@Daniel36 Hadn't thought about it but it is pretty childish to sign up for this and then leak it when they asked you not to. And now am I a participant in their bad act since I googled the leaks? Haha.
Played it for the first time the other day, and I was convinced the techniques I saw on YT to dodge that attack were impossible. It wasn't just my imagination!
@Markiemania95 That really only applies to Steve, and he's only slightly better than the other top tiers. The top tier is filled with base game characters like Sonic, Rob, Pikachu, and Snake.
While it's not literally true that every character has an equal chance of winning, Smash Ultimate is a remarkably well balanced game, and low tiers pull off upsets pretty often.
@Uncle_Franklin I have to imagine this game was much cheaper to develop than a new Star Fox game would be. A cheap game can sell far less than an expensive one and still turn a profit.
It is a shame that Star Fox Zero didn't sell well, because it's actually pretty great.
@Lizuka I think it's really cool that it's included. Easy way to check out the game if you've never played it, and it's surrounded by so much quality content.
@Bigmanfan The complaints you mentioned relate more the game itself than the ones I usually hear, which are basically just ways in which it differs from TYD.
I don't think the lack of unique characters is a problem. I see it as a joke on the fact that the Mushroom Kingdom is inhabited by legions of identical Toads all named...Toad. The Toads also have their own personalities despite looking the same (although this is a lot more apparent starting in Color Splash).
I also don't think the linearity as being an issue. It's not any more linear than a lot of other RPGs (and I do consider Sticker Star an RPG). More importantly, "linear" has become a dirty word in gaming (much like "downloadable content" and "free-to-play") to the point that a lot of people will rail against a game for being "linear" without considering whether that's even a bad thing. A lot of great games are very linear; a lot of nonlinear games could have benefited from being made more linear.
As for the unbalanced combat system, do you mean the boss battles that were a slog if you didn't have the right card in your inventory, but became trivial if you did? Because that is my one main complaint with the game (if you couldn't already tell). Still, the boss battles are a small part of the game, and I found the regular battles with common grunts very fun. I really enjoyed figuring out how to finish each battle optimally using the stickers I had.
I disagree that the game would have been received poorly under other circumstances, mainly because it wasn't received poorly at all. It has a 75 on Metacritic, and it apparently sold well enough to receive two sequels. The complaints are largely from a vocal subset who went into the game expecting something different and ended up unsatisfied with what they got. I do think it would have had better reception had it been untethered from expectations, but there are still plenty of people who enjoyed it regardless.
Seems opportune to praise Sticker Star, which I only just played after hearing for years how bad it supposedly was. If you pay attention you realize that the complaints tend to boil down to "It isn't TYD" (see the letter above) which, OK, it isn't. But it's a fine game. Better than any Mario & Luigi game I've played, in fact.
Once I was playing MK Wii, having a rough time, and I got annoyed with one opponent in particular. I pledged to make things miserable for this player. On the next race, Sherbet Land, I immediately rolled triple red shells and a mushroom, and hit the brakes.
Miraculously, the entire pack swept by me without disturbing my rotating shells. More miraculously, the last person to pass was my sworn enemy. I had him in my sights.
I let fly the first red shell. Direct hit. I waited until my opponent had recovered from the attack, then let fly the next shell. Direct hit. By this time all the other racers were well out of sight. I fired the third shell. Direct hit. Then I accelerated, used my mushroom for a speed boost, and slammed into my unfortunate prey as I went.
After so many frustrating losses that day, it was very cathartic.
I like the style of the European art, but as you look at it you start to notice the problems. Zero's left eye is way bigger than the right, for instance.
Tough choice between NA and Japan in the end, but I went with NA.
Finally tried out this game and I've been having a great time the last several days. The negative opinions surrounding it say a lot more about the people holding those opinions and their expectations than they do about the game itself.
I don't really have much of a backlog unless you count NSO games. But I'll be ready for the Switch U 360 whenever it comes. I mean, MP4 is probably going to be a cross-platform launch release, and that'll be plenty of incentive to get the new hardware.
Old-school boss fights can be annoying not because of the difficulty, but of the tedium. They often force you to replay a large chunk (or the whole game) just to get another attempt. NES Mother Brain is a great example.
Zero Mission's MB is far more manageable. Stock up on upgrades and it's fine.
Comments 3,538
Re: Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown Dev Team Reportedly Disbanded By Ubisoft
@Lord Spread the ZombiU love!
Re: Masahiro Sakurai Confirms He's Working On A New Game
He's working on a QWOP prequel.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Sonic X Shadow Generations
Will get this on PC eventually so I can enjoy the graphical upgrades.
Re: As Expected, Nintendo Is Struggling To Contain Switch Online Playtest Leaks
@Daniel36 Hadn't thought about it but it is pretty childish to sign up for this and then leak it when they asked you not to. And now am I a participant in their bad act since I googled the leaks? Haha.
Re: These Mario Wonder Standees Won't Give You A Respawn Point, But They Will Tidy Your Desk
Two bucks a pop? I'll take it! I'll take twelve!
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Balloon Fight (NES)
It's hard to beat the American black box design.
Re: Mailbox: Nintendo Dinner Parties, Banger Years & Business Types - Nintendo Life Letters
Metroid: Other M and Star Fox: Zero are not stinkers.
MOMSFZ Defense Force awaaaaay!
Re: Best Super Mario Games Of All Time
I'd put Super Mario 64 at number one, but the six games above it are all hard to beat.
Weird to see SML2 as high as 11. I mean, it's all right...
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's N64 Library Next Week
Awww yeah, here we go. Best Rare game on the N64 (after DKR).
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Shows Off Awesome Terios Skin
@MirrorFate2 I know, I was joking.
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Shows Off Awesome Terios Skin
Cool, now give us Coldsteel.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (12th October)
Finishing up Origami King, and then maybe getting back in Order of Ecclesia.
Re: Hands On: Mario & Luigi: Brothership Shows The Bros. Are Back In Classic RPG Form
I wish I enjoyed these games, but I find them mostly tedious.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: Mario Party Advance
The Japanese boxes need to stop using text I can't read.
Re: Poll: Resident Evil 6 Turns 12 - Does It Really Deserve Its Dire Reputation?
Went back to it again about a year ago and was having a surprisingly good time. Then I got to the Deborah fight. Hrrmm...
Re: Californian Law Dictates Storefronts Be Honest About Digital Game Ownership
@Ryu_Niiyama I don't see anything worthy of mods, but I guess that doesn't stop some people.
Re: Californian Law Dictates Storefronts Be Honest About Digital Game Ownership
We've got multiple soap operas going on in these comments.
Re: Best Nintendo Switch Collections And Compilation Games
All three Castlevania collections are pure gold.
Re: Mailbox: Mini Consoles, Grand Festivals, Weekly Downloads - Nintendo Life Letters
I'm one of the proud 840,000, and I still have my copy and my Wii U.
Also, 840,000 sales? I might have guessed lower.
Re: Castlevania Dominus Collection Physical Pre-Orders Are Now Open
NGL, that Ultimate Edition looks a lot better than some premium editions I've seen. Still not dropping $200 on it, haha.
Re: Random: It Looks Like Castlevania: Dawn Of Sorrow's 'Julius Mode' Is Even Harder On Switch
Played it for the first time the other day, and I was convinced the techniques I saw on YT to dodge that attack were impossible. It wasn't just my imagination!
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Pokémon Colosseum
JP > NA > EU. Not that any of them are great.
Re: Review: Pizza Tower (Switch) - An Ingenious Platformer That Beats Wario At His Own Game
I've had this on my Steam wishlist since it released there, and with the surprise Switch launch I'm glad I held off till now.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (31st August)
Castlevania Dominus. Looks like I'm part of the popular club this week.
Re: Video: "Keep Your Peaks And Valleys!" - Sakurai Explains Fighter Balance In Smash Bros.
@Yuna-Suzuki I think it was a weekly, but it was pretty stacked for a weekly. The Mac beat Ken's Sonic and a Min-Min.
Re: Video: "Keep Your Peaks And Valleys!" - Sakurai Explains Fighter Balance In Smash Bros.
@Markiemania95 That really only applies to Steve, and he's only slightly better than the other top tiers. The top tier is filled with base game characters like Sonic, Rob, Pikachu, and Snake.
While it's not literally true that every character has an equal chance of winning, Smash Ultimate is a remarkably well balanced game, and low tiers pull off upsets pretty often.
Re: Review: Castlevania Dominus Collection (Switch) - The Strongest Konami Compilation Yet
Really reaching on that con, aren't we?
Anyway, these Castlevania collections have all been fantastic. More, more, MORE!
Re: Review: Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club (Switch) - A Stylish Mystery With One Foot In The Past
@Uncle_Franklin I have to imagine this game was much cheaper to develop than a new Star Fox game would be. A cheap game can sell far less than an expensive one and still turn a profit.
It is a shame that Star Fox Zero didn't sell well, because it's actually pretty great.
Re: Review: Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club (Switch) - A Stylish Mystery With One Foot In The Past
@ocarin Was thinking the same thing. Games like this are better read than listened to.
@Lizuka It's actually very easy to argue. English voice acting would increase costs. Lower costs means lower price.
Re: Reaction: Shadow Drops & Surprises - A Stuffed Direct With Something For Everyone
We got Pizza Tower and Castlevania, so I'm very happy.
Re: 'Power Stone' Is Coming To Switch In 'Capcom Fighting Collection 2'
@Lizuka I think it's really cool that it's included. Easy way to check out the game if you've never played it, and it's surrounded by so much quality content.
Re: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Movie Trailer Finally Reveals Keanu Reeves' Shadow
@Anti-Matter You would be the one to express a dislike for Keanu Reeves, haha.
Re: 'Castlevania Dominus Collection' Brings Three DS Classics To Switch Today
I'm gonna have fuuuuun with this.
Re: Talking Point: Would $499 Be Too Much For 'Switch 2'?
Given inflation, I expect to pay more than I did for the Switch, but I'd love the price to be close to $300.
Re: No, Hollow Knight: Silksong Won't Be At Gamescom Opening Night Live
I need to replay Hollow Knight. It's been a while...
Re: Mailbox: The Mario RPG-naissance, Xenosaga Sadness, Golden Days - Nintendo Life Letters
@Bigmanfan It's been a while, but I've played TYD twice. I think it's still the best Paper Mario.
Re: Mailbox: The Mario RPG-naissance, Xenosaga Sadness, Golden Days - Nintendo Life Letters
@Bigmanfan The complaints you mentioned relate more the game itself than the ones I usually hear, which are basically just ways in which it differs from TYD.
I don't think the lack of unique characters is a problem. I see it as a joke on the fact that the Mushroom Kingdom is inhabited by legions of identical Toads all named...Toad. The Toads also have their own personalities despite looking the same (although this is a lot more apparent starting in Color Splash).
I also don't think the linearity as being an issue. It's not any more linear than a lot of other RPGs (and I do consider Sticker Star an RPG). More importantly, "linear" has become a dirty word in gaming (much like "downloadable content" and "free-to-play") to the point that a lot of people will rail against a game for being "linear" without considering whether that's even a bad thing. A lot of great games are very linear; a lot of nonlinear games could have benefited from being made more linear.
As for the unbalanced combat system, do you mean the boss battles that were a slog if you didn't have the right card in your inventory, but became trivial if you did? Because that is my one main complaint with the game (if you couldn't already tell). Still, the boss battles are a small part of the game, and I found the regular battles with common grunts very fun. I really enjoyed figuring out how to finish each battle optimally using the stickers I had.
I disagree that the game would have been received poorly under other circumstances, mainly because it wasn't received poorly at all. It has a 75 on Metacritic, and it apparently sold well enough to receive two sequels. The complaints are largely from a vocal subset who went into the game expecting something different and ended up unsatisfied with what they got. I do think it would have had better reception had it been untethered from expectations, but there are still plenty of people who enjoyed it regardless.
Re: Mailbox: The Mario RPG-naissance, Xenosaga Sadness, Golden Days - Nintendo Life Letters
@batmanbud2 You're welcome to disagree.
Re: Mailbox: The Mario RPG-naissance, Xenosaga Sadness, Golden Days - Nintendo Life Letters
Seems opportune to praise Sticker Star, which I only just played after hearing for years how bad it supposedly was. If you pay attention you realize that the complaints tend to boil down to "It isn't TYD" (see the letter above) which, OK, it isn't. But it's a fine game. Better than any Mario & Luigi game I've played, in fact.
Re: Random: Is This The Harshest Mario Kart 8 Has Ever Been?
Once I was playing MK Wii, having a rough time, and I got annoyed with one opponent in particular. I pledged to make things miserable for this player. On the next race, Sherbet Land, I immediately rolled triple red shells and a mushroom, and hit the brakes.
Miraculously, the entire pack swept by me without disturbing my rotating shells. More miraculously, the last person to pass was my sworn enemy. I had him in my sights.
I let fly the first red shell. Direct hit. I waited until my opponent had recovered from the attack, then let fly the next shell. Direct hit. By this time all the other racers were well out of sight. I fired the third shell. Direct hit. Then I accelerated, used my mushroom for a speed boost, and slammed into my unfortunate prey as I went.
After so many frustrating losses that day, it was very cathartic.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Mega Man Zero 3
I like the style of the European art, but as you look at it you start to notice the problems. Zero's left eye is way bigger than the right, for instance.
Tough choice between NA and Japan in the end, but I went with NA.
Re: Review: Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)
Finally tried out this game and I've been having a great time the last several days. The negative opinions surrounding it say a lot more about the people holding those opinions and their expectations than they do about the game itself.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd August)
Belatedly playing Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and it's been tremendous fun. Looking forward to catching up with this series on Wii U and Switch, now.
Re: Review: World Of Goo 2 (Switch) - A Superb Sequel With A Few Sticking Points
Will be getting this on PC for sure.
Re: Poll: Which Is Your Favourite Nintendo Game Cartridge Design?
None of the cons for the NES cart have anything to do with the cart. Very telling, as the NES cart design is the best cart design.
Re: Review: Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (Switch) - A Faithful Remaster For Jango Fett, Warts And All
For me, Star Wars canon ended in 2012. Canon is what you want it to be. Once you realize that, you are freeeee.
Re: Soapbox: 20 Years After His Last Mainline Appearance, Tingle Deserves A Comeback
I played Minish Cap in college. IN COLLEGE.
Re: Poll: Are You Ready To Move On From The Switch?
I don't really have much of a backlog unless you count NSO games. But I'll be ready for the Switch U 360 whenever it comes. I mean, MP4 is probably going to be a cross-platform launch release, and that'll be plenty of incentive to get the new hardware.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel - Gargoyle's Quest II: The Demon Darkness
I love the Capcom NES box art style.
Re: Soapbox: Metroid’s Mother Brain And The Rewind Dilemma
Old-school boss fights can be annoying not because of the difficulty, but of the tedium. They often force you to replay a large chunk (or the whole game) just to get another attempt. NES Mother Brain is a great example.
Zero Mission's MB is far more manageable. Stock up on upgrades and it's fine.
EDIT: Changed "but" to "not."