@Zyph I really like your idea of crowning multiple games as Game of the Year. Obviously, everyone has different favorite games so it would be rather odd to say, "Every game this year is great!" But so many quality games get released these days that giving the award to just one feels rather limiting. I think giving the award to at least three games would be more ideal. Just my thought on it.
I know I'm a decade late to this article and no one is going to see this, but why are so many people upset about this? It seems completely harmless to me, honestly. His daughter wanted to play as a girl, so he just hacked the game to swap Mario and Pauline's places. How is doing something simple like that going to make his daughter misbehaved and spoiled? I guess she is 10 years older now, so I'm asking in a more general sense. Sometimes, I think gamers really need to chill out a bit.
Maybe this, being an original game, has more of a right to exist than a ROM hack of another game, but I would 100% rather have the ROM hack than whatever this is.
@sanderev I did forget about Link's Awakening being on the Game & Watch, so that's true (although it wasn't the DX version, it was the original). And you are right, the Switch remake does exist, too.
But still... Even with various news sites reporting on this project, I feel like the number of people who actually knew about this was probably quite small in comparison to those who don't read much or any gaming news and have purchased Nintendo's products (which includes myself, I've bought and played both the Zelda Game & Watch and the Switch remake). Just my take on it.
I can understand Nintendo wanting to protect their intellectual property, especially for newer games, and I know that Link's Awakening DX is available on Nintendo Switch Online...
But Link's Awakening DX is 25 years old now. Nintendo really couldn't have been losing money on this, right?
Also, people always bring up the argument that these developers should use their skills to make their own games instead, but having developed video games for college projects before, I want to say that creating a brand new idea for a game is not easy. Moreover, sometimes a project like this is more interesting when it's based on an existing property you like rather than something unknown. (I still have big admiration for the people who can come up with new ideas, though.)
A remake would be cool, as I think there are things about the game that could be improved (the randomness of the fishing minigame is not fun at all), but as of right now, the PC port of the game, Ship of Harkinian, already has a lot of great updates and enhancements to the game. And they are optional, so you can play the game how it originally was if you desire. It is hard to go back to the original after playing it.
If there is any game in the series that I want a remake for, it would be the Oracle games, in the same style as the Link's Awakening remake. I love those two titles, and they really deserve it, in my opinion. As much as I love the games everyone talks about (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, etc.), they've all already received remakes, so I'd prefer the games that haven't been remade to get some attention.
F-Zero 99 is really fun, some of the most I've had with any of the "99" games, but it is seriously irritating that you can't do the special modes (Team Battle, Pro Tracks, Mini Prix, Grand Prix) at any time like in Tetris 99 or Pac-Man 99. That especially makes it so much more frustrating when I lose a Mini Prix or Grand Prix, because those usually last for only a few minutes so you are pretty much guaranteed to not be able to immediately try them again after doing them once. And now not only that, but with the addition of the Queen League Grand Prix you can't choose which League you want to do, either. Seriously, why did they have to do it like this?
Although it's not from a mainline title, I love the singular dungeon from the fan game "The Missing Link", the one that acts as a small interquel between Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
The dungeon is called Hollow Root Keep, and despite it being the only dungeon in the game, I genuinely think it ranks among the best dungeons in the series.
The dungeon has a great melancholy atmosphere to match the rest of the game, with suitably haunting, memorable music. What's more, I think it's actually really well-designed. It has red-blue switch puzzles like from some of the mainline games, and I've always liked those kinds of puzzles. It requires good use of Bombchus, which are your only explosive item (a cool idea in its own right as in OoT and MM you have almost no need to ever use Bombchus over regular bombs). The mid-boss is a cool souped-up version of the splitting Floormaster from OoT and MM (where instead of splitting up once, you have to make a giant one split up twice).
Best of all is the dungeon item, a totally original item called the Magic Hourglass, which lets you rewind back in time Link's most recent movements, including through solid surfaces. It's used very cleverly throughout the dungeon, including a puzzle that actually stumped me for some time, and it gives the game a kind of time-traveling mechanic to match OoT and MM. Plus, it's used against the dungeon boss amazingly. Speaking of which, the boss is genuinely challenging too!
I could go continue rambling on, but in a nutshell I think Hollow Root Keep as fanmade dungeon stands among Nintendo's best.
Comments 210
Re: Team Solo Is Splatoon 3's Holiday Splatfest Champion
With these results, in America, counting the World Premiere Splatfest, Shiver has won 8 times, Big Man has now won 4, and Frye has only won 1.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Nominated For Another 'Game Of The Year' Award
@Zyph I really like your idea of crowning multiple games as Game of the Year. Obviously, everyone has different favorite games so it would be rather odd to say, "Every game this year is great!" But so many quality games get released these days that giving the award to just one feels rather limiting. I think giving the award to at least three games would be more ideal. Just my thought on it.
Re: Dad Hacks Donkey Kong So His Daughter Can Play As Pauline
I know I'm a decade late to this article and no one is going to see this, but why are so many people upset about this? It seems completely harmless to me, honestly. His daughter wanted to play as a girl, so he just hacked the game to swap Mario and Pauline's places. How is doing something simple like that going to make his daughter misbehaved and spoiled? I guess she is 10 years older now, so I'm asking in a more general sense. Sometimes, I think gamers really need to chill out a bit.
Re: WTF: What Exactly Is This Switch eShop Garbage, Nintendo?
Maybe this, being an original game, has more of a right to exist than a ROM hack of another game, but I would 100% rather have the ROM hack than whatever this is.
Re: Fan-Made 'Link's Awakening DX HD' Port Taken Down By Nintendo
@sanderev I did forget about Link's Awakening being on the Game & Watch, so that's true (although it wasn't the DX version, it was the original). And you are right, the Switch remake does exist, too.
But still... Even with various news sites reporting on this project, I feel like the number of people who actually knew about this was probably quite small in comparison to those who don't read much or any gaming news and have purchased Nintendo's products (which includes myself, I've bought and played both the Zelda Game & Watch and the Switch remake). Just my take on it.
Re: Fan-Made 'Link's Awakening DX HD' Port Taken Down By Nintendo
I can understand Nintendo wanting to protect their intellectual property, especially for newer games, and I know that Link's Awakening DX is available on Nintendo Switch Online...
But Link's Awakening DX is 25 years old now. Nintendo really couldn't have been losing money on this, right?
Also, people always bring up the argument that these developers should use their skills to make their own games instead, but having developed video games for college projects before, I want to say that creating a brand new idea for a game is not easy. Moreover, sometimes a project like this is more interesting when it's based on an existing property you like rather than something unknown. (I still have big admiration for the people who can come up with new ideas, though.)
Re: Talking Point: Does Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Need A Full Remake?
A remake would be cool, as I think there are things about the game that could be improved (the randomness of the fishing minigame is not fun at all), but as of right now, the PC port of the game, Ship of Harkinian, already has a lot of great updates and enhancements to the game. And they are optional, so you can play the game how it originally was if you desire. It is hard to go back to the original after playing it.
If there is any game in the series that I want a remake for, it would be the Oracle games, in the same style as the Link's Awakening remake. I love those two titles, and they really deserve it, in my opinion. As much as I love the games everyone talks about (Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, The Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, etc.), they've all already received remakes, so I'd prefer the games that haven't been remade to get some attention.
Re: Switch Online Exclusive F-Zero 99 Adds Queen League & Five Additional Tracks
F-Zero 99 is really fun, some of the most I've had with any of the "99" games, but it is seriously irritating that you can't do the special modes (Team Battle, Pro Tracks, Mini Prix, Grand Prix) at any time like in Tetris 99 or Pac-Man 99. That especially makes it so much more frustrating when I lose a Mini Prix or Grand Prix, because those usually last for only a few minutes so you are pretty much guaranteed to not be able to immediately try them again after doing them once. And now not only that, but with the addition of the Queen League Grand Prix you can't choose which League you want to do, either. Seriously, why did they have to do it like this?
Re: Feature: The Top 15 Legend Of Zelda Dungeons Of All Time, Ranked
For actual mainline game dungeons, in no particular order I love:
Re: Feature: The Top 15 Legend Of Zelda Dungeons Of All Time, Ranked
Although it's not from a mainline title, I love the singular dungeon from the fan game "The Missing Link", the one that acts as a small interquel between Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask.
The dungeon is called Hollow Root Keep, and despite it being the only dungeon in the game, I genuinely think it ranks among the best dungeons in the series.
The dungeon has a great melancholy atmosphere to match the rest of the game, with suitably haunting, memorable music. What's more, I think it's actually really well-designed. It has red-blue switch puzzles like from some of the mainline games, and I've always liked those kinds of puzzles. It requires good use of Bombchus, which are your only explosive item (a cool idea in its own right as in OoT and MM you have almost no need to ever use Bombchus over regular bombs). The mid-boss is a cool souped-up version of the splitting Floormaster from OoT and MM (where instead of splitting up once, you have to make a giant one split up twice).
Best of all is the dungeon item, a totally original item called the Magic Hourglass, which lets you rewind back in time Link's most recent movements, including through solid surfaces. It's used very cleverly throughout the dungeon, including a puzzle that actually stumped me for some time, and it gives the game a kind of time-traveling mechanic to match OoT and MM. Plus, it's used against the dungeon boss amazingly. Speaking of which, the boss is genuinely challenging too!
I could go continue rambling on, but in a nutshell I think Hollow Root Keep as fanmade dungeon stands among Nintendo's best.