ScalenePowers

In the Switch era (which I have been reflecting on a bit as of late) I have been introduced to so many new series, and even genres.
Since the Nintendo Direct Mini in January 2018, and the reveal of Ys 8 for our little hybrid I’ve been hooked on the series!! I want to play them all, but only have access to the three on Switch (Origins, 8, and 9.)
I want this one, and I want it to come sooner than later! I then want it to sell one hundred million copies (more than Mario Kart 8. Very realistic) and I want all of the Ys games to hit Switch.

I think this art style should come back! It’s very cute, and I love DKs little smile

I’d certainly appreciate a Yakuza game or two. Beyond that, the two I would like most of all are collections of the Lords of Shadow and the Middle Tomb Raider collection.

Lost Odyssey would be nice. I’m also itching to give Final Fantasy 13 a go. Oh goodness I could do this all day!

Actually also I’ve always wanted to play Vandal Hearts from the PSOne days. I’ve not a clue how to track that one down but I want it!

I got an itch to play Three Houses again.
The summer it released I was obsessed, and played two and a half routes back to back before getting sick of it.

Well I bought the expansion pass to spice up my restarted third play through and this weekend I hope to knock out the Ashen Wolves house!

This game originally came out closer to the release of Luigi’s Mansion 2 on the 3DS than this new version . Wild how much support that mobile game has gotten

You know what? I was actively guessing this game for a rerelease since the switch came out, and I guess I just must’ve given up a few years ago because this announcement floored me.

This kind of thoughtful rerelease of classics from the 6th and 7th generations have been among the highlights of the Switch’s life and I’m just thrilled to have it here. If it had been in the Nintendo Direct that presentation would have been a 10

I am a retro icon

Shovel Knight is an interesting case. I feel like it was novel at the time, but has since lost some of its luster. Ironically it feels more dated than some of the games it pays homage to by being a throwback that is itself lost in the time from which it originated!

Solid 7/10 but not as interesting as indie games that came after. It’s certainly no Cave Story

I enjoyed 3, and loved the original, but perhaps not enough to even give this one a go. I’ve not really heard great things :/

Oh dear. That’s the same weekend as Zelda and Reynatis. I need to plan accordingly.

Realistically it means skipping Zelda. I don’t think they will notice if I don’t buy it launch day but I show up for my boys at Purple Lamp and NIS America

I appreciate not referring to this game as a Pokémon-like here. You’re all gems on staff!

@Joriss Darksiders 2 is a gift. No Zelda game except Twilight Princess comes close to the sheer amount of dungeoneering.

3 wasn't terrible, but it wasn't 2! I am looking forward to an eventual 4th game

This series always feels like something I should enjoy. It’s got the personality driven cutesy art style and echoes SEGAs finest years.

I believe this reflects the talent of the studio behind this port. I think this is just practice for that studio on a relatively basic project. This partnership is a investment for Nintendo, even if this port is a little silly feeling

Also the later date is basically a repeat of the Luigi’s Mansion 2 thing. Not sure why that’s been recurring for them but they definitely are both schedule fillers

This is a very cool idea!! I am a big fan of the 3D Zelda games from OOT-TP (four just perfect video games!) and would adore seeing it continue on.

I voted for the frog game cuz it sounds cute (and would come close to fulfill a long standing dream of seeing Frog from Chrono Trigger get his own game)

But I’d also love to see Ever Oasis get more entries and it came close!!!

It seems broadly reasonable to withhold information about developers to me? If teams are targeted for leaks (or worse harassment of any kind,) then it makes sense to shore up those loose ends.

Teams get full recognition upon release and I think it speaks more to the media ecosystem around video games that we pay more attention to them before release than after

Omg I have never seen the Japanese box and now that I have I am in love!

Corruption is sooooo good. Easily my favorite Prime game, and I think the only one in the series that nailed the combat

I just submitted a letter but I am worried it didn't go through. After that series of multiple attempts this month I am hesitant to try again!

@Morsel ahhhhh!!!! Yes!! Okay Sparks of Hope!! That series is so underrated, and deserves to be experienced during this Mario RPG renaissance!!! I don’t think you would regret it

It’s that time of week again - the end of it

My plan for video games this weekend is to play the Trials of Mana remake. I have only just begun, but now that my party is assembled and I have an idea of our quest things are really picking up!

Elsewhere I am loving Alien: Isolation but it’s so darn tough, and I only play it at night for the maximum effect. Needless to say progress is slow :/

@RudyC3 I really think that this is a misunderstanding of the limited run model.
It is the publishers who are opting for digital only, and they are the ones deserving of any ire in the name of scarcity.
Limited Run is frustrating, but a limited release (from any of these limited run companies - not big ones like Ubisoft or even Nintendo) is not the alternative to a general release, it is the alternative to no release

Also when they do publish games that they scoop up rights to, they always also bring it to the eshop, which as Toomba or El Shaddai: Ascension of The Metatron

Disney Illusion Island has eluded me for a year now, but this direct reminded me to give it a whirl. It’s very cute!!

Lmao i know that it’s standard practice to name these types of articles… but also I read them with some kind of an antagonistic voice.
“Here are things you missed in the trailer cuz your dumb brain is a lil pea baby brain. Goo goo gaga Metroid lady big guns”

I do think that this title has an exciting premise, but I cannot enjoy the art style this studio uses. That detective game, and Danganropa have been in my peripheral for years… I wish this studio luck and perhaps a generous benefactor to help them continue to create

Positive comparisons to Mario Galaxy YOU SAY?? I thought I was already as sold on this game as I could be and yet here we are

I gave it a nine. All of the first party stuff was incredible, and none of it felt like filler (except maybe DK) but the nontendo stuff was some of the weakest ever? It’s not enough to drag down the good stuff (that’s a 9 bb!!!) but I always get a little thrill from things like Epic Mickey Remaster, or some port of another 7th gen game.

MIO looked incredible though my god my jaw hit the floor

The Japanese Mario 2 movie won’t come to the us because it’s too hard. Instead they will be reskinning Despicable Me with Mario characters

My heart is ready for a Star fox announcement. It feels right, and the series is just too beloved by the company to not get SOMETHING on the Switch.
Beyond that, I anticipate a collection of Tomb Raider games, and am currently on team "lets get those Metroid Prime games here!"

I love Final Final Fantasy Tactics, and I suspect I will still be able to enjoy the story and the gameplay upon a rerelease, but I wonder if I will ever find the energy to pour into the game like I did in my youth. Spending hours training my units and customizing them perfectly was a thrill! But I don’t just have like 100 hours laying around anymore

Bonus Outlier Opinion

The Mario+Rabbids series is the best Mario RPG series. I will accept that TTYD may be the best MRPG, but that series as a whole does not come close to that game, or even the first. (See my previous comment about how the remaining 4 all have serious problems)

The series also surpasses the Mario & Luigi games. I believe that Superstar Saga was the height of that series, and that the preceding games are all too chatty and just not overly engaging. I can endure a game that is simple and does not wear out its welcome (Super Mario RPG!) but all of those Mario & Luigi games talked me to death and they just weren’t worth the effort.

Mario+Rabbids Kingdom Battle, DK Adventure, and Sparks of Hope are all terrific and being strategy role playing games means that they are still RPGs. The writing is top tier, the characters are delightful, and they take risks where they need to. A++ all around

I am firmly on team Color Splash. It is better than Super and Origami King for how playable it is! Origami king has some slightly improved visuals, and the writing for Super Paper Mario contains some higher highs, but both of those games are a chore to actually play. Meanwhile the battles in Color Splash are a breeze, and it makes it much easier to enjoy the fun story and delightful visual spectacular

@Keegsy I don’t think I like it as much as I like Galaxy… but I also basically think Galaxy is the best game every made (kinda like how Resident Evil Revelations isn’t as god as RE:4 lol how could it be?)

But despite not being literally perfect, Mario Odyssey has managed to be nearly perfect, as well as super duper!

The backlog drag has come for me hard - so I’m taking a stand and replaying a few games I have wanted to go back to instead. (Idk if I’m the only one, but games come so quickly. I feel like directive is to play new experiences back to back to back to back. It can turn keeping up with new games into a chore if I’m not careful)

Resident Evil Revelations is not as good as Resident Evil 4 - but I also don’t have every inch of it memorized and it has similar gameplay. I love it! The environment is so creepy and I love customizing my guns

Super Mario Odyssey is as delightful as when I left it, I’d been meaning to revisit it as well because there has been some discourse about it in the last year or so. It seems a number of people think it is overrated and I am interested to see things from their angle. The Lake Kingdom is my favorite, because I love the music and color-scheme/excessive bloom lighting makes me nostalgic for the Wii lol

I will never forget learning that Stanley Kubrick’s final film was Eyes Wide Shut, and that it released in 1999. I was 7, I remember my parents going to see that movie. The name Stanley Kubrick meant nothing to me
At the time, and 2001: A Space Odyssey, Full Metal Jacket, and The Shining were a least another 10 years away from entering my consciousness as an adult with artistically opinionated delusions.
It’s like realizing that David Lynch is still alive, and that Mulholland Drive is not ancient history. Or that Twin Peaks just got a finale in the last decade!

Akira Toriyama was (chiefly - may we always remember a team is behind great artists) responsible for some of the art of my lifetime, that also transcends it. It is unbelievable that we lived in the time that he did, and saw his impact made in real
Time. I am grateful, and I wish his family healing in this tough time. A lot of us are going to miss him

@imgrowinglegs I only own one console on purpose! Too many games in the world - I need artificial limitations. How else would I resort to playing through Mato Anomalies, or Sphinx in the Cursed Mummy? And loving them

@mauhlin12 is that the one where I have to play as a cop :/

@Astral-Grain if I only own a switch where do I start with the series? There are just so many in this franchise

I’m begging the editorial staff at NintendoLife to not use “Pokémon-like” as a genre descriptor. It’s lazy.

Creature Collection Role Playing Game (CCRPG) seems much more apt, and also Pokémon didn’t even invent this mechanic (like “roguelike” “souls-like” grumble grumble) I think Dragon Quest V deserves a higher claim to this sub genre anyway!

You don’t have to use CCRPG, be creative! This is just bad for the medium. Imagine if schmups were called Xevious-likes? Or 3D platformers were Jumping Flash-likes? That would suuuuuuck

I finished my backlog this week, so I did what any self respecting game liked would and bought a much of stuff.
My new backlog looks like this:

Curse of the Sea Rats
Pikmin 1+2
The Friends of Ringo Ishikawa
Disco Elysium
Mato Anomalies

Surely something in their will strike my fancy this weekend!

Yeah, seeing articles like this don’t feel like the industry is collapsing. It seems like the seeds of a new beginning, like all of these teams are going independent while massive publishers struggle to placate shareholders for one more year

This is good news in this timeline… but I’ll always lament the Spyro 4 we never got

The fiscal year structure of reporting “success” is the root cause of this story we keep reading about (okay no obviously GREED is)
Projects in this era of video games especially take years of development. Profits will fluctuate on an annual basis unless studios are smarter about planning for releases.

I fear very much for the Switch 2 and it’s increased graphical fidelity. I believe there is a direct link to this human cost

Psyconauts is a good one - otherwise I am all about Lost Odyssey and maybe Recore?
The former is more because the prestige. I have been interested in that one for almost 2 decades, yet I remain xboxless.
Recore didn’t review well but I don’t care! It’s former MP devs, I’m intrigued!

Ugh. I have thoughts…
Steamworld Dig 1 is indie royalty. It’s brilliant concept that is executed with the purity of a croissant from an authentic French bakery. It has a charming gameplay loop, made consistently enjoyable by rewarding mechanics, and world building that invites the player to wonder “what other things happen in the Steamworld?”

Steamworld Heist is likewise! It’s a brilliantly innovative take on 2D strategy that takes that genre and applied the same game theory - the small loop of fighting battles, getting the goods, and getting out. It is also flavored by being in the same “universe” as the Dig, but mysteriously so…

… and that mystery is answered in Dig 2, a game that expands on Dig brilliantly. But everyone knows about that game, so I’ll save myself the paragraph here!

Quest is where things started to go wrong in my eyes. The hype leading towards its reveal was drip fed through a series of tweets and polls of the studios fans. “What genre should our next game be?” To which fans overwhelmingly answered “RPG!” And why wouldn’t they? The “world” of Steamworld has so much potential, and their is no game genre more perfectly suited to story telling than an RPG.

What we got was a weird mesh of high fantasy in the Steamworld universe, and an RPG with cards. I don’t think card based RPGs are inherently wrong, and I think the battles are basically fine so I’ll leave that alone. The story is a literal bed time story that is a side (beloved by me) character from Heist, which was a cute reference, but is otherwise disconnected from the world of the first 4 titles. (I’m including Tower Defense which is very good, but very much a DSi titles and like itty bitty)

Quest could not have been less a product designed for fans of the series leading up to that point despite some of its interesting ideas. Which unfortunately sets the stage for Steamworld Build, a game in a genre I personally couldn’t be more apathetic towards. They may as well have made Steamworld Realistic Racing Sim! So I’ve ended up skipping it.

I’d like to see Headhunter go back to the series roots. Tell any story in the Steamworld Universe that could contain even the most mild relevance for fans, and utilize the tight focus of design that made you famous.

EDIT: WELP! Just got back from watching Alex’s review of this game and I actually think it looks better than I remember thinking. And having exorcised my thoughts here I think that the Steamworld brand had been knocked from “Must buy” status by Quest, and I don’t think I have the genre shake up in this title a fair go. It looks a lot like Steamworld Tower Defense!!

I really admire this game! Even though I failed a certain skill check and have yet to return to it.
DLC is cool news!!

There are a few difficulty spikes sprinkled throughout the experience that may cause an above average amount of game players to fall off.

Some of the challenges in the Sacred Archives come to mind, but also a few of the bosses if you are unwilling to adjust difficulty.

The quality of this title is without question, but some of the choices confused me just a little bit

I adore the first reboot trilogy (though as it pertains to this list, the GC and Wii are not the ideal place to play them.) I’d love
To see these moved to modern consoles, though I know people are taken by the newer games that I have not played

@Kraven “The story is fantastic, too. It balances telling two stories at once. The remake takes place in a small section of the original - Midgar - and it tells the story of how a ragtag crew of eco-terrorists are trying to stop a mega-corporation from draining the world of its essence in order to to use its energy source as a form of profit. That’s the basis of the game, and yet the remake manages to tell this portion of the story in a full blown game that feels complete even though this section is a minor fraction of the main game.”

I loved this paragraph- the ecoterrorism plot is interesting enough to have its own game. And when you put it like that I think experiencing just that chapter of the greater experience frames that remake in a whole new way for me! Thanks for writing it!!

This weekend I am trying to get good at Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands!
I’m only playing on normal, but some of these bosses don’t let me get away with anything!!!

An interesting observation in this struggle: the amulets are only shades of helpful. Many help only a little, and some only give help in exchange for something else. It’s an interesting channel for “upgrading” your character!

I just may need more help 😭

Hey @olliemar28 I actually have a theory about why you are unable to get into Okami! It’s pretty out there, but I think it might explain things.

It’s that Okami isn’t actually very good.

It’s just pretty and vaguely 3D Zelda

I heard some one say “switch 2 is delayed into 2025, but you can’t delay things that don’t have an original release?

Maybe “industry insider” is just one of those jobs that we as a society are better off without