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[radioheadrule83]

Mario Kart 7 (+)
The Neogaf communities aren't as active as they once were, but it's still fun to play with online - and now that it's available digitally, you can do it whenever you want, no matter what card you have in the system. It's Mario Kart, so if you haven't liked recent entries in the series, maybe it's not for you. I wouldn't say that this one does anything that will change your mind, but to me - it's a little better balanced than MKWii.

Super Mario 3D Land (+)
Out of NSMB2 and this? This is the better game. It might not have the streetpass content or the local-only multiplayer, but it's a fresher game with an expertly crafted difficulty curve. Veterans breeze through the initial part of the game, but completists who want to beat every level, top every flagpole and collect every large coin: they have a single player campaign that has levels equivalent to the Prankster Comets in Super Mario Galaxy and one or two gaming moments that are as tough to master as Luigi's Purple Coins. It is by far my favourite Mario to grace a handheld, and it completely destroyed my ability to enjoy NSMB2. I regard it as above a few of the console games as well!

Resident Evil: Revelations (+)
The story is cleverly chopped up into episodic segments that jump from character to character and location to location, which helps facilitate short bursts of play for commuters or people who play on their lunch hour. I know that some people feel this is a negative point as it isolates the levels and breaks up the feeling of exploration, and the action set-pieces probably don't help with that perception -- but this game does feel like a spiritual cousin to the sublime RE4, and it is beautifully made. Aiming feels brilliant, both with and without the Circle Pad Pro add-on, and the sound design is gorgeous. Some of the best tension and fear arises out of the audio you hear. As a software package? This is meaty, and very good fun. The puzzles aren't as great in number as the old Resident Evils, and that is something I still lament, but I was very happy with everything else. The single player campaign lasts a good while, and the variety is great -- exploration, endurance survival, frenetic boss battles, bombastic rescue missions, Metroid-style escape in the midst of destruction, the vulnerability of escorting injured team mates, a Natalia-style (GE007) protection level that doesn't completely suck etc. The multiplayer puts the icing on the cake. Raid mode is incredible. "I'M BUYING YOU LUNCH."

New Art Academy (EU) / Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone (US) (+)
I never expected to love this title as much as I do. It has introductory lessons, intermediate lessons and DLC lessons... each of them not only teach you about real life tools and techniques, they also teach you small pieces of art history and conceptual ideas that will help you understand why you might use a certain colour or tool. For example, it teaches you about complimentary colours, the colour wheel, impressionist styles, shading techniques in pencil and pastel, different options for drawing foliage etc. The emulation of paint, pencil, pastel and paper, as well as the different surfaces (like paper and canvas) is very nicely done, and it's at its most obvious when you view your work in the game's 3D art gallery -- in which you can hang your paintings or drawings wherever you please. When you get up close to a painting in the gallery and move the camera, you can see the specular highlights on your brush strokes and on the surface of the material. Really nice! You can jump out of a lesson at any time with save states, and you can export your work to use it in 3DS Camera or Swapnote/Nintendo Letter Box. Whereas Colors 3D is a tool for creating and sharing art, this is a tool that teaches you how to create and appreciate it. They compliment one another quite well actually.

Colors 3D (+)
Once you get used to the beautifully simple interface, you can begin to create 3D artworks with depth... the layer interface is slick as hell, and what's more - is that your drawing is recorded, allowing undo levels and allowing others to see exactly how you drew your last masterpiece. The online gallery is chock full of amazing drawings that are so good they risk demoralising you. You can also share a canvas with friends / strangers and draw something together. It's an awesome piece of software.

Mighty Switch Force (+):
This is an arcadey puzzle platformer in which you round up space age lady criminals. It's arcade-like in the sense that you are trying to get the best times and scores, puzzle-like in that you have to figure out how to reach each of the criminals, and platformer-esque in that traversing the levels requires skill and thought. The style is really lovely and the music is catchy as hell, you will find yourself wanting more by the end -- which thankfully, WayForward provided free as DLC!

Pushmo / Pullblox (+):
I always think it's something of an achievement when somebody can think up a new puzzle game this good. Surely all the best ideas have already been thought of? Nope!
Tetris took the idea of the tetromino - something we have in the real world - and made a game out of them that would only be possible in videogames. Games like 3D Picross, Polarium and Lumines have attempted similar in their genres. This does the same thing with the idea of pushing and pulling platforms within a restricted area. The levels can be abstract or they can be like gigantic, beautiful pixel-art, and the difficulty ramps up significantly towards the end. With a level designer and level sharing via QR code, this game can last as long as you want it to. My only gripe, and it is a minor one, is that the tutorials in the initial levels are unskippable. It's devilishly good, and I can't wait for the sequel.

VVVVVV (+)
Some of you may have played this on PC, and it's a fact that you can play it for free if you want -- but for taking it on the move? There are no options as good as this, and actually - few games as good as this. While the fun and frustration lasts, this is as much fun as you can expect to have on a handheld. Luckily, Nicalis have included a bunch of huge, excellent, community-made level packs with Terry Cavanaghs masterpiece, so the fun and frustration lasts a long long time. The 3D is actually nicely done as well, considering it is a vivid game against stark dark backgrounds I would have expected more cross-talk, but instead it just looks great - space flittering across the background of most levels. My only warning about this is that it may make you have a rage aneurysm - because parts of it are THAT hard. Hard, but satisfying. I think it's a must own personally, if I had my way it would be pre-installed on every system.

 

[Sadist]

I updated my post btw, so you can add it to the OP

 

[radioheadrule83]

OP when you do an update, any chance can you do the gafcensus like this?

Gafcensus: 80% (4/5)
user(+) user(+) user(-) user(+) user (+)

We'd have our own metacritic style system

 

[Dark Schala]

When I go back to find my impressions, I notice how incredibly verbose they are. Oh well. -_-

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (+; Positive)

When I was 10-years-old, I had my first hands-on experience with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time at a friend’s house. The idea and visuals of a 3D Zelda game was mindblowing. 13 years later, on the 3DS, I am happy to say that reliving this classic in a new skin with more modes is just as enticing.

To put the game into context, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Nintendo 64 was the fifth installment in the series, and had a rather long development period. Setting out into the large (at the time) expanse of Hyrule Field to see the sun set in a Zelda game for once made Zelda fans realize that the Zelda universe, at least on consoles, would be changing… for the better. While it was the same action-adventure experience, a lot of it felt different in terms of looking at the game from a different perspective. You were no longer the big guy in the little sprite world, but rather the little guy in the big, expansive world.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time revolutionized the way action and adventure games should be played in the 3D space. It brought us Z-targetting and lock-on. It showed that you can have dozens of NPCs in towns doing their own thing (which the The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask would expand upon later on), you can include adequate day/night cycles in a 3D action-adventure game, have large dungeons with many enemies and treasures to be found, and learn how to wield weapons in both third- and first-person perspective.

Yes, Ocarina of Time along with Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy VII, Super Mario 64 and Half-Life ended up revolutionizing the game industry with regards how to put resources into the right areas of 3D games. But it is one of the most memorable titles because of how easy it is to pick up and play, no matter your experience level with games. It is vibrant, colourful and the soundtrack complements it well. It’s one of those games that you can go back to again and again because you feel so comfortable with it. It is one of the finest achievements in video game history.

But does it still stack up today?

Prelude der Weisheit: Narrative

It’s usually difficult to grade an action-adventure game’s narrative because that is not what the game’s focal point is. It is especially even more difficult to review a narrative that you’ve experienced time and time again. But I can safely say that the narrative is one to experience again. When I was ten, I did not use the Internet very much. 56K modems forced the user to have a lot of patience, after all. Therefore, I was not spoiled with regards to the narrative. So when the scene that ended up “beginning the game once again” occurred, I thought it was one of the most incredible things I had ever witnessed in a game. It was all done in real time, and not prerecorded like many of Final Fantasy VII’s pivotal scenes were.

While that particular scene was amazing, I was unprepared for how it affected the character himself—or better worded—how it tied into affecting your gameplay style. Link could no longer use some of the weapons he previously used because of this change. Some of the environments differed, and a lot of new dungeons opened up. While this happens in many Zelda games (collect three macguffins, something happens, collect more macguffins), the change that Link goes through and the reason for it are well-thought out, and delivers a nice impact to the player in terms of presentation, even if they looked at the title screen opening.

The rest of the narrative is the “save the princess from the evil Ganon/Vaati/Ganondorf/Ghirahim” type of thing. Little relationships Link forges on his journey throughout Hyrule blossom into stronger ties and links that ultimately result in a satisfying conclusion. It’s a simple narrative, but it works. There is no need to change the narrative at all in a remake of a game.

Some of the game’s lines were edited to make better sense, or changed in order to have more cohesion with earlier phrases (a good example would be the running man’s dialogue when you give him the Bunny Hood. In the previous N64 version he says, “…with those long ears, I bet you can hear the voices!” In the 3DS version, he says, “…with those long ears, I bet you can hear of the spirits!&#8221. This does not hurt the narrative at all, and in fact, if you haven’t played the game in a while, you probably wouldn’t even notice it. Some phrases are added in, like some of Navi’s lines, which probably serve to help along newer players. I’d say that this localization is slightly better and less ambiguous in places. The text speed is a lot faster, so you’re not busy sitting through slow-moving dialogue.

Oh, and the owl still sucks. Don’t continuously and mindlessly press A like I kept doing otherwise he babbles on and on and on…

Feenflug im Hyrule: Graphics and Artistic Style

I’m not one to grade graphics, but artistic style is one that I can do. But since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D’s raison d’etre is basically its newfound graphical style, it’s hard not to grade it.

One of the biggest selling points of this game was the use of 3D, so I’ll get that out of the way first. If you ever want to show someone the 3D capabilities of the 3DS, use this game as your selling point. Boot up the game, select a new file and let Navi fly through Kokiri Forest. Alternatively, play a bit of a dungeon like Jabu-Jabu’s belly or Forest Temple in 3D. Both of these dungeons look very interesting with a 3D perspective. I was born cross-eyed and have a lazy eye, so the 3D visuals don’t completely blow me away, but I do see a big enough effect to either say that wow, this looks good, or ugh, this gives me a headache/makes me nauseous. Overall, I kept the 3D gameplay to a minimum, but used it liberally during cutscenes. Especially during the scene “which begins the game again in new shoes” and the scene in which you meet Zelda for the first time. Many of the scenes are fantastic in 3D, and the final scenes of the game were amazing to relive in that perspective.

The look is just fabulous with a few hitches that bother me. The water textures and ground/grass textures aren't very pleasant to look at. Another thing I have to pick on is the strange yellow filter that Hyrule Field seems to have during sunrise. It’s like Hyrule has smog advisories or something. The filter affects the colour of the sunrise in this version, and it looks irregular compared to the Nintendo 64 version. Is it nitpicking? Probably. But I expected Grezzo to update these aspects of the graphics if they updated the flowers, the bushes, the rocks, the walls, the buildings and the cardboard borders around Hyrule Field.

Some of the blocks, symbols and clothing, particularly those with the Gerudo symbol now adopt the new Gerudo symbol used in Majora’s Mask later versions of Ocarina of Time. This is due to the fact that the old symbol, the crescent moon and star, resembled that of a few Islamic flags, and Nintendo probably thought that they were offensive. But those are probably small, nitpicky issues that I have. The regular player or the person who doesn’t care much about graphics or consistency won’t mind these graphical issues.

What is a sight to behold are the redone backgrounds. They look significantly better and more detailed. I have to write more about the previous prerendered backgrounds in the houses. Remember how bad the prerendered backgrounds use to look when you were in houses, shops and in Hyrule Market? They were completely redone from the ground up in the game engine, just like Majora’s Mask. While Ocarina of Time did not push the hardware significantly, Majora’s Mask did since everything was created using the game’s engine. The 3DS version gave the new developers another chance to make sure the game looks good in every area, and well, you can see for yourself how well this turned out. Hyrule Market is even more alive, helped by not just the amount of NPCs wandering around, but also because of the vibrant backgrounds!

The NPCs and PC are extremely detailed and look closer to their original artwork. Link, especially. You can clearly see the official artwork rendering in both Child and Adult Link, so it’s almost like a drawing come to life. His expressions are more believable and the animations are much better. The colours are even more vibrant to match the colours on the original artwork.

This can also be said for the NPCs. Zelda’s sad expression at the end of the game is more believable because the facial animations are somewhat improved (for the more important NPCs anyway). But the animations for the less-significant NPCs are far, far better than they were in the Nintendo 64 version. The carpenters are more exaggerated in their movements, and the skulltula house family members are even more celebratory, doing a better dance because they’re freed from the curse. Overall, I am very very happy with how the NPCs animations are. I would also like to note that some of the NPCs are more detailed than others. The carpenters, Anju and Darling&Honey are even more detailed than some of the other NPCs, and they have better animations (Darling&Honey especially—they keep dancing as they talk to you, rather than just stand there).

The framerate is also drastically improved. While some of the instances in the Nintendo 64 version experienced slowdown and framerate drops, I didn't notice much of that in the 3DS version. If you have more than five enemies onscreen, I have heard that the framerate drops a bit until one of the enemies is off of there, but it doesn’t impact play.

Overall, Ocarina of Time 3D is a very beautiful game. A sight to behold, and very fitting for one of the most memorable and influential games of all time.

Glück & Schicksal: Slashin’ and Dungeonin’

And this is where the meat of Ocarina of Time lies. If you haven’t played Ocarina of Time before, Ocarina of Time is classified as an action-adventure game. This means that fights take place in real-time, and you have to do most of the attacking manually with an arsenal of weapons. Another aspect of these action-adventure games is the “adventure” aspect, where the player runs around the game’s environment searching for secrets, items, sidequests, hidden dungeons, dungeons, and key items to help them through their quest.

While Ocarina of Time is one of the easier Zelda titles out there, it seems like newer players would find difficulty with regards to puzzle solving and fighting bosses. Bosses in a lot of modern games don’t seem to come after you as hard as they used to in older games.

Thus it is interesting to see the newer player struggle with the puzzle difficulty and boss difficulty. I did not use Navi’s hints during battle because I’ve played the game a lot. But I have seen that they are better written to let the new player know what to do during a boss battle, or even during a regular battle against things like Stalfoses and ReDeads. Nintendo also gave new players the opportunity to look for Hint Stones which assist in solving puzzles. I haven’t used these myself, but I have seen that they’re helpful, similar to the Hint Videos that Nintendo uses in their other games like Super Mario Galaxy and NSMB Wii.

Back in 1998, Ocarina of Time revolutionized the 3D action-adventure combat genre with its lock-on Z-targetting system, which gave players easier access to the enemy, and also giving them a perfect (most of the time) view of the action. Jumping was automatic and not relegated to a single button. Most of this is the same.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I did not really need to use a stylus. Well, you could if you didn’t want to smudge your screen, but many of the items are mapped to buttons except for the I and II items, whereby you must touch the screen to use them. In the original game, you were forced to open up the menu repeatedly in order to reassign equipment to the N64’s three C-buttons. This isn’t really the case anymore, though you only have two weapons assigned to the X and Y buttons. But you can hold four weapons at a time now, which is a plus. The hookshot and longshot now have a better aim marker which better indicates whether a surface can be pulled to. Using the new gyroscope function in the 3DS version was quite useful. It’s pretty intuitive in ranged combat and the ranged weapon minigames.

For veteran players, we have the new Boss Gauntlet Mode and Mirrored Master Quest to tide us over. Boss Gauntlet can be accessed after doing the first temple post-“scene that begins the game again” by going to Link’s House and fighting the bosses again. After you fight all bosses again, you will be able to fight all of the bosses sequentially (without breaks), so that’s a nice touch.

Mirrored Master Quest can be difficult. Everything as you know it has been flipped, much like the Wii version of Twilight Princess was the mirrored version of the GCN version (the MQ version of OoT on GameCube was not flipped). All enemies in this version now do double damage. So while you’re fighting the Stalfos in the original version, and getting 3 hearts knocked off when he jump-slashes Link, he’s going to be taking six hearts off during Master Quest. Also, puzzles and enemies are placed and worked around differently to give a new experience to players who love their dungeon crawling. The unfortunate thing is that you have to beat the game first in order to unlock Master Quest, however. It should have been unlocked from the start.

I’d also like to say that because the framerate has improved somewhat, subtle differences can be found between this version and the Nintendo 64 version. Some bosses seem to move faster—I had a bit of an interesting time with Bongo Bongo this time around even though I used to be able to beat that boss within 45 seconds in the Nintendo 64 version.

I am not sure whether this is a consequence of the framerate or the overall game feeling faster, but the day/night cycle occurs very quickly, some of the NPCs move faster and the text scrolls faster. So while veterans might find the vanilla game the same as always, they might feel like they have to adjust a little to move slightly faster than normal if they had played the Nintendo 64 version recently.

Some of the dungeons felt easier to go through this time around (the Water Temple, for instance) because some of the “this unlocked this!” camera pans and angle shots were modified in order to hint to the player, “you’re supposed to go here”. Originally in the Nintendo 64 version, in the Water Temple’s central tower, when the player raised the water level to level 2, the camera never panned down to the bottom to let the player know that there was a passage down there. Now it does. The Water Temple is made even easier when going into the room with the Longshot, in that you can now see a huge Temple of Time block above a passage, when it wasn’t very visible in the Nintendo 64 version. Also, not to mention that it is now easier to slip the Iron Boots on and off with a button or a press on the touch screen. It’s more user-intuitive.

Lied der Glückseligkeit: Audio

Reading the latest Iwata Asks article with regards to sound in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time explains why the 3DS version is not an orchestrated affair, despite having Super Mario Galaxy composer Mahito Yokota behind it. Yokota was ready to give the game an orchestral score, or even a remastered score, but former series’ composer Koji Kondo (well… he’s more of a “I’ll add a few tracks, but you do the rest” kind of composer now) decided to pull him over and tell him not to do it. It should sound like the Nintendo 64 version so that players will feel like this is the same game that they played years ago.

And in a way, he was right to do that. Nintendo clearly wanted to make the player feel like Ocarina of Time 3D was the same game they played 13 years ago, gameplay-wise, narrative-wise and audio-wise. Obviously they would not want to introduce too many changes.

While the soundtrack sounds the same for the most part, it is interesting to note that some tracks and sections feature more ambience, reverb and instrument prominence. It’s even more noticeable when listening to the game via headphones. While Ocarina of Time’s soundtrack was not the best Zelda soundtrack, it’s the most memorable. It features many ambient tracks for the player to enjoy in dungeons. With regards to the original Fire Temple track, it did not make it into this version.

But the main point of the soundtrack is the ocarina itself. Koji Kondo had originally composed twelve ocarina melodies for the player to play on the ocarina in order to evoke change, healing or transportation. These melodies were easy to remember because of the way they were mapped to the controller. In this version, the button mapping is different, but if you’ve played the game before, you’d probably know the songs by tone anyway. The Ocarina itself has more reverb and better tone, so the melodies sound more graceful than they ever did before.

Mahito Yokota still stuck in an orchestrated melody during the credits for the 3DS version, so I guess they both compromised in the end.

Kampf der Legenden: Conclusion

Improving upon a "perfect game" formula is probably the hardest thing developers can do. But they truly did this by introducing minor tweaks. The original glitches are still in there to exploit, so some players won’t feel like they’re missing out. Grezzo was only willing to adjust and enhance it so much, and it speaks to the respect they showed to the original source version and the development team. If things were omitted or changed drastically, I would have called it messing with perfection.

In my opinion, the good definitely outweighs the nitpicking in this version. I’d like to consider it the definitive version of The Ocarina of Time. Nothing is taken away from this version in terms of the narrative, the music or the pacing. This game is being released to reach a new generation, but it’s excellent for veterans who wish to take the game along with them, or who want an extra challenge. This remastered version shows that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is timeless, and truly a game for the ages.

 

[pa22word]

Shinobi 3D is the best game on the 3DS. No, I do not mean "the best game on the 3DS you haven't played lol", I mean the best god damn game on the system. Here's a little gush flavored write up of the game I did after I beat it for the first time:

By the end of that level teeth were gnashed, bottom lip had been bitten, dogs had been scared, developers existences had been threatened, and hats were thrown. But you know what? It was the single most enjoyable gaming related thing I have done in YEARS.

Awesome, intelligent design that always forced you to rely on your skills and experience as a gamer to pull through. Every attack has an audible audio bite for you to hear and react to, and in only one situation off the top of my head did the game ever use a "leap of faith" pit for platforming, despite forcing you to make some of the most extremely precise jumps I've ever had to pull off. One particular jump in the last level, I had to turn the game off and shelve it for a few days to cool off because of how insanely precise it was.

And you know what? The game was better for it. It NEVER compromised it's balls to the walls action and hard as nails difficulty, and the steep rise in difficulty as the game progressed is one of the better examples of properly pacing a game. It demanded perfection of you as the player, and through it's uncompromising difficulty along with the deep and rewarding combat system made for, imo, the best game released this year.

And the best part is, I still have two more difficulties with changed up enemy placement, another character to unlock, 28 challenge rooms to unlock and playthrough, 35ish achievements to unlock (that actually REWARD you with things like bad ass cheatcodes, alt costumes, soundtest, and developer commented art), and several collectibles hidden throughout the game.

Easily 75-100 hours of content here, and I'll no doubt be playing it for many months to come. Anyone calling themselves a fan of action platformers need to check this game out, as it's the best one released in a loooong time.

I believe it was Inafune of Capcom who once said about the legacy of classic Mega Man: "I'm sure people have fond memories of screaming at their controllers". This game captures this essence perfectly, and I applaud the developers of this great game staying true to this !

My def GOTY tbqh.

I have since put 65 total hours into the game, and still have yet to do everything. The game is one of the most dense 2D action-sidescrollers I've ever played, in terms of content. The above doesn't even mention [URL=" amazing soundtrack the game has[/URL], done by Norihiko Hibino of MGS and ZoE fame. This game is bar none my favorite title of 2011.

That's a (+), in case you couldn't tell >_>

To long time Shinobi fans, here's the ranking (in descending order) as far as the series goes IYO in order for you to gauge the game's quality in relation the genesis titles:

Return of the Master Ninja
3D
Revenge
Shadow Dancer

I only put Return above 3D because I feel the level design in Return is better. The gameplay in 3D is outstanding though, the best in the series by far.

 

[Conrad Link]

(+) Man finally started playing Cave Story 3D and I'm really enjoying it.

Its been on my list to play for ages, and I've had it patiently sitting there waiting while I finished up other games I had started. Glad I waited now though as its so much nicer on a 3DS XL, SOOO MUCH!

Its just so easy to play, I start then just get absorbed. I love the atmosphere and the exploration. I had the WiiWare one but never got round to playing it properly and I'm kicking myself for that now, why the waiting?! lol.

I fully recommend it or if you prefer the original look (which is really cool too) the newly released eShop version.

(-) On the other side of things, one of the games I finished up before starting Cave Story 3D was Sonic Generations 3DS. I love old school Sonic games and I loved the console Generations. While the 3DS one isn't completely terrible I really couldn't recommend it to many others than a total Sonic fan.

The nostalgia parts are nice (hearing the old music again etc and there are a couple of different levels from the console one) but it just suffers from the stupid level design death pit parts you can't see coming and get frustrated at that seem to plague a lot of handheld Sonics. Its an alright game if you don't mind learning from those bits. 3DS one is ok if you get it cheap but there are much better platforming games on the 3DS you could play instead and if you just want a good Sonic game get Generations on console!

 

[honorless]

I realize I'm about the only person who thinks this way, but IMO, the OP is a lot more difficult to read with large images from every game drowning out the small text of the review links and other information.

Screenshots are helpful, but they can pretty easily be left to the OT and individual reviews...especially since they're going to be the same official/review screenshots we've already seen everywhere else on the internet. (Unless someone with a modded 3DS is willing to contribute new and interesting ones.)

Edit: If you're really keen on images, why not copy Jucksalbe and make a small header for every game? It can be the logo/game name superimposed over a cropped screen or something. That would incorporate images while still leaving the OP parseable at a glance.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Schala just went and killed my Rhythm Thief review with all that content and how the hell am I supposed to review OoT now with that behemoth towering over the rest huh?!
Seriously though that's some nice work, not sure what i'll review yet, i'll try and take something that's not as well represented here yet.

 

[Dark Schala]

Schala just went and killed my Rhythm Thief review with all that content and how the hell am I supposed to review OoT now with that behemoth towering over the rest huh?!
Seriously though that's some nice work, not sure what i'll review yet, i'll try and take something that's not as well represented here yet.

I feel like I should make them shorter for an easier read, though. Take out the fluff and write what's important? But then I look at the old GAF reviews thread and I feel better because there are people who wrote reviews as long or longer than that in there. Thanks, though. I appreciate it.

You should do Sonic Generations because I probably won't do it, or maybe BAH BAH. Or you could do Theatrhythm since you didn't play an FF prior to playing it--good opportunity for someone who hasn't experienced the series firsthand to give a review of it for others in a similar position.

I think I might do one for Tales of the Abyss. Not sure yet.

 

[Nocturnowl]

All good suggestions there, funny that I was thinking of TotA myself but I never actually finished it which isn't really much good for a review.
Well one way or another i'll probably get through my library of games. I think i'll take up on the Theatrhythm from the non FF fan angle.

 

[jufonuk]

Shinobi 3D is the best game on the 3DS. No, I do not mean "the best game on the 3DS you haven't played lol", I mean the best god damn game on the system. Here's a little gush flavored write up of the game I did after I beat it for the first time:



I have since put 65 total hours into the game, and still have yet to do everything. The game is one of the most dense 2D action-sidescrollers I've ever played, in terms of content. The above doesn't even mention [URL=" amazing soundtrack the game has[/URL], done by Norihiko Hibino of MGS and ZoE fame. This game is bar none my favorite title of 2011.

That's a (+), in case you couldn't tell >_>

To long time Shinobi fans, here's the ranking (in descending order) as far as the series goes IYO in order for you to gauge the game's quality in relation the genesis titles:

Return of the Master Ninja
3D
Revenge
Shadow Dancer

I only put Return above 3D because I feel the level design in Return is better. The gameplay in 3D is outstanding though, the best in the series by far.

Holy shit , I loved what I played so far, but you have jsut whetted my appetite even further. this is going to be my commute game for a while then

my back log on the 3ds is quite big, but i think I will push this to the top.

 

[Sushigod7]

Recommend: Sakura Samurai (eShop Title)

$6.99 US out now

http://sakurasamurai.nintendo.com/

Many describe it as "punch-out with swords" dodge your enemies attacks and counter. You can go on the offense but the game rewards your patients and if you can string together multiple hits without being hit or your enemy blocking your attack you'll be rewarded at stage end with gold to buy items. Also you build the sword gauge in the top right when it's maxed out you can unleash a special attack. You can also throw items at enemies, helps break up the action. I found it a pretty relaxing game you'll get into areas with lots of guys and weeding through them dodging attacks can be hypnotic. Good title for on the go each battle encounter only takes a few minutes a few are longer with more enemies. Don't go in expecting lots of fast paced action its a slightly slower paced title. Sit and wait for the attacks which I guess you can say is the only negative I've encountered.

 

[codhand]

Ghost Recon Shadow Wars
This game can be divided in two: The main campaign that is similar to Fire Emblem, because characters level up and get stronger, and the combat is very similar. This part of the game is fun in the sense that there is character development and characters do very different tasks in the same mission. Very fun. The story is absolute crap, but who cares. The campaign is not very balanced, because at the end you will be overpowered, and the AI sucks. The conditions are not favorable to you, if you get one soldier killed, it's game over, thankfully the AI does not try to take this advantage, so it's not unfair in that sense.

The other part is like Advance Wars, were you do task, like surviving a certain number of turns, using snipers to kill gunners, defend a city from zombies, etc; in this mode you are given challenges. To unlock stages on this mode, you must play the campaign though.

The game is not difficult, I finished the main campaign in Elite mode, almost always on first try; the game doesn't punish you if you wait a few turns to recover, except in very few parts; and most important, it's very fun to play.

If you are waiting for FE or AW, this is the game that can help with the wait. It's very good, has a good presentation (although there more loading than I'd like on a handheld game); the graphics are ripped straight form a DS game, and the framerate suffers noticeable in some parts, also when the AI has to move a lot of characters, the game is slow, but it is not a game killer.

You should save often, because there are some bugs in the game (I encountered one that resetted the 3DS on one of the first stages of the campaign; if I did a certain set of moves, the system would reset), but it is definitely recommended.

Music was generic, but I can't really speak a lot for it, as I played this game mostly without sound.

Definitely a keeper, buy this game.

Agree with everything but the bolded; game is not that easy, especially when you invest 40 minutes on a level and die, I guess you can save at any turn? Still, this game might be easy if you're an FE, AW pro, but I have trouble with some of the trickier levels. Also this game is long; on How Long to Beat .com the average playtime is 26 hours, without doing the optional Skirmish stuff, in short you really get your money's worth out of the game.

--

Good to know about Shinobi, it's $11 on Amazon right now.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Theatrhythm Final Fantasy

Never underestimate the power of a solid demo and a lower price tag, such a combination made me pick up Theatrhythm on release despite having never fully played through any Final Fantasy game before, believe me, i'd tried from 10 to tactics but I never really connected with any of the games.

Theatrhythm itself is a very fan service heavy game, taking popular tracks from FF1 through to FF13 and creating a rhythm game for the franchises 25th anniversary. As such you'll go from the humble 8 bit beginnings to the grand orchestrated pieces from the modern day.
The core gameplay is somewhat reminiscent of DS classic Elite Beat Agents (I will recommended this right now by the way), markers appear, you hit them with your stylus, some markers require you to hold the stylus on them and release at their finish. Theatrhythm adds another type of marker here, the arrow marker in which you swipe in the direction shown on the marker and only the smallest movement is needed for this action which is worth noting before you go off making sweeping strokes across your screen.

The game has three main types of rhythm gameplay with the various tracks put into their appropriate group. First up we have the field music which takes the form of a sidescrolling stroll through a representation of the area where the music originates from, successfully hitting markers increases your speed and can have various positive effects such as stumbling across treasure (more on that later). Next up is the Battle style where the series many battle and boss themes take place, the same basic marker hitting gameplay is present though it's likely to be a lot more intense, enemies turn up, your chosen party will wail on them as you hit the notes, failure will cause you damage and if enough enemies are defeated a boss character will turn up who holds greater spoils should you triumph over them. Last up are the more uncommon and less enjoyable Event stages where the background takes on either a mismash of FMV sequences (games from FF7 onwards) or a video showing key events across one of the FF games (from 1 to 6), once more you'll be hitting markers as they pop up over the screen but the tempo of the moving cursor will shift in time with the music making it a tad cumbersome, succesfully hitting the final few notes will have the song last a bit longer with more conclusive imagery in the background that makes me feel I should mention that there will be spoilers here.

Now each game initially has three songs from it grouped together with one field, one battle and one event bookended by a basic minigame for prologue and ending themes, beating these unlocks the songs in challenge mode which is the main meat of the game, basically involves just trying to reach the high score across various difficulties. Each song successfully finished will give you points under the guise of Rhythmia which eventually start unlocking a few more extra tracks to play through as well as a certain amount being needed to reach the games credit sequence. You also earn experience points, these are bestowed upon the chosen 4 members of your party that you'll pick from a selection of main characters from various FF titles, experience points not only increase various stats for better progression in the various stage types but can also grant you with special abilities like health restoration, immediate strong attacks on boss characters and many more, items obtained throughout the game such as those from the treasure chests earlier can be equipped for various other advantages.

Now the game itself isn't too tricky at first leading you to wonder why there's all this extra fluff anyway, well an unlockable mode called the Chaos Shrine will put you through your paces, it throws a field and battle theme at you in the form of a "dark note" which takes on a faster pace than usual, some tracks here are exclusive to chaos shrine though the random nature of the songs you're tasked is a bit annoying if you're aiming for a particular track to play, as you beat the dark notes the difficulty increases culminating in tracks where arrow notes will be spinning of all things. Aside from being another source of points/rhythmia this modes main purpose will likely be defating a dark notes boss character in the hopes of earning coloured crystals which are used to unlock extra characters, unfortunately this process really takes on the form of a grind, well guess it wouldn't be a FF game without grinding! ohohohohoho!
This mode is also playable in local multiplayer which is enjoyable and you can take one of your dark notes and street pass it to others.

Speaking on the games difficulty for a second, it starts off almost too easy with the series mode being quite a walkthrough but you'll unlock higher difficulties for each song that can really test you, beat patterns change completely, you'll go from playing to the main melody to suddenly switching to the backing beat within seconds of each other, while this creates more variety and challenge it can feel pretty trial and error like, plus with the overpowering strength of certain themes it's hard to actually focus on the backing, headphones are very much recommended here. I'd say that certain high difficulty battle themes look damn near impossible but it can be done (not by me however). The arrow note types can be a bit finicky at times and losing a combo because your directional stylus swipe didn't meet the requirement for whatever reason can be irksome, when the higher difficulties suddenly throw a sea of arrow notes at you it can feel less like being challenged by the rhythm and more of how fast can your eyes and hands react to the varying directions suddenly thrust upon you. Though other note types are actually quite forgiving, the standard beat markers aren't so stingy on what's considered a critical/perfect hit. This at least means that the goal of getting all perfects on a track is something that's within even my reach.

The games content spreads even further with an achievement like system, customizable player cards and a large selection of DLC tracks, for a rhythm game it's a pretty robust package though with the wealth of music in the series you could perhaps have had a few more before the DLC train rolled on in.

But as for the music itself, as someone who's mostly steered clear of the series how does it hold up outside of nostalgia? well let me say that if you like your video game music then there is plenty to like here, this series is very rightfully praised for its music, while the NES tracks may loop too soon making them a bit repetitive to play things really kick off when you hit the SNES era and the quality is at a consistent high. You'll have blood pumping boss themes, slow and serene character themes and light, jaunty overworld themes that will likely be stuck in your head for some time. Hell I can go as far to say that the music from FF6 was so good it actually got me to go download the game off the Wii's VC service and I thoroughly enjoyed it, there you go, Theatrhythm can get you playing FF6 which is like a win in itself.

I'll quickly drop a point in regarding localisation, there's a fair amount of Japanese text left in the event mode videos, possibly because some of the games didn't make it outside of Japan I think but even so they could have done a bit better with this, i'm sure that one of the tracks in the game actually has an English version but you only get the JPN version, I think this was a point that cropped up a bit in the OT so it's worth pointing out, not a deal breaker by any stretch but they could have done better on this front I suppose.

Visuals have a quirky style with a unique brand of Chibi characters that are quite charming, even better to me is seeing the enemies and bosses also shrunk into this style, visually it's hardly pushing things but it looks more than pleasant enough, the 3D effect is average and I tend to just leave it off for this one.

To wrap this up Theatrhythm is an enjoyable rhythm game, it's not quite perfect in its gameplay execution compared to the best rhythm games but it's more than competent. While being a game built around fan service it's still a very much worthwhile endeavour even if you're not much of a series fan and who knows, if you've never played a FF game maybe this could be your portal in? Recommended particularly for fans of Rhythm games and of course FF fans who likely own it already. Altogether it's a very well put together game that will last you a while and a solid addition to the 3DS library.

(+) Recommended

 

[Zornica]

Samurai Warrior Chronicles (+)

I haven't played any other games of that genre before, so I can't be certain on whats new, but I thought I give you my impressions as a newcomer anyway:

some background:
At first, I never thought about picking it up. The series is know for mediocre reviews and hords of people hating it for its ridiculous number of entries. But than I spoted it new für 10€ (insteead of 50!) and just took it with me. That was probably my best decision this year. The game is way more fun than all those reviews give it credit for.

Gameplay:
The game is basically a real time strategie game. You troops are based on a battle field which contains square "rooms" and straight paths which connect those rooms. There are fortresses and camps to capture. those will spawn new units, so in capturing them, your army gains more strengh. Ofc the enemy will try the same.
You are in direct control of one (up to 4) commander of your army. With the character in control you perform beat'm up style (simple) combos and try to kill enemy commanders and capture new bases so your army can grow and advance towards the enemy general to defeat him and thus winning the battle.
The other 3 commanders you aren't controlling atm are controlled by the AI or can be sent to their destinations by using the touchscreen. you can instantly change which character you are playing all the time. and most of the time you have to keep switching constantly.
During each battle mission will keep poping up which will give you an objectiv to complete. Most of the time they are optional, but in ignoring these, you'll most certainly lose the battle.
I give you a small example:
In one mission you 4th guy has been captured in the enemy fortress. you need to kill 3 door guards to open the doors. so you need to send your remaining 3 units with the touchscreen to the north, the east and the south entrance and kill the guards there while switching to the 4th for keeping him alive (he is beeing attacked inside the fortress). If he dies your troops will lose moral which deminishes your armys hp which makes the battle way harder.
On top of all that there are small rpg elements and you need to lvl your commanders up and give them better equipment too. you also have to upgrade that equipment to keep up with the enemy.

Presentation:
For a 3ds launch game, it looks really good. The character models aren't quite on par with resident evil, but they are close. The battlefields are pretty barren, with some few outstanding looking ones, but it never really bothered me personally. There is much enemy pop ups or I should say fade ins, but I wasn't really bothered by that. I guess those shortcommings allowed to keep the framerate stable. I never felt any performance drops and it runs silky smooth all the time. can't say if it's 30 or 60 fps. I guess it's closer to 30 but I am really bad at that stuff.
The whole game has voice acting and thank god they kept the original japanese dub, which adds immensly to its setting in ancient japan.

Story:
as mentioned it's set in medieval japan between 1500 and 1600 also know as the sengoku time, and follows oda nobunaga, toyotomi hideyoshi and tokugawa ieyasu on their quest to reunite japan.
Mostly it is told through cutscenes bevor and after a battle, and depending on your friendship level with your allied commanders you can pick different dialog options to improve your friendship further.

Spotpass/Streetpass:
There were some free dlc maps when using spotpass. I am not sure if you can still get them because I got a message a few weeks ago stating that they will discontinue the support for this game now. It could also just mean that we won't get anything new anymore.
There is a Streetpass mini battle mode where you select 4 of your commanders and your favorite weapon which will be sent to anyone who passes you. After an enemy team arives on your 3ds, you have to fight them with you own team. If you win you can select the weapon that was sent with them. when such a weapon is selected, a "supply commander" will pop up in the next mission you play. If you kill him you'll get the weapon.

 

[Boney]

So we're unpaid freelancers now?

 

[jufonuk]

anyone reivewed spirit camera?

 

[manueldelalas]

Agree with everything but the bolded; game is not that easy, especially when you invest 40 minutes on a level and die, I guess you can save at any turn? Still, this game might be easy if you're an FE, AW pro, but I have trouble with some of the trickier levels. Also this game is long; on How Long to Beat .com the average playtime is 26 hours, without doing the optional Skirmish stuff, in short you really get your money's worth out of the game.

What I mean is that Elite difficulty felt like playing FE in normal mode; but hard modes on those games are way harder. I'm not FE or AW expert, but I play those games and like them; but this is definitely easier (more unbalanced too).

 

[Pikma]

You guys have been so busy writing those reviews and nobody has even noticed the easter egg I added to the OP for one of the games.

 

[Kerub]

anyone reivewed spirit camera?

I'm curious about this one too.

 

[Lambtron]

Notable 3DS releases for Q4 2012 (NA):

• Harvest Moon: A New Beginning (retail... Nov 6th)
• Paper Mario: Sticker Star (retail/eShop... Nov 11th)
• Adventure Time: HIKWYSOG (retail... Nov 13th)
• Crashmo (eShop... Nov 22nd)
• Brain Age: Concentration Training (retail/eShop... Dec 3rd)

Why is that that all of these have to come out so close together?

Major currently announced 2013 titles include:

• Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon
• Monster Hunter Tri Ultimate
• Castlevania: Mirror of Fate
• Fire Emblem: Awakening
• Animal Crossing: Jump Out
• Etrian Odyssey IV

Frown, I'll be buying all of these.

 

[Seven Force]

Shinobi 3D is the best game on the 3DS. No, I do not mean "the best game on the 3DS you haven't played lol", I mean the best god damn game on the system. Here's a little gush flavored write up of the game I did after I beat it for the first time:



I have since put 65 total hours into the game, and still have yet to do everything. The game is one of the most dense 2D action-sidescrollers I've ever played, in terms of content. The above doesn't even mention [URL=" amazing soundtrack the game has[/URL], done by Norihiko Hibino of MGS and ZoE fame. This game is bar none my favorite title of 2011.

That's a (+), in case you couldn't tell >_>

To long time Shinobi fans, here's the ranking (in descending order) as far as the series goes IYO in order for you to gauge the game's quality in relation the genesis titles:

Return of the Master Ninja
3D
Revenge
Shadow Dancer

I only put Return above 3D because I feel the level design in Return is better. The gameplay in 3D is outstanding though, the best in the series by far.

A Shinobi game almost as good as Shinobi III?

Well, I'm sold.

 

[RpgN]

Dark Schala, I just have to leave a comment for your Legend of Zelda review. It was beautiful and probably the best review I've read of this version of the game. I like your sense of detail and how you manage to answer every question to a person who seeks as much detail such as myself. I already have the game and still enjoyed reading it in one go. It makes me want to read your other Rhythm Thief review though that one is huge so it might be for another time.

Okay, that's enough gushing but I'd like to see more of your reviews

 

[Pikma]

Another OP update

Hope you like it so far.

Thanks to everyone for putting the time into reviewing all those games. Should be helpful for all the holidays newcomers.

 

[also]

My other reviews
Liberation maiden
Castlevania: The Adventure

Liberation Maiden (+-)

Premise
You are Shoko Ozoro, a high school girl that becomes the 2nd president of New Japan after your father, the former president, dies. You fly around on your Mecha and blast enemies to save your country from its invaders.

Game Structure
There are 5 stages with a very generous time limit, each ending with a boss fight. In the first 4 you fly around and destroy 3 lesser spikes (think of them as mini bosses) and then tackle a big one (that's the boss). There are also some secondary objectives; destroy a group of enemies, infiltration... Each level also has short (~1 minute to complete) optional goals, that are different between difficulty levels. The fifth stage is mostly a looong boss fight.
While playing you are given directions in the form of dialogue that pauses the game.
If you die, you can use a continue to be revived on the spot. On easy there are 9, on normal 5 and hard has 3.
You can score attack any stage finished in Story mode; no continues in this mode.

Controls
You use the slide pad to move, the L button to strafe (you either hold it or press it to toggle, set this in the options) and the stylus to aim and fire. You have two weapons (you get the second one in stage 2). For the first one, you move your reticule over enemies to automatically lock onto them and then lift the stylus to fire. If you keep targeting an enemy you will do a more powerful charge attack. The second one is a laser that automatically fires where your reticule is.
There's no left handed mode, BUT it might be easier to control than Kid Icarus; since the first weapons locks onto enemies, you can just kind of move your reticule over them, you don't need as much precision. If you are at least a little bit skilled with your right hand, you should give it a try.

Gameplay
Your defence and offence are based on energy nodes; the blue bars around your health in the bottom right corner of the top screen. When you lock onto enemies or fire your laser, they start to deplete. To restore them, you have to lift your stylus and wait a few seconds for them to recharge. Using the laser leaves you less open, as the nodes recharge faster. If you are hit when you don't have (enough) energy nodes, you will take damage and loose some of them. To restore them, you have to kill enemies; chaining kills together restores a greater amount.
By killing enemies you also fill a special gauge (top left on the bottom screen). Once it's full, you can unleash a powerful special attack that will destroy all regular enemies in the area, but has no effect on (mini)bosses. If you get hit when you have no energy nodes and your special gauge is full, you will unleash a counter attack (works on bosses).
You are scored in each stage based on how many enemies you killed and how long it took you to finish the stage. Chaining kills together gives you score multipliers. Littered around the stages are also various enemy buildings. If you choose to destroy them you purify the land, thus raising your score and receiving a bonus at the end of the stage.

PROS
+High production values: animated intro and ending, all the dialogue during the missions and the story bits before levels are all voiced
+Great voice acting
+Nails the anime feeling it's striving for: Fighting the first boss and listening to its awesome theme, really made feel as if I was watching an anime.
+Music is great and fits the game perfectly: I especially love the themes for the 1st, 4th and 5th boss, they really get me pumped
+Nice bosses
+Replay value: On higher difficulty levels the enemy attacks are stronger, faster, more frequent and precise so it forces you to be more strategic. This is especially true for the bosses
+The shared defence and offence system

CONS
-Expensive
-Unfriendly towards left handers
-Short: My 1st playthrough (normal) took me a little bit over an hour to complete. I then replayed story mode on hard (it really is hard) and easy. I also did the score attack for all stages, all difficulty levels. All in all, I got ~13 hours out of it but if you are not into replaying levels, your experience with this game will be very short.
-No online leaderboards: Unforgivable for a game that focuses on score attack to extend its otherwise short life span.
-Lack of variety: Apart from the bosses, the 1st, 2nd and 4th stage are quite similar. The 3rd stage mixes it up a bit and is the most varied and longest.
-The dialogue during the stages breaks the flow of the action: You are often (before and after each objective) given instructions on what to do or comments about the situation. This is really frequent and often pointless (take down the boss that just appeared, move onto the next target...). You can tap through the dialogue in a matter of seconds but this frequent pauses become really annoying as you replay the levels. Really wish they delivered the dialogue in real time, like Kid Icarus does.
-The scoring system is not that deep

NEUTRAL
-Achievements: Pretty standard stuff (achieve 100% purification, destroy X number of enemies...), nothing that would force you to really change your play style. It's nice that unlocking them nets you artwork and lore; character and enemy profiles, more backstory...

Video
First level, normal mode, no boss fight
1st boss, easy mode. The guy unfortunately talks and kind of sucks at playing but there's no other video

Summary
Unfortunately, Suda51 spent too much of the budget on the presentation and too little on the actual stages. The game has a terrific atmosphere, but it's so short that it's kind of hard to justify its asking price.
Get this if you are into score attack, want to support Suda51 or really enjoy the thought of a high school girl president obliterating enemies with a flying mecha while awesome music is playing.
The ending also leaves room for a sequel, so...

Playtime:
13:31
Played story mode on easy, normal (2X) and hard (2X)
Played all the stages on all difficulties in Score attack mode at least once

 

[Dark Schala]

Pikma, I posted a Rhythm Thief review as well earlier in the thread. OP looks fine, but if you reeeeaaally wanted to, you could make banners for some of the games like the Wii Game Recommendation Thread or the DS Recommendation Thread. Whatever floats your boat.

To others, I think it would be helpful that if you've reviewed something in this thread before, to format it something like this, with your other reviews at the bottom or beginning of your review. Just in case other people with similar tastes would like to read more of your reviews.

So we're unpaid freelancers now?

NeoGAF pays me in threads that make me laugh.

Dark Schala, I just have to leave a comment for your Legend of Zelda review. It was beautiful and probably the best review I've read of this version of the game. I like your sense of detail and how you manage to answer every question to a person who seeks as much detail such as myself. I already have the game and still enjoyed reading it in one go. It makes me want to read your other Rhythm Thief review though that one is huge so it might be for another time.

Okay, that's enough gushing but I'd like to see more of your reviews

Thank you very much. Lots of detail about everything in a game is what I like about reviews too, but I wasn't too sure if others are into reading all of that. I'll write more when I can / am not too busy with other stuff, because I really like writing them.

Theatrhythm Review

Hey man you can beat FF without grinding. :V

I'm glad you brought up the issues I brought up when I played it. It might be bothersome to some players, but overall Theatrhythm's a pretty good game for FF fans and newcomers alike, as you demonstrated. Good review.

 

[perorist]

.

Oh boy, I've been waiting for this, and so in-depth too.

 

[Anteo]

Samurai Warrior Chronicles (+)

Gameplay:
I give you a small example:
In one mission you 4th guy has been captured in the enemy fortress. you need to kill 3 door guards to open the doors. so you need to send your remaining 3 units with the touchscreen to the north, the east and the south entrance and kill the guards there while switching to the 4th for keeping him alive (he is beeing attacked inside the fortress). If he dies your troops will lose moral which deminishes your armys hp which makes the battle way harder.
On top of all that there are small rpg elements and you need to lvl your commanders up and give them better equipment too. you also have to upgrade that equipment to keep up with the enemy.

Agree with your review, however in this mision is easier to never change into the captured Ally, since ally commanders do not fight out of screen, they slowly get damaged if they are in a bad situation. So, it is posible to survive longer if you never use him, especially since the tropps inside the castle have high moral with means extra def, extra att.

 

[DCharlie]

Will add comments eventually, have some with ???? because i've not played enough/at all to check :

Ace Combat (+)
Airport Hero : Honalulu (+)
Asphalt 3d (-)
Beyond the Labyrinth (+)
Bit.Trip Saga (+-)
BlazBlue (-)
Brain Age demon training (+)
Bravery Default (????)
Bust-a-Move (+-)
Calciobit (+)
Cave Story 3D (+-)
Centipede (-)
Code of Princess (+-)
Combat of Giants (-)
Crayon Shinchan (-)
Crush 3D (+)
Cubic Ninja (+-)
Culdcept (????)
Danball Senki (????)
DOA (+)
DQ Monsters Terrys Wonderland (+)
Dream Trigger 3D (+)
Driver (-)
Etrian Odyssey 4 (+)
Fire Emblem (+)
Frogger 3D (+-)
Gon : Paku Paku Paku Adventure (????)
Gundam 3D Battle (+)
Guild01 (+-)
Hatsune Miku (+)
Inazuma 11 Go (????)
Jaws (+-)
Kid Icarus (+)
Kingdom Hearts (+-)
Kokuga (????)
Legend of Zelda : OOT (+)
Lego Star Wars 3 (+-)
Mahjong Cubed (-)
Mario + Sonic London (+-)
Mario Kart 7 (+)
Mario Tennis (+-)
MGS 3D (+-)
Moe Moe Daisensou (+-)
Monster Hunter 3G (+)
Nano Assault (+)
Nekketsu Koha Kunio-Kun (????)
NSMB2 (????)
Nintendogs+cats (+-)
Pacman ~ Galaga (-)
Pilotwings (-)
Pinball Hall of Fame (+)
Pokemon Rumble Blast (+-)
Pro Evo 2011 (+-)
Pro Yakyuu famista (-)
Pro Yakyuu Spirits (+)
Professor Layton Miracle Mask (+-)
Rabbitds in Time (+-)
Rayman 3D (-)
Rayman Origins (+)
Resident Evil Mercs (-)
Resident Evil Revelations (+)
Rhythm Thief (+-)
Ridge Racer (+)
Rune Factory 4 (+)
Run For Money (????)
Sam Warriors Chronicles (+-)
SD Gundman G Gen (+-)
SMTS Overclocked (+)
Shinobi (+)
Skylanders: Spyro (+)
Slime Mori Mori 3 (+)
Sonic Generations (-)
Soirit Camera (-)
Star Fox (+)
Steel Diver (-)
Super Mario 3D Land (+)
Super Monkey Ball (+-)
SSF4 (+)
Tales of the Abyss (+)
Taiko no Tatsujin (+)
Tekken 3D (+)
Tetris Axis (+-)
Theatrhythm (+)
TC Ghost Recon (+)
TC Splinter Cell (-)
Virus Shooter XX (-)
Zoo Keeper (+-)

anyone reivewed spirit camera?

I can do one later, i have the Japanese version. The short review would be that the game is too short (2.x hours?) and the extras are not interesting enough to sustain any interest, the art direction manages to remove a lot of the fear in game, the camera has issues in low light so that kills the atmosphere a lot, however, it does show a lot of promise with some extremely good ideas. I think after wrapping it all up it made me think that someone at some point in time will nail this sort of experience and have a massive title on their hands. Spirit Camera gives some glimpses of that and has some good moments, but ultimately it falls short and it's hard to recommend to anyone at anything other than a -very- budget price.

 

[perorist]

Man that's a lot of cons for Liberation Maiden, and yet

or really enjoy the thought of a high school girl president obliterating enemies with a flying mecha while awesome music is playing.

( ಠ_ゝ&#3232

 

[Pikma]

Pikma, I posted a Rhythm Thief review as well earlier in the thread. OP looks fine, but if you reeeeaaally wanted to, you could make banners for some of the games like the Wii Game Recommendation Thread or the DS Recommendation Thread. Whatever floats your boat.

That would be reeeeeally awesome, but I don't have the skills nor the time to try and do that for every game right now.
If someone wants to do a collaboration, that would be great, though.

First thing first, though, I'll do my best to have the game list up to date, adding reviews should take less time.

Man that's a lot of cons for Liberation Maiden, and yet


( ಠ_ゝ&#3232

Hahaha every (-) review Liberation Maiden gets, convinces me more and more to get it day one. :lol

 

[NekoToshiro]

Code Princess is my next 3DS buy.

 

[Nocturnowl]

Hey man you can beat FF without grinding. :V

I'm glad you brought up the issues I brought up when I played it. It might be bothersome to some players, but overall Theatrhythm's a pretty good game for FF fans and newcomers alike, as you demonstrated. Good review.

I knew that one line would come back to haunt me but not so soon, I totally had to grind up a bit in FF6's World of Ruin, then again I didn't know the game was going to make me use all those other guys i'd neglected to level up!

 

[Kazerei]

Thanks Pikma for all your hard work

 

[Pikma]

Thanks Pikma for all your hard work

This is like my second thread I make, ever. :lol
So maybe It's taking me more time than usual, I'm not sure hahah.
But again, once we get up to date that list, adding one/two new games per week (when they're released) should be no problem!

But yeah, if someone with some design skill can help us out doing some banners for the OP, that would be pretty awesome.

 

[axisofweevils]

Some GAFfers wanted reviews of this game so here you go:

Spirit Camera (-)

Spirit Camera is an AR game based on the Fatal Frame series. You discover a spooky diary and the pages come to life as you play it. While there are some genuinely creepy moments and some of the uses of AR are downright disturbing, the actual game itself, which involves spinning the 3DS 360 degrees and shooting ghosts with your camera in your living room, is sorely lacking and gets old very quickly. The game is also very short - I'd say it takes about 5 hours to complete it, and it is probably not something you'll want to return to. The other problem is, you have to play in a bright room for the AR to work, which kinda ruins the atmosphere. (No turning off the lights here!)

SUMMARY: If you can get it cheap, it is still worth buying just to experience the rare moments of creepy AR brilliance. It's just a shame they weren't tied to a better game.

 

[@MUWANdo]

I really cannot give Shinobi much of an endorsement. The between-level sections are mostly crap and the level design really takes a nosedive once you travel into the future, but the game's biggest problem by far is the way it looks--it's ugly as hell, to the point where it becomes very difficult to even distinguish what's a platform and what's not in some cases. (3D doesn't help, either--there's so much ghosting that I can't imagine ever playing with 3D on).

It's a real shame, too, because there are a ton of good ideas and I have a lot of respect for the designers (hiya Crazy Viking dudes!) but I just cannot be arsed wading through all the bullshit. I know it's a launch title, and they've even explained why using 2D sprites wasn't as feasible as it might have seemed, but I still feel that this game would have been held right up alongside Contra 4 as an example of a western reboot done right if they'd been given a little more time/money to really nail the presentation.

Verdict: neutral, I guess? (-)

 

[The Horror the horror]

Shinobi 3D is the best game on the 3DS. No, I do not mean "the best game on the 3DS you haven't played lol", I mean the best god damn game on the system. Here's a little gush flavored write up of the game I did after I beat it for the first time:



I have since put 65 total hours into the game, and still have yet to do everything. The game is one of the most dense 2D action-sidescrollers I've ever played, in terms of content. The above doesn't even mention [URL=" amazing soundtrack the game has[/URL], done by Norihiko Hibino of MGS and ZoE fame. This game is bar none my favorite title of 2011.

That's a (+), in case you couldn't tell >_>

To long time Shinobi fans, here's the ranking (in descending order) as far as the series goes IYO in order for you to gauge the game's quality in relation the genesis titles:

Return of the Master Ninja
3D
Revenge
Shadow Dancer

I only put Return above 3D because I feel the level design in Return is better. The gameplay in 3D is outstanding though, the best in the series by far.

I finished Contra 4 (DS) recently, and I don't think I have it in me to play another hardcore, puts-hair-on-your-chest action side scroller.

 

[DCharlie]

heh, this is why these threads are going to be fun. I'm a big supporter of the idea that Shinobi is one of the best games on 3DS. It's awesome.

 

[PKrockin]

I really cannot give Shinobi much of an endorsement. The between-level sections are mostly crap and the level design really takes a nosedive once you travel into the future, but the game's biggest problem by far is the way it looks--it's ugly as hell, to the point where it becomes very difficult to even distinguish what's a platform and what's not in some cases. (3D doesn't help, either--there's so much ghosting that I can't imagine ever playing with 3D on).

Yeah, that last recommendation intrigued me, but that's what's keeping me from getting on Amazon and ordering--a lot of the screens look like such a jumbled mess I can hardly tell what anything is.

 

[chickdigger802]

Tales of Abyss +

You'd either like or hate the characters, I can't be a judge for that, but if you can get pass that hurdle, you will experience a meaty ass jrpg ( a bit too meaty at the end, it drags a bit) with a fun battle system. The 3D isn't great and there is no AA in 2d mode and framerate was reduced (still solid 30fps), but loading times are near instant, which makes this the definite version.

If you want a jrpg ass jrpg with a fun action combat system, give this a shot.

 

[RM8]

heh, this is why these threads are going to be fun. I'm a big supporter of the idea that Shinobi is one of the best games on 3DS. It's awesome.

I'll post a very positive Shinobi review at some point too Fantastic game.

 

[@MUWANdo]

Yeah, that last recommendation intrigued me, but that's what's keeping me from getting on Amazon and ordering--a lot of the screens look like such a jumbled mess I can hardly tell what anything is.

The game starts off looking okay--not great, but interesting enough, and you can at least tell what's what--but the further you get, the uglier it becomes and the harder it is to distinguish projectiles against the background, or platforms from scenery, or whatever. It can be really frustrating, too, because the later stages can be absolutely brutal in terms of requiring very precise movement.

Some people are gonna enjoy it regardless, because it's basically the only game that fills this niche on 3DS and the core systems are really well done, but you will never even come close to finishing this game unless you're willing to overlook a lot of bullshit.

 

[RM8]

Probably very old news, but it's nice that you can store 4 3DS games in an old Game Boy cartridge case.

 

[pa22word]

^I'd like to hear some examples as I never encountered the issue you're referring to, and at the point your biggest complaint is "it doesn't look very good" I find it increasingly difficult to really care all that much about your opinion, as it's graphics isn't the point with this product.

And I have no idea what you are talking about with the complaints with the later levels, unless you're talking purely about aesthetics (which again, isn't the point of this game), as later levels like Afterburner, BioShark, and Jungle of Blood are the best levels in the entire game.

I really don't see how you can think projectiles blur into the backdrop as they are always pure white against a colorful backdrop and always have a preceding audio cue or enemy "tell" to warn you they're coming.

But I do agree with the 3D effect issue. It just doesn't work for me at all unless I use a different costume for Jiro that's not pure white and/or slide the slider down as low as it can go, just a hair above the off position.

 

[RM8]

Shinobi can look downright PS1-ish at some points. It's still one of my absolute favorite games from last year across all my systems, it's most definitely not only "good for an early 3DS game". Agree about Jungle of Blood being ace! I want to replay that level now. But yes, the ghosting is so bad I pretty much never used 3D.

 

[Pikma]

I really cannot give Shinobi much of an endorsement. The between-level sections are mostly crap and the level design really takes a nosedive once you travel into the future, but the game's biggest problem by far is the way it looks--it's ugly as hell, to the point where it becomes very difficult to even distinguish what's a platform and what's not in some cases. (3D doesn't help, either--there's so much ghosting that I can't imagine ever playing with 3D on).

It's a real shame, too, because there are a ton of good ideas and I have a lot of respect for the designers (hiya Crazy Viking dudes!) but I just cannot be arsed wading through all the bullshit. I know it's a launch title, and they've even explained why using 2D sprites wasn't as feasible as it might have seemed, but I still feel that this game would have been held right up alongside Contra 4 as an example of a western reboot done right if they'd been given a little more time/money to really nail the presentation.

Verdict: neutral, I guess? (-)

What's your real verdict? Neutral or Negative?

 

[also]

Man that's a lot of cons for Liberation Maiden, and yet
( ಠ_ゝ&#3232

Heh, I knew that would be a selling point for some, so I couldn't leave it out.

 

[zroid]

Probably very old news, but it's nice that you can store 4 3DS games in an old Game Boy cartridge case.

hah, I never thought about that. I'm sure I have a few of those lying around somewhere...

 

[Nocturnowl]

Shinobi

With recent events in this very thread I think i'll throw my hat into the game regarding Shinobi.
Make no mistake about it, Shinobi 3DS is not for the faint of heart, it's tricky, occasionally quite unfair and oddly designed but it's also quite gripping when you get in the flow.
So Shinobi is a 2.5D sidescroller with an emphasis on action and platforming, you take control of Jiro Musashi who dare I say has a spiffier outfit than his son Joe from most other Shinobi games. Jiro's journey will take through time itself but his sword, grappling hook and kunai are more than enough to deal with the threats that await him.

The games control and playstyle is actually quite a bit different to the popular Mega Drive/Genesis game Revenge of Shinobi, for one thing the sword is your main weapon and what a lovely weapon it is, capable of parrying strikes and projectiles as well as delivering some small combos with a few variations, the combat is this game is simple but ever so satisfying, it takes time to click with the parrying mechanic but when you do the game becomes absolutely tons better. Kunai are relegated to a more appropriate supporting role here, you have 5 at a time that "respawn" over a certain amount of time, all 5 can be unleashed at once with a spinning aerial attack, smart use of both melee and ranged combat is necessary to deal with the various enemies you'll face from ninjas, gun wielding soldiers to gatling gun robots. Also handy dive kick and sliding kicks, got to cover those bases.

Platforming is relatively snappy, Jiro can double jump, wall jump, bounce off certain enemies heads for a boost and use his grappling hook to attach himself to certain ceilings. Right from the start the game poses some interesting platforming setups for you to work with, as the game progresses things get much trickier and in fact some towards the end are downright brutal in their precision, combining very precise leaps that simultaneously require a well timed second jump into a wall jump to a grapple.

Onto the games stages, there's not that many of them but they're pretty lengthy, perhaps too long for handheld stages and with the ever increasing difficulty expect to retread old ground a fair few times as well. Within these stages you'll occasionally get the odd shift in gameplay like riding a horse, using gyro to surf down a river and springing across vehicles to avoid being blown to pieces, these sections are some of the weaker parts of the game and can sometimes overstay their welcome. Boss battles range from a weapon packed Helicopter to a killer Bioshark, standard boss fare here as you get into the pattern recognition game in order to whittle down the bosses health bar.
Jiro has some ninjutsu tricks to call upon to help him out like increasing his speed and jump distance or beefing up his power but use of ninjutsu will take a hit to your overall score ranking at the end of a stage so I just steered clear of it myself, I guess it's worth noting that the game has multiple difficulty levels for both the more wary and the more masochistic.

Quite a few unlockables as well, an achievement like system that can in turn lead to some cheats, mainly costumes or visual changes like making Jiro all chibi like. Following this there are challenge rooms which can be unlocked through collectables in the main game or through play coins, these rooms can break men down into mere children with their merciless challenge at times.

Visuals get a lot of flak, personally I was fine with them, the 3DS can do much better and they're pretty simple but they're colourful and kind of enjoyable in their somewhat stylised simplicity, the 3D effect adds nothing really and in fact can make things worse at times so leave it off and save that battery power. The music is solid though I don't really remember too much of it, it's certainly suitable for the action in game at any rate.

Okay I think that's the basics covered so I can really get into more how I personally feel about this game. To start with the parry ability is so damn satisfying and building up the combo meter with the visual after effect from each sword swing and bigger numbers flying out of the screen is pretty exhilarating, the various types of enemies along with Jiro's means of attacking keep you on your toes, the more ninja like enemies are by far the most enjoyable ones to fight, gun wielding enemies and robots not so much.
Level design is both inspired and occasionally pretty bad at the same time, some odd camera angles, unclear platforms or just plain problematic platforming combined with enemies positioned in such a way that you know the game hates you can really dampen the mood. Later stages begin to show signs of a few noticeably cheap sections and this all culminates in an absolutely brutal final stage which will throw plain unfair challenges at you. I guess in a way it really takes you back to the olden days as you gingerly hop through the peril filled passages lined with spiked walls while countering projectile spamming enemies with instant death pits below you installing the fear that if you die three times it's back to the stage start and you've already buggered up twice. Some may relish this old school challenge, others may get incredibly frustrated with it and throw in the towel.
Now as painful as I found the final stage I eventually pushed my way to the finish line and felt great satisfaction for it but let me tell you, it's a real git of a stage.
The stage beforehand is directly inspired by a maze like stage from Revenge of Shinobi and this one isn't much good either, requiring plenty of trial and error finding the right route with some fiendish stage layout. It's a shame as had the game not fallen into such disarray in these last stages then the game would be damn near a top recommendation from myself but these last two stages in particular left a bit of a bitter taste. The other stages are still tough but feel a lot fairer with the right level of challenging difficulty, Jungle of Blood in particular really puts you through a varied trial of a stage without being too cruel about it.

As such recommending Shinobi is a tricky one, I did very much enjoy it and if you feel up to the challenge and love some sidescrolling action then by all means give it a shot, it's pretty cheap these days as well so you haven't got much to lose except your temper perhaps.
Others that are easily worn down by challenges and really get deterred at the idea of some occasionally cheapshotting level design would do better to give this a miss.
It's a short and mostly sweet experience with enough content to round out the whole package, it's an acquired taste so as such i'm going to give it a neutral though I do personally lean more towards positive.
(+-)