This is why we're getting a new 2D Mario (conspiracy time!)

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=169831
Have a look at the video at the above link. Reggie's talking about the Wii U yada yada Geoff Keighley is there yada yada there are a couple of glamourous looking women there yada yada but pay attention to what the lady on the left says.

She asks if Mario Bros is going to be on the system! Someone watching at Nintendo HQ must've then went "Hmm..." while stroking their chin and decided "Right! Develop a new 2D Mario!"

That's my made up story and I'm sticking to it!

Seeing display boxes for The Last Story

I'm starting to see them now. It has that picture of the girl facing to the left with her hand on her bosom making her bust look huge from a distance.

It of course has Nobuo Uematsu and Hironobu Sakaguchi's names on the cover.

The cover also has an EDGE magazine 8/10 rating.

I'm bored already but I'll try my best to approach it with an open mind.

Ace Attorney 5 is announced! Woo!

I just heard from various blogs and stuff that they're making an all new Ace Attorney! There's no other details besides that but it's great news!

Hopefully it'll come out over here on the 3DS. Actually it could very well be a good fit for the Wii U! Thanks to the controller and the extra screen and microphone it would be a great fit for the Wii U so it would!

Now, the second installment of the not so great spinoff Ace Attorney Investigations may not have been released here but that doesn't mean they can't bring this over.

Remember we're Europe! We love adventure games! You also know from my ravings about Katawa Shoujo that I love visual novels as well! I've purchased every Ace Attorney released over here for the DS so I deserve this! Make it happen!

2D Mario confirmed for 3DS!

This is great news! Everyone loves 2D Mario! It's still among the best selling DS games and people just plain adore it.

This was announced at some Nintendo press event. I'm very much looking forward to this!

No doubt it'll appear in video form at E3 this year.

Kid Icarus is annoying me

I don't mean to be so annoyed lately, honest! I'm trying this NES game out though because Nintendo are kind of doing a revival of this series, what with the 3D classics version and the 3DS game coming out in a couple of months.

The Game Boy game was hard enough all those years ago but the NES one is just hard to get used to. I keep slipping off platforms. The password feature is disgustingly bad (though indicative of its age). They set things right when the GB sequel had a save feature. I wonder if the 3D classics version does away with these issues?

ZeldaClassic's Aloha from Hyrule is annoying me

The Darknuts in Level 3 keep killing me! In the normal game I usually get the white sword before going near any Darknuts but I don't have enough hearts for it. I'm a bit lost in Level 2 and I can't find the bomb guy in Level 1. I guess there's not much to do but soldier on...

I'm a bit discouraged by it already but I'll try to keep that under control!

Thinking about Kid Icarus Uprising and it's accessory

So this game is being released with a special stand. This is actually something I was looking for since I was playing the DS Zeldas. It'll surely be handy playing the stylus dependant Kirby games too.

It'll certainly be handy. Thing is though, I'm not that crazy about stylus intensive controls unless it's the odd few taps here and there. I have a suspicion that moving Pit around will make your hands tired very quickly, like what happened in Metroid Prime Hunters.

Well, we'll just have to wait and see what it'll be like.

To be honest I've never bothered much with Kid Icarus in the past! I had the Game Boy game but that wasn't always fun. I certainly didn't play it as many times as some of my other Game Boy games. Maybe I should get into the series again? It might be nice.

The cemetary from Zelda 2 is scary!

This isn't from my playthrough just so you know. You can't see much from this screenshot but the patterns in which the enemies move make this place scary and also make you want to run away very quickly.

Next time you walk through a graveyard, imagine all these flying eyeball things invading and terrifying all those who bravely enter!

I love ZeldaClassic now! Playing "Aloha From Hyrule"

Aloha From Hyrule is an original tileset quest for ZeldaClassic, the first of its kind I tried for it. I have to say I was absolutely hooked the moment I started playing and it didn't let go. Oh it's lovely. So lovely.

You have to search out everything, there's no stupid exposition except for people talking in caves and it is a satisfyingly good challenge. I love it!

ZeldaClassic 16 bit custom quests make me feel grumpy

They look colourful and everything but I hate having a view being obscured just because something's behind a tree. I also don't like the way things are flooded with dialogue. There was one quest that had awful quality music and another that was full of block puzzles. I'm getting to have a real distaste for puzzles in Zelda lately. Maybe it's because I'm playing the two NES games a lot.

I should just try out the original 8 bit style ones, if there are any.

Completed Katawa Shoujo!

Finally I've completed this!

I must say it isn't my favourite visual novel but it's the one single VN that I've been able to converse with friends about since it was new and we were all excited about playing it at the same time. That's one of the strongest things it has going for it.

So yes now Hanako's path is complete. She's ok but yeah she was never going to be my favourite. Lily's my favourite all the way! I had no spark at all for Shizune because I had absolutely nothing in common with her, unlike the other girls with whom I had at least one thing in common.

Sean Malstrom says Wii U will launch with 2D Mario. I'll purchase it!

http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2012/01/17/dont-count-out-vita-or-any-game-system/
I'd love a 2D Mario launch title for the Wii U! I didn't have any strong thoughts about buying the system before because we don't know an awful lot about it yet, or at least not all the important things that would be interesting to a customer.

A new 2D Mario hasn't been announced to my knowledge but hey, the idea of one at launch makes me very interested in buying a Wii U now!

Trying out the MotoHeroz demo

I'm not that fond of physics-y games I have to admit and that's what this is. It's a side scrolling driving game and I like the idea of those very much.

A lot of reviewers like this game and since it has stuff like loop the loops and the way the physics work it's likeable in some of the ways Sonic The Hedgehog is likeable.

So hey I'm not a huge fan of this game personally but it has some nice stuff like the fast pacing and variety in the levels and the way the game loads amazingly fast. It definitely has that praise due to it.

Playing loads of Zelda 2 lately! Mastering Zelda 1

I can complete Zelda 1 now without any game overs! It's difficult but it never stops being fun!

Zelda 2 is so hard but I've grown to love it. I'm on the second palace now and it's really tough. It'll certainly be doable as long as I keep my cool!

Katawa Shoujo: Still doing Hanako's path, thinking about social systems

This game can help you learn about social systems that take place in school. I was kind of aware about them already but this helps reinforce that learning. I think it would be a valuable thing to be aware of, vital even.

The reason for this is so you can have to power to create your own social systems, because the ones in place set by other people goes against a lot of things. The strongest being falling in love. That could go completely against rules of social systems that are in place.

In Katawa Shoujo's case, replaying and taking the various paths helps you to figure out which one you like best and gives you the power to choose.

In real life when you're doing this, try not to interfere with the rights of others :)

Katawa Shoujo: Completed Emi's path, doing Hanako's path now

Emi is quite fun - except of course for that little episode in the shed. That and her small size is the reason why she isn't my favourite. The fun exchanges feel great and it makes her absolutely fantastic company.

Hanako's path I'm playing now. With her being so quiet I'm not hugely interested in her but getting to know her is nice and it's helping me think about a lot of very important things.

What I think of the Mother 3 localisation email

The only point in me blogging about it really is to get people excited about something related to MOTHER/EarthBound.

For reference:
http://earthboundcentral.com/2012/01/the-mother-3-e-mail

I like getting people excited about something related to MOTHER/EarthBound. I should probably do it more often and with things that are positive and gloriously indulgent of the series.

Katawa Shoujo: Completed Rin's path, playing Emi's path

Rin's daydreaminess and personality make her very interesting. I do like her but she's far from being my favourite. Experiencing her personality and seeing the way she is makes me think about a lot of stuff. She's a fascinating little thing to look at sometimes. Imagine her breaking out on a dance floor? That would be pretty interesting to watch, seeing her short hair going all over the place while shaking her head.

So I'm starting on Emi's path now. She struck me as being a bit generic but that does change as you get to know her. I love her bubbliness and friendliness and charm. Love it! She'd make for an easy person to talk to and enjoy.

Playing Rin's path now in Katawa Shoujo (part 2)

Hmm... I'm starting to not like Rin as much now. I'm getting more and more fed up with her as her path goes on. I'll see it through to the end though.

Playing Rin's path now in Katawa Shoujo

I like this girl a lot! She's kind of daydreamy and just a pleasure to just hang around with. Talk about everything and nothing. I'd say she'd be great company to help pass time in real life too.

Completed Shizune's path in Katawa Shoujo

I didn't like this girl at all. Some parts of the playthrough were fun like talking with Misha and all the stuff about sign language but overall I'm just not a fan of Shizune's. I'd hate to have her father as an in law *shudder*

Wait until you meet him. He's horrible!

Katawa Shoujo: trying to woo Misha

I thought I'd pursue Misha in a new playthrough but well...

I can't say it because I don't want to spoil anything. It's heartbreaking though.

Xenoblade in Ireland costs EUR12.98 in GAME now

A while ago Matthew Castle of Nintendo Gamer magazine (formerly NGamer Magazine) posted a pic on his twitter of Xenoblade Chronicles originally costing £39.99 in GAME cut down to £9.98 in their recent sale. The link is here:

http://twitpic.com/7xshe8

I went to a local Irish GAME branch and took my own pic of the cover that was on display there. Here it is:

There you have it, from EUR24.99 cut down to EUR12.98.

It's a new copy and everything! If there's a list of reasons you're not getting this game, price doesn't belong on it.

Completed Lily's path in Katawa Shoujo

This was really nice! She's my favourite...

I mean wow... yes it was really nice....

Well ok um I'm going to play the game again but going on a different route. I'm not sure who to pick this time though... I just liked Lily so much. I should try the others out though.

How about the path of least resistance? ;)

(without getting the horrible Kenji ending of course)

Katawa Shoujo is better than 999 (in my opinion!)

I'm just remembering the 999 game that came out for the DS a little over a year ago. The set up seemed original and well put together but the gameplay system itself was a pain when you went to replay it to get more endings.

Katawa Shoujo I'm still playing and loving. I got a bad end and am now playing it from the beginning once more. It has a nice skip function. 999 had a skip function but it wasn't good enough at all; plus, you had to do the same puzzles all over again. KS' skip function — that is to say Ren'Py's skip function is miles better.

Some things in 999 felt unnatural, particularly the grusome and detailed death descriptions and the approach it took to swearing. KS has swearing too but so far it feels more natural, like it doesn't upset the flow of the story like it does in 999. My knee jerk reaction to these elements appearing in 999 make it seem like there were just put in to sound cool or mature.

Free 3D Classics Kid Icarus on the eShop but only if...

...you register two games from a certain range during a certain time period. You can see the full list of games here:

http://microsite.nintendo-europe.com/games_registration_reward/index.php?locale=en_GB&bcC=HT&bnC=NOE_promotion_3DSreward_home

I've one done already, Super Mario 3D Land and although I have Ocarina of Time 3D registered also, it was done outside the qualifying date range. (Remember the other limited promotion this game was involved in where you could win a free CD Soundtrack?)

The problem with this is... I have no strong inclination to buy any of the other games in that range.

Game and Watch Ball reproduction available in Nintendo of Europe stars catalogue

I came across this while registering a few games lately. I'm very fond of Game & Watch and they're normally extremely expensive. I have a Donkey Kong one. This one I played before as a minigame that appeared on the Game Boy Camera. I'm not sure if I'd get this though as I'd prefer the likes of Fire. I'd also like to try the Zelda one or one of the other Mario or Donkey Kong ones.

Playing Katawa Shoujo

I know this isn't Nintendo related but I love visual novels and adventure games and this is a pretty popular one among circles of fans. After years of demos it's finally got a big release. Just google "Katawa Shoujo" and you should get the official site which has the game available.

Visual novels and adventure games appear on Nintendo formats too of course! These two sentences are just an excuse to mention that and the famous Portopia for the Famicom.

Enjoy Katawa Shoujo though. My favourite girl is Lily by the way :)

I got Boom Street! It didn't work... but now it does!

I got Boom Street as well yesterday. After playing Rayman Origins I put this disc in and it wouldn't work. I was all set to return it today but I tried it again this morning. It worked perfectly and has been working perfectly ever since. That's very strange. My knee jerk reaction is to blame it on the Rayman game I just put in the machine beforehand during the first attempt but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Anyway I haven't played much of Boom Street but it has lovely presentation values so far. Text is clear and legible and the music is absolutely wonderful. When I bring up the game in future posts I'm going to be talking a lot about the music!

First of all I'm going to learn how to play the game through the optional tutorial.

Oh and another small thing, this game thanks you for buying it in the instruction manual. No such thanks appears in Rayman Origins' manual.

Rayman Origins is ok... has long loading times

Well, I got it. The game itself is ok. Nothing too special or too bad about it really except for loading times, which are long and painful. Very very silly for a 2D platforming game.

It also seems to demand Widescreen if you want to be able to read the text at all, which is another thing I don't like.

Dragon Quest VI was the best RPG of 2011

What an awesome game this was. It made you try and figure out things for yourself and the job/class changing system was a pleasure to use. The version of Alltrades Abbey that appeared in this game is the one I visited the most out of all the Dragon Quest games I've played so far.

It also had some wonderful characters, my favourite being the mermaids. They like to rhyme so it's always such nice fun having a chat with them.

On a side note the game also released on the same day the Queen visited Cork which makes it the most stressful video game launch day I've ever had.

Xenoblade was ok and got people more hyped up(especially Americans) but it's just not as interesting to me.

In 2012 I'll probably like Dragon Quest X more than Last Story, depending of course on how the online stuff will affect DQX.

What I really want though is a European localisation for the Rocket Slime sequel for 3DS!

Happy New Year! Boom Street is out already

Happy New Year everyone! Boom Street was going to be out this Friday but it came out last Friday instead. I'm going to buy it as soon as I can and maybe consider buying Rayman Origins.

Enjoy what's left of the holidays!