Ralizah

I'm cautiously optimistic. The original (Blood Covered edition, at least) is one of my all-time favorite horror games, but the sequels (particularly Blood Drive, ugh) never captured the same magic, so I hope it turns out well.

@Theghostofkeithmoon Missed this reply somehow.

Thank you. ❤️ I think all of us who have considerable backlogs have wondered at times if we're merely slaves to our materialistic impulses. And I definitely think that is a factor, for sure, but, ultimately, there are many, many ways to enjoy the hobby, and not all of them involve the simple act of playing a game to completion.

As long as a person is enjoying their time with the hobby and paying the bills on time, I think whatever way they choose to engage with it is valid.

@Aiodensghost Now that physical game collecting is increasingly become an expensive niche hobby for non-mainstream stuff, you're gonna see more and more releases punted to these small boutique publishers who want to bleed you dry for the chance of owning a game on cartridge.

In fairness, though, you mentioned your 3DS library was "wiped out," but you should be able to redownload your games still, correct?

@Yoshif3 sigh

I admire the implementation of Ultrahand more than I actually enjoy using it. It's a remarkable feature. Sometimes it's a blast using it to solve puzzles in weird, unique ways. Overall, I think aspects of TotK are a great evolution of the base they established in BotW. Especially bosses, which, IMO, are often better than what you'd find in even older Zelda games. They fixed the bosses big time. I also like the increased enemy diversity, the incredible scope of the game itself, etc.

But some things need major work. The dungeons, while unique thematically, are even worse on a puzzle/mechanical level than the ones in BotW. The story content is... pretty bad throughout, with post-dungeon cutscenes repeating information you learned in other ones. The tears are a poor structural replacement for the memories of BotW, and unlike that game, it actually hurts the plot when you experience them out of order.

The thing I dislike most, though, is how the focus turned toward resource collecting. They're both open worlds, but Breath of the Wild's focus was surviving in a vast landscape that's been transformed by an apocalypse. Every element of the game is geared toward making the player curious about the world and rewarding that curiosity. Whereas TotK wants you to slave away in the Depths for hours to have enough zonite to actually do stuff with its Zonai devices.

Also, while BotW was radically open, it implemented features to prevent the player from abusing that freedom without incredible persistence. Whereas in TotK, you can just build a helicopter or something and fly over most of the world.

While I like the open world direction Zelda is going in, I'll confess I don't want the focus to shift toward building vehicles and mining resources lol. I think Elden Ring provided a better example of where the series should go in the future, with its focus on hidden but incredible dungeons throughout a vast open landscape.

Thanks. I know our exchanges get a bit heated, so I'm glad you're a big enough person not to get upset about it. I enjoy talking to people too, even when we disagree!

@Yoshif3 Sure, remasters and remakes won't necessarily outsell a new entry, but if their success is merely attributable to the console itself, the gap shouldn't be as wide as it is.

Oh, absolutely. When I said success story, I meant the duology in general, but especially Breath of the Wild. You're right that TotK won't be as well-remembered as BotW or OoT, if only because, unlike those titles, it doesn't represent a bold evolution of the series' formula.

I never said sales were a sign of quality. They're a sign of popularity. The critical acclaim it received is the metric you'd point to if you wanted to talk about its quality, I suppose, although I always favor actually discussion of the content of the game itself.

And, look, I don't fully disagree with your criticisms. There are aspects of TotK I strongly disliked. It wasn't even my favorite Switch game last year. But it's still a HIGHLY successful game by every conceivable metric. It not winning GOTY is less an indictment of the game's quality versus Larian Studio's remarkable success in developing BG3.

@Yoshif3 Other Zelda games on other wildly successful consoles didn't sell half as well throughout their lifetimes. The Zelda remasters and remakes on Switch also haven't come anywhere close.

Games tend to do better on Switch when entries are well-received, but not to an insane degree. Selling a few extra million copies of a game is the Switch effect. Going from 5mil lifetime to 20 million in half a year is a testament to the popularity of these new games.

Especially funny to mention Xenoblade when its growth has completely flatlined since XC2, which peaked at... what, 2.5 million units sold?

Tears of the Kingdom is the third highest rated after Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild. OoT is one of the most legendary games ever made, and BotW saved a dying, increasingly irrelevant series and acted as the model for a new generation of Zelda games, like OoT before it. No shame in coming in third to two of the most important games ever made.

Not liking the direction the series has taken is fine. Trying to fool yourself into thinking one of the most dramatic gaming comeback stories in the history of the industry is a fluke and that one of the highest rated and fastest-selling exclusives of all time is actually secretly unpopular is delusional, pure and simple.

The success of this game will have only bolstered Nintendo's will to make these game open worlds going forward.

@Strumpan My point is that they could have very easily designed an SMT game that ran well on the hardware. Why choose the Switch exclusive to get really ambitious with your design choices?

Even funnier when you had home console releases like Soul Hackers 2 that also felt very PS3 in terms of their design sensibilities.

Well-deserved. Regardless of your feelings about the game, it's absolutely incredible how well it all runs given the numerous physics systems that intersect. On such a weak system, no less. Just a marvel of programming.

@Yoshif3 A "traditional" Zelda game would have been even less likely to win the big award lol. Nothing was beating Baldur's Gate 3. It was the breakout hit of last year.

TotK still outscores and outsells pretty much every other Zelda game on the market. Selling 20+ million units in a few months is INSANE for an exclusive title.

@Rayquaza2510 I don't think it's weird. SMT V is very clearly a more demanding game, featuring gigantic environments with to-scale demons lumbering about. Also, it's Unreal Engine.

Meanwhile, P5 features very PS3-era level design and less demanding visual effects across the board.

The question I've always had is why they chose the tech equivalent of an old Android tablet to exclusively host their most technically ambitious title to date.

But yeah, PC for me as well for that Steam Deck action.

A Paper Mario with the combat and writing of TTYD combined with the music and level design of Origami King would be a pretty incredible game.

Don't care as long as it includes MGS4. Game has been trapped on the PS3 for WAY too long now.

Famitsu hands out higher scores like candy, so I wouldn't read much into this.

I supported Mario + Rabbids 2 at launch on principle, since I loved the original, but I never buy other Ubisoft games at launch anymore thanks to their pricing antics. I believe other people, particularly Nintendo fans, are the same way. Why not wait a few months and grab the same game for 80% off?

I feel the same way to a lesser extent about a lot of SEGA's releases.

If I'm going to be punished for supporting day one, then I'm going to adjust my purchasing strategy in response. This is why Nintendo games are generally day one buys, and everything else waits for a sale down the road.

Super Mario Galaxy. The emotional backstory in the library. The whimsical atmosphere. The absolutely gorgeous soundtrack. The creative and focused theme of the game. Heck, it's also one of the few Mario games where Bowser is properly intimidating. Love love love it!

Never played a Suikoden game, but I HATED Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising, so I'll be waiting either for a steep sale on this, or for a demo that'll potentially change my mind.

Curious to hear how this runs on Switch, considering the developers were fairly transparent about not wanting to attempt the port until Nintendo's next console dropped.

Essentially, really the most you could possibly expect from a game like this on hardware that's weaker than what the last-gen home consoles were packing. If you play demanding AAA titles from third-parties on Switch, you generally know what to expect, even if they're ported well.

As others have said, a cameo of an older Ash would be cool, now that the curse is finally broken.

@JaxonH As I recall, at least when it first dropped, 13 Sentinels ran BETTER on Switch than it did on PS4 lol.

Their games also ran extremely well on the PS Vita. And these were fast-paced action titles like Muramasa and Dragon's Crown.

GF churns out Pokemon titles on a schedule. Now that they're these much more technically complex open world RPGs, I'm not surprised they're a mess! I believe if they took their time and just released games when they were ready, and didn't have a flotilla of merch dependent on the timeliness of their release schedule, there would be far fewer issues. As evidence, I point to the fact that Pokemon Legends: Arceus, a non-main generation game, launched without basically any major bugs or performance issues.

Game was extremely well-optimized for the Switch, so I'm happy to see it selling well.

Kinda dumb not to optimize a game like this for Switch when you know it's the version that'll sell best.

@HOUSE Yup. Still love my Switch, but the Steam Deck OLED has relegated it to full exclusives/games I already own status. Contra runs beautifully on it.

No thank you. Wonder was disappointingly gimmicky in terms of how it felt built around the Wonder Flower setpieces. I'd much rather see another brand new game. Preferably one with actually decent bosses this time.

@-wc- Technically, the remaster of Galaxy in the 3D All-Stars Collection is HD, so we do have an official release of a Galaxy game in HD. And it's pretty stunning, given the age of the game.

Anyway, I feel like Nintendo already explored the potential of the Galaxy series on a mechanical level with Galaxy 2. Especially given how long we go between 3D Marios, I'd MUCH rather get a proper next-gen Mario game built around a new concept. In this case, a fleshing out of the Bowser's Fury concept that leads to a fully open world platforming sandbox. Which is what I feel Nintendo will be focusing on anyway, because if they were going the iterative sequel route, they'd have given us Odyssey 2 instead.

NSMBU, as has been said, is one of the best 2D games in the series.

NSMB2 was a ton of fun when you include the DLC. No idea why it gets so much hate.

The Origami King is my second favorite Paper Mario game after TTYD. (HATED Super Paper Mario, unfortunately)

3D Land is one of the best platformers on the 3DS.

And yes, Sparks of Hope blows pretty much every Mario RPG I've played out of the water.

@JRiegler @-wc-

Wow, this victory really spooked the emulation community.

That said, Nintendo goes after ROM piracy sources and people helping to enable current-gen piracy. Nobody cares about this dude's Game Boy emulator.

Yes, it's retro.

For context, more time has elapsed now since the launch of the 3DS than between the release of the Super Nintendo and Nintendo GameCube.

We're getting old, folks. Time to accept the facts!

@Sisilly_G About where I'm at. I love the novelty of it. I love the plushies. I love the aesthetics of the special edition stuff. But I just don't really want to play the game on a crappy old handheld like the GBA.

@FantasiaWHT It's hard to tell from the footage if your moves are on a timer or anything. There's definitely a group of people who will find great enjoyment in this style of gameplay.

@Vyacheslav333 Oh yes. The Japanese version of Wizardry at the beginning of the 80s is arguably what kickstarted the first wave of Japanese-developed computer RPGs.

This style of JRPG game design went into semi-hibernation over the 90s and early 00s until Atlus revived interest in it with Etrian Odyssey.

I miss these sort of smaller projects. Bigger than pixel indies, smaller than AA releases like you'd get from Falcom, and with a reduced price tag. The 3DS eshop was full of them.

@Vyacheslav333 Based on the footage, looks much more Mystery Dungeon-style than Wizardry-style.

@libersolis There's a number of factors at play - some rational, many irrational.

Collectors - This is the most straightforward one. Some people enjoy the hobby more in terms of building sets and collections of products than actually playing the games. Granted, most game collectors enjoy gaming, and will usually play games to some extent, but the pace of releases today is such that if you have any sort of life at all, your purchases will quickly outstrip your ability to play them in a reasonable timeframe.

Lack of Time - Many people buy games they're excited for, fully intending to play them through whenever it is they buy them, but, y'know, as adults, it can be difficult to find the time to properly commit to leisure hobbies. If you're an adult gamer who comes home late drained and ready for bed most nights, you might still gain some satisfaction from buying the latest releases so you still feel like you're involved with the hobby you love.

Lack of Impulse Control - This is the obvious one people will settle on first, and it is a big thing. Maybe you see a game you like in a deep sale, but don't have time to play it. Maybe you see a new game on a shelf, and know you won't play it soon, but gosh darn it, you want it! Buying stuff is fun.

'Supporting' Games - A game's sales in its launch window will often be the a crucial metric in determining if it was successful enough to get a sequel at all. If I know this, especially when it comes to a less popular IP, I might buy during that period fully knowing I won't get to it for months/years, because I want the property to continue. At least, this is the rationale. Publishers know this and try to exploit it at times in their messaging to the public.

Re-contextualizing the Backlog - Although I'm guessing this is merely a self-justification in many instances, some people prefer to think of their backlogs as libraries instead. The idea is that, instead of having this huge pile of unplayed games to 'process,' you have a wide array of titles to choose from as your fancy dictates. I tend to think this only really justifies small backlogs, but, you know, who am I to tell a person how to think of their property?

FOMO - This is a big one. Especially for fans of physical releases from smaller publishers. You want to be able to own your games physically, but with a number of titles, there's a reasonable fear that if you wait until you actually want to play a game, the physical release will be out-of-print / prohibitively expensive compared to when it first released. Publishers also tap into this impulse by making "limited edition" stuff, launch versions of games that ship with extras that can't be had later on, etc.

@UltimateOtaku91 I can't imagine why you would need to, given the early parts of the story are apparently the same between the two routes.

To be brutally honest, the story can only be improved in the new version.

@Axecon

Christ, this is going to be a monster of a package. While it sucks there's no upgrade path for Switch owners of the original, at least it's not skimping out on content. Will probably grab this for Steam anyway, since the original's performance left something to be desired.

@LEGEND_MARIOID IV and Apocalypse are COMPLETELY different games, so no.

@Diogmites Super Princess Peach is pretty niche, so don't feel too bad about it lol.

I wanted to love that game, but the sexist gameplay mechanics kinda turned me off. Hoping this does more for the character, even if the gameplay seems a bit too simple.

@Bratwurst35 It's pretty common with Atlus. SMT I - III all got ports and re-releases that included improvements and additional content. Unsurprised SMT V is going to follow suit.

I'm expecting an enhanced remaster of SMT V.

The game had a fair amount of room for improvement, so I'm excited to see what they've done with it.

@rjejr I don't disagree that they've severely mismanaged expectations about the release date, mind you. They should have been more careful with their messaging unless they were sure their game was closer to full completion.

Literally just looks like a Xeodrifter sequel!

@Twilite9 ?

I get the impatience, considering how long it's taking, but I couldn't disagree with the broader gist of this sentiment more. They don't have a responsibility to release games on some arbitrary time-table you dictate. They're working on their game, and they'll release it when they're ready.

Which is something I appreciate more about indie game development in general: a commitment to releasing complete, quality products vs the messy, half-finished, early access scams that pollute the AAA market.

God I hope this is good. It looks so neat. Peach definitely deserves a showcase not steeped in sexist tropes like Super Princess Peach was.

And I gotta say, Peach looks quite dashing in that thief outfit!

LMAO I have no idea how I feel about this, but it's really cool that someone had the passion to make it a reality. Shine on, you crazy diamond!

Big kudos for dropping the DF link.

While it's obviously better looking on PS5, it seems like the switch (badum-tish) to in-house development paid off in terms of the performance, which is all I was really looking for. Just didn't want the long sections of really low framerates that plagued Ys VIII and (to a much larger extent) IX. This is especially nice considering the game is apparently a nice visual improvement from the previous two games as well.

I plan to buy very little new software this year, but Ys X is definitely on the list.

@Samalik Yep. Which isn't a modern platform, and is inaccessible to new players.

NIS would have ported this to Switch/PS4 already.

As it stands, PC is the platform of choice if you want to play the Ys games.

It was overpriced for what it was. $40 would have been a more reasonable price point.

Also, most games sell best at launch, and Sonic games have been selling best on Switch, and they launched it close to the release of the first brand new 2D Mario game in decades lol

While I'm not a fan myself, I think what most people wanted was Sonic Mania 2, or something in that vein.

So they're just selling an untranslated Japanese game? lol

Ys I is interesting, although super dated. So glad bump combat is gone and never coming back!

Just a pity XSEED/Marvelous are squatting on the Western distribution rights for most of the early games in the series.

"If it came down to a duel, there are Nintendo Life staffers who would actually take this over the SNES game."

Raises hand.

I would. 100%

Super Metroid is unquestionably the more influential release, but when I'm deciding on a Metroid game to play, this wins almost every time. Perfectly paced, perfect controls, and one of the coolest climax setpieces in the entire series.

Always amuses me when people act like Nintendo unilaterally imposed a hefty debt on him. The guy went through the system and accepted a deal that significantly reduced the number of charges.

Crime doesn't pay for most people who aren't rich or smart enough to get away with it. shrug I wish him a happy rest of his life, but I don't feel sorry for his legal troubles at all.

Not a huge fan of this trilogy, but Spirit of Justice made it worth muscling through.

@UltimateOtaku91 Friendly reminder that the gorgeous Xenoblade Chronicles 3 runs on the same hardware.

The issue is likely partially skill-related (GF doesn't seem to be an especially talented dev) and partially due to not having enough resources to develop games on the time-frame they're expected to.

Gonna play Rain Code on vacation starting in a few days. So happy they're keeping the spirit of Danganronpa alive without subjecting the series itself to endless iteration (V3 might've helped in that regard lol!)

Preordered. Insane price, but I love this game to death and want the unlocks, so I bit the bullet.

I never buy artbooks, but I'm getting this 100%. Absolutely adored this game.