Dark_Isatari

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.

I think Labrynna has the most potential for expanded lore, followed by Holodrum and Lorule. Twilight Realm needs some attention too.

The only one I would even consider getting is Eldin Ring, as that's the only game that's ever made me jealous of a non-Switch console. Although to be honest I feel like I hardly hear anyone talk about it anymore.

I’d rather see Tingle, Maple, Malon, Kass, or Salvatore, personally; but Dampé’s character evolution is something to see.

Really enjoyed Sonic Superstars as the most original 2D Sonic in decades, but still can’t shake the feeling that it’s constantly referencing the Genesis era games (how many “casino” type levels go we need?? And the final boss was like a reimagining of S&K too..) still, it was fun and I might try the unlocked mode.

Otherwise playing Cadence of Hyrule with my young brother-in-law. This is one I tried a few years back and did not enjoy one bit, but discovering multiplayer made me give it another go and it’s a nice time.
Finally, I’m still creeping through my first playthrough of Tactics Ogre: Reborn at like 95 hours… I’ll complete it some day I suppose.

Prime above WW..?? That’s absurd

@Tyranexx I’ve always felt it was a mistake to place Oracles as the LttP Link because she obviously introduces herself to him when she appears in that game.
In other regards it does fit though, when considering the Triforce is united and accessible to Link, Ganon is dead, and Hyrule is at peace. Just doesn’t need to be the same Link, or Zelda, or both.

@JohnnyMind I’ll repeat my previous assertion that the “limiting creativity” line is just an excuse. There’s no mechanic, enemy, or dungeon that couldn’t be applied to whatever timeline plot you want. You could have Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, Recall, and LBW wall-merging all on the BotW engine and still set the story as a sequel to Twilight Princess or Oracles.
Because by their own admission the plot isn’t a major focus. So why would it limit what they can do in other regards?

I wish Nintendo would stop commenting on the timeline if they don’t actually care about it. Don’t get me wrong, I love piecing it all together into a coherent timeline and would be thrilled for Nintendo to clarify if they actually made effort. But multiverse thinking is the lamest of creative crutches and presently, fans do a better job than Nintendo at actually forming coherence. Nintendo should commit to an actual plot or leave it to fans, not try to have it both ways.

Also, don’t buy their narrative about story limiting their creativity, because you can fit any kind of plot into whatever gameplay they come up with. They could easily have made BotW or TotK as a sequel to any previous game they wanted with only minor tweaks in the plot.

Well that was a thoughtful analysis!

Never understood the hate he got.
I mean, I don’t want him taking center stage really but he fits in with Beedle, Kilton, and other kooky characters.

I like the Wind Waker approach

Wow there are a lot of TMNT games.

Never have I ever wanted a Switch that doesn’t actually switch.

@InTree Do you know Eek the Cat?