PikaPhantom

PikaPhantom

I buy games & occasionally play 'em

Comments 1,785

Re: Rumour: One Of Kirby's 3DS Titles Will Return Next Year, It's Claimed

PikaPhantom

@VoidofLight @Simu001 Tons of insiders have been talking about those games for years. For what it's worth, in Episode 65 of Kit and Krysta's podcast, they did comment on the rumors of Nintendo sitting on rereleases of both games and said that there's good reason to believe that's the case even though they couldn't directly confirm it. And some Russian retailer randomly put up a Wind Waker HD Switch release just a bit ago before wiping it off their site, iirc. Worst comes to worst, I think they could be cross-gen releases next year since they've exhausted new 2D and 3D games for Switch 2's launch year lineup

Re: Rumour: One Of Kirby's 3DS Titles Will Return Next Year, It's Claimed

PikaPhantom

@tourjeff Kirby gets constant support because it's HAL Laboratory's series to make. They created it, it's their biggest series (aside from Smash, but that effectively outgrew them), and their only other particularly major series has been finished for years now (Mother). HAL working on Kirby has no bearing on what Nintendo IPs remain dormant. About the only thing they've done that's remotely comparable to Star Fox in particular is, incidentally, the final boss of Planet Robobot. It's not like Retro Studios, where their hiatus and pivot to Metroid Prime 4 left Donkey Kong without a developer again

Re: Poll: After Three Quiet Months, Will We Finally Get A Nintendo Direct In December?

PikaPhantom

We didn't get our usual November Indie World, and given how third-parties are already somewhat winding down on Switch and Nintendo's also preparing to focus on their next system, upcoming indies are probably the main thing they have left to show by now. So I can definitely see there being an Indie World at some point this month, though not a repeat of Inside the House of Indies because that format did not take off in 2022.

Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting Donkey Kong Country Returns HD For Switch?

PikaPhantom

I'm a bit hesitant because of some of the issues that people tore into in the reveal trailer - none were particularly egregious, but given Nintendo's strict quality control, I think it's fair to be concerned. But it also comes out a week before my birthday, and I eventually dropped Returns 3D because its halved framerate was making the experience more frustrating compared to Tropical Freeze, so it'll probably be at the top of my wishlist either way.

Re: Bug Fables, The Fantastic Paper Mario-Like RPG, Gets Surprise Anniversary Update

PikaPhantom

@Altaria_97 Moonsprout's current project isn't a sequel to Bug Fables. I believe they've indicated they want to do one following a new cast of characters in a different setting down the line, but from what little we do know about their next game, it's an RPG with (at least some) human characters. And it's apparently a radical enough departure that they don't think the established Bug Fables fanbase is likely to carry over, so they're concerned about trying to cultivate an audience that'll support the game and allow it to succeed.

Re: Feature: "I Avoided Almost All The Existing Tropes" - Peeling Back The Layers Of GOTY Contender Animal Well

PikaPhantom

@MirrorFate2 It really just boils down to him trying to design a Metroidvania that doesn't have the usual abilities that have become virtually codified within the genre, as well as making a Metroidvania that doesn't revolve around combat. I think you can make a case for the puzzles deeper than layer 3/4 being pretentious, but layers 1 and 2 are some of the most enjoyable puzzle platforming I've ever played through and are fairly accessible

Re: UK Charts: Mario & Luigi: Brothership Drops Anchor Outside The Top Ten

PikaPhantom

@OldGamer999
"Only 1 new Mario 3d platformer game."
Bowser's Fury exists. It's short, but it's absolutely worth playing.
"Only 1 new Mario 2d platformer game."
Super Mario Maker 2 has an entire built-in campaign that's solid.

Limiting yourself to games that score at around a 90 or above also seems really arbitrary to me? If you have limited time, I kinda get only focusing on the cream of the crop, but there are plenty of games that are highly regarded that score lower. Some of my favorite offerings from Nintendo on Switch have been in the 70s and 80s, like New Pokemon Snap and Kirby and the Forgotten Land.

Re: Feature: "Time To Laughter Is Like Zero" - Jackbox Games CEO On Quiplash, T-Shirts, And 10 Years Of Party Packs

PikaPhantom

@Goat_FromBOTW You can't go wrong with the Party Starter as a primer, but it does mean that you'll be double-dipping on one game each from Party Packs 3, 6, and 7 should you opt for the full version of those - and 3 and 7 are pretty widely considered the best overall Party Packs. I'd say basically every pack has a worthwhile game, though my family never got 9 because none of its games grabbed us (or the Naughty Pack given it's almost exclusively sex-related prompts), and 10 is by far the weakest, with the main things going for it being a mixed bag of a sequel to Tee KO and a rhythm game that's solid but not really like anything else Jackbox has done, meaning your mileage may vary on whether you'll have a group of people enthusiastic to play it compared to their usual games. (We bounced off most of 8, but Job Job alone makes it worth buying). Did just get to sample Earwax from Party Pack 2 the other day, and while it had its limitations/rough edges, it was a great enough time that we might go back and get Party Pack 2

Re: Mindcop, A Brain-Melting Detective Adventure, Is Out Now On Switch

PikaPhantom

Tried out the demo for this before it came out, and the controls for inspecting objects just kinda broke most of the time, only letting me move along the horizontal axis. Seems to have been addressed since the Switch demo didn't have the same issue come up when I was trying to get an idea of the Switch performance, though movement still feels like it could be just a little faster - it's acceptable for the kind of game this is, though. Reviews so far are favorable, so I will probably get it down the line, but it's harder to justify getting games at launch right before the holidays when they'll probably be discounted more in just a month or so. (Also, it's another case of the Switch icon having no logo. I wish Nintendo enforced their guidelines more rigidly - always frustrating when games basically assign their Windows desktop icons to console version icons.)

Re: English Box Art For Famicom Detective Club Remakes Spotted In Official Nintendo Graphic

PikaPhantom

@AshFoxX Emio's a standalone story. There are a handful of callbacks, but I believe some of them only trigger if you have save data for the remakes. You don't need to have played them to get into Emio, but I get where you're coming from. For me, it's more that I just want to acquaint myself with a modern interpretation of the formula before trying to get to grips with the more archaic design kept in the remakes.

Re: Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Upcoming Switch Games

PikaPhantom

@mariomaster96 Technically, you're wrong, as Pokemon Quest is not mainline. However, the Legends games have been officially referred to as mainline entries - and frankly, I don't know why there's any confusion over their status. Just breaking from convention and establishing a side series while retaining many core mechanics does not constitute a spinoff. It's not as bad as people calling Echoes of Wisdom a spinoff just because it doesn't star Link, even though it's blatantly just a new take on 2D Zelda - if Echoes is a spinoff, then the touch-controlled DS Zeldas and multiplayer Zeldas absolutely are, and yet Nintendo considers them all mainline. But in a series where every spinoff is essentially established as its own thing and rarely acknowledged in the main games (the most we've really had lately is a few nods in Let's Go, I think, with Quest showing up and the arcade machines in the Game Corner alluding to stuff like Pokken), Perrin's existence alone signifies Legends Arceus as mainline

Re: Plans To Announce The 'Switch 2' Have Not Changed, Says Nintendo's President

PikaPhantom

Never count anything out with this company. If they want to drop the reveal trailer at TGAs while tens of millions are watching, they will. If they think they can get away with doing it before the end of December without having it at TGAs, they very well might. People are very consistently incorrect when speculating on the unknown with Nintendo and often get disappointed when things don't line up with their expectations. I'm kind of in that camp right now, given how I thought a reveal before the end of October was plausible, but there was definitely more reason to think it was on the table than assuming they'll wait until March.

Both the 3DS and Switch were pushed back internally from holiday launches to late winter/early spring 2024. I imagine it'll be similar this time (I can't believe there are people convinced that 2026 is the year). No matter what, they need to space out the announcement accordingly. Switch momentum is already pretty lacking. Better to ensure its successor has the foundation laid for a strong start than try to squeeze a few million more sales out of it.

Re: So, Will You Be Listening To The New Mobile App Nintendo Music?

PikaPhantom

I probably won't use the app much just because I like having a comprehensive music playlist with plenty of non-Nintendo music mixed in with Nintendo songs. But now I'm very concerned they'll use this as an opportunity to go scorched earth on every upload of their music they can find on other platforms (YouTube is the one I use), which would essentially make that impossible. It would be a non-issue if they were willing to put their music on regular streaming platforms, but of course that was never gonna happen. I wish the arrangement just meant every album in the app is a timed exclusive before rolling out elsewhere later, with some other incentives to give people a reason to turn to the app (like, say, some sort of rhythm game that's generated based on each song).

Re: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble Scores A Switch eShop Demo

PikaPhantom

@nocdaes The overwhelming consensus is that Banana Rumble is the game you've been waiting for, at least if you prefer the singleplayer Monkey Ball experience to the multiplayer modes in the GameCube games. I remember Banana Mania feeling a bit off in the controls department, but Rumble feels incredibly responsive, and its stages are largely really well-designed. If you're skeptical, I would at least recommend considering a purchase when the game is on sale.

Re: Review: Sonic X Shadow Generations (Switch) - A Blistering Return To Form For Both Hedgehogs

PikaPhantom

I have my fingers crossed that Sega will see fit to roll out a version of this game for the Switch successor early in its life. Considering how people have already managed to mod Sonic Generations to run at 60fps on Switch (apparently by limiting the resolution to 720p and not 1080p? No overclocking needed) and how the Steam Deck can run even Shadow Generations at 1080p/60fps, it seems like a new port for the successor would be able to run consistently great.

Re: Nintendo Download: 24th October (North America)

PikaPhantom

Just The Jackbox Survey Scramble for now. Interested in a number of other releases, though. Kinda annoyed Sonic Generations is locked to 30fps on Switch - I get why Shadow Generations is, but apparently there's already a mod that targets 60fps for Sonic Generations and it seems to hit that framerate very consistently at 720p. No overclocking, either. Hope it gets a Switch 2 version that is 60fps

Re: Mario & Luigi: Brothership Developer Has Supposedly Been Revealed

PikaPhantom

I think it's worth noting that this simply indicates that Acquire is the lead developer of the game. The IP/copyright information for Nintendo's Switch games doesn't tend to mention less prominent codevelopers or contributors, from what I remember. So it is entirely possible that ILCA still acted as a codeveloper on Brothership, which would make sense for various reasons:

  • Acquire isn't that big of a studio and apparently has been releasing a lot of games lately, or at least codeveloping them
  • ILCA started out as a support studio and has still been serving in that role for games like Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
  • ILCA's original focus was apparently on CG animation, which could indicate they assisted with animation work on Brothership
  • ILCA still has more known AlphaDream alumni than any other studio (though it's possible Acquire absorbed more, and they've just worked on Brothership since, hence the lack of credits on games like Octopath Traveler II)

We won't know further details until someone rolls credits on the game. But if nothing else, I'm happy to hear the game is in great hands. I haven't played Octopath II yet, but people were raving about it being one of the best RPGs released in years.

Re: As Expected, Nintendo Is Struggling To Contain Switch Online Playtest Leaks

PikaPhantom

@Lizuka Explain to me how "Nintendo's getting weird and ambitious again by testing some sort of new MMO-like IP" is more underwhelming than the prevailing theory of "GameCube NSO but it's done through streaming."
I had a gut feeling this was going to be something completely different. The fan consensus on what Nintendo intends to do is almost never what they actually do. Just look at Emio, which - given the emphasis placed on the mystery of who Emio was - had me wonder if it would turn out to be a mystery-centric game and not really a horror game. I didn't clock it as a third Famicom Detective Club, but I saw a few people that did and was pleasantly surprised when they were right. Anyways, the 2.2 GB filesize implied that this had nothing to do with streaming (or presumably, the GameCube, unless 1-2 games were preloaded by default).

Don't let your expectations get out of hand. Realistically, the fact Nintendo is experimenting with online at this scale is a much bigger deal than them phoning in GameCube Online by not making it native (which realistically probably won't happen even natively - they need to rely on older games to ensure consistent release schedules now, and the GameCube is the first console where Nintendo can rely on remasters over remakes, making its library easy fodder for padding out their lineup).

Re: Intriguing Indie World Title Is Now On Indefinite Hold On Switch

PikaPhantom

There's a good chance that this situation is because of the underperformance of Valley Peaks's Steam release (the most generous estimate available puts it at 4500 copies sold). Which is really unfortunate. But if the Switch version coming to fruition hinged on the Steam performance to begin with, it seems awfully reckless for them to have not only announced a Switch version in advance, but to have done so in a Nintendo Indie World presentation, where there are limited slots for what can make it in. Of course, the situation might be more complex - that's just what it reads like to me. It's a shame all around. Was looking forward to seeing how the game would stack up on Switch after really digging the demo on Steam. Hopefully they'll be able to work something out and deliver on the port instead of having to cancel it.

Re: We're In Love With This Platformer Fashioned After A Computer Desktop

PikaPhantom

@BoFiS You just drag the windows around with the right stick. I played through the Next Fest demo and honestly thought it was more intuitive when using the controller. You do move the windows with the mouse if playing with the keyboard, but the movement felt a lot more fidgety and not entirely in-tune with what I was actually doing, whereas with the controller/right stick, it felt smooth.

Re: Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition Updated (Version 1.1.1), Here's What's Included

PikaPhantom

Am I crazy for actually really liking this game? I wish it had a bit more meat on its bones, but I'm still enjoying it and hope they roll out new editions for later systems. The reason why they didn't just port NES Remix instead is probably just for the same reason we never saw Yoshi's Woolly World hit Switch - they brought the games over to 3DS. If they do ever revisit those games, I hope they bring over the speedrun setup from this game over into its own mode. It'd be the best of both worlds.