@antdickens To avoid the situation @PineappleLake is in (having developed/published an indie game that has positive reviews on Steam and even one review on Metacritic), you need to add a filter for single game publishers and/or self-published games, and leave that filter “off” by default.
@doodlewhizz Yikes! The situation is even worse. Not good at all. Better moderation for the shovelware tag is needed.
The classic trap that comedy game creators fall into: Committing so hard to the joke that it stops being fun and just becomes a worse version of the thing you were making fun of.
I don’t wear clothes at home anyways, so I’m already prepared for this game. This will help me simulate going outside the house in my natural state! 😆
My main worry is paper cuts from the cardboard. Might have to find some way to cover the sharp edges — maybe put tape over them? Have to especially protect a … certain area of the body from damage 😣
The NA design isn’t that bad art-wise, but it’s not the iconic designs of modern Bomberman.
The Japanese box art is nightmare fuel, with the grinning clown and whatever that is with the top hat. I don’t even have coulrophobia but I still find it disturbing 😳
So Europe it is! It also depicts the characters throwing bombs at each other, so it would’ve probably been my choice anyway since it represents the gameplay more accurately.
While this certainly looks like a mobile game, it seems that it's not going to be exclusive to platforms such as Apple Arcade or Netflix, which means it's possible that Sonic Toys Party could well show up on consoles, including the Switch, at some point in the future.
If this is indeed a mobile game, I would argue that being on Apple Arcade or Netflix would make it more likely that it would show up on consoles, since those games usually aren’t free-to-play with microtransactions.
There have been a number of games on Apple Arcade that have made it to Switch after an exclusivity window (eg. Various Daylife, Grindstone), and Netflix have included games that were already on consoles (eg. Into the Breach, Oxenfree). Whereas games like Super Mario Run, Sonic Jump, and Sonic Dash have never been released on consoles.
It took me a lot of searching, looking for a music tool I could use for chiptunes that was as easy as placing notes on a track like Mario Paint.
BeepBox was perfect for what I wanted. It’s nice to know that when I finally start developing games I’ll be able to create my own soundtracks instead of buying assets.
@Bored_Cosmic_Horror @Expa0 @Not_Soos I’m in the same boat, in terms of my interest in composing music without the skills to do so.
The only thing I found that worked for me is beepbox.io. It’s a free, browser-based app that I found fairly easy to use after playing around with it a bit. It probably has more functionality than this Switch app might have, and has a bunch of options for exporting and sharing your compositions.
I’m curious to see how using this game compares to that. I’ll definitely be checking it out.
@dartmonkey I think it should be mentioned in the review that this game is only in Japanese, and might require some research to translate it into English. I’ve read the other articles that mention this, but the review might need it for people that only read reviews.
@HammerGalladeBro I had a hard time choosing between the Europe and Japan covers. Seeing the properly-coloured version you’ve posted would’ve made that decision even harder. I forgot that NintendoLife doesn’t always pick the best quality scans for these brawls, and to judge the covers by their composition, and not their colourization or resolution.
@Anti-Matter Dreamlight Valley is a free-to-play live-service game. What you are paying for now is access to the beta version and in-game items and currency.
Whether the actual game data is on the disc or not, it is essentially worthless, since the only value you get by buying the physical version is the in-game items and currency, like the physical versions of Fortnite or Apex Legends. You would never be able to resell the disc because the codes for the items/currency are the only things you are buying, and those can only be used once.
And it being a live-service game means that any data on the disc would be incomplete and unusable anyway, as the game is more-than-likely online only.
Edit: I have been informed that the game can be played offline. I think the rest of my comment is still relevant.
@KingofRedLions I'm not offended by porn games--and I found their emails advertising sales for them amusing more than offensive--so I never noticed that there was no way to filter them out. That is definitely a problem, and they should really look into that. But they are based in Poland, and most European countries have much different attitudes toward sexual content.
I disagree that GOG is worse than Steam when it comes to those games. You wouldn't notice this, because you wouldn't (understandably) seek them out, but GOG at least curates their porn games. They are actual games, with at least some amount of quality with regards to gameplay. On Steam, 99% of porn games are sliding block puzzles and asset flips masquerading as real games, much like the garbage this article points out. GOG is really good when it comes to quality control on their storefront.
@Kiwi_Unlimited Yeah, I don’t fault anyone for making that typo. It’s just two letters switched, neither word is fully pronounced the way it reads (so it’s easier to confuse the two), and spellcheck doesn’t pick up on it because both are actual words.
The one criticism I would make is that the word is so commonly misspelled, that you would think most video game bloggers would watch out for that more. 🙃
It’s a “rougelike”? Nowhere in that trailer did I see anyone putting red makeup on their cheeks. The character’s cheeks weren’t even a little bit rosy. 😊
Edit: The typo in the headline was fixed, so my joke makes no sense now. And my apologies to the author if they were offended. It’s such a common mistake that I think most people are used to seeing it by now. Like the way there/their/they’re can never be expected to be used properly by anyone on the internet. 🤪
@Zeldawakening I’m sure the companies involved worked out a contract that will keep them in use for a long time.
Any agreement made before an acquisition will still have to be fulfilled. For example, when Microsoft bought Bethesda, Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo still stayed timed exclusives to PS5 because of previously made contracts. And games like Minecraft and Destiny are still being updated on every console/PC they were already released on, despite now being owned by first-party publishers, mostly because of how much more money they make across multiple platforms, due to how many copies were already sold on those other platforms.
It’s in Apple’s interest to keep honouring the deals Mira made before acquiring them, since they now get a cut of those profits.
I really don’t get why this surprises anyone anymore.
The only people that have a reason to own a physical copy of a game these days are people that are on a budget and need to resell it, or are serious collectors that want a case to put on their shelf. Neither of which need the full game on the disc/cart to satisfy those needs.
If you want a physical edition because of bad internet or for game preservation, that went out the window as soon as day-one patches became a thing. A vast majority of games on disc/cart are buggy, unstable messes — and that’s if the full game is on there at all.
I understand the frustration people have with this. But me personally, I switched to digital-only about half-way through the PS3/360/Wii generation, as soon as releasing AAA games at launch became standard, and have never looked back. The convenience of not having to get up to swap discs, the ability to play the same copy of a game with my niece on two different consoles through game library sharing, and the shelf space I save, outweighs the worry that someday companies will stop hosting downloads on their servers. (And, to be fair, I do have the privilege of living in a place with good internet with no data caps.)
By the time that shutdown happens, computers will have the power to emulate any system or game that isn’t being sold anymore. It’s really the only way games will be preserved, since companies — like Nintendo — obviously don’t care about making all of their games accessible to modern audiences in a convenient and cost effective manner.
@JustMonika Haha, I remember those days as well. I remember waiting a year for Jurassic Park to come out on VHS, so I could finally watch it again. $25 (or whatever it cost) was a lot more expensive adjusted for inflation, so it was one of the only 3 or 4 VHS tapes I owned.
But if I recall correctly, I think big blockbuster movies like that were the exception. Most other movies released in the pre-COVID standard of 3 months after theatres.
Nowadays it’s the Wild West. Movies are going from theatre to digital to physical to streaming within weeks. Super Mario Bros. went to digital within a few weeks, with the blu-ray a few weeks after that. Some movies are being released on digital the same day as theatres. Disney’s doing everything backwards, putting their movies on Disney+ a few months after theatre, releasing the blu-ray at a later date. Madness! 🤪
Calling E3 time “Gaming Christmas” is kind of a misnomer. We get gifts at Christmas, not just shown what we might get later on.
I think the proper analogy would be the Sears Wishbook, a thick catalog that would be mailed to you months before Christmas, so kids would have enough time to pester their parents for whatever they see in there. And just like E3, what you get on Christmas day is not always what was promised. You may not get all of the things you wished for, and the things you do get may not be as good as advertised.
@-wc- I see the Joys and Cons sections as a quick summary of the review, for people that skip the review and just look at the score. So I think that particular Con is valid, if the reviewer thought it was enough of an issue to bring it up.
The “for some” part is a warning for people that don’t like difficult games to read the whole review to see what makes it difficult, and for people that do like difficult games to ignore that Con altogether.
I know Japan’s legal system can be pretty strict, but two years sounds a bit harsh, especially for what is essentially a victimless crime. Hopefully they just fine him and let him be. The reception to Balan Wonderworld and these charges are enough to end his career, so he doesn’t deserve much more punishment than that.
I remember having a Transformers one when I was a kid. I hated it. All I wanted was a full set, but even with trading with friends, it wasn’t something I could achieve. Having blank boxes just irritated the crap outta me.
Nowadays, I hate this kinda stuff for a different reason. I realize now that it was exploiting children — or, more accurately, their parent’s wallets — using psychological manipulation. Same goes for trading cards, and all the blind boxes you see on store shelves these days. And — when it comes to video games — loot boxes, microtransactions, and cosmetic DLC. It’s all scummy, and should’ve never been allowed to be a thing.
Reading this comment section so far, it seems like people have fond memories of this stuff. I don’t understand, but okay. Maybe they had more friends than me, or had parents with deep pockets, so that they actually got a full set? I don’t know, but it sickens me to see these exploitative practices continue to scam people to this day.
@PessitheMystic @Dev9417 If we’re talking in terms of the character of Mario versus the character of Mickey Mouse, then I would argue that currently Mario is equal or even more recognizable than Mickey Mouse.
But the Nintendo company versus the Disney company? Maybe if you compare today’s Nintendo with the Disney of about 50-60 years ago.
For Nintendo to equal the Disney of today, they would have to buy Activision, Square Enix, and Capcom — and then buy Sony. (= Disney buying Lucasfilm, Pixar, Marvel, and then Fox.)
I know enough about games to recognize most of the names, but I haven’t watched enough interviews or behind-the-scenes videos to be able to narrow down who said what.
Reggie was a gimme.
I guessed the Sakurai quote right. It sounded like something he would say. I’m not into Smash Bros, but I’ve watched enough Directs that announced a new character to be familiar with him.
I guessed the Iga quote as well. I was a Kickstarter backer of Bloodstained, so I figured that was him.
I was waiting the whole quiz for a Kamiya quote. I knew that would be easy, given his reputation. And yay! I got it right. 👍 😭
I didn’t think I’d be interested in this, until I looked at the text boxes in the screenshots. That is my kind of humour. The fact that my OCD would be rewarded with more witty dialogue seals the deal. Still gonna just put this on my wishlist while I wait awhile for a few patches.
Metroidvania is one of my favourite genres, so I’m always interested in keeping an eye out for good ones.
But then I saw Sometimes You was the publisher, and I will proceed with caution. They’re on the trashier end of the spectrum of indie publishers, releasing a lot of garbage. Devolver Digital they are not.
Never played these games back in the day, because I never owned a GBA.
I did start the first one a couple of years ago. I didn’t stick with it (I probably got distracted by another game), but from what I did play, it seemed like the single-player campaign was just going to be a tutorial for multiplayer, because it went on for so long.
It’s good to hear that isn’t the case, and I look forward to picking up this remake eventually. I still think it’s a bit expensive, being the same price as a new AAA release, but it’s Nintendo — whaddaya gonna do? 🤷♂️
@Caryslan I 100% agree that this is setting up a Donkey Kong movie. It’s already been announced. My potential problem is that it takes a portion of this movie’s runtime to advertise the Donkey Kong movie, rather than sticking with the main Mario characters in their movie.
It reminds me of the differences between the start of the MCU versus the DCEU. Marvel released movies focusing on individual superheroes and their supporting characters, then putting them all together for a team-up film, only advertising other movies in the post-credits scenes. DC, on the other hand, rushed to combine Justice League characters, by shoving them into what should have been either a Superman sequel or the first Batman movie in that universe — not a movie that advertised the rest of the heroes, the mess that was Batman v. Superman.
Movies that introduce a lot of characters at once can be done well (Guardians of the Galaxy proved that). But when your priorities are advertising the next movies instead of focusing on the current project, that movie is going to suffer story-wise.
I picked “I’m not sure” because I’m gonna wait until it releases on a streaming platform. I’m curious about the movie, but I’m not in any rush to see it, or pay any extra money to see it (beyond the streaming subscription price).
I’m not worried about spoilers. Not only do reviews say that it doesn’t have much of a story anyway, I’d assume that the story it would have would be pretty predictable. And while I love Mario games, I’m not enough of a fanboy to also worry about spoilers for the references in the movie, including the post-credits scene.
Unfortunately, it seems like just what I expected. Especially after they announced that the cast included Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong. They tried to stuff too many characters and references in, rather than leave anything for the inevitable sequels.
Still seems like it might be worth a watch, when I get around to seeing it. Knowing what to expect should give the movie a better chance to entertain me, watching it for what it is, rather than what I wanted.
@BabyYoda71 Yeah, I thought about that sometime after I posted my comment. Forgot that some movies have staggered releases for different regions. Like some others commenters said, it seems weird to have a review embargo on a movie that a portion of the general public have already seen. 🤷♂️
@Mando44646 The movie hasn’t been released yet. It might start showing at midnight tonight, but the official release date is tomorrow.
The impressions that have already been put out on Twitter are from reviewers and influencers that were given early screenings, so they can release their full review at the embargo time set by the movie studio.
The movie would have also had a red carpet premiere, where all the celebrities get to see it, which can be as much as a week or two before the actual theatrical release.
One of those reasons might be why you were given the impression that the movie was already out.
@Fizza I’m a little bit surprised. Devolver Digital is more well known for publishing games made by indie developers, rather than buying them. I’m not sure if they already own some studios or not (they might). There’s a big difference between publishing a game versus outright owning the studio that made it.
I do agree that the acquisition should be good for doinKsoft. Whether they own a studio or not, Devolver seems to be one of those publishers that really care about the quality of the games they publish, and have a good eye for choosing quality projects to fund.
I like the extra features they have in this game. Rewind and save states are pretty standard updates when porting old games, but old arcade games can be brutal enough that rewind would get pretty tedious. Giving people invincibility options lets you experience the whole game without interrupting the flow.
@RareFan There’s no such thing as a “paid reviewer”, unless you count the fact that they might work for a company that pays them to review movies. No movie studio is going to pay a journalist or influencer for a good review. That would not only be expensive to do, the blowback from people finding out about such a scheme wouldn’t be worth the bad publicity.
What the movie studios actually do, is they may only let people that are already interested in the movie — or fans of the source material — see it early. And they also restrict those people from posting anything longer than a tweet, by putting an embargo on full reviews. That way, people that liked the movie can only express the generally positive quick impressions of the film, not having the space to list any criticisms they might also have. The reviewer that didn’t like it will be drowned out by the flood of good impressions, and not be able to defend their perspective until the review embargo lifts. And the reviewers agree to the embargo because, if they don’t, the movie studio won’t invite them to any more early screenings.
It is still audience manipulation, just not the way you might think.
@MegaVel91 I think it’s just a matter of how different types of minds see things. Some people just want to turn their brains off and enjoy a flashy movie, others enjoy studying films and giving them a critical analysis. As a girlfriend I once had proves, people like the former can get really annoyed at the latter.
I’m not saying you were doing this, but some people need to start distinguishing between legitimate opinions and people that are just trolling.
I’m not going to judge the movie until I see it. I hope it’s good, since, like Lussier said about himself, I’ve been a big fan of Mario for most of my life. His critiques though, match my potential worries about the quality of the film, and the more positive impressions sound like over-excited fans that would squeal at a shadow that had the shape of Waluigi. I am perfectly willing to be wrong, and I expect to end up somewhere in between the two opinions.
@Nintendoh Were there any examples of movies existing solely as brand marketing before Star Wars? Maybe the older Disney films?
In any case, I was only stating facts about how the movie industry has changed, especially in recent years. I consider myself to be a part of the movie-going public I mentioned. I don’t remember the last time I went to a theatre to watch something that wasn’t a superhero flick. It’s just the way things are, not necessarily better or worse, depending on your perspective.
@AhabSpampurse Criticism does not equal hate. People on the internet can get those two confused. Just because someone doesn’t enjoy the thing you like, it shouldn’t take away anything from your enjoyment of it.
@CharlieGirl I agree with you about the Germain Lussier review. I suspect that’ll more accurately reflect my feelings on the movie once I see it.
As far as the commercialization of cinema? There hasn’t been a time in my life where there weren’t movies that did this. Star Wars came out a few years before I was born. Once movie studios saw how much more money George Lucas made from selling merchandise than what was made at the box office, there was no going back. This affected both blockbuster movies and Saturday morning cartoons. When the Reagan administration lifted the restrictions on advertising to kids, every cartoon became an ad for action figures. 1989’s Batman movie was a merchandising juggernaut, which had every studio desperate to put out a similar project. Nowadays, Disney has a stranglehold on this market, owning Star Wars, Marvel, Fox, Pixar, and their own properties, so they make a mint off of selling every product that has Mickey Mouse or Spider-Man on it.
It seems like these days, it is harder to find films with artistic merit, rather than hyped-up toy commercials. In the 80s and 90s, there was much more balance between the different types of movies that were made with a higher budget. Unfortunately, it’s the fault of the movie-going public; we all stopped going the the theatre to watch the latest Scorsese or Fincher flick. Instead, we would only go if it was the amusement park ride of a superhero epic, and wait till any other type of film came to streaming platforms.
The pandemic greatly exacerbated this issue. In other words, story-based movies are still being made, it’s just that they’re lower-budget Netflix films, drowned out by the noise of the modern-day blockbuster.
@DrGonzo Hahaha, I hear ya! Worked in retail for many years, including working in the warehouse. Just reading this review was giving me flashbacks. 😳
Strangely enough, when I started reading the review, I was more worried that it would be too close to an idea I had for a game, based on my own work experience. But since my idea was for a post-apocalyptic pixel-art visual novel inventory management sim, it should be different enough. Along with the fact that I am nowhere near being a game developer at the moment 😉. At least I know now that there are similar games on the market — between this game and Wilmot’s Warehouse — that if I do get around to making my game I’ll be releasing something in an established genre. 😁
Just a friendly reminder that SNK is wholly owned by the Saudi Arabia government, who are responsible for human rights abuses, restricting the lives of women, and murdering journalists.
Do whatever you want with this information. I’m not judging anyone for buying SNK games even after considering this info. I love the King of Fighters series myself, and it sucks that I can’t in good conscience buy the games and support the developers! Your choice is your own. Thank-you. 😔
Comments 64
Re: The Switch eShop Is A Nightmare, So We've Made Our Own "Better eShop"
@antdickens Sounds reasonable. Not perfect, but as long as you’re committed to improving it, it’ll be good. Thanks for the response 👍
Re: The Switch eShop Is A Nightmare, So We've Made Our Own "Better eShop"
@Waluigilicious The game is on sale on Steam right now (unless you prefer playing on Switch)
@PineappleLake Just bought your game on Steam. Hopefully NL fixes their filters sooner rather than later
Re: The Switch eShop Is A Nightmare, So We've Made Our Own "Better eShop"
@antdickens To avoid the situation @PineappleLake is in (having developed/published an indie game that has positive reviews on Steam and even one review on Metacritic), you need to add a filter for single game publishers and/or self-published games, and leave that filter “off” by default.
@doodlewhizz Yikes! The situation is even worse. Not good at all. Better moderation for the shovelware tag is needed.
Re: Review: Slayers X (Switch) - A Fun But Basic Boomer Shooter That Lacks An X Factor
The classic trap that comedy game creators fall into: Committing so hard to the joke that it stops being fun and just becomes a worse version of the thing you were making fun of.
Re: Hide Your Naked Body From The Joy-Con IR Camera In This Weird New Switch Game
I don’t wear clothes at home anyways, so I’m already prepared for this game. This will help me simulate going outside the house in my natural state! 😆
My main worry is paper cuts from the cardboard. Might have to find some way to cover the sharp edges — maybe put tape over them? Have to especially protect a … certain area of the body from damage 😣
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Super Bomberman (SNES)
The NA design isn’t that bad art-wise, but it’s not the iconic designs of modern Bomberman.
The Japanese box art is nightmare fuel, with the grinning clown and whatever that is with the top hat. I don’t even have coulrophobia but I still find it disturbing 😳
So Europe it is! It also depicts the characters throwing bombs at each other, so it would’ve probably been my choice anyway since it represents the gameplay more accurately.
Re: Super Mario Maker Community Clears 'Trimming The Herbs' Just Days Before Wii U Online Shutdown
@GregamanX The ability to upload levels was shut down March 31, 2021.
If people had still been able to upload levels, the 0% challenge would’ve been impossible.
Re: Leaked Trailer For Sonic's New Mobile Game Gives Off Major 'Fall Guys' Vibes
@Olliemar28
If this is indeed a mobile game, I would argue that being on Apple Arcade or Netflix would make it more likely that it would show up on consoles, since those games usually aren’t free-to-play with microtransactions.
There have been a number of games on Apple Arcade that have made it to Switch after an exclusivity window (eg. Various Daylife, Grindstone), and Netflix have included games that were already on consoles (eg. Into the Breach, Oxenfree). Whereas games like Super Mario Run, Sonic Jump, and Sonic Dash have never been released on consoles.
Re: Overwatch 2 Announces Collab With Legendary Anime 'Cowboy Bebop'
@nessisonett @LadyCharlie Releasing Overwatch 2 itself was Blizzard doing something dodgy, let alone the crap going on behind the scenes 😔
Re: Video: Digital Foundry's Technical Analysis Of Tomb Raider I-III Remastered
@MirrorFate2 Did you, um, watch the video? He specifically notes that characters now have facial animations instead of just bobbing their heads.
Re: Composer World Is The Spiritual Successor To Mario Paint Composer We've Dreamed Of
@Expa0 You’re welcome! Glad I could help. 👍
It took me a lot of searching, looking for a music tool I could use for chiptunes that was as easy as placing notes on a track like Mario Paint.
BeepBox was perfect for what I wanted. It’s nice to know that when I finally start developing games I’ll be able to create my own soundtracks instead of buying assets.
Re: Composer World Is The Spiritual Successor To Mario Paint Composer We've Dreamed Of
@Bored_Cosmic_Horror @Expa0 @Not_Soos I’m in the same boat, in terms of my interest in composing music without the skills to do so.
The only thing I found that worked for me is beepbox.io. It’s a free, browser-based app that I found fairly easy to use after playing around with it a bit. It probably has more functionality than this Switch app might have, and has a bunch of options for exporting and sharing your compositions.
I’m curious to see how using this game compares to that. I’ll definitely be checking it out.
Re: Disney Dreamlight Valley Dev Shares Update About "Cozy Edition" Launch
@ketrac Whoops. Forgive my ignorance, I had just assumed. Comment edited. Thanks for the correction.
Re: Mini Review: Suika Game - Viral Sensation 'Watermelon Game' Is A Ripe Little Puzzler
@dartmonkey I think it should be mentioned in the review that this game is only in Japanese, and might require some research to translate it into English. I’ve read the other articles that mention this, but the review might need it for people that only read reviews.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Wario Land: Shake It!
@HammerGalladeBro I had a hard time choosing between the Europe and Japan covers. Seeing the properly-coloured version you’ve posted would’ve made that decision even harder. I forgot that NintendoLife doesn’t always pick the best quality scans for these brawls, and to judge the covers by their composition, and not their colourization or resolution.
Re: Disney Dreamlight Valley Dev Shares Update About "Cozy Edition" Launch
@Anti-Matter Dreamlight Valley is a free-to-play live-service game. What you are paying for now is access to the beta version and in-game items and currency.
Whether the actual game data is on the disc or not, it is essentially worthless, since the only value you get by buying the physical version is the in-game items and currency, like the physical versions of Fortnite or Apex Legends. You would never be able to resell the disc because the codes for the items/currency are the only things you are buying, and those can only be used once.
And it being a live-service game means that any data on the disc would be incomplete
and unusable anyway, as the game is more-than-likely online only.Edit: I have been informed that the game can be played offline. I think the rest of my comment is still relevant.
Re: Feature: The Rise Of 'Scam Games' And 'Keyword Bingo' Firms Flooding Switch eShop
@KingofRedLions I'm not offended by porn games--and I found their emails advertising sales for them amusing more than offensive--so I never noticed that there was no way to filter them out. That is definitely a problem, and they should really look into that. But they are based in Poland, and most European countries have much different attitudes toward sexual content.
I disagree that GOG is worse than Steam when it comes to those games. You wouldn't notice this, because you wouldn't (understandably) seek them out, but GOG at least curates their porn games. They are actual games, with at least some amount of quality with regards to gameplay. On Steam, 99% of porn games are sliding block puzzles and asset flips masquerading as real games, much like the garbage this article points out. GOG is really good when it comes to quality control on their storefront.
Re: Mega Man-Inspired Roguelike '30XX' Finally Blasts Onto Switch Later This Year
@Kiwi_Unlimited Yeah, I don’t fault anyone for making that typo. It’s just two letters switched, neither word is fully pronounced the way it reads (so it’s easier to confuse the two), and spellcheck doesn’t pick up on it because both are actual words.
The one criticism I would make is that the word is so commonly misspelled, that you would think most video game bloggers would watch out for that more. 🙃
Re: Mega Man-Inspired Rougelike '30XX' Finally Blasts Onto Switch Later This Year
It’s a “rougelike”? Nowhere in that trailer did I see anyone putting red makeup on their cheeks. The character’s cheeks weren’t even a little bit rosy. 😊
Edit: The typo in the headline was fixed, so my joke makes no sense now. And my apologies to the author if they were offended. It’s such a common mistake that I think most people are used to seeing it by now. Like the way there/their/they’re can never be expected to be used properly by anyone on the internet. 🤪
Re: Apple Acquires AR Headset Startup Responsible For Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge
@Zeldawakening I’m sure the companies involved worked out a contract that will keep them in use for a long time.
Any agreement made before an acquisition will still have to be fulfilled. For example, when Microsoft bought Bethesda, Deathloop and Ghostwire: Tokyo still stayed timed exclusives to PS5 because of previously made contracts. And games like Minecraft and Destiny are still being updated on every console/PC they were already released on, despite now being owned by first-party publishers, mostly because of how much more money they make across multiple platforms, due to how many copies were already sold on those other platforms.
It’s in Apple’s interest to keep honouring the deals Mira made before acquiring them, since they now get a cut of those profits.
Re: Sonic Origins Plus Physical Listing Says New Content Is "Downloadable Via Included Code"
I really don’t get why this surprises anyone anymore.
The only people that have a reason to own a physical copy of a game these days are people that are on a budget and need to resell it, or are serious collectors that want a case to put on their shelf. Neither of which need the full game on the disc/cart to satisfy those needs.
If you want a physical edition because of bad internet or for game preservation, that went out the window as soon as day-one patches became a thing. A vast majority of games on disc/cart are buggy, unstable messes — and that’s if the full game is on there at all.
I understand the frustration people have with this. But me personally, I switched to digital-only about half-way through the PS3/360/Wii generation, as soon as releasing AAA games at launch became standard, and have never looked back. The convenience of not having to get up to swap discs, the ability to play the same copy of a game with my niece on two different consoles through game library sharing, and the shelf space I save, outweighs the worry that someday companies will stop hosting downloads on their servers. (And, to be fair, I do have the privilege of living in a place with good internet with no data caps.)
By the time that shutdown happens, computers will have the power to emulate any system or game that isn’t being sold anymore. It’s really the only way games will be preserved, since companies — like Nintendo — obviously don’t care about making all of their games accessible to modern audiences in a convenient and cost effective manner.
Re: Super Mario Bros. Movie Physical 'Power Up Edition' Arrives In North America On 13th June
@JustMonika Haha, I remember those days as well. I remember waiting a year for Jurassic Park to come out on VHS, so I could finally watch it again. $25 (or whatever it cost) was a lot more expensive adjusted for inflation, so it was one of the only 3 or 4 VHS tapes I owned.
But if I recall correctly, I think big blockbuster movies like that were the exception. Most other movies released in the pre-COVID standard of 3 months after theatres.
Nowadays it’s the Wild West. Movies are going from theatre to digital to physical to streaming within weeks. Super Mario Bros. went to digital within a few weeks, with the blu-ray a few weeks after that. Some movies are being released on digital the same day as theatres. Disney’s doing everything backwards, putting their movies on Disney+ a few months after theatre, releasing the blu-ray at a later date. Madness! 🤪
Re: Poll: Will There Be A June 2023 Nintendo Direct?
Calling E3 time “Gaming Christmas” is kind of a misnomer. We get gifts at Christmas, not just shown what we might get later on.
I think the proper analogy would be the Sears Wishbook, a thick catalog that would be mailed to you months before Christmas, so kids would have enough time to pester their parents for whatever they see in there. And just like E3, what you get on Christmas day is not always what was promised. You may not get all of the things you wished for, and the things you do get may not be as good as advertised.
Re: Review: Maquette – A Heart-Breaker Of A Puzzler That Will Make You Cry And Cry Again
@-wc- I see the Joys and Cons sections as a quick summary of the review, for people that skip the review and just look at the score. So I think that particular Con is valid, if the reviewer thought it was enough of an issue to bring it up.
The “for some” part is a warning for people that don’t like difficult games to read the whole review to see what makes it difficult, and for people that do like difficult games to ignore that Con altogether.
Re: Sonic Co-Creator Yuji Naka Could Face Over Two Years In Prison
I know Japan’s legal system can be pretty strict, but two years sounds a bit harsh, especially for what is essentially a victimless crime. Hopefully they just fine him and let him be. The reception to Balan Wonderworld and these charges are enough to end his career, so he doesn’t deserve much more punishment than that.
Re: Random: Relive Your Childhood With This Awesome Super Mario Sticker Book
I remember having a Transformers one when I was a kid. I hated it. All I wanted was a full set, but even with trading with friends, it wasn’t something I could achieve. Having blank boxes just irritated the crap outta me.
Nowadays, I hate this kinda stuff for a different reason. I realize now that it was exploiting children — or, more accurately, their parent’s wallets — using psychological manipulation. Same goes for trading cards, and all the blind boxes you see on store shelves these days. And — when it comes to video games — loot boxes, microtransactions, and cosmetic DLC. It’s all scummy, and should’ve never been allowed to be a thing.
Reading this comment section so far, it seems like people have fond memories of this stuff. I don’t understand, but okay. Maybe they had more friends than me, or had parents with deep pockets, so that they actually got a full set? I don’t know, but it sickens me to see these exploitative practices continue to scam people to this day.
Re: Mario Movie Sets New Box Office Records
@PessitheMystic @Dev9417 If we’re talking in terms of the character of Mario versus the character of Mickey Mouse, then I would argue that currently Mario is equal or even more recognizable than Mickey Mouse.
But the Nintendo company versus the Disney company? Maybe if you compare today’s Nintendo with the Disney of about 50-60 years ago.
For Nintendo to equal the Disney of today, they would have to buy Activision, Square Enix, and Capcom — and then buy Sony. (= Disney buying Lucasfilm, Pixar, Marvel, and then Fox.)
Re: Quiz: Can You Guess Which Game Industry Figures Said These Quotes?
I only got 4.
I know enough about games to recognize most of the names, but I haven’t watched enough interviews or behind-the-scenes videos to be able to narrow down who said what.
Reggie was a gimme.
I guessed the Sakurai quote right. It sounded like something he would say. I’m not into Smash Bros, but I’ve watched enough Directs that announced a new character to be familiar with him.
I guessed the Iga quote as well. I was a Kickstarter backer of Bloodstained, so I figured that was him.
I was waiting the whole quiz for a Kamiya quote. I knew that would be easy, given his reputation. And yay! I got it right. 👍 😭
Re: Review: Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories - A Witty Little Nostalgia Trip
I didn’t think I’d be interested in this, until I looked at the text boxes in the screenshots. That is my kind of humour. The fact that my OCD would be rewarded with more witty dialogue seals the deal. Still gonna just put this on my wishlist while I wait awhile for a few patches.
Re: 'Mangavania' Looks To Blend Metroidvania Mechanics With Downwell Aesthetics
Metroidvania is one of my favourite genres, so I’m always interested in keeping an eye out for good ones.
But then I saw Sometimes You was the publisher, and I will proceed with caution. They’re on the trashier end of the spectrum of indie publishers, releasing a lot of garbage. Devolver Digital they are not.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles
I’m surprised that the EU version is winning right now. I thought the NA cover was far better than the other two designs. 🤷♂️
Re: Hands On: Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp - Slicker, Shinier, Sassier Strategy
Never played these games back in the day, because I never owned a GBA.
I did start the first one a couple of years ago. I didn’t stick with it (I probably got distracted by another game), but from what I did play, it seemed like the single-player campaign was just going to be a tutorial for multiplayer, because it went on for so long.
It’s good to hear that isn’t the case, and I look forward to picking up this remake eventually. I still think it’s a bit expensive, being the same price as a new AAA release, but it’s Nintendo — whaddaya gonna do? 🤷♂️
Re: Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - A Fun Ride That Substitutes Story For Spectacle
@Caryslan I 100% agree that this is setting up a Donkey Kong movie. It’s already been announced. My potential problem is that it takes a portion of this movie’s runtime to advertise the Donkey Kong movie, rather than sticking with the main Mario characters in their movie.
It reminds me of the differences between the start of the MCU versus the DCEU. Marvel released movies focusing on individual superheroes and their supporting characters, then putting them all together for a team-up film, only advertising other movies in the post-credits scenes. DC, on the other hand, rushed to combine Justice League characters, by shoving them into what should have been either a Superman sequel or the first Batman movie in that universe — not a movie that advertised the rest of the heroes, the mess that was Batman v. Superman.
Movies that introduce a lot of characters at once can be done well (Guardians of the Galaxy proved that). But when your priorities are advertising the next movies instead of focusing on the current project, that movie is going to suffer story-wise.
Re: Poll: When Will You Be Watching The Super Mario Bros. Movie?
I picked “I’m not sure” because I’m gonna wait until it releases on a streaming platform. I’m curious about the movie, but I’m not in any rush to see it, or pay any extra money to see it (beyond the streaming subscription price).
I’m not worried about spoilers. Not only do reviews say that it doesn’t have much of a story anyway, I’d assume that the story it would have would be pretty predictable. And while I love Mario games, I’m not enough of a fanboy to also worry about spoilers for the references in the movie, including the post-credits scene.
Re: Movie Review: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - A Fun Ride That Substitutes Story For Spectacle
Unfortunately, it seems like just what I expected. Especially after they announced that the cast included Donkey Kong and Cranky Kong. They tried to stuff too many characters and references in, rather than leave anything for the inevitable sequels.
Still seems like it might be worth a watch, when I get around to seeing it. Knowing what to expect should give the movie a better chance to entertain me, watching it for what it is, rather than what I wanted.
Re: Mario Movie's Opening Box Office Predicted To Be The Biggest Of 2023 So Far
@BabyYoda71 Yeah, I thought about that sometime after I posted my comment. Forgot that some movies have staggered releases for different regions. Like some others commenters said, it seems weird to have a review embargo on a movie that a portion of the general public have already seen. 🤷♂️
Re: Mario Movie's Opening Box Office Predicted To Be The Biggest Of 2023 So Far
@Mando44646 The movie hasn’t been released yet. It might start showing at midnight tonight, but the official release date is tomorrow.
The impressions that have already been put out on Twitter are from reviewers and influencers that were given early screenings, so they can release their full review at the embargo time set by the movie studio.
The movie would have also had a red carpet premiere, where all the celebrities get to see it, which can be as much as a week or two before the actual theatrical release.
One of those reasons might be why you were given the impression that the movie was already out.
Re: Devolver Digital Acquires 'Gato Roboto' And 'Gunbrella' Dev Doinksoft
@Fizza I’m a little bit surprised. Devolver Digital is more well known for publishing games made by indie developers, rather than buying them. I’m not sure if they already own some studios or not (they might). There’s a big difference between publishing a game versus outright owning the studio that made it.
I do agree that the acquisition should be good for doinKsoft. Whether they own a studio or not, Devolver seems to be one of those publishers that really care about the quality of the games they publish, and have a good eye for choosing quality projects to fund.
Re: Anniversary: Capcom's Breath Of Fire Series Is 30 Years Old, And We Miss It
“Yes, I was a true Breath of Fire 6!”
I almost picked that option, just because I want to have been an honest Breath of Fire 6 at some point in my life. 😉
Re: After 30 Years, Cannon Dancer Will Finally Be Out On Consoles Next Week
I like the extra features they have in this game. Rewind and save states are pretty standard updates when porting old games, but old arcade games can be brutal enough that rewind would get pretty tedious. Giving people invincibility options lets you experience the whole game without interrupting the flow.
Re: Round Up: The First Impressions Of The Super Mario Bros. Movie Are In
@RareFan There’s no such thing as a “paid reviewer”, unless you count the fact that they might work for a company that pays them to review movies. No movie studio is going to pay a journalist or influencer for a good review. That would not only be expensive to do, the blowback from people finding out about such a scheme wouldn’t be worth the bad publicity.
What the movie studios actually do, is they may only let people that are already interested in the movie — or fans of the source material — see it early. And they also restrict those people from posting anything longer than a tweet, by putting an embargo on full reviews. That way, people that liked the movie can only express the generally positive quick impressions of the film, not having the space to list any criticisms they might also have. The reviewer that didn’t like it will be drowned out by the flood of good impressions, and not be able to defend their perspective until the review embargo lifts. And the reviewers agree to the embargo because, if they don’t, the movie studio won’t invite them to any more early screenings.
It is still audience manipulation, just not the way you might think.
Re: Round Up: The First Impressions Of The Super Mario Bros. Movie Are In
@MegaVel91 I think it’s just a matter of how different types of minds see things. Some people just want to turn their brains off and enjoy a flashy movie, others enjoy studying films and giving them a critical analysis. As a girlfriend I once had proves, people like the former can get really annoyed at the latter.
I’m not saying you were doing this, but some people need to start distinguishing between legitimate opinions and people that are just trolling.
I’m not going to judge the movie until I see it. I hope it’s good, since, like Lussier said about himself, I’ve been a big fan of Mario for most of my life. His critiques though, match my potential worries about the quality of the film, and the more positive impressions sound like over-excited fans that would squeal at a shadow that had the shape of Waluigi. I am perfectly willing to be wrong, and I expect to end up somewhere in between the two opinions.
Re: Round Up: The First Impressions Of The Super Mario Bros. Movie Are In
@Nintendoh Were there any examples of movies existing solely as brand marketing before Star Wars? Maybe the older Disney films?
In any case, I was only stating facts about how the movie industry has changed, especially in recent years. I consider myself to be a part of the movie-going public I mentioned. I don’t remember the last time I went to a theatre to watch something that wasn’t a superhero flick. It’s just the way things are, not necessarily better or worse, depending on your perspective.
Re: Round Up: The First Impressions Of The Super Mario Bros. Movie Are In
@AhabSpampurse Criticism does not equal hate. People on the internet can get those two confused. Just because someone doesn’t enjoy the thing you like, it shouldn’t take away anything from your enjoyment of it.
Re: Round Up: The First Impressions Of The Super Mario Bros. Movie Are In
@CharlieGirl I agree with you about the Germain Lussier review. I suspect that’ll more accurately reflect my feelings on the movie once I see it.
As far as the commercialization of cinema? There hasn’t been a time in my life where there weren’t movies that did this. Star Wars came out a few years before I was born. Once movie studios saw how much more money George Lucas made from selling merchandise than what was made at the box office, there was no going back. This affected both blockbuster movies and Saturday morning cartoons. When the Reagan administration lifted the restrictions on advertising to kids, every cartoon became an ad for action figures. 1989’s Batman movie was a merchandising juggernaut, which had every studio desperate to put out a similar project. Nowadays, Disney has a stranglehold on this market, owning Star Wars, Marvel, Fox, Pixar, and their own properties, so they make a mint off of selling every product that has Mickey Mouse or Spider-Man on it.
It seems like these days, it is harder to find films with artistic merit, rather than hyped-up toy commercials. In the 80s and 90s, there was much more balance between the different types of movies that were made with a higher budget. Unfortunately, it’s the fault of the movie-going public; we all stopped going the the theatre to watch the latest Scorsese or Fincher flick. Instead, we would only go if it was the amusement park ride of a superhero epic, and wait till any other type of film came to streaming platforms.
The pandemic greatly exacerbated this issue. In other words, story-based movies are still being made, it’s just that they’re lower-budget Netflix films, drowned out by the noise of the modern-day blockbuster.
Re: Surprise! FMV Game Night Trap Is Getting A Game Boy Advance Video Release
Lemme see if I understand:
Sounds like a deal! 😁
Re: Round Up: It's April Fools' Day, Here Are The Best Gaming Gags We've Seen
I had a good chuckle at the not-so-subtle dig at AI art with the WayForward gag. 😂
Re: Review: The Last Worker - Well-Packaged Satire That Doesn't Always Deliver
@DrGonzo Hahaha, I hear ya! Worked in retail for many years, including working in the warehouse. Just reading this review was giving me flashbacks. 😳
Strangely enough, when I started reading the review, I was more worried that it would be too close to an idea I had for a game, based on my own work experience. But since my idea was for a post-apocalyptic pixel-art visual novel inventory management sim, it should be different enough. Along with the fact that I am nowhere near being a game developer at the moment 😉. At least I know now that there are similar games on the market — between this game and Wilmot’s Warehouse — that if I do get around to making my game I’ll be releasing something in an established genre. 😁
Re: Create Cars And Cause Chaos In Pit Crew Co-op Game 'Speed Crew'
@ravenua Awesome! Sounds great. I’ll look forward to trying the demo. Thanks!
Re: SNK Announces The King Of Fighters XIII Global Match For Nintendo Switch
Just a friendly reminder that SNK is wholly owned by the Saudi Arabia government, who are responsible for human rights abuses, restricting the lives of women, and murdering journalists.
Do whatever you want with this information. I’m not judging anyone for buying SNK games even after considering this info. I love the King of Fighters series myself, and it sucks that I can’t in good conscience buy the games and support the developers! Your choice is your own. Thank-you. 😔