Professor Layton Vs Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Review

Professor Layton Vs
Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
Genre: Puzzle
Platform: 3DS
Price: AU$59.95
ACB: PG

Well... the thought of a crossover like this never came to mind but some how it exists(how long until Capcom releases the Super Professor Layton Vs Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Ultra Hyper Championship Turbo EX Arcade Alpha MAX HD Remix Edition with downloadable costumes?) Honestly, I've never played a Ace Attorney game prior to this and I've barely dabbled with Professor Layton: The Curious Village like a year ago... if 2 puzzles from the index on my mum's clear file counts as dabbling. I can say I was pleasantly surprised on how much enjoyment I've had playing this game. In other words, this isn't a review on bias from the previous games. No fanboyisms to either franchise here prior to playing the game.


The story revolves around a mysterious girl named Espella who comes to London with a friend/student of Professor Layton named Mr Accidenti who gets into a car accident(is he a character that existed prior to this game? I feel he isn't). Espella meets up with Professor Layton and is being chased by witches. Professor Layton with Luke attempt to protect her and eventually do so, just to get sucked into a book Espella was carrying called the Historia Labyrinthia. Not long after, Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright(who's come to London on an attorney exchange program) is forced to defend Espella from an assault and theft charge. After successfully doing so Phoenix and his assistant Maya are also pulled into the same book Professor Layton and Luke were. Now our 4 leads are in a mysterious medieval town inside the book and must solve the mysteries of the world, how they got there and how to get out of Dodge. Trust me, the plot is REALLY hard to summarise and this is the best way I could do it without spoilers or waffling like Stephan King.

The game has adopted both play styles from both franchises. The Professor Layton style chapters have you exploring the town of Labyrinthia... unfortunately no David Bowie or Hoggle in sight. As you explore this Bowie deprived town you will talk to the locals, search for hint coins and solve various puzzles. Puzzle difficulty is something I do have an issue with though, mainly the difficulty curve. Seriously, Sarah would complain it's not fair(I got Labyrinth on the brain... sorry)! Some of the puzzles are hard early on while others later in the game some are a cake walk. Also, these chapters seem WAY too long.

The Ace Attorney style chapters on the other hand are my favourite to be honest. During these chapters you're in a courtroom attempting to prove your clients innocence. You'll be drip feed evidence during the case and you'll have to use your logic to find contradictions in the witnesses testimonies... and finding contradictions isn't going to be that easy either! Pressing witnesses to finding some contradictions and presenting evidence that backs it up is the name of the game. Unique to this game is having to cross exam multiple witnesses... all at once! During these cross examinations you'll have to not just find contradictions, but keep an eye out for the other witnesses reactions to statements made by the witness you're pressing. These are more challenging segments of the game, but the difficulty curve is properly executed.

The game can be completely controlled with nothing but the stylus(I recommend this personally) but there's a lot that you can just use the buttons for. Despite being a 3DS game the 3D adds nothing to the game and more over, the game automatically switch's audio from stereo to mono based on the console it's played in(2DS mono and stereo on 3DS). There's also only a very small amount of voice acting in this game and a lot of text which may chase away a lot of modern gamers. Unfortunately as I write this North America hasn't gotten the game yet and that sucks for them royally!

Now here's the funny thing, fans of either franchise may end up being disappointed by this game. Layton fans may be disappointed in the lack of puzzles. There are only 70 puzzles in total throughout this 40 hour game. Ace Attorney fans will have to wait what feels like an eternity to get to each court case. On top of that the investigation portions aren't in this game and while the witch trials are awesome, the contradictions are a little harder to work out with the dance magic... sorry magic(damn my love for that movie Labyrinth!) and medieval setting. Best way to look at this game is to think of it as a jumping off point for newcomers to get a taste of what both franchises have to offer.


God this review came out shorter than expected. This is not a bad game at all, in fact it's great! Yes fans of the franchises may feel a little cheated, but they can use it to convert people to the franchises it's based on. Erratic difficulty and more text then a Stephan King novel aside(again, I rag on him... I actually do like his books by the way), this game is a fun brain tester. Personally I preferred playing through the Ace Attorney chapters a lot more than the Layton chapters but still enjoyed the game as a whole. I don't think fans will hate this game, but they may be better off looking at this game as just a spin off that's more for newbies since it has no continuity with either franchise... at least not yet... you never know with Capcom. Regardless I say it's a great game that needs to be in everyone's 3DS library.


Score 4/5

Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds Review

Legend Of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds
Adventure
3DS
Price: AU$59.95
Rated: G

I know this is a late review but I'm no longer setting deadlines for these reviews since I love to have fun and I do have a habit of having multiple games on my plate at the same time. Anyway... here's a review I drafted back in December.

Every time Nintendo releases a Zelda game, we all shout out with glee... but when we found out about the structure of A Link Between Worlds, some weren't happy... even I was a little suspicious of how it would turn out. So... does ALBW try something new to success or tarnish the franchise like the 2 DS touchscreen only games? By now you've already made the choice(mainly because it was release months ago), but here's my review regardless.


The story takes place generations after the events of the SNES classic Legend Of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Link(or Knil on my Hero mode file... not very original) is the apprentice of Hyrule's blacksmith and is charged with delivering a sword to the Hyrule guards captain. You go to the sanctuary to hand it over but a mage named Yuga is there and turns the sanctuary keeper Seres into a painting. Later he does it to Zelda and yadda, yadda, yadda... BEGIN YOUR QUEST TO SAVE HYRULE!

The gameplay has been transplanted from the SNES classic so retro gaming veterans(like yours truly) will be familiar and newbies won't have too big of a learning curve to overcome. The games does explain things well if you are really green around the controller so that's nice too... though back in my day(may I remind you I'm 28), you got left with no clue and only 2 buttons. It's a top down view that really works well with the 3DS' selling gimmick and actually helps in various dungeons you'll explore during the game. One thing that bugs me is the fact that the D-Pad is only used to survey the area by moving the camera... why not movement? Maybe it's A Link to the Past's fault? Even the bosses are push overs.

Yeah, nostalgia is this games big draw for older gamers. The world of A Link Between Worlds is a 90% reproduction of A Link to the Past. The new things in this game mainly revolve around the dungeons, which are all different to ALttP and it's also anything but linear like most of the Zelda games. Yep, most of the dungeons can be tackled in any order you feel thanks to Ravio's store... in your house... that he set up without your permission... he's a jerk!

Speaking of Ravio, thanks to him the linearity of the game has been thrown for a loop thanks to the ability to rent the major items used in the dungeons. For a small fee, you can rent the items you need to go through dungeon... but if you die, you'll lose all the rented items and have to rent them again... like I said, Ravio's a jerk! You can purchase the items from Ravio... but man does it cost a lot! Thank heavens rupees are plentiful and easy to harvest, plus you can hold 9999 rupees from the get go! Yeah, lots of money to use if you're not doing so well and need to rent over... and over... and over again!

So the whole two worlds thing? Yeah... the Dark World of ALttP has been renamed Lorule and partially redesigned so the game doesn't completely feel like they were originally remaking ALttP and changed their minds half way through development before the announcement. Pretty much Hyrule hosts the dungeons to get the Master Sword and Lorule is where you quest to rescue the seven sages... just like ALttP. Ok ok,enough ragging on the similarities to the SNES classic.

Each dungeon revolves around the use of a specific item like the games in the past... but thanks to Ravio the extortionist, you can get the items from him and take them in any order you feel. These dungeons also have a great habit of making 2DS owners jealous of 3DS owners because like Super Mario 3D Land, the 3D actually is useful in some of the dungeons and make so much pop! As for the difficulty and length... the dungeons aren't too difficult to clear and take about 15 to 20 minutes to beat(at least for me) and I think that may be because after all, it's a portable game.

Being a Zelda games, you'd expect great visuals and music right? Yep! The visuals are very nice to look at and it's nice to see ALttP's world in 3D. As for music... holy shit! The music is some of the best in the series and the reworked classics sound better then ever. If you have hearing problems or playing on a 2DS with it's mono speaker, you have my sympathy.

There is plenty to do in the game other then beat dungeons and going bankrupt with the help of Ravio. There are dozens of heart pieces to hunt down to max out your health, mini games to beat and Maiamai kids to find. The Maiamai's are a thing I have to talk about... remember the Skulltulla's from Ocarina of Time? Yeah, they're like them and collecting them does allow you to get improved versions of your items but whether you want to is up to you... it didn't make much difference for me but the completionist in me was awakened and had to get them all and there is a benefit to collecting all 100 of them... a near full screen sword spin!

Not enough for ya? Need more things to do in the game? Well there is the challenge tower in Lorule that has 3 difficulty levels and the hardest is around 50 rooms and you need to do it twice for an upgraded lantern and bug net... it turns the bug net in to weapons! Still not enough? If your up for a different type of challenge and are short on rupees because of Ravio's overly inflated prices, there are Streetpass Dark Links to fight. The old man in Kakariko Village will set up a Streetpass version of you to fight others and you can get random player's Dark Links around the world with varying difficulties and they can be fun to do and there are even achievements to complete through these fights if you're into that. Personally I hardly bothered playing against Dark Links because I was never short on cash and my internet is terrible ADSL+2 at 4mbps.

What can I say about this game that everyone else hasn't said... I got nothing! This is the best new Zelda I've played in years. Yeah I like Skyward Sword and Twilight Princess, but Wind Waker was the best and before ALBW, I wasn't having as much fun as I did back in 2002. A Link Between Worlds is a lot of fun! Is it worth owning? Umm... do you need to breathe? You should ask if it has lastability, and yes it does! Hero mode is designed for veterans with a really hard difficulty that makes Link as durable as a wafer. The problem is that you'll need to finish the game first to unlock it and even though Link is as fragile as rice paper, it still isn't too difficult since you already beat the game once.


Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a must own 3DS game that is oozing with nostalgia for retro gamers and it's not too difficult for newcomers. It's fun, it's great looking and I love it! This may be the best 3DS game to date and is definitely high up on my favourite Zelda's list, maybe even my number 2 after Wind Waker. Go buy this game, buy a 3DS(or 2DS if you're a cheapskate) and enjoy a game that isn't a FPS. I love this game!


Score 5/5

Review: Pokemon X and Y

Pokemon X and Y
3DS
AU$59.95
ACB: PG

It's been years since I last played a Pokemon game. The last one I play was Pokemon Diamond and I felt the game was lacking in inspiration in comparison to the superior Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire. So playing Pokemon Y was on an almost clean palette... and it was a great idea! So let's grab our Pokeballs, clean our badge case and explore the Kalos region.


Veterans know the basic story off by heart. You wanna be the very best, like no one ever was. To catch them is your real test, to train them is your cause. You will travel across the land, searching far and wide. Each Pokemon to understand, the power that's inside! Pokemon, gotta catch 'em all! Yes I know that's the first verse of the classic Pokemon anime theme... I'm old, sue me!

Anyway the story proper. You just moved to Vaniville Town of the Kalos region(Poke France!) and you have a famous mum who races on a Ryhorn. No sooner you've moved in, you're asked to join 4 other kids on a quest to explore Kalos and fill up a Pokedex and become a Pokemon trainer. Along the way you collect gym badge and run into Kalos region's evil organization know as Team Flare, who want to kill every living thing on the planet except for a selected few(insert Nazi Germany reference here). Yeah the story resembles previous games in the series with a couple of changes, like a dark and tragic legend of the region.

Gameplay is no different... or at least not different enough to notice. Sure you get the occasional horde of 5 wild Pokemon to battle and there's the Mega Evolutions but it's essentially the same turn based combat running on a rock, paper, scissors style deep combat system we know and love. Simple to learn, hard to master and someone is always better then you. I suppose the biggest difference is the ability to move in  8 directions and use roller skates.

The visuals this time around are in 3D! Yeah, we finally get a full fledged 3D Pokemon game... and the selling feature of the 3DS is restricted in the game to Pokemon battles and certain area... because kids and other stupid reasons. That doesn't matter anyway since the 3D effect is crap in the game. On the plus side, after 18 years(wow, has it really been that many years?) we can finally BE the trainer and customise them with various clothing, colour contact lenses and hairstyle options. Probably the best thing in the game is crafting the perfect look for your trainer that reflects you... or just looks good.

The Pokedex has been separated into regions of Kalos. They cover 450 out of the 718 total in the national Pokedex. To fill that Pokedex you'll need to do a lot of trading with people or if you have the older games and the Black and White DS games, you can transfer them to the new service called Pokebank(not available until 2014) and you got to pay for the service too. Personally I just say complete the Kalos Pokedex first, then transfer the Pokemon mid 2014... or leech the other Pokemon from people who choose to use the Pokebank. I'd choose leeching but that's me.

EV(event value) training has now been made easy with the new Super Training option. I never knew about EV Training until a week before Pokemon X and Y launched. In shorts, it helps boost the growth of stats to make Pokemon stronger. People will EV train for different stats to either strengthen it's dominant stats or make up for it's short comings. The Super Training is a shooting mini game where you use the touchscreen to shoot soccer balls(real footballs!) into goals that appear on a Pokemon shaped balloon. Playing these boost the associated stat and will earn you punching bags that also assist in the training as well. Super training has it's benefits, but unless you plan on battling online or at competitions... also don't battle with kids adults unless your Pokemon are not EV trained!

Along with Super Training, there's Pokemon-aime. It's essentially Nintendogs for Pokemon. There are benefits to playing this mode that affect battle so it's worth doing if you want a small advantage in battle. These benefits are Pokemon being able to cure themselves of status ailments, confusion and sleep have a shorter duration, dodge more frequently and score critical hits more frequently too. I personally don't use it very often because I'm not too fussed by it but if you want to play competitively, it's worth considering.

The major draw of any Pokemon game is the catching and raising of Pokemon. If you decide to play like Ash Ketchum(I did) and use region exclusive Pokemon... you only have 69 new Pokemon to work with and only about 50 you can use without trades. I played like this but still had a diverse enough team to beat the Pokemon League first go with only 1 Pokemon fainting... poor Aegislash, got nuked by the Mega Gardevoir the Champion used. If you however play like a normal person, there are plenty of old Pokemon here to satisfy you. Lots of returning favourites are here and you can even download a Torchic from the Mystery Gift via the internet(available until January 15 2014).

The biggest new selling point is the Mega Evolution. Mega Evolution is... we... I'll let this sentence say it all. Charizard digivolve to... Mega Charizard! Yeah, Mega Evolution is essentially digivolution straight out of Digimon. You can temporarily mega evolve certain Pokemon with a corresponding stone once per battle into a Mega form with boosted stats or in some cases, new abilities and types. Mega Evolution can change the tide of battle, but don't really matter much against a diverse enough team.

These games have online features up the wazoo! So much can be done online that it's crazy! Online trading, battles, blind trades just to get started. There are O Powers that can boost a variety of things and you can use them on yourself or share with people online. You can sync you game to your PGL(Pokemon Global Link) if you have one. To be honest, a lot of the online features will probably not be used, especially since you won't know what they do. If you know and can use all the online features, then have at it. I'll stick to trades and online battles.


Man this seems to be getting long. Pokemon games have so much in them to talk about. Well Pokemon X and Y are very similar to the previous games. Veterans will enjoy the few new changes and newcomers can come into it, without being too overwhelmed... but kids will need an adult to help them through. As usual, Pokemon remains a great RPG for young and old. The online features kinda screw people over with slow internet connections(*cough* Australia *cough!*) and people with not no interent connection what so ever. Regardless, anyone can enjoy Pokemon and the new entries are well worth playing, maybe even more now then previous entries. If you feel too old for Pokemon however, there's always Dragon Quest, Mistwalker JRPGs like The Last Story and Lost Odyssey, pre Square-Enix merger Final Fantasy's and well... any JRPG really... especially Chrono Trigger! In my opinion, you're never too old for Pokemon and if you have kids, you should play it with them and share the experience with them like any good parent should.

PS. A patch was released and can be downloaded via the eShop that fixes a save data bugs that corrupts your save data when saving in Lumiose City. Remember to do it as soon as possible and save elsewhere to be on the safe side.

Score 4/5

Nintendo's E3 presentation was the good kind of safe

Nintendo this year has been kinda more discrete with E3 this year, choosing a Nintendo Direct over a stage show to show off it's E3 offering. This more humble approach was obviously because of the BIG Sony and Microsoft press conferences and to save money on renting a stage and a construction crew. So what do I think about it?

Well... I'm sold as usual! Nintendo is trotting out some more games Nintendo fans will love and some 3rd party developers have some games too but were limited to 5 second clips with release dates for the most part. Well this is what they focused on.

Super Mario 3D World: Yes. This December we get a Super Mario 3D land style game for Wii U with the return of Peach as a playable character. Each character has a defining attribute and the new power is a bell that turn them into cats that can climb walls and slash enemies. You can play 4 players at once too. SOLD!

Pokemon X and Y: Coming mid October we'll delve into PokeFrance with a little bit of Nintendogs virtual pet functions thrown in for good measure. Sure Pokemon games haven't dramatically changed in nearly 20 years but they are great for kids before you get them to play Shin Megami Tensei or Chrono Trigger. SOLD!

Wii U party and Wii Fit U: They'll need to do more work on them and delayed released dates. Don't Care! Not for me!

Mario Kart 8: Mario Kart 7 with hover karts... also out December. SOLD!

Legend Of Zelda: Windwaker HD: Same game from the Gamecube but even better looking! Tingle now gives you the ability to pollute the Hylian Sea with Miiverse posts in bottles. You can make the Red Lion travel faster. Out in October. DOUBLE SOLD!

Wonderful 101: Pikmin + Comic Books = niche title. Available August. Not sold but intrigued.

Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze: Planks of wood have been replaced with Viking Arctic animals and Dixie Kong is back. Late this year release. SOLD!

Bayonetta 2: They cut her hair! WTF are the clothes now? Pubes? She does look good though. Pretty much more of the same as the last one but that's fine by me! SOLD and aroused!

X... Xeno... something: Xenoblade Chronicles with mechs... awesome! SOLD!

Super Smash Bros: MEGA MAN! SOLD! 2 versions, one for 3DS and one for Wii U. DOUBLE SOLD!! More Super Smash Bros is always good!

As you can see, Nintendo knows how to open my wallet better then any other company. Sure you could scream fanboy but I was born in the 80's and Nintendo Entertainment System was my first console... so yeah. I'm sure a few of you are ready to trade your Wii U's for a PS4... or Xbox One if your brain is broken, but these games further justify my purchase.

Review: Code Of Princess (Import)

Code Of Princess
3DS
RRP: US$39.99
ESRB: T
Currently unavailable in PAL region

 Sometimes in Australia, we miss out on games for the most bullshit reasons. Whether it's not profitable or Europe never localised it or my favourite... there is no audience for it. There are plenty of excuses that have been used. This bullshit has lead me to import a U.S. version 3DS out of self defense since Nintendo region locked the damn thing. I highly recommend more people in the PAL region do the same to protest against Nintendo and wake them up to their stupidity before piracy and homebrewing go into overdrive.

Anyway, having a U.S. 3DS has given me the opportunity to play a game that may never make it to Australia and is on my review chopping block. Is it good? Is it worth having a U.S. 3DS? Well keep reading to find out... or just scroll to the score and be off with you.


Code of Princess has a strange story... not strange as in "weird" but strange in the fact it's broken into bite size portion before quests. The story itself has you following the Princess of DeLuxia Solange(it's French pronounced) as she protects the magical sword called Deluxcalibur from the evil Queen Distiny's army because of the swords power to change the world. Along the way you meet a few characters and yada yada yada. The story isn't really too serious and the game doesn't treat it too seriously either. It's a good story mind you but it's kinda forgettable and silly.

The game is a side scrolling action game with a leveling system... idiots would call this an Action RPG but the only RPG element in the game is the leveling system and nothing else. I'd say this game is more of a mission based beat 'em up. The game is supposedly similar to a game called "Guardian Heroes" but I've never played it so I can't make the comparison myself, just read it somewhere.

The controls are pretty simple to learn and the game features a tutorial video mode to teach you if you aren't from the Stone age or forgot what an instruction manual is for. Basically you have 2 types of attacks, lock on attack, guard and a "burst" mode to power up attacks. You fight on different plains... I think that's what they're called, pretty much straight lines you can fight on and switch between.

Combat itself in the game reminds me of Dungeon Fighter(I reviewed it a while back) where in you had special moves that were used by inputting a specific series of d-pad presses and an attack button. There's also a "Burst" that drains your MP(called Piety here) to double the strength of you attacks. It's actually pretty fun to play with this combat system since it's hardly been used and with most games playing and looking the same as other AAA titles, it's nice to have something rare and different used.

Worst armor choice EVER! Just underwear and small pieces of metal to cover nipples.

The game is broken into missions/quests, each with a portion of the story to frame the mission in question. The quests aren't really even quests when you get down to it. They are just kill whatever is on screen until the game says your done, beat a boss or protect a suicidal A.I character that 9 times out of 10 will kill itself by getting in the way. There are also bonus quest that get unlocked from playing through the main story and some online quest to make life miserable for those of us who despise online multiplayer and completionists. You can also replay story mission in Free Play and not have to put up with the story again.

The box boast 50+ characters... they weren't kidding! See the 50+ characters are just the 4 main characters, a few story characters and EVERY NPC AND MONSTER IN THE GAME! There's also over 100 quest in single player and a lot more that are ONLINE ONLY! That actually pisses me off. Since most of the quests are just kill stuff before time runs out, they just start to blend into one another... but are strangely addictive, mainly due to cash and item rewards.

As mentioned earlier the game has a leveling system. You earn XP after completing each mission and each one gives you a specific amount of XP, regardless of how many enemies you kill.When you level up you earn stat points that can be used to suit the characters or as you see fit. Along with the leveling system you find gold and items in quests and you earn them from completing them too. You can equip the items to increase or decrease stats and add abilities to give you an edge in certain missions or when you use "Burst".

Believe it or not... that's a girl!

 The game does feature some online modes. There are Co Op quests for 2 to 4 players and some specifically for 2 or 3 players only. These will earn you more XP, gold and items... that can only be earned here... which sucks! There is a few online Vs modes where you just fight other players with characters you've unlocked in 3 different lobbies. Ranked which is self explanatory, free play and Ultimate which is your level Vs the opponents level. These modes are plagued with a common problem all multiplayer games have... balance issues! Some characters are overpowered or have unfair attacks that can attack from anywhere, regardless of plain or direction they're facing... I hate these modes! Personally since I live in Australia, the connections were always laggy as hell and it's also hard to keep a stable connection... probably because the internet in the U.S. isn't as good as it should be, you guys in the U.S.A should get on your ISP's cases about that.

You can play as a senile old woman... trust me, she's senile! Play the 2P co op online mission "Undead Assault".

There are some achievements in the game to earn... but you can't find them to see what you've earned and could earn. This wouldn't be an issue if the game didn't reward you with items from them! I enjoy the fact they give you something, but I'd like to know what I have and haven't unlocked. Also achievements suck!

Code of Princess is a mixed bag. The gameplay is well done, but the mission structure of the game makes combat too short to really enjoy unless your a low level or play for long periods of time. The 50+ characters is just an advertising blurb just to draw attention but ultimate only offers a small portion of worth while characters and only 4 can be used in the story campaign. Admittedly this game is addictive! Between that urge to level up every character or to complete just one more quest after finishing the last "one more quest", it just sucks you in. I highly recommend the game for those of you who own a U.S. 3DS or if you are actually from North America. Sure the online only quests and the uncheckable achievements damper the experience a little but it's still a great game overall

Score 4/5

Review: Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance

Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
Nintendo 3DS
RRP: AU$69.95
ACB: PG

10 years... 10 years of Kingdom Hearts... really? Has it been that long? 10 years, 7 games and most people have only played the 2 PS2 games... poor fools! Kingdom Hearts 3D Dream Drop Distance is the newest game in the series and timeline and finally shows signs of Kingdom Hearts 3 on the horizon and dumps all the previous games info for those who missed out... in text(as punishment!). Any who, time to review this game... yay... review... god I am tired at the moment of writing.


The story comes to us after the events of Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded
... which is based after Kingdom Hearts II for those too ignorant to buy the non PS2 entries of the series. Sora and Riku are taking the Mark of Mastery exam(see Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep for more info on what it is) to finally become true keyblade masters. To do so they must enter the worlds still asleep from being swallowed by darkness and unlock the keyholes to gain a new ability. While doing so they are also being stalked by ghosts of the past.

The gameplay is copy/paste from the fantastic Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep and hasn't changed except they tacked on a more speed focused combat mechanic know as "Flowmotion". This new combat mechanic has you grinding rails, bouncing/kicking off walls and spinning around posts to get around the worlds and combat moves that can only be performed in flowmotion movement. Most gamers will find this new mechanic a great addition... me on the other hand? I found it an easily exploitable ability to avoid damage, platform against the intended path in the level design and damage enemies without chewing up the skills in the command deck. You can also use the Circle Pad Pro for the camera but it isn't worth it and it's useless in every game so far on the 3DS that uses it.

Ahh... cutscenes! As good as the PS2 games too!

Companions/partners return in this game too called Dream Eaters... but they are also the enemies you fight... and take up the bulk of the grind. To get Dream Eaters you need to farm items to make them... yeah... kinda like Castlevania: Curse of Darkness. These creatures are also where the majority of you commands, stat boosts and abilities are learned from... so yeah, grindtastic! On top of that you need to Tamagotchi/Nintendogs the little things too! To help them perform better in combat you need to pat/poke them and feed them to build up their abilities and switch them out and repeat constantly! To make it more time consuming their dispositions will need to change to unlock more abilities... ARGH! You will spend a lot of time trying to learn everything and make every Dream Eater... kind of like catching every Pokemon.

The game features 7 worlds, each gets played by both Riku and Sora. While most worlds are new, some are recycled with extra rooms or redesigns. As for level design... they all look like their inspirations, but aren't that good... yeah... and with the new flowmotion mechanic, any platforming complexity is killed since you can just wall kick up a wall to get to any platform. The worlds take inspiration from Disney classics like Fantasia, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Pinocchio as well as modern movies like Tron Legacy and Mickey, Donald, Goofy: The Three Musketeers. Level complexity has never been Square-Enix's forte(Just look at Final Fantasy XII and XIII) so don't worry about it. Each world also has touchscreen based gameplay mechanic exclusive to the world... but aren't needed outside of opening certain doors and boss fights.

Best... Party... EVER! A Dragon, a lion and a T-Rex!

When you enter a world for the first time you will enter a "Dive" mini game. During this you are given a goal to achieve, either a collect X amount of stars with a time limit stage or defeat a boss fight. In the star collecting stages you have to avoid obstacles while collecting the stars and if you lose... you have to take it from the top. A needless distraction but gives score chasers something to do.

Within each world you will find pink portals you can open when standing on top of it on the map and touching the screen. These portals will either give you a temporary party of Dream Eaters or a combat challenge to earn items. You need to hunt them down to get some of the rarer items needed to make the coolest Dream Eaters... like a dinosaur! You can also set portals with your Dream Eaters for people to use with the Spot Pass feature, but good luck finding people though... I've yet to.

Yeah! Hitting stuff with a giant key! Totally doable.

The game also has this character swapping "Drop" system. At first I found it annoying but after a while you get used to it. During the game a gauge on screen will deplete over time and the speed it depletes will vary depending on what happens during the character's run. Once the gauge is empty you will switch characters right there and then. Worst thing is if it happens in a boss battle, when you return you'll have to start from the beginning of the fight. You can also change at will but if you do, you'll miss out on all the bonuses you get from cashing in large amounts of droplets you get from enemies. Oh I forgot to mention that didn't I?

This is a game for the true fans of Kingdom Hearts. If you already own all 6 previous entries you are going to buy this anyway but let me reassure you that it's got the best combat so far and will last a good 30 hours on a rush run or a whole lot longer if you want every Dream Eater, command and ability. The story is great and sets up for the next entry forward. If you miss this entry, you should just give up on Kingdom Hearts in my opinion. Also the 3D sucks but who cares about trendy 3D anyway! It's a must buy but it's just a shy from being as good as Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep.


Score 4/5

Review: New Super Mario Bros. 2

New Super Mario Bros
Nintendo 3DS
ACB Rated: G
Price: AU$69.95

Well... a new Mario game in only 9 months since the last one... am I the only one wondering why? Yeah I'm excited to play a new Mario game too but in such a short time? Call me suspicious but I smell a hasty cash in... except it's not exactly one... not completely. Well anyway, read the review for more.


The story is the same one we've seen the last 27 years. This time it starts with Mario and Luigi after saving the Princess and returning her home. Not a moment after dropping Princess Peach off she's kidnapped by the Koopa kids and it's second verse, same as the first.

The gameplay is the same as the previous entries in the (not so) New Super Mario Bros. series. 2D platforming with all the new updated techniques from the 2006 entry. To shake this up Nintendo added a few new elements... if you can call them new. Raccoon Mario makes it's triumphant return following on the heels of Super Mario 3D Land's Tanooki suit, but unlike the suit this one brings back flight and more vertical level designs.

Haven't we been here before?

2 new power ups have been added to the game to enforce the new goal of one million coins. The first is the Golden Fire Flower which is essentially a fire flower on steroids. It can turn bricks into coins and send out a shock wave that can hit multiple blocks and enemies and reward you with coins when the enemies are defeated. The second is a Golden Brick that is worn on the players head and award you coins as you move, the faster you move the more coins you get.

The level designs while new, don't feel much different to the previous NSMB games due to the recycled backgrounds and enemies. While the level design is fantastically designed, all the coins the game now throws at you has reduced the difficulty level. The levels like in the previous titles have 3 large coins to collect, a red ring that yields 8 red coins to collect for a power up or extra life and a midway check point... and now to add to the premise of earning one million coins, a gold ring that turns enemies gold and makes them give coins upon defeat or drop coins and koopa shells drops coins as they travel.

So many stages... too many lives!

The game features 9 worlds, 3 of which are "Special Worlds" which are unlocked by running through certain cannon stages or in the case of the final world you need to finish the main game. Each world has a them around them kinda like Super Mario Bros. 3(the actually game this one is trying to be... and every game since that's in 2D!) and seem to be borrowing from that game too. The maps feature the usual stuff... you know stages, mushroom houses and some require either Star Coins to unlock the paths or finding a secret exit in certain stages.

The games difficulty has been swung towards a more new to games angle due to the large amounts of coins thrown at you and extra lives still only need 100 coins to be earned. Boss fights are also extremely easy too, which makes it not to hard to finish. Heck... even Bowser is easy to defeat! The real challenge comes from finding the secret exits and large coins. To add to the easy difficulty, a white Raccoon Leaf is available to you if you die a fair few times in a stage. Yes, the game is designed for everyone to finish it and while veteran gamers may be insulted by it... it's not necessary to use and not for veterans.

Trust me... he's going down!

Along with the one million coin goal to make sure you don't trade the game in, a new Coin Rush mode has been added to the game. This mode has you racing against the clock to collect as much coins as possible and trying not to die. In this mode you have one life and 3 levels to collect coins in that are randomly chosen from a specific set of worlds. The scores you earn can be shared with others via Street Pass to give you more incentive to improve your scores against other players.

The game also has a Co Op mode that brings a lot of the same problems as the Wii NSMB game. The small screen is too small to handle the co op and on top of that both players have to be on each others screen. Let me just say that co op is only worth it if you play with someone of similar skills as you or after you've finished the game and don't care about doing things right. I honestly will never play co op again but that's because I game alone usually.


Overall the game is another great entry in the library of Mario games... the only problem is it feels like we've played it before. The goal of one million coins is a tedious edition to reduce the chance of trading it in and co op is not for everyone. You'll get a great experience none the less and I highly recommend it. Veterans and newcomers alike will enjoy the game and with DLC coming soon for Coin Rush mode means more life out of the game.

Score 4/5
P.S. I don't feel right about giving a Mario game a score that isn't perfect, but I'm trying to be non bias here.

Review: Tales Of The Abyss

After a long wait for it to arrive and a mountain of distractions, I can finally get my review done.Word of warning to Australians though, the game was released back in November last year and was a JB HiFi exclusive... ok first off, who buys games at JB HiFi that aren't cheaper then elsewhere and secondly, why JB HiFi when GAME or Gametraders or even EB Games would have made more sense? What's worse is it's discontinued so if you missed it because you never knew, you've missed it forever and can't import it to play on the Australian 3DS unless you can find a European retailer selling it! Anyway after so much delays, here's my review of Tales Of The Abyss for 3DS.


The story follows Luke's journey after being teleported out of his home through the power of a hyper-ressonance, triggered by being attacked by a young woman named Tear. Luke and Tear join forces to return Luke home, but get embroiled in a global struggle triggered by political and religious conflicts. Now along with his friends Guy, Jade, Natalia, Anise and Ion they must prevent a predetermined war and stop the world from literally collapsing. Holy Crap! That's just a small summary of the first 10 hours of the game!


Anyone who's played a Tales series game will be able to return to form but newcomers will be taught how to play with the in game tutorials the game provides during story progression. To those who played the original PS2 version you will be happy to know nothing has changed except the platform it's on. The combat is faster then Tales of Symphonia 1 and 2 and works well with the 3DS controls, especially since there's no need to use the touchscreen.

The battles are fought in an arena once you touch an enemy on the field. In the 3D battlefield the combat is action based and simple to engage in. You can use one of the 6 characters in the game in battle, each with their own unique skill sets and style of combat ranging from melee, magic and a mix of both. Along with basic attacks and special "Artes" attacks there is also a mystic arte each character has that can only used during Overlimit, think of it as a limit break system like in Final Fantasy VII. Unfortunately one thing that has always been a problem people bitch about in all Tales series games in that the bosses aren't epic.

As you play through the game you will obtain items called "capacity cores" that can be equip to characters to boost their stats on level up further and teaches you AD skills. AD skills are basically passive skills that assist in battle. Also you will find Fon Slot Chambers that you can equip to artes to add additional effect to them, depending on the colour of the FSC.

The game has a fair few sidequest and minigames to play along the way, but unfortunately the game also has this tendency to force you on a linear path at some points in the story. This can be frustrating if you like to explore. Some areas are locked off for the majority of the game and you may forget they exist sometimes.

I don't usually talk about this stuff but considering the 3DS is a 3D console, I have to talk about it. The visuals looks just as good as it's PS2 counterpart and the 3D makes the image sharper... BUT unfortunately the 3D itself was poorly done. I would suggest only notching the 3D slider up about a millimetre to activate the 3D at its most minimal depth that is almost 2D to sharpen the image if you want a sharper image. Also like all Tales series games it looks and sounds beautiful.


You know sometimes game reviews are hard to write and pad out. I try to give you what you need without all the boring padding the pros do. Anyway, is it a good game? Ah, yeah! Every Tales series game is good! Sure the boss battles are lackluster but it's the story and journey that matter, not overly complicated combat that looks pretty most mainstream games use to keep gaming's magpies occupied. If you don't like JRPGs don't bother wasting yours or my time, if you love the genre then this is a must buy. This game looks and sounds great and has a great story, the best I've played through in the series.

Score 4/5

Review: Super Mario 3D Land

Yes! Finally a game for the 3DS that actually uses the 3D well and was built with it in mind. A game worth owning the 3DS has come out for those who haven't already gotten one and it's a great game. TANOOKI IS BACK!


The story like most Mario games is Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach and now Mario has to save her. This time around they added a tree with Tanooki leaves that also has all it's leaves blow away and Bowser and his minions are using them against you.

The game plays like every other Super Mario game, mainly like New Super Mario Bros but with a 3D world to run around in instead of 2D. You'll do the usual running, jumping and ground pounding you've done before but in a 3D environment.

Power ups will be your main weapon since Mario is back to the basic get hit and you lose the power up game we're so used too. The main power ups like the Super Mushroom, Power Star and Fire Flower return along with an old friend from 1990 know as the Tanooki Suit only this time it's a Tanooki Leaf. The game also has a new power up and it's the second time we get an enemy power up, the Boomerang Flower which gives Mario the power of a Boomerang Bro. If you die a bunch of time you'll also get access to an Invincible Tanooki Leaf as well as a Power Wing which will warp you to the flag pole at the end of the stage.


The game has 8 worlds each with 6 stages(7 in World 8) and each one has the same goal, get to the flag pole before time runs out. Even the Castle stages follow the same formula but you have to take down a boss before getting access to the flag pole. Within each stage there are 3 Star Coins to find and collect, these are used to unlock stages to progress and are also used in the Special world you unlock once you finish the game. Also in each world you'll either find a mushroom house which will have an item or a bonus cube which will get you a Star Coin if you finish it within the time limit.


The first run is fairly easy to finish for veterans and Golden Age gamers and will take about 4-6 hours depending on how efficient you get through the stages. Once you finish the game you'll gain access to the Special world which has more challenging stages to complete and you can also unlock Luigi to play as. The stages vary from the regular kinds, low time limit that require you to find clocks to boost the time and Dark Mario chase stages. These stages are designed for the highly skilled and some of these can be real tests of patients and can and will be REALLY FRUSTRATING! Picture this, Bowser castle stage with a low time limit and you have a Dark Mario chasing you with no check points... absolute frustration, especially when trying to get all the Star Coins in one run on the stage.


Believe it or not the 3D actually helps with playing the game. It helps determine jumps a little better and you notice how well it works more when you're lining up a jump from above while the camera is above you. I played the entire game in 3D but if you decide not to play it in 3D it will be tougher to play.


Man Mario game reviews are hard to pad out with waffling. Is the game good? Hell Yeah! The game is fun during the first round and the special worlds are really challenging. Plus the return of the Tanooki Mario! THE TANOOKI! Sure you could clear it in a day, that's what I did but I recommend doing maybe a world a day to extend it. It a game to enjoy, not rush through. What's the score? Duh Perfect Score! It's a Mario game and like all Super Mario games it's never a waste of money and will be fun guaranteed!

Score 5/5

Review: Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time 3D

Ok let me save you time here if you don't like reading reviews that are long because this one may be pretty long. Perfect score, must buy, wait until more 3DS games worth owning to come out to buy a 3DS if you don't own one. Ok? Ok now lets do this. *cracks fingers*

Let me get personal to start with. I played Ocarina Of Time for the first time when it came out in 1998 and I was 13. A time in my life where this game helped me emotionally at a time where I needed it most. The touching story and hidden message of the game really effected me in a way that's indescribable. If you play/played the game around the ages of 10-18 you may get the same kind of effect. The game was almost too perfectly released when you consider how old generation NES were. The funny thing is 13 years later, the game is still as good as ever and somehow they improved on perfection.

If you haven't played Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time first off you have my deepest condolences. Second, Why haven't you? It's on Wii Virtual Console and it was re-released on Gamecube with Windwaker and at one point you could buy a Gamecube with a Zelda Collection which has the 2 NES and 2 N64 games on one disc. Anyway now is your chance on 3DS.

The story of Ocarina Of Time is about a boy who has been chosen by destiny to save the land of Hyrule from Ganondorf/Ganon and he even has to travel through time to do so. I would give out more detail but you need to experience it for yourself.

The game is a 3D action adventure dungeon crawler. You know the routine by now right? If you played a game like Dragon Age or Darksiders then you get the idea... mainly because they are trying to copy this game sure Dragon Age is a more personalised experience but it's a dungeon crawler regardless. The controls and gameplay are simple and the game does a fantastic job teaching you how to play it. Speaking of teaching they added tutorial videos you can watch via a Sheikah Stone which are located right outside Link's house in Kokiri Village and in the Temple of Time. The videos are designed to help people who are stuck in a dungeon. These are well done but even when I was 13 and this being my first Zelda game, I never had a problem solving the puzzles.

The game has 3 dungeons as a child and 5 as an adult and a few mini dungeons. The level designs of the dungeons are designed so well that the seem to fit the architecture of the outer structure of the dungeons. The world is also large and beautifully designed from the Kokiri Forest all the way to Lake Hylia. Basically it looks good, especially with the graphical upgrade they did.

Speaking of the graphics they really did a great job on the visual upgrade. The new textures make everything look more vivid and the characters more alive. One strange thing about the graphics is that without the 3D it looks a little smudged. I'm serious here, the 3D seems to also be an unintentional HD switch(does the 3DS even do HD?) and makes everything sharper. The 3D surprisingly doesn't feel out of place and actually helps make the world feel more real and you feel more immersed... as long as you don't lose the sweet spot.

Some of the new features brought to this version other then 3D are motion controls for the camera and aiming with some of the weapons. I must warn you that you can lose the sweet spot really easy with the motion controls and on top of that they will interfere with using the thumb pad for aiming so I recommend turning it off if you prefer aiming with the thumb pad.

As mention before the Sheikah stones give tutorial videos for newcomers needing help. There's also the Boss challenge mode where you can re-fight bosses with limited health and items. I don't really like this mode because it's not very challenging for me.

They also brought Master's Quest back but I honestly don't remember it being mirrored. This mode is great for veterans, especially those who know the original game back to front and don't need a playguide to complete the game *stands proudly knowing where every heart piece and gold skulltula is*. Unfortunately you need to finish the normal game to unlock Master's Quest but is that really a bad thing?

I also have to mention because this is an important improvement, the Iron and Hover Boots are now used like every other item! Yes you and equip them like in Windwaker and Twilight Princess! Trust me this is a great improvement because it reduces the frustration of the Water Temple.

As I said the game gets a perfect score. The original game was one of the best, if not the best game ever made and then they improved on it. Whether you're a newcomer or a returning veteran, the game will not disappoint. It really is the reason to own a 3DS. I enjoyed every minute playing the game and I'm sure everyone else will too. I also played the whole game in 3D and even though I played for a 7 hour play session, my eyes were still fine

Score 5/5