Bare minimum they should let you transfer Virtual Console purchases from both consoles to there. It would be nice if any digital retail games would transfer too, 3DS shouldn't be too tricky and hopefully Wii U could work as well. I can see physical media not working, but they should at least attempt digital similar to how MS did 360 on XB1
Rayfa was definitely a great character, she had a really good arc and was surprisingly funny with her outbursts. I thought it would get annoying quick, but they handled her well. My favorite new character was Datz though. I always love the goofy AA characters who don't realize how much they're annoying everyone and somehow find their way to accidentally meddle with each case in stupid ways.
I thought the culprit was pretty obvious in the second and fifth case (the first gave it away so didn't count), but the third and fourth caught me off guard, especially the third with how unconventional it was. The fourth case really did feel like they needed to give Athena something to do though and was too Japanese. Still, Blackquill returning was at least fun. Download only was disappointing too, but I'll take what I can get.
The main DLC case was fun, but still average by series standards. I knew from the beginning how they would explain the time travel and knew who the villain was the second I met him and guessed his motivation pretty well. I was pretty much there for Larry and Edgeworth who were at least both hilarious. Also speaking of Edgeworth, his rant on the Plumed Punisher was hilarious, always love when they bring up how much of a Steel Samurai fanboy he is.
I agree that this is the only thing Capcom really interests me now with though. I'm not a fan of the direction they went with recent Street Fighter and Resident Evil games and Monster Hunter is the only other franchise they consistently make games for. Their new IPs are lacking as well, can't really think of many they've done recently. This might be my favorite of their series ever though, even beating out Mega Man, Resident Evil, and Street Fighter.
Ah, got the facts wrong for U. But still, it wasn't that much higher than 3D World while 3D Land edged NSMB2 by about the same amount. And I agree with Blake, World might be my favorite, but 3D Mario works and fills a niche 2D doesn't. A niche that other games like Rayman Legends are filling better now. It's not like Sonic which has never had a 3D entry as a GOTY contendor.
Also their attitude towards 2D Mario might have something to do with how U and 2 were half assed. If they don't want to make 2D Mario games or feel they've done everything they can with the formula, we're not going to get as high quality games as we get with 3D Mario. Mario Maker felt like them putting the 2D Mario to rest for a while, let them focus on 3D where we can get some real creativity.
In regards to 2D vs 3D Mario, 3D Land and World both topped NSMB2/U. Granted Land and 2 were by a small margin, but I feel that may be telling of the NSMB longevity. People bought the DS one because of how long it had been since a 2D Mario while the Wii one offered something new with 4 player co-op. 2 and U didn't have anything new while 3D Land offered a new take on the series and World offered 4 player co-op with different characters each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I think the real key is a balance between accessibility and freshness. I love the Galaxy games, but they were hard for younger and more casual gamers to wrap their heads around as opposed to NSMBW, which is why I think that game did better. Same goes for why Sunshine is one of the lower selling Mario games. I feel if the new Mario can have a very simple yet fresh new mechanic, then it will succeed.
Besides, Mario Kart vastly outsells both 2D and 3D Mario on average so them getting one of those out quick matters more.
I'm optimistic for two reasons. First, while many of your points on 3rd party support are valid, you mostly approached it from the Wii U angle. From the 3DS angle on the other hand, there's going to be plenty to love. It had very strong 3rd party support there, to the point where it lived in a bubble where your otherwise valid points on Square and Capcom by some miracle somehow don't exist while Atlus, Sega, and Xseed also made top notch games for it.
Second, your points on Nintendo would be spot on if it were still splitting console and handheld development. But by focusing on one platform, this could be exactly what they needed. Think of the 3DS and Wii U in 2013 and 2014, pretty much the only two years the latter was relevant. Now imagine all those games on one machine. That's huge for two reasons. First they can put many more games on the thing to avoid droughts. Second, it means no Wii U to 3DS ports and vice versa, every game will be new. I know we'll see bumps down the road, but those factors have me optimistic until we get more info.
But seriously, if this thing can run PS4/XB1 level games without a mandatory install that's reason enough for me to buy one.
Great review. I finished Human Revolution recently, and while I liked it, the game left me exhausted after each play session so I think I'll wait on this and if I do get around to it will go guns blazing. I love stealth, but feel these games are too long for a stealth game. Prefer a 6-8 hour experience except with MGS3/5 and The Last of Us.
2005 GOTY is Jade Empire. That was the beginning of my long love affair with Bioware and still probably remains their most unique game. Combat was simple but stayed fun the whole game and the world was such a unique mix of fantasy, steampunk, and kung fu.
For Chrono Crossing, it's definitely when Knights of the Old Republic 2 reveals Darth Sion. It built up that you were being hunted in the first space station (which has some very strong Bioshock vibes) and once I saw what the Sith leader looked and sounded like, I was rushing as quick as I could to get the hell out of there.
I'm just waiting for you to replay Uncharted 2 and 4 close together and admit I was right. I don't see you admitting RotTR is better than 4 though even though it is and remembers it's a video game. Also play ReCore. It's a very you game.
We need more of these guys
Stage Select: Psychonauts- If I'm not the hero anywhere, I'd have to figure out what I'd want to do as my normal person job. And I'm betting a psychiatrist in this world would be a pretty fun and interesting job. Instead of talking out problems, I'd just go inside someone's mind and explore their inner thoughts until I figured out how to fix everything. Feel like that would be a pretty fun and rewarding job.
Chrono Cross 2016: Elite Beat Agents- Ten years later and I still pick up this game every now and then. And haven't beat it. The game's as tough as it is addicting and its style is so charming and hilarious that I don't care how half the songs in this game are awful.
