kirbygirl

@maruse Exactly! IIRC, a paid membership is required for cloud saves on PS systems and also for the Xbox 360. I do think it might not be required for cloud saves on the XBO, though honestly I don't remember because we've had a continuous Gold membership since we got ours. Gold membership is required for online play. They are both $60 per year (or more expensive in terms of a per-month rate if you choose a shorter membership option). And when you first sign up, you do not get instant access to 20 games, many of which are classics. Instead, you get access to 2-4 games (mostly old, often crappy, and now very cheap), and you can build up a bit of a library with that over time, if you keep paying long enough to do so.

People ranting about how this is such a "bad deal" don't seem to have any idea what the competition has been offering at triple the prices. C'est la vie.

@dimi An annual membership to the Nintendo service is $20 a year, that's $1.67 per month. An average Starbucks coffee is in the $4-$5 range.

@dimi They are absolutely NOT free. Both of those services on the PSN and XBL cost $60 per year (yes, that's 3x the price of the Nintendo service). And, frankly, I'd prefer NES games to most of the $#!+ offered with PS+ and Gold most months, though I have actually found enough value to subscribe those services too. But, please, stop misrepresenting the situation.

Plus, I think it's important to remember that this is just what is being offered at the launch of the Nintendo online service. I'm sure they'll be adding more games along the way. Context is a wonderful thing.

@Spectra (Edit: If you go for an annual membership...) For 1/3 of the price of one Starbucks coffee per month, we'll have cloud saves, online play, access to 20 VC games, and more. That's not "nothing" in my book. Plus, given the family membership option, I'll be able to share all of those perks with my son and other relatives. Totally worth it for us.

@Geeks4Life No, definitely not "free everywhere else."

@Spectra If you're actually worried about a $1.67 per month fee, you should definitely save your money instead of spending it on this.

@jomo32 Hardly unique.

@Lizuka Gah, your nostalgia card is officially revoked!

@Banjos_Backpack We still enjoy the Wii U, even after our Switches, and YWW is one of our co-op favorites.

@thesilverbrick Yeah, I finally made it as Rick, Kine, and Coo.

@Henmii Yeah, the arena mode is usually where an experienced player can find the challenge in a Kirby game. Are you new to the series? This is typical. There's also at least a little effort involved in finding all of the switches and obtaining all of the special pieces along the way.

One of the best things about Star Allies, though, is the co-op, especially if you have a kiddo. It's fantastic to share with a less experienced player, and that accessibility has always been one of the things that makes Kirby games great.

@thesilverbrick Yeah, that last sequence was tough! I did finally get the 100% save file and finished all nine puzzles as well, but it took me several tries to get through Soul Melter.

@gatorboi352 For me, it's easier to play for just a few minutes at a time on a portable system. A few minutes here and there is often all I get. Plus, it's great for travel. We have a Wii U but there are still games in our Wii U backlog that I'll wind up playing on the Switch instead, as it's more convenient for pick-up-and-play and can go anywhere with me. Granted, the Switch is not our only system, but even if it were, between all of the physical releases over the past year and tons of great options on the eShop, I'd have plenty to keep me busy for the foreseeable future. Some of us also have families and shared entertainment spaces.

People talking crap on Kirby should have to provide pics of their 100% save files and complete puzzle completion. Star Allies is like all Kirby games: if you want a challenge, you can find it.

@Alikan Exactly. I've said it elsewhere, but there's been SO much great stuff on the Switch eShop too, I don't know how anyone can feel like there's any kind of "drought." I guess maybe for those who had Wii Us and have also spent hundreds of hours on Steam over the past year? I do know that I can't keep up at all these days. I have a huge Switch backlog already and at least a couple of dozen other titles on my eShop wishlist. Granted, the Switch is not our only system, but even if it were, we would have more than enough to keep us busy.

Btw, am I the only one who really wants a Streetpass system (and SP Plaza type games) on the Switch? Any technical reason why that wouldn't be possible? I rarely get tags with my 3DS anymore, and I've finished most of the SP content on it.

@electrolite77 Yeah, there's been SO much great stuff on the Switch eShop too, I don't know how anyone can feel like there's any kind of "drought." I guess maybe for those who had Wii Us and have spent hundreds of hours on Steam over the past year? I do know that I can't keep up at all these days. I have a huge Switch backlog already and at least a couple of dozen other titles on my eShop wishlist. I do still play the 3DS from time to time as well.

Full disclosure: We've been a one-Switch-per-person household since launch.

I'll probably pick it up, as long as the price is right.

@Ryu_Niiyama Gah, I am crazy about the Taiko no Tatsujin series! It's basically the entire reason I even own a Japanese 3DS. I'm so glad the Switch is region-free, but I do wonder about the control scheme. The little drumstick styluses worked really well on the 3DS and obviously won't be possible for the Switch.

I absolutely LOVE puzzlers, but there's something about Lumines I just don't get, TBH.

So I picked up Lode Runner Legacy instead, after enjoying the heck out of the demo. It's pretty great.

I'm really enjoying this one. So far, I'd give it an 8/10, but then I love puzzlers.

@Fake-E-Lee Yeah, probably not happening, lol. And now you've made me add another to my wishlist!

Just tried the demo and really enjoyed it.

I pre-ordered Agatha Knife with the discount and picked up Goetia for that great initial sale price. Light Fall, Jotun, Saturday Morning RPG, and Glaive are all going on my wishlist. I'm trying to be patient and wait for sales, since I already have a huge backlog on the Switch.

@Zidentia Currently $4.99 (50% off sale) on the eShop, which seems like a steal considering that it's $14.99 on Steam. So much for the "Switch tax."

I hope they'll bring these west!

Looks interesting to me!

@GrailUK <3

@neufel Yeah, I can't really argue with any of that. Almost all trailers could use more gameplay, IMHO.

@neufel Actually, it's arguably (reasonably) historically accurate. The necklines of French dresses for the rich and sophisticated of that time often dipped down nearly to the nipples, and Marie Antionette in particular was kind of famous for her exposed cleavage.

Plus, dood, who doesn't like boobs?

Seriously, though, I love tactical RPGs, but I'll likely wait for some reviews on this one. As with many trailers, not enough gameplay.

When I saw the first still image, for some reason it reminded me of Professor Heinz Wolff's Gravity (which I loved). This is very different, but I'll probably pick it up, depending on the price. I'm a huge fan of puzzlers, and I like the aesthetic of this game as shown in the trailer.

Yes, I'd double-dip.

Busy weekend, but I'm still working to 100% Kirby Star Allies. Just beat the Ultimate Choice in Soul Melter mode, so I'm feeling good about that!

Working toward 100% on Kirby Star Allies and maybe some Boost Beast.

I really want folders and themes.

Looks good. I hope it will make its way to the NA eShop soon.

I picked it up on sale and have really been enjoying it. My only complaint is about the limited zoom function, which could be much better.

@holygeez03 Has that happened with the PSN or XBL? Because they get similar (in fact, many of the same) games.

@holygeez03 To be honest, I don't really understand the need to complain about the library being too large. Yeah, there are many games available, but nobody is making you buy all of them. There are just more options for people with varying gaming preferences. Over the years, I've noticed that quite a few of the games dismissed as "shovelware" by some are actually quite fun little puzzlers that can be good for short pick-up-and-play sessions or quirky party games that can be a blast if you have the right group. Yeah, some are crap too. Don't buy those.

I'll definitely pick up The Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya at some point. Waiting for more reviews on the others, but I'm also interested in Earthlock, TurtlePop, and Spy Chameleon. Maybe Flinthook.

@Zidentia Yes, really. I've gotten zero free games after years of digital purchases on the PSN and Xbox, other than the ones you get with the PAID monthly membership fee (so not really "free"). These My Nintendo gold coin discounts can be used for games I actually choose myself, not some pre-selected crap I don't actually want, and there's no monthly membership fee to get the discounts.

Edit: I think a lot of people are just pissed off because we were so spoiled by the awesome physical rewards of Club Nintendo. I do miss those, but I can understand why they discontinued that program.

@Zidentia Yeah, and it's pretty much comparable with all of the other similar rewards programs. In fact, based on my personal experience, I'd say this is better than the others.

@Dang69 So far, I've gotten at least seven free games (two just this week), several free themes, and some free dlc since Nintendo made the switch to all-digital rewards. Do I miss the physical swag of the old Club Nintendo? Sure. But any free stuff is gravy in my book. It makes sense for physical games to get less of a % for a variety of reasons: physical games can be resold if you want to recoup some $, many of us are already getting a 20% discount on all of our physical game purchases, etc. Plus, any company would want to encourage use of their own eShop.

At least we don't have to manually enter those long code #s anymore. The new way of handling that is so much more convenient. Two clicks and I'm building up reward coins toward free digital content, even though my purchase was physical.

People complaining about free stuff. Seriously, I wish I had that kind of time on my hands and sense of entitlement.

Anyway, I think the new system is pretty fair. Got two free games from the eShop this week using the gold coins I'd already accrued.

@TheGreenMiner13 At this point, it looks like they're just closing 20% of their US locations. There's a list of the upcoming store closures online that specifies which locations will be affected. I was glad to see our local TRU was not on the list.

Just finished Darkside Detective and Bulb Boy, both very enjoyable experiences. I'm not sure what I'm going to play next!

@Freek In general, no matter the artistic medium, I'd say serious critical review is not "just an opinion." Of course, the details of the full review matter much more than any numerical distillation, and there is room for disagreement based on how one weighs a variety of factors. But that's relatively complex by comparison to what you seem to be saying. Uninformed Joe Schmo's rant about X is not of the same value as an informed, articulate critical review of X based on a number of technical and aesthetic standards and conventions.

@Bondi_Surfer I'm pretty sure that they're saying it's a bit fuzzier in either handheld mode (with the system in your hands) or tabletop (when the system is on a surface but you're still on the portable Switch screen) as compared to on your TV when the Switch is docked or on other home consoles.

@RickD In spite of the NL review's emphasis, I'd say this game actually doesn't require you to be a certain age, for the most part. The vast majority of the humor is pun-based and can be understood by your average audience regardless of generation. Some of it will likely be funnier if you're a certain age with particular cultural references, but it doesn't really rely on that. It is a tad on the short side given the price tag, but I enjoyed the gameplay and aesthetic.