TheWingedAvenger

I recently discovered that the legendary golf game "Neo Turf Masters" is on the Nintendo e-shop under an obscure Japanese title. They need to rename it to the North American title is they want to actually sell it! Common sense.

I hope they make new awesome games! In the meantime, they should put out more Neo Geo games on the Switch, such as Ganryu and Eight Man.

Baldo: The Guardian Owls is a must-have as it's one of the best-looking and best-sounding action RPGs I've seen in a while. The art style is distinctive, despite the comparisons to Ni No Kuni. It seems like a great package.

Baldo has definitely got an improvement in the name department! The Guardian Owls sounds pretty cool and intriguing. Bella prova, ragazzi!

I'm playing fast and loose with your question.

The original arcade game is great, and the Atari 7800 version was too. I have the arcade version on my NES Mini because there's no other way to play it, so I'd gladly buy it or any sequels on the Switch.

I hope they release it on cartridge because I'm intrigued by this game and have little space left on my SD cards.

New Yorkers should be ashamed of themselves. It's a sad day in New York when a person can walk the streets and get zero hits on their 3DS Streetpass.

I'm playing it cool.

I'm doing fine now, but I had some mental problems a while ago. I'd spent so many hours per day with my Switch Lite in my hands that I temporarily became unable to distinguish the game from reality. I walked around my island thinking it was the videogame, and then when I was in the videogame called "Life" I thought it was reality. But I'm fine now. I'm playing that game and some NPCs have locked me up in some sort of insane asylum where I have access to the internet to leave comments for other players to read. It's kind of fun but I've been here for days and can't figure out how to escape. Is there a walkthrough for this game?

This can compete for worst videogame title of all time, along with Spanky's Quest, Ninja Baseball Bat Man, and Yes, Your Grace.

I hope Radiant Dawn and Path of Radiance both get released on the Switch!

A dream within a dream...

I hope the also release Mystic Warriors and Wild West Cowboys of Moo Mesa!

Konami made a lot of good arcade games that never got released on home consoles. One by one, they're coming to the Switch!

@Mgalens
Apparently, lots of people on the internet agree with me that Cold Steel is only 20% gameplay. In this forum thread, you'll see one of them write exactly that:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/694913-the-legend-of-heroes-trails-of-cold-steel/73081036

So are we all crazy? Or could it be that you're just a spoony bard?

I have a feeling I might have to tune out of my favorite turn-based RPG franchise soon. Oh well, at least I have ten great games. And hopefully they release the offline version of DQX in Egnlish, so it'll make it eleven.

@Mgalens
Okey, here's your example. I hope other people chime in on this discussion, as I think it's important for people to save money and understand the false advertising that's behind most "RPGs".

On Youtube, a guy named TheOffOne has uploaded a playthrough of Trails of Cold Steel IV. If you watch the first video, you'll notice that my estimate of 80% text-reading is quite generous. It's actually closer to 95%. You might say that the first part of a game needs to explain the setting. Okey, now real RPGs do that in less than ten minutes, but let's allow this game to take two hours, which is the length of that video.

Moving on to the second video, you'll find to your dismay that the average gameplay time is roughly the same as in the first video. Now we've been through the first three hours of the game and have played almost none of it. It's 90% text-reading and 10% actual gameplay. And again, I'm being generous, because the gameplay here isn't the same as the gameplay in a real RPG. When I say gameplay I mean walking around an overworld, a dungeon, a cave, a town, etc., and also fighting enemies.

Now, in this fake RPG, combat is not really combat. In an RPG, combat is a moment in which you can win or lose, and it serves to improve your character. The more you fight, the better you become. In the Trails/Cold Steel games, the combat is a storytelling element, as everything else is. So you can't lose, and fighting more enemies than you encounter during the story is not needed. The combat-related decisions that you make are pointless, because you always win. You make no decisions, because it's just a story, a movie, a picture book. Also, in real RPGs, when you explore a town you are mostly walking around and looking for things and people that can be of use. In Cold Steel, you hear people talking to you even while you're walking around! They tell you such useless info that you wonder how on Earth the game passed quality-checks before release. Nonetheless, I counted all the fake gameplay as real gameplay, and I my estimate is that the first three hours of the game had about 10% gameplay.

In Dragon Quest, you go places when you want to visit them, you find things in the order you decide to, you improve at your own pace, and the story is in what YOU do, because you are the main character. In the Cold Steel games you're just an observer, watching the main character in a story that's been written by a videogame designer who thinks he's a great author (but isn't). You're not playing a role - not even close. Super Mario Bros is more of an RPG than Cold Steel is. I think the Trails/Cold Steel games should exist and I'll even agree to say that they're the greatest games of all time, but all I ask in return is for the developers to call the games by their real genre: visual novels. These games have almost nothing in common with RPGs, so when RPG fans buy them (due to false advertising), they are discouraged from buying RPGs, because they wonder "is this what RPGs are now?".

I think being bilingual makes you better at your main language. In my experience I've noticed that people from Ireland/N.Ireland speak English more correctly than people from England, Oceania and (especially) North America.

@Mgalens
I can't allow you to have the last word. So here's what I think of you. You're nothing but a spoony bard! I, by contrast, am a valiant paladin.
Anything you say from now on doesn't count because I've won.

This is plausible and I imagine this trilogy will come to the Switch, as will Twilight Princess and Wind Waker. These games weren't given a chance to sell, because they were on the Game Cube which not many people had. (Metroid Prime 3 probably did sell decently since it was on the Wii, though.)

Anyway, I hope these games come to the Switch because they are pillars of gaming history!

@Mgalens
The elements you listed are indeed RPG elements in the Trails & Cold Steel series. But they are flooded by so much reading that they end up being minor elements. If a game is 80% reading a story and 20% RPG elements, then to me it's a visual novel. If you call the Trails/Cold Steel games RPGs, then you might as well call Tower of Druaga an RPG too, just because it has dungeons.

@FullMetalWesker
The only person who thinks my opinion is higher than anyone else's is you. You're the one who wrote that I'm looking down at everyone else. Why did you write that? Perhaps subconsciously, you think my opinion is better than everyone else's. You can continue calling me a troll, but wouldn't it be better to do some psychoanalysis on yourself to comprehend what lies beneath your insecurity?

@Mgalens
The only thing wrong with the Trails games is that they're called RPGs. If they were called visual novels, I'd leave them alone because I'm not really into that genre. But as a fan of RPGs, it rubs me the wrong way when games like Final Fantasy X and Hexyz Force come along and are advertised as RPGs. Then people play them and decide they don't like RPGs. I played the first Trails of Cold Steel and also Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, and both are linear read-fests. There is so little gameplay the controller is mostly used to further the text. You're basically reading a book on your TV, and using the controller to turn the pages. I'm perfectly fine if you like that. Let's even say that they're excellent games. But can we call things by their real names? Why condemn real RPGs to obscurity just because these picture books pose as RPGs and give the genre a bad name with thousands of gamers?

You're right: different games have different characteristics that people can like or dislike. Certain characteristics change the genre, though. An RPG is a game in which you play the role of the main character. In order to make you feel like you're playing the main character, the game should give you lots of decision-making power. That means deciding what the main character does, how he does it, and where he goes. So it must not be linear. A linear game can not be an RPG, because linearity entails very little decission-making.

The Trails games and the Final Fantasy games after the ninth are not RPGs, because you a mere observer, and not an active participant with a stake in the game. You don't feel like you are the main character - you are simply pressing a button to move his story forward. It's like watching a movie or reading a novel. Because of Final Fantasy X, people were reluctant to try Dragon Quest VIII. In other words, because FFX was posing as an RPG and reached a large audience, people ignored one of the the top three RPGs of all time. This has been happening across the board, and real RPGs are now going extinct. Have you noticed that the Final Fantasy series has been largely ignored since X came out? And since those games are called RPGs, real RPGs are ignored too.

@Kirgo
I can understand having a Switch but also wanting to have Steam. If you play videogames for over five hours a day, you might run out of games on the Switch.

@Restryder
You're making it all about money now. You should try to be less materialistic. Yes, Nintendo costs more, but a Ferrari costs more than an Opel: it's better. Also, how could you possibly have a problem with the Super Mario triple pack? Three excellent games on one cartridge. Whatever. And Skyward Sword is a great game too.

@Restryder
You're playing videogames that are visually inferior to the ones that will be available twenty years from now, so you don't taste in videogames. I mean, one day The Witcher III will probably be available in 8K, so your miserable 4K version just sucks.

You prove all my points with every post. Steam users care about pixels and megapixels more than they care about the quality of the games. You're like people who listen to Justin Timberlake on a state-of-the-art stereo, while I listen to Miles Davis on a normal (but perfectly good) stereo. You guys just make no sense.

@Mgalens
The Dragon Slayer games were pretty good. Faxanadu and Legacy of the Wizard were awesome. Then the series slowly became something that you had to sit there and read. And the writing is terrible. Yes, technically they are videogames, but they're so close to being novels that you could them either.

@FullMetalWesker
I agree: Nintendo and Steam can both exist. Just like Italian wine and British wine can both exist. I was just reminding you which one was better. Yes, some people might say the latter is better, but the former is factually better. I mean, if we finally look reality in the face.

I'm playing favorites.

@contractcooker
I agree with a lot of what you say. While you may think you're in complete disagreement with me, you're actually very much in agreement. The "variety" of tastes that you mention is necessary to make the best things stand out. Lots of people think McDonald's is good food. Now, they're wrong, but it's thanks to them that we have something to compare good taste to. But imagine if, as you seem to wish, we prohibited people with good taste from pointing out the bad taste of McDonald's-lovers. We'd have even more people eating at McDonald's, and good restaurants would gradually disappear, and that would be terrible.

@Restryder
While you can play Horizon Zero Dawn, Witcher 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2, I can play Breath of the Wild and The Witcher III. That means I play two A-level games while you play one A-level game and two B-level games.

Sekiro is an obnoxious game. The only great GTA game is Vice City / Vice City Stories. The other ones have zero personality. I haven't played Nioh 2 and it looks good but probably B-level.

You're the one who's making this personal. I just said that there is good taste and bad taste. If I tell you that the American soccer league is better than the Italian soccer league, you should tell me that I have bad taste, because Italian soccer is just better.

@Mgalens
Firstly, facts exist. Some things are objectively better than others. For example, Mozart is a better composer than I am. That's a fact. I compose music, but I'm mediocre at it. That's just a reality that I have accepted. I certainly have the right ot say that I'm better than Mozart, but you also have the right to point out to me that I'm wrong. And you should. That's what I mean when I say that Mario is better than Sonic and Crash Bandicoot. Any 2D Super Mario game - yes, even any of the New Super Mario games - is better than any 2D Sonic game. And any 3D Mario game is better than any Crash Bandicoot game.

Ys IX looks like a great game but I haven't played it yet. I haven't heard anyone complain that it has serious issues though. The Trails of Cold Steel series isn't even a videogame series. Those games are just picture books that you read on a videogame console. I haven't played Monster Hunter Stories II but I played the first game. It's pretty good, but its obtuse combat system makes it a 7/10 at most. Everything about it is great but bad combat is unforgivable. The Switch and 3DS allow you to play legendary A-level RPGs such as Dragon Quest, Zelda, Kingdoms of Amalur, and Dragon's Dogma. Why waste your precious time on subpar stuff?

@Mgalens
You seem not to be convinced of what you're saying. Otherwise, you might have given an example of a 2D platformer that you thought was better than Super Mario Bros 3, or a 3D platformer that you considered superior to Super Mario Odyssey. Maybe you didn't want to make everyone laugh?

Let's be real: while everyone has their own personal taste, it's also true that there exist good taste and bad taste. And it follows that some taste is better than others. You may think Justin Timberlake is the best musician of all time, but he isn't. That's just a fact. Some things are factual.

Yes, a few third-party games run less well on the Switch, but that's a nitpick. The games that run poorly aren't the best games. The worthwhile games run well enough. That small drawback is nothing compared to the huge benefit of having Nintendo 1st-party games.

Having a Steam console is like having a stereo that doesn't play Charlie Parker and Miles Davis CDs. Having a Nintendo console is like having a stereo that doesn't play Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake CDs.

I've never used Steam. I have a Switch, a PSP and a 3DS, and those three devices allow me to play every great game ever made. I'll never understand why people use Steam. I ask everyone I know, and they give me nonsensical answers, i.e. "Steam allows me to play [insert mediocre game title here]".

My point to Steam-users is the following. While I'm playing Super Mario Odyssey, you're playing an inferior 3D platformer. While I'm playing Breath of the Wild, you're playing an inferior action RPG. While I'm playing a New Super Mario Bros game on my Switch or 3DS, you're playing an inferior 2D platformer. And so on. No one can compete with Nintendo at the best genres.

I'm not interested in this device for the same reason I wasn't interested in iTunes at first: it's missing a key feature that I want. Just like iTunes was missing The Beatles' catalogue, this thing is missing Mario and Zelda.

Now, I know lots of people pretend that Mario and Zelda are just two of many great videogame franchises, but they don't know how to perceive reality properly. The fact is that Zelda, Mario and Dragon Quest are the ony three series that are worth 10/10, while everything else is at least a notch below them. When Steam gets Mario and Zelda, I'll be interested.

@BulbasaurusRex
Yeah, but as AVGN said, "I wanna play videogames sitting on my couch".

This makes the Atari Lynx definitively useless. Chip's Challenge was the only good Lynx exclusive game, and now it's coming to the SNES and SMD.

Great article! The GBA era was pretty deceptive, what with the dark screen followed by a super-cool backlit folding model only two years later. But it was definitely with the 3DS that Nintendo went off the deep end. That's when I really felt that Nintendo was playing fast and loose with their fans' money.

@marandahir
Point taken. DQM is often called a Pokemon clone but it is in many ways the opposite of Pokemon. I was glad that the games were different in so many ways, because I doubt anyone will ever make a clone of Pokemon that's superior to the real thing. Square knew better than to attempt that. I like the DQM games, but for reasons different from why I like Pokemon games.

Satoru Iwata is one of the very greatest minds in the history of videogames. He was the best programmer of his time, and he warned the industry that the 8th generation would be the last. And what are we seeing today? The so-called 9th generation refuses to take off, leaving the Nintendo Switch to conquer all. Nobody wants the stupid PS5 and XboxX. It takes ten years to make a triple-A game for the new consoles, and it's a buggy mess too. Switch games are still feasible.

I'd definitely buy a Switch Sin & Punishment double pack.

If you guys want good Pokemon clones, go with the Dragon Quest Monsters series.

I'm playing the market.

Are they not working on The Witcher IV?

Okey, I'll buy it then.

What's a paladin?

I keep my phone at minimal brightness and don't use it for anything other than phone calls and text messages. My Switch is always at near-minimal brightness. My computer screen is always at minimal brightness with the blue light filtered out. Screens are bad for your eyes, people.

I'm surprised to find out that someone with a mind like yours watches TikTok.