April GBA releases on Wii U bring retro joy

April is set to be packed with GameBoy Advance releases...for the Wii U virtual console. We've known about GBA games heading to Wii U for a while, but now we have some solid games, release dates, and prices. They are as follows:

April 3
Advance Wars ($7.99)
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga ($7.99)
Metroid Fusion ($7.99)

April 10
Kirby & The Amazing Mirror ($6.99)
Warioware, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! ($6.99)

April 17
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity ($6.99)
Golden Sun ($7.99)

April 24
Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island ($7.99)

If you still have an Ambassador 3DS system, you likely already own many of these games (Metroid Fusion, Kirby, Warioware, F-Zero, and Yoshi's Island, to be exact), but there are a couple to keep your eyes on: Advance Wars is a great turn-based strategy game (supposedly: I never played it, but I would love to), Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is one of the best RPGs to grace the GBA, and Golden Sun (which I have played) is a beautiful throwback to SNES RPGs.

Considering used GBA games go anywhere from $10 to $20, the pricing on these games is not half bad. What are your thoughts?

First Impressions: Golden Sun

Being an RPG fan, I thought I might like a little GBA game called Golden Sun. Well, I've played it for a fair amount of time, and here's what I think so far:

Golden Sun has a really typical, predictable kind of storyline. And the uninspired dialogue doesn't help its cause. As the player, you control Isaac (or whatever you want to call him), and go on a quest to save your friends and ultimately the world. I can't say it's very engaging, but at least it's there.

Fortunately, Golden Sun redeems itself with a compelling battle system involving the four elements (earth, wind, fire, and water), pretty graphics that are reminiscent of SNES beauties like Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana, and other well-implemented gameplay elements like puzzles that break up the monotony.

All in all, I'm really enjoying Golden Sun so far.

GameBoy Advance Ambassador games: First Impressions (part 2)

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
I hope that Minish Cap will assist me to find the passion for top-down, 2-D Zeldas that I know is somewhere in me! From what I've played, I know the simple fact that the 2-D Zelda experience has really improved since the original Legend of Zelda on NES, and that alone is quite comforting.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
I have really enjoyed this game...mostly for its story. But that story is enough to keep me interested! Sacred Stones is what you call a tactical role-playing game: in other words, the player commands a party on a grid-based map to complete an objective. My limited experience with tactical role-playing has generally been a negative one, and Sacred Stones is no exception. So yeah...kinda on the fence with this one.

Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
This game is classic Kirby at its best! Not that I've had a lot of experience playing Kirby games, though. Still, I have loved every cute little moment of this game so far!

Warioland 4
If ever there was a game that actually made me think, "Wow, I'm kinda tired of all these stinkin' platformers," it's probably this one. A person can only handle so many different takes on the formula!

Well, that's it! Are there any games in the Ambassador collection you particularly like?

GameBoy Advance Ambassador games: First Impressions (part 1)

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Yikes! Ya know, many of the racing games of yesteryear just didn't age well. I believe this is one of them. I think that can be attributed partially to the D-pad based control scheme...and the 2-D graphics. Yeah, racers are probably better off in 3-D. All I know is I wouldn't pay for this game.

Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3
How did I miss out on the original Yoshi's Island in my youth?! It's a flippin' sweet game! Stay tuned on this one for sure!

Mario Kart: Super Circuit
I actually have this game in GBA cartridge format! To be brief, I've never liked it...at all...in the slightest. If the original Mario Kart on Super Nintendo is anything like this one, I'll stay far away.

Mario Vs. Donkey Kong
I haven't played this one much, but what I've seen, I've liked...a lot. It's kind of a combination of platforming and puzzle-solving. I can't wait to have time to play more of this little gem!

Metroid Fusion
Another title I have an actual cartridge of! I love playing this game on my GBA SP. But the D-pad and face buttons on the Nintendo 3DS system are, to be quite frank, a pain to use. They're too stiff or something. That aside, Metroid Fusion is an excellent game.

Warioware, Inc. Mega Microgame$
Apparently this title introduced the brilliant concept of microgames. It works, and works well. Obviously there isn't going to be a lot of meat to this kind of game, but it's a much-appreciated diversion.

Six down, four to go! Look forward to part 2 in this series in a couple of days! 

Are you a Nintendo 3DS Ambassador?

I'm sure you've heard the news by now, so I'm not going to be repeating anything unless it needs to be repeated. If you haven't heard the news by now, here's the link to all the info you need.

I'd like to start with a little bit of math! Don't worry, I'll try to keep it clean. So the price of the Nintendo 3DS system dropped from 250 bucks to 170 bucks. That's a difference of 80 bucks (an unprecedented drop in just four months time). What are Nintendo's plans to appease early adopters (or what they have deemed Nintendo 3DS Ambassadors)? Well, you start with 10 free downloadable NES virtual console games worth five bucks apiece. Okay, that's $50. But I'd like to tie in the value of receiving them earlier than the general public: priceless. Next, early N3DS buyers will have the opportunity to download 10 more free games later this year. These will be Gameboy Advance (GBA) game downloads that Nintendo has no plans to release to the general public at all. I bought a used copy of Metroid Fusion for about $15. Even if we choose to value each GBA game at 10 bucks apiece, the value is a whopping $100. A $150 value altogether? Not bad.

I was quite upset after hearing about the price drop of the N3DS, but Ambassadors will be well-compensated, make no mistake. Have a sensational weekend!

Metroid Fusion and the dawn of familiarity

Well, the stars aligned for me to play the fourth installment in the Metroid series. Said installment is, of course, Metroid Fusion for the GameBoy Advance system. Two events that were necessary for me to really enjoy a Metroid game occurred just in time for Fusion. The first is that I built a strong enough foundation composed of Metroid series basics to avoid (much) frustration. The second is the game itself: Metroid Fusion has the smoothest control scheme of any installment that came before it.

Nearly every video game series, be it Mario or Zelda, has its own way of doing things. Coincidentally, I grew up with Mario and Zelda, so the basic principles of those games are stuck with me. I did not grow up with Metroid. But after playing the NES original and the SNES iteration, I've learned and solidified the basic principles. Samus Aran, a bounty hunter in a sci-fy space world, is always the main and playable character. She does a kind of spin through the air when she jumps diagonally. A host of power-ups and upgrades can be added to her suit through the course of any given adventure. If in doubt, bomb everything in sight, or use bombs to catapult Samus into hidden shafts. I get it now. And that foundation has enhanced the Metroid experience ten-fold for me. 

Still more important than that are the improvements made with Metroid Fusion itself. I distinctly remember the thrill I got when I first discovered Samus's ledge grip ability. Going back to previous Metroid games and finding Samus incapable of grabbing onto ledges made the gameplay feel incomplete indeed. The rest of the gameplay in Fusion feels flawless and comfortable, not to mention fun. Samus's ever-growing list of weapons and abilities are easy to manage and use.

This may shock you, but the next Metroid game I'll experience will be Metroid: Other M, which is the most recent installment. Sorry if that disappoints you, but I found a brand-new copy of the game for $20 (a steal!), and I can no longer let it sit dormant. See you in two days!