EarthboundBenjy

@Samuel-Flutter

I think a physical version is quite likely from Fangamer. They are selling physical Undertale, along with tons of Undertale and Deltarune merch, as well as the physical editions of lots of other popular indies like Celeste, Hollow Knight, Stardew Valley, Omori, Pizza Tower and some others. I see no reason why Fangamer wouldn't do a physical Deltarune.

noo don't powerwash BMO, he'd short-circuit

these online battles are so annoying because the prevailing strategy is to just keep running away all the time. Or so it seems. :/

The NSO version's save function doesn't work? What the heck they still haven't added controller pak emulation to NSO after all this time???

Team Cherry yet again proving themselves the best developers out there.

More older games should have Switch 2 upgrades. Especially games that suffer from poor performance. I hate that Bloodstained Ritual of the Night for example is still a hideous blurry laggy mess even when played on Switch 2. And the developers have stated that they have no plans to further work on that game, so it's just gonna stay like that.

Meanwhile Team Cherry are updating their game that didn't even run poorly in the first place, and releasing it for free. Because they're the best.

@Pat_trick
Not sure how this affects the argument here, but I did want to mention - There is one precedent for an update patching out access to a game that I can think of.

the Atari 50 physical version includes the Lynx game Warbirds as part of the collection.
However the game was patched out of the collection in a software update. After this update, in order to play Warbirds, you had to somehow play unpatched, which Nintendo makes it very difficult to do if you have ever installed the update.

Warbirds was patched back in in a later patch. But the precedent is there.

I find it absolutely terrible that a whole game can just vanish from a compilation like that.

Yesterday I finished Metroid Prime 4 Beyond.

The word that best describes my feelings toward this game is:
Disappointment.
I can't believe that this was the end result after so long between entries. It's...really really not what I was hoping it would be.

Anyways. Now that that's out of the way, I started Pokémon Mega Dimension. It's ok so far. I just enjoy having a new Pokédex to fill out. Though I can see it becoming repetitive / grindy pretty quick.

I'm half way through Metroid Prime 4 Beyond now.
So far............
it's ok.
it's not like Prime 1. It's definitely much more streamlined and much more dumbed down.

It's like the difference between Ocarina of Time vs Skyward Sword. Similar looking and playing on the surface level, but it's less player-driven and open-ended, and more kind of just shuffling you through each set piece in a row.
The open world desert also literally does not add any interesting gameplay at all, it's just busywork.

Even though this is a short game, I never finished it. As a teen I compared it unfavourably to other GameCube platformers like Mario Sunshine and never gave it its fair chance. I'm older and less dismissive now, so if I ever play Wario World again, I might play the whole thing.
.... though since I don't have the Expansion Pass, it'll have to be with the original GC disc that I still have.

Rayman 2 was a childhood game of mine. I played the Windows version (which I still think is the best version, and it's available on GOG), but the N64 version ain't bad either. Definitely better than the PS1 version and Nintendo DS version.

I did play Tonic Trouble before but I never finished it. I remember the power up for becoming Super Ed was a product placement Nestlé chocolate bar iirc? I bet that's not in the NSO version lol

The fact that the extremely expensive Virtual Boy replica is just a piece of plastic that still requires a Switch console and an onoging subscription to play these 14 old and not-very-noteworthy games is just ludicrous.
If this was a "VB Mini" console separate from the Switch, just like the nes and snes minis, then it would be justified. But Nintendo's hubris is at al all time high with this one.

...why would you need to release a completely separate new version to add language options? If they didn't want to increase the file size too much with one patch, then why not put free language pack DLC in the eShop? This just seems silly and confusing. Not to mention it's kind of rude to the fans who already have the older release.

I've been playing Once Upon A Katamari. As a huge fan of the Katamari series, it's great to finally see a new game that's on par with the classic We Love Katamari in terms of content and variety.
This game doesn't really evolve or elevate the gameplay of Katamari in any ways - it really is just "let's make a second game that's as good as WLK".
I don't have a problem with this because it's been such a long time between entries. I do wonder what they're gonna do next though.

I have run into a couple of bugs when playing on Switch 2. I've had two crashes, and there was also a point where the results screen was just a blank grey screen, which was weird. I wonder if it's some incompatibility issues or if the Nintendo Switch version in general is just more buggy.

I also have obtained Metroid Prime 4, but for the moment Katamari is taking priority. And maybe Pokémon Mega Dimension will take priority over Metroid once I'm done with Katamari. And I do also want to get Octopath 0 at some point too...

So many games are coming out all at once... I definitely want to play Metroid! Just gimme a moment...!!!

Octopath and Metroid releasing on the same day is a bit annoying as a fan of both series. But the Game Key Card situation has made me hesitate on buying Octopath.

Preferably I would get the game on Switch 1 so I have the full game without additional downloads required. However, I am aware that the town building limit is increased when playing the Switch 2 version.

I would like some advice regarding this if anyone knows - how important is this difference between the Switch 1 and Switch 2 versions of Octopath 0? Is it worth putting up with a Game Key Card so I can make the most of the town building aspect of the game? Or will the Switch 1 version suffice just fine?

Until I know which one I'm getting, I'll be enjoying Metroid Prime 4, Kirby Air Riders, and Once Upon a Katamari... all at the same time. ...I'm in no rush to add a fourth game to my lineup at the moment.

The event is called Project M, huh? I remember when Nintendo would ban anyone who dared utter the words "Project M" on Miiverse lol.

@Spider-Kev
I played Darkened Skye for the first time earlier this year. I really enjoyed it despite its generous amount of jank. Great sense of humour and fun, if simple, exploration and shooting gameplay.
Happy to see another positive opinion on it since it does get a lot of negativity online.

What does that opening line, "Banjo-Tooie isn't the most beloved adventure in the bear and bird's series" mean??

The games that came afterwards are Nuts & Bolts, Banjo Pilot, and Grunty's Revenge. These are the games I would say this about. Not Tooie.

Wow, there are so many Mega Man Legacy Collections.
If only there was a Mega Man Legacy Collection Collection.

the last 3DS game I played was Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D. I played it around the time Donkey Kong Country Returns HD released on Switch - the release of the new version reminded me I never actually played the one I already had, so I decided to just do it. It also helped that the Switch version was receiving some criticism for its loading times, so it felt extra appropriate to stick to the older version, haha.

I don't plan to retire my 3DS. I've got plenty of games in my backlog, many of which are 3DS games. I'll get around to them all at some point. ... hopefully.

Wild World was the only Animal Crossing game I ever played. Once I had my fill of it, I never felt the need to play any Animal Crossing again. I'm glad I understand the appeal of the series, but yeah, I really don't need to introduce any additional real-time obligations in my life like that.

Sega might think temporary collaborations would make people want to play their games more. ... But it actually has the opposite effect on me. If any game content becomes permanently inaccessible, then that makes me want to engage with the game significantly less.

Kirby Air Riders for me. I'm having a good time with the game.

I decided to prioritise the "Online" tab of the checklist first and foremost - I was thinking that maybe this tab would be easiest to complete immediately at launch, when most players are online at once. But it seems that this isn't something to worry about - the Online tab can actually be completed mostly completely singleplayer if you make a Paddock and populate the empty slots with CPUs. it still counts as being online.

I like the game, but I think once I complete all five checklists, I won't have much reason to keep playing to be honest.

oh yeah, I still need to play Lufia II. I played Lufia 1 recentlyish, but before I could start the second one, Silksong came out... and now I'm in the midst of playing Pokémon Z-A and Kirby Air Riders and soon it'll be Metroid Prime 4 time too... um. when will I actually have the opportunity to play these classics???

It kind of bothers me that they're adding mouse mode to these ones but not updating the older ones to include it too.

Each new Picross game is pretty much just another set of puzzles to add to the pile. So there really shouldn't be major feature differences like that between them.

If a player plays these ones and get used to mouse controls, when they run out of puzzles and buy an older entry, they'll have to unlearn the controls. In order to have a consistent experience, you pretty much have to use the basic button controls.
...It doesn't sit well with me.

...couldn't they at the very least put 64 of those gigs on the cart and have us download the rest? Having to get a new express SD card just for one game seems like a tall order if you're trying to appeal to a wide audience.

@Vyacheslav333 They're probably not going to do Dawn of the New World due to its massive unpopularity - it got its chance when it was included with the previous Symphonia remake on PS3.

This announcement is meaningless unless they let us actually obtain Zeraora lol. Will it be a timed event exclusive? Or will they just make it available normally like the mythicals from Legends Arceus.

I see the Castlevania collections are in this list. ... that's my cue to tell everyone to check out the Castlevania collections! Especially Dominus Collection. They're suuuuper good.

it's kind of bizarre seeing the "don't write a letter ruminating on The Legend of Heroes" in the guidelines, when this round of letters does in fact have one about Trails in the Sky. i dunno. feels weird.

I remember in... I dunno, around 2010 or so, I bought the PC CD-ROM "Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 Deluxe Edition" for Windows XP, for like 50p in a charity shop.

it's funny how a change of platform and a change of context can increase the value of the same content by so much.

so they're combining Galaxy and Odyssey stuff and just calling it Galaxy, I guess?

It's nice that they actually are using recognisable elements from the games, but I guess it also feels weird because the movie version of Mario feels so distinct from the real Mario

everyone's talking about IDW or Archie, but when are any of the Fleetway characters ever gonna be acknowledged? Tekno the Canary anyone?

It's so bizarre to think about this nowadays, but reskinning games to change or remove a licensed IP was really commonplace. Not just on NES, but on Sega too, as well as GB. It really was a thing.

Imagine if this happened today - image if Dragon Ball Fighterz was reskinned into generic kung fu guys for the international market. It would be insanity.

Nowadays audiences are so much more clued-in than they used to be. Fans want the original games, so reskinning them just completely isn't a thing any more.

In fact, there is one example I can think of of a more modern reskin that went poorly - in 2015, Sega tried to localise their Puyo Puyo Quest mobile game under the name "Cranky Food Friends".
It was shut down in less than a year, with the main criticism from players being how Sega changed it from beloved Puyo Puyo characters to generic mobile rubbish. So even ten years ago, reskins didn't fly with fans.

I'm very much glad that reskinning games is a thing of the past.

nooo. Link's Awakening remake did not sit well with me. It was a quality game but it felt so tonally neutered compared to the GB and DX originals. :/

@BriskSunrise
oh for sure. Pokémon just loves its exclusive content, and I've always been annoyed at how they do it.

For the moment though I'm not going to worry too much about it since they did not announce a timeframe - Pecharunt's mystery gift is still up after all.

@Lord
to roll the credits is just a term meaning to reach the ending of the game where the credits start playing.
basically the quest in Looker Bureau to catch Diancie doesn't become available until postgame. The article could have been a tad clearer about that.

If they're not time-limiting it, then why not just have it be in the base game like the mythicals from Legends Arceus? Why require the Mystery Gift that isn't guaranteed to always be part of the game?

the real answer is probably something like Rollercoaster Tycoon 3 that lets you design your own fireworks show.

@MatoFilipovic
The fact that Atari 50 takes the form of a documentary first, playable collection second, is what makes it an appealing product in my opinion.

It's an interactive history lesson.

I agree that the majority of Atari 2600 games are not particularly worthwhile nowadays, but the history is very interesting. I feel like this package has fully understood this fact, because it needs to be more than just the old games in order to be interesting to a modern audience. They pulled it off perfectly.

...that being said, I did legitimately find it fun to play Adventure tbh, that game was ahead of its time

...are there plans to make a third physical with this included? or am I safe to get the DLC from the eShop lol

I just finished pretty much all there is to do in the base game - I just got that grindy-as-heck 1000 trainer battles research mission done, and with all the money I accumulated from doing that, I bought all the fashion Lumiose has to offer too.

Now I'm kind of just waiting until I will be able to get the Delphox and Chesnaught mega stones. I wish they weren't limited behind online events.

The game does feel a little light on content to be honest. As annoying as it is that we'll have to pay so much to get more, I am looking forward to it because I do enjoy the game.

Overall I feel like Legends Arceus was a much more complete package compared to this game.

I tried the PSP version a couple years ago and was not all that impressed by the gameplay. It's a fighting game where you have to level-grind your characters. The main point of the game seems to be just grinding for grinding's sake.

I do like the idea of Ys Seven's combat system being expanded into a fighting game, but I dunno, I'm not sure it really works that well in practice? I'm happy more Japan-exclusive Ys games are getting localised though, that's really cool to see.

Has anyone played this and had a good time with it?

As a completionist, I like to buy every single clothing item in Pokémon. It costs a ton of Poké money though. I looked up how much it would cost to get all the outfits in Legends Z-A, and it's around 7 million. Guess I'll accumulate it while also going for that 1000 battles research task, eh.
If you can get 30 battles in a single night in the Battle Zones, your money multiplier is 3x which ain't too bad. Can get 400,000 or so with that if you get enough medals

I finished the main story of Pokémon Legends Z-A yesterday, now I'm in the postgame. I'm having a good time. The realtime combat is quite interesting because it is truly different than normal Pokémon combat, yet it still retains a lot of familiar elements. I kind of enjoy how it gives life to moves that were always outclassed by other moves - there's now a distinct reason to use Rock Blast over Rock Slide for example because Rock Blast is quick and travels in a straight line. I think it's really cool what they've managed with the combat here, even though I definitely don't think it should replace standard combat in the mainline games or anything.

@TheBigK

literally, just do it with your ingame team. rank k will take 1 hour to reach. even if you lose spectacularly, you usually gain enough points to earn ranks anyway. it's really really really really lenient.

I was initially worried about these events, since it seems like a tall order to rank up so high for the seasonal prize... but then I actually tried to play it. I won the Greninjite from the first event within an hour.

It's not like regular competitive Pokémon whatsoever. It's more akin to Super Smash Bros free-for-all with items. The player with the most KOs wins, and a KO counts even if you're just finishing off the last HP of someone else's opponent.

So if you're worried that your team isn't trained enough for these events, just try it anyway. It'll be okay.

@Rhaoulos

Metroid Prime 2 was developed in Texas. It's very possible that Echoes was the original name and Dark Echoes was the alternate name that came afterwards.

@HammerGalladeBro

That's just the sort of amazing pointless detail I love to hear about haha.

I think the text on the side of the JP box is supposed to make it
feel more cinematic.

It's not written in Japanese, it's not literally intended to be your primary source for release date information. It's there to give the artwork a more "Hollywood movie poster" feel that Japanese sci-fi fans would find appealing.

I do wonder about Dark Echoes though - maybe the "adjective noun" style of subtitle feels more comfortable to Japanese fans too. But to be honest, I kind of like it better than just Echoes myself.

Nothing too bizarre for me this time - just Pokémon Legends Z-A.
It's fine so far. But it's not as interesting as Legends Arceus by any means. I'm not sure about the real-time combat tbh, but I suppose they're using the Legends series to experiment with the established mechanics. Which is commendable.

It doesn't have the feeling of being on a grand adventure though. I think they should have made Lumiose way way way bigger tbh.