It looks stunning and has a wonderful sense of place, but I still think it’s hands down the worst 3d Super Mario for two reasons. Firstly, its structure is terrible. It has 50 mandatory shines, and the other 70 are utterly pointless unless you’re going for 100% (which is painful and not worth it). Second, it’s the only 3d Super Mario with sections that are just full on broken and horrendous to play. The sand bird, red coin squid race and water bottle shines are just a few mandatory examples.
Yes! Grinding is the worst. Doing side quests is not grinding, so if I hit a wall because I’ve been skipping side quests, that’s fair enough. With Xenoblade Chronicles there’s no need for grinding because there are always side quests to do which let you level up naturally. But if I’ve fought all the battles I’ve come across, completed the side quests and I’m on top of the game mechanics - then yes, I should be able to progress through the story. (Getting ready to fight super-bosses is a different matter.) This caused me to bounce off Dragon Quest VIII (3DS) hard. I was only 5 hours in, had done everything on the way, and the second boss just destroyed me - there was no tactics to make it past that fight. I checked online and yup, the game just expects massive grinding sessions between every dungeon. No thanks, I’d rather play a game that doesn’t put me in purgatory every hour or so...
I have a Switch only (well, also a 3DS), and honestly there’s very little on PS or XB to tempt me. Maybe Spider-man and Final Fantasy?
It’s just a matter of the kind of games I like - I have no interest in FPS, huge open worlds or intricate combat systems. Switch gives me Nintendo games, a huge array of amazing indies, and enough others (Crash Team Racing, RPGs...) to meet pretty much all my gaming needs.
I don’t know, maybe modern AAA gaming just left me behind. Most of it doesn’t look much fun.
A long life span makes total sense. The casual and family audience that makes up a huge part of Nintendo’s base just isn’t interested in buying a new console every 5 years - I think this is a big part of why the Wii U sold so poorly.
I enjoyed this game, but it’s very short - the kind of game that makes complete sense as digital only.
So why make an overpriced physical edition? It’s not a big game so it doesn’t take much memory to download. Are there that many Switch gamers without internet connections? Or has the cult of physical got out of control? Genuinely baffled.
Comments 9
Re: Soapbox: 20 Years Later, Super Mario Sunshine Is Still The Best 3D Mario
It looks stunning and has a wonderful sense of place, but I still think it’s hands down the worst 3d Super Mario for two reasons.
Firstly, its structure is terrible. It has 50 mandatory shines, and the other 70 are utterly pointless unless you’re going for 100% (which is painful and not worth it).
Second, it’s the only 3d Super Mario with sections that are just full on broken and horrendous to play. The sand bird, red coin squid race and water bottle shines are just a few mandatory examples.
Re: Unbound: Worlds Apart Is A "World-Hopping" Metroidvania Coming To Switch Next Month
There’s a demo available (at least in the UK). It’s short but potentially interesting, although I already hate one of the portals types!
Re: Super Magbot Is A 'Magnetic Platformer' Out Soon On Switch, Demo Playable Now
I’m also getting Evergate vibes from the aiming system. Definitely trying out that demo!
Re: Global Sales Data Suggests Balan Wonderworld Has Massively Flopped
The thing that amazes me is that they put out the demo.
Without it (and with very limited reviewer access) they might have had a shot at decent sales before anyone realised it was a turkey.
The existence of the demo suggests to me that they somehow didn’t realise it would put people off.
Re: Soapbox: Grinding Is Poor Gameplay Design That Doesn’t Respect Your Time
Yes! Grinding is the worst.
Doing side quests is not grinding, so if I hit a wall because I’ve been skipping side quests, that’s fair enough. With Xenoblade Chronicles there’s no need for grinding because there are always side quests to do which let you level up naturally.
But if I’ve fought all the battles I’ve come across, completed the side quests and I’m on top of the game mechanics - then yes, I should be able to progress through the story. (Getting ready to fight super-bosses is a different matter.)
This caused me to bounce off Dragon Quest VIII (3DS) hard. I was only 5 hours in, had done everything on the way, and the second boss just destroyed me - there was no tactics to make it past that fight. I checked online and yup, the game just expects massive grinding sessions between every dungeon. No thanks, I’d rather play a game that doesn’t put me in purgatory every hour or so...
Re: Switch Owners "Most Likely" To Own A Rival Console, 2020 Study Shows
I have a Switch only (well, also a 3DS), and honestly there’s very little on PS or XB to tempt me. Maybe Spider-man and Final Fantasy?
It’s just a matter of the kind of games I like - I have no interest in FPS, huge open worlds or intricate combat systems. Switch gives me Nintendo games, a huge array of amazing indies, and enough others (Crash Team Racing, RPGs...) to meet pretty much all my gaming needs.
I don’t know, maybe modern AAA gaming just left me behind. Most of it doesn’t look much fun.
Re: Nintendo Looks To Extend Switch Life-Cycle As Demand Looks Higher Than Ever This Year
A long life span makes total sense. The casual and family audience that makes up a huge part of Nintendo’s base just isn’t interested in buying a new console every 5 years - I think this is a big part of why the Wii U sold so poorly.
Re: Pre-Orders For The Gardens Between's Physical Switch Release Go Live This Week
@SwitchForce What a mature way of making your point.
TGB is 1.7GB to download - that’s not a long download even on a slow connection, and certainly not £30 worth!
Downloadable gaming has allowed a number of games to be released that just wouldn’t be economical otherwise.
“Fact you don't choose your ISP or ISP Subscription.”
I’m sorry, what?
Re: Pre-Orders For The Gardens Between's Physical Switch Release Go Live This Week
I enjoyed this game, but it’s very short - the kind of game that makes complete sense as digital only.
So why make an overpriced physical edition? It’s not a big game so it doesn’t take much memory to download. Are there that many Switch gamers without internet connections? Or has the cult of physical got out of control? Genuinely baffled.