Browny

@Cashews
RIP FFX. Outdone by Zelda in Japan.

How the turntables...

@Cashews
Shocking I suppose is more towards the Dragon Quest entries rather than the Final Fantasy entries.

The PSX era games are kinda obvious. XII being on there over X is a bit more surprising.

In regards to Dragon Quest however, I totally get IX (huge deal back in the DS era), and VIII (again, huge leap forward for DQ), but VII? Somehow I thought it'd be III or V, heck even VI. Never would I have guessed VII be so high on the list.

Modern day Square is a different beast altogether, that much is true. I don't think Final Fantasy XVI will bust, but it won't be the juggernaut its predecessors were. Or the sales titan Square hopes it will be.

I love that there are three Dragon Quest titles and four Final Fantasy titles in that list.

I am shocked however at which titles from those franchises are on the list.

Also, Splatoon 3 being so high on the list. I find it much more impressive than Pokemon titles, just because the nature of a dual release for Pokemon allows the sales number to be inflated if at least slightly because they can sucker some fans into buying two games instead of one. If they actually showed up on the list as separate entries instead of one, they would be MUCH lower on the list.

Secret code name for sky islands confirmed??

So... Pokemon Go without the battling or familiar/unique monsters. A new take on Tamogatchi?

Major pass. The XIV Carbuncle comparison is apt I feel, but I just don't want to put time into another F2P game with no real goal outside the satisfaction of raising digital animals.

I used an Action Replay for a couple things.

For Pokemon, mainly to get my favorite to replace my starter; Pokemon isn't hard, but the appeal for me has always been in the journey alongside my favorite Pokemon Vulpix. If I don't get that, the experience is far lesser for it.

The only other notable use I can remember is for Dragon Quest IX. After pouring 400+ hours into the story, endgame and dungeon map content... I didn't want to continue a long and tedious 2% drop rate grind for the ultimate gear. So I just sharked it in, and was all the happier for it.

The ultimate gear didn't make whatever endgame content remained easier; it just allowed me to focus on the actual strategizing rather than killing myself trying to get alchemical miracles to trigger.

Even today, I don't think there's anything wrong with using "cheats" if they're built into the game in some way. Like the current Pixel Remaster releases; I'm running those games with double EXP and quadruple gil turned on. Why? Because it saves me time when playing. It hurts no one and keeps the pace of the game flowing.

I need to buy the DLC and download it tonight when I head home.

It's going to be a struggle trying to juggle this, Pixel Remasters, Theatrhythm, Advance Wars, and XIV... I'll have to set aside specific days in the week for each game!

Binding Blade was better. It was also my first taste of Fire Emblem.

I was happy when we got this one in English, but I had powered through all of Binding Blade in Japanese thanks to my (then) newly discovered power of emulation.

To this day, if there's a Fire Emblem I want to replay to remember the glory days of the series, before it went full waifu nonsense, it's the GBA trilogy.

Wild to imagine a world where Nintendo would own SMT and all its spinoffs. In such a world, the idea of Joker in Smash wouldn't have been such a huge event the way it was years ago.

But in the end, I do think we're in a better place for it. Atlus has a kooky way of developing games, and have many more hits than they do misses. Being almost entirely devoted to a single core IP also brings with it some perks, where under Nintendo it may have languished in development droughts along the likes of Star Fox, F-Zero, etc.

Cool little story to hear, though.

@Rykdrew
Thanks for all the information about the online functionality. Very useful.

Can't wait until tomorrow to get my copy!

Between this, the Pixel Remasters, Baten Kaitos which has yet to get a release date, and Advance Wars?

This will be the year of reliving classics for me.

And all while spending untold amounts of hours on XIV because that is my new obsession.

Oh, and Xenoblade 3 DLC? I finally have stuff to play again.

I won't believe any of these reviews are real until my copy is in my hands and Nintendo won't snatch it back again under the flimsy excuse of current events.

Amazon, make sure my copy is at my door before Friday night.

I find myself in a position again with too much to play and not enough time. It's a good feeling.

But this is truly one I've been waiting a VERY long time for.

... it was a fun gag in the movie. Worth the 2 minutes in the film, and the chuckles with friends and coworkers the following Monday morning.

But this is NOT Billboard Top 100 material.

I did not expect this to drop this soon.

I expected this sometime this autumn. I thought I had the entire Summer to relax and let myself remember the first run of the game.

My body is not ready. Hell, who am I kidding?

MY BODY IS READY BABY.

Oh look at that. No thanks.

I don't have much against mobile games outside how they're monetized, but provided that doesn't overly affect the gameplay, I can look past it.

However, I'm not on board with games like this, or contemporaries like Pokémon Go, because they demand not only that I move places to play, but that I invest more time. Call me the cliche lazy gamer, but when I want to play something, I want to do so comfortably, oftentimes from a nice seated position.

And for something like a mobile game? I just want something I can turn on for five or ten minutes, have a good time, and not think about it again until the next time I'm in the mood to kill a bit of time.

I am eager to see how this fares in today's market. I guess it'll be a good gauge of how strong the Monster Hunter IP is with the general public.

... but does it cook waffles Sonic fast?

Breaching company policy cost "Mike" his job?

Who'da thunk?

Maybe at his next job, he'll better consider the consequences of dumb actions for internet brownie points.

@burgerkingsauce
Code being untouched does not equate to the original people being on the team that were physically in the office working on this project.

The code being reused does not mean they are entitled to being listed as ACTIVE contributors to the project. Passive ones? Sure. And as such, they got a passive mention: thank you original Prime developers.

But that wasn't good enough for them. And that is nothing more than hurt feelings that don't change this simple fact: the decision was made not to include them.

They're welcome to file a complaint. And I'm welcome to comment on a random news article on a news website that I don't think they deserve it. My feelings are worth as much as theirs: virtually zilch.

Thank you for the fun conversation, however. You've been lovely. 😊

@burgerkingsauce
"Nintendo doesn't need to credit them."

Exactly my point, I'm glad we agree.

"But the point is that they should credit them."

Based on what? A subjective feeling of entitlement to having once worked on a project 20 years ago to which they were credited? And compensated for? And is still in existence and perfectly playable?

The credits exist to showcase those who worked on this project. Not those who worked on the original. They have their credits on the GCN version.

@burgerkingsauce
The painting analogy is so bad to use because it doesn't work. You don't "paint over" the Mona Lisa, because the Mona Lisa is a unique piece of art of which there exists only one. Any reproductions are simply that: reproductions, facsimiles. Nothing more.

Metroid Prime is not a unique "piece of art". It's a video game, a complex series of art assets and code that was created for the sole purpose of reproduction to generate profit. And the creator for purposes of copyright (Nintendo) decided to reproduce it again for more profit. And they chose a different staff to do it, and paid them for their work. Even if the original code and/or assets were used, those people, having not contributed to this particular instance of the project, are not inherently owed credit in perpetuity.

And that's my take on the matter. At the end of the day, the company who foots the bill calls the shot.

@YoshiF2
It's funny that you continue to conflate creative work with code and assets as part of a greater project, which is why I find this whole discussion quite amusing.

You can repaint the Mona Lisa all you'd like and it would be your own "creation". You painted it after all, taking direct inspiration from an original source. You don't have to credit DaVinci at all, but that doesn't change the fact that the original piece still exists.

Same way you can arrange the melody of Zelda and call that your own. But it doesn't change the fact that Kondo was the creator, because he was first to arrange the core melody.

The big difference here is these are people, artists and coders, who were paid salaries to do a job wherein their skills were put to use to create a larger project. They were compensated monetarily for their work, and likely part of their contract stipulated that said assets belong to the company, though they may retain certain creative copyrights. However, this is pure speculation at this point, and inconsequential to this conversation.

Someone created the code or art used to make a door or bug or monster in a game. They got paid to do it, got their name on the credits. 20 years later someone else was paid to do the same thing, and told to use the original game as a point of reference. Now they get to have their name in the credits instead,

Don't like it? Create something entirely unique on your own. Like a true artist, and chance it with the greater public, rather than from within an office where you were already being paid for your contribution.

That is what I find so funny about all this. But hey, gotta make sure the everyone gets their participation award. Earned or not, eh?

@YoshiF2
I did read the article. I just find the notion and expectation of credit in perpetuity absurd.

I respect the notion of credit for a work of art. I am an author myself. But there's a difference between an author's name being pointed out, as the sole creator of a work, or a single artist of a piece of art, over a massive collaborative effort like a game.

Their names are on the original release. If they were not part of this project, why should they feel entitled to credit for work they did 20 years ago for a different project altogether?

Ehh, if they didn't work on this version of the game, why should they be listed as though they did?

Their names are on the original release. Which still exists.

When the game is inevitably remade or remastered AGAIN 10-15 years from now, will they still cry about being left out again, this time alongside the remaster's crew?

@ComfyAko
No offense taken at all. I'd be rather naive or outright dumb to expect everything I like to appeal to everyone else. 😋

For a similarly lighthearted experience, if considerably more niche and old school, I'd also recommend Etrian Odyssey, another series with (IMO) fantastic compositions.

No matter what, I'm always willing to swap RPG recommendations.

@ComfyAko
Fair enough; ultimately Dragon Quest music is an entirely different flavor compared to Final Fantasy especially, and I will be the first to admit it's not what I'd put on to jam out, more to mellow out personally. Still, a shame the 3DS version of the music soured it for you.

Having grown up playing both series side by side, I have a lot of nostalgia for either series' music. But I'd sooner put on my FF playlist over the DQ one,

Of all the things in the movie, two things stood out for me:

One was the Peaches song. That was surprisingly funny to me and I truly appreciated it.

@ComfyAko
To piggyback off what @Ralizah said, Dragon Quest music is really only worth listening to orchestrated. Every time the music has been midi-fied for games, it does a huge disservice to both the music and the composer. Sugiyama was a big classical composer of a different age, and his style was always best suited to large orchestras.

Look up any DQ game's Symphonic Suite on Youtube, and you'll hear the difference.

As for DQ8 on 3DS? It was one of the few instances where instead of using the orchestrated soundtrack, they went with the midi versions (I believe it was for space constraints). And it truly tarnished the otherwise ideal way to play DQ8.

@Mando44646
Likely licensing nightmare for Sugiyama music. From what I understand, use of any Sugiyama music is extremely difficult without a lot of red tape.

Granted, with the composer dead now, I imagine it could be "easier" without his death grip on the music (ha... that came out wrong), but I also imagine Square won't do DLC for DQ for the same reason KH won't get DLC: those series are so powerful on their own, they can sell their own games. And have.

There's still 2 DLC packs towards the end of the year that haven't been announced yet, but I maintain those will be FFXVI music after the release of the game this summer. Quote me on that.

That's fine, I should have plenty of space on my microSD card.

Can't wait to start playing through the games in order, even if it means after a fun start I have to suffer FF2...

But still no increase to the amount of character loadouts?

Shame, but I suppose I've already settled on my teams.

I've only played a handful of these, with the SNES title being my personal favorite (despite it being almost unfairly difficult).

The Fate of Atlantis has always been regarded as a must play, but I've never had the chance. Maybe some day I'll have that chance, or I'll just find a walkthrough on Youtube.

I remember way back in the DS era, the first game was released and I considered it at the time, but ultimately had to pass on it.

Games like this really harken back to a simpler time for RPGs, and it's rather tempting.

Also: a magic attack spell where you dump a stack of pancakes to crush enemies to death? GOTY??

I agree with the above comments; the second design feels super stylized, and would make for a great foundation for a 2D DK game.

I know it'll never happen, but it's fun to dream of a game with the visual presentation found in Wario Land Shake It, but for the big ape.

Day one.

The classics finally come home.

I got tickets to go with my coworker on Friday.

We expect to at least have a good time after a hearty meal.

THIS is the news I didn't know I needed until now.

Shame it's still four months away, but I've been dying to add this to my music collection since the game launched. Fantastic OST.

I recall this game being super difficult with rental Pokémon only.

That... is a problem.

@cdriper
As someone not from Ukraine, it was a funny joke.

Heart goes out to you, but at any given second there's someone or some group suffering. People are allowed to make jokes and have fun.

I've only ever had the pleasure of playing the first two; beat 1, get about 10 hours or so into 2 before giving up or being distracted.

I've always heard great things about 3 and 4, but at this point even if a collection does drop, I wouldn't have enough interest to buy in. The original game holds a lot of nostalgic charm for me because it's such a simple RPG adventure, but unfortunately I didn't grow up with the games.

Is it expensive? Yes.

Will I still buy it at launch? Absolutely.

Etrian Odyssey is tied for my favorite series ever, and playing the games on the 3DS is now much more difficult for me (screens way too small for gaming sessions longer than an hour). But I don't blame others for being against paying more.

As with everything else, it's up to the individual to determine if the cost is worth it.

And also, let's be real: how long will it be before this gets a sale? Not like we have a wave of ME looking to buy the game at launch. The series is the epitome of niche.

E3 had been dying for years now, so I'm not surprised. The world and the industry have moved on from this event. Not sure if it's for the best, but it is what it is.

My personal take:

XI
VIII
V
IV
III

Should be the top 5. I never thought I'd see the day VIII was topped, but damned if Horii & co. didn't outdo themselves spectacularly with that entry. While I look forward to the day XII releases, the Dream Team is truly no more, so we've hit a turning point for the series.

Ehh, rather pay slightly less, go watch it with some friends, and have a good time of it.

I haven't bought a BD or DVD in years. Used to be in the camp of physical media for movies and games, but as time went on and streaming became infinitely easier, I started gravitating towards the services. Less clutter in my place for stuff I genuinely only rewatch once every couple years at most.

I believe the reviewer forgot to add a bullet point to the "Joys" section: Thighs

Might wanna update that, just saying.

@Quarth
WayForward was tapped for this remake, sure.

To be fair, Nintendo has been getting a bit better about handing off their IPs to other studios to handle, rather than trying to keep everything exclusively in house. So should this remake sell super well, there's a strong possibility they'd allow a developer other than Intelligent Systems (maybe even WayForward themselves?) to handle a new entry.

But I am more of a "expect the worse, hope for the best" kinda person. And as such, I'll be content with just this release as all my Advance Wars content until the end of time.

This one should still have the map editor, which is where the real fun lies.

@JohnnyMind
Not to mention it's been more than a decade since I last played an Advance Wars title, compared to half a decade since Zelda. I'm due something nostalgic over flashy and new.

@rushiosan
I'm actually expecting it to sell poorly. And I'm also expecting it to become the reason for Nintendo to kill the franchise for a while. Because they probably want Intelligent Systems to focus exclusively on Fire Emblem from now on, since it's a way bigger cash cow.

Mine is preordered. This is more anticipated now than Zelda, just because of the immense wait.

@ComfyAko
No, the versions in the remaster aren't the Untold versions, so you would lose out on the story mode content and small, new areas exclusive to said mode.

Honestly, the story modes of both Untold games, while nothing revolutionary in the slightest, are at the very least worth exploring. And while both games can be found physically, their prices are considerably higher now (as was to be expected). But given the time crunch with the closing of the shop, I suppose it's up to you if you want to spend $40 now on the pair, or potentially triple that down the line to experience the story modes.

More than that, I do recommend picking up IV and V to have the full suite of games. Nexus is more of a fun celebration title, mixing in stuff from every game that came before (think MH Generations for comparison). But it did have its fair share of balancing problems because of this, so I wouldn't consider it anything more than a fun distraction, and not a must play.

@Kermit1
Hyperbole much?

Just show a demonstration of the game in action, maybe highlight a new feature.

Those of us interested have already bought the game, or have it set to buy at launch. Why not show off a bit more of what's in store for us come May?