@ClickBrick Here's hoping. Even if they want to veer away from console gimmicks there's no reason why they can't create a more inspired system UI. The switch has all the artistry and aesthetic of ***** retroarch lol, and customizability was a massive step down from the 3DS (even the Wii U).
And yeah, I really hope they start moving away from "the thing we did before again" with the Switch 2 (though by name alone it's safe to assume that won't be the case). Even after excluding all the ports and remasters, you get a library that feels light on innovative ideas, the thing that Nintendo prided itself on up to the previous generation. Some fresh concepts with a bit less reliance on established IPs going forward would certainly be welcome.
The sheer downgrade of 'personality' (for lack of a better term off the top of my head) from the 3DS / Wii U to the Switch is a bummer, but obviously not the nail in the coffin. I think the best argument you could make about the Switch generation being the worst (so far) is that too many of their new games are either half-baked or iterative of older titles.
Not to say that these games are bad, most of them are quite good, sometimes great. But there aren't many switch games I can praise without some sort of caveat, most often being that there's a better version of said game made 10-20 years ago.
Yep, a toddler is going to struggle with a video game, probably even the easiest video game you could offer them. This is an age barrier, not a difficulty barrier. Try again in 3 years and try not to control the way she plays. No one likes a backseat gamer.
@KingMike I think you're right, Chronicles I believe is an enhanced port of Eternal made for the PSP, which then got re-released on Steam. There's a lot of versions of Ys I&II, it's hard to keep track lol. But yeah, the Ys I&II remake is even older than I said it was.
The guy I was responding to didn't and still hasn't explained how Chronicles ruined the original gameplay. And tbh considering he described it as a "luck based dungeon crawler RPG", I can only assume he has Ys confused with something else.
Only problem I can think of is that tracks may be designed to be super wide and chunky to accommodate a pack of 24 racers, which could lead to a dull collection of tracks. But we'll just have to wait and see.
Finishing up Resident Evil 2 before I jump back into Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I've dedicated myself to unlocking all the extra modes in the 1998 RE2, which means I have another full playthrough on my hands to unlock the Tofu Survivor, but I decided to take a break from it and play the remake.
Comparing the original to the remake (that was the point of me playing them now after all), the remake suffers with a heavily disjointed story and a completely different atmosphere that I find inferior to the original. But the new combat system offers a very different experience that's excellent in its own right. Resource management and choosing which enemies to put down is MUCH more prevalent in RE2R, alongside a greatly improved threat with Mr. X. It does a good job capturing the spirit of the original despite failing in other areas. Which (like I mentioned in the last weekend post) is a far cry from the Silent Hill 2 Remake, which I think is inferior to its source material in every way. So uh... Resident Evil 2 (original & remake) is a big recommend lol, if you've somehow not already played it.
@Serpenterror Ngl not really getting what it is you're trying to say. My favorites in the series are I, II, & IV, which all feature the earliest style of gameplay this series had to offer. Are you saying Ys I & II Chronicles, and Dawn of Ys are the worst versions of their respective numbers? And how do they "ruin the original experience with modern gameplay"? Dawn of Ys isn't even a remake, it's the ORIGINAL Ys IV along with Mask of the Sun (which is a horrid game). This is of course even more confusing coming from someone who says "Ys wasn't good until VIII (2016) and the remakes". Which remakes? Oath in Felghana (2005)? Ys I & II Chronicles (2009)? Memories of Celceta (2012)? All of the remakes predate Ys VIII by quite a bit and two of them offer completely different gameplay experiences.
Please clarify your argument here, because right now it just sounds like you're saying Nintendo = better, which is not compelling to me whatsoever.
People keep saying it's the movie design but it looks more inspired by DK Jr's sprite in the first Mario Kart.
So if I had to guess it's an art style change for this game only, or maybe the Mario spin off games in general. In that context I like it, but I couldn't see myself playing a DKC game with that Kong.
To start off with a positive, I've played through MiSide twice. It's an incredibly charming little horror game, though clearly not quite finished yet. The game has been making rounds across the internet so I'm sure it needs no introduction, but it's a recommend for me. On the negative side I FINALLY got through the Silent Hill 2 Remake and my worries before playing were ultimately founded. The game is a tedious slog, nearly tripling the original game's runtime and adding incredibly little of value. The previously brisk pace and tightly designed levels are bogged down by an extreme emphasis on combat (which is far from good enough to be as prevalent as it is), and nonsensical geometry that has you regularly squeezing through cracks in the wall, pushing carts around, and crawling through gaps in the floor so you never really have your bearings in a place. The latter may not sound like a problem, but the way you're going about is an entirely linear stretch and I found myself very often forgetting what my current objective even was due to long gaps of time dedicated to meandering. The remake sadly doesn't do the story any justice either. While it does stay close to the original script, Blooper Team really dropped the ball on voice direction, with Mary/Maria's VA in particular delivering her lines in a very theater actor kind of cadence, which tended to remove all emotion or tension from scenes involving her (which if you know, is incredibly disappointing). All this is to say I think Konami was less interested in properly remaking SH2 and more interested in having their own RE2R. And some combination of poor concept and poor choice of studio led to an ultimately shallow and inferior copy of both that fails to hold up to its inspirations and fails to be a good game in its own right. Not a recommend.
Sorry about the rant, NOW I'm currently playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance in anticipation of its sequel. I haven't put much time into it yet, but I definitely get the impression it'll be the kind of game I devote a bit of my life to due to all the systems at play. Medieval Simulator is an apt description for it so far lol, but it does have its own story to tell, and its devotion to a historical setting really sucks you into the game fast.
Also, just to be fair to SH2R, I started playing Resident Evil 2 to compare with RE2R afterwards. I consider both to be masterpieces, and am putting that to the test. There's only a two month period between my first playthrough of SH2 and SH2R, so both games are currently fresh in my mind, but the gap between my RE2 playthroughs are 7 years apart, with an additional five years since I played the remake. Let's see what happens.
This game is extremely fun and challenging. High recommendation to anyone who wants a breath of fresh air from the current action game mold every studio is using right now.
No surprise seeing Dragon Quest up top. Pretty hyped to see what they do with the I&II remake next year, DQI is a personal darling of mine I made a bit of a comic series about it last year. No doubt it'll be the top of Japan's charts in 2025 too.
Well I finally finished Dragon Quest III, my team was a bit too cracked for the final boss to put up much of a fight.
Arus - Hero LV59
Milky - Gadabout to Sage back to Gadabout (for exclusive skills) back to Sage again and finally settled into a Thief LV45ish
Garland - Mage to Sage LV54
Ralph - Monster Wrangler to Martial Artist LV50ish
Xenlon was kind of a pain, defeated in 44 turns, didn't feel like grinding to improve that number.
This weekend I'm gonna finish up Victory Heat Rally. Addictive little arcade racer, easy recommend to fans of the genre. Also gonna play through MiSide, a horror game dressed up as a dating sim, I was lucky enough to catch a bit of it on YouTube before getting it myself.
Also might start Silent Hill 2 Remake with my brother, been looking forward to that one though I'm worried all the new stuff might be superfluous and ruin the brisk pacing of the original.
Oh, and I played Mouthwashing the other night. It was okay, had a decent story but started to veer into walking sim territory with there not being much game to it ultimately.
I think it being a bit of viral success led to it attracting a certain kind of community that hard focuses on particular aspects let's say and makes it out to be more than it is. But that's not the fault of the game itself obviously. It's not bad, play it if you're in the mood for some horror with a side of misery.
@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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Comments 693
Re: Mailbox: Switch 2 Caution, Unpopular Opinions, Easy Games - Nintendo Life Letters
@ClickBrick Here's hoping. Even if they want to veer away from console gimmicks there's no reason why they can't create a more inspired system UI. The switch has all the artistry and aesthetic of ***** retroarch lol, and customizability was a massive step down from the 3DS (even the Wii U).
And yeah, I really hope they start moving away from "the thing we did before again" with the Switch 2 (though by name alone it's safe to assume that won't be the case). Even after excluding all the ports and remasters, you get a library that feels light on innovative ideas, the thing that Nintendo prided itself on up to the previous generation. Some fresh concepts with a bit less reliance on established IPs going forward would certainly be welcome.
Re: Mailbox: Switch 2 Caution, Unpopular Opinions, Easy Games - Nintendo Life Letters
The sheer downgrade of 'personality' (for lack of a better term off the top of my head) from the 3DS / Wii U to the Switch is a bummer, but obviously not the nail in the coffin.
I think the best argument you could make about the Switch generation being the worst (so far) is that too many of their new games are either half-baked or iterative of older titles.
Not to say that these games are bad, most of them are quite good, sometimes great. But there aren't many switch games I can praise without some sort of caveat, most often being that there's a better version of said game made 10-20 years ago.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (25th January)
I'm kingdom coming after those beastly Cumans. Kunesh is next. Jesus Christ be praised!
Re: Opinion: My Daughter Made Me Realise That Mario Wonder's Difficulty Options Need Work
Yep, a toddler is going to struggle with a video game, probably even the easiest video game you could offer them. This is an age barrier, not a difficulty barrier. Try again in 3 years and try not to control the way she plays. No one likes a backseat gamer.
Re: EA's Share Price Plummets After Reports Of Disappointing Financial Performance
Removed
Re: Atelier Yumia Dives Into Motorbike Riding And Base Building In New Trailer
@ArcticEcho "Trust me bro" - ^
Re: Balatro Dev Urges Fans To Buy More Indie Games As Title Hits 5 Million Units Sold
Basically where all the true gems are coming from nowadays.
Re: Team Cherry Reconfirms Hollow Knight: Silksong Is Actually Real In Small Development Update
2036 LET'S GOOOOOOOO
Re: Best Ys Games Of All Time - Switch And Nintendo Systems
@KingMike I think you're right, Chronicles I believe is an enhanced port of Eternal made for the PSP, which then got re-released on Steam. There's a lot of versions of Ys I&II, it's hard to keep track lol. But yeah, the Ys I&II remake is even older than I said it was.
The guy I was responding to didn't and still hasn't explained how Chronicles ruined the original gameplay. And tbh considering he described it as a "luck based dungeon crawler RPG", I can only assume he has Ys confused with something else.
Re: Poll: So, How Would You Feel About 24 Racers In Mario Kart 9?
Only problem I can think of is that tracks may be designed to be super wide and chunky to accommodate a pack of 24 racers, which could lead to a dull collection of tracks. But we'll just have to wait and see.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (18th January)
Finishing up Resident Evil 2 before I jump back into Kingdom Come: Deliverance. I've dedicated myself to unlocking all the extra modes in the 1998 RE2, which means I have another full playthrough on my hands to unlock the Tofu Survivor, but I decided to take a break from it and play the remake.
Comparing the original to the remake (that was the point of me playing them now after all), the remake suffers with a heavily disjointed story and a completely different atmosphere that I find inferior to the original. But the new combat system offers a very different experience that's excellent in its own right. Resource management and choosing which enemies to put down is MUCH more prevalent in RE2R, alongside a greatly improved threat with Mr. X. It does a good job capturing the spirit of the original despite failing in other areas. Which (like I mentioned in the last weekend post) is a far cry from the Silent Hill 2 Remake, which I think is inferior to its source material in every way.
So uh... Resident Evil 2 (original & remake) is a big recommend lol, if you've somehow not already played it.
Re: Best Ys Games Of All Time - Switch And Nintendo Systems
@Serpenterror Ngl not really getting what it is you're trying to say. My favorites in the series are I, II, & IV, which all feature the earliest style of gameplay this series had to offer. Are you saying Ys I & II Chronicles, and Dawn of Ys are the worst versions of their respective numbers? And how do they "ruin the original experience with modern gameplay"? Dawn of Ys isn't even a remake, it's the ORIGINAL Ys IV along with Mask of the Sun (which is a horrid game).
This is of course even more confusing coming from someone who says "Ys wasn't good until VIII (2016) and the remakes". Which remakes? Oath in Felghana (2005)? Ys I & II Chronicles (2009)? Memories of Celceta (2012)? All of the remakes predate Ys VIII by quite a bit and two of them offer completely different gameplay experiences.
Please clarify your argument here, because right now it just sounds like you're saying Nintendo = better, which is not compelling to me whatsoever.
Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of Donkey Kong's Redesign In Mario Kart 9?
People keep saying it's the movie design but it looks more inspired by DK Jr's sprite in the first Mario Kart.
So if I had to guess it's an art style change for this game only, or maybe the Mario spin off games in general. In that context I like it, but I couldn't see myself playing a DKC game with that Kong.
Re: Anniversary: Resident Evil 4, One Of The Greatest Games Ever Made, Turns 20
20 years of not thanking the bro
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (11th January)
To start off with a positive, I've played through MiSide twice. It's an incredibly charming little horror game, though clearly not quite finished yet. The game has been making rounds across the internet so I'm sure it needs no introduction, but it's a recommend for me.
On the negative side I FINALLY got through the Silent Hill 2 Remake and my worries before playing were ultimately founded. The game is a tedious slog, nearly tripling the original game's runtime and adding incredibly little of value. The previously brisk pace and tightly designed levels are bogged down by an extreme emphasis on combat (which is far from good enough to be as prevalent as it is), and nonsensical geometry that has you regularly squeezing through cracks in the wall, pushing carts around, and crawling through gaps in the floor so you never really have your bearings in a place. The latter may not sound like a problem, but the way you're going about is an entirely linear stretch and I found myself very often forgetting what my current objective even was due to long gaps of time dedicated to meandering.
The remake sadly doesn't do the story any justice either. While it does stay close to the original script, Blooper Team really dropped the ball on voice direction, with Mary/Maria's VA in particular delivering her lines in a very theater actor kind of cadence, which tended to remove all emotion or tension from scenes involving her (which if you know, is incredibly disappointing). All this is to say I think Konami was less interested in properly remaking SH2 and more interested in having their own RE2R. And some combination of poor concept and poor choice of studio led to an ultimately shallow and inferior copy of both that fails to hold up to its inspirations and fails to be a good game in its own right. Not a recommend.
Sorry about the rant, NOW I'm currently playing Kingdom Come: Deliverance in anticipation of its sequel. I haven't put much time into it yet, but I definitely get the impression it'll be the kind of game I devote a bit of my life to due to all the systems at play. Medieval Simulator is an apt description for it so far lol, but it does have its own story to tell, and its devotion to a historical setting really sucks you into the game fast.
Also, just to be fair to SH2R, I started playing Resident Evil 2 to compare with RE2R afterwards. I consider both to be masterpieces, and am putting that to the test.
There's only a two month period between my first playthrough of SH2 and SH2R, so both games are currently fresh in my mind, but the gap between my RE2 playthroughs are 7 years apart, with an additional five years since I played the remake. Let's see what happens.
Re: Review: Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana (Switch) - An Excellent 'Less Is More' Entry In The Long-Running Series
This game is extremely fun and challenging. High recommendation to anyone who wants a breath of fresh air from the current action game mold every studio is using right now.
Re: Review: Ys Memoire: The Oath In Felghana (Switch) - An Excellent 'Less Is More' Entry In The Long-Running Series
@the_beaver Ys V. SFC only and they haven't remade it yet, which I bet they'll do at some point.
Re: Nintendo Reveals Japan's "Top 30" Most Downloaded Switch eShop Games Of 2024
Suika "Where has my 30+ hours gone" Game stays winning.
Re: Here's Another Look At Sonic's DC Crossover Comic Series
Batman: This is where I watched my parent's die, Shadow.
Shadow: hmph Weak.
Re: Japanese Game Creators Reveal Their "Top 20" Video Games Of 2024
No surprise seeing Dragon Quest up top. Pretty hyped to see what they do with the I&II remake next year, DQI is a personal darling of mine I made a bit of a comic series about it last year.
No doubt it'll be the top of Japan's charts in 2025 too.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (New Year Edition)
Well I finally finished Dragon Quest III, my team was a bit too cracked for the final boss to put up much of a fight.
Arus - Hero LV59
Milky - Gadabout to Sage back to Gadabout (for exclusive skills) back to Sage again and finally settled into a Thief LV45ish
Garland - Mage to Sage LV54
Ralph - Monster Wrangler to Martial Artist LV50ish
Xenlon was kind of a pain, defeated in 44 turns, didn't feel like grinding to improve that number.
This weekend I'm gonna finish up Victory Heat Rally. Addictive little arcade racer, easy recommend to fans of the genre. Also gonna play through MiSide, a horror game dressed up as a dating sim, I was lucky enough to catch a bit of it on YouTube before getting it myself.
Also might start Silent Hill 2 Remake with my brother, been looking forward to that one though I'm worried all the new stuff might be superfluous and ruin the brisk pacing of the original.
Oh, and I played Mouthwashing the other night. It was okay, had a decent story but started to veer into walking sim territory with there not being much game to it ultimately.
I think it being a bit of viral success led to it attracting a certain kind of community that hard focuses on particular aspects let's say and makes it out to be more than it is. But that's not the fault of the game itself obviously. It's not bad, play it if you're in the mood for some horror with a side of misery.
Re: New Fire Emblem: Three Houses Good Smile Figure Announced, Pre-Orders Live
@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.
Re: New Fire Emblem: Three Houses Good Smile Figure Announced, Pre-Orders Live
$200 and they couldn't have picked a more interesting pose? Her arms are 15 degrees south of T-posing lol
Re: Sega Is "Evaluating" Its Own Netflix-Style Subscription Service
@StewdaMegaManNerd Hey Scott, All here.
Re: Sega Is "Evaluating" Its Own Netflix-Style Subscription Service
You're telling me I can pay $12.99 a month to play Sonic 2 and Columns? WHERE DO I SIGN UP!!?
Re: Sorry, But There Are "Currently No Plans" For A Unicorn Overlord Sequel Or DLC
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.
Re: Opinion: At Last, Vanillaware Hit The Big Time With Unicorn Overlord
Absolute masterpiece of a game and an incredibly close second for my GotY. 100 hrs well spent!
Re: Metacritic Reveals "The Worst Video Games Of 2024"
@Arcane-Fer Review sites tend to treat AAA games more favorably even if they suck.
Re: Masayuki Kato, Founder Of Nihon Falcom, Has Passed Away
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.
Re: Talking Point: Is It Time For HD-2D To Take A Break?
I see we're going to regurgitate this same article before and after every major release now huh
Re: Gallery: Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound Screenshots Show Off "Razor Sharp Pixel Art Excellence"
Absolutely ***** gorgeous sprite art and they got the two best possible teams for this kind of game. Can't wait.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (14th December)
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.
Re: Okami Sequel Announced, Will Be Directed By Hideki Kamiya
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.
Re: Bandai Namco Unveils New Pac-Man Game, And It's Probably Not What You Expect
"THIS AIN'T YOUR DAD'S PAC-MAN"
This game looks like its been displaced in time for 20+ years.
Re: Michel Ancel Says Beyond Good & Evil 2 Development Issues Due To "Problems Between Managers"
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.
Re: Rate Your Favourite Switch Games Of The Year 2024
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.
Re: Rate Your Favourite Switch Games Of The Year 2024
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.
Re: Rumour: One Of Kirby's 3DS Titles Will Return Next Year, It's Claimed
@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.
Re: Rumour: One Of Kirby's 3DS Titles Will Return Next Year, It's Claimed
Nice if true, I gifted my 3DS copy to someone else so this will be a definite get!
Re: Ubisoft Reportedly Discussing Buyout Options As Talks Of Going Private Continue
How about entertaining options of them going out of business.
Re: Video: Let's Discuss The Big Question: What The Heck Is Happening At Nintendo Right Now?
"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.
Re: Gallery: Feast Your Eyes On This Massive Wario Collection
That whole section of the room reeks of garlic.
Re: Random: Did Street Fighter 6's Next DLC Just Reference Sakurai's Famous Smash Quote? Some Fans Think So
More games should feature Terry Bogard and Mai Shiranui. Like, maybe even ALL games.
Re: Talking Point: What Would Be The Ideal Way To Play DS Games On 'Switch 2'?
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.
Re: Random: Guilty Gear Strive's Latest Update Apparently Censors "Inappropriate Angles"
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.
Re: Poll: Was The Nintendo DS Prototype Really So Ugly?
It absolutely is.
Re: Soapbox: How Nintendo Unexpectedly Taught Me To Love Gacha Games
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.
Re: Best Dragon Quest Games Of All Time - Switch And Nintendo Systems
Infinity Strash at the bottom where it belongs, the world is at peace.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake?
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.
Re: Atelier Yumia Shows Off Key Art And Second Official Trailer
@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.