Dcubed

It's a really great action/RPG platformer. While it ditches the metroidvania structure of past MW titles, it retains that blend of platforming and combat and gives it more depth. Think of it as a bit like Shantae, Zelda 2 or Faxanadu but with linear stages. Great level design, tight controls, really nice music, colourful characters (both in the literal and metaphorical sense!) and a lot of heart.

I agree. Big missed opportunity here. Hopefully they're working on making communities work at an OS level (at least on Wii U), like it was originally intended to do. With patching now in place, retrofitting that kind of support down the line should be possible.

Yeah, seems so. The Nintendo World Report review seems to corroborate this as well http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/30105 They also complain that the online feature set is fairly bare bones. No communities, just your basic DS style hop online and face friends/randoms with a standard ranking system. Well, I'm not really deterred; I know what I'm getting into here. The core gameplay is no doubt solid and that's all I really need.

Yeah, I got it. There's actually quite a few VCA games that have extra control options like that. Space Harrier VCA lets you use the Nunchuck's motion controls to simulate an arcade joystick for instance, while Starglider (JPN only) lets you use the Wiimote's pointer to shoot! Overall, the rules on VCA games are much more lax (probably since each game runs on custom hardware, they let publishers handle their own emulation) The feel of adrenaline is something that SEGA's arcade titles really got down pat. The arcade is really where SEGA were at their very best, and Super Hang On is no exception. A shame that the original Hang On isn't available, but I suppose my copy of Shenmue will suffice for now. Speaking of which, even if you've never played any of the other Monster World games before, you MUST pick up MW4. Seeing a classic like this finally get the localisation it deserved, in its original form that it would've been released in, is a momentous occasion and a huge step forward for video game archival in general (Plus the game is fantastic too! ) I can only pray that its success will encourage the localisation of other preciously JPN only retro games like the first 6 Fire Emblems, Marvelous, Mother 3 and Seiken Densetsu 3.

Nice, but the one I'm really waiting for is the 3DS version of The Pinball Arcade. Shame its been put on hold for now though That's the version of the game I want the most (Zen Pinball 3D's S3D effect is amazing! It really completes the pinball experience!) Those real life tables, with actual realistic physics (instead of the dodgy Zen physics) and those graphics/S3D effect from Zen =

So I got the 3DS collection the other day (tried a mate's copy, saw the framerate issues weren't nearly as bad as the reviews/impressions made it out to be - it's only Runner that really suffers in 3D, and the effect is rubbish in that game anyway) AT LAST! After all these years, I FINALLY beat Bit.Trip Beat! (Take THAT you bastard! ) Feels good, real good. Now I can finally play through the rest of them (and finish Runner properly this time!)

Oh dear, no wonder you've been struggling lol! On the Wiimote/Nunchuck it's the Z button. You just press it while you're moving (you can roll twice in a row) and it does what you'd expect. Not sure what it is on the CC/CCPro, but you really shouldn't be using that control scheme anyway.

You're doing it wrong. With every boss you can power up your chain to its max before you pull (dealing massive damage). With that one in particular, the trick is to pull by moving to the right or left (whichever direction the core is travelling in) at all times, while using your dodge roll just before the water stream hits you; just after which you'll get an opportunity to power it up fully. Also, later on in the battle, he'll start to shoot streams through your chain itself - that's where you have to pull it out before it reaches max and before they hit you.

To be fair, I bet this game didn't get nearly the same level of budget as Power Tennis, but not even to have an N64 style intro is really disappointing

EU update this week: 3DS VC: Sonic Labyrinth (Game Gear) eShop: VVVVVV DSiWare: Curling Super Championship Wii VC: Wonder Boy in Monster Land (VCA), Monster World IV (MD) That's a fucking awesome update. 3 VC games in one week AND VVVVVV!?! Granted, Sonic Labyrinth is a pile of turd, but that's still one bloody amazing update (I'm getting both Monster World games and VVVVVV ) Bloody Nicalis actually came through. I never thought I'd see the day...

It's really hard to pull off well though. It's hard enough to get into a good enough position to use your mega strike and if you get anything worse than at least a green on the speed meter, you're not scoring anything (in which case you'll still be lucky to score more than one goal) The stars have to really align to get 6x goals at the fastest possible speed, but the payoff that usually nets you at least 5 goals is so good!

Hey, random update! Just noticed one other minor other change from this update that I don't think has been reported anywhere else. Ocarina of Time 3D no longer blocks the 3DS from using Streetpass/Spotpass like it did before! (it was seemingly an experiment done with OoT3d and SF643D to disable wireless stuff while playing to improve battery life - they thankfully ditched the idea) Strangely enough, it still prevents you from appearing online though (it'll only connect to the internet once you check your friends list or open the web browser - just as before), but at least Streetpass/Spotpass works with OoT3D (and presumably SF643D) now

Why not? I'd love to be able to play my PS360 games in HD!

While the game was in development, a big focus was placed on a gameplay mechanic that involved destroying light sources and a contrast between light and dark. When David Doak and various others left the company to found Free Radical (who made Timesplitters), that part of the gameplay was abandoned (though while they kept the breakable lights in the game and they do still have an effect, it's no longer THE central game mechanic). The name "Perfect Dark" was chosen to reflect this game mechanic (as well as it being the "perfect" sequel to Goldeneye) Up until a few months before its Japanese release, it was actually originally going to be called Red and Black, in order to tie in with another N64 game that was coming out at around the same time (Sin & Punishment) and to honour the original game concept. This name was abandoned however in favour of the English name. This is also why the Japanese ads featured red and black imagery, as you can see below... They talk a bit about this in the Iwata Asks interview for Sin & Punishment 2 (since the original S&P itself had a name change near release!), but there are various interviews with PD staff out there with more info. Nance own the rights to Xenosaga, not Nintendo. I think Namco also own BK as well, but I'm not completely certain.

With Banjo Kazooie they fucked up the note collection system (making it the same as Banjo Tooie - resulting in a game breaking glitch involving Bottles Bonus Fun and ruining the point of both Rusty Bucket Bay and Click Clock Wood), bollocked up the camera controls (getting rid of the preset angle movement and allowing free horizontal camera controls makes the camera much more difficult to control, and the 1st person look camera is inexplicably and awkwardly mapped to the 2nd stick!) and broke the cutscenes (it looks a mess now that nothing matches the music timing!) - also the new HUD was terrible (those Jinjo 360 faces... the stuff of nightmares!) Banjo Tooie wasn't as bad, but there were two crippling flaws with the port. Firstly, they utterly ruined the FPS section controls by making the cursor snap back to the default position when you let go of the stick (OH GOD WHY!!?!?!?), when in the original it would just stay where you last had it - this makes the final boss battle an utter fucking nightmare as you're constantly fighting with the controls to get the cursor to move onto Grunty. Secondly, they disabled saving when you use the cheats. Now I can understand disabling achievements when you use them, but for the love of god WHY THE HELL DID YOU DISABLE SAVING ALTOGETHER!?! It makes the cheats utterly useless now! Otherwise it was a good port, just ruined by these two unfortunate design decisions. Perfect Dark XBLA is a real oddity. Now obviously, the slowdown being fixed is the most important thing but there were a ton of changes that I really wish they didn't make. For the controls, of course nothing is going to really replicate the N64 experience on the 360 controller, but why the hell couldn't we have just one control scheme that allowed the weapon menu to be accessed by holding A and choosing with the left stick like in the N64 one? (Hell, why not make it customisable?) The visual upgrade is a mixed bag for me. Some models were quite well done (Johanna and Carrington spring to mind instantly) but then you've got Elvis who was fucked up to high heaven. If you're gonna do this kind of enhanced port, why not give me an option to choose the original N64 graphics? (ALA Halo Anniversary) What really urks me about the port though is the game balance. They showed no respect to the original game at all and started fucking around with the weapon balance (Laptop gun was nerfed, N-Bombs Grenades were rendered useless, Combat Knifes no longer always kill with one hit, explosions are smaller and don't produce as much fog now etc), with no option to just play the damn original game. Same goes for beloved glitches like the motion blur respawns (I know a lot of people hated them and it wasn't supposed to happen, but it made the game more fun for me) and the poison knife dead body glitch. Adding the GE Classic weapons into multiplayer was a nice touch but the port as a whole just wasn't treated with any kind of love, care or respect for the original game. I just wanted to play the original PD without any slowdown, not some modernised and "re-balanced" version.

Same thing happened to Mario Golf. They criticized the N64 original for not having enough Mario elements and then criticized the GCN one for having too many. You just can't please them. Hell, most reviewers didn't even mention that you could turn off the power shots in Mario Power Tennis!

Didn't they say it was up to 8 weeks?

Why bother with a HD collection port? They're gonna be releasing GCN games, emulated in HD (going by the N64 VC) on the Virtual Console anyway. Far easier, far less effort involved and a better overall result (with no stupid fuckups or alterations that ruin the game - I'm looking at you Silent Hill HD, Prince of Persia HD collection, Perfect Dark XBLA and Banjo Kazooie/Tooie XBLA!)

Going by the emulation quality of past 360 retro titles (and the Sega Vintage Collection), I'd stay far away from the 360 version. Buyer beware, until we hear impressions at least.

Me too, I ordered them on KIU's release date and they're still not here yet. The wait is just ridiculous!

http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229222 As can be seen in the pic below, EA will be disabling the game completely on May 31 for no apparent reason. Fucking scum, now they're resorting to stealing people's single player games from them!? Oh and best thing is that they're still happily selling the game (as well as DLC) with no indication that it's about to get nuked on the iTunes page! STOP BUYING EA GAMES!

I know that it isn't completely relevant here, but considering that this topic is way more popular than the Wii Channels forum in its entirety, I'm gonna post it here anyway. The day has finally come! SEGA have posted US release dates for Monster World Arcade and Monster World 4 on the Wii VC! Both are coming on May 10th, that's next week!!!! (I'm sure the EU release will be on the same day, if not a week after, going by Super Hang On) 2 VC games in one day!? Have I died and gone to heaven!? (Evidently I have, because VVVVVV comes out that day as well! THAT'S 3 GAMES TO BUY NEXT WEEK!!!! ) See Nintendo, see now THIS is the kind of release schedule that you SHOULD be having all the time!

http://blogs.sega.com/2012/05/03/more-sega-classics-for-virtual-console/ The day has finally come! SEGA have posted US release dates for Monster World Arcade and Monster World 4 on VC! Both are coming on May 10th, that's next week!!!! (I'm sure the EU release will be on the same day, if not a week after, going by Super Hang On) 2 VC games in one day!? Have I died and gone to heaven!? (Evidently I have, because VVVVVV comes out that day as well! THAT'S 3 GAMES TO BUY NEXT WEEK!!!! ) See Nintendo, see now THIS is the kind of release schedule that you SHOULD be having all the time!

Kirby's Pinball Land just got rated by the OFLC. I have the game on cartridge, but this is one game that will benefit massively from those temporary save states and eternal presence on my commute; I can't resist a double dip here! BTW, if you've never played it before, it's a must have! Game is God tier!