Haven't bought the game and don't plan to. But as a former Pokemon fan that still can't completely remove myself from the series, I've watched a lot of reviews and gameplay footage so far. Everything about this screams 5/10.
I like the ideas behind the new combat system, but it looks like it could've used a lot more refinement still. Seen a lot of footage of player pokemon being sent out and taking damage during their forced entry animations. Technical issues are common in the industry, but they are harder to forgive when a game looks as dated as this. That said, I do think it is a massive step up visually compared to Legends Arceus and Scarlett/Violet.
The game world being solely Lumiose City could've been fine if the city was larger and felt more alive. As it stands, it seems awfully small and sterile to me. NPCs stand around motionless all day, and there are so few building interiors. Stores simply being menu screens feels incredibly lame and is exactly what many complained about in FF13.
Like most modern re-designs of old Pokemon, it looks completely stupid. Really showcases how for many years now the design philosophy has been to make the creatures based on a silly or funny idea, rather than a believable looking monster.
@Arawn93 Who's to say the original plan wasn't to charge more for games like this? Nintendo could've easily seen the backlash from MK World and, while not wanting to appear weak and giving in to fans on that game, dialed back on later games to earn back goodwill. Which would of course illicit the response from some that "Oh good, big N wasn't really going to increase game prices".
Purely hypothetical, and no way to prove or disprove either way, but still well within the realm of possibility.
Cute, but not much of a trivia quiz. None of the questions are really deep references. Each question basically boils down to "Did you play this entry in the series?".
Really hoping they dial back the chaos while retaining the core features and charm of the gameplay loop.
This feels way more like an arcade cabinet racing game than a typical kart racer and I'm not sure that's a good thing. People joke about getting "Mario Karted" but seriously, going from 1st to last repeatedly over the course of an entire race is just exhausting. A healthier mix of tight, skill based driving, with items thrown in to cause wrinkles in a race like Mario Kart or even Team Sonic Racing would be much better.
Personal wishlist, most of wish are very unlikely but...
1. Fix the dang camera during while drifting on an inside-drift vehicle. The fact that this camera panning for inside drift was ever acceptable is disgraceful, frankly, let alone that is was never fixed...
2. Removal of coins. Straight up this is a bad mechanic. It makes getting hit even more impactful, and sucks to get as an item. Who really wanted coins back?
3. Reducing/limiting the amount of gliding. Unlike driving on land, underwater, or in anti-grav, gliding limits item play and vehicle maneuvering, which are the cornerstones of MK gameplay.
4. Improving team mechanics in vs team races. MK8 was a step back in this regard... Would like to see team members immune to their team's road hazards, and the ability to give items to teammates.
@Nischenliebhaber I don't think I land in the "fundamentally wrong" camp, but otherwise completely agree.
For sure, no 3 year old will have the motor skills needed to needed for even simple games. We really do not need to start demanding that game developers spend time and budget developing difficulty settings to cater for such an audience.
That said I also agree that Nintendo's implementation of difficulty setting-like features miss the mark here.
Not a bad list overall, but there's some definite hot takes.
Hollow Knight is great but I don't think it did anything to define the Switch generation.
Witcher 3 is an impressive feat for being ported to the Switch and not being completely terrible, but it is still far and away a much worse version of a game that is so easily available on everything else.
Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Odyssey absolutely should be on here. Smash Bros. hype was insane and it including all past characters is a monumental love letter to fans that will never be forgotten. In many ways it embodies the shift in tone from the Wii U era of having to cut features/content and rush games, to the Switch era of going all out and including everything fans wanted and more.
Mario Odyssey was the "proper" 3D Mario game everyone was waiting for since Mario Galaxy 2. The highly fluid and flexible movement no doubt inspired many other 3D platformers that have released since then. Astrobot, Penny's Big Breakaway, Sonic Frontiers and Shadow Generations all come to mind.
Disappointed to see "Team" dropped from the title, as that implies they are ditching the team based mechanics. It's a shame because Team Sonic Racing was genius level design mechanically.
@Olmectron Like the other commenter, you are conflating work/labor with art. While art can be related to labor, they are not interchangeable.
Also, being paid to create art does not void its authenticity. Many of the most famous pieces of art in the world were created because someone commissioned them. The paintings in the Sistine Chapel immediately come to mind.
Suggesting that just because someone is paid to create art that they should have no expectation of being credited is simply laughable.
@Not_Soos You're incorrectly conflating labor with art. The assembler who helped make a piece of furniture in a factory, and a fry cook at a local grill-bar are laboring and producing valuable goods. But the composer of a piece of music or the author of a story has created art.
Art is about taking inspiration from the world and experiences around us and conveying an idea rather than producing a practical product. While things like furniture and foods can certainly have more refined standards and embellishments in their presentative styles, they will never be the media used to tell stories, or comment on worldly themes like love, grief, war, classism struggles, politics, etc.
Art should be credited whenever possible. It is so much more than simply have a job reference or letter of recommendation based on one's labor...
5 years later, and this is still a great list. Seems like many of my personal favorites still didn't quite make the cut, although I'm glad Sonic Adventure 2 Battle has since been added.
The Gamecube's library is absolutely stacked, and this list shows it. A top 50 list and still many great games have to be left off.
This time I'll shout out Cubivore and Evolution Worlds as interesting titles worth playing.
Earthbound's legacy in the current year speaks for itself. Something about its entanglement of goofy childish humor and sometimes inconspicuous yet insidious themes is alluring. I think Nile has correctly explained what that "something" is.
These were great Sims games that focused more on the freedom of designing building exteriors, and decorating their interiors with custom made furniture. As long as you met some basic requirements, the player had agency to make creative off the wall things. There was a good bit of interactivity and a cute cast of characters. The Wii version made excellent use of the motion controls to build in 3D spaces.
If true these would be solid games to have on modern hardware. The later games in the series would be great to have in the future too. Kingdom had less complete freedom but more exciting themes and characters, and Agents was more of a story and mystery game using the characters from the other games.
@Sisilly_G What areas do you feel were not properly addressed? When I think of Kanto areas that had to be trimmed or cut due to limited space, I think of the following: Viridian Forest Seafoam Islands Cerulean Cave Safari Zone
And all of those areas were recreated faithfully in HGSS, with the exception of the Safari Zone which was added to a completely new area of Johto, with a lot more content and customization.
If HGSS counts as a Nintendo remake, it definitely wins for me with no close competitor. The shear amount of quality, new content on top of the already memorable game is something very few remakes have ever accomplished. I put it up there with Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled.
@woodenbard Not to be that guy, but with all due respect, acting like the main criticism of Palworld is its shared similarities by genre (or lack thereof) with Pokemon, rather than the blatant ripping off of character designs is completely disingenuous. Please have a little more intellectual integrity.
Super Smash Bros. will never be a legitimate competitive fighting game. For better of worse, none of the games were designed with it in mind. Certain characters have mind boggling frame data and hit boxes, until you realize the game is meant to be played as a fast and frantic free for all with items and stage hazards turning the tide of battle at any time.
That said I have no issue with people choosing to play the game how they want, and enforce some semblance of honorable 1v1 fighting matches. But since Smash Bros. can't be a serious competitive game, I think how much I game is loved or hated by the normal competitive community should have little bearing on how these games are ranked among each other.
Brawl is the clear winner in terms of quality content available to the player. Even though its roster has been dwarfed by Ultimate since its release 15 years ago, it is incredible how much other content exists within Brawl that was never surpassed by later entries.
Ultimate is a close 2nd just because it has the largest playable roster and stage selection.
The original Smash Bros. offers very little except for nostalgia nowadays. Not much here that can't be done in the other games.
After reaching such a wide audience over the years, it's no surprise that different people want or care about different things from a Zelda game. Some players just want to experience strapping a rocket to a crate and blasting off a cliff in Hyrule, as if they're playing a Zelda skinned GTA style sandbox game.
I have always been in the camp that part of what made some of the Zelda games so great, was the history crafted around its fantasy worlds. Some of the best moments in the series are finding the temple of time in TP, going to hyrule castle for the first time in WW, and witnessing the forging of the master sword in Skyward Sword. The opening to A Link to the Past is incredible.
The ironic appeal of the fantasy genre, its ability to immerse someone in a setting they believe could be real. It's like being taken temporarily to another world. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom do not evoke this feeling. Doesn't make them bad games, they're still great. But they are great sandbox games with a Tolkien-esque fantasy coat of paint.
I don't for one second believe the quote from the article. Maintaining the series history and respecting its lore, while adding to it, has no restrictions on the gameplay the developers could implement. I also don't believe the developers are foolish enough to actually believe that. But this is the kind of answer they can give because they believe it will cause the least amount of "backlash" from a subset of the fandom.
TLDR: The Zelda series is almost 40 years old. The current developers don't care about the lore of the series, or trying to maintain the history for a piece of art they didn't originally create. All they care about is making a fun game.
Been wanting a new Dragon Quest Monsters, but this is definitely a monkey's paw case. Game does not look good. I just wish we could have more monster catching RPGs with decent budgets and performance.
These Pokemon games are some of the Gamecube's finest gems, and they will never be re-released because it would embarrass Game Freak and the Pokemon Company.
Although they were supposedly developed by a group with very little knowledge of the Pokemon series, playing the game to just the first major boss shows the developers did their research and put a lot of effort into making a great RPG.
@mee_jing It has already been established that Sirens are monsters in the world of The Witcher.
Anyways, The Witcher takes creative inspiration from far more than just Slavic folklore. The very first book has Geralt make a wish from a Djinn (Arabian mythology), and the title and events of the 4th book, "The Lady of the Lake", clearly mirror classic Arthurian legends.
I have much love for Pokemon XY, a game of highs and lows.
Character customization, easy online communication, and 3D models really brought the series forward. The best things by far though, are the in-game Pokemon distribution, and the wonder trade mechanic. With many great creatures potentially to use, each playthrough was exciting. One of the most replayable main series games for me.
Online battles were a ton of fun. Gen 6 competitive is my most played, even surpassing the great gen 4.
While they didn't hamper my personal enjoyment, the story and post game content felt weak. Mega evolution was fun mechanically and opened up lots of interesting strategies, but I only really used a handful of megas because I couldn't stand most of their designs...
Overall I hold XY much, MUCH higher than the 5th generation games that immediately preceded, because of how much more fun XY is to play. There are some areas of the Kalos region that could have used more fleshing out, that I think a proper Z version could have greatly improved on.
"We encourage players to transfer their Pokemon to Pokemon Home, where they may or may not be trapped there, rotting, waiting on a game that they actually are featured and usable in, all while you continue to pay the annual ransom fee "
Pure money grubbing.
3DS uses SD cards. Switch uses SD cards. No reason PKM files couldn't be stored locally on an SD card and be transferred that way.
@GameOtaku Pokemon has only 1 or 2 official formats. Standard, which consists of a small pool of cards from only the most recent sets, which then are retired as new sets come out, and what seems to be a somewhat legacy format which allows cards from Gen 5 and later.
Otherwise there are some fan formats which are played like Base to Neo (All of gen 1 to the beginning of gen 2) and Base to Gym (all of gen 1 I believe).
The fan formats are similar to Yugioh GOAT format where only those older cards are used.
Great article and read. As a fellow enjoyer of both the Magic and Pokemon IPs, Pokemon TCG's power creep has been out of control for 20 years, which never made sense to me as they have a rotating standard format just like Magic.
The result is that even just casual games are a nightmare and any semblance of balance is basically impossible.
That 20th anniversary artwork is gorgeous and really takes me back to the greatness that was the Wii/DS era. So much nostalgia for not just the original Gamecube game, but also Ring of Fates and Echoes of Time on the DS.
This problem will never go away, and make no mistake, the players that end up winning do in fact have hacked Pokemon on their teams. They're just better and masking it and/or have more resources to make them look fully legitimate.
It doesn't matter that there have been numerous improvements to reducing the time it takes to breed and train up competitive Pokemon. The process still takes far too long because it's intentionally gated by way too much randomness.
Remove natures. Remove IVs. Remove the EV contribution limit from vitamins.
People will always do whatever is quicker and easier. If you want people to use legitimately acquired Pokemon, make getting those Pokemon easy and fun.
Sad to see an IP bite the dust after just one game, but this did seem like a fumble from the get go.
What once looked very interesting as "Gods and Monsters", the pivot to what become Immortals was kind of jarring. The juvenile writing and humor was off-putting, and some were surely turned of by the boot-leg Breath of the Wild style physics interactions for puzzles.
Then there was the obvious head scratching question; why would Ubisoft make an open world game themed around Greek mythology when AC Odyssey was still new? The overlapping of themes seems weird for one publisher, to the point that it looked like they were competing with themselves.
Great little gem from the 2000s. Simple but fun, and very replayable. Something of a mix of a classic turn based RPG and a board game. You basically expend a limited amount of points to interact with things to find secret rewards in dungeons. Some are duds, some are really impactful.
Will definitely pick this up assuming it comes to the West.
Meanwhile, I will join others in the sentiment that Nexomon is more than a valid rival for Pokemon. For me, it has straight up replaced it.
Nexomon, and it's sequel Nexomon: Extinction are both are available on modern gaming systems. It seems like they've had at least moderate success too, as both games got post-game expansions, and a third game is already confirmed to be in the works.
Still not seeing much new content. I don't understand the purpose of what is essentially a greatest hits of the story moments from throughout the series, when all 4 games area already available on all current platforms, and for cheaper. I'll be surprised if a few extra characters can save this, unless they start including more fan favorites.
Zelda Reorchestrated was an important part of my childhood. I had several themed playlists that I would use while doing homework, reading, or playing other games.
While their work is still admirable, I can't help but miss the days when their music renditions were free to download and experience on their website. What was once a fan project now feels much more corporate.
But you have to remember it was by design. Most consoles don't have their strongest year as their first. But Nintendo purposefully held back games from the Wii U so they could have a stack of quality releases for the Switch. They needed it to be successful.
While I'm glad it paid off, I can't deny that part of me is still bitter that the Wii U had to be killed for the Switch to take off big.
The best thing about the presentation is that they showed how dedicated they are to shamelessly monetizing the Pokemon IP. Hopefully this continues to help people wakeup and smell the roses that have long since wilted.
@Kirgo In Breath of the WIld, if my entire inventory consists of strong weapons and I consume them in the process of playing the game and my reward is lesser quality drops, I have essentially lost progress.
In Skyrim, the possible drops improve as the player levels up. There's also the fact that looted gear can have special enchantments, and quests often give special weapons and armor.
Both games offer the possibility of finding better gear and growing stronger by playing the game. Only Breath of the Wild also offers the possibility of coming out worse after clearing an area. Everyone that has played Breath of the Wild at length has experienced this, and anyone that doesn't admit it isn't purely a "feels bad" system, is fooling themselves.
Breath of the Wild is a fun game. It would also be even better with weapon durability removed.
Respectfully, anyone that thinks they like the weapon durability in Breath of the Wild is fooling themselves.
It adds nothing to game, and is solely a detractor. Having such wonderfully designed equipment is a shame when it lasts mere seconds in gameplay.
It is also the reason I stopped playing game. With such a mechanic in place, playing the game is pointless. There is no incentive to explore, complete shrines, or do anything once you are confident you can beat Calamity Ganon, because often times the reward you receive is less valuable than the resources you spent along the way.
90% sure this is a joke so... funny article. Props.
"fish" Pokemon are pretty great. There's a lot of different designs and I feel like they usually mix real world counterparts with interesting design elements to create awesome looking monsters.
Seaking Lanturn Huntail Lumineon Bruxish
All really great designs for any aspiring fish type trainers
Tentalus would be an honorable mention for me, rather than being on the list, for the reasons discussed already.
I generally prefer the 2D Zeldas' approach to bosses, which feel more like open-ended trials. I'd replace the Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild mentions with ones from Link to the Past, Between Worlds, Phantom Hourglass, and Minish Cap.
Quite surprised not to see Molgera too... As far as 3D bosses go, it is quite simple but fun.
This article misses the forest through the trees...
Your dig at Sony and Microsoft's game releases in 2022 fails to grasp the simple fact that PlayStation and Xbox aren't solely supported by 1st party content, in the same way that Nintendo basically is.
That said I think 2022 was a perfectly fine year for every game console. But if you are cold on Pokemon, it probably was a slimmer year for the Switch.
Gonna have to agree with others on best soundtrack.
Xenoblade 3 is the clear winner. Persona 5 and Nier Automata are amazing too but they are both 2017 games at heart, and have been recognized plenty already.
Pokemon's soundtrack is passable in its best moments. The featured track in this article doesn't even go anywhere in its composition. Its about as by-the-numbers as it gets.
@Orochilocka It may be popular in Japan, but that popularity doesn't necessarily translate outside of Japan. It sells a majority of its copies in Japan, but Japan is comparatively a minority in the global market.
Everyone remembers Fates happened, right? Fire Emblem has been scummy for a while. Nintendo seems happy to milk the colorful anime waifu husbando game for all its worth.
There is something to be said for respecting your audience and how you deliver a product. DLC isn't inherently bad, but announcing day 1 DLC is no different from asking more money upfront for a product you are still trying to sell someone. It's simply bad optics and nobody appreciates it.
But again, Nintendo does not care.
Can't wait for Smash 6 and half the new characters are from FE.
Feels like a stretch to say the open world is good if you ignore how bad it looks, ignore the lack of scaling, and ignore the lack of content aside from playing the game in its intended way...
Strongly disagree that the Pokemon models look good. Many of them use washed out colors and awful, fake looking textures. Lots of them look like they are made out of paper mache or clay.
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Re: Poll: What Review Score Would You Give Pokémon Legends: Z-A?
Haven't bought the game and don't plan to. But as a former Pokemon fan that still can't completely remove myself from the series, I've watched a lot of reviews and gameplay footage so far. Everything about this screams 5/10.
I like the ideas behind the new combat system, but it looks like it could've used a lot more refinement still. Seen a lot of footage of player pokemon being sent out and taking damage during their forced entry animations. Technical issues are common in the industry, but they are harder to forgive when a game looks as dated as this. That said, I do think it is a massive step up visually compared to Legends Arceus and Scarlett/Violet.
The game world being solely Lumiose City could've been fine if the city was larger and felt more alive. As it stands, it seems awfully small and sterile to me. NPCs stand around motionless all day, and there are so few building interiors. Stores simply being menu screens feels incredibly lame and is exactly what many complained about in FF13.
Re: New Pokémon Legends: Z-A Trailer Finally Gives Dragonite The Love He Deserves
Like most modern re-designs of old Pokemon, it looks completely stupid. Really showcases how for many years now the design philosophy has been to make the creatures based on a silly or funny idea, rather than a believable looking monster.
Poor Dragonite... deserved so much better.
Re: Pokémon Legends: Z-A's Switch 2 And Switch 1 Prices Have Been Revealed
@Arawn93 Who's to say the original plan wasn't to charge more for games like this? Nintendo could've easily seen the backlash from MK World and, while not wanting to appear weak and giving in to fans on that game, dialed back on later games to earn back goodwill. Which would of course illicit the response from some that "Oh good, big N wasn't really going to increase game prices".
Purely hypothetical, and no way to prove or disprove either way, but still well within the realm of possibility.
Re: Can You Conquer Mastermind's Fiendishly Difficult Legend Of Zelda Quiz?
Cute, but not much of a trivia quiz. None of the questions are really deep references. Each question basically boils down to "Did you play this entry in the series?".
Re: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Acknowledges Closed Network Test Player Feedback
Really hoping they dial back the chaos while retaining the core features and charm of the gameplay loop.
This feels way more like an arcade cabinet racing game than a typical kart racer and I'm not sure that's a good thing. People joke about getting "Mario Karted" but seriously, going from 1st to last repeatedly over the course of an entire race is just exhausting. A healthier mix of tight, skill based driving, with items thrown in to cause wrinkles in a race like Mario Kart or even Team Sonic Racing would be much better.
Re: Talking Point: What Do We Actually Want From 'Mario Kart 9'?
Personal wishlist, most of wish are very unlikely but...
1. Fix the dang camera during while drifting on an inside-drift vehicle. The fact that this camera panning for inside drift was ever acceptable is disgraceful, frankly, let alone that is was never fixed...
2. Removal of coins. Straight up this is a bad mechanic. It makes getting hit even more impactful, and sucks to get as an item. Who really wanted coins back?
3. Reducing/limiting the amount of gliding. Unlike driving on land, underwater, or in anti-grav, gliding limits item play and vehicle maneuvering, which are the cornerstones of MK gameplay.
4. Improving team mechanics in vs team races. MK8 was a step back in this regard... Would like to see team members immune to their team's road hazards, and the ability to give items to teammates.
Re: Opinion: My Daughter Made Me Realise That Mario Wonder's Difficulty Options Need Work
@Nischenliebhaber I don't think I land in the "fundamentally wrong" camp, but otherwise completely agree.
For sure, no 3 year old will have the motor skills needed to needed for even simple games. We really do not need to start demanding that game developers spend time and budget developing difficulty settings to cater for such an audience.
That said I also agree that Nintendo's implementation of difficulty setting-like features miss the mark here.
Re: Feature: 8 Games That Defined The Switch Generation
Not a bad list overall, but there's some definite hot takes.
Hollow Knight is great but I don't think it did anything to define the Switch generation.
Witcher 3 is an impressive feat for being ported to the Switch and not being completely terrible, but it is still far and away a much worse version of a game that is so easily available on everything else.
Smash Bros. Ultimate and Mario Odyssey absolutely should be on here. Smash Bros. hype was insane and it including all past characters is a monumental love letter to fans that will never be forgotten. In many ways it embodies the shift in tone from the Wii U era of having to cut features/content and rush games, to the Switch era of going all out and including everything fans wanted and more.
Mario Odyssey was the "proper" 3D Mario game everyone was waiting for since Mario Galaxy 2. The highly fluid and flexible movement no doubt inspired many other 3D platformers that have released since then. Astrobot, Penny's Big Breakaway, Sonic Frontiers and Shadow Generations all come to mind.
Re: Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds Speeds Onto Nintendo Switch "Soon"
Disappointed to see "Team" dropped from the title, as that implies they are ditching the team based mechanics. It's a shame because Team Sonic Racing was genius level design mechanically.
Re: Come On, Where Are The Composer Credits in 'Nintendo Music'?
@Olmectron Like the other commenter, you are conflating work/labor with art. While art can be related to labor, they are not interchangeable.
Also, being paid to create art does not void its authenticity. Many of the most famous pieces of art in the world were created because someone commissioned them. The paintings in the Sistine Chapel immediately come to mind.
Suggesting that just because someone is paid to create art that they should have no expectation of being credited is simply laughable.
Re: Come On, Where Are The Composer Credits in 'Nintendo Music'?
@Not_Soos You're incorrectly conflating labor with art. The assembler who helped make a piece of furniture in a factory, and a fry cook at a local grill-bar are laboring and producing valuable goods. But the composer of a piece of music or the author of a story has created art.
Art is about taking inspiration from the world and experiences around us and conveying an idea rather than producing a practical product. While things like furniture and foods can certainly have more refined standards and embellishments in their presentative styles, they will never be the media used to tell stories, or comment on worldly themes like love, grief, war, classism struggles, politics, etc.
Art should be credited whenever possible. It is so much more than simply have a job reference or letter of recommendation based on one's labor...
Re: 50 Best GameCube Games Of All Time
5 years later, and this is still a great list.
Seems like many of my personal favorites still didn't quite make the cut, although I'm glad Sonic Adventure 2 Battle has since been added.
The Gamecube's library is absolutely stacked, and this list shows it. A top 50 list and still many great games have to be left off.
This time I'll shout out Cubivore and Evolution Worlds as interesting titles worth playing.
Re: Soapbox: The Trauma Of Giygas & Growing Up In EarthBound
Brilliant analysis on a beautiful game.
Earthbound's legacy in the current year speaks for itself. Something about its entanglement of goofy childish humor and sometimes inconspicuous yet insidious themes is alluring. I think Nile has correctly explained what that "something" is.
Re: Rumour: Wii & DS Favourite 'MySims' Could Be Coming To Switch Soon
These were great Sims games that focused more on the freedom of designing building exteriors, and decorating their interiors with custom made furniture. As long as you met some basic requirements, the player had agency to make creative off the wall things. There was a good bit of interactivity and a cute cast of characters. The Wii version made excellent use of the motion controls to build in 3D spaces.
If true these would be solid games to have on modern hardware. The later games in the series would be great to have in the future too. Kingdom had less complete freedom but more exciting themes and characters, and Agents was more of a story and mystery game using the characters from the other games.
Re: Genshin Impact Announced For Another Platform, Switch Release Left In Limbo
Removed
Re: Talking Point: What's The Best Nintendo Remake Ever?
@Sisilly_G What areas do you feel were not properly addressed? When I think of Kanto areas that had to be trimmed or cut due to limited space, I think of the following:
Viridian Forest
Seafoam Islands
Cerulean Cave
Safari Zone
And all of those areas were recreated faithfully in HGSS, with the exception of the Safari Zone which was added to a completely new area of Johto, with a lot more content and customization.
If HGSS counts as a Nintendo remake, it definitely wins for me with no close competitor. The shear amount of quality, new content on top of the already memorable game is something very few remakes have ever accomplished. I put it up there with Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled.
Re: Random: Nintendo Releases The Hounds On A Pokémon Ripoff Game, But Not That One
@woodenbard Not to be that guy, but with all due respect, acting like the main criticism of Palworld is its shared similarities by genre (or lack thereof) with Pokemon, rather than the blatant ripping off of character designs is completely disingenuous. Please have a little more intellectual integrity.
Re: Best Super Smash Bros. Games Of All Time
Super Smash Bros. will never be a legitimate competitive fighting game. For better of worse, none of the games were designed with it in mind. Certain characters have mind boggling frame data and hit boxes, until you realize the game is meant to be played as a fast and frantic free for all with items and stage hazards turning the tide of battle at any time.
That said I have no issue with people choosing to play the game how they want, and enforce some semblance of honorable 1v1 fighting matches. But since Smash Bros. can't be a serious competitive game, I think how much I game is loved or hated by the normal competitive community should have little bearing on how these games are ranked among each other.
Brawl is the clear winner in terms of quality content available to the player. Even though its roster has been dwarfed by Ultimate since its release 15 years ago, it is incredible how much other content exists within Brawl that was never surpassed by later entries.
Ultimate is a close 2nd just because it has the largest playable roster and stage selection.
The original Smash Bros. offers very little except for nostalgia nowadays. Not much here that can't be done in the other games.
Re: Best Pokémon-Likes On Nintendo Switch - Games To Play After You've Finished Pokémon
How is World of Final Fantasy still not on this list?
May as well put both Nexomon games on here too. The 1st is easier with a more basic progression.
Re: Zelda Timeline Is Only Considered "To An Extent" During Development, Says TOTK Director
After reaching such a wide audience over the years, it's no surprise that different people want or care about different things from a Zelda game. Some players just want to experience strapping a rocket to a crate and blasting off a cliff in Hyrule, as if they're playing a Zelda skinned GTA style sandbox game.
I have always been in the camp that part of what made some of the Zelda games so great, was the history crafted around its fantasy worlds. Some of the best moments in the series are finding the temple of time in TP, going to hyrule castle for the first time in WW, and witnessing the forging of the master sword in Skyward Sword. The opening to A Link to the Past is incredible.
The ironic appeal of the fantasy genre, its ability to immerse someone in a setting they believe could be real. It's like being taken temporarily to another world. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom do not evoke this feeling. Doesn't make them bad games, they're still great. But they are great sandbox games with a Tolkien-esque fantasy coat of paint.
I don't for one second believe the quote from the article. Maintaining the series history and respecting its lore, while adding to it, has no restrictions on the gameplay the developers could implement. I also don't believe the developers are foolish enough to actually believe that. But this is the kind of answer they can give because they believe it will cause the least amount of "backlash" from a subset of the fandom.
TLDR: The Zelda series is almost 40 years old. The current developers don't care about the lore of the series, or trying to maintain the history for a piece of art they didn't originally create. All they care about is making a fun game.
Re: The First Review For Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Is In
Been wanting a new Dragon Quest Monsters, but this is definitely a monkey's paw case. Game does not look good. I just wish we could have more monster catching RPGs with decent budgets and performance.
Re: Soapbox: 20 Years On, It's About Time These Pokémon Games Got Switch Remasters
These Pokemon games are some of the Gamecube's finest gems, and they will never be re-released because it would embarrass Game Freak and the Pokemon Company.
Although they were supposedly developed by a group with very little knowledge of the Pokemon series, playing the game to just the first major boss shows the developers did their research and put a lot of effort into making a great RPG.
Re: Netflix Announces Return Of "The Voice Of Geralt" In New Witcher Animation
@mee_jing It has already been established that Sirens are monsters in the world of The Witcher.
Anyways, The Witcher takes creative inspiration from far more than just Slavic folklore. The very first book has Geralt make a wish from a Djinn (Arabian mythology), and the title and events of the 4th book, "The Lady of the Lake", clearly mirror classic Arthurian legends.
Re: Soapbox: Pokémon X & Y - The Series' Greatest Paradoxes
I have much love for Pokemon XY, a game of highs and lows.
Character customization, easy online communication, and 3D models really brought the series forward.
The best things by far though, are the in-game Pokemon distribution, and the wonder trade mechanic. With many great creatures potentially to use, each playthrough was exciting. One of the most replayable main series games for me.
Online battles were a ton of fun. Gen 6 competitive is my most played, even surpassing the great gen 4.
While they didn't hamper my personal enjoyment, the story and post game content felt weak. Mega evolution was fun mechanically and opened up lots of interesting strategies, but I only really used a handful of megas because I couldn't stand most of their designs...
Overall I hold XY much, MUCH higher than the 5th generation games that immediately preceded, because of how much more fun XY is to play. There are some areas of the Kalos region that could have used more fleshing out, that I think a proper Z version could have greatly improved on.
Re: Pokémon Bank Users Encouraged To Transfer Pokémon To Pokémon Home ASAP
"We encourage players to transfer their Pokemon to Pokemon Home, where they may or may not be trapped there, rotting, waiting on a game that they actually are featured and usable in, all while you continue to pay the annual ransom fee "
Pure money grubbing.
3DS uses SD cards.
Switch uses SD cards.
No reason PKM files couldn't be stored locally on an SD card and be transferred that way.
Re: Soapbox: An Ode To A Lost Pokémon TCG Deck, And My Quest To Recreate It
@GameOtaku Pokemon has only 1 or 2 official formats. Standard, which consists of a small pool of cards from only the most recent sets, which then are retired as new sets come out, and what seems to be a somewhat legacy format which allows cards from Gen 5 and later.
Otherwise there are some fan formats which are played like Base to Neo (All of gen 1 to the beginning of gen 2) and Base to Gym (all of gen 1 I believe).
The fan formats are similar to Yugioh GOAT format where only those older cards are used.
Re: Soapbox: An Ode To A Lost Pokémon TCG Deck, And My Quest To Recreate It
Great article and read. As a fellow enjoyer of both the Magic and Pokemon IPs, Pokemon TCG's power creep has been out of control for 20 years, which never made sense to me as they have a rotating standard format just like Magic.
The result is that even just casual games are a nightmare and any semblance of balance is basically impossible.
Re: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Producer Asks Fans To 'Trust' That A New Chapter Will Dawn
That 20th anniversary artwork is gorgeous and really takes me back to the greatness that was the Wii/DS era. So much nostalgia for not just the original Gamecube game, but also Ring of Fates and Echoes of Time on the DS.
Re: Pokémon World Championships Disqualifies Scarlet And Violet Pros Using Hacked Monsters
This problem will never go away, and make no mistake, the players that end up winning do in fact have hacked Pokemon on their teams. They're just better and masking it and/or have more resources to make them look fully legitimate.
It doesn't matter that there have been numerous improvements to reducing the time it takes to breed and train up competitive Pokemon. The process still takes far too long because it's intentionally gated by way too much randomness.
Remove natures.
Remove IVs.
Remove the EV contribution limit from vitamins.
People will always do whatever is quicker and easier.
If you want people to use legitimately acquired Pokemon, make getting those Pokemon easy and fun.
Re: Ubisoft Has Reportedly Cancelled Plans For An Immortals: Fenyx Rising Sequel
Sad to see an IP bite the dust after just one game, but this did seem like a fumble from the get go.
What once looked very interesting as "Gods and Monsters", the pivot to what become Immortals was kind of jarring. The juvenile writing and humor was off-putting, and some were surely turned of by the boot-leg Breath of the Wild style physics interactions for puzzles.
Then there was the obvious head scratching question; why would Ubisoft make an open world game themed around Greek mythology when AC Odyssey was still new? The overlapping of themes seems weird for one publisher, to the point that it looked like they were competing with themselves.
Re: Cult GBA RPG 'Riviera: The Promised Land' Is Getting An HD Remaster
Great little gem from the 2000s. Simple but fun, and very replayable. Something of a mix of a classic turn based RPG and a board game. You basically expend a limited amount of points to interact with things to find secret rewards in dungeons. Some are duds, some are really impactful.
Will definitely pick this up assuming it comes to the West.
Re: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Dev's New Racer Is Mario Kart Meets Battle Royale
Dead in the water. Don't understand the appeal of battle royal type games personally, but even with that aside, how many last more than a year or two?
Should've just pitched Team Sonic Racing 2 to Sega.
Re: Soapbox: Pokémon Desperately Needs A Rival, But Who's Big Enough To Take It On?
Pokemon has been a disgrace for a long time now.
Meanwhile, I will join others in the sentiment that Nexomon is more than a valid rival for Pokemon. For me, it has straight up replaced it.
Nexomon, and it's sequel Nexomon: Extinction are both are available on modern gaming systems. It seems like they've had at least moderate success too, as both games got post-game expansions, and a third game is already confirmed to be in the works.
Re: New Naruto X Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections Trailer Showcases "Top Ranked Characters"
Still not seeing much new content. I don't understand the purpose of what is essentially a greatest hits of the story moments from throughout the series, when all 4 games area already available on all current platforms, and for cheaper. I'll be surprised if a few extra characters can save this, unless they start including more fan favorites.
Re: Meet The Heroes Of Disgaea 7: Vows Of The Virtueless In New Character Trailer
Definitely interested in this, but that trailer was kind of cringe...
I'm liking the designs a lot though. Hoping this will be a big step up from D6. I want to see this series to see the same heights as when D5 was new.
Re: Music Review: Fair Winds & Following Seas - An Ambitious Rendition Of A Zelda Masterpiece
Zelda Reorchestrated was an important part of my childhood. I had several themed playlists that I would use while doing homework, reading, or playing other games.
While their work is still admirable, I can't help but miss the days when their music renditions were free to download and experience on their website. What was once a fan project now feels much more corporate.
Re: Poll: Six Years On, Which Was Nintendo Switch's Best Year So Far?
2017 for sure.
But you have to remember it was by design.
Most consoles don't have their strongest year as their first.
But Nintendo purposefully held back games from the Wii U so they could have a stack of quality releases for the Switch. They needed it to be successful.
While I'm glad it paid off, I can't deny that part of me is still bitter that the Wii U had to be killed for the Switch to take off big.
Re: Round Up: Everything Announced At The February 2023 Pokémon Presents Showcase
The best thing about the presentation is that they showed how dedicated they are to shamelessly monetizing the Pokemon IP.
Hopefully this continues to help people wakeup and smell the roses that have long since wilted.
Re: Sonic Frontiers' Sales "Greatly Exceeded" Expectations
Game is good and deserves to be recognized for it.
Hopefully we will get a sequel building on it in a few years.
Re: Poll: Do You Want Weapon Degradation To Return In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?
@Kirgo In Breath of the WIld, if my entire inventory consists of strong weapons and I consume them in the process of playing the game and my reward is lesser quality drops, I have essentially lost progress.
In Skyrim, the possible drops improve as the player levels up. There's also the fact that looted gear can have special enchantments, and quests often give special weapons and armor.
Both games offer the possibility of finding better gear and growing stronger by playing the game. Only Breath of the Wild also offers the possibility of coming out worse after clearing an area. Everyone that has played Breath of the Wild at length has experienced this, and anyone that doesn't admit it isn't purely a "feels bad" system, is fooling themselves.
Breath of the Wild is a fun game. It would also be even better with weapon durability removed.
Re: Poll: Do You Want Weapon Degradation To Return In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom?
Respectfully, anyone that thinks they like the weapon durability in Breath of the Wild is fooling themselves.
It adds nothing to game, and is solely a detractor. Having such wonderfully designed equipment is a shame when it lasts mere seconds in gameplay.
It is also the reason I stopped playing game. With such a mechanic in place, playing the game is pointless. There is no incentive to explore, complete shrines, or do anything once you are confident you can beat Calamity Ganon, because often times the reward you receive is less valuable than the resources you spent along the way.
Re: Soapbox: All Fish Pokémon Are Bad, And There's A Good Reason Why
90% sure this is a joke so... funny article. Props.
"fish" Pokemon are pretty great. There's a lot of different designs and I feel like they usually mix real world counterparts with interesting design elements to create awesome looking monsters.
Seaking
Lanturn
Huntail
Lumineon
Bruxish
All really great designs for any aspiring fish type trainers
Luvdisc is cute as heck too.
Re: Feature: The 15 Best Zelda Bosses, Ranked
Overall a good list.
Tentalus would be an honorable mention for me, rather than being on the list, for the reasons discussed already.
I generally prefer the 2D Zeldas' approach to bosses, which feel more like open-ended trials. I'd replace the Ocarina of Time and Breath of the Wild mentions with ones from Link to the Past, Between Worlds, Phantom Hourglass, and Minish Cap.
Quite surprised not to see Molgera too... As far as 3D bosses go, it is quite simple but fun.
Re: Soapbox: If You Thought Last Year Was "Sad" For Switch, 2023 Might Be Hard To Handle
This article misses the forest through the trees...
Your dig at Sony and Microsoft's game releases in 2022 fails to grasp the simple fact that PlayStation and Xbox aren't solely supported by 1st party content, in the same way that Nintendo basically is.
That said I think 2022 was a perfectly fine year for every game console. But if you are cold on Pokemon, it probably was a slimmer year for the Switch.
Re: Feature: Nintendo Life's Alternative Game Awards 2022
Gonna have to agree with others on best soundtrack.
Xenoblade 3 is the clear winner.
Persona 5 and Nier Automata are amazing too but they are both 2017 games at heart, and have been recognized plenty already.
Pokemon's soundtrack is passable in its best moments.
The featured track in this article doesn't even go anywhere in its composition. Its about as by-the-numbers as it gets.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Dragon Quest Treasures
@Orochilocka A selling more than B doesn’t mean that A isn’t niche.
How many of those 6 million sales were in Japan?
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Dragon Quest Treasures
@Orochilocka It may be popular in Japan, but that popularity doesn't necessarily translate outside of Japan. It sells a majority of its copies in Japan, but Japan is comparatively a minority in the global market.
Re: Nintendo Unveils Fire Emblem Engage Expansion Pass, Wave 1 DLC Launches 20th January 2023
Everyone remembers Fates happened, right? Fire Emblem has been scummy for a while. Nintendo seems happy to milk the colorful anime waifu husbando game for all its worth.
There is something to be said for respecting your audience and how you deliver a product. DLC isn't inherently bad, but announcing day 1 DLC is no different from asking more money upfront for a product you are still trying to sell someone. It's simply bad optics and nobody appreciates it.
But again, Nintendo does not care.
Can't wait for Smash 6 and half the new characters are from FE.
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Dragon Quest Treasures
Glad the game is being received well. Dragon Quest 11 was great, and more positive reception for this niche series is always welcome.
That said, this particular game has looked extremely cheap ever since it was shown. Hopefully its greater than the sum of its parts...
Re: Feature: 14 Things That Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Get Absolutely Right
Disagree with most of the list.
Feels like a stretch to say the open world is good if you ignore how bad it looks, ignore the lack of scaling, and ignore the lack of content aside from playing the game in its intended way...
Strongly disagree that the Pokemon models look good.
Many of them use washed out colors and awful, fake looking textures. Lots of them look like they are made out of paper mache or clay.