Buizel

Everything about this game is utterly gorgeous.

Not surprised at all. It looks nice, but certainly not out of the realm of the Switch's capabilities.

I think as the generation closes, and after years of hearing "the Switch is underpowered", there's become some collective delusion that the Switch can't render anything better than your most basic of games.

Quite an abuse of power, and part of why I'm really not keen on leakers for the most part.

It's okay though. It's not like this Google has sensitive data belonging to ordinary people or anything.

@Itachi2099 Oh wow, thanks!

@Itachi2099 What has Midori accurately predicted? I keep seeing "perfect track record" but when searching her I'm mostly seeing things that are unconfirmed, not those that turned out to be true.

I could go either way, tbh.

I, for one, actually really like the joy-con. While I don't tend to use them wirelessly (I have the Pro Controller for that), they're great for handheld mode - their comfort and feature set far exceeds anything we've seen on handhelds prior. I also prefer digital triggers to analog for the most part, and I've personally managed to never have any issues with drift over the 7 years of having the system, despite the Switch being my primary console.

That said, if the Switch 2 is going to come with new joy-con anyway...I guess I'll use those? Hopefully they don't change something about the design to put me off (like Dualshock 4 --> Dualsense, which became a bit too bulky for my hands).

@Rob3008 "Gamers should try complaining less over inconsequential things and enjoying their hobby more."

This is exactly why I'm finding myself engaging less and less in online gaming discourse.

People are free to feel disappointed / feel how they feel about anything relating to gaming (and tbh I've probably shared a fair bit of negativity myself!). But I'm having a much better time just enjoying my games over going online and seeing a bunch of people complaining about X, Y and Z.

It's a bit disappointing knowing that the remake is a lower FPS than the 20-year-old original.

That said...I was surprised to learn that the original even was 60 fps. I would've totally believed both versions were 30 fps based on my memory of the game.

I think 30 fps is totally fine for a game like this. I'll probably notice for a few seconds when I start up, but get used to it fairly quickly. It's a slow-paced, (mostly) 2D RPG. It'll be fine.

Is there a game that has so collectively disappointed Nintendo fans?

Definitely the biggest disappointment I've experienced from the company.

There goes another one of the few non-Switch games I was playing.

I really wonder if it's worth me buying games on other platforms anymore. Outside of the AAAs, everything seems to come to Switch eventually.

I'm already 100% digital on the Switch, and I intend to continue this way for future platforms.

If access to my games is revoked in 15-20 years? I'll have either moved on, or will find another way to access these games...

Disappointing.

I learnt from Tales of Symphonia to hold off on buying remasters until I can be sure they provide a decent experience. That came out a year ago now and is still plagued by horrible loading times that weren't in the (now 20-year-old) original.

A shame but I guess I'll have to stick to PC for Arkham Knight.

Pleasantly surprised to see how well this has scored considering how much these games have aged (plus how poorly some ports/remasters have been handled recently). Very excited to jump into these tomorrow (I'll be starting with my favourite, III).

As for the manual saving? My memory of playing these on PC was basically save scumming before every jump or risky activity. I'd be surprised to see people forgetting to save in this game as retrying after failed attempts is a staple of these games.

Personally I'm a near life-long Sonic fan who has been with the series through all its highs and lows.

But when you've generated so much bad faith with your audience (we're talking the past...20 years?...here) that they have reason to doubt/debate the quality of every release at launch, yet have the balls to release a fairly small 2D platformer in 2023 in the same month as Mario for £55... Yeah, I have no sympathy.

Personally I chose to skip getting this day one and I'm thankful for it. Not only because I saved myself £55, but because, based on the reviews and gameplay I've seen, although it looks like a decent time it mostly seems like I'm not missing much. Maybe I'll pick it up if it drops to £10.

As someone who considers Sonic Generations to be the best 3D Sonic...

Please don't suck please don't suck please don't suck

I'm digital only, but sure...why not?

It's a real shame a Pokemon games haven't continued the trend of gens 1-3.

Regardless of the quality of the actual game, I think there's no denying the monsters here take heavy inspiration from Pokemon.

This article didn't even cover the blatant Eeveelution rip-offs, e.g.:
https://www.google.com/search?sca_esv=600034106&sxsrf=ACQVn08OOwhV6FT1HAnFyWtu4wPFcJFTHQ:1705740358296&q=palworld&tbm=isch&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjOhYqByuuDAxWXS0EAHfR4CusQ0pQJegQICBAB&biw=393&bih=688&dpr=2.75#imgrc=B7ne8JKrL29ljM

@Poodlestargenerica Yes but the levels were crafted with the tank controls in mind. I'm concerned that the platforming and puzzles won't work quite right with modern controls.

We'll just have to wait and see I guess! Again, it's always great when these remasters both retain the original experience and add something new. Best of both worlds.

Really wonder how these will work with "modern" controls considering these games were built around the tank controls.

By the sounds of it at least we have the choice between the original, authentic experience (controls, graphics, everything) vs. a modernised experience. Fingers crossed it all works out!

The two TGA ones (Joker and Sephiroth) were my favourite. Both completely unexpected characters that ended up fitting right in.

Not a fan of the idea tbh, d-pad is more than good enough for menu selections.

Also as someone who spends 40+ hours a week at a computer I prefer my gaming to be as distinct from PC use as possible.

I've completed Mario Galaxy 100% maybe...3 times? (albeit with Mario, not Luigi).

Not only did I not know this, but I didn't even know Mario could spin using the nunchuk.

I'm not very far, nor have I played the original, but I'll give it an 8 so far. It's a fun time, but does feel very much dated and the prototype for later Mario RPGs (Paper Mario, M&L) which, IMO, have aged more gracefully. The combat, while fun, is also very repetitive.

Ah yes, the famous European holiday "Black Friday".

A shame this comes up just as Mario RPG and P5T release! I'll use the discount on eShop credit though.

For a franchise that is largely known for retelling the same story in a different form over and over again, I suspect we'll just get yet another version of Link obtains the Master Sword and (with the help of Zelda) defeats Ganondorf. Probably taking elements / providing callbacks to a variety of games.

Shrek's voice actor managed to give Shrek a poor imitation of every British accent within the span of 30 seconds.

With both the Super Mario Bros Movie and Netflix's One Piece, I've been pleasantly surprised by adaptations this year. I'm cautiously optimistic to see what can be done with a live-action Zelda.

Retro Studios finish a game challenge (impossible).

Mario RPG and Persona 5 Tactica coming out on the same day, to add to my existing massive backlog...(I've still not got round to Bayonetta 3, Xenoblade 3, or Octopath 2!)

I was just walking around London (well, my particular suburb of London) today thinking about how I've seen so many ads for Spider-Man 2 on buses, but not a single ad for Mario Wonder.

I'll look out for these when I go to central later.

@dbeiler0814 I think you want to get your Switch checked if you're getting 5-minute loading times.

• The first generation in which both of Nintendo's competitors (plus PC) are offering near-full backwards compatibility out the gate?
• Riding off the huge success of the Switch, a console with a fantastic original library, Nintendo's strongest ever third party library and an ever-growing collection of classic titles spanning Nintendo's entire console history?
• Diminishing returns on power gains meaning that each new console generation is incremental rather than revolutionary?
• A portable system meaning that backwards compatibly would add extra convenience?

Nintendo more than ever needs to prioritise backwards compatibility. I'm even tempted to say that it will be one of the most influential factors in the success of the Switch successor.

For the most part WWHD looks better IMO. The main exception is in dark environments with a single light source, in which the cel-shading effect is lost and Link starts to look like he's make out of plasticine. But otherwise an improvement in terms of lighting, colour and fidelity.

I personally think WWHD will be "cross-gen" in the sense that it will be released for the Switch, but playable on the Switch 2 via backwards compatibility. I suspect we will already know about the Switch 2 / the Switch 2 will already be out though.

I played this when it came out on the 3DS virtual console and...meh.

Worth a try if it came to NSO, but I wouldn't pay more than £3 or so for this in 2023. I appreciate the addition of colour, but at the core of it its just a decent Gameboy game lasting less than an hour. Not worth the $20 asking price IMO.

It...just looks like the Pokemon?

I think people are seeing too much here...do they know what the real-world object actually looks like?

Didn't even watch this one personally. I find there's never been much reason to watch them outside of the Pokemon Day Presents, in which they typically unveil the next main series game.

Nice! Pokemon TCG is a game I will forever go back to. I really wish they made a modern version for the Switch.

Can't say I expected to wake up to Gex, Tombi and Plumbers Don't Wear Ties on Switch this morning. Madness.

@johnvboy Same - got the Switch at launch and still managed to never experience drift. Switch has also been my primary console for most of these years. In fact, I think the only controllers I've ever had drift on are a PS3 and a PS1 controller back in the day. So no controller is immune to it.

Sounds like it really is luck of the draw. Can't imagine how unlucky you have to be to have multiple pairs drift.

I noticed this. They've straight up copied Ellie's design, and the use of the word "Last" in the title is definitely intentional in attempt to confuse the customer. I doubt this would be allowed on the PS Store.

@Olmectron It's a play on words. "Cymru", the Welsh name for Wales, is pronounced kəmri, which sounds like "country".

As much as I liked the original collection (yes, it is flawed - but I think it is currently the definitive way to play these games), I find myself very disappointed with this expansion.

Amy is nice to have, but I don't feel she offers much more than the main trio of characters - unlike Ray, Mighty, and even Advance Amy who had much more distinct playstyles.

Also, although I've enjoyed the Game Gear games in the past, I don't think they've aged well at all, and they seem to suffer from a lot of slow-down in this collection (I'm sure the slowdown was there originally, but it's quite jarring in 2023).

Not surprised. A lot of it will be shovelware, as mentioned, but we're still getting a decent stream of games overall.

There's talk of 3rd parties giving up on the Switch and I'm just not seeing it. Sure, there are AAA multiplats that Switch isn't getting in 2023...but that was the case in 2017-2022 also.

Not all that surprising that Zelda is outselling SF6 in it's opening week tbh. Although Street Fighter is particularly popular, the fighting genre is pretty niche...whereas Zelda is one of the heaviest hitters on what has been the highest selling platform for the past few years. BotW has over 4x the lifetime sales of SFV, and the latter game has benefitted from being on sale for peanuts over the past few years.

Really happy to see the continued success for TotK. It's very clear how much work Nintendo have put into this one, so it's good to see it pay off.

How does anyone see large ears and locks of hair and think lizard?

Definitely goat on this one.

Highly recommend the first game to anyone interested in The Smurfs and/or 3D platformers. It's no Mario Odyssey but it's certainly an underrated gem.

@HistoricKombat Still seems like a bit of a rubbish price. My cinema ticket was ~£10 ($12.50)...and I don't imagine it will cost much more to also buy a digital copy in a few months' time?

Sadly no mention of the load times when entering battle (which was not present in the original Gamecube version).

Such a disappointing port, really.

Is $29.99 standard for a digital movie in the US? That price seems absurd.

Although I'm really enjoying TotK, the openness of the puzzle design and the world in general can be overwhelming. It's also a far cry from the gameplay style that got me into the series in the first place. The new style has been different and refreshing, but I wouldn't necessarily say it's "better".

I'd honestly like to see something a bit more streamlined in the next Zelda title. Maybe something like Twilight Princess, wherein the world is fairly open but the story and dungeons are relatively linear.