World

For me, at least some of the third route in Hanaemu, Kare to & Bloom (Eng.: Him, the Smile, & Bloom).

Not sure if I'll be playing anything else, as I'm also indulging in my forbidden, non-gaming hobby...reading.

(Well, I guess otomes are also technically reading. But, like, books.)

Haha, I for one find this hilarious? They should've showcased this in a trailer, maybe with a Banjo-fied version of Yakety Sax.

So I have to confess: for some reason, I find all the Dave the Diver collabs like instinctively annoying, but Balatro crossovers seem fine to me? (I guess I've been primed by decades of licensed playing cards?)

This seems....fine? But I'm a bit concerned that they're missing the point.
The original game had a mediocre reception not because it looked bad. (In fact, in my opinion, it looked great!). It's that by the end it felt like eighty half-baked ideas in a trenchcoat.
The early levels were good in my opinion, and then the space level at the end was also good.
But the casino was dire---just a sea of bad ideas that were poorly executed---and then the lead-up to the final boss (and the boss itself) were like the worst excesses of the Banjo-Kazooie games turned to 11.
This idea could be good, but only if the developers understand the changes that need to be made to make the game better.

I feel at this point that perhaps David has too many friends. (I guess it's good for his sushi business though.)

Honestly, this seems like exactly the kind of 3D platformer I like. A bunch of collectibles, not too many weird gimmicks, just a little guy who can jump. Sounds good to me!

This game is only seven years old. It is essentially a current gen game. Sure, it had its flaws, but those flaws were related to the game design (i.e., the fiasco that is everything about the casino level and then also the final boss), not the limitations of the technology. Why not just make a third game at that point?

That said, I hope in the remaster they reveal whatever that poor little robot was loading all this time.

I think the changes are all minor and also good.
Generations came at a time when the Sonic gang as we know them now was still finding its footing, but in the interim the characterizations have really solidified thanks at least in part to Sega's heavy use of various social media, traditional media, etc.. So removing some of the messier/looser characterizations makes sense in my opinion.

I feel a few different things about this game. This review makes it sound great! I like a good DKC-style platformer and don't have any attachment to the original platformer, so I could possibly enjoy this.
However, one of the screenshots I saw showed this horrendous looking "buy some kind of lootbox [presumably with non-microtransaction things you find in the game]" screen, which just about turned me off the game entirely.
Like, I get that the game doesn't have microtransactions but it just looked really trashy and hideous anyway.

You know, I never thought I'd say this as I typically sort of disdain Sony and Microsoft's boring workaday contributions to the console space, but at this point I kind of hope Nintendo goes for something a little more in line with what the Other Guys do and release a console that's more like a hardware revision than something totally new.
In my mind, the Switch is close to perfect and really all it needs is a little more power to continue to entice third parties to make games for it (not something I personally care at all about, but I understand how the business works too).

Have to go with NA this time. I also like the JP cover, but the colours really pop on the NA one so that's why it gets my vote.

@Not_Soos Hey, I can tell you're anxious about this, so I just wanted to chime in for what it's worth in my view as a longtime NL user who has seen you around.
Like yes, some of the anxiety is valid; channel spam is annoying, and it's good to be aware of that. But I want to say that you also seem to conduct yourself as a reasonable person who has always made the effort to engage with people respectfully even if you do not agree with them, so I would assume that people would at least be open to you sharing your new projects with us.
I'm not at all a YouTube person, but I did check out the channel and you do seem to have a comfort in front of the camera and an easy dry humour that is hopefully a good sign for your channel! Best of luck with it! 💖

Princess Closet for me still (I'm such a slow reader 😭); hoping to finish Ayasaki's route this weekend though (my second, of four). And then I'll be into the third route of Hanaemu, Kare to & Bloom [Eng: Him, the Smile & Bloom] after that (I'm doing these two back and forth).
Maybe also some Arcade Archives games as per usual (not sure what yet), and lately I've been going back to Shmup Collection (giving Armed 7 DX another try and I am finding I really enjoy it!)

You know what, I have no nostalgia for this series, but these games look really great and I look forward to seeing what the final product is like!

I have never played a Yu-Gi-Oh in my life (well once when I was younger I tried with a friend, but it was too annoying so I quit), but the way Konami is drip-feeding information about this game is even making me a little bit intrigued by it. It seems like it's going to be another good collection from them!

That's legit cool! I've never played either of these games, so I may have to give them a try now.

I honestly love City Connection's commitment to releasing these kinds of games on Switch.
Although their output had been somewhat hit or miss earlier on, the S-Tribute series is overall pretty good (in particular, I'd argue S-Tribute Elevator Action Returns is flawless in my opinion as a non-hardcore fan who loves this era of games).
Also, City Connection! Give us the original Vapor Trail too!

I've seen Curse Crackers around, but I don't think I've ever watched gameplay of it. It looks incredible! It looks like if Inti Creates did a Wario Land game. I'm not sure if I'll get it as it looks incredibly hectic and I know my limits, but I'd say that one is the highlight of this roundup for me.

Oh, great review!

The freeroaming sections sound interesting, and I think they highlight why I always feel let down by Mario Party games. The minigames themselves are always good, but the boards are often a boring chore that must be endured to do more minigames. (And honestly anytime I play these games with people, we usually skip the board and just play in whatever mode allows minigames only.)

Now I'm wondering what a more robust freeroaming option would be like. Maybe throw out the board for one entry, or make it a spinoff. I'm imagining something like a combination between Bowser's Fury and Go Vacation. Could be interesting.

I have liked the overall NSO project so far. I think the effort they've put into adding more Japan-only games to the NA service is great. I also like that they've included more obscure titles, and not just the A-listers.

In terms of what I'd hope to see for improvements would be additional historical information on the titles (not just the synopsis), and the ability to buy titles outright. I'd also like to see a deeper dive into more obscure consoles, but I can see why that wouldn't be possible.

@Gryffin Never finished? Yes, absolutely. Never played? No, I can't do it. Once I have more than a few games in the backlog, my inner Mom voice kicks in: "Why don't you finish the games you have before buying more?"

But I'm also immune to FOMO, so I just buy games I want, regardless of pricing, and if I miss a pre-order or sale window or whatever, oh well.

While it seems like maybe the best-looking Mario Party game ever, I never know what to do with this series. The minigames are always fun, but the board game aspect is always too slow-paced to be all that fun and yet also too shallow to really sink your teeth into.

So like a cross between Eternal Darkness and Abbey of Crime? That sounds like an amazing concept!
I'm terrible at these kinds of games, so I'm not sure if this one will be for me, but the idea is so cool!

@Tevor This perfectly sums up how I feel about ideas like this.

If there's a passionate young dev who can rejuvenate it then that's cool!

But as a fellow Old Person, I long for the days when we can be free of this nostalgia death loop and get some more new ideas flowing that aren't just callbacks to "Thing You Remember."

To be honest, I don't think there's any reason to revisit the idea. The fusion of the top-down and side-scrolling is fine, but Zelda II was clearly the series trying to find its feet.

While I'm sure a remake would hit the spot for some (not me personally), there's really no reason to go back to it for a new game. It should be fine and good for a series to have one-off concepts, and I think side-scrolling-only Zelda is this in my opinion.

It's a long weekend here in Canada, so I'll probably be playing a few things, but I'm not 100% sure on what yet. I'm in the mood for a new game, but there's not really anything out there I necessarily want either, so I'll likely be continuing with Princess Closet and then probably some trusty Arcade Archives titles (currently in the mood for Burgertime and maybe Qix).

Huh. I hadn't even heard of this game, but it looks great/seasonally appropriate! Thanks for the review!

I love everything about this. Just that peak, gloriously unhinged Nintendo, not really seen since the Wii era.

You go get that blue ocean, Ninty. I support you 🫡

I voted for 9 R.I.P., although I plan to get it later on. It looks great, about half the cast are VAs I already like, and lately I'm more in the mood for more "mature" (not necessarily darker, although that's the case here) otome/VNs lately.

Oh, that's interesting! I thought for sure this one would score at least half-decently well. Shame that it wasn't as good as it seemed to be.

That being said, I'm now relieved I won't be tempted by this as I really dislike the fonts and general menu displays in this one. They remind me of Codename: S.T.E.A.M. in that they're going for kind of a comic book-esque look, but it's a video game so it doesn't really work they way they thought it would.

I have slightly more free time this weekend, so I've been digging into my backlog a bit and playing:
Ruku's Heart Balloon (if you like SameGame, it's one of two clones I know of on the Switch---it's adorable and the awful translation just makes it even better);
A couple of ACA titles in Circus Charlie and Twinkle Star Sprites (both great games and long-time favorites of mine that I'm happy to have on Switch);
The second route (of four) in Princess Closet. Honestly, I hadn't anticipated how refreshing I'd find an otome where the main character is a whole adult and everyone just has jobs (I'm playing this one alongside another otome where they are just normal adults, Him, the Smile & Bloom, alternating routes back and forth.)

@Anti-Matter Ooh, thanks for the information! That is so cool!

I looked up Imagine: Figure Skater and Imagine: Ice Champions as I'm on a figure skating kick right now, and I was shocked that they had such a cool anime style that seemed very unlike Ubisoft, and not what I would have thought from the box art. I guess the games were localized versions of other games as you say! Huh! That is really neat!

I feel like this is anecdotally true for me at least.

I'm a niche gamer at the best of times. I just like weird stuff that catches my eye, and I rarely play first-party or otherwise headlining titles. I'm not a hipster or anything; I just find the games that float into my life with no warning to be more exciting than ones that are hyped to death on release.

And, like, the Switch is possibly the best console of all time for this? The only one I can really think of that was close for me was the PS1.

There's so much niche stuff, and in really broad areas too. You're telling me there is a console where I can just play otomes, shmups/bullet hell games, retro arcade games, and other miscellaneous stuff? And in bed if I want? It's been an absolute dream thus far.

@Anti-Matter Not entirely related to the article, but it's funny you mention the Imagine series.

I really like otome games and someone recently brought to my attention that some of the Imagine games are kind of like early otomes, where you have to grind stats and can pick a love interest? To me, that seems incredible (and I wanted to track down these games to try, haha)!

But like, where is that Ubisoft that'll just conjure up some random idea and ship it out as a game? Now we're trapped in the bog of Just Dance/Assassin's Creed/Rabbids live service hell.

Hopefully this decision revitalizes them a bit.

Good. A company that hates their customers this much deserves for something adverse to happen.

My fear that they were going to do this (force the player to use Link) as like a third act "surprise" in the actual game is why I didn't end up preordering, so definitely won't be availing myself of this one.

Hopefully there will be a flying horse glitch; wouldn't be a Zelda game without it!

So I admit I now have less sense of what the comments were supposed to mean, but the general idea of this doesn't really impact whether or not I'm going to play this game. It was the only HD-2D remake I was even remotely interested in, and it still is.

To me, I don't really care about this either way as neither of the designs look all that great (not a fan of the colour scheme and the visual elements don't really flow together in my opinion), but the newer one has a better sword/shield I guess?

For me, likely Meiji Tokyo Renka at some point. The concept seems neat, it has a few VAs I like, and I generally trust HuneX/Dramaticcreate's output at this point.

But at the moment I have two otomes on the go at the same time, so I likely won't play it for awhile! 😅

(Oh, and Silver Ghost from EGGCONSOLE seems good, but way too complex for me to really get into, so I probably won't pick that one up, although a me that had the time/energy to be more committed to learning the game and its systems would.)

@BringleWorkshop Oooh, thank you! I took a listen, and that's much better than that single loop from the trailer! And the co-op sounds great!

I love a good Christmas game, so I've wishlisted this and will likely get it the day of release (take that, Halloween lovers 🤭)

@WiiWareWave Right! Sorry to be unclear, but I meant the thing on the map, where you had the inventory and could use items before entering a level. It didn't look from the trailer that it had that.

I think it looks great honestly, and while definitely inspired by it, not identical to SMB3. The trailer suggests some kind of co-op (whatever that elf guy is doing), and there's no item swap mechanic like in SMB3.

The only thing for me is I hope the music in-game is better than just a loop of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

Yeah, this seems like a non-issue to me. This was the only 2D-HD remake I was thinking of getting barring a surprise release of 2D-HD Chrono Trigger, and this doesn't sway me one way or the other honestly.

The new design even kind of looks better (although I'm not really a fan of the costume either way).

This is cool! I'm not the biggest Tetris fan, but I love the vibe of these games.

Whoa! That is a genuinely impressive art style! I really like the look of this, and hadn't heard of it previously, so thanks for the article!

Great additions! This has been a really excellent example of a game that was great when it came out, and all the DLC made meaningful updates to the base game that never felt like they were just things cut from the original release.
I was hoping they'd make the Punk Frogs playable as they showed up so often in the levels, but it's a pretty full roster as it is!

As others have said, there is probably some nuance here that there is not when talking about the Mario AI art case.
Did Level-5 use a proprietary tool to produce this trained on their own data? Well, that's not the same thing as putting terms into a slop generator and having it make pictures of Mario.
However, if it turns out it is some version of the latter, for me Level-5 will go into the "never buy anything from this company ever" bin with anti-consumer garbage like Ubisoft and EA.

@Serpenterror Yeah, that's why I said "it's a shame they can't." I realize it's sadly not a reasonable thing to really expect at this point.

It's a shame they can't get the Activision titles, as they're sorely missing here, but I'd love to see some of the other companies (Stern as someone mentioned, or Bally/Midway) fill that void.

(I'd love any version of Solar Fox on Switch to be honest)

And I don't understand why they'd bother to feature the Intellivision in this new version and then just...not have Intellivision games? I understand the controller is weird, but it would've been cool to have some of the ones with more normal control schemes.

Love it! Hit 'em with the takedowns, Nintendo! Go for the KO!

Cool! Cosmo Gang the Puzzle is a nice addition. Although both are featured in the Arcade Archives as well, I'd also like to see the SFC version of Cosmo Gang the Video (kind of a more lively/goofy Galaga).

Edit: Just noticed that Japan is getting Angelique??? Now that's quite an addition! The first otome game on the console that is arguably the best console of all time for that. Now KT, maybe an English version, please?