McGuildicuff

First: I've been wanting a back-to-basics Mario Kart for ages, because 'ages' is how long Mario Kart 8 has been out. The character/vehicle/stats balance was always a headache for me to figure out. I hope this entry reclaims 64 and Double Dash's level of accessibility.

Second: To everyone hating on the look... why? Not the tech, mind you, but the style.

The lack of antialiasing is a red flag, sure. It doesn't raise my hopes for the Sw2tch beyond a smoother fps on most games. Hell, this system might be two Switches duct-taped together like the Wii's 'upgrade' from GameCube, and if that's the case, it's gonna go bad real fast for Nintendo.

But if this clip is anything to go by, I actually like the art direction a lot. It's a good blend of cartoony and tactile. The characters look like they belong in this environment, much more than in 8. I'm not sure why Mario seems to have acorns in his cheeks, but the primal, more exaggerated DK design is perfect — and even as a fan of the DKC series, I hope they stick with it.

I will admit: I love the controls, motifs, and character designs of the old DKCs so much (especially DKC2) that it kind of blinds me to the DKCR series. I was never gonna buy it, so I hardly need to boycott it.

Also, it took me a minute to realize that omitting OG staff credits has been common for some time, even on games I have praised loudly from the rafters-- such as Sega's lightgun remasters in the Wii era.

And yet, with the Retro Studios logo gone from this release altogether, it does make me think. You've still got Rare logos present and that KI machine lounging around Cranky's shack in DKC2... even on Switch Online. So why can't Nintendo be bothered to put the logo of a studio they own on the front of a game that studio primarily developed? It's gotta be some bad blood or an attempt to put Retro Studios in their place. After all, if Nintendo wasn't generally fond of putting other companies in their place, they would have released the PlayStation.

So, either Nintendo is being exceptionally unkind to their developers just to assert themselves, or I need to crinkle this tinfoil hat into a looser fit. 😅

I'm not surprised or anything, just disappointed. Nintendo, for all their pride in internally developed projects, has a legacy of leaving 'other' studios high and dry, even down to simple things like acknowledgement.

I've kinda known that since Rare walked off in 2002.

@gojiguy You and me both.
Each wave of Sega management seems more and more apathetic toward the games people remember them for. They keep trying to be EA... and failing spectacularly at it.

Wow, did the first hack job really sell enough to warrant the go-ahead on a second entry? 😳
I know they announced they were doing both some time ago, but the fact that a substandard HOTD2 remake will exist when the Wii remaster was already fairly immaculate is kind of confounding.
And to be honest, I hate the art direction of these remakes. With this much grime and bloom lighting, it looks like they're trying to cover their work up, even though the models and animation are actually fine.

Yeah, if you can't build a career without insulting and deriding gender rights and saying that those who are trying to defend it "deserve to be shot," you can get the hell out.

Also, did I hear someone bring up Doug TenNapel as a successful creator? Pfff. Ever notice how he hasn't matched the success of Earthworm Jim?

May I throw a monkey wrench in the works?

I was always a sucker for 2.5D platformers in the PS1-PS2 era. Klonoa was a gorgeous game largely because it embraced the contrast between sprites and polygonal backdrops. It felt both charmingly antique and contemporary.

Although I'm always thrilled to see retro remakes trying something new, instead of redoing the whole engine with exponentially higher tech and making the game feel less genuine (lookin' at you, Crash N-Sane Trilogy), it's been weird to see HD-2D remakes come up exclusively in the RPG space. Imagining what a game like Donkey Kong Country 2 or Gunstar Heroes would look like with this treatment is actually much more thrilling to me-- but then, that just speaks to the kinds of games I play. Heck, Marvel vs Capcom 2 did it so well back in the Dreamcast days, it's kind of hard not to see that treatment continue to work.

Ultimately, the better thing would be to seriously consider this aesthetic for new IPs. As some have mentioned in the comments, though, it's hard to expect that kind of visual shrewdness from AAA publishers, which leaves us reliant on the indie scene... which mostly sticks to fully 2D games for the sake of resources. Damn though, I would love to see 2.5D come back!

Some say WAH, Topher says WAH NOT?

Even if all I listened to was Nintendo music, this would be a pretty miserable deal.
Plus, I can't shake the feeling that they intend to use a service that sells widely available music as a justification to copyright-strike every YouTube video they can that uses a Mario jingle or two. The music is copyrighted, sure, and Nintendo has a right to protect it-- but they never miss a chance these days to cross the line into bullying.

Bob Hoskins Mario all the way. Kidding!
My personal favorite is N64 Smash Bros. Mario-- he's definitely boxier than the Mario 64 version, but the proportions of his hands, feet, and even nose make a statement. He's fit to wallop the other characters (and very slickly animated), but with his schnoz emphasized, he's still distinctly Mario.
However, I believe y'all missed the first 3D Mario rendered in a game-- pre-rendered, but a 3D model nonetheless. How could we forget the squat, toylike appearance Square provided him in Super Mario RPG?

@GameOtaku @Mgalens Exactly. This service will always be a step down from the Virtual Console in my book. I would buy some of the games on the service individually just to keep them and play them in HD. But given all the issues people have had with visual glitches, poor button remapping, and the fact that Nintendo is reluctant to dive deeper than their own published titles (if even that deep), NSO is a raw deal.

@batmanbud2 Naw, that's fair. If you're getting what you want out of it, go for it.
I'm simply not crazy about the Expansion Pack's price, sometimes-erratic emulation, and limited selection. And the annual cost adds up. I got it when it launched, but I cut off my subscription last year. For someone who wants to look back on more N64 games whose licenses have long since expired-- and in theory, keep playing that stuff in the coming years-- the Analogue would be worth it.

I'm with everyone else clamoring for Diddy Kong Racing, but the fact that Nintendo dropped a bunch of wholly Rare-owned IPs on the service and still hasn't done DKR (which Nintendo and Rare both own pieces of) is telling. Does Miyamoto hold some kind of grudge over it? Do they not want kids looking up what Conker was in next? I have questions. Shame, too, 'cuz Diddy Kong Racing made me an N64 kid.

All that said, Banjo-Tooie was a good game-- way more compelling than DK64 in my book-- and loaded with refreshingly irreverent dialogue text. Banjo fumbling over how to tell Bottles' kids what happened to their dad, while Kazooie threatens to deliver the news much more bluntly, is a freaking hilarious scene.

(Quick addendum, btw: If the Analogue 3D ends up being a trustworthy product, I wouldn't drop another dime on the NSO Expansion Pack.)

Life sims aren't my bag, but the art direction is warm and appealing. I had to at least take a peek.

Having seen a handful of PS5 games, I kind of think the PS3 era is retro. But that's not an insult-- that's an endorsement.

My patience for games began to collapse in the PS2 era, and I mostly owned a PS3 and a 360 for the high-res arcade goodies Sega churned out (before forcing fans to quest through Yakuza to enjoy them). I don't mind a slick coat of paint and detail as long as the game is accessible, vibrant, and fast-paced.

I got chills as a kid when the Dolby logo came up on Jet Force Gemini. In hindsight, that feels ridiculous. I didn't have the surround setup to even appreciate it, and the Rareware logo was a much clearer symbol of the impression the game would leave on me (warts and all).

By the time Air Ride came out, Dolby's use in games was common enough that killing an extra second just to show off the logo really was overkill. They don't do that in movies-- why do it for a game?

Plus, F-Zero GX-- one of my favorite games I've ever played or heard-- didn't have Dolby, and I still crank that ****.

I remember thinking Super Monkey Ball was ahead of the curve when it first came out. For all of Miyamoto's bluster about making GameCube games simple enough to play with the Control Stick and the A Button, Super Monkey Ball delivered zealously on that idea in multiple gameplay modes. The main mode only used the A Button to adjust the map.

Also, when I played the blisteringly fast (if silly) Race mode, I thought, "Yeah, these guys will do just fine with F-Zero GX." 😎

Nowadays I'm much more impatient, my thumbs are less reliable, and the franchise has definitely evolved, albeit with uneven success. But that first entry will always hold a very special place in my heart.

Well, I know who David Zaslav's playing as if he picks up a controller. 😬

@DogDetective Yeah, I'm not sure why this is news o_o

I was typing a lot of words about how competition should be between publishers and game designers, and I would prefer to have one box that plays it all.

Then I caught myself when I remembered that Microsoft has already bought a buttload of publishers and game designers.

I hate the console wars, but I hate monopolies even more. What worries me is that Microsoft will make people thirsty enough to end the former that they'll ignore their attempts at the latter.

@Paraka @Poodlestargenerica Good points both. I'll admit I can't attest to the financial troubles Vanpool was going through already.
Nintendo's relationship with third — and in the past, second — party studios has often been shaky, so when a closure like this occurs my judgment is colored a bit. But there are much worse cases of that in game history, and not just with The Big N.

Shoot, now I'm getting flashbacks to Alphadream's bankruptcy. Proof that if Nintendo doesn't own you, they really won't help you.