Comments 2,580

Re: Feature: Every Pokémon We Saw In The New Legends: Z-A Trailer

Bolt_Strike

@TheBigK The Galar starters are about as old as the Alola starters were when LA came out, and we got Rowlet as a starter in that game. So Galar starters would've been fair game I think. I also don't think Alola is off the table for a Mega, they're fairly old too. I would've subbed one of the Johto starters for something else. Snivy, Litten, and Totodile would've made a far better trio than what we've gotten. Chikorita and Tepig are so bad (I might like them better if they get neat variants, but as is IMO they're some of the worst starters in the series).

Re: Feature: Every Pokémon We Saw In The New Legends: Z-A Trailer

Bolt_Strike

Meh, aside from the starters, no real surprises here. All of the non-starter Pokemon shown were previously in the Kalos Dex in XY, so not much to be excited for with this selection. Yet. They do love doing new forms, variants, and evolutions now, I suspect we'll see some in a later trailer. Really I'm surprised that none were shown in this trailer, but since it's a holiday title they're probably holding those kinds of reveals until later.

Also Patrat actually is kind of a big deal since this is the first time since Dexit it'll be available. It hasn't been in a single Switch title at all (Furfrou is also making its Switch debut here, leaving the only yet unaccounted for Pokemon being the monkey trio from Unova).

Re: Pokémon Champions Limited To "Select Pokémon" At Launch

Bolt_Strike

Not surprising because of the difficulties in developing 3D models, but why does this game exist if that's the case? You can already battle in the main games, what exactly is this adding that would make me want to play this as opposed to a game like SwSh and SV? This is why we haven't had a game in this style for a while.

Re: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Trailer Confirms Starters And Mega Evolutions, Coming Late 2025

Bolt_Strike

Meh, fairly unimpressed with what I saw. This is like the bare minimum they could've shown. Two Johto starters is certainly a choice, and I don't really like any of the three that much (maybe some good variants will change that). I guess I'll choose Totodile. No new Pokemon or Megas shown whatsoever. Only remotely interesting announcement is the real time battling system, that is something Pokemon needs to experiment with. And WTF did they do to AZ?

Pretty much showed the bare minimum they could've and the game feels like it might be bare minimum effort. We had a gap year for this? There should still be some cool stuff in the usual June/August trailer but right now there's not much hype about this reveal.

Re: Talking Point: Can Nintendo Keep Up The One-Game-A-Month Release Pace On Switch 2?

Bolt_Strike

Um what? No, there's definitely been some gaps in first party content with this schedule, some of the slower years like 2020 and 2024 did not keep this schedule. At best maybe it was an average, but they definitely did not have a first party game all 96 months that the Switch was on the market from March 2017 to the present day (hell we don't even have something for this month).

Even if they did, I doubt they can with the Switch 2. The Switch 2 is expected to be stronger, so dev times will probably be closer to Xbox and Playstation. And that's probably going to be enough to make one per month unrealistic. It may be more like one every 2-3 months on Switch 2.

Re: Poll: Which Pokémon Game Really Deserves A Remake Next?

Bolt_Strike

@Dazman The lack of Platinum DLC wasn't due to sales, they were probably never planning to make any in the first place with LA and SV both coming within the next year. Unfortunately both LGPE and BDSP are the two best selling Pokemon remakes, both sitting at 15.07 million and 15.06 million respectively. The reality is that Pokemon fans gobbled these games up regardless of their lower quality, and in fact they likely sold better because of the Switch effect.

Re: Poll: Which Pokémon Game Really Deserves A Remake Next?

Bolt_Strike

@ScalenePowers Let's Go is hampered by much more than the naming convention. The entire design philosophy of those games are extremely controversial. Making it a glorified copy/paste of Yellow with Go catching mechanics replacing actual wild battles was the exact wrong direction for a Switch game and honestly I'd play BDSP 10 times over before I even think of touching the likes of LGPE. At least BDSP has wild battles, more than the same 151 Pokemon we've seen 17 times, map design that doesn't feel like it was made by a 5 year old, an actual story, actual side content, and actual QoL features.

Legends is a far better version of what LGPE is trying to be, in a sense LA is a spiritual successor of LGPE. That game actually has a sense of modern game design and fresh, constructive formula improvements to make a game of that style worth playing. And we're actually getting a second Legends entry, as it deserves.

Re: Talking Point: The 3DS Library Is Ripe For Switch 2, But Is NSO The Way To Go?

Bolt_Strike

Bold of you to talk about 3DS NSO when we don't even have DS. Let's get DS NSO games first.

And I don't think Nintendo wants to start porting them to NSO when they can do remakes/remasters right now. They don't have Wii U remakes/remasters to rely on at this point so 3DS is probably going to have to help fill that void. I can definitely see some popular 3DS games like 3D Land, ALBW, the Kirby games, and Kid Icarus getting Switch 2 remakes/remasters.

Re: New Yooka-Replaylee Trailer Showcases Rextro's Revamped Minigame Arcade

Bolt_Strike

@Cathalm I doubt the third parties are using new features in the Switch 2 that heavily. Third parties seem to want fairly standardized features to make it easier to port them to all platforms. My guess is that Nintendo wants to control the messaging for the Switch 2 lineup and they want the spotlight on the first party games first and foremost. I don't think they want third party announcements overshadowing their own games and they want the first party games and whatever they're doing to improve on the Switch 1 games to be the primary reason people want a Switch 2.

Re: Pokémon Presents Announced For 27th February 2025

Bolt_Strike

@nhSnork Serebii typically doesn't link to official sources. As for NL, they're usually pretty good about that, but Serebii also seems to be a partner for the site and has written some Pokemon articles here so maybe that's why. But yeah, it's still bad journalism regardless.

Re: New Yooka-Replaylee Trailer Showcases Rextro's Revamped Minigame Arcade

Bolt_Strike

@Cathalm I know you're joking, but the real reason this isn't confirmed for Switch 2 yet (and it's totally obvious that this is coming to Switch 2) seems to be that Nintendo has probably told developers not to confirm Switch 2 titles until the April 2nd Direct. No one's confirmed anything for Switch 2 yet except for the teased Mario Kart game, and that seems intentional so Nintendo may have said something. Hence we get the awkward "Nintendo" platform for Yooka-Replaylee even though it's a surprise to no one that the only Nintendo console this game is likely coming to is Switch 2.

Re: Pokémon Presents Announced For 27th February 2025

Bolt_Strike

@Dizzard It kinda seems like even though the Switch 2 has been officially confirmed, Nintendo is telling developers not to confirm Switch 2 games yet. I think Nintendo is making them wait until the April 2nd Direct. I suspect that if we get a Gen 10 teaser, it'll be then.

Furthermore, they probably won't confirm it'll be Gen 10 (they don't even refer to numbered generations, that's a fan term) or that it'll be coming in 2026. It'll probably be like the SwSh teaser at E3 2017 and all they'll say is "a new core Pokemon game is coming to Switch 2".

Re: PlatinumGames Wipes Several Games From Its Website's Portfolio

Bolt_Strike

@Lizuka I do think there is an audience for an open world space game in the style of Starlink or No Man's Sky. Starlink itself didn't do too well, but the Switch version did slightly better, so that implies that they didn't like Starlink itself but were intrigued by the possibility of a Star Fox game in this style. I say they try a full Star Fox game in this style and see what happens. Nintendo will probably come up with a polished, fun take on this style, and open world games tend to sell, so they should put this out there and see if it'll spark more interest in Star Fox. If that fails then I think you could say there's no audience for Star Fox.

Re: Review: Hello Kitty Island Adventure (Switch) - A Cute Social Sim That Takes Notes From Nintendo's Best

Bolt_Strike

@Williamfuchs420 Wait, so this game WASN'T a real game when Butters referenced it in that episode? Huh, I always assumed it was and this is just a remake/re-release of a 15-20 year old game or something.

Sanrio says it has nothing to do with the joke, and yet they joined in the memes that spawned from said joke. Sure Sanrio, sure. They absolutely wanted to make it a real game, they just don't want to admit it and get into a copyright dispute with Paramount.

Re: Talking Point: What Do We Actually Want From 'Mario Kart 9'?

Bolt_Strike

I do want to see an open world Mario Kart and think there's a market for it, but not as a flagship entry. I think that's better as a subseries that exists alongside traditional entries (think something like what the sandbox 3D Mario games are to the 2D games, or what Metroid Prime is to the 2D Metroids), perhaps something they could release as a second Mario Kart game later in the Switch 2's lifespan.

For now, I would like a track maker, but in general they're probably going to need to surprise me. I have a feeling that the gimmick here is going to be something not listed here, something we're all not expecting.

Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Donkey Kong Country Returns HD?

Bolt_Strike

@JohnnyMind @Max_the_German The price is what Nintendo is asking for to play the game. So yeah it matters. They're asking you to pay the same price as a new game to re-experience a game that you already experienced with no new additions (which means that the entertainment value is going to go down, since you know what to expect) and performance that is questionable at best. Hard to justify the value proposition there.

And the argument of "oh just wait for the price to go down" doesn't really hold much water either, since Switch games in general haven't gone down in price. Hell, even 2017 Switch games are still being sold for a full $60. The only way you're saving money by waiting is by buying used, and used games are lower price for more reasons than just people being done with the game, they carry higher risk that the game stops working due to wear and tear.

Re: Rumour: 'Switch 2' Will Reportedly Be Officially Revealed This Thursday

Bolt_Strike

@Captain-N Kit & Krysta? They've been gone for years, they don't anything about what Nintendo is currently doing. They just know how Nintendo thinks and operates, not what their plans are.

They did actually post a video on this rumor and they actually believe it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDqszJinddI

They acknowledge the issue with DK, but they don't think Nintendo is worried about DKCR HD because Q1 games tend to sell far less money and Q1 games tend to be more about keeping Nintendo relevant in people's minds rather than making profit.

Furthermore, they mention that there's no ideal date and they think that this week is the best opportunity for January because last week is too close to the holidays and had CES and next week is the U.S. presidential inauguration. They don't discuss why not the last week in January, February, or March, but there you go.

Personally, I think Kit & Krysta are full of crap, for all of their supposed experience with Nintendo's marketing strategies it seems like they have a ton of blind spots when it comes to their Switch 2 predictions. A few months ago when they said they didn't think the Switch 2 would be announced in October they mentioned how Nintendo doesn't let a hardware reveal impact their holiday sales, conveniently ignoring how the Switch reveal did just that. And now here they seem to be gung ho on a January reveal and don't explain why they don't think February and March aren't possibilities. But this is what they said on the matter, you can believe them or not.

Re: Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Spotted In The Wild

Bolt_Strike

@Truegamer79 Mario Kart 8 can definitely be topped. Hell, even some of Tour's mechanics showed new ways that Mario Kart can be expanded on with improvements such as track variants (R, T, R/T, RMX tracks), an actual shop system, online competitions with rotating tracks, a score attack mode, there's new things they could do like open world and track builders. We definitely have not reached the peak of what Mario Kart can be.

Smash... Smash is more difficult to imagine where they could go from here and I could see it taking a break this gen (perhaps Ultimate gets the MK8D treatment and that's one of the IPs we see skip this gen). But Mario Kart still has tons of room to grow.

Re: Talking Point: Everyone Else Is Busy Revealing Switch 2 - What Gives, Nintendo?

Bolt_Strike

My guess is they're having issues with the launch lineup. There's been rumors about Nintendo internally delaying it from 2024 because they couldn't get the games ready. And since one of the rumored games is an open world 3D Mario... yeah I could see that pushing the Switch 2 launch an uncomfortable amount of time. Remember how painful it was waiting for BotW and TotK and they had multiple delays? Probably a similar scenario here, they just don't want to publicly announce a delay of a new console, so they just gave us a wide window and it's panned out to be the worst case scenario.

Re: 'Nintendo Music' Adds Another Donkey Kong Soundtrack, Here's Every Song Included

Bolt_Strike

@N00BiSH I legit have to wonder if we're listening to the same soundtrack. The SNES' soundtracks don't really evoke the feeling of exploring untamed wilderness. It sounds more like navigating a post-apocalyptic hellscape. The GBA version does a much better job of fitting the mood. It's happy and lighthearted in the brighter looking levels, it's moody and atmospheric in the levels that are darker and more ambient.

The water levels aren't all that dark and foreboding, they're largely fairly normal. Honestly the DKC1 levels feel more foreboding since many of the enemies there are more threatening.

Treetop Tumble doesn't fit Ripsaw Rage, but that's the only one it doesn't fit. The rest of the forest levels are relatively lighthearted with cartoony enemies. The bouncy sounding GBA theme is more appropriate for that as opposed to the SNES version which is far too dark sounding for the forest levels.

Re: 'Nintendo Music' Adds Another Donkey Kong Soundtrack, Here's Every Song Included

Bolt_Strike

@N00BiSH I'll give you Frosty Frolics, that was one of the worst tracks in the GBA, but the other two? Absolutely not. Enchanted Riverbank has a lot of animal noises in the base version and a glorious, echoey sounding rendition in the underwater version. Water World is just a remixed Aquatic Ambience, but it still sounds appropriate for a water level.

And no, I feel the GBA tracks fit the tone of the levels better (with the aforementioned exception of the GBA Forest theme for Ripsaw Rage). SNES Stilt Village sounds too derpy and cartoonish, whereas the GBA version sounds ambient and mysterious fitting the seaside level. SNES Mill Fever is barely passable but a bit too lighthearted, whereas the GBA version again goes for a more ambient and mysterious echoey sound. SNES Treetop Tumble sounds nightmarishly dark and has no business being so in a DK game, whereas the GBA version sounds bouncy and whimsical which fits the non-Ripsaw Rage forest levels much better. SNES Enchanted Riverbank is kind of lacking the "enchanted" feeling and once again feels a tad too derpy. Water World feels more like an underwater graveyard than the vibrant underwater locales in the game. Cascade Capers is okay in both versions, neither is super great but I like the GBA version slightly better. Nuts and Bolts is also a tie, but both are good this time. SNES Pokey Pipes is okay, but the GBA version is so much better at fitting the mood with its echoey sounding melody. Rockface Rumble is the only one I'd say is a clear winner in the SNES version, but again sounds a bit darker than necessary whereas the country feel of the GBA version doesn't quite sit right. And neither version of Jungle Jitter or Cavern Caprice really makes me feel anything. There's a few SNES tracks that are good, but most of them are super gloomy, dull sounding melodies that just don't feel appropriate to the game, IDK where you're coming from that those actually fit.

Re: Nintendo Highlights Multiple Switch Games Launching In 2025

Bolt_Strike

@Euler Pokemon is absolutely a yearly franchise that almost never skips. 2024 is the exception, not the rule, we've had Pokemon on a yearly basis for the last 20 years with only a handful of exceptions (internationally, those years have been 2006, 2008, 2011, 2015, and 2024).

And the years I pointed out have had more than 2, and the launch year is going to be one of those years, it has to be to generate interest in the console.

Nintendo's statements on the Switch 2 have little to do with past history, and there are current economic circumstances as to why a price cut might be happening (inflation, impending tariffs, etc.). The reason why a statement from Nintendo is firmly rooted in the present, not just the past, their hardware and software has generally avoided early reveals as much as possible, delays being the only thing that throws that off for the most part. And it's a much more consistent and logically based pattern for Nintendo, they do this to avoid tipping their hand to the competition and that factor is never going away. Whereas the price cuts are far more up in the air and more affected by economic factors, and there are such factors now such as inflation and the impending tariffs that might lead Nintendo to delay or even outright forego a price cut this time.

99.99% chance it's 2025. Nintendo is literally telling us they're gearing up for next gen in the next few months.