Kingy

@mlt Keep in mind Three Houses has four main characters while Engage ultimately has the one, which they've already made a figure for. I highly doubt they don't have at least an Ivy figure planned down the pipeline, if not Alfred, Diamant, & Timerra too.

$200 and they couldn't have picked a more interesting pose? Her arms are 15 degrees south of T-posing lol

@StewdaMegaManNerd Hey Scott, All here.

You're telling me I can pay $12.99 a month to play Sonic 2 and Columns? WHERE DO I SIGN UP!!?

It would be cool to get a sequel, but Unicorn Overlord is already a complete package in terms of the ideas and mechanics on display. There's not too much room for improvement here and I think a UO2 would amount to an iteration, the same thing again with slight differences and new story/characters.
Not that there's anything wrong with iterative sequels (if they're good) but they do kinda dilute the waters.

And I believe in a world of so many franchises being kept on life support, constantly carted back on stage to capitalize on a brand (oh hello Indiana Jones, hello Jurassic Park, hello Alien, hello Ghostbusters), there's A LOT of value and for me a hell of a lot of respect when studios like Vanillaware put out a quality game and just move on to something new.

Absolute masterpiece of a game and an incredibly close second for my GotY. 100 hrs well spent!

@Arcane-Fer Review sites tend to treat AAA games more favorably even if they suck.

78 is too soon. This man is responsible for one of the strongest lineup of games ever made under a single name and serves as inspiration for countless others. Thanks for everything you've done.

I see we're going to regurgitate this same article before and after every major release now huh

Absolutely ***** gorgeous sprite art and they got the two best possible teams for this kind of game. Can't wait.

Might just finish up DQIII, I'm pretty much near the end of it. Played Crow Country three times in a row this week, high recommendations for that one if you haven't played it, very charming survival horror game. I plan on getting through some shorter 2024 games over the remaining weekends of the year. This weekend will either be Mouthwashing or Victory Heat Rally.
But... I see it... Metaphor looms over the horizon... It's an ATLUS game, so I know I'm gonna be here for six thousand hours.

The one time in the show where I had a pulse (after Ninja Gaiden). I still need to finish the original.

Edit Wait I remember leaning forward in my chair and exclaiming "ONIMUSHA!?" So three things.

"THIS AIN'T YOUR DAD'S PAC-MAN"
This game looks like its been displaced in time for 20+ years.

So pretty much exactly what everyone was thinking. Horribly mismanaged project due to too many cooks being in the kitchen. And also of course the scope of the game being way too big.

You'll never catch me saying that 'games were better back then', I think the amount of high-quality video games coming out every year is higher than ever. But I could definitely do without the same piece of ***** slop adventure game coming out every year that fails to get even basic mechanics right like stealth and dialogue trees, stuff that was mastered 25+ years ago on more primitive hardware, it's pathetic.

Oh, and for the memes

Silent Hill: The Short Message (3)
Pathetic walking simulator wearing the second most iconic horror franchise as a mask to feign validity. Story and themes have all the subtlety of a brick house falling on top of you. Suicide hotline unironically pops up every 20 mins like this game's childish storytelling is really so deep and moving it would heal your depression. ***** off.
Horror segments are the same everytime, you run through maze-like hallways from some walmart brand PT monster. Feels like an afterthought, like they forgot they were making a horror game 85% in and threw together some boring ass chase sequence and copy/pasted it four times for each chapter. The game is free, I'll grant it that much, but it's seriously not worth the time.

Didn't play a whole lot of new games this year and only one of them was on my switch, but here's the list.

GOTY - Emio - The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club (9)
Has one of the best stories ever told in video games/ maybe even ever, and all the jank associated with the remakes (due to them coming from the 80s tbf) is completely gone.

2. Unicorn Overlord (9)
Incredibly fun and addictive tactics game. The fact that I had dedicated multiple nights to just optimizing my team comps and ai is a ringing endorsement for how in depth you can get.
Between this, Triangle Strategy, and Engage, strategy games are in a really good place right now.

3. Zenless Zone Zero (7) Not on switch
Gacha game with a really fun combat system, a surprising amount of gameplay variety outside of the combat, and playable characters that actually feel meaningfully distinct from each other. I've played it every single day since release with a total of 350hrs clocked in so far, obviously I'm going to have a high opinion of it. But, like I said before, it IS a gacha game, buyer beware.

4. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (7)
I haven't finished this one yet but it's basically just a better looking version of the SFC remake with most of the content retained, and a little bit of new content. Seems quite a bit easier too (playing on Draconian Quest btw) but that could just be because I over-optimized expecting a greater challenge than I'm currently getting. I'm ranking it just above where I ranked the SFC remake for now.

5. Stellar Blade (7) Not on switch
High marks for the super fun combat and enemy variety, and a crazy amount of unlockable costumes / cosmetics for the main protagonist. World traversal is a bit jank and the story is a drag but otherwise I'd say its a pretty.......... stellar........ game.

6. Granblue Fantasy Relink (7) Not on Switch
Super addictive action RPG / Monster Hunter-lite with a gargantuan cast of characters. Story is nothing to write home about but there are some really awesome set pieces within it. Everything after the story is pure uncut MH crack cocaine and I had a hard time putting it down. Good stuff.

Wanna try and get to some more stuff before the year ends but ultimately I'd say this is a preeeeety handsome lineup.

@obijuankanoobie I'd kill for an Uprising port or remaster, but I wouldn't hold my breath for it. Honestly if you're interested and own a 3DS you should just get the original.
The controls are different, not bad. You'll get accustomed to them by the time you finish the opening hours and everything feels pretty intuitive. It's one of the best games ever made.

Nice if true, I gifted my 3DS copy to someone else so this will be a definite get!

How about entertaining options of them going out of business.

"What the heck! This is so strange, what's going on!?!?!?"
As if you haven't seen this at the tail-end of every single previous console generation.

That whole section of the room reeks of garlic.

More games should feature Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui. Like, maybe even ALL games.

Unless the game didn't require touch controls the vertical switch layout is gonna be the way to go. I doubt that's what we're gonna get if they ever do DS games online. Expect butchered port-jobs.

Censorship cheer squad not doing too hot on this one. C'mon guys, defend the slop! Tell us all about how the game's better now like we haven't been through this same cycle ad nauseum since the 90s.

It absolutely is.

I played Fire Emblem Heroes on and off for a few months. FE probably has my favorite line up of characters out of any franchise but the game still couldn't hold legs for me, it's really shallow.
I recommend just importing the trading cards (idk if that's still reasonable though the TCGs been defunct since 2020) if you need a FE flavored kick to your gambling addiction.
I can't really say I'm fully against gacha games cause I've been playing Zenless Zone Zero every day since it released, but I'm aware of the predatory tactics it and most others employ to get you to spend ludicrous amounts of money on tiny amounts of content.
Needless to say my love of ZZZ does not translate to a love for gacha games, it's just a singular game I find fun enough to push through the gacha mechanics. But I think @nessisonett nailed it on the head, Nintendo could serve up the exact same predatory slop that all the other slimeball companies put out and there will always be a contingent of fans who will say it's okay when they do it.

Infinity Strash at the bottom where it belongs, the world is at peace.

Well I think the SFC version is a solid 7 so at least that unless there's something titanicly wrong with the remake, which I don't believe there is. Could be higher but I have to get to it first.

@UltimateOtaku91 Good to know. So far I've played the first Ryza, Marie & Elie, the Marie remake, and when I was a kid I played Meruru. So pretty scattershot lol.
I own Ryza 2 & 3 so those are next on the docket other than this new game.

@UltimateOtaku91 Which one / trilogy would you say is the best of them?

I'm assuming this rule was made specifically for Elden Ring DLC. I don't mind it, there are a lot of DLC expansions that are basically their own game. I enjoyed Octo Expansion way more than I enjoyed the rest of Splatoon 2, the best of these deserve recognition.

@Serpenterror Street Fighter II on the other hand will just continue to cheat and take your money until you give up.

@Polvasti I recommend V, VIII, and XI for that. I can't speak on the additions, but the base III experience basically has no overarching story or characters. Protagonist is completely mute, your party members are custom made and have no relevance to the story whatsoever. And all the side characters only exist within their self-contained sub plot and are super thin.
DQIII is definitely a more gameplay oriented kind of experience.
You could also give IX a shot, it's going for the same thing III is going for with the customizable protagonist and party but the story and side characters are a bit more involved.

I haven't gotten my hands on it yet but from what I've seen from an early game playthrough the combat looks fun but the story / dialogue is pretty shallow (seems to be lacking the wit of previous entries too).
But that's just from me watching the opening hours so far too early to guess where I'd place it.

Don't play Overwatch myself but I'm calling it, they're testing the waters on it now and 6v6 will become the standard mode again in the future.

I love the color palette for the first Warioware. More muted, invokes a totally different vibe from Mario. Kinda like how the original Donkey Kong Country games looked a bit dark and moody, then you have Yoshi's Island which goes in the complete opposite direction.
Nowadays ALL of these series take the same bright and vibrant approach Mario does, which is fine, but it was cool for a time when they looked like their own unique thing.

When did this start happening? I know I've bought Nintendo games through Amazon before but its been a while since I used the site.
This was an issue when I was trying to get ahold of Famicom Detective Club, Amazon didn't have it and I wound up surfing local game stops scrounging for a single copy. But I only assumed that was the case cause it was a niche game.

Spoilers for what!? Lol DQIII doesn't really have a story so much as it has a series of mini scenarios from town to town. I guess there's a bit of a surprise like 70% through the game but new players aren't gonna have any context for that because you're releasing the third game before the first.
Idk I guess they're talking about the new stuff they're adding, otherwise putting a spoiler ban on DQIII is just plain nonsense.

Big Mario has been trying to censor Luigi for years for they're own nefarious purposes and we're just gonna let them!?

Look at them LYING!

Alright to anyone reading sound off. Which year has the best lineup?
Emio is my favorite game on here and 2023 was pretty strong but I STILL think 2017 has gone unrivaled.

I'm surprised Intelligent Systems isn't on here. Always thought they were in the same category as Monolith and Retro.

Considering how consistent Nintendo's output is this seems to be the way to go. I mean for Christ sake look at all the companies Microsoft bought up and years later there's like hardly anything to show for it. Sony fares a lot better but still struggles to match the same consistency as Nintendo. Not to mention a big chunk of Sony's library are just exclusivity deals, stuff like Final Fantasy and Stellar Blade will be multi-plat one day and people will stop counting them as a reason to buy Playstations.

I really appreciate this interview. There's a certain mindset you have to have when devoting yourself to large project, especially when you're working it alone. None of us have infinite time and many projects never leave the ground because the author can't or isn't willing to spend the time required to make it happen.

So this is particularly valuable, getting the perspective from someone who's giant solo project was a huge success, and there's not really a secret to it, he just put the work in. And even though the game was technically finished years ago he still can't pull away from it. Idk, something about that I find very relatable, stuff like this (Sakurai's detailed breakdown on how he created his youtube channel is another fantastic view into a creator's perspective) makes going at my own projects just a little bit easier.

Bro's built the Arwing and the Great Fox irl, I already know it. He's probably got it in his basement.

Basically just deciding between a brand new RPG that could go one way or the other or a remake of an old RPG I already know is good.

@Zeebor15 Hey! #NOTALLTTYDFANS, thank you! I happen to love all sorts of games, anime or otherwise. None of them are called Sticker Star, Color Splash, or Origami King is all

@Simone93 Right, it's just so little to go off in a very short span of time.
As for the new project, they only have him as a consultant but if the people involved are the same guys who did Origins and Legends it should be a good one.
I suppose I would be interested what they would do with a remake of the original Rayman (I think that's what was rumored earlier last month) but I agree, I'd prefer something brand new and preferably 3D.

@Bigmanfan I never made the claim that it was true or false. I agree, it would be embarrassing to come to a definitive conclusion with such little information on hand.

@Bigmanfan The theory you've concocted in your head is formed by a single unsubstantiated quote from four years ago and that's it.

@Bigmanfan Again, it is as much information as you have and you're the one making all the definitive claims.

@Bigmanfan Yes, it is outlandish. The reports of wrong-doing are incredibly thin, have been sourced by a single quote that is NOT corroborated (at this time, 4 years after the fact) by anyone that was working under Ancel at Ubisoft. Kind of strange considering that as soon as the sexual harassment allegations against Gbinigie came forward plenty more staff followed with their own.

I can't find much of relevance on Liberation magazine but it doesn't seem like they have an amazing reputation among French readers. They are #10 for most-trusted media brand in France and have been reporting losses since 1998. Here is a single quote I found relating to the Ancel article.

• fyi here in France, Libération is often known for being on the "gotcha journalism" side. Several journalists from it have been accused to go as far as harass people online. - some redditor

This is hardly much to go on to reach a conclusion of Liberation being a bad news outlet, but it's as much 'evidence' as you have to say Ancel is a bad person.
You can believe whatever you want to believe just don't spread misinformation like Kotaku and claim there's more evidence than there actually is. You're conjecting, that's all.

If you want my conjecture, Beyond Good & Evil 2 isn't out and will never be out (at least not as it was originally advertised) because it was an overly ambitious project created by one of the most infamously disorganized companies known to man. But I couldn't tell you that as a fact because I lack evidence.