@thesilverbrick $80 of that isn't for the games, though. The amiibo.. buy them if you want, but let's not pretend that they're part of the cost of the game.
@Coalescence Especially with how easy it is to mod something like a 3DS or Vita these days and play the entire library of any of these older systems, too. NSO for me is largely about accessibility on a single console and the nice added features like online play.
@Zach Especially Uncharted Waters. Still one of the best games of its type ever made. Such a woefully underutilized kind of game. The closest I've played recently is something like Seablip on PC, which is a lot of fun but it's also an Early Access game with like 10 hours of content and being made by a lone developer with very slow updates.
Am I the only one who felt like the camera was entirely too zoomed in? I desperately wanted to pull it back and have a better view. I feel claustrophobic with how close it is to Ashley.
I'd bet Super Mario Bros. Wonder is actually at number 1. Nintendo never reports digital numbers until one of their quarterly reviews, so we won't know for sure for a while, but Switch is so much more encouraging for the digital purchase. Not only the portability factor, but that voucher. Everyone I know who bought it used a voucher to save money and get full gold points for digital over physical ($5 vs $1 back). PlayStation doesn't have the same incentives. I myself bought the physical Spider-Man 2 for that very reason.
@NintendoWife I'm thinking the Switch 2 is pretty likely to be backwards compatible. Nintendo has mentioned a few times they migrated to the new online systems to make them lasting, which makes me think the eShop has a fair chance of carrying over. And backwards compatibility has become increasingly important lately for a lot of gamers. I think it would help sell more Switch 2 units by the truck load. And it wouldn't halt the sales on games like TTYD or a potential Wind Waker late life release.
@TheMegaMarshtomp The Wind Waker HD can just be an easy port to slot into the spring or early summer, though. It doesn't have to be a big remake like TTYD.
If it's a Partner Showcase then it isn't a Nintendo Direct. Just like the Super Mario Bros. Wonder wasn't a "Nintendo Direct" and how "Minecraft Dungeons" isn't "Minecraft", despite having the word Minecraft in it. They're different things. The Partner Showcase isn't even a Nintendo Direct Mini. It's a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, which is a spin-off of the Nintendo Direct Mini.
Also, if there isn't a Nintendo Direct, a Nintendo Direct Mini seems like the more likely alternative, not a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.
@Nintendencies I just feel bad because I want you to be able to enjoy the other entries in the series! And it's just so unlikely they'll get released in English on Switch. Alas. There's always YouTube, if nothing else!
As a side note about the Witcher.. the first two Witcher games have some of the best story telling I've ever experienced in gaming. I really love them, though I fully admit the first game is so awkward and clunky that most people would struggle to get through the combat today. It was really interesting the way it handled choices and consequences in the story. And the way they carried over into the sequels. The Witcher 3 still has some decent story telling, but it sort of dropped the ball on story in favor of more content and making the game open world. I'm sure it's an unpopular opinion, but the first two games were overall better for not being open world because of the closer knit storytelling and investigative/detective styled elements of gameplay it offered in confined spaces.
@Nintendencies It is the same thing. The Witcher 3 is a massive culmination of the first two games and practically starts right after the events of the second game. It basically begins mid story. It's just people didn't want to play the older games because they were.. older and not open world. The games have tons of story and lore and so much is lost by not playing the first two. They even have a bunch of carryover saved data that changes tons of things in the world based on your decisions in the first two games but they gutted that from the Switch version because they weren't going to port the first two games.
As for cancelling your Reverie preorder, you absolutely should. If anything, buying it will show people don't care that they don't have the other games on the system and they'll just move on with it.
I understand you say you've always had Nintendo consoles, but honestly.. getting an old used PS4 or even a cheap laptop would open up that world for you at least for things you couldn't otherwise play. Or even a Vita, which has a lot of good options for gaming and modding.
@Nintendencies That's like saying what's the point in releasing The Witcher 3 on the system without the first two. Lots of people have other platforms to play Cold Steel I & II, as it's playable on PS3, PS4, PS5, PS Vita and PC. I'm one of those people. I have the Vita games and then I bought Cold Steel III & IV as well as Reverie on Switch.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to have I & II on Switch. I'd consider buying them again for the remastered content alone. It's just that there's still a point to the release. Though I've heard that the chances of I & II coming are slim because of some licensing issue.
@Bizzyb It's just on PC, PSP and Vita. The PC games are on sale right now in the US for basically the whole franchise. The Vita versions are a great option if you have a Vita. Even if you do skip them, just know they have a lot of very important characters, politics, concepts, organizations and plot lines introduced that you'll want to brush up on before starting Zero.
@Tyranexx It's actually a pretty simple rights issue. Cold Steel I & II were published by XSEED in the US, then Falcom switched entirely over to NISA for their English versions. I & II were already on PC and PlayStation so it didn't matter, but the Switch version hadn't been released yet. Now it probably never will.
@Wexter I'd recommend reading my post directly above yours. But the only great starting place is the beginning. I don't know how much you game but don't look at it as 10 games you have to get through, just look at the first game as a game you're interested in checking out and then play it. The release cadence is slow enough that if you end up enjoying it, you're sure to catch up even if you only get through a couple of games a year.
@ATHFjman18 Trails is one big interconnected series. Without going into any spoilers, it's a single continuing tale of the events happening between the various nations of a continent called Zemuria. The first three games, Trails in the Sky FC, Trails in the Sky SC and Trails in the Sky the 3rd, take place in the more rural Kingdom of Liberl. The main characters are Bracers, which are sort of international peacekeeping mercenaries who are devoted to helping the citizenry from an apolitical stance.
The next two games, called the Crossbell Duology, has Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure in it. It takes place in Crossbell City and the main characters this time are police officers working for the Crossbell State Police Department.
The third arc, Trails of Cold Steel, encompasses four games and follows a class of military academy cadets in Erebonia (one of the two super powers mentioned before).
Between all of these games, organizations, politics, schemes and happenings between these four nations (and a few smaller ones) are detailed in a background manner with more local events taking center stage. But the greater happenings of the world are always building and being developed and many characters from each game will appear in the future entries and the events of the previous games directly impact and set up the future games. Even with Trails from Zero, a number of the characters in the Sky trilogy will appear and the resulting storylines of Sky impact Zero, its characters and all of Crossbell. The same leading into Cold Steel.
It's true that the games start from a fresh enough perspective that you could sort of just hop in at Trails from Zero or Trails of Cold Steel I, but by Trails of Cold Steel III (and IV), the storylines come together in a big MCU Avengers Infinity War/Endgame scope storyline and you'll be pretty discombobulated by the plot and all the characters if you haven't played all the preceding games. Also following Cold Steel is Trails into Reverie which is essentially an epilogue and conclusion for the whole 10 game saga.
If you have a PC or a Vita and you want to get into the series, starting at the beginning is really, truly the best way, with Trails in the Sky FC. If you absolutely can't and won't ever be able and you just want to move on, then I'd at least recommend reading a summary of the first three games in the Sky trilogy and then starting with Zero. Though many people feel like the Sky games are the best in the franchise, so if you can play them, they're good games.
Anyway, I know that was long winded and probably way more information than you wanted or needed, but I hope it helps in at least some small way in making your decision!
@Drake It's debatable whether they're an upgrade or a downgrade, based on preferences. A lot of people like the art more. The original art is really low quality, with goofy proportions and awkward inconsistenciew. I agree that the new art is more "generic" but that's only because it doesn't look so low quality and out of place. It's more normalized. And the newer art matches the rest of the franchise better. If you can argue away the voiceover work because it can be patched in, then you can't really argue against the music, because you can easily patch the old music into the Evolution version as well. And I personally really like the animated portraits a lot more than the static ones. Plus the combat updates, new content, the cleaner battle UI and a few other things.
I can totally respect someone not preferring them, but it comes down to personal preference. And a little bit of nostalgia for original vs anything different.
Ultimately, that doesn't really matter because the person I commented to was saying they won't play these games until they can play them not on PC and the Evolution versions aren't common knowledge to people outside the fandom and if they happen to have a Vita, it's a quick and easy way to experience the games.
Also, a Vita is great for a lot of other gaming reasons anyway and even if they did have to buy it, they could get one for $100-$200 rather than $400-$630. And maybe they don't want a second PC when they already have a PC. Either way, it doesn't matter. I'm not recommending they do anything. Just mentioning some options.
@iDidSomething Do you have a PlayStation Vita? Or are you willing to buy one? The Trails in the Sky games have Vita Evolution versions which actually came out after the upgraded versions of Zero and Azure, so they have some quality of life updates that even the PC versions are lacking. New quests, new items, updated spell mechanics, new art, new music, animated portraits in normal dialogue, anime cutscenes, etc. They're Japanese only but the fan translations were very easy to patch in and it's now I played the Sky Trilogy and it was amazing. That or grab a Steam Deck.
It's hard not to pick Switch. I'd say it's as close to objectively the best as it can get since beyond its own library, it also has a lot of the best games from every other console generation or better versions of games from the same series in some cases. Its own unique library is also at a level where it's probably better to me without the inclusion of those other classic games, anyway.
I feel like a majority of the people who wouldn't pick Switch are picking their choices based on nostalgia and loyalty rather than objectively being the system they'd most enjoy playing. I have fond memories too of a lot of games from NES to Wii U, but ultimately I don't want to go back and play most of them because many didn't age well and just aren't that good.
I strongly disagree with the idea of weighting something better because of the historical significance it has, for the way it paved new inroads for a genre or other similar concepts. If this were a history class or discussion of what has the most cultural relevance, then I'd say sure. But when it's about what you like the most, what actually is the most fun to play.. all the fond memories and mind blowing moments I had with Super Mario Kart on the SNES or Mario Kart DS doesn't make me actually want to play them over Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
I'm finally down the Trails rabbit hole. I've played the whole Trails in the Sky trilogy and I'm 45 hours into Trails from Zero and probably won't buy a new game until the Switch version of Trails to Azure releases. I'm interested in Octopath Traveler II, but not enough to derail my Trails playthrough.
@Dom_31 A lot of gamers buy numerous games throughout the year. I'm not saying that means this will sell well, but this month's release of Fire Emblem and the future release of Tears of the Kingdom certainly won't be enough to slow this down if people want it. Not to mention that tens of millions of Switch owners aren't even Zelda fans to begin with. I could see more crossover in the Fire Emblem department for obvious reasons, but they're different enough and it's not like the would have released the same week or anything.
@KBuckley27 Splatoon 3 wasn't copy and paste. Xenoblade was great. I'm not a big Pokemon fan either, but two big games in a year is still a big deal, development wise. And you didn't even mention the other big exclusives like Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Nintendo Switch Sports, Mario Strikers: Battle League, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, Bayonetta 3, Triangle Strategy, Live-A-Live, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.
Even if they aren't games you're a fan of, it's definitely a huge year of popular releases.
There are a few of these I'm interested in, but I probably won't buy any of them. I'm in the middle of playing through the Trails series and that will likely keep me busy for the next year or more. I haven't wanted to buy any RPG or adventure games because of that. I'd probably still pick up a particularly good platformer or multiplayer game of some sort...
@Tobiaku I looked it up after you mentioned it. Are you against Royal because you felt the scenes were important and not having them has hurt the game or is of more that it's as a principle against perceived censorship?
No one else mentioned it, but I just wanted to say that if you intended to make a Star Trek: Enterprise reference with "It's been a long road getting from there to here", I picked up what you put down. Cheers!
@Tainaru Nah. Considering it's only five games so far announced over a five year window of release and the only things they have in common is the visual style, it's definitely not too much. If we were on Octopath Traveler 5, I'd agree with you, but it's Octopath Traveler II and they'll be releasing 5 years apart from each other. The rest are very different games from very different franchises, just with a similar visual style. Nothing wrong with that, I think.
@RubyCarbuncle This. It's just such a non-issue. Saying it's a problem is like saying you shouldn't have internet access because it gives you the ability to go to bad sites. If you don't want to run the risks entailed by scanning them.. don't scan them! Really couldn't be simpler.
I was a little worried. Good Direct and all, but I had been hoping to get that nice early Christmas present of "Advance Wars, releasing December 2nd" or some such. Still, if they're willing to put out a new Fire Emblem game in January, with all its themes of war and conquest, I feel like they may as well just go ahead and send out Advance Wars.
@StefanN I agree with you. Also, a single person being sick of a genre doesn't really mean anything other than I guess they chose to play to many. And there are enough games in any genre for someone to get sick of that genre if they so choose.
@SwitchVogel It doesn't seem likely that they did anything to the game in the mean time, other than possibly censor it in some way. The game was finished and some digital copies even got out at the original launch time. They delayed it to finish, anyway. You shouldn't have less confidence when Nintendo delays a game, you should have more. This isn't a Cyberpunk or Anthem situation.
@moodycat Four HUGE titles in Fall/Winter plus the possible inclusion of Advance Wars at any point doesn't seem barren to me. If they added anything at this point, it would be gravy.
@tameshiyaku Advance (not Advanced) Wars and its current situation is public knowledge. The game was 100% finished (and some even received their digital copies accidentally) but delayed publicly by Nintendo indefinitely. That's what they're lamenting. Luigi05 is talking about.
@SwitchForce I honestly have no idea what your point is. You seemingly gave me an arbitrary anti-piracy PSA when that wasn't what the discussion was about. It literally has no relevance to what was being said. I said, QUITE CLEARLY, that I wasn't advocating piracy. You said in your previous post, which is what I was replying to, "Pirating/Emulators not paying for the game should be banned from Steam/GOG or have their deck banned."
I made one point and one point alone. Piracy isn't happening on STEAM. Valve controls and runs STEAM. If someone has a PERSONAL COMPUTER with illegal ROMs on them, that isn't up to STEAM OR VALVE to monitor and police. They realistically can't. Steam is no more responsible than Microsoft or the company that owns any other program running on your personal computer. The Steam Deck isn't a console. It isn't a closed environment that is monitored by a console manufacturer. It's a personal computer that can be used for whatever you want. To do these things, many people are uninstalling SteamOS and just installing Windows. Valve has ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OVER THAT. They aren't legally, morally or ethically responsible for someone downloading ANYTHING on their personal computer.
No one was EVER debating what IS or ISN'T pirating.
Again, my only point is that VALVE/STEAM aren't and cannot be the pirate police for who downloads illegal ROMs on their personal computers. The only people realistically who can monitor that sort of activity are the internet service providers (and they really can't do anything anyway) and the government.
@FX29 I came to say this. It has some visual similarities, but it doesn't play like the Zero games and especially not like the ZX games. It's a disappointing comparison that tricked me into buying the collection only to be disappointed. The focus on speed running everything, rushing, and the focus on tagging and then just sitting around holding down a button.. it just isn't that fun to me. I'd much rather have significantly tougher level, enemy and boss design, with interesting platforming and fun exploration rather than just "it's insanely easy but I guess going fast is harder" gameplay.
It's like someone took Mega Man and mixed it with Sonic the Hedgehog and an arcade game.
@SwitchForce The pirating isn't happening on Steam. It's on a Steam.. Deck. Which is just a PC. One of the main reasons PCs even exist is because people want a platform where they can do what they want. I'm not advocating for piracy, but I am advocating against companies policing your every action on your personal computer.
@JokerCK You act like this is some personal shame on Nintendo and that it's causing you direct harm. People are going to pirate every game that ever exists. Who cares if they pirate it a few days early? Ultimately, what difference does it make if it's today or a week from now?
@iLikeUrAttitude A lot of people don't want to play on their phone because touch controls are already bad but worse with classic gaming and most 3DS systems can't be modded because they've been updated beyond a point where that's possible.
Obviously everyone's entitled to their opinion, however..
You say that you were able to get absorbed into the game just like 20 years ago but that it wasn't nostalgia, it was just the sign of a great game, but then you immediately follow them up with saying that others have revisited it and found the controls to be worse than they previously seemed and you admit that this is rightly so, yet you say this: "But to me, they remain just as intuitive now as they did back then". That right there is the absolute, irrefutable, exact definition of nostalgia goggles. Facts be damned, it's my favorite!
Now, honestly.. I didn't like Sunshine when it released. It was a big disappointment to me. But I went back through it several years ago and it grew on me. I think it's a really solid game (with a few critical flaws that detract from the fun) and I can totally understand someone thinking it's the best one, though there's no reality where it hasn't aged some in a bad way.
@RupeeClock Smash is a more technical game. Mario Kart is more chaotic. Not that Smash can't be. I do think no items is a good option, but I also don't think the game is as designed for it. Especially with the AI the way it is.
@VancouverVelocityFan I think it's probably underappreciated because many people haven't played it and they automatically score the games they have played and like higher than the ones they haven't played, rather than abstaining from that vote.
Comments 952
Re: Review: Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Switch) - Still Out Of This World
@thesilverbrick $80 of that isn't for the games, though. The amiibo.. buy them if you want, but let's not pretend that they're part of the cost of the game.
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's SNES Library With Four More Titles
@Coalescence Especially with how easy it is to mod something like a 3DS or Vita these days and play the entire library of any of these older systems, too. NSO for me is largely about accessibility on a single console and the nice added features like online play.
@Zach Especially Uncharted Waters. Still one of the best games of its type ever made. Such a woefully underutilized kind of game. The closest I've played recently is something like Seablip on PC, which is a lot of fun but it's also an Early Access game with like 10 hours of content and being made by a lone developer with very slow updates.
Re: Feature: 10 Game Boy Deep Cuts That Aren’t On Nintendo Switch Online
@Kerballistic07 I've wanted a remake or sequel for Mole Mania for so long!
Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of The Demo For Another Code: Recollection?
Am I the only one who felt like the camera was entirely too zoomed in? I desperately wanted to pull it back and have a better view. I feel claustrophobic with how close it is to Ashley.
Re: UK Charts: Mario Wonder And Sonic Superstars Start Strong, But Neither Can Out-Swing Spidey
I'd bet Super Mario Bros. Wonder is actually at number 1. Nintendo never reports digital numbers until one of their quarterly reviews, so we won't know for sure for a while, but Switch is so much more encouraging for the digital purchase. Not only the portability factor, but that voucher. Everyone I know who bought it used a voucher to save money and get full gold points for digital over physical ($5 vs $1 back). PlayStation doesn't have the same incentives. I myself bought the physical Spider-Man 2 for that very reason.
Re: Poll: Do You Prefer Zelda: Wind Waker HD's Bloom Lighting Or The "Flat" OG?
@NintendoWife I'm thinking the Switch 2 is pretty likely to be backwards compatible. Nintendo has mentioned a few times they migrated to the new online systems to make them lasting, which makes me think the eShop has a fair chance of carrying over. And backwards compatibility has become increasingly important lately for a lot of gamers. I think it would help sell more Switch 2 units by the truck load. And it wouldn't halt the sales on games like TTYD or a potential Wind Waker late life release.
Re: Poll: Do You Prefer Zelda: Wind Waker HD's Bloom Lighting Or The "Flat" OG?
@TheMegaMarshtomp The Wind Waker HD can just be an easy port to slot into the spring or early summer, though. It doesn't have to be a big remake like TTYD.
Re: Poll: Will There Be A September Nintendo Direct This Year?
If it's a Partner Showcase then it isn't a Nintendo Direct. Just like the Super Mario Bros. Wonder wasn't a "Nintendo Direct" and how "Minecraft Dungeons" isn't "Minecraft", despite having the word Minecraft in it. They're different things. The Partner Showcase isn't even a Nintendo Direct Mini. It's a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, which is a spin-off of the Nintendo Direct Mini.
Also, if there isn't a Nintendo Direct, a Nintendo Direct Mini seems like the more likely alternative, not a Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie - A Refreshing Entry In The Kiseki Series
@Nintendencies I just feel bad because I want you to be able to enjoy the other entries in the series! And it's just so unlikely they'll get released in English on Switch. Alas. There's always YouTube, if nothing else!
As a side note about the Witcher.. the first two Witcher games have some of the best story telling I've ever experienced in gaming. I really love them, though I fully admit the first game is so awkward and clunky that most people would struggle to get through the combat today. It was really interesting the way it handled choices and consequences in the story. And the way they carried over into the sequels. The Witcher 3 still has some decent story telling, but it sort of dropped the ball on story in favor of more content and making the game open world. I'm sure it's an unpopular opinion, but the first two games were overall better for not being open world because of the closer knit storytelling and investigative/detective styled elements of gameplay it offered in confined spaces.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie - A Refreshing Entry In The Kiseki Series
@Nintendencies It is the same thing. The Witcher 3 is a massive culmination of the first two games and practically starts right after the events of the second game. It basically begins mid story. It's just people didn't want to play the older games because they were.. older and not open world. The games have tons of story and lore and so much is lost by not playing the first two. They even have a bunch of carryover saved data that changes tons of things in the world based on your decisions in the first two games but they gutted that from the Switch version because they weren't going to port the first two games.
As for cancelling your Reverie preorder, you absolutely should. If anything, buying it will show people don't care that they don't have the other games on the system and they'll just move on with it.
I understand you say you've always had Nintendo consoles, but honestly.. getting an old used PS4 or even a cheap laptop would open up that world for you at least for things you couldn't otherwise play. Or even a Vita, which has a lot of good options for gaming and modding.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Into Reverie - A Refreshing Entry In The Kiseki Series
@Nintendencies That's like saying what's the point in releasing The Witcher 3 on the system without the first two. Lots of people have other platforms to play Cold Steel I & II, as it's playable on PS3, PS4, PS5, PS Vita and PC. I'm one of those people. I have the Vita games and then I bought Cold Steel III & IV as well as Reverie on Switch.
I'm not saying it wouldn't be nice to have I & II on Switch. I'd consider buying them again for the remastered content alone. It's just that there's still a point to the release. Though I've heard that the chances of I & II coming are slim because of some licensing issue.
Re: Four Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Games Have Been Added To Switch Online's Expansion Pack
@TheBigBlue I didn't realize Mega Man was on there!
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails To Azure - Crossbell's Conclusion Is A Cracking RPG
@Bizzyb It's just on PC, PSP and Vita. The PC games are on sale right now in the US for basically the whole franchise. The Vita versions are a great option if you have a Vita. Even if you do skip them, just know they have a lot of very important characters, politics, concepts, organizations and plot lines introduced that you'll want to brush up on before starting Zero.
@Tyranexx It's actually a pretty simple rights issue. Cold Steel I & II were published by XSEED in the US, then Falcom switched entirely over to NISA for their English versions. I & II were already on PC and PlayStation so it didn't matter, but the Switch version hadn't been released yet. Now it probably never will.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails To Azure - Crossbell's Conclusion Is A Cracking RPG
@Wexter I'd recommend reading my post directly above yours. But the only great starting place is the beginning. I don't know how much you game but don't look at it as 10 games you have to get through, just look at the first game as a game you're interested in checking out and then play it. The release cadence is slow enough that if you end up enjoying it, you're sure to catch up even if you only get through a couple of games a year.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails To Azure - Crossbell's Conclusion Is A Cracking RPG
@ATHFjman18 Trails is one big interconnected series. Without going into any spoilers, it's a single continuing tale of the events happening between the various nations of a continent called Zemuria. The first three games, Trails in the Sky FC, Trails in the Sky SC and Trails in the Sky the 3rd, take place in the more rural Kingdom of Liberl. The main characters are Bracers, which are sort of international peacekeeping mercenaries who are devoted to helping the citizenry from an apolitical stance.
The next two games, called the Crossbell Duology, has Trails from Zero and Trails to Azure in it. It takes place in Crossbell City and the main characters this time are police officers working for the Crossbell State Police Department.
The third arc, Trails of Cold Steel, encompasses four games and follows a class of military academy cadets in Erebonia (one of the two super powers mentioned before).
Between all of these games, organizations, politics, schemes and happenings between these four nations (and a few smaller ones) are detailed in a background manner with more local events taking center stage. But the greater happenings of the world are always building and being developed and many characters from each game will appear in the future entries and the events of the previous games directly impact and set up the future games. Even with Trails from Zero, a number of the characters in the Sky trilogy will appear and the resulting storylines of Sky impact Zero, its characters and all of Crossbell. The same leading into Cold Steel.
It's true that the games start from a fresh enough perspective that you could sort of just hop in at Trails from Zero or Trails of Cold Steel I, but by Trails of Cold Steel III (and IV), the storylines come together in a big MCU Avengers Infinity War/Endgame scope storyline and you'll be pretty discombobulated by the plot and all the characters if you haven't played all the preceding games. Also following Cold Steel is Trails into Reverie which is essentially an epilogue and conclusion for the whole 10 game saga.
If you have a PC or a Vita and you want to get into the series, starting at the beginning is really, truly the best way, with Trails in the Sky FC. If you absolutely can't and won't ever be able and you just want to move on, then I'd at least recommend reading a summary of the first three games in the Sky trilogy and then starting with Zero. Though many people feel like the Sky games are the best in the franchise, so if you can play them, they're good games.
Anyway, I know that was long winded and probably way more information than you wanted or needed, but I hope it helps in at least some small way in making your decision!
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails To Azure - Crossbell's Conclusion Is A Cracking RPG
@Drake It's debatable whether they're an upgrade or a downgrade, based on preferences. A lot of people like the art more. The original art is really low quality, with goofy proportions and awkward inconsistenciew. I agree that the new art is more "generic" but that's only because it doesn't look so low quality and out of place. It's more normalized.
And the newer art matches the rest of the franchise better. If you can argue away the voiceover work because it can be patched in, then you can't really argue against the music, because you can easily patch the old music into the Evolution version as well. And I personally really like the animated portraits a lot more than the static ones. Plus the combat updates, new content, the cleaner battle UI and a few other things.
I can totally respect someone not preferring them, but it comes down to personal preference. And a little bit of nostalgia for original vs anything different.
Ultimately, that doesn't really matter because the person I commented to was saying they won't play these games until they can play them not on PC and the Evolution versions aren't common knowledge to people outside the fandom and if they happen to have a Vita, it's a quick and easy way to experience the games.
Also, a Vita is great for a lot of other gaming reasons anyway and even if they did have to buy it, they could get one for $100-$200 rather than $400-$630. And maybe they don't want a second PC when they already have a PC. Either way, it doesn't matter. I'm not recommending they do anything. Just mentioning some options.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails To Azure - Crossbell's Conclusion Is A Cracking RPG
@iDidSomething Do you have a PlayStation Vita? Or are you willing to buy one? The Trails in the Sky games have Vita Evolution versions which actually came out after the upgraded versions of Zero and Azure, so they have some quality of life updates that even the PC versions are lacking. New quests, new items, updated spell mechanics, new art, new music, animated portraits in normal dialogue, anime cutscenes, etc. They're Japanese only but the fan translations were very easy to patch in and it's now I played the Sky Trilogy and it was amazing. That or grab a Steam Deck.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Heroes: Trails To Azure - Crossbell's Conclusion Is A Cracking RPG
Nice review. Though you referred to the game as "iTrails to Azure" near the end and then "Trails from Azure" right after that.
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Console Has The Best First-Party Games Lineup?
It's hard not to pick Switch. I'd say it's as close to objectively the best as it can get since beyond its own library, it also has a lot of the best games from every other console generation or better versions of games from the same series in some cases. Its own unique library is also at a level where it's probably better to me without the inclusion of those other classic games, anyway.
I feel like a majority of the people who wouldn't pick Switch are picking their choices based on nostalgia and loyalty rather than objectively being the system they'd most enjoy playing. I have fond memories too of a lot of games from NES to Wii U, but ultimately I don't want to go back and play most of them because many didn't age well and just aren't that good.
I strongly disagree with the idea of weighting something better because of the historical significance it has, for the way it paved new inroads for a genre or other similar concepts. If this were a history class or discussion of what has the most cultural relevance, then I'd say sure. But when it's about what you like the most, what actually is the most fun to play.. all the fond memories and mind blowing moments I had with Super Mario Kart on the SNES or Mario Kart DS doesn't make me actually want to play them over Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Re: Yes, Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Costs $70, Collector's Edition Announced
@TT21 It's not DLC.
Re: New Fashion Game 'Fashion Dreamer' Announced Exclusively For Switch
@octokid It is made by the same people.
https://fashion-dreamer.com/
Bottom of the page, it says it's developed by Syn Sophia, which is the developer of the Girls Mode/Style Savvy series.
Re: Video: 9 Exciting New Games Coming To Nintendo Switch In February 2023
I'm finally down the Trails rabbit hole. I've played the whole Trails in the Sky trilogy and I'm 45 hours into Trails from Zero and probably won't buy a new game until the Switch version of Trails to Azure releases. I'm interested in Octopath Traveler II, but not enough to derail my Trails playthrough.
Re: Advance Wars' Delayed Switch Release Might Finally Be Reporting For Duty
@Dom_31 A lot of gamers buy numerous games throughout the year. I'm not saying that means this will sell well, but this month's release of Fire Emblem and the future release of Tears of the Kingdom certainly won't be enough to slow this down if people want it. Not to mention that tens of millions of Switch owners aren't even Zelda fans to begin with. I could see more crossover in the Fire Emblem department for obvious reasons, but they're different enough and it's not like the would have released the same week or anything.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
I know you used the picture for it, but you didn't mention Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope and that's definitely a pretty fun exclusive.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
@KBuckley27 Splatoon 3 wasn't copy and paste. Xenoblade was great. I'm not a big Pokemon fan either, but two big games in a year is still a big deal, development wise. And you didn't even mention the other big exclusives like Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Nintendo Switch Sports, Mario Strikers: Battle League, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, Bayonetta 3, Triangle Strategy, Live-A-Live, Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.
Even if they aren't games you're a fan of, it's definitely a huge year of popular releases.
Re: River City Girls 2 Has Been Slightly Delayed In North America & Europe
@BenAV I played about half of it at launch (and then the rest was much later) and also never had a crash.
Re: Video: 10 Exciting New Games Coming To Nintendo Switch In November 2022
There are a few of these I'm interested in, but I probably won't buy any of them. I'm in the middle of playing through the Trails series and that will likely keep me busy for the next year or more. I haven't wanted to buy any RPG or adventure games because of that. I'd probably still pick up a particularly good platformer or multiplayer game of some sort...
Re: Review: Persona 5 Royal - Finally On Switch, This Is The Very Definition Of Essential
@Tobiaku I looked it up after you mentioned it. Are you against Royal because you felt the scenes were important and not having them has hurt the game or is of more that it's as a principle against perceived censorship?
Re: Review: Persona 5 Royal - Finally On Switch, This Is The Very Definition Of Essential
@Tobiaku How is it censored?
Re: Review: Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope - Creativity Trumps Challenge In This Delightful, Divergent Sequel
"Sparks of Hope plays quite differently than its predecessor, to the point where it feels almost like a different game."
Well, it is a different game...
Re: Review: No Man's Sky - Right Up There With The Very Best Switch Ports
No one else mentioned it, but I just wanted to say that if you intended to make a Star Trek: Enterprise reference with "It's been a long road getting from there to here", I picked up what you put down. Cheers!
Re: Stunning New Octopath Traveler II Footage Showcases 'Evolution of HD-2D'
@Tainaru Nah. Considering it's only five games so far announced over a five year window of release and the only things they have in common is the visual style, it's definitely not too much. If we were on Octopath Traveler 5, I'd agree with you, but it's Octopath Traveler II and they'll be releasing 5 years apart from each other. The rest are very different games from very different franchises, just with a similar visual style. Nothing wrong with that, I think.
Re: Random: Splatoon 3 Fans Are Getting Concerned About The Use Of QR Codes
@RubyCarbuncle This. It's just such a non-issue. Saying it's a problem is like saying you shouldn't have internet access because it gives you the ability to go to bad sites. If you don't want to run the risks entailed by scanning them.. don't scan them! Really couldn't be simpler.
Re: Don't Worry, Nintendo Hasn't Cancelled Advance Wars For Switch
I was a little worried. Good Direct and all, but I had been hoping to get that nice early Christmas present of "Advance Wars, releasing December 2nd" or some such. Still, if they're willing to put out a new Fire Emblem game in January, with all its themes of war and conquest, I feel like they may as well just go ahead and send out Advance Wars.
Re: Pixel Art Metroidvania '9 Years Of Shadows' Delayed Until 2023 On Switch
@StefanN I agree with you. Also, a single person being sick of a genre doesn't really mean anything other than I guess they chose to play to many. And there are enough games in any genre for someone to get sick of that genre if they so choose.
Re: Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp Scheduled Maintenance Spotted
@SwitchVogel It doesn't seem likely that they did anything to the game in the mean time, other than possibly censor it in some way. The game was finished and some digital copies even got out at the original launch time. They delayed it to finish, anyway. You shouldn't have less confidence when Nintendo delays a game, you should have more. This isn't a Cyberpunk or Anthem situation.
Re: Owlboy Devs Move From Birds To Vikings In Its Bouncy Co-Op Follow-Up
The visuals are great but the gameplay... I don't know.
Re: Best Sandbox Games On Nintendo Switch
@Ooyah Breath of the Wild barely should be on this list. A non-open world game like Xenoblade 3 definitely shouldn't.
Re: Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Upcoming Switch Games
@moodycat Four HUGE titles in Fall/Winter plus the possible inclusion of Advance Wars at any point doesn't seem barren to me. If they added anything at this point, it would be gravy.
Re: Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Upcoming Switch Games
@tameshiyaku Advance (not Advanced) Wars and its current situation is public knowledge. The game was 100% finished (and some even received their digital copies accidentally) but delayed publicly by Nintendo indefinitely. That's what they're lamenting. Luigi05 is talking about.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Has Leaked And Is Fully Playable On The Steam Deck
@SwitchForce I honestly have no idea what your point is. You seemingly gave me an arbitrary anti-piracy PSA when that wasn't what the discussion was about. It literally has no relevance to what was being said. I said, QUITE CLEARLY, that I wasn't advocating piracy. You said in your previous post, which is what I was replying to, "Pirating/Emulators not paying for the game should be banned from Steam/GOG or have their deck banned."
I made one point and one point alone. Piracy isn't happening on STEAM. Valve controls and runs STEAM. If someone has a PERSONAL COMPUTER with illegal ROMs on them, that isn't up to STEAM OR VALVE to monitor and police. They realistically can't. Steam is no more responsible than Microsoft or the company that owns any other program running on your personal computer. The Steam Deck isn't a console. It isn't a closed environment that is monitored by a console manufacturer. It's a personal computer that can be used for whatever you want. To do these things, many people are uninstalling SteamOS and just installing Windows. Valve has ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL OVER THAT. They aren't legally, morally or ethically responsible for someone downloading ANYTHING on their personal computer.
No one was EVER debating what IS or ISN'T pirating.
Again, my only point is that VALVE/STEAM aren't and cannot be the pirate police for who downloads illegal ROMs on their personal computers. The only people realistically who can monitor that sort of activity are the internet service providers (and they really can't do anything anyway) and the government.
Re: Review: Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 - Another Cracking Mega Man Zero-Alike
@FX29 I came to say this. It has some visual similarities, but it doesn't play like the Zero games and especially not like the ZX games. It's a disappointing comparison that tricked me into buying the collection only to be disappointed. The focus on speed running everything, rushing, and the focus on tagging and then just sitting around holding down a button.. it just isn't that fun to me. I'd much rather have significantly tougher level, enemy and boss design, with interesting platforming and fun exploration rather than just "it's insanely easy but I guess going fast is harder" gameplay.
It's like someone took Mega Man and mixed it with Sonic the Hedgehog and an arcade game.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Has Leaked And Is Fully Playable On The Steam Deck
@SwitchForce The pirating isn't happening on Steam. It's on a Steam.. Deck. Which is just a PC. One of the main reasons PCs even exist is because people want a platform where they can do what they want. I'm not advocating for piracy, but I am advocating against companies policing your every action on your personal computer.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Has Leaked And Is Fully Playable On The Steam Deck
@JokerCK You act like this is some personal shame on Nintendo and that it's causing you direct harm. People are going to pirate every game that ever exists. Who cares if they pirate it a few days early? Ultimately, what difference does it make if it's today or a week from now?
Re: This Game Boy-Inspired Handheld Is A Budget Answer To Modern-Day Retro Gaming
@iLikeUrAttitude I had read that you couldn't mod a system above 11.4, I want to say. Hmm.
Re: This Game Boy-Inspired Handheld Is A Budget Answer To Modern-Day Retro Gaming
@iLikeUrAttitude A lot of people don't want to play on their phone because touch controls are already bad but worse with classic gaming and most 3DS systems can't be modded because they've been updated beyond a point where that's possible.
Re: Circus Electrique Brings Turn-Based RPG Gameplay To Switch This September
@Moonsorrow999 And I already don't like Darkest Dungeon's art style, so this feels like they took that but decided to make it a lot worse!
Re: Soapbox: 20 Years Later, Super Mario Sunshine Is Still The Best 3D Mario
Obviously everyone's entitled to their opinion, however..
You say that you were able to get absorbed into the game just like 20 years ago but that it wasn't nostalgia, it was just the sign of a great game, but then you immediately follow them up with saying that others have revisited it and found the controls to be worse than they previously seemed and you admit that this is rightly so, yet you say this: "But to me, they remain just as intuitive now as they did back then". That right there is the absolute, irrefutable, exact definition of nostalgia goggles. Facts be damned, it's my favorite!
Now, honestly.. I didn't like Sunshine when it released. It was a big disappointment to me. But I went back through it several years ago and it grew on me. I think it's a really solid game (with a few critical flaws that detract from the fun) and I can totally understand someone thinking it's the best one, though there's no reality where it hasn't aged some in a bad way.
Re: Random: Mario Kart 64 Nearly Had A 'No Item' Mode To Appeal To F-Zero Fans
@RupeeClock Smash is a more technical game. Mario Kart is more chaotic. Not that Smash can't be. I do think no items is a good option, but I also don't think the game is as designed for it. Especially with the AI the way it is.
Re: Best Mario Kart Games Of All Time
@VancouverVelocityFan I think it's probably underappreciated because many people haven't played it and they automatically score the games they have played and like higher than the ones they haven't played, rather than abstaining from that vote.