Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@mjharper
They really do.

Akira Senju is responsible for the Triangle Strategy OST. Not sure if they did Octopath Traveler as well. But ya, it's a hallmark of excellence for the game.

@TommyTendo I think that if we get a Switch Pro eventually we’ll get a price cut on the other models and a Switch Selects series (probably mostly bigger 2017-2019 games on sale for $30). Would love to see more copies of rarer games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 printed.

@LiNeR I wish I knew I would love Xenoblade 2 when I bought it, because then I would have bought the collectors edition lol

The thing I wanted the most from the Xenoblade 2 collectors edition was the soundtrack selection so initially when I got the standard edition and found out I really liked the game I was disappointed that I missed out on the soundtrack but then the biggest surprise of all happened, namely that the full soundtrack (not just the selection that was picked for the CD) was put on digital music places like iTunes and then I was much less disappointed (same happened for Torna). A non-Pokemon Nintendo game's soundtrack being widely available was pretty much unheard of (Nintendo also released a soundtrack selection for Mario Odyssey though that was delisted at some point, think it was delisted last year).

Now we don't even get Pokemon soundtracks anymore (Sword/Shield, Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl, Legends Arceus aren't present).

@JaxonH Yasunori Nishiki made the Octopath Traveller soundtrack, Akira Senju did Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood though if you know the anime show.

Personally i wasn't that blown away by the soundtrack but to each their own really. On the other hand, i really enjoyed listening to some of the new tracks of Octopath Traveller Champions of the continent and would argue that he improved a lot even.

TS has an A-tier OST. It's really, really good. Maybe not Persona 5/SMT V/Xenoblade 2/Mario Galaxy good, but a really strong soundtrack all the same.

But yeah, like many Switch releases, it doesn't fit into that AAA/indie dichotomy that Western publications and journos have latched onto, so, like Xenoblade 3, I expect it to be roundly snubbed come awards season.

@Ralizah I'd guess most of the awards' nominees are:

• Horizon Forbidden West
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Starfield (if it launches in 2022) or an indie game (Tunic perhaps?)
• A currently unannounced PS Studios game (maybe the rumoured Last of Us Remake?)
• Bayonetta 3

@Grumblevolcano Surely Zelda as well (if it actually comes out this year).

@Grumblevolcano I don't think Bayo 3 will be up for any major awards, considering it's a Switch exclusive not called Mario or Zelda.

Assuming they release in time, Starfield, BotW2, GoW R, and Elden Ring are all gimmes. Some sort of indie like Tunic as well, yes.

@BenjyK

As long as the inserted cartridge isn't in active use, yeah you can swap cartridges in and out while the Switch is turned on.

@Ralizah
Bayonetta 2 was nominated back when Dragon Age Inquisition won, but that was almost 10 yrs ago- the awards have become much more homogeneous since then.

The vast majority of games out there are automatically disqualified for not being the right genre, not being exclusive on the right system, or not being on the two extremes of mass market AAA and upset indie darling. The best games are never recognized. Only the best games within that narrow slice of the industry.

Heck, just look at all the Nintendo published games in 2022. And yet, how much you wanna bet they don't win publisher of the year lol...

And just for the sake of showing how crazy this year is on Switch, here's 3 more exclusives, even if not published by Nintendo.

@Dogorilla @Ralizah I think there's absolutely no chance of BotW 2 being a 2022 release. While I did think it was 2023 before the Pokemon Scarlet/Violet reveal, that was the thing that made me absolutely certain. Nintendo's not going to release BotW 2 a few weeks away from the first normal mainline open world Pokemon game (Scarlet/Violet is almost certainly releasing on November 18th) meanwhile releasing in October would disrupt Xenoblade 3's potential.

As for Bayonetta 3, Bayonetta 2 was nominated for GotY in 2014.

I don't think Starfield is a guarantee at all considering Bethesda's last game. And quite frankly, even Fallout 4 feels like almost a mistake of a GOTY contender when compared to 2015 games that still matter like Bloodbourne, Undertale and Witcher 3.

@kkslider5552000 Starfield's an odd one in the sense that it's the first true test of Microsoft's acquisitions. If it's not absolutely top tier quality then it'll send the message that Microsoft acquiring Bethesda made the quality of Bethesda games worse (which could be applied to the other studios Microsoft have acquired) and hence interest in Game Pass drops.

Considering how many issues people have forgiven about past Bethesda games, "top tier quality" is an extremely arguable point.

@Grumblevolcano Surely Nintendo have known that Pokemon Gen IX has been targeting holiday 2022 for years?

If so, why ever announce Zelda for 2022? Unless they never actually intended for it to be a holiday 2022 title?

I do agree that it seems too good to be true...but that's moreso in the context of everything else we're getting as well. In my mind there's nothing stopping us having Zelda and Pokemon in the same year.

Mmm... mmm hmmmm...

Yup yup. Fair point.

Zelda BOTW - Definitive Edition is supposed to be released in Western countries at some point. It was released in Japan last year. I'm waiting for it as I still haven't bought or played the game.

@Thrallherd I thought you were joking at first.

@Grumblevolcano Even if Starfield does release on time, that release date could pose a problem for The Game Awards as it'll either just miss the cutoff date to be eligible or it'll be so close that it ends up passed over because the panel didn't have enough time to properly evaluate it.