January-March 2015 Quarterly Review: Admintendo IX (Sentinels of the Starry Skypecast)

Stu_the_great: Shall we crack on? Any preference on who hosts (can't believe I forgot to ask that yesterday *slaps forehead*)?

ZeroJones: Either or! I'm prepared to give it a go...

Stu_the_great: You can take the wheel(?) then if you wish. 'Tis good to be back!

ZeroJones: Wheel taken! It feels... worth... seven... let's just begin!

Stu_the_great: *sets Grindr to one side*

ZeroJones: 3 - 2 - 1...

ZeroJones: Hello and welcome to Admintendo IX! Balla offers his apologies, as he is revising for exams. I am joined by...

Stu_the_great: Stu_the_great, while Balla's booz... uh, revising. I'm the guy with the hair below the face instead of above it. It's great to be back with the Admintendo crew!

ZeroJones: It's a delight all round! Your host, ZeroJones, will be hosting. Without further adoodlyhoo, what forum activity has amused you over the last three months?

Stu_the_great: Just being back on the forum is amusement enough in itself, though my favourites as always will be the 3DS section, Retro, and specific parts of Off Topic, namely Things That Really !&$%2 You Off, Who's That Pokémon, and Fronky's Snacks thread. And who of course could forget the not-in-any-way-a-complete-disaster hilarity of the expertly judged April Fool's japery? Which I still thought was tittersome.

What's been your favourite forum happening, Zero McHost?

ZeroJones: The revival of Retro has been great to be a part of, as you rightly mention. A big shout to the Kirby's rumour thread, too, which features loads of #topbantz. Who's That Pokémon has been precious - a big shout to andyman's excellent arts! And that April Fool will go down in forum legend... we had the best intentions, team!

The best!

Stu_the_great: Honestly, I thought nobody would've even batted an eyelid at such nonsense around here. Prepare yourselves for next year, forumites! (And hopefully we won't go out of business trying)

ZeroJones: Fingers firmly crossed... nextly, we shall move to the time-honoured question of "Whatte Haveth Youe Beene Playingeth? Eth?"

Stu_the_great: Notteth a lotteth at the moment, in all honesty! Due to a social calendar that's gone more berserk than is usual even at Christmas, I've been torturing myself with Batman on the NES, checking out Pokémon Shuffle and also Puzzle & Dragons, whilst all the while trying to talk myself out of marching out and buying Majora's Mask 3D.

Oh, and a shout-out also to Jay who I don't know whether to punch or hug for introducing me to The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth: it's a perfect little stop and start game, and it's completely impossible to stay angry with for any length of time, no matter how much it screws you over.

Have you got anything slightly less boring to report, Zero?

ZeroJones: Lots of things, as befits my slightly butterfly gaming patterns! In January it was all Captain Toad but since then I haven't fixed on anything, so lots of little games have fallen: Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, regular Shantae, Kid Icaruses of one kind or another...

...the biggest thing of the last few weeks has been Pokémon Shuffle, though. How have you found it?

Stu_the_great: I like what it's trying to do, even if I don't think I'll let it hound me if I hit a brick wall with it. I found myself getting into its simplistic "Gotta catch 'em all" rhythm in spite of myself. I'm less of a fan of the game's insistence of robbing you of a life before you even enter a puzzle, though. I think it should only deduct if you quit or fail. Though I fully understand why they've done that: for the monies!

In than respect, it's totally failed on me and I'm glad of the game basically telling me to put it down and go do something useful when I've used my heart allocation up.
I understand you've got a little further into it than I?

ZeroJones: I am in full-blown addiction! The methadone has failed and I'm itching for half an hour to pass to collect in-game cash from Meowth for the next all-out assault on the ruddy EX monsters. I've cleared all the main levels and spent over 50 hours on it.

It's getting close to time to go cold turkey on the mothermon and delete it - I had to do that with Candy Crush Saga on my iPhone. Although I have never spent any cash on either, I'm happy to report - it does make me wonder how much dosh The Big N have earned from it. Three million downloads, though...

Stu_the_great: Crikey!

I'm glad it's pulling some pennies in for Nintendo (I guess). Though it's totally not my thing, sadly such practices seem to be acceptable these days, so at least it doesn't ram them down your throat with too much force.

ZeroJones: Big up to the future F2P Pokémon Rumble: I've never played a Rumble game before but I think you have? If so, is it worth it? If not, er, it's a balls-up!

Stu_the_great: If it's free, I'd say it's worthier than the original game. It's exactly the sort of simplicity one would expect from a F2P. Although I enjoyed the mindlessness of it, it's not a game I was thrilled to have spent money on. Maybe Nintendo were testing the waters with the little gashapon figures they released for it?

ZeroJones: For amiibo? Good shout! I might dip my toe in the Rumble water, then!

In between Shuffle heart collecting, I'm currently looking at Boxboy! and Azure Striker Gunvolt. The former is a sweet little game that I don't quite get, yet, and ASG is a very big game for a download title. It holds up really well. Wii U wise, I've just hit up Super Mario 64 and Donkey Kong 64. SM64 is giving me a hard time, but I'll get back up there...

Stu_the_great: I'm interested in the looks of Boxboy after all Fronky said about it, so you'll have to tell me more about it when you get further in.

ZeroJones: It's a deal! And so we gently paddle to the next Admintendo section: What Have We Been Watching/Reading/Otherwise Experiencing?

(really need a snappier title for that!)

Stu_the_great: I've been watching a lot of very grown-up documentaries on various monarchs, architectural styles and that Michael Portillo series about state secrets. In fact, less productive things like season three of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have fallen behind at the expense of such things!

On the reading front I'm on with the re-reads of the Harry Potter series at the moment and not much more, and as for experiences I've been spending a lot of time with friends recently. Good times!

Has it been a culturally beneficial start to the year for our host?

ZeroJones: Re-reading Harry Potter! My jealousy is a palpable, living thing. Anyway, I'm still slowly making my way through Crime & Punishment - under 200 pages to go now! - and no other reading has taken place, despite having the final Skulduggery Pleasant and Raising Steam on my Kindle.

The TV has provided much more entertainment for ZeroMe: Wolf Hall was densely layered and hard to follow with half an eye on it. Fortitude is immensely confusing and I can only hope it's been worth the effort - finale on Thursday! We're also into First Dates and Gogglebox in Zero Castle, and my favourite, MasterChef. It's good to see your happy face on the telly, Stu!

Stu_the_great: It's good to know I have such a generic face.

I'm glad you've managed to take time out of your busy schedule to fit such entertainment in. I will say, though, I'm really not a fan of Gogglebox...

ZeroJones: I like Gbox because it's not complicated - it also helps a newsphobe like myself to catch up with the big stories of the week, shamefully.

Stu_the_great: I just think we've hit a new low by sitting and watching other people sitting and watching television. 'Tis only my opinion, though, you understand!

ZeroJones: Indeed, and it very definitely has that element to it.

Film-wise, I've seen Insurgent and... I literally can't remember any other films I've seen at the cinema this year.

Stu_the_great: Ermurhehm.................. Honestly the only two films I've seen this year are Ouija (shit) and The Harry Hill Movie. Don't even ask why I sat through that last one. Though let it be known that it wasn't through choice.

ZeroJones: Most of its audience were forcibly restrained, I understand. As much as I like Harry Hill, his film was never going to end well. Or begin well. Or have a good middle...

Stu_the_great: Or be uncringeworthy in any way at all...

ZeroJones: Ha! And that sound tells me it's time to move on.

Stu_the_great: *bong*

ZeroJones: So, Stu, tell me: what are you looking forward to, gaming-wise or otherwise, between now and the next Admintendo?

Stu_the_great: Summer! We're heading towards my least-gamey time of the year now, so it's usually the case that I get all nostalgic and play a lot of old games, while enjoying the longer nights and the promise of a more chocker release schedule come the crappy weather. I really do want to finish Shovel Knight and get hold of Boxboy and possibly Captain Toad, though.

Yourself?

ZeroJones: All your activity sounds great - Shovel Knight in particular is a fine piece of software. I ate that practically in one bite.

Stu_the_great: Shovelware, rather?

ZeroJones: Ha! I was thinking about a "one byte" joke, but glad I resisted... The Mario Kart 8 DLC is going to help revive my interest in my Wii U - at least, that's the hope! A time where work isn't so busy will be blissful and blessed relief, too. There may or may not be some great films soon, too... and E3. Really hoping to find out what Retro are doing this E3...

Stu_the_great: Yes! I'll bet you can't wait for a bit of summer downtime. And I'd quite overlooked how close E3 is getting already...

ZeroJones: The year has gone by so quickly, both academic and calendar.

OK! Now I've sounded like an old man by saying how quickly the year has passed, it's time to switch to La Topique Finale: the recent Nintendo Direct! Thoughts?

Stu_the_great: It didn't blow me out of the water, I'll say that. It's got to be something pretty heavy these days for that to happen, but I do have a few musings:

The 200cc mode in MK8 was a welcome one. I've enjoyed that game in multiplayer, though I found it much easier than previous games with very little to do in solo mode. And everything seemed to unlock in no time at all. To have a reason to play all the cups again alongside the Animal Crossing DLC is a welcome move indeed.

My second thought is that Amiibos are going from annoying to overwhelming in my book. You can't access a gaming website these days without hearing their mention somewhere, and my eyes glaze over every time.

My distaste has further been deepened by the Animal Crossing announcement that it's a game that involves the use of collectible cards that unlock things. What happened to playing to unlock things? Or heaven knows, having a large array of things at your disposal from the off?

On the positive side, though, this Direct has made me very happy to note that Ninty is supporting key old games brilliantly now, in a time where I have little cash to trundle out and spend top whack on a new purchase. I hope that support for old games is a continuing and expanding trend.

ZeroJones: 200cc mode gives me the willies. I find 100cc hard enough, so twice the pace? Painful. The Amiibo hunt is getting overwhelming, I agree: the lack of focus/consistency for what the figures do in games is not helping, particularly when some of them are as rare as rocking horse droppings. My local Sainsbury's has two Princess Peaches and has never had anything else!

The key message from it, for me, was that Nintendo need money and are seeking to extract it from the fans. I heard the expression 'whale' in relation to this: a fan who will buy anything and everything, regardless of what it is. As a short-term tactic, I'm happy - but long-term, they need to get more people buying their consoles in the first place.

Stu_the_great: They also need to keep up with the exciting retail announcements. I deduce that all this bonus purchasing must be rather overwhelming to the non-Ninty punter/gamer.

ZeroJones: Very much so! There must be some big announcements to come this year because otherwise, the schedules for both Nintendo consoles look a bit empty.

Stu_the_great: Which brings me to the depressing state of the 3DS retail environment at the moment. I don't count the new console. It can't be long for this world now, surely?

ZeroJones: Certainly not! There are some mid-size franchises missing from the console at the moment, but with the NX on the horizon, you'd expect the 3DS to keep winding down (I was going to say "start winding down", but, if we're honest, it already has).

Stu_the_great: Ah yes. I look forward to Nintendo's hybrid effort.

Actually, with all there is left for me to play still, it may be quite some time before Stu_the_great goes next-gen. Are you ready for NX?

ZeroJones: I am short of retail games for the 3DS at the moment, to be honest! There's Inazuma, Tales Of The Abyss, Angry Birds Trilogy... and that's it. The machine is living off its download titles, so, yeah, bring on the NX... which is obviously a Nintentablet!

Stu_the_great: A nintentablet with HDMI?

Seriously though, I can't see me rushing out for the next big thing with how botched the last few launches have been. I'd love them to prove me wrong, but we haven't had a true corker of a launch since the SNES in my opinion.

ZeroJones: Of course! They have to be able to call it the 'HDS' and preserve the DS-ity (is so a word!). And, yes, launches. Nintendo failed to learn the lesson from the 3DS launch (namely, release a system seller at launch) with the Wii U launch, so there's no reason to suggest that the NX launch will be any better.

ZeroJones: Some might argue that the N64's was alright, given the Super Mario 64-iness (is so not a word!)...

Stu_the_great: One game can't be enough to carry it, though for me. Which is arguably what Mario 64 was...

ZeroJones: True! The SNES launched with a number of fabulous and well-regarded titles to its name, after all.

Stu_the_great: And DS and 3DS cost them dear in the initial run. Maybe we should apply for jobs at Nintendo, seeing as we clearly know how it should be done?

ZeroJones: Yes! Would love that. Nintendo UK's console launch manager, and Nintendo UK's junior vice-president of console launches.

Stu_the_great: But who would be who!

ZeroJones: The junior vice presidency is, of course, yours!

On that bombshell, Stu and I have to exit stage left (pursued by an Ursaring) to write our applications! It's been a pleasure and a privilege, as ever, sir!

Stu_the_great: Thank you for being the host this evening, Zero! It's always an honour to play alongside either/both of you. Hopefully not while the ship sinks around us. I hope y'all enjoy reading as much as I did participating!

ZeroJones: Until the next time, y'all! *Vulcan salute*

Stu_the_great: It's been real! (Whatever that means)

ZeroJones: (ON AIR sign switches off)

Bonus Balls:

So that's what it's like to read one of these without partaking in it!  Good stuff, chaps.  

As I've said elsewhere, I'm more than a little concerned about some of where Nintendo's going financially.  All I can say is that they won't get much money out of me with F2P stuff, Animal Crossing card games, or amiibo (unless they're cuddly).

And while I feel that the 3DS has more life in it, it seems that Nintendo don't feel the same way.  So says the retail release schedule, anyway.

And another person throwing his support behind the Pokémon-drawing thread. More art! (bangs on table)

A good read like always, on the 3DS I think it's better then you are making out like we know Fire Emblem if & Yo-Kai Watch are coming next year and there both big games also it's only here on the worldwide web that thinks the NX is a handheld most of the web thinks it's the Wii U replacement with a selected few like myself going hybrid.

balla wrote:

More art! (bangs on table)

*wakes up*

Yes, just please don't set the grackler on me again, please.....please.....please

*starts shakingly drawing*

Good read, as always gents!

Apologies Stu about BoI - but it is a bloody good game though, right?

No need to apologise, Jay! I'm sure you're as surprised as me that I took to the thing in the first place.

@Balla



@Jay: Isn't Binding of Isaac coming out on Nintendo consoles before too long? Stu and you have made me want it quite, quite hard.

@masofdas: Maybe there is more to the 3DS schedule than we've suggested, but three games (including Code Name S.T.E.A.M., four if you count Fire Emblem if twice) is not enough to carry the console into next year however you slice it, I would say.

@Jas: get back to work! *whip crack*

I think there is about 9 3DS confirmed to becoming to retail in the west and of course you got things like Bravely Second & Japan only just had Yo-Kai Watch 3 confirmed also there's rumours of a new Pokemon game coming in October.

Again with lack of 3rd party compared to the DS and Nintendo also supporting the Wii U which only has 12 known retail games and that's including both Project's as retail games like Nintendo have said in financials but will they, if not like we think they won't and some how be part of StarFox that makes 10 that's not great either.

There are no doubt some games that I've forgotten (Puzzle & Dragons Z + SMB, for example), I'll give you that. For me, though, the future wow factor is distinctly lacking at the moment. Most of the really big Nintendo franchises have come and gone on 3DS and so it feels like it's slowing down.

I think we will see at E3 as could still have a 2.5D Metroid, F-Zero etc

That's another strong point, as it does feel that something is missing. I no longer hope for Metroids and F-Zeroes, though... bitter experience of many E3's coming and going without said announcements has taught me not to bother.

Another Mario & Luigi outing would go down a storm with me this handheld generation. We had two last generation, right?

The last M&L on 3DS was rubbish, though. Which reminds me, where's my Wii U Paper Mario?

Well we might find out in about 68 day's at E3

Your Wii U Paper Mario will have to wait until Nintendo have thought of a gimmick to hang it on that means it'll still not properly follow up The Thousand Year Door.

(puts fingers in ears, sings nonsense syllables)

Ooft, DTB wasn't rubbish, it was just a bit too similar to BIS.

Despite my worship of the art style, my copy of DTB remains sealed to this day.

I quite liked DTB: in fact, if it had been ten hours shorter, it would have been my favourite 3DS game.

Okay, so it wasn't rubbish, but it was below average, and it remains the only M&L I haven't finished. A lack of interesting new characters, several tedious sections, battling that added nothing new, basically the entire Dream World... I'm not a fan.

ZeroJones wrote:

@Jay: Isn't Binding of Isaac coming out on Nintendo consoles before too long? Stu and you have made me want it quite, quite hard.

BoI was rejected by Nintendo for "questionable religious content", according to some news report I read online.

@Balla: Would you have finished it if you hadn't had your copy half-inched?

BoI is coming to Wii U & New 3DS after much debate between the two companies.

A victory for the people, albeit a rather drawn out one.

Stu_the_great wrote:

@Balla: Would you have finished it if you hadn't had your copy half-inched?

Probably? But I hear that the later Giant Battles were even worse, so I might have got stuck. Even despite that, I wasn't having much fun getting where I got to the first time.

Balladeer wrote:

A victory for the people, albeit a rather drawn out one.

Stu_the_great wrote:

@Balla: Would you have finished it if you hadn't had your copy half-inched?

Probably?  But I hear that the later Giant Battles were even worse, so I might have got stuck.  Even despite that, I wasn't having much fun getting where I got to the first time.

All this talk is making me want to give it a go...

@Mas: Oh, right! I wonder if it will need a total refit to sit within Nintendo's portfolio? I don't see how they can, somehow.

Nope it's coming the same, from what I read they sent to publish on Nintendo systems a while ago before there was rebirth and Nintendo said no but then suddenly Nintendo wrote to them saying we want the game and now because rebirth is done they don't want to go backwards, and as it won't run on Old 3DS it's on New 3DS only.