ocre

I was afraid this would happen. Aside from what Nintendo's primary talent has done with Pikmin 3, I get the distinct feeling that the console and controller hadn't been finalized soon enough to have third party titles and partnerships exist at a mature enough level to show at E3. Underwhelmed, but at least I can enjoy The Last of Us, Pikmin 3, NSMBU, Luigi's Mansion, Paper Mario and Pokemon BW2 in the mean time. Oh well, I'm getting one. Ah well, systems are expected to start slow, on the other hand, I feel sorry for people who love the Xbox.

Really? This looks pretty stupid now, and will look even more stupid tomorrow.

Luckily tomorrow is all about Wii U games. They're even hosting a Software Showcase (which will feature Wii U and 3DS games) on Wednesday so they can devote the entirety of the conference to demonstrate Wii U games. I believe they will also be delivering release dates for already-announced 3DS titles on their online Press Kit. There's another event that will be broadcast on Nintendo's E3 site at 1:30AM (tomorrow night): a 'Wii U developer discussion hosted by Animal Crossing creator Katsuya Eguchi. Should be interesting. In addition to the first party games, I'm hoping for plenty of third party launch support; titles like GTA V and Skyrim( I know its been out for a while but still) for starters. It'd be nice if hat Mario game they're showing off is a pack-in title.

Yeah, looks like I jumped the gun. The game is supposddly 2.5d and will feature nonlinear exploration. :3 Me excite.

Apparently, the new Nintendo Power features the next Castlevania game coming to the 3DS (Lords of Shadow sequel by Mercurysteam). Welp, it ain't no Igavania/Metroidvania. : (

The Retry button is going to make this so much more user friendly. Thank you, WF!

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles! - This soundtrack really does an excellent job of establishing the celtic/fantasy vibe for this game with interesting instrument choices that really give the locations their character. From the bleak ' ' to the carefree(and Lord of the Rings Shire-like) ' , the game delivers magical tracks that take you to another world. Additional tracks: and

Yeah, I suspect the majority of players don't notice but if you go back to HeartGold or Platinum after playing BW, you'll likely notice a huge difference in the writing. It's not something I find a lot of complaints about on the internet; I don't think people realize that the translation teams have changed, so while it's a pretty significant issue for me, it's likely not on TCPi's radar.

I was replaying HeartGold earlier and it kind of bummed me out that that was probably the last Pokemon game we'll get to play that was translated by Nintendo of America's Treehouse group. Unfortunately starting with Black and White, The Pokemon Company international has handled translation and as far as I'm concerned, we got a very wooden, flat and lifeless script. I'd even go as far as to say that people who may not have gotten into the games like they had with the previous generations may well have been turned off by the unimpressive dialogue. I'm very excited about BW 2 (and I'm not one of those people that always bitch about localization) but I can't help but be a bit sad that we're in for another bland translation.

I'm so pleased that the patch is so tiny. Props, Nintendo. Maka Wuhu is no longer Maka Ohno!

Happy Birthday to one of the best recent additions to the OCR community!

Congratulations!

Luckily Pokemon is one series where fans pretty much know what they're getting and don't need to hinge their purchase on some silly cynical reviewers opinion. Anyone who rags on this being more of the same clearly doesn't appreciate that BW is shaping up to be even more of a true sequel than even Gold and Silver. They could've easily taken the 'Grey' route but thankfully they opted for something far more interesting.

Well, Cheren and Bianca are said to function as a) a Gym Leader(he's said to represent the Normal type; I expect we'll see something along the lines of Blue in Gen 2, where he has replaced the Nacrene Gym Leader, Lenora but doesn't conform to her type restrictions. He'll probably be the 2nd to last Leader, assuming your quest ends in Nuvema; thinking back on the events of the first game, it makes sense) and Professor Juniper's traveling assistant, respectively(this also fits in with the events of the first game). I suspect that N will probably serve as a far-less deluded, more worldly, helpful(and more likable!) character. His return to Unova will no doubt be provoked by the freezing effects of Kyurem on the region (read: He's shown up to help). I'm sure any Gym Leader replacements will be explained in the game(how boring would it have been to fight the same 8 gym leaders, regardless of how much sense it makes for there not to be too many replacements, realistically). And even if they're not, how fun will it be to see the replaced gym leaders function as Elite Four Members or gym leaders in regions from games a couple of generations down the line? Speaking of the Elite Four, I hope they've shaken up the roster in Unova as it's probably the lamest line-up of any of the games.

Happy birthday, chth!

Happy birthday, you old sod!

My latest Colors 3D painting: Adventuremari Timacy - It's a mashup of Adventure Time and Katamari Damacy. Took about 3 days. And then the undo button stopped working. Luckily it was right near the end. Anyhow, I hope you like it. (larger version)

Pretty clear to me that they're talking about enhancing the DSiWare version with 3D and putting it on the eShop rather than make the 3D rendered 3DS retail game downloadable on the eShop. Edit; The 'Folders' 3DS Firmware Update is now LIVE for North America!

NOW HEAR THIS! NOW HEAR THIS! According to Nintendo Power, an improved version of the DSiWare version of Cave Story will be hitting the 3DS eShop! I'm going to have to pick that up! (Also something about Mighty Switch Force getting 5 levels added. Or something.)

Celebration time! NoA has registered a domain for NSMB2 as well as Fire Emblem: Awakening. :3 I had little doubt that FE would come to Norse America but some were convinced it wouldn't reach our shores. Also, in Wii news, North America will FINALLY get our grubby hands on the New Play Control rerelease of Pikmin 2! No doubt to prep gamers for Pikmin 3!

They periodically gift a piece over SpotPass (2 so far in North America, I believe; pink ones can only be recieved this way- and then those spread via StreetPass) but puzzle pieces are meant to be StreetPass'd (or you can opt to buy them with Play Coins if you're filthy and impatient).

As long as they're fun, who is it really hurting? If you're really burned out on the series, you can always choose not to buy a Mario game for a few years. It'll be a safe bet that its sales will still warrant it shelf space years from now, a la SM64DS and NSMB, though it would be silly to expect a lower price, short of Player's Choice status. I'll start worrying when theh roll out Super Mario Elite. By the way, new Spotpass Puzzle piece for a new panel: Mario Tennis Open!

Yeah, I didn't include the AC Japanese date because it doesn't pertain to us. (I'm going insane waiting for this game) That said, I fully expect Nintendo to burst open it's Release Date doors on every title we've been waiting for on the 3DS at E3; I'm talkin' Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion, Paper Mario, et cetera. Also, I love how the backgrounds in NSMB2 look like paintings (or maybe I've been using Colors 3D too much lately). Anyhow, additionally confirmed by NoA is that there WILL be a Kirby 20th Anniversary Collection physical disc of unnamed classic Kirby games to be released for Wii sometime.

Hot off the presses (from tonight's Japanese Nintendo Direct(and NoA's twitter for NA-specific info as follows:))! - Firmware update for the 3DS to hit April 25 - Will allow you to organize your Home Menu icons into - Hooray!- Firmware update also supports downloadable patches for retail titles - among them Mario Kart 7 (that's right, no more Maka Wuhu woes!) - (new 2D Mario game) for 3DS - To be released in August for North America! Flying Raccoon Mario. P Meter is back.- - Update to the original Pokedex 3D app will feature wonderful 3D models and level up/move data of every Pokemon from all generations of Pokemon. :3 Hooray!

Being at Toys R Us in the mid-90s joining a crowd gathered around a playable demo setup of Super Mario 64. Everyone was in awe at where games were. It was a good feeling.