@Jokerwolf I'm sure it's in development now, but I believe the exact same team handles Mario Maker and 2D Mario, and that division of Nintendo also handles Pikmin (though they've been working with Eighting from 3 Deluxe onwards). I wouldn't expect it until 2026 at the earliest
Absolutely, especially because Moon has proven they're exceptionally talented with porting games to Switch. I have no doubt that this game could look and run great on Switch 2
I'm cautiously optimistic, but given how...wide and drawn out Mario Bros. Circuit appears to be, I do have my concerns about how track design will need to accommodate for the increased player count. Also a bit worried about retro tracks unless they lock them to a 12-player mode. Maybe what we're looking at is a Rally mode, and other modes reduce the player count?
@Zeebor15 I looked through the credits for Tropical Freeze the other day on MobyGames and it does look like many Returns/Tropical Freeze staff remain at Retro, showing up in Prime Remastered's credits as well. And I just skimmed through Days of Ruin and found that a lot of people who worked on that game still appear to be employed at Intelligent Systems, with credits on Fire Emblem Engage, TTYD, or WarioWare: Move It!. So I kinda doubt that's part of the issue
@PinderSchloss Heh. Would not mind if they move away from that. Indie Worlds are especially hard to watch.
It is definitely strange to not emphasize the mice more since the reveal mostly just felt like a very blatant way of showing that the Switch 2 is a new system (look, the original Switch transformed into the successor! Now here's Mario Kart). Unlike anything else the Switch 2 is likely bringing to the table, it's a hardware feature and not something we're getting through the OS, which I'm not surprised is being saved for later like with the original Switch. But I'm glad it seems more likely than not. It's not the most radical shakeup in the world since games have been played with a mouse for most of their existence, but it feels inspired and on-brand for Nintendo, especially because they do have a sporadic history with mice (mostly just the SNES Mouse and then supporting one in Game Builder Garage - EPD4 has some sway over what goes into a console, so I wouldn't be surprised if the idea of turning Joy-Con into mice originated with them). No console has catered to that much.
@Diowine Nintendo of America at least offers free drift repair, and with the US being their biggest market, they absolutely lost money over Joy-Con drift. I'm sorry that you lost out on that, but it's more likely than not that they'll address it given the intense controversy. Pretty sure Hall Effect joysticks are only different under the hood, anyways. You look at options for modding them for use on Switch and they're not really any different visually.
@PinderSchloss It was pretty clear to me what they were hinting at when they showed the Joy-Con on their sides scurrying around like mice with the straps serving as tails, but I can't blame people for overlooking it
@Xbox_Dashboard Ports don't usually change up a game's artstyle, double the amount of players in a given race, redesign key visual elements, introduce drastically different mechanics, or take other features away (there's a distinct lack of Double Item Boxes in the shot at the end of the trailer). Mario Kart's a new entry, full stop.
If you think a 24 player Mario Kart with much smoother models and extremely large environments is coming anywhere near Switch 1, let alone at a decent framerate and resolution, I have a bridge I can sell you
I feel like everyone here's forgotten how Nintendo has always done iterative successors. The only time they haven't was with the N64 and GameCube, and even then, it's not like the GameCube was a radical departure from the N64 era (plus, the Nintendo 128 just doesn't hit the same). This feels very much in the spirit of the 3DS in particular, since the form factor is extremely similar. And sure - on a surface level, it doesn't seem like a big step forward. It is a generational leap for Nintendo, though, in terms of power. The mouse functionality flew over a lot of people's heads (the Joy-Con acted like actual mice in the trailer, with the straps serving as their tails), but I think it's going to be far more than a simple gimmick most games ignore. It can allow touchscreen games to be repurposed more for docked, opens up possibilities for PC ports, gives Nintendo potential for series like Pikmin, Mario Maker/Paint, and Kid Icarus, and is probably the best way of replicating pointer controls with the Switch concept. And that's not to mention we've seen nothing of what the system experience is like. If the jump from DSi to 3DS is any indication, we could have a far more substantial user experience on our hands despite the original Switch foundation remaining intact. The C button still has an ambiguous use. There may be other features that haven't been detailed yet that leaks have glossed over - it took a long time for mouse functionality to be figured out, so for all we know they'll have a bit more up their sleeves.
It's fine to be disappointed with how little was shown today, but to assume that there's nothing more to the Switch 2 is definitely underestimating Nintendo. They just put out an alarm clock of all things - they're still experimenting and doing things differently. For all we know, they're going to create specialized controllers for different games with the Switch 2 that warrant some difference in tech - something that wouldn't be on any leaker's radar. It's just hard to imagine what could reinvent the wheel these days given every new idea Nintendo's gone through, but if nothing else, there is promising stuff here.
Sure would be nice to get analogue triggers again, though...
@SillyG You're in luck with the microphone, as it's been leaked for a while now a built-in one is returning. It does seem to be on the tablet and not one of the Joy-Cons, for whatever reason (I think it's to the right of the cartridge slot, which they conveniently never showed in the teaser, but it can be glimpsed on the official website), but it appears to be there. As for a camera, there's nothing concrete backing the idea, but it is commonly theorized that the USB-C port on the top of the system was implemented for accessories like a camera. It'd be nice if it pans out - unlike other things they've done in the past, such as the News and Weather channels on Wii, smartphones don't effectively render cameras obsolete as long as they can leverage them in games and take advantage of the options provided by a controller.
Sure am glad this is out right before my birthday, because I'd otherwise wait for a price drop (which are more common than people think for Nintendo games - Woot! in particular's been pretty decent, bringing Luigi's Mansion 2 HD down to $45 for weeks now). I do think Nintendo's current pricing strategy is going to backfire on them more and more, though - the value proposition is just lacking with a release like this. $40 at most would've been acceptable. But the 30fps in Returns 3D was frustrating enough by the end to make me drop the game compared to the buttery smooth Tropical Freeze, and I don't want to play the Wii version and deal with waggle, so I've had this at the top of my birthday list.
I do get the feeling that Nintendo's deal with Forever Entertainment, if it doesn't fall through, is going to just lead to them being put on late Switch ports of games that generally aren't that cared about (even if they are well-liked). Stuff like, say, Excitebots, Battalion Wars, and FlingSmash. And once whatever their contract is wraps up, I hope they take their business elsewhere. It takes talent to be a go-to Nintendo partner, and they could easily find other studios that can do much better jobs akin to Tantalus and Grezzo
@Jeronan @msvt "Releasing simultaneously worldwide" just means it's releasing at the same time in all regions. The Game Freak gigaleak actually indicated that Z-A is only planned for Switch 1, though it's possible that plans have changed
@N00BiSH It's not bad, and I have a particular soft spot for Automatic Action, but it is the one game in the series he's never touched and they already used his return to Tropical Freeze as a selling point. Just think it would've been the most obvious thing they could've changed to better justify HD beyond finally getting 60fps with button controls and the 3DS stages. They could even have a soundtrack toggle.
I think it was a huge missed opportunity to not get David Wise to provide a revised soundtrack for Returns HD. I'm not asking for a total replacement like what we saw with DKC3 on GBA, but it would've been a great selling point that wouldn't have required much on Nintendo or Forever's end
@coolioam Indiana Jones is probably a given even if the most conservative estimates of the Switch 2's performance are what pan out. My understanding is that it runs on id Tech 7, and that engine is one of the best optimized out there now. Ray tracing apparently shouldn't even be an issue, either, since it sounds like the Switch 2 will be capable of it thanks to some of the Nvidia tech inside. Only real question is if they'll cap it at 30fps, which the Steam Deck version runs at, or if DLSS and potential unknowns about the hardware (5nm vs. 8nm?) can push it up to 60fps (maybe for a dedicated performance mode, if nothing else?)
Why do people think the Switch 2 isn't going to improve physical game storage when it's pretty consistently been what they've done for successor systems? The 3DS cartridge can store more than the DS. A Wii U disc is superior to a Wii disc. I expect Switch 2 cartridges will make a similar leap
Hmm. I wonder how Game Freak feels about all this. Can't imagine they're too happy - they signed on with Private Division, the label with the backing of Take-Two with ample resources, not Private Division, the company owned by a no-name private equity firm. I wonder if they'll take Project Bloom elsewhere...if that's even an option
@Lord I don't think we have any evidence companies were asking for 16GB of RAM? 12GB is more than what the Xbox Series S has, anyways. It'll be fine for most games
...Considering the fact that Punch-Out characters were considered for ARMS at one point, pretty sure that's an indication of Nintendo maintaining interest in the series. They also seem willing to revive virtually any IP - if anything's off-limits, it's going to be stuff like Time Twist, not Punch-Out.
If it was called Wonder, I imagine the name would've only stuck in Japan. Brothership was retained outside of Japan because it was punny like basically every other Western subtitle for the series, according to the interviews.
My first attempt didn't log for some reason, but I got everything right and only really had to guess on the Nintendo Museum and 10/10 review score questions. I need help
How did the NSO Playtest not come up anywhere on this list? It's one of the most bizarre things Nintendo's done in ages, especially given how the actual game seems to be a massive undertaking for them. And they just...let in 10,000 people to try it out blindly for 2 weeks before shutting it down.
Are people going through and reviewbombing the games on these lists? Almost everything on here has a middling score that seems at odds with how the games were received elsewhere. For instance, Berserk Boy has an 82 on Opencritic with 49 reviews - quite a lot for an indie game that otherwise flew under the radar. How did it end up with a 6.5 from Nintendo Life users if you don't have a handful of people throwing 1/10s at everything? It makes these lists look a lot worse even though this is frankly a very respectable lineup. It also seems to be a recent trend, but maybe I haven't been paying enough attention.
Anyways, I'd have to give Victory Heat Rally my hidden gem award for the year. I did finish Mission in Snowdriftland as well, and I'd sum it up as feeling sort of like a modern take on NES Mario in the sense that it has extremely tight controls surpassing those games, but has comparable level design in the sense that it doesn't feel like it takes mechanics and runs with them. Given that they were apparently making a level every day as the game was originally hosted by Nintendo, though, the design is solid. Ironically, the minibosses that took more time to create years later for the Steam version post-Kickstarter were the low point of the game. Still absolutely worth it for anyone who wants a little piece of Nintendo history. I wish I could've gotten around to Arranger, Berserk Boy, Can of Wormholes, and Crypt Custodian, which I all bought at launch, but oh well.
Kinda surprised at the user scores on some of the indies here, especially Can of Wormholes, which got rave reviews and a Thinky Game of the Year award. They stand out more on a list like this, which is a pretty solid lineup of games, all things considered. I didn't get to nearly as much as I wanted to this year even though I played more consistently during college than I have in some time, but Animal Well was a highlight for sure. I'd also give a nod to Victory Heat Rally, which I just finished the campaign of yesterday - despite some minor quibbles, I thought it was a blast to play
"Actually, they only said they'd make an announcement about the successor, so they'll announce when they'll announce it before March 31st" Uh...that was the announcement of the announcement. We already have reason to believe mass production of the Switch successor is underway. Nintendo console delays have also historically been from holiday seasons into Spring - we know this was the case for the 3DS, and I believe there's an obscure document from the Gigaleak that confirms this happened to the Switch as well (though I haven't been able to find it again after initially seeing it).
The only thing that's for certain is that none of this is going to play out the way most people expect. It's how Nintendo is - rarely do they ever do what we anticipate.
"Animal Well is my Game of the Year, but I got a huge kick out of Nintendo World Championships" Are you me?
Nintendo World Championships absolutely isn't a perfect game. It feels lighter on content than it needs to be; the actual championships are starting to get a bit more stale because of how they're repeating challenges from previous weekly events. It could've incorporated more NES titles as well. It would've been nice to see some NES Remix-style challenges (though I think people forget how many of its own challenges were unaltered NES games). But its bite-sized approach to speedrunning still had me hooked, and tying for 1st in the world multiple times by now (which I'm most proud of doing on Balloon Bopper because it was rated hard instead of normal) has felt really gratifying. I think people will come around on the format if they continue with it and address the areas where the game can feel lacking. SNES and GBA versions of NWC would be excellent.
@Everythingnotsaved The difference boils down to how they market it. Make it an obvious successor (essentially, call it Switch 2), give it a killer app or two (which the Wii U essentially didn't have for an entire year), and it should be just fine
Also had an r/GamingLeaksandRumors moderator look at the images and say he felt unsure about them, singling out the logo as looking particularly suspicious, so...who knows
I think this guy's just out for attention. He could very well have held an actual Switch 2, but when he started referring to vague sources about a bundle with a "9 game" he all but stated was Mario Kart (this doesn't track with Nintendo treating Tour as mainline or their usual trend of switching up the names for the series every 2 games) and a January 11th presentation (that's a Saturday), he lost me. I don't think everything he's said is accurate.
124 games, 163 hours...because I set my Nintendo account up with Exophase to track my playtime and had to open up every game I'd previously played to log it on there. I would estimate I only played around 25-30 games to any meaningful extent myself.
I put 46 hours (and 36 minutes) into Shadows Over Loathing, 18 hours into Nintendo World Championships, and 17 hours (and 34 minutes) into Animal Well for my top 3, though since the end of November, my NWC playtime increased to 21 hours and 18 minutes. Animal Well is still in third, but Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble will probably beat it by the year's end. Also sunk some time into Mario Kart, Smash, and Jackbox that wasn't logged.
As far as I can tell, Exophase just reads the data Nintendo tracks, but only displays in full if you have Parental Controls enabled, and isn't at all risky to use. I'd definitely recommend it if you want to track playtime in greater detail and alongside games on other platforms.
@scully1888 Good to know! That makes sense. Wasn't trying to accuse you of some sort of collusion or anything - just found it interesting that the reviews were similar in certain respects, given Time Extension doesn't often review games, and I figured there was maybe a chance it could be attributed to you two discussing the game together. I appreciate your reviews both here and at VGC a lot!
@Itachi2099 Could be them getting arrogant, but this seems to rest solely on their Western branches and not NCL over in Japan. I think Nintendo of America is also the division that commandeers their legal department, since they're almost always the one named in Nintendo's litigation. The Palworld suit is a rare exception to that, but sensationalism blew that out of proportion compared to the low damages Nintendo is asking of Pocketpair (no, it won't set the precedent of only Nintendo being able to use certain mechanics in monster catching games, they're not gonna go after random indies, and they're not gonna establish a monopoly on the genre).
In general, Nintendo of America seems to be run worse than the rest of the company, given they're also the division of Nintendo that's made headlines for workplace issues, and they seem to have grown a lot lately in a way that's translating over into worse quality control. Little bloopers in their trailers (Brothership had a single frame spoiling part of the endgame in its overview trailer), issues with their interview translations, more problems with Treehouse beyond censorship such as typos...that sort of thing
@HeadPirate I think you're overlooking some fairly crucial stuff when it comes to your conclusion. In the past few years, Nintendo localizations have become extremely stringent regarding their content. They don't want even a pinch of anything that could be construed as offensive. Which is how we end up with stuff like Pikmin 2 on Switch removing references to gambling and gender roles/gendered language (https://nichegamer.com/pikmin-1-2-removes-references-to-gambling-gendered-language/), or The Thousand-Year Door getting hit with an extensive number of changes like removing basically any jokes about weight or changing all instances of words like "crazy" or "nuts," to the point it can obfuscate the meaning of the text. MarioWiki has an extensive list of all the changes made to its script; it also notes that similar changes in wording were made to Super Mario RPG. That kind of censorship is not characteristic of the rightwing. And coupled with the fact that, just a few short months ago, Nintendo was advertising games like "Date Everything" in their most recent presentation...I really don't think there's reason to believe they've taken a complete 180° in their stance since then over the results of the US election. If I remember correctly, Washington moved the least to the right out of any state in the country in the results as well, so I feel like that would lend at least a bit of credence to the idea that Nintendo of America wouldn't change policies over its outcome, given they're based there.
Update: Katsuhiro Harada is executive producing the game, and apparently key staff members include alumni from Samurai Shodown/King of Fighters and Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
One thing that's strange is that apparently there's a way to enable the old Super Scaler artstyle, but it requires modifying a file within the game data instead of being an in-game toggle and thus wouldn't be possible on platforms other than PC. @AJB83 mentioned it in a comment on the Time Extension review. I wonder why it's been buried, and if it'll see the proper light of day in a future update?
https://opencritic.com/game/17427/victory-heat-rally/reviews https://nintendowire.com/reviews/victory-heat-rally/ https://waytoomany.games/2024/10/07/review-victory-heat-rally/
Always good to look at more reviews to see what the consensus is. OpenCritic appears to have the aggregate score at 80, and 8/10s are the most common score. NintendoLife, Time Extension (which has a fairly similar writeup on the game - not the same, but given they're a sister site to us and Damien used to run NL, iirc, it makes me wonder if Chris and Damien talked about the game with each other, and that's why they make more similar points compared to other reviews I've read) and Destructoid are the only 7/10s I've seen. I think NintendoLife is generally a reliable source for reviews, but sometimes they do trend higher or lower than other outlets, and I think it never hurts to brush up on other reviews to see if the same criticisms or praises come up. Doesn't mean they're not valid if they don't, but it helps put things in perspective.
I don't understand why everyone gives Sonic's extreme flanderization for these movies a pass (usually by saying "they're aimed at kids.") It's so bizarre to me that the Paramount Sonic stuff seems to handle most of the other Sonic characters well, and is willing to bring out some major deep cuts just for the fans (like referencing the Babylonians from Sonic Riders in the second movie), but Sonic's a hyperactive dork who can't go 5 seconds without making an annoying pop culture reference. I'd have thought by now - especially with them bringing Shadow and his inherently edgy trappings - that they would've seen fit to develop Sonic so he's more in line with his typical characterization. But everything we've seen of him in the marketing tells me this movie's tone is going to be all over the place because Sonic's constantly making dumb references to other media or saying stuff like "Konichi-what?" and that'll be juxtaposed against an apparently rather faithful adaptation of Shadow and his backstory.
Comments 1,785
Re: Feature: Switch 2's Mouse Support Is Exciting, But Which Current Games Might Also Benefit?
@Jokerwolf I'm sure it's in development now, but I believe the exact same team handles Mario Maker and 2D Mario, and that division of Nintendo also handles Pikmin (though they've been working with Eighting from 3 Deluxe onwards). I wouldn't expect it until 2026 at the earliest
Re: Ori Dev Asks Nintendo Fans If They Want 'No Rest For The Wicked' On Switch 2
Absolutely, especially because Moon has proven they're exceptionally talented with porting games to Switch. I have no doubt that this game could look and run great on Switch 2
Re: Poll: So, How Would You Feel About 24 Racers In Mario Kart 9?
I'm cautiously optimistic, but given how...wide and
drawn out Mario Bros. Circuit appears to be, I do have my concerns about how track design will need to accommodate for the increased player count. Also a bit worried about retro tracks unless they lock them to a 12-player mode. Maybe what we're looking at is a Rally mode, and other modes reduce the player count?
Re: Laika: Aged Through Blood Is Finally Switch-Bound Later This Month
@LikelySatan Makes sense. Do you think that build was targeting 60fps?
Re: Poll: So, What Did You Think Of The Switch 2 Reveal?
@TrixieSparkle Leaks have confirmed the screen is 8 inches, making it a full inch larger than the OLED's
Re: Laika: Aged Through Blood Is Finally Switch-Bound Later This Month
@LikelySatan @PepperMintRex How does that version run?
Re: Nintendo Download: 16th January (North America)
Prepurchased Blade Chimera after playing its demo, and will probably be getting DK for my birthday next week
Re: Nintendo Believes In "Giving Proper Credit" After Backlash Over Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
@Zeebor15 I looked through the credits for Tropical Freeze the other day on MobyGames and it does look like many Returns/Tropical Freeze staff remain at Retro, showing up in Prime Remastered's credits as well. And I just skimmed through Days of Ruin and found that a lot of people who worked on that game still appear to be employed at Intelligent Systems, with credits on Fire Emblem Engage, TTYD, or WarioWare: Move It!. So I kinda doubt that's part of the issue
Re: Joy-Con Mouse Functionality Seemingly Confirmed In Switch 2 Trailer
@PinderSchloss Heh. Would not mind if they move away from that. Indie Worlds are especially hard to watch.
It is definitely strange to not emphasize the mice more since the reveal mostly just felt like a very blatant way of showing that the Switch 2 is a new system (look, the original Switch transformed into the successor! Now here's Mario Kart). Unlike anything else the Switch 2 is likely bringing to the table, it's a hardware feature and not something we're getting through the OS, which I'm not surprised is being saved for later like with the original Switch. But I'm glad it seems more likely than not. It's not the most radical shakeup in the world since games have been played with a mouse for most of their existence, but it feels inspired and on-brand for Nintendo, especially because they do have a sporadic history with mice (mostly just the SNES Mouse and then supporting one in Game Builder Garage - EPD4 has some sway over what goes into a console, so I wouldn't be surprised if the idea of turning Joy-Con into mice originated with them). No console has catered to that much.
Re: Joy-Con Mouse Functionality Seemingly Confirmed In Switch 2 Trailer
@Diowine Nintendo of America at least offers free drift repair, and with the US being their biggest market, they absolutely lost money over Joy-Con drift. I'm sorry that you lost out on that, but it's more likely than not that they'll address it given the intense controversy. Pretty sure Hall Effect joysticks are only different under the hood, anyways. You look at options for modding them for use on Switch and they're not really any different visually.
Re: Joy-Con Mouse Functionality Seemingly Confirmed In Switch 2 Trailer
@PinderSchloss It was pretty clear to me what they were hinting at when they showed the Joy-Con on their sides scurrying around like mice with the straps serving as tails, but I can't blame people for overlooking it
Re: Reaction: Nintendo Pins Hopes On Familiar Fun With Switch 2
@Xbox_Dashboard Ports don't usually change up a game's artstyle, double the amount of players in a given race, redesign key visual elements, introduce drastically different mechanics, or take other features away (there's a distinct lack of Double Item Boxes in the shot at the end of the trailer). Mario Kart's a new entry, full stop.
Re: Reaction: Nintendo Pins Hopes On Familiar Fun With Switch 2
If you think a 24 player Mario Kart with much smoother models and extremely large environments is coming anywhere near Switch 1, let alone at a decent framerate and resolution, I have a bridge I can sell you
Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Reveal Trailer Gives First Official Look At The New Console
I feel like everyone here's forgotten how Nintendo has always done iterative successors. The only time they haven't was with the N64 and GameCube, and even then, it's not like the GameCube was a radical departure from the N64 era (plus, the Nintendo 128 just doesn't hit the same). This feels very much in the spirit of the 3DS in particular, since the form factor is extremely similar. And sure - on a surface level, it doesn't seem like a big step forward. It is a generational leap for Nintendo, though, in terms of power. The mouse functionality flew over a lot of people's heads (the Joy-Con acted like actual mice in the trailer, with the straps serving as their tails), but I think it's going to be far more than a simple gimmick most games ignore. It can allow touchscreen games to be repurposed more for docked, opens up possibilities for PC ports, gives Nintendo potential for series like Pikmin, Mario Maker/Paint, and Kid Icarus, and is probably the best way of replicating pointer controls with the Switch concept. And that's not to mention we've seen nothing of what the system experience is like. If the jump from DSi to 3DS is any indication, we could have a far more substantial user experience on our hands despite the original Switch foundation remaining intact. The C button still has an ambiguous use. There may be other features that haven't been detailed yet that leaks have glossed over - it took a long time for mouse functionality to be figured out, so for all we know they'll have a bit more up their sleeves.
It's fine to be disappointed with how little was shown today, but to assume that there's nothing more to the Switch 2 is definitely underestimating Nintendo. They just put out an alarm clock of all things - they're still experimenting and doing things differently. For all we know, they're going to create specialized controllers for different games with the Switch 2 that warrant some difference in tech - something that wouldn't be on any leaker's radar. It's just hard to imagine what could reinvent the wheel these days given every new idea Nintendo's gone through, but if nothing else, there is promising stuff here.
Sure would be nice to get analogue triggers again, though...
Re: Nintendo Switch 2 Reveal Trailer Gives First Official Look At The New Console
@SillyG You're in luck with the microphone, as it's been leaked for a while now a built-in one is returning. It does seem to be on the tablet and not one of the Joy-Cons, for whatever reason (I think it's to the right of the cartridge slot, which they conveniently never showed in the teaser, but it can be glimpsed on the official website), but it appears to be there. As for a camera, there's nothing concrete backing the idea, but it is commonly theorized that the USB-C port on the top of the system was implemented for accessories like a camera. It'd be nice if it pans out - unlike other things they've done in the past, such as the News and Weather channels on Wii, smartphones don't effectively render cameras obsolete as long as they can leverage them in games and take advantage of the options provided by a controller.
Re: New Mario Kart 9 Teased For Switch 2
@beartown
...Go look at some footage for Mario Kart Wii again and tell me it's even remotely like this. Wii was not a looker even for a SD game
Re: Review: Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Switch) - Aping A Retro Classic
Sure am glad this is out right before my birthday, because I'd otherwise wait for a price drop (which are more common than people think for Nintendo games - Woot! in particular's been pretty decent, bringing Luigi's Mansion 2 HD down to $45 for weeks now). I do think Nintendo's current pricing strategy is going to backfire on them more and more, though - the value proposition is just lacking with a release like this. $40 at most would've been acceptable. But the 30fps in Returns 3D was frustrating enough by the end to make me drop the game compared to the buttery smooth Tropical Freeze, and I don't want to play the Wii version and deal with waggle, so I've had this at the top of my birthday list.
I do get the feeling that Nintendo's deal with Forever Entertainment, if it doesn't fall through, is going to just lead to them being put on late Switch ports of games that generally aren't that cared about (even if they are well-liked). Stuff like, say, Excitebots, Battalion Wars, and FlingSmash. And once whatever their contract is wraps up, I hope they take their business elsewhere. It takes talent to be a go-to Nintendo partner, and they could easily find other studios that can do much better jobs akin to Tantalus and Grezzo
Re: Rumour: 'Switch 2' Will Reportedly Be Officially Revealed This Thursday
@Jeronan @msvt "Releasing simultaneously worldwide" just means it's releasing at the same time in all regions. The Game Freak gigaleak actually indicated that Z-A is only planned for Switch 1, though it's possible that plans have changed
Re: Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Spotted In The Wild
@N00BiSH It's not bad, and I have a particular soft spot for Automatic Action, but it is the one game in the series he's never touched and they already used his return to Tropical Freeze as a selling point. Just think it would've been the most obvious thing they could've changed to better justify HD beyond finally getting 60fps with button controls and the 3DS stages. They could even have a soundtrack toggle.
Re: Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Spotted In The Wild
I think it was a huge missed opportunity to not get David Wise to provide a revised soundtrack for Returns HD. I'm not asking for a total replacement like what we saw with DKC3 on GBA, but it would've been a great selling point that wouldn't have required much on Nintendo or Forever's end
Re: Rumour: Insider Claims That Halo: Master Chief Collection Will Come To 'Switch 2'
@coolioam Indiana Jones is probably a given even if the most conservative estimates of the Switch 2's performance are what pan out. My understanding is that it runs on id Tech 7, and that engine is one of the best optimized out there now. Ray tracing apparently shouldn't even be an issue, either, since it sounds like the Switch 2 will be capable of it thanks to some of the Nvidia tech inside. Only real question is if they'll cap it at 30fps, which the Steam Deck version runs at, or if DLSS and potential unknowns about the hardware (5nm vs. 8nm?) can push it up to 60fps (maybe for a dedicated performance mode, if nothing else?)
Re: Rumour: Insider Claims That Halo: Master Chief Collection Will Come To 'Switch 2'
Why do people think the Switch 2 isn't going to improve physical game storage when it's pretty consistently been what they've done for successor systems? The 3DS cartridge can store more than the DS. A Wii U disc is superior to a Wii disc. I expect Switch 2 cartridges will make a similar leap
Re: Ex-Annapurna Interactive Staff Reportedly Pick Up Private Division Portfolio Under New Studio
Hmm. I wonder how Game Freak feels about all this. Can't imagine they're too happy - they signed on with Private Division, the label with the backing of Take-Two with ample resources, not Private Division, the company owned by a no-name private equity firm. I wonder if they'll take Project Bloom elsewhere...if that's even an option
Re: Bayonetta Veteran Confirms PlatinumGames Departure
Correction: Abebe Tinari's the name, not Adebe
Re: Rumour: New 'Switch 2' Photos Show Off A Very Legit-Looking Joy-Con
@Axelay71
[monkey's paw curls]
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_and_Donkey_Kong:_Minis_on_the_Move
Re: Tech Fans Have Gone Full 'Layton' In Analysing The 'Switch 2' Motherboard
@Lord I don't think we have any evidence companies were asking for 16GB of RAM? 12GB is more than what the Xbox Series S has, anyways. It'll be fine for most games
Re: Nintendo's Punch-Out!! Series May Be Dead And Buried For Good
...Considering the fact that Punch-Out characters were considered for ARMS at one point, pretty sure that's an indication of Nintendo maintaining interest in the series. They also seem willing to revive virtually any IP - if anything's off-limits, it's going to be stuff like Time Twist, not Punch-Out.
Re: Acquire Almost Called Brothership 'Mario & Luigi Wonder', But Nintendo Got There First
If it was called Wonder, I imagine the name would've only stuck in Japan. Brothership was retained outside of Japan because it was punny like basically every other Western subtitle for the series, according to the interviews.
Re: How Well Do You Remember 2024? Nintendo Life's End-Of-Year Gaming Quiz
My first attempt didn't log for some reason, but I got everything right and only really had to guess on the Nintendo Museum and 10/10 review score questions. I need help
Re: Feature: Nintendo Life's Alternative Game Awards 2024
How did the NSO Playtest not come up anywhere on this list? It's one of the most bizarre things Nintendo's done in ages, especially given how the actual game seems to be a massive undertaking for them. And they just...let in 10,000 people to try it out blindly for 2 weeks before shutting it down.
Re: Feature: The Best Hidden Gems And Underrated Switch Games Of 2024
Are people going through and reviewbombing the games on these lists? Almost everything on here has a middling score that seems at odds with how the games were received elsewhere. For instance, Berserk Boy has an 82 on Opencritic with 49 reviews - quite a lot for an indie game that otherwise flew under the radar. How did it end up with a 6.5 from Nintendo Life users if you don't have a handful of people throwing 1/10s at everything? It makes these lists look a lot worse even though this is frankly a very respectable lineup. It also seems to be a recent trend, but maybe I haven't been paying enough attention.
Anyways, I'd have to give Victory Heat Rally my hidden gem award for the year. I did finish Mission in Snowdriftland as well, and I'd sum it up as feeling sort of like a modern take on NES Mario in the sense that it has extremely tight controls surpassing those games, but has comparable level design in the sense that it doesn't feel like it takes mechanics and runs with them. Given that they were apparently making a level every day as the game was originally hosted by Nintendo, though, the design is solid. Ironically, the minibosses that took more time to create years later for the Steam version post-Kickstarter were the low point of the game. Still absolutely worth it for anyone who wants a little piece of Nintendo history. I wish I could've gotten around to Arranger, Berserk Boy, Can of Wormholes, and Crypt Custodian, which I all bought at launch, but oh well.
Re: Feature: Game Of The Year 2024 - Nintendo Life Staff Awards
Kinda surprised at the user scores on some of the indies here, especially Can of Wormholes, which got rave reviews and a Thinky Game of the Year award. They stand out more on a list like this, which is a pretty solid lineup of games, all things considered. I didn't get to nearly as much as I wanted to this year even though I played more consistently during college than I have in some time, but Animal Well was a highlight for sure. I'd also give a nod to Victory Heat Rally, which I just finished the campaign of yesterday - despite some minor quibbles, I thought it was a blast to play
Re: PSA: Switch 2 Is Getting Revealed In The Next 100 Days
"Actually, they only said they'd make an announcement about the successor, so they'll announce when they'll announce it before March 31st" Uh...that was the announcement of the announcement. We already have reason to believe mass production of the Switch successor is underway. Nintendo console delays have also historically been from holiday seasons into Spring - we know this was the case for the 3DS, and I believe there's an obscure document from the Gigaleak that confirms this happened to the Switch as well (though I haven't been able to find it again after initially seeing it).
The only thing that's for certain is that none of this is going to play out the way most people expect. It's how Nintendo is - rarely do they ever do what we anticipate.
Re: Opinion: It's Not My GOTY, But This Nintendo Game Was A Standout 2024 Memory
"Animal Well is my Game of the Year, but I got a huge kick out of Nintendo World Championships" Are you me?
Nintendo World Championships absolutely isn't a perfect game. It feels lighter on content than it needs to be; the actual championships are starting to get a bit more stale because of how they're repeating challenges from previous weekly events. It could've incorporated more NES titles as well. It would've been nice to see some NES Remix-style challenges (though I think people forget how many of its own challenges were unaltered NES games). But its bite-sized approach to speedrunning still had me hooked, and tying for 1st in the world multiple times by now (which I'm most proud of doing on Balloon Bopper because it was rated hard instead of normal) has felt really gratifying. I think people will come around on the format if they continue with it and address the areas where the game can feel lacking. SNES and GBA versions of NWC would be excellent.
Re: Those Switch 2 Leaks "Might Be Legit" According To A New Report
@Everythingnotsaved The difference boils down to how they market it. Make it an obvious successor (essentially, call it Switch 2), give it a killer app or two (which the Wii U essentially didn't have for an entire year), and it should be just fine
Re: Those Switch 2 Leaks "Might Be Legit" According To A New Report
Also had an r/GamingLeaksandRumors moderator look at the images and say he felt unsure about them, singling out the logo as looking particularly suspicious, so...who knows
I think this guy's just out for attention. He could very well have held an actual Switch 2, but when he started referring to vague sources about a bundle with a "9 game" he all but stated was Mario Kart (this doesn't track with Nintendo treating Tour as mainline or their usual trend of switching up the names for the series every 2 games) and a January 11th presentation (that's a Saturday), he lost me. I don't think everything he's said is accurate.
Re: Your 'Nintendo Switch Year In Review 2024' Stats Are Available Now
124 games, 163 hours...because I set my Nintendo account up with Exophase to track my playtime and had to open up every game I'd previously played to log it on there. I would estimate I only played around 25-30 games to any meaningful extent myself.
I put 46 hours (and 36 minutes) into Shadows Over Loathing, 18 hours into Nintendo World Championships, and 17 hours (and 34 minutes) into Animal Well for my top 3, though since the end of November, my NWC playtime increased to 21 hours and 18 minutes. Animal Well is still in third, but Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble will probably beat it by the year's end. Also sunk some time into Mario Kart, Smash, and Jackbox that wasn't logged.
As far as I can tell, Exophase just reads the data Nintendo tracks, but only displays in full if you have Parental Controls enabled, and isn't at all risky to use. I'd definitely recommend it if you want to track playtime in greater detail and alongside games on other platforms.
Re: Capcom Intends To Continue "Re-Activating Dormant IPs"
Curious if those leaked Final Fight and Power Stone remakes will resurface soon...
Re: Mini Review: Victory Heat Rally (Switch) - Great Looks, But Can't Quite Make The Podium
@scully1888 Good to know! That makes sense. Wasn't trying to accuse you of some sort of collusion or anything - just found it interesting that the reviews were similar in certain respects, given Time Extension doesn't often review games, and I figured there was maybe a chance it could be attributed to you two discussing the game together. I appreciate your reviews both here and at VGC a lot!
Re: 'Hyperdimension Neptunia' & 'Death End' Switch Releases Scrapped For "Not Complying With Nintendo Guidelines"
@Itachi2099 Could be them getting arrogant, but this seems to rest solely on their Western branches and not NCL over in Japan. I think Nintendo of America is also the division that commandeers their legal department, since they're almost always the one named in Nintendo's litigation. The Palworld suit is a rare exception to that, but sensationalism blew that out of proportion compared to the low damages Nintendo is asking of Pocketpair (no, it won't set the precedent of only Nintendo being able to use certain mechanics in monster catching games, they're not gonna go after random indies, and they're not gonna establish a monopoly on the genre).
In general, Nintendo of America seems to be run worse than the rest of the company, given they're also the division of Nintendo that's made headlines for workplace issues, and they seem to have grown a lot lately in a way that's translating over into worse quality control. Little bloopers in their trailers (Brothership had a single frame spoiling part of the endgame in its overview trailer), issues with their interview translations, more problems with Treehouse beyond censorship such as typos...that sort of thing
Re: 'Hyperdimension Neptunia' & 'Death End' Switch Releases Scrapped For "Not Complying With Nintendo Guidelines"
@HeadPirate
I think you're overlooking some fairly crucial stuff when it comes to your conclusion. In the past few years, Nintendo localizations have become extremely stringent regarding their content. They don't want even a pinch of anything that could be construed as offensive. Which is how we end up with stuff like Pikmin 2 on Switch removing references to gambling and gender roles/gendered language (https://nichegamer.com/pikmin-1-2-removes-references-to-gambling-gendered-language/), or The Thousand-Year Door getting hit with an extensive number of changes like removing basically any jokes about weight or changing all instances of words like "crazy" or "nuts," to the point it can obfuscate the meaning of the text. MarioWiki has an extensive list of all the changes made to its script; it also notes that similar changes in wording were made to Super Mario RPG. That kind of censorship is not characteristic of the rightwing. And coupled with the fact that, just a few short months ago, Nintendo was advertising games like "Date Everything" in their most recent presentation...I really don't think there's reason to believe they've taken a complete 180° in their stance since then over the results of the US election. If I remember correctly, Washington moved the least to the right out of any state in the country in the results as well, so I feel like that would lend at least a bit of credence to the idea that Nintendo of America wouldn't change policies over its outcome, given they're based there.
Re: Okami Sequel Announced, Will Be Directed By Hideki Kamiya
I own Okami HD. Haven't played it.
The fact that the teaser gave me chills as I realized what it was is signaling to me that I should get on that before the sequel releases, huh
Re: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Announced For Switch, Coming Soon
So this is Sonic and All-Stars Racing 3, right? Right?
Re: Bandai Namco Unveils New Pac-Man Game, And It's Probably Not What You Expect
Update: Katsuhiro Harada is executive producing the game, and apparently key staff members include alumni from Samurai Shodown/King of Fighters and Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Re: Bandai Namco Unveils New Pac-Man Game, And It's Probably Not What You Expect
The Secret Level Pac-Man episode was a direct prequel to this.
https://ew.com/pac-man-shadow-labyrinth-trailer-amazon-secret-level-8760595
This is hilarious. I hope it's actually worth buying.
Re: Mini Review: Victory Heat Rally (Switch) - Great Looks, But Can't Quite Make The Podium
One thing that's strange is that apparently there's a way to enable the old Super Scaler artstyle, but it requires modifying a file within the game data instead of being an in-game toggle and thus wouldn't be possible on platforms other than PC. @AJB83 mentioned it in a comment on the Time Extension review. I wonder why it's been buried, and if it'll see the proper light of day in a future update?
Re: Mini Review: Victory Heat Rally (Switch) - Great Looks, But Can't Quite Make The Podium
@LEGEND_MARIOID There is a 20% launch discount, but the game is also $5 more than on Steam, so it's only evening things out for early buyers on Switch
Re: Mini Review: Victory Heat Rally (Switch) - Great Looks, But Can't Quite Make The Podium
https://opencritic.com/game/17427/victory-heat-rally/reviews
https://nintendowire.com/reviews/victory-heat-rally/
https://waytoomany.games/2024/10/07/review-victory-heat-rally/
Always good to look at more reviews to see what the consensus is. OpenCritic appears to have the aggregate score at 80, and 8/10s are the most common score. NintendoLife, Time Extension (which has a fairly similar writeup on the game - not the same, but given they're a sister site to us and Damien used to run NL, iirc, it makes me wonder if Chris and Damien talked about the game with each other, and that's why they make more similar points compared to other reviews I've read) and Destructoid are the only 7/10s I've seen. I think NintendoLife is generally a reliable source for reviews, but sometimes they do trend higher or lower than other outlets, and I think it never hurts to brush up on other reviews to see if the same criticisms or praises come up. Doesn't mean they're not valid if they don't, but it helps put things in perspective.
Re: Nintendo Download: 12th December (North America)
Picking up both Victory Heat Rally (which apparently runs at a silky smooth 60fps!) and Antonblast this week
Re: Round Up: The First Impressions Of The Sonic 3 Movie Are In
I don't understand why everyone gives Sonic's extreme flanderization for these movies a pass (usually by saying "they're aimed at kids.") It's so bizarre to me that the Paramount Sonic stuff seems to handle most of the other Sonic characters well, and is willing to bring out some major deep cuts just for the fans (like referencing the Babylonians from Sonic Riders in the second movie), but Sonic's a hyperactive dork who can't go 5 seconds without making an annoying pop culture reference. I'd have thought by now - especially with them bringing Shadow and his inherently edgy trappings - that they would've seen fit to develop Sonic so he's more in line with his typical characterization. But everything we've seen of him in the marketing tells me this movie's tone is going to be all over the place because Sonic's constantly making dumb references to other media or saying stuff like "Konichi-what?" and that'll be juxtaposed against an apparently rather faithful adaptation of Shadow and his backstory.