Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 13 Comments

Let’s Talk #19: Thoughts thus far about Super Mario Maker

Super Mario Maker is very close to launch. In just four weeks, it will finally release around the world.

Despite being just a month away, we’re still learning new things about the game. Earlier this week Nintendo revealed that players can create their own sound effects. We also received confirmation that Super Mario Maker will be compatible with over 50 amiibo. You have to wonder if there are any other surprises in store, even if they’re on the small side.

Based on everything we know about Super Mario Maker, how are you feeling about it at this point? Are you planning on picking it up on day one? Has your mindset at all changed since the initial reveal? Let us know in the comments below!

Highlights from last week’s topic: What are you playing? – August 2015

James Parry

I’m currently working through my backlog before we’re hit with 2 games per month for the rest of the year. Right now I am playing Spirit Tracks (such an underrated game) and after that probably Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box (Diabolical Box in the US).

That should occupy me to the end of my holiday, which afterwards I’ll pick up Splatoon again and anticipate Nintendo’s September releases (Mario Maker, Happy Home Designer and many, many Amiibos). RIP my wallet!

LittleLynn

Been so busy with work stuff, that I haven’t been playing much. Or at least nothing that requires too much commitment. Like, I’ve been playing a fair bit of Pokemon Shuffle, Binding of Isaac: Rebirth, Dragon Fantasy, and the occasional Smash Bros 3DS, mostly because they’re all easier for me to play in relatively short stints.

I’m also like halfway through Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (for the first time). I’m loving it too, but I feel like it requires longer play sessions, so I haven’t been playing it AS frequently as the others I mentioned.

Joe

Bought Child Of Light during its sale, so I’ll be playing that if I can get my wife away from it. Also plan on getting Wind Waker HD as a gift for my wife on her birthday. So I’ll start that, if I can get my wife away from it…

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 23 Comments

Let’s Talk #18: What are you playing – August 2015

It’s the first Friday of a new month! That being said, what games are you playing at the moment?

I’m still busy with Mario Tennis from the 3DS Virtual Console. Things have been busy here, so I’ve been playing through it slowly. Based on what I remember from completing the game many years ago, I’m on the last part of the game (Mario Tour). It’s definitely a lot of fun. I did mention this last time, but I still feel like the actual tennis mechanics are very solid. The RPG-esque elements in the campaign add a nice touch as well!

Highlights from last week’s topic: Thoughts on the latest Smash Bros. update/DLC

ArsonDoctor

I haven’t had the chance to try out the new stages yet, but I did give tournament mode a whirl the other day, and while it’s great that we have an online mode like this finally, it could definitely use some improvements. There should be more customization with tournament rulesets, like a 1v1 mode and bracket mode. There should also be more standard public tournaments than there are now, I found it quite difficult to get into one at all, and the only open tournaments were all for fun. I also think there should have been an offline mode tourney function, since it’s been in previous games. All complaints aside, however, the tournament mode came out pretty well.

As for the mii costumes, I think it’s really cool that we’re getting a wider selection for costumes, although I totally understand the sentiment of dlc character hopes being dashed away (Megaman.EXE for smash!). I also believe that not every character can be suitable enough for their own place in the roster, and the mii costumes are a neat workaround for those characters to get their foot in the door. It’s also very possible that just because a character got a mii costume doesn’t mean it won’t come as a full fledged character, so who knows, maybe you K. Rool hopefuls will still get your wish?

Kogamo

As much as everyone’s going to talk about K. Rool, the real problem with the latest update is the tourney system. I was greatly looking forward to just a menu option for Tourney, but no. The tourney system is online-only and requires you to wait an upwards of 20 minutes before the match starts. This combined with the fact that you can lose the first match and have nothing to do within 2 minutes makes it a real problem. Alternately, you can use the Mario Kart 8 tournament system, which is a little nicer, but it certainly isn’t what I wanted from Smash.

Ugh… Now that that’s over. The new DLC makes me smile, especially the Lloyd and Black Knight costumes. And as much as I think K. Rool would make a great character, I don’t think he’d be even close to ready by now, so I think the costume could be a nice holdover for now if you choose to see it that way.

José Pedrero

I only own the 3DS version so I will only talk about its new content . I was so excited to know we were getting Hyrule Castle back and I already bought it and I love it :). I am mildly interested in the Mii Costumes. Ive already bought most of the character based ones. I don’t really find myself buying the animal inspired ones, though. I think Mii costumes are cool if you like messing around with them, taking quirky screenshots or whatever. I’m really looking forward for other series representation through them and I’m hoping more stages get released aswell (specially Saffron City)

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 23 Comments

Let’s Talk #17: Thoughts on the latest Smash Bros. update/DLC

Nintendo gave Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS a whole bunch of content last night. While there weren’t any new characters, we do have access to a number of new things.

Both versions of Smash Bros. added two classic levels: Hyrule Castle and Peach’s Castle. Several new Mii Fighter outfits came out as well.

On Wii U, Nintendo finally launched the game’s Tournament Mode. Uploading replays to YouTube is also now possible.

The latest Smash Bros. content has only been out for about a day, but I still wanted to have this week’s discussion focused on what’s new in both games. Have you been able to give the new stages a whirl? What are your thoughts on the Tournament modes? I’m also curious: how many of you are actually interested in the Mii Fighter costumes? Sound off in the comments below!

Highlights from last week’s topic: Most anticipated Wii U games

Guymelef
My most anticipated announced games for Wii U would be (in no particular order):

Xenoblade Chronicles X
Lego Dimensions
Guitar Hero Live
Star Fox
Shin Megami Tensei X FE
Fatal Frame
Devil’s Third
Zelda U

For 3DS (I know it’s not part of the survey, but just to include): Fire Emblem Fates and Monster Hunter X

while I’m interested in Yoshi’s Wooly World and Mario Maker, they’re not on top of my list.

Killey

Fatal Frame V, Rodea: The Sky Soldier and Star Fox Zero are the games I’m looking forward to, I’lI probably add Devil’s Third and that’s it for this year. Zelda and SMT x FF so far for 2016

David Arkema
The wii u games I looking forward the most are

Skylanders superchargers, because I love the amiibo support, this will ve my first skylanders game and the gameplay looks really fun.

Devil’s third, because I need an action game next to bayonetta and singlepalyer gameplay looks amazing and what you can do the online multiplayer looks funny like hell, but may need some patches.

Xenoblade chronicles x, because I loved the first one the wii and I love wandering in a massive openworld with gorgeous enemies and you can ride in a mechsuit.

Pokken Tournament, because I need a (wii u) pokemon game that isn’t a mainstream pokemon game (fire red/emerald/y) and I really love fighting game, especially street fighter and ssb. graphical it looks amazing, but the cast (playable characters) needs to be expanded.

superphillip32

Super Mario Maker – As someone who really enjoys level design and wants to go into the field of game design after graduating college, Super Mario Maker’s creation tools seem like a godsend to me. I will get to make levels with what looks like to be a very easy and intuitive interface, practice my skills and creativity with designing levels, and get inspiration from other creators while enjoying playing the levels as well.

Yoshi’s Woolly World – It pained me to see the North American release date of Yoshi’s Woolly World be so far away in comparison to the European, Oceania, and Japanese launches. The game looks like what many have been wanting from the Yoshi series since Yoshi’s Island. Throw in some awesome looking levels, hidden goodies, and a reported challenge, and I can’t wait to be able to play this game.

Star Fox Zero – I’ve waited a long time for a new Star Fox game that I really enjoy. I did love Assault, and of course I greatly was enamored with 64. Command was okay, but now we have another traditional Star Fox game to look forward to. I trust Nintendo and Platinum Games to create a compelling and engaging campaign to blow me and other players away.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Wii U | 22 Comments

Let’s Talk #16: Most anticipated Wii U games

There are still plenty of Wii U games to look forward to. From Nintendo alone, the company is bringing us Zelda Wii U, Super Mario Maker, Star Fox Zero, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem (Genei Ibun Roku #FE), Xenoblade Chronicles X, Yoshi’s Woolly World (in North America), Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water, Devil’s Third, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash. There are also a smattering of third-party offerings like Rodea: The Sky Soldier, LEGO Dimensions, Disney Infinity 3.0, Skylanders SuperChargers, and Guitar Hero Live. It goes without saying that there’s still a ton of indie content on the way as well.

All of that being said, is there one Wii U game that you’re looking forward to above all else? If you can’t pick one, what are your top highlights? Let us know in the comments below!

Right now there are three games I’ve been wanting to get my hands on above all else. Let me briefly talk about each.

– Zelda Wii U: it’s Zelda! This series is what really motivated me to pay more attention to video games. Even though I had played games before, going through Ocarina of Time is when my interest really spiked. I was disappointed when Nintendo announced Zelda Wii U’s delay to 2016, but we should be getting a fantastic title in the end.

– Xenoblade Chronicles X: honestly, I do wish this one had already launched in the west at this point. That original January 2013 trailer feels like so long ago. Still, Xenoblade Chronicles X should be worth the wait. Xenoblade ended up as one of my favorite games of all time, and while X should be a fairly different experience, I’m anticipating that there will be enough there to make it both familiar and new at the same time.

– Super Mario Maker: after Nintendo showed this game at last year’s E3, I was mildly interested. I knew I’d pick it up eventually, but it wasn’t something where I thought I needed it at launch. My opinion changed greatly following Super Mario Maker’s showing at E3 2015. I’m just amazed by the amount of crazy things you can do inside different levels. I’ll be playing other creations rather than making them myself, so I can’t wait to see what people come up with.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 4 Comments

Let’s Talk #15: Remembering Satoru Iwata

Given the tragedy surrounding Satoru Iwata, it only seemed right to dedicate this week’s Let’s Talk to his memory. In the comments below, feel free to talk about anything related to Nintendo’s president.

It’s crazy to think that Satoru Iwata is no longer here with us. It’s also crazy to think that everything happened less than a week ago. Despite it having been a few days, I’m still barely able to come to grips with the fact that Iwata passed away.

A lot of thoughts and emotions have been running through my mind since Sunday evening. I can’t begin to tell you how shocked I was when I heard that Iwata had passed away. I just happened to stumble across Nintendo’s IR site with the news – it wasn’t even publicized on Nintendo’s Japanese Twitter account at the time. I almost considered not posting about it on the site when I discovered the announcement since I couldn’t believe it was real. I haven’t been that shocked about something in a very long time.

Even though I never knew Iwata personally, his passing has greatly affected me. It’s been a very sad and long week. There was a lot about Iwata that made him different compared to your typical company president/CEO, so I think that’s one of many reasons reason why many people have been taking this so hard.

Iwata seemed like a very lovely and personable man. Of course, he delivered the Nintendo Direct presentations to us, and during those videos, he wasn’t afraid to poke fun at himself. The Iwata Asks series was another key aspect during his time with Nintendo. These interviews/discussions provided very interesting and valuable insight into the development of Nintendo’s various games.

Iwata’s experience with game development made him quite the unique president. Of course, before joining Nintendo, he worked at HAL. Over the many years in the industry, he was involved with games like Balloon Fight, EarthBound, and Pokemon. He even helped Smash Bros. Melee make its release date. He was a programmer at heart having made a baseball game on a calculator despite it not having graphics.

A lot of people have been asking me over the past few days if I have a favorite memory of Iwata. Truthfully, I don’t. That’s because when I start thinking about his role at Nintendo, there’s so much that comes to mind. There are all of his Nintendo Directs obviously. E3 appearances. 2005 GDC speech. There was also the Game Center CX episode that struck a chord with me, in which he talked more about his life. And those are just the times we saw him in person. Outside of video-esque appearances, there was the time when he dramatically cut his salary in light of the Wii U’s struggles. Introducing Wii and DS to the world, and initiating the Blue Ocean Strategy to wild success were also key parts of his career.

I started paying attention to games during the tail end of the GameCube era, so honestly, Iwata being at Nintendo is really all that I know. It’s extremely tough to picture Nintendo without Iwata at the helm of things. Nintendo will most definitely continue on, but things won’t be the same without him. All we can do at this point is be thankful for his many years at Nintendo and how he put smiles on many people’s faces. He will be greatly missed.

How do you feel about Devil’s Third?

slihm

I’ve been extremely intrigued ever since the multiplayer trailer last year.

Additionally, the campaign looks to have my type of humor. It’s odd because a lot of people seem to be missing the jokes all together. For reference, watch the “Machete Kills” trailer. It’s basically that kind of humor, but in a game. And it’s amazing.

Recent news has made me a little skeptical. The only thing I’m concerned about is the frame rate, because people who have allegedly played the game have been complaining about the inconsistent frame rate.

Blazer

As far as Devil’s Third go, I was interested in the game after seeing it. It’s not the usual type of game you find on Nintendo consoles, but the fact that they seemed to be backing it felt like a sign that I could pay it a little bit of attention. After seeing a bit, I was interested in it because it seemed like a brutal but fun action/shooter game with some cool online components, which I felt I could get behind, especially since it didn’t look as dull as some games.

The concept art, for instance, looks really cool IMO, and while you could certainly make complaints about the main character, I’m fine with his design and approach: he’s at least more memorable than the main characters in many other shooters, IMO. Pretty much, it was a game I had intended to give a good chance since there’s not much else like it on the console, and I like supporting developers who make exclusives for Wii U, esp. since I’ve enjoyed the Wii U a lot–more than most other systems. Dare I say it helped get me back into gaming with a few quality games despite lacking quantity.

Now that the game potentially isn’t being backed by NoA and could be very poor for whatever reasons, I’m less interested/more skeptical and need to have some kind of confirmation on how the game is. I mean, we’ll just have to see, there aren’t even reviews out and even then I take reviews and such with a grain of salt because ultimately they’re just opinions from people who are often only slightly more qualified to analyze, criticize, and praise games than the bulk of other people.

While I’d like to give it a try anyway, if the game is said to be terrible, it’s difficult to justify purchasing it, especially when video games are expensive and there are a ton of other video games out there I’ve yet to beat… play… buy… or even hear about. I mean, I only have so much time, money, and patience, so ultimately I can’t try out every game myself. Hopefully I hear some good things about it so I can keep my pre-order and get it as planned. In that case though, I can only hope someone else actually picks it up so I have people to play with online.

Not having more than a handful of friends (who I rarely talk to) that play Splatoon, for instance, really stinks. I had pretty much no one to play Bayonetta 2 with, either. It’s one of the few problems of preferring to play with friends (esp. with voice, meaning on the Wii U, I need to have them on Skype/they can’t be strangers, since it doesn’t have integrated voice chat into its games), and playing on a console with a low install base in specific regions (I’m not interested in voice chatting with random Japanese people, for instance, but if you limit matchmaking in such games to specific regions where there’s a common language, the wait etc. would be even longer than it already is).

tl;dr, I was interested, and will still pay attention, but I’m skeptical and my purchasing decision hangs in the balance of whether the game seems good enough to be worth giving a chance.

Pretty much, if it’s not a broken game and it’s at least fun but “with problems”, and the Metacritic score is in the 70’s or higher, I’ll probably get it. If it’s in the 60’s, it’ll be a much tougher call dependent on what specifics I hear about the game, and anything lower would really be pushing it. (Granted, it’s less about the arbitrary numbers we call review scores and more with the associated comments that generally come with those numbers.)

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Wii U | 25 Comments

Let’s Talk #15: How do you feel about Devil’s Third?

Devil’s Third is in a very strange place right now. The game has been in development for years, and is finally launching (well, in Europe and Japan at least) next month. To say that things haven’t done smoothly for Devil’s Third would be an understatement.

Originally, Devil’s Third was being overseen by THQ, but we all know what happened to that company. Nintendo eventually picked up the project and it was re-revealed at last year’s E3. It surfaced once again in a video from Nintendo’s Japanese YouTube page, but skipped E3 2015 entirely. The game’s status is also slightly unclear in North America.

Development and release issues aside, what are your thoughts on Devil’s Third? To be fair, we haven’t seen a massive amount from it thus far, so there’s not a tremendous amount to go on. There was the initial appearance at E3 2014, and the video that came out several weeks back.

But let’s have a talk about Devil’s Third – the game itself. Were you interested since the initial reveal? Did the latest footage manage to capture your attention? Did you never care for it at all? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Highlights from last week’s topic: What are you playing? – July 2015

David Arkema

I’ve been playing SSB for wii u, playing a lot offline matches with Ryu and (FE) Roy (I also got Lucas, but don’t care much for him). I love (FE) Roy more than I thought, because he’s another swordfighter, but I like him more than Marth. Can’t wait to have my hands on a Ryu amiibo!

Just bought Stick it to the Man and played through some levels. and I never thought I would realy like this game, but I do. I it that every NPC has its own personality and the sticker mechanics/gameplay.

Playing sometimes Splatoon. Just completed the singleplayer, which is like platforming with a gun (or roller). Now I sometimes play a couple online matches (every 3 days).

I am planning to finish Super Mario Galaxy 2 (wii u e-shop). Never played it on the wii before, but I realize know that was a great mistake. This game is awesome!

Also planning to get back Mario Kart 8 (online). This game I used to play every day I power on my wii u. But lately I’m occupied with SSB for wii u.

On my nintendo 3ds I play mostly Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Man, I thought after Monster Hunter 3 on wii u I would never play costs so much time (of my life), but then came MH4 ultimate (and for wii u Xenoblade Chronicles X 4/12/2015). MH4 looks amazing and thanks to the New nintendo 3dsXL it also plays amazing.

James Parry

Going on holiday for a whopping 7 week holiday in a weeks times in our holiday home in Corfu, Greece soon. I know, it sounds amazing; beaches twice a day, lovely greek food for every meal, beautiful weather the whole time, but I can’t bring my Wii U! No Splatoon until September! Ahhhh! (First world problem; I know!)

So, for me, summer is all about my 3DS (bar the beaches). This year I’ve got a solid line up including Xenoblade Chronicles 3D, which I put on hold since my brother got it as I was in the middle of loads of exams, Yoshi’s New Island (also been put on hold) Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Zelda: Spirit Tracks (a second playthrough).

The other day I also managed to pick up some second-hand Layton DS games which I plan to play during the summer followed by Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright; a crossover of my two favourite DS series.

So basically; my summer is a busy one. I’ll have to distribute my time between swimming, eating greek food, reading in hammocks under trees, hanging out with family members, cycling to the local bakery every morning, feeding the donkey living near our house, sun bathing, eating more greek food and playing a whopping library of fantastic 3DS and DS games!

gigamario

I have been alternating between Xenoblade X and Splatoon. I think they complement each other pretty well: X is more suited for longer sessions and Splatoon is just quick pure fun. I have finished the story of X and reached the level cap of Splatoon and although I intend to continue playing those games, I guess I will spend a little less time with them going forward.

Also due to recent thunderstorms around my area of residence, there has been situations when I wanted to avoid using electronics that is plugged into the power grid. I have started playing Last Window: the Secret of Cape West (Nintendo DS) for that reason. I have owned that game for years and it has been factory sealed for all that time, so I’m happy that I finally got to playing it!

SortableShelf19

I’m currently playing Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS. For anyone that didn’t know, I didn’t have a 3DS before. I was a Wii U-only owner until recently when I got a New 3DS XL for my birthday (but I didn’t get the game until a little later).

While it doesn’t have as much content as the Wii U version does, it’s still a very well-crafted game. I have a lot of fun playing this game on the go.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 26 Comments

Let’s Talk #14: What are you playing? – July 2015

Summer is here, and it’s the start of a new month. Given that – and the fact that we’re a games-oriented website – I thought we should host a “what are you playing” topic for Let’s Talk this week. It may actually be something that we do at the start of each month going forward depending on how the discussion goes this time around.

So tell us in the comments below: what are you playing right now? It’d be great if what you mention is Nintendo-related, but I don’t think it’d be fair to exclude others from Let’s Talk if they’re currently playing on a different platform. That means anything is fair game! I’ll start the discussion off below.

I’ve been playing a whole lot of Mario Tennis on the 3DS Virtual Console lately. Nintendo put the game on sale in North America a couple of weeks ago, and while it was only about $1 less than the normal asking price, I decided to grab it and jump right in.

I played Mario Tennis a ton back in the day on the Game Boy Color. I still have my original system and the game cartridge in fact!

I have so, so many fond memories of this title. It’s really as a good as I remember it, and it sort of makes me wish that the Mario Tennis games these days were a bit more like it. Mario Tennis Open on 3DS was alright, but this one is much better in my opinion.

The main draw of Mario Tennis on the Game Boy Color was definitely the story mode. You can play as either Alex or Nina (plus a partner of Harry or Kate depending on if you select doubles), and level up/improve stats along the way.

Thus far, I haven’t even touched that mode even though I loved it greatly. I’ve just been spending a lot of time in exhibition matches thus far. Something about the core tennis gameplay feels perfect. I have a feeling I won’t be putting the title down anytime soon!

Highlights from last week’s topic: Your thoughts on Nintendo’s E3 2015 performance

bakedapplepie

Overall I think it was a pretty good show. Ya a lot of what we knew already, but the Starfox reveal, interviews, and muppets/puppets were great. I thought the Treehouse team did a great job really showing the viewer more depth to all the games mentioned in the digital direct and showing some games that were not mentioned (Fatal Frame). Also the return of the Nintendo World Championship was a lot of fun to watch. The one thing that I was seriously disappointed in was their was no announcement for a new HD Zelda remaster for the Wii U. I truly expected that they would announce Twilight Princess HD, since they delayed Zelda Wii U and they did such a good job on Wind Waker. I’m still hoping that this comes true.

Kimite

I think it was the way Nintendo presented their games and some of the interviews were a bit long than they need maybe. Still am not too sure if it was a good idea too show all of the new upcoming stuff right before E3 ;^^. I mean they had their Nintendo Direct about 3 weeks ago and their Smash presentation last Sunday, and I think it would be better if they included some of those games in the Digital Event too.

Still most of the games Nintendo featured in the Digital Event is probably going to be good if not amazing ^^. I mean I am looking forward to 4-5 of the games they showed as I am a Zelda fan and I RPGer. (Really looking forward to Triforce Heroes ^^).

I mentioned it below in a comment, but I think the reason why Devil’s Third and Fatal Frame wasn’t shown in the Digital Event is because of a/the same law in Europe that forbid people to buy 18/M rated games before 11PM ;^^. (Don’t ask me why Europe has laws like that :-/).

The reason why I think there will be a Nintendo Direct in August is the amount of content Nintendo are releasing then. Like: The Match making mode for Splatoon (and Rainmaker mode), Tournament mode in Smash and Devil’s Third.

Right now I think the best thing we can do is wait for the good games to come and we are actually getting both Legend of Kay and Art Academy this month, so I don’t think we should be bitter for too long as there are plenty of games that are coming with are really good :-).

LittleLynn

Nintendo’s Digital Event was kind of completely terrible. There was entirely too much fluff. I totally zoned out when Miyamoto blabbed on about the inspiration for Star Fox for entirely too long. And I actually passed out while Reggie was asking how Donkey Kong and Bowser got into Skylanders (only to wake up and find them still talking). Whoopie. I thought this was supposed to be about games?

I’m sure that kind of stuff is interesting to somebody, but I think even they’d agree it’s not really the time or place for it. One of the things I tend to appreciate about Nintendo’s presentations over the others is that usually Nintendo doesn’t spend so much time patting itself on the back. This year, not so much.

That and a lot of bizarre game choices. From the weird Metroid sports thing to two new Animal Crossing games that did nothing but offend Metroid and Animal Crossing fans alike. And I’ll probably just skip Triforce Heroes, as someone who really couldn’t get into Four Swords. I’m not into Star Fox. I’m not into Skylanders. I’d play Mario Tennis at a friend’s place if they had it, but I couldn’t imagine myself getting and playing it on my own.

I think Hyrule Warriors Legends was probably the best new(ish) announcement. I’d been waiting for a price drop before I picked it up, but a new portable version, with all the DLC, at the price of a 3DS game? Good enough price for me. I just wish it weren’t spoiled beforehand.

But seriously, no third version for Pokemon XY? I thought for sure they’d announce that.

It’s not to say everything out of Nintendo sucked though. Rather, all the games they showed that I’m looking forward to, are ones we’ve already known about for a while: Yoshi’s Woolly World, Super Mario Maker, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Fire Emblem Fates, and Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem (or whatever they’re calling it now). That’s a lot of games to be excited for actually, but I already knew they were coming. And the new videos mostly offered next to no new real information about any of them (excluding Mario Maker, which actually got a lot of new details). For the most part, there weren’t really any surprises. Honestly, I think they should’ve saved both the Micro Direct from a few weeks back, and the Smash Direct (and maybe even Earthbound Beginnings) from last weekend for the Digital Event. It’d have had a lot more substance if they did.

Exy

I think it would have been a better show if they didn’t sabotage themselves in the six months leading up to it. The Nintendo Directs, the Nintendo World Championships, and the DeNA announcement and the NX reveal accompanying it all took away things that could have been much bigger deals at E3. They should have put, say, Metroid Prime: Federation Force in some Nintendo Direct if they had a clue how people would react to it, but they didn’t because they absolutely had to have a surprise game in the championships. For each big reveal and deconfirmations leading up to E3, expectations went higher and higher and they just made it impossible to get anything other than the reaction they got. That said, they’ll be fine, even if the show did feel oddly 3DS-centric. They’ve survived a few “losses” and this one is being blown out of proportion.

As for me, I went in expecting only a ton of Mario Maker stuff and that’s what I got, so I was satisfied. And they showed a bunch of gameplay whenever possible, unlike some other shows this year as usual. Also Muppets.

Boss Jelly

Underwhelmed as a whole, it just seemed like variants of things we already knew about. I think Paper Jam, Star Fox and Tennis look pretty cool though. I’m not INCREDIBLY angry about the Metroid game but I’m a little disappointed after 5 years that this is the return of the series…Amiibo Festival on the other hand…

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 42 Comments

Let’s Talk #13: Your thoughts on Nintendo’s E3 2015 performance

Well, that’s it! Another E3 is in the books. Now it’s time to talk about it all.

Just like last year’s E3, Nintendo did quite a bit in conjunction with the show. The Smash Bros. presentation kicked things off on Sunday morning, followed by the Nintendo World Championships later that night. The Nintendo Digital Event was on Tuesday, and the Treehouse Live streams lasted for three days.

As it was where the big announcements were made, I’ll be focusing on the Digital Event. You guys can feel free to discuss any part of Nintendo’s E3 presence, however!

To recap, below were the big announcements from the Nintendo Digital Event:

Wii U

– Star Fox Zero revealed, PlatinumGames working on the project
– Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival announced, out this holiday, amiibo figures revealed
– Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash announced, out this holiday
– Skylanders SuperChargers is getting Bowser and Donkey Kong figures that also act as amiibo
– Super Mario Maker: out September 11, new amiibo officially revealed
– Xenoblade Chronicles X: out December 4
– Yoshi’s Woolly World: out October 16
– New Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem trailer, reconfirmed for 2016

3DS

– The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes announced, out this fall
– Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam announced, out spring 2016
– Metroid Prime: Federation Force revealed, out in 2016
– Hyrule Warriors Legends confirmed, out Q1 2016
– Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer: out September 25
– Yo-Kai Watch: out this holiday
– Fire Emblem Fates gets its final name, reconfirmed for 2016

So that was the big stuff. Looking back on everything, how do you guys feel about what was shown? I’ll kick things off with my own thoughts below.

Man, there is a whole lot to talk about concerning the Digital Event. The general impression, unfortunately for Nintendo, seems to be leaning towards the negative side.

Once the Digital Event ended, I was a bit disappointed myself. For a few reasons.

For one thing, there wasn’t much new announced for Wii U. Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival and Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash were the only games we didn’t know about before for the console. Both are due out later this year. What do we have to look forward to in 2016 aside from Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem? I hope we see some announcements later on in the year!

Metroid Prime: Federation Force is a strange thing for me. On one hand, I’m happy that we finally have a new Metroid. On the other hand, it doesn’t feel much like a Metroid game right now. I’m not personally liking how it looks currently, but I’m very much willing to give it a shot. Let’s see what happens as development progresses.

Looking back on it and really reflecting on things, the Digital Event wasn’t awful in my opinion. Don’t forget we had E3 presentations like in 2008, which featured a whole lot of Shaun White Snowboarding and Wii Music. It definitely wasn’t Nintendo’s strongest, and last year’s event was much more exciting by comparison.

Some other random thoughts: where was Devil’s Third? Did anyone else feel like the Digital Event was missing “one other game” or “one big title”? After the Mario Maker bit, I was hoping Nintendo would have one final title to reveal. The puppets were lovely, but some segments felt like they ran on too long. Considering Yoshi’s Woolly World was featured in last year’s Digital Event and is launching extremely soon in Europe in Japan, a trailer probably would have been enough.

Okay, that’s enough from me. I better stop now. My brain has melted from E3 coverage, so I’m probably just rambling on too much at this point. Let us know what you thoughts about Nintendo at E3 2015 in the comments below!

Highlights from last week’s topic: E3 2015 hopes and dreams

Timppis

In order of preference.

New IP – Large scale JRPG but with more fantasy settings than Xenoblade games. FF9 or White Witch -style.

Paper Mario – Have to have this. The rumors must be true

Star Fox open world game – Not going to happen unfortunately

New line of Mario Sports games, highlighted by Mario Strikers 3 with HUGE career mode – Also not going to happen.

Mario sports games in general – Baseball, Rugby/American football mashup, Basketball, anything. -Not happening

Super Mario Sunshine HD – Plausible

Resurrection of any of these franchises – Waveracer, Golden Sun, 1080 Snowboarding, Advance Wars, Earthbound… – Also not going to happen

Im going to be so disappointed this year… I just know it ;_;

AJK

A new Metroid is the dream really. Ideally a new Prime type game.

Also please please please don’t let Starfox be underwhelming. I have waited since Starfox 64 for a decent Starfox shooter. My fear is that they might try something gimmicky instead of sticking to what made the first 2 games so great.

My final wish would be a new Golden Sun game on 3ds.

Vorsun

I’m probably alone on this, but I really wanna see more of Devil’s Third. That game is shaping up to be a really fun 3rd-person hack-and-slashooter. And of course I want Nintendo to be playing another trick on me and show a trailer for Zelda U, even though I’m sure there won’t be one.

As far as games I want them to announce, I would love for Retro’s new game to be Metroid Prime 4/Dread/whatever, but I’m torn because I also want them to do their own IP. I want Platinum’s game to either be Vanquish 2 or Wonderful 102 or… dare I ask for God Hand 2? With Bayonetta 2 being Wii U exclusive, the possibilities are astounding. And of course, as always, my greatest desire is Custom Robo U/3DS. I will not be satisfied with some cardboard cutout trying to be Custom Robo. I need the real steel deal.

icecreamperson

So I want a couple of things….

An hd remake for zelda for wii u

a new big 3d mario game announced in the vain of galaxy, sunshine or 64 fr wii u

a new paper mario announced for wii u

diddy kong racing for wii u announced

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 28 Comments

Let’s Talk #12: E3 2015 hopes and dreams

It’s crazy to think about how, in a week from today, E3 will be finished. The Nintendo World Championships will be over and done with, all announcements will have been made, and the expo itself will go on hiatus until next year.

Nintendo had an excellent E3 last year. It’ll be tough to top what they showed in terms of pure news and announcements, but there’s a heck of a lot to look forward to.

Nintendo is getting things started early this year with a Super Smash Bros. presentation from Masahiro Sakurai at 10:40 AM ET / 7:40 AM PT / 3:40 PM in the UK / 4:40 PM in Europe. The Nintendo World Championships 2015 kick off a few hours later at 6 PM ET / 3 PM PT / 11 PM in the UK / 12 PM in Europe. Nintendo will be quiet on Monday, but will be back in full force on Tuesday with its Digital Event (12 PM ET / 9 AM PT / 5 PM in the UK / 6 PM in Europe) and Treehouse Live streams throughout the week.

I think it goes without saying that the Nintendo Digital Event is the big thing here. We’ll be seeing more of previously-announced titles, along with new games for this year and 2016. Mario Maker, Devil’s Third, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Hyrule Warriors 3DS, Star Fox Wii U, and plenty more should be on display.

With all of that on mind, what are you hoping to see at E3 next week? Is there a game you’d like to see announced? Which already-announced title are you interested in seeing more of? Really, any E3 related talk is suitable for this week’s Let’s Talk topic!

There’s one game I’d like to see above all else right now: Metroid. The series feels like it’s been dormant for much too long (only five years, but still!).

I’d prefer to see a 3D Metroid – specifically a new Metroid Prime – though I’d gladly take a new 2D entry as well. As long as we see something Metroid-related at E3, I’ll be happy!

Highlights from last week’s topic: How are you liking Splatoon?

DeltaPeng

Pros
So far, the overall game is great. Have not tried single player. The art style/design and concept is cool and is a fresh take on the shooter genre, with Turf wars being more about covering area in paint (less attacking other players, a relaxing experience), and ranked battles primarily focused on attacking other players so that the Zones can be painted (a tense, potentially frustrating experience). Love the new IP.

Weapon and gear selection is plentiful and diverse, and will keep people occupied for a long while.

Aiming with gamepad gyro-sensors feels good and works well.

Easy to level up and get money as you obtain that from any online play (better than grinding as compared to SSB for custom moves [mainly an issue bc the grind is for single player, when the core gameplay/game_time is multi. Mini-rant end]), but maybe too easy. Could’ve made it longer and I don’t think people would’ve minded, I’ve unlocked all weapons, but have not bought/used them all to prevent clutter to my weapon screen. I have 200k money, which is probably enough to unlock everything left in the game since most items are pretty inexpensive.

Cons
-Could use more online stages, the more the better, potentially more than they have planned (planned 2-3 more?).
-ranked battle rank point system adds to frustration of the mode, way too easy to lose points, and is frustrating if you feel you’ve lost due to the ‘randomness’ of stage_selection/team_ selection/team’s_weapon_loadout. Because of point system, people will probably get stuck in the C range and B- ranks, so matching with similar ranked people can still give you wide ranges in skill levels. The tendency I find in ranked matches is that I either play people who completely destroy me and my team, or vice versa.
-not sure about the weapon balance at times, some of the people who are really good at long range or high power splatterguns are really hard to take down.
-hours of play wears on the wrists due to gamepad weight, may need to be careful of that as the game is addicting. A con as they could add other controller options (as far as I know, single player cannot do wiiU Pro controller).
-could use more pre-set message options other than “c’mon” and “booyah”

Recommendations
-ability to create and save/load multiple custom gear/weapon loadouts (help sort through the clutter once a lot of items are collected)
-ability to change equipment while in waiting lobby (or use different saved loadout, per above)
-Paintbrush may need a buff in attack, and an easier way to attack as opposed to mashing ZR (maybe 2 swipes per ZR press). Feels a bit weird when most other attacks are holding ZR or pressing it once.
~ability to exit lobby (maybe, keeping it does help with arranging matches, I imagine)
~ability to sell gear (essentially, reset abilities, or prevent less/no use ones from cluttering menu)

r4ind4nce

I’m really enjoying it despite the fact that I never warmed up to any other online shooter. It’s amazingly fresh (…) and a lot of fun! Also, knowing Nintendo any content shortages will probably be temporary.

timZ117

I love it.

The single player feels like classic nintendo. New gameplay mechanics in allmost every stage, really expressive and funny characters as opponents. Its just really smart and well done.

Multiplayer is a lot of fun too, but i do think its still a bit light on modes and options at the moment.

I cant wait to see whats in store for splatoon the next couple of months, and ill definitely be playing the game for a long time if they keep supporting it the way they have!

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Wii U | 33 Comments

Let’s Talk #11: How are you liking Splatoon?

Splatoon launched in North America and Europe on May 29. That means it’s been out for exactly one week! Given that, I wanted this week’s Let’s Talk topic to be focused entirely on that game, as well as your impressions.

The nice thing about Splatoon is that it’ll likely be fresh in your memory for at least the next few months. Nintendo has already released new weapons and a multiplayer map even though it’s only been out for a few days. The Inkbrush just came out roughly an hour ago!

So let’s get this Splatoon train rolling. Let us know how you’re liking (or not liking!) Splatoon in the comments below. Have you had a chance to complete the single-player campaign? What do you think of the different multiplayer maps? Any thoughts you have are welcome here!

Highlights from last week’s topic: Do you prefer playing alone or with others?

LordDisco

I honestly like playing solo the most. Don’t get me wrong, I do love playing with my friends and family when the timing is right, but amongst those people, there are only 4 that I can think of that value video games like I do. It is with those people that I enjoy multiplayer with the most, but because I live in Japan and 3 of those 4 friends live in North America, I definitely mostly play alone, which is FINE BY ME.

For me, playing video games is a lot like reading a book. If the game is good, it usually introduces itself well, gets you immersed into the game world, and eventually sucks you in until the end. The nice thing with video games is that they don’t necessarily need a story in order to fulfill this, which is pretty awesome and unique. A game like Pushmo, which has very little story, can still suck you in with a great introduction to the game, puzzles, and world.

I also work extremely long and difficult hours, so when I have down time, I usually just sit down and play. Again, like a book, I love to be pulled away from my reality and enjoy time in a make-believe world of sorts. It’s nice to escape reality and enjoy the fantasy of what video games can offer. Escaping that reality with friends is nice, but mostly, I just like playing alone.

??????84

Both. But if I play local multiplayer, it’d have to be with people I have good chemistry with. It’s annoying when some people get competitive and childish instead of enjoying the moment of playing video games with a mate

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