Nintendo 3DS

I recently got a 3DS last month for my 21st birthday. It wasn't something to get on launch release due to lack of actual games to pick up and as a matter of fact, the 3DS games library is still lacking. You might be thinking why I got a 3DS when there's hardly anything out yet and to be honest, I couldn't think of a whole lot for birthday ideas. The most I asked for was CDs, some T-Shirts and the 3DS.

Even if the 3DS is having a slow start, I want to pick one up anyway for the upcoming games. And besides, the 3DS comes with a handheld Virtual Console which is great to catch up on any old Gameboy games you missed out on. I never had a chance to play Kirby's Dream Land nor Super Mario Land so I was very pleased when I bought them from Nintendo's eShop. Metroid II (which I had originally on cartridge but found it unplayable due to no backlight on my old GBA) and Super Mario Land II are on their way so the Virtual Console is worth looking out for. The 3DS shopping service also comes with DSiWare games so if you never bought the DSi due to how pointless it was with a brand new handheld coming out in two years time, now is the chance to see which games from the DSiWare that were worth a damn. All I've picked up so far is the Rayman port which found itself to be a piss easy version from the other variations (you're given six/ten hit points as opposed to three/five).

One of the main "features" for the 3DS is of course the 3D effects on the top screen. As someone who isn't bothered about 3D movies, 3DTVs or whatever other variant of 3D effects, the 3D effects on the 3DS "without needing 3D glasses" wasn't a selling point for me. Sure, I've used the 3D mode a few times to see what it's like but you know what, the 3D effects on the 3DS are crap. Maybe I'm just not seeing it properly but I've seen better 3D effects on cheap merchandise from the 90s. The fact that Nintendo put this much effort into the 3D gimmick is sad since it's nothing that actually enhances the look of video games and only makes itself a distraction. The production cost of the 3DS is a little over $100. How much would it be WITHOUT the 3D gimmick? My guess it would be at least 25% cheaper if it didn't come with the 3D effects. Let's just leave the 3D craze back in the 90s when 3D cinemas at theme parks were using it and actually looked cool.

Now, considering the video games available for the 3DS. Right now, the range of games for the 3DS is very poor. The best I can name from the released games so far are Ocarina of Time 3D, Ridge Racer 3D and Super Street Fighter IV. One of them is a remake, one of them has been a launch game fodder since the original Playstation and the other is released on pretty much every platform out there in the seventh generation. The starting point for games on the 3DS looks as bad as when the PS3 started out. Both aren't consoles to pick up right away and only to get them when some big games come out (MGS4 for PS3 and the upcoming Mario games for 3DS). Like I said on the E3 recap, there should be enough to keep the 3DS alive later on with the new Mario games, Kid Icarus and Luigi's Mansion 2 but I can't help but think Nintendo will have to do more if they want to make the 3DS a huge success.

Recently, the 3DS had a price drop worldwide. Although the handheld was very expensive to begin with, having to cut the price within six months of release isn't a good sign. Nintendo must have known how badly the 3DS was doing at the start if they're having to cut the prices. At least with the DS there was Super Mario 64 DS and Warioware: Touched. Their biggest selling point right now is remaking Ocarina of Time and... that's it. For those who bought the 3DS before the day the cost is reduced, there's the Ambadssadors extras which I am liking. Being given 10 NES games and 10 GBA games FOR FREE is a nice treat, even if I already have Super Mario Bros. and Metroid Fusion. Hey, it's hard to complain about freebies when Nintendo could have given the early customers jack shit and say "Hey, thanks for spending so much on our 3DS, LOL!" so I appluad Nintendo for this move. However, some still complained about that and Satoru Iwata had to make an apology statement to everyone... What?!

In conclusion, the 3DS is not entirely bad but it's had a very slow start. The 3D gimmick is worthless and the small amount of games gives very little desire for most to pick up a 3DS so they need to make a push with the 2011 holidays. The price drop is suggesting a bad sign but at least the Ambassador makes up for early customers of the 3DS and anyone who wants the handheld now won't have to pay as much. The Nintendo eShop will prove itself to be more and more useful as they release more handheld classics as well as showing what we may have missed out on the DSiWare.

Spyro the Dragon

This is a subject I've wanted to rant about but there were some things that stopped me from covering the Spyro franchise. As a kid who grew up with the Playstation, Spyro is of course one of many games I've played. Well, to be honest it was only Spyro 2 and 3. I didn't even have the first Spyro game and never even finished Spyro 3. I was unfortunate enough to have a pirated copy of Spyro 3 and that game resets your save when you face the final boss (similar to Earthbound where it deletes your save when you confront the last battle). That was a total blow for me and ever since I've never wanted to touch a pirated copy of a game with a ten foot pole.

I never owned the first Spyro game on the PS1 back then but I keep meaning to get either on PSN or getting a copy on eBay someday. With so many games to play you lose track on things but this game should be high up on my priority list. This leaves with Spyro 2 and I actually did 100% on this game. It was the one Spyro game that I got most fun out of and I only wish to re-experience it whenever the hell I actually play Spyro 1.

Of course, after Spyro 3, Insomniac Games and people have been saying Spyro has never been the same since or how the only good Spyro games were the ones by Insomniac. You're probably guessing I'm going to make a rant on how things have gone to shit ever since Insomniac dropped Spyro to make way for Ratchet & Clank but you know what, I'm not. I have absolutely nothing to say about post-Insomniac Spyro nor Ratchet & Clank, although I was hoping to pick up the free game on PSN which I left too late. Still, even if everyone else says post-Insomniac Spyro sucks, how do I know it's bad? Same goes for the Crash Bandicoot games after Naughty Dog handed the rights over except for Crash Bash (I wasn't highly impressed like I was with the other games). I'll also apply the same thing for Final Fantasy XIII which I still need to play. Sure, many have said the game is bad and have stated why but I'll only know if it's bad once I find a good time to play and if I happen to enjoy the game, that's too bad. Not to say I will enjoy it, though since the outcome can go either way.

What I will rant on regarding Spyro is the upcoming game Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure. The first thing that will come to mind if you're aware of this is the new appearance of Spyro. I believe I speak for everyone here by saying Spyro looks fucking ugly. He doesn't look like the adorable dragon from the original games, he looks like a purple goblin with wings. His face certainly suggests that. Maybe it's not a beauty contest for video game characters but there's a reason why mascots like Sonic, Crash Bandicoot and even Spyro have (or had) their own time under the sun and they were appealing to the younger audience at the time. I mean, would Sonic even be a success if this was his appearance for the Mega Drive games (hideous looking animation and disturbing yet it's still hilarious):



The other issue gamers have with the new Spyro game is the use of the action figures and how it seems to be a money grabbing technique from Activision. Yes, we've heard Activision's ways of milking their franchises and even if they're doing it to Spyro now, this idea could have been good. To be fair, if they did a similar idea for the original Spyro games and the interaction with the action figures and the video games worked well, this is something I would have eaten up so fast and probably have my parents denying to get all the toys for me. There are 32 figures in total and 29 of them are sold separately (I assume they have set releases for a batch of them every so often). They're supposedly $10 each and all of that would come to $290 just to get all the toys. It's understandable why the use of toys is getting criticised for being a milk factor but hey, at least the money isn't going towards a virtual hat. The main issue might be a biased one but the problem is the appearance they've given Spyro. It's not an adorable looking dragon as he should be and kids deserve a lot better than this.

Of course, with Spyro's new appearance and the feature using action figures to enchance the video game, there's been a backlash over the new turn for Spyro. The majority of them are of course fans who enjoyed the original games. A lot of us have the right to say why the change of direction for Spyro is a bad turn but some apparently went too far. Some were so enraged and stupid that they felt they had to send death threats to Activision and the developers who are working on this game. To those who actually said they would kill the companies over this game, YOU ARE FUCKING IDIOTS! Did any of those morons stop and realise for one second that they were taking on Activision, one of the richest (maybe THE richest) gaming companies around and with all the money Bobby Kotick is swimming in, he'd probably have enough money to get lawyers down their asses? If anyone's arrested over death threats towards a multi-billionaire company (even though that's highly unlikely considering how little seems to have been done against cyber terrorism), no sympathy should be given out.

In conclusion, Spyro had his golden days and they were over and done with ages ago. Not much can be said about the later games due to not playing them but the upcoming Spyro game is not for the better judging by Spyro's goblin-like appearance and the expensive set of toys to collect them all. The kids who are unfortunate enough to experience Spyro in a hideous form and actually want to collect all the figures better save up their pocket money. Sadly, Spyro doesn't seem to be coming back to his true form and seem to be done just like Crash... Wait, they haven't done any major titles for Crash for a few years now. What do they have in store for him next?