Lyricana

This feels like the kind of thing articles on certain other websites might try to spin into some sort of Mojang-cancelling animal abuse story. Hopefully that doesn't happy and they just let the kid have fun in his game!

@BiscuitCrumbsInMyBed Well, he did say as much, essentially.

Zelda's English voice acting was probably my least favorite part of Breath of the Wild. I definitely don't imagine that voice acting when I think of Zelda now, though.

@anoyonmus "Nintendo of America has now confirmed the same trial for North American players, starting at 10am Pacific on 18th August."

@Clarice Not sure what your point there is.

@Clarice I understand you're saying there's precedent because Nintendo has done this very same thing before, but that was before the existence of a true multi-console market split. That was pre-Genesis when Nintendo was being accused of pushing smaller developers out of the market by forcing toy and electronics companies not to sell any games for other systems, lest they'd refuse to stock their own Nintendo titles for the holiday season. Back when Nintendo was constantly fielding lawsuits over having a monopoly on the games market, when they controlled 90% of the market or more.

Now it's divided up between other companies in a much more even manner, including PC. It's unbelievable they're holding all 30 spots!

@Kirby_Girl I really hope we get a cool evolution of the series for the next entry! I've been excited to see how the Kirby franchise can grow. Are you interested in seeing a 3D Kirby slightly more in line with Super Mario Odyssey (though still retaining its identity as a Kirby game) or would you prefer to see the series stay more true to its roots?

@PessitheMystic Kafkaesque, despite how you feel about it, has been in the Oxford Dictionary for many decades and has been recognized as a word since 1947. Language evolves and that's how it happens. You used the word movies in that very sentence, something that got it's name because it depicted "moving" images. How are terms like "movies" or "talkies" any less lazy? Countless words have similar origins.

Also, particularly as an adjective, Kafkaesque is immediately evocative of something specific so it does its job well as a descriptor. It's like roguelike in gaming. Doesn't have to be a fancy or clever term to be useful in its description. It certainly does a better job than RPG or RTS or MOBA, all of which are not decipherable by their words. If you know what Rogue (much like if you're at all familiar with Kafka) was, then a roguelike makes sense. But know what RPG stands for isn't enough to explain virtually anything about what an RPG is. I've had people try to explain to me why Halo is an RPG (it's a GAME and you PLAY the ROLE of Master Chief), then have them spiral into the determination that virtually all games are RPGs. Or with RTS where anything from the Tales franchise to Tetris could mistakenly be considered RTS because of the meaning of the actual words. Or MOBA and literally anything from Call of Duty to Mario Kart 8, etc.

All I'm saying is that there shouldn't be anything wrong with using a commonly accepted, well known and easily digestible word to describe something.

@BloodNinja Except that can and has happened to people regarding everything. There are people who stay up too late every night reading, binging media content, drinking, hanging out socially, playing music, etc. People can and do obsess over anything. There's no reliable medical/scientific basis to indicate that video games are more addictive than anything else like that. And there's CERTAINLY a plethora of evidence that outright counters the concept that they're "injecting an addictive drug".

The addiction issues are often elements of the personality of the individual afflicted with whatever the addiction is. That's why many addicts can and do replace one addiction for something wholly unrelated. The point isn't that people can't get addicted, it's that it's not the fault of the game anymore than it's literature's fault that someone goes to work bleary-eyed and unproductive because they stayed up too late reading Lord of the Rings.

@Arawn93 Yeah, there's no one who blows more smoke than Imran Khan, except maybe Emily Rogers. Yet people act like everything they say is just pure fact! The reality is that when you make guesses like "Breath of the Wild will have a sequel" or "a new Mario sports title is coming", that's about as easy a guess as claiming the sun is likely to rise tomorrow.

And if Jenna Coleman is correct (though she seemed unsure and it wouldn't be the first time that a voice actor got called in to record new lines for something they already finished and got confused, thinking it was a new project), Imran Khan definitely seems to be band wagoning to establish some plausible credibility.

I agree that some spin-offs are great. What I don't agree with is the assertion that spin-offs are how you describe them in the first two paragraphs at all. Ever. There's nothing about a spin-off that is inherently worse than a main entry in concept. Some of the best games in various franchises are the spin-offs rather than the main entries.

It's just you use Pokemon as an example and it's a particular example of a franchise that has a bunch of really lousy (and some good) spin-offs. Meanwhile, Dragon Quest is a franchise that has spin-offs that are almost uniformly fantastic. Tales is another series with bad spin-offs (because they're made by unrelated developers with almost no budget, usually). But then Mario spin-offs almost always become their own entire franchises and some, like Mario Kart and Smash Bros. (if you count it), are even more popular than parent series. You could throw Persona in that sort of group, too. For my money, Mega Man Legends is one of my all time favorite games and I'd looooove to see that spin-off series continued with new entries.

I'd say just like any other game or piece of entertainment or.. really anything at all, judge it by its own merits.

Oh, also.. Dragon Quest Builders is obviously inspired by Minecraft and similar games, but there's no way it could accurately be called a clone. It's so wildly different with countless mechanics and the entire flow of the game itself being wholly unlike anything Minecraft has ever done. Good or bad isn't really the issue (though I think it's very good), it's just very different. And I actually think it's significantly MORE creative than the main series. And that's not an insult to Dragon Quest mainline games. I love those. They're just not as creative as the Builders series.

@mr_benn Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest is such a good series and I've hoped for years they'd make a fourth entry or at least do a trilogy remaster! Such great games.

@HefHughner Well, for one.. they're not actually a very large developer. And their margins are pretty thin, they've not had a lot of success in the US. It's business. And if business is bad, they're going to abstain.

@sanderev Is this a joke because the lead developer has been annoyed by people saying this?

@Joeynator3000 Nah, it looks nothing like that.

@RobbWes I normally am too and I don't know why I started to move it before it was entirely blown away. The block moved halfway there then stopped on a nearly blown away pile, so I stopped.. blew it away and then tried to move it but it was broken then and didn't move all the way. It left that small half inch space. Interestingly, it's not just a visual and physics issue. It doesn't make the sound effect for slamming into place, either.

This glitch hit me, too. I can't say this for certain, but it seemed to me that it happened when I didn't blow away all the sand before I started moving the box. It seemed like it made it move off track by just a hair. Anyway, loading my save at the statue just a bit before solved it, though I wasted a good 15 minutes trying to "solve" the glitched puzzle before figuring it had to be glitch.

The problem is Square Enix equated demand with sales numbers. If they don't get enough sales on Steam and iOS/Android, they'll likely determine that means we don't want them on console. I remember with Chrono Trigger on DS, when sales were below expectation they said "Well, this just means you don't want more games in the franchise and don't like Chrono Trigger". No! It just means we didn't need another overpriced port of the same game. I'm afraid they'll learn the same incorrect lesson when these don't sell as well as they hope because many fans will wait for a possible console release.

@XenoShaun @Silly_G I specifically had meant ones that were definitely examples of the trash you mentioned, Shaun. I agree with Silly that while a lot of them are lower budget (they're indie games after all), there are audiences for a lot of them. I've seen quite a few decent, popular Simulator games. Played a few (but not many) that were fun. I guess I didn't realize there was a stigma attached to it. It makes me think niche, not bad.

Is there a multiplayer component to this (beyond sharing heists online)?

@XenoShaun Such as?

@X68000 I actually kind of like Bombuzal, despite its obvious failings. 😅

@BrazillianCara I think you make a good point and it's something people don't consider. The app will more easily move over to new generations and (hopefully) is a sigh Nintendo is building for the future, which they weren't with Virtual Console. But the second point you make actually leads into why I think the idea of the old school Virtual Console isn't as appealing to developers anymore, anyway.

A lot of these developers would rather release their own collections, remasters, ports, remakes, etc and get larger profit margins with more significant releases rather than offering substantial amounts of their backlog for cheap or "free" with subscription. A lot of blame gets thrown at Nintendo for not releasing tons of third party games that people want, but I'm sure it's not that simple.

As for why they don't release a few of their high profile exclusive titles, like Earthbound, I don't know. I'm sure there's that isn't just "Nintendo hates its fans", though. Maybe the licensing with Sony makes it expensive since Sony Media owns some of the music. Maybe they have Nintendo-esque plans to do a remake/remaster trilogy/etc and while said plans aren't solid (and may never materialize), they were advised not to offer it until then. I don't know. Could be anything.

I didn't play the original so I can't say how easy it is compared to that, but... I'll say this. I was struggling doing it with the buttons. I tried it three times and couldn't get above 14. My thumb doesn't waggle side to side very well, apparently. But then I put the Switch in tabletop mode and tried it with the motion controls and scored a 38 on the first try. With a number of subsequent goes, I got up to 43 with the motion controls with no problem. I went back to the button controls to try it again and I guess I had a better rhythm then because I got 31 pretty easily. Still, it seems like it's very doable either way.

@60frames-please I hadn't heard of any of those! I looked at a trailer for Risk System, and it looks interesting.

@60frames-please What is Risk Factor and what is STG? Google wasn't helpful.

I'm playing Skyward Sword! It's my first time! I just got the titular Skyward Sword. At first I wasn't sure about the controls, but I'm having quite a bit of fun. I have a bit of a joint issue with my right thumb so I'm not sure if I'll do well with the boss fights later in the game, but we'll see!

@KIRO Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm sure it was a worthwhile financial success for them. My point is just.. if only 10ish% of your fan base even wants to upgrade to the newer hardware, it's hard to feel like the majority would have been disappointed had the new hardware never existed. That's my only point. I just think there are probably a lot of relieved. Switch already gets slammed sometimes for struggling to run its own exclusive software. I imagine that issue would be compounded moderately by a real hardware revision, just like what happened with base PS4/XB1/and even 3DS.

@NEStalgia I had a friend who bought Hyrule Warriors on his standard 3DS and he didn't understand how it could run so badly. When he saw it on my New 3DS, he was deeply disappointed. Never bought a New himself, but he felt frustrated and reconsidered a few future games. And I think maybe Nintendo realized that it divided users some and learned from it.

@Wexter I'm not exactly sure what your point with all that was. It seemed like you thought I was arguing OLED vs the Steam Deck, which I wasn't. I just randomly mentioned the Steam Deck at the end as a hypothetical about why I'm glad there isn't a massively upgraded hardware Switch Pro system, because I have other things I'm considering buying this year. That's all.

As for the Steam Deck vs a hypothetical future Switch 2. Well, first of all.. I don't agree with your assessment that a Switch 2 is likely out in one year, two at most. I think two at the earliest and likely three. Or rather, 1.5-2.5 years for a Fall 2023 or Spring/Fall 2024.

But secondly, I'd buy a brand new Switch successor in a heartbeat, but that has nothing to do with whether or not I'd buy a Steam Deck. You said it's a console and "don't call it something else", but.. it literally is something else. While it's true that it is a console, I don't disagree there, it's also more than that. It'll easily be the best portable emulation device on the market. There are millions of gamers buying things like the Retroid Pocket, Anbernic 350+ series, etc who now have a $399 system with insanely more power than any of those and not limited to just playing some retro games. It's also an absolutely, irrefutably fully functional PC. Anyone in the market for a gaming laptop or mini PC or desktop alternative could at least consider it.

Also, anyone with a big Steam library might want to have that on the go as is. Not to mention.. it isn't just third party system vs Nintendo's first party system which also has all third party games. That isn't reality. Nintendo will undoubtedly have a lot of exclusives. They always do. But so will the Steam Deck, because there are thousands of games that either come to PC first (especially indie games) or games that ONLY ever come to PC. Not to mention that with Microsoft's push to make 100% of their games PC and Xbox, that means anyone with a Steam Deck has access to 100% of the games Microsoft has to offer.

I'm not here trying to say one is better and should be gotten over the other. That wasn't why I mentioned it in the first place at all. But since you brought it up, I thought it prudent to mention why I think both devices (despite the Switch successor just being theoretical at this point) have merit and reasons to easily coexist.

@SwitchForce The Steam Deck doesn't require the internet to play. Like any online storefront, obviously you need internet access to download your games, but beyond that.. Steam has ALWAYS worked offline. The only games that can't be played offline are the ones that are online only on any platform, like Overwatch or Apex Legends, etc.

@Heavyarms55 I think the OLED is great. It's exactly what I wanted them to announce if they were going to put out new hardware. I'd much prefer this to a big hardware upgrade that made gamers either feel obligated to upgrade or like second class citizens if they didn't. This way.. anyone who wants it has something nice/new to enjoy, but it isn't something that could potentially make the Switch experience worse for those who don't upgrade (and/or late adopters).

I'm definitely of the mindset that OLED is a great business decision (and a relatively predictable one). I know some people think lots of gamers are mad about it.. as Kate said: "“oh no, everyone is going to be so angry.” And I was right about that, at least!", but I don't actually think that's true. Sure, some vocal YouTubers, redditors, social media users in general, etc have expressed their discontent, but I genuinely believe that your average consumer does not like or want half-step, mid generation hardware upgrades.

And quite honestly, sales data from previous systems backs that up. Only about 20% of PS4 sales were PS4 Pro, which means that of the existing users before Pro.. at most, 25% upgraded. Realistically speaking, we can't break down the math on it exactly, but it would be pretty likely to assume (since most future sales were Pro rather than based model, though the base model still continued selling some) that the majority of those sales were new users. I wouldn't be surprised if less than 10% of PS4 users upgraded to the new model and that was a system with actual new hardware.

My point is.. two fold. I don't think many people are actually unhappy about the OLED just being some QoL changes. And many of the ones who are probably wouldn't have upgraded anyway. I personally am ecstatic that there isn't a Switch Pro because then I'm not tempted to spend the money. I'd rather get a next gen console or that new Steam Deck or save the money. And while I might buy a Switch Pro if it were to exist, I'd be frustrated and do so begrudgingly!

"Of course, they'd go and announce the least likely of ports three days after I bought it! Typical."

From my experience, this is often orchestrated. In a similar fashion, developers would often put their games on Steam, PlayStation and Xbox on deep cut sales before a big Humble Bundle announcement. It would so frequently create "that game I want is 65% off?! Must buy!" situations, then the next week it's 99.9% or basically free in a Humble Bundle.

The developers want to milk sales on whatever platform there's practically nothing left to take, THEN they like to announce the ports. If this weren't a totally calculated move, those one year exclusive contracts wouldn't exist and day one they'd say "hey, just so you know, this so-called exclusive will be on all other platforms in 6-12 months, so hold off buying it if you'd rather play it on a different system".

Then again, in the few cases where you actually see developers do that (like Dragon Quest XI or Ys IX), not many people actually waited because the timing of the Switch release was left so ambiguous that some feared cancellation.

@moonymarauder Maybe some are. But I think most people just buy the games they think actually look good. Otherwise every Nintendo game would sell 30+ million like Animal Crossing.

@Dpullam Does it have some multiplayer element (like the Tingle Tuner in Wind Waker) or do you just watch/share the controller?

I've never played it. I always wanted to. I'm excited to try it! When I'm free this afternoon, I may give it a shot as I have it downloaded and ready to go!

@NintendoKnight Yes, there is.

@YoungLink64 They're selling it without those because the reason for someone to buy it would almost always be as an upgrade to their own existing dock, which already has the cables. If it sells for less than the old dock with the cables, this is only a good thing. For those few that for whatever reason want/need an OLED dock but don't have any dock cables already and they also don't want an OLED Switch, you can buy said cables separately.

@BTB20 The point is it isn't exclusive. The person who commented to me used its exclusivity as an excuse for why it made no sense that it didn't run better, basically with the justification that if it were developed EXCLUSIVELY for the Switch and no other platform, it should at least run flawlessly on its own exclusive platform. But it wasn't developed exclusively for Switch and very likely is ported from an initial PC build.

Saying the game falls into "grindy JRPG territory" at times is pretty misleading. I understand you explain it a bit more in the body of the review, but grindy JRPG territory means you have to spend lots of time grinding battles to be strong enough to progress. This is a pretty universally accepted definition for grindy in JRPG terms. What you described in the review is samey/repetitive structure to the flow of the game, which could arguably be attributed to almost any game where you continue to do the same sorts of activities until the end.

@Mando44646 It isn't exclusive and it IS a third party port. And asking why Nintendo allows it is like asking why you allow the weather to change every day. They don't and shouldn't regulate what's allowed to be released on their system beyond meeting some basic criteria. And the game is most certainly playable. And the hardware absolutely doesn't need an upgrade. No hardware ever does.

@Splodge I think it's easy not to be disappointed. Nintendo couldn't have been more fervent that they had no plans for anything like a Switch Pro. You just can't believe rumors. Bloomberg and Wallstreet Journal are almost always wrong about gaming stuff. Not to mention that for me and a lot of people, this is better. If it had been a huge hardware revision, I'd have wanted to upgrade just because they'd definitely make new games that would then run much worse on the standard model. Now I can save my money without worrying about that.

@NEStalgia I don't entirely disagree. They definitely price it this way because they can, but that's basically how every industry in the world works. Indie developers would charge more (and do) when they can get away with it. It's also not a cut and dry debate between 2D and 3D. Many 2D games can be hugely deep and costly to make. It's not like 3D suddenly makes a game definitively more expensive. It's a case by case basis.

And it's not a straight budgetary debate. Like almost any luxury good, you pay for the brand, but you also pay for the exceptional talent. I wouldn't say that all AAA developers have talent worth the premium that customers are paying, but I think Nintendo does. Besides, I think Metroid Dread is likely to be significantly better and a higher budget than most or of its indie game contemporaries. Most indie games aren't Hollow Knight and Stardew Valley. A lot more of them are games like Away: Journey to the Unexpected, which is a despicably buggy mess. While a lot of the AAA developers are becoming less reliable with their boated, over budget titles.. Nintendo hasn't disappointed me with any of the Switch titles I've bought so I'm not quick to feel like I'm overpaying.

@YoungLink64 I play a lot of tabletop games and I guess I just got used to art direction and even theme sometimes being so different from what I'd expect I'd like. It's silly to think that some of my favorite board games are about bird watching, running a winery or just have plain terrible box art!

@mercilessrobot It just means he didn't markup most of his stuff much, lost money on some purchases and/or still has a lot of inventory to flip.

@NEStalgia "The idea of games not priced based on that game's value and budget, and instead a fixed fee for all games, where games that don't sustain that fixed fee just won't be made - that's the idea that's stifling the industry"

The part of the argument you're not making though is that $60 is a fair price for something like Metroid Dread. It's not a comparatively fair price for a game like TLOU2, because we should be charged ten times as much. The fact that we get charged less, though, is the only reason the game can exist. If a game cost hundreds of millions to make and then cost consumers hundreds or thousands of dollars (which could be economically justifiable), then only the 1% would play AAA titles.

The games industry survives on wildly under priced games the same way that big budget movies do. They have to draw in an absolutely astoundingly large audience to make up for it. And if they down, they can be on a razor's edge and out of business if they lose too much.

While a game like Metroid Dread isn't as dangerous a financial proposition, it's also not going to sell 30 million copies. If Nintendo couldn't charge $60 for a game like Metroid Dread and still hope to sell at least a few million units, they'd never make it in the first place because the profit margins are still fairly thin.

The fixed price of retail AAA titles is what allows developers to make something and expect a reasonable enough return to justify the creation of the game in the first place. And if the fans are willing to pay it and get what they wanted, all the better.

@Nateisawesomeo Octopath Traveler is a huge game that probably cost more to make than Metroid Dread. Also, it's 3D. Obviously the characters aren't, but the world is just as 3D as Dread's is.

@sleepinglion Actually, it'd be $115 today. And some SNES games were $80+ like Chrono Trigger, Earthbound and more.

Ys IX: Monstrum Nox, Monster Hunter Stories, Blaster Master Zero III and Skyward Sword HD are all must buys for me! The rest I'm either not interested in or haven't heard of (except Ace Attorney, I'm just fine waiting for a long time for a good sale).