Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

My dream scenario would be for Pokémon Switch to not just be like Breath of the Wild - but for it to even be built from the ground up using Breath of the Wild's engine! ..there were multiple occasions, when playing Breath of the Wild, that the thought would cross my mind that a Pokémon game in that exact style would just be a dream come true! ..whether Nintendo or Game Freak would even entertain the idea is another matter - but, either way, I'd love to see another game built using that engine at some point - and Pokémon would be pretty much my first choice if I had it my way!

Valkyria Chronicles 4 is coming to the Switch.

Oh man, I've owned Valkyria Chronicles forever, but never got around to playing it. TIme to change that!

Oh hell yes. I wonder if that means the remaster on PS4 will get ported to Switch? Seems like an ideal candidate for a Switch port anyways regardless of the new game.

Reveal trailer for Valkyria Chronicles 4

Next year is already looking good for Japanese games:

Ni No Kuni II, Monster Hunter World, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Yakuza 6, Valkyria Chronicles 4, Shadow of the Colussus, Project Octopath Traveler, Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, Kirby Star Allies, Yoshi, Fire Emblem.

Damn good.

@JaxonH I honestly don't think we'll see all of those next year. Pokemon, Smash, Animal Crossing, and 2D Mario are really their only remaining bonafide mega hitting system sellers. I just can't see them releasing all of those in addition to Kirby, Yoshi, and Fire Emblem (not to mention Octopath or Pikmin 4); they wouldn't have anything left for 2019 as far as system sellers go. Sure, they might push Metroid Prime 4 as one of those major tentpole releases, but I think it falls more in the category of Xenoblade, Pikmin, or Kirby. That basically just leaves them with the possibility of hitting a home run with a new IP like they did with Splatoon.

Smash and Animal Crossing would be enough in my opinion. Surround those two with quality support exclusives like Kirby Star Allies, Yoshi, Fire Emblem (that might actually get pushed as a tentpole release honestly), and Octopath Traveler as well as indies and third party mutiplats/ports, and you have a high quality year. Leave Pokemon and 2D Mario for 2019, and push Metroid Prime 4 with it.

Personally, I'd like to see more new IPs, B or C tier franchises that aren't used often like Kid Icarus or Luigi's Mansion, and more third party collaborations thrown in to the mix over the next couple years.

@Tsurii 2 and 3 were crap.

@Tsurii I'll be a minor until December, so technically yes.

Never knew there was a Valkyria Chronicles 2 & 3 - were they Vita games or something?
(I'll look them up)

You missed out Bayonetta 3

@gcunit PSP games. The third one was never officially localized (there's a fan translation, though).

Don't forget about the true MVP of Japan's 2018 lineup: Gal*Gun 2!

@Ralizah Forgot about that one. There's also BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Yakuza Kiwami 2 will probably get localized too. Oh, how'd I forget Dragon Quest XI and Dragon Quest Builders II?!

I'll be honest, I thought this year was just a case of stars aligning and that there was no way Japanese developers outside of Nintendo would be able to follow it up next year. They're doing just that, and there's probably quite a few titles we don't know about yet!

For the record, I rather doubt we'll see SMT V in 2018.

@gcunit That would be excellent!

@Tsurii No, I'll be turning 18, lol.

@NaviAndMii Like with the items and the climbing? All I want is something that resembles the first three generations. No excessive story I don't care about. A bit of freedom is allowed, but a good amount of optional side areas to explore. And plenty of new Pokemon.

@IceClimbers Whilst I don't think we're going to see all of those games either, they can still release another Zelda game later in the Switch's lifespan, or another 3D Mario game. We've had two of them on a single console before.

@Octane Oh absolutely, but I wouldn't expect them until 2020 at the earliest if they're some sort of Majora's Mask/Galaxy 2 sequels. Remasters are another story, of course.

2020 could also be when we see the next games from Monolith Soft and the Mario Kart team.

@Tsurii I'm guessing drinking ages? The U.S is 21 for most States but 18 in most European nations.

Pokémonster hunter confirmed!!!

More seriously though, I hope they don't go full 3d. It is nice to have some RPGs that are top-down.

If we get Bayonetta 3 next year the rest of 2018 could just be b-tier 2D platformers and I'd be happy. Hell, give me Bayonetta 3 and just a whole bunch of mini-game compilations and I'd still be happy.

Seriously though, I'm kinda thinking we'll get Pokemon and probably something like Aminal Crossing or a port of Smash. Then the rest will be stuff along the lines of Kirby/Yoshi. I'd be surprised if Nintendo could release Mario and Zelda in one year and then follow up with something equally as big the next year. They have the big hitters now they just need to keep the volume up. Metroid for 2019.

@FX102A I still remember when it used to be 16, even that didn't stop 14-year old me! Good times...!

Yeah, kind of!

One of the things I really like, for example, is the physics engine in Breath of the Wild and how all of the elements would interact so consistently - I could imagine a Pokémon game perhaps replacing 'Runes' with 'HMs' or something (eg. Ice Pokémon could learn 'Cryonis', A flying Pokémon replacing the paraglider etc) so that you can manipulate the world and its environment in unique ways! Maybe even running in to Pokémon in their natural habitats and seeing them interact with each other (Pikachu's catching fish by sending an electrical current in to water or something, perhaps?) ..if they could weave the elemental elements of Pokémon games and balance them in the environment, it could be really cool!

Maybe they could replace the 'Hyrule Compendium' with a 'Pokédex' and perhaps mix in a Pokémon Snap-style mini-game with rewards for taking well-framed pics of Pokémon in their natural environment? ..you might wander up a mountain and accidentally discover a Legendary Pokémon - if you're not strong enough to catch it, you can at least take a nice picture of it!

Even with the story elements, the stories could be out there - maybe each town has its own crisis going on and the overarching story could be woven in in a similar way to BotW's 'Memories' system - and players could have as much or as little of that sort of content as they like, but the onus would be on them to track down the story elements out in the world at their own pace!

There are just so many elements of Breath of the Wild that I think could be a great fit for a Pokémon game if they really put their minds to it to make it work! ..that feeling of being rewarded for every little thing that you do - be it climbing a mountain, or exploring a wooded area, or wandering in to a cave, or swimming out to a remote island - and always finding something there to make the effort worthwhile, I think would just lend itself so well to the game!

One reservation I have is whether Game Freak would be able to pull something like that off...every little corner and element of Breath of the Wild's enormous, beautiful open world was meticulously designed and created and woven together to form one grand tapestry - having the engine (or similar) would be a start, but building the world would take a lot of thought and effort and probably many years working and reworking if they wanted to get it right (certainly to get it anywhere close to BotW's level!)

Unless we hear something a bit more solid, I'm going to continue to assume that we're going to get an XY/SM-style game, just with a HD presentation instead - but, yeah, I'd prefer to see something like you suggested for sure (Gen 2 is still my favourite!) - and a Breath of the Wild-style Pokémon is just pure fantasy! ..but one can dream!