StarCollector

I wanna get back to this game, but the likes of Splatoon Raiders and other games have too much of my attention!

I suppose getting overwhelmed with good Switch 2 content is kinda a good thing though. It speaks to the quality of the system's content.

Say what you will about Prime 4 (I regret buying it digitally since I don't intend on replaying it for a long time), but I absolutely respect the amount of time and effort that went into optimizing the game to look so fantastic on the Switch 1 while remaining a buttery smooth 60fps.

Not that it excuses the rather lackluster gameplay of Prime 4- I'm more a gameplay than visuals guy- but I can't imagine making the game look the way it did was easy so I commend the effort they put in this time around.

I really REALLY hope Nintendo doesn't fall into the trap of chasing visuals and fideltiy because it's simply going to cause game costs and dev times to balloon. They have no shortage of visually appealing games on the Switch, Wii U and even the Wii, so I hope they continue with the gameplay over visuals development style they have going on.

I didn't vibe with 3 Houses so my chances of getting this game are low, but for the sake of those who enjoy the series I hope thos direct has what you're looking for! <3

@smeggysmeg Not bugged, no. But the upscaling was bad on X and while it's a lot better in DE, they didn't bother fixing all the UI to be 60fps so the game feels really weird.

I am pretty disappointed in the quality overall since this is my favourite series

Booted up the Switch 2 Edition today. First impressions about the visual quality are that it looks pretty good in TV mode, but it's still a blurry mess in handheld mode. They upscaled from a really low resolution

@Serpenterror Those are my thoughts too. If a release date reveal is in September, I think a December release makes the most sense. They're likely to get more initial sales there than in November thanks to the GTA shaped elephant in that month. Though, no matter when they release it, it's almost garunteed to be an evergreen title and Nintendo seem like the type to go head to head with GTA- not that I think they should

@eldersnake Splatoon 2 is cheapest if you can find a physical copy, Splatoon 3 is the most active and isn't too expensive physically (goes on sale often too), and Splatoon Raiders has the most single player content - the bulk of single player content in 2 and 3 are DLC (albeit very good DLC) so I'd say play Raiders if you aren't too interested in multiplayer.

My biggest peice of advice when going into any Splatoon game is to take the time to learn Gyro aiming. You can disable it in the settings if you absolutely don't want to use it, but you will almost certainly enjoy the game more if you have it on.

Raiders is a fantastic game, though even I'm not sure how it managed to reach the top 10.

If it means more people give the Splatoon series a serious shot though, you won't find me complaining.

I've never played a soulslike but I signed up anyway. Maybe they'll appreciate feedback from a newcomer to the genre

Is the game entirely online only, or can you play some stuff offline?

I'm a bit confused why they're calling some versions of the game the "collector's edition" when the game doesn't have a physical release. What's there to collect?

@Mgalens I would have much preferred if, for Xenoblade X, they just used Dynamic Resolution Scaling up to 4K instead of upscalling. The original game litterally already used this and it'd make for less artifacting in Handheld and TV mode

As for the numbered entries, I think DLSS is the right choice since their base resolutions are so low, but even then I'm sure all 4 of the games could hit 1440p 60fps if they optimized it right.

I suppose they were in charge of adding DLSS to the game. They did an okay job- I don't like that a lot of the UI is still 30fps, but the game looks a whole lot better than Xenoblade X's upscaling.

@cyrus_zuo Seriously, I considered getting Sonic Racing Crossworlds but I can't imagine playing it when it doesn't have the addictive controls of MKW. The bouncy movement is only rivalled by Crash Team Racing Nitro Fuelled for me in terms of enjoyability to control

@premko1 Really? Kudos to the devs then. This should be standard!

I've been looking forward to this game a lot since they did the Direct, so I welcomed this Splatfest. I think it's really good that they've kept Splatoon 3 at least somewhat relevant until now, and I imagine they'll continue until Splatoon 4's hype cycle begins.

I think Splatoon 4 is 2028 at the earliest. They've given their recent Splatoon games >1 year hype cycles and I highly doubt they'd announce anything about it this year considering they're taking Splatoon Raiders seriously

People poured time and money into playing this game. Why isn't it getting the same treatment as Pocket Camp?

Xbox wanted to buy Nintendo. Nintendo laughed in their face reportedly. They dodged a COLOSSAL bullet there

I was skeptical about Raiders at first, but that Direct really helped me see the meat on this game's (lack of) bones. This is one I'm very much looking forward to play

I can't give Deltarune any rating other than a 10. Every chapter is a joy to go through!

Good addition to a good game.
Please give us new tracks

So the game is $80 and has no physical option of value. I do wonder why they aren't bothering to put the game in a download only disk at least.

My guess would be so that if people want the game, they have to get it through Rockstar. No used copies mean it's a lot easier for Rockstar to control prices for the long term.

This release screams "sloppy cash grab" to me. Not that I didn't want the game to recieve a Switch 2 version but it doesn't look like they put very much effort into it at all.

A Keycard
With no upgrade path
Running at 720p
With framerate drops as it seems in the trailer
No actually new content
at a price that is now higher than every other version of the game.

You know if they slapped on Tiny DLSS to upscale from 720p to 4K, that would have actually been a good way to play the game to me.

The fact that it's so much cheaper than the official dock might say something about how overpriced the official dock is. Not that it's lacking in any meaningful department, but $100 for what's essentially just plastic and a fan is excessive

@KeeperBvK Yeah Sonic Racing could be a phenomenal game, but they tried to compete directly with Mario Kart which I think was a mistake. Miiight give it a try in a year or two on PC since the game does look high quality

@MrFuchsle When you put it like that, it becomes more understandable to me why Nintendo refused to collaborate with Fortnite. They value their IP to much to let it be put into the Fortnite blender

I hope we'll see Professor Layton at the showcase. The game was announced in 2023 with a release windoe in 2025. It's 2026 now and we still don't have a date!

I know game development takes a long time, but at that point don't announce the game until you know it'll be ready soon

Gotta say that box looks real nice, but it's functionally identical to the generic Switch 2 + Pokopia bundle that Nintendo already offers since it just gives you a download code

@Don They really shouldn't have closed it as soon as they did. I mean the PS3 store is STILL up today and the Xbox360 store was up for significantly longer! There are some great 3DS games that are now almost impossible to obtain... legally, that is.

I don't imagine Switch 1 will suffer the same fate though. You can use the eShop on the web anyway and the existence of Switch 2 editions essentially forces Nintendo to at least make an effort in keeping the ability to buy Switch 1 games around for the next 7 years

I don't get what the point of this is. Weren't the features mentioned there already a part of the original game? Why not just do a Switch 2 edition in that case? No key card and It'd use slightly less characters in the name, too

I'm curious, NL. Why do you always name and thumbnail these firmware update articles after specifically the Switch 2, even though both consoles were updated? I know the Switch 1 is mentioned in the subheading, but especially for an update like this where the primary subject of the update was the Switch 1 anyway, shouldn't it have a more significant place?

My guess is that mentioning Switch 2 only in the headline gets more clicks, but I'd love to know the true reason

They did a good job with the eShop rework. Inputs are a lot more responsive and the categorization's been improved to prioritise non shovelware titles. Still not super snappy, but it's usable now

This June feels like we had 2 Direct Partner Showcases and a Direct mini, all 3 of which being great. So many stuff being announced for Switch 2

I think if you have to choose between a controller and an SD card, pick an SD card. Your Switch 1 controllers work with the Switch 2, and they new Joycons are a lot more comfortable than the Switch 1's. Whereas you HAVE to buy an SD express for it to work on the system and the space your given is not enough. Really should have been 512GB at minimum

This Switch 2 patch is a step above from X's one since it actually looks BETTER than the Switch 1 version this time (less grain and I'm pretty sure rendering resolution is higher), BUT they also didn't bother to make the UI run at 60fps. That includes battle UI like the "B" circle. That'll make using chain attacks feel really disorientating.

I can still confidently call this an upgrade though, and it's going to make Xenoblade 2 and 3 a lot more pleasant to replay

I do not understand why they're going for code in a box instead of a Key card. It can't seriously be that much cheaper than a Key card and it comes with the drawback of having absolutely no presence in the used game market. At that point just don't do physical at all

The cloud version discount in question is 50% off. Like I said in the previous post, the fact it's not 100% off AND they're shutting the servers down in a year is such a slap in the face to people who BOUGHT these cloud versions. They may have been pretty bad ways to play but for some people who only have a Switch this was their ONLY way to play, and now they're being forced to double dip or lose the game they paid full price for.

Now that I have the income, I could be perswaded to buy a special edition Switch 2 if it looks really nice. I'm limiting myself to just ONE though, so I'd better make my decision count!

@BentIeyma I'm torn on this personally. I do think some of Nitnendo's series like Metroid, Pikmin and Animal Crossing would benefit from pushing more graphical fidelity, but I don't want a situation where Nintendo chooses fidelity over an interesting game mechanic.

That's not at all to say we can't have both of course, but I reckon I would have liked Bananza, as an example, significantly less if they went eealisitc but then scaled back the destructable terrain because the Switch 2 couldn't handle it

@Neiltendo64 I've been on the fence too, but I decided to get it physically so I could sell it later when I'm done. If me buying the game means there's a higher likelihood for more StarFox games in the future then I'm game. Especially if it's as well polished as this game

@USWITCH64 Try to think about it from his perspective. He was one of the people who made StarFox 64. He put a lot of time and effort into making the game look good despite the less powerful hardware and now, years later, the game he helped create has been remade to better match the vision he had for it in the first place. It's gotta be a good feeling.

It's not unreasonable for someone to care deeply about their work

I think OOT will be coming out in December

Nintendo likes to release one "main" 1st party game a month.
February had Mario Tennis, March had Pokopia, April had Tomodachi Life, May had Yoshi, June has Starfox, July has Splatoon, September has Fire Emblem and October has Switch Sports. That leaves August, November and December free.

They won't launch it in August since they like to save August for smaller titles or skip it entirely (Switch 1 shadowdrop, perhaps?), and even if it was in August they would reveal the date if the release is this soon. That leaves November and December. Nintendo COULD be bold and release in November, but I don't think even Zelda would be able to compete with GTA 6 in that month. That leaves December, which is currently only occcupied by Xenoblade 3's Switch 2 Edition. December would also leave about a 3 month hype cycle between a possible showing at a September Direct and the release itself, a timeframe shared by TOTK (Date reveal in Feb and release in May) and EOW (Date reveal in June and release in Sep)

About half the stuff there were games I'm looking forward to or are at least interested in, which isn't too common for me and Directs.

I'm surprised to be wrong about my prediction of at least 1 1st party Switch 1 game getting revealed in the showcase. I do still think there'll be one, but it'd most likely be shown off on a Nintendo Today announcement instead of a September Direct- and I do think we're getting a September Direct. Major Zelda OOT news doesn't strike me as Nintendo Today material, and neither does 3D Mario. I don't imagine them holding off on 3D Mario news until next year.

@Raquor Now that you mention it, this entire thing suggests the functionality for achivements in these games is litterally already present, but they're just arbitrarily not adding achievements and making this a limited time thing.

I dunno about you but if one of the perks of Switch 2 games and Switch 2 Editions was the addition of achievements, that'd be a genuinely nice extra selling point

I was initially upset by the fact I have to wait for 2 and 3's Switch 2 Editions, but for the case of Xenoblade it was probably done to make sure each of these huge games gets time in the spotlight. They're not titles you should rush. When I'm done with FF7 Rebirth I'm totally coming back to replay my favourite series of all time at an actually pleasent resolution and framerate

That discount has better bring the price down to 1 penny. Those versions may have been pretty awful, but they were still advertised as full versions of the game that you could play to completion and were priced the same as other versions of the game.

That'd be like if when Nintendo announced the Switch 2 edition of BOTW, they decided to revoke your digital licence for the full price Wii U version if you bought it.

This should be illegal, and I hope Stop Killing Games will make it so

The rather low number of NEW 1st party things announced was disappointing, however I liked all of the new things they showed (I very much like Xenoblade and Zelda OOT will be an interesting remake) and there was a lot of 3rd party content, which made up for it. This is my favourite Direct of the Switch 2 generation so far and I gave it an 8/10.

I really think the next Direct needs to focus more on NEW things. Switch 2 needs more killer apps and I don't think anything we saw here really fits the bill. Xenoblade is still rather niche, Switch sports is casual and OOT, no matter how impressive a remake, is still playable on Switch 1

Sorry, but I can't justify that price for Fire Emblem. It doesn't much look more impressive than 3 Houses at first glance.
I have the same thoughts about this as Mario Tennis: cool game but too expensive.....

I say, entirely willing and ready to drop $80 on Xenoblade Genesis

@Gamecuber Noted

I'm happy to report that Left Joycon mouse aiming is supported! This is currently the only game I've played besides Welcome tour that doesn't arbitrarily limit it to the right hand