Comments 80

Re: Huge Super Mario 64 Trick That Will Change Speedruns "Forever" Has Been Discovered

Excalibur_120

@Pillowpants Pulling off crazy speedruns or feats like completing the game blind requires hundreds of hours of practice involving repetitive trial and error, and to me, there are just too many other enjoyable things to do in life with that time, so I have no reason to be jealous. Can you make a living with speedruns? I had no idea you could - I thought speedrunning is a hobby.

Re: Feature: Get A Job - 30 Years On, Seiken Densetsu 3's Class System Is Still One Of The Best

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This great article forgot to mention that Seiken Densetsu 3 was initially released only in Japan, and that it took a few decades for it to become officially available in other parts of the world with proper translation. There was a fan-based project to translate the rom into English in early 2000s (I think), and those of us who are old enough remember having played it on an SNES emulator for the first time. Yet, I thought that after Secret of Mana (or SD2) captured the hearts of so many players (it used to be my all-time favorite for many years), depriving the rest of the world from the much-anticipated SD3 after its release 30 years ago was the worst offense Squaresoft did to their fans. At least Square Enix caught up on it - better late than never, but it took too many years. Releasing the 3D remake named "Trials of Mana" 25 years later was the best thing Square Enix could do to redeem for the long dry spell.

Re: Review: Banjo-Tooie (Nintendo 64) - An Enormous Adventure With Charm Up The Kazoo

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I don't mind the big and interconnected worlds in BT, though I never managed to establish full spatial orientation in Terrydactyland (anyone else?), even after having played through the game five times. However, I agree that there are indeed to many additional moves, a lot of which feel redundant later in the game. The only thing that was neglected IMO is the story: I wish that it would develop more over the course of the game. After Grunty has sucked life out from that Jinjo King in Jingo village, the story basically stops until you reach the final boss battle. I would have loved to see other characters falling victim to Grunty's life sucking machine.

One world that stands out to me in that game is Grunty's Industries. Its complexity and variety of puzzles is bar to none.

Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's N64 Library Next Week

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Finally, they are going to add a major game to the library that is considered one of the best in the N64 era! I have gotten tired of Nintendo releasing no-name titles that I have never heard of. And now I wish that Nintendo adds Donkey Kong 64 to the library by December of this year to mark the 25th anniversary of that title's release.

Re: Talking Point: What Are The Worst Parts Of Your Favourite Games?

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Donkey Kong 64 is among my favorite games, but two things that I dread are Tiny Kong's race against beetle in "Angry Aztec", and the erratic camera during Diddy's ring challenge in "Fungi Forest" against the owl. Man, it's hard enough to control the flight path of Diddy when flying through the small rings, but then you have the camera sometimes making a complete U-turn, especially if you are close to a corner. Add to that the problem that when you approach a ring from an angle, you can't judge whether Diddy is flying in front or behind the ring.

Re: Soapbox: Six Months Later, Tears Of The Kingdom's Sense Of Wonder Is Still Unmatched

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While I think that TotK is objectively a better game than BotW due to its deeper story, improved dungeons and larger variety of enemies and sites to discover, one thing that has put a damper on my motivation to play it is that this game does not respect your time. I was curious to experience the improved dungeons, but having to spend so much time running around and acquiring the same stuff in a world that I already know from BotW felt like a chore to me. Especially when I found out how complicated it was to get weapon upgrades from fairies and how some Koroks wanted me to carry to their friends, I felt like getting the middle finger shown by the game. In Zelda OoT, I spend an acceptable amount of time between the dungeons (where action takes place), but in TotK it was something like 15 hours if I wanted to upgrade my health, stamina and armor to adequate levels. Come on, not all of us have that much time to spare.

Re: Video: Does The Switch Actually Feel 'Old' Yet?

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Nintendo Switch doesn't feel old to me at all, but that may be because time seems to fly faster the older we get.

While the competition may provide better graphics, I dare to say that the focus of Nintendo has always been on gameplay and creativity - and that's where a lot of Switch games shine. When we talk about a successor, will Nintendo abandon the current "switchability" of the console between home- and handheld mode and go with two different consoles for each purpose, like 3DS and WiiU? I don't think that would sit well with most fans. What else could Nintendo improve except increasing the computing power and adding 4K resolution? I see big potential for the improvement of the online service, but that doesn't require a new-gen console.

Re: Random: We've Been Waiting Over Half A Decade For A "New" Mainline Zelda Game

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One important aspect that affects the development time of a game is the size of its world and the total play time. I don't think that the equation "bigger=better" always applies here, and in my opinion, BotW has already maxed out the world size within a scale that I consider reasonable. In this regard, I don't want future Zelda games to be bigger than BotW. If developers keep increasing the size, it will prolong the development time, add expenses and make the game simply too long at some point. Those who do nothing else than play games may be happy about it, but we should not forget those people who work for a living (and maybe have a family) and who would lose motivation to play and find no time if it takes hundreds of hours to complete the game. In my opinion, the "ideal" wait time for a new game of a series is the same as the wait time between Olympic games and soccer world championship games - that is 4 years. One more year is also fine, but anything longer than 5 years is too long.

Re: Feature: 8 Things We'd Love To See In Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2

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I want to go back to the traditional dungeons with complex puzzles, less linearity of the whole game in exchange for a better story (I can't see what is so special about a totally open world), and a greater variety of items! As far as breakable weapons, a good way to fix this problem would be to have the ability to repair them, similar to how you could repair a worn-out shield with an elixir in Skyward Sword. And I want the collectibles to be more rewarding (knock knock korok seeds)!

Re: Banjo-Kazooie Joins Switch Online's Expansion Pack This Week

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I like Banjo-Kazooie (and Tooie), but paying $50 per year for access to the N64 library on Switch (which has added only two games in the last three months) is too expensive for me, given that I own the original N64 console and cartridge. If they offered access for $10 per month, I would go for it, but not at the given price.

Re: Best Of 2021: What Is The Zelda 'Formula'? We Break Down The Secret Recipe

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@Crono1973 What the players who praise BotW for its open world, arguing that it comes closest to the original Zelda (NES) forget is that in the original Zelda, you could NOT access any dungeon or area immediately; you needed to acquire some items to be able to do so. (Unlike in BotW, where you are equipped with all needed items from the beginning after leaving the plateau).

Re: Anniversary: Zelda: Twilight Princess Is Now 15 Years Old (That's 105 In Wolf Years)

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To me, Twilight Princess is still the best Legend of Zelda! It had a great story, vibrant and original characters who expressed genuine emotions, a lot of tradition dungeons with great items, plus a cinematic vibe that featured the most adult Link, making you feel like you are a true hero. At the same time, the world was large and diverse and didn't make you feel like wasting your time wandering around to hunt redundant items. These are qualities that I am missing in the overrated BotW.

Re: Talking Point: Do You Miss Instruction Manuals?

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I liked the manuals not only for containing valuable information about the gameplay and controls, but also for the artwork and the story they sometimes provided. I liked taking a look at the manual before going to sleep. Of all Zelda games, I liked the manual for A Link to the Past the most!

Re: Feature: Zelda: The Wind Waker Proved We Don't Always Know What We Want

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To me personally, TWW (Gamecube version) is the weakest 3D Zelda. The best aspect about this game is its story with very natural, unique characters (including the companions later in game). This is something that BotW doesn't even come close to. Also, the dungeons are good, even though there are few of them. However, they overdid it with sailing, and collecting heart containers and treasures is a pain in the as*. What I found annoying is that you always had to change the wind direction if you wanted to sail in the other direction.

Re: Anniversary: Nintendo Switch Launched Four Years Ago Today

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Nintendo Switch is a prime example of how successful a console can become if everything is done right. In this regard, Nintendo apparently needed the Wii U to flop to learn from the mistakes and deliver a blast in the next iteration. When it comes to me, the Switch can easily exist for another four years - I don't feel a need for a new console. The only thing that would make the Switch complete is a larger selection of titles in the VC and the availability of N64 games. This is where the Wii still beats Switch.

Re: Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Hits Switch This July Alongside Themed Joy-Con

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After Zelda Wind Waker and Twilight Princess got their HD release, it is only consequential that Skyward Sword also gets its HD rendition, which will hopefully eliminate the blurry textures in the distance.

And to those of you who complain about the upcoming SS release on Switch, here is something to chew on: Hardly any other Zelda game has such a fascinating story, and all characters have their own unique personality. (And I remember a poll here on NL, in which most participants voted that princess Zelda from SS is the most liked Zelda of all releases). Much better than in BotW IMHO. And yes, the game is linear, but you get to see some of the finest REAL dungeons and not the copy & paste & edit-style shrines/titans. Just think of the Ancient Cistern (and its magnificent boss battle), or the ship on the sand ocean. This is what makes Zelda Zelda! And although the world is smaller, it feels more purposeful.

Re: Video: Ahead Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild 2, We Discuss What Makes The Original So Special

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Some people praise Zelda BotW for its huge, open world where you can go anywhere at any time. While huge worlds are great, I find that they overdid it with the size in that game, and a lot of places are bare and offer little to discover (except korok seeds and repetitive weapons). If they had reduced the size of the world by 50% by omitting these bare places, the world would feel more lively and purposeful. Also, Zelda is known for great stories. Just take Skyward Sword as an example (which is underrated IMO). The story in BotW is one of the weakest of all 3-D Zelda games, and if you ask me, the "freedom" and non-linearity comes at a high price in this regard.

Re: Poll: What's The Best 3D Mario Game?

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@Apportal That's how I feel abut Galaxy 1 vs. 2. In the first part, the hub was so full of things to discover, and Rosalina's character had depth and charm. In the sequel, the hub captain (I don't even remember the name - was it him or her?) was lacking any personality. In that game, I felt like I was aimlessly running around, while I felt progression in the first part.

Re: Review: La-Mulana 2 - A Deep And Challenging Metroidvania For Your Switch

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I recently started playing La-Mulana 2, and one thing I learned from the first part is that you should write down text information and pay close attention to it. Thankfully, Nintendo Switch allows you to take and open screenshots easily (you don't even need to buy the in-game text saving software). It was not possible on Nintendo Wii with La-Mulana 1, which sucked.

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