Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Ralizah
Seems Paper Mario also getting review bombed. User scores have become completely useless. It’s just a bunch of people giving perfect 10s, and salty fanboys giving 0s. So either the review bombing drags scores down too low, or lack of review bombing allows score to go too high. It’s completely unreliable.

And I stopped trusting official review aggregates after seeing the gross disparity between access media and YouTube reviewers for first Death Stranding, and then Last of Us 2 as the final nail in the coffin. I don’t think the accusations of being paid off are warranted, but something is causing the sharp divide, and I just don’t trust anything they say anymore.

It’s hard to find reliable sources I can trust. YouTube is the best I’ve found, but even then I disagree sometimes (Paper Mario is much better than some of reviews I’ve seen led on). I trust ACG and SkillUp but they often don’t do reviews for Nintendo games. It seems I can only trust myself and my own judgement nowadays. Heck, I give your little review excerpts on games more weight than most reviews...

@JaxonH Scores aside, I find most of the reviewers on this site write insightful and telling reviews, that usually are quite accurate. Though I haven't dared read their Paper Mario one.

@Grumblevolcano Pretty accurate. Sakura, Ryza 2, Cadence DLC and SMT III and V made for a good 10 minute show. Too bad they cut half of that out in the west.

@link3710
I used to agree with NintendoLife reviews but less so nowadays. It seems like with every game they find the stupidest things to nitpick and complain about, as if they’re catering to an audience believing that’s what the audience wants to hear. Like Paper Mario, complaining about the battle system not having XP, basically saying it sucks but the game is good in every other respect.

Which... I completely disagree with. I don’t care what ignorant consensus tends to be, I want to hear honesty. The honest truth is the battles have actually turned out to be pretty fun but so few people dare to say it because they know what the audience wants to hear. The audience wants to hear the battle system isn’t good because it doesn’t have XP (as if it’s some magical ingredient that suddenly transforms 20 hrs of gameplay from boring to captivating) and the audience wants to hear them rag on it and agree with them. So that’s what they say. Like, I’m well over half way through the game. The battles are fine. Ralizah is honest at least. Don’t always agree but I do know he speaks his mind and nothing else. So far he thinks the battles are fine. Maybe that’ll change later but I certainly don’t expect a 180. Even Arlo thinks the battles are fine, and he’s the supreme overlord of the “Not My Paper Mario” crowd. Which just goes to show he’s brutally honest. Even though he likes the old formula he’s honest enough to admit that this new game actually does nail it pretty good. But so many people kowtow to what the audience wants to hear. That or they just represent a group I don’t identify with. A group that finds things not fun that I find to be very fun.

Either way, it’s hard to find trustworthy reviewers that consistently convey opinions I can take to the bank that actually cover Nintendo games. Access media can be reliable unless it’s a major, hyped AAA game (especially Sony exclusives) in which case they give the score they expected and hoped it would be, not what it actually is. And, they’re off for certain genres like 2D platformers. DKC Tropical Freeze should be at a 95/100. All day long. And Destructoid did originally give it a 10. Yet I still remember GameSpot’s “environments are bland, mechanics aren’t precise, boring level design, 6/10” review, for a game that had THE MOST AMAZING environments, THE MOST PINPOINT precision and level design with MORE LAYERS THAN AN ONION. It felt like when my ex slapped me in the face, then called the cops and said I hit her. Complete opposite of the truth. That was the first time I realized reviewers were absolutely full of hogwash whenever they have an agenda to push.

And even certain YT reviewers like HappyConsoleGamer, despite the fact I like them as a content creator, loves just about every game they review. Can’t trust that.

I’d say SwitchUp and SwitchWatch are the ones I consistently trust most nowadays for Nintendo content. Sometimes they complain about price which I think is completely irrelevant to a review- prices will change, review scores won’t, so if you review a game accounting for the price then your review becomes outdated the moment the game drops price, and they never go reevaluate the score with different prices in mind. Plus, different people will find different prices appealing- it should never be a factor in scoring a game.

Some will say, “but a cheap indie should be scored differently than a game for $60”. But I say no, they shouldn’t. All games should be scored on the same scale, period. I don’t care if it’s a game for $2 or $200. You only have a limited amount of time. And I want to know the quality of the content before I consume it irrespective of what it costs. Once I know the quality I will make a personal decision as to whether the current asking price is justified by that content. An indie game shouldn’t get a 9/10 just because it cost $10. It should be scored according to the same scale every other game is scored by. I want to know how good is it compared to those AAA $60 games. If it’s not as good then I expect a lower score, simple as that. I want standardization. I will decide whether I should buy based on price. But that shouldn’t be decided FOR ME by taking THEIR opinion of current, temporary price and permanently contaminating the overall review analysis with it.

@JaxonH There's a reason I like being a member of a smaller gaming forum. I tend to be more trustful of people I talk to throughout the week for years on end than random website reviewers or mobs of angry, vaguely alt-right 'hardcore gamers' shrieking when their expectations for a game aren't met 100%.

RE: Paper Mario, I betcha it ends up being a Wind Waker lite situation. People hate it now, but it'll gain a cult following in the future. Good games always, eventually, gain a following.

You can't trust anyone nowadays. The only way I found actual good reviews is by digging deep. Deep inside all the trash(there's always one honest person) or wait until the dust settles. Funny thing is I still find the user review(that helps) on Metacritic.

It came to mind that on Thursday during the Xbox event we may get info on the Cuphead DLC and hence also the physical version of the game.

@Grumblevolcano I COMPLETELY spaced the upcoming Cuphead DLC. How many years has that been in the works now? I hope we do hear about it.

@Ralizah
Just found out that the SMT franchise was actually review bombed back in 2018 by the far left cult at Resetera because they were upset at Catherine Full Body over trans stuff. That kind of behavior is par for the course for them- they just banned Angry Joe and SkillUp for giving TLOU2 a bad review, used the same trans outrage nonsense to justify it”- they preach tolerance, but only practice it toward those who agree with everything they say, the moment someone steps out of line with the dogma, they ruthlessly attack in a frenzy. It’s funny how the extremes of both sides tend to have so much in common, almost as if the farther out you go, it eventually just wraps in a circle and they meet on the other side. Well, at least in general terms. The RE group is all about cancel culture and political correctness and punishing wrongthink (ie anyone who doesn’t think exactly like they do). They’re always doing everything they can to sabotage Catherine because the devs didn’t grovel at their feet and beg forgiveness for their “heinous bigotry”.

So I guess it’s fake news. I fell for it too.

But the fact I actually believed the fanbase was capable of doing such a thing speaks volumes. I know every fan base can be toxic, but lately it seems like it’s getting worse. I feel better knowing this wasn’t from us though. Otherwise we’d be no better than them

@JaxonH Weird. I guess a lot of Atlus' other games had low enough numbers of scores that the Reset Era crowd could sway the ratings a lot more.

And yeah, horseshoe theory is a thing, and is something that's easy to observe when you frequently interact with extreme political communities online. It's why I don't get on with hardcore ideologues of any stripe.

LOL

https://www.play-asia.com/gesshizu-mori-no-chiisana-nakama-ta...
Gesshizu Mori no Chiisana Nakama Tachi

The game was NOT from Mini Direct but definetely stole my attention as this game created by same developer Nippon Columbia for Cute / Girlie games on Nintendo machines. 😁

I saw a lot peoples were moaning about No upcoming 1st party on Switch.
I don't really mind as if i can play quirky or cute games that outside from the Direct.

@Ralizah
There were about 250 reviews on them so quite a mob. Enough to pull scores down on a niche series, anyways. I actually didn’t know they did this until now. Someone pointed out this person posted about it two years ago, then used the same picture to make a new post and slander Switch fans, makzing people think it just happened, so this person was trying to deceive people, and was hugely successful judging by the thousands of responses and likes. Which.. that right there. Why would someone do that? Intentionally lie and demonize an entire group of people for something they know they didn’t do.

And, exactly. Most people are centrist and moderate by nature, and can have meaningful debates even if they have differing opinions, and even enjoy the intellectual stimulation. Explain why they believe what they do, listen to the other persons stance, both with an open mind to change their mind. But nowadays it seems like extremism is becoming the norm. In literally everything. Be it politics, video games, sports, activism...it’s depressing.

These forums are an oasis in a world brimming with eccentric fanatics.

Awww.

https://specialreservegames.com/games/gris/

I didnt even know all the special edition stuff had gone on sale Its sold out now. Not blaming nintendolife it's my fault for not being aware/informed...but it would have been nice to get a reminder in the news section that it was going on sale. Or maybe there was a news piece and I missed it. A shame

@JaxonH
I agree! Why do people feel the need to identify so strongly with the absolute poles of left or right ideals? I mean, come on, we're all nerds. We all felt the chill when we heard Anakin say, "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy."

If Star Wars isn't the best teaching tool, I don't know what is.

You heard the man, kill your family 🤣

@JaxonH Oh I recall when that happened. It was so stupid. Like, don't get me wrong I heard the issues, but it sounded like Rin was still the best attempt at putting a trans character in a major role by a major publisher... Pretty much ever.

@Tangerine it's not sold out, it doesn't go on sale for another two days.

i agree! I am finding myself a lot less wanting to be on Facebook or any other media platform...apart from posting here every now and then for ideas and just nerdy stuff.

Hmm... It says sold out for everything but the game itself.

https://specialreservegames.com/games/carrion/

This also goes on sale in 2 days but none of the options say sold out on them.

What do you reckon?

@Tangerine It's this listing:
https://specialreservegames.com/gris-switch-single/

Gris was already released once on this site, they're doing a second printing. That's why everything else is sold out other than this one listing.