All this tells me is that Nintendo struck gold when they discovered that their little Jump Man construction worker could be character brand in the annals of history alongside Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Spider-Man, James Bond, Kermit the Frog, and Luke Skywalker.
Nintendo caught on to this idea of series built around characters that we know and love FAR ahead of any other gaming company, save Namco and their similar mascot PAC-MAN. Other companies have establish console or company mascots, but these mascots have not had the sheer breadth of titles exploring them, and often have just a handful of titles total (again, PAC-MAN is an exception). There are large video game series like Dragon Slayer, Ultima, Phantasy Star, Sims, etc but these are not based around a character and more about a thematic concept.
If you look at the key brands for other video game holdings, you'll find very few have encultured a library of "characters" all of whom are revisited over generations. The ones who are - Sonic the Hedgehog, Solid Snake, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, these are characters that emerged in the coattails of Mario's meteoric rise.
Almost every Nintendo-proprietary world in Smash has been given a similar, though less frequent, level of care and attention by their owners. Nintendo is best compared to Disney. It's all about brand cultivation. Disney has their Princesses, their Pixar characters, their Marvel characters, their Star Wars, their Muppets; Nintendo has their Mario and Zelda, their Metroids and Kirby. No other video game company comes close to developing a series brand identities. And by golly, it works: if you want to keep up with what's happening in the MCU or Star Wars, you need a Disney+ subscription. You're not going to get WandaVision or The Mandalorian otherwise. If you want to play Mario or Zelda, you need a Nintendo console. You can't have new adventures with these old friends on PlayStation or Xbox.
I think it's good for a diversity of experiences on Switch. Now we'll have 4 different play experiences on Swith from mainline Pokémon games (Let's Go! plays differently from Sword & Shield plays differently from DP remakes plays differently from Legends). This makes the play through the games less repetitive and thus more interesting.
@COVIDberry Yeah, my thought is better than save states would be having restart points at Temple entrances and towns.
That would eliminate most of the issues, though getting to Darunia Town from Nabooru Town would still be tough, and likewise to Maze Temple, and of course the worst is Valley of Death (I hate it more than Death Mountain). With Valley of Death restarting at Old Kasuto, you'd at least remove the frustration of losing health on the road from Nabooru because those darn Geru through stones in the pass below the River Devil are just so hard to avoid. So you then go through the cave to get to New Kasuto to heal, but then by the time you get back to Old Kasuto, you've lost health from the overworld enemies and the Moas in Kasuto… so a restart point from the entrance of the Valley of Death would make that part of the game less frustrating.
Honestly? Respawning on the Eastern Continent wouldn't change much except save a minute or two of time. By the time you're at the Eastern Continent, you've got the Hammer, so you can just stay on the road and avoid monsters all the way until you get to the Eastern Continent docks. I think the issue might be more game overing in Spectacle Rock before grabbing the Hammer, and having to go through all of Death Mountain and Zelda 1 Hyrule's area again just to get back to that mini-dungeon. Not to mention, it's INCREDIBLY easy to straight up lose lives in Death Mountain and Spectacle Rock from messing up a jump over a lava pit. Darunia Town is similar: it's incredibly easy to fall into the ocean and lose your last life if you get hit the wrong way by a bubble or an Octorok's rock. And then, even though you have roads through the Western Continent, you have to cross the Eastern Continent field and cavern and another field full of enemies that are ONLY weak to fire magic, before finally getting to the mountain pass again. Maze Island Temple is also similar, though without the pits of doom along the way, due to the sheer number of areas you need to cross before you can get to the Temple (the Pegasus Boots at least make it easy to get back into the Temple from the entrance to the Island's Lomei Labyrinth if you have to return after grabbing them).
Regarding Zelda titles, Zelda 1-4 were commonplace titles when I was growing up. But nobody called Ocarina of Time Zelda 5 where I was. I tried numbering them, but it got confusing when Oracles were interchangeable in their numbers, and Four Swords and Wind Waker came out in separate orders (one in 2002, and the other in 2003, but opposite orders in US & Japan). Plus, where does Ancient Stone Tablets fit in? I know for Fire Emblem, the numbering system has actually changed. At once point in the past, they considered BS Fire Emblem (Archanea War Chronicles) part of the official numbering, but then they dropped it more recently from the numbers. But they do include remakes in the numbering, and they include the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes too (but not the Fire Emblem Warriors game). I always considered Hyrule Warriors, known as Zelda Unrivalled in Japan, as the Zelda U title. Does it not count in a Zelda numbering? What about Cadence of Hyrule? What about the Zelda remakes (do we count Ocarina of Time 3D but not Ocarina of Time & Master Quest on the GameCube? What about Link's Awakening/Dreaming Island on Switch? Is that a separate numbering from the previous versions of the game?).
And what about ZELDA Game & Watch? Shouldn't THAT be Zelda 3, since it came out in 1989, two years after Zelda 2 and two years before Triforce of the Gods/Kamigami no Triforce/A Link to the Past?
I think numbering REALLY only matters for the first two, because Adventure of Link was The Legend of Zelda 2 in Japan and Zelda 2 in the West.
I beat the game on both GameCube and GBA decades ago (never had an original NES, unfortunately), but my playthroughs on 3DS, Wii U, NES Classic Mini, and Nintendo Switch Online NES were A BOATLOAD less frustrating because of save states.
Save states are just incredibly important QoL features. People need to be able to finish the game. Adventure of Link is a punishing game, where a gameover anywhere but the Great Palace punishes you many times over (sends you back to North Castle, takes away all your EXP, balances out your levels, Link Dolls don't respond so you're stuck with 3 lives only if you used all the link dolls up…) and pushes you on all of the above save sending you back to North Castle if you ARE in the Great Palace. For a game like that, a lot of people are just going to ragequit and give up on the game and maybe even the series at large without a good QoL feature like save states.
I actually like the chibi models that turn full size in battle. Feels nostalgic, as a call back to Game Boy and DS titles. Feels more close to the original than Let's Go! did to Yellow in terms of the world. Outside of the trainers though, this definitely looks like it's running on the overworld engine of Let's Go!
I agree about the problematic Queercoding, but I don't know what version of Skyward Sword you were playing when fighting The Imprisoned. That thing is NIGHTMARE FUEL.
And when I discovered there could be mini Imprisoned in Hyrule Warriors, I almost asked for my brown pants. **** got real. Literally.
FYI, Ruby, Sapphire, & Emerald's Dive feature returned in Black & White and Black 2 & White 2.
I always wished the Underground was in other regions. They should have at least included it in the Johto remakes!
And Clay's Tunnel suggests that Unova would have been a great place to have it involved too. Even Galar - the idea of interconnected Pokémon Dens would have been a really cool way to bring back the Underground and play into the mining culture of Britain.
I don't want to pay $32 and accept the emissions costs of ordering from PlayAsia. I'll wait for release date and gamble on their availability at the Nintendo NY store.
90% sure Splatoon 3 on Switch means we're getting a half-step console either by this holiday or early next year.
Willing to bet that Splatoon 3 and Breath of the Wild 2 will be optimized for a Switch Pro/new Nintendo Switch/Switch+ (expect both games in 2022, BotW2 before the end of February to count as part of the 35th anniversary).
For all intents and purposes, this was a fantastic direct. I was shook by Pyra/Mythra, and am pumped for Project Triangle Strategy, SSHD, and Age of Calamity DLC. I may even get Legend of Mana, and they may have just sold me on Monster Hunter Rise.
Did it meet all my desires for the entire year? Of course not.
I fully expect a Pokémon direct next week, and a Zelda direct later this year. I wouldn't be surprised if a Nintendo direct including more details on Metroid Prime 4 comes later this year too, given the anniversary.
Mostly I'm bummed for no mention of Golden Sun. It's the 20th anniversary! This is a big year for the games. But Camelot releasing Mario Golf this year all but confirms that they haven't touched any RPG games this past year. Maybe we need to wait 5 more years for Golden Sun 4.
Guessing we'll get some but not all of the below anniversary franchises in the direct, whether they be ports from other consoles, remakes/remasters/rereleases of old games, or brand new entries in the franchises:
40th Anniversary:
Donkey Kong
Mario (not Super Mario)
35th Anniversary:
The Legend of Zelda
Dragon Quest
Metroid
Castlevania
30th Anniversary:
Sonic the Hedgehog
Puyo Puyo
Fatal Fury
Shining
Mana
25th Anniversary:
Pokémon
Crash Bandicoot
Super Mario RPG
Persona
Star Ocean
20th Anniversary:
Golden Sun
Animal Crossing
Pikmin
Luigi's Mansion
15th Anniversary:
Brain Age
Wii
Mii-Tomo
Electroplankton
Rhythm Heaven
The "Angry Video Game Nerd" / Cinemasscre yt channel explained it succinctly:
The NSO offerings represent what you might find in your friend's physical library if you had gone over on a playdate in the 80s or 90s and hung out to play Nintendo or Super Nintendo. There are the classic games EVERYONE has because you can't NOT get them, and then there are an assortment of obscure titles you got because they looked interesting or were what was available when your parent went to the game store.
@Lord Given that we received two seasons of Hyrule Warriors DLC, 2 separate re-releases, AND a BotW-themed sequel, I think odds are pretty high that we get either Fire Emblem Warriors DLC, re-release for a Switch Plus/New Switch, or a sequel to Fire Emblem Warriors, focused on Three Houses characters.
This all said, I somewhat doubt a re-release of the game as a hardcopy with DLC included. While Pokémon did this, I expect with Fire Emblem that they'd only do that for a new console, rather than two versions of the same game on the same console.
Hacking and selling counterfeit or tampered with products that he had no license to sell is illegal.
Remember that you only have a license to the game, you don't own the game or anything in it. The Pokémon you catch you can trade on Nintendo's servers but if you're doing financial deals, hacked or no, that's starting to look like a problem.
A lot of these games were rushed to market, and fixed later on.
Clearly the real lesson to learn here is what Nintendo has been saying for decades.
“A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”
What these studios have learned is that they can release their eventually good games as beta tests for full price and endure the backlash to allow the initial buyers to fund the completion of the games. The games aren't bad for ever, nor were they rushed with corners cut, they just were rushed to market with the idea that they could keep tinkering with it after launch via free updates and paid DLC.
This is a problem of modern video games where the product isn't locked but can receive software updates, either free or even paid!
There hasn't been a year since 2010 that Nintendo failed to release a major Zelda title of some sort (whether main series, Hyrule Warriors, or remake). They've turned that into an annual franchise, and it's the 35th anniversary. They're not going to go without releasing a major title, even if BotW 2 still needs more time. I wouldn't put it past them to reveal a Zelda title we didn't even know existed, a la Triforce Heroes surprise in 2015 when we thought the next major title after A Link Between Worlds would be Breath of the Wild.
Same thing with Pokémon MAIN SERIES since 2015 (and it's in rare company for that series: 1998, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2011). New Pokémon Snap will be awesome, but there's going to be another Pokémon main series game this year, whether Let's Go! Johto or Max Diamond & Max Pearl...
Fire Emblem has gotten a new game every other year, and more frequently if you count spin-offs like Heroes and Warriors and re-releases. They're due to the next game in the series, too, perhaps before April if they want to technically count within the 30th anniversary of the series (like they're stretching the Mario 35th).
Besides Zelda, Metroid also has its 35th anniversary this year. Donkey Kong has its gigantic 40th anniversary come July.
Nintendo is holding their cards close to the chest. They want to wow. They'd rather show a near-completed game than tease games endlessly for years that are in development hell. Metroid Prime 4 reveal was a mistake, and they've learned from that.
To be fair everyone, this is Koei Tecmo, the people who make Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball. We should have seen this coming to Atelier. This was always going to happen at some point.
Platinum Coins have actually gotten back into usefulness as they've added physical rewards lately. I've got a really cool Super Mario switch cart container and an Age of Calamity notepad, for example.
I'm in NA, have been subscribed for promotional emails, and they STILL didn't send me my code. I emailed them and they said sorry they have no more codes to send out, better luck next time.
I would imagine that they're going to let the Wii U and 3DS shops live for years to come, but only for games that aren't ported to Switch and thus competing with Switch's bottom line. The idea would be to let you get the games you can't get on Switch with the older consoles but if you can get it on Switch, why not 'switch' over to the actually-supported console?
In any case, they can't shut down the 3DS wifi connectivity / nintendo eshop accounts anytime soon because they just last summer launched Pokémon HOME, which has a key feature of letting you bring forward Pokémon from Pokémon Bank to HOME. If you're going to do that, you need an active membership in Bank as well as in HOME, so you need your 3DS eshop. And a key feature of that connectivity is getting RGBY/GSC Pokémon into Sword & Shield via the Virtual Console Pokémon Games. Yes, it's also to get RSE/FRLG > DPPt/HGSS > BW/B2W2 > PokéTransport > Bank > HOME, and it's to get XY/ORAS > Bank > HOME, and to get GO > HOME, and from LGP&E > HOME, and GO > LGP&E > HOME, but almost all of these purposes rely on 3DS apps. We currently can get Pokémon from every main series Pokémon game AND Pokémon GO into HOME and thus, if allowed by SW/SH, can get them into the Gen VIII games and beyond. HOME is a key part of their long term goals for Pokémon. They're not going to shut down the possibility to get older titles' mons into HOME after they spent years working out how to fix the non-connectivity between Gens I & II and the rest of the series and finally resolved it with the virtual console and Bank.
I'm all for procedurally generated landscapes if they enhance an otherwise fully-fleshed out world with hours more content. We're a long way from the Arena and Daggerfall days, but this seems like a good compromise between fine-detail open games like Morrowind/Oblivion (which this looks like too)/Skyrim/Breath of the Wild etc and massive proc gen games like Morrowind's predecessors.
Daggerfall was MASSIVE - the size of the real world UK - but proc gen. Morrowind by comparison is tiny. It's roughly half the size of Skyrim, which is roughly half the size of Breath of the Wild, which is roughly the size of the city of Kyoto (so Morrowind was roughly 1/4 the size of Kyoto). But Morrowind and those other non-proc gen games are highly details with much more interesting story environs and used mountains and other barriers smartly to make the game feel bigger than it is (Breath of the Wild peels that away a bit by letting you climb anything, but it only starts to feel small once you have enough stamina to actually climb anything without falling (and even then you gotta luck out with weather), or can warp all over to every shrine across the map, or have the master cycle zero to zoom around the map).
I'm looking forward to more games taking this merged approach.
I'd argue yeah, we've just been increasing specs and not play styles when it comes to MS and Sony, but Nintendo has been innovating different ways of playing games and while the Wii was just a GameCube inside, it was what was on the outside (the Wiimote) that counted. And similarly, it's the Switch's versatility that has changed console gaming.
People interested in this sort of zany differences between market localizations should also read about Eggerland/Lolo and their different names for different titles and how confusing that series is (Wonderboy in Monster Land is a good topic as mentioned in the article above).
To a lesser extent, there's also Dynasty Warriors, which has a different numbering between markets due to being "True • Three Kingdoms Unrivalled" in Japan, with the original Tekken-clone game being called "Three Kingdoms Unrivalled" in Japan and the sequel thus having a 2 in the West and no number in Japan. There's also the differences between the American and Japanese titles of the Donkey Kong Gameboy titles; we've got Donkey Kong • Donkey Kong Land • Donkey Kong Land II • Donkey Kong Land 3 in the US and Donkey Kong GB • Super Donkey Kong GB • Donkey Kong Land • Donkey Kong GB: Dixie Kong and Dinky Kong in Japan. Note that Land refers to the first DK Country adaptation in the US while the adaption of the sequel in Japan.
I think it would be jarring yes. I found his lack of talking in the flashbacks jarring, too, though (even though I expected it). I think BotW would be stronger if Link talked in flashbacks (&AoC) but not present events of BotW to preserve that choose your own destiny element to the game.
BotW2 is so shadowy yet I don't think I should argue more about his voice in that. I hope she's on board for the sequel though, and AoC gives me hope for that.
Sure. It was an extended aside. But more importantly, if Patricia Summersett is still doing the voice work for BotW2, and if Zelda is fully playable (unlike companions like Phantom Zelda who are sometimes playable for short periods), it will be a weird contrast. Are we suggesting in that case that Link is a self-insert but Zelda isn't?
I'd argue that your statement above is why Nintendo has not as of yet ever had a multiplayer Zelda game where P2-P4 are someone other than Link (Tinkle Tuner schenanigans in TWW NGC notwithstanding; that's not really the same as it's not integrated as core storytelling). I'd argue it's probably why Link will still be silent in BotW2. But I think it's wrong for something like Age of Calamity, even if it's right for BotW, since we're sort of playing an on-the-rails history war game there.
I love her voice work for Zelda. I don't understand the criticism. My only issue with the BotW/AoC voices is the lack of vocal lines for Link that aren't HYAAAA! With partial/full voicing for everyone else, he just stands out in contrast. It's been an issue for Link in recent decades due to increased storytelling, but it's worse now.
BotW is definitely a make your own story adventure that works with Link not speaking much, but even if he's a stoic character, flashbacks and AoC should have vocal lines here and there. Especially in the sequel if he's adventuring alongside Zelda (if she's playable and speaking, that's weird in contrast to him).
But Zelda. She's great. Folks need to stop shaming her for her work. She's fantastic.
People keep clamouring for a cart are being silly.
Nintendo doesn't make carts anymore for games that would fit in them a hundred times over. Last time they did that was on the GBA with the NES classics carts, and they only did it because they didn't have an eShop at the time for classic & indie titles like they do now.
This game will be removed from purchase on the eshop, yes. Almost certainly that's because they plan to add it to the Nintendo Switch Online NES app, which was designed to be future proof and prevent users from having to buy the same game over and over and over again whenever a new console comes out.
Same deal with the Mario 3D Allstars; they're almost certainly heading toward an N64 app for Nintendo Switch Online members, at which point Super Mario 64 will definitely be a launch title.
Nintendo only does these limited time only promotional things (like the NES & SNES Classic Minis) when they're planning a permanent solution to the issue.
Does that mean you'll need to become a member to enjoy past titles? Sure. But NSO has long since become worth the price of entry on the strength of the NES & SNES libraries alone. And those libraries will be able carry forward to future Nintendo platforms because they won't need to sell the games to you all over again, they can just ask you to transfer your NSO membership to an NS2O membership. No need to reinvent the wheel a fifth time at that point (Wii > 3DS > Wii U > Switch > Switch "2"), because the emulation platform from the Switch is future proof.
That all being said, being the Fire Emblem fan and New Yorker that I am, I secured an Anniversary Edition box from Nintendo NY. Everywhere else were sold out within minutes of preorders, bought out by 3x price scalpers on Amazon and ebay, but Nintendo NY doesn't do preorders for that very reason, and they require ID on new special launches, to boot (that way you can't leave and come back later in the day to buy the game again for resale).
I'm going to swing down to Nintendo NY to pick it up tomorrow morning. They told me on the phone just before closing (no time to get it today) that they had plenty of stock still.
Meanwhile, all the Best Buy & Game Stop copies were bought up by scalpers the moment preorders went live. Amazon and ebay have it - from scalpers - for 2.5x the price.
Because Nintendo localizations work in a very specific pattern:
1. Title originally created for Japanese audience. 2. New title created for American & Canadian audiences, may or may not be a transliteration of the Japaneses title. 3. American title translated/transliterated for European/Australian/Latin American audiences. 4. Japanese title translated/transliterated for Korea, China, Vietnam, and other East Asian and South Asian audiences.
Western in this case refers to the American title that is shared with Europe etc.
I'm certain what the others are - Game of Thrones (maybe with a dose of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to boot), Stranger Things, Daredevil, and the Walking Dead.
What was with the late 90s-early 00s with 3D platformers starring cartoony animal mascots?
Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, Klonoa, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger? Not to mention Donkey Kong and Sonic the Hedgehog, who were reworked into the same genre come the 64/Dreamcast/Gamecube era…
Fast RMX is the only one I'm still consistently playing.
In the time of covid, 1-2-Switch is difficult to enjoy.
I am Setsuna was great, fyi, just not going to dive back into the RPG a second time.
Shovel Knight I need to actually start playing - I was waiting for the DLC to launch before I began, and then other games took precendence more recently.
Comments 840
Re: Nintendo Aims To Develop Its Characters Without "Destroying" The Memories Of Fans
All this tells me is that Nintendo struck gold when they discovered that their little Jump Man construction worker could be character brand in the annals of history alongside Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Spider-Man, James Bond, Kermit the Frog, and Luke Skywalker.
Nintendo caught on to this idea of series built around characters that we know and love FAR ahead of any other gaming company, save Namco and their similar mascot PAC-MAN. Other companies have establish console or company mascots, but these mascots have not had the sheer breadth of titles exploring them, and often have just a handful of titles total (again, PAC-MAN is an exception). There are large video game series like Dragon Slayer, Ultima, Phantasy Star, Sims, etc but these are not based around a character and more about a thematic concept.
If you look at the key brands for other video game holdings, you'll find very few have encultured a library of "characters" all of whom are revisited over generations. The ones who are - Sonic the Hedgehog, Solid Snake, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, these are characters that emerged in the coattails of Mario's meteoric rise.
Almost every Nintendo-proprietary world in Smash has been given a similar, though less frequent, level of care and attention by their owners. Nintendo is best compared to Disney. It's all about brand cultivation. Disney has their Princesses, their Pixar characters, their Marvel characters, their Star Wars, their Muppets; Nintendo has their Mario and Zelda, their Metroids and Kirby. No other video game company comes close to developing a series brand identities. And by golly, it works: if you want to keep up with what's happening in the MCU or Star Wars, you need a Disney+ subscription. You're not going to get WandaVision or The Mandalorian otherwise. If you want to play Mario or Zelda, you need a Nintendo console. You can't have new adventures with these old friends on PlayStation or Xbox.
Re: Some History About ILCA, The Japanese Studio Working On The Pokémon Diamond And Pearl Remakes
I think it's good for a diversity of experiences on Switch. Now we'll have 4 different play experiences on Swith from mainline Pokémon games (Let's Go! plays differently from Sword & Shield plays differently from DP remakes plays differently from Legends). This makes the play through the games less repetitive and thus more interesting.
Re: Feature: Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link Taught Me The Value Of Perseverance
@COVIDberry
Yeah, my thought is better than save states would be having restart points at Temple entrances and towns.
That would eliminate most of the issues, though getting to Darunia Town from Nabooru Town would still be tough, and likewise to Maze Temple, and of course the worst is Valley of Death (I hate it more than Death Mountain). With Valley of Death restarting at Old Kasuto, you'd at least remove the frustration of losing health on the road from Nabooru because those darn Geru through stones in the pass below the River Devil are just so hard to avoid. So you then go through the cave to get to New Kasuto to heal, but then by the time you get back to Old Kasuto, you've lost health from the overworld enemies and the Moas in Kasuto… so a restart point from the entrance of the Valley of Death would make that part of the game less frustrating.
Re: Feature: Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link Taught Me The Value Of Perseverance
@COVIDberry
Honestly? Respawning on the Eastern Continent wouldn't change much except save a minute or two of time. By the time you're at the Eastern Continent, you've got the Hammer, so you can just stay on the road and avoid monsters all the way until you get to the Eastern Continent docks. I think the issue might be more game overing in Spectacle Rock before grabbing the Hammer, and having to go through all of Death Mountain and Zelda 1 Hyrule's area again just to get back to that mini-dungeon. Not to mention, it's INCREDIBLY easy to straight up lose lives in Death Mountain and Spectacle Rock from messing up a jump over a lava pit. Darunia Town is similar: it's incredibly easy to fall into the ocean and lose your last life if you get hit the wrong way by a bubble or an Octorok's rock. And then, even though you have roads through the Western Continent, you have to cross the Eastern Continent field and cavern and another field full of enemies that are ONLY weak to fire magic, before finally getting to the mountain pass again. Maze Island Temple is also similar, though without the pits of doom along the way, due to the sheer number of areas you need to cross before you can get to the Temple (the Pegasus Boots at least make it easy to get back into the Temple from the entrance to the Island's Lomei Labyrinth if you have to return after grabbing them).
Re: Feature: Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link Taught Me The Value Of Perseverance
Regarding Zelda titles, Zelda 1-4 were commonplace titles when I was growing up. But nobody called Ocarina of Time Zelda 5 where I was. I tried numbering them, but it got confusing when Oracles were interchangeable in their numbers, and Four Swords and Wind Waker came out in separate orders (one in 2002, and the other in 2003, but opposite orders in US & Japan). Plus, where does Ancient Stone Tablets fit in? I know for Fire Emblem, the numbering system has actually changed. At once point in the past, they considered BS Fire Emblem (Archanea War Chronicles) part of the official numbering, but then they dropped it more recently from the numbers. But they do include remakes in the numbering, and they include the mobile game Fire Emblem Heroes too (but not the Fire Emblem Warriors game). I always considered Hyrule Warriors, known as Zelda Unrivalled in Japan, as the Zelda U title. Does it not count in a Zelda numbering? What about Cadence of Hyrule? What about the Zelda remakes (do we count Ocarina of Time 3D but not Ocarina of Time & Master Quest on the GameCube? What about Link's Awakening/Dreaming Island on Switch? Is that a separate numbering from the previous versions of the game?).
And what about ZELDA Game & Watch? Shouldn't THAT be Zelda 3, since it came out in 1989, two years after Zelda 2 and two years before Triforce of the Gods/Kamigami no Triforce/A Link to the Past?
I think numbering REALLY only matters for the first two, because Adventure of Link was The Legend of Zelda 2 in Japan and Zelda 2 in the West.
Re: Feature: Zelda II: The Adventure Of Link Taught Me The Value Of Perseverance
I beat the game on both GameCube and GBA decades ago (never had an original NES, unfortunately), but my playthroughs on 3DS, Wii U, NES Classic Mini, and Nintendo Switch Online NES were A BOATLOAD less frustrating because of save states.
Save states are just incredibly important QoL features. People need to be able to finish the game. Adventure of Link is a punishing game, where a gameover anywhere but the Great Palace punishes you many times over (sends you back to North Castle, takes away all your EXP, balances out your levels, Link Dolls don't respond so you're stuck with 3 lives only if you used all the link dolls up…) and pushes you on all of the above save sending you back to North Castle if you ARE in the Great Palace. For a game like that, a lot of people are just going to ragequit and give up on the game and maybe even the series at large without a good QoL feature like save states.
Re: Sinnoh Confirmed: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond And Shining Pearl Officially Announced For Switch
I actually like the chibi models that turn full size in battle. Feels nostalgic, as a call back to Game Boy and DS titles. Feels more close to the original than Let's Go! did to Yellow in terms of the world. Outside of the trainers though, this definitely looks like it's running on the overworld engine of Let's Go!
Re: Introducing Pokémon Legends: Arceus, An Open-World Prequel To Diamond And Pearl
Breath of the Pokémon Wilds
Re: Soapbox: Pokémon Diamond And Pearl's Greatest Contribution To The Series Was The Underground
@nessisonett
That's a deep dig. I dig it.
Re: Soapbox: Zelda: Skyward Sword Is Good, Actually
I agree about the problematic Queercoding, but I don't know what version of Skyward Sword you were playing when fighting The Imprisoned. That thing is NIGHTMARE FUEL.
And when I discovered there could be mini Imprisoned in Hyrule Warriors, I almost asked for my brown pants. **** got real. Literally.
Re: Spoiler Alert, The Next Pokémon Games Have Leaked
@Archius9 Or Feudal Pokémon Japan - Kanto/Johto/Hoenn/Sinnoh with the missing parts (Chugoku, the rest of Shikoku, and northern Honshu) included?
Re: Soapbox: Pokémon Diamond And Pearl's Greatest Contribution To The Series Was The Underground
FYI, Ruby, Sapphire, & Emerald's Dive feature returned in Black & White and Black 2 & White 2.
I always wished the Underground was in other regions. They should have at least included it in the Johto remakes!
And Clay's Tunnel suggests that Unova would have been a great place to have it involved too. Even Galar - the idea of interconnected Pokémon Dens would have been a really cool way to bring back the Underground and play into the mining culture of Britain.
Re: Where To Pre-Order Monster Hunter Rise And The Three amiibo
I don't want to pay $32 and accept the emissions costs of ordering from PlayAsia. I'll wait for release date and gamble on their availability at the Nintendo NY store.
Re: Nintendo Hiring Splatoon 3 Level Designer To Renovate "Existing" Stages
90% sure Splatoon 3 on Switch means we're getting a half-step console either by this holiday or early next year.
Willing to bet that Splatoon 3 and Breath of the Wild 2 will be optimized for a Switch Pro/new Nintendo Switch/Switch+ (expect both games in 2022, BotW2 before the end of February to count as part of the 35th anniversary).
Re: Where To Pre-Order Monster Hunter Rise And The Three amiibo
They're not available on Gamestop, Amazon, or Best Buy at all anymore. UGH. I've got all the amiibo, even the Stories one, but these? ugh.
Re: Rumour: Zelda's 35th Anniversary Will See The Return Of Wind Waker And Twilight Princess
@TheFrenchiestFry
Well that, and the Virtual Console games that aren't from NES/SNES.
Re: Poll: What Did You Think Of The February 2021 Nintendo Direct, Then?
For all intents and purposes, this was a fantastic direct. I was shook by Pyra/Mythra, and am pumped for Project Triangle Strategy, SSHD, and Age of Calamity DLC. I may even get Legend of Mana, and they may have just sold me on Monster Hunter Rise.
Did it meet all my desires for the entire year? Of course not.
I fully expect a Pokémon direct next week, and a Zelda direct later this year. I wouldn't be surprised if a Nintendo direct including more details on Metroid Prime 4 comes later this year too, given the anniversary.
Mostly I'm bummed for no mention of Golden Sun. It's the 20th anniversary! This is a big year for the games. But Camelot releasing Mario Golf this year all but confirms that they haven't touched any RPG games this past year. Maybe we need to wait 5 more years for Golden Sun 4.
Re: Talking Point: What We're Hoping To See In Today's Nintendo Direct
Guessing we'll get some but not all of the below anniversary franchises in the direct, whether they be ports from other consoles, remakes/remasters/rereleases of old games, or brand new entries in the franchises:
40th Anniversary:
Donkey Kong
Mario (not Super Mario)
35th Anniversary:
The Legend of Zelda
Dragon Quest
Metroid
Castlevania
30th Anniversary:
Sonic the Hedgehog
Puyo Puyo
Fatal Fury
Shining
Mana
25th Anniversary:
Pokémon
Crash Bandicoot
Super Mario RPG
Persona
Star Ocean
20th Anniversary:
Golden Sun
Animal Crossing
Pikmin
Luigi's Mansion
15th Anniversary:
Brain Age
Wii
Mii-Tomo
Electroplankton
Rhythm Heaven
10th Anniversary:
Minecraft
Swapnote
Pushmo
Steel Diver
5th Anniversary:
Overwatch
Re: Nintendo Expands Its Switch Online SNES And NES Service With Four More Titles
The "Angry Video Game Nerd" / Cinemasscre yt channel explained it succinctly:
The NSO offerings represent what you might find in your friend's physical library if you had gone over on a playdate in the 80s or 90s and hung out to play Nintendo or Super Nintendo. There are the classic games EVERYONE has because you can't NOT get them, and then there are an assortment of obscure titles you got because they looked interesting or were what was available when your parent went to the game store.
Re: Nintendo Celebrates Fire Emblem’s 30th Anniversary With Special Voice Actor Interviews
@Lord Given that we received two seasons of Hyrule Warriors DLC, 2 separate re-releases, AND a BotW-themed sequel, I think odds are pretty high that we get either Fire Emblem Warriors DLC, re-release for a Switch Plus/New Switch, or a sequel to Fire Emblem Warriors, focused on Three Houses characters.
This all said, I somewhat doubt a re-release of the game as a hardcopy with DLC included. While Pokémon did this, I expect with Fire Emblem that they'd only do that for a new console, rather than two versions of the same game on the same console.
Re: Japanese Man Arrested For Selling Hacked Pokémon Sword And Shield Monsters
Hacking is not illegal.
Hacking and selling counterfeit or tampered with products that he had no license to sell is illegal.
Remember that you only have a license to the game, you don't own the game or anything in it. The Pokémon you catch you can trade on Nintendo's servers but if you're doing financial deals, hacked or no, that's starting to look like a problem.
Re: Ori Director Criticises "Snake Oil Salesmen" Behind No Man's Sky, Cyberpunk, And Fable
A lot of these games were rushed to market, and fixed later on.
Clearly the real lesson to learn here is what Nintendo has been saying for decades.
“A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever.”
What these studios have learned is that they can release their eventually good games as beta tests for full price and endure the backlash to allow the initial buyers to fund the completion of the games. The games aren't bad for ever, nor were they rushed with corners cut, they just were rushed to market with the idea that they could keep tinkering with it after launch via free updates and paid DLC.
This is a problem of modern video games where the product isn't locked but can receive software updates, either free or even paid!
Re: Nintendo Shares Release Schedule For 2021 And Beyond, And It's Looking Pretty Bare
There hasn't been a year since 2010 that Nintendo failed to release a major Zelda title of some sort (whether main series, Hyrule Warriors, or remake). They've turned that into an annual franchise, and it's the 35th anniversary. They're not going to go without releasing a major title, even if BotW 2 still needs more time. I wouldn't put it past them to reveal a Zelda title we didn't even know existed, a la Triforce Heroes surprise in 2015 when we thought the next major title after A Link Between Worlds would be Breath of the Wild.
Same thing with Pokémon MAIN SERIES since 2015 (and it's in rare company for that series: 1998, 2001, 2005, 2008, 2011). New Pokémon Snap will be awesome, but there's going to be another Pokémon main series game this year, whether Let's Go! Johto or Max Diamond & Max Pearl...
Fire Emblem has gotten a new game every other year, and more frequently if you count spin-offs like Heroes and Warriors and re-releases. They're due to the next game in the series, too, perhaps before April if they want to technically count within the 30th anniversary of the series (like they're stretching the Mario 35th).
Besides Zelda, Metroid also has its 35th anniversary this year. Donkey Kong has its gigantic 40th anniversary come July.
Nintendo is holding their cards close to the chest. They want to wow. They'd rather show a near-completed game than tease games endlessly for years that are in development hell. Metroid Prime 4 reveal was a mistake, and they've learned from that.
Re: Soapbox: I Never Completed Breath Of The Wild, And I Never Will
@KateGray
I know, I gave my Wii to my parents when I got a Wii U. Still hold onto my Wii U though for VC and the few games like WWHD that haven't been ported…
Re: Soapbox: I Never Completed Breath Of The Wild, And I Never Will
@KateGray Did you check out Wind Waker HD on the Wii U? They largely fixed the problems of the Triforce Quest in that version.
Re: Soapbox: I Never Completed Breath Of The Wild, And I Never Will
At least it's not because you couldn't find that one rare drop that you'd miss out on if you continued onward.
I've left WAYYYYYY too many RPGs and adventure games in endgame purgatory due to RNG-dependent rare items or extremely difficult superbosses.
Re: Atelier Ryza 2 DLC Will Include Recipes, Dungeons And - Yes - Swimsuits
To be fair everyone, this is Koei Tecmo, the people who make Dead or Alive Beach Volleyball. We should have seen this coming to Atelier. This was always going to happen at some point.
Re: Nintendo Tasks Super Mario Bros. 35 Players With Defeating 3.5 Million Bowsers
Platinum Coins have actually gotten back into usefulness as they've added physical rewards lately. I've got a really cool Super Mario switch cart container and an Age of Calamity notepad, for example.
Re: Can You Name These Pokémon?
11/12, accidentally clicked Cloyster instead of Lapras because I skimmed those answers like an idiot.
Re: The Pokémon Company Has Started To Send Out Zarude Codes Via Email (Europe)
I'm in NA, have been subscribed for promotional emails, and they STILL didn't send me my code. I emailed them and they said sorry they have no more codes to send out, better luck next time.
This promotion has been a disaster.
Re: LEGO City: Undercover Games Removed From Wii U And 3DS eShops
I would imagine that they're going to let the Wii U and 3DS shops live for years to come, but only for games that aren't ported to Switch and thus competing with Switch's bottom line. The idea would be to let you get the games you can't get on Switch with the older consoles but if you can get it on Switch, why not 'switch' over to the actually-supported console?
In any case, they can't shut down the 3DS wifi connectivity / nintendo eshop accounts anytime soon because they just last summer launched Pokémon HOME, which has a key feature of letting you bring forward Pokémon from Pokémon Bank to HOME. If you're going to do that, you need an active membership in Bank as well as in HOME, so you need your 3DS eshop. And a key feature of that connectivity is getting RGBY/GSC Pokémon into Sword & Shield via the Virtual Console Pokémon Games. Yes, it's also to get RSE/FRLG > DPPt/HGSS > BW/B2W2 > PokéTransport > Bank > HOME, and it's to get XY/ORAS > Bank > HOME, and to get GO > HOME, and from LGP&E > HOME, and GO > LGP&E > HOME, but almost all of these purposes rely on 3DS apps. We currently can get Pokémon from every main series Pokémon game AND Pokémon GO into HOME and thus, if allowed by SW/SH, can get them into the Gen VIII games and beyond. HOME is a key part of their long term goals for Pokémon. They're not going to shut down the possibility to get older titles' mons into HOME after they spent years working out how to fix the non-connectivity between Gens I & II and the rest of the series and finally resolved it with the virtual console and Bank.
Re: Ambitious Open-World RPG Skyclimbers Is Coming To Switch, Subject To Crowdfunding Success
@Paratope
Thanks for providing us some clarity.
I'm all for procedurally generated landscapes if they enhance an otherwise fully-fleshed out world with hours more content. We're a long way from the Arena and Daggerfall days, but this seems like a good compromise between fine-detail open games like Morrowind/Oblivion (which this looks like too)/Skyrim/Breath of the Wild etc and massive proc gen games like Morrowind's predecessors.
Daggerfall was MASSIVE - the size of the real world UK - but proc gen. Morrowind by comparison is tiny. It's roughly half the size of Skyrim, which is roughly half the size of Breath of the Wild, which is roughly the size of the city of Kyoto (so Morrowind was roughly 1/4 the size of Kyoto). But Morrowind and those other non-proc gen games are highly details with much more interesting story environs and used mountains and other barriers smartly to make the game feel bigger than it is (Breath of the Wild peels that away a bit by letting you climb anything, but it only starts to feel small once you have enough stamina to actually climb anything without falling (and even then you gotta luck out with weather), or can warp all over to every shrine across the map, or have the master cycle zero to zoom around the map).
I'm looking forward to more games taking this merged approach.
Re: Jaleco's Rod Land Is Your Next Arcade Archives Release On Switch
YES! This looks like a lot of fun. Love the arcade archives works.
Re: Best Of 2020: 1995's Nintendo Was Arrogant And Ahead Of Its Time All At Once
@Ventilator
The Wii is just a Gamecube? The Switch?
I'd argue yeah, we've just been increasing specs and not play styles when it comes to MS and Sony, but Nintendo has been innovating different ways of playing games and while the Wii was just a GameCube inside, it was what was on the outside (the Wiimote) that counted. And similarly, it's the Switch's versatility that has changed console gaming.
Re: Best Of 2020: The Complete History Of Paper Mario
You skipped Paper Jam.
Re: Best Of 2020: The Game That Starred Mickey Mouse, Ghostbusters Or Garfield, Depending On Your Region
People interested in this sort of zany differences between market localizations should also read about Eggerland/Lolo and their different names for different titles and how confusing that series is (Wonderboy in Monster Land is a good topic as mentioned in the article above).
To a lesser extent, there's also Dynasty Warriors, which has a different numbering between markets due to being "True • Three Kingdoms Unrivalled" in Japan, with the original Tekken-clone game being called "Three Kingdoms Unrivalled" in Japan and the sequel thus having a 2 in the West and no number in Japan. There's also the differences between the American and Japanese titles of the Donkey Kong Gameboy titles; we've got Donkey Kong • Donkey Kong Land • Donkey Kong Land II • Donkey Kong Land 3 in the US and Donkey Kong GB • Super Donkey Kong GB • Donkey Kong Land • Donkey Kong GB: Dixie Kong and Dinky Kong in Japan. Note that Land refers to the first DK Country adaptation in the US while the adaption of the sequel in Japan.
Re: Best Of 2020: I've Been Playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons Wrong All This Time, But No More
This is good.
As a professional urban reforester and afforester, I can say with authority.
This is good.
Re: Zelda Voice Actress Patricia Summersett Speaks Out About Online Negativity And Criticism
@CheekyZelda
I think it would be jarring yes. I found his lack of talking in the flashbacks jarring, too, though (even though I expected it). I think BotW would be stronger if Link talked in flashbacks (&AoC) but not present events of BotW to preserve that choose your own destiny element to the game.
BotW2 is so shadowy yet I don't think I should argue more about his voice in that. I hope she's on board for the sequel though, and AoC gives me hope for that.
Re: Zelda Voice Actress Patricia Summersett Speaks Out About Online Negativity And Criticism
@CheekyZelda
Sure. It was an extended aside. But more importantly, if Patricia Summersett is still doing the voice work for BotW2, and if Zelda is fully playable (unlike companions like Phantom Zelda who are sometimes playable for short periods), it will be a weird contrast. Are we suggesting in that case that Link is a self-insert but Zelda isn't?
I'd argue that your statement above is why Nintendo has not as of yet ever had a multiplayer Zelda game where P2-P4 are someone other than Link (Tinkle Tuner schenanigans in TWW NGC notwithstanding; that's not really the same as it's not integrated as core storytelling). I'd argue it's probably why Link will still be silent in BotW2. But I think it's wrong for something like Age of Calamity, even if it's right for BotW, since we're sort of playing an on-the-rails history war game there.
Re: Zelda Voice Actress Patricia Summersett Speaks Out About Online Negativity And Criticism
@CheekyZelda
I love her voice work for Zelda. I don't understand the criticism.
My only issue with the BotW/AoC voices is the lack of vocal lines for Link that aren't HYAAAA! With partial/full voicing for everyone else, he just stands out in contrast. It's been an issue for Link in recent decades due to increased storytelling, but it's worse now.
BotW is definitely a make your own story adventure that works with Link not speaking much, but even if he's a stoic character, flashbacks and AoC should have vocal lines here and there. Especially in the sequel if he's adventuring alongside Zelda (if she's playable and speaking, that's weird in contrast to him).
But Zelda. She's great. Folks need to stop shaming her for her work. She's fantastic.
Re: Video: Unboxing The Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade Of Light Anniversary Edition
People keep clamouring for a cart are being silly.
Nintendo doesn't make carts anymore for games that would fit in them a hundred times over. Last time they did that was on the GBA with the NES classics carts, and they only did it because they didn't have an eShop at the time for classic & indie titles like they do now.
This game will be removed from purchase on the eshop, yes. Almost certainly that's because they plan to add it to the Nintendo Switch Online NES app, which was designed to be future proof and prevent users from having to buy the same game over and over and over again whenever a new console comes out.
Same deal with the Mario 3D Allstars; they're almost certainly heading toward an N64 app for Nintendo Switch Online members, at which point Super Mario 64 will definitely be a launch title.
Nintendo only does these limited time only promotional things (like the NES & SNES Classic Minis) when they're planning a permanent solution to the issue.
Does that mean you'll need to become a member to enjoy past titles? Sure. But NSO has long since become worth the price of entry on the strength of the NES & SNES libraries alone. And those libraries will be able carry forward to future Nintendo platforms because they won't need to sell the games to you all over again, they can just ask you to transfer your NSO membership to an NS2O membership. No need to reinvent the wheel a fifth time at that point (Wii > 3DS > Wii U > Switch > Switch "2"), because the emulation platform from the Switch is future proof.
That all being said, being the Fire Emblem fan and New Yorker that I am, I secured an Anniversary Edition box from Nintendo NY. Everywhere else were sold out within minutes of preorders, bought out by 3x price scalpers on Amazon and ebay, but Nintendo NY doesn't do preorders for that very reason, and they require ID on new special launches, to boot (that way you can't leave and come back later in the day to buy the game again for resale).
Re: Poll: Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & The Blade Of Light Is Out Today, Are You Getting It?
I'm going to swing down to Nintendo NY to pick it up tomorrow morning. They told me on the phone just before closing (no time to get it today) that they had plenty of stock still.
Meanwhile, all the Best Buy & Game Stop copies were bought up by scalpers the moment preorders went live. Amazon and ebay have it - from scalpers - for 2.5x the price.
Re: Review: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - Not The Zelda Game You Want, But Perhaps The One You Need
@Custom1991
Because Nintendo localizations work in a very specific pattern:
1. Title originally created for Japanese audience.
2. New title created for American & Canadian audiences, may or may not be a transliteration of the Japaneses title.
3. American title translated/transliterated for European/Australian/Latin American audiences.
4. Japanese title translated/transliterated for Korea, China, Vietnam, and other East Asian and South Asian audiences.
Western in this case refers to the American title that is shared with Europe etc.
Re: Review: Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - Not The Zelda Game You Want, But Perhaps The One You Need
To be fair, Hyrule Warriors is the western title of the series.
Zelda Musou is the Japanese title. It's not Zelda no Densetsu, but it is Zelda.
Re: Platformer Landflix Odyssey Has You Trapped Inside The TV Shows Of A Streaming Service
This premise really excites me.
Is Going Mad Breaking Bad?
I'm certain what the others are - Game of Thrones (maybe with a dose of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim to boot), Stranger Things, Daredevil, and the Walking Dead.
Re: Sega Sammy Set To Sell Majority Of Sega Entertainment
Dang, the SEGA Akihabara arcade? End of an era.
Re: A Remaster Of TY The Tasmanian Tiger 2: Bush Rescue Is In The Works For Consoles
What was with the late 90s-early 00s with 3D platformers starring cartoony animal mascots?
Banjo-Kazooie, Spyro the Dragon, Crash Bandicoot, Ratchet and Clank, Klonoa, Ty the Tasmanian Tiger? Not to mention Donkey Kong and Sonic the Hedgehog, who were reworked into the same genre come the 64/Dreamcast/Gamecube era…
Re: Final Fantasy IX Is Getting A Physical Release On Nintendo Switch
Too late for me.
Re: The Original Fire Emblem Is Coming To The West For The First Time Ever On Switch
A day late and the box is already sold out on Gamestop…
Re: Poll: What Was The Best Switch Launch Game (That Wasn't Zelda: Breath Of The Wild)?
Fast RMX is the only one I'm still consistently playing.
In the time of covid, 1-2-Switch is difficult to enjoy.
I am Setsuna was great, fyi, just not going to dive back into the RPG a second time.
Shovel Knight I need to actually start playing - I was waiting for the DLC to launch before I began, and then other games took precendence more recently.