S.C.G

Day 9 Scary Moment Ecco the Dolphin - Open Ocean Well, regarding what @bob said about Thalassophobia (I didn't know this was the name for it) maybe this one will make more sense than I thought... Plenty of moments in Ecco the Dolphin were unsettling, especially playing this game growing up, but Open Ocean has to be the ultimate 'nope!' moment.

I've only just started listening to the Podcast now and I should have the latest episode promoted on the main site later today but... I had to have a guess at the tune because it seems like a familiar one.

It's cool but, if they can do this, then there is no reason surely why they can't make an arcade compilation for the Switch as well. Even if they split it into two volumes, it would sell.

Day 8: Best Musical Moment Perfect Dark - Mission 5: Air Base Espionage If you've played it, you know the bit... second objective, music changes, mission changes from mostly stealth to all-out carnage as you frantically try and complete your main objective, which is boarding Air Force One. If you haven't played it before, then definitely do that, but here's a video of the mission... It's at 3:40 where the music changes, but it's worth watching the full video, though it's even better to experience it in-game. Fun fact, @Gadwin and I played the XBLA version last night after finding out that Perfect Dark Zero has had its servers shut down for multiplayer, but the original Perfect Dark? It still works, all modes including Co-Operative which runs at full screen for both players online and it's great fun.

Day 7: Favourite Ranged Combat Panzer Dragoon Orta Because there's nothing quite like taking out enemies from a distance, on the back of a dragon. The game still looks incredible today as well, even when compared to a lot of recent titles.

I read it as 'Sega Atrocity Mini' as well... and in a way, that would be more accurate. It's nice that they are making an Arcade Mini system, but it is an atrocity if a lot of these games then don't make it to the Sega Ages collection on the Switch. Then again, it depends who is handling the emulation on this thing...

Day 6: Most Relaxing Navigation Super Monkey Ball Ready? Go! There's something innately calming about the way in which you navigate the stages by actually tilting them in Super Monkey Ball, I can't think of any other game series which has a mechanic quite like it, or at least which is programmed in the same way. It's a game where you just know what to do immediately and it starts off by slowly introducing you to this mechanic, getting you used to it as rolling your simian in a sphere around the stage becomes a mesmerising joy. Until you get to the nightmare stages at the end that is, then it all goes to hell. Some speedrunners make even those stages look quite chilled though...

It all makes a difference, and building up a routine and sticking to it can be challenging, but it's nice when it pays off. Thanks. Indoor exercise is definitely not the most enthralling activity, I tend to just do a few light exercises while inbetween other household tasks, or while listening to music or watching a video, which can work well as I've heard that if you're actively doing something while watching a video, or listening to audio then you'll tend to actively take in more of the information. I've no idea how true that is, but there might be something in it. In any case, it's nice to have a bit of exercise to do during the day, though it's also nice to have something to distract from it as well and I've found that it does help, as when you go without exercising for a while, you kind of think 'Eh, I don't really need to' but then when you get into a routine, even if it's just quarter of an hour of focused, light exercise; it really does help.

Update on this, the cancellation has gone through and I'm relieved as although it is an amazing console for what it is, it is a lot of money for something which I probably wouldn't use that much, I already have a Mega SG and a Super NT, both amazing machines which I will use more when I've had a proper chance to reorganise things.

Ah, that's what that is, in that case, it's pefect, as it's a setup which fulfils its purpose of being able to just play games easily, while looking pretty nice at the same time. Are you going to be playing any classic games on it later?

It's a shame, but Nintendo is going to continue to be Nintendo... we can't blame them for wanting to protect their IP's but, at the same time, they won't get as prompt coverage as they would have gotten if they had been a bit more trusting with a few more sites. N-Europe will still cover Nintendo's games of course, in the case of a lot of games, many of us will still be buying the major releases and of course, we will endeavour to get written reviews up on site as close to just past the release date as possible. (bar a few notable exceptions, such as Animal Crossing which we are still planning on covering, just after a bit of time has passed) We've been an independent Nintendo site for a long time now, for the majority of the site's Twenty-Two year history, so I can't say that this is going to impact on us that much, but I do recognise that this is a significant change in policy for Nintendo, one which we're not that pleased about, but we recognise and respect it for what it is; a policy change. At least we all know where we stand, N-Europe will continue to provide Nintendo-based news, reviews and features when we can, we have been getting some codes from indie publishers, from which some fantastic reviews have been produced, we have some more in the works and I'm very grateful for the reviews of titles which some of our reviewers have written from games which they purchased themselves; such as the recent Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition review written by @Glen-i which I've just noticed, has received a really nice comment from someone only a day ago, which is really excellent to see. There is mention of Metacritic in the comment, this is something which we are actively looking into and while we make no promises, there is a possibility of N-Europe reviews returning to being ranked on Metacritic, which would be useful for the site, if it happens but it is by no means the be and end all. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to N-Europe in any form. That includes staff members, forum members, anyone who passively reads, comments or just posts the odd update here and there, or news tips... anything and everything really, you're all part of a community which I'm grateful for and proud to be a part of, so let's do our best to stick together, look out for each other and enjoy playing games and sharing thoughts about them whenever we get a chance to. [/AnotherOneOfThosePostsWhichAlwaysTurnsOutToBeLongerThanItProbablyNeedsToBe]

Nice setup @Happenstance I like that there's a theme around it as well, it looks really clean and it's probably really easy to just grab one of those consoles, a few games off the shelf, then play within a few moments; so it's really functional as well. If it was me, I'd be tempted to stick two more units on top of those units so that you have more room for more games and stuff, but that would defeat the purpose of the setup. Relly cool to see, thanks for sharing it.

Happy Birthday @Goafer and congrats on reaching your exercise goal. (if that's the term, Idk I just wanted to say, well done) - - - - - I've been doing a few exercises recently, just really small weights, trying to maintain what strength I have and build it up slightly. I manged to put on a bit of weight recently as well, which is a good thing as I was below 8St and I'm now just above it. (I used to be really underweight from the rubbish routine I used to have when I was in work, which was what lead to health issues. A year on and I'm still underweight but a lot better)

I'd definitely be interested to see what your new retro collection setup looks like. I'll take a picture of the Sega Shelf when I get around to tidying it up a bit. All my SNES game boxes and carts are put away at the moment, no real room for them and I don't even have that many. I still need to downsize some of my games a bit though... it's an ongoing process.

If you decide to do this, please let me know, I'd pay you for the game boxes, postage or however much you want for each, genuine Mega Drive boxes are getting trickier to come by. Also, I do get it... I've often thought to myself about how much space certain boxes for games take up, but there is something nice about picking a box up off the shelf to play a game. I bet all your Mega Drive collection looks amazing on a shelf though with all the different logos on the spines of the boxes and all that.

Day 5 - 3D Platformer. Price: GB £8.99, EU €9.99 Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo EAD Released: 1997 System: N64 Super Mario 64 isn't just another game, it's one of the single most important games made within the past double decade, helping to not only create a brand new genre in the 3D Platformer, but it has also in moving gaming along in multiple directions. From the main hub of Peach's Castle at the very start, it's amazingly well designed. You make your way around this incredibly well crafted 3D world, opening doors with different numbers of stars on them, the more stars you obtain, the more of those doors you'll be able to unlock, and if you get enough stars to open the big door on that level of the castle, that's when you'll get to fight Bowser in progressively difficult boss battles. Before that though, earning most of the stars is something which is achieved through the game worlds, which are contained within magic paintings that Mario can jump into. You are then tasked with getting a specific star, but the beauty of the games design is that it allows you to collect most of the stars in any order you choose. The first area - Bob-omb Battlefield - is a masterfully created playground, which teaches you all of the vital mechanics of the game, such as running, jumping, holding onto ledges, plus much more besides. The design is so striking, should you choose to make your way straight to the top of the spiral mountain - a design which went on to influence another N64 platformer - then you'll see most of the level, yet even after you beat King Bob-omb - by picking him up and throwing him - the fun has only just begun, as you'll be able to fire Mario out of cannons, throw exploding bob-ombs at destructable objects, or even go for the challenge of obtaining one hundred coins. All of this plus much more besides is capable purely within the first game world, which goes some way to showing you just how much scope this platformer from 1997 still has. Though you can grab the stars in any order, you'll get small updates for reaching a certain amount of stars, letting you know it's possible to progress to the next part of the castle if you want to. If you're a completionist who doesn't like the idea of moving on too far before fully completing an area, then you can choose to go that route too; it's likely you will find yourself going between two or three different worlds before you activate the three different coloured caps, which grant Mario different powers. Perhaps the most famous of all, is the winged cap which allows the portly plumber to soar through the skies in certain environments, this is probably the most fun of them all, effectively selling the game on its strength alone, being that it's so proudly displayed on the box. You also have the Metal Cap, which makes Mario metallic in appearance, in addition to making him heavier allowing traversal along the seabeds of aquatic areas. And finally, the Vanish Cap which... wait, where did he go? Ah he's on the other side of the previously impassable wall! Each of these caps are time-limited however, which adds a nice bit of strategy to the proceedings. Clearly at the height of technical brilliance for its time, featuring fully realised three-dimensional characters set in environments, all built from the ground-up, it was unlike anything gamers had seen before, as it still very much represented Mario, albeit brought to life in a new way which has now become more than familiar to the audiences of today. In this modern era, it's surely testament to how amazing this title is that it still has its own unique identity, whereas the more recent Mario titles suffer from similarity at least in some ways, Super Mario 64 still appears to be tireless and timeless, in addition to coming across even clearer on the Wii U than it ever did in the Wii VC version, which now looks decidedly dated. Super Mario 64 features what is perhaps one of the most iconic soundtracks in videogame history, the legendary composer Koji Kondo makes his mark in this masterpiece, in the only way he knows how by creating some of the most marvelous melodies ever committed to cartridge. Incidentally, due to size restraints at the time, many of the tracks are recycled as they get used for multiple worlds, this is especially notable later on in the game where we have the same track used for both Tick Tock Clock, in addition to Rainbow Ride, not to mention the same track being used for the slide areas. Yet, it just goes to prove further testament to how well it works in all of these instances. Of course, let us not forget the voice of Mario himself; Charles Martinet who has provided those classic 'Whoop!' 'Wha!' and even 'Yahooo! Haha!' sound effects, which make the game come to life even more... Mama mia! this guy is a-good! Quite simply, if you have yet to experience this landmark title, then you are only doing yourself a huge disservice as you're missing out on one of the finest games in existence. While it may be true that it will take newer gamers who are not used to the N64 controls a while to acclimatise, in addition to the issue of limited draw distance on certain objects such as coins, making things a little more challengin; these are all quirks of the game which have made it so endearing to those of us who remember it the first time around. Eighteen years on, it's nothing short of impressive to see that Super Mario 64 is still every bit the classic title that it always has been, now with the ability to play it either solely on the gamepad, or on the big screen, with improved visuals, the option to remap controls, the addition of save states and Miiverse integration make it all the more enticing to play either for the first or perhaps sixty-fourth time. No better title could have been chosen to launch N64 games on the Wii U Virtual Console, here's hoping Nintendo's future account merging plans will now secure this titles future for many more generations to come. Verdict : Super Mario 64, shall remain a masterpiece forevermore. - - - - - Yep, this review was shamelessly copied and pasted from VC Weekly 338 although I did tweak it a bit, after cutting and pasting it, as @Jonnas has been so diligent in proofreading all major reviews and articles on N-Europe, in relatively recent times, this is something I want to continue with, as looking back at a lot of the reviews I posted a while back, they are certainly in need of some retroactive re-reading and correcting. This is something I'll try to address over time, for now though, I think that review above of Super Mario 64 is probably a bit easier to read now, in comparison to the version in the article (which I'll update in due course) it's still probably not perfect mind, but these thoughts still sum up how I feel about Super Mario 64, which is why it's my pick for todays topic of 3D Platformer.

That's great news about the Analogue NT Mini Noir as those are some really nice features. I'm a bit conflicted because, don't ask me why but I put down a pre-order for one back in February as I managed to get enough money together for it after selling some games. But the other day, after learning about the further delay, I actually put in an e-mail to cancel the pre-order. It's a nice machine, Analogue make some amazing products but it is very pricey, I know the machine would keep its value but still. I've been rethinking a lot of stuff recently and maybe keeping the pre-order wouldn't be the wisest move in terms of short-term finance, in the longer run though, it's a nice console. Also, I've just taken a look at that video, the game they used in in; Gimmick looks amazing, I don't suppose that would end up being the game they put on the actual system? If so, that could be something which would swing the decision a bit, that's a rare game and an outstanding one by the look of it. If it was on the system, more people would get to play it as well, though something like that could do with a re-release in digital form or otherwise.

No worries. I like your new signature.

Account Settings > Signature

Day 4 - Favourite villain/antagonist. Skull Kid from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Although technically, it should be Majora's Mask itself but just the combination of that michievous Skull Kid and the dark power of Majora's Mask, makes for a truly terrifying villain. Especially when you encounter him at the top of the Clock Tower at the last few moments on the Final Day, the moon looming ominously above you, then Skull Kid lets out that scream, bringing the final act seemingly to a close... it's impossible not to be affected in some way by that, in that moment. Those who have played the game before will know what I mean, if not though... then just watch the video above and you'll see what I'm talking about. But more to the point, if you haven't played The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask yet, then I'd very much recommend doing so. Oh and a bonus, let's not forget the quote from the Happy Mask Salesman... "You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?" Majora's Mask is memorable for many reasons, its main villain is easily the most memorable overall though.

ANALOG FRONTIERS - Part 2: Original Hardware / MY LIFE IN GAMING Absolutely essential viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in Retro Gaming. It contains tips for preserving the life of original hardware, modifications and so much more. Also, it's just really inspiring to see so many people actively preserving so many different aspects of videogames and wanting to impart decent knowledge to anyone interested.

Well, you're both more adventurous than me when it comes to weapons in this game, Dual Blades for life! I really should get back into this, I haven't played it in a little while since the expansion, I'd have tried to play the game online with you but you're on the Xbox version, right? I've only got the PS4 version. Having said that, I have been getting into Sea of Thieves recently and I remember you saying that you were getting into that a while back. Long-winded thread de-railment to say... Happy Birthday! I hope you're having a good day and if you do want to play some games on the Xbox One at some point, let me know, we could even get that game of Perfect Dark in. Back on-topic... Monster Hunter World is brilliant, probably one of the best games on the PS4 that I don't play as often as I probably should.

Day 3 - Local Multiplayer Goldene... *taken* Perfect Dar... *taken* ... TimeSplitters 2 It has to be TimeSplitters 2 because nothing else comes close to taking the immense amount of enjoyment obtained from both Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. Indeed, the team at Free Radical took some of the best elements from those games, but then improved things significantly by offering such a unique and varied character roster, as because the main game is centered around time travel, this opens up a myriad of selectable characters ranging from a Spy, Gingerbread Man, Robot, Monkey... Robot Monkey and many more possibilities. Not only that, the selection of modes on offer was nothing short of impressive, going far beyond the standard Deathmatch options, adding in plenty of new twists on old favourites, entirely new modes and fully customisable rule sets in addition to a plethora of different weapons which were fun to use. Loads of different arenas to choose from and if you didn't like them that much, or preferred the maps of Goldeneye or Perfect Dark, you could attempt to recreate them with the map editor, which worked well, so long as you play-tested it a lot and were prepared for a few crashes. I know the PS2 version has online, and the Xbox version is probably technically superior but it was the GameCube version which my brothers and I played for many hours in local multiplayer. There really hasn't been another FPS which has topped it since either, at least not in the same way as recreating that classic feeling which is present in all of the main FPS' titles which were made by mostly the same team or variations of over the years. Let's hope that reboot/remake/new game from THQ Nordic comes to fruition, as TimeSplitters definitely deserves to come back, at least one last time.

Thanks for the games everyone, Min Min for the win win!

Out of interest, when did you send the game and how long did the person who had bought it wait to inform you that it was apparently lost? If it was a week or two, it probably did go missing, presumably they had already waited the alotted amount of days? Plenty of items have gone missing recently I'd wager, but a lot more have just got delayed, so if it was just a few days, there's always the chance it could have still turned up. It's hard to know without tracking though, and even then, things can go wrong even with tracking, so it's not a completely safe system and even if something does go missing when tracked, there's a who process you need to go through with whoever you posted it with, to even get a chance of a refund. As a general rule though, I'd go with... £5 - £10 or so, if it can go Large Letter, stick a stamp on it, £20 +, probably best to track it, £40, definitely track it, £50 - £100+ fully insured postage.