Comments 352

Re: ​Shigeru Miyamoto and Yugo Hayashi Discuss Star Fox Zero's Development

Vandy

@Maxz

Because no one cares about score anymore, I suppose.

Nowadays it's all about how many hours the main storyline is (regardless of if it's mostly just filler and padding), how pretty the cut scenes are and how many fetch quests there are to artificially lengthen the play experience.

Controls aside, people even complain about the length of the main story-line of SFZ. As if longevity has EVER been what Starfox is all about. It's primarily an arcade-style shooter. While it may be on the shorter end of modern games, it's still action-packed and filled to the brim with excitement.

Re: ​Shigeru Miyamoto and Yugo Hayashi Discuss Star Fox Zero's Development

Vandy

@Nicolai

So are you saying that Splatoon's controls aren't intuitive? Because I had to learn to use those, too.

Secondary definition of intuitive:

"(chiefly of computer software) easy to use and understand."

Which Star Fox's controls are once you've actually practiced with them. They feel natural and none of the controls are at all complicated. Therefore, they are intuitive. They're just different than what people are used to and these people don't like change.

Re: ​Shigeru Miyamoto and Yugo Hayashi Discuss Star Fox Zero's Development

Vandy

@MrDanger88

Yeah and Wii Sports could have been played with an NES controller.

Does that mean we have to appeal to the lowest common denominator every time? I welcome the change to advanced controls. If someone can't get the hang of them, that's their problem. There are plenty of other games out there for those people to enjoy.

I'm tired of settling for less because people complain too much.

Re: ​Shigeru Miyamoto and Yugo Hayashi Discuss Star Fox Zero's Development

Vandy

@A01

Most of the reviews that concern the controls just sound like people are blaming their shortcomings on the game itself.

Are the controls responsive? Yes.
Are the controls broken? Absolutely not.

So the controls are not bad.

I'm not very good at driving a standard transmission vehicle. Does that mean they're broken and undriveable? No.

It just means that perhaps I need to find something else I can drive. Just like some people need to find something else to play.

Re: ​Shigeru Miyamoto and Yugo Hayashi Discuss Star Fox Zero's Development

Vandy

@A01

So you've discovered a game that you just aren't able to play.

It doesn't mean it's a bad game because there is a large amount of people who have adjusted quite well to the controls. There's no shame in admitting that you simply are not able to get the hang of the controls.

But that doesn't mean the controls aren't intuitive or better if you are able to learn them.

Re: ​Shigeru Miyamoto and Yugo Hayashi Discuss Star Fox Zero's Development

Vandy

@stipey

That Jimquisition review was an absolute travesty.

It's such irresponsibly bad "journalism" that it's a stain to even be featured on Metacritic in the game's weighting as it's full of misinformation.

This sentence right here tells you all you need to know about the credibility of the review:

"Evasive maneuvers are unintuitive, with players needing to double tap the right analog stick and hold the left in order to do a barrel roll, while tilting the sticks up and down in opposite directions to somersault."

I have no idea how he managed to butcher the controls so badly. Barrel rolls are simple stick-flick maneuvers and you can somersault with literally one push of a button. Even if you opt for doing the somersault with the sticks, it's one of the simplest moves in the game.

Does he have brain damage? That's the only way to explain how terrible he is at the game. If he even played it at all.

As for the "just let me push a button" thing. That's today's average "gamer" for you. If they can't master a game within the first five minutes, they hate it. If the game doesn't auto-save after every 2 minutes, they hate it. If the game doesn't completely hold their hand every step of the way by displaying on-screen tips like "hey! remember to jump! don't touch the bad guys! go to the restroom if you feel like you will have an accident!", they hate it. If the game deviates at all from their expectations, they hate it.

Re: ​Shigeru Miyamoto and Yugo Hayashi Discuss Star Fox Zero's Development

Vandy

@MitchVogel

"The way I see it, a control system is intuitive if you pick it up right away."

I don't think that's true at all. It took me a little bit to get used to the motion controls in Splatoon, but now I can't imagine any other way of playing it. I'm a seasoned veteran of FPS games and I found the non-motion control stick aiming far less intuitive than the intended motion style, which was a complete departure from what I'm used to playing with. I sucked a lot at first while I got used to it, but I eventually figured it out.

Just because something has a learning curve doesn't make it any less intuitive or useful.

I still have absolutely no idea why people couldn't figure out that you don't have to try and look at both screens at the same time. Just because the game "recommends" you use the cockpit view doesn't mean you have to blindly oblige. The reticle is on the screen at all times and it's super easy to aim like that. Most of the complaints make some mention of having to "constantly look back and forth between the TV and the gamepad". If you're doing this, you are playing it wrong.

Sometimes people just have to come to terms with the fact that perhaps they just aren't as good at something as they believe they should be. If you can't fly the plane while using the gamepad for aiming, that's not the game's fault. It's your fault for being unable to multi-task.

I'm sure someone's going to take issue with this (likely the same people who STILL offer their criticisms in spite of STILL not even having played the game), but sometimes you have to be honest with yourself and check your ego. You may have been good at Starfox back in the day, but the series is evolving. Survival of the fittest.

Re: Star Fox Zero And Bravely Second Make NPD's April Best Sellers List

Vandy

@Freeon-Leon

You can't really call that Polygon nonsense a "review". It was basically a child throwing a tantrum because he found out that riding a unicycle was harder than he personally thought it should be. So rather than take a bit of time to learn, he just decided to loudly complain to anyone within earshot.

Re: Soapbox: Why Websites Don’t Need to Give a Game a Review Score (and Probably Shouldn’t)

Vandy

I'm all for doing away with review scores if it helps ensure we don't have another Star Fox Zero situation. Where we had a handful of idiots text-walling about why they feel the review should be lowered from an 8 to a 7. A SINGLE POINT. As if it matters.

A review should conclude with a verdict of buy, try or skip.

That's all I ever need to know. I'm a big boy so I like to form my own opinions.

Re: Wii U "Disappointing To Everybody" But We're Excited About Nintendo NX, Says GameStop CEO

Vandy

@hYdeks

Agreed. I personally think the controller is revolutionary. I love the dual screens. I don't even care whether many games utilize it or not, the fact that it's there in case you need it is great. It's nice to be able to have off-TV play not only for main titles, but for the Virtual Console. That way I don't have to worry about hogging the TV all the time, I can just wander away with my gamepad and keep going.

Re: Wii U "Disappointing To Everybody" But We're Excited About Nintendo NX, Says GameStop CEO

Vandy

@Castellon-games

Very excellent points, well done.

You know, whenever a debate is raised over the Wii U and its library, the pro-Wii U side always cites how much fun they have with the games, how unique the experiences have been, how creative they think the titles have been, how they're not at all disappointed and are satisfied with their purchases.

And then the opposition always ends up just making a bunch of pretentious and elitist comments like "oh, but how were the review scores" and "but it's less powerful than ___" and "what about 3rd party support" and "but how is the frame-rate of ___ game?"

And yet, none of these comments matter at all to gamers in the long run. So I know which side I'd rather be on.

Re: Preview: Mechanised Cuteness in Kirby: Planet Robobot

Vandy

@Dankykong

I think we're looking too deeply into something that is just intended for enjoyment. Not everything needs a heavy backstory, regardless of whether it's intended for children or not.

It's like the people who are complaining about how the shooting controls in Star Fox Zero work. Who cares? It's fun.

I don't care what the motivations for Super Mario to be in space are. They could have said "he woke up on the moon one day" and I'd shrug and say "whatever" because Mario Galaxy is amazing.

Re: Preview: Mechanised Cuteness in Kirby: Planet Robobot

Vandy

@Dankykong

I'd rather there not be an explanation and just leave Kirby as this mythological-type character who just happens to have a whole bunch of random adventures that don't necessarily have to make sense. It's how I used to look at Link from Legend of Zelda until they decided to painstakingly map out a chronology.

Like a parent telling a child a bedtime story every night. "Tell me another one about Kirby".

"Well, did you hear about the time Kirby found a magical paintbrush?"

Re: Nintendo NX Will Be Launched Globally in March 2017

Vandy

Well, I don't blame them at all. Nintendo was faced with two scenarios.

Rush the production of the console to please the crybabies and have it ready in time for 2016, with the likelihood that it's not absolutely perfect at release so the crybabies find even more things to cry about.

Or delay it another year and let the crybabies cry about how they have to wait one more year for a console that they will most likely hate anyway.

Either way though, the NX's delay will be declared as the "first nail in the NX's coffin" soon enough.

Damned if you Ninten-do, damned if you Ninten-don't.

Re: Nintendo NX Will Be Launched Globally in March 2017

Vandy

Haha whatever. There are still plenty of great games on the Wii U to enjoy in the meantime.

Maybe we'll luck out and get an E3 announcement of Mario Galaxy 3 for Wii U. I'd love for one more Galaxy game to take advantage of the phenomenal Wiimote control scheme that 1 and 2 utilized.

Something tells me the NX will drop Wiimote support.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

So the bottom line is that there really is no good reason to judge a game by its technical specs, which is what I have been saying all along. Sure, it's important to advance and ensure you are at least somewhat keeping up with the times, but it's absurd to write off a fun game just because it doesn't run on the most powerful hardware on the market, or just happens to drop 5-10 frame-rates here and there, despite there being no noticeable difference in the gameplay.

And yet, that's the situation we find ourselves in nowadays. And the situation we're perpetuating by talking ad nauseam about the technical specs of the Wii U and its library.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@PlywoodStick

Sure, but you still haven't addressed what I'm asking.

Why would the technical specs have any relevance whatsoever on your enjoyment of the game. If the game runs smoothly and it's a blast to play, then who cares if it's 60fps or 50fps?

If a game like Mario Galaxy runs on a much weaker console but is still a much better game than a terrible one that runs on the PS4, why should the hardware even matter at all?

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@PlywoodStick

And if technical specs were so rare in the past, therefore irrelevant to what should be the main focus of gaming (is it fun or not), then why are we so reliant upon them now? I can't speak for anyone else, only myself. And I don't personally care about ANY of the technical specs of a game I'm playing. All I'm concerned with is whether or not I am enjoying myself.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@electrolite77

I'm not saying it was never there, but it was certainly never the primary focus among gamers. It was more about which game was the best. No one really thought twice about how powerful the system was or the technical specs of the game itself. If you did, that's kind of losing sight of what the point of playing video games is in the first place.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@brooks83

I've been gaming since the NES.

And the commercials between SNES and Genesis would debate it. Other than that, when we talked games with other people, it was never about what was more powerful or what the hardware and technical specs were. It was about which game was the most awesome game. Because that's what matters. GAMES.

Even the EGMs and the Gamepros of the day didn't talk at length about technical specs and hardware. I know, because I still have a stack of them. They talked about the fun factor of games and what the new features were and what to expect. No mention of "slight frame rate drops" or "resolution of the graphics" or anything.

Sure, there will always be people who care more about those things and I'm sure there were people somewhere out there talking about it back then, but it was mostly focused on which one would provide you with the most fun.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

Hey, remember when the SNES was released and everyone debated over what kind of processing power was under the hood and all the technical specs and droned on endlessly over the frame-rate? Man, I remember people getting so heated over the resolution of Super Mario World and whether the 9/10 review should be lowered to an 8.5 or possibly even an 8.4 because of the lack of multi-player features and achievements. And talk about that price point! What were they thinking?

It's a good thing gamers never lost sight of the fact that the most important thing is whether or not you're having fun.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@hoshinosammy

"I'm getting bored of talking about how Nintendo's in financial trouble or they're not doing as good or whatever."

Right?

Nintendo could release Super Mario Galaxy 3 and it could be hailed as the greatest game ever, met with universal acclaim and 100/100 scores across the board. Every critic on earth could collectively join together and call it the crowning achievement of gaming.

And people would still say "ya but its probably the final nail in the (whichever Nintendo system) coffin. did you see they under-performed in profits last quarter they are in trouble now"

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@G_M

So you accuse me of making "sweeping generalizations". I look through your post history to find out that all you do is make sweeping generalizations of your own about how "Ninty has pissed off many of their old fans this generation". And I happen to be one of the "old fans" since back to the NES days.

The only appropriate response to this is:

Derp.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

I can't imagine what it must be like to develop new ideas at Nintendo.

"We want something new and different"

Gives them something new and different

"We hate this, change it back!"

Changes it back

"OMG this again? Same old rehash! Change up the formula"

Changes the formula to release a remixed, enhanced version

"This is a betrayal of the classic formula!"

And the Circle Of Strife continues.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@Mr_Zurkon

How much of this is Nintendo's fault though? I said it in an earlier point, but there's the issue of Nintendo wanting to do something innovative, but then the 3rd party developers just cross their arms and say "this is too hard" so they abandon the console.

So how does Nintendo please the 3rd party devs WITHOUT going the Sony and Microsoft route and just releasing the exact same console as each other?

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@Dakt

You do realize that Wii U's also include two full AAA retail games with them, right? Which also reduces the so-called "ridiculous" asking price.

I'm sorry man, but I can't do this with you anymore. You've devolved into a lot of the other people who turn into these anti-Nintendo zealots. You figure that if you throw out enough numbers enough times and yell the loudest, that you will be the "winner". Meanwhile, literally 99% of the things you say come down to preference and/or bias. I'm out. I'll concede because I know there is no reasoning with you and I don't personally care what you think of this discussion anymore.

Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Needs to Excite A Mainstream Audience in 2016

Vandy

@Dakt

I already did and you referred to me as a "mandchild" because I reminded you that there is more to consider about the Wii U than just the specs under the hood.

Also, you haven't bothered to read or consider my previous point about how it takes time to develop innovative consoles. So Wii U was being developed during last gen to include things that, quite frankly, blow last-gen consoles out of the water. Unfortunately, PS4 and XboxOne were released before Wii U which dated the console. Nintendo wasn't going to go back and RE-develop their console at the time as it would only result in them STILL being a generation behind.

If you're going to argue that Wii U "as a device" is not worth the asking price, then you need to take your crusade to car manufacturers. As long as every car simply has the same type of engine and fuel system, they should be priced the same, regardless of options and technology.