Dualmask

I loved the original RKA and I liked Sparkster, but not for $30. I'm no pirate, but for games that old, they need to put some more effort in to keep people from just turning to emulation themselves. Remaster the graphics, something...

Sounds nice, would have been more interested if the main story would let you create your own character like the Monster Hunter games. If they're going to have a narrative where your character's personality isn't that important, might as well go all the way and make the avatar customizable.

A small nitpick, but plenty of games with just as much depth and customization have that feature, so it's enough to put this one in the 'maybe' pile.

Looks interesting for sure.

@Shiro28 no such thing as bad press. There are some folks who strangely champion this sort of thing, too...

A pointless gesture that was bound to stir up controversy... maybe the game isn't selling as well as they'd like and they needed some fresh press.

Maybe it was a skill issue but I never did beat the first one. I enjoyed playing it though...might consider the sequel.

It's hard to go back to any F-Zero after GX. I played it on emulator recently and it's still incredible...and incredibly fast. This game is... alright. But I wouldn't go out of my way to play it.

I can't see how an Xbox handheld would make sense considering most(?) Xbox games are playable on PC anyway, right? I don't deal in Xbox so I don't know for sure but I read something to that effect. If that's the case, the games would already be accessible on Steam Deck (which can play not only Steam but also GOG, Epic, and other game stores' libraries just fine) or any other handheld already. Even Game Pass Ultimate can be used on Steam Deck with some setup (since it is, after all, just a PC in a handheld shell). Not sure what a dedicated Xbox handheld could offer, but I'd love to see them try.

It's VI. But I have a lot of love for many titles in the FF series, mainline and spinoff.

Dragon's Crown would feel right at home on Switch. Be even better if they can find a way to make it so that multiple players on their own Switches can access the upgrades and shops individually instead of taking turns. It'll probably never happen though.

XCX would be nice too.

Been wanting this but it's an Ubisoft game, so yeah, never, ever buy it at launch. The price will always drop eventually.

I played the demo on Steam. It hit most of the right notes for me. Took a minute to get used to the fact that the main 'gun' might as well have been some kind of energy sword for the range and the fact that you get bounced back Hollow Knight-style when you hit. It looks good and I may buy at some point, but right now I'm prepping for Dragon's Dogma II.

I only briefly played the Suikoden games (I-III) but this game sounds like it'll be a nice time even without a connection to that series. Seems to be a great year for JRPGs already between this and Unicorn Overlord.

The input lag hit me immediately when I played the Switch demo, and I'm not entirely sure it was that much better on Steam; yet I played both on PC and Steam Deck and the experience was marginally better. However, in all cases, my character's feet were inside a floor and aiming downward caused the character to fall through the terrain and die, which was something that I just found unacceptable. I'm not about to buy the game on any system until I hear that's tightened up. Shame, because the game is largely good, conceptually, but Contra demands perfect control and "OG" isn't there yet.

And yes, it should have been pixel art or some combination of hand-drawn and 3D like Hard Corps: Uprising.

Great article. Been a fan of his work for ages, even though I was never a big Dragon Ball fan, it certainly wasn't because of the art. Toriyama was a visionary. His style and imagination were legendary. Makes me grateful I took good care of my Nintendo Power Chrono Trigger strategy guide I've had since I was young.

Digging the art style, and since it's Inti, it's going on the list.

I came off the heels of Final Fantasy IV and VI before playing this one, so it didn't impress me as much. I liked it, but it doesn't make the list of my favorite all-time RPGs. It's a solid 7 for me.

This is what I've always wanted my games to be. The occasional AAA release is fun and all, but I'm an old school guy who always thought there were many ways to improve games without having to make everything out of high-fidelity visuals. Old school look and feel, modern gameplay features. These are my favorite kinds of games. Played a significant chunk of these already, but I need to get onto Chained Echoes and Sea of Stars.

When I was a kid I called myself making up my own version of Zelda where Link and Zelda would be playable in co-op, Link with his sword and Zelda with magic. Drew all sorts of junk maps and ideas on paper. That idea may have been dumb but playable Zelda in her own adventure (or alongside Link) is not.

I still long for the day Nintendo realizes how much of a shot in the arm playable Zelda could give the series.

Glad I nabbed the trilogy for $8 total on Steam. Much better experience on Deck. I think I'm ready to put Switch aside until the next system comes out.

Zinogre, Rathalos, Gore Magala, Shagaru Magala and Diablos... those are my faves.

Would have been more interested if the player avatar looked like the one shown on the game's key art...all the time. And I like turn based, and I like Metroidvanias, but I don't know if I like them together. I'll peep the Steam demo to see how I feel about it in action, but as it stands, I'm turned off a bit.

UPDATE: After playing the Steam demo, my opinion stands. Visually stunning game. Very impressive design. Not at all fun to play for me.

Oof. It has been a while. 7 out of 15. I barely remember the specifics of that game...my only time with it was when it was new.

I tried and tried to like this game so many times, from way back when it was new until recently, and I just can't get into it. I love RPGs and I don't hate Mario (loved the Mario and Luigi games as well as Paper Mario) but this one never truly grabbed me.

For $60, that's going to remain true. I'm more looking forward to the Thousand Year Door remake (since I never played that) and might be more willing to pay full price for it.

Looks pretty incredible, I must say. The animation was a bit too good, if there was ever such a thing...I prefer my movements a bit snappier. But it's certainly doesn't look like an issue gameplay wise.

I never get tired of Shantae. I'll be all over this.

Steam reviews for this one gave me the sense it was middling at best and made me pass on it (despite being "mostly positive"). Lots of folks spoke of game freezing bugs. It's a Metroidvania so it's always going to get my attention, doubly so for having a female protagonist, but I think I'm going to wait for a sale.

I thought the Vita was going to be mentioned. That system's OLED screen was the stuff of dreams. As one who doesn't have a Switch OLED, I kind of miss the visual quality.

I've been enjoying my Steam Deck and Switch interchangeably and wasn't looking to get any new devices any time soon, but I think this might be just the inspiration I need.

I was plotting on picking this up for Steam a while back, but I kind of forgot about it. It looked good, just slipped my mind. Now I'm reminded of it...

Am I the only one who thought it said Uwe Boll was directing at first glance? I was about to have a fit...

Nice news though. Hope it turns out well. And about time...

I played the demo and basically fell in love with it. I'd played this way back in the day but it's been long enough, and the new version upgraded enough that it's worth a revisit. I barely remember the story anyway...so it might as well be a new experience.

I've never needed more than a 200GB SD card for my Switch, and I thought I had a lot of games...

I think that would be handy for my Steam Deck though.

@Munchlax I was about to say something similar on someone's post on another forum, but I didn't want to be a wet blanket when so many people are chanting that this is such a great year for gaming. I feel maybe I've just been burnt out on big budget stuff and none of the big games of the year, not even TotK, are really all that stimulating to me.

The OG for me. It's what I first played. I actually thought the added color and detail of the SNES versions took some power away from my imagination regarding the visuals. I felt the same way about SMB1's original versus the All-Stars version.

I like the art direction a lot. But I'm not sure if the gameplay will grab me. Generally I like my games either one way or the other.

My first handheld was the OG Game Boy, and I have a great deal of nostalgia for that, but I didn't spend a ton of time on the Color specifically. I think I only played a couple of games on it, Link's Awakening DX and Pokemon Red. Someone had stolen my original Game Boy and most of the games so it was kind of a tough time until I moved onto Game Boy Advance.

I felt the same during the demo...the combat is fine but lacks that crunch that made better games like NieR: Automata and Bayonetta feel satisfying. It's not bad looking and the character designs are good, so this is a game I'd pick up on a deep sale.

Looks interesting. It's available on Steam but there's no demo there so I'll see how it looks and feels on Switch.

I can't be sure I'd 100% say no since I do much of my gaming on an (obviously) digital-only Steam Deck these days. But I would be quite hesitant. Digital is the better option if companies didn't have a penchant for closing down shops and servers making games unplayable in the future. Of course, patches, DLC and the like rely on the internet too even on carts, so... it's hard to say.

Eh, maybe it's not. I have about 17 physical Switch games and over 100 digital ones. I'm just in denial.

@Lebest this isn't financial analysis. Video game scores aren't objective. They're subjective. It is completely untrue that a game that scores a nine is automatically better than a game in a completely different genre/by a different studio that gets a seven. And even if that statement were false, it's still one reviewer's opinion.

You're giving far too much weight to the score. Play the game if it has features that appeal to you, don't play it otherwise. The number is essentially meaningless.

If one reviewer gives Tears of the Kingdom a 10/10 and another reviewer gives, say, Stardew Valley a 10/10, which game is better?

The answer is whichever game you like better.

The score is not really a 'number' in the truest sense. It's a summary of the review represented by the number.

@Lebest it might help if you understand that one game's review score is not comparative with other games' review scores, but rather a reviewer's subjective opinion about how good it is compared to how good it could have been.

One game getting a 9 doesn't mean it's better than all other games that get 8 or below. It just means the game that got the 9 is considered excellent or essential for what it is.

It should at least be backwards compatible with digital games. That was something that pissed me off when I upgraded from PS3 to PS4. I couldn't comprehend any reason why PSN games I'd bought on PS3 (I'm talking none-too-demanding games like Hard Corps Uprising and Moon Diver) were just not there on PS4 and couldn't be redownloaded.

Are there significant drawbacks to backwards compatibility? Most gamers seem to believe it's worth the expense, and so does Sony, and Nintendo to an extent.

I'll be super random and wish Nintendo would find a way to resurrect Custom Robo. That and the obvious F-Zero GX.

I think trailers with no gameplay footage are my number one pet peeve in gaming media. What is even the point?

Looking forward to this one. I love the series. And I think this might be the first RPG I've heard of with both turn-based and real time combat.

Oh man, nostalgia overload. I had a running subscription to Nintendo Power since it transformed from Nintendo Fun Club News and these images really take me back. If only I weren't a dumb kid who didn't take care of his magazines because the art in them used to inspire me so much. In fact, they're the entire reason I created characters of my own and wanted to make games.

Not a super fan of the visuals, but the gameplay gave me all sorts of feel good nostalgia. Looks like it's got features from all the best Contra games (including Hard Corps: Uprising from the PS3 era) and with WayForward at the helm, it's likely to be good.

And here I was about to start learning Unity. Welp...

I mean, do they not want to be the number one tool for indie game devs anymore?

Sounds like a great time to be had overall. If Capcom isn't going to evolve the Mega Man formula, someone should.

Nah. That trailer looked pretty bland and the gameplay, when they finally got around to showing it, looked so stiff and slow that this game is a hard pass.

Should have hired Dotemu...