Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

I don't really get it.

You're always progressing no matter where you go in Zelda. Regardless of where you wander, shrines are everywhere, and shrines are a defining metric of progression. They're how you level up. Get stronger to prepare you for harder battles. Shouldn't matter where you go. If you hit a wall, just bounce off it and go somewhere else. As long as you're hitting all the shrines along the way, what does it matter. You can fast travel back later, after all.

I scoured that map from top to bottom, left to right. And sometimes I encountered areas I struggled to get past. In which case, I just went around, or went a different direction.

As long as you're exploring new map, you're progressing. As long as you're sighting new towers and climbing them, you're progressing. As long as you're finding shrines, you're progressing. As long as you're finding hidden fairy fountains, you're progressing. As long as you're discovering more of the 4 main villages and Divine Beasts, you're progressing.

It's not the kind of game where a single aspect is the only progression there is. Heck, you don't even need to do the Divine Beasts to beat the game! Not a single one (although they are recommended and make the final boss easier). But you could do 3 of the 4, or just 2 of 4. I'd recommend doing all, but they're not required. If one is too tough for now, go find more shrines and level up, then come back when you're stronger.

Or, just learn to cook meals and potions, which can make any fight trivial. You can pause and replenish hearts whenever you want.

Yeah, to me, just getting to a landmark isn’t really progression. I guess in the physical sense, but it doesn’t really feel like I have achieved anything with that session. And like I say, constantly hitting walls and needing to pick up a different thread is kinda my whole problem.

Even using shock potions and stocking up on high healing meals/defence boost meals, I still got one shot by the lightning teleport combo because he’d take most of my hearts and disarm me with electricity and then combo up with a teleport slash and finish me off faster than I could get the menu open.

However, it is good to know they are entirely optional. I’ll come back to him once I’ve cleared the others, if I still can’t beat him I’ll just head to the castle. I am making progress to a different Beast now, not sure which one. There is still a fourth I have no idea how to get near, as I set on fire and die as soon as I get near it. I guess I need some sort of specific tonic for that? As the heat resistance tonics for the desert don’t work.

@Pizzamorg Name a game you've played in the last 6 months you haven't griped all over, cos your recent history is not good. Nocturne, SMTV, Mario Party, BotW... you're frequently griping about whatever you're playing right now. Maybe you should take some time to reflect on how you make your choices.

BotW doesn't have hidden gating. Once you're off the plateau you can go straight to the climactic battle. But if you're not very good at facing down tough enemies the idea is that you have to be more careful with how you navigate the environment.

And fwiw, I'm very much just an intermediate-level gamer (e.g. hard modes don't tend to be of interest), but Thunderblight Ganon was the first boss I took on in the game (not through any deliberate strategy, my curiosity just took me south-west once I left the plateau), so I think I possibly only had 3 hearts. Sure, he beat me down a fair few times, but I got the mudderfugger in the end, through good old analysis, trial and error, and perseverance.

I’m critical of anything I consume, as long as there is criticism to be had. And I had criticisms with all of those games you listed. I think mindless positivity and pretending everything is perfect, is utterly worthless. However, you are right, while exploring games should promote discussion on here the replies I mostly get are “why are you so negative” and then some anecdotal personal experience they use to claim I am wrong. So maybe this is the wrong environment for the type of person I am.

I see myself as a fan of video games. I see this site as my number one place to go to spend time with other fans and celebrate video games.

I normally have a long list of users on my Ignore list - as time goes by I have less and less tolerance for wasting my time reading random people's comments that spoil the fun and positivity I come here to share in. Only yesterday there was a news article about a Yooka-Laylee follow-up, with a few users trashing on what was a colourful, fun, pretty good first game in the comments section. I've got no time for that... 'Ignore'. That's not mindless positivity or pretending everything's perfect, it's just refining my experience of this site to a set of users that can express positives and negatives about games in a more reasonable manner.

Your NL account is a couple of months old and you've been a very active poster, so I don't want to put you on ignore, but my finger has hovered over the button more than once because I don't see the point in wading through what is beginning to look like a recurring pattern of negativity. It's not what I want to spend my time reading. I'm not trying to change your mind about the games, I just don't want to read the griping. I'm not questioning the validity of your views or your right to express them, but the way you've been doing it hasn't aligned with what I look to get out of visiting a Nintendo fan site. I stopped going to watch my local football team because I'd find myself sitting having to listen to moaners sat around me for 90 minutes (no ignore button in a football stadium). I'm not paying £30 to listen to that either.

That is cool with me, you do you. (: You won’t be the first person ignoring me nor the last, lol!I know people find me quite negative but I find critically engaging with games is part of my enjoyment. It is how I celebrate games but I appreciate that on the context here it often just comes across as grim negativity only, even if that isn’t necessarily my intention.

I don't think there's anything wrong with criticism, but I do think most ppl play games because they enjoy them, and the vast majority of their time playing is time enjoyed. So it makes sense the majority of time talking about the games played would be talking about the things enjoyed. It does seem odd when the majority of what one chooses to discuss is criticism.

Again, not that there's anything wrong with criticism, but I think all things in moderation. When the 90% of posts are complaints about games, it makes me wonder, 1) is this person not enjoying 90% of the time spent playing the game, and thus their conversation reflects their experience? If so, why continue playing a game you're only enjoying 10% of the time? Or 2) is this person enjoying the game 90% of the time, but nonetheless chooses to spend 90% of their time talking about it focusing on complaints?

I do think there's a point where, if one is spending more time talking about things they don't like in games than the things they do, it can become a drag for everyone involved, especially since ppl typically associate in message boards to share in their enjoyment of the hobby. Never ending criticism kinda puts a damper on that. Again, not that criticism is bad, as long as it's in proportional measure.

I don't think Pizzamorg is being dishonest with their criticisms, I genuinely believe that's just how they are- naturally very critical. That's what brings them enjoyment. At the same time, I do think some self awareness concerning how it can become overbearing and excessive toward those who do not derive enjoyment from the majority of discussion being things other's don't enjoy, would be beneficial.

I hope I've expressed this in a way that's not overly offensive to anyone. But sometimes honesty has to assume that risk.

Some people find the glass half empty, whilst others find it half full. But just because you find it half empty it doesn't mean you can't also say the other half is filled with a delicious beverage at the same time.

I'll just say this: I don't care for others telling people like myself or @JaxonH that our style of posting is too positive, which has happened in the past. In the same way, as long as it's targeted, specific, and civil, which, IMO, it has been, I think @Pizzamorg 's more critical posting style is fine as well. People enjoy games in different ways. And, for the record, they've also posted about the aspects they like in games such as SMT V and BotW.

I'm fairly intolerant of the sort of mindless negativity that pervades a lot of gaming forums, but it's also important not to shut down legitimate, fair-minded criticism, even if you don't agree.

People who are offended simply don't need to engage or can put them on ignore. It's what the function is there for.

I do always try and be balanced between offering the things I am enjoying and the things I don’t like. But that balance will be determined by how much I am enjoying something overall. And in fact, the more I like something, the more critical I will probably become because I like breaking down how things tick. I guess that is just how I am wired. Never my intention to drag the air out of the room though, lol!

Does anyone know when the cyber deals are going live for the us.. the Uk sale has been live for about a week now.

@NintendoByNature 28th, I think. Some developer posted about how their UK deals would go live in the U.S. before the end of November.

@Ralizah sweet. I've been eyeing the eshop relentlessly. Can't wait to see what goes on sale. I'm hoping xc2 finally goes on sale.

If you don’t know about it, Deku Deals is a great site to keep track of the games you are interested in so you can jump on deals. (I am not sure if I am allowed to link it directly, but you can find it on Google). I think it was @JaxonH that made me aware of it and it’s been of great use to me ever since.

@NintendoByNature i was wondering about the sale. I figured it was going on already but it didnt seem like much was worth it lol.

Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild even have a sunburn mechanic

https://www.destructoid.com/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-has-a-su...

@NintendoByNature @Pizzamorg Yep, Deku Deals is an amazing resource. I only bother visiting the eshop now when I'm going to actually buy something.

Deku Deals is great, I just wish it gave you a way to specify whether you want to be notified for a particular game's digital version price rather than physical, while other game notifications are for physical price. Right now it's kind of all or nothing, AFAIK. So automated alerts are often false alarms.

That aside it's excellent.

Deku Deals is pretty good, but the tracking of 'physical' prices is pretty iffy - I tried using it for that purpose not too long ago and all the cheapest deals it sent me to were 'code in a box' filth versions, or had other such issues. Plus I still have to use another site to compare prices across eshops. I do like that it has screenshots and a hyperlink to the metacritic page though. If it did eshop price comparison then I'd use it for all my eshop browsing.

@Ralizah awesome thanks. I'll check it out.