JaketheArbok

Hopefully Crush 40 shows up somewhere in this game to do a boss song or something, I’m not really feeling these two songs, and that’s weird, because I loved “Infinite” and “Fist Bump” in Colors, so it’s not an instance of me hating new things. Hopefully they’ll grow on me.

Speaking of ending themes, I’m still miffed at what they did to Colors’ closing theme, “Speak With Your Heart”. I’m super nostalgic for it, and the 30th Anniversary one was amazing, but they had to give this wet fart of a rendition in Ultimate that for sure didn’t need to be techno.

@BabyYoda71
XY’s anime was MUCH better than the games, the characters in the games are kind of cardboard cutouts of the anime characters

@Yosher
I usually don’t buy into the “NintendoLife inflates the scores of first party Nintendo games” argument, but this one seems really fishy to me.
This game has nowhere near enough content to justify the asking price, with exhibition mode and a singular generic tournament mode that’s just playing normal rounds being the only form of content besides a tacked-on club experience that’s severely hampered by Nintendo’s woeful online service and the baffling limitations that prevent you from finding anyone to play with in the first place. They won’t even finish the game later like they did with other titles, as they’re just adding characters that should have been in the game to begin with, stages that all look the same no matter what, and a few cosmetics. I don’t have the other two Strikers games to go off of, but at the very least it looks like they tried to make a more well-rounded experience. Even Ultra Smash had a few different courts and plenty more characters. Here, there’s just nothing. The gameplay is really good, although it can get shallow after a while, and the presentation is befitting of Next Level’s pedigree, but there’s no game to house these two things in.

I will accept the arrival of Big the Cat if all the characters roast him mercilessly. Sega has a great opportunity for a comedy character here, they need to capitalize.

Sega has gone for the 2D Sonic nostalgia well so many times at this point, I just don’t want another Mania. Maybe 10 years down the line. What I would like to see is another Classic Sonic game besides Mania that isn’t absolute garbage (see 4, the terrible handling of Origins, Sonic Forces’ Classic Sonic moving like molasses and having the nerve to throw in an auto scroll level in a Sonic game). An Advance or Rush-style reimagining doesn’t sound terrible, but there would have to be a lot of work put in to make those levels stand out, because as some fun as sone of them can be, they do have the tendency to blend together in my mind.

Yikes, at least with the other Mario Sports games on Switch these updates wanted to make me go back and play it for a few minutes to try and get some enjoyment out of a half-baked experience. This update hasn’t even made me want to touch it again. If something isn’t done about this, Mario Strikers will barely have beaten Ultra Smash in terms of depth, and that game only cost $40.

@Thoughts
Good point, it’ll probably not get released until it’s out of the public consciousness at least.

For anyone complaining, nothing is going to get Nintendo to release this game until the war is long past. You can talk all you want about some of Nintendo’s questionable business decisions, but one thing they never do is get into any political or social controversy. They do whatever they can to be beyond reproach, and that will remain the case here. If you need a strategy shooter game this badly, buy Mario and Rabbids: Sparks of Hope when it comes out. It will be just as good.

Quick question for anyone that’s played this game: do the stories connect to each other or are they separate? I don’t want any spoilers beyond that, I’m just curious.

Yikes, I don’t agree with this list. Opinions are still valid though. Here’s mine:
Have not played: Home Circuit
9: Super Mario Kart: Has aged like a fine brick tbh, it just doesn’t feel great to control. The modes are fine, but some of the track design is also lacking, like the literal dead end in one of the Bowser Castle courses.
8: Mario Kart: Super Circuit: Feels much better to control, and the track design is good. No big standouts, but nothing bad either.
7: Mario Kart Tour: I really like this game. I haven’t spent a dime, and I have plenty of characters, karts and gliders, and can get 5 stars every once in a while. All the remixed courses are so fun, and having a mobile version of Mario Kart is good. It loses points for having those micro transactions though.
6: Mario Kart 64: A very charming game, but the racing is a bit janky. Drifting does not want to follow your wishes, and you don’t get that satisfying feeling of speed when you perform a terrific drift. I will say that the battle mode is probably the best in the franchise, as balloon battle turns into a game of manhunt.
5: Mario Kart 7: Virtually the exact opposite of 64: the mechanics are buttery smooth, but the soul just isn’t there. Gliding and underwater opened the door for excellent track design, but here it feels like they’re just scratching the surface. Battle mode similarly suffers from being sterile: the time limit just makes the experience not fun.
4: Mario Kart Double Dash: The basic system is a blast to control. Switching characters will never not get old. If there was just a bit more meat on the bones in terms of tracks and additional modes, this would be in contention for the best one.
3: Mario Kart Wii: The nostalgia glasses are strong with this one, it’s true, but everything about this game is just fun. I love the look of the game, it has some of the best tracks in the series (there’s probably only 3 mediocre and 1 bad course in the whole game), and the battle modes, while not amazing, do have great tracks to just roam around in, like Funky Stadium or Delfino Pier. Finally, the game is just fun to control. It’s not overly bouncy or completely rigid, it strikes a great balance.
2: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: This one’s pretty easy to explain: the best controls and tracks in the series, but a somewhat lifeless character roster and mediocre battle mode (even on Switch, with the exception of Renegade Roundup) keep it from being my favorite.
1: Mario Kart DS: Okay, this one’s definitely nostalgia, but this has all I want in the series: a good character roster, great tracks, with the introduction of retro tracks to the series, a great feel to control (I like drifting in this one more than any other), the last great battle mode, and mission mode make this my favorite. Hooking up a few DS together and playing this game on bus rides were some of my fondest family memories as a kid.

7/10 in my opinion.
Not much I was over the moon for. I’ll probably pick up Live a Live, the Pac-Man game, the Portal collection, and maybe the Mega Man Battle Network Collection at some point down the line. Otherwise, the two things I was excited for are things everybody expected to make an appearance, that being Mario+Rabbids and Sonic Frontiers. It truly was a direct that everyone found at least something they could enjoy, and it just about met my moderate expectations.

I don’t know if it’ll end up being the final evolution for Fuecoco, but the idea of a literal ghost pepper is such a fun idea that I need to see it realized in Pokémon.

Dead game, huh?

I’m think we’re getting free DLC for Mario Kart and Strikers as the bare minimum. It’s time for both to be shown. I also think we might see some free DLC for Mario Party Superstars, as sales seem to be somewhat stagnating right now and a little bit more content would make this the best Mario Party experience of all time.

BOTW 2 is pretty much a given, as it’s coming out in less than a year. Likewise for Splatoon 3 and Mario+ Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.

GBA online would make sense. Nintendo is doing anything they can to add value to the Expansion Pack, and the end of N64 online would make sense.

I tried to make predictions for new games, but there isn’t anything that is really requested that hasn’t come to Switch outside of the usual bunch (although I could do with another Punch-Out once Next Level is done with Strikers). Whatever Nintendo does, it will surprise me.

Pokémon’s postgame content as of late has been quite mediocre. It usually consists of a little more story, (which is usually good, to be fair, the Rainbow Rocket chapter was probably the best in (USUM) and then a version of the Pokémon World Tournament, where now, you have to grind for ages to get to the fun bosses, and fight generic trainers over and over. Maybe Arceus rectified this, I haven’t played it yet, but I really wish there was just more to do after the credits roll in these modern games, because Pokémon used to be so good at it.

I’ve never given these games a try on home consoles, so I might as well give this a shot. However, the DLC-locked features and laziness in making advertised features work seem to make it another chapter in “Sega does not know what to do with the Sonic IP.” Even the simplest concepts, like porting over 3 beloved games (and Sonic 1) that they’ve already ported over countless times, they find some way to mess it up.

@nessisonett
That’s a fair point. I’m glad I could come to better understand the problems people have against this type of church specifically.

@Takoda
Yeah, at least with a trainwreck I can find ironic enjoyment out of it. A mediocre movie just makes you bored. With a Pratt voice “unlike anything I’ve ever heard before”, there’s no way it’s going to be mediocre. If they can somehow pull something good out of this, I’d be quite surprised.

@Fizza
We keep hearing the same arguments as Legends Arceus as to why Frontiers is going to suck as well:
-Sega is too lazy/understaffed to make a proper fleshed out game (Gamefreak is not able to make good open world games)
-Previous Sonic games have sucked/been buggy (Pokémon has been in a rut recently)
-The framerate/ graphics have been mediocre at best in both trailers.
-The new direction won’t have enough meat on the bones to be good (Pokémon can’t handle these new mechanics strong enough)

I mean, this game still could be bad, but it’s interesting to see the similarities between how the two games were originally viewed.

Best series of the anime, and I will die on that hill.

XY is a close second.

Tropical Freeze is one of those rare games that just feels excellent to play. It’s difficult to put into words, but I always just had a good time playing it, between the generous yet weighty controls, artful graphics, and excellent difficulty balance. I lost Returns 3D, but as a kid I remember similar good memories. I would really be into a 3D game being pumped out by the studio, as it’s obvious they care about the ape’s history, and have a lineage of quality

On the subject of this particular squabble, people being upset is understandable. Nintendo fans are so starved for IP’s outside of the same 5 that seeing a subsidiary make the same style of game again is never not going to cause grumblings among complainers. However, the simple characters of this game betray one of the most refined games visually I have ever seen. The Western-styled animation did wonders for this games charm, and the atmosphere really captures the beauty of nature.

My controversial opinion is 3D World. It wasn’t the first Mario game I played, or even the first 3D Mario game I’ve played, but it’s the only one I feel a constant urge to go back to.

The multiplayer is actual fun, as it combines cooperation and competition. The themes, while lacking cohesion, all pop in the mind. It has some of the greatest varieties of power-ups. The only soundtrack that holds a candle to it are the galaxy games. The level design is the perfect balance between accessible and engaging, and it isn’t afraid to get hard near the end. The boss battles are dirt easy but super creative. Finally, Plessie exists. It’s literally every quality I enjoy in a video game.

Galaxy and Odyssey both come close, but Galaxy has a few mediocre stars and Odyssey just doesn’t have enough straight up platforming for how enjoyable the engine is.

If we’re going outside the realm of platformers, then Bowser’s Inside Story wins hands down. That is one of my favorite games both objectively and nostalgia-fueled. DS is my favorite Kart (mission mode for the win!) Super Sluggers for sports (best character roster in a Mario game) and special mention should go to Mario Maker 2, which is likely my most played Mario game.

This legitimately looks good. I don’t often buy indie games before they gain popularity, but this one looks pretty smooth. If the storylines are as outlandish as they were in this video, this could be a day one buy out of me.

Wow, I’m surprised that no one in the comment section has taken the bait thus far, I was convinced this was going to be a controversial one.

On the topic of diversity, it isn’t really something I care about in a Mario game, but for those who do care, I would think more a more racially diverse cast could work. I’m not suggesting anybody should be replaced, as Nintendo has enough problems fitting all the characters they do have into Mario games, but I’m sure the change would be appreciated by some.

However, it’s important to acknowledge how difficult implementing this change would be, as Mario’s ice cream land doesn’t exactly lend itself to realism. Sexual alterations would also hard not work, because the only romantic interaction that takes place in the Mario games is between Mario and Peach. I think at the end of the day, Nintendo could just keep doing what they’re doing with Mario and nobody sensible would bat an eye.

@TheCrabMan
I was going to argue with you, but then I realized that the only time I enjoy wrestling games are when they resemble fighting games or have loads of weapons or jank in them. Wrestling itself is extraordinarily hard to make into video games I guess?

WWE All Stars and Wrestling Empire are so much fun; the former is still a multiplayer staple in my family to this day, and the latter is an utterly expansive experience. I just can’t for the life of me get into the retro stuff though; maybe the N64 and GameCube era stuff will be enjoyable to me?

I remember randomly finding Mario 64 DS in my parents’ cabinet one day. It wasn’t near to a holiday or my birthday, I just randomly found it. Good thing too, it was a nostalgic pillar and a great game.

Yes, finally! The game being free to play is also crucial. This could dominate my Switch if they do it right.

@Clyde_Radcliffe
Yeah, I get the game has it’s fans for nostalgia, but at least with the original and Super Circuit, the drifting was just different. Here, it’s straight up bad. I will say it probably still has the best battle mode in the franchise, but that’s just Nintendo’s refusal to make battle mode elimination again.

@FroZtedFlakerZz
Ah, a Paper Mario reference.

All of this talk about the relevance of these characters got me thinking: half of these characters haven’t been in a mainline Mario game in the 21st century. Why is there such a disconnect between the platformers and the spin-offs? A cameo here or there wouldn’t take that long to do right, and it would mean a lot to many people…
Also, if we’re being completely fair here, Daisy has about as much relevance as Waluigi, and Nintendo only kept him in to avoid backlash
from challenged 10 year olds.

I like the more centered view of the Japanese version slightly better, and the red meshes a little bit better.

Splurged on some discounted/cheap games this week and am enjoying them all!

First, I finally gave Celeste a try and already finished it. It’s every bit as good as it was made out to be. The characters and story are great, and the platforming is masterful. 10/10 game easily. Going for some more strawberries and do my best to complete some B-Sides.

Second, I finally played Final Fantasy 7 after getting a half off discount for it on the eShop, and I can now see why it’s one of the greatest video games of all time. The story and combat are just so good! Going to continue on in that game, and might buy 8 after that.

Third, I’ll play a little bit of Wrestling Empire for the Switch. It’s one of the most fun 6/10 games I’ve ever played. It’s really janky, but never fails to put a smile on my face.

Finally, I’ll play some Mom Hid My Game. A nice little comedy puzzle game that’s really cheap on the eShop right now.

I might fit in some Kirby and the Forgotten Land as well if I have time. Have a good weekend, everybody!

At least Nintendo did it the right way, not relying on microtransactions and predatory loot boxes to get their revenue…
Oh wait, what about Nintendo’s forays into mobile games?
While it’s true that Nintendo is more honorable than most of the companies on this list, they’re not completely innocent.

Overcooked is quite nice to play with someone not accustomed to games, as it’s simple to understand but has plenty of depth, and requires plenty of strategy that years of gaming is not a prerequisite to. I’ve been playing the first game with my girlfriend, and we’ve both been having a really nice time going through it. Although, it might end of having an adverse effect on our relationship lol.
For those new to gaming, I always recommend a Mario game, as it’s pretty much everything you need to know to do well in video games. I was raised on NSMBDS, and my little brother on Mario 3D World, but the spin-offs usually work great as well.

@AndyC_MK111
Basically, Sega is one of the most agreeable companies in gaming when it comes to copyright. They’ve allowed and even endorsed fan games in the past, and don’t target fan projects. So, these fans have the green light to produce this stuff, do it out of a love of this IP, and then have it all taken away by a third party that’s straight up wrong in their claims. That’s the issue presented here.

That’s quite sad. Sonic has some of the most loyal fans out there, so to see their livelihoods taken away will never not be tragic.

“Onto greener pastures”
Green greener pastures?

I’m really conflicted on this game. On the one hand, Ubisoft has not done some great things these past couple of years. On the other hand, this is a smaller studio and Nintendo supervised, so those things probably didn’t happen here, and the original was a game that clearly had love and care go into it. Judging from how big the discount got on said original, I might wait until this game drops to a similarly criminally low price.

@Greatluigi
Keep in mind I haven’t played the game, but from what I’ve seen it’s more mental horror than anything else. The topics discussed would probably break other aspects of your religion, and there’s disturbing imagery from what I can decipher online, so I’d probably steer clear of this one, despite the wholesome exterior.

Backwards compatibility and decent graphics are going to be a must with the next iteration, as the rampant sales of this console generation show that’s what the public really cares about.

Finally out of school! Once I take my SAT, I’m going to reward myself with a Kirby and the Forgotten Land marathon, as I’m going to try to finish it by the end of the weekend.

Also, can someone please tell me what the shortcut for bolding is on this website? I don’t know where to look to find the answer and don’t want to embarrass myself. Italicizing and spoiler shortcuts would also be appreciated.

@LillianC14
Yeah, I can definitely see that. Maybe a bit of Robbie Rotten as well.

I’m REALLY digging what they did to Waluigi here.
Instead of going with the vaguely inappropriate gestures (which was never going to slip by unnoticed in today’s climate) they infused him with the mustache-twirling supervillain vibe he’s always had somewhat, and I’m really digging it.
Just in general, the character designs look great, and the realistic, gritty tone was one of the reasons I really wanted to play a game in the series. Now if only we get some news on some single player content, and I’ll be sold…

I was kind of at a crossroads with Sonic 2.
On the one hand, I enjoyed almost all of it, and was really hyped when they did the tease at the end.
On the other hand, my family just could not get into it, except for my little brother. Maybe it just appealed more to continuous fans of the series?

I just don’t think the Switch is graphically capable to handle whatever new concepts they’re going to throw here. If it sells well I could definitely see a refined/stripped version releasing on Switch.

I honestly like the logo. It makes it feel like a special game. However, if other people hate it, I wish it was reversible.

I’m fine without the cars. My issue is that it just feels so cramped. You can easily bonk your head on the ceiling on 200 and even 150cc, and the turns seem to come out of nowhere. Whatever happened to those really satisfying metal turns that I enjoyed on the Wii? This is not something that can be fixed with a simple patch, but it’s fine, as there are plenty of great tracks on the DLC already. It’s just a blow to nostalgia at this point…