Nintendo Voice Chat podcast summary

DSi/DSi XL price drop/3DS

– Price drop
– Not too big of a deal
– Commenters were wondering why Nintendo is trying to move DSi systems off the shelves
– Still pretty high at $149.99 for the DSi, $169.99 for the XL
– In 2004, the DS debuted at $149.99
– Sam thinks the price drop is because Nintendo didn’t sell as many DS units as they usually do last month
– Jack would have been more inclined to think the 3DS would be coming out soon if Nintendo brought updated software to GamesCom; mostly everything was unplayable at E3; Jack says even easy things like Ocarina of Time 3D and Star Fox 64 3D weren’t playable
– Scott’s crazy theory: If Nintendo were to announce a deal with Netflix or a 3D movie company, they’ll push the system out early just to have as a movie-watching system

Metroid: Other M

– Podcast crew split about Other M
– Craig’s review was very positive
– He gave it an 8.5
– Craig said it was a very ambitious Nintendo game
– Puzzles thrown in with some of the bosses, need to figure out what to do
– Don’t like how you are granted permissions to use certain weapons
– Story deals with it by saying that Samus disobeyed an order once and felt guilty about it
– Scott thinks that in terms of how it actually affects the game, that is how all Metroids work
– Save points are liberal enough that you don’t have to worry about dying
– Map can be really confusing
– Graphics praised on the podcast
– Jack’s biggest problem with the game are the controls
– Feels like he’d be having more fun with other control options
– Ryan bothered by the first-person mode, feels like it was forced
– Going into first-person mode can be jarring
– Scott likes the first-person mode since you can look for secrets, really nice looking
– Constantly charging your beam in the game because it doesn’t make sense to use regular shots
– You should give the game a good time investment
– There is a “fake” ending; a lot more game after that; equivalent to Super Mario Galaxy 2 when you’re collecting the Green Stars; Not only something more to do, but really different from the first part of the game
– Brian thinks that the reviewers who gave the game a 2/5 missed the point, but doesn’t think it deserves a 9 or maybe even an 8.5
– Story seems like it’s filled with Japanese cliches
– Gives a lot of personality to Samus, may not be the character you want her to be
– Brian thinks the cutscenes are a better way of telling a story than scanning and reading in your menu
– Ryan likes the story as it goes on
– No references to Prime at all in the game
– Other M takes place before Fusion
– Anthony might be the best character in the game
– Other characters are pretty generic
– If you’re a Metroid fan, you’ll love it

And Yet It Moves

– Jack reviewed it
– Thinks it’s totally worth it
– 1,000 points
– Rotate the world so you can get through it
– Different control schemes
– Really cool, unique

Reader questions

– Costs a good amount of money to get games rated for the Virtual Console, maybe third-parties aren’t supporting it as much; lack of VC games overall is mystifying
– A numbered Final Fantasy will probably never be an exclusive Nintendo title, but Square Enix has provided other titles in the franchise like the Crystal Chronicles games and The 4 Heroes of Light (praised on the podcast)
– Even with the Wiimote pointer being similar to a mouse there is a lack of real RTS games on Wii; The demographic that purchases Wii probably isn’t made up of people interested in hardcore RTS games
– No way to show the 3D effect from the 3DS in a video review right now; you’ll never be able to translate what’s going on with the 3DS unless you have it in your hands
– Pokemon Black/White could be used as a bridging game between the DS and 3DS