The_Nintendo_Expat

@KingChiliPepper

hey thanks for coming back and saying so! 😊 most people don't in my experience.

I think we actually agree in many ways, and this is definitely a subject which i can see "both sides" of. different writers, one publication. I think it's important to understand that there are different minds working together here, but also that narrative is a thing in journalism. sometimes the narrative is a lot more cohesive than it is on this site around this game, and I think at least partially thats what some users are commenting on. 👍 I hope that made sense 😅✌️

@MegaVel91

"Sound more than a little too full of yourself, tbh."

okay, what does that have to do with the substance of my comment?

(for a chuckle, i read my last comment aloud in the style of Frasier Crane 😂 you may be onto something! ✌️❤️)

@KingChiliPepper

I'm not sure what we've disagreed about, as in my reply I've stated three facts and then described a different perspective from yours that exists, specifically stating there is no "wrong" answer.

in fact i didnt endorse either perspective personally 👍

the martyrdom and reflexive rejection of opposing views by the people supposedly enjoying this game! as though people are only sharing their opinions to sully your enjoyment, and you are obligated to read and correct their commentary, in turn 😂👍

@KingChiliPepper

"the review was written by a different person"

yes, but the collection of "stories" in a publication is known as a "narrative." there's one proper noun across the top of the page, afterall, and it's neither of these authors'. ✌️

neither perspective is specifically wrong but its jarring for the reader to see a supposed 9/10 game be called barely good enough on the same page a bit later. just my 2 cents.

@MasterGraveheart

"I think the game would have been best-served to be called "Metroid Beyond," and just nix the Prime name all together."

this is an excellent idea. that way id have known better than to get my hopes up, and maybe id be cautiously optimistic/curious about this new direction, rather than feeling like they are dancing on my childhood's grave. ✌️

@Stilgars

"If it’s “just good enough,” why give it a 9/10 (“excellent”) last month? You’re already saying it’s barely okay after only a few weeks. At this rate, you’ll probably be calling it a complete disappointment by next year."

good point that I've made in the past. at this point, i feel like i can tell the "real" 9s and 10s on this site from the "inertial hype" ones ✌️

(though i doubt this site will ever admit the disappointment so directly, frankly.)

"People misread the intent of this space – it exists as a palate cleanser to blast through on the fun-to-control Vi-O-La bike between tense sessions of dungeon-crawling in tight corridors."

1) source?

2) what was the intent that "they" wrongly applied, specifically? who are "they?"

3) what difference does "intent" make to the end user's experience, in a game like this? is the desert less boring if i can appreciate that my palate is supposedly being cleansed?

4) cleansed of what? linear corridors with little risk of getting lost? when i needed a break from prime 1, i popped in some Melee or something 🥳👍

5) one person's "good enough" is another's "not." ✌️

going from one to the other is like walking into a dark house on a bright summer day.

"I'm gonna read all these Nintendo related comments, but there better not be anyone complaining-

AAAAAARRGGGGHHUHH NOOOOOOOO! 😭"

I keep forgetting that Nintendo's actual worst decision ever still hasn't happened yet. They are on a roll!

@Angelic_Lapras_King

I LOVE this idea! I dont even play the Yakuza games, but playing the classic sega games within Shenmue blew my mind at the time!

it seems like a Yakuza-based "hub world" to run around to different arcade cabs would wori really well, and be something interesting and different!

my Switch 1 Gulikit controller was perfectly fine, but it has that "solid and heavy" feel.

I like for controllers to feel "strong and light."

(like old school Nintendo controllers, or 8bitdo controllers.)

@squiddu-real

i think that's fair enough! 👍 i guess only time will tell.

@N00BiSH

This is why i asked the question the way I did, because surely if what they wanted was someone to do the Charles Martinet thing, there are many people out there that could do it better than what this guy is doing.

I'm not as upset about this one as you are, but I do share your frustration on some level. I really liked Martinet's interpretation, and I LOVE the pre Martinet Mario who sounds more like he's from Brooklyn, but IMO neither of the new contenders are half as iconic, and they never will be. ✌️

EDIT - i also maintain that every line I could possibly ever want Mario to deliver (and then some) has already been recorded by Martinet and hiring a new voice actor for the games at least is completely unnecessary.

(I'm perfectly fine with Mario saying nothing the entire game, tbh. 👍)

@Solid_Python

"(especially for Saturn and Dreamcast era games which Sega refuses to rerelease!)"

it's as though they believe interest in these games is only going UP, and that we are only getting younger! 😅💀

Is there an unspoken rule that if you "inherit" an iconic voice role, you are obligated not to do an "impression" of your predecessor?

i feel like whenever they change voice actors, the new person always does it so differently, meanwhile I know there are regular people everywhere that can do a pretty accurate Martinet Mario and Wario.

See: Carl on the Simpsons.

2025 was a weird one for me, but I can probably say that I played Noita on my Steamdeck the most, right at the end of the year 👍 great game, actually my (new-to-me in 2025) GOTY!

"...given how long I spent searching for those damn P-Switches, Peach Medallions and ? Panels. Maybe one day I'll be able to come back to it..."

this is such a devastating thing to say about a MarioKart game, for me, on a couple different levels. 😟

sort of like if they made a castlevania game, and someone said they weren't so keen on the harvesting and matchmaking elements 😂

(or come to think of it, a metroid game but the complaint is annoying unfunny talkative NPCs 💀✌️)

@BAN

great comment! I agree with what you said, broadly.

"Nintendo gets complacent on games when they’re in success mode.... That’s typical of them."

my gut is to agree with this, but can you name another time in Nintendo's history in which this was actually true?

they dominated in the NES and SNES days, but they were almost peerless at this time for software quality and innovation, imo.

The next time they had this kind of relevance was the Wii era, but I was again pretty happy with the quality and direction of what they were doing with their big series'.

anyway something I'm thinking about ✌️

@NatalieRath

i really miss when they used chilled out latin jazz for most of their menu/shop etc music. that was a good era.

@TheFatPlumber

i learned it not so long ago, so it's my pleasure to pass it along ✌️

@DwaynesGames

"LEGO has long transitioned to be a rich man’s hobby."

agreed!

it used to be a rich kid's hobby. 😅✌️

Talk about a self-fulfilling prophecy!

@TerribleTerabytes

"Crazy how it's the exact opposite of the Wii U era where people were begging Nintendo to "Drop the gimmicks, we need better hardware!""

@MattmanForever

"People wanted a more powerful Switch, and we got exactly that."

how many straw men are we talking about, here?
a thousand?

...a million?! 😬

@AllBLK

can you imagine upgrading your PC but still having to pay Steam to see the benefits on games you already bought?

Not just "no," but "please don't."

@TheFatPlumber

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/236579677696

you can just erase everything past a certain point, if you look at it closely. ✌️

@JumpingJackson

I prefer tat 👍 but i can live with twaddle if it's a good deal.

@Dev-N

"Nintendo treats objects like composers, man..."

@Twilite9

I third the request. No more X, please.

No composer credited, here. No surprise.

Hideki Sakamoto. Took 5 seconds.

(imo "journalism" is when you research and put together information from different sources to paint a fuller or clearer picture. the most flattering word to describe simply repeating Nintendo's presser is "dissemination.")

PS - y'all usually link to the review and mention what score it got. ✌️

@Hank_Scorpio

I want to also say, N64 was an exciting time for me, too (95-00 being the best years in gaming for me by far,) but I got pretty damn PUMPED about the Wii and the Wii U, too. When I saw the Switch (in the rooftop hipster video) was the first time some of the air was let out of the balloon. like, "oh, it's a tablet, now," and it's just been tablets all the way down, ever since.

anyway, good games are good games, and I will welcome them as they come. I just miss having interesting hardware, and a company making the games that felt like they still had some blood in their veins. ✌️

@Hank_Scorpio

fair enough, i didnt think about that aspect too much tbh. everyone will have a different experience based on where in the world they are, and as youve said far more so in the old world with the old ways.

EDIT - I re read and better understood your numbers. Suffice to say, I'm talking about and comparing the US release of each console. I think that at most shows a geographical bias, but one that I share with a very large chunk of Nintendo's fan base.

I think I see your point though: N64 was theoretically less packed with hits in Japan, because it launched earlier there. our experience with Switch 2 as an example has much closer parity with japan's. theoretically. 👍

I hope the hopeful part of the last line of my comment shows at least a little bit in this way: I am genuinely curious to see what Nintendo does with 2026, and I'm always hoping for, if not always expecting, the best.

And, Nintendo has defied my expectations before! Perhaps they can do it again 😊👍

man, the vibe sucks in here lol. 😅

i think we need some new, exciting Nintendo stuff on that chart. (please?)

FWIW here's the 1st party published lineup for N64 in the same amount of time:

Pilotwings 64
Super Mario 64
Wave Race 64
Killer Instinct Gold
Cruis'n USA
Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire
Mario Kart 64
Blast Corps

(bear in mind, Nintendo was widely criticized and praised in almost equal measure, by my personal account, for their "quality over quantity" approach at this particular time.)

By the end of the first full year, they had also released:

Star Fox 64
Tetrisphere
GoldenEye 007
Mischief Makers
Diddy Kong Racing
Bomberman 64*

I'm very interested to see how Switch 2 ends up in the same span of time 👍✌️

@Chlocean

nice! I love that movie! 😁

im a bit obsessed with trying to find a third thing, once there are 2 of the same thing. does anybody else do that? 🤔

anyway I can't think of a third example of "comedically takes marketing claim at face value" but if I do, I'll be back here! 😅✌️

@Anti-Matter

me too, man. i can eat well off my back catalogue for years while Nintendo figures out what they are doing, what kind of company they really want to be ✌️

what older games are you most interested in playing right now? what is "retro" to you?

What would Gunpei have to say about this dpad-less, fragile, expensive, anti consumer, network/service-dependant, tech-chasing, 3rd party courting phase of Nintendo hardware?

i usually wait for the game that entices me sufficiently to splurge on the latest Nintendo console, but between the current release calendar and the high + rising price, I just dont see that happening this time.

end of a long era for your old pal Willie! I've owned every Nintendo home console since the very first one and Switch will likely be my last.

hey welcome back and thanks for doing another one! I really enjoyed your article about TOTK at the time, and I'll read as many of these as you want to write. 😊✌️

some people saying "i played my friend's for 10 minutes and got a headache" might not realize that the thing was probably adjusted for their friends eyes (for their sake, we hope,) but not yours.

@Tott

"Well, Sears already sold me 'The World's Best Garden Hose,' so somebody's lyin'!"

-Hank Hill

@SuperWeird

screen name checks out 😂✌️

i have a decades-old-now list of stuff id like Nintendo to bring back and Virtual Boy isn't on it.

i honestly thought they might try remake/remastering some of the VB games on 3DS, like with full color sprites or polygons or whatever redone graphics and stereoscopic 3D that isnt (as) headache inducing. it would have been a great way to let certain superior VB games really "sing." Alas, that was many years ago, now and I couldn't care less about the nonsense they are up to with this.

The fact is Nintendo's back catalogue is in better hands with the modders, hackers, open source developers, amateur preservationist, emulation enthusiasts, and yes, "pirates" (R!) than it ever has been with Nintendo, especially now.

edit - yep, fact lol.

If you wanted to see this game show up in a compilation or any kind of physical edition, you can let it go, now.

NSO is where beloved older games go to die.

(Emulation, then, is like an afterlife, where these games are set free, unrestrained from the limitations beset them by their earthly mortal masters for all eternity. 🙂‍↕️)

@DennisReynolds

the best kind of correct... technically correct!

@Misima

lol it was worth a shot 😆👍

@Misima

"I wish Gabe would buy 49% of Nintendo and take the company private with 51% held by the workers of Nintendo."

from your mouth to god's ears 👍

this isnt really a "Nintendo product," is it?

the thumb one looks pretty definitive at first but maybe that person just has hypermobility or something. 🤔

"Stardew Valley on Switch 2 is almost the best way to play the game (without mods)"

burying "best" under two layers of qualifications is interesting... kind of like saying "this is one of the ways to play this game." 😅✌️

"Improved split-screen co-op is another huge boon, as you can now play with up to three other people on the same farm on the same screen. The magic of better processing power!"

was the Switch really not powerful enough to run this game in 4p split screen? im skeptical... 🤔