Calpis

I can see that. Like I said, I think everyone came into this game with different expectations. I remember watching the developer interviews about the game and what I got from it for me was that they're trying to match the gameplay and feel of Super Metroid, although in hindsight I do remember him pimping the story a lot as well. I kind of assumed that he was just talking about the fact that there is more of an emphasis in story than previous games. I'll also say that I think the music was good and matched the action well, it just didn't blow me away. I think it was too quiet or something.

I think the main difference is everyone's expectations from the game. When I think of playing Metroid, I expect: - Fun gameplay, (check) - Moody atmosphere, (check) - A story (however minimalist or not) that I don't really care about. (check) The story part goes for the Prime series as well. I just didn't care about it because in it's essence, it's all just another adventure about a girl in a robot suit that kills ugly aliens. That's why I think it's ridiculous that all the people who hated this game are going to such lengths to explain why the game sucked. Things like characterization, motive, and reasoning which are all the things being picked apart in this (things that were also not picked apart before this game) just don't matter to me, because it doesn't affect how the game is played. I don't remember people going into such depth analyzing Fusion, Zero Mission or any of the Prime games. However, a few more months (or more) could've really helped things that actually matter in a Metroid game: polish to the background graphics, music, and level design. Hopefully the next one will get more attention in those areas.

Couldn't stand reading this. How seriously should we be taking this game? C'mon, in Super Metroid, she got the Hyper Beam for no other reason than to just kill Mother Brain. There wasn't even a half assed explanation for it, and who cares? When did fans start getting so snooty with their Metroid storylines? I think this is just ridiculous. It was a fun game and had some flaws, either play it or get on with your life.

I agree it should've been cheaper than $50, even $45 would've been okay. I don't know... maybe I really liked Other M because of it's shortness. I don't have time for 60+ hour games anymore. I'm nearing my 30's now and don't have the attention span for ridiculously long games anymore. I initially thought that this game was gonna be good for speedrunning, but now after playing it more, I think that's probably not so true, given how linear it is. I might be wrong though...

I actually didn't mind Samus' reaction to Ridley. I remember when I played Prime 1 for the first time, I thought it was a bit of a let-down that there wasn't much reaction to Ridley appearing, so this kind of made up for it. For those who listened to the Screw Attack review: was anyone else annoyed that one of the guys kept on calling him "Ripley"?

Still haven't played it yet (no time) but I'll say this: I'm getting sick of reviewers and fans alike complaining about Team Ninja "objectifying" Samus when she's been wearing revealing (or skin-tight) clothing since the beginning, so to say that Team Ninja "screwed up" on Samus' characterization because of that is just ridiculous. I also don't agree that making her "obey every one of Adam's commands" ruins the character either. Can't remember who mentioned it here, but Adam is her employer and you gotta do shit that your employer orders, or you don't get paid. Whether or not that was a good idea for the power up system is a different issue entirely, however. But really, when it comes down to it, Metroid is about running, gunning, and exploring and this game sounds like it delivers in all three of those categories, so it really should firstly be judged that way, and any opinions about characterization issues should be a footnote rather than the bulk of the review.

So isn't today the official release? Everybody that couldn't get a pre-release playthrough can buy it now. I reserved it and am picking it up today at lunch. Anyone else?

I felt really apprehensive when seeing the first videos of this game. Over the past year though, I've gotten excited for it. I'm a huge Super Metroid speedrun nut so all the references to the old games look awesome for me. I'm still worried about how the story will turn out, but the gameplay looks like a lot of fun. I actually reserved this game, and I haven't done that since Twilight Princess.

As far as I know, YouTube doesn't automatically put ads on your page. In fact, to get those ads on, you have to go through and manually set up a Google AdSense account and link it up and tell it which video(s) specifically you want to put ads on. Sure, YouTube will email you and let you know when a video is available to put ads on, but I don't think they'll automatically just start putting ads on videos once they hit a certain view count.

First time I played the game, and I had to get the soundtrack. I love the old GameBoy look and sound! Thanks for the links.

Awesome, congrats! They remind me somewhat of Yoshida Brothers.

Speaking of emulation controllers, I seriously cannot play most N64 games without an actual N64 controller. Something about the button placement matches the games really well, for me anyway. Anyone have a link for a decent N64 > USB adapter? Maybe even a Gamecube one as well?

I think my first was FF4. I remember reading a GamePro and they were raving about how great the "Synthesized Music" was. My Dad is a sound engineer and had several synthesizers/keyboards around so I had to check it out, even though I wasn't quite sure what a synthesizer was at the time. I remember thinking that I'd never heard music like that from a videogame before. And THEN I rented FF6, and had to record it. So I lugged my Dad's sound equipment upstairs and recorded the entire soundtrack (as in going through the entire game and recording each new track as it came on, trying to minimize the amount of SFX that might play during that scene/area) directly via the RCA inputs on the back of the tape player.

This is my current:

I think my first was Pong. I was probably 4 or so at the time. Then we got our first NES when I was... 5 or 6. I got so pissed playing Super Mario Brothers. Wanna know a cruel way to torture a 7 year old kid? Give him Zelda 2 for his birthday. That was the first game I ever owned.

Same thing happened to me. The first time, I had to stand quite a distance away before she'd talk with me. After that first time, it seemed to work the right way though. Is there a better order to go through the missions? (as opposed to sequential?) I fail so hard on every "next" mission so I wonder if there are easier missions that'll allow me to beef up a little more before tackling missions with difficult bosses.

Yeah, I'm glad Nintendo decided with the 3DS that the gimmick alone isn't enough to get us excited about the system. This time they actually have the games to back it up (so far, that is).

This needs to come out sooner than later. The L button on my DS died awhile ago and I'm not buying a DSi when this is on the horizon. Some of my favorite games use the L button!

Wait, you mean this November? I thought only Kid Icarus was the only game that was even close to being a full game at E3. I don't think they have the lineup to support launching this year...

I play a lot of games on my Android phone, but it still won't replace my proper handheld gaming device for one reason only: lack of decent gaming buttons. All-touch controls suck for most games, and phones that have hard keyboards cramp my hand like hell, and I have pretty small hands.

I think they probably think of it as more of a nicety on smaller screens, rather than a requirement. It's weird because they were ALL about how great anti aliasing was on the N64 and Gamecube (probably because the PS1 and 2 didn't do it). I agree though, I'd rather have everything looking a little smoother than all those jaggies everywhere.

This game looks so awesome. I don't get why people are complaining about the lack of sucking in and spitting out enemies though. The basic mechanic of grabbing and throwing enemies in Epic Yarn is pretty much the same thing, just with different gameplay-branching possibilities.

I don't get the appeal of a mic on a handheld console. My blood pressure rose significantly every time there was a "Now you have to blow into the mic" part in any DS game, especially if I was in public. Sure, it's a cool idea but I just don't think it works well in reality. Either way, I'm getting this on launch day. Which is something I told myself I wouldn't do again after the Wii. The lineup looks amazing and the 3D looks interesting, although it's not the main allure for me.

You're kidding me, right? That's pushing a lot more polys than I ever saw on the DS. Still isn't anti aliased, which a big reason why the trailer looks pixelated on a computer screen. The graphics are definitely better this time around though.

I didn't say anything hypocritical because I didn't mention anything about any other Nintendo franchise. I was actually kind of disappointed with the new Zelda because of how little they've changed so far. It's not to say that recent Kirby games are bad, quite the contrary. I'm just bored with them (Squeak Squad especially). Compare that with Canvas Curse, which admittedly wasn't as polished or long as SS, but I had a lot more fun playing.