Grackler

Tetris! And some other GB online bits. Still holding out for Physical Metroid Prime Remaster here in UK.

Glad you could! I’m pretty colour-blind and have had to dump a few games I couldn’t play, and struggled in plenty of others. To be honest I’ve found many colourblind modes useless (I think it was Doom 2016 where I struggled with the sheer amount of red and the colourblind modes all looked the same to me).
Prime was ok for me as a kid, but not sure if that’s because I had a guide book so went in with full health and help on what to do!

Loved reading/playing the Deathtrap Dungeon book in high school, may try this Switch version.

I love how good the emulation is. Playing any old games is nice, but having all the trimmings done right (the scaling, the ghosting, the behaviour, the rewind, the extra functions, the multiplayer) really help keep these games preserved properly. My only issue with Switch Online is what will happen in the future. The games run natively on the device, but the software needs an online check to run, and I don't want them to go the way of Mario 35. But that's an issue for many years down the line I hope!

The scalping on these things is getting insane. 16mins after NL posted about the Collectors edition of the game, all sites were sold out and there were pages upon pages of preorders on eBay at 2-3x the cost. You aren’t even allowed to sell a preorder on eBay! Can’t imagine these lovely OLED switches will be any better if real. Such a shame.

Want to play Prime Remastered (it’s my fav game of all time and the remaster looks incredible!); but I’m waiting for the physical cartridge. So I’m the meantime I’m trying to finished Metroid Dread. Due to family matters, I’ve slowly worked through it over the last year, and the deeper I get the harder it is to come back too after a break. The controls and combat are hard! Wish I hadn’t started before easy mode was added! Just got Storm Missiles, will try to keep up a cadence if time allows!

I don't think it's a "mistake", I think it's intentional. They have redone a lot of assets from the looks; and this looks more like a combo of the Prime 1 and Prime 2 designs? Or they might have just wanted something more striking to stand out in the more geometrically dense environment? Either way, shame for him they didn't reuse his work, but it is a proper remaster not a res-up of the old game, so to be expected!

Mind blowing. Great new titles, long requested old ones, plenty of DLC for existing games. And all of it was pretty soon as well! I've got sick of other console makers shows with games that are half a decade away. This was such a great Direct, only issue is I'm struggling to wait for the physical Metroid Prime, wish it was out already on a cart!

I said Diddy Kong Racing and DK64. Maybe not the top omissions overall, but they aren't in Rare Replay so are still stuck on N64 (along with Mickey Speedway USA)! But for those without an Xbox Blast Corp is a hidden gem, so wouldn't mind that either.

@romanista I didn’t, that will make On-Line shopping that bit more enjoyable, thanks!!!

I’m tempted as it seems more tactical-play focussed than before, but what I really wanted was the gameplay purity of the Advance War reboot!

Great trailer, incredible game! Going to be tough for TotK to measure up, but I’m sure it’ll be a fun game regardless!

@bluemujika feels that way. Nintendo should just release it, getting silly now!

Red for me, back in the day was the talk of the playground! I’m amazed how many people on the website are of that era, at time of writing over 2/3 started with Gen 1, and 3/4 of NL voters started somewhere on the Game Boy/Game Boy Color!

Very happy about this, Pilotwings 64 is great!

I liked Wii Music and thought the backlash against it was a bit over-the-top.

(Follow up to anyone who has one: does it help with things like Ocarina’s bow aiming or F-Zero X? They are a real struggle on the switch controller, wondered if it was the long stick that made it work…)

Damn missed it again! Thanks for the heads up NLife, even if I missed it by a few hours. Nintendo’s notification system simply doesn’t work! Given how many people complain about about the Switch N64 Online and say they won’t play on it, I’m amazed how quick they sell, must not have made many.

This is published by Square Enix?!

@Grackler Turned out he wasn't! "Grackler will remember this"

It's getting a bit silly now, Nintendo. The game isn't that offensive, and it seems a bit mad to keep it under lock and key because of a conflict that is only very loosely linked by some non-offensive stereotypes (of the aggressors no less!). TBH, I don't think it will ever do as well now sales-wise as it might have at the start of this year, but holding off will just hurt it more and more.
I don't know how long they intend the Switch to stay around, but unless it is for a good few years yet, they could do with getting this out. December/January is looking empty, would be a good time!

Much as GoldenEye is more of a classic (and I will play it to bits!), I’ve gone Pilotwings 64. It was my first 64 game I got (pack-in copy of ISS64 aside); so I do have nostalgia. But, it’s also arguable a game that hasn’t been replaced or bettered along that way. I don’t think the SNES or 3DS ones hold a candle to the scope and handling of Paradigm’s work on the N64, and it has a chill vibe that is very rare even to this day. Because of this I think it still stands up pretty well! Exploring the details of those 4 maps (particularly the large “mini USA” one) will take up lots of my time, and the Hang Glider music is so chill and calming, can’t wait!

They won’t do this, but I’d love it if they’d modify the 64 online ROM to act as if a Transfer Pak with one of the games was plugged in (would require the GB ROMs). Seems like it’ll be way less work than a full link to other games, but would allow you to play; say, Red and Silver on Switch via Stadium, and the upload features would work with that include ROM as a minimum.

However I wouldn’t be surprised if the emulator NoE made doesn’t emulate the Transfer Pak, so it might not be so low effort, and I don’t think they want to open that can of worms.

I am in awe at how much reasonably solid idea-age you’ve managed to squeeze from a trailer that seemed like a whole bunch of nothing to me on first watch! (wasn’t that disappointed mind, going to play regardless!)

@KateGray I think the undocked cost per hour is wrong (0.03 wouldn’t make 0.06 per week but per day; and as the wattage given is lower than docked the price per hour should be lower, not higher). But I could have merely misread something as on mobile!

The lower power usage of the Switch is pretty great, don’t feel so bad using it! Nintendo have always been good for power usage, remember the Wii been low compared to rival machines. Might watch YouTube/Twitch on TV with Switch over Xbox, never thought about how much it might be using.

I really, really miss games mags, though not because of the odd adverts of the era! But these are spot on for the vibe of those ads, good work.

We hear this every few months, surely at some point it’ll be true! Is this Jeff chap a trustworthy source, has he got stuff right or wrong before? I’d like to get my hopes up, but the rumours are so often nonsense around these things!

@Anti-Matter "It's-a over Luigi! I have-a the high ground!" "You undestimate my floaty kick-a-jump!"

Love this on N64, but the switch online version is much harder to control!

Monster Hunter Rise. Friends helping me get to the end of HR7 so I can get the Sunbreak expansion!

Not the first to say it, but Kalimari Desert hasn't been recreated without any changes from the original, in fact it is HUGELY different from the N64 version from Lap 2! Your video chaps got this right, I think a correction is in order on this particular point @Olliemar28 (not that you have to like it or anything, but it just isn't a straight recreation without any twists in the way Mario Circuit 3 is)

Never much liked it compared to the others, even if it felt like an easy must-buy in a generation mostly devoid of other (good) kart racers. 2 characters with swapping and unique weapons might have added some tactical depth, but it made the multiplayer a much tougher prospect for people coming over for a quick play: DD owners tended to rule the roost (not great for a party game). It looked a bit weak graphically (but ran at a great framerate, so forgivable!). But what really killed it for me was the paltry track selection. 16 tracks, of which a good 5 (I think?) are just an oval. Dull ovals or circles! Baby Park works much better among 32-48 varied tracks (as in MK8) than that set, where it annoys me to have another dull go-around! Battle arena were a bit guff too I thought. DS and Wii got the series back to the 64 days for me, and MK8 is a gem!

It’ll be mostly Elden Ring, but F-Zero X will get some races in for sure!

As an Ace Attorney noob, is The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles an ok point to jump in, or is it better to try out the OG trilogy first?

Look forward to this, was a fun unique platformer that was outshone by the stream of top-tier titans of the time in that genre. Also my N64 version had a bug that deleted your game save after world 3 (the pirate one), so only saw ending with cheats!

Really glad they got it fixed, wish it was sooner in Ocarina’s case (right at the end now!) but glad it happened at all!

I'll miss the shops having music! I mean they weren't quite bangers on the Wii Shop level, but the eShop on Switch is so bland feeling to navigate...

Woah NintendoLife! You’re just gonna out Samus Hunter’s main source like that 😂

I don't have enough platinum point

Love it! The caption “ A screenshot of Phil Spencer's PowerPoint presentation entitled "nintendo_xbox_xbendo_final_final2.pptx"” cracked me up no end!

These could easily run natively. Even native that would be a steep price, but for cloud hosted games? Not touching this with a barge pole.

@Damo I agree. Bespoke things like this are always interesting, and like you say, they can't just use Blu ray pressing firms everyone else does! (with all the unique logstics that goes with having their own lines too).
A lot of this manufacturing stuff will remain a trade secret long after the Switch has gone, so it's good to see even a little glimpse of it.

@Damo Ah yes, I can see now you've said! Taking a look on a proper screen rather than my phone, looks like they are held by a vaccum gripper (the black cups over the carts), which is on a gantry system (the robot) on the left of the image, held via an arm (sticking out parallel to the conveyor with the blue carriers on).
On closer inspection the machine in the background that the carts are being taken from-or-to is covered is slots with ribbon cables looking very much like the cartridge inputs on the manual testing machine in the second image (which is certainly manual, didn't see the pic with the side off until I look at the tweet directly). Could be this is an automated version of that? Wonder how the carts go in/out? Is enough of the contacts sticking out to jsut push it in with the vaccum end-effector? It could have carriers, but its a bit blurry even on a proper laptop screen....

Also the wording (while translated) of the manual one been "developed by Nintendo themselves"...could they mean that Nintendo made a manual one and a integrator at the factory copied the workings to make this automated one?
Enjoying the minor-league detective work of poring over the image XD !

Interesting (to me, I’m an engineer in manufacturing!). But can’t tell much, the first image doesn’t seem to show any carts, should they be in the blue carriers? And is it a camera inspection? I can’t see anything else around for testing it in na device, few moving parts it looks like, which I guess is the robotic aspect (no articulated arm I can see)?

Image 2 looks more what I’d expect for testing of the contacts/data transfer etc. But it looks quite manual, with the cart slots and the little legs. Does someone have to load it up? Do they pick at random from each batch to go in that machine?

Wish we had a bit for info than one tweet!

Octo Exapnsion?

The lack of cross save is a real shame, can’t imagine it’s technically that hard, but maybe they don’t want to cost/effort of keeping a cloud save transferring server up and running? Just feels like a missed opportunity given Witcher 3 has it!

@John_Deacon I was wondering this, is it a get it now or never deal; or can you get it later on? (Don’t own the game yet!)

As everyone else had said: they all look incredible! Amazing what people can do with this game!

Little King’s Story

I came back to this article to compliment its prescience, but good to see everyone else is already at it!