Nintendo 3DS

[SecretAsianMan]

Nintendo is doing a series of 2 Games, 2 Dollars each, 2 Days sales on the eShop.  Right now it's Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge for the 3DS and Mega Man X for the Wii U.  I'd keep an eye on it if you want some other eShop games on the cheap.

[Sno]

Anyone else have recommendations for eshop games under £15 (or dollars)?

 

In addition to things already mentioned, both of the Mighty Switch Force games are really fantastic. Tokyo Crash Mobs is a goofy, dumb thing that i really love. Also, one of the other Guild games, Starship Damrey, is well worth playing. (Just a really neat first-person adventure game.)

[tegan]

Nintendo Direct! Chibi-Robo confirmed for NA release! Finally!

 

Also, Kirby Triple Deluxe something something Yoshi's New Island something something

[tegan]

The Luigi's Mansion statue is the most expensive Club Nintendo reward to date, at 1500 coins. Eesh.

[lobotomy42]

Nintendo Direct! Chibi-Robo confirmed for NA release! Finally!

 

Also, Kirby Triple Deluxe something something Yoshi's New Island something something

 

YESSSSSSS

[JonCole]

I am so annoyed that Dr. Luigi is not coming to 3DS. That'd be THE PERFECT GAME for this platform.

[Roderick]

YESSSSSSS

 

Oh come on, what do YOU know about Chibi Robo? You're probably not even a fan.

[colinp]

As far as I can tell the only thing I'm interested in for 3DS next year is Bravely Default! Hmph.

And the demo comes out the day I have to take my loooooong flight back home! Too bad I'll be thousands of feet in the air when it hits the shop.

[Yasawas]

I am all about that Kirby, Sayonara Umihara Kawase, Yoshi's Island (which I suspect probably looks good on the console, the same way I thought ALBW looked bad in screenshots and lovely in practice) and I'll probably buy the Layton x Phoenix Wright game even though I don't like Phoenix Wright. That's all Q1? Lovely. Europe did not get an announcement for Chibi Robo which was disappointing as I loved the GameCube game although how much relevance that has to the 3DS one anyway I don't know.

 

Bravely Default is utterly incredible so far, I'm about 20 hours in and while the story is only slightly above-average JRPG fare it has a handful of well-written characters who keep the story scenes bearable and the combat system just keeps evolving in lovely, interesting ways. Sadly of the 100 or so StreetPasses I've had since I got it only two other people have been playing it, I suspect it has done poorly here.

[Salacious Snake]

Sega is killing it with these 3D remakes. I can't wait for Shinobi III and Streets of Rage tomorrow.

 

This interview about the 3D conversion of Shinobi III is interesting: http://www.siliconera.com/2013/12/17/ninja-developers-explain-how-they-remade-shinobi-iii-in-3d/ 

 

It sounds like a ton of work.

[Sno]

I am positively giddy that this new Chibi-Robo game is being localized, i was afraid it would stay in Japan like the third game did.

[Roderick]

Oh yeah, I hadn't even touched upon the joy of having Prof Layton versus Phoenix Wright come out here on very short notice. The game apparently didn't do very well in Japan, but it should be a quality experience.

[dibs]

I just can't enjoy Zelda ocarina of time. Without then lure of nostalgia, I find everything about it to be rather irritating.

Is a link between worlds back in the top down motif? I've always enjoyed those.

[Justin Leego]

Yes, Link to the Past style top down motif. Feel the pure nostalges flow from that stereoscopic 3D effect display.

[Merus]

So I am playing Bravely Default because apparently it's going to be a thing? It certainly sold out in the Boxing Day sales, and my Twitter feed seems very excited.

 

It appears to be trying to sell itself chiefly on nostalgia - remember Final Fantasy 1? And Final Fantasy 5? Here's a game like that, but with voice acting! Although it probably needed a better voice director because like half the line readings are a little dodgy, and the plot is very Japanese in that all the main characters are gendered stereotypes. I don't know if people know yet about the microtransactions or the base-building element (it's not as bad as Farmville, although you are literally building a farming village) but I expect people to rationalise it away. I am only 3 hours in and I sure hope it gets more complex soon; by this point you could see the shape of Persona 4's combat system and what kind of challenges you could look forward to, and that game is a notoriously slow starter. So far in this I feel like I've got one strategy that works on pretty much everything.

 

I know Square Enix are capable of better, and I'm not yet past the prologue; I'm hoping it's just a shaky start.

[Yasawas]

I'm 30 hours in and loving the combat in Bravely Default, I can't remember what it's like at your stage currently but it does add enough stuff to keep me occupied and the job system is very well done I think. I enjoyed Persona 4 too but I'm struggling to remember what was good about the combat specifically - it was all just find a weakness, exploit it, keep doing it and then all pile on was it not?

[Merus]

The idea that weaknesses caused a knock-down, and that an enemy's elemental attacks could knock allies on their ass just as effectively. Naturally, the first boss loves to do it, but you got a sense early on that as you got access to more elements, and thus so did the enemies, you'd have to make sure you didn't get complacent and could protect against the weaknesses while making sure you actually had strengths.

 

Here it feels like the optimal strategy is, for small enemies, attack 4 times with all your damage dealers, and for bosses, default until you fill up or an opportunity presents itself, and then attack 4 times. I don't see how this is going to get any more interesting unless they convince me attacking less than 4 times is regularly worth doing, or it turns out there's a way to guarantee your party will always act first so I can at least go after the no-damage chain.

[Yasawas]

Ah OK, in that case I'll be interested to see how you feel about it after the first couple of proper boss fights. This might be the way I've specced my dudes, the flexibility of which is where the combat really shines, but constantly defaulting isn't a viable strategy for me and hasn't been for some time.

[Griddlelol]

Bravely Default looks really good, and I'd love to play it, but saying "30 hours in" has made me reconsider.

I don't get much time go game any more, with life and job taking over. I love my 3ds because I can play in bite sizes chunks. Would this game be for me? Is it too in depth to be played in 20-40 minute sessions every now and again? Or does this require a serious time investment to be good?

[dibs]

Is it just dragon quest 9 all over again? I find that sort of battle system extremly tedious. I played the demo to the 1st battle and stopped there. 

[Merus]

Handhelds are really good for RPGs, because you can crack it open and play for a bit while you're waiting for something else to happen. There's an option in the menu to change the frequency of random battles (including turning them off), which will be useful if you want to get your bearings. There are multiple systems in the game that benefit time-poor players - if you leave the system closed, you'll build up time for a free turn, and your town will continue the restoration effort. The 'come back tomorrow' stuff is going to be far less daunting for you if you're not trying to barrel through it in a week.

 

 

Is it just dragon quest 9 all over again?

 

I don't know how to parse this question. It's a throwback JRPG, so it has a turn-based battle system. I don't know what bugs you about DQ9's battle system so I cannot really answer this question, but if you are saying that DQ9's is too simplistic (I would classify it as a... late bloomer) then this is probably not the game for you. You may enjoy The World Ends With You, on the original DS, which has a very active combat system (almost to a fault) and is also a game I will recommend without hesitation or indeed relevance.

[dibs]

Well, exactly what you said about DQ9! I got so bored of the battles. It's not the turn based that turns me off DQ9, turn based games feature heavily in my favourite things. However, i always felt there was a lack of tactical options there. Most expecially, I don't like inputting my turns all at once and then having it play out while I watch. I finished the game and did a little of the post game stuff, but it all became too much of a samey grid for me. 

 

 

Finished TWEWY on the DS and on the ipad (for my sins) - so awesome.

[tegan]

Finished TWEWY on the DS and on the ipad (for my sins) - so awesome.

 

Hooray! TWEWY is one of my favourite games.

 

 

 

I sort of wish that more JRPGs with bog-standard combat would at least do the Golden Sun "no autotarget" thing so that I could muster even a little involvement.

[BadHat]

Well, exactly what you said about DQ9! I got so bored of the battles. It's not the turn based that turns me off DQ9, turn based games feature heavily in my favourite things. However, i always felt there was a lack of tactical options there. Most expecially, I don't like inputting my turns all at once and then having it play out while I watch. I finished the game and did a little of the post game stuff, but it all became too much of a samey grid for me.

 

Yeah, this puts me off as well. The inability to alter your strategy after you punch in all the actions makes it seem a bit rigid. Same reason I couldn't get into Lost Odyssey even though it seemed pretty great otherwise. Want more games with an ATB system like Final Fantasy X. The way the turns played out according to speed and you could see the order updating when you cast haste or something was great. Too bad everything else in that game was poop.

 

Started playing Fire Emblem finally and it's quite addictive. I didn't realise raising a relationship to S would automatically pair characters up if they were eligible, so now Chrom and Sumia are married I guess. "I knew you were meant for me somewhere between the 5th and 6th pie." What a hopeless romantic.

[colinp]

Hooray! TWEWY is one of my favourite games.

I sort of wish that more JRPGs with bog-standard combat would at least do the Golden Sun "no autotarget" thing so that I could muster even a little involvement.

Hah, I always hated that about Golden Sun!

Just finished the Bravely Default demo and I am in love. Can't wait for it to hit NA shores next month. The job system is sooooooooo fun, as is the crazy Bravely/Default mix. Even in the demo you run across bosses where you can't just spam Default and then Bravely four times...

Good stuff, now back to LBW.