@Pillowpants The second con is even weirder, lol. "Won't convert the haters." That's like if a kid got all the test answers right, but his teacher still gave him a B and wrote on the test paper, "Good job, but some of the other students still don't like you." 😂
Woooooow, Nintendo must REALLY be feeling confident about this! Kit and Krysta have talked multiple times about how at Nintendo, words like "excitement" and "surprise" were considered dirty words because they didn't want to set unreasonable expectations among the fans. This has really gotten me floored even more than the GameCube controller packaging data and other recent developments did already. Please just announce this soon, because you're literally killing me right now!
People can say what they want about NSO, but I think it's a great value, whether you're in the basic or the Expansion Pass tier. People have scoffed that Nintendo is probably going to announce a third tier at a higher price point like $100/year or something, but for GameCube games, I would have zero problem paying for that.
Honestly, forget the Switch 2 and just give me GameCube NSO. That's all I need to die happy. If that's what we're getting, I literally think I might cry.
If this was their plan all along, it makes sense why Super Mario 3D All-Stars was a limited-time thing. Maybe we'll eventually get Wii games on NSO. (If they put the English localization of NES Fire Emblem on NSO and give us "Super Mario 40" next year too, all their transgressions will be forgiven.)
I hope Nintendo still continues to remaster GameCube games, though. I'd prefer to have the HD versions of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. I think a ground-up remake of the first two Chibi-Robo games would look amazing, same with the original Luigi's Mansion.
But games like Melee and Double-Dash and Wario World are fine the way they are, and I wouldn't want or expect them to be remade with new graphics. That would be kind of pointless. Just having them on a modern console with online support and being able to play them on the go is more than enough!
Maybe you can install and uninstall individual games within the GameCube NSO app, and if you don't have the storage space, you can stream them from the library. Kind of like how PlayStation Plus gives you the option to stream or download its titles. I think that would be the best solution.
Usually, it's frustrating when Nintendo fails to meet demand time and time again. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results and all that. But in this case, I don't blame Nintendo for being conservative.
Yeah, I think it's just a coincidence, especially considering Inawa is the subordinate.
Now, there's a character named Reggie in Mother 3 who I could see being named after the former NoA president, but if you look at the design, well... you'll see another reason why we'll never get an official localization of that game in the West, lol.
@LeonSKennedy This is the kind of cynical response I was expecting more of. I was asking a genuine question, and people informed me. I wasn't trying to pass my limited knowledge on the guy as objective fact. I commented to get informed because I knew there'd be people on this site who know more than me. Rather than blindly thinking the guy must be a saint based on one interview I saw, I wanted to know the truth. Are we not allowed to do that? Should we just stay in the dark and never ask questions, lest we get mocked and condescended to by someone who thinks themselves morally or intellectually superior?
I mean, I really, really want it. But am I expecting it? Not really. I'd love to be proven wrong, but Nintendo already has a solid lineup for the remainder of this year. They could ride out the rest of 2024 and into January with DKC Returns and then have a presentation in February if they wanted.
@AstroTheGamosian I'm not a fan of Hillary Clinton myself, but that is pretty neat. I may have actually seen that picture, now that I think about it. If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say she was probably just playing Tetris or something and has since gone on to become one of those old people who just plays Candy Crush on her phone, lol.
I'm reminded of a cringe line during one of her 2015 campaigns when she was talking about how the young people are all playing Pokémon Go and said something like, "What we really need is for you all to Pokémon Go to the polls!" and then smiles smugly like she just made thr most clever pun of anyone in history, lol.
I appreciate everybody who took the time to educate me on the Saudi regime and provide links to various sources. I'm frankly surprised I didn't have a bunch of people tell me I shouldn't have bothered commenting if I'm uninformed on the topic and that I was spreading harmful misinformation or something. The only way to combat misinformation is to ask genuine questions, and I got a lot of respectful answers that didn't feel like I was being condescended to. If I asked the same question on Twitter, I'm sure it would have went very differently, and I'd have had a barrage of people re-tweeting me saying, "Get a load of this ****ing moron!" Lol.
I am, of course, aware of how propaganda works, but as someone who doesn't have much pre-existing knowledge about the Saudi government and only had the video to go off of, that's why I poised the question in the first place. I wanted to get a better idea on whether it was all just smoke and mirrors, and it looks like that is indeed the case. I guess I could have just googled it for myself (people on Twitter probably would have also snarkily told me to Google it myself instead of being a nuisance to them, lol) but I like engaging with the community and conversing about such things with real people.
I do have one other question though--people talk about Saudi Arabia mistreating LGBT+ individuals, and I don't doubt that's true. But I thought I remembered hearing once that the Saudi prince, or maybe someone else in royalty, was gay? Who am I thinking of? I read he was made to undergo conversion therapy but it didn't work, and now he was wanting to reform the way his government punishes people for being gay. Where did I hear that? Am I thinking of some other country?
@CriticalHit Their crown prince actually is. He has a squad of buddies he games with online to blow off steam. He talked about it in an interview a while back.
I know people objected to this in the comments back when they first started buying shares in Nintendo and SNK due to various "human rights violations" committed by the Saudi government, but does that apply to the crown prince as well? I watched an interview with him from a year or two ago, and he seemed like a pretty chill guy. He talked about how online gaming with his buddies is a big hobby of his to help blow off steam. It was notable for being Saudi's first interview with a Western journalist in I don't know how long, and he was talking about wanting to make positive changes in the country, have a stronger relationship with neighboring countries like Israel (this was way before Oct 7th happened, so idk what his current thought process is about that one).
And he, expectedly, denied any involvement by the Saudi government in 9/11. Maybe I'm just gullible, but he seemed genuine, I believed him. He talked about how it wouldn't have made any sense, as Bin Laden was a domestic threat even when he was living there, and that's why they expelled him from the country. So, I dunno. My knowledge on Saudi Arabia is very limited, to be honest, but I didn't get bad vibes. Maybe they're changing? Or maybe I'm naive, which is also entirely possible.
@AnonyQ Hey, thanks for responding. I posted a second part to my initial comment, if you'd like to read it, as NL has a strict character limit. I go into more detail there, but I just feel like that reinforces sex stereotypes instead of breaks away from them. I'm curious to know your thoughts.
No spoilers, but if anything, I'd say this game is more closely connected to Ocarina of Time than ALLTP. Some really neat callbacks I wasn't expecting.
I already finished Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. I've also beaten Epic Mickey and finally finished Immortals: Fenyx Rising, so I have an open vacancy. I'll probably go back and play The Plucky Squire, finally.
I'm planning to record my next playthrough today for my YouTube channel, Nintentrovert (shameless plug!) which will probably be Super Mario Galaxy. Yesterday, I just recorded a full playthrough of Sonic Mania and raged trying to get the chaos emeralds and beat the final boss lol, so that will be coming out next week.
Well, good for him, but I'm disappointed he didn't get snatched up by Nintendo after his stellar work. And that he didn't get to revive Rayman like he talked about wanting to do. Maybe Ubisoft can outsource Rayman to him like Microsoft supposedly is to Toys For Bob to make a new Spyro game. Not getting my hopes up though.
This should have been labeled as "Random" instead of "News." The title is a bit misleading and made me think the official Zelda Switch Lite has an OLED screen until I actually clicked the article.
I'm a little skeptical here. My current thinking is that the translation was more or less correct, but SE is trying to do damage control by saying it was taken out of context because they're so worried about offending the Western market. I'd love if Source Gaming or someone could provide a more accurate translation, but that's what my thought process is right now. I mean, it makes all the sense in the world:
Square-Enix tells Japanese developer to make all these arbitrary changes to appease the Western market > Japanese developer complies but isn't happy about it > developer talks badly about the West and somewhat indirectly insults his employer > employer gets upset and gives employee a stern talking-to > employer makes a PR move to save face > everyone is confused
Basically, until we get a proper translation, I'm accusing SE of lying to save face. After all, Yuji Horii is a loose cannon, and this wouldn't be the first time SE has had to sound a literal horn to get him to dial it back after speaking out of line. (He announced the DQ1 and 2 remakes like two years ago when he wasn't supposed to.)
I just recently discovered this YT channel a couple months ago, and it's really wholesome stuff. His family evidently taped everything growing up, he probably has hundreds of hours of VHS footage of opening games on Christmas/birthdays, etc. I've never heard a single curse word either.
He's spoken candidly about losing his father as a teenager and the games that helped him cope through a difficult time. His video on Super Mario Galaxy honestly made me cry, as it was one of the first games that released after his dad passed away. Rosalina's storybook emotionally destroyed him, as one can imagine, and in ways he felt it restored his faith in God because it seemed almost like a sign that everything was going to be okay. It's a great watch, but bring tissues. I wish this dude nothing but positivity. His channel is a breath of fresh air in an increasingly nihilistic and apathetic world.
No spoilers, but the final boss music goes hard. I got to it a couple days ago, and honestly almost started getting emotional by it, lol. That orchestra was COOKING.
Level-5 has a pretty strong partnership with Namco as well, although I guess they go by Bandai-Namco these days and would be "company B." But I'm pretty sure Namco published Ni No Kuni at the very least.
While these are the "traditional" dungeons fans have been asking for, they veer too far on the simplistic side. It's probably because they give you the freedom to create your own solutions, but none of the puzzles felt very cleverly designed. It was all pretty basic stuff, and now that I've beaten the game, not much about the dungeon layouts really stands out in my mind. The only thing I really remember thinking was kinda neat was the ice temple, where you have to change the temperature inside the rooms. But that was the only dungeon with a gimmick that felt like something you'd find in one of the older titles.
That said, it is nice to play a Zelda dungeon where I don't get stuck on a puzzle for an exorbitant amount of time. There are Zelda games where I've gotten stuck in a dungeon as a kid and eventually just put the game down entirely before revisiting it years later. I never found that level of frustration here, but at the same time, there does need to be some level of challenge to make the gameplay stimulating. It's a hard balance to strike, I guess. I do miss the dungeon items that make each one feel more unique and allow for more creative puzzles, though.
The game does make some notable improvements to dungeons, though, such as being able to activate waypoints that let you teleport to different rooms. It reduces on the backtracking and makes navigation way less tedious. I also like how on the map, you can see which rooms that doors and latters lead to. This was a big annoyance in Link's Awakening.
Overall, this is the most enjoyable the exploration has ever been in a 2D Zelda game, with a large map packed with tons of NPC's with side quests. But with that said, the more passive combat isn't very engaging to me. It's a neat concept, but I wish either that Zelda's spin move doubled as a light melee attack or that the Tri Rod could shoot projectiles like a fire/ice rod. The AI of your echoes is often not great, and I would always get really frustrated when my sword meter ran out and I couldn't easily refill it.
I'd still probably give the game a 9/10 though because the exploration was so good, and I also really enjoyed that this game had more of a story than most 2D Zeldas. When it comes to Nintendo games released in 2024 starring a female protagonist who is usually relegated to a side role, I enjoyed this one significantly more than Princess Peach Showtime, which I would only give maybe a 7/10.
Only ever had the 3DS version of Generations growing up as I didn't own a PlayStation or Xbox. I've wanted to play the console version of this game for years after all the good things I've heard. Can't wait for this to come out!
It's wild how the political paradigm has shifted so drastically in the last couple years. It felt like the West was becoming increasingly more and more Liberal, but the pushback has been immense as of late. Elon's takeover of Twitter was a massive turning point.
People are tired of constantly walking on eggshells--our culture's obsession with political correctness is, I believe, one of the leading causes of the depression and anxiety epidemic plaguing us. No one can have a normal human conversation without being paranoid that their words will cause offense, that something they said in a tweet from years ago would be used against them for the rest of their lives. It's not a healthy way to live.
I'm glad people are finally coming to the realization that it's okay to go against the grain, and that the policing of free speech is never a good thing. People also seem to be waking up to the bogus narratives that perpetuate both sides of the media. The free thinkers are the real woke ones!
This comment section, which would have been a lot more "progressive" just a few years ago, has a much more diverse range of opinions, and I think that's really encouraging to see. If you lean Left, that's perfectly fine, but cracking down on free speech and dehumanizing those who think differently under the guise of moral superiority instead of engaging in difficult but constructive conversations isn't okay--regardless of which party perpetuates it. (I'm an Independent, for the record.)
I'm proud of Nintendo Life that I don't see a bunch of deleted comments. I'm hoping they've finally come to the same realization about censoring people's voices. Anyways, I'm looking forward to finally playing Dragon Quest III for the first time, regardless of this nonsense.
Currently alternating between Echoes of Wisdom and Epic Mickey right now, primarily. I played the first couple hours of The Plucky Squire on launch day, but there's just been so many games that it's fallen by the wayside, unfortunately. I'll pick it back up in the coming weeks, though.
I'm wanting to start a new let's play series for my YouTube channel, "Nintentrovert," but I'm not sure which I want to do first! I'm thinking either Super Mario Galaxy or Sonic Mania. Other series I'd like to do in the relatively near future include Rayman Legends, Pac-Man World, A Hat in Time, Zelda: Link's Awakening, Metroid Dread, Super Mario Wonder, and Super Mario Sunshine. I've played all these games before so they aren't blind playthroughs, full disclaimer. Let me know which game you think I should start with! Or, if there's a similar title I didn't name that you'd like me to play! I have a strong bias for platformers if it isn't obvious, but I'm open to playing other stuff on my channel.
The hypocrisy with framerate elitists is that they claim to want a consistent 60 frames a second, but that doesn't account for the frames they miss every time they blink.
It hasn't been a problem for me, personally. Maybe that's because I almost exclusively game on Nintendo hardware so I'm just desensitized to it, I don't know. But I'm several hours into this game and I haven't particularly noticed.
It's certainly nowhere near as bad as Epic Mickey Rebrushed on Switch, which I'm also playing through right now. There are a lot of moments where the game will almost appear to buffer for a couple seconds, dropping down to like 1-5 frames a second here and there. Even that isn't enough to ruin the game for me, but it does make you say "yikes."
But Echoes of Wisdom's framerate isn't perceivable to me, personally. Ocarina of Time only ran at like 20 FPS back on the N64, right? My first time playing it was on NSO, and it took me a while to get used to it. I found it to be very disorienting. Neither this game nor Link's Awakening had that effect on me.
Only a couple games have had such bad framerates that it made me physically unwell. Maybe I could desensitize myself to it, but I find the original SNES Star Fox to be unplayable. The parade level in the Switch version of A Hat in Time, and any of the seafaring sections in Adventure Time: Pirates of the Carribean are also atrocious and will make you feel like you've suffered a stroke. The Switch version of Crash Team Racing had that problem after some updates but I don't know if they fixed it. (It's a much worse problem in fast-paced racing games).
But outside of those handful of examples, every other game I've played has had a frame rate that's been perfectly passable to me. I dunno. I know people said the 30 FPS thing with Thousand-Year Door was enough to make them pass on the game entirely, and I just think that's asinine. But, what do I know?
@Burning_Spear Yeah, I actually grew up with Activision Classics on my PS2, which is the only way I'd even know about those old Atari games. I just want to have it on a modern system that I can play portably. Thank you though!
I guess that's why they said the trailer was a "concept" for their new game. Even if it doesn't make it in the final game though, that's still uncool because what you're essentially doing is false advertising.
The hypocrisy, though, is that a lot of the shovelware on the eShop seems to use AI-generated images and basically directly plagiarize Disney and other IP.
I don't expect to hear about a new Sonic game or anything since Generations isn't even out yet. Probably the only gaming-related announcements would be a cross-promotiin like Sonic in Brawlhalla or an update on the mobile games or something. I'd say it will mostly just be merch. Best case scenario we get a console port of Sonic Dream Team, but I don't even think that's very likely yet.
Geez, this looks like it's gonna be a behemoth in size, lol. I know some people have expressed concern that it won't be as convenient to take on the go, but larger size at least means that playing with a singular Joy-Con will be much more comfortable in the hands for those who play in tabletop mode. A larger size may have also been a necessity to fit all the chip components or whatever in there to make it as powerful as it appears to be.
At the end of the day, this being a significantly more powerful version of the Switch that can stand toe-to-toe with PlayStation and Xbox fidelity is the most important thing, so I can't be too upset. But I was really hoping for like a retractable second screen or something to make it more compatible with DS/3DS games as well as to recreate the asymmetrical multiplayer of Wii U games if one of the screens can be detached and put in the dock while the other syncs up wirelessly and acts as a standalone controller. I even saw one person propose the idea that you could but these two screens back-to-back with each other for some really interesting tabletop play like a game of Battleshio, and I think that could've been awesome.
I had also really hoped the IR cameras would be moved to the top of the controller and that an IR sensor would be in the dock for Wii-level precision pointing. Maybe they've improved gyro enough that it no longer drifts or something. That would be amazing, but I'm probably just coping.
The whole thing with the OG Switch was being a "Swiss army knife" of all of Nintendo's past iterations and just hitting all that DNA into one system. I'd like to have seen them expand upon that. DS' dual screen approach and an included stylus, Wii pointer controls, Wii U asymmetrical gameplay, and even 3DS' stereoscopic 3D. The latter one is a complete pipe dream, but I thought it was such a great effect and not jusy a gimmick. I would pay extra for a 3D handheld.
But, again, while I wish there were more belle and whistles, we're at least getting the essentials. I'd rather there be no gimmicks than for Nintendo to invent some new, crappy ones that nobody cares about. I do hope that they improve upon HD rumble and make it more like the DualSense controller, though! And I'd also like the Joy-Con to be a glossy instead of matte finish and for the colors to actually match this time.
Last two things of note--it's a bummer that it presumably won't be compatible with current Joy-Con or other alternatives. I own several different colors as well as a Hori Split Pad Pro, a GameCube replica split controller, and probably more that I'm forgetting. What about charging the NES replica controllers that don't have a USB port? But I am very happy that it has a built-in microphone, which will be good for porting DS games and also presumably can be used for voice chat.
I would have picked up this game on Switch, but I recently quit my job, so I'm trying to save money where I can. The game is free on PS Premium, so that's where I've been playing it instead. I guess I made a good call. Hopefully this game gets patched later on Switch, though.
This would be a good start toward preserving legacy media, but let's not stop here. I still want the N64 DD, Satellaview, and Virtual Boy games on the service as well.
@Ashina Yeah, between this, LEGO Horizons, and that Sony baseball game coming to Switch... makes me dream of a world where we have games like Ape Escape but also Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, Astro, Sackboy, PaRappa, and Ratchet and Clank on Switch. They'd all feel right at home and do incredibly well. And for those characters to be potential newcomers in Smash. I don't expect it, but it would be the dream. Each day we seem to get at least somewhat closer to that reality, albeit in small ways.
Comments 3,792
Re: Review: Super Mario Party Jamboree (Switch) - Only The Best Game In The Series
@Pillowpants The second con is even weirder, lol. "Won't convert the haters." That's like if a kid got all the test answers right, but his teacher still gave him a B and wrote on the test paper, "Good job, but some of the other students still don't like you." 😂
Re: Switch Online's Expansion Pack Promises "Excitement" In 2025
Woooooow, Nintendo must REALLY be feeling confident about this! Kit and Krysta have talked multiple times about how at Nintendo, words like "excitement" and "surprise" were considered dirty words because they didn't want to set unreasonable expectations among the fans. This has really gotten me floored even more than the GameCube controller packaging data and other recent developments did already. Please just announce this soon, because you're literally killing me right now!
People can say what they want about NSO, but I think it's a great value, whether you're in the basic or the Expansion Pass tier. People have scoffed that Nintendo is probably going to announce a third tier at a higher price point like $100/year or something, but for GameCube games, I would have zero problem paying for that.
Re: Rumour: Nintendo Might Be Gearing Up For A GameCube Controller Comeback
Honestly, forget the Switch 2 and just give me GameCube NSO. That's all I need to die happy. If that's what we're getting, I literally think I might cry.
If this was their plan all along, it makes sense why Super Mario 3D All-Stars was a limited-time thing. Maybe we'll eventually get Wii games on NSO. (If they put the English localization of NES Fire Emblem on NSO and give us "Super Mario 40" next year too, all their transgressions will be forgiven.)
I hope Nintendo still continues to remaster GameCube games, though. I'd prefer to have the HD versions of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. I think a ground-up remake of the first two Chibi-Robo games would look amazing, same with the original Luigi's Mansion.
But games like Melee and Double-Dash and Wario World are fine the way they are, and I wouldn't want or expect them to be remade with new graphics. That would be kind of pointless. Just having them on a modern console with online support and being able to play them on the go is more than enough!
Maybe you can install and uninstall individual games within the GameCube NSO app, and if you don't have the storage space, you can stream them from the library. Kind of like how PlayStation Plus gives you the option to stream or download its titles. I think that would be the best solution.
Re: Can You Name These Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Enemies?
Whoa, when did y'all start doing leaderboards? This is awesome.
Re: Alarmo Has "Sold Out" At Nintendo's New York Store
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pKTrGP4j7DA
I wish I could find a better quality version of this, lol.
Re: Nintendo Hits Snooze On Surging Alarmo Sales In Japan
Usually, it's frustrating when Nintendo fails to meet demand time and time again. Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results and all that. But in this case, I don't blame Nintendo for being conservative.
Re: Reggie Fils-Aimé Acknowledges Potential Easter Egg In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Yeah, I think it's just a coincidence, especially considering Inawa is the subordinate.
Now, there's a character named Reggie in Mother 3 who I could see being named after the former NoA president, but if you look at the design, well... you'll see another reason why we'll never get an official localization of that game in the West, lol.
Re: Random: A Brand New Game Boy Cartridge Is Launching... From Green Day?
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Re: Random: A Brand New Game Boy Cartridge Is Launching... From Green Day?
@Savage_Joe Waitwaitwait, I got one more...
SEGA this year be like: My Shadow's the only one who walks beside me.
Re: Random: A Brand New Game Boy Cartridge Is Launching... From Green Day?
Only available in the US because they know only American idiots would buy it.
ba-dum-tss
Re: "We Were So Stumped" - Nintendo On The 'Unorthodox' Development Of Alarmo
Yeah, we're all stumped, too.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Reduces Its Stake In Nintendo
@LeonSKennedy This is the kind of cynical response I was expecting more of. I was asking a genuine question, and people informed me. I wasn't trying to pass my limited knowledge on the guy as objective fact. I commented to get informed because I knew there'd be people on this site who know more than me. Rather than blindly thinking the guy must be a saint based on one interview I saw, I wanted to know the truth. Are we not allowed to do that? Should we just stay in the dark and never ask questions, lest we get mocked and condescended to by someone who thinks themselves morally or intellectually superior?
Re: Talking Point: After A September No-Show, Will There Be An October Nintendo Direct?
I mean, I really, really want it. But am I expecting it? Not really. I'd love to be proven wrong, but Nintendo already has a solid lineup for the remainder of this year. They could ride out the rest of 2024 and into January with DKC Returns and then have a presentation in February if they wanted.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@AstroTheGamosian I'm not a fan of Hillary Clinton myself, but that is pretty neat. I may have actually seen that picture, now that I think about it. If I had to take a wild guess, I'd say she was probably just playing Tetris or something and has since gone on to become one of those old people who just plays Candy Crush on her phone, lol.
I'm reminded of a cringe line during one of her 2015 campaigns when she was talking about how the young people are all playing Pokémon Go and said something like, "What we really need is for you all to Pokémon Go to the polls!" and then smiles smugly like she just made thr most clever pun of anyone in history, lol.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@HeadPirate @-wc- @WhensDinner @DashKappei @tektite_captain @Nanoline52 @MarcusIsCool @k8sMum @AstroTheGamosian
I appreciate everybody who took the time to educate me on the Saudi regime and provide links to various sources. I'm frankly surprised I didn't have a bunch of people tell me I shouldn't have bothered commenting if I'm uninformed on the topic and that I was spreading harmful misinformation or something. The only way to combat misinformation is to ask genuine questions, and I got a lot of respectful answers that didn't feel like I was being condescended to. If I asked the same question on Twitter, I'm sure it would have went very differently, and I'd have had a barrage of people re-tweeting me saying, "Get a load of this ****ing moron!" Lol.
I am, of course, aware of how propaganda works, but as someone who doesn't have much pre-existing knowledge about the Saudi government and only had the video to go off of, that's why I poised the question in the first place. I wanted to get a better idea on whether it was all just smoke and mirrors, and it looks like that is indeed the case. I guess I could have just googled it for myself (people on Twitter probably would have also snarkily told me to Google it myself instead of being a nuisance to them, lol) but I like engaging with the community and conversing about such things with real people.
I do have one other question though--people talk about Saudi Arabia mistreating LGBT+ individuals, and I don't doubt that's true. But I thought I remembered hearing once that the Saudi prince, or maybe someone else in royalty, was gay? Who am I thinking of? I read he was made to undergo conversion therapy but it didn't work, and now he was wanting to reform the way his government punishes people for being gay. Where did I hear that? Am I thinking of some other country?
Thank y'all!
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
@CriticalHit Their crown prince actually is. He has a squad of buddies he games with online to blow off steam. He talked about it in an interview a while back.
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
I know people objected to this in the comments back when they first started buying shares in Nintendo and SNK due to various "human rights violations" committed by the Saudi government, but does that apply to the crown prince as well? I watched an interview with him from a year or two ago, and he seemed like a pretty chill guy. He talked about how online gaming with his buddies is a big hobby of his to help blow off steam. It was notable for being Saudi's first interview with a Western journalist in I don't know how long, and he was talking about wanting to make positive changes in the country, have a stronger relationship with neighboring countries like Israel (this was way before Oct 7th happened, so idk what his current thought process is about that one).
And he, expectedly, denied any involvement by the Saudi government in 9/11. Maybe I'm just gullible, but he seemed genuine, I believed him. He talked about how it wouldn't have made any sense, as Bin Laden was a domestic threat even when he was living there, and that's why they expelled him from the country. So, I dunno. My knowledge on Saudi Arabia is very limited, to be honest, but I didn't get bad vibes. Maybe they're changing? Or maybe I'm naive, which is also entirely possible.
Re: Community: Did We Miss A Switch Game You Love? Send Us Your Recommendations
@AnonyQ Hey, thanks for responding. I posted a second part to my initial comment, if you'd like to read it, as NL has a strict character limit. I go into more detail there, but I just feel like that reinforces sex stereotypes instead of breaks away from them. I'm curious to know your thoughts.
Re: Community: Did We Miss A Switch Game You Love? Send Us Your Recommendations
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Re: Community: Did We Miss A Switch Game You Love? Send Us Your Recommendations
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Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Overworld Appears To Include Links To The Past
No spoilers, but if anything, I'd say this game is more closely connected to Ocarina of Time than ALLTP. Some really neat callbacks I wasn't expecting.
Re: Community: Did We Miss A Switch Game You Love? Send Us Your Recommendations
This comment section reminds me of the words of the old maintenance guy from back when I worked at Walmart:
"Yeah, I'm a pothead... no, that ain't it. What's it called? A potterhead!"
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (5th October)
I already finished Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. I've also beaten Epic Mickey and finally finished Immortals: Fenyx Rising, so I have an open vacancy. I'll probably go back and play The Plucky Squire, finally.
I'm planning to record my next playthrough today for my YouTube channel, Nintentrovert (shameless plug!) which will probably be Super Mario Galaxy. Yesterday, I just recorded a full playthrough of Sonic Mania and raged trying to get the chaos emeralds and beat the final boss lol, so that will be coming out next week.
Re: Mario + Rabbids Director Davide Soliani Launches New Studio, Working On Original IP
Well, good for him, but I'm disappointed he didn't get snatched up by Nintendo after his stellar work. And that he didn't get to revive Rayman like he talked about wanting to do. Maybe Ubisoft can outsource Rayman to him like Microsoft supposedly is to Toys For Bob to make a new Spyro game. Not getting my hopes up though.
Re: 'Ultimate' Zelda Switch Lite Comes With OLED Screen And Hall Effect Joysticks
This should have been labeled as "Random" instead of "News." The title is a bit misleading and made me think the official Zelda Switch Lite has an OLED screen until I actually clicked the article.
Re: Dragon Quest's Creator Criticises 'Mistranslation' Of DQ3 Remake Costume Comments
I'm a little skeptical here. My current thinking is that the translation was more or less correct, but SE is trying to do damage control by saying it was taken out of context because they're so worried about offending the Western market. I'd love if Source Gaming or someone could provide a more accurate translation, but that's what my thought process is right now. I mean, it makes all the sense in the world:
Square-Enix tells Japanese developer to make all these arbitrary changes to appease the Western market > Japanese developer complies but isn't happy about it > developer talks badly about the West and somewhat indirectly insults his employer > employer gets upset and gives employee a stern talking-to > employer makes a PR move to save face > everyone is confused
Basically, until we get a proper translation, I'm accusing SE of lying to save face. After all, Yuji Horii is a loose cannon, and this wouldn't be the first time SE has had to sound a literal horn to get him to dial it back after speaking out of line. (He announced the DQ1 and 2 remakes like two years ago when he wasn't supposed to.)
Re: Random: Spare A Thought For The Kid Whose Dad Returned Zelda: A Link To The Past
I just recently discovered this YT channel a couple months ago, and it's really wholesome stuff. His family evidently taped everything growing up, he probably has hundreds of hours of VHS footage of opening games on Christmas/birthdays, etc. I've never heard a single curse word either.
He's spoken candidly about losing his father as a teenager and the games that helped him cope through a difficult time. His video on Super Mario Galaxy honestly made me cry, as it was one of the first games that released after his dad passed away. Rosalina's storybook emotionally destroyed him, as one can imagine, and in ways he felt it restored his faith in God because it seemed almost like a sign that everything was going to be okay. It's a great watch, but bring tissues. I wish this dude nothing but positivity. His channel is a breath of fresh air in an increasingly nihilistic and apathetic world.
Re: Masahiro Sakurai's Excellent YouTube Series Is Coming To An End This Month
I love him so much. Even my six-year-old nephew has commented on how young Sakurai looks. 🤣
Re: Zelda Speedrunners Are Already Beating Echoes Of Wisdom In Under An Hour
No spoilers, but the final boss music goes hard. I got to it a couple days ago, and honestly almost started getting emotional by it, lol. That orchestra was COOKING.
Re: Video: Mario & Luigi: Brothership New Trailer Introduces The Cast Of Concordia
I seem to be one of the few people who isn't sold on the art style, but Peach's character model is super cute. Probably my favorite depiction of her.
Re: Level-5 CEO Implies Nintendo Is To Thank For Professor Layton's Comeback
Level-5 has a pretty strong partnership with Namco as well, although I guess they go by Bandai-Namco these days and would be "company B." But I'm pretty sure Namco published Ni No Kuni at the very least.
Re: Opinion: I Didn't Realise How Much I'd Missed 'Traditional' Zelda Dungeons
While these are the "traditional" dungeons fans have been asking for, they veer too far on the simplistic side. It's probably because they give you the freedom to create your own solutions, but none of the puzzles felt very cleverly designed. It was all pretty basic stuff, and now that I've beaten the game, not much about the dungeon layouts really stands out in my mind. The only thing I really remember thinking was kinda neat was the ice temple, where you have to change the temperature inside the rooms. But that was the only dungeon with a gimmick that felt like something you'd find in one of the older titles.
That said, it is nice to play a Zelda dungeon where I don't get stuck on a puzzle for an exorbitant amount of time. There are Zelda games where I've gotten stuck in a dungeon as a kid and eventually just put the game down entirely before revisiting it years later. I never found that level of frustration here, but at the same time, there does need to be some level of challenge to make the gameplay stimulating. It's a hard balance to strike, I guess. I do miss the dungeon items that make each one feel more unique and allow for more creative puzzles, though.
The game does make some notable improvements to dungeons, though, such as being able to activate waypoints that let you teleport to different rooms. It reduces on the backtracking and makes navigation way less tedious. I also like how on the map, you can see which rooms that doors and latters lead to. This was a big annoyance in Link's Awakening.
Overall, this is the most enjoyable the exploration has ever been in a 2D Zelda game, with a large map packed with tons of NPC's with side quests. But with that said, the more passive combat isn't very engaging to me. It's a neat concept, but I wish either that Zelda's spin move doubled as a light melee attack or that the Tri Rod could shoot projectiles like a fire/ice rod. The AI of your echoes is often not great, and I would always get really frustrated when my sword meter ran out and I couldn't easily refill it.
I'd still probably give the game a 9/10 though because the exploration was so good, and I also really enjoyed that this game had more of a story than most 2D Zeldas. When it comes to Nintendo games released in 2024 starring a female protagonist who is usually relegated to a side role, I enjoyed this one significantly more than Princess Peach Showtime, which I would only give maybe a 7/10.
Re: Shadow's Sonic Generations Campaign Length Reportedly Revealed
Only ever had the 3DS version of Generations growing up as I didn't own a PlayStation or Xbox. I've wanted to play the console version of this game for years after all the good things I've heard. Can't wait for this to come out!
Re: Dragon Quest Creator Chimes In On Characters Showing Less Skin In Upcoming HD-2D Remake
It's wild how the political paradigm has shifted so drastically in the last couple years. It felt like the West was becoming increasingly more and more Liberal, but the pushback has been immense as of late. Elon's takeover of Twitter was a massive turning point.
People are tired of constantly walking on eggshells--our culture's obsession with political correctness is, I believe, one of the leading causes of the depression and anxiety epidemic plaguing us. No one can have a normal human conversation without being paranoid that their words will cause offense, that something they said in a tweet from years ago would be used against them for the rest of their lives. It's not a healthy way to live.
I'm glad people are finally coming to the realization that it's okay to go against the grain, and that the policing of free speech is never a good thing. People also seem to be waking up to the bogus narratives that perpetuate both sides of the media. The free thinkers are the real woke ones!
This comment section, which would have been a lot more "progressive" just a few years ago, has a much more diverse range of opinions, and I think that's really encouraging to see. If you lean Left, that's perfectly fine, but cracking down on free speech and dehumanizing those who think differently under the guise of moral superiority instead of engaging in difficult but constructive conversations isn't okay--regardless of which party perpetuates it. (I'm an Independent, for the record.)
I'm proud of Nintendo Life that I don't see a bunch of deleted comments. I'm hoping they've finally come to the same realization about censoring people's voices. Anyways, I'm looking forward to finally playing Dragon Quest III for the first time, regardless of this nonsense.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (28th September)
Currently alternating between Echoes of Wisdom and Epic Mickey right now, primarily. I played the first couple hours of The Plucky Squire on launch day, but there's just been so many games that it's fallen by the wayside, unfortunately. I'll pick it back up in the coming weeks, though.
I'm wanting to start a new let's play series for my YouTube channel, "Nintentrovert," but I'm not sure which I want to do first! I'm thinking either Super Mario Galaxy or Sonic Mania. Other series I'd like to do in the relatively near future include Rayman Legends, Pac-Man World, A Hat in Time, Zelda: Link's Awakening, Metroid Dread, Super Mario Wonder, and Super Mario Sunshine. I've played all these games before so they aren't blind playthroughs, full disclaimer. Let me know which game you think I should start with! Or, if there's a similar title I didn't name that you'd like me to play! I have a strong bias for platformers if it isn't obvious, but I'm open to playing other stuff on my channel.
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Frame Rate Is "Even Worse" Than Link's Awakening
The hypocrisy with framerate elitists is that they claim to want a consistent 60 frames a second, but that doesn't account for the frames they miss every time they blink.
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Frame Rate Is "Even Worse" Than Link's Awakening
It hasn't been a problem for me, personally. Maybe that's because I almost exclusively game on Nintendo hardware so I'm just desensitized to it, I don't know. But I'm several hours into this game and I haven't particularly noticed.
It's certainly nowhere near as bad as Epic Mickey Rebrushed on Switch, which I'm also playing through right now. There are a lot of moments where the game will almost appear to buffer for a couple seconds, dropping down to like 1-5 frames a second here and there. Even that isn't enough to ruin the game for me, but it does make you say "yikes."
But Echoes of Wisdom's framerate isn't perceivable to me, personally. Ocarina of Time only ran at like 20 FPS back on the N64, right? My first time playing it was on NSO, and it took me a while to get used to it. I found it to be very disorienting. Neither this game nor Link's Awakening had that effect on me.
Only a couple games have had such bad framerates that it made me physically unwell. Maybe I could desensitize myself to it, but I find the original SNES Star Fox to be unplayable. The parade level in the Switch version of A Hat in Time, and any of the seafaring sections in Adventure Time: Pirates of the Carribean are also atrocious and will make you feel like you've suffered a stroke. The Switch version of Crash Team Racing had that problem after some updates but I don't know if they fixed it. (It's a much worse problem in fast-paced racing games).
But outside of those handful of examples, every other game I've played has had a frame rate that's been perfectly passable to me. I dunno. I know people said the 30 FPS thing with Thousand-Year Door was enough to make them pass on the game entirely, and I just think that's asinine. But, what do I know?
Re: Every New Game For Atari 50's New Paid DLC Has Been Revealed
@Burning_Spear Yeah, I actually grew up with Activision Classics on my PS2, which is the only way I'd even know about those old Atari games. I just want to have it on a modern system that I can play portably. Thank you though!
Re: Level-5's New Yo-Kai Watch 'Holy Horror Mansion' Teaser Supposedly Features AI Artwork
I guess that's why they said the trailer was a "concept" for their new game. Even if it doesn't make it in the final game though, that's still uncool because what you're essentially doing is false advertising.
Re: The Nintendo Museum's Exclusive Merch Looks Seriously Cool
Is that a Nintendo 64 keychain in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?
That GameCube shirt is sick.
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Map Is Eight Times The Size Of Link's Awakening's
Nice! How large would that be in comparison to Link to the Past, since it's based on that map?
Re: Every New Game For Atari 50's New Paid DLC Has Been Revealed
I just want an Activision Atari collection. Kaboom, Pitfall, etc.
Re: Nintendo Is Reportedly Targeting AI-Generated Mario Pictures
So, fighting fire with fire?
The hypocrisy, though, is that a lot of the shovelware on the eShop seems to use AI-generated images and basically directly plagiarize Disney and other IP.
Re: Yo-Kai Watch Returns With 'Holy Horror Mansion' Teaser
I've never really had any interest in Yokai Watch, bit this looks sick. Will definitely keep an eye on it!
Re: Sonic Central Presentation To Give "Sneak Peek" At Upcoming Projects On 24th September
I don't expect to hear about a new Sonic game or anything since Generations isn't even out yet. Probably the only gaming-related announcements would be a cross-promotiin like Sonic in Brawlhalla or an update on the mobile games or something. I'd say it will mostly just be merch. Best case scenario we get a console port of Sonic Dream Team, but I don't even think that's very likely yet.
Re: 8BitDo Is Now Selling NES-Style Keycaps
I misread this as "NES-style kneecaps." Now I'm disappointed that I'll never get prosthetic gaming appendages.
Re: Random: Someone 3D Printed The Rumoured 'Switch 2' Design
Geez, this looks like it's gonna be a behemoth in size, lol. I know some people have expressed concern that it won't be as convenient to take on the go, but larger size at least means that playing with a singular Joy-Con will be much more comfortable in the hands for those who play in tabletop mode. A larger size may have also been a necessity to fit all the chip components or whatever in there to make it as powerful as it appears to be.
At the end of the day, this being a significantly more powerful version of the Switch that can stand toe-to-toe with PlayStation and Xbox fidelity is the most important thing, so I can't be too upset. But I was really hoping for like a retractable second screen or something to make it more compatible with DS/3DS games as well as to recreate the asymmetrical multiplayer of Wii U games if one of the screens can be detached and put in the dock while the other syncs up wirelessly and acts as a standalone controller. I even saw one person propose the idea that you could but these two screens back-to-back with each other for some really interesting tabletop play like a game of Battleshio, and I think that could've been awesome.
I had also really hoped the IR cameras would be moved to the top of the controller and that an IR sensor would be in the dock for Wii-level precision pointing. Maybe they've improved gyro enough that it no longer drifts or something. That would be amazing, but I'm probably just coping.
The whole thing with the OG Switch was being a "Swiss army knife" of all of Nintendo's past iterations and just hitting all that DNA into one system. I'd like to have seen them expand upon that. DS' dual screen approach and an included stylus, Wii pointer controls, Wii U asymmetrical gameplay, and even 3DS' stereoscopic 3D. The latter one is a complete pipe dream, but I thought it was such a great effect and not jusy a gimmick. I would pay extra for a 3D handheld.
But, again, while I wish there were more belle and whistles, we're at least getting the essentials. I'd rather there be no gimmicks than for Nintendo to invent some new, crappy ones that nobody cares about. I do hope that they improve upon HD rumble and make it more like the DualSense controller, though! And I'd also like the Joy-Con to be a glossy instead of matte finish and for the colors to actually match this time.
Last two things of note--it's a bummer that it presumably won't be compatible with current Joy-Con or other alternatives. I own several different colors as well as a Hori Split Pad Pro, a GameCube replica split controller, and probably more that I'm forgetting. What about charging the NES replica controllers that don't have a USB port? But I am very happy that it has a built-in microphone, which will be good for porting DS games and also presumably can be used for voice chat.
Re: Review: The Plucky Squire (Switch) - Enormously Charming, But Not So Plucky On Switch
I would have picked up this game on Switch, but I recently quit my job, so I'm trying to save money where I can. The game is free on PS Premium, so that's where I've been playing it instead. I guess I made a good call. Hopefully this game gets patched later on Switch, though.
Re: Rumour: Nintendo May Be Looking To Add SNES Mouse Support To Switch Online
This would be a good start toward preserving legacy media, but let's not stop here. I still want the N64 DD, Satellaview, and Virtual Boy games on the service as well.
Re: Sony's PlayStation Vita Exclusive Freedom Wars Is Getting Remastered For Switch
@Ashina Yeah, between this, LEGO Horizons, and that Sony baseball game coming to Switch... makes me dream of a world where we have games like Ape Escape but also Jak and Daxter, Sly Cooper, Astro, Sackboy, PaRappa, and Ratchet and Clank on Switch. They'd all feel right at home and do incredibly well. And for those characters to be potential newcomers in Smash. I don't expect it, but it would be the dream. Each day we seem to get at least somewhat closer to that reality, albeit in small ways.