Topic: RetroActive #21 Poll: GBA Ambassador Edition

[Jonnyboy117]

Note: These games may already be available to you for free as part of the 3DS Ambassador program. They are not available for purchase through the eShop at this time, if you bought a 3DS after the Ambassador program enrollment expired. However, all three are readily available in their original GBA cartridge format for approximately $20 or less, and they will play on any GBA system as well as the original Nintendo DS and Lite.

[xcwarrior]

Voted for Kirby simply because I already beat Sacred stones. Kirby or Wario Land, I hope to play along which should make retroactive even more fun to listen to.

[TheFleece]

I throwing my chips in for Fire Emblem because I started playing and I have to break my codependency on Minnish Cap otherwise I'll never beat it.

[Kikori]

Voted for Fire Emblem because I've not listened to the RFN crew discussing this series much.

[Lithium]

Wario Land all the way, I've only played the newest wii game and would love to play some of the others.

[TJ Spyke]

I would have preferred Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3. Since that is not an option, I went with Kirby & the Amazing Mirror.

[Nbz]

I'm gonna be busy revising for exams so I went with FE, simply because I've played the game to death, and would get the biggest kick out of listening to that discussion ^_^

[syn4aptik]

My vote is for Warioland 4.  This will be my first Warioland game, and I am looking forward to playing through what seems to be a fairly challenging game (at least from the first few levels I've tried).

[ejamer]

Wow, awesome choices for this poll. I don't really care what wins: I'd happily play along for any of these games. With such a strong lineup of GBA Ambassador games, that's not a surprise though.

[noname2200]

I love the Fire Emblem games, and would love to have them discussed on the podcast in depth sometime.

But many of the recent Retroactive games have been lenghty RPGs. Fire Emblem demands not just a large time commitment to get anywhere, but it's worse than most SRPGs in that death is permanent, so I'm afraid that few people will ever get particularly far in the time the Retroactive is...active.

So instead of Fire Emblem, I'm going to go with Wario Land, since I've never met a Kirby game I've particularly liked.

[gojira]

I don't find Kirby games to be any fun.  I also think that Wario 4 is one of the weakest in the series.  So I vote for Fire Emblem.  Although I'll probably just talk about how much better the Gamecube game is.

[lolmonade]

Went with WarioLand 4.  Am delighted that this is an ambassador-edition retroactive, because i've blown all the remaining $$ I had on steam Sales.  Also assuming (maybe incorrectly) that i'd be able to play through and beat WarioLand 4 quicker than the other two.

EDIT: Changed to Fire Emblem.  Further comments about the series has piqued my curiosity.

[TheYoungerPlumber]

I'd be happy with any of these. As with most of the Ambassador GBA games, I've already played them and they are good games. I kind of hope Wario Land 4 doesn't win, though, only because it would make it less likely that Wario Land 2 or Wario Land 3 (better entries in the series) would be selected in the future.

For those wary of Kirby games: Amazing Mirror is actually closer to a Metroidvania game in structure.

[Shaymin]

Despite the presence of an RPG on the list, I voted for Wario Land. I've never played a Wario Land game since borrowing the original for 10 minutes when I was still in grade school.

[ejamer]

... I kind of hope Wario Land 4 doesn't win, though, only because it would make it less likely that Wario Land 2 or Wario Land 3 (better entries in the series) would be selected in the future.

...

Having recently played Wario Land 3, I strongly prefer the pacing and design changes they made in 4. But maybe it's better not to discuss until finding out which game wins the poll. Do you talk about your preference on one of the Radio Trivia or NWR podcasts?

[Glad0s]

I chose Fire Emblem, since that's the ambassador game I've put the most time into, and also my favorite of the three.

[frostybro24]

god im hoping for fire emblem. id never played one until two days ago and ive already put 10 hours into it

[Soren]

Of course I'm saying Fire Emblem. I'm knee deep in a backlog of games (must.finish.Skyward.Sword) I'm starting to get into my thesis, and I have plenty of work to do. But of course I can devote 20+ hours for Fire Emblem.


I've also never played The Sacred Stones. 

[Eyothrie]

I'll be happy with either Wario Land 4 or Fire Emblem.  I've never played either game, and I've never played any of the Fire Emblem games before.  I do enjoy Kirby, but I'm pretty burned out on them right now having played Mass Attack and a little Return to Dreamland multiplayer just in the past few months

[fordrob]

My first Wario Land game was Shake It.  After playing a bit of Wario Land 4, I was surprised by how similar the two were.  Do prior games in the series follow the same formula as well?

[Ceric]

I went with Fire Emblem.  Mostly because of the excellent Ogre 64 Retroactive.

[ejamer]

My first Wario Land game was Shake It.  After playing a bit of Wario Land 4, I was surprised by how similar the two were.  Do prior games in the series follow the same formula as well?

Some parts are similar, but the formula changes from game to game...

The first Wario Land is more of a traditional platformer, although quite slow paced and focused on gathering treasure and finding secrets. The second and third games are quite different, adding a lot of puzzle and story elements that weren't really there before - especially notable for changing Wario's abilities after interacting with certain enemy characters. The most recent Wario Land games return to a more traditional platforming structure and add the race to the starting point once you "finish" each level.

My favorite game in the series is Shake It, in part because of the gorgeous audio/visual but also because it has the fastest pace and most interesting level design. Little things like the secret maps and achievement-like goals also give it a huge boost over the more straight-forward Wario Land 4.  However, all of the games in this series are still fun to play and it's neat to see what changed (or didn't) between each release.

[Darkurai the Oracle Pony]

Fire Emblem was my choice. I have little interest in Wario Land, and without multiplayer, Amazing Mirror is just a bastardization of its former self.

[intervenient]

I voted Kirby, solely because I have no idea what is going on, and Jonny gave it a high review when it was launch.

[leahsdad]

I voted Kirby, I've already played Wario and for the love of all that is holy, I cannot "speed run" Fire Emblem.   Beating the game in a number of weeks, for me, is speed running.   I just don't have that kind of time.