ocre

Lack of Animal Crossing disturbs me. Was expecting it in Feb. or March. :[ At least we're getting Rhythm Heaven.

Yeah, you have to progress through the main puzzles in order to unlock bigger puzzles in the building tool. Will def be trying out your puzzle. I've just gotten through some of the most enjoyable puzzles yet (the 'Nintendo Murals'; they even have more chiptuney NES-sounding music for the stage and when you clear the puzzles for this set). Aquamentus had me stumped for a while but I finally figured it out. Who would've thought climbing up a Goomba sprite would be so much fun.

Look here. I made my first custom puzzle: The Triforce! I tried to make it so there's no easy way to solve it but it's not super hard either. Enjoy.

This is a cute little puzzle game that involves pushing and pulling blocks in order to ascend different 'Pushmos'(basically pixel grids). The levels get tougher (and larger) and new gameplay elements are added, such as color-coded ladders and buttons that push out a section of blocks. You can even edit your own puzzles and share them with friends via QR code (there are some cool ones being shared on NeoGAF already). Available now for $6.99. Made by Intelligent Systems - the same people who gave us all the Paper Mario, Fire Emblem and Advance Wars games. Hecka good development house. Anyway,I've played through about 50 puzzles(the game sports over 200 and has room for several custom-made puzzles) and am having fun with the game. The music and art are charming. The gameplay is pretty basic but it's very satisfying figuring out a tough puzzle. The game starts off very simple with the tutorial stages but it gets better. I recommend the game for anyone who wants something quick and rewarding to play on their 3DS. - -NeoGAF thread with various custom puzzles(may need to upgrade your Pushmo Building tool in-game) Get pumped!

May I ask how you recieved Mario Sunshine? Granted, I think Nintendo could do well sending Mario to a new land with some less-often-seen enemies. Imagine revisiting Sub Con( it was real dammit) or Daisy's kingdom instead of trudging through the mushroom kingdom for the umpteenth time. This opinion mirrors my stance on how they can make Zelda more interesting. Don't get me wrong, a change of setting isn't the catch-all solution but it could go a long way toward the coveted 'familiar but new' vibe people seem to want.

What is it with these Japanese big wig devs and their retirement fetishes. People as big as Miyamoto need to not speak the word 'retire' and expect the media to not freak out and blow it out of context. Glad we still have the big Miyahon with us.

Thanks for the heads up on this event. The pokemon will pry spend eternity trapped in my box since I don't use legendaries but thanks.

I have to agree. 42" plasma on component cables here and it looks great to me. And believe me, I would've noticed if it looked as bad as in Neko's screens.

These 25 year old eyes are quite used to the 3D effects, though I never really had a problem with them apart from maybe the first few hours when I first laid eyes on the new tech. After that, it's been second nature. And, again, it is entirely adjustable. I second Super Mario 3D Land.

The revised designs are much more appealing. Way to take a good idea and make it great. Go Team OCR!

May I recommend Golden Sun for GBA? There is a lot of reading but if you're there to facilitate, it should be good. The story is fairly epic and spans two games and they're full of magic ability- focused puzzle solving and rpg battling with nothing too violent for the kid. There are two games which are both parts of one big story: Golden Sun and Golden Sun The Lost Age. The Lost Age is tighter and more full of content over the first game but I recommend starting with the first one since the sequel picks up LITERALLY right after the first game ends. Another great game would be advance wars dual strike for the ds. Light hearted war played out with colorful commanding officers and turn based strategy are the order of the day. Players have to use units that have advantages over other units toward capturing enemy bases. Another good idea for a 7 year old might be Pokemon Black/White. There may not be much in the way of puzzles but the team building and variety of characters should be pretty fun for a kid. Pretty ok story too.

I endorse this thread and this game. I really enjoyed it. The little propellor box powerup is great. There were a good amount of levels. Would've been cool to see the koopalings as bosses instead of boom-boom every time but you win some you lose some. I give Super Mario 3D Land a 9.2/10!

I suppose the complaints for Nintendo's lack of HD graphics will be remedied next year. I doubt the people who want Zelda to stop being Zelda will get their wish granted. The most valid complaint I've read on this game is the constant explanation redundancy. I guess Nintendo is catering to the casual player who they expect will be handed the controller by more dedicated players in the middle of the fifth dungeon; a group that I assume will be always be a minority for a game like this. Stupid design. Fi has a damn hint system(which isn't very helpful based on the couple of times I was having trouble with a puzzle) yet we get a thorough explanation of every rupee and boss door and collectible every time we boot the game up. Change it. Blah.

I think Nintendo could branch out in the setting a bit. One of the best things about Skyward Sword for me was the feeling that I didn't know what was coming next as far as setting. They've already given us the alternate world of Termina; a world with a decidedly darker and weirder feel over Hyrule. It also turned many conventions and characters on their head. Capcom gave us Holodrum and Labrynna. I'd love to see another Zelda take place in not-Hyrule. They could give us a new artifact that has nothing to do with Time or The Triforce. Maybe a female antagonist for a change. Vaati in a console game would be cool. Zant and Veran were good antagonists but were both kind of bogged down by Ganondorf. There's plenty they could do to liven up the series. Changing up the formula to where it's a completely different game doesn't seem like the answer. Some reviewers( the CNN reviewer I linked earlier being a prime example) aren't even fit to criticize the game and just seem to be jumping on the Nintendo hate bandwagon). I read somewhere that it may be a good idea for some people to give Zelda a rest, rather than say Zelda needs to take a break from Zelda. Having said that, I think a lot of the innovations Skyward Sword introduced are being met with a lot of undeserved flack. Motion controls being chief among them. There's a lot of room for misunderstanding. I know people that have completely condemned using Link's shield yet they didn't understand that you can stagger the enemy with a well-timed motion. Oh well. Hopelly people will realize the err of their misjudgements and skyward sword's motion control will be next year's wind waker graphics.

Strange that I don't remember being bothered by the resolution/graphics at any point while I was playing the game. I definitely don't think it looks that ugly on my 42". Weird. What kind of tv is that, Nek? I wouldn't be surprised to see that kind of quality on a crt tv but not a plasma, as I seem to recall you are using.

Simple thing to do for vine-swinging is to 'stop' Link's initial momentum by pressing B then you can use the control stick on the nunchuck to adjust the direction Link will jump off from (you just have to line up the vines.) After that, you swing Link to the appropriate speed (by shaking the controller) and then jump off. Easy!

I recommend this article for anyone who has cleared the game already. It offers an insight into the story that you may not have realized. Really cool stuff. And try not to vomit while reading this drivel. Shame on you for hosting this garbage, CNN.

True, it would be nice to have a mode like that from the get-go. Unfortunately you don't get it til you beat the game. Also, I would recommend copying your file before you beat the final boss. Just a heads up.

Spoiler territory in these impressions: I was trying to beat him that way too until I realized he was doing his own "skyward strike" and then it hit me. Bam. Also, I have to say, I think it's really interesting how they've pretty much told us that the Goddess Hylia 'pulled a God' by turning into the mortal Zelda (Jesus). And Demise is totally Satan/The Anti-Christ(Inverted Triforce on the sword). Classic good vs evil. Classy.

@Irish Oh, I do like those songs a lot, I just wanted to share the one that I like the best, hehe. Also, I love the music when you fight the lava spider/tentacle sea monster and how it changes up when the boss is in offense mode.

Skyward Sword BEATEN!! (No, I didn't use any sort of guide. I figured everything out myself.) This game was so so good. Loved the art style, loved the sheer amount of content, loved the dungeons, loved the motion controls (surprisingly), and I loved the fact that I had spoiled very very little from trailers and preview feature write-ups on various sites around the net and was able to dive into a meaty Zelda game where everything was fresh and exciting. The biggest thing I can say I was pleasantly surprised with, motion controls being great aside, is the length. Nintendo has somehow managed to stretch out what has become a routine gameflow up to this point in the series and make the game last well beyond what I was expecting. There were a lot of times I found myself saying "Wow." because the game kept on giving me more to do. and spoiler: Figuring out who the old woman was at the intended time was soooooo awesome. As for music, I really dig Every Zelda fan, or fans of fun games, get this. And I definitely recommend going in fresh if you can help it.

A very happy birthday to my OCR pals.

From what I can tell of unspoiler-filled impressions, Skyward Sword does a whole lot to freshen up and modernize (though there's stil not full voice acting) the Zelda experience, so it should at least feel like never before. It's probably a safe bet, then again you didn't like Mario Galaxy, so you're crazy anyway.

In the very same press release they state something along the lines that this is the largest and most ambitious game they've ever attempted. Sounds like it would have to be more than just Los Santos to me. Even if it is, I'm happy. Speaking of which, I liked how each city had it's own separate police force and fire fighter force in the original SA.