SillyG

@Game_n_Watch_it_pal : They could pull off the asynchronous multiplayer activities with GameShare!

Sketch and Photo (?) were so damn good. Not sure how they'd pull off the single player experience though. Maybe Gamer can work in tandem with a camera so that players will have to hide from view whenever 5-Volt enters the room.

I also want a new camera-focused WarioWare baaaaaad, and I hate appearing on camera.

As if theatre popcorn wasn't expensive enough. 😅

30th Anniversary Celebrations in Pokémon Go are underway this weekend with a wide range of spawns and raids across the entire available roster released thus far. Nothing good for me today though, sadly, except for a single Yvetal caught on my Go++ (with a Great Ball). Great IVs too. Will be playing again with my community tomorrow.

Have also been playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons, becoming an almost daily routine again after a 3.5 year hiatus. I also bought Legends Z-A Switch 2 Edition though I'm playing it on Switch 1. A bit boring so far. I'd have killed for a Legends Johto game in a more rural setting. The concrete jungle that is Lumiose City inspires no imagination at all.

I also grabbed Speed Dates from the eShop as I checked it out for poops and giggles, and noticed that all of the girls' names were Turkish. What were the odds? I ended up buying it on sale as it was cheap enough, and as suspected, the entire game is in Turkish (with multiple subtitle options),

The English subtitles are fairly poor though. The timing is occasionally off, and there are mistakes and omissions aplenty. Definitely could have used a proofreader. Still glad I got it though as there are so few Turkish games available on mainstream platforms, virtually all of which I had discovered by accident. And because Turkish isn't a system language (yet?), there's no way of filtering/searching for them either.

@PikaPhantom : This is setting such an awful, awful precedent. Et tu, Nintendo? 😞

On what planet are the black bars "uneven"? It's preserving the original aspect ratio of the games.

Did every ROM available on NSO get criticised for that too? If anything, having blank borders as opposed to the imposed ones on NSO that cannot be turned off is a massive improvement.

In any case, AU$30 for a barebones ROM is laughable. I think I'd rather just replay Let's Go instead.

It shows a lot of promise, but like many others, I simply cannot justify the cost for a GKC. Should a proper physical release materialise someday, then I'll be on board.

I suspect that "physical" Switch 2 sales will die off once the launch hype wears out. In all of my years, I don't think I have ever seen a standard edition of a game retail for AU$130 (not counting games with accessories such as Guitar Hero, Wii Fit etc.), much less one that is a GKC. Even with a full cartridge, that's a mighty high asking price, but one I would have been able to accept, but as it is, it is beyond insulting.

Capcom has gradually been releasing Resident Evil games on GOG over the last couple of years, so hopefully we'll someday see some of the more recent entries on the platform.

I must be a basic beyotch because I went with Gen I. I don't even fancy myself a Pikachu tragic either, but there's just no beating that Yellow version art. If the batteries in the cartridges of the first two gens weren't prone to failure, I'd have loved to have tried to get my hands on copies of those early games.

Gen II is my absolute favourite, and I love those boxes too. Platinum is especially gorgeous too. I love them all, but Gen I wins out for Yellow.

Sword/Shield's backgrounds are a little too basic and kind of suck, but I otherwise like Zacian and Zamazenta's poses and their respective logos.

There was even a trainer in the Gen II games named Firebreather Dick (renamed to Firebreather Richard in HG/SS).

And you couldn't play the Gen V games as Humphrey either.

Now this would easily have been worth AU$30 via the eShop.

Is it even a day one patch when the game is digital only?

Angry Bird and Gecko-echo look a little out of place, but I don't hate them either.

The environments show a lot of promise, but I wanted to see at least a few more new Pokémon.

Thanks. I hate it.

Nobody on any planet anywhere asked for this.

I was cautiously optimistic that we were gonna get a miniaturised Game Boy loaded with the classics games. What a way to "celebrate" such milestone.

@rjejr : The sycophants would still make excuses for such stupid anti-consumer practices.

Yes, probably.

Definitely maybe.

@Res462 : The update is not specific to the Switch 2. Every Switch 1 release that has been enhanced for the Switch 2 (without a dedicated Switch 2 upgrade, which is treated as DLC) has been a global update, meaning that it's part of a normal software update regardless of what console is being used.

It's likely that Nintendo rushed the manufacturing of the Galaxy cartridges before the Version 1.2 patch was ready (bloody typical), but it will be included in any reprints, so I see absolutely no reason why Switch 2 enhancements cannot be included on Switch 1 cartridges going forward (games with similar updates include Captain Toad, 51/Clubhouse Games, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe etc.).

@Grimley141 : My inquiry had nothing to do with the cost of Switch 2 cartridges and all to do with the value proposition of purchasing a dedicated Switch 2 version of software that does not appear to need or benefit from it, as it's simply a collection of ROM dumps.

I'm happy to pay more for Switch 2 releases provided that they come with benefits when played on the newer hardware, but I have yet to be informed of features/content that even justify a separate Switch 2 release, and if the cartridge can't even be played on a Switch 1 like other "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" releases (which this doesn't appear to be), then the Switch 2 version is objectively worse from a value perspective as the Switch 1 release can at least be played across both consoles.

While I appreciate that they have gone through the trouble of issuing a proper Switch 2 physical release, and I'll likely buy it in any case, this is a rare instance where a single Switch release should have been enough.

@Res462 : I don't see any reason why they couldn't just program the Switch 1 version to detect the Switch 2 and scale accordingly (like what the Super Mario Galaxy games do).

@dazzleshell : There is an interview where it was confirmed that GameShare won't be included, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

So... what does the Switch 2 version have over the Switch 1 version? I'm baffled as to why this is getting a separate, more expensive release when there hasn't been any Switch 2 specific features advertised (unless I have missed something).

It doesn't seem to be a "Nintendo Switch 2 Edition" either, so the cart likely won't be compatible with the Switch 1 either. Weird, weird, weird.

In any case, I'll likely pick this up eventually, but I'm kind of tempted to just grab the Switch 1 edition as that will definitely be compatible with both consoles, while the more expensive Switch 2 release may not even have that perk.

@DollyrotsFan1 : I was hoping for enhanced X/Y ports in the lead-up to (or maybe released a little after) Legends Z-A.

FR/LG released just six years after the international release of Red and Blue. Meanwhile, there's a whole generation of children who've never played X & Y, which released some 12+ years ago.

But yes, I'd love to see more re-releases, ports, whatever. FR/LG was pretty much at the bottom of the list of classic Pokémon games that I want to replay, especially as we already have remakes available on Switch (and I prefer the originals anyway, warts and all).

Really, really hoping that a physical release (or two) will eventually materialise. I can already play these elsewhere, so I don't see the point in paying for overpriced downloads with no new bells or whistles whatsoever. Even unlocking some of the event encounters (similar to how Celebi was handled in the 3DS port of Crystal) would have gone such a long way.

Also not crazy about playing Gen I... again. We already have Let's Go for that. Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald likely would have been a day one buy though.

That's so funny. I harbour a similar (albeit less extreme) sentiment toward publishers who release their games on GKCs.

Appletun!!! 🥰🥰🥰

Honourable mentions to Applin (of course), Calyrex, Scorbunny (don't much care for the rest of its line though), Arctovish, Snom, Galarian Corsola (why aren't these listed?!), Cursola, and Sirfetch'd. Regidrago's really cool too.

How on Earth is this a 50/50 split?!

Japan aaaaaalllllllll the way, baby!

Dudunsparce, my beloved.

Honourable mentions to Smoliv, Farigiraf, Flamigo, Dipplin, Hydrapple, Gholdengo, Finizen/Palafin, and Tatsugiri. So many fun designs this generation, though the games weren't great.

All of the future paradox Pokémon are duds though, and I say this as someone who chose Violet.

@LazyDaisy : More recent games have definitely spoiled us in that regard. Gen IV was atrociously slow even in its heyday, and speeding it up via emulator still isn't quite good enough, and why I will never accept HG/SS as "superior" to the originals. I never completed the alternate versions of the Gen IV games on their original hardware as one version of each game was enough of a test of my patience.

The GB/GBC originals are far more tolerable though.

@HammerGalladeBro : I'm just glad that the original Australian ratings are still binding, because if these games were to be classified from scratch today, they would jump from their original G8+ ratings (superseded by PG in 2005), all the way up to an R18+ rating due to their moronic, asinine new rules regarding gambling.

Actual gambling (lootboxes and gatcha mechanics) with actual real-world money? Unrestricted to all ages!

Make-believe gambling with no real-world consequences? Legally restricted to over 18s!

It should damn well be the other way around! I even contributed to their stupid public consultation on the change in guidelines regarding gambling, which evidently fell on deaf ears.

@thepaulcutts : There are other (cough free) ways to play GBA games on your phone, and I certainly wouldn't recommend paying $20 for zero effort ROM dumps. If you can play it elsewhere, I'd certainly recommend it.

While I wouldn't necessarily recommend the Let's Go games over the far superior Sword/Shield and Legends Arceus (the latter being by far the best Pokémon game on Switch and the best overall Pokémon game in years), I would nevertheless recommend Let's Go to those wanting to experience the original Kanto adventure for the first time.

AU$60 for both versions is far too absurdly expensive to justify when I can play the games on my DS (or phone), and especially when there isn't a physical cartridge for the price. I could be tempted on sale (or if Gold Coins were still a thing), but it's a pass from me. And why FR/LG when we already have Gen I remakes on Switch?! Where the hell are the GB/GBC games at?!

@Lizuka : The size is irrelevant. There's plenty of physical Switch games that could fit on a CD-ROM several times over. The key here is ownership.

It's only "wasteful" if people dump it in landfill, which I assume the overwhelming majority of people won't.

AU$30 for this crap? Seriously?!

I'll happily pay AU$60 for a physical with both games on a cart (hell, I'd pay more than that, but I don't want to give Nintendo any ideas), but this is just obscenely overpriced for a download exclusive.

I mean, yaay for it being purchasable, but of course Nintendo had to do it in the most obnoxious possible way.

And why FR/LG?!!! We already have the Let's Go games FFS!

The only AI voiceovers that I think would be reasonable are for custom character names so that we can finally hear our own names uttered in games (or custom place names, phrases etc.).

Virtually anything else is a cheap cop-out.

This generation was a bit sparse, with the fewest new species introduced to date. Dragalge is probably my favourite overall (and it's so sweet that it got a mega too!). Honourable mentions to Dedenne, Swirlix, Helioptile (got a soft spot for our native frill-necked lizard), and Hoopa.

I love the Mega concept, though the designs don't really scream at me as they amplify the features of existing designs. Mega Slowbro is so adorably goofy, so that, or maybe Mega Pinsir might get my vote for best mega (and megas really should have been included as part of the survey).

@PolitiClank : Even if so, I want the physical edition with the actual Switch 2 Edition data on the cartridge (along with all software updates to date). I want the most complete physical version, always, so saving a few bucks on an inferior product isn't an incentive where I'm concerned.

The higher speed Switch 2 cartridge may also yield some benefits (faster loading times, perhaps?).

Oh, beautiful!

Now I'm especially glad that I held off on buying the Switch version. 😁 Who would have thought that this would get a Switch 2 release so soon into the console's lifespan when we had to wait 10 whole years for a Switch 1 port.

Now if only we can get XC3 Switch 2 Edition with the DLC on the cart as well.

The 3.0 update has been quite underwhelming, and I'm not crazy about tourists flooding the island (especially as they're forced into "uniforms" as opposed to their default attire). The fact that former villagers "remember" you is a nice detail, but it's just generic dialogue from thereon (e.g. no use of former custom catchphrases or mention of villagers who lived on the island while they did).

But it did get me back into the game after a 3.5 year absence.

If only the Switch 2 version were optimised to the extent that loading times were almost virtually done away with, so that you can almost seamlessly enter and exit buildings without seconds-long pauses. That might have made the update feel a little more substantial in the absence of a new instalment this generation.

Vanilluxe.

My dad ran a stationary ice cream truck at an indoor market during Pokémon's heyday in the late 90s through to the early 2000s, so Vanilluxe is an especially sentimental one for me, naysayers be damned.

There's a lot to love in Gen V, even though many of them (perhaps too many) seem to have obvious Gen I counterparts. Honourable mentions to Reuniclus, Bouffalant, Hydreigon, and Cinccino.

Also love how they'd perfected Pokémon on the DS with its vastly improved engine too. If only HG/SS had been held back to see its benefits. Then they could have been the greatest Pokémon games of all.

I love sea angels, and I'm such a sucker for MarineAngemon, so naturally, I love Manaphy and, to a lesser extent, Phione as well.

I have no earthly clue why they haven't yet been released in Pokémon Go after all of these years. It's not as if they're particularly strong.

Trust Ubisoft to screw up a collection of ROM dumps.

This is putting me off from ever picking it up at all. Constant backlash shouldn't be necessary to hold them to a bare minimum standard, yet here we are.

I'm confused. It looks like an Odyssey movie (Rosalina's inclusion aside), and yet it's branded as a "Galaxy" one. 🤨

Gen III is home to my least favourite species of the entire series. Relatively few are particularly memorable, and others were derivative, boring, and in some cases, just plain ugly. Never cared much for the starters either. They weren't necessarily bad, just... meh, given how awe-inspiring Gen II was.

The legendaries and mythicals are okay, and I especially appreciated the air of mystery around the Regis. The games are great though in spite of my indifference to most of its designs.

But I do love the Clamperl line, and Gorebyss is my favourite Pokémon of Gen III. It's a tragedy that the deep sea concept was criminally underbaked as there were almost no deep sea Pokémon beyond Clamperl and Relicanth! And considering how long we spend surfing/diving in those bloody games, IGN's infamous critique isn't as petty as some make it out to be.

Honourable mentions to Milotic, Shedinja, Masquerain, and Vibrava.

The best generation.

Porygon2 is my favourite Pokémon of all, maybe followed closely by Dunsparce (and now its evolution, Dudunsparce).

I also love all the babies, the new evolutions (especially Slowking), even the early route stuff is GOATed in Gen II with the adorable Sentret and Hoothoot, which never seem to wear out their welcome in the same way that other common early game spawns do.

The legendaries are all cool. Even weaklings like Sunflora are so damn loveable. I only wish that the Gen II Pokémon were incorporated better into the actual games (and all of them actually available in mainland Johto).

I'm still disappointed that a Let's Go Gen II game never materialised (even though I would have preferred a proper reimagining/expansion of Johto), especially as half of the game was kinda already right there.

Playing Pokémon Go all weekend. Therian Enamorous débuted today. No hundos. Got the Luvdisc I was after though, and ditched my only shiny Shadow Ho-oh, which I had traded for a costume shiny Cottonee. 😅

Gigantamax Meowth débuts tomorrow, so we're looking forward to that for some reason, even though it's going to be completely useless. 😅 Gimme that shiny!

Since the free update, I've also gotten back into the routine of playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons after a 3.5 year hiatus. Funnily enough, the new content doesn't really appeal to me at all, and I don't even particularly care for the island being overrun with tourists (males dress like Wario, females dress like Princess Peach; and I had underestimated just how quickly the novelty would wear out).

I normally don't like repeating jokes but...

Still cheaper than a PSA 10 graded copy of Pokémon Pinball GBC. 😅

Damn. Ironically, the GBC game is now the most appealing part of the package, but it's gate-kept behind an overpriced collection without a proper physical option. 😞

I suppose I can play it on the ol' phone though.

Otherwise I'd consider downloading it from the eShop if available separately.

It's kinda pathetic that these ancient games aren't running natively in UHD on Switch 2 (or elsewhere), but yaay for baby steps, I guess.

sigh

I so looked forward to the first "collection", until they pulled this crap on us. No surprises that Konami dished out sloppy seconds here. And what a crying shame that the first "collection" did well enough for Konami to repeat these sh***y practices.

I'll grab these collections on GOG if they are ever released there for PC, but it's the hardest of passes on Switch 1/2.

@Viator_ : The price is what I expected it to be on the conservative side (though I wouldn't have put it past Ubi to high-ball it either).

I'll still hold out for a physical release, otherwise, I might just download the PC release.

Sucks that there aren't more games, mainly just variations of the first game. This would have been a great opportunity to include the neglected Learn With Rayman games. Would have preferred those finished games over a prototype.

In any case, I'll consider this if a physical release materialises. The digital price will probably be too absurd to justify an impulse download.

@JJtheTexan : It did get a wider retail release. 🤨

I want this almost more than anything else, and although I don't care for the Game Corner stuff, I still want the games fully intact. Australia can get away with simply reusing the existing classifications for these games (despite the idiotically illogical rules around gambling now), but if a local physical release materialises with a big fat R18+ rating on the cover, I'll probably import the American or Japanese releases just because of how ridiculous it would look.

Also, physical, eShop or bust. I'll sail the seven seas if they paywall this behind NSO.

I'm keen if a true cartridge release ever materialises, but unfortunately, being a Nintendo-published title, it won't drop in price significantly enough to warrant a purchase in spite of the GKC. For AU$30, a disgruntled reluctant maybe (and even then I would never want to indulge Nintendo for taking the GKC route). For $100, not on your life.

I'm already annoyed as hell that the Switch 2 physical release of New Horizons doesn't include the Happy Home Paradise DLC either. What was even the point in issuing a new physical release without it? It would have been the easiest double-dip otherwise.