SEGA All Stars Racing arcade is now in Leisureplex Cork

I took a quick walk to the city centre's arcade today and saw that they had a twin version of this arcade cabinet. I guess it's nice and modern enough to have this there but...

When are they going to put in an Outrun 2 cabinet??

Ubisoft needs to do Wii U stuff properly

We now have available to us the very first footage of an actual confirmed game for the Wii U and it's Rayman Legends, a sequel to Rayman Origins.

Remember the very first images of a Wii game ever? It was Red Steel, another game by Ubisoft.

I think we need to be careful about these guys. Whenever I was trolled about Wii, more often than not it was because of a game Ubisoft made. What will Rayman Legends do? Will it end up damaging everyone's first impressions of the Wii U? Or will it just be something that's as boring as it looks and noone will notice?

New Super Mario Bros 2 will be downloadable as well as retail

I just heard this from some investor meeting or other where Satoru Iwata was speaking.

This is interesting I suppose and it will be like a way for Nintendo to experiment with things. As for me though I'm going to buy the full boxed copy from a shop!

Nobody likes Kid Icarus Uprising's controls

Just look all around you at game review sites. It's still the high hype season where reviewers will say nice things about a game. Looking at some of the more positive reviews of Kid Icarus Uprising you can tell they're really straining to be positive about the controls.

At some point in the future retrospective features will be written and Kid Icarus Uprising will be in several of those "top worst" lists that you see online now and again.

3DS Folders!

Got the new system update with the folders and everything. Now I can organise that big mess of software I have on the menu.

The first thing I did of course was to put the Health and Safety Information into a folder on its own and labelled it "Rubbish".

Nintendo's hotspot finder

I had a look at Nintendo of Europe's new hotspot finder. There's absolutely none in Cork or even in the whole country so it's pretty much useless to me.

Nintendo Gamer magazine has "The games that will save Nintendo" cover

One of the games is Fire Emblem. Urrgghhhhhhhh.

How could Fire Emblem "save" Nintendo? I'd say most people don't know Fire Emblem exists. I'd put my money on a new Sonic the Hedgehog game over this. (I betcha a new one will be announced at E3)

I mean, Fire Emblem fans must be the quietest around.

Another thing, do Nintendo even need saving? Actually don't answer that. I'd say the truth is that it's the magazine that needs saving. When it was NGamer it was one of the lowest selling games magazines for quite a while. Maybe the top 10 list is for them? So they have stuff to write about?

European version of Rhythm Paradise/Haven/(whatever) Wii will have both English and Japanese voices

I've been waiting for this game for a while and I'd like to get it. It has been announced that the game will have both English and Japanese options for the voices.

Yes I do like that very much and yes it does make me feel special. It's still not fair though. By right every region should have access to both options.

It's coming out here in Ireland on the 6th of July.

Is Kirby's 20th Anniversary Collection coming to Europe?

A couple of exciting announcements were made yesterday but when it came to European announcements there was no sign of the Kirby 20th Anniversary Collection among any of it.

Will it come to Ireland I have to ask? I'd like to buy it.

New Super Mario Bros 2 for 3DS, Kirby 20th Anniversary compilation, Nintendo Direct Europe

That 2D Mario game for 3DS we all first learned about in January is now official! It also features Racoon Mario (yeyeyeeeeesaaaaaahahhhhhhhhH!!!!!)

Also there's a Kirby 20th Anniversary compilation announced too! Yahooo!!! I wonder what Kirby games they'll put on it? Will they put the hand held games on there too? Some ideas: Power Paintbrush and the tilting one we never got could be a nice idea for Wii controls (man that remote can do anything)

Ahem. Please excuse, I'm very excited about all this :)

All this was announced on the Nintendo Direct service in Japan within the last day or so. Here in Ireland we're going to get a broadcast on the European website in a couple of hours here:

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/nintendo_direct_47764.html

1pm CET so that means it'll be 12pm Irish time. More info here:

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/news/2011/tune_in_saturday_at_1pm_cet_for_the_next_nintendo_direct_49478.html

Protesting in GAME Patrick Street Cork has stopped

All the signs came down in the past few days. After googling around for a bit I've learned that the staff weren't able to get their pay from the company.

Maybe now they can start living normal lives.

Donkey Kong Country 3 on Virtual Console is better than emulating it otherwise

I have to have this game on my Wii. It's my favourite of the DKC trilogy from when I had it back in 1997 on the SNES. I've tried emulating it but when I tear through the levels the movement jerks and stutters very slightly but noticeably. Getting the VC version is perfect and for my needs well worth the 800 points.

The famous download game review site nintendolife.com gave the three games 9/10 each. Not a bad score.

Gargoyle's Quest is really hard but really good

Wow this game is great. I'm playing it on the 3DS Virtual Console and it's well worth getting. I missed it back in the day but I still remember Firebrand's big green grinning face on the box while looking at shop shelves.

It has normal platforming gameplay but you can cling to walls and use a hover jump (like the Princess in Super Mario Bros 2) but it also has very light RPG/Adventure elements between levels and you get stronger in a prerequisite fashion as you progress. These elements may be done in a more or less straightforward way but they still make the game feel like an adventure.

Firebrand is an amazingly awesome name too.

Pandora's Tower is better than Last Story and Xenoblade

I've only just beaten the third boss but I've decided already. The other two games I found very hard to stay interested in for long but this one keeps me coming back. Last Story in particular is definitely the weakest.

Reviewers may be saying that Pandora's Tower is the weakest but don't be fooled! It's the most accessible and interesting one of the lot.

Now Xenoblade alright you could say it's just a different kind of game and that's fair and it can be very exciting at times.

You might have seen Pandora's Tower described as being like Zelda or like Castlevania. Well, it's true. There's a strong flavour of both these games in Pandora's Tower.

Sean Malstrom is reminded of QBasic Gorillas

http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2012/04/15/email-angry-over-birds/

I cheered and nodded enthusiastically in agreement when Sean said how Angry Birds reminded him of games he played before and one of them was QBasic Gorillas, which was a game that probably came with every version of Windows (or equivalent) that came out back in the day.

That's exactly what that game reminded me of. Incidentally there's a Macintosh Plus equivalent called Space Artillery.

I'd also say it's like Boom Blox or those crappy flash games where a  yeti throws a penguin as well as a bloody gory version where it's the penguin's decapitated head flying across the screen.

Playing Pandora's Tower (part 2)

Continued from yesterday. The gameplay is action based using a sword or a chain. Sword's done with buttons, chain is done with pointer aiming(like Zelda's hookshot), though you can use a classic controller if you like. You go through 13 tower dungeons, returning to your hideout hub when you need to. There's no overworld but that makes it straightforward and helps you to focus on why you're going through these dungeons.

You have a girl companion that stays in the hideout hub who suffers from this curse that slowly turns her into a monster over time unless she eats the flesh from the monsters you slay in these dungeons. The curse can be broken if you slay all the boss monsters from these dungeons. That makes for a really interesting plot that keeps you motivated about what you're doing in the game and it's such an uncomplicated unpretentious set up too.

Instead of leaving me bewildered like Xenoblade did or bored like Last Story did I actually admire Pandora's Tower for being so straight up entertaining.

Just played Pandora's Tower!

I really really like it! The gameplay isn't too complicated at all and the plot is very simple, very solid and very interesting. More on this later!

Pandora's Tower is out today in Ireland

Well here it is, the last of the three games we were waiting on for a long time. If you want to know if this game is for you then have a look at this YouTube Let's Player playing through the game:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=2H0IuxXotjM

I think this gives a good impression on what the game is going to be like. The player talks alright but he's not constantly talking through the game, he comes in now and again with the odd few commentating words, kind of like Marty Whelan commentating during the Eurovision song contest finals.

Zelda 1's on the 3DS VC now (Ambassador update)

So it's an ambassador update for me! Like Super Mario Bros your data is kept intact when you update. That includes save files and the suspend point.

The manual is nice enough but there's no mention of the Pols Voice in the enemies section. I was hoping it would talk about the way it didn't like loud noises or something.

I have to say though Zelda 1 controls very well with the circle pad. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

My favourite April Fool's Joke of 2012

HCBailly did a Let's Play episode of The World Ends With You:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gAQah7VPYfY

I was very surprised to see it pop up as I know he doesn't like the game very much. Then it turns out he's not going to continue doing it. (thank goodness. I'd hate to see him go through any more of that pain)

I couldn't be bothered playing the game myself. That opening nearly killed me with its waves of humongous all round lack of appeal. It doesn't deserve to be played. That's why I could never do a proper review.

Anyway we also see him for the first time doing a DS Let's Play (at least I think it's the first time). He has both screens on the right hand side of the video in a sort of thumbnail while one of the screens is enlarged for the main part of the video. It's interesting to see and I hope it works out well for his Let's Play of the fantastic Dragon Quest IV!

What I want to see in E3 2012 (Part 1): ROCKET SLIME 3D

Please announce it for Europe! I bought Dragon Quest VI last year and loved it, I bought Boom Street a few months ago, I want this too!

Kirby TV Channel is available again on Wii

So it's available again. I really enjoyed it last year and I made blog posts about every single episode! I wonder if I should tune in again? Hmm... I'm not sure.

Or why not? Why not be nerdy with regards to all things Kirby? :)

Well, if I do then I won't redo the same posts I did last year. I'll check on them for reference sake. It's pretty cool now that my blog has a bit of content archived now :)

American fans still don't have it. I wonder if anyone over there is upset about it?

It's a bit sad that Nintendo Week is gone.

I kept watching Nintendo Week and I really liked all the regular characters involved. What's Gary's surname by the way? I'd like to know what other stuff he was in and where he's going from here.

I mean he is quite talented! His Dark Gary alter-ego was very likeable.

Nintendo still does a few shows like the 3DS one and the one we have for our region. I'll still miss Nintendo Week though as I do think it shows the fun side of Nintendo PR. When you see Reggie Fils-Aime visit and join them on the couch, you don't mind that he's there for some kind of advertising, it's just a nice thing in which to indulge and be entertained.

As a customer of video games I constantly have to deal with retailers who either don't think much of what they're selling to me or the likelihood that they're not as informed about the product as I am. This means I watch these shows with a sense of anxiety, especially if I really like the show.

Lowest score possible on Kirby's Dream Land?

I wonder what it is? You get points for loads of things in this game, even if you bump into an enemy. You get more points breaking a block than you do when you inhale it. Then of course there are the numbers that are impossible to avoid such as defeating bosses. It'd be an interesting thing to do.

I've been playing Castlevania III all day

This is one of those games that's so hard but keeps you coming back for more, whether you like it or not. I've given up and gotten back into this game several times after it kicked my ass time and time again. Right now I've reached the Grim Reaper. He's tough to avoid but I've sussed out his pattern. I love the fact that this level plays a certain nostalgic tune if you know what I mean? :) Makes me not want to move on!

I'm willing to give Animal Crossing on 3DS a go

I hate the DS version of the game. Actually it was quite lovely in almost every area except for controls. This was rubbished even more when the Zelda DS games came out. Thanks to the circle pad though the game is going to control just wonderfully.

All we need now is a release of the game.

Rumour Time! Wii U is going to have absolutely no loading times

It's been reported online that Nintendo have said that gameplay matters more than power. This apparently got a lot of fans online talking and eventually some rumours started to spread about Wii U's features. One came up that got me really excited and that is the prospect of no loading times for Wii U and its games.

Wouldn't it be great if it could be like the NES days where you'd press POWER and the title screen would immediately hit you in the face? And then if you pressed START the first level would immediately hit you in the face?

Man I can't wait. Nintendo! Please confirm!

Completed Sonic Triple Trouble for the first time! Final score.

Yay I beat this game for the first time! My final score at the end of the game was 312,900.

I enjoyed it quite a lot. There's a couple of hairy bits alright though and the water stages were every bit as unpleasant as you can expect them to be in a Sonic game.

I only won one of the chaos emeralds from Nack the Weasel so I know I can get a better score in future.

Sonic Triple Trouble is pretty good!

It's a bit weird, a bit off the wall but it's a fine Sonic game. My favourite feature is being able to turn into a ball in mid air, like say if you just bounced up from a springboard. It controls very nicely with the circle pad.

It's also at # 1 in the European eShop charts of recent bestsellers whereas the other Game Gear titles that launched in its service, Shinobi comes in at # 7 and Dragon Crystal comes in at #20. It's interesting too how Sonic's the most expensive of the three and Dragon Crystal is the cheapest.

Google Maps has cool Dragon Quest NES style option for April 1st

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rznYifPHxDg

A lot of people may be talking about this already but hey no harm in me talking about it too. This is awesome and this video is a nice humourous tribute :)

It's cool to see my home town as just a bunch of 8bit paths, fields and trees. Actually the map in Dragon Quest III is based on the real world so have a look out for that too.