It should be standard (if the successor really is "Switch 2" and not some mental console side swerve from Nintendo).
Also, if the profiles transfer across and backwards compatibility is available for cartridges then I wholly expect my entire Digital library to do the same please (or where possible).
Happy to hear this has a pleasant mix of both. Especially by integrating the more classic style of Dungeons (which is really what everyone is craving).
That said, to be honest I find the emergent styles of gameplay from BOTW/TOTK far more appealing to me as opposed to the classic "1/2 solutions" which has become very outdated IMO for 3D Zelda's (but not so much in top down Zelda's as the LA remake proved).
@Dinglehopper just because there isn't a line connected between them on the chart doesn't mean BOTW and TOTK are not connected.
TOTK is a literally a direct sequel set 5 years after BOTW. Exact same world, characters and progression of ideologies and world building which has happened within the timeframe.
Despite the oddities of not explaining away a few things with some simple lines of dialogue (looking at you Shiekah remnants), I always found it super strange when players claim it's a reset and the that the game pretends BOTW didn't happen. This is simply not true.
There are plenty of characters that reference BOTW's events throughout the game and also recognise Link for actions he took against the Calamity. There's even a statue of Link and Sidon in place of Mipha in the Zora Palace to represent their efforts against Van Rutah. The pit that Master Kogah fell into in BOTW has him land in the Depths which is followed up on as a big side quest in TOTK, there are major characters that return to help link (the Champions descendants)... and then there's Ganondorf. Hyrule Castle is a failsafe for holding Ganondorf prisoner for 10,000 years. Defeating his ethereal malice only served to weaken the barrier which leads into the events of the second game. I could go on.
I think these two titles are probably one of very few instances where Nintendo make it pretty clear it's a sequel.
I won't commit to comment much on the "lazy sequel" argument though. I think TOTK's overall content, production and new ideas speak for itself and prove how much effort was put in over the 6 years of development.
BOTW and TOTK conform to its own continuity whilst still referencing each of the 3 split timelines.
Whether or not these other games sit within the timeframe of the 10,000 years of history that the BOTW and TOTK’s lore span is anyone’s guess. It could well be that they just are set far in the future.
You also have conflicts with two different “Imprisoning Wars” which are totally seperate things, and let’s not forget that despite Skyward Sword (being the “beginning”) it still alludes to other events happening waaaaay before the game starts with high conceptual technology similar to Zonai tech being used prior to Demise and his War.
I’ve more or less come to accept that the best way to look at all of these games “history” is via the clue in the Title - “The Legend of Zelda: Insert Subtitle” - Legends are stories being passed down and retold to us (the player) to experience.
The unreliable narrator (aka Nintendo) is whom we have to trust, So when you treat each game as a fable or myth rather than an exact history it becomes a lot easier to process the game placement… ie - there isn’t any.
Zelda games are stories based on legends, so whilst they all could have happened, in terms of “history” making sense it’s probably not going to be the “truth” to what we’ve been playing.
It also would go some way to explain BOTW and TOTK sitting outside this “continuity”. Those games reference everything with visual Easter eggs and clues all over the place which would mean if you wanted to believe it, that there is a possibly that the true Zelda history is in these two games alone and the fables of the other titles are simply told within BOTW’s and TOTK’s own established events but as myths and legends.
@PinderSchloss I dunno, considering how much appears to be going on in this game it’s probably a good idea for them advertise some level of expectation considering it’s not a Traditional Zelda title (eg - like confirming there are actual large dungeons in the game which should satisfy purists if this is indeed as it’s spelt out).
I’m still slightly suspicious and think it will be a slight hybrid idea of proper dungeons and shrine like locations as the game seems far too open-ended to have fuller dungeons that will incorporate traditional elements and items to nab… unless this Sword Fighter skill is one of many that she can transform into.
I do actually quite like that concept as well, as then it gives Zelda direct engagement with foes. But I don’t see it as comparable to the BOTW weapon degradation system. This game isn’t built for that kind of gameplay and if anything it’s supposed to be viewed as a temporary buff / skill for Zelda to use.
I mean, just look at Tyson Hesse’s infamous Sonic “Meme” comic… and look where he is now - directing most of their official game tie-in cartoon animations and working on their comic licences. And let’s not forget he thankfully helped the movie team to redesign Sonic from… well, whatever the heck that was 🤣
Whilst I certainly don’t rate the Shadow The Hedgehog game highly (one of the biggest letdowns for me personally after building into the hype as a kid) - the CGI cutscenes where some of the best the series had produced at the time.
It’s almost certainly why Jeff has opted to include the infamously awesome (and pointless) Motorcycle for Shadow into this film, but it’s nice all the same to see his full circle moment considering his personal history with the character 🙂
I Really hope this sees a western release eventually as well. It just highlights the amount of effort put into these Zelda titles over the last 10 years 🙂
@Kiz3000 $29.99 / £22.99 isn’t terribly high for this caliber / quality of indie title to be fair, especially digitally.
That said, I’ve also often waited for sales on certain games as well. For me it often comes down to “do I want to support the developer?” and a measure of personal value to justify the purchase 🙂
@rjejr forgot to reply to this 😅 completely fair! Idiosyncrasies like that for the service would annoy me as well.
I’m already frustrated with Nintendo’s online service having recently opted in for the family plan but not getting the benefits I thought I would since I can’t share my personal digital library of games with my daughter on her own Switch (well, I CAN… but not without a tremendous amount of workarounds to make it work).
Free DLC? Thats insane. I guess it must have done that well.
I’ll was well prepared to fork over whatever they wanted to charge since I enjoyed the base adventure so much. Certainly one of the best RPG adventures I’ve played in quite a long time.
Now it feels like a reward for buying this day one 🙂
I think it's probably reasonable to lower any expectations of a "mainline" September Direct now. When you consider this is made up of 1st and 3rd party titles (which will be showcased tomorrow) + we know what Nintendo's main holiday titles are going to be already for the remainder of the year.
I honestly don't really know what else Nintendo have up their sleeve before their Switch 2 announcement - but I don't see anything happening in September IMO.
@rvcolem1 Before Naughty Dog ventured to new IP's and the property went elsewhere, Crash was to Playstation what Mario was to Nintendo back in the day.
It's a shame that beyond the original trilogy (+CTR) that the publishers messed around with the license so much that the quality (and weirdness of titles) almost made the character relatively obscure, that is, until the remakes came along to make Crash relevant again.
I think Crash Team Rumble’s development cycle of hell is the most interesting part of this Documentary. It confirms what a lot of us suspected but never knew for sure - that it was in development for quite some time, was at one stage going to be an add on multiplayer DLC to Crash 4, and that they had grander plans than what actually ended up being released. Fascinating stuff here.
It’s a shame about Crash 5 not quite getting off the starting block of pre-production (but better it got canned early than late into development). It’s a shame though (and of course because of Acti-Blizz and the bloody merger causing more discourse).
The real downer here however is that the Crash Trilogy Remakes, CTR Remake, Crash 4 and Spyro Trilogy Remakes were real high quality titles that sold well (even if not by the publishers expectations) and competed against the best of Nintendos own efforts.
…Yet this was pissed away due to bad management on the publishers end and a decision to lean into the 4x4 moba live service lite title with Crash Team Rumble - a that nobody asked for and one that should have appeared on the platform it was likely to get the most user engagement. I appreciate there are always lots of moving parts behind the scenes, but the future of the series shouldn’t have (additionally) been axed on one spinoff that consumers didn’t want.
Still, the silver lining is that TFB are free now. And if the persisting rumours are true they may even be able to continue to work on future Crash or Spyro titles (or their own new IP) but without interruption or developer redistribution from Microsoft henceforth.
@PinderSchloss I was hoping for Oracle Remakes in the same vein as Link Awakenings as well…
Buuuuuut we got access to these via the basic NSO membership and instead have a brand new title with Zelda (finally) at the helm. It’s a win/win for all, whether you’re 5 or 30 playing any of these games 🙂
I’m still somewhat surprised that it’s been 2 weeks without the 7 minutes of extra gameplay footage not being posted anywhere (outside of some forums I’ve ventured too). I guess this went over the heads of a lot of outlets maybe?
In any case, the game looks beautiful. I finally got around to playing the Links Awakening Remake in prep (for the artstyle mostly). Really can’t wait now 🙂
Genshin is never coming to Switch now, I think we need to accept that.
Whilst I still think it’s possible with limitations (considering games like Sky: Children of Light are available on the switch at very high quality) it’s probably better the dev team focus efforts to get Genshin, Star Rail and ZZZ on the successor instead.
@rjejr oh I completely agree. It’s a very dumb system to lump everything in one area under “pre PS4? These are “classics” so you gotta pay the next tier”
I suspect it’s partly because of the lack of PS1/2/Portable titles in the Premium tier anyway, but the fact that PS3 games can only be streamed just brings the overall idea of the package down for me anyway, so I’ll never bother with it.
Premium I’ve only delved into lately thanks to offers, so I’ll make use of games I don’t care to own but want to play (before they rotate out). Otherwise I’ll just stick with the Essential for online play and the monthly titles we can keep (as long as we’re subscribed).
1) Sonic Generations - a port / remaster of the PS3 / 360 game - which was a 20th Anniversary Celebration title that revisited levels across the entire series in 2D and 3D.
2) Shadow Generations - a brand new (smaller) game unique to this package with a similar premise to the above, but is uniquely Shadow related and has levels themed across the games he featured in.
A better comparison of what this kind of package is would be Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury. Which also featured a WiiU game Port and a brand new (smaller) adventure.
I’m unsure why limited run games are utilising the Dreamcast so heavily though for these bonuses. My best guess is it may be that Sega are promoting this year as “The Year of Shadow” and he did of course debut in the Dreamcast’s Sonic Adventure 2.
@rjejr no worries, you don’t know what you don’t know
The naming conventions overall aren’t particularly brilliant, especially since the convergence of PS NOW - and I often get muddled over the difference between Extra and Premium (and I’m on Extra lol).
Not to mention what classes as a “classic game” for their Premium back catalogue of PS3, PS2 and PS1 titles is confusing (because they weirdly class PS4 remasters / remakes in the same category).
@rjejr that’s why I referenced the PS Plus Catalogue specifically - this has never been a thing that’s available for essential/basic tier members, it’s day one for the catalogue, not the monthly game offerings (also, you did my job for me)
That said, my use of the word “free” isn’t really correct considering it’s subscription based.
What’s insane to me is the amount of focus placed on this title and not what everyone else actually wanted - Treasurenauts.
That game seemed to keep getting pushed aside again and again for other weird or inane titles across the numerous years of dev hell. Thankfully we’re at a point that Shovel Knight scratches a similar itch that I no longer care.
I know it’s pretty clear in the headline, but I still do query if people understand that what’s being offered is the Gyro control from the Pro Controller and not analogue stick control.
Granted, the Gyro is far more precise in the Pro Controller than the Joycons in my experience anyway (plus Goo isn’t really a game designed for analogue anyway).
@PinderSchloss "we need a classic Zelda experience without the stupid gimmicks that interrupt gameplay flow"
...but, that's basically every Zelda game in existence pre BOTW/TOTK.
Ironically, the removal of the "gimmick abilities" and specific items that are found within dungeons actually do the reverse and allow the gameplay to "flow" without interruption nowadays.
I'm not saying don't go back to the classic formula, but I think Nintendo have hit the proverbial brick wall with this experience now (that other Zelda clones do much better).
It's likely why they are evolving the series into something new whilst retaining the same Zelda essence. Not going to be everyone's cup of tea though.
To be honest I’m not even sure I remember the point that being made here.
Probably that Ocarina of Time is essentially A Link to the Past in 3D, it took the staples and translated them across, and like a lot of games at the time had some groundbreaking ideas (Z targeting, first person aim, etc…) I’m not denying that.
Here’s it’s the reverse which is interesting, since BOTW/TOTK’s open exploration and creative player puzzle approaches seems to have influenced the top down gameplay. Could be said that A Link Between Worlds tried to mix up the formula first, but to me it all this did was allow the user the option of Dungeons to choose from in any order, which sacrificed difficulty on balance.
@sanderev if that’s true then The Pokemon Company must have hated making money on the 3DS VC. You have to pay for those titles individually and they were on the higher price tier too.
Still, hopefully they will come to NSO someday in the future. Until then, Delta will have to suffice and fulfill my needs if Nintendo can’t provide it.
Tempting, but it's quite a lot (and I've listened to this a lot over the last year via various YT means).
Defo a contender for one of the best Zelda Soundtracks, the piano work, character themes, orchestration, and backing tracks for cutscenes and boss fights are sublime and up there with the best of series.
@Yoshi3 I have a mate that says this also haha XD I agree that there's plenty of ambient style tracks within the game, but that shouldn't discredit the large amount of other pieces included
Not that surprised - as nice as it was the game didn't really require a "HD" remaster IMO.
Worse still, whilst I likely would have purchased again it down the line, it also released for "free" via Netflix so now I have no zero need to invest in a purchase.
'Arranger' did the same deal with Netflix, but thankfully I didn't realise this was on the service until after I purchased it on Switch (for which I have ZERO regrets)
@Bigmanfan fair - Colours should have been better than it was on Switch for sure. Ultimate edition it most certainly was not.
But Sonic Forces is a good example of a cross platform game handled decently, Frontiers was ok from what I've played on the system - but punching above it's weight.
I feel confident in this one (but that's probably the Sonic Cycle in me talking lol) - as you say, DF will have the final say in a few months
@Bigmanfan yes, however Sonic Colours Ultimate was bad across all platforms.
Additionally, Colours was outsourced to the 3rd party studio 'Blind Squirrel' to port/remaster whereas Sonic Team have already confirmed that this game is being developed in house, so there's good reason to expect the execution of the end product will be different.
@MirrorFate2 Doubtful. Sonic Frontiers is a current gen Sonic Title so it was always going to look worse.
Sonic Generations was a 360 / PS3 game. so despite this being a remaster/upscale and the more powerful platforms potentially running the game with an improved FPS, the game was a looker back in the day. There's no reason to think the Switch version won't be the same.
That being said, I can't speak for the Shadow Generations portion - but I suspect they'd be keeping the look of both sides of the game in tandem as per the recent videos.
Just a shame the Pokémon Company is too blind / greedy to see fit to invest a fair amount of this back into the bloody games that got them here in the first place.
@Gorlock completely fair 🙂 I did it on occasion but 2 is quite notorious for the fuzzies when undocked.
Genuinely though, I believe 2 does look more fantastical than 3 for the most part - the varied locations really help beef it compared to 3’s war torn world.
(I still hold quite a soft spot of XC1 Remastered however) 😅
Visually speaking it’s much more artistically interesting than TTYD Remake IMO, and they’re bang on that TTYD is only held back by it being a remake and therefore limited creatively in the changes they can make - a lot of visuals updates aren’t to the games benefit.
It’s similarly interesting that the MP Remaster made their cut for the opposite reason. Prime Remastered I still feel is better (especially in performance which can really enhance the visual cohesion). But at the same time I appreciate both games have different goals and art designs so it’s difficult to truly compare the two.
@Gorlock Oooo, I dunno about that.
Xenoblade 3 objectively did not look worse than 2, especially on a resolution level where it had drops all over the place (as well as the frame rate dipping to 15-20fps in places). XC2 often dipped into low res (especially in handheld mode) causing the game to appear very blurry for most of its run.
XC3 in comparison was a vast improvement (especially technically) and it achieved its world design goals and character cinematics much more efficiently with less jank and in a cleaner visual manner.
I’d certainly say it’s fair to compare the art style however. XC2 leans far more into the fantasy and OTT character designs, where as XC3 is a lot more balanced (and realistic) due to the mesh with the XC1 art philosophy. So I could understand it not looking as appealing in that sense.
(bear in mind I love all the XC games as I write this response) 🙂
I’m pretty sure they did this with Symphonia back in the day on PS3 and bundled both the GC and Wii sequel together.
Saying that, it’s not like DOTNW was bundled with the Symphonia Remaster, so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised.
In any case! Nice! Missed out on this first time around. Given this won’t be based on a bad PS3 HD remaster of a GC/PS2 game, Iexpect it will hold up in the porting process this time.
Comments 657
Re: Rumour: Switch "Successor" Will Be Backwards Compatible, It's Claimed
It should be standard (if the successor really is "Switch 2" and not some mental console side swerve from Nintendo).
Also, if the profiles transfer across and backwards compatibility is available for cartridges then I wholly expect my entire Digital library to do the same please (or where possible).
Re: Hands On: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Brings Tantalising Creativity To The 2D Template
Happy to hear this has a pleasant mix of both. Especially by integrating the more classic style of Dungeons (which is really what everyone is craving).
That said, to be honest I find the emergent styles of gameplay from BOTW/TOTK far more appealing to me as opposed to the classic "1/2 solutions" which has become very outdated IMO for 3D Zelda's (but not so much in top down Zelda's as the LA remake proved).
This looks to provide a nice middle ground
Re: Zelda Timeline Featuring Breath Of The Wild And Tears Of The Kingdom Spotted
@Dinglehopper just because there isn't a line connected between them on the chart doesn't mean BOTW and TOTK are not connected.
TOTK is a literally a direct sequel set 5 years after BOTW. Exact same world, characters and progression of ideologies and world building which has happened within the timeframe.
Despite the oddities of not explaining away a few things with some simple lines of dialogue (looking at you Shiekah remnants), I always found it super strange when players claim it's a reset and the that the game pretends BOTW didn't happen. This is simply not true.
There are plenty of characters that reference BOTW's events throughout the game and also recognise Link for actions he took against the Calamity. There's even a statue of Link and Sidon in place of Mipha in the Zora Palace to represent their efforts against Van Rutah. The pit that Master Kogah fell into in BOTW has him land in the Depths which is followed up on as a big side quest in TOTK, there are major characters that return to help link (the Champions descendants)... and then there's Ganondorf. Hyrule Castle is a failsafe for holding Ganondorf prisoner for 10,000 years. Defeating his ethereal malice only served to weaken the barrier which leads into the events of the second game. I could go on.
I think these two titles are probably one of very few instances where Nintendo make it pretty clear it's a sequel.
I won't commit to comment much on the "lazy sequel" argument though. I think TOTK's overall content, production and new ideas speak for itself and prove how much effort was put in over the 6 years of development.
Re: Zelda Timeline Featuring Breath Of The Wild And Tears Of The Kingdom Spotted
BOTW and TOTK conform to its own continuity whilst still referencing each of the 3 split timelines.
Whether or not these other games sit within the timeframe of the 10,000 years of history that the BOTW and TOTK’s lore span is anyone’s guess. It could well be that they just are set far in the future.
You also have conflicts with two different “Imprisoning Wars” which are totally seperate things, and let’s not forget that despite Skyward Sword (being the “beginning”) it still alludes to other events happening waaaaay before the game starts with high conceptual technology similar to Zonai tech being used prior to Demise and his War.
I’ve more or less come to accept that the best way to look at all of these games “history” is via the clue in the Title - “The Legend of Zelda: Insert Subtitle” - Legends are stories being passed down and retold to us (the player) to experience.
The unreliable narrator (aka Nintendo) is whom we have to trust, So when you treat each game as a fable or myth rather than an exact history it becomes a lot easier to process the game placement… ie - there isn’t any.
Zelda games are stories based on legends, so whilst they all could have happened, in terms of “history” making sense it’s probably not going to be the “truth” to what we’ve been playing.
It also would go some way to explain BOTW and TOTK sitting outside this “continuity”. Those games reference everything with visual Easter eggs and clues all over the place which would mean if you wanted to believe it, that there is a possibly that the true Zelda history is in these two games alone and the fables of the other titles are simply told within BOTW’s and TOTK’s own established events but as myths and legends.
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trailer Introduces Us To The 'Still World' And Dungeons
@PinderSchloss I dunno, considering how much appears to be going on in this game it’s probably a good idea for them advertise some level of expectation considering it’s not a Traditional Zelda title (eg - like confirming there are actual large dungeons in the game which should satisfy purists if this is indeed as it’s spelt out).
I’m still slightly suspicious and think it will be a slight hybrid idea of proper dungeons and shrine like locations as the game seems far too open-ended to have fuller dungeons that will incorporate traditional elements and items to nab… unless this Sword Fighter skill is one of many that she can transform into.
I do actually quite like that concept as well, as then it gives Zelda direct engagement with foes. But I don’t see it as comparable to the BOTW weapon degradation system. This game isn’t built for that kind of gameplay and if anything it’s supposed to be viewed as a temporary buff / skill for Zelda to use.
Re: Sega's Sonic Team On Memes: "We Like That People Are Having Fun"
I mean, just look at Tyson Hesse’s infamous Sonic “Meme” comic… and look where he is now - directing most of their official game tie-in cartoon animations and working on their comic licences. And let’s not forget he thankfully helped the movie team to redesign Sonic from… well, whatever the heck that was 🤣
Re: Sonic 3 Movie Director Reflects On "Full Circle" Shadow The Hedgehog Moment
Whilst I certainly don’t rate the Shadow The Hedgehog game highly (one of the biggest letdowns for me personally after building into the hype as a kid) - the CGI cutscenes where some of the best the series had produced at the time.
It’s almost certainly why Jeff has opted to include the infamously awesome (and pointless) Motorcycle for Shadow into this film, but it’s nice all the same to see his full circle moment considering his personal history with the character 🙂
Re: The Plucky Squire Physical Release Announced, Pre-Orders Now Live
@Kiz3000 that also another good factor. The game does look far too good to run well on switch.
I’ve been surprised before of course… but yeah…
Re: Zelda: TOTK 'Master Works' Art Book Looks Stunning In New Introductory Video
Creating a Champion was suuuuch a good book.
I Really hope this sees a western release eventually as well. It just highlights the amount of effort put into these Zelda titles over the last 10 years 🙂
Re: The Plucky Squire Physical Release Announced, Pre-Orders Now Live
@Kiz3000 $29.99 / £22.99 isn’t terribly high for this caliber / quality of indie title to be fair, especially digitally.
That said, I’ve also often waited for sales on certain games as well. For me it often comes down to “do I want to support the developer?” and a measure of personal value to justify the purchase 🙂
Re: The Plucky Squire Physical Release Announced, Pre-Orders Now Live
@rjejr forgot to reply to this 😅 completely fair! Idiosyncrasies like that for the service would annoy me as well.
I’m already frustrated with Nintendo’s online service having recently opted in for the family plan but not getting the benefits I thought I would since I can’t share my personal digital library of games with my daughter on her own Switch (well, I CAN… but not without a tremendous amount of workarounds to make it work).
Re: Here's Your First Look At Sea Of Stars' Upcoming Free DLC 'Throes Of The Watchmaker'
Free DLC? Thats insane. I guess it must have done that well.
I’ll was well prepared to fork over whatever they wanted to charge since I enjoyed the base adventure so much. Certainly one of the best RPG adventures I’ve played in quite a long time.
Now it feels like a reward for buying this day one 🙂
Re: Nintendo Indie World & Partner Direct Announced For Tomorrow, August 27th 2024
Niiiice. This should be a good time
I think it's probably reasonable to lower any expectations of a "mainline" September Direct now. When you consider this is made up of 1st and 3rd party titles (which will be showcased tomorrow) + we know what Nintendo's main holiday titles are going to be already for the remainder of the year.
I honestly don't really know what else Nintendo have up their sleeve before their Switch 2 announcement - but I don't see anything happening in September IMO.
Re: Crash Team Rumble Was Reportedly In Development For Switch But Got Cancelled
@rvcolem1 Before Naughty Dog ventured to new IP's and the property went elsewhere, Crash was to Playstation what Mario was to Nintendo back in the day.
It's a shame that beyond the original trilogy (+CTR) that the publishers messed around with the license so much that the quality (and weirdness of titles) almost made the character relatively obscure, that is, until the remakes came along to make Crash relevant again.
Re: Crash Team Rumble Was Reportedly In Development For Switch But Got Cancelled
I think Crash Team Rumble’s development cycle of hell is the most interesting part of this Documentary. It confirms what a lot of us suspected but never knew for sure - that it was in development for quite some time, was at one stage going to be an add on multiplayer DLC to Crash 4, and that they had grander plans than what actually ended up being released. Fascinating stuff here.
It’s a shame about Crash 5 not quite getting off the starting block of pre-production (but better it got canned early than late into development). It’s a shame though (and of course because of Acti-Blizz and the bloody merger causing more discourse).
The real downer here however is that the Crash Trilogy Remakes, CTR Remake, Crash 4 and Spyro Trilogy Remakes were real high quality titles that sold well (even if not by the publishers expectations) and competed against the best of Nintendos own efforts.
…Yet this was pissed away due to bad management on the publishers end and a decision to lean into the 4x4 moba live service lite title with Crash Team Rumble - a that nobody asked for and one that should have appeared on the platform it was likely to get the most user engagement. I appreciate there are always lots of moving parts behind the scenes, but the future of the series shouldn’t have (additionally) been axed on one spinoff that consumers didn’t want.
Still, the silver lining is that TFB are free now. And if the persisting rumours are true they may even be able to continue to work on future Crash or Spyro titles (or their own new IP) but without interruption or developer redistribution from Microsoft henceforth.
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Footage Gives A Whistle-Stop Tour Of Faron Wetlands
@PinderSchloss I was hoping for Oracle Remakes in the same vein as Link Awakenings as well…
Buuuuuut we got access to these via the basic NSO membership and instead have a brand new title with Zelda (finally) at the helm. It’s a win/win for all, whether you’re 5 or 30 playing any of these games 🙂
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Footage Gives A Whistle-Stop Tour Of Faron Wetlands
@mlt don’t worry, not to spoilery - it elaborates more on gameplay and areas shown off. But view at your digression if you choose too 😅
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Footage Gives A Whistle-Stop Tour Of Faron Wetlands
Niiiice.
I’m still somewhat surprised that it’s been 2 weeks without the 7 minutes of extra gameplay footage not being posted anywhere (outside of some forums I’ve ventured too). I guess this went over the heads of a lot of outlets maybe?
https://youtu.be/z7fd01gI2YE?si=lA7k-kk_DswKdlU-
In any case, the game looks beautiful. I finally got around to playing the Links Awakening Remake in prep (for the artstyle mostly). Really can’t wait now 🙂
Re: Round Up: Gamescom Opening Night Live 2024 - Every Nintendo Switch Game Reveal & Trailer
Genshin is never coming to Switch now, I think we need to accept that.
Whilst I still think it’s possible with limitations (considering games like Sky: Children of Light are available on the switch at very high quality) it’s probably better the dev team focus efforts to get Genshin, Star Rail and ZZZ on the successor instead.
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Gets A Limited Edition With A Gorgeous Dreamcast Statue
@SalvorHardin I’m still pretending black doom never happened. It didn’t happen right? I’m not from this timeline 😫
Re: The Plucky Squire Physical Release Announced
@rjejr oh I completely agree. It’s a very dumb system to lump everything in one area under “pre PS4? These are “classics” so you gotta pay the next tier”
I suspect it’s partly because of the lack of PS1/2/Portable titles in the Premium tier anyway, but the fact that PS3 games can only be streamed just brings the overall idea of the package down for me anyway, so I’ll never bother with it.
Premium I’ve only delved into lately thanks to offers, so I’ll make use of games I don’t care to own but want to play (before they rotate out). Otherwise I’ll just stick with the Essential for online play and the monthly titles we can keep (as long as we’re subscribed).
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Gets A Limited Edition With A Gorgeous Dreamcast Statue
@Spider-Kev it’s something different.
This title comprises of 2 games:
1) Sonic Generations - a port / remaster of the PS3 / 360 game - which was a 20th Anniversary Celebration title that revisited levels across the entire series in 2D and 3D.
2) Shadow Generations - a brand new (smaller) game unique to this package with a similar premise to the above, but is uniquely Shadow related and has levels themed across the games he featured in.
A better comparison of what this kind of package is would be Super Mario 3D World + Bowsers Fury. Which also featured a WiiU game Port and a brand new (smaller) adventure.
I’m unsure why limited run games are utilising the Dreamcast so heavily though for these bonuses. My best guess is it may be that Sega are promoting this year as “The Year of Shadow” and he did of course debut in the Dreamcast’s Sonic Adventure 2.
Re: The Plucky Squire Physical Release Announced
@rjejr no worries, you don’t know what you don’t know
The naming conventions overall aren’t particularly brilliant, especially since the convergence of PS NOW - and I often get muddled over the difference between Extra and Premium (and I’m on Extra lol).
Not to mention what classes as a “classic game” for their Premium back catalogue of PS3, PS2 and PS1 titles is confusing (because they weirdly class PS4 remasters / remakes in the same category).
Re: Round Up: Everything Announced At The 2024 Pokémon World Championships Closing Ceremony
@Bret smh 🤣
Still, How wonderfully unconventional of them all the same.
Re: Round Up: Everything Announced At The 2024 Pokémon World Championships Closing Ceremony
@nukatha I’m super optimistic in the next 40 minute “Pokémon Presents” we’ll get 10 minutes of console games shown off instead of 5 🤣
Re: Nintendo Announces 'Nintendo Museum Direct'
Never have I set a date in my calendar for not watching something before 🤣
In seriousness, I’m sure it will be cool in its own right.
Re: Round Up: Everything Announced At The 2024 Pokémon World Championships Closing Ceremony
Yup, considering the event this is went pretty much as expected.
Hopefully getting these trite updates out the way lends more air time to actual games during their official presents now.
Re: The Plucky Squire Physical Release Announced
@rjejr that’s why I referenced the PS Plus Catalogue specifically - this has never been a thing that’s available for essential/basic tier members, it’s day one for the catalogue, not the monthly game offerings (also, you did my job for me)
That said, my use of the word “free” isn’t really correct considering it’s subscription based.
Re: Atooi's Switch Game Hatch Tales Is Finished, But It's Been Delayed Again
What’s insane to me is the amount of focus placed on this title and not what everyone else actually wanted - Treasurenauts.
That game seemed to keep getting pushed aside again and again for other weird or inane titles across the numerous years of dev hell. Thankfully we’re at a point that Shovel Knight scratches a similar itch that I no longer care.
Re: The Plucky Squire Physical Release Announced
Really want this - but it’s so darn impressive that I think this is going to look fuzzy and run “ok” on switch. Hope to be wrong.
At least it’s free on the PS Plus Catalogue day one to try out.
*EDIT: Natch, PS5 only? What the hell. If it’s on Switch you can’t at least provide a PS4 version as well 🙁
Re: Pokémon President Teases Special Game News For 2024 World Championships Closing Ceremony
Game news at the Pokemon Trading Card game tournament?
I mean… the reality here is it’s going to be a new trailer or news on this new Mobile Pokémon TCG Pocket version.
I’m not getting my hopes up 😅
Re: World Of Goo 2 Switch Update Now Live - New Pro Controller Feature, Fixes And More
I know it’s pretty clear in the headline, but I still do query if people understand that what’s being offered is the Gyro control from the Pro Controller and not analogue stick control.
Granted, the Gyro is far more precise in the Pro Controller than the Joycons in my experience anyway (plus Goo isn’t really a game designed for analogue anyway).
Re: Video: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Channels Breath Of The Wild And Tears Of The Kingdom
@PinderSchloss "we need a classic Zelda experience without the stupid gimmicks that interrupt gameplay flow"
...but, that's basically every Zelda game in existence pre BOTW/TOTK.
Ironically, the removal of the "gimmick abilities" and specific items that are found within dungeons actually do the reverse and allow the gameplay to "flow" without interruption nowadays.
I'm not saying don't go back to the classic formula, but I think Nintendo have hit the proverbial brick wall with this experience now (that other Zelda clones do much better).
It's likely why they are evolving the series into something new whilst retaining the same Zelda essence. Not going to be everyone's cup of tea though.
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trailer Highlights Smoothie Making, Horse Riding, And Waypoints
@Ironcore seemed to be 60FPS for the most part.
Buuut I would not be too surprised if it does the same as Links Awakening and drop down to 30FPS for busier areas.
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trailer Highlights Smoothie Making, Horse Riding, And Waypoints
@LikelySatan it sure was indeed.
To be honest I’m not even sure I remember the point that being made here.
Probably that Ocarina of Time is essentially A Link to the Past in 3D, it took the staples and translated them across, and like a lot of games at the time had some groundbreaking ideas (Z targeting, first person aim, etc…) I’m not denying that.
Here’s it’s the reverse which is interesting, since BOTW/TOTK’s open exploration and creative player puzzle approaches seems to have influenced the top down gameplay. Could be said that A Link Between Worlds tried to mix up the formula first, but to me it all this did was allow the user the option of Dungeons to choose from in any order, which sacrificed difficulty on balance.
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trailer Highlights Smoothie Making, Horse Riding, And Waypoints
@Spider-Kev I care about spoilers.
But there’s quite a big difference between spoilers and gameplay features.
If you’re looking to go into the game completely blind, I’d suggest that gaming websites probably aren’t the best place to frequent before release.
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trailer Highlights Smoothie Making, Horse Riding, And Waypoints
@PinderSchloss in his defence he is sort of correct.
Link to the Past defined the formula, and underneath it all Ocarina of Time follows the same game formula but translated it into 3D.
For its time it was groundbreaking in a way since it was Zelda… but only 3D now. All 3D games pretty much had the same effect back then.
This game takes things further in redefining Zelda in 2D - much like BOTW/TOTK did for its respective dimension.
Re: New Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Trailer Highlights Smoothie Making, Horse Riding, And Waypoints
@Spider-Kev are we seriously in an age now where making smoothies, horse riding and waypoints are considered spoilers? 🤣
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's GBA Library With Pokémon
@sanderev if that’s true then The Pokemon Company must have hated making money on the 3DS VC. You have to pay for those titles individually and they were on the higher price tier too.
Still, hopefully they will come to NSO someday in the future. Until then, Delta will have to suffice and fulfill my needs if Nintendo can’t provide it.
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's GBA Library With Pokémon
Nearly spat my coffee out before realising what this actually was. Dammit Gamefreak - just release your mainline titles on the NSO already.
…Or Pokemon Pinball - I’d easily take either of the Pokemon Pinball titles.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Soundtrack Now Available, But Only In Japan
Tempting, but it's quite a lot (and I've listened to this a lot over the last year via various YT means).
Defo a contender for one of the best Zelda Soundtracks, the piano work, character themes, orchestration, and backing tracks for cutscenes and boss fights are sublime and up there with the best of series.
@Yoshi3 I have a mate that says this also haha XD I agree that there's plenty of ambient style tracks within the game, but that shouldn't discredit the large amount of other pieces included
Re: Braid: Anniversary Edition Sales Have Been "Utterly Terrible", Says Creator
Not that surprised - as nice as it was the game didn't really require a "HD" remaster IMO.
Worse still, whilst I likely would have purchased again it down the line, it also released for "free" via Netflix so now I have no zero need to invest in a purchase.
'Arranger' did the same deal with Netflix, but thankfully I didn't realise this was on the service until after I purchased it on Switch (for which I have ZERO regrets)
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Estimated Switch File Size Revealed
@Bigmanfan fair - Colours should have been better than it was on Switch for sure. Ultimate edition it most certainly was not.
But Sonic Forces is a good example of a cross platform game handled decently, Frontiers was ok from what I've played on the system - but punching above it's weight.
I feel confident in this one (but that's probably the Sonic Cycle in me talking lol) - as you say, DF will have the final say in a few months
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Estimated Switch File Size Revealed
@Bigmanfan yes, however Sonic Colours Ultimate was bad across all platforms.
Additionally, Colours was outsourced to the 3rd party studio 'Blind Squirrel' to port/remaster whereas Sonic Team have already confirmed that this game is being developed in house, so there's good reason to expect the execution of the end product will be different.
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Estimated Switch File Size Revealed
@MirrorFate2 Doubtful. Sonic Frontiers is a current gen Sonic Title so it was always going to look worse.
Sonic Generations was a 360 / PS3 game. so despite this being a remaster/upscale and the more powerful platforms potentially running the game with an improved FPS, the game was a looker back in the day. There's no reason to think the Switch version won't be the same.
That being said, I can't speak for the Shadow Generations portion - but I suspect they'd be keeping the look of both sides of the game in tandem as per the recent videos.
Re: The Pokémon Company Banked $10.8 Billion In Retail Sales Last Year
Just a shame the Pokémon Company is too blind / greedy to see fit to invest a fair amount of this back into the bloody games that got them here in the first place.
Re: Digital Foundry Hails Luigi's Mansion 3 As The Best-Looking Exclusive Switch Game
@Gorlock completely fair 🙂 I did it on occasion but 2 is quite notorious for the fuzzies when undocked.
Genuinely though, I believe 2 does look more fantastical than 3 for the most part - the varied locations really help beef it compared to 3’s war torn world.
(I still hold quite a soft spot of XC1 Remastered however) 😅
Re: Digital Foundry Hails Luigi's Mansion 3 As The Best-Looking Exclusive Switch Game
Glad to see that Paper Mario TOK got a mention.
Visually speaking it’s much more artistically interesting than TTYD Remake IMO, and they’re bang on that TTYD is only held back by it being a remake and therefore limited creatively in the changes they can make - a lot of visuals updates aren’t to the games benefit.
It’s similarly interesting that the MP Remaster made their cut for the opposite reason. Prime Remastered I still feel is better (especially in performance which can really enhance the visual cohesion). But at the same time I appreciate both games have different goals and art designs so it’s difficult to truly compare the two.
@Gorlock Oooo, I dunno about that.
Xenoblade 3 objectively did not look worse than 2, especially on a resolution level where it had drops all over the place (as well as the frame rate dipping to 15-20fps in places). XC2 often dipped into low res (especially in handheld mode) causing the game to appear very blurry for most of its run.
XC3 in comparison was a vast improvement (especially technically) and it achieved its world design goals and character cinematics much more efficiently with less jank and in a cleaner visual manner.
I’d certainly say it’s fair to compare the art style however. XC2 leans far more into the fantasy and OTT character designs, where as XC3 is a lot more balanced (and realistic) due to the mesh with the XC1 art philosophy. So I could understand it not looking as appealing in that sense.
(bear in mind I love all the XC games as I write this response) 🙂
Re: Rumour: 'Tales Of Xillia Remastered' Switch Release Spotted Online
Curious it’s not a double pack with both titles.
I’m pretty sure they did this with Symphonia back in the day on PS3 and bundled both the GC and Wii sequel together.
Saying that, it’s not like DOTNW was bundled with the Symphonia Remaster, so maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised.
In any case! Nice! Missed out on this first time around. Given this won’t be based on a bad PS3 HD remaster of a GC/PS2 game, Iexpect it will hold up in the porting process this time.
Re: Sonic X Shadow Generations Physical Pre-Orders Come With Reversible Sleeves
@Wexter on the plus, this remaster has at least been done in-house than outsourced to another developer like Colours was.