Bolt_Strike

@Paraka Conversely, if you buy it Nintendo will think you like full priced remasters and want to give you more. It's difficult to vote with your wallet to say "I want another game in this series, but not like the one being offered", on some level that's a no-win situation. They could get the wrong message either way that you either want more remasters or you don't want the series at all.

Still, I would say not buying it is more likely to get the game you actually want. If they think you want more remasters they're not going to put in much effort so nothing will change. If it doesn't sell, they'll know something's wrong and go back to the drawing board and figure out what. There's a risk that the "what" is the series isn't profitable enough, but I don't think that's a concern for DK, so if they do the proper research and analysis I think they're more likely to find the complaints of "I want a new DK platformer".

@nessisonett Yeah, I would like to reason with them if possible but I don't have much hope. This country feels too far gone, there's a lot of deep-seated issues and we've reached the tipping point where I don't think they can be overcome. Again, anyone that can get out of the U.S., should.

@Dee123 There's a lot of people in the U.S. that didn't make that decision and are going to suffer even worse than the rest of the world. I live in the U.S. and wanted nothing to do with Trump's nonsense, I didn't vote for him in ANY of the elections he ran in but I'm still forced to put up with him because the rest of my country doesn't seem to know any better. I want out of this country so badly.

@Dr_Corndog We know exactly what those people are thinking. It doesn't exactly make them look any better. The ones that aren't downright evil are at the very least, misinformed to put it nicely. Nothing about Trump's platform is positive to anyone but the wealthy if you apply the slightest bit of logic and reason. What they think he's going to help them with he actually won't, the "good ideas" they think he has are just hypocritical bluster. The only thing that allows a platform like Trump's to succeed is ignorance, whether it be of the malicious variety or the naive variety, but neither one is good. Now maybe the naive variety is easier to reason with and find common ground with, but they will still need to move from this platform to actually get what they want.

@HeadPirate Yeah, Nintendo themselves will probably be fine. But if you're a gamer living in the U.S., there's not much consolation here. They're who are really going to suffer from this. Honestly at this point everyone who can afford to leave the U.S. should, I don't see any way that a regular old U.S. citizen is going to benefit from this administration and MULTIPLE ways that they're going to suffer. The U.S. ... just does not feel like it's going to be a good place to live anymore.

@Bigmanfan Trump wants to suspend the Constitution and the Supreme Court will come up with a BS excuse to let him. They've already made rulings that are not in line with any Constitutional philosophy like the executive immunity ruling, they'll pull something out of their behinds to justify what Trump is doing.

@Ultimapunch Exactly. The last 8 years of U.S. politics have shown that calm heads and common sense have LOST if anything.

@Bigmanfan Executive orders and a Supreme Court that twists logic to fit what they want rather than any kind of legal philosophy.

@Not_Soos I've seen the full clips. The context doesn't really make it much better. And there's really no context that would make them any more acceptable. Those kinds of statements are very dangerous and need to be taken seriously.

@Not_Soos Trump has said with his own words that he wants to be a dictator on Day 1, that he wants generals that are blindly obedient like Hitler's generals, and that you only had to vote in this election and you'll never have to vote again. There's no misinformation about it, we know who he is straight from the man himself. It's reasonable to be concerned about the future of U.S. democracy when you have that kind of rhetoric.

@Arcsol Honestly that isn't even the solution. The reason the average person in the U.S. is suffering is because of the massive power that the wealthy and large corporations have over U.S. life. They're minimizing worker pay and maximizing prices so that corporate executives and investors can keep as much of the profits for themselves, as well as controlling media and politics to keep the system rigged in their favor. It's all about unchecked greed leading to massive inequality. Better offers to corporations isn't even the solution, that's still playing into the problem. The solution is making the wealthy pay their fair share and enacting tougher regulations to keep them from exploiting the system for their own personal gain.

@Nancyboy Bold of you to assume the U.S. will even have elections anymore the way Trump's politics are. We can't take ANYTHING for granted about the U.S. anymore.

@batmanbud2 IDK about that, the AAA market sure seems to be but I think Nintendo and the indie market are hanging in there. But Trump's tariffs will only accelerate the decline. Tariffs won't encourage corporations to move their manufacturing, that's not how you get them to make higher quality products. What they're going to do is keep the manufacturing where it is and pass the extra costs of the tariffs onto U.S. consumers. So it's going to have the opposite effect of what you think it will. It won't make video games higher quality and more affordable. It's just going to make them more expensive for a market that's already struggling to afford basic necessities, let alone video games.

Without getting too deep into politics, if calm heads and common sense were going to prevail, Trump wouldn't have won in the first place. Trump's platform is pretty much the antithesis of calm heads and common sense. Furthermore, there have been multiple economists that have said Trump's tariff plan is going to be a disaster and may negatively affect both the U.S. and the entire world for decades. I wouldn't be surprised if this destroys the U.S. video game market (among other markets, but this is a video game site so let's focus on video games). The concerns seem VERY justified. I think Nintendo themselves will probably be okay but I do think a lot of U.S. gamers will be prices out of the industry and that market will see a MASSIVE decrease.

This is why the detchable screens patent is so genius, and why I've been gunning for that as the direction for Switch 2 even before that patent was made public. That's the best way to solve the dual screen issue. It gives you a DS/3DS style dual screen setup in handheld mode and then in docked mode you dock one screen and leave the Joy Cons attached to the other screen and then you have a Wii U style setup. That would be most similar to what those past handhelds and consoles actually did.

@SuntannedDuck2 The problem with the Fisher Price style design is that when you make it too big it's harder to hold in your hands/pocket. Aesthetically it also looks bad because it feels like they're wasting space. What people seem to want from the slimmer, Apple style design is hardware that looks and feels like an efficient use of space.

Not the GB game we need right now. Where is Pokemon Red/Blue?

Not just the prototype, the DS "Phat" was ugly too. It just reeked of Fisher-Price-esque design, too oversized and bulky and rounded. The DS Lite was the massive improvement, it made the design much sleeker and more natural.

Ah yes, those "classic" Pokemon games that don't include the ones people actually want to play. Can you get any more tone deaf? Feels like we AT LEAST should have Red and Blue by now, wake me up when that's actually reality. I don't want to hear "Pokemon on NSO" ANYTHING until they're ready to make that announcement.

Oh man, this would've been a dream come true. I've always wanted to play as a Space Pirate (and yes I know there's Weavel in Prime Hunters but that's not quite what I have in mind). Space Pirates have such cool abilities that would be unique and different from Samus' gameply that I would love using (like using energy scythes, EMP grenades, and those jetpacks that the Flying Pirates/Aerotroopers use. Clinging to walls like the 2D games would've been great too). I'd really like to see a spinoff along the lines of Half Life: Opposing Force starring a Space Pirate, a single player Metroidvania campaign where the upgrades are all Space Pirate abilities instead of Samus' usual upgrades, but I would've taken this. Too bad it never happened.

Hated pretty much everything about this initiative (I played Fire and Ice and it was... okay, but there are so many Sonic games that are far better). Glad it's gone.

@nhSnork The biggest threat the Switch 2 has is other companies wanting to jump on the hybrid trend. We've got the Steam Deck now, they might release a stronger one in a few years, and there's been rumors and speculation about Microsoft and Sony getting into the hybrid market too. A samey feeling Switch 2 is not going to weather that level of competition well since it's likely going to lose the power game and get less third party support. Switch 2 does need a gimmick, but the rumors don't look good in that regard. The rumors seem to be indicating that Nintendo is bucking the trend this gen and focusing on power, which would be a huge mistake. That would likely result in fewer 1st party games, about the same or less 3rd party games than Switch and less than other platforms, and ultimately probably a slump in sales (like, maybe about GC or N64 levels, about 20-30 million).

Either February or March, but I'm not entirely sure which. I'm leaning towards February, but March is a distinct possibility.

Very underrated Zelda game, probably one of my Top 5 (and definitely Top 5 of the top down Zeldas). The shrinking gimmick is used so creatively, the game is so intelligently designed, and there are some great dungeons and dungeon items here. Grezzo could stand to learn a thing or two from this game.

@Znake I can't speak to the quality of Zero's gameplay, but the main reason I'm interested in Starlink and not the "real" Star Fox games is because Starlink is more exploration focused. Because it's an actual open space exploration game rather than a linear rail shooter. If they can make a "better", "real" Star Fox game in the style of games like Starlink and No Man's Sky, where you have an actual open world to explore and the dogfights take place in the open world rather than scripted linear sequences, I'd be interested in that. But until then the only thing Star Fox I actually like is the "worse", not-technically-a-real-Star-Fox game in Starlink since that's the closest to the style of gameplay I have in mind.

Something more Starlink style might sell better too, which means a more consistent release schedule rather than the on again/off again schedule it's had for its entire life. Complain about open world all you want but... those games tend to sell. A lot of people clearly like the genre. Many of the best selling Switch games are open world, and even on past consoles you've seen games that have sprawling open areas tend to do well in sales (for example, Mario 64, OoT, and Banjo-Kazooie on the N64). An open space game with the usual incentives to explore and dogfights all over the map would help give Star Fox a solid niche with more mainstream appeal as opposed to the linear rail shooters which few seem to care about.

@nocdaes Nah, the biggest fail is Mario Kart having a port be its only game and then introducing a Tour port disguised as DLC 5 years later rather than make any kind of new game. DK is second and no Star Fox is third. But I'm not even that disappointed in Star Fox since they ended up putting Star Fox content in a third party game that's basically the direction I wanted Star Fox to go in anyway, so I pretty much got what I wanted out of Star Fox this gen anyway.

Not unless Switch 2 has dual screens, no. Zero probably won't work well without it. I'd be more interested in seeing a new game in the style of Starlink. But then again that's the only thing remotely close to a Star Fox game (and I know, it's not actually a Star Fox game but the Star Fox chars are in the Switch version) that I'm actually interested in, so I'm not sure I can consider myself a "real" Star Fox fan.

What third parties would still want to develop for OG Switch? They hate how underpowered it is. I would think once Nintendo abandons the Switch, it's just going to flat out die. Feels like the other way around would make more sense.

@Anti-Matter Yeah, it's coming to Xbox Series X|S, PS5, "Nintendo platforms" (which as discussed, probably means just Switch 2), and PC. Those platforms have all been confirmed in the Console Reveal trailer, it's just because this is a Nintendo focused site the discussion has been centered around the mention of "Nintendo platforms" and not the Switch specifically.

@eaglesfly76 You can't exactly compare them, they're different styles that appeal to different gameplay elements. 3D platformers are more about open exploration and experimentation, whereas 2D platformers tend to be more about skillfully navigating linear obstacle courses (there's some crossover between the two, but in general those styles specialize in those kinds of gameplay elements). It's not a matter of a 2nd 3D game being "better" or "worse" than the 2D style as much as the people who do like the 3D style better wanting new content to experience when the last new content was 7 years ago.

@eaglesfly76 While Impossible Lair is a great game, it's not a proper sequel because it's a completely different gameplay style being a 2D platformer. When people say they want a "sequel" they mean they want a new 3D platformer. It'd be great for them to have both styles running concurrently as Mario tends to do, but the IP hasn't given us any new 3D platformer content in 7 years and now they're just giving us a remaster of the 1st instead? That seems a bit excessive.

@luke88 I mean I'd say there's plenty of good, original 1st party games for the Switch in general, it's just DK in particular that's lacking. DK is probably one of the biggest IPs to not get an original new entry on the Switch, second only to Mario Kart (who keeps buying 8D anyway and delaying a legit 9? Doesn't everyone on the planet already have 8D by now?). But most of the other IPs, even if they do have several ports here and there you can point to at least one, maybe even two entries that are something new and original. DK's situation is more the exception than the rule.

"Donkey Kong is in somewhat of a healthy state now, however, with a new title in the form of Donkey Kong Country Returns HD making its way to the Switch on 16th January 2025."

>Healthy state
>New title
>HD remake

Yeeeaaaahhhh no, not having a new title in a decade is not what I'd call a "healthy state".

@anoyonmus Yes I read the article. I'm questioning WHY the lawyer in the article said this.

@anoyonmus I mean I'm not a lawyer, but I don't really see how they managed to narrowly avoid copyright infringement. They don't pass the eye test, with multiple design elements clearly lifted from Pokemon designs, and the CEO has brazenly admitted to using A.I. and maliciously wanting to copy other people's ideas. I think they have a strong case that Pocketpair just took Pokemon's models, put them into an A.I. algorithm, and spit out designs that copy Pokemon's ideas with little to no attempt at originality. That seems like a clear violation to me.

So they think patents retroactively filed after Palworld released is a more effective case than the obviously plagiarized designs? LOL okay. Pocketpair is scummy as hell, but this is the wrong legal avenue to pursue and also makes Nintendo look scummy. Methinks everyone's going to end up a loser in this case.

I hope not. Such a boring and very un-Nintendoey concept for a Switch successor.

@Axecon @WaffleRaptor01 I don't even like the time travel gameplay wise because the time limit is too strict to the point where you can't really explore the world as much as speedrun it (even with the Inverted Song of Time). It's a neat idea, but execution wise it doesn't really fit an exploration heavy IP like Zelda very well.

In terms of it reusing assets from OoT to create something new, yes, I'll give it top marks there. That's what I was expecting TotK to do.

@anoyonmus Quantity wise, yes, there's plenty of 1st party games for the time being. Quality wise, I can see why people are antsy for Switch 2 and its 1st party games because we're waiting on those big AAA games. I mean, 3D Mario and Mario Kart have been waiting close to a decade (more than a decade in Mario Kart's case) for their next big entries for example.

@Don Yeah, that's looking like it's not happening. It might not be all bad though, there is a possibility we could get the Switch 2 reveal and learn about its launch games outside of a Direct. But there's also the possibility that the Switch 2 could be revealed in Q1 2025, with Q4 2024 being a dry period for first party announcements. At this point, you should probably expect the latter and be pleasantly surprised about the former, you'll be less disappointed that way.

@Don No. Partner Showcases are for times when Nintendo doesn't have enough first party games to show but they still need a Direct to fulfill contractual obligations to show third party games. This means there's probably not a general Direct for the rest of the year.

@PikminMarioKirby Usually when we get a Partner Showcase, it means there's no general Direct during that time of the year at all. So probably we're not getting a general Direct for 2H 2024.

I mean everyone's waiting for the Switch 2 to be announced, so yeah, not surprising there's not much for Switch.

@SillyG Well I mean Gen 10 obviously happening yeah, I'm more questioning the hiring schedule than the possibility of the game existing. Gen 10 is coming in a year or two (typical patterns say next year, but many people believe 2026 due to backlash from SV and the 30th anniversary), is it too late to hire these positions that close to release?

Hiring for Gen 10 on Switch 2 perhaps?

@Not_Soos Generations reuses locations from older Sonic games and remixes the levels. It's the same (or depending on how old the game is, modernized) environments and level gimmicks of the originals, but with a completely new level design. Think something like what the Mushroom Kingdom is in Mario Odyssey compared to Mario 64, you see a lot of familiar locations, gimmicks, and Easter Eggs, but it's more of a new, original level in that environment rather than a remake of any kind.

A bit disappointing that the rail switching gimmick from Rail Canyon seems to be gone, but looks good otherwise.

@Bigmanfan I'm guessing 4. The timeline lines up quite nicely for Mario Wonder to have started development after SMM2 was finished.

@batmanbud2 I'll forgive you for messaging me for this ancient news article for pointing out an unintended quality pun.

But yes, Wonder is everything NSMB should've been.

I'm far more interested in when EPD is returning to making an actually new, mainline Mario Kart on console. Please tell me next year launching with the Switch 2, we've gone an insane amount of time without a new entry.

@Ashunera84 Not really. Western consumers tend to go gaga for entertainment products and they're just suckered in by flashy marketing and big brand names. It's not that money isn't an issue for them. They're just not making sound purchasing decisions.

@Cyrax77 The parents probably don't even know about the original and "HD" is just a meaningless buzzword, they might just look at it and think "Oh, so are the other games not HD? This one's better?". They're not as smart as you think.

@Cyrax77 @WiltonRoots Even without knowing that the game is a remake of an older game, they're still going to be able to sense that this game isn't quite as big or deep as some of the other games they might've played on the Switch. Part of this is a genre problem really, as 2D platformers in general haven't really grown in size or content compared to other genres. Nevertheless, there are bigger games with more content (compare this game to open adventure games like BotW or Mario Odyssey with their massive levels, or the high amount of gameplay modes and/or evergreen content of modern multiplayer games like MK8D, Smash Ultimate, or the two Splatoon games) for the same price point as this 10 year old remaster, it really falls flat. To really provide a comparable value to those games, games like these either need massive increases in content or a price drop. Honestly I feel like Prime Remastered is overrated for this reason, the graphics are improved but the actual gameplay and content isn't quite up to date. But at least that game is discounted so the value is still there. A game like this or Luigi's Mansion 2? That price point automatically brings it into comparison with original, built from the ground up Switch games and it doesn't really hold up there.

@John_Deacon If those two types of remakes/remasters are a completely different class, then why charge the same amount for them? The price point automatically brings this comparison, if you're charging the same amount for a game, it should be providing the same value. If it's not and the consumer still buys it, that's not just their opinion, they're being scammed.