earthboundlink

@sanya_exe Woo! Thanks for the update. I was purposefully avoiding completing major story quests in BOTW because I wanted to see the cinematic flair on my big screen with surround sound. At least I got some side quests done in the meantime...

I know we're all making fun of the stability, but 4.0 made it so the sound didn't work in docked mode for a lot of people who run their Switch sound through something other than their TV speakers (like me). Any idea whether this update resolves that issue? I assume it does, and I'll find out this evening, but that problem basically completely breaks docked play for me.

This was on my list because it looks different from the standard fare, and I'm always down for a game with a David Wise soundtrack. Love those high-concept games. At $10, it's only slightly more than Picross, so I jumped on it. Still haven't even played it yet, but I'm excited to do it with headphones.

My avatar has become irrelevant...

Most of the Art Style games are amazing and relaxing. Really hope they bring some of these old WiiWare titles to Switch. Mega Man 9 and 10 are awesome, I loved FFCC: My Life as a King, and thought it could use an expansion. And there were so many great VC games.

I also absolutely loved the Wii Shop music, and the running Mario/Luigi download indicator.

I think the idea is to give you some cool retro games to show off the 2-player joy con experience to your 30-something buddies and get them to buy a Switch. It's kind of brilliant, actually. I can imagine 30-somethings playing this at a bar table and getting a lot of eager looks from other patrons.

I really like the idea of porting old games in a way that adapts them to the new system. Duck Hunt for Wii U was another good example of this.

I do wish they would discount it for those of us who have bought some version of these titles before, but Nintendo is pretty unrelenting on that kind of thing so I'll be surprised if that happens.

I have this and Snake Pass on my wishlist from the early days of Switch. I only got my Switch a few weeks ago, I'm pretty deep in the thick of BOTW at the moment, and with Odyssey coming up I'm not sure when I'll find the time to revisit these early gems.

Still, a solid futuristic racing game is always good for a few quick rounds when you don't have the time to sink into something like exploring a Hyrule the size of North America.

Monster Hunter XX for Switch in the west!

I won't happen, but a fella can dream...

I enjoyed the first one on 3DS, and I really enjoyed X on Wii U. However, I never finished either one—never even got close with X. I also felt like I never truly understood all the complex gameplay dynamics of X. This game sounds like it's even more complex, and I'm not sure I can go any deeper than I did with X. Not sure I can justify buying this one having been so limited in my play-through of X. Maybe, one day when I'm finally done with Breath of the Wild and I get a hankering to explore a big, dynamic open world again, I'll go back to X.

Here's a tip folks: A love for lengthy, complicated JRPGs is not really compatible with having young children.

[insert kickstand joke here]

It's a port of an expansion of a game that was itself essentially a greatest hits collection of other Monster Hunter games. I know Capcom likes to iterate, but this may be one-too-many layers.

Still, if it came to the west, I'd buy it. Switch was born to be a Monster Hunter machine.

Boomerangs are the best. I love throwing my weapons in BOTW, and these are the only ones that don't break when thrown. They also do a lot of damage and make good melee weapons (although I try not to use them that way so as not to wear down their durability on non-throws). The only problem is that it's easy to lose them when they hit something in the environment, and then you have to scour the area to find them afterwards.

I love that they incorporated boomerangs into the game in a unique way; the boomerang has been a key part of Zelda games since the first installment.

With this one and the SFII remake, it looks like Switch is primed to be the pinnacle of 16-bit retro glory. Makes sense, since Switch has always been pretty well positioned to target the nostalgia demographic. I do wonder how long before the system gets a real virtual console though. Seems like a lot of money left on the table.

I strongly suspect they are sitting on a virtual console until they think it's necessary to gin up renewed interest in the system. Since it's still really tough to find one in the wild, I suspect their main focus is getting stock on the shelves.

I get the need for Worlds to be on other systems for technical reasons (though I'll be interested to see if we get some version of it as Switch reaches critical mass). I suspect that if the port of XX to Switch goes well in Japan, we'll get a localization here eventually as the numbers get bigger. Given Monster Hunter's portable lineage, I just can't see the Switch going its whole lifecycle without a Monster Hunter game in the west. Given Capcom's tendency to rehash the same releases over and over, and its recent Street Fighter effort on Switch, it may even end up being another re-release of Monster Hunter 3 or 4.

I would actually love a mash up of MH3 and MH4, where they keep the verticality of 4 but add a quicker, revised version of water combat from 3. Given they put some of the monsters and areas from 3 into Generations, it doesn't seem like it would be that hard to do. Of course, that's just a fan's dream.

Final note: count me among those who can live without the annual releases. After MH3U, MH4U, and MHGen, I don't mind a break from the series while the figure out their next move on portable. I'm fine with there only being one core game from a particular series on a single console. That's how Nintendo often handles its IPs, and it's worked well for them.

Sounds like an interesting combo of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles and My Life as a King, both of which I quite enjoyed, but which I always thought would be more fun if combined into a single game in some way.

I still don't have the most recent Fire Emblem, so if I'm picking up a new 3DS RPG, I have some tough decisions to make. I do like to support new Nintendo IPs whenever they come around...

This trailer is kind of bending my brain in a way it hasn't been bent since the first Mario Galaxy.

Coming in March, 2020

Part of the disappointment comes from our high expectations, which I suppose is a good thing. Frankly, I'm kind of glad there's not so much E3 pressure these days. I like the reveals more spread out and the company speaking more directly to its audience.

We all knew Monster Hunter was coming to Switch, but this is a little sooner than expected. Don't think I could handle Japanese text, so I'll wait for the localization. But at this point, unless they have Monster Hunter 5 near completion, I'd be really surprised if they didn't localize this one in the west. It's basically the same move as putting MH3U on the Wii U. The Monster Hunter fan base in the west is dedicated and growing.

@LinkSword I guess what I mean is that I did the grinding parts without really understanding that was their purpose, and the game ended up being one of the easier entries in the series for me. I suppose I could have foregone the grinding to make the game harder on myself.

I mean, it was still a great game, just not one of my favorites among Fire Emblem entries. You don't have to insult people to make a point, you know.

Correction: Sacred Stones was too much grinding. Shadow Dragon I liked much better, though I never finished it due to backlog and other things.

I've enjoyed Awakening and Fates (Conquest is indeed brutally difficult), but my favorite Fire Emblem to this day remains the first one localized in the U.S. on GBA because of the straightforwardness. Shadow Dragon had too much grinding, and the weird animal people plots of the GCN and Wii entries detracted from the worlds. Although I still enjoyed the battles and core gameplay, Awakening, and Fates in particular had too much window dressing and mystical silliness to make the stories very compelling to me (I liked Awakening better than Fates). Sounds like this entry is exactly what I've been waiting for since that first Fire Emblem on GBA. Also reminds me that I never finished Shadow Dragon, but I really enjoyed the parts of it I played.

These are really nice-looking, but I'm afraid any extra cash I manage to scrape together will be for a Switch. Besides, I really like the 3D effect and use it pretty much always. My N3DS XL is losing its red paint job on the sides though, which is too bad. It's showing more wear than any previous Nintendo handheld I've owned.

As a Nintendo observer since the olden days, and a veteran of the SNES/Genesis playground wars, allow me to assert my surprise at the fact that Nintendo is, in fact, not doomed:

It may have never achieved commercial success, but I'll never change my opinion that the Wii U is/was an excellent system with a relatively small but potent selection of fantastic games. I welcome the Switch era with open arms, but I shall remember the Wii U with more fondness than most.

I'm glad I don't work for Sega, because at this point, I'm just not sure the Sonic universe works anymore. The 2D approach tends to be just rehash of what worked in the 90s, the 3D games never seem to work quite right because the character is too fast and it's too hard to keep control. The characters have been given way too much exposure outside of the games, to the point that there are too many of them and their personalities are just bad Saturday morning clichés. They try to put these cartoon plots into the games, but they always take themselves way too seriously...

I don't know, maybe it's salvageable, but I think the brand needs a long hiatus. The audience of edgy 90s middle schoolers that built the brand was always going to move on someday, and Sonic was never really well-positioned to capitalize on timeless nostalgia the way Nintendo's brands are. I'll always have a soft spot for Sonic, and I still want him to succeed, but I just don't think it's possible without a long branding break. Sega has some other IPs it can push instead. Get invested in Bayonetta again or something.

Wasn't quite clear whether there is battle mode online. Sounds like there is? If so, that's a reason for me to drop some money on this version despite having the Wii U and DLC.

I'm really impressed with the amount of longevity the 3DS is showing post-Switch release. When all is said and done, I feel like the 3DS will end up ranking as one of Nintendo's best systems in terms of the quality and quantity of available games. It has certainly been a dream for anyone who loves the various forms of JRPGs.

I think the power-profile of the 3DS (which I understand is about at Gamecube-level) is a sweet spot for developers in terms of development costs and flexibility. There's enough power to do a lot of interesting things, but no so much that users expect to be blown away, or a developer feel compelled to spend a ton of development resources on bells and whistles. You get decent, passable graphics, but the developers put a lot of emphasis on gameplay.

I also will lament the eventual death of the second screen. On a system with so many RPGs, the second screen has been vital in showing stats, menus, etc., with the touch screen simplifying use of all those things.

Sorry, I'm waxing poetic about the 3DS. I really love mine, and I'm trying to enjoy its bittersweet ride into the sunset.

The direct will be interesting, though I doubt there will be too many huge, exciting reveals. E3 is much more intriguing to me. I have this feeling that Nintendo is planning a pretty big E3 to sustain the success of Switch so far, and that will leave them with little to talk about today. They don't really need big reveals today, since you still can't buy a switch at retailers in my area of the U.S.

Count me as one of those ready to buy if I can find one. But they're never in stock anywhere near me (US, east coast).

I already own a physical copy of Conquest, and wouldn't mind trying Birthright for a reduced price. But I'm curious, if I use my gold coins for the reward, can I still download it at the reduced price through the in-game store as DLC, or do I then have a digital copy of the game as well? I mean, I guess it doesn't really matter, but I'm curious how I should make the purchase. Interested if anyone has an answer to these questions.

With this and Yooka-Laylee, I'm really excited for the new revival of the non-Mario 3D platformer.

Right now, I just want a Switch. Stores are still selling out all stock same day where I live in the U.S. Don't expect major changes while they're still struggling to meet demand. They'll probably save any big changes or improvements for a period when sales start to lag a little.

The idea of the Switch v.2 with telephony would be interesting, but it would need to run a different OS. Devs don't seem keen to develop apps for any OS other than Android and iOS, and if a "Switch Phone" were going to replace my iPhone, it would need to do a lot of productivity stuff that I just can't see Nintendo doing.

@Action51 Wholeheartedly agree on the analysis of Fates. I still enjoyed the core FE gameplay mechanics, and a lot of the maps and missions in Conquest were cleverly designed. But it just felt like they put way too much fluff and mysticism into the storyline. And somehow they do all this fighting, but don't actually kill anybody? The whole thing just felt a little off, and I got a little tired of all the castle stuff. Felt like all that stuff just kept me from getting to the main game.

I'm expecting a pretty good showing for Switch at E3. There are only two words needed to get me to camp out at a retailer waiting for restock: "Monster. Hunter."

They need to take the lineup they've already laid out for this year, bring some playable versions of those games, add some solid third party reveals and release dates (especially from those companies that were good to Nintendo the last generation, like Capcom and P*), and tack on a couple of new first party reveals. They don't even need to be huge names. Pikmin 4 will do. Although if they drop an Animal Crossing, a Fire Emblem, or dare I say it... a Pokémon reveal, the world will implode from Hype.

They would also do well to drop a bunch of good VC stuff on us at E3. Like, "you can get a free download of any VC game associated with your Nintendo account from wither Wii U or 3DS." Hey, a man can dream...

I have a feeling I will be playing mine primarily as a portable once I have it. My situation is most akin to the "too busy for gaming a lot of the time, but sometimes I just want to kill an afternoon by myself." But then on those rare days when I have lots of game time, clicking into the TV and laying on the couch sounds glorious. I haven't played it yet, but my sense is that the system was designed for my gaming life.

Also, I'm okay with the death of home screen music, although I hope it's an option if they later decide to add home themes like the 3DS. I actually really enjoyed the themes, and they made excellent digital giveaways for Nintendo.

We always make fun of Nintendo and its "stability" updates, but these are the kinds of things those updates resolve. They're more noticeable in the early going than they are later in the system's life, when so many issues have already been ironed out. I'm sure this will be resolved relatively quickly.

@Turbo857 @JaxonH I think it's actually great that Nintendo decided to focus on making this a games-first device. I think all the gaming consoles have spent too much time in recent years trying to make their devices these multimedia machines, and they just never do those jobs as well as phones, tablets, TV boxes, etc. My iPad does a lot of things really well, but gaming is not really one of them. I want a device that just gets me straight to gaming without any nonsense in between. They focused the innovative aspects of Switch on making for more interesting gaming options, not more ways to watch TV. I remember the first time I really felt like the Wii U might struggle is when they started talking about "TVii." I thought, "sounds like a good idea, but this is not the kind of thing Nintendo is really good at."

Anyway, glad others besides me are happy to see a device that does a few things very well instead of a lot of things mediocre.

@Spoony_Tech I'm also SUPER PUMPED for Monster Hunter. Although I have a feeling it will end up being an "up-port" like MH3U for Wii U, using the most recent MHX release in Japan. I anticipate "Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate" or something like that. But even that or an up-port of MH4U is okay with me. I still love to play MH3U from time to time on Wii U just to hunt massive HD Monsters.

Now, if they announce MH5 for Switch as a Switch native game with a western release date, I might actually die of hype.

Sadly, I'm still not a Switch owner. I did go by my local Best Buy Saturday evening, and the Switch area was demolished. Nothing but a few extra grey joy cons remaining. Even the games were just about all gone. That's a good sign for Nintendo, but a bad sign for me, since I wanted one.

At this point, I think I'm going to wait it out until summer and see what develops. In the meantime, I finally used some of my gold coins to get a discounted download of Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, and plan on using that and Xenoblade Chronicles X to give my Wii U a last hurrah until I can get my hands on a Switch. The Wii U really is a good system that didn't deserve its fate. It will be fondly remembered by me and a number of others.

That... that is a lot of games. Switch will be the system for those of us who like to try things that are niche or outside the blockbuster so-called "AAA" big dev stuff. For my part, I'm pumped for the inevitable glut of JRPGs that this system will have.

Be interested to see the Wii U gamepad added to this list for comparison. It's not technically a portable, but I use it like one around the house a lot of the time.

I didn't know much about Snake Pass, but it has David Wise, so it's probably good. I still listen to the DKC:TF soundtrack all the time. I think it's probably one of history's best game soundtracks. He doesn't usually lend his music to subpar projects.

I've actually been really pleasantly surprised with the premium look and the slickness of the Switch. Nintendo doesn't usually go for the stylistic choices that sell smartphones and tablets, going instead for durability and approachability. This is the first Nintendo device I've seen since the Game Boy Micro that will make people look over your shoulder and say "what is that you're playing?"

I paid for the game with no confusion, and I have been enjoying it, despite the fact that I apparently really suck at Toad Rally. Frankly, I absolutely love that it's a game where I can just pay once and not have to worry about awful microtransactions.

People are just so finicky these days. I've paid more for entertainment and gotten a lot less in return.

$10 seems steep because it's a phone app, but I played it, liked it, bought it. I'm glad somebody is out there making premium games for phones and letting you just buy it without microtransactions. The lack of family sharing is annoying, but am I right that you can restore a purchase using a NNID? Can't you just login with your NNID on another device to restore the full game?

@bluebolt777 nails my biggest concern. Would love to play this on the DC Metro, but I will not be able to. I'l probably still get it, because Mario, but this is the reason I never got into Puzzles & Dragons, and it's the reason I can never get heavily invested in so many otherwise decent mobile titles. When I'm at home with a constant connection, I game on my dedicated systems. When I'm out, I'm often underground and get spotty signal, so it's easier to just read or listen to music.

My predictions: I doubt this one will see release in the west, at least probably not on 3DS. If it comes, I'm betting on XX getting a localization and an "upconvert" to Switch à la MH3G on Wii U. It won't be ready for Switch launch in the west, sadly.

Maybe we will get MH5 on Switch, but if so, it's going to be a long time (probably a year or more) before it comes out, and we'll know well beforehand because the Japanese version will release several months before.

This is good news, because I would love to see these games on a crisper TV. They don't need to do full HD remakes (like Wind Waker and Twilight Princess), just let the polygons show through in glorious 1080p.

Also, I learned from this thread that keeping my entire Gamecube game collection may have been a financially savvy move. I have Melee, Path of Radiance, Thousand Year Door, both Metroid Prime games... pretty much all the greats.

My SNES collections mostly disappeared years ago, but I still have an Earthbound cart, which I think is also valuable.

The Famicom variant is so on-point.