an enjoyable game even from the first few hours but I feel as if I have only just scratched the surface. : peace:

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all have a fantastic day filled with food, fun and all things festive. Oh and plenty of gaming as well of course. I've got one of my Gamecube consoles setup, no doubt I'll be feeling nostalgic at some point during the day and I now have easy access to my Gamecube collection.

This is a really interesting discussion, I don't feel the need to grind through it at all. The same applies to games, if an RPG has a really well designed battle system which doesn't force grinding on the player but makes them want to grind then that's fine, I think you'll find that it really does come down to just how invested you are in the overall experience. For instance one of my favourite RPG's of all time is about the grind but in a way which breaks all the rules which previously applie in a way, because that game is Phantasy Star Online in which you can't help but grind because of the ludicrous amounts of exp required in order to advance to the next area and actually stand a chance but it doesn't just come down to that because if you have the right equipment then there really isn't much need to grind yet if you are a really low level character then the chances are that you won't have stuff which is that decent unless you transfer items over from another character. This is where things become interesting because when you create each of your character you get an ID assigned to you depending on what name you gave to them and all of the drops are almost entirely different for each of the section ID's... for instance my main character Dark Avenger is a Viridia in the Hunter class so he tends to end up finding swords sometimes but mostly ranged weapons which are practically useless to him. On the other side of it though I have Metal Mutiny who is an Oran in the Ranger class so those weapons are almost perfect for him and so on, essentially if you want to get the most out of the game then you need to have on the Gamecube version three seperate memory cards as you can have four character slots per card so if in theory you were to create a character of every class and race variant then you are likely to find the game more rewarding from the different drops that you'll get; this is why the game came into its own online as you could trade weapons yet offline you can either solo or play split-screen multiplayer on set missions and areas being that the best missions aren't available any more officially. I go back to it sometimes not only to continue the dream of getting my main character to level 200 but also because of the treasures I might one day find along the way, so yes it is a grind but a very rewarding one indeed and it's why I think one of my favourite games definitely deserves a mention because it doesn't specifically fall into one category or the other, for me at least. It also helps that the real-time combat system is as addictive as anything as well.

I've just got them all now, thanks! (grabbed them now as I remembered I'm going out for a little bit - something of a rarity for me - so they will be ready for when I arrive back later) I wasn't sure how to obtain the stages at first but a press of the miiverse icon sorted it out. And yes I do remember I can't wait to try that one out again in addition to the others.

What happens when Dr. Robotnik, Ganondorf, Bowser and Sephiroth come together to form a band. It should go without saying that this video continues years old spoilers for Final Fantasy VII... probably barely worth menthing at this point but you never know. Anyway, I thought it was pretty awesome. : peace:

Thank you very much indeed. Your timing couldn't be any better either as my brothers and I have been getting into playing multiplayer games over the festive period, last night was Conker's Bad Fur Day on the Rare Replay collection which will continue tonight, followed by Super Smash Bros. Wii U and hopefully FAST Racing: NEO as well. I'll get on it this evening or later this afternoon, after I've finished VC Weekly 364 of course. I can't wait to try them out. : peace:

That's awful Iun. I've never bothered going in for any Secret Santa, mainly because I just assume it will either go wrong or the gift will probably be naff etc... Anyway, I'm sorry to hear that you're feeling down about it; never think that you're nobody though because that's simply not true. You're still the stuff of legends personified to me. :awesome:

Just imagine all the shmup levels you could make with that Fire Koopa Clown Car!

How much did you have to spend though?

@Ugh first aid you must have the largest badge collection on N-Europe, 147 and counting? That's pretty good. I'm catching up though, 127 at last count and not a penny spent... ...yet.

Let the begging begin!

OK well, I bought it. Hopefully a few of us might get around to playing it at some point. : peace:

I wouldn't bother with buying third-party controllers to save money, it will cost you more in the long run when the cheaper controller turns out to be not as good. You'd be better off waiting until you can buy the official Pro Controller, just look out for any deals on it.

Did anyone else buy this though on the PS4? I was considering it at the time but then didn't as I wasn't sure who else was... wasn't it this time last year? Anyway if enough people from here are buying it at that price, I'd consider it.

Thank you @Hero\-of\-Time I'd been meaning to get one of these trophy cards for a while, just never got around to it. I went on site and got everything properly activated, set up an account etc and it's all working now, check my signature. : peace: Hopefully this will motivate me to get back on my Playstation platforms and earning a few more trophies, I will get myself a platinum... one day!

I'll be buying it. It might end up being useless for playing games like FAST Racing NEO thanks to the bizarre ZR & ZL placement - perhaps this game doesn't use them? - but it will be perfect for this and most VC games. : peace: I'm guessing this will be Wii remote powered... anyway it will be great for this game I'm sure and so long as it is no more than the above price with the game then I can see it selling reasonably well.

N-Europe Presents VC Weekly #363 Animal Crossing: Wild World Just a quick review of Animal Crossing: Wild World in this edition. VCW #364 will definitely be more substantial. Enjoy! : peace:

All your base are belong to dazzybee?

Steel Empire AND discounted Ace Attorney Trilogy? Well, there go the two eShop cards I just bought!

You can just see it now... *walks three meters away from the Wii U console* Gamepad is out of range! Or... you'd have to place the gamepad on the window ledge to get some sunlight, then play with the pro controller. Which would be great until it falls off and smashes into pieces. :p

When the first part of Final Fantasy remake comes out I'm sure that the original will be either free on Plus or have a price reduction on it, I can wait until then, besides I already have it digitally on the PS3 so it's no big deal. : peace:

The price of the original game re-release went up? I thought £8.99 was the standard price for it... oh well, will wait until it's free on Plus then. : peace: