Rate the Nintendo Game! Day 6: Pikmin 2 (GCN) and New Play Control! Pikmin 2 (Wii)

[ShinyRegice]

Super Smash Bros. Melee: 99 %
I don't give a 100 % because the lack of Wario and Diddy Kong always confused me before Brawl's release. But really this game is great for both casual and competitive play, and has great physics. One of my favourite games of my childhood without a doubt, my first Smash game and it shown me that Nintendo was much more than just Mario, Zelda, Pokémon and Donkey Kong. And Duck Hunt.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl predictions: 72.26 %
This game will probably be bashed by Melee fans due to having worse physics, random tripping and cutting Mewtwo, but it will still get a solid score thanks to still being cool as a party game.

Will predictions allow us to get extra nominations like in Rate Their Chances? If not, I'll just do predictions for fun.
I'd like to get extra nominations for once lol

Nominating:
The Mysterious Musarame Castle x5

If you haven't played it, this game is available on the 3DS eShop for only 5$. If you like action-based games and are looking for a more than decent level of challenge, you should try it.

Is it allowed to post only to nominate a game if someone never played the game we're rating? Thanks

 

[greatbernard]

SSB Melee

9/10 (90%)

Pros
+ Fun and casual multiplayer alike
+ Deep intricate fighting mechanics
+ Loads of contents, modes, customization

Cons:
- AI is poorly designed (bad for single player)

Nomination:
Eternal Darkness

 

[PikaSamus]

Nomination: The Legendary Starfy

 

[PK_Wonder]

Melee - 97%

SSBM isn't quite perfect, but when it came out, it was a magical experience, and one of the first times I had picked up the almighty GameCube controller. That alone made almost every game on the GCN stand out to me.

Looking back, it had a strange roster, and while it was great that it came out so close to launch, six or so extra months to invest in Diddy Kong and Wario and King Dedede and unique Ganondorf instead of a bunch of clones would have been ideal. It had flawed balance, and it had some wonky physics issues.

But everything was still magical. The concept of collectible trophies, while the number seems paltry now, radiated historical goodness. The music. The stages. The items. and THE GAMEPLAY. As years passed, I craved more, but in a good way. It truly sparked a lifetime of Smash speculation and admiration. Even in recent years, Melee has made me realize just how competitive and serious gaming could be, without ever alienating my enjoyment of it. In many ways, I prefer Brawl, and I hate the reputation Melee has as the perfect competitive environment instead of people just adapting to new engines. but Melee was where it all truly started.

and most importantly, I salute the GameCube controller. I couldn't be more happy to see it making a comeback. Here's a toast to many years to come in the future of Smash (and hopefully, GC VC releases).

Banjo-Kazooie x4, Xenoblade Chronicles x1


Also, special question for you all:
Give me ideas on how to award one user each day extra nominations to use (10 instead of 5 for that day). If you're familiar with Rate Their Chances, score predictions were made the day in advance for tomorrow's game. I might like to do something differently this time, but please give your feedback.

 

[Deleted member]

deleted

 

[FalKoopa]

Well, to shake up things a little, you could do something like 5 extra noms for the closest one, 3 more for the 2nd closest, and 1 more for the 3rd closest.

 

[PK_Wonder]

Day 2 is over / Day 3 has begun!

Super Smash Melee (GCN) scored beat Smash 64 by scoring a 94.07%

Today, we have Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.
(Tomorrow is Xenoblade Chronicles, so don't waste your vote!)

This is easily the most controversial game in the series. How will it fare in comparison to the previous two games? Will a plethora of extra content save it, or will the advanced, tournament-centric techniques of Melee keep SSBM as the top dog? (until we rate the two new Smash games in future weeks) Keep it real, and keep spreading the word of the thread!


Also, please predict the score for Xenoblade Chronicles (save the good discussion on it for Day 4 though). The closest predictor will earn an extra 5 nominations! Would anybody like to volunteer to keep track of extra nominations?

 

[Burigu]

Why people why I have been boring the last days and a new game has started? I guess it is my fault for not checking the Rate comunity the last 2 days.

Super Smash Bros Brawl: 90%
Ok it would look like sacrilege for Smashboards standards to rate the game this high, but I guess I really don't care if Brawl is competitively unfriendly, this is a great game and despite my predilection to Melee, I have great memories and moments fighting against my brother.

• Tripping o well deal with it
• Floatier, another form to play the game
• NO wavedashing? I never knew of its existence until last year so yeah no miss there
• Terrible WIFI?? mmmm I just have to play the game offline like 64 and Melee if I have been doing this why this would stop me for enjoying the game??

I enjoyed this game for the among of collectables, another unpopular opinion ahead:

• I liked Subspace Emisary, sometimes I just go to the movie list to watch the cutscenes, in fact and WARNING AHEAD ANOTHER unpopular opinion my biggest complain about this game was: , he was just unfitting in my honest opinion but I loved the music specially Encounter! in fact I like Snake except not in Smash.

The game wasn't perfect and like most people I prefer Melee playstyle than Brawl's but the differences only allowed me to enjoy Smash in a new and different way.

Nominations:
Mario Kart Double Dash x 5

 

[Deleted member]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Seriously, announcer? No title shout? You're boring.)

+ Between the first three installments, Brawl has the best character roster. Say what you will about the exclusion of Roy and Mewtwo, but fighters such as Ike, Pit, Lucario, Dedede, Meta Knight, Sonic, and Snake make up for that in my opinion.
+ A wide variety of single-player modes, just like in Melee.
+ I actually liked The Subspace Emissary, though it could have used more fanservice.
-- Brawl's slower, floatier, and trippier than Melee.
-- Just like Melee, it's not very balanced.
-- Laggy online netcode.
-- Being more of a PlayStation character than a Nintendo one, Snake seems out of place.
+ You can mod it to be more like Melee. Thanks, Project M Dev Team!
+ The gameplay is still solid.

Score: 90%

Project M Score: 95%

 

[ShinyRegice]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 80 %
Brawl added a lot of cool features like Assist Trophies, Final Smashes, a ton of musics, and customisable stages, though the later has somewhat wasted potential. Also, it added several very deserving characters to the roster like Wario, Diddy Kong, Meta Knight, Dedede and Olimar. The Subspace Emissary, unfortunately, has wasted potential, it could be much better if enemies came from various Nintendo games like in Smash Run in SSB4. Also the physics of the game were butchered from Melee, with much slower, floatier gameplay, and RANDOM TRIPPING, for the sake of limiting the competitive potential of the game; unfortunately those physics changes are poor even for casual gaming. Brawl is great as a party-game; even though the physics suck compared to Melee, the additional characters and the great amount of new contents make the game worthwhile compared to its predecessor at a casual scale, and Brawl was a game I played during countless hours with pleasure so I can't give a bad ranking anyway. Unfortunately this game seems to be an outdated choice now with the release of Smash 4 which has a wider casting, NO RANDOM TRIPPING and faster gameplay.

Xenoblade Chronicles prediction: 96.33 %
I'm going to abstain for this one, though I really want to try this game one day or another. I'll probably get a Wii U at the end of the year, so I'll finally be able to play to Wii games at home again. And I don't want to use the Dolphin way.

Nominating:
The Mysterious Murasame Castle x5

 

[FalKoopa]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 99%
The game that started it all for me. Yes, Brawl was my first Smash game.

I've spent a lot of time with Brawl, much more than any other Smash game. The roster is best one to date, the music is absolutely heavenly, and it introduced assist trophies and final smashes, which expanded the Smash universe considerably. Unlike many others, I don't have a problem with Brawl's physics (probably because I started on it), except for random tripping.

Brawl did have a fair share of problems though. Online was terrible, the trophy collection was very lopsided towards new games and the Subspace Emissary was a huge time sink for the dev team, but lacked replayability.

Another fact that made Brawl much better for me is that it is hackable. Honestly, I've spent about as much time hacking and adding characters, music and stages as I've spent playing the game.

Nominating: Duck Hunt x 5

 

[Deleted member]

The Directory has been updated.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Score: 95%
Same score for Melee. Sakurai made this game like it was his last and the effort clearly shows.

The roster is almost near perfection in my opinion. We finally have characters like Meta Knight, King Dedede, Wario, and Diddy Kong on the roster with other great additions like Pit and Olimar. We also have the presence of two third party characters, Sonic and Snake.
The cuts made from Melee were Mewtwo, Roy, Pichu, Dr. Mario, and Young Link. The lack of Mewtwo is awfully surprising to me, especially when it's a highly popular and important Pokemon. The exclusion of Roy is also a bit of a shock, but it's nothing I would lose sleep over.

The multiplayer is still very fun with great new items introduced, like the Gooey Bomb and Smart Bomb for example. My favorite new item is the Assist Trophy; it would summon a Nintendo character and they will attack for you or preform some weird action (like Resetti coming out only just to rant).
Single player has been more emphasis on it seems. Well, emphasis on the game's Adventure Mode, the Subspace Emissary. The game takes you through a story about a world where Trophies fight and an enemy, the Subspace army, is trying to take pieces of their world to make it their own. While I like that the character's personalities and whatnot are represented and while I love seeing all of these Nintendo characters interact with each other, I am a bit bothered by the mode. Story-wise, not every character has a major role in the story; this is understandable for characters like Sonic, Jigglypuff, Toon Link, and Wolf, but characters like Luigi and the Ice Climbers don't have a major role in it as well (Ice Climbers only got to be playable and had a role in one level before the final levels and Luigi is seen once and is seen again in one of the final levels). I will also say that I am not a fan of the setting. I am disappointed that you don't explore many Nintendo locations (where's the Mushroom Kingdom? or Hyrule? combine these worlds into one!) and the only enemies are Subspace enemies and Mario enemies; it makes the adventure mode more bland and boring. Because of this, I personally prefer Melee's Adventure Mode.
As for the other modes, Classic Mode is still intact as well as All-Star Mode. Event Matches are back, with now even Co-op Event Matches. Stadium has been improved in one area and was downgraded in another. Home Run Contest saw an improvement where you can now freely attack Sandbag to your heart's content until the barrier breaks. The downgrade was that Target Smash now has 5 different levels for every difficulty, so the unique Target Smash levels from the previous games are gone. Multi-Man returns as well and there isn't much to say.

The gameplay... has lost some of its luster. According to Sakurai, some of Brawl's changes were done to better fit the casual audience buying the Wii.
I will say this right now: I don't mind that Brawl is on the floaty side. I can get used to that. However, two major things were implemented that make the gameplay a bit inferior to Melee. First of which are that combos are now rare to do. Why? Players can now act out of hitstun and do an air dodge. So, the game has become very defensive than the previous games. Second is the infamous addition of random tripping. Why was it implemented? I have no clue, but it ruins game-flow and some battles can be lost due to tripping.
Also, the balancing is at it's worst... but I won't go into that too much. Just know that Brawl Meta Knight is the absolute best Smash character ever while Brawl Ganondorf would be lucky to own Pichu.
You can still use the GameCube controller and now the Wii Remote, Wii Remote and Nunchuk, and Classic Controller. You can now even set up the controls to your hearts content. Don't like tap jumping? Well, you can remove that!
Brawl's stages are a bit of a mixed bag. What I mean is that some of the stages are absolutely fun (like WarioWare, Yoshi's Island, Isle Delfino, and Lylat Cruise for example) while others are a plain annoyance (like New Pork City, 75m, Mario Bros., and Hanenbow for example).

The music is fantastic, but I find it to be inferior to Melee only because the soundtrack doesn't have the "heart" that Melee's had. I still enjoy a large number of tracks; I would post them, but that would be long.
Also, I do enjoy the Main Theme of Brawl. It's incredible and I love the translated lyrics to them that you see at the end of the SSE. Despite this, hearing it over and over again in other variations in different menus can be annoying.

Graphically, it looks great, but I'm not a fan of them going for a more realistic look. It makes the game look a bit boring to look at.

I know that my review is a bit on the negative side, but I still think that this is a fantastic game. I know that effort was put on the game, but I think that they emphasized on something that didn't entirely need emphasis on (the SSE).
It greatly mixes quality and quantity. Seriously, there is a lot you can do in Brawl, like do Challenges, collect Trophies and Stickers, make replays and photos and more.
I recommend that you at least give Brawl a shot.

Nominations: Super Mario 64 5x

 

[GuyWithTheFace]

Brawl: 95%

I'll say it, I prefer Brawl to Melee. Now, granted, I don't play competitively, so that's probably one of the reasons why. The main thing preventing it from getting a perfect score, though, is tripping. UGH.

Well, that and Meta Knight. But it's an amazing game that I absolutely love. Brilliant soundtrack, amazing roster, and fun as hell stages and gameplay.

Nominate MOTHER 3 x5

 

[Sari]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Rating: 93%

Back when it was released, I thought Brawl was the greatest game of all time. Now looking back on it, it does have some flaws such as tripping, some pointless features (masterpieces and chronicle to name a few), and the overall gameplay not being as fast and fun as Melee's. Though it has some flaws, Brawl is still a blast to play, and in many ways it surpasses Melee. It introduced online play (though it was a bit laggy), had an amazing soundtrack (that surpassed Melee's imo), and it had some great characters (Snake, Wario, Pit).

Overall, not as good as Melee, though still one of the best fighting games around.


XenoBlade Score Prediction: 95.21% (Note: I've never played XenoBlade in my life).

Nominations:
Super Mario Sunshine (x3)
Pokémon Red/Blue (x2)

 

[Deleted member]

deleted

 

[Leafeon523]

Brawl: 100%
Hands down my favorite game of all time. 10/10 would play forever.
Nominating Hotel Mario x5 (that should bring hotel Mario up to 12 noms)

 

[Toxicroaker]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl: 50% Brawl had a good roster (besides no Mewtwo ;- And great music. I am also one of the few that really enjoyed subspace. I had some good times with the game. However, I am a competitive player, so... no. The physics suck. It is extremely campy and if you don't have a chain grab, can't camp, and aren't extremely op in every other way (looking at you, Meta Knight) you shouldn't be played competitively. The balance is so extremely bad that it isn't even funny. Brawl is a good game for casuals, but I'm not a casual. However, I do love music, and this game... oh, does it have music! The music is amazing in this game. In fact, Brawl has my favorite soundtrack of all time. Overall, it's a good game to derp around with and get a few fun hours out of, but it doesn't have good balance, and once subspace is done, you are left with a base for Project M. That is literally the only other thing I think Brawl is useful for (in-game, that is. The music is amazing.)

 

[colder_than_ice]

Super Smash Bros Brawl - 100%
This is apparently the only SSB title to date that has an in depth story mode, that alone has to count for something. I do however feel that their were some weird design choices such as collectible stickers, random tripping, and uncreative event matches. But seriously I love this game and couldn't give it less then 100%

Nominations: Pikmin 2 x5

Xenoblade prediction: 91%

 

[Saikyoshi]

Super Smash Bros. Brawl score: 70%

Yes, it's flawed and controversial, and for good reason. But it's by no means unplayable, it's nice as a party game, and I recommend it just for the Subspace Emissary.

But what I can't get past is the active malice behind its development.

Sakurai knowingly developed this one with hatred. He still calls hardcore players "maniacs". While Melee had its problems, there was no need to take out the core that could be enjoyed by everyone, hardcore and casual alike. It's such a controversial game because Sakurai didn't like that some people were having different fun than him.

Say what you want about his dedication, working on his game despite an injury, etc., but as a man, he's petty and elitist, and here's where it's the most obvious. It's wrong to purposely destroy a significant portion of your fanbase. Mistakes happen, but this was not a mistake.

 

[PK_Wonder]

I give Brawl a nice 97%

Brawl may have alienated some, but the roster, music, and other content makes up for it, and I for one, was able to adjust to the changes in a somewhat competitive manner. I do prefer Melee physics, however, although I am pleased to say Sm4sh is the most compatible game in the series with my own playstyle/comfort level. It's a perfect blend of what makes both games great... but that discussion is for a future day.

Brawl, you introduced a lot of great things to the series that are here to stay - Diddy Kong, Olimar, Meta Knight, Wario, and others, third party characters, Assist Trophies, Final Smashes, My Music, and more.

You also did some things wrong - Stage maker, Masterpieces, tripping, pity Final Smashes, and more.

But that's okay. You have solidified your place in Nintendo's history. I bid you a farewell. Great times were had with this game.

I nominate Banjo-Kazooie x5

 

[PK_Wonder]

Day 3 is over / Day 4 has begun!​

Super Smash Brawl (Wii) scored beat scored exactly 89.00% - which is just .08% less than the original Smash. Most of us thought it did a lot right, and a few things wrong, but regardless, all three Smash games scored very well. We will return to the Smash franchise at least twice - more if we do rerates for them. but we are finally moving away from Smash, to our first RPG.

Today, we have Xenoblade Chronicles for the Wii.
(Tomorrow is Super Mario 64, so don't waste your vote!)​

This first party game is Monolith Soft's brainchild, with a long history. It almost didn't make it to the USA/Europe, but not only did it do so, but it is getting a global release on a 3DS remake, its protagonist, Shulk, will be playable and Smash, and most importantly, it is getting a very hardcore looking sequel on the Wii U next year. Even if you haven't played it, share your thoughts - do you want to play it; does it appeal to you?


Also, please predict the score for Super Mario 64 (save the good discussion on it for the next day though). The closest predictor will earn an extra 5 nominations! Would anybody like to volunteer to keep track of extra nominations?​

 

[Deleted member]

Xenoblade

Chronicles​

I posted a long review in the PlayStation forum off-topic section. I'll leave a link below.

http://community.us.playstation.com...cessories-review-thread/td-p/42005703/page/21

If you would rather read a brief summary, then here you go:

Anyone who has the slightest interest in RPGs should play Xenoblade. Whether you buy a Wii copy now or wait for the New 3DS port (or wait for Xenoblade X), a great, but far from perfect experience awaits.

Score: 88%

 

[Berserker.]

Score: 99%

It was one of the best games of the last generation for me along with Mario Galaxy 2, Mario Galaxy and some other non-Nintendo games like Uncharted 2 and GTA 5

The characters were all lovable, especially Riki. The environment and the concept of Xenoblade is pretty much the main spotlight here. The game is HUGE and to think that you can fit so much into the Wii makes this game quite the technical achievement. The story is intriguing and there are several twists along the way that you will NOT expect. The gameplay is great for the most part but like in most MMO's, it's a bit boring when you don't have that much skills. The chain attack mechanic feels satisfying to pull off. The character models in the game are a bit.... well, no... they just look ugly and I'm seeing that same problem in XCX.

 

[GuyWithTheFace]

Xenoblade - 100%

In my opinion, the best JRPG since the '90's, with the only game coming close to its quality in the past 15 years being MOTHER 3. Let's go over why it's so amazing, shall we?

• The setting. You live on two continent sized robots. Bad. Ass. Not only that, these robots provide for one of the most beautiful and expansive worlds I've ever seen in a video game. You wanna spend hours exploring a new area? Do it. You still won't see the whole thing. Hell, the best part is that Xenoblade encourages this with exploration XP and some serious eye candy.
• The gameplay. A refreshing break from traditional JRPG styles. The unique visions system combined with talent arts creates a new battle system you'll never get tired of, which is good because you'll be playing for a long time. No items or "mana" score to keep track of. Instead, everything, including your health, just recharges. It's deep, yet intuitive.
• The story. All the plot twists! Some of them you'll see coming, some you won't. But overall, there are more than enough twists to keep you constantly on edge. You see tons of different characters all with their own agendas, and the plot is intricately woven together to stay engaging and interesting all the way until the end. There are sad moments, funny moments, and heartwarming moments all the way through.
• The characters. All wonderfully written characters with their own motivations and personalities. It's not hard at all to see how your little band comes together to take on the world. All of their personalities just click, and they're all easy to relate to without sacrificing personality and becoming just blank slates. Special mention goes to Melia, easily my personal favorite video game character out there. The side characters are great too. The villains make you hate them or feel bad for them, the party's allies are all great (except Juju who can go die in a pit of spikes), and Alvis is... Alvis. Alvis is just so Alvis, you guys. That dude's the best.
• THE SOUNDTRACK. DEAR BIONIS THE SOUNDTRACK. LISTEN TO IT NOW.
• It is LOADED with content. My first playthrough took 120 hours, and I wasn't anywhere near 100% completion. More sidequests than you'll ever need, and more areas to explore than you can possibly get to. The most common complaint I've seen about Xenoblade is that there is too much content and it's overwhelming. Good thing there's a skip travel feature enabled from the start.

So overall, amazing. 100% for the game, minus 1 point for

Spoiler: Xenoblade spoilers

not ending by pairing up Shulk with Melia,

but plus one point for the scene where you recruit Riki. So 100 overall.

Predict Mario 64 at 91.17%
Nominate MOTHER 3 x 3 and EarthBound x 2

 

[ShinyRegice]

Xenoblade Chronicles: 0% the gameplay sucks the story is bad ahah nah just kidding.
I'm going to abstain for this one because I didn't play it (I wasn't aware of its existence before joining the Smash 4 speculation scene tbh) but it's without a doubt one of the games I want to play the most given the critical acclaim it gets, Shulk's inclusion as a playable character in Smash 4, and the ucoming Wii U sequel. The universe looks cool, I love fantasy in video games but on the other hand video games set in a world with advanced level of technology rarely appeal to me, and Xenoblade Chronicles seems to blend both fantasy and technology in a awesome way and overall seems to be a very appealing universe for me. When I'll get a Wii U at the end of the year I'm definitely going to get a copy of this game before getting Xenoblade Chronicles X in the next year (unless it happens to suck according to reviews, something I really DON'T WANT to happen).

Super Mario 64 prediction: 95.96 %
There will be a huge nostalgia factor which will play here, including for myself. This is the first game with 3D gameplay for a lot of us after all.

Nominating:
The Mysterious Murasame Castle x5

[Edit] It looks like nobody volunteered to keep track of extra nominations, so I'm applying for the job. I was a fan of the now ended Rate Their Chances game, and I'm going to be a regular participant of this new Rate the Nintendo Game, it will probably make me want to play more Nintendo games I never touched.

 

[Deleted member]

The Directory has been updated.
For now, I will state my points in bullets. They won't be as detailed, but it will save me some time.

Xenoblade Chronicles
Score: 100%

• Fantastic story with a lot of twists and turns. You are always on your toes when it comes to the story. It's very engaging and it features well-written and likable characters; Shulk in particular is a fantastic character. The characters have their own backstory and motivations. There are moments where you will feel happy or sad.
• Battles aren't stressful. They are easy to get into and the gameplay isn't complex. The more you attack the enemies, the more they will get drawn to your character (or another one); this is called Aggro. You can use Arts to cause even more damage, remove Aggro, cause status aliments, buff your friends, and heal your friends.
• The Monado, Shulk's sword, is an interesting weapon with its own abilities. You can do an attack that causes massive damage with Buster, protect your friends from special attacks with Shield, and help them dodge physical attacks with Speed. Every Monado Art has a use and you have to choose wisely about which Arts you want to use. It also allows Shulk to see the future. If a character is about to die or will get massively hurt, the battle will freeze, you will see a Vision of that character getting hurt, and you can change the future by telling another character about it and you can change the future by using a move yourself. It adds a lot of depth to the battles and it never becomes overwhelming.
• Sidequests can be very simple to do. While there are a lot of them, you will be doing them rather quickly since most of them are killing enemies or doing some fetch quests (which you'll clear anyway).
• The graphics are amazing for a Wii game. The whole game is very detailed and you can even see other areas in the game when you are in a specific area. For example, if you look down in a specific area in Colony 6, you can see your hometown of Colony 9.
• The game isn't linear. You don't have to go through the game just to do the story. You can explore the vast areas of Bionis; if you can see it, you can go to it. This is shown in Gaur Plains, an area with many different ways to go and explore.
• The music is absolutely incredible. You will love songs like You Will Know Our Names, Gaur Plains, Mechanical Rhythm, Unfinished Battle, Engage the Enemy, and Satorl Marsh - Night for example.

This game is absolutely incredible and it's one of the best games that I have ever played. It made me want Shulk in Smash really, really, really badly to the point where he was my most wanted newcomer (and he is in fact my third favorite video game character of all time).
Not playing Xenoblade Chronicles is a major disservice to yourself. Do yourself a favor and play it!

Nominations: Luigi's Mansion 5x

 

[Toxicroaker]

I won't be giving this game a true rating, but I will still share my thoughts. I have never played the game or seen the entire story. However, it looks really good. The characters are great. It doesn't look like you need to be grinding too much unless you completely ignore the quests for some reason. Also most of the non-story quests look like they can be done along the main path. The story is absolutely amazing and once again, the characters are too. It would be easy to get absorbed in the story until the end (much like fire emblem awakening). Overall, I would give it a 100% if I was doing a real rating. However, since I've never played the game before, I will not be doing a real rating.

Super Mario 64: 97%

x5 Kirby's Adventure/Nightmare in Dreamland

 

[Leafeon523]

It's a shame more people aren't visiting this thread. Anyway:
Xenoblade Chronicles: Abstain.
I've been searching or a copy of this game ever since the 2nd gematsu leak hit. I was eventually forced to give up though, as I can't afford to pay $70 for a used game. But if Xenoblade is able to score higher than smash bros brawl, I'll resume my search for a reasonably priced copy.
Nominating Hotel Mario x4
Fire Emblem Awakening x1

 

[colder_than_ice]

I've sadly never played Xenoblade, are we allowed to give ratings for games we've never played? I was originally going to abstain but I think we may have to rate them because many games that few of us have played are already near the top of the nomination chart, namely Mother 3, Hotel Mario, and Myserious Musarame Castle.

If we can give ratings then I'm giving Xenoblade a 98% and I'm basing this on about 17 videos of "Let's Play" footage and all the imagination, story, and creativity put into this game.

Nominations: Pikmin 2 x5

 

[Toxicroaker]

Woo! I just got the first music update done today! And may I say, it's good to be back doing the music section. During the last few months of rtc, I wasn't doing much besides

1. Find a soundtrack or two that the character had been in.
   
2. Pick out the main/title theme, a random important sounding song in the middle, and find a final boss/credit theme.
   
3. Paste those on the list.

That is because most of the characters were third party or really obscure so it was hard to find fitting music for them. Now that I'm doing music for games I know and have listened to a lot, I know all of the good and important ones. Also, I have been receiving suggestions! Though they were only from @Brawler610 it still made me happy to see.
On a side note: I have probably about 100 songs for brawl. That took absolutely forever, but I had a really good time doing it. (for some reason, my brain enjoys doing extremely repetitive tasks...)
I guess that's all I have to say...

EDIT: I have exactly 102 songs for Brawl

 

[PK_Wonder]

Thanks to @ Toxicroaker for an amazing music section update! and good call on the Sunday updates, makes it easier for yourself.

@ colder_than_ice , I think that's fair, you sound like you educated yourself on the game very well, and there's no reason not to count your rating.

@ Leafeon523 . It certainly is a shame we don't have more traffic yet. Does anyone have suggestions on how to boost attendance? I've spread the word through the RTC crew and in other places.

 

[Trickerhere]

That is easily 9.9/10.

 

[FalKoopa]

Well, I was going to skip this day, since I've played very little of it, but I'll put a score anyway.

I've played Xenoblade for only an hour, I think, and my first impression was really good. The control scheme takes a while getting used to, and real time battles aren't exactly my cup of tea (I prefer turn based battles by far.) But, it's impossible to not appreciate the amount of work that went into making this game. The vast expanses of the game really draw you in and the game is chock-full of side quests - this is my favourite part about the game.) In fact, I spent almost all the time I played the game running around doing errands for others, and have made almost no progress on the story.

Based on first impressions alone, I rate it 91/100.

 

[Saikyoshi]

I wish I was qualified to review this, being one of the relatively few people to own a copy.

The problem is, though, I haven't finished it yet. I only started playing after 's gameplay videos were leaked – it was my brother's game before that.

Sooo, I'll get back to this later.

 

[FalKoopa]

Hm? When is the next day beginning, @ PK_Wonder ?

 

[LasermasterA]

Wow, this day couldn't have come at a better time! Just finished Xenoblade Chronicles today so everything is fresh in my mind to rate!

The setting:

Taking place on the bodies of once alive gods, who make up the whole world in the game is very interesting. The concept alone is nice and engrossing. Plus the game is huge and according to me, a great mix of western and eastern RPGs of how the exploration takes place. The overworld is massive and you can spend hours roaming around doing random exploration without moving an inch forward in the storyline.

Graphics:

This game looks amazing for a Wii game and the artstyle really helps that. Although character models and cutscene animations may be clunky, but the scenery is just gorgeous. Starting from the first area all the way to the last area, the game's scenery is immersive and wonderful to explore!

Gameplay:

I really loved the gameplay, with its unique MMO-ish way of handling combat. Having the roles of tank, damage dealer, healer or just all around awesome-ness make this game an enthralling experience. You can control and move a single character around the enemy and tactically perform combat arts to take down the enemy, while the other 2 characters are AI controlled. Plus then there is the chain attack which gives us a taste of turn based controls over all characters for a while. Sometimes the AI is erratic, and does not do what you want it to. In the end it has a lots of nuances to it, keeping it fresh for a long time.

Characters and their interactions:
The characters are nice and relatable. Although they can be somewhat typical, you can't help liking them. The various heart-to-heart conversations really helped flesh out their backstory. Shulk is overpowered and although I liked his role in combat and everything, I immediately replaced him out for other characters just for the challenge. As a character he is likeable and different being such a nerdy protagonist unlike most JRPG heroes.

I also really liked the conversations they can have during and after combat, making it seem more lively with the characters talking to each other.

Music:
The music is also a plus point which many of the soundtracks memorable. The one I remember the most is the Gaur Plains theme and You will Know our Names.

Also how the music changes based on how well you are doing in a battle, with gloomy music if a character is down or discouraged and more uplifting music if you are doing nicely.

Story:
The story is great with all twists and turns. How it goes from living in a peaceful colony to traveling around the world of Bionis to achieve their goals, Shulk and his friends' journey is one to remember. Plus there are tons of twists and turns to keep you thoroughly engaged.

Although, the story lost some steam near the end of the game and the game was just not as lively as it was in the first 90% of the game, making the end game somewhat lacklustre compared to the whole. Plus it loses some of its charm near the end, just can't pinpoint what.

Length, Quests, Bonuses:
The game is huge and it is easily seen in the start itself! You can explore around Colony 9, the first area, for quite a while before your journey even starts. Also there are tons of quests in each area to do, and more get unlocked based on your "affinity" with the area. You can forge relationships between local residents, learn more, help them out, etc.

The quests on the other hand are not as fantastic being mostly repetitive with some being fresher and unique. They don't get in the way mainly because you already complete most of them just going around the area. Some quests, are just pains finding super rare items or just beat 10 of this then 10 of that. MMORPG style quests.

The superbosses were interesting and much more challenging then the final battle. You can spend hours just beating them, collecting every thing, making a perfect party and maxing out skills. The game lasted me for 160 hours with 100% completion, minus the 2-3 annoying achievements which would have just been a time waste (lose battles, keep killing, keep collecting).

Xenoblade Chronicles rating:
91%

I would love to give this game a rating of 99% but I just can't due to some problems I mentioned above.

I absolutely loved the game, and it might just become one of my favourite games of all time but I reserve my judgement for now. Definitely a breath of fresh air in the JRPG genre and although I love turn-based combat, I liked this hybrid combat system!

Sorry I wrote too much, but I couldn't help myself.

I nominate Golden Sun x5

 

[Burigu]

Sorry for my prolonged absense hope you didn't miss me, the 3ds version is just so time consuming that I hardly do anything else, but I guess this is the case with so many people since the thread haven't been actualized in sometime now

Xenoblade Chronicles: 90% I haven't played the game, but I had the fortune to be introduced to this majestic game's let's play by a suggestion made by Groose since I didn't want to spoil the story I only watched a few videos but I was facinated by what I saw, fortunetely the 3ds version will see international release. Keep fingers crossed.

Nominations: Mario Kart Double Dash x5

 

[Depressed Gengar]

0%.
Nothing but overrated trash. Even Hotel Mario was more interesting.
Pokémon Heart Gold/ Soul Silver X5

 

[LasermasterA]

0%.
Nothing but overrated trash. Even Hotel Mario was more interesting.
Pokémon Heart Gold/ Soul Silver X5

Isn't that a bit much? Even overrated games get a score much more than 0%....

It might be overrated but still an amazing experience considering JRPGs on consoles of last gen. And how it serves as a cool JRPG, MMORPG, western RPG fusion.

Well each to their own I guess.

 

[Depressed Gengar]

Isn't that a bit much? Even overrated games get a score much more than 0%.... If I gave it such a low score because it is overrated, then yes, it would be a bit much. But the game itself is horrid as well.

It might be overrated but still an amazing experience considering JRPGs on consoles of last gen. Most JPRGs last gen were better on average. And how it serves as a cool JRPG, MMORPG, western RPG fusion. Not really.

Well each to their own I guess.