Nolafus

I won't spoil it, but you'll be finding yourself extremely pressured to use survival tactics in SS's Hero Mode because it restricts your recovery options by a huge margin and enemies hit harder. There are some "handicaps," but they don't make up the difference. Like I said, it boils down to a good strategy building exercise.

You get five? I'm lucky to get more than one! XD Eh, I've never been one for parties anyways...

Oh, best tips I can give you: break every jar you can in the cafeteria of Knight Academy when you start the game, make sure you get the Hylian Shield before fighting the final boss (it takes some work, but you will die without it), take advantage of the lightning strikes during the final battle, catch as many bugs as you can whenever you get to a new area in the game (make good use of them too), and PLAY HERO MODE! I cannot emphasize that last one enough. You will be shocked by the change in gameplay and you'll learn how to really play tactically.

HA! I got my copy for my birthday (two years ago) too. I originally wanted it for Christmas 2011, but my parents overlooked it, thinking it was something for the DS/3DS.

Overall, it is a good game, but it takes a lot of patience to play. It's actually one of the longest Zelda titles I've ever played. It took me at least three to four weeks to get through it all. There's no such thing as a quick play-through with it, but at the same time it's not an over-extended game either. I just like being as thorough as I can whenever I play games the first time, otherwise they aren't worth my time playing.

Heh... The story was actually choppy in a lot of spots. True, the characters actually did have backgrounds this time, but they weren't overly elaborate. In fact, all but three of them had real backstories, much less significant roles in the plot.

Starting with Fi, she probably had the most elaborate backstory in the entire game and she's just your helper sprite. Her backstory is summed up as her being the creation of the goddess Hylia sealed away in the "future" Master Sword, who is designed to assist Link with her encyclopedic knowledge of the surface world beneath Skyloft (the central hub in the game). She doesn't even really do anything but nag you throughout the game about stuff you should be doing. :P

Second, there's a young man named Groose (basically this game's version the jock who likes picking on the nerds in class). He doesn't really add much to the storyline, but he does have a lot of comedic standing in the story.

Lastly, there's Zelda... She surprisingly doesn't just play the namesake princess this time, but has a semi-active role as a key character late in the plotline. You find out an interesting secret about her that arguably kind of deteriorates the story in general because it contradicts all the stuff you've been told up to that point. I won't say anymore, otherwise it would spoil the plot for you entirely.

Cheers for that! Now it has more posts. XD

Looking forward to entries for the SWC~ I suggest poking the FF&W chat thread to advertise it. (I would double post if I did D=)

Actually, Twilight Princess and The Wind Waker were a lot better, but SS has a lot of redeeming qualities. For instance, The Imprisoned... It's the formless incarnation of the final boss that you fight several times in the game, and it gets harder with each battle (the third being absurdly difficult). The final boss isn't nearly as hard, so long as you get the Hylian Shield before the fight (otherwise, he's a nightmare and will kill you very fast). Also, there's Hero Mode after you beat the game.

That's why I don't shop at Game Stop anymore... They're pretty much like my boss at work. They'll try and pressure you into buying something you really don't want. Don't get me wrong: FPSs are okay, but to me they're pretty much a dime-a-dozen (Seriously, tell me one where you're killing something other than people, aliens, zombies, monsters, or animals. Even the hunting games are the same as any other FPS).

Oh, you mentioned Skyward Sword! That would easily have been the best 3D Zelda ever if not for the following flaw: the game is programmed to literally tell you everything about everything...TWICE! Fi is especially bad for that, but I'm sort of a nerd for the whole "bestiary" thing, so I would constantly call her out during battle to get information on basically every monster I came across or even just to hear how many I'd slain.

Tell me about it... The day of the release, I was actually at a Walmart with a copy in-sight, but I decided not to get it because another game I was thinking about getting too wasn't there at the same time. After that, I didn't see another copy available until Christmastime of that year.

The game I'd have to pressure you to get, if anything, is definitely Pokémon Mystery Dungeon-Explorers of Sky. It's just so...I can't even describe it anymore. Literally, it's a full game, compared to the previous titles because the previous PMD games were treated like the main series, where some Pokémon were available in one and not the other. Sky actually is complete and chockfull of awesome side-quests and fun characters. Some parts may get a little annoying and the gameplay's a little repetitive, but that's kind of how most dungeon-crawler RPGs are anyways (I think someone described Etrian Odyssey, which is a more traditional RPG dungeon-crawler, as a game for "the OCD, not the ADD" and that pretty much applies to PMD too because you'll spend a lot of time doing stuff to try and complete the game).

Here, let me make you a short list of must-plays for the spin-offs. If you're ever going to look into any of them, these ARE the ones to get. Anything else isn't worth your money (though, I have enjoyed most of the spinoffs).

PMD-Explorers of Sky: If you didn't play the first two (Explorers of Time and Darkness), get this one. It follows the exact same story, but has a bunch of expanded features that easily makes this the ULTIMATE of the PMD dungeon-crawlers. You may have to check used game stores for old DS games, but if you find it, buy it on the spot! The graphics may look silly compared to the 3DS's norm, but this is definitely a must-play still.

PMD-Blue Rescue Team: If you can find it and cheap, get it. This was the original PMD game before the battle mechanics transitioned to the 4th Gen's. The story is absolutely charming, and the 3rd Gen gameplay is really easy to exploit for quick play-throughs. I've easily put over 500 hours on my copy, and I've replayed at least ten times since 2006.

Pokémon Conquest: I know I mentioned this one before, but this easily one of the best strategy game you can get for any system. You may find it awkward that all Pokémon are restricted to one move/ability, but amount of strategy you can put into exploiting them to your advantage. The main story is actually very short, but you'll find yourself putting in a lot of time doing the post-ending missions that you'll unlock. That's the best part of this game, though. You actually get to play as characters other than your default "Warlord," and the game gets insane from then on because rival nations will actually start attacking you and expanding their own armies to conquer your kingdoms (that's a synopsis of the entire game).

Pokémon Ranger (THE ORIGINAL): I'll be honest, you'll end up destroying your 3DS's touch screen, but this is easily the most addictive game in the entire subseries and the hardest since, if you mess up during a battle, you have to reengage the entire fight again.

I agree with you completely there. Story has never been Pokémon's strong-suit...

Well, I've always been two-toned about storylines in videogames. On one hand, they tend to spoil the fact that they are games because stories can overtake the gameplay by a huge margin. A good example of where that went horribly wrong is basically any FF game since FFVII. People hate it when I say that, but it's the truth.

On the other hand, some games benefit from good stories. Pokémon actually used to focus lot on history and folklore. That's actually what drew me into the series to begin with. It still focuses on that to an extent, but it's become overshadowed by other content.

Admittedly, I have played Pokémon games that take and throw you right into a deeply involved story with equally enthralling gameplay. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon does a huge number in terms of huge story involvement. If possible, I'd urge you to get PMD-Gates to Infinity. It may seem monotonous, but the storyline is actually very emotional and is sure to make you cry a lot. The PMD-Rescue Team and Explorers games were actually better for that because they actually characters out to kill you and your best friend in them (well, PMD-GtI does, but they were a lot more menacing in the DS games than the 3DS one). Actually, by the end of the DS games, your character actually does die, but comes back after some miracle happens.

Black and White are next on my list, btw. Mmm, I think the big thing that got me was the fact that everything's become too simplified and overextended compared to how the older games were. Well, the mid-gen games (Ruby/Sapphire though HeartGold/SoulSilver) were lengthy, but it was all worthwhile content. It wasn't filler like a lot of stuff is now. Don't get me wrong: I've spent months playing X and still play it every couple days, but it and Y aren't ones I want to replay. It takes a lot to complete them and I really don't want to go through the hassle again once I've already done so much in them. Anything from BW back isn't as big of deal to me. I actually wanted to replay White right after doing everything that was worthwhile, but I didn't want to lose all the stuff I did (there was a lot of content related to the DW that can't be recovered now, but at this point, I don't feel like it's that big of deal).

Alright, then. Well, I did hear about the new Zelda, but I haven't been keeping up with gaming news like I normally would be. The turnout from E3 actually served as a bit of a buzz kill because there weren't a lot of titles I was really interested in aside from Pokémon OmegaRuby and AlphaSapphire. A lot of the newer stuff really does seem worse than the older games. I've actually been replaying the Pokémon DPPl games lately (in part to milk them for legendaries) because I've gotten kind of bored with the newer titles.

Yeah, but...



I was fine with your choice of topic, haha. Nearly there with the planning!

Btw made a thread of some importance over in the magazine section, when you have time please check it out + post. No rush, but I'd rather it not end up having 0 posts. =p

I would opt for the 3DS SSB title before even thinking about getting the Wii U version. But then, I haven't been a fan of SSB since Melee. Brawl was a huge farce in comparison to Melee. They made things too easy to unlock in single-player mode, and it really took a lot of fun out of the game for me.

Hyrule Warriors actually does sound pretty awesome (presuming that's the game you're talking about). I wasn't getting my hopes up, but it sounds like it'll be a worthwhile purchase for the Wii U for sure now. And then they're supposedly still coming out with a REAL Zelda game sometime in the inevitable future too.

Survivor of the Nicks?

You're Nick #2 now!

wow that's pretty cool, wish i was creative like that, anything you working on right now?

Dude, what the *bleep*? You're talking like you're my doppelganger now or something! XD

The only reason I don't have a Wii U is exactly what you stated. There aren't any major titles out for it yet, and the ones that I consider worth getting aren't good enough for me to spring for an entirely new console yet. I mean, I've had my 3DS for two and a half years now, and it's like my wallet (I basically don't go anywhere without it). It's probably one of the most versatile systems I've ever owned, save perhaps the GBA and DS Lite for their backwards compatibility with the old handhelds. The 3DS has the same feature for DS games (but then, you already knew that).

Consoles haven't really had that save diversity lately. In fact, I feel like they've been moving too far away from the old games to be worth my time anymore. I have a Wii and love it to death. But the current "next gen" consoles seem to all have taken huge steps in the wrong direct (all for reasons we've already stated).

The original clip from Aladdin was also pretty hilarious too! I'm surprised they matched the words so well.

Pretty much any Nintendo game can be played without needing Internet. Yes, a lot of the games have Spotpass and Online features, but they're almost always strictly optional. Even games that encourage online play (like Pokémon or Animal Crossing) can still be played offline. This is all the more reason why I still consider Nintendo far better than Xbox, Playstation, or PC for gaming. I'm not saying the others are all bad, but they have so much crap that requires you to be online just to play that they aren't even worth my time to bother with.

Hehe, yeah! I imagine people seeing the staff forums version of me and the mod version of me. The two are obviously way different!

ofc though a few months ago I cursed like a sailor if you remember