Comments 604

Re: Nintendo Renews Trademarks For 3DS And Wii U Games

Shepdawg1

Who the heck is this Mike Odyssey person? They’re going around claiming there’s a Direct on Feb 20th AND that both of the games in these trademark renewals could be receiving ports or remakes. Insanity if I’ve ever heard it. There is literally no good reason to port Ultra Smash (on top of the fact that we’re getting Mario Tennis Fever in February), and I think Nintendo would rather we forgot about Tri Force Heroes (I personally liked it, but I can see why people didn’t).

And trademark renewals have NEVER once indicated anything (so much so to the point that I question why NL even bothers to report on it). Then again, I am leaving this comment on this article, sooooo…

Re: Splatoon 3 Has Now Been Rated For The Switch 2

Shepdawg1

Cool for people who are into Splatoon, but I really wish Nintendo would just not focus so much on Switch 2 Editions of old games. They’re not exciting most of the time. The only one that really was (in my opinion) was Kirby and the Forgotten Land because the content they added felt pretty beefy and significant on top of the improvements to the original. We’ll see how they justify this and Pikmin 3 Deluxe’s upgrades, but I’m not expecting much.

Re: Censored Dispatch Artwork Spotted On Nintendo's Digital Storefront

Shepdawg1

Maybe they had to censor it to put it on the store itself? I don’t have parental controls enabled, but maybe Nintendo wanted it so kids didn’t see the original art if they could easily access it.

Either way, I’d be surprised if the actual content itself ends up censored. This may just be my impression, but I don’t think Nintendo’s been too concerned recently about what’s in a final game itself as long as it’s sold.

Re: Feature: My NES Longing, My Son's Terrifying Switch 2 Obsession

Shepdawg1

You had better buy your son that Switch 2, my dude. He friggin’ earned it!

I can’t remember any particular Christmas as a kid where I adamantly wanted something to the point that I dropped hints every moment I could. But I do remember getting my beloved Game Boy Color for Christmas. It was the Special Edition bundle that came with Pokémon Yellow. I played that Game Boy so much, and I still have it in working order to this day. Another sweet Christmas memory was Christmas of 2000 where I got Pokémon Gold. I very clearly remember the strong feelings of joy I had when I opened it up.

Re: Nintendo Releases A Storefront App For Android And iOS

Shepdawg1

FINALLY! A decent way to see Play Activity that doesn’t involve that forsaken Parental Controls app. Shame they still do the whole “Over X hours” bucket nonsense rather than show the actual time spent. Hopefully they change that, but for now, nice to have an app version of the store.

Re: UK Charts: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Sales Almost 50/50 Across Switch And Switch 2

Shepdawg1

@Axecon I don’t think Pokémon’s issue is the lack of innovation. Game Freak’s last few titles have been willing to push the envelope of what Pokémon can be (Arceus introduced a new style of game for the franchise with a focus on catching and survival-style crafting, Scarlet and Violet went fully open-world and was their most ambitious title to date, and Z-A tries a completely new battle system while retaining some elements of Arceus’s gameplay). I see this as a response to Sword and Shield. They got a lot of criticism for playing it safe there, so they’re now going for more.

I think the real issue at hand is that they’re cutting corners on things that, in their mind, aren’t super important (performance, graphics, stability). They’re also developing games at a lightning quick pace (three years per title seems to be the norm) on what appear to be shoestring budgets (at least, that’s how the online community has interpreted them). It seems to be an issue of the online fans versus the creators: the online fans want one thing (for the games to have truly next-gen presentation with things like stronger visual identities, high fidelity graphics, voice acting, etc.) while those appear to be the last things on the creator’s minds. And this creates a schism which causes the online backlash.

The only thing I really want from Pokémon is for the games to be fun, so I’m content with looking past some shortcomings as long as I get that. But while I did greatly enjoy Game Freak’s past three titles (PLA, SV, and Z-A), I will agree with the online fan base and say: Scarlet and Violet’s performance and stability on Switch 1 are horrendous, and they should be embarrassed that they felt they could ship the games in that state.

Re: UK Charts: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Sales Almost 50/50 Across Switch And Switch 2

Shepdawg1

@Jedrus_Lilac For sure. While I’m enjoying the game greatly, it doesn’t match Arceus for me. If I had to score the game right now, I’d put it at an 8.5/10. The gameplay itself is really fun, which is my most important criteria, but I notice low-res textures and jagged edges quite a bit , the city setting does little for the game in terms of visual variety, the opening hours drag on a bit with tutorials, the flat buildings are embarrassing, and I’m personally disappointed in the lack of new regional forms or species (the new Megas don’t really count for me since they can’t be stored in HOME and the appearance of Mega Evolution in future games is now spotty at best). It’s still a very fun game and I’ll happily recommend it to Pokémon fans, but Arceus edges it out for me.

Re: Feature: From Z To A — Honouring My Favourite Pokémon, One Letter At A Time

Shepdawg1

Z: Zekrom (best Box legendary)
Y: Yveltal (best option of the ‘Y’s)
X: Xerneas (best option of the ‘X’s)
W: Wigglytuff (Guildmaster Wigglytuff, my beloved)
V: Vibrava (I just think they’re neat)
U: Ursaluna (Love the design of Bloodmoon Ursaluna)
T: Typhlosion (My favorite Fire starter)
S: Slither Wing (Best Paradox Pokémon)
R: Rookidee (my favorite starting bird)
Q: Quagsire (so derpy I love it)
P: Pikachu (Pokémon Yellow was my first game. I’m biased)
O: Ogerpon (I will protect her at all costs)
N: Naganadel (best Ultra Beast)
M: Mudkip (yes I do liek Mudkipz)
L: Luxray (Really cool design)
K: Kyogre (I just really like this one)
J: Joltik (cute and I love Galvantula, but ‘G’ is already taken)
I: Incineroar (So broken in competitive, but I love it)
H: Heliolisk (Best Kalos electric type)
G: Grovyle (My favorite Grass starter line, and the best Time Gear thief)
F: Furret (I could watch it walk for hours, it’s so cute)
E: Excadrill (Just a really cool design)
D: Dragonite (Majestic, regal, yet lovingly derpy)
C: Carracosta (best Fossil ‘mon)
B: Bidoof (I will never make one an HM slave. Love this little dude, yup yup)
A: Ampharos (Literally my all-time favorite Pokémon)

Re: No Switch 2 "Upgrade Path" For Dragon Quest VII: Reimagined Planned

Shepdawg1

Ugh, Square Enix and Sega making no sense with this move. What’s their justification? They want people to buy the Game Key-Cards they’re paying to have made? Because we all know how well those are selling.

Really though, I don’t get why. If we pay $60 for the physical S1 version and then $10-$20 for the upgrade pack, they’re getting the same amount of money, if not more. It’s a win-win. What do they have to gain by doing this apart from trying to convince people to buy the S1 version which is on the cart and then buy the S2 version which has the upgrades but is the same game?

Re: Review: Bubsy In: The Purrfect Collection (Switch) - Limited Run Cleans Out The Kitty Litter

Shepdawg1

Very refreshing to see a review tear Bubsy a new one. I’ll always get behind clowning on Bubsy. If I ever end up purchasing this, it will be in deep discount and solely for the memes (which I understand is the whole point of doing anything Bubsy related these days, but still).

With that said, though, the upcoming Bubsy 4D actually looks unironically good, and having heard some people’s impressions of the game and the fact that it’s being handled by a competent developer this time, I’ll be watching it with careful optimism.

Re: Pokémon Champions Is The Main Battle Game For 2026 World Championships, Mega Evolutions Confirmed

Shepdawg1

I think this is a great direction for the VGC. With Champions having HOME support, the mainline games can continue to add new mechanics without having to worry about balancing for past stuff, while Champions can have all the mechanics in one spot. Train your Pokémon in the mainline games, then send them to Champions for competitions. And with Champions being on mobile devices as well, it expands the player base for VGC very well.

Not to mention, we already know Mega Evolution and Terastalization will be in Champions, but the Omni Ring (the thing used to active those two mechanics in Champions) artwork shows that Z-Moves and (most likely) Dynamax will be in the game too. Having all of those mechanics present can create some very interesting competitions.

Re: Sony Acquires 2.5% Stake In Bandai Namco As Part Of New "Strategic Partnership"

Shepdawg1

@MasterGraveheart This isn’t an acquisition. Only a partial stake. Sony is more than just video games, and they’ve been investing quite heavily into their anime and manga ventures. And the quote in the middle of the article states that this is exactly what they’re trying to do: expand the opportunities available for anime and manga. Bandai Namco is still very much an independent 3rd party game developer/publisher.