I have a couple of qualms with the game design, but Control is so good I still call it one of my favorite games from the past decade. (I played it on PC, though.) I'm kinda sad it hasn't received more DLC, since the concept of the game (and the post-game narrative) lends itself really well to seasonal updates or expansions. Still, what DLC did come out is great and rounds out the game after you finish the main storyline.
It's not as bad as it sounds. Just interact with the scarecrows for a hint about slowing down time and you'll never be in a rush. Then be the slightest bit strategic about time management. Like, if you're on the third day and you just discovered a dungeon, maybe restart the cycle and warp back to the dungeon entrance. (That's why the fast travel mechanic is available from early on.) The only part that's really stressful is the intro cycle, because you can't slow down time yet and you're just learning the layout of Clock Town. But it's a pretty compact place, it's not exactly Novigrad in The Witcher 3. Do the usual talk-to-strangers extrovert routine from Ocarina of Time and you'll figure out what you're supposed to do quickly enough.
It proved FPS games could be popular on consoles. Not just ports of PC titles, but console exclusives. In terms of game design, it popularized a more grounded, realistic approach to level design, moving away from Doom's abstractions. Not just because of the real-world setting, but because of how the levels are constructed, with some rooms not built for gaming but for narrative and architectural coherence. Duke Nukem and Dark Forces had already laid the groundwork for this, though. And Half-Life would really cement the idea a year later.
I mean, I'm at chapter 4 now and the villains do become more interesting, especially after what happens at the end of chapter 3. But at the same time, the mystery of why they're doing this and what their motivations are is the driving force of the narrative, for you and the characters, so I'm not particularly annoyed at the vagueness and callousness of the villains, because both traits seem obviously intentional and the emotional focus is on the characters' journey and the state of the world and its people. You and the characters are explicitly in the dark about what it all means and they talk about that at length, especially as chapters 3 and 4 unfold.
I think you touched on something there: the exaggeration. I've seen better-looking water, but in terms of sheer reactivity and interaction, this water's hard to beat. And I think it's partly due to the N64's graphical limitations (from our modern POV) meaning the developers went all out on — essentially — cartoon water with physics that feel good, but wouldn't necessarily look good with more advanced, ray-traced graphics.
Sounds good! Quake 2 was the first FPS I played, along with Duke Nukem, back when I was a kid. But I didn't like them much at the time. I didn't fully come on board the 90s Doom-clone train until Doom was released on the Switch and I finally sat down to try it out. Since then, it's been quite the ride. So I think Quake 2 deserves another chance, considering how much I enjoyed all the Dooms and Quake 1.
I usually hate cackling villains who are just evil for no reason, but in this case I feel like the villains are self-aware about the fact that they're evil for the fun it. Like they're playing a game and are completely removed from the human emotions of the players on the ground. So it works for me. They're not villains in the usual sense, because the story doesn't seem to depend on you hating them. (I mean, you hardly matter to them. They're like distant gods.) And, at any rate, there's a lot I don't know yet.
About 30 odd hours into it and I'm really loving it. There's a lot of tonal whiplash, which I find equal parts mesmerizing and hilarious. You'll be picking up mushrooms for dinner, as part of a sidequest that's clearly comic relief, and the characters will just suddenly sit down to reflect on life, death, and the meaning of existence. And it's like, damn, that got heavy. Even the characters will just blurt out, "Heavy." Especially Mio. I can't decide whether the humor's intentional or not. It doesn't seem to be, but whatever. It's great. Love it.
Loving it! Of the NSO racers, I think it's up there with F-Zero X thus far. My only problem with F-Zero X isn't really the game's fault: it's impossible to achieve high-level play with the Switch controller. That game's tailormade for the N64 pad. I beat the available cups on Intermediate but can't manage anything higher. The degree of precision you need is beyond what I can do. Wave Race, though, seems to be more about the physics and managing environmental hazards, so it might be more manageable. Just beat the Championship on Easy, so we'll see what higher difficulties have in store.
Mario Kart, though? I can't vibe with it. I've barely touched it.
I'm really hoping for a Quake 2 port from Nightdive. Their work on Quake and Doom 64 is beautiful. Hopefully they include both PC and N64 versions of Quake 2, if they port it. (That's what they did with OG Quake, in fact.) From what I understand, based on John Linneman's recent video for Digital Foundry, Quake 2 is almost a different game from the PC version, with brand new levels. It's a Doom 64 situation. I'm stoked to try out both.
I find most N64 games on the service have aged perfectly fine, which makes venturing into these comments an exercise in confusion and existential despair. Anyway, never played this one. I'll try it out.
When Nintendo brought Monolith Soft onboard it was in part because of the team's well-known history with the Xeno games (Gears and Saga at that point, before Chronicles), stretching back to the PS1 era, so while Monolith Soft may not be publishing this, they've still found the motivation to keep developing and putting out these massive, ambitious RPGs for over twenty years, whether for Square (before forming Soft in 1999), Namco or Nintendo. So @mariomaster96's point stands, I think.
Considering Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually a sequel, yes, this studio has no idea what these terms mean. Unless they do and they're just trolling us, which they definitely were with Final Fantasy VII Remake.
It should be noted that this isn't a new game. It's a 2020 shooter that was very well-received at the time and currently has an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam. It's a known quantity in the indie space. It's just dropping on Switch now. It doesn't personally look appealing to me, but I respect the confrontational art style.
There's always a lack of pacing and drama in level architecture when it's procedurally generated. The individual biomes or tiles may be fine, but the way they come together is usually bland. It depends on the game, I guess, but it never fails to bore me.
As far as I know, it's still well-regarded. It's a niche shooter, not the next Zelda. It won't come up unless you're discussing Doom-style FPS games. I have it on my to-play list, at any rate.
@chipia The raccoon tail is fun but there's no skill involved. With the cape, you need to actually know what you're doing. It's not incredibly hard to control, no, but it's not automatic either. And even if I could do it effortlessly, I still wouldn't fly over whole levels because I'd be worried I'd miss a secret somewhere, even during replays when I know where most stuff is (but I always forget something).
I like The Witcher 3's storytelling and the fact that every sidequest seems like its own short story. It's deep and fulfilling, narratively-speaking. My problem with the game has always been that nothing you do is actually fun to perform. Battles aren't fun, riding your horse isn't fun, walking around town isn't fun. The game itself remains interesting because the story and worldbuilding are interesting. It remains interesting because riding into town at sunset with sorrowful music playing in the background is an emotional trip. But the fundamental game feel is unsatisfying. Every action is clumsy and clunky in an uninteresting way. (Clunkiness can be interesting, if it's part of the learning curve and requires skill: see classic Castlevania.) The Witcher 3 doesn't require you to perform any precise inputs, but you're still constantly moving and fighting, and the movement system is fundamentally dull. This is common in Western RPGs, going back to the 90s and 80s. That's why the comparison to Breath of the Wild is odd, because in a way it's the inverse of Witcher 3: exquisite game feel, uninspiring storytelling. But having exquisite game feel when the game is all about moving through a wide open world is important to me, so Breath of the Wild wins out. The Witcher 3 reminds me of late 90s RPGs like Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment, with deep storytelling but janky game feel and battle mechanics. Yet these 90s games just let you click and run to where you needed to go and focused on chitchat with NPCs. (You don't need to ever fight in Fallout 2.) Their lackluster movement systems got out of your way if you wanted them to. The Witcher 3, by contrast, is always asking you to do battle in every dungeon and sidequest. It's serviceable, but you're still pining to get back to the enthralling chitchat.
I just finished it this morning and I can confidently say it's a really neat game. I had the same "what the heck is this" reaction as everyone else when I first heard of it, but I think it's worth trying out.
Like I said before, the game feel isn't quite there. The way your mech just slides across the level looks weird and if you stay in a corner of the screen many enemies will just fly over and avoid you. In the easier levels, it's like a moonwalking simulator, as you safely auto-scroll to the boss and watch the 8-bit scenery move by.
But, provided you don't mind the mech-in-low-gravity logic of the controls and physics, I do think the shooting gameplay ends up being responsive and twitchy, and the harder levels are very fun. There is a measure of strategy, too, in when you decide to have your three items drop down into the level. (You want your health pickup right before the boss, and the missiles and power bomb wherever you're having trouble.)
The space battle mode (or space chess) I never really understood. (You enter it by intercepting an enemy ship rather than a planet.) As far as I can make out, you have ships of varying strength and range, and you're supposed to place them across the board in an optimal way. But without a manual or English text, I was pretty much in the dark. They were still fun in their random trial-and-error sort of way, though, and you can speed through the turns, so the battles are quick (and, again, optional).
Besides that, the game is relatively forgiving and devoid of Nintendo-hard unreasonableness. Granted I played on the easiest difficulty setting, but I didn't run into many cheap deaths or how-are-you-supposed-to-avoid-that annoyances. Most challenges can be cleared by just planning your route and doing crowd control with incoming enemies. And the open-ended nature of the game means you can just try a different level or planet if you're frustrated with the one you're in. (Flying around the planet system is the jankiest part of the game, but also the most stress-free, since it's just a glorified level select screen. I do like the way you have to effectively find the planet among the stars, like you're actually travelling through space.)
There's a lot of color-swapping and repeated textures and enemy types, as in most NES games, but even within these tech constraints and across over a dozen levels, I think Daiva Story still manages to make you feel like you're really visiting different planets, each with a distinct mood and palette and bizarre architectural structures, so it never got boring for me nor did it outstay its welcome.
Anyway, sorry for the review-length post, but I doubt there are many other reviews of the game out there on the internet, so I thought it might be useful.
I've been playing Daiva for the past two hours and it's a shockingly legit game (especially shocking in the context of everyone making fun of it on Twitter).
It's kinda impenetrable at first because of the language barrier and the lack of an instruction booklet, but it's pretty straightforward once you know what's what. It's a surprisingly non-linear, open-ended, and even chill experience, weirdly modern in its pacing and structure. You can choose the order you tackle the levels in, you can partake in grid-based strategy space battles or drop down into planets for side-scrolling shooting, you can build an army as you finish levels... I mean, it's way simpler than you're probably picturing from that previous sentence, but it works.
I'm not totally sold on the moment-to-moment shooting gameplay — I mean, Moon Patrol from several years before has a similar vibe in some respects, and that has a much tighter, better-realized game feel — but what's here isn't bad, even if it's far from shmup royalty. You kind of sense the game should have included power-ups to spice things up instead of just leaving you stuck with a pea-shooter. And some of the enemy patterns and placements are weirdly choreographed and repetitive, but never soul-crushingly so. The open, laid-back nature of the game makes up for many of its less-inspiring aspects.
I'd recommend reading through this Gamefaq to offset the lack of a manual: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/578336-daiva-story-6-imperial-of-nirsartia/faqs/42309. You can skip the level-by-level walkthrough if you think that's cheating and just read the basics at the beginning. (That's what the manual probably explains, assuming it exists in Japanese.)
Also, don't feel bad about using save states after you finish a planet. You're supposed to go back to your home base to pick up more ships (for the apparently optional space battles) and get your password after each level, and you should do that for the ships but not for those Japanese passwords. Just save state and move on.
Outside of the obvious Rare stuff, I'm mostly interested in the games I missed back in the day, like Wave Race, Mischief Makers, Diddy Kong Racing, and Silicon Valley.
I'd also be curious to go through Body Harvest again, but that game was extremely rough and janky on release and I doubt it's gotten any more polished since then.
I mean, it's not bad, but it's also not great. I don't like the progression structure, I don't like that the moment-to-moment freedom from 64 (the fact that nearly every star in the level is available from the get-go) isn't there anymore, I don't like the occasionally unpredictable jankiness (as opposed to 64's more predictable jankiness), and I don't like the level design (which sometimes approaches good, but usually feels too large for the specific objective you need to complete for each sprite, a problem that wasn't there with 64's compact, more open-ended design).
Anyway, I'm not a fan of Sunshine or Odyssey, for different reasons. Having played all 3D Marios within the past two years, I can say my favorite is 64 followed closely by Galaxy.
Looking forward to it. I prefer the "vagueness" of some of these older games to the overdesigned and over-directed UX of many modern titles (and I'm a UXer!), so I probably won't mind that aspect.
At this point, any F-Zero news is good news. I'd personally like either GX or (long shot) the N64DD content for X. I loved going back to X on NSO, but I hit my skill ceiling with the Switch Pro pad. Uncapping the game's depth pretty much requires the original controller.
I mean, I'm replaying it for the 3rd time on NSO in less than a year, because why not, but this looks great. It's just the same game, but sharper, wider, and more fluid, and hopefully with faster text speed. Seriously, the two biggest improvements in Majora's Mask, having just replayed that one too, are: faster text speed and quicker start menu. Little UX tweaks but, boy, they sure do make a difference. Good thing, too, because in Majora's Mask slotting items and masks from your start menu and talking to people are, like, most of the game.
I fell in love with Panel de Pon on the SNES app. I had never heard of that game or its iterations, and had an absolute blast. So I'll definitely try this, too.
I'm playing too many games at the same time now (God of War, Halo 3 and System Shock 2) and my backlog's eternally long, but I really want to get around to these. They look up my alley and I never played them.
I think we need to understand this for what it is, part of a demo reel. It's no different than the thousands of pretty but useless UIs over at Dribbble. They're meant to show off design chops, not to be usable or — in this case — playable. I don't think any Zelda should look this shiny and cluttered, but that isn't the point of this. It's primarily supposed to look like 1200 hours of work from someone who clearly knows their way around UE5. And in that sense, mission accomplished.
I keep reading how N64 games haven't aged well but I just keep playing them and they seem fine to me.
I wasn't the biggest Goldeneye fan back in the day, but I'd still like to see it get a re-release. I don't need a remaster, really, other than a resolution boost and a consistent frame-rate. I think that's the most important issue and it's something all of Rare's N64 titles struggled with. In fact, games like Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark actually taught me what frame-rate problems looked like. Some boss battles in Jet Force Gemini were almost unplayable! And I feel like an NSO release would just preserve these now-fixable problems, which would be a pity.
There are individual levels in Titanfall 2 that are all-timers. I don't think it all comes together in the way the best single-player FPS campaigns do, but it's the sort of big-budget, high-concept FPS adventure that we don't get much of these days at all.
It doesn't excite me either because it's a dark, janky console FPS from 1994 and PC or Mac alternatives like Doom and Marathon from that same era clearly wipe the floor with it.
But none of this matters. It's still valid to release and preserve even the failures of the past, because you don't know who'll find it interesting or worthwhile. And at any rate, you don't have to buy it.
As someone whose weekly diet consists mostly of "old" games — whether it's the original Doom or, now, Halo 3 --, I don't really understand what you're talking about.
Hopefully we can preserve as many old games as we can, not just the best of the best. Because even agreeing on what is "the best" is contentious: Doom 2 and Doom 64 may not be as consistent as Doom, but they're still very good.
This is surprising, given that I hold Nightdive in very high regard when it comes to remasters. I even think they're one of the few developers that get these kinds of projects right, as they generally strive to respect and preserve the original artistic intent and focus on making the graphics look good on modern displays.
The good thing is that Dark Souls is leaner and more focused than Elden Ring. And movement is slower, allowing you to mostly get by with a tank build and slow, deliberate attacks.
I haven't gotten far into Elden Ring either. I started it, saw how vast it was, and put it away until I have more time for it.
Just think, Portal released with Half-Life 2 and its episodes on the Orange Box. Again, we're talking about Half-Life 2 here, videogame royalty. No one knew what Portal even was. It was supposed to be a curiosity, a side dish.
And yet it's Portal everyone now remembers from the Orange Box. That should give you a clue regarding its quality. Its opening rooms have become a go-to game design example, like Super Mario's 1-1 and Doom's E1M1.
Many games have imitated it. Some are even great, like The Talos Principle. But they're never quite Portal.
@itslukec Yeah, especially because it's no exaggeration to say that some of the best stuff in the game happens in the latter half — which is quite a feat, given that the first half of the game is already incredible. The repeated sections right in the middle are basically a cool-down session before the craziness picks back up.
Yep, I agree. I mean, other Platinum games run great on Switch, but they never get as crazy as Nier: Automata, not even Bayonetta 2. And the PC port... took some tinkering to work on my PC. I had to download a mod to fix the issues — which won't be a solution on Switch.
Only word of caution: the director of Nier: Automata, Yoko Taro, is fond of pulling Kojima-level trolling here and there. You can really feel his hand playing with the game's structure and vibe. I love it, but keep the above in mind. Especially when you get to what seems like New Game+ and you appear to be playing the game over again, with some tweaks. That's true for an hour and two. And then it's not true anymore and you still have the best sequences in the game ahead of you. It's a ride, for sure.
I really like Astral Chain and the story's... fine. It's not bad. it works. But Nier: Automata is something else in terms of structure, pacing, spectacle, thematic depth, distinctive aesthetic, music, etc. So I would either get both, because they're both really good for different reasons, or get Nier. I wouldn't play Astral Chain instead of Nier: Automata.
I'm shocked it's a native port. I mean, it's not the most next-gen looking game in the world, in terms of texture quality and geometry, but it's an intense action game with massive set pieces and I do wonder how it'll run on Switch.
If it runs well, pick it up. It's a masterpiece. Compared to other Platinum games, the combat isn't at the level of Bayonetta and Astral Chain, depth-wise, but then Nier's on another level entirely when it comes to atmosphere, storytelling, and overall experience, so... It balances out. And the combat isn't bad, either. It's just not top-tier (like Bayo).
These are two of the greatest games ever made, for my money. If you haven't played them, and they're good ports, get them. If you don't like puzzle games, get them anyway. Very few games manage to marry story and gameplay like these do. Not even the Half-Life games they're spinning off from. The first Portal is the minimalist, scrappy indie. (I may even prefer it.) The second one is the blockbuster spectacular. They complement each other.
Good Direct, I think! I mean, we got Nier: Automata and Persona 5, two ports that've been a long time coming. We have the Portal games being shadow dropped today. These are some of the greatest games of all time, so if you haven't played them yet, now's your chance. (Assuming they're good ports, of course.)
I have never actually played any of these games before. Well, maybe at a friend's house, decades ago. But I don't count those 15-minute sessions. I did own Sonic Chaos on the Game Gear, which was fun, though not one of the mainline titles. Needless to say, I'm interested in this collection. Not sure what audience these games are for, but I assume I'm in it.
I love these — and it kind of proves my suspicion that the N64's technical limitations and low-poly graphics actually allowed Nintendo to get away with whatever Dead Hand is supposed to be and with ReDeads munching on the back of your neck, in what was apparently a kid's game. Apparently.
Comments 753
Re: Remedy To Host Fan Event In Celebration Of Control's Third Anniversary
I have a couple of qualms with the game design, but Control is so good I still call it one of my favorite games from the past decade. (I played it on PC, though.) I'm kinda sad it hasn't received more DLC, since the concept of the game (and the post-game narrative) lends itself really well to seasonal updates or expansions. Still, what DLC did come out is great and rounds out the game after you finish the main storyline.
Re: Random: Zelda: Majora's Mask Debug Feature Reveals Ages Of Link's Forms
@Fizza
It's not as bad as it sounds. Just interact with the scarecrows for a hint about slowing down time and you'll never be in a rush. Then be the slightest bit strategic about time management. Like, if you're on the third day and you just discovered a dungeon, maybe restart the cycle and warp back to the dungeon entrance. (That's why the fast travel mechanic is available from early on.) The only part that's really stressful is the intro cycle, because you can't slow down time yet and you're just learning the layout of Clock Town. But it's a pretty compact place, it's not exactly Novigrad in The Witcher 3. Do the usual talk-to-strangers extrovert routine from Ocarina of Time and you'll figure out what you're supposed to do quickly enough.
Re: Feature: 25 Years Of GoldenEye 007 - 25 Facts You Didn't Know (Or Forgot You Knew)
@zgillet
It proved FPS games could be popular on consoles. Not just ports of PC titles, but console exclusives. In terms of game design, it popularized a more grounded, realistic approach to level design, moving away from Doom's abstractions. Not just because of the real-world setting, but because of how the levels are constructed, with some rooms not built for gaming but for narrative and architectural coherence. Duke Nukem and Dark Forces had already laid the groundwork for this, though. And Half-Life would really cement the idea a year later.
Re: Random: We've Been Waiting Over Half A Decade For A "New" Mainline Zelda Game
It's Zelda, a franchise so good it has at least four or five games in it that you could persuasively argue as the GOAT.
So, yeah, they can take their time.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Is July's Best-Selling Switch Game In NPD Results
@Judal27
I mean, I'm at chapter 4 now and the villains do become more interesting, especially after what happens at the end of chapter 3. But at the same time, the mystery of why they're doing this and what their motivations are is the driving force of the narrative, for you and the characters, so I'm not particularly annoyed at the vagueness and callousness of the villains, because both traits seem obviously intentional and the emotional focus is on the characters' journey and the state of the world and its people. You and the characters are explicitly in the dark about what it all means and they talk about that at length, especially as chapters 3 and 4 unfold.
Re: Review: Wave Race 64 - A Thrilling Racer That's Still Deeply Impressive
@aaronsullivan
I think you touched on something there: the exaggeration. I've seen better-looking water, but in terms of sheer reactivity and interaction, this water's hard to beat. And I think it's partly due to the N64's graphical limitations (from our modern POV) meaning the developers went all out on — essentially — cartoon water with physics that feel good, but wouldn't necessarily look good with more advanced, ray-traced graphics.
Re: Quake's Fourth Major Update Adds Classic Capture The Flag Mod
@Asaki
Sounds good! Quake 2 was the first FPS I played, along with Duke Nukem, back when I was a kid. But I didn't like them much at the time. I didn't fully come on board the 90s Doom-clone train until Doom was released on the Switch and I finally sat down to try it out. Since then, it's been quite the ride. So I think Quake 2 deserves another chance, considering how much I enjoyed all the Dooms and Quake 1.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Is July's Best-Selling Switch Game In NPD Results
@Judal27
I usually hate cackling villains who are just evil for no reason, but in this case I feel like the villains are self-aware about the fact that they're evil for the fun it. Like they're playing a game and are completely removed from the human emotions of the players on the ground. So it works for me. They're not villains in the usual sense, because the story doesn't seem to depend on you hating them. (I mean, you hardly matter to them. They're like distant gods.) And, at any rate, there's a lot I don't know yet.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Is July's Best-Selling Switch Game In NPD Results
About 30 odd hours into it and I'm really loving it. There's a lot of tonal whiplash, which I find equal parts mesmerizing and hilarious. You'll be picking up mushrooms for dinner, as part of a sidequest that's clearly comic relief, and the characters will just suddenly sit down to reflect on life, death, and the meaning of existence. And it's like, damn, that got heavy. Even the characters will just blurt out, "Heavy." Especially Mio. I can't decide whether the humor's intentional or not. It doesn't seem to be, but whatever. It's great. Love it.
Re: Review: Wave Race 64 - A Thrilling Racer That's Still Deeply Impressive
Loving it! Of the NSO racers, I think it's up there with F-Zero X thus far. My only problem with F-Zero X isn't really the game's fault: it's impossible to achieve high-level play with the Switch controller. That game's tailormade for the N64 pad. I beat the available cups on Intermediate but can't manage anything higher. The degree of precision you need is beyond what I can do. Wave Race, though, seems to be more about the physics and managing environmental hazards, so it might be more manageable. Just beat the Championship on Easy, so we'll see what higher difficulties have in store.
Mario Kart, though? I can't vibe with it. I've barely touched it.
Re: Quake's Fourth Major Update Adds Classic Capture The Flag Mod
I'm really hoping for a Quake 2 port from Nightdive. Their work on Quake and Doom 64 is beautiful. Hopefully they include both PC and N64 versions of Quake 2, if they port it. (That's what they did with OG Quake, in fact.) From what I understand, based on John Linneman's recent video for Digital Foundry, Quake 2 is almost a different game from the PC version, with brand new levels. It's a Doom 64 situation. I'm stoked to try out both.
Re: Gallery: Here's A Look At Wave Race 64 For The Switch Online Expansion Pack
I find most N64 games on the service have aged perfectly fine, which makes venturing into these comments an exercise in confusion and existential despair. Anyway, never played this one. I'll try it out.
Re: Poll: What Do You Want To See From This Week's Splatoon 3 Nintendo Direct?
If the game has a worthwhile single-player campaign, that might pique my interest, just like with Smash Bros.
Re: UK Charts: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Drops While Switch Sports Climbs Back Up
@BTB20
When Nintendo brought Monolith Soft onboard it was in part because of the team's well-known history with the Xeno games (Gears and Saga at that point, before Chronicles), stretching back to the PS1 era, so while Monolith Soft may not be publishing this, they've still found the motivation to keep developing and putting out these massive, ambitious RPGs for over twenty years, whether for Square (before forming Soft in 1999), Namco or Nintendo. So @mariomaster96's point stands, I think.
Re: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion Is Apparently Much More Than A Remaster, But Not A "Complete Remake"
Considering Final Fantasy VII Remake is actually a sequel, yes, this studio has no idea what these terms mean. Unless they do and they're just trolling us, which they definitely were with Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Re: Psychedelic DOOM-Like 'POST VOID' Shoots For September Release
It should be noted that this isn't a new game. It's a 2020 shooter that was very well-received at the time and currently has an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam. It's a known quantity in the indie space. It's just dropping on Switch now. It doesn't personally look appealing to me, but I respect the confrontational art style.
Re: Psychedelic DOOM-Like 'POST VOID' Shoots For September Release
@ChromaticDracula
There's always a lack of pacing and drama in level architecture when it's procedurally generated. The individual biomes or tiles may be fine, but the way they come together is usually bland. It depends on the game, I guess, but it never fails to bore me.
Re: Psychedelic DOOM-Like 'POST VOID' Shoots For September Release
@Scapetti
As far as I know, it's still well-regarded. It's a niche shooter, not the next Zelda. It won't come up unless you're discussing Doom-style FPS games. I have it on my to-play list, at any rate.
Re: Random: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Has Plenty Of Very Memeable Dialogue
@Friendly
Yeah, but that's a short instrumental chime. (And it's awesome.) A line of dialogue sticks out more.
Re: Random: Super Mario World Is One Billion Seconds Old Today
@chipia The raccoon tail is fun but there's no skill involved. With the cape, you need to actually know what you're doing. It's not incredibly hard to control, no, but it's not automatic either. And even if I could do it effortlessly, I still wouldn't fly over whole levels because I'd be worried I'd miss a secret somewhere, even during replays when I know where most stuff is (but I always forget something).
Re: Witcher 3 Dev Admits He Overcrowded One Map With Too Many Points Of Interest
I like The Witcher 3's storytelling and the fact that every sidequest seems like its own short story. It's deep and fulfilling, narratively-speaking. My problem with the game has always been that nothing you do is actually fun to perform. Battles aren't fun, riding your horse isn't fun, walking around town isn't fun. The game itself remains interesting because the story and worldbuilding are interesting. It remains interesting because riding into town at sunset with sorrowful music playing in the background is an emotional trip. But the fundamental game feel is unsatisfying. Every action is clumsy and clunky in an uninteresting way. (Clunkiness can be interesting, if it's part of the learning curve and requires skill: see classic Castlevania.) The Witcher 3 doesn't require you to perform any precise inputs, but you're still constantly moving and fighting, and the movement system is fundamentally dull. This is common in Western RPGs, going back to the 90s and 80s. That's why the comparison to Breath of the Wild is odd, because in a way it's the inverse of Witcher 3: exquisite game feel, uninspiring storytelling. But having exquisite game feel when the game is all about moving through a wide open world is important to me, so Breath of the Wild wins out. The Witcher 3 reminds me of late 90s RPGs like Fallout 2 and Planescape: Torment, with deep storytelling but janky game feel and battle mechanics. Yet these 90s games just let you click and run to where you needed to go and focused on chitchat with NPCs. (You don't need to ever fight in Fallout 2.) Their lackluster movement systems got out of your way if you wanted them to. The Witcher 3, by contrast, is always asking you to do battle in every dungeon and sidequest. It's serviceable, but you're still pining to get back to the enthralling chitchat.
Re: Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online SNES And NES Service With Three More Titles
@Itakiteacher @Austrian
I just finished it this morning and I can confidently say it's a really neat game. I had the same "what the heck is this" reaction as everyone else when I first heard of it, but I think it's worth trying out.
Like I said before, the game feel isn't quite there. The way your mech just slides across the level looks weird and if you stay in a corner of the screen many enemies will just fly over and avoid you. In the easier levels, it's like a moonwalking simulator, as you safely auto-scroll to the boss and watch the 8-bit scenery move by.
But, provided you don't mind the mech-in-low-gravity logic of the controls and physics, I do think the shooting gameplay ends up being responsive and twitchy, and the harder levels are very fun. There is a measure of strategy, too, in when you decide to have your three items drop down into the level. (You want your health pickup right before the boss, and the missiles and power bomb wherever you're having trouble.)
The space battle mode (or space chess) I never really understood. (You enter it by intercepting an enemy ship rather than a planet.) As far as I can make out, you have ships of varying strength and range, and you're supposed to place them across the board in an optimal way. But without a manual or English text, I was pretty much in the dark. They were still fun in their random trial-and-error sort of way, though, and you can speed through the turns, so the battles are quick (and, again, optional).
Besides that, the game is relatively forgiving and devoid of Nintendo-hard unreasonableness. Granted I played on the easiest difficulty setting, but I didn't run into many cheap deaths or how-are-you-supposed-to-avoid-that annoyances. Most challenges can be cleared by just planning your route and doing crowd control with incoming enemies. And the open-ended nature of the game means you can just try a different level or planet if you're frustrated with the one you're in. (Flying around the planet system is the jankiest part of the game, but also the most stress-free, since it's just a glorified level select screen. I do like the way you have to effectively find the planet among the stars, like you're actually travelling through space.)
There's a lot of color-swapping and repeated textures and enemy types, as in most NES games, but even within these tech constraints and across over a dozen levels, I think Daiva Story still manages to make you feel like you're really visiting different planets, each with a distinct mood and palette and bizarre architectural structures, so it never got boring for me nor did it outstay its welcome.
Anyway, sorry for the review-length post, but I doubt there are many other reviews of the game out there on the internet, so I thought it might be useful.
Re: Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online SNES And NES Service With Three More Titles
I've been playing Daiva for the past two hours and it's a shockingly legit game (especially shocking in the context of everyone making fun of it on Twitter).
It's kinda impenetrable at first because of the language barrier and the lack of an instruction booklet, but it's pretty straightforward once you know what's what. It's a surprisingly non-linear, open-ended, and even chill experience, weirdly modern in its pacing and structure. You can choose the order you tackle the levels in, you can partake in grid-based strategy space battles or drop down into planets for side-scrolling shooting, you can build an army as you finish levels... I mean, it's way simpler than you're probably picturing from that previous sentence, but it works.
I'm not totally sold on the moment-to-moment shooting gameplay — I mean, Moon Patrol from several years before has a similar vibe in some respects, and that has a much tighter, better-realized game feel — but what's here isn't bad, even if it's far from shmup royalty. You kind of sense the game should have included power-ups to spice things up instead of just leaving you stuck with a pea-shooter. And some of the enemy patterns and placements are weirdly choreographed and repetitive, but never soul-crushingly so. The open, laid-back nature of the game makes up for many of its less-inspiring aspects.
I'd recommend reading through this Gamefaq to offset the lack of a manual: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/578336-daiva-story-6-imperial-of-nirsartia/faqs/42309. You can skip the level-by-level walkthrough if you think that's cheating and just read the basics at the beginning. (That's what the manual probably explains, assuming it exists in Japanese.)
Also, don't feel bad about using save states after you finish a planet. You're supposed to go back to your home base to pick up more ships (for the apparently optional space battles) and get your password after each level, and you should do that for the ships but not for those Japanese passwords. Just save state and move on.
Re: Nintendo Reassures Fans "More" N64 Games Will Be Added To Switch Online
Outside of the obvious Rare stuff, I'm mostly interested in the games I missed back in the day, like Wave Race, Mischief Makers, Diddy Kong Racing, and Silicon Valley.
I'd also be curious to go through Body Harvest again, but that game was extremely rough and janky on release and I doubt it's gotten any more polished since then.
Re: Soapbox: 20 Years Later, Super Mario Sunshine Is Still The Best 3D Mario
I mean, it's not bad, but it's also not great. I don't like the progression structure, I don't like that the moment-to-moment freedom from 64 (the fact that nearly every star in the level is available from the get-go) isn't there anymore, I don't like the occasionally unpredictable jankiness (as opposed to 64's more predictable jankiness), and I don't like the level design (which sometimes approaches good, but usually feels too large for the specific objective you need to complete for each sprite, a problem that wasn't there with 64's compact, more open-ended design).
Anyway, I'm not a fan of Sunshine or Odyssey, for different reasons. Having played all 3D Marios within the past two years, I can say my favorite is 64 followed closely by Galaxy.
Re: Review: Live A Live - A Brilliantly Faithful Remake Of A Unique And Influential JRPG
Looking forward to it. I prefer the "vagueness" of some of these older games to the overdesigned and over-directed UX of many modern titles (and I'm a UXer!), so I probably won't mind that aspect.
Re: Rumour: Cryptic Whispers Of Incoming F-Zero News Are Doing The Rounds Online
At this point, any F-Zero news is good news. I'd personally like either GX or (long shot) the N64DD content for X. I loved going back to X on NSO, but I hit my skill ceiling with the Switch Pro pad. Uncapping the game's depth pretty much requires the original controller.
Re: Zelda: Ocarina Of Time PC Port Can Now Be Played On Mac OS and Wii U
I mean, I'm replaying it for the 3rd time on NSO in less than a year, because why not, but this looks great. It's just the same game, but sharper, wider, and more fluid, and hopefully with faster text speed. Seriously, the two biggest improvements in Majora's Mask, having just replayed that one too, are: faster text speed and quicker start menu. Little UX tweaks but, boy, they sure do make a difference. Good thing, too, because in Majora's Mask slotting items and masks from your start menu and talking to people are, like, most of the game.
Re: Review: Pokémon Puzzle League - A Thrilling Puzzler And A Heavy Nostalgia Hit
I fell in love with Panel de Pon on the SNES app. I had never heard of that game or its iterations, and had an absolute blast. So I'll definitely try this, too.
Re: Review: Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series - A Classic Platforming Pair Worth Catching Again
I'm playing too many games at the same time now (God of War, Halo 3 and System Shock 2) and my backlog's eternally long, but I really want to get around to these. They look up my alley and I never played them.
Re: Video: 3D Graphic Artist Spends 1200 Hours Reimagining Zelda 64 - Zora's Domain In Unreal Engine 5
I think we need to understand this for what it is, part of a demo reel. It's no different than the thousands of pretty but useless UIs over at Dribbble. They're meant to show off design chops, not to be usable or — in this case — playable. I don't think any Zelda should look this shiny and cluttered, but that isn't the point of this. It's primarily supposed to look like 1200 hours of work from someone who clearly knows their way around UE5. And in that sense, mission accomplished.
Re: GoldenEye 007 Relaunch On Modern Consoles Reportedly 'In Limbo'
I keep reading how N64 games haven't aged well but I just keep playing them and they seem fine to me.
I wasn't the biggest Goldeneye fan back in the day, but I'd still like to see it get a re-release. I don't need a remaster, really, other than a resolution boost and a consistent frame-rate. I think that's the most important issue and it's something all of Rare's N64 titles struggled with. In fact, games like Jet Force Gemini and Perfect Dark actually taught me what frame-rate problems looked like. Some boss battles in Jet Force Gemini were almost unplayable! And I feel like an NSO release would just preserve these now-fixable problems, which would be a pity.
Re: Respawn Working On Single-Player FPS Set In Apex Legends Universe
There are individual levels in Titanfall 2 that are all-timers. I don't think it all comes together in the way the best single-player FPS campaigns do, but it's the sort of big-budget, high-concept FPS adventure that we don't get much of these days at all.
Re: Review: Zero Tolerance Collection - A Significant 16-Bit FPS That's Hard To Take These Days
@shgamer
It doesn't excite me either because it's a dark, janky console FPS from 1994 and PC or Mac alternatives like Doom and Marathon from that same era clearly wipe the floor with it.
But none of this matters. It's still valid to release and preserve even the failures of the past, because you don't know who'll find it interesting or worthwhile. And at any rate, you don't have to buy it.
Re: Review: Zero Tolerance Collection - A Significant 16-Bit FPS That's Hard To Take These Days
@shgamer
As someone whose weekly diet consists mostly of "old" games — whether it's the original Doom or, now, Halo 3 --, I don't really understand what you're talking about.
Hopefully we can preserve as many old games as we can, not just the best of the best. Because even agreeing on what is "the best" is contentious: Doom 2 and Doom 64 may not be as consistent as Doom, but they're still very good.
Re: Review: Blade Runner: Enhanced Edition - A Cyberpunk Classic, Compromised On Switch
This is surprising, given that I hold Nightdive in very high regard when it comes to remasters. I even think they're one of the few developers that get these kinds of projects right, as they generally strive to respect and preserve the original artistic intent and focus on making the graphics look good on modern displays.
Re: NieR:Automata For Switch Handled By Nintendo Port Specialist Virtuos
@Royalblues
The good thing is that Dark Souls is leaner and more focused than Elden Ring. And movement is slower, allowing you to mostly get by with a tank build and slow, deliberate attacks.
I haven't gotten far into Elden Ring either. I started it, saw how vast it was, and put it away until I have more time for it.
Re: Review: Portal: Companion Collection - A Nintendo Debut For Two All-Time Greats
Just think, Portal released with Half-Life 2 and its episodes on the Orange Box. Again, we're talking about Half-Life 2 here, videogame royalty. No one knew what Portal even was. It was supposed to be a curiosity, a side dish.
And yet it's Portal everyone now remembers from the Orange Box. That should give you a clue regarding its quality. Its opening rooms have become a go-to game design example, like Super Mario's 1-1 and Doom's E1M1.
Many games have imitated it. Some are even great, like The Talos Principle. But they're never quite Portal.
Re: Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Features Over 90 Titles, Including Jaguar And Lynx Games
I've never played any of these, but I keep hearing about them. If the emulation and presentation is any good, I'll probably be getting this.
Re: Persona 3 Portable, Persona 4 Golden, And Persona 5 Royal Are Coming To Switch
One day, I'll have time for Elden Ring.
You might think there's no relationship between Persona and Elden Ring. But in my calendar, and according to my backlog management sheet, there is.
Re: NieR: Automata Confirmed For Switch, Coming This October
@itslukec Yeah, especially because it's no exaggeration to say that some of the best stuff in the game happens in the latter half — which is quite a feat, given that the first half of the game is already incredible. The repeated sections right in the middle are basically a cool-down session before the craziness picks back up.
Re: NieR: Automata Confirmed For Switch, Coming This October
@BloodNinja
Yep, I agree. I mean, other Platinum games run great on Switch, but they never get as crazy as Nier: Automata, not even Bayonetta 2. And the PC port... took some tinkering to work on my PC. I had to download a mod to fix the issues — which won't be a solution on Switch.
Re: NieR: Automata Confirmed For Switch, Coming This October
@sisodinr
Only word of caution: the director of Nier: Automata, Yoko Taro, is fond of pulling Kojima-level trolling here and there. You can really feel his hand playing with the game's structure and vibe. I love it, but keep the above in mind. Especially when you get to what seems like New Game+ and you appear to be playing the game over again, with some tweaks. That's true for an hour and two. And then it's not true anymore and you still have the best sequences in the game ahead of you. It's a ride, for sure.
Re: NieR: Automata Confirmed For Switch, Coming This October
@sisodinr
I really like Astral Chain and the story's... fine. It's not bad. it works. But Nier: Automata is something else in terms of structure, pacing, spectacle, thematic depth, distinctive aesthetic, music, etc. So I would either get both, because they're both really good for different reasons, or get Nier. I wouldn't play Astral Chain instead of Nier: Automata.
Re: NieR: Automata Confirmed For Switch, Coming This October
I'm shocked it's a native port. I mean, it's not the most next-gen looking game in the world, in terms of texture quality and geometry, but it's an intense action game with massive set pieces and I do wonder how it'll run on Switch.
If it runs well, pick it up. It's a masterpiece. Compared to other Platinum games, the combat isn't at the level of Bayonetta and Astral Chain, depth-wise, but then Nier's on another level entirely when it comes to atmosphere, storytelling, and overall experience, so... It balances out. And the combat isn't bad, either. It's just not top-tier (like Bayo).
Re: Portal: Companion Collection Launches For Switch Today
These are two of the greatest games ever made, for my money. If you haven't played them, and they're good ports, get them. If you don't like puzzle games, get them anyway. Very few games manage to marry story and gameplay like these do. Not even the Half-Life games they're spinning off from. The first Portal is the minimalist, scrappy indie. (I may even prefer it.) The second one is the blockbuster spectacular. They complement each other.
Re: Watch: Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase
Good Direct, I think! I mean, we got Nier: Automata and Persona 5, two ports that've been a long time coming. We have the Portal games being shadow dropped today. These are some of the greatest games of all time, so if you haven't played them yet, now's your chance. (Assuming they're good ports, of course.)
Re: Review: Sonic Origins - A Fine Collection For New Fans, Less So For The Hardcore Sonic Crowd
I have never actually played any of these games before. Well, maybe at a friend's house, decades ago. But I don't count those 15-minute sessions. I did own Sonic Chaos on the Game Gear, which was fun, though not one of the mainline titles. Needless to say, I'm interested in this collection. Not sure what audience these games are for, but I assume I'm in it.
Re: Treasure Is Apparently Working On A "Highly Requested" Title
@Orokosaki
I'm playing Alien Soldier for the first time now and frankly I don't see why it would need a remake at all. It's amazing.
Personally, I just want them to bring over Sin & Punishment 2 and Radiant Silvergun to the Switch. Or a new game in that style, sure.
Re: Random: Junji Ito Meets Zelda In These Renders Of Ocarina Of Time's Scariest Monsters
I love these — and it kind of proves my suspicion that the N64's technical limitations and low-poly graphics actually allowed Nintendo to get away with whatever Dead Hand is supposed to be and with ReDeads munching on the back of your neck, in what was apparently a kid's game. Apparently.