Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Ralizah Xbox has some great games this year... Just most of them were not theirs.

I mean I don't think its that they don't care (at least sometimes) and more that they have very specific tastes for games half the time. Which is a very award show problem. Oscars and Grammys love their nostalgia love letters and long running uncontroversial favs, gaming critics love their big budget action movie games/open world steal-action games with a flare for the cinematic (and meaningful stories that a normie audience would usually get). So those types of games are often considered the very best, even if a truly great mid tier JRPG or platformer comes out. But no matter how great, its unlikely to blow them away the same quantity of people Sony's next big thing will. And to be fair, half the games I'd go nuts for by comparison are also very specific "it does the thing I like very well" with no other thought needed.

But there are also points where they obviously got something wrong. Maybe because Nintendo fans are high up on games that have been out for a while, but in hindsight Kirby Planet Robobot was obviously one of the most acclaimed games of 2016 right? Like people are obviously gonna look back and be confused on why it isn't widely considered to be that the year it came out? Uncharted but prettier graphics should not cut it, no matter how much you love the previous games (The other nominations were ok-ish at least). Let alone how the first one in 2014 was won by Dragon Age: Inquisition, a game that might as well have stopped existing the moment Witcher 3 came out.

But I am also being nicer partially because last year had actually interesting nominations and was won by an indie game by the one guy who I'd actively be happy for winning this unimportant award.

@kkslider5552000 I don't disagree about your point on critic genre preferentialism (the reason Sony is in serious contention for the big award so often is because they've mastered, with an almost scientific level of precision, the art of developing the gaming equivalent of oscar bait), but there have been too many snubs over time that don't make sense unless you account for a form of platform preferentialism as well.

Either way, I think I'm done contributing to viewership statistics for any event headed by Geoff Keighley going forward. TGA is pretty much always a waste of time.

I think you should go back and finish Galaxy. It's a beautiful game that will stand the test of time, and it beats Odyssey any day of the week. Easy clap, no difficulty.

Super Mario Galaxy would be an almost perfect game if it featured a master level as a reward for completing the rest of the game 100%. That was, IMO, the one big improvement the sequel made. I don't regret completing SMG twice over as both brothers, but the reward for doing so is unremarkable.

I don't think so.
I have finished the Wii version and it was a butthurt to finish the game as some of places were not enjoyable to play. It was like punishing Ninja Warrior hurdles to clear and I oftenly lost of multiple lives from tiny mistakes.
I'm not masochist so I don't want to replay the same places again if I found those places are not fun to play. One time finish the game is already enough for me.
I still thought Ratchet & Clank games on PS3 & PS4 are more enjoyable to play than Super Mario Galaxy games. Even my Super Mario Galaxy 2 Wii still not finished yet (currently at World 5).

Super Mario Galaxy is as close to perfection in a video game as I know. It might even be my favourite game.

I had been away from gaming for a while after the SNES and I struggled with moving in a 3D space. Until I played Galaxy. Everything was such a joy and although I found it hard adjusting, especially for some bosses I’d breeze through now (like hitting back the watermelons), I persevered and beat it.

I did enjoy Odyssey and maybe it could never compete with what Galaxy meant to me, but in the back of my mind I couldn’t help being a little disappointed in comparison.

Galaxy is my favorite soundtrack of any game ever. It's soooooooooooooo good.

But that's just three categories, Switch exclusive, multiplatform and RTS

We all know that Sony's endgame with PC is the same as Microsoft's, day 1 console + PC. Their strategy is all about gradually getting the PS userbase more used to smaller gaps over time so like HZD had a 3 year gap, Miles Morales will be a 2 year gap, Legacy of Thieves Collection will be close to 1 year, TLoU Part 1 will probably be a few months and then TLoU Factions 2 will be day 1 PS + PC.

I'd guess that GoW Ragnarok will be the last 1st party PS title that doesn't launch day 1 on PC. Of course there is a lot of catchup to do but that was the case with Xbox too, you had MCC come to PC 5-6 years after the Xbox release meanwhile games like Gears 5 were day 1 on XB1 and PC for example.

Switch release schedule for the rest of the year is still gonna take all my money. I’m shocked that the game awards has such a draw among actual gamers. I just want info on new games, who cares about some arbitrary popularity contest that isn’t balanced from the start. Perhaps I am old. I haven’t cared about that stuff since I stopped watching the kids choice awards in my teens.

Anyone getting kirby’s dream buffet day 1?

@DarthNocturnal
I actually agree. Galaxy never grabbed me the way it did for so many others. Not saying it isn't a great game- I can't really share an opinion on it because I haven't played much. It's super unique and I love that, but for me, navigating the spherical planets and stuff just didn't feel as good as the standard approach, with say Odyssey or 3D World. It's why I never beat Galaxy, despite beating 3D World and Odyssey.

But that's just my initial feelings based on what I've played. Enough ppl agree on it being one of the best games of all time though, that I feel that has to have some merit. Perhaps if I played more I'd be convinced. One day I intend to get back to it.

@Ryu_Niiyama
I think I'm skipping Dream Buffet. It seems largely multiplayer focused, so unless reviews reveal it can be enjoyed solo, I'll probably be skipping that one. It does look fun for local MP though.

@Ryu_Niiyama It's the announcements that give the show attention. For example with the Game Awards having major BotW info in 2014, 2016 and 2017 a lot of Nintendo fans will watch this year expecting BotW 2 news.

Don't think it will happen though, Nintendo announcements at the Game Awards appears to have mainly been a result of the connection between Reggie and Geoff. After Reggie left Nintendo, the presence of Nintendo announcements at Geoff's events were only 3rd party Switch console exclusives (e.g. Bravely Default II, MH Rise) and Sephiroth being announced for Smash.

Microsoft and Sony always have something 1st party present (e.g. last year had Hellblade 2 and Horizon Forbidden West trailers respectively) and most of the 3rd party games skew towards PC/PS/Xbox so that gets those crowds to appear.

As for Kirby probably skipping given the online focus, I get the feeling it would be hard to find matches once Splatoon 3 comes out.

One thing I do find annoying about the Switch (or just about any console platform, I guess) is the lack of any interaction option with my friends. Like, I'm glad people have added me as friends on Switch, but outside of Animal Crossing: New Horizons (which I've never touched for a year now and probably never will) and Pokémon games (which I haven't really bothered with for just as long, probably not gonna even buy Scarlet and Violet either), there's not much I could do with my friends. Specifically, there's no chat option like there is on Steam with your friends. And unlike Steam, you'll have to rely on a third-party platform like a Nintendo forum to have any form of interaction with your friends.

So yeah, a pretty redundant feature unless you play multiplayer games on the Switch (which I don't since I generally dislike multiplayers). The only thing I get to do when I see my friends come online is nod and acknowledge.

@Maxenmus
That's long been an issue for most ppl. I've been saying for years they should add friend messaging via the online app. It's so much easier to type messages on a phone, and you could use it while playing. It would also complement the integrated voice chat the app offers for some games. That would be an actual good use of the phone app.

But it is what it is. Splatoon 3 and Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak are the only games I play online and both feature player invites. I can chat in Discord or here if needed. Not that I still wouldn't like messaging in the app though.

While performance issues are still annoying, I am really quite enjoying my time with Cult of the Lamb. Certainly more than I expected to. Never much cared for the sort of village sim style game, but that aspect is surface deep. The kinds of things you are expected to do will not show up in say an Animal Crossing, so it keeps things more interesting to me.

The other thing it does really well, in some ways it regards me of Loop Hero in a lot of ways, in that initially you are overwhelmed by systems but they all feed into one another in a really tidy way. Unlike some roguelikes/lites/whatever that intentionally keep you stuck on the treadmill, but Loop Hero and COTL have short and long term progression paths, with a clear and reachable end goal so nothing feels a waste of time.

I know it is somewhat old fashioned now, but I will always prefer a character where every unlock is permanent and I have built them over time rather than the "Tik Tok of RPGs" that is a roguelike/lite/whatever

@DarthNocturnal

Literally a AAA RPG featuring several major Mario characters.

This is probably going to be one of the best games of the year, but it feels like a lot of people are sleeping on it.

@JaxonH The player invitation system in MHR sucks, unfortunately. What was that code you use as a password again?

@Ralizah
How so? You just go to the courier, and select friend list and send an invite. Done and done. I've never had any issues with it.

The code I use is 5477, btw.

@DarthNocturnal
I was just gonna say, Mario Rabbids is the closest thing we'll ever get to a Super Mario RPG sequel, but Ralizah beat me to it. It may be a strategy game, and without much RPG elements besides getting better equipment Monster Hunter style, but it's very good, and fills that void of AAA Mario RPG spinoff as well as we could feasibly hope.

Though I do hope Mario & Luigi returns under another developer.

Well, I mean, the general impression I've heard from other people is that it seems like just...more Mario + Rabbids. Not really much of a new hook to grab people thus far. I wouldn't know either way though since I bought the first one ages ago but have never gotten around to it.

I mean, even in terms of favorites, its difficult for me to be excited for a game that's just...more of a game I like, for example. There's rare exceptions but its almost always more exciting if there's something exciting and new on top of things for a sequel, almost regardless of how much I will or think I will actually enjoy it. (this is exactly my feeling of Splatoon 3 btw)

Also it feels like Ubisoft has quietly collapsed into somewhat irrelevancy and its not been marketed as well. Whereas Mario + Rabbids was this bizarre rumor that then had an all time great E3 reveal that then came out in the middle of Nintendo's unstoppable Switch year 1, on top of the novelty of it.

I think a Mario RPG is quite ambitious though for what it tries to do to shake up the Mario formula. Changing things up with long-lasting franchises has my support most of the times as long as they don't do anything that feels like a cheap cash-grab. I've never really been into Mario games, but a Mario RPG might be something I might try someday.