Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika
Ya, why is that?

5 years worth of great games to play, and yet a single upcoming game seems more hype than any of them, despite the fact it's probably not the best game of the lot.

And then once it releases and the hype fades, it becomes just like all the rest. Just another game lost in backlog. While the next new shiny upcoming release steals all the attention.

I recognize this is illogical. I see it with my own eyes. I don't want to allow my emotions to trump my rational judgement... and yet it continues to do so.

@JaxonH It's about Sunbreak, I have the same situation with MK8 Deluxe. The game just keeps giving and in regular intervals such that you get distracted from other games.

If the Booster Course Pass didn't exist I'd likely have beaten MH Rise + Sunbreak (the story content), Triangle Strategy, Blue Lions route of Three Hopes, Live a Live, route B of Nier Automata, FFVII and be a decent way through Persona 5 Royal.

@JaxonH Personally, I have a few games that I go back to all of the time and I collect some modern stuff. I'm usually playing a retro fps, Breath of the Wild, and something new. I collect smaller releases because I love carts. I don't get too hyped about things I'm not going to touch...but I do buy certain games multiple times, especially if they get a late physical release.

@JaxonH
Usually I have only two or three extra games. When it is down to one I buy the next games. Most games I play, I also beat them. There is really no need to burden yourself so much. Feeling a little bit greedy, who can really blame you for that. So many great games worth playing nowadays.

I am sure with enough time and practice you will learn to put your love and attention in one game, instead of looking left and right, if you really want to.

@LikelySatan
Problem for me is, I never know what I'm going to stick with until after playing it a bit. It's hard to predict which games will dig their meat hooks in. Sometimes games I thought I'd play through, I don't, and games I didn't think I'd play through, I do.

@Grumblevolcano
Ya, MH Rise Sunbreak is the game that never ends. Over 800 hrs logged now, MR85, and still going strong. The steady cadence of unlocks keeps you motivated- Furious Rajang at MR50, Valstrax at MR70, Scorned Magnamalo at MR100, Risen Kushala Daora at MR120, Risen Teostra at MR140, and 2 more title updates of monsters that will likely have unlocks at MR160, MR180 and MR200. And then the anomoly quests...

I feel like this is a game I'll play the rest of the generation, and maybe well into next gen, probably lasting until we get another MH on Switch 2.

And ya, having that forever game does steal time from others. I was hard-core into Dragon Quest in the 3DS era. Even modded my 3DS and installed Terry's Wonderland 3D. Was so excited to play that game. And now we have DQ Treasures dropping Friday, but who has time to start another game?! Especially with Final Fantasy the week after. And then next year doesn't relent. Fire Emblem Engage and Persona 4 Golden mid January, both of which are 100 yr hour games (they're long, but not that long lol)

And all I can think about is Final Fantasy, Fire Emblem, Pikmin 4, Zelda Tears of the Kingdom, Kirby, Octopath Traveler II, etc. The hype of all these games coming. Switch did something to me. Even before, it was always exciting thinking of upcoming games. But there's something about upcoming hybrid versions of games that really does a number on me. It feels like the most exciting thing in the world for some reason. Even 6 years going, that honeymoon period never really wore off for me. In fact, it was only strengthened when the OLED released. And that kind of exacerbates the issue. It's exciting seeing games release on Switch.

@Jhena
That seems like a good system to avoid the analysis paralysis and keep focused on what you're playing.

I think the issue is, it constantly feels like I'm missing out if I don't buy the games I'm interested in. So I do. But of course, time is a real limiting factor, so many end up never being played.

It's so hard to not feel excited for upcoming games, even though I know once I have them, they won't seem as appealing (of course there's some exceptions to this- Fire Emblem Engage is day one- I'm a diehard FE fan, Persona 4 Golden is one of my all time fave JRPGs, so even if I'm not playing day one I still want it day one, etc).

It feels like... it feels like for many games, if not most, the payoff of getting them is never as fulfilling as you'd expect after all the hype of waiting for them.

@JaxonH
"Sometimes I wanna play something different to spice things up, and can never decide what to play. It's a problem."

Just ask me and I will be a volunteer to give you some suggestions for never before played before games. 😃
And of course my gaming suggestions will be very very different. 😁

Some of my suggestions:
Epic Chef
Dodgeball Academia
Youtubers Life 2
Kitaria Fables
Moving Out
Doraemon Story of Seasons
Untitled Goose Game
Cooking Mama Cookstar
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town
Evoland Legendary Edition

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika I own all the Yakuza games, yet not played any yet along with a continuous growing back log of games I keep buying in sales.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika It's not on the Switch though.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika
I own all the Yakuza games as I got them all in Steam sales. They never really grabbed me. Not exactly my style of game. Plus, it's hard for me to stay invested in games that aren't on Switch- now that I've acclimated to hybrid gaming, going back to TV only feels limiting, since I play games at work every day and at the hotel each month when I travel. Constantly being interrupted as I play different games when I'm not home makes it hard to stay invested. The only game I ever actually completed on tv-only consoles after Switch released was Monster Hunter World, and even then I never finished Iceborn. And that's my favorite series of all time. Even that wasn't enough to keep me playing. I thought SteamDeck would help, and it has to some extent. But I think the short battery life, inability to seamlessly dock and no tabletop or detachable controllers has kept it from replicating that same versatility.

I've got plenty of different games on Switch, so that's not really an issue. It's more the fact I have too many to the point everything gets lost in a blur of hundreds of games to select from.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika Like a Dragon is a new storyline right?

@JaxonH
The feeling about missing out is very understandable, especially since you are a member on this site. Everyone is playing something and many people play the newest games and write about it. It is hard not to get hyped at least a little bit. Sometimes I also get that feeling like I am missing out. Seeing all those gamers on Youtube and on this site. This makes for an unreal feeling, like there are people who play everything and you have to play every big, hyped AAA game, otherwise you do not belong. And like you have to be fast or you will be the last. But they are also just human and do not have the time to play them all. You are not a lesser player, if you only play two or three games a year. I guess you will have to find your own way and learn to seperate hype, from what you really want to play. Maybe this process takes your whole life time. Who knows but I am sure it will get better with time. Just take it easy and do not forget, that you already are enjoying videogames.

@JaxonH
Sometimes you need to play smaller games or unpopular games like my suggestion so you will understand why did I like those unpopular games.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika
I Kickstarted Hollow Knight as a backer before it blew up. I've played it.

I think I like Metroid Dread, Ori and the Blind Forest and Ori Will of the Wisps more though, due to the maps that show where you are. I never beat either of the Ori games, as they've fallen into the backlog pile. I'd love to jump back into them, but it's hard to commit to playing them when there's hundreds of other equally appealing games in backlog, hence the analysis paralysis.

@Jhena
you will have to find your own way and learn to seperate hype, from what you really want to play

So true. I've played games ever since I was a kid with Mega Man 3 on the NES. But didn't come around to it as a main hobby until the 3DS, Vita and Wii U. It felt like being a kid in a candy store- so many different games to play. I wanted to explore and find what I liked, so I started buying everything. Over the years I've learned what I like and what I don't. Most of the big AAA games are not my thing, for example (with some exceptions- Wolfenstein New Order is the best FPS I've ever played).

But many games I've bought and realized eh... not really feeling it. Over time I've whittled down what I buy, but even then there's still a LOT of games I'm interested in. But I think, am I really excited for DQ Treasures? Or is it just hype? I know I'm excited for Crisis Core, Fire Emblem Engage, Persona 4 Golden, Pikmin 4, Zelda TotK and finally a good 2D Kirby game. I'm hopeful for Octopath II to have better unifying story. I'm curious about Theatrhythm Final Bar Line as I love Persona 4 Dancing as a rhythm game, but not sure if it'll grab me.

Some games may be more hype than genuine excitement to play, but that lust for something new wants to be fed, and oftentimes buying a game in hype helps satisfy that desire, even knowing it likely won't get played much, not necessarily because it's a bad game or one I'm not interested in, but because there are so many other more interesting games.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika
I have not played it beyond the first hour or so. I do own it, but like so many other games, I tried it out, then moved on to something else. I love Paper Mario though. I think I'd rather play the N64 Paper Mario if I had to choose, and I'm an NSO Expansion member so I can. In fact I started playing it and got at least 5 hours in. But even that game, I eventually stopped playing and moved on. It's like, there's just so many good games and not enough time for them all. I'd love to go back and finish Paper Mario 64, but I'd also love to go back and finish Triangle Strategy, and Nier Automata 2nd/3rd playthroughs, and FE Warriors Three Hopes, and Persona 5 Royal, and Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle, and Sparks of Hope, and 13 Sentinels, and... well, you get what I'm saying.

If I only had 5 games, and Paper Mario was one of them, I'd play it. But when you have 5 hundred games, it's like oh ya, I wanna play it... but wait, what about this? Oh wait, what about that? Oh wait... it becomes so hard to narrow down the selection.

This video explains it well, I think

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika
Again, it's not that I don't have great games to play, it's the choice paralysis from having too many to choose from, know what I mean? It's the back of my mind thinking, "is this really the best game to choose?"

@JaxonH
You don't need to play the best games ever.
Sometimes the not so best games also interesting to play.
Also, if I be you I will try Bug Fables for alternative Paper Mario style.

@Anti-Matter
I'm sure they can be interesting to play, but if they're not as interesting as an alternative, there's no reason to choose a less entertaining game. For me, life is too short to waste it on anything less than the best choice.

I have a reasonably large library of unplayed games (nowhere near as big as Jax's), but have never had an issue with choice paralysis, personally.

Just play what you feel like playing at the time. For me, that can mean focusing on one game for 120 hours, or bouncing around between five different games, or starting a game, sitting it down for three years, and then finishing it. I do sometimes try to plan ahead and impose some sort of order on what I'll play, but those always fall through, because what I end up playing is usually reflective of what I'm interested in at any given moment, and that's hard to predict.

If there are several games that hold an equal amount of interest for you, then just pick one and try it out. See how it holds your interest. Keep playing if it does. Move on if it doesn't.

It can be tempted to get swept up by consumerist zeal. Always needing to play the latest game, or look forward to the hottest upcoming release. We've all been there. And, you know, if you have the money, and that's how you enjoy experiencing the hobby, then there's nothing inherently wrong with that.

I have tried to only buy games day one that I'm immensely excited for, which has mostly worked. I still have a problem of grabbing games on sale and not playing them for years, though. The FOMO is profound in some circumstances. It's especially bad with digital sales, since there's so little to separate you from purchasing a thing.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika I'm almost done playing Bug Fables with my nephew (stopped playing yesterday right before the final boss). I'm... really not digging it, unfortunately. I don't mean this to sound mean, but if this is what Paper Mario fans want the series to be like, I'm glad Nintendo is ignoring them. The game is so tedious most of the time.

They did nail the game's aesthetic, though. The bright colors and thick black outlines look incredible on a SWOLED. I just wish it was married to a fun game.

@EaglyTheKawaiiShika I liked TTYD and Origami King a lot, and people kept talking up Bug Fables, so I was disappointed that I didn't care for it.

My nephew does, though, so we're about to finish it.

I think the lack of charm/humor, tedious dungeon design, confusing town layouts, and frequent lack of access to resources are specifically what I've taken issue with. Also, I'm not interested in playing around with the badge system at all, for some reason.

Admittedly, I didn't like Sticker Star or Super Paper Mario either, so it might be that I'm just picky about this style of game. Still have yet to try the N64 game or Color Splash.