kaiofelipe

I love Horizon Chase Turbo, it was one of the games I played most at the beginning of last year. But it was a 2018 game that had already received several DLCs, and I bought it during a sale. I'll probably do the same with HC2: buy it when it already has DLCs and a discount on the base game.

Fortunately this review was an outlier, as I've generally been reading very positive reviews about Tactics Ogre: Reborn. It's my favorite SRPG and I've already pre-ordered it, I can't wait to do the Lawful and Chaotic routes on Switch (I did the Neutral route in my PSP save).

Tactics Ogre is perhaps my favorite game of all time; I played the PSP version in 2020 and loved it; it was a 170h playthrough over 3 months. I would be extremely happy if it came to Switch.

I became a Nintendo enthusiast during the N64/GBC era and played a lot of GBA, DS and 3DS games, but I think the Switch is the culmination of everything I love about Nintendo.
It contains what excited me about their handheld consoles (Pokémon and strategy RPGs) and their home consoles (Zelda, Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros.); it also allowed me to discover franchises (Dragon Quest, Xenoblade), to play exciting indie games (in particular Horizon Chase) and to revisit classic RPGs from the SNES, PS1, PS2 and PS3 catalogues (in the case of the latter three, thanks to their best third-party support since the 16-bit generation).

Ranking:
1. Switch
2. 3DS
3. N64

Sad news, but I already feared that this would happen since they announced the discontinuation of the 3DS in September 2020.
At least we'll have a few more months to buy the games that were on our wish lists. I've already made a list of what to buy for my 3DS "Lite" and my 3DS XL:
Lite: Mario Golf, Super Marios Bros. Deluxe, Lufia: The Legend Returns
XL: Dragon Quest VII, Crimson Shroud, Pokémon Red, Pokémon Gold

This long-term DLC for Mario Kart 8, as well as the announcement of Nintendo Switch Sports (which will probably bring in many new consumers, as happened with the Wii), was for me proof that the successor to the Switch will only be released from the end of 2024 onwards.
Personally I think that's great, it's a console that deserves this longevity. Yesterday's Direct got me really excited, especially with the amount of classic 90s RPGs that were announced.

I think it was the best Direct of recent times. There were at least 10 games that excited me: Triangle Strategy (already pre-ordered), Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Earthbound, Earthbound Beginnings, Chrono Cross, Live a Live, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (I'd prefer a canonical FE, but Three Houses deserves the "musou" treatment), Advance Wars 1+2, Front Mission 1st: Remake and the DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
I was also happy with the return of Mario Strikers and the Sports series.

I hope they bring news about BOTW2 and announce a new Fire Emblem and/or Xenoblade.

I saw in the "Sales and Deals" section of the Nintendo of America website that several sales have started (Sega, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, some independent developers, etc.).
The only game I'm sure I'll take is Horizon Chase Turbo (I like Top Gear and enjoyed the trailer promoting Senna's DLC).
There are several others I'm considering:
Valkyria Chronicles 4; Banner of the Maid; Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle; Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna - The Golden Country; Grandia HD Collection; and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection.
With the exception of Torna, all of them are often on sale, so I need to decide which one I'm most keen on playing at the moment.

HeartGold & SoulSilver are my favorites, as they are improved remakes of what was already the best generation of the series (GSC). Third place on my podium is Black & White 2.
P.S.: I like all the games in the main franchise, they are all grade 8 upwards; I don't see decay in 3DS and Switch games, even though I prefer the "DS era".

Perhaps the game to be released in 2022 that I'm looking forward to the most, as tactical RPGs are my favorite subgenre and Square Enix made some of my favorites (in particular FFT and the remake of Tactics Ogre for PSP). Hopefully Triangle Strategy is as good as it looks.

Nintendo managed to ruin my excitement (and that of a lot of people) to play N64 and Mega Drive on Switch Online because of a damn Animal Crossing DLC.

I've been waiting for this sale for a few days, since I decided to buy Final Fantasy VII for the Switch I recently purchased from my girlfriend (she bought another Switch for herself). I have FF7 for PC (I bought it last year at a Steam sale), but the possibility of playing it both on TV and in portable mode is very tempting; besides, I already have several Final Fantasy for Switch (IX, X, X-2 and XII), and in the future I intend to acquire VIII as well.

I thought about buying Dragon Quest III, but maybe it's better to wait for the HD-2D remake that should be released next year.

As the focus is on announcing games for the winter, there's a chance for something like "you know that franchise that was on hiatus for years? Well, new game in 3 or 4 months!" They did it at E3 with Metroid and Advance Wars, so I don't doubt they'll do it again.
Oh, and I'm really rooting for them to announce Game Boy and/or Nintendo 64 for Switch Online!

Great news! I was procrastinating to buy it on Steam because I was hoping it would eventually make it to Switch, as I'd rather play tactical RPGs on it than on PC. From the reviews I read the game looks pretty cool.

This review has increased my interest in the game. I'm glad gameplay has become more accessible. I have three Disgaea in my backlog (1 and 2 for PC and 5 for Switch), so I'll wait for an NIS sale to purchase Disgaea 6. Meanwhile I'll play the demo.

Nintendo 64 was my first home console. I got it as a Christmas present in 2000. It was on the N64 that I played some of my favorite games, like Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Super Smash Bros., Mario Kart 64, Mario Tennis, Super Mario 64 and Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

I really liked today's Nintendo Direct.
Finally there was news of Breath of the Wild 2, and it looks spectacular.
I'm so glad that Advance Wars was resurrected! I can't find the original GBA cartridges to buy, so I will definitely get this remake.
SMT V and Danganronpa got me interested. The new Mario Party and WarioWare are nice additions to Switch's library. And, of course, Metroid Dread is very welcome.

In this sale I bought Child of Light. I read some reviews - including the two from Nintendo Life - and saw some videos and the game looks really interesting (and beautiful).

@Rosona I think that is precisely what happened. Therefore, they will have about 2 years to develop the game, which is the standard for canonical Pokémon games.
I believe that the DP remakes were only developed due to the request of the fans (just like with ORAS), so much so that they left ILCA developing the remakes while Game Freak focused completely on the project that really interested them, Legends.

In 2020 three games entered my top 5: Final Fantasy Tactics, Chrono Trigger and Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together. They joined Pokémon HeartGold / SoulSilver (since 2010) and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (since 2002).
Fire Emblem: Awakening, which I finished recently, came close, but entered "only" in the top 10.

Seems interesting! I've been playing a lot of Fire Emblem and it's always good to have another tactical RPG on the Switch. I will wait for the reviews and, if they are positive, a sale.

I took advantage of this sale to finally buy Final Fantasy IX - although I will only play it after I finish FF VI and VII, which I bought last year on Steam sales.
I was playing XII (which my brother gave me) and enjoying it, but I decided to take a break to get to know the previous games in the franchise better.

I hope that at E3 Square Enix: 1) give more details of Project Triangle Strategy; 2) announce ports of some classic games for Switch, such as Final Fantasy IV, V and VI, Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, Chrono Trigger and/or Dragon Quest IV, V and VI.

Yesterday, on the 3DS list, I commented on how that portable console was in the top 3 of best RPG catalogues. The DS is not far behind; it could be the 4th or 5th, next to the PS2.
Of the 30 games mentioned in this list I have all the Pokémon ones (and I also think Platinum should have been included instead of Diamond/Pearl, as it is superior in every way: plot changes, bigger Dex, post-game etc.), Chrono Trigger, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 and The World Ends With You.
By the way, HeartGold/SoulSilver is the pinnacle of the series, and one of the best remakes ever.

This list shows how the 3DS is arguably one of the best consoles ever for RPGs, behind only SNES and PS1 (even if remakes and ports are excluded).
Of the games mentioned I have all the Pokémon and Fire Emblem, as well as Stella Glow and Radiant Historia.

Great article! It ended up making me have my own "Memory Pak" while reading it.

My first Pokémon game was Blue, in the beginning of 2000, when I was about 10 years old. At first, I also only used my starter, until Wartortle was defeated in Erika's gym; that's when I started to take type matchups seriously.
Months later, when I played Yellow, I reached the Pokémon League with an underleveled team (lv. 37-41); not surprisingly, I couldn’t even pass Lorelei. I only won when a friend of mine gave several Rare Candies to my Weepinbell (my favorite Pokémon at the time) and Dragonite.
With Pokémon Silver (which I won on my 11th birthday, along with Pokémon Stadium 2 and a Transfer Pak) I still had difficulties, and there were many times that I asked friends for help to get through some parts of the game.
It was only at Stadium 2 that I improved as a player, thanks in part to Earl's Academy, which had those theoretical and practical tests. It also helped that I could bring my creatures trained in Silver. I felt great when I finally defeated Red at both games.
I remained a fan of the series even in high school, usually the time when Pokémon enthusiasts were most lonely in their appreciation of the franchise, stigmatized because they liked something so "childish". I continued to play through college and graduate school. By the way, my Christmas present when I passed the PhD selection was a 3DS with Pokémon X, lol.

@westman98 Yes, you're right, I just checked that the proportion of digital downloads, at least until December/19, was around 45%: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/f59wu8/fire_emblem_three_houses_have_sold_530k_in_japan/
I thought it was 33% based on this article here, but it only covered sales until August/19: https://nintendosoup.com/33-of-all-fire-emblem-three-houses-sales-in-japan-are-digital-downloads/

The numbers are even more impressive if we consider that they are only the physical copies. In the case of some games, such as Fire Emblem: Three Houses, digital downloads accounted for about 1/3 of total sales.

I'm glad to see NIS launching so many games for Switch. I already have Phantom Brave for PC, but I wouldn't mind buying it again depending on the price, after all, the Switch became my tactical RPG machine. In addition, I am interested in playing Soul Nomad. Hopefully in Volume 2 they will release La Pucelle Tactics, another game that I have been curious about for a long time.

Looking forward to this Pokémon "Direct". Hopefully they will confirm the Diamond/Pearl remakes. I guess that there will be some surprises; an "All-Stars" pack with Gen I and/or II for Switch would be awesome (even if they are already available in the 3DS Virtual Console).

Project Triangle Strategy was the game announced on Direct that excited me the most, not least because I love tactical RPGs; judging from what was told about the plot, with a focus on choices, it must be more of a spiritual heir to Tactics Ogre than to Final Fantasy Tactics. It looks very promising. I'm downloading the demo (1.6 GB! It must have a lot of content).

@AlexSora89 Amazing how the author simply missed all the diagnoses and predictions she made - even the price, lol.

Best quote: "Do you really need to play Skyrim on the subway when Candy Crush will do, and was deliberately designed for portable play?"

I really liked this article, even because I've been through it a few times. The best second-hand purchases involved finding Tactics Ogre (PSP), Final Fantasy Tactics (PSP), Zelda: A Link to the Past (GBA) and Chrono Trigger (DS) for very reasonable prices; the worst involved buying several counterfeit Pokémon cartridges that were deceptively advertised as original.
Nostalgia is indeed expensive, and we are often faced with games that have never been relaunched for other consoles. I agree with Kate, in part Diamond / Pearl remakes are so desired by Pokémon fans because the DS originals are very pricey (by the way, they are among the counterfeits I bought; luckily I found an original Platinum).

Interestingly 33/40 was also the grade that Disgaea 4 and 5 obtained in Famitsu. Maybe that is a good sign.

@Christofu I also like it when games leave exploration more free (it was nice, for example, to choose in which order to do the Kanto gyms - or even Johto's 5th, 6th and 7th badges - in Gold/Silver), but I think that Diamond/Pearl didn't do it so well, because right after the 3rd badge there are two consecutive gyms, one of which is from a city we’ve already visited in the long gap between the 2nd and 3rd (Hearthome). They found a good solution for this at Platinum, anticipating battling with Fantina from the 5th to the 3rd badge.

I hope the rumor is true, because I'm really looking forward to this remake. Diamond/Pearl were good games, but they had some problems (e.g., unbalanced progression - it took a long time between 2nd and 3rd gyms - and slowness, especially in battles) that were almost all resolved in Platinum (which also included the incredible Distortion World and a Battle Frontier). Gen 4 would have a lot to gain from a remake, as long as they make good use of the gameplay increments made in the past four generations.

I became a Collector in 2020, because after years of just playing Pokémon or Age of Empires, I finally decided to play Final Fantasy Tactics and became addicted to strategy RPGs. Result: I bought all the Fire Emblem from Awakening onwards and a dozen more tactical RPGs whenever there was a sale; some were on Steam (e.g., Fell Seal and Disgaea 1 and 2), others on the 3DS eShop (among them Stella Glow) and some on the Switch eShop (Disgaea 5, Valkyria Chronicles 1 and Wargroove - by the way, the latter I already started playing).
I also bought some traditional RPGs that interested me (it helped that I finally finished Chrono Trigger and loved the game), like Final Fantasy VI and VII (PC), Ni No Kuni (Switch) and Radiant Historia (3DS).
In other words, I have a huge backlog for the next few months, maybe even for a year or two. I guess it's time to be less of a collector and more of a player, lol.

I really hope for a Diamond/Pearl/Platinum remake using Gen 8 graphics and mechanics (several routes and the Great Marsh itself have Wild Area potential), as well as ports of the Gen 1 and 2 games (maybe Gen 3 too?) for Switch.

Pokémon Stadium 2 was the first game I got for my Nintendo 64 - a 11th birthday gift from my mother, along with a separate Transfer Pak; my father gave me Pokémon Silver.
Stadium 2 is fantastic; it had everything, from GB Tower, tough battles (rental Pokémon were less competitive to beat the gym leaders and the tournaments) and addictive minigames (even better than the ones from Stadium 1) to Earl's Academy, with questionnaires and practical tests.

2021 is not only the 25th anniversary of the series, but also the 15th of the Japanese release of Diamond/Pearl... I hope that "Sinnoh confirmed" is not just a wishful thinking.

The Witcher 3 is also on sale in eShops in North America. 30% off.

I never had a SNES, but I have played ports or remakes of many of its best games. My favourite ones are Tactics Ogre, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario World and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.
When I was a child I also played International Superstar Soccer Deluxe and Top Gear a lot.
Of those available on Nintendo Switch Online, the ones I played the most were Super Mario All-Stars, Super Mario Kart and F-Zero.
P.S.: Final Fantasy VI is in my backlog, but I don't doubt that it is in the top 10 SNES games.

Happy 15th birthday, Nintendo Life! Congratulations on your lovely work! Keep feeding us with a lot of interesting (and eventually funny) content!

I think the first article on the website I read was at the beginning of last year (the ranking of Pokémon games, which I strongly agreed with). Months ago I went back to "bumping into" Nintendo Life when looking for strategy game recommendations for Switch. I liked it so much that I continued reading the articles, and when I saw it I had already made a profile and was browsing NL on a daily basis.

@aristofeles Try South Africa, it worked for me when I bought Valkyria Chronicles and Disgaea 5 at recent European sales. Also it's usually one of the cheapest eShops of the world.

70% docked. I already play a lot of handheld consoles (DS, 3DS, PSP), so I prefer to use Switch as a home console. In addition, the first game I played on it was Pokémon: Let's Go Eevee, whose catching system strongly encouraged docked mode.

I'm so glad that they finally translated the first Fire Emblem! And even more glad that they introduced this quality of life mechanisms (they reminded me of Chariot Tarot from Tactics Ogre and Mila's Turnwhell from FE Echoes). Of course the limited time is a bummer, but it will ensure that every SRPG enthusiast will get this game on day one.
I hope it sells well to stimulate the localization of the other Fire Emblem that were only released from Japan (especially the three games for Super NES).

A lot of changes in the ranking since yesterday:

• Pokémon Stadium 2 climbed 7 positions (yay!), DK64 climbed 6 and Pokémon Snap, 5;
• Tony Hawk 2 fell to #16 (well, at least it's still in the top 20...);
• Jet Force Gemini, Episode 1: Racer and Turok 2 finally showed up.

1. Sad to see Pokémon Stadium 2 only at #41... it's one of my favourite N64 games - actually it was the first one that I bought for my console, back in June 2001.
2. Tony Hawk 2 at #11, great! My neighbour had the PS1 version and I like it so much that I bought it for my N64 as soon as it was released.
3. Mario Tennis should be at a higher position.
4. Ocarina at #1 and Majora's at #3, I couldn't agree more!

I only rated the games that I have or that I owned for my N64:

10 - The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Super Mario 64
9 - Pokémon Stadium 2, Super Smash Bros., Mario Tennis, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, Mario Kart 64
8 - World Cup '98, Pokémon Stadium, Wave Race 64, Donkey Kong 64, Star Wars: Rogue Squadron, Mario Party, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater

All the seven games that I rated 9 or 10 are among my top 10 favourite N64 games; the other three are The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, Goldeneye 007 and Ogre Battle 64.