Nintendo 3DS: Thread 03 - Discontinued Edition

[Asura]

Then I applaud your staying power (that's not being snippy, it's genuine).

I struggle to give a game more than half an hour before I decide if I'm going to play more of it or just ditch it. Then again, I'm difficult with this stuff - I've closed and deleted free iOS games because I didn't like the title screen font or they've taken too long to load.

[kryss]

I could feel the game behind MH (odd as that sounds) but it took time for me to find my rhythm with it. I have some difficulty staying with it offline for any severe length of time, but going back to it is like riding a bike.

[nakamura]

I'm not really into looting and stuff like that. Grindy games drive me nuts.
I just feel the core gameplay feels extremely dated.

[VR46]

This Kotaku article is a half decent comparison of all four 3DS models

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2015/01/16/four-3ds-new-3ds-models-compared

[Nu-Eclipse]

An excellent article on the work that M2 did to bring After Burner II to the 3DS.

Pound-for-pound, they have to be the best in the industry at porting retro classics right now imo.

http://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/3d-after-burner-2-m2s-quest-for-port-perfection/

[nakamura]

Their ports are awesome. Would love Nintendo to give them some SNES games.

[replicashooter]

Then I applaud your staying power (that's not being snippy, it's genuine).

I struggle to give a game more than half an hour before I decide if I'm going to play more of it or just ditch it. Then again, I'm difficult with this stuff - I've closed and deleted free iOS games because I didn't like the title screen font or they've taken too long to load.

Not a fan of "Adventures In Comic Sansland" then I take it?

[Asura]

Not a fan of "Adventures In Comic Sansland" then I take it?

That's an immediate delete.

[fuse]

An excellent article on the work that M2 did to bring After Burner II to the 3DS.

Pound-for-pound, they have to be the best in the industry at porting retro classics right now imo.

http://www.joystiq.com/2015/01/16/3d...rt-perfection/

They are indeed fantastic. I'd spread the love net a little wider even, and say that it's not just retro, but low-res content in general which they handle with the utmost care. Mushi Futari's 360 port was their work, and was great. Related to this, supposedly a fair portion of Cave's staff have ended up at M2.

To chip in with my two cents re: MH, I have previously been in the same position as many of you - trying to get into it, and just not getting it. 10 hours with 3U on the WiiU didn't even hook me, until that (wonderful) Nintendo promotion came along and my girlfriend and another local friend were able to get in on the action. Then it clicked. Oh boy did it click...

*cue montage with my 'time played' counter whizzing up to three figures and then some*

The big thing about its core gameplay not changing is that it really doesn't need to - it's arguably the best thing about it. It might feel slow and clunky at first, but there is a very distinct rhythm about it, and every movement has a purpose. I will agree it's quite jarring coming down from more fast and furious action games, but you'll gel with it sooner than you'd think, and find that it's just as, if not even more exciting than faster games once things scale up.

There was a great article on Capcom's blog site one time about how learning a new weapon in Monster Hunter is like learning a new character in Street Fighter, and it's a great analogy. Your movement and attack capabilities change completely, and you have to re-learn the range you are safe to attack from and can connect, which attacks you are able to dodge or need to block, when you can punish, and of course, how you can compliment the weapons and play styles of your fellow hunters. Think about a game like Super Punch-Out!!!, and how satisfying it is when you pre-empt an attack, casually dodge and then punish hard. Now picture that same kind of set up, but with three mates, and taking on a giant freaking dinosaur. Spot a tell, react accordingly, have arrows raining down from afar whilst a hammer blow to the head knocks him out, as a charged great sword attack unleashes to sever his tail straight off... the fourth player is being a dick and is playing a stat-boost song on the hunting horn in the background. The game does a great job of making every battle look like a set piece, and 4U looks even better in this regard with there being multi-layered arenas for you to divebomb monsters from, ways to climb on their back SotC-style, and so on.

People often told me to stick with it until I took down my first 'real' monster. I would kinda agree with this, as the missions before this point in 3U, whilst setting you up to understand some fundamentals, are ultimately quite dull. The first 'real' monster, though a step up, was still very much a tutorial though - and stepping away shrugging your shoulders after downing your first 'Great Jaggi' would be tragic - I did this once! The big monsters are the real stars of the show; very distinct in their look, fighting style, and even personality - and this first big monster is the real runt of the litter. I remember the first ones I got really excited about being the Barroth and the Qurupeco - both very early in the game, but much more exciting, and incredibly satisfying for our little hunt group.

I've not even gone into the harvesting/gathering side of things, as whilst it's great and so, so deep, to sell the game as grind-heavy does it a major dis-service. What I will say is that this is one of the few games where I find item management, planning, and use actually quite fun and totally essential - this sounds like a small thing, but really sets it apart from many other games.

The demos have a habit of dumbing down everything; skipping all of the minor things that build together into a successful hunt, and overpowering you to the point of not needing to worry about anything. I would argue that they are more use for experienced hunters to test out new features and high-end gear to see what they'd like to spec for, than to actually teach you about the game. It's a bit of a leap of faith to ask people to buy something and play it for ten hours before it gets good, but what I've read from 4U previews, it would seem this initial build-up is much quicker this time around. Also that once you reach climb that initial learning curve, it's an even more wonderful view from the top.

[importaku]

Loving the new badge center Swapnote Nikki badges, my favourite set yet.

[SUMIRE]

I noticed Amazon has the New 3DS XL Zelda MM edition for Pre-Order on their website. Does this mean they actually have any at all. What usually happens when they do this?

[Dogg Thang]

Why has nobody ever mentioned Ultimate NES Remix for 3DS here? Is it rubbish? What is it? Why no talk of this?

[charlesr]

New Nintendo 3DS XL Majoras Mask 3D Edition pre order on Nintendo store.

http://store.nintendo.co.uk/new-nintendo-3ds-xl-console/new-nintendo-3ds-xl-majoras-mask-3d-edition/11075490.html

[Womble9]

31st of March?!?

[charlesr]

It's so you buy a normal one as well