Wraggadam1

I was convinced that Nintendo were going to surprise us all and polish this up for release and give it some personality.

The controls are great (even though people find them a challenge, that seems like partially the point). Easier/accessible controls in theory would be great, but then that would take away what was unique, and in a competitive game like this, would mean everyone ignores the mouse control to go for what would be far easier.

I genuinely believe Nintendo went by initial reactions, didn’t want another Arms on their plate, and just pushed it out the door at a budget price. If it was successful, I would imagine that they would have then spent the time and money adding updates that gave it personality. Shame really, as it really buries a good idea under the characterless gloom.

The controller is cool, but the switch 2 logo placement kills it. Still tempted though, although it’s likely I get the game on PS5. I do want to support more games like this on switch 2 as well, so do hope it sells well.

Tormented Souls 1&2 both have unlimited inventory, and it makes not a bit of difference, as resources are limited (probably not enough). So depends on how abundant resources are. I much prefer tight resource management to limited inventory where you have to be constantly swapping (especially key items). A nice balance would be unlimited key item inventory.

Lorelei and Sayonara wild hearts are 2 of my favourite switch games.

Loved all of their previous games as well (apart from SPLT - which was mildly engaging but didn’t hold my attention for long).

Book looks gorgeous.

Game perfect for a laptop. Had to drop on switch as too much friction between small text, and stick controls. Rarely struggle with these things, but switch version really felt hard work and could not get into it. Loved it on steam.

@UltimateOtaku91 don’t be put off. It’s well tuned for a survival horror. You may always feel you are running low on resources, but as with most survival horror, it tends to fuel you up just as quick as it runs you down. For example, you may be in a combat encounter where you are down to your last couple of rounds, but then just after this, there’ll be a drop that replenishes your stocks.

Yes, you will likely die, but there needs to be a level of threat to the gameplay, and saves are generous.

It’s neither souls hard nor walking simulator easy, just somewhere in between.

@Old-Red I’m not sure this is the “win” people think it is. It’s done exactly what keycards were intended to do, push towards digital only. What’s the point of the key card when it’s just an additional hoop to jump through to play a game digitally.

Generally I struggle with FPS (except Metroid prime games for some reason) but this is the first time I recall it happening in a third person game/platformer. Was really frustrated, but the next day, loaded up and was fine. I’m sure it must be something with the first isle and nowhere else in the game.

I have 4 sets of joy cons (1 being my day one grey switch ones) and 3 original pro controllers. I play maybe 20 hours per week (sometimes more, sometimes less). I’m not particularly kind to my controllers. Zero drift on any of them. Not saying it doesn’t happen (it does) but from personal experience, it’s a non-issue. Sorry to everyone else with drift in advance. 😂

I’m very cautious around this, and currently feel even £16.99 will be too much from what we’ve seen.

From its reveal I was cautiously optimistic that they would have more to show, and reveal some personality (like they did with oddrock/Pauline), but at the moment it really does look like a test environment/tech demo for a better game years down the line.

Real shame, as love the idea, and could be great fun, but there is nothing to catch anyone’s eye or draw in players, so feel it’s going to be DOA. Hoping I’m wrong though.

@rjejr they are Co-op. But they aren’t aimed at you. They are nice little add-ons that let younger players get into games with their older siblings/parents without getting frustrated with the game/frustrating the other person. Also, couples where one likes the look of the game, but maybe struggles playing. I like them as a way of helping these kind of people get into games, and they do no harm to me being there.

Thanks for this. I checked the settings, but Soul Calibur 2 stretching the menu made me not unreasonably assume that it was going to apply a fake widescreen menu throughout. Helpful to know that when I play it properly, it is an actual widescreen mode, just with a stretched menu.

The Last Remnant is an amazing improvement. A remaster of the remaster. Looks sharp in the touch screen, and super smooth.

Bakeru is a good shout. Absolutely buttery smooth, and a joy to play.

Not sure how you can recommend Bloodstained though, still looks and plays like crap on the switch. Switch 2 has also introduced some awful graphical glitches on early section I played (Green and red dots along the bottom of the screen).

Looking forward to trying disaster report on next sale.

I love my OLED TV, and my OLED switch, but honestly, I also love the screen on my Switch 2. I have a suspicion that those who love the OLED the most and notice the difference when comparing are those who play in “vivid” mode on the OLED, which absolutely makes my eyes bleed.

@Spaceman44 in what way? I can play online, and I can have access to a quality selection of retro games from Nintendo’s history. Plus access to some DLC at no additional cost.

@Suketoudara Totally agree with you. Those saying it’s an instruction manual really are mindless sheep.

It’s a fun little day one game that’s surprisingly interesting, and is a great way to learn things about the Switch 2 I’d never have thought about. The tech demos are cool, and the mini games are addictive and more challenging than I thought they’d be. There’s also a lot more content than I imagined and it just feels very polished, and very Nintendo.

For those out there who didn’t want to spend one or two coffees on it, your choice, and your loss, but don’t criticise those who are enjoying it, and feel it’s worth the £7.99 (and just because Sony gave Astrobot for free, doesn’t mean everyone has to do the same. Sony also charge a lot more for online services, so should Nintendo?)

@Ramouz agree, it’s a hard switch back, but generally, after 30 minutes or so, I’m fine. Not a dealbreaker for me, and the switch back to 60 can feel overly smooth at first change, but if given the choice upfront, and 60 is stable, I’ll go for 60, I just don’t belong to the 30fps is unplayable/burns my eyes out/trash brigade.

Similar with Joysticks, all I hear this day is Hall effect, but I’m close to 100% certain that 80-90% of players wouldn’t know Hall effect if they had them in their hands, they just echo what everyone wants. Plus, Hall effect is not perfect, yes, drift not an issue, but there are other issues.

@OrangeSoda not at all. 30fps is fine, and people forget they played plenty games in 30fps and lower on consoles between psone to now. 60fps is undeniably smoother, but can appear too smooth at times, causing a similar look to “soap opera effect” - especially if you’ve been playing in 30fps and then switch to something in 60. 60fps generally feels better to play, but you could argue that a consistent 30 perhaps looks more “cinematic” which is probably what you prefer about it.

It’s an own goal, and that’s down to marketing.

People are getting a little over excited about this though. It’s £10/$10. Once in a generation. So the only precedent this may set is that once every 8 or so years, Nintendo may try to sell you a pack in game, that you can choose to ignore.

Lost Kingdoms 1 & 2
P.N.03
Cubivore

NSO is perfect for preserving games like these that have almost been lost to time.

@Flem9000 glad you got it sorted! I know I found it incredibly stressful (first world problems, I know). Especially when everyone else was reporting how smooth and easy it was for them. 😅

@Flem9000 also beware of you are using Apple products, there is an autofill setting that automatically deletes access codes. It is supposed to do this after they have been used, but I have now seen countless examples where it deletes as soon as received.

@Flem9000 I had to deal with this yesterday. Customer service gave this advice “You could try logging out of your account, clearing your browser history, then closing and reopening the browser before trying again. You could also try using an incognito tab to access My Nintendo Store.”

Worked eventually, and doesn’t explain why I got a massively delayed deluge of access codes about 4 hours later.

@SwitchplayerJohn this happened to me all day. I’m suprised not more. Then about 4 hours later after I’d managed to get in and order, I got about 8 access codes …

@Sheepscar Thanks for your advice earlier. My ordering with Nintendo didn't seem to go as smooth as others! I did get one in the end, but only after queuing twice. I also received about 6 access codes about 4 hours after ordering, so who knows what happened.

Was still better than my Xenoblade 3 collectors edition experience though ...

Agree with all of those who wish for a 30fps cap. Frame rates really don’t bother me too much, but links awakening stutters really irritated my eyes and brain. 30fps consistently is much, much preferred than the constant stutters. Feels really jarring in a game that looks so polished.

@Woderwick it’s a reference to “Anthology Series”, such as Tales From the Crypt, Tales From the Darkside, Creepshow, Tales of the Unexpected, Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits etc.

There is also a host of each “episode” called “The Curator”.

Don’t normally link to Wikipedia, but considering this is a pretty common and well known use of the term, see here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthology_series

Unless they fall under “minor bugs” no listed fixes for black screen when playing skits or accessing menus, or missing breaking glass visual effect when entering battle.

That is a lot of content and gameplay that we think players will be very excited for “in the first three games of the remastered series for Nintendo Switch and Steam”

Was this a stealth confirmation that it rest of the series is being remastered, and this is the first of these?

@nhSnork emu deck on steam deck. Perfect way to play old games.

Imports your games, with images, launches direct from steam library like any other games.

Look better than they ever have due to the screen size. I’ve never been a huge fan of emulation, but having PS2/GameCube/Wii RPGs in the palm of my hand has given them a new lease of life. Heck, even PSONE games look amazing on there.

This review is a little confusing. The game actively discourages grinding with the scaling system, in which excessive grinding will in the majority of cases make the game more difficult (or the enemies more challenging) to match the skills of your party.

Success depends more on the build of your party (equipment etc) and deployment of proper tactics (buffs/debuffs, combos etc).

Now, that still won’t make Saga for everyone, as a fair criticism of the majority of Saga games is that they can be too obtuse for their own good (although that is also part of the fun - and the same criticism can be applied to Fromsoft games).

I would say for definite though that if you are interested in getting into the Saga series, this is a great starting point, as the tutorials are actually really good if you talk to the kids in each town you enter, there are pretty good explainers for almost all features.

I hope this helps someone get into Saga who may have been put off by the review, as the joy of Saga games is the freedom and sense of discovery you get by playing with the systems, sparking abilities, and stumbling across new quests/experiences, even after multiple play throughs.

@Buizel smaller country, potentially shorter commuting distances, lower use of public transport (which is short distance most of the time)

I very, very rarely see a portable console out in the wild. I’ve seen very few switches, and when I have, it’s on long distance train journeys that exceed an hour or two.

Not much point pulling out a portable console on a 10-15 minute, packed bus/tube/train commute.

@GrailUK I’m with you. Weirdly bitter about this one to the point I can’t actually sit and enjoy XBC3 without feeling irritated.

It’s a mix of the way it was handled, and how everything that’s been done could have been avoided - lots of people trying to celebrate a game that Nintendo seem to have not wanted us to enjoy - with so much of the talk about it pre and post launch of how the collectors edition has been handled so atrociously - repeatedly.

It’s probably a little just the completionist in me, but I’m literally at the point of just wanting to sell my whole Xenoblade collection out of annoyance that it won’t now be complete without paying a scalper. 🤬

Definitely happy For everyone who got a copy. .

Just a reminder to me I’m too old for this nonsense. Boiling gaming down to a scalpers dream these days, and companies loving the hype it brings.

Deep sales, and no day one purchases in protest from now on!

It’s just an object, but one of those things that would’ve been nice to have, finish off the collection.

@Sentenza totally. They’ve turned what is objectively an amazing game, into a pretty shorty experience for the fans.

Total ***** show again. I got there whilst it was still in stock, but endless cycle of failing to add to basket. I’m kinda not enjoying my copy of Xenoblade 3 so much anymore … tainted knowing I’ll likely never get my hands on it despite having all previous collectors editions (including Wii with the red pro controller and Xenoblade Chronicles X on Wii U).

Xenoblade 3 collectors edition has brought nothing but negative PR for Nintendo.

Preorders should have went up months ago, on a model of matching demand to orders. No scalpers, no crazy waiting for a random email to appear at witch o’clock, and no unhappy fans who genuinely want to celebrate the game. How can they get it so completely wrong? Is the MNS store ran by Trolls? Can’t think of any other explanation at this point.

I was also Very confused at how it was PS1 inspired by the trailer - but then found this gameplay video on YouTube. https://youtu.be/RRHpiLLoaG0

Probably looks a little too clean for a PS1 game, but the 4:3 ratio, fuzzy graphics, controls and fonts/text boxes are all very PS1 (the game looks like it plays like silent hill etc. and the text boxes look ripped from PS1 square soft RPGs.).

@piecez I don’t quite understand the grating music comment either. Some scenes I left to play longer than needed because the soundtrack is so good. Fantastic review otherwise though. One of my favourite VNs bug definitely would have benefitted from some more editing along the way.

@Otoemetry the flat number issue is infuriating. I have to use my downstairs neighbours address, as my address also isn’t on the system.

They also don’t inform you if preorders fail (I learned this with Metroid dread), but was lucky enough was still in stock and had to quickly place a new order after calling them two days after release date.

It seems they don’t want my money, but sometimes they are the only option. Definitely avoid if possible these days …

@PixelTavern yes. I think they are the same company as Zavvi, who always have the same issue. They don’t let you update your address either if you move … really strange policy.

Tend to use PayPal when possible so can change the payment details on if card is updated PayPal.

I feel terrible for not liking this game … at all. It’s like it doesn’t even want me to enjoy it. The font on the game over screen, the horrible noises you make when injured or die, and the fact that unlike dark souls etc, you can’t see a lot of what’s going to kill you coming at the slightest. There is very little skill involved, just find out what kills you, then try again and avoid it.

Such a shame, as I want to explore the world and really enjoy it, but everything the game does makes me feel like it doesn’t want me to.

@Porky own 2 pairs of joy cons since switch launch day. 1000s of hours of play, travelled all around the country with me for work, thrown in and out of backpacks, suitcases etc. and no drift on either.

Not saying drift isn’t an issue for some, just that it isn’t the inevitability that people assume.

One of the worst reviews I've ever read on here. I loved the original growing up since the very first time I played the demo disc from Official PlayStation Magazine, and I loved this remake just as much for feeling like how I remembered the game in my head.

6/10 is harsh ... It's a great remake that respects the original, and adds some great modern day QoL improvements. Yes, certain things from the original may be different (the single screens with transitions), and some may prefer those (and there are certainly elements I do like better, but many I don't), but this is most definitely not "not a very good remake".

@MrDannyB I'm going to be the one to actually say it. Still love both of the games, but kind of wish I had the option of the coins.

Geysers of coins spurting out from decapitated bodies is almost more fitting for a Suda51 game than actual geysers of blood.

@Pikman like geese without the G.

@Kalmaro why? It's hardly ransom. It's common sense. Buying the game shows appetite for more. If nobody buys something, why would they waste time making a sequel? They all have bills to pay at the end of the day, and games don't make themselves.

Best way to have done this is for Platinum to have shipped them all together in one package to a distribution center somewhere in the UK who could have then shipped to individuals? Slower and more potential for items to go missing though.

@antdickens I agree with the @Tstar, I regularly have to re-read headlines, and sometimes even then, there is a lack of Clarity. How about using inverted commas around titles if games?