Migoshuro

Absolute best "Castlevania", ever! Voted for the Europe/US-Cover. Worth to hang at the wall in a frame.

@cmdrmarc Yeah! I've thought about this for a while and it really seems to stay unsolved. I mean, developers can try to make their games as polished as possible to avoid giant patches upon launch. But DLCs, smaller and bigger are a different beast, since you can't predict your games success.
We can only hope for physical releases of definitive editions in the future. But even those can get patches and your old physical copy is basically worthless then.
The only other solution that comes to mind is for the developers to gather all those patches and DLCs and sell them seperately as a physical content package, a bit like expansion packs worked 20 years ago. Or you spare everything for a sequel, but that is probably unrealistic.

I can certainly see why people would choose it as the best version, but I personally don't like the remake that much and have a hard time finishing it. The artstyle is great in it's own right, but it's just a fancy artstyle for the sake of looking distinct. The toy-like appearance just doesn't transport the mysterious, melancholy atmosphere of the story and world, in my eyes. Same goes for the re-arranged music. The legendary "Tal Tal Heights" for example completely loses it's impact.
But I think one of the more subtle, but nevertheless "harmful" changes is the addition of scrolling. In the original every screen image stands on it's own. Let them flow together to me makes the world seem more convuluted and random.
The worst thing is "Link's Awakening" was once my dream candidate for a full 3D-remake. The anime-artstyle of the intro would have been a perfect fit. And now, I will never get that.

Can't really decide over the color version or the original, though. Love the colors, but I'm not fond of gimmicky additions like the color dungeon and the camera function, which hurt the integrity of the narration and atmosphere. Otherwise, those are rather easily to ignore.

@N8tiveT3ch Haven't played "Legend of Dragoon", so I don't know how a remaster/remake of that particular game would fit Monolith Softs strength. But I like the vibes I get from screens of it. Maybe I'll watch some gameplay asap or just play it.

I would also happily see remstares/remakes or just re-releases of every "Xeno"-title on the Switch. But I don't know where the rights to that games are.

Anyway, fantastic studio.

@N8tiveT3ch As far as I know, "Legend of Dragoon" is a Playstation first-party-title.

@Tasuki And generalizations are always bad.
I don't know, seems like a very first-worldly viewpoint to me. And there can be a difference between "morally wrong" and "against the law". Both are constantly discussed and changed.
In this case, it's not stealing, because there's simply no loss.

@TheBigK Brillant profile gif, you have there. Quite a time travel.

More distinct interiors and proper dungeons. A lot more enemy variety. And underwater sections, please!
I trust Nintendo with the rest.

I'm pretty confident we could see "Metroid Prime 4" and "Pikmin 4" being released in the second half, in addition to a new game by the "Mario Odyssey"-team. Also, Game Boy, Color or Advance games (definitely not all three) will be added to Nintendo Switch Online. No too wild assumptions in my opinion.

Also, maybe wishful thinking, but I expect a new "Mario Kart" to be announced during the year and it will be an open-world-game.

What a coincidence. Just bought the Famicom Box Art book from Bitmap Books and opened it yesterday for the first time, where I saw this artwork and thought just how cool it looks. The easiest win of a Box Art Brawl in a long time and just a very great piece of videogame art in general (in comparison to many of the last times, where we had to choose the lesser Evil). I'm talking about the Japanese one, obviously.

Looks very warm for that it's called "Nordics". ^^ Personally I would like a game completely set in a snow region.

Still deep in the "Donkey Kong Country"-series and happily alternating between "Donkey Kong Country 2", "Returns 3D", "Land" and "Tropical Freeze" on my second playthrough.
I've just beaten King K. Rool in DKC2 and now I'm mainly occupied with finding every secret and beating The Lost World, since I want this to be my 200th game to finish. I feel a little bad, because I used the quick save feature of the Switch version a few times and looked up a bonus room, but maaan this game can be brutal and my time is very limited. Anyway, I love this series to death.

Also, I have to continue "Live-A-Live", just as a relaxing alternative to all this super stressful platforming.

@Diogmites Holy... That must be the most unpopular opinion in all of videogames. And I just have to ask why you dislike "Ocarina of Time" that much. I'm not combative, but genuinely interested in your reasons.

Trains are often used, but underappreciated in my eyes, be it games or movies. Scenes and levels involving trains are almost always good. I think it's the restrained space, the inherent sense of danger and movement due to it's speed and the pressure of time through the anticipated destination. Love them.

@Zuljaras Thumbs up for the variety of systems, games and time periods you seem to appreciate... and for calling this selection "casual". But I guess, in comparison to "Elden Ring", it certainly is. 😅

"Donkey Kong Country 2" on Nintendo Switch Online. Just baffled how perfectly it holds up. A 10/10 to this day.

@TopazLink Congrats for your birthday and your taste in games.

This weekend is for the family... the Kong-family. I'll play "Donkey Kong Land", because I think I've never really finished it. It takes some time to getting used to, but then it's still not that enjoyable (if your are not a big fan). I wouldn't recommend it today. Luckily Rare figured out how to properly convert the "Country"-games to the Game Boy with the brillant second part. Speaking of which, I plan to finally play through "Donkey Kong Country 2", which I've also never finished. What a timeless joy that game is.
And inbetween, I'll look into "Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D" again, which I've also never completed to the fullest.
What can I say, I just love this series.

Imagine being Sega and making this over confident nothing of a bloated promise! Do shareholders really fall for this?
Anyway, hope for the best, expecting mediocrity.
On a side note: By that time, we probably won't have seen all of the "Avatar"-sequels.

Pretty much only "Radiant Silvergun". That game is a genuine piece of art. Not sure, if I'm able to finish it, because even in story mode where you constantly increase your amount of lives and weapon power it is ridiculously hard. But I'm just bewildered by the creativity, imagination and pure craft Treasure put into this wonder of game design.

Also, a little bit "Shredder's Revenge" inbetween, whenever my son, who became a huge "Turtles"-fan recently (but is still too young to play videogames on his own), wants to watch me "kicking some shell".

I'd prefer a new 3D-"Donkey Kong (Country)" game over basically any other platformer. But I'll take everything that's good.

@Chocobo_Shepherd And I support you on that statement.

This is a flawless list. We'll done, folks!

Also: Studio Trigger for "Super Smash Bros.".

Boah, it's often the hardest when they're all ugly. Voted for Japan.

Still mainly "Forbidden West", which becomes better gameplay-wise. There are even a few solid puzzles. Very appreciated.

Also, still "Radiant Silvergun" on Switch, which I love more and more each time I try to get a few centimeters farer in the game. Treasure really were a league of their own.

And I bought "Bayonetta" in a recent PSN sale, in anticipation of the third game. Never finished the original, only the second one, before I sold my Wii U. What can I say? It's "Bayonetta", so it freakin' rules. Still the most buttery smooth character action game series out there. Very excited for the third installment.

@ohithere It really is, in my opinion. I like shoot'em ups, but was sceptical, because not every old game holds up to it's status. But "Radiant Silvergun" immediately won me over, due to it's fun weapon system. It may be a little overwhelming at first. But it is superbly motivating and gives you an amount of tactical freedom, you won't find in many other examples of the genre.
I only managed to get to the first boss of the second stage, yet because that game is unsurprisingly hard, but I didn't notice any framedrops or input latency. Don't know if that can be an issue in later stages.

@Friendly First: Congratulations to the best thing on earth. It will be tough sometimes, but more than worth it. All the best to your family.

Second: I feel you. With becoming a parent, I also experienced a change in my perception of how children are depicted and treated in media. That can be, that you can't swallow some stuff that easily anymore. But it also - and that happens surprisingly often - can totally add value to how you receive a work and I came to see that as an advantage overall.

Maybe a boring answer, but to me it's still the main theme of the "Zelda"-series. It was introduced to me in "Link's Awakening" and I think that's still my favorite version. But they are all brillant.

"Forbidden West" on PS5 is my main game, at the moment and I'm quite addicted. I'm not fond of every design decision, especially in terms of increased complexity (it adds depth in some places and creates unnecessary chores in others), but I still really like the gameplay and the grind.
And while I generally don't care much about the narration in videogames, the game just reached an early plot twist that threatens to crank the trash-factor up to a level that will be hard to swallow. But I'll see.

Also, I've just started "Radiant Silvergun" on Switch and that was love on first sight. It's tough as expected, but the weapon system is such a blast. I can already see this becoming one of my all-time favorite Shoot'em ups.

Additionally I plan on playing "Resident Evil 0". The style of the old-school-"Resis" is somehow both terrifying and calming. This will be my Halloween-game this year.

@DeathByLasagna Thank you. I guess you're right. And I certainly don't regret having witnessed that time in videogame history.

The sad thing is, that I'm actually old enough to have witnessed screenshots and reports of that game in a physical (!) videogame magazine at that time. It's possible that I've also seen video footage of it on a VHS-tape. Ahh, the good old prehistoric times...

Too bad this comment section is now dominated by a discussion if this article is worth to be posted here (Answer: Of course it is.), instead about the game itself.
I just thought this is the perfect opportunity to bring awareness to another game that should appeal to (old-school) "Fire Emblem"-Fans, by the name of "Symphony of War - The Nephilim Saga".
It has been released on Steam, recently, looks pretty great and get's a good amount of praise by Steam-users.
AND the devs already said that they are eager to port that game to Switch after they've wrapped all post-launch-support.

Because I'm an idiot, I've sold my whole collection of games years ago. But it did contain some rare gems in often perfect condition, which are now famous among collectors, I guess, like "Ninja-Cop", "AstroBoy - Omega Factor", "Tatsunoko vs. Capcom" or "Contra 4", alongside an incredibly beautiful crimson red/black DS Lite and an NES-style GBA SP.

But the most obscure item has been a physical copy of "The King of Fighters '97" for the original GameBoy. There were a few official fighting game-ports for the system, many people nowadays probably don't know about, like "Battle Arena Toshinden" or "Samurai Shodown". However KoF'97 was not one of them. It was a bootleg that just mixed together the (very good) conversions of "King of Fighters '95" and "'96", the latter called "Heat of Battle". Pretty weird for that time and somehow also very impressive, since the character roster and the features of one of those games have already been gigantic for a GB-title.

@EriXz I assume he has mistaken your comment with the one by Ade117.

I guess this is the perfect opportunity to recommend run and gun-fans to look into "Super Cyborg". It's very reminiscent of NES-style "Contra"-games (if you don't want to say a mere clone), that has already been available on PC since 2014, but got a console-release in April.
It's 7 Euros only and repeatedly on sale, even in this short time-span. I grabbed it for 2 bucks. I assume it sadly didn't do well financially.
But from my short play session I can say, that it seems to be a very competently made and engaging game. So, at this price-point, you can't go wrong, I think.

@wiiware Thanks.

The clothes and haircuts in the artworks seem in parts inspired by 90s trends (which have a real-life revival that is absolutely baffling to me). So this remake already goes full-circle, fashion-wise at least. (the art-style looks great btw)

Honestly, I'm more excited for the score than the actual game. Haven't finished XC1 (although I think it's great) and therefore have never touched XC2, but I do find that they contain simply the best soundtracks of any game, I've ever listened to. XCX's score isn't bad, either.
Hey, and one of the characters in XC3 is named like my son. (it's a girl here) So, this is a clear winner. ^^

I love platformers and always liked the artstyle of the classic (and therefore many later) "Sonic" games, but I have yet to find one that convinces me gameplay-wise.
This looks terribly uninspired and bland in terms of art-direction AND gameplay, so far. Why does it look so realistic? Seems odd.
And the way they drip out so little material and information over the time, that also appears completely random doesn't give me much faith that the creators have a clear vision for "Sonic Frontiers" and that this won't be a critical failure once more. (which doesn't seem to bother "Sonic"-Fans that much, though)

I'd be glad to be proven wrong. I think this franchise has potential for greatness.

P.S.: Not a platformer, but "Sonic & All-stars Racing Transformed" was brillant, I want to add and in some aspects even better than "Mario Kart".

@Bret Yeah, for real. They should have named it "Drainus Gaiden". ^^

@twztid13 Of course. My post also wasn't meant to be taken seriously. I knew, that I should have put an emoji behind it. Well, my bad.

Reading this literally gave me goosebumps. Such an awesome project! (that in no way devalues the work, worth and importance of the emulation community, I want to emphasize)

@pichuscute0 This has just to be the wrongest opinion on the internet.

Yeah, "Commandos" with pirates? Why not?
This looks either very alpha or very cheap, though.
Otherwise, I did not have high hopes for "Shadow Tactics" and that turned out to be awesome.
And who wants to kill a mermaid in a bathtub? That seems cruel.

Nice article. But in my opinion, the "TMNT"-tie-in for the Game Boy Advance is underappreciated in here. Nowadays we can witness a very welcome revival, but at that time the genre of classic beat'em ups was almost dead. And "TMNT" was a slick title, with great flow and playability in comparison to it's often clunky peers. The pixel-art was also very nice. It may appear a little simplistic in a time where "Streets of Rage 4" or "Fight'n Rage" exist and the lack of multiplayer is questionable. But is was already a dedicated, well made love-letter to the golden age of beat'em ups.

I'm continuing my attempt to play through (almost) every "Castlevania" game of the two collections that I haven't beaten before. I'll probably skip "Simon's Quest" and "Adventure".
Already finished the original and "Super Castlevania IV" and enjoyed both quite a bit. I'm at "Dracula's Curse" at the moment and that has the potential to become one of my favorites in the franchise. Stunning visuals and music for an NES title, a lot of variety and it plays rather satisfying.
I'm a little bit worried about the later levels. Usually that's when the cheap difficulty ***** starts.

Imagine not having "Order of Ecclesia" at number one... That game is a freakin' masterpiece. My theory why it isn't appreciated enough among fans is some kind of Igavania-fatigue at that time, since not many seem to have bought it in the first place. But it innovated so many things for the formula. It's quite interesting to look at it from a modern point of view, because it's clearly the base for "Bloodstained". Seriously, the new game is almost a direct sequel to "Order of Ecclesia".
Anyway, "Aria of Sorrow" is my second favorite. So I won't complain any further.
Coincidentally, I had a "Castlevania"-spree the last days and finished the original NES game for the first time in my life. I really like it, but there's no way in hell, I could have ever beaten it without the quick-save-feature of the "Anniversary Collection". It is ridiculously hard. "Super Castlevania IV" is next, because that seems like a cakewalk in comparison.

Had this on my radar for quite some time. Glad that it turned out to be good. Unsurprisingly so. The remasters of "Wild Guns" and "Ninja Warriors" were great and this seems even more ambitious. I especially appreciate how they nailed the pixel-art, bringing it to a modern standard, while keeping the 16bit-flair of the originals completely intact.
I hope more remakes/remasters of old Natsume games are yet to come, like "S.C.A.T.". Played that via NSO NES and was very pleased. Still a great and somewhat unique Shoot'em up, I like to recommend.

It's a deck-building game, a rogue-like and it's super ugly... This game seems specifically made to not appeal to me.

I don't like Aonuma's new haircut. Thought he looked somewhat charismatic. Now he appears more boring.
Anyway, nothing, but respect for this man. Expected BOTW2 to crown what is already a killer year for gaming. But if get's even more awesome due to the delay, I'm fine.