Kingrat

@Anti-Matter nah man, it looks pretty poor graphically, it's kinda hard to debate that. It doesn't even have a nice cohesive art style to make up for it. It's not the worst looking game in the world and it wouldn't deter me much but its not very pretty.

@OorWullie
To be fair, there are a lot of high quality indie titles that I and im sure many others would love to be able to purchase at retail, not just for the sake of collection, but because there are multiple switches in my house and it's much easier to swap over a cartridge than have to loan out my whole console every time someone else wants to play a game I downloaded.
The Wonder Boy Remake, Stardew Valley, Steamworld Dig 2, Hollow Knight, Golf Story etc..

The movement seems fluid enough and I'm a fan of 3D platformers/collectathons but it looks rough, and at a budget price (maybe £15 - £20 max) I could see the appeal but when held up next to Odyssey or even Yooka-Laylee and a Hat in Time which will be on switch eventually, it just doesn't offer much that those other games don't.

Worth mentioning there are a number of bugs present in the game (unsure if it's like this on all console versions or just switch as I don't own any other version)

1. Audio crackling can occur now and then which can become pretty annoying - restarting the game fixes this.

2.The arcade machine in the tavern has its buttons mapped incorrectly. B will shoot right while A will shoot down - I assume this was an oversight by the devs as B and A are reversed on nintendo systems, interestingly, so are X and Y but these are mapped properly.

3. There doesn't seem to be a way to 'drop' items on the ground in order to pick up a new one when 'controller style menus' is enabled. Using virtual mouse controls allows this to be done.

Enjoying it a lot so far, if they just sort out these few niggles and i'll be chuffed.

No home button and a receiver that only plugs into wii-shaped ports? That's a hard sell - looks like they support micro usb connection so might work on pc too which makes them a bit more appealing. I just don't see the point investing so heavily into the snes mini (without hacking it to increase the library) when you can emulate and use whatever controllers you want.
Edit: Missed that it can access home menu with a combination of inputs, that's a nice addition, wonder if the stock controllers can do that.

I'm just hoping that the video shown wasn't the start of the actual level otherwise it's way too short. Sonic Manias stages were really lengthy and filled with hidden paths. Another thing i'm concerned about is linearity in the stages - the best levels are the ones where going left is a viable method of proceeding as opposed to always running to the right, this was applicable nearly all the way through Mania and I hope they carry over that design philosophy into forces.

I actually got to play sonic forces recently on the switch and from what i could tell, it looked good (to my eyes) and seemed to be 60fps though noticeably not as smooth as the other versions. Classic sonic controlled well but avatar and modern sonic felt...off. There was a weird sense of momentum that made slower paced platforming very tricky, although this may be due in part to some input lag on the terrible monitors they use at events. the levels overall were way too short and I really hope this is something that won't be prevalent throughout the game. I know it's a budget title but i'm still holding out for a full fledged, meaty sonic game.

Can't help but wonder what the point is - the SNES mini already includes two controllers and they're basically exactly the same as the original ones (bar the cable length). Maybe for fightsticks? Can't think of any other reason.

@Anti-Matter
Not even close.

@ClassSonicSatAm
Exactly what I was thinking - this sets a good precedent for future content updates or the possibility of more playable characters/play-styles within the game. I'm also hoping that these would come with a greater challenge to them, as the Shadow gameplay above seems to have the red stuff as part of his stage mechanics which could result in some trickier actual platforming.

@Anti-Matter
That's not really the point here though is it?
On the whole I prefer more arcade/stylized sports games myself but it's silly to suggest that the leading, officially franchised sports titles should take that approach. You have a bad habit of quickly dismissing something on the basis of personal preference to suggest a "better" alternative even if it makes absolutely no sense in the context.

This is actually a really nice little game and would be a perfect fit for the switch, especially if a co-op mode was to be added. This is on steam already and definitely worth a look. I reviewed it myself a while back if anyone cares to read more into it.

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198067507727/recommended/332610/

@gatorboi352
These games should have been the new direction for RE instead of 7. With a greater emphasis on puzzles and atmosphere they'd be solid successors to the originals. RE7 really didn't grip me that much. First person was a poor choice in my opinion, the puzzles were really lacking and the plot was so far removed from the established canon that it shouldn't even be branded Resident Evil tbh.

@Urameshi
I'm not gonna defend all of Sonic Adventure's shortcomings, but lots of people still really like the game, ignoring nostalgia. The visuals, and soundtrack hold up really well, and as far as characters and story goes, there will be those who liked the expansion of the canon and the Chaos storyline and some that won't, it doesn't make it a bad decision. The camera's a pain but it doesn't hinder the gameplay too much, which is still enjoyable and varied. Let's not just poo all over other people's opinions of a game.

Mania was fantastic, and I'm optimistic about forces but if they really wanna bring back sonic on both fronts, classic and modern, they need to make a fully fledged Sonic Adventure 3 (with big the cat).

@nab1
It's not a full retail release - it's available for pre-order in the UK for as little as £28.85 for the PS4/Xbone versions, £30.85 for Switch

Her theme music is absolutely perfect, like a mix between Professor Layton, and Vega's theme from SF.

I've seen this kind of article on a couple of sites now and i'm almost positive it's just bandwagon clickbait. I've played through Sonic Mania four times now as each character using the Joycon's split D-pad and it's absolutely fine. I'm not gonna say it's perfect, nor am I saying that because I think it's accurate and comfortable that everyone else has to, but do we really need to flog a dead horse with this topic? The switch was designed very specifically and the split d-pad was one of the concessions that had to be made for it to work, it's not a big deal. Hell, Sony's controllers use split button directional input and no ones goes on a rant about that. And at least it's not xbox 360 d-pad level bad...

@ClassSonicSatAm
Yes, it supports English, French, Japanese etc...though oddly enough not Russian.

To my ear sounds like Liam O' Brien is voicing Infinite, which is great cos he rarely does a poor performance despite sounding basically the same in everything. Past roles include Gaara from Naruto, Caius Ballad from FFXIII, War from Darksiders and Grimoire Weiss from Nier.

Just when you thought Kirkhope couldn't be more endearing.

@JaxonH
Scalpers have got your back man.

Can't help but hear the tail end of song of time from Zelda in the intro of this guys theme.

I enjoyed it quite a lot, despite the fact that the four episode season we got was basically just an introduction to the actual show.
The animation is really well done and very fluid in the action sequences and i'm very pleased with the voice acting too, it's not just american accents in medieval Europe thank god.

It ain't Crush 40 and that's a problem.

I'm still cautiously optimistic for this game, and will inevitably pick it up anyway unless it catastrophically bombs on launch. I would have liked to hear more about the game's performance on switch - gameplay is largely subjective when it comes to Sonic. As far as hidden paths go in the first stage we know already it features the collectable red rings which are usually hard to get and require multiple runs as they're usually on different branches of the stage. While I appreciate this was only a short bash at a demo copy, it feels as though Alex played and wrote about it somewhat reluctantly, as a result the whole article came across very negatively rather than granting a more objective overview of the state of the game, which is a shame really.

@sandman89
From what i've seen it's a co-op style adventure game where you control a human and a troll trying to escape from hunters. It's meant to have puzzles, crafting and stealth aspects, its worth noting that is reviewed pretty poorly having only a 39 on metacritic. From a visuals and design standpoint it looks pretty ugly and is apparantly not very well implemented co-op wise. Also it's already out on like every other platform for cheaper than they'll ask for the switch version (its on steam now for £12, also with lots of negatve reviews)

@Curlynob Understandable, though you didn't actually need to buy anything on credit to be eligible for that deal, could pay immediately with paypal. I also got my switch from there for like £225, they've been good for nintendo stuff thus far.

Mario and Rabbids is £39.85 standard price at ShopTo.

https://www.shopto.net/nintendo/switch/SWMA01-mario-rabbids-kingdom-battle

I actually have Splatoon 2 preordered for £25 myself from Very. Shop around people

Nintendo aren't making the SNES mini to turn a profit, and the low production of both this and the NES mini are intentional. They simply wan't to create a demand, a hype around their product. If you could walk into a store and buy one with no problems whatsoever there wouldn't be a discussion, but here we are talking about it, thus it's doing its job.

I can't say I agree with their methods but as far as I can tell, this is all on purpose to get people talking. People always want what they can't get driving demand. As for why these are limited runs? Virtual console is on the way. Drip feed a sample of the games of offer then snatch it away naturally leading people to virtual iteration of the games. It's not about how well the mini SNES sells but the impact it creates.

@Anti-Matter
Mate, he makes a fair point concerning the prices of Switch games, and, as someone who also invested fairly heavily into the Wii-U the number of ports thus far and games skipping the system despite promising it would come out, will of course lead to frustration and annoyance. Switch games are too expensive at the moment, I don't think anyone would argue that they're not. If you look around you can get a semi-decent price but asking for anything above £40 or so for a new retail release is just taking the piss imo.

Console games in general are getting more expensive, but switch games in particular are demainding high prices currently. I urge everyone to shop around before forking out RRP for anything, many less well known sites offer much better deals than Amazon or Nintendo UK. For those of you in the UK, keep an eye on Hotukdeals.com for good offers, saved me loads of cash in the long run.

Probably grab Radiant Historia as we never got the original in Europe. Strange Journey might be worth a punt too, but Etrian Odyssey is getting kinda stale for me. Persona Q was different enough to hold my interest but overall it's just too repetitive of a series.

Backed this game, it's fantastic - multiple endings, loads of secrets, solid gameplay and beautiful soundtrack but VERY backtrack heavy.

@Damo If you look on their Kickstarter page now they've removed the stretch goals saying they've responded to fan outcry about a lower tier Nintendo switch port, should probably update the article.

This actually looks kinda nice considering it's once again likely to be a budget title.The dude with the halberd looks particularly cool. Graphics aside, it was the poor animations that crippled the first game, if they can make it smooth and keep the gameplay consistent there's no reason this shouldn't be a good little metroidvania and a good fit for the Switch's handheld capabilities.

This is actually a really great game, I loved the steam version. I very rarely double dip but if it has new content and the 3D is nice , I just may have to pick it up again. Very underrated metroidvania with zelda style dungeons.

Looks like a European version of Majin and the forsaken kingdom, though nowhere near as pretty, hope it turns out alright.

This actually looks really nice, and the music seems great too, I'd be very eager to play this on 3ds.

Once again Stella Glow gets omitted from any popular poll. Sorely underrated game and best on the 3ds this year.

All you guys complaining about the lack of a Wii-U release are probably gonna buy a switch anyway, and if you backed it, it's likely that you'll be able to change your pledge to receive a new switch version so ultimately...it's a good thing.

This list isn't bad but if we're including remakes anyway (DQ VII and Soul Hackers) then Xenoblade deserves to be here. More importantly though Stella Glow is one of the best RPG's and best overall games on the system and its absence here is astonishing.

Just bought mine now out of hope/fear it'll be a short print.

FYI, argos also have the new Dragonball Fusions RPG available for pre-order at £25, seems like a very good price to me

http://www.argos.co.uk/product/6005432

I'm currently playing through Sticker Star and there is a really fun game hidden away somewhere in there, but too much of the original Paper Mario formula remains. The way I see it, SS is a lot like a point and click puzzle game with level based platforming and problem solving, and there's nothing wrong with that at all.

As much as I truly love the older Paper Mario games I was even comfortable with this new slant on the franchise but by retaining the turn based combat and shoehorning stickers into that same combat system you get a fun game marred by repetitive, simplistic and unrewarding combat which ruins the pace of the core gameplay which is platforming and puzzle solving.

Honestly, if the game took a more metroidvanian approach to upgrades and combat it would play much smoother and not clash with the level based design. Obviously most of us would have liked another RPG but Paper Mario had to potential to be a new type of puzzle platformer, but by trying to hold on too much to the old games, they ruined what could have been a solid new franchise. The graphics, dialogue and music are all top notch however and are a large part of what's keeping me playing. Hopefully Colour Splash can build on SS and become more of its own entity.

@boatie These types of statues can easily go for upwards of £300-£400 in the second hand market (unlikely this one will). They are limited editions globally and will pretty much always retain their value or inflate over the years. Not only that but they are really well made and great to display. It's a lot of money definitely but it's a solid enough investment provided you buy what you're interested in and don't buy beyond your means.

@Mr-HaXx I was literally just about to type this, even the Nintendo Store page doesn't list them as the manufacturer, which is strange seeing as how they make practically all the polystone Nintendo pieces.

£150 is not a bad price to be fair, that includes free shipping and possible quidco cashback etc. All sold out on their main site now.

Here's hoping this does come out in the west, we could always use more strategy games on the 3DS. I noticed the gameplay featured a fair amount of English voice acting, which is ever so slightly reassuring.

Looks like a placeholder to me, hard to believe they'd leave the background so plain, no to mention they've cut off the top of Luigi's head.

Wonder Boy would be an instant purchase for me. And while I know they'd have to get the licenses from Disney, Quackshot and World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck would be amazing to play again in 3D.

This looks a little too 'inspired' to me - do yourselves a favour and check out Ghost Song