Atariboy

Like I told folks here in the comments, that video a few weeks ago from some outlet (I think it's called GVC?) that NintendoLife ran an article for, was hogwash.

The pre-rendered cutscene in Galaxy 1 for instance was rendered in HD in All-Stars, as confirmed here by Digital Foundry. Anyone with working eyes could see that the All-Stars and Galaxy 1+2 comparison of that segment was virtually identical, so it's bizarre to see that outlet try to claim it has been massively overhauled here for this latest release.

Another one that pops to mind is the banding issue that Digital Foundry noted when 3D All-Stars was new. That GVC video again claimed it was fixed, even though one didn't have to look very hard in pre-release footage to see that it was still an issue here (however minor the issue may be). Again, Digital Foundry confirms that it's still that way here.

I suggest NintendoLife stick to promoting Digital Foundry's excellent work, not that other outlet.

I see that the banding issue that Digital Foundry noted on Galaxy 1 in 3D All-Stars is alive and well in this collection, despite earlier claims to the contrary by GVG.

One can see it well starting at about the 46 second mark and lasting for about 10 seconds.

The cutscene at the start was already rendered in HD on All-Stars. It's quite obvious that they didn't apply their AI upscaling algorithm to them like they did with Sunshine on that collection, the visual comparisons are nearly 1:1 here between the cutscenes in this comparison video, and respected outlets like Digital Foundry substantiate what I'm saying.

He doesn't really seem to have a clue. The banding issue for instance affected gameplay and we've yet to see a comparison that shows it clearly evident in All-Stars and rectified in the latest release. And frankly most of the time it wasn't even noticeable.

Digital Foundry this guy ain't.

I gave in and preordered it just now.

@Misima I imagine it will work like the Switch 2 enhanced physical releases of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, with the Switch 2 enhancements on the cartridge while still being Switch 1 compatible.

@Misima What makes you think that the physical version won't have the Switch 2 enhancements?

Sad to not see Super Mario 3D Land.

I wonder if between these patches and the Switch 2 boosting a lot of poor performing Switch 1 games, if this one might finally be in a good place (at least for Switch 2 owners).

@Glassneedles Not sure there's much room for improving upon the last round of Doom 3 ports from ~5 years ago, although I suppose Switch 2 could benefit from a resolution boost.

I was hoping for Wolfenstein 3D & Spears of Destiny, but still good news.

@Tempestryke It's not a laptop. Just buy a cheap USB computer mouse or open a drawer and pull out an old one.

@GravyThief Exactly.

Being that they're enhanced NES ports, I guess that they thought they were being faithful to the originals by sticking with the buttons lettered B & A instead of using Y & B like everyone else.

But it just doesn't work for my thumb nor does it for many other people. Although there's no shortage of people with no complaints about the setup (after years of playing things like Mario platformers from the GBA on their DS and such), I'm certainly glad that Ninja Gaiden Trilogy on SNES was an exception rather than the norm.

@GravyThief If we ever got Ninja Gaiden Trilogy, it would come in handy. Otherwise I agree and can't think of a single case use for the SNES library.

The 8BitDo Pro 2 has served me well with the Switch. After good experiences with that, I imagine I'll just get a 8BitDo Pro 3, save a few dollars, and not have stick drift to worry about.

This will be the 4th DLC pack, not the 3rd.

The first was a free pack in December 2023 that added 11 additional 2600 games while also restoring the Lynx game Warbirds to the lineup (hidden by the day 1 patch).

Too bad they apparently didn't cut a deal with AtGames since Ms. Pac-Man for the 2600/5200/7800 would've been a welcome addition here. Also, I second the comment about Night Driver arcade (with steering wheel/pedal support, please). And I also second the comments about the Pole Positions.

Especially with the North American localizations of Pole Position I & II not being included by Hamster with the Arcade Archives releases, it would've been nice to see Atari's console ports and Atari's arcade localizations of the two be tossed in here (Namco didn't publish their arcade games here during the golden age, with Midway and Atari responsible for manufacturing and distributing them here). The English voiceover from Atari is an iconic part of the Pole Position arcade experience and the AA downloads feel very incomplete as a result.

With the rather lackluster M-Network pack, I'm ultimately glad to just see that Atari 50 is still receiving attention since I feared that one might've sold so poorly as to discourage further attention from Atari SA/Digital Eclipse. While I feel like Berzerk probably made the Stern centric paid DLC worthwhile for many folks (arcade Berzerk and Frenzy were enough for me at least), I doubt that the M-Network one thrilled many.

I was never a big fan. It got the job done, but was far from perfection. The d-pad was far too small, the C stick was uncomfortable when heavily used in something like a FPS, the face button layout and button shapes felt like a big jump back from the SNES layout (and it sucked for many Game Boy games when used with a Game Boy Player, which is why I never fell in love with my Hori digital pad that copied the face button design), the two stage design of the analog triggers worked against being smooth in racing games like Dirt to Daytona, and the Z button felt like an afterthought and wasn't convenient to depress.

I'm not yet a Switch 2 owner (and probably won't be for several years yet), but I never minded that my 8BitDo Pro 2 doesn't turn the Switch 1 on.

I like dust covers and having to use the Switch 1's physical power button ensures that I've not forgotten to remove the dust cover. So while it's the polar opposite of what 99% of people want from their controller, I'd rather that my controller of choice on the Switch 2 doesn't have this capability when the day comes.

@WhiteTrashGuy Article says not to peel it off, so go ahead and peel it off first.

Don't hold your breath for this happening.

With the F1 license expiring after this year, EA's stated position on expensive big name licenses (and the cost of the F1 license is a whopper), and the recent shuttering of half of Codemasters with the elimination of the rally team, it doesn't look good for the future.

I think a lot of Codemasters fans fully expect F1 25 in a few days to be the swan song for the studio. Closure won't be instant since there will be a period of post release support, but I doubt it will exist by Fall 2025.

Of course I'd love to see EA take up the 2 year option under the current contract, but I sadly don't believe they will.

Giant Bomb and Polygon committed suicide. Don't blame the gaming community for their demise, Mr. Lane.

@PepperMintRex Going to take more than a fox coming in to fix it for you. You'll need a raccoon, a few rabbits, and a herd of deer as well.

What the heck is "sus"?

@KidSparta That kind doesn't replay older games. They're all about the newest entry in the series.

@Spider-Kev Most of those barely utilized it. The Wind Waker for instance just used a half trigger to center the camera.

I vaguely recall it being important in Eternal Darkness with targeting now that you jogged my memory, but most of these incidental case uses like suction pressure in Luigi's Mansion are going to be incredibly easy to work around just as they've already done with Super Mario Sunshine.

@Spider-Kev I had no issues 100%'ing it. Separating the two FLUDD levels to different shoulder buttons worked well for me.

@Spider-Kev The Switch 2 has the same analog capabilities as the Switch 1 does (i.e., twin analog sticks).

Hardly any GameCube games took true advantage of the system's analog triggers, which is an aspect that both the Switch 1 and 2 Joy-Cons and Pro Controllers both lack.

And heck, the flagship reason that NintendoLife forum goers always claimed as an impossible game to see without analog triggers, appeared on Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

I don't know why people couldn't recognize that the game simply used the trigger for two different inputs and that all Nintendo had to do was to separate those to two different buttons, but that's exactly what Nintendo did to work around that allegedly impossible roadblock, lol.

The few games that took advantage of it in any meaningful way like NASCAR Dirt to Daytona, aren't coming to NSO anyways. And if for some reason one ever did, they both support the GameCube adapter and the Switch 2 NSO is getting a GameCube controller (although I'll absolutely guarantee we won't see any GameCube games that can't be played with the Joy-Cons).

@DeathUriel No, they do not say that. This is what the case says.

"Includes the Nintendo Switch game and the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade pack."

No where does it say that it's a Switch 1 cartridge with a DLC code for the upgrade.

@Spider-Kev Interesting, I don't recall noticing anything interesting like that. I've played through both Zelda releases, Super Mario Bros., and Metroid from the Classic NES line.

Clearly I don't know Zelda II like the back of my hand since those went right past me, but the only thing I ever noticed where Nintendo went above and beyond was SMB1 having save functionality (for instance, your high score will still be present the next time you play the game) and Metroid would retain your password to reload.

Seems odd that they focused on China's Nvidia Shield TV with four Wii games when they have Super Mario 3D All-Stars on the Switch 1 with an emulated GameCube game in the lineup to compare with.

Yet it doesn't seem to even get a mention. Even later in the video it's left off when the Digital Foundry guy speculates that the Switch 1 downclocking of the Nvidia chipset could potentially be why we didn't get this content (even though we actually got one of the four games that the Shield TV got, via the inclusion of Super Mario Galaxy on 3D All-Stars).

@Spider-Kev None of them had improvements. They were literally just a NES emulator running a NES rom.

You're presumably thinking of Super Mario Advance 1 and 4. These took the Super Mario All-Star remasters of NES SMB2 and SMB3 from the SNES, ported them to the GBA, and added in a lot of extra content, enhancements, voice work, etc.

But the Classic NES line and Japan's counterpart, the Famicom Mini line, were barebones and not at all what you said.

@batmanbud2 Good to know, thanks.

Each game is 4:3? Lazy, Nintendo. Dolphin can run most or all of these in non-stretched 16:9. And at least one of these, F-Zero GX, has supported widescreen since day 1.

@Kazman2007 Other than no Swift Sail, I'd hardly say that it's going backwards. Wind Waker running emulated and rendered at 1080p looks just as beautiful as the Wii U remaster. Maybe even more so if you're like me and prefer the original lighting system.

@Duncanballs No, that's not upscaling. They look so good running on Dolphin thanks to being rendered in HD, not upscaled to HD.

Super Soccer is a good game. There's a reason why Nintendo of America picked up the publishing rights back in the day. Same with NCAA Basketball.

I'd love to see him get the chance to revamp Major Havoc. Seems like a title that's right up his alley.

@PinballBuzzbro I doubt that you've ever even played these.

Too bad the Aerobiz games won't resurface (licensed airliners). Those were my favorite Koei strategy games on the SNES.

I'd be up for the Pacific Theater of Operations games appearing though.

@HalBailman Doom 1 & 2 and Quake 1 & 2 support keyboard/mouse on Switch, to name at least four games.

I don't believe that the list is a long one on the Switch, but that wasn't my point. The functionality is available to the developers that wish to take advantage of it.

I don't get why this matters. The Switch already supports connecting a USB mouse as do all the last-gen and current gen competition.

No doors are being opened if this comes to pass since none of this had previously not "been possible on consoles".

Here's my wishlist.

A Link Between Worlds (toss in Tri Force Heroes for multiplayer)
Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn
Luigi's Mansion
Metroid: Samus Returns
Ocarina of Time 3D/Majora's Mask 3D (Hopefully as a double pack)
Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World
Super Mario 3D Land

Maybe I'm cheating ever so slightly with the GameCube, Wii, and Wii U ports. But since they did see late 3DS releases, they're fair game in my book.

I'd rather see 3DS remasters on the Switch 1. Plenty of horsepower there as seen by Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon HD.

Farming out remasters of releases like A Link Between Worlds would be a great way to support the Switch 1 during the generational transition while freeing their internal studios to work on original releases for the Switch 2.

And thanks to backwards compatibility, they'd be able to be enjoyed by Switch 2 early adapters as well.

Obviously if a game is 3D dependent, was built around touch controls, or requires two screens, it's a poor candidate. But most all of the big hitters don't fall in that department. While often tailored to show off the 3D capabilities of the system, gems like Super Mario 3D Land and A Link Between Worlds were fully able to be enjoyed in 2D. For instance I 100% finished both of them in 2D.

A little adjustment here and there, but what remaster doesn't see some adjustments? Super Mario 3D Land for instance could probably benefit from some camera angle changes now that they're not out to show off stereoscopic 3D in the vertically centric levels in the game. And the single room bonus areas simply didn't work in 2D. But they're such a minor and unimportant part of the game that they could easily be eliminated entirely rather than bothering to rework them.

So my money is on remasters residing on Switch 1 for the next couple of years at least. I believe Nintendo's recent release schedule strongly supports that with a flagship 3DS release appearing during the second half of last year, a big Wii port last month, and perhaps the last major Wii U port coming later this year to Switch 1.

I wouldn't be too worried about what's so far just a theoretical risk of damage. While the alarm has been raised, there's never been a flood of NES fans experiencing their consoles dying after something like using an older Everdrive that operates at the different voltage. Rather, many of us have successfully enjoyed such pairings for many years.

That said, I'm happy to see LRG getting raked over the coals. The care they provide to their products, customers, and even their own employees is absolutely lousy.

@Ranchman69 Brake

@Jeronan I think you need to reread my comment. I'm not sure how you managed to get it completely backwards, but you sure managed to do so, lol.

@Jeronan If they come out over the next couple of years, I'd bet on them being Switch 1 releases. Nintendo doesn't need the horsepower of the Switch 2 to do justice to those two Zeldas.

There's going to be millions of Switch 1 owners still looking for the next big Nintendo release for several years during the generation transition and this will help Nintendo take advantage of that demand. And backwards compatibility was recently confirmed for the Switch 2.

So I'd bet money on HD remasters and the like being outsourced to outside studios and appearing on the original Switch, enabling them to be sold to all Switch and Switch 2 owners while freeing Nintendo's internal studios to focus on original Switch 2 projects.

The only big question in my mind are if we'll see something like the upcoming port of Xenoblade Chronicles X be "Switch 2 enhanced" so to speak, such as opening up a 60 fps mode when inserted into the Switch 2 on a game that may be capped at 30 fps on the original Switch.

@Koxen What makes you think they don't consider it current?

I 100%'ed it after the game launched. It wasn't a difficult sidequest. Just bet 100% to guarantee that you'll get a new one each time.

Rupees are easy to mine and there's a great spot not far from the village at I believe Link's house. Dig just outside his window will net you something like 50 or 100 rupees each time (It's been 20 years now, so I don't recall the specifics).

@Mommar It's one like on the Saturn controller where the d-pad is an attached part of circular base that pivots.

https://i0.wp.com/www.segasaturnshiro.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/20190307_230836s.jpg?w=807&ssl=1

Fighting game fans seem to prefer it for pulling off special moves that require circular movements of the d-pad. But for other genres like I prefer, it doesn't seem to be of any benefit that I've ever ascertained (nor is it a detriment).

I don't recall last year's free DLC adding anything to the timeline. I've not viewed them since the game was new yet my viewing progress is still 100% for each timeline.

And I don't recall anything about Warbirds in the timelines. A lot of the lineup doesn't have corresponding timeline entries like programmer interviews and promotional flyers.