Octorok385

@KBuckley27 I'm curious as to why you consider Atlus' localisations poor. Their English scripts have been some of my favorites for RPGs throughout the 3DS' lifespan.

@NCChris I have a bit of a problem with Smogon's response to Dynamaxing. The community claims it's "unbalanced" because it makes too many Pokemon viable. It has nothing to do with balance, it has to do with making the meta becoming unpredictable. The emphasis has shifted away from strategy and gimmicks and more to in the moment plays, and Smogon hates that. How can there be a tier of elite Pokemon (and players) if a single Dynamax can shift an entire battle? It's a different gen with different rules, and pretending that dynamaxing doesn't exist is a sad attempt at prolonging the old game. And in the face of all this we still have fully playable Gen 6 and 7 titles, so why people complain I will never know.

@NCChris As a gen 3 vet, surely you remember how many Pokémon were not included with Ruby and Sapphire. You had to eventually buy or have access to at least four games, two consoles, and a link cable. Adding regions via DLC is an overdo move for the franchise, and it has the potential to dramatically extend the life of each title going forward.

I own a Wii U, so I’m good with ports and remasters. Unless the port was of Xenoblade X, that is. I’d buy another console to play a remaster of XCX.

@BenAV My Switch needs Etrian Odyssey waaaay more than it needs Pikmin

This is one of the shortest demos I’ve played. After 3-4 very brief dungeons you’re locked out from any more gameplay. I understand cutting the story quests off, but cutting off the low-reward extra quests? I played 30 minutes, most of which was unskippable dialogue.

#AlcremieandChill, everyone.

@Browny You aren’t wrong, but the mainline Pokemon series becoming “stale” might just be the result of the basic formula being so compelling. There are still people playing Gen 1 in large numbers. If the series changed drastically than it’s be a different game entirely. Pokemon is like Mega Man in that everyone has their favorites, and some entries may be better than others, but they’re all solid games because the formula they represent is fun.

Is the Japanese cover’s vampire Dracula... or Alucard? EDIT: Nevermind, I just realized that Dracula is back in the blue background.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say it’s about time. There’s no point in having different regions if every single Pokemon appears in every game. Make a distinction between games, stick with it, and let them have their own identities.

@Jayofmaya That's unfortunate, thanks though. I do have a wired black controller that's BotW themed that drifted out of the box. It's a real shame.

Wow these look great. Is build quality solid? I love my Pro Controller, it still feels like a brick after two years, but man they're pricey if you want new gear.

My joy cons have been fine since launch, despite close to 2500 hours of use. Maybe Lite folks will get lucky and get sticks like mine?

I actually love this feature. It plays like a randomizer, just without the key items. If they retooled the logic to include key items, instead of just retaining your in-game gear, I’d be 100% on board. Honestly, using existing rooms seems fine. Having played Mario Maker, I don’t really want to experience fan-made screens.

Hot Take: Super Mario World is good. Can we get a Link to the Past or Super Metroid review, too? I’m not sure these games have been analyzed to death, yet. Never mind we have the first Breath of Fire release since the GBA, or Demon’s Crest as a launch title (!)

I finished Link’s Awakening last night (We’ll all of the vanilla content, anyway! Color dungeon and Dampe up next) and I am 100% satisfied. If Ninty patches some of those rough transitions than swell, but the game is so good I really don’t care. Now to find all of those new seashell locations...

So I'm in level 4, and I've got to say that the little hitches that sometimes happen when the resolution changes (usually moving from inside a building to outside) are my only minor niggle. The game already had a loading screen in those cases, so why isn't the resolution changed during that? Aside from that, everything else about this game has been spot on. The new musical arrangements are terrific and there are enough new items scattered about to keep the game interesting, even after playing the original dozens of times.

Cleared SMW with max points and lives, probably moving to LttP next. But Breath of Fire is getting the bulk of my SNES time! Finally able to play that baby on the TV again (this time without the rental fee)

New main. 10/10

As far as repetitive gameplay loops go, they work if the world is compelling enough to be fun. I’m still doing quests in Xenoblade X on the Wii U because the world is freaking amazing. Diablo 3 is probably the most repetitive gameplay loop possible, but it’s combat brings that compelling feature. What makes Starlink compelling? It obviously wasn’t toys. If the world, characters, or mechanics are good, United should emphasize those.

I mean, some new WoL stages would be better... I don’t even know what these items do.

I’m curious to see numbers on this issue. We’ve heard about drift for a while, but unhappy internet people are pretty vocal when something doesn’t work. Since some drifting has been solved by routinely cleaning the parts (GASP!), it’s hard to tell how widespread an actual design defect may be, since what we read is anecdotal. Anecdotally, of course, Nintendo has also repaired or replaced a bunch of these for free already, including several that were well out of warranty. Not a defense, of course, but they do stand by their product already if you go through the proper channels (i.e., not Reddit)

Wait, a balance patch? The input delay is double any other platform, why isn’t that the priority? I’ve only been able to play handheld since launch, and the back half of the game is inanely frustrating because tapping the jump button doesn’t jump.

Can we get back to the part where these are 80 dollar accessories? I'm all for some sweet new colors, but I'm not dropping 80 bucks every time there's a new neon on the shelf. Design me up a Switch with a better processor or a screen that doesn't get scratched for its own dock, and then we'll talk about ponying up some cash. Until then, me and my regular gray switch will be playing BotW.

I’m not an animator, but don’t the 3D polygonal models in Sword and Shield require different architecture than the cell shaded frames in gen 6 and 7? Anyone?

Oy, so much outrage... Why don’t we save the complaints for when details about the future of the Bank app are revealed? And as far as a limited dex... Just bring Vanilluxe and Garbador over, and we’ll be square.

The 3DS library is so large and there are already so many units in the wild... It would shock me if they DIDN’T keep a budget model on store shelves and the online shop humming. Even if they stopped all cartridge orders, the potential is there for high profit purchases of existing digital software for years, and thanks to the eshop it could be pretty low overhead for them. It’s almost win-win. Why let Amazon have all of the legacy game sales when you could just keep selling the games digitally? At least until people stop buying games altogether, I suppose.

So I'm a little over halfway through the game, and I've gotta say that while the visual downgrades aren't a huge deal for me, especially playing portable, the input delay makes the game frustratingly sticky. You'll see a boss wind up an attack, you'll say "Sweet, I just need to jump over this fireball/axe/umbrella/whatevs," you'll hit the button, and boom. Smacked in the face by an attack because Miriam just stood there. Sometimes you jump after you've been hit, but most of the time your input just gets eaten. I've been beating bosses by mashing the attack button and quaffing potions like an addict, which isn't a good feeling after the fluid controls on every Igavania up to this point. If they fix one thing, it really needs to be the control. I don't mind a game being challenging because it's tough, but a game that's challenging because the floor is made of molasses is pretty disappointing. #freemiriamsfeet

Lol EA makes mediocre annual titles with built in slot machines, then defends said slot machines by saying people like to gamble. Just be honest and say you’d like to make more money.

I've been playing the Switch version, and I'm not sure exactly what all of the fuss is about so far. Granted, I don't have another version to compare it to, but my only criticism is that screen transitions sometimes (not always) take a while. If it makes a difference, I've been playing portable so far, so if there are performance issues docked I haven't seen them yet (will update when I get to play docked!)

All in all, I'd always welcome patches to make a game smoother, but the game's been really fun.

A free to play MonHun actually scares me a bit. MH as it stands is already padded by the randomness of material drops. Where I might enjoy fighting Rathalos three or four times, I’ll end up fighting it eight or ten times because I need a specific part. I can only imagine the potential grind that a “game as service” model will bring.

Although I will say, if the gameplay itself is as fun as MonHun, than it’ll stand a chance. As soon as those fights feel boring, though...

I love y’all... But is this a teaser article for a protective sleeve?

@WaxxyOne This breakdown seems legit, but how many new amiibo have come out since the original Mario Maker? Assuming Nintendo wouldn't be adding costumes to every mode, which they didn't do with the original game, we're talking a handful of frames for each new amiibo. That's certainly work, but if it's moving 15.00 figures, it doesn't seem unreasonable (especially considering all of the Smash fighters from Smash 4 are already drawn up). I mean, we'd need to see Ridley, Treasure Goblin and Knight Solaire, but that's what interns are for.

@HobbitGamer I mean, I've got a Game Cube that can use a Game Boy as a controller, a Wii that has ports for Game Cube controllers, a Wii U that can use Wii controllers, and a Switch that can use a freaking Game Cube controller. The game pad is wireless, and the Mario Maker software was originally build with it in mind. Even if it just duplicated the top screen it'd be worth it. Does the Game Pad not connect via Blue Tooth? It seems like a missed opportunity.

Odd omissions? How about why can't I use my perfectly good Wii U game pad, the ideal tool for Mario Making, to play this game? After putting so many hours into the Wii U game, I am absolutely not going in on the backwards step of making stages with joy sticks. Patch in some Game Pad utility, Nintendo, and I'll happily sink more money into Mario Maker.

@graysoncharles Xenoblade X still exists exclusively on the Wii U, so mine is staying hooked up for a while...

cough cough GET ON IT, MONOLITH SOFT!

I’m 15 hours into FF12 and I’m thinking it might be my favorite Final Fantasy. The plot has been great so far, and I actually like that the characters and world are a little more on the “down to Earth” aide of things. It feels like a Final Fantasy for grown ups

@ItalianBaptist Yesss Pokemon XY is my fave! I’ll be doing a little breeding/trading this weekend, as well as starting the SNES Classic version of FF3.

@zionich I had only played D3 casually before last season. And by casually, I mean the most casual of casual, like the way you'd mess around with Smash with some friends on the couch. When I jumped on Season 15 after the Switch release it was like a wake up call of how far down the rabbit hole the game could go.

And now I'm hooked.

EDIT: More to the point, the Season is the only way to really start from scratch. If you've played any offline characters, you start to see how they share resources and build off of each other. If you get stuck on one, you can switch to another to build up supplies or levels, then they carry over. The season is the only way to really start from scratch, and it's glorious.

Yessssssssss! Even better, the Darkening of Tristram is still going on so the rush to Lv 70 will actually be fun

Are the wings in place of a pet? That’s sort of a bummer, but I guess it means this is going to be one adorable Hammerdin

EDIT: In addition to the Season of Grandeur deal, it looks like the Legacy of Nightmares ring got a huge buff. It'll be interesting to see how far we can make it without an actual set this time.

D3 needs more events like this. I’d rather crawl this dungeon than run endless rifts as a postgame. It’d be really nice of each season had an event that rotates theough over the course of the year...

@Bevinator I mean, for better or for worse Nintendo does have share holders. They aren’t a charity or an artistic non-profit, they’re a business. They need revenue in between major releases, and it’s not like other companies don’t cash in on their archive of material. Books and movies constantly get rereleases in different formats.

The problem is that Nintendo can’t develop and manufacture all of their own hardware while also putting out a new first party release every month. We get a few big releases a year, and if third parties can spin old games into remasters than that’s swell. If it keeps Nintendo profitable and introduces great games to a broader audience I don’t see any problem.

@Bevinator Easy. Ten ports sell copies of games while the one game is being developed. BotW had a six year development, and no one is putting out a Mario Odyssey every year. We got Smash this year and Fire Emblem next year. There has to be something else going on besides huge first party releases, and ports/remasters are perfect. Fans of the originals can buy in, and mew players experience the classics.

I feel like you’re the guy in the back of the room saying we don’t need a portable Diablo or Skyrim. No one needs that kind of negativity.

@Equinox Just slap Frontier Nav onto its own menu, and boom. It can just be Fast Travel a la XC2.

Make it happen Reggie! Help me out, here. If Capcom can come through with #MHXXForTheWest, Reggie can push through #XCXForTheRest!

Xenoblade. Chronicles. X.

Take my money.

Having bought into the Wii U and pretty much every first party release it got, I'm not terribly interested in re-purchasing these games at full price. I get that they're great games that comparatively few people played, but ponying up for Mario Kart 8, Mario, Hyrule Warriors and the rest just isn't on my radar. If anything, these releases are encouraging me to keep my Wii U plugged in.

EDIT: I will specify that seeing some older games (Skyrim, Diablo 3) getting console releases on the Switch has been sort of cool. As a console gamer who missed these at launch, I'm a huge fan of being able to finally play these. Again, I wish I wasn't paying 60 bucks for a game from 2011, but meh.

Ahhhh, Xenoblade Chronicles X... If that was for a Switch port I'd be throwing my cash at Nintendo so fast. I'm honestly shocked that it hasn't been front and center amongst the Wii U ports. It's one of the Nintendo titles that makes me wonder how many copies it could have sold as a true cross-platform release.

I'm still confused as to what this game actually is. When I encounter a wild Pokemon, do I battle it for Exp or do I just throw a ball at it every single time in exchange for candy or whatever? If this game is a marathon of capturing every single Pokemon, that's a big 'no' from me. But I haven't read anything to the contrary.

@rjejr I remember when the ESRB started in the US there was a joke in an issue of Nintendo Power that to earn an MA rating the game would have to have "Goat Worship." Diablo is the closest thing to that that's been released, to my knowledge. The violence is gratuitous, including violence against humans, there is tons of occult imagery, and the entire story is about the constant war between heaven and hell. That said, everything is presented in a way that's so over the top it's hard to be offended. I sort of felt the same way about Diablo II, even with it's starker graphical style. It's just so much that it's impossible to confuse it with reality

Eh, I don't feel thaaaat bad for Square Enix these days, but remember: Switch is getting a cartful of Final Fantasy ports/remasters in 2019. If the mobile arena isn't treating Square Enix well, maybe Final Fantasy 7 will?