Apologies for the length of my reply here. What can I say? These are exciting times!
My ideal scenario would be for a "Switch Mini", and a "Switch Pro dock" that is compatible with both the original and upcoming miniaturized core units, and for that "pro" dock to have enhanced hardware that the system can utilize to improve the visuals and performance over the current system when docked. If that happened, I would buy both a Pro dock (or even two), buy a mini, take the mini with me everywhere, and then give the original Switch to a family member, so it's still in the family, and still in regular rotation, but not in my personal use as the pairing of the mini and the pro would outmode it.
Now, four important things that I realize going into this:
1) it's not feasible to go for high four and six teraflop caliber performance like the PS4 Pro and XB1X respectively given the state of mobile, ARM-based technology in 2019, so I know this thing won't rival the pro models of those systems. But would the base model-caliber spec PS4/XB1 be within its reach? I think it could be. If memory serves, both the base PS4 and XB1 each hovered somewhere just a little bit north of 1 teraflop of performance, and then the pro models saw something like a 3x boost for the PS, and a 4x boost for the XB. If we see something like a 3x boost for Switch, it should put us somewhere in the ballpark of the original consoles, and a 4x boost would put it a bit ahead.
I know we'll not get PS4 pro or XB1X level PERFORMANCE out of Switch Pro. And I'm okay with that. I really am. But what I AM hoping for is PS4 pro or XB1X levels of GAIN over the original model. That probably won't be something that a Tegra X2 can realize. But a newer chip? Maybe? Aren't they up to X4 in the Tegra line now? What about that chip? Nintendo can afford to make a Pro model more expensive and aspirational if they have cheaper points of entry further down the product line, so I hope they will do this and go big.
Also, I do hope the pro will be a dock, rather than another handheld core unit to compete with the mini though. Because when it comes to the current Switch, though I love it, though it's my favorite system of the current crop by a wide margin (and possibly even my favorite of all time), and while I routinely focus on its positives over its negatives, let's look at a couple of the negatives for a minute: as a console it's underpowered, and as a handheld its way too big and bulky and difficult to pocket. A mini would take care of the latter problem and a pro would go at least some distance towards solving the former problem. But if they're each separate systems, then I have to manage two different systems, worry about cross save, and whether I need to rebuy something, have to make sure downloads and updates are kept up twice. It's just messy. I mean, I could make it work if I had to, just keep the pro docked at home, and keep the mini in my pocket as I go about my day. And then if I was taking an extended trip, like an out of town situation, or setting up for a game night somewhere, then throw the Pro in my backpack and take that one with me instead. There would even be some benefit that way to playing on a bigger 1080p screen Switch on a plane instead of a smaller 720p screen. But on balance, I think using the mini as my only "core unit", and not having to worry about "managing" two systems, and then just slipping it into a "pro dock" when I get home, or taking the dock with me to the game night or the hotel room would be so much better. They did say to expect the unexpected, and not assume the pro will just be a beefier base unit, didn't they? So, I'm hoping that the deviation will take the shape of a dock.
Lastly for this point, and I might be the only person in the world who cares about this angle, starting with Wii/360/PS3, Nintendo has been profoundly behind PS/XB in power. It dropped behind by about a generation's worth. But using the metaphor of walking down a sidewalk, it might have dropped back a generation, but since that point has not fallen any further behind. It's back there a ways, but it's keeping pace. What do I mean? Well, Wii was just a touch more powerful than GameCube. It was about equal to the original XB, making it roughly a generation behind PS3 and XB360. Then the WiiU was about a generational leap in performance over the Wii, making it roughly performance equal with PS3/360....which in turn put it about a generation behind the PS4/XB1. All three together moved forward a generation from where they were previously. Now we have the PS4 Pro and XB1X, which are about a half generation ahead of their base models. And of course, the Switch, which is about halfway between the PS3/XB360/WiiU and the PS4/XB1 in terms of performance, making it roughly a half-generational improvement over the WiiU in terms of power, or roughly to WiiU what PS4 Pro is to PS4. So, all three again move together about a half-generation from where they were before. This would also make Switch about a full generation behind the PS4 Pro and XB1X, or about a half-generation behind their core units. So, Nintendo has more or less kept pace, neither gaining ground, nor losing it.
But with PS5 and whatever the next XB will be called right around the bend, if Nintendo wishes to keep pace at about a generation behind, and not lose even more ground (and have to fight even harder for big ticket 3rd party games and at least that aspect of "relevance"), then it will need to sufficiently upgrade the Switch Pro hardware enough to make it roughly equivalent with the base PS4/XB1 to do so leaving it once again right at about that one generation behind mark once the 5 and the ___ launch. Again, maybe I'm the only one on Earth who cares about this angle, or is even thinking about things from this vantage point. And though it was painful and frustrating at the time, I have since made peace with Nintendo falling a generation behind, and have been satisfied with them keeping pace from that position since then. It would be pretty bitter, though, if they fell even further behind, and I had to go through making peace with that whole thing all over again, now finding themselves 1 1/2 generations behind [or further] and coping with that, as well as seeing an even greater number of big 3rd party titles / studios leave them out.
2) it will introduce technical challenges in terms of docking and undocking because now you're having to switch CPUs, GPUs and RAM, whereas with the original set up, all one was doing was either speeding up or slowing down existing RAM and GPU, and flashing the screen for the new visual settings to take effect. Handing off to different hardware would involve a lot more work, and it is virtually impossible to expect it'll be as seemless or elegant an experience. If we're lucky, it'll translate to just a longer period of blackout / flicker before it pops back up on the big or small screen and that's it. If we're unlucky, direct handoff might be altogether impossible, and then we have to go for a weird sort of crossplay thing like PS4 and Vita had. Yuck!
3) it would require the creation of a whole new graphics layer for new and existing games that developers would have to spend the time and money to make - work that might not yield any extra dividends for them at all, or even worse, create a "behind the pay wall" situation for us to get to them. Right now, there are two layers, docked and undocked. PS4 and XB1 have this two layers thing too between base system and pro system. And we see that while many developers certainly do put love and care and time into creating worthwhile Pro / 1X / Dock enhanced software layers for the given systems, we see many, many others who neglect the second layer by either doing it half-heartedly, or by not doing it at all. How many PS/XB games only support base spec, and run identically on pro and core models? Likewise, how many Switch games run the same whether the system is in the dock or not?
Though I realize that not only are the performance levels, but also the performance vectors are much shallower between Switch undocked and docked than between PS4/Pro and especially, between XB1/1X, the principle itself is the same in terms of having two spec targets developers have to accommodate through software layers. In this regard at least, having a Switch and a dock is like having a PS4 and a PS4 Pro in one. If they did release either a Switch Pro system or a Switch Pro dock, there'd now be not two software layers developers have to worry about, but now three, and that would either drive up the price of games, only further reduce developer involvement beyond what the second layer is already experiencing, or both. So that's concerning.
It also introduces the possibility of another software situation like the "NEW" 3DS / 2DS exclusives library - or for more retro examples, the Genesis 32X or the Atari 7800. Even if the games are not outright exclusives requiring the beefier hardware, such as "NEW" 3DS/2DS, 32X, and 7800 all were, but would run in lesser form on the baser hardware, it might still create the same effect of way too few games taking advantage of the new hardware to justify it, which is only so much better, and only so much less frustrating.
Of course, on the flip side, if the pro does catch on well enough, and offers a sizeable enough performance boost to draw the attention of the developers who snubbed it either entirely, or by withholding key franchises (COD, anybody), then it could turn into a great big boon by seeing those games arrive on Nintendo shores. Of course, this has risk too, because if they release a version of a game that will run well in pro spec, but then is not also further downgraded to run on Switch's current hardware (docked and undocked), then it would create "pro exclusives" which would bifurcate the library and the player pool, and I don't think that would be good for Nintendo at all. And more scary is that even with as banging as Switch is right now, if the developers still don't have sufficient incentive to do the necessary legwork to properly down port for the Switch, what is going to motivate them to do so for non pro models when the pro is in play? Even if we saw bigger ticket games start showing up in higher quantities on the Switch after the pro, I'm afraid most of them would be pro only, and that's the worst.
4) there's a big risk here: the more Nintendo expands and enhances the Switch lineup, there is greater and greater risk of muddying the waters and clouding the message, which would also be terrible, and momentum killing....and is so prevelent that it's even showing up right here in my response despite my being warry of it. I don't know how much more they can do while keeping the message so pure and clean like it is now.
Anyway, that's where I see things. Sorry for the long-winded.
Nice! I may try to fire these up later tonight!! Although, I was secretly kinda hoping they'd sneak out SNES classic too. Que lastima.
As for the reused names from Zelda II....let's see....
Ruto, Saria, Mido, Midoro (Swamp), Nabooru, and Daruina.
Lemme know if I made any mistakes. I don't recall seeing Rauru or Kasuto in more recent Zelda games. But I suppose I wouldn't be surprised if they were used, and I'm just blanking.
There was a lot to like about it, and give already had good fun with some of its earliest fruits. I'm so in love with that Yoshi demo that I'm gonna preorder the full thing ASAP! And Tetris 99? That thing is killer! And Zelda was a very pleasant surprise as well! Not to mention Mario Maker,Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, and so many others.
However, I am so disappointed that there was no mention made of Metroid Prime Trilogy, nor SNES Online that those feelings walking away from the direct are actually stronger than all the happies I got from the stuff that actually was there.
As such I can't bring myself to give it an A.
Lastly, and this may be just a minor thing, I dunno, but are you kidding me with the tease for the Smash update? I mean, that borders on trolling!
I have it on Android and Windows 10 already, and love it! I also love the music, having featured a track from it in my indie games focus episode: episode 30 (C1E30: The Big Sound of the Little Guy) from June 2018.....shameless plug (YouTube, iTunes, Blogspot, etc).
However, you're right, the Switch seems like the perfect platform for the game, so I may well spring for it here.
It looks nice. Aesthetically, I see a lot of Zelda influence (particularly BotW). But functionally, it reminds me a lot more of Skyrim than Zelda.
I'll be keeping an eye on it. Too soon to make a final judgment, of course. But I'm fairly optimistic based on what I've seen. If it's in the $30 or less range, I'm almost certainly going to give it a chance. But even if it's $60, there's still a reasonably good chance I'll give it a go. Although, the higher the price, the more likely I am to want to take a wait and see approach first, and read multiple reviews.
@NerdNoiseRadio please see my previous comment, gang, to find out what I'm up to here:
Link: "Nerd Noise Radio - Channel F Introduction". This includes the Christmas 89 story at the end, following details about my [at the time] new side program called "Channel F", and the only slightly less magical Christmas 92 story:
Link: "Nerd Noise Radio Presents: 'The Fire and the Glory'". This skips everything else and goes straight to the Christmas 89 story. Once again, forgive/ignore the awful production quality!
My "NESmas" story was likewise one of such profound meaning for me as well. It was 1989. It was a day of such intense mind-altering, life-changing magic and happiness...but it was preluded by a very near miss for us on absolute tragedy, which was not a miss at all for someone very nearby. The contrast between the two elements happening in such proximity to each other is so profound and powerful to me that I will never fail to remember and cherish the memory.
But before that, a gaiden: we almost got NES in 1987, but for reasons I don't remember, it didn't happen. In retrospect, I'm glad it didn't. We got a very used Atari 2600 with a number of games at a garage sale in the Summer of 1988, and it would go on to be our first game console instead. It was a "Darth" that we would later be stupid enough to straight trade for a "Woody" because we didn't know any better, and thought the Woody looked nicer.....oh, childhood us... 😂
But had we gotten the NES in 87, we likely never would've got the Atari, and almost certainly wouldn't have developed anywhere even remotely approaching the kind of appreciation for it that we had. So, I think it worked out the way it was supposed to have.
Anyway, my Christmas 89 story was such a special moment to me that in 2012, I published it as a memoir in Retrogaming Times Monthly, recorded myself reading it just prior to the 2017 launch of my show in holiday season 2016, and tacked it onto the back of a later release which revealed a new side project of my show, as well as told the story of my second most meaningful Christmas, Christmas 1992.
The production quality of the Christmas 89 recording is atrocious, though. I was a total noob! BGM too loud, mic being blown out constantly, and so on. So, I think for the 30th anniversary, which will be this upcoming Christmas 2019, I'll re-record the memoir with the much better production quality values that I'm capable of now.
In the meantime, I don't know if hyperlinks are forbidden here or not, so I'll try to share links in a separate follow-up comment. Should that follow-up comment get blocked by the system and you never see it, look on YouTube either for "Nerd Noise Radio Channel F introduction", which starts with a little shop talk, then goes into the Christmas 92 memoir before finally rebroadcasting the Christmas 89 story. Or if all you care about is the Christmas 89 story, just look up "Nerd Noise Radio presents 'The Fire and the Glory'", and you'll get to skip straight to it. In the separate post where I attempt to include links, I will share the links to both. If you do go straight to the Christmas 89 story, please don't hold the production quality against me. It was a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away.
SO.MUCH.YES!!!!! This is a moment I've been waiting for!
I have the NES version, and a bunch of others, like Atari 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision, and the like - no 2600, unfortunately, though I did have it as a kid, so I've experienced it. But my experience with the arcade original is so limited and from so long ago that I don't even really remember anything about the particulars of the version at all. I'll be going into it as fresh and green as possible.
One thing Hamster's DK and Mario Bros. showed me is just how much further from arcade perfect the NES ports are than I had envisioned. So, I expect Hamster's DKjr to be about as fresh and novel an experience for me as old school DKjr can be to someone who already has so many other ports of it.
I generally tend to prefer more [quote unquote] "16-bit sounds" to more [quote unquote] "8-bit sounds" at large, but for whatever reason, I find myself still preferring a lot of Mastersystem PSG to Mastersystem FM in a lot of cases.
And by and large, that's the case with Phantasy Star as well. In fact, the PSG version of the shop theme is one of my all time favorite tracks! Feels soooooo good! I would be tremendously disappointed if it locked you into FM. Although, I would only be so much less disappointed if it locked you into PSG, because there's a lot of good stuff on the FM side as well.
I've only logged an hour or two into Warframe so far, but frankly, unless it loses its luster real fast, I think if anything, I probably like it BETTER than Destiny!
Plus, it's free, alternative, and [comparably] underground. It kinda has the same mystique to me as Linux, like it is "the 'Linux' of Destiny". Okay, that just made me sound like a super duper dork, I'm sure!!
And yes, I thought all things considered, DOOM and Wolfenstein looked not too bad on Switch. But this? This looks a lot better!
The stabity improvements in 6.2.0 makes me feel like a multibillionaire who was just awarded a check for $10,000. I mean, pure gain, I suppose. But the thrilless kind that you'll likely never even perceive.
I'm not complaining about gain, I guess. We'll take it! Why not? But hopefully some not too far distant update will offer a bit more zest. I'd say "sizzle" instead, but that'd be too easily misconstrued to imply a Note 7 sort of situation.
I think Furukawasan's stance is PERFECT just so long as "as long as it's technically feasible" doesn't become a cop-out to get out of putting a little elbow grease into making the thing work. I think the "open 3rd, closed 1st" is the perfect position to hold, and hopefully it becomes just the default expectation across the whole industry.
I've been driving myself crazy checking daily for the update!
I know the new game cadence is monthly, but is it always gonna be around the middle of the month? If so, that's okay. I can wait till then if I know that's when it's gonna be going into it. The path that sucks is to think it's gonna be the front of the month and then drive yourself absolutely mad checking in futility for updates over and over.
I'm just glad to have a date for them now, frankly.
An update to my earlier comment: Okay, so now that I've had a chance to research the game more, and see it on all the systems it came out on - including PS4, I have abetter idea of what we're dealing with.
First, I've got to say that I absolutely ADORE this soundtrack! This is TOTALLY my kind of music! I'll buy this game just for the soundtrack!! Every track is like sonic heaven for me! I love how it both relaxes and pumps me up at the same time and in equal measure! It's like an "eargasm" soaked in CBD oil!
Second, watching YouTube videos on a smartphone screen, it's hard to appreciate nuance, and I'm sure that differences that are barely perceptible on my Pixel 2 XL will just leap right out at me on my 43" 4K TV. That said, I can see very little difference between the Switch and WiiU graphics. Then again, I can't see much difference between the WiiU and the PS4 version either. And I imagine the Switch version will meet the two in the middle. Indeed, with as basic as this game is, I wouldn't be surprised if it's closer to the top than the bottom. But with as [at least superficially] similar as the WiiU and PS4 version are, I think the Switch version will visually slot in the pocket pleasantly.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to this game. Although with it being a glorified minigame with such availability already on systems both technically upmarket and down market, I do kimda feel like as much hype and buildup and secrecy as there was to the Switch release was maybe a bit excessive?
Lastly, though decidedly inferior, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how good the original Wii version looked! Hell, even the 3DS version exceeds expectations! A very good looking game wherever it is to be found!
I was [very cautiously, very guardedly] hoping to hear that Shin'en and Nintendo ("Shin'tendo", anyone?) had forged an alliance to bring us a great F-Zero game, leveraging the strengths of both companies and their pedigrees for excellent racers, and masterful handling of the relatively stingy Switch hardware.
I knew going into it not to get my hopes up TOO high. But it just felt so good, and felt so right, and felt so, I dunno, plausible, that I couldn't help but get a little excited!
So, well, compared to that, it's hard not to feel that this is a letdown. But just about anything would be a letdown compared to that. So, I'm gonna shake it off, and give this game a good hard look!
I never played it on the other systems, so it's fresh to me. But given the kind of feedback it's received on past outings, and the respect that Shin'en has won from me, odds are pretty high that I'll plunk down on it. From what I've seen in the pictures, the visual styling is nice, and given Shin'en's reputation for getting the most out of the Switch, I hope they'll pump it as far as they can in the eye candy and performance department.
That it'll look and play much better than Wii and 3DS is pretty much a given. But hopefully it'll be to the WiiU version what FastRMX was to Fast Racing Neo!
It may be strange hearing me talk about how much I care about graphics when we're talking about a puzzle game on the Switch, of all places. But as far behind the rest of the current crop as it is, it's still meaningfully ahead of the previous systems, and still capable of some great looking stuff.
I hope (with the confidence of past experience) that Shin'en will deliver there!
I have a real CD-i....and I STILL would want this thing hardcore!
I have roughly 45 consoles spanning the history of gaming, maybe a few more, and about 25 or so of them are "indisputably retro". Do you know how many of them I would -NOT- put down money for a mini for? None of them! I want minis for all of them!!!
So bring on the CD-i mini! Hell, bring on the Odyssey 2 and TI99/4a minis! All the things!!!
@EasyDaRon And that's definitely not an invalid point. But it doesn't make me feel that much better about it. It would still fall under a "well you either couldn't or wouldn't figure out how to make it work" situation, and in my mind, would still harken back to a situation where "infeasible" is the better word than impossible.
And ultimately it still doesn't move me off the platform that sees a 100% correlation between the words "impossible" and "cop out". To be fair, it does crack open the door to a third option besides sheer laziness or sheer incompetence in the form of simply "being too resource strapped to manage / justify it"...but even in that situation, it's still a matter of "we can't", and NOT a matter of "Switch can't". But the rhetoric is still generally couched in terms of the latter, and thus, it still ultimately falls under the umbrella of my original critique. It's still blame shifting to the system, rather than owning up to it as a developer.
Now, I know not everyone does this, and my critique is certainly not aimed towards them. In those cases, I hope they'll figure it out and join the party later.
Also, I know that my initial reply was super duper long, so it would be easy for a minor point to be lost in the shuffle of so much text. But to be fair, I did cover the financials side of it too - in passing, at least. It's an angle that I did not fail to anticipate, I suppose you could say.
This is a copy/paste of what I said in the comments of the Abstraction article. But I feel they're just as relevant here on this article.
BEGIN COPY/PASTE
The Switch is definitely the least powerful of the current systems, of that there's no dispute. And the Switch port of a game is always going to be the [technically] "least" version of a game, of this there is no doubt either. However, I am immediately suspicious when someone says that xyz game is literally "impossible."
No doubt that compromises and concessions and adjustments are required to make such demanding games possible under the limitations that the Switch hardware places on the developers. It could well be said that "perfect" ports may indeed be impossible. But adjusted ports? Scaled ports?
My knowledge of game hardware is a bit more shallow and abstract on today's hardware than it is with the 8 and 16-bit systems where I am at my best, so I suppose I do stand open to some correction, but "impossible" doesn't seem like the right word here at all. Perhaps the amount of concessions required would be so extreme that it would make the game "infeasible"....but "impossible?"
I just have a really hard time buying it.
When I hear this, whether I'm justified in doing so or not, my mind immediately goes to "well this developer is just somewhere along a spectrum of 'too lazy' and/or 'too incompetent' to do it." Perhaps they feel that the work required to "optimize" the game for such a system would be so cost and time demanding that it would be a losing venture for them even if it sold like gangbusters. Or maybe they're so in love with the look and feel of the PS4.0-level experience that they can't stand the thought of seeing it in a PS3.5-level state. Who knows....but "impossible?"
I mean, if they don't want to make, and would rather shut themselves off from the revenue stream, so be it. It's as much [or more] their loss as it is mine. I do own the other systems, and will buy the game for one of them instead, if I want the thing badly enough. But Switch is by far my favorite system, and I spend more time on it than I do on all the other systems - combined. So there would certainly be games which I could justify getting on Switch that I probably wouldn't be able to justify elsewhere for as much less often as I play those systems.
Furthermore, I'm not gonna become so radical on this point as to go so far as to automatically hard-boycott a game just on principle everytime the developers threw the Switch under the bus to get out of making a game for it. However, the bad blood that such a move generates in me definitely does reduce the probability of my buying their game simply because it creates an additional barrier to my taking the plunge. It is certainly possible for my desire of a much wanted game to muscle past this barrier, but a number of less strongly desired games will be stopped up short by the obstacle.
Either way, as soon as they say "impossible", my respect for them goes right out the window, and the likelihood of their getting any money from me (or at least, anywhere near as much money from me) goes down appreciably. They hurt their cause badly - even if only within the confines of my own wallet.
So yeah, my face darkens, and my pulse quickens, and my BS alarm goes absolutely crazy every time I hear that. Look, the Switch is not a powerful system. Granted. In fact, I would join in the chorus of people lamenting that Nintendo hadn't at the very least put the X2 in the thing right off the bat. I wish it we're more powerful. And certainly, as DOOM and Wolfenstein show, the concessions that need made on such limited hardware are indeed great. But those games were "impossible" too....until Panic Button came along. If Panic Button can do it, I don't see any non-damning reason why any other developer can't do it also.
And a huge thanks to Panic Button, not just for the surprisingly excellent Switch ports of high end games that I've put so much time into and gotten so much enjoyment out of, but also for just exposing the lie which I had sensed from the very earliest days regarding the supposed "impossibility" of big game ports on the system. Even Abstraction, for as critical a tone as they're taking of the hardware, is still....making a big port for it....where's everybody else, then? Their excuses are getting thinner and thinner.
I can only imagine the Rainbow Six Seige guys being beyond pissed at Panic Button....and you know what?....I find the thought of those guys' anger at the exposure......simply.....delicious! Now hopefully it'll motivate them to get off their asses and figure the damned thing out.
The Switch is definitely the least powerful of the current systems, of that there's no dispute. And the Switch port of a game is always going to be the [technically] "least" version of a game, of this there is no doubt either. However, I am immediately suspicious when someone says that xyz game is literally "impossible."
No doubt that compromises and concessions and adjustments are required to make such demanding games possible under the limitations that the Switch hardware places on the developers. It could well be said that "perfect" ports may indeed be impossible. But adjusted ports? Scaled ports?
My knowledge of game hardware is a bit more shallow and abstract on today's hardware than it is with the 8 and 16-bit systems where I am at my best, so I suppose I do stand open to some correction, but "impossible" doesn't seem like the right word here at all. Perhaps the amount of concessions required would be so extreme that it would make the game "infeasible"....but "impossible?"
I just have a really hard time buying it.
When I hear this, whether I'm justified in doing so or not, my mind immediately goes to "well this developer is just somewhere along a spectrum of 'too lazy' and/or 'too incompetent' to do it." Perhaps they feel that the work required to "optimize" the game for such a system would be so cost and time demanding that it would be a losing venture for them even if it sold like gangbusters. Or maybe they're so in love with the look and feel of the PS4.0-level experience that they can't stand the thought of seeing it in a PS3.5-level state. Who knows....but "impossible?"
I mean, if they don't want to make, and would rather shut themselves off from the revenue stream, so be it. It's as much [or more] their loss as it is mine. I do own the other systems, and will buy the game for one of them instead, if I want the thing badly enough. But Switch is by far my favorite system, and I spend more time on it than I do on all the other systems - combined. So there would certainly be games which I could justify getting on Switch that I probably wouldn't be able to justify elsewhere for as much less often as I play those systems.
Furthermore, I'm not gonna become so radical on this point as to go so far as to automatically hard-boycott a game just on principle everytime the developers threw the Switch under the bus to get out of making a game for it. However, the bad blood that such a move generates in me definitely does reduce the probability of my buying their game simply because it creates an additional barrier to my taking the plunge. It is certainly possible for my desire of a much wanted game to muscle past this barrier, but a number of less strongly desired games will be stopped up short by the obstacle.
Either way, as soon as they say "impossible", my respect for them goes right out the window, and the likelihood of their getting any money from me (or at least, anywhere near as much money from me) goes down appreciably. They hurt their cause badly - even if only within the confines of my own wallet.
So yeah, my face darkens, and my pulse quickens, and my BS alarm goes absolutely crazy every time I hear that. Look, the Switch is not a powerful system. Granted. In fact, I would join in the chorus of people lamenting that Nintendo hadn't at the very least put the X2 in the thing right off the bat. I wish it we're more powerful. And certainly, as DOOM and Wolfenstein show, the concessions that need made on such limited hardware are indeed great. But those games were "impossible" too....until Panic Button came along. If Panic Button can do it, I don't see any non-damning reason why any other developer can't do it also.
And a huge thanks to Panic Button, not just for the surprisingly excellent Switch ports of high end games that I've put so much time into and gotten so much enjoyment out of, but also for just exposing the lie which I had sensed from the very earliest days regarding the supposed "impossibility" of big game ports on the system. Even Abstraction, for as critical a tone as they're taking of the hardware, is still....making a big port for it....where's everybody else, then? Their excuses are getting thinner and thinner.
I can only imagine the Rainbow Six Seige guys being beyond pissed at Panic Button....and you know what?....I find the thought of those guys' anger at the exposure......simply.....delicious! Now hopefully it'll motivate them to get off their asses and figure the damned thing out.
If I can't find the precise right spot to land in the tension of this situation (a spot that probably has as many proposed locations as people considering the question), then I'm gonna err on the side of ROMs and emulators, not on the sides of major corporations - even corporations that I generally hold in the highest of regard, such as Nintendo.
Considering that ROMs and Emators are not precisely a perfectly binary black and white in terms of legality, the policy I take personally has been to secure ROMs only of the games I otherwise already legitimately own through other means. This, of course, would be for purposes of playing upstairs on the computer, or on a laptop on the go, rather than having to dust off an actual retro console, blow into the cart a bunch of times, and then fiddle with wires to enjoy them as they were originally intended on my big CRT, isolated from the rest of the house and household in a stark basement. But not only is that it is cumbersome to use real hardware, I also feel like every time I do that, I run the risk of equipment failure - especially on CD-Rom, or floppy-based systems, or hell, even of the tube TV itself.
When, as an example, I want to listen to music "the best way", as an end in of itself, I fire up the turntable and spin some vinyl. But 99.9% of my music listening is done via streaming on the internet, 75-80% because of convenience, but 20-25% because I don't want to add wear to the vinyl or the stylus, or expose the old turntable, stereo, or speakers to the risk of a failure I couldn't readily afford to rectify. It's exactly the same with retro gaming. I still believe that the premier way to retro game is on real hardware, over a tube TV. But 80-90-hell, to 95% of the time, that's not how I want to retro game, for the same mix of convenience, and old hardware/media presentation reasons as why so precious little of my music consumption time is on vinyl.That 80-95% of the time, what I'm gonna want to do instead is to retro game via emulation, from the comfort of a non-sub-terranian basement dungeon, on a comfy couch, with the convenience of a wireless controller, and over the beauty of a 43" 4K TV with a good scanline simulator so that the picture looks as close to CRT accurate as possible.
Historically, as I say, I've always limited this just to games I already own. But what about the games I will own in the future, after the crackdown comes, and all the ROMs are gone, and I can't just go and get them anymore? The thought of giant corporate juggernauts completely erasing this way to enjoy games seems distinctly dystopian to me, and as such I have at no point over the course of these developments been able to feel anything even remotely approaching celebration, even if the sites taken down were indeed bad actors, and Nintendo was perhaps not even wrong to have done so. Instead all I can perceive is the blackest cloud descending, and so not only will I now act in renewed vigor and haste to secure ROM copies of my games, but perhaps I will also go ahead and plan for the future by downloading beyond my physical collection in anticipation of that day. Perhaps if I have the conviction to do so, I can put the ROMs for the games I don't own into a separate folder the emulators can't see, so that it would take enough work to access them that it properly disincentivizes my playing them until Ican secure a hard copy to justify it.
So, I guess that's where I stand, I can do no other. So help me, Zod!
I love the Switch. It's my favorite system of the current generation, and possibly even my favorite system of all time. But I definitely think the UI is completely uninspiring. I mean, it's functional, and I guess it's clean, but it could be sooooooo much more. I would love to see something like this render happen in real life.
However, I think the higher priority is the absolutely the eShop. That place is a right mess. I definitely think that needs to be worried about first. It would be nice if they added music (with maybe an off toggle for those who don't want it. But that certainly is secondary to the rest of it.
Yay! I didn't even know this was coming to Switch! I've wanted to play this game for quite some time!
I've been familiar with its soundtrack for a while with its interesting mixed usage of YM3812 (9ch 2op FM / 6ch 2op + 5ch rhythm section) and YM2203 (3ch 4op FM + 3ch PSG). For perspective, that's like pairing a Windows PC using an Ad-Lib sound card with an NEC PC88 not using the more advanced OPNA sound enhancer. I can't think off the top of my head of any other arcade games which used that sound combo. If anyone in the know knows of any others, please let me know so I can check them out!
While it lacks the complexity and freedom of an OPM/MSM setup of things like the CPS1 soundboards that Capcom often used, it also lacks the brash, harsh quality that often accompanies them. This is a much smoother sound. It's a really interesting sound stage, with a number of good tracks - my favorite of which saw feature on my VGM Podcast (Nerd Noise Radio) - all the way back on episode 2, which was late Jan 2017. It was the theme to stages 4 and 7. Third to final track of the episode. It also was listener-picked to appear in the "Best of 2017" episode from March of this year (episode 25).
Anyway, I've known and loved the soundtrack for a while now, and have also been acquainted with screen shots, and their "better than 'best of both worlds compromise' of Sega Genesis and Super NES" that the arcade games of the period frequently bestowed upon us (equal or better resolution and sprite work than the Genesis - which beat SNES in those regards, paired with higher color count and special effects richness than SNES - which in its turn, beat Genesis in those regards). It was best of both, but with even more cowbell. So I really admire and cherish the visuals from the period's arcade games because of that. They still look just about as fresh and even stunning to me now in the late twenty-teens and in my late 30's as they did in my childhood in the 80's and 90's.
Those kind of visuals, plus the predominance of FM synthesis-based sound hardware, and it's no wonder the period remains to this day for me my favorite era in the history of the arcade. When it's a game I have the acute nostalgia of memories of direct experience with (aka, if I've played the damned thing), even better. But this formula is so magical and powerful for me that even with only the diffuse, generic nostalgia for the general "recipe", even games I've never played in my life before - like this one - still appeal to me BIG TIME!
And now, I finally get to play it! I'll be rushing to buy it straightaway!!
I wanna see Lovely Planet and Lovely Planet Arcade! While I have them already on PC and can play them in 4K, I'd gladly go down to 720p (1080p docked) to be able to enjoy those charming masterpieces on the go!
There are a number of other games on the list that look interesting, but those are the ones I really want!
Now, I see Lovely Planet on the list, but not Lovely Planet Arcade. Was that one developed by someone else? It's been long enough since I played that I might not be remembering the developer logo screens right.
@Hyrule I agree! Dreamcast was great! I still have mine too! First significant purchase I made as a married man. I still have the same wife too!
I wanted it on launch day (9/9/99 here in the US), but due to payday cycle incompatibility, and lack of better planning ahead, I wasn't able to get it til like 9/14 or 9/15. Hey! Might not be launch day....but it was still launch week, right?
@TheOpponent I just wanna reach out to all the people on the net who were so loudly and obnoxiously certain that this thing was dead before it launched and was gonna be a spectacular failure - the 'Dreamcast' of Nintendo, I even heard people say - and just say "Hey! How ya doing? Sooooooo, about that whole 'Switch being a miserable failure' thing...."
@Anti-Matter well, I was just keeping it to the current systems.
I have a grand total of (give or take) 45 systems going even further back than Atari VCS (aka Atari 2600). So trying to create a list that's truly "exhaustive" for me, would've just been too monumental.
I know the 4th gen and 3rd gen systems would figure very high on that list though. And 4th gen is one of only two gaming generations throughout the entirety of gaming history where Nintendo's entry was not either first or tied for first for me. 5th gen was the other.
Although, there is a difference between them: whereas in the 4th, I was not disappointed with Super Nintendo at all, and thought it was perfectly in keeping with the levels of "Nintendo Awesome" we've come to expect throughout the years, and it was instead, simply [for me] outshined by a very short-lived burst from temporarily even more awesome competition, the N64 in the 5th I actually was a little bit disappointed in, and felt that PS1 filled the gap magnificently.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there, I suppose. I do suppose I should've included WiiU in my list, though, since it is still having stuff made for it.
The trouble is, I don't quite know exactly what to do with it. I know I'd put it ahead of Vita, and behind 3DS, PC, and Switch. Whether I put it ahead of, behind, or alongside the PS4 and XB is where I'm having trouble.
I think in a world without PS4 Pro, or XB1X, I'd put it ahead of, or at least on par with them (probably ahead). However, in a world where there is not only those significantly more powerful versions of the consoles, but also a world where Switch has taken almost all of the WiiU's momentum, I go back to what I said just a moment ago: I don't really know quite what to do with it.
I guess I'd probably put it just behind them, given our current climate. Ask me again 10 minutes, though, and I might've changed my mind again.
I used to say I was a "PC and Switch first" gamer, and a "PS4 and XB1 second" gamer. But if I were to be truly honest with myself, I am really a "Switch first, PC second, XB1/PS4 third" gamer. Or heck, if we're being super thorough, "Switch first, PC second, 3DS third, XB1 / PS4 fourth, Vita fifth".
I may appeal to the other systems for their manifold merits, but Switch has become center, Switch has become front, and barring extenuating circumstances, Switch is where I look first, and where the conversation begins concerning multiplatform games, even though the PS4, XB1, and especially the PC are all more powerful, and can provide better visuals - though I have yet to be particularly disappointed with any Switch ports that I've played thus far!!
There's just something so magical about this system! It's not just a console, it's a portable (and a tabletop - and increasingly becoming a tablet) But it's also not just a portable (or tabletop or tablet), but is also a console! And since the system performs at a higher spec level when docked - though the extra power is not actually in the dock itself, and most games take advantage of that extra power with enhanced visuals or whatever else, that console designation is not just the portable experience smeared on a bigger screen, but is its own actual experience! I'm not tethered to the couch, but neither am I marooned to the small screen! And I get specific perks from each approach! Nothing else touches that! And rare to never does the (only so significant) extra performance capabilities of the XB1 / PS4 ever feel worth surrendering the Switch's manifold benefits to have.
Maybe when I start deep-diving mods in PC versions of games, I'll go back to being "Switch and PC first", but for now, I tend to go to Switch first. It's the pocket-sized master of the universe!
Cheers!
p.s. even if PS4/XB1 rank further back for me, that doesn't mean I don't still want a PS4 Pro / XB1X, and with how insanely inflated PC GPU upgrades are right now thanks to all the cryptocurrency nonsense, I'm gonna live with my GTX1070 for now, and wait out upgrades next year's tax time. This year, then, assuming funds allow, I'll plan on taking the opportunity presented to pick up the Pro and (or) the 1X. Should be good times!
I dabbled with it on PC and XB360. I got a bit more serious about it on PS4 and Vita.
I'm one of the few, the proud, the crazy: those who actually prefer Scattle's PS-versions re-score of the soundtrack over the legendary Danny Baronosky's original OST (though by mid-year this year, both scores will have received "air time" on my VGM podcast).
I don't know whether I'll buy it on Switch or not. If it's cheap enough, I will, because as is the case with so many other games, I don't think there's a single better platform for the game than the "big screen or small, go anywhere" Nintendo Switch. I think that unless it's just totally botched, it can't help but be the best version of the game just on account of the shape-shifting, context agnostic nature of the system itself on which it finds itself.
But I have the game on so many platforms already, and have only been so in love with it that if it's too expensive, I'll probably pass, or at least hold off. Though Switch is by far my favorite current gen system, and even though I think its plusses far outweigh its minuses, the whole "Switch Tax" thing is real, and is a totally valid complaint. So, if this thing just costs way more than the other versions that I already own, then I might have a hard time justifying it.
I guess you can summarize everything I've said in this one pithy sentence: Yes, I want it, but am not sure yet whether or not I can justify it.
I do hope it'll include the Scattle OST, or best of all, the option for either. But I get that there may be Sony licensing things that will "scuttle Scattle"....see what I did there?
I love both the open world style of BotW and the almost on-rails style of Skyward Sword. But given the two, I really think I do prefer BotW's open-world approach. Not only did it completely revolutionize my favorite (or second favorite) IP in all of gaming (Metroid being the other), but it opened my mind and my heart to open world gaming in general, with franchises like Minecraft and Skyrim, that I had previously been shut off to opening up to me - to wonderfully delightful effect.
However, one thing I do not like about BotW, for as much as I love it, is the lack of dungeons, and dedicated items in each dungeon. While I did legitimately enjoy the Divine Beasts, they did not feel like adequate substitutes to me, and neither did the shrines, although I loved them too.
What I would love to see, then, is something that's mostly like BotW, with the go-anywhere, open-world nature, massive world, tons of shrines and all sorts of side-quests, but with several actual dungeons, dedicated prizes, and maybe a little more music.
I think you should be able to access any dungeon right from the start, but whether they're equals in terms of beatability right off the bat, or whether they take an almost Mega Man approach where they're easier in a certain order thanks to items you get, I'm okay with either way (probably slightly preferring the latter). I also want all four corners of the world map to be accessible right from the word go. But maybe have a few special parts of the map which are not mission critical that can only be accessible with certain items you get in dungeons - like, of course, the hookshot.
So, 80% BotW, 20% the rest of Zelda, with a splash of Mega Man thrown in on the dungeon ordering. That would be just about perfect!
Or, an alternative idea: just as the Mario Universe has three branches now: direct descendents of Super Mario Bros (like new Super Mario Bros. U), descendents of Super Mario 64 (like Super Mario Odyssey), and descendents of Super Mario 3D Land (like Super Mario 3D World), perhaps the Zelda universe can similarly fork, and we can have open-world epics, as well as the old beloved on-rails types.
That's unlikely for such big works as Zelda games, though, so I'm probably just stuck rooting for the 80% BotW, 20% other Zelda beast I described above. There are certainly much worse fates than that!
I'm very much looking forward to this. Although I grew up playing the NES version, and have since gone on to own several home ports of the game, the arcade version always held that magic mystique of being the "perfect" Double Dragon.
I played it in the arcade countless times as a kid, once or twice at one of the local barcades in Des Moines more recently, and have even played it in emulation before. But to be able to own it and play it whenever without shelling out big bucks for an upright - as well as the ability to play it on the big screen or the small, at home or on the go, all adds up to a seriously desired purchase for me!
The NES version was timeless. The Mega Drive (Genesis where I'm from) version is excellent. But the Arcade is the pinnacle! Bring it on!
Well, as one who owns DOOM for PC, XB1, and Switch, and has played all the way through it on all but the XB, I can say that I had just as much fun playing and beating the game on Switch in 720p Low (or less) at 30fps over standard Joycons as I had playing and beating it on a PC that handled it in 4K Ultra / Nightmare, at close to 60fps over KBM.
Beyond the game just feeling and playing great, I even managed to still think it looked great despite the gulf between its performance and the PCs being so admittedly chasmic.
And contrary to popular feedback which said the visuals are actually more appealing in undocked mode than in docked (as they supposedly better hide the seams in the presentation), thanks to the excellent upscaling, much stronger colors, and advanced motion technology of my Sony XBR43X800D UHD TV, which very convincingly simulates higher fps, as well as the extra power of docked mode keeping the dynamic resolution drops more at bay, I actually quite preferred the docked experience over the undocked, and spent probably 60-70% of my total campaign time playing in that mode instead - despite the fact that the obvious draw of the Switch version in the first place is being able to play it on the go.
Anyway, all that to say that I felt the Switch version of DOOM was FANTASTIC from the perspective of "all things considered", and even with that perspective turned off, it was still not a bad port at all. Panic Button has made a winner here, and if they can do it again, they'll have made another.
I've not played the new Wolfenstein yet. I think I'll wait for the Switch version. And if it's even close to as a good a port of even close to as good a game as DOOM, then I'm guaranteed to love it! And unlike with DOOM, where I had the disadvantage of being intimately familiar with a much better graphical presentation prior (though I was not disappointed with the Switch at all), I will have the benefit in Wolfenstein of having the Switch's visuals be my first exposure, meaning they won't feel scaled down compared to past experiences. Moreover, if I like Wolfenstein enough on Switch, maybe I'll buy it on PC later, and then those far superior graphics can be experienced in light of my then past experiences on Switch, and feel truly spectacular!
It will be sad to see you go, Thomas! But thank you for everything you've done to make this site what it is, and I don't think I'm speaking out of turn to say that the community will miss you, but wishes you all the best! Go be as awesome in your new role as you were in this one! And don't lose the geeky passion that made this all what it was for you in the first place!
I'm a real fan of Savage Regime's work! I've featured him several times on the Nerd Noise Radio social media outlets, and one track of his will actually even be appearing on the podcast itself in May.
I'd love to hear his works coming straight from my VA6 Mobo equipped Model 1 US Sega Genesis!
Of course, I would imagine this is designed around 50hz PAL clock rather than 60hz NTSC clock, so the music will probably play too fast, I'd suspect.
The rest of the game looks and sounds good too! Depending on the price, I may well end up backing this!
"Motion controls (tilt to steer) are also available if you are so inclined" - pun intended?
This does sound like a good game, though, and yes, I definitely feel like this would be the preferred platform for it as the docked /undocked flexibility would be much more important in this case than 4K.
I would call Mario my 3rd favorite all-time franchise after Metroid and Zelda. So, Nintendo owns the top three franchises for me. I can't wait to see what Prime 4 is going to be like!
You know, I suppose if ever there were a time to shameless plug my own podcast on Nintendo Life and have it not be totally inappropriate, it'd be now!
I have a video game music podcast that I do - not surprisingly, called "Nerd Noise Radio". Actually, its full name is not "Nerd Noise Radio", but rather "Nerd Noise Radio - Channel 1". Why? Because I envision a future where there's a "Nerd Noise Radio - Channel 2", or a channel 3 or even 4 or 5. Shows that are all video game related, but separate shows that exist independent of each other, besides that they're all under the umbrella of the NNR banner. Some would be pretty much all music and virtually no talking, some would be roughly 50/50 talking / music, and some would be pretty much all talking.
Channel 1, the one that exists presently, is pretty much all music, with virtually no talking. Short, standardized into, completely uninterrupted music block, and then standardized housekeeping outro. Tracklists are given at the end, and are also included in the show notes. They're not actually shared in the intro itself for three reasons: a) to get me off the stage so the music can take over more quickly, b) to leave it up to the listener to decide whether they want to follow along in the show notes, or whether they want to be surprised as they go along, and c) to not follow too closely the format of the non-video-game-related radio program which is my inspiration, and to which my show is my "love letter" - NPR's "Hearts of Space". There's a fine line between the flattery of imitation and the theft of plagiarism, and I want to stay on the safe side of that line - especially considering my outro is basically in lock-step with it.
Some of my episodes are just soundtracks or albums, and in those cases, I just play them in order, so the following doesn't apply for those: but in general, the most important thing for me in creating an episode is not track selection, but track order. Since it's an uninterrupted music block, the idea is to not just throw you a bunch of tracks, but to create one seemless, compelling "sound story". I try to have a clear reason for every single track transition that I make, and make every single track "work" with the others. Sometimes it's like track for like track. Sometimes it's something completely opposite. Sometimes it's a gentle transition, sometimes it's a jarring one. But it's always by design. So the actually ordering of the tracks is far more important to me (and something I take more pride in) than which tracks are actually included.
Where applicable, I try to include a mix of the newest VGM, the oldest VGM, the most "chip", the least "chip", the most iconic, and the most obscure. Thus far, the newest track I've featured in an episode is the title theme from ARMS (Episode 16), and the oldest track I've included is "Theme of the Grid" from Ballblazer on the Atari 8-bit computer / Atari 5200 / Atari 7800 (Episode 1). So, if you like the full spectrum of VGM, then you'll like it here.
Anyway, if you check it out and don't like it, thank you for checking it out. But hopefully you'll at least check out an episode or two. My most recent episode (Episode 17) is a soundtrack episode. So if you wanna hear something where track ordering is a factor, check out Episode 16, which is a free-play episode, Episode 15, which is a focus on Sega CD music, or wait til this coming Friday when Episode 18 comes out, which will be my first "Face-off" episode (a playlist featuring multiple versions of multiple tracks).
There is a dedicated "Channel 1" feed out there, but it's lower fidelity, only goes back a few episodes, and won't feature content from any future "channels" - lastly, if my total monthly output of content exceeds 2hrs, I'll have to create alternate "trimmed down" versions of the episodes for that feed. So the link I'm including instead is to the "All Channels Feed", where none of the above are true. It's still not exactly "hi fidelity", but at least it's original fidelity, plus it goes all the way back to Episode 1, will always be the full-length episode, and will also include the full content of any and all active channels, whenever the other channels go online.
Lemme know if you check it out and what you think of it if you do. For those who like engaging conversation, and getting to hear interesting facts about tracks or composers, or "getting to know" your host, then Channel 1 will not be for you, and will seem flat and empty. I have a future channel just for you, but it's not active yet. However, if you're the kind that likes to listen to music while you work, or work out, or clean house, or game, or whatever, then Channel 1 is -PRECISELY- what you're after. Uninterrupted music bookmarked by standardized intros and outros. Unubtrusive, and good tunes! I know some like the one and some like the other, which is why I intend, in time, to offer both. But this one is where it begins.
The format itself of Ch1 episodes never changes, but the fidelity gradually does - as in, Episode 17 is higher fidelity than Episode 1 - so keep that in mind if you start at the beginning. Episodes 1 and 2's music blocks are in mono, but the rest are stereo (where applicable).
I am a HUGE fan of video game music, and always have been. In fact, my tastes in music outside of VGM have a tendency to run so parallel to it that I have a hard time "telling which is the chicken, and which is the egg". In other words, did my love for the non-VGM stuff give rise to my love of VGM, or did my love for VGM cause me to love these kinds of musical experience instead? I legitimately have absolutely no idea. I only know that there are great parallels in both and that both bring me tremendous joy.
VGM has also had an interesting evolution over the course of its life. Beginning as a mere tool of simple beeps and noises, into a simplified reflections of certain genres using really basic PSG synths to not so simplified reflections using more advanced FM, Wavetable, and basic ADPCM synths, to non-simplified, often non-synthesized reflections using Redbook audio, and eventually, high end ADPCM systems. Over the course of that time, a gulf began to form between Eastern and Western compositional and sound design styles, which initially widened out quite far before eventually beginning to narrow again a bit.
Over time, we began to see VGM moving away from the melodious to the ambient and then to the outright atmospheric before finally settling into a world that embraced them all. And we've now reached a point of maturity (not just in VGM, but in video games in general) where cutting edge, envelope pushing, technical marvels and soaring epics - usually from major developers - co-exist beautifully with the simplest, most basic, overtly retro, pixel-style game with old-school controls and chip, chippy, or chippish music (all of it blanket labeled, and often times INFURIATINGLY mislabled as "8-bit") - usually from smaller developers.
We live in a present where past and future live together in relative harmony. And that reflects in VGM as well. Leaving us with a scene that includes...well....everything. The biggest, most rousing orchestra pieces, blistering rock and metal, space ambient, club beat, hip hop, Trip-Hop, and J-Pop, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Progressive Rock, all manner of electronica, simple atmospheric soundstages, and every level of chip complexity - plus any and every possible combination of the above. All sounding convincing and respectable for their respective genres, while also still possessing something uniquely video gamey.
And that's just today's VGM. That doesn't take into account the past 40yrs of gaming history and all its pivotal epochs, and timelessly irresistible offerings.
In fact, arguably my favorite era of all time for VGM was the 4th gen (SNES, Genesis, TG16, Neo Geo, etc). Why? Because by this point, the sound tech had become advanced enough that they were able to do some really deep, expressive, diverse, and complex music - BUT - still rudimentary and limited enough that you couldn't take anything for granted, but had to earn every little thing you got, learn the sound hardware inside and out (ESPECIALLY on the more "traditional synthesis" "old guard" FM and Wavetable - which in general, I actually prefer over the rudimentary first steps into the brave New world that the SNES' SPC700 admittedly amazed us all with) rather than just dump your Casio action onto the system.
And now, VGM has gone on to become less informed and influenced by mainstream music and more informer and influencer of it, with more and more musicians citing it as something that has shaped their musical worldview and has impacted their works.
Ah! For the first time, a splatfest in which I will have a REALLY hard time picking a team! Call me #teamundecided at the moment. Maybe I'm leaning a little bit fantasy at this point. I dunno.
Well crap! I just switched back to Android last week (I'm the kind that goes back and forth between both at quasi-random times.) So unless or until something like this makes it over here, I'm gonna have to miss out.
Comments 167
Re: Arcade Archives Donkey Kong 3 Blasts Onto Switch This Week
Who would've thought that spraying bug spray up a monkey's butt would be such a good time? 😂
In all seriousness, though, I actually do like this game!
Re: Talking Point: There's Room For A Switch 'Family' If Nintendo Nails The Messaging
Apologies for the length of my reply here. What can I say? These are exciting times!
My ideal scenario would be for a "Switch Mini", and a "Switch Pro dock" that is compatible with both the original and upcoming miniaturized core units, and for that "pro" dock to have enhanced hardware that the system can utilize to improve the visuals and performance over the current system when docked. If that happened, I would buy both a Pro dock (or even two), buy a mini, take the mini with me everywhere, and then give the original Switch to a family member, so it's still in the family, and still in regular rotation, but not in my personal use as the pairing of the mini and the pro would outmode it.
Now, four important things that I realize going into this:
1) it's not feasible to go for high four and six teraflop caliber performance like the PS4 Pro and XB1X respectively given the state of mobile, ARM-based technology in 2019, so I know this thing won't rival the pro models of those systems. But would the base model-caliber spec PS4/XB1 be within its reach? I think it could be. If memory serves, both the base PS4 and XB1 each hovered somewhere just a little bit north of 1 teraflop of performance, and then the pro models saw something like a 3x boost for the PS, and a 4x boost for the XB. If we see something like a 3x boost for Switch, it should put us somewhere in the ballpark of the original consoles, and a 4x boost would put it a bit ahead.
I know we'll not get PS4 pro or XB1X level PERFORMANCE out of Switch Pro. And I'm okay with that. I really am. But what I AM hoping for is PS4 pro or XB1X levels of GAIN over the original model. That probably won't be something that a Tegra X2 can realize. But a newer chip? Maybe? Aren't they up to X4 in the Tegra line now? What about that chip? Nintendo can afford to make a Pro model more expensive and aspirational if they have cheaper points of entry further down the product line, so I hope they will do this and go big.
Also, I do hope the pro will be a dock, rather than another handheld core unit to compete with the mini though. Because when it comes to the current Switch, though I love it, though it's my favorite system of the current crop by a wide margin (and possibly even my favorite of all time), and while I routinely focus on its positives over its negatives, let's look at a couple of the negatives for a minute: as a console it's underpowered, and as a handheld its way too big and bulky and difficult to pocket. A mini would take care of the latter problem and a pro would go at least some distance towards solving the former problem. But if they're each separate systems, then I have to manage two different systems, worry about cross save, and whether I need to rebuy something, have to make sure downloads and updates are kept up twice. It's just messy. I mean, I could make it work if I had to, just keep the pro docked at home, and keep the mini in my pocket as I go about my day. And then if I was taking an extended trip, like an out of town situation, or setting up for a game night somewhere, then throw the Pro in my backpack and take that one with me instead. There would even be some benefit that way to playing on a bigger 1080p screen Switch on a plane instead of a smaller 720p screen. But on balance, I think using the mini as my only "core unit", and not having to worry about "managing" two systems, and then just slipping it into a "pro dock" when I get home, or taking the dock with me to the game night or the hotel room would be so much better. They did say to expect the unexpected, and not assume the pro will just be a beefier base unit, didn't they? So, I'm hoping that the deviation will take the shape of a dock.
Lastly for this point, and I might be the only person in the world who cares about this angle, starting with Wii/360/PS3, Nintendo has been profoundly behind PS/XB in power. It dropped behind by about a generation's worth. But using the metaphor of walking down a sidewalk, it might have dropped back a generation, but since that point has not fallen any further behind. It's back there a ways, but it's keeping pace. What do I mean? Well, Wii was just a touch more powerful than GameCube. It was about equal to the original XB, making it roughly a generation behind PS3 and XB360. Then the WiiU was about a generational leap in performance over the Wii, making it roughly performance equal with PS3/360....which in turn put it about a generation behind the PS4/XB1. All three together moved forward a generation from where they were previously. Now we have the PS4 Pro and XB1X, which are about a half generation ahead of their base models. And of course, the Switch, which is about halfway between the PS3/XB360/WiiU and the PS4/XB1 in terms of performance, making it roughly a half-generational improvement over the WiiU in terms of power, or roughly to WiiU what PS4 Pro is to PS4. So, all three again move together about a half-generation from where they were before. This would also make Switch about a full generation behind the PS4 Pro and XB1X, or about a half-generation behind their core units. So, Nintendo has more or less kept pace, neither gaining ground, nor losing it.
But with PS5 and whatever the next XB will be called right around the bend, if Nintendo wishes to keep pace at about a generation behind, and not lose even more ground (and have to fight even harder for big ticket 3rd party games and at least that aspect of "relevance"), then it will need to sufficiently upgrade the Switch Pro hardware enough to make it roughly equivalent with the base PS4/XB1 to do so leaving it once again right at about that one generation behind mark once the 5 and the ___ launch. Again, maybe I'm the only one on Earth who cares about this angle, or is even thinking about things from this vantage point. And though it was painful and frustrating at the time, I have since made peace with Nintendo falling a generation behind, and have been satisfied with them keeping pace from that position since then. It would be pretty bitter, though, if they fell even further behind, and I had to go through making peace with that whole thing all over again, now finding themselves 1 1/2 generations behind [or further] and coping with that, as well as seeing an even greater number of big 3rd party titles / studios leave them out.
2) it will introduce technical challenges in terms of docking and undocking because now you're having to switch CPUs, GPUs and RAM, whereas with the original set up, all one was doing was either speeding up or slowing down existing RAM and GPU, and flashing the screen for the new visual settings to take effect. Handing off to different hardware would involve a lot more work, and it is virtually impossible to expect it'll be as seemless or elegant an experience. If we're lucky, it'll translate to just a longer period of blackout / flicker before it pops back up on the big or small screen and that's it. If we're unlucky, direct handoff might be altogether impossible, and then we have to go for a weird sort of crossplay thing like PS4 and Vita had. Yuck!
3) it would require the creation of a whole new graphics layer for new and existing games that developers would have to spend the time and money to make - work that might not yield any extra dividends for them at all, or even worse, create a "behind the pay wall" situation for us to get to them. Right now, there are two layers, docked and undocked. PS4 and XB1 have this two layers thing too between base system and pro system. And we see that while many developers certainly do put love and care and time into creating worthwhile Pro / 1X / Dock enhanced software layers for the given systems, we see many, many others who neglect the second layer by either doing it half-heartedly, or by not doing it at all. How many PS/XB games only support base spec, and run identically on pro and core models? Likewise, how many Switch games run the same whether the system is in the dock or not?
Though I realize that not only are the performance levels, but also the performance vectors are much shallower between Switch undocked and docked than between PS4/Pro and especially, between XB1/1X, the principle itself is the same in terms of having two spec targets developers have to accommodate through software layers. In this regard at least, having a Switch and a dock is like having a PS4 and a PS4 Pro in one. If they did release either a Switch Pro system or a Switch Pro dock, there'd now be not two software layers developers have to worry about, but now three, and that would either drive up the price of games, only further reduce developer involvement beyond what the second layer is already experiencing, or both. So that's concerning.
It also introduces the possibility of another software situation like the "NEW" 3DS / 2DS exclusives library - or for more retro examples, the Genesis 32X or the Atari 7800. Even if the games are not outright exclusives requiring the beefier hardware, such as "NEW" 3DS/2DS, 32X, and 7800 all were, but would run in lesser form on the baser hardware, it might still create the same effect of way too few games taking advantage of the new hardware to justify it, which is only so much better, and only so much less frustrating.
Of course, on the flip side, if the pro does catch on well enough, and offers a sizeable enough performance boost to draw the attention of the developers who snubbed it either entirely, or by withholding key franchises (COD, anybody), then it could turn into a great big boon by seeing those games arrive on Nintendo shores. Of course, this has risk too, because if they release a version of a game that will run well in pro spec, but then is not also further downgraded to run on Switch's current hardware (docked and undocked), then it would create "pro exclusives" which would bifurcate the library and the player pool, and I don't think that would be good for Nintendo at all. And more scary is that even with as banging as Switch is right now, if the developers still don't have sufficient incentive to do the necessary legwork to properly down port for the Switch, what is going to motivate them to do so for non pro models when the pro is in play? Even if we saw bigger ticket games start showing up in higher quantities on the Switch after the pro, I'm afraid most of them would be pro only, and that's the worst.
4) there's a big risk here: the more Nintendo expands and enhances the Switch lineup, there is greater and greater risk of muddying the waters and clouding the message, which would also be terrible, and momentum killing....and is so prevelent that it's even showing up right here in my response despite my being warry of it. I don't know how much more they can do while keeping the message so pure and clean like it is now.
Anyway, that's where I see things. Sorry for the long-winded.
Cheers!
Re: Nintendo Adds New NES Games And SP Versions To Switch Online Earlier Than Planned
@Desrever, ach verdammt! That's right! I was soooooo close!!
Re: Nintendo Adds New NES Games And SP Versions To Switch Online Earlier Than Planned
Nice! I may try to fire these up later tonight!! Although, I was secretly kinda hoping they'd sneak out SNES classic too. Que lastima.
As for the reused names from Zelda II....let's see....
Ruto, Saria, Mido, Midoro (Swamp), Nabooru, and Daruina.
Lemme know if I made any mistakes. I don't recall seeing Rauru or Kasuto in more recent Zelda games. But I suppose I wouldn't be surprised if they were used, and I'm just blanking.
Cheers!
Re: Review: Tetris 99 - A Revolutionary Take On A Puzzle Classic
I have only had a chance to play this one just the once so far, but I totally love it! What an amazing execution on such a brilliantly simple concept!
By the way, out of 99, I was 35, so ALMOST final third.
Re: Japanese Poll Discovers That Vast Majority Of Viewers Were Pleased With The Nintendo Direct
I'd give it a B or a C grade myself.
There was a lot to like about it, and give already had good fun with some of its earliest fruits. I'm so in love with that Yoshi demo that I'm gonna preorder the full thing ASAP! And Tetris 99? That thing is killer! And Zelda was a very pleasant surprise as well! Not to mention Mario Maker,Fire Emblem, Dragon Quest, and so many others.
However, I am so disappointed that there was no mention made of Metroid Prime Trilogy, nor SNES Online that those feelings walking away from the direct are actually stronger than all the happies I got from the stuff that actually was there.
As such I can't bring myself to give it an A.
Lastly, and this may be just a minor thing, I dunno, but are you kidding me with the tease for the Smash update? I mean, that borders on trolling!
Re: Review: Downwell - The Ultimate Version Of Everyone's Favourite Potholing Roguelike Shooter
I have it on Android and Windows 10 already, and love it! I also love the music, having featured a track from it in my indie games focus episode: episode 30 (C1E30: The Big Sound of the Little Guy) from June 2018.....shameless plug (YouTube, iTunes, Blogspot, etc).
However, you're right, the Switch seems like the perfect platform for the game, so I may well spring for it here.
Cheers!
Re: Open-World Adventure Windscape Is An Homage To Zelda, And It Arrives On Switch This March
It looks nice. Aesthetically, I see a lot of Zelda influence (particularly BotW). But functionally, it reminds me a lot more of Skyrim than Zelda.
I'll be keeping an eye on it. Too soon to make a final judgment, of course. But I'm fairly optimistic based on what I've seen. If it's in the $30 or less range, I'm almost certainly going to give it a chance. But even if it's $60, there's still a reasonably good chance I'll give it a go. Although, the higher the price, the more likely I am to want to take a wait and see approach first, and read multiple reviews.
Cheers!
Re: Feature: How One Nintendo Christmas Shaped The Rest Of My Life
@NerdNoiseRadio please see my previous comment, gang, to find out what I'm up to here:
Link: "Nerd Noise Radio - Channel F Introduction". This includes the Christmas 89 story at the end, following details about my [at the time] new side program called "Channel F", and the only slightly less magical Christmas 92 story:
https://youtu.be/cuN0V9igYfo
Link: "Nerd Noise Radio Presents: 'The Fire and the Glory'". This skips everything else and goes straight to the Christmas 89 story. Once again, forgive/ignore the awful production quality!
https://youtu.be/xxiLTbe8hpY
Lemme know if you listen!
Cheers!
Re: Feature: How One Nintendo Christmas Shaped The Rest Of My Life
What a beautiful story! Thank you for sharing!
My "NESmas" story was likewise one of such profound meaning for me as well. It was 1989. It was a day of such intense mind-altering, life-changing magic and happiness...but it was preluded by a very near miss for us on absolute tragedy, which was not a miss at all for someone very nearby. The contrast between the two elements happening in such proximity to each other is so profound and powerful to me that I will never fail to remember and cherish the memory.
But before that, a gaiden: we almost got NES in 1987, but for reasons I don't remember, it didn't happen. In retrospect, I'm glad it didn't. We got a very used Atari 2600 with a number of games at a garage sale in the Summer of 1988, and it would go on to be our first game console instead. It was a "Darth" that we would later be stupid enough to straight trade for a "Woody" because we didn't know any better, and thought the Woody looked nicer.....oh, childhood us... 😂
But had we gotten the NES in 87, we likely never would've got the Atari, and almost certainly wouldn't have developed anywhere even remotely approaching the kind of appreciation for it that we had. So, I think it worked out the way it was supposed to have.
Anyway, my Christmas 89 story was such a special moment to me that in 2012, I published it as a memoir in Retrogaming Times Monthly, recorded myself reading it just prior to the 2017 launch of my show in holiday season 2016, and tacked it onto the back of a later release which revealed a new side project of my show, as well as told the story of my second most meaningful Christmas, Christmas 1992.
The production quality of the Christmas 89 recording is atrocious, though. I was a total noob! BGM too loud, mic being blown out constantly, and so on. So, I think for the 30th anniversary, which will be this upcoming Christmas 2019, I'll re-record the memoir with the much better production quality values that I'm capable of now.
In the meantime, I don't know if hyperlinks are forbidden here or not, so I'll try to share links in a separate follow-up comment. Should that follow-up comment get blocked by the system and you never see it, look on YouTube either for "Nerd Noise Radio Channel F introduction", which starts with a little shop talk, then goes into the Christmas 92 memoir before finally rebroadcasting the Christmas 89 story. Or if all you care about is the Christmas 89 story, just look up "Nerd Noise Radio presents 'The Fire and the Glory'", and you'll get to skip straight to it. In the separate post where I attempt to include links, I will share the links to both. If you do go straight to the Christmas 89 story, please don't hold the production quality against me. It was a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away.
Cheers!
Re: Arcade Archives Donkey Kong Jr. Is Swinging Onto A Switch Near You This Week
SO.MUCH.YES!!!!! This is a moment I've been waiting for!
I have the NES version, and a bunch of others, like Atari 7800, Colecovision, Intellivision, and the like - no 2600, unfortunately, though I did have it as a kid, so I've experienced it. But my experience with the arcade original is so limited and from so long ago that I don't even really remember anything about the particulars of the version at all. I'll be going into it as fresh and green as possible.
One thing Hamster's DK and Mario Bros. showed me is just how much further from arcade perfect the NES ports are than I had envisioned. So, I expect Hamster's DKjr to be about as fresh and novel an experience for me as old school DKjr can be to someone who already has so many other ports of it.
Bring it on!
Cheers!
Re: Phantasy Star Joins The Sega AGES Line On Switch Today
PSG or FM soundtrack, or do you get to choose?
I generally tend to prefer more [quote unquote] "16-bit sounds" to more [quote unquote] "8-bit sounds" at large, but for whatever reason, I find myself still preferring a lot of Mastersystem PSG to Mastersystem FM in a lot of cases.
And by and large, that's the case with Phantasy Star as well. In fact, the PSG version of the shop theme is one of my all time favorite tracks! Feels soooooo good! I would be tremendously disappointed if it locked you into FM. Although, I would only be so much less disappointed if it locked you into PSG, because there's a lot of good stuff on the FM side as well.
Anyway, anybody know?
Thanks!
Re: Review: Warframe - A Technical Marvel That Pushes The Boundaries Of Free-To-Play Action On Switch
I've only logged an hour or two into Warframe so far, but frankly, unless it loses its luster real fast, I think if anything, I probably like it BETTER than Destiny!
Plus, it's free, alternative, and [comparably] underground. It kinda has the same mystique to me as Linux, like it is "the 'Linux' of Destiny". Okay, that just made me sound like a super duper dork, I'm sure!!
And yes, I thought all things considered, DOOM and Wolfenstein looked not too bad on Switch. But this? This looks a lot better!
Panic Button are total badasses!!!
Cheers!!
Re: Nintendo Switch System Update 6.2.0 Is Now Available
The stabity improvements in 6.2.0 makes me feel like a multibillionaire who was just awarded a check for $10,000. I mean, pure gain, I suppose. But the thrilless kind that you'll likely never even perceive.
I'm not complaining about gain, I guess. We'll take it! Why not? But hopefully some not too far distant update will offer a bit more zest. I'd say "sizzle" instead, but that'd be too easily misconstrued to imply a Note 7 sort of situation.
Cheers!
Re: Nintendo Reiterates It Has "Absolutely No Plans" To Offer First-Party Games As Cross-Platform Titles
I think Furukawasan's stance is PERFECT just so long as "as long as it's technically feasible" doesn't become a cop-out to get out of putting a little elbow grease into making the thing work. I think the "open 3rd, closed 1st" is the perfect position to hold, and hopefully it becomes just the default expectation across the whole industry.
Re: Nintendo Adds Trio Of Games To Switch Online NES Library Next Week
FINALLY!!
I've been driving myself crazy checking daily for the update!
I know the new game cadence is monthly, but is it always gonna be around the middle of the month? If so, that's okay. I can wait till then if I know that's when it's gonna be going into it. The path that sucks is to think it's gonna be the front of the month and then drive yourself absolutely mad checking in futility for updates over and over.
I'm just glad to have a date for them now, frankly.
Cheers!
Re: Shin'en's Mystery Switch Game Is Physics Puzzler Art Of Balance
An update to my earlier comment: Okay, so now that I've had a chance to research the game more, and see it on all the systems it came out on - including PS4, I have abetter idea of what we're dealing with.
First, I've got to say that I absolutely ADORE this soundtrack! This is TOTALLY my kind of music! I'll buy this game just for the soundtrack!! Every track is like sonic heaven for me! I love how it both relaxes and pumps me up at the same time and in equal measure! It's like an "eargasm" soaked in CBD oil!
Second, watching YouTube videos on a smartphone screen, it's hard to appreciate nuance, and I'm sure that differences that are barely perceptible on my Pixel 2 XL will just leap right out at me on my 43" 4K TV. That said, I can see very little difference between the Switch and WiiU graphics. Then again, I can't see much difference between the WiiU and the PS4 version either. And I imagine the Switch version will meet the two in the middle. Indeed, with as basic as this game is, I wouldn't be surprised if it's closer to the top than the bottom. But with as [at least superficially] similar as the WiiU and PS4 version are, I think the Switch version will visually slot in the pocket pleasantly.
Yeah, I'm looking forward to this game. Although with it being a glorified minigame with such availability already on systems both technically upmarket and down market, I do kimda feel like as much hype and buildup and secrecy as there was to the Switch release was maybe a bit excessive?
Lastly, though decidedly inferior, I was actually pleasantly surprised by how good the original Wii version looked! Hell, even the 3DS version exceeds expectations! A very good looking game wherever it is to be found!
Re: Shin'en's Mystery Switch Game Is Physics Puzzler Art Of Balance
I was [very cautiously, very guardedly] hoping to hear that Shin'en and Nintendo ("Shin'tendo", anyone?) had forged an alliance to bring us a great F-Zero game, leveraging the strengths of both companies and their pedigrees for excellent racers, and masterful handling of the relatively stingy Switch hardware.
I knew going into it not to get my hopes up TOO high. But it just felt so good, and felt so right, and felt so, I dunno, plausible, that I couldn't help but get a little excited!
So, well, compared to that, it's hard not to feel that this is a letdown. But just about anything would be a letdown compared to that. So, I'm gonna shake it off, and give this game a good hard look!
I never played it on the other systems, so it's fresh to me. But given the kind of feedback it's received on past outings, and the respect that Shin'en has won from me, odds are pretty high that I'll plunk down on it. From what I've seen in the pictures, the visual styling is nice, and given Shin'en's reputation for getting the most out of the Switch, I hope they'll pump it as far as they can in the eye candy and performance department.
That it'll look and play much better than Wii and 3DS is pretty much a given. But hopefully it'll be to the WiiU version what FastRMX was to Fast Racing Neo!
It may be strange hearing me talk about how much I care about graphics when we're talking about a puzzle game on the Switch, of all places. But as far behind the rest of the current crop as it is, it's still meaningfully ahead of the previous systems, and still capable of some great looking stuff.
I hope (with the confidence of past experience) that Shin'en will deliver there!
Cheers!
Re: Random: Fans Ask For A Philips CD-i Classic, Philips Says "We Will Try Our Best"
I have a real CD-i....and I STILL would want this thing hardcore!
I have roughly 45 consoles spanning the history of gaming, maybe a few more, and about 25 or so of them are "indisputably retro". Do you know how many of them I would -NOT- put down money for a mini for? None of them! I want minis for all of them!!!
So bring on the CD-i mini! Hell, bring on the Odyssey 2 and TI99/4a minis! All the things!!!
Re: Experience PlayStation One Era Graphics On Switch With Survival Horror Back In 1995
Looks like the "lens of nostalgia" is beginning to shift a little!
Re: Head Of Abstraction Games Addresses Technical Performance Of The Switch
@EasyDaRon And that's definitely not an invalid point. But it doesn't make me feel that much better about it. It would still fall under a "well you either couldn't or wouldn't figure out how to make it work" situation, and in my mind, would still harken back to a situation where "infeasible" is the better word than impossible.
And ultimately it still doesn't move me off the platform that sees a 100% correlation between the words "impossible" and "cop out". To be fair, it does crack open the door to a third option besides sheer laziness or sheer incompetence in the form of simply "being too resource strapped to manage / justify it"...but even in that situation, it's still a matter of "we can't", and NOT a matter of "Switch can't". But the rhetoric is still generally couched in terms of the latter, and thus, it still ultimately falls under the umbrella of my original critique. It's still blame shifting to the system, rather than owning up to it as a developer.
Now, I know not everyone does this, and my critique is certainly not aimed towards them. In those cases, I hope they'll figure it out and join the party later.
Also, I know that my initial reply was super duper long, so it would be easy for a minor point to be lost in the shuffle of so much text. But to be fair, I did cover the financials side of it too - in passing, at least. It's an angle that I did not fail to anticipate, I suppose you could say.
Cheers!
Re: Ubisoft Will Not Release Rainbow Six Siege On The Nintendo Switch
This is a copy/paste of what I said in the comments of the Abstraction article. But I feel they're just as relevant here on this article.
BEGIN COPY/PASTE
The Switch is definitely the least powerful of the current systems, of that there's no dispute. And the Switch port of a game is always going to be the [technically] "least" version of a game, of this there is no doubt either. However, I am immediately suspicious when someone says that xyz game is literally "impossible."
No doubt that compromises and concessions and adjustments are required to make such demanding games possible under the limitations that the Switch hardware places on the developers. It could well be said that "perfect" ports may indeed be impossible. But adjusted ports? Scaled ports?
My knowledge of game hardware is a bit more shallow and abstract on today's hardware than it is with the 8 and 16-bit systems where I am at my best, so I suppose I do stand open to some correction, but "impossible" doesn't seem like the right word here at all. Perhaps the amount of concessions required would be so extreme that it would make the game "infeasible"....but "impossible?"
I just have a really hard time buying it.
When I hear this, whether I'm justified in doing so or not, my mind immediately goes to "well this developer is just somewhere along a spectrum of 'too lazy' and/or 'too incompetent' to do it." Perhaps they feel that the work required to "optimize" the game for such a system would be so cost and time demanding that it would be a losing venture for them even if it sold like gangbusters. Or maybe they're so in love with the look and feel of the PS4.0-level experience that they can't stand the thought of seeing it in a PS3.5-level state. Who knows....but "impossible?"
I mean, if they don't want to make, and would rather shut themselves off from the revenue stream, so be it. It's as much [or more] their loss as it is mine. I do own the other systems, and will buy the game for one of them instead, if I want the thing badly enough. But Switch is by far my favorite system, and I spend more time on it than I do on all the other systems - combined. So there would certainly be games which I could justify getting on Switch that I probably wouldn't be able to justify elsewhere for as much less often as I play those systems.
Furthermore, I'm not gonna become so radical on this point as to go so far as to automatically hard-boycott a game just on principle everytime the developers threw the Switch under the bus to get out of making a game for it. However, the bad blood that such a move generates in me definitely does reduce the probability of my buying their game simply because it creates an additional barrier to my taking the plunge. It is certainly possible for my desire of a much wanted game to muscle past this barrier, but a number of less strongly desired games will be stopped up short by the obstacle.
Either way, as soon as they say "impossible", my respect for them goes right out the window, and the likelihood of their getting any money from me (or at least, anywhere near as much money from me) goes down appreciably. They hurt their cause badly - even if only within the confines of my own wallet.
So yeah, my face darkens, and my pulse quickens, and my BS alarm goes absolutely crazy every time I hear that. Look, the Switch is not a powerful system. Granted. In fact, I would join in the chorus of people lamenting that Nintendo hadn't at the very least put the X2 in the thing right off the bat. I wish it we're more powerful. And certainly, as DOOM and Wolfenstein show, the concessions that need made on such limited hardware are indeed great. But those games were "impossible" too....until Panic Button came along. If Panic Button can do it, I don't see any non-damning reason why any other developer can't do it also.
And a huge thanks to Panic Button, not just for the surprisingly excellent Switch ports of high end games that I've put so much time into and gotten so much enjoyment out of, but also for just exposing the lie which I had sensed from the very earliest days regarding the supposed "impossibility" of big game ports on the system. Even Abstraction, for as critical a tone as they're taking of the hardware, is still....making a big port for it....where's everybody else, then? Their excuses are getting thinner and thinner.
I can only imagine the Rainbow Six Seige guys being beyond pissed at Panic Button....and you know what?....I find the thought of those guys' anger at the exposure......simply.....delicious! Now hopefully it'll motivate them to get off their asses and figure the damned thing out.
Cheers!!!
END COPY/PASTE
Cheers!
Re: Head Of Abstraction Games Addresses Technical Performance Of The Switch
The Switch is definitely the least powerful of the current systems, of that there's no dispute. And the Switch port of a game is always going to be the [technically] "least" version of a game, of this there is no doubt either. However, I am immediately suspicious when someone says that xyz game is literally "impossible."
No doubt that compromises and concessions and adjustments are required to make such demanding games possible under the limitations that the Switch hardware places on the developers. It could well be said that "perfect" ports may indeed be impossible. But adjusted ports? Scaled ports?
My knowledge of game hardware is a bit more shallow and abstract on today's hardware than it is with the 8 and 16-bit systems where I am at my best, so I suppose I do stand open to some correction, but "impossible" doesn't seem like the right word here at all. Perhaps the amount of concessions required would be so extreme that it would make the game "infeasible"....but "impossible?"
I just have a really hard time buying it.
When I hear this, whether I'm justified in doing so or not, my mind immediately goes to "well this developer is just somewhere along a spectrum of 'too lazy' and/or 'too incompetent' to do it." Perhaps they feel that the work required to "optimize" the game for such a system would be so cost and time demanding that it would be a losing venture for them even if it sold like gangbusters. Or maybe they're so in love with the look and feel of the PS4.0-level experience that they can't stand the thought of seeing it in a PS3.5-level state. Who knows....but "impossible?"
I mean, if they don't want to make, and would rather shut themselves off from the revenue stream, so be it. It's as much [or more] their loss as it is mine. I do own the other systems, and will buy the game for one of them instead, if I want the thing badly enough. But Switch is by far my favorite system, and I spend more time on it than I do on all the other systems - combined. So there would certainly be games which I could justify getting on Switch that I probably wouldn't be able to justify elsewhere for as much less often as I play those systems.
Furthermore, I'm not gonna become so radical on this point as to go so far as to automatically hard-boycott a game just on principle everytime the developers threw the Switch under the bus to get out of making a game for it. However, the bad blood that such a move generates in me definitely does reduce the probability of my buying their game simply because it creates an additional barrier to my taking the plunge. It is certainly possible for my desire of a much wanted game to muscle past this barrier, but a number of less strongly desired games will be stopped up short by the obstacle.
Either way, as soon as they say "impossible", my respect for them goes right out the window, and the likelihood of their getting any money from me (or at least, anywhere near as much money from me) goes down appreciably. They hurt their cause badly - even if only within the confines of my own wallet.
So yeah, my face darkens, and my pulse quickens, and my BS alarm goes absolutely crazy every time I hear that. Look, the Switch is not a powerful system. Granted. In fact, I would join in the chorus of people lamenting that Nintendo hadn't at the very least put the X2 in the thing right off the bat. I wish it we're more powerful. And certainly, as DOOM and Wolfenstein show, the concessions that need made on such limited hardware are indeed great. But those games were "impossible" too....until Panic Button came along. If Panic Button can do it, I don't see any non-damning reason why any other developer can't do it also.
And a huge thanks to Panic Button, not just for the surprisingly excellent Switch ports of high end games that I've put so much time into and gotten so much enjoyment out of, but also for just exposing the lie which I had sensed from the very earliest days regarding the supposed "impossibility" of big game ports on the system. Even Abstraction, for as critical a tone as they're taking of the hardware, is still....making a big port for it....where's everybody else, then? Their excuses are getting thinner and thinner.
I can only imagine the Rainbow Six Seige guys being beyond pissed at Panic Button....and you know what?....I find the thought of those guys' anger at the exposure......simply.....delicious! Now hopefully it'll motivate them to get off their asses and figure the damned thing out.
Cheers!!!
Re: Feature: What Does Nintendo's Shutdown Of ROM-Sharing Sites Mean For Video Game Preservation?
If I can't find the precise right spot to land in the tension of this situation (a spot that probably has as many proposed locations as people considering the question), then I'm gonna err on the side of ROMs and emulators, not on the sides of major corporations - even corporations that I generally hold in the highest of regard, such as Nintendo.
Considering that ROMs and Emators are not precisely a perfectly binary black and white in terms of legality, the policy I take personally has been to secure ROMs only of the games I otherwise already legitimately own through other means. This, of course, would be for purposes of playing upstairs on the computer, or on a laptop on the go, rather than having to dust off an actual retro console, blow into the cart a bunch of times, and then fiddle with wires to enjoy them as they were originally intended on my big CRT, isolated from the rest of the house and household in a stark basement. But not only is that it is cumbersome to use real hardware, I also feel like every time I do that, I run the risk of equipment failure - especially on CD-Rom, or floppy-based systems, or hell, even of the tube TV itself.
When, as an example, I want to listen to music "the best way", as an end in of itself, I fire up the turntable and spin some vinyl. But 99.9% of my music listening is done via streaming on the internet, 75-80% because of convenience, but 20-25% because I don't want to add wear to the vinyl or the stylus, or expose the old turntable, stereo, or speakers to the risk of a failure I couldn't readily afford to rectify. It's exactly the same with retro gaming. I still believe that the premier way to retro game is on real hardware, over a tube TV. But 80-90-hell, to 95% of the time, that's not how I want to retro game, for the same mix of convenience, and old hardware/media presentation reasons as why so precious little of my music consumption time is on vinyl.That 80-95% of the time, what I'm gonna want to do instead is to retro game via emulation, from the comfort of a non-sub-terranian basement dungeon, on a comfy couch, with the convenience of a wireless controller, and over the beauty of a 43" 4K TV with a good scanline simulator so that the picture looks as close to CRT accurate as possible.
Historically, as I say, I've always limited this just to games I already own. But what about the games I will own in the future, after the crackdown comes, and all the ROMs are gone, and I can't just go and get them anymore? The thought of giant corporate juggernauts completely erasing this way to enjoy games seems distinctly dystopian to me, and as such I have at no point over the course of these developments been able to feel anything even remotely approaching celebration, even if the sites taken down were indeed bad actors, and Nintendo was perhaps not even wrong to have done so. Instead all I can perceive is the blackest cloud descending, and so not only will I now act in renewed vigor and haste to secure ROM copies of my games, but perhaps I will also go ahead and plan for the future by downloading beyond my physical collection in anticipation of that day. Perhaps if I have the conviction to do so, I can put the ROMs for the games I don't own into a separate folder the emulators can't see, so that it would take enough work to access them that it properly disincentivizes my playing them until Ican secure a hard copy to justify it.
So, I guess that's where I stand, I can do no other. So help me, Zod!
Cheers!
[Edit: sorry for all the typos. Stupid GBoard!]
Re: Random: This Switch User Interface Mock-Up Has Us Longing For More Features
I love the Switch. It's my favorite system of the current generation, and possibly even my favorite system of all time. But I definitely think the UI is completely uninspiring. I mean, it's functional, and I guess it's clean, but it could be sooooooo much more. I would love to see something like this render happen in real life.
However, I think the higher priority is the absolutely the eShop. That place is a right mess. I definitely think that needs to be worried about first. It would be nice if they added music (with maybe an off toggle for those who don't want it. But that certainly is secondary to the rest of it.
Re: Nintendo And Moleskine Team Up For Smart-Looking Range Of Mario Accessories
Not really interested in the bag, but I would definitely fancy one of those journals!
Re: Review: Johnny Turbo's Arcade: Sly Spy (Switch eShop)
Yay! I didn't even know this was coming to Switch! I've wanted to play this game for quite some time!
I've been familiar with its soundtrack for a while with its interesting mixed usage of YM3812 (9ch 2op FM / 6ch 2op + 5ch rhythm section) and YM2203 (3ch 4op FM + 3ch PSG). For perspective, that's like pairing a Windows PC using an Ad-Lib sound card with an NEC PC88 not using the more advanced OPNA sound enhancer. I can't think off the top of my head of any other arcade games which used that sound combo. If anyone in the know knows of any others, please let me know so I can check them out!
While it lacks the complexity and freedom of an OPM/MSM setup of things like the CPS1 soundboards that Capcom often used, it also lacks the brash, harsh quality that often accompanies them. This is a much smoother sound. It's a really interesting sound stage, with a number of good tracks - my favorite of which saw feature on my VGM Podcast (Nerd Noise Radio) - all the way back on episode 2, which was late Jan 2017. It was the theme to stages 4 and 7. Third to final track of the episode. It also was listener-picked to appear in the "Best of 2017" episode from March of this year (episode 25).
Anyway, I've known and loved the soundtrack for a while now, and have also been acquainted with screen shots, and their "better than 'best of both worlds compromise' of Sega Genesis and Super NES" that the arcade games of the period frequently bestowed upon us (equal or better resolution and sprite work than the Genesis - which beat SNES in those regards, paired with higher color count and special effects richness than SNES - which in its turn, beat Genesis in those regards). It was best of both, but with even more cowbell. So I really admire and cherish the visuals from the period's arcade games because of that. They still look just about as fresh and even stunning to me now in the late twenty-teens and in my late 30's as they did in my childhood in the 80's and 90's.
Those kind of visuals, plus the predominance of FM synthesis-based sound hardware, and it's no wonder the period remains to this day for me my favorite era in the history of the arcade. When it's a game I have the acute nostalgia of memories of direct experience with (aka, if I've played the damned thing), even better. But this formula is so magical and powerful for me that even with only the diffuse, generic nostalgia for the general "recipe", even games I've never played in my life before - like this one - still appeal to me BIG TIME!
And now, I finally get to play it! I'll be rushing to buy it straightaway!!
Cheers!!
Re: Indie Dev tinyBuild Is Announcing Six New Switch Games In Live A Stream Tomorrow
I wanna see Lovely Planet and Lovely Planet Arcade! While I have them already on PC and can play them in 4K, I'd gladly go down to 720p (1080p docked) to be able to enjoy those charming masterpieces on the go!
There are a number of other games on the list that look interesting, but those are the ones I really want!
Now, I see Lovely Planet on the list, but not Lovely Planet Arcade. Was that one developed by someone else? It's been long enough since I played that I might not be remembering the developer logo screens right.
Re: Random: Orchestra Pranks Conductor With An Impromptu Rendition Of The Mii Channel Tune
This is wonderful! I love it!
Re: Samurai Shodown II Slashes Its Way To The Switch eShop Next Week
This is actually one of two games I have in actual hard copy for a real deal Neo Geo AES. The other one....is actually Samurai Showdown 1!
Re: Analysts Suggest Nintendo Switch May Have Sold 14.6 Million, Trounced Wii U Lifetime Sales
@Hyrule I agree! Dreamcast was great! I still have mine too! First significant purchase I made as a married man. I still have the same wife too!
I wanted it on launch day (9/9/99 here in the US), but due to payday cycle incompatibility, and lack of better planning ahead, I wasn't able to get it til like 9/14 or 9/15. Hey! Might not be launch day....but it was still launch week, right?
Re: Analysts Suggest Nintendo Switch May Have Sold 14.6 Million, Trounced Wii U Lifetime Sales
@Brutchie-bear @SLIGEACH_EIRE Seconded, Brutchie!
Re: Analysts Suggest Nintendo Switch May Have Sold 14.6 Million, Trounced Wii U Lifetime Sales
@TheOpponent I just wanna reach out to all the people on the net who were so loudly and obnoxiously certain that this thing was dead before it launched and was gonna be a spectacular failure - the 'Dreamcast' of Nintendo, I even heard people say - and just say "Hey! How ya doing? Sooooooo, about that whole 'Switch being a miserable failure' thing...."
Re: Analysts Suggest Nintendo Switch May Have Sold 14.6 Million, Trounced Wii U Lifetime Sales
@Anti-Matter well, I was just keeping it to the current systems.
I have a grand total of (give or take) 45 systems going even further back than Atari VCS (aka Atari 2600). So trying to create a list that's truly "exhaustive" for me, would've just been too monumental.
I know the 4th gen and 3rd gen systems would figure very high on that list though. And 4th gen is one of only two gaming generations throughout the entirety of gaming history where Nintendo's entry was not either first or tied for first for me. 5th gen was the other.
Although, there is a difference between them: whereas in the 4th, I was not disappointed with Super Nintendo at all, and thought it was perfectly in keeping with the levels of "Nintendo Awesome" we've come to expect throughout the years, and it was instead, simply [for me] outshined by a very short-lived burst from temporarily even more awesome competition, the N64 in the 5th I actually was a little bit disappointed in, and felt that PS1 filled the gap magnificently.
Anyway, that's neither here nor there, I suppose. I do suppose I should've included WiiU in my list, though, since it is still having stuff made for it.
The trouble is, I don't quite know exactly what to do with it. I know I'd put it ahead of Vita, and behind 3DS, PC, and Switch. Whether I put it ahead of, behind, or alongside the PS4 and XB is where I'm having trouble.
I think in a world without PS4 Pro, or XB1X, I'd put it ahead of, or at least on par with them (probably ahead). However, in a world where there is not only those significantly more powerful versions of the consoles, but also a world where Switch has taken almost all of the WiiU's momentum, I go back to what I said just a moment ago: I don't really know quite what to do with it.
I guess I'd probably put it just behind them, given our current climate. Ask me again 10 minutes, though, and I might've changed my mind again.
Cheers!
Re: Analysts Suggest Nintendo Switch May Have Sold 14.6 Million, Trounced Wii U Lifetime Sales
I used to say I was a "PC and Switch first" gamer, and a "PS4 and XB1 second" gamer. But if I were to be truly honest with myself, I am really a "Switch first, PC second, XB1/PS4 third" gamer. Or heck, if we're being super thorough, "Switch first, PC second, 3DS third, XB1 / PS4 fourth, Vita fifth".
I may appeal to the other systems for their manifold merits, but Switch has become center, Switch has become front, and barring extenuating circumstances, Switch is where I look first, and where the conversation begins concerning multiplatform games, even though the PS4, XB1, and especially the PC are all more powerful, and can provide better visuals - though I have yet to be particularly disappointed with any Switch ports that I've played thus far!!
There's just something so magical about this system! It's not just a console, it's a portable (and a tabletop - and increasingly becoming a tablet) But it's also not just a portable (or tabletop or tablet), but is also a console! And since the system performs at a higher spec level when docked - though the extra power is not actually in the dock itself, and most games take advantage of that extra power with enhanced visuals or whatever else, that console designation is not just the portable experience smeared on a bigger screen, but is its own actual experience! I'm not tethered to the couch, but neither am I marooned to the small screen! And I get specific perks from each approach! Nothing else touches that! And rare to never does the (only so significant) extra performance capabilities of the XB1 / PS4 ever feel worth surrendering the Switch's manifold benefits to have.
Maybe when I start deep-diving mods in PC versions of games, I'll go back to being "Switch and PC first", but for now, I tend to go to Switch first. It's the pocket-sized master of the universe!
Cheers!
p.s. even if PS4/XB1 rank further back for me, that doesn't mean I don't still want a PS4 Pro / XB1X, and with how insanely inflated PC GPU upgrades are right now thanks to all the cryptocurrency nonsense, I'm gonna live with my GTX1070 for now, and wait out upgrades next year's tax time. This year, then, assuming funds allow, I'll plan on taking the opportunity presented to pick up the Pro and (or) the 1X. Should be good times!
Re: Super Meat Boy's Day One Switch Sales Almost As High As Its Xbox 360 Debut
I dabbled with it on PC and XB360. I got a bit more serious about it on PS4 and Vita.
I'm one of the few, the proud, the crazy: those who actually prefer Scattle's PS-versions re-score of the soundtrack over the legendary Danny Baronosky's original OST (though by mid-year this year, both scores will have received "air time" on my VGM podcast).
I don't know whether I'll buy it on Switch or not. If it's cheap enough, I will, because as is the case with so many other games, I don't think there's a single better platform for the game than the "big screen or small, go anywhere" Nintendo Switch. I think that unless it's just totally botched, it can't help but be the best version of the game just on account of the shape-shifting, context agnostic nature of the system itself on which it finds itself.
But I have the game on so many platforms already, and have only been so in love with it that if it's too expensive, I'll probably pass, or at least hold off. Though Switch is by far my favorite current gen system, and even though I think its plusses far outweigh its minuses, the whole "Switch Tax" thing is real, and is a totally valid complaint. So, if this thing just costs way more than the other versions that I already own, then I might have a hard time justifying it.
I guess you can summarize everything I've said in this one pithy sentence: Yes, I want it, but am not sure yet whether or not I can justify it.
I do hope it'll include the Scattle OST, or best of all, the option for either. But I get that there may be Sony licensing things that will "scuttle Scattle"....see what I did there?
Cheers!
Re: Aonuma Wants to Keep Zelda: Breath of the Wild's Freedom in Future Games
I love both the open world style of BotW and the almost on-rails style of Skyward Sword. But given the two, I really think I do prefer BotW's open-world approach. Not only did it completely revolutionize my favorite (or second favorite) IP in all of gaming (Metroid being the other), but it opened my mind and my heart to open world gaming in general, with franchises like Minecraft and Skyrim, that I had previously been shut off to opening up to me - to wonderfully delightful effect.
However, one thing I do not like about BotW, for as much as I love it, is the lack of dungeons, and dedicated items in each dungeon. While I did legitimately enjoy the Divine Beasts, they did not feel like adequate substitutes to me, and neither did the shrines, although I loved them too.
What I would love to see, then, is something that's mostly like BotW, with the go-anywhere, open-world nature, massive world, tons of shrines and all sorts of side-quests, but with several actual dungeons, dedicated prizes, and maybe a little more music.
I think you should be able to access any dungeon right from the start, but whether they're equals in terms of beatability right off the bat, or whether they take an almost Mega Man approach where they're easier in a certain order thanks to items you get, I'm okay with either way (probably slightly preferring the latter). I also want all four corners of the world map to be accessible right from the word go. But maybe have a few special parts of the map which are not mission critical that can only be accessible with certain items you get in dungeons - like, of course, the hookshot.
So, 80% BotW, 20% the rest of Zelda, with a splash of Mega Man thrown in on the dungeon ordering. That would be just about perfect!
Or, an alternative idea: just as the Mario Universe has three branches now: direct descendents of Super Mario Bros (like new Super Mario Bros. U), descendents of Super Mario 64 (like Super Mario Odyssey), and descendents of Super Mario 3D Land (like Super Mario 3D World), perhaps the Zelda universe can similarly fork, and we can have open-world epics, as well as the old beloved on-rails types.
That's unlikely for such big works as Zelda games, though, so I'm probably just stuck rooting for the 80% BotW, 20% other Zelda beast I described above. There are certainly much worse fates than that!
Cheers!
Re: The Original Double Dragon Brings Street Justice To The Switch Next Week
I'm very much looking forward to this. Although I grew up playing the NES version, and have since gone on to own several home ports of the game, the arcade version always held that magic mystique of being the "perfect" Double Dragon.
I played it in the arcade countless times as a kid, once or twice at one of the local barcades in Des Moines more recently, and have even played it in emulation before. But to be able to own it and play it whenever without shelling out big bucks for an upright - as well as the ability to play it on the big screen or the small, at home or on the go, all adds up to a seriously desired purchase for me!
The NES version was timeless. The Mega Drive (Genesis where I'm from) version is excellent. But the Arcade is the pinnacle! Bring it on!
Cheers!
Re: Panic Not, Panic Button Is Handling The Switch Port Of Wolfenstein II
Well, as one who owns DOOM for PC, XB1, and Switch, and has played all the way through it on all but the XB, I can say that I had just as much fun playing and beating the game on Switch in 720p Low (or less) at 30fps over standard Joycons as I had playing and beating it on a PC that handled it in 4K Ultra / Nightmare, at close to 60fps over KBM.
Beyond the game just feeling and playing great, I even managed to still think it looked great despite the gulf between its performance and the PCs being so admittedly chasmic.
And contrary to popular feedback which said the visuals are actually more appealing in undocked mode than in docked (as they supposedly better hide the seams in the presentation), thanks to the excellent upscaling, much stronger colors, and advanced motion technology of my Sony XBR43X800D UHD TV, which very convincingly simulates higher fps, as well as the extra power of docked mode keeping the dynamic resolution drops more at bay, I actually quite preferred the docked experience over the undocked, and spent probably 60-70% of my total campaign time playing in that mode instead - despite the fact that the obvious draw of the Switch version in the first place is being able to play it on the go.
Anyway, all that to say that I felt the Switch version of DOOM was FANTASTIC from the perspective of "all things considered", and even with that perspective turned off, it was still not a bad port at all. Panic Button has made a winner here, and if they can do it again, they'll have made another.
I've not played the new Wolfenstein yet. I think I'll wait for the Switch version. And if it's even close to as a good a port of even close to as good a game as DOOM, then I'm guaranteed to love it! And unlike with DOOM, where I had the disadvantage of being intimately familiar with a much better graphical presentation prior (though I was not disappointed with the Switch at all), I will have the benefit in Wolfenstein of having the Switch's visuals be my first exposure, meaning they won't feel scaled down compared to past experiences. Moreover, if I like Wolfenstein enough on Switch, maybe I'll buy it on PC later, and then those far superior graphics can be experienced in light of my then past experiences on Switch, and feel truly spectacular!
I'm very much looking forward to it!
Cheers!
Re: Site News: A Fond Farewell from Nintendo Life Editor, Thomas Whitehead
It will be sad to see you go, Thomas! But thank you for everything you've done to make this site what it is, and I don't think I'm speaking out of turn to say that the community will miss you, but wishes you all the best! Go be as awesome in your new role as you were in this one! And don't lose the geeky passion that made this all what it was for you in the first place!
Cheers!
Re: Retro Alert! Mega Drive Is Getting A New Arcade-Style Shooter In 2018
I'm a real fan of Savage Regime's work! I've featured him several times on the Nerd Noise Radio social media outlets, and one track of his will actually even be appearing on the podcast itself in May.
I'd love to hear his works coming straight from my VA6 Mobo equipped Model 1 US Sega Genesis!
Of course, I would imagine this is designed around 50hz PAL clock rather than 60hz NTSC clock, so the music will probably play too fast, I'd suspect.
The rest of the game looks and sounds good too! Depending on the price, I may well end up backing this!
Cheers!
Re: Street Heat Will Burn Some Rubber On Switch Next Year
It's certainly something that sounds interesting and attractive. This is one of those game that would be best on Switch though.
Re: Review: Mantis Burn Racing (Switch eShop)
"Motion controls (tilt to steer) are also available if you are so inclined" - pun intended?
This does sound like a good game, though, and yes, I definitely feel like this would be the preferred platform for it as the docked /undocked flexibility would be much more important in this case than 4K.
I'll look into it!
Re: Poll: Have Your Say on the Best Main Series 3D Mario and Zelda Games
@chiefeagle02 Can't we have that cereal back in production again just as it was back when?
Man oh man how I'd want that!
Re: Poll: Have Your Say on the Best Main Series 3D Mario and Zelda Games
I voted....
Zelda
Zelda
Mario
Mario
Zelda
Zelda
I would call Mario my 3rd favorite all-time franchise after Metroid and Zelda. So, Nintendo owns the top three franchises for me. I can't wait to see what Prime 4 is going to be like!
Re: VS. Super Mario Bros. Arcade Archives Release Set for Festive Arrival on Switch
Would I pick up Vs. Super Mario Bros on Switch? ABSOFRIGGINLUTELY!! Bring me some of that Double Dragon action too!!
Re: Feature: Diggin' In The Carts Host Nick Dwyer On How Video Game Music Has Come Of Age
You know, I suppose if ever there were a time to shameless plug my own podcast on Nintendo Life and have it not be totally inappropriate, it'd be now!
I have a video game music podcast that I do - not surprisingly, called "Nerd Noise Radio". Actually, its full name is not "Nerd Noise Radio", but rather "Nerd Noise Radio - Channel 1". Why? Because I envision a future where there's a "Nerd Noise Radio - Channel 2", or a channel 3 or even 4 or 5. Shows that are all video game related, but separate shows that exist independent of each other, besides that they're all under the umbrella of the NNR banner. Some would be pretty much all music and virtually no talking, some would be roughly 50/50 talking / music, and some would be pretty much all talking.
Channel 1, the one that exists presently, is pretty much all music, with virtually no talking. Short, standardized into, completely uninterrupted music block, and then standardized housekeeping outro. Tracklists are given at the end, and are also included in the show notes. They're not actually shared in the intro itself for three reasons: a) to get me off the stage so the music can take over more quickly, b) to leave it up to the listener to decide whether they want to follow along in the show notes, or whether they want to be surprised as they go along, and c) to not follow too closely the format of the non-video-game-related radio program which is my inspiration, and to which my show is my "love letter" - NPR's "Hearts of Space". There's a fine line between the flattery of imitation and the theft of plagiarism, and I want to stay on the safe side of that line - especially considering my outro is basically in lock-step with it.
Some of my episodes are just soundtracks or albums, and in those cases, I just play them in order, so the following doesn't apply for those: but in general, the most important thing for me in creating an episode is not track selection, but track order. Since it's an uninterrupted music block, the idea is to not just throw you a bunch of tracks, but to create one seemless, compelling "sound story". I try to have a clear reason for every single track transition that I make, and make every single track "work" with the others. Sometimes it's like track for like track. Sometimes it's something completely opposite. Sometimes it's a gentle transition, sometimes it's a jarring one. But it's always by design. So the actually ordering of the tracks is far more important to me (and something I take more pride in) than which tracks are actually included.
Where applicable, I try to include a mix of the newest VGM, the oldest VGM, the most "chip", the least "chip", the most iconic, and the most obscure. Thus far, the newest track I've featured in an episode is the title theme from ARMS (Episode 16), and the oldest track I've included is "Theme of the Grid" from Ballblazer on the Atari 8-bit computer / Atari 5200 / Atari 7800 (Episode 1). So, if you like the full spectrum of VGM, then you'll like it here.
Anyway, if you check it out and don't like it, thank you for checking it out. But hopefully you'll at least check out an episode or two. My most recent episode (Episode 17) is a soundtrack episode. So if you wanna hear something where track ordering is a factor, check out Episode 16, which is a free-play episode, Episode 15, which is a focus on Sega CD music, or wait til this coming Friday when Episode 18 comes out, which will be my first "Face-off" episode (a playlist featuring multiple versions of multiple tracks).
There is a dedicated "Channel 1" feed out there, but it's lower fidelity, only goes back a few episodes, and won't feature content from any future "channels" - lastly, if my total monthly output of content exceeds 2hrs, I'll have to create alternate "trimmed down" versions of the episodes for that feed. So the link I'm including instead is to the "All Channels Feed", where none of the above are true. It's still not exactly "hi fidelity", but at least it's original fidelity, plus it goes all the way back to Episode 1, will always be the full-length episode, and will also include the full content of any and all active channels, whenever the other channels go online.
In any case, here ya go:
https://nerdnoiseradio.podbean.com/feed/
Lemme know if you check it out and what you think of it if you do. For those who like engaging conversation, and getting to hear interesting facts about tracks or composers, or "getting to know" your host, then Channel 1 will not be for you, and will seem flat and empty. I have a future channel just for you, but it's not active yet. However, if you're the kind that likes to listen to music while you work, or work out, or clean house, or game, or whatever, then Channel 1 is -PRECISELY- what you're after. Uninterrupted music bookmarked by standardized intros and outros. Unubtrusive, and good tunes! I know some like the one and some like the other, which is why I intend, in time, to offer both. But this one is where it begins.
The format itself of Ch1 episodes never changes, but the fidelity gradually does - as in, Episode 17 is higher fidelity than Episode 1 - so keep that in mind if you start at the beginning. Episodes 1 and 2's music blocks are in mono, but the rest are stereo (where applicable).
Cheers, all!!
Re: Feature: Diggin' In The Carts Host Nick Dwyer On How Video Game Music Has Come Of Age
I am a HUGE fan of video game music, and always have been. In fact, my tastes in music outside of VGM have a tendency to run so parallel to it that I have a hard time "telling which is the chicken, and which is the egg". In other words, did my love for the non-VGM stuff give rise to my love of VGM, or did my love for VGM cause me to love these kinds of musical experience instead? I legitimately have absolutely no idea. I only know that there are great parallels in both and that both bring me tremendous joy.
VGM has also had an interesting evolution over the course of its life. Beginning as a mere tool of simple beeps and noises, into a simplified reflections of certain genres using really basic PSG synths to not so simplified reflections using more advanced FM, Wavetable, and basic ADPCM synths, to non-simplified, often non-synthesized reflections using Redbook audio, and eventually, high end ADPCM systems. Over the course of that time, a gulf began to form between Eastern and Western compositional and sound design styles, which initially widened out quite far before eventually beginning to narrow again a bit.
Over time, we began to see VGM moving away from the melodious to the ambient and then to the outright atmospheric before finally settling into a world that embraced them all. And we've now reached a point of maturity (not just in VGM, but in video games in general) where cutting edge, envelope pushing, technical marvels and soaring epics - usually from major developers - co-exist beautifully with the simplest, most basic, overtly retro, pixel-style game with old-school controls and chip, chippy, or chippish music (all of it blanket labeled, and often times INFURIATINGLY mislabled as "8-bit") - usually from smaller developers.
We live in a present where past and future live together in relative harmony. And that reflects in VGM as well. Leaving us with a scene that includes...well....everything. The biggest, most rousing orchestra pieces, blistering rock and metal, space ambient, club beat, hip hop, Trip-Hop, and J-Pop, Jazz, Jazz Fusion, Progressive Rock, all manner of electronica, simple atmospheric soundstages, and every level of chip complexity - plus any and every possible combination of the above. All sounding convincing and respectable for their respective genres, while also still possessing something uniquely video gamey.
And that's just today's VGM. That doesn't take into account the past 40yrs of gaming history and all its pivotal epochs, and timelessly irresistible offerings.
In fact, arguably my favorite era of all time for VGM was the 4th gen (SNES, Genesis, TG16, Neo Geo, etc). Why? Because by this point, the sound tech had become advanced enough that they were able to do some really deep, expressive, diverse, and complex music - BUT - still rudimentary and limited enough that you couldn't take anything for granted, but had to earn every little thing you got, learn the sound hardware inside and out (ESPECIALLY on the more "traditional synthesis" "old guard" FM and Wavetable - which in general, I actually prefer over the rudimentary first steps into the brave New world that the SNES' SPC700 admittedly amazed us all with) rather than just dump your Casio action onto the system.
And now, VGM has gone on to become less informed and influenced by mainstream music and more informer and influencer of it, with more and more musicians citing it as something that has shaped their musical worldview and has impacted their works.
Yes, I love VGM! No, I LIVE VGM!
Cheers!!!
Re: It's Sci-Fi vs. Fantasy in the Next North American Splatoon 2 Splatfest
Ah! For the first time, a splatfest in which I will have a REALLY hard time picking a team! Call me #teamundecided at the moment. Maybe I'm leaning a little bit fantasy at this point. I dunno.
Re: Delight Your Friends By Sending Them 8-Bit Super Mario iMessages
Well crap! I just switched back to Android last week (I'm the kind that goes back and forth between both at quasi-random times.) So unless or until something like this makes it over here, I'm gonna have to miss out.