hisownsidekick

Defo looks legit to me. I'm cautiously optimistic.

@SpaceboyScreams I don't like to comment more than once in a row, but your setup looks and sounds pretty slick; love the color scheme and "smuggler's panels." Nice job. Did the latter come built-in? And any other interesting "camper hacks" you can share with someone who's never been camping (or even in a camper, for that matter, haha)? I'm curious about the kinds of things people like you do to protect yourself. Seems essential and fascinating, and I don't know anything about it.

I noticed that in all the hullabaloo, no one has bothered to inquire about my Switch OLED dock.

...it's fine, by the way. Not that any of you care.

...even though you should, because today is its birthday. 😠

I'm genuinely curious to know who and why and how many are using the widget. No judgment at all, just... the curiosity. It gnaws...

Hmm, I wonder if my account actually has any 3DS data I can use. That could be worth looking into...

Ryo Hazuki in a forklift or we riot.

...well, I'll riot, anyway. Me and the other weirdos who enjoyed Shenmue III. There are dozens of us! Dozens!

I mean, even if we're only two dozen strong, that's still technically "dozens"... two is still technically- okayfine. Blah. I bummed myself out a little with my own dumb joke, haha... 🙄.

Hmm, interesting. I can't get NSO at the moment, so I guess I'll have to pay attention to the chatter after release to see if I think it'll be worth it for me.

Sorry to spam the comments section, but I thought @GoombaJMR might appreciate a ping about these comments because it seems like they worked very hard on the game.

Also, as a note, I read somewhere that the game begins with a sweet message to the developer's mother, who was super supportive but passed away before the game's completion. As someone going through an extremely similar situation, I just wanted to say that although I can't speak to the game's quality (yet!), I can say that there does seem to be a lot of heart behind it. And for something that's supposed to be a dungeon crawler AND a legitimate language learning tool, that counts for a lot with me, so again, hopefully I can play it someday and share an actually helpful opinion.

Hopefully sooner than "someday," haha, but I think you all know what I mean.

@dartmonkey That truly says a lot about the integrity of this publication, I believe. Some of the concerns raised seemed significant, so I was surprised and impressed to see you pop up in the comments talking about revisions and expansions. 👊

And to be clear to anyone reading this: I don't mean to cast any aspersions on the author. They genuinely seemed to enjoy the game and many publications and indeed, authors, would outright refuse to consider doing this, so whatever form it takes, I think it should be commended. Hardly some noble sacrifice on a hero's journey, haha, but still a very nice thing to see.

@PinderSchloss Uh, actually I think you mean like the vastly superior Dixie Kong, who actually came first technically due to a time loop that is unrelated to but extremely convenient for my pedantry. I have some literature about this if you have some time.

@Truegamer79 I was about to leave a comment almost exactly like this, haha. I really enjoyed what I've played of the series, but for some reason I haven't really gone back. As you said, I gotta get on that, haha.

Ooh, how interesting. The first game was already on my list and I had no idea there was a sequel coming out!

@Kraven The Nintendo Life review had a lot of good things to say, but one of the lead developers pointed out some concerns in the comments that an editor said would be addressed (I asked about it in my other comment), so you may want to wait for that. But the Steam reviews, though there aren't that many yet, are pretty positive in regards to this being a legit dungeon crawler AND a quality learning tool. I can't comment on the extent of either of those things, as I've yet to play it (times are really tight, 😅), but I have to say that as an RPG fan and a big ol' language dork, it looks REALLY fun. I saw multiple reviews from people who had fun by picking the difficulty settings that supposedly give them a pure dungeon crawler experience, because they don't really care about learning Japanese, which I feel says a lot.

@NintendoLife Is the review still being updated, as mentioned at the bottom of it? Also, I understand this is genuinely tricky, but given the time it's taken and that the developer's comments suggested additional considerations were needed: will you be adjusting the review score or at least the pros and cons? I know that might set a precedent no publication wants, and I certainly don't mean to tell you your business, but I'm really curious about this. Either way, I'm looking forward to it! 😀

@rjejr Yeah, I understood you. And like I said, I mostly agree. Respectfully, though, I do think that there's a balance to be struck on an enthusiast site like this, especially when they're just reporting a bit of news that they hope might be positive in some way for some people. I feel like I may not always agree about where, how, and how often the issue is raised in the articles, but overall I respect the site's editorial direction. Just my two cents.

As long as none of them do anything that involves "spurting."

@RoboCube I think that @rjejr's point is that they're not going to buy it in order to vote with their wallet and they'd like to express broader disappointment, which is valid, and I mostly agree with them. Of course, I also agree with you that Nintendo needs to pull their whatever-they-gots outta their **** and rerelease Donkey Kong 64, and I'm not even a big fan of that game!

And I'd like to add that it is a crime committed by criminals that people don't have better access to Diddy Kong Racing. So I believe we're all making good points here today, haha.

I voted for North America/Europe, but the Japanese box art gives me Metal Gear Solid vibes, which I dig.

@AmplifyMJ The tutorial legit blew my mind apart. I was tilting my head while running across planets upside-down, like a dog trying to understand something that's just a bit beyond it, haha.

I don't mean to be hyperbolic at all when I say it's been magical so far. 😃

I'm playing Mario Galaxy for the first time in my life, on my recently-acquired, first-ever Switch, after waiting for years. And it's been a rough month.

How do you think I'm doing?

😏💪🥰

Game well!

@Anti-Matter I know what you mean about white consoles! I got my first one a few months ago, the white Switch OLED, and I really love the way it looks. I didn't get a choice; it was just a sale that was really good (and just before the OLEDs went up in price! I had no idea that would happen) and they just happened to send me a white one.

Very lucky, very grateful 😊.

@JohnnyMind I like that you're always thinking about games to play with your niece someday.

reads the other comments

Haha, what a positive comment section we're having today! The internet may not have been a mistake, after all.

Hopefully it fares better than the Sonic parade balloon that ran out of rings:
https://popculture.com/entertainment/news/macys-thanksgiving-day-parade-footage-infamous-1993-sonic-the-hedgehog-balloon/

I've wanted to play both System Shock games for years and now you're telling me I can enjoy both on my Switch?! Wow, what a nice bit of news to end the day.

So his strategy is to release a full-featured, high-quality game from the start, rather than selling us content and improvements later on?

I bet this guy doesn't make it very far in the industry.

Holy carp 🎏 I didn't know Noriyuki Iwadare was in the mix. I've loved his music since Lunar and Grandia! This game just keeps sounding more and more fantastic.

Very interesting. This plus the short certainly seem to indicate something much bigger is in the works...

"Hmm, what's this 'Hidden Mansion' @Lizuka is talking about? Maybe I'll ask. Oh, @AussieMcBucket already did. Maybe I'll ping them anyway to say that I'd also like to know. I always appreciate when people drop info like that in the comments. Oh, Lizuka already responded. Excellent! I've really made a difference here today."

@JimNorman Heads up, missing a colon: "And finally, the checkout, where bank balances weep into their exclusive pop-up store London tote bags" Great line, by the way.

Dear Londoner Nintendolife readers,

Get me a Nintendo Kyoto t-shirt, please. I will reimburse you with a selection from my usual assortment of goods. I just got a shipment of banshee dust and manticore stingers, if that strikes your fancy.

Love,
hisownsidekick

P.S.: Just address it to "America" and I'll probably get it. Most people here know me.

If Sakurai has any respect for me personally (and I did save his life that time at Machu Picchu, I'm sure you'll recall), he'll announce the surprise OG Switch release that somehow has no performance concessions.

@Markatron84 I certainly don't know, but I suspect this may be due to Sakurai actually requesting to put in this much work and record more than one Direct, as he really wants to get people on the same page before release. He is a lad, after all, and sometimes lads go mad.

Man, Ryu's headgear has always been so cool.

And rest in peace, Itagaki-san. I'm looking forward to Milkman finishing that book you and he were working on. I know he'll do a fantastic job.

I'd really love to be able to play Wind Waker and Twilight Princess again. I've wanted to for years but I had to sell my GameCube a while ago, had to skip the Wii/WiiU, and don't have a device capable of emulating them. Maybe Nintendo will see fit to give us a version for the OG Switch, but time is certainly running out for that. I can hope, though...

@Ziondood Heads up, little typo: "The original Persona 3 and its revised FES. release"

This was an interesting read, though I have to say, I really dislike when interviewees "answer" a question without acknowledging it in any way. I was very curious to see what they had to say about player handheld preferences and quite disappointed that the response was just a boilerplate sales pitch. It just feels... robotic. Like there was an error generating a more natural or polite response, so a canned reply was used instead.

Not trying to be overly critical here, I just find it off-putting. I'm already interested in the game; that's why I'm reading the interview. I wanted the perspective of a member of the industry, not a salesperson.

@Joekun Oh wow, I'm glad I decided to look through the comments after getting some sleep, because NL didn't notify me at all that you'd tagged me! I'd have missed such a nice reply completely!

Very little is okay, honestly, but part of what made the day hard was contacting some local resources that can hopefully help, so I'm technically in an upswing. Thank you for the kind words; this has been such a lovely community to join and annoy with my comments that are often odd and long-winded, haha. Hopefully I manage to amuse as well.

Hope you're having a good day. 💙

@KingMike In their defense, I came way too close to picking Sonic too, haha. And in MY defense, it was the end of a long day and the cartoon-y eyes on the enemies really said "Sonic" to me, for whatever reason. I was saved when I thought, "Oh! Part of the graphic is getting mysteriously pulled to the side. Like it's getting sucked up by something OH MY GOD SEGA DIDN'T MAKE NES GAMES IT'S YA BOI KIRBY."

I fully understand why Minecraft is always on these charts. Like, my brain is capable of processing that. It's huge, it's fun, babies are born every day and the next they're given a copy at their christening. I get it. But seeing it there, still, after all these years... somehow that seems unreal to me.

But will they require a $100 stylus to play them?

...no, they won't. It was an amusing thought, though.

19/21, not bad! I genuinely thought I'd do much worse. And I didn't even know there WERE quizzes to be had around here; this was super fun!

Today was... very difficult for me. This was such a nice little distraction. Thanks, @JimNorman and @NintendoLife.

They finally started putting effort into some of the Dragon Ball games around seven years ago, players responded positively, and now they have the momentum to release new projects at a breakneck pace.

Who'd have thought that's the proper order for these things?

They could REALLY shine a spotlight on these characters by making a true follow-up to Mania or a 3D platformer that looked like it had a soul.

Haha, I love that the "rolling hills" of the Japanese cover appear to be straight out of the game, picturesque n64 textures and all. Really puts me in mind of all those trips to the low-res countryside my family and I used to take.

@JimNorman Heads up, typo in the last paragraph: "Numskill Games"

The Secret of Monkey Island "Talkie Edition" via ScummVM. A fantastic version of one of my all-time favorites, mixing the 1992 VGA graphics and CD-audio soundtrack with the 2009 voice acting. More fun (and useful) than a rubber chicken with a pulley in the middle!
Play well, all!

@bosh For me personally, it's not about the games he's made. It's the fact that he's been a game development and design educator for decades via his Famitsu column and recent YouTube channel, sharing lessons he's learned with future generations of developers. His videos are impressively produced and professionally subtitled, all out of his own pocket and with no monetization on any of them, just because he's that passionate about teaching. It's cost him a LOT of money, but he says it's an "investment toward a brighter future for games."
That's why I regard him so highly. Kirby and Smash do help, though, haha.

Much respect for the guy's work, sincerely, but eesh, that poetry! Don't quit your day job, man. Wait-

I'm quite curious to see this game in motion, but since I'm already interested in picking it up, I'll just go in unaware for maximum impact. No "animation spoilers," you could say, if you were silly. Which I am. So I said it.

I started reading the review on Eurogamer (a site I enjoy) and it was so meandering that it quickly lost me. The first paragraph is just the author describing his reactions to his own questions about the handheld, including an attempt to get the reader to imagine the noise he made while reacting. It was... a less than compelling start, haha.

I noticed "addictive" comes up a lot here to describe engaging gameplay. As someone who's seen what clinical addiction actually does to people's minds, bodies, and families, it strikes me how casually we use that word for something we enjoy. Words like "compelling" or "absorbing" feel more accurate for good game design, while reserving "addictive" for actual harm seems far more appropriate, informative, and respectful.

I really enjoyed this game on 3DS. Helped get me through some rough times caring for a sick family member.