Comments 838

Re: Nintendo Will Discontinue Switch Game Vouchers Entirely In 2026

RedYoshi999

I always used these during the Switch era. I often bought eShop vouchers when they had 10-15% off sales in Australia and used them to buy game vouchers. Add the gold coins you would get on top of that and it made new releases cost around $55 which was cheaper than physical and I got to play it the night before the shops opened!

I'm having a much harder time being excited to buy Switch 2 games when it will set me back literally double that at $110 for DK Bananza... Even the physical version for $99 is too much and beyond the realms of impulse buying.

Re: Best Mario Party Games Of All Time

RedYoshi999

Forever Mario Party 3 for me! I'll never understand why 2 is regarded higher just because it introduced a lot of concepts. 3 is the game that refined them and made them so much more fun (new items, better pricing and shop availability, ability to hold 3 items at once, etc) and added new characters. I mean I can understand if you prefer 2's boards over 3's, but everything else was improved on greatly. I even enjoyed the wacky single player story mode and also played the duel mode quite a bit (and I never really play the side modes in any MP game). I grew up with 3 though so that's nostalgia for you 😉 When I finally got to play 2 through Wii Virtual Console I found it was a downgrade in almost every way and ultimately went back to 3 for matches with friends!

GameCube era I skipped over and have zero nostalgia for. When I picked them up eventually they felt a bit soulless to me and didn't really enjoy them. 8 and DS were my next major games and enjoyed a lot of hours with them, despite their flaws. 9 and 10 were pretty much awful, the 3DS releases were abysmal and this is when I started to skip over buying some entries. Still haven't purchased Super as it looked way too dull and didn't have online until recently.

Got insanely hyped for Superstars as it looked like everything I ever wanted from the series. I enjoyed it a lot but still felt a bit let down from some decisions made and the lack of boards (so disappointed we never got DLC). Didn't jump on the hype train this time with Jamboree and just picked it up and have been enjoying it too but still way too soon to decide how I feel about it. I like the new items added since Superstars, new boards are nice but not sure if I like them more than classic boards yet. Also nice to see some more classic minigames return and the new ones are enjoyable too. I think the lack of options with customising rules will end up deterring a lot of replayability with this game. Jamboree buddies being mandatory was a misstep and they add so much extra time into what is already the slowest moving MP game! They can also be wildly unbalanced and easily decide the outcome of a game.

Re: Talking Point: One Year On, Has Everyone Beaten Ganondorf In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?

RedYoshi999

If I recall I finally beat Ganondorf back in August 2023. I played the hell out of the game during May/early June and then fell out of it when I had completed most of the main storyline and was putting off beating Ganondorf. I had a month off during August and eventually fired it up again and before I knew it I was in his chamber (before I realised what I was doing) so I went with it and finally finished the game. Unfortunately, as with every Zelda game, when I land the final blow and see out the credits it kills my desire to return to Hyrule like nothing happened and keep playing. I had another brief stint with the game a couple months ago and still found plenty of new and surprising things but the game is so massive and I'm so unprepared for it lol. Not sure when (or if) I'll return to it again (maybe a new save file?)

I'm still not sure how I rate TOTK. I was super hyped for it, was super immersed in the opening sequence, disliked the tutorial segment as it was slow and dragged on, and then felt utterly lost when I dropped into Hyrule despite having already spent around 200 hours in it in BOTW. I quickly found the depths, was wowed and scared like BOTW never did for me, then I found Lookout Landing and started to find some structure and exploration hooked me in again. I enjoyed the new twists on familiar areas which really helped keep the game feel fresh, the new temples were a vast improvement and the quests leading up to them were a great bit of story too (especially the Wind temple), and the glyphs/Zelda storyline was way more engaging than BOTWs memories to the point where I got super emotional about what happened to Zelda!

Where I feel BOTW did better was the initial world building. Filling out BOTWs map was a cool, fun and difficult task too. I loved climbing up the towers and the various obstacles you had to overcome for each one. TOTK kinda took away from that where you just had to complete a mini quest to rescue the guy that fixes the terminal, then you just get catapulted into the air lol. I also preferred the runes over the Zonai powers. Ultrahand is cool but always felt clunky to use and the game makes you use it too much. Remote bombs are better than regular bombs and easier to use. Stasis is quite similar to reversing time so they're pretty even. I do miss the usefulness of Cryonis as well. The champions powers were vastly better in BOTW (I need Revali's Gale and Mipha's Grace!) to the point where they got so annoying following you around in TOTK that I disabled them. I'm no good with building or creating things so that whole mechanic was vastly underused by me.

I really truly loved my first playthrough of BOTW, it changed everything for Zelda games going forward and was a defining experience. Replaying it back last year was a lot less fun and I don't think I ever beat Ganon again. TOTK suffered from being so similar that I was never able to feel that genre defining connection again but objectively I would say that it is a stronger game overall and I feel like it's replay value would be stronger too. I think I'm all burnt out of this Hyrule now though so hopefully the next Zelda will be wildly different but just as fun!

Re: Rumour: A Red 'Super Mario' Switch OLED May Be Launching Soon

RedYoshi999

I know new colours and such are just fancy marketing to sell more consoles late into a console's life when new games are sparse, but it always annoys me how we can never have them near launch so we can actually enjoy these designs for the life of the system and not have to stare at black or white consoles/controllers for years. Just once I'd like a decent variety of colours available at launch!

As for mid lifecycle upgrades, well I never bothered upgrading to Switch OLED as I don't use handheld mode at all and I'd already swapped over to the Mario red standard model not long before and sure wasn't going back to white again lol. But if there was a choice of a red OLED model at launch I totally would've gone for it.

Re: Talking Point: Is Tears Of The Kingdom The Scariest Zelda Game Ever?

RedYoshi999

Gloom hands are of course the most terrifying thing in this game and I still blindly panic every time I encounter one, madly dashing for higher ground until they die. The way they pop up out of nowhere, the instant change in the lighting and music is absolutely horrifying. Besides the first couple of times I encountered them and not knowing how to escape, the worst time was in the Korok forest when you are forced into facing them and the fight that comes after if you want to progress and save the forest. That was mean!

Speaking of the forest, that gets an honourable mention too for being creepy with the Koroks frozen and not speaking.

Other moments that made me jump were the moving trees (absolutely jumped out of my skin the first time) but the novelty of these wear off eventually. The gibdos in the desert are also creepy and I found those crawling ones to be pure nightmare fuel. Just look at the way they move! The horn that blares as you enter the depths also scares me but I have been strangely calm about my experience down there. I must have grown up a lot since OoT which gave me nightmares for months! Other than that I don't really find the game scary at all and it's nothing like the pure unease I would feel playing the bottom of the well or shadow temple in OoT or Ikana Canyon in MM. Even Hyrule Castle feels less threatening this time around. The opening section of the game did have that sense of dread but since it was told through cutscenes you didn't get any jump scares.

Re: Talking Point: Which Zelda-Themed Nintendo Console Has The Best Design?

RedYoshi999

I did always love the OG black 3DS design but alas as a poor student who only just got a regular 3DS I couldn't justify another purchase. I did make up for it by buying both the gold ALBW and MM3D 3DS XL models later on. I still have the Majora edition and will keep it forever as a staunch Majora's Mask supporter. Although I do love the gold from the Hyrule edition just a bit more

I also have the complete set of gold Wii controllers with the remote from Skyward Sword's bundle, the nunchuck from Club Nintendo and the classic controller from the Goldeneye bundle. Always felt like a boss with that set! I always really wanted the Wind Waker Wii U gamepad too but again the difficulty of upgrading my existing one was too much bother.

Re: Switch Is Most Popular With 22-Year-Olds, Nintendo Says

RedYoshi999

@Ryu_Niiyama that's easy to explain and something I experienced very clearly. Playing Nintendo games is seen as extremely uncool and nerdy when you're in high school and all the "cool kids" will be playing their Xbox's and PlayStations (was Xbox in my day but I think PlayStation is dominant now). Going into uni I was quite surprised how adults actually had no problem owning and playing Nintendo games and how many people now own a Switch and enjoy rounds of Mario Kart and Smash.

I was part of this demographic at one point too (now 26 so 2018 was my year)

Re: Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online N64 Service With Two More Titles

RedYoshi999

@Knightrider1
The Nintendo Direct stated MP3 was due in 2023 so I hope it will be the January game. I was expecting it to be MP1 in Nov, MP2 in Dec and MP3 in Jan but I guess Nintendo wanted some breathing space and not have 3 months of Mario Party so they doubled up on November and will probably release Goldeneye in December.

Re: Poll: What's The Best Mario Party Game?

RedYoshi999

Very sad to see that 3 is barely anyone's favourite here, it wins hands down here. I think the boards are just as great as 2's. The minigames are all total classics, there's only like 2 or 3 I don't like. I love the toybox aesthetic of the game, it really makes it feel like a popup board game. Music and sound effects are phenomenal. Item system is the best in the series - I love having traditional Mario series items instead of generic orbs or candies. The additional of several more items since MP2, the balancing of the prices in the shop and the randomness of getting Toad's or Bowser's shop to appear is great (the reverse mushroom is also like the best item ever!) The especially rare items was also a cool touch. I love how you can get a question instead of an item minigame by either Toad or Baby Bowser to end up with 3 items. Holding 3 items is also a vast improvement over just 1. I also loved the story mode and seeing the wacky story unfold plus introducing waluigi and daisy was great. I even enjoyed the duel mode a lot with friends, it makes a nice break from the main mode. It's just a refinement of everything that made 2 good and introduced so much more. If Superstars was just a bit more like 3 (more boards please!) than it leans toward 1 and 2 then it would be the perfect modern Mario Party. I hope more people come to enjoy MP3 when it arrives on NSO as maybe a lot of people haven't had the chance to enjoy it much as it's never been re-released and goes for hundreds of dollars on eBay (I'll keep my cart forever though!)

Re: More N64 Games Are Coming To The Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack

RedYoshi999

I can't believe I've been waiting since 2006 to finally see all 3 Mario Party's together again! Mario Party 3 is my favourite multiplayer game ever and I'll never understand why it got overlooked on Wii and Wii U. The sad thing is with NSO I'll never own these permanently and will have to wait for a release on the next console...

I also really wish the online play wasn't just limited to friends only. I got super excited when Mario Kart 64 released only to be disappointed and when I added strangers online the lag was unbearable for anyone not located in my country which makes it even harder to enjoy.

I hope these are still releasing monthly so that MP1 will be out November, MP2 in December and MP3 in January.

Re: Pre-Orders Now Live For Zelda: Link's Awakening's Lovely Limited Edition

RedYoshi999

Surprised to see such issues going on with stock. The day after E3 it was revealed as an EB Games exclusive in Australia and has all the same goodies as the Europe version. Pre-orders went live immediately and it's still available now. Of course that means they can charge a $30 premium on the standard game with no competition but I'm still getting it for my birthday!

Re: A Full Sequel To The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Is Now In Development

RedYoshi999

Wow, didn't see that coming! As Majora's Mask is my favourite Zelda game, I'm really hoping the vibe I'm getting from this is similar, and hopefully means not a huge wait too. Would love a greater story and atmospheric focus this time around. Might even have to replay BOTW again at some point. I predict a late 2021 release however as a lack of commitment to even a 2020 release coupled with Nintendo's famous delays (hello Animal Crossing!) doesn't inspire confidence. This was the only thing that redeemed E3 for me! (Yes, Banjo was great but it's only a DLC character reveal and Animal Crossing was ruined by that stupidly long delay plus a general lack of gameplay shown off)

Re: Guide: Every Nintendo Console Ranked From Worst To Best

RedYoshi999

I'm going to judge my list by the amount of fun I've had with the games/systems.

1. N64
2. Wii
3. Wii U (although I'd rate most Nintendo franchises as better than their Wii counterparts)
4. Switch (will likely go higher)
5. 3DS
6. DS
7. GCN
8. NES
9. SNES
All the rest are irrelevant to me.

Re: Nintendo Will Be Taken To Court Over Its "Illegal" eShop Pre-Ordering System

RedYoshi999

The only real reason to digitally pre-order is to pre-load the game for release day or to receive pre-order benefits such as discounts/My Nintendo coins. This can still be done the day before release, so why do it months in advance? Especially as the funds are charged immediately. I've stuck to physical games for Switch as retail prices are so much cheaper than the eShop. But I do miss playing it on release night.

Re: Review: Super Mario Party - The Life And Soul Of The Party Once More

RedYoshi999

I tried to be interested in this one after all the early signs looked positive that it would be like the original games again, but there are still too many issues I have with this game to justify its full price tag. 4 boards is not enough, they are too small and bland compared to classic boards, online shouldn't be restricted to just minigames and requiring Joy Cons really blows. I haven't used those in months. Without online I have nobody to play with either so there's really no point if the core board game doesn't interest me. Maybe next time we can have a Mario Party that brings back all the best boards and minigames of the past, like Smash did? I'd settle for a 1-3 HD remaster too with added online.

Re: Cities: Skylines - A SimCity Successor That Struggles To Shine On Switch

RedYoshi999

Sounds more like the reviewer caved in to some comments about the game running poorly rather than actually playing it for themself. Yes it doesn't run perfectly, but it's by no means unplayable or anywhere near a 5/10! This game has me hooked for hours at a time and the framerate only stutters a little when zooming in. The only negatives I would say are how it freezes while autosaving for a second or two and how it apparently doesn't let you use 3x speed on larger cities. I would easily rate this 8/10 even with these minor issues. A great game which I only had a brief encounter with on PS4 is now a permanent part of my Switch collection, what's not to love about that?

Re: New And Improved Left Joy-Con May Be In The Works

RedYoshi999

I put up with a dodgy left joy con for a few months because the pro controller is my go to controller but my partner eventually got too annoyed with it so I took it back to EB Games and got an instant replacement. No need for waiting weeks on Nintendo's end.

Re: Review: Mario Party: The Top 100 (3DS)

RedYoshi999

This still feels like half a game to me. The whole point of Mario Party to me is the boards, with the minigames adding some extra flavour. I like the idea of a "best of" title but it has to include boards! And I'm never going to play a new 3DS game now I have the Switch, it's too much of a step back (and y'know, I can't actually use it for multiplayer since nobody has a 3DS these days). Mario Party 3 will always be the best MP game to me and I haven't enjoyed any since (except MP8). Try again Nintendo! I live in hope that one day the series will return to its roots (and have online).

Re: Physical Version Of WWE 2K18 Requires A 24GB Download To Play

RedYoshi999

Also, physical is not a dead media. Plenty of us still want it because competition with retailers equals far cheaper games than the digital RRP and we can actually resell, return or borrow them. Not to mention those of us with bad internet (most of Australia thanks to the shocking "NBN") don't want to be downloading 24GB patches for our physical games. And yes, I even went exclusively digital during the Wii U era and severely regret it now, after paying higher prices and not being able to resell games now.

@diwdiws They already have passed on the cost without even providing a larger card! 2K games retail for $100 in Australia where most of Nintendo's and other 3rd parties games retail for $80 or $90 for games like Zelda and DOOM. So where exactly is the extra $10-$20 going?

Re: Physical Version Of WWE 2K18 Requires A 24GB Download To Play

RedYoshi999

@zyn Why do people keep bashing EA with these games? It's 2K!

Yes, regardless of how big the game is, 2K should not be cheaping out on cartridges, especially when they have the audacity to charge more than Nintendo does. Yes, this will lead to 3rd parties abandoning the Switch due to 'poor sales.' And yes, everyone will blame Nintendo again for dooming their system when it's 3rd parties continuously giving us reasons to not support them. Even though the Switch should have more than 32GB storage, this doesn't excuse developers from not using appropriate sized cartridges.

Re: Review: Monopoly for Nintendo Switch (Switch)

RedYoshi999

I don't see how a perfectly playable and well executed version of Monopoly deserves a low score. Sure, you may not see the point of it and prefer the real deal, but there's still nothing wrong with it. I think it's a great fit for the Switch, with everyone gushing about how great portable play is this game should be perfect for a spontaneous Monopoly game. The only negative is the high price but waiting a few months for a price drop won't kill me.

Re: Mario Party: The Top 100 Will Combine The Best Of The Series On 3DS

RedYoshi999

Anyone noticed this line on the official website? "You can even set the number of turns for board-game play!"
Could it be true? Insta buy if this includes the best boards too! Perhaps they're not ready to show them off yet (although you'd hope not with a November release!)

Also, the UK Nintendo Direct has a release of January 2018 on the trailer, what gives?