Granted, it sucks to lose one’s job, and it’s nice to see how compassionate people on this site are for them. That said, these layoffs comprise about 2% of SE’s global staff, and the precise nature of jobs they are isn’t clear; could be redundant middle managers who don’t add sufficient value to the company to justify their salaries, rather than 80-hour week programmers pouring their hearts into making great games. Many companies hoarded staff in the last few years having been stung by a tight labor market, but now are finding that they no longer need to. Let’s drop the kneejerk reaction that firing employees is always evil and bad. If a company can’t stay competitive, then they go the way of Acclaim, Hudson Soft, Interplay, etc.

@GoldenSunRM
God, yes. Easily the most obnoxious 1-dimensional character trope in that movie.

This is a fantastic soundtrack! Doubters, just give SR388 Main Theme a spin for 20 seconds, and you’ll believe too.

All the pictures I saw of this game made me think it was going to better than it ultimately was; gorgeous pixel work, but the game never quite clicked with me when I finally did play it.

A little NES Legend of Zelda and a little TOTK, quite wonderful.

Do we know why Hades II is more expensive on S1 than S2?

I was sitting on an unused voucher for a while and finally cashed it in for TOTK. While my tastes tend to shy away from massive open world games, the unanimous praise for this one, coupled with Nintendo’s general track record for unparalleled inventiveness and game design, convinced me to take the plunge. Only a couple of hours in so far, but it’s excellent.

Is this the game that gave all those people cancer?

Irreparable, huh? Gosh, that sounds really bad. I hope Nintendo will be okay.

The original Legend of Zelda beckoned to me unexpectedly, and I couldn’t resist. I’m glad I grew up at a time in which other people were playing it, so we could learn from each other which obscure bushes to burn, how to get through the Lost Woods, how to access Level 6, and where to find the Master Sword. Its opaqueness is a joy to me, and further adds to its dark allure and enchantment.

Pleasantly surprised to see that the nighttime cover is in the lead. Faith in humanity.

Tried Metro 2033 Redux and couldn’t stand the intentionally bad controls and visibility (fun!). Warioland 4 was just the right tonic to blur my memory of bad game design.

A good game, for sure, and a little weird with a number of inventive ideas, showing Nintendo at what they tend to do best. While it’s an overrated-underrated game in my view (and the music is just okay), I appreciate its originality.

Pilotwings always mystified me, being at once a calm, casual game with lovely waiting room Muzak, while being incredibly difficult after the first few courses.

I’ve been on a no-new-game fast for a few months so I can work through my backlog and replay some gems already in my collection. This weekend will be DKC: Tropical Freeze (I forgot how challenging it can be!) and maybe Sonic Mania.

Take your time, get it right.

@Qwiff Thanks for posting. Learning about under-my-radar games like The Drifter is one of the two main reasons why I like this weekly NL feature so much. Happy gaming.

Finished Animal Well and am returning to Red Dead Redemption after many months away from it. Wow, such great games.

The Switch 1 Pro Controller’s awful d-pad has made it a huge disappointment for me, makes me wary of getting a S2PC.

Returning to Animal Well after having put it down months ago for reasons having nothing to do with the game’s quality. Wow, what a fantastic game this is! While I find that many “must-have” games are overrated, this one is definitely not. An absolute masterpiece.

Rejoice, new icons? lmao

@Exerion76
Thank you.

Very overrated RPG; it was a slog to finish.

Just finished Dawn of Sorrow, thus completing the wonderful trio that is the Dominus Collection. This was my first time with all three games, and Portrait of Ruin came out on top. Dawn felt like a slog in the second half, with too much “go here, now go way over there” perfunctory gameplay across unimaginative map layouts. Haunted Castle Revisited was a fantastic epilogue, and just what I needed after finishing Dawn.

Next, I’ll be working through more of Konami’s yesteryear output with the Cowabunga Collection. Who knows, maybe I’ll finally make it past the underwater bomb sequence.

Played it on 3DS. Although it was hailed by some at the time as a return to form for SE on a Nintendo platform, I found it to be a rather forgettable experience. One of those games you couldn’t wait to just finish and get on to something better.

Looks terrible. Makes my decision to not buy it very easy, so thanks, developers.

I’ve got no special love for GameStop, but this is a case of a stupid employee, not some terrible top-down corporate policy.

When I read “Little Nemo” and “hand drawn,” I immediately thought of the incredible work of Winsor McCay. Suffice it to say, I was rather disappointed.

Yikes! The new version looks gross. flush

Portrait of Ruin. Despite Ecclesia having the better reputation, I’m enjoying Portrait more.

@ParsnipHero
Second that. Unlike SMB 2, 3, or World, every time I start a new game of 64, I lose interest within an hour.

It seems I’m often in the minority on these votes. That sits just fine with me.

Portrait of Ruin for babe

Box Art Brawl has really opened my eyes to how many Japan covers are just a mush of every character in the game jumping at the viewer.

Whoa, the Japanese version had every character in the game in a group pose! Total surprise.

Portrait of Ruin for babe. Just finished Order of Ecclesia; working my way through the Dominus Collection.

Order of Ecclesia for babe

Once Silksong is released, I hope Team Cherry shares some kind of behind-the-scenes documentary of their journey on this game. Making the decision to completely redo, expand, etc., various aspects of the game must have been carefully considered, each of which also leave multiple alternative versions of the game in imagination land.

I’ve been really disappointed with my Switch Pro controller. The D-pad has an unresponsive downward arrow and the sticks are too tall. For an expensive controller like this, you’d think they’d get it absolutely right.

Everyone I’ve talked to says that they absolutely hate this app, everything about it. Maybe it’ll improve over time?

Is this the one that made all those people throw up?

Not sure I agree, but I love the argument, and that something so seemingly mundane in game design garners such intense debate among our special NL community here.

Yikes, this game looks awful!!!! Yikes.

Very glad to see so many votes for Lunar. It’s an absolute must-buy for babe.

The original was my one foray into SG games; despite loving JRPGs, I am not the target audience. I have the impression that SG games have a niche diehard audience, so I’m glad they have their fix.

Cyber Shadow for babe

Cyber Shadow for babe

Enjoy Xenoblade, everyone!

Lunar has become tied for my favorite classic JRPG series. Even if it’s a mediocre port (which I don’t think it is; I think it’ll be at least good), it’s a must-buy for me.

Just finished Star Ocean Second Story R, and frankly, I’m rather glad to be done with it. Story was surprisingly weak, but thankfully the combat was sufficiently enjoyable to make me want to finish the game. No more JRPGs for this cat for a while, that’s for damn sure. Cleansing my palate with a little Thank Goodness You’re Here!; just right.