The Nintendo news and discussion thread

[ratsoalbion]

Pikmin 3! It provided me with one of the most delightful gaming experiences I've had for many years.

[Flabyo]

I have Splatoon pre-ordered. I don't pre-order often, and even less often for Nintendo stuff, but it looks absolutely fascinating to me and I suspect it might not have the biggest of print runs in Europe.

No sign of being able to pre-order the Amiibo for it of course. Cause clearly they don't want my money.

The second Mario Kart DLC is out today isn't it? Have they said what sort of time?

[ratsoalbion]

It's been out for hours.

[hazeredmist]

I'll second Pikmin 3, very enjoyable game.

If you hadn't ruled out 2D platformers I'd have said go for Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze... Batman: Arkham City Armoured Edition is well worth picking up if you haven't played through that on Xbox or PS3. Cheap too.

Splatoon I am well and truly on the fence. Lack of voice chat pretty much kills my enthusiasm for an online shooter, given the critical social elements of cracking on with mates during games won't be there. Take that out of Destiny and I'd have stopped playing months ago - as it is, I am still hooked. Will see what reviews are like for Splatoon though, not ruling it out, I do like the idea of a shooter on Wii U.

It really is a delightful console, it's a shame it's not more ubiquitous this generation. Some of the games easily match if not eclipse games I've played on PS4 graphically. Nintendo really know how to get the most of their consoles like nobody else.

[Retrothumbs]

Ahh yes, me too, I'm not sure of Splatoon. I will hold judgement. Another game I am not sure of is Kirby Rainbow Curse. I have 'Ivy the Kiwi' on Wii and it very much reminds me of that. Rainbow Curse does look great though, especially the clay-like looking platforms but I am not sure if I like that control mechanic. They should of giving him the Epic Yarn-whip, now I would of been all over Rainbow Curse if they did.

[dezm0nd]

I've been playing the new Mario Kart 8 tracks and they're all great!

The 200cc mode is mental, too!

[Flabyo]

I'm assuming that to unlock 200cc requires some sort of ability at 150cc? Cause that explains why I don't have access.

[ratsoalbion]

I read last night you have to have completed GPs at 150cc to play GPs at 200cc, which seems fair enough to me really. You can access 200cc in other modes though.

[seansthomas]

Thanks all. Quite enjoyed the Pikmin 3 demo, but have never seen it for sale for under £50 anywhere so that's stopped me from getting it. And plan to get Tropical Freeze one day too, but only recently replayed DKCR on Wii so thought I'd save it for the right time!

Have Splatoon on preorder (which is rare for me but I want to support a new IP) and think this MK8 DLC should keep me busy for a while hopefully!

Arkam City is a good shout. Played the first few hours of it on 360 before my console died. Didn't enjoy it as much as Asylum but have been tempted to press on and see what was around the corner. Heard mixed things about Origins too. Anyone tried it?

MH3 is tempting too but just fear with Xenoblade on the horizon, I'd never scratch its surface...

[seansthomas]

Fully intend to get The Swapper and Affordable Space Adventures when on offer too

[seansthomas]

The new DLC for MK8 is good eh? Some of the tracks look gorgeous. Not sure processing power or heightened specs would do to help a Nintendo title look any better than they now do, so guess any future innovations they make will have to be via gameplay or control input. Almost feels to me like in theory, bar a better battle mode this MK is the series logical conclusion. Likewise Smash Bros, where I struggle to know what else you'd do to improve it.

Would love to see more DLC for MK8 but suspect this'll be the last of it. Must take a lot of work...

[Scrustle]

Most of the best looking Nintendo games on the Wii U are in 720p and lack anti-aliasing. That is sometimes slightly noticeable in some games, and if the Wii U had some more power, a higher resolution and/or a bit of AA would be an improvement, but it is by no means necessary. The games still look very clean and nice as they are. They tend to have great models, textures, and lighting. But every now and then an edge can look a tiny bit jaggy if you look at it hard enough, but it's something you need to intentionally look for for it to be a problem, and if you're doing that it's not really a fair way to judge a game. Nintendo seem to value a high frame rate over things like AA too, which is a good trade-off that I think most people are happy with.

I think MK8 could really use a proper battle mode though. Personally I'm all about the racing, so it's not much of a problem for me, but battle mode is a staple for the series that's great for the style of game that MK is, and provides some nice variety too. But even as it is, I think MK8 is by far my favourite MK game.

[dezm0nd]

Seems like Mario Maker is getting some of the features we all hoped it would have.

Here's Miyamoto playing it somewhere, sometime.

[Retrothumbs]

I'm not sure what I think about Mario Maker. Is it just me..?... but, I thought Miyamoto would be awesome at Super Mario!!

[Alex79]

I got a bit of money for my birthday, and wasn't really sure what to spend it on. I'm currently leaning towards getting a 3DS. It's been ages since I had the pure joy of opening a new Nintendo console and I have just about got enough to get one. Obviously I will be wanting to go for the new version, but XL or normal size? The XL is around £20-30 more expensive, is it worth it? How does the screen size of the normal version compare to the Vita? Also, does anyone know if there is likely to be a price drop around E3, because I'll sit tight for now if there is. Thanks

[dezm0nd]

I wouldnt expect a price drop of the 'New' model of 3DS but I've been perfectly happy with my regular size after playing with a 3DS XL. Plus you can customise it with faceplates!

[Retrothumbs]

If you're not bothered on faceplates then opt for the new xl. I am kind of sad that I can't mod my cases but I wanted the bigger screen!!

I missed the previous 3d generation and only joined it with a day 1 buy for the new xl. I've heard people rave about the 'new' systems 3d capabilities, compared to the old one. I can't compare but, what I've seen so far I am very impressed with.

[hazeredmist]

Just to chip in, I absolutely recommend the regular New 3DS over the XL model.

For me the XL was always too big, I had the original 3DS XL and when compared to the regular 3DS I always found the screen to feel stretched in comparison. The bigger screen makes the resolution feel even worse, and as a Vita owner, you will feel that far more when switching between the two handhelds given the Vita's ridiculously sharp screen. It's personal preference I guess but I'm done with XL models now. Loving my regular New 3DS. The stability of the 3D is superb compared to the previous models.

[ratsoalbion]

Then again, I completely adore my Majora's Mask N3DSXL and would never consider going back to the cramped standard sized 3DS screen.

Are we helping?

[hazeredmist]

Did anyone else get on the Splatoon Global Testfire demo? It ran at three invervals on Saturday for an hour at a time.

I was actually really impressed - it ran well, looked great and was a lot of fun. Quite different to other shooters. I was sceptical but I can see myself picking this up! The motion controls are awful (IMO) but you can turn them off for the regular 3rd person controls you're used to.

What did others think?