DJDM

Oof, the DS is the only dedicated handheld that isn't held back by its corresponding home console.

The SNES has an absolutely stellar library, and is probably Nintendo's "relative" peak, in terms of how it stacks up with its contemporaries. That said, I think it's hurt most by where it falls in the chronology - I can play so many of the greatest SNES games on later systems (including the Switch).

I picked the Switch, which is mostly down to the combination of 1) a hybrid system being absolutely perfect for how I like to game, and 2) the sheer number of games I can play on it (including so many games from generations I completely missed for one reason or another). It would have been a much harder choice if I was judging purely on at-the-time-exclusives.

Love the extended timeframe, especially if we're going to be working through longer games in this club.

Another dimension that might be fun to add would be a more freeform "side club" that just promotes and celebrates reducing backlog in general, rather than focuses on particular games. Maybe a monthly check-in where people can discuss how many/which games they successfully removed from their backlog.

Love this idea, and will definitely be down if Earthbound wins the poll. Playing Moon would involve adding to my backlog, and I've already beaten Undertale - though if that wins maybe I'll finally play Deltarune Chs. 1-2.

StS is a really odd choice to launch this though - it's a fantastic game, but rogueli*es occupy a really weird zone. "Finishing" one is an even more subjective concept than with a more traditional fully scripted game. But in the spirit of the club, I can probably boot StS up for a few runs - it has been a while.

@Lyricana they got BST right, and that's another season-specific time zone. I'd say getting the time zones right is an easy mistake not to make.

"EST"? Not a lot of places using that time right now... Really must be courting your readership in Panama, Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, Quintana Roo and.... parts of Nunavut?

Though based on a conversion from BST, I'm guessing this should read "EDT."

@tweet75 was about to say - StarTropics 2 is a big omission.

@EarthboundBenjy
...yeah, really wish they had followed that up with a poll to see what readers actually think...

Sadly, there's almost no way this'll be localized - Yggdra Union was ported to Switch in Japanese two years ago, and it's still untranslated. Would love to see either or both in English...

I can't understand the constant FE comparisons literally every single TRPG that gets announced seems to elicit (they were rampant with Triangle Strategy too).

This game looks absolutely nothing like FE mechanically.

I have been staring at the Sprigatito flip for several minutes now, and I still can't figure out what people are complaining about... Nothing at all looks off to me.

@King-Demon Nah, Digimon Survive has always been grid-based tactical RPG combat. Looks like it'll be more FFT than Fire Emblem though...

Sad that it's delayed again, but I can wait. I tried Cyber Sleuth, and it just didn't feel like Digimon to me. Digimon is about traveling to another world and making new friends and growing as a person, not putzing around the metaverse, tracking down lost crap and solving so-called mysteries. Survive looks like it could capture that feel again, so still cautiously optimistic.

I'm happy to see they're actively improving the service, though it's still not worth the price for me. Maybe if they add GBA and/or third party SNES titles (i.e., Squaresoft games) to the Expansion Pack. Or if I can find a group to split a family pass.

I played OoT for the first time in 2015 (on the N64, not 3DS), and I gotta say... I don't really think it holds up if you didn't play it in its original context.

Horribly dated graphics aside, the game has really weak combat and poor overall controls, is overloaded with repetitive fetch quests, and has dungeons that are either uninspired (e.g., the Shadow Temple) or theoretically interesting but just really frustrating in execution (Water Temple being the prime example).

I will say I really enjoyed the Spirit Temple (and it made me wish they had used the time-travel mechanic much more widely throughout) and the Gerudo Valley theme may be the best Zelda music ever written, but aside from those bright spots, the game was not great - probably a 6 out of 10 for me.

I haven't played Majora's Mask on N64, so I can't do a perfect comparison, but I really enjoyed it on 3DS.

...if this is really the best of what we're losing with the closure of the 3DS eshop, seems like it's not a great loss.

I think these designs are an utterly massive improvement over XC2 - this looks like a game I could actually play in public.

Here's hoping the combat system is also improved. The fact that there doesn't seem to be XC2-style blades in this game is promising. Hopefully that means there won't be the absolutely stupid mobile game mechanics from that game (why does a 200+ hour RPG need gacha and idle systems????).

@Scapetti
Yeah, I understand that's the case, but I feel that if I don't play Beginnings first, I might never play it. NES games are generally outside of my gaming comfort zone. By making myself play Beginnings first, I have a stronger incentive to finish it.

"North American accent"??? Yup, a tiny formerly European island has got loads of "regional accents," but the continent of North America has just one....

I'm really excited to finally play this, but I'm forcing myself to play EarthBound Beginnings first...

I think this looks fine. It's still one of the better looking PS1 games, but it's still a PS1 game. And I'm fine with the decision to not go full remake. Squeenix has better candidates for that treatment (cough cough FFIX).

Never finished it back in the day, and never got a chance to play Radical Dreamers, so I might pick this up.

Hot take - The Messenger, while a very good game in many ways, is also pretty over-hyped. It's got great sidescrolling/platforming action, really solid bosses, a fairly creative second half, and some other neat one-off gameplay twists. But it's also overburdened by terrible, cringe-inducing "nerd humor," and the "metroidvania" elements are poorly executed. It's a good game, but is a bad metroidvania with bad writing.

Here's hoping Sea of Stars can avoid the pitfalls of its predecessor. The game looks absolutely gorgeous.

the joy-cons of my dreams? so the binbok joypad, but with a reputation for consistent quality? or maybe the hori split-pad pro, but with gyro and rumble? Or perhaps just a first-party, split-able pro controller?

@Fran27 Yeah, I made the mistake of wanting a free preorder bonus Metroid mug. I would cancel and re-order from somewhere else, but they've offered me a 10% discount and I'm making such good progress on my backlog...

@raphsolo

Samus will be played by Chris Pratt. He's so cool.

@KateGray
Can she bring Metroid Dread? My preorder still hasn't arrived....

After finishing NEO:TWEWY, I was really tempted to pick up the remake. I decided not to since I still own the original and heard that the remake's controls are really iffy.... but now that I can try it for free and get it on sale if I like it, I'm definitely going to reassess

Interested in this game, but waiting on reviews... of which there are very few so far. Will NLife be doing one?

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon has been on my radar for a while, though I appreciate the (albeit limited) additional details on the actual gameplay. Odd that the (I assume) official description calls it "divisive" though...

Also, The Captain looks good, but also weirdly similar to Halcyon 6 in parts. Hopefully the late-game is a bit more finished.

here's hoping it's a Metal Gear Acid reboot

IMO, this is a great way to implement easy modes. Instead of just adding damage modifiers or making enemy AI worse, I'd like to see more games add options that make your character stronger in non-linear ways. These aspects, while clearly making the game easier, also present neat build opportunities. I'm pretty excited to try out a Grenadier build, since I pretty much never pick grenades otherwise.

...the internals of a DS, but no working touch screen? What is this for?

Still tentatively interested in this game, but that voice acting is garbage. Really painful, even.

B - Axiom Verge 2 is hype, but I'm saving A for Silksong release date at least