Xenoblade Chronicles X Thoughts

There was a Nintendo Direct/Treehouse Live on Friday about Xenoblade Chronicles X but I wasn't sure if I was going to write about it. The footage during the Direct was VERY impressive but neither the direct nor the Treehouse Live revealed anything new about the game...such as the game's release date. We just found out the Treehouse is still working on the game's translation.

Still...I really want to talk about this game anyway!

As you all know, I love rpgs. The Wii U just doesn't have enough of them. Xenoblade Chronicles X looks incredible and will definitely fulfill my rpg itch.



There was so many cool things shown during the Treehouse Live and Direct, but my favorite thing that was shown during the Treehouse live presentation were the robots.

Up until now, we've gotten teases about the mechs but not much information. Now we know that you can change the color of the machines, add weapons and other body parts to it, and even sell it and purchase new robots! Plus the robots will TRANSFORM into vehicles! Wow. The customization in this game is amazing!



Of course, the customization isn't just limited to your mechs. You can change the outfits of the people that are your group. You can change some of the base that you work out of! I love rpgs like this. This kind of thing makes everybody's experience a little different.

Plus, the way I understand it, you can choose which group you want to work for based on what you like to do in the game. So if you like to explore, there's a group for that! If you're more into fighting, there's another group for that. Etc. So fantastic.





Speaking of fantastic, check out those pictures above. The landscapes in this game are really beautiful. Wide open and amazingly designed eras. So much to find in them too! And those CREATURES. Wow. Some of them are HUGE. All of them are great to look at.

Hey, did you miss the Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct/Treehouse or want to rewatch them? Check it out these videos:

I can't wait to play this game! I am going to have so much fun. Its going to be great to have an rpg like this on the Wii U. Hopefully this game will arrive around Christmas.

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All of the above pictures are from Google and the videos are from Nintendo's youtube. They are all copyright Nintendo.

I'll be back on Friday with my first impressions of the Puzzles and Dragons 3DS demo!

Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 First Impressions

Mario Kart 8 continues to delight me. When the game originally came out, it was a really fun and well put together game. Then, DLC Pack 1 came out and blew me away. The addition of a non-Mario character to the mix, Link, was surprising but it worked so very well. And the Hyrule, F-Zero, and Excitebike courses were big highlights of the first DLC Pack.

But ever since it was announced, it was DLC Pack 2 that I had been looking forward to the most. As you all should know by now, I'm a huge fan of Animal Crossing. So adding the Villager, Isabelle, and an Animal Crossing track to the game was a dream come true. I couldn't wait to play it!

And now...I've played it. And its even better than I thought it would be.

The Villager looks great and I love racing with him. You can also play a girl villager if you want too (she looks great too).

And Isabelle is pure joy. She looks fantastic.

Oh and speaking of fantastic, the new Animal Crossing race track is the BEST Mario Kart 8 track ever. Hands down. It looks so awesome. This is the best that Animal Crossing has ever looked too. Imagine if the Animal Crossing for Wii U looks this great! Honestly, it wouldn't even matter if the game was a lot like New Leaf. IF the graphics were this amazing...man...

Though, the other tracks included in DLC Pack 2 shouldn't be forgotten. Ribbon Road, the tree track, and the Subway track are especially great. But all of the levels look great. I'd say that DLC Pack 2 is even better than DLC Pack 1. The two packs together have really made Mario Kart 8 the best Mario Kart game ever.

Wait. You may be thinking but...isn't there a third character included with DLC Pack 2. Yes, there is but honestly, I don't care for him. Dry Bones Bowser looks fine but he doesn't fit in with the rest of the pack. I wish another Animal Crossing character (KK SLIDER!) had been included with this pack. Or at least a better Mario character.

Overall, though, DLC Pack 2 is a must if you own Mario Kart 8. Actually, you should buy both packs. Nintendo does DLC content right. They give you a lot for your money and all of it looks (and plays) better than the original levels!

Hey, are you still reading this? Why are you not playing these levels right now?!
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The above picture is from the official Mario Kart 8 website.http://mariokart8.nintendo.com/dlc/#dlc-ac

This is very very strange

High Strangeness is an action rpg thats coming to the Wii U on May 6th. The game is an action rpg with a very unique twist. As you see in the pictures above, it has two art styles: 8-bit and 16-bit. You can switch between those two styles at any time.



The two art styles provide differences in gameplay and you use those differences to solve puzzles. Both art styles look VERY good. I especially love the 16-bit style but the 8-bit style looks cool too.

The game will also have watercolor illustrations (that appear as visions) that reveal more about the game's surroundings. I can't wait to see what those look like. And the game has a retro chiptune soundtrack too!








Check out this trailer:

The Wii U definitely needs more rpgs. I hope this turns out great. For more information on the game, check out the High Strangeness twitter feed!

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All of the above pictures were from google and the official High Strangeness website. The trailer was from Nintendo Everything via Go Nintendo. Information was from Go Nintendo & the official HS website.

First Impressions of the 3DS's New Streetpass Games

Yesterday, Nintendo brought out some new games for the 3DS's streetpass feature. The games are Battleground Z and Ultimate Angler. I've had a chance to play both a little. Here are my first impressions of them.



Ultimate Angler is, of course, a fishing game. When you streetpass someone, you can get bait from them to fish with and the street passer(s) will come along with you to an island where you can fish. The fishing in this game isn't as simple as Animal Crossing's fishing but its not as complex as some fishing games can get. You do have to be very careful when reeling in a fish because your line can break or the fish can get away. The game can be a little tough at times.

Graphics wise, this game is a whole lot better than the previous streetpass games released. Ultimate Angler looks like a stand alone fishing game. You can see that Nintendo took their time with it. The graphics are very nice.

The game (sort of) has a story. Its nothing great, but it serves its purpose. Ultimate Angler also has a little Clubhouse where you can make or buy new fishing rods or tanks for your fish with in-game money. You can also look up challenges and view other players (that you street passed) fish tanks.

For a streetpass game, Ultimate Angler has a lot of features! Its very impressive so far.



But even more impressive is Battleground Z. Battleground Z is a game where you fight zombies. When you encounter people you streetpassed, they'll give you weapons (or team up with you). Their weapons are based on what the person you streetpassed put as their Hobby. For instance, my dad put Helping Others as his hobby and I got a superhero costume. My mom put Playing Video Games and I got a Wii Remote!

Battleground Z is impressive because you actually wander around environments, fighting zombies, and sometimes accomplishing goals. The levels all look different so far and each level gives you something new to do.

The graphics in this game are very nice too. Its obvious why Nintendo only did TWO streetpass games this time around. They took their time and made really fun, very polished games for streetpass.

Oh and Battleground Z has more of a story than Ultimate Angler. The story wouldn't win any awards but I like it. And it has a really cool area where you can check out all the weapons and zombies you've encountered so far!

Of the two games, I definitely like Battleground Z more, but Ultimate Angler is a good game too.

I'm also very happy that Nintendo has included new hats in the update and also different types of speech balloons. These new upgrades and these new games make me even more excited to play streetpass. I'm pretty lucky because I get multiple street passes per day because my mom and dad have a 3DS too! So I'll be playing both these games more.

If I run into any more cool features on these two games, I'll be sure to either update this post or write up a new post.

Right now, I recommend these games a lot if you get a lot of streetpasses where you're at. Though, you can use Play Coins too to summon Miis to help you in Battleground Z or cats or dogs to help you in Ultimate Angler (depending on which one you said you liked). Very neat. I used some play coins on both games and enjoyed myself.

These two games are, without a doubt, the best Streetpass games that Nintendo has done.

I'll be back on Monday with an Indie Game preview!
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All of the pictures in this article are from the official Nintendo website and are copyright Nintendo.

Revisiting Super Mario 64

I mentioned before that I never owned a Nintendo 64. So I was not one of the people who bought the system and played the heck out of Super Mario 64. But I did get to play the game in a store and liked it a lot. I also got to play the game when I borrowed an Aunt's 64 one time. And then, finally, I got to play a ton of Super Mario 64 when it was released on the Wii. Thats when I truly found out what a great game Super Mario 64 was.



Of course, when the Wii U came out, there was no way to play Super Mario 64 unless you had it on the Wii mode and owned a Wii Classic Controller. I did have it on Wii mode but I didn't own a Classic controller. I had been playing the game on the Wii with a Gamecube controller. Cube controllers didn't work with the 64 games on Wii U. sigh.

So it wasn't until Nintendo released the game on the Wii U eshop that I was able to play the game again (and it only cost me $2 to download it on my Wii U!!!).



Gameplay wise, Super Mario 64 has held up VERY well. Its still as fun as it ever was. Its a joy running around in 64's castle and jumping into paintings. The level's environments are pretty big and fun to explore. I'm a bit out of practice, though, and not quite as good at this game as I use to be!



Graphics wise, the game doesn't look too bad on the big screen but on the gamepad, it doesn't look as good. The game's colors are a bit darker on the gamepad. I still think its awesome that you can play the game on the Gamepad though.

I also really love that this game has RESTORE POINTS now! It also saves exactly where you're at when you leave the game via the home button. On the Wii, 64 games didn't have restore points or that automatic saving. I think its fantastic that it was added for the Wii U.

Super Mario 64 is the beginning of the 3D Mario games. I think its one of the most popular of those games too. Most people love the 2D Mario games and the 3D games don't get as much love. I think Mario is great in 2D and 3D.



If you have a Wii U, I highly recommend downloading Super Mario 64. Whether you've played it a lot before or if you've never played it, its always fun to revisit or discover this game.

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I'll be back on Friday with a look at the new 3DS Streetpass games most likely. See you then!

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All of the pictures in the above article were taken from google. They are all copyright Nintendo.

Pokemon Rumble World Thoughts

On Wednesday, I downloaded a free to play Pokemon game for my 3DS. This is the second free to play Pokemon game I've downloaded. I'm not a Pokemon fan. Yet, I can't resist the word FREE. And I have to admit, Shuffle wasn't bad. Pokemon Rumble World, the game I downloaded on Wednesday, looked better though.

So is it better? Well....



Absolutely! I say this as someone who doesn't like the normal Pokemon series....Pokemon Rumble World is addictive!! I've been playing this game a lot and really enjoying it.

The basic gameplay, the fighting, is pretty simple. Yet its also really fun. And I love how the game uses your Miis, plus you can get all kinds of things to customize your experience.

Shuffle was a fun once and awhile experience. But Pokemon Rumble World lets you play the game a lot more than you could play Shuffle. There's just a ton more to do and find in Rumble World.



There's tons of Pokemon to find and they all have different HP and different attack powers. You have to switch to the one that'll help you the most in the battles. You're going to have a lot of choices. And, if you're like me, you'll want to keep playing for as long as you can.



There are diamonds that you'll get and you'll have to use these to buy new balloons to go to new areas and for various other things (like if you die, you can use a diamond to continue).

You can buy diamonds for REAL MONEY. But you don't have to. Rumble World doesn't limit your playtime as much as Shuffle. And you get diamonds a lot more often in World than you did in Shuffle.

The diamonds are meant to limit you a bit but they really don't that much. And if you ever do run really low, you can just wait till the next day and you'll get some more from challenges or in other ways.



As I mentioned earlier, I really love how this game uses Miis. You can get friends Miis from Spotpass, you can get Miis from streetpassing someone, and you can get random Miis too. The extra Miis that you get will actually pop up in dungeons and after you save them from bad guys, they'll help you. And out of dungeons, you can run into the Miis in the main hub world and they may have a surprise for you.

Pokemon Rumble World has a lot to it. I know I'm not even covering everything that this game has. Its a FREE game and it seems pretty simple on the surface, but boy is it addictive once you start playing it a bunch. There's more to this game than you'd think!

I can't believe I'm enjoying a Pokemon game this much. What's happened to me??

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All of the above pictures are from the Official Pokemon Rumble World Website here: http://www.pokemonrumble.com/world/en-us/ and are copyright Nintendo and the Pokemon Company.

You Might Get A Little Hungry

Don't Starve: Giant Edition will be coming to the Wii U eshop this year. Your mission in the game? Survival. Its YOU against the WILDERNESS. You'll have to find food, shelter, plus you'll have animals and various other creatures to fight off. Basically, the game wants you to die. And from what I've heard, you will die. You will die a lot. You'll just have to see how long you can survive.



The game has very cartoony graphics and it looks like really huge open areas to explore. Don't Starve's maps are randomly generated and so everybody's maps should be different. It sounds like every player will have a different experience with this game.







Don't Starve looks like a totally unique (and very interesting) experience for Wii U.

Check out this video for a look at the gameplay:

What do you think? Will you try to survive?

Just don't starve, ok? I like you guys too much.
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The above images were taken from the Don't Starve official website.

The Best Nintendo Direct Ever

WOW! Check out that video above if you haven't already. Please. Go ahead. Do it. I'll wait. 

Still waiting....

Alright. Thats it! I'm just going to spoil that entire Nintendo Direct NOW. Or at least talk about a lot of it anyway.                                                                                                                                                

First of all, like the title says, I believe this was the BEST Nintendo Direct ever. Nintendo did a great job. They packed just about everything and the kitchen sink into this direct. Surprises, shocks, new footage of games that we knew about, PLENTY of amiibos, and a brand New Animal Crossing game.

Wait, I have to talk about the Animal Crossing game first. This is not a full featured Animal Crossing game. From the look of it, the game, Animal Crossing Happy Home Designer, is just about designing the inside of animal's houses. We don't know yet if this title will be a download only title or if it'll be a cart too. We do know that you'll have to have special amiibo cards and the NFC reader (or New 3DS) to play the game. Some people might not be happy that this is very dependent on amiibo cards but personally, I loved how this game looked and as an Animal Crossing fan, I want. EVERY SINGLE CARD. I wants them. Can I afford them? Probably not. But I will try to get as many as I can. I hope. Man, this was my favorite announcement of this Direct. And thats saying alot because there were a lot of cool stuff in this Direct.                              

Next up, I have to talk about that AMAZING Mario Kart 8 dlc. Did you see that track? It was freaking beautiful. Just gorgeous. Imagine if the Animal Crossing Wii U game looks like that?! Or even close to that?! Oh man. That would be incredible. I'm so excited for this new track for Mario Kart 8 (though I am excited to see what the other tracks will be too). Also the dlc is coming this month. April 23!! It was supposed to come in May. Nintendo is just fantastic.                                                                                                     

We shouldn't forget about Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS. We got a major announcement that Lucas from Mother 3 will be coming to the game in June as DLC. I am such a big Earthbound fan. Lucas being in Smash Bros again is so very awesome. Also loved the look of the upcoming Mii costume dlc and even though its a Pokemon, I'm looking forward to the downloadable character thats coming this month (which I'm getting for free). Pretty amazing stuff.                                                                                                    

We also got new footage of Mario Maker (it looks fantastic), Yoshi's Woolly World (oh wow), Fire Emblem 3DS (wow), and Fatal Frame for Wii U is coming to the US!! Plus the Fire Emblem crossover game (many had thought it canceled) and tons of other stuff that I'm forgetting (look at those Indies).                                                                   

This Nintendo Direct was amazing. I think Nintendo did it as a way of apologizing for the delay of Zelda. If so, I forgive them! I'm a major Zelda fan BUT...wow. This was just mind blowing. I can't tell you how many times I just sat there with my jaw open. Perhaps more times than last years E3 (thats saying a lot!).           

Yes, E3 this year will probably be better, but at the moment, I'm not sure how it will be. Nintendo really did such a fantastic job. I'm not even talking about everything that was shown in the Direct and look at how long this blog post is going on. I'd probably be here all day if I wanted to talk about more games. Wow. Round of applause for Nintendo folks. Ok, now I have to go watch more Nintendo Direct stuff. Talk to you all again on Monday.