Jimsbo

It's mostly pattern memorization, but there is an element of luck because many of the battles include some variables. Like the Genie boss that begins with one of three different possible attack patterns. Or how much easier any of the "Sugarland Shimmy" sub-bosses are if they come out before the jelly beans start popping up.

I'll agree it's the perfect formula for controller-throwing frustration, but it's also the perfect formula for an even sweeter feeling of victory once you get through.

It is kind of frustrating that you can barely tell you're scoring hits until you get the "knockout", but I think being surprised by the victory adds to the feeling of relief when you make it. If you had a health bar to monitor there would be even more frustration every time you die when there's just a sliver left. So they wait to show you that after it's over.

You do get a visual clue. They flicker with a white-ish glow when you're doing damage. That's how you can tell that you can only damage the frog's slot machine while it's attacking, because that's the only time it flickers. I'll agree it's kind of subtle, but it's there. Early builds of the game did have a more noticeable red flicker, but I'm glad they changed it because it was more distracting that way.

Since this was the sole reason I gave in and bought an Xbox One last July, I wonder how many more consoles they sold during that “exclusive” period. After the last wave of rumors seemed to be squashed, I wasn’t really expecting an all-out Switch release, but it really does feel like a game that ought to be on a Nintendo system. Between this and Mario Maker in June, my Switch is getting a huge boost to its library before this year’s even half over.

I always like to replay the games I enjoy most, so I certainly don’t mind a fresh new version to play through. I hope all the new touches stay as true to the 30s style as the original, though.

And to those who are worried about the difficulty, it’s not as bad as some make it seem. I didn’t think I’d be able to make it through, but I was even able to earn the two color filter mode (which requires you to get an A rank on almost every level). There is a bit of variable luck involved, but it’s mostly patterns you can learn and master.

One only need look at the Pixar "Cars" movies to know the more Sonic-like eyes could be done, but again, those are fully CG. Since they insist on putting these CG characters into live action, then they'd start to look too strange and out of place. As a cartoonist myself, I just start to get annoyed at the push to make everything fit into the real world.

I'll admit it can be interesting to see realistic versions of cartoon characters (like the Smash characters that have popped up a couple times on this site), put putting millions into a movie based on making a supersonic hedgehog look real? I think I'd prefer they went the full CG route on this one.

This is why they shouldn't keep trying to bring all these CARTOON characters into live action movies. Doing a Pixar type all CG film still allows for stylistic characters, but if they insist on mixing them with human characters we'll just keep getting these creepshow versions. So, a "realistic" take on a bright blue hedgehog that wears sneakers? Um, sure, that's clearly the way to go. And obviously they couldn't have him wearing his signature gloves, since real hedgehogs don't do that...

And Disney now seems intent on replacing their whole animation library with live action versions, with Dumbo about to come out. I wonder how Walt would feel about this effort to pave over their animation history. What's next, Fantasia? How long before we get the live action Mickey Mouse? When exactly did we all tell the film studios we don't like cartoony images anymore?

I don't think I've seen this one mentioned, but I'd like the option to makes tracks invisible during play. The way tracks look in SMM isn't something you see in any of the games, and sometimes you want the path to be unpredictable. Or having them appear as simple lines, like they actually do in games like SMW. Speaking of invisible, I'd also like to be able to switch off the shadows. It's sort of cute, but it spoils the feel of the levels really looking like they're from those games. Especially in the SMB3 style, they're just distracting.

It would be nice if, at least in the NSMBU style, you could place star coins. Maybe make them a variant of thew 10 coin? Just to have the option of an extra gameplay goal. They could be limited to 3 (like red coins are limited to 5).

How about mushroom platforms that raise or lower when stepped on, or ones that sway back and forth? The ability to designate a hidden area that appears solid until you find the entrance.

Other enemy types not used in SMM, ones that introduce different types of hazards, like Fuzzies, or Spikes spitting up and throwing spike balls, or Pokeys. And while we're at it, maybe add in blue Koopas.

Well, that kind of puts a different spin on "lifetime exclusivity". I guess that if games featuring what were once mascots for other systems are now on a Nintendo platform (Sonic, Crash Bandicoot, even Katamari was once Playstation only), then there's an expiration date on pretty much any exclusive deals. Cuphead was the sole reason I gave in a got an Xbox One, but I still wouldn't mind adding it to the Switch. As long as it ran without a hitch. Although right now I'm still more interested in an update as to what's happening with the "Last Course" DLC. All we've been told is "2019". Of course, there was a time when they were promising the original game in what turned out to be a couple YEARS early.

As for some of the comments here about Cuphead having "unwinnable" situations, yes, it's true there are times when the variables make a given run through impossible. But that's not unique to Cuphead. There's plenty of games where you could get backed into a corner one time through, then it all lines up perfectly the next. It might seem a little sloppy, but those are also some of the best victories in game playing when the combination of skill and luck come together for a win.

Nice to see they haven't gotten any better with the whole supply and demand thing on these. Only available a couple days and they're already vanished and getting collector's prices online. Piranha Plant has doubled in price. I used to at least get a slightly better chance at finding some before Toys-R-Us went under. Now it's just GameStop and their usual "they only sent us 3" routine.

Why did I even waste my time driving to two different stores looking for something that probably sold out the second the stores opened the boxes?

Ok, so it seems like Ice Climbers weren't popular enough to do the same vanish like vapor trick, but the other two are set to join Wii Fit Trainer and many others in the never-had-a-chance club.

I'm a little surprised their "art department" took the time to change the position of his foot. Did they think THAT would be the dead giveaway?

I wouldn't try to talk anyone out of whichever option they feel more comfortable with, but the biggest benefit of physical is the box it comes in. A Switch cart is little more than a dedicated SD card with the same game code on it, but it's something that can get physically lost or damaged. Either way it's probably a bigger hassle to replace it than the couple button presses needed to re-download a lost digital version.

The other issue with physical, which certainly applied to the Wii U version, is if they add in some more DLC content. From that moment on, the physical copies become incomplete versions of the game. Mario Maker is actually an "incomplete" game to begin with, since the courses you play are saved to the memory or SD card or loaded from online. All the cart would come with are the initial tool set and whatever built-in levels they put on it. It's also the type of thing that's handy to always have at the ready, for whenever inspiration hits.

On the other hand, if they package the game with a book like the first one came with you'd probably have to go to extra lengths to get a copy of it by mail. I'm still inclined to go digital with it myself, but I still feel the old pull towards getting a tangible, physical version. The problem is, you always have to make the choice upfront. Once you choose one or the other, there's no need to get it the other way.

I'm also guessing the trailer isn't showing us every version of the new themes. If it's like SMM1 then each theme has a version for each game style. SMM1 started to feel pretty limited after a while, but if we now have the full set of ground/desert/forest/jungle/snow/night along with the more specific ghost/castle/airship/underwater ones, that'll really help break up the repetition. Add in all the new elements we'll have to work with and it gets much closer to providing nearly everything a regular Mario game has.

The new 3D World theme looks like it will take things to a whole new though. It will be the only one that's not replicating an existing Mario title. I suspect it will have some unique mechanics that won't be shared with the other themes (like throwing shells upwards only in SMW or wall jumping only in NSMB U). And it has it's own look that hasn't been used in an official title.

It does make me wonder if a port of SM3DW is planned, though. They are now presenting the game as part of the series history to the Switch user base, many of whom wouldn't know it first hand. Seems like they may want to let those players have a crack at the real thing. If not, then why didn't they try doing a 2D take on elements of Odyssey?

It looks like Dashie's got a lot more raging to do...

That's a great amount of new info to speculate on at same time of making the first announcement. Finding out a Switch version was coming could have been enough, but now we also know we'll have a much bigger bag of tricks included. What they're adding will create a lot more possibilities for setting up paths and puzzles.

So that's plenty to chew on for now, but I'll be interested to see if we get some more details about how some of the new elements will work. For instance, if auto scrolling can now be set vertically, wouldn't that mean that courses won't be limited to only two screens high anymore? Vertical climbing levels are now possible? On/Off blocks should allow for some more strategic paths, too.

I know it won't be popular with a lot of people, but this seems like a natural way to drive up online subscriptions if an account will be required, and you can hardly blame a business for trying to generate sales. It would cause many people who wouldn't be as sold on just jumping into Smash battles or Splatfests online to have a reason to subscribe, so why wouldn't they implement it?

Also, remember how long it took from the first announcement of the Wii U original? Over a year of waiting. This time it's only around 4 months. Nice.

Glad to see so much demand for 3D World and Mario Maker out there. I've been more skeptical with these, especially since they both used gamepad features the Switch can't replicate.

At the very least, a Mario Maker "player" that lets you access all the existing courses would be nice, but even better if they find the right way to port the creation tools.

I just find it amusing that they kept the "U" in the name. It doesn't mean much for a Switch game, but most of us never knew what the U meant in the first place.

I see some people still think Mario Maker is a sure thing. If it is, I wish they'd get it out so it could have a longer lifespan than it got on Wii U. Coming out late in 2015, it really only got a little over a year before the system it was on had it's plug pulled. Still one of the biggest shames about the Wii U tanking the way it did, because it was the maybe the definitive Gamepad game. There's no way to make a Switch version that delivers the same experience unless they came up with some way to have the Switch connect to the dock while still handheld. The 3DS can replicate the two screen aspect, but it's much slower going back and forth between edit and play, and the online element is sorely lacking. If they do port it, I would hope they make it compatible with the levels already there from the Wii U.

I can imagine every specific humanoid swordfighter has their fans who find them distinctive, but their just too interchangeable for me. I usually want to play through the whole roster,and they can be fun, but it’s a bit more of a slog.

I may have been going for comic effect before suggesting Plok, but he actually wouldn’t be bad. I could see the big red fists and boots flying around the stage, and he could have moves where he blows fighters around with flags as well. So, partly in the spirit of unlikely wacky choices, but also characters with real potential, here’s an extended list I would prefer to more sword fighting Anime dudes:

Plok
Rocky Rodent
Glover (imagine the fight with Master Hand...)
Dig Dug
Q-Bert
Earthworm Jim
Rayman
Globox
Bubble and Squeak
Ristar
Clockwork Knight
Bug!
Birdo
Klaymen
Raz (Psychonauts)
Bad Mr Frosty
Tempo
Bubsy
Katamari’s Prince
Blinx
Cool Spot
Super Putty

I guess I won’t start holding my breath over any of these, though.

I sure hope they're not going to take my fighters pass money and give me nothing but 5 more spikey-haired mannequins swinging their swords and grunting out "hyaaa!". I don't want to insult the fans of these games and characters, but just a couple of these types go a long way. I'm trying to play through classic mode with every character, but it gets pretty samey going from Marth to Ike to Chrom to Cloud etc, etc...

I hope at least one of the coming DLC fighters will be another cartoon mascot type. Maybe they'll really surprise us and go for "Plok".

Physical still feels a little more like you “own” a copy, but having a roster of games loaded and ready at the press of a button is a nice feature.

I was all set to get a physical version of Smash when it released, but when the day came I went ahead and pressed “proceed to purchase” anyway. The deciding factor was the fact that DLC was already mapped out for it. So as soon as the first one comes out you’ll no longer own the whole game anyway.

Another strike against physical happened when Super Mario Maker came out for 3DS and the PHYSICAL version could only be played on one system. Seriously? I can’t pop it into a different 3DS and just store the levels made with that system?

So, as much as I still think like a longtime game collector that owning a game means taking it out of a box and putting it into the console to play it, the line is so blurred now it barely matters. So if the storage space permits, having a game always ready is a hard feature to beat.

I've never seen a confirmation of it, but by now I'm assuming there must be rights issues with Popeye. I spent a good amount of time on the arcade version back in '82, and I'd jump at a full conversion now, but I don't think we'll ever see it.

The NES had a simplified version of it, but it hasn't resurfaced since. Since it's the main classic Nintendo game that uses characters they didn't create, it seems their rights ran out on it.

I was concerned about the controls myself, because I remember having a harder time with the Xbox 360 game due to the sticks not being lined up like a Playstation controller. I was also worried they'd go all in on a Joy-Con motion setup that might not feel right either.

Now that I've tried the first level with a Pro controller I can say it works pretty well. It doesn't really feel off balance or whatever had bothered me about the Xbox one. I also found the PSP game a bit annoying as well, but this one lines up pretty well with the Playstation ones.

Yes, it takes some getting used to, and there are areas where you'll get hung on corners or struggle to regain momentum, but it's all part of the gameplay. I'd like to try a version where all steering is done with the L stick, but that's never been the way it works.

I hope that doesn't put so many people off that it doesn't do well. I was happy to see it finally come to a Nintendo system, and especially a popular one.

A real retro day for me. I am currently downloading this right now, plus I just brought home an NES Classic Mini. Just strolled into a store and bought it like an available product. Only took a year and a half.

Although I understand the complaint that developing these remasters and ports could be keeping development teams from making new games, I’m all for rereleases on Switch. Even if I don’t take the Switch out of the dock much yet, the more titles I have on it certainly add to the appeal.

I’d like to see many more PS1/N64/or even Saturn games updated like this. Although the move to 3D was a big shift in gaming, the early years had to suffer though some pretty fugly graphics back then. Crash was actually pretty good for the time, but it was still an awful lot of jaggedy trianglesromping around on screen.

I would have thought at least a passing mention of how the mine cart levels are done would be in here. After all, they really relied on the dual screens to play properly. If one of the views is gone, it had better be the outside one that played on the TV.

Those were actually the mildly annoying levels on Wii U. Not because they're bad, but they forced you to shift your attention to the gamepad, while also giving you a view you wanted to look at on the TV, but if you did even for a second or two you'd miss your chance to hit the targets.

There's two or three of these levels in the game, and they didn't even think to give us a slight clue as to how they carry over.

There's one other way I'd like to see the Switch version vary from the Wii U one - the uncharacteristic lack of multiple save files. It's usually a Nintendo first party staple, at least three save files, but the original version drops that entirely. It's an odd choice particularly for a game as short and simple as it was. I like to start a replay on the next file because I prefer to at least have it feel like I'm making progress again. Grabbing the transparent gems feels more hollow than getting them again in a new run through.

Yeah, I know you can switch to another user but I just prefer having all the playthroughs ready to select in the same spot. and it's also a bit less likely I'll jump into multiple Switch files if it's largely the same game, since it will already be essentially a repeat visit.

However you look at it, this can't be a straight port due to the levels that relied on the gamepad. The mine cart levels were the ones that forced you to pay more attention to the pad, since aiming your turnip shots kind of required it. I don't see any info still on how those would work now. Some kind of picture-in-picture maybe?

It's a little discouraging that they removed the SM3DW levels. Not a great sign to those of us hoping that game gets a new lease on life with a Switch version. Such a shame that a Mario game that good is constantly swept under the rug of Wii U failure. It's really the best version of adding 3D to the classic Mario formula they ever did. All other 3D Marios are that different kind of "3D adventure" type where you have multiple "earn a star/moon" missions. SM3DW was just good old fashioned run-to-the-goal levels with just the right amount of 3D freedom. Ah well, destined to be an underappreciated footnote.

Now that’s the kind of release news I like: “Guess what? This exists. Guess what else, it’s already available.” This is certainly not something we needed to hear about three months ahead of release.

I guess I can see balking at the eight bucks, but if you’re going to play it more than 32 times it’s free play from there on. By classic standards.

But really, I don’t remember how the DK64 version looked or played, but this really feels like the arcade. Plus not having to seek it out within a larger game, and having the portability as well, seems worth it for any classic Nintendo fan.

What’s up with the “wallpaper” though? No choices? Just a weird ray of light from the upper right corner? Seems like a wasted opportunity to include a cabinet graphics border.

I wondered if they’d finally do it. Now for the real long shot, could they do “Popeye”?

Still wondering how they'll rework the Gamepad elements. I know the mine cart levels relied on it, but I can't remember at the moment what other ways it was used. I think you could effect the enemies by touching them.

The mine cart levels actually made the TV view the secondary one, since you couldn't really aim correctly looking at those outside angles.

Even if it was used as the name of a game series, "art style" is also a simple descriptive term. Will art schools now owe Nintendo royalties for referring to different creative techniques?

Oh good, they made 3 more!

Maybe they'll make failing to find one an annual event.

Gamestop took my phone number to let me know when they get more SNES minis the day that one came out. Still waiting on that call...

It'd be easier to find a Unicorn than one of these...

Kind of a shame. The Switch is positioned differently than any previous system that could download older games. Console-level performance along with portability would be the definitive versions, so maybe they feel they'd be giving too much away in a single package?

Can't ever say the mini systems provide the best current way to play older systems, due to the lack of portability and the lack of ENOUGH OF THEM TO GO AROUND. Since one of Nintendo's most persistent traits is scarce availability, the idea of continuing to offer games as freely as a readily available download just goes against their whole philosophy.

Maybe they just feel like you'll enjoy a game more if it's always a long and hard-fought battle to even get access to it.

I've only had one issue with my left one. It wasn't responsive enough to control Mario's movement in Odyssey. So much for their lengthy recommendation that you play with the joy-cons separated (seriously, that screen stays on way too long).

I was trying it out on the Darker Side level, but had to give up when he kept jumping off the poles in the wrong direction right into the lava.

This is definitely one of the titles that has some questions about how they can adapt the Gamepad elements. The mine cart stages, the touch features. I hope they don't resort to making certain levels, or the whole game, playable only in handheld mode.

The range of ports is hardly a bad thing. For anyone that doesn't need the double dip, the don't-get-it option is right there. The only drawback to rolling out these second chance Wii U games is that the Switch can't reproduce the gamepad aspects, which were put into a lot of the first party titles.

I'd like to see SM3DW get a chance at a bigger audience, and one that also has their full 3D Mario game as well so they can appreciate the way SM3DW plays without griping that it isn't a new SM64 style game. But that too has a couple levels dependent on the gamepad. It mostly plays with a pro controller until you get to Hands-On Hall, or the level with the pink platforms you tap on and the propellers you blow.

This is bound to create different opinions, especially if you consider fans of the old tv shows. To people who only know Mario from the games, though, there’s some potential problems. We know Mario isn’t totally mute, since there’s been a longtime voice actor hoo-hooing and such, but a fully verbal Mario? That kind of requires they give him more personality traits, which runs a risk of disappointing anyone that pictured things differently.

There’s some good reasons to keep Mario as non verbal as he is in the games - for the player, it makes it easier to “be” Mario as you control him. There’s plenty of game characters with fleshed out personalities, but it just feels right that Mario isn’t one of them. It hasn’t really done wonders for Sonic ever since they chose to have him jabber like a radical teenager either.

Also, Mario’s world works best if all of it’s bizarre business exists to provide gameplay mechanics without further explanation. A movie would have to either over-explain them or be set in a different kind of setting. Not to say it’s guaranteed to be bad, but it’s never been necessary to cash in on the franchise with tv shows and movies.

It’s a bit sad to see the Wii U being treated as if it didn’t count, but with it’s total lifetime install base soon to be eclipsed by the Switch, it’s also good to see some of it’s games get another chance at a wider audience. I was hoping DKC:TF would be one of them, so this is welcome news. It’s also a game that ports easily, since it didn’t put the game pad to use at all.

I wouldn’t think any of the Wii U’s Mario titles would even get announced until Odyssey has been around a while longer, but they’ll all have some issues from their gamepad functions if they do. I’d really like to see 3D World get the same chance at a bigger audience, but those pad levels could be a problem. And Mario Maker was probably the best utilization of the pad, but there’s no way to port that without some compromise.

I doubt they’ll ever port every Wii U title to Switch, but whichever ones they do, it’s never going to be completely redundant thanks to the handheld mode.

Nobody's going to bring up the original Smash Bros? Sure, the game is a classic that started a major franchise, but the cover of the original looked like it was handed off to a grade schooler to design.

I still think that one of the biggest mistakes with the Wii U was the name itself. I imagine that in a clunky way they were attempting to hold on to the success of the Wii, but it likely confused the new audience they had won over and they probably weren't used to the speed with which the console business changes up hardware.

Too many people probably thought it was a "Wii - Upgraded" system (which it sort of was), and thought they could just keep using their Wii if they didn't need the HDMI and gamepad. The fact that it integrated full Wii functionality was supposed to ease the transition, but the name blurred the line too much.

It just wasn't a good idea to go back to using a name that connects to the previous system. What worked for the NES to SNES shift didn't work as well after having three uniquely named systems in between. Nearly every bump in the road the system hit after that just built on the hobbled start it was given.

In so many ways, it was the best console they had ever put out, but they shot it in the foot on it's way out of the factory and couldn't figure out how to steer out of the nosedive.

Honestly, has anyone ever heard what the "U" even stood for? In retrospect I guess it stood for ""Uh-oh"...

Ah, Nintendo may not mind people doing this. It's only for the people who got an SNES mini, and as we all know, that's a very, very small group.

And one that's not likely to grow anytime soon.

Go ahead, Nintendo, retail stores, and scalpers. Prove me wrong...

Root Beer is also a flavor that pops up in other forms: There are "Root Beer flavored" candies, in particular hard candies shaped like little brown barrels. It's also one of the 5 flavors of "Bottle Caps" candies, which are sort of like Sweet Tarts.

It's also one of the flavors some brands of Italian ices offers.

@phamster
Yes, I checked Amazon. $220. That's a big strike against them. They may usually have decent prices for things, but if it's one of these hard to find items they support the markup scumbags, so no sale there.

$79.99. I'm not giving thieves a penny.

Very annoyed but not really surprised. I felt in the end that the pre-order period was a horrible mess, with the senselessly tight limit on pre orders making it way too much of a challenge. I have a GameStop credit card, so I have to go through them if I want to use that, but they only offered their ridiculous "register interest" page. What was even the point of that? Then they apparently did allow some pre-ordering, but I've no idea when even though I'm on their constant barrage email list and getting tons of emails about games I'm not interested in. Totally screwed out of a chance thanks to their blundering mess.

Why aren't pre-orders simply a way for EVERYONE who wants one to get their name in the system, and a "place in line"? It doesn't even have to be within launch day allocations, just to reserve one somewhere in the process. What is the point of advance ordering is just as limited as in store stock on launch day? All that does is to remove the fixed time and date of a release day and make it a hard to anticipate online "window" that you won't know about unless you resolve to spend every waking moment watching the sites like a hawk. Yes, I wanted one, and I would have liked to get it first day, and was prepared to go to the store on the advertised launch day. But I have two jobs and other things to day in my day so I can't devote myself to waiting for the starter pistol to fire and race like a madman to an order button within the .007 nanoseconds the damn thing is live during.

More stock than before? Maybe, but what does it matter when all stock everywhere is still gone within the first hour of stores being open on launch day? It was still way, way, WAY too difficult to find an opening, even after broadening the search to any store that might carry it. Now it's the next day, so there's no hope of a single unit available until some more are shipped, but I have every reason to assume all of those shipments will also be insanely hard to pinpoint and snapped up before you even get a chance to find out who has any available.

Even if it were feasible for me to take a leave of absence from my jobs and live out of my car in the GameStop parking lot, it seems like I'd still miss the tiny, unannounced and misdirected window to get in on it. I'm really not that optimistic I'll ever get one now, they just make it way too hard. I will NOT pay more than the official price, so I guess that means I will NOT ever be able to get one. $220 on Amazon already. Shameful.

Congratulations to all who did get one. I don't know how you managed to, but enjoy it. And I wish I had five middle fingers on both hands for all the scalpers that make this such a nightmare.

Severely disappointed, but entirely unsurprised.

Hey, thanks for the link. It was fun to zip straight over to see how this particular retailer declares their stock is sold out.

Day one, within the first hour stores were open, all gone EVERYWHERE. I knew I shouldn't have let any of these recent reports that some stores would actually have units for walk in sales on launch day fool me. No. No they did not.

I hope this expected botching doesn't give Nintendo a black eye just as they're building a new success with Switch. Not the best time to put that bad taste back in people's mouths. But I don't really blame
Nintendo for anything other than not quite having the resources to keep up with the appetite of their true fans combined with the opportunistic scumbags screwing up the process for us. Thanks, Amazon, for playing into this garbage by letting the price soar to $220 on your site. You're a real retail-cancer spreader to give thieves a platform to steal with. Thanks for the good deals you've gotten me but screw you hard for allowing this.

And I'm especially pissed at the people who continue to make this crap possible by EVER paying any of these rats that profit margin they ask for. Thanks, idiots, you validated these leeches so now they know it works, we'll never be rid of them. These people are just as guilty of sticking us with this second-middle man markup bull as the preying scalpers.

$79.99, people. Either pay that, or tell them to shove it.

I would really prefer the strictest one-per-customer policy possible to be applied across the board. I understand the desire to get one for whatever someone else you may have, but you know what? Give' everyone 4 twenties and point them to a store. If everyone bought their own a one-per policy wouldn't be a big problem, and resellers couldn't "stock up". I don't know, something needs to be done so we can stop making the acquiring of a fun game into a blood pressure raising struggle.

Anyway, that's me venting my frustration at another impossible launch mess. The guy at GameStop is giving the strongest possible assurances that more are coming, and he'll be calling those of us that gave a name and number. I hope that's true because I'm plenty steamed at GameStop for the terrible, terrible (did I mention terrible?) way they handled it:

July - "we won't be taking any pre-orders, you'll have to just come in on launch day and try your luck"

August - idiotic, meaningless "register interest" page. And no means by which to pre-order, reserve, or anything close.

Sept 29 - "did you pre-order?" Wait, what?!?!?! When was THAT ever an option? Bait and switch much? Flat out lie to your customers ever? Yes, that's what I was asked today. Who were the people that got these pre-orders from a place that wasn't taking pre-orders? Did I go all Rip Van Winkle for a minute somewhere? You shouldn't have to be a twitchy, eagle eyed crouching tiger waiting to pounce just to get a damn game machine, know what I'm sayin'?

Nice job, guys. Way to act like a business that needs satisfied customers support.

Well, thanks, Gamestop. I asked a while back while in the store if there was any way to reserve or pre-order, and was clearly told they would be strictly "walk in and try your luck on release day". So I did just that, and the first question he asked me was "did you pre-order?"

Pretty much felt like bouncing him off a few walls. The best they could offer was taking my name and number, with a "we'll call as soon as we hear something", and again no solid pre-order/pre-purchase option, so I guess if they do get more, it'll be another speed contest and heated competition.

Nintendo hasn't had a non-botched product launch in over 20 years,, with the N64. Ever since then it's been some kind of non-fun "game" just to get their latest system.

Time for the real Donkey Kong. All 4 areas and vertical orientation.

And Popeye, if they still have permission to use the characters.

Okay, maybe I should have tested that first, but it's still something to look out for. After restarting the game, the level played fine. It's also funny that it only happened on levels with those "snakes" in them. What is it about them that would cause such chugging?

Another update- we might need a patch here. The slowdown is a growing thing. Now a level that played fine at first is nearly all in slow motion. I went back to "Snakes On A Cake" to get a missing Teensy and it was like swimming in mayonnaise.

I'll have to try closing the game and restarting it, but that's definitely not the performance benchmark you want to see. This is with the sShop download, but I'd like to think there wouldn't be such a difference between them. Has anyone else has this happen yet?

An update after playing through a ways more - it seems like the load times increase further into the game, as if it has to calculate your progress every time. And they're usually worse going back to the hub. The average is about 65 seconds. I actually haven't tried handheld mode yet, so I don't know if there's any difference with that, but boy do you spend too much time on the load screen.

And in the level, "Luche Libre Get Away" there's a area of the chase where it slows down to molasses motion. There's a lot going on at that point, but it's pretty disorienting during a high speed chase to go super sluggish. Half a year to port it, and it does things like this? It makes you worry a little about what the Switch can handle, or at least what developers can get out of it.

Well, I can definitely attest to the loading times issue. Longest wait of all of them. I have the PS3, PS4, and Wii U versions already, and basically got this one for the handheld mode and have the most current generation version.

I see why the load times are what they are, but it's disappointing that installing the game directly to the Switch doesn't compare to the PS4. I will say, though, if you want to grab the heart container that appears on the load screen, this version is the easiest one for that. It's actually a challenge in itself on PS4 but you're pretty much assured to get it here.

So, I wouldn't say "definitive" because there's now trade offs between all versions, but this one has benefits depending on how you want to play it. Moving the touch levels to their own area makes this the only one to let you choose between methods. I'm not a big fan of the Wii U style because of the dimwit AI that usually refuses to seek out the secret areas. And the distracting process of having to look at the game pad and TV doesn't help, so better that the touch style is left to playing on the same screen you're swiping on.

I also wouldn't quite call this a "quick cash grab". Half a year to release a three year old game is far from quick.

Sorry, everyone, but it will happen again. The precedent has been set and there's no way to prevent these leaches from buying up bulk and inserting themselves into the transaction. Nintendo has neither the interest or resources to sell them direct in a controlled manner, so we're stuck with the parasites looking to cash in. Do you think the preorders sold out in seconds because that many people each ordered one at a time for personal use? It was our friends the scalpers, stocking up for profit season.

If only we could get everyone to avoid them, and just stick them with their "stock". Just imagine these parasites seething, tripping over dozens of unsold units cluttering their homes and out hundreds of dollars they can't recoup. Well, nice to think about but they'll be the ones getting what they want again. Stacks of cash for doing nothing but forcing their way into the transaction and screwing over the users.

If you wind up buying one from a scalper, just remember, he's laughing at you as he counts up your money.

Ah, there's not much point in comparing the asking price of this bundle compared to the individual items. It's not like anyone's going to find one at those prices. You'll have to wait and see what the resellers are going to try to charge.

Almost a certainty that once it's considered "done", and a release date is set, it'll still be after an arbitrary waiting period of a couple months.

It seems like this has enough to make it a decent standalone release, but that they may have held back some titles for the future. I guess they could either use this as a hub for dlc additions, or just release further volumes like the PS ones.

It's a little frustrating what this title shows could be done, though, because it has me picturing the collection Nintendo could put out but is highly unlikely to - "The NIntendo Arcade Collection". I'd like to see a collection of the ORIGINAL arcade games - Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, Popeye, Mario Bros. as well as later titles like Crusin' USA. It's high time to correct the issue of thre not being an accurate arcade port of Donkey Kong. It was understandable in '86 that they had to make some compromises, but in 2017 it's inexcusably lazy that they haven't finally issued the real thing. They could take a cue from this collection and make the vertical screen games with the same rotate options.

Unfortunately, knowing the way Nintendo does things it's too easy to picture them having "no comment on this topic at this time" much less ever release it.

Well, here we go again. I've got a feeling I'll be locked out all over again. For the sake of everyone else hoping to get one, I hope I'm wrong, though.

Why is there even such a thing as pre-orders "selling out"? they can't just take as many as get placed then plan based on that how many to manufacture? Has Nintendo ever heard the term "supply and demand"? I'm sure there are reasons behind limited runs, but on the surface I just can't reconcile between a company in business to make money offering something for sale and then putting a cap on how many they're actually willing to sell.