Already getting it. Just waiting for my physical pre-order to land(a friend even got theirs BEFORE release day in fact XD ).
Based on past shipping experience with Canada Post I'd have expected it yesterday(based on the current location when tracking the shipment) but it seems like it's taking a bit longer than I expected this time around so I guess I've been spoiled in the past ^^; Should get it on the 30th at the latest though.
@Aneira Also very much this. World at release was still a VERY different beast than World as it was just before Iceborne's release adding even more.
And it's already confirmed we're getting Chameleos(and more!) next month! It's also an interesting deal because (I could recall wrong) though Chameleos is an elder dragon he's not at the top tier of the franchise in difficulty. I believe he's even appeared as a Low-Rank monster in some games?
So it could be interesting if "power creep" is kept more reasonable this time around as World definitely had fallen into the habit of focusing ONLY on endgame content in it's updates if I recall well. Like... I wouldn't mind if some updates even added Low-Rank monsters to the game this time around, since that's the segment of the game players are always first exposed to so it could be nice if even the Low-Rank tier was a beefier one year from now than it is at release.
Like... One of my issues with Iceborne was perhaps due to the ways it itself focused ONLY on the new Master Rank, whereas previous "Ultimate/G"(i.e."Master" rank) expansions also added more Low/High rank monsters to the base games they built up from(For example, MH3U's Great Wroggi which wasn't a thing in MH3 but got added as a new monster that could be encountered straight from low rank in 3U).
I kind of felt the fact Iceborne focused solely on Master Rank kind of discouraged new MH players from feeling like it'd be worth getting it since they'd have to power through Low/High rank before encountering any of that new stuff?
Either way, I'll see what else is planned to be alongside Chameleos since he's supposed to come with some other monster(s) as well.
@FargusPelagius Afaik not really because "multiplayer" quests difficulty themselves scales dependent on the number of player, something introduced to the franchise only with Iceborne(previously, multiplayer quests were auto-balanced to 4 players even if there were only 2 or 1 player).
So you could most likely run the same quests as a purely solo or local wireless multiplayer setup now.
@Yosher tbh did the Uprising game even sell that well(I guenuinely asks since I never really followed the franchise)? I wonder if sales/etc is one of the factor at play there.
I mean, nintendo may values their IP in couple of ways but also some fans ARE so passionate that outright saying "Sorry, your fav just didn't sell enough to warrant support in a way we would feel worthwhile" is kind of a.... "complicated" PR thing to pull off politely.
It's not to say it couldn't return but I figure that if it does it'd likely have to either come through a massively remastered re-release to try to give the current format a second breath or an entire re-imagining while trying not to end up with a copy of another franchise that could end up selling better anyway due to being better known in the first place.
Which is what some suspects, for an example, might be the problem with F-Zero being it's spot as "nintendo's racing game" was kind of taken by Mario whereas it's scifi and more bare-knuckles, no fancy "items", racing style of gameplay might not be as "mass-appealing" than either the party-game style racing of Mario Kart or more mainstream "realworld" car racing of mainstream racing games.
Like... how to make a "Kid Icarus" game that feels fresh but doesn't end up in a spot already better filled by another franchise.
Kid Icarus' origins kind of placed it in a sort of odd spot where it was a... platformer, but also had some metroidvania(?)-like format but linear so kind of a platformer still. And Kid Icarus was itself kind of an action platformer(with flight sequences that kind of reminded me of Starfox from and outside glance?) but also linear-ish afaik?
So I feel like it'd have a hard time forging an independent identity because it kind of already straddles stuff like the "fantasy adventure" trappings that already got cinched by Zelda hard, meanwhile action platformer(which Uprising did stray from with like... ground-combat systems?) is already kind of tackled by Mario and the flight combat.... like said, from an outside point of view kind of feel very Star Fox-ish but I feel the kind of "rail shooter" space combat/flight of Star Fox might not have superbly aged well sadly which I suspect has been part of that selfsame franchise' own slow decline/identity crisis.
Since in Star Fox case I feel the games had a clearly identified niche but to a degree it's kind of grown trapped by that niche as it's less relevents to mainstream players these days?
So in a way I guess what I mean isn't that Nintendo has "forgotten" about IPs but instead that their niche has become less relevents to players over time and Nintendo is itself struggling reimagining those titles and finding them a new niche to prosper in without having to be one where they'd have to compete with other (better known) Nintendo franchises. Which... with the "better known" advantage of those other franchises could lead to a kind of "trying to stuggled with one hand tied behind their back" kind of issues.
Not sure how to feel about it. Being french canadian I know of Naheulbeuk's stuff from the very earliest days but also... I recall a lot of it is stuff that'd likely have aged very poorly today.
I stopped following it for a long while as I began to be less involved in tabletop stuff however so I don't know how much they remained stuck in the same type of humor VS how much they might adapted with the time.
Judging by the screenshot it sounds like it still very much has elements of toilet humor though.
@Marxally Honestly... people lose too much time ranting about the chibi character it's like they fail to notice how much the overworld seem to be a 1:1 recreation of the original game.
This is important to me because I've always heard of the Gen 4 games(Platinum in particular) described as some of the largest of the franchise. And that's the other thing: one of the thing a lot of people complained about the Gen8 titles is how small the world was and thus just how much of the "exploration" featured in original titles seemed to be gone.
Meanwhile, seeing an attempted to extremely faithfully recreate the layout of the gen4 titles in these remakes gives me serious hope that we're going to keep that much more of the original "exploring the map, finding secrets and alternate routes and whatnot" will remain in these remakes. Like, out of everything this is what I missed the most in Sword&Shield even if I "liked" the gen8 games, so seeing a remake that seem to strive to remain accurately faithful to it's original rather than overhaul graphics to modern level(and likely have to release later AND cut content anyway) gives me hope.
Especially as I'm dealing with wrist injuries lately(unrelated to gaming; I was a ***** when trying to do exercise and didn't take precautions) so with how much of my game library is real-time full action games or even 3D camera that require both hands on the controller to play easily.... an overhead turn-based games is actually likely gonna be a godsend for me since even without re: that injury I still have carpal tunnels that can often be sensitive if I'm not careful(since I do a lot of artwork as part of my income so my hands/wrists, especially my primary hand, are often taxed enough as it is).
Like... I've begun to enjoy revisiting Dragon Quest 11S through it's 2D mode because I don't have to worry about the camera joystick and (thanks to ZL being used to confirm actions) I can outright play the game using only my offhand while resting my primary hand or (on good/great days) even working on new art at the same time and using the game as some kind of background noise generator(which oddly helps my production since it keeps me occupied enough to not get distracted by social medias/etc, ADHD/etc is a pain tbh, but not enough occupied that I find myself unable to draw/etc).
Like... "Cool trailer but... try to make the entire game now". Especially that Diamond/Pearl/Platinum were among the largest game of the franchise afaik... I don't see a remake being done in the style of that trailer without SOMETHING being cut AND likely only releasing many years later. Like... potentially "the Switch almost ending it's lifespan and oh there's still cut content anyway". And even more cut out if it released this year somehow.
Like I'm not saying not to expect cut content from the upcoming remake. But I can bet you it'd be worst if that style had been used, possibly to the level of entire routes gone or drastically shortened.
This is where the current remake's chibi style has my appreciation because when one look past the chibi characters everyone is ranting about... you'll notice the overhead overworld is basically 1:1 a recreation of the original tileset-based maps. Which to mean feels that we should expect a LOT of the original Diamond and Pearl to remain in the upcoming remake.
And certainly a lot more than if they'd gone for the visual style of this fan trailer.
@brunojenso honestly though I'd say that's mostly my issues with online-dependent games in most form. the fact that servers can and WILL close someday.
Which's why I'm glad for every games that leaves room for local or at the very least wireless local multiplayer. Since that does leave at least an "option" less dependent on game servers.
But honestly the problem is that if they'd chosen that kind of style... not only would the game not be out until 2023 or later but also there would likely be so much changes to the layout/etc of the original game (and possibly so many corners that would need to be cut in terms of elements of the original game) that they might as well have made a brand new game altogether instead of a remake.
As that's a thing with the current form, it allows for a faithful/accurate recreation of the original game's layout including stuff like the metroidvania-like progression that used to be more prevalent in older titles using the Cut/Push/Etc moves.
The fact they're going with a gridlike overworld likely has to do with them wishing to make sure it's a more "traditional" experience so while I see stuff like Fairy types continuing to be a thing I suspect we won't be seeing mega-evolution/z-moves or even gigantamax this time around to keep to the traditional "just your pokemons, no fancy gimmicks" formula of gen 1-5 that's been kind of missing in action since Gen6.
Like... at the end of the day there is very much a market for that. Both from lots of veterans tired of games whose world seem to keep sacrificing depth(espeically all the alternate and optional paths/areas/etc which approach we saw reach it's apex of barebonedness come Sword/Shield even if I enjoyed the title in generA) the more the graphics increase in the franchise and the more gimmicks it introduced.
Like. Sure, that trailer looks cool. But as they say "now do the entire game and we'll speak". And that's the other thing, Platinum was by most definition NOT a small or short pokemon game by franchise standards.
Mind you, this is a cool visual style and I wouldn't have minded it but I also know why , especially for a "remake" rather than brand new game, this isn't the style we're getting. When we reach remaking stuff like Gen6 and up I think is when we'll start being able to talk of using that style more commonly in remakes.
@Expa0 To a degree i think you (partly) summed up one of my issues with Mario & Luigi games. I wanted to like them because they were getting so much of the mechanics of Mario RPG right but the worlds just felt... "off". And to a degree I think it's because of how Mario RPG had this massive worlds in the plural sense, with multiple towns you even got to explore and that much more NPCs whereas what Mario&Luigi games I've tried generally only had the one hub town at best.
In comparison, Paper Mario's mechanics differed somewhat more in being less of a carbon copy of Mario RPG than Mario&Luigi was... but straight from the first game they got the sense of exploring that massive world of multiple regions/towns for secrets and such and that much more NPCs compared to how much.... smaller the Mario&Luigi games had.
Like, while I still have some issues with the battle system(though it was okay for what it was) and the dependency on Toads(though it had much more variety thanks to all the other types of characters featured like Koopas, etc as NPCs)... Origami King has been heading back in a very good direction when it came to world design at least, reminding me a lot of the original Paper Mario in that sense.
@Mr_Persona Tbh High Rank stuff is always kind of kept as a surprise and it's the low-ranks + flagship(which traditionally is the monster often related to unlockinh High Rank/etc or which has a relationship with High Rank storybeats but usually isn't the actual final boss) that always tend to make most of the early advertising for Monster Hunter games.
Which is logical because they'll be among the first monsters to be faced by players.
@Beatrice I suspect Jho's a given since we're not supposed to be in the New World anymore. Not sure who all will be part of free updates but then again Chameleos right off the bat after release(1 month only is pretty damn close) sounds promising without being a "end of the endest"-grade monster afaik even as an elder dragon(as Chameleos always gave me vibe of a "you have unlocked elder dragons" but it's definitely not a Raging Deviljho or Furious Rajang) so that leaves a lot of space for scaling future additions... perhaps even include some non-engame ones(especially since the'yre promising "other monsters" for that update).
@Razzbery They are but were glaringly missing from World IMO, even with the "New World" setting. So it's why I'm glad to see them back because they were ultimately indeed "gone" for a whole game's length.
@anoyonmus I wouldn't be surprised if Switch was to get a "Master Rank" Expansion a-la World's Iceborne before the PC version as well. At least if the game proves popular enough
@DoubleDate Honestly it's not so bad, especially with battles reverting to more traditional style.
I would say however it does REALLY look better in movement(especially stuff where you can also see movement of light and shadows play off, such as that scene with the electric windmills and the shade they cast as they turn) than it does in still screenshots.
@RupeeClock It's weird but I suspect it might actually make a point to avoid using Mega-Evolutions altogether. Like... literally avoiding any of the "gimmicks" introduced in all of Gen6-7-8 such as mega-evolution/z-moves/dynamax.
Main reason for this feeling is that in many ways the simplicity of the lack of said battle gimmicks in gen1 to 5 also added to the accessibility of the genre. And with the last game without any of these special mechanics being those of gen5, we've reached the point where it's been so far long ago(unlike ORAS where mega-evolutions had JUST been introduced for the very first time) that a game WITHOUT any of these special mechanics is almost what would be the fresher experience for people who started with the more modern generations.
So literally, especially with the chibi-style being used to further convey the impression of as accurate a representation of the original game's overworld layouts/etc, I get the feeling they might make a point for this remake being used as an example of what the gameplay was like BEFORE any of these mechanics were introduced.
I mean, a kid who started with Pokemon X and Y at age 10-13 years old in 2013 would now be 18 to 21 years old. That's a lot of players who, especially with the difficulties to get a DS console/etc(to not mention those who had the console but got rid of it over the years/etc) unless you're really looking for it online, probably have never even tried any of the classic pre-XY games.
@DoubleDate It does look a bit cheaper than Link's Awakening but not that badly after looking at trailers again a bit. I think I'll manage.
With a close look, you can notice they REALLY wanted to pay attention to a faithful recreation of the layout of the original DS game. Even the chibis seem like they specifically try to keep close to the proportions of the 2D sprites of the original in particular.
I feel that bit might be important because ORAS was somewhat infamous not for how close it stuck to Ruby/Sapphire but specifically what it changed from those titles in terms of areas/etc if I recall well.
Whereas with these remakes I get a weird feeling we might get a much more accurate remake of the original's gameplays/features than something like ORAS did. Plus it's being made specifically by the Pokemon HOME team so support for transfer might be nigh-guaranteed if not outright the return of the full national dex(especially with the conscious choice to keep a less work-intensive visual style for overworld assets which should free up more character/monsters 3D artists to model out and provide battle animations for missing national dex pokemons).
@Zadaris Sadly I feel sprites is unlikely to happen outside of very specific titles(like Octopath) or indie franchises. Pokemon now being established with 3D graphics, I don't see them going anytime back to sprites short of a virtual console collection-style deal.
For one, the fact is sprites have stopped being mainstream for so long, I fear that only the more aged fans of pokemons games would appreciate sprites at all anymore.
But the franchise always aimed the younger generations... and that's the thing; if 12, even 15, years old kids these days had to choose between the Diamond/Pearl remakes we were seen and a sprite based ones...
... they'd take the current remakes teased in the Direct over the sprites-based game anytime.
On the plus side of things, the studio in charge of the Diamond & Pearl remake is literally the folks in charge of developing Pokemon HOME so I feel like those remakes' support for HOME might as well be nigh-guaranteed(wouldn't even be unsurprised if they indeed brought back the full nationaldex for that title since they're using a graphics style for the overworld that should be much less of a workload in terms of assets beyond make sure the layout is a faithful representation of the original games' layouts).
@I-U Honestly that's the thing. Like, thinking about it a lot of people compared to the ORAS remake but one thing I recall of those remake was the sheer amount of stuff apparently changed/removed from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, in particular when it came to stuff like Battle Resort(?) and so on. Plus it could tie very nicely with the fact Diamond/Pearl date back to the era of utility moves and the almost metroidvania-style progression/paths/secret unlocked by new utility moves(something that was present in Sword & Shield only in the most technical of sense with how small and linear Galar was). In that regard, the chibi style keeping further the traditional layout of the original games will be that much more of a boon.
These games however give me the odd feel that they might end up very close to the original Diamond/Pearl/Platinum games. Like... perhaps I could be wrong but these remakes don't seem like they feel to need to make a point to tie-in with the latest titles' gimmicks as I'm seeing no hints of either Gigantamax or Mega Evolution which feels like it could make for refreshingly traditional battling gameplay for the first time in a long while(which is to say... probably for the first time since Gen5 considering the introduction of Mega Evolution in Gen6 and the follow-up with Z-Move in Gen7 before Gen8 removed both only to add Dynamax/Gigantamax).
As gimmicks, I guess these are "nice" but a -proper-(unlike ORAS which tackled Mega-Evolutions into it's remake of Ruby/Sapphire) remake that lets us use our pokemons without all these special abilities/moves/etc will be nice.
And I mean, it's been long enough since those titles that we're reaching the point where a Pokemon game WITHOUT gimmick could be considered "fresh" now.
@BirdBoy16 Honestly the best stance to take in a way with the gaming hype machine(the way gamers can create their own distorted hype with anything).
Better approach anything with no expectations and then "risk" only being surprised than to come with prebuilt expectations that can too easily be disapointed.
A great example of that would be the many people(maybe not on this website, but elsewhere I've seen TONs of people hyped for this) who didn't see Pokemon Legends: Arceus coming in the last Pokemon 25th anniversary presentation and thus came hyped/surprised out of a presentation for which they initially had none to little expectations because of their perception of the Pokemon franchise over the years.
@TwinFami Pokemon is kind of unique because it's 25th anniversary isn't run by Nintendo but the independent Pokemon Company of which Nintendo really is only just a partner rather than the owner.
Need not to forget it's a multimedia game/film/anime franchise, all of which involve different companies, not just a gaming one.
@Zeldafan79 Thinking about it, waiting until Skyward Sword is out makes sense. It's the lesser known/appreciated Zelda so announcing any other games before it's out would void it's chances of success altogether.
Meanwhile the Direct did subtly make a point about it being the "origin of Hyrule", which later "anniversary" announcements after it's release could totally use as a springboard to introduce these titles meant to follow it chronologically.
@Euler I dunno but this seem to tie with another insider who was the guy to correctly predict most of the year of Mario stuff(a Paper Mario, Mario 3D All-Stars, Mario 3D World and I guess technically soon Mario Golf) and that other guy was also predicting specifically Wind Waker/Twillight Princess(rather than devolving into the larger "fans wishlist" of Ocarina of Time/etc that tend to be emblematic of the actual fake stories).
Honestly the explanation is sensible. Nintendo always prefer(even if it couldn't always pull it off due to delays/etc) to have paced releases so they run less the risk of cannibalizing each others.
If Twillight Princess/Wind Waker are indeed planned, it make senses to announces these better known Zelda games only after Skyward Sword is released.
Meanwhile, the Direct did point out Skyward Sword as the "origin of Hyrule", which can definitely be used as a springboard to then later introduce the other titles' releases since they're set in it's "future".
@BirdBoy16 I dunno. Source seem reliable(and he's not the only reliable source so far to mention only Twillight Princess and Wind Waker rather than devolving into "fan's wishlist" of the clearly fake stuff) and this fits well with a pattern I've noticed from Nintendo.
I.e.: trying not to have their own titles cannibalize each others whenever possible.
Like... just this start of the year had way too much going on with Mario 3D World/Persona 5 Striker/Bravely Default/Monster Hunter Rise to start revealing stuff as monolithic as Zelda without such an announcement sporting the risk of taking wind out of all of this.
And Nintendo wouldn't announce Skyward Sword, the one that is indeed the most vulnerable in the franchise, only to instantly take the wind from that release's sales(where having retail copies still mean production and shipping/distribution costs) the moment after by announcing better known Zelda games before it's even out of the door.
Plus the presentation of Skyward Sword in the Direct as "the origin of Hyrule" could mean it could then see it's release used as the springboard to then introduces other titles of the franchise... once it's actually out, that is.
@MetManMas Pretty much. Honestly the more I think about it the more I don't expect to hear about Zelda or the anniversary until April, when the next fiscal year will also have begun as a bonus too. Monster Hunter Rise succeeding THIS fiscal year is a nice way to cap it off. Don't need to hinder it's chances by talking about stuff that won't be ready until the next fiscal year in April and later.
And that's the thing. It's an anniversary "year", not "day". With release throughout April 2021 and later, they don't have to tie themselves neccessarily to the day.
Mario 3D All-Stars was nicely revealed on September 3rd but it didn't release on that day either, only on the 18th. And in it's case it was almost convenient they could take profit of it's closeness to the anniversary to reveal it that day(any later might have been... awkward, considering stores want those pre-orders themselves to help guide how many copies they need to order to possible fulfill demand).
With Zelda, in hindsight, they have much more leeway on "when" they want to kick things out. When they do they can still reference the February 21 date as the day when 35 years ago the whole thing started. But they can do it in April/etc and it'll still work out because we're still in the "anniversary year" that only began on that day.
@Mr_Persona Yeah. Beyond just the "when will Nintendo have a better Switch even though the current one still sells like hot cakes" rumors growing tiring on me, I think what really tire me the most is just the outright hardware and performances speculation getting so detailed it's clear it's often more out of someone's personal wishlist than anything based on known realities.
It's all so tiring to see so much energy spent purely speculating rather than.... anything else much more productive.
@SalvorHardin yeah. Honestly it's likely just to do with the fiscal year. Heck, the Mario 35th ending on March 31rst might have more to do with preparing to announce Zelda's 35th for the next fiscal year starting in April so that they can still celebrate it without having the titles straddle two separate fiscal years.
I mean, ontop of Skyward Sword we already have really reliable(the kind who correctly hinted at Paper Mario/3D All-Stars/3D World months in advance last year) sources hinting at Twillight Princess and Wind Waker this year.
@ObeseChihuahua2 Yeah, plus revealing more important Zelda announcements right now would take all the wind out of Monster Hunter Rise's sails to mention just that title(Bravely Default 2 also release this week and is being brought up almost as often than MR Rise on nintendo twitter accounts.).
And something tells me Nintendo very much doesn't want to give Capcom reasons to make that the last monster hunter on a nintendo console.
@Henmii Yeah. But yeah, they're major announcements so even if timing "should" have been last Sunday... they're also the kind that could have eclipsed and taking the wind out of other stuff Nintendo IS advertising for this week and next month(particularly all too rare third party exclusives like Bravely Default 2 and Monster Hunter Rise)
@MetManMas And like... Mario's 35th anniversary might be a concern but just look at Nintendo's twitters: the big things they're announcing the most are Bravely Default 2 and Monster Hunter Rise. The two have two things in common:
-They're third party releases from major publishers(SquareEnix and Capcom)
-They're nintendo-exclusive third-party release from major publishers.
Something tells me the last thing Nintendo wants to tell someone like Capcom, with a franchise like Monster Hunter, is something like "Sorry for taking all the wind out of that super massive exclusive Monster Hunter release you trusted us with, but we absolutely -had- to announce the releases of the games from our own absolutely massive Zelda titles WiiU ports, you know?"
Maybe it's just me but after "Where is MHWorld on Switch?" for so many years, something tells me Nintendo doesn't want Rise to be the last nintendo-exclusive Monster Hunter(to not say the potential last Monster Hunter on a nintendo console at all)?
@JohnnyC I meant overal. And least liked doesn't mean outright DISliked
Just that overall it seem like it's the one that was appreciated less than others even if it still has it's fanbase and appreciators(I still recall plenty of people talking about enjoying the near-"puzzle-fight" nature of the game's motion-controlled swordfighting which still remains unique).
@BenAV Very much same myself. I'm honestly getting tired of the rumors and speculation about it when so many games already are still getting released for the current Switch.
Like, it's just.... exhausting.
Plus, even Splatoon 3, something that release not until 2022, doesn't look all that different than Splatoon 2, something running on our current Switch? So it doesn't feel like even Nintendo themselves really are planning much that seem to hint at a Switch Pro yet.
@Tandy255 Dunno for a twopacks, but Wind Waker and Twillight Princess are almost already as confirmed as they can be considering the guy who "predicted"(thanks to his sources) Mario 3D World months in advance is telling us to expect at least these two titles.
Considering even Skyward Sword doesn't release until almost next summer, it could be indeed that they're held off for the next fiscal year that doesn't officially start until we're in april.
@Henmii Pretty much imo. Might be the reason why Mario's anniversary ends on March 31st considering how it ties into fiscal year stuff. Next fiscal year could be Zelda and if you think about it... with the timing of Skyward Sword's release it's already kind of the case.
Meanwhile we have anticipated stuff like Monster Hunter Rise releasing March 26th and something tells me Nintendo is very much keen on it not being the last nintendo-exclusive monster hunter after it spend all of World's time in the spotlight with only an aged port of Generations Ultimate to tide people over?
Skyward Sword, the least loved Zelda, is already topping some amazon charts with it's pre-order so what could one expect if/when something like Twillight Princess or Wind Waker, actually loved Zelda titles, finally gets confirmed?
They'd probably eclipse anything else in their viscinity.
@Tandy255 It could well be. Not saying it's a certainty but it's definitely on my mind. Especially with the current major third party exclusives that could be obliterated if more Zelda was revealed too early.
Like, seeing how often it pops up on Nintendo's Twitter, I suspect Nintendo really want Monster Hunter Rise to succeed so it doesn't become the last nintendo-exclusive Monster Hunter you know?
@JohnnyC Imo I wonder if there's overlap concerns right now. Like.... Mario's anniversary ending March 31st notably which coincide with fiscal year stuff.
Meanwhile just the least-liked of Zelda being revealed, Skyward Sword, is leading pre-orders of that title already shotting up to top of amazon best-sellers lists apparently despite releasing only in the next fiscal year when we'll almost be summer?
Considering Nintendo's currently having all-too-rare third party exclusives in the form of Bravely Default 2 this week and Monster Hunter Rise just before March ends, there could also be concerns of "trying not to kill the wind out of rare third party nintendo exclusives before they're actually out".
Like, the guy who predicted Paper Mario/3D All-Stars/3D World thanks to his source is already hinting we're getting Wind Waker/Twillight Princess. And WiiU ports or not, those were titles that were VERY loved by the fanbases compared to something like Skyward.
I'm not saying to absolutely expect anything, but I'm keeping an eye out for until around April or so, when stuff like MH Rise will have had some time to get it's expected sales and thus be "safer" before we expect any announcements regarding these and "a few months ago, on February 21st, was the 35th anniversary of Zelda so for this reason the new year is the year of Zelda" or something.
@SalvorHardin And that port, one of the least liked in the franchise, has already shot up into best-sellers list on Amazon.
Meanwhile this month and the next gets not one but two third party nintendo exclusives(something Nintendo has so very little of). Like, Monster Hunter Rise is one of the more recuring title on nintendo twitters accounts that I get the feeling they really want these third parties to do well enough to continue warranting getting... well, more of such.
So I wouldn't be surprised if Zelda announcements, and we have strong hint from the same sources who predicted Paper Mario/3D All-Stars/3D World months in advance that Wind Waker and Twillight Princess are coming this year, were held back to past March 31rst until both stuff like Monster Hunter Rise and the end of Mario's 35th anniversary have come and gone.
Plus considering that the 31st of March coincide with the end of the fiscal year, that could be another factor; keeping the majority of announcements for the next fiscal year when there might be less critical releases in the way anyway?
I mean, more than otherwise Nintendo seem to generally dislike overlapping announcements/releases and instead prefer stuff to be paced more evenly to avoid the risks of big announcements cannibalizing each others. And like said, in the current end of the current fiscal year Nintendo is getting non-negligible third party exclusives from the likes of Square-Enix and Capcom both.
@Euler Tbh I think there's a good reason to be a bit disapointed about the lack of announcement. After all, Zelda launched the Switch itself into prominence. It was literally "the" major release at console launch.
But at the same time the Mario anniversary ends on March 31st so I suspect there's possibly fiscal year stuff going on. Like, even Skyward Sword doesn't release until we're almost summer, well after the new fiscal year starts in like April I believe? It could be they're holding back announcements until that next fiscal year is started and after the anticipated, nintendo-exclusive to boot, third-party releases that are coming out at the end of our current fiscal years have passed.
Nintendo's pushing Monster Hunter Rise and as a both a Zelda and Monster Hunter fan I know "more" Zelda on Switch before Rise is out could easily kill the wind in it's sail.
Even Skyward Sword, the least liked Zelda, has basically shot up in amazon best-sellers apparently the moment pre-orders became available. And it doesn't release until we're almost summer as previously said.
@Beatrice To a degree I wonder if it's willful ignorance but rather another of nintendo's habit. One thing I noted of nintendo is generally they don't seem to like overlaps. Like, a lot of 2017's success very much had to do with how well-paced and apart every releases were. But in a way right now there ARE a lot of things overlapping. Not only is Mario's 35th anniversary not over until the 31st of March, there's also the matter of other releases right now.
I was dipping onto all the official nintendo twitters(even the japanese ones) and the most reccuring upcoming releases to be mentioned were this week's Bravely Default 2(which surprised me because Persona 5 Striker also release this week and it's barely mentionned) and Monster Hunter Rise which releases late next month(but before the 31st).
But these two releases have something in common: They're not only third-party releases, but also nintendo-exclusives third party release. Perhaps I'm seeing too much, but considering how focused on PR they are on those two titles, something tells back that Nintendo really doesn't want to jinx it with SquareEnix and Capcom(possibly especially the later after the whole Why-World-never-released-on-Switch deal).
And honestly.... I've beaten BotW1 so many times already so I love it ton, but it's also what tells me that nothing would take the wind out of third-party releases than suddenly revealing MORE Zelda before stuff like Monster Hunter Rise is even out and still gathering pre-orders.
I mean, Skyward Sword is the least liked title of the franchise and it's reveal has already led it to become a pre-orders best-sellers on Amazon despite the fact it's not out until almost summer.
Plus, Mario's anniversary doesn't end until the 31st of March which coincide with fiscal year stuff so Zelda stuff could be indeed be held back for the next fiscal year which'll start this April.
@RadioHedgeFund I dunno. That's if you really manage to break them A: within two months. and B: actually throw the whole controller to the trash instead of replacing the tiny joystick you could get two of for only 12$(complete with repair tools) online, in the case of joycons. When mine ran out of warranty that's what I ended up doing and was surprised by how easy it was(no soldering required for one, which technically make it even easier than replacing a gamepad pro's joystick)
Beside you're talking as if it was a problem exclusive to Nintendo when the PS5 is already getting people talking of drifting controllers which perhaps show an issue less of any specific console maker(that issue has been heard of on Xbox One controllers as well, which use very similar joysticks to not literally say they're more or less built the same internally) than it is of them somehow drawing all from the same parts supplier.
@Crockin Imo Splatoon 3 for Switch simply confirms the Switch as is will keep getting new software that won't need players to look for new hardware still.
Perfectly fine my way as I'd rather spend that gaming money on the software than hardware and so far the Switch hasn't disapointed me yet, especially regarding evergreen titles I still enjoy playing to this day even though I purchased them years ago now.
Honestly the cynic in me would almost want to add:
"But I had these titles on WiiU alongside the 13 millions of players who owned that console! Who cares about that! Who cares about the 67 or more millions of Switch owners who never owned a WiiU unless the 13 or less millions of Switch owners like use who owned the WiiU?"
Like... a lot of people don't realize the difference in sheer scope and size of playerbases when they claim that games they played on WiiU don't deserve a port on Switch because they have played them before.
@BabyYoda71 Or.... it just means that the Switch is here longer than we expect?
I mean, the N64 and Gamecube era saw not one but two Zelda games for example. Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask. The Wii saw not one but two Mario Galaxy.
The Switch could easily get two Splatoon without a "new" console coming yet. And why wouldn't it? It's still selling record without those gamers clamoring for a new console or else they wouldn't be buying the current one by record numbers as they are!
So there's clearly something there where the mainstream are quite content with the current tech or else they'd actually be holding out for the "next console".
@MetalMan Honestly you summed up my big issues with "end of the line technology and graphics" AAA at the end of the day. Stuff costs so much to produces anything short of 8 millions sales, the population of some countries, actually become seen as a "failure" for many game.
You can sell 1-2 million copies of a game and it's "barely enough" in some cases.
It's just utterly insanes.
And you see the results of that industry mindset in all the game development studios horror stories years after years.
I forgot who it is who said that quote, but I'm reaching the point of "These days I'd rather somewhat smaller game with less good graphics, but better paid developpers working less overtime".
@Crockin honestly, Splatoon guaranteeing another 2-3 years of lifespan for the Switch past 2022 by itself alone increase the chances of another Mario Kart/etc before the next nintendo console generation.
And honestly, I'm fine with having a console I don't need to replace until a while. "Technological progress" is a "thing" I guess, but when you see a lot of the consoles pushing said "progress" having to be sold at a loss because of the sum of their hardware's cost... I wonder if it truly is "progress" rather than technology that wasn't actually THAT ready but is subsidized at higher actual games costs and developers burnout(because we know the AAA industry practices pushing that tech the most are also some of the most horrid on average).
Like there are perhaps certain types of games that could benefit from "processor powers"/etc but honestly I've rarely see anything that interested me THAT much of the PS4 or in particular the current PS5 gen to actually feel disapointed about my tiny tablet-shaped Switch console that I can install wherever I want in my house without issues.
@MS7000 The way I see it.... my brother doesn't have a Switch but neither does he own a WiiU(the WiiU we had was my own when we were roomates).
He did show interests in some WiiU game and but is also is... kind of a cheapskate, so he never got one for himself but we had discussions that he could be interested in mine.
So stuff like 3D World gives me an excuse to finally gift/sell him my WiiU by getting the Switch port for myself since it was one of the only game I had left I'd still cared for. The thing also had Wind Waker on it so I might try to hunt down a copy or download Twillight Princess on it(while the eshop still stands on that console) as a bundled-in bonus.
Like, my grandparents also had a NES that they never upgraded for newer console but which they kept for kids during gathering. And being the stuff they had, it still saw plenty of use from kids during those gatherings even if we all had SNES/etc by the time.
Not saying this offer you any solution for re: your WiiU because it's all about games -you- did purchase, but it's one I'm considering for mine, especially as my household has grown a bit cramped to easily even keep the WiiU and all it's peripherals(like that massive gamepad)/cables around.
Comments 1,229
Re: Poll: Monster Hunter Rise Is Out Today On Switch, Are You Getting It?
Already getting it. Just waiting for my physical pre-order to land(a friend even got theirs BEFORE release day in fact XD ).
Based on past shipping experience with Canada Post I'd have expected it yesterday(based on the current location when tracking the shipment) but it seems like it's taking a bit longer than I expected this time around so I guess I've been spoiled in the past ^^;
Should get it on the 30th at the latest though.
Re: Deiland: Pocket Planet Edition Crafts Its Way Onto Switch Next Month
I recall hearing of this game on PC and being curious about it, nice to see it for Switch!
Re: Round Up: The Monster Hunter Rise Reviews Are In
@Aneira Also very much this. World at release was still a VERY different beast than World as it was just before Iceborne's release adding even more.
And it's already confirmed we're getting Chameleos(and more!) next month!
It's also an interesting deal because (I could recall wrong) though Chameleos is an elder dragon he's not at the top tier of the franchise in difficulty. I believe he's even appeared as a Low-Rank monster in some games?
So it could be interesting if "power creep" is kept more reasonable this time around as World definitely had fallen into the habit of focusing ONLY on endgame content in it's updates if I recall well. Like... I wouldn't mind if some updates even added Low-Rank monsters to the game this time around, since that's the segment of the game players are always first exposed to so it could be nice if even the Low-Rank tier was a beefier one year from now than it is at release.
Like... One of my issues with Iceborne was perhaps due to the ways it itself focused ONLY on the new Master Rank, whereas previous "Ultimate/G"(i.e."Master" rank) expansions also added more Low/High rank monsters to the base games they built up from(For example, MH3U's Great Wroggi which wasn't a thing in MH3 but got added as a new monster that could be encountered straight from low rank in 3U).
I kind of felt the fact Iceborne focused solely on Master Rank kind of discouraged new MH players from feeling like it'd be worth getting it since they'd have to power through Low/High rank before encountering any of that new stuff?
Either way, I'll see what else is planned to be alongside Chameleos since he's supposed to come with some other monster(s) as well.
Re: Round Up: The Monster Hunter Rise Reviews Are In
@FargusPelagius Afaik not really because "multiplayer" quests difficulty themselves scales dependent on the number of player, something introduced to the franchise only with Iceborne(previously, multiplayer quests were auto-balanced to 4 players even if there were only 2 or 1 player).
So you could most likely run the same quests as a purely solo or local wireless multiplayer setup now.
Re: A Kid Icarus: Uprising Sequel Would Be "Difficult", Says Masahiro Sakurai
@Yosher tbh did the Uprising game even sell that well(I guenuinely asks since I never really followed the franchise)? I wonder if sales/etc is one of the factor at play there.
I mean, nintendo may values their IP in couple of ways but also some fans ARE so passionate that outright saying "Sorry, your fav just didn't sell enough to warrant support in a way we would feel worthwhile" is kind of a.... "complicated" PR thing to pull off politely.
It's not to say it couldn't return but I figure that if it does it'd likely have to either come through a massively remastered re-release to try to give the current format a second breath or an entire re-imagining while trying not to end up with a copy of another franchise that could end up selling better anyway due to being better known in the first place.
Which is what some suspects, for an example, might be the problem with F-Zero being it's spot as "nintendo's racing game" was kind of taken by Mario whereas it's scifi and more bare-knuckles, no fancy "items", racing style of gameplay might not be as "mass-appealing" than either the party-game style racing of Mario Kart or more mainstream "realworld" car racing of mainstream racing games.
Like... how to make a "Kid Icarus" game that feels fresh but doesn't end up in a spot already better filled by another franchise.
Kid Icarus' origins kind of placed it in a sort of odd spot where it was a... platformer, but also had some metroidvania(?)-like format but linear so kind of a platformer still. And Kid Icarus was itself kind of an action platformer(with flight sequences that kind of reminded me of Starfox from and outside glance?) but also linear-ish afaik?
So I feel like it'd have a hard time forging an independent identity because it kind of already straddles stuff like the "fantasy adventure" trappings that already got cinched by Zelda hard, meanwhile action platformer(which Uprising did stray from with like... ground-combat systems?) is already kind of tackled by Mario and the flight combat.... like said, from an outside point of view kind of feel very Star Fox-ish but I feel the kind of "rail shooter" space combat/flight of Star Fox might not have superbly aged well sadly which I suspect has been part of that selfsame franchise' own slow decline/identity crisis.
Since in Star Fox case I feel the games had a clearly identified niche but to a degree it's kind of grown trapped by that niche as it's less relevents to mainstream players these days?
So in a way I guess what I mean isn't that Nintendo has "forgotten" about IPs but instead that their niche has become less relevents to players over time and Nintendo is itself struggling reimagining those titles and finding them a new niche to prosper in without having to be one where they'd have to compete with other (better known) Nintendo franchises. Which... with the "better known" advantage of those other franchises could lead to a kind of "trying to stuggled with one hand tied behind their back" kind of issues.
Re: The Dungeon Of Naheulbeuk Reminds Us Of Divinity: Original Sin 2, And It's Coming To Switch
Not sure how to feel about it. Being french canadian I know of Naheulbeuk's stuff from the very earliest days but also... I recall a lot of it is stuff that'd likely have aged very poorly today.
I stopped following it for a long while as I began to be less involved in tabletop stuff however so I don't know how much they remained stuck in the same type of humor VS how much they might adapted with the time.
Judging by the screenshot it sounds like it still very much has elements of toilet humor though.
Re: Video: Pokémon Fan "Fixes" Diamond And Pearl Remakes With This Slick Concept Trailer
@Marxally Honestly... people lose too much time ranting about the chibi character it's like they fail to notice how much the overworld seem to be a 1:1 recreation of the original game.
This is important to me because I've always heard of the Gen 4 games(Platinum in particular) described as some of the largest of the franchise. And that's the other thing: one of the thing a lot of people complained about the Gen8 titles is how small the world was and thus just how much of the "exploration" featured in original titles seemed to be gone.
Meanwhile, seeing an attempted to extremely faithfully recreate the layout of the gen4 titles in these remakes gives me serious hope that we're going to keep that much more of the original "exploring the map, finding secrets and alternate routes and whatnot" will remain in these remakes. Like, out of everything this is what I missed the most in Sword&Shield even if I "liked" the gen8 games, so seeing a remake that seem to strive to remain accurately faithful to it's original rather than overhaul graphics to modern level(and likely have to release later AND cut content anyway) gives me hope.
Especially as I'm dealing with wrist injuries lately(unrelated to gaming; I was a ***** when trying to do exercise and didn't take precautions) so with how much of my game library is real-time full action games or even 3D camera that require both hands on the controller to play easily.... an overhead turn-based games is actually likely gonna be a godsend for me since even without re: that injury I still have carpal tunnels that can often be sensitive if I'm not careful(since I do a lot of artwork as part of my income so my hands/wrists, especially my primary hand, are often taxed enough as it is).
Like... I've begun to enjoy revisiting Dragon Quest 11S through it's 2D mode because I don't have to worry about the camera joystick and (thanks to ZL being used to confirm actions) I can outright play the game using only my offhand while resting my primary hand or (on good/great days) even working on new art at the same time and using the game as some kind of background noise generator(which oddly helps my production since it keeps me occupied enough to not get distracted by social medias/etc, ADHD/etc is a pain tbh, but not enough occupied that I find myself unable to draw/etc).
Re: Video: Pokémon Fan "Fixes" Diamond And Pearl Remakes With This Slick Concept Trailer
@Tharsman My own feeling on this.
Like... "Cool trailer but... try to make the entire game now".
Especially that Diamond/Pearl/Platinum were among the largest game of the franchise afaik... I don't see a remake being done in the style of that trailer without SOMETHING being cut AND likely only releasing many years later. Like... potentially "the Switch almost ending it's lifespan and oh there's still cut content anyway". And even more cut out if it released this year somehow.
Like I'm not saying not to expect cut content from the upcoming remake. But I can bet you it'd be worst if that style had been used, possibly to the level of entire routes gone or drastically shortened.
This is where the current remake's chibi style has my appreciation because when one look past the chibi characters everyone is ranting about... you'll notice the overhead overworld is basically 1:1 a recreation of the original tileset-based maps. Which to mean feels that we should expect a LOT of the original Diamond and Pearl to remain in the upcoming remake.
And certainly a lot more than if they'd gone for the visual style of this fan trailer.
Re: Sakurai Explains Why Xenoblade's Rex Isn't A Smash Ultimate DLC Fighter
@Ghostbusterluigi honestly that might explains why I don't have too much issues with "silent protagonists" from games like Dragon Quest or the like.
Re: Indie Dev Shares 'The Last Levels', 36 Super Mario Maker Courses To Play Before Servers Are Shut Down
@brunojenso honestly though I'd say that's mostly my issues with online-dependent games in most form. the fact that servers can and WILL close someday.
Which's why I'm glad for every games that leaves room for local or at the very least wireless local multiplayer. Since that does leave at least an "option" less dependent on game servers.
Re: Video: Pokémon Fan "Fixes" Diamond And Pearl Remakes With This Slick Concept Trailer
@HotGoomba It does look good.
But honestly the problem is that if they'd chosen that kind of style... not only would the game not be out until 2023 or later but also there would likely be so much changes to the layout/etc of the original game (and possibly so many corners that would need to be cut in terms of elements of the original game) that they might as well have made a brand new game altogether instead of a remake.
As that's a thing with the current form, it allows for a faithful/accurate recreation of the original game's layout including stuff like the metroidvania-like progression that used to be more prevalent in older titles using the Cut/Push/Etc moves.
The fact they're going with a gridlike overworld likely has to do with them wishing to make sure it's a more "traditional" experience so while I see stuff like Fairy types continuing to be a thing I suspect we won't be seeing mega-evolution/z-moves or even gigantamax this time around to keep to the traditional "just your pokemons, no fancy gimmicks" formula of gen 1-5 that's been kind of missing in action since Gen6.
Like... at the end of the day there is very much a market for that. Both from lots of veterans tired of games whose world seem to keep sacrificing depth(espeically all the alternate and optional paths/areas/etc which approach we saw reach it's apex of barebonedness come Sword/Shield even if I enjoyed the title in generA) the more the graphics increase in the franchise and the more gimmicks it introduced.
Like. Sure, that trailer looks cool. But as they say "now do the entire game and we'll speak".
And that's the other thing, Platinum was by most definition NOT a small or short pokemon game by franchise standards.
Mind you, this is a cool visual style and I wouldn't have minded it but I also know why , especially for a "remake" rather than brand new game, this isn't the style we're getting. When we reach remaking stuff like Gen6 and up I think is when we'll start being able to talk of using that style more commonly in remakes.
Re: Anniversary: It's Super Mario RPG's 25th Birthday!
@Expa0 To a degree i think you (partly) summed up one of my issues with Mario & Luigi games. I wanted to like them because they were getting so much of the mechanics of Mario RPG right but the worlds just felt... "off". And to a degree I think it's because of how Mario RPG had this massive worlds in the plural sense, with multiple towns you even got to explore and that much more NPCs whereas what Mario&Luigi games I've tried generally only had the one hub town at best.
In comparison, Paper Mario's mechanics differed somewhat more in being less of a carbon copy of Mario RPG than Mario&Luigi was... but straight from the first game they got the sense of exploring that massive world of multiple regions/towns for secrets and such and that much more NPCs compared to how much.... smaller the Mario&Luigi games had.
Like, while I still have some issues with the battle system(though it was okay for what it was) and the dependency on Toads(though it had much more variety thanks to all the other types of characters featured like Koopas, etc as NPCs)... Origami King has been heading back in a very good direction when it came to world design at least, reminding me a lot of the original Paper Mario in that sense.
Re: Monster Hunter Rise Is Getting Another Free Demo, Future Free Updates Detailed
@Mr_Persona Tbh High Rank stuff is always kind of kept as a surprise and it's the low-ranks + flagship(which traditionally is the monster often related to unlockinh High Rank/etc or which has a relationship with High Rank storybeats but usually isn't the actual final boss) that always tend to make most of the early advertising for Monster Hunter games.
Which is logical because they'll be among the first monsters to be faced by players.
Re: Monster Hunter Rise Is Getting Another Free Demo, Future Free Updates Detailed
@Beatrice I suspect Jho's a given since we're not supposed to be in the New World anymore. Not sure who all will be part of free updates but then again Chameleos right off the bat after release(1 month only is pretty damn close) sounds promising without being a "end of the endest"-grade monster afaik even as an elder dragon(as Chameleos always gave me vibe of a "you have unlocked elder dragons" but it's definitely not a Raging Deviljho or Furious Rajang) so that leaves a lot of space for scaling future additions... perhaps even include some non-engame ones(especially since the'yre promising "other monsters" for that update).
Re: Monster Hunter Rise Is Getting Another Free Demo, Future Free Updates Detailed
@Razzbery They are but were glaringly missing from World IMO, even with the "New World" setting. So it's why I'm glad to see them back because they were ultimately indeed "gone" for a whole game's length.
Re: Monster Hunter Rise Is Getting Another Free Demo, Future Free Updates Detailed
@Beatrice I figure that will be later reveals or "only when people get there" stuff like end/post-game stuff.
Or a Master Rank expansion a-la Iceborne.
Re: Monster Hunter Rise Is Getting Another Free Demo, Future Free Updates Detailed
@Mr_Persona Also can we talk about how our favorite kleptocats *****, the Melynxes, just got confirmed?
Re: Monster Hunter Rise Is Getting Another Free Demo, Future Free Updates Detailed
@anoyonmus I wouldn't be surprised if Switch was to get a "Master Rank" Expansion a-la World's Iceborne before the PC version as well.
At least if the game proves popular enough
Re: Poll: Do You Like The Chibi Art Style In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl?
@DoubleDate Honestly it's not so bad, especially with battles reverting to more traditional style.
I would say however it does REALLY look better in movement(especially stuff where you can also see movement of light and shadows play off, such as that scene with the electric windmills and the shade they cast as they turn) than it does in still screenshots.
Re: Pokémon Platinum Content Spotted In Diamond And Pearl Remake Trailer
@RupeeClock It's weird but I suspect it might actually make a point to avoid using Mega-Evolutions altogether. Like... literally avoiding any of the "gimmicks" introduced in all of Gen6-7-8 such as mega-evolution/z-moves/dynamax.
Main reason for this feeling is that in many ways the simplicity of the lack of said battle gimmicks in gen1 to 5 also added to the accessibility of the genre. And with the last game without any of these special mechanics being those of gen5, we've reached the point where it's been so far long ago(unlike ORAS where mega-evolutions had JUST been introduced for the very first time) that a game WITHOUT any of these special mechanics is almost what would be the fresher experience for people who started with the more modern generations.
So literally, especially with the chibi-style being used to further convey the impression of as accurate a representation of the original game's overworld layouts/etc, I get the feeling they might make a point for this remake being used as an example of what the gameplay was like BEFORE any of these mechanics were introduced.
I mean, a kid who started with Pokemon X and Y at age 10-13 years old in 2013 would now be 18 to 21 years old. That's a lot of players who, especially with the difficulties to get a DS console/etc(to not mention those who had the console but got rid of it over the years/etc) unless you're really looking for it online, probably have never even tried any of the classic pre-XY games.
Re: Poll: Do You Like The Chibi Art Style In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl?
@DoubleDate It does look a bit cheaper than Link's Awakening but not that badly after looking at trailers again a bit. I think I'll manage.
With a close look, you can notice they REALLY wanted to pay attention to a faithful recreation of the layout of the original DS game. Even the chibis seem like they specifically try to keep close to the proportions of the 2D sprites of the original in particular.
I feel that bit might be important because ORAS was somewhat infamous not for how close it stuck to Ruby/Sapphire but specifically what it changed from those titles in terms of areas/etc if I recall well.
Whereas with these remakes I get a weird feeling we might get a much more accurate remake of the original's gameplays/features than something like ORAS did. Plus it's being made specifically by the Pokemon HOME team so support for transfer might be nigh-guaranteed if not outright the return of the full national dex(especially with the conscious choice to keep a less work-intensive visual style for overworld assets which should free up more character/monsters 3D artists to model out and provide battle animations for missing national dex pokemons).
Re: Poll: Do You Like The Chibi Art Style In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl?
@Zadaris Sadly I feel sprites is unlikely to happen outside of very specific titles(like Octopath) or indie franchises. Pokemon now being established with 3D graphics, I don't see them going anytime back to sprites short of a virtual console collection-style deal.
For one, the fact is sprites have stopped being mainstream for so long, I fear that only the more aged fans of pokemons games would appreciate sprites at all anymore.
But the franchise always aimed the younger generations... and that's the thing; if 12, even 15, years old kids these days had to choose between the Diamond/Pearl remakes we were seen and a sprite based ones...
... they'd take the current remakes teased in the Direct over the sprites-based game anytime.
On the plus side of things, the studio in charge of the Diamond & Pearl remake is literally the folks in charge of developing Pokemon HOME so I feel like those remakes' support for HOME might as well be nigh-guaranteed(wouldn't even be unsurprised if they indeed brought back the full nationaldex for that title since they're using a graphics style for the overworld that should be much less of a workload in terms of assets beyond make sure the layout is a faithful representation of the original games' layouts).
Re: Poll: Do You Like The Chibi Art Style In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl?
@I-U Honestly that's the thing. Like, thinking about it a lot of people compared to the ORAS remake but one thing I recall of those remake was the sheer amount of stuff apparently changed/removed from Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald, in particular when it came to stuff like Battle Resort(?) and so on. Plus it could tie very nicely with the fact Diamond/Pearl date back to the era of utility moves and the almost metroidvania-style progression/paths/secret unlocked by new utility moves(something that was present in Sword & Shield only in the most technical of sense with how small and linear Galar was). In that regard, the chibi style keeping further the traditional layout of the original games will be that much more of a boon.
These games however give me the odd feel that they might end up very close to the original Diamond/Pearl/Platinum games. Like... perhaps I could be wrong but these remakes don't seem like they feel to need to make a point to tie-in with the latest titles' gimmicks as I'm seeing no hints of either Gigantamax or Mega Evolution which feels like it could make for refreshingly traditional battling gameplay for the first time in a long while(which is to say... probably for the first time since Gen5 considering the introduction of Mega Evolution in Gen6 and the follow-up with Z-Move in Gen7 before Gen8 removed both only to add Dynamax/Gigantamax).
As gimmicks, I guess these are "nice" but a -proper-(unlike ORAS which tackled Mega-Evolutions into it's remake of Ruby/Sapphire) remake that lets us use our pokemons without all these special abilities/moves/etc will be nice.
And I mean, it's been long enough since those titles that we're reaching the point where a Pokemon game WITHOUT gimmick could be considered "fresh" now.
Re: Expect To Hear More About Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Summer, Says Industry Insider
@BirdBoy16 Honestly the best stance to take in a way with the gaming hype machine(the way gamers can create their own distorted hype with anything).
Better approach anything with no expectations and then "risk" only being surprised than to come with prebuilt expectations that can too easily be disapointed.
A great example of that would be the many people(maybe not on this website, but elsewhere I've seen TONs of people hyped for this) who didn't see Pokemon Legends: Arceus coming in the last Pokemon 25th anniversary presentation and thus came hyped/surprised out of a presentation for which they initially had none to little expectations because of their perception of the Pokemon franchise over the years.
Re: Expect To Hear More About Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Summer, Says Industry Insider
@TwinFami Pokemon is kind of unique because it's 25th anniversary isn't run by Nintendo but the independent Pokemon Company of which Nintendo really is only just a partner rather than the owner.
Need not to forget it's a multimedia game/film/anime franchise, all of which involve different companies, not just a gaming one.
Re: Expect To Hear More About Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Summer, Says Industry Insider
@Zeldafan79 Thinking about it, waiting until Skyward Sword is out makes sense. It's the lesser known/appreciated Zelda so announcing any other games before it's out would void it's chances of success altogether.
Meanwhile the Direct did subtly make a point about it being the "origin of Hyrule", which later "anniversary" announcements after it's release could totally use as a springboard to introduce these titles meant to follow it chronologically.
Re: Expect To Hear More About Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Summer, Says Industry Insider
@Euler I dunno but this seem to tie with another insider who was the guy to correctly predict most of the year of Mario stuff(a Paper Mario, Mario 3D All-Stars, Mario 3D World and I guess technically soon Mario Golf) and that other guy was also predicting specifically Wind Waker/Twillight Princess(rather than devolving into the larger "fans wishlist" of Ocarina of Time/etc that tend to be emblematic of the actual fake stories).
Honestly the explanation is sensible. Nintendo always prefer(even if it couldn't always pull it off due to delays/etc) to have paced releases so they run less the risk of cannibalizing each others.
If Twillight Princess/Wind Waker are indeed planned, it make senses to announces these better known Zelda games only after Skyward Sword is released.
Meanwhile, the Direct did point out Skyward Sword as the "origin of Hyrule", which can definitely be used as a springboard to then later introduce the other titles' releases since they're set in it's "future".
Re: Expect To Hear More About Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Summer, Says Industry Insider
@BirdBoy16 I dunno. Source seem reliable(and he's not the only reliable source so far to mention only Twillight Princess and Wind Waker rather than devolving into "fan's wishlist" of the clearly fake stuff) and this fits well with a pattern I've noticed from Nintendo.
I.e.: trying not to have their own titles cannibalize each others whenever possible.
Like... just this start of the year had way too much going on with Mario 3D World/Persona 5 Striker/Bravely Default/Monster Hunter Rise to start revealing stuff as monolithic as Zelda without such an announcement sporting the risk of taking wind out of all of this.
And Nintendo wouldn't announce Skyward Sword, the one that is indeed the most vulnerable in the franchise, only to instantly take the wind from that release's sales(where having retail copies still mean production and shipping/distribution costs) the moment after by announcing better known Zelda games before it's even out of the door.
Plus the presentation of Skyward Sword in the Direct as "the origin of Hyrule" could mean it could then see it's release used as the springboard to then introduces other titles of the franchise... once it's actually out, that is.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@MetManMas Pretty much. Honestly the more I think about it the more I don't expect to hear about Zelda or the anniversary until April, when the next fiscal year will also have begun as a bonus too.
Monster Hunter Rise succeeding THIS fiscal year is a nice way to cap it off. Don't need to hinder it's chances by talking about stuff that won't be ready until the next fiscal year in April and later.
And that's the thing. It's an anniversary "year", not "day". With release throughout April 2021 and later, they don't have to tie themselves neccessarily to the day.
Mario 3D All-Stars was nicely revealed on September 3rd but it didn't release on that day either, only on the 18th. And in it's case it was almost convenient they could take profit of it's closeness to the anniversary to reveal it that day(any later might have been... awkward, considering stores want those pre-orders themselves to help guide how many copies they need to order to possible fulfill demand).
With Zelda, in hindsight, they have much more leeway on "when" they want to kick things out. When they do they can still reference the February 21 date as the day when 35 years ago the whole thing started. But they can do it in April/etc and it'll still work out because we're still in the "anniversary year" that only began on that day.
Re: Rumour: 'Switch Pro' Console Still Aiming For 2021 Launch, According To Known Insider
@Mr_Persona Yeah. Beyond just the "when will Nintendo have a better Switch even though the current one still sells like hot cakes" rumors growing tiring on me, I think what really tire me the most is just the outright hardware and performances speculation getting so detailed it's clear it's often more out of someone's personal wishlist than anything based on known realities.
It's all so tiring to see so much energy spent purely speculating rather than.... anything else much more productive.
Re: Rumour: 'Switch Pro' Console Still Aiming For 2021 Launch, According To Known Insider
@SalvorHardin yeah. Honestly it's likely just to do with the fiscal year.
Heck, the Mario 35th ending on March 31rst might have more to do with preparing to announce Zelda's 35th for the next fiscal year starting in April so that they can still celebrate it without having the titles straddle two separate fiscal years.
I mean, ontop of Skyward Sword we already have really reliable(the kind who correctly hinted at Paper Mario/3D All-Stars/3D World months in advance last year) sources hinting at Twillight Princess and Wind Waker this year.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@ObeseChihuahua2 Yeah, plus revealing more important Zelda announcements right now would take all the wind out of Monster Hunter Rise's sails to mention just that title(Bravely Default 2 also release this week and is being brought up almost as often than MR Rise on nintendo twitter accounts.).
And something tells me Nintendo very much doesn't want to give Capcom reasons to make that the last monster hunter on a nintendo console.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@Henmii Yeah. But yeah, they're major announcements so even if timing "should" have been last Sunday... they're also the kind that could have eclipsed and taking the wind out of other stuff Nintendo IS advertising for this week and next month(particularly all too rare third party exclusives like Bravely Default 2 and Monster Hunter Rise)
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@MetManMas And like... Mario's 35th anniversary might be a concern but just look at Nintendo's twitters: the big things they're announcing the most are Bravely Default 2 and Monster Hunter Rise. The two have two things in common:
-They're third party releases from major publishers(SquareEnix and Capcom)
-They're nintendo-exclusive third-party release from major publishers.
Something tells me the last thing Nintendo wants to tell someone like Capcom, with a franchise like Monster Hunter, is something like "Sorry for taking all the wind out of that super massive exclusive Monster Hunter release you trusted us with, but we absolutely -had- to announce the releases of the games from our own absolutely massive Zelda titles WiiU ports, you know?"
Maybe it's just me but after "Where is MHWorld on Switch?" for so many years, something tells me Nintendo doesn't want Rise to be the last nintendo-exclusive Monster Hunter(to not say the potential last Monster Hunter on a nintendo console at all)?
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@JohnnyC I meant overal.
And least liked doesn't mean outright DISliked
Just that overall it seem like it's the one that was appreciated less than others even if it still has it's fanbase and appreciators(I still recall plenty of people talking about enjoying the near-"puzzle-fight" nature of the game's motion-controlled swordfighting which still remains unique).
Re: Rumour: 'Switch Pro' Console Still Aiming For 2021 Launch, According To Known Insider
@BenAV Very much same myself. I'm honestly getting tired of the rumors and speculation about it when so many games already are still getting released for the current Switch.
Like, it's just.... exhausting.
Plus, even Splatoon 3, something that release not until 2022, doesn't look all that different than Splatoon 2, something running on our current Switch? So it doesn't feel like even Nintendo themselves really are planning much that seem to hint at a Switch Pro yet.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@Tandy255 Dunno for a twopacks, but Wind Waker and Twillight Princess are almost already as confirmed as they can be considering the guy who "predicted"(thanks to his sources) Mario 3D World months in advance is telling us to expect at least these two titles.
Considering even Skyward Sword doesn't release until almost next summer, it could be indeed that they're held off for the next fiscal year that doesn't officially start until we're in april.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@Henmii Pretty much imo. Might be the reason why Mario's anniversary ends on March 31st considering how it ties into fiscal year stuff. Next fiscal year could be Zelda and if you think about it... with the timing of Skyward Sword's release it's already kind of the case.
Meanwhile we have anticipated stuff like Monster Hunter Rise releasing March 26th and something tells me Nintendo is very much keen on it not being the last nintendo-exclusive monster hunter after it spend all of World's time in the spotlight with only an aged port of Generations Ultimate to tide people over?
Skyward Sword, the least loved Zelda, is already topping some amazon charts with it's pre-order so what could one expect if/when something like Twillight Princess or Wind Waker, actually loved Zelda titles, finally gets confirmed?
They'd probably eclipse anything else in their viscinity.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@Tandy255 It could well be. Not saying it's a certainty but it's definitely on my mind. Especially with the current major third party exclusives that could be obliterated if more Zelda was revealed too early.
Like, seeing how often it pops up on Nintendo's Twitter, I suspect Nintendo really want Monster Hunter Rise to succeed so it doesn't become the last nintendo-exclusive Monster Hunter you know?
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@JohnnyC Imo I wonder if there's overlap concerns right now. Like.... Mario's anniversary ending March 31st notably which coincide with fiscal year stuff.
Meanwhile just the least-liked of Zelda being revealed, Skyward Sword, is leading pre-orders of that title already shotting up to top of amazon best-sellers lists apparently despite releasing only in the next fiscal year when we'll almost be summer?
Considering Nintendo's currently having all-too-rare third party exclusives in the form of Bravely Default 2 this week and Monster Hunter Rise just before March ends, there could also be concerns of "trying not to kill the wind out of rare third party nintendo exclusives before they're actually out".
Like, the guy who predicted Paper Mario/3D All-Stars/3D World thanks to his source is already hinting we're getting Wind Waker/Twillight Princess. And WiiU ports or not, those were titles that were VERY loved by the fanbases compared to something like Skyward.
I'm not saying to absolutely expect anything, but I'm keeping an eye out for until around April or so, when stuff like MH Rise will have had some time to get it's expected sales and thus be "safer" before we expect any announcements regarding these and "a few months ago, on February 21st, was the 35th anniversary of Zelda so for this reason the new year is the year of Zelda" or something.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@SalvorHardin And that port, one of the least liked in the franchise, has already shot up into best-sellers list on Amazon.
Meanwhile this month and the next gets not one but two third party nintendo exclusives(something Nintendo has so very little of). Like, Monster Hunter Rise is one of the more recuring title on nintendo twitters accounts that I get the feeling they really want these third parties to do well enough to continue warranting getting... well, more of such.
So I wouldn't be surprised if Zelda announcements, and we have strong hint from the same sources who predicted Paper Mario/3D All-Stars/3D World months in advance that Wind Waker and Twillight Princess are coming this year, were held back to past March 31rst until both stuff like Monster Hunter Rise and the end of Mario's 35th anniversary have come and gone.
Plus considering that the 31st of March coincide with the end of the fiscal year, that could be another factor; keeping the majority of announcements for the next fiscal year when there might be less critical releases in the way anyway?
I mean, more than otherwise Nintendo seem to generally dislike overlapping announcements/releases and instead prefer stuff to be paced more evenly to avoid the risks of big announcements cannibalizing each others. And like said, in the current end of the current fiscal year Nintendo is getting non-negligible third party exclusives from the likes of Square-Enix and Capcom both.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@Euler Tbh I think there's a good reason to be a bit disapointed about the lack of announcement. After all, Zelda launched the Switch itself into prominence. It was literally "the" major release at console launch.
But at the same time the Mario anniversary ends on March 31st so I suspect there's possibly fiscal year stuff going on. Like, even Skyward Sword doesn't release until we're almost summer, well after the new fiscal year starts in like April I believe? It could be they're holding back announcements until that next fiscal year is started and after the anticipated, nintendo-exclusive to boot, third-party releases that are coming out at the end of our current fiscal years have passed.
Nintendo's pushing Monster Hunter Rise and as a both a Zelda and Monster Hunter fan I know "more" Zelda on Switch before Rise is out could easily kill the wind in it's sail.
Even Skyward Sword, the least liked Zelda, has basically shot up in amazon best-sellers apparently the moment pre-orders became available. And it doesn't release until we're almost summer as previously said.
Re: Nintendo Ignored Zelda's 35th Anniversary This Weekend, But Fans Are Celebrating In Style
@Beatrice To a degree I wonder if it's willful ignorance but rather another of nintendo's habit.
One thing I noted of nintendo is generally they don't seem to like overlaps. Like, a lot of 2017's success very much had to do with how well-paced and apart every releases were.
But in a way right now there ARE a lot of things overlapping.
Not only is Mario's 35th anniversary not over until the 31st of March, there's also the matter of other releases right now.
I was dipping onto all the official nintendo twitters(even the japanese ones) and the most reccuring upcoming releases to be mentioned were this week's Bravely Default 2(which surprised me because Persona 5 Striker also release this week and it's barely mentionned) and Monster Hunter Rise which releases late next month(but before the 31st).
But these two releases have something in common: They're not only third-party releases, but also nintendo-exclusives third party release. Perhaps I'm seeing too much, but considering how focused on PR they are on those two titles, something tells back that Nintendo really doesn't want to jinx it with SquareEnix and Capcom(possibly especially the later after the whole Why-World-never-released-on-Switch deal).
And honestly.... I've beaten BotW1 so many times already so I love it ton, but it's also what tells me that nothing would take the wind out of third-party releases than suddenly revealing MORE Zelda before stuff like Monster Hunter Rise is even out and still gathering pre-orders.
I mean, Skyward Sword is the least liked title of the franchise and it's reveal has already led it to become a pre-orders best-sellers on Amazon despite the fact it's not out until almost summer.
Plus, Mario's anniversary doesn't end until the 31st of March which coincide with fiscal year stuff so Zelda stuff could be indeed be held back for the next fiscal year which'll start this April.
Re: Study Suggests Nintendo Switch Is The Most Eco-Friendly Console On The Market
@RadioHedgeFund I dunno. That's if you really manage to break them
A: within two months.
and
B: actually throw the whole controller to the trash instead of replacing the tiny joystick you could get two of for only 12$(complete with repair tools) online, in the case of joycons. When mine ran out of warranty that's what I ended up doing and was surprised by how easy it was(no soldering required for one, which technically make it even easier than replacing a gamepad pro's joystick)
Beside you're talking as if it was a problem exclusive to Nintendo when the PS5 is already getting people talking of drifting controllers which perhaps show an issue less of any specific console maker(that issue has been heard of on Xbox One controllers as well, which use very similar joysticks to not literally say they're more or less built the same internally) than it is of them somehow drawing all from the same parts supplier.
Re: Gallery: Splatoon 3 Is Looking Pretty Fresh In These New Screenshots
@Crockin Imo Splatoon 3 for Switch simply confirms the Switch as is will keep getting new software that won't need players to look for new hardware still.
Perfectly fine my way as I'd rather spend that gaming money on the software than hardware and so far the Switch hasn't disapointed me yet, especially regarding evergreen titles I still enjoy playing to this day even though I purchased them years ago now.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think Of The February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Then?
@MontyCircus Yeah.... yeaaah.
Honestly the cynic in me would almost want to add:
"But I had these titles on WiiU alongside the 13 millions of players who owned that console! Who cares about that! Who cares about the 67 or more millions of Switch owners who never owned a WiiU unless the 13 or less millions of Switch owners like use who owned the WiiU?"
Like... a lot of people don't realize the difference in sheer scope and size of playerbases when they claim that games they played on WiiU don't deserve a port on Switch because they have played them before.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think Of The February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Then?
@BabyYoda71 Or.... it just means that the Switch is here longer than we expect?
I mean, the N64 and Gamecube era saw not one but two Zelda games for example. Ocarina of Time & Majora's Mask. The Wii saw not one but two Mario Galaxy.
The Switch could easily get two Splatoon without a "new" console coming yet. And why wouldn't it? It's still selling record without those gamers clamoring for a new console or else they wouldn't be buying the current one by record numbers as they are!
So there's clearly something there where the mainstream are quite content with the current tech or else they'd actually be holding out for the "next console".
Re: Soapbox: The Modern Games Industry Has A Hype Problem, And It Needs To Stop
@MetalMan Honestly you summed up my big issues with "end of the line technology and graphics" AAA at the end of the day. Stuff costs so much to produces anything short of 8 millions sales, the population of some countries, actually become seen as a "failure" for many game.
You can sell 1-2 million copies of a game and it's "barely enough" in some cases.
It's just utterly insanes.
And you see the results of that industry mindset in all the game development studios horror stories years after years.
I forgot who it is who said that quote, but I'm reaching the point of "These days I'd rather somewhat smaller game with less good graphics, but better paid developpers working less overtime".
Re: Gallery: Splatoon 3 Is Looking Pretty Fresh In These New Screenshots
@Crockin honestly, Splatoon guaranteeing another 2-3 years of lifespan for the Switch past 2022 by itself alone increase the chances of another Mario Kart/etc before the next nintendo console generation.
And honestly, I'm fine with having a console I don't need to replace until a while. "Technological progress" is a "thing" I guess, but when you see a lot of the consoles pushing said "progress" having to be sold at a loss because of the sum of their hardware's cost... I wonder if it truly is "progress" rather than technology that wasn't actually THAT ready but is subsidized at higher actual games costs and developers burnout(because we know the AAA industry practices pushing that tech the most are also some of the most horrid on average).
Like there are perhaps certain types of games that could benefit from "processor powers"/etc but honestly I've rarely see anything that interested me THAT much of the PS4 or in particular the current PS5 gen to actually feel disapointed about my tiny tablet-shaped Switch console that I can install wherever I want in my house without issues.
Re: Rumour: Zelda's 35th Anniversary Will See The Return Of Wind Waker And Twilight Princess
@MS7000 The way I see it.... my brother doesn't have a Switch but neither does he own a WiiU(the WiiU we had was my own when we were roomates).
He did show interests in some WiiU game and but is also is... kind of a cheapskate, so he never got one for himself but we had discussions that he could be interested in mine.
So stuff like 3D World gives me an excuse to finally gift/sell him my WiiU by getting the Switch port for myself since it was one of the only game I had left I'd still cared for. The thing also had Wind Waker on it so I might try to hunt down a copy or download Twillight Princess on it(while the eshop still stands on that console) as a bundled-in bonus.
Like, my grandparents also had a NES that they never upgraded for newer console but which they kept for kids during gathering. And being the stuff they had, it still saw plenty of use from kids during those gatherings even if we all had SNES/etc by the time.
Not saying this offer you any solution for re: your WiiU because it's all about games -you- did purchase, but it's one I'm considering for mine, especially as my household has grown a bit cramped to easily even keep the WiiU and all it's peripherals(like that massive gamepad)/cables around.