We're kicking off the Negative World March Madness, where our favorite Nintendo games go head to head and only one may prevail. The matchups are as follows:

(1) Super Metroid (SNES) vs. (8) Nintendo Land (Wii U)
(4) The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GCN) vs. (5) The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
(3) Mega Man 2 (NES) vs. (6) Mario Kart DS (DS)
(2) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) vs. (7) Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

(1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) vs. (8) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
(4) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) vs. (5) Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
(3) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) vs. (6) The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
(2) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) vs. (7) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

Vote for the game that you think should win the matchup. Please vote on every matchup. Not having played a game does not disqualify you from voting. Please cast your votes in the format below, bolding the game that you choose to advance, with any comments on your selections placed after your votes. Please do not alter the titles of the games when voting.

(1) Game 1 vs. (8) Game 8
(4) Game 4 vs. (5) Game 5

Polls are open until Thursday, March 20th, 2014 at 11:59 PM EST. Enjoy!

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Posted by

PogueSquadron

on: 03/19/14, 16:45

(1) Super Metroid (SNES) vs. (8) Nintendo Land (Wii U)
(4) The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GCN) vs. (5) The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
(3) Mega Man 2 (NES) vs. (6) Mario Kart DS (DS)
(2) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) vs. (7) Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

(1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) vs. (8) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
(4) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) vs. (5) Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
(3) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) vs. (6) The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
(2) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) vs. (7) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME CHOOSE BETWEEN BRAWL AND GALAXY 2...

Posted by

anon_mastermind

on: 03/19/14, 18:52

(1) Super Metroid (SNES) vs. (8) Nintendo Land (Wii U)
(4) The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GCN) vs. (5) The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
(3) Mega Man 2 (NES) vs. (6) Mario Kart DS (DS)
(2) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) vs. (7) Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

(1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) vs. (8) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
(4) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) vs. (5) Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
(3) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) vs. (6) The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
(2) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) vs. (7) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

A1: I've never plays Super Metroid
A2: I reeeally want to vote for Spirit Tracks. I love that game a lot. But I can't. Wind Waker is just too good. If only Spirit Tracks had been matched against something else.
A3: I can't defeat Airman.
A4: I haven't played either, so I'll vote Monster Hunter Tri for 'Stache

B1: Galaxy 2 is very tough to beat. It's a nearly perfect
B2: Mario Kart 7 is one of the best Mario Kart games. Layton might be able to beat some of the lesser Mario Kart games, but not 7.
B3: 3D Land is great. Better than a lot of people give it credit for. But Skyward Sword is greater.
B4: SUPER SMASH BROTHERS.... MELEEEEE

Posted by

Hero_Of_Hyrule

on: 03/19/14, 21:35

Edited:

03/19/14, 21:37

You know what, I think I'll go back on my Dawn of Sorrow vote. I'm more intrigued by Monster Hunter Tri and I think it's a game I could probably get into if I ever got enough time to sink into it. Iga's Castlevanias never fully worked for me; they're trying to be Metroid without understanding what makes Metroid great.

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 03/19/14, 22:11

(1) Super Metroid (SNES) vs. (8) Nintendo Land (Wii U)
(4) The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GCN) vs. (5) The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
(3) Mega Man 2 (NES) vs. (6) Mario Kart DS (DS)
(2) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) vs. (7) Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

(1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) vs. (8) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
(4) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) vs. (5) Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
(3) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) vs. (6) The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
(2) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) vs. (7) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

Posted by

Cryojin

on: 03/19/14, 23:20

@Hero_Of_Hyrule
@TriforceBun

Ohhh, you guyyyys.


--You know, I think it says a lot about Monster Hunter. Everyone (I think, with the exception of Mop it up who disqualified it with "it's no longer online") who plays/played it (at least of who I've played with) has marked it as their choice to advance, but that doesn't necessarily happen with other games. There are games that we've played and gone "I didn't like it much, so I chose ________." Just imagine, if everyone played Tri / 3U.. (and NOT just the terribly confusing / confusingly terrible Demos..)

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 03/19/14, 23:51

@Mr_Mustache

I played past the demos and voted against it. Put about 5 hours into it. It just didn't grab me.

Posted by

kriswright

on: 03/20/14, 00:18

@kriswright

Oh, 5 hours.. Sorry it didn't grab you before that...5 hours is still Tutorial. ..Yeah.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 03/20/14, 00:27

@kriswright

Same here.

@Mr_Mustache

5 hour tutorial?

Time to take another lesson in game design Capcom, because that's garbage.

Posted by

Shadowlink

on: 03/20/14, 00:49

There are plenty of games where you're still learning a lot after the five hour mark. Xenoblade is a great example. Same thing with a lot of MMOs that might not get into certain mechanics until later in the game.

Guess it all depends on the use of the word tutorial. Sometimes you can only teach a player certain things before they're ready to move on.

Posted by

PogueSquadron

on: 03/20/14, 00:56

@Shadowlink
@PogueSquadron

Eh, there's a lot of moving parts. Once you have everything figured out, you're good to go.
The entire 1 Star Village Quests are basically a huge Tutorial. If I didn't tell you, you may not have noticed.

Like, they have you hunting little guys instead of big guys, and Harvesting Shrooms instead of killing stuff...because they want you to know how to get Meat and cook it, and find Mushrooms and Herbs so you can make Potions, stuff like that, so you can survive. If they just threw you into the fire, I'm not sure anyone would really take pause to figure out that other stuff.

Heck, they even have you fighting Ludroths at one point in the game, and they treat it like a boss fight even though they take about 8-10 hits. Funnily, I'm reminded of Lizardos in Ocarina of Time, which are almost treated like a boss fight themselves in Dodongo's Cavern, complete with boss fight music (and about the same length of time into that game that you'd meet the Ludroths in MH.. Hmm...).

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 03/20/14, 01:16

@Mr_Mustache

If five hours is still tutorial then whoopee. I got to the point where I was swimming around with a bunch of Plesiosaurs and that's when I called it quits. I'm not saying I'm passing eternal judgement on it or saying it doesn't improve, but I got to the point where I didn't want to keep going. I sorta thought I'd go back to it somewhere down the road but now with all the servers shut down I wonder what the point would be.

Posted by

kriswright

on: 03/20/14, 01:34

@PogueSquadron

Well It depends whether you're just learning or you're playing the game and picking up extra stuff as you go.

Like Banjo Kazooie. I would consider Spiral Mountain the 'Tutorial' area where you get your basic moves. Then it throws you into the game proper, but you still pick up new abilities along the way for the first half of the game.

If the first 5 hours are all about learning new stuff, then no, that's not fun. And explains my issues with Tri.


@kriswright

That that big water area whe're you're trying to kill some swimming thing? Yeah that's about where I quit too.

There might be a lot of stuff to learn, but they need to do a way better job of feeding it to the player. It was way too much.

Posted by

Shadowlink

on: 03/20/14, 01:45

@kriswright
@Shadowlink

Where Anand tried to sell me on the water combat (prior to release) with "it's awesome! You can dodge in 360 degrees!!," its one of my least favorite things to do, and Lou abhors it.

I wonder how much more you dudes had to go to get into something that you could really sink your teeth in. If you both quit then, and its still, like, Tutorial Land..did you ever get to fight any Large Monsters? Never even made it to the Great Jaggi? That stuff is the heart of the game; they literally put the Monster in Monster Hunter.

Anyway, if you feel like getting back into it, I think that the Single Player Mode is strong enough where you can play on your own and have a good time, but a lot of that was bolstered by my Online rewards and the like. Hmm. If either of you get the 3U version, I or someone else would gladly play with you to your heart's content.

Posted by

Mr_Mustache

on: 03/20/14, 01:52

(1) Super Metroid (SNES) vs. (8) Nintendo Land (Wii U)
(4) The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GCN) vs. (5) The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
(3) Mega Man 2 (NES) vs. (6) Mario Kart DS (DS)
(2) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) vs. (7) Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

(1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) vs. (8) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
(4) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) vs. (5) Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
(3) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) vs. (6) The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
(2) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) vs. (7) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

Posted by

Zero

on: 03/20/14, 02:25

How do so many people here like Spirit Tracks so much?? What's so great about it?

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 03/20/14, 02:50

@TriforceBun

I liked the train theme and liked it better than Phantom Hourglass if I'm remembering correctly. I still prefer Wind Waker overall though.

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 03/20/14, 02:54

@TriforceBun

I'd say what's so great about Wind Waker? Spirit Tracks had the best puzzles in any Zelda game. Puzzles aren't typically what I value most in Zelda games, mind you, but nothing substantive in Wind Waker was executed to that level.

Posted by

Jargon

on: 03/20/14, 03:44

@TriforceBun
Spirit Tracks has much, much better dungeons than Wind Waker. Above all else that is how I classify my Zelda games. The build up to the ending was so much better in Spirit Tracks too. Oh, and this:

Posted by

anon_mastermind

on: 03/20/14, 03:49

(1) Super Metroid (SNES) vs. (8) Nintendo Land (Wii U)
(4) The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker (GCN) vs. (5) The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (DS)
(3) Mega Man 2 (NES) vs. (6) Mario Kart DS (DS)
(2) Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (DS) vs. (7) Monster Hunter Tri (Wii)

(1) Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) vs. (8) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii)
(4) Professor Layton and the Curious Village (DS) vs. (5) Mario Kart 7 (3DS)
(3) Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) vs. (6) The Legend of Zelda: The Skyward Sword (Wii)
(2) Super Smash Bros. Melee (GCN) vs. (7) Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)

A1: It almost seems like a joke matchup, absolutely no contest here.
A2: I really enjoyed ST, felt it improved over PH, however it just can't compare to WW. Stunning game.
A3: I've not really played MKDS all that much, but MM2 is simply fantastic. Music, gameplay, it's all there.
A4: I've been meaning to try out MH, due to that, Metroidvania wins by default.

B1: Ooh, really tough one, had to give it to Brawl in the end. All the hype around SMG2 killed it for me, I'm in a minority when I say I believe SMG1 to be better.
B2: Hmm, not really played either of these games, but Professor Layton has never been able to draw me in really, so I'll give it to the MK series.
B3: I absolutely loved 3D Land, but Skyward Sword's control schemes made for such a unique experience. Sadly, it comes up short.
B4: Easy. I loved Melee. I have played that game to death. SMB2 on the other hand, never been a big fan.

Posted by

BetaWax

on: 03/20/14, 04:01