LastFootnote

@cutelilmonster Really? My takeaway was that critics have gotten more critical.

@HalBailman I mean, normally I also wait for games to be half off before purchasing them digitally. But I think fifty cents per game is already cheap enough!

OK, well, hmmmm…

I bought my daughter two vouchers before they went away so that she could get copies of Tomodachi Life and Rhythm Heaven Groove. But with this being $40 that just became a pretty bad deal. I guess I'll suggest she buy herself a copy of some other game with the voucher and we can just pick this up separately.

But to be clear, I'm not complaining about the price! I'm really glad the game is a (relatively) reasonable $40.

I miss Super Mario Bros 35. That was the only one of these games I really got into.

Aw, man. I hadn’t finished the Wonder event. I wanted that Koopalings statue.

A lot of people are pointing at Switch 1’s much higher user base. I’m thinking that the intersection between people who are interested in a niche game like Ratatan and people who already own a Switch 2 is probably very large. It’s mostly the hobby enthusiasts that are buying this game.

Which company makes the case?

I gotta say, I liked it better when amiibo were good quality but still normal-sized. These huge, expensive ones just don't seem worth it.

That's right, reviews! Bring my expectations down! I'll likely enjoy the movie more that way.

@AussieMcBucket I can't tell if you're being serious, but I mean, there's absolutely zero chance they'll release the movie soundtrack on Nintendo Music at all, for a whole host of reasons.

I don’t usually listen to Nate the Hate and I will just say: Thank goodness I can listen to YouTube videos at increased speeds. Holy crap he talks slowly and takes huge pauses between sentences. And both of them are repeating themselves constantly.

“Unlocks all sorts of bonuses,” eh Liam? Like what?

Great news! As somebody who buys both digital and physical (depending on the game), this is at least slightly helpful for me. Moreover, it’s the way it always should have been.

I really wish that, in addition to adding the Koopalings, they'd also added bosses to the end of worlds 3 and 5. Sounds like they didn't do that. I was also hoping the new power-up would be seamlessly integrated into a few existing levels, and they didn't do that either. Lastly I was hoping for a few new levels built around the new power-up. Unfortunately, I'm zero for three on this.

~ sigh ~ Not gonna lie, I'm quite a bit less excited for this than I was a couple of days ago. But I guess it's my fault for getting my hopes up.

@danzoEX Yeah, they refused to answer the one question I cared about, and they're "actively working on it" despite the game coming out in about a week. I mean maybe this interview happened months ago but dang. I'm not optimistic about this.

I remember not so long ago when I ordered basically any and all collector's editions of NIS-made games. Now that they've moved to Game-Key Cards, I can wait until the digital version goes on a very steep discount. Hopefully I won't have completely forgotten about this game by the time that happens sometime in 2027 or 2028.

@Tasuki If only they would think twice! But I'm sure they will have forgotten by 2030 at the latest.

I HATE how the Trump regime insists on calling these “reciprocal” tariffs. That would only be true if these other countries were imposing these exact levels of tariffs on the US, which they are not.

Hmm, so Mega Meganium is a Grass/Fairy type with the new Ability "Mega Sol", which lets it use its moves as if it were always under harsh sunlight. I think this might finally redeem Meganium! Here's hoping it gets at least one Fire-type move.

EDIT: Oh, it can already learn Weather Ball in Gen IX. So, Solar Beam, Synthesis, Weather Ball, and Dazzling Gleam I guess. Is that reasonable type coverage? I don't know the meta these days.

@PharoneTheGnome Technically, for two of those three games, a plurality sold on PS5. A majority would be more than 50%.

@breach187 Ain't that the truth? Square-Enix was the first company I was aware of that rushed to mint NFTs. And now this. Why can't they ever jump on any good bandwagons?

@Bueno_Excelente Yeah, those were the days. The SNES and PS1 eras really were the golden age for Square.

@-wc- I think one of the other ones was a pull-back Luigi riding a cloud. I can’t remember the fourth toy.

@-wc- Would a pneumatic Red Koopa Paratroopa be sufficient?

I’m actually pretty hyped about the Switch 2 Edition. For me the challenge mode and new bosses are worth it, and I’m a bit hopeful for more new single-player content they haven’t shown.

Also, the multiplayer content seems really well done. I’d much rather play these minigames than, say, Mario Party. So if you do have family or friends that enjoy 2D Mario games, that should provide some value too.

Oh thank goodness. The game runs pretty awfully on Switch 1 and still has really significant lighting issues on Switch 2.

@rvcolem1 If memory serves, I believe there are only two bananas you get for doing the Rambi races. One you can do the first time you get to the layer and the other is post-game.

I also dreaded getting the post-game one, but it wasn't quite as bad as I feared.

@Anachronism Thanks for this context!

Is that one of the reasons that the games are so difficult? Unstable frame rates?

Uh, don’t these games require pretty fast reflexes? 30fps doesn’t sound great.

@kmtrain83 I’ve got over 120 hours in UFO 50 after playing the first 28 games. But hey, you don’t have to beat them all in one chunk. They are legitimately 50 separate games. You could just commit to playing one now and more later.

This article reminded me to order deluxe physical editions of Animal Well and UFO 50.

Also I need to play my (digital) copy of Chained Echoes one of these days. Too many games in my backlog!

Well looks like LEGO finally caved to the whiners. A little disappointing if I'm being honest.

@Broch83 I think you're misunderstanding me. I absolutely do not believe that LEGO products are contaminated with lead. But it is a fact that products imported into the US are required to undergo lead testing if they are marked as being appropriate for children of a certain age (I think 13 and under?) even for products which obviously could not contain lead. And this testing is EXPENSIVE. For example, board game companies (which operate on very slim margins) will now sometimes label games as being appropriate for ages 14+ in order to avoid having to pay for this testing which, again, they'd otherwise need to do even for games that contain no metal components.

Now LEGO seems more the type of company that would just do the testing and pass those costs onto the end customer. But when they can save some money on their 18+ line, I'm sure they will do so.

@nessisonett It’s because the set is SO complicated, you need a high-school diploma in order to build it.

Or it’s so they can bypass the lead testing they’d need to pay for if it were being sold to children. Probably that one.

Yeah, I think I'm mildly on the side of "no limited-time events in my Minecraft-like game please". I'm not necessarily a fan of "cozy" games as a genre, but I agree that FOMO-baiting is counter to the vibes the rest of the game seems to be aiming for.

Inversely, I don't mind the DK Bananza Emerald Rush limited-time events. Nice to have a reason to go back to that game once every 6 weeks or so.

I think it would be nice if these Pokopia events started a bit later, like maybe 3 or 4 months after the game's release?

@BrewsterTea If you're "curious" about Ratatan, then presumably you haven't played the Patapon games, which Ratatan is a spiritual successor to? You can buy the first two on Switch right now.

This gives me hope we’ll see Bananza’s full soundtrack sometime this year.

Now we just have to wait for the 10th of Warch in order to get the original Wario Land on NSO.

@lechugajr I just wish it looked great. You know what I mean?

Öoo is out on Switch today and they didn't even include it in the sizzle reel? I'm baffled.

Do companies have to pay Nintendo to be included in these showcases, or is it the other way around? Or neither?

I love Severed and both Guacamelee games. Nobody Saves the World was uh fine. This one isn't really hooking me so far.

So it looks like the old 1997 dice were painted, but these new ones aren’t. Capitalism at work!

@Friendly Yeah, it’s been great if you like Monster Hunter, Street Fighter, and Resident Evil!

Pour one out for us Ace Attorney fans.

I think it would be fine if it were digital only (which GKC effectively is) if it cost, say, $50. But they’re charging $70 and I still have to store the game on my own memory card? That’s some gall.

@gcunit Whoa, I did not notice it was only 15 minutes long. Yeah, that's nothing. They couldn't get some more good indie games to pad it out to at least 20 or 25 minutes?

Well, here's hoping for a Slay the Spire 2 announcement.

I think I’ll continue to ignore this series and instead play games that aren’t filled with game-breaking bugs.

@TheExile285 Well traditionally they had the badge system. If you didn't have x badges, then traded (or imported) Pokémon of level ƒx or higher wouldn't obey you in battle.

How is it that they NEVER have Home support ready for a new game release? Is it intentional because they don't want you to import your old Pokémon into your playthrough? Or are they just that reliably incompetent?

“…moves that can’t be used in Pokémon Champions”

So much for them bringing back interesting moves they’ve removed from Gen 8 and 9. My interest in this couldn’t be much lower, and I used to love competitive Pokémon battling!

@Elbarbo I agree that month-long events like Z-A would be much better. I’m not sure why they haven’t gone that route.

@Elbarbo I assume they’ll cycle back through them in the coming years. But man the event schedule is slow.