Wii

I got some more Virtual Console points today, so was intending to buy Super Mario World and Ocarina of Time. However, I couldn’t bring myself to part with the asking price for either, as I have them already, so I ended up trying Kid Icarus again instead.

It’s really not that bad. The core jumping and shooting machanics aren’t anything special, but they work well enough. The screen didn’t start wobbling madly this time, which helped, but some horrific slowdown still remained. I got off the first stage fairly easily, then played the second stage for a while. I had to turn it off when I died about two steps from the end. Just couldn’t face going all the way back to the beginnning of the stage yet again.

I can’t yet see why it’s regarded as a classic, though it kept me away from Crackdown and Excite Truck this morning, so there must be something beyond my curiousity.

Got to a boss.

Boss killed me.

Started again from the beginning of the stage.

Repeat a few times.

Strangely, still fun.

All cups finished, so now it’s back to get S ranks so I can unlock Super Excite mode.

This is, quite simply, one of the best games I’ve played in a very, very long time.

I have no idea why it’s met with such a muted reception. Variable reviews and a new entry at 36 in the UK charts this week, why?

After buying this yesterday and not ending up playing it, I just put this on for a quick go… and an hour and a half later I’ve had to force myself to stop playing so I can make dinner and deal with family emails and suchlike.

It’s huge amounts of fun. It looks absolutely fine to me and it plays brilliantly. Fast, intense and, yes, exciting.

Whether it will last is another matter – I’m guessing I’ll want to play it until I’ve S-ranked everything but it’ll end up disappearing into the “must finish sometime” pile once Crackdown arrives – but whether or not it lasts, I’ve had an amazing time with it so far.

Expectations smashed, and all that.

(I did, however, have to turn the music right down after going through the tutorials or go completely insane.)

I was curious. I’ve been curious for a while. And points aren’t real money, right?

I’m not convinced I made a good decision. I’m not convinced a bad one yet, though, either. I have quite worked everything out. I know what the buttons do, but there are some jumps I can’t seem to make and sometimes the angle I think I should be at doesn’t match what the game thinks.

It would also help if I could work out how to get back to the main menu.