AstroTheGamosian

@BLAZINOAH Eh, I dunno. I still say Jason Momoa, especially since he has more experience acting in high fantasy films, like Conan the Barbarian and Game of Thrones. Plus, when he glares, his eyes shoot daggers, which I think should be a vital trait for Ganondorf.

@Yalloo Having played Stellar Blade myself, there are also some RPG elements to it (namely unlocking new abilities and finding and upgrading equipment that can give you stat boosts). But the core gameplay is predominantly hack & slash, with the main character, EVE, defeating Naytibas with her sword; although, she can get an upgrade to the drone that follows her and use it as a gun or a rocket launcher, and she can even acquire a fishing pole and go fishing in certain bodies of water.

I mean, it's not a terrible game, but it is generic. The gameplay is mostly solid, the post-apocalyptic setting and atmosphere is interesting, the graphics are beautiful, the music is phenomenal (and was a contender for the Best Score and Music category at The Game Awards last December, but lost to Final Fantasy VII Rebirth), and there's a wealth of outfits and accessories to find and wear, a main draw for the game (although some of them can be a bit revealing).

But the story lacks depth and borrows many tropes from other sci-fi stories, such as a rogue AI that tried to destroy humanity (which has been done to death), an Earth overrun by monsters, with the last remnants of humanity gathering in a sanctuary city, and a botched invasion at the beginning of the game in a failed attempt to cleanse the planet of the monsters (think the Battle of Klendathu in Starship Troopers).

Plus, the characters are dull, with very little personality. Think about how Samus Aran was criticized in Metroid: Other M for showing a relative lack of emotion (minus the part where Adam Malkovich sacrificed himself, or when she saw a resurrected Ridley). EVE from Stellar Blade makes Samus Aran from Metroid: Other M look emotional in comparison. And Adam (EVE's main partner in the game) is equally dull. Lily is a bit better, being more chipper and excitable, but beyond that, she's not THE main character of the game like EVE is.

As it is, the most interesting characters in the game are an android singer named Enya that you have to help rebuild (as well as Su, the bartender who found her, whom Enya falls in love with), as well as a small robot named D1G-g2r (pronounced "Digger") that gained sentience and pondered the meaning of its own existence.

But that being said, the world, story, and characters have potential; it just wasn't fully realized in this game. Fortunately, a sequel is already in the works, set to release in 2027, and is said to address the lack of story from the first game. Personally, I hope they ask more existential questions, such as what it means to be human, and the implications of evolution versus technological advancement. If they can do that, plus give the main characters' personalities more depth, we could have a real winner on our hands.

So yeah, I hope it and the sequel come to the Switch 2. But if you can't wait that long, the game has recently been released on PC, over a year after being a PS5 exclusive. So if you have a decent laptop that can run games like Stellar Blade, definitely check it out if you can, if only to experience the world and especially the music.

Nice. One of the rare occasions when I will not be working that weekend.

I don't know which team I would pick, though. It all depends on what I am traveling for and where to. If I am traveling to another country, I really have no choice but to travel by air, since ocean liners have basically been rendered obsolete due to the advent of long-distance airplanes.

If it is within my home country, provided that there are railways near where I want to go, I'll take a train. Then again, I live in the United States, and our passenger railway system is nowhere near as robust as a country like Japan.

If it's a local commute, I'll drive.

@Yalloo From what I have heard, it’s more like Nier: Automata, both in storyline and gameplay. Granted, I never played Nier: Automata myself, but when I was explaining the premise of Stellar Blade (a post-apocalyptic setting where human-like androids called Andro-Eidos are trying to liberate the Earth from monstrous creatures called Naytibas, and you find yourself in the last bastion of humanity and help to restore it) to him, he said it sounded like Nier: Automata. In fact, the two games even did crossover DLC where you could purchase 2B’s outfit for EVE and a Pod 042 skin for the drone that follows her around.

Hopefully it will be. I have it for the PS5, and it would be really neat to take it on the go and not have to use PlayStation Remote Play (which requires a stable Internet connection). Plus, the game was made in Unreal Engine 4, which the original Switch could run. With the Switch 2 being more powerful than a PS4, and can run PS5 games like Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, it should have very few problems running this game. Here’s hoping we’ll get some Nintendo-specific outfits, such as Samus’ Zero Suit.

Now we just need Genshin Impact on the Switch 2!

I don't even have a Switch 2 yet, so I don't think there's any way for me to use the app to begin with, not even on the original versions for the first-generation Switch.

I don’t know who will play Link or Zelda, but Ganondorf HAS to be played by Jason Momoa. He’s about the right age for the character, tall, muscular, has a fierce gaze, and can draw upon his experience playing Conan the Barbarian and Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones when it comes to being intimidating and when it comes to the combat scenes. Based on those traits, he would make a perfect Ganondorf!

I feel their pain. Back in 2016, I started a new save file on Pokémon FireRed, completely forgetting that my old save file had Mew on it; Mew was only available through a special event at Toys "R" Us back in 2006. So, it was over a decade's worth of save data, gone in an instant. Why, oh why did they program the game to have only one save file at a time, even when there are two slots on the save file screen? Even the original Legend of Zelda (arguably a more primitive game on a more primitive console) could have three save files at a time!

Yeesh, it's probably a good thing that I didn't go out of my way to get a Switch 2 early on; I still don't have one yet. Granted, lithium-ion batteries swelling is practically inevitable, but you would think that would happen after a certain period of time. As it is, it took over a decade for the battery in my old MacBook Pro to swell. Hopefully the batteries swelling in these Switch 2s is just the result of a defect or something. And hopefully Nintendo can get it fixed at the source before they roll out the next batch of consoles.

Well, I’m going to be on the road for a family reunion for most of the weekend, so I will be playing Xenoblade Chronicles X on my Switch, as well as playing Stellar Blade on my PS5 via the PlayStation Remote Play feature (I’ll also be doing my dailies in Genshin Impact the same way). What’s also nice is that I finally bought a headrest mount for my Switch and iPhone to put into my mother’s car, so I can play those games with a regular controller, instead of fighting with touchscreen controls or tiny little Joy-Cons.

@dskatter My employer is also quite generous with PTO (more so with vacation time than sick time, oddly enough), but I still prefer to use it only when I really need to. For example, I had to take a weeklong vacation last year to take care of my mother as she was recovering from heart surgery. I also had four weddings to attend as well, all of which required me to put in PTO requests. And tomorrow, I have a family function to go to, meaning I had to put in another PTO request for that as well.

And again, it's not like I NEED a Switch 2 right now. I'm still fine with my Switch, OLED Switch, and Switch Lite. As it is, the only game really worth getting for the Switch 2 right now is Mario Kart World, and I am not necessarily a big fan of the Mario Kart series to begin with. Mario Kart 7 kind of ruined the experience for me with all the grinding I had to do to get the coins necessary to unlock all of the parts for the karts. Besides, F-Zero was more my jam than Mario Kart ever was, especially since it built a world ripe for expansion and exploration.

Ergo, unless I get that invite from Nintendo beforehand, I might just wait until Metroid Prime 4 comes out, like I said earlier. Time will tell.

@dskatter See, I've been busy with work (and work for me starts at 6:00 in the morning and ends at 4:30 in the late afternoon), so I didn't have the time to go on launch day. Plus, since it was a work night for me, there was no way I was going to go to the midnight release; and my personal work ethic doesn't allow me to take time off of work just so I can buy a video game console. So unless I get an invite from Nintendo at some point, it's going to be a while until I can get my hands on a Switch 2 from a retailer.

@StewdaMegaManNerd Yeah, it was just recently reported; legit the other day. But trying to order directly from them, it still says that it's invite only. So when they decide to open it up to everyone is anyone's guess.

@Michael0916 Apple was more willing to pay through the nose for semiconductors during the chip shortage than most other companies, so it's no surprise that they were able to get their hands on computer chips for their phones. But I remember how difficult it was for people to get their hands on a PS5 or an Xbox Series X/S for a while due to these supply chain issues; the only people who seemed to have any to sell were the scalpers. Even Nintendo was affected to a degree (only manufacturing 24 million Switches instead of the projected 30 million), but since there were already plenty of Switches out in the wild and readily available, they were able to weather the storm a lot better than their competitors.

@Dev-N Well, considering that Nintendo likely won't have to deal with the same production issues that plagued Sony and Microsoft with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, respectively, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nintendo should theoretically be able to manufacture more without many problems. The real question is how the tariffs imposed by the President of the United States are going to affect the supply chain, especially when it comes to importing Switch 2s to the country.

Well, I am glad for those who managed to get their hands on one here in the United States. I still have yet to get one. I registered my interest with Nintendo a while ago, and they sent me an e-mail a couple weeks ago that I was in the queue to receive an invitation, but I have yet to receive any further e-mail to order directly from them.

Furthermore, I recently read that Nintendo has stopped allowing people to register interest to buy directly from them and are only providing links to retailers like GameStop, Best Buy, Walmart, and Target, none of which currently have any in stock. I don't know if that also includes sending out more e-mails letting people order directly from them; I would certainly hope that's not the case, but it doesn't look good.

Besides, the only major first-party game out for it right now that is entirely brand new is Mario Kart World. I am going to sound like a freak for this, but I am not really a big fan of the Mario Kart series, so I am not exactly chomping at the bit to get one. I might wait until Metroid Prime 4, the game that I REALLY want, comes out, assuming I don't get an invite from Nintendo before then.

As tempting as it is, I'll have to pass on this. I'm trying to significantly cut back on my carb and sugar intake under the assumption that I might be diabetic. When I was in the ER a few weeks ago, my bloodwork showed that my blood glucose level was 101; I hadn't eaten in several hours, so for it to be that high really worried me.

So I've been trying to watch what I eat since then, cutting out sweets almost entirely and doing fruits and vegetables. But as it turns out, the fruits and vegetables I have been eating (carrots, bananas, and apples) are also high in carbs. Diabetics can only have 10% of their daily caloric intake from carbohydrates, so I need to cut back even further. It's going to mainly be leafy greens like spinach, garlic, and watermelon for me going forward, as those are low in carbs.

I won't know anything more until August when I go see my doctor for my annual physical. Once I get bloodwork done again and they can see my A1C levels (which, for those who don't know, is a measure of your blood glucose level over time), I'll have a better idea of whether I have diabetes or not.

But for the time being, I am treating myself as if I am, if only so I can prevent it in the future if I am actually not. And if I am, I will gladly sign up for clinical trials for the CRISPR-Cas9 gene therapy treatment in an attempt to reverse it, even if I have to go to another country to do so.

I don't want my life to be governed by this disease like it governs everyone on my father's side of the family, so anything I can do to prevent or reverse it, I am all for.

What I'd love to see is them remake the Swordquest games. Even if they don't do a contest this time around, I'd love for them to remake the game, making sure to integrate the story from the tie-in comic book, and finishing the story as originally intended (since the fourth game was never released). And with gaming technology being more advanced today compared to the early 1980s, they could have the entire story's plotline in one game instead of four. I think that is the one set of games from Atari that I think is the most deserving of a revisit.

Since this was originally a PS5 game, I have to wonder if other third-party PS5 games will eventually make their way to the Switch 2, such as Stellar Blade. That's one game I would love to take with me on the go without having to rely on PlayStation Remote Play.

Genshin Impact and Xenoblade Chronicles X, mainly. And I’ll be showing my girlfriend the PlayStation Remote Play feature on my iPhone, which allows me to play my PS5 while on the go. So I’ll demonstrate it by playing some Stellar Blade (which she is interested in playing after I showed her the opening cutscene for it a few weeks ago).

I mean, it won't be THAT big of a deal if I can't get my hands on one on or around launch day.

As it is, I'm currently working my way through Xenoblade Chronicles X on my Switch 1, and that will take me a while, especially since I am trying to grind for levels by completing Basic Missions, Affinity Missions, and such.

And if I get tired of playing that, I recently downloaded the PlayStation Remote Play app onto my iPhone 15 Pro, so I can play my PS5 games while on the go (as few as I have), as long as I have a stable Internet connection.

Ergo, I have options when it comes to entertainment for this road trip that I have coming up in less than two weeks. It doesn't necessarily have to be the shiny new console, as neat as it would be to get one. I can wait for a bit longer.

I wasn't able to preorder to begin with, and I am still waiting for an e-mail from Nintendo to get my hands on one. So I have no idea when I will even get my hands on a Switch 2. I hope it's soon, but I just don't know exactly when. But I do feel sorry for those who apparently got lucky, only to have the rug pulled out from under them at the last minute.

@Res462 Relationships are built on trust. Even business transactions are a form of relationship. It boils down to, "I trust that you will supply me with a good or service in exchange for a certain amount of money."

In cancelling preorders for the Switch 2 at the 11th hour, the retailer is indicating that they are untrustworthy in being able to provide adequate supply of the product. The result is that the customer who ordered from them will then be more likely to take their business elsewhere, meaning that the retailer the customer originally did business with will lose a sale, thus leading to them losing revenue and therefore profit. They may even go so far as to lose a customer for life.

That's what the article means by playing with fire: break your customers' trust to provide a good or service, and you lose their business, possibly for good, resulting in less money being made for your business.

Well, my mother (who is a Legend of Zelda fan) has wanted to play more board games with me, so I'll definitely have to try to get my hands on this! It's the best of both worlds!

[EDIT]: Apparently, it looks like USAopoly actually came out with a Legend of Zelda-themed chess set back in 2017 (according to a Nintendo Life article that links to this one), and it also appears to be be based on Ocarina of Time. I wonder if this current set is a reprint/rerelease of that one?

It is neat that it came to Nintendo Music, but I actually already have the soundtrack on CD. Got it through Play-Asia. I also imported the soundtrack from the discs into my Apple Music app. But for some reason, while the entire album shows up on my laptop at home, only the first 100 tracks show up when I sign into Apple Music on my computer at work. No idea why that is. Anyone have any ideas as to why this is?

Don't know what y'all are getting at about the Switch's final days. I'm still playing my Switch, especially considering I have no idea when I'll be getting a Switch 2. In fact, I have three Switches: the launch model (which needs to be repaired, as I think the fan is going out), the TOTK-themed OLED version, and the Zelda-themed Switch Lite that came out with Echoes of Wisdom.

My guess is Nintendo will support the original Switch for a couple more years or so before finally pulling the plug, given how successful it was. Besides, not everyone can shell out $450-500 for a Switch 2 in today's economy. Nintendo would be crazy to pull the plug on the original Switch as soon as the Switch 2 launches.

Hey, if it makes you guys feel any better, I still have yet to hear from Nintendo about preordering directly through them. I did get an e-mail from them a few weeks ago saying that I was still in the queue, but I haven’t heard anything else since then. I’ve even checked my spam folder, and nothing.

I would just hope that, if Atlus ever made another Trauma Center game (and frankly, the mouse feature on the Switch 2 Joy-Cons could be a nifty way to perform surgeries), I would hope that Yuri Lowenthal will still be Derek Stiles. Same with Wendee Lee as Angie Thompson, Spike Spencer as Victor Niguel, and Keith Silverstein as Kenneth Blackwell, amongst others.

Still waiting on an e-mail from Nintendo with a link to preorder the system. I did get one from them a bit ago saying that I was still in the queue, but I still haven't gotten anything else yet. I just wonder if I can use an e-gift card to pay for part of it and put the rest on my regular credit card.

@Anti-Matter Reminds me of a piece of fanart I saw of Link in Nintendo Power (specifically the issue with Tales of Symphonia on the cover) in the same pose, commenting on how drafty it was. And Kirby was standing in a doorway behind him going, "This is messed up!"

Personally, I wish more game developers would adopt Nintendo's approach, where the executives take a pay cut so no one has to get laid off. And frankly, this extends beyond the game industry and to business as a whole. It just seems like the CEO mentality is, "Little Timmy and his family are out on the streets, but I need another yacht." And it sickens me. The level of income inequality today is worse than it was before the French Revolution, and it's only getting worse. The question is, when will people finally stand up and say, "Enough is enough?"

Is it just me, or does the console bear some resemblance to the Amiga CD32?

I would totally get these. I know Metroid: Other M is not everyone's cup of tea, but I personally enjoyed the game for what it was. And speaking as a writer, I liked the fact that they tried to tell more of a story this time around compared to previous Metroid games. Plus, they gave us the deepest look into Samus' backstory yet, something that we had previously only seen in the manga (which you can read on the Metroid Database, for those wondering). And other than Krystal from Star Fox, Samus Aran is my favorite video game character, so I would definitely love to get more memorabilia of her.

@sfb Same with the Meloxicam. They also told me that I could take ibuprofen or acetaminophen along with the Meloxicam. My problem is I tend to be a side sleeper. And I think my sitting posture also puts pressure on my sternum, because I can feel pain in my chest when slouching. So I'm gonna have to do a LOT to get some relief. I hate getting old. 😭

@sfb I'm 32 years old myself. And costochondritis is actually what I was diagnosed with. The best way the doctor described it is like carpal tunnel of the chest. So just like how repetitive motion in your hands and wrists can give you carpal tunnel, repetitive motions in your chest can give you costochondritis. And my day job has me doing a lot of repetitive motions, especially with heavy lifting.

They also prescribed me an anti-inflammatory and told me to use ice and heat. But since I can't really have an ice pack or a heating pad while working, I have to use lidocaine or menthol gel for pain relief. And it did seem to do the trick for a bit. But as long as I don't strain myself, it should hopefully resolve itself soon. As it is, I have a work restriction to where I cannot lift more than ten pounds (4.5 kilograms for those who use the metric system) for a week.

@Regulus6891 Thank you. I wish for a speedy recovery myself. It's not fun being injured like this. But it only reaffirms for me the need to get a job that is less physically taxing. Really hoping that Nintendo will select me for an interview for their localization team (applications for which are currently available on their website), at the very least; I never made it past the application stage in the past.

@OctolingKing13 Well, the doctor thinks I'm okay. I was having some pain in the left side of my chest, but fortunately, the EKG and blood tests showed up as normal, and the X-ray didn't show anything out of the ordinary (which is good news for me, because I'm a bit of a worrywart, with my first thought being a tumor). They think that my rib cartilage is inflamed, so they are limiting me from lifting anything over ten pounds (4.5 kilograms for those who use the metric system) for a week, and we'll go from there.

But yeah, $400 (not including the $150 copay) is pricey. Yeah, I have the money in the bank, and I no longer have any major debts (like student debt) hanging over my head, so I can easily afford it. But I'll have to hold off on certain frivolities for a few weeks, since that's over half of a paycheck for me. Meaning my girlfriend will likely be cooking for us when I go to visit her instead of me going out and grabbing something for us. And no buying a Switch 2 at launch.

Honestly, I might have to hold off on getting a Switch 2 now. Having spent several hours in the ER today, now I am going to be socked with a bill likely in excess of $400, even with insurance applied. Such are the joys of the American healthcare system. 😭

I don’t know why, but I do find this amusing. Probably because I was watching Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith for the last few hours while laid out on a hospital bed in the ER. Doing okay, by the way. But seeing this article pop up when I was just watching Star Wars just tickled me.

I have no idea when I will get a Switch 2 at this point. I missed out on preordering through both GameStop and Best Buy, and I never received an e-mail from Nintendo about preordering through them, despite registering interest. And I refuse to pay scalpers prices on eBay. Sadly, it looks like I'll have to skip the launch and wait for it to become more readily available in stores.

Makes me wonder what Dixie Kong, Funky Kong, Cranky Kong, and Candy Kong would look like.

@speed_loafer Ah, Mel Brooks' Spaceballs. I love that film. Also saw the animated series as well. In fact, the episode "Grand Theft Starship" parodied a bunch of video games. And there was a version of Samus Aran in that episode! Plus, the episode "Outbreak" had a gag where Lone Starr used the wrong end of a dog whistle and summed a tornado that took him to some sort of fantasy video game world, just like in The Legend of Zelda.

As someone who would like to talk with my friends while playing games together, I am glad that the Switch 2 has integrated voice chat, something that people clamored for with the original Switch.

But that being said, if it's limited to ONLY friends and not everyone, I might reconsider. I want to meet new people and make new friends while playing, so if voice chat is limited to friends only, that doesn't help me much.

Both Star Fox games top my list, especially Assault. Even better is if they allow online multiplayer, and not only with friends. I played the heck out of multiplayer mode, but since the GameCube wasn't really portable, I couldn't really take it on the go. But if it comes to the Switch 2, I can finally do so.

And while we're at it, how about a sequel to Assault that ignores the continuity of Command? I never did like how they wrote the characters in that game (Krystal especially), and the multiple endings where some of the characters did not get happy endings frankly did not help things. So by making a new Star Fox game that takes place after Assault but basically retcons Command would make me happy. Especially if it shows the relationship between Fox and Krystal deepening further, with the two of them getting married by the end of the game.

Primarily focusing on Genshin Impact this weekend. The new version just came out, so I want to play through the Story Quest for the new character, Escoffier, as well as take part in the flagship event.

Might hold off on the new chapter of the Archon Quest, though, since I play it in the English Dub, and Erika Harlacher, who voices Venti, has apparently said that she will be returning to voicing the character soon. So I want to get the best experience possible given the circumstances.

But maybe once I take care of the more time-sensitive stuff in Genshin, I might go back to playing more Xenoblade Chronicles X. That being said, I've been itching to take up Stellar Blade or Astro Bot (both for the PS5) again, so there's always that, as well.

This is par for the course for Nintendo. They tend to follow a pattern with their consoles: innovate for one generation, then take a more iterative approach and make a more powerful version of the console with the next generation, rinse and repeat.

Thus, the SNES was a more powerful version of the NES, the GameCube was a more powerful version of the N64 (despite using discs instead of cartridges), the Wii U was a more powerful version of the Wii (despite having a tablet as the main controller, and the Switch 2 is a more powerful version of the Switch.

And frankly, that's okay. After all, quite a few gamers would prefer if Nintendo just made a more powerful console like Sony and Microsoft do instead of trying to come up with another gameplay gimmick. Personally, I couldn't care less either way, as long as Nintendo can still make their games fun.

While I've already got the game preordered for the GBA (both the standard and collector's editions, plushie included, the shipment for both of which sadly having been delayed to July), I might just pick it up for the Switch as well. It'd be nice to have all of the Shantae games on one console.

Now we just need WayForward to make a 3D Shantae game, or better yet, a cartoon series! In fact, I myself would love to pitch such a concept! I even have an idea for a pilot episode!

Of the more obscure mascots of the 1990s, I've heard that Gex was one of the better ones. I might consider this. Still waiting on Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, though. It was supposed to be delivered to my house this month, but I recently got an e-mail saying that the delivery has been pushed back to July.

@Inc True. But still, I think you can only do so much with the code before you're left with no choice but to make something new.

The way I see it, if a new Harvest Moon (both old and new) and Story of Seasons game can come out every few years, why not a new Stardew Valley? Yeah, you can update the original game all you want, but I think there's only so much you can do with the game's code at the end of the day before you're left with no choice other than to make a new game altogether.

For example, Microsoft said that Windows 10 would be their final version of the Windows operating system and would just continue to update that instead of releasing a new one, only to release Windows 11 a few years later. And a couple days ago, when I restarted my computer to install some updates, it said that Windows will discontinue supporting Windows 10 on October 14, 2025, just a little over five months away.

As much as I love Windows 10, I'll be left with no other choice but to upgrade to Windows 11 (and I might as well upgrade the hardware, too, since most of the components are getting long in the tooth, having not been replaced since I bought the PC in 2018). And of course, it could very well be by the time I do, we'll probably end up with Windows 12.

Makes me wonder how VTubers will take this, especially given that many of them take great pains to avoid their real identities from getting out.

@Notsoavid Where I am on the Switch version now is about as far as I got in the Wii U version in terms of the main quest. Currently am trying to get to Level 30 so I can purchase more Skells. And I am very close.

@Spider-Kev Eh, oh well. What's a few bucks more anyway? At least I got something out of it, compared to the $35 pizza I bought today for lunch and dropped as I opened my car door, thus rendering it unable to be eaten. That was truly $35 wasted.

Bought this bundle. No way was I passing up nine full games for only $70! $140 is already a good deal, but $70 is an amazing one!