BigRed40

Other than the conclusion, this entire review read like begrudging praise. Not sure if that was intentional or not, but definitely read more like a 7-8 than a 9/10.

@benmalsky198 IMO their movies just lack the depth, originality, or charm of their counterparts like Pixar, Dreamworks, or even Sony Pictures recently.

@schmauz Feeling the same. The combat is fun but I've done the buddy shooter action game thing before and the dialogue really hasn't been compelling enough to make it anything unique imo. Still, probably an 8 for me and my opinion could change as I get further into it.

@trobby I'm hardly a Marvel fanatic, but A) most of those films are hardly critic darlings, and B) even those movies have a lot more characterization and narrative development than the Mario movies

Mario is kind of a blank slate character by design imo. His plots are stripped back, and he doesn't talk often. If the movie pushed a certain narrative or characterization of Mario in the movie, they risk alienating fans who don't relate to a particular version of Mario.

Honestly thats why I just never cared for the idea of these movies anyways, even if I love the games. Hoping the Zelda movie has a bit more depth given it's relative maturity and depth but not holding my breadth. That said Wes Ball is more promising than Illumination so who knows.

Miyamoto sounds a bit defensive here, wonder if its a bit lost in translation. But nonetheless, while I disagree with him, he's the face of Nintendo and Mario, he's not gonna trash his own movie!

Despite loving StarFox and still having my WiiU set-up, I didn't play this one and don't intend to unless I find it in a budget bin somewhere.

About what I guessed. I think these games are better thought of as social sim sandboxes than games you binge. Looking forward to playing this with my gf and seeing what ridiculous stuff we come up with.

@BrazilRules Think this says more about you if your first thought on seeing a child is "loli"

Super stoked for this. Gonna have to fight the urge to pick this AND Tomadachi Life up this week.

The spread on the user reviews here is super interesting. Wide but also sharply divided opinion.

Fascinated by the people who browse NL but get upset about knowledgeable podcasters talking about Nintendo? Its an article. No one is forcing you to click on it. So strange

I'm glad Nintendo still makes oddball games like this and am quite looking forward to playing it with my girlfriend. That said, I share the concerns of some of the previews. Hope there is enough content here to make it engaging beyond a couple weeks of gags.

@larryisaman I doubt they will but that's my wish too. I often lament the loss of truly "handheld" gaming devices with Switch 2 being too unwieldy to ever break out in public (though weirdly I play my Switch 2 in handheld mode way more than I ever did with my Switch 1). But a dockable Switch 2 Lite might even make me double dip.

@larryisaman Concur on the Switch 2 Lite point. I know at least anecdotally that is what my girlfriend is waiting on. My guess is we'll get it announced a couple months before Winds and Waves release as a lower barrier to entry given the behemoth of sales that is Pokemon.

It's hard to imagine Nintendo doesn't have a big holiday release waiting to be unveiled, but each passing day without a reveal leaves me a bit more anxious. Here's hoping for a big June direct.

Cool ideas and all but best we will get is a couple floating areas we access with the same "ride" tool we use to go underwater. Get ready to see your trainer t-pose on that skateboard into the heavens.

Joking aside, playing through FireRed has reminded me of HM's crimes against humanity as much as the next guy, but please god GameFreak, in a world with super powered monsters let us use them to explore and unlock the world. And a bit of friction is not the end of the world either! Unlocking a previously unaccessible area with new abilities is fun! Just make abilities like Surf, Strength, Fly, etc innate to different Pokemon types, not an HM.

Theoretically, this should be a great set for me considering I seem unable to ever pull even the basic EXs but somehow get some useless shiny every third pack.

Nice article. I definitely love a lot of these but its true some just didn't get the lore to have the legs they deserved. Zarude is a super cool monkey design who was just abandoned, and Eternatus is a bad*ss design, but feels like a leftover idea from XY (red and blue legendaries, looks like those old 3D glasses), and like you said, was a weird tonal mismatch.

@VinzClortho1981 Expecting a cozy game spin off to include every single Pokemon (of which there are over 1000 now), years after the catchphrase was retired, seems like a bit of a weird hill to die on if you still enjoy the franchise overall.

Gotta say, so interesting seeing the majority of comments on the Nintendo fan site being relatively lukewarm on Pokopia, meanwhile from my irl experience and Twitter, the game seems to be hitting the streets like Walter White's own blend. Heck, my sister who was skeptical of the Switch 2 bought one just to play it.

Personally, I'm loving every minute. I have been craving a new Viva Pinata and loved DQ Builders so this is like a match made in heaven for me.

As one of the 10 people with a playdate, this game is wonderful! Lots of little gems on that thing and satisfies that "got five minutes to kill" itch. Glad to see some of the games get a bigger release.

I distinctly remember taking some standardized test as a kid where the question was about the butterfly life cycle. Immediately thought "Larvitar evolves into Pupitar"! Countless other words and concepts I can definitely see myself having learned from Pokemon too! Great article!

Ironically given the initial backlash, I thinking killing the national dex improved the experience in a way you desire. It makes seeing old mon's from previous gens exciting again when they are found in a new game.

I actually wish that they would just lower the number of Pokemon that appear in the overworld wild areas and make their discovery feel more exciting. Seeing ten ghastly just roaming around in a grassy plain for no reason feels so boring. Would be way cooler to say, find a small abandoned building, go inside, and discover a few different ghost types inhabiting the place, hiding in the shadows.

A little expensive but this seems cute. Lot of people seem to just be mad it's not something it isn't.

Never got into the competitive side of things with Pokemon, but hoping this will be a good way for me to give it a shot

Perfect candidate for a "Shadow" drop but glad to finally be getting this. Lot of fond memories from playing this as a kid.

Very promising. Won't lay all the criticisms to rest but seems like we might finally be getting the Pokemon game we've wanted.

@IceClimbersMain we literally just got Fire Red and Leaf Green...genwunner greed knows no limits

Disappointed by the wait but as long as they have a stable 30 fps and little pop-in, I'm beyond pleased with the graphics now.

Also the gecko starter looks like something from Littlest Pet Shop lol

@Zaruboggan love when someone loves a underappreciated 'mon (AND when their comment is backed up by their profile picture)

Hearing great things about this game despite having no clue exactly what it is. Haven't even seen a trailer cross my feed.

I understand people's gripes with GKC but so annoying seeing every discussion around certain games revolve around that.

Anyways, I was already excited for this one, but saw someone compare it to Viva Pinata and now I'm drooling lol

@dequesi fun police showed up everyone...party is over

New Rayman... exclusively for Switch 2

@johnedwin For people like me who enjoys RPGs, or are curious about Dragon Quest, but don't necessarily want to dive into a 80 hour behemoth on the PS1 that isn't exactly casual friendly.

My first entries were DQ Builders 2 and then DQXI but I loved the demo and was a great way for me to experience one of the older titles while I wait for DQXII

Sony seems to find PS2 sales like I find crumbs in the couch XD

Super stoked for this after that demo! Loved DQ XI but other than that my only experience with the series is strangely DQ Builders 2.

Surprised around the negativity/disinterest in this game, but I'm definitely picking this up to play alongside my gf. Love the quirky humor and always enjoy having a more laid back game to play in between sessions of more "serious" ones.

As an aside, bit strange it's releasing so close to Pokopia, though. Different vibes for sure, but both still cozy sim type games. Hope they don't cannabalize each other's sales!

I'm old enough to remember when Nintendo DMCA'd even the smallest gameplay clips off Youtube... and now their fears seem to have come to fruition in the worst way possible.

Maybe when it comes to the States we'll get a different cover lol. It still sounds very interesting, but the appeal of having a nice visual as a coffee table book would be so nice. Will keep an eye on this though; would make this my SECOND Pokemon book purchase since I was a kid (Pokecology pre-ordered and eagerly awaiting).

Less sexy than new megas and art rares, but super excited for the introduction of stadiums. Megas are cool but imo essentially just operate as EX-Plus whereas hopefully stadiums can mix up the meta a bit more.

I still mourn the Wii/WiiU/DS/3DS era, where Nintendo consoles felt packed with that special Nintendo charm but that aside, the Switch 2 is the most premium feeling console they've ever released imo. Sticks are smooth as hell, screen looks sharp and smooth, and just the general hand-feel is everything I could hope for. So while I still yearn for the Switch 2's "Miiverse" or "Streetpass" equivalent, the games and quality of the hardware will no doubt give this thing some strong legs.

Played the demo for a sweet little nostalgia kick and was pleasantly surprised. Will definitely pick this up when it goes on sale.

Continue to be baffled by the rather slow drip of what seem to me to be rather easy to implement updates to old Switch games such as 60fps and resolution bumps. So many old Switch games I'd be delighted to pick up but not going to bother when I know some 60fps mode will inevitably come right after I already finished the game.

Now I feel old and I'm only 27! Been following since I was like 13 probably so it's an incredible achievement for your website to still be a daily part of my life all these years later. Congrats and thanks for all the great coverage!

I think the new trading update will be a great improvement to the non-existent pity system, but what I'm really hoping for as a Wailmer is just more things to do. Logging in for my packs, doing a few battles, while addicting, fails to keep me excited past the first week or so of a new pack launch. Really hope we get some kind of light campaign mode.

Imagine with each new pack, we get a batch of "Gym Leaders" from that generation, filled with little bits of dialogue and a light story. Unfortunately it feels unlikely, but I can dream.

Been waiting for a sale on this but timing couldn't be worse. Just dropped more than $140 on LZA and BF6...maybe next year...

@Orwellian87 I'm no SV fan but GameFreak literally reinvented the entire battle system in this game... Beginning to think the only people lazier than the devs are the critics.

Still hoping the original gets a Switch 2 update. Game looks great in some aspects but could definitely benefit from a facelift. 4k and 60fps would be all I need to dive back in.