Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I dislike the vast majority of dormant Nintendo IP others hold in high regard. I can’t stand Advance Wars (same for Wargroove, it was just as bad- I know it’s not Nintendo but, still a spiritual successor of sorts) so I’m kinda glad it’s just Fire Emblem. I would’ve been down for a new entry on 3DS in 3D to see how it panned out, but I can’t imagine playing that series on Switch.

I’m also not a fan of Golden Sun. Never understood why it’s held in such high regard. And Chibi Robo... it’s cute and all. But Zip Lash was the best game in the series as far as I’m concerned, and that says something.

Tbh, most series that are dormant or dead... they just weren’t that good IMO. The exception to that would be F-Zero, but even that had its issues. The only semi-modern entry was harder than Dark Souls, which is a recipe for disaster if you want mainstream appeal. Kid Icarus was good, but again, it had its issues. Horrible control scheme- potentially in the running for worst control scheme of any game in the history of the medium, rivaling the claw grip for Monster Hunter Freedom Unite on PSP. It literally came with its own stand it was so uncomfortable. If they were to make a new entry in either series, those issues would need to be addressed. Dual analog with gyro would work best, like a modern Sin and Punishment.

Speaking of which, that’s a series that needs to make a return. Or at least remaster Star Successor.

@Slowdive i would choose F-Zero and Warioland.

"The two dormant series I'd bring back is **** everything you like" is certainly a bold take but ok

Chibi-Robo, when it's a sandbox adventure game, is one of the best IPs from Nintendo in my opinion. The original and Park Patrol are gold, and I'm going to try and teach myself enough Japanese to better enjoy the 3rd game that released on the DS. Custom Robo would be my other choice. It has the potential to offer another great multiplayer experience for the Switch, and provide another quality action RPG adventure to the library. I don't think there are any games quite like these two IPs currently on the platform.

Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is a better tactics game than any Fire Emblem I've ever played. Full stop. There's a big benefit to its complete lack of RPG elements, which is that levels are allowed to be more creative, and you're forced to come up with new strategies on the fly instead of relying on a handful of overpowered units. You're challenged to come up with optimal strategies to beat the levels as fast as possible to get a high score, which makes every level like an intricate little puzzle box.

I'd love to see Advance Wars revived on the Switch.

Don't really care about the others, although, admittedly, I've never tried Golden Sun.

I do really need to replay Days of Ruin someday. I was turned off by it at the time from the different tone and aesthetic, and I never got super far into it. But that being said, when I replayed the Advance Wars 1 and 2 on Wii U's VC, the difference in how the game works compared to Fire Emblem really stood out to me. Beyond just RPG mechanics, it seems like FE's perma-death really limits how compelling the levels can be as levels, because they have to broadly work for whatever you have. But in Advance Wars every level is either specific units you're given, or just bases to make your own, or both and each map was far more compelling for that.

I mean, I've only personally played the GBA FE games out of the main series, but I did ask a friend about interesting levels in Awakening and she only remembered them for story reasons so...yeah.

If people call Sakurai a genius game designer I ask.. why he hasn't been given chances to show it more. He has the talent but he's been working with Smash for twenty years so maybe he's rusty.

@TheJGG Whilst it’s not as flashy as creating Kirby or working on Meteos & Kid Icarus: Uprising I’d argue he shows it with Smash. The newer fighters on the roster has some very clever mechanics for what is basically a 2D fighter.

Plus I reckon he doesn’t like the idea of anyone else touching Smash as it’s his baby.

@kkslider5552000 Yeah, the bleak apocalyptic tone is bit jarring coming off of the happy-go-lucky tone of the other AW games, but I like it. When it first came out, you didn't see a lot of games doing the grimdark future thing like you do now. The story is actually interesting, which is more than I can say for other games in the series. There are also, for a Nintendo-published game, some shocking character moments.

But the real reason to play it is because the campaign is huge, meaty, and incredibly satisfying. The lack of a War Room sucks, but you do get the often really challenging trial maps, and, while it's totally defunct now, the online multiplayer was really cool at the time.

But yeah, one reason I've argued for playing with permadeath enabled in the FE games is because the expendability of your units massively impacts the game design, and FE games are designed with permadeath in mind. AW games are balanced around the idea of your units being expendable, and this allows a lot more tactical freedom, since you don't need to be committed to keeping every character alive. It also means drastically harder and more experimental maps.

Frankly, unless we're talking Fates: Conquest (which has the dumbest writing I've ever seen in a video game, but also some surprisingly experimental maps), the 3DS Emblems have VERY boring map design and mission goals. Even the GBA games, which had a bit more variety to them, still don't allow the same degree of tactical freedom.

@Slowdive F-zero and star Fox are the correct answers

I haven't played many games in most of these series but I'll go with Chibi-Robo - specifically a remake (or just a port) of the first game because I'd love to play it but it's expensive these days - and Kid Icarus, because a proper sequel to Uprising with HD graphics and gyro controls would be amazing. I guess Mega Man Soccer is only on there as a joke but imagine if Capcom made a sequel to that and it was actually good, I'd love that.

In terms of franchise preference I'd pick Star Fox and F-Zero but would pick Golden Sun and Kid Icarus because they would be more interesting choices for the Switch's library.

Wario Land should be enough.

@kkslider5552000
No need to get offended if I dislike something you enjoy. I'm just sharing my thoughts.

I've been seeing people talk about these same few games for years and years as if they're the holy grail of Nintendo, and I'm just gonna keep it real... I think the vast majority of dormant IP are dormant for good reason. That's not an attack on everything you like. Just a counter-opinon to the sea of Nintendo fans holding certain games on a pedestal.

@JaxonH I wouldn't say they are dormant for good reason myself, alot of the time it just seems Ninty don't have enough people to develop them whilst also having their own games to make.

IS are too busy with Fire Emblem to do Advance Wars, Camelot are too busy to do Golden Sun as they have Mario Sports something, Sakurai is busy on Smash to do Kid Icarus etc. In some ways it's lucky they have had Retro to make Donkey Kong and Metroid, Next Level Games for Luigi's Mansion etc otherwise they wouldn't be made as Ninty wouldn't get around to it.

Some like Pokemon Staduim do seem obsolete since Pokemon is in 3D now anyway and others like Star Fox will pop up sooner or later.

@jump
Perhaps. But I suspect it's just natural selection at work in the market. The strong IP survive, the weak IP fade away. Of course, that's a rule of thumb, not a law of science. Some good series have fallen to obscurity, and some bad series have lived on.

But that doesn't mean a new entry in a dormant IP couldn't be great. If the foundation is strong- if the idea is good but the execution was just mediocre, that can be rectified. I think Star Fox is a perfect example. Star Fox has the potential to be great, but the execution has consistently fallen short.

@JaxonH True but playing devils advocate on the same basis you're excited for Metroid Prime 4, you told a story about running around the office or something when it was announced. Now the series in general has never had truly great sales, even less than some of the games mentioned in the tweet and the last 15 years worth of games have been all over the place so from what you're saying it should remain dead too. ;p

Other will have similar feeling towards say Star Fox or Golden Sun and want the excitement of a MP4 type announcement. In anycase I'm all for Ninty having as many different franchises and genres going as possible.

@jump I was about to suggest that the next Kid Icarus could be developed by Next Level or (depending on how busy they are with MP4) Retro Studios...

The game did absolutely ooze Sakurai though. So I do wonder how well things would go if handled by another team. Plus it was pretty much a series reboot...I wouldn't want the series to be rebooted again as they had something so strong with Uprising.

Golden Sun? I think it's been long enough that a new team could definitely take it on. JRPGs have evolved a lot since then, and I'd expect a new Golden Sun to look and feel very different to the first three games. Whether this is a completely new title or a remake of the first two games, I don't care.

Nintendo are finally going to recognise Metroid and Zelda have an anniversary. And this is all it’ll be

@jump
Ha! Surprised you remember that.

I don't suggest it should remain dead. Metroid has always done pretty well. Consistent 1-2 million seller which is what at least half of Nintendo's IP do. And, more importantly, it's a fantastic series that is beloved. It's been consistently great. You could maybe point to spinoffs, but the core series has consistently been excellent. There always seems to be notable outcry for more Metroid, even when the last game wasn't that long ago. You don't really see much outcry for the Advance Wars or the Chibi Robos. You do for F-Zero, and I'd argue that's because it's top shelf series.

That's not the case for a lot of these other dormant IP, which are really only put on a pedestal by a small number of super devoted long time fans. Not saying they're wrong for liking them. That's fine. And I'm not saying a new entry in one of those series wouldn't have the potential to impress. But they're not really the same.