Dcubed

Difference here though is that you know exactly where to go to get those rupees and the sword. If you didn't know where they were by heart, it would take much longer. And all the other 3D Zeldas take much longer than that to get to your first real enemy (especially Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess)

It is entirely optional, hence why I did not count it (you have to actually go out of your way to find the sword training dojo - just like in Majora's Mask)

The problem with their way of thinking though is that they assume that a Zelda game doesn't start until you get to the first dungeon; and that's just patently false. What's great about Twilight Princess and (especially) Skyward Sword's intro is that they do a great job of introducing the game and its mechanics/story through simply showcasing the world and allowing you to explore the first couple of areas/talking to NPCs/carrying out tasks on your own - giving you a feel for all the different non dungeon mechanics that the game has to offer (indeed, half the point of Skyward Sword was to take the emphasis away from the dungeons and bring more of those elements out into the overworld environments themselves) Technically speaking, if you discount the FMV intro, you actually come into contact with enemies faster in Skyward Sword than you do in any other 3D Zelda game (the first cave where you encounter the Keese. That's a combat tutorial, and it's done with absolutely no dialogue or explanation at all - which I suppose isn't really needed since the combat requires no button presses) If you listened to those guys, Zelda would have no gameplay outside of dungeons and any form of backtracking (even when the environment has been completely terraformed like in Skyward Sword) would be considered as filler. Zelda is much more than a simple dungeon crawler!

Oh cool! I knew about the greeting, but I didn't know they actually respond to you! Will have to try that out next time I play the game

You can start from Fire Red/Leaf Green (the remakes of Red/Blue) and transfer them across every generation of Pokemon game (FR/LG-R/S/E-HG/SS-D/P/P-B&W-B&W2) but not from the original GB/GBC games sadly. BTW, is it me or is the game rather story light in comparison to all the other games? (Just got the 4th badge) I was hoping to see more of N's backstory and what he's up to. I hope that they shed some further light on him and Ghestis' story later on... BTW, the gym leaders certainly don't screw around this time! I thought I was over levelled at this point - turns out that the 4th gym leader was 6 levels above my highest level Pokemon!

It also makes distances and enemy strike timing much easier too (To tell the truth that was always a problem with the Punchout games for me - especially Bald Bull! Would love to see them get the 3D Classics treatment!)

Ok, just beat the first area. Great stuff, loving it so far The game really does emphasise and reward precision in your fighting! Samurai Punchout isn't far from the truth (though it's more of a combination between Punchout and Zelda style combat than anything else) I can see it getting a bit repetitive, but the game's length seems to be cognisant to the game's design, so I reckon it'll work out nicely (short and sweet ) The mini games in town are a nice change of pace as well and also make the world feel that extra bit more alive. It's challenging and charming. I love all the little visual flourishes the game has (especially in the intro!), the S3D effects are great, the characters are all distinctive and have a nice charm about them. Not as abstract as Okami, but it shares some similar flourishes. Worth the wait!

1. Why are you buying the console? For the launch lineup and it's future promises (both 1st and 3rd party) 2. Has this differed from previous console generations? Not at all (though the market has changed considerably and my opinion of 3rd parties has changed significantly - but that's a different, yet related, matter) 3. Do you expect your attachment rate (how many games you buy for the machine IIRC correctly) to be high? It's very dependant on a few games I'm on the fence with (namely ZombiU, Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed, Scribblenauts Unlimited and Ninja Gaiden 3 RE). If those games turn out to be good (ZombiU is very promising, while NG3RE requires a miracle - but with Nintendo staff helping out, you never know!) then it'll be joint first as the highest launch day attach rate for me (current record holder is the PAL GCN launch, with a whopping 6 games on launch day alone!) - if not, it'll still be a match for past Nintendo consoles. Of course, if you add on downloadable eShop games too (which you should!), then suddenly it blows all the other launch day attach rates out of the water! (making for a total of 9 - assuming that the games that I want and am expecting to hit on launch day actually do so) 4. Do you plan on getting one of the future iterations of the other consoles? Not at launch, but probably eventually when their prices drop and some of the 3rd parties I actually care about inevitably end up ignoring the Wii U and release their games on every other platform. I'm not actually expecting them to offer anything interesting in terms of gameplay functionality. Just better graphics, more services and TV features and a bog-standard & boring controller (none of which I really want or care about). I will probably end up buying them reluctantly for the few titles I'll want on them

The superior Kirby game got robbed But otherwise, no real complaints. A fine list

YES! I LOVE THIS GAME!

It's not bad for what it is actually. Loading times are about the same as an iPhone 3GS (from what I remember of using my old one) and it kicks the shit out of every other console or gaming handheld browser out there! (except the Wii Opera browser, which is still a bit faster and supports, old, Flash - though the 3DS outscores it and every other console browser when it comes to HTML5 support) Pretty good when you consider that it runs while a game is suspended in the background! Mind you though, the Wii U browser will no doubt blow it away completely...

Ok I'm scared now. Getting terrifying flashbacks to the Super Battle Subway

Remember Ikachan? Pixel's other game that was coming to DSiWare? Well, turns out that it's now coming to both the DSi AND the 3DS! http://blog.nicalis.com/2012/10/warez-ikachan-on-3ds/

Adamant Sandile and Rash Genesect get! FUCK YEAH!!!

Movie making... is... addictive...

Edit: Whoops sorry, was thinking of the small monsters. Never mind. In short, it's at least 3 times the amount of content as the original MHTri.

Because it's not fair to only put it on the Wii U side...

OMGOMGOMGOMG I SQUEALED LIKE A LITTLE GIRL AT THE TRAILER!!! This moment just makes me feel all giddy and happy inside! Fucking March, why you so far away!?

WROAH!!! IT'S HERE!!! BTW, the game is region free. The EU version works on my US DSi perfectly

Ugh. Postie isn't here yet. Getting impatient... going crazy...Itchy Tasty...

Play Time 2011: 532:19 Total Steps 2011: 772,933 Play Time 2012: 506:26 Total Steps 2012: 1,079,465 Top 3 Play Time: 2011 1. Internet Browser - 54:59 2. Ocarina of Time 3D - 46:17 3. Resident Evil Mercenaries 3D - 24:54 Top 3 Play Time: 2012 so far 1. Fire Emblem Sacred Stones - 51:14 2. Nintendo Letter Box - 42:20 3. Theatrhythm - 35:28 Top 3 Play Time: Overall 1. Internet Browser - 67:46 2. Ocarina of Time 3D - 62:18 3. Fire Emblem Sacred Stones - 57:29 StreetPass Hits: 779 Plaza Population: 583 (Online Mii collection turned off) Number of pieces collected: 465/465 Number of puzzles completed: 18/18 The weird thing is that I don't even remember using the browser all that much! I typically use it to check up on FAQ sites or to look at 3D pictures/screenshots. Most of my other games hover around the 15-30 hour mark, so it's like they all congeal into a big splogy playtime goo! I fully expect Pokemon B&W2 to blow everything else away in terms of playtime rankings this year though! (I clocked around 240 hours on my first playthrough of B&W!)

I smell a Benheck Wii U portable!

Even Iwata knows that everyone wants a transparent console! (MAKE IT HAPPEN!!!) Interesting to see them go with an MCM solution. I suppose it's only natural for them to do so (considering their hard-on for reducing latency and power consumption), but it's still a bit weird for a console to go straight to such a solution at launch (usually you wouldn't see something like this until a console gets a redesign - this is the kind of setup that the 360 Slim currently uses with its CPU/GPU) It's a bit sad that the hardware is considered to be just a "stagehand", especially when it's designed so thoroughly and with such careful attention to detail (like the inward flap and the slanted fan holes they talk about. It's those little things that really add character to the console - in much the same way as their software!); but I suppose it's how it should be. Pretty crazy to think that the BD Drive takes up half of the entire console chassis! Really looking forward to the next one and finding out how the hell they pulled off that video streaming voodoo with the Gamepad!

That was fast! Seems that Nicalis have already put out an update that fixes the Curly Mode bug in the US version! Perhaps an EU release isn't as far off as I thought it might be...