Spiders

@XenoShaun Splatoon 2 isn’t an F2P or MTX model with “seasons”, but they’ve had weapons added, stages added, and a monthly Rank X mode ranking, and special events nonetheless.

Nintendo is changing the underlying netcode, and who knows how much else under the hood. It needs to be a new game, not a map pack. If you don’t think it’s worth it, Splatoon 1 + 2 are both still playable online.

@RCGamer I do this with my Dual Shock 4 that started drifting and it works well. Would last for a couple of days and and eventually for good (for now). Didn’t think to do it with Switch because you can’t depress and lift the cap in the same way as the DS4. Any advice with what your process is?

@snookaus Forsaken 64 is a pretty good game. I think it gets a lot of guff for it’s awful, awful box art.

@cmbaum Krusty’s Fun House was awesome. Don’t let anyone tell you different!

I had a weak spot for platformers back in the day. Bonk’s Adventure, Plok, Adventure Island, and Decapattack to name a few. I was enamored with Captain Skyhawk on the NES when it came out, but going back to it now it’s barely playable.

Nowadays there’s too many quality titles on every machine too mess with bad ones. There are some games like Greedfall and Outward that I think are weak titles overall, but in the context of the garbage AAA developers are calling RPGs these days I find charm in the experience and can overlook flaws.

I do think a lot of games are great that are considered bad, like Metroid: Other M or New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and some odd ducks like Tales of Legendia which is consider a weak Tales game but was the only one I could get into, or Castlevania: Lament of Innocence over any other 3D entries in the series.

@SolBlazer That’s not fair, and really the opposite case. Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4 as a good faith move to signal to hardcore fans they weren’t being left behind on Switch (whether they accomplished that is another story).

They had a “new team” lined up of in-house and Bandai Namco staff, but ultimately didn’t like the direction and moved the project to Retro.
It’s possible Retro also hit the restart since taking on the project.

It sucks, but Nintendo is obviously putting the resources and effort into it, and there’s no “throwing more resources...” which usually means putting Monolith on it, whose working on BOTW2 and their internal title, or hiring a “finisher” like Platinum Games, which is also very unlikely and probably not good for the game.

@BloodNinja Prime/Fusion co-release was definitely peak Metroid, and I’m doubtful anything going forward will exceed that... though Switch has that magic so maybe Dread is the start of a surge, i.e. new Metroid games more than every two generations.

I’ll never understand this market. For that kind of money, I’d want Super Mario 64 source code running on a development kit. Not a boxed copy of the most common N64 game I can play a dozen other ways.

@DK-Fan I agree with you, but I always looked at it in the context of the series and Fusion was already that step away from open exploration. Maybe all disappointment people felt with Other M I already coped with coming off of Fusion - story-heavy, linear - so I was able to take it for what it was more than what I wanted it to be.

@DK-Fan Couldn’t agree more. Metroid has a magic (like the first Zelda) that begins to fade in their sequels, despite how great they are. Super Metroid felt very “friendly” in comparison, and at the time I considered that a strike - though a very forgivable one in light of its strengths.

@Meteoroid It’s odd to see Trilogy at the top for being a compilation, but it is a better version of one of the greatest games of all time and the sequel which is a fan favorite.

Time is always going to hurt the older games as well. As hard as it maybe to go back to the original Metroid, there’s now way to express the impact of it at the time to new players. I prefer a lot of the obtuseness in the first Metroid as well. Just like Zelda, the SNES games are inarguably great sequels, but key elements are lost, or are beginning to be lost in those follow-ups.

I wish there was a way to see how many people who rated Other M actually played it. I understand why it’s divisive, but there’s no way it’s as bad as the conversation around it. It does too many things right, and in a lot of ways is closer to Super Metroid than Prime is (which I also love). I always think of it as a “lost” title that slots in between Super and Prime, representing the N64 era we never got a Metroid in. For as good as Prime is, Other M’s Samus feels more like the nimble bounty hunter in the 2D games, her characterization notwithstanding. If I could get a copy of it with non-English VO, I’d give it a 10 alongside Prime, Super, Zero Mission, and the original.

Federation Force as well, it’s not my favorite, but the strikes against it are all for what it isn’t, not what it is. It’s better than a lot of games not in the Metroid series, and remarkable for a handheld title at the time.

@TourianTourist Treasures... like opening a treasure chest with a rupee in it? Maybe they're wording it funny, but that's what I remember, opening treasure chests and being told what a rupee does. Not every literal rupee popping a dialogue.

@citizenerased I feel you on that. If you're up for some advice, turn off the mini-map, turn off points of interest, and turn off everything that puts an icon somewhere. If you're feeling really funky, don't even go to the notice boards in the towns - you can find every quest naturally. I also switched the language to Polish and used subtitles because I found it more immersive.

The magical moments of Witcher 3 for me we're almost all stumbling upon things on the way from point A to point B. It does a fairly good job of letting you find quests without being explicitly told. Non critical-path exploration is very rewarding... maybe too much so, as it is very easy to be over-levelled for the main quest without using mods.

For players like you and I, you kind of have to make your own gameplay loop in Witcher 3 to get the most out of it - by default it's a very linear, story-driven RPG - but there is magic there if you're willing to adjust some settings and your mindset.

@charlieonholiday I played on a base PS4 and wish I had played it on Switch - especially after the updates, it doesn't look better enough on PS4 to outweigh the portable benefits. Also the fact that you can share Switch saves with the Steam version.

If the Switch version ever goes as cheap as the PC version, I'd like to try a replay that way. Best of both worlds.

Ugly as sin, but the mechanics look dope, and no MTX or F2P is a major plus. Definitely will keep an eye on.

@Nin10dood The thing would’ve probably costed $399.99 for years ago. No way that would fly.

@Zeldafan79 I thought the motion controls were really great! The lack of an over world, areas, and miserable repeating boss fight brought it down for me by the end. I loved the steps it took away from OoT/WW/TP, but maybe it didn’t go far enough? I remember enjoying it while playing but found it pretty .forgettable ultimately. Might give it another shot if I find it cheap (with motion controls).

@TourianTourist Can you confirm? I’m almost positive it happened every time you powered off and powered back on.

The new kickstand is really the biggest improvement in terms of tabletop play - I’m sure anyone who has tried it would agree. I have a nifty case that doubles as an adjustable stand, but the Surface-like hinge looks fantastic. The next biggest issue before the screen in the Joy-Cons... I’ve had too many issues with multiplayer games to feel confident hosting a tabletop session with them for many kinds of games. The new OLED screen is just icing compared to these.

@Petew Nintendo, or any console manufacturer for that matter, hasn’t played for “all the gamer money” for generations. The only people who care if Switch owners get PS5s or Xboxses are fanboys.

@Bolt_Strike Maybe, but the tech industry is not working like that currently. I'm speculating, but I think those new hardware rumors were very close to the truth but plans changed after COVID, semi-conductor shortage, and global shipping crisis. Nintendo does not want to be in Sony's current position at all. I suspect they had the contract for those OLED screens done before they shifted gears, and thus the new model.

People were fed up with Switch's specs at launch. That's really why I'm pushing back so hard against you is that you're really ignoring the market Switch carved out for itself. There is stronger hardware already in handheld gaming and it's way too expensive to be considered competition. I'd agree with you under normal circumstances, it's about the right time for new hardware to be announced, but the tech industry, particularly the supply chain, is not working the way it's supposed to. They'd lose at some point, but I think that point has been stretched, and we don't see real new hardware until late 2022 (doubtful) or 2023 (my bet).

I think the doom and gloom you're describing is more appropriate for Sony's current situation, where players are more literally getting stranded on last generation hardware, and the current generation is suffering for all the resources being poured into the cross-gen lifeline. All the dev cycles, which were already getting longer, have been further extended by COVID disruption. Their distribution channels have been captured by scalpers. Developers won't commit exclusive games. It's ugly in Sony land right now, on the back of a great piece of hardware everyone wanted.

Ironically, I think XBox is making the most salient business moves in today's reality by taking hardware out of the picture as much as possible and putting XBox on devices that players already have (PC, Smartphone).

@Crono1973 No you don't. Switch comes with Joy-Con Grip for TV play. Of course I think the Pro is better in most circumstances too, but it's an extra purchase.
That would definitely factor in for personal value just like saying "what runs Subnautica better in handheld mode, and is that worth the difference?", "will I always be playing handheld near a strong wifi connection?", etc., but when you're trying to make an objective argument comparing the two it doesn't apply.

I never said there wasn't trade-offs (i.e. a lot of people don't like the Joy-Cons), just that you need to make it as fair as possible if you want to make an honest comparison.

@Bolt_Strike I agree with you aesthetically, but I think this was really a case of rather trying for a home run, they "played not to lose".
That's been the issue with the idea of a Pro model since the first rumors. The Switch is a runaway success, and Nintendo doesn't want to do anything that loses that base.
I said in other posts, I suspect the OLED model is leftover parts from a bolder hardware strategy that changed after COVID, the semiconductor shortage, and the global shipping crisis — and after they contracted the screens. I think it's a very shrewd and conservative move given the circumstances, especially when you look at how Sony is failing to meet expectations with Playstation 5.

@Crono1973 @UltimateOtaku91 I added the Razer Kishi controller because Switch comes with a controller compatible in handheld with the price tag, and the Kishi is the only Microsoft licensed device.

If you want to compare Switch to Xbox S apples to apples, that's how you do it. If there's no controller for the handheld mode of the Xbox, you're not making a fair comparison. In other words, this is what it costs to have an Xbox Series S do what a Switch does in all use cases. If you're not doing that, you're being dishonest comparing the value proposition even before all the caveats (for example, I don't think you can play non-Gamepass digital games or physical discs via xCloud). If you're looking at prices just a plain entry fee to playing video games at all, well, you've lost that argument nearly every month since Switch launched.

@RadioShadow Obviously you don’t use headphones regularly. I have to use a crazy long cord and wrap it around stuff to keep it from accidentally yanking the console out of the dock. Tabletop mode is awkward as well.

Am I the only poor person who breathed a sigh of relief!?!?

@Synecdoche Yeah it’s brutal. I’m on my third. The only consolation is it’s over the course of years and thousands with competitive games that put them trough it (Splatoon and Smash).

It sucks because I prefer the Pro to a Gamecube controller for Smash, but it tears up the controller the way I play and I am as yet unsponsored haha.

@Crono1973
Xbox Series S $299.99
Kishi controller (xCloud controller) $99.99

____

$399.98 before Gamepass subs ($15/mo for Ultimate w/xCloud)

That’s the Microsoft equivalent to the Nintendo Switch as close as you can compare them apples to apples.

@Cronos1973 Better how? Apples to apples, Xbox + xCloud + controller peripheral + subscription is going to cost more than a Switch OLED to do the same thing with non-trivial trade-offs (better graphics but latency and wifi issues, using undedicated smartphone, etc.)

You’re thinking in terms of specs and not use cases. Switch is the value leader in its space.

@UltimateOtaku91 Why would anyone discount original Switch? It’s a top seller still.

@Bolt_Strike It’s so much cleaner and clearer than anything else. “New” would have been a terrible move, and there’s no reason to call it “Pro”. Honestly, there’s barely enough changes to distinguish it for a casual user, and save the price (do we know?) could literally just replace the current Switch for all almost consumers would care.

Maybe not the best, but I think the least bad option considering how bad WiiU and New 3DS was. Not confusing or damaging to other models.

@Fazermint I’ve been anti-Pro rumors since for ever, but this latest round the timing seemed right. I think plans changed and Nintendo kind of retro-fitted a big OLED purchase into a new form factor with the same guts. My theory anyway.

NL buried the lede here... NEW SPLATOON 3 GAMEPLAY FOOTAGE! My body is woomy!

@Classic603 No Pro remains correct. I was no-Pro forever, but the latest set of rumors had me pretty convinced of a power upgrade of some kind. Wishful thinking, or plans changed with COVID, global shipping issues and semiconductor shortages.

Personally, as much as I want the Switch to be a more powerful system, I can’t afford that right now and seeing how bad the PS5/XSX situation is, I’m in no rush for a next generation from Nintendo, and looking into getting the most of my hitherto unused PC for a higher-end gaming experiences (probably a touch better than a PS4 Pro).

@Zuljaras I think user scores are important, but there’s a lot more gaming on a site like Metacritic than, say, Steam where at least the game clock is there for everyone to see.

Maybe tangential, but why haven’t we seen a remake or sequel to Pokémon TCG for Gameboy Color?
Maybe now more than ever getting this game to go digital - even with NFT features for collectors - would alleviate a lot of the problems that surround the physical game.

It’s also my favorite Pokémon game with a bullet.

@WallyWest It was happening with regularity in the indie space, but no AA/AAA franchises I can think of outside maybe Dragon Quest.

50,000 copies of a Mass Effect spin-off on DS? Maybe in it’s first week.

@Generic_Username Well put and something I’m trying to wrap my head around. Different groups will find themselves in different circumstances, but the underlying emotions are universally human.
There’s been a market created for believing that certain emotions and understandings are exclusive to certain people, and it’s tearing us all apart.

@The_Top_Loader Chun Li has always had lower vitality than her male counterparts (as do most of the female cast) but has been top tier in most Street Fighter games regardless.

Nice article and I’m still to this day blown away by how powerful the subtlety of Metroid is.
I could do without the “right to exist” in the headline. It seems needlessly dramatic to me, and is probably responsible for all the negative comments from people who didn’t bother to read the rest.

@bluemage1989 I wish Splatoon was popular enough to be jaded about its competitive scene.

@MetaRunnerPixel Clam Blitz is brutal in solo queue, which is a shame because I think it could me one of the most fun and intense modes with a proper team and communication.
I think there could be better indicators of what’s happening on screen and different D-pad fallouts that could make it a better mode for solo players in Splatoon 3.

@Marchop I think in hindsight Castlevania 2 and SOTN can be called Action RPGs if games like Final Fantasy 7 Remake are Horizon: Zero Dawn considered them today.

Great news! Ubisoft has never ever ever had a problem with having too many cooks in the kitchen.

@westman98 You think an Ubisoft open world would make the game LESS bloated!?

Ultra-realistic physics in an F-Zero sounds miserable, unless this is just a coded way to say it’s Burnout with hover cars.

@MegaMari0 Agreed. I think the gold nugget buried in the franchise is it’s bizarre amount of worldbuilding and characters for an arcade racer.
I think that’s the “new thing” future of the franchise Nintendo’s claiming it wants - it’s own Cyberpunk via Car Battler Joe. Tongue-in-cheek grittiness and a fleshed out RPG that feeds into arcade combat racing.

Maybe we should pitch it!

@Kevember I can agree with you there - this game looks too much like a Tohou Hollow Knight for me, I’d rather just play HK again or wait for Silksong - but that’s a problem in every genre isn’t it?

@Kevember Easier than what? I'll agree with you that every day it's gets easier to make shovelware, but that is true for literally every genre. Plus, this doesn't seem to be the case for Ender Lilies.

Devs gravitate to the genre because it is very popular. Indie metroidvanias and rogue-lites/likes offer a ton of hours of gameplay and replay value for the dollar. There have also been many very, very good entries in the genre over the last decade.

If I was being cynical, I would say the success stories of Hollow Knight, Dead Cells, Axiom Verge and others are why devs are saturating the genre, not the ease of development.

@KnightsTemplar I don’t know if a perspective adjustment would help you enjoy it more, but it’s really more of a first-person MOBA than a squad shooter.

@Kevember You have no idea what you’re talking about. Even if there is a middleware tool that’s helps a lot of the programming aspects, a full-blown game is going to have challenges scaling with those tools, and never mind testing everything.
Writing music isn’t easy either. Making something that resounds with people is difficult no matter how easy the tools are to use, and it doesn’t diminish the art or the real creative work involved.

People are making a ton of games in the genre because it is very popular, not because it is easy. This ain’t Flappy Bird.

@BloodNinja Yeah for 3DS, and an HD port later ported to PS4 and XBOX, but the really well done 3D was a big part of the appeal for me.
It’s not an Igavania, which rubbed a lot of fans the wrong way but I appreciated the departure and straightforward take. Plus the combat was really well done. Worth noting I did not like Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow at all.