Bolt_Strike

@Dom_31 I don't recall another game that locked a specific Pokemon/form behind competitive, and certainly not a NEW Pokemon/form. That is a first for sure.

Yeah, this is exactly what I was afraid of. Nothing inherently wrong with putting emphasis on battling over exploration, but when this is a $70 game with DLC on the way, feeling like you've seen all there is to see from the game in a few hours makes it feel not worth it. Maybe I'll buy it used later on, but this game definitely doesn't seem to be worth the high price tag.

@Wewewi Yup, that's capitalism in a nutshell. You must be new here.

@BigBluePanda Not as thrilled as he'd be if they actually freaking put RBY on NSO.

@JohnnyOutOfHisMind So survival isn't a right? So by that logic I suppose murder is perfectly acceptable since it's a privilege to even live? Good luck running a functioning society like this.

Get real. This "nothing is handed to you" sort of attitude is wholly cruel and unnecessary. We can end world hunger in 5 years, but we choose not to because we (meaning the wealthy running our businesses and politics) have decided that short term profits for corporate executives are the first and only priority. In this case, this is absolutely Nintendo wanting cheaper customer service workers to give their NoJ executives another bonus. There's no need for these customer service workers to lose their jobs and potentially starve for that, it's just bottomless, unchecked greed.

I'd only want to return to Unova if it's more BW2 than BW1. BW1 is horribly overrated, it was the true beginning of the philosophy shift people hated from the 3DS games, it shoved new Pokemon down your throat yet made many of them Kanto expies, and was generally a step backwards for the series in every way except story (and even then the only thing REALLY good about the story is that it didn't end the same way as past game, there's still some issues with the story). Get that trash out of my sight, I never want to play it again. If I ever get the mood to go through Unova again, it'll be through a far more expansive take on Unova like BW2 which has far more Pokemon to catch, areas to explore, and sidequests to complete.

@NinjaWaddleDee Because it'd be tricky if not downright impossible to make an open world Metroidvania, unlike a regular old action adventure like Zelda. A key part of the Metroidvania formula is that you explore to obtain upgrades that open up new areas of the map. How can you both do that and let the player go in any direction and explore wherever they want? It's very difficult to imagine Metroid going open world without it losing its gameplay identity.

@Coalescence While older Metroid games do have a handful of open areas, the majority of the game was still linear. I notice Metroid games often seem to follow a bit of a hub-and-spoke map design, where there's several central, larger rooms with smaller, corridor rooms that branch off to various points of interests. And because Metroidvanias are built on finding new upgrades to open new areas, you're usually exploring the areas in a set order. An open world is a very different ballgame despite Metroid toying with some larger, open areas in the past, full open world games allow you to explore in any order. So it's not an open world if you have a large area to explore, but you have to explore a particular area first to get the Missiles, then explore a particular area to get the Morph Ball, etc. The two gameplay styles have opposing design philosophies and it's difficult to imagine both of them coexisting (and may be downright impossible for them to work together in a well-designed, polished manner). This is why there's a lot of concern about this reveal.

It's a very questionable direction for Metroid, but we haven't seen enough to make a judgment. We really need a Prime 4 Direct to explain the gameplay loop here.

@BrianJL That's kind of meaningless because you're already in end game while most of the game is linear. And even the end game isn't open world because there are distinct walls in the game. You can't just walk in any random direction and go anywhere you want, you're still following paths. If you don't have that, it's not an open world.

I am skeptical this will work. Metroidvanias aren't exactly compatible with open world because they have entirely contradictory progression systems. And yeah, it looks barren and empty. I'm definitely on the fence about this. We need a Prime 4 Direct to better explain how the game works.

Very sloppy guide-writing on Moonlight Canyon Labyrinth here guys, you neglected some key details that are necessary to find some of these. First of all, you should make note that the the large crystal is to the right of the first Starry, because you don't indicate where to actually find it.

Secondly, you don't indicate where to find Crash in the level and some people might have trouble finding it because it's pretty well-hidden. For those that don't know where Crash is, when you first head back outside go up the ladder and to where the green Star Coin is. There is a hidden passage to the left that wraps around to a hidden area with a pile of Star Coins and a Bomber on top of a cactus. Swallow the Bomber as it falls to get the Crash ability.

Wait so there's only 12 levels in this expansion? Ugggghhhh, that's much less value than I expected out of this expansion. I'd ask for a refund but I bought the upgrade pack and that's non-refundable.

Yeah I noticed, that, the direction you punch corresponds to where the face buttons are. B = down because it's on the bottom, Y = horizontally because it's on the left, and X = up because it's on the top. Really intuitive, helped me get used to the controls once I figured it out. Clever button mapping.

@Krisi I mean "disappointing" is a strong word, I would say more "meh", but this is a second racer when we just got Mario Kart World 2 months ago, and one that was a niche game that sold good but not great in its first entry and seems to be propped up by a vocal minority. They're really going to need to show something special for this game to grab the attention of more than just the handful of dedicated fans that want this, otherwise there are games that have much more to offer for the Switch 2.

@datamonkey Same. Other than Prime 4 I have nothing I'm particularly excited for after S2E Kirby and the Forgotten Land (maybe Z-A, but that's questionable). It's weird that they don't have any heavy hitters for the holiday season (the Switch 2's first holiday season at that) and are relying on niche games like Hyrule Warriors and Kirby Air Ride for that role, feels like they blew their load with Mario Kart World and Donkey Kong Bananza and now they have next to nothing.

@Bentleyma We have no confirmed release date for Prime 4. They've just been saying "2025" for a while and they're honestly running out of time to schedule it. Honestly I think if we don't get an update on Prime 4 soon (and even now I think there's a good chance this is true regardless at this point), the game's probably being delayed to 2026.

Meh. Kirby Air Ride is one I never really got into, although a friend did insist on playing it with me. It was okay but not quite hype. Short of something big this isn't the game I'm waiting for. Give me Prime 4 Direct, Mario 40th Anniversary Direct, or a general and then we'll talk.

Meh, Captain Toad was a great game, but I didn't find its music to be anything special.

Sounds like something they could make for a Labo or Ring Fit type of game, I could see this becoming real.

I enjoyed Forgotten Land and $20 for an entire second campaign feels like a reasonable ask, so yeah.

@JasonLee99 This. The lack of output has been very weird all this time.

They still haven't announced the Switch 2 version have they? Last I heard it was coming to "Nintendo" without specifying which Nintendo platform but it's painfully obvious it's Switch 2. They've been very quite for what's just a remaster.

Glad I skipped this, nothing for me here like every other Partner Showcase. Lacking games pretty much across the board so far this gen and it's very disappointing (not unexpected but still disappointing).

I most want to see Baldur's Gate 3, Yooka-Replaylee, and Genshin Impact.

Typical don't care about Partner Showcases, but this one has a lot of intrigue because we have a new console that hasn't had a lot of third party announcements yet. Hoping to see Baldur's Gate 3, Yooka-Replaylee, and Genshin Impact.

Where's the option for none of these? What an underwhelming Presents. 5 months since the last one, 3 months to release, and announced over a month ago, and all they could muster up to show us for Z-A is 1 new Mega and a few storyline tidbits? WTF are you doing Game Freak? I'm very concerned about Z-A now. It's looking like such a nothingburger game that's going to feel like $60+ DLC of SV rather than a full game. Only spans one city instead of the full region, map only looks as big as Kitakami or the Terrarium, minimal content and side modes so far, almost no new Pokemon/forms so far, they spent 2 or 3 years on THIS?

So based on those comparisons, it sounds like a reasonable sales projection would be about 15 million. That would be pretty respectable and would make it the best selling DK game of all time (not counting the arcade games where he was the antagonist, which shouldn't really be counted anyway). Hope it can keep that kind of momentum, the game deserves it.

@DollyrotsFan1 I mean we may see more remakes/Legends games, but the timing isn't right for one in 2026. It's the 30th anniversary, it's a new console generation, and it'll have been 4 years since SV. That's exactly the time to bring out the big guns and release your next flagship mainline entry, not a filler title like a remake.

@shoeses Is it really Nintendo? I have a hard time believing that when Nintendo champions delaying a game until it's polished. I think it's more likely TPC, and especially the Creatures branch of TPC, that is pressuring them to have yearly releases. They're much more merchandising focused (although they have developed the 3D models, but they're also responsible for the TCG and toys), so they're probably encouraging Game Freak to rush games out so they can put out more merch junk to sell. That would make more sense, Nintendo rushing Game Freak would be very uncharacteristic of them.

@ChopperDX The difference between this and the BDSP/LA situation is that BDSP/LA were two different flavors of Sinnoh revisits, one that was more traditional and faithful and one that was more modernized and ambitious. Having them close together as two different options made sense. With Z-A and Gen 10, there's not going to be that same kind of dynamic. They aren't similar types of games with conflicting directions, Z-A is going to be new, but Gen 10 is going to be far newer and more ambitious. Nothing can really compete with having a completely new region, a large number of new Pokemon, new characters, a new story, etc. That's why new generations sell the most out of any type of game. Plus it's probably going to be Switch 2 exclusive, which means it's going to be more next gen feeling which adds to the marketing. Gen 10 is going to overshadow everything, they're not going to want to begin marketing it until Z-A is out of the way.

And no, LA is a main series game. It's made by Game Freak and it has the same catching and battling gameplay, that's not enough for it to be a spinoff. At best you could call it a side series in the same way that the sandbox Mario games or Metroid Prime are, but they're still main series games.

Do we know that it's going to be in the holiday for sure? No. But they almost always have something for the holiday and that's what they're going to target. Meanwhile they have never released a game on the anniversary (aside from of course, the very first one). So far more likely that it's going to be announced, not release, on the anniversary while releasing for the holiday. It's not 50:50 in the slightest, the scenario you're describing is one that's unprecedented for Pokemon.

You keep pointing to the "oh it's been 3 years" which has been a pattern for quite a while, but if they were going to stick to that we'd already have Gen 10 announced by now. Z-A is hitting that 3 year mark and that's a fact. What you aren't considering is that the lack of a Gen 10 announcement at the 3 year mark could mean something else, it likely means that they think the 3 year cycle may not be necessary and/or feasible anymore. Game development is getting longer and more complicated, and Game Freak now has to deal with far more intensive hardware than they used to with advancements such as 3D graphics, HD resolution, and larger, more open game worlds (all of which have been cited by multiple developers over time as being intensive to develop and needing extra time), and we saw what happened with SV when they tried to make a modern feeling Pokemon game in just 3 years, people thought it was a buggy, unpolished mess. It sounds like they're listening to that feedback and now taking 4 years to make Gen 10 (honestly I'm of the opinion that after Gen 10 they should extend it to 5 and just release the new gens on the anniversary years while finding more smaller projects to fill the gaps, but we'll see what they do for Gen 11 and on).

@ChopperDX You're not getting it. Even an announcement of Gen 10 would cut into Z-A's sales, so that would be shooting themselves in the foot. They're not concerned with the game releasing on the anniversary. Pokemon is Pokemon, it sells regardless of when it releases. Heck, Legends Arceus released in freaking JANUARY, arguably the absolute worst month in the year to release a video game, and it still sold gangbusters. And with complaints about SV being too rushed/unpolished they are not going to want to be in a hurry to release this one a mere 4 months after Z-A, they're going to want to take their time. Your timeline is not happening, full stop. That would be a massive scheduling/marketing blunder on their part if they did that.

There are other things they can release on the anniversary. They could repeat what they did in 2016 for the 20th for example and finally give us main series games on NSO. They could come up with some other smaller title to celebrate the anniversary. There is no need for Gen 10 to release on the anniversary. You're just asking for a Sonic 06 moment.

@ChopperDX Don't expect them to say a word about Gen 10 in this Presents. They're not going to reveal a new game when they're still trying to market Z-A. If you're waiting for Gen 10, mark your calendar for Pokemon Day (February 27, 2026), that's when we're likely going to see the Gen 10 announcement.

New Megas for Z-A though, that's a much more reasonable prediction for this particular Presents. They have to be hiding some kind of new Pokemon, forms, variants, etc. and since Megas are back, they can introduce more of those to satisfy the need for new forms.

I'll believe it when Nintendo announces it. The Pokemon Presents and the various shadowdrop announcements leads me to believe that there isn't a full fat Direct coming anytime soon. I suspect we're waiting until September.

@Cyrax77 No, games. Kirby and the Forgotten Land Switch 2 Edition is also $80.

@Bunkerneath And $80 games.

Yes we know Sony. What we want to know is where are the games? Most garbage lineup for a Sony console ever.

@whodatninja I mean, we're absolutely getting Splatoon 4 at some point in the Switch 2's lifespan, it's pretty much inevitable. Splatoon is way too popular to not do it. But this is likely a sign that it's not happening for a few years. This is clearly a game they're using to get Splatoon fans on board with the Switch 2 early, tide fans over until 4, and expand the IP's fanbase. It's not a replacement for anything.

@Nintoz Given the lack of a release date and it being a vague teaser I'm feeling like this isn't coming out this year. Maybe it'll be 2026.

Oh man, this is pretty much exactly what I wanted out of a Splatoon spinoff. I've been losing interest in the main series because the multiplayer is getting too repetitive and rehashy, but this is exactly the kind of game I'd want to stay engaged with the IP. Can't wait to see more.

At least it's not Rachel Zegler.

@TheBigK This. The spawn radius was a bit of an annoying limitation and slowed down my shiny hunting a bit, this is still an improvement.

@N00BiSH Ehh, it really doesn't seem that complicated. And dual screens have been one of Nintendo's most successful and used gimmicks. We definitely lost something getting rid of them.

@N00BiSH Simple answer to that. Take the current screen and split it in two and make them detachable. Then you can get DS/3DS style handheld mode, Wii U style docked mode, and in local multiplayer each person gets a screen in addition to a Joycon.

@N00BiSH I'd rather have dual screens back than this TBH.

@N00BiSH Except dual screens apparently.

This is actually pretty surprising since sequels on the same console tend to sell worse. I guess people really do like the open world. I myself did have a lot of fun with the game, despite the performance issues it's a good foundation for future Pokemon games.

It was a complete mess going back and forth between different retailers like a game of Whack-a-Mole, and I was close to going to bed and going to Gamestop in the morning, but I managed to snag one at Walmart after about 2 hours.

@J_C Just got mine in at Walmart! Thanks for the tip.

@tobsesta99 As much as I despise capitalism, there'd be no getting around this in any economic system.