Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Grumblevolcano From some rumblings I've heard inside Microsoft, get ready for a crazy decade.

Making some pretty slow progress through the final chapter of Live a Live (which is technically the endgame). Sorta don't mind though, as I think I'll be quite lost once this is over.

I have one more dungeon to go, then off to face the Big Bad and then I think there might even be post game end game stuff too? Whoa. What a package this title is.

I umm'd and arr'd about completing every dungeon, as each hold strong items and XP, but I figured in the end I'd just get the prizes for each of the Heroes I am taking to the Final Battle with me instead, as otherwise I'd be here until Christmas and the Prizes tend to get you pretty close to max stats in the areas that matter for that character anyway.

Oboromaru's dungeon is so heavily RNG focused, I basically got to the recommended level just clearing that, so by the time I do this last dungeon and fight to the Big Bad, I might end up over levelled.

@Kermit1 After Microsoft's 2012-2022, I've no idea how to interpret 'crazy decade', but a few worthwhile games this next 10 years would be nice.

I do have so many games now, and am so happy with Switch, that I've completely lost track of the PS5/XSX happenings and will likely remain ambivalent to them until the new PSVR launches and becomes affordable.

@Grumblevolcano
I don't think having a game announced after is of any significance. The more interesting aspect is whether they have representation on the system with a mainline game.

Joker brought us Persona 5 Royal. Hero followed Dragon Quest XI S. Pyra/Mythra followed Xenoblade Chronicles 2, etc.

• Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak Direct Tue, Aug 9th
• Splatoon 3 Direct Wed, August 10th

Get ready. Two absolute juggernauts getting Directs tomorrow and the day after.

Well, I will not watch those Directs.
I have zero interest with those games.
I still busy with my backlogs on PS4 and my two PSP Rhythm games I got last Saturday.

@JaxonH I think it does, putting characters in Smash not only helps existing games but also lets the companies see interest about the franchises the characters are from.

Bayonetta in Smash Wii U probably helped Bayonetta 3 exist, Cloud in Smash Wii U and Joker in Smash Ultimate probably helped Final Fantasy and Persona break free from Playstation exclusivity (unfortunately in the former case Sony tightened their grip on Square Enix later on), Pyra/Mythra's reveal in Smash Ultimate teased that XC3 would merge the worlds of XC1 and XC2, etc.

@Grumblevolcano
I think ppl overestimate how much effect being in Smash has.

Games like DQXIS didn't seem to do all that much better than you'd otherwise expect. Terry didn't do anything for SNK with Samurai Showdown. Pyra/Mythra resulted in no notable sales bump for XC2. Min-Min and ARMS, nope...

The most that can be said is it brought visibility to Fire Emblem and drove a curiosity that eventually led to Awakening's success. But Marth was in Smash a decade prior and that never resulted in the franchise breaking out.

Bayonetta 3 would have likely existed regardless. Nintendo wants to keep funding that series.

At the end of the day, it's not really about sales or pushing series. It's just nice to see a spot earned. If a Smash rep doesn't have a game on Switch, I don't feel it's deserved. Sora and Solid Snake are a perfect example. At least with Snake I can understand it's an older character brought back. But they should have worked out a deal to remaster Twin Snakes. Sora just flat out doesn't deserve a spot though, with SE unwilling to natively port the games. Should have given that spot to Nohabino or the Monster Hunter.

@JaxonH I felt until the Partner Showcase which announced P5R, Joker was the most questionable but it's happening and a similar thing happened with Cloud (PS FF exclusives came to Switch in 2018/2019 after Cloud coming to Smash in 2015) and Snake (Snake Eater came to 3DS in 2011 after Snake coming to Smash in 2008). Right now the most questionable one definitely is Sora.

It would be nice if all these cloud versions like KH, Hitman 3, Control, etc. got native versions when the more powerful Switch releases (it's a reasonable guess that developers knew about more powerful hardware in 2020) but I doubt it especially regarding KH given all the rumours surrounding Sony buying Square Enix.

@JaxonH being in smash doesn't mean you get mainstream appeal (that is really just reserved for the big 4. Mario, Zelda, pokemon, and animal crossing), but I definetly believe there is a percentage of people who are buying, interested in, fans of series that wouldn't have been so so if they didn't know about the character because of Smash.

@JaxonH
Looking at your list, it's good to know that the Switch tries to satisfy the tastebuds of Japanophiles. Compared to another Japanese company like Sony, and obviously the American company Microsoft, the Switch definitely seems like the go-to place for JRPGs, with the Playstation being a close second (though maybe not in recent years, considering the PS5's lack of exclusives).

@Maxenmus
PS5 is desperately lacking in games. Practically all the games worth playing on the system are PS4 titles, or dual released as PS4 titles. Basically, if you have a PS4, you're covered for 99% of the games releasing on PS5. It's essentially just a PS4 Pro PRO at this point.

I'm sure that'll gradually change over the years but my goodness, it's already nearly 2 years old and there's only a very small handful of PS5 games worth buying that aren't available on PS4.

Not that I think it's not still worth owning. I got one, after all. But Idk what the rush is for some people. FOMO I guess.

I've never been a weeb or had any specific interest in hyper-Japanese style games. But I do find at least half the games I'm most interested in are JRPGs or developed by JP devs. Stuff like Triangle Strategy, Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Bayonetta 3, Harvestella, Persona 5 Royal, Nier Automata... JP games just have more flavor than most western games (though there are exceptions- Portal Companion Collection is a perfect example). But ya. I'd even estimate 90% of the games I buy in total are Japanese, even despite my aversion to anime.

@JaxonH
Considering what Hollywood and American studios are churning out these days though, as a non-American Chinese, I have no problems buying mine Japanese to be honest, especially when anime made up a significant portion of my early 20s. I think "flavor" is a good word to describe it, but also "culture." Plus, most JRPGs just seem to love their eldritch abomination bosses, something I don't mind seeing no matter how stereotypical it gets. Either that or you fight God/Satan, so that's fresh, especially when American game studios would deliberately avoid such subjects to not upset their target buyers.

@Maxenmus
I think it comes down to more creativity.

Western game variation seems to be much lower than Japanese game variation. So many Western games follow the same realism focused art style- its so lame. Not that some games don't look good with the realistic art style but when everything uses it all the time it's just not impressive anymore.

Japanese games have more elements of fantasy, more out there creations. More daring gameplay design. And even despite all the tropes, I feel like the stories are typically more interesting (though some games like Witcher 3 do a really good job). Japanese games also have better art styles on average, and less predictable characters.

Western games just feel so... corporate.

@JaxonH
Well, I don't know about "less predictable characters" though. There's a common criticism out there targeting "typical anime character tropes" in JRPGs, and it's one of the main reasons people refrain from getting into JRPGs because they find such tropes silly, embarrassing, or even perverse in some manner, all the while ignoring the fact that certain American story tropes can be silly or dumb in their own way, particularly nowadays. But I guess they simply refer to such American tropes as "camp," while referring to anime tropes as "weeb." It stems from a certain level of xenophobia IMO, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

I think "corporate" is a nice word to describe it. Western media has been more "safe" than ever, properly researched, packaged and marketed to the "right" audience, ensuring that they're not controversial and would pander to the widest range of demographics available rather than taking any forms of risk. But I wouldn't say Japanese media is some form of revolutionary either as anime has definitely taken a similar "safe" approach towards their animation style and music. I feel that most westerners would probably still find the anime artstyle unique because they either didn't grow up with anime or they just haven't been exposed to enough of it to feel the same saturation us obsessed animephiles have witnessed over the past decade. It's all stale on both sides IMO, which is why I dig up older titles than bother with the new (most of the time).

@Maxenmus
I definitely wouldn't say revolutionary, just better by comparison. Same for characters. For all the tropes in the world, I just identify with characters in JP games more. I like them more. They're more interesting. And maybe their designs have something to do with it- hard to say. But there's no denying I don't feel nearly as attached to characters in western games. I love Sniper Elite 4, but Karl is just another soldier to me. But a game like Bayonetta? She's wild, she's daring, she's interesting.

To be fair, Sniper Elite 4 is technically a military game, so having a soldier as the protagonist makes a lot of sense. In comparison, there are other action adventure games (which is what Bayonetta is classified as according to Google) that feature non-soldiers. Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2 is part of a gang; Kratos was a soldier but became a literal God of War; The Last of Us didn't start out with the characters being soldiers, merely survivors; Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn is huntress, not a soldier; A Plague Tale: Innocence doesn't have soldier protagonists, etc.

I get what you mean though about "daring and wild" characters that are far interesting, but especially with the likes of God of War, RDR2 and HZD, there's enough range in character traits to be found among non-Japanese games as well, not to mention the more non-conventional games like Stray (a literal cat) or even Slime Rancher 2. Destroy All Humans! is having an upcoming sequel as well that's unconventional, albeit merely paying homage to '50s UFO sci-fi.

I think that JRPGs tend to lean more into "wild and exciting" types all too often IMO, not to mention leaning into one or the other extreme end on the scale of optimistic cheerful types or the edgy, burdened with a dark origin warrior type. I think the latter in particular is the thing that has put people off of JRPGs. At some point, it comes off as pretentious.

@Maxenmus
It was just an example. Point being, it's not being a soldier that's the issue, it's the fact he's not that interesting. Neither is Arthur from Red Dead. Neither is Kratos. They're all terribly predictable and boring.

@JaxonH
Fair enough. I do agree that few western games offer protagonists that fascinate me... but then again, I've never really been that attached to JRPG protagonists like many people do either. Like, the only protagonist in a video game I've ever been attached to was Commander Shepard (Femshep), and she's from a western game, not a JRPG. Jennifer Hale offered enough personality in her voice acting that the character took on its own distinct style that was memorable.

And yet, I think that most protagonists are probably designed to be bland and generic for a reason. Persona games literally have silent protagonists so that any player with any kind of personality could feel like they're playing themselves in the game (same with Mass Effect). I'm thinking strictly RPGs, of course, so my observation might be skewed since RPGs tend to have such empty protagonists as a trend.

When I think of adventure games though, the first person that comes to mind is Clementine from Telltale's The Walking Dead, a protagonist designed for the games, not the TV series, and her character arc throughout the four games is pretty interesting and emotional. Then there's the Life is Strange games, the first of which I kinda liked for its characters. Doki Doki Literature Club is technically a western game and the characters are definitely something else.

I don't know. I guess it just depends on where you look. If you dig deep enough, I feel like interesting characters could be found on both sides of gaming as well. I know that I said that it's stale on both sides, and I still kinda stand by that point, but it's more towards the story than the characters tbh. Most storylines are rehashed nowadays.

Hmm, I've only played the God of War that came to Steam & Kratos seemed to be a pretty good character in that.... & I liked Aloy, too!
Good characters can do a lot to help a 'stale' story, I think. & Perhaps that's less of a problem if you haven't already been overdosed on similar themes?