im in australia so its going to be tougher for me to find opponents i think in this group, but ill keep checking and try and find a time with good traffic.

ive popped in from time to time and had no one in lobby

9.6 for me. Probably my favourite Mario kart since 64 and that was 30fps.

Online lobbies with strangers could have free chat before races is my only niggle.

 

The graphics are just gorgeous especially when in motion plus track textures are ace. I find the game the most balanced MK since I can remember and when you combine the lush visuals, superb track designs and overall fun it's GOTY so far.

agree mate,

i havent really liked a Mario Kart since SNES or N64. This is great. plays fast and looks crazy.

agree about toads turnpike. a pretty poor level when they had so many to choose from for the retro levels.

Donut plains 3 is such an inspired remake. love it. the amazing water puddles, the bridges, just a great effort.

i do miss some of the shorter, tighter race track like courses from SMK, but i know that in the three lap format they are hard to include as it would only take like 40 seconds to complete the race.

online has been really fun so far. never played any MK online until now. 

i would give this am 8.9 or so.

Is there a stat difference between characters or are all equally good?

they are set into groups as far as weight which affects top speed, acceleration, handling and getting knocked about, plus the karts you can select from have different attributes.

The characters stats are 'common sense' to a degree and arent listed, while the kart stats are accessible and you can switch between karts checking the pros and cons of each one. 

it all about the mushroom retainer!

This goes back to SNES Mario Kart, and he has been my pilot ever since. although when i was struggling to complete 150cc special cup on that game, i swapped to his counterpart, Koopa Troopa, and the Troopa was picking up lightening bolts like no bodys business.

But i like Toads work ethic in games like SMB2. he doesnt mess about with floaty jumps.  hes just so industrious. utilising efficient jumping techniques and picking up coins and enemies with a vigour that most plumbers could only dream of. 

low mario using community. i just figure hes tired from tennis and golf, that he isnt as committed to racing as he used to be. 

what time frame are you thinking about for this? how far away might all of this be?

you guys make some really great points here. Nintendo is just not in the same class as the other two major competitors when it comes to marketing or general appeal right now.

However, it is a good machine, and is still relatively new, and it can be turned around quickly if they make some strong decisions on direction and marketing. We have lost millions in sales of course that wont return, but giving up and copping out claiming casual audience or whatever, or giving lip service to the hard core audience will just hasten Nintendo's irrelevance. All you can control is 'the next correct thing', which is to basically reboot and rethink everything.

If they choose to do this, it is almost a blessing that they havent released a new Metroid or Zelda game...they could be the face of the 'second launch' of WiiU. If they had fired all of thier bullets already it would be a long way back, but these two games leave them with a few in the chamber if they choose a better direction to fire the gun so to speak.

ive just burnt through the mario back catalogue on VC, just wondering if i should get Kid Icarus and Metroid or just start getting into the SNES games. played them both as a 9/10 year old, finished metroid plenty of times, and might have finished icarus with some friends, but if i did it was effing tough. is it worth getting them or are they way too dated now. super metroid does seem appealing. never played that at all.

cheers guys, i DL'd icarus last night just to check the difficulty. dont feel the need to continue. i might skip NES metroid and get into the SNES version as it is commonly regarded as one of the systems best games.

i think others on my list are the zeldas (which i have played a tonne, but never completed when i was young) and some of the mega man games. ive heard good things about earthbound too.

thanks again for your input folks

just quickly, i missed the smash brothers thing on GCN, and on wii, but am amped for this new game.

what is the relevance of the GC contollers? just better suited or something else?

Not the controllers so much. People would give you a blowie and more for an adapter though.

haha yeah sorry i did mean adapter, but didnt mention them.

Not nostalgia per say, it's just that people have been playing with that controller option for 13 years now, so that's what they're used to.If you never played preveious iterations, don't worry bout it, you gucci with a wii U pro or even gamepad.

thanks mate. looking like they are hard to find anyways if you didnt get one on preorder.

going to grab this game tomorrow when its released in Aus, but i missed out on previous iterations of Smash games as i wasnt gaming much for a few years.

Whats all the hype about the GC connector and controller? i hoave no idea, is it a nostalgia thing, or is it legit alot better to play with?

so am i best to wait until the VC starts releasing N64 games? cheers for the reply

ahhhh, so i can buy stuff from the Wii shop on my Wii U? thats great. i thought it was only really for games u had already bought and transferred, or for wii discs.

thats very promising.

Hey guys and girls,

looking through the eshop tagging games i plan to download and i see quite a few Kirby games.

I have seen top 25 and 50 lists and the feature prominently, but for some reason they never really took off here (aus) or if they did i missed it.

Anyone give me a few cliffs on what they are like / how worthy they are of downloading. i wonder if i missed out on a bigg'un here?

Hey guys,

new to forum, but wanted to add to this thread.

I have had each Nintendo since the NES, but have held off so far with Wii U until i had more a concrete selection of games. There are some great games already for sure, but not ones that really appeal to me personally. but the tipping point has come.

Now that DK / Kart / Smash Bros are on the horizon, and 3d world and a few others have dropped, plus quite a few others are out for it, im ready to get involved.

Like someone else said, im actually overwhelmed, as i have made a list of the virtual console games im going to download, and it is really going to be an orgy of classic games, playable on a the gamepad while i watch sport or just late at night in bed. i am honestly so excited.

im not a raging fanboy, but someone who has some common sense and can enjoy more than one console at once. i like my PS3 for games like the uncharted series and some sports titles as well as the blu ray player, and i love my Nintendo for the rest of my gaming. once the Ps4 has a really good line up of games that i want, i will pick one of those up too.

I had a couple of questions though as someone mentioned feeling ripped of for going premium over basic?

what is exactly the difference aside from the 32gb v 8gb? i think the premium comes with some stuff that is pretty negligible like a HDMI cable and plastic charging stands or something. and is usually bundled with much better games. but is there any hardware difference? someone mentioned download speed being affected?

i was planning on getting the premium unless there is a good reason not too.

cheers mate.

i wasnt really impressed with the last couple of mario karts.

didnt have the same feel of speed as the SNES original, i dont know, just didnt quite deliver what i was after. i played a DS version at some point and that was awesome actually.

the bundle right now is New Super Mario plus Luigi DLC and of course nintendoland.

Thought that they would do a DK bundle also, but as yet have not 

Hey everyone,

have been lurking for a few weeks, and posted a couple of times while i was getting close to picking up a Wii U. Well the day has come.

It is now doing its initial system update, so i thought i would jump and introduce myself and ask a couple of questions.

Im an aussie guy who has been gaming with Nintendo since the NES came out when i was an 8 year old. I have had and loved every Nintendo that has come along, with obvious affection for the Marios, Metroids and Zeldas of the world. It seems crazy now with all the guides and walkthroughs available that i spent weeks (maybe months)pumping through metroid as a 10 year old working it all out by myself.

Aside from the Big Name games, i used to love renting them based on the front cover, and would get some stinker games, as well as games i would hire again and again like Ikari warriors and Snake Rattle and Roll.

Same for SNES, for every Super Mario World there was a UN Squadron or a Unirally that i would fall in love with.

Moving to the Wii U, i got the obligatory NintendoLand as well as New Mario & Luigi Wii U, and will surely pick up 3D world and probably DKC tropical freeze. and in between good games, i am getting excited about going back and scooping up tonnes of Virtual Console titles.

I did have a question though. I will need an external HD for future downloads and a SD card to move my Wii data across. can these be generic? or is there specific Nintendo made ones i need?

cheers,

Nate.

^he pretty much answered your questions.

And welcome to the forums, man. I like it here, and I think you will too. Wii U has some pretty fun video games, and I mean video games, like how they used to be. Full of color, fun and imagination. Enjoy

yeah man thats it.

I just want to enjoy playing games. and get the wife involved. she likes games but can only hande the olden ones too. and my 3 year old girl is starting to hold the controller and try and play. she likes wandering around in LOZ

: a Link to the past.

Thanks to everyone for the welcome and the info.

Cheers,

was wii sports resort any good? i only ever played wii sports

thanks mate,  i will look into it some more. ive seen it going on ebay for 50 bucks, ill pick it up and have a proper dig. the only concern is that with a small child and fair workload whether i will able to put in the required hours t develop skills

yeah game pad will be handy.

its still $79.99 on the eshop, but i am in australia,and we often pay more for games.

hey guys i just downloaded the trial of this, but literay had no clue where to go. fought some thing in an ice cave that was charging me and throwing ice balls, but didnt seem to be doing damage.

it was a bit overwhelming as i have literally no knowledge of the game other than its about grinding and hunting, and fighing large beats. and that it was highly recommended.

i will look through those starter guides u listed, and if anyone else knows any good beginner websites that would be awesome. hoping to get stuck into this game.

thanks for the links above guys

yeah our new games are $79.99 at games stores and from eshop. WIi games, ps3, ps2 and other past systems have almost always been priced at $99.00. i recall my dad getting me TMNT for the NES in like 1990 or so and it was $99.

i have travelled to the US twice and both times the shopping is crazy good for me, everything so cheap.

and yes, i think our wages are slightly higher. i manage a store, and if one of my staff members does 38 hours, they will earn something like $840 as a casual employee. thats about $21 per hour plus a bit extra on sundays about $30 odd i think.