Buizel

Is that Gendo Ikari in the background?

Bongo Bongo confirmed?

Five total, which includes all models but the OG.

I started off with the XL, which I later replaced with the New 3DS. I later bought a 2DS cheaply in order to trade Pokemon with myself.

Since then I've picked up the New 3DS XL and the New 2DS XL as an experiment to find my preferred "main" system. In the end I settled with the New 3DS XL and have since sold all of the others (but the 2DS for trading).

Yeah, I spent a lot of time with this system...

Hey, it's Charlie from The Nightman Cometh!

@Ralizah I've always had some moderate interest in strategy games / TRPGs, but tbh they've always flown under my radar on previous consoles.

It feels with the Switch, however, that they're becoming inescapable. Definitely seems like the genre is going through a boom at the moment, and I'm all for it.

2022 for me. No massive games along the lines of BotW, Mario Odyssey, or Smash, but I think it was the most consistently good year for the Switch when factoring in first party and third party titles. Just too much to play!

Definitely BotW, but that's not really fair as you're basically including the whole game. Twilight Princess is also fairly solid. OoT has...nothing in it?

I've not voted as I don't really find it to be a fair comparison, tbh.

The movie designs have a bit more character but only really work in the context of the film IMO. I think they look a bit too goofy to work in an actual Mario game.

Conversely I think the game designs shown are a bit more sterile (I'm not the biggest fan of the "stock" 3D renders we've had for Mario characters over the past couple of decades, compared with some of the older title-specific artwork that had a bit more character), but they're a lot more versatile. I can envision those characters appearing in a lot more contexts than their movie counterparts.

This was one of my favourite games when it came out on the Gamecube, so tbh it's impossible for me to remove my opinion from my nostalgia for the game.

That said, I'm honestly surprised to see "stiff combat" as a con for this game, as I think the combat is one of the game's strongest points (certainly moreso than the dungeons, personally). Sure, action RPGs have evolved a lot since Symphonia...but the combat here is still a great time, and certainly a lot more fun than even some modern ARPGs (Kingdom Hearts 3 comes to mind).

Edit: looking at the PushSquare review, it aligns with my opinion that the combat is a pro and the dungeons are more on the tedious side...interesting to see such opposing views on the sister sites!

@Mando44646 Really? It's £49.99 in the UK, which is the same price as Nintendo's first party releases. Strange.

@darkswabber Sure, there's a lot of content...maybe too much content...but personally I'd rather play a lower price and have a choice of what songs are included. There's a lot of context here that I'll simply never experience, whereas a lot of the content that interests me is locked behind the expansion pass =/

"How other storied, sprawling game series’ haven’t followed suit with their own rhythm games is baffling when the results can be this magical."

I've always thought this since I played the original on the 3DS. If Nintendo did something with all their series it'd be an instant day-one purchase for me.

The inclusion of other Square-Enix properties in this one is super appealing to me. However, it's really the price that puts me off. Not only is this now a full-price Switch game (compared with something you could pick up for half the price on 3DS), but the deluxe edition is almost £100!

@CaptChaos @abe_hikura Yeah that's the one thing that bothers me about this vid. They've definitely gone for an 80s/90s style but the woman is clearly holding a smart-phone.

"Low-budget" videos of the modern day don't have that look to them.

Is it me or does it feel like these live service games are lasting less and less time?

Willing to give this more of a shot, but my first impression is that the stylus controls on the 3DS worked so much better.

@Bret That's pretty funny...I've not had a softlock yet, but based on the other glitches I've had I wouldn't be surprised to see it...

@Sisilly_G With the internet exposing us to so many other experiences, I find that it's very easy for glitches in games to be overblown. I've played so many "glitchy" games in my life, with nary a glitch to be found through standard play. That includes Mario Sunshine (outside of those god-awful pachinko controls). But the internet would have you believe that I'm the exception, not the rule.

On the topic of Scarlet/Violet...I won't deny that it's a buggy mess, but am I the only one fortunate enough not to have it crash on me yet? And I've played through both games...

I'm only about 7 or 8 chapters in but I'm thinking 7/10. Combat is fine but everything else feels like a massive downgrade compared with Three Houses.

Persona 5 Royal 10/10
Persona 4 Golden 9/10

Not played 3 Portable.

The article thumbnail made me expect the worst (good job on that image NL!), but after looking at the article...I'm kinda disappointed we didn't get this!

Would've been better than Pink Gold Peach in Mario Kart, at least.

@ryu_san Although I'm a bit biased as a P5 superfan, and the last thing I'd want to do is encourage someone to play a game that they actively dislike, I also encourage you to push a little further to see if it recaptures your interest.

Although I don't necessarily agree with the consensus, the point you're at is widely considered the most tedious part of the game...but you're also just about to hit one of the best parts of the game - at which point the game becomes a bit less formulaic and the plot ramps up quite a bit. If you're not hooked from the next dungeon though...I guess it's safe to say you're not going to enjoy the rest.

Good to see they're keeping the tradition of phenomenal soundtracks. The original has one of the best soundtracks on the Switch.

Probably the best trailer Nintendo has ever made - from the exploration segment, to the rising tension of the combat, to the musical crescendo when Zelda's face is revealed, to the introduction of various characters with a variation of the LoZ theme playing...so much is captured within the trailer. I still watch it occasionally to this day.

This was surprisingly difficult.

@Thenewguy I can only speak for myself, but I imagine the amount of competition of people's attention played a part.

The first Mario and Rabbids released in summer (a time where typically fewer games released) on a relatively new system where people were begging for new experiences.

Conversely, the sequel released in a crowded October 2022 in which the Switch was getting a ton games fighting for people's time, including Bayonetta, Persona 5, Nier Automata, Overwatch 2, etc. And then we had the sales juggernaut of Pokemon only the following month.

Never noticed the screen dimmimg issue myself, but the network issue did bother me a bit so glad to see that fixed!

Disappointed in the low effort for this remaster, but I'm not gonna deny that I'll be picking it up anyway.

Tales of Symphonia was one of my favourite games growing up, and I'm not going to say no to the opportunity to play it on my favourite console of all time...

First time I've looked at the Japanese one and thought it was outright terrible. Looks like the cover of one of those "tips and tricks" booklets you'd get free with magazines 20+ years ago. Awful.

As someone with no prior experience with Record of Lodoss War, I highly recommend the Deedlit game. One of my favourite games played last year.

Surprised not to see Donkey Kong in the poll - we're overdue another return for the ape.

Otherwise, Wario plz.

I always have a Pokemon game on the go (mostly replaying gens 1-4, with some of the later gens sprinkled in) and, while I don't usually get through them all annually, things usually average out to me picking them up in 2-year cycles. So this year I'll likely be replaying the games I played in 2021 (one each of Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow, Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal, Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald).

Otherwise you can probably throw some classic Sonic into the mix. And Persona 5 might as well be annual at this point with how much I play that.

Personally I don't see the big deal about Tinkaton, but Curledge and Meowscarada are my favourites so happy to see those in the top 5.

Great news tbh, Ash was beginning to feel stale as early as DP.

The weirdest thing will be the lack of Pikachu...

Quick save is a welcome addition.

Still rather disappointed that we're not getting a "definitive" version of P3 though...

Too little too late in the year tbh. I enjoyed the little I played of Crisis Core on the PSP, and tbh I was hyped when this was announced, but with the sheer number of games that have come out this year (most of which I've not got around too), I'm struggling to care at the moment. Maybe I'll pick it up to hype myself up for Remake pt2 when the time comes.

@Olliemar28 Doesn't work for the Switch does it?

@EarthboundBenjy Yeah...I'm not inherently opposed to the idea of gaming on mobile (although honestly I'd always prefer to use a dedicated gaming device, i.e. my Switch), but after a few attempts I've been completely put off by the pushing of microtransaction and game-as-a-service-type models.

The best games, IMO, are timeless, and it's just sad to see these titles amount to nothing within a time span shorter than even a single console generation.

Mine evolved with no problem? Like maybe a level or two after it evolved into Pawmo. Didn't realise this was an issue for most people.

It was actually very useful to have a fully evolved Pokemon so early in the game.

Persona 5 on sale already?

As someone who grew up with the PS1 and N64, and later played quite a bit of DS, I still find it strange that people target this sort of low-res, low-poly art style. Sprite art is quite timeless IMO, but I find this kinda art style pretty jarring tbh.

That said, I'm always up for a new cool 3D platformer so I might consider it at some point.

Agree with most of the criticisms tbh, but also somewhat surprised this scored so low. Personally I would give this a 7, but I'm maybe early enough in the game that the gameplay hasn't got tiresome. Most of my issues with the game are on a technical level rather than on a design level, although I think they dropped the ball with the Cyber Space stages.

I will admit this game looked downright ugly when I first started it up on Switch, but I soon got used to it and think of it more as an early 7th gen title. That said, am I the only one not bothered by the pop-in? I've not really noticed it tbh...maybe my eyes just get used to this sorta thing.

insert "Why not both?" meme

After a decade of not really liking Roger Craig Smith as Sonic, I think he's really come into his own in this game. Really nice to see him going from snarky one-liners to a more mature Sonic - it's made me realise that I never really disliked the VA himself, but moreso the script and direction at the time.

While I'm not surprised by the overall trend of the Switch being most popular in young adults, that spike at 22 does seem suspect. I'd expect maybe a bit more overlap with the 21 and 23 age groups.

I think @Rambler is on to something...how do we know this isn't just people defaulting to 2000 as their birth year?

Surprising given the runaway success of the Switch, even in the UK. But I guess proportionally Xbox One found a lot more success in the UK that it did elsewhere in the world?

Not quite sure I understand this interpretation though: "It’s a small country so portable gaming isn’t as big."

What does the size of our country have to do with portable gaming?

Everything in Tomb Raider 2 and 3. The general tone of the games freaks me out to this day.

I was too young to be playing that series.

These are great. Pity I'm not female or Australian or I'd totally go for these.

Mario Party 4 for me.

People talk of the N64 classics, but I feel like 4 really took what made the first 3 great and ran with it to produce the all-round best Mario Party game.

5-8 were good in their own right but got caught up in other gimmicks after the series was beginning to get criticism for becoming "stale".

I've not played 9, but 10 is just horrendous.

Superstars is a step in the right direction but doesn't quite capture the magic of the first 4 games. I'm hopeful for the future of the series though.

Up until Friday, this has been my favourite game unavailable on a Nintendo system. Overall it's second only to the Pokemon series as my favourite game of all time.

So excited to play this again on Switch.

Agree, this looks beautiful. A contender for the best-looking anime-inspired game on Switch, IMO.

It's either "tears (cry)" or purposefully ambiguous to evoke both, IMO.

Using "tears (torn)" as a noun and then following it with "of the Kingdom" is technically valid, but feels very awkward in English IMO. In this case I think most people would use a synonym for "tears" to evoke the idea of a kingdom being in ruins.

Then again, this is a Japanese company, and "Breath of the Wild" took some getting used to.