...Since when has Pokemon not been open-world? Or have I been sleeping for the past two decades?

If an SNES game looks fine on the GamePad, then a DS game's lower screen should also be just fine, if not even better-looking because of the increased graphical fidelity of the system.

Ugh I killed my window writing a response to you so I'll just be quick. I completely agree. Up until XII and XIII the gameplay in Final Fantasy was just color coded. It tells you how strong you are with a number instead of how good you are as a player. Instead of giving us enemies that require us to think and manage…

#pcmasterrace

You should note that the game is a little tricky to get into for first-timers, but once you get past the lengthy tutorial sequences and maybe consult a few online guides, it's really good. It's filled with planning, strategy, crazy moments and risk vs. reward gameplay for hundreds of hours. Sure, you fight some of the…

The thing is, there's no real skill required to get the items. They're hidden well only because they wanted you to be confused, I think, anyway. I completely agree that it can be fun to find items like that but when they're essential to the main gameplay, it's best not to. They should make them a reward for doing well…

Well I'm really enjoying it so far myself. The physics can be iffy but the level design and sense of accomplishment are all solid if you ask me.

The thing about Demon's/Dark Souls, though, from my experience, is that the levels are very thoroughly polished. It feels rewarding to discover new things because they're not so amazingly hidden that they're too far out of the way while remaining cleverly placed enough to feel like you actually found something instead…

I have to be the only person to love FEZ's map. It's not perfect but once you figure out what's what, it makes a lot of sense and actually gave me a sense of spacial awareness to the areas in the game. It allows you to get lost exploring while simultaneously giving you an easy path back. At a glance you can tell which…

A ton of 3DS games use auto-saving, like Super Mario 3D Land, but OoT 3D is a major exception since a lot of people would prefer to have manual saves in an adventure game like that.

Coming from the "it's completely serious" angle, I think that most people could agree that the game has reached "it was his sled" status, along with a certain character dying in FFVII. Everybody already knows that Sheik is Zelda, for example, through a late-arrival spoiler.

Ugh, I hate those in JRPGs. Kingdom Hearts 2 improved that by being linear as all heck, but at the cost of meaningful level design. This is actually something that I liked about Final Fantasy X and XIII since they both were so story-focused that I never had to worry about those stupid and completely arbitrary hunts.

The irony in that is that Final Fantasy games don't really require walkthroughs for most of the normal gameplay, but rather, the things on the side. I don't know how I would have beaten Final Fantasy VII without knowing that I could get spells like Big Guard from some random enemy on a beach somewhere, or making sure…

I confess :( it was me...

Considering that a lot of PC gamers actually are quite fond of the Wii U and its attempt to try to be something other than a PC-lite as the PS4 and One are, I doubt it. Go on a place like Reddit with their master race subreddits and you'll see a surprisingly friendly attitude toward Nintendo. Half of the things people…

It's repetitive and, like most of their games, the story is a bit of a throw-away, but it has that raw '90s action arcade feel that anybody with taste associates with their games. Those amazingly crazy boss fights, high score challenges, impossible action sequences that barely feel like they're under your control in…

Hold on a second, are you seriously saying that random encounters are good? A system that was designed as a hardware limitation for actual planned-out enemies back in the day is preferable to a system where the designers want you to overcome specific challenges that try to test your skill? Also, the leveling system…

That's exactly how I was with XIII. If you go into it knowing that it's nothing but battles and story, not building up insanely high expectations, then it's pretty great! I absolutely love the aesthetics and soundtrack, for example, and the combat is much more satisfying than the earlier games that felt like they just…

Ah right it was you! I'll probably get it during the summer sale.

Remind me what your Steam name is because I think I saw you or some other notable Kotaku commenter playing it on and off this past week and I was meaning to exit my momentary laziness to ask you (or the other person) how it was.