This is probably an unpopular opinion, but for those like myself that already spent 300+ hours hunting items in BOTW for armor upgrades, it was very relieving to skip those massive time sinks via item duplication glitches.
If it were a completely new map that I knew nothing about, or if I never completed BOTW multiple times, I would refrain from cheating, but that simply is not the case this time and I won't be updating past 1.11 until they drop new content.
I'm just here to have a good time, not sink hundreds of hours doing what I already did in BOTW. Yes, the map is technically different but the experience is very much the same.
I would understand if anyone disagreed with this stance but I've got a backlog that could wipe out a small village and I would just rather spend what precious free time I have playing games the way I want to play.
Dolphin being available on Steam was more a convenience than anything, but it runs just fine on steam machines/Steam Deck and you can still add it as a non-steam game if you really wanted to.
For legal reasons, Steam can't include Proton GE either, but it's quite easy to obtain it elsewhere, and Dolphin emulator is no different. This doesn't change anything.
I'm not a lawyer, but if companies are no longer selling the old games being potentially emulated, or if the studios that created them have since been shut down, no one can claim they're losing profits for those games, and I think that's a big factor for the case of game preservation.
Not too long ago, many game companies tried to enforce 1-time activation codes in their physical copies that would make re-selling games futile because they felt consumers weren't authorized to sell games they legally owned.
I'm probably a bit off base here, but in the age of Cloud Gaming and other shady practices where consumers gets the short end of the stick while the companies make passive income for essentially no additional effort, it just feels odd that big companies would rather pay millions of dollars in lawsuit fees rather than just selling us the games on current consoles so we can play them again legally.
The Sega Genesis Classics Collection is a wonderful example of how Nintendo could make their older games available without consumers feeling like they're getting jerked around. The Genesis collection is superior to regular emulators in almost every way, and so consumers are happy to pay to own them again rather than pirate them for free.
It stings a bit that we can't legally own NES/SNES/N64 games on Switch and that it's only available through an online service that will inevitably get shut down in a few years. It's not that people don't want to pay for these games, it's that we're denied the ability to own them legally and we're forced to either rent them for a few years via subscription/cloud service or purchase the original copies at extremely inflated prices because they're basically antiques at this point.
I'll step down from my soapbox now, thank you for coming to my TED talk.
If Link's new arm makes him randomly start shouting "BROTHER!" with a British accent and he starts referring to himself as Liquid Link, I will write Nintendo a check for $1,000
@roy130390 I'm sorry if I gave the impression that MGS1 is only loved because it's nostalgic, and I hoped to drive this home when I concluded that "both are excellent games".
Both MGS1 and Twin Snakes are excellent games, neither one does everything perfectly, but as you and a couple of others demonstrated, the one you like is based purely on personal preference. You prefer the tone of MGS1 because you compare Twin Snakes to the original and see what is lacking, and not the other way around.
It's okay to conclude both are good games, that's why so many other comments are simply saying they wish it was Twin Snakes - no matter which version is included in this collection, there would always be a group of people unhappy that their preferred version wasn't chosen. The same thing happened when they chose to port Persona 3 Portable over Persona 3 FES, they're both great, and neither one is perfect when compared to each other.
Even if I preferred MGS1 over Twin Snakes, after playing all games in the franchise, it's clear to me both are excellent games.
If they weren't both great games, we wouldn't even be talking about it.
@nessisonett I like your analogy as I'm quite fond of The Shining book and Kubrick's film (not the miniseries, naturally). With that said, and this is probably an unpopular opinion since fewer people have played Twin Snakes, it seems more accurate to compare Twin Snakes and MGS1 to the original Resident Evil on the PS1 versus the RE1 Remake on the Gamecube.
If a gamer started with the PS1 version, that's the version they know and love, despite the chunky graphics, dated soundscape, and more limited/frustrating combat abilities and enemy AI. It was absolutely revolutionary for 1998 and that's a big part of why people love it to this day.
However, if a gamer played both games around the same time or even if they just started with Twin Snakes first, I think it's reasonable to conclude Twin Snakes is just a bit easier to play since it is more similar to MGS2 and the other future titles, in both mechanics and the more egregious cinematics, which often seems to be the main complaint towards Twin Snakes. Kojima has always stated his passion for movies and cinematics, and I think if the PS1 could handle it at the time, he would have wedged in much more over-the-top cutscenes like those found in Twin Snakes.
For the same reasons that people will always compare RE1 to RE1 Remake, I think it's just a matter of preference, not that one is obviously better than the other. Both are excellent games.
I'll expect the worst and hope for the best in this case.
Besides MGS4, I have the entire collection on Steam Deck, but I'd still buy the collection for a 3rd time if it meant having the mainline games on my Switch.
I'd be floored if MGS2 and MGS3 somehow still included skateboard mode and monkey mode.
@HerMajestysmyPronoun It's not about some people's accessibility needs being more legitimate than others, it's about bringing to light all accessibility needs and trying to change the gaming industry in a positive way, even if we don't understand them at first. I don't know what it's like to have C5/C6 tetraplegia, so I have to give the benefit of the doubt for someone that has that condition that their struggles are legitimate. The same goes for people with poor eyesight or those who would love to play a popular video game but have trouble because it isn't in their native language.
If we discriminate against legitimate accessibility needs because we ourselves don't understand them or haven't experience them, we all lose.
I understand the humor in someone wishing there was subtitles for what appears to be a very specific dialect of German that is actually quite different from standard German, but it's actually a valid request for accessibility if it makes it difficult to play a game for that person. It's not just preference, it's a hindrance.
That wasn't even their main point. Most of their comment was about text being too small and it being an accessibility issue for them, which I would have to say impacts a much larger group of people, even those with unimpaired vision. I suppose the main portion of their comment wasn't such a low hanging fruit as the Swiss German subs part, perhaps that's why you didn't even mention it.
Today I Learned: Swiss German is a totally legit dialect of standard German spoken by at least 5 million people today.
I understand and appreciate using TOTK to draw more attention to this issue, but it's clearly not just TOTK that have accessibility issues, it's many many games. Still, this was the exact approach needed to bring awareness for those who aren't actually impacted, and if we're lucky, actual stakeholders.
@Hilliard I really appreciate your sense of humor and you bearing your personal experience with this blatant problem in the industry. This was one of the best NL articles I've read and I hope it contributes to more awareness for all games, not just Zelda games.
I think it would also help if every NL review included a special call out with tags for accessibility features like the ones you mentioned so folks can know which games already have these features and which games do not. If we haven't already, I'd love to read an article listing several games with these features so we can prop them up and make it clear they are doing what every game should be doing.
I look forward to living in the world you're helping to create.
@Gryffin I'm not qualified to deem you as crazy or not, but I can confirm the d-pad works for weapons/shields the same as it did in BOTW, meaning you hold it down and it shows the full weapons/shields inventory and if you tap it, it shows the same menu briefly. I don't believe we could quickly equip/unequip weapons and shields in BOTW, but that would be a nice feature. I guess they felt sheathing and unsheathing with Y and B was enough.
They did some minor swapping with the L button and up on the D-pad however.
BOTW Controls: holding up in the D-pad showed the Tablet powers and you would equip or unequip them with L, it didn't matter if you tapped L or held it down.
TOTK Controls: holding up on the D-pad shows quick select for inventory items, which wasn't a thing in BOTW. Also, holding the L button allows you to select Ultrahand Powers from the wheel, while tapping it equips/unequips that power.
The changes are so subtle, but I have to say I love the Quality of Life features in TOTK's controls with inventory items.
@MitchaK I agree the rain feels less frequent compared to BOTW, which I welcome because it was a pain to wait until the rain stopped before I could climb something big.
Even though TOTK introduces a way to mitigate slippery surfaces when raining (which I won't spoil), I much prefer this frequency of the weather changes for simple exploration reasons. There are still parts of the map where it's always raining, of course.
The Digital Foundry review also mentioned pretty drastic changes in lighting when comparing footage side-by-side at the exact same locations and the exact same times of day, but to me it just looked like BOTW had more frequent weather effects compared to the TOTK footage.
I'm impressed the sunlight/moonlight is blocked by objects way high in the sky and draws them over great distances to the ground far down below, many other AAA games don't have such range with shadows reaching this far. I imagine the new sky islands may have to do with why the lighting/weather feeling so different from BOTW.
@BongoBongo I completely forgot about the shrine sensor from BOTW, I guess I assumed they removed it but it makes sense it's unlockable, just like the camera, which I unlocked after all the other abilities.
I've honestly been enjoying the peace without the sensor and detecting them by sight alone, but it's likely there are some that can only be found with the sensor so I should probably nab it soon.
I completed only the wind temple so far but didn't hear anything about new features, I'll keep digging around and talking to people, hopefully I stumble upon them soon.
@HeadPirate Hahaha I am fond of puns, but unfortunately I didn't have that foresight on that one, so I can't take credit.
It wasn't in BOTW and I believe it was also mentioned in the Digital Foundry review, but I appreciate it either way, even if it's a stock feature for the new engine.
I wish I had the self control to not look up things when I get stuck on certain puzzles, because it's much more satisfying and accomplishing to figure it out on your own. Same goes with naturally discovering all the game has to offer, it takes the magic out of it if I just read an article that lists all the unlockables and activities.
With that said, I am very grateful segmented guides like this exist for those of us that don't enjoy being stumped on a puzzle for more than 30 minutes.
Our lack of self control is the problem, not these guides.
I'm very happy the Amiibo outfits and most if not all of the DLC outfits are all still in this game. I'm a sucker for fashion options in games and this one goes well above all others.
Music customization is probably one of my favorite things about this series.
Ryza 1 and 2 both had free DLC that included music from every Atelier game and several others and it allowed you to pick the music for your home, towns, battle, etc. but the best part was you could make it randomly pick from a pool of songs to play.
Maybe not that many people care about this level of music customization but it allows me to make my game sound like anything I want - be it a punk-y vibe or a Persona-like vibe or even just over the top dramatic vibe. If I ever get sick of a track I just replace it with one I find more suitable.
I just really appreciate how much they seem to care about BGMs and I wish more games allowed this much control over in-game music.
They're not on the list but the Xenoblade Chronicles theme and Dragon Quest themes were my favorites back in the day.
I used to complain about Switch lacking features that were present in previous Nintendo consoles like custom themes and folders. In time, I realized my expectations were just too high. I don't mean this harshly, I just mean Switch is really only focused on playing games while previous consoles were more about creating a pleasant UI experience.
We didn't even get audio bluetooth support until like 3-4 years after Switch launched via a digital patch. The priorities for user experience were just different compared to 3DS or even Wii.
When I think of 3DS, I have fond memories of the Nintendo-style UI, the various features and themes, and especially the music player visualizer that I would watch for hours. I have so many memories that are just me playing with the Mii editor or other elements on the base console.
But when I think of Switch, all I can recall are the games I played on it.
"Zelda and Link, the two owners of the Triforce that aren't evil, to end up together."
I feel like most games portray Link as pure "good", Ganon as pure "evil', and Zelda always seems to fall somewhere in between.
Across her incarnations, she's typically jealous of Link for a variety of reasons and even seems a bit resentful, despite him always loyally doing whatever she wants. That isn't to say she's pure good or pure evil, but more like a regular human where it's all mixed together and a bit "grey".
It's honestly a bit difficult for me to imagine Link and Zelda's relationship without comparing them to Finn and Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time.
@dimi I kind of miss the gun-to-head mechanic from P3, but I agree this was likely removed due to controversy out of context.
In P4, the protagonist is kind of introduced to everything and summoning a persona is just calling their name, but in P3, all the protagonist sees is another student put the gun to their head and try to press the trigger but fail. Then, when she passes out, the protagonist is left with no other choice but to pick up the gun-like device, and point it to their own head and pull the trigger in an effort to avoid being killed by a powerful monster.
It's such an intense moment. No other Persona game comes close to this moment in my opinion.
Of all the Persona games, the "unlocking your persona" sequence in P3 is the tops of me. Additionally, I think the "gun" was meant to be a metaphor for "killing" your ego, which is a heavy theme for all the games.
@Ade117 As a fan of the series, I vote you play whatever Persona game seems interesting to you right now, and you can always play the rest after. They're all great games, but they've come a long way in the last 15+ years.
I think it'd be a shame if you picked up P3 as your first entry and found it rather boring compared to the more recent P5R or P4G, so I say just go for whatever games seems most exciting to you right now.
Red Faction Guerilla: Re-Marstered - Open world GTA-style sandbox game with all buildings being completely destructible. You have vehicles, mech suits, guns, and explosives, but your hammer really is the best to destroy most things. Later in the game, you unlock black hole grenade and a gun that makes materials and people disintegrate, which makes destruction even more fun. You also unlock the ability to rebuild all structures in the map so you can destroy them infinitely.
Destroy All Humans 1 + 2: Similar to above, but more focus on psychic powers and weapons, and you can fling around ragdoll people like they were ... well, ragdolls. I still need to play the remasters, but they were great on PS2.
Sniper Elite 4: I'm reaching a little with this one, but the game feature semi-destructible environments and each human has a fully detailed skeleton with organs that can get rekt in all the ways you can imagine.
Stating the Obvious: It was a mistake to port the PSP version rather than the fully fleshed out PS2 version of P3 FES. And it's a shame because so many people skip P3 in favor of P4 and P5 (which are also amazing BTW).
I've been replaying Persona 3 FES on Steam Deck and the differences compared to the PSP version are quite obvious. FES is far superior (in my opinion). The models/textures are much sharper in FES, and exploring/talking to people in the 3D map is a very different experience versus talking to them in 2D a point-and-click interface.
It's kind of like comparing Final Fantasy XV with Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition. They're both technically the same game, but one is a full Final Fantasy experience with all features of these titles while the other is a pared back version that was made just for portable consoles, which is notably missing features and/or content from the original release.
If you have the means, I highly recommend Persona 3 FES for the PS2.
It's difficult to believe the "leaking" of toys is somehow not a deliberate attempt to hype people up for the Mario movie, but perhaps I'm just being a negative nancy.
@Bizzyb Is it true some people here have an irrational fear that Nintendo will announce new hardware this year?
It seems more likely the one(s) confidently predicting Switch 2's announcement in a few months with zero evidence likely have an irrational fear they won't announce new hardware this year.
What would you think of Nintendo if they made 0 hardware announcements this year?
Gamecube (2001): A regular console with a non-traditional controller layout with a design focus on being "portable friendly" with a dedicated handle on the console.
Nintendo DS (2004): A regular portable console, similar to the Gameboy, but with 2 screens instead of one and with stylus/touch controls.
Wii (2006): A home console, this time, with motion controllers that completely change how you play games.
Nintendo 3DS (2011): A more powerful Nintendo DS but with a "3D effect" toggle slider.
WiiU (2012): A more powerful Wii with a tablet as a controller.
Nintendo Switch (2017): A more powerful WiiU, but the tablet itself is the actual console, and you can toggle between portable and TV mode easily.
Next Switch Iteration (2024): A more powerful Switch, but with an additional "sucker" shaped attachment you stick in your mouth that allows you to taste certain items within the game, dubbed the "Loli-con."
Edit: Nintendo just contacted me and asked me not to divulge company secrets
$500 is a competitive price, but you can grab a 64GB Steam Deck for $100 less and it has a much better UI experience with the full support of Valve. They're both just portable PCs at the end of the day.
Still, I'm glad to see more competitors with reasonable pricing!
@EvrgrnCmln Your story is one I've seen a lot lately, it's definitely not for every gamer. You should be able to sell it pretty easily, they're still selling out now and again.
For my use case, the Steam Deck works really well - I mostly play semi-older games that still look really sharp like Mafia II, Oblivion, Dead Rising 2, etc. and even on max settings, the battery life for games like this is usually around 4-5 hours or more. My gaming sessions are usually only 2-3 hours, so this is plenty for me. When I fly, I just use the USB port in front of me and I can play endlessly.
I understand the fantasy of wanting to play a AAA game on ultra settings for hours while travelling, but the screen is literally 7-inches so it makes more sense to me to play slightly older game that still looks amazing for way more battery life.
Steam Deck can be played like a casual portable console where you just install verified games and run them without tinkering, but doing this would be missing out on like 80% of what the console can do.
I like having both - Switch is guaranteed to be an easy user experience, but lacks control and customization, while Steam Deck has much more ability to play the games I want and tailor my UI, sounds, apps, etc. but it can also be frustrating sometimes if you're not familiar with PC gaming.
Still, I hope Valve and Nintendo keep each other in check, competition ensures a better product for the consumer.
See - from my perspective, there are a lot of similarities between a game like Dragon's Dogma and Hades.
Both games have a focused story, quests and side quests, real-time action combat, and they both even light romance/affinity elements, a notable RPG mechanic. In my experience playing both games, the combat has the most focus, but as I mentioned, there are plenty of RPG elements and story too.
I think as game genres continue to evolve and mutate, these general genre distinctions like 'Action' and 'RPG' will become so difficult to discern that we'll just stop using them all together.
Comments 951
Re: Soapbox: Returning To The Great Plateau In Zelda: TOTK Felt Like Coming Home
Link's REAL home is in Hateno village ... which he was promptly kicked out of after Zelda took over and made the place look comfy.
But she's not around anymore ...
Re: Soapbox: Returning To The Great Plateau In Zelda: TOTK Felt Like Coming Home
If your home is now a rundown shanty taken over by squatters, sure.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom New Item Duplication Glitches Discovered In Version 1.1.2
This is probably an unpopular opinion, but for those like myself that already spent 300+ hours hunting items in BOTW for armor upgrades, it was very relieving to skip those massive time sinks via item duplication glitches.
If it were a completely new map that I knew nothing about, or if I never completed BOTW multiple times, I would refrain from cheating, but that simply is not the case this time and I won't be updating past 1.11 until they drop new content.
I'm just here to have a good time, not sink hundreds of hours doing what I already did in BOTW. Yes, the map is technically different but the experience is very much the same.
I would understand if anyone disagreed with this stance but I've got a backlog that could wipe out a small village and I would just rather spend what precious free time I have playing games the way I want to play.
Re: UK Charts: Guess What, Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Is Number One Again
I don't see many people talk about Switch Sports these days, is it really that good?
I got into Go Vacation a while back but besides enjoying the free roaming aspects, the activities themselves seemed a bit shallow.
Re: Dolphin Emulator Steam Release "Indefinitely Postponed"
Dolphin being available on Steam was more a convenience than anything, but it runs just fine on steam machines/Steam Deck and you can still add it as a non-steam game if you really wanted to.
For legal reasons, Steam can't include Proton GE either, but it's quite easy to obtain it elsewhere, and Dolphin emulator is no different. This doesn't change anything.
I'm not a lawyer, but if companies are no longer selling the old games being potentially emulated, or if the studios that created them have since been shut down, no one can claim they're losing profits for those games, and I think that's a big factor for the case of game preservation.
Not too long ago, many game companies tried to enforce 1-time activation codes in their physical copies that would make re-selling games futile because they felt consumers weren't authorized to sell games they legally owned.
I'm probably a bit off base here, but in the age of Cloud Gaming and other shady practices where consumers gets the short end of the stick while the companies make passive income for essentially no additional effort, it just feels odd that big companies would rather pay millions of dollars in lawsuit fees rather than just selling us the games on current consoles so we can play them again legally.
The Sega Genesis Classics Collection is a wonderful example of how Nintendo could make their older games available without consumers feeling like they're getting jerked around. The Genesis collection is superior to regular emulators in almost every way, and so consumers are happy to pay to own them again rather than pirate them for free.
It stings a bit that we can't legally own NES/SNES/N64 games on Switch and that it's only available through an online service that will inevitably get shut down in a few years. It's not that people don't want to pay for these games, it's that we're denied the ability to own them legally and we're forced to either rent them for a few years via subscription/cloud service or purchase the original copies at extremely inflated prices because they're basically antiques at this point.
I'll step down from my soapbox now, thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Re: Feature: 21 Amazing Shield Fuse Combos In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
I knew I was under-utilizing the fuse mechanic but I didn't realize how basic I was until I saw these ideas.
I need to start seeing the world around me and think: "what would happen if I fused with that?"
Re: Random: Zelda: TOTK Player Creates The Ultimate Weapon, Metal Gear Rex
If Link's new arm makes him randomly start shouting "BROTHER!" with a British accent and he starts referring to himself as Liquid Link, I will write Nintendo a check for $1,000
Re: Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 Announced For "The Latest Platforms"
@roy130390 I'm sorry if I gave the impression that MGS1 is only loved because it's nostalgic, and I hoped to drive this home when I concluded that "both are excellent games".
Both MGS1 and Twin Snakes are excellent games, neither one does everything perfectly, but as you and a couple of others demonstrated, the one you like is based purely on personal preference. You prefer the tone of MGS1 because you compare Twin Snakes to the original and see what is lacking, and not the other way around.
It's okay to conclude both are good games, that's why so many other comments are simply saying they wish it was Twin Snakes - no matter which version is included in this collection, there would always be a group of people unhappy that their preferred version wasn't chosen. The same thing happened when they chose to port Persona 3 Portable over Persona 3 FES, they're both great, and neither one is perfect when compared to each other.
Even if I preferred MGS1 over Twin Snakes, after playing all games in the franchise, it's clear to me both are excellent games.
If they weren't both great games, we wouldn't even be talking about it.
Re: Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 Announced For "The Latest Platforms"
@nessisonett I like your analogy as I'm quite fond of The Shining book and Kubrick's film (not the miniseries, naturally). With that said, and this is probably an unpopular opinion since fewer people have played Twin Snakes, it seems more accurate to compare Twin Snakes and MGS1 to the original Resident Evil on the PS1 versus the RE1 Remake on the Gamecube.
If a gamer started with the PS1 version, that's the version they know and love, despite the chunky graphics, dated soundscape, and more limited/frustrating combat abilities and enemy AI. It was absolutely revolutionary for 1998 and that's a big part of why people love it to this day.
However, if a gamer played both games around the same time or even if they just started with Twin Snakes first, I think it's reasonable to conclude Twin Snakes is just a bit easier to play since it is more similar to MGS2 and the other future titles, in both mechanics and the more egregious cinematics, which often seems to be the main complaint towards Twin Snakes. Kojima has always stated his passion for movies and cinematics, and I think if the PS1 could handle it at the time, he would have wedged in much more over-the-top cutscenes like those found in Twin Snakes.
For the same reasons that people will always compare RE1 to RE1 Remake, I think it's just a matter of preference, not that one is obviously better than the other. Both are excellent games.
Re: Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 Announced For "The Latest Platforms"
I'll expect the worst and hope for the best in this case.
Besides MGS4, I have the entire collection on Steam Deck, but I'd still buy the collection for a 3rd time if it meant having the mainline games on my Switch.
I'd be floored if MGS2 and MGS3 somehow still included skateboard mode and monkey mode.
Now that would be a ridiculous thing to hope for.
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Straight Up Fails In Just One Respect: Accessibility
@HeftyLaces I can't help but notice you seem to be advocating that no one is allowed to complain about their suffering because everyone suffers.
But if no one is allowed to mention that they are suffering, how can anyone hope for change, and ultimately, a better future?
That's a rather bleak outlook, if you don't mind me saying so.
Re: UK Charts: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Lands The Top Spot, Once Again
I hope the NL crew is prepared to make solid 'tear' puns for the next 6 months, at least.
We're all counting on you Nintendo Life!
Re: Poll: Goats Or Lizards? What Do You Think Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom's Zonai Look Like?
I could agree with 'Goat or Bunny Rabbit' but this talk of Lizard resemblance is where you lost me.
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Straight Up Fails In Just One Respect: Accessibility
@HerMajestysmyPronoun It's not about some people's accessibility needs being more legitimate than others, it's about bringing to light all accessibility needs and trying to change the gaming industry in a positive way, even if we don't understand them at first. I don't know what it's like to have C5/C6 tetraplegia, so I have to give the benefit of the doubt for someone that has that condition that their struggles are legitimate. The same goes for people with poor eyesight or those who would love to play a popular video game but have trouble because it isn't in their native language.
If we discriminate against legitimate accessibility needs because we ourselves don't understand them or haven't experience them, we all lose.
I understand the humor in someone wishing there was subtitles for what appears to be a very specific dialect of German that is actually quite different from standard German, but it's actually a valid request for accessibility if it makes it difficult to play a game for that person. It's not just preference, it's a hindrance.
That wasn't even their main point. Most of their comment was about text being too small and it being an accessibility issue for them, which I would have to say impacts a much larger group of people, even those with unimpaired vision. I suppose the main portion of their comment wasn't such a low hanging fruit as the Swiss German subs part, perhaps that's why you didn't even mention it.
Today I Learned: Swiss German is a totally legit dialect of standard German spoken by at least 5 million people today.
The more you know ...
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Straight Up Fails In Just One Respect: Accessibility
I understand and appreciate using TOTK to draw more attention to this issue, but it's clearly not just TOTK that have accessibility issues, it's many many games. Still, this was the exact approach needed to bring awareness for those who aren't actually impacted, and if we're lucky, actual stakeholders.
@Hilliard I really appreciate your sense of humor and you bearing your personal experience with this blatant problem in the industry. This was one of the best NL articles I've read and I hope it contributes to more awareness for all games, not just Zelda games.
I think it would also help if every NL review included a special call out with tags for accessibility features like the ones you mentioned so folks can know which games already have these features and which games do not. If we haven't already, I'd love to read an article listing several games with these features so we can prop them up and make it clear they are doing what every game should be doing.
I look forward to living in the world you're helping to create.
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: TOTK's Shrines Are Brilliant At Making An Idiot Feel Like A Genius
I feel personally attacked by this article title
Re: Feature: 26 Tweaks That Make Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Better Than BOTW
@Gryffin I'm not qualified to deem you as crazy or not, but I can confirm the d-pad works for weapons/shields the same as it did in BOTW, meaning you hold it down and it shows the full weapons/shields inventory and if you tap it, it shows the same menu briefly. I don't believe we could quickly equip/unequip weapons and shields in BOTW, but that would be a nice feature. I guess they felt sheathing and unsheathing with Y and B was enough.
They did some minor swapping with the L button and up on the D-pad however.
BOTW Controls: holding up in the D-pad showed the Tablet powers and you would equip or unequip them with L, it didn't matter if you tapped L or held it down.
TOTK Controls: holding up on the D-pad shows quick select for inventory items, which wasn't a thing in BOTW. Also, holding the L button allows you to select Ultrahand Powers from the wheel, while tapping it equips/unequips that power.
The changes are so subtle, but I have to say I love the Quality of Life features in TOTK's controls with inventory items.
Re: Feature: 26 Tweaks That Make Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Better Than BOTW
@MitchaK I agree the rain feels less frequent compared to BOTW, which I welcome because it was a pain to wait until the rain stopped before I could climb something big.
Even though TOTK introduces a way to mitigate slippery surfaces when raining (which I won't spoil), I much prefer this frequency of the weather changes for simple exploration reasons. There are still parts of the map where it's always raining, of course.
The Digital Foundry review also mentioned pretty drastic changes in lighting when comparing footage side-by-side at the exact same locations and the exact same times of day, but to me it just looked like BOTW had more frequent weather effects compared to the TOTK footage.
I'm impressed the sunlight/moonlight is blocked by objects way high in the sky and draws them over great distances to the ground far down below, many other AAA games don't have such range with shadows reaching this far. I imagine the new sky islands may have to do with why the lighting/weather feeling so different from BOTW.
Re: Feature: 26 Tweaks That Make Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Better Than BOTW
@BongoBongo I completely forgot about the shrine sensor from BOTW, I guess I assumed they removed it but it makes sense it's unlockable, just like the camera, which I unlocked after all the other abilities.
I've honestly been enjoying the peace without the sensor and detecting them by sight alone, but it's likely there are some that can only be found with the sensor so I should probably nab it soon.
I completed only the wind temple so far but didn't hear anything about new features, I'll keep digging around and talking to people, hopefully I stumble upon them soon.
Re: Feature: 26 Tweaks That Make Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Better Than BOTW
@HeadPirate Riffing off what you said about dungeons, I appreciate the ability to return to them and explore them even after they are completed.
This was something I wished I could do in BOTWs Temples/Beasts, if for nothing else, just to take in the sights and appreciate the design.
Re: Feature: 26 Tweaks That Make Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Better Than BOTW
@HeadPirate Hahaha I am fond of puns, but unfortunately I didn't have that foresight on that one, so I can't take credit.
It wasn't in BOTW and I believe it was also mentioned in the Digital Foundry review, but I appreciate it either way, even if it's a stock feature for the new engine.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: Walkthrough, All Shrines, Collectibles, Tips, And Tricks
@Baler You just walked into a Banana shop only to tell the employees you don't like bananas.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: Walkthrough, All Shrines, Collectibles, Tips, And Tricks
@PlasmaticSnake I completely forgot about the white horse with the royal gear.
I think I named mine "Blanco", but you're right, it didn't transfer over.
All the same, it's still very amusing riding Ganon's massive beef hunk of a horse in comparison to Link's tiny Teen body.
I named that chunky horse "Dragmire"
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: Walkthrough, All Shrines, Collectibles, Tips, And Tricks
I wish I had the self control to not look up things when I get stuck on certain puzzles, because it's much more satisfying and accomplishing to figure it out on your own. Same goes with naturally discovering all the game has to offer, it takes the magic out of it if I just read an article that lists all the unlockables and activities.
With that said, I am very grateful segmented guides like this exist for those of us that don't enjoy being stumped on a puzzle for more than 30 minutes.
Our lack of self control is the problem, not these guides.
Re: Feature: 26 Tweaks That Make Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Better Than BOTW
Big +++ for the newly added volumetric clouds and general fog/smoke effects in general.
I noticed when running through fog on the ground, it actually billows around like real fog and reacts to Link's footsteps.
It's unreal.
Re: Random: The Internet Is Still Obsessed With Purah's Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Look
It probably has something to do with her no longer being a 100+ year old woman trapped in a little girl's body.
Now fans can fawn over her new pretty looks without feeling like a complete creep.
Thanks Nintendo
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom: All Armour Locations And Best Armour Sets
I'm very happy the Amiibo outfits and most if not all of the DLC outfits are all still in this game. I'm a sucker for fashion options in games and this one goes well above all others.
Re: Video: Overclocked Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Smooths Out Performance On Switch
@MrLinkTathapast I like your version better.
"Breath of the Kingdom" just sounds like a whole continent of people that need to brush their teeth.
Re: Atelier Ryza 3 Gets A New Update, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
Music customization is probably one of my favorite things about this series.
Ryza 1 and 2 both had free DLC that included music from every Atelier game and several others and it allowed you to pick the music for your home, towns, battle, etc. but the best part was you could make it randomly pick from a pool of songs to play.
Maybe not that many people care about this level of music customization but it allows me to make my game sound like anything I want - be it a punk-y vibe or a Persona-like vibe or even just over the top dramatic vibe. If I ever get sick of a track I just replace it with one I find more suitable.
I just really appreciate how much they seem to care about BGMs and I wish more games allowed this much control over in-game music.
Re: Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened Goes Gold, Launching Next Month
I enjoyed The Sinking City quite a lot on my Switch, so I'm sure this title will do just fine.
That said, the visuals and performance were dramatically better on other consoles or PC and I imagine this title will be no different.
Re: Talking Point: Which Is Your Favourite 3DS Theme?
They're not on the list but the Xenoblade Chronicles theme and Dragon Quest themes were my favorites back in the day.
I used to complain about Switch lacking features that were present in previous Nintendo consoles like custom themes and folders. In time, I realized my expectations were just too high. I don't mean this harshly, I just mean Switch is really only focused on playing games while previous consoles were more about creating a pleasant UI experience.
We didn't even get audio bluetooth support until like 3-4 years after Switch launched via a digital patch. The priorities for user experience were just different compared to 3DS or even Wii.
When I think of 3DS, I have fond memories of the Nintendo-style UI, the various features and themes, and especially the music player visualizer that I would watch for hours. I have so many memories that are just me playing with the Mii editor or other elements on the base console.
But when I think of Switch, all I can recall are the games I played on it.
Re: Feature: Rating The Best Zelda/Link Relationship In The Legend Of Zelda Games
"Zelda and Link, the two owners of the Triforce that aren't evil, to end up together."
I feel like most games portray Link as pure "good", Ganon as pure "evil', and Zelda always seems to fall somewhere in between.
Across her incarnations, she's typically jealous of Link for a variety of reasons and even seems a bit resentful, despite him always loyally doing whatever she wants. That isn't to say she's pure good or pure evil, but more like a regular human where it's all mixed together and a bit "grey".
It's honestly a bit difficult for me to imagine Link and Zelda's relationship without comparing them to Finn and Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time.
Re: Remember That Inaccessible Hill In Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life? We Finally Know What's Up There
Nothing to read into here.
I'm sure the player character is doing 6 hours of perfectly legal and/or wholesome activities off screen to pass the time.
Re: Talking Point: What Is The Most Frustrated You've Ever Been With A Video Game?
"All we had to do was follow the damn train, CJ!"
Re: Review: Persona 3 Portable - A Fine Series Entry, Though One That's Tough To Return To
@dimi I kind of miss the gun-to-head mechanic from P3, but I agree this was likely removed due to controversy out of context.
In P4, the protagonist is kind of introduced to everything and summoning a persona is just calling their name, but in P3, all the protagonist sees is another student put the gun to their head and try to press the trigger but fail. Then, when she passes out, the protagonist is left with no other choice but to pick up the gun-like device, and point it to their own head and pull the trigger in an effort to avoid being killed by a powerful monster.
It's such an intense moment. No other Persona game comes close to this moment in my opinion.
Of all the Persona games, the "unlocking your persona" sequence in P3 is the tops of me. Additionally, I think the "gun" was meant to be a metaphor for "killing" your ego, which is a heavy theme for all the games.
Re: Review: Persona 3 Portable - A Fine Series Entry, Though One That's Tough To Return To
@Ade117 As a fan of the series, I vote you play whatever Persona game seems interesting to you right now, and you can always play the rest after. They're all great games, but they've come a long way in the last 15+ years.
I think it'd be a shame if you picked up P3 as your first entry and found it rather boring compared to the more recent P5R or P4G, so I say just go for whatever games seems most exciting to you right now.
Re: Best Nintendo Switch Wacky Physics Games
Some more honorable mentions:
Red Faction Guerilla: Re-Marstered - Open world GTA-style sandbox game with all buildings being completely destructible. You have vehicles, mech suits, guns, and explosives, but your hammer really is the best to destroy most things. Later in the game, you unlock black hole grenade and a gun that makes materials and people disintegrate, which makes destruction even more fun. You also unlock the ability to rebuild all structures in the map so you can destroy them infinitely.
Destroy All Humans 1 + 2: Similar to above, but more focus on psychic powers and weapons, and you can fling around ragdoll people like they were ... well, ragdolls. I still need to play the remasters, but they were great on PS2.
Sniper Elite 4: I'm reaching a little with this one, but the game feature semi-destructible environments and each human has a fully detailed skeleton with organs that can get rekt in all the ways you can imagine.
Re: Review: Persona 3 Portable - A Fine Series Entry, Though One That's Tough To Return To
Stating the Obvious: It was a mistake to port the PSP version rather than the fully fleshed out PS2 version of P3 FES. And it's a shame because so many people skip P3 in favor of P4 and P5 (which are also amazing BTW).
I've been replaying Persona 3 FES on Steam Deck and the differences compared to the PSP version are quite obvious. FES is far superior (in my opinion). The models/textures are much sharper in FES, and exploring/talking to people in the 3D map is a very different experience versus talking to them in 2D a point-and-click interface.
It's kind of like comparing Final Fantasy XV with Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition. They're both technically the same game, but one is a full Final Fantasy experience with all features of these titles while the other is a pared back version that was made just for portable consoles, which is notably missing features and/or content from the original release.
If you have the means, I highly recommend Persona 3 FES for the PS2.
Re: Uh Oh, It Looks Like More Super Mario Bros. Movie Toys Have Leaked
It's difficult to believe the "leaking" of toys is somehow not a deliberate attempt to hype people up for the Mario movie, but perhaps I'm just being a negative nancy.
Re: Talking Point: So, When Will Nintendo Announce Its Next Console?
@Bizzyb Is it true some people here have an irrational fear that Nintendo will announce new hardware this year?
It seems more likely the one(s) confidently predicting Switch 2's announcement in a few months with zero evidence likely have an irrational fear they won't announce new hardware this year.
What would you think of Nintendo if they made 0 hardware announcements this year?
Re: Talking Point: So, When Will Nintendo Announce Its Next Console?
@Bizzyb I found a tin foil hat on the ground and assumed it was yours, so here you are.
Re: Talking Point: So, When Will Nintendo Announce Its Next Console?
Gamecube (2001): A regular console with a non-traditional controller layout with a design focus on being "portable friendly" with a dedicated handle on the console.
Nintendo DS (2004): A regular portable console, similar to the Gameboy, but with 2 screens instead of one and with stylus/touch controls.
Wii (2006): A home console, this time, with motion controllers that completely change how you play games.
Nintendo 3DS (2011): A more powerful Nintendo DS but with a "3D effect" toggle slider.
WiiU (2012): A more powerful Wii with a tablet as a controller.
Nintendo Switch (2017): A more powerful WiiU, but the tablet itself is the actual console, and you can toggle between portable and TV mode easily.
Next Switch Iteration (2024): A more powerful Switch, but with an additional "sucker" shaped attachment you stick in your mouth that allows you to taste certain items within the game, dubbed the "Loli-con."
Edit: Nintendo just contacted me and asked me not to divulge company secrets
Re: Video: A Closer Look At The Aya Neo Air, A Powerful Alternative To The Switch
@Father-Noo If you could just spread your rational thinking and positive outlook to all further articles here, that would be great.
Re: Video: A Closer Look At The Aya Neo Air, A Powerful Alternative To The Switch
@johnvboy
Fun Fact: your comments make up roughly 13% of all the comments here (10/81 at the time of responding).
Less is more, just saying.
Re: Video: A Closer Look At The Aya Neo Air, A Powerful Alternative To The Switch
"Mom, can I get a Steam Deck for Christmas?"
"We have Steam Deck at home ..."
$500 is a competitive price, but you can grab a 64GB Steam Deck for $100 less and it has a much better UI experience with the full support of Valve. They're both just portable PCs at the end of the day.
Still, I'm glad to see more competitors with reasonable pricing!
Re: Talking Point: As Zelda: Wind Waker Turns 20, Doesn't Toon Link Deserve A Second Chance?
Toon Link always has a place on my Steam Deck ... because I made his face my UI menu background.
You probably thought I was referring to emulation, which isn't my meaning at all, how silly.
But now that we're on the subject ...
Re: Soapbox: The Steam Deck And The Switch Aren't Rivals, They're Siblings
@SwitchForce "And requires an constant active internet connection."
Sorry to correct you, but this isn't true.
I use Offline mode all the time, sometimes for 1-2 weeks at a time.
Re: Soapbox: The Steam Deck And The Switch Aren't Rivals, They're Siblings
@EvrgrnCmln Your story is one I've seen a lot lately, it's definitely not for every gamer. You should be able to sell it pretty easily, they're still selling out now and again.
For my use case, the Steam Deck works really well - I mostly play semi-older games that still look really sharp like Mafia II, Oblivion, Dead Rising 2, etc. and even on max settings, the battery life for games like this is usually around 4-5 hours or more. My gaming sessions are usually only 2-3 hours, so this is plenty for me. When I fly, I just use the USB port in front of me and I can play endlessly.
I understand the fantasy of wanting to play a AAA game on ultra settings for hours while travelling, but the screen is literally 7-inches so it makes more sense to me to play slightly older game that still looks amazing for way more battery life.
Re: Soapbox: The Steam Deck And The Switch Aren't Rivals, They're Siblings
Steam Deck can be played like a casual portable console where you just install verified games and run them without tinkering, but doing this would be missing out on like 80% of what the console can do.
I like having both - Switch is guaranteed to be an easy user experience, but lacks control and customization, while Steam Deck has much more ability to play the games I want and tailor my UI, sounds, apps, etc. but it can also be frustrating sometimes if you're not familiar with PC gaming.
Still, I hope Valve and Nintendo keep each other in check, competition ensures a better product for the consumer.
Re: Best Action Games On Nintendo Switch
@SuntannedDuck2 Very fair points.
See - from my perspective, there are a lot of similarities between a game like Dragon's Dogma and Hades.
Both games have a focused story, quests and side quests, real-time action combat, and they both even light romance/affinity elements, a notable RPG mechanic. In my experience playing both games, the combat has the most focus, but as I mentioned, there are plenty of RPG elements and story too.
I think as game genres continue to evolve and mutate, these general genre distinctions like 'Action' and 'RPG' will become so difficult to discern that we'll just stop using them all together.