10 Games That Absolutely Have to be on the Ambassador Program?

Nintendo recently announced that the Nintendo 3DS would be receiving a price cut, so they could really put pressure on the PS Vita. Early adopters grumbled at this, they were being punished for being loyal! However, Nintendo pulled out a marketing masterpiece. If you connected your 3DS to the eShop before August 11th, when the price cut would happen, you would get 20 free games, ten free NES games and ten free Game Boy Advance games. Five of each have been announced already, but what classics would you like to come to your 3DS, completely free of charge? For the purpose of this article, we shall be sticking with first party as the announced ones are all first party.

NES

Metroid

An absolute classic. This game innovated so much, and widely deserves the amount of praise that it gets. At first it shocked gamers by not just allowing you to go right and up, but left and down too. Back in the early 90s gamers were easily impressed. It also eliminated early forms of sexism by having the main character as a WOMAN. Then tore those new morals down by rewarding the gamer for being quick by showing them Samus in a bikini. In more gameplay terms, Metroid was the first truly free platform game, taking many aspects from the Zelda games of gaining items and then backtracking to discover even more. A truly breathtaking game, and its sequel Super Metroid is one of the greatest games of all time, and this one isn’t far off it.

 

 

 

Kid Icarus

This will probably be on the Ambassador program, simply to promote the upcoming sequel on the 3DS. However, this game is much better than a promotional tool. The game runs on the same engine as Metroid and was sadly less popular, probably because of the lack of bikinis. You can tell the links which show its a brother of Metroid as it has the beating bosses to gain upgrades. However while Metroid is very tough and will make seasoned gamers swear, this game just takes the piss. As you climb up through the levels, you can’t fall or you will die. You will have to be absolutely brilliant to avoid losing a life, and anyone who manages to complete this game deserves a lot of respect.

 

 

 

Punch Out

This was one I said should be part of the 3D Classics, but its looking unlikely. But it still needs to be played by the masses, so here I hoping Nintendo brings it to the 3DS. This game despite being over twenty years old is massively playable, which is why it didn’t change much for the Wii sequel which is also worth buying. The characters are unique and will certainly stick in your mind for a long time, especially the brilliant King Hippo and Glass Joe. And apart from the latter boxer, the game is really tough. You have to be on your toes and make sure you learn their tactics very quickly so you don’t end up knocked out. Also, remeber to give Coach a chocolate bar!

 

 

 

 

Kirby’s Adventure

The first Kirby adventure on the Game Boy is already out on the eShop. Have you downloaded it? If not, download it now and play it through. You done that? Well I’m sorry but you had to be taught that not all of Nintendo’s big franchises got off to such a good start. Kirby’s Dream Land was very boring because it was very easy and didn’t contain the ability absorbing that Kirby’s NES debut had. That is what makes this game such a classic. It was also much trickier than that Game Boy game which made it much more fun. It was also surprisingly large for a platformer of the age, and you would be playing for a long time. In fact, I can only think of one platformer that betters it…

 

 

 

Super Mario Bros 3

Nintendo would be idiots not to put the best game on the NES on the Ambassador Program. Super Mario Bros was brilliant, but the Super Mario Bros 2 we got was a departure which we liked, but wasn’t as good as we wanted it to be. Miyamoto and co then made a game that competes for best ever. The levels were designed to perfection and you could never blame yourself when you died. And you will die, especially on those maic last few devils which the Angry Video Game Nerd said was Hell itself. The graphics were also superb for the NES and packed in a lot of detail. It is so good that most of Super Mario 3D Land will be based on this game, and fans are disappointed that hasn’t happened sooner.

 

 

Game Boy Advance

Advance Wars

This series is very much underrated. The only turn based strategy games come from Nintendo themselves with this and Fire Emblem, and they deserve a lot more love than they get. The first few levels which introduce you to the wide array of vehicles, planes and boats that are on offer. Once you have learnt about all them, you must then balance your money with buying enough troops to beat the opponents. At the final few levels when you’ve learnt everything, it gets very tricky. One wrong move, and your whole battle will crumble and there is nothing more crushing than seeing the opposition troops slowly capture your buildings and defeat your troops. However, there is nothing more satisfying than destorying their last unit after a long exhausting battle.

 

 

Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap

Handheld Zelda games have always been good, if a bit short. This game perfectly fits that gap. Never mind that The Minish Cap has basically torn the Star Wars trilogy, apprentice betraying his master and turning incredibly evil, it is still a fun game with great graphics. This is the Zelda game that is often most forgotten because people often concentrate on the brilliant remake of Link to the Past and the controversial but brilliant Wind Waker, and the Minish Cap was forgotten in the rush. This game is very important though, because if the Zelda nerds are to be believed, this is the first game in the Zelda universe.

 

 

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Mario has had a good history with RPGs, with Super Mario RPG on the SNES and Paper Mario on the N64 and this trend continued with Superstar Saga on the Advance. The battle system was different though many of us red blooded males took a while to get used to it as we couldn’t do two things at once. The battle system was only one part of it though, as what seperated this from the usual RPG fare was the characters and writing. Characters like Fawful made this game simply amazing and the humour actually made me laugh at loud at points, which many games that attempt to be funny fail to do. This is a classic, and is almost the best RPG on the console.

 

 

 

Pokemon Emerald

We all know that with the pattern of games in the Pokemon series goes, that after we get the Rumble game, another Ranger and Mystery Dungeon we’ll be getting a remake of Ruby and Saphire. But to whet our appetites now we’re starting to get bored of Black and White, why not give us the now traditional third game in the series instead. Not only does this game build on what was a departure for the time for Pokemon, with there being two exciting teams to defeat in this version, but adds a lot of stuff. It marks the first appearance of the Battle Frontier and their signature Frontier Brains which first appeared in the anime. It also features a new gym leader and a new champion. A great game.

 

 

Golden Sun

The Game Boy Advance sure had a lot of great RPGs, and Golden Sun was definitely one of them. Well, that is what I am told. I am ashamed to admit this, but I have not played any of the three Golden Sun games, but that is exactly why I want the game to be free on the ambassador program. According to fans of the series, too many people haven’t played the series and experienced this Djinn battle system for themselves. I certainly agree, and want to be one of those fans and it would be brilliant if I got it for free. Because I’m a northener and I’m a cheapskate.