3DS Catch-all

shoptroll wrote:

EDIT: That new Zelda 3DS game looks intriguing. Odd they're going with a direct sequel (LttP-2?), but the 2D mechanic sounds similar to this Digipen game from last year.

OMG! This will be the first Zelda that didn't suck in a long time. I'll actually go back to the series for this.

Mario and Luigi! Yoshi's Island! Oldschool style Zelda! Great year for the 3DS.

Wow... I only wish some of that stuff would have come out earlier in the 3DS life because there is no way I will be able to afford all the 3DS games I am interested in coming in the next year.

I still haven't even gotten Fire Emblem and Luigi's Mansion

Notes while watching the presentation...

  • Mario and Luigi: Dream Team looks pretty neat. It looks like they've added a nice variety of minigames during battle to boost damage. Unfortunately, they still have that thing where you move Mario with the A button and Luigi with the B button. I really disliked that in Bowser's Inside Story. I'll probably pass on this and just play Sticker Star instead.
  • Mario Golf's community features look neat. I like the idea of being able to setup tournaments and competitions that are more customized to your style of play (no power shots, character restrictions, etc.) Too bad it's a golf game.
  • Mario Party! Umm... Never played one of these, but the hardcore gaming community hates them but the casual buying public eats them up. Honestly, some of the mechanics they're showing with different gameplay rules on different boards looks really interesting. I'm also encouraged that they specifically mention making games shorter; I've heard a lot of bad things about games of Mario Party taking ages to finish. It might be fun to try out, but I don't know that I'd want to own it. (If this were a portable Fortune Street, I'd buy two copies.)
  • Even though it's a 3DS presentation, they plugged New Super Luigi U for the Wii U. Hot damn, that game is gorgeous.
  • Here's the in-game description of "New Mode" for Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D: "In this mode, Donkey Kong has 3 hearts by default and there is a wider variety of items for purchase at Cranky's Shop." The purchasable items look like guards for the mine cart, balloons that rescue you if you fall off a platform, and barrels for summoning Diddy.

    I didn't find the Wii game to be too difficult, but I know a good number of people will be happy to have an easier mode. And hey, no waggle! I ended up liking the waggle well enough, but I wouldn't mind a portable version of the game without it.

  • Yoshi's Island looks a lot like the original Yoshi's Island both in terms of visuals and in terms of gameplay. I'm curious, although I'd also love for them to just fix the GBA version of the game so that it works with sleep mode.
  • I didn't realize Mario vs Donkey Kong would be a downloadable game. That makes me think it'll be about $15, which makes it much more tempting as a fun little puzzle game.
  • They're working to bring GBA games to the Wii U but have no official plans to bring them to the 3DS? Bwuh?
  • How long have they been teasing Pikmin 3 now? At this rate, I'm starting to think it's a Valve game.
  • Just in case anyone was confused: EarthBound is coming to the Virtual Console on the Wii U, not on the 3DS. At least, that was my impression of it. Also, it's getting published in North America and Europe thanks to fan comments on Miiverse, so that's worth making note of.
  • I'm not surprised at all to see the Animal Crossing 3DS XL bundle is getting released in North America. $220 for an XL with Animal Crossing pre-installed.
  • ZOMG BRAVELY DEFAULT!!!1111!!! Okay, that's out of my system. In truth, I'm excited for it because it's so pretty, but I'm a little worried that the battle system will be a bit too bland and a bit too Final Fantasy. Also, it's hilarious that they're keeping that title for the localization because that title is awful.

    I'm not surprised that Nintendo is publishing the game in North America. I had actually meant to post yesterday that that was my prediction for today's Nintendo Direct. Oh, well.

  • Man, there are a lot of Layton games.
  • Starship Damrey sounds awesome. A text/visual novel game without any instructions or objectives? I'll be buying it as soon as it's available.
  • I hadn't heard much about Attack of the Friday Monsters, but the premise sounds great: you control a character who lives in a '70s-style world of giant monsters attacking Tokyo every Friday. That sounds wonderful and really charming.
  • Boy, that physical edition of SMT IV looks nice. I'd planned to get it on the eShop, but that's a really sweet looking package...
  • The new Zelda looks really neat. I'm expecting some grumping about the 3D visuals not quite matching the pixel art of the SNES game, but I think it looks really nice. It's really interesting to see the way they've both stuck to and evolved from the level designs of the older game. That said, I still haven't played A Link to the Past, so maybe I ought to do that before the sequel-ish one comes out.

Man, that was a lot of stuff.

3DS XL Animal Crossing Bundle? Yes, that will finally convince my wife to buy one I think.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
  • I didn't realize Mario vs Donkey Kong would be a downloadable game. That makes me think it'll be about $15, which makes it much more tempting as a fun little puzzle game.

I think they've transitioned that franchise to a downloadable series. There was at least one DSiWare title for the series.

EDIT: Scratch that, they did a retail DS game after the DSiWare game.

Stele wrote:

3DS XL Animal Crossing Bundle? Yes, that will finally convince my wife to buy one I think. ;)

Are eShop games tied to our Nintendo Club IDs yet? I'd be all over this if my copy of the game wasn't stuck on there or my other eShop games weren't stuck on my current 3DS.

Otherwise that list of games is amazing, honestly. I want to play most of those. Mario and Luigi? Yes, please. Another Yoshi's Island? YES! I love Mario Golf games, especially when they're deeper than what Camelot did with Mario Tennis on the 3DS. I love Mario vs. Donkey Kong. Currently playing the last DS game on the 3DS. This is an amazing lineup.

shoptroll wrote:
ClockworkHouse wrote:
  • I didn't realize Mario vs Donkey Kong would be a downloadable game. That makes me think it'll be about $15, which makes it much more tempting as a fun little puzzle game.

I think they've transitioned that franchise to a downloadable series. There was at least one DSiWare title for the series.

EDIT: Scratch that, they did a retail DS game after the DSiWare game.

Yeah, that's the one I'm playing right now. And it's pretty amazing, honestly.

DSGamer wrote:

Are eShop games tied to our Nintendo Club IDs yet?

Not yet. That'll probably roll out when Miiverse gets added to the 3DS. No idea when that'll be.

I bought a DS last month to help me curb my pile, not make a new one! WTF?

Great line up, heading off to bed now to watch the video in full before I nod off.

m0nk3yboy wrote:

I bought a DS last month to help me curb my pile, not make a new one! WTF?

Great line up, heading off to bed now to watch the video in full before I nod off.

Yeah. I have a pile already. Playing Luigi's Mansion, still trying to finish Mario 3D Land, playing NSMB2 still, haven't touched Ghost Recon, Harmonknight or Crashmo. Lots of great games to play and more coming out. The only thing I'm missing is an Tactics Ogre / FFT-style SRPG. SMT:Devil Survivor won't scratch that itch, I don't think. So I might go back and pick up FFTA2 for the DS until something else like that arrives.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

…Man, that was a lot of stuff.

IMAGE(http://www.vaughanpl.info/vortex/wp-content/uploads/its-beautiful.jpg)

DSGamer wrote:
m0nk3yboy wrote:

I bought a DS last month to help me curb my pile, not make a new one! WTF?

Great line up, heading off to bed now to watch the video in full before I nod off.

Yeah. I have a pile already. Playing Luigi's Mansion, still trying to finish Mario 3D Land, playing NSMB2 still, haven't touched Ghost Recon, Harmonknight or Crashmo. Lots of great games to play and more coming out. The only thing I'm missing is an Tactics Ogre / FFT-style SRPG. SMT:Devil Survivor won't scratch that itch, I don't think. So I might go back and pick up FFTA2 for the DS until something else like that arrives.

Does Fire Emblem scratch that itch? Demo on the eShop

m0nk3yboy wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
m0nk3yboy wrote:

I bought a DS last month to help me curb my pile, not make a new one! WTF?

Great line up, heading off to bed now to watch the video in full before I nod off.

Yeah. I have a pile already. Playing Luigi's Mansion, still trying to finish Mario 3D Land, playing NSMB2 still, haven't touched Ghost Recon, Harmonknight or Crashmo. Lots of great games to play and more coming out. The only thing I'm missing is an Tactics Ogre / FFT-style SRPG. SMT:Devil Survivor won't scratch that itch, I don't think. So I might go back and pick up FFTA2 for the DS until something else like that arrives.

Does Fire Emblem scratch that itch? Demo on the eShop ;)

I'm pretty sure DS has put like 100+ hours into Fire Emblem.

Great writeup Clock, enjoyed reading that.

BNice wrote:
m0nk3yboy wrote:
DSGamer wrote:
m0nk3yboy wrote:

I bought a DS last month to help me curb my pile, not make a new one! WTF?

Great line up, heading off to bed now to watch the video in full before I nod off.

Yeah. I have a pile already. Playing Luigi's Mansion, still trying to finish Mario 3D Land, playing NSMB2 still, haven't touched Ghost Recon, Harmonknight or Crashmo. Lots of great games to play and more coming out. The only thing I'm missing is an Tactics Ogre / FFT-style SRPG. SMT:Devil Survivor won't scratch that itch, I don't think. So I might go back and pick up FFTA2 for the DS until something else like that arrives.

Does Fire Emblem scratch that itch? Demo on the eShop ;)

I'm pretty sure DS has put like 100+ hours into Fire Emblem.

Yep. I need more of that, but a different game.

Summarizing release dates:

  • Mario and Luigi: Dream Team - Retail/Download - August 11
  • Mario Golf World Tour - Retail/Download - Summer 2013
  • Mario Party - Retail/Download - Winter 2013
  • Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D - Retail/Download - May 24
  • Yoshi's Island - No date given
  • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move - Download - May 9
  • Lego City Undercover: The Chase Begins - Retail/Download - April 21
  • Animal Crossing and Animal Crossing 3DS XL - Retail/Download - June 9
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons - Download - May 30
  • Bravely Default: Flying Fairy - 2014
  • Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy - 2014
  • Bugs vs. Tanks, Starship Damrey, and Attack of the Friday Monsters: A Tokyo Tale - Download - "Coming soon"
  • Shin Megami Tensei IV - Retail/Download - July 16
  • The Legend of Zelda - Holiday '13

So while I'm still wishing for another Other M style of Metroid game, the Yoshi's Island 2 and Link to the Past 2 games they have shown make me hope we'll be seeing a similar 2.5D revival of Super Metroid coming down the pipe.

Earthbound is coming to the VC!

Ulairi wrote:

Earthbound is coming to the Wii U VC!

FTFY. At least, that was my understanding of it.

Earthbound being WiiU only makes me very sad.

I haven't had a chance to watch the feed. What's the word on the Lego City game? The WiiU version is getting raves, but I has no WiiU. Is the 3ds version looking like a reasonable replacement, or an iffy handheld version?

Got my SMT 4 pre-order all set up. Atlus did right by me with the Persona 4 Arena pre-order soundtrack, so I'm all-in on this one too.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Also, it looks like Europe is getting the game later this year while we North American scum have to wait for 2014.

So basically it's the Project Rainfall strategy: get EU voice actors (I assume lower cost?), then bring the game across the Atlantic 6 months later.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

ZOMG BRAVELY DEFAULT!!!1111!!! Okay, that's out of my system. In truth, I'm excited for it because it's so pretty, but I'm a little worried that the battle system will be a bit too bland and a bit too Final Fantasy. Also, it's hilarious that they're keeping that title for the localization because that title is awful.

I spoke too soon. Nintendo of Europe, at least, is listing "Bravely Default: Flying Fairy" as a temporary title with a final title TBA. I don't blame them for that one bit.

Also, it looks like Europe is getting the game later this year while we North American scum have to wait for 2014. English-subtitled trailer:

Edit: With regard to the battle system, it actually sounds pretty interesting. I like the emphasis on taking risks and speedy resolutions.

This is interesting... the Nintendo online store has the Circle Pad Pro listed as being for sale, with a ship date of this Saturday.

Anyone know if it's always been there?

Trachalio wrote:

This is interesting... the Nintendo online store has the Circle Pad Pro listed as being for sale, with a ship date of this Saturday.

Anyone know if it's always been there?

No, that's new! Good catch. I bet the Monster Hunter crowd will be happy about that.

Grr...torn about circle pad. On the one hand, I haven't had a problem with the MH3U controls yet. On the other hand, they might vanish pretty fast...

Shipping looks like $5.

I'm gonna sit on it for a few days and see if there's an announcement about them available in stores soon.

I think I said it before, although maybe it was in the MH3U thread, BUT: that game is light-years better with the Circle Pad Pro. I thought it was going to be fine without until I had my first lengthy underwater hunt. Since the camera control also helps determine the direction in which you're swimming, it's really tough to make sure you're going to land your attacks if you're relying on the on-screen d-pad, mashing the L-button, etc. Having that second analog pad makes it work a lot more like every other third person 3-D control scheme out there, which means you can focus on looking at the monster's tells and timing your attacks instead of cursing about how you keep missing and getting hit in the process. It was definitely worth the $30 I paid to import mine, so at $20, you shouldn't pass it up if you're looking to play Monster Hunter on the go.

Fine, I ordered it. I have a feeling this may wind up being one of those "online only" things. It's an optional add on that works with a subset of the systems sold, and only functions with certain games. These things aren't going to be fast movers in stores.