Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

But will the Next system have an Achievement or Trophy System, thats what i'm interested to know.

@Professor_Plumber
I think you misunderstood my post. I was saying that you can't look at "precedent" like this to draw conclusions because the landscape is constantly changing. My DLC point I meant more along the lines of if they had as many left over ideas for Odyssey as they had for Galaxy we probably would have had DLC. That wasn't an option for Galaxy. Also if they were in that position for Odyssey we would have had something sooner. It's been 6 years and we had Bowser's Fury in the meantime

Could there be another Mario game in the works? Well I'm sure there is. Could it be this year? Maybe, probably not with the Switch winding down though. Could it be Odyssey 2? Maybe. I wouldn't bet on that though, seems unlikely, that's a very specific prediction

The only two certainties in gaming are that the hardware that's available improves over time at a fairly regular rate and gamers are always looking for the next thing. This has the effect of generally limiting the life of platforms. The Switch is heading towards that wall, you can see it in competing hardware and sales. Outside of that? You can't really predict anything

Hm, so many rumor and leaker people like Switchforce and whomever else last year kept throwing random dates at the wall and hoping one of them stuck in terms of predicting a general direct. Funny enough, it never happened. I will be right here to see if a general direct does happen next month. Frankly, those chances are slim, a mini/partner direct is a better management of expectations. Pikmin 4 clips will probably be dropped via Twitter to showcase some new stuff like Splatoon 3’s new update features. A whole direct for Pikmin 4 is a giant stretch. Nintendo didn’t even host a direct for Tears Of The Kingdom, and that game is massive! Nintendo doesn’t produce these directs every week you know. Pikmin 4 won’t get a direct, and like I said before, a smaller direct for June if a direct at all is more likely. Maybe I’m less optimistic, but it all makes sense really.

@TheBigBlue they all say a new direct is coming next week, it really makes you wonder if they really have sources or not.

@XandertheWise i have not finished Tears of the Kingdom yet, i still need to complete all the Dungeons, get all the memories

@Owl1 source: Geff Jrubb on the funny bird app

@TheBigBlue source: that's secret

@skywake Yeah that's fair, Nintendo is pretty unpredictable, so okay....
I'm just feeling like Mario is gonna have a good year ahead...

I've been bottling my gold coins, waiting for Paranormasight to go on discount.

However, Warhammer 40k Boltgun has been getting rave reviews.

Decisions...decisions...

I think Mario Bros. has taken the lead for how many versions of the same game are on the Switch. You have:

• Arcade Archives Mario Bros.
• NSO NES Mario Bros.
• NSO GBA Super Mario Advance
• NSO GBA Super Mario Advance 2
• NSO GBA Super Mario Advance 3
• NSO GBA Super Mario Advance 4

Award winning game The Case of the Golden Idol is releasing digitally on Switch tomorrow?

Why did nobody tell me this?

I blame you, you, you, and especially...you.

@Grumblevolcano Mario Bros is also available as a side mode in Superstar Saga, and there’s a Mario Bros themed microgame from WarioWare Mega Microgames. That game will never die

Not to mention the Mario Bros.-themed versus battles in Super Mario 3 NES. Nintendo loved that game.

Isn't there also SMB Deluxe?

Edit: ignore me Mario Bros not SMB. Although I'm sure SMB gets close

I just had an epiphany.

The thing I value most in games is exploration (and environmental puzzles when integrated into exploration). Games that nail that are among my favorite games of all time. It's why Zelda Tears of the Kingdom is so good. It's why Metroid Dread and Metroid Prime Remastered are so good. Even games like DKC Tropical Freeze- one of the reasons It's so much better than 2D Mario (and I must stress there are many reasons) is because you explore the stages to find the puzzle pieces and secrets exits. It's why I love Xenoblade Chronicles so much more than Final Fantasy. It's why Pikmin is so good, and so on.

Looking at the current landscape, genuinely rewarding exploration seems to be in serious decline. In its place, hollow, mass produced, formulaic exploration from a checklist has taken its place. And the few games that do dare to try it usually just aren't that fun. Doom and Wolfenstein would be a good example of an exception to the rule, and it's probably why they're my favorite FPS.

I do like other games- Monster Hunter, for example, isn't really an applicable genre (though Rise and World did incorporate things like hidden scrolls and base camps, which loved). Trials Rising is not applicable, it's just precision, skill based gameplay. Portal 2 is just environmental puzzles, despite being linear. I love all these games, so it's not that I only like games with rewarding exploration.

But usually, the only games I still like despite not having it are games where it just doesn't apply. If a game releases where it feels applicable, it becomes non-negotiable.

It's just hitting me how starved we are for new mainline Mario content at this point.

If we discount Super Mario Maker 2 as a spin-off, and Bowser's Fury as simply additional content, it's been almost 6 years since our last new mainline Mario title.

Compare this with the Wii (U) and (3)DS eras where we seemingly got a new 2D or 3D title almost every year, it's quite striking.

That said, it's not the longest we've been without mainline Mario (I think that award goes to Mario 64 -> Sunshine). But we're getting pretty close...

One mainline 3D Mario per gen is the norm, with the games releasing early on to drive adoption of the new hardware. Considering how high-quality they tend to be, I'm cool with that.

Unfortunately, I think Nintendo lost their taste for 2D Mario a long time ago, and simply went with the NSMB series for so long because they were easy money. Mario Maker seems to be the replacement for 2D Mario now.

With Bowser's Fury, wouldn't that qualify as us already been given two 3D Mario games this generation?

@Magician If you count that as its own game.

It's sort of like those Xenoblade expansions, where they're clearly not as big as the full games, but they still feel like satisfying and complete experiences in their own right. Just on a smaller scale.

I don't think most people think of Bowser's Fury as 'the next Mario,' though, anymore than Torna would have been a substitute for Xenoblade 3.

@Ralizah Yeah the lack of 2D Mario absolutely makes the difference. As you mention, we've been getting 3D Mario at a slow and steady pace (with a few outliers like Galaxy 2 and 3D Land) of one per console generation, so the peaks and troughs come down to what's happening with the 2D games (the aforementioned "drought" between 64 and Sunshine was also a time in which Nintendo had "given up" on 2D Mario).

It'd be a shame for them to resign 2D Mario to Mario Maker. It's a great tool - and the premade levels in SMM2 are actually excellent - but I would love to see Nintendo innovate in that space again. I personally think they had a winning formula with 3D Land and World (yes, I personally consider these to be closer to the 2D games than the 3D ones)...so if they choose not to go 2D again I'm sure there's a lot they can do with a 3D World sequel.