Like others have said, this is a worthwhile topic to cover on a Nintendo news site. And it's so easy to scroll past it if it offends you that it isn't strictly a Nintendo game, why get up in arms over this? The games are neat, they come from the creator of Fire Emblem (a Nintendo franchise, in case you were unaware), and they are quite similar to Fire Emblem. Many (not all) fans of that Nintendo franchise would find this information very interesting and would want to hear about it.
I'd be curious of a size comparison to 1 or X. Because 2 had fairly small environments in comparison to those games. A lot of them, but aside from Gormott and Tantal, each individual area wasn't as large as some of the regions in 1 or X. I love Xenoblade 2, this isn't a knock against it, hearing that 3 is 5 times larger actually makes me a bit hesitant because I liked the comparative compact density of 2. We'll see how it all shakes out. Xenoblade X is one of my favorite games ever so having huge areas to just run around in won't necessarily be a bad thing, it just depends how well they populate those regions with interesting things to do. Here's hoping.
Not surprised by Age of Calamity's position, it's clearly been a massively popular success, but... I don't really get the love for it, personally. The original Hyrule Warriors is incredible, I nearly 100%'ed it on Wii U and am working on doing it again on Switch. I was cautious about Age of Calamity because I prefer Musou crossover games to be full-franchise celebrations rather than specific to a single entry (which is why I'm disappointed about Three Hopes — I've been wanting a Fire Emblem Warriors 2 with wider game representation so badly). But Hyrule Warriors is one of the best Musou games I've ever played, basically the king of Musou gameplay, it feels SO good to play, super snappy and exciting, easy to dive into but with real depth if you want to master it. Age of Calamity... is not that. Massive maps with huge chunks of downtime (the maps themselves are multiple times larger than any in the original HW, but have less than half the number of enemies usually), much more sluggish and less-responsive combat mechanics and gameplay, and even on the lowest difficulties ordinary lieutenants have just way too much health, it becomes a slog because they can't do anything to you, just a damage sponge. And runs into the same issue that Breath of the Wild had — enemy variety is sorely lacking. I completed the main story and then had zero desire to continue. The story is neat, the visuals are stunning, the characters and gameplay CONCEPTS are super interesting, it just feels remarkably less polished than the original Hyrule Warriors, and the fun factor is a shadow of the first game.
Would be very interested to hear from more people who have played both games about what makes them love Age of Calamity so much. Not saying you're wrong, because so much of the fun of games is a matter of taste, so I'm just really interested to see what's different for others that just didn't click with me.
Wii U and 3DS, hands down. The most obvious reason is a combination of complete backwards compatibility with Wii and DS, as well as the massive library of Virtual Console games (including the Wii's Virtual Console which, until it shut down, was completely accessible through the Wii U). Absolutely astonishing library packed with some of the very best games in Nintendo's entire library.
And the Wii U and 3DS had some amazing games in their own right, combining with the Wii and DS to continue to pop out surprising, experimental, unique, FUN games in a variety of genres. Splatoon originated here, Fantasy Life, I'll always contend that the 3DS era of Story of Seasons is the best Harvest Moon has ever been by a landslide, Xenoblade X is still an astonishingly unique open-world RPG experience, and dual-screen gaming made remakes of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess (okay, that last one is more of a remaster, but I digress) practically the definitive versions of those games due to amazing quality-of-life features thanks to the dual-screen concept. Affordable Space Adventures only functions on the Wii U, an incredible experiment made possible by a wild, unique, entertaining concept that it doesn't look like we'll see explored ever again, which is a travesty.
That, and the Wii U and 3DS both have far more functional and feature-rich UIs and operating systems, putting the Switch to shame with their eshops, their menu options, sorting options, themes... they're just really well-designed systems, an era that showed that Nintendo was really moving forward, and for all the love I have for the Switch, I think they took a number of steps back that are just baffling in that department. Even now that the Switch has folders, they're... practically useless? They could have copied over the 3DS's user interface and it would have been practically perfect — and definitely better than what we have.
The Switch is wonderful, and I play it every single day. But nothing touches the massive library and enjoyable form factor and UI of the 3DS and Wii U for me.
A lot of commenters are getting the wrong impression. The game itself wasn't censored at all - just its thumbnail on the eshop. That's perfectly reasonable, especially if the game's rating and description make it clear that it's an adult game. That way those who don't want to accidentally stumble upon such content don't have to worry about a thumbnail in the eshop, while also having a clear warning in the game's rating/description about what it entails.
Fire Emblem doesn't need to watch out because you can play both!
Also, while 4 is clearly being designed so as not to require playing previous entries, it's worth noting that VC 1 will be coming to the Switch digitally the same day as 4! I would recommend getting both games, as VC 1 is one of the greatest games ever made. 4 looks like it will be a worthy successor!
Samus Returns and Hollow Knight are the big attractions for me. Bought them both at the same time since I only just recently realized Hollow Knight exists and... wow. It's beautiful. A little on the difficult side for my tastes, but it's difficult in a fair way that keeps me engaged most of the time. And the exploration and world-building, not to mention the music and visuals, are too good for me to stay away. I actually should have waited on Hollow Knight - it's been pulling me away more and more from Samus Returns (which is also quite good in its own right).
Also playing some Trio of Towns on the 3DS (I like Stardew and have it on Steam and played 42 hours, but I honestly prefer the Story of Seasons series - a great new branding of the Harvest Moon series, and it's taken old-school Harvest Moon in some very cool directions), and finishing up a playthrough of Sacred Stones on the Wii U Virtual Console.
Night Trap is garbage. It not coming to the Switch is absolutely in no way negative at all, except to those devs who are angry about it. It's not a good game. Let the "dream" die
I was actually really tempted because I like the look of it compared to the other "New" models (I own a standard 3DS XL), but when I saw a few reviews saying it has an issue with the face buttons scuffing the screen, forget it. I'm perfectly happy with my current 3DS anyway, but for the newest model to have design issues like that is a real problem and I hope more people are aware of that possibility before buying
Great review, but can all of you at Nintendo Life please stop with the "we" pronouns in your reviews? They're written by an individual person anyway, and using "we" is just distracting, unless multiple people played through, reviewed, and wrote this piece together (in which case, there should be multiple authors credited)
"That thinking killed Iwata" HORRIBLE choice of words. Not funny or smart.
And the whole "Nintendo wouldn't promote my game," I mean, you're an indie dev. Did you pay Nintendo to market it? Did you have any kind of deal with Nintendo beyond getting your game on their console? If you're a small indie dev, marketing is on you, and if you want a company to market your game, either you have to be insanely lucky and they see something amazing in your game, or you have to pay them and actually have some kind of contract to make that happen. You're an indie dev. That's the way it is, and if you can't handle it, don't complain about it.
Not to mention, Oddworld is just a very obscure property that has never sold well. Putting it on a console with a rather small install base wasn't going to do much of anything for that, even without marketing.
This guy just comes across as very bitter and angry with a huge chip on his shoulder. I never played any of his games before, because I wasn't interested in them, but now I'm even less interested considering the attitude of the creator.
"In the case of Gunvolt, he finds himself transported into a mysterious place in which his septimal powers are disabled"
I was afraid of that. Would be cool to have him floating and electrocuting enemies in 8-bit style, but since he's just running and gunning like Beck, I'll pass on this. Gunvolt's unique gameplay style is his biggest selling point for me, and a huge part of what make his two games so dang fresh and engaging.
Ever Oasis, Metroid Samus Returns, and Monster Hunter Stories (confirmed for a Western release!!!!!!!!!) all coming by the end of this year! And with FE Echoes and Story of Seasons Trio of Towns still occupying tons of hours, my 3DS is very, very happy. Looks like I can put off getting a Switch until sometime next year (and by then its library of "must-own" games for me will be HUGE for only being around for a single year).
My 3 favorite reveals were Mario + Rabbids, Samus Returns, and Sushido.
Mario + Rabbids because the game looks fantastic! A tactical RPG shooter starring Mario and friends is something I never asked for or knew I wanted, but dang it looks great. There's clearly a lot of love that went into it and I'm excited to play it when it releases.
Samus Returns, because Metroid II was one of my very first video games. If you'd told me Nintendo was going to announce an official Metroid II remake I wouldn't have cared, but actually seeing the trailer blew my mind. I've never been a major fan of Metroid but something about that trailer and the emotional connection I have with the original (that I didn't really recognize I had until now) got me more excited and emotional than anything else at this E3. I'm stoked to play it.
Sushido because that was a total surprise out of nowhere, but I love the style of it! I love that no one saw it coming, that it is full of style and color and energy, and that it's a crazy unique puzzle action game. What a crazy combination of ideas, but it all seems to come together super well and I'm excited for it.
Not interested, because Story of Seasons is where it's at. Harvest Moon 3D: A New Hope was the last Harvest Moon actually made by the developers now working on Story of Seasons, and you can tell - A New Hope is clearly built upon into the first and second Story of Seasons games. The SoS devs have also said they're working on a game for the Switch, so I'll wait for that.
I've also played Stardew Valley and it's great! It's similar to Harvest Moon while having its own distinct style, so I think (like myself) even fans of SV can get something special and different out of the Story of Seasons titles. They have their own charm and style and gameplay differences to offer that make for very similar but distinct experiences for any fan of the "cute farming sim" genre.
Nice review, but it's clearly written by a named individual. Why all the "we" stuff? One person wrote it. Just say "I" and "me" and stuff. Unless you're royalty. Which... well, I don't know why you'd be working for a gaming website if you're royalty, but hey, some clarity would be nice.
@Angelic_Lapras_King It doesn't have to have the same development team - not all great sequels have the same group of people as the first game (look at the Fire Emblem series, the creator of which only worked on the first two or three games). I always imagined Skies as a series following the likes of FF, Dragon Quest, and Tales - using similar ideas and style (floating islands, traveling and battling by ship, your own base and crew) but having disconnected stories and characters. Following that route, I don't think it's at all out of the realm of possibility that a completely different team could do a great Skies game.
I don't actually have any hopes for it happening at all, ever - SEGA doesn't seem to make good use of its RPG IPs - but I think that it's a shame it hasn't happened.
Even going off of your idea, if a new team were to start with a full HD remake of Arcadia, and then move on to a sequel, I think that would be pretty great as well. And if they can get some of the great minds behind the first game involved (I'm pretty sure its creator is currently heavily involved in the Valkyria series - I know he was a driving force behind the first game), all the better.
Also, even if Valkyria Revolution doesn't do well, please don't give up on that series. Go back to the Chronicles style - VC 1 sold incredibly well when it was remade for steam and PS4, take that as the right sign. Please.
The "we don't have unlimited resources" part of this makes a ton of sense - they don't have an unlimited number of factories and manufacturers, and with the Switch coming up they really needed to focus their resources on the new system, not a remake of their oldest one.
People knocking her for her age, not cool, guys. Cosplay isn't about perfect recreation, it's about craftsmanship and people wanting to pretend to be their favorite video game characters. There are tons of cosplayers who take on characters that they don't necessarily have the body type or facial features for, but they do it because they love the character. That's what cosplay's about. It's not about perfect recreation. It's about passion for characters. If you're knocking a cosplayer for not having the right face or being too old, then you don't get it (and you're being a huge jerk).
@Phantom_R Good point. And in that sense, I think save points work best either in games where the player knows they're going to be sitting down for longer play sessions, or for handheld systems that allow a sleep function. There are plenty of handheld titles I've played that I often forgot they used save points because I relied on the sleep function all the time when I wanted to stop playing. In that way, Setsuna is probably best fit for the Switch if someone's going to play it handheld, since you can drop it into sleep mode if you need to take a break away from a save point.
Not saying every game should use save points - I generally do prefer being able to save wherever, whenever. But when games use them well or when it makes sense for that game (or I have a sleep function) then I do appreciate that, and I think it's good that they haven't just been left to the past.
@Phantom_R Save Points aren't necessarily an archaic or outdated game mechanic. Used effectively, they can generate a sense of progression and also focus, where you have to move forward a certain amount before finding the next moment to save, encouraging you to explore more per play session than you might have initially intended.
It can also be used for difficulty purposes - if you can save anywhere, anytime, then that can bring down the difficulty level of the game, allowing you to essentially never lose any progress if you are defeated.
Save Points are not a relic of the past, but a tool that can be useful to some developers in the right scenarios.
It really doesn't seem worth the price, but the main beef I have is that the individual content packs CANNOT be purchased separately. Why? That's absurd.
Honestly, I hope the new story content isn't worthwhile, because I'd like to not support this kind of content for Zelda. But we'll see.
People are upset that she's crying? They think it's a sign of a weak or bad character? What the frick?
EVERYONE CRIES
Crying is not a bad thing. And taken out of context, you cannot, in any way, argue that single 2 second scene as positive or negative. As a writer and a hopeful author and game designer in the future, people talking crap like this makes me incredibly wary of having female characters at all. They're placed under a freaking microscope, and the slightest misstep - no matter how real or human or true to the character it may be - is taken as a negative, because, for some reason, women cannot show weakness in fiction at all.
People have taken their desires for "strong, independent" female characters WAY too far.
Everyone cries. And that scene in the trailer served as a way to make Zelda look real and human and to tell us, the prospective players, that "hey, this game's gonna get real, it's gonna get rough, it's gonna get emotional." That's a GOOD thing if it's executed properly.
I'm trying to understand why most people's standpoint is "Well, Nintendo has the LEGAL right to shut them down, but not the MORAL right"
What is moral or ethical about essentially stealing a major logo, name, brand, and even some assets for your game? Even if you aren't selling it, how is that the "right thing" to do? I understand that people love to see fan works - why do you think Stardew Valley, Undertale, and Axiom Verge have sold so incredibly well? Because those are "fan games" done right. Creators with a passion for Harvest Moon/Metroid/Mother, who said "I want to make a game that shows my love of those ideas while also creating something wholly my own" is the right way to go about this. And those games are amazing (unlike the vast sea of ROMhacks and games capitalizing on the Pokemon name).
Why are fans spending years of development on a ROMhack, and creating trailers and hyping them up before release, while also using the Pokemon logo, assets, and existing 'mon? Because they want attention. They want fame for their Pokemon game. But do they go to Nintendo/Gamefreak and say "hey, I want to make a Pokemon game" and try and get into official development? No. Do they take their love of Pokemon and make something amazing and new (we could always use more unique monster-catching IP)? No. They use Pokemon for attention, they spend eight years that could have been put to work making something new that wouldn't be taken down, and would be able to last. But they don't. Because they want attention, they want the Pokemon brand for themselves even though they can't have it.
Why do people do this? Why do people think it's okay? No matter the quality of fan games, do you recognize that they're piggy-backing on established IP to gain attention and recognition?
The people making these fangames and ROMhacks clearly have talent and potential as actual game designers. I wish they'd realize that and put in the work on something they can actually make and not worry about getting taken down. Something they can legally sell so they can make a profit off of their hard work. Something that might just be amazing and an exciting "alternative" or "love letter" to a series people love (see Undertale/Stardew Valley/Axiom Verge).
Fans, stop wasting your talents. And stop acting entitled to someone else's IP, logo, and brand recognition.
The reason the "status quo" is so popular doesn't just have to do with hopes for upgrade prices or something. I would wager (since this is my own reason) it's so popular is because people like to own their games. Subscription services don't offer that, and bundles don't offer the freedom of choosing individual games to purchase and download independent of a bundle. That's what I LOVE about the wii U and 3DS virtual console - the ability to choose individual retro games I want to play, and purchase and download them on their own. And the fact that I own them digitally and can play them whenever I want, without a dependence on a subscription service, is amazing.
Secondly, the Wii VC was only superior to later iterations in one way: content. The most games from the most developers and systems were available here. But in terms of ease of use, convenience, speed, and accessibility, the Wii VC is incredibly clunky and slow. The Wii U eshop is fantastic in those respects, and I hope to see Nintendo utilize something very similar to the current eshop on the Switch, just with quality of life improvements (like having a shopping cart for when you want to buy multiple games at once) and, of course, the largest library of Nintendo retro games available on any Virtual Console before.
I never liked N or Ghetsis, but this episode really got me - I love it! Especially the ending, where we get to see the main player character on Zekrom!!! I love when we get glimpses of the main player character in these eps, and we didn't get any of that for Gen 4 so it was nice to get back to that if even for a second.
A better place for Attack EVs is Lush Jungle - everything except Morelull and Comfey give Attack EVs, and you can easily run into Trumbeak, Pinsir, or (in Sun) Passimian, which all give 2 EVs each - couple that with SOS battles and you're showered in Attack.
That image of version exclusives is partially incorrect. Beldum and Goomy are definitely NOT exclusive to Moon - I have caught both in Sun and you can also just check Serebii to confirm. Same for Gible and Trapinch. Those four lines can be found in both versions.
Other than missing two Ultra Beasts that are also version exclusives, the rest of the image is correct. Also remember - when choosing a version, the exclusives aren't crazy important. I have Sun but was easily able to trade over the GTS for every single Pokemon exclusive to Moon in just two days. The GTS is crazy active now so make use of it and choose your preferred version based on its time difference and story.
I'm slightly interested because it seems that the video/audio quality is better than even the Wii U Virtual Console, but ultimately I'm not getting one. I don't like the controller, and I can get every NES game I want on the Wii U VC (and play them with a more comfortable controller to boot).
But I'm also not a huge fan of the NES library (very few games I genuinely enjoy on the system, pretty much just the Mega Man games and Mario 3) or the controller, so this definitely wasn't a device made for me. I am surprised and excited to see this much hype for the system though, I didn't expect that and I like that Nintendo's doing this - it bodes well for the possibilities of them re-releasing other of their consoles in this portable, high quality, upscaled form. Would love an N64 or GCN (and maybe a SNES)
I'm not at all disappointed the Switch doesn't have dual-screen gaming, for two reasons.
1. I have a 3DS and Wii U and no plans to trade them in or sell them or give them away or toss them. Great games, and still plenty I need to pick up (including the DS and Wii library through backwards compatibility is insanely amazing).
2. The Switch kind of needs to focus on single-screen gaming. Makes it easier for ports and third parties, and also helps development for games on the system be very focused without having to tailor to certain gimmicks or differences in the hardware.
I really just want Overwatch on the NS. Hearthstone would be neat. OVerwatch I think is a great FPS alternative that appeals to the Nintendo crowd (myself included), and would open up the playerbase to those who haven't jumped on XB or PS4 or have a PC to support it (or don't game on PC).
Partly because I've never been a Greninja fan, but mainly because of other things - the sectioning off is awkward (makes sense to limit your space in a demo, but the way it's done feels really forced and obvious), not being able to catch and keep Pokemon is a real sour note (the capture contest even says "you can add them to your team!" but then you just release them when you leave the contest? what a waste), and it feels like way too much space with little to do (which will be different in the main game, but it seems to me they should have chosen a smaller city or section of a city if they weren't going to let you do anything there).
And as an introduction to the series (say a curious kid picks up the demo having never played a Pokemon game), it's such a mess. You start with a Pokemon that one-shots everything in the "main" part of the demo? You get Pokemon that you then have to give back ten minutes later? Type advantages are only explained through small text next to moves? There's a capture tutorial (which is useless since you can't keep anything) but no battle tutorial? It's a really messy introduction to the world, and I honestly can't understand, at any level, what Gamefreak was trying to accomplish through this demo.
THAT SAID. The small glimpse of Alola and the new engine and mechanics gets me crazy excited for the full game. It's a crappy demo, but my gosh the region is gorgeous and full of space to play around in, the quality of life improvements are really exciting, and ride Pokemon taking away HMs is a godsend. I'm really looking forward to November 18th, even if I won't be touching this demo again unless one of the timed rewards coming up in the future is a truly special exclusive (don't care about Ash-Greninja or any Greninja so not transferring it).
@HappyMaskedGuy The lack of 3D hub world, shorter obstacle course level design, and graphical prowess are all your opinion rather than actual flaws. Many have praised the graphics (myself included, they look gorgeous). And while many do enjoy the hub worlds and larger, explorative levels of Mario 64, Sunshine, and the Galaxy games, there's a reason there's so much love for the more classic style of Mario game, and why those games have sold so much more than their 3D brethren. Lots of people love that design. So those aren't flaws, just something that some people will love and others won't.
@mjharper I'm a Pokemon fan and a Zelda fan. Not jealous at all. Wish Nintendo did anything close to this for any of their franchises... even the "year of Mario," their flagship, big-hitter franchise, was pretty weak for all they marketed it as.
The reason Pokemon gets so much quality like this and so much incredible marketing and does so much great stuff for the fans is because of Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company. If Nintendo were the primary controllers of the franchise, it wouldn't see nearly this kind of quality for a big year like this. Which makes me really sad, because Nintendo has fantastic franchises. They make great games for them, but actually celebrating them and having good timing and marketing and tie-ins and fanservice? Nope. Nothing.
The screen grab is one of the oldest and stupidest tricks in trying to show how "bad" or "low quality" animation is. There are many "insert frames" in the midst of high-speed sequences that, if you freeze-frame, look super ugly. There are tons of these in the best Disney and Ghibli films, and in the worst animated series. They're part of a transition from action to action, and when in motion you'll either never notice them, or they'll look perfectly natural put together with the rest of the frames of that given scene.
The animation style is different. But judge it based on it in motion, not on a stupid freeze-frame that was clearly picked specifically to try and make it look as bad as possible.
(not trying to defend the Pokemon anime, I don't even watch it anymore, this is me debunking a dumb trick and defending animation as a medium rather than one specific show)
Some games not on here but should absolutely be AT LEAST on the honorable mentions list:
Baten Kaitos (and its prequel/sequel, Origins)
Mega Man X: Command Mission.
The two Lord of the Rings games (Two Towers and Return of the King). Fantastic hack-and-slash co-op games that capture the feel of the movies and the action and don't at all feel like licensed cash-in games.
Even though Zelda is my favorite video game series ever, I could never get into the first three. LttP is still one of my least favorite games in the series, and for a while I thought I just didn't like top-down Zeldas, but Link's Awakening, the Oracle games, Minish Cap, and ALBW would say otherwise. Dunno why LttP never clicked with me, I love me some Zelda but never enjoy it every time I give it a new try.
I don't like the idea of Gen VII coming next to GO, because I've been avoiding a lot of the new Pokemon news and looking forward to meeting these new creatures for the first time the proper way - in a main series title, and in the region they belong in. I'm having a blast with GO, but I'd temporarily stop playing if they included Gen VII Pokemon before Sun and Moon release.
I also think a big selling point of (the free app, lol) Pokemon GO is nostalgia and using the most recognizable creatures. Gen II is nearly as recognizable as Gen I, so it would be absurd to wait on those for the next addition of Pokemon. The cross-promotional thing is a good point, but I think just having Pokemon hype so high makes people already looking for the main games and keeping an eye on Sun and Moon.
What I don't understand is how some random guy can use Niantic's data to accurately show where Pokemon are spawning, but Niantic themselves can't use that same data to accurately represent POkemon's distance and spawn locations in-game.
That said, I honestly don't get all the hubbub. I never used Pokevision, but I also don't use the tracker system in-game. I just go out, on regular walks, and catch whatever POkemon show up. I sometimes go to areas that have a lot of Pokestops, but that's for the Pokestops and the stuff they give me. Plus, more POkemon appear in those areas. It's just way more fun when you don't get hung up over what Pokemon you can catch - keep hatching eggs, and catching duplicates is a major part of the game. No matter what you're catching, it's helping you in some way. I don't get the anger. Is POkemon GO a great game, an emblem of great programming and game design? Ha! Nope. But it's pretty darn fun catching Pokemon in the real world. People need to take a step, calm down, and recapture the fun of games and Pokemon, rather than be all obsessive over specific Pokemon and finding them. Just go for the journey, and enjoy every catch you make.
@SanderEvers I'm with you on two Gamepads, I still don't have any clue why they never did that. They even said in multiple different interviews that the capability WAS THERE, they just chose not to utilize it. What? I love the Wii U, it has some of my favorite games and virtual console plus indies mean I have a very extensive library on my console, and I really love the Gamepad and the overall user interface, but Nintendo did not manage the Wii U well at all. The fact that we could have had two people on the same system go online together in Splatoon kills me every day (I freaking love playing games online with my brother, we play Smash all the time as a team, but there are so few games you can take online with a friend on the same console).
Doesn't matter to me at all. I never used the online functions, just played locally, built out my own toy box levels for my own enjoyment, and still love doing all of that. I still have TONS of ideas that I have yet to fully realize, looking forward to playing Infinity for a long time to come
I'm actually hoping one positive thing will come out of the internet functions being removed - being able to create text-based quests. So often I'd enter in text for a character to say, only to have it be rejected because I couldn't connect to the internet for it to go through the Infinity auto-text filter system. And it's a long process to enter in text, try and connect, have it fail, and then have all that text deleted. So maybe when the online functions are gone, you can just enter in text and not have to go through a second step! I'm hopeful
@Mintendo Layton games have only ever come to dedicated handhelds - the DS and 3DS line - so they look to be continuing that. Even if NX is a hybrid handheld as rumored, the 3DS isn't dead and Level 5 has a lot of experience developing for it plus Layton games have come out for that so continuing that trend makes sense. Not sure why an NX release would be even remotely expected for a Layton game.
@Aneira Counterargument - Aonuma has been taking more and more of a hands-off producer role with each Zelda game. Seems like NIntendo looking for a new IP for him now is partly because he is getting more time because he's not as involved on Zelda (he's involved in a management sense, but very little in the nitty-gritty development side). And with multiple teams handling handheld versus console Zelda games at times, along with remakes being outsourced, I don't think Aonuma, if he would move on to other projects, would mean Zelda games take a backseat in Nintendo's lineup. Zelda is their biggest franchise after Mario and Pokemon. There's no way they just let it fall down the pecking order. Miyamoto used to be THE MAN for Zelda, then Aonuma took over, but now Aonuma's been on his way out of the director role, with several Zelda games already being primarily developed by other teams with only a producer, hands-off role from Aonuma.
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Re: The Creator Of Fire Emblem Has Released A Brand New Strategy RPG On Steam
Like others have said, this is a worthwhile topic to cover on a Nintendo news site. And it's so easy to scroll past it if it offends you that it isn't strictly a Nintendo game, why get up in arms over this? The games are neat, they come from the creator of Fire Emblem (a Nintendo franchise, in case you were unaware), and they are quite similar to Fire Emblem. Many (not all) fans of that Nintendo franchise would find this information very interesting and would want to hear about it.
Re: Xenoblade Chronicles 3's World Is 'Five Times Larger' Than Predecessor's, Says Monolith Soft
I'd be curious of a size comparison to 1 or X. Because 2 had fairly small environments in comparison to those games. A lot of them, but aside from Gormott and Tantal, each individual area wasn't as large as some of the regions in 1 or X. I love Xenoblade 2, this isn't a knock against it, hearing that 3 is 5 times larger actually makes me a bit hesitant because I liked the comparative compact density of 2. We'll see how it all shakes out. Xenoblade X is one of my favorite games ever so having huge areas to just run around in won't necessarily be a bad thing, it just depends how well they populate those regions with interesting things to do. Here's hoping.
Re: Best Nintendo Switch Warriors Games - Every Switch Musou Game Ranked
Not surprised by Age of Calamity's position, it's clearly been a massively popular success, but... I don't really get the love for it, personally. The original Hyrule Warriors is incredible, I nearly 100%'ed it on Wii U and am working on doing it again on Switch. I was cautious about Age of Calamity because I prefer Musou crossover games to be full-franchise celebrations rather than specific to a single entry (which is why I'm disappointed about Three Hopes — I've been wanting a Fire Emblem Warriors 2 with wider game representation so badly). But Hyrule Warriors is one of the best Musou games I've ever played, basically the king of Musou gameplay, it feels SO good to play, super snappy and exciting, easy to dive into but with real depth if you want to master it. Age of Calamity... is not that. Massive maps with huge chunks of downtime (the maps themselves are multiple times larger than any in the original HW, but have less than half the number of enemies usually), much more sluggish and less-responsive combat mechanics and gameplay, and even on the lowest difficulties ordinary lieutenants have just way too much health, it becomes a slog because they can't do anything to you, just a damage sponge. And runs into the same issue that Breath of the Wild had — enemy variety is sorely lacking. I completed the main story and then had zero desire to continue. The story is neat, the visuals are stunning, the characters and gameplay CONCEPTS are super interesting, it just feels remarkably less polished than the original Hyrule Warriors, and the fun factor is a shadow of the first game.
Would be very interested to hear from more people who have played both games about what makes them love Age of Calamity so much. Not saying you're wrong, because so much of the fun of games is a matter of taste, so I'm just really interested to see what's different for others that just didn't click with me.
Re: Feature: Which Is The Absolute Best Nintendo Console Generation?
Wii U and 3DS, hands down. The most obvious reason is a combination of complete backwards compatibility with Wii and DS, as well as the massive library of Virtual Console games (including the Wii's Virtual Console which, until it shut down, was completely accessible through the Wii U). Absolutely astonishing library packed with some of the very best games in Nintendo's entire library.
And the Wii U and 3DS had some amazing games in their own right, combining with the Wii and DS to continue to pop out surprising, experimental, unique, FUN games in a variety of genres. Splatoon originated here, Fantasy Life, I'll always contend that the 3DS era of Story of Seasons is the best Harvest Moon has ever been by a landslide, Xenoblade X is still an astonishingly unique open-world RPG experience, and dual-screen gaming made remakes of Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess (okay, that last one is more of a remaster, but I digress) practically the definitive versions of those games due to amazing quality-of-life features thanks to the dual-screen concept. Affordable Space Adventures only functions on the Wii U, an incredible experiment made possible by a wild, unique, entertaining concept that it doesn't look like we'll see explored ever again, which is a travesty.
That, and the Wii U and 3DS both have far more functional and feature-rich UIs and operating systems, putting the Switch to shame with their eshops, their menu options, sorting options, themes... they're just really well-designed systems, an era that showed that Nintendo was really moving forward, and for all the love I have for the Switch, I think they took a number of steps back that are just baffling in that department. Even now that the Switch has folders, they're... practically useless? They could have copied over the 3DS's user interface and it would have been practically perfect — and definitely better than what we have.
The Switch is wonderful, and I play it every single day. But nothing touches the massive library and enjoyable form factor and UI of the 3DS and Wii U for me.
Re: Rumour: The Brand New Pokémon From Let's Go Pikachu And Eevee Has Potentially Leaked
The body is literally Ditto, almost identical to how his 3D sprites have been done for... forever? At least through the 3DS era.
I highly doubt this is real. The body's too similar to Ditto, this is almost definitely a fake leak. Move along, folks.
Re: Nintendo Clamps Down On Risqué Imagery By Censoring Taisen Hot Gimmick Switch Port
A lot of commenters are getting the wrong impression. The game itself wasn't censored at all - just its thumbnail on the eshop. That's perfectly reasonable, especially if the game's rating and description make it clear that it's an adult game. That way those who don't want to accidentally stumble upon such content don't have to worry about a thumbnail in the eshop, while also having a clear warning in the game's rating/description about what it entails.
Re: Hands On: Waging War With Valkyria Chronicles 4
Fire Emblem doesn't need to watch out because you can play both!
Also, while 4 is clearly being designed so as not to require playing previous entries, it's worth noting that VC 1 will be coming to the Switch digitally the same day as 4! I would recommend getting both games, as VC 1 is one of the greatest games ever made. 4 looks like it will be a worthy successor!
Re: Talking Point: What Games Are You Playing This Weekend? - The Triumphant(?) Return
Samus Returns and Hollow Knight are the big attractions for me. Bought them both at the same time since I only just recently realized Hollow Knight exists and... wow. It's beautiful. A little on the difficult side for my tastes, but it's difficult in a fair way that keeps me engaged most of the time. And the exploration and world-building, not to mention the music and visuals, are too good for me to stay away. I actually should have waited on Hollow Knight - it's been pulling me away more and more from Samus Returns (which is also quite good in its own right).
Also playing some Trio of Towns on the 3DS (I like Stardew and have it on Steam and played 42 hours, but I honestly prefer the Story of Seasons series - a great new branding of the Harvest Moon series, and it's taken old-school Harvest Moon in some very cool directions), and finishing up a playthrough of Sacred Stones on the Wii U Virtual Console.
Re: Nicalis Would Love To Bring Night Trap To Nintendo Switch
Night Trap is garbage. It not coming to the Switch is absolutely in no way negative at all, except to those devs who are angry about it. It's not a good game. Let the "dream" die
Re: Poll: The New Nintendo 2DS XL is Out This Week - Are You Tempted?
I was actually really tempted because I like the look of it compared to the other "New" models (I own a standard 3DS XL), but when I saw a few reviews saying it has an issue with the face buttons scuffing the screen, forget it. I'm perfectly happy with my current 3DS anyway, but for the newest model to have design issues like that is a real problem and I hope more people are aware of that possibility before buying
Re: Review: Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star (Switch)
@Galenmereth I literally said in my comment that if that was the case, I'd like them to make that clear lol
Re: Review: Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star (Switch)
Great review, but can all of you at Nintendo Life please stop with the "we" pronouns in your reviews? They're written by an individual person anyway, and using "we" is just distracting, unless multiple people played through, reviewed, and wrote this piece together (in which case, there should be multiple authors credited)
Re: Oddworld Creator Lorne Lanning "Has No Faith" In Switch
What a load of crap.
"That thinking killed Iwata" HORRIBLE choice of words. Not funny or smart.
And the whole "Nintendo wouldn't promote my game," I mean, you're an indie dev. Did you pay Nintendo to market it? Did you have any kind of deal with Nintendo beyond getting your game on their console? If you're a small indie dev, marketing is on you, and if you want a company to market your game, either you have to be insanely lucky and they see something amazing in your game, or you have to pay them and actually have some kind of contract to make that happen. You're an indie dev. That's the way it is, and if you can't handle it, don't complain about it.
Not to mention, Oddworld is just a very obscure property that has never sold well. Putting it on a console with a rather small install base wasn't going to do much of anything for that, even without marketing.
This guy just comes across as very bitter and angry with a huge chip on his shoulder. I never played any of his games before, because I wasn't interested in them, but now I'm even less interested considering the attitude of the creator.
Re: Review: Mighty Gunvolt Burst (Switch eShop)
"In the case of Gunvolt, he finds himself transported into a mysterious place in which his septimal powers are disabled"
I was afraid of that. Would be cool to have him floating and electrocuting enemies in 8-bit style, but since he's just running and gunning like Beck, I'll pass on this. Gunvolt's unique gameplay style is his biggest selling point for me, and a huge part of what make his two games so dang fresh and engaging.
Re: Nintendo Infographic Outlines Switch and 3DS Games for 2017
Ever Oasis, Metroid Samus Returns, and Monster Hunter Stories (confirmed for a Western release!!!!!!!!!) all coming by the end of this year! And with FE Echoes and Story of Seasons Trio of Towns still occupying tons of hours, my 3DS is very, very happy. Looks like I can put off getting a Switch until sometime next year (and by then its library of "must-own" games for me will be HUGE for only being around for a single year).
Re: Poll: What Did You Think of Nintendo at E3 2017?
My 3 favorite reveals were Mario + Rabbids, Samus Returns, and Sushido.
Mario + Rabbids because the game looks fantastic! A tactical RPG shooter starring Mario and friends is something I never asked for or knew I wanted, but dang it looks great. There's clearly a lot of love that went into it and I'm excited to play it when it releases.
Samus Returns, because Metroid II was one of my very first video games. If you'd told me Nintendo was going to announce an official Metroid II remake I wouldn't have cared, but actually seeing the trailer blew my mind. I've never been a major fan of Metroid but something about that trailer and the emotional connection I have with the original (that I didn't really recognize I had until now) got me more excited and emotional than anything else at this E3. I'm stoked to play it.
Sushido because that was a total surprise out of nowhere, but I love the style of it! I love that no one saw it coming, that it is full of style and color and energy, and that it's a crazy unique puzzle action game. What a crazy combination of ideas, but it all seems to come together super well and I'm excited for it.
Re: First Impressions: Finding Our Roots in Harvest Moon: Light of Hope
Not interested, because Story of Seasons is where it's at. Harvest Moon 3D: A New Hope was the last Harvest Moon actually made by the developers now working on Story of Seasons, and you can tell - A New Hope is clearly built upon into the first and second Story of Seasons games. The SoS devs have also said they're working on a game for the Switch, so I'll wait for that.
I've also played Stardew Valley and it's great! It's similar to Harvest Moon while having its own distinct style, so I think (like myself) even fans of SV can get something special and different out of the Story of Seasons titles. They have their own charm and style and gameplay differences to offer that make for very similar but distinct experiences for any fan of the "cute farming sim" genre.
Re: Review: Disgaea 5 Complete (Switch)
Nice review, but it's clearly written by a named individual. Why all the "we" stuff? One person wrote it. Just say "I" and "me" and stuff. Unless you're royalty. Which... well, I don't know why you'd be working for a gaming website if you're royalty, but hey, some clarity would be nice.
Re: Sega Is Looking To Revive Some Of Its Past Classics
@Angelic_Lapras_King It doesn't have to have the same development team - not all great sequels have the same group of people as the first game (look at the Fire Emblem series, the creator of which only worked on the first two or three games). I always imagined Skies as a series following the likes of FF, Dragon Quest, and Tales - using similar ideas and style (floating islands, traveling and battling by ship, your own base and crew) but having disconnected stories and characters. Following that route, I don't think it's at all out of the realm of possibility that a completely different team could do a great Skies game.
I don't actually have any hopes for it happening at all, ever - SEGA doesn't seem to make good use of its RPG IPs - but I think that it's a shame it hasn't happened.
Even going off of your idea, if a new team were to start with a full HD remake of Arcadia, and then move on to a sequel, I think that would be pretty great as well. And if they can get some of the great minds behind the first game involved (I'm pretty sure its creator is currently heavily involved in the Valkyria series - I know he was a driving force behind the first game), all the better.
Re: Sega Is Looking To Revive Some Of Its Past Classics
SKIES OF ARCADIA SEQUEL
PLEASE
Also, even if Valkyria Revolution doesn't do well, please don't give up on that series. Go back to the Chronicles style - VC 1 sold incredibly well when it was remade for steam and PS4, take that as the right sign. Please.
Re: Reggie Fils-Aime Discusses NES Mini Demand and Apologises to Those That Missed Out
The "we don't have unlimited resources" part of this makes a ton of sense - they don't have an unlimited number of factories and manufacturers, and with the Switch coming up they really needed to focus their resources on the new system, not a remake of their oldest one.
Re: Poll: What Wii U Ports Would You Like to Play on Nintendo Switch?
Not interested in Smash, since you know they're going to have Smash 5 on Switch.
What I'd like to see are:
Hyrule Warriors (with all Legends content added in - not just characters, but adventure maps and everything else)
Pokken Tournament (the Wii U was too small for such a great fighting game)
Sonic Racing Transformed, just because I'd love to see it on a larger Nintendo console. That game rocks.
Re: Gallery: Behold This Amazing Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Cosplay
People knocking her for her age, not cool, guys. Cosplay isn't about perfect recreation, it's about craftsmanship and people wanting to pretend to be their favorite video game characters. There are tons of cosplayers who take on characters that they don't necessarily have the body type or facial features for, but they do it because they love the character. That's what cosplay's about. It's not about perfect recreation. It's about passion for characters. If you're knocking a cosplayer for not having the right face or being too old, then you don't get it (and you're being a huge jerk).
Re: Review: I Am Setsuna (Switch eShop)
@Phantom_R Good point. And in that sense, I think save points work best either in games where the player knows they're going to be sitting down for longer play sessions, or for handheld systems that allow a sleep function. There are plenty of handheld titles I've played that I often forgot they used save points because I relied on the sleep function all the time when I wanted to stop playing. In that way, Setsuna is probably best fit for the Switch if someone's going to play it handheld, since you can drop it into sleep mode if you need to take a break away from a save point.
Not saying every game should use save points - I generally do prefer being able to save wherever, whenever. But when games use them well or when it makes sense for that game (or I have a sleep function) then I do appreciate that, and I think it's good that they haven't just been left to the past.
Re: Review: I Am Setsuna (Switch eShop)
@Phantom_R Save Points aren't necessarily an archaic or outdated game mechanic. Used effectively, they can generate a sense of progression and also focus, where you have to move forward a certain amount before finding the next moment to save, encouraging you to explore more per play session than you might have initially intended.
It can also be used for difficulty purposes - if you can save anywhere, anytime, then that can bring down the difficulty level of the game, allowing you to essentially never lose any progress if you are defeated.
Save Points are not a relic of the past, but a tool that can be useful to some developers in the right scenarios.
Re: Nintendo Confirms Expansion Pass DLC for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
It really doesn't seem worth the price, but the main beef I have is that the individual content packs CANNOT be purchased separately. Why? That's absurd.
Honestly, I hope the new story content isn't worthwhile, because I'd like to not support this kind of content for Zelda. But we'll see.
Re: Princess Zelda is "Very Complex and Multi-Faceted" in Breath of the Wild, Aonuma Explains
People are upset that she's crying? They think it's a sign of a weak or bad character? What the frick?
EVERYONE CRIES
Crying is not a bad thing. And taken out of context, you cannot, in any way, argue that single 2 second scene as positive or negative. As a writer and a hopeful author and game designer in the future, people talking crap like this makes me incredibly wary of having female characters at all. They're placed under a freaking microscope, and the slightest misstep - no matter how real or human or true to the character it may be - is taken as a negative, because, for some reason, women cannot show weakness in fiction at all.
People have taken their desires for "strong, independent" female characters WAY too far.
Everyone cries. And that scene in the trailer served as a way to make Zelda look real and human and to tell us, the prospective players, that "hey, this game's gonna get real, it's gonna get rough, it's gonna get emotional." That's a GOOD thing if it's executed properly.
Re: Feature: 30 Essential Wii U eShop Games
Don't forget these other amazing games on the eshop (that are even far better than some of the ones on the list above!):
Thomas Was Alone
There's just such a wonderful library on the eshop, i'ts full of gems and alone can give the Wii U tons of life for many fans
Re: Nintendo Shuts Down Another Pokémon Fan Project
I'm trying to understand why most people's standpoint is "Well, Nintendo has the LEGAL right to shut them down, but not the MORAL right"
What is moral or ethical about essentially stealing a major logo, name, brand, and even some assets for your game? Even if you aren't selling it, how is that the "right thing" to do? I understand that people love to see fan works - why do you think Stardew Valley, Undertale, and Axiom Verge have sold so incredibly well? Because those are "fan games" done right. Creators with a passion for Harvest Moon/Metroid/Mother, who said "I want to make a game that shows my love of those ideas while also creating something wholly my own" is the right way to go about this. And those games are amazing (unlike the vast sea of ROMhacks and games capitalizing on the Pokemon name).
Why are fans spending years of development on a ROMhack, and creating trailers and hyping them up before release, while also using the Pokemon logo, assets, and existing 'mon? Because they want attention. They want fame for their Pokemon game. But do they go to Nintendo/Gamefreak and say "hey, I want to make a Pokemon game" and try and get into official development? No. Do they take their love of Pokemon and make something amazing and new (we could always use more unique monster-catching IP)? No. They use Pokemon for attention, they spend eight years that could have been put to work making something new that wouldn't be taken down, and would be able to last. But they don't. Because they want attention, they want the Pokemon brand for themselves even though they can't have it.
Why do people do this? Why do people think it's okay? No matter the quality of fan games, do you recognize that they're piggy-backing on established IP to gain attention and recognition?
The people making these fangames and ROMhacks clearly have talent and potential as actual game designers. I wish they'd realize that and put in the work on something they can actually make and not worry about getting taken down. Something they can legally sell so they can make a profit off of their hard work. Something that might just be amazing and an exciting "alternative" or "love letter" to a series people love (see Undertale/Stardew Valley/Axiom Verge).
Fans, stop wasting your talents. And stop acting entitled to someone else's IP, logo, and brand recognition.
Re: Talking Point: The Nintendo Switch Has the Potential to Deliver the Ultimate Virtual Console
The reason the "status quo" is so popular doesn't just have to do with hopes for upgrade prices or something. I would wager (since this is my own reason) it's so popular is because people like to own their games. Subscription services don't offer that, and bundles don't offer the freedom of choosing individual games to purchase and download independent of a bundle. That's what I LOVE about the wii U and 3DS virtual console - the ability to choose individual retro games I want to play, and purchase and download them on their own. And the fact that I own them digitally and can play them whenever I want, without a dependence on a subscription service, is amazing.
Secondly, the Wii VC was only superior to later iterations in one way: content. The most games from the most developers and systems were available here. But in terms of ease of use, convenience, speed, and accessibility, the Wii VC is incredibly clunky and slow. The Wii U eshop is fantastic in those respects, and I hope to see Nintendo utilize something very similar to the current eshop on the Switch, just with quality of life improvements (like having a shopping cart for when you want to buy multiple games at once) and, of course, the largest library of Nintendo retro games available on any Virtual Console before.
Re: Video: Pokémon Generations Episode 15: The King Returns is Suitably Dramatic
I never liked N or Ghetsis, but this episode really got me - I love it! Especially the ending, where we get to see the main player character on Zekrom!!! I love when we get glimpses of the main player character in these eps, and we didn't get any of that for Gen 4 so it was nice to get back to that if even for a second.
Re: Guide: Getting To Grips With EV Training In Pokémon Sun And Moon
A better place for Attack EVs is Lush Jungle - everything except Morelull and Comfey give Attack EVs, and you can easily run into Trumbeak, Pinsir, or (in Sun) Passimian, which all give 2 EVs each - couple that with SOS battles and you're showered in Attack.
Re: Guide: Getting Started In Pokémon Sun and Moon
That image of version exclusives is partially incorrect. Beldum and Goomy are definitely NOT exclusive to Moon - I have caught both in Sun and you can also just check Serebii to confirm. Same for Gible and Trapinch. Those four lines can be found in both versions.
Other than missing two Ultra Beasts that are also version exclusives, the rest of the image is correct. Also remember - when choosing a version, the exclusives aren't crazy important. I have Sun but was easily able to trade over the GTS for every single Pokemon exclusive to Moon in just two days. The GTS is crazy active now so make use of it and choose your preferred version based on its time difference and story.
Re: Poll: Are You Excited About the Mini NES?
I'm slightly interested because it seems that the video/audio quality is better than even the Wii U Virtual Console, but ultimately I'm not getting one. I don't like the controller, and I can get every NES game I want on the Wii U VC (and play them with a more comfortable controller to boot).
But I'm also not a huge fan of the NES library (very few games I genuinely enjoy on the system, pretty much just the Mega Man games and Mario 3) or the controller, so this definitely wasn't a device made for me. I am surprised and excited to see this much hype for the system though, I didn't expect that and I like that Nintendo's doing this - it bodes well for the possibilities of them re-releasing other of their consoles in this portable, high quality, upscaled form. Would love an N64 or GCN (and maybe a SNES)
Re: Poll: Nintendo Switch Delivers Single Screen Gaming - Will You Miss the Dual Screen Concept?
I'm not at all disappointed the Switch doesn't have dual-screen gaming, for two reasons.
1. I have a 3DS and Wii U and no plans to trade them in or sell them or give them away or toss them. Great games, and still plenty I need to pick up (including the DS and Wii library through backwards compatibility is insanely amazing).
2. The Switch kind of needs to focus on single-screen gaming. Makes it easier for ports and third parties, and also helps development for games on the system be very focused without having to tailor to certain gimmicks or differences in the hardware.
Re: Blizzard Tweet Prompts Hopes for Hearthstone on Nintendo Switch
I really just want Overwatch on the NS. Hearthstone would be neat. OVerwatch I think is a great FPS alternative that appeals to the Nintendo crowd (myself included), and would open up the playerbase to those who haven't jumped on XB or PS4 or have a PC to support it (or don't game on PC).
Re: Poll: What Do You Think of Pokémon Sun and Moon: Special Demo Version?
I thought the demo was pretty stupid.
Partly because I've never been a Greninja fan, but mainly because of other things - the sectioning off is awkward (makes sense to limit your space in a demo, but the way it's done feels really forced and obvious), not being able to catch and keep Pokemon is a real sour note (the capture contest even says "you can add them to your team!" but then you just release them when you leave the contest? what a waste), and it feels like way too much space with little to do (which will be different in the main game, but it seems to me they should have chosen a smaller city or section of a city if they weren't going to let you do anything there).
And as an introduction to the series (say a curious kid picks up the demo having never played a Pokemon game), it's such a mess. You start with a Pokemon that one-shots everything in the "main" part of the demo? You get Pokemon that you then have to give back ten minutes later? Type advantages are only explained through small text next to moves? There's a capture tutorial (which is useless since you can't keep anything) but no battle tutorial? It's a really messy introduction to the world, and I honestly can't understand, at any level, what Gamefreak was trying to accomplish through this demo.
THAT SAID. The small glimpse of Alola and the new engine and mechanics gets me crazy excited for the full game. It's a crappy demo, but my gosh the region is gorgeous and full of space to play around in, the quality of life improvements are really exciting, and ride Pokemon taking away HMs is a godsend. I'm really looking forward to November 18th, even if I won't be touching this demo again unless one of the timed rewards coming up in the future is a truly special exclusive (don't care about Ash-Greninja or any Greninja so not transferring it).
Re: Editorial: Rediscovering the Gems of the Wii U Library
@HappyMaskedGuy The lack of 3D hub world, shorter obstacle course level design, and graphical prowess are all your opinion rather than actual flaws. Many have praised the graphics (myself included, they look gorgeous). And while many do enjoy the hub worlds and larger, explorative levels of Mario 64, Sunshine, and the Galaxy games, there's a reason there's so much love for the more classic style of Mario game, and why those games have sold so much more than their 3D brethren. Lots of people love that design. So those aren't flaws, just something that some people will love and others won't.
Re: Video: Check Out the Third Episode of Pokémon Generations
@mjharper I'm a Pokemon fan and a Zelda fan. Not jealous at all. Wish Nintendo did anything close to this for any of their franchises... even the "year of Mario," their flagship, big-hitter franchise, was pretty weak for all they marketed it as.
The reason Pokemon gets so much quality like this and so much incredible marketing and does so much great stuff for the fans is because of Gamefreak and the Pokemon Company. If Nintendo were the primary controllers of the franchise, it wouldn't see nearly this kind of quality for a big year like this. Which makes me really sad, because Nintendo has fantastic franchises. They make great games for them, but actually celebrating them and having good timing and marketing and tie-ins and fanservice? Nope. Nothing.
Re: Video: Fans Are Getting Bent Out Of Shape By The New Pokémon Sun And Moon Anime
The screen grab is one of the oldest and stupidest tricks in trying to show how "bad" or "low quality" animation is. There are many "insert frames" in the midst of high-speed sequences that, if you freeze-frame, look super ugly. There are tons of these in the best Disney and Ghibli films, and in the worst animated series. They're part of a transition from action to action, and when in motion you'll either never notice them, or they'll look perfectly natural put together with the rest of the frames of that given scene.
The animation style is different. But judge it based on it in motion, not on a stupid freeze-frame that was clearly picked specifically to try and make it look as bad as possible.
(not trying to defend the Pokemon anime, I don't even watch it anymore, this is me debunking a dumb trick and defending animation as a medium rather than one specific show)
Re: Poll: The GameCube is 15 Years Old - Pick Your Favourite Games
But from the list I picked F-Zero, Paper Mario, Skies of Arcadia, Tales of Symphonia, and Wind Waker.
Would easily switch out Wind Waker for Mega Man X or Baten Kaitos (love WW HD, but after playing the remake I can't go back to the original)
Re: Poll: The GameCube is 15 Years Old - Pick Your Favourite Games
Some games not on here but should absolutely be AT LEAST on the honorable mentions list:
Re: Nintendo Sends a Lovely Legend of Zelda Care Package in Honour of a Young Fan
@Radbot42 Dunno about all of the items, but the BotW shirt he got is an E3 exclusive. Not exactly something "at Gamestop that no one buys."
Re: Poll: What Are Your Favourite Super NES Games?
Chrono Trigger, Kirby Super Star, and Mega Man X.
Even though Zelda is my favorite video game series ever, I could never get into the first three. LttP is still one of my least favorite games in the series, and for a while I thought I just didn't like top-down Zeldas, but Link's Awakening, the Oracle games, Minish Cap, and ALBW would say otherwise. Dunno why LttP never clicked with me, I love me some Zelda but never enjoy it every time I give it a new try.
Re: Talking Point: Pokémon GO's Next Major Update Should Target Gen VII Pokémon
I don't like the idea of Gen VII coming next to GO, because I've been avoiding a lot of the new Pokemon news and looking forward to meeting these new creatures for the first time the proper way - in a main series title, and in the region they belong in. I'm having a blast with GO, but I'd temporarily stop playing if they included Gen VII Pokemon before Sun and Moon release.
I also think a big selling point of (the free app, lol) Pokemon GO is nostalgia and using the most recognizable creatures. Gen II is nearly as recognizable as Gen I, so it would be absurd to wait on those for the next addition of Pokemon. The cross-promotional thing is a good point, but I think just having Pokemon hype so high makes people already looking for the main games and keeping an eye on Sun and Moon.
Re: Niantic Explains Decision to Stop Unofficial Apps From Accessing Pokémon GO's Servers
What I don't understand is how some random guy can use Niantic's data to accurately show where Pokemon are spawning, but Niantic themselves can't use that same data to accurately represent POkemon's distance and spawn locations in-game.
That said, I honestly don't get all the hubbub. I never used Pokevision, but I also don't use the tracker system in-game. I just go out, on regular walks, and catch whatever POkemon show up. I sometimes go to areas that have a lot of Pokestops, but that's for the Pokestops and the stuff they give me. Plus, more POkemon appear in those areas. It's just way more fun when you don't get hung up over what Pokemon you can catch - keep hatching eggs, and catching duplicates is a major part of the game. No matter what you're catching, it's helping you in some way. I don't get the anger. Is POkemon GO a great game, an emblem of great programming and game design? Ha! Nope. But it's pretty darn fun catching Pokemon in the real world. People need to take a step, calm down, and recapture the fun of games and Pokemon, rather than be all obsessive over specific Pokemon and finding them. Just go for the journey, and enjoy every catch you make.
Re: Reggie Fils-Aime on Why the Wii U Was Misunderstood
@SanderEvers I'm with you on two Gamepads, I still don't have any clue why they never did that. They even said in multiple different interviews that the capability WAS THERE, they just chose not to utilize it. What? I love the Wii U, it has some of my favorite games and virtual console plus indies mean I have a very extensive library on my console, and I really love the Gamepad and the overall user interface, but Nintendo did not manage the Wii U well at all. The fact that we could have had two people on the same system go online together in Splatoon kills me every day (I freaking love playing games online with my brother, we play Smash all the time as a team, but there are so few games you can take online with a friend on the same console).
Re: Online Support is Being Cut For Disney Infinity
Doesn't matter to me at all. I never used the online functions, just played locally, built out my own toy box levels for my own enjoyment, and still love doing all of that. I still have TONS of ideas that I have yet to fully realize, looking forward to playing Infinity for a long time to come
I'm actually hoping one positive thing will come out of the internet functions being removed - being able to create text-based quests. So often I'd enter in text for a character to say, only to have it be rejected because I couldn't connect to the internet for it to go through the Infinity auto-text filter system. And it's a long process to enter in text, try and connect, have it fail, and then have all that text deleted. So maybe when the online functions are gone, you can just enter in text and not have to go through a second step! I'm hopeful
Re: Level-5 Announces Lady Layton, Coming To Nintendo 3DS In 2017
@Mintendo Layton games have only ever come to dedicated handhelds - the DS and 3DS line - so they look to be continuing that. Even if NX is a hybrid handheld as rumored, the 3DS isn't dead and Level 5 has a lot of experience developing for it plus Layton games have come out for that so continuing that trend makes sense. Not sure why an NX release would be even remotely expected for a Layton game.
Re: Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Delays Partly Due To Developers "Breaking" The Game, Says Eiji Aonuma
@Aneira Counterargument - Aonuma has been taking more and more of a hands-off producer role with each Zelda game. Seems like NIntendo looking for a new IP for him now is partly because he is getting more time because he's not as involved on Zelda (he's involved in a management sense, but very little in the nitty-gritty development side). And with multiple teams handling handheld versus console Zelda games at times, along with remakes being outsourced, I don't think Aonuma, if he would move on to other projects, would mean Zelda games take a backseat in Nintendo's lineup. Zelda is their biggest franchise after Mario and Pokemon. There's no way they just let it fall down the pecking order. Miyamoto used to be THE MAN for Zelda, then Aonuma took over, but now Aonuma's been on his way out of the director role, with several Zelda games already being primarily developed by other teams with only a producer, hands-off role from Aonuma.