If so I wonder if it would be a viable strategy for someone looking for an Xbox to try and import a Japanese one (they may not be selling out as quickly over there, and even with the import fees it may still be cheaper than paying scalper prices).
Super Star Ultra & Planet Robobot are the peak for sure, though I also rate Kirby's Adventure 3D, Nightmare in Dreamland, Amazing Mirror, and the original Super Star of course.
Otherwise, I do have a soft spot for Dream Land (and I used to play through it once or twice a year), though the series has definitely evolved since then. Dream Land 2 was solid, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the animal buddies. Star Allies is a decent enough game (and very pretty), but it just doesn't do anything to particularly stand out.
Toughest one to rate for me is 64. It was one of the few 64 games I actually beat back in the day & I do have a lot of nostalgia for it, however it's been so long since I've last played it my memories of it are pretty hazy.
@Anti-Matter, the boxart is the same worldwide (as pointed out in the article). The US box is the older design (before the new trailer dropped), shown for comparison's sake.
@nessisonett, don't know if I've seen any vids promoting nude mods, but I do get lots of YouTube recommendations of Resident Evil mods (I don't even play RE), featuring bikini or nurse (and even a tentacle, ew) costumes for the female characters (usually with enhanced "assets" to boot).
What's sad is I guessed on most of these since I haven't played most of the games involved, however 2 of the 3 answers I got wrong were from games I have played. Figure that one out.
I'm more looking forward to the New Years ones that always come from the Japanese devs like Nintendo, Sega, & the like (I even think there was a cool looking Senran Kagura one, one year).
@gcunit, well if you keep up on doing quests you should be adequately levelled enough to not have to engage random wildlife in XC outside of the creatures that attack you on sight (and even then, I've found that I relatively quickly became strong enough that not even those monsters will attack me, unless it's the occasional really strong one that you're supposed to avoid until endgame anyways).
Sure, sometimes quests will send you after peaceful creatures, but they generally have some sort of purpose such as collecting ingredients for food.
@Yosher, you may have thought that because the first two arcs of Super are reimaginings of the Battle of Gods (2013) & Resurrection F (2015) DBZ movies, and the series was followed up with a a Broly movie remake that worked him into the canon storyline. The last three main arcs of the TV series are completely new though.
Honestly the movie versions of those first two arcs are universally considered to be the better versions, so if you can, watch those then skip to the Universe 6 arc of the Super TV series.
EDIT: Though I also consider the Super manga's version of the Universe 6, Goku Black, & Tournament of Power arcs to be far superior to the anime versions. It is made by Toriyama's protogé (who is a big Dragon Ball fan who got his start by working on a fan fiction sequel to GT), and since it ran behind the anime he took the time to fix many issues with that version of the story. Plus, while the anime is on hiatus (finished?), the manga has continued on with the exclusive Planet Eater Moro arc, which is widely considered to be the best of the completely new Super content. Really the only issue with the manga is that it skipped over the Resurrection F arc (again, it was running behind the anime, so they made the decision to skip that so it could start the Universe 6 arc at around the same time as the anime) as well as the new Broly arc.
Since it's been years I really should re-watch GT someday to compare it with Super, which I felt had some really cool premises (such as introducing an alternate universe where Sayains are still around in large numbers), but really floundered on the execution, IMO.
@Yosher, Super is considered the canon sequel to Z as Toriyama was more involved with it than he was with GT.
@Lionyone, that's very likely, as it's from the same publisher as Waifu Uncovered (and like the aforementioned title, this will also have "modesty" & "uncensored" modes).
Don't think that slang term is particularly UK based either, as I've heard it here in the US as well.
@neufel, he's probably most definitely referring to Attack on Titan when it comes to anime representation (maybe Assassination Classroom & Demon Slayer as well, but as I haven't seen those two I don't know how gorey they are).
As for games, I'm not sure. Maybe the Monster Hunter songs? I know they're not M/18+ titles, but I believe I've heard him say he doesn't like the series in the past.
Either way, I doubt there's anything in the songs themselves that is objectionable, even if that's something you're worried about.
TGA's problem is that it seems to want it's cake & eat it too. They should either go full "player's choice" and have the most popular game(s) win, or they should cut out the public opinion all together and have the voting body solely consist of journalists (or better yet, drop the journalists & make it like the Oscars, where the voting body for a particular category consists only of those who work in that field), that way we can at least be sure that, despite whatever bias'/agenda some may have, at least the voting body has a studied academic/technical understanding of why a certain aspect of a game is good, regardless of public opinion/popularity.
Congrats to tLoUP2. I'm not particularly interested in playing it (nothing to do with the fandom controversies, I just don't care for zombie titles & haven't played the first), but I have no reason to doubt it's legitimacy as GotY.
@apoqalypse, here's a YouTube video posted of all the improvements made due to the feedback (it doesn't mention framerate, but from experience I don't think any of the boss fights were as choppy as the one in the demo).
Not a top tier Switch exclusive, but still a solid game with a beefy amount of content. Definitely worth a look, especially if you're needing some sci-fi action on Switch (of which only Astral Chain & arguably the Xenoblade games are the only other exclusive offerings on that front).
@apoqalypse, which demo are you referring to? The "Prototype Missions" one that came out earlier in the release year (this one was more for player feedback, and the full game improved on it quite a bit), or the one that came out on release with the improvements?
@HotGoomba___Rebrand, they released it at a bad time too. They squished it in-between Astral Chain (admittedly the better sci-fi action title), Link's Awakening remake, & Dragon Quest XI S (all of which had more hype). It probably would have been better served to release it early this year since there wasn't much else going on.
I'm hoping for I hope it's not a Fortnite character, but after Steve I'm not ruling anything out. I'd be good with most else, but really hoping for someone like Ryu Hayabusa, Sora, Shantae, Amaterasu, or even Dante.
@otoad62, whatever you may think of TGA there's no denying that people tune into it. The viewership has gone up every year since it premiered (in 2014 they had under 2 million viewers, but last year they were up to 48-49 million).
Looking great. I'll probably get it on PS4, however I don't have much time to play it lately (compared to Switch) & loved VIII on Nintendo's system, so we'll see.
Marble it Up! looks cool as heck, but to be honest I found Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (considered an easier entry) to be a stiff challenge & am not sure I'd be up for anything more hardcore.
Regarding SMB:BBHD, I cleared the main story & the first post game world, but the second post game world is beyond my ability.
Going with the Japanese one simply because the character art represents what the characters are supposed to look like.
The western variant is just another example from the era of localizers erasing Japanese art stylings to give them a more western vibe (not that the westernized art can't be good, but it never represents what the in game universe is supposed to look like, and it's resulted in fans of old time games such as this decrying modern entries for becoming "more anime", when a lot of them were supposed to be like that in the first place).
Loved XC2, and it's still one of my favorite titles on the system (maybe my favorite). I think Torna did a great job of tidying up some of the mechanical issues of the main game, and is probably my favorite entry from a gameplay point of view. Currently playing XCDE, and while I don't like the characters as much as XC2's cast, the gameplay loop is just as good if not better in areas.
Easily my favorite modern Nintendo IP, and it's all thanks to XC2.
@JoeyTS, fair enough on the updates (though there's an argument to be made of whether or not an old game with a few updates should be allowed to "displace" a fully new game for a nom).
However your music analogy is flawed, as the stated artists will only win artist of the year based on songs/albums (and maybe events) they've done in the past year. It's the same as an actor winning best actor (it's based on something they've done in the past year, not their past work).
In any case I found this video to be interesting, even if the narrator is a bit dull.
"The Game Awards: Why We Need Better" https://youtu.be/3kv3rCo5CAU
@JoeyTS, I'm conflicted about the premise personally. If a film came out 5 years ago and went unnoticed, the Oscars, Golden Globes (etc.) aren't going to nominate it today if it suddenly took off in popular culture. Should TGA be any different in that regard?
@JoeyTS, @RupeeClock, @iceicebb, TBF TGA seems very inconsistent with their own rules (this year at least).
In most categories the titles do have to have been released in the past year (the entire reason they added the "ongoing game" category a couple years in was so that popular relavent GaS titles such as Fortnite could still get recognition even though they're ineligible for other awards). In that regard Among Us should be disqualified for best mobile game, by their own guidelines, no matter if it's more popular this year than when it came out.
Similarly, in past years HD remasters, "GotY" editions & the like were automatically disqualified for most awards (in fact, I believe they even tried out a "best remaster" category for a couple years, similar to the "ongoing game" situation, to still give such releases a platform), but here we are with Persona 5, Mortal Kombat 11, & Street Fighter V (& Xenoblade DE in the player's choice section) getting a second chance at an award with slightly touched up re-releases, which again is supposed to be against their own rules.
I personally don't mind, but think it'd be nice if they would have a bit more consistency in general (there's way too many categories they drop or replace after one or two years, for example).
EDIT: Just finished reading their FAQ, and they do indeed state that games released in previous years are eligible for any category if the jurors decide that any new content/social relivence is worthy of note. This does appear to be a break from how it was the first few years, and I wish they would have made a public statement regarding the change as it's caused some confusion.
Put my hat in the ring for Hot Gimmick Cosplay-Jong (had fun learning real Mahjong with this) & Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders (good at scratching that Ace Combat itch).
Too bad Trials of Mana remake or Paper Mario: the Origami King didn't make the cut. They're more deserving than something like Genshin Impact. Surprised Bugsnax made it in too (it could be a lot better than I'm giving it credit for, but I'm hearing much more about Astro's Playroom & Sackboy's Adventure in that sphere, and neither of those is nominated in this list).
@Arehexes, I think it's important to note that while censorship of violence/nudity in games is something that's been prevalent in the US for decades, that doesn't mean that the same forces calling for it today are the same as the ones from yesterday.
Yes, the debate in the 90's was largely driven by conservative voices such as Jack Thompson (I believe I'm remembering right), but there currently aren't any notable conservative voices in American culture making this a priority (I'm not saying conservative prudes focused on gaming no longer exist, one just needs to take a quick peek over at Family Friendly Gaming to see that, but gaming companies largely don't give them the time of day anymore. Again, look back to my previous example, and they'll almost always start out any game review from a large company, whether it be Sony, Nintendo, or whomever, and complain that they're being unprofessional & discriminatory for not giving them review copies).
On the other hand, "sexualization" of women is very much something that the modern left has made an issue of, and is a side that's more likely to gain the attention of game developers & publishers in the west, simply because the views of the devs/pubs themselves more often than not closely align with that ideology out on the coast.
I like the beautiful painterly art style on both, but I prefer the US/JPN cover as I believe it has a richer color palette, a sense of foreboding with Hyrule Castle in the distance, & an overall more epic feel.
This looks a bit like Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders graphically (though that one's WWII). Like this one, it even has three campaigns focused on different war fronts.
It was a pretty decent purchase for scratching that Ace Combat itch.
A hearty recommendation for Onimusha from me. I've played it and the first two DMC games on Switch, and so far it's my favorite of the three (Okami is probably my favorite Capcom title on Switch, but it already gets a lot of attention).
@TG16_IS_BAE, to be fair the games are more about completing various objectives around the battlefield such as taking out tougher named enemies, taking control of forts, gallivanting halfway across the map to save a weak ally, all in an effort to slowly take control of the battlefield over the course of the mission, moreso than taking out the mooks themselves (though it's in your interest to take them out to build up your special gauges between main objectives if you need to, or for high score chasing).
I think the main Dynasty (& Samurai) lines even have a morale system, which affects how dangerous the mooks are (especially to your forts), which goes up & down depending on how effectively you can deal with timed objectives that pop up all over the map, giving them a much more strategic edge.
Recently got Xenoblade Chronicles DE, so that's going to be it on the Switch front for awhile, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is probably next on the agenda.
@westman98, the Stock Market is neither a benevolent or malevolent entity. It's just guessing that because of the vaccine that more people will be spending more time/money on outdoor activities, so businesses largely focusing on mostly indoor activities, such as gaming, won't be worth as much as they are now when people are staying indoors more.
On the flip side, companies that focus on outdoor recreation will probably have their stock prices improve on the news of the vaccine.
I picked Switch/PS5, but honestly I'm going to be Switch/PS4 for awhile more yet.
I really don't have time to commit to two consoles at the moment, so Switch is getting most of my gaming time, and I'm moving much more slowly on my PS4 games, of which I'm starting to build a backlog.
Given that, I really can't justify buying a new console at the moment, and while I'm leaning towards PS5, it's not set in stone. Series S is serious value, but Xbox generally doesn't get as much Japanese stuff (it is getting much better in that regard, but I'm not sure how much of the uber niche stuff like Senran Kagura will make it over, and I do like those kinds of games from time to time), and they currently have no plans for VR on Xbox, so those are big knocks against it for me. However, Sony's recent stance on censorship has affected their relationship with niche Japanese devs & they've been oblique about the future of VR, so I'm not yet ready to commit to PS5.
Both are pretty good this week, but I went with Japan.
@Dr_Corndog, it's American comic book style, not manga style. They even mentioned in the article that Nintendo commissioned Valiant (an American comic book company) to do the cover. They did a similar thing with some of the Japanese releases of the Metroid games, to give them a western feel.
I'd love to see any of the myriad of PS3 entries (Graces F, Xillia I&II, the Symphonia Chronicles collection) hit Switch. Alas, since I've already played Zestiria & Berseria on PS4 in recent memory, it'll get one of those two.
I'm from the US and have never heard of this series until an earlier article on this site started talking up it's supposed importance to gaming history. There are a few other retro British series like that talked about too (if you're from Britain they seem very important, but elsewhere they're virtually unknown), like maybe something called James Pond?
I didn't get my Switch until the latter half of 2017 (around when Odyssey released), and as such never played any of the launch games (other than BotW, eventually).
Blaster Master 0 & Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero were probably the two other "early" games I went back to play that I'd rate.
I don't know much about Soccer, but the EU one wins hands down (probably the first time I've voted for the EU variant, outside of the "Duel" features where they're bundled with NA).
Probably because Soccer is just so big there so they had the incentive to make a great cover.
Comments 1,387
Re: Japanese Charts: Switch Takes Entire Top Ten For The Fourth Week In A Row
Are the next gen systems region free?
If so I wonder if it would be a viable strategy for someone looking for an Xbox to try and import a Japanese one (they may not be selling out as quickly over there, and even with the import fees it may still be cheaper than paying scalper prices).
Re: Poll: What's The Best Kirby Game?
Super Star Ultra & Planet Robobot are the peak for sure, though I also rate Kirby's Adventure 3D, Nightmare in Dreamland, Amazing Mirror, and the original Super Star of course.
Otherwise, I do have a soft spot for Dream Land (and I used to play through it once or twice a year), though the series has definitely evolved since then. Dream Land 2 was solid, but I wasn't the biggest fan of the animal buddies. Star Allies is a decent enough game (and very pretty), but it just doesn't do anything to particularly stand out.
Toughest one to rate for me is 64. It was one of the few 64 games I actually beat back in the day & I do have a lot of nostalgia for it, however it's been so long since I've last played it my memories of it are pretty hazy.
Re: Random: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury Box Art Receives A Very Welcome Tweak
@Anti-Matter, the boxart is the same worldwide (as pointed out in the article). The US box is the older design (before the new trailer dropped), shown for comparison's sake.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #74 - Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective
Without some of the extra text Japan's would be the best, but as it is it's the US for me.
Europe isn't even in contention this week, IMO.
Re: Capcom Shares Strict Video Guidelines For Content Creators
@nessisonett, don't know if I've seen any vids promoting nude mods, but I do get lots of YouTube recommendations of Resident Evil mods (I don't even play RE), featuring bikini or nurse (and even a tentacle, ew) costumes for the female characters (usually with enhanced "assets" to boot).
I wonder if those types of vids will be affected.
Re: Development Of Disaster Report 5 Is Already Underway
Planning on picking it up during the current sale on PS4 (mainly that version for the VR support).
Re: Nintendo Winter Wonderlands - Can You Name All These Festive Levels?
9/12.
What's sad is I guessed on most of these since I haven't played most of the games involved, however 2 of the 3 answers I got wrong were from games I have played. Figure that one out.
Re: Check Out These Lovely Christmas Cards From Some Of Gaming's Big Names
Only the Cuphead one looks good.
I'm more looking forward to the New Years ones that always come from the Japanese devs like Nintendo, Sega, & the like (I even think there was a cool looking Senran Kagura one, one year).
Re: Miyamoto Wants Us To Understand The Motives Of Enemies We Kill In Video Games
@gcunit, well if you keep up on doing quests you should be adequately levelled enough to not have to engage random wildlife in XC outside of the creatures that attack you on sight (and even then, I've found that I relatively quickly became strong enough that not even those monsters will attack me, unless it's the occasional really strong one that you're supposed to avoid until endgame anyways).
Sure, sometimes quests will send you after peaceful creatures, but they generally have some sort of purpose such as collecting ingredients for food.
Re: Super Baby 2 And Gogeta [SS4] Are Joining Dragon Ball FighterZ
@Yosher, you may have thought that because the first two arcs of Super are reimaginings of the Battle of Gods (2013) & Resurrection F (2015) DBZ movies, and the series was followed up with a a Broly movie remake that worked him into the canon storyline. The last three main arcs of the TV series are completely new though.
Honestly the movie versions of those first two arcs are universally considered to be the better versions, so if you can, watch those then skip to the Universe 6 arc of the Super TV series.
EDIT: Though I also consider the Super manga's version of the Universe 6, Goku Black, & Tournament of Power arcs to be far superior to the anime versions. It is made by Toriyama's protogé (who is a big Dragon Ball fan who got his start by working on a fan fiction sequel to GT), and since it ran behind the anime he took the time to fix many issues with that version of the story. Plus, while the anime is on hiatus (finished?), the manga has continued on with the exclusive Planet Eater Moro arc, which is widely considered to be the best of the completely new Super content. Really the only issue with the manga is that it skipped over the Resurrection F arc (again, it was running behind the anime, so they made the decision to skip that so it could start the Universe 6 arc at around the same time as the anime) as well as the new Broly arc.
Re: Super Baby 2 And Gogeta [SS4] Are Joining Dragon Ball FighterZ
Since it's been years I really should re-watch GT someday to compare it with Super, which I felt had some really cool premises (such as introducing an alternate universe where Sayains are still around in large numbers), but really floundered on the execution, IMO.
@Yosher, Super is considered the canon sequel to Z as Toriyama was more involved with it than he was with GT.
Re: Nintendo Download: 17th December (North America)
@Lionyone, that's very likely, as it's from the same publisher as Waifu Uncovered (and like the aforementioned title, this will also have "modesty" & "uncensored" modes).
Don't think that slang term is particularly UK based either, as I've heard it here in the US as well.
Re: Cyber Shadow Slashes Its Way To Switch Early Next Year
Easily the most appealing title of the Indie World, though I'm not too good at uber difficult games, so we'll see.
Re: Surprise! Among Us Is Getting Sus On Switch Later Today
I'd honestly never heard of it until TGA, so as you can tell this isn't for me.
At least I now know why people have been abbreviating suspicious to "sus" on the interwebs...
Re: Nintendo Indie World Showcase To Air Tomorrow, 15th December
I used to not take any interest in these, but A Short Hike was a really nice surprise from the summer one, so I'm going to be a bit more open.
Re: Japan's 'Super Mario-kun' Manga Series Gets An English-Language Release For The First Time
I hope it gets a digital release.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel #71 - Pokémon Stadium 2
Japan. The artwork was clearly designed to be viewed in the portrait orientation, so things look a bit more squished & cluttered in the US variant.
Re: Review: Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythmic Adventure Pack - A Fine Western Debut For This Drumming Duo
@neufel, he's probably most definitely referring to Attack on Titan when it comes to anime representation (maybe Assassination Classroom & Demon Slayer as well, but as I haven't seen those two I don't know how gorey they are).
As for games, I'm not sure. Maybe the Monster Hunter songs? I know they're not M/18+ titles, but I believe I've heard him say he doesn't like the series in the past.
Either way, I doubt there's anything in the songs themselves that is objectionable, even if that's something you're worried about.
Re: The Game Awards GOTY Is The Last Of Us Part 2
TGA's problem is that it seems to want it's cake & eat it too. They should either go full "player's choice" and have the most popular game(s) win, or they should cut out the public opinion all together and have the voting body solely consist of journalists (or better yet, drop the journalists & make it like the Oscars, where the voting body for a particular category consists only of those who work in that field), that way we can at least be sure that, despite whatever bias'/agenda some may have, at least the voting body has a studied academic/technical understanding of why a certain aspect of a game is good, regardless of public opinion/popularity.
Congrats to tLoUP2. I'm not particularly interested in playing it (nothing to do with the fandom controversies, I just don't care for zombie titles & haven't played the first), but I have no reason to doubt it's legitimacy as GotY.
Re: Daemon X Machina Now Supports Cross-Save Functionality
@apoqalypse, here's a YouTube video posted of all the improvements made due to the feedback (it doesn't mention framerate, but from experience I don't think any of the boss fights were as choppy as the one in the demo).
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DKxwUByr7woc&ved=2ahUKEwiCjNy0jMTtAhWdAp0JHTIRCkYQwqsBMAB6BAgBEAM&usg=AOvVaw22GowKQMazEjUKwdmdgnYR
Re: Daemon X Machina Now Supports Cross-Save Functionality
Not a top tier Switch exclusive, but still a solid game with a beefy amount of content. Definitely worth a look, especially if you're needing some sci-fi action on Switch (of which only Astral Chain & arguably the Xenoblade games are the only other exclusive offerings on that front).
@apoqalypse, which demo are you referring to? The "Prototype Missions" one that came out earlier in the release year (this one was more for player feedback, and the full game improved on it quite a bit), or the one that came out on release with the improvements?
@HotGoomba___Rebrand, they released it at a bad time too. They squished it in-between Astral Chain (admittedly the better sci-fi action title), Link's Awakening remake, & Dragon Quest XI S (all of which had more hype). It probably would have been better served to release it early this year since there wasn't much else going on.
Re: The Next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighter Will Be Revealed During The Game Awards
I'm hoping for I hope it's not a Fortnite character, but after Steve I'm not ruling anything out. I'd be good with most else, but really hoping for someone like Ryu Hayabusa, Sora, Shantae, Amaterasu, or even Dante.
@otoad62, whatever you may think of TGA there's no denying that people tune into it. The viewership has gone up every year since it premiered (in 2014 they had under 2 million viewers, but last year they were up to 48-49 million).
Re: Video: Ys IX: Monstrum Nox Gets A Mystery-Filled Story Trailer
Looking great. I'll probably get it on PS4, however I don't have much time to play it lately (compared to Switch) & loved VIII on Nintendo's system, so we'll see.
Re: Eastasiasoft Announces Six Switch Games Launching Across December And January
@Dualmask, according to the game's page on their website, the puzzle game will have an uncensored mode on Switch (like Waifu Uncovered).
Re: Community: 12 Switch Games We Missed, As Recommended By You
Marble it Up! looks cool as heck, but to be honest I found Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD (considered an easier entry) to be a stiff challenge & am not sure I'd be up for anything more hardcore.
Regarding SMB:BBHD, I cleared the main story & the first post game world, but the second post game world is beyond my ability.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel #70 - Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Going with the Japanese one simply because the character art represents what the characters are supposed to look like.
The western variant is just another example from the era of localizers erasing Japanese art stylings to give them a more western vibe (not that the westernized art can't be good, but it never represents what the in game universe is supposed to look like, and it's resulted in fans of old time games such as this decrying modern entries for becoming "more anime", when a lot of them were supposed to be like that in the first place).
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Character Designer Celebrates Third Anniversary With Some New Artwork
Great art!
Loved XC2, and it's still one of my favorite titles on the system (maybe my favorite). I think Torna did a great job of tidying up some of the mechanical issues of the main game, and is probably my favorite entry from a gameplay point of view. Currently playing XCDE, and while I don't like the characters as much as XC2's cast, the gameplay loop is just as good if not better in areas.
Easily my favorite modern Nintendo IP, and it's all thanks to XC2.
Re: Game Awards "Player's Voice" Nominations Now Open
@JoeyTS, fair enough on the updates (though there's an argument to be made of whether or not an old game with a few updates should be allowed to "displace" a fully new game for a nom).
However your music analogy is flawed, as the stated artists will only win artist of the year based on songs/albums (and maybe events) they've done in the past year. It's the same as an actor winning best actor (it's based on something they've done in the past year, not their past work).
In any case I found this video to be interesting, even if the narrator is a bit dull.
"The Game Awards: Why We Need Better"
https://youtu.be/3kv3rCo5CAU
Re: Game Awards "Player's Voice" Nominations Now Open
@JoeyTS, I'm conflicted about the premise personally. If a film came out 5 years ago and went unnoticed, the Oscars, Golden Globes (etc.) aren't going to nominate it today if it suddenly took off in popular culture. Should TGA be any different in that regard?
Re: Game Awards "Player's Voice" Nominations Now Open
@JoeyTS, @RupeeClock, @iceicebb, TBF TGA seems very inconsistent with their own rules (this year at least).
In most categories the titles do have to have been released in the past year (the entire reason they added the "ongoing game" category a couple years in was so that popular relavent GaS titles such as Fortnite could still get recognition even though they're ineligible for other awards). In that regard Among Us should be disqualified for best mobile game, by their own guidelines, no matter if it's more popular this year than when it came out.
Similarly, in past years HD remasters, "GotY" editions & the like were automatically disqualified for most awards (in fact, I believe they even tried out a "best remaster" category for a couple years, similar to the "ongoing game" situation, to still give such releases a platform), but here we are with Persona 5, Mortal Kombat 11, & Street Fighter V (& Xenoblade DE in the player's choice section) getting a second chance at an award with slightly touched up re-releases, which again is supposed to be against their own rules.
I personally don't mind, but think it'd be nice if they would have a bit more consistency in general (there's way too many categories they drop or replace after one or two years, for example).
EDIT: Just finished reading their FAQ, and they do indeed state that games released in previous years are eligible for any category if the jurors decide that any new content/social relivence is worthy of note. This does appear to be a break from how it was the first few years, and I wish they would have made a public statement regarding the change as it's caused some confusion.
Re: Community: Found A Great Game On Switch eShop? Send Us Your Recommendations
Put my hat in the ring for Hot Gimmick Cosplay-Jong (had fun learning real Mahjong with this) & Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders (good at scratching that Ace Combat itch).
Re: Game Awards "Player's Voice" Nominations Now Open
Out of the nominations I voted for
Too bad Trials of Mana remake or Paper Mario: the Origami King didn't make the cut. They're more deserving than something like Genshin Impact. Surprised Bugsnax made it in too (it could be a lot better than I'm giving it credit for, but I'm hearing much more about Astro's Playroom & Sackboy's Adventure in that sphere, and neither of those is nominated in this list).
Re: Video: 11 Exciting New Games Coming To Nintendo Switch In December
Interested in the Taiko RPG & SaGa collections, but who knows if I'll ever get to them.
I'll be lucky if I can finish off Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition before the month is out. Money saved for other things, I guess.
Re: Atelier Ryza Developer Clarifies Its Stance On Video Game Censorship
@Arehexes, I think it's important to note that while censorship of violence/nudity in games is something that's been prevalent in the US for decades, that doesn't mean that the same forces calling for it today are the same as the ones from yesterday.
Yes, the debate in the 90's was largely driven by conservative voices such as Jack Thompson (I believe I'm remembering right), but there currently aren't any notable conservative voices in American culture making this a priority (I'm not saying conservative prudes focused on gaming no longer exist, one just needs to take a quick peek over at Family Friendly Gaming to see that, but gaming companies largely don't give them the time of day anymore. Again, look back to my previous example, and they'll almost always start out any game review from a large company, whether it be Sony, Nintendo, or whomever, and complain that they're being unprofessional & discriminatory for not giving them review copies).
On the other hand, "sexualization" of women is very much something that the modern left has made an issue of, and is a side that's more likely to gain the attention of game developers & publishers in the west, simply because the views of the devs/pubs themselves more often than not closely align with that ideology out on the coast.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel #69 - The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
I like the beautiful painterly art style on both, but I prefer the US/JPN cover as I believe it has a richer color palette, a sense of foreboding with Hyrule Castle in the distance, & an overall more epic feel.
Re: Warplanes: WW1 Sky Aces Fires Onto Switch Next Month
This looks a bit like Sky Gamblers: Storm Raiders graphically (though that one's WWII). Like this one, it even has three campaigns focused on different war fronts.
It was a pretty decent purchase for scratching that Ace Combat itch.
Re: Capcom Switch Sale Discounts Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, Mega Man And More (North America)
A hearty recommendation for Onimusha from me. I've played it and the first two DMC games on Switch, and so far it's my favorite of the three (Okami is probably my favorite Capcom title on Switch, but it already gets a lot of attention).
Re: Animal Crossing: New Horizons Nominated For Game Awards 2020 GOTY
I really enjoyed Animal Crossing (and certainly wouldn't be disappointed if it won), but FFVIIR is definitely my GotY.
Re: Video: Check Out These Hyrule Warriors: Age Of Calamity Ads Now Airing On Japanese TV
@TG16_IS_BAE, to be fair the games are more about completing various objectives around the battlefield such as taking out tougher named enemies, taking control of forts, gallivanting halfway across the map to save a weak ally, all in an effort to slowly take control of the battlefield over the course of the mission, moreso than taking out the mooks themselves (though it's in your interest to take them out to build up your special gauges between main objectives if you need to, or for high score chasing).
I think the main Dynasty (& Samurai) lines even have a morale system, which affects how dangerous the mooks are (especially to your forts), which goes up & down depending on how effectively you can deal with timed objectives that pop up all over the map, giving them a much more strategic edge.
Re: Poll: Are You Getting Any Of These New Nintendo Switch Releases?
Recently got Xenoblade Chronicles DE, so that's going to be it on the Switch front for awhile, and Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is probably next on the agenda.
Re: News Of COVID-19 Vaccine Causes Nintendo, Ubisoft And Activision Share Prices To Drop
@westman98, the Stock Market is neither a benevolent or malevolent entity. It's just guessing that because of the vaccine that more people will be spending more time/money on outdoor activities, so businesses largely focusing on mostly indoor activities, such as gaming, won't be worth as much as they are now when people are staying indoors more.
On the flip side, companies that focus on outdoor recreation will probably have their stock prices improve on the news of the vaccine.
Re: Poll: Which Will Be Your Second Console - PS5 Or Xbox Series X?
I picked Switch/PS5, but honestly I'm going to be Switch/PS4 for awhile more yet.
I really don't have time to commit to two consoles at the moment, so Switch is getting most of my gaming time, and I'm moving much more slowly on my PS4 games, of which I'm starting to build a backlog.
Given that, I really can't justify buying a new console at the moment, and while I'm leaning towards PS5, it's not set in stone. Series S is serious value, but Xbox generally doesn't get as much Japanese stuff (it is getting much better in that regard, but I'm not sure how much of the uber niche stuff like Senran Kagura will make it over, and I do like those kinds of games from time to time), and they currently have no plans for VR on Xbox, so those are big knocks against it for me. However, Sony's recent stance on censorship has affected their relationship with niche Japanese devs & they've been oblique about the future of VR, so I'm not yet ready to commit to PS5.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Duel #67 - F-Zero
Both are pretty good this week, but I went with Japan.
@Dr_Corndog, it's American comic book style, not manga style. They even mentioned in the article that Nintendo commissioned Valiant (an American comic book company) to do the cover. They did a similar thing with some of the Japanese releases of the Metroid games, to give them a western feel.
Re: Bandai Namco's Tales Series To Celebrate 25th Anniversary With Special Broadcast
I'd love to see any of the myriad of PS3 entries (Graces F, Xillia I&II, the Symphonia Chronicles collection) hit Switch. Alas, since I've already played Zestiria & Berseria on PS4 in recent memory, it'll get one of those two.
Re: Adorable Multiplayer Brawler Cake Bash Cooks Up A November Release On Switch
It looks like the graphics have a very Nintendo like design/quality.
Re: The Origami King Is Now The Fastest-Selling Paper Mario Game Ever
@TG16_IS_BAE, it's apparently a meme called "loss", thus it ends their sentence that missing out on the game is the other poster's "loss".
The only reason I know that is that awhile ago there was an article on this site about a, fabricated, report of it being included in a Pokemon game.
https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2019/03/random_did_game_freak_sneak_the_loss_meme_into_pokemon_lets_go_pikachu_and_eevee
Re: Switch Is Getting A Brand-New Dizzy Game, And It Was Coded During Lockdown
I'm from the US and have never heard of this series until an earlier article on this site started talking up it's supposed importance to gaming history. There are a few other retro British series like that talked about too (if you're from Britain they seem very important, but elsewhere they're virtually unknown), like maybe something called James Pond?
Anyhow, I'm glad for the fans.
Re: Poll: Rate Your Favourite Wii Games
I love that you can rate the web browser, lol.
Anyways, looking through this list has reminded me of a lot of games I was interested in that I forgot existed.
Re: Poll: What Was The Best Switch Launch Game (That Wasn't Zelda: Breath Of The Wild)?
I didn't get my Switch until the latter half of 2017 (around when Odyssey released), and as such never played any of the launch games (other than BotW, eventually).
Blaster Master 0 & Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero were probably the two other "early" games I went back to play that I'd rate.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl #64 - International Superstar Soccer 98
I don't know much about Soccer, but the EU one wins hands down (probably the first time I've voted for the EU variant, outside of the "Duel" features where they're bundled with NA).
Probably because Soccer is just so big there so they had the incentive to make a great cover.