DiggleDog

I personally can’t see any other Nintendo IP having the same kind of box office success as Mario. Mario has the legacy, the cultural footprint and the financial sure bettedness to turn heads. Really, Animal Crossing is the only series that strikes me as comparable and even that is small potatoes compared to Mario.

I was cold on this game but now I’m red hot. Nintendo once again punishing my bank account for doubting them.

Honestly the Italian-American family dinner scene was my favourite. It was so refreshing getting a sliver of grounded characterisation for the Mario Bros. I wonder if the film and its success will cause Nintendo to reassess the direction they’ve taken Mario’s character in. They’re clearly open to it based on this article.

Really enjoyed the movie. Not everything needs to be high art.

Personally, the fact that Nintendo routinely wins awards in the family categories is an overlooked achievement. Nintendo prides itself on this very image. Plus who knows how many new gamers into the fold through their accessible, easier going titles.

The fact that we’re still talking about Chris Pratt as Mario means the casting team did their job. At any rate, everything about this movie screams passion for the source material. I wouldn’t have picked Pratt personally but if the movie bombs it’s not gonna be because he didn’t sound enough like Charles Martinet.

Tears of the Kingdom is in an interesting spot. Lest we forget, Breath of the Wild was the first time that Zelda broke away substantially from a template. However, the elongated dev cycle (in which we’ve seen a new console generation and some equally impressive games like Elden Ring) has perhaps led people to believe they were in for a great deal more than a more of the same affair. Nintendo is probably unlikely ever to announce a game so early in development ever again.

Yves “ball is in your court” Guillemot needs to go. Ubisoft has no hope under his rancid leadership.

It’s gonna be interesting to see how this fares. Breath of the Wild was a bit of a Mario 64 moment for open world design but we’ve seen some amazing games a new console generation since. Hopefully Nintendo haven’t been resting on their laurels.

Surely though the bulk of any previous Smash game’s most worthwhile content has already been remastered for Ultimate? Stages, characters, music?

Love to this sort of thing. Kudos to the team.

Nintendo platforms vary so wildly in design that straightforward backwards compatibility is going to be an issue, further problematising preservation. It was a rare Wii U victory that the game pad allowed for DS games to run on it as originally designed but what happens when a future Nintendo console inevitably eschews the critical features of their predecessors? They’ve future proofed some select titles like Skyward Sword and the Wii U classics but how is something like Star Fox Zero supposed to work in the future without being made into something completely different?

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a great book, although it only reaffirmed for me that game dev is a nightmare career.

2017 was just an unbelievably nutty year for Nintendo

@-wc- hard disagree. Luigi being a put upon, reluctant hero who still steps up when it matters makes him a far more sympathetic and easy to root for character than his brother. He’s easily got the most developed personality of the core Mario cast in the games.

@Bunkerneath no offence but where were you when the Wii was shovelware city

Gonna wait for the Rayman DLC before jumping in

Because Akira Tago passed away, I don’t see this being a bundle of brain teasers with a mystery plot stringing them together. Rather it could be a more traditional point and click adventure where the puzzles are all environmental and related to the story. I think that would be an appropriate direction to the series in since the old formula was very suited to a handheld format but not so much a console.

The game is a mess as far as I’m concerned. I think we’re so ready to expect the lowest lows from Sonic that we’re now conflating a not outright disaster with top quality. But if Frontiers’ success means Sega is prepared to actually pump some time and money in Sonic development than I’m a happy boy.

Went straight from the launch model to the Micro.

It seems likely to me if everything else about the commercial is a homage to the cartoon. It also says Punch Out on the map of New York, around Brooklyn. Looks like this movie is going for the deep cuts.

@nocdaes I think a 10 year life cycle is very much a possibility. I was part of the Switch losing its lustre discourse but Pokémon and Splatoon were setting sales records at late as 2022 so there’s more than enough incentive to keep the Switch on the docket. Don’t doubt the next machine is coming down the tracks though.

PlayStation 5 is finally readily available and next gen game releases are kicking into high gear at last. This doesn’t surprise me.

@tysonfury been replaying 3 Deluxe to prepare for 4. My girlfriend doesn't understand the restart-if-one-Pikmin-dies rule.

@Olliemar28 that’s awesome. I was thinking to myself through all the footage that this looks way too good to be a mere upscaling. Any idea who handled the remaster? I’ve been trying to find out but can’t find anything.

I’m not a Metroid Prime connoisseur. Are the visuals remade or is it just a spit shine on the Gamecube original? Either way, the mad lads at Nintendo managed not to charge full price for an older title.

In a direct that gave us Pikmin, Metroid and Zelda, it was seeing that familiar top hat that made me weep with joy.

The Mother 3 discourse returns ho ho

Shadow drops galore

@ChaoticKirby yeah, can't really fault the authorities. Still, America's obsessions with guns will forever be incomprehensible to me.

@CammyUnofficial cartridges were always more expensive. It’s part of why the PS1 obliterated the N64.

People tend to forget that Xbox and PlayStation games will inevitably depreciate or go on sale at a price point that’s actually enticing. Game Pass in particular is a very cost effective way of getting your hands on new releases if you’re an enthusiast.

To be honest, I think Tears of the Kingdom will back up the asking price if £70 is real, but that’s an exception for Nintendo amid the Wii U ports and filler Mario sports titles.

@RareFan my headcanon is that the paratrooper is a blue shell that will lead to a big chase scene during the Mario Kart sequence.

The mariachi mosh pit that is Smash Ultimate’s cover of Gangplank Galleon

The Switch’s power is becoming an issue but it remains an excellent low cost alternative to the other consoles, especially in a cost of living crisis. Xbox Series S comes close but the Switch rules the roost.

Ubisoft is stuck in a sludgy tar pit of chasing money making trends without imbuing their titles without any sort of actual passion to make them distinct from the competition. Or rather, what start out as passion driven projects get bogged down by company mandates to make them as safe and derivative as possible. At least that’s how I see it. Anything halfway inspired like Fenyx Rising or Mario + Rabbids seems doomed for not pulling in Calling of Duty numbers. Whatever happened to that gorgeous Ubiart engine they made for Rayman and Valiant Hearts? At any rate, the culture there seems deeply troubling and I wish nothing but the best for the devs in the trenches.

So surprised they didn’t do this sooner

Three Houses absolutely consumed me but I'm really not buzzed about this one. I'll probably pick it up during one of Nintendo's "generous" sales.

The concept is still extremely fresh and novel to me but on a technical front, yes.

Kirby is such an easily marketable character for merch and the like. Makes total sense to see him rise to become one of Nintendo’s tentpole properties. I feel he’s become the go to for the weird, experimental games Wario used to star in.

5: Tunic
4: Klonoa
3: Sunbreak
2: Triangle Strategy
1: Kirby

@smithyo I think if they give it an actual art style and iron out the performance issues for a potential sequel, they’ll have a real winner

I picked up Sonic in the sale. It’s hideous, broken and just generally incompetent on a technical level, but damn is it fun.

Ah that’s a shame. Feel bad for the dev but also, good luck getting another publisher to sign you.

Actually gutted for the dev. Obviously very passionate and despondent this has happened. Game looks charming and I’ll probably pick it up down the line.

My assumption is that the Kongs are native to one of the worlds Bowser is trying to conquer, akin to the penguins in the first trailer, so they form an alliance with Peach and Mario to take down the bigger bad. At this point, there's no redeeming Pratt's performance but in all other areas this movie is exceeding my expectations.

@fenlix I think Luigi being behind enemy lines will be the film’s way of giving him his classic scaredy cat to hero arc.

Hopefully we get to hear the rest of the cast and finally get off Mr. Miyamoto’s wild ride.

Nemesis was a pioneer of the persistent stalker enemy in horror games so seeing him so badly nerfed in the remake (especially when 2 Remake’s Mr. X was a solid foundation) is just wrong.

I wasn’t ready for the MK8 band to cover Maple Treeway!