@BenAV I had no idea! To be fair, it’s not much of a loss - it’s actually a little cheaper to buy the console and game separately (as long as you shop around for the physical copy or digital code to get it for less than the standard RRP) than getting the bundle.
@Welshland Unfortunately, the game comes out on March 20th everywhere in the world - it’s just the Animal Crossing-themed Switch that comes out earlier in the US, since it isn’t bundled with a game code like in the rest of the world.
@Barbara001 Same! I just started a new play-through of Three Houses (I'm tackling the new side story DLC first, and then I'll get into the main story with the Golden Deer), and I also have to finish Wargroove, Super Lucky's Tale and Trine 4. I might dip back into My Time at Portia, too, to see if the updates released in the past 9 months have fixed some of the issues with the Switch version. All that, along with Rune Factory 4S, Animal Crossing and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon all coming out in the next five weeks, means I'll likely have more than enough games to play until after E3.
That said, it would be nice to know what major games to expect between April and July, since there are bound to be at least a couple sprinkled in there.
Nice! I’ve been waiting for this to be released to start my second playthrough of the game - I went Blue Lions the first time, and I’m going to go for Golden Deer now. This and Rune Factory 4S should hopefully tide me over until Animal Crossing releases next month.
@Kiyata Congrats on the mature response, mate. Silly me - I can't believe I prefer to be rational and play a game myself before passing judgement rather than basing my opinion on criteria that actually matter, like file size compared to a poorly optimised game and the possibility of DLC. insert eye roll here
In all seriousness, though, you could really be missing out on a good game by skipping it just because it may or may not receive DLC later down the line! Zelda BotW, Mario Rabbids and FE Three Houses all received expansions several months after launch, and yet they are amazing games straight out of the box; the additional content is fun, but is not necessary in any way, shape or form for the game to feel complete. So far, I feel that Nintendo's DLC practices have been fair (Sword/Shield is a bit more of a mixed bag, but I blame GameFreak for that rather than Nintendo themselves), so I'm going to wait and see for myself whether they really are releasing an incomplete Animal Crossing game only to put the cut content behind a paywall rather than let the possibility sour the experience before it even starts. Until then, I'll look forward to playing the next game in my favourite series of all time.
@Kiyata And if you go on the actual ESRB website and look up Sword/Shield, you’ll see that it mentions in-game purchases, too - this has nothing to do with the Nintendo website. And why did you immediately jump to the conclusion that in-game purchases mean micro-transactions? Have you ever seen a mainline Nintendo game with micro-transactions? Cause I sure haven’t! And as for the file size thing...you’re joking, right? Pokemon was made by GameFreak, who are notoriously rubbish at file compression. Super Mario Odyssey’s file size is 5.7GB, which is 0.5 GB smaller than AC - does that feel like an incomplete game to you? Of what we’ve seen so far (save backup shenanigans aside), what has made you think that this is an incomplete, mobile-akin cash grab?
Wait a moment before taking up your torches and pitchforks, folks. No way Nintendo is adding microtransactions into a retail Switch game - especially something as high-profile as Animal Crossing. This warning is most likely due to an in-game prompt to buy a NSO online subscription if you don’t already have one, or perhaps there will be an expansion pass a year down the line or something like that. Zelda BotW, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Mario + Rabbids and Pokemon Sword/Shield all had this same warning, to name a few, and none of them include microtransactions. Chill.
@CairiB I’ve preordered with them before (a few games and two joy-con sets, and now the Animal Crossing-themed Switch), and always received the item on release day. The only exception was when Happy Home Designer came out - there was an issue with Royal Mail which meant it would be delivered two days after release. I got an email from Nintendo to inform me of this, alongside with their apology and a free digital code for the game so I could start playing right away; that was customer service at its best. I’d say go for it, they’re super reliable.
I’m getting the Animal Crossing Switch, so I’ll be waiting to get my code on the 20th. But my Nintendo-crazed mother (who bought a Switch at 55 to play Luigi’s Mansion, Layton and Animal Crossing) has just asked me to show her exactly how the eShop works so she can preload it tonight and start playing right away on release day. And yes, she took the day off work to play (as did I, as any 25-year-old Nintendo fam worth their salt would do). She’s that cool.
I’m going to throw this out there...has anyone stopped for two seconds to think that perhaps the issue doesn’t lie with cheating/time travelling/item duplication, but with the fact that the island will be tied to the console rather than a single account? The way I see it, Nintendo thought they would not offer backup and transfer options because this particular setup made things too complicated, fans complained, and the devs are now trying to find a workaround. Just saying.
Nice! For me it’ll be the Three Houses DLC, Rune Factory 4S and Animal Crossing (I snatched myself one of the themed Switches and also preordered that adorable AC charging stand from PlayAsia, so that’s going to be great). And maybe the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon remake, if my SO gets it for me as a birthday present. Can’t wait, the next few months are going to be jam-packed!
@Heavyarms55 Not particularly - it has been used for maybe around a 1000 hours, split fairly evenly over the past three years. It may very well be an outlier though - it started acting up last spring, when it was just over two years old, so there may very well have been something wrong from the start that I didn’t notice until it worsened over time.
@Heavyarms55 Yeah, it used to last around 2.5 hours playing BotW on a full charge, but now I get less than 1.5 hours before the battery is fully depleted. For comparison, my SO has one of the revised Switches; when we play Pokemon Sw/Sh together starting at full charge, my console will be down to 10% before his is even at 60% - it's a huge difference. And the console becomes almost too warm to hold when I'm playing DQ Builders 2 for longer than 20 minutes at a time, it really struggles with that one.
No dirt in the vents as far as I can see, and I'm honestly not keen on opening it up to check/ replace the thermal paste, so I'm happy to retire it and replace it with the AC special edition one.
@Heavyarms55 That's what I'll be doing! My launch unit's battery life has gotten a bit dodgy over the years, and the console overheats easily with certain games (looking at you, Dragon Quest Builders 2), so I was already looking to replace it, but kept postponing in the hope they wound announce an AC-themed Switch...and now that they have, I'm so glad I waited! I've already put in my preorder with Game here in the UK; can't wait to get my grubby gamer paws on it!
That's good news! I usually go physical for major releases and digital for Indies, unless I can find a really good deal on a download code somewhere. However, I think the upcoming Animal Crossing game may well be an exception in my case - it's something I will play daily for years, so I'm seriously considering going digital to always have it in my console. Besides, I like the idea of being able to pre-load it so I can play it first thing in the morning on March 20th.
@AstralSoul I know, right? We have a family NSO subscription we split four-ways (myself, my mother, my partner and his brother), which works out at roughly £7.50 a head every year - that’s HALF of what GF wants to charge for this. Cheeky gits.
That price is rubbish - Bank was £5 a year, why is this three times as expensive? I’ll probably just buy a 30-day subscription, transfer the handful of pokemon I care about from X, and then stay on the free plan. Way too expensive for what this is.
Aside from the fact that I'm not keen on controllers that require me to swap out batteries every two weeks, I honestly find these quite ugly, not to mention really expensive considering that they are only £15 cheaper than a pro controller even though they lack a number of features and are of what I would consider an inferior quality. :/
If I had to make a wishlist, I’d probably say 1080p screen, a better CPU to keep some of the more intensive games from stuttering when there is a lot going on on the screen (I’m looking at you, Korok Forest in BotW), and a battery life comparable to that of the ‘new’ standard Switch in spite of the new improvements. A smaller bezel around the screen would also be a plus, but it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker tbh.
I loved Blue Rescue Team when I was a kid - I spent months religiously playing every day so I could recruit every single available Pokemon, it was a blast! The demo gave me the same vibes as the original; I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy the heck out of it once it releases.
@embison If I had to bet, I’d probably say they’re going to do an AC-themed standard Switch rather than a Lite, since they are pushing the local co-op angle quite a bit (if I’m not mistaken, there is only one save file per console, and each user is a human villager on the same island). Considering that the Lite has a smaller screen, doesn’t dock, has no kickstand and no detachable joy-cons, it would make couch co-op nearly impossible. It just seems weird to sell the game with a version of the console that is pretty much unable to carry out one of the new key gameplay features.
I’m expecting to see Pokemon Home, Pokemon Sleep, Detective Pikachu for Switch, and perhaps an announcement for either Gen 4 remakes or Let’s Go games focusing on Gen 2, but nothing else. Fairly underwhelming to have the first Direct of the year be centred around Pokemon TBH, when we know of no first-party games coming out in the first 3 months of the year aside from FE Encore next week and AC at the end of March.
Honestly, mate, are you trying to kill us here? I legit squealed like the Nintendo fangirl I am the moment I saw the Direct logo on my feed, only to have my hopes dashed 0.86 seconds later when I read the title. 😭
I ended up buying my copy from Amazon France a couple of weeks ago (on sale, so I saved about £25, which I was really happy about); it took about a week for it to get delivered to the UK, but it was worth it since it was sold out pretty much everywhere I looked.
@Heavyarms55 I’m in the same boat as you; I’m usually a 100% physical copy person when it comes to big 1st party titles, but I might make an exception for AC. Especially if they release a special edition standard Switch with NH pre-loaded on it, since my poor launch unit it starting to struggle.
Considering how large my backlog currently is with all the eShop games I have bought during the Black Friday and Christmas sales, the only games I’m planning to pick up between now and March are Rune Factory 4 Special and Animal Crossing. Really looking forward to a Direct soon to see which other 1st party titles will be coming in the near future though!
@peanutbuttercup I am still holding out hope for a standard special edition Switch, since they are pushing the new couch co-op mechanics in the game (which the Lite would not really be suited for, with a smaller screen, no kickstand and the need for an extra set of joy-cons). My launch-day Switch needs replacing soon - fans kick in all the time, overheats even in handheld mode with some games, and the battery life is not what it used to be after >1000 hours of play - but I’m waiting until March simply to see if I can finally snag myself an AC-themed console.
Nice! I actually never came round to playing Bravely Default/Bravely Second on 3DS, since they came out before I got into turn-based JRPGs (Octopath and DQ XI fixed that this year, and now I’m rightfully obsessed with the genre), but I’m definitely excited to try this out! Between this, Animal Crossing, Rune Factory 4/5, Xenoblade and (hopefully) Story of Seasons, 2020 is already shaping up to be awesome for me!
@nessisonett I’d love to see that! That game looks amazing, they’d be crazy not to port it to Switch. I wonder if it will be a 2020 or 2021 release though, since it is unclear how far in development it is.
I won’t have that much time to game this weekend since I’m in Italy visiting family, but whenever I manage to snuggle up with my Switch I’ll be playing a bit of Shield (I beat the game and captured the legendaries, so I’m now working on the slow burn of completing the Pokedex) and Luigi’s Mansion 3 (only 4 floors left!).
I preordered both, but technically Shield is for me and Sword is a surprise present for my SO, who really enjoyed playing Let’s Go on my console last year and has recently bought his own Switch.
@BulbasaurusRex Exactly. They did mention that they wanted to re-balance the competitive scene, and I think the removal of moves that are OP or ‘spammed’ in online matches is going to do just that.
@Sculptor I think the issue there is that GameFreak as a whole do not have the experience necessary to develop console-level games with expansive worlds. They are decent at what they do - namely, Pokemon games - but don't know how to make anything else. If they teamed up with devs at Nintendo or Monolith, who are experts in open-world building and can code and compress a lot more efficiently, I have no doubt they would be able to produce a far better, larger game. They were at the top of their game in the GBA/DS era, but quality has admittedly been declining since the shift to 3D, which I think speaks for itself as to how much the studio is struggling with full 3D development. I think they either need to ask for support from other studios who know far more about 3D development, or revert back to 2d sprites.
That said, I'm still insanely excited for the games and can't wait to play on Friday.
@NIN10DOXD It's actually pretty interesting that you class Pokemon in the JRPG category - I see it more as an action/adventure game with turn-based combat instead. I tend to view JRPGs as something with 80+ hours of main story content (plus extensive post-game), branching side-quests, a convoluted story and deep customisation mechanics (i.e. crafting, gathering materials, etc.), in the vein of DQXIS, Octopath, Ni No Kuni and Persona. On the other hand, I see Pokemon games as the sort of game where the length is determined by the player rather than the story: I would usually expect to complete the main story in around 20 hours, and then proceed to spend another 50 hours doing completely optional stuff, like completing the regional Pokedex and hunting/breeding shinies.
@PKBegley Instead of heckling the reviewer (which, by the way, is really rude), did you stop and think that perhaps he genuinely enjoyed the game in spite of its flaws? Just because you don't like the look of the games or the way GameFreak has handled the PR surrounding them, it doesn't mean that anyone actually enjoying the games is a 'moron' (as you have so charmingly put it earlier in this sub) or a sellout.
@Snaplocket Those are completely different games though; enjoyment between different genres is extremely subjective and varies wildly. For example, I far prefer Pokemon and other RPGs over all three games you mentioned; that doesn't mean that those games are bad in any way, shape or form - it's just personal preference. Unless Alex personally reviewed all those games, I don't think it's comparable.
@NIN10DOXD Both Link's Awakening and LM3 are around the same mark, at the same price point, and they are some of the best games I have played. I'd argue that the quality of the experience is what matters, rather than its length.
@Kalmaro What I meant to say is, I have seen people throwing a grown-up tantrum online saying that HUNDREDS of moves have been cut, which is a ridiculous hyperbole. They have cut the dex (which admittedly I am mot thrilled about, though it is not enough to put me off playing) and removed a bunch of moves that were either clones/extremely similar to other moves they have kept or considered abused/OP in the online competitive scene, and because of this a lot of fans (especially on reddit, from what I have seen) are now trying to nitpick at non-issues to fit their narrative that the games are terrible. GF has been talking about wanting to bring more balance to the competitive scene, and I feel that the removal of a bunch of moves will do just that.
Regardless, I think that judging the game before playing it is silly, and am dreading the inevitable review-bombing that the games are going to get on Amazon/Metacritic even if they turn out to be solid entries in the series.
@johnvboy The thing I find crazy is that everyone is commenting on how rubbish and jaggy the game looks from a stream that very obviously had lagging issues (it was glaringly obvious if you had the audio on). We know nothing about the story or most of the new features since the leakers did not really mention any details; all we know is that Pokemon have been cut (which is sad, but was going to happen eventually) and that a bunch of moves are gone (though almost 1/3 of them are gimmick-related, like Z-moves). From the outrage this has sparked, you'd guess the previous games charged us by the Pokemon, or something. insert facepalm here Anyway, a vocal minority was, ahem, spitting on the Let's Go games before they came out, and I - and everyone I know - still really enjoyed them, so I expect this to be the same.
@Heavyarms55 One thing to consider is that many of the people streaming online have pirated copies of the game that were ripped from a cartridge, so there may well be issues because of that. I watched a bit of a guy streaming the game from Germany (if I understood correctly, he had an actual physical copy of the game rather than a ripped file) before the stream was reported, and the game looked beautiful, with none of the issues with animations/music/day-night cycle being reported on Reddit. Fingers crossed that’s what’s causing the issues.
I tried to stay away from leaks showing new Pokemon (I can’t wait to see a new, unknown Pokemon walking about the overworld, squeal like the little girl I still am inside, and rush to catch it), but I did look at the starters’ evolutions and at the returning Pokemon from previous generations. The last time I was this hyped for a Pokemon game was before the release of Diamond/Pearl (12-year-old me pored over official reveals in gaming magazines with an enthusiasm bordering on obsession), I honestly can’t wait for next Friday.
I’d honestly love to see them porting Mario 3D World, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess from the WiiU (the only great games in the console’s library they haven’t ported so far IMO), and then perhaps something like Fantasy Life, Ever Oasis, the Layton games and the Story of Seasons/Popolocrois crossover from the 3DS. Though there are so many good releases on the Switch at the moment that I could happily play for a year without needing to buy a single game...
Comments 388
Re: Nintendo Shares A Single New Animal Crossing: New Horizons Screenshot
@BenAV I had no idea! To be fair, it’s not much of a loss - it’s actually a little cheaper to buy the console and game separately (as long as you shop around for the physical copy or digital code to get it for less than the standard RRP) than getting the bundle.
Re: Nintendo Shares A Single New Animal Crossing: New Horizons Screenshot
@Welshland Unfortunately, the game comes out on March 20th everywhere in the world - it’s just the Animal Crossing-themed Switch that comes out earlier in the US, since it isn’t bundled with a game code like in the rest of the world.
Re: Funko Is Releasing An Entire Set Of Eevee Evolution Pokémon Toys
Why doesn't the US Pokemon Center website ship to Europe...
Re: It's Been 162 Days Since The Last Full Nintendo Direct, The Longest Wait Since 2016
@Barbara001 Same! I just started a new play-through of Three Houses (I'm tackling the new side story DLC first, and then I'll get into the main story with the Golden Deer), and I also have to finish Wargroove, Super Lucky's Tale and Trine 4. I might dip back into My Time at Portia, too, to see if the updates released in the past 9 months have fixed some of the issues with the Switch version. All that, along with Rune Factory 4S, Animal Crossing and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon all coming out in the next five weeks, means I'll likely have more than enough games to play until after E3.
That said, it would be nice to know what major games to expect between April and July, since there are bound to be at least a couple sprinkled in there.
Re: Here Are The Full Patch Notes For Fire Emblem: Three Houses Version 1.2.0
Nice! I’ve been waiting for this to be released to start my second playthrough of the game - I went Blue Lions the first time, and I’m going to go for Golden Deer now. This and Rune Factory 4S should hopefully tide me over until Animal Crossing releases next month.
Re: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Might Contain In-Game Purchases
@Kiyata Congrats on the mature response, mate. Silly me - I can't believe I prefer to be rational and play a game myself before passing judgement rather than basing my opinion on criteria that actually matter, like file size compared to a poorly optimised game and the possibility of DLC. insert eye roll here
In all seriousness, though, you could really be missing out on a good game by skipping it just because it may or may not receive DLC later down the line! Zelda BotW, Mario Rabbids and FE Three Houses all received expansions several months after launch, and yet they are amazing games straight out of the box; the additional content is fun, but is not necessary in any way, shape or form for the game to feel complete. So far, I feel that Nintendo's DLC practices have been fair (Sword/Shield is a bit more of a mixed bag, but I blame GameFreak for that rather than Nintendo themselves), so I'm going to wait and see for myself whether they really are releasing an incomplete Animal Crossing game only to put the cut content behind a paywall rather than let the possibility sour the experience before it even starts. Until then, I'll look forward to playing the next game in my favourite series of all time.
Re: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Might Contain In-Game Purchases
@Kiyata And if you go on the actual ESRB website and look up Sword/Shield, you’ll see that it mentions in-game purchases, too - this has nothing to do with the Nintendo website. And why did you immediately jump to the conclusion that in-game purchases mean micro-transactions? Have you ever seen a mainline Nintendo game with micro-transactions? Cause I sure haven’t!
And as for the file size thing...you’re joking, right? Pokemon was made by GameFreak, who are notoriously rubbish at file compression. Super Mario Odyssey’s file size is 5.7GB, which is 0.5 GB smaller than AC - does that feel like an incomplete game to you? Of what we’ve seen so far (save backup shenanigans aside), what has made you think that this is an incomplete, mobile-akin cash grab?
Re: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Might Contain In-Game Purchases
Wait a moment before taking up your torches and pitchforks, folks. No way Nintendo is adding microtransactions into a retail Switch game - especially something as high-profile as Animal Crossing. This warning is most likely due to an in-game prompt to buy a NSO online subscription if you don’t already have one, or perhaps there will be an expansion pass a year down the line or something like that. Zelda BotW, Fire Emblem Three Houses, Mario + Rabbids and Pokemon Sword/Shield all had this same warning, to name a few, and none of them include microtransactions. Chill.
Re: You Can Now Pre-Purchase Animal Crossing: New Horizons On Nintendo Switch eShop
Oh wow, I hope you enjoy it! It’s one of my favourite series, and literally the most relaxing, enjoyable game I’ve ever played.
Re: You Can Now Pre-Purchase Animal Crossing: New Horizons On Nintendo Switch eShop
@CairiB Nice! I’m counting down the days - I can’t believe it’ll finally be out in less than six weeks!
Re: You Can Now Pre-Purchase Animal Crossing: New Horizons On Nintendo Switch eShop
@CairiB I’ve preordered with them before (a few games and two joy-con sets, and now the Animal Crossing-themed Switch), and always received the item on release day. The only exception was when Happy Home Designer came out - there was an issue with Royal Mail which meant it would be delivered two days after release. I got an email from Nintendo to inform me of this, alongside with their apology and a free digital code for the game so I could start playing right away; that was customer service at its best. I’d say go for it, they’re super reliable.
Re: You Can Now Pre-Purchase Animal Crossing: New Horizons On Nintendo Switch eShop
I’m getting the Animal Crossing Switch, so I’ll be waiting to get my code on the 20th. But my Nintendo-crazed mother (who bought a Switch at 55 to play Luigi’s Mansion, Layton and Animal Crossing) has just asked me to show her exactly how the eShop works so she can preload it tonight and start playing right away on release day. And yes, she took the day off work to play (as did I, as any 25-year-old Nintendo fam worth their salt would do). She’s that cool.
Re: Soapbox: Confounded By The Animal Crossing: New Horizons Cloud Save Situation? You're Not Alone
I’m going to throw this out there...has anyone stopped for two seconds to think that perhaps the issue doesn’t lie with cheating/time travelling/item duplication, but with the fact that the island will be tied to the console rather than a single account? The way I see it, Nintendo thought they would not offer backup and transfer options because this particular setup made things too complicated, fans complained, and the devs are now trying to find a workaround. Just saying.
Re: Guide: Upcoming Nintendo Switch Games And Accessories For February And March 2020
Nice! For me it’ll be the Three Houses DLC, Rune Factory 4S and Animal Crossing (I snatched myself one of the themed Switches and also preordered that adorable AC charging stand from PlayAsia, so that’s going to be great). And maybe the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon remake, if my SO gets it for me as a birthday present. Can’t wait, the next few months are going to be jam-packed!
Re: Start Your Island Life With This Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch
@Heavyarms55 Not particularly - it has been used for maybe around a 1000 hours, split fairly evenly over the past three years. It may very well be an outlier though - it started acting up last spring, when it was just over two years old, so there may very well have been something wrong from the start that I didn’t notice until it worsened over time.
Re: Start Your Island Life With This Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch
@Heavyarms55 Yeah, it used to last around 2.5 hours playing BotW on a full charge, but now I get less than 1.5 hours before the battery is fully depleted. For comparison, my SO has one of the revised Switches; when we play Pokemon Sw/Sh together starting at full charge, my console will be down to 10% before his is even at 60% - it's a huge difference. And the console becomes almost too warm to hold when I'm playing DQ Builders 2 for longer than 20 minutes at a time, it really struggles with that one.
No dirt in the vents as far as I can see, and I'm honestly not keen on opening it up to check/ replace the thermal paste, so I'm happy to retire it and replace it with the AC special edition one.
Re: Start Your Island Life With This Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nintendo Switch
@Heavyarms55 That's what I'll be doing! My launch unit's battery life has gotten a bit dodgy over the years, and the console overheats easily with certain games (looking at you, Dragon Quest Builders 2), so I was already looking to replace it, but kept postponing in the hope they wound announce an AC-themed Switch...and now that they have, I'm so glad I waited! I've already put in my preorder with Game here in the UK; can't wait to get my grubby gamer paws on it!
Re: Nintendo's Digital Sales Have Increased Almost 50 Percent Year-On-Year
That's good news! I usually go physical for major releases and digital for Indies, unless I can find a really good deal on a download code somewhere. However, I think the upcoming Animal Crossing game may well be an exception in my case - it's something I will play daily for years, so I'm seriously considering going digital to always have it in my console. Besides, I like the idea of being able to pre-load it so I can play it first thing in the morning on March 20th.
Re: Pokémon Home Details Revealed: Free And Premium Plans, National Pokédex And More
@AstralSoul I know, right? We have a family NSO subscription we split four-ways (myself, my mother, my partner and his brother), which works out at roughly £7.50 a head every year - that’s HALF of what GF wants to charge for this. Cheeky gits.
Re: Pokémon Home Details Revealed: Free And Premium Plans, National Pokédex And More
That price is rubbish - Bank was £5 a year, why is this three times as expensive? I’ll probably just buy a 30-day subscription, transfer the handful of pokemon I care about from X, and then stay on the free plan. Way too expensive for what this is.
Re: Play Animal Crossing: New Horizons In Style With These New Switch Controllers
Aside from the fact that I'm not keen on controllers that require me to swap out batteries every two weeks, I honestly find these quite ugly, not to mention really expensive considering that they are only £15 cheaper than a pro controller even though they lack a number of features and are of what I would consider an inferior quality. :/
Re: Poll: What Features Would You Want In A Switch 'Pro'?
If I had to make a wishlist, I’d probably say 1080p screen, a better CPU to keep some of the more intensive games from stuttering when there is a lot going on on the screen (I’m looking at you, Korok Forest in BotW), and a battery life comparable to that of the ‘new’ standard Switch in spite of the new improvements. A smaller bezel around the screen would also be a plus, but it wouldn’t be a deal-breaker tbh.
Re: Here's The Colourful Box Art For Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX
I loved Blue Rescue Team when I was a kid - I spent months religiously playing every day so I could recruit every single available Pokemon, it was a blast! The demo gave me the same vibes as the original; I have a feeling I’m going to enjoy the heck out of it once it releases.
Re: Hori Reveals Animal Crossing: New Horizons Accessories For Switch And Switch Lite
@embison If I had to bet, I’d probably say they’re going to do an AC-themed standard Switch rather than a Lite, since they are pushing the local co-op angle quite a bit (if I’m not mistaken, there is only one save file per console, and each user is a human villager on the same island). Considering that the Lite has a smaller screen, doesn’t dock, has no kickstand and no detachable joy-cons, it would make couch co-op nearly impossible. It just seems weird to sell the game with a version of the console that is pretty much unable to carry out one of the new key gameplay features.
Re: Poll: What To Expect From The Pokémon Direct - Post Your Pokémon Predictions
I’m expecting to see Pokemon Home, Pokemon Sleep, Detective Pikachu for Switch, and perhaps an announcement for either Gen 4 remakes or Let’s Go games focusing on Gen 2, but nothing else. Fairly underwhelming to have the first Direct of the year be centred around Pokemon TBH, when we know of no first-party games coming out in the first 3 months of the year aside from FE Encore next week and AC at the end of March.
Re: Talking Point: What We Expect From The First Nintendo Direct Of 2020
Honestly, mate, are you trying to kill us here? I legit squealed like the Nintendo fangirl I am the moment I saw the Direct logo on my feed, only to have my hopes dashed 0.86 seconds later when I read the title. 😭
Re: Random: Nintendo UK Continues To Advertise Ring Fit Adventure Despite Stock Shortages
I ended up buying my copy from Amazon France a couple of weeks ago (on sale, so I saved about £25, which I was really happy about); it took about a week for it to get delivered to the UK, but it was worth it since it was sold out pretty much everywhere I looked.
Re: Gallery: Nintendo Shares More Screenshots Of Animal Crossing: New Horizons
@Heavyarms55 I’m in the same boat as you; I’m usually a 100% physical copy person when it comes to big 1st party titles, but I might make an exception for AC. Especially if they release a special edition standard Switch with NH pre-loaded on it, since my poor launch unit it starting to struggle.
Re: Guide: Upcoming Nintendo Switch Games And Accessories For January And February 2020
Considering how large my backlog currently is with all the eShop games I have bought during the Black Friday and Christmas sales, the only games I’m planning to pick up between now and March are Rune Factory 4 Special and Animal Crossing. Really looking forward to a Direct soon to see which other 1st party titles will be coming in the near future though!
Re: Video: Nintendo Releases Brand New Japanese Commercial For Animal Crossing: New Horizons
@peanutbuttercup I am still holding out hope for a standard special edition Switch, since they are pushing the new couch co-op mechanics in the game (which the Lite would not really be suited for, with a smaller screen, no kickstand and the need for an extra set of joy-cons). My launch-day Switch needs replacing soon - fans kick in all the time, overheats even in handheld mode with some games, and the battery life is not what it used to be after >1000 hours of play - but I’m waiting until March simply to see if I can finally snag myself an AC-themed console.
Re: Luigi's Mansion 3 Is Now Outselling Link's Awakening In The UK
Good! It deserves to, it’s an amazing game!
Re: Random: Is Nintendo UK Getting Cheekily Political With This Animal Crossing Poster?
@nessisonett I like your thinking. Shall we start recruiting able-bodied men and women for the job? The more the merrier!
All jokes aside, I’m really hyped for this game. Can’t wait for March!
Re: Bravely Default II Is Coming Exclusively To Nintendo Switch Next Year
Nice! I actually never came round to playing Bravely Default/Bravely Second on 3DS, since they came out before I got into turn-based JRPGs (Octopath and DQ XI fixed that this year, and now I’m rightfully obsessed with the genre), but I’m definitely excited to try this out! Between this, Animal Crossing, Rune Factory 4/5, Xenoblade and (hopefully) Story of Seasons, 2020 is already shaping up to be awesome for me!
Re: Fire Emblem: Three Houses Crowned Strategy Game Of The Year
Very glad to see this game getting some much-deserved recognition! Though let’s be honest, it should have been nominated for far more categories.
Can’t wait for the new story content to drop in the Spring! I’ll start a new playthrough with Golden Deer as soon as that happens.
Re: Nintendo 'Indie World' Presentation Announced For Tuesday 10th December
@nessisonett I’d love to see that! That game looks amazing, they’d be crazy not to port it to Switch. I wonder if it will be a 2020 or 2021 release though, since it is unclear how far in development it is.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 30th)
I won’t have that much time to game this weekend since I’m in Italy visiting family, but whenever I manage to snuggle up with my Switch I’ll be playing a bit of Shield (I beat the game and captured the legendaries, so I’m now working on the slow burn of completing the Pokedex) and Luigi’s Mansion 3 (only 4 floors left!).
Re: Poll: Pokémon Sword And Shield Are Out Today, Which Version Are You Getting?
I preordered both, but technically Shield is for me and Sword is a surprise present for my SO, who really enjoyed playing Let’s Go on my console last year and has recently bought his own Switch.
Re: Game Freak "Excited" To See How Pokémon Sword And Shield Players Respond To The Wild Area's Camera
@BulbasaurusRex Exactly. They did mention that they wanted to re-balance the competitive scene, and I think the removal of moves that are OP or ‘spammed’ in online matches is going to do just that.
Re: Game Freak "Excited" To See How Pokémon Sword And Shield Players Respond To The Wild Area's Camera
@Sculptor I think the issue there is that GameFreak as a whole do not have the experience necessary to develop console-level games with expansive worlds. They are decent at what they do - namely, Pokemon games - but don't know how to make anything else. If they teamed up with devs at Nintendo or Monolith, who are experts in open-world building and can code and compress a lot more efficiently, I have no doubt they would be able to produce a far better, larger game. They were at the top of their game in the GBA/DS era, but quality has admittedly been declining since the shift to 3D, which I think speaks for itself as to how much the studio is struggling with full 3D development. I think they either need to ask for support from other studios who know far more about 3D development, or revert back to 2d sprites.
That said, I'm still insanely excited for the games and can't wait to play on Friday.
Re: Review: Pokémon Sword And Shield - A Solid Start To Gen 8 On Switch, Despite The Hate
@NIN10DOXD It's actually pretty interesting that you class Pokemon in the JRPG category - I see it more as an action/adventure game with turn-based combat instead. I tend to view JRPGs as something with 80+ hours of main story content (plus extensive post-game), branching side-quests, a convoluted story and deep customisation mechanics (i.e. crafting, gathering materials, etc.), in the vein of DQXIS, Octopath, Ni No Kuni and Persona. On the other hand, I see Pokemon games as the sort of game where the length is determined by the player rather than the story: I would usually expect to complete the main story in around 20 hours, and then proceed to spend another 50 hours doing completely optional stuff, like completing the regional Pokedex and hunting/breeding shinies.
Re: Review: Pokémon Sword And Shield - A Solid Start To Gen 8 On Switch, Despite The Hate
@PKBegley Instead of heckling the reviewer (which, by the way, is really rude), did you stop and think that perhaps he genuinely enjoyed the game in spite of its flaws? Just because you don't like the look of the games or the way GameFreak has handled the PR surrounding them, it doesn't mean that anyone actually enjoying the games is a 'moron' (as you have so charmingly put it earlier in this sub) or a sellout.
Re: Review: Pokémon Sword And Shield - A Solid Start To Gen 8 On Switch, Despite The Hate
@Snaplocket Those are completely different games though; enjoyment between different genres is extremely subjective and varies wildly. For example, I far prefer Pokemon and other RPGs over all three games you mentioned; that doesn't mean that those games are bad in any way, shape or form - it's just personal preference. Unless Alex personally reviewed all those games, I don't think it's comparable.
Re: Review: Pokémon Sword And Shield - A Solid Start To Gen 8 On Switch, Despite The Hate
@NIN10DOXD Both Link's Awakening and LM3 are around the same mark, at the same price point, and they are some of the best games I have played. I'd argue that the quality of the experience is what matters, rather than its length.
Re: Game Freak "Excited" To See How Pokémon Sword And Shield Players Respond To The Wild Area's Camera
@Kalmaro What I meant to say is, I have seen people throwing a grown-up tantrum online saying that HUNDREDS of moves have been cut, which is a ridiculous hyperbole. They have cut the dex (which admittedly I am mot thrilled about, though it is not enough to put me off playing) and removed a bunch of moves that were either clones/extremely similar to other moves they have kept or considered abused/OP in the online competitive scene, and because of this a lot of fans (especially on reddit, from what I have seen) are now trying to nitpick at non-issues to fit their narrative that the games are terrible. GF has been talking about wanting to bring more balance to the competitive scene, and I feel that the removal of a bunch of moves will do just that.
Regardless, I think that judging the game before playing it is silly, and am dreading the inevitable review-bombing that the games are going to get on Amazon/Metacritic even if they turn out to be solid entries in the series.
Re: Deals: Amazon UK Gets Into The Black Friday Spirit With Tasty Nintendo Switch Game Bundles
Somehow, I get the impression that Amazon wants to get rid of extra copies of Mortal Kombat and Trials Rising...
Re: Game Freak "Excited" To See How Pokémon Sword And Shield Players Respond To The Wild Area's Camera
@johnvboy The thing I find crazy is that everyone is commenting on how rubbish and jaggy the game looks from a stream that very obviously had lagging issues (it was glaringly obvious if you had the audio on). We know nothing about the story or most of the new features since the leakers did not really mention any details; all we know is that Pokemon have been cut (which is sad, but was going to happen eventually) and that a bunch of moves are gone (though almost 1/3 of them are gimmick-related, like Z-moves). From the outrage this has sparked, you'd guess the previous games charged us by the Pokemon, or something. insert facepalm here Anyway, a vocal minority was, ahem, spitting on the Let's Go games before they came out, and I - and everyone I know - still really enjoyed them, so I expect this to be the same.
Re: Game Freak "Excited" To See How Pokémon Sword And Shield Players Respond To The Wild Area's Camera
@Heavyarms55 One thing to consider is that many of the people streaming online have pirated copies of the game that were ripped from a cartridge, so there may well be issues because of that. I watched a bit of a guy streaming the game from Germany (if I understood correctly, he had an actual physical copy of the game rather than a ripped file) before the stream was reported, and the game looked beautiful, with none of the issues with animations/music/day-night cycle being reported on Reddit. Fingers crossed that’s what’s causing the issues.
Re: Two New Pokémon Revealed In Sword And Shield's 'Final' Trailer
@Indielink Do you have a source for that? It would be great if the Dex were bigger than the original leaker revealed!
Re: Rumour: Nintendo May Have Caught The Pokémon Sword And Shield Leaker
I tried to stay away from leaks showing new Pokemon (I can’t wait to see a new, unknown Pokemon walking about the overworld, squeal like the little girl I still am inside, and rush to catch it), but I did look at the starters’ evolutions and at the returning Pokemon from previous generations. The last time I was this hyped for a Pokemon game was before the release of Diamond/Pearl (12-year-old me pored over official reveals in gaming magazines with an enthusiasm bordering on obsession), I honestly can’t wait for next Friday.
Re: Nintendo Wants To Focus On New "Experiences" For Switch, But Is Open To More Remakes
I’d honestly love to see them porting Mario 3D World, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess from the WiiU (the only great games in the console’s library they haven’t ported so far IMO), and then perhaps something like Fantasy Life, Ever Oasis, the Layton games and the Story of Seasons/Popolocrois crossover from the 3DS. Though there are so many good releases on the Switch at the moment that I could happily play for a year without needing to buy a single game...