Aussie Ben

Daigasso! Band Bros./Jam With the Band might be for you, then. It's got a whole boatload of anime/J-Pop themes, and plenty of Nintendo medleys too. And of course, plenty of public domain songs. And Smoke on the Water. But it's all in midi, because of the way it works. Basically, up, down, left, right on the Control Pad, as well as A, B, X, Y (and in some insane cases, L & R) are assigned to different musical notes. You have to press and hold the correct note as the song indicates, but if you press the wrong note, you don't hear a silly noise, or an "oops!" or whatever - instead, you hear an off-key sounding version of the wrong note. So, in a sense, it's a bit more realistic in the way the music is played. It's all done with midi, as mentioned, so it sounds a bit flat (Smoke on the Water sounds positively soulless when you compare it to, well, Guitar Hero, for example), but it does the job well enough. When you finish the game, you unlock a proper music editor and can save a couple of songs on it, as well. (Here's a song a friend of mine made to show how it works.) You can also play wireless single-cart multi with up to seven friends. If you all have copies of the game, it's apparently unlimited wireless play (don't ask me how this works, it will never, ever be tested, so we'll just have to take their word for it). You can also order an expansion GBA cart for the game which has 31 extra songs.

You know, when I read that Gamasutra interview with Ron and read bits about his upcoming game, the first thing I actually thought of was "Beyond Good & Evil". ...although, that may have been because I read this thread first and saw talk of his previous unfinished game, "Good & Evil". Maybe.

Came out on the 29th of June here, earlier in the UK, 6th of June if I remember right. Oooh, just checked EB, doesn't come out in the US until 5th of September. That sucks. Well, you could import it here if you can't wait - it would cost about US$50 before shipping though. But it is a rollicking good time. Also, for playing VB Wario Land. That game is awesome. Galactic Pinball is a winner too.

Don't get me wrong, not every experience I've ever had at a game store has been horrible. I mean, I called up EB yesterday, they held a copy of LocoRoco for me, I went to pick it up, and the girl at the counter was very nice and genuinely interested in the game. So there you go. A happy ending. Also, your avatar keeps reminding me of the really cool Powerpuff Girls GBA game where Mojo Jojo forced you to help him escape from jail.

Personally, I don't like the idea of game store employees trying to talk me out of buying a particular game. Okay, I've never played any Devil May Cry games, but let's use them as an example anyway. Let's say that I HAVE DMC 1 and 3. But I couldn't find 2. And I actually wanted to play 2. Having to go through the rigmarole of listening to some sweaty EB employee who thinks they know your game tastes better than you do is fucking INFURIATING. I've really started to hate EB. Because of them, nearly all of my other secondhand game stores that I went to (the ones that sold awesome old NES, GB, and SNES games) are gone. Also, EB is too white. It feels bloody clinical. The last secondhand games I bought were Rakuga Kids (a cool N64 fighter with crayon-drawn charaters by Konami), The Flintstones: Rescue of Dino and Hoppy, Rocket: Robot on Wheels, and Mickey's Racing Adventure for GBC. All in all a good haul, I think - I just wish I could find more places that had second-hand old games. I don't think I'll ever find a boxed copy of Sneaky Snakes or Mr. Chin's Gourmet Paradise.

I loved the DKC3 "Bonus Time" and SMB3 "Hammer Bros." combo he did. Two very great songs there. The Sonic the Hedgehog video is awesome, too. Goes for about 14 minutes, and covers EVERYTHING.

Bah, your signature has reminded me of this (also from Wikipedia): It is also worth noting that Ma-ti, while being caring when saving the monkey (Suchi), was actually interfering with the natural order of things, where normally the monkey would have been devoured. This is an elaborate loophole that questions Ma-Ti's entire existence.

Well, I'm a bit of a Rare nut, so I'm probably biased, but I liked it. (In contrast, I didn't like the remake of Conker, but I liked the original. Go figure.) Not good playing it for hours on end, but nice in short bursts. It actually reminds me of old beat-em-ups like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage, believe it or not. Also, the final boss is a loony man who runs around in his pyjamas and fighter plane goggles, whilie whacking you with a staff and shrieking "TALLY-HO!". And there's a Scottish groundskeeper who says plenty of suggestive sayings like "Pet my piglet", "Peel my potatoes", "Pinch my plums", and so on. In short: Not the Best Game Ever, but hilarious for $5-$20 (depending on your country of origin - it's $20 here, which is insanely cheap). And you'll like Mr. Ribs. But Rare's best work after 'the takeover', in my opinion, is Sabre Wulf. Seriously, it's brilliant.

It's official: The Xbox 360 emulation team is AWESOME. (Don't tell me he was lying about either comment, it will shatter the illusion.)

Have you played Mario DDR? You get to fight him....IN A DANCE OFF.

Oh, boooo. Come on, the Koopa Kids had bucketloads more personality (what happened to the grammar there?) than some mental squat Bowser who had parent issues. Gimmie Wendy O. or Iggy Koopa over Bowser Jr. any day. I wonder what the chances are of seeing Stafi from the Legend of Stafi games? And I wonder if Super Princess Peach means that Peach will now have her lunatic mood-swinging madness and her talking parasol that craves the flesh of the living? I certainly hope so! And I'll bet you dollars to donuts that Petey Pirhana turns up in some form in Brawl. Because he's been in Sunshine, Double Dash!!, Mario Golf, Super Princess Peach, AND New Super Mario Bros.. And that's only the ones I can think of. Given Nintendo's obsession with him, he will probably be playable. And be able to vomit over everybody. ...all of a sudden I really want Petey Pirhana to be in the game. God, I love it when a new Smash Bros. game is due to come out. Part of the fun is the speculation!

Try here: http://www.dvdcrave.com.au/ Might be cheaper for you because it's in $AU, and they ship overseas. And you'll avoid the 10% GST because you're from the UK. They're a really good store though, I've ordered heaps of games from them without any trouble.

I once bought Boktai from eBay. The guys who sent it from Hong Kong decided to send me a bootleg version WITHOUT A SUN SENSOR. I pointed out to them that they'd better send me a proper copy or I'd pass on their home address that they wrote as the return address to the cops. What do you know, a legit copy of Boktai turns up and profuse apologies. Those wacky Hong Kongians!

Having being pointed towards this thread, I'll briefly put in my 2c: It's amazing what the creator of this thingobob has done (I've managed to get MI 1 & 2, Loom, Atlantis, Sam & Max and DOTT running without any trouble) but the position of the stylus point on the touch screen seems to be a little off at the moment. For example, if you 'click' on the screen to make your character walk, he/she will end up a little to the right (or is it left? I forget) of where you pressed the stylus. Aside from this little quibble, it really is quite amazing, and I haven't had any trouble with it. However, I'd still rather play these games on the PC - but it certainly proves to developers/publishers that adventure games can work quite well on the system.

I'm guessing that's probably why Mario Land wasn't mentioned. Moos seems to be looking for games that aren't "so famous that everybody who has played a Game Boy knows about them", which is probably why Tetris hasn't been mentioned either.

Dammit, I was going to say Mole Mania! Yeah, LeChimp is spot on with those games - Mole Mania is a real sleeper that is such an awesome puzzle game. Metroid II is really great too - I remember playing it at two in the morning and being terrified because you'd be exploring these maze-like rooms with nothing but the GB's creepy ambient sound, and then you'd stumble across a Metroid and it would turn into a more powerful Metroid and the music would be intense. I don't think I've experienced such terror in any other game. Kirby 1 + 2 are awesome, Kirby 2 being much, much, MUCH more difficult (especially if you're after those Rainbow Drops to get the final ending). Kirby's Star Stacker is a sweet and addictive puzzle game in the falling block style. Kirby's Block Ball I quite liked too, as it was breakout with Kirby, and you could earn powers like spark, stone and so on to destroy blocks more quickly, and it came complete with boss battles. Donkey Kong '94 is highly addictive and well designed - leagues above the horrid Mario vs. Donkey Kong that tried to emulate its gameplay but failed miserably. Play it on a Super Game Boy if you can, it replaces Pauline's Game Boy shrieks with actual digitized "HELP! HELP!". Donkey Kong Land 1 is not recommended, as it's unforgiving (if you fall down further than the screen can scroll, it counts as losing a life) but by Donkey Kong Land III they fixed this and the gameplay is nice and tight. Good fun, especially if you like the 'Country games. Mario's Picross is an addictive puzzle game where you have to break out squares on a grid by using deduction and the clues on the sides. When you complete the grid, it will reveal a picture. Sneaky Snakes was pretty cool - a 2D version of Snake, Rattle 'n' Roll for the NES. So basically, you eat those round things, get to the end of the level, and weigh yourself so that you can open the exit door and escape. Survival/Stranded Kids is very cool, and much, much better than the DS update, Lost in Blue (it's less frustrating and more fun). The Fish Files is an awesome Game Boy Color adventure game where you search for clues, pick up inventory and search for your missing fish. Amazing what they got to do for the Game Boy Color in the end. Shantae is also quite good - kind of a mix of Metroid and a regular platform game. Sweet graphics, too. That's all I can think of right now.

I thought Super Princess Peach was really cool, actually. Sure, it's pretty easy, but it's a pleasant romp through pretty looking pixel art worlds, which I haven't seen in a long, long time. And it's got the Amazing Flying Hammer Bros.. Besides, finishing the game fully takes a bit longer than you might think! I really need to go back to it and finish it off. Also, I love hearing Peach's gleeful "WHEEEEE!" as she glides through the air. Hilarious.

Yeah, I've got one, and it works without a hitch. It comes bundled with a USB extension cable and a driver disc. Connect up the thing into the USB slot, it'll autodetect and prompt for a driver disc. Insert the disc, finish installing the drivers, and away you go. Just keep your PC plugged in and turned on with the USB thing in your PC, then choose "Connect via Wi-Fi Adaptor" on your Nintendo DS in your game's Wi-Fi settings. After a few seconds, you'll see a window pop up on your PC asking if you want to allow the DS to use your internet. Accept, and away you go. It sounds complicated, but it's really quite easy.

"I'm hungry...I'm hungry....I'm hungry....I'm hungry..." *eats mushroom* "I'm sick...I'm sick...I'm sick...I'm sick...I'm sick..." YOU ARE DEAD

Yeah, it's much, MUCH harder than Survival Kids for GBC. In fact, I think it's the only game where I've managed to die in the opening cutscene.

Not sure if anyone's seen this (I dug through the older threads and couldn't see it), but I thought this was pretty funny: http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRoSS3B8Nro It would have certainly been much better to see this in the first place as opposed to drowning in the sea of mediocrity that was the Sony Press Conference.

I can never decide if it was that GODDAMN PIG or the Greenwood Village Silver Coin Challenge that gave me the most trouble. Greenwood Village still gives me nightmares. I had to play through the entire game in co-op with a friend so that we could beat the sucker (you only had six racers in co-op, two of which were human players).

This E3 made me quietly weep. Sure, Yoshi's Island DS, Kirby DS, Chibi Robo 2, and so on are great. But, you know - I'm going to have to PAY for all of these. Woe is me. And even though Diddy Kong Racing is a port, I can't wait that. Loved it on the N64. I'll show that damn octopus who's boss. "NOW I CHALLENGE YOU TO A RACE" indeed. And a level editor, to boot. Pretty slick. In summation: DS games = Yay! Paying for DS games = Boo.

I'd love to see Mario square off against Cranky Kong. That would be awesome. I'd also like to see King Dedede. And Fawful would be cool. There are probably more, but I can't remember them right now.

That is being Very Polite. If you really, really, really, really want Runaway, I will send you my copy. Because it's horrible. And I want to get rid of it. Because of its horrible...ness. Please do not think I am joking. I will send it to you if you want it. I can't get rid of it. No-one will take it. I'm thinking of taking Drastic Measures, possibly involving a blowtorch. You can also have Atomic Betty for GBA for free, as I would like to send you a good game, and although it's a horrid licenced GBA platformer that only lasts two hours and only uses password save, it was more entertaining than Runaway. And there you have it - that ends my report from the scene.