@Zuljaras Nice Hydralisk! I like to see the good old RTS genre still inspiring some art. I always going back to Zerg as my main, though it has been a while now since I've played.
Son is playing 3DS games, daughter is playing Tears of the Kingdom.
I'm over on PS5 playing Jedi: Survivor on New Game+ and also going back to Jedi: Fallen Order on New Game+. (Jedi: Survivor does New Game+ much better by giving you all that is needed to just enjoy combat — remixed — and the main storyline as directly as possible, will be replaying this one several times, I think.)
Will probably take a break before going back to TotK. A little too close to the open world play of Jedi: Survivor, for now, and I have to spend more real life time with family and friends, haha.
My family had a lot of fun with 1-2-Switch! It probably should have been paired down and included, but it was fun to get to know the possibilities before most developers abandon them.
I can't imagine the appetite for this one is very big, but the market is WAY bigger now, so it might sell a million on nostalgia + curiosity. Hopefully in the time that has passed since it was internally reviled, they found at least one group mini-game that was worth playing and fun. (Kinda like YDKJ/Jackbox only needs one or two a group likes) I'll wait to see more.
Can't say it does anything good for me directly, but okay. Agree with others that this has been a non-issue for Nintendo for decades, now... except that video games have carried the nihilistic celebration of human dismemberment, torture, and gleeful bloodlust much further, nowadays.
When the Video Game Awards first started and attempted to gain the industry some legitimacy and respect, it really struck me as a contrast from other media when all the big game trailers were just competing for how realistically awful and brutal they were in letting you take part in eviscerating people. I felt embarrassed for the industry in how immature and apathetic to humanity it was showing itself to be. (Shame, too, because many of those games had much more to offer.) It was as if all games were John Wick movies, rather than the true depth and variety of the industry.
Anyway, gross. haha. As I get older and it sinks in just how real this type of killing actually has been and is for many people in the world, it's harder to take joy in it. Rather than censoring, I do think the game industry (and TV and movies, too) could do better at letting people evaluate and even control the content they subject themselves to.
LEGO is expensive. I imagine LEGO licensing is very expensive, as well. So, I have some sympathy for their monetizing scheme... but, yeah, it's a horrible trap for kids and parents and does long term damage to the brand, I think.
I think just make a smaller game that doesn't have core mechanics and balance that leverages micro-transactions at the detriment to player experience.
I actually do believe DLC can be more fair than not, though. For those that love the game, let people buy DLC for more content, more to do. It's worth more to those players than others who will buy the smaller game and not even finish it. It's more fair that way. (Diehard fans of games they get hundreds of hours out of will often complain how much they have to pay, but, for some reason not defend those who buy it full price and only play half the game)
I agree that paid cosmetics works better in other games. With LEGO, cosmetics is half the experience — most of the experience? — for many players, so it is dicier charging for those in DLC than with other games.
Played a little Jedi: Survivor on PS5. Will love to play more TotK eventually, but it was too close to the same gameplay with very different controls and I didn’t want to undo my “training” until I eventually get some more free time and finish the Jedi: Survivor (which I’m loving). I did watch my daughter playing TotK in the background and it has all the BotW charm and draw, so I’m looking forward to it.
Are these waves themed in any way? Where do I start if I just want to spend a few minutes? This has to be the most ill advised way to introduce indie games I can imagine.
@ArcticEcho There are differences between NES Zelda and BotW, but in my opinion not as different as you are trying to express. It's more shades of gray of than "BotW" doesn't have this thing at all.
For instance, the Divine Beasts may be disappointing in that they all have similar art theming and are not as intricate or deep as some dungeons in other Zelda games but they are structured very similarly, entering them must be discovered and earned, you actually do get a heart container when defeating the boss in them, too, right?
So many of the BotW changes are improvements giving the player more agency and choice about how to strategically approach the goal.
In BotW, there are many, many mini-dungeons (shrines) to discover and solve/overcome to earn them, like breaking apart the large dungeons of past games and scattering their puzzles/rewards.
You can skip them and go for the bigger goals or seek the spirit orbs out.
When you do get them you even get a choice in how to balance number of hearts and amount of stamina.
Not saying I don't miss the occasional themed dungeon with intricate puzzles that escalate. I think they should keep working those back in somehow, but they are tough to balance. I don't love all the dungeons of past games. Some became tedious or felt like grind the game progress to a halt. Dungeons are often the highlight in those games for me, too, though.
The original NES was an overwhelmingly large open world game for its time (at least for me and my friends it was). Ocarina of Time was the first console game I played that felt “open world” in 3D as well.
For various reasons, not always design decisions, from Ocarina of Time to Skyward Sword the games became more linear and like traveling through corridors (Wind Waker, maybe not). The dungeons began to feel less restricting than the overworld areas by the time we get to Skyward Sword. Some of this feeling is maybe relative to other games of their time.
I have missed the classic dungeons and I look forward to further progress in the series there. Open world and non-linear freedoms have always been the best part of Zelda games, though, in my opinion, even if it got extreme for some lately.
@Bluelink45 You are comparing apples to oranges, here. Unity is versatile because that is its purpose as a general use commercial game engine. It also trades away a tremendous amount of efficiency and performance for that versatility.
Proprietary, focused game engines are quite necessary for Nintendo when it is trying to optimize for performance with an ambitious game on a device as limited as the Switch.
It is a bit surprising to see such very different games sharing the same engine, in this case. The open world of ToTK is so different from the arena style gameplay of S3 and I'd think the biggest focus in ToTK would be the flexible physics engine, while S3 has is much less concerned with that sort of thing.
In the end, with a game this long in production, it is probably quite customized even if it was based on the Splatoon 3 engine.
(As a side note, I can't wait to see how all this experience carries over to the next leap in hardware performance for Nintendo)
@AlexHarford This is my dream scenario. Hayao Miyazaki's movies are clearly a huge influence on the Zelda games, so it would be great to have the source of inspiration turn around and interpret the games, and he'd make it completely his own thing like he does with every story he has adapted.
He is not going to use his "retirement" years on such a commercial venture with a company like Nintendo that would not let him just "do his own thing", unfortunately.
Just having Studio Ghibli do it with a different director might still be good and actually be feasible.
@rjejr I was totally fascinated by Beastmaster as a kid. The animals were great. Those nasty beasts that dissolve people into yellow goo, yuck! I'm not a hater, it's just real nasty and hasn't really aged well, in my opinion.
The Scorpion King seemed like an intentional throwback, but I didn't bother at the time (I don't think I've seen more than the first 10 minutes or something). I didn't know about how it was cut up. Did anyone ever make a fan edit with the story put back in?
@rjejr I actually think they should not fall into the swords & sandals category with all its tropes. The Legend of Zelda games are full of quirks and originality that transcend those (despite holding to the main, "get the ultimate weapon to defeat the ultimate evil while also saving the threatened princess" trope.)
For a 90-120 minute movie, there is plenty of story even in Breath of the Wild alone... but it would be pretty easy to focus on the cliche stuff and that would be a shame.
As a kid, I really enjoyed Conan the Destroyer (and watched it many times on HBO). I also watched a bunch of Beastmaster with Marc Singer. Disturbing nasty movie, lol. I don't know if I could staand another villagers getting ransacked by armies montage in any movie. Even the LOTR movies, which I love, tested my limits with those scenes.
I guess it wouldn't make sense to make it a multiverse movie as a first story, but that would be so fun to get to pay homage to all the iterations of the Legend of Zelda.
More likely, it would have to be a take on the most popular and recognized Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom setting, characters, and story.
I guess that's the opposite take to yours, @rjejr! Didn't see yours above mine.
@blindsquarel Link has a voice, and uses it constantly in the games. He just doesn't speak words (in order to not put words into the player's mouth). I think you'd easily be able to judge whether an actor sounds like one of the many, many links.
Not great timing for me. I don't have time for many big games and I'm already dug into Jedi: Survivor on PS5 now which is scratching both open world and metroidvania itches really well with story and character I'm really into.
I expect to love this Zelda game, and it's preordered, but I'm not sure when to start playing...
@TT21 That's pretty funny sarcasm, now. It is sarcasm, right? lol
@Axelay71 I think the rights are still divided and I forget which Atari rights are where, but I feel your pain. I do like that there are attempts being made at resurrecting it, and I'd like it to all be together, too.
@sketchturner It's an interesting distinction. Nintendo has classified Mario games as "Action" pretty consistently (since the Super Mario Bros. NES box at least). Usually it's for games that require faster reflexes and hand-eye coordination. ~I don't know if they shy away from "platformer" because it's not really an English word, or what,~ but I usually use "action platformer" to also include the jumping/gravity component. (distinguishing it from action games that are top down, but might not have combat).
I'm curious in what circles are you seeing that distinction in heavy use, though. It's hard to keep up with these trends and I do like to stay current as I teach game design.
Edit: Well, I looked at Nintendo's official pages and they do include "platformer" as a genre descriptor now, which is good in my opinion. Super Mario Bros. U has the "Action" and "Platformer" genre tags and is described as "side-scrolling". Not that Nintendo has the final word on this, at all, just correcting my above statement.
@KevinP Inflation counts when it raises sharply, especially if pay hasn't caught up. It counts, just fine. $245 in 2017 money would get you a $300 Switch, now. So, it's about a $55 cost difference even without factoring in if your employer has attempted to raise wages/salary that matches inflation.
@Don Yeah, it doesn't seem likely that there will be new classic minis. I think they transitioned to selling the controller hardware along with subscriptions and that lines the pockets with cash better than limited run hardware people convert into emulators.
I sure would enjoy a little mini N64 and GameCube, though.
Plus, Nintendo should really just keep releasing their old hardware again with quality of life improvements and make them best-in-class. Some people would pay insane amounts of money for them judging from the enthusiast devices out there.
Thing is, I don't think they are selling to a lot of new customers. So, unless you are making profits on those Switches at the lower price, there's not much reason to lower it because demand is going down, and supply is probably under control.
You might think they want to move the unsold Switch boxes off the shelves (too much supply for demand!), but Nintendo will be selling those for years after the new Switch comes out. Their hardware plans always play the long game.
Also, I'm not sure how Nintendo feels about an ultra-cheap Switch sitting on the shelf next to their new hardware that will probably be higher priced than anyone wants when it launches.
If I'm wrong about selling to new customers, or just how much they overproduced the hardware, all bets are off.
@chardir You are very right about inflation and the actual cost coming down while the price remains the same, but at least in the US, the price tag has remained the same since launch in 2017. $299.
There have been brief sales here and there, but Nintendo instead opted to make a higher revenue device, Switch OLED, which totally worked as it has gained momentum and seems to be the most popular model, now.
@KayFiOS I mean, it will likely have a 10-year lifespan. They won't stop selling Switch when the new one comes out, and it will only have to last 3 more years at that point. (I mean, the Wii survived as the Wii mini all the way through the launch of the Switch)
@CharlieGirl Oh, I hadn't thought of that. They might be tempted to announce at the end of the year. Maybe to protect against people giving in and buying competitor consoles? (too late for me)
The sales forecast could have this built into it... but I feel like the forecast is still pretty high, so I'm not sure about them invoking the Osborne Effect for the Holidays.
Even if the hardware is delayed to later in 2024, I think you are right that early 2024 is the latest they can go to announce.
So, turns out this year was going to be the best time to release the new console. Guessing supply chain and other concerns (price/performance) pushed it back more than once, and now there won't be a smooth transition, but a painful one.
Switch has been an amazing success considering all the competition for entertainment. I'm hoping for a super strong release of the successor with Metroid Prime 4 and a new Mario to launch it powerfully.
@Haruki_NLI At the rate of global inflation and length of time on the market, Switch has dropped in price, effectively. That said, it may happen. I wouldn't expect much, though. Nintendo will want to keep it relatively high as close to the successor release as possible.
I found the presentation of how the world of Mario games can have a set of rules and background that can host characters and stories (not just games) to be entertaining. Also, I found how it began to fill in the relationships between characters (never really set up in the games) to be very satisfying.
It's kind of unlike most movies in that way and it held up just fine for me as a fan of the games and Nintendo. Thing is, many, many people are very familiar with Mario and probably get a little thrill out of that as well.
So, the traditional pleasures of movies like satisfying character arcs, relevant themes, intriguing plot, and emotional depth were a bit less important to me for this movie.
I think most adults unfamiliar with Mario and/or the games would probably find it pretty insubstantial, but still good for some laughs and shallow fun. Not to mention that the whole Mario universe is still relatively unique among fantasy worlds, so there's plenty to discover.
@Diogmites Interesting that Metroid, which has no RPG elements did just fine for you, and is VERY derivative of the Zelda game loop (restrict access based on new multi-use abilities, etc.) Must be the setting of the game distracted you and gave you false expectations?
You could argue that every Zelda game has been a remix of the original. Basically, it is a remake over and over again. That's why I always thought spending too much time on a remaster or remake was not that valuable.
That said, playing something like the Metroid Prime remaster really highlights how it can be done in a way that mostly respects the original and makes it more accessible to modern audiences.
I'd like to see Ocarina of Time get at least the 3DS version in high res on a modern system.
Problem is that pixel art is a thing that people still (amazingly) appreciate and respond to. I think a nice release of the original two with some QoL, maybe an optional sprite swap and/or music swap, and most importantly some historical context to help people understand it better (at least the original contents of the US box integrated cleverly) could go over really well with me, at least.
The worst offender is the 1990s blue to dark blue gradient. I didn't really like that even in the original releases and it has aged poorly.
I love good pixel fonts. There's a beautiful book dedicated to arcade game typography that reminded me of this. The "readable" modern fonts that were used on mobile ports of the games made some sense, but if almost everything is lower resolution pixel art, I'd prefer a nice clear low resolution font.
Wildfrost is SO good. It's a deck-building roguelite beauty. If you have any interest in card games or strategy games with charming art sneakily hiding tremendous depth and trickiness... at least check it out.
(Note that some early player reviews show that it has drawn an audience who doesn't seem to understand the genre and find it "hard" because they can't win all the time and haven't thought about the mechanics enough, yet. It's a roguelite, you are supposed to "fail" the big goal most of the time, but you accomplish the smaller gains, opening up options the more you play.)
@nessisonett I look at it as part of a survival strategy in the face of conglomerates and the ever-expanding supply of competing entertainment choices. The latter exploded, most recently, when the streaming services fought for relevance. In my opinion, it's dangerous for a company like Nintendo to rely on only one or two "lanes" for delivery.
That said, I certainly don't want it to affect the games in a negative way!
Another Mario movie would be important, first. But Donkey Kong really got featured and it might be an interesting spin-off in the same basic style.
Really, though, I'd like there to be some more freedom in delivery. A limited series might do some of these franchises better. Some even-smaller projects that allow for experimentation to see what sticks with audiences would be great. Maybe an anthology that features a few takes on each big franchise. (Some sort of Smash Bros. themed framing to connect them all, right?)
The important part is to let the best approach emerge for each game.
The next BIG franchise to tackle would be Legend of Zelda. The success of BotW is hard to ignore. What's best is that there is a wide variety of styles in the franchise already, so whatever approach taken can slot in pretty nicely to one of them. In the best timeline, Studio Ghibli is already animating it.
My dream would be some grounded take on Metroid with a huge budget and a focus on tone, atmosphere, and a plausible reality for Samus to inhabit. I want that feeling of appreciation for depth, lost civilization, and freaky genetics that really hit a peak in Metroid Prime. I do find that the design of Samus is insane enough that it would be hard to pull off in live action, but this is a dream, so it can work.
Peaches song is fun, but the rest of the soundtrack is really fun to listen to. The real news to me, here, was that the album is released digitally. Some tracks are definitely going into my regular rotation.
I do recommend waiting until after you see the movie, though. It's more fun to hear the music cues in the movie the first time.
Had a great time. Really enjoyed that they give fans a moment to know what is coming right before it happens and the music was so great.
Plot is simple and the characters are mostly about establishing relationships in a relatable way (unlike the games that don’t care about that). There is only the tiniest hint of arcs for the characters to travel, but seeing It all work together in a way that has some in-world plausibility carried the movie for me.
The pop music interjections were off putting when there was so much great soundtrack all around it. They were okay, though, in that they didn’t lean into them too hard or for too long.
Nostalgia and being in on the references definitely contributes a huge amount to my enjoyment, but I just don’t see any problem with that.
Gato Roboto is such a satisfying and beautiful morsel.
I'm guessing Devolver Digital wants to grow and that this is not going to be the only acquisition. Just like the big studios are consolidating, the small ones can benefit(?) too.
I do prefer a world where independent developers don't need middle men, but the games market is constantly dishing out new games and its hard to get attention and hard to keep a consistent income.
Lots of room to debate if the game is worth it for you but some of these arguments ignore supply and demand and are just… wow.
Somebody compared it to Minecraft, which is or is close to the best-selling game of all time. This game’s niche of a genre alone makes it such a small fraction of MC’s potential sales and has WAY more art assets, for instance, than Minecraft, which relies on procedural worlds for repeated variety. So, yes, Minecraft can sell for less because it will sell maybe 10x more copies than this game in this game’s own launch week, but MC also has a steady stream of revenue from purchases related to the main MC game.
Anyway, that’s the price you pay for wanting all-at-once upfront purchase prices of games that are not very popular. The work that goes into it is similar and the number sold is much less. Either do it for free like fans do in a brief period of their life where they are fully supported, or take a gamble and hope there’s enough people to support your work.
From these comments, it does seem like Nintendo needs to do a more careful and extended preview for those who can't deal with seeing individual aspects of the game, separately.
Nintendo knows the pre-order numbers. If they are high enough, they will be careful to let fans make the discoveries while they play. If they are low enough, there will be extended spoiler-heavy videos coming soon.
@Dezzy70 I still don't understand why them "not showing you this" leads you to believe there will not be tasks and things to collect. I mean, the whole weapon system's benefits from collecting certain monster parts for different weapon effects suggests that you'll be on the hunt for rare enemies only found in certain places.
Why do you have to be shown things? Nintendo has never made a game without things to collect and goals. Why assume that the makers of BotW with one of the most egregiously horrible item collection goals (Korok seeds) would just stop. That's so much easier to add than creating working, non-glitchy, craftable physics and weapon systems.
@PinderSchloss I mean, you feel how you feel. I'd just suggest that almost all the things that bothered you seemed, to me, to be optional extras. Giving people options to only pay extra for games they are more invested in while the core game sells to the masses is pretty great.
Most of the world is experiencing inflation and increases in pay traditionally lag behind for most people. That does suck, and I'd suggest that is more the source of frustration here, whether you know it or not.
But, it's good to let Nintendo know when you disagree with what they are offering, too.
@Dezzy70 I don't understand. You don't think there will be a reason to go places? I thought that was a pretty easy assumption to make from previous trailers. You think they forgot about goals? So confused about your reasoning on this.
@chardir If you are already sold on the game, maybe don't watch it. It's not story spoilers, but it does reveal specifics of some new game mechanics that I think would be much more fun to discover through regular play. Your mileage may vary.
Comments 6,335
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 3rd)
@Zuljaras Nice Hydralisk! I like to see the good old RTS genre still inspiring some art. I always going back to Zerg as my main, though it has been a while now since I've played.
Hope all goes well in your move.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (June 3rd)
Son is playing 3DS games, daughter is playing Tears of the Kingdom.
I'm over on PS5 playing Jedi: Survivor on New Game+ and also going back to Jedi: Fallen Order on New Game+. (Jedi: Survivor does New Game+ much better by giving you all that is needed to just enjoy combat — remixed — and the main storyline as directly as possible, will be replaying this one several times, I think.)
Will probably take a break before going back to TotK. A little too close to the open world play of Jedi: Survivor, for now, and I have to spend more real life time with family and friends, haha.
Re: Nintendo Reveals New Switch Joy-Con Pastel Colour Controller Sets
Too much drift pain to ever buy another JoyCon.
Newly released controllers are insulting, nowadays — Nintendo is basically saying, "Last one worn out on you quickly? Buy a brand new one!"
I really hope the next-gen Nintendo hardware finally addresses this issue.
Re: Nintendo Announces Everybody 1-2-Switch!, Pre-Orders Now Live
My family had a lot of fun with 1-2-Switch! It probably should have been paired down and included, but it was fun to get to know the possibilities before most developers abandon them.
I can't imagine the appetite for this one is very big, but the market is WAY bigger now, so it might sell a million on nostalgia + curiosity. Hopefully in the time that has passed since it was internally reviled, they found at least one group mini-game that was worth playing and fun. (Kinda like YDKJ/Jackbox only needs one or two a group likes) I'll wait to see more.
Re: Random: Nintendo Embraces Mortal Kombat's Gore In Stark Contrast To '90s Censorship
Can't say it does anything good for me directly, but okay. Agree with others that this has been a non-issue for Nintendo for decades, now... except that video games have carried the nihilistic celebration of human dismemberment, torture, and gleeful bloodlust much further, nowadays.
When the Video Game Awards first started and attempted to gain the industry some legitimacy and respect, it really struck me as a contrast from other media when all the big game trailers were just competing for how realistically awful and brutal they were in letting you take part in eviscerating people. I felt embarrassed for the industry in how immature and apathetic to humanity it was showing itself to be. (Shame, too, because many of those games had much more to offer.) It was as if all games were John Wick movies, rather than the true depth and variety of the industry.
Anyway, gross. haha. As I get older and it sinks in just how real this type of killing actually has been and is for many people in the world, it's harder to take joy in it. Rather than censoring, I do think the game industry (and TV and movies, too) could do better at letting people evaluate and even control the content they subject themselves to.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For LEGO 2K Drive
LEGO is expensive. I imagine LEGO licensing is very expensive, as well. So, I have some sympathy for their monetizing scheme... but, yeah, it's a horrible trap for kids and parents and does long term damage to the brand, I think.
I think just make a smaller game that doesn't have core mechanics and balance that leverages micro-transactions at the detriment to player experience.
I actually do believe DLC can be more fair than not, though. For those that love the game, let people buy DLC for more content, more to do. It's worth more to those players than others who will buy the smaller game and not even finish it. It's more fair that way. (Diehard fans of games they get hundreds of hours out of will often complain how much they have to pay, but, for some reason not defend those who buy it full price and only play half the game)
I agree that paid cosmetics works better in other games. With LEGO, cosmetics is half the experience — most of the experience? — for many players, so it is dicier charging for those in DLC than with other games.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (May 20th)
Played a little Jedi: Survivor on PS5. Will love to play more TotK eventually, but it was too close to the same gameplay with very different controls and I didn’t want to undo my “training” until I eventually get some more free time and finish the Jedi: Survivor (which I’m loving). I did watch my daughter playing TotK in the background and it has all the BotW charm and draw, so I’m looking forward to it.
Re: Round Up: Indie Live Expo 2023 - Every Nintendo Switch Game Showcased
The first wave is full of really interesting games. But I almost bounced off the video from the whiplash between the first second and third games.
They just need a way to organize that doesn’t require extended viewing of titles you are not likely to care about…
But I have softened a bit already while watching just how good many of these look. Is wave one the best looking ones to generate interest?
(Start at 10:45 to see screenshots of them all more quickly)
Re: Round Up: Indie Live Expo 2023 - Every Nintendo Switch Game Showcased
Are these waves themed in any way? Where do I start if I just want to spend a few minutes? This has to be the most ill advised way to introduce indie games I can imagine.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Has Surpassed 10 Million Sales In Three Days
Gotta admit that as much as I love Jedi: Survivor on PS5 and thought I might be spoiled for TotK, I still got all the thrills starting on TotK.
I will wait to go back until I finish Jedi: Survivor once, though I might stick a little closer to the main path to finish it faster!
(Seriously, though, they are both great games. Super spoiled and no real time to play for a bit)
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Has Surpassed 10 Million Sales In Three Days
You know somebody at Nintendo let this thought cross their mind, "we should have charged $100"
Re: Expect More Open-World Zelda Games Going Forwards, Suggests Eiji Aonuma
@ArcticEcho There are differences between NES Zelda and BotW, but in my opinion not as different as you are trying to express. It's more shades of gray of than "BotW" doesn't have this thing at all.
For instance, the Divine Beasts may be disappointing in that they all have similar art theming and are not as intricate or deep as some dungeons in other Zelda games but they are structured very similarly, entering them must be discovered and earned, you actually do get a heart container when defeating the boss in them, too, right?
So many of the BotW changes are improvements giving the player more agency and choice about how to strategically approach the goal.
In BotW, there are many, many mini-dungeons (shrines) to discover and solve/overcome to earn them, like breaking apart the large dungeons of past games and scattering their puzzles/rewards.
You can skip them and go for the bigger goals or seek the spirit orbs out.
When you do get them you even get a choice in how to balance number of hearts and amount of stamina.
Not saying I don't miss the occasional themed dungeon with intricate puzzles that escalate. I think they should keep working those back in somehow, but they are tough to balance. I don't love all the dungeons of past games. Some became tedious or felt like grind the game progress to a halt. Dungeons are often the highlight in those games for me, too, though.
Re: Expect More Open-World Zelda Games Going Forwards, Suggests Eiji Aonuma
The original NES was an overwhelmingly large open world game for its time (at least for me and my friends it was). Ocarina of Time was the first console game I played that felt “open world” in 3D as well.
For various reasons, not always design decisions, from Ocarina of Time to Skyward Sword the games became more linear and like traveling through corridors (Wind Waker, maybe not). The dungeons began to feel less restricting than the overworld areas by the time we get to Skyward Sword. Some of this feeling is maybe relative to other games of their time.
I have missed the classic dungeons and I look forward to further progress in the series there. Open world and non-linear freedoms have always been the best part of Zelda games, though, in my opinion, even if it got extreme for some lately.
Re: The New Zelda Title Apparently Has A "Game Engine" Link With Splatoon 3
@Bluelink45 You are comparing apples to oranges, here. Unity is versatile because that is its purpose as a general use commercial game engine. It also trades away a tremendous amount of efficiency and performance for that versatility.
Proprietary, focused game engines are quite necessary for Nintendo when it is trying to optimize for performance with an ambitious game on a device as limited as the Switch.
It is a bit surprising to see such very different games sharing the same engine, in this case. The open world of ToTK is so different from the arena style gameplay of S3 and I'd think the biggest focus in ToTK would be the flexible physics engine, while S3 has is much less concerned with that sort of thing.
In the end, with a game this long in production, it is probably quite customized even if it was based on the Splatoon 3 engine.
(As a side note, I can't wait to see how all this experience carries over to the next leap in hardware performance for Nintendo)
Re: Eiji Aonuma "Interested" In Zelda Movie After Mario's $1 Billion Box Office Success
@AlexHarford This is my dream scenario. Hayao Miyazaki's movies are clearly a huge influence on the Zelda games, so it would be great to have the source of inspiration turn around and interpret the games, and he'd make it completely his own thing like he does with every story he has adapted.
He is not going to use his "retirement" years on such a commercial venture with a company like Nintendo that would not let him just "do his own thing", unfortunately.
Just having Studio Ghibli do it with a different director might still be good and actually be feasible.
Re: Eiji Aonuma "Interested" In Zelda Movie After Mario's $1 Billion Box Office Success
@rjejr I was totally fascinated by Beastmaster as a kid. The animals were great. Those nasty beasts that dissolve people into yellow goo, yuck! I'm not a hater, it's just real nasty and hasn't really aged well, in my opinion.
The Scorpion King seemed like an intentional throwback, but I didn't bother at the time (I don't think I've seen more than the first 10 minutes or something). I didn't know about how it was cut up. Did anyone ever make a fan edit with the story put back in?
Re: Eiji Aonuma "Interested" In Zelda Movie After Mario's $1 Billion Box Office Success
@rjejr Right, most of the story in BOTW is the "100 years ago" and that is what I was thinking about for the most part.
I was just thinking realistically what would Nintendo put the money up for, and it would be the one that is, by far, the most popular.
Re: Eiji Aonuma "Interested" In Zelda Movie After Mario's $1 Billion Box Office Success
@rjejr I actually think they should not fall into the swords & sandals category with all its tropes. The Legend of Zelda games are full of quirks and originality that transcend those (despite holding to the main, "get the ultimate weapon to defeat the ultimate evil while also saving the threatened princess" trope.)
For a 90-120 minute movie, there is plenty of story even in Breath of the Wild alone... but it would be pretty easy to focus on the cliche stuff and that would be a shame.
As a kid, I really enjoyed Conan the Destroyer (and watched it many times on HBO). I also watched a bunch of Beastmaster with Marc Singer. Disturbing nasty movie, lol. I don't know if I could staand another villagers getting ransacked by armies montage in any movie. Even the LOTR movies, which I love, tested my limits with those scenes.
Re: Eiji Aonuma "Interested" In Zelda Movie After Mario's $1 Billion Box Office Success
I guess it wouldn't make sense to make it a multiverse movie as a first story, but that would be so fun to get to pay homage to all the iterations of the Legend of Zelda.
More likely, it would have to be a take on the most popular and recognized Breath of the Wild / Tears of the Kingdom setting, characters, and story.
I guess that's the opposite take to yours, @rjejr! Didn't see yours above mine.
Re: Eiji Aonuma "Interested" In Zelda Movie After Mario's $1 Billion Box Office Success
@blindsquarel Link has a voice, and uses it constantly in the games. He just doesn't speak words (in order to not put words into the player's mouth). I think you'd easily be able to judge whether an actor sounds like one of the many, many links.
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom - An Absolute Marvel, But Is It Better Than BOTW?
Not great timing for me. I don't have time for many big games and I'm already dug into Jedi: Survivor on PS5 now which is scratching both open world and metroidvania itches really well with story and character I'm really into.
I expect to love this Zelda game, and it's preordered, but I'm not sure when to start playing...
@TT21 That's pretty funny sarcasm, now. It is sarcasm, right? lol
Re: Atari's Neon Action-Platformer, Mr. Run And Jump, Leaps Onto Switch This Summer
This looks like an attempt to align a type of gaming with the Atari brand that makes some sense. I'd like to see more of this, for sure.
Re: Atari's Neon Action-Platformer, Mr. Run And Jump, Leaps Onto Switch This Summer
@Axelay71 I think the rights are still divided and I forget which Atari rights are where, but I feel your pain. I do like that there are attempts being made at resurrecting it, and I'd like it to all be together, too.
Re: Atari's Neon Action-Platformer, Mr. Run And Jump, Leaps Onto Switch This Summer
@sketchturner It's an interesting distinction. Nintendo has classified Mario games as "Action" pretty consistently (since the Super Mario Bros. NES box at least). Usually it's for games that require faster reflexes and hand-eye coordination. ~I don't know if they shy away from "platformer" because it's not really an English word, or what,~ but I usually use "action platformer" to also include the jumping/gravity component. (distinguishing it from action games that are top down, but might not have combat).
I'm curious in what circles are you seeing that distinction in heavy use, though. It's hard to keep up with these trends and I do like to stay current as I teach game design.
Edit: Well, I looked at Nintendo's official pages and they do include "platformer" as a genre descriptor now, which is good in my opinion. Super Mario Bros. U has the "Action" and "Platformer" genre tags and is described as "side-scrolling". Not that Nintendo has the final word on this, at all, just correcting my above statement.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@KevinP Inflation counts when it raises sharply, especially if pay hasn't caught up. It counts, just fine. $245 in 2017 money would get you a $300 Switch, now. So, it's about a $55 cost difference even without factoring in if your employer has attempted to raise wages/salary that matches inflation.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@Don Yeah, it doesn't seem likely that there will be new classic minis. I think they transitioned to selling the controller hardware along with subscriptions and that lines the pockets with cash better than limited run hardware people convert into emulators.
I sure would enjoy a little mini N64 and GameCube, though.
Plus, Nintendo should really just keep releasing their old hardware again with quality of life improvements and make them best-in-class. Some people would pay insane amounts of money for them judging from the enthusiast devices out there.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@KevinP Could go either way.
Thing is, I don't think they are selling to a lot of new customers. So, unless you are making profits on those Switches at the lower price, there's not much reason to lower it because demand is going down, and supply is probably under control.
You might think they want to move the unsold Switch boxes off the shelves (too much supply for demand!), but Nintendo will be selling those for years after the new Switch comes out. Their hardware plans always play the long game.
Also, I'm not sure how Nintendo feels about an ultra-cheap Switch sitting on the shelf next to their new hardware that will probably be higher priced than anyone wants when it launches.
If I'm wrong about selling to new customers, or just how much they overproduced the hardware, all bets are off.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@chardir You are very right about inflation and the actual cost coming down while the price remains the same, but at least in the US, the price tag has remained the same since launch in 2017. $299.
There have been brief sales here and there, but Nintendo instead opted to make a higher revenue device, Switch OLED, which totally worked as it has gained momentum and seems to be the most popular model, now.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@Clammy I think Nintendo wishes they could do that and launch it in time for the holidays at the end of the year, but it's not very likely.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@KayFiOS I mean, it will likely have a 10-year lifespan. They won't stop selling Switch when the new one comes out, and it will only have to last 3 more years at that point. (I mean, the Wii survived as the Wii mini all the way through the launch of the Switch)
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@CharlieGirl Oh, I hadn't thought of that. They might be tempted to announce at the end of the year. Maybe to protect against people giving in and buying competitor consoles? (too late for me)
The sales forecast could have this built into it... but I feel like the forecast is still pretty high, so I'm not sure about them invoking the Osborne Effect for the Holidays.
Even if the hardware is delayed to later in 2024, I think you are right that early 2024 is the latest they can go to announce.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
So, turns out this year was going to be the best time to release the new console. Guessing supply chain and other concerns (price/performance) pushed it back more than once, and now there won't be a smooth transition, but a painful one.
Switch has been an amazing success considering all the competition for entertainment. I'm hoping for a super strong release of the successor with Metroid Prime 4 and a new Mario to launch it powerfully.
Re: As Switch Momentum Slows, Nintendo Expects Further Sales Decline Next Year
@Haruki_NLI At the rate of global inflation and length of time on the market, Switch has dropped in price, effectively. That said, it may happen. I wouldn't expect much, though. Nintendo will want to keep it relatively high as close to the successor release as possible.
Re: Mario Movie Sets New Box Office Records
I found the presentation of how the world of Mario games can have a set of rules and background that can host characters and stories (not just games) to be entertaining. Also, I found how it began to fill in the relationships between characters (never really set up in the games) to be very satisfying.
It's kind of unlike most movies in that way and it held up just fine for me as a fan of the games and Nintendo. Thing is, many, many people are very familiar with Mario and probably get a little thrill out of that as well.
So, the traditional pleasures of movies like satisfying character arcs, relevant themes, intriguing plot, and emotional depth were a bit less important to me for this movie.
I think most adults unfamiliar with Mario and/or the games would probably find it pretty insubstantial, but still good for some laughs and shallow fun. Not to mention that the whole Mario universe is still relatively unique among fantasy worlds, so there's plenty to discover.
After it was over, I wanted to see more.
Re: Soapbox: It's Time For A Zelda 1 Remake, Please
@Diogmites Interesting that Metroid, which has no RPG elements did just fine for you, and is VERY derivative of the Zelda game loop (restrict access based on new multi-use abilities, etc.) Must be the setting of the game distracted you and gave you false expectations?
Re: Soapbox: It's Time For A Zelda 1 Remake, Please
You could argue that every Zelda game has been a remix of the original. Basically, it is a remake over and over again. That's why I always thought spending too much time on a remaster or remake was not that valuable.
That said, playing something like the Metroid Prime remaster really highlights how it can be done in a way that mostly respects the original and makes it more accessible to modern audiences.
I'd like to see Ocarina of Time get at least the 3DS version in high res on a modern system.
Problem is that pixel art is a thing that people still (amazingly) appreciate and respond to. I think a nice release of the original two with some QoL, maybe an optional sprite swap and/or music swap, and most importantly some historical context to help people understand it better (at least the original contents of the US box integrated cleverly) could go over really well with me, at least.
Re: Poll: What Do You Think Of The New Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster Font?
The worst offender is the 1990s blue to dark blue gradient. I didn't really like that even in the original releases and it has aged poorly.
I love good pixel fonts. There's a beautiful book dedicated to arcade game typography that reminded me of this. The "readable" modern fonts that were used on mobile ports of the games made some sense, but if almost everything is lower resolution pixel art, I'd prefer a nice clear low resolution font.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (April 15th)
Wildfrost is SO good. It's a deck-building roguelite beauty. If you have any interest in card games or strategy games with charming art sneakily hiding tremendous depth and trickiness... at least check it out.
(Note that some early player reviews show that it has drawn an audience who doesn't seem to understand the genre and find it "hard" because they can't win all the time and haven't thought about the mechanics enough, yet. It's a roguelite, you are supposed to "fail" the big goal most of the time, but you accomplish the smaller gains, opening up options the more you play.)
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Franchise Should Illumination Tackle Next?
@nessisonett I look at it as part of a survival strategy in the face of conglomerates and the ever-expanding supply of competing entertainment choices. The latter exploded, most recently, when the streaming services fought for relevance. In my opinion, it's dangerous for a company like Nintendo to rely on only one or two "lanes" for delivery.
That said, I certainly don't want it to affect the games in a negative way!
Re: Talking Point: Which Nintendo Franchise Should Illumination Tackle Next?
Another Mario movie would be important, first. But Donkey Kong really got featured and it might be an interesting spin-off in the same basic style.
Really, though, I'd like there to be some more freedom in delivery. A limited series might do some of these franchises better. Some even-smaller projects that allow for experimentation to see what sticks with audiences would be great. Maybe an anthology that features a few takes on each big franchise. (Some sort of Smash Bros. themed framing to connect them all, right?)
The important part is to let the best approach emerge for each game.
The next BIG franchise to tackle would be Legend of Zelda. The success of BotW is hard to ignore. What's best is that there is a wide variety of styles in the franchise already, so whatever approach taken can slot in pretty nicely to one of them. In the best timeline, Studio Ghibli is already animating it.
My dream would be some grounded take on Metroid with a huge budget and a focus on tone, atmosphere, and a plausible reality for Samus to inhabit. I want that feeling of appreciation for depth, lost civilization, and freaky genetics that really hit a peak in Metroid Prime. I do find that the design of Samus is insane enough that it would be hard to pull off in live action, but this is a dream, so it can work.
Re: Video: Jack Black Performs Bowser's Mario Movie Song 'Peaches'
Peaches song is fun, but the rest of the soundtrack is really fun to listen to. The real news to me, here, was that the album is released digitally. Some tracks are definitely going into my regular rotation.
I do recommend waiting until after you see the movie, though. It's more fun to hear the music cues in the movie the first time.
Re: Poll: What Score Would You Give To The Super Mario Bros. Movie?
Had a great time. Really enjoyed that they give fans a moment to know what is coming right before it happens and the music was so great.
Plot is simple and the characters are mostly about establishing relationships in a relatable way (unlike the games that don’t care about that). There is only the tiniest hint of arcs for the characters to travel, but seeing It all work together in a way that has some in-world plausibility carried the movie for me.
The pop music interjections were off putting when there was so much great soundtrack all around it. They were okay, though, in that they didn’t lean into them too hard or for too long.
Nostalgia and being in on the references definitely contributes a huge amount to my enjoyment, but I just don’t see any problem with that.
Re: Devolver Digital Acquires 'Gato Roboto' And 'Gunbrella' Dev Doinksoft
Gato Roboto is such a satisfying and beautiful morsel.
I'm guessing Devolver Digital wants to grow and that this is not going to be the only acquisition. Just like the big studios are consolidating, the small ones can benefit(?) too.
I do prefer a world where independent developers don't need middle men, but the games market is constantly dishing out new games and its hard to get attention and hard to keep a consistent income.
Re: Sega Explains Why Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection Costs $80
Lots of room to debate if the game is worth it for you but some of these arguments ignore supply and demand and are just… wow.
Somebody compared it to Minecraft, which is or is close to the best-selling game of all time. This game’s niche of a genre alone makes it such a small fraction of MC’s potential sales and has WAY more art assets, for instance, than Minecraft, which relies on procedural worlds for repeated variety. So, yes, Minecraft can sell for less because it will sell maybe 10x more copies than this game in this game’s own launch week, but MC also has a steady stream of revenue from purchases related to the main MC game.
Anyway, that’s the price you pay for wanting all-at-once upfront purchase prices of games that are not very popular. The work that goes into it is similar and the number sold is much less. Either do it for free like fans do in a brief period of their life where they are fully supported, or take a gamble and hope there’s enough people to support your work.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Gets Creative With Vehicle Building, Fused Weapons
From these comments, it does seem like Nintendo needs to do a more careful and extended preview for those who can't deal with seeing individual aspects of the game, separately.
Nintendo knows the pre-order numbers. If they are high enough, they will be careful to let fans make the discoveries while they play. If they are low enough, there will be extended spoiler-heavy videos coming soon.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Gets Creative With Vehicle Building, Fused Weapons
@Dpullam Good call. I started to regret it while watching. Having someone show you how things work is much less fun than discovering it on your own.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Gets Creative With Vehicle Building, Fused Weapons
@Dezzy70 I still don't understand why them "not showing you this" leads you to believe there will not be tasks and things to collect. I mean, the whole weapon system's benefits from collecting certain monster parts for different weapon effects suggests that you'll be on the hunt for rare enemies only found in certain places.
Why do you have to be shown things? Nintendo has never made a game without things to collect and goals. Why assume that the makers of BotW with one of the most egregiously horrible item collection goals (Korok seeds) would just stop. That's so much easier to add than creating working, non-glitchy, craftable physics and weapon systems.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Gets Creative With Vehicle Building, Fused Weapons
@PinderSchloss I mean, you feel how you feel. I'd just suggest that almost all the things that bothered you seemed, to me, to be optional extras. Giving people options to only pay extra for games they are more invested in while the core game sells to the masses is pretty great.
Most of the world is experiencing inflation and increases in pay traditionally lag behind for most people. That does suck, and I'd suggest that is more the source of frustration here, whether you know it or not.
But, it's good to let Nintendo know when you disagree with what they are offering, too.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Gets Creative With Vehicle Building, Fused Weapons
@Dezzy70 I don't understand. You don't think there will be a reason to go places? I thought that was a pretty easy assumption to make from previous trailers. You think they forgot about goals? So confused about your reasoning on this.
Re: Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Trailer Gets Creative With Vehicle Building, Fused Weapons
@chardir If you are already sold on the game, maybe don't watch it. It's not story spoilers, but it does reveal specifics of some new game mechanics that I think would be much more fun to discover through regular play. Your mileage may vary.