Anachronism

@Cia I'll start by saying I don't think we're going to agree on much of anything, but I'll take your complaints point by point anyway. Double Dash might not have that many tracks compared to other entries, but a lot of the ones it introduced have become fan favorites. Personally, about half its courses would probably hit the top 10% if I was going to rank every track in the series. It also had some pretty cool battle mode arenas. Gameplay-wise it introduced double items and allowed item switching, which a lot of people still miss in the modern games. I was also a fan of the game's character-specific items, though that's a more controversial mechanic. As for the graphics, the GameCube is what I grew up with, so of course I'm going to have some bias towards it, but I see it as the oldest Nintendo console where stylized 3D visuals still hold up well, and in fact I prefer those more blatantly videogamey material properties to the plasticky/rubbery look cartoonish designs tend to get using modern 3D rendering techniques. All that to say that while it might be unreasonable these days to call Double Dash the best Mario Kart, there are still plenty of reasons for people to call it their favorite.

Nope. Knockout Tour is kind of killing my motivation to go for 3* at all since one blue shell is likely to ruin a run. Did manage to get it first try on Special Cup, though.

The comments here have really been turning against digital foundry lately. Guys, it's okay that a Nintendo portable isn't on par with the Sony/Microsoft home consoles. The fact that it's even getting close to Series S in performance is honestly really impressive. The few complaints they do have, while not a big deal for a lot of people, are perfectly valid for a team of graphics mega nerds, and still haven't stopped them from being overall positive about the hardware and software.

It's pretty much what it says on the tin; a better Switch and not much else. In terms of meeting expectations it's done a perfectly fine job, and although the hybrid nature still doesn't do much for me and I'd have preferred something a bit more innovative, I'll be content as long as they deliver innovation in their actual games.

I bought 11 on a whim a while back and decided to finally give the story mode a go on the new hardware. It was a good movie overall, but I'm not sure why they stuck all those button-mashing segments between the cool action scenes.

Joking aside, I doubt the game looks as good as other versions, but it played perfectly fine and has plenty of impressive visual effects. The only major graphical glitch I ran into was various fighters' hair becoming extremely discolored in a couple segments.

If there's one brand where I agree with the rest of the world on the quality of American chocolate, it's Hershey's. Despite what the ingredients lists say, I have a hard time believing there's any actual cocoa in there.

@Ogbert It's nice that it's an option somewhere, but playing VS to practice for the other modes would have just made me burn out. Open worlds are always so bloated that trying to "complete" them is an exercise in frustration. Since I've already hit my minimum requirement to say I've finished the game, I'm better off quitting before my dissatisfaction starts to outweigh my enjoyment. Hopefully that will leave some room for enthusiam if they do add more worthwhile content down the line.

It's not my favorite Mario Kart, or my second favorite...or third, but it is still a solid game. On the negative side, due to the lack of repeating laps, I barely know most tracks' basic layouts, never mind their shortcuts or how to pull them off. I've hit gold in every race and found a few hundred collectables, and I still feel like I barely know the map or how to play. On the positive side, the new movement mechanics are fun on the rare occasion I manage to use them correctly, and all the characters and costumes add some nice variety. It also might have my new favorite Mario soundtrack. If they'd add a more traditional Grand Prix mode and 200cc, that might be enough for it to pass Mario Kart 7 in my rankings and enter the conversation with Double Dash and 8.

My two big winners so far are Hellblade, which I could swear is loading in better textures, and LEGO City, whose load times have gone from unacceptably long to only moderately annoying. Finally being able to bump Sky up to max settings without massive frame rate drops is also nice. I was hoping Doom Eternal would look dramatically better, but while it is improved, I think the assets themselves took a bigger hit than those in Doom 2016.

@chanimpa Physical media doesn't have to die. Restricting options and taking more control away from players is blatantly anti-consumer, and Nintendo is at least still fully supporting physical media with their own games. There's a lot of talk that the main reason third parties are trending towards key cards is because there's only one storage size currently available for regular Switch 2 carts that's actually bigger (and thus more expensive) than what a lot of these games need. Resolution boosts are reaching a dead end and although the tech's not quite there yet, things like fully replacing baked lighting with ray tracing can actually decrease file sizes. There's no reason progress can't mean increased efficiency and options rather than increased bloat.

I'd have a hard time picking a favorite location just by its narrative significance. Xenoblade has way too many hard-hitting story beats to pick between. Taking everything else into account doesn't make it much easier, though any area where you can look back after an hour or so and see the place you started as a tiny speck in the distance gets massive bonus points. That said, I might just have to give it to Colony 9. It perfectly sets up the game's tone of beauty, adventure, tragedy, and defiance right off the bat, and aside from very intentionally doing the thing I was just talking about, it's also my favorite area to return to; always offering an interesting sidequest or some previously insurmountable monster to fight. Combine that with a decent number of likeable npcs and a few of my favorite backround tracks, and you've got a place that really does start to feel like home.

@chanimpa The old 1 TB microsds only fell to a price I was comfortable with a couple years ago. Even assuming the new version does follow the same pricing trend, which is far from guaranteed, I'd rather not keep deleting chunks of my library until 2030. Even then, the lack of true physical releases and increased file sizes mean that I'm not even sure 2 TB will be enough if my Switch 2 library grows to match its predecessor's. As for this being the norm, I only owned a couple physical Switch games that required a download to play, and that was only tolerable because the rest didn't. That was my normal right up until all these key card games were announced. And for the rest, I only want games to cost the same and be the same size, and I don't really care about them looking better. I value creative novelty way more than technical novelty, so I'd be fine with everything running at 720p 30 fps forever if it meant I could keep having new experiences with the pricing and convenience I'm used to.

@AmplifyMJ Although I'm not the biggest fighting game fan, I did end up with I think 5-10 of them on Switch, and in my opinion this is honestly one of the Switch 2's best-looking launch games. The single biggest reason I don't want to buy it is that I can't stand to immediately sacrifice a fifth of my storage space to it. If that's not a con, I don't know what is.

@AmplifyMJ @Solid_Python @Polvasti Being digital-only and over 10 GB is a big enough con that it's stopped me from buying multiple Switch games. Considering the general concerns about costs related to Switch 2 on top of extra storage costing about twice as much as on Switch and being largely sold out besides, along with a lot of the internal storage likely being immediately taken up by original Switch games, there are plenty of reasons to be cautious about large digital-only games even without getting into the preservation issues associated with key cards.

Plus, as a more general rule, if you're writing a review with the goal of helping your audience make an informed decision about buying something, and a significant portion of your audience has made it clear that a particular trait has a heavy impact on that decision, then that trait is probably worth mentioning.

That's a load off my mind. I've accumulated a good number of Switch games with unstable frame rates, muddy dynamic resolution, or just annoying loading times that I held off on playing for exactly this reason. Seeing those in proper HD with a locked 30/60 fps will be worth the wait.

I'm really starting to appreciate the value of playing games a while after launch. I was already waiting to play Echoes of Wisdom on Switch 2 for the performance boost, but this might end up being an even bigger improvement.

I've been waiting to try a full-featured version of No Man's Sky for a long time, so I'll be sure to stick this close-ish to the top of my infinetely expanding list of games I should really get around to at some point.

Some of that pop-in is really noticeable. It would be nice to get another update for that, but this at least looks like enough to finally get me in on the DLC. Hopefully they put more effort into environmental detail for their future games, though ZA's not making me too optimistic there.

I do think this would be a perfect pack-in, but I'm fine with missing it. I'll have no shortage of other things to play. Maybe I'll give it a go some day if they decide to throw it in with NSO or something like that.

The first few times I played 200cc, I basically thought of it as a joke mode that played way too differently to even be worth trying to get good at. Years later, after buying the booster course pass and completing it on 150cc, I still wanted an excuse to play more, so I decided to give 200 another go. After many attempts, plenty of frustration, and even being forced to learn how to use the brake for a couple tracks, I finally perfected every grand prix. The only problem is that now all the lower modes feel like moving in slow motion.

I have two Switch pro controllers, both with stick drift. I think I'd rather spend the money on fixing them than buying a new one. Not being able to turn the console on with them seems like it should have been an easy fix, but I guess I can deal with the indignity of having to stand up and press the power button, or maybe just keep a joy-con sitting next to the tv remote.

Pretty sure I'm in the clear. Walmart already charged me, so I'll be a bit annoyed if they cancel at this point.

After looking up some gameplay, I've got to agree with the other comments that I'd much rather try the original game than this new one, though I really don't think most of us here are the target audience anyway with those gen alpha character designs. Still, it would have been cool to see a new game with visuals inspired by those old cutscenes.

I'll just be sticking with Mario Kart World and clearing out my Switch backlog for now, but I'm already looking at Fast Fusion and/or Ridge Racer to scratch that itch once I've perfected all the grands prix and hit all those p-switches. Cyberpunk and Fantasy Life are next up once I've finally cleared out all the Switch 1 games I've been hoping to play with a smooth frame rate on Switch 2. For any others, I'll probably be waiting for a digital sale or if I'm lucky, a proper physical release.

Wonder how long it would take to train an AI to beat the game in the minimum number of steps, and how long it would take that version to beat other games in the series. Assuming the technology doesn't plateau, the answer for both will probably be a lot shorter in a few years.

@Zuljaras I don't really get this complaint. You can't walk into most buildings in the real world either, and games that do let you do it generally reuse the same materials, architectural features, furniture, and generic npcs over and over again, which honestly makes them feel more soulless than if you just couldn't look inside. I also think the winding paths of Paldea's landscape are more interesting to explore than all the empty fields and rolling hills you get in a lot of open worlds. The map design's not quite on the level of something like Xenoblade X, but it's still better than average in my book.

The main city looks a lot less shimmery than I remember, which is also nice. The rocky surfaces look a bit better too, though I'm not sure whether they're actually different or just cherry-picked shots. Still, the most obvious graphical flaw for me was certain things running at a lower frame rate than the rest of the game, so I'll be interested to see if those are all fixed.

Ah yes, a fond farewell to the console that will still be holding over 90% of my digital game library for at least the next couple years. I'll miss you dearly as you continue to sit fully plugged in alongside all my other consoles.

The color palette is cool, though the character animation could use some work. Maybe they should take some hints from the best (and only) stylized, archery-focused 3D platformer I've played, The Pathless. That game's fluid movement is probably its number one selling point.

I thought maybe I was just crazy, but I might actually prefer lower resolutions sometimes. In this case, it lets the various environmental elements blend together more smoothly and makes it a bit less obvious how rigid a lot of the 3D models are. I'd rather devs put graphical power towards making their models and textures more detailed rather than letting me see their rough edges more clearly.

Right now I plan to keep myself busy with Mario Kart and all the Switch 1 games I've been holding back on in hopes of getting more consistent performance. I'd like to grab several other launch games, but since I don't plan to buy a microSD for a while, I'll be keeping myself to proper physical games or digital ones with small file sizes for the time being.

I want to add that hat to the collection of cool hats I never wear.

@jesse_dylan At least from the chart on their website, it looks like the majority of Switch games have now met whatever their highest standard is for compatibility, with most of the remainder still sitting in the "it starts, but more testing is needed" category and maybe 1% in the "incompatible/not fully compatible" categories. There will almost definitely be some glitches that slip past their testing, but it's hard to guess how widespread that will be until the general public gets their hands on it.

The other important news is that they've gone from around 20% fully confirmed compatibility to over 60% without many more incompatible games popping up. There are still a few on the pending list that I'd like to see patches for, but I guess that'll be up to the devs.

I'm sort of glad third parties have an incentive to do these generational boosts. There are plenty of Switch games I'd like to see brought up to par with their releases on other platforms.

Huh, I just finished Hellblade a couple days ago. Wanted to see what the ugliest version of one of the last generation's prettiest games looked like before we move up to the next one. The gameplay and story didn't do much for me, but even with some cutbacks, the overall atmosphere with the visual design and binaural audio was still pretty impressive. I don't think I'll be buying it twice, but I'd consider buying a port of the sequel on Switch 2.

I've been very tempted to buy from limited run a few times, but I've never quite pulled the trigger. If they manage to put out the only proper physical editions for some of the Switch 2's bigger games, then they might finally win me over.

I honestly assumed most games with big worlds were already doing something like that. Having to place every bush or swaying patch of grass by hand sounds like a massive waste of time and talent.

Man, the Switch 2 isn't even out yet and people here are already turning into graphics snobs. Admittedly, my expectations for Koei Tecmo aren't that high to begin with, but this looks way better than most of their Switch games. Plus, a lot of the finer geometric detail and all those small mechanical animations are things you just didn't see much in general on Switch. Since we might not get a new Monster Hunter for a bit, this looks to me like a decent substitute.

Mario Kart and Smash Bros. have both hit the point where just adding more content doesn't add as much value as it used to. With 8 Deluxe carrying over to the next generation for most of Nintendo's fanbase, I think it was a good idea to take the sequel in a new direction rather than trying to compete with themselves.

There's nothing I particularly dislike about the new design, but I do still prefer the old one. It feels a bit dumb to say, but he looks just a little too much like a regular gorilla now. Take off the tie and he could pass for a random side character in any modern animated movie.

I think it's normal to worry about remakes/remasters losing some of the originals' charm, especially for your favorites. I'm still annoyed at Xenoblade 1/X DE for giving the characters the weird plastic figurine look from the newer games, and at that slapped together remaster Twilight Princess got back on Wii U. I also didn't like the way Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee made the whole Kanto region into a cutesy diorama rather than the grand adventure it felt like as a kid. Meanwhile I love the diorama look in Link's Awakening, but maybe I'd feel the same way about that one if I'd grown up with it. This is actually the first game from the Trails series that's really caught my eye, so in my opinion it looks great, but the expectations of a new player vs a returning one, or even vs a new player when it originally released, are all going to be dramatically different.

Aside from the abysmal performance and the bad texture tiling on rocky surfaces, I actually like a lot of Scarlet/Violet's visuals. If they manage to completely fix the former, I might call it the best-looking entry from Game Freak in the last decade.

Definitely not the case for me. If anything, I've been making progress on clearing my backlog for once, though that might have more to do with running out of storage space than actually playing more.

I'm just thinking of it as aligning more with their handheld strategy than their home console one. Hopefully that means we won't just get a Switch 3 in another eight years, but who knows what the gaming industry, or the rest of the world for that matter, will look like in 2033.

It's working with me at least. This is one of a very short list of third party games I'm really feeling positive about at the moment.

I'd say I was being pretty price-conscious this generation, with most of my Switch library being bought at a heavy discount and only a handful of games actually purchased at launch. What I'm really worried about now is storage space. I just barely managed to squeeze my entire Switch library into a 1 TB microsd, but the only microsd express in that size is prohibitively expensive and sold out besides. With the size of modern games and the apparent slow death of physical media, it seems possible we'll soon see digital-only games taking up more than 100 GB. Aside from the inconvenience of needing multiple 1 TB microsds to store a library of those games, each game at that size would have an effective $20 bonus cost in storage space. I was already trying to buy my "premium" games physically and mostly sticking to indie/retro games for my digital library, but it seems likely I'll skew even more towards the latter with the Switch 2.

My hopes of catching up on the last decade of AAA games on Switch 2 are quickly dwindling. Maybe I'll finally get around to buying this digitally in a few years if extra storage space ever hits a decent price point.

The simplest solution I can see is to bring back user ratings and add more sorting/filtering options. If I can't narrow down my search to the point where every result is worth a look, then the system still isn't good enough.

Every time this topic comes up, it seems like someone has to say "bigger, more ambitious games cost more money". My response has always been that I'd rather they rein in their ambitions and focus on creativity and polish instead. There are games from decades ago that are still more visually and mechanically appealing than most games from this year. Meanwhile, modern retro/indie games have proven capable of popularity on par with their cutting edge counterparts. In other creative mediums, many of the most respected works are centuries old. That's not to say there's no place for these massive and massively ambitious games, but they should be the exception rather than the standard.