If you're too old for Pokemon and like Zelda DX, try this!
591105
I'm a complete newbie in this series, having matured from  playing Pokemon, and then enjoying Zelda DX for Gameboy Color.  If you fit in that category, then you should give this game a chance. It's a good thing that Enix made 2 games on one cartridge, because Dragon Warrior 1 by itself wouldn't have been worth the price of a Gameboy cartridge in today's market. That doesn't mean it isn't a good game, it's just short compared to recent RPGs. What really makes it stand out, though is that it stands up even today. The storyline is a bit flat, but it beats Pokemon's story by an anteater and a half.
Dragon Warrior 2, though it doesn't have backgrounds when you're fighting monsters except when you're fighting bosses, is a much deeper and more involving game. Now, you can fight more than one monster at a time and respond with your own party of three members .
(not FOUR members which Amazon's reviewer above foolishly stated, probably thinking of Dragon Warrior III...)
The world in DW2 has grown about 4 times larger (it looks like it has grown a lot more in the map, but that's because they shrunk land area of the original continent by about half), and you can sail by boat to different parts and islands. There is also a much greater evil to defeat. It obviously takes much longer to beat too...
One of the things I like about DW1, but particularly in DW2, is the very small amount of "Dungeon Crawling" you have to do; in my opinion "Dungeon Crawling" is simply cheating on the amount of time it takes to play a game that doesn't have a lot of actual land to cover. While there are caves and towers, you'll be spending most of your time in the normal world. Unlike some more recent RPGs which cause you to Dungeon-Crawl for no specific reason (like Zelda DX), this one focuses more on walking around like you would in real life.
And the ending to either DW1 or DW2 is not dissapointing, but quite satisfying; When I finished DW2, I started playing DW1 again because took me a long time to beat DW2.
Which brings me to my next point; it's really enjoyable to have these two games on one cartridge, because you can see all of the connections and changes between the 1st and the 2nd; when that guard says about Alefgard "that kingdom has changed much over the years", he's not kidding.
A WARNING though; even though the box cover features somewhat cute characters and so do the introduction cutscenes, this is not for people who do not appreciate involving storylines, so be forewarned!
I must say, I'm eagerly waiting for Enix's Dragon Warrior III remake which looks even better than these games!
1326522
I bought The Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess in Used - Very Good condition by E's Novelties and I am very happy with my purchase! It came on time, case is in very good condition, manual is in pristeen condition, and disc is lightly scratched but is to be expected. But as for its working condition no problems at all. I bought this game because it sounded interesting and having had almost no experience with Zelda games before but watched others play it I had to check it out. I love this game I've been playing it nearly non-stop. I like the mix of puzzles to figure out as well as plenty of bad guys to fight and unique challenges in defeating foes or just trying to complete a mission. I also like this game in particular because there are some unique features that make it even more fun and interesting, such as riding your horse which you can name, turning into a wolf at different points in the game witch give you a whole new set of moves and abilities and not to mention a new perspective of game play and how is that not just really awesome? Also graphics are very cool and it's challenging but not so difficult that you can't eventually figure out what to do. I'm not very good at puzzles but I've gotten them after a while of thinking and searching. The booklet gives you tips and tells you controls and info about items. So what are you waiting for find this game you'll really enjoy it!
3012817
I'm more of an old school video gamer, especially since I'm terrible at playing the new games out.  Give me 2D and I'm happy, and with the Game Boy Player attached to my GameCube (which has been gathering dust until now), it's like having the original Nintendo or Super Nintendo!  The graphics are on par with those systems, if not better!  Imagine adding over 1,000 titles to play on your GameCube!
At first, I was worried that games might not be as visually stunning on a TV as they are on my Game Boy Advance SP, but on a 13" TV, they are wonderful!  You can choose "Soft," "Normal" and "Sharp" for display quality and it really helps keep the graphics clean and on-par with those "old school" systems.  The colors are vivid and bright and put less strain on your eyes than staring at a tiny GBA screen.
I tested a few games, including the original GB titles, GB Color and Advance.  It was like playing some of the titles again for the first time!  "Super Street Fighter II TURBO" looked fantastic on my TV, as did "Sword of Mana" and "Super Mario World 2."  Yes!  I can't wait to start playing "Golden Sun 2."
With the release of the "Classic NES" titles on the GBA, it IS just like owning the original Nintendo again, because you can play "Excitebike," "Super Mario Bros." "The Legend of Zelda" and other fabulous old school titles, all on your TV!  And the GBA has some of the best games among any platform, particularly if you're an RPG or strategy gamer, with titles like "Golden Sun" 1 & 2, "Fire Emblem," "Advance Wars" 1 & 2 and "Sword of Mana."
And, as other reviewers have mentioned, you can hook it up to your Game Boy Advance, so you can transfer game data between the two, which will come in handy with "Golden Sun."  And, at half the price of a Game Boy Advance SP, it's also better than buying two systems when you only need one.
Then, there's also the ability to hook up your GBA to the Player for head-to-head action on multi-player titles like "Super Monkey Ball."
Other companies sell similar devices, but stay away from those--they don't have the same quality and lack many of the features.  The GB Player is one of the best gaming investments I have made EVER and it's a great quality product with excellent features.  It was like buying an entirely new game console at half the price!  The GB Player alone makes the Nintendo GameCube worth buying if you don't have one.
--Note:  I had to revise my review upon testing one of the features.  I bought a GBA e-Reader yesterday after buying my fiance "Animal Crossing."  The GB Player is supposed to be compatible with the e-Reader on certain games.  Well, I've tested it and it is NOT capable of transferring data from the Player to the GC.  Not that this should have surprised me, as in order to use the Player, you need to insert the start-up disc, which you can't do if you're already playing a game.  This is a small complaint, but one that some people may have questions about.  It doesn't bother me too much, as I already own the regular GBA as well as the GBA SP, so I can still transfer data, just the old-fashioned way.
--**But potential buyers be warned!**--  If you're going to buy this in hopes of using it for this purpose--transferring data from the GB Player to your GC--you can't!  This includes data transfer for "Animal Crossing," "Mario Party" and more than likely cartridges like "Zelda."
1481458
This is a great action/puzzle game. A little pokmon style if you've never played zelda games, but way better. the story line could use a little work, but other than that it's pretty much the perfect RPG.
4273273
I've been playing pokemon games for probably 10 years and this game was not by any means a disappointment. I love the use of pokemon from previous generations, the new areas, and the new plot. However, it still feels very similar to pokemon black and there are times when I feel like I'd rather skip parts just so I can get to the new things. I would recommend it to both old pokemon fans and especially to people who have never dived into these games.
2383690
Sure, the graphics are primative--but you know what? The gaming interaction with the wii is just priceless. Reminds me of the old days of "Tetris" and being absolutely psyched with our Atari! The entire family played the sports package...very, very fun. My 14 year old loves the Zelda Game and Red Steel.

A few of the things to know: The package comes with a controller and a Nunchuck. You need both for most games. Using these is a breeze, btw... there's a trigger button that is very easy to learn. (I even started bowling like a pro on this!) It is better to have 2 sets of controllers to play things like golf so you don't have to keep passing them back and forth.

Set up was so simple. 2 plugs, and you're done. It's a good looking little console as well. Another feature is the ability to "make" your character your own. Give yourself a name and you are good to go. (it's called making your "mii" --get it!?)

Something I didn't know was that if you have wireless you can hook directly to the net and store pictures and game with other players. Your characters can take part in wii "parades".

Best system yet. Love it. It will also get your little gamer (or yourself) off the couch for a bit!
2857591
wow, i feel like a geek even writing this since i seem to be so much older than all the others who have rated this game (and female)! i just recently got a GBA SP and decided my first game purchase would be a kirby game. i had played kirby: crystal shards on N64 and loved it. i have also played some of the older kirby games on NES and SNES. i am a recent kirby fan, but WOW, what a cool game! i love this game and kirby can do so many cool things. i haven't beaten the game yet, and in fact, have been playing it for hours (maybe i am just not smart enough to figure it all out). this game, even for a 29-year-old, is definitely challenging. the challenge? figuring out where you are, where you need to go and how to best get there. the levels aren't so hard themselves (esp. with the help of the other kirbys), but finding the boss to beat and get the mirror shards is kinda difficult!

i would highly recommend this game for ALL ages. it's fun, challenging and it definitely keeps your attention.
2994799
I've been a Pokemon fan for almost 12 whole years now, and I've played all of the original games. Pokemon Black and White are amazing updates to keep Pokemon new. The graphics update for Black and White is like comparing the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color games to Ruby and Sapphire. The camera changes positions so it looks less like you're looking through a window in the sky and more like you're part of the games. Take those incredibly large staircases in Stark Mountain, where you get larger and smaller depending on how high up you are, from Diamond/Pearl/Platinum, and add the twists of Platinum's Distortion World, and multiply by about five. You can now enter buildings from the side, for example, and the camera will swivel to show you entering. When going into a Pokemon Center, you zoom in. Pokemon battles now zoom into the different Pokemon when they attack or are being attacked. And if you don't do anything for a little bit of time in battles, the camera will move over to a side and then back again.

There are new ways to find Pokemon or items, with shaking grass and dust clouds in caves and so on. These are often special or rare Pokemon, too.

Having only new Pokemon in the region before winning the game is also great for new Pokemon fans. It's like the games are totally starting over. The only downside that I see is that the Pokemon that everyone expects and loves (or loves to hate) are gone, and new Pokemon now have to replace them. No more weakling Magikarp, no Zubat or Tentacool in caves or while surfing, and no Pikachu.

The games also start the concept of seasons, which plays on the concept of time and days of the week to change the Pokemon available. Each season lasts for a month, which sounds like a long time and may actually make more people change the time on their DS to catch more Pokemon faster. The seasons also change the type of weather, like snow in winter.

There are a couple downsides to these games, which is why I didn't give this 5 stars. Instead of one rival, you have two friends and you all seem to interact a lot in the beginning of the story. And honestly, the girl looks just a little funny.

The early storyline is also very straightforward, in a bad way. After starting the game, you choose a Pokemon and battle your two friends, and then directly after get a Pokedex. In earlier games, you had to go on an errand or do something special to earn a Pokedex. For this, you would travel out to the next town over or so, and then come back home. Not here. After getting a Pokedex, and even before battling your first wild Pokemon, you get Pokeballs, which is unheard of. The first two routes are pretty short and devoid of Pokemon, and these are the only two before your first gym battle. Before your first gym leader, there are a total of seven Pokemon max that you encounter. It's a sad beginning, but it gets better.

There are some graphics that are kind of bad, with zooming in on Pokemon in battles or the trainer in the real world. People on the screen will also look distorted a little, especially if they are a lot closer to you than the trainer.

Note: These games were region-locked, so that Japanese games would not play on DSi's from the US. The American games play on the European DSi seemingly perfectly so far. This only affects the DSi/ DSi XL, not the original DS or DS Lite.
3056440
Spot It! has a neat game series that is fun and fast for pretty much all age groups. The game is normally pretty easy. Look at any two cards and find the match. There is only one! If you are faster than your friends you win the hand and move on to the next card. That's it, but it's just not as easy as it sounds and will engage anyone old enough to know how to name and match objects to grandparents!  This specific Spot It! really trips up some folks however.  It's the word version so while you do have some simple picture matching, some of the others are matching the word "green" to the color green.  That's a mental leap that does not come easy for everyone.  My younger ones seem to pick it up easily but the adults have more of a mental block to that concept-text link.  A great game and really fun!
4314395
I used to be a GIANT pokemon freak. Though im not anymore, I still play the games there very fun by all means. This new addition to the poke on games has an even wider appeal, because now you can trade wireless with the new GBA wireless adapter that you can only get by buying the new pokemon game.

This new game is a remake of the older red and blue additions. But with new and improved graphics, all the pokemon from the previous games and new added material and items never seen in the pokemon games to date. Overall this is a great game for anyone that likes pokemon or has a GBA it's great gaming in a little catriage.
113670
I'm 14. This game is fun. Wow. For 4-8 year olds. I dunno, FF never really rubbed off on me... always found Fire Emblem better.. and Evolution Worlds is actually good! Sure monster battles get repetitive but when you get to like level 60 and you get Carcano it's mad fun. Anyways I like the graphics, they are pretty good for Gamecube and the gameplay idea is very nice... you don't get "TOWNS" in FF! (OK maybe you do but not like this). Problem is there are only two but seriously it's a good buy overall and now it's really cheap.
2982379
Poke'mon sapphire is much more entertaining than almost all it's precedors.
Although your character,boy or girl(with redesigned animations!) is a bit small, it's much more detailed, just one example of this game's amazing graphic capibilities. The cut trees look different and berry trees too!
New attacks, such as the HM dive add further to the fun. Also, hidden power can now be used out of battle at certain areas to reveal decoratable "secret bases".
All in all, tons of features add to the entertainment in this cartridge, so, I have but one more thing to say:GET IT NOW!
4099181
This game is truly phenonemonal. From the amazing graphics (for what it is; a N64 game), to the music, to the challenging gameplay, to the engulfing storyline, the "Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" is a must-play for any age. You start the game off as young Link (or whatever you want to call him), who lives in an enchanted forest where young never grow old. Inside the forest, there is a godly tree, who could be considered to be infinitly wise. The tree senses Link has the power to overthrow a great evil which is arising, and tests him to the dungeon inside of him. Link comes out, sucessful, and the tree tells him the story of the great evil which is arising. From then on, you play young Link, and must overcome many obstacles. As a child, there are 3 dungeons, and the tree's counts as one, so you're making some time, right? WRONG. There's much more to this game then beating dungeons. As a child, you can't acess as many of the things, but after you advance 7 years to the future and attain the Master Sword, many of these things are then open to you. As a child, you got an ocarina, in which you must learn songs on to access special places or do special things. Now, you can do all those things, and more. My personal favorite is Epona's song, in which you place a horse's (Epona) song, and it comes to you, in which you can ride across Hyrule Field to get to places twice as fast. As a child, you have weapons like a stick (whoopey), a sword, a shield, a sling-shot, and Duku Nuts. As an adult, you can handle 2 swords: the Master Sword, and the Giant Sword, which is so big you must handle it with 2 hands, which means no shield. You also have the hook-shot, Megaton Hammer, bow-and-arrows, and magic crystals you can do different things with. I cannot begin to explain how amazing this game is. I'd buy a Nintendo 64 all over again just for this. Now I have a Playstation 2, and I still have my Nintendo 64, but only play two games on it; this, of course, and Super Smash Brothers. Now, do yourself a favor, buy this game, and experience teh magic yourself.
3720934
What's most appealing to me about the original Zelda is how Link is just this tiny green guy with nothing fancy- just a sword, shield and other basic items. To save the princess, he basically has to go through hell with all the dangerous monsters he's forced to face along the way. A little guy like him has to stand up to THOUSANDS of monsters along the way. You really have to stay on your toes if you want to stay alive and finish the game. I love how such a simple story can stand up for years and years, and the gameplay never gets old because the game provides a perfect challenge.  All you fancy gamers out there today- you don't NEED a fancy story to have a solid video game.  Here's your example of that- find the princess and go through many different enemies and many difficult obstacles and complete them.  It's that easy... or is it?

Swinging that sword and moving Link around is SO easy. I actually use the shield in this game.  How many times do I need a shield in video games?  Not often.

I love how, every time I walk into a new screen, it's like walking into a new land, with a new challenge. Every area of the land and every area of the castle feels like it was carefully created and distinct. In every other Zelda game I've played, there were parts that were just boring to walk through and a chore to complete. Nothing like that in this game.  As I mention above: you are required to stay on your toes because of the very large amount of enemies just about everywhere you turn.  If you can't handle that, then don't play this game.

It also feels really good when you go through a castle and defeat the boss. Even the very first one. It's amazing how the upbeat atmosphere of completing a castle can be so simple, and yet, so brilliant. Thanks to the heroic music, you really feel like you've just accomplished something big. I've been playing this game for over 15 years and even though I'm an adult now, there's a certain childhood feeling that immediately returns whenever I play this game. Having two quests featured in one game just makes the whole experience feel complete- it makes a great game almost perfect now. It blows my mind that a game from 1986 can be so enormous.  In fact, this game takes a lot longer to complete than most games out there today.

I think if someone asked me what my favorite game of all-time would be, I might have to go with the original Zelda. Maybe Medal of Honor (the first one on the Playstation) would be my next choice.

If you can't handle a difficult game, then don't bother playing the original Zelda.  You won't be able to handle it.  However, even though I'm not really a good gamer by any stretch of the imagination, I can still complete both quests.  It just takes a lot of time and patience.

It makes you wonder what the first person who had to write a guide for this game was doing when he or she first found out there are hidden entrances around the land and inside the dungeons. If I remember right, don't you have to hold down on the directional pad for a few moments as you're facing a wall in order to access the hidden entrance? Imagine someone trying to find every single entrance in *every single screen* throughout the entire land. It would take longer than a lazy Sunday afternoon to find them all, that's for sure.

Now imagine all the entrances that require bombs to access, and how someone would have to keep going through each screen and using them on every section of the wall, in the slim chance an entrance may be there. Then imagine that, when they run out of bombs, they have to keep going back and finding more, in order to experiment with them on the next section of land! We're talking hours and hours of gaming here. Seriously, people back then who wrote NES guides had to be extremely patient and willing to do the same things over and over again in order to find every little thing inside the game.

What a beautiful and fantastic game the original NES Zelda is.  Pick it up... NOW!
2320727
Maybe I am blinded by nostalgia but my parents got me this version of the Oregon Trail ages ago and it was fun. I can tell you that from a kid perspective so if you have any kids I am sure they will enjoy it too. I don't know how well this game has aged but if you can manage to run it on newer computers it is worth a try.
1873925
The focus group for this review consisted of two thirty something year old adults, both male and female and two children, one nine and the other seven. Obviously there was no real focus group for this review, the only reason I tell you the genders and ages, is to show how this game appealed to everyone who played it in my household, just in case you're on the fence about picking this game up for yourself or someone else.

While I was itching to play something new, and normally spending most of my time by the PS3 and Xbox 360 games I decided this time to check out what the Wii had to offer, mainly because I have everything I wanted for the other two systems. I also knew that purchasing a Wii game meant I had to dust off the console and possibly even buy new batteries for the remotes, but when you're looking for a videogame fix you sometimes have to make sacrifices!

I don't know if anyone else has ever realized this, but the display case that holds the Wii games in the store always looks so bright and colorful, whereas the PS3 and Xbox 360 cases always seem so drab! I know that's to appeal more to their core demographic but I just found it funny and never really noticed it until yesterday. While looking at this wall of color and scrolling through game titles that seem as if Doctor Seuss came up with the titles, I came across Donkey Kong Country Returns. At first I was a little skeptic but then remembered that for the most part Nintendo's first party titles are normally pretty enjoyable, so I took a chance. When all was said and done I'm glad I did, because for the reasons listed below this game was worth the price of admission.

I myself am an old school gamer, grew up with the Atari and NES and just like most people my gaming habits evolved over the years with technology. Most of the games I play nowadays require a ten to fifteen minute tutorial alone on just how to use the controller, before you even get to the actual game play. Games today have these long cinematic cut scenes to help with story telling and to visually blow you away. This game however was not like that at all, once you hit start you're off and running and enjoying yourself. I am by no means hating on the games of today, but sometimes it is nice to get back to basics every now and then.

This game is an old school style 2D sidescroller for the most part with a few twists added to keep things interesting and current. The controls are simple and very responsive, everyone was able to pick up the remote and get right into the game without any complications. The graphics are amazing; of course by Wii standards that is, you wouldn't mistake this game for Uncharted 2. Of course the story is out there and crazy, but would you really expect anything else playing a game like this and if you do you may want to reevaluate yourself all together. The closest game I can think to compare this to would probably be Mario World for the SNES.

Nothing really mind blowing here just a lot of careless hours of enjoyment and some good old fashioned game play. Sometimes it's really nice to just sit back and enjoy a game and not get all worked up because someone killed you or because you lost a match of team deathmatch because everyone on your team suck besides you of course! So to sum things up, unless your part of a certain systems fanboy association or part of a rare household that doesn't own a Wii do yourself a favor and pick this game up, you'll enjoy it. If you feel as if you're too mature to play a game like this, do yourself a favor and bend over and take the stick out of your bottom, there's nothing wrong with allowing your inner child to come out and play, especially in an ever so serious world filled with so much doom and gloom.

Well I'm done running off at the mouth, I know a little too late but I'm done. I'm going back to playing Donkey Kong Country Returns.

Happy gaming everyone!

Michael
3995226
So you know, I am an adult gamer.

I was amazed how nice & colorful the graphics were.  The backgrounds are pretty to look at.  I've seen too many games in 2D so this game is in 3D so it was a nice change.

Garfield moves gracefully.  At the beginning, they tell you how to make his moves, what to do and guide you through the level, helping you to get to know the game.  You collect coins, pizza and donuts for lives.  You also have to beat a boss at the end of each level.

There is absolutely no stylus usage in this game which is fine.  Some games require it whereas this one doesn't.  This game is 3D platformer like Yoshi's Island for the DS.  There is only one direction he can go to.  No confusion.  Or maps to remember.  (I have no sense of direction so this game is great for me) Just make Garfield go and collect items on the way from beginning to end of each level.

My sons also like the game too.  (7 and 9 yrs old) So it is great for everyone.  (even for adults like me who feel like playing an relaxing game) It's not highly challenging at all.  A 5 year old could do it.  I haven't gone far yet but I'm loving it so far!