Claude

So SM64 is just the original version without the DS additions? That's disappointing because I really wanted the ultimate version of that game with the 360 motion from the original (rather than the 8 from the DS one), and the new content. Is Sunshine still going to have the same camera issues as the original?

I wanted to get this, and still might, but I'll have to think about it. I have a Wii U with SM64 and both Galaxy games (the limited run gives them the opportunity to then re-launch of Galaxy with the second later), and a Gamecube with SMS. Without the DS content for 64, there's nothing new for me.

N64 was my first console ever in 1996, have had every Nintendo home and handheld console since (as well as the original game boy, game boy pocket, and game boy color) at one point or another. Right now I have a Switch, Wii U, 3DS, and GCN.
Can definitely see Switch reaching Wii levels (or just below) since there’s no real direct competitor for the same service, and it’ll be a cheaper alternative to the Sony and Microsoft consoles next year. I don’t think the sales of the DS and PS2 will ever be eclipsed, that’s the chunk that has their demand met through other technology these days.

Unique twist: It'll be a mobile game.

Can we just get an N64 USB controller (a proper one with the trident instead of those abominations online)?

@Xelha Sony’s exclusives and the PS4 closing in on 100 million would say otherwise, but if you make a game that is both technologically demanding and high quality, it’s more of a loss to the library of the console that cannot play it more than anything.
Nintendo has every reason to make a Pro/Plus/etc. version of the Switch, because it will enrich its library in the end even further. And as the next generation unfolds, more cross-platform titles will by default need more power. They missed out by not doing a Wii HD around 2010 when people were moving towards HD in more significant numbers than at the time of the Wii’s release, and so sales of the console fell in the second half of that generation while the 360 stayed constant and the PS3 rose after the price cuts. While the Switch’s portability does give it a feature the Wii never had, by not providing a mid-lifecycle Pro option, the only downside is the Switch’s library missing out on titles.

@Wavey84 @graysoncharles Yeah Nintendo's had their share of arrogant episodes that came back to bite them as well. And Microsoft had one of the dumbest reveals and rollouts with the X1. That whole Kinect bundle thing was even more stupid because they'd capitalized so much on the original PS3 being so expensive, which led people to opt for the 360, and then they made the Kinect mandatory initially even though it bloated up the price.

The latter half of the Wii era is why they should go in hard on a Switch Pro/+/etc. The Wii was a monster at first, but once people started to move to HD and most non-indie games were being done in HD, it lost a lot of ground, while the 360 stayed constant and the PS3 improved on its initial performance (though the cheaper cost was essential in Sony pulling through as well). The Switch does have the padding of portability, which is a feature that Sony and Microsoft can't copy due to the power required to run those machines, but it's not a reason to rest on their laurels like they did ten years ago.

And I don't want it to seem like I'm being hard on Nintendo. I was fully convinced The Witcher 3 would never run on the Switch without a Pro version. I was wrong, and that's even more reason for a Switch Pro, because more top of the line games like that can come sooner to the Switch, run better, and it will incentivize developers to try to make Switch versions when they might have just kept it to PS/XB/PC. For example, the FFVII Remake is going to be only on Playstation initially, but when the times exclusivity runs out, Nintendo should want the Switch for an option. Cyberpunk 2077 has a lot of hype, maybe it could make its way onto the Pro version eventually.

They're not really wrong, especially since they've exited the handheld market now. But the only time that Sony and Nintendo really competed hardcore was the decade+ between the launch of the PSX and the Wii.

Sony won this generation due to clear marketing and exclusives (things Microsoft did not have). They're both things that Nintendo has as well for the Switch. There's enough to differentiate the two (the Switch has portability + Nintendo Franchises, Sony's consoles make up the lack of portability with enough power to run games that the Switch will have trouble with, and their own exclusives).

The only thing Nintendo needs to take away from this is to make that Switch Pro a reality, so it can run even more games and expand its library further.

Every version of this has been better than the previous, and being able to reset your jobs is a huge boon to anyone stepping into this title for the first time.

Fingers crossed for a XIII release with its 10 year coming up, that'd be an instabuy for me.

Yes, and there should be an option to turn them off if people want.

More than anything, I think achievement systems are nice to give the player something to aim for if they want to continue to play after completing the main objectives.

That thing looks horrific

Surprise release of Persona 5 for Switch, with an exclusive new persona: Yoshi!

Nintendo has gotten flack sometimes for appealing to younger audiences, but Yoshi’s Island was perfect for me when I was 8. Probably the first experience I had of a ‘relaxing’ game after the challenging SM64.

The SNES entry is still tops though, I would purchase it instantly if it was ported to the Switch.

When I was first asked to choose between getting a PS1 or N64, I went with the N64 because duh, SM64. But when this was released the following year, I had to get the other one too after seeing the ads. In a way, this game was the ultimate emblem of Nintendo's hubris, with Sony and Square joining forces after difficulties with them and essentially breaking JRPGs in the West after they'd been Nintendo territory through and through when it was considered to just be a small niche, while the N64 was barren of the genre. Seeing Cloud in SSB was so strange to me initially, but I still love this game and am glad to see it be presented to new audiences through the Switch.

I'm curious as to whether they'll try to bring the next mainline Final Fantasy to Switch. By the time Square and Nintendo patched things up, there were technical difficulties in making that happen. XII could have come to the GCN, but it would have taken like 6 discs, and by the time that game came out, momentum had long stalled, the install base was the smallest of any Nintendo console, and the Wii was on the horizon. There was no way XIII could run on the Wii, and as XV went along, Nintendo once again had a console with a disappointing performance, and it was known that what eventually became the Switch was being worked on. With the major momentum of the Switch now though, it would be worth looking into it during early development stages, unless it's just not possible technologically.

It arguably has the best library of any Nintendo device, with only the SNES as its main competitor.

I rented this from Blockbuster like 5 times but never bought it. It hit at the peak of the Pokemon craze and until Pokemon Stadium launched the next year, it was the only way to see them in 3D which was the major appeal. Good times. The concept would work great with the Switch as well.

I still remember the Mew level where he isn't visible until after the pictures are developed.

@Heavyarms55 Once they're done with the release and hype period for Three Houses, I hope Intelligent Systems takes note of the positive reception of Wargroove and releases the entire Advance Wars collection.

Hoping for Rondo of Blood and Bloodlines to be among the remaining ones, and for the other two to be something other than the N64 titles.

I'd love for the actual Fate VN to be put on the Switch, although it's kinda out there subject matter wise.

Turok was the first game I ever rented (my first console was the N64 with Super Mario 64), have a lot of special memories of it, and I can't remember whether I ever actually finished it.

I did do pretty much everything in the second one though, I will probably get that eventually.

Aside from MK8D, and technically BOTW, this was the most no brainer decision for a port. This series has sold wonders on systems that had the one thing that the Wii U didn't, a large install base. It didn't drive people out in droves to buy a system on its own during the original release, but now that the Switch is a big hit that's still going, those people that bought it for something else (Smash, Zelda, Mario O, indie games, etc.) will gradually pick it up. It will probably be a very steady seller that will rank very high on the list of highest selling games on the system when the successor comes.

Sure, they could have made an all new title for the Switch, but this is a series where the biggest change over the course of thirteen years was when they added multiplayer. It would have essentially been the same game with minor differences. Why spend money and time to develop a totally new entry when they had one sitting there which most people had not played because they didn't get the system it was originally released on?

I mentioned this before, but the VN market that kept the Vita afloat in Japan will be absorbed into the Switch now. Given the amount of text, and the much smaller international market for them, most will likely stay in Japan. And if Nintendo expects them to do well there, it is in their best interest to mention it the Direct to maximize their commercial impact. It's a way of market segmentation.

With the Vita wrapping up, the VN market that helped keep it afloat in Japan is going to be absorbed into the Switch. It will be seeing strong sales there for quite some time.

Even in the case where the global momentum of the Switch goes the way of the Wii and can't maintain the pace of the initial years, Japan will stay strong due to that.

I've been waiting for Star Fox 64 3D to drop in price, so this is great! (I played it (N64) so much back then that I can't justify spending $40 on it)

I’m going to wait until a price drop because of my backlog (only 2D Mario I never played at all), but this was undoubtedly going to do well and was a no brainer for a port after the others did so well. The small install base of the Wii U was the main reason for the lower sales compared to other entries. With the success of the Switch, this has a shot of outdoing BOTW and SMO in total sales.

With the exception of RDR2 and Spider-Man, I've seen far more advertising for Fallout 76 than any other game, which is funny given all the bad press.

Never played this, and am so excited! I played Berseria recently, and am currently replaying Symphonia on GCN. Need to decide whether I'm going with the Switch or PS4 for this. Will likely do Switch unless the performance is surprisingly worse, but it shouldn't be given that it's a PS3 release.

I'd really like for the PS2 Destiny/Destiny II games to make it over to the West as well eventually.

I always thought that it was a bad idea to launch the Wii U with NSMB game instead of a proper 3D Mario game that would have benefited from HD given their relative simplicity and how many there had been (haven't played NMSBU for the record, and planning on getting it for the Switch, but I did play all the others), but looking at the numbers for the Wii (which was with sales of the console decreasing soon after) and DS, I can't blame them at all.

People love their Mario Kart! They were so smart to salvage it.

@BlueOcean I am refusing to by any Sonic games on the Switch until S3&K is released. Just switch out the music with MJ contributions if you have to if that's the issue. It's ridiculous how many times the other Genesis Sonic games have been released in recent years, but I don't think S3&K has seen a release since it was put on Steam.

Given the slowdown in major releases this year, the sales for the most recent quarter aren't surprising. The underwhelming rollout for NSO didn't help either.

I haven't gotten a Pokemon game since Crystal, but I think people are underestimating how the Let's Go games will move units (especially since they're geared for the Pokemon Go crows), and Smash will definitely do its part. Ironic that it has now passed the Gamecube, because it was Smash that did the most for that console.

I won't be surprised if they miss the 20 million mark, but they'll be fairly close.

I'm not big when games have their main content rolled out part by part and it's not certain that it will ever actually be completed, so I passed on this even though it looked cool. Might get it for the Switch if it's actually the complete version, because I do like the art direction quite a lot.

Been to busy to play for the past couple of days, but I did start it and I'm really enjoying it. I would have liked an HD bundle with the sequel on the Switch, but the 3D really goes a good distance in increasing the immersion factor, and I'm glad they did it. For what it is, the trimmings from the GCN version aren't a big deal for me, although I can see the price being a deterrent, especially if you still have the original.

I have the slim and it's perfect for commutes. I only buy digital games and have a 400 GB card, so the only things I need to pack separately if I know I'm going to need them is my charger and stand, but for day-to-day the slim is perfect.

Fitting considering that we're probably going to get the Dreamcast Sonic games before 3&K on the Switch.

Good to see that they learned from the experience of trying to go the other way during the Gamecube period (not the quality and library for that console, but their philosophy presented for those years) and having it backfire.

I remember this coming around a few times. I'm kinda glad they never made it into a game during the Gamecube era because hardware sales stalling early led Nintendo to rush both Sunshine and Wind Waker, and you could tell. This would have likely been met with a similar fate.

They spruced WW up in some key areas in the HD version, and if Sunshine gets the same treatment I hope they do the same to it. At the very least cut down on the blue coin padding and make the camera more manageable.

Though good games technically, Sunshine and the original Wind Waker are my least favorite 3D entries for both systems because of how the lack of polish makes them drag.

I have so many fond memories of this game. It was the first Zelda game I ever played and I remember the advertisements. I was 9 when it launched and my parents wouldn't buy it for me. So I convinced a kid at school who was going away for a weekend with the condition that I didn't play past the point where you pull out the sword (I don't think he had beaten it yet and wanted to do it first). That evening, I tagged along with my parents to the mall and managed to convince them to get me the guide.

I played it without the guide up until, yup, the Water Temple. I reached a point where I must have spent at least an hour and a half trying to find THAT key (you probably know which one) and making no progress. Eventually, I opened the guide and followed it from the beginning of the temple just to get to find it. Looking back, it speaks to how immersed I was in it that all the boot switching and load times with the menu didn't get me to quit. It was by far the most frustrating part of a game I had experienced up to that point. I checked the guide periodically from then on because I was short on time. I hadn't finished it by Sunday night and just lied to the kid the next day and said I'd forgotten it. I was at Gerudo's Fortress at that point. I finished it that night, deleted the file, and returned it to him the next day.

I ended up renting it again later, and eventually got it for myself too. Played it on an emulator in high school, then the 3DS version, and have been gradually making my way back through that version (paused after the Fire Temple but intending to continue, might the Water Temple scars lol).

To this day, no other title in the series has topped it for me, and it's not for lack of trying. I admired the uniqueness of MM, the daring attitude of WW, the ambition of TP, the effort put into SS, and the fearlessness of BOTW, but there is still something about this one that comes from a very specific combination of structure (which ALTTP deserves significant credit for), pacing, character, atmosphere, epicness, and gameplay.

There are so many memorable moments throughout (annoying as Navi was, beginning and ending with her was a great decision), but yes, the one that will always stand out the most is that moment when you first step out onto Hyrule Field. While you can take a cynical view in retrospect because it deceptively hides how linear the game actually is, it's tough not to recall that very first moment from 20 years ago, when I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

I expect an HD version of SS to be the next major Zelda release (before the proper follow up to BOTW), but I would welcome one for this at any moment (as well as for MM).

One unique aspect of it that I wish more games had tried to follow was how it gives you the time to get familiar and comfortable with Hyrule in peace before everything hits the fan. It's a very jarring shift that is key to the experience.

It's so stupid that they actually have Hyrule Warriors on their newest console, but they're offering this on an outdated version.

DQVIII, Majora's Mask, and Wild Waker HD are all fantastic though, even with the latter's pacing issues and small number of dungeons.

I loved the original Superstar Saga but passed on the remake. But I might grab the discount and then decide if I still want it.

I'd have preferred for the first two to be released as an HD bundle on the Switch, but either way this'll be the first 3DS title I pick up since Samus Returns as well, and if it's the last one I get (considering the M&L: BIS remake), it's a good one to wrap it up on.

This game better steamroll its way to being the biggest selling one of its franchise by a large margin and make people run towards Switches with arms outstretched like they were free T-shirts with how long they’ve been hyping it up.

But I’m pretty sure that’s what will actually happen.

While I don't doubt it would have been superior to the VB, I'm not sure that Nintendo could have successfully maintained the N64, the Game Boy, continue work on the 64DD and GameCube (both of which were delayed), not to mention the GBA, and on top of all that have a whole other system to maintain.

The 90s VR attempt failing was a bit of a blessing in disguise, unlike the 64DD which should have been shelved after '97.

Spider-Man is such a great game! I find myself avoiding fast travel just to swing through and see what's up, which is a positive comment on gameplay. It doesn't reinvent the wheel or anything like that (if you've never liked any Spider-Man game, you probably won't like this one), but it's just a high quality game that succeeds in what it sets out to do.

I still need to play the previous TR game, so I can't comment on the new one.

Good to see MK8 and Odyssey still going. I expect NSMBUD to have a long life as well.

I love this series. I first ended up playing them on mobile and have the whole series on IOS now, but these games are the same on any system since it's most similar to point and click.

The first and third ones in the trilogy are still some of the strongest. The first is probably the tightest.

The first console I ever owned, but the library will be glaringly incomplete without the Rare titles. No Banjo, no Goldeneye, no Perfect Dark, no Diddy Kong Racing (though I wouldn't expect Nintendo to go for this over Mario Kart 64 even though it's a better game), no Jet Force Gemini, no Blast Corps, it really adds up.

I do expect DK64 to be included, but although I do like it, it's really odd to have that one be their sole representative.

I played the first on mobile and really enjoyed it. It's definitely made for that format with the Tinder influence.

I don't get why they removed Sonic 3 & Knuckles from this after the initial releases, and that they still refuse to release it anywhere.

This, XIII, and X-2 are the only non-MMORPG entries that I haven't played. I've almost bought it several times for PS4, but the amount of options and the reviews keep turning me off. I'll probably get it sometime, but it won't be this version.

There are good points in the article. SMB3 was either the first or second game I ever played (Duck Hunt was the other one). While it wasn't the first one I owned and beat (that'd be SM64), I would eventually go through it four times. Twice on the original, then the All Stars version, and then the GBA port. It's a fantastic, enduring game, but I've experienced it already, multiple times, in different forms. And although I prefer SMB3 to Sunshine, I'd rather play a the latter on Switch, even if they just put the GCN version there without any fixes because it's had no release other than the original one.

But it's all rather moot given the pricing. For what they're charging, you're not going to put together a great argument that you're not getting what you pay for. Not as good as it could be? Sure. But not that the service doesn't match the price. Letting people use their gold coins (which have extremely limited use, especially for those who had the last system) is another way. If you've been buying Switch games on a regular basis, there's a good chance you don't have to pay anything extra to use it. That gives them a lot of power (on top of already having more than with VC because they're not selling the games to you, but rather giving you access to them) over what they do, because relatively little is being asked.

I wouldn't mind a progression where they keep adding tiers and access to each console comes behind a price. $80-$100 a year for where you have access to NES, SNES, N64, and GCN (with each one being around an extra $20 a year) would be a good deal (maybe you can add Wii too, no real point in Wii U since pretty much everything is being ported) and not a bad model because revenue can be extracted from those who don't want full access and are willing to pay less for less.

I didn't play this when it was out because I was over the New games by this point, especially since this came like three months after the third one, but I'll probably get it now, it's definitely the best looking one.

I also think this is going to be a huge seller. There are so many other games I'd rather they port, but this will do well commercially with the Switch's install base.

FFVII, SM64, and Ocarina Of Time were the top three games of their time period for me. FVII has its flaws, but I think it has its heart in the right places more than any other entry and it comes in during key moments.

I liked FVIII when it was new, and have good memories of the hype, but it doesn't hold up. It's probably the least interactive game in the whole series aside from the first two (haven't played the MMOs), and the junction system is broken. The soundtrack is incredible though.

Yes! Excited for this one.