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By Gemma ~ Juicy Game Reviews
Amiibo Characters Nintendo Wii U
It safe to say that we're in the middle of a serious Amiibo craze right now. Nintendo released a plethora of Amiibo characters and plan on releasing a load more in the very near future. In fact, the Amiibo character list is growing rapidly, especially in the U.S. What is an Amiibo? And why are they so popular? Amiibo's are interactive plastic figures; recognisable to most, that are designed to enhance the experience of certain Wii U and 3DS titles. Titles like Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart 8 and Hyrule Warriors etc. Characters like Mario, Yoshi and Link are the most common and can easily be bought from stores. More obscure Amiibo characters like Mario - Gold Edition are more exclusive to the market. As it stands Nintendo have also announced Mario - Silver Edition so you had better get your pre-orders in now if you want it.
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 Majora's Mask 3DS - A delightful new edition to the portable gaming world It has been fifteen years since my first experience of dealing with that pesky Skull Kid in The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask. Today I am as happy as ever with my experience of playing Majora's Mask on my Nintendo 3DS. I am still captivated by the strangeness that unfolds right from the beginning of the game when meeting Skull Kid for the first time. Now, I don't want to recycle the storyline from start to finish but instead I want to talk about some of my favourite differences between the Nintendo 64 classic and today's re-hashing of Majora's Mask.
During the initial scenes of Majora's Mask it's immensely clear that I was playing an aesthetically stunning game. The textures are rounder and smooth to the point of absolute perfection along with a richly satisfying colour saturation. I was recently playing Ocarina of Time on my Nintendo 3DS and found the colour palette quite dull in comparison to Majora's Mask. I didn't expect anything less as I've always found Majora's Mask to look much nicer than Ocarina of Time. There's just something about that deep, dark purple that really draws me in.  Take off those Pegasus Boots, hang up your tunic and gather around. This game forms the tale of one of Nintendo's most famous Hero's, Link. The Legend of Zelda A link Between Worlds forms the seventeenth game spanning over twenty five years in which we see Link cast in a familiar land. You can read a ton of reviews and articles about the storyline of A Link Between Worlds so rather than dwell on that here I want to ask: Are we teaching an old dog new tricks or are we seeing groundbreaking new game gimmicks? Or are we just having plain old fun? Let's find out. For those of us that look back fondly on the 1992 classic A Link to the Past, we are instantly familiarized with the 'top-down' view of Hyrule Castle. The title of the game spans boldly across the scene and the camera pans in a circling motion. I am instantly happy. The nostalgia and warmth spreads through me like fire as I am reminded of my first experience with a Zelda game back in the early nineties. HERE is where the 3D capacity (if you choose to play it in 3D) of this game looked Spectacular and the game hadn't even launched. Exploring the land of Hyrule is as captivating and charming as it ever was. In fact, my experiences within the first five minutes of the game play seemed tantalizingly smooth which elevated the satisfaction of my gaming pallet. Well Done Nintendo. Adding to this, I have read that the game was developed to output 60fps, which, in turn, enhanced the stability of the 3D effect. The actual game play is run on the top screen of the 3DS whilst the map takes stage on the bottom screen and I must say that this works great! I took an easy glance downwards to check the map which also includes new functions of 'pin dropping' and the ability to zoom on to closer sections of the map. Already, I was impressed and SO HAPPY to have purchased A Link Between Worlds.  Merging - A wonderfully thought out feature A Link Between Worlds boasts 'never before seen dungeons and puzzles'. Hmmmm of course that is not a shocker as this is a new game in its own right! It was, however, a while in which I had the chance to dive in to the deep boughs of my first dungeon. Now I do not wish to spoil this game for anyone.....so I won't. What I will say is that A Link Between Worlds does a beautiful job of introducing brand new features. 'Merging' is a skill that transforms Link in to painting within a flat walled surface. Donning a 'Crayola-esque and cell shaded' appearance, I found myself traversing blissfully around corners within walls and through small gaps that even the smallest of swords would not penetrate. AMAZING!!! Naturally, this opens up Hyrule in a way that A Link To The Past seemed unavailable. I like this new sense of freedom. 'Slicing our way to Success' seems to be more of a choice in this game. Earlier on we are greeted by a character named as Ravio who takes up residence in Link's house after the opening scene. From the on-set of the real action, items are available to rent from Ravio (for a small fee). I was able to choose whether I could rent these items or go ahead with a lighter inventory. I found this useful as I ventured deeper in to the game BUT it was a huge pain in the arse during the first dungeon. Not only were the items taken away from me once I had died but I had to start from my house in order to re-rent the item! (thankfully the fast travel option opened up later in the game). Additionally, the items use small amounts of mana (purple guage) but the developers were kind enough to code it to 'self replenish'. Oh aren't we spoilt?  Links house in Hyrule and Lorule! Colour popping aesthetics. Yes, that is what I see. The graphics paint a colourful world of Hyrule and surprisingly of Lorule too. I have always been incredibly soothed beyond satisfaction with the graphical capabilities in a Zelda game. A Link Between Worlds follows an exceptional suit. So are we teaching an old dog new tricks in this game? Absolutely not. Link is as crisp as ever and looks very sexy in 3D. A Link Between Worlds seems to have precision balance of 'nostalgia versus new features'. I am loving it! If you're loving it too then you can help me to maintain this blog by buying the game via this affiliates link or by clicking on the graphic below and note that there is Free delivery to Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada of the biggest games, tees, gadgets, clothes and more. NOW GO AND RESCUE PRINCESS ZELDA. Have YOU played this game? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Juicy Game Reviews |
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