Altaria_97

I’m glad this port turned out well. I still think this was one of the most underrated games of 2024. I’m not saying it’s amazing, but it’s solid fun and really immersive for a Star Wars game.

I think this game came out during the peak of “Ubisoft hate”, and because of that, people just dismissed the title. Similar to Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. All solid games from passionate and talented developers, but came out during the worst time from a very anti-consumer publisher.

I will be buying the upgrade soon. Just got a ton of games I’m currently playing. But I remember playing the first world a couple of years ago and the low resolution and fps really hindered the experience.

I’m very excited to play this at better settings on my 4K TV.

This is across all platforms:

Hollow Knight (Series X): I played this for a couple hours back in… 2018 or so? I’m fully going back in for obvious reasons. With auto-HDR and 120fps on Series X the game looks great. I’m having a lot of fun so far.

Sonic Racing Crossworlds (PS5): The beta for this game is A LOT of fun. I genuinely think it’s way better than Mario Kart World. I’m very excited for the full release.

Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage Remake (PS5): I loved the original Spyro growing up better never played the sequels. Playing this remake now and it’s great, I’m actually almost done 100%ing it!

There are a few other titles I might play, just depends how I feel: Gears of War Reloaded, Forza MotorSport, Planet Zoo, The Plucky Squire.

Man, it feels good to have a decent amount of free time this weekend!

Damn, this is very good news for me. I own the original on Steam so I’ll be able to get this new version for $22 and play at 4K60+ with all the updated visuals and enhancements. Bring on October 9th!

It looks great despite only playing the original a few times at some friends’ houses back in the day. The zany characters and online City Trial are really intriguing me, hopefully I can queue up with my friends and still verse randoms.

This and Sonic Racing CrossWorlds should make up for the underwhelming Mario Kart World (personally, of course).

Whelp, Nintendo is doing something to please fans… even if it’s the bare minimum imo. Still think World has too many bad game design decisions to keep me from coming back. Such a darn shame after waiting 11 years for the next Kart.

Regardless, glad for those that love playing World and I hope this event is fun for them.

One of my favorite games, even after all these years! Happy birthday lol.

If the next “new” Paper Mario is another experimental game, then I’d definitely prefer a remake of the original. But if the next game ends up being a true “Paper Mario 3”, then I’d 100% want that instead.

This is marked as “announced” despite it coming out a few years ago!

This is probably wishful thinking but I’m predicting Mario Wonder 2 for this holiday season (same game engine and assets for a quick sequel) and a big 3D Mario for next year. Maybe Mario 35 sequel but even that I’m not sure of.

Then they’ll show some random Switch 1 games with Switch 2 updates and some random merch.

@Yosher Nothing wrong with being disappointed. Nintendo knows their audience loves physical media and they’re basically doing everything in their corporate agenda to force digital on us.

Pretty much all of my third-party titles have been on PS5/PC for a bit now. They’re usually cheaper and look/run better. Now with physical copies being… well, not physical, there’s no reason to ever consider Switch 2 for my third-party games.

Also, with the $70-$80 game price hike, I’m only buying select first-party titles. They’ve officially priced me out of games I’m not 100% dying to play on day 1 and I couldn’t give a damn to get a single third-party game on their platform unless it’s an exclusive.

It was pretty good for a partner showcase. But that’s the problem… it was a partner showcase. The big punches in most directs are the big first party games.

We got some pretty cool reveals with Monster Hunter Stories 3, Pac Man World 2 Repac, Persona 3 Reload, and Octopath 0. Even something silly like NBA Bounce looked like some NBA Jam-style fun.

But for the majority of us Nintendo fans, none of them are going be as big as something like DK Bananza or related games.

I used to LOVE playing this at my neighbor’s house when I was a kid. Always wanted it but never got it. Super excited for this, I’m just hoping it doesn’t have the 59fps stutter issue that the World 1 remake had.

Regardless, I’m insanely excited for this game!

Great visuals and game mechanics hampered by poor game design. It's fun for a bit but I've already gone back to 8 Deluxe. I really wish that game got a Switch 2 patch with 4K visuals, but it won't with World existing.

Looks neat. I’m also glad there are casual battles. The older I get the less time and care I have about being super competitive. Glad both options are available!

My copy just arrived in the mail today after getting delayed twice. Thankfully, I was on vacation over the weekend so I really only missed out playing last night. Excited to start it today and glad to see just about everyone loves it.

Good to see. I’m excited to play this when I get home Sunday!

The framerate dropping down to 30fps in some boss battles is the only real annoyance for me. Otherwise, all of this looks real nice. Excited to play this when I get back from my family trip this weekend.

@imgrowinglegs Gotcha, thanks for the info. Never played 4 but it looks like they definitely simplified the missions.

I’ve heard numerous reports saying you can extend the timer to multiple time frames, even up to an hour. Is that not true? Or is that only in free play or something?

Damn, it’s always sad to hear this stuff. People like him really brought smiles to children and adults everywhere. Wishing his family the best during this tough time.

It’s important to remember anyone purchasing this device is an early adopter and there isn’t going to be a lot of “new” exclusives right away.

That being said, I’m loving the system. I prefer 8 Deluxe over World but I still think Mario Kart World is a great game. The game upgrades are game changer and I love the GameCube classics.

The hardware is also great. Everything feels premium and is mostly comfortable to hold. The screen is nice too, even if it’s not as great as the OLED.

Bring in DK and the fall/holiday games!

It’s a really good game that has fundamental game design issues holding it back from being amazing. I’d give it an 8. I put a little over 20+ hours into it and it was fun, but I’ve since gone back to playing 8 Deluxe online.

Really wish they’d give us background other than basic colors for the NSO app icons. They give us such cool retro artwork but no fun backgrounds for them

@TheDragonDAFan Thanks for the info. Sad to see Nintendo doubling down on the intermissions. I had my fun unlocking stuff for a good 20+ hours but back to 8 Deluxe I go for now.

I was already going to get it, but damn, they REALLY sold me here. Game and presentation look amazing. I like the story with Pauline. The transformations look awesome. We saw a little glimpse of Diddy and Dixie, too. I’m all in.

I mainly want to see more platforming. I feel like with DK’s big and kinda clunky movement, this could be an incredible platformer. If it’s all destruction focused then I’ll still be excited but just not as hyped.

Also want to see all the other kongs return. Diddy, Dixie, Funky, Lanky, etc.

@Lynox5 I did something kinda similar with my Samsung QN90B. I have the shadow detail down to -3 and it makes things look less… hazy, I suppose. Like at the default 0 it kinda felt like there was a window between me and the TV slightly washing out the colors/contrast.

I saw this video yesterday. I redid both calibrations and made my paper white approximately 300 nits as opposed to whatever it was when it was maxed out.

While the system UI looks a bit darker, the colors in Mario Kart World were so much richer and more vibrant. Contrast between lights and darks was also very good. Definitely recommend doing this, especially if you have an HGIG display.

It's a good game but feels like a step down compared to 8 Deluxe, and for $80 I expected more (granted I only paid $50 with the bundle). Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is probably my favorite game of all time, so get ready for some heavy but honest criticism.

The free roam is fun for a bit but doesn't offer any real story or sense of progression. It's just kinda... find some hidden medals and 10 second challenges. Other than that... the open world is kinda superficial. It's just there just to be there. They could have easily still had knockout tours without the open world with more intentionally designed sprint tracks.

The visuals are nice but I feel like the open world is severely holding back what could have been a big visual upgrade from 8 Deluxe. Plus the grand prix mode is just not very exciting with most of the cups just being straight highway driving simulators while you get hit by items. And your reward? One lap on 3 of the tracks.

And the online infrastructure is laughable. You cannot do VS races with the original 3 lap structure as 90% of the time it picks highway driving. And your friends can't spectate and wait in a queue, they need to stalk your name and wait for a spot to open up. You cannot play knockout tour at all with friends.

And they finally made it so we can start lobbies with our friends... BUT you can only play against bots when in a lobby???? What is this horrible online system? Microsoft, Sony, Activision, and almost every other company had this figured out back in 2006.

Since 80% of the game is straight line driving, no Mario Kart has ever felt this luck-oriented. It's hard to take a commanding lead with little sharp turns and you're completely at the mercy of items, which seem very aggressive and unbalanced with 24 racers. They made it so you don't slow down to a halt after getting hit by most items, yet this seems like the slowest game in the series due to the amount of items you'll get hit by.

And why do so many characters clip through the steering wheel and parts of the vehicles? That's just embarrassing and inexcusable, in my opinion.

ALL THAT SAID, the core racing is fun and I like the new grinding, wall jumping, and no-turn drifting mechanics. And pretty much all of the tracks are beautiful and really well designed. The character roster is large and fun (despite some questionable omissions). Oh, and the music... it's maybe the best in any Nintendo game. The soundtrack is truly a masterpiece.

It's just a shame the core design decisions (or restrictions) AROUND all of the good stuff hampers the experience greatly. I'd give it a 7.8 or so, but since I can only vote in whole numbers, I'd give it a generous 8. It's still a fun time and a solid kart racer, but it's also underwhelming and a severe drop in game design quality from previous entries.

It looks worse than the OLED but not by much. It’s really just the lack of perfect blacks. HDR looks good on the display to me as well, even if it doesn’t get bright enough (or have the true black levels) to make things pop as much as on my TV.

Overall it’s a really nice screen that I think I’ll be happy with for the entire generation, even if an OLED model would’ve been better and will come out in the future.

They absolutely should have given us Wind Waker HD by now but I'm still pretty happy with the original GameCube version. It has my favorite visual design, favorite story (at least for the first two thirds), favorite vibes, favorite dungeons, and I actually really enjoy sailing and treasure hunting.

It's an amazing game, I just wish it wasn't rushed out back in the day. We probably would have has a bit more story and character interactions during the last third of the story, an extra dungeon or two, and more thought out triforce shard hunt with the game telling you to do it earlier on. You CAN collect shards between dungeons and it makes the hunt insanely fun as it breaks up the gameplay more.

I’m a couple hours in and so far it’s good but not amazing. The music is INCREDIBLE but certain aspects of the game feel very unpolished. For example, the clunky character select screen or the fact that a lot of characters don’t fit in their karts correctly and clip through the steering wheel.

The visuals are also a mixed bag. They look great in some areas, especially the lighting and colors. But man some of the areas just look so flat and worse than 8 Deluxe.

There’s also a lot of straight line driving. Not super exciting. But some of the new tracks are very cool. Overall I’m enjoying it but it isn’t the next BIG game I was hoping for. Hopefully more playtime will change my mind, but overall it feels like a worse version of 8 Deluxe but with an open world.

I tried getting one with my GameStop trade in credit but since you can’t save gift cards to your account, my order timed out in the cart due to server issues.

Thankfully, my brother was able to secure a second one for me. So I’ll be picking that up from him Thursday night or Friday (just depends when it’s delivered). I just wish I was able to use my gift card but I guess I’ll just use it on games for the next year or so.

Seems like something I’d mess around with for like 10-30 minutes max then never touch again. Not worth $10 to me when Mario Kart exists. Just my opinion, of course.

@fenlix Yup, a lot of times this is the higher-up and a division's leadership's fault. They higher a ton of workers and decide to make a game that's completely out of scope. They sometimes have no real idea on the finances that come with running a business and creating a product. So they overscale their game development, put years into learning new tools, and after like 6+ years still have no game to show for it.

It's more nuanced than that, obviously. And I'm sure it's difficult to manage all of it. But it kind of baffles me that within the 8 years or more after Yooka-Laylee, all they managed to get out was a 2D platformer. And their new game is just an improved version of their first title.

I think getting into publishing was a hope to gain some revenue as they were losing tons of money in game development. These companies need to reevaluate how game development works. Choose a tool, stick to it, and reuse assets. Don't start from scratch with every new game. Not every game needs to be this 100+ hour open world epic. Not every game needs ground breaking visuals. Quick asset reusing sequels are A-okay as long as there's improvements and good creative direction.

I’ll be at work then going out with my family since a family member is visiting that day. I’ll get around to playing it very late Thursday night given it’s delivered on time.

I’m debating on taking off Friday since I’ve barely touched my PTO this year so far…

In terms of games and accessories, I’m only getting Mario Kart and that’s only because my brother was able to snag me the bundle. No way I’m paying $80 for a game, I rarely ever spend $60 to begin with. So the bundle getting me the game for $50 was clutch, even if I usually prefer physical.

Very sad but not surprising. Whenever a giant company consumes a smaller company, it almost always results in layoffs, change in creative direction, and shutdown.

@CielloArc Agreed. A lot of company heads don’t understand that the consumers decide if a product is worth it to them or not. We don’t care how it was made. We just care what the final product is and if it’s worth it to us. It’s their job to read the market, not for the market to cater to them.

Awesome to hear. I loved the Mario + Rabbids games but we need another new Rayman, especially without the Rabbids. Bonus points for being a 3D platformer like Rayman 2 and 3!

I’m fortunate enough to own other platforms to play big third party games on, so for me I’m just excited for the Nintendo titles.

Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Pokemon Legends Z-A are the big 3 for me.

Metroid Prime 4 I’ll probably be stoked for, just gotta play Prime Remaster first to ensure I like the gameplay.

Hyrule Warriors looks good but I’m not a huge fan of the Warrior style games. If it’s reviewed well, I’d consider it at a steep discount down the road.

Kirby Air Riders is a maybe. Need to see gameplay and the amount of content. The GameCube version was fun for a short bit but I always thought it was very overhyped.

Wii is my favorite here. Double Dash is a close second, it just has less tracks and not as fun mini-turbo mechanics.

DS I love but I think is overrated. Snaking breaks the entire game and if you don’t snake then the karts turn like tanks. Plus the visuals always seemed… off to me. Some weird 3D models paired with pngs for most of the items. I will say, the mission mode is fun and the track selection (aside from the mushroom cup) is fantastic.

I think you guys are right. The framerate will be improved in the 2D Zelda titles, but it’ll just be more consistent at hitting the initial 60fps target.

I think Nintendo is using the “Improved Frame-rate” phrasing for games that are jumping to new targets, like 30 to 60.

I want the big local multiplayer titles I played with my neighborhood buddies growing up:

The Mario Parties, Golf, Baseball, Strikers, and Double Dash!

I’ve posted this elsewhere but as a kid I always wanted all the current major consoles and a sweet PC. I have all of that now (well, not the PS5 Pro lol). But as I get older, I’m gaming less each week. New hobbies, relationships, and obligations take precedence for me as I get older. As well as health and fitness.

Now sprinkle on these insane price hikes with low performing investments… there’s just no need to buy that many games unless it’s something I’m truly stoked to play day 1. I’m getting a Switch 2 but I won’t be buying anymore XBOX or PlayStation consoles.

Oddly enough, I’ll probably end up saving money from games despite the price increases since I’ll only be buying a few titles each year from here on out!

I know people love to hate on Ubisoft (for good reasons) but there are a lot of passionate devs there and some of their titles are pretty good. Not saying it’s amazing, but I thought Outlaws was good fun. I’d recommend it when it gets a bit cheaper given it runs even decently on the Switch 2.

The contrast between the text and red is much better. Plus it feels more Nintendo. Not that the color matters much, but I think this is an improvement.

It’s a nice controller but not really much of an improvement over the original Pro Controller. I’m very happy I can still use my Monster Hunter and TOTK pro controllers. I’ll just have to use one of the joycons as a remote to wake the system lol.

I just bought a case and screen protector. That’s all I need.

I’m hoping all characters get at least a couple costumes. I really want some fun Wiggler skins!

It was solid but nothing incredible as it didn’t really reveal much we didn’t already know or expect. I will say, the gameplay looked fantastic, which is why I didn’t give it a bad score. But yeah… I wish they revealed more new stuff.