Doctor-Moo

Time to sell my Macbook Pro!

I’m playing the first one now. It’s amazing. I’m definitely on board for 2 and 3.

Oh boy Kate, you are in for a treat if you haven’t played the Dishonored series yet. Those are some brilliant games.

I think we're approaching 100% stability, at which point these updates will obviously stop.

He should have tossed a blue shell to take out the leader.

@tetermc I'm referring to the many cases where a unique enemy shows up, and you have to possess it to progress in the level. To me, that's not an interesting gameplay mechanic. I prefer open-ended design where you are given the tools, but not told how to use them.

I'm not a fan of Cappy, and here's why: Whenever you need to use Cappy, there's always a specific enemy you're supposed to become, so you can use their specific power. The mechanic is used in a completely linear way: Here's a puzzle, and here's the solution. I much prefer open-ended mechanics, where the game give you options and you choose your own approach. So Odyssey was not my favourite. I much prefer 3D World.

The new menus and high-res character art look great, but they have ruined the stunning original sprite work by running it through an AI upscaling filter. Who in the world thinks this looks better? I'm skipping this version unless they have an option to use the original sprites.

I got an OLED for my family, but the kids use it so much that I had to get myself a Lite. Now I’m loving the Lite. The size, form factor, and light weight make it great to hold. The screen is good enough.

@MattmanForever Yeah, the upscaling filter they used looks terrible. I'm going to skip this version unless there's an option to turn it off.

Excellent news. RPS named it their game of the year last year. Can't wait to play it.

For anyone who hasn’t played it yet, you’re in for a real treat. It’s an absolute masterpiece. So glad to hear that the Switch port is solid.

@FishyS Just Dance is a great choice. It’s not a “good game” by any measure. The feedback it gives based on your dancing seems arbitrary at times. And it constantly want to “reward” you with pointless cosmetics. Add to that the fact that the base version has a very short song list, so you really need the subscription service to get much out of it. But damn, it’s a blast to play, especially with kids.

I played it on DS and loved it. I married Debora, which is 100% worth it – she's hilarious. I sold my copy last year for $300 because I couldn't justify keeping it at that price, but I might get the mobile port at some point if I feel like playing it again. As others have said, the DS/mobile version would be great on Switch.

The quantity is there, but what about the quality? I’m going to wait and see how many of these are actually good.

@Marshalbanana Agreed. These games already looked amazing and did not need a facelift.

For those who haven’t played it, RF3 is excellent. If you’re a fan of RF4, it’s a must-play.

@Effortlessgamer That’s obviously not what she’s suggesting. Wind Waker HD was, and still is, available digitally for Wii U, and could be made available digitally to Switch users who already own that version. That’s what backward compatibility looks like. Digital PS4 games, for example, are playable on PS5.

The question is whether there’s a limit to how many times people are willing to buy the same game, and also whether it’s somewhat predatory to force them to if they want the game on modern hardware.

None of them. These are some of the best-looking, most thoughtfully-designed games ever made. They absolutely do not need to be remade. They need to be made available in their brilliant original forms on Switch so people who have never played them can get to do so. HD-2D is fine for new games but there’s zero reason to remake any of these classics.

Baba is You is the hardest game I’ve ever played. I recently went back to give it another try, took one look at the level I had gotten to, and gave up immediately. There were words and objects everywhere and I just didn’t have the motivation to try to sort them all out. The early levels are really fun though.

Once upon a time I had Chrono Trigger complete in box. Sold it years ago. Now my most valuable game is Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia.

Things I still need to buy before March:

Super Metroid
Link’s Awakening
Attack of the Friday Monsters
Kirby’s Adventure 3D

Link to the Past. Back in the olden days of game rentals, I rented it for a couple days. Obviously I loved it and had to buy a copy. Still one of my favourite games ever.

@Would_you_kindly I’ve been gaming for 40 years and it’s easily in my top 10 best games of all time. So yeah.

@kitestar Do you mean you think they’ll release a better version further down the line? Which previous games are you referring to? (Just trying to decide whether I should preorder.)

I was interested until I saw the screen size. 3.1” is too small for my aging eyes.

Here’s what I want: Collections of classic RPGs, ported with small quality-of-life features like fast forward and save states, but otherwise untouched. So, for instance, all the old Final Fantasies, or Saga Frontiers, collected on a single physical cart. Is that too much to ask?

@Nermannn https://soswitchedon.wordpress.com/2021/01/21/aleste-collection-translation/

Western release is very unlikely, but that’s ok. Amazon Japan ships worldwide. I imported M2’s Aleste collection and it’s fine except for the Japanese menus, though translations are available online.

For anyone who hasn't played this yet, you're in for a treat. It's an amazing game – one of my favourites of the last console generation. Hopefully the port will do it justice.

@Jackpaza0508 It’s pretty straightforward. The internet is a series of tubes, only now they’ve filled the tubes up with blocks and chains. There you go.

PS4 controller + wifi router + upside down GameCube logo + NFTs = the future of gaming.

@RubyCarbuncle Actually there is one. Okamiden for DS. But a third game would be great.

@OorWullie Great point about how it should be unacceptable to release broken products. This suggests that there is something very wrong with the whole obsession with “release dates.” I know from friends who work in the games industry that predetermined release dates are a major source of problems including crunch and shoddy quality control.

My daughter is obsessed with cats, so this list is extremely useful. Do horses next!

We need more non-violent games, not because there’s something ethically wrong with them, but because violence and “battles” are such an over-used mechanic at this point. There are so many other possible ways to challenge the player. I’m really looking forward to this showcase.

Just imported my first Japanese Switch game: Aleste Collection. If you like box art, check out the stunning art on Tiger Heli and Same! Same! Same!

I just recently discovered shmups, a genre I had completely ignored for all my 40 or so years of gaming. I’m particularly enjoying classic shmups, like the Compile and Toaplan games from the 80s and 90s. My favs right now are the Aleste collection and Fire Shark.

@SuperSparker Videogamesplus has it. Also Amazon and PNP.

Great video. One correction: “Mario 64 was quite frankly the best launch game ever made…” Super Mario World was also a launch game. I know because I bought the SNES on launch day and SMW came in the box.

I just got my first Switch a few months ago, and was pretty surprised at how sluggish the eShop is. But then again, so is the PlayStation Store on my PS4. It’s ridiculous that these consoles, which are capable of so much graphical processing, struggle to load a handful of images in their digital storefronts.

Oh no, looks like the voice acting is on par with Triangle Strategy, which is to say, awful. Guess it’s voice-free for me then.

It’s shocking to me that they’re releasing games in 2022 that sound like anime from the early 90s.

YS: Oath in Felghana and YS 7 are both great. I would love to see Switch ports. No remastering necessary.

One of my favourite games ever. A perfect little platformer.

The video game industry is totally backward when it comes to preserving its own history. Imagine if the majority of music that came out 30 years ago or earlier (i.e. all music before 1992) was unavailable because the record companies couldn’t be bothered to keep it in print. Video games are such an important cultural medium, and yet there’s an attitude within the industry that old games have little to no value, and aren’t even marketable unless the original graphics are replaced with new visuals. Yes, these are corporations and they’re always going to be concerned with profit, but they can choose to prioritize classic games and market them to a new audience.

Chrono Trigger, Mother 3, Suikoden II, and Xenogears would all be amazing to see on Switch. These are some of the best JRPGs ever. I would love to see straight-up ports of all of them. No remastering needed.

I love GB games — I have a lot of the Virtual Console releases on 3DS — but the fact that classic games are tied to a subscription really annoys me. These games should be made available on cartridges — compilations like Sega Genesis Classics (but with better emulation, ideally).

Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is one of the best kids' games I've ever played. My 4 & 9 year olds loved it. It's an open-world wildlife-identification adventure, and it's heart-warming and endearing. No violence at all. Highly recommended to anyone with young kids.

Can we talk about the Switch triggers? I just got my first Switch a couple months ago and I’m still confused: Do they actually have any travel at all? They just feel like clicky buttons. I’m used to triggers that have a good range of travel. I’m particularly concerned about racing games where you need to control the “gas pedal.” Does this work at all?

@Waluigi451 I agree 100%. I play this all the time. I love monochrome GB games, both for the nostalgia factor and for the overall aesthetics. This is such a great low-stress puzzle game.

If you're looking for GB Virtual Console recommendations, my personal favs are Kirby's Dreamland 1 & 2 and Mole Mania. For the price, these are so worth having.