Glad to see Hades there among the more big budget titles, it's easily among my top 5 games of all time. Everything about it is so creative and so lovingly made; not just the gameplay and the visual design, but also the characterisation, the voice acting and the plotting. It's rare for such a game to have both an incredibly addictive roguelite gameplay loop and a deep, touching story.
I wish they'd allow you to exchange Platinum Points into Gold Points you can use at the Eshop. Even if the exchange ratio was something like 10 Platinum Points for each Gold Point, it'd still be better than the current award system. I don't care that much about customising the small player icon you can barely see at the upper corner of your screen, and the physical rewards are mostly useless trinkets limited to a handful of games.
@BeautyandtheBeer It's sexist because she's supposed to be a knight, i.e. a physical fighter, yet her costume design doesn't reflect that anyway. The whole point of the outfit seems to be to emphasize her impossible hourglass figure and large breasts. And yes, since this is a manga/anime style game, all the heroes of all genders are drawn to be good-looking... But none the male characters we've seen so far have been designed with outfits which would, say, emphasize their buttocks or biceps. Their designs are appropriate to their role and class, and their major purpose is not to look sexy. That's where the sexism shows, the way female characters are depicted as fanservicey first and foremost, whereas with males the fanservice is secondary.
And yeah, sexy and sexist are not the same, but the women you see on a Saturday night who are wearing sexy clothes are probably not professional soldiers about to go to a battle. If you compare Chloe's design to the default outfits of Ingrid and Catherine, the two most prominent female knights in Three Houses, their designs both look gorgeous and make sense with what those characters do.
@BeautyandtheBeer Yes, I'm well aware that a lot people like cheesecake and the objectification of women, and that's why character models like this keep being made. That doesn't one can't be disappointed by the sexism of treating female characters like lust objects, especially since the previous game mostly avoided it. (The biggest exception being Manuela, but at least she wasn't being depicted as a physical warrior wearing ludicrous clothes like this, and her choice of attire was actually explained with her character motivations.)
I'm disappointed they went for the cheesecake approach with this pegasus knight, when Ingrid in Three Houses had an athletic build and a much more appropriate attire for a physical fighter type of character. Why is it so hard for so many JRPG makers to understand not everyone playing their games are straight teenage boys or other folks like that who are excited just to see some boobies? Of course these games are not realistic, so the characters don't need to be that, but they don't need to be embarrassingly sexist either.
@JeanPaul I'm not sure about where you live, but in most countries consumer legislation would stop the seller from charging any extra, even if they accidentally sold the game for too cheap. It's their mistake, so they'll suffer the consequences, not you.
@Draxa The third person ship view is there on the Switch version too, and it works fine. When flying the ship, you can change into third person from the same menu where you switch between first and third person while walking.
I know the texts here are just copy-pasted from the original reviews, but it's still kinda funny how a supposedly updated article mentions that Darksiders II "is rumoured to be arriving on Switch soon", when it arrived three years ago.
My favourite music genres are techno, ambient, jazz, and classical music, and while many games have music in those styles, they tend to be original soundtracks, not licensed tracks. In fact, I can't think of any game that would use licensed, pre-recorded jazz or ambient music. So while there's plenty of original game music I like, I've never really discovered any licensed music through them.
@Anachronism I'm not usually that bothered by graphical issues either, but stuttery movement is a special case, especially in fast-paced games like Foregone, as it just make my eyes hurt. So it's a shame the game has suffers from it, otherwise I it would be right up my alley.
Just to be sure, I tried to play Foregone today to see if they've patched it, but no, the stutter is still there. If they're indeed using filtered 3D models like you say, that might explain the issue. Like I said, there's no reason to have such stuttering in a 2D pixel game.
Foregone would be an otherwise cool Metroidvania-style action game, but it suffers from a notable graphical issue: when you move around, the background doesn't scroll smoothly rather it keeps stuttering in an irritating manner. I haven't tried the game on other platforms, so I don't know if it's a Switch optimization issue, but considering it's a 2D game with fairly simple pixel graphics, there should be no reason for that kind of issue to exist. You might still enjoy the game if stuttering like that doesn't bother you, but for me it was a dealbreaker.
The launch trailer seen in the article is also misleading, as it doesn't show this stutter effect, and the scrolling looks much smoother than it is when actually played on Switch. The gameplay footage in the trailer probably comes from some other platform.
Comments 463
Re: Best Action Games On Nintendo Switch
@DarrenWarrenV Nintendo Life gave the Ninja Maiden Master Collection a fairly scathing review because of its performance and technical issues on Switch, so presumably that's why it's not on the list:
https://www.nintendolife.com/reviews/switch-eshop/ninja_gaiden_master_collection
Re: Best Action Games On Nintendo Switch
Glad to see Hades there among the more big budget titles, it's easily among my top 5 games of all time. Everything about it is so creative and so lovingly made; not just the gameplay and the visual design, but also the characterisation, the voice acting and the plotting. It's rare for such a game to have both an incredibly addictive roguelite gameplay loop and a deep, touching story.
Re: Nintendo Switch Online Missions And Rewards: November 2022 - Super Mario Odyssey, Animal Crossing
I wish they'd allow you to exchange Platinum Points into Gold Points you can use at the Eshop. Even if the exchange ratio was something like 10 Platinum Points for each Gold Point, it'd still be better than the current award system. I don't care that much about customising the small player icon you can barely see at the upper corner of your screen, and the physical rewards are mostly useless trinkets limited to a handful of games.
Re: Nintendo Introduces Chloe In Fire Emblem Engage
@BeautyandtheBeer It's sexist because she's supposed to be a knight, i.e. a physical fighter, yet her costume design doesn't reflect that anyway. The whole point of the outfit seems to be to emphasize her impossible hourglass figure and large breasts. And yes, since this is a manga/anime style game, all the heroes of all genders are drawn to be good-looking... But none the male characters we've seen so far have been designed with outfits which would, say, emphasize their buttocks or biceps. Their designs are appropriate to their role and class, and their major purpose is not to look sexy. That's where the sexism shows, the way female characters are depicted as fanservicey first and foremost, whereas with males the fanservice is secondary.
And yeah, sexy and sexist are not the same, but the women you see on a Saturday night who are wearing sexy clothes are probably not professional soldiers about to go to a battle. If you compare Chloe's design to the default outfits of Ingrid and Catherine, the two most prominent female knights in Three Houses, their designs both look gorgeous and make sense with what those characters do.
Re: Nintendo Introduces Chloe In Fire Emblem Engage
@BeautyandtheBeer Yes, I'm well aware that a lot people like cheesecake and the objectification of women, and that's why character models like this keep being made. That doesn't one can't be disappointed by the sexism of treating female characters like lust objects, especially since the previous game mostly avoided it. (The biggest exception being Manuela, but at least she wasn't being depicted as a physical warrior wearing ludicrous clothes like this, and her choice of attire was actually explained with her character motivations.)
Re: Nintendo Introduces Chloe In Fire Emblem Engage
I'm disappointed they went for the cheesecake approach with this pegasus knight, when Ingrid in Three Houses had an athletic build and a much more appropriate attire for a physical fighter type of character. Why is it so hard for so many JRPG makers to understand not everyone playing their games are straight teenage boys or other folks like that who are excited just to see some boobies? Of course these games are not realistic, so the characters don't need to be that, but they don't need to be embarrassingly sexist either.
Re: Grab Your Torch, Alan Wake Remastered Is Out Now On Nintendo Switch
@JeanPaul I'm not sure about where you live, but in most countries consumer legislation would stop the seller from charging any extra, even if they accidentally sold the game for too cheap. It's their mistake, so they'll suffer the consequences, not you.
Re: Review: No Man's Sky - Right Up There With The Very Best Switch Ports
@Draxa The third person ship view is there on the Switch version too, and it works fine. When flying the ship, you can change into third person from the same menu where you switch between first and third person while walking.
Re: Games Like Zelda - What To Play After You've Finished Breath Of The Wild
I know the texts here are just copy-pasted from the original reviews, but it's still kinda funny how a supposedly updated article mentions that Darksiders II "is rumoured to be arriving on Switch soon", when it arrived three years ago.
Re: Mini Review: The Battle Of Polytopia - A Gentle Introduction To Turn-Based City Builders
What is the "4X genre", I've never heard of it? I know about Civilization, but I thought it was just a strategy game. What does "4X" refer to?
Re: Talking Point: Is The Golden Age Of Licensed Music In Games Over?
My favourite music genres are techno, ambient, jazz, and classical music, and while many games have music in those styles, they tend to be original soundtracks, not licensed tracks. In fact, I can't think of any game that would use licensed, pre-recorded jazz or ambient music. So while there's plenty of original game music I like, I've never really discovered any licensed music through them.
Re: Community: 24 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You
@Anachronism I'm not usually that bothered by graphical issues either, but stuttery movement is a special case, especially in fast-paced games like Foregone, as it just make my eyes hurt. So it's a shame the game has suffers from it, otherwise I it would be right up my alley.
Just to be sure, I tried to play Foregone today to see if they've patched it, but no, the stutter is still there. If they're indeed using filtered 3D models like you say, that might explain the issue. Like I said, there's no reason to have such stuttering in a 2D pixel game.
Re: Community: 24 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You
Foregone would be an otherwise cool Metroidvania-style action game, but it suffers from a notable graphical issue: when you move around, the background doesn't scroll smoothly rather it keeps stuttering in an irritating manner. I haven't tried the game on other platforms, so I don't know if it's a Switch optimization issue, but considering it's a 2D game with fairly simple pixel graphics, there should be no reason for that kind of issue to exist. You might still enjoy the game if stuttering like that doesn't bother you, but for me it was a dealbreaker.
The launch trailer seen in the article is also misleading, as it doesn't show this stutter effect, and the scrolling looks much smoother than it is when actually played on Switch. The gameplay footage in the trailer probably comes from some other platform.