Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

Yeah, I think they'd probably want a little more than 'standard' retail for a physical version of both together, @Buizel ..... We'll see, of course but I certainly wouldn't be too surprised if that was £70, with the games being £40 each & save the £10 if you get both on the eshop

@StuTwo "Unhelpful" is a nice way to describe a camera that decides to point at the wall half the time when you're navigating tight spaces. This particular level is sadistic, since you're spending most of your time platforming up trees, and you have to spend minutes getting back to where you were if you fall. And, wouldn't you know, there are tons of enemies in this level that like to pop out of holes in the tree and knock you off.

I probably should have dropped it. It's so irritating. I actually dropped TWEWY recently. I guess the difference is that other game is very much the same throughout in terms of how it plays, so looking up the story for the last third of the game and then dropping it didn't make me feel like I was missing much. But this game continues finding new ways to torture players. I feel like I need to bear witness.

The moveset IS too big, yes. The more egregious sin is that this game has none of the platforming fluidity of Mario's adventure on the system. All of their movements feel very sluggish (which isn't touching the torturous feel of underwater movement).

The levels, as you touched on, are sprawling, and items feel like they're randomly puked out across them. I've seen so many people hold this up as the gold standard for collect-a-thon style platformers, and I just couldn't disagree more.

The sound design. Oh my god, it's like the game is trying to deafen me. I actually have it muted most of the time.

The graphics are definitely the best part of it, since this game looks pretty nice for a 3D platformer from that generation.

There are platformers from that generation that still hold up, but I'm genuinely disappointed with this one overall.

@Buizel I should've dropped it, but I didn't want to get into a cycle like I did with Mario 64 where I'd try it every few years, determined to not quit playing this time. And, to be fair, having fully completed Mario 64, I developed a... grudging respect for it. I still think it aged rather poorly, but I can see why people would've liked it.

That won't be happening this time.

You know, I still haven't played much of Yooka-Laylee (the original; loved the sequel), but considering the people who can't stop heaping praise on this like to dump on that game, I really should try it.

@Fizza Click Clock Wood is definitely the worst of the worlds so far. Four identical areas where you're scaling the same environment, except the collectibles are different.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it overall.

@Ralizah I can definitely see how I might have really liked it at the time (I bought and still own most of the "big" N64 games) but... playing it for the first time in 2022 it's just not a nice experience at all. When the best I can say about it is "it had cutting edge graphics for an N64 in the year it was launched and it's a better thought out & put together game than Donkey Kong 64" that's faint praise indeed.

Mario 64 - as you mentioned - has its own (major) problems if you're playing it for the first time on Switch but I think the genuine open-ness of the game design and (as you mentioned) the fluidity of movement makes it still quite refreshing to play for a short time (especially the first few worlds).

Being in the UK and having grown up reading our magazines I do wonder how much some of the fawning over Rare's games in our press "back in the day" is down to the fact that they were accessible for interviews and rooted in the same ZX Spectrum gaming culture as the people writing the magazines.

I played Earthworm Jim 2 for the first time in a long while yesterday and had similar thoughts about that (and the original EJ. Also the Mega Drive Aladdin). They're all technically impressive graphical show cases with a very particular sense of humour but awful controls, a sprawing "bigger is always better" approach to level design where you never really know exactly where you are/what you should be doing and they were all hugely celebrated by the gaming media here. I think they're all kind of games that leaked over into our reality from one where the ZX Spectrum "won the console wars" and British game design from that era continued without influence from the better 8-bit Japanese games. Is that why they got more than a free pass from the British press?

Incidentally - since it will inevitably come to NSO at some point - DK64 is awful. It has all of the same flaws as BK but adds plenty more. If you've never tried it then my advice is to skip it.

Oh my god, this quiz show thing in Banjo-Kazooie is evil. What the hell was Rare thinking when they made this game?!

Thank god for save states.

@StuTwo I've thankfully been warned off DK64 by some people I know who have played it. Not subjecting myself to that.

Earthworm Jim 2 isn't great either, huh? Might skip it, then. I don't need any more frustration in my life.

I've heard Banjo-Tooie's levels are actually much bigger and more aimless than in this game, which is a frightening thought.

@Ralizah I don't know why. But I enjoy reading your comments on not enjoying Banjo. It's hilarious. It reminded me of when Pizzamorg kept bringing SMT Nocturne up every two seconds.

@Ralizah Ah yeah, I don't like that part, either...I can already imagine myself as a kid, getting to Grunty's quiz show, and dropping the game altogether. How am I supposed to pay attention to all this stuff as my 6-year-old self??? When I was younger, the furthest I made it to was Mad Monster Mansion, so it's a good thing I didn't make it to that and Rusty Bucket Bay. Those parts would have made me...a tad upset.

Ah yeah, I totally remember DK64 being especially frustrating when I was younger. Out of all the games I've played during my childhood, that one is easily my least favorite. Ambitious game for sure, but kind of a disappointing one for me.

@Ralizah I’ve never played the quiz show part of BK but I have read about it. It’s quite a good high concept idea and having grown up on the nes playing some games with a pencil and notepad nearby to record lots of npc gibberish I can kind of see what they were going for. It was a decade out of date by that point though.

I’m regards to EJ2 I’d actually say that - even though you probably won’t like it - it actually might be worth playing for an hour or two now it’s free on NSO. The game might have awful level design and controls but it does have some unique (and occasionally very good) high concept ideas. A bit like the quiz in BK they are interesting to see. Plus it’s a short game that you can save scum through which makes it a lot more palatable (though robs it if a lot of context for how frustrating the game feels to play “properly”).

I think EJ2 might have been a weird DLC package for EJ instead of a sequel had it been released today.

I'll be honest, Ralizah treating Banjo Kazooie like its a top tier obnoxiously difficult and obtuse NES game is very funny to me.

https://nintendoeverything.com/nintendo-switch-online-leak-al...

This could be interesting

@MarioLover92 Rusty Bucket Bay wasn't nearly as some of these levels have been. Even with the significant swimming element.

@MsJubilee At least Banjo-Kazooie will never hurt me as much as Nocturne clearly did Pizzamorg.

@StuTwo I'm guessing each question corresponds to some bit of NPC chatter somewhere in the game, but I just can't imagine why anyone thought this sort of thing would be fun.

Suddenly I'm a lot more appreciative that I stuck to inoffensive Pokemon spinoffs on the N64 as a kid.

I want Pokémon Puzzle League. The closest thing we've gotten since is Battle Trozei on 3DS, but I want Puzzle League, dang it.

Also, never liked the Banjo games, or the DK64, or any of those 3D platformers from the N64 era. Mario 64 was excellent though. It's why I cringe every time someone says they should abandon the DKC series for a 3D version. Maybe it could be good if EAD developed it. But Tropical Freeze is divine, and I struggle to imagine any 3D DK game topping that.

I'm excited for Sonic Origins. My favorite games growing up were Sonic 2, Sonic 3 and Sonic & Knuckles, particularly Sonic 3 & Knuckles combined. I also loved combining Sonic 2 & Knuckles, and even Sonic 1 & Knuckles and Sonic Spinball & Knuckles after entering the secret code (A+B+C+Start???). Played those bonus chaos emerald sphere stages for days upon days, up to level 450+

But they're not including all that, it seems. Just Sonic 3 compatibility. Still, that's something I've been waiting on for a VERY long time.

I beat it! Gruntilda is defeated! I don't need to play this anymore!

Good lord was that a brutal final fight. People act like the recent DKC games are brutal vs this being some charming walk in the park, but this was one of the most consistently stressful and aggravating games I've ever played.

Welp, that's knocked out. Time to get back to my NG+ run of Triangle Strategy.

@DarthNocturnal
Oh ya?!!!

This is earth shattering news if true. I've waited all my life to re-experience the full functionality. This would be the first time in 25-30 years they're making that content available!

@JaxonH Honestly, I just want anything DK-related out of Retro at this point. Almost an entire generation of silence, and then it was announced they were going to be tied up for another 3 - 5 years developing Metroid Prime 4.

A little depressing, I won't lie.

@Ralizah
They could remaster DKC Returns to give us some something without pulling the team away from Metroid Prime 4. I'd be happy with that. It's been a few years since my last playthrough so it would feel fresh again.

I'd also like to see an HD modern remaster of the original Trilogy, where moving left and right doesn't yank the camera with you every time, with save states, reminds, and everything done in a nice, crisp, HD sprite style (think Ubisoft's Rayman Legends, Child of Light or Valiant Hearts). Or even in the modern artstyle but sprite based. Ooh! Or in the modern Tropical Freeze engine where it's 2.5D!! Actually remake the trilogy. That would easily justify the $60 price.

But... they won't. Regardless, Retro has been MIA for too long. Whatever game they were cooking up got canned at the finish line after 5 long years. Probably wasn't up to Nintendo's standards or something (very likely could have been that Star Fox racing game- would explain salvaging the concept for Starlink and explain the leaks). Whatever it was, it's why we haven't seen anything new from Retro in nearly a decade.

@JaxonH I'm nearly certain what they were working on wasn't Star Fox Racing (I'm pretty sure that was a misinterpreted Starlink leak gone wild). But maybe?

I do know that most rumors agree there were two separate cancelled projects during that time. One longer one, and one shorter one, and that they weren't working on the same game for five years. I'd wager that parts probably true, I don't see a game getting cancelled literally as it should be finishing very likely.

@link3710
It doesn't seem likely, since a game not meeting quality should be canceled sooner, but... 2 games in a row being canned also strikes me as unlikely from a studio that usually doesn't miss.

Maybe something was going on behind the scenes we don't know about. Whatever it was, clearly Nintendo had enough faith to cancel MP4, reboot development and hand the reigns to Retro, and actually tell us, the consumers, about it. Which speaks to their confidence in Retro delivering.

@DarthNocturnal
Those blue sphere stages would drive me crazy sometimes but I spent a ton of time playing them. They should have included Spinball in this collection.

Having said that, I usually complain they omit Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD from collections, and truthfully I'd rather have those than Spinball.

@JaxonH Might be a strategy that 3D Blast and Spinball get added to NSO Expansion Pack.

I forget, was it already announced about physical copies of the Klonoa collection?

I saw on Push Square that Europe has physical and digital but NA is digital only:

https://www.pushsquare.com/news/2022/04/klonoa-remasters-leap...

@Grumblevolcano

Klonoa has physical copies available from both Japan (English supported) and Europe. Seems as though Bamco will be skipping a Murican release, although we're still a few months away from release. Things could still change.

https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/nintendo-switch/klonoa_1a...