MeloMan

My rental of Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound came. This is one quality game-- Dotemu and The Game Kitchen are in FULL effect. This is going to be a tough one to put down. My brawler friend and I played the Marvel Cosmic Invasion demo so he could sample it, so we had a blast with that. I'll continue with world 3 of Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters and world 4 of Balloon Kid this weekend too as my retro throwbacks. I'm feeling a little froggy, so I think I fire up Rocket League with a coworker of mine.

Damn it man. I really didn't want to find a reason to play this latest Fire Emblem, but it sounds like it's just too good of a Fire Emblem to pass up. I'll try to figure out when I can find the time to even invest in this game. Great time to be a Fire Emblem fan, right?

So, I've reached the now or never point for Kingdom Hearts. Here it is, in most of all its glory, laid bare. I've glanced this series, dabbled a portable game (forgot which one), but never truly dove in. I'll make my final decision by the time the review comes out. It seems daunting, but if there are people out there who have played it since day one as the games released, then surely I can't be in any worse company if I begin lol.

I didn't even know that the Oxenfree developer was acquired by Netflix. Now that's a real shame, they could have just as well stayed independent. I'd be all day mentioning how I hate the moves that corporations make in any industry, but I wouldn't be saying anything that we all didn't know already.

@JimNorman I felt a burnout while playing Three Houses with all the non-fighting activities, so I've got reservations about jumping into Fortune's Weave. If what you're saying is true, then FW "may" be worth a shot... I just gotta respect my limited time these days.

I've never seen a game company have such lofty profits just to have earth-crashing lows, that are then followed by highs. Square Enix IS the "final fantasy"...

I chose Metroid II: Return of Samus because of that original iconic pose and background. I had that poster on my wall at one time.

I was hoping it would no longer be, but I'm doing the last dance with the final boss in Shadow Labyrinth. Life was getting in the way, but this will be done and dusted tonight. The final fights were littered with "get gud", and so I did-- Challenging enough that I had to conjure Ninja Gaiden skills to overcome them. Because of some characters in game, I'll dabble in Pac-Man Museum+, Bosconian and Xevious as my retro throwbacks.

I still say no one asked for a new Metroid Prime, and the number of years in production seemed to have sealed its fate.

@Aquinas Your point is the problem I have with FE these days. I spent forever with Three Houses... OUTSIDE of battle. It isn't that there isn't enough battling, it's that there's so much exhibition involved in order to get the most out of the game, no knock on the school premise, which was cool. I miss when there was "a little" camp in which to do side things like conversations, repairing weapons, etc., but now it's crazy, basically Persona Emblem. I love FE, but I just don't have the time to get the most out of it anymore.

Sounds to me like he's saying he wants Nintendo to be recognized as a brand in our everyday life, even if they move away from video games, should the business take them there. It's easy to forget they haven't always done video games.

I'm continuing Shadow Labyrinth. Finally found the blasted double jump-- It could have been anywhere. I HAD to seek help on that one unfortunately. I'm glad the game doesn't sign post, but that was too obtuse. I spent a lot of hours just wandering around, so I'm hoping this game will get rolling again. I came that close to calling time, so it better win me back soon.

Can't say several games made of one game is good under any circumstance. It did make me feel good to hear FFVI mentioned though-- Still one of the greatest FFs.

@CANOEberry I agree, but it doesn't sound like they acknowledge that fact, otherwise 60fps would've been prioritized on Switch 1 for parity. 🤷‍♂️
It don't add up. The game isn't releasing only on Switch 1, and if it's shinier elsewhere, who "wouldn't" at least consider playing it elsewhere, 150M+ Switch's be damned? I'm not saying what will happen, I'm calling the dev on their actions. That's why a day one 60fps patch would help-- This press release ain't helping.

I'm guessing it will be some kind of performance patch after release, or like people speculated, a Switch 2 version will be released. It's not like they were hoping to make the most money on this game from Switch 1 anyway, so this news doesn't do the Switch 1 version any favors. In counterpoint, not to defend it, but it's not the end of the world if it doesn't run at 60fps, as long as it's a stable 30fps.

Continuing Shadow Labyrinth. Met the Bosconians, now I'm on to the Forbidden Lands. Nice winks to Bosconian and Galaga. So far I'm getting the vibe that this is it's own game, simply utilizing Pac-Man themes, rather than making an other-worldly adventure in the domain of Pac-Man-- It's hard to articulate, but I shall trudge on being the Pac-fan I am.

I think I'll get in on the Tetris 99 deal where I can get 2 themes for tickets and play a few rounds.

Well damn... Kind of how I imagined an F-Zero that uses the classic aesthetic with modern polys. I like what I see, and look forward to the review.

The nostalgia in me grows by the day. I'm having a hard time saying no to this...

To no surprise at all for me. Monolithsoft is great.

@idkmyname I think I could die happy with the Earthbound ost on Nintendo Music.

This article is pretty much how I felt about it. A gem is a gem, but even a gem needs to be buffed once in a while.

...Guess that's why Nintendo didn't offer physical versions of Donkey Kong Bananza, Pokopia, or Mario Kart World bundled with Switch 2. The writing is on the wall. Nintendo will probably stick it out for part of Switch 2's lifetime, but there will probably be a mid-life, Switch 2 Lite, that won't have a slot for physical media to "test the water" for Switch 3 should there be one.

NSO can always be better, I won't act like it's perfect. My biggest complaint goes back to the original issue I've had since day one-- The availability of classic games. Just release the entire library you can release for each system, or at the very least, drop more games at once and across all systems more often. Case in point, no StarTropics II: Zoda's Revenge or Wario Land II yet?? N64 Mature app says hello btw... No Conker's BFD yet?
Another complaint is gating the Virtual Boy-- So finally we get the games of a failed system and we MUST buy the VB replica or cardboard JUST to play a limited library? Cherry on top is the proper VB controller wasn't even released with it. I'm... satisfied with a lot that NSO offers, but these things are gonna naw at me.

You're next, GameStop.

To my surprise, Shadow Labyrinth arrived from GameFly. As a fan of Pac-Man, I'm intrigued by this game. I'm not a fan of the art style at all, and I can't say the story so far is compelling (no idea what the hell is going on), but I can't tear myself away from playing. Gameplay is adequate Metroidvania faire-- It's competent enough. I'm also playing F-Zero 99.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen: "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter at all. Software, it mattered in the past. Software today makes up less than 12% of the business and collectibles makes up over half the business. So it's totally and totally irrelevant."

...And that's exactly why GameStop has become the trash it is now. You get nothing back for trade-ins these days... What a joke. FuncoLand, how I miss you. Also this guy sounds bitter toward the industry moving away from physical media and getting shot down by eBay. If software makes up less than 12% of the business, that sounds like a GameStop problem to me.

It might be a while, but I hope I'll get to play it one day.

This brings back memories. Orbital and dotstream were my jams. I had forgotten all about these. I liked that era of Nintendo.

Way late but...

Finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed. Fully ready for Xenoblade Genesis now. Did a lot of retro and I went tour de force mode:

Fortified Zone
Balloon Kid
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters
Double Dragon (NES)
Vectorman
Klonoa: Empire of Dreams
Pac-Man (NES)

Dr. Mario & Puzzle League
Joe & Mac
Mendel Palace

... I just felt like dabbling in a bunch of old titles.

Neither are great at selling the game to me, but I can at least appreciate JP's comic style-- It seems to fit better than the "office workers" on the western art.

My first thought when I saw this update was "what's the point?", then I realized there were more tunes than the original such the ??? mix tracks, which weren't bad.

@Zeebor15 Yes

@Ganner I believe that was the Light Boy accessory?

Huh, I missed when they dropped Wario Land. Good on them. Good to see WL3 too, but I'm personally waiting on WL2 which is still locked to my 3DS darn it.

Edit: WL was just released on NSO. Need to read slower.

Brand new Shantae "tales", with 3 mace ponytails? Hmmm...

I need to get on with playing Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution.

He comes off to me as someone who is very aware of his talents but refuses to go the arrogant route. Good on 'im.

I'm sure it'll still turn up sales fast into the future like the PS2 😆
It is what it is, you can't have Switch 1 cannibalizing Switch 2 sales forever, especially since this is the building phase for Switch 2.

My launch day memory is being at work, going on lunch, and finding me, my coworkers, and TONS of other people walking around downtown trying to catch 'mon. You talk about mind control... It was a site to behold-- Even those about to get run over from not paying attention, sheesh.

A Nintendo IP that is not originated in a video game... that's an interesting prospect. Like anybody in the history of the world who has ever created a character, it has to be compelling enough that someone would care. More interesting is that this character would have to epitomize Nintendo. That's pretty challenging but I'm here for it.

I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo uses AI for creative purposes, but will remain stringent on the final product using generated AI for at least the near foreseeable future. As long as the final product isn't AI jank/slop then I'm ok.

I thought I remember reading somewhere that the dev intended to add online? Guess it's really moot now. Sad to see it go, it was a fun ride, pun intended.

I feel like a handheld would be too on the nose. I feel they're more likely to follow the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate format. Who knows.

For me it's Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed. Just had a bout with Na'el x Alpha and N, so more details have just been provided to Matthew finally and Origin appears above. Moving right along, then...

This article was RIGHT on time, as I am literally wracking my brain about an express MicroSD card. I'm not even taking my NS2 out the box until I get one. In my heart I want to pony up for a 1TB, but my priorities just won't let me spare that cash until MONTHS from now. So I've decided to split the difference and settle for a 512GB. I can do the $100-$150 range for a card, though I'm currently eyeing the ONN 512GB Express MicroSD card for $84 at Walmart, which is the cheapest UHS-I, UHS Speed Class 3, A1, V30 I've seen so far. I just hope it isn't garbage.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed for me. Just made it to the Liberators base. So shocked to see the adult versions of a couple of old characters... It's like catching up with old friends. Now to find out why they're here.

The N64 served its purpose as an introductory 3D controller since 3D was so new at the time. We didn't even know if the analog stick was ever going to take over the driver position that the d-pad remained in. Further, the d-pad allowed for 2D play still should a game need it during that transition period. In short, it was just a controller of its time. Opinion is divided whether it's a "good" controller. My own personal opinion is that it was good for the time but woefully outdated today. The only true redeeming quality I love about it is the size of the handles-- No other controller's handles have ever fit my hands so well.

Kaaaaa-HAAAAH!! That is all.

It'll be a while before I likely get to this game. Hopefully they can have those performance issues patched out. Either way it's on my wish list to play one day.

It's funny how far certain games go on Switch, but this game catches Nintendo's ire-- It's really odd.

Hard to say what it all means, but even based on the little we did see, I have to assume it will at least look different from the 3D remake even if the gameplay is the same. We'll see soon enough.

I literally just got a Switch 2-- It's still in the box until I can get a good mem card, but all the 512GB are $100 currently, unless I go for a refurbished for half as much, but I don't trust them. I've done the data math on my Switch 1, and all of my current save data will fit internally in the Switch 2, but I don't want to transfer data to the internal storage only to transfer it again to the mem card, so I'll wait. I also need to get a travel case and the Pro Controller, which will be last. THEN I'll be ready to rock.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed for me, so I'm getting stuck in. Matthew and A are... interesting... so far. I got a little F-Zero 99 in, so that was fun to play since it's been so long. I'm debating tapping into Pokémon Champions... I need to make headway with that.