graviton

5/10

There is a lack of games and general software advancement. Aside from giving us 4K, the Switch 2 hasn’t provided much more other than processing power and a mouse. Nothing has WOWed me.

MKW is lacklustre. But I will give it a final score once it is out for another 5 years. MK8 got a lot more time to fine tune itself to become a great game. I am giving MKW that time too.

I am curious why is it taking Nintendo so long to upgrade specific games. I can see Xenoblade, Animal Crossing, Splatoon and Fire Emblem benefiting from some love. This drip feed approach makes it feel like they are trying to drag the sales of Switch 1 longer at the detriment of the Swtich 2 launch.

I hope Nintendo will come out swinging in 2026. It needs the other tent pole games and not just Zelda upgrades. Metroid, while a major star, has a very limited audience. It also borrows too much from other Nintendo games, Zelda and Splatoon to name a few. It may be a great game but not as innovative as I had hope.

My vote for Citizen Sleeper. Amazing strategy game.

New Zealand? Will Link be aiding Zelda getting her hands on a ring from Mordor? 🤣

A great idea and all……… but why isn’t this on Nintendo Today? It would be a great way to drive engagement with that app after it fell over most people’s radar……

@SpaceboyScreams The more I think about it, I am coming to the conclusion how GameFreak and TPC approach these video games is just lazy and min/maxing profits.

All the Pokemon 3D assets and animations are created by Creatures. They are literally copied and pasted into ZA. It’s always odd to watch a group of the same pokemon breed move in sync out in the wild, like a swarm of mega Pokémon’s flying like drones/robots.

So this really leave the game design, programming, story and game specific designs GF actually do. The game isn’t half bad but it does look like a AA game.

@AverageGamer I can see how different lighting of textures can affect the Pokémons’ detail. But we have to admit ALL the Pokémons are copied and pasted with the same 3D models and animation movements… in sync all the time. They are all copied and pasted.

@Jeff2sayshi I think everyone is waiting to get a Switch 2 before getting the game there instead of Switch 1 knowing how bad SV was technically.

@SpaceboyScreams I understand that the video games aren’t the money makers. But If you play till the end of ZA, they zoomed in on a character speaking. It was the oddest thing ever to not hear any VA as the characters mouth move in such an intense moment.

Imagine how big the video games can be if they tried even once to make an actual AAA game. It’s an untapped market. Look at Palworld etc.

@AverageGamer Thanks, I didn’t know about the different engines used on the game. But if you look at S/V, no matter how bad it launched, it does show light pokemon textures. In ZA, you get the smooth texture as in Pokemon GO, meaning the same stock models and movements as all Pokemon games.

This game is solid. I just don’t understand how GameFreak seems to half-finish all their Pokemon games in the last decade.

The visuals definitely can do a lot more. Pokémon Snap (Bandi Namco) still looks better. We need more active NPCs. Take a page from Monolith/Xenoblade/BOTW/TOTK. Can’t we make them do something? I am not even asking for moving cars or traffic lights yet.

Look at Beast of Reincarnation. Obviously GameFreak can do better or contracts others to do better. We can’t blame Pokemon entirely either. Pokemon have been turned into claymation, or CGI movies to better looking spin-offs. So Pokemon doesn’t need to only adhere to that bland aesthetic only. I just don’t understand why the main or main-adjacent Pokemon games from GameFreak all look like some washed out lifeless anime.

And please stop using the same ONE pokemon movement animation for all their games. It’s weird when you have a group of pokemons and they can only move in sync no matter what.

@SpaceboyScreams With respect to VAs, they use VAs for most of the same characters in the animé series. Why not just hire them to do the games too? Those two things are likely in production at the same time.

@springer17 Much of the stories do go into the animé and lore. I doubt GameFreak can just ignore them and not put them into the games.

But….but…but….Pokemon is such a huge franchise, the amount of languages and translations, on top with VA would be a lot of work.

Their production timeline is like a year or something ridiculous. Wouldn’t this further affect the quality of the games? More pop in’s and identical floral lady trainers?

I mean the Pokémon company isn’t sitting on trillions like the top tech companies. They are only the most profitable media company.

@FantasiaWHT

Parody is essential. But what or how are these AI generated videos parodies?

My…. time flies. I still remember Zion with short hair. 😂

Love the NintendoLife video team, you will be missed.

Farewell and congrats! Do come back for a cameo. 😍

Wasn’t that Sothis?

Team Cherry is doing a great job. More power to them if they can rely on volume instead of high pricing.

Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky is another example. How many updates has it have now? I do wonder how they keep the lights on.

I feel Nintendo likely didn’t want to put too much effort and resources onto this game after how ARMS ended up on Switch 1.

ARMS sells was alright. But if you look at the amount of marketing, design and branding to promote one game based on the joy-cons, you see it didn’t become the phenomenon it could have been.

There are some of the best Nintendo character designs in ARMS. They even made Amiibo for MinMin, etc.

Now forward to today, Nintendo wanted to showcase the joy-cons’ mouse functionality, but had a whiplash from how ARMS ended up. This could be in ARMS’s universe. But we ended up with the storeroom version before they were given any skins and personality.

Given Nintendo’s Switch 2 games pricing, I don’t see myself getting many games on launch unless I am a huge fan of the franchise no matter how great the game is.

Give it a year or two, I am sure there will be a sale during the holidays or something.

Just a heads up, I did exchange my pro controller at the store cause of stick drifts. It was a great controller until it wasn’t. I tried everything but somehow the controller sticks started to stay at the bottom of the screen no matter what I did (firmware, restarts, recalibration etc). The buttons continued to work though.

I would have tried to open it up to see whether it was something I could fix myself. However, with the amount of adhesive and how difficult it was to open up, I decided to just do an exchange as it was still within the time window.

I think I had a defective unit, I doubt this is a massive issue for everyone. If it was outside my return window, I would have sent it to Nintendo to deal with the issue.

@jojobar @RiasGremory Even if the concept art does become a reality, I highly doubt it would be a straight forward fantasy game, especially if Takahashi has anything to do with it. We will find some mech somewhere. 😅

I understand the joy-cons falling off as an issue, which can easily be fixed with some tape it seems. But to say removing the KillSwitch from the dock one handed is another problem is stretching it.

Next, we will have people complaining about the Earth isn’t completely rounded. (Yes, it isn’t.) 🤣🤣🤣

Confirmed: Baby Pauline for Mario Kart World incoming 🤣

I wonder how smoooooooth the Salmoniods have gotten. Are they going to look actually slimey? 🤣

@EarthboundBenjy I am not sure if it’s the “fourth wall thingy” they change the logo on Diddy’s hat. It maybe because of the fact that it feels too much of an advert. Imagine Mickey Mouse wearing a t-shirt with the Disney logo. It’s a bit much.

I will enjoy my Switch 1 backlong on my current Switch 1 until the Switch 2 comes out, at which point I will enjoy the same backlong on Switch 2. I will not be getting any Switch 2 games on launch. I will be waiting for sales or years down the road for price drops before I get any Switch 2 games. I have a Switch 1 backlog to go through. 🤣

@DwaynesGames I didn’t know that they wouldn’t remember you if they moved back. At least with the Roost, I was under the impression if a past villager comes to the Roost, they would remember you. I guess Nintendo never thought we would let villagers go and have them come back.

I have one of which except I have 2 villagers who I like the most, that’s probably why I am always interecting with them. They are also on my ACPocket Camp. So they are everywhere for me 😂

All I am asking is for a greater variety and amount of dialogues with the villagers. I am not even asking for a beefier story/set up for the game.

At some point I can’t tell one lazy villager from another. All I know is that my island is infested with talking ants.

@DollyrotsFan1 Same here, I really wish Nintendo would have ported Yoshi’s Woolley World to the Switch… it’s one of the last Wii U games left on the system (aside from on the 3DS)

Waiting for update news on

Xenoblade games
Yoshi Crafted World
Animal Crossing New Horizons
Fire Emblem
Splatoon family

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

Did anyone notice Eternal Floette? Guess they ended up running a hotel. 😂😂

Do I need a flat service to use the mouse-joycons all the time? If so, that seems a bit annoying.

I am not loving the idea having to find a flat service all the time just to play some games with the “mouse”. It seems very counter intuitive, especially for Splatoon.

@Samalik Thanks, I didn’t know of the prevalence of these issues within their entertainment industry.

From what little I know of Japanese music, they were a HUGE boy band in the 90s. This must a big scandal in Japan.

When the world’s first trillionaires are expected to come within this decade, it’s great news to hear Nintendo is paying their employees for their worthy contributions especially during this successful Switch era.

Some may not know this but Japan, like Germany, has some employment provisions that are rather different from those in the UK or US. For example, not so long ago when Satoru Iwata took a pay cut during the Wii U era, it is not necessarily Iwata’s own volition (sorry to burst your romantic bubble), but rather Japanese companies are legally obligated to make cuts within the company first, like executive pay, before firing employees. Similarly, executive compensation is restricted to be a certain percentage of employee salaries in Germany.

I wish Nintendo its continual success for its employees and share holders.

I bet Nintendo is keeping quiet because

A) Switch 2 has a surprise…the “c” button or something more.
B) This Switch we are seeing is a dummy. The real Switch is going to be even more wackier/sleeker. 😂😂😂

What am I not getting? The gameplay looks boring and the characters look lame. And that’s not because some “woke” thing. The characters are so unimaginative and cliche I rather they make a Dog Man boxing game.

With today’s tech, Okami’s artistry can only get better. Can’t wait to see how they bring it to life.

Ouch. Hope Nintendo step up with a new Mario.

Does this mean we could be seeing the departure of Tetsuya Takahashi and other founders soon? Without the last 4%, there isn’t really any threads to tether them down.

It’s very common practice to see the departures of founders etc. soon after when their shares being bought out. They could be moving on or just retiring. Monolith and anything Xeno would not be Xeno without Takahashi.

Littlewood definitely deserve some love for being the pixel RPG game throwback with a twist being that you have already banished the baddies and now rebuilding your world.

A second screen as an attachment, or folded design like the DS/3DS. The added screen real estate doesn’t have to do anything 3D or extra. But having more pixels to display the game play, UI, maps, etc so that we don’t have to squint on some games and their tiny text.

Not sure if anyone wondered WHY Elma may have her chest covered aside from being some form of “censorship”.

Just a thought, Alvis got a new pendant in DE, maybe Elma got an updated design to something akin to Mio.

As so many others have said, there is no censorship. There is nothing to see here. Nintendo just made a choice to make a change. Who knows what they were thinking when they made the change?

For all we know, Takahashi woke up one day and decided Elma dress nicer this way. Or that these new look works better with Elma’s and Lin’s character more.

@Solomon_Rambling Actually, the Campbell Soup cans were about money…..

When you have a public wanting more and more entertainment, quality isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. There are reasons why reality TV became a thing.

Not to mention, there are plenty of gamers and gaming media personality who diss the idea games is an “artistic expression”. To them, games need to be fun and entertaining first and foremost. However, they fail to address how “fun” is relative.

@AstroTheGamosian I agree. It would have been nice if Miyamoto was accredited for creating Zelda in Wisdom of Echoes.

However, I don’t think this is how Nintendo wants to proceed forward. Zelda is a Nintendo brand. Rarely, do the public know of the designer who designed a battery charger or random kitchen utensil. And this is the way Nintendo wants it.

Or rather, Nintendo wants people to view Zelda, first and foremost, as a Nintendo character. And not the creation of just one person.

It is a corporation. It isn’t the temple for specific game developers. Haven’t you wonder why we haven’t seen Bowser (the American CEO) in directs much when compared to his predecessor Reggie? Nintendo, as least in the Switch era, has removed much individuality and personalities from their general promo.

Or it could be Nintendo wanting to highlight the upcoming generation of developers in the company.

At the end of the day, it could just be some random junior forgetting to add that into the game. 😂

@AstroTheGamosian He basically is retired from making games. His focus are movies, theme parks and such.

Miyamoto has been a great developer. It would be sad to see him retire. But at least Nintendo is carefully planning developer successions unlike other studios that rid developers every few years.

To those who moan about the “new” direction of games away from years yonder: it’s always good to check whether you know the latest slangs and music. If not, perhaps the world has moved forward as you have. 😉

Hahaha Looks like Xenonblade X is considered canon…as well as Kosmos. Old and new fans can rejoice. 😄

Patents can include processes, systems and more - from the coding to the visuals of any game. It can be very dry and boring details gamers never think of. Until more details are available, I reserve my judgement on this case. Patent infringement is serious and shouldn’t be dismissed without careful consideration.