@waveboy Hard disagree on the PS2 era being when gaming lost its smile. Development was still cheap enough that we’d get wild swings like Katamari. Also, the handhelds in that time, with the DS and PSP facing off, gave us some of the most innovative titles that we are yet to see the likes of again.
PS3 era, on the other hand, was when we entered the dreary grey-brown shooter world, and gaming - on home consoles at least - really did stop smiling. Didn’t help that the PS3 had such awkward architecture, I guess.
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Starfield and Mother 3 … are all about as likely as Silksong.
I like the Nindies Directs - they basically never give you what you were hoping for, but throw up something entirely new that you didn’t even know was out there. Here’s hoping.
Finally more or less 100% completed Neo: The World Ends With You, so I’ve gone back to my beloved 3DS in the week the servers shut down. I’m playing Cave Story 3D, which is great. I’m slightly surprised by how much story there is, as I thought it was going to be a fairly basic Metroidvania. Instead it’s almost like a pixel Dust: An Elysian Tale.
Amused by how many others, like me, had DQVII in their backlog without knowing it had DLC. Mildly peeved by how badly signposted it was. Probably wouldn’t have bothered with it anyway - as others have pointed out, it’s a long enough game anyway.
There’s no way this isn’t coming to the Mega Switch 2, right? DQ and Nintendo handhelds go together like rhubarb and custard.
I fully expect DQXII to be on the launch list of titles for the Switch successor. And then take another couple of years (or more) to release on it, just like with DQXI.
@mlt I take your point, but just don’t know if I agree. Technical limitations aren’t a good explanation for turn-based combat, and certainly not by the time we get to fourth-generation consoles, because plenty of programmers had already shown you could just do an action RPG. Look at Ys, for example. OK, maybe nobody had really worked out how to do it for party combat at that point (the first Tales game was a year later), but maybe turn-based is actually just the best way to do party combat? It’s no coincidence that the more action-based FF has become as a franchise, the less party-based it has become, reaching its apotheosis in FFXVI.
@PLATINUM7 That was super interesting, thank you. I’ll lend the original comment the benefit of a doubt then. Even if I personally dispute that turn-based combat is purely a side-effect from technical limitations - and even Ito says he was always intending to avoid a hard action element. And he was thinking in terms of setting plays in the NFL, which is about as turn-based and chess-like as professional sport gets.
You can definitely see how he ended up with the gambit system in FFXII. Cool interview.
“Just as turn-based combat and overworlds came about to circumvent the limitations of early console generations” - what? What do technical limitations have to do with turn-based combat? Turn-based combat has been an intrinsic part of role-playing games since the very first table-top versions. Has absolutely nothing to do with technical limitations.
But yeah, the opera scene rules. Square has always been a leader in bringing a filmic vision to gaming.
I know he’s a divisive figure, but a Peter Molyneux retrospective would be brilliant. We’d get to hear how he came to believe all his promises during the development process for games that sometimes never quite delivered - but are still among the most interesting of their day.
Where’s Ghost Trick? It’s my favourite Capcom game! That said, I don’t want a direct sequel with the same characters, just another game as weird and interesting
Nope. Nope nope nope. Played the iOS version of Corpse Party many years back. It’s brilliant. Very dark, sometimes funny, superbly voiced and deeply deeply unsettling. Hated it in the best possible way. Wouldn’t recommend. 10/10.
I voted for Elite, because that game was light years ahead of its time. Open world, 3D space combat, trading, bounty hunting. And all in so few kilobytes that wouldn’t even be enough for a gif today.
It’s a public vote, so I expect Resident Evil to win the popularity contest, but all these games deserve to be in the hall of fame eventually. Apart from You Don’t Know Jack, maybe - never even heard of that game.
For a new IP in a niche genre, those Unicorn Overlord sales are far, far better than I thought they’d be. Atlus barely gets that for SMT, let alone a dense, menu-laden Vanillaware RTS with an apparently mediocre story.
Just shows that reviews and word of mouth still count for something, and a good game can get the sales it deserves.
Where to start?! So many great Atlus games, including maybe the best SMT, 4 Apocalypse; the Persona Q games; the two SMT Devil Survivors; Radiant Historia; Stella Glow; the Etrian Odyssey Origins games…
Then there’s the 999 trilogy; DKC Returns; Metroid Samus Returns; Dragon Quest VII and VIII; Bravely Default and Second Layer; the best Fire Emblem (Awakenings) and two very good ones (Echoes and Fates; three Zeldas (OoT, MM and Link Between Worlds); Tales of Abyss; Rhythm Heaven…
Fortunately, I’ve got pretty much all of these still on my 3DS, and have only played about half of them. Such a great system.
The DS Castlevanias could do with an escape, though.
Game selling Octopath Traveller II for £19.99 seems to have added some sales in the past couple of weeks. Certainly did the trick for me, though I was always going to get it at some point.
@EVIL-C You’re not wrong about the fanboys with paycheques, but it is journalism to report the facts of layoffs with company statements. It’s straight reporting. Analysis is something else, which you wouldn’t usually find within the report, which is meant to be impartial.
And TBF, games journalism is a lot better than it used to be. Plenty of sites will feature reports where they speak to fired workers, commentary on why they believe these layoffs are happening, and yes, analysis.
This is why Bloomberg has hired people from sites like Kotaku.
(I still like the goofy games articles, though. Give me more rankings of the best crabs in Nintendo games…)
Will playing Exographer summon demons? Never heard of the CERN conspiracy theory before - that’s hilarious. Clearly I don’t spend enough time reading “facts” on the internet.
This game looks cool. I don’t understand what they’re doing with the puzzles from the video, but trust it will make sense in context. I’ll wait for a review, but I’m interested.
Oh, I wonder what Pokemon Company, which pushes out at least one game every year (sometimes two), could possibly have to announce.
2017 - Ultra Sun and Moon
2018 - Let’s Go and western release of Detective Pikachu
2019 - Sword and Shield
2020 - Sword and Shield DLC + Mystery Dungeon
2021 - Diamond and Pearl remake
2022 - Arceus and Scarlet and Violet
2023 - ScarVi DLC and Detective Pikachu Returns
There’ll be something. I haven’t even included any of the mobile spinoffs that were also released on Nintendo hardware. I’d love to see another spinoff. Pokemon Conquest is due a return.
We’re coming up to the perfect time for yet another release of Radiant Historia. Released in the dog days of the DS. Then an updated version re-released on 3DS after the Switch came out. Atlus loves sending this gem out to die…
Still playing Neo: The World Ends With You. Really enjoying the story - which is pretty impressive for a Squenix JRPG - but I’m doing so badly at moving things on because I keep grinding to max out every pin. There’s NO reason to do it, but I can’t help myself…
Plenty of characters in Shin Megami Tensei are nightmare fuel, but this is supposed to be about Jack Frost and his bros. Did nobody in the NA office read the brief or play the game?
Japan should be walking this one home (says the guy with a Jack Frost keyring)
Kind of feel like this is Square getting ahead of the Switch 2 release, when the higher specs will make development of even AA games more expensive. Which is a shame, because Squenix has been on a great run. I think Octopath is established enough to get a third instalment, DQ is going to keep getting remakes and Monsters spin-offs, and I think even Triangle Strategy will come back. It’s the offbeat mid-budget failures like Neo: The World Ends with You (which is actually really good, just hasn’t really sold), Diofield and DQ Treasures and maybe even deep-cut remakes like Star Ocean 2R and Trials of Mana that I fear for, not to mention the weird stuff like Voice of Cards and Dungeon Encounters. We need the weird stuff, Squenix!
I’m assuming this is the notorious low print run that has knocked Dragon Quest Monsters out of the charts. I’d say Square are leaving money on the table, but they’d much rather make more money selling it digital.
If I had to guess, the move into more expensive 3D development with The Gunk can hardly have paid off for Image & Form. It’s not a full clunker, but it’s definitely their first misstep as a developer.
What is it with the Scandinavians and overexpansion in video games? Not very lagom.
This is hilarious because, if gaming was like a streaming service, then Ubisoft would be in trouble. I’m not saying they don’t make any good games, but people can generally only justify or afford a handful of subscriptions. Like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, maybe Paramount, maybe Apple, HBO, Crunchyroll…
@imadeanaccount I love the original The World Ends With You, but you don’t need to have played it first. They share a premise, and Neo acknowledges the first story happened, but it’s a new set of characters who have to be introduced just like a player coming to the series for the first time.
If you do want to play the first game, though, I highly recommend the iOS version. You can totally play it left-handed (and one handed) on a phone or tablet and it is far less … weird than the DS version. The Switch version of TWEWY kind of takes the iOS version and adds physical controls as an alternative to the touchscreen controls - but I’d say touchscreen, unusually, is better. After all, the original was based on partly using the DS stylus
Still in the first week of Neo: The World Ends with You. Still really enjoying it. The combat is starting to click, and the story and characters are really good. Music and art style just as good as the original. Loading times are a bit of a hitch, but not enough to get in the way.
@Serpenterror Actually, I’d say Monster Hunter is the biggest title out of those listed in terms of Japanese sales, even more than Final Fantasy. And the Switch got a very good one - partly because Capcom pushed Nintendo to offer more RAM. Hope they do the same again.
@sketchturner I have seriously never heard of 1001 Spikes, but I will point out - just to be that guy - that Metroid Prime 4 wasn’t revealed in the January showcase. It was announced in the E3 showcase in the summer.
If it’s any consolation, the games that sold me on getting the Switch at launch, beyond BotW, were Shin Megami Tensei V and Dragon Quest XI. It was a long wait even for DQXI.
Skyward Sword doesn’t get enough credit. It’s a brilliant game. I might prefer Majora’s Mask and BotW, but only because they riff on the format in an interesting way. SS is more of a refinement of the OoT template - and a brilliant one.
How on earth is Persona 3 Portable trending below an 8? It’s a 10 for me - I think the characters and tone are among the best in the series - but I think there’s a knee-jerk response to its “visual novel” sections. They’re EXACTLY the same as the real world sections in P4G but more honest: you skip from point to point rather than walking and pretending you could stumble on something secret (which you can’t). I actually prefer the P3P approach to P4G’s, as it doesn’t lead you on or waste your time.
P4G is still dope, though. 137hrs, my clock reads.
Missed that Loop8 was so poorly reviewed everywhere. Didn’t get the best write-up on this site, but sounded like it still had enough about it to recommend it. Flashback 2 is also a shame - though the original always had more style than substance.
Oi, Atlus! You forgot one! Persona Q2 is also a Persona 5 spinoff. Although, it probably sold in low six-figure quantities, given it was so late on the 3DS’s life - and had a tiny print run.
Why not add Smash Ultimate to the sales figures too? Or at least expansion pass sales!
@HeadPirate I agree that there’s a bit of a lazy shorthand in comparing something new to more well-known properties, but it’s not limited to gaming. The Citizen Kane of westerns; Beyoncé crossed with Korn; Charles Dickens meets Shirley Jackson… Does feel a bit tired, but it’s a very effective way of communicating what a property is trying to do.
But really I’m replying because I really want to play Hades meets Animal Crossing and the Dark Souls of Mario Kart. Those both sound amazing!
@SBandy1 Fair shout on the indie games. Stuff like Dust: AET was great. The exclusives, though… Great if you like racing games (nope!) and shooters (meh - mixed feelings), I suppose. I find that library pretty dreary - but I guess that’s AAA gaming in the Noughties. PS3 was far better in the teens. Not my favourite generation, I must admit.
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Re: Japanese Charts: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Takes Pole Position As Game Sales Falter
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe turns seven on Sunday, but it’s still posting numbers that would be dream launch day sales for some titles. Respect.
Not sure Eiyuden is going to move the needle much, but we’ll see. Stellar Blade otoh has some hype. Maybe six figures?
Re: Random: Sakurai Talks About "The Most Incredible Year For The Game Industry"
@waveboy Hard disagree on the PS2 era being when gaming lost its smile. Development was still cheap enough that we’d get wild swings like Katamari. Also, the handhelds in that time, with the DS and PSP facing off, gave us some of the most innovative titles that we are yet to see the likes of again.
PS3 era, on the other hand, was when we entered the dreary grey-brown shooter world, and gaming - on home consoles at least - really did stop smiling. Didn’t help that the PS3 had such awkward architecture, I guess.
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Indie World Showcase Predictions - What Do You Expect To See?
Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, Starfield and Mother 3 … are all about as likely as Silksong.
I like the Nindies Directs - they basically never give you what you were hoping for, but throw up something entirely new that you didn’t even know was out there. Here’s hoping.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (13th April)
Finally more or less 100% completed Neo: The World Ends With You, so I’ve gone back to my beloved 3DS in the week the servers shut down. I’m playing Cave Story 3D, which is great. I’m slightly surprised by how much story there is, as I thought it was going to be a fairly basic Metroidvania. Instead it’s almost like a pixel Dust: An Elysian Tale.
Re: QubicGames' Switch eShop Sale Takes Over 100 Games Down To Just $0.20 Each
@dmcc0 That’s a great tip - I’ve never used that feature on Deku Deals. Cheers!
Re: Random: Fan Saves All Dragon Quest 7 DLC Maps Before 3DS Servers Shut Down
Amused by how many others, like me, had DQVII in their backlog without knowing it had DLC. Mildly peeved by how badly signposted it was. Probably wouldn’t have bothered with it anyway - as others have pointed out, it’s a long enough game anyway.
Re: Dragon Quest 12 Reportedly Suffers Delay, Producer Steps Down Following Reshuffle
There’s no way this isn’t coming to the Mega Switch 2, right? DQ and Nintendo handhelds go together like rhubarb and custard.
I fully expect DQXII to be on the launch list of titles for the Switch successor. And then take another couple of years (or more) to release on it, just like with DQXI.
Re: Super Mario Maker Community Clears 'Trimming The Herbs' Just Days Before Wii U Online Shutdown
Was anyone watching that live? Hard to believe that’s real - it’s so flipping hard!
Re: Japanese Charts: Princess Peach: Showtime Wears The Crown Once Again
Whisper it, but the PS5, mark my words, will eventually overtake the Switch in sales.
The Switch Lite that is.
Re: Random: BAFTA's 'Iconic Game Characters' Poll Has Us Scratching Our Heads
Lara Croft is genuinely not a bad shout. She is iconic, even if Mario is video gaming’s Mickey Mouse.
This is a poll that only 4,000 people seem to have been aware of. At least they’ve picked some interesting games, like Yakuza.
But yeah, Street Fighter II, Metal Gear, and a dozen or so mascot platformers have way more clout than half this list. Agent 47, honestly…
Re: Feature: The Pitch-Perfect Storytelling Of Final Fantasy VI’s Opera, And How The Pixel Remaster Missed A Note
@mlt I take your point, but just don’t know if I agree. Technical limitations aren’t a good explanation for turn-based combat, and certainly not by the time we get to fourth-generation consoles, because plenty of programmers had already shown you could just do an action RPG. Look at Ys, for example. OK, maybe nobody had really worked out how to do it for party combat at that point (the first Tales game was a year later), but maybe turn-based is actually just the best way to do party combat? It’s no coincidence that the more action-based FF has become as a franchise, the less party-based it has become, reaching its apotheosis in FFXVI.
Re: Feature: The Pitch-Perfect Storytelling Of Final Fantasy VI’s Opera, And How The Pixel Remaster Missed A Note
@PLATINUM7 That was super interesting, thank you. I’ll lend the original comment the benefit of a doubt then. Even if I personally dispute that turn-based combat is purely a side-effect from technical limitations - and even Ito says he was always intending to avoid a hard action element. And he was thinking in terms of setting plays in the NFL, which is about as turn-based and chess-like as professional sport gets.
You can definitely see how he ended up with the gambit system in FFXII. Cool interview.
Re: Feature: The Pitch-Perfect Storytelling Of Final Fantasy VI’s Opera, And How The Pixel Remaster Missed A Note
“Just as turn-based combat and overworlds came about to circumvent the limitations of early console generations” - what? What do technical limitations have to do with turn-based combat? Turn-based combat has been an intrinsic part of role-playing games since the very first table-top versions. Has absolutely nothing to do with technical limitations.
But yeah, the opera scene rules. Square has always been a leader in bringing a filmic vision to gaming.
Re: Talking Point: What Games Would You Like To See Given The 'Gold Master Series' Treatment?
I know he’s a divisive figure, but a Peter Molyneux retrospective would be brilliant. We’d get to hear how he came to believe all his promises during the development process for games that sometimes never quite delivered - but are still among the most interesting of their day.
I’ll take it for Populous and Syndicate alone.
Re: Random: Capcom Reveals "Most Popular" Games And Comments From Fan Survey
Where’s Ghost Trick? It’s my favourite Capcom game! That said, I don’t want a direct sequel with the same characters, just another game as weird and interesting
Re: A New Corpse Party Game Is Creeping Onto Switch This Autumn
Nope. Nope nope nope. Played the iOS version of Corpse Party many years back. It’s brilliant. Very dark, sometimes funny, superbly voiced and deeply deeply unsettling. Hated it in the best possible way. Wouldn’t recommend. 10/10.
Re: Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown Is Already On Sale (US)
I’m going to wait for it to drop to a tenner or less, as with Fenyx Rising. But that doesn’t mean I’m not interested.
Re: Metroid For NES Could Be Inducted Into The Video Game Hall Of Fame
I voted for Elite, because that game was light years ahead of its time. Open world, 3D space combat, trading, bounty hunting. And all in so few kilobytes that wouldn’t even be enough for a gif today.
It’s a public vote, so I expect Resident Evil to win the popularity contest, but all these games deserve to be in the hall of fame eventually. Apart from You Don’t Know Jack, maybe - never even heard of that game.
Re: Japanese Charts: Unicorn Overlord Dominates In Its Debut Week
For a new IP in a niche genre, those Unicorn Overlord sales are far, far better than I thought they’d be. Atlus barely gets that for SMT, let alone a dense, menu-laden Vanillaware RTS with an apparently mediocre story.
Just shows that reviews and word of mouth still count for something, and a good game can get the sales it deserves.
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy & GBC Library With Three More Classics
I do love a tennis game with RPG elements… This is better than the Switch game, right?
Re: Tears Of The Kingdom, Mario Wonder & Dave The Diver Compete For Top Prize At BAFTAs
@edgedino What, like Vampire Survivors? Yeah, you really hit the nail on the head there. Did Tolstoy write that one?
(Sorry, couldn’t resist the cheap shot)
Re: Talking Point: What DS & 3DS Games Would You Still Like To See On Switch?
Where to start?! So many great Atlus games, including maybe the best SMT, 4 Apocalypse; the Persona Q games; the two SMT Devil Survivors; Radiant Historia; Stella Glow; the Etrian Odyssey Origins games…
Then there’s the 999 trilogy; DKC Returns; Metroid Samus Returns; Dragon Quest VII and VIII; Bravely Default and Second Layer; the best Fire Emblem (Awakenings) and two very good ones (Echoes and Fates; three Zeldas (OoT, MM and Link Between Worlds); Tales of Abyss; Rhythm Heaven…
Fortunately, I’ve got pretty much all of these still on my 3DS, and have only played about half of them. Such a great system.
The DS Castlevanias could do with an escape, though.
Re: UK Charts: Final Fantasy Pushes Mario vs. Donkey Kong Further Down The Standings
Game selling Octopath Traveller II for £19.99 seems to have added some sales in the past couple of weeks. Certainly did the trick for me, though I was always going to get it at some point.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Ninja Gaiden Shadow
Voted NA, even though that upper arm musculature looks weird. Or maybe I need to hit the gym more.
Re: Electronic Arts Cuts 5% Of Workforce, Closes Studio And Cancels Games
@EVIL-C You’re not wrong about the fanboys with paycheques, but it is journalism to report the facts of layoffs with company statements. It’s straight reporting. Analysis is something else, which you wouldn’t usually find within the report, which is meant to be impartial.
And TBF, games journalism is a lot better than it used to be. Plenty of sites will feature reports where they speak to fired workers, commentary on why they believe these layoffs are happening, and yes, analysis.
This is why Bloomberg has hired people from sites like Kotaku.
(I still like the goofy games articles, though. Give me more rankings of the best crabs in Nintendo games…)
Re: New Metroidvania From CERN Physicist Focuses On The Wonder Of Science
Will playing Exographer summon demons? Never heard of the CERN conspiracy theory before - that’s hilarious. Clearly I don’t spend enough time reading “facts” on the internet.
This game looks cool. I don’t understand what they’re doing with the puzzles from the video, but trust it will make sense in context. I’ll wait for a review, but I’m interested.
Re: Pokémon Presents 'Pokémon Day' Broadcast Runtime Revealed
Oh, I wonder what Pokemon Company, which pushes out at least one game every year (sometimes two), could possibly have to announce.
2017 - Ultra Sun and Moon
2018 - Let’s Go and western release of Detective Pikachu
2019 - Sword and Shield
2020 - Sword and Shield DLC + Mystery Dungeon
2021 - Diamond and Pearl remake
2022 - Arceus and Scarlet and Violet
2023 - ScarVi DLC and Detective Pikachu Returns
There’ll be something. I haven’t even included any of the mobile spinoffs that were also released on Nintendo hardware. I’d love to see another spinoff. Pokemon Conquest is due a return.
Re: Japanese Charts: Mario Vs. Donkey Kong Takes Its Fight To The Top
@Coversnail Was wondering the same. I don’t know how Nihon Falcom keeps going with numbers like that! I would hate to see Trails trail off.
Re: Talking Point: If 'Switch 2' Isn't Coming Until 2025, What's Nintendo Got Up Its Sleeve This Year?
We’re coming up to the perfect time for yet another release of Radiant Historia. Released in the dog days of the DS. Then an updated version re-released on 3DS after the Switch came out. Atlus loves sending this gem out to die…
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 17th)
Still playing Neo: The World Ends With You. Really enjoying the story - which is pretty impressive for a Squenix JRPG - but I’m doing so badly at moving things on because I keep grinding to max out every pin. There’s NO reason to do it, but I can’t help myself…
Re: Back Page: 15 Superb Owls On Nintendo Switch
Dammit. Now I have to buy Octopath II. I’ve been resistant for so long because of my backlog … but I must travel with Mahina!
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl - Duel: Jack Bros. (Virtual Boy)
Plenty of characters in Shin Megami Tensei are nightmare fuel, but this is supposed to be about Jack Frost and his bros. Did nobody in the NA office read the brief or play the game?
Japan should be walking this one home (says the guy with a Jack Frost keyring)
Re: Limited Edition Shovel Knight Switch Joy-Con Revealed, Pre-Orders Now Live
At that price, I’ll avoid these like the plague.
Bit of a shame, because Plague Knight is my favourite, and I like both the colour combinations.
Re: Square Enix To Slim Down Its Gaming Lineup To Ensure Higher Quality
Kind of feel like this is Square getting ahead of the Switch 2 release, when the higher specs will make development of even AA games more expensive. Which is a shame, because Squenix has been on a great run. I think Octopath is established enough to get a third instalment, DQ is going to keep getting remakes and Monsters spin-offs, and I think even Triangle Strategy will come back. It’s the offbeat mid-budget failures like Neo: The World Ends with You (which is actually really good, just hasn’t really sold), Diofield and DQ Treasures and maybe even deep-cut remakes like Star Ocean 2R and Trials of Mana that I fear for, not to mention the weird stuff like Voice of Cards and Dungeon Encounters. We need the weird stuff, Squenix!
Re: Japanese Charts: Super Mario Wonder Blows The Competition Away... Again
I’m assuming this is the notorious low print run that has knocked Dragon Quest Monsters out of the charts. I’d say Square are leaving money on the table, but they’d much rather make more money selling it digital.
Re: Thunderful Announces Restructuring That Will Affect Around 20% Of Workforce
If I had to guess, the move into more expensive 3D development with The Gunk can hardly have paid off for Image & Form. It’s not a full clunker, but it’s definitely their first misstep as a developer.
What is it with the Scandinavians and overexpansion in video games? Not very lagom.
Re: Players Need To Start "Feeling Comfortable" With Not Owning Games, Says Ubisoft Subs Boss
This is hilarious because, if gaming was like a streaming service, then Ubisoft would be in trouble. I’m not saying they don’t make any good games, but people can generally only justify or afford a handful of subscriptions. Like Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, maybe Paramount, maybe Apple, HBO, Crunchyroll…
In this analogy, Ubisoft is Starz.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 13th)
@imadeanaccount I love the original The World Ends With You, but you don’t need to have played it first. They share a premise, and Neo acknowledges the first story happened, but it’s a new set of characters who have to be introduced just like a player coming to the series for the first time.
If you do want to play the first game, though, I highly recommend the iOS version. You can totally play it left-handed (and one handed) on a phone or tablet and it is far less … weird than the DS version. The Switch version of TWEWY kind of takes the iOS version and adds physical controls as an alternative to the touchscreen controls - but I’d say touchscreen, unusually, is better. After all, the original was based on partly using the DS stylus
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (January 13th)
Still in the first week of Neo: The World Ends with You. Still really enjoying it. The combat is starting to click, and the story and characters are really good. Music and art style just as good as the original. Loading times are a bit of a hitch, but not enough to get in the way.
Re: Nintendo Games Have Now Dominated Japan's Sales Charts For 19 Consecutive Years
@Serpenterror Actually, I’d say Monster Hunter is the biggest title out of those listed in terms of Japanese sales, even more than Final Fantasy. And the Switch got a very good one - partly because Capcom pushed Nintendo to offer more RAM. Hope they do the same again.
Re: Yes, The Nintendo Switch Showcase Really Was Seven Years Ago
@sketchturner I have seriously never heard of 1001 Spikes, but I will point out - just to be that guy - that Metroid Prime 4 wasn’t revealed in the January showcase. It was announced in the E3 showcase in the summer.
If it’s any consolation, the games that sold me on getting the Switch at launch, beyond BotW, were Shin Megami Tensei V and Dragon Quest XI. It was a long wait even for DQXI.
Re: Nintendo Reportedly Seeking More Studios To Work On Its IP
Clearly it’s now time for Fromsoft to make Pokemon Souls. Remedy can take on Luigi’s Mansion 4. Paradox can move the Advance Wars series forward.
Team Cherry remakes Zelda II (might take a while, that one). Larian picks up Golden Sun. Supergiant Games reboot Kid Icarus.
As long as it’s not Kemco, Game Mill and LJN…
Re: Feature: Zelda's Forgotten Steward - Who Is Hidemaro Fujibayashi?
Skyward Sword doesn’t get enough credit. It’s a brilliant game. I might prefer Majora’s Mask and BotW, but only because they riff on the format in an interesting way. SS is more of a refinement of the OoT template - and a brilliant one.
Re: Best Nintendo Switch Games Of 2023
How on earth is Persona 3 Portable trending below an 8? It’s a 10 for me - I think the characters and tone are among the best in the series - but I think there’s a knee-jerk response to its “visual novel” sections. They’re EXACTLY the same as the real world sections in P4G but more honest: you skip from point to point rather than walking and pretending you could stumble on something secret (which you can’t). I actually prefer the P3P approach to P4G’s, as it doesn’t lead you on or waste your time.
P4G is still dope, though. 137hrs, my clock reads.
Really hope Persona 6 comes to the Switch 2.
Re: Metacritic Reveals "The Worst Video Games Of 2023"
Missed that Loop8 was so poorly reviewed everywhere. Didn’t get the best write-up on this site, but sounded like it still had enough about it to recommend it. Flashback 2 is also a shame - though the original always had more style than substance.
Re: The Persona 5 Series Has Shifted Over 10 Million Copies Worldwide
Oi, Atlus! You forgot one! Persona Q2 is also a Persona 5 spinoff. Although, it probably sold in low six-figure quantities, given it was so late on the 3DS’s life - and had a tiny print run.
Why not add Smash Ultimate to the sales figures too? Or at least expansion pass sales!
Re: Feature: "Doing Things A Bit Differently" - Blending Final Fantasy & Devil May Cry Combat In 'Worldless'
@HeadPirate I agree that there’s a bit of a lazy shorthand in comparing something new to more well-known properties, but it’s not limited to gaming. The Citizen Kane of westerns; Beyoncé crossed with Korn; Charles Dickens meets Shirley Jackson… Does feel a bit tired, but it’s a very effective way of communicating what a property is trying to do.
But really I’m replying because I really want to play Hades meets Animal Crossing and the Dark Souls of Mario Kart. Those both sound amazing!
Re: Feature: "Doing Things A Bit Differently" - Blending Final Fantasy & Devil May Cry Combat In 'Worldless'
Blending Final Fantasy and Devil May Cry… Isn’t that just Final Fantasy XVI?
Re: Nintendo Switch "Lifetime US Unit Sales" Surpass Xbox 360
@Anti-Matter It’s not a matter of which is better - it’s which sold more. And as you well know, the arcades will always beat either for dance games!
Re: Nintendo Switch "Lifetime US Unit Sales" Surpass Xbox 360
@SBandy1 Fair shout on the indie games. Stuff like Dust: AET was great. The exclusives, though… Great if you like racing games (nope!) and shooters (meh - mixed feelings), I suppose. I find that library pretty dreary - but I guess that’s AAA gaming in the Noughties. PS3 was far better in the teens. Not my favourite generation, I must admit.