@HugoGED So what games did the likes of Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Luigi's Mansion 3, Pokemon Legends Arceus, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Metroid Dread, or Kirby and the Forgotten Land borrow from on the Wii U? Because last I checked, there was nothing remotely resembling those games from the Wii U originals.
Hate to break it to you, but these two IPs are niche and not a lot of people care about them.
"One Mario game"
Well 1 original Mario game. But tell me again where was the second Mario game for N64 and GC? Wii U also only got 1 3D Mario game whereas the Wii and Switch have had multiple (although again, the additional ones were ports/remakes, but still more than most consoles get).
"One Zelda game (thats actually a Wii U game)"
We'll be getting a Switch original Zelda game in 3 months.
"No original Mario Kart"
I'll give you this one, their treatment of Mario Kart has been utterly maddening this gen and it's clear that they've gotten cynical and cash grabby lately. Still, I would say this is the only major flaw in the Switch's library.
"A bunch of lame kirby games (sorry kirby fans)"
Star Allies was pretty meh, yeah, but Forgotten Land? The first 3D Kirby game that is brimming with tons of ideas like Mouthful Mode and ability upgrades? How is that lame?
"Some weird games as a service stuff"
You mean like DLC stuff? Meh, it hurts the sports and multiplayer games I guess but I don't care about those genres as much.
"and then PORTS from console that had BETTER libraries"
Better libraries? There's a few good games spread across various consoles, but again name another console that had a high quality open world Zelda, a high quality sandbox Mario, sandbox/open world Pokemon games, a highly engaging Animal Crossing, a Smash game with literally every character ever, a 3D Kirby game. I could go on and on, but there's much more to the Switch's appeal than "warmed over ports", some of the ORIGINAL games on the Switch are some of the best entries yet or at the very least take the IPs in groundbreaking new directions that expand what they can do.
@TheBigBlue Actually it's not even true that the Wii U ports are more successful. Let's look at the 10 best selling Switch games:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe- 52.00 million
Animal Crossing New Horizons- 41.59 million
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- 30.44 million
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild- 29.00 million
Pokemon Sword and Shield- 25.68 million
Super Mario Odyssey- 25.12 million
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet- 20.61 million
Super Mario Party- 18.79 million
Ring Fit Adventure- 15.22 million
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee- 15.07 million
Only two of these games are Wii U ports, and one of them was a cross gen game so you could argue it doesn't really count. 3 of them are Pokemon games, with 2 of them being new generations and 1 of them being a remake. But the remaining 5? All new and original games. So this narrative of "the Switch is driven by Wii U ports" is faulty. Not only are there quality original titles as you point out, but they're actually selling extremely well. In fact many of them from that Top 10 list are from IPs that did not have a proper Wii U entry (no sandbox 3D Mario like Odyssey, no main series Animal Crossing, no main series Pokemon, and the main Zelda game was cross gen when everyone was beyond ready to drop the Wii U). You'd have to wonder that if the Wii U had gotten more entries like those maybe it would've been a little more successful.
@InJeffable Yeah, I forgot Xenoblade as well, that was pretty much the only other game like that. Still, the absence of a sandbox 3D Mario and Metroid Prime really took a toll on the variety, those are some key IPs for Nintendo fans that like open adventure games.
@InJeffable There's an argument to be made that you should just look at original entries that debuted on the console in question. So games like WW/TP HD or VC ports such as the Prime Trilogy should not count towards the Wii U's lineup.
And going by the original entries, I actually consider the Wii U's to be one of the worst. It has one fatal flaw that drags the lineup down for a large chunk of the fanbase (including me, because I especially like these kinds of games)- a lack of open, explorable adventure games. You've got BotW, but that was a cross-gen title that also released on the Switch and a lot of people consider it more of a Switch game then a Wii U game, but what else do you have that's even remotely close to that kind of experience? The only other kind of adventure games were linear platformers, there were no other first party open world games (BotW was the first) and there weren't even any sandbox exploration games. 3D Mario went totally linear and almost all vestiges of games like 64 and Sunshine were absent from 3D World (3D World honestly felt like the NSMB of 3D games until the Switch port gave us Bowser's Fury). Metroid was completely absent from the console with the Metroid fanbase wondering where Prime 4 was (and they're still wondering, but at least Prime 4 was confirmed to be in development on the Switch as opposed to the Prime fanbase waiting for something, anything on the Wii U and came up empty handed). Pokemon didn't yet get main series games on console and only had what, 2 spinoffs on Wii U (Rumble U and Pokken, which were more arena battlers and had no exploration)? The Wii U was a very dire era for anyone that grew up with games like the sandbox Marios, 3D Zeldas, or Metroid Primes and largely neglected those types of experiences. I'll admit it had some good things here and there, but missing an entire genre is kind of a glaring omission.
Switch by a country mile, so many groundbreaking, high quality entries and almost every IP pushed the limits of what it could be. Name another console that had so many open, explorable adventure games like BotW, Mario Odyssey, Pokemon Legends Arceus, and Pokemon Scarlet/Violet and so many content rich multiplayer games like Smash Ultimate, MK8D, and Splatoon 2 and 3. Go on. I'll wait.
Just tell us when we can expect main series Pokemon games and I'll be happy to wait for anything else. Pokemon IS the Game Boy, you can't have a Game Boy lineup without them.
@Aawill91 You mean like how we never got them for VC? It's not "free". You're paying a recurring subscription fee for them instead of a one time payment. You don't think Game Freak's getting a piece of that pie?
I'll believe it when I see it, it certainly looks like it's dying now when we have absolutely nothing but DLC confirmed for after July. This could very well be smokescreen, we could get a handful of Switch titles after July while at the same time the successor is announced and we're really moving on, there's always cross gen titles and late exclusives, they've done that with past gen devices such as the GBA, GC, DS, Wii, and 3DS. The more accurate question here isn't "Are we getting any more Switch titles?", it's "Are there titles being held back for next gen hardware?". And the way the lineup's been looking lately I don't see how you can say no to the latter.
Fresh details? Please. We still know almost nothing about this game, they've just been showing off gameplay footage of random mechanics without giving any context or explanation about what the heck they are. Still skeptical about this game, we need a Zelda Direct badly.
I think late Odyssey DLC is on the table as far as main series Mario content. They did it for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Odyssey sold extremely well too, they could do late DLC to hold Mario fans off until next gen. There seems to be something going on with Odyssey because of that email.
@Herna Doesn't matter. They can't buy the DLC without buying the base game, and the base games are only selling 2-4 million. That's much closer to Metroid (1-3 million) than the likes of Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc. (which all have games that have sold 10+ million). The Metroid comparison is accurate until we get a Fire Emblem game that sells in the 5-10 million range.
It's probably because, for whatever reason, they think having major Directs in Spring and Fall is sufficient. They don't seem to like having major gaming news to show in the Summer, we've seen that in 2 of the last 3 years that they're perfectly content to stay silent during E3 time.
@I-U This. I kept looking at the 2022 lineup early in the year and thinking "There has to be more, right? Right?" and then when it became clear that they had nothing to show I thought "Wait, this is it?". Definitely disappointing that they didn't have more to announce for the second half of the year, it really felt like 2022 ended with a whimper instead of a bang. Overall it does feel like 2022 was a good year (not great like 2017, but good. Might've gotten there if Mario Kart and Splatoon actually did something new instead of dumb repetitive content), but mainly for the first half of the year, not the second half. But then there were only 3 major highlights for me in 2022, Legends Arceus, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Scarlet/Violet, the rest was bleh.
@Tarolusa Nice nitpick. Yoshi's one of the smaller ones, but Mario and Luigi's Mansion sell high and you could make an argument for Prime 4 outselling Dread (also Dread is one of the few games I actually liked from the pandemic years), so those games overshadow much of the above list.
@Friendly Ehh, less than half of that list is 5+ million sellers, and most of those are more of the casual minigame variety (stuff like Animal Crossing, Switch Sports, Mario Party, etc.), not the AAA action/adventure variety. There are a few more that I just disregard due to personal preferences (such as Splatoon 3 because it's way too similar to 2), but in general that's where the lineup is lacking. Zelda is a good start, but we need 1 or 2 more to look forward to. And I do like action/adventure games more, so I'm more tolerant of some of the lower selling action/adventure games like Metroid, Yoshi, and DK, but I do play a few of the other genres.
Mario Kart has been consistently selling, but Odyssey and 3D World? Not so much. But if they are following the same logic as Mario Kart and thinking Odyssey is selling too high to cannibalize, I'd be down for late DLC for Odyssey like they did for the Booster Course Pack. I didn't like it for the Booster Course Pack because I wanted to see larger mechanical changes that the Switch could've facilitated (you mention that they like to use new hardware to implement new gameplay ideas, but they didn't do anything to take advantage of the Switch? I can think of 5 different things they could to do improve on 8D) instead of just mobile ports of courses, but new kingdoms and captures is basically all I want for Odyssey 2 so I'd be more okay with DLC in that case.
@Friendly Most of those games are either relatively low selling IPs (as in, they sell less than 5 million units) or they're small in size and scope. That's what I mean by "sideshow attractions".
Yes, I know Nintendo works in teams, but their teams have put out little the last few years, past the point where the pandemic is a legitimate excuse, and you really have to wonder just what is taking them so long. There's several teams I really have to look at and scratch my head as to why they have nothing to show.
NPD Tokyo, which works on the 3D Mario games, hasn't had a big new entry in 5 years. You seriously expect me to believe that all they've been working on most of that time was 3D All Stars and 3D World + Bowser's Fury? I also don't buy that the 3D Mario is being reserved for next gen because if that was really on their minds now they wouldn't have released Splatoon 3 and TotK now. They seem to be saving Mario Kart 9 for next gen, but that's only because people won't stop buying 8D. 3D Mario has no such issue, so you really have to wonder where's Odyssey 2?
5-6 years doesn't usually happen unless there's development troubles, and we already know about the development troubles from 2019. 4 years since the restart sounds about when we should be seeing something on Prime 4 or at the very least Prime trilogy/remaster.
NLG was bought by Nintendo. Have they expanded into a second team? I'm not utterly counting on Luigi's Mansion 4 happening this year, but it's a possibility.
Yoshi's a bit smaller, but it's well known, sells reasonably well, and long running. Also there's a potential for them to do something big and bold like HAL did with Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Again, not counting on a new game this year, but this is about when we can start questioning if new Yoshi is happening.
Good, Fire Emblem is so oversaturated. It gets the same release schedule as Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon but sells like Metroid. Give Fire Emblem a rest, clearly not enough people care about Fire Emblem to justify it being a yearly (or at least near-yearly) IP.
@InTree A lot of B and C tier IPs on that list and some of the A and B tier games are missing. Where's Mario (a new Mario game, not a Wii U port. It's been 5 years since Odyssey and 3 years since Mario Maker 2, we should be getting new 2D and 3D Mario games soon)? Where are the Zelda games besides TotK (is it time for a new 2D game? What about WW/TP HD?)? Where's the rumored Metroid Prime trilogy/remaster and Prime 4? Where's the rumored DK game? Is it time to start talking Luigi's Mansion 4 and another Yoshi game? A lot of prominent IPs feel due for new entries, several of which have felt due for the last 2 or 3 years. What we've actually been getting is okay, but it mostly feels like we've had a bunch of sideshow attractions and we're missing the headliners.
Don't care about E3 itself, livestreams have made it obsolete, but does this mean Nintendo's going to be silent in June yet again? The rumored February Direct better be killer if so, Nintendo's lineup's been underwhelming since the pandemic and we need some big games again.
One thing I'd really like to see in Prime 4 is a sidequest system. There's really nothing to do in Metroid besides explore the areas and collect expansions and it would be nice to have more to do within the worlds. In particular, I'm thinking that having side missions you can take on for the Federation, simple things like defeat this powerful enemy, find this relic, etc. that reward you with a type of currency. You can then exchange this currency for customization options for Samus and her ship and further expansions. That would be a great way to get more out of the game as opposed to right now where you simply explore the areas, collect the expansions and scans, and then set the game down for good.
Also, they really need to do something about missable scans. It's really aggravating when you've made so much progress in the game only to find that you had to scan something at a particular point in the game that you didn't know you had to. They should stop regular enemies from disappearing at certain points in the game and provide a simulator to rematch bosses for their scans. The simulator could also potentially tie into the above idea and provide you currency for beating them and potentially provide twists to make rematching them more interesting (perhaps there could be a boss rush mode in the simulator or harder variants of the bosses?).
@EarthboundBenjy Yeah, the new underwater mechanics in Tropical Freeze pretty much took Enguarde's niche. Enguarde was useful in the classic trilogy because the Kongs couldn't attack underwater themselves, now in Tropical Freeze they can. So all Enguarde offers is better control underwater. If they're intent on keeping these new underwater mechanics (which I think they might, it does feel more natural and fair) IDK if Enguarde serves much purpose anymore. I do think there is room for a new Animal Buddy under these mechanics to give the Kongs infinite air (perhaps a jellyfish where the Kongs ride in its sac), but Enguarde is so nostalgic that IDK that they'll go for that. Quite the conundrum here.
That is one thing I miss from Retro's DK games, no Animal Buddies besides Rambi. There were some really good ones back in the original trilogy, Enguarde and Squawks were good, I especially miss Squitter, he was so fun to play. I do want to see the next DK game bring back the Animal Buddies (I want to see them do a lot more than that, it feels like DK's gameplay is too stale and repetitive lately, but I do think bringing back Animal Buddies should be a priority).
18/20, with 2 lucky guesses on the Honchkrow and Steenee questions.
Also, no mention of Turtwig, which is turtle + twig? That counts I think (twigs are considered plants, right?) but again, for the two answers Turtwig are in not all of them are plants + animals.
Yes, I think the Switch is a highly future proof concept that could stand the test of time for a long while. As long as phones, tablets, and TVs remain popular I think the Switch will be fairly desirable, and the Switch can really break down and mix and match its components (the screen, the controller, and the dock) whenever one of them needs an improvement while keeping the others the same. I think for the foreseeable future Nintendo should focus on building on the concept of the Switch and improving what it does wrong or could be done better.
Biggest thing I can see right now that would be a prime area for next gen improvement (beyond predictable things like graphics and power) is the inability to keep it in your pocket well like a proper handheld. Bringing back the clamshell design of the DS and 3DS, perhaps with foldable screen technology currently being pioneered by phones, would be a great next step. My dream scenario though, would be if the screens can't just fold, but detach. That would allow the Switch to truly emulate the DS, 3DS, and Wii U (the Switch kind of does already, but not much) and fully contain the DNA of every past console like they claimed with the Switch. You could have the dual screen handheld mode like the DS and 3DS. You could dock one and connect the other to the Joycons to have the Gamepad setup of the Wii U. You could even do something completely new and give one screen to a player alongside a Joycon. The only hurdle for that is for the two screens to be able to communicate with each other with minimal lag, and the technology might not be there yet for it to be a reality next gen, but if they can overcome that I think they'll go for it. That would be a very Nintendo thing to do that would be a real innovative step forwards for the Switch and I could easily see people enjoying that concept if done correctly.
But if it's just a more powerful Switch with some minor gimmick that doesn't upset the apple cart (like what 3D was for the DS -> 3DS), that's fine too. It would still be exciting to see bigger and better Switch games next gen.
Not surprised, the quality of 1st party games wasn't great in 2022. I'm a bit surprised Pokemon Legends Arceus and Kirby and the Forgotten Land aren't higher, but that's about it.
@Anachronism Ehh, I think they have leftover ideas from Odyssey that they could make into an Odyssey 2, similar to Galaxy. I don't think they're going to wait until next gen for that.
Link's Awakening was a remake and we haven't had a new 2D Zelda in 10 years, we could use a second one.
That's the thing, this kind of content is what you expect 1 or 2 years after release. 5 years after release you expect a new game, not DLC. As for what a sequel could do, there's plenty of things. There's tons of Tour mechanics they could adapt to console for one, variant courses, the point system could return as a Score Attack alternate mode, the frenzy system, the goddamn shop (why do they insist on unlocking karts and parts through random coin totals instead of a shop, this is long overdue), bring back missions. Beyond that, they could add a track builder, bring back Double Dash Mode, add a track builder, go open world like Diddy Kong Racing or Forza Horizons. There is far, FAR too much that can be done to build on MK8 to be coasting on it for 10 goddamn years and it just reeks of laziness and cash grabbing. SOME kind of new Mario Kart game on console, even a spinoff or side entry that won't cannibalize 8D (and don't even bring up Home Circuit, which also did nothing to build on Mario Kart and was just a toy gimmick to sell to young kids), feels absolutely needed right now with how long it's been since we've seen any true evolution in the series. And with the Switch reinvigorating a lot of IPs and coming up with bold new ideas, it's even more disappointing that they've gone this direction because it's totally opposite to what those other IPs are doing. Imagine what a Mario Kart game designed from the ground up for the Switch to be similarly groundbreaking as some of those other IPs would be like, but nope, they say LOL just let everyone keep buying 8. Profoundly disappointing situation here and the biggest letdown on the Switch by far.
@iLikeUrAttitude Kind of, but you can't have a good year without a big, 10+ million seller anchoring the lineup and this year felt lacking in that department hence the disappointment. You need a heavy hitter like that to drive sales and get people excited. Just having niche games drive the year as it did... isn't going to do much for sales and hype. Now if they can come up with more IPs or grow their existing IPs to that level, great, but until then you shouldn't be too surprised to see 3 times as many people complaining about not having the game that sells 3 times as much. That's just common sense.
@Serpenterror Because most of the new games we did get are for niche IPs that only a handful of dedicated fans are excited for and any remotely big IP we got had some kind of issue. The likes of Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and Bayonetta are not huge sellers. It's great for those fanbases, but most people just don't care about those IPs, there are Switch games that have sold twice, 5 times, even 10 times as much as those games. Splatoon 3 felt rehashy with them mainly repeating the same gameplay mode from 2 and failing to add new ones. Mario Kart just got mobile ports as DLC. Pokemon Legends Arceus was great, but a bit small and limited. And Pokemon Scarlet/Violet was a glitch fest. TotK's delay, Mario Kart getting cash grabby DLC instead of a legitimate new entry, and the lack of anything from main series Mario really hurt this lineup and any comparisons to 2017 (as BotW, Mario Odyssey, and MK8D were the three biggest cornerstones of that lineup).
@Anachronism One entry per console isn't a hard and fast rule, and there are some IPs that have gotten multiple. And some already have multiple. Any kind of single player adventure game doesn't really need to wait for new hardware, and the big one there is Mario, which has mainly been ports/remakes since 2017. What has the Odyssey team been doing for the last 6 years? Some of the 2018/2019 stuff feels like it could be ready for new entries depending on their plans, so we could see stuff like 2D Mario, 2D Zelda, Yoshi, and Luigi's Mansion pop up again. Metroid feels like it's ready for something now even with the development restart. And Splatoon got two games this generation, so even some multiplayer games weren't immune. Mario Kart absolutely did not need the Booster Course pack, they could've made a new entry or at least some kind of better filler than copy/pasted Tour ports (they didn't even port the best parts of Tour, just the basic bitch track design). So no, blowing the big names earlier in the lifespan isn't really much of an excuse here and the later lineup is definitely lacking. You really have to wonder just what some of these teams are doing, especially at EPD, who feels like they've been twiddling their thumbs since the pandemic began.
@johnvboy No, there's more to the Switch Pro expectations than being disappointed by the specs. Previous Nintendo handhelds have always had mid-gen revisions that provided a specs increase (albeit a minor one) and new features, such as the GBA SP, DSi, and New 3DS. The Switch OLED... doesn't really fit this mold. It's mainly the same and just has a different screen. Closer to the 3DS XL than the New 3DS. Part of the disappointment was that people wanted to see the Switch's New 3DS and it's looking like we won't ever get one now.
I absolutely think that a Switch Pro similar to the previous handheld revisions was planned. Now I don't think it would've quite been the specs bump people wanted, but it would've been something. But then the chip shortage happened and they couldn't get the new chips they needed so they gutted everything that would require a new chip and what was left became the Switch OLED.
It was a pretty good year, but I think the big thing is it ended in kind of a whimper. Most of the good games IMO were earlier in the year and I was waiting for Nintendo to announce some bigger games later in the year and they didn't and I was left thinking "Wait, that's it?". Legends Arceus and Kirby were great games and really started this year off on the right foot, but aside from Scarlet/Violet, there was nothing I was interested in for the entire rest of the year and really everything they had was either niche or didn't push the envelope enough to justify its existence. Everyone raves about Xenoblade, Bayonetta, and Fire Emblem, but none of them have cracked 5 million in sales so they're kind of niche, and personally I also find the combat quite boring in all three. Splatoon 3 is a rehash of 2. And Mario Kart got the worst possible content it could get, mobile ports of old tracks we've already played before, which is honestly a tossup for me if that's better than nothing. Felt like 2022 needed at least 1 more heavy hitter, or for Splatoon and MK to be better than what we actually got, for it to be a banger year, but otherwise I'm underwhelmed, especially for the second half of the year.
@TheExile285 7 Star Raids weren't a thing in SwSh, the highest they went was 5 Star. And 5 Star Raids were about the same difficulty as the 5 Star Raids in this game, so it's definitely a massive difficulty spike from SwSh.
Just gave it a try and didn't have a chance, even with Lv. 100 Pokemon. Doesn't help that all I have to use against it is Iron Valiant (which got destroyed by Acrobatics), Farigiraf, and Corviknight (which don't resist Fighting). Looking at some of the successful builds on here, this is some competitive tier BS that I don't want to be part of, I subscribe to the Karen philosophy and don't want to have to be limited to the handful of Pokemon the meta says are good and have to max them out, that's no fun. F this noise, I'm just going to wait for Home.
@Scoopz There is so much room for improvement in Mario Kart that they need several games for Mario Kart to reach its full potential. Tour's shown some of it, but as a mobile gacha game it's one step forward and one step back and we need a console game that includes its upgrades (and no, not just the courses ported to the Booster Course pack). Holding off on a new entry until next gen delays the improvements needed and makes the series feel somewhat dated in some ways when a MK9 released around this time could've included a bit more of the modernizations it needs.
@Narrator1 It's a good thing that we're seeing Tour content released on MK8D, but they picked the worst content to port to 8D. It honestly feels like a tossup whether or not the Booster Course pack is better than nothing. There are so many better mechanics from Tour that would've been more worthwhile and would've reinvigorated the gameplay, variant courses, the score system, frenzies, the return of special items, an actual freaking shop system. But nope, all they want is to bring back Tour's basic bitch track design which is largely copy/pasted from 7 and other recent MK games so it just feels like you're playing the same old tracks with a new coat of paint. Massive disappointment and massive waste of potential for what they expect to be the major stopgap until the true MK9. Mario Kart deserves better than this.
Yoshi's Story was pretty meh, too short and repetitive.
I'd really like to see Good Feel do a reimagining of the game, though. Imagine what they could come up with returning to the storybook theme and making this game more like Woolly/Crafted World, having pop-up book mechanics that could open and close to affect the level, pulling out platforms with pull tabs using Yoshi's tongue, etc. That would really make this game amazing.
Only games I played this year that were worth my time were the two Pokemon games and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. They win the top 3 by default. GoTY would be SV, but the other two aren't far behind. I was really disappointed in how this year played out and expected more, but those three are good enough games to keep this year from being terrible.
@Debbiee There's actually been 4 NSMB, there was also the original game on the DS and NSMB2 on the 3DS. A Switch game would be the 5th one. As for why it hasn't happened yet, it's probably because the NSMB series gets a lot of complaints for feeling too rehashy, the games all feel pretty similar to each other and seem to do little new or different that makes them feel unique or ambitious. Nintendo is probably holding off on another one to put some thought into where they want 2D Mario to go next and at this point I think the next 2D game is going to be next gen. Having a new, original 2D Mario game going in a new direction would make for a very strong launch title.
LGPE was a product of Game Freak thinking mobile was the end all be all for gaming (they even thought early on that the Switch would fail and Nintendo would have to transition to mobile because no one would want dedicated consoles anymore). They used it to try and attract mobile gamers to the Switch. But that strategy doesn't seem to have worked well because it sold about the same as other remakes (meaning most likely longtime fans that already buy consoles bought it, not mobile gamers) and fans complained about the mobile direction. And what really succeeded on the Switch is BotW, and you can see with what they did with SwSh, LA, and SV that they've picked up on the demand for such experiences and transitioned Pokemon in that direction as well. So I don't think they want another Let's Go game anymore, they've gone in a completely different direction. We could still get a Johto remake, but it's more likely to be BDSP style and/or Legends style. You'd probably want to hope for Legends style because that's more likely to include what LGPE did right.
Banjo-Kazooie is Microsoft, and Microsoft is not Nintendo. They don't seem to know how to make platforming games successful or what people want out of them, so Banjo-Kazooie is probably screwed. This is why Playtonic formed and created Yooka-Laylee.
DK is the one that's truly a mystery. The rumors stated that it was intended for DK's 40th which was 2021, but it's 2 years later and not a whisper of DK from Nintendo. You can probably blame DK's absence on Retro, they've mysteriously not released anything in 8 years and as of 2019 they've been working on Prime 4, so that's why the long gap. The new one is supposedly being worked on by the EPD Tokyo team (which typically works on 3D Marios, but according to some rumors has expanded and can now work on both 3D Mario and DK), and it feels like we should have an announcement now, but nothing. There's some speculation that it has something to do with the Mario movie and they want to coordinate it with that release, but Nintendo typically doesn't care about that so IDK if that's it. Out of all your hopes, that one seems the most likely to be announced this year and we'll just have to hope something materializes.
@Debbiee You... might want to keep your expectations in check for those unannounced titles. We'd be lucky to even get a quarter of that list in one year, and many of these don't seem particularly likely to happen period because their series haven't sold well enough for their developers to want to make a new one. Only a handful of titles seem remotely plausible predictions for next year. I think you're going to be very disappointed this time next year if that's what you're looking forward to.
Honestly there's not much announced that I'm excited for aside from TotK. But usually we don't know much about the upcoming year period, so that's typical. Only other game I'm remotely interested in is Pikmin 4, but that might not even be my second most anticipated game in 2023 if they announce something bigger (where's Donkey Kong and 3D Mario Nintendo? Where's the re-reveal for Prime 4? Feels like it's been time for them for the last 1-2 years).
I don't mind the artstyle, but the gameplay belongs in the past. I don't want to play a Zelda game where the only exploration is boring empty sea or a Zelda game that you control solely with the touch screen, those kinds of experiments aren't good enough to be repeated. Now pair the Toon Link artstyle with gameplay more like ALttP, ALBW, or Minish Cap? I'd be totally down for that, those are great games oozing with charm and the Toon style would/does look great with that. It's the gameplay, not the artstyle that turns me off to games like Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.
Not interested in the generic shooty bang war games, they all feel like the same freaking game. I buy Nintendo consoles to get away from that schlock and play games that are you know... fun and creative.
@Draxa No, they don't and that's something I was disappointed in. You can see the shinies, but the jingle only plays in battle, not in the overworld. So you can very easily fly right by a shiny and not even know it. Definitely need to bring this back from LA next game.
The mechanic where the ball shakes only once before catching has been a thing since Gen 5, it's called a Critical Capture. That's not something LA gave us.
Also can I give mention to the final arc as well? Without spoiling, man I never expected a Pokemon plot to go in that direction, especially with the truth behind what Prof. Sada/Turo was doing.
Level scaling is the biggest thing this game needs, without it you don't truly have the freedom they're promoting in this game. Being able to challenge gyms in any order is near meaningless if you have to beat a gym leader 20-30 levels higher than you, a near impossible feat, in order to do so. You should be able to pick which gym leader you want and have it be appropriate to your team level and badge count.
Now the lineup isn't all doom and gloom and there were some games I was interested in that I played either a port of the game on 3DS or Switch or a sequel. Splatoon is by far the most creative new IP they've ever come up with. Mario Maker fulfilled a longtime dream of getting to create your own Mario levels and shake up the mechanics in ways I never even imagined. Mario Kart 8 provided a very interesting twist on the gameplay and track design... literally. Captain Toad was a very interesting little puzzle game that I couldn't get enough of. And BotW is well... BotW. But it was too little too late, by the time many of these games came out they were already talking about the NX and it seemed prudent to wait and see if that was any better. And boy was it. The Switch is everything I wanted the Wii U to be. I found just as many if not more games I wanted from the Switch in one year than I wanted from the Wii U in its entire lifespan and it just keeps pumping out hit after hit. I can appreciate that the Wii U laid the groundwork for the Switch's success, so that's something I guess, but the console itself is not one I'm interested in trying. The Switch provides enough of that experience on top of the things I actually wanted.
Comments 2,580
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Console Has The Best First-Party Games Lineup?
@HugoGED So what games did the likes of Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing New Horizons, Luigi's Mansion 3, Pokemon Legends Arceus, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, Metroid Dread, or Kirby and the Forgotten Land borrow from on the Wii U? Because last I checked, there was nothing remotely resembling those games from the Wii U originals.
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Console Has The Best First-Party Games Lineup?
@gojiguy "No F-Zero
No Star Fox"
Hate to break it to you, but these two IPs are niche and not a lot of people care about them.
"One Mario game"
Well 1 original Mario game. But tell me again where was the second Mario game for N64 and GC? Wii U also only got 1 3D Mario game whereas the Wii and Switch have had multiple (although again, the additional ones were ports/remakes, but still more than most consoles get).
"One Zelda game (thats actually a Wii U game)"
We'll be getting a Switch original Zelda game in 3 months.
"No original Mario Kart"
I'll give you this one, their treatment of Mario Kart has been utterly maddening this gen and it's clear that they've gotten cynical and cash grabby lately. Still, I would say this is the only major flaw in the Switch's library.
"A bunch of lame kirby games (sorry kirby fans)"
Star Allies was pretty meh, yeah, but Forgotten Land? The first 3D Kirby game that is brimming with tons of ideas like Mouthful Mode and ability upgrades? How is that lame?
"Some weird games as a service stuff"
You mean like DLC stuff? Meh, it hurts the sports and multiplayer games I guess but I don't care about those genres as much.
"and then PORTS from console that had BETTER libraries"
Better libraries? There's a few good games spread across various consoles, but again name another console that had a high quality open world Zelda, a high quality sandbox Mario, sandbox/open world Pokemon games, a highly engaging Animal Crossing, a Smash game with literally every character ever, a 3D Kirby game. I could go on and on, but there's much more to the Switch's appeal than "warmed over ports", some of the ORIGINAL games on the Switch are some of the best entries yet or at the very least take the IPs in groundbreaking new directions that expand what they can do.
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Console Has The Best First-Party Games Lineup?
@TheBigBlue Actually it's not even true that the Wii U ports are more successful. Let's look at the 10 best selling Switch games:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe- 52.00 million
Animal Crossing New Horizons- 41.59 million
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- 30.44 million
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild- 29.00 million
Pokemon Sword and Shield- 25.68 million
Super Mario Odyssey- 25.12 million
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet- 20.61 million
Super Mario Party- 18.79 million
Ring Fit Adventure- 15.22 million
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee- 15.07 million
Only two of these games are Wii U ports, and one of them was a cross gen game so you could argue it doesn't really count. 3 of them are Pokemon games, with 2 of them being new generations and 1 of them being a remake. But the remaining 5? All new and original games. So this narrative of "the Switch is driven by Wii U ports" is faulty. Not only are there quality original titles as you point out, but they're actually selling extremely well. In fact many of them from that Top 10 list are from IPs that did not have a proper Wii U entry (no sandbox 3D Mario like Odyssey, no main series Animal Crossing, no main series Pokemon, and the main Zelda game was cross gen when everyone was beyond ready to drop the Wii U). You'd have to wonder that if the Wii U had gotten more entries like those maybe it would've been a little more successful.
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Console Has The Best First-Party Games Lineup?
@InJeffable Yeah, I forgot Xenoblade as well, that was pretty much the only other game like that. Still, the absence of a sandbox 3D Mario and Metroid Prime really took a toll on the variety, those are some key IPs for Nintendo fans that like open adventure games.
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Console Has The Best First-Party Games Lineup?
@InJeffable There's an argument to be made that you should just look at original entries that debuted on the console in question. So games like WW/TP HD or VC ports such as the Prime Trilogy should not count towards the Wii U's lineup.
And going by the original entries, I actually consider the Wii U's to be one of the worst. It has one fatal flaw that drags the lineup down for a large chunk of the fanbase (including me, because I especially like these kinds of games)- a lack of open, explorable adventure games. You've got BotW, but that was a cross-gen title that also released on the Switch and a lot of people consider it more of a Switch game then a Wii U game, but what else do you have that's even remotely close to that kind of experience? The only other kind of adventure games were linear platformers, there were no other first party open world games (BotW was the first) and there weren't even any sandbox exploration games. 3D Mario went totally linear and almost all vestiges of games like 64 and Sunshine were absent from 3D World (3D World honestly felt like the NSMB of 3D games until the Switch port gave us Bowser's Fury). Metroid was completely absent from the console with the Metroid fanbase wondering where Prime 4 was (and they're still wondering, but at least Prime 4 was confirmed to be in development on the Switch as opposed to the Prime fanbase waiting for something, anything on the Wii U and came up empty handed). Pokemon didn't yet get main series games on console and only had what, 2 spinoffs on Wii U (Rumble U and Pokken, which were more arena battlers and had no exploration)? The Wii U was a very dire era for anyone that grew up with games like the sandbox Marios, 3D Zeldas, or Metroid Primes and largely neglected those types of experiences. I'll admit it had some good things here and there, but missing an entire genre is kind of a glaring omission.
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Console Has The Best First-Party Games Lineup?
Switch by a country mile, so many groundbreaking, high quality entries and almost every IP pushed the limits of what it could be. Name another console that had so many open, explorable adventure games like BotW, Mario Odyssey, Pokemon Legends Arceus, and Pokemon Scarlet/Violet and so many content rich multiplayer games like Smash Ultimate, MK8D, and Splatoon 2 and 3. Go on. I'll wait.
Re: Switch's Game Boy Library Doesn't Have A Set Schedule, According To Nintendo
Just tell us when we can expect main series Pokemon games and I'll be happy to wait for anything else. Pokemon IS the Game Boy, you can't have a Game Boy lineup without them.
@Aawill91 You mean like how we never got them for VC? It's not "free". You're paying a recurring subscription fee for them instead of a one time payment. You don't think Game Freak's getting a piece of that pie?
Re: Soapbox: I Scoffed At Switch Lite, Then I Backpacked Through South East Asia
You know, they wouldn't have as much need for a Lite version if they found a way to keep the Switch a clamshell design.
Re: Nintendo's Investor Q&A Promises Switch Isn't Dead After Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
I'll believe it when I see it, it certainly looks like it's dying now when we have absolutely nothing but DLC confirmed for after July. This could very well be smokescreen, we could get a handful of Switch titles after July while at the same time the successor is announced and we're really moving on, there's always cross gen titles and late exclusives, they've done that with past gen devices such as the GBA, GC, DS, Wii, and 3DS. The more accurate question here isn't "Are we getting any more Switch titles?", it's "Are there titles being held back for next gen hardware?". And the way the lineup's been looking lately I don't see how you can say no to the latter.
Re: New Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Shows A Flying Vehicle And Fresh Details
Fresh details? Please. We still know almost nothing about this game, they've just been showing off gameplay footage of random mechanics without giving any context or explanation about what the heck they are. Still skeptical about this game, we need a Zelda Direct badly.
Re: Feature: Our Predictions For The February 2023 Nintendo Direct
I think late Odyssey DLC is on the table as far as main series Mario content. They did it for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Odyssey sold extremely well too, they could do late DLC to hold Mario fans off until next gen. There seems to be something going on with Odyssey because of that email.
Re: UK Charts: Fire Emblem Engage Tumbles Down To Seventh Place
@Herna Doesn't matter. They can't buy the DLC without buying the base game, and the base games are only selling 2-4 million. That's much closer to Metroid (1-3 million) than the likes of Mario, Zelda, Pokemon, etc. (which all have games that have sold 10+ million). The Metroid comparison is accurate until we get a Fire Emblem game that sells in the 5-10 million range.
Re: Ex-Nintendo Host Kit Ellis Says We May Find Out Why Nintendo's Skipping E3 "Sooner Rather Than Later"
It's probably because, for whatever reason, they think having major Directs in Spring and Fall is sufficient. They don't seem to like having major gaming news to show in the Summer, we've seen that in 2 of the last 3 years that they're perfectly content to stay silent during E3 time.
Re: New Kirby's Return To Dream Land Deluxe Trailer Showcases Magoland Mini-Games
Checkerboard Chase is back? I loved that one so much in Kirby 64, I played that one to death after discovering the subgames in 64.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023
@I-U This. I kept looking at the 2022 lineup early in the year and thinking "There has to be more, right? Right?" and then when it became clear that they had nothing to show I thought "Wait, this is it?". Definitely disappointing that they didn't have more to announce for the second half of the year, it really felt like 2022 ended with a whimper instead of a bang. Overall it does feel like 2022 was a good year (not great like 2017, but good. Might've gotten there if Mario Kart and Splatoon actually did something new instead of dumb repetitive content), but mainly for the first half of the year, not the second half. But then there were only 3 major highlights for me in 2022, Legends Arceus, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, and Scarlet/Violet, the rest was bleh.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023
@Tarolusa Nice nitpick. Yoshi's one of the smaller ones, but Mario and Luigi's Mansion sell high and you could make an argument for Prime 4 outselling Dread (also Dread is one of the few games I actually liked from the pandemic years), so those games overshadow much of the above list.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023
@Friendly Ehh, less than half of that list is 5+ million sellers, and most of those are more of the casual minigame variety (stuff like Animal Crossing, Switch Sports, Mario Party, etc.), not the AAA action/adventure variety. There are a few more that I just disregard due to personal preferences (such as Splatoon 3 because it's way too similar to 2), but in general that's where the lineup is lacking. Zelda is a good start, but we need 1 or 2 more to look forward to. And I do like action/adventure games more, so I'm more tolerant of some of the lower selling action/adventure games like Metroid, Yoshi, and DK, but I do play a few of the other genres.
Mario Kart has been consistently selling, but Odyssey and 3D World? Not so much. But if they are following the same logic as Mario Kart and thinking Odyssey is selling too high to cannibalize, I'd be down for late DLC for Odyssey like they did for the Booster Course Pack. I didn't like it for the Booster Course Pack because I wanted to see larger mechanical changes that the Switch could've facilitated (you mention that they like to use new hardware to implement new gameplay ideas, but they didn't do anything to take advantage of the Switch? I can think of 5 different things they could to do improve on 8D) instead of just mobile ports of courses, but new kingdoms and captures is basically all I want for Odyssey 2 so I'd be more okay with DLC in that case.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023
@Friendly Most of those games are either relatively low selling IPs (as in, they sell less than 5 million units) or they're small in size and scope. That's what I mean by "sideshow attractions".
Yes, I know Nintendo works in teams, but their teams have put out little the last few years, past the point where the pandemic is a legitimate excuse, and you really have to wonder just what is taking them so long. There's several teams I really have to look at and scratch my head as to why they have nothing to show.
NPD Tokyo, which works on the 3D Mario games, hasn't had a big new entry in 5 years. You seriously expect me to believe that all they've been working on most of that time was 3D All Stars and 3D World + Bowser's Fury? I also don't buy that the 3D Mario is being reserved for next gen because if that was really on their minds now they wouldn't have released Splatoon 3 and TotK now. They seem to be saving Mario Kart 9 for next gen, but that's only because people won't stop buying 8D. 3D Mario has no such issue, so you really have to wonder where's Odyssey 2?
5-6 years doesn't usually happen unless there's development troubles, and we already know about the development troubles from 2019. 4 years since the restart sounds about when we should be seeing something on Prime 4 or at the very least Prime trilogy/remaster.
NLG was bought by Nintendo. Have they expanded into a second team? I'm not utterly counting on Luigi's Mansion 4 happening this year, but it's a possibility.
Yoshi's a bit smaller, but it's well known, sells reasonably well, and long running. Also there's a potential for them to do something big and bold like HAL did with Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Again, not counting on a new game this year, but this is about when we can start questioning if new Yoshi is happening.
Re: UK Charts: Fire Emblem Engage Tumbles Down To Seventh Place
Good, Fire Emblem is so oversaturated. It gets the same release schedule as Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon but sells like Metroid. Give Fire Emblem a rest, clearly not enough people care about Fire Emblem to justify it being a yearly (or at least near-yearly) IP.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023
@InTree A lot of B and C tier IPs on that list and some of the A and B tier games are missing. Where's Mario (a new Mario game, not a Wii U port. It's been 5 years since Odyssey and 3 years since Mario Maker 2, we should be getting new 2D and 3D Mario games soon)? Where are the Zelda games besides TotK (is it time for a new 2D game? What about WW/TP HD?)? Where's the rumored Metroid Prime trilogy/remaster and Prime 4? Where's the rumored DK game? Is it time to start talking Luigi's Mansion 4 and another Yoshi game? A lot of prominent IPs feel due for new entries, several of which have felt due for the last 2 or 3 years. What we've actually been getting is okay, but it mostly feels like we've had a bunch of sideshow attractions and we're missing the headliners.
Re: Nintendo, Sony And Xbox Reportedly Skipping E3 2023
Don't care about E3 itself, livestreams have made it obsolete, but does this mean Nintendo's going to be silent in June yet again? The rumored February Direct better be killer if so, Nintendo's lineup's been underwhelming since the pandemic and we need some big games again.
Re: Feature: 6 Things We'd Love To See In Metroid Prime 4
One thing I'd really like to see in Prime 4 is a sidequest system. There's really nothing to do in Metroid besides explore the areas and collect expansions and it would be nice to have more to do within the worlds. In particular, I'm thinking that having side missions you can take on for the Federation, simple things like defeat this powerful enemy, find this relic, etc. that reward you with a type of currency. You can then exchange this currency for customization options for Samus and her ship and further expansions. That would be a great way to get more out of the game as opposed to right now where you simply explore the areas, collect the expansions and scans, and then set the game down for good.
Also, they really need to do something about missable scans. It's really aggravating when you've made so much progress in the game only to find that you had to scan something at a particular point in the game that you didn't know you had to. They should stop regular enemies from disappearing at certain points in the game and provide a simulator to rematch bosses for their scans. The simulator could also potentially tie into the above idea and provide you currency for beating them and potentially provide twists to make rematching them more interesting (perhaps there could be a boss rush mode in the simulator or harder variants of the bosses?).
Re: Enguarde The Swordfish Almost Returned In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
@EarthboundBenjy Yeah, the new underwater mechanics in Tropical Freeze pretty much took Enguarde's niche. Enguarde was useful in the classic trilogy because the Kongs couldn't attack underwater themselves, now in Tropical Freeze they can. So all Enguarde offers is better control underwater. If they're intent on keeping these new underwater mechanics (which I think they might, it does feel more natural and fair) IDK if Enguarde serves much purpose anymore. I do think there is room for a new Animal Buddy under these mechanics to give the Kongs infinite air (perhaps a jellyfish where the Kongs ride in its sac), but Enguarde is so nostalgic that IDK that they'll go for that. Quite the conundrum here.
Re: Enguarde The Swordfish Almost Returned In Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
That is one thing I miss from Retro's DK games, no Animal Buddies besides Rambi. There were some really good ones back in the original trilogy, Enguarde and Squawks were good, I especially miss Squitter, he was so fun to play. I do want to see the next DK game bring back the Animal Buddies (I want to see them do a lot more than that, it feels like DK's gameplay is too stale and repetitive lately, but I do think bringing back Animal Buddies should be a priority).
Re: Quiz: Do You Know The Meaning Behind These Pokémon Names?
18/20, with 2 lucky guesses on the Honchkrow and Steenee questions.
Also, no mention of Turtwig, which is turtle + twig? That counts I think (twigs are considered plants, right?) but again, for the two answers Turtwig are in not all of them are plants + animals.
Re: Talking Point: Does Nintendo's Next Console Have To Be 'Another' Switch?
Yes, I think the Switch is a highly future proof concept that could stand the test of time for a long while. As long as phones, tablets, and TVs remain popular I think the Switch will be fairly desirable, and the Switch can really break down and mix and match its components (the screen, the controller, and the dock) whenever one of them needs an improvement while keeping the others the same. I think for the foreseeable future Nintendo should focus on building on the concept of the Switch and improving what it does wrong or could be done better.
Biggest thing I can see right now that would be a prime area for next gen improvement (beyond predictable things like graphics and power) is the inability to keep it in your pocket well like a proper handheld. Bringing back the clamshell design of the DS and 3DS, perhaps with foldable screen technology currently being pioneered by phones, would be a great next step. My dream scenario though, would be if the screens can't just fold, but detach. That would allow the Switch to truly emulate the DS, 3DS, and Wii U (the Switch kind of does already, but not much) and fully contain the DNA of every past console like they claimed with the Switch. You could have the dual screen handheld mode like the DS and 3DS. You could dock one and connect the other to the Joycons to have the Gamepad setup of the Wii U. You could even do something completely new and give one screen to a player alongside a Joycon. The only hurdle for that is for the two screens to be able to communicate with each other with minimal lag, and the technology might not be there yet for it to be a reality next gen, but if they can overcome that I think they'll go for it. That would be a very Nintendo thing to do that would be a real innovative step forwards for the Switch and I could easily see people enjoying that concept if done correctly.
But if it's just a more powerful Switch with some minor gimmick that doesn't upset the apple cart (like what 3D was for the DS -> 3DS), that's fine too. It would still be exciting to see bigger and better Switch games next gen.
Re: Nintendo Provides A Look At Switch's Games Line-Up For 2023
So we got TotK and... um....
Re: Here Are Metacritic's Highest-Rated Switch Games Of 2022
Not surprised, the quality of 1st party games wasn't great in 2022. I'm a bit surprised Pokemon Legends Arceus and Kirby and the Forgotten Land aren't higher, but that's about it.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
@Anachronism Ehh, I think they have leftover ideas from Odyssey that they could make into an Odyssey 2, similar to Galaxy. I don't think they're going to wait until next gen for that.
Link's Awakening was a remake and we haven't had a new 2D Zelda in 10 years, we could use a second one.
That's the thing, this kind of content is what you expect 1 or 2 years after release. 5 years after release you expect a new game, not DLC. As for what a sequel could do, there's plenty of things. There's tons of Tour mechanics they could adapt to console for one, variant courses, the point system could return as a Score Attack alternate mode, the frenzy system, the goddamn shop (why do they insist on unlocking karts and parts through random coin totals instead of a shop, this is long overdue), bring back missions. Beyond that, they could add a track builder, bring back Double Dash Mode, add a track builder, go open world like Diddy Kong Racing or Forza Horizons. There is far, FAR too much that can be done to build on MK8 to be coasting on it for 10 goddamn years and it just reeks of laziness and cash grabbing. SOME kind of new Mario Kart game on console, even a spinoff or side entry that won't cannibalize 8D (and don't even bring up Home Circuit, which also did nothing to build on Mario Kart and was just a toy gimmick to sell to young kids), feels absolutely needed right now with how long it's been since we've seen any true evolution in the series. And with the Switch reinvigorating a lot of IPs and coming up with bold new ideas, it's even more disappointing that they've gone this direction because it's totally opposite to what those other IPs are doing. Imagine what a Mario Kart game designed from the ground up for the Switch to be similarly groundbreaking as some of those other IPs would be like, but nope, they say LOL just let everyone keep buying 8. Profoundly disappointing situation here and the biggest letdown on the Switch by far.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
@iLikeUrAttitude Kind of, but you can't have a good year without a big, 10+ million seller anchoring the lineup and this year felt lacking in that department hence the disappointment. You need a heavy hitter like that to drive sales and get people excited. Just having niche games drive the year as it did... isn't going to do much for sales and hype. Now if they can come up with more IPs or grow their existing IPs to that level, great, but until then you shouldn't be too surprised to see 3 times as many people complaining about not having the game that sells 3 times as much. That's just common sense.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
@Serpenterror Because most of the new games we did get are for niche IPs that only a handful of dedicated fans are excited for and any remotely big IP we got had some kind of issue. The likes of Xenoblade, Fire Emblem, and Bayonetta are not huge sellers. It's great for those fanbases, but most people just don't care about those IPs, there are Switch games that have sold twice, 5 times, even 10 times as much as those games. Splatoon 3 felt rehashy with them mainly repeating the same gameplay mode from 2 and failing to add new ones. Mario Kart just got mobile ports as DLC. Pokemon Legends Arceus was great, but a bit small and limited. And Pokemon Scarlet/Violet was a glitch fest. TotK's delay, Mario Kart getting cash grabby DLC instead of a legitimate new entry, and the lack of anything from main series Mario really hurt this lineup and any comparisons to 2017 (as BotW, Mario Odyssey, and MK8D were the three biggest cornerstones of that lineup).
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
@Anachronism One entry per console isn't a hard and fast rule, and there are some IPs that have gotten multiple. And some already have multiple. Any kind of single player adventure game doesn't really need to wait for new hardware, and the big one there is Mario, which has mainly been ports/remakes since 2017. What has the Odyssey team been doing for the last 6 years? Some of the 2018/2019 stuff feels like it could be ready for new entries depending on their plans, so we could see stuff like 2D Mario, 2D Zelda, Yoshi, and Luigi's Mansion pop up again. Metroid feels like it's ready for something now even with the development restart. And Splatoon got two games this generation, so even some multiplayer games weren't immune. Mario Kart absolutely did not need the Booster Course pack, they could've made a new entry or at least some kind of better filler than copy/pasted Tour ports (they didn't even port the best parts of Tour, just the basic bitch track design). So no, blowing the big names earlier in the lifespan isn't really much of an excuse here and the later lineup is definitely lacking. You really have to wonder just what some of these teams are doing, especially at EPD, who feels like they've been twiddling their thumbs since the pandemic began.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
@johnvboy No, there's more to the Switch Pro expectations than being disappointed by the specs. Previous Nintendo handhelds have always had mid-gen revisions that provided a specs increase (albeit a minor one) and new features, such as the GBA SP, DSi, and New 3DS. The Switch OLED... doesn't really fit this mold. It's mainly the same and just has a different screen. Closer to the 3DS XL than the New 3DS. Part of the disappointment was that people wanted to see the Switch's New 3DS and it's looking like we won't ever get one now.
I absolutely think that a Switch Pro similar to the previous handheld revisions was planned. Now I don't think it would've quite been the specs bump people wanted, but it would've been something. But then the chip shortage happened and they couldn't get the new chips they needed so they gutted everything that would require a new chip and what was left became the Switch OLED.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
It was a pretty good year, but I think the big thing is it ended in kind of a whimper. Most of the good games IMO were earlier in the year and I was waiting for Nintendo to announce some bigger games later in the year and they didn't and I was left thinking "Wait, that's it?". Legends Arceus and Kirby were great games and really started this year off on the right foot, but aside from Scarlet/Violet, there was nothing I was interested in for the entire rest of the year and really everything they had was either niche or didn't push the envelope enough to justify its existence. Everyone raves about Xenoblade, Bayonetta, and Fire Emblem, but none of them have cracked 5 million in sales so they're kind of niche, and personally I also find the combat quite boring in all three. Splatoon 3 is a rehash of 2. And Mario Kart got the worst possible content it could get, mobile ports of old tracks we've already played before, which is honestly a tossup for me if that's better than nothing. Felt like 2022 needed at least 1 more heavy hitter, or for Splatoon and MK to be better than what we actually got, for it to be a banger year, but otherwise I'm underwhelmed, especially for the second half of the year.
Re: A New Limited-Time Pokémon Scarlet & Violet Tera Raid Battle Starts Today
@TheExile285 7 Star Raids weren't a thing in SwSh, the highest they went was 5 Star. And 5 Star Raids were about the same difficulty as the 5 Star Raids in this game, so it's definitely a massive difficulty spike from SwSh.
Just gave it a try and didn't have a chance, even with Lv. 100 Pokemon. Doesn't help that all I have to use against it is Iron Valiant (which got destroyed by Acrobatics), Farigiraf, and Corviknight (which don't resist Fighting). Looking at some of the successful builds on here, this is some competitive tier BS that I don't want to be part of, I subscribe to the Karen philosophy and don't want to have to be limited to the handful of Pokemon the meta says are good and have to max them out, that's no fun. F this noise, I'm just going to wait for Home.
Re: Japanese Charts: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Surpasses 5 Million Sales
@Scoopz There is so much room for improvement in Mario Kart that they need several games for Mario Kart to reach its full potential. Tour's shown some of it, but as a mobile gacha game it's one step forward and one step back and we need a console game that includes its upgrades (and no, not just the courses ported to the Booster Course pack). Holding off on a new entry until next gen delays the improvements needed and makes the series feel somewhat dated in some ways when a MK9 released around this time could've included a bit more of the modernizations it needs.
@Narrator1 It's a good thing that we're seeing Tour content released on MK8D, but they picked the worst content to port to 8D. It honestly feels like a tossup whether or not the Booster Course pack is better than nothing. There are so many better mechanics from Tour that would've been more worthwhile and would've reinvigorated the gameplay, variant courses, the score system, frenzies, the return of special items, an actual freaking shop system. But nope, all they want is to bring back Tour's basic bitch track design which is largely copy/pasted from 7 and other recent MK games so it just feels like you're playing the same old tracks with a new coat of paint. Massive disappointment and massive waste of potential for what they expect to be the major stopgap until the true MK9. Mario Kart deserves better than this.
Re: N64 Classic Yoshi's Story Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary Today (Japan)
Yoshi's Story was pretty meh, too short and repetitive.
I'd really like to see Good Feel do a reimagining of the game, though. Imagine what they could come up with returning to the storybook theme and making this game more like Woolly/Crafted World, having pop-up book mechanics that could open and close to affect the level, pulling out platforms with pull tabs using Yoshi's tongue, etc. That would really make this game amazing.
Re: Feature: Game Of The Year 2022 - Nintendo Life Staff Awards
Only games I played this year that were worth my time were the two Pokemon games and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. They win the top 3 by default. GoTY would be SV, but the other two aren't far behind. I was really disappointed in how this year played out and expected more, but those three are good enough games to keep this year from being terrible.
Re: PSA: You Can Download A Free Sonic Frontiers Demo From Japan's eShop
Nice, I wanted to see how the game controls before getting it, so I'll be sure to play it when it releases globally.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Life's Most Anticipated Games For 2023 (That Aren't Zelda)
@Debbiee There's actually been 4 NSMB, there was also the original game on the DS and NSMB2 on the 3DS. A Switch game would be the 5th one. As for why it hasn't happened yet, it's probably because the NSMB series gets a lot of complaints for feeling too rehashy, the games all feel pretty similar to each other and seem to do little new or different that makes them feel unique or ambitious. Nintendo is probably holding off on another one to put some thought into where they want 2D Mario to go next and at this point I think the next 2D game is going to be next gen. Having a new, original 2D Mario game going in a new direction would make for a very strong launch title.
LGPE was a product of Game Freak thinking mobile was the end all be all for gaming (they even thought early on that the Switch would fail and Nintendo would have to transition to mobile because no one would want dedicated consoles anymore). They used it to try and attract mobile gamers to the Switch. But that strategy doesn't seem to have worked well because it sold about the same as other remakes (meaning most likely longtime fans that already buy consoles bought it, not mobile gamers) and fans complained about the mobile direction. And what really succeeded on the Switch is BotW, and you can see with what they did with SwSh, LA, and SV that they've picked up on the demand for such experiences and transitioned Pokemon in that direction as well. So I don't think they want another Let's Go game anymore, they've gone in a completely different direction. We could still get a Johto remake, but it's more likely to be BDSP style and/or Legends style. You'd probably want to hope for Legends style because that's more likely to include what LGPE did right.
Banjo-Kazooie is Microsoft, and Microsoft is not Nintendo. They don't seem to know how to make platforming games successful or what people want out of them, so Banjo-Kazooie is probably screwed. This is why Playtonic formed and created Yooka-Laylee.
DK is the one that's truly a mystery. The rumors stated that it was intended for DK's 40th which was 2021, but it's 2 years later and not a whisper of DK from Nintendo. You can probably blame DK's absence on Retro, they've mysteriously not released anything in 8 years and as of 2019 they've been working on Prime 4, so that's why the long gap. The new one is supposedly being worked on by the EPD Tokyo team (which typically works on 3D Marios, but according to some rumors has expanded and can now work on both 3D Mario and DK), and it feels like we should have an announcement now, but nothing. There's some speculation that it has something to do with the Mario movie and they want to coordinate it with that release, but Nintendo typically doesn't care about that so IDK if that's it. Out of all your hopes, that one seems the most likely to be announced this year and we'll just have to hope something materializes.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Life's Most Anticipated Games For 2023 (That Aren't Zelda)
@Debbiee You... might want to keep your expectations in check for those unannounced titles. We'd be lucky to even get a quarter of that list in one year, and many of these don't seem particularly likely to happen period because their series haven't sold well enough for their developers to want to make a new one. Only a handful of titles seem remotely plausible predictions for next year. I think you're going to be very disappointed this time next year if that's what you're looking forward to.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Life's Most Anticipated Games For 2023 (That Aren't Zelda)
Honestly there's not much announced that I'm excited for aside from TotK. But usually we don't know much about the upcoming year period, so that's typical. Only other game I'm remotely interested in is Pikmin 4, but that might not even be my second most anticipated game in 2023 if they announce something bigger (where's Donkey Kong and 3D Mario Nintendo? Where's the re-reveal for Prime 4? Feels like it's been time for them for the last 1-2 years).
Re: Talking Point: As Zelda: Wind Waker Turns 20, Doesn't Toon Link Deserve A Second Chance?
I don't mind the artstyle, but the gameplay belongs in the past. I don't want to play a Zelda game where the only exploration is boring empty sea or a Zelda game that you control solely with the touch screen, those kinds of experiments aren't good enough to be repeated. Now pair the Toon Link artstyle with gameplay more like ALttP, ALBW, or Minish Cap? I'd be totally down for that, those are great games oozing with charm and the Toon style would/does look great with that. It's the gameplay, not the artstyle that turns me off to games like Wind Waker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks.
Re: Talking Point: Are You Excited To See Call Of Duty Return To Nintendo Platforms?
Not interested in the generic shooty bang war games, they all feel like the same freaking game. I buy Nintendo consoles to get away from that schlock and play games that are you know... fun and creative.
Re: Video: 11 Exciting New Games Coming to Nintendo Switch In December
"Exciting" sure. Aside from SV, I haven't seen anything exciting on the Switch in over 6 months.
Re: Feature: 14 Things That Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Get Absolutely Right
@Draxa No, they don't and that's something I was disappointed in. You can see the shinies, but the jingle only plays in battle, not in the overworld. So you can very easily fly right by a shiny and not even know it. Definitely need to bring this back from LA next game.
Re: Feature: 14 Things That Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Get Absolutely Right
The mechanic where the ball shakes only once before catching has been a thing since Gen 5, it's called a Critical Capture. That's not something LA gave us.
Also can I give mention to the final arc as well? Without spoiling, man I never expected a Pokemon plot to go in that direction, especially with the truth behind what Prof. Sada/Turo was doing.
Re: Soapbox: How To Improve Pokémon Scarlet And Violet's Open World
Level scaling is the biggest thing this game needs, without it you don't truly have the freedom they're promoting in this game. Being able to challenge gyms in any order is near meaningless if you have to beat a gym leader 20-30 levels higher than you, a near impossible feat, in order to do so. You should be able to pick which gym leader you want and have it be appropriate to your team level and badge count.
Re: Hideki Kamiya Is Already Starting To Talk About Bayonetta 4
Astral Chain 2 first please.
Re: Soapbox: After 10 Years I Finally Got A Wii U, Here’s What I Thought
(continued from last post)
Now the lineup isn't all doom and gloom and there were some games I was interested in that I played either a port of the game on 3DS or Switch or a sequel. Splatoon is by far the most creative new IP they've ever come up with. Mario Maker fulfilled a longtime dream of getting to create your own Mario levels and shake up the mechanics in ways I never even imagined. Mario Kart 8 provided a very interesting twist on the gameplay and track design... literally. Captain Toad was a very interesting little puzzle game that I couldn't get enough of. And BotW is well... BotW. But it was too little too late, by the time many of these games came out they were already talking about the NX and it seemed prudent to wait and see if that was any better. And boy was it. The Switch is everything I wanted the Wii U to be. I found just as many if not more games I wanted from the Switch in one year than I wanted from the Wii U in its entire lifespan and it just keeps pumping out hit after hit. I can appreciate that the Wii U laid the groundwork for the Switch's success, so that's something I guess, but the console itself is not one I'm interested in trying. The Switch provides enough of that experience on top of the things I actually wanted.