BrewsterTea

It just has to hit the right niche, or nostalgia, for adults. As a Pokemon fan, I know I would enjoy future Pokemon models to include their own Pokemon cry with smart bricks.

For kids? I mean come on, knight and Jedi mini figures making clashing sounds whenever you put swords or lightsabers in their hands? Kids will love that.

Wow! Highly interested in this game. Like others have said, it's a great mix of earthy colors and GBA-like pixel art. Pokemon gameplay is a great hook, and the yokai theme is a good staple for monster design. Definitely am going to wishlist/preorder this on my eShop right away!

Hopefully this year we get to see what DQXII will actually look like and how it will play! I would also love a DQ11 physical reprint with new anniversary embroidery on the box art.

Super hyped for Pokemon's 30th anniversary! I'll be spending a lot of money on Pokemon this year. Very excited for Gen 10, as well as hopelessly hopeful for retro Pokemon games on NSO finally! The merchandise will be insane, and I'm here for it.

@Glassneedles That's great to hear! I've waited years to play FFXIV on a Nintendo console, and the wait will definitely be worth it! I love online games enjoyed on a traditional console. Growing up with Monster Hunter Tri's online multiplayer on Wii really primed me to look forward to going on that next quest/hunt with a group of people online. Even grinding has so much more purpose in my eyes, when you're putting time in to prepare your characters for online play.

I jumped onto the Switch bandwagon a couple years after launch, in 2019. My first Switch game was Mario Odyssey, and what an introduction to the new era of Nintendo! A splendid memory.

However, no need to say goodbye to the Switch just yet! I just bought myself a yellow Switch Lite in order to play my large Switch 1 backlog natively. I'm surprisingly disappointed with the current handling of backwards compatibility, not to mention the revelation that Switch 2 Editions are far and few between for the vast majority of third party titles (and all the little Indies). I've finally realized the value of being able to play games with their original hardware. So even though I'm happy with the Switch 2 while playing Switch 2 software, I'm very much going to continue playing my backlog of Switch 1 games (and Indies) on my Switch Lite.

The only thing I care about regarding timelines and various retcons is that Metroid still contains Metroids. It's an iconic part of the franchise, and Metroid would no longer be Metroid without fighting Metroids in some form or fashion.

Edit: Ah, the duality of humanity, after seeing the comment above mine. Quite ironic!

The most frustrating part is hearing Capcom go on record refusing to remaster/remake older titles. So many old gems that I would pay lots of money to revisit in the REngine. MHTri, MH4U, Portable 3rd, Freedom Unite, not to mention the OG Monster Hunter G, all begging to be ported, remastered or remade! But no! Capcom must press forward with only new titles apparently.

@JaxonH Where did you hear this? And do you think NPC's include both villagers and smaller monsters?

Just my opinion, I think Nintendo shot themselves in the foot dedicating the 3D Mario team to Donkey Kong Bananza all this time. They should have created an additional dev team to handle DKB. Sorry to the DK fans out there, but Donkey Kong is not an adequate replacement for 3D Mario, and the sales prove it. Now we'll have to wait 2-4 more years to get a proper 3D Mario game.

A major highlight for 2026 will be Pokemon, what with the 40th anniversary and Gen 10. I'm interested in the new Yoshi, as well as the other smaller games, but I'm excited to find out what the biggest 2026 games will be from Nintendo.

Sounds like Dragon Quest XII could be unveiled in 2026! I'm excited for Switch 2 ports of Kingdom Hearts, the latest Mana game, more Final Fantasy like XVI, XV, and XIV, Nier Replicant, etc. Also looking forward to Adventures of Elliott and whatever other smaller budget RPG's they cook up.

Wishlist that doesn't necessarily feel realistic for 2026 would include FFTAdvance + A2 remasters, Nier Automata Switch 2 Edition, a new Crystal Chronicles installment, FFXIIOnline, a proper trailer for KH4, and more spinoffs utilizing FF/Nier/Mana/KH franchises! I miss the old days with small budget spinoffs leveraging big name IP's.

Really not a fan of the art style or character design, unfortunately. But the mechanics do sound interesting, so kudos to them.

Sheesh, missed the last wave by one day! Was just so busy that last week of Christmas. Oh bother. Couldn't have hurt to extend the availability by one extra day, huh Nintendo? 😠

Okay, but still, the one I want the most right now is Oblivion. Where is the Oblivion Switch 2 port??

Can confirm, as a kid who once owned like two of them, I dreamed of battles being this dynamic in real life. Well, that's why we have video games!

I'm a big fan of Square Enix's HD2D games, so I never felt the need to buy this. I will be first in line for an HD2D FF6!

"Joshua vanishes into the shadows"

Sasuk--I mean, Joshuaaaaa!!

Monolith Soft would be perfect for handling an Ocarina of Time Remake. It's too bad ideas like this could take 5-15 more years from now to come to fruition.

@teo_o Seems to me that Nintendo is a bit more clumsy with anything technically developed outside of their own in-house studios. Nintendo needs to tighten the reigns a bit for big franchises like Smash Bros and Metroid (say what you will about Metroid, but it's on the front page of their website as one of their main franchises).

150 hr 4 min

Top 5 Games
1) ACNH
2) BOTW
3) Skyward Sword
4) Scarlet/Violet
5) TOTK

Top 10 Songs
1) The Spirit's Guidance [Skyward Sword]
2) New Year's Day - 2am [ACNH]
3) Hateno Village [BOTW]
4) Rito Village [BOTW]
5) 5am - Clear [ACNH]
6) Among the Clouds [SS]
7) Construction-Complete Ceremony [ACNH]
8) Kakariko Village [BOTW]
9) Heartwood [Pokemon Legends Arceus]
10) An Audience with the Goddess [SS]

Bubblaine fittingly was my top song for July

#1 Extended song was The Spirit's Guidance at 427min.

I think Nintendo Music is one of the best things Nintendo has done in the past few years. Would love to see it integrated onto Switch 2, especially on the Quick Menu so you can layer it over games, Home menu, and eShop! Also waiting for more Switch 2 games to be added like Legends ZA, Mario Kart World, etc.

Capcom has been one of my favorite publishers, so I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. Will definitely download the demo as soon as it's available, and fingers crossed it's a compelling experience. I love seeing companies take risks and create new AA-AAA IP's in this day and age!

@KayFiOS The other problem, of course, is that Nintendo has another Yoshi game lined up so soon into the Switch 2's life cycle. So naturally they'll focus only on that and pretend any other Yoshi game doesn't exist for a little while. I'm in the same boat with Animal Crossing. All these years and Nintendo still pretends New Horizons is the only game that exists for the Switch family of systems. In the words of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi: No port for you!

Sheesh, the bigger Nintendo gets, the more edge lords try to chime in to get their 5 minutes of clout.

I was going to drag my feet for a while before getting it, but I booted up the playlist on Nintendo Music; 15 minutes later I'm making a pit stop at my local store to pick up a copy. Something about the first few songs really nail that vintage Metroid Prime vibe, as well as Zero Mission.

Really enjoying my time with the game! Graphics are gorgeous, locales are interesting, and even the desert pulls off a nice atmosphere thanks to the Lamorn architecture. Performance is amazing; the devs really made the most of this dev time to deliver a stellar technical performance.

So far the story is a bit iffy, being the Chosen One and all, but I don't put too much stock in a Metroid story anyway. The gameplay and sound effects look and sound like quintessential Metroid Prime, which is really all that matters to me.

One thing I really hope a Metroid Prime game explores in the future is incorporating more acrobatics like Mirror's Edge. Imagine wall jumping and screw attack flying, but in first person!

@mackers84 One other thing that 120hz is useful for that I think more third party games should utilize is 40fps. It's a nice compromise between 30 and 60fps.

@mackers84 You're right that not many games support or even benefit from 120hz at the moment, but your last point is exactly my prerogative. Their monitors in the US vary from $500-700, so if I'm spending that much, I would rather invest in something that can last a long time. More games benefitting from 120hz will continue to release as the years go by, and I'd rather have the capability ready to go if I'm spending upwards of $600-700.

Satoru Iwata passed away 2 years before Metroid Prime 4 was first announced. These milestones really put life into perspective.

Seems interesting, but how does the 60hz fare with the Switch 2's 120hz capabilities? I'd rather save for a monitor that can output at 120hz.

Hogwarts Legacy better not be the last Harry Potter game on Switch 2!

Cinematics look great, but the gameplay looks a bit drab.

@Woodyshoe I agree, I'm looking forward to a smaller Switch 2 model. My mother was playing BOTW the other day (she's a beginner to 3D gaming so I help her navigate around enemies) and I got another chance to appreciate the V1 Switch's small, light form factor. After using my OLED Switch for so long I had forgotten just how nice the first Switch feels in your hands: light, sturdy, and very easy to handle.

After growing up with clamshell consoles, I really really want Nintendo to make the Switch 2 Lite a clamshell form factor. Call it the Switch 2 Mini. I'd love to see a Nintendo console go back to the cute, chunky appearance of the Game Boy and DS eras. Plus those chunky handhelds were not only fun to use, they were also super sturdy and reliable.

Is it perhaps because Monolithsoft is devoting every single dev they can spare toward their latest project?

Sheesh, being able to play music tracks while you ride your viola is a pretty big feature to lock behind a pricey amiibo. Pretty perturbed about this information.

I've got to remember to actually buy this game; the Christmas season has been dizzying! Great to see the official developer implement a fan mod that genuinely improves the experience. Would love to see Skyrim do the same thing. . . . . . .

Yup, Switch 2 is one of the top items to buy this holiday season, even as advertised by big retailers like Walmart/Best Buy/etc., so the likelihood on deals on the console is pretty close to zero.

However, games like Rune Factory Guardians of Azuma, Bravely Default, etc., have been going on sales the last few weeks. I would take a look at niche Switch 2 third party titles, various game key cards be damned!

It's really not an ideal single player game. And from my perspective, NintendoLife readers skew pretty heavily in favor of single player gaming, so I think Kirby Air Riders' positive impressions will be in the minority around here. I still haven't bought it yet, because Christmas shopping has stalled most of my video game purchasing (even missed out on the great eShop sales that expired on Nov 21st, unfortunately).

Just picked up the 512GB express card on sale for $75 on Amazon. Not willing to spend more than $150, so it's a nice stopgap for a year or so until I find a 1TB express card for a good sale.

I'm going to try moving most of my data from my system storage to my express card and see if I notice any significant differences in load times or performance. We already know Mario Kart World has a noticeable difference in load times, so I'll leave that on my system storage. Everything else I want to test out for myself.

@WheresWaveRace Your timely dose of equilibrium positively saved the universe, friend

Great to see they finally added an official Switch 2 category. Hopefully they'll add the underrated Switch 2 Welcome Tour ost soon!

Even better if Nintendo can add a Nintendo Music player right onto the Home button quick menu, which could let us create whatever menu music we like, not to mention being able to play whatever music we wanted while we play!

Can @NintendoLife at least include a few more aesthetic photos of the Pokemon Cafe while they're talking about it? I'm stuck sitting on the other side of the world appreciating all the Pokemon fun from afar 🥺

@Sebos The Switch version is so heavily designed for the Switch's power limitations that I feel like Square Enix would have to completely reboot the Switch 2 Edition as the PS4 port (while still preserving save data somehow?). For instance, the Switch 1 version's 30fps could be inextricably woven into the game logic in order to run as smoothly as it does.

Looks good for the old-school fans! As someone who didn't grow up with the franchise however, I'm not really interested in Star Fox without the game bringing something new to the table.

I saw this article on the front page, and I made sure to click on it, vote, and scroll all the way down so that I could say "no."

@iLikeUrAttitude I'd take it a step further and say this began all the way back with the very first MCU film in 2008, Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr is a charismatic titan and was instrumental in catapulting the snarky one-liner into the cultural zeitgeist. IMO the style peaked during the first Avengers film in 2012 (Guardians of the Galaxy was in 2014).

But yes, Chris Pratt is another charismatic tour de force who extended the writing style's relevance for many more years.

@AllBLK The Switch 2 Pro model or whatever they call it absolutely needs a boost in storage!

Still heavily interested just because I want to experience Sakurai's game programming philosophy once more. Also sounds like the perfect pick-up-and-play design, even more so than Mario Kart World.

Also very interested in the amiibo, but $50 each is a hard sell. . . Might just have to buy the Kirby amiibo for the novelty even if I don't buy any others.

Despite everything else one of my most hyped games is actually Witchbrook! It's almost everything I enjoy in one game: magical academia theme, gorgeous pixel art, cozy locales, and online multiplayer!

@GenzaiJH I agree! The Mario Galaxy movie is the perfect moment to surprise everyone with Mario Galaxy 3. Not sure if a Mario 3D game has ever attempted the "3" sequel naming scheme, so perhaps they would give it a subtitle instead.

Honestly it's pretty funny that Momotaru Dentetsu undermines Hyrule Warriors twice in a row.

Really nice reversible art, but once again, a quick glance at the inside reminds you that the red plastic absolutely ruins the enjoyment. You can barely see through the red plastic compared to the Switch 1's clear color.

I'm not a huge Kirby fan (never bought any Kirby merchandise) but one thing you can rely on with a Kirby game is that the core gameplay feels good to play. The controls are tight and the mechanics kinetic and palpable. Even if you don't like the characters, art design, etc., the controls and mechanics alone make Kirby's GBA game one of the best action games on NSO.

@FoxyDude Yes, a new area to explore is always a day one buy for me. But just an upside down version of Lumiose is not enough to interest me so soon after the base game dropped. Hopefully tomorrow's trailer changes my mind!

I'm panicking y'all, the actors are turning toward each other and saying actual words. Does it feel like Zelda? Does Zelda feel like characters standing still with dialogue bubbles?? Help