@ConraDargo The big difference between Starbound and No Man's Sky is that No Man's Sky eventually met and then far exceeded the original vision. Starbound never even came close to achieving the original vision and the developers didn't even try to get there. They just moved on. Also, Starbound is just an okay game, while No Man's Sky is pretty good.
@ConraDargo I have played it. And it was a massive disappointment. As a game that was supposed to be a successor to Terraria, it failed on almost every level. It also lied in its funding campaign, made tons of promises and guarantees that were mostly unfulfilled. So many of the features, like the starbases with the growing populations, the seamless spaceflight and combat, planetside landing, deep storylines and complex riddles, etc were all just canned and the money kept. It also released about 6 years after they originally said it would.
Objectively speaking, it's not an awful game. It's okay. It's clunky and way worse than Terraria and the planets are mostly dull and have little to do underground, but it was still fun to mess around in for 20 hours. But it wasn't the sweeping epic it promised to be. If you didn't follow development from announcement to initial release, I'm sure it just seemed like a fun game to play. But it certainly was a wildly mismanaged project that's tantamount to scamming because they didn't give virtually anything they promised. So.. for me, it definitely tarnished their name some.
@Kirbo100 I've seen quite a few movies over the year. Most of the Studio Ghibli films, all Shinkai Makoto films (my favorite is 5 Centimeters per Second), all the classic popular ones (Ghost in the Shell, Akira, etc) and a bunch of random other ones.
@JustMonika I certainly wouldn't laugh at you for watching a lot (or too little) anime. I just don't know how people find the time! I think I may have watched maybe 4 (for a total of 63 episodes, though that might actually be 50 because I think one of them was probably the year before) all the way through last year. I have such a big list of stuff I'm excited to watch, but I feel like I never get around to it. I thought I was doing pretty well watching that much! Heh.
You mentioned all those arrived in the mail. Do you use a rental service or do you buy and collect?
@Deepdoop Honestly, any of the games on this list would be great, though none of them will be very much like Mario PLUS Rabbids. That game is kind of its own thing, with all the exploration and puzzley stuff. Advance Wars is great, though!
@iLikeUrAttitude @Nintenbot I know no western release has been announced, but the lead producer originally suggested the idea of one day making an offline version of DQX four years ago and he said the driving forcer behind the idea was to make it easier to bring the game and it's world/story to the west and internationally. It's hard to imagine they'd just throw that opportunity away.
Even if the somehow do, at least the possibility of a fan translation is infinitely higher and easier to implement with an offline game.
Regardless, here's hoping they just release it in the west officially, even if it isn't until 2023.
@jamesthemagi I don't want to see Tomodachi Life ported over. I want to see a huge sequel with everything that made Tomodachi Life great but with tons more! Tomodachi World, here we come!
I pulled out my Vita to replay Mega Man Legends and Mega Man Legends 2. I also grabbed Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon on Switch. Then UnMetal and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age on sale. Not sure what I'll dive into.
@Moistnado First of all, if ten people shared a limo and it was cheaper than them individually buying a ticket for a train ride.. then yes, it would be cheaper. That's how basic economics work. That's like claiming that someone's living expenses aren't cheaper when they have roommates and split bills than if they lived in a worse place that cost them more individually.
Except here this is something specifically designed to be cheaper. The fact that you called it a scheme is laughably preposterous. It's a friends and family plan. It's meant to support up to 8 people. I'm on it with my fiancée, my sister and five of our friends. Despite how angry and combative you are over this, it absolutely is cheaper for me and my friends/family than any other alternative beyond you advocating stealing games. It costs me $10 a year. If other people don't have the means to get together a group to do the friends and family plan and pay less and it doesn't work for them, then that's fine. But it does for me and there's no amount of your railing that will make it expensive to me. I'd much rather pay $10 a year for limitless access to the NSO games, have the free DLC and game trials, access to online, etc. Not to mention I can then play all of those games easily on the go and online. And it all works perfectly fine for me.
I'm sorry it isn't a good experience for you and you don't like the service, but that doesn't make the family plan expensive or a scheme.
@Moistnado I don't collect games, nor do I want to. It's also nowhere near the most expensive. That's heinously inaccurate. Many physical games cost hundreds or thousands to collect. Lately some have gone for over a million. $5-$10 a year on a family plan for NSO can fathomably be considered the "most expensive" way.
I will say it's unreliable from a collecting standpoint, but that's like saying Netflix is unreliable for collecting Blu-rays and DVDs. I mean, yes. It's technically true but it's irrelevant because that's not what the series does.
In the lifetime of the Switch I doubt I'll spend more than a grand total of $60 for the service. And that's generously assuming I keep NSO for four more years with the expansion pack and factoring in the previous two years without and the current year with. I bought $250 worth of VC games on the Wii over 2-3 years and never play them anymore because I don't want to use a Wii now. I'm not saying it's a perfect service but I have access to 5-10 times the games I had on Wii for a fraction of the price ($20 invested to date on NSO for 3 years on a family plan).
@Heavyarms55 Same reason why a show where a character says something insensitive to another character that could hurt someone's feelings if a person said that to them in real life can get the show in hot water, but depictions of graphic sexual violence in Law & Order: SVU or serial killing in Dexter is fine.
People just have really intense double standards about what's acceptable.
@Don Mario & Luigi isn't dependent on Alpha Dream. Nintendo can easily have it developed elsewhere. And Paper Mario hasn't ditched the RPG formula. They just reenvisioned it. No real way of telling how it'll be going forward.
@Blooper987 Considering it came out a month ago, it seems like it might be more often than every three months. They also said they'd continue with the SNES/NES games and Genesis games. Though it's too early to tell how the release cadence will shake out either way.
This article references "modernizing" old consoles. What's the point? That's what every new console generation already does, essentially. The PS5 is basically a modernized PS4. And the same for the PS4 in regards to the PS3. I guess I could kind of see it if an older console had specific physical features that later systems didn't have, but the 3DS and 2DS lines were essentially just DS systems but better with more power and features. And they play all the old DS games, so why would anyone want specifically the DS modernized?
@Gwynbleidd If it were my absolute favorite restaurant, yes, probably. People have limited perspective and definitely often think the things they like the most are the best. It's confusing that you're trying to argue the opposite or like there's some special situation with RPGs. I've never seen any higher incidence with that for RPGs. Just seems like you don't like them for some reason or want to stir the pot.
@Gwynbleidd Your statement seems bizarrely critical of RPGs and their fans when what you described is just basic human behavior. Of course people think their favorite thing is the best. A person wouldn't say "this is my absolute favorite restaurant but it sucks and I wouldn't recommend eating here", they'd say it's the best.
"It may seem improbable to us that millions of people are still buying the Switch..."
This article makes it sound like most Switch fans/owners think this way, but I don't think that's the case at all. I think the opposite is true for anyone who has a small amount of objectivity and can see how successful and popular the system is. It's definitely still a hot item and this article was the first time I've seen it even hinted that the opposite could be perceived as true.
I know it's not meant this way, but it comes across as a little ageist comparing her to Audrey. The only thing they have in common is being old, really. Even the video game connection is spurious as Audrey isn't a content creator, doesn't run a channel, isn't a videogame/JRPG fanatic, etc. I've watched Food4dogs for a couple of years now and she makes legitimate content and isn't really any different than millions of other YouTubers out there.
And the header I originally read said "You've met Animal Crossing Grandma, now it's time for Shin Megami Tensei Grandma". I'm not even sure she's an actual grandma. Her content certainly isn't about that or family. I just think she should be appreciated for the quality of her work, rather than the novelty of being old and still having modern interests.
What exactly is an open-world-like game? It feels like it means "not open world gane at all but we thought it might be for a while"...
Not that Arceus needs to be open world. I'm not of the school of thought that open world immediately means good or better. It's just one way for a game to be.
@Ludovsky @Tourtus For me personally, I started over for a lot of reasons. I stopped back in June 2020 because I felt like I'd finished the game. I'd unlocked all the content I wanted, I'd done all the challenges I was interested in, collected pictures from my villagers, finished my house completely and meticulously decorated each room to my satisfaction, decorated the whole island to my satisfaction, collected all the fossils, fish and bugs I wanted, collected all the clothing/items I wanted, etc. I didn't feel like there was anything left to do that I was interested in, so I packed it in.
But.. the early part of the game, the first month or two where you have limited tools and the island is a wilderness, you're just meeting new villagers and helping build/decorate their houses, exploring Nook Miles islands, having new things happen ever day with resident services and in the town, building bridges and inclines, building up the museum, shopping for new clothes and items, etc.. all that was so fun to me and there was none of that any more. I also felt very disconnected mentally and to a degree, emotionally, from my island and all of my stuff, so starting over felt highly rewarding.
I also have gotten to see a ton of villagers I'd never seen before, decorate and wear clothes with stuff I didn't use before because I was set in my style, lay things out on my island totally differently. Well, in theory. Still a work in progress. I only have one bridge and 5 villagers so far, but I'm having a blast each day and I think the full experience will feel great with all the new stuff. I'm already enjoying the ladder kits, some of the new items, the diving and deep sea creatures (which I hadn't messed with last year), etc.
@KateGray @Zebetite Even if you could time travel ahead a year to do it from now and it worked, it's not moot. It's not like it's just a simple in-game option. It requires the use of an exploit that many won't do and this information is useful to them because it might impact whether or not they start over.
Admittedly, it would have been more helpful a few weeks ago, but you can hardly blame Nintendo Life for not knowing about it before the content was even available. And I'm sure there are still countless players on the fence about it.
@rjejr You stated it like it's some standard price that an individual is paying. No cost means anything without context. $80 would be a lot, say, for one person. But it's insanely cheap for 8 people. $10 per person is a steal. Also, the name "family plan" doesn't mean you have to be a family. I have eight people on mine and it's extremely affordable.
I'm not saying it's a great deal for everyone at $50 a year for an individual, but mentioning $80 just makes the opposite point: how great of a deal the family plan is.
@IronMan30 I don't think the "there's nothing" schtick will be as prevalent next year just because so many titles are already known. Far more than usual. And a few ones expected this year (like Advance Wars, Bayonetta, etc) slipped to next year so it makes the year that much beefier, particularly in the first half. It might be a rare year we don't see people complain all year that Nintendo must not have any games simply because the news hasn't been revealed yet. Though I'm sure some will just because it seems to be a hobby at this point.
@Astral-Grain You aren't being nitpicky. This article is WILDLY misleading and downright clickbait. It's not even remotely what the article claims. It doesn't "fix" anything about having one island per Switch. It isn't even analogous as there are many examples of players all being able to have their own things on an island anyway (everyone can have their own house to upgrade/decorate, progress/pay their own debt, etc).
@westman98 I don't think there was anything substantially different enough about 3D third person Metroid to differentiate it from 2D Metroid. The few moments of extra freedom aren't anything too special or different from Prime, either.
I'm not sure it's actually even two seconds. Also, with the intense bright light that flashes and the set angle plus the particle effects, it's heavily obscured for the brief time it's visible.
@valharian Everybody dying in New Super Mario Bros. is just part of the fun for most players. Multiplayer is absolutely easy and accessible. Anyone can pick up and play it and you don't have to know anything to still beat the level as a group. Being accessible doesn't mean you're instantly a master and the best. It just means it doesn't bar you from playing or potentially enjoying the product. Many games can be too complex or challenging for some people to understand and will prevent them from being able or willing to play.
@MrGawain Odyssey showed that the 3D gameplay of Mario can do almost anything. Cappy, the capture mechanics, all the different, inventive kingdoms. There's really no limit.
@BloodNinja @nessisonett @Ralizah I can't say what they're trying to convey, but that's the same person, isn't it? I mean, that's the main character in front and the girl behind her is just her again in her Magical Girl outfit post transformation. It changes hair and eye color.
@FullMetalWesker Actually, you're right. Because not wanting to put the work in is essentially the same as not wanting to put the money in. Lazy means literally unwilling to do work or use energy. It has a connotation that you're unwilling to do the work because it's too bothersome, but that's not actually what it means. They are unwilling to do the work because it's too costly. Maybe not a specific programmer but the developer as a whole is unwilling to do the work to make it better because said work costs more time and money. The reasoning behind it doesn't make it not lazy. In this case, cheapness IS laziness.
While it's true that some LAZILY throw around the word lazy as a catch-all, but it's obvious that few (if any people) actually think it's because programmers A, B and C are just tossing around paper footballs instead of working. Obviously the main issue is the higher ups in charge of making decisions are CHEAP and money hungry. Crunch conditions don't exist because it's hard to make a game. People aren't working over time daily because it's necessary for a project to succeed. It's all in relation to how much money the developer is willing to spend and they're unwilling to budge on those cost/timetable particulars so instead of hiring more staff, they work their employees more. Developers are often cheap and greedy. It's obviously not that they aren't willing to go to work and do their job.
To be honest, though, that is so obviously the case that it's confusing to imagine you actually thought everyone was under some mistaken impression that "lazy devs" really did mean people just screwing around, unwilling to work. Obviously it's a matter of money they're willing to spend.
That being said, I think you also really overstate the "near impossibility" of making a successful game. If it actually were nearly impossible, it wouldn't happen so often. I'm not saying it's easy, but.. nearly impossible? No.
Also, I think it's worth mentioning that laziness is a factor in some game development. While it maybe isn't what we're talking about here, but the post-Early Access/Kickstarter game world has played host to developers who are unwilling to work on their games much or even at all after they get paid. The reality of getting tons of money upfront and no true contractual obligation to follow through has led to serious and very real decline in productivity and desire to complete projects. It's certainly not what most people are talking about when they say "lazy devs", but laziness does still exist.
@Euler The leap you're referring to as monumental isn't the same, though. One is a more compact form factor of something we had many years before, the other is the invention of a new genre and a completely new game. I'm not saying it isn't impressive in its own right, but it isn't impressive in the same manner.
And my point wasn't to debate the specifics of why people do or don't like Super Mario 64 DS and not even to say whether it is or isn't better than the original version. Just that it isn't objective fact that it's superior, as you seemed to be saying.
As for the sales figure comment.. it actually hurts your case quite a bit, not helps it. The Nintendo DS sold 154 million systems, while the Nintendo 64 sold 32 million. The DS sold nearly FIVE TIMES as many systems but Mario 64 sold slightly less on the DS. It's a port, so it's expected to be lower, but with a system launch title for one of the best selling gaming systems of all time, it's not an unexpectedly high number. To be honest, I'd have imagined it would be higher.
And more to the point, sales numbers don't say ANYTHING about which version players prefer. There's no way to know how much overlap there is between players who have even played both, nor is there any way to know if they liked the game. Or even if they did like, it doesn't mean they liked it more than the N64 version.
So.. no, those sales numbers don't show that it's a vocal minority who don't like it. It might be a vocal minority, but that data doesn't mean anything in regards to it.
@EmmatheBest What made Mario 64 special and unique as a launch title wasn't really retained on the DS, though. Going from the Super Nintendo with 16-bit 2D visuals, jumping from Super Mario World to 3D in Super Mario 64, was monumental. If you didn't grow up playing NES/SNES and then see the launch of the N64 bring Super Mario 64, it's hard to capture that concept and feeling. It blew people away.
The DS game was fun and it was neat having it on the go, but it wasn't revolutionary and it wasn't new. It was a remastered (demastered?) port. By virtue of not being a new game, it essentially can't be the best launch title ever in comparison. It's like Demon's Souls on PS5. It's a good game but it isn't new.
Besides, it's simply not true that Mario 64 on the DS is better in every conceivable way, otherwise the majority of fans wouldn't prefer the original and dislike the DS game. Many agree the controls are far worse on the DS game.. and it's a platformer. Controls are one of the most, if not the most, important elements. Not to mention many people hated the multi character element and didn't feel it improved the game, but rather felt that it took away from it. Also, the visuals and playing on the small screen was worse for many people. And anything using touchpad controls is something that will turn people off.
I'm not saying you can't prefer it. I loved it when it came out, myself. Just that it isn't cut and dry better. Also, the article is from 2009 so.. as far as the point, it was made then because the game was being reviewed for Virtual Console release.
Super Mario 64 was perhaps the only time that I looked at a game on a new console and was blown away.. and simultaneous unsettled, by how new and different it was. No other launch game ever made me feel so surely that the future was now and that technology was screaming forward in gaming.
@DaniPooo I'm not really sure what your point is. Nintendo, as well as most game companies, did think it was their job to censor stuff decades ago, because there was nothing that existed to do so and rate games. The perception of what was adequate in media censorship on a national scale was also quite different. But the ESRB was formed, the landscape for censorship changed.. and for years now, Nintendo has stayed mostly away from censoring their own games and they rarely, if ever, interfere in the games of other companies.
@ShinyWitten Nintendo isn't "family friendly". They provide a platform for games and let just about anything on the store. It's not their job to police third party games from a content perspective, only to make sure they work and function as advertised before posting them.
Even for Nintendo's own games, many aren't family friendly. They've made mature, dark, adult oriented games for many, many years. They just also happen to make games for all ages and children as well.
@FishyS I won't lie to you. I've never had fun playing Mario Party alone. The AI isn't that good and it doesn't look like this game has much in terms of unlocking/progression. So it's just if you find the games fun. And they can be fun, particularly because they've picked the best/most popular mini games, but even then.. they're very simplistic and a lot of the excitement and fun is going head to head in those games against friends and loved ones and screwing up or doing really well. It can be a laugh filled barrel of fun.
The addition of multiplayer may capture some of that fun with strangers, but I still suspect your hard earned money is better spent on a game that isn't so wildly skewed towards local multiplayer.
Comments 952
Re: 'Swords & Bones' Looks To Resurrect The Spirit Of Classic 16-Bit Adventures On Switch
@ConraDargo The big difference between Starbound and No Man's Sky is that No Man's Sky eventually met and then far exceeded the original vision. Starbound never even came close to achieving the original vision and the developers didn't even try to get there. They just moved on. Also, Starbound is just an okay game, while No Man's Sky is pretty good.
Re: 'Swords & Bones' Looks To Resurrect The Spirit Of Classic 16-Bit Adventures On Switch
@ConraDargo I have played it. And it was a massive disappointment. As a game that was supposed to be a successor to Terraria, it failed on almost every level. It also lied in its funding campaign, made tons of promises and guarantees that were mostly unfulfilled. So many of the features, like the starbases with the growing populations, the seamless spaceflight and combat, planetside landing, deep storylines and complex riddles, etc were all just canned and the money kept. It also released about 6 years after they originally said it would.
Objectively speaking, it's not an awful game. It's okay. It's clunky and way worse than Terraria and the planets are mostly dull and have little to do underground, but it was still fun to mess around in for 20 hours. But it wasn't the sweeping epic it promised to be. If you didn't follow development from announcement to initial release, I'm sure it just seemed like a fun game to play. But it certainly was a wildly mismanaged project that's tantamount to scamming because they didn't give virtually anything they promised. So.. for me, it definitely tarnished their name some.
Re: Gal*Gun: Double Peace's Limited Edition Comes With Plushies And A 'DIY Tentacle Kit'
@Kirbo100 I've seen quite a few movies over the year. Most of the Studio Ghibli films, all Shinkai Makoto films (my favorite is 5 Centimeters per Second), all the classic popular ones (Ghost in the Shell, Akira, etc) and a bunch of random other ones.
Re: Gal*Gun: Double Peace's Limited Edition Comes With Plushies And A 'DIY Tentacle Kit'
@JustMonika I certainly wouldn't laugh at you for watching a lot (or too little) anime. I just don't know how people find the time! I think I may have watched maybe 4 (for a total of 63 episodes, though that might actually be 50 because I think one of them was probably the year before) all the way through last year. I have such a big list of stuff I'm excited to watch, but I feel like I never get around to it. I thought I was doing pretty well watching that much! Heh.
You mentioned all those arrived in the mail. Do you use a rental service or do you buy and collect?
Re: 'Swords & Bones' Looks To Resurrect The Spirit Of Classic 16-Bit Adventures On Switch
@Tim_Vreeland Chucklefish is also the shady developer that brought us the scam that was Starbound.
Re: 'Swords & Bones' Looks To Resurrect The Spirit Of Classic 16-Bit Adventures On Switch
@Pillowpants I'm with you there. Just looks a little bad.
Re: Gal*Gun: Double Peace's Limited Edition Comes With Plushies And A 'DIY Tentacle Kit'
@JustMonika To be fair, their list is largely 80s/90s classics. Some slightly newer and a few much older.
Also, 160?! That's so many! Do you really keep track of the exact number or is that just a rough estimate?
Re: Best Of 2021: 14 Wii Games That Deserve Switch Ports
Wario Land, Last Story, Super Mario Galaxy 2.
Re: Soapbox: 2022 Is Looking Glorious For Tactics Games On Switch
@Deepdoop Honestly, any of the games on this list would be great, though none of them will be very much like Mario PLUS Rabbids. That game is kind of its own thing, with all the exploration and puzzley stuff. Advance Wars is great, though!
Re: Dragon Quest X Offline Has Been Delayed Until Summer 2022
@iLikeUrAttitude @Nintenbot I know no western release has been announced, but the lead producer originally suggested the idea of one day making an offline version of DQX four years ago and he said the driving forcer behind the idea was to make it easier to bring the game and it's world/story to the west and internationally. It's hard to imagine they'd just throw that opportunity away.
Even if the somehow do, at least the possibility of a fan translation is infinitely higher and easier to implement with an offline game.
Regardless, here's hoping they just release it in the west officially, even if it isn't until 2023.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Switch Ports We'd Love To See In 2022
@jamesthemagi I don't want to see Tomodachi Life ported over. I want to see a huge sequel with everything that made Tomodachi Life great but with tons more! Tomodachi World, here we come!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (December 25th Holiday Special)
I pulled out my Vita to replay Mega Man Legends and Mega Man Legends 2. I also grabbed Shovel Knight: Pocket Dungeon on Switch. Then UnMetal and Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age on sale. Not sure what I'll dive into.
Re: Best Of 2021: Takaya Imamura - The Man Who Named Majora's Mask And Created Nintendo's Coolest Characters
None of these are Nintendo's coolest characters. But he can forever be known as the person to create Nintendo's worst character, Tingle!
Re: Best Of 2021: Retro Nintendo Games Cost Too Much, But Nostalgia Is Expensive
@Moistnado First of all, if ten people shared a limo and it was cheaper than them individually buying a ticket for a train ride.. then yes, it would be cheaper. That's how basic economics work. That's like claiming that someone's living expenses aren't cheaper when they have roommates and split bills than if they lived in a worse place that cost them more individually.
Except here this is something specifically designed to be cheaper. The fact that you called it a scheme is laughably preposterous. It's a friends and family plan.
It's meant to support up to 8 people. I'm on it with my fiancée, my sister and five of our friends. Despite how angry and combative you are over this, it absolutely is cheaper for me and my friends/family than any other alternative beyond you advocating stealing games. It costs me $10 a year. If other people don't have the means to get together a group to do the friends and family plan and pay less and it doesn't work for them, then that's fine. But it does for me and there's no amount of your railing that will make it expensive to me. I'd much rather pay $10 a year for limitless access to the NSO games, have the free DLC and game trials, access to online, etc. Not to mention I can then play all of those games easily on the go and online. And it all works perfectly fine for me.
I'm sorry it isn't a good experience for you and you don't like the service, but that doesn't make the family plan expensive or a scheme.
Re: Best Of 2021: Retro Nintendo Games Cost Too Much, But Nostalgia Is Expensive
@Moistnado I don't collect games, nor do I want to. It's also nowhere near the most expensive. That's heinously inaccurate. Many physical games cost hundreds or thousands to collect. Lately some have gone for over a million. $5-$10 a year on a family plan for NSO can fathomably be considered the "most expensive" way.
I will say it's unreliable from a collecting standpoint, but that's like saying Netflix is unreliable for collecting Blu-rays and DVDs. I mean, yes. It's technically true but it's irrelevant because that's not what the series does.
In the lifetime of the Switch I doubt I'll spend more than a grand total of $60 for the service. And that's generously assuming I keep NSO for four more years with the expansion pack and factoring in the previous two years without and the current year with. I bought $250 worth of VC games on the Wii over 2-3 years and never play them anymore because I don't want to use a Wii now. I'm not saying it's a perfect service but I have access to 5-10 times the games I had on Wii for a fraction of the price ($20 invested to date on NSO for 3 years on a family plan).
Re: Medium-Naut, From La-Mulana Creator Takumi Naramura, Comes To Switch Today
@aznable I think it's fair to say it does look bad. It's uglier than La Mulana by a mile and that game is 16 years old.
Re: Saucy Tower Defence Title Duel Princess Marches To Switch Next Month
@Heavyarms55 Same reason why a show where a character says something insensitive to another character that could hurt someone's feelings if a person said that to them in real life can get the show in hot water, but depictions of graphic sexual violence in Law & Order: SVU or serial killing in Dexter is fine.
People just have really intense double standards about what's acceptable.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Switch Year In Review - Our Stats And Most Played Games
@OorWullie Either you need to schedule an MRI or someone else has been playing your Switch (or at least your account).
Re: Review: Paper Mario - A Well-Crafted Creation That Stands Up Beautifully
@Don Mario & Luigi isn't dependent on Alpha Dream. Nintendo can easily have it developed elsewhere. And Paper Mario hasn't ditched the RPG formula. They just reenvisioned it. No real way of telling how it'll be going forward.
Re: Nintendo Is Adding Paper Mario 64 To Switch Online's Expansion Pack, Out Next Week
@Blooper987 Considering it came out a month ago, it seems like it might be more often than every three months. They also said they'd continue with the SNES/NES games and Genesis games. Though it's too early to tell how the release cadence will shake out either way.
Re: Gamers Vote Nintendo DS As The Console They'd Most Like To See Make A Modern Comeback
This article references "modernizing" old consoles. What's the point? That's what every new console generation already does, essentially. The PS5 is basically a modernized PS4. And the same for the PS4 in regards to the PS3. I guess I could kind of see it if an older console had specific physical features that later systems didn't have, but the 3DS and 2DS lines were essentially just DS systems but better with more power and features. And they play all the old DS games, so why would anyone want specifically the DS modernized?
Re: Review: Ruined King: A League of Legends Story - A Brilliant Experience Beyond Its Franchise
@Gwynbleidd If it were my absolute favorite restaurant, yes, probably. People have limited perspective and definitely often think the things they like the most are the best. It's confusing that you're trying to argue the opposite or like there's some special situation with RPGs. I've never seen any higher incidence with that for RPGs. Just seems like you don't like them for some reason or want to stir the pot.
Re: Review: Ruined King: A League of Legends Story - A Brilliant Experience Beyond Its Franchise
@Gwynbleidd Your statement seems bizarrely critical of RPGs and their fans when what you described is just basic human behavior. Of course people think their favorite thing is the best. A person wouldn't say "this is my absolute favorite restaurant but it sucks and I wouldn't recommend eating here", they'd say it's the best.
Re: Talking Point: 5 Reasons That Nintendo Switch Is Still A Hot Product
"It may seem improbable to us that millions of people are still buying the Switch..."
This article makes it sound like most Switch fans/owners think this way, but I don't think that's the case at all. I think the opposite is true for anyone who has a small amount of objectivity and can see how successful and popular the system is. It's definitely still a hot item and this article was the first time I've seen it even hinted that the opposite could be perceived as true.
Re: Random: This Shin Megami Tensei V Unboxing Video Is As Wholesome As They Come
I know it's not meant this way, but it comes across as a little ageist comparing her to Audrey. The only thing they have in common is being old, really. Even the video game connection is spurious as Audrey isn't a content creator, doesn't run a channel, isn't a videogame/JRPG fanatic, etc. I've watched Food4dogs for a couple of years now and she makes legitimate content and isn't really any different than millions of other YouTubers out there.
And the header I originally read said "You've met Animal Crossing Grandma, now it's time for Shin Megami Tensei Grandma". I'm not even sure she's an actual grandma. Her content certainly isn't about that or family. I just think she should be appreciated for the quality of her work, rather than the novelty of being old and still having modern interests.
Re: Review: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl - A Middling Pair Of Remakes
"... upcoming open-world-like..."
What exactly is an open-world-like game? It feels like it means "not open world gane at all but we thought it might be for a while"...
Not that Arceus needs to be open world. I'm not of the school of thought that open world immediately means good or better. It's just one way for a game to be.
Re: PSA: If You Restarted Your Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island, You'll Have To Wait A Year To Access Some Things
@Tourtus I would have. I just wouldn't have done it right now. I've thought about it for a time and knew I wanted to eventually, but this clinched it.
Re: PSA: If You Restarted Your Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island, You'll Have To Wait A Year To Access Some Things
@Ludovsky @Tourtus For me personally, I started over for a lot of reasons. I stopped back in June 2020 because I felt like I'd finished the game. I'd unlocked all the content I wanted, I'd done all the challenges I was interested in, collected pictures from my villagers, finished my house completely and meticulously decorated each room to my satisfaction, decorated the whole island to my satisfaction, collected all the fossils, fish and bugs I wanted, collected all the clothing/items I wanted, etc. I didn't feel like there was anything left to do that I was interested in, so I packed it in.
But.. the early part of the game, the first month or two where you have limited tools and the island is a wilderness, you're just meeting new villagers and helping build/decorate their houses, exploring Nook Miles islands, having new things happen ever day with resident services and in the town, building bridges and inclines, building up the museum, shopping for new clothes and items, etc.. all that was so fun to me and there was none of that any more. I also felt very disconnected mentally and to a degree, emotionally, from my island and all of my stuff, so starting over felt highly rewarding.
I also have gotten to see a ton of villagers I'd never seen before, decorate and wear clothes with stuff I didn't use before because I was set in my style, lay things out on my island totally differently. Well, in theory. Still a work in progress. I only have one bridge and 5 villagers so far, but I'm having a blast each day and I think the full experience will feel great with all the new stuff. I'm already enjoying the ladder kits, some of the new items, the diving and deep sea creatures (which I hadn't messed with last year), etc.
Re: PSA: If You Restarted Your Animal Crossing: New Horizons Island, You'll Have To Wait A Year To Access Some Things
@KateGray @Zebetite Even if you could time travel ahead a year to do it from now and it worked, it's not moot. It's not like it's just a simple in-game option. It requires the use of an exploit that many won't do and this information is useful to them because it might impact whether or not they start over.
Admittedly, it would have been more helpful a few weeks ago, but you can hardly blame Nintendo Life for not knowing about it before the content was even available. And I'm sure there are still countless players on the fence about it.
Re: Mario Party Superstars Commercial Grudgingly Promotes Switch Online App's Voice Chat
@rjejr You stated it like it's some standard price that an individual is paying. No cost means anything without context. $80 would be a lot, say, for one person. But it's insanely cheap for 8 people. $10 per person is a steal. Also, the name "family plan" doesn't mean you have to be a family. I have eight people on mine and it's extremely affordable.
I'm not saying it's a great deal for everyone at $50 a year for an individual, but mentioning $80 just makes the opposite point: how great of a deal the family plan is.
Re: Nintendo Reminds Us Of Switch's Upcoming Releases, And 2022's Looking Pretty Mighty
@IronMan30 I don't think the "there's nothing" schtick will be as prevalent next year just because so many titles are already known. Far more than usual. And a few ones expected this year (like Advance Wars, Bayonetta, etc) slipped to next year so it makes the year that much beefier, particularly in the first half. It might be a rare year we don't see people complain all year that Nintendo must not have any games simply because the news hasn't been revealed yet. Though I'm sure some will just because it seems to be a hobby at this point.
Re: Nintendo Reminds Us Of Switch's Upcoming Releases, And 2022's Looking Pretty Mighty
@thiz I'm excited for a Super Mario 3D World-styled Kirby. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun.
Re: PSA: Animal Crossing's Happy Home Paradise DLC Fixes New Horizons' Most-Hated Feature
@Astral-Grain You aren't being nitpicky. This article is WILDLY misleading and downright clickbait. It's not even remotely what the article claims. It doesn't "fix" anything about having one island per Switch. It isn't even analogous as there are many examples of players all being able to have their own things on an island anyway (everyone can have their own house to upgrade/decorate, progress/pay their own debt, etc).
Re: Feature: Metroid Dread Has Plenty Of Other M's DNA, And That's No Bad Thing
@westman98 I don't think there was anything substantially different enough about 3D third person Metroid to differentiate it from 2D Metroid. The few moments of extra freedom aren't anything too special or different from Prime, either.
Re: Random: Metroid Dread's Zero Suit Samus Model Is Rather Detailed Up Close
I'm not sure it's actually even two seconds. Also, with the intense bright light that flashes and the set angle plus the particle effects, it's heavily obscured for the brief time it's visible.
Re: Nintendo Wants To Expand 3D Mario Games "In New Ways"
@P-Man What's your favorite game of all time?
Re: Nintendo Wants To Expand 3D Mario Games "In New Ways"
@valharian Everybody dying in New Super Mario Bros. is just part of the fun for most players. Multiplayer is absolutely easy and accessible. Anyone can pick up and play it and you don't have to know anything to still beat the level as a group. Being accessible doesn't mean you're instantly a master and the best. It just means it doesn't bar you from playing or potentially enjoying the product. Many games can be too complex or challenging for some people to understand and will prevent them from being able or willing to play.
Re: Nintendo Wants To Expand 3D Mario Games "In New Ways"
@MrGawain Odyssey showed that the 3D gameplay of Mario can do almost anything. Cappy, the capture mechanics, all the different, inventive kingdoms. There's really no limit.
Re: Mario Party Superstars Commercial Grudgingly Promotes Switch Online App's Voice Chat
@rjejr Who's paying $80 a year and how could voice chat even remotely be a factor in it being worth $80?
Re: Review: Blue Reflection: Second Light - A Stunning-Looking Anime Adventure
@BloodNinja @nessisonett @Ralizah I can't say what they're trying to convey, but that's the same person, isn't it? I mean, that's the main character in front and the girl behind her is just her again in her Magical Girl outfit post transformation. It changes hair and eye color.
Re: Soapbox: Can We Please Retire The Phrase 'Lazy Devs' Already?
@FullMetalWesker Actually, you're right. Because not wanting to put the work in is essentially the same as not wanting to put the money in. Lazy means literally unwilling to do work or use energy. It has a connotation that you're unwilling to do the work because it's too bothersome, but that's not actually what it means. They are unwilling to do the work because it's too costly. Maybe not a specific programmer but the developer as a whole is unwilling to do the work to make it better because said work costs more time and money. The reasoning behind it doesn't make it not lazy. In this case, cheapness IS laziness.
Re: Soapbox: Can We Please Retire The Phrase 'Lazy Devs' Already?
While it's true that some LAZILY throw around the word lazy as a catch-all, but it's obvious that few (if any people) actually think it's because programmers A, B and C are just tossing around paper footballs instead of working. Obviously the main issue is the higher ups in charge of making decisions are CHEAP and money hungry. Crunch conditions don't exist because it's hard to make a game. People aren't working over time daily because it's necessary for a project to succeed. It's all in relation to how much money the developer is willing to spend and they're unwilling to budge on those cost/timetable particulars so instead of hiring more staff, they work their employees more. Developers are often cheap and greedy. It's obviously not that they aren't willing to go to work and do their job.
To be honest, though, that is so obviously the case that it's confusing to imagine you actually thought everyone was under some mistaken impression that "lazy devs" really did mean people just screwing around, unwilling to work. Obviously it's a matter of money they're willing to spend.
That being said, I think you also really overstate the "near impossibility" of making a successful game. If it actually were nearly impossible, it wouldn't happen so often. I'm not saying it's easy, but.. nearly impossible? No.
Also, I think it's worth mentioning that laziness is a factor in some game development. While it maybe isn't what we're talking about here, but the post-Early Access/Kickstarter game world has played host to developers who are unwilling to work on their games much or even at all after they get paid. The reality of getting tons of money upfront and no true contractual obligation to follow through has led to serious and very real decline in productivity and desire to complete projects. It's certainly not what most people are talking about when they say "lazy devs", but laziness does still exist.
Re: Here Are The Top Ten Best-Selling Nintendo Switch Games As Of September 2021
I own all but Ring Fit Adventure.
Re: Review: Super Mario 64 - The Best Launch Game Ever Made
@Euler The leap you're referring to as monumental isn't the same, though. One is a more compact form factor of something we had many years before, the other is the invention of a new genre and a completely new game. I'm not saying it isn't impressive in its own right, but it isn't impressive in the same manner.
And my point wasn't to debate the specifics of why people do or don't like Super Mario 64 DS and not even to say whether it is or isn't better than the original version. Just that it isn't objective fact that it's superior, as you seemed to be saying.
As for the sales figure comment.. it actually hurts your case quite a bit, not helps it. The Nintendo DS sold 154 million systems, while the Nintendo 64 sold 32 million. The DS sold nearly FIVE TIMES as many systems but Mario 64 sold slightly less on the DS. It's a port, so it's expected to be lower, but with a system launch title for one of the best selling gaming systems of all time, it's not an unexpectedly high number. To be honest, I'd have imagined it would be higher.
And more to the point, sales numbers don't say ANYTHING about which version players prefer. There's no way to know how much overlap there is between players who have even played both, nor is there any way to know if they liked the game. Or even if they did like, it doesn't mean they liked it more than the N64 version.
So.. no, those sales numbers don't show that it's a vocal minority who don't like it. It might be a vocal minority, but that data doesn't mean anything in regards to it.
Re: Review: Super Mario 64 - The Best Launch Game Ever Made
@EmmatheBest What made Mario 64 special and unique as a launch title wasn't really retained on the DS, though. Going from the Super Nintendo with 16-bit 2D visuals, jumping from Super Mario World to 3D in Super Mario 64, was monumental. If you didn't grow up playing NES/SNES and then see the launch of the N64 bring Super Mario 64, it's hard to capture that concept and feeling. It blew people away.
The DS game was fun and it was neat having it on the go, but it wasn't revolutionary and it wasn't new. It was a remastered (demastered?) port. By virtue of not being a new game, it essentially can't be the best launch title ever in comparison. It's like Demon's Souls on PS5. It's a good game but it isn't new.
Besides, it's simply not true that Mario 64 on the DS is better in every conceivable way, otherwise the majority of fans wouldn't prefer the original and dislike the DS game. Many agree the controls are far worse on the DS game.. and it's a platformer.
Controls are one of the most, if not the most, important elements. Not to mention many people hated the multi character element and didn't feel it improved the game, but rather felt that it took away from it. Also, the visuals and playing on the small screen was worse for many people. And anything using touchpad controls is something that will turn people off.
I'm not saying you can't prefer it. I loved it when it came out, myself. Just that it isn't cut and dry better. Also, the article is from 2009 so.. as far as the point, it was made then because the game was being reviewed for Virtual Console release.
Re: Review: Super Mario 64 - The Best Launch Game Ever Made
Super Mario 64 was perhaps the only time that I looked at a game on a new console and was blown away.. and simultaneous unsettled, by how new and different it was. No other launch game ever made me feel so surely that the future was now and that technology was screaming forward in gaming.
Re: Sony's Censors Strike As Switch Gets '20 Ladies' While PS4 Gets '20 Bunnies'
@DaniPooo I'm not really sure what your point is. Nintendo, as well as most game companies, did think it was their job to censor stuff decades ago, because there was nothing that existed to do so and rate games. The perception of what was adequate in media censorship on a national scale was also quite different. But the ESRB was formed, the landscape for censorship changed.. and for years now, Nintendo has stayed mostly away from censoring their own games and they rarely, if ever, interfere in the games of other companies.
Re: Sony's Censors Strike As Switch Gets '20 Ladies' While PS4 Gets '20 Bunnies'
@ShinyWitten Nintendo isn't "family friendly". They provide a platform for games and let just about anything on the store. It's not their job to police third party games from a content perspective, only to make sure they work and function as advertised before posting them.
Even for Nintendo's own games, many aren't family friendly. They've made mature, dark, adult oriented games for many, many years. They just also happen to make games for all ages and children as well.
Re: Review: Mario Party Superstars - A Party Most Hearty
@Greatluigi There are 6 games from MP7. They're as follows:
The Final Countdown
Stick and Spin
Spin Doctor
Pogo-a-Go-Go
Monty’s Revenge
Pokey Pummel
Re: Review: Mario Party Superstars - A Party Most Hearty
@FishyS I won't lie to you. I've never had fun playing Mario Party alone. The AI isn't that good and it doesn't look like this game has much in terms of unlocking/progression. So it's just if you find the games fun. And they can be fun, particularly because they've picked the best/most popular mini games, but even then.. they're very simplistic and a lot of the excitement and fun is going head to head in those games against friends and loved ones and screwing up or doing really well. It can be a laugh filled barrel of fun.
The addition of multiplayer may capture some of that fun with strangers, but I still suspect your hard earned money is better spent on a game that isn't so wildly skewed towards local multiplayer.