Hey, what do you know? My team won for once! But yet again, the winning team carried it on Clout alone. Was Team Ninja just that good? It did seem that I was winning more matches than I was losing, at least initially. Still, I'd love to know exactly how Clout gets calculated to the point where it ends up winning the entire Splatfest alone.
@Ironcore It's been years since I've played my own save file (I have played the game in the last few months, but I was playing my girlfriend's save file because she was having trouble progressing). The last time I played my save file I was trying to execute the glitch to get the Bow of Light, but I just can't get the timing down. Maybe I'll try again someday if I have time, but when that will be is anyone's guess.
Or, instead of adding an entirely new costume, how about giving us the ability to raise and lower the hood on the Hooded Zelda costume? But I do agree that we need to focus on things like the Echoes menu first, before we even think about cosmetic changes or DLC.
I was at work when the applications went live, so I naturally didn't manage to fill it out in time. I'm a little bummed, but it's not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully the nature of this playtest will be revealed once it's all said and done.
Didn’t get a chance to do it last weekend like I wanted, but I’ve finally started playing Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore last night.
Didn’t get very far, though, because I had to grab dinner for my mother, who was waiting with my father in the ER, and that took an hour or so off of the time that I would have spent playing the game.
Tonight won’t be much better, either, because I have to attend a birthday party for a couple of my aunts right after work, and that will take up the entire evening. Hopefully I’ll be able to play more tomorrow.
@Goat_FromBOTW In all fairness, 30+ years of voicing a character is a long time; he's been the voice of Mario since before I was born. The guy is also 69 years old, which is well into retirement age here in the U.S. He probably wants to spend his golden years with family or working on personal projects.
I might actually get this. I have the game guide for Reshef of Destruction, but I don't have the game itself. So I'll finally be able to put that game guide to good use, after all these years.
Got a few volumes already, but I am so gonna buy this box set! In fact, I'm also gonna buy a box set for my girlfriend as well, since she also loves Zelda.
@HeadPirate I totally get that last paragraph. I personally like Genshin Impact for its world-building and story (for me, the most important aspects of any video game, even more than the gameplay itself), but I can't convince my friends to play it because they don't like the gacha component. To me, Genshin is a fantasy adventure RPG game first and a gacha game second.
@HeadPirate Which is why I try to be as F2P in Genshin Impact as possible. I don't want to blow my wallet trying to get all the characters and weapons. I say that as a Westerner. Again, I really only do the Blessing of the Welkin Moon and the premium tier of the Battle Pass; I couldn't tell you the last time I spent real money on Genesis Crystals (and even then, the last time I did was to buy the new clothing for one of the characters).
And at least Genshin has a pity system where you are guaranteed a 5-Star character or weapon after a set number of pulls (I've heard it was usually between 60-90, although I've had it to where it was within 10-20 pulls of the last one; I got lucky). You may lose the 50/50 on a banner the first time you pull a 5-Star, but if you pull another, you will be guaranteed the character or weapon you are pulling for on that banner.
I'm not a big fan of gacha mechanics myself, but at least you are guaranteed something. It may not be what you are pulling for, but it is at least something. If you ask me, it's a far cry from actual gambling (such as slot machines and the lottery), where you can actually lose money and not get anything back at all.
About the only game I do the gacha on is Genshin Impact, and on that, I try to be as F2P as possible. I save up my Primogems from events and normal gameplay, but I do spend real money on the Blessing of the Welkin Moon (which gives you 90 Primogems a day for 30 days), and I will purchase the premium tier of the Battle Pass once I max it out. But beyond that, I try to spend as little real life money as possible in-game.
I'm personally hoping for a remaster of Xenoblade Chronicles X, or even a sequel that delves deeper into the lore of the world and Elma's past. Or both.
@ottoecamn I'm not so much worried about them pursuing a DEI agenda as I am making sure that customers are given quality goods and services, and that the employees taking care of them are properly taken care of themselves (especially when it comes to workload, wages, benefits, and scheduling).
I won't go into too much detail (lest this become a Lewis Black-style rant), but many of us at the Kroger I worked at were overworked, underpaid, and in many cases verbally abused by our managers; if anything, I likened the store to what the Japanese call a "black company".
In fact, over two-thirds of all Kroger employees make poverty wages and have to rely on side gigs or government assistance to make ends meet (even those who made salary, not hourly wages, such as my old supervisor before she was wrongfully terminated).
And hearing from people who used to work at that store who made their way to where I work now, employee morale sinks lower and lower with each passing year. It's all about how much they're being worked, how little they are being compensated, and how random their schedules are (meaning no work-life balance). DEI's got nothing to do with it.
@ottoecamn Well, it is good to hear that they ban BlackRock from investing in them. They just need to do the same with The Vanguard Group (which I believe already invests in Nintendo). Those two shareholders, in my experience, seem to force companies that they invest in to maximize profits by cutting costs, which results in mediocre (at best) products and services.
I used to work for Kroger, and they were two of the largest shareholders in the business. Any attempts to suggest new ideas to improve quality were shot down because it would have cost money (which would have meant less profits and dividends for the shareholders). And look at what has been happening with Boeing in recent years. Vanguard and BlackRock are both two of the largest shareholders in that company, as well. Even Microsoft is under their thrall, and they have been laying off people left and right.
So it says to me that there is a common denominator here with all these layoffs and decreases in quality of goods and services, and that is The Vanguard Group and BlackRock, Inc. Nintendo is wise to keep BlackRock from investing, but they need to go a step further and force Vanguard to divest if they truly want to maintain control over the quality of their games and systems.
@DennyCrane If memory serves me correctly, that was one of the chapters in the third Ace Attorney game. You had the "master thief" being tasked by the "ace detective" hunting him down to commit crimes.
@ScalenePowers It's also possible that they focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment, with the goal of reintegrating people back into society, like they do in European countries such as Germany and Norway.
Compare that to the United States, where we focus more on punishment than rehabilitation, which is why we lead the world in arrests, convictions, imprisonment, and recidivism (the propensity for convicts to reoffend).
@Mana_Knight I'm not certain about that, but it is possible that the game she was playing in the photo was either Super Mario Land or Tetris, as those two games often came bundled with the original Game Boy. As it is, the Game Boy in question belonged to her daughter, Chelsea.
According to a Snopes article about the photo, a news reporter by the name of Sara Williams tried to do some digging to see what kind of games and consoles that Hillary Clinton enjoyed, only to be told by people at the White House that it was a state secret, as revealing that info could be considered an official endorsement of one product over another.
@Not_Soos And in regard to how you thought the Crown Prince seemed genuine, that's actually how dictators get you to like them. They come across as genuine, lull you into a false sense of security, and then they take absolute power. By the time you realize anything is wrong, it's too late.
I remember seeing a photo of Joseph Stalin holding a little girl (her name was Engelsina Markizova) in his arms. In the photo, he seemed kind and grandfatherly. It became widely used for pro-Stalinist propaganda. The girl's father was later executed on false charges of being a spy for the Japanese, her mother was imprisoned and deported to Kazakhstan where she passed away from unknown circumstances, and the girl herself was shunned by her classmates and sent to live with relatives in Moscow. Furthermore, the identity of the girl in the photo was deliberately misattributed by officials to be someone else entirely. The photo began to fade into obscurity after Stalin's death and the resulting de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union.
So it is possible that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is being genuine, but it is also entirely possible that he is just appearing so in order to lull people into a false sense of security so that it makes his power grab all the smoother.
@Not_Soos That actually is quite interesting. And if you weren't aware, here in the United States, Hillary Clinton also likes games (at least she did back in the day; no idea about today). There's actually a photo from 1993 of her sitting on a plane playing a Game Boy.
If I ever got the chance to meet her, I'd love for her to autograph a copy of that photo for me. I don't agree with all of her politics, but it's not every day that you meet an influential politician who shares the same hobby as you.
Genshin Impact and Echoes of Wisdom for me. But that won’t come until tomorrow. Gonna be driving back home with my girlfriend from a wedding. We could be looking at a 12-hour drive, give or take.
@graviton I consider myself an old fart (31 years old, but still), and I am not well-versed in the latest slang and music. But I always try to stay on top of the latest gaming trends.
And having just beat Echoes of Wisdom a few minutes ago as of this writing, I thoroughly enjoyed the new direction Nintendo took the series in with this entry. I can’t wait for the next game where we play as Zelda!
Still, it would have been nice if Shigeru Miyamoto got some sort of credit for creating the series. Even Gene Roddenberry (the creator of Star Trek) got credited as the creator of the franchise in every series from Deep Space Nine-onwards.
Even the President of Nintendo (be it Hiroshi Yamauchi, Satoru Iwata, Tatsumi Kimishima, or Shuntaro Furukawa) gets credited in every Nintendo game, even though they might not have any active role in the development of the game. Makes me wonder if Shigeru Miyamoto is going to be retiring soon, if he hasn’t done so already and they have yet to announce it.
I've only got a couple dungeons left to beat myself; I'm way farther in the game than my girlfriend (she was floored that I am as far as I am, saying that I am so much better at playing video games than her).
It is definitely a welcome return to form for the series. What is also fun about it is trying to figure out which Echo to use to progress past a specific enemy or puzzle. And I also let the Echoes do the work when it comes to the boss fights (for the most part).
9/10 for me. I do have some issues with the gameplay (such as having to scroll through dozens of Echoes to find the one I want), but it has been an enjoyable experience for the most part. I hope Zelda becomes the playable protagonist in another mainline Zelda game soon enough!
One of my recommendations is letting the Monster Echoes do the combat for you. It allows you to hang back and not get hit by enemies. It's served me well so far. Yes, I have died a few times, but frankly, that's part of the challenge. Basically, fight smart, not hard.
My guess is we'll probably get a reveal in the next couple of weeks. Maybe no more than a month from now. I don't think Nintendo wanted to reveal the successor to the Switch while Echoes of Wisdom had yet to be released. Now that the game is out, they might give it a week or two before the big reveal.
And for the record, when I spoke with a GameStop employee the other day, he actually told me that Nintendo specifically told GameStop to not call it "Switch 2." So it is possible that it may not continue with the Switch name. Time will tell.
Well, the good news is that it's a lot better than the last outing where Zelda was the main playable protagonist (that being Zelda's Adventure, released in 1995 for the Philips CD-i). Can't wait for tomorrow!
@Brady1138 Yeah, that's what I've been saying recently. AI (at least in its current form) is just a fad. Just like cryptocurrency and NFTs. Everyone said that those were the future of tech, but crypto went bust and almost no one talks about NFTs now.
I will wait until Nintendo officially reveals the successor to the Switch (I won't even call it Switch 2 until Nintendo reveals what it is called; and speaking to a GameStop employee earlier today, they told me that Nintendo has specifically told GameStop to NOT call it Switch 2 when it comes time to list it).
Yes, the rumors can be tantalizing, but they are just that: rumors. After all, the "leaked" mockup for the NX turned out to be fake.
I preordered them a while ago. I actually preordered two copies of the game, plus two of the Hyrule Edition Switch Lites: one for me, one for my girlfriend. I preordered one set at Best Buy, and the other set at GameStop, so I can get both sets of preorder bonuses.
Gonna pick up the one at Best Buy first, as my local Best Buy opens at 10:00 a.m., then go to my local GameStop when it opens at noon (unless they do a midnight release, at which point I'll do GameStop first and then Best Buy when it opens).
Once I get both sets, I'm heading over to my girlfriend's place, and we're going to spend the afternoon playing the game together, since I took the day off of work to pick these games up, and she already had the day off because of the way her work schedule is structured (getting Wednesday and Thursday off every third week; we call it a split week where the both of us work).
@Diogmites Thanks! It comes about a year and a half after I won a PS5 in a prize drawing at a work party! And what's really cool (but kinda freaky) is that when you turn on the TV, it turns on the game systems (or at least wakes it from Sleep Mode)! It's almost scary how advanced our technology has gotten!
I don't live in Canada, so I can't participate in this. And even if it was here in the U.S., there's no guarantee that my local GameStop would have a demo. And even if they did, I probably would not give into the temptation to try it before its release.
As it is, much of my game time is spent playing Genshin Impact, and I am still trying to get through Tears of the Kingdom and another playthrough of Stellar Blade on the PS5. So I've got plenty of other things to keep my mind occupied.
And I made sure to take the day off of work to pick up the copies that I preordered: one for me, one for my girlfriend. So I'll have all day to play it on Thursday.
Mainly Genshin Impact, as usual. But I might also try to play Stellar Blade on my PS5, and either Wanted:Dead or Halo Infinite on my Xbox Series X, now that I’ve got my game systems hooked up to my new TV (sorry to brag, but it’s a 65” 4K Smart TV; ended up winning it in a prize drawing at a company picnic).
Well, as someone who wants to get into game design as a career (I'd especially love to work with Nintendo, as I feel like we have similar creative ideas), this might be a good idea for me to buy, so I can learn how to make games.
This is just like when someone 3D printed a mockup of what we believed the Switch's design to be before it was officially revealed. For those who remember, the NX (as the Switch was called back then) was believed to be shaped like an oval, with the entire front of the system being the screen, and two joysticks poking out from the front. This is based on a patent that Nintendo filed.
Ultimately, as we all know, the Switch looks wildly different than that mockup. It could very well stand to reason that the same would be the case here. We won't know, however, until Nintendo reveals the successor to the Switch (I won't call it Switch 2, because we simply don't know what Nintendo is going to call it).
Part of me is thinking Nintendo might win as well. After all, they can hire the best lawyers that money can buy. While Pocketpair did rake in a ton of cash with Palworld, they may not necessarily have the funds to retain good lawyers to defend their case, much less drag the case out. My guess is Nintendo is expecting them to eventually fold under the financial pressure, just like every other legal action that they took against a person or entity that violated their copyright or patents.
Let’s look at it this way: did Nintendo sue the creator for Digimon, or Level-5 for Yo-Kai Watch? Of course not. In fact, for the latter, they helped publish the game worldwide. Yes, the Pals in Palworld have some design similarities to Pokémon, but the idea of capturing monsters and battling with them is not exclusive to the Pokémon franchise.
I don’t proclaim to know the outcome of this lawsuit, but Nintendo has the funds to hire the best lawyers that money can buy, so it could very well swing in their favor. They’re probably banking on the idea that Pocketpair doesn’t have the ability to fight a lengthy and especially costly legal battle (despite the success of Palworld) and thus fold under pressure, just like every other person or entity that Nintendo has sued for infringement on their IP.
I’ll wait until Nintendo’s official announcement. After all, back when the Switch was still known as the NX, someone made a mockup of what we believed to be the design at the time (an elliptical-shaped console where the whole front was the screen and joysticks built into it) and passed it off as a leak. The actual product looked radically different from the supposed mockup.
@HeadPirate I know. But even then, it still feels like we were set up for failure here. And personally, I'm not really a fan of Mario Kart anymore; I played 50cc on Mario Kart 7 so many times trying to grind for coins to unlock the golden parts that I have been permanently burned out playing any iteration of Mario Kart.
And let's not forget with Smash that tournaments, especially professional ones, tend to turn items off and play on Final Destination only, to give people more of a chance to win based on skill and not luck of the draw (in the case of a randomly selected item appearing) or taking advantage of a given map's terrain (such as Hyrule Temple or Brinstar).
I don't know much about the cultural differences between Japan and the West when it comes to winning and losing games, but if we remember a few months ago how a Japanese man was arrested for making bomb threats against Nintendo because he was frustrated that he kept losing in the games he was playing, I'd say the desire to win and not lose is universal.
And I could see them returning to their J-pop roots if that's what they mean by "past." The question will be if it means that Callie and Marie will be the hosts again, or if it will be a new music group. That being said, I would love a more story-centric entry in the series, one even more complex and full of character development than the Story Mode we got in Splatoon 3. And I do feel like a prequel that shows the first Turf War between the Inklings and Octarians would be the perfect setting for that.
@Dazman I've personally had no issues with them, either. As it is, they are one of the few retailers that gives my favorite indie series, Shantae, and real attention anymore. I preordered multiple Shantae products, especially Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, from them.
Comments 2,281
Re: 'Team Ninja' Sneaks The Win In Splatoon 3's 'Splatoween' Splatfest
Hey, what do you know? My team won for once! But yet again, the winning team carried it on Clout alone. Was Team Ninja just that good? It did seem that I was winning more matches than I was losing, at least initially. Still, I'd love to know exactly how Clout gets calculated to the point where it ends up winning the entire Splatfest alone.
Re: Random: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Glitch Grants 'Ultimate' Unbreakable Weapon
@Ironcore It's been years since I've played my own save file (I have played the game in the last few months, but I was playing my girlfriend's save file because she was having trouble progressing). The last time I played my save file I was trying to execute the glitch to get the Bow of Light, but I just can't get the timing down. Maybe I'll try again someday if I have time, but when that will be is anyone's guess.
Re: Review: The Smurfs - Dreams (Switch) - Not Quite Smurf, But Surprisingly Smurf
Well, if it's got that smurfing good of a smurfing review, I may just have to smurfing check this smurfing game out.
(Felt a bit like Monty Python with their Spam sketch while writing the above sentence)
Re: Random: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Fans Are In Uproar Over A Missing Outfit
Or, instead of adding an entirely new costume, how about giving us the ability to raise and lower the hood on the Hooded Zelda costume? But I do agree that we need to focus on things like the Echoes menu first, before we even think about cosmetic changes or DLC.
Re: Nintendo's Mysterious Switch Online Playtest Program Is Now Accessible
I was at work when the applications went live, so I naturally didn't manage to fill it out in time. I'm a little bummed, but it's not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. Hopefully the nature of this playtest will be revealed once it's all said and done.
Re: F-Zero Climax Celebrates 20th Anniversary With Free Course
Jeez, with a code that long, the Angry Video Game Nerd would have a field day with this!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (19th October)
Didn’t get a chance to do it last weekend like I wanted, but I’ve finally started playing Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore last night.
Didn’t get very far, though, because I had to grab dinner for my mother, who was waiting with my father in the ER, and that took an hour or so off of the time that I would have spent playing the game.
Tonight won’t be much better, either, because I have to attend a birthday party for a couple of my aunts right after work, and that will take up the entire evening. Hopefully I’ll be able to play more tomorrow.
Re: Random: Mario's New Voice Actor Says It's "Surreal" To Hear His Voice In Mario Party
@CazSonOfCaz Him, and Bob Hoskins.
Re: Random: Mario's New Voice Actor Says It's "Surreal" To Hear His Voice In Mario Party
@Goat_FromBOTW In all fairness, 30+ years of voicing a character is a long time; he's been the voice of Mario since before I was born. The guy is also 69 years old, which is well into retirement age here in the U.S. He probably wants to spend his golden years with family or working on personal projects.
Re: Yu-Gi-Oh! Early Days Collection Launching February 2025, Adds Three GBA Titles
I might actually get this. I have the game guide for Reshef of Destruction, but I don't have the game itself. So I'll finally be able to put that game guide to good use, after all these years.
Re: The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess Manga Series Box Set Now Available
Got a few volumes already, but I am so gonna buy this box set! In fact, I'm also gonna buy a box set for my girlfriend as well, since she also loves Zelda.
Re: Random: Kit And Krysta Pull Back The Curtain On Nintendo's "Controversial" Switch Teaser Photo
Honestly, I don't even remember this photo. I think I've seen memes of it since then, but the original context for this photo escaped me.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (12th October)
Genshin Impact and Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, the latter of which finally arrived on my doorstep yesterday.
Re: Sonic Rumble Mobile Game Won't Use Gacha As "Such Mechanics Tend To Be Shunned Overseas"
@HeadPirate I totally get that last paragraph. I personally like Genshin Impact for its world-building and story (for me, the most important aspects of any video game, even more than the gameplay itself), but I can't convince my friends to play it because they don't like the gacha component. To me, Genshin is a fantasy adventure RPG game first and a gacha game second.
Re: Sonic Rumble Mobile Game Won't Use Gacha As "Such Mechanics Tend To Be Shunned Overseas"
@HeadPirate Which is why I try to be as F2P in Genshin Impact as possible. I don't want to blow my wallet trying to get all the characters and weapons. I say that as a Westerner. Again, I really only do the Blessing of the Welkin Moon and the premium tier of the Battle Pass; I couldn't tell you the last time I spent real money on Genesis Crystals (and even then, the last time I did was to buy the new clothing for one of the characters).
And at least Genshin has a pity system where you are guaranteed a 5-Star character or weapon after a set number of pulls (I've heard it was usually between 60-90, although I've had it to where it was within 10-20 pulls of the last one; I got lucky). You may lose the 50/50 on a banner the first time you pull a 5-Star, but if you pull another, you will be guaranteed the character or weapon you are pulling for on that banner.
Re: Sonic Rumble Mobile Game Won't Use Gacha As "Such Mechanics Tend To Be Shunned Overseas"
I'm not a big fan of gacha mechanics myself, but at least you are guaranteed something. It may not be what you are pulling for, but it is at least something. If you ask me, it's a far cry from actual gambling (such as slot machines and the lottery), where you can actually lose money and not get anything back at all.
About the only game I do the gacha on is Genshin Impact, and on that, I try to be as F2P as possible. I save up my Primogems from events and normal gameplay, but I do spend real money on the Blessing of the Welkin Moon (which gives you 90 Primogems a day for 30 days), and I will purchase the premium tier of the Battle Pass once I max it out. But beyond that, I try to spend as little real life money as possible in-game.
Re: Monolith Soft Is Expanding Its In-House Xenoblade Game Engine For Future Titles
I'm personally hoping for a remaster of Xenoblade Chronicles X, or even a sequel that delves deeper into the lore of the world and Elma's past. Or both.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@ottoecamn I'm not so much worried about them pursuing a DEI agenda as I am making sure that customers are given quality goods and services, and that the employees taking care of them are properly taken care of themselves (especially when it comes to workload, wages, benefits, and scheduling).
I won't go into too much detail (lest this become a Lewis Black-style rant), but many of us at the Kroger I worked at were overworked, underpaid, and in many cases verbally abused by our managers; if anything, I likened the store to what the Japanese call a "black company".
In fact, over two-thirds of all Kroger employees make poverty wages and have to rely on side gigs or government assistance to make ends meet (even those who made salary, not hourly wages, such as my old supervisor before she was wrongfully terminated).
And hearing from people who used to work at that store who made their way to where I work now, employee morale sinks lower and lower with each passing year. It's all about how much they're being worked, how little they are being compensated, and how random their schedules are (meaning no work-life balance). DEI's got nothing to do with it.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@ottoecamn Well, it is good to hear that they ban BlackRock from investing in them. They just need to do the same with The Vanguard Group (which I believe already invests in Nintendo). Those two shareholders, in my experience, seem to force companies that they invest in to maximize profits by cutting costs, which results in mediocre (at best) products and services.
I used to work for Kroger, and they were two of the largest shareholders in the business. Any attempts to suggest new ideas to improve quality were shot down because it would have cost money (which would have meant less profits and dividends for the shareholders). And look at what has been happening with Boeing in recent years. Vanguard and BlackRock are both two of the largest shareholders in that company, as well. Even Microsoft is under their thrall, and they have been laying off people left and right.
So it says to me that there is a common denominator here with all these layoffs and decreases in quality of goods and services, and that is The Vanguard Group and BlackRock, Inc. Nintendo is wise to keep BlackRock from investing, but they need to go a step further and force Vanguard to divest if they truly want to maintain control over the quality of their games and systems.
Re: Opinion: Hyrule Really Needs To Take A Look At Its Prison System
@DennyCrane If memory serves me correctly, that was one of the chapters in the third Ace Attorney game. You had the "master thief" being tasked by the "ace detective" hunting him down to commit crimes.
Re: Opinion: Hyrule Really Needs To Take A Look At Its Prison System
@ScalenePowers It's also possible that they focus on rehabilitation instead of punishment, with the goal of reintegrating people back into society, like they do in European countries such as Germany and Norway.
Compare that to the United States, where we focus more on punishment than rehabilitation, which is why we lead the world in arrests, convictions, imprisonment, and recidivism (the propensity for convicts to reoffend).
Re: Talking Point: How Would You Fix Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Most Frustrating Feature?
Definitely add more lines to the quick swap feature. Maybe make it more like it is in the Start menu.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@Mana_Knight I'm not certain about that, but it is possible that the game she was playing in the photo was either Super Mario Land or Tetris, as those two games often came bundled with the original Game Boy. As it is, the Game Boy in question belonged to her daughter, Chelsea.
According to a Snopes article about the photo, a news reporter by the name of Sara Williams tried to do some digging to see what kind of games and consoles that Hillary Clinton enjoyed, only to be told by people at the White House that it was a state secret, as revealing that info could be considered an official endorsement of one product over another.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@Not_Soos And in regard to how you thought the Crown Prince seemed genuine, that's actually how dictators get you to like them. They come across as genuine, lull you into a false sense of security, and then they take absolute power. By the time you realize anything is wrong, it's too late.
I remember seeing a photo of Joseph Stalin holding a little girl (her name was Engelsina Markizova) in his arms. In the photo, he seemed kind and grandfatherly. It became widely used for pro-Stalinist propaganda. The girl's father was later executed on false charges of being a spy for the Japanese, her mother was imprisoned and deported to Kazakhstan where she passed away from unknown circumstances, and the girl herself was shunned by her classmates and sent to live with relatives in Moscow. Furthermore, the identity of the girl in the photo was deliberately misattributed by officials to be someone else entirely. The photo began to fade into obscurity after Stalin's death and the resulting de-Stalinization of the Soviet Union.
So it is possible that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia is being genuine, but it is also entirely possible that he is just appearing so in order to lull people into a false sense of security so that it makes his power grab all the smoother.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@Not_Soos That actually is quite interesting. And if you weren't aware, here in the United States, Hillary Clinton also likes games (at least she did back in the day; no idea about today). There's actually a photo from 1993 of her sitting on a plane playing a Game Boy.
If I ever got the chance to meet her, I'd love for her to autograph a copy of that photo for me. I don't agree with all of her politics, but it's not every day that you meet an influential politician who shares the same hobby as you.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (5th October)
Genshin Impact and Echoes of Wisdom for me. But that won’t come until tomorrow. Gonna be driving back home with my girlfriend from a wedding. We could be looking at a 12-hour drive, give or take.
Re: Random: Shigeru Miyamoto Apparently Isn't Credited In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
@graviton I consider myself an old fart (31 years old, but still), and I am not well-versed in the latest slang and music. But I always try to stay on top of the latest gaming trends.
And having just beat Echoes of Wisdom a few minutes ago as of this writing, I thoroughly enjoyed the new direction Nintendo took the series in with this entry. I can’t wait for the next game where we play as Zelda!
Still, it would have been nice if Shigeru Miyamoto got some sort of credit for creating the series. Even Gene Roddenberry (the creator of Star Trek) got credited as the creator of the franchise in every series from Deep Space Nine-onwards.
Re: Random: Shigeru Miyamoto Apparently Isn't Credited In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Even the President of Nintendo (be it Hiroshi Yamauchi, Satoru Iwata, Tatsumi Kimishima, or Shuntaro Furukawa) gets credited in every Nintendo game, even though they might not have any active role in the development of the game. Makes me wonder if Shigeru Miyamoto is going to be retiring soon, if he hasn’t done so already and they have yet to announce it.
Re: Opinion: I Didn't Realise How Much I'd Missed 'Traditional' Zelda Dungeons
I've only got a couple dungeons left to beat myself; I'm way farther in the game than my girlfriend (she was floored that I am as far as I am, saying that I am so much better at playing video games than her).
It is definitely a welcome return to form for the series. What is also fun about it is trying to figure out which Echo to use to progress past a specific enemy or puzzle. And I also let the Echoes do the work when it comes to the boss fights (for the most part).
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom?
9/10 for me. I do have some issues with the gameplay (such as having to scroll through dozens of Echoes to find the one I want), but it has been an enjoyable experience for the most part. I hope Zelda becomes the playable protagonist in another mainline Zelda game soon enough!
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom: 19 Tips To Get You Started
One of my recommendations is letting the Monster Echoes do the combat for you. It allows you to hang back and not get hit by enemies. It's served me well so far. Yes, I have died a few times, but frankly, that's part of the challenge. Basically, fight smart, not hard.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (28th September)
Echoes of Wisdom, obviously. Also going to take care of the Daily Commissions and web events in Genshin Impact.
Re: Rumour: 'Switch 2' Will Launch Early Next Year, Claims Accessory Company
My guess is we'll probably get a reveal in the next couple of weeks. Maybe no more than a month from now. I don't think Nintendo wanted to reveal the successor to the Switch while Echoes of Wisdom had yet to be released. Now that the game is out, they might give it a week or two before the big reveal.
And for the record, when I spoke with a GameStop employee the other day, he actually told me that Nintendo specifically told GameStop to not call it "Switch 2." So it is possible that it may not continue with the Switch name. Time will tell.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Well, the good news is that it's a lot better than the last outing where Zelda was the main playable protagonist (that being Zelda's Adventure, released in 1995 for the Philips CD-i). Can't wait for tomorrow!
Re: Nintendo To Go In 'Different Direction' To Current AI Trends, Says Miyamoto
@Brady1138 Yeah, that's what I've been saying recently. AI (at least in its current form) is just a fad. Just like cryptocurrency and NFTs. Everyone said that those were the future of tech, but crypto went bust and almost no one talks about NFTs now.
Re: Talking Point: So Then, Is This 'Switch 2' Leak Legit?
I will wait until Nintendo officially reveals the successor to the Switch (I won't even call it Switch 2 until Nintendo reveals what it is called; and speaking to a GameStop employee earlier today, they told me that Nintendo has specifically told GameStop to NOT call it Switch 2 when it comes time to list it).
Yes, the rumors can be tantalizing, but they are just that: rumors. After all, the "leaked" mockup for the NX turned out to be fake.
Re: Where To Pre-Order Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom And Hyrule Edition Switch Lite
I preordered them a while ago. I actually preordered two copies of the game, plus two of the Hyrule Edition Switch Lites: one for me, one for my girlfriend. I preordered one set at Best Buy, and the other set at GameStop, so I can get both sets of preorder bonuses.
Gonna pick up the one at Best Buy first, as my local Best Buy opens at 10:00 a.m., then go to my local GameStop when it opens at noon (unless they do a midnight release, at which point I'll do GameStop first and then Best Buy when it opens).
Once I get both sets, I'm heading over to my girlfriend's place, and we're going to spend the afternoon playing the game together, since I took the day off of work to pick these games up, and she already had the day off because of the way her work schedule is structured (getting Wednesday and Thursday off every third week; we call it a split week where the both of us work).
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
@Diogmites Thanks! It comes about a year and a half after I won a PS5 in a prize drawing at a work party! And what's really cool (but kinda freaky) is that when you turn on the TV, it turns on the game systems (or at least wakes it from Sleep Mode)! It's almost scary how advanced our technology has gotten!
Re: 'RPG Maker With' Demo Now Available On Switch eShop
@TheBitBandit I actually have Game Builder Garage. Haven't done much with it, though. I did mean to get FUZE4, but never got around to it.
@Daniel36 Thanks for the info! I'll have to check out those tutorials! And of course, I don't mean to create my dream game just yet.
Re: 'RPG Maker With' Demo Now Available On Switch eShop
@Daniel36 @cedarhyped I'll take any programs and tools that I can get, free or otherwise. So keep sending suggestions for programs my way!
Re: Nintendo Announces Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom In-Store Switch Demo
I don't live in Canada, so I can't participate in this. And even if it was here in the U.S., there's no guarantee that my local GameStop would have a demo. And even if they did, I probably would not give into the temptation to try it before its release.
As it is, much of my game time is spent playing Genshin Impact, and I am still trying to get through Tears of the Kingdom and another playthrough of Stellar Blade on the PS5. So I've got plenty of other things to keep my mind occupied.
And I made sure to take the day off of work to pick up the copies that I preordered: one for me, one for my girlfriend. So I'll have all day to play it on Thursday.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
Mainly Genshin Impact, as usual. But I might also try to play Stellar Blade on my PS5, and either Wanted:Dead or Halo Infinite on my Xbox Series X, now that I’ve got my game systems hooked up to my new TV (sorry to brag, but it’s a 65” 4K Smart TV; ended up winning it in a prize drawing at a company picnic).
Re: 'RPG Maker With' Demo Now Available On Switch eShop
Well, as someone who wants to get into game design as a career (I'd especially love to work with Nintendo, as I feel like we have similar creative ideas), this might be a good idea for me to buy, so I can learn how to make games.
Re: Random: Someone 3D Printed The Rumoured 'Switch 2' Design
This is just like when someone 3D printed a mockup of what we believed the Switch's design to be before it was officially revealed. For those who remember, the NX (as the Switch was called back then) was believed to be shaped like an oval, with the entire front of the system being the screen, and two joysticks poking out from the front. This is based on a patent that Nintendo filed.
Ultimately, as we all know, the Switch looks wildly different than that mockup. It could very well stand to reason that the same would be the case here. We won't know, however, until Nintendo reveals the successor to the Switch (I won't call it Switch 2, because we simply don't know what Nintendo is going to call it).
Re: Analyst Is Certain Nintendo Will Win Its Lawsuit Against Palworld Developer
Part of me is thinking Nintendo might win as well. After all, they can hire the best lawyers that money can buy. While Pocketpair did rake in a ton of cash with Palworld, they may not necessarily have the funds to retain good lawyers to defend their case, much less drag the case out. My guess is Nintendo is expecting them to eventually fold under the financial pressure, just like every other legal action that they took against a person or entity that violated their copyright or patents.
Re: Palworld Developer Responds To Nintendo Lawsuit
Let’s look at it this way: did Nintendo sue the creator for Digimon, or Level-5 for Yo-Kai Watch? Of course not. In fact, for the latter, they helped publish the game worldwide. Yes, the Pals in Palworld have some design similarities to Pokémon, but the idea of capturing monsters and battling with them is not exclusive to the Pokémon franchise.
I don’t proclaim to know the outcome of this lawsuit, but Nintendo has the funds to hire the best lawyers that money can buy, so it could very well swing in their favor. They’re probably banking on the idea that Pocketpair doesn’t have the ability to fight a lengthy and especially costly legal battle (despite the success of Palworld) and thus fold under pressure, just like every other person or entity that Nintendo has sued for infringement on their IP.
Re: Rumour: Supposed 'Switch 2' Design Photos And Specs Surface Online
I’ll wait until Nintendo’s official announcement. After all, back when the Switch was still known as the NX, someone made a mockup of what we believed to be the design at the time (an elliptical-shaped console where the whole front was the screen and joysticks built into it) and passed it off as a leak. The actual product looked radically different from the supposed mockup.
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's SNES Library With Four More Titles
I actually have that Battletoads Double Dragon game for the NES. My cousin gave me a box full of NES games, and this was one of them.
Re: 'Team Past' Takes The Gold In Splatoon 3's 'Grand Festival' Splatfest
@HeadPirate I know. But even then, it still feels like we were set up for failure here. And personally, I'm not really a fan of Mario Kart anymore; I played 50cc on Mario Kart 7 so many times trying to grind for coins to unlock the golden parts that I have been permanently burned out playing any iteration of Mario Kart.
And let's not forget with Smash that tournaments, especially professional ones, tend to turn items off and play on Final Destination only, to give people more of a chance to win based on skill and not luck of the draw (in the case of a randomly selected item appearing) or taking advantage of a given map's terrain (such as Hyrule Temple or Brinstar).
I don't know much about the cultural differences between Japan and the West when it comes to winning and losing games, but if we remember a few months ago how a Japanese man was arrested for making bomb threats against Nintendo because he was frustrated that he kept losing in the games he was playing, I'd say the desire to win and not lose is universal.
And I could see them returning to their J-pop roots if that's what they mean by "past." The question will be if it means that Callie and Marie will be the hosts again, or if it will be a new music group. That being said, I would love a more story-centric entry in the series, one even more complex and full of character development than the Story Mode we got in Splatoon 3. And I do feel like a prequel that shows the first Turf War between the Inklings and Octarians would be the perfect setting for that.
Re: Random: Limited Run CEO Visits Nintendo, Acknowledges "Great" Partnership
@Dazman I've personally had no issues with them, either. As it is, they are one of the few retailers that gives my favorite indie series, Shantae, and real attention anymore. I preordered multiple Shantae products, especially Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution, from them.