Hask

Knowing Nintendo, maintenance will probably take several months, even though the homebrew community has already found a fix for it. I just hope this isn't their excuse for a permanent shutdown.

Sad as it is to see it go, I've prepared myself with CFW. At this point, I'm just curious how they will handle the shutdown. After the maintenance, will they finally change the eShop music? It's been stuck on the same theme since September of 2020, I'd be really happy if they changed it to the sentimental May 2016 theme to give it a proper farewell. Most likely though, they'll get rid of the current theme and have it play the default themes already built into the systems to put less pressure on the servers. Also, what will the eShop UI look like once it gets downsized to just updates and redownloads? I'm genuinely curious about this.

@Serpenterror I know that many have already done so, but there are still some stragglers. I see people all the time asking which games they should get and frantically scrambling to pour hundreds of dollars into a dying service. Just want to make sure less people make that mistake.

As sad as it is to see it go, it doesn't have to be this way. I don't see why you should be required to access these games through official means when it's going to be impossible to do so in the near future. Anyone who still holds onto these consoles yet hasn't homebrewed them kind of had it coming. Not to mention there have been reports that Nintendo could potentially shut down all Nintendo Network services in general in 2024 or 2025. Seriously, everyone needs to quit the FOMO and get their legacy systems hacked.

@AlphadreamEmpire Accurate premonition unfortunately, although you definitely figured that out by this point.

As for pricing, I'm pretty confident it will be $20, as Kirby Fighters 2, an eShop-exclusive Kirby title on the Switch, is that price, and Nintendo typically sticks to the same price point for all of their games.

@Lady_rosalina It sold 2 million units, which isn't very much for a franchise as big as Mario, especially considering the Switch's huge install base.

@Switch_Pro
I don't see why Nintendo has to "phase out" the Switch in favor of newer hardware. Like it or not, the Switch will sell regardless of its specs, as long as new games are being released for it. In the past, Nintendo found it necessary to upgrade to newer hardware for one reason or another, but now that the Switch is in a comfortable place in the industry and doesn't have significant competition coming from any other companies, I don't see why Nintendo has to ever abandon the old install base. It's different for Microsoft and Sony, because they are in stiff competition and each have to bring something new to the table every generation, lest they be left behind and overtaken by the other company. Nintendo, having carved their own niche in the industry, doesn't need to worry about this. Plus, as the game library grows, it becomes more and more risky for other companies to challenge them. If they were to move onto a new generation, this advantage would be gone.

Glad that they're trying to differentiate it from Kingdom Battle. As great as it was, it didn't capture a huge audience, which they are clearly trying to rectify. Everything appears to be much more fluid in Sparks of Hope, whether it be the overworld exploration, battles, or just the general presentation. Kingdom Battle just felt like an endless series of strategic battles, with a few collectibles in between, so I appreciate the new approach.

@Kawaiipikachu It would have been preferable to have a controller designed specifically for use with the Wii U. If you were using the 3DS, you would have to deal with the lack of a right analog stick (at least on older models), lesser resolution, shrunken screens, and less ergonomic feel. It would have been a nice option to be able to send the GamePad's signal in a downgraded form to the 3DS, but I still think that the GamePad should have been released as an accessory for the Wii U.

The GamePad should have been sold separately in the first place. Yes, it was a good concept with lots of potential, but basing the entire console around it was a terrible move on Nintendo's part.

@chipia @Steel76 @KevinLo9 @Expa0 @rjejr @Christofu
I can see what you mean. And I'm noticing all of these problems could've been solved if the game was linear instead of open-world. In Mario's open-world games, the developers create beautiful worlds that take time to make but then stuff them with collectibles that take no effort to create. Plus, there's the fact that many power moons are copied and pasted into the different kingdoms. In Mario's linear games, enemies, power-ups, and pits are everywhere, and the developers know exactly where the player will go. This helps them place enemies in perfect places. Super Mario Odyssey kingdoms are fun to explore, but there's so much unnecessary space. Even when there are obstacles, they can just be completely ignored because the developers try to appeal to the less-experienced players by not requiring that they use Mario's entire moveset, which means being good at controlling Mario is basically cheating.

Great game, but once 3D World + Bowser's Fury comes, I want to see it drop in price.

Nintendo should make a cat pro controller and market it alongside a 3D World rerelease.

This game can't be bad, at least in my opinion. I actually enjoyed SS and CS a lot. 64 and TTYD are definitely better, but people hate on the newer games way too much. SPM is the only one I would say I didn't enjoy.

@Crockin
I think it could end up being a gem. It won't be as good as the first two games, but you can always get Bug Fables if you want a return to form.