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.
@VoidofLight I think it'd be really nice to get reorchestrated soundtracks for both games. Feels like such an easy selling point for any remaster - would've killed to have David Wise get brought on for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD to give it a selling point beyond "it's the game in 60fps with 3DS controls and content"
@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
@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
@Fortang1980 It sure looks like it's gone. It doesn't have an image in my purchase history. Which means that between me having it on my Scarlet/Violet OLED Switch and the NSO Playtest Program, I have a one of a kind console that could command thousands of dollars online /s
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.
@FreasurePlanten @JJtheTexan https://x.com/Jakob_Wahlberg/status/1857831994404778021 According to this former employee of Image & Form, no one from the original Image & Form development team appears to be left at Thunderful now
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.
@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.
@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
Calling a game "exquisitely crafted" and then slapping a 7/10 on it is...a choice. Especially when the OpenCritic aggregate score is an 87, meaning this review is a lot lower compared to the consensus despite reading more like an 8/10
@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.
@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
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.)
@Simone93 I'm being sarcastic. This time they really didn't specify, though, which is interesting when they thought both a Museum Direct and Indie World/Partner Showcase together did
"This one, however, won't feature...any information on the elusive 'Switch 2.'" Well, Nintendo themselves didn't specify it this time, so clearly we're getting a blowout tomorrow!
@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.
Had to support the return of this series at launch. I'm not going in expecting a masterpiece, but I have little reason to think I won't enjoy Brothership
@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
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.
How have they not confirmed a single 3DS game for the service? I understand omitting the Wii U more because most of its major exclusives are on Switch anyways, but the 3DS?
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).
Comments 1,805
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.
Re: Looks Like Fire Emblem & Paper Mario Dev Intelligent Systems Is Hiring
Intelligent Systems is very closely tied to Nintendo, but they are not a subsidiary
Re: Rumour: One Of Kirby's 3DS Titles Will Return Next Year, It's Claimed
@VoidofLight I think it'd be really nice to get reorchestrated soundtracks for both games. Feels like such an easy selling point for any remaster - would've killed to have David Wise get brought on for Donkey Kong Country Returns HD to give it a selling point beyond "it's the game in 60fps with 3DS controls and content"
Re: Rumour: One Of Kirby's 3DS Titles Will Return Next Year, It's Claimed
@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
@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: Opinion: Nintendo Needs To Let Us Block The Crap On Switch 2's eShop
@Fortang1980 It sure looks like it's gone. It doesn't have an image in my purchase history. Which means that between me having it on my Scarlet/Violet OLED Switch and the NSO Playtest Program, I have a one of a kind console that could command thousands of dollars online /s
Re: Poll: After Three Quiet Months, Will We Finally Get A Nintendo Direct In December?
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: Video: 10 Exciting New Games Coming To Nintendo Switch In December 2024
That's it? No Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer?
Re: Thunderful Announces Its Second Restructuring Program In One Year
@FreasurePlanten @JJtheTexan
https://x.com/Jakob_Wahlberg/status/1857831994404778021
According to this former employee of Image & Form, no one from the original Image & Form development team appears to be left at Thunderful now
Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting Donkey Kong Country Returns HD For Switch?
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: Nintendo Download: 28th November (North America)
Definitely picking up Mission in Snowdriftland, and most likely grabbing Antonblast as well
Re: Retro-Style Racer 'Victory Heat Rally' Could Be Powersliding Onto Switch Soon
Fingers crossed this runs like butter on Switch. Had a blast with the demo that's no longer available
Re: Bug Fables, The Fantastic Paper Mario-Like RPG, Gets Surprise Anniversary Update
@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
@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: Review: 8-Bit Adventures 2 (Switch) - A Well-Crafted Ode To Classic RPGs That Goes On A Bit
Calling a game "exquisitely crafted" and then slapping a 7/10 on it is...a choice. Especially when the OpenCritic aggregate score is an 87, meaning this review is a lot lower compared to the consensus despite reading more like an 8/10
Re: UK Charts: Mario & Luigi: Brothership Drops Anchor Outside The Top Ten
@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
@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
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: Feature: Nintendo's Long-Lost Advent Calendar Game Comes Home For Christmas On Switch
@Toastmaster Nintendo won't be publishing the game on Switch. tons of bits owns all rights to Mission in Snowdriftland
Re: Feature: Nintendo's Long-Lost Advent Calendar Game Comes Home For Christmas On Switch
@Toastmaster @nocdaes It's $6.99 on Steam
Re: Nintendo Direct Announced For Super Nintendo World's Donkey Kong Expansion
@Simone93 I'm being sarcastic. This time they really didn't specify, though, which is interesting when they thought both a Museum Direct and Indie World/Partner Showcase together did
Re: Nintendo Direct Announced For Super Nintendo World's Donkey Kong Expansion
"This one, however, won't feature...any information on the elusive 'Switch 2.'" Well, Nintendo themselves didn't specify it this time, so clearly we're getting a blowout tomorrow!
Re: English Box Art For Famicom Detective Club Remakes Spotted In Official Nintendo Graphic
@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 Download: 7th November (North America)
Getting Brothership physically - and I've already preloaded Tetris Forever.
Re: Take-Two Sells Private Division For Undisclosed Sum
Reportedly, No Rest for the Wicked was not part of this deal and remains under Take-Two
Re: Poll: So, Will You Be Getting Mario & Luigi: Brothership?
Had to support the return of this series at launch. I'm not going in expecting a masterpiece, but I have little reason to think I won't enjoy Brothership
Re: Nintendo Reconfirms Release Windows For Major Upcoming Switch Games
@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
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: Nintendo Music Will Add More Tracks Over Time, Here's What's Been Revealed So Far
How have they not confirmed a single 3DS game for the service? I understand omitting the Wii U more because most of its major exclusives are on Switch anyways, but the 3DS?
Re: So, Will You Be Listening To The New Mobile App Nintendo Music?
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).