Nintendo 3DS Message Board older than one year ago

@GoNintendoTweet Skyward Sword Puzzle. NSMBU SS coming in a moment! pic.twitter.com/3I4fqjwnnT

— Daniel Coniglio (@DanusConiglius) June 18, 2013

@GoNintendoTweet NSMBU/NSLBU pic.twitter.com/oiFPLxpmJr

— Daniel Coniglio (@DanusConiglius) June 18, 2013

New #3DS StreetPass Puzzle in Japan: Xenoblade! @oprainfall pic.twitter.com/W05H5JjNwn

— Cheesemeister (@Cheesemeister3k) June 18, 2013

@Cheesemeister3k pic.twitter.com/uqqVnXIxj7

— Adam Anania (@daheatman2) June 18, 2013

For me, probably the funniest thing during last week's E3 was the reveal trailer of Smash Bros. for the Wii U and all the hilarity that followed. The internet picked up that poor villager character from Animal Crossing quickly, which was followed by crazy fictional character intro screens that have taken on a life of their own. Here's an original one, for example: the introduction screen for the Wii Fit Trainer. And here are all the terrific edits the internet contributed right after the trailer. I've grabbed the ones that are video game or anime related and have the funniest one liners, but feel free to post all the other great ones—or your own creations—in the comments below that mix Smash Bros. with completely different sections of popculture. sources: imgur via reddit, domskeet, eatle, ionosphere-negate, blue-bower To contact the author of this post, write to gergovas@kotaku.com

The upcoming 3DS Zelda game, A Link Between Worlds, shares much of the same terrain with the classic Super Nintendo game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. But the game's lead creator tells Kotaku that there are key map changes in this sequel. The new 3DS game is set at least a generation ahead of 1991's A Link to the Past, Nintendo's Zelda franchise boss Eiji Aonuma told me this past week as we chatted about the game at E3. (We talked about the upcoming Wind Waker re-make, too.) "It’s not a direct sequel in the sense that it’s the same Link and Zelda. The world is the same and it might be a different generation of Link and Zelda." When the game was announced earlier this year, players of A Link to the Past noticed that the new game's overworld appeard to be the same as the SNES game's. They're similar, Aonuma said, but not identical. This isn't a remake. "It’s the same world," he said. "It’s the same space. But in the same way that, over time, the topography can change, there will be some changes. The land will be affected a little bit. "The dungeons, for the most part, will be in the same place, but inside might change. Now that I say that out loud, it sounds a little strange, but we’re making decisions based on what’s best for gameplay. We’re picking and choosing what we change and what we don’t, so players can expect some changes." Both the SNES and 3DS games are viewed from the same overhead perspective, which emphasizes the visual similarities. The new Zelda adds some elements that can make even exploring the familiar parts of its map a novelty. For one, the game's hero, Link, can flatten himself into a drawing and then run across flat, vertical surfaces. "We’ve added a dimension," Aonuma said, noting that it could take a familiar location and let "players see it in a whole new light." And within at least one of the dungeons we've seen in the game, Nintendo's designers have added a lot of verticality, encouraging players to make Link climb and jump his way up, appearing to nearly ascend his way out of the screen if the player is playing with the system's 3D effects on. It's not clear just what the new game's "Link Between Worlds" title refers to, and Aonuma didn't want to say. Asked if A Link to the Past's Dark World would be returning—that's the photo negative version of the SNES game's entire map that players could transfer Link to and from—Aonuma playfully shrugged. I think we can bet on a dark world of some sort. Not because of how Aonuma reacted but because, well, there is the game's official logo. The new Zelda will be out for the 3DS in November. To contact the author of this post, write to stephentotilo@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @stephentotilo

You'd think The Pokemon Company would have gotten all of its Pokemon X and Pokemon Y news out during the major gaming trade show that just blew through, but no — the info train keeps rolling. Meet your trainer's pals, the first gym leader, and four new entries in the Kalos Region Pokedex. Let's do this from left to right, starting with the humans. We've got Santalune City Gym Leader Viola, along with her big sister, Alexa. Viola plays with bugs. Then we've got your trainer's three friends from starting location Vaniville Town — the dance-happy Tierno, curious Trevor, and chipper Shauna. Depending on the sex of your trainer, you'll also run into Serena or Calem, your next-door neighbor who you'll likely end up fighting over and over again. On the Pokemon side of things we've got (again from left to right) the fairy type Flabébé; fire/normal Litleo, who is ridiculously adorable; and Scatterbug and Spewpa, a pair of bug type Pokemon on the evolutionary path to becoming the butterfly-like Vivillon. Okay, The Pokemon Company — that's enough for now. We've got until October 12.

After being assaulted by a mix of horrific dubstep and "epic" video game trailer music for four days straight, it's time for something a little more traditional — something like Jake Kaufman's fantastic soundtrack for Mighty Switch Force 2. Mighty Switch Force 2 just hit the 3DS eShop yesterday, and a good 50 percent of why I bought it is this guy right here. Kaufman does the tunes for many of WayForward's works, delivering the perfect balance of weight and whimsy, every time. It's the sort of game music that's not afraid to get funky, and I am a big fan of funky. You can listen to the Mighty Switch Force 2 soundtrack in the little box below (or here) all day long if you'd like (be sure to hit up the brilliant remixes at the end). Then hit the download button and grab all 21 tracks for whatever price you want. <a href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/mighty-s...; data-mce-href="http://virt.bandcamp.com/album/mighty-s... Switch Force 2 OST by Jake Kaufman</a> You can even pay absolutely nothing, as long as you're fine with being a bit of a jerk.

At E3, our very own Jason Schreier had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with the new handheld Legend of Zelda game, A Link Between Worlds. There's a little bit of everything: exploration, combat, and Jason even demonstrates the new Merge feature for us, which lets Link become a wall painting to sneak by enemies. Clever! We also get to see some of the series' recurring items in action, such as the Fire Rod and the Hammer. A Link Between Worlds is set to come out this holiday season on the 3DS.

Good news for Smash Bros. fans: there's no tripping in the newest one. For the uninitiated: Tripping is the colloquial term for those moments in Smash Bros. Brawl when your character runs, stumbles, falls, and is temporarily stunned. Most fans hated it. When I asked my Twitter followers what they'd like to know about the new Smash game, announced for 3DS and Wii U, the number one question was: is tripping back? In an interview with me this morning, Smash designer Masahiro Sakurai confirmed that it's not. "To answer quite frankly, it will not return," he said through a translator. Cool! I'll have much more from my talk with Sakurai in the near future.

Out with the olds. Well that title was a mouthful. Basically, you're gonna sell Amazon some games, and in addition to the money they give you for said games, they're going to give you an additional $10 to put toward pre-orders. We feature lots of pre-order deals on the Moneysaver, and yes, the money can be applied to PS4 and XBONE games. The last time we covered an Amazon trade-in promotion it was very well-received, and while this deal isn't as extreme as that one was, it's still free money for things you may very well have been planning on doing anyway. [Amazon] Keep up with Shane Roberts on Kinja and Twitter. Check out Dealzmodo for more great tech deals, and Deals.Kinja.com for even more discounts. This is a Moneysaver One-Shot, a post focusing on a single deal, sale, or category. Join us every weekday at 2:15pm ET for the full Moneysaver roundup, brought to you by the Commerce Team. We're here to bring Kotaku readers the best gaming deals available, and to be clear, we also make money if you buy. We want your feedback.

Sonic the Hedgehog leads the march of digital offerings for Nintendo hardware this week. The line-up also includes games like Mighty Switch Force! 2 and Shining Force: Sword of Haiya. Here’s the full list.

At their E3 analyst briefing yesterday, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata revealed the company's plans to revitalize sales of its handheld 3DS system in the US and Europe by fundamentally changing the way its StreetPass feature works. Currently, StreetPass operates by exchanging game data between 3DS consoles in close proximity to each other. Iwata explained that while this works well in Japan, where, due to the large population density, people playing the same games on 3DS would run into each other often, in Europe and the United States, StreetPass is underutilized simply because there are less instances of chance meetings. To counteract this, Nintendo plans to implement a new framework via a system update for the 3DS, which will allow StreetPass communication to take place indirectly, via so-called StreetPass relay stations—basically, online servers accessed through public Wi-Fi access points. This way, 3DS consoles communicate with and leave their game data on a server instead of interacting directly with another console, not only increasing the chances of the data being received by another 3DS, but also allowing the same data to be received by multiple consoles instead of just one. In addition to updating StreetPass, Iwata also mentioned plans to "intensively release key first-party titles throughout this year," many of which are still unannounced, to let the 3DS gain momentum in all global markets. Known titles include some heavy hitters discussed at this year's E3, including Pokémon X/Y and The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. Nintendo E3 Analyst Briefing - Presentation [Nintendo Japan] Questions? Comments? Contact the author of this post at andras-AT-kotaku-DOT-com.

And it's lovely. Atlus, keep doin' what you're doin'.

Here's a mystery: why aren't the original Pokemon Red and Blue on the virtual console? People love those games, surely they'd throw money at them if they could. But judging from Game Freak's response to whether or not we could expect those games on the VC, people probably shouldn't get their hopes up—they're not coming anytime soon."We're always very careful—we believe that Pokemon is best on a handheld," Game Freak explained during a Q&A at E3 today. "If we were to put it on virtual console, on the home console, what would you do with the Pokemon you caught? It would be kind of stuck, was one of the concerns we've had." While not an outright no, they spent much of the start of the presentation talking about how important connectivity between all the games is. The combination of thinking that the main Pokemon games are best on handhelds, plus the inability to figure out how to make Red and Blue on consoles connect to the other handheld games makes their appearance on virtual console unlikely...for now. Hey, they've thought about it at least!

Super Smash Bros. had me giggling all day with the inclusion of the Wii Fit Trainer—unlike Fahey, I find that to be an inspired choice by Masahrio Sakurai, the series' creator. Here he gives an 8-minute debrief of new features and characters in the game, both for 3DS and Wii U. The 3DS version will have levels themed to Nintendo handheld titles—yes, that's Nintendogs you see. Wii U will get stages based on home console games. For high definition presentation, characters get a visual upgrade—Samus now looks like she does in Metroid: Other M and Pit has his look from Kid Icarus: Uprising. Mega Man has probably the best look of anyone in this video, as a perfect high-definition mimickry of his original NES sprites, right down to the blinks. As standard Mega Man he has only one punch, but with the variable weapons system, he gains other projectile attacks—some of which can be caught and thrown back at him. That seems to be the m.o. of the Villager from Animal Crossing. He can "collect" anyone's ranged attack and hurl it right back at them—including Samus' charge shot. So don't take him lightly. The Villager looks like he will beat you over the head, burn your house down and rob your corpse. To contact the author of this post, write to owen@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @owengood.

Breaking Smash Bros. news out of Nintendo's E3 booth event — along with Mega Man and Animal Crossing's villager, the Wii Fit trainer girl will be joining oh who cares.

Commandeer a ship, sail with your mates out of Tortuga, hunt for hidden treasures, and explore the possibilities!

It's the year of Luigi, but apparently Nintendo doesn't want him headlining a major trade show, so instead we get a charming little video about the game that takes place partially in his mind. It's the Herman's Head of video games. Yeah, I just pulled that out.

The first Animal Crossing game released in the U.S. in 2001 let players add joy to their villager's treasure-digging and furniture-arranging lives by collecting and playing emulated Nintendo Entertainment System games. There were Nintendo games within that Nintendo game. That's not coming back, the series' creator told Kotaku. "Please consider it's not happening ever again," Nintendo's Animal Crossing boss Katsuya Eguchi recently told me through a translator during a trans-continental video-conferenced interview. In the 2001 AC, gamers could go into their homes, approach a virtual NES and start playing Balloon Fight or Donkey Kong or several other games. There have been no retro games included in the subsequent Wii and DS versions of Animal Crossing nor in this month's new 3DS game, Animal Crossing: New Leaf. "At the time, we didn't have a Virtual Console system," Eguchi said, referring to the Wii, Wii U and 3DS online shops where Nintendo now sells retro games. "We thought that playing games inside of a game is kind of funny, and we wanted to do it. But now there's a Virtual Console where you can play classic games, so we don't think we will be doing that in future titles. Obviously, Nintendo makes more money selling retro games in a Virtual Console than including them for no extra cost in an Animal Crossing. But there's another way to look at this change. Animal Crossing has never been much of a traditional video game. There aren't enemies to fight or many directed quests to go on. It's more of a play space and a realm of collecting and self-expression. The inclusion of the old NES games in the early Animal Crossing may well have been an expression of apprehension by the game's creators, a worry that players needed more "video game" in this kind of game to really care. Now that Animal Crossing is a blockbuster series, it doesn't need such add-ons. People like it for the different kind of game it is. A lack of video games inside Animal Crossing also puts Nintendo in the position of implicitly endorsing the position of so many parents or anti-video game people. In the lands of our new AC villages the company is telling us to stop playing video games in our homes. They're urging us to go outside (in Animal Crossing) and make our own fun. Ah, there is one video game that would still be funny to include in future games of this series. I posed the question to Eguchi. "Would you ever at least let people play the old Animal Crossing in the new Animal Crossing games?" He laughed. "That might be interesting," he said. Let's not hold our breaths! To contact the author of this post, write to stephentotilo@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @stephentotilo

I'm a lucky gamer. I get to play games with the people who make them. I know it's the job and that it's usually tied to selling something, to puffing up a preview or what have you, but, hey, it's also fun. It's odd, too. You're in this virtual world with the people who made it. You're in the building with its architect. I've played a competitive Super Mario game against Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto. I first played Assassin's Creed with the man who created that series. Recently, I got to go hang out with the woman who directed the next Animal Crossing in her Animal Crossing town. How do these creators play their own games? Well, Miyamoto liked to grief the other players. The Assassin's Creed guy hand-delivered my copy of the game and then sat quietly and watched me play. Aya Kyogoku, co-director of Animal Crossing: New Leaf, gave me a tour. That's the one I'll tell you more about today. My New Leaf tour happened almost exactly a month ago, late on a Monday night in New York City and early in the morning in Kyoto, Japan. I'd gone to Nintendo's small satellite office in Manhattan. Kyogoku connected to me from Japan via video conference. Kyogoku sat in a meeting room where top Nintendo designers hash out new games. She was flanked by Animal Crossing series creator Katsuya Eguchi and her co-director Isao Moro. We turned on our 3DS systems and networked my pre-release U.S. version of New Leaf with her Japanese version of the game. I put my character on a train and left my in-game town, New Miami. I headed for hers, Nammi. The similar town names were just a coincidence, she told me through a translator. Eguchi opened up his 3DS in order to join us in Kyogoku's virtual town. Animal Crossing is an unusual kind of game to play with others. You don't connect with players to fight them. You don't connect to team up. You just visit, run around together and basically do what Kyogoku, Eguchi and I did. You see the sights, chat, talk about what the person in the town made. You see the progress they've made by digging fossils, decorating their homes, designing new clothes. Maybe you play around some. "This is the software that lets you express your personality to yourself or connect with other people to show off your personality to other people," Eguchi told me through our translator as I asked if he considered the Animal Crossing games, well, games. "From that standpoint, yes, that may not be the typical video game any more. It's more like software through which you can express yourself." It had been raining in my virtual home town. It was raining in Kyogoku's. More coincidence. I stepped of the train, and here were two of the game's creators as little Animal Crossing people. Kyogoku directed me to some objects outside the train station. They were at my feet. "I left you some gifts," she said. There were baskets of fruit. There was a present wrapped in special wrapping paper. She encouraged me to open the gift. It contained carp streamers, a gift that only Japanese gamers were slated to receive from the game on Children's Day in early May. I'd never have unlocked it in my American copy of the game. We'd found ourselves a good bullet point: she suggested that players could benefit from connecting to gamers in other countries to get items offered only in those regions. This wasn't a mere tour, obviously, it was a friendly sales pitch—with gifts. We all casually walked past a flag that just happened to have a Kotaku logo on it. Flattery! Later, they sent me a QR code to generate it. You can use that when you get the game, readers. Back to the tour. Kyogoku and Eguchi walked me over to a fountain. They were talking up New Leaf's new option to let you build bridges, fountains and other public works in the game's towns. You have to pay for those in in-game money (bells), of course. Perfect segue... We walked over to an area under development. "If you have enough bells you might be able to contribute to this public works project, too," Kyogoku said. "Hint. Hint." I didn't know there was going to be a cost to the interview, too. Oh, sure. I donated 300 Bells. We walked along a brick road that Kyogoku said she designed using in-game editing tools. She then showed me one of the homes she'd had one of her characters build in the game. She was trying to develop a hospital-themed house, Kyogoku told me, but hadn't found all the right items for it yet. You guys made the game, I said. You can't you punch in a code and have it show up? She laughed. She could do that on a pre-production version, she said. "This is a production version." I think that meant there are no cheats, but, wow, really? An Animal Crossing developer has to wait like the rest of us? Hmmm. We wound our way through the town. I kept snapping screenshots with my 3DS. We headed over to Kyogoku's primary home. She went inside. Eguchi stood by the mailbox. Just... go in? Yes, they told me. This was weird, maybe because I'm a mere Animal Crossing dabbler, maybe because this felt weirdly intimate. It felt different than hanging out outside in the virtual rain. Yes, we were playing a game. They were clearly trying to hype its features and generate a positive story. But I suddenly felt like I was imposing. Homes are private places. Walking into another person's—particularly that of a person who made the game—felt like a big step. Of course this wasn't really a home. I was just buying into the metaphor more strongly than I'd expected. "This is her own house," the woman serving as the translator for the interview said, I think for Mr. Eguchi. "It really reflects her own personality." I went in. The main room of her house was impressive. She had a laundry room, bathroom and storage room connected to the main room of her house. There was a basement downstairs. I asked if it was ok for me to check out the other rooms. "Yes," Mr. Eguchi said, teasing. "You're visiting a girl living by herself." "I'm a married man," I said, laughing and, well, that was a little weird. "Mr Eguchi is suggesting that you two should go to the second floor, which is her bedroom and take an evidence picture or something," the translator said. We all chuckled. "OK, only because he said so," I replied. I actually was poking around in the storage area. She was storing a lot of food there. And then...our 3DS connection dropped. Mr. Resetti, the in-game scold for any possible player-instigated technical errors, showed up. Connection lost. The Japanese developers and I were still connected via video conference, but our tour was done. We chatted more about the game. Kyogoku kept talking up new features. There's a "best friend" system, she said, which lets players get notifications on their 3DS systems when the other is playing the game. This allows them to chat without being in each other's towns. I'd read that Kyogoku was the person on the team responsible for giving players the new option to change the hours of the game's stores. If you set your ordinance for stores to be open at night, maybe you can ask your friend to set his to early bird, she said, so that you can connect and shop at each other's stores for an even longer part of the day. We talked about Tom Nook and what a misunderstood guy he is. Twice, as we talked, the lights went out in the meeting room in New York. It was late, close to 11pm. Nintendo shuts those lights down automatically, I guess. Mostly, once the tour was over, we talked about how much people like to relax while playing Animal Crossing, how it's pleasant. People of all sorts can meet each other in these towns and see what's what. It's strange, right? Thousands of years of human history leading to moments like this. We have people on opposite sides of the Earth meeting up for a walk through a virtual town. This is our world, complete with this odd gaming series where we don't fight, we don't race. We're just there, a little gracefully, a little awkwardly, making connections. This preview is based on a hands-on demo of about 10 minutes of the game. To contact the author of this post, write to stephentotilo@kotaku.com or find him on Twitter @stephentotilo

Okay parents, we've been through this twice before; this time we get it right. The latest installment of the franchise your children go crazy for is officially launching on October 13 in North America and October 18 in Europe. You should probably be taking notes. Skylanders: Swap Force features 32 completely new characters — 16 of which feature the nifty new swap mechanic — as well as more new versions of older characters, if the Ninja Stealth Elf shown in the Wii U starter pack above is any indication. The starter pack retails for $74.99, with regular characters priced at $9.99 and Swap Force characters taking on the Giants price tag of $14.99. As you madly dash from WalMart to WalMart at midnight on October 13, keep in mind that all 100+ original figures work in the game as well, so if you can't find the new figures, your kids can wait. Oh, and you might want to preorder — participating retailers will have an exclusive figure for mothers and fathers exhibiting foresight. Skylanders: Swap Force is coming to the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Wii and 3DS, with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions in the works as well.

I mean, come on, it's Animal Crossing. Nintendo's addictive life sim series has always maintained consistently high review scores, and New Leaf is no exception. Although a few chided New Leaf for its stubborn refusal to shake up the series' gameplay, the sheer number of customization options and the many ways to develop your town and build up your relationships made some consider this title the best Animal Crossing yet. Here's what six reviewers are saying. Destructoid Animal Crossing is a hard series to assess because, to this day, I still struggle to understand what I like about it. (...) Even so, every Animal Crossing excites me. Something about it always draws me in, even though I know it won't be long before my virtual life becomes a monotony of shaking trees, fishing, and paying off loans in a game that perpetuates itself through a constant shifting of goalposts. Eventually, as always happens, I'll get tired of it, and realize every game, no matter what else gets added, will always boil down to fruit and fishes. GamesRadar For newcomers, the main reason to choose New Leaf over any of the other versions is surely the fact you are now the town’s mayor, taking over from Tortimer who has semi-retired from work and now oversees activities on the Tropical Island. With your new title, you have the power to develop the town however you see fit. That means you can add practical objects like a second (or third) bridge over the river that runs through your town, or add aesthetically pleasing scenery elements like fountains or a lighthouse. EGM It wouldn’t be an Animal Crossing game without that decadent love for hoarding, and New Leaf has, by far, the most content in terms of furniture sets, clothing options, and city accessories. It’s about time we’re given the chance to customize the outside of our homes like we can their inside; for me, however, far more exciting was my wardrobe. Players have been given many more choices in clothing, and if you can’t find that perfect San Francisco Giants baseball cap or Japanese Gothic Lolita dress, you can now download an endless amount of texture creations made by other players via generated QR codes. (Of course, if you’re like me, the 10 provided slots the game gives for those custom textures doesn’t begin to be enough.) Joystiq Animal Crossing: New Leaf is really about striking a balance between your personal life as citizen and your professional life as mayor. I started focusing on projects, bringing both a nightclub and a "dream suite" to main street, the latter allowing me to check out other players' towns in a dream-like state. The dream suite felt largely useless, since you can't impact these towns in any way – and you can't bring back any goods – which means there's no clear benefit to bothering with the option at all. Dream suite aside, improving Hayward by working on projects and enacting ordinances made me feel more like a town caretaker than in past games. Being mayor equates to having more goals to achieve and more items to collect. IGN Then there’s the multiplayer, which is far beyond anything the series has ever attempted previously. As expected you can visit your friends’ houses either online or locally – dropping off gifts if you’re a good friend or chopping down their trees and messing up their flowers if you’re a big jerk. But that’s just the start. You can also visit “dream versions” of other villages in the Dream Suite. This allows players to upload their town for friends and strangers alike to visit. The genius part is that nothing visitors do actually affects the person’s real town since it’s just a dream. So you can go crazy stomping flowers and pissing off neighbors without paying the consequence of never being invited over again. Getting to be so bad without any negative repercussions is cathartic to say the least, and is a great way to encourage you to open your village to outsiders without the risk of a rude visitor ruining your town (and your day). Telegraph There’s a wonderfully endearing pointlessness to much of it. Take, for example, the coffee house (run, of course, by a moustachioed pigeon) where you can spend your virtual money on a steaming hot cup of the black stuff. There’s no reward for this – although continued loyalty gives you the opportunity to enjoy a takeaway coffee – beyond partaking in a familiar activity in a relaxing, peaceful world. It’s a game that rewards you in the best possible way. It subtly encourages generosity and altruism: part of the fun is in collecting items and upgrading your residence to turn your house into a palatial mansion with all mod cons, but your mayoral duties are more about creating a liveable place for others. Kotaku Most of Animal Crossing's design urges players to slow down. Yes, I mean this metaphorically, in that some of the smaller things in the game—like watching fireflies light up the night sky—can only truly be enjoyed if you step back and soak it in. But I mean it literally, too. If you run everywhere, you're going to destroy the flowers around town, you're going to scare away fish and insects. Animal Crossing is the rare game where I don't take the option to run, although it's there. That's kind of amazing. Top image courtesy of Gergő Vas. Questions? Comments? Contact the author of this post at andras-AT-kotaku-DOT-com.

Alas, it's just a Mother-themed mock-up created by a poster named Mazza on the Nintendo Blast forums (via Tiny Cartridge). I would buy the crap out of this. Nintendo, c'mon.

Let me tell you, I've done some fantastical things while playing games. Saved the world. Visited galaxies. Destroyed evil—you know, that sort of thing. And yet none of that has baffled me as much as the idea that there's a game where I accrued a home mortgage and was able to sit down and go, "Yes, okay, I will work for one hour to pay the entire thing off." Maybe it's just the part of me that graduated college and entered the workforce in the year of Occupy Wall Street talking, that this would stand out to me so much. Either way, that's the world of Animal Crossing—Nintendo's immensely charming life sim. Like previous games, players are dropped into a rural village full of quirky animal townsfolk. What happens from then on out is up to you, although, like always, you'll find yourself in debt to the Tom Nook, the raccoon. He's the one that builds and expands your house. Arguably, there are no shortage of things to do in town once you're settled in. You are given a home which you can furnish and landscape however you'd like, and to some extent you have that power over the town itself. That's because this Animal Crossing, unlike the ones before it, allows you to become mayor. This means you have the ability to construct "public works projects" which allow you to decorate the town. For a price, of course. The town itself is bursting at the seams with wildlife—from fish that change every season, to insects and bugs which buzz and crawl about. And every day, there are a number of fossils and precious gemstones to unearth. You're free to acquire as many of these resources as you can find. I can't help but recall days when, as a kid, I would visit the park with shovel and metal detector in hand, hopeful that there was treasure out there waiting to be found. Not treasure that could only be excavated out of ancient tombs or lost cities, but rather everyday treasure: a rusted horseshoe, a cracked seashell—that sort of thing. I didn't aim for anything grand, but I was never able to find much anyway. That's life, kid. But here, in the town where a bear is my neighbor and not a caged beast in a zoo, I know that I can set out every day and find the bones of three prehistoric beasts and at least one gem. If I'm stubborn and take to shaking the trees and turning over rocks, I might find sacks of bells (this game's version of money), too. If it's not obvious, Animal Crossing is a fantasy land. That is why my character wears a cute bear hat in the rain, that is why I let my character walk straight into the ocean with the knowledge there's absolutely no way I can drown. In a world where you can't drown, is it a surprise that my mortgage can wait indefinitely? The worst that can happen here is that I might scare off a fish or insect because I'm running too fast, or I might bump my butt against a jellyfish while diving for deep sea treasure. Their sting doesn't hurt, but it does look kind of funny. The game might appeal to our child-like sensibilities, but its simplified world works much like ours does. Money is important, and it's the reason that you'll indulge in fishing, bug catching, gardening and whatever else you decide to do for a profit. Although open-ended, you'll likely find yourself trying to build a dream house or taking up expensive projects around town. That stuff costs money. The mortgage might be easier to pay here, but you've still got to work and pay it; the escape can never be total. But that's okay. You have a whole lot more control over it all in a game like Animal Crossing—and even this little world has its own "escape." That's where the island resort area comes in, which you can ferry to. If your town is bursting with wild life and things to do, the island resort feels like it's exploding by comparison—to the extent that the island almost makes your town feel boring. It's a small space, but not only can you do minigames in exchange for coins that you can use in a special store, the game also generates sometimes exotic fish and insects at a much more rapid pace than it does in town. It kind of feels like too much, although it's a great way to make bells to pay stuff off. Curiously, one of the things that's stood out to me about Animal Crossing is the type of living it promotes—particularly when compared to my own ideals. In real life, I reject so many of the ideals the game encourages me to participate in: domesticity, small town life, the grind, amongst other things. But in the game, I play along gleefully. I'm into it. I might have sounded detached at some points as I analyze the game, but oh no, I'm definitely in love with it. The other night I could barely sleep because I was thinking about my long-term plan for my house—and yet the idea of owning one in real life is immensely unappealing to me. It's not just that, either. Stuff like gardening and flowers? Hell. No. And yet can you explain to me why every day I'm watering this bed of tulips around my house? Playing this game feels absurd, and yet here I am. I don't use a white picket fence or anything, but I might as well. I'm even bringing over friends to my town to show it all off. Ack. The game is bullshit, but I only say that because I'm not a fan of what my in-game choices seem to reveal about myself. If I was to "blame" my complicity on something, I would point straight to the villagers. Each one has a personality, and up to ten villagers can live in your town. Your interaction with them is not what I'd call deep (unfortunately!)—most of the time, the animals will talk at you, and your responses and actions are limited—but the writing is incredibly strong. I've had a sheep ask me why so many pop songs talk about "shawtys." I've had a bear urge me that—dude, bro—I should totally carbo-load. It's so silly, like having a bunch of cute stuffed animals coming to life, but it's difficult not to get sucked into their weird little world. That'll mean a lot of things, like doing errands for villagers, making sure that they stay hip to the newest lingo, and sometimes even picking fleas from their fur. Don't think it's all fun and games with the townsfolk, either. If you check in with your secretary, you can hear about what the townsfolk expect for the town's upkeep. You're free to ignore what the townsfolk say, although listening to their wishes is good if you're the type of person that needs a little direction. On top of this, the townsfolk will sometimes demand that you devote attention to specific public works projects. So you see, they might be adorable but they still want something from you. Beyond this, what's stood out to me the most about New Leaf is its pace. It's not just that I'm a city girl at heart. Much of life's conveniences and pleasures have become instant—from movies to food. Mind, I don't say that negatively; I don't think there's anything wrong with a fast-paced life. But most games take my impatience into account; some even bank on it. For a price, things can move quicker. For a price, I can buy the cosmetic items I want. In Animal Crossing, everything seems to happen tomorrow. Mayor certification? Tomorrow. House upgrade? Tomorrow. New store or venue in town? Tomorrow. Visitor in town? Tomorrow. Planting something? It'll start growing tomorrow. You're going to wait a whole ton while playing. At first, it's irritating—especially when you consider that many things are only available from 8am to 10pm at first (this can later be changed via "town ordinances," which allow players to dictate edicts for the town). Sure, you have something to look forward to in the future (if you happen to have free time during the day), but gosh, why does every little thing in the game exist in the future? It's difficult not to have the entire thing feel like that night right before an exciting field trip; the anticipation is palpable. That's especially the case when you're not always sure what's going to happen "tomorrow"—maybe there's a fishing competition, maybe you have a traveling merchant visit your town, maybe the season finally changes and the available wildlife changes. You're going to have to play and see. Clever, clever. That's how they hook you. Adjusting to this patient pace seems inevitable. Most of Animal Crossing's design urges players to slow down. Yes, I mean this metaphorically, in that some of the smaller things in the game—like watching fireflies light up the night sky—can only truly be enjoyed if you step back and soak it in. But I mean it literally, too. If you run everywhere, you're going to destroy the flowers around town, you're going to scare away fish and insects. Animal Crossing is the rare game where I don't take the option to run, although it's there. That's kind of amazing. It all serves a purpose, of course. Slowing down makes me feel more observant, more able to pick up on the small complexities of the game's world. As a quick example: it never crossed my mind that the mysterious faraway buzzing might be insects which I have to dig up—not at first, anyway. I was moving too fast. I wasn't noticing where the sound became louder and where it seemed to fade away; I wasn't connecting the dots. Not when I ran everywhere, anyway. Admittedly, some of the complexities are difficult to pick up on, period. You can't know that you can make hybrid flowers with special colors unless you've played previous games, you stumble on it, or unless someone tells you. Still, there's more to Animal Crossing than immediately meets the eye. I can't say I wanted to escape to an idyllic town that taps into childish fantasies yet also betrays some of my core ideals. But, gosh, it's such a charming game. How could I resist?

E3 is just around the corner and, for the fifth year in a row, we're taking a look back at the big three's big E3 promises. What came true, and what didn't? Coming up now is Nintendo, following yesterday's look at Sony. Microsoft will have its turn tomorrow. For Nintendo, E3 2012 was all about the Wii U. No surprises there; being halfway through the year, the company was nearing the inevitable launch of the console. Thus, they did everything they could to make the Wii U appealing for the masses, to gamers casual and hardcore alike—with the 3DS being put on the sidelines, getting only a few announcements. Comparison time! What did Nintendo promise, and what did we get? Let's take a look. The Wii U The Promise: The Wii U will have its own dedicated screen. The Verdict: Promise kept. Not only does the GamePad have a screen, it is also a touchscreen, which allows better interactivity with games. Although some were annoyed at the lack of multi-touch. The Promise: You can use the Wii U GamePad to turn games on quickly. The Verdict: Promise kept, but with problems. Initially, the Wii U took very long to return to the system menu when exiting a game. This was eventually patched by Nintendo on April 25, 2013. Furthermore, there was also a massive Day 1 firmware update which kept a large amount of players from actually playing their games on launch day. The Promise: You can use the subscreen (ie. the GamePad's screen) simultaneously with the TV screen. The Verdict: Promise kept. The GamePad's screen serves as an important input tool for several Wii U games, and acts as an extension of a Wii U game's HUD. The Promise: The Wii U will support two separate GamePads. The Verdict: Promise not yet kept. Currently, there are no games out for the Wii U that actually support dual GamePad input. They are expected to start coming out in 2013. The Promise: The Wii U will support Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, and Amazon Video. The Verdict: Promise kept. All four services were available on the Wii U at launch. Miiverse The Promise: Along with the Wii U, Nintendo will introduce Miiverse, a Nintendo-specific social network that lets players create posts, reply to others' posts, and share screenshots and drawings. The Verdict: Promise kept. The Miiverse launched alongside the Wii U on November 18, and allowed players to interact with each other through their Miis. The Promise: You will eventually be able to join Miiverse using the 3DS, the PC, and any web-enabled mobile device. The Verdict: Promise not fully kept. The web portal for Miiverse launched on April 25, 2013, with full funcionality being enabled a month later. The 3DS is scheduled to get Miiverse later this year. The Promise: The Miiverse can be interacted with ingame; for example, it can show messages from other players while you're playing. The Verdict: Promise kept, in a way. Miiverse integration is a specific feature that has to be implemented separately in each Wii U game. Only a few titles, including New Super Mario Bros. U, Resident Evil Revelations, and Nintendo Land, have this feature. More are on the way. Wii U Games The Promise: The following third party games will be released for the Wii U: Aliens: Colonial MarinesDarksiders 2Mass Effect 3Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's EdgeTank! Tank! Tank!Tekken Tag Tournament 2Trine 2: Director's Cut The Verdict: Promise almost kept. Each of these games was a launch title, coming out on November 18, 2012 along with the Wii U—except for Aliens: Colonial Marines, which was in development until it was officially cancelled on April 5, 2013. The Promise: Ubisoft will release the following games for the Wii U: Assassin's Creed 3Avengers: Battle for EarthESPN Sports ConnectionsRabbids LandRayman LegendsYour Shape Fitness Evolved 2013 The Verdict: Promise almost kept. Battle for Earth was released on December 4, 2012, while Rayman Legends was delayed multiple times, its current expected release date being September 3, 2013. The other four games were released on November 18, 2012 as launch titles. The Game: Pikmin 3. The Promise: Pikmin 3 will be released for the Wii U, and it will feature a "more detailed portrayal of the Pikmin" and "greatly enhanced gameplay." The Verdict: Promise not yet kept. Pikmin 3 is currently scheduled to be released on August 4, 2013. The Game: New Super Mario Bros. U. The Promise: New Super Mario Bros. U will be released for the Wii U, featuring off-TV play and a "Boost Mode," which lets one player manipulate the level by placing platforms while the others play as normal. The Verdict: Promise kept. New Super Mario Bros. U was released as a launch title for the Wii U on November 18, 2012. The Game: Batman: Arkham City. The Promise: Open world action title Arkham City will come to the Wii U as "Arkham City: Armored Edition," featuring exclusive skins and GamePad controls. The Verdict: Promise kept. Arkham City: Armored Edition was a launch title, coming out on November 18, 2012 along with the Wii U. This release also included every DLC released for the main game. The Game: Scribblenauts Unlimited. The Promise: Sandbox/word game hybrid Scribblenauts Unlimited will be released for the Wii U, and will feature a workshop which lets you create new objects and share them with other players for use in their games. The Verdict: Promise kept. Scribblenauts Unlimited launched on November 13, 2012. The Game: Wii Fit U. The Promise: Wii Fit will be updated and released for the Wii U as Wii Fit U, featuring new events, exercise routines, and off-TV play. The Verdict: Promise not yet kept. Wii Fit U is still in development, and is scheduled to be released in Japan this summer. No release date has been set for North America. The Game: Sing. The Promise: Sing, a karaoke game, will come to the Wii U. One player, using the GamePad and the included microphone, can sing and dance along to a song, getting real-time scores. Others can join in by following the instructions on the TV. The Verdict: Promise kept. Sing was released as "SiNG PARTY" on November 18, 2012, as a Wii U launch title. The Game: Lego City Undercover. The Promise: Undercover, an action-adventure sandbox, will be released for the Wii U. You get to play an undercover cop and "solve crimes using the GamePad." The Verdict: Promise kept. Lego City Undercover was released on March 18, 2013. The Game: Just Dance 4. The Promise: Ubisoft's latest in the Just Dance series of dancing games will be released for the Wii U, with a special "Puppet Master" game mode which lets one player, via the GamePad, change the dance choreography of a song on the fly. The Verdict: Promise kept. Just Dance 4 came out on November 18, 2012, as a launch title. The Game: ZombiU. The Promise: Ubisoft's roguelike-esque first-person zombie survival game ZombiU will be released exclusively for the Wii U. Gameplay will feature the GamePad prominently, with the controller being part of your "survival kit." The Verdict: Promise kept. ZombiU was one of the Wii U's launch titles, released on November 18, 2012. The Game: Nintendo Land. The Promise: Nintendo will release a minigame collection called Nintendo Land for the Wii U, which will feature minigames, both single- and multi-player, based on Nintendo's franchises. Players will play different roles in the games depending on whether they use a GamePad or a Wiimote. The Verdict: Promise kept. Nintendo Land was—you guessed it—a launch title. It came out on November 18, 2012, and included twelve different minigames in total. 3DS Games The Promise: The following third-party games will be released for the 3DS: Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of FateDisney's Epic Mickey: Power of IllusionKingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop DistanceScribblenauts Unlimited The Verdict: Promise kept. The games and their release dates, in chronological order; Kingdom Hearts 3D on July 31, 2012, Scribblenauts Unlimited on November 13, 2012, Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion on November 18, 2012, and finally Castlevania: Mirror of Fate on March 5, 2013. The Game: New Super Mario Bros. 2. The Promise: Nintendo's 2006 Mario game for the DS, New Super Mario Bros., will get a sequel on the 3DS on August 19, 2012. The Verdict: Promise kept. The Game: Paper Mario: Sticker Star. The Promise: The new Paper Mario will feature collectable stickers that enhance the turn-based battles and help you advance through the environment. It will be released in the 2012 holiday season. The Verdict: Promise kept. Sticker Star was released on November 11, 2012. The Game: Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon The Promise: The sequel for the 2001 GameCube game will feature several mansions for Luigi to explore, and a mission-based progression system. Coming in the 2012 holiday season. The Verdict: Promise kept... after a while. Dark Moon was delayed to 2013, and was eventually released on March 24. The Game: Lego City. The Promise: A portable version of Lego City Undercover will be available for the 3DS. The Verdict: Promise kept. A 3DS Lego City game, called The Chase Begins, was released on April 21, 2013. It's all about compromises with Nintendo. Yes, games load fast... but the menu doesn't. Yes, we got the next Luigi's Mansion... but it wasn't on time. We got Miiverse in browsers, but not on the 3DS. At least the one exact date they revealed—New Super Mario Bros. 2's day of release—was correct. Return tomorrow for Kotaku's analysis of Microsoft's E3 promises.

Time to level with all of you. I have an embarrassing secret. My hands sweat… a lot. This condition (hyperhidrosis, if you want the fancy medical name) has been a part of me ever since I was a little kid. Luckily, aside from being cripplingly embarrassed whenever I had to hold someone else’s hands (something that happens a lot more in those childhood years than you probably remember), it generally hasn’t affected my life or the things I like to do. That is until touch screen gaming entered the fray. When it first started catching on with the Nintendo DS, it wasn’t any problem as you could use the stylus. But as gaming on the iPhone got big and the Vita game out, I began to loath touch screen gaming in general. Of course, this is for one reason only. Because of my sweaty hands, it is nearly impossible to play them. I don’t know what it is about sweat on a touch screen, but basically, after a few minutes of gaming, the system—be it iPhone, Vita, or Wii U—stops registering your taps. Or, more correctly, it doesn’t stop registering your past taps (as if your finger was still pressing on the screen) so the new ones don’t register either. Worse yet, neither wiping off the screen nor rebooting the system solve the problem. Usually, I have to wait a good ten minutes for the screen to air dry before I can start up again. Of course, if I am calm and sitting in a cool room, I am usually fine and sweat free, but if there is any kind of exciting action or I am stressing out over a difficult encounter (or if the room temperature is just plain hot), my hands might as well be a fountain. Now, I do keep a towel handy, but a mere few seconds after drying my hands they are sweaty again. And of course, I use a screen protector but that doesn’t seem to make any difference. But how bad is it really? Well, I’m generally lucky if I can get through even three wishes in Robot Unicorn Attack 2. And I must have played that final fist fight in Uncharted: Golden Abyss a good dozen times as each time I got near the end of the fight, my swipes stopped registering. But even Zero Escape: Virtues Last Reward—a puzzle game with no time requirements—gave me no end of problems when suddenly I could no longer touch the items I needed to use. In the end, I hate touch screen gaming as it feels like it is mocking me—saying, “Look at all these fun games you could be playing. Oh, wait! You have sweaty hands. These games are not for you. Go away!” So, am I doomed to be left behind as touch screen games become more and more widespread? Am I the only one with this problem? Apparently not, as there are many online posts related to sweat and touch screens, particularly about smart phone screens. Some claim that certain brands of screen protectors work better than others. For the condition itself, there are quite a few remedies to consider, including daily medication, botox, or even surgery. So maybe there is hope for sweaty hands gamers like me. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am. To contact the author of this post, write to BiggestinJapan@gmail.com or find him on Twitter @BiggestinJapan.

It's the first Sonic the Hedgehog game of the current generation of consoles, technically, and it's bringing Sonic up-to-date, Super Mario Galaxy style. Sega may be calling it Sonic Lost World, but to me it'll always be Super Sonic the Hedgehog Galaxy. It's a good thing this is exclusive to Nintendo consoles, because we wouldn't want to get that SMG funk all over the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One. No, this is has Nintendo written all over it, from its color-coded new villains (The Deadly Six, because Sinister Six was taken) to the self-contained floating levels to the inclusion of Color Powers, a carry over from Sonic Colors (Sonic Colours in Europe) that could, if you squint real hard, be compared to Mario suits. It's a pretty game, but then no one ever accused the franchise of being ugly. Super Sonic the Hedgehog Galaxy will be out later this year for the 3DS and Wii U. In case you missed the trailer, you can see it here. Looking for 3DS shots? Squint your eyes until these look all pixelated.

This fall's Nintendo-only Sonic game, Sonic Lost World, looks like it'll feature 2D and 3D gameplay, similar to the other recent pretty-good Sonic games. IGN just ran the game's first trailer, which you can see above. The trailer hypes Sonic's new moves. I see a wall run, Prince of Persia-style. What jumps out to you? Sonic Lost Worlds Debut Trailer [IGN, YouTube]

You might know Japanese celebrity Mari Yaguchi from her appearance in Yakuza 4. Or maybe you remember her days in pop group Morning Musume. Or you might have recently heard Yaguchi's husband caught her screwing another man. On May 21, Japanese magazine Josei Seven published an article, claiming that Yaguchi's husband, 27 year-old actor Masaya Nakamura, discovered the 30 year-old star in bed with a 25 year-old male model. The article also stated the couple had been separated for the past three months. You know what else was published this week? Yaguchi's regular column in Japanese game magazine, Famitsu. In the article, she showed off screenshots from her Tomodachi Collection: New Life game. In them, you can see images of Mari's Mii and her husband's Mii, holding hands in front of a giant heart. Yaguchi wrote that it was recently her husband's birthday, and she had a "big birthday party" for him in Tomodachi Collection: New Life. "Whaddaya think of this happy face my husband is making?" Yaguchi asked about her husband's Mii. In the article, Yaguchi wrote, "Aren't we so lovey dovey? How embarrassing." That was followed with a bashful emoticon. Yaguchi has since apologized publicly—not for the Famitsu article, but for cheating on her husband. Incidents like this, while private, can damage a celebrity's reputation in Japan. According to Yahoo! News Japan, the star will not be appearing on television show Hirunan this week with the reason being she's not feeling well. Online in Japan, people seem to think that she's not appearing on TV due to this latest scandal. She probably has more pressing matters: like, perhaps, saving her marriage. In case you missed it, check out Kotaku's Tomodachi Collection: New Life impressions. 今週のファミ通の矢口が酷いと話題に [2ch] To contact the author of this post, write to bashcraftATkotaku.com or find him on Twitter @Brian_Ashcraft. Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.