Kid_A

Looks ugly, unnecessary and expensive.

I'll probably buy it.

Dream list:
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Wario Land 4
Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Super Mario Bros. 3
Metroid: Zero Mission

Great read
I found myself agreeing with Peter; Command and Assault, while certainly flawed, are still great games in their own right. Quite frankly Command is my favorite Starfox game.

The use of the word "product" strikes me as odd, but I think it's software we're getting, then it'll be something we have no knowledge of. They wouldn't host a big secretive event about Animal Crossing. I seriously doubt we'll see a new 3DS redesign or anything like that.

You have no idea how excited I am for this.

@warioswoods
We'll be getting an update later this year that adds Restore Point and Multiplayer functionality to these games, so maybe we'll get an option for retro-refitting as well.

Personally, I'm excited. I haven't played most of these games, and I'm getting them for free

The shop itself is great and it already has an impressive library of games. But this card situation is indeed ridiculous. Nintendo needs to step it up.

Sweet! Super Mario Bros. 3 and Punch-Out!! would have been nice, but I'm sure we'll see more NES games in the future, even though they won't be free.

Best news I've heard all day

THIS IS EPIC! Not to mention we got a release date for the new Professor Layton game We might have already known about that last one but it was news to me!

WayForward is brilliant, so this one will definitely be on my radar!

@ Bulbasaurusrex
It can be brutally difficult. In a good way

Wonderful review and a well-deserved score. This is just an impeccably crafted game, and it grabs you right from the start.

My morbid curiosity got the best of me and I ended up downloading the game. I must say, I find myself enjoying it...well, a lot, frankly. I can't quite put my finger on why this is, though. I think it's because, at least from my perspective, this is a game that knows that it, technically speaking, sucks, and it's almost like they've amplified it for comedic irony. I don't disagree with Phil's review at all, but there's something in the game's hilariously stubborn simplicity (like, the fighters are all the same sprites? Really?) that I find personally, baffingly, really compelling. I still haven't decided if this game is good, but for whatever reason I can't stop playing it.

Such a great review, Phil. Part of me wants to buy it out of sheer morbid curiosity but I really haven't read a single good thing about it.

It's a three-way tie between Super Metroid, A Link to the Past and Super Mario World.

I really want to check out Pandora's Tower. I might actually import these games and a Euro Wii just to play them.

YES! Metroid II is the only Metroid game I haven't played, and Super Mario Land 2 is the only Mario game I've never played

a massive, multilayered world that takes players from dark dungeons to a diverse overworld to cloud cities in the sky, requiring a combination of puzzle-solving and swordplay to unlock all of its secrets.
GIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIE
GIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIEGIMMIE

Well I'm definitely picking up Super Paper Mario. I never got a chance to beat it before I had to give it back to my friend that I was borrowing it from. Everyone should buy Punch-Out!! as well--it's one of the Wii's best, and one of my all-time favorite games.

Excellent review! I can't wait to check this one out.

I gotta say, I definitely think its for the best that we didn't see a Metroid 64. As has been previously brought out, the N64 was clearly not built to render the complex 2D visuals that Super Metroid had, but it wasn't powerful enough to make something as immersive as Prime or as cinematic as Other M. There's a reason why we're seeing a ton of N64 remakes these days: those games haven't aged terribly well.

@Bass_X0
True, but I'm sure if Nintendo would have put some effort into it they would have been able to get around it.

This is such a tricky situation. The iOS devices are legitimate gaming machines, and Nintendo knows it; putting their games on iPhone is the same as putting them on the XBOX. They won't do it, and I'm not sure they should.

Wow, that really sucks about the lack of wireless functionality for GBA games. Mario Kart Super Circuit had awesome multiplayer.

Heh, hey guys remember Operation Rainfall? That was funny.

Samus is my favorite protagonist in gaming, period. I think her struggles shown in Other M were really human and relatable. Samus' biggest regret in her past was making Adam's impossible decision (either try and save his brother, gravely endangering the life of himself and his entire fleet, or let him die) even harder. She's haunted by Ridley, the monstrous killer who murdered her parents, as every time she defeats him, he somehow emerges back in her life again. She's haunted by her past, unsure of herself, but also badass enough to shove her arm canon in an alien's mouth and blow him up from the inside out. There is no courage without fear, and Samus teaches us that time and time again.

@Retro_on_theGo
Thanks man!
20 Internet points for your kindness.

Super Paper Mario and Punch-Out!! are two of the best games of this gen, so I sure hope this is true!

@Ren
Hey, I resent that. We were just chatting about Metroid, so we weren't sure where the conversation would take us, really. I may not have been alive when Metroid 1 came out, but I still think it's one of the greatest games of all time. I've replayed it more times than I can count.

Ha! What a neat video. I love that they got Samus' voice actress from Other M. I thought she captured Samus well, although I know many would disagree with me.

@SKTTR
Amen. I seriously doubt I'll ever play this game again, but I don't think I need to. It's forever burnt into by brain.

@Stuffgamer1
Wait, really? Dadgummit. I thought you were initially investigating the planet, but then when the self-destruct initiated you had to escape to a near-by planet. I was playing 2 at the same time so apparently I got the deets a little screwed up--thanks for the catch and I'll be sure to try and fix that!

Is it lame to rank things? Maybe, but that's what's about to go down. Keep in mind that these are my favorites, so their not necessarily ranked in terms of which game is objectively better.
1. Metroid: Zero Mission
(PROPOSTEROUSLY under-rated game. Easily the best game in the series. It's like Super Metroid, but with better controls.)
2. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
3. Super Metroid
4. Metroid Prime
5. Metroid: Other M
6. Metroid (NES)
7. Metroid Fusion
8. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
9. Metroid Prime: Hunters
...never got to play Metroid 2. That thing better hit the 3DS VC!

Metroid Prime 2 didn't grab me at first, but it ended up being a pretty darn incredible game
Glad to see there's some support for it on this site!

@Nekogao
I never said it was bad, or even mediocre. It's just not the best, in my opinion, although obviously there are some stand-outs. I like either the really ambient melodies (like Super Metroid had) or the really textural noise (like Other M had); Prime has this middle ground that doesn't really do it for me, but it's just my opinion

Dang, I sure hope Uprising makes it in 2011. Looks like a great contrast to Mario and Zelda.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Metroid Zero Mission
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Wario Land 4
And maybe a fire emblem game? Never got a chance to play one back in the day.

I think this is a great program, but I'd be especially happy with the NES Metroid. That game would be perfect for suspend data and restore points

Great read

Do it! Make this game! I will buy it!
Save the Wind Waker remake for Wii U

"If there's one thing we can say about Kung Fu Dragon, it's that there's really not much to say about Kung Fu Dragon. "
This is brilliant

Bummer! I'd love a cheap little baseball game to have with me on the road, but this definitely sounds like a stinker.

Hopefully we'll see a proper Assassin's Creed game on the 3DS then, instead of a weird spin-off. Such a wonderful franchise.

You know, if Aonuma wants a break from Zelda, there's this lovely little studio in Texas that I'm sure could take the series off his hands for awhile...

James...I am so sorry...of your knowledge of Jacobean satirists...
(also, that I'm so dense that I couldn't see you were trying to back me up haha)

@ZachKaplan
You clearly haven't played Red Dead

There are 8 worlds, each with six levels or so, so there's a pretty good amount of content here.

This game is really, really fun guys. I rarely come back to the DSiWare games that I review, but this is a genuinely well-designed game in its best moments. We need more games like this on the service.