Grumblevolcano

After finishing Lego Horizon Adventures, I decided to start the Metal Gear Solid collection. At current I've just started disc 2 of MGS1.

Will be buying day 1 for sure, excited to replay it on Switch.

I'd like to have the ability to use my Switch 1 as a 2nd screen just like the Wii U gamepad for Wii U.

I think it comes down to whether they want to release digital before physical again like Prime 1 and Pikmin 1+2.

If they want to release digital first, I could easily see a situation like:

• Digital Prime 2+3 - December 2024
• Prime 4 - February 2025
• Physical Prime 2+3 - April 2025

But if they want to release physical and digital at the same time then it sounds more like:

• Prime 2+3 - February 2025
• Prime 4 - April/May 2025

I think adjust the Wii U setup for DS games to have more control over the size and location of the screens. Also it would be wonderful if you could use your Switch 1 like a Wii U Gamepad for Switch 2.

After finishing Tomb Raider 3 and its DLC, I figured I'd start Lego Horizon Adventures.

Surprised it wasn't DK64 because of the game's 25th anniversary (November 22nd) but still cool to see DK Land appear.

@Not_Soos Maybe because we got 5 games for the Expansion pack in October (F-Zero GP Legend, F-Zero Climax, Banjo-Tooie, Shadow Man, Turok 2), there's none for November?

@stinkyx Nintendo may approach Switch 2 like how Sony approached PS5. If you wanted to play the PS4 version of Sony 1st party games on your PS5 via backwards compatibility you could but if you wanted to play the PS5 version you had to either upgrade your PS4 copy for $10 (apart from Horizon Forbidden West which was free upgrade) or buy the physical PS5 version (usually $70).

It'll be interesting to see how well MySims does in next week's charts, I saw it climb the eshop charts very fast and is currently at #1.

I know it didn't happen in 2022 or 2023 but will Nintendo Life be having a stream chat or will it just be Push Square and Pure Xbox?

I'm torn, my Expansion Pack subscription is set to expire in February and I've been contemplating dropping down to base NSO as I mostly use NSO just for online play nowadays but buy 1 year get 1 year free on Expansion Pack is decent value.

@Zealv2 If you play the game on Switch without an internet connection, it comes up with a message to connect to the internet or turn off airplane mode.

But the game loads as normal if you ignore the message so not really sure what's going on.

Continuing with Tomb Raider 3 and its DLC. Entered brand new territory in the base game now as I didn't manage to finish the game many years ago (my save file corrupted in the first Antarctica level).

While it's clearly not a shadow drop for the anniversary at this point, I still have high hopes that Prime 2 and 3 will come to Switch prior to Prime 4's release.

@JohnnyMind The DK expansion opening for Japan is currently scheduled for Late 2024 so I figure we'll get a specific opening date in the Direct.

For those wondering about the lack of a warning that Switch successor isn't present, it's to do with the tweet length limit. Nintendo UK split the Direct announcement into 2 tweets with the 2nd one being:

"Please note, there will be no game announcements or mentions of the Nintendo Switch successor during this presentation."

Considering the patch which fixed Tomb Raider 3's stuttering released earlier on in the week, I decided to play that and its DLC before starting Brothership.

Is that last sentence perhaps suggesting you may be able to play Switch 2 with your Switch 1 as a controller like the Wii U Gamepad was for Wii U?

I think February reveal and September release. September release would fit perfectly with a 3D Mario launch title coinciding with the SMB 40th anniversary (like how 3D All Stars coincided with 35th anniversary and Mario Maker coincided with 30th anniversary).

As for February reveal, I feel it's to do with Legends Z-A. There's annual Pokemon Presents coinciding with Pokemon Day (February 27th) so it's a safe guess that Legends Z-A debut gameplay will be revealed on February 27th 2025. My guess is that the game releases in the normal November Pokemon slot so they'd showcase the debut gameplay running on Switch 2 and I feel that February reveal for Switch 2 is more likely than prior to February.

While my favourite Star Fox entry is Assault, I think I'd want a Zero + Guard port the most from the franchise because it rescues 2 more games from the Wii U.

Probably focused on Sonic X Shadow Generations. While I've beat the game and unlocked everything, there's still stages I want to improve my times on or get S ranks in the lead up to Brothership's launch next week.

Absolutely preordering the physical version, my 2nd most anticipated release of 2025 so far (first is Tomb Raider 4-6 Remastered).

The Wind Waker tease is cruel when the game isn't playable on Switch but apart from that it's a cool announcement. Hopefully regarding Splatoon 3, they include the Grand Fest versions of songs.

I think reveal will be in February and release in September.

While XCX was one of the games at the top of my most wanted to be ported over, there's plenty of other games the Wii U got that I want to see come to Switch taking into account both Wii U games and VC.

I'm so happy that this game is finally coming to Switch!

Focusing on Sonic X Shadow Generations but also playing Splatoon 3 for the Splatfest. Generations is looking at the moment like it will end up being my GotY.

@Toastmaster It's specifically Splinter Cell Blacklist that doesn't feel believable to me, not the concept of Ubisoft doing more remasters and remakes. If the rumour was something like another Assassin's Creed game or a Far Cry game that's being remastered/remade, that would feel very believable.

Splinter Cell Blacklist makes it sound really fake to be honest.

My favourite minigames generally were the returning ones from Mario Party 4-6.

My guess is Kid Icarus. Since Nintendo killed the 3DS eshop in 2023, they've been delving deeper into 3DS territory for Switch like LM2 and DKC Returns (Switch port gets the 3DS exclusive levels) so I could see a Kid Icarus Uprising remaster happen to prepare people for a new game.

Really excited for this, will be playing it as soon as my physical copy arrives.

I'd say 8/10. Really like the boards (favourite is Rainbow Galleria), Jamboree buddies create extra fun chaos and the side modes are cool as well (especially Koopathlon) however there's not enough minigames for the main Mario Party mode.

I'd say Switch is Nintendo's best system yet. A really cool gimmick (the ability to seamlessly move between being a home console to being a handheld), fantastic selection of 1st party games both old and new, 3rd party support has been strong and the OS is all about being able to get into the games you want to play as quick as possible.

As for Switch 2, I don't see it being revealed before late January at the earliest. February would be my guess around the usual Direct slot for that time of year.

Super Mario Party Jamboree will be my focus until Sonic X Shadow Generations releases next week.

@TheExile285 The eshop listing for the Digital Deluxe edition says there'll be a Digital Deluxe Season Pass which contains the extra contents.

Sounds very promising for the most part though the review mentioning battle pass does concern me. Can you share more about how the system is handled?

"The next year" doesn't necessarily mean talking specifically about 2025. As they're saying in context of Expansion Pack turning 3 years old, it may very well be about year 4 (October 25th 2024 - October 24th 2025).

The whole situation regarding Smash Wii U showcases that Nintendo will continue to support the Gamecube controller as long as Smash still exists.

Probably continuing with F-Zero GP Legend and Climax via the NSO app. It's interesting how F-Zero Climax continues GP Legend's approach of higher difficulties having different, more difficult tracks (e.g. Standard Bronze Cup is different to Expert Bronze Cup) but this time being different locations too.

This has a very good chance of being my 2025 GotY. So excited to replay The Last Revelation and Chronicles.

Angel of Darkness is for sure the weakest entry in the franchise but it's still appreciated that the game is going to be playable on current hardware.

The speed at which Tomb Raider games are being brought over to current platforms makes me think the Survivor Trilogy (2013, Rise, Shadow) will come to Switch 2.

I can't say I'm interested in the product itself but the announcement timing when there's so much Switch 2 talk was absolutely hilarious.

@LXP8 It's to do with the type of Direct. There were no general Directs in 2020 (the next general Direct after September 2019 was February 2021) however there were smaller Directs in 2020.

September 2020 had a Direct celebrating SMB's 35th anniversary, a Partner Showcase and a Monster Hunter Direct.

The current situation is that Nintendo has 2-3 less games than normal looking ahead. In normal circumstances on top of what's already present you see:

• A game for mid/late November
• A game for March
• Sometimes a game for February

There's enough going on in October and early November that Nintendo could easily go through October just on what's already announced but I don't see them announcing Switch 2 in November/December because of the holiday shopping season.

So I think we'll either see a Switch 2 reveal this week or a Switch 1 general Direct in November after Brothership launches (e.g. have a Direct on November 14th with Prime 2+3 being a shadow drop to celebrate Prime 2's 20th anniversary).

Undecided as I finished Echoes of Wisdom earlier in the week. Maybe F-Zero X to try and unlock the X cup (I have it unlocked on Wii VC but not NSO).

It's noticeable but doesn't harm the experience, same with the Link's Awakening remake.

Fantastic to see that Climax is finally going to be available outside of Japan and I'm excited to replay GP Legend. Between this and the Satellaview content for F-Zero 99, that leaves GX as the only F-Zero game missing from Switch.

Hopefully GX gets a remaster (proper physical version like they've done for other GCN games would be much better than doing GCN NSO) and then they delve into a new game.

The last time an accessory company leaked the Switch 2 release timing, the following month there were lots of reports about internal delays.

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/01/random-ai-gameshark-successor-claims-to-know-switch-2-release-date-then-backtracks

https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/02/rumour-new-report-from-nikkei-corroborates-switch-2-delay-into-2025

It'll be interesting to see if history repeats itself.

All focused on Echoes of Wisdom, it's been a really fun game so far.

They fell off the "more power" path after the Gamecube and it did them the world of good.