Dcubed

Woah! Both games on the same day!? Nice! Suppose that the scheduling doesn't matter so much here since they're both being put out for the Xmas season, but my wallet is gonna be hurting!

No VC game this week. Depressing

Two more classic replays to add to the list, both very similar this time... Wonderful game as always. And in addition to that we also have Metroid Zero Mission... You must have JavaScript enabled on your device to view Miiverse posts that have been embedded in a website. View post in Miiverse Probably gonna also go for a 9% Hard Mode run, but not just yet. Need to properly psyche myself up for that because that really is a complete nightmare to pull off! (undoubtedly the hardest challenge in all of Metroid history!) Oh and I also beat Gunstar Heroes 3D as well, but I'm not gonna really count that one since it's such a short game. So with that...

He could just be having some fun with the guy on Twitter (since he originally denied it), but I'd love to see Layton in Smash! His final Smash would be a series of sliding block puzzles that other players have to solve in 5 seconds to reduce the amount of damage they take!

I always hate it when Nintendo announce their next gen consoles/handhelds so early. It always just starts making me feel like I just want their current ones to be over already so we can get a fresh start on something new and stops me from really looking forward to anything coming out on their current consoles. So annoying, especially when there isn't any real info to go off and they keep doing this as well! Project Reality anyone? (1993 that was announced! 3 full years before the N64 actually launched!) Dolphin was 1999 (2 years prior to release), Revolution was 2004 (2 years before release). Mind you though, Wii U wasn't actually announced as Project Cafe, that was leaked in the same year as it was announced (E3 2011 - 1 year before it was released) so that actually bucked the trend! It's kind of weird how they don't usually announce handheld console development far in advance, but they do with consoles (well, except for Project Atlantis, but that never actually came out in its planned form; it ended up being shelved for almost half a decade before it became the GBA!) I suppose that doesn't apply to NX though since it's effectively an announcement for both. I do reckon that we will probably end up seeing both console and handheld announced at the same time, to really drive the shared ecosystem message home even if they don't actually get released at the same time.

Your points are fair enough, but this one seems a bit disingenuous... A game doesn't have to be a new IP to be representative of a need to exist, especially in this day and age where the stakes are higher than ever before. If you took Splatoon and had Mario characters in it instead, would it no longer be a new gameplay concept? Likewise, something like Kirby Power Paintbrush/Kirby & the Rainbow Curse could just as well have been a new IP, before it was given a lick of Kirby paint. Not really. The lag alone would utterly kill the experience stone cold dead; it's the lag free nature of the Gamepad, alongside its controls, that separates it from competing tech. Perhaps, but it may also be said that we haven't really had a chance to see its full potential yet. It may not even be until NX that we really get to see what you can do with this twin screen setup (especially if it does end up getting support for 2-4 Gamepads/NX Handheld screens - something that the Wii U can't really do right now). Hell I still think that there's loads of untapped potential still left with the Wii Remote and Nunchuck as well. So I was really glad to see them keep support going with it on Wii U (even if Mario Party 10 is the only game in the last year to really make good use of it).

That's something I've always wanted to see happen with Virtual Console. The ability for the console to run multiple VC games at the same time, so that for instance I could be playing a SNES game on the Gamepad, while someone else plays an N64 game on the TV. I mean, with consoles using multiple cores now it shouldn't be too difficult to do really. Emulators for these old systems have to run off only one CPU core anyway, since these games for old systems can't be made to run across multiple cores in parallel; meaning that the other cores are currently just being left idle. Why not make use of the other cores that are sitting there unloved and have them run a different game independently from the others? Hell as long as the NX's OS supports this sort of independant CPU core processing, it should even be possible to do that with the current Wii U VC emulators without having to really rewrite them at all in theory! I mean, I'm not exactly an expert on programming, so I might just be spouting total BS, but I don't see why it wouldn't work Oh and for those continuing to state how the Gamepad has not brought anything new to the table, what games have you guys actually played? Cause there are actually quite a few games that make great use of it in driving fundamental aspects of gameplay, despite the popular narrative... All of the following games could not be replicated by a traditional controller without completely changing the game's design... Nintendo Land Game & Wario Splatoon Kirby & The Rainbow Curse Wii Fit U Affordable Space Adventures Captain Toad Art Academy Atelier Mario Party 10 Wii Party U Wii Sports Club Mario & Sonic at the Sochi Winter Olympics (yeah, not a great game, but it still counts!) Dr Luigi (Germ Buster) New Super Mario Bros U (Boost Mode) Super Mario 3D World (Gamepad Specific stages) Pikmin 3 (multi-character control) ZombiU (which was indeed re-designed for other consoles) Rayman Legends (see ZombiU) Mario VS DK Tipping Stars (sure you could remove the full stage view from the TV, but it would be a much lesser game because of it) And upcoming... Runbow Starfox Zero Super Mario Maker Zelda U Project Zero: The Maiden of Black Water Animal Crossing Amiibo Party That's not counting the ones with nice Gamepad features that significantly enhance the game either, like Hyrule Warriors (that uses the Gamepad's screen to do co-op; removing the need to split the screen), Pokken (which will no doubt use the same setup as Hyrule Warriors, as that is the setup which the arcade version uses), Wind Waker HD (Gamepad inventory), Resident Evil Revelations (onscreen inventory and map), Smash Bros for Wii U (Stage Builder - though why on earth it is only used for that is beyond me!), Mario Tennis Ultra Smash (dual perspectives, the player on the top side of the court gets their own behind the character view on the Gamepad), Xenoblade Chronicles X (onscreen map, online info feed, party status etc) or SMT X FE (mobile phone feed, live social links etc). The reason why this narrative spread is because Nintendo's 2013 E3 video focused primarily on "safe" sequels like Mario Kart 8, DKCTF and Smash - games which were never destined to make much use of the Gamepad. Doesn't mean that there weren't games that have made good use of it, just that the second wave of Gamepad driven games has come too late.

Motion controls work differently on console vs handheld. Even ignoring the extremely likely support for Wii Remotes/Nunchucks/Balance Board (it is just Bluetooth after all) which can't be replicated on a handheld, you've also got the fact that moving a handheld also moves the screens that you are viewing; whereas on a console, moving the controller does not move the TV screen - plus the two screen setup is completely different between console and handheld in general as well, due to the screens being joint on a handheld and detached on console. Then there are screen size/possible resolution differences between the NX Gamepad and the NX handheld to account for as well; so touch controls would work differently there too. Not to mention anything new that the NX handheld/console would bring to the table as well. Plus multiplayer works totally differently too. You couldn't take a console multiplayer game and shove it into a handheld, because you'd have to code in wireless LAN support and design it differently (even for single screen games like Smash - look at how Smash Wii U and Smash 3DS differ in their design for instance)

That's what I expect it'll be able to do, but it won't be standard across the board. Though the console will be a turbo charged version of the handheld in terms of CPU/GPU specs etc, it'll still be a different piece of hardware with different controls; so it'll still get unique games that can't be replicated on the handheld and vice versa (you certainly wouldn't be able to replicate something like Wii Party U, Nintendo Land or Splatoon as they are on a handheld because of the unique controls/screen setup they use for instance). Games like Smash, Monster Hunter or Mario Kart though I would absolutely expect to be playable on both though; just with the visuals pared back on the handheld to match its specs. I'd be pretty chuffed to see them go back to carts though; faster loading times, better portability and better physical durability FTW! From a cost perspective it's probably pretty feasible as well; SD Card style flash storage is stupid cheap now and prices are only dropping further over time. I could see them offering cards up to 64GB of storage for this thing pretty easily (and they also have the option of increasing it over time; which is good when they are looking to stick with this format and hardware architecture for their long term future).

It certainly would! While I'm sure it wouldn't be standard across the board due to differences in controls and specs, there will no doubt be plenty of games like Mario Kart NX, Smash Bros for NX or Monster Hunter 5 where a multiplatform release would be a no brainer; and what easier way to make it work than by having the same cartridge work on both machines? More interestingly though, it would imply that it's only going to have BC with digital Wii U games and not physical retail ones... That's gonna piss a good few people off... (not me though, since I have all my retail games bought in digital form anyway )

Well this is interesting... http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1099932 Looks like Nintendo have filed a patent for a stationary console that features not an optical drive, but a memory card slot instead! Going back to carts? Looks like they're considering it! Well if they're looking to have 8GB+ of RAM, they're gonna need some sort of solution for the hideously long loading times that you'd have with just running straight from disc. Wii U already has near enough the fastest BD Drive you can get, so the only possible way of speeding up the loading times while still using optical storage would be to do what Sony and MS do and force the player to install the game data to internal storage; which is the kind of thing that they wouldn't want to do, it's not their style at all... Not to mention that if this architecture is shared between handheld and console, it stands to reason that they might want to make use of a unified storage format... Interesting to think about! Edit: It also mentions the controller as having a built in screen!

A Pokemon arcade game, which uses Wii U controls and operates with two screens getting a Wii U release? Well I for one am shocked Good to hear that it's coming pretty soon though! Luchachu is hilarious as well

Aww crap, I wanted to wait till nearer the time to pick it up but if it really is as limited as it seems then I have no choice but to get it now

Here's a really cool level that someone has made that's inspired by Metroid! Really impressive what you can make with this!

Too bad that they only added it months after I already bought it on NiSA's store (I thought that the Wii game was gonna end up being exclusive to them) Maybe next time :p

Still went and downloaded it of course :p

NO FUCKING WAY!!! I was JUST thinking about this! At last! Picross 3D 3D is finally a reality! Who the hell announces a game on the Cat Mario Show though!?

The first M2 interview for Gunstar Heroes 3D is out now! Can't wait for this one! It's gonna look insane!

Ooh! Looks like the Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai demo got uploaded early for some reason! But in an absurd twist, it only has one single use! WTF!? Crazier still, apparently the U.S. demo has 30 uses!! The hell!?

Woah! I'm not really a transformers fan, but that's cool! Put me down for Daleks vs Cybermen too! Would be hilarious if they did Xbox VS Playstation

Oh yeah, I'm like that as well. Took me ages to finish it despite really enjoying it. There are some games that I just prefer to play at a slow pace, like Ace Attorney, Fire Emblem and Layton. I just don't enjoy ploughing through them in long sittings :p

I liked The Last Story, but it's definitely overrated. It's just way too easy, the whole lives system completely destroys any semblance of strategy, which is a shame because otherwise there's quite a bit to the combat system - the combination of 3rd person shooter gameplay and RPG mechanics works surprisingly well! Also the world design, out of combat gameplay, story and most of the characters (outside of the ones that Glen-i mentioned - Syrenne is indeed utterly brilliant and easily the most interesting character in the game!) just aren't that interesting. It's a shame really, it feels like they had grander ideas for all of these, but it ends up coming across as a bit bland outside of the fighting overall. There are some interesting sidequests scattered throughout, but not enough to save the out of combat gameplay from feeling just a bit dull overall. Anyway, I finally got round to finishing Kirby and the Rainbow Paintbrush! Yeah, it's up there in the running for the coverted title of most disgustingly adorable game ever made In short, it's utterly brilliant and a worthy successor to Canvas Curse/Power Paintrbrush, but not without its flaws. The Wii U Gamepad's massive screen allows the designers to incorporate HUGE levels that are far more open and expansive than in its DS predecessor and they certainly take advantage of that (see that? You can go up, down, and all around! The canvas is huge and so is the playspace!) Likewise, while it has the same amount of levels as the DS game, the levels themselves are much bigger and longer... which is both a good thing and a bad thing... While it's great fun to plough through the levels, the long length of the levels makes getting 100% a real pain because if you miss a single chest (or heaven forfend, a Secret Diary page at the end of the level), you're doing the whole thing all over again buddy! Really annoying, especially in the levels that feature autoscrolling, which there are a LOT of in this game... ... which is another thing that I think is a bit of a downer. Now I don't mind autoscrolling stages, they can be a nice change of pace, but when at least 1/3 of all levels in the game are primarily autoscrolling, it makes replaying them for 100% a massive pain as you just want to rush through it as fast as possible and you can't! It also really cripples the game's speedrun potential, which is a real shame because the game is tremendous fun to speedrun when you can! The controls are utterly sublime and would be a speedrunner's wet dream if only you didn't have to end up waiting for the game to catch up with you so much! But onto the good! The levels are really well paced and well designed, bursting with new ideas and never feel like they outstay their welcome (well, unless you're replaying it for the hidden chests over and over of course). Never did I feel that the lack of copy powers was a problem with the game's design or pacing at all. Surprisingly enough, very little ground from Power Paintbrush/Canvas Curse is retread; with all of the levels featuring concepts and gameplay mechanics/gimmicks that are new to the series. That also extends to the music, which (unlike its predecessor) is almost entirely original and fantastic to boot! (incredibly enough it also features about 40 unlockable newly made remixes from past Kirby games that don't appear anywhere in the game at all outside of the music player!). The controls also have received an overhaul and work even better than in the original - not to spoil anything, but one of the biggest changes is that you can now draw multiple lines at once (and yes, this does get taken advantage of in many ways throughout ) Likewise, the boss battles are great (something that was sorely lacking in the DS original) and even the ones that see reuse throughout are remixed in ways that make them significantly different. Also an extra mention for the really fun multiplayer mode. It's nice to have another Wii U game that actually makes good on the promise of asymettric gameplay and it does a really good job of it as both sets of players (the ones on the TV and the Gamepad player) both need to look out for each other. It can get really challenging in the levels where you have no ground at all and you have to try and keep both yourself and the 3 other players alive at the same time with the rainbow paintbrush! There's also some extra elements of gameplay that are added to the levels that are specific to multiplayer too, so definitely check it out if you have buds to play with you! Unfortunately there's very little in the way of side content though. You've got a model viewer, a series of 15 second challenges and that's it (and unfortunately the latter is gated off by some BS requirements to unlock some of them, involving you earning gold medals on every single stage - something that is a pretty big timesink) and that's it. No mini games and nothing like the awesome time trials/limited ink challenges/copy power challenges of the DS game; very little outside of the main game - which I suppose is probably why it was released at a lower price than other Wii U games. So yeah, it plays great - but is lacking in content outside of the main game and the over abundance of auto scrolling levels unfortunately hampers its speed running potential and makes getting 100% a bit of a chore. Overall it's brilliant though and a worthy successor to Power Painbrush/Canvas Curse for sure! Also I finally finished Ace Attorney Dual Destinies! What is there to say? It's the classic Ace Attorney you know and love, but now in THREEEEEEDEEEEEEE!!!! Best way to describe it really is that it's very much a "Best of Ace Attorney" - Without spoiling anything, it basically brings in elements from all of the past games and merges them all into one. I do have to say that it really goes off the rails in the later cases (especially the extra DLC one!) so if you were hoping for it to be more grounded in reality, you're gonna be disappointed because it's just plain ridiculous! In fact, I'd probably say that it's the most ridiculous and unrealistic game in the series; and that's saying something! Great stuff though. Even though I might have wanted something more grounded at times, it's unashamedly Ace Attorney! : peace:

Yup. That's one of those games where the slowdown actually improves the game! It's EPIC when you destroy so many enemies that the DS just can't keep up (the game even jokes about how the "simulator" can't display everything because it's too awesome ) In Code of Princess though? Not so much. The game is far too sluggish (both in terms of slowdown and just in terms of the controls) for me to enjoy it :p

I do think it's a bit overrated, but yeah, I'd much rather have that than Master of Disguise. That game is horrible! (There's a good reason that Nintendo cut ties with Suzak afterwards!)

Ohhhh I'm a right durbrain :p In that case, in addition to the ones I mentioned earlier, you've got the Etrian Odyssey games that make great use of the touch screen for drawing your own maps, Kirby Triple Deluxe which makes great use of 3D and motion controls, the two Dillon's Rolling Western games for their touch screen controls, the Denpa Men games for their use of WiFi hotspots and AR, the two Steel Diver games for their novel controls and premise (plus you actually get to communicate with other players in morse code, which is cool as hell!), Theatrhythm for its novel touch screen controls, Tetris 3DS for its really cool AR mode (there's a couple of AR game modes where you have a cylendrical Tetris board and you have to physically walk around it IRL to play!), Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance which makes good use of the touch screen/two screens in certain places throughout, Hydroventure Spin Cycle for its 360 degree motion gameplay, Mario & Luigi Dream Team for its touch screen and gyro controls in battles and the various SEGA 3D Classics for the touch and motion controls implemented in certain games (Super Hang On in particular does a great job with them to replicate the original physical motorbike controls! ) Otherwise you have other very well known ones like Kid Icarus Uprising, AR Games/Face Raiders, Luigi's Mansion 2 and Super Mario 3D Land, but chances are that you already know about them. There's some great uses of Streetpass in other games as well that might not use other functions of the 3DS much, like Shovel Knight or Animal Crossing New Leaf, so if you're interested in Streetpass, it's a feature that is pretty well represented across the 3DS library in general. Yeah, I did earlier. Still I definately second it again though. No reason to not at least give the demo a try!