Strawblaze

@BTB20 As far as I know the only Wii server still up is the system update one. Still, someday it's bound to happen, and it's not like there's anything difficult or wrong with including updates on new physical cartridges. It's good practice.

@Kiz3000 Because someday the servers are going off and except for people using CFW and installing dumped files, that's going to be the only way to access the update on a factory reset console.

@kkslider5552000 Really wish we could play Luminiscent Platinum on Switch 2!

@KevinP They're barely riding that train, either. We're starving for Xenoblade upgrades amongst others at this point.

@Whirlwound My thoughts exactly. They probably didn't like the final composition of the photos taken and started blending in parts from different shots to try and create one that fit their expectations.

Once again, friendly reminder that this rerelease has loads of issues, including but not limited to a completely butchered soundtrack. Many of the tracks had to be cut because they were licensed (one of the game's biggest pros), but even original tracks such as the loading screen theme end up removed and were not even replaced. If you're interested in Lollipop Chainsaw, I highly recommend playing the original Xbox 360 version instead.

@Discostew Cheeky of you to assume I'm blaming your country's tariffs for the price we pay for videogames. I'm talking about the pricing of digital goods with no taxes, mind you. That's solely on Nintendo's fault. There was absolutely no need to get that overprotective all of a sudden...

And yes, unfortunately when it comes up to physical goods, it's my country's fault. They overtax anything tech, especially videogames (as they claim it's "gambling", but we know it's just for filling up the banks). It's been like that for decades, no matter the party in control.

Either way, you have missed my point. It's an expensive system that becomes even more expensive for pretty much anyone overseas not earning USD/EUR, especially as Nintendo fails to provide the necessary support of regional pricing and similar stuff. A $50 difference isn't a make or break under these conditions.

@Discostew Does $50 even make that much of a difference, though? Especially for people buying overseas, the price goes through the roof either way because of importing taxes and lackluster distribution. Then there's also the lack of regional pricing for first-party software, which makes things even worse. Nintendo is charging $100 USD for digital Mario Kart World in Brazil, believe it or not. And we have no taxes over digital purchases. That's their choice, and they're receiving 100 USD from us rather than 80, which is already considered blatant.

For people earning their money in USD or EUR, $450 or $500 is a steep price for sure, but still an "one month" one and done expensive acquisition. For pretty much anyone else it's a nearly two-year long compromise of install payments that sums up to about $1000 USD at the end of the day. Interest-free.

@MARl0 It makes me wonder how much of an impact scalpers had on the Switch 1's sales number. A great impact, I assume. Because it was nearly impossible to get a Switch 1 through any means other than scalpers the first couple years.

@Max_the_German Right. I still can't believe how bad the screen ghosting is. Fortunately I don't really use portable mode, but I'd enjoy a better quality screen either way.

@Discostew That's on their end. Mario Kart World isn't worth $80, so the idea that they're "giving you a deal" doesn't really stick to me. The way it is, you're purchasing the console and simply getting a launch title you deserve. They should have planned this better. Maybe have World be sold standalone for $60~$70 and then make so that all bundles come with something else if that'd make it cheaper.

@breach187 The problem this time is that they are going to have a hard time cutting prices the way they did with the Nintendo 3DS. They want to turn a profit by selling consoles and that's just not the way it goes nowadays. You have to compromise by selling systems with a slight loss/profit margin and then earn it all back through software sales.

Surprise, surprise. That's what a 499,99 USD MSRP does to you. And that's coming from someone that did end up getting a Switch 2 to play Kirby Air Riders.

And with the slow pace that Switch 2 upgrades are coming out? It's hard to get behind the idea of getting the console just for playing previous games. Switch 1 performance was terrible and most games were locked to 720~900p 30 FPS, meaning the Switch 2 hardware can't improve the experience by brute force. You can get a Switch Lite for about $200. There is no reason to go for a Switch 2 just yet if all you want is to get up to date and play what you have missed so far.

What a waste of potential. Why even bother doing alternate colors if they're just going to be mostly the same?

@Shade_Koopa It's not about what you buy it for. In fact, you only have to think this way because they're keeping you from doing whatever you want with it. It's about what you can do with what's inside. If it has potential for being multi purpose, it doesn't matter if you originally bought it for gaming. You should be able to use it for whatever purpose what's inside can achieve.

What's inside a computer, a mobile device or a gaming console is essentially the same. Not being given the opportunity to use it for the same purposes as well is nonsense. Beer cups are sold and shaped for holding beer, but you can fill them with whatever you want for the sake of it. It's a glass all the same.

The raw truth is that they're afraid of giving anything that empowers the user. Streaming apps, web browsers and similar stuff always have some sort of vulnerability underneath that can be exploited for installing custom firmware.

@metaphysician Nobody — especially not someone who already owns a gaming console — is going to skip playing first-party games or even just games in general just because there are other services available. If anything, streaming services on gaming platforms may encourage non-gamers give games a try and possibly hook them into gaming. I have absolutely no doubts someone has a history about a parent booting up a console to watch Netflix end up playing something only to find themselves loving gaming.

Besides, Nintendo themselves are going more multimedia as time goes, with Nintendo Pictures and similar stuff.

@Shade_Koopa That's copium. Hardwares should not be self-limiting themselves. It's up for the consumer to decide what the machines they bought and legally own are meant for. Why force someone to waste their time, money and natural resources by purchasing similar hardware just for a purpose it could cover? Not to mention it's a clever way to get people to try out new things and possibly draw them into gaming.

@Potimarron Not as much of an enigma as it may seem. It's the same tale retold with twists, as if different people with different ideas were telling their kids different versions of Little Red Riding Hood. "What if Riding Hood was the villain?"; "What if the Grandmother ate the Wolf" and so on.

That's why playing as many of them leads to a better enjoyment of the series, even though you obviously won't enjoy all of them the same. You get to experience different renditions of a similar tale and pick your favorites.

@Mariotag As long as you have not bought the game yet, you should be able to play the next generation's trial version without any issues. And even if you do end up buying the PlayStation 4 version, they usually let players upgrade their game for free for a limited time whenever they end support.

@charliecarrot PlayStation 4 support is still going to end once the next expansion arrives. The reason they drop support for older generations is the loading times start to get way too slow and end up holding back other players. However, Switch 2's microSD Express reading speed (800 mbps) isn't much of a concern in comparison to the PS4's HDD (80~120 mbps at best).

@N00BiSH Doing 100% doesn't unlock the feature. It's an Amiibo exclusive. The misconception that the radio feature gets unlocked once you complete the game came from people with the Amiibo receiving a pop-up regarding the unlocking of new tracks for the radio.

@Spider-Kev The Metroid Prime 4 Samus amiibo lets you change the BGM that plays while riding the Vi-O-La in the overworld. Otherwise, there's no BGM whatsoever.

@Anti-Matter That's precisely my issue with ACNH, though. It's much more of an spin-off than a main-series games. They compromised Villager interactions and general immersion (such as Villagers actually having opinions and decisions of their own, including picking a spot for their houses and leaving the village whenever they want) just so everything would be more convenient for players. Except the convenience still isn't quite there, because now you have to bother with crafting, inventory bloating, tools breaking and a lot of nonsense that didn't really add much to the game in my opinion (especially as existing furniture and features end up removed).

That's not to say I'm blind to what ACNH did right. Fingers crossed the next entry manages to mix the best of both entries.

Discontinuing Gold points? No Nintendo Selects? NSO+ being exclusive to 12 months purchases? Game key cards? $10 tech demo? Locking a basic feature on Metroid Prime 4 behind an Amiibo? No price drops?

So none of that qualifies the company as greedy? Come on... You wouldnt be so kind towards your neighborhood convenience store if they took the same approaches.

It's time for Nintendo to pull up their sleeves and start working on more Switch 2 upgrades as well. The Xenoblade series could really use them. I really want to play Xenoblade Chronicles X, but I'm not doing it on nauseating 30 FPS dynamic resolution full of pop ups and bad LOD, especially when I've got hardware that can do much better than that.

@PinderSchloss Right? It's usually Rayman 3 that doesn't get as much attention as it deserves.

People here are clearly unfamiliar with licensed mechanical keyboards with swappable keycaps, metal frames and custom switches.

@Lady_rosalina I don't know the guy in person, but most people don't realize that his "toxic" social media behavior is a result of YouTubers (especially LATAM ones, some of which live in my country) telling their subscribers to annoy him by spamming his inbox with regional memes he would never understand.

@Atomic77 Because it was probably created for Switch 1. The game even runs on Switch 1 through Game Share. The resolution and level of detail are also pretty bad, so it's hard to believe it was tailored for the Switch 2 from the get go.

So far the game looks like ugly Dragon Quest Builders from TEMU with Pokémon on it.

Shh! We can't talk modding and CFW here. Some people unfortunately think it's the same as piracy.
Jokes aside, that's a cool project. I love the ergonomy of the Wii U Gamepad.

I'm rating it 6 — the console and its release lineup, specifically. I prefer not to talk about Nintendo. I've only bought it for the exclusives. Didn't like Bananza, but Kirby Air Riders is outstanding fun, and I've managed to get something out of Mario Kart World despite of the game design issues. I don't use portable mode so it doesn't really stand as a pro to me in this regard, although I wish the screen didn't have such a bad latency either way.

The hardware obviously doesn't compare to PC or PS5. But the fact that the access to modern scaling technologies is delivering us from ever having to experience performance as bad as 480P~720P 30 FPS ever again is enough to make me see it as an upgrade. What I can't understand is the launch year lineup being comprised mostly by games developed for Switch 1 instead of games that can fully showcase its successor's hardware.

With an OS overhaul and Switch 2 titles with fair pricing, it could go as far as hitting an 8 for me. Nine or ten is out of reach, though. It's not going to be my main system for third-party games anyway.

Friendly reminder that this rerelease has loads of issues, including but not limited to a completely butchered soundtrack. Many of the tracks had to be cut because they were licensed (one of the game's biggest pros), but even original tracks such as the loading screen theme end up removed and were not even replaced. If you're interested in Lollipop Chainsaw, I highly recommend playing the original Xbox 360 version instead.

@jfp A post-launch/day one coverage sure would help prevent the changes from becoming an issue or deprecating the pre-release coverage. Unfortunately, it's not a common practice.

Unfortunately not surprised. Japan aside, a lot of people are not into fast-paced games with high skill ceilings, which is a shame and the reason many series are getting watered down into brain dead experiences. Air Riders delivers an insane amount of content and fun unlockables. Wish it'd get more attention.

@Lizuka Right? It comes down to whether the game is going to feel great to play or not. And judging by the demo, it doesn't feel great to play. Cyber Shadow felt the same when I tried it out. Shovel Knight, however, has always felt very good to play and features a plethora of charming characters with quirky writing.

I don't think nostalgia alone could carry Mina into success. There are hundreds of games trying to do this, and most of the time it doesn't stick.

I gave up on Octopath once it turned into an asset recycling series. The more entries they release, the fewer assets they need to create, and the more the games look alike. It really, really needs more creative dungeons and memorable settings. The way it is right now, it's almost looking like a Kemco game.

"In "Hard Mode," the difficulty of some enemies has been adjusted."
See, that's a big issue with day one patches. Sometimes the changes made may greatly change the experience in comparison to what reviewers experienced on their pre-release playthroughs. I've been there before. I once covered a time trial game that got a day one difficulty buff and end up feeling completely different (arguably worse) from the pre-release version.

@OmnitronVariant Agreed. In my opinion they're marketing the game the wrong way. It feels built from the ground up to appeal to Souls-like enjoyers. Nothing to do with Zelda Oracles.

@8bit-Man In a world where they're charging $80 for Mario Kart World, Kirby Air Riders is definitely worth $70. There's a lot of content for completionists and even the amount of Air Ride courses and City Trial Stadium courses is very impressive. But I get what you mean — that may not be completely enticing for "one and done" players or those not into fully exploring the skill ceiling.

@TheSaneInsanity There's indeed a LOT of City Trial content that only becomes available once you complete Road Trip and progress through the Checklist. It's no wonder the matchmaking sometimes has a hard time finding enough players. It tries to meet loads of conditions in order to keep players away from spoilers or just make sure they are rewarded for playing the game.

@Antraxx777 If being okay with paying $80 for a missing roadmap three-hour long game with updates removing features rather than improving the game based on player base feedback isn't to be considered low standard, nothing else should ever be. I could spend day and night giving examples on how Nintendo fans have low standards nowadays. Nintendo Switch Sports, Mario Strikers Battle League, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, Pokémon Scarlet/Violet, poorly put together $60 rereleases, game-key cards, bent v1 docks, stick drift, incorrectly associating CFWs to piracy, chasing fan projects...

Again, it's simply depressing seeing people vouch for so-so games while they could be eating much better if only they knew not to incentivize bad practices.

@Willo567 Because I've grown with Nintendo and liked Nintendo. I supported them for a very long time. I like their IPs and believe they've got insane potential to be much more than they've ever been if only they would think of people as customers rather than consumers and stop wasting their time chasing their own tail/going out of their way to ruin stuff for customers instead of working to improve experiences.

Consoles like Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS were no powerhouses but charming and gimmicky enough for me to go after nonetheless. They were the only consoles a PC gamer still had reasons to own despite already having an unbeatable hardware.

It's only natural I want to keep up with news related to Nintendo. You think people only come here to either blindlessly defend Nintendo or mock it and boast their Xboxes and PlayStations? That's not it.

@Willo567 When you've gotta turn to comparing Nintendo with the worst generation PlayStation and Xbox ever had to make it look somewhat acceptable, the situation is quite dire. Isn't it Nintendo itself that said they've never wanted to be compared to the rest of the industry?

For all I care, Xbox and PlayStation can fail as well. Any lazy company doing what they've been doing should. People shouldn't be pouring oil on troubled waters. Nintendo has a wide collection of other bad takes and anti-consumer decisions to be considered on the same level of Xbox and PlayStation.

@Fiergala Sure! You can find the full art by searching for "Franziska von Karma Onimusha Souls".

@Willo567 No. To be honest, the problem lies on Nintendo fans being so low standard and accepting less quality for higher prices the more time passes. It's a simple issue and I can't understand why people won't realize this is not supporting Nintendo, but rather encouraging poor quality, which is going to come back at them sooner or later.

@Grumblevolcano Precisely. If they're trying to sell the console promoting its hardware, that's what they should be delivering, especially as there isn't much of a selling point otherwise this early on. They shouldn't be trying to walk away from it now.

@Fiergala That's only because Nintendo consoles have never been able to deliver 60 (or now 120 FPS) consistently, so people would rather turn a blind eye and pretend it doesn't matter than admit it's something they're missing on. As soon as Nintendo fix this (if ever), people are gonna act like 60 FPS is revolutionary and Nintendo deserves a platinum trophy for it. "So much better! Thanks, Nintendo! Now I'd be willing to play 3x the price with half the quality!"

So what is the Nintendo Switch 2 for, after all? It's not bringing up any new interesting features to gameplay, and its hardware — which costs about the same as a PlayStation 5 — is already struggling to keep up and deliver a decent experience on first-party titles. What's even being sold?

It is honestly unbelievable to hear a developer from a big company such as Nintendo treating performance as something visual, especially in a platformer of all things! I honestly can barely withstand the input lag in 30 FPS games anymore. The least I would expect from such an egregiously expensive console is for its first-party titles to run well at least in the couple first years. They aren't even trying.

@PessitheMystic Sometimes I think people acting like installing CFWs is the same as piracy are trolling. But then I remember at least 70% Nintendo fans are tech illiterate, like it or not.

It has absolutely nothing to do with emulators nor piracy. Installing custom firmware allows you to install mods (such as randomizers, which are the prime reason Nintendo games are still so popular amongst some content creators nowadays), overclock your console (if they aren't giving you an option to exchange battery life for extra performance, then it's only fair it's done externally), play fan translations (believe it or not, many games still don't make it to the west), install accessibility homebrew (it's 2025 and consoles are still devoid of blue light filter/night mode), re-enable online features once servers are gone (were it not for Pretendo, loads of people would never have experienced Miiverse) and much more.

As usual, Nintendo doesn't care if their methods of fighting against piracy (an unwinnable fight when your services are so bad, as Gabe Newell has said before) ends up hurting its own customers. And guess what this leads to at the end of the day? Piracy!

@jake1421 Yeah, I guess that's what leads to some of them being silent even after leaving their companies. People don't know to separate things.