Polvasti

It looks like Nintendo didn't bother to adjust the in-game widescreen mode to work with modern TVs, since it's completely broken: instead of giving us a proper widescreen view it just stretches everything horizontally, which looks awful.

@Cia

And how would the gameplay work? Zelda is not supposed to be a fighter in the main series.

Sheik might want to disagree with that.

I love Nintendo games and most of my gaming is on the Switch, but I've no need to defend them in a completely partisan way. I liked TotK and Wonder a lot, but there's no doubt BG3 was the best game I played this year. In its own way it allows for just as much freedom and player agency as TotK does, but it also has a more interesting plot, more memorable characters and better world-building in general. So it deserves win the GoTY award.

My Next Life As A Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom ! -Pirates of the Disturbance-

Well, that is a name, for sure. Or rather, sounds like they had three ideas for a game title and couldn't decide which one to use, so they used them all.

@XandertheWise The button sequence resulting in the secret message is clearly meant to be reference to actual cheat codes of the era (the Konami code being the most famous example), so it makes perfect sense to call it a cheat code, even if it doesn't allow you to cheat.

Holy uncanny valley! The original cartoonish style works well in a lower-resolution game, but it just looks weird with high-quality textures and resolution.

@MontyCircus The problem with NL user ratings is, you can only rate a game once you've added it to your game collection on the site. I've played through Ocarina of Time but I've never owned a N64 copy of it, so I've never bothered to add it to my collection in order to rate it here. It would be nice if they allowed us to rate games without this needless extra step.

@HeftyLaces Sure, the Earth has had heating and cooling cycles before, but scientists have found out that the current heating is largely caused by the actions of humankind, i.e. by emissions generated by human machinery and industry causing a greenhouse effect. That's a scientific fact, and if you're trying to deny it, you're the one with an agenda.

@HeftyLaces It's not "environmentalist agenda", it's neutral scientific projection based on what's happening to the planet at the moment. Also, I had no idea it's forbidden to talk about climate change in Nintendo Life comments.

Awfully optimistic of him to think that within hundreds of years global warming hasn't decimated humanity, or at least left the planet in a state where anyone would have the means of playing video games.

@PinderSchloss Those are user scores, not official scores given by NL.

It doesn't need a new remake, but I wish the 3DS remake was available on Switch.

I was planning on getting Divinity 2 if it's on sale, but that 10% discount feels like a joke, since it has been on sale with 50% off in the past. I guess I'll just wait for the next time there's a proper discount on it.

@PinderSchloss The introduction to list says "we've rounded up every game in the Nintendo's European Black Friday sale that we've awarded 9/10 or higher". So it's a list of every game Nintendo Life has rated 9 or 10 that's on sale now in Europe.

@calbeau Astral Ascent is only similar to Dead Cells in that's it's a roguelite action game with retro pixel graphics. But the general mood, the story, the gameplay mechanics and the levels are quite different from DC. As the review mentions, some of these aspects are closer to Hades, but it's not like it's just copying Hades either, it very much stands on its own.

I like roguelites but haven't played any new ones since Dreamscaper. Hadn't heard of this game before, so the review got me intrigued. I ended up buying Astral Ascent, and it seems to be pretty great indeed. The game looks and feels great and runs smoothly on the Switch. So thanks for the review!

Apparently "back to the golden age of JRPGs" means "gratuitous boob jiggle and sexist fanservice". That's not something I miss from this "golden age", so I'll give this one a pass.

@Friendly Super Mario Wonder is obviously not based on an original IP, but it's not a sequel either.

@Link-Hero
"If you only have a Switch, then it's no one's fault but your own for limiting yourself."

I know people who only play on the Switch because they can't afford to buy another console or a gaming PC. It's a bit disrespectful to say it's their fault for not being wealthy.

As much as I liked TotK, it's still obvious Baldur's Gate 3 is a better game, especially when it comes to the story and characters, which are wonderfully crafted while still allowing for an unprecedented amount of player choice. So for once you should believe the hype, BG3 is undoubtedly the best game of the year. I hope it will get ported to Switch 2, I'd love to be able to play it on the go.

This is a disappointed, a traditional anime style animated movie would've suited Zelda much better than live action, but I guess they thought it wouldn't sell well enough outside Japan.

The physical editions of Hollow Knight and Celeste came with proper manuals like this, and they're awesome. Nice to see Nintendo thinks so too, though I'm guessing this won't be a norm with them, and they're only including it here because it's a remake of a game whose original version had a manual too.

So this is basically a budget version of the Pro 2? Sounds great, because Pro 2 is the best third-party controller I've ever used, and Pro 1 one was good too.

I wouldn't mind if Switch 2 had more streaming apps than Switch 1. The Switch has a bigger and better screen than my smartphone, and better audio quality too, so I prefer to watch Youtube videos from it if I'm traveling or not in the same room with the telly. It would be nice to have other streaming services available too.

@Andee If you use groups, you can sort the games within them manually.

@HaileySheridon I agree 100% with that. If Nintendo would go back to having a separate home console and handheld console, I definitely couldn't afford to buy both + buy games for both, and it would be really hard to choose which one to get. As someone who likes playing games on the telly and in the bed and on the train while commuting to work, the hybrid nature of the Switch makes it pretty much my favourite gaming platform of all time, and it would suck if the next console wouldn't be a hybrid too.

Bigger and more ergonomic Joycons with bigger buttons and sticks would be awesome, at least as an alternative set you can buy separately. Ever since I got the Hori Split Pad I've never wanted to go back to the uncomfortable little Joycons. And yeah, I'm sure third parties like Hori will make such controllers for Switch 2 as well, but it would be nice to get similar ones as an official Nintendo product, with motion control, HD rumble and Amiibo support. Most of the third party Joycon alternatives available now lack one or more of those features.

@Rykdrew With Advance Wars 1 + 2 they could at least justify the price tag with it being a complete remake of the old games, not just a port, so it took a lot of work to make it. With this collection there's no such excuse.

@Mana_Knight The list is for the best siblings in games by Nintendo. Bubble Bobble is not a Nintendo game, so Bub and Bob are not eligible.

If the article includes characters like the jugglers from Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, there's really no excuse not to include Rauru and Mineru from Tears of the Kingdom too. They're both awesome and have a lot more importance in the game than some of the other Zelda characters listed here.

I'm disappointed the entry on Cotera, Kaysa, Mija & Tera didn't mention you can actually play as them in Age of Calamity. Since you control all four of them and their floating flower fountain at the same time, the Great Fairies are among the most ridiculous player characters in Nintendo history, but they're still awesome!

@Peteykins "Young, hot Poirot"? Based on the trailer he looks like he's in his 40s or 50s in the game, and he isn't depicted as stereotypically sexy either.

I don't really play any Activision/Blizzard games, and I'm definitely not gonna play them in the future either. Consolidations like this typically mean the publishers want even more profits and are less willing to take risks for the sake of art, so AAA games will become blander and less creative as a result.

Could you imagine what would happen if Microsoft had bought Nintendo like they wanted to? Probably we would never see more of those odder and more innovative titles Nintendo still puts out, like the Wario games or even Fire Emblem.

@Ooyah Didn't you notice that the list is for the best video games of the last 30 years? That's why they didn't include oldies, and games like Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands or Secret of Monkey Island 2 weren't eligible.

Me and my spouse already have our own Switches, there's no need for a third one in this household. And with the next Nintendo console probably coming out next year, I'd rather save my money for that.

A LotR farming/village life sim sounds like a great idea, if they do it well.

This is great news, I love Pauline! Can't wait to play as her.

Looks awesome, this one will be day 1 purchase for me.

@Lone_Beagle Maybe yeah, but this the third time in a row when NL has just repeated Hello Games' information wholesale without even checking whether it's true for the Switch. This is supposed to be a Nintendo specific website, so it's quite misleading to provide us with release dates that don't apply to the Nintendo port, and completely ignore issues like the crash loops a lot of Switch players suffered from after the previous big update.

I wish that Nintendo Life wouldn't just copy-paste Hello Games press releases instead of actually looking into how things are with the Switch version. For example, the Echoes update didn't come to Switch "last month" but last week, three weeks later than on other platforms, and that's hardly the first time we've gotten an update long after everyone else. The game is still great on Switch, but it's undeniable the Switch port has had several issues, with Hello Games taking a long time to respond to them, and maintaining a total radio silence over these issues at their website and social media.

@Reztobi Did you read the introduction to the article? They explicitly mention Witcher 3 not being on the list because Nintendo Life has a separate list for the best action RPGs for the Switch, and this list is for traditional RPGs.

@NorthwestEagle Okay, I guess I understand it then. Thankfully newer games in this genre are usually plotted so that players have more options for their character instead of limiting them to one character type.

@NorthwestEagle I haven't played this one, but presumably all they would've needed to do to allow for a female PC was to change the character model in the gameplay and cutscenes? Or is there something in the plot that requires the player character to be a man?

It's funny how some people get offended when players ask for options to play as a queer or a non-male character in RPGs, as if giving those alternate options somehow stops these people from being able to play however they want to. Historically, the majority of video games have pandered to straight men, but a large percentage of gamers are not straight men, and that number as only grown during the last couple of decades. I don't get why it's so odd to ask for more options for those people who want to play a role they identify more with in a role-playing game.

Edit: this was in response to Andy Witmyer's comments above, I guess my comment looks a bit odd now that they've been removed.

Nicely written review, as always with this reviewer, and thanks for warning us about the shallowness of the social sim part. I was interested in Fae Farm, but boring NPCs are pretty much a dealbreaker for me in a game like this, so I guess I won't be getting it after all.

@JimNorman No prob, always happy to nitpick. 😄

@nhSnork It was mentioned above in the comments that Quest for Camelot was originally published by Nintendo, so that might explain why they included it, despite it being a licensed IP. It could even be that their original license agreement with Warner still covers this re-release. With licensed games published by other companies, OTOH, I doubt they're gonna bother to negotiate a deal and pay for the license just to get the game to NSO.

So I presume the three previously Japan-only games won't have their menus translated to English and you'll have to either know Japanese or try to guess what to choose from the menu, like with Panel de Pon and other Japan-only games they've added to the NSO?

@JimNorman There's a small mistake in the review: Usagi's actual name in the comics is not Miyamoto Yojimbo, it's Miyamoto Usagi. "Yojimbo" means "bodyguard" in Japanese, and the name of his comic book is "Usagi Yojimbo", i.e. "Bodyguard Usagi". (Or "Bodyguard Rabbit", since that's what the word "usagi" means, but Usagi is also his name.) A lot of people confuse the title of the comic with the name of character, since they don't know "yojimbo" refers to his job and not his name.

@Ryu_Niiyama Thank you for that text wall, it was extremely well put. I hope people who don't think about inclusivity in games or don't feel inclusivity matters that much would consider what you're saying there.