Revised ROTM - March 2009

[Rosaru]

Alright, my turn to try =]

Megaman Battle Network 5 Double Team DS!

Story:
The Year is 20XX. Everything in this world is activated through the Human-Cyber Intercommunication. We begin the story in a Flashback to the year 19XX, where Dr. Hikari and Dr. Wiley discuss their recent project. Once the flashback ends, we meet Lan Hikari, The world's past Hero, and his NetNavi Partner Megaman.EXE. They receive an email from Lan's Father, Soichiro Hikari, to come to SciLab, and to bring all of his friends, Mayl, Yai, and Dex. Soichiro claimed to have "something amazing" to show everyone.

Once the children arrive at SciLab, all is well. However, before Soichiro can begin the presentation, SciLab is attacked! Smoke Bombs are placed everywhere, with a Sleeping Gas implanted in each one. While everyone sleeps, the criminals that walk in Steal both Soichiro AND the children's PErsonal Terminals(PETs). Lan, however, remained safe, for his father requested he go to obtain something in the back room, and thus was unnoticed by the criminals.

What horrors await our heroes next? Find out in Megaman Battle Network 5 Double Team DS!

Gameplay:


As Lan Hikari in the Real World, you Travel throughout Electopia, Netopia, and the broad world of the Battle Network Series. The most you can do as Lan are special Story-required activities, such as activating switches, Talking to people, and going to certain areas. Other than that and Jacking in, which takes Megaman to the Internet, Lan doesn't really do much in the game. You are able to talk to Megaman by tapping him on your touch screen, or by pressing the L Button. By tapping the Access Button, you enter your battle Chip folders, Options, Navi Customization, etc.

As Megaman.EXE, you travel the Internet in order to help your Team, whether it be Colonel or Protoman(all depends on which game you chose in the "New Game" Decision). Until you run into a battle, it is virtually like you are Lan. However, the Story-important Scenes are much more exciting and filled with a bit more action than Lan's side.

Official E3 May 2005 Trailer
Original MMBN5:

Double Team DS

Battling:

When you encounter a "virus"(think of them as Wild Pokemon, for those of you needing a reference), it happens randomly and you enter the battle. Battling may take some time to get used to. For one, Both you and your opponent(s) are given a 3x3 square to maneuver throughout. You are only allowed to occupy one square at a time, and your objective is to defeat Every Virus opposing you.

The 3x3 Rule is sometimes challenged in Liberation Missions, however. When you enter Liberation Battles, you are only given 3 turns to defeat your opponent, and you may be faced with a different playing field, depending on the layout of the DarkPanel(s). If you are surrounded, you will be surrounded in the battle, with a 2x3 Grid, using the L and R buttons to turn around. You can also gain the advantage, with the right setup, allowing yourself a 4x3 Grid, and your opponent only having a 2x3 grid. The key to this game's formation is Strategy, so keep that in mind!


Players will use the Battle Chip System, which are special types of attacks that are performed in order of how you select them. You can only select Chips of the same kind or of the same letter code

[Example: Sword S can only be combo'd with either another Sword of any letter, or with LongSword S and WideSword S]

If you run out of your 5 Battle Chips, you still can fight, by using Megaman's Default MegaBuster, which is used by pressing the B Button.

Unlike the other Megaman Games, you can use special forms of character data, based off of your Team Mates, which allows you to temporarily become that Team member!

[Example: Megaman can use this ability to become Protoman for the battle, and fight as him!]

Also new to Battle Network 5 is the Dark Chips. These chips can now be COLLECTED as actual chips, unlike in Battle Network 4 where they only appeared if Megaman was losing confidence in himself. They are used like normal chips, and can also be used for the Soul Unison, which combines Megaman with his Teammates' abilities. You must use a Battle Chip/Dark Chip of the correct type, however, to be able to Use Soul/Chaos Union.


Let's Meet Our Heroes!:
Megaman and Lan
These two are the heroes of the game. They have been famed as one of the best Navi-Operator Teams in the world. This is their 5th time saving the world, this time from the DarkChip Syndicate Organization, a group of criminals who revealed themselves in Battle Network 4: Red Sun and Blue Moon. They have been attacked at SciLab, and now his dad is gone! The group rushes to find and save his dad while Hurrying to Save the world at the same time!


Graphics:
The Graphics are Virtually the same as in the predecessor, Battle Network 4, however the colors have brightened, and, with the DS's range of abilities, this game has incorporated minor 3D effects into the game, such as jacking in, and interacting with Megaman. The Battle System is excellent, in my opinion at least. It just needs to diversify its types of Battle Chips in my opinion. The Sprites, the characters, and the landscape are all done excellently, and with the Angled View of gameplay, everything can be seen, however is still well-hidden from the average human eye.

Sound:

The music is perfect for a Battle Network Game. In the Videos above you have heard the Intro-Theme to the Game, and along with the background music of areas, the only problem is how repetitive it eventually gets. Either way, here are some of the songs incorporated into the game:



Hero:

General Battle:

Internet Walk Theme:

Nebula Grey(Final Battle):

Chain of wish(Ending Credits)

Replay Value:
Once you have beaten the game, there is still quite a bit to do. You can go out and collect Every Battle Chip to obtain more emblems on the Title Screen, you can go out to fight Bass, and you can continue your general journey throughout the internet. I still find time occasionally to play to look through a different area of the Internet to find a powerful enemy to fight.


Multiplayer:
There isn't too much to say about Multiplayer mode. It is decent for when you actually have people to play against, trade Chips with, and such, however I believe this game's true Potential was being held back when Nintendo decided not to give it Wifi compared to the Star force 2 Games.

Time Spent/Wasted(Depends how you view it):

I spent about a solid week to defeat the entire game, and this was non-stop playing. Your leisurely gamer will love this game, and it is strongly recommended to play, even if you only try it once.


OVERALL:
Gameplay - 8/10
+ Excellent battle system, stuck with the traditional Battle Network Theme
+ Soul and Chaos Union Spice up this game with more surprises awaiting and new abilities to unlock
+ Liberation Missions are an excellent addition, giving the game a whole new perspective
- Battle Chip Variations were not as wide as from the BN3-->BN4 Gap

Sound - 7/10
+ Excellent quality, if you are bored one day, download the soundtrack
- Occasionally got repetitive, and some songs were generally the same(Hero, Chain of Wish, intro)

Replay Value - 6.5/10
+ There are extra missions to undergo, with a 2nd story within the Undernet
- If you continuously play it, it will get boring, play in short increments.

Graphics - 7/10
+ Sprites are colorful and bright, with new designs to gaze at in amazement
- Could have changed the physical appearances of some characters, if only a little.

Multiplayer - 7/10
+ The Battling over wireless is flawless, with little problems
+ It is fun to obtain new chips not normally obtainable in my own game
- The Lack of wifi capability minimizes the Game's potential as a best-seller.

Total - 7.1/10 (Yes, I used a calculator for the average, so sue me >_>)
+ An excellent addition to the MMBN Series, really ties together the story after Battle Network 4.
- Seems a lot LIKE Battle Network 4 in abilities and Battle Chips, Capcom must have been running out of ideas.

[Xander]

Would Mega Man be considered an under rated game? Other than good review.

[Rosaru]

Originally Posted by Xander Would Mega Man be considered an under rated game? Other than good review.

Imo I thought that this didn't get much recognition. Most people thought the Battle Network Series began to fail after BN3: Blue and White.

So imo, it is an underrated game =]

[Smart]

The review I am entering is for Wario Land: Shake It!, a game I believe is very underrated and not well known throughout the community. Look forward to seeing it sometime tonight.

[Smart]

Here's my review of Wario Land: Shake It! for the Nintendo Wii.

WARIO LAND: SHAKE IT!
A Review by SMART



Console: Nintendo Wii
Release Date: September 22, 2008 [NA]

INTRODUCTION

Wario Land: Shake It! is the latest game to be released in the Wario Land series, which started out on the Game Boy in 1994 when Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 was released. The game consists of controlling Wario through a series of different islands, each with about five stages. Within each stage you must solve various puzzles, smash blocks that get in your way, and defeat enemies that try to stop you. While this may sound like your typical platformer, there is much more to this game than meets the eye. Read on to find out what exactly makes this game so special.


STORY

The story of Wario Land: Shake It! is not exactly one of the most intriguing you will hear (as is the case with many other Nintendo platformers). It begins with an ancient globe being exhibited at a museum, inside of which is another world called The Shake Dimension. The Shake Dimension has been taken over by the marauding pirate known as the Shake King, who has imprisoned Queen Merelda and her Merfle subjects. He has also stolen the invaluable "Bottomless Coin Sack," which gives unlimited coins to the holder when shaken. A female pirate called Captain Syrup (Wario's main ally throughout the game) observes the crisis in The Shake Dimension from the real world; desiring the treasure she steals the globe from the museum and sends it to Wario. When Wario receives the globe, one of the Merfles from inside The Shake Dimension escapes into the outside world. The Merfle makes a plea to Wario, asking him to save Queen Merelda and defeat the Shake King. Wario accepts the offer in hopes of retrieving the Bottomless Coin Sack for himself.

While the story may not be very deep, most of Nintendo's platformers (such as Super Mario 64) have never really had a great story to begin with. As with many of Nintendo's games, Shake It!'s true strength comes from it's solid gameplay (more on that in a bit).

The Shake King claims the "Bottomless Coin Sack"

Here is a video of the opening cinematic of the game:

GRAPHICS & INTERFACE

Wario Land: Shake It! features beautiful hand-drawn "cartoon esque" graphics. The game looks visually stunning for a 2D game, with fluid animation and solid backgrounds. Few platformers today could stand up to this level of polish. I am extremely pleased with what Nintendo has done with this game in terms of graphical design. As for the interface, there really isn't one to speak of besides your heart containers which is shown in the upper left-hand corner and the amount of coins you have collected which is shown in the upper right-hand corner; however when playing in 16:9 mode, the treasures you have collected and different missions are listed to the left in right. This comes in handy when you need to know what treasures you have yet to acquire. The actual gameplay itself is constricted to a 4:3 presentation, something a found a little disappointing seeing as the game would have looked great in a 16:9 presentation. This is little to complain about in a game that looks so stunning, however.

Wario swings through a jungle-themed stage

SOUND The sound featured in Wario Land: Shake It! is simple yet effective, like many other things in this game. Each level has a different tune that goes along with it, most of them being very solid. Every boss battle has an engaging soundtrack that goes with the battle as well. Sound effects in the game are great in the sense that they go along with the game's cartoony style. Overall a simple yet astoundingly effective soundtrack is yet another plus for WL: Shake It!. Here is one example of the soundtrack featured in this game:

-Stonecarving City Soundtrack-

GAMEPLAY

As stated in the introduction, the gameplay of Wario Land: Shake It! may seem a little simple at first. Maybe a little too simple for some. But the beauty of this game is not that it has an amazing, in-depth and complicated system of gameplay, rather the game features such a solid gameplay structure reminiscent of older retro platformers. WL: Shake It! is a breath of fresh air for some older gamers who are looking for a taste of the past with a new, modern look. So what makes this game so special? For one, the stages are made to be linear; however this is not one of those games where you feel like someone is holding your hand and guiding you through the stages. Instead, within each level there are different paths you can take to find certain treasures and bags of money. At the end of each stage you must rush back to the entrance; while doing so you will find some paths that can only be accessed during the mad dash back to the beginning of the level.

Secondly, the game features some very intuitive and tight controls. When holding an object you can shake it by shaking the Wii Remote. If it's a coin bag you're holding, you'll get coins, and if you shake an enemy you will sometimes get a piece of garlic that restores your health. When controlling Wario you can shake the Wii Remote and use an ability that sometimes move obstacles out of your way and stuns your enemies. There are many different moves you can do such as a ground pound and a rush attack which breaks blocks.

In every level of Shake It! there are three treasures and three missions for you to accomplish, greatly adding to the replay value of the game. The missions vary from jumping on a certain enemy three times in a row to finishing a stage in a certain amount of time. In every world there is also a bonus stage, the difficulty of which is much higher than a regular stage. The game itself is not very difficult, but collecting all the treasure pieces, defeating the final few bosses, and completing every mission is no easy task. Captain Syrup also runs a shop in which you can buy maps of different worlds as well as heart pieces and health-restoring potions. To sum up, the gameplay of WL: Shake It! is amazingly simple and refreshing, yet truly fun and engaging at the same time.

-Whoopsy Desert Gameplay Video-

Wario runs towards an enemy in this ice-themed stage

CONCLUSION

Wario Land: Shake It! is not a very well known game to most people. I myself did not know of it's existence until I purchased it about a week ago. The purpose of this review was to inform the Nintendo Pals community about this gem of a game. Shake It! has (surprisingly) flown under the radar of must-have Wii games. This game appeals to both casual and hardcore gamers, something that is very hard to accomplish these days. The game features a pick up and play playstyle, making it approachable by casual gamers and an instant classic for more experienced gamers. The flaws of this game are few, and those flaws themselves are very minor (the shaking of the Wii Remote may sometimes get a little repetitive, there is no multiplayer, and it doesn't take too long to beat). In the end I would definitely recommend renting this solid game if you haven't checked it out already, as it is one of the best games to have been released on the Nintendo Wii console. Thanks for reading!

RATINGS

Graphics - 9
Sound - 8
Replay Value - 9
Value - 8

[Smart]

I won't be here for most of the day tomorrow so good luck to all those who entered!

-Smart

[Unfraggable1]

I'm very impressed by you guys! You entered a bit late, but now that we have everyone, this is going to be a pretty solid competition.

One thing I'd like to say before voting starts though, is to please leave personal relationships out of your votes. Don't vote for someone just because they're your friend, vote for the review they write. I get the feeling that a lot of the people in the Royal Knights of Smash are going to be inclined to vote for Xander, and probably the same for the Shadow Warriors voting for me. I'd just like to ask everyone to read the reviews, and not to let this turn into a popularity contest.

[carlosjfer]

No we dont have everyone yet
Im going to submit my review soon, like in an hour.
I dont expect to win, as its my first review but Im giving it a shot anyways.
Like Unfraggable1 said, please vote fairly and good luck to everyone!

[carlosjfer]

Okay well here's my first review ever...on Warioware Smoothmoves!

Warioware Smoothmoves
Release date: January 17, 2007
Console: Nintendo Wii

Introduction

The WarioWare series has been around since the good old gameboy days. The first WarioWare game ever released was on the gameboy was WarioWare, Inc: Mega Microgames$! Released on May 21, 2003 followed by the Gamecube release, WarioWare Inc: Mega Partygame$! which was released on April 5, 2004. Then it made its debut into the DS as Warioware: Twisted on May 23, 2005. Last but not least, after about four years after the release of the first title in the WarioWare series, its debut in the United States on the Wii on January 17, 2007 as WarioWare: Smoothmoves. Now this series has been around in four consoles so far, including the Wii, and not many have accomplished that. All the previous WarioWare games have influenced the Wii version. Even after four years after the first title, one thing never changes about it: the fun minigames or “microgames” games are always there! Now with over 200 new “microgames”, this game is different for the rest in its series, with a lot to live up to!

Story

For a game like this, there really isn’t much of a need for a story, but there sort of is one. This game starts off as Wario stumbling into a temple, looking for his food that has been stolen. After walking a bit, he sees a balance stone (Wii remote) on the floor. He picks it up as if it is a magical treasure. After that a boulder comes and you have to guide him through all the microgames, and the main mode in which you unlock everything begins.

Gameplay

This game is comprised of over 200 micro games which are smaller than mini games, since you perform quick actions under five seconds, such as squatting, tracing and shaving. In the game there are characters in that have about 10-20 microgames. If you are able to complete the 10-20 micro games, then you move on to the boss stage. Each time you complete the character’s “mini story mode” you unlock an extra or another character. There are many characters to unlock, such as Mona, 9-Volt, Dribble and Spitz, Jimmy T and Penny. When you unlock another character, the micro-games difficulty increases overall. When playing, you are allowed four tries to get to the boss stage and beat it, so if you fail, its game over. After everything is unlocked, you can go back and play the characters games and his time, after you beat a boss, you move on and the characters micro games get harder. It can be very challenging and a lot of fun.

This shows the city and all the characters and unlockables.

Controls/Use of Wii remote

This game gets very creative with the wii remote/Form baton and also uses the nunchuk/balance stone a bit. As you play new micro games, you also unlock different ways to use the remote, or stances. When you unlock a stance, there is a description about it, and a lackadaisical voice, yet somehow funny, reads it to you. Each microgame utilizes a different stance, and there are about 20 in total, such as the elephant in which you put the remote to your nose as if you were an elephant or the chauffeur, in which you hold it like a wheel. Before each microgame, there is a “heads-up” on the stance or position that will be used, so you have a couple of seconds to get ready, which can make it a bit easy to some, especially those “hardcore” gamers. Also, in each character’s set of microgames, there are few microgames that use the same position, so after it tells you, it’s not hard to guess which one is coming up, thus making it less challenging.

This is a picture showing the most simple stance, the remote control.

Graphics

The graphics look neat and smooth. They look very cartoonlike, and it has a quality look. The graphics are no revolution, or the next generation of graphics, but the creativity of them and all the animated cut scenes make it unique. The style varies, but in a good way, since all the micro-games are different. One second you look at a hand-drawn gorilla eating a banana, the next second you are looking at something more evolved like the Super Mario Sunshine micro game puttin gout the fire. I feel that in a game as fun as this, graphics do not matter as much. It does matter to a certain extent, but the graphics are appealing. Either way, the game, with all the action, will have your attention more than the graphics will, and besides, it's not as if they were not made to impress. (But they still do!)

This microgame is a great example of the game's creative and unique style.

Multiplayer/Wi-Fi capabilities

This game also has multiplayer, in which you basically challenge a friend and you compete to see who the winner is. There is no Wi-Fi for this game, but it doesn’t need it although it would be nice for those who don’t have anyone to play with. Multiplayer mode is fun, and it’s nice to play it if you truly want to compete and it is still able to make you laugh, because this game will make you look like a complete fool. Also, since the entire range of multiplayer games are a pass and play sort of thing, you can have many players (From two to twelve people, depending on the mini-game), but it gets out of control and crazy in a fun way. It is funny just like in single player mode, if not even funnier!

Music/Sound Effects

There are many nice catchy tunes and sound effects in this game. Each character has its own music, and it will stay stuck in your head. You may even find yourself humming the music to yourself while you play. The music can be relaxing and can actually improve your performance a bit. The music can get repetitive after a while of playing the same character and at times you may want other music, but overall it’s great. This game also has some good sound effects and plenty of them too, and although some may sound simple, such as beeps, they are effective, although they can also be a bit repetetive. It is also nice how many of the sound effects are delivered through the Wii remote's speaker so put up the volume!

Replayability

The replay value is high. The main mode in which you unlock all the characters can take about one or two hours to complete. Aside from that though, there are many other things to do and play, such as playing tower tennis and beating high scores. The fun nearly doubles when you have another player to laugh with. By yourself, you will probably pick it up if you are really bored, for an hour or two at most. With more people, you will be entertained for a longer time. It really all depends on the person, but this game has a high replay value. It is a great game anyone can pick up either way, but the more the merrier!

This is just one of the many ways to have a blast multiplayer mode!

Wrap-up

Overall, this game is worth buying for the retail price of $50. If you are unsure or don’t have many friends to play it with, I recommend renting it and see how you feel about it. This is the game to play if you are looking to have a great time with a friend or two, or even twenty. Everyone will laugh at how fun but ridiculous the game is and how stupid you look playig it. It’s a game I personally enjoy playing and is a great addition to the Wii's many titles out there.

Ratings

Gameplay: 8
Controls/Wii remote use: 8
Graphics: 8.5
Multiplayer: 9
Music/sound effects: 8.5

Overall: 8.5

[Ruone Delacroix]

That's it! The entry phase of the revised RotM is now closed. Voting will be begin asap in a new thread. Keep your eyes and ears open for it.