ReaperMelia

So I take it we're just skipping Splatoween this year? That's really disappointing, it was one of my favorite parts of Splatoon 2. I always loved Halloween events in the multiplayer games I played back in the day, and it feels like the ones in games I play now are either a shell of what they used to be or they're just gone. I was really excited to see how it'd be handled for Splatoon 3, so I'm sad it seems like October's being skipped entirely for any sort of event.

My main game is going to be Resident Evil 7 on PS5. It was my first Resident Evil game I played back in late 2018 or early 2019 (don't remember which), and with the Village DLC coming in less than a week now, I decided I should revisit 7 while I wait. It's been a blast! I didn't remember a whole lot about it, so it's been fun revisiting it and exploring the Baker family's home again. The PS5 update's nice as well!

For other games, if I play anything on my Switch, it'll probably be returning to Xenoblade 3 to do sidequests. I still haven't picked it back up since I beat the game a month or so ago... On my Steam Deck, I started up Ara Fell, so it'll probably be that or MultiVersus.

I'll just stick to my PS4/PS5 copies. If cloud is the future, I'll be staying in the past.

If they announce any ports/remasters, then I could see them coming to Switch as well. Any remakes or new entries... I'm not getting my hopes up personally. I'd absolutely get a Switch collection of at least the previous numbered games, especially if it's physical!

I'll be honest and admit I'm not a fan of either of the DLC hero designs for 3. They both look more like some of the more over-the-top Blade designs from 2 to me. They'd fit more with that game visually, but with 3's more grounded/consistent design style, they stick out like a sore thumb (And I want to clarify I do really like 2 as well and I think it had a lot of really nice Blade designs. There were also ones that were a little too ridiculous in my mind, and these two remind me of those). That being said, I'm still excited to eventually try the DLC! Just waiting for a physical release for the story expansion like what Torna got.

@NinjaNicky I know it's the logical thing to do from a business perspective, I'm just saying I don't like it personally. I never said it's a bad business decision, I just wish studios would take more risks instead of hiring from the same small pool of people for every movie.

@driftydrift Yeah, but that doesn't mean they're inherently the best pick for the characters. Most animated movies these days just go for name recognition over finding the best fit. Does anyone really believe no one could voice Mario better than Chris Pratt? No, they chose him because he's a very famous and recognizable person who will help get parents to want to see the movie with their kids. I'd rather see movies look to people who specialize in voice acting and are better fits for characters than just throw in the same people you see in every other movie.

Mario kinda just sounds like an ordinary guy. I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. It's pretty meh.

I thought the others were really good, though! Not perfect, but I think they did a great job of capturing the general feel of the game voices. Still not a fan of casting celebrities as voice actors as opposed to actual voice actors, but this is at least shaping up to be one of the better examples of that trend.

I'm impressed, but still not 100% sold it'll be great. This trailer was overall really good outside of Mario's voice (I really hope it was just that one scene where he sounds really plain), although it could also be that they chose the best moments for the trailer and the rest of it will be more of the typical film I'd expect out of Illumination. That being said, I've moved on to cautiously optimistic now, and it seems like I'll be seeing it in theaters since my family wants to see it when it comes out.

On Switch, more Splatoon 3 mainly. I'd also like to get in some more Shovel Knight Dig and return to Xenoblade 3 for its postgame.

On Steam Deck, my current plan is to pick up the Spyro 3 remake and finish it this time. On PS5, I picked up Valkyrie Elysium after enjoying the demo, so I'll definitely play more of that! And on 3DS, more Animal Crossing New Leaf and Pokemon Moon.

I might pick up Nier Automata, I'm not entirely sure yet. I have it on PS4 and haven't played much there, but I tend to prefer playing on Switch... I'll probably stick to PS4, but it's tempting to get it on Switch still. Other than that, Dragon Ball: The Breakers is the only other game on this list that interests me right now. I need to try the first Bayonetta before I decide if I'm interested in the sequels, but even if I am, it'll be a while before I get around to 3. I'd rather get No Man's Sky on Steam so I can play it in VR. I will get the Resident Evil Village DLC on PS5, but that's the only game/DLC I can say I'm definitely making sure I pick up this month honestly. I'm kinda glad this month doesn't have much that interests me, it'll be a nice break before the next few months get really crazy!

I can't wait for mine to come in! I just hope they're packaged properly...

@Sequel They shipped the game separately back when it first launched, so everyone who ordered the SE has already received the game. Now they're shipping the rest of the contents.

DQV didn't quite live up to all the hype in my mind, but I still had a lot of fun with it. It's Dragon Quest, after all! Can't go wrong there. I played it on DS a year or two ago, and I'd love to see it brought to the Switch in any form. I married Nera in my run personally, though it was tough to choose between her and Bianca. I liked that the romance played a big role in both the plot and gameplay as opposed to just feeling thrown in. I feel like romance options in JRPGs tend to be very hit or miss, but I think DQV handled it very well. I do want to do another run at some point and choose Bianca just to see how that goes!

Splatoon 3's Splatfest is going to be the big one for me! Go Team Gear! I already put in a lot of time with it, and I absolutely plan to put in more tomorrow! I also picked up Shovel Knight Dig, and I'm about to.. well, dig into that one here. I love the other games in the series, so I can't wait to try this one!

Elsewhere, I started up Star Wars: The Force Unleashed on my Steam Deck, so I'd like to get through more of that. I also started Pokemon Moon as well as a new town in Animal Crossing: New Leaf on 3DS, so both of those will be getting some playtime in as well!

@StarPoint I haven't seen his Xenoblade 3 video, but from what I heard, he trashed the game and then posted endgame spoilers on Twitter to rile up fans. He's incredibly hostile towards JRPG fans, Xenoblade fans in particular. He has a history of making games he doesn't like look as bad as possible and attacking anyone who disagrees with him, and Xenoblade 2 was one of the biggest examples of those, so I figured he'd do the same with 3.

Speaking of which, he comes off as super hostile in this announcement video by specifically targeting games from small indie devs, so that's a fantastic sign for this company.

Honestly, mainly just more Splatoon 3. I'd like to focus on some other games as well, but Splatoon 3's been taking all my time lately! If I play anything else on Switch, I'm thinking either returning to Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water or just starting up Pikmin 3 Deluxe in anticipation of Pikmin 4.

On other systems, MultiVersus is one I'd like to play more on Steam Deck. Spyro as well. On PS5... not sure, but I should get something going there soon.

I'm really excited, but the digital-exclusive songs (not the DLC, but the digital deluxe bonus songs) are disappointing. Assuming it does get a physical release, that means I'd be missing out on a lot of songs.

I finished Xenoblade 3 just in time for Splatoon 3, so I'll be playing that this weekend! I've played a bit already, and while it doesn't have any major changes compared to 2, I'm still having a lot of fun and enjoying all the smaller ones! I'll also likely spend some time with Xenoblade 3 still since I still have a number of sidequests to complete.

Elsewhere, more MultiVersus and JoJo on my Steam Deck both seem pretty likely. I'm thinking about starting something else up on my PS5 as well, just need to decide what game to play there. I'm thinking either returning to Lego Star Wars or Returnal.

My copy should be here tomorrow, but it's Amazon, so you never know...

I'm finally nearing the end of Xenoblade 3's main story, so I'll definitely be getting in more of that this weekend! I doubt I'll finish it since I work weekends, but I should be done with it before next Friday at least! I'll likely still work on side quests past that point, but it'll be more to the side of other games. I'm loving the game even more as I continue playing, and I can't wait to see where this crazy story's going!

On other systems, I picked up JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R on Steam, so I'll be playing that on my Steam Deck. I've messed around in it a little so far, and it's a lot of fun! I've been working on catching up to the anime while waiting for the game's release, and while I didn't quite make it in time, I'm still enjoying all the fun references to the series in the game! I'll also be playing more MultiVersus to get ready for Gizmo's release next week! He was my most-wanted character from the datamines, so I'm super excited he's coming this soon after launch.

I picked up JoJo on Steam as I was worried about Switch performance. I do plan to pick up Splatoon 3 and Shovel Knight Dig on Switch, though! I'll look into DioField Chronicle, but I'll probably wind up waiting on it a bit (still need to play the demo, so maybe that'll change my mind).

@Dragmire Last I checked, Game & Wario goes for around $100 these days... I wish it was still moderately affordable. (I know digital is an option, I'm specifically talking physical).

@XenoShaun My understanding is that DQ just wasn't big enough in the west to support it at the time. Given that it's an MMO that's supported by subscription fees, you'd need a sizable playerbase to be paying to make up for all the localization and server costs. Enix was pretty terrible at marketing the series in the west up until Nintendo showed them how to do it with DQXIS, so it probably would've flopped at the time unfortunately. Not to mention that it came a couple years after FFXIV 1.0's massive flop and before A Realm Reborn redeemed the game, so they probably would've been wary about localizing another MMO at the time, especially for a series that was much less well-known outside Japan. There'd be a lot of expansions to translate by now too if they tried to localize the Online version, which is why I only expect the Offline version to get a worldwide release personally.

Also, on the NFT subject, their first project is a Cloud figure that comes with an NFT... that's a picture of the exact same figure. Even by NFT standards, it's pretty pointless.

@MathGeekDave DQXI's localization wasn't announced until the day the game launched in Japan. I'm anticipating a similar situation for DQX Offline personally.

Still working through Xenoblade 3! I'm on chapter 5 now, and supposedly coming up on the end. I'm really enjoying where things are going plot-wise, and the combat and exploration are still both fantastic! That being said, I also definitely want to get some time in with the Splatoon 3 Splatfest. I've also been playing a bit of MultiVersus on Steam again lately, so I'd say that will get some time as well.

I'm on team Big Man- I mean scissors. Definitely joining it because of scissors. Not because it has the best idol.

I'm still sure we'll get this in the west. DQXI's localization wasn't announced until the day the game launched in Japan, so there's still time for an announcement for DQX Offline. If we get a Direct next month, I think there's a decent chance we'll see this.

Once again, more Xenoblade 3! I feel like I'm coming up on the end of chapter 4 with how things are currently going. I'm still having a ton of fun with the game so far!

If I want a bit of a change of pace, I'll probably play a few rounds of Kirby's Dream Buffet or MultiVersus.

More Xenoblade 3! I didn't have a ton of time to play over the last week, so I just now finished chapter 3. That being said, I'm still absolutely in love with the game so far and I can't wait to keep going!

This idea that a remake means the story and gameplay need to see drastic changes is getting really irritating. If the game's rebuilt from the ground up, it's a remake. It doesn't matter if it's super faithful to the original, they still remade it from scratch. A remaster uses the original game as a base and just polishes it. It's not that hard.

@steventonysmith That's because Square isn't just one big team that works on everything together. There are a bunch of teams. This isn't being made by the VII Remake team.

Now that my copy of Xenoblade 3 is here, I'll pretty much just be playing that! I'm around 10 hours in and I've had an absolute blast so far. I love how it draws on great elements from all three of the previous games but still feels very distinct! It absolutely lives up to the series' reputation. I can't wait to keep progressing through the story and exploring Aionios!

@stereobread Got it, thanks for the heads up! I figured that would be the case, but I wasn't entirely sure. I'll just hold off for the physical release then.

Is there any chance the recently-released Mega Man game could be in this collection? I was planning to pick it up, but if it ends up on this collection, I'd rather wait for it to get a physical release...

I'd love to see Half-Life on the Switch. It's one of my all-time favorite game franchises, and while I prefer Black Mesa over the original, it's still a fantastic game and one I'd absolutely buy again if it ever gets a port. Dark Forces and more Quake games would be welcome as well!

Xenoblade 3... is what I would be playing if my copy shipped on time. It unfortunately didn't, so... I dunno, probably a lot of MultiVersus on my Steam Deck.

@Ooyah There's a Wobbufet bookmark on their Etsy store, too! The article didn't show all of them, there are a lot.

@whitemage From what I've heard, people who asked customer support were told Nintendo won't start shipping the game until tomorrow. You'd think they'd know anyone who loves the series enough to pre-order the special edition would want to be playing the game on release day, not a week later...

I'm so happy we finally got Switch icons for Xenoblade! I can't wait until Eunie is in the rotation.

I wish I could celebrate the launch, but Nintendo still hasn't even shipped my copy from the special edition pre-order, so it's going to be a while before I can actually play it unfortunately...

I was going to say the launch, but I guess the reveal up through launch is kind of all together as the defining moment for me, so I voted for the reveal. More specifically the full reveal in January 2017, really. Seeing all these massive games coming in just the first year was incredible and it sold me on the system day one. I had never bought a console at launch before, but knowing that I'd see a new entry in my favorite series (Xenoblade), a brand new mainline Mario platformer, a sequel to one of the Wii U's defining games (Splatoon), an interesting new IP in Arms, and some surprising third-party ports was enough to make me decide I couldn't wait for the Switch. The idea of being able to play Breath of the Wild on the go as opposed to just on the TV was also a nice boost, though I could've just gotten it on Wii U if I really wanted to. Knowing that I'd only need to wait less than three months just made me even more excited.

Launch day was also a very big and exciting moment, and I was very happy to discover that the Switch absolutely lived up to my expectations! I was hooked on Breath of the Wild, and it was fantastic getting to take my Switch along to my university and still be able to play the game away from home. Honestly, I feel like 2017 as a whole might as well be what I see as the most defining moment for the system given how amazing the rest of the year was as well. I don't think there's been a bad year for the Switch yet, but 2017 was probably the best year of its lifespan. I love the Wii U despite the very slow release schedule it had, but I'm glad Nintendo learned from it and made sure that they didn't hold back for the Switch's first year. It was a massive shift from what I'd gotten used to during the Wii U days, and it just helped make the year even more memorable.

I just finished Final Fantasy XII a little bit ago, so I did it with two weeks to spare before Xenoblade 3! As such, I'm planning to just focus on shorter games in the meantime and to avoid any RPGs. I'm about to start Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water on my Switch, and I'll likely play some Limbo as well. It's going to be a spooky weekend on my Switch.

Elsewhere, once again, I need to get back to Spyro... I also started Ape Escape on my PS5, so that'll probably see some playtime as well.

@Olliemar28 The trailer says it's an eShop exclusive. Where is the retail information coming from?

On Switch, I'll be mainly continuing with Final Fantasy XII. I feel like I'm coming close to the end, although I'll probably want to do more hunts as well, so that'll take more time... but I'll definitely have it done before Xenoblade 3's out at least! I'll probably also squeeze in some time with the Capcom Fighting Collection. I've managed to beat Vampire Savior with three characters so far, I'm not sure if I'll keep focusing on it or shift over to another game for now.

Elsewhere, I know I said this last week, but I should get back to Spyro 3 on my Steam Deck. I also need to get back to Twilight Princess HD... I've been really trying to focus hard on FFXII.

@AlienX Oh, whoops... you're right. I could've sworn it was on Wii U as well.

I've never gotten around to trying this one, but it looked fun! I'm not subscribed to the expansion pack, but I do want to pick it up on Wii U VC while I still can.

@DK-Fan The achievements for it are live on Xbox... it coming to a Nintendo system is a rumor, sure, but there's evidence it exists and it'll be out soon on at least one platform.

@Tremblucay The physical soundtrack for 2 wasn't announced until well after the game released, so my guess is it'll be the same situation here. I honestly kind of hope they hold out until after the story expansion so the new tracks for that can be included as well. I've got the soundtracks for all three games released so far, but it's weird not having Torna with them. That being said, it'll be a day-one buy for me regardless.

Is referring to "units shipped" a common practice with digital-only games? I thought maybe there was a physical release I missed at first, but outside of the collector's edition or the dual pack (which are just codes in a box), I haven't seen one. The article does state PC is included in that total though, which is mainly where my confusion comes from. I know that definitely didn't get any sort of physical release.

I haven't picked up Sunbreak yet as I'm currently swamped with my backlog and trying to avoid buying anything else until after I get/finish Xenoblade 3, but I do intend to pick it up at some point! I put around 100 hours into Rise and it's one of my favorite Switch games, so I am excited to check out the expansion once I have time.

I'm kind of all over the place this weekend. On Switch, my main game will be Final Fantasy XII. I really want to get this one done before Xenoblade 3 so I don't have to sidetrack it for yet another big game. I started act 2 recently, so I'm hoping that's some good progress! I'll also be playing more of the Capcom Fighting Collection, primarily Vampire Savior. I love horror and faster-paced fighting games, so it's clicked with me really easily! That being said, I still have a lot to learn about it. I finished the first Portal, but I'll probably spend some time with the bonus chambers this weekend as well.

On other systems, I still need to spend more time in Spyro 3 on my Steam Deck. I also started up The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD on Wii U recently, so I'd like to spend some time there. I want to get something going on my PS5 as well: I haven't finished Shantae: Risky's Revenge yet, but that's mainly because I'm admittedly not super into it. I kind of just want to finish it to move on to something bigger at this point. I know it's super short, but I haven't been feeling much motivation to pick it back up. I might play some Evil Dead: The Game this weekend as well; it's been a while since I played, and I'd like to get back into the swing of things with it before the Army of Darkness DLC comes later this month.

I was really pleased with the Direct! Being a huge JRPG fan, I'm super excited for both Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection and Nier Automata. I have Nier on PS4, but while I enjoyed it, I never really managed to get very far into it. I think having it on the Switch will help with my motivation a lot, though! I'm not into Persona, but I know a few people who have been hoping for ports, so I'm happy for them on that one. The Portal collection shadowdrop was also really exciting and it was a pretty easy day-one buy for me. I finished the first game's story, just working on the bonus chambers now.

Pac-Man World and Blanc were both new announcements that I also thought looked interesting. Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes are games I do intend to pick up at some point, I'm just too swamped by my backlog to get them at the moment. Live A Live's another one I'll get eventually, just not right away. While there are still some first-party franchises I want to see again soon, the second half of this year is still pretty packed and I'm excited for it!

EDIT: I somehow forgot all about Dragon Quest Treasures! DQ's one of my all-time favorite game franchises, so I'm definitely looking forward to that one!

EDIT 2: And Harvestella! There really were a lot of great games in this one if I'm struggling to remember them all.

Xenoblade 3 is the big one for me for both this month and the whole year! That being said, I'll pick up Live A Live at some point as well, just not day one because I wouldn't have time to play it with Xenoblade coming just a week later. A few of those other releases are also ones that have my attention, though I'm probably going to try to not pick anything up for a while just so I don't add to my backlog prior to Xenoblade.

@Yas It's pretty much just to be able to get it out on a store shelf for the sake of visibility. The people who frequent websites like this probably wouldn't care, but a parent or grandparent might see a Lego game on a shelf and think their child/grandchild would want it. Same reason why you get games like that one NBA 2K entry where they had 1GB of the game on the cart and the rest was a download, it's just an easier way to get the average person's attention.

@mario-64 How long has it been since your order went through? It took about an hour or so for me to get my confirmation email after my order went in. If it's showing up in your order history and you were charged for it, I'd assume you're fine.