Gameplay_Matters

Celeste on Switch received raving reviews, including a 10/10 on this site. As a fan of 2D platformers I couldn't resist and bought this on day one. Boy, what a disappointment.

My main issue are the controls. This is an old-school type of game and precise controls are necessary. I had no problems to 100% Shovel Knight or to complete Super Meat Boy, but with Celeste I really lost my cool. This game does something wrong with detecting directions on the left joy-con. I calibrated them several times, thinking the problem is on my end, but once I jumped back into other games, everything was back and spot on. Only Celeste has some terrible detection and throughout the game I always felt like I was fighting the controls instead of the level design. I don't know how it performs on the Pro Controller and I don't care. As a Switch game it should be enjoyable handheld and that it is not!

My other main issue is the pacing. Every chapter increases in length and it doesn't match the story. It becomes tedious by the last chapter and after the main story is completed, it still keeps throwing levels at you with varying difficulty. My mind kept on going "STILL not finished?!"
Difficulty is also not increasing steadily. Even in the last chapter, some of the rooms are a breeze (if the controls are recognized correctly) and the next second you are facing an almost impossible to beat hurdle.

Another issue is the music. Wow, it's annoying. At first I just thought "not my style, no problem." I turned the music down in the options and let it play in the background. But it gets really upbeat at the end of the game and that is where you will be spending most of your time. This chiptune crap is not music. It is annoying and nothing more.

I am sad to say that when finally completing Celeste, I was not feeling rewarded or perceived any sense of satisfaction. I was only happy to get it over with.

This is just my subjective opinion. If you have a bad taste in music and like emo stories of schizophrenic characters, you might find more enjoyment out of fighting terrible controls and jumping in the wrong angle time over time again.

From the Switch Nintendo News channel:
If you pre-order the game, you will receive "the special Builder's Pack, which includes some decorative items to use in-game, like the King Slime Light." Pictures also show a normal blue Slime desk lamp and a big smiley face on a wall.

I didn’t encounter any bugs yet, but I’m very disappointed by the long loading times. I wish they’d work on that!

@Steven_the_2nd Thanks! I guess you're right. The Virtual Console will come with a big bang and lots of drum noise. Probably at the one year anniversary.

Maybe they will bundle it with hardware? SNES/N64/GCN-styled Joy-Cons with matching button layout?

This game scored 9th position on Dunkey's Best of 2017 list. That's gotta mean something!

Still no VC! I can't believe it...

If there's no mention of Virtual Console I am going to cry!

I enjoyed it a lot, but I feel like I cheesed my way around the second half of the game. Once you bought the appropriate clothes, the whole cooking as survival aspect is completely gone. That’s a shame, really.

This game was released on PS3 in Japan, but only on PS4 in NA/Europe. I really wanted to play it on PS3 when it came out and I was so bummed it was only available in Japanese. I was hoping it would be ported to Switch and now it finally is close. I'm just hoping they won't charge full price because I am willing to pay 39 € at best. Else I will pass and just wait for DQB2.

To me it sounds as if the publishers want to load off the work. This is an interest check if any other company wants to handle the port.

Well deserved! I used to be a hardcore gamer and I dug deep into every genre. Now, I am limited to time-constraints and because I spend a lot of time abroad, I didn’t even have the chance to pick up this gen (XB1/PS4). I only have a Switch and I don’t even regret it!

I have played most Zelda games but I was never hooked by one. It was always a weird Link to me. But this time, Link is ME. The freedom is amazing! Most fun I had with a game in ages. I feel comfortable in this lively world where I am not forced to talk with everybody or bold cut-scenes pull me out. Gameplay first!

Mario was good too, but it lacked the focus on difficulty. You had to search the challenge. An expert DLC could easily fix that.

Galaxy was perfect. One of the best games ever. It made so much fun flying between different gravitational zones. Odyssey has nothing on it, gameplay wise.

@Bustacap Really? Damn! Well in that case I saved 3€ 😂

My sister lives in London so I let her purchase the download code from Amazon for me. I’m living in Germany and the price here is 59€ so I saved 15€ total.

Mario is one of those games I will never want to sell. It’s also always nice to have on your system so the cartridge would actually be bothersome. I wish I had downloaded Zelda too instead of buying the physical, but so far it’s my only physical game so there is no swapping yet.

Finally somebody puts Terranigma on the list!
I want to add Secret of Evermore and Illusion of Gaia. These are perfect 16Bit Action Adventures. I'd still rate Secret of Mana a bit higher, but these are close follow-ups.

Chrono Trigger is an absolute must. I think it's the most-played JRPG from that time. Including Final Fantasy VI is nice, but I think Dragon Quest is perhaps even more important. DQ5 would have been the obvious choice here.

I spent most of my youth in USA and France. I was fortunate enough to play some NA-exclusives like Super Mario RPG but I also experienced the huge Dragon Ball hype in France at the time. The SNES games were very, very good and I don't remember anyone still caring about Street Fighter after DB3 and DB4. I think they could still be enjoyable today.

I'm not a big Sonic fan but I grabbed it for half the price from the Russian eStore.

I am surprised by the amount of nostalgic Sonic fans in the comment section on YouTube. You would assume Sonic fans would have died out after 16 terrible games in a row. Now they are shouting "Sega does what Nintendon't" as if they even remembered.

Yes, it is cool that they created a team from fans and gave them a project. But I don't see why it's cool to hate on Nintendo now, because as far as I can remember, Mario was absolutely awesome since ever. What would they need a fan-based rescue team for?

I am on the fence and might get this game tonight. But I have to admit, Sonic is not my style. I prefer to collect every single coin and not rush through a stage and just hope I don't run into an obstacle.

Anyway, good to know the Nintendo Switch can handle 16bit games at 60fps. Let's hope they will be able to release the Virtual Console some day.

@MyNameIsRandy I died most at the beginning trials, haha. The medium levels were challenging too, but allowed better use of strategy. Most of my deaths were random.

General tip: Always use stasis in a 1-on-1! Especially lynels, wizards, guardians and any Hinox, Talos, etc. Much easier to make that head shot!

As for the finals:
1. First room you can cheat. The guardian on the other side will wake up and shoot at you. After you defeat him, two or three more wake up. As soon as the level starts, run into a corner. That way it won't wake up. Grap a dualhanded weapon and rotate at one of the sleeping guardians. You should kill it before it makes its first move. Work your way forward to the last one, stasis him and shoot arrows into his eye. Easy.
2. Use stasis on walking guardians and use the axe to cut off their legs. Almost easy.
3. Flying guardians are terrible. But I think you can find up to 9 ancient hidden arrows (use magnesis for burried treasure). Use Stasis and shoot them down. A single hit is enough, but if you find all arrows, you can risk a second shot.
4. Lynel 1on1 is easy. Single ancient arrow and they're gone (but don't drop weapons). In the final stage, the lynel comes with a heard of riders. Run immediately and turn your camera away! The goblins will lose track of you and only the lynel will come chase you down. Single-shot, boom! Over!
Peace of cake. Enjoy!

On my third try, I forgot to search all the arrows, so I actually had to fight the lynel. It was my second ever, but somehow I managed with help if the ferries.

I was at 60 hours, 3/4 guardians, some armor maxed, 15 hearts. I didn't play in a while but the DLC really pulled me back in.

I managed the trial of the swords (and I didn't even know you could insta-kill a Lynel) and now I'm running around with the Korok mask. Still so much to do! And it makes tracking things easier, especially after a break.

I wasn't sure where exactly I was in the game, but now I'm back on target!

I think what put me off back then was that too many enemies were too much of a challenge. Actually they are even tougher now, but thanks to the trials I am not afraid of any Hinox, Talos, Stalinos, guardian or even Lynel anymore. I just pull out my 60-Master Sword and go at 'em. Now I don't even care which armor I'm wearing, I can dodge most attacks.

BTW, beating the trials does not give unlimited power to the sword. It will still drain, but it takes much longer and recharges within 10min.

I review headphones for several sites, including one of the biggest headphone specific websites. Sadly I don't agree.

My recommendation for the audiophile is the Oppo PM3, which is also the pair I use.

A bit cheaper and more oomph is provided by the ATH-M50. They're bulky but can take a beating and punch harder than the price suggests. Soungmagic HP-150 is possibly a worthy alternative for higher comfort and less forward treble.

Noontec provides amazing clarity for the low price. Build quality is not that great, but I'd rate the HD II higher than Bose QC35 or any Beats for sonic qualities alone.

I really just want to play old SNES classics from the VC right now. Short bursts of play during the hot summer time...

I'm angry this topic is completely dodged by Nintendo. I thought it would be available shortly after launch.

Only difference I see is resolution.

I bought this game for Switch two days ago. Didn't notice any bugs but some on that list are a bit worrying.
I never imagined the game would put out anything less than 1080p when docked.
So far I played it in handheld only. Works pretty well with the joystick too, much better than I had expected.

You should not use Full RGB with a TV. That's for monitors.

Most video games are designed using the Full RGB spectrum since they are designed on computers which use that. However, when you are playing a Full RGB game and your video game console is set to Limited, it takes this into account. The video levels are shifted from 0-255 down to 16-235 and the gamma curve is adjusted to match a TV as well. You aren’t losing anything as the system is accounting for this.

I played the translated rom with a friend in co-op many years back. If I get the chance, I will pay for the game. Although I did prefer Seiken Densetsu 2.

I would buy it, if I could find it. Same goes for the Switch. I placed my order on Amazon Germany in the second week but there isn't even mention of a date when either will be available again.

I can imagine that hurting the sales a bit.