Dcubed

That actually looks very similar to the one I'm using funnily enough! (Mine's transparant as well. Same number of USB ports and all! Creepy!) So I'm sure it'll be fine

I'm using an old Belkin one that I had lying around from Godknowswhen (I also had an old really tiny one that came with Rock Band on the 360 - that one didn't work though). I'll let you know the exact model number later on today when I get home, but chances are that it probably isn't being sold anymore (I can't even remember where I got it from, or why...). That being said though, I reckon that any half decent one will work though BTW: Global Smash Power is basically an online leaderboard in reverse. The number corresponds to how many people in the world you are better than (the idea being that it's nicer to see how many people you're better than, rather than how many people you are worse than )

i'm actually really liking this so far, despite not really liking the original R/S/E all that much. The little changes to a long way to improving the original game's pacing - which was originally far too slow and meandering for my liking. I'm only up to Slateport so far, but I'm liking it much more than the original R/S/E. The little extra cutscenes, getting all the Pokenav stuff, it makes the game feel like it's moving at a much brisker pace Speaking of which, the dex nav is also really cool and goes a long way towards encouraging you to explore and take your time. It's also nice to have X&Y's feature set in a much better game in general I also love how expressive everyone is in this game, a big step up from X&Y - let alone the original R/S/E! (That Team Magma member running animation! Quality! ). The cutscenes are also well done in general and feel much more confidently shot than X&Y's did - the intro in particular was a real standout (even if it did really play the nostalgia card very heavily...) Speaking of which... I do find its nostalgia ploys to be too heavy for my liking, they're mostly done with all the subtly of a brick to the face. Also, I haven't gotten that far yet but I've seen it on Glen-i's copy, but for fuck sake! ENOUGH WITH THE FORCED MEMES NINTENDO!!! They're not funny! They're just sad and embarrassing! Lolcats/Icanhascheezeburger memes are already dated as hell and from here will age as well as moody cheese! Stop it!! Other than that, it's all good stuff!

Oh yeah! Should really mention the other online aspects too... They all work exactly as advertised. Being able to just go to the replay channel and just look for replays starring specific characters in specific modes is really cool! (The other normal spectate mode works exactly like how it does in Brawl - no problems at all). That being said, I do wish we could be a bit more specific in what you want in the replay channel. You can search for replays starring a certain character in a certain mode, but it would be cool if you could look for replays that star 2 Warios for instance - or better yet 4 Warios on a specific stage (4 player Wario matches on Gaur plains are hilarious BTW - you should totally give it a go with your friends if you get the chance!) Ahh well, maybe in a future game update.

Yup! Both games are a right little miracle! Probably the best net code I have ever seen in any game! Really, there's nothing to worry about in regards to performance. As long as you have a decent internet connection, you'll have a great experience online!

So now that I've finally got my internet back up and running to full speed (and fully stable too! At last! ), I've finally had the chance to try out Smash Wii U online... As expected, it performs much like the 3DS one; that is to say, rock solid most of the time - even when playing For Fun! Of course you're gonna get the odd laggy match, that's to be expected, but most of the time it's a really solid experience! Light years beyond Brawl! The only real complaint I have is that if you do end up getting matched with someone who has a bad connection, you're basically stuck with it and you can't really leave, unless you're willing to take a temporary ban for disconnecting. It's done with good intentions, but the heavy handed approach is a bit stupid when you're left with no real choice but to stick it out with a long laggy match if you don't want to take the ban. The game really should stop if it detects that the connection is too laggy, or at least give to a connection quality indicator before you start, so that you have an idea of what you're getting yourself into before you start. Otherwise, it's great stuff! Works flawlessly most of the time, it's quick fast and simple to get into matches. It's basically exactly what you want from online Smash and it's only gonna get even better once the extra features like online tourneys arrive next year! Edit: Should really mention that I'm using the LAN adapter running through a USB Hub (the GCN Controller adapter is running through the same USB hub as well - Internet connection is 78mbps down, 25mbps up) Based on my experience with the 3DS game, I doubt that there's much of a difference with using WiFi VS Wired though - both games perform very solidly online

It's an internally developed Nintendo game, do we really need a review to know it's amazing?

Gears of War 1 & 2 and Bioshock. The first time I ever experienced the "one and done" syndrome. They were good experiences all round, but I tried playing through them again and I simply just didn't enjoy them at all. I'm the type of person who constantly goes back and replays old favourites (and I still do! I'm currently replaying Fire Emblem GBA, Golden Sun, Mario Golf Advance Tour and recently I beat Bayonetta again), but those games were really strange. I wouldn't describe them as bad, because they're not at all, but they had absolutely zero replayability for me. I can even go back through the Ace Attorney games again and still enjoy them just as much as the first time through, but those three? No, never again. It's thanks to those three games that I now really understand the term "disposable games". A game that is "disposable" isn't even necessarily a bad game, it's just one that is designed to only provide one worthwhile play through and then get traded in for something else.

That plus Crash ‘n the Boys Street Challenge and S.C.A.T as well this week Natsume and Arc System Works are bringin' da heat!

Xenoblade is the single New3DS only game we know about so far. As for New3DS enhanced titles... There's Smash 3DS (C-stick for smash attacks, in-game loading times cut by half, able to use Miiverse while playing the game), Monster Hunter 4U (faster loading times, able to use Miiverse while playing the game) and Majora's Mask 3D (they haven't detailed exactly what it does, but they have said that the graphics will not be improved on the New3DS, so probably just camera control via the c-stick and faster loading times). That's it so far. Every single game gets the Super Stable 3D feature BTW, not just New3DS enhanced games (it's an OS level feature and the the screen itself has changed - so it's not something that only works on a game by game basis).

Ahh, so it IS bigger than the New3DS' one (it's about 4 pennies tall). Shame about it being shorter than the original 3DSXL's one though...

I've actually already gone ahead and emailed Hori asking them to make one I really really hate the new stylus in the small New3DS. I assume that the New3DSXL has a bigger and better one... Right? (How big is it compared to the 3DSXL's stylus?)

Surprisingly, my Link Amiibo actually turned out very good! No real defects at all, paint job is spot on, all the markings are molded properly, sword isn't really mis-shapen... Overall, good job! Pretty darn pleased actually! It looks more or less exactly as advertised While I'm at it, I can see why the Nintendo staff were so proud of how fast they got the NFC read/write speed to be, cause it really is crazy fast! It gets recognised by Smash the millisecond it gets put into the Gamepad and takes less than a second to write data to it. It's very impressive!

Oh hey, just realised that I haven't mentioned my impressions of playing Smash 3DS on the New3DS here yet (not everyone here is gonna go look at the 3DS Console thread after all :p ) In short. The C-stick works very very well for smash attacks, you barely even need to shift your thumb - it's ultra sensitive! The Zl/Zr buttons are mapped to whatever L and R are mapped to and this cannot be changed - likewise, the C-stick is mapped to smash attacks and cannot be changed, unlike in the Wii U game (this also applies to using the New3DS as a Wii U controller - it is mapped to Smash attacks and cannot be remapped). The graphics are exactly the same and the in-game loading times are more or less cut in half across the board (also; starting, suspending and exiting the game are just as fast as any other 3DS game on the New3DS - that is to say, instant ) That's about it really. Nothing earth shattering, but nice improvements all round

I own both, but I mainly used an original model 3DS. I've always found the ergonomics to be fine on both models, but I just couldn't stand the low DPI screen of the 3DSxl. It just ruins the visuals of 3DS games too much. I have no issues with the New3DS' screen in that regard, despite it being slightly bigger than the original 3DS' screen. It's exactly like the jump from DS Lite to DSi in that regard (in fact, the matte finish is exactly like the DSi too ) Basically New3DS = DSi and New3DSxl = DSixl in pretty much all physical respects. Edit: I know I said it before, but GOD!!! I HATE THE NEW3DS' STYLUS!!! Playing Theatrhythm is so incredibly uncomfortable with it!! Ugh! Why the hell couldn't they have used a telescopic stylus like in the OG 3DS!? WHY!? Thank God I still have my DSiXL's Mega Stylus for when I'm at home! The second that Hori put out a quality telescopic stylus that fits into the New3DS' stylus slot, it is mine!!

Nah, it was pretty minor really, just a bit more flickering visible as the camera tries to keep a track of your eyes but I suppose it depends on what glasses you use. Since the New3DS is doing eye tracking, rather than head tracking, anything that obscures your eyes is gonna reduce its effectiveness. So the clearer and more transparent your glasses, the better

So after having it for a day, here are my impressions... First off, let's just get this out of the way, the new stylus sucks balls. Not gonna mince words, it's a small knobbly piece of junk and is probably the worst stylus since the original Fat DS. It is basically a toothpick and I find myself wishing that they included a telescopic stylus like the original model 3DS Right! Now! Onto the rest! It's FAST! Like, exactly as fast as you're hoping for I currently have around 250 icons on my 3DS and a custom theme. On my old 3DS? Dog slow, it couldn't even handle switching games while multitasking without spluttering like a 60 year old smoker - on my New3DS? Doesn't even break a sweat! Going back to the Home menu is like instant now, even when playing Smash! (Smash is no slower to open or close or Home Menu Suspend than any other game BTW - it's just as lightning fast as any other game). Likewise, opening up any of the OS features is very nice and snappy, half a second maybe? (notifications don't take an age to open anymore! It's like 2 seconds tops here) Miiverse loading times are basically on par with the Wii U version of Miiverse. I'm gonna be posting 3DS shots a LOT more often now Speaking of loading times, just to make things clear, old 3DS games see no improvement ingame whatsoever - while Smash Bros (a New3DS enhanced game) sees its own ingame loading times roughly cut by half. The built-in games/apps haven't been changed at all BTW. Nor have they been updated to New3DS spec unfortunately (A shame because Streetpass Plaza could do with the loading time improvement...) Speaking of built-in aps. I should mention the one single one that has actually changed... The Internet browser. It's much faster than the old 3DS' one and is pretty nice to use. It also supports multiple tabs now, but of course that doesn't matter because let's face it, there's only one thing that any of us here are ever going to use the 3DS' internet browser for...

Shopto. On a related note. The Ninty UK store actually delivered my copies of Pokemon ORAS on Thursday! Nintendo (well, ok The Hut really) actually ended up breaking their own street date

My bundle arrived yesterday. My Link Amiibo did not (should arrive today hopefully...) Lucky sod! I haven't had the chance to do 8 player Smash yet (had to settle for a mere 4 player one yesterday); hopefully it won't be too long till I can rustle up 7 of my friends to play Smash! Nothing beats local multi!

HA HA!! YES!!! In a beautiful little twist of fate, it seems that my New3DS shipment actually ended up bypassing France entirely and going straight to Stansted - arriving at my local depot just a couple of hours ago... convinently just in time before the depot opens up for me to come collect in person!! HAHAHAHA!!! SCREW YOU KARMA! I GET THE LAST LAUGH!! I'll get to play my New3DS over the weekend I have off after all!! Edit: AND IT'S MINE!!! IN MY HAND! RIGHT NOW!! SUCK ON THAT KARMA! Impressions coming later when I get home and get to play around with it Edit 2: Oh yeah, forgot to mention. No customs charge either :awesome:

As someone who loves the Etrian Odyssey games but doesn't really care for Persona, I'm interested in hearing what the EO fans think of this one Can't pick it up right now, but I'll probably get round to it eventually!

My internet is currently dog slow (but finally stable after months of struggle thankfully!) so I'm probably not a good representation right now... When my speed is back to normal though (~80 Mbps downstream ~25-30 Mbps upstream) I'll let you know. Considering how solid the 3DS game's net code was though, I don't think there's much to worry about here

Got mine! (both physical and digital of course ) Surprised at how painless using a USB Hub is on Wii U (didn't want to use the front ports for the GCN controller adapter cause it looked kinda ugly - and the back two ports were already being used by my LAN adapter and USB HDD). It was literally plug and play! (my Rock Band USB Hub didn't work but another old one I had lying around worked flawlessly - didn't even have to use a separate PSU! It just runs off of one of the Wii U USB ports for power and data! Well chuffed! The HUB even has one more port free and all, so I could even connect one more device before resorting to the front two ports! ) Now have a LAN adapter, a USB HDD and the GCN controller adapter all connected to the back two ports - all working flawlessly and no visible wires at all! 4 Wavebirds connected of course :awesome:

Did you also get the day 1 release date game update? It should download automatically and is needed to play the game...

I doubt it. There's no way to guarantee that the code hasn't been used. I mean, I don't know for sure of course, but I'd be very surprised if they did refunds of download codes because it would be so easy to abuse...