The Fireside

Today was a slightly sad day....perhaps I am being overly dramatic, but it was slightly sad. Today I packed up and boxed my wii u and its games. I do not yet have a Switch (I most likely will at, or by, Christmas), so it wasn't done to 'make space', but rather because I played the wii u literally to its death. I got it in Sept 2013, and now (June 2019) - it's finished. What had happened, is that the GamePad can no longer hold a charge. It can charge, but it lasts approx 45 min - 1 hr 15 before The Red Light of Doom comes on, then starts flashing. The problem is, because the wii u 'failed' we got the Switch. Because of that , Nintendo stopped supporting it in 2017. That means no more GamePad battery replacement packs. I wish I had known of the 'extended' battery pack made by Nintendo which gives longer life (both to 'extend' and get a new battery for it.) There are sellers on Amazon, etc but the reviews have been mixed: fr...

Without a doubt, Nintendo is hard at work, most likely in the very early stages of the next major Legend of Zelda game. I doubt it'll be a "sequel" (or "prequel") to Breath of the Wild , but it'll still be a follow-up nonetheless. This post will examine what I would love to go into the next major Zelda title. OPEN WORLD One of the things I enjoyed about Breath of the Wild  (as well as what I've played of the original title) is a large, vast world to explore. You could pretty much go anywhere you wanted, in (almost?) in order. I'd like to see what freedom return. However, I found Breath of the Wild  to be too......empty. Sure there's shrines and towers scattered throughout, but I didn't get the sense that the world was populated. There was after all I think 5 main cities or settlements. In a giant game. That felt a bit....odd to me. I think Nintendo should find a balance of vast exploration mingled with more settlements and 'world' t...

Hard to believe that later this year one of the best video games of all time, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , will celebrate it’s 20 th anniversary! I still remember getting the gold cartridge edition for Christmas the year it came out. To celebrate leading up to the game’s anniversary, bit by bit, I’ll be counting down my favourite moments. Before I begin, why not check out Hero of Time ? It was performed by those responsible that did the Symphony of the Goddess music tour, as well as the The Legend of Zelda 25 th Anniversary music CD. It exists on vinyl, as well as Spotfy, iTunes and Google Play. Definitely worth checking out. So without further ado, let’s begin this series of posts! The Beginning of the Game Well, it makes sense to start at the beginning, doesn’t it? I remember getting the Kokiri Sword, then the Kokiri Shield, all the while collecting as many Rupees as I can. I think I also bought Deku Nuts from the store as well…. Anyway, once I was all g...

I finally got around to getting my N3DSXL. First game I got for it is The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time . One of the reasons, is that I had always intended to get it pretty much straight away, but also because it seems that the game is hard to come by. I am not sure if the game is being phased out or dis-continued, or merely hard to find, due to Majora’s Mask being out, and another ‘ Zelda fever’ resulting .  I have others on my ‘list’ I plan to get. But what would I like to see arrive on it?? I already discussed how I would like to see The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess released for it. I did a post (“Improving the Twilight”), but wanted to add onto that that Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D is similar, graphically, to its wii counter-part. Just saying. And, that would be the next time Nintendo remasters/re-releases/remakes an existing Zelda title. Perhaps make it an exclusive to the N3DS, as opposed to the 3DS as ‘incentive’.  Earthbo...

This may be impossibly optimistic, but I have a great idea on what Nintendo could do on the N3DS, which is coming out this Friday: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.  I know, there are few muttering, shaking their heads, etc, wondering how a wii / gamecube game could make it onto the N3DS. With Wind Waker , Nintendo remastered the game in HD for the wii u. With Ocarina of Time and Majaora's Mask Nintendo also upped the graphical ante, and of course, made the games in 3D. But for Twilight Princess , suppose the game CAN'T look any better than in its current state. So therefore, we 'remake' it, as opposed to 'remastering' it. With Ocarina and Majora , (as well as Wind Waker ) Nintendo also 'tweaked' the games here and there, fixing (or improving) anything that they thought would better the game. Since 3DS games have a certain graphical limit in order for the system to run them, as gorgeous as they are, they are not graphically amazing by today...

According to Gamnesia, and other gaming sites, there is a major error which can, effectively, 'final smash' your WII U and the Smash Bros U  game. Read about it here:  http://www.gamnesia.com/news/new-smash-bros.-for-wii-u-error-can-leave-the-game-unplayable#.VH3bHtLF98E Very scary indeed. Bugs, glitches, crashes are one thing...but something on this scale is worrisome. I own the game and have been playing it often within the past two weeks, and everything is fine on my end of things. Once I saw the severity of this bug, however, I have decided not to play until there is an update or patch from Nintendo, either for Smash Bros. U, the WII U itself, or both (I'm playing other games in the meantime). I do have some observations, though: - I'm one of those people who doesn't like to leave discs in players, drives, consoles etc. So when I finish playing, I always take the disc out and put it back in the case. Which means I don't 'turn off' the console while...

Yesterday during the Nintendo Direct, we learned 50 things about Smash Bros. U,  which will be out in just under a month. Here are some notes.  

At long last, one of the most anticipated games for the wii u has a release date! Smash Bros.  for the wii u will be releasing (in North America and Canada) on Nov. 21 . I am glad that Nintendo is choosing to release it then.  Also, I am sure it is a great game, but because I do not own a 3DS (yet...) I got tired of the abundance of the 3DS news and lack of wii u news. Also, it was slightly annoying that, due to the limitations of the *3DS* some things were cut out of, or changed, for the *wii u* version...why? Aren't they separate games? Anyway...  I am sure you most likely know everything there is to know about the game at this point. You can pre-order it pretty much anywhere. Myself though, I am most likely going to go for the eshop digital version. (I have been hearing rumours that it will be about 8GB to download, but please do not quote me on that. Though if I am right....) I know it is a game that I will play very frequently and has a lot of replay...

The new Warriors game starring Legend of Zelda characters (this is not, and I repeat not a Zelda game) is coming later this month, and there quite a few pre-order DLC bonuses. Here is a listing of what some of them are, that give you bonus in-game content.  This info is courtesy of Nintendo: Here’s a nice offer involving a (usually) not-so-nice guy: if you buy Hyrule Warriors for Wii U and register the game with Club Nintendo between 9/26/14 and 10/23/14, you can receive a free download code for the Demon King Costume Set DLC: two costumes for Ganondorf that you can use in-game. You must be a Club Nintendo member to participate, and the offer is available only in the US and Canada. A little unfortunate for those hoping to get the game for Christmas but worth mentioning!  If you pre-order through EB Games (or Gamestop), you get the Ocarina of Time costume set.  If you pre-order through Amaz...

Initial Thoughts before E3: For a video gamer, the best time of the year is coming up - E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). I see it as the Comic-Con for video games. I'm sure XBOX and Playstation will show off some great titles; (who is winning that war, by the way? I think the winner is PS4 but nothing by a landslide by any means) but I'm interested and focused on Nintendo. So what would I like to see from Big N? A few things actually... - The Legend of Zelda U . Remember that demo you showed us with Link fighting that monster, then again in the dark? Yeah...I want my game to look like that - adult Link, and 'realism' graphics. I don't want you to go changing your game now, Nintendo - remember the Space World demo? And no half cel shaded, half 'real'. Go full real. Also, no 'gimmicks' - no wolves, no bgiant birds. Just a 'basic' Zelda game in execution. Of course, new items, control scheme etc... but let's...

This is a post forany parents who may be getting the wii u for their kids. And I mean 10 or under.

Today the long awaited Mario Kart 8 is finally out. And I must say, it could very well be the best Mario Kart yet for a console. I enjoyed the games on the wii, but not the console itself. So, with Mario Kart 8 , I'm using the gamepad and U Pro Controller.  The biggest difference or newest feature about the game is antigravity. You can race in all directions, as per how the track moves. Switching is easy and seamless and automatic in-game. The gliders re-appear, as do bikes. Basically, Nintendo put all the best parts from past Mario Kart games into this one. And coins! Coins are back. Another feature I quite like is fast recovery. If you get hit, getting back into it doesn't take nearly as long as in past games. There is also a defence against the dreaded Spiny Shell.... There are loads of courses and characters to unlock, a few new items and tons of replayability due to mulitpplayer, and trying to unlock each and every item.  With all the 'new...

This post, I'm going to talk about, and recommend my newest gaming console - the wii u.

There are some technological gizmos I'm interested in getting in the near future.