• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

3DS: GBA Ambassador games are revealed and up in all regions

Kazerei

Banned
I actually had to look up someone else's strategy, off Gamefaq I believe, to get it. To start you immediately jump on the moving platform and do a sideflip back to get the first present. Then, you get on the platform when it comes back, sideflip up to the second moving platform, and hit the yellow switch, immediately jumping back on the platform and then grabbing the key. Then, you drop down for the blue switch, use that, and that get back up to the second moving platform with the key. You then throw the key up to the platform above with the blue switch, get off on the blocks to the right, sideflip up to the top moving platform, regrab the key, and jump back on that platform in order to jump to the left uppermost blue part. Grab the present (use the key to help if needed), then time your jump down so you land on the middle moving platform. Then, hit the yellow switch and jump back on before it leaves again, and get to the door.
The second part is pretty straightforward, only things of note there are that you can jump straight to the ladder over the ghosts, you don't have to stop them, and the final jump can be cleared with a triple jump in its default position.

I remember all of that off the top of my head just due to the shear insanity of it all. They REALLY shouldn't have put such a ridiculously tight time on that level.

Thanks, I'll try practicing that. It's very frustrating because if you miss a jump you lose several seconds. Seems like the run has to be perfectly executed. Argh.
 
Q

qizah

Unconfirmed Member
I hadn't played much of the Fire Emblem series, only ever playing Fire Emblem on the GBA. Now I get to play the sequel on the 3DS' ambassador program; I don't know why I never gave this series more attention.

It's really great and definitely a different pace from what I usually play. Is the Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon worth a shot as well?
 
I hadn't played much of the Fire Emblem series, only ever playing Fire Emblem on the GBA. Now I get to play the sequel on the 3DS' ambassador program; I don't know why I never gave this series more attention.

It's really great and definitely a different pace from what I usually play. Is the Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon worth a shot as well?

All of the Fire Emblem games are must plays. Shadow Dragon is a remake of the first game in the series, so you'll find that it's not as complex as later entries in the series (hence why everyone seems to hate it here) but it's still a great game and well worth playing.
 

Chopper

Member
Sorry. I'm sure it's been covered aready, but why is it that these games look blurry on the 3DS? I thought the 3D screen would be able to upscale them properly.
 
Sorry. I'm sure it's been covered aready, but why is it that these games look blurry on the 3DS? I thought the 3D screen would be able to upscale them properly.

GBA resolution - 240x160
3DS resolution - 400x240

Blurriness is only completely eliminated at exact scales (1x, 2x, 3x etc.). Obviously 2x GBA is not possible, it would require 480x320 pixels which the 3DS just does not have.

But it does have 1.5x scaling, 360x240, which is probably the best you could do outside of whole numbers, and they use one of the better methods available to scale (up to 2x and then down to 1.5x). At least it's not some janky 1/3rd scale thing.

TBH I don't even notice it anymore, it looks fine to me.
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
I'm hooked on Mario Kart, I barely touched the 3DS version since I got the GBA one. That is because I want to unlock the SNES tracks. Also, the game is goooooood.
 

Brazil

Living in the shadow of Amaz
I haven't 100%'ed WarioWare yet, and it's all I wanna play right now. To think that after I finish it, there'll still be 8 great games (and F-Zero) for me to play...

God, the GBA was freaking awesome. Just give me Friends of Mineral Town through the eShop VC, Nintendo, and I probably won't stop playing the 3DS for a whole year.
 
I'm hooked on Mario Kart, I barely touched the 3DS version since I got the GBA one. That is because I want to unlock the SNES tracks. Also, the game is goooooood.

Can you explain how the power-sliding works on this? I played it a lot when it came out, but I can't figure it out anymore :(
Probably me getting old...
 

marc^o^

Nintendo's Pro Bono PR Firm
Can you explain how the power-sliding works on this? I played it a lot when it came out, but I can't figure it out anymore :(
Probably me getting old...
press and hold R to hop while holding Left or Right. When you land, you'll slide in the direction you were holding. After about 2 seconds, let go of the R button and stop sliding.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
I remember posting a joke on a forum years ago that getting a score of 999 in any minigame in Wario Ware would unlock a minigame called Super Wario World accompanied with a set of photoshopped screenshots that combined SML3:WL sprites with SMW backgrounds.

Amazingly people believed this.
 
press and hold R to hop while holding Left or Right. When you land, you'll slide in the direction you were holding. After about 2 seconds, let go of the R button and stop sliding.

So the sliding itself gives the speed boost while doing it and I don't have do waggle left and right to charge it, right?
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
It's a shame these games are almost rendered useless by the lack of sleep mode. Sure, you can save properly like an original GBA, but times have changed and that is no longer convenient and, more importantly, it takes MUCH longer to get into the games if you have to restart them from the system UI.

I compared them to the games as they appear on a PSP and found the difference in brightness and quality to be significant. The PSP does a much better job with GBA games.
 

jgkspsx

Member
PSP not so much. (Unless you own a copy of the original at home.)
Um, no, at least not in the US, Canada, and the EU. You would have to rip the roms yourself from your own copy to play them legally under the DMCA and similar legislation elsewhere.

Can anybody prove you didn't? Probably not. Do I think there's anything wrong morally with downloading roms for games you own or that are unavailable for sale? No, actually. But it's not legal.

Anyway, that's another thread.
 

Chopper

Member
GBA resolution - 240x160
3DS resolution - 400x240

Blurriness is only completely eliminated at exact scales (1x, 2x, 3x etc.). Obviously 2x GBA is not possible, it would require 480x320 pixels which the 3DS just does not have.

But it does have 1.5x scaling, 360x240, which is probably the best you could do outside of whole numbers, and they use one of the better methods available to scale (up to 2x and then down to 1.5x). At least it's not some janky 1/3rd scale thing.

TBH I don't even notice it anymore, it looks fine to me.

Good knowledge. So, how can a PSP emulate these GBA "perfectly"? Does it have a higher resolution than the 3DS?

/noob

Just trying to get my facts straight.
 

DasDamen

Member
Good knowledge. So, how can a PSP emulate these GBA "perfectly"? Does it have a higher resolution than the 3DS?

/noob

Just trying to get my facts straight.

Yeah, I don't understand either. I was under the impression that the 3DS doesn't even emulate the games. Isn't the 3DS CPU backwards compatible with that of the GBA CPU?

If so, the games play perfectly on the 3DS.
 
It's a shame these games are almost rendered useless by the lack of sleep mode. Sure, you can save properly like an original GBA, but times have changed and that is no longer convenient and, more importantly, it takes MUCH longer to get into the games if you have to restart them from the system UI.

I compared them to the games as they appear on a PSP and found the difference in brightness and quality to be significant. The PSP does a much better job with GBA games.

Could sleep mode functionality be added at a later date, I mean pressing the home button brings up a text box so its at least doing something the gba didn't so maybe with development time they could get it to do more
 

tsab

Member
Good knowledge. So, how can a PSP emulate these GBA "perfectly"? Does it have a higher resolution than the 3DS?

/noob

Just trying to get my facts straight.

PSP runs the via emulation @ 480x272. The 3DS run them natively (underclocking etc)
 
I remember posting a joke on a forum years ago that getting a score of 999 in any minigame in Wario Ware would unlock a minigame called Super Wario World accompanied with a set of photoshopped screenshots that combined SML3:WL sprites with SMW backgrounds.

Amazingly people believed this.

Funnily enough I do have 999 on a minigame, one of my brothers friends was mad enough to do it for the monkey minigame where you hit a to climb the tree on my copy of Wario Ware, at least I think he reached 999, all it requires is to mash the a button.
Now where the hell is my Super Wario World?
 

Chopper

Member
PSP runs the via emulation @ 480x272. The 3DS run them natively (underclocking etc)

Which is something the 3DS can't do, because its resolution is too low, right?

It saddens me that they look better as pirated emulations
if that's your thing
. :(
 

Roto13

Member
It's a shame these games are almost rendered useless by the lack of sleep mode. Sure, you can save properly like an original GBA, but times have changed and that is no longer convenient and, more importantly, it takes MUCH longer to get into the games if you have to restart them from the system UI.

I compared them to the games as they appear on a PSP and found the difference in brightness and quality to be significant. The PSP does a much better job with GBA games.

Boo hoo hoo hoo
 
I always start one of these and my brain freaks out like where did all your progress go?!? You had all the cds in wario land 4 before, why is this blank?!
 

ss_lemonade

Member
Which is something the 3DS can't do, because its resolution is too low, right?

It saddens me that they look better as pirated emulations
if that's your thing
. :(
I like to run the gba games on native resolution so this isn't much of a problem for me. What bothers me more is motion blur. The 3ds gba games blur more than when played on something like a ds lite through backwards compat, which is odd since this doesn't seem to affect native 3ds games.
 
It's a shame these games are almost rendered useless by the lack of sleep mode. Sure, you can save properly like an original GBA, but times have changed and that is no longer convenient and, more importantly, it takes MUCH longer to get into the games if you have to restart them from the system UI.

I compared them to the games as they appear on a PSP and found the difference in brightness and quality to be significant. The PSP does a much better job with GBA games.

However the GBA games were free and the PSP method you're mentioning is arguably less than legal.
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
There's just that one tiny detail some people forget.

The GBA games on the 3DS are legal. PSP not so much. (Unless you own a copy of the original at home.)

I actually DO own the original carts and could take advantage of the ambassador program so I'm in the clear. I've used my DS as a GBA as well as the GB player (which kind of sucks). Having them on 3ds could have been awesome but they are very inconvenient so it's impossible to play them there.

I think I'm entitled to complain (after dropping $450 on the 3ds and its games at launch) when it's clear they could have done better. Not trolling here.
 

Chopper

Member
I like to run the gba games on native resolution so this isn't much of a problem for me. What bothers me more is motion blur. The 3ds gba games blur more than when played on something like a ds lite through backwards compat, which is odd since this doesn't seem to affect native 3ds games.
So...Why the blur? How have Nintendo not optimized these considering they took so long to arrive? When they get updated, is there a chance the blur will go?!
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
I disagree, but that's how the opinions work I guess.
So you don't think anyone is entitled to complain about these? How strange.

You think we should just accept it then?

I suppose it's nice that they gave us something, but it would have been a lot nicer if the games were more usable and didn't look awful on the 3DS screen. Intentionally dimming and blurring (ghosting) the images was not a smart move.
 

jgkspsx

Member
So...Why the blur? How have Nintendo not optimized these considering they took so long to arrive? When they get updated, is there a chance the blur will go?!

The blur and low brightness/faded look appears to have been intentionally added. Sometimes fidelity to the original experience is dumb.
 
As far as scaling, PSP shouldn't be able to do better than 3DS can. It can't do a full 2x scale either, and if you scale the height up to 272 you're doing a 1.7x scale rather than 1.5x scale--less even. Things like brightness or ability to pause, sure, that's dependent on the software.
 

Risible

Member
Do we get coins for the GBA games as well? If so, when do they show up on the site? Do we have to register them before the end of the year?
 

levious

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.
wow, I had forgotten how terrible the sound is on GBA games. Great lineup of games though!
 
It's a shame these games are almost rendered useless by the lack of sleep mode. Sure, you can save properly like an original GBA, but times have changed and that is no longer convenient and, more importantly, it takes MUCH longer to get into the games if you have to restart them from the system UI.

I compared them to the games as they appear on a PSP and found the difference in brightness and quality to be significant. The PSP does a much better job with GBA games.

Lack of sleep mode makes them useless?? Stop being such a drama queen. Also the PSP emulator has to use frame skipping in order to achieve full speed in most games (if you disable it then you get fairly significant slowdown). Pretty sad that you would prefer choppy emulation to games running exactly how they ran on original hardware.
 

M3d10n

Member
BTW, it's worth doing a test to see how long the battery lasts while playing the GBA games. Unlike the other VC games, they aren't emulated and thus use far less CPU than even DS games.
 

Kazerei

Banned
Do we get coins for the GBA games as well? If so, when do they show up on the site? Do we have to register them before the end of the year?

We'll probably get post-play surveys, just like with the NES games. They pop up 7 days after registration, so in 2 days for North Americans.
 
So you don't think anyone is entitled to complain about these? How strange.

You think we should just accept it then?

I suppose it's nice that they gave us something, but it would have been a lot nicer if the games were more usable and didn't look awful on the 3DS screen. Intentionally dimming and blurring (ghosting) the images was not a smart move.

When someone gives you a free ice cream cone are you going to complain that there's no sprinkles?
 

Javier

Member
Fidelity? The same gba games play fine natively on a ds lite, with little to no blur
I think this is because the DS resolution is considerably lower than 3DS and a lot closer to GBA, so GBA games can run in a DS at 1:1 without a noticeable change in screen size.

DS games are also scaled and blurred when played on a 3DS.
 
Fidelity? The same gba games play fine natively on a ds lite, with little to no blur
Nintendo refuses to simulate playing on that. Just like in the GB VC (which has you stuck playing on a GB brick with less bluring rather than sharp GB Pocket, the super Game Boy or Game Boy Colour...) you're playing GBA games on a first generation GBA maybe with added motionblur. Have fun. Write about your experiances int he post-play surveys.

The alternatve B button (or was it A) didn't appear outof nowhere after all (X or Y acts as the other button for more comfort) and might have been the result of some consumer feedback. Unless that was a false impression I read.

I think this is because the DS resolution is considerably lower than 3DS and a lot closer to GBA, so GBA games can run in a DS at 1:1 without a noticeable change in screen size.

DS games are also scaled and blurred when played on a 3DS.
Didn't I just read that when running GBA or DS lite at 1:1 there is motion blur so its not a filter issue but a 3DS screen quality issue?
 

Davey Cakes

Member
Warioware is awsome!!

Man they need to develop a 3DS version.
WarioWare is a really fun series of games. I have all of them except for Mega Party Games (the Gamecube version of the original) and the WarioWare: DIY Showcase (on Wii). My favorite is WarioWare Touched!, but probably because it was my first. Many people think that one's the worst, but I just like the touch controls.

I'd be really surprised if there aren't games slated for 3DS and Wii U. 3D is a decent enough gimmick, and so is the tablet controller.
 

levious

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.
WarioWare is a really fun series of games. I have all of them except for Mega Party Games (the Gamecube version of the original) and the WarioWare: DIY Showcase (on Wii). My favorite is WarioWare Touched!, but probably because it was my first. Many people think that one's the worst.

nah, the DSi one is the worst. My favorite is Twisted.
 

M3d10n

Member
Fidelity? The same gba games play fine natively on a ds lite, with little to no blur

While the DS Lite screen had less ghosting than the GBA's, it still had more ghosting than the 3DS screen. The DSi seems to ghost even more than the DS Lite (to the point I thought the DSi menu had intentional motion blur coded into it).

Some DS games still fake transparency using flickering sprites. On the 3DS the effect breaks since you can clearly see the sprite flickering.

Didn't I just read that when running GBA or DS lite at 1:1 there is motion blur so its not a filter issue but a 3DS screen quality issue?

For Fucks Sake, the 3DS creens are far better than the DS Lite's! They have better color reproduction, better view angles, less ghosting and don't have interlacing artifacts. The VC games using motion blur even in 1:1 mode.
 
Top Bottom