PikaPhantom

Everyone's pissed about the Game-Key Cards in the Generation Pack, and I'm over here ticked off that the first variant controller for this console is a "graphic design is my passion" Pro Controller that's not even for a first-party game. Happy for "Reside Vil" fans, but it's ridiculous that we don't have any other Joy-Con 2 colors yet, much less any other special edition controllers. Not even the current Joy-Con 2 boxed set comes with the alternate colors for the ones bundled with the system, so you can't even rock an all-blue or all-orange setup. Really doesn't help that basically every big Switch 2 release this year except Age of Imprisonment would've been ripe with potential for themed controllers...

Hoping this gets some Switch 2-specific optimization down the line, because I'd have otherwise already picked it up.

I'm really tired of this trend where developers will blab about how much smoother and nicer it is porting games to Switch 2, and then they come out and aren't anywhere near as optimized as they frankly could be. Especially when considering Steam Deck can apparently run this game fine at 40fps (apparently it defaults to 60fps and does still have issues later on) and Two Point was talking about how this port would have parity with the other versions, the fact that it's a 30fps that gets strained later on and also has a lower cap on museum guests is fairly disappointing. At least this port is more likely to be improved because the game is still being actively supported, unlike certain other ports [cough] Persona 3 Reload [cough]

Results like this are why I think Nintendo Life needs to start waiting longer to push out their "what would you rate this game?" articles for new Nintendo releases. There's definitely some review-bombing dragging Z-A down compared to the other Switch era games, and that always tends to be very reactionary. Spacing them out from launch would also give people more time to actually finish the game in question - not many people are actually finishing the game in a few days (it was only 4 before the Z-A article went up). While it's not reflected here, the fact that a whopping 15% of the reviews on the Switch 1 version of Z-A are 1/10s clearly indicates that there is some reviewbombing at play, and ever since Nintendo Life's started running those articles it has felt like user scores have declined a lot of the time for anything that's even remotely controversial. There's not a ton that can really be done about that, but I don't see why it wouldn't hurt to wait 2 weeks or more to try and gather user reviews.

I'll respect this decision until the game releases and it doesn't have my scrimblo in it. This game simply won't be complete if I can't play as Crap from Mass Attack

Well, the most eventful thing that happened during the presentation for me was that a lightning strike hit the shed in my backyard, frying my house's modem, some of the Halloween lights we had up as well as the lights on the shed, and leaving burn marks along the roof in the upper left corner and the bottom right corner. Naturally, I wore one of 2 Kracko-themed shirts I own following that.
https://x.com/PikaPhantom/status/1981434905725981094?t=upQkCWM7NlPeQhJQyoYL3w&s=19

I'm glad we got Steamgust Forge gameplay earlier this week, because seeing how ambitious its track design is makes me feel more at ease with there being just 18 tracks in the game (with half being remakes). I wish the alternate tracks were remixes from some of Smash's staple guest composers instead of direct ports from Kirby games, and it's especially baffling to me that it seems like a fair few themes from Air Ride weren't remixed considering the new songs have richer instrumentation, but I think it was a good call to bring on both Air Ride's main composer and one of Sakurai's more prominent collaborators. I also didn't love how Sakurai tried to sell us on things like Time Attack having no leaderboards or some elements of the game apparently only coming in the day one patch, and ending the character reveals on Waddle Dee felt really underwhelming even though there are apparently some unannounced characters and the other inclusions were pretty solid. I do think it's odd we don't have any of the mainstay mini bosses yet, especially Mr. Frosty and Bonkers, and we are also missing a few of the prominent side characters (especially Adeleine and Elfilin), but I am happy with the roster overall. 8/10 Direct for me - I'm mostly just worried about the game's longevity for me, though I'm sure things like some Air Ride Machines controlling dramatically different than others will help out. I think the main missed opportunity is only having one City Trial Map - even just remaking the original would've been nice. I didn't really expect DLC, though it would've been a bit more feasible for Sakurai to move on to the inevitable next Smash game while other team members did work on more Air Riders content compared to him not being involved with Smash DLC.

"We have also been positively considering increasing the frame rate; however, for this release, we prioritized delivering the Switch 2 version to everyone as quickly as possible" is a funny way of saying "We thought about trying to get it running above 30fps but decided to rush the port"

@larryisaman Details on a third Legends game were part of a massive wave of leaks yesterday, and while it's entirely likely things change (the original planned followup to Legends Arceus was a Johto game set in the past), it does seem like they intend for it to adhere more closely to Legends Arceus, but set even further back in the past and not in one of the Japan-inspired regions.

I personally do hope they push Legends as a subseries where basically anything can be on the table in terms of setting/time period and gameplay, but I can't fault anyone for wanting them to more directly build on what Legends Arceus established

@anoyonmus Not really sure, but if nothing else, the Switch 2 should iron them out by default if you have one

"Newly established" company? "Recently acquired" is the correct term...

Cannot believe how many people think this is about Baby Rosalina. Why would they remove the most defining element of her design - the hair covering her left eye?

@Filthy There is no Game-Key Card version. The Switch 2 Edition is digital-only, and if that does ever change, it'll either be released on-cart or as a code in a box. Switch 2 Edition games seemingly cannot be released on Game-Key Cards, as none of them have been so far, and this is likely a hard rule because their cartridges work inside a Switch 1

@GoldenSunRM That wasn't ever officially announced, though. Reported by The Wall Street Journal, but we don't know if their source was any good or not, and if it was it was clearly canned

...From what I've been hearing they handled this with even less marketing than Everybody 1-2-Switch for a reason

@Bigmanfan This is how they reported on the initial change to random in online play and the first increase to 3-lap tracks appearing. Early impressions are suggesting the odds of getting a 3-lap course is up to 50% and you'll get one as an option every 2 races

At this point it's hard to say what third-party games haven't been disappointing with performance, outside of games that play to Switch 2's strengths over the Steam Deck (e.g. Star Wars Outlaws) and exceptions like WWE 2K25 (probably not a coincidence considering Nintendo owns the porting studio). Even some Switch 2 Editions have been messy - haven't heard great things about Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter

Another NIS America release where it'll be funny seeing the stock tracker sit at 100% for the Switch 2 version

@MyMemory It's still overpriced, but most of the layers can be played in Emerald Rush once you roll the DLC credits (with 5 unlocks as you play)

@LastFootnote If Prime Remastered's credits are any indication, they've retained many employees from the DK era, and there are still some Prime alumni as well, though not as many

I don't know why people are acting like the whole game is set in an open world. You can make out areas like the forest in the background. This looks way more like a Hyrule Field.

@Moroboshi876 It's only speculation. The digital version is likely also only delayed because they needed more time for the port

Congratulations to Fire Emblem for graduating from underwhelming Direct opener to underwhelming closer!

I jest - I am interested - but I was hoping for a bit more from the ending of the first post-Switch 2 launch direct, haha

@Axecon Whenever the Playtest game is formally unveiled, it'll qualify

At this point they should just give Dedede a new design for every single game to lean into how they can never seem to settle on one for long. The one here is closer to a touch-up of the Forgotten Land design than an overhaul, but they very noticeably fixed his eyes

I would've expected a bit better from Nintendo Life when it comes to covering this, because - as a few other people have noted here - this isn't the sweeping patent people are making it out to be. Not only would every single numbered item on the patent's list need to be accounted for, but #6 in particular is referring to an auto-battle system.

Nintendo does not want a monopoly on this genre for Pokemon. They are the biggest proponent of monster catching games; 3 of the high-profile third-party exclusives for Switch were all in that genre (Monster Hunter Stories 2, Shin Megami Tensei V, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince), they threw their weight behind Yo-Kai Watch in the 3DS era, and they've also promoted multiplatform indie titles like Cassette Beasts themselves. I don't see how you can argue that indicates anything other than them having a vested interest in those types of games. Final Fantasy isn't going to need to rework summons over this US patent. Persona isn't going to need to change its mechanics. Nintendo's not going to impose that sort of thing, especially not against close partners of theirs.

I think we can all agree that this patent is stupid. It's also healthy to criticize Nintendo, and I think it's a good thing that Nintendo Life doesn't always try to justify the decisions they make. But we really don't need more needless fearmongering and misinformation. Unless Nintendo leverages it as part of a suit against anything other than Palworld, I don't think there's much reason to be concerned.

@Grumblevolcano ...no? Nintendo's already said they won't be making use of them, they actively optimize games for their own hardware, and Kirby Air Riders, which seems to be the first first-party Switch 2 game that only ever targeted it specifically (it would track with its development timeline starting in April 2022, and Sakurai was previously the first developer outside Nintendo to learn about the 3DS and was tasked with making a launch window title for it specifically, which turned into Kid Icarus: Uprising), is complete on cart.

"If you are playing the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition, when selecting “Super Mario Party Jamboree” from the title screen, video output will be Full HD (1080p)."
...So you're saying this is an actual Switch 2 Edition now?

@SterlingEyes This isn't a native Switch 2 game. Blame Nintendo for apparently not allocating enough devkits to Sega for them to ensure Shinobi could be out on Switch 2

Fingers crossed both this and Ninja Gaiden can hit Switch 2 in due time. I'm holding off on buying either in the meantime

I definitely would say the DLC is a bit slighter than it should've been. Giving us around half the base game's worth of levels feels appropriate, especially because while the Forgo Dreams stages did shake up the base layouts, the Starry Stages are mostly original layouts that reuse assets (though there are still some new ones), and when they do rely on areas from the base game, they're more dramatically altered. The soundtrack also goes above and beyond, since every stage gets at least 1 song to call its own when the base game did reuse songs quite a bit, and they even threw in some additional themes for The Ultimate Cup Z EX and locations in Waddle Dee Town. But while the new Mouthful Modes get explored fairly extensively in the new levels, the lack of Treasure Roads for them was disappointing, especially because it would make collecting all the new figures easier by providing some new sources of Rare Stones. Considering how excellent the level design in the Starry Stages, it is disappointing that we don't get any challenge stages on the side. I also noticed the framerate dipping a couple of times, which was minimal enough to not be especially detrimental, but was disappointing considering how the Zelda Switch 2 Editions maintain 60fps outside of extreme circumstances. While the lore revelations landed well, the actual setup for the plot is handled a bit awkwardly as well. Still, I had an excellent time with the DLC. Based on the credits, it does seem like the side of HAL that's focused on the smaller eShop spinoffs was largely responsible for Star-Crossed World while the main team continues plugging away at the next mainline game, and I think this was a far better use of their talents. This feels like Forgotten Land's Heroes in Another Dimension equivalent to me; at least it's attached to a base game that's excellent in its own right and not a 7/10 at best. I'm even more excited to see what HAL does with the series next now; if they can iterate on Forgotten Land with level design of this caliber (and hopefully some of the somewhat higher difficulty) while fixing its handful of flaws (more Abilities and minibosses), I think we could get a Kirby game that reviews comparably to Bananza and the 2 2D-styled 3D Mario games.

Just the Kirby DLC for me this week. With how Sega's been handling Switch 2 releases of games already on Switch, I don't want to get Shinobi yet in case they put out a Switch 2 version that isn't a free upgrade.

I'm kinda feeling November 6th. Age of Imprisonment strikes me as more of a December release, though that also sort of depends on its development cycle and how much it overlapped with Tears of the Kingdom development.

Don't say "appears" when it's being outright specified?

@cvrator It's a Switch 1 game...

It's kinda sad how Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter is garnering praise because they're up front about handling it as a digital-only Switch 2 Edition for $1 with no plans for a physical upgrade just because it's not going to be a Game-Key Card or (more likely because it's a Switch 2 Edition) code in a box. At least you can have the Switch 1 cartridge and save some storage even if not everything's technically on the cart. Does feel like GungHo's treating Falcom stuff better than NIS is here

@kkslider5552000 They are leaning into the bit in some ways. Fabraz confirmed there's a tank controls option in the settings, for instance

@YunoboCo The eShop listing confirms 4 player support on the same system?

Could you guys reach out to Jackbox and ask if the Switch 2 logo in the trailer is just them acknowledging backwards compatibility, or is the game actually getting a native Switch 2 version?

@kal_el_07241 Oh, haha. Some people have genuinely been peddling this sort of thing online, though, so I didn't quite catch on to the sarcasm

@kal_el_07241 The Switch 1 is more powerful than a PS3. The Switch 2 is very comparable to the Steam Deck, with some downgrades and some capabilities that surpass it

@Erigen Switch 1 has multiple Unreal Engine 5 games

It's not going to be every day that we see a soundtrack added to this service that gets 3 different console slots lol

It was very readily apparent just how much Nintendo's devkit strategy with Switch 2 is holding back indie releases, and so the presentation felt quite slight - but it was also the best actual lineup they've had in a long time, so that's something

@PerfectFrost It's running at 120fps.

@Divide_and_Wander Dave the Diver is pretty infamously not an indie game, given the furor about it being nominated for Best Indie Game in 2023 despite being developed by a team within Nexon. Even now, they're still owned by Nexon despite being spun out as a dedicated subsidiary last year

Goldman's published by THQ Nordic, so that dramatically lowers its chances of showing up. Mouse Work also has no shot because Nitrome still doesn't have a Switch 2 devkit for some reason (they even replied to me on Twitter after I questioned how Chillin' by the Fire received devkit priority when games like Mouse Work have not and came off as respectfully annoyed).
I'm hoping mainly for UFO 50 and at least one new Switch 2 announcement. I would think Devolver has devkits by now, but they still haven't announced anything specifically for this year, so who knows?

Not a great showing this early into the console's life. Still feels like we're mostly getting games that would've already hit Switch in the past. It's insulting that they're showing indicators for physical/digital games and counting Game-Key Cards as physical, and I was genuinely kinda pissed when that campfire game showed up. Developers still can't secure devkits for the Switch 2, including ones like Nitrome actively making games that use the new features of the system, and yet we got...that?

I don't regret getting a Switch 2 at launch, but I am increasingly dissatisfied with how the third-party games are being handled, especially because a lot of ports haven't been going as far as one would think for a Steam Deck-like platform that benefits from being closed. Couple that with Game-Key Cards, and...well, I'm likely to try and get the next-generation Steam Deck at this point.

@ear_wig The Fusion trailer was uploaded at 4K/60fps and the ZL and ZR button prompts can be seen at 0:34, which might bode well for the Switch 2 version

I believe the Switch 2 patch is less about compatibility and more about restoring visual effects that were cut to maintain 60fps on Switch

The wildest part about this game is that it was directed by the director of both Super Mario Maker games