Ace Combat 7. Was planning on buying this for Switch, but the current Steam sale was too tempting, so playing on the Deck and the gaming laptop instead.
Seeing the huge amount of work put into the MP1 remaster, I don't think we'll see an MP2 or MP3 remaster any time soon. The idea of having the entire Prime series on one console is appealing, but there's a law of diminishing returns, in terms of sales, for direct sequels. On the GameCube, MP1 sold ~2.8 million, while MP2 merely sold ~1.1 million. Furthermore, MP1 Remaster hasn't even reached the sales numbers of the original. The business case isn't really there.
@NielsNL On the plus side, the font is scalable and arguably more readable than the fonts typically used in point-and-click games. Each UI element (dialog, captions) can be set to small, medium or large. It's good to see a game designed with accessibility in mind.
Starting with the current console generation, customers seem to be sticking to the same platform, because of backwards-compatibility and their previous investment in its digital library. It's one of the reasons why Xbox is struggling against PS5 and also why Nintendo was so keen to emphasize next-gen backwards-compatibility ahead of their actual Switch 2 announcement.
So if this new portable will be able to play all games from existing digital libraries, then that's a good value proposition for people who prefer PlayStation.
Loco Motive. For me, the surprise release of the year, as I found out about it only yesterday. Probably the GOTY in the point-and-click adventure genre. It's as if they discovered an unreleased LucasArts game from the 90s and updated it to modern standards.
Characters, writing, pixel art, animation, music, voice acting are all extremely polished. You can even change the text size of different UI elements to small/medium/large. On top of that, they added the occasional HD rumble effect. Basically, this game does everything right.
Ideally, interfaces should adapt to the user's preferred text size, like web browsers do. For games, this is not an easy problem to solve, since it affects the UI/HUD layout. Scalable text has to be designed and built in from the start.
System Shock remake is another recent example that comes to mind. The text is tiny, even on a big TV, let alone a Steam Deck. Would have loved to have played it, but refunded right away.
It was a day 1 buy for me, but the EU release was 2 weeks later.
I only played it once back then, so it's been a long time. While I do think they took the lessons learned and changed the gameplay to make it distinct, I feel MP1 is still the better game, because of the more interesting locales, as this article also points out. Dark Aether does get a bit oppressive after a while. But it's like arguing whether The Godfather 2 is better than 1.
Sadly, I had to sell my copy afterwards, because money was tight back then. A remaster would be welcome, it would go straight to the top of the backlog.
If it's ARM-based, then it might stand a chance. Current PC gaming handhelds, like Steam Deck, are hampered by the fact that they have to be X86. A dedicated handheld, that does not pretend to be a PC and does not offer backwards-compatibility, could give them a clean break.
Never played the original, but the remake is in my top 5 games of all time. The gameplay is good, but it's the characters and world building that make the whole experience so memorable. The ending boss battle, when the whole world is rooting for you, and the detective still thinks you're Luigi, is one the greatest moments in gaming. I felt sad when it ended.
The Case of the Golden Idol. This game really gets in your head. Bought this a few months ago, but it ended up on the backlog. Recently, it was updated to a Complete Edition that includes the DLC and a new UI. You can upgrade to this new version for free, even if you only have the base game.
Have a good weekend everyone! And don't forget, over here in Western Europe we get an extra hour of gaming this weekend.
Looks like they simplified the lighting, by making it much brighter overall. Tbh, the darker look of the original has more atmosphere. Might be a budget issue, since lighting can be a ton of work. For comparison, the TTYD remake credits list 30 people working on the lighting alone.
Enjoyed my time with the game, but felt it was too easy, and the main quest to be too short, to make it as memorable as the other 2D titles. The summoning mechanics are great. Hopefully, they expand upon this with the next title.
In the dev interviews, they indicated they settled on Zelda as the playable character 1 year into development. It does feel like they had to cut development short as a consequence. After the third main dungeon, I was quite surprised to see that the main quest was already moving towards its conclusion.
Wind Waker had the same issue. They had to cut a major dungeon due to time constraints, replacing it with a tedious fetch quest. Thankfully, EoW does not make the same mistake of padding out the game with filler content.
Related trivia: two of the lead actors (the American couple) were also leads in Halt and Catch Fire. That series accurately captured the spirit of the 80s and 90s computer industry. I'm old enough to recall. Anyone with an interest in the dawn of the personal computing era, or just excellent drama, should watch it.
The only Nintendo generation that had analog triggers and games being made with that in mind. FLUDD control in Sunshine comes to mind. Also the rumble is still the strongest of any Nintendo controller. Used to great effect in Wave Race Blue Storm. HD rumble on the Pro controller seems puny in comparison. My original purple controller from 2002 is still working well. No drift.
That said, I would still not be interested in subscription-only access to retro games. Give us the option to buy, my wallet is ready.
Great news! While the good parts are fantastic, the game is far too long. Hopefully, they cut out the boring bits without the Alien this time. Maybe have multiple xenos hunting you?
@Lofoten For me, moving the data from SD to internal memory did seem to reduce the FPS drops slightly. Either that or I'm enjoying myself too much to notice them anymore.
I've seen maybe one out of five videos, but every one was inspirational, so I still have a huge backlog to look forward to. He put his heart and soul into this project, but good for him to move on.
If there's one thing that Nintendo does right is representing their games' footage accurately, frame rate drops and all. Having videos of an emulator outperforming the real hardware is just not a good look. I don't think it's "hardware envy", or a similar petty argument, but partly about managing customer's expectation for current-gen games.
Same reason for them going after AI-generated images. They want their IP represented accurately.
I'm sure we'll see a new Switch emulator in the future. Dolphin has been around for 2 decades already, after all.
So far I'm loving it. The animation, lighting and materials look gorgeous. They didn't skimp on production values, so it's a proper Zelda game and not some spin-off.
I like that the combat is different from Link. Feels like a mini RTS / Diablo.
Yes, they made the puzzles easier due to the increase in player freedom, but you still feel a sense of accomplishment in solving them in your own way.
If I have to give a verdict now, I'd score it a 9.
@MeloMan Not only the amount of assets, but also the level of detail. 3D games can use lower detail textures for objects in the distance. 2D games don't have that option.
As much as I like the game, I have to say that the FPS fluctations are much more noticeable than they were in LA. Yes, internal memory is faster, so titles that rely on continuous streaming will benefit. I have a physical copy, so can't compare.
TOTK, for example, temporarily raises the clock speed to speed up initial loading, but drops back to normal clock speeds during actual play. It's unlikely they'll be able to fix it for EOW, because it would mean raising the clock speed during the entire game.
@Synplex It's unlikely they'll improve the frame rate issues much. In LA, the hitches occur when loading in new areas. The Switch's limited memory bandwidth can't keep up. The alternative to streaming would have been to have gameplay interrupted by loading screens.
Haven't played EOW yet, but I'm pretty sure it has the same problem.
@LikelySatan Enjoy your break from work. Same here. It's been all work the past month, so now I'm ready to play. This releases at exactly the right time.
I think Twilight Princess and Link Between Worlds perfected the "traditional" 3D and 2D dungeon formulas. Then they moved on to new gameplay styles.
With TOTK, they did try to accommodate more regular dungeons.The entire questline leading up to the Wind Temple, as well as the temple itself was just masterful. No, the temples are not exactly like traditional dungeons, but you can feel they tried to give them more structure, at the same time having them fit in the free-form open-world gameplay. I'm hoping Echoes will do the same.
Also bear in mind that designing and developing a traditional dungeon takes a long chunk of development time. It's not some checklist item. They cut 2 dungeons from Wind Waker to make the release on time. Quality over quantity.
@Jhena The singleplayer is very good, with some clever level design throughout. Spin dash is a great addition to the gameplay. The physics still don't have the fidelity of SMB1 and 2, however.
There are plenty of children, of around the same age as the Switch, who are putting this on their X-mas wish list. An evergreen title, like MK, is an obvious choice for such a bundle.
The Deck opened my eyes to 40fps. It's a huge step up from 30fps, but not much of a step down from 60fps. For some games, like Dying Light, I actually prefer it over 60fps, because the lower framerate makes it feel more cinematic.
Now if the Switch 2 display would support arbitrary refresh rates, it would give devs more performance headroom. Of course, docked output would be a problem, since the external display would then have to support 120Hz (a multiple of 40) or VRR.
Love these kinds of behind-the-scenes looks. Never played the original game, so interested in this remaster.
@Yalloo Disappointing how? Impossible Lair is a well-regarded title. Personally, I loved it. The mix of the overworld and platform levels, the humour, the music. One of the best examples of third-party titles from early in the Switch's lifecycle.
Enjoying the last bits of Summer, so no gaming this weekend.
Finished SMB Banana Rumble main Adventure mode yesterday evening. A few W9 and W10 levels were needlessly frustrating (e.g. W10 Tornado Ring), but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Sounding very promising indeed! Looks like it's the perfect fusion of BOTW/TOTK and Link's Awakening.
Yeah, the FPS drops are still there, but those didn't stop me from enjoying the heck out of LA. Gameplay is what matters and it sounds exactly up my alley.
Looks there were some lessons learned from the TOTK marketing. They didn't convey what made it stand out from BOTW, so people were dismissing it as mere DLC. (Some still do...) For me, all these previews are a bit too much, though, I want to discover things myself. Scrubbed through the SwitchUp video and it does look very vibrant. Perfect for the OLED.
These gen AI models would not exist without the copyrighted material used to train them and the fair use of this is still being challenged legally. First, fair use is evaluated differently when there's money involved, and there's big money involved in AI, needless to say. Second, while you cannot stop people being influenced/educated by copyrighted works, there's no actual person involved in gen AI. Just a machine hoovering up content.
Meanwhile, companies the size of Nintendo are not going to risk retroactively being slammed with copyright lawsuits, when they are perfectly capable of producing their own content.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale. I had to say farewell to a dog earlier this week, so I'm in a sad mood. Gaming is not going to console me (pun intended), but Chicory is a great game in and of itself.
Also wrapping up the SMB Banana Rumble Adventure mode, and some more Horizon Chase Turbo. Their bright, colourful styles cheer me up somewhat.
EDIT: And Monkey Island Special Edition, which happens to be on sale on GOG. Wish there were was a Switch port, but Steam Deck will do. Don't have a PC, so the Deck is the only platform I can play it on.
I love how Nintendo puts the spotlight on indie devs, so we see the people behind the games. I never even heard of Coffee Talk, but will now definitely check it out.
I have Tetris Effect Connected, but it's over-the-top with all the fancy effects. So definitely interested in these retro versions. Hopefully this collection also has Super Tetris from 1991. Always loved that version.
@HeadPirate It's hard to say if there would be a positive net effect on any game announcements in the way you're describing. I think it's safe to assume that any concrete, official next-gen news will impact current-gen sales of both hardware and games. I.e. people will start thinking of saving their money. You don't want to put the audience in that mindset, at least not when you're announcing new, current-gen games.
As for the shareholder thing, I'm referring to stories from earlier this year, about next-gen anticipation affecting the stock price:
@HeadPirate It's more a message for shareholders. Switch 2 rumours/expectations have had a negative effect on their stock price before.
Anyone who's even slightly interested in games will watch anyway.
EDIT: It's also a form of courtesy to the devs to keep the focus on the games. Imagine working on your game for years, only to have the reveal spoiled by half the audience complaining about there not being a next-gen hardware announcement. It's good that they manage expectations.
Comments 559
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (30th November)
Ace Combat 7. Was planning on buying this for Switch, but the current Steam sale was too tempting, so playing on the Deck and the gaming laptop instead.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Re: Talking Point: Where The Heck Are Those Metroid Prime 2 And 3 Remasters?
Seeing the huge amount of work put into the MP1 remaster, I don't think we'll see an MP2 or MP3 remaster any time soon. The idea of having the entire Prime series on one console is appealing, but there's a law of diminishing returns, in terms of sales, for direct sequels. On the GameCube, MP1 sold ~2.8 million, while MP2 merely sold ~1.1 million. Furthermore, MP1 Remaster hasn't even reached the sales numbers of the original. The business case isn't really there.
I hope I'm wrong, though!
Re: Review: Loco Motive (Switch) - A Stunning Whodunnit With Impeccable LucasArts Vibes
@NielsNL On the plus side, the font is scalable and arguably more readable than the fonts typically used in point-and-click games. Each UI element (dialog, captions) can be set to small, medium or large. It's good to see a game designed with accessibility in mind.
Re: Sony May Be Plotting A New PSP To Compete With Nintendo's 'Switch 2'
Starting with the current console generation, customers seem to be sticking to the same platform, because of backwards-compatibility and their previous investment in its digital library. It's one of the reasons why Xbox is struggling against PS5 and also why Nintendo was so keen to emphasize next-gen backwards-compatibility ahead of their actual Switch 2 announcement.
So if this new portable will be able to play all games from existing digital libraries, then that's a good value proposition for people who prefer PlayStation.
Anyway, the Switch really shook up the industry.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (23rd November)
Loco Motive. For me, the surprise release of the year, as I found out about it only yesterday. Probably the GOTY in the point-and-click adventure genre. It's as if they discovered an unreleased LucasArts game from the 90s and updated it to modern standards.
Characters, writing, pixel art, animation, music, voice acting are all extremely polished. You can even change the text size of different UI elements to small/medium/large. On top of that, they added the occasional HD rumble effect. Basically, this game does everything right.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Re: Random: Uh-Oh, Some Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Players Are Struggling With The "Small" Text
Ideally, interfaces should adapt to the user's preferred text size, like web browsers do. For games, this is not an easy problem to solve, since it affects the UI/HUD layout. Scalable text has to be designed and built in from the start.
System Shock remake is another recent example that comes to mind. The text is tiny, even on a big TV, let alone a Steam Deck. Would have loved to have played it, but refunded right away.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (16th November)
Half-Life 2 on Steam Deck. You can get it for free this weekend. Another sequel celebrating its 20th anniversary.
Re: Anniversary: 20 Years On, Metroid Prime 2 Represents The Franchise At Its Experimental Best
It was a day 1 buy for me, but the EU release was 2 weeks later.
I only played it once back then, so it's been a long time. While I do think they took the lessons learned and changed the gameplay to make it distinct, I feel MP1 is still the better game, because of the more interesting locales, as this article also points out. Dark Aether does get a bit oppressive after a while. But it's like arguing whether The Godfather 2 is better than 1.
Sadly, I had to sell my copy afterwards, because money was tight back then. A remaster would be welcome, it would go straight to the top of the backlog.
Re: Xbox Confirms It's Looking Into A Potential Handheld Device
If it's ARM-based, then it might stand a chance. Current PC gaming handhelds, like Steam Deck, are hampered by the fact that they have to be X86. A dedicated handheld, that does not pretend to be a PC and does not offer backwards-compatibility, could give them a clean break.
Re: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door On Switch Has Already Outsold The GameCube Original
Never played the original, but the remake is in my top 5 games of all time. The gameplay is good, but it's the characters and world building that make the whole experience so memorable. The ending boss battle, when the whole world is rooting for you, and the detective still thinks you're Luigi, is one the greatest moments in gaming. I felt sad when it ended.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (26th October)
The Case of the Golden Idol. This game really gets in your head. Bought this a few months ago, but it ended up on the backlog. Recently, it was updated to a Complete Edition that includes the DLC and a new UI. You can upgrade to this new version for free, even if you only have the base game.
Have a good weekend everyone! And don't forget, over here in Western Europe we get an extra hour of gaming this weekend.
Re: 49 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo's Halloween Switch eShop Sale (Europe)
It's not strictly part of this sale, but Return of the Obra Dinn is also discounted at the moment. And NL scored it 9/10. Good fit for Halloween.
Re: Video: Yooka-Replaylee Side-By-Side Graphics Comparison (Original & Remaster)
Looks like they simplified the lighting, by making it much brighter overall. Tbh, the darker look of the original has more atmosphere. Might be a budget issue, since lighting can be a ton of work. For comparison, the TTYD remake credits list 30 people working on the lighting alone.
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Tops Switch 'Best-Sellers' In Opening Month (US)
Enjoyed my time with the game, but felt it was too easy, and the main quest to be too short, to make it as memorable as the other 2D titles. The summoning mechanics are great. Hopefully, they expand upon this with the next title.
In the dev interviews, they indicated they settled on Zelda as the playable character 1 year into development. It does feel like they had to cut development short as a consequence. After the third main dungeon, I was quite surprised to see that the main quest was already moving towards its conclusion.
Wind Waker had the same issue. They had to cut a major dungeon due to time constraints, replacing it with a tedious fetch quest. Thankfully, EoW does not make the same mistake of padding out the game with filler content.
Re: Alleged Concept Art From Cancelled Donkey Kong Project Emerges
@Olliemar28 Rumour has it that the Odyssey team is working on a DK game.
Re: Random: Movie Star James McAvoy Says His Favourite Game Is Secret Of Mana
Speak No Evil was pretty decent.
Related trivia: two of the lead actors (the American couple) were also leads in Halt and Catch Fire. That series accurately captured the spirit of the 80s and 90s computer industry. I'm old enough to recall. Anyone with an interest in the dawn of the personal computing era, or just excellent drama, should watch it.
Re: Random: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Fans Are In Uproar Over A Missing Outfit
The word "fan" is derived from "fanatic", so its use is accurate in this case.
Re: Anniversary: 8 Years Since Nintendo Unveiled Switch, The World Awaits The Next Reveal
@dazzleshell We did get Bowser's Fury. Yes, it's a bonus game and feels more like a prototype of an open-world Mario, but what is there is very good.
Re: Rumour: Nintendo Might Be Gearing Up For A GameCube Controller Comeback
The only Nintendo generation that had analog triggers and games being made with that in mind. FLUDD control in Sunshine comes to mind. Also the rumble is still the strongest of any Nintendo controller. Used to great effect in Wave Race Blue Storm. HD rumble on the Pro controller seems puny in comparison. My original purple controller from 2002 is still working well. No drift.
That said, I would still not be interested in subscription-only access to retro games. Give us the option to buy, my wallet is ready.
Re: An Alien: Isolation Sequel Is Officially In Development
Great news! While the good parts are fantastic, the game is far too long. Hopefully, they cut out the boring bits without the Alien this time. Maybe have multiple xenos hunting you?
Re: Poll: Are You Bothered By The Frame Rate In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom?
@Lofoten For me, moving the data from SD to internal memory did seem to reduce the FPS drops slightly. Either that or I'm enjoying myself too much to notice them anymore.
Re: Random: Shigeru Miyamoto Apparently Isn't Credited In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Credit where credit is due. I don't think there are many people comfortable with getting undue credit. (Unless you're Donald Trump, ofc.)
Re: Masahiro Sakurai's Excellent YouTube Series Is Coming To An End This Month
I've seen maybe one out of five videos, but every one was inspirational, so I still have a huge backlog to look forward to. He put his heart and soul into this project, but good for him to move on.
Re: Nintendo Slays Switch Emulator Ryujinx
If there's one thing that Nintendo does right is representing their games' footage accurately, frame rate drops and all. Having videos of an emulator outperforming the real hardware is just not a good look. I don't think it's "hardware envy", or a similar petty argument, but partly about managing customer's expectation for current-gen games.
Same reason for them going after AI-generated images. They want their IP represented accurately.
I'm sure we'll see a new Switch emulator in the future. Dolphin has been around for 2 decades already, after all.
Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom?
So far I'm loving it. The animation, lighting and materials look gorgeous. They didn't skimp on production values, so it's a proper Zelda game and not some spin-off.
I like that the combat is different from Link. Feels like a mini RTS / Diablo.
Yes, they made the puzzles easier due to the increase in player freedom, but you still feel a sense of accomplishment in solving them in your own way.
If I have to give a verdict now, I'd score it a 9.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (28th September)
EOW of course. Loving it so far. The combat reminds me of playing Diablo 2 with the Necromancer.
Enjoy, everyone!
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom: 19 Tips To Get You Started
I can only echo that tip about mobbing your enemies. Feels like a mini RTS.
My own tip: enable Hero mode from the start. The increased risk makes it much more rewarding.
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Frame Rate Is "Even Worse" Than Link's Awakening
@MeloMan Not only the amount of assets, but also the level of detail. 3D games can use lower detail textures for objects in the distance. 2D games don't have that option.
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Frame Rate Is "Even Worse" Than Link's Awakening
As much as I like the game, I have to say that the FPS fluctations are much more noticeable than they were in LA. Yes, internal memory is faster, so titles that rely on continuous streaming will benefit. I have a physical copy, so can't compare.
TOTK, for example, temporarily raises the clock speed to speed up initial loading, but drops back to normal clock speeds during actual play. It's unlikely they'll be able to fix it for EOW, because it would mean raising the clock speed during the entire game.
Re: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Version 1.0.1 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@Synplex It's unlikely they'll improve the frame rate issues much. In LA, the hitches occur when loading in new areas. The Switch's limited memory bandwidth can't keep up. The alternative to streaming would have been to have gameplay interrupted by loading screens.
Haven't played EOW yet, but I'm pretty sure it has the same problem.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom (Switch) - A Bold Blend Of Old & New That Ranks With The Series' Best
@LikelySatan Enjoy your break from work. Same here. It's been all work the past month, so now I'm ready to play. This releases at exactly the right time.
Re: The First Review For The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Is In
If it's as good as LA, then I'll enjoy the heck out of it for sure.
Picking it up tomorrow morning. Took half days off tomorrow and Friday. The past month has been all work and no play, so I can use the break.
Re: Random: Horror Master John Carpenter Heaps Praise On Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown
@martynstuff That reminds me of Robin Williams naming his daughter Zelda.
Re: Random: Horror Master John Carpenter Heaps Praise On Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown
@DripDropCop146 In the meantime, there's a Nightdive remaster in the works of the older game. Never played it, but interested.
Re: Random: Horror Master John Carpenter Heaps Praise On Prince Of Persia: The Lost Crown
It's on my backlog, but this endorsement bumped it to the top. But first, EoW.
I wonder what he thinks of Dying Light, especially its Carpenter-esque soundtrack.
Re: ICYMI: Yes, Dungeons Return In The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
I think Twilight Princess and Link Between Worlds perfected the "traditional" 3D and 2D dungeon formulas. Then they moved on to new gameplay styles.
With TOTK, they did try to accommodate more regular dungeons.The entire questline leading up to the Wind Temple, as well as the temple itself was just masterful. No, the temples are not exactly like traditional dungeons, but you can feel they tried to give them more structure, at the same time having them fit in the free-form open-world gameplay. I'm hoping Echoes will do the same.
Also bear in mind that designing and developing a traditional dungeon takes a long chunk of development time. It's not some checklist item. They cut 2 dungeons from Wind Waker to make the release on time. Quality over quantity.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
Nice weather, so not much gaming. Did play RE4 Separate Ways on XSS over the course of the week. Enjoyed it more than the main campaign, tbh.
I know what I'll be playing next weekend... For now, enjoy this weekend everyone!
Re: New Super Monkey Ball Banana Rumble Update Rolls Out Today, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
@Jhena The singleplayer is very good, with some clever level design throughout. Spin dash is a great addition to the gameplay. The physics still don't have the fidelity of SMB1 and 2, however.
The multiplayer is terrible.
Re: Two New Mario Kart 8: Deluxe Switch Bundles Announced (North America)
There are plenty of children, of around the same age as the Switch, who are putting this on their X-mas wish list. An evergreen title, like MK, is an obvious choice for such a bundle.
Re: Devolver Digital Confirms The Plucky Squire Won't Run At 60 FPS On Switch
The Deck opened my eyes to 40fps. It's a huge step up from 30fps, but not much of a step down from 60fps. For some games, like Dying Light, I actually prefer it over 60fps, because the lower framerate makes it feel more cinematic.
Now if the Switch 2 display would support arbitrary refresh rates, it would give devs more performance headroom. Of course, docked output would be a problem, since the external display would then have to support 120Hz (a multiple of 40) or VRR.
Re: Yooka-Replaylee Art Team Highlight Laylee's New Fluffiness In Remaster
Love these kinds of behind-the-scenes looks. Never played the original game, so interested in this remaster.
@Yalloo Disappointing how? Impossible Lair is a well-regarded title. Personally, I loved it. The mix of the overworld and platform levels, the humour, the music. One of the best examples of third-party titles from early in the Switch's lifecycle.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (7th September)
Enjoying the last bits of Summer, so no gaming this weekend.
Finished SMB Banana Rumble main Adventure mode yesterday evening. A few W9 and W10 levels were needlessly frustrating (e.g. W10 Tornado Ring), but other than that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!
Re: Round Up: The Previews Are In For The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
Sounding very promising indeed! Looks like it's the perfect fusion of BOTW/TOTK and Link's Awakening.
Yeah, the FPS drops are still there, but those didn't stop me from enjoying the heck out of LA. Gameplay is what matters and it sounds exactly up my alley.
Looks there were some lessons learned from the TOTK marketing. They didn't convey what made it stand out from BOTW, so people were dismissing it as mere DLC. (Some still do...) For me, all these previews are a bit too much, though, I want to discover things myself. Scrubbed through the SwitchUp video and it does look very vibrant. Perfect for the OLED.
Re: Bayonetta Star Jennifer Hale On The SAG-AFTRA Strikes: "AI Is Coming For Us All"
These gen AI models would not exist without the copyrighted material used to train them and the fair use of this is still being challenged legally. First, fair use is evaluated differently when there's money involved, and there's big money involved in AI, needless to say. Second, while you cannot stop people being influenced/educated by copyrighted works, there's no actual person involved in gen AI. Just a machine hoovering up content.
Meanwhile, companies the size of Nintendo are not going to risk retroactively being slammed with copyright lawsuits, when they are perfectly capable of producing their own content.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (31st August)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale. I had to say farewell to a dog earlier this week, so I'm in a sad mood. Gaming is not going to console me (pun intended), but Chicory is a great game in and of itself.
Also wrapping up the SMB Banana Rumble Adventure mode, and some more Horizon Chase Turbo. Their bright, colourful styles cheer me up somewhat.
EDIT: And Monkey Island Special Edition, which happens to be on sale on GOG. Wish there were was a Switch port, but Steam Deck will do. Don't have a PC, so the Deck is the only platform I can play it on.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Re: Reaction: Shadow Drops & Surprises - A Stuffed Direct With Something For Everyone
I love how Nintendo puts the spotlight on indie devs, so we see the people behind the games. I never even heard of Coffee Talk, but will now definitely check it out.
Tetris Forever was the other highlight.
Re: Yakuza Kiwami Brings The Dragon Of Dojima To Switch For The First Time
It's just nice to see Sega make a major announcement in the Partner Direct again. Last time it was SMB Banana Rumble, now this.
Re: 'Tetris Forever' Compiles More Than 15 Titles In A New Interactive Documentary
I have Tetris Effect Connected, but it's over-the-top with all the fancy effects. So definitely interested in these retro versions. Hopefully this collection also has Super Tetris from 1991. Always loved that version.
Re: Nintendo Reminds Us It's Not Ready To Announce The "Switch Successor"
@HeadPirate It's hard to say if there would be a positive net effect on any game announcements in the way you're describing. I think it's safe to assume that any concrete, official next-gen news will impact current-gen sales of both hardware and games. I.e. people will start thinking of saving their money. You don't want to put the audience in that mindset, at least not when you're announcing new, current-gen games.
As for the shareholder thing, I'm referring to stories from earlier this year, about next-gen anticipation affecting the stock price:
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/02/nintendo-shares-drop-following-latest-reports-of-switch-2-delay
Re: Nintendo Reminds Us It's Not Ready To Announce The "Switch Successor"
@HeadPirate It's more a message for shareholders. Switch 2 rumours/expectations have had a negative effect on their stock price before.
Anyone who's even slightly interested in games will watch anyway.
EDIT: It's also a form of courtesy to the devs to keep the focus on the games. Imagine working on your game for years, only to have the reveal spoiled by half the audience complaining about there not being a next-gen hardware announcement. It's good that they manage expectations.