My wife got the bundle through Walmart after 1. Had one in cart at Target but couldn’t pay for first half hour that Best Buy was down. Was “in line” at Best Buy for over a half hour when Walmart went through.
Oh, I just had a thought. Eating during a race changes your outfit during a race. In free roam, one of the rewards could be outfit selection at the start of the race. So you could unlock individual outfits for characters even though they are available temporarily in-race.
I hope for something to make me miss Diddy Kong Racing less. The only problem is that you needed to unlock tracks by doing the story mode in Diddy Kong Racing if I remember correctly, and there is no way that would happen in Mario Kart which needs all the variety from the get go for those who don't want to bother with story mode.
Instead, if there is a story mode in free roam, it'll more likely be about unlocking karts and characters. Could still be fun.
Would be best if you could play free roam with a couple players simultaneously at once, too.
I'm definitely curious what they have been hiding.
TotK's Ultrahand and the ability to build vehicles and such make it much more replayable than BotW over time, so I went with that. In fact, I really think it was a better experience for me, overall, than BotW, which I wasn't sure of until now.
@Ulysses First track is very reminiscent of Nausicaa, at least. Joe Hisaishi had a lot more electronica in that soundtrack than most. Also, I understood those influences to be listed by Lena Raine herself.
Yeah, I yelled out “Zelda? … ZELDA?” with my friends. Thought the commercial was hilarious and strange, but there were no ads that focused on gameplay back then and this was memorable. The box, the cartridge, the included map, the open world gameplay - action adventure - it all added up to a classic.
Donkey Kong '94 is a game I always wanted to play and never got to, so I'll be trying that first. I just got hooked on a pico-8 picross style game today, so that seems like a trick to suck my time away.
Looks really nice and I think the genre should work well with the rogue elements. Think of it as a very hard beat em up that lets you start over with new abilities and advantages. The best part is the co-op, though. I've been gravitating towards the beat 'em ups as a potential family game to play, but I think I'd start with Turtles.
For any doubters: It’s not just the starting positions in the road, there are 24 distinct racers shown in the short clip. Ask Felix from this site (or just watch his video on it)
Nostalgia wins here for me. Even then, I recognized that the pixel art was all wrong for the game, but I still liked that format and the "Password Pak" logo on the corner connected this to Metroid. They released at the same time in NA if I remember correctly and the whole thing just makes it hard for me to be objective.
I like the style of the of the character in the other two except that it's a little lifeless in its presentation there - disconnected from the background and no context. I believe the manual has plenty more of that style and I like it there.
Looks like it might transition from scripted events to more freedom of control throughout the game? Hard to get my head around the traditional adventure but with platforming. That last creature was terrifying how it moved. Very impressive looking.
Ouch. Sounds like that was meant to be a major title in the Nintendo lineup and a promising one at that.
That first concept art made me think Diddy Kong Racing, of course, and I still hold out hope for a spiritual successor showing up somewhere from Nintendo. Just don't know where it would fit.
This could have been partially it... Mario Kart 9 needs a differentiator. Would love an co-op adventure mode, there.
I mean, I'll just take Diddy Kong Racing added to the Online service, for now. But nope, not yet.
Actually finished Yars Rising during the week. Loved it, overall. Boss battles never thrilled me — I think because of imprecision. Last two battles were just off-putting for unfortunately, but I ultimately liked the way it wrapped up. I'm all for a sequel with tighter bosses and combat. Hacking is just awesome overall, and the mode to play those I didn't get into yet.
If I get a chance, it will by Echoes of Wisdom like so many others. Been doing Astro Bot intermittently and watching others play it. It's fun and silly. My daughter is obsessed with Balatro again, now that it's on Apple Arcade and she can play it on her phone.
@rjejr Prognosis is pretty good, overall. I'll get a better idea after some CT scans in a couple days. The drug for my liver is working, so I'm lowering. I just keep on doing what can be done and things are slowly getting better.
I plan to return to work in January, for instance... though, I wouldn't be able to teach in the classroom right now. Need to build up some endurance and walking strength and my neck is still a bit weird.
There are benefits. I mean, I'm getting to play games, study and prepare better content for classes. Stuff I've wanted to do more of.
Getting close to the end, and the bosses are the weakpoint for me. I found them frustrating and then, after many attempts, suddenly win with more than half my health left. Something about the patterns, or the collision, I can't quite put my finger on it.
Everything else gets better and better, though. A real effort to bring Yars games forward to now while respecting the unique qualities of the original Yars Revenge (first game to come with a story in a physical comic book, well the story panels are in comic format in this game, too.)
The Metroidvania aspects improve and the hacking is honestly delightful at times. Don't forget to collect those .exe enhancements and equip them before hacking, though! They are worth hunting down.
@rjejr You've got the frugal and the time and you use it well! I buy games in bursts, usually.
I should say I'm fighting cancer at the moment, so I'm home. Has been treatable but has been a bit nasty. I'm down a Kidney, had surgery on my knee and hip, but I'm getting around now at about 85%. Had radiation to treat a tumor in my neck. Immunotherapy has been very affective at the same time, but it also went after my liver. So, I'll be switching to another drug for that as soon as I calm this last set down with steroids. Found out I have a (feverish) reaction to sulfa-based drugs.
Still, I'm home from work, using up sick days and getting reading and game playing and work done I've wanted to do for years. Maybe not the best tradeoff, but I'm doing well, all things considered.
@LEGEND_MARIOID Powerful hint, regarding echo AI: grab the echo and control its movement. Then you just have to worry about where you both are and when it will attack.
There's complaining about games being too similar, but also comfort in knowing what type of game you are getting. It's a trade off that has been going on since the beginning of video games.
I feel like making the echo selection menu just like the various selectors in BotW and TotK is just begging for this feature. I love that it's something the others don't really have (touchpad on Dual Sense is great but awkward to get to at times.) I'd love to try it out and that is the kind of "gimmick" which could useful for selecting menus and from lists of all kinds. So, I'm bullish on it.
However, it's pretty hard to trust this rumor. It's was hoping for the wheel and when we saw the leaked images it looked like a regular shoulder button and I figured, "oh well". The rumor could be read like, "no it's still magically possible" wishful thinking.
Yars Rising continues to impress. The hacking games escalated to some tight reaction windows and gotten a bit nasty. I finally cheated one. :/ The other slight criticism is the bosses. The hit detection is a little imprecise feeling because the animations use large characters. I just don't look forward to them like I do in games like Hollow Knight. Also, it took me a while to realize I could spam the missile and have every shot do damage. That helped. On the plus side, my latest upgrade opened up the map everywhere so I can explore and collect a bunch of upgrades (I noticed that quite a few could have helped with some of the hacking.)
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is just way better than I expected for me and the family. Everyone kinda wants to play through it separately. It's just a fresh way to look at everything while still a mainline top-down Zelda game. The echoes are just fun, inventive, and the strategies for using echoed monsters are logical and interesting to experiment with. Not to mention, every enemy you find is a new opportunity.
Astro Bot - did one level today. If we are all together we take turns playing levels. This weekend though, I just did one. Continues to be a blast. Just did the first level with the monkey hands.
Will drop all the other games I'm juggling to pick this up and play it. It's a brand new top-down mainline Zelda, I'm not waiting.
I'm really enjoying Yars Rising right now. And UFO 50. And Castlevania Order of Ecclesia. And Astro Bot! (for this we are passing the controller around, so we might continue this one while also playing Zelda).
@splinters Oops, I just fixed my post. I meant one full generation behind.
I don't care too much about that myself, but it helps many jump on board. I just can't wait for Nintendo to have more performance and fidelity to boost their games and make them fit the 4K world of TVs a little better. I don't even feel like these leaks have spoiled too much because it's the software and features that don't have buttons that I really want to see more of — and games, of course!
If this is it, the name Switch 2 would be appropriate. There will be a control, or setup "gimmick" of some kind that is not visible here. So the name could tie-in to whatever that turns out to be.
I like the speculation about a daisy-chaining device that could be added via the top USB-C port. Using mmWave that could be a very fast local connection to multiple switches that wouldn't need Wi-Fi. So maybe super-stable local connectivity is the gimmick.
I was honestly hoping for "dial" buttons as I think that would benefit what Nintendo has done with inventory selection in the latest 3 mainline Zelda games (I'm including Echoes of Wisdom here)
Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to hearing more. If there is solid backwards compatibility there should be no hesitation in showing it before Holiday this year, in my opinion.
The best news is that the performance should be only one sort of full generation behind, again. And since there are as many PS4 games being played as PS5 and games are continually shaved down for the Xbox Series S, we could have a sweet spot for a couple years (?) with some surprisingly recent and new games on the Switch 2.
@Lizuka I’m feeling similar. I remember the gameplay not being as fun as I’d hoped when renting it. I just grabbed a bunch of games for the backlog stack, and then Zelda will be on the pile. so I’m waiting and it would take a pretty good discount to buy, I think.
Yars' Revenge was my favorite Atari 2600 game back in the day and I finally picked Rising up even though the style and look of the trailers made me wonder. I'm happy to say that it has been a blast to play so far.
I did have to adapt to the cringy dialogue, but the number of hacking games was way more than I expected, and breaking things up that way has surprised me. It's just effective. Power ups are spread between Emi and her Yar (for hacking). It's just fun to see the next inventive hack carefully thought out to introduce the elements of the original game with just enough tweaks (can't fly through the top to go through the bottom, and others).
Besides Rising, Yars' Revenge Recharged was on sale for $5 US and that is the right price for the quick arcade action of that game (also better than expected).
Also want to play Plucky Squire and Yars Rising but not enough bandwidth so I haven't bought into those yet! Looking forward to Balatro coming to Apple Arcade, too. Should be an amazing fit for iPad.
UPDATE: added those to the backlog, might play a bit today after all.
Update 2: also bought Yars Revenge Recharged because it was on sale for $5 which turns out to be a perfect price the arcade-style dual stick shooter, more fun than I thought it would be! Which also goes for Yars Rising which has cringy dialogue but once I could just get into that vibe, it turns out mixing the retro game hacking in with the metroidvania is really working for me — well considered and really paying homage to the games with careful limitations and tweaks. So glad I started playing it (was skeptical of trailers). Didn't get to Plucky Squire yet.
Jumping around platforms this weekend. Finally played copy of Astro Bot. So joyful and full of energy and fun.
Playing it makes me dream of Nintendo getting to play with higher fidelity for Mario, Pikmin, etc. Fortunately that's not too far away, maybe!
On the opposite end of high fidelity gaming is UFO 50 the game about a fictional game company and the games it released in the 80s. The first game feels fitting and unapologetically brutal, but I'm excited to dig in. That's how early computer games were.
Eager to get back to Castlevania Dominus Collection - Order of Eclessia. I'm still early but the big Skeleton in the prison is daunting, so I haven't jumped back in, yet.
Fam is playing World of Goo 2, and I'm finally getting to those DS Castlevania games which are better than expected, so far. I slept on SotN back in the day, but recently played through it and that game is very good but flawed (great ideas sometimes mashed together, incomplete and imbalanced). So far, Order of Ecclesia plays like a careful and well-designed game using many of the same ideas. Fun!
Also got Astro Bot (PS5), but haven't played it yet.
Those balking at the price: If it didn't work, studios/publishers wouldn't pay (at least more than once).
Those wondering why do this when you can just release something on the web/YouTube... most people won't see it.
Sometimes people that post here don't seem to understand that if you are a person that frequents a gaming web site and adds to the comments you are probably in a fraction of 1% of all gamers.
Most people just go through their day and wait for super popular things to interrupt what they were doing, and happen to learn about something (because of ads, or super popular YouTube streams/videos that have had advertising and gathered interest on their own).
Summer Game Fest costs money to get attention, produce, organize and get noticed by people. Yeah, they are making money too... but, again, those publishers are paying to get noticed and anticipated. Then, people go and seek out the trailers afterwards, upping their likes, etc. News sites have easy stories to add based on the big event, as well, so it spreads again.
I don't know. The Game Industry is going through a rough patch in 2024, tons of layoffs and studios going out of business and gamers playing less. Not to mention there are thousands of new games and even for larger games there are over 100 a year. It's tough to get noticed and I guess it's worth it to pay for a chance.
@rjejr Oh, that's very nice. Never been to Montreal, but I've camped with family up at Lake George. I was pretty young, so my favorite part was the arcades. haha. I have a vivid memory of playing the arcade game, Trojan, there.
@k8sMum Oh no, haha. Not sure if it was wit or just an honest appraisal of your future that made you say that, but I lol'd too.
@rjejr The comforts of a good small diner can solve a lot. My only problem is that whenever I try a new one, I have to try their eggs Benedict. I don't even mind the made-from-a-mix kind, but every once in a while it's amazing. (Chef's kiss to the benny at Lindy's Diner in New Hampshire)
@rjejr I wasn't being very serious with my "argument". At least when I was a kid, the LEGO sets became many more things than was on the box. I was constantly experimenting with them. My kids did too, but only for a couple years.
The LABO with the vehicles was definitely the best. We had a guest get into it too much and rip the ripcord right out of it, though. And we never fixed it.
They were way more worth the money than LEGO in our household. I did splurge one year for myself on a Battle of Helm's Deep lego set, and my kids were gifted a Millenium Falcon set that they enjoyed. Those were probably the highlights. I don't think they were close to $300 but it was a long time ago. (That Mindstorm set would not be $300 today)
I might spring for a small LEGO Zelda set I could display, but that's about it.
@rjejr Until recently, I mostly agree with you on this. However, sometimes I like to enjoy the scenery more.
I quite enjoyed the ability while playing through SW Jedi Survivor and it played really well on PS5 (I never felt the pain PC players experienced).
When I was wandering around an environment and defeating lesser enemies I liked the quality at max, but during the difficult battles, I'd switch it to performance for the higher frame rate and response time. Especially useful for the higher difficulty settings.
Still, for Switch 2 exclusives, I probably still agree. Optimize for the hardware you are targeting and just let me play...
For a while some games will release on both the Switch and Switch 2, so I guess there will be a low-quality or low-performance option (or both) for everyone that buys the Switch version?
@EarthboundBenjy I'll just second that suggestion to give it some time. When I played I had no idea how huge and varied it was, and when you don't understand the scope of the game, it can feel like it might be a 5 to 10 hour Metroidvania that is one note in tone. But, no, it's much bigger and full of life.
Glad there is a collection of trailers together for some of the hype of E3 that is not ONLY the biggest publishers. It is a real problem for the industry now that there are thousands of games a year and 100+ games that have a large monetary risk involved.
Always thought it would be a fun challenge to build the inside of the OoT Deku Tree. It's was always a bit too much, though. Maybe someone will do that now, and I can just watch the video. haha.
@rjejr It's a maker tax. Remember the price of LABO?
To nitpick your argument a bit, unless the Switch 2 enhances games you already have, or it comes with a pack-in game, it will probably offers less play time than a LEGO set.
As someone said, the new molds mean they will be making more sets. My LEGO days are ending, I think. I enjoy them, but my kids never really took to them strongly, so I have way too many and don't display them much.
I'm still open to the very small sets, here and there, to display on a shelf, though. I'd pick up a Guardian vs Link set or a Link on a TotK-built hover contraption (that whole angle plus LEGO seems obvious, right?). Link on the Wind Waker "boat". Yeah, there's a few I'd spring for.
I started getting hooked on upgrading my outfits, and decided I better go try to complete the game before it ends up being too easy. I waited too long, though! It was a great conclusion, overall, but I wish I had tried earlier. (You can just continue playing from the last save if you defeat him).
I thought the story and the way it played out was much more interesting this time and the characters' decisions had some more weight. So, that was an improvement. Ending was dramatic at least, but if you followed all the story as you played there was nothing clever or impactful left for the finale.
Very curious to see what direction the next Zelda game goes. I think they need a palette cleanser, like a 2D or vastly different side quest kind of a game before they release another BIG one.
Comments 6,335
Re: Poll: So, Did You Manage To Get A Switch 2 Pre-Order In? (North America)
My wife got the bundle through Walmart after 1. Had one in cart at Target but couldn’t pay for first half hour that Best Buy was down. Was “in line” at Best Buy for over a half hour when Walmart went through.
Re: Nintendo Confirms Duration For Tomorrow's Mario Kart World Direct
Oh, I just had a thought. Eating during a race changes your outfit during a race. In free roam, one of the rewards could be outfit selection at the start of the race. So you could unlock individual outfits for characters even though they are available temporarily in-race.
Re: Nintendo Confirms Duration For Tomorrow's Mario Kart World Direct
@Gatorclops That would be sublime. I'll share the dream.
Re: Nintendo Confirms Duration For Tomorrow's Mario Kart World Direct
I hope for something to make me miss Diddy Kong Racing less. The only problem is that you needed to unlock tracks by doing the story mode in Diddy Kong Racing if I remember correctly, and there is no way that would happen in Mario Kart which needs all the variety from the get go for those who don't want to bother with story mode.
Instead, if there is a story mode in free roam, it'll more likely be about unlocking karts and characters. Could still be fun.
Would be best if you could play free roam with a couple players simultaneously at once, too.
I'm definitely curious what they have been hiding.
Re: Poll: What Switch Game Could You Not Live Without?
TotK's Ultrahand and the ability to build vehicles and such make it much more replayable than BotW over time, so I went with that. In fact, I really think it was a better experience for me, overall, than BotW, which I wasn't sure of until now.
Re: Celeste Composer Releases "Concept Album" For Studio's Cancelled Follow-Up, Earthblade
@Ulysses First track is very reminiscent of Nausicaa, at least. Joe Hisaishi had a lot more electronica in that soundtrack than most. Also, I understood those influences to be listed by Lena Raine herself.
Re: Ex-Nintendo Employee Spills The Beans On The Company's Weirdest Zelda Ad
Yeah, I yelled out “Zelda? … ZELDA?” with my friends. Thought the commercial was hilarious and strange, but there were no ads that focused on gameplay back then and this was memorable. The box, the cartridge, the included map, the open world gameplay - action adventure - it all added up to a classic.
Re: Nintendo Expands Switch Online's Game Boy Library With Two More Titles
Donkey Kong '94 is a game I always wanted to play and never got to, so I'll be trying that first. I just got hooked on a pico-8 picross style game today, so that seems like a trick to suck my time away.
Re: Hands On: Absolum - Dead Cells Meets Streets Of Rage 4 In An Effortlessly Stylish 'Rogue 'Em Up'
Looks really nice and I think the genre should work well with the rogue elements. Think of it as a very hard beat em up that lets you start over with new abilities and advantages. The best part is the co-op, though. I've been gravitating towards the beat 'em ups as a potential family game to play, but I think I'd start with Turtles.
Re: Hands On: Absolum - Dead Cells Meets Streets Of Rage 4 In An Effortlessly Stylish 'Rogue 'Em Up'
@Ray64 That's not how "em up" is being used here, though. It's part of "beat 'em up" - games like streets of rage, double dragon, etc.
Re: Poll: So, How Would You Feel About 24 Racers In Mario Kart 9?
For any doubters: It’s not just the starting positions in the road, there are 24 distinct racers shown in the short clip. Ask Felix from this site (or just watch his video on it)
Re: Castlevania Tribute Starring Classic Dracula Actor Launches Today On Switch
The music in the trailer is good, too.
Re: Review: Yars Rising (Switch) - A Stylish, Ambitious Revival Of An Atari Classic In Metroidvania Form
@DwaynesGames Awesome. Glad someone else is getting the full nostalgic experience, too. Really has been a gaming highlight of the year for me.
I'd like to see a sequel.
Re: Poll: Box Art Brawl: Kid Icarus (NES)
Nostalgia wins here for me. Even then, I recognized that the pixel art was all wrong for the game, but I still liked that format and the "Password Pak" logo on the corner connected this to Metroid. They released at the same time in NA if I remember correctly and the whole thing just makes it hard for me to be objective.
I like the style of the of the character in the other two except that it's a little lifeless in its presentation there - disconnected from the background and no context. I believe the manual has plenty more of that style and I like it there.
Re: Horror Adventure 'Bye Sweet Carole' Showcases More Disney-Style Visuals In New Trailer
Looks like it might transition from scripted events to more freedom of control throughout the game? Hard to get my head around the traditional adventure but with platforming. That last creature was terrifying how it moved. Very impressive looking.
Re: Alleged Concept Art From Cancelled Donkey Kong Project Emerges
Ouch. Sounds like that was meant to be a major title in the Nintendo lineup and a promising one at that.
That first concept art made me think Diddy Kong Racing, of course, and I still hold out hope for a spiritual successor showing up somewhere from Nintendo. Just don't know where it would fit.
This could have been partially it... Mario Kart 9 needs a differentiator. Would love an co-op adventure mode, there.
I mean, I'll just take Diddy Kong Racing added to the Online service, for now. But nope, not yet.
Re: Xbox Studio Rare Excited About The Return Of Banjo-Tooie Next Week
But Diddy Kong Racing is next, right? Please?
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (12th October)
Actually finished Yars Rising during the week. Loved it, overall. Boss battles never thrilled me — I think because of imprecision. Last two battles were just off-putting for unfortunately, but I ultimately liked the way it wrapped up. I'm all for a sequel with tighter bosses and combat. Hacking is just awesome overall, and the mode to play those I didn't get into yet.
If I get a chance, it will by Echoes of Wisdom like so many others. Been doing Astro Bot intermittently and watching others play it. It's fun and silly. My daughter is obsessed with Balatro again, now that it's on Apple Arcade and she can play it on her phone.
Re: Best Nintendo Switch Roguelikes, Roguelites And Run-Based Games
in my opinion, the list needs to have Vagante and Wildfrost.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom (Switch) - A Bold Blend Of Old & New That Ranks With The Series' Best
@rjejr Prognosis is pretty good, overall. I'll get a better idea after some CT scans in a couple days. The drug for my liver is working, so I'm lowering. I just keep on doing what can be done and things are slowly getting better.
I plan to return to work in January, for instance... though, I wouldn't be able to teach in the classroom right now. Need to build up some endurance and walking strength and my neck is still a bit weird.
There are benefits. I mean, I'm getting to play games, study and prepare better content for classes. Stuff I've wanted to do more of.
Re: Review: Yars Rising (Switch) - A Stylish, Ambitious Revival Of An Atari Classic In Metroidvania Form
Getting close to the end, and the bosses are the weakpoint for me. I found them frustrating and then, after many attempts, suddenly win with more than half my health left. Something about the patterns, or the collision, I can't quite put my finger on it.
Everything else gets better and better, though. A real effort to bring Yars games forward to now while respecting the unique qualities of the original Yars Revenge (first game to come with a story in a physical comic book, well the story panels are in comic format in this game, too.)
The Metroidvania aspects improve and the hacking is honestly delightful at times. Don't forget to collect those .exe enhancements and equip them before hacking, though! They are worth hunting down.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom (Switch) - A Bold Blend Of Old & New That Ranks With The Series' Best
@rjejr You've got the frugal and the time and you use it well! I buy games in bursts, usually.
I should say I'm fighting cancer at the moment, so I'm home. Has been treatable but has been a bit nasty. I'm down a Kidney, had surgery on my knee and hip, but I'm getting around now at about 85%. Had radiation to treat a tumor in my neck. Immunotherapy has been very affective at the same time, but it also went after my liver. So, I'll be switching to another drug for that as soon as I calm this last set down with steroids. Found out I have a (feverish) reaction to sulfa-based drugs.
Still, I'm home from work, using up sick days and getting reading and game playing and work done I've wanted to do for years. Maybe not the best tradeoff, but I'm doing well, all things considered.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom (Switch) - A Bold Blend Of Old & New That Ranks With The Series' Best
@LEGEND_MARIOID Powerful hint, regarding echo AI: grab the echo and control its movement. Then you just have to worry about where you both are and when it will attack.
Re: Pirate Adventure Ahoy! 'Mark Of The Deep' Sets Sail On Switch Next Week
Price is right. Looks impressive to me.
There's complaining about games being too similar, but also comfort in knowing what type of game you are getting. It's a trade off that has been going on since the beginning of video games.
Re: Random: The Latest 'Switch 2' Rumour? Scroll Wheel Shoulder Buttons
@rjejr What do you think of the touchpad on the Sony controllers? Just curious why you are so averse to the idea, here.
Re: Random: The Latest 'Switch 2' Rumour? Scroll Wheel Shoulder Buttons
I feel like making the echo selection menu just like the various selectors in BotW and TotK is just begging for this feature. I love that it's something the others don't really have (touchpad on Dual Sense is great but awkward to get to at times.) I'd love to try it out and that is the kind of "gimmick" which could useful for selecting menus and from lists of all kinds. So, I'm bullish on it.
However, it's pretty hard to trust this rumor. It's was hoping for the wheel and when we saw the leaked images it looked like a regular shoulder button and I figured, "oh well". The rumor could be read like, "no it's still magically possible" wishful thinking.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (28th September)
Yars Rising continues to impress. The hacking games escalated to some tight reaction windows and gotten a bit nasty. I finally cheated one. :/ The other slight criticism is the bosses. The hit detection is a little imprecise feeling because the animations use large characters. I just don't look forward to them like I do in games like Hollow Knight. Also, it took me a while to realize I could spam the missile and have every shot do damage. That helped. On the plus side, my latest upgrade opened up the map everywhere so I can explore and collect a bunch of upgrades (I noticed that quite a few could have helped with some of the hacking.)
Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is just way better than I expected for me and the family. Everyone kinda wants to play through it separately. It's just a fresh way to look at everything while still a mainline top-down Zelda game. The echoes are just fun, inventive, and the strategies for using echoed monsters are logical and interesting to experiment with. Not to mention, every enemy you find is a new opportunity.
Astro Bot - did one level today. If we are all together we take turns playing levels. This weekend though, I just did one. Continues to be a blast. Just did the first level with the monkey hands.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom (Switch) - A Bold Blend Of Old & New That Ranks With The Series' Best
@rjejr Lately, I enjoy the shorter end of games. I could have done 30 hours... heck I probably will, I like to tinker.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom (Switch) - A Bold Blend Of Old & New That Ranks With The Series' Best
Pshh. I just commented in the Famitsu review article.
Dropping all other games to start this one up, as soon as possible.
I'm a bit disappointed by the framerate dips... something I'm not too picky about, usually.
I wonder if just playing this on the Switch 2 would just smooth everything out performance-wise? I'm not waiting though.
Re: The First Review For The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom Is In
Will drop all the other games I'm juggling to pick this up and play it. It's a brand new top-down mainline Zelda, I'm not waiting.
I'm really enjoying Yars Rising right now. And UFO 50. And Castlevania Order of Ecclesia. And Astro Bot! (for this we are passing the controller around, so we might continue this one while also playing Zelda).
Re: Talking Point: So Then, Is This 'Switch 2' Leak Legit?
@Geit_de That's one great potential use for it. There are others and I'm not sure Nintendo would have done it for just the one option.
Re: Talking Point: So Then, Is This 'Switch 2' Leak Legit?
@splinters Oops, I just fixed my post. I meant one full generation behind.
I don't care too much about that myself, but it helps many jump on board. I just can't wait for Nintendo to have more performance and fidelity to boost their games and make them fit the 4K world of TVs a little better. I don't even feel like these leaks have spoiled too much because it's the software and features that don't have buttons that I really want to see more of — and games, of course!
Re: Talking Point: So Then, Is This 'Switch 2' Leak Legit?
If this is it, the name Switch 2 would be appropriate. There will be a control, or setup "gimmick" of some kind that is not visible here. So the name could tie-in to whatever that turns out to be.
I like the speculation about a daisy-chaining device that could be added via the top USB-C port. Using mmWave that could be a very fast local connection to multiple switches that wouldn't need Wi-Fi. So maybe super-stable local connectivity is the gimmick.
I was honestly hoping for "dial" buttons as I think that would benefit what Nintendo has done with inventory selection in the latest 3 mainline Zelda games (I'm including Echoes of Wisdom here)
Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to hearing more. If there is solid backwards compatibility there should be no hesitation in showing it before Holiday this year, in my opinion.
The best news is that the performance should be only one sort of full generation behind, again. And since there are as many PS4 games being played as PS5 and games are continually shaved down for the Xbox Series S, we could have a sweet spot for a couple years (?) with some surprisingly recent and new games on the Switch 2.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Epic Mickey: Rebrushed
@Lizuka I’m feeling similar. I remember the gameplay not being as fun as I’d hoped when renting it. I just grabbed a bunch of games for the backlog stack, and then Zelda will be on the pile. so I’m waiting and it would take a pretty good discount to buy, I think.
Re: Review: Yars Rising (Switch) - A Stylish, Ambitious Revival Of An Atari Classic In Metroidvania Form
Yars' Revenge was my favorite Atari 2600 game back in the day and I finally picked Rising up even though the style and look of the trailers made me wonder. I'm happy to say that it has been a blast to play so far.
I did have to adapt to the cringy dialogue, but the number of hacking games was way more than I expected, and breaking things up that way has surprised me. It's just effective. Power ups are spread between Emi and her Yar (for hacking). It's just fun to see the next inventive hack carefully thought out to introduce the elements of the original game with just enough tweaks (can't fly through the top to go through the bottom, and others).
Besides Rising, Yars' Revenge Recharged was on sale for $5 US and that is the right price for the quick arcade action of that game (also better than expected).
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
Also want to play Plucky Squire and Yars Rising but not enough bandwidth so I haven't bought into those yet! Looking forward to Balatro coming to Apple Arcade, too. Should be an amazing fit for iPad.
UPDATE: added those to the backlog, might play a bit today after all.
Update 2: also bought Yars Revenge Recharged because it was on sale for $5 which turns out to be a perfect price the arcade-style dual stick shooter, more fun than I thought it would be! Which also goes for Yars Rising which has cringy dialogue but once I could just get into that vibe, it turns out mixing the retro game hacking in with the metroidvania is really working for me — well considered and really paying homage to the games with careful limitations and tweaks. So glad I started playing it (was skeptical of trailers). Didn't get to Plucky Squire yet.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
Jumping around platforms this weekend. Finally played copy of Astro Bot. So joyful and full of energy and fun.
Playing it makes me dream of Nintendo getting to play with higher fidelity for Mario, Pikmin, etc. Fortunately that's not too far away, maybe!
On the opposite end of high fidelity gaming is UFO 50 the game about a fictional game company and the games it released in the 80s. The first game feels fitting and unapologetically brutal, but I'm excited to dig in. That's how early computer games were.
Eager to get back to Castlevania Dominus Collection - Order of Eclessia. I'm still early but the big Skeleton in the prison is daunting, so I haven't jumped back in, yet.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (7th September)
Fam is playing World of Goo 2, and I'm finally getting to those DS Castlevania games which are better than expected, so far. I slept on SotN back in the day, but recently played through it and that game is very good but flawed (great ideas sometimes mashed together, incomplete and imbalanced). So far, Order of Ecclesia plays like a careful and well-designed game using many of the same ideas. Fun!
Also got Astro Bot (PS5), but haven't played it yet.
Re: Video: Early Gameplay Of Sega Revival Projects Leak Online
Both work for me. Hits the nostalgia but also just look modern and fun and exciting in their own right.
Re: Random: Here's How Much It Costs To Showcase A Trailer At Summer Game Fest
Those balking at the price: If it didn't work, studios/publishers wouldn't pay (at least more than once).
Those wondering why do this when you can just release something on the web/YouTube... most people won't see it.
Sometimes people that post here don't seem to understand that if you are a person that frequents a gaming web site and adds to the comments you are probably in a fraction of 1% of all gamers.
Most people just go through their day and wait for super popular things to interrupt what they were doing, and happen to learn about something (because of ads, or super popular YouTube streams/videos that have had advertising and gathered interest on their own).
Summer Game Fest costs money to get attention, produce, organize and get noticed by people. Yeah, they are making money too... but, again, those publishers are paying to get noticed and anticipated. Then, people go and seek out the trailers afterwards, upping their likes, etc. News sites have easy stories to add based on the big event, as well, so it spreads again.
I don't know. The Game Industry is going through a rough patch in 2024, tons of layoffs and studios going out of business and gamers playing less. Not to mention there are thousands of new games and even for larger games there are over 100 a year. It's tough to get noticed and I guess it's worth it to pay for a chance.
Re: Summer Game Fest Conference Schedule 2024: Dates, How To Watch, Everything You Need To Know
@rjejr Oh, that's very nice. Never been to Montreal, but I've camped with family up at Lake George. I was pretty young, so my favorite part was the arcades. haha. I have a vivid memory of playing the arcade game, Trojan, there.
@k8sMum Oh no, haha. Not sure if it was wit or just an honest appraisal of your future that made you say that, but I lol'd too.
@rjejr The comforts of a good small diner can solve a lot. My only problem is that whenever I try a new one, I have to try their eggs Benedict. I don't even mind the made-from-a-mix kind, but every once in a while it's amazing. (Chef's kiss to the benny at Lindy's Diner in New Hampshire)
Re: LEGO Unveils 'Great Deku Tree 2-In-1' Zelda Set, Pre-Orders Now Available
@rjejr I wasn't being very serious with my "argument". At least when I was a kid, the LEGO sets became many more things than was on the box. I was constantly experimenting with them. My kids did too, but only for a couple years.
The LABO with the vehicles was definitely the best. We had a guest get into it too much and rip the ripcord right out of it, though. And we never fixed it.
They were way more worth the money than LEGO in our household. I did splurge one year for myself on a Battle of Helm's Deep lego set, and my kids were gifted a Millenium Falcon set that they enjoyed. Those were probably the highlights. I don't think they were close to $300 but it was a long time ago. (That Mindstorm set would not be $300 today)
I might spring for a small LEGO Zelda set I could display, but that's about it.
Selling sets... I might have to look into that.
Re: Talking Point: Would You Want Quality And Performance Options For Nintendo's 'Switch 2' Games?
@rjejr
Until recently, I mostly agree with you on this. However, sometimes I like to enjoy the scenery more.
I quite enjoyed the ability while playing through SW Jedi Survivor and it played really well on PS5 (I never felt the pain PC players experienced).
When I was wandering around an environment and defeating lesser enemies I liked the quality at max, but during the difficult battles, I'd switch it to performance for the higher frame rate and response time. Especially useful for the higher difficulty settings.
Still, for Switch 2 exclusives, I probably still agree. Optimize for the hardware you are targeting and just let me play...
For a while some games will release on both the Switch and Switch 2, so I guess there will be a low-quality or low-performance option (or both) for everyone that buys the Switch version?
Re: Play Hollow Knight For Free In Nintendo Switch Online's Latest Game Trial (Europe)
@EarthboundBenjy I'll just second that suggestion to give it some time. When I played I had no idea how huge and varied it was, and when you don't understand the scope of the game, it can feel like it might be a 5 to 10 hour Metroidvania that is one note in tone. But, no, it's much bigger and full of life.
Re: Summer Game Fest Conference Schedule 2024: Dates, How To Watch, Everything You Need To Know
Glad there is a collection of trailers together for some of the hype of E3 that is not ONLY the biggest publishers. It is a real problem for the industry now that there are thousands of games a year and 100+ games that have a large monetary risk involved.
@rjejr What kind of vacation?
Re: Nintendo LEGO: All Super Mario, Animal Crossing And The Legend Of Zelda Sets
Wow, I had no idea there were that many Mario and Animal Crossing sets. I'm guessing Deku Tree will not be the end of Zelda sets.
Re: Gallery: 13 Awesome Details We Spotted In The Legend Of Zelda's Great Deku Tree LEGO Set
Always thought it would be a fun challenge to build the inside of the OoT Deku Tree. It's was always a bit too much, though. Maybe someone will do that now, and I can just watch the video. haha.
Re: LEGO Unveils 'Great Deku Tree 2-In-1' Zelda Set, Pre-Orders Now Available
@rjejr It's a maker tax. Remember the price of LABO?
To nitpick your argument a bit, unless the Switch 2 enhances games you already have, or it comes with a pack-in game, it will probably offers less play time than a LEGO set.
Re: LEGO Unveils 'Great Deku Tree 2-In-1' Zelda Set, Pre-Orders Now Available
As someone said, the new molds mean they will be making more sets. My LEGO days are ending, I think. I enjoy them, but my kids never really took to them strongly, so I have way too many and don't display them much.
I'm still open to the very small sets, here and there, to display on a shelf, though. I'd pick up a Guardian vs Link set or a Link on a TotK-built hover contraption (that whole angle plus LEGO seems obvious, right?). Link on the Wind Waker "boat". Yeah, there's a few I'd spring for.
Re: Talking Point: One Year On, Has Everyone Beaten Ganondorf In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?
I started getting hooked on upgrading my outfits, and decided I better go try to complete the game before it ends up being too easy. I waited too long, though! It was a great conclusion, overall, but I wish I had tried earlier. (You can just continue playing from the last save if you defeat him).
I thought the story and the way it played out was much more interesting this time and the characters' decisions had some more weight. So, that was an improvement. Ending was dramatic at least, but if you followed all the story as you played there was nothing clever or impactful left for the finale.
Very curious to see what direction the next Zelda game goes. I think they need a palette cleanser, like a 2D or vastly different side quest kind of a game before they release another BIG one.