RR529

@the_beaver, same reason Among Us was nominated for a bunch of stuff in 2020 even though it released in 2018.

According to their FAQ a game doesn't actually have to have released in a given year to be eligible. As long as it has received some sort of transformative content upgrade(s), i.e. any "live service" game, or newly found "cultural relevance" that it didn't have in it's release year, they consider a game to be a "current year" experience.

I can almost swear some fighting games, like Mortal Kombat 11, have been nominated in multiple years as well. (EDIT: yep, it was nominated for best fighting game in both 2019 & 2020, and won in the latter year).

They're both fine, but I went with the US art.

Going with Japan this week.

The US one is kinda boring in hindsight (though I know at the time it was to be honest with what the game would look like), EU is just copying JPN's homework & isn't really different enough to be separate IMO (though I guess this is better than having them be one entry & NL giving EU top billing even though the game & art originated in JPN as they usually do), and the Bonus selection simply isn't even fair (it's technically an entirely different release, and it's from a much later era when character designs had been more standardised).

Did my duty.

Great remake, hope we get the second one.

I'm actually going to vote EU this week. They both look good, but the EU one looks like it has better composition.

Also, Japan should get top billing over NA (Japan/North America instead of North America/Japan) since it's a JPN developed game, and thus the US is copying their box art.

Yeah, going with the US art this time since it actually shows the Kirbys "attacking" things, as in the title.

Also, another reminder that it's competitor is Japan/Europe, not Europe/Japan as NL has it listed. They really should stop giving EU top billing on shared artwork when they're just copying JPN's homework (game is of Japanese origin & given the era, probably premiered there first as well).

Too bad we're not getting any of the two Wuhu Island tracks from 7, but these look like decent picks all around.

Yeah, going to go with EU this week. The US box is fine, but the EU box is more artful.

Yeah, they need to up the age rating, but other than that (& the fact that it's probably a cheaply made cash grab), there's nothing inherently wrong with the game.

It's not the onus of game developers to make sure their titles are morally upright (and although I understand that platform holders absolutely have the right to curate their storefronts, I don't believe they should object to hosting a title unless it's broken from a mechanical standpoint, actually illegal in some manner, or blatantly pornographic, because the rating system should let customers know what is & isn't appropriate for their own tastes).

Well deserved for both titles. Played a bit of both over the weekend and had a great time with each.

@WaffleRaptor01, actually I'd say the Spider-Man games (along with the Astro Bot games) are some of the only first party PS titles that manage to capture that "Nintendo" gameplay quality in where they're just pure fun & joy to move around in.

For once I'll actually say EU, and that's a rarity for me (unless they're sharing another region's art).

I think every variant has something going for it though.

I don't think they're saying they've made it easier than past games, just that there are more options available to clear challenges. These are things I think we already know about, like the optional badges that give you extra moves/buffs, or the "open" parts of the world map that let you play certain levels in any order (maybe even letting you bypass a tough level entirely if you get enough Wonder Seeds to progress elsewhere).

I'm surprised EU is running away with the vote as much as it is. Don't get me wrong, you can definitely tell they tried to take a more arty/subtle approach which is nice, but I'm not sure how much I like the main characters obstructed by the clock, and the puzzle images look so tiny you'd probably have to squint to really make them out.

I went with the US art. It may seem a bit more plain, but at least the core artwork is largely unobstructed, and the puzzle screenshots (while maybe kinda just slapped on there) are much easier to make out.

Both aren't great, but I went with the US art. I would have gone with JPN if the characters looked nicer, but they're ugly as sin.

Looks really cool, but I'm not sure about investing in 30-40 hour game (on either Switch or PS5) when we're only a couple weeks out from both Mario Bros Wonder & Spider Man 2.

@Maddie47, I'm assuming that QA testers are probably easier to replace via outside contractors or other temp/part time workers in comparison to developers, artists, etc.

IIRC, QA testing largely consists of a lot of rote, "unskilled", work where a worker may be tasked with playing the same segment of a game over & over again (stuff like maybe even jumping in place over & over again in the same spot repeatedly) and note if they run into any bugs or other inconsistencies.

Yep, going with Japan this week as well.

Definitely getting this. It'll be a nice break from all the Mario surrounding it (Wonder & RPG beforehand, and Vs Donkey Kong, Princess Peach: Showtime, Luigi's Mansion 2, & TTYD afterwards), and it looks genuinely interesting (like a more involved, gamey take on the Famicom Detective Club games, which I liked well enough).

I went with the US art because of the Meta Knight sighting, but both are fine.

Yet once again NL gives EU the top billing on the shared artwork even though the game (& thus the art) both premiered first and was conceived in Japan. EU is sharing the JPN art & not the other way around so JPN should get top billing, "Japan/Europe". I know I'm probably not going to get an answer since this is like the 3rd or 4th time I've brought this up, but is there a reason for this? If two regions share art, the region of it's development/premier should get top billing.

I went with the US art, but the JPN one is neat conceptually I'll admit.

Both are fine for what they are, but I'm going to give the edge to the US art for Mega Mario.

And, yet AGAIN NL gives shared box art top billing to EU, even though it's a JPN origin game (art) that EU got an entire month later. The way it's presented indicates that JPN is using EU's box art, when in reality EU is using the JPN art. It should have been labelled as "Japan/Europe", rather than " Europe/Japan".

Whenever two regions share a box art, the region that received the game first/the game was developed in should get the top billing.

Maybe a bit boring, but Mario.

JPN for sure, as it's more aesthetically on point.

Ignoring composition for a bit, it looks like the two box arts were handled by different artists, and while the JPN character design looks like it could have come straight out of a genuine JRPG like Mana or something, there's something not quite right about the US art, like it's trying to emulate a Japanese art style but feels off.

This sounds awfully a lot like Final Fantasy: Dad of Light, which focused around an estranged father & son bonding over Final Fantasy XIV, after they used to play the NES games together when the son was a kid. I remember watching it on Netflix some years ago.

@Warioware, well that makes sense now. I stand corrected.

Usually there's something off in the art direction in all these western indie games that try to ape Japanese art direction, like they never feel quite right, however this seems to nail it based on the little shown off here. Very BotW/TotK esque.

Glad to see AC6 start out strong, and it's nice to see TotK still trucking along!

Kinda disappointing that FF16 has completely fallen off though. I know it's a bit divisive within the core fandom due to the change to a completely action based system (which is fair), but there's no doubt that in general it's a well made high quality game.

That JPN art goes hard. Gets my vote.

Zelda: TotK - Recently just started the Fire Temple.

FFXVI - Currently working my way through I think Drake's Fang. Getting close to confronting Kupka.

Only one of these I've played is Demon X Machina, but I also have Assault Gunners HD, which isn't listed.

Plan on getting AC6 on PS5 as soon as I'm finished with FFXVI.

Definitely going to get Armored Core 6 (though I know this one isn't a Switch game).

Otherwise I'd love a Pac-Man World 2 Re-Pac, and certainly it should be about time for Ace Combat 8 (though this latter one probably wouldn't come to Switch). It's too soon for a new Tales I think, but a port/remaster of an older entry would be good news (and I think Switch 2, or whatever it ends up being, will probably get Arise at some point).

Only got it in last week, and only put some real time into it over the weekend, so I've only begun to scratch the surface.

I've only completed about 16 Shrines (this includes the 4 on the tutorial sky island), activated 2 towers (this includes the one in town), and collected 1 Dragon Tear (the tutorial one where Impa accompanies you).

I haven't yet had the chance to go back up to the sky or venture into a chasm, let alone do any of the main dungeons.

Japan this week, followed by US.

They're all really good this week, but I went with Japan/EU this week due to the more dynamic pose.

Small nitpick/suggestion. Whenever a game has the same art in multiple regions, the region of origin should get top billing (so in this case, instead of being listed as Europe/Japan it should be listed as Japan/Europe), as the "other" region is likely reusing the origin region's art rather than the other way around.

Rare all out EU win.

I'll go with Japan this week. I like that it really leans into the tropical island vibe (the background looks like art that wouldn't feel out of place on the side of a building in the Caribbean or something).

EU is probably second. I think it's thrown off by the fact that it has two different depictions of DK though, and the background is generic.

US is terrible this week. Looks like Wii era shovelware, and there's too much text.

I went with JPN this time.

Really tough one this week, as that early CGI looks so terrible in general. Big nostalgia for the US art, but the JPN box IS less cluttered & cleaner. Went with JPN on a whim, but won't be upset if the US (EU) art takes it (and it looks like it's going to).

@Wheatly, that's a Crusha, not K. Rool. While the mohawk could be misinterpreted for a crown, you can tell by the camo pants.

@Liam_Doolan, yeah at least it shouldn't be too much longer (may go ahead and get the standard 4K release anyways, given that these early copies seem to confirm that the "Super Mushroom on a black background" is the actual design & not a placeholder... which is very bland. Regular box art looks much better).

This is odd. I've been checking Best Buy's website pretty much every day since the physical editions were announced and the steel book has never been available for pre-order (at first the page said it's not available in store or online, and only in the past week or so has it updated to say "coming soon". Never has a pre-order option been available).

That said, I wonder how people actually managed to put in pre-orders.

Europe is easily the weakest this week.

Tough call between the US & JPN box arts, but I went with US in the end.

Lol at it being "gross".

Does it feel "gross" playing GTA with all the gun violence plaguing the US or "gross" playing Call of Duty with all the war in the world?

This kinda came out of nowhere.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the first game (though I remember absolutely nothing about the story/narrative), but it seemed like it didn't make a huge splash (I think it was crushed between Link's Awakening & Astral Chain. Maybe DQXIS too?). Glad to see it apparently did pretty well for them though.

I will admit I have some nostalgia for the US design because that's what I had, but I ended up voting for JP/EU.

@Crockin, the only guest character from a MAX show is Peacemaker (and they've been including DC characters in the last couple games already. At least I know they had the Joker in one of them anyhow).

Homelander & Omni-Man are from Prime shows (& non DC comics before that, so I don't think Warner really has a stake in them).

Yeah, I'm going to go with the US art on this one.

Granted I haven't played the game, but with the camera seemingly being portrayed as her "main" tool in both box arts, the US art does a better job of making her look investigative (seeking out the truth in a dark society kind of way), while in the EU art she's out in the open getting ready to do battle with it?

Kinda surprised the EU box has such a large lead TBH.

Had to go with Japan, and it's not even close.

While it's true that the US box might be a better representation of what the game's aesthetic actually is, those early 3D renders just haven't aged well, while the JPN box is pure art.

Neat! Just completed this section the other day, but the parallels to Super Metroid never even occured to me.

Great game so far.

@Beefcakeyamato, three movies last year hit the milestone. Top Gun Maverick with $1.4B, Jurassic World Dominion with $1B, & Avatar: the Way of Water with $2.3B (Doctor Strange: MoM & Minions: Rise of Gru barely missed out on it too, both earning over $900M).

That's not a slight in Mario's performance BTW. Only the biggest of the biggest movies of the year manage to hit the $1B mark, and it's run isn't even over yet (depending on how Japan & South Korea leg out, it could land anywhere between $1.1-$1.3B in total. Keep in mind Frozen II has the highest theatrical gross for an animated film ever at $1.4B, so it's gonna be up there).

Japan easily.

I don't get the idea that the Japanese art is removed from the movie though. That's clearly a comic book styled Keaton Batman specifically, and not just "generic" Batman (same for Catwoman & Penguin).