Dark_Isatari

I’ve never taken them off the little shoulder button attachment, but I also never attach them to my wrist

I just squeezed the first leg of my bi-decennial play through of the Zelda Oracles Duo to the end of 2024 with a defeat of General Onox on New Year's Eve, so i'll get started on Oracle of Ages soon this year.
I thought I had completed Dragon Quest III HD-2D today, but I didn't get to the end because they did the typical DQ thing of an out of nowhere bigger bad so i'm not sure how much longer that'll be. I've made my disappointment in that game known before so I'll not rehash here. I've enjoyed it but I don't expect to retain much once I'm finished.

Can't wait to start Y's X: Nordics but will probably do another playthrough of Sonic Superstars and finish the final world of Super Mario 3D World as an rpg palate-cleanser first. So I've got plenty to look forward to. Those are the most likely to actually be touched this week.

I play games, not Lego

I have enough in the backlog to last me this year without needing anything new really. Even the new Switch is sort of a neutral topic to me as I’m in no hurry.
The only question I really have is whether Silksong will actually release, and if so, will it be a big disappointment?

I mean, DQ3 is influential but in 2024 it does not impress..

Well-deserved #1 spot; that was my favorite this year and there was nothing else close!

@doom64_abit not a “brand new game,” a GBA remake… pretty comparable to Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD actually.

All games I’ve never tried!

For the games I played this year:
1. Unicorn Overlord (incredible; ready for a harder replay)
2. Tears of the Kingdom (mostly played last year but didn’t finish until early 2024… and I still have like 19 sidequests and 80 koroks)
3. Echoes of Wisdom (fun but forgettable)
4. Sonic Superstars (fun but flawed, and the ending levels were frustrating)
5. Untitled Goose Game (awesome but too small)

I've never heard of this.

Unicorn Overlord for me! Most played and favorite.
Next was TotK and then, annoyingly, SSBU (my nephews play it on my account; I don’t even play!). Tactics Ogre: Reborn would have been my third as it’s one I keep coming back to when I complete other games.

As a Zelda fan I’d always heard this game praised but when I bought the physical copy in Japan I was pretty disappointed. It started off well but quickly got to be a slog and I couldn’t keep going after about 8-10 hours. Combat was boring and the platforming was pretty frustrating for me.

I’m certainly curious

@gcunit Maybe if people hadn't been so hard on those prequels he might have had more confidence/motivation to keep working with that IP...

I don't mind the micromanagement so much as the waste of flying over there instead of just talking over the phone/internet...

It’s Unicorn Overlord for me

Looks pretty nice and fun actually, and I'm not usually taken with these sort of unknown indie sorts

@Tipehtfomottob I also was thinking all along it's an Ewok

I’d rather try Tropical Freeze, but if I end up loving that I might wheel back around for this one..?

@Cord while I’m not all that far, I definitely agree with you. It really feels like an NES-era game.. why was this priced the same as XI???

@Jhena I don't think Nintendo is pushing any kind of ideology though. I think that is an overreaction. I believe they are just getting that kind of feedback from western journalists or whoever and trying to accommodate what they are being told is an interest. Similarly, I wouldn't really say I "boycotted" TTYD; more like I was curious, and then hearing about that becoming a focus was the feather on the scale that lessened my interest. But I don't think anyone bought it because they are excited about that tiny detail.
I understand the frustration at propaganda being shoved toward us, but in most cases it is really a very small issue. You can tell when that identity demographic stuff is the focus of a product vs a little side-note. As I mentioned, Japan has always been more ambivalent about gender and has a long history of "gender-bending" characters, but they are very clear that this is not meant to be standardized as "normal behavior" even if they don't find it particularly offensive.

I would recommend not letting the issue become a major focus of your gaming life. Most of the time they are optional aspects which I appreciate.

@Jhena very graciously worded. I also do not support the eradication of clear gender distinction, as I think it’s a beautiful aspect of humanity that two different forms must learn to supplement and harmonize with eachother. I decided against the Thousand-year Door for similar reasons as covered here on NL (having been on the fence about it in the first place). But I’m not sure that SquareEnix or Nintendo will correlate poor sales to those decisions unless there is a clearly expressed message to them.
As Japanese developers I’m sure they don’t have personal interest in gender issues (Japan is generally less interested in that topic than the West) but are under the impression that it matters to the westerners.

@Jhena I can't really see how they're chasing a modern audience with this very retro game..?
Unless you mean calling it "appearance A/B" instead of male/female. In which case I agree is stupid wording but not exactly worth a boycott in my opinion.

I’m having a fun time with the game, but I have to admit that so far it doesn’t feel any better than the DS remakes of DQ4&5 that I got for like $30 each… don’t get me wrong, I can’t wait to get back to it when I’m off work but it definitely isn't as fresh as DQXI, despite the same price. Similar to charging the same price of Link’s Awakening remake as they did for BotW.

@Jhena why aren’t your their demographic? Why is there a boycott? I literally know nothing about this

While it is interesting to ask how government policies will affect the gaming scene, it’s a bit naive to think that affecting the industry is more important than what is considered an existential threat to the nation in rising Chinese militance.
Not that I have any idea how real that threat is: half the time you hear they are poised to defeat America and the rest of the time you hear they’re a paper tiger. So who knows what’s true.

@MirrorFate2 easy there! I don’t think he thinks he’s made a necessarily earth-shattering game..?

I was just glad to hear that there are others out there who found Metroid Dread as flat as I did. The genre-naming series are both kind of outdone for me.

Good interview!
I might jump back in to animal well sometime. I played through once and lost interest but didn’t even have half the eggs I don’t think. It was a pretty hard game. I got a lot of traction off of spamming the bubble right as I jumped to kind of make sky ways.

@Purgatorium I kind of assume many people list off their ideal scenario and end up only really having time for a few.

Enjoying Dragon Quest III HD-2D but it feels like a prettier version of the DS remakes of DQIV-VI which were like $35-40 USD… so that feels a little unwarranted.

Happily my wife and I busted out Pikmin 3 Deluxe to beat all of our old high scores on the co-op challenge missions. That game is incredible; why couldn’t Pikmin 4 have had proper co-op?

Then some Rayman Legends when the brothers-in-law come ‘round, and Echoes of Wisdom when my daughter wants to visit “the bear in the snow” and launch fireworks in his house.

Really enjoyed this one — certainly more than Chrono — but I didn’t pursue all the possible scenarios for some reason.

All DQIII for me! Gorgeous scenery

I remember mildly enjoying my playthrough years ago, but I don’t remember much of anything except that it’s a very “no turning back” kind of game.
A little skeptical that it’s costing more than the original but I do like the Dept. Heaven saga

@kkslider5552000 my information may be incomplete here but I think Yoshiaki Koizumi is the source of most of the good Zelda lore (LttP backstory and concept of three goddesses, LA story, MM ClockTown schedule, etc) but I do think he was moved to Mario team before SS so that is an exception.

I hate this miyamotoism — there’s no reason you can’t start with gameplay and still make the story deep and dynamic, connected to the lore of other games in the series instead of this current model of starting from scratch each game..

@kkslider5552000 MM ended up with a good story in spite of Aonuma, not because of him. What’s more, he seems to regret the game, judging from some of his past interviews..

Personally I like both.
The worst one for me is the shield upgrade because you have to bear the game once first

After years of anticipation I played Metroid prime on switch and… I do not understand why it’s so well-regarded. The 2D games are fun but Prime felt like a slog

@Bolt_Strike see, I felt like the shrink gimmick was way underused compared to what the back of the box led me to expect.

I’m legitimately surprised at how high the “top 5” votes are! For me it’s kind of a standard Zelda experience — not excellent in any regard really, but still a great little adventure. As the series grows to 18 (21 if you count the multiplayer titles) I think I’d have to bump MC down to #… 13-14? But I still love it!

That explains why I keep running into opponents with teams full of Mewtwo EX cards. 😭
I have enjoyed it a lot since I hadn’t ever learned how to play the card game but yeah, luck if the draw really does end up largely controlling a win or loss.

@chardir do rooftop parties even happen in real life?

Well I don’t think it personally know people with bootlegs cartridges..? And I don’t watch TikTok. However tracking down people is always interesting.

VIII was fantastic! But everyone seems to agree that it’s the series’ best so I’m curious whether I’ll care for any of the others.
The campy “gothic” aesthetic of IX failed to capture my interest, and I’m excited to play X soon!

I ordered Y’s X: Nordics after loving VIII, but I’m sure that won’t arrive right away, and regardless I have no other gaming goals until I finish the addictive and cheerful Echoes of Wisdom.

Playing and loving Echoes of Wisdom! It doesn’t feel like I’m playing long, but the hours rack up somehow! At one point I had acquired a few echoes too powerful for me to cast, which felt like a cool reward for exploring off-beat areas.

I had just finished Oracle of Seasons before my copy of EoW arrived, so I’ll probably continue on with Oracle of Ages whenever I finish it.

My copy of Echoes of Wisdom arrived Thursday afternoon — and Friday was a national holiday! Perfect timing to jump in! While the scope of it is a bit overwhelming (I can just.. go anywhere? But I can’t see far like in BotW..), I’m really loving the experience so far! Can’t wait to see whether the series lore will be expanded or not. Lately they seem loathe to connect to other games, though I have already encountered 2 references to Oracle of Ages — the two Zora tribes and a boss I won’t spoil.
Top-down Zelda certainly has its own special charm!

Is that subtitle an Elrond reference?

Very interesting story! You never hear about these kinds of experiences and it sounds like a fantastic opportunity.

@DjinnFighter I think BotW was the first “mute” Link in that they foolishly added that line in Zelda’s journal about Link not talking much because of the pressure to fulfill his role perfectly or some such nonsense. Really annoyed me because I had always understood Link to be talking in a way we can’t hear but then they awkwardly lampshaded it in a way that creates an issue.
I wish they wouldn’t do this.

Still waiting for EoW to arrive, this weekend it’ll be Tactics Ogre:Reborn, Oracle of Seasons & Ages, and maybe some Rayman Legends with the in-laws.

@KingMike never knew that! What’s the reward..?

As a kid I played it at my neighbors house and thought it was the greatest. I revisited it on the virtual console recently and discovered… I would not sit through this without the rewind feature 😅

For me there are very few SNES classics that really hold up. RPGs fare the best. And the two Mario platformers.

Similar to Ollie, I’ve decided to revisit the awesome Zelda Oracle Series before EoW comes out. Started fresh in Oracle of Seasons but my old file is only missing 4 of the 64 rings, so I might put in a little work on that old, oh so close to 100% completion file too.