Three more weeks until Dragon Quest VI's Irish release

Still looking forward to this! It'll be here very soon and then I'll swoop in and buy up a copy. No major things happened in the run up to this so far. The German box art came out alright and if you saw it you'd pity them. That USK rating really destroys the cover and in this case it squashes everything else to one side. What a hog!

What I would like from Nintendo for the Wii's successor (Part 3)

NO LOAD TIMES!

Make this a priority! Make starting a game as hassle free as it used to be (there's more than load times that get in the way but let's talk about one thing at a time). We didn't have loading delays as a plaguing nuisance when we played games on cartridges and even the disc based Gamecube loaded games very quickly. Wii was great too but there are many many examples of games on the Wii that have stupid loading delays. The 3DS is horrible for loading delays.

Thing is people don't complain about loading delays enough. At this stage games that load very quickly ought to be praised a lot more.

How will Wii's Successor store data?

Just wondering about this. If it's going to be more powerful than the current competition then how will it store data? Will games unfortunately have to be installed from disc? Will there be a hard drive? How much data can it store?

Come to think of it what kind of media will the games come on? I mean what kind of DVD/whatever will it be stored on and what capacity will it be? Will it allow games to load quickly? For that last part I hope so!

This post is all questions but I am starting to genuinely think about this successor console that's being shown soon.

Thinking about the rumour of a controller with its own screen.

As long as the price is right for the controller this sounds like an ok idea. But hey I'm saying if and ONLY if the price is right. The screen itself better be well lit too! I don't want it to be like another Game Boy Advance screen! Every single one of those screens be it nonlit or frontlit were terrible! It might work though, who knows? But I'm not too psyched about it.

Project Café, or whatever Nintendo is calling the Wii successor is real and playable at E3 2011

Alright alright I'm a believer now.

Nintendo had an investor's meeting lately where they talked about the successor to the Wii and they have a pdf on their Japanese website that said it'll be playable at this year's E3 and that it'll be released next year.

I guess I should start getting excited now? Well, ok I might as well but I'm not going to leave the Wii behind right now(just like the way I'm not leaving the DS behind right now). I honestly hope that this new system will be everything the Wii was and more.

And yes some of the rumours are still awful!

I got Mystical Ninja Starring 2 Starring Goemon!

I finally decided to get this game after such a long time of humming and hawing about it. Well I'm glad I did now. I loved the first one and I like the other Goemon games too so I'm thrilled I finally have this. Now I can tick off its box in the Retro Gamer issue about collecting PAL N64 games a couple of months ago!

I discover Tao's Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal

I didn't get the Nintendo DS for about a year or so after it came out. This was one of the games that I never noticed, an RPG by Konami called Tao's Adventure: Curse of the Demon Seal.

Now I didn't buy it or play it at all but I did come across it and was curious enough to do some research on it. It wasn't very well received due to controls or something. Anyway the important thing is that it was an interesting find. Check out some youtube videos or something if you're interested. For all I know it could be an underrated gem.

Reuniting with Super Mario Galaxy

Sorry for the late post. When I first played Mario Galaxy I thought it was the best game ever. Then I played the second one and then I was reminded of some things that annoyed me about the first one. After completing the second game I thought I had enough of them and didn't look at them again for ages. Now I'm playing the first one again and I'm trying to see why I thought it was so great in the first place. Well the annoyances are still there but the great thing, well one of the great things is the way the game just grabs your attention and doesn't let go and makes something new pop up quite frequently so you don't get bored.

Hmm... I may very well be still willing to call these games the best games ever... I'll play them more and see how I feel afterwards.

I completed No More Heroes 2!

I decided to give the game another chance. It's fine really, I can be nitpicky about a lot of things in it but it's not a bad way to pass the time at all and it is deserving of its status as a Wii favourite.

What I would like from Nintendo for the Wii's successor (Part 2)

In case you missed part 1 I said that the first thing I would like is for the machine to not come out for at least 5 years.

The second thing is this:

I would like them to somehow convince people stop saying such stupid sickening things about Nintendo systems and games. They managed this to some degree with the DS but I'd like to see this happen more.

What I would like from Nintendo for the Wii's successor (Part 1)

In the words of Ellen DeGeneres when she had John McCain on her show:

"Let's talk about that Elephant in the room!"

Actually I don't want to talk about those Wii successor rumours at all even though this very sentence is spreading them.

So this brings me to the first thing I would like from Nintendo for the Wii's successor:

Not to come out for at least five years.

Horray! Guadia Quest finally releases! (for me!)

Just got this RPG in Retro Game Challenge! I'll be similarly excited when Dragon Quest VI comes out here. As for Guadia Quest(just how do you pronounce "Guadia"?) it's a loving tribute to the DQ games on the NES, especially the second one. Beating challenges in this game is a nice change of pace and I'm wondering what GQ will be like once I decide to just play it to the end.

Actually now that I mention it I haven't played any of the other retro games within to the end... I'll have to do that and see what kind of endings I'll get.

Angry Video Game Nerd Episode 101: Spielberg Games

Ok this came out ages ago but I'd still like to make a post about it. It's actually his last one before he makes the Angry Video Game Nerd movie. He goes through many Spielberg movie licences but I actually thought he was going to make a reference to Boom Blox at some point. Ah well.

Now that's the last of the episodes for a while but his cinemassacre.com site still updates with different kinds of content often enough and there'll be more Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles videos. It'll still be interesting and I'm looking forward to the movie of course.

Sam and Max Season Two on Wii really did get a European release

If you're anything like I was you're wondering when the hell is Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space going to be released in Europe for the Wii. Well, it already did! The thing is, it was really difficult trying to find a reliable release date for it and it did get delayed an awful lot so up until recently I didn't even know it got released here.

It's nowhere to be seen in any of my local shops but I can tell you right now that it's available to buy online.

I can't imagine what the problem was. Maybe there was some kind of weird upheaval at "Atari United Kingdom Ltd" and they weren't even sure themselves. Who knows.

Anyway... about the game itself. It suffers from the exact same technical problems as the Wii version of Season One did. I won't bother going into them since I'm pretty sure the only people interested in buying the Wii version of the sequel bought the first one and know what those issues are already. There's also the matter of the PC version more than likely being cheaper.

If you're not put off by any of this and still must have it on your Wii then I say go for it. The content is still every bit as enjoyable as Season One's.

My experience with Retro Game Challenge for DS

This game didn't come out here but fortunately I got the chance to play it. I really like it. You're playing all kinds of challenges in these NES style games but you're doing it as a kid who is living in that era. You even have access to NES era styled games magazines so it captures the atmosphere and feeling of being a video game obsessed kid from that time period perfectly! I really really like this.

I want to play the RPG but its release keeps getting delayed! Urgh! It really is a lot like being a game fan in real life!

GAME store in Patrick Street update

A while back I talked about how there was water damage done in GAME  on Patrick Street in Cork and they have barriers around that part of the shop. Well the barriers are still there, but all the Wii games that were there are now replaced by Xbox 360 games. The Wii ones are now in a nice dry place.

Good thing too because those boxes were starting to stick together. So alls well.

Solatorobo is coming to Europe too

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2011/nintendo_signs_distribution_deal_with_namco_bandai_games_for_solatorobo_red_the_hunter_in_europe_32657.html

Quite a long url there...

Some people were waiting on this RPG to be announced for release in the west too. I know very little about it but I'm glad it's coming here too.

Dragon Quest VI's European website

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/nds/dragon_quest_vi_realms_of_reverie_32676.html

Ok ok I believe it's coming! But don't tell me to relax just yet - I'm still going to talk about this game now and again up until its release.

What we have here on this page right now is an official European trailer featuring the May 20th release date and everything. It definitely makes a fan happy. There's also tons of screenshots to look through.

There's the press release too which I haven't read yet but one point jumps out at me at first glance:

"This is a famous and beloved RPG, available in Europe for the first time"

I'm in the mood for hyping so right now I like this line. Hype hype hype!

Finally! Dragon Quest VI is coming to Ireland on May 20th!

Wow! Look at this!

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2011/a_3d_glasses-free_spring_ahead_for_all_32668.html

At long last they announce a release date! I was about to make a series of posts called "RPGs announced for Ireland that aren't Dragon Quest VI". Except now I don't need to. I'm still going to stay on top of this for a good while though!

The game is going to be called in full: "Dragon Quest VI Realms of Reverie", just like the Australian version and different to the American version, which had "Revelation" instead of "Reverie". Reverie makes for a better title because of the themes of sleep and dreams. Pity the American version doesn't have it.

Like I said I'm going to stay on top of this. On the other hand I'd still like to eventually focus on making pleas for the release of the Rocket Slime sequel for 3DS in Ireland.

Trying out Mario Party DS

Hm... I don't think I'll be playing this. I don't normally like any DS game that makes strenuous use of the touch screen. When I played Chibi-Robo Park Patrol on my old DS there were big round rings of marks on my touchscreen and well, I don't really want to do that again.

Although I do like the fact that a board game session lasts for 10 turns instead of 20 minimum.

The Last Story web address

There's been a bit of excitement recently over

http://www.thelaststory.com/

being registered and when you go there it links to Nintendo's global index. The excitement is of course due to the fact that we don't have a solid release date for anywhere in the west yet and the fact that this is registered suggests that it will likely get released in America.

Well, does the same thing happen with its potential European address?

http://www.thelaststory.co.uk/

See for yourself!

Dragon Quest VI is rated for Australia

The OFLC system in Australia has rated Dragon Quest VI for release! This is progress to some degree anyway! Next step is for our rating system to do it! Come on PEGI! Make your rating too! Someone else please announce a release date for Ireland!

NGamer Issue 61

This month's issue came in a cardboard sleeve rather than the usual bag. The free gift that came with it was one of those Panini style books you collect stickers for as well as a pack of stickers to get you started. It was of New Super Mario Bros.

The American version of Dragon Quest VI got reviewed and scored in the eighties, a bit like the scores IV and V got. The Japanese version of the Last Story got a similar mark. Monkey Ball 3D didn't fare so well like I suspected since it didn't get reviewed last month and got 60.

The Zelda feature consists of indepth previews based on the new Skyward Sword trailer that got shown at GDC during Satoru Iwata's keynote speech.

There's also a funny little feature called 221 cool things you can do with your 3DS. Covers the odd thing you might've missed about the 3DS like the game visualisers that come up when you play music.

I completed Mario Party 1! (mini-game island)

Like I said before I was surprised to come across this mode where it was stages on a map structure like Mario Bros 3 and the stages themselves are mini-games. It was pretty tough at times but it's a likeable enough videogame challenge for one player.

Might give the other Mario Party games a go now!

UKResistance is gone :(

http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/

One of my favourite blogs ever is dead now. It's really sad because I really love that site. I got lots of laughs from it. At least idiottoys.com is still going and it overtook the former in funniness so... we'll still have the entertainment, just not the videogame focus.

How you can get to try out a 3DS for free

Go into any Gamestop and ask them what the 3DS is like. They'll offer you a short go on one. Make sure you adjust the 3D slider for comfort.

This will be handy since Dublin is the only place in this country that features the 3DS tour, even though it's advertised on Irish TV.

On the lookout for Hello Kitty licensed games

The odd time I like to check out games simply because they have a licensed character in them. My curiosity in this area in the past served me extremely well with Hamtaro but now I'm looking out for good Hello Kitty games. I've played two so far - Roller Rescue on the PS2 was pretty terrible but Hello Kitty World on the NES/Famicom was very good but that's because it was a copy of the classic Balloon Kid. Currently on the lookout for more!

I buy my first EA game ever

Boom Box Bash Party. It was selling very cheaply so I just thought I'd give it a go. You know, be open to trying something new? Well it's not bad. Must ensure to take more breaks in future playthroughs. Throwing things to knock down other things is a nice idea on paper and in execution and you don't have to set up a structure of knockable things each time you want to knock something down like you would in real life(unless you want to in edit mode).

Retro Gamer Issue 88

I'm taking a different approach to reading this magazine this month. I'm trying out the games as I read about them and come across them in the magazine. It's very possible to do this since the magazine covers many games that have been abandoned for a long time since their original release and download almost instantaneously since they're so tiny in size. I've been playing a lot of great games from before my time like ones from the ZX Spectrum. It's also why this post is late by a couple of hours! Whoops!

Also, Kirby's Epic yarn gets a 91 which is a great score!

Something funny and to do with video games

Just thought I'd share something funny, seeing what day it is and all.

http://www.brawlinthefamily.com

It's a very funny,clever and visually appealing hand drawn webcomic inspired by Smash Bros. so it's about all the various Nintendo characters coming together for the purpose of entertainment and laughter! Check it out if you haven't done so already and enjoy a bit of lightness.