Diowine

@LavenderShroud I would have never played games like Disco Elysium, Hades or even Uncharted if it wasn't for their superb reviews as they did not call my attention at all.
On the other hand I would have fallen for very well marketed games that were trash if not for them.
Yes, reviews help people who touch grass or have limited budgets to save both money and time and also to find games that were originally under the radar.

Yes considering TOTK exists. Being a very important franchise for Nintendo I would expect better. But anyways it's not too bad or game breaking.

Going there in a month.
But I have to be honest and from the shared in-store footage that I have seen so far nothing calls my attention.
The big controller cushions are nice but not fit for the travel back home.
I'm sure that I will end up buying something just because I will already be there, but I prefer the character merchandise seen in other Nintendo stores that I have been to in NY/Tokyo.

Too soon to rate. We are all still in the honeymoon phase.
I only played a couple of hours but:
1- I was able to discover a bigger portion of the map than what I expected at this point, which was kind of a letdown hoping for it to be bigger.
2- Echoes are fun and creative, but can see the combat getting tiresome sooner rather than later, recurring always to the same echoes or to the sword.
3- Frame rate is not game breaking but still an issue.

Ofc those are the few negative points in an overall great and creative game. It feels as fresh as it gets.

Therefore I think that this will be remembered as an 8 - great. Still a must for 2D Zelda fans, not among the franchise's greatest.

@Ryu_Niiyama @TyroKith @the_beaver Ok now I feel really dumb for not knowing, but makes sense.
The only unplayable game so far for me has been Pokemon Violet which I never even bothered to finish and I see now that it was fully downloaded (11gb) into my SD. If I ever decide to go back to it, I will definitively move it into the internal storage instead.
Thanks for the tip!

@the_beaver is this real? Games stored Internally rather than in the SD play better? Never in 7 years of owning the console have I ever heard anyone mention it... but you sound convincing.
Not sure if it is real but I downloaded the digital version today into the SD and I am moving it now into the Internal Storage as the time of writing. Will play it later today and test it out.

Downloading it right now. Thought the day-one patch would improve this at least a little.
Link's awakening was not too bad for me, didn't care about the frame rate complaints.
As long as it is closer to that and not as bad as the latest Pokemon S/V garbage entries it's fine for me

@JSC016 A Partner and Indie one, does not count.
Go around the internet and google Nintendo Direct September. There are rumors everywhere about a proper Nintendo Direct before September ends. But videos like these make it less likely

So... Most probably no Nintendo Direct in September

Traveling to Japan early November. Don't I will, but hopefully I can still find that tumbler.

@2Ryu_Niiyama I don't have X/Twitter neither and I can click on the images and seem them in the respective page without user/login. Maybe not in your region or something, but try.

@Borderlineland Woww incredible blew my mind. Seems difficult to understand I know, but as I mentioned I am still playing SMP 6 years after release. In 6 years I don't plan on playing a game from an old console as much.

My only concern is that with Switch 2 around the corner, I don't know if I will play this one too much.
I've had Super Mario Party since the beginning and although it is not great, I still played it consistently once per month or so when people came over and wanted to play.
It is not a franchise where I spend a lot of hours all at once during the first month as others, it is good for a couple hours per month over a long period of time.
There is not enough time left in this console to make it work.

All nice and all but those Joy -Cons seem as bad as the current ones. To address those drifting #@$&@ is the only thing I care.
We know it's hybrid, that games will come and that the power will be below the competitors. So my only concern is that their hardware is not garbage as the joy cons have been. Already have 3 pairs of drifting left hand joy cons.... Trash.
Hope they surprise me and implement hal effect sticks

@Lizuka I agree that it can be tiring.
I don't agree with the statement that Zelda games cannot be spoiled. Other than gameplay mechanics, number of dungeons, etc... to give a concrete one that I felt for with TOTK was the real identity of the Light Dragon. Yeah, that spoiler was definitively an unwelcome one.

@Thomystic yes I agree about the overlap for us Nintendo gamers with our own money. I already have a PS5 and there is no way I will buy the Pro one, only the Switch 2.
But for parents wanting to gift a nice holiday present. which is an interesting number not to be understated, I can see them gifting the new PS and most probably that same people won't even think about buying another console in the upcoming year.
I think that the first console to be released always takes at least a little share of the other's potential sales, specially if in between there is Christmas.

@Coffee-Waffle yes please, that would be amazing.
People keep defending the 0 difficulty of the latest mainline entries saying it's meant for kids.
Well, a lot of the fan base have already grown and want a little more challenge, but instead they are making them easier. The last ones where horrible.
And no, it's not because we are getting better, go play gens 1-3 and you will find them more fun and challenging than the modern ones.
Also, even if meant for kids, they play better than they are given credit for.
Sorry for discharging my frustration with a franchise that I used to love in a reply where I agree with you hahah.

@rjejr I totally agree.
All those games that I mentioned seem amazing, but full price for their short duration/content?
When compared to lengthy JRPGS, Action RPGS and other +50h games...
It just feels wrong paying full price for a ~10h game.

Not sure this is super cool, but just happy that I got selected in the draft and got my tickets for November.
Will be there in Japan for the 2nd time and just in time to see this new museum. Hope it lives up to the expectations.

@SwitchVogel It is a crazy price for sure, but it was officially announced and is ready to go out on Nov 26, perfect for the holidays.
I am sorry but this is not making Switch 2 sell more, but the other way around.
No Switch successor being available before holidays means that a lot of people/families who would otherwise have bought the new Nintendo console will get this pricey console instead and not be willing to buy another console in the near future.
Yes, horrible price, but the timing was perfect to take advantage of Nintendo's delays.

yeah well no.. Actually the reason I avoid certain games is never because they are too long (value for money) but because they are short, sure.
Metroid Dread, Mario Wonder, Link's Awakening remake and currently Astro Bot are examples of games that even if they look amazing, due to their extremely short run time I just try to avoid unless a juicy sale is on or become part of my subscription (PS Extra ofc because my Nintendo Online is useless)

@dskatter never try to understand @anti-matter. He has very unique takes on every post, but don't think he is rage baiting. He just likes very niche and/or kids games and it's fine, look at his game library and scores.

Based on the distance between locations and apparent size of them, it resembles a lot ALTTP, which altough being right in size for that game, seems too small for this 2.5Dish BOTW kind of game, specially having a horse.
I am already sold on this game, and my only fear is that it is on the shorter side, so I was expecting maybe something bigger

Love that the fighting is challenging! But a little afraid of the "Echoes of Wisdom trivialises the puzzles."
I know it is very hard to make, but I would want some puzzles to challenge you and have 1/2 ways of solving and not just piling up a lot of beds or just using the spider for everything.
Anyways still expecting this a lot!

Don't know how they did it but this looks even more creative than the BOTW series. Endless possibilities. Day-One for sure.
Just, again, hope all this beautiful package contains at least a 30h content campaign, no less.
It deserves it.

Honestly I never thought that we would get another one of these at this point. Indies? Maybe, but partner showcase at this point on Switch's life? Maybe 90% of the Direct will be indie related. Not complaining

@PikminMarioKirby I am looking forward to both games.
But even if Jamboree ends up selling better in the end, following the franchise expected levels, you have to admit that the gaming hype for Echoes of Wisdom is just a lot higher.
COD sold better than TOTK in 2023 to give some kind of paralell, but the hype for the second was miles higher in the gaming community.
I think personally, that it makes sense that attendees feel more excited for Echoes of Wisdom to be playable there, specially because it is just around the corner when the hype is at it's highest.

Oh I was looking forward to this one too. I remember watching the early stage trailers and looked so nice.

Amazing game really recommend it, but can't avoid thinking that I got a better looking version included day-one 2 years ago in my PS subscription and this 2 year old with lower quality version has a price tag.... Just shows how lame my Switch online subscription is.

This looks amazing, and after what they have showed us, I only want it not to be on the short side.
I know it won't have the +100 hours of content that both BOTW and TOTK did, but hoping it won't only have the ~8h content that Awakening did with this same style.
Just give me something in between because this looks great.

Huge Huge fan of playing Catan but see no reason for a game. Why?
If playing locally the real board game is obviously the best option and if you want to play online you have Colonist which is free and plays great.
Just honestly asking about the idea because I don't see how it can be better than the options

Yes, I have been ready since TOTK released. Only Paper Mario called my attention since then. Time to move on

I want nothing to do with Joy Cons in the next gen, crappy piece of hardware they are.
This news just makes me afraid that they could somehow be recycled/used on the next console.
Only thing they need to do is make these things durable/implement hall effect. But they are too cheap to do it.

Mmmm gameplay wise it could be interesting, but he is a pure villain, so I am not sure how they could handle that.
Bringing a bigger badder dude? That would be kind of silly, and I am not buying the story implications.
I see a Bowser game being much more doable and possible due to the already silliness of the character in most of the games and because he has already been shown as an ally in the past.

Basically every N64 game.
Both Snes and Nes games are still playable today, but even if I think that N64 was the biggest jump from the previous generation, it's 3d games are unplayable today for me.

I never heard of Animal Well until just recently, and all comments are of an amazing game.
I am currently playing PM TTYD and Shadow of the Erdtree in parallel, so I am covered for the time being, but hope to try it next.

Oh I remember seeing a lot of ads about it when it was asking for donations in Kickstarter. Yeah the Kiki + Wind Waker is appealing.
Hope it does well, not entirely sold yet

Actually that is a good parallel. If Shadow of the Erdrtee had been released by Atlus probably they would have done this royal/vengeance monstruosity forcing original owners to buy the full game again just for some add-ons and enhancement to the story.
But on the other hand FromSoftware chads released this huge expansion that could have even been considered a full game on it's own as a DLC and is doing great..
Look I loved both SMTV and Elden Ring and know are completely different games, but definitively only bought SOTE and not Vengeance and am loving every second of it. I honestly hope for SOTE to do amazingly and Vengeance to be a flop for the way they released it.

I really really want a new Switch successor soon. My 2017 Switch feels very aged today. So I was not expecting much for Swan Song titles this year.
Well.... there was a lot shown here with at least 3 must buys for me, being Mario Party, Zelda and MP4 making it an outstanding Direct.
Hopefully I will end up buying MP4 as a launch title for the next console instead.

Amazing Direct, specially considering the age of Switch. The only bad part is that this amount of content just makes Switch 2 look farther than I hoped for

Please make it a Switch 2 release title too! At this point this game deserved next gen power. But looks great anyways.
Hoping for a BOTW kind of release for both platforms

Best announcement! Very unique. Day one for sure.
At first I was afraid this was going to receive the Princess Peach game treatment making it for soft children (challenge wise).
But then the trailer continued and this one looks absolutely creative and fun!!

40 minute Direct for only H2 games without any mention to Switch successor at this point in Switch's lifetime?
Either the trailers are going to be 5min for each game or something, because there can't be that many announcements for just a semester in such an old system... can it?

Making the original buyers buy it all over again is just sad.

• Loved the gameplay and challenge of the original release.
• Was disappointed on the bad story
  Now this enhancement seems to have improved the later one, so this could have been the version for me but this Atlus practice is just so lame that there is no way I am buying the full game again.
  Just release your final version of the games from the get go, let original users upgrade or make these enhancements a DLC.

Edit: Apparently there are people who bought the first one and are willing to pay again and not even wait for a sale. Well.. yeah this way Atlus will keep with these practices ofc.

HD-2D as everyone mentioned. I am tired of remakes but this one, this one would be nice with that treatment.
3D would be too risky and a recipe for ruining it

Good Enough Review, maybe I am using my Switch again for the first time this year this Friday? It was collecting dust in a corner due to the lack of good releases. Man, this year even got me again full into Fortnite for a time due to the lack of games for me other than FFVII Rebirth.
Glad to be back

@DDFawfulGuy yeah maybe the fanboy part was too much. Honestly not bait, but seems it touched a sweet spot on you with the " lack empathy or struggle to think logically" part.
Again, your best point is: "And then more often than not I receive it on release day." Yeah I have seen a lot of cases where they preorder and even then it arrives late.
In summary, no discount, no difference for digital, physical shipping can get delayed and physical pickup is the same as not pre-ordering if your local stores don't have shortages. So yeah, not much benefit there.
On the other hand you wait for critic reviews, audience scores, word of mouth, you can go to other store if the one shipping gets delayed, and can pay after, mostly.
But if you are 100% convinced that you are going to buy and don't care for an abysmal case where the game ends up being trash (Any game, not Paper Mario) then go ahead.
Again, not trolling, just pointing out why I don't see benefits of preordering.

@Tempestryke not at all. This was no bait.
6 people have responded to the comment and so far the best reason I was given to preorder a game, that doesn't offer extra bonuses nor discount for buying in advance, is to 'save around 15min of your time on launch day because it pre-downloads'. That is if you are waiting at midnight for release to play immediatley.
Other than feeling like a reciprocate fan I see no reason to preorder in other cases.

Hey that is ok, but for example other than the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC, there is no game in 2024 that I would buy before confirming it's worth it when it launches through reviews and hands on impressions..

@Ryu_Niiyama @VoidofLight both are great reasons I cannot deny. Thanks for sharing!
Maybe in my case I just don't preorder because I went ~80% digital for a couple years now and because of some bad surprises related to games that I was expecting a lot but that when reviews came in the same week of release I just had to desist because they sounded like a big letdown.
Only 2025 game I 100% know I will get is Shadow of the Erdtree dlc. Other than that waiting for reviews.

Unless a discount is included in it, I will never understand game preorders, specially digital ones. Clearly I am missing something because it makes no sense. You can buy it digitally the same day and even wait to see if for some reason the game ends up being trash after reviews. Physical preorder could only make sense if you think there will be a shortage, but that is very uncommon I believe. Not even financially convenient to spend it beforehand. But hey clearly I am missing something because a lot of people preorder

Joy Cons are beautiful at sight, but are a big peace of trash that stopped me from buying intense games when in doubt just to avoid drifting more of them.
Horrible peace of hardware that must be updated