Kilamanjaro

Hall Effect Analogue sticks or no buy. Every pair I owned was sent back but the Pro Controllers have never had an issue.

The LOTR The Two Towers and Return of the King on the original Xbox (think it's the same on GCN and PS2) were the best LOTR action games on consoles in terms of book and movie tie ins. Shadow of Morder and it's sequel are the better overall action games but man, the combos and fun of playing as the full cast was amazing. Best tie ins for a video game and you even unlocked DVD commentary just for the games as you progressed. Games just don't do this anymore.

Kylo Ren needs to be here saying MORE

Absolutely crazy but seems like the norm for Pokemon goods now.

Related topic: Can we use "resellers" or "price gougers" instead of "scalpers"? It's like saying Redskins or other indigenous slang terms. I don't like resellers as much as the next person for the record.

For those interested including NLife, there's a whole reddit thread on the topic: https://www.reddit.com/r/squishmallow/comments/prd56g/there_needs_to_be_a_discussion_on_why_the_term/

PS5 and XSX both launched in November 2020, the article can be updated to match.

Never really enjoyed Thumper, it always gets good recs here on the sales but I really dislike the game. Have made it through a good handful of levels but it's never hooked me.

Agree with a lot of comments above, I own so many of these! Good marketing from NLife haha, I always purchase because of the good coverage but also agree my backlog should not be a point of pride. Haven't bought anything for Switch in a long time but I have well over 100 titles and a lot of boxed games, Starfield will not help with any of this 😂

I picked up 4 of these, they just stocked them at a local store. I'm talking nearly EVERY Zelda amiibo. 8 Bit, OoT, Windwaker, Toon Link, BotW, Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess. I'm tempted to get more but can't fit them in my suitcase as I'm traveling :') have wanted a lot of them but they're always so expensive or sold out . I'd attach a picture if I could, will probably not see that again haha

@Zonned yeah this would be great

Fix the game first, performance is appalling. It's frustrating at times, good in some areas. Like give us consistency that we pay for. Maybe they should switch back to 16-bit graphics while their dev team upskills and takes advantage of the Switch's capabilities like so many other great devs do on the Switch. I'll wait on the DLC, if the game is running smooth I'll pick it up, I thought Sword and Shield ran great.

Enjoyed the first game a lot, banter between party members and their stories was there but a bit hidden. I think this is similar to stories in real life, we don't always participate in our friend's lives every step of the way and help them achieve their goals in totality. But we are there in some way for key elements. My personal take which is why I love the series so much. Will definitely pick this up. Hope it comes to GamePass too!

You must not have 81 of anything lol I own over 100 games on Switch, probably 12-15 are "must have". That's an insane amount of cash to get 81 games in one sale! Sorry for getting caught up on the #. Some good games in there anyway

Such lazy collector's editions. I've got so many pins. $39 for all the dev work & production and the $39 more for a bunch of $1-3 items. Pass on the collectors edition. Might get the base game. I know it's industry standard for the collector's piece btw to include all of those types of items, massive profit and they're a business, blah blah blah.

Looks like a relaxing game & the review is good.

Worked at a GameStop years ago, they only keep a handful of those items for first come, first serve people that pre-order. Lots of people cancel & not everyone remembers and it takes up storage space. Lame practice but not always a guarantee to get the free goodie. They probably have like 70-90% of the items depending on release & availability

@SwitchForce yeah weird, that's why I upgraded to the Family Membership. It's typically not an issue for my physical carts so I've been purchasing digital a lot less often. Support hasn't really been able to resolve but I'd like it to work all of the time lol

@SwitchForce did you know this can affect your total play time being captured? Example: I have 180 hours of Super Smash play time, 60 hours into my playtime I added my Lite & the system reset the count to 0 and then synced that across to the other console (as if I never played it). So fast forward 120 hours, it still says 120 hours despite it being 180. Super annoying (although it doesn't affect gameplay or my gaming experience), I raised a ticket with Nintendo support and sent screenshots but they could never rectify this or replicate the issue. Same happened for Hollow Knight and some other titles so I stopped playing the bigger games across both systems that I wanted to track total playtime on. Small issue tbh but annoying.

@Gamecuber THIS! Totally agree with this! I'd be getting more editions of the Lite if the account system wasn't so backwards. And I love the Split Pad Pro, everytime I switch back to regular joycons, my hands cramp after 20 minutes.

Superb article, really fun. Want more of these.

I've had a Switch Lite for a couple of years now & have had a different experience over time than the above for a couple of reasons, keep in mind this is because I also have a main OG Switch too as my primary.

First, when taking it traveling, it needs to constantly check for internet connections and if you forget to do this so it can verify your games before you leave your house, then you won't be playing any of your digital titles. Do this before you leave so you can play NSO NES & SNES games.

Second, if there is another person in your life and you don't make it your primary console, they won't be playing anything on their profile on your trip (this may also resolve problem #1). Even with a family membership, sometimes their cloud saves and ability to play certain titles didn't always work. So I cancelled the family membership shortly after testing.

Third, every year I've had the Lite the battery gets worse and worse. It can maybe last 2.5-4 hours tops instead of 6-9.
I mostly have puzzlers, arcade titles, indies and a few small RPGs, so nothing pushing the boundaries which I keep on my OG Switch. So everytime I boot it up, I have to charge it for an hour. May as well dock it then and play on the TV right? Wrong, the Lite can't do that. So I just start playing my OG Switch.

So fast forward to today, my Switch Lite sits there in its case and I actually prefer to cram my bigger Switch or my Evercade (which doesn't ever need WiFi) with me on the go. I also use roll-up bags (Ziploc sells them) that push the air out of clothes on travel trips & really save a TON of room whilst keeping my clothes waterproof. The way those bags roll allows a small pocket of air for a Switch in a case too hehe. So those are my preferences for travel and I travel quite a bit every year. I'm on a trip right now when writing this and my OG Switch is right next to me.

I think buying a Switch OLED to play on your 55 inch TV doesn't make much sense? Maybe missing a "not" when saying " in the market for a Zelda OLED TO to play on a mahoosive telly"?

Last thing & I'll shut up, really wish Doug Bowser and friends at Nintendo HQ really made it simpler to access digital titles across multiple Switches for those of us travelling.

Anyway, really love that you shared your travel stories, which we saw more of these adventures NLife has been on with their Switches!

I always thought & felt from the marketing (plus Engage in the title) meant the focus was on combat & was not as big an effort or mainline game as Three Houses was. So don't really see that as a negative. Great to mention it in the review for those that haven't followed but thought the FE product team did a good job distinguishing this title.

@Fizza I think this is partially a joke? Pokemon launched in a terrible state compared to Elden Ring. I'd take janky Elden Ring graphics any day over Pokemon Scarlet / Violet, even in us most updated form today. I spent 50 hours in Scarlet and while the gameplay loop is great, the production values are just so low: voice acting, graphics, performance and story. Can't say the same for Elden Ring, had very few issues during my 200+ hours with the game (anecdotal evidence).

I wish Game Freak would really let Bandai Namco be responsible for development of their next mainline game, they did a good job with Snap & know how to make fantastic games with good graphics and high production values. We deserve a lot better as a gaming community <3

@WanzerAce I swear I gave myself arthritis with the joycons, took me too long to make the change to the Split Pad Pro

Have a launch switch I preordered in Jan 2017 after buying Nintendo stock in October 2016 when they unveiled the console, which later paid for the first 18 months of games. The battery doesn't last long and the console is in good condition otherwise. Bought a Lite but because it always makes me check my digital purchases I hardly use it. Wish Nintendo allowed 2-3 consoles per account!!! Pretty Anti-Consumer and Anti-Digital of the big N to do that. Might get an OLED but it dooms all other Switches to a box since the primary would take all the digital games on the go.

Might wait for the announcement of a new console in the Fall later this year or at E3 2024. Just waiting since companies are slowing down on production because of the potential for a recession and struggling supply chain issues. I had a wonderful first 4 years with the Switch until I got Xbox Series X and Gamepass. Xbox just has so many more sales (so does Steam and Sony). I still play it but really not so often since the controls hurt my hands at this point, even with the Split Pad Pro. I played too many games of SSBU with joy cons before I hurt my hands 😭😅

Hoping the next console has better ergonomics for adults with bigger hands.

Happy holidays, really glad the site exists as it helps me escape from the everyday news of the world for a short period of time & also gets me to check out lotsa cool games. Happy holidays everyone!

I have such a backlog and there are so many more games to catch up, I think I'd never honestly be able to play through all of these given the time commitment & effort. I wish those that beat this 100% the best, very good for collectors so I might get it when it's cheap and throw it into the pile of games to play someday..

Cross the fog, to the Lands Between, to stand before the Elden Ring.

Seriously haven't consumed a game like that since LoZ BotW or Elder Scrolls Oblivion. Absolutely poured hour after hiur exploring the Lands Between. Haven't had an experience like that ever really as most games are franchised so you recognize a lot of the bosses & enemies, so having so much great new content at such a high level of detail and handled with so much care felt absolutely amazing. Kudos to FromSoftware. Of course similarities to other Souls games but there's a reason this won art direction as well!

My man. He finally did it in my lifetime. The Pokemon games always left open Red, who was an older more experienced version of Ash Ketchum. Here's to hoping they have him as an adult being the ultimate antagonist / rival of a new series where he just snuffs out all the competition with his fully evolved set of started Pokemon.

Nice to read the early preview of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet here. Poor graphics, repetitive samey gameplay, wishing it was grander than it is. Oh wait..

Big fan of DOOM but this game didn't click for me so I uninstalled it after 30 minutes. It felt a little bit slower like you were drudging through mud at times. We've got all the DOOM games and even Quake on Gamepass (and Prodeus too) so I'm not really interested in hashing through this game, might replay Marathon Durandl though now that I think about it..

Sell a cart based system.

The game is really good. The post -game quest for the true ending requires a guide & is a bit of a nightmare

@Vil agree with your points

Anybody wanna buy my collector's edition preorder for $400 kidding. This makes me want to cancel the pre-order though. Like somehow Pokemon games have become like games for a movie or tv ahow franchise. Whereas in the past, it was all about the Video games, cards and anime, now it's more about way more media content & less about high quality games? Not sure if other's agree but I feel Gamefreak should let Bandai Namco or another studio develop their games and use unreal engine or something more powerful & they can play a supervisory role on the battle systems & lore. Even their stories are pretty weak & Pokemon games deserve the writer's the shows get.

@jsty3105 agree with you on this. It's the same argument for real actors as for voice actors. People can't just say, "you show your body on camera, move it around and use your voice" and dismiss it as worthless or low-skill labor. For any type of acting, especially for big franchises, pay tends to be pretty high to get those actors for a reason. Far more than just showing their face & talking, it's about evoking emotion & immersing the audience into the world and so much more.

@MythTgr lol okay, then what? Haha. Get out of here, everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Bayonetta is great. It's okay to disagree with a company's decisions on how they treat employees even if the product is stellar. Go look up the definition for the word boycott & you'll see I'm matching it. Don't at me just because you're some super fan that's mad.

Yeah, I lobe Bayonetta and sadly will probably boycott this game because of this. Had a feeling there was some stuff going on when she didn't do the voice. That pay is absolutely unfair & just goes to show how far gaming still needs to go when it comes to payments & royalties for voice actors. Not cool!

Great game, sorry to hear that heppening. Have it physical and it's fun for local multiplayer. Would recommend picking it upt while you can, the physical game comes with a joy con skin too

It's called making a game with a limited budget. Hope they can still make it play well & stay entertaining for a few hours

You know Pokemon Red and Blue had a great story called Pokemon. It was an anime that allowed us to imagine the world. Of course the other games had it, but the show, manga and trading card game were all a part of the same ecosystem. Pokemon the first movie was also a great experience in theaters! I feel the shows now are out some time after the game launches and on YouTube rather than being one of those early morning / weekend cartoons many of us were all watching due to the limited power of streaming and fewer viewing choices in the 90s. But it made for great playground conversation. Let's be honest, the Kanto Pokemon shows were the best. Hitcha in the feels! Of course when reading the criteria above, it is really hard to say there was a solid storyline within the game itself. I just consider each generation of Pokemon is a much bigger experience than just what's in one of the channels of media it comes in. Opinion over.

@Jhena it's worth a purchase for sure

Such a great game & one of the best bang for the buck arcade racers out there. A must have for your collection.

The only side quests I've liked in recent times were in Elden Ring, which pretty much require a guide to figure out how to progress in the right order & the extra story content is great. Really didn't have the checklist fetch quests that I hate. Dragon Quest XI also had some good ones

You have to have a really good memory to realize you are missing one of your 2001 games.

@jamesthemagi I wouldn't say never, I understand their target demographic, but they have a LOT bigger range of demographics than kids. Adults ultimately pay for the games, take kids to the movies, buy the toys, etc and the franchise is old enough that many of us are adults now. Maybe the next gen we will see it, they did open world eventually so there's hope there. And Red ages as you play against him in later games.

@jamesthemagi are you a kid? Or an adult that plays Pokemon? Nintendo makes more mature versions of games for their audiences (doesn't mean Mature rating). Even within the Pokemon franchise, look at Pokemon Go. Add an avatar that's an adult & get rid of the parent at home. Easy. Then beat your adult neighbor who hates how you garden or something. It's maybe a few more lines of dialogue than in a regular Pokemon game

@NeonPizza think they added a retro mide to SotN but yeah, I'm all for a 3rd game too!

I wish I could be an adult in a Pokemon game instead of always being a kid. And if they keep kids, let the people age so they can become adults in the second part of the game!

I'm all for this! Love Inti Creates, the Curse of the Moon games were phenomenal and bite size. 3-4 hours for this type of game is perfect because it invites replayability.

@Sonos hey you've gotta sit on a train sometime to get around there! When I went I played Pokemon Red on my 3DS when going from Kyoto to Tokyo and it feels like you're really in the game. I looked it up and you can go now but it has to be with a guided tour. Can't wait until it opens up again, I want to return next year

@Kamil118 hahah

@Mr_Gamecube different retailers will offer above MSRP to get some more profit on items that fans want. Just a business decision for that location, keep searching and you'll probably find it at the regular price. It appeared on Amazon this way for a while & then dropped randomly.

@Sonos 5 days flies when you can finally start your Switch backlog lol