Star Fox Zero should have been ported across to Switch years ago and we should be getting excited for a new entry on Switch 2.
That's the cold hard truth.
Donkey Kong is the biggest fail of the Switch era, but Star Fox is not far behind.
Star Fox Zero is a great game with garbage controls. It is not a huge ask to refine the controls and release it on Switch... that's absolute nonsense to suggest. Besides, Nintendo are swimming in millions of pounds of profit right now. Star Fox as a franchise is in dire need of some of that money.
As is frigging Donkey Kong. Seriously.
But no... we get Xenoblade again!! It's like Nintendo enjoys this! lol
Star Fox Zero being talked up for Switch 2 is just such a stupid conversation too. Oh how exciting... a last generation game we should already have on current generation Switch... being put forward for future Switch. Am I supposed to be impressed by this? It's plain stupid. If anything it suggests Switch 2 is going to be "more of the same"!
Sorry, but Donkey Kong and Star Fox deserve far better. Nintendo better have some cards up their sleeve because a port of Returns (a Wii game no less) and dropping Zero like it's suddenly relevant today but wasn't FIVE years ago is just woefully inadequate.
I already have all the gaming music I want downloaded and saved. Why would I want to only listen to Nintendo music? It doesn't make any sense to me! I have various Nintendo OST's but I have playlists with all sorts mixed in - from Amiga games to Final Fantasy.
I don't really understand the whole Spotify/Apple Music subscription approach with music to be honest... but I do largely listen to dance and house music, and that's always been poorly represented on these services (especially when you are after certain mixes).
I'd encourage people to download the music themselves and make your own playlists and edits. You can do everything directly on your phone these days. I don't think we should entertain these piece-meal, rent-to-listen nonsense apps.
It takes time and effort - maybe that's the problem (ha!), but it's way more rewarding than using these subscriptions.
If you want a media player recommendation, Poweramp is brilliant.
It genuinely blows my mind that there are people that use this site that don't already have game soundtracks downloaded to their phone... Jolly Roger Bay is pretty much a requirement to access this website, surely?!! Or at least have the YouTube video in a playlist, yes?! Strange times indeed.
The irony that Nintendo launched the App WITHOUT Jolly Roger Bay too. lol
I've got all the other Switch Monkey Ball games, but I'm not prepared to spend any more money on it as I felt the previous games were a let down.
My plan now is to avoid the franchise entirely. I'll then pick up an FPGA Gamecube at some point in the future (5 years or so) and I'll play, and thoroughly enjoy, the original 2 games.
If SEGA want to come to the table with something decent in the meantime... by all means. They haven't managed it yet though, and their embarrassingly low standards on the remake fills me with zero confidence.
This weekend I am working my way through Mario Tennis on the Gameboy Color and I'm particularly excited to boot up Streets of Rage on the Game Gear too!
The Streets of Rage soundtrack is one of the greatest things that the videogame industry has ever created. Ever. It's an absolute masterpiece. There are plenty of individual gaming tracks I rate as highly, but for a complete soundtrack and how it all slots together with the gameplay and builds that incredible atmosphere... I'd personally argue only FF7's original soundtrack does a job as good as this.
This is one of the games I never played previously so I've got it lined up for the 3D when it is released early next year.
I gave up on NSO when they released GoldenEye with so many bugs. I don't want an immitation of the games I remember playing growing up. I want the precise same game. It's pretty mad that when you look at all the advances in technology over the past 25 years... the N64 has proven too difficult for Nintendo to bring the games to present day.
Well, I say too difficult... maybe they simply don't care enough? Nintendo are at their best when they care about the minor details though...
"Donkey Kong is in somewhat of a healthy state now". Err no it isn't? We Are now just 3 months short of ELEVEN years without a new Donkey Kong game.
Returns and Tropical Freeze are awesome games but they are both from over a decade ago.
Single handedly Nintendo's greatest failure in the Switch era. Worse than even Labo, or that AR Mario Kart that was fun for approximately 43 seconds.
The complete and utter mismanagement of Retro Studios. And it's sad, because we'll likely not see any other "Western studios" given a chance in the wake of Retro's complete and utter lack of any output for over a decade. Consider how much money Retro have poured into a fire over the eleven years since they released a game... all those staff wages, all those exec bonuses, rents, utilities...
Yea. Donkey Kong hasn't been in a worse place than it is today. Ever.
My backlog and my retro stash are literally soaking my carpet with the sweat and tears of their stress at the prospect of me starting to play remakes of games that aren't even 10 years old.
I just can't sign up to that. It's stressful just thinking about it!
It's the same reason I don't buy grown up colouring books. I don't have time for that! lol
If you're not going to pay for someone to conduct your testing and instead get your userbase to do it for you for free then you have to expect to make certain compromises.
If Nintendo really had something top secret here they really didn't want people to see... they wouldn't have us lot anywhere near it!
Seems to me it's just a standard disclaimer so they can take stuff down if and when they choose. It's not like anyone signed an NDA or had to send in their driver's license is it?
I very often find myself musing over music trends! It's because when I was growing up, it was really rare to hear anything at all from the 50s, you'd get some 60s (mostly dedicated radio shows bar the real classics) and the major hits from the 70s.
Today though... you get the above as it was, but then you get absolutely loads of 80s. Loads of 90s. Loads and loads of 00s and 10s and loads of 20s too.
The more we move forward, the more popular music there is and the reality is we don't lose the old stuff anywhere near like we used to. The Beatles. Queen. Oasis. Chili Peppers. Madonna. Elton John. Fleetwood Mac. And so on and so on and so on. It's timeless.
Or is it though?! This I find interesting. At what point in the future will we stop listening to Queen?
And then consider radio stations... do they keep moving their music forward a decade to "move with their audience getting older" or do they just keep essentially watering down their playlists as more and more years pass and more and more songs get added...
It kinda makes your head hurt when you really stop and think about these things lol
It's not unique to music either...
2024 is the first year where I have played more retro games (defined as more than 20 years ago in this instance) than I have new games (defined as released in the past 5 years). I never really thought about this maybe happening one day, but it has for me. 2024 was the year.
I'm 80% complete on Rayman Advance at the moment. I hope it's not this one they are remaking as it's proving to be an absolute chore to complete... finding all those cages (I checked, it's not optional in order to finish the game!) is nightmare inducing.
I'll check out the soundtrack on YouTube, but the game is a whole big nope.
I'm a huge Donkey Kong fan, and sadly that's why I can't play any imitations. Donkey Kong is Donkey Kong - this may look similar, and may even be considered a copy in many ways, but it's just nowhere near the same level.
Tropical Freeze doesn't receive anywhere near the plaudits it deserves. That game is seriously an absolute platforming masterpiece. That's why it's such a travesty that we still don't have the 3rd part of the Returns series (you know, the one with the K Rool and the Kremlins and a load of returning "animal helpers" that we were meant to get). (Retro spending all their time on some Metroid game instead apparently... )
I completed the GBA version of Super Mario Bros 3 last weekend and I had actually forgotten just how brilliant that game is. I've got the Super Mario World GBA version to play at some point next year too. Definitely agree with those 2 at the top.
I know I'm in a minority here, but I wouldn't have Odyssey or Wonder anywhere near my top 10. Both are great games, but both are missing that sprinkle of magic that the best Mario games have. Wonder should have been a World/Bros 3 game but with some Wonder effect sprinkled on top - instead of the whole thing being the Wonder effect. I literally dreaded finding it in levels after the first few Worlds.
And Odyssey. I think the fact we never got Odyssey 2 shows very clearly that it wasn't quite good enough. Plenty of great moments, but also a whole load of filler - too many moons, and the levels were too enclosed too. It felt claustrophobic - Super Mario 64, Galaxy 1 and Sunshine all never suffered from that feeling because the worlds sat inside the Castle and that made some sense. Odyssey doesn't have that and it really needed that hub - and some better worlds, only a handful that I really liked. Many I didn't like.
@Toastmaster Microsoft need to put their foot down on the matter. A Banjo game made by Rare adds much needed credibility and makes the whole thing more appealing. If the heads of Rare are saying no, get rid of them and bring in some new heads. May seem harsh but I'm sorry, there is a reason Rare are judged by their past exploits... they've done virtually nothing of note for a long time.
The image of Mario and Luigi used in this article is dreadful! Did Nintendo really share that with media to use to promote the game?! Or have NL created this "asset" - the quality is really poor and the art style is... yikes! Maybe it's just too zoomed in. In any case, it's not selling the game to me...!!
It's just a shame we didn't get this the first time... I feel like I've been stung by Mario Party twice already on Switch so I'm sorry but this one is a bridge too far.
I gave up on NSO a long time ago. I've gone rogue and ha e been buying the physical games I want to play instead.
Analogue Pocket has been fantastic this past year and I now have a collection of 150 games across Gameboy, Color, Advance, Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Turbografx and Neo Geo Pocket. Whilst there are a few factors that have led me down this path, one of them is certainly how poor NSO has been.
One decision from Nintendo that has really irked me is the fact that whilst we still await a new Donkey Kong game, after coming up to ELEVEN years, they still haven't given us DK64 on NSO. I've now bought a physical copy of it and I am ready to preorder the Analogue 3D (just as soon as they announce it... whenever that may be...)
The Switch era will rightly be remembered as a period of huge success for Nintendo, but it is no exaggeration to say that it is also a period where they have massively dropped the ball in regards to Retro gaming.
I know for a fact I am not alone in my spending habits with retro. So much money Nintendo have left on the table (and, let's be honest, the stubborn 3rd party fools that would rather make nothing than something from their decades old games).
If Nintendo are thinking MP4 and yet another average Pokemon game (a fair assumption based on all previous Switch Pokemon releases) will take them through yet another year with the original Switch...
...well, they're probably right. I'll be switched off from it, but ultimately, I'm not too bothered waiting another year. Fact remains, the longer we wait now... the more likely we have new 3D Mario and Mario Kart games around the launch - and surely some frigging Donkey Kong?!
Yes, yes, trust me to bring something negative up... but seriously. We're approaching 7 years since a new 3D Mario and it's over a decade since new Donkey Kong...
I know it's not like for like...
But imagine what could have been instead of that stupid Mario Kart AV game, Labo, this alarm clock...
Imagine if Nintendo focused solely on GAMES instead of theme parks, a museum and films...
I'm fine with all the above IF we get the games. Fact is, the game cycles are way too long and I blame this alarm clock!! lol
Seems to me the Wii/Wii U development moved over to Switch as expected, but the 3DS development is MIA / turned into pieces of cardboard and alarm clocks... ⏰️ 😅
I don't think this is true. Rogma made me think of a frog more than anything...
Nintendo barely reference their Japanese staff in this way. They're not going to do it for NoA or NoE... and even less likely ex-employees. Nintendo are pretty notorious for behaving in this way with their "other territories".
If we were all being super honest, it's precisely why we wouldn't want to work for them. It's just "them" and "us" culture throughout.
It's a nice idea, but I don't think it's well executed at all. They've created an old style alarm clock... but then made it have to be tethered to a power cable. No thanks?!
The first game is hands down the best piece of Alien franchise related content I have experienced since the first two films. Nothing else has come even remotely close. It's an absolute masterpiece of Alien content.
I'd love the sequel to be Aliens Isolation. Let's give the second movie some love - it recently got re-released in 4k. Still a brilliant film - albeit very different to the original. It's more of an action film, and interestingly, it's the Alien action games that have been the most disastrous down the years...
We need a decent Alien action game. I don't think we need more of the same from the first Isolation game... it makes sense to go with Aliens I think!
Football fans are super critical of this until their team gets rich and more competitive. Newcastle United a case in point.
If Nintendo got super rich and started releasing new Mario and Zelda games on an annual basis - just like Assassins Creed and Call of Duty and FIFA/FC - would we all go quiet on the matter too?
Not trying to be provocative... it's just the average videogame fan isn't exactly who I would expect to be up in arms about it. They're pretty much exactly how I see the football fans.
So. There we go. Obviously we're not at that point now - and we may never be there - but we are closer to it happening today than we were yesterday and who knows about tomorrow?
@MontyCircus all of those games you have listed have two things in common...
1. They are all great Ubisoft games*
2. They all had limited sales success**
*I caveat the 1st point as some of those games are certainly not for "everyone" and may therefore be discredited as "not great" by some.
**I caveat the 2nd point to mean sales revenue, NOT simply units sold. Ubisoft's product lifecycle is plain silly. They reach first and second price drops faster than any other publisher in the industry.
I often think back to all those years where we got a new AC, a new FIFA and a new COD. Over and over again. And people just lapped it all up! There were some great AC and COD games, no doubt, but there was also some really average ones.
Do you think Mario and Zelda would be as hit and miss if Nintendo strived to release new entries every year?
It's one of those scearios where you question is it a blessing or is it a shame? I mean... we all get older don't we? How many more Zelda games will we all see?!
@the_beaver I disagree. Link Between Worlds was a clever game with a really well implemented mechanic and strong overworld.
Echoes feels really shallow and uninspired by comparison. It plays way too safe. It's far, far too easy. The dungeons are so linear and the puzzles too simple. The still worlds are too repetitive.
Exploring the overworld and climbing over trees using a "bed staircase" was fun the 1st time. Absolute chore every other time - and we're talking 100s of times...
The game is missing Nintendo's usual high level of polish too. Things like... when you create a new Smoothie variety it doesn't tell you it's "New" on the picture of the smoothie - just one random example to highlight the point.
Overall Echoes is comfortably one of the worst Zelda games I've played. I think the fact it ranks below the games that it clearly draws inspiration from (LA, Oracles, TP) sums it up perfectly.
Don't mistake the above for me saying its a bad game by the way. I've enjoyed the game a lot. Its just nowhere near the pinnacle of Zelda games. The bar is exceptionally high - to place 22nd with a score of 8.5 says a lot!
I still don't understand why they opted for an ugly grey building. Those photos you've posted of the outside make a seriously bad first impression of the museum.
I'm in no rush to visit this place. It looks underwhelming and disappointing in equal measure.
And the merchandise looks like rubbish plastic tat.
I actually feel quite strongly that Nintendo have massively missed the mark with this entire project.
They could and should have included a game preservation element. Proper merchandise with collectables and the ability to buy new copies of old games, and it should contain a spectacularly detailed history of every tiny detail of their key franchises.
Poor effort.
We still await a decent videogame museum, from anyone, anywhere on the planet... Consider how sad that reality is for an industry that employs thousands, entertains millions and generates billions.
I'm still working my way through Echoes but I have to say the dungeons thus far have been poor. They are incredibly linear, the 2D perspective is massively overused as is the backtrack for a missed key - to the point that I actually went out of my way on one dungeon as I already knew they were going to hide a key, and I was right!
To be honest, the more I play of this the more I appreciate just how brilliant Link's Awakening was and is.
Echoes is a good game - no doubt. It actually does a really, really good job of showing up Gamefreak who could and should have done a Pokemon game like this - especially the Echoes style of using abilities and the look and feel of the overworld and enemy encounters.
It's not a good Zelda game though. And it is absolutely not a good example of dungeons... utterly bizarre article this one lol
It blows my mind that people will throw their toys out the pram over a framerate that is wholly unnoticeable in the vast majority of this game BUT a ridiculous storyline that involves Princess Zelda having to prove she's "doing good"... yes, because the Kingdom of Hyrule has never heard of a Princess Zelda before has it?!
I'm enjoying the game but at the same time... this is a low effort game built around a mechanic that is "OK" at best and "frustratingly repetitive and tedious" at worst.
But the writing... it's awful. The depth of the writing too - don't make the mistake of speaking to ANYONE more than once. The Illusion is instantly broken by them saying the same thing over and over again.
Oh and don't get too excited by the amount of things you can create... I've already got two types of bed and have this awful feeling I'm going to get another one at the next location I visit...
I'm still amazed they didn't go ahead and roll out Oracle of Seasons / Ages in the style of Link's Awakening remake.... but a new game is always more welcome!
I finished all my September retro games really early in the month, so I'm now making my way through October's list to free up time for Zelda next week!
Therefore some of my retro choices have a Halloween theme to them... but hey, I saw someone with decorations up yesterday so it's fine, right?
I'm nearing the end of Master Of Darkness on the Game Gear - great game and a really awesome soundtrack too. Enjoying it a lot!
Already finished Wave Race and Mystic Quest (what an awesome game this is by the way!) on the Game Boy and I have Jurassic Park Game Gear and Castlevania GBA lined up - will do JP next week and then save Castlevania for after Zelda I reckon.
I've been loving the retro games the past 6 months, but looking forward to Zelda on the Switch now.
Nah, not for me. I'm a huge Donkey Kong fan and I can see from this trailer that this is just nowhere near the real deal. I also take offense at the amount of things they've "borrowed" from Donkey Kong.
Good luck to those who give it a go, but honestly, beware the games that copy other people's ideas... they rarely scratch the itch.
Played the first one a couple of months ago on the Pocket and I've got the other two lined up to play in the future. I really don't think they need a remake... they're pretty average.
SEGA should just sell Sonic and let someone else have a go. Seriously. Remaking the Advance games is a joke - take their template and make better 2D Sonic games from them. Its really REALLY not that difficult at all. Why do SEGA struggle so? Just give up then and let someone else do it properly!
How funny, I literally just bought a few of their games for the Gameboy last week! Looney Tunes, Batman, Gremlins 2 and Trip World. I figured they'd never be re-released, so going to play them on the Pocket.
That video is easily the most irritating thing I've watched all year. Absolutely no way I'm watching this rubbish. Some things are better left in the past... not to mention the 80s was blessed with dozens of amazing cartoons that wipe the floor with this!
I doubt they're even targeting serious gamers with their content. It's the mindless casual market they'll be going after.
Mindless casual is the people that play candy crush for 4 hours a day. Still. We all did it for maybe a week or so. Its the ones that didnt stop or look up to see if anything else exists. It's not the Wii Sports casual... It's the barely gaming stuff I'm talking about.
The best comparison is with Samsung. Have you ever watched Samsung TV? I don't mean watching stuff on a Samsung TV... I mean watching the Samsung content they put on their TV's. There must be 100 channels all completely packed with content - and it's absolutely diabolical. It's the worst thing you will ever watch. Ever. All of it. It takes approximately 4 seconds of watching before you twig that something isn't quite right with it.
But it exists... and it continues to produce content... people are employed and paid to make it... and schedule it... so somewhere, someone is consuming it. It makes money. Somehow!
I thought the games essentially all had the same story...? The repetitiveness is one of the main reasons I'm not really looking forward to Prime 4. The other reason is I'm not convinced Retro have pulled off a good game, but we will have to wait and see won't we.
Also... Nintendo know the games are repetitive. Absolutely zero chance they release Prime 2 and Prime 3 ahead of Prime 4!
Prime 4 will be the most expensive Switch game Nintendo have developed - consider the fact Retro has been kept fully functional, fully staffed despite releasing zero games for over TEN YEARS! Absolutely no chance Nintendo dilute sales with more Metroid games - especially more of the same... sorry to say, that's just nonsense.
This is like everyone calling for Windwaker and Twilight ahead of TotK. Yes... Nintendo will release 3 Zelda games in the same year... yes... that's a good idea...!
Prime 2 and Prime 3 don't need remakes. You can play the first one now, then play the 4th and trust me. You'll be good for Prime content.
Windwaker and TP will come out at some point in the next 5 years - which makes sense because there's no new 3D Zelda coming out in the next 5 years.
Sonic Mania was decent, but still didn't scratch the itch.
Sonic remains a few chaos emeralds short of reaching its true potential. SEGA have no clue how to get there... but seems to me, the fans aren't really sure either?
The gulf between where Mario has gone versus Sonic is absolute.
The new hardware needs to be something all new in order for me to get on board anytime soon. The whole "Switch Pro" boat has sailed and if Nintendo are coming to the table on 2025 with new hardware that is essentially a Switch Pro, I think they are going to get a rude awakening.
Does it mean they MUST have something all new? No I don't think it's that either. The reality is Nintendo have waited too long to release a more powerful Switch. So now they're in a tricky position.
Honestly, the thought of playing Metroid Prime 4 on Switch 2 just doesn't excite me anywhere near enough to buy into it because my expectations are firmly set at Prime 4 and the Switch 2 BOTH being "more of the same".
I accept the "not broke don't fix it" approach... it makes sense for Switch successor to stay true to the success of Switch... but does that mean I'm fighting to be front of the queue? No it absolutely doesn't.
So yea... I'm ambivalent. Genuinely a tricky time for Nintendo. I'm intrigued to see what they do.
I find it intriguing that when E3 was around, Gamescom got zero high profile announcements... but now E3 is not around, Gamescom still gets zero high profile announcements.
I feel bad for the organisers of Gamescom... they must find that frustrating. What do we think... another 2 years before this also disappears?
The main reason games generally fail at being turned into films is because game developers can't write.
They can create fantastic games. Stunning locales. Emotionally charged music. Vibrant sound effects. Photo realistic graphics.
But they can't write a story. And it comes down to ownership. A studio comes up with an idea and thinks that gives them the right to tell the story and develop the characters.
Borderlands is a series I rate highly and enjoy. Does it have a good story to tell? No it absolutely does not.
I firmly believe the reason the games industry is largely mocked and laughed at by the wider arts and entertainment community is because of the writing standard being so low.
Even the games we, the videogame community, rate highly... Final Fantasy 7 has some moments of great storytelling.... but oh wait... it's descending into sheer and utter nonsense.
So yes. The film will be bad and its because the story is bad.
Comments 2,181
Re: Random: Takaya Imamura Ponders The Possibility Of Star Fox Zero On 'Switch 2'
@batmanbud2 Xenoblade and Star Fox are so wildly different they should just both be ported over. There's no need for an either or scenario.
Re: Random: Takaya Imamura Ponders The Possibility Of Star Fox Zero On 'Switch 2'
Star Fox Zero should have been ported across to Switch years ago and we should be getting excited for a new entry on Switch 2.
That's the cold hard truth.
Donkey Kong is the biggest fail of the Switch era, but Star Fox is not far behind.
Star Fox Zero is a great game with garbage controls. It is not a huge ask to refine the controls and release it on Switch... that's absolute nonsense to suggest. Besides, Nintendo are swimming in millions of pounds of profit right now. Star Fox as a franchise is in dire need of some of that money.
As is frigging Donkey Kong. Seriously.
But no... we get Xenoblade again!! It's like Nintendo enjoys this! lol
Star Fox Zero being talked up for Switch 2 is just such a stupid conversation too. Oh how exciting... a last generation game we should already have on current generation Switch... being put forward for future Switch. Am I supposed to be impressed by this? It's plain stupid. If anything it suggests Switch 2 is going to be "more of the same"!
Sorry, but Donkey Kong and Star Fox deserve far better. Nintendo better have some cards up their sleeve because a port of Returns (a Wii game no less) and dropping Zero like it's suddenly relevant today but wasn't FIVE years ago is just woefully inadequate.
Re: 'Nintendo Music' Update Adds Super Mario Bros. Wonder Songs
I already have all the gaming music I want downloaded and saved. Why would I want to only listen to Nintendo music? It doesn't make any sense to me! I have various Nintendo OST's but I have playlists with all sorts mixed in - from Amiga games to Final Fantasy.
I don't really understand the whole Spotify/Apple Music subscription approach with music to be honest... but I do largely listen to dance and house music, and that's always been poorly represented on these services (especially when you are after certain mixes).
I'd encourage people to download the music themselves and make your own playlists and edits. You can do everything directly on your phone these days. I don't think we should entertain these piece-meal, rent-to-listen nonsense apps.
It takes time and effort - maybe that's the problem (ha!), but it's way more rewarding than using these subscriptions.
If you want a media player recommendation, Poweramp is brilliant.
It genuinely blows my mind that there are people that use this site that don't already have game soundtracks downloaded to their phone... Jolly Roger Bay is pretty much a requirement to access this website, surely?!! Or at least have the YouTube video in a playlist, yes?! Strange times indeed.
The irony that Nintendo launched the App WITHOUT Jolly Roger Bay too. lol
Re: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble Scores A Switch eShop Demo
I've got all the other Switch Monkey Ball games, but I'm not prepared to spend any more money on it as I felt the previous games were a let down.
My plan now is to avoid the franchise entirely. I'll then pick up an FPGA Gamecube at some point in the future (5 years or so) and I'll play, and thoroughly enjoy, the original 2 games.
If SEGA want to come to the table with something decent in the meantime... by all means. They haven't managed it yet though, and their embarrassingly low standards on the remake fills me with zero confidence.
I'm happy to wait.
Re: Random: Skull Kid "Clocks In" To Super Smash Bros. In This Awesome Fan-Made Trailer
Good effort, enjoyed it!
The atmosphere in Majora's Mask is one of the greatest things ever created in a videogame.
I really hope the Ocarina Of Time Remake rumours are true, because it will make a Majora's Mask Remake that little bit more likely.
We need another dark Zelda game. It's been too long. We've had a good fill on cutesy Zelda - come on Nintendo... let's go back to Termina.
Re: Feature: The Man, The Mascot, The Moustache - The Many Faces Of Mario
@Banks Oh I think you're right actually!
Re: Feature: The Man, The Mascot, The Moustache - The Many Faces Of Mario
@Banks Haha agreed! Oh and bonus marks for... that is the ship from Alleyway, right?!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (26th October)
This weekend I am working my way through Mario Tennis on the Gameboy Color and I'm particularly excited to boot up Streets of Rage on the Game Gear too!
The Streets of Rage soundtrack is one of the greatest things that the videogame industry has ever created. Ever. It's an absolute masterpiece. There are plenty of individual gaming tracks I rate as highly, but for a complete soundtrack and how it all slots together with the gameplay and builds that incredible atmosphere... I'd personally argue only FF7's original soundtrack does a job as good as this.
Re: Random: Oops! It Looks Like Banjo-Tooie's Idle Demo Is Sped Up On NSO
This is one of the games I never played previously so I've got it lined up for the 3D when it is released early next year.
I gave up on NSO when they released GoldenEye with so many bugs. I don't want an immitation of the games I remember playing growing up. I want the precise same game. It's pretty mad that when you look at all the advances in technology over the past 25 years... the N64 has proven too difficult for Nintendo to bring the games to present day.
Well, I say too difficult... maybe they simply don't care enough? Nintendo are at their best when they care about the minor details though...
Re: Video: Yooka-Replaylee Side-By-Side Graphics Comparison (Original & Remaster)
@theberrage Yea, I feel inclined to agree. This feels very desperate on their part.
Re: Alleged Concept Art From Cancelled Donkey Kong Project Emerges
"Donkey Kong is in somewhat of a healthy state now". Err no it isn't? We Are now just 3 months short of ELEVEN years without a new Donkey Kong game.
Returns and Tropical Freeze are awesome games but they are both from over a decade ago.
Single handedly Nintendo's greatest failure in the Switch era. Worse than even Labo, or that AR Mario Kart that was fun for approximately 43 seconds.
The complete and utter mismanagement of Retro Studios. And it's sad, because we'll likely not see any other "Western studios" given a chance in the wake of Retro's complete and utter lack of any output for over a decade. Consider how much money Retro have poured into a fire over the eleven years since they released a game... all those staff wages, all those exec bonuses, rents, utilities...
Yea. Donkey Kong hasn't been in a worse place than it is today. Ever.
Re: Yooka-Replaylee Remaster Officially Confirmed For 'Nintendo Platforms'
@eaglesfly76 yes, I mean another - "add a game to the series" would perhaps have been more accurate for me to say.
Re: Yooka-Replaylee Remaster Officially Confirmed For 'Nintendo Platforms'
Just make a sequel!
My backlog and my retro stash are literally soaking my carpet with the sweat and tears of their stress at the prospect of me starting to play remakes of games that aren't even 10 years old.
I just can't sign up to that. It's stressful just thinking about it!
It's the same reason I don't buy grown up colouring books. I don't have time for that! lol
Re: Nintendo's Switch Online Playtest Is Already Being Streamed, Unsurprisingly
If you're not going to pay for someone to conduct your testing and instead get your userbase to do it for you for free then you have to expect to make certain compromises.
If Nintendo really had something top secret here they really didn't want people to see... they wouldn't have us lot anywhere near it!
Seems to me it's just a standard disclaimer so they can take stuff down if and when they choose. It's not like anyone signed an NDA or had to send in their driver's license is it?
Re: Nintendo UK's Latest Switch Advert Shows Just How Little We Know About Pop Music
I very often find myself musing over music trends! It's because when I was growing up, it was really rare to hear anything at all from the 50s, you'd get some 60s (mostly dedicated radio shows bar the real classics) and the major hits from the 70s.
Today though... you get the above as it was, but then you get absolutely loads of 80s. Loads of 90s. Loads and loads of 00s and 10s and loads of 20s too.
The more we move forward, the more popular music there is and the reality is we don't lose the old stuff anywhere near like we used to. The Beatles. Queen. Oasis. Chili Peppers. Madonna. Elton John. Fleetwood Mac. And so on and so on and so on. It's timeless.
Or is it though?! This I find interesting. At what point in the future will we stop listening to Queen?
And then consider radio stations... do they keep moving their music forward a decade to "move with their audience getting older" or do they just keep essentially watering down their playlists as more and more years pass and more and more songs get added...
It kinda makes your head hurt when you really stop and think about these things lol
It's not unique to music either...
2024 is the first year where I have played more retro games (defined as more than 20 years ago in this instance) than I have new games (defined as released in the past 5 years). I never really thought about this maybe happening one day, but it has for me. 2024 was the year.
The year of the backlog...!
Re: Rumour: A Rayman Remake May Be On The Cards At Ubisoft
I'm 80% complete on Rayman Advance at the moment. I hope it's not this one they are remaking as it's proving to be an absolute chore to complete... finding all those cages (I checked, it's not optional in order to finish the game!) is nightmare inducing.
Re: Review: Nikoderiko: The Magical World (Switch) - A Gleeful DKC Tribute, But Light On New Ideas
I'll check out the soundtrack on YouTube, but the game is a whole big nope.
I'm a huge Donkey Kong fan, and sadly that's why I can't play any imitations. Donkey Kong is Donkey Kong - this may look similar, and may even be considered a copy in many ways, but it's just nowhere near the same level.
Tropical Freeze doesn't receive anywhere near the plaudits it deserves. That game is seriously an absolute platforming masterpiece. That's why it's such a travesty that we still don't have the 3rd part of the Returns series (you know, the one with the K Rool and the Kremlins and a load of returning "animal helpers" that we were meant to get). (Retro spending all their time on some Metroid game instead apparently... )
Re: Best Super Mario Games Of All Time
I completed the GBA version of Super Mario Bros 3 last weekend and I had actually forgotten just how brilliant that game is. I've got the Super Mario World GBA version to play at some point next year too. Definitely agree with those 2 at the top.
I know I'm in a minority here, but I wouldn't have Odyssey or Wonder anywhere near my top 10. Both are great games, but both are missing that sprinkle of magic that the best Mario games have. Wonder should have been a World/Bros 3 game but with some Wonder effect sprinkled on top - instead of the whole thing being the Wonder effect. I literally dreaded finding it in levels after the first few Worlds.
And Odyssey. I think the fact we never got Odyssey 2 shows very clearly that it wasn't quite good enough. Plenty of great moments, but also a whole load of filler - too many moons, and the levels were too enclosed too. It felt claustrophobic - Super Mario 64, Galaxy 1 and Sunshine all never suffered from that feeling because the worlds sat inside the Castle and that made some sense. Odyssey doesn't have that and it really needed that hub - and some better worlds, only a handful that I really liked. Many I didn't like.
Re: Xbox Studio Rare Excited About The Return Of Banjo-Tooie Next Week
@Toastmaster Microsoft need to put their foot down on the matter. A Banjo game made by Rare adds much needed credibility and makes the whole thing more appealing. If the heads of Rare are saying no, get rid of them and bring in some new heads. May seem harsh but I'm sorry, there is a reason Rare are judged by their past exploits... they've done virtually nothing of note for a long time.
Re: Round Up: The Previews Are In For Mario & Luigi: Brothership
The image of Mario and Luigi used in this article is dreadful! Did Nintendo really share that with media to use to promote the game?! Or have NL created this "asset" - the quality is really poor and the art style is... yikes! Maybe it's just too zoomed in. In any case, it's not selling the game to me...!!
Re: Round Up: The Reviews Are In For Super Mario Party Jamboree
It's just a shame we didn't get this the first time... I feel like I've been stung by Mario Party twice already on Switch so I'm sorry but this one is a bridge too far.
(I didn't buy 3 on the N64 either, so there!)
Re: Switch Online's Expansion Pack Promises "Excitement" In 2025
I gave up on NSO a long time ago. I've gone rogue and ha e been buying the physical games I want to play instead.
Analogue Pocket has been fantastic this past year and I now have a collection of 150 games across Gameboy, Color, Advance, Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Turbografx and Neo Geo Pocket. Whilst there are a few factors that have led me down this path, one of them is certainly how poor NSO has been.
One decision from Nintendo that has really irked me is the fact that whilst we still await a new Donkey Kong game, after coming up to ELEVEN years, they still haven't given us DK64 on NSO. I've now bought a physical copy of it and I am ready to preorder the Analogue 3D (just as soon as they announce it... whenever that may be...)
The Switch era will rightly be remembered as a period of huge success for Nintendo, but it is no exaggeration to say that it is also a period where they have massively dropped the ball in regards to Retro gaming.
I know for a fact I am not alone in my spending habits with retro. So much money Nintendo have left on the table (and, let's be honest, the stubborn 3rd party fools that would rather make nothing than something from their decades old games).
Re: Rumour: Switch 2's Codename Believed To Be In Latest Pokémon Data Leak
I'm sure it will be annOUNCEd soon...
Re: Talking Point: Is It Time For Another Side-Scrolling Zelda Game?
I really disliked the 2D sections in Echoes, but I think it's because it felt very overused.
In Link's Awakening I enjoyed them as they felt novel. I didn't finish LA feeling like I wanted more, or there was more they could do with it.
Re: Pokémon Developer Game Freak Reportedly Hacked, Massive Amounts Of Data Allegedly Leaked
If Nintendo are thinking MP4 and yet another average Pokemon game (a fair assumption based on all previous Switch Pokemon releases) will take them through yet another year with the original Switch...
...well, they're probably right. I'll be switched off from it, but ultimately, I'm not too bothered waiting another year. Fact remains, the longer we wait now... the more likely we have new 3D Mario and Mario Kart games around the launch - and surely some frigging Donkey Kong?!
Re: Review In Progress: Nintendo Sound Clock: Alarmo - Pricey But Delightful, And Something Only Nintendo Could Pull Off
Yes, yes, trust me to bring something negative up... but seriously. We're approaching 7 years since a new 3D Mario and it's over a decade since new Donkey Kong...
I know it's not like for like...
But imagine what could have been instead of that stupid Mario Kart AV game, Labo, this alarm clock...
Imagine if Nintendo focused solely on GAMES instead of theme parks, a museum and films...
I'm fine with all the above IF we get the games. Fact is, the game cycles are way too long and I blame this alarm clock!! lol
Seems to me the Wii/Wii U development moved over to Switch as expected, but the 3DS development is MIA / turned into pieces of cardboard and alarm clocks... ⏰️ 😅
Re: Reggie Fils-Aimé Acknowledges Potential Easter Egg In Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom
I don't think this is true. Rogma made me think of a frog more than anything...
Nintendo barely reference their Japanese staff in this way. They're not going to do it for NoA or NoE... and even less likely ex-employees. Nintendo are pretty notorious for behaving in this way with their "other territories".
If we were all being super honest, it's precisely why we wouldn't want to work for them. It's just "them" and "us" culture throughout.
Re: Forget 'Switch 2', Nintendo Has Just Revealed An Official Alarm Clock
It's a nice idea, but I don't think it's well executed at all. They've created an old style alarm clock... but then made it have to be tethered to a power cable. No thanks?!
Re: An Alien: Isolation Sequel Is Officially In Development
The first game is hands down the best piece of Alien franchise related content I have experienced since the first two films. Nothing else has come even remotely close. It's an absolute masterpiece of Alien content.
I'd love the sequel to be Aliens Isolation. Let's give the second movie some love - it recently got re-released in 4k. Still a brilliant film - albeit very different to the original. It's more of an action film, and interestingly, it's the Alien action games that have been the most disastrous down the years...
We need a decent Alien action game. I don't think we need more of the same from the first Isolation game... it makes sense to go with Aliens I think!
Re: Saudi Public Investment Fund Considering Increasing Its Stake In Nintendo
Here's a thought...
Football fans are super critical of this until their team gets rich and more competitive. Newcastle United a case in point.
If Nintendo got super rich and started releasing new Mario and Zelda games on an annual basis - just like Assassins Creed and Call of Duty and FIFA/FC - would we all go quiet on the matter too?
Not trying to be provocative... it's just the average videogame fan isn't exactly who I would expect to be up in arms about it. They're pretty much exactly how I see the football fans.
So. There we go. Obviously we're not at that point now - and we may never be there - but we are closer to it happening today than we were yesterday and who knows about tomorrow?
Re: Ubisoft's Disastrous 2024 May Lead To The Company Going Private
@MontyCircus all of those games you have listed have two things in common...
1. They are all great Ubisoft games*
2. They all had limited sales success**
*I caveat the 1st point as some of those games are certainly not for "everyone" and may therefore be discredited as "not great" by some.
**I caveat the 2nd point to mean sales revenue, NOT simply units sold. Ubisoft's product lifecycle is plain silly. They reach first and second price drops faster than any other publisher in the industry.
Re: Ubisoft's Disastrous 2024 May Lead To The Company Going Private
I often think back to all those years where we got a new AC, a new FIFA and a new COD. Over and over again. And people just lapped it all up! There were some great AC and COD games, no doubt, but there was also some really average ones.
Do you think Mario and Zelda would be as hit and miss if Nintendo strived to release new entries every year?
It's one of those scearios where you question is it a blessing or is it a shame? I mean... we all get older don't we? How many more Zelda games will we all see?!
Re: Talking Point: How Would You Fix Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Most Frustrating Feature?
I'd like a Favourites option, but you know Nintendo will just argue that "Most Used" already does this...
Re: Best Zelda Games Of All Time
@the_beaver I disagree. Link Between Worlds was a clever game with a really well implemented mechanic and strong overworld.
Echoes feels really shallow and uninspired by comparison. It plays way too safe. It's far, far too easy. The dungeons are so linear and the puzzles too simple. The still worlds are too repetitive.
Exploring the overworld and climbing over trees using a "bed staircase" was fun the 1st time. Absolute chore every other time - and we're talking 100s of times...
The game is missing Nintendo's usual high level of polish too. Things like... when you create a new Smoothie variety it doesn't tell you it's "New" on the picture of the smoothie - just one random example to highlight the point.
Overall Echoes is comfortably one of the worst Zelda games I've played. I think the fact it ranks below the games that it clearly draws inspiration from (LA, Oracles, TP) sums it up perfectly.
Don't mistake the above for me saying its a bad game by the way. I've enjoyed the game a lot. Its just nowhere near the pinnacle of Zelda games. The bar is exceptionally high - to place 22nd with a score of 8.5 says a lot!
Re: Feature: The Nintendo Museum Goes Hard On Merch & Fun, But Could Dive Deeper Into History
I still don't understand why they opted for an ugly grey building. Those photos you've posted of the outside make a seriously bad first impression of the museum.
I'm in no rush to visit this place. It looks underwhelming and disappointing in equal measure.
And the merchandise looks like rubbish plastic tat.
I actually feel quite strongly that Nintendo have massively missed the mark with this entire project.
They could and should have included a game preservation element. Proper merchandise with collectables and the ability to buy new copies of old games, and it should contain a spectacularly detailed history of every tiny detail of their key franchises.
Poor effort.
We still await a decent videogame museum, from anyone, anywhere on the planet... Consider how sad that reality is for an industry that employs thousands, entertains millions and generates billions.
Re: Opinion: I Didn't Realise How Much I'd Missed 'Traditional' Zelda Dungeons
I'm still working my way through Echoes but I have to say the dungeons thus far have been poor. They are incredibly linear, the 2D perspective is massively overused as is the backtrack for a missed key - to the point that I actually went out of my way on one dungeon as I already knew they were going to hide a key, and I was right!
To be honest, the more I play of this the more I appreciate just how brilliant Link's Awakening was and is.
Echoes is a good game - no doubt. It actually does a really, really good job of showing up Gamefreak who could and should have done a Pokemon game like this - especially the Echoes style of using abilities and the look and feel of the overworld and enemy encounters.
It's not a good Zelda game though. And it is absolutely not a good example of dungeons... utterly bizarre article this one lol
Re: Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom's Frame Rate Is "Even Worse" Than Link's Awakening
It blows my mind that people will throw their toys out the pram over a framerate that is wholly unnoticeable in the vast majority of this game BUT a ridiculous storyline that involves Princess Zelda having to prove she's "doing good"... yes, because the Kingdom of Hyrule has never heard of a Princess Zelda before has it?!
I'm enjoying the game but at the same time... this is a low effort game built around a mechanic that is "OK" at best and "frustratingly repetitive and tedious" at worst.
But the writing... it's awful. The depth of the writing too - don't make the mistake of speaking to ANYONE more than once. The Illusion is instantly broken by them saying the same thing over and over again.
Oh and don't get too excited by the amount of things you can create... I've already got two types of bed and have this awful feeling I'm going to get another one at the next location I visit...
Framerate isn't the problem with this game lol
Re: Review: The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom (Switch) - A Bold Blend Of Old & New That Ranks With The Series' Best
I'm still amazed they didn't go ahead and roll out Oracle of Seasons / Ages in the style of Link's Awakening remake.... but a new game is always more welcome!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (21st September)
I finished all my September retro games really early in the month, so I'm now making my way through October's list to free up time for Zelda next week!
Therefore some of my retro choices have a Halloween theme to them... but hey, I saw someone with decorations up yesterday so it's fine, right?
I'm nearing the end of Master Of Darkness on the Game Gear - great game and a really awesome soundtrack too. Enjoying it a lot!
Already finished Wave Race and Mystic Quest (what an awesome game this is by the way!) on the Game Boy and I have Jurassic Park Game Gear and Castlevania GBA lined up - will do JP next week and then save Castlevania for after Zelda I reckon.
I've been loving the retro games the past 6 months, but looking forward to Zelda on the Switch now.
Re: Review: LEGO The Legend Of Zelda - Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 - A Superb Debut With One Minor Irritation
£250! I'm glad I never got into LEGO!
If you do like it though... this does look like one of the better sets!
Re: Donkey Kong Country-Inspired Platformer 'Nikoderiko' Hits Switch Next Month
Nah, not for me. I'm a huge Donkey Kong fan and I can see from this trailer that this is just nowhere near the real deal. I also take offense at the amount of things they've "borrowed" from Donkey Kong.
Good luck to those who give it a go, but honestly, beware the games that copy other people's ideas... they rarely scratch the itch.
Re: Sonic Team Would "Love" To Remaster The Advance Series, Says Takashi Iizuka
Played the first one a couple of months ago on the Pocket and I've got the other two lined up to play in the future. I really don't think they need a remake... they're pretty average.
SEGA should just sell Sonic and let someone else have a go. Seriously. Remaking the Advance games is a joke - take their template and make better 2D Sonic games from them. Its really REALLY not that difficult at all. Why do SEGA struggle so? Just give up then and let someone else do it properly!
Re: Mini Review: Sunsoft Is Back! Retro Game Selection (Switch) - An Intriguing But Limited Slice Of History
How funny, I literally just bought a few of their games for the Gameboy last week! Looney Tunes, Batman, Gremlins 2 and Trip World. I figured they'd never be re-released, so going to play them on the Pocket.
Re: The Legend Of Zelda '80s Cartoon Series Gets DVD Re-Release
That video is easily the most irritating thing I've watched all year. Absolutely no way I'm watching this rubbish. Some things are better left in the past... not to mention the 80s was blessed with dozens of amazing cartoons that wipe the floor with this!
Re: Amazon Says It Plans To Develop Games For The Switch Successor
I doubt they're even targeting serious gamers with their content. It's the mindless casual market they'll be going after.
Mindless casual is the people that play candy crush for 4 hours a day. Still. We all did it for maybe a week or so. Its the ones that didnt stop or look up to see if anything else exists. It's not the Wii Sports casual... It's the barely gaming stuff I'm talking about.
The best comparison is with Samsung. Have you ever watched Samsung TV? I don't mean watching stuff on a Samsung TV... I mean watching the Samsung content they put on their TV's. There must be 100 channels all completely packed with content - and it's absolutely diabolical. It's the worst thing you will ever watch. Ever. All of it. It takes approximately 4 seconds of watching before you twig that something isn't quite right with it.
But it exists... and it continues to produce content... people are employed and paid to make it... and schedule it... so somewhere, someone is consuming it. It makes money. Somehow!
This is exactly what the Amazon Games will be.
Re: Metroid Prime: The Story So Far - Everything You Need To Know Before Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
Wait... there's a story?!
I thought the games essentially all had the same story...? The repetitiveness is one of the main reasons I'm not really looking forward to Prime 4. The other reason is I'm not convinced Retro have pulled off a good game, but we will have to wait and see won't we.
Also... Nintendo know the games are repetitive. Absolutely zero chance they release Prime 2 and Prime 3 ahead of Prime 4!
Prime 4 will be the most expensive Switch game Nintendo have developed - consider the fact Retro has been kept fully functional, fully staffed despite releasing zero games for over TEN YEARS! Absolutely no chance Nintendo dilute sales with more Metroid games - especially more of the same... sorry to say, that's just nonsense.
This is like everyone calling for Windwaker and Twilight ahead of TotK. Yes... Nintendo will release 3 Zelda games in the same year... yes... that's a good idea...!
Prime 2 and Prime 3 don't need remakes. You can play the first one now, then play the 4th and trust me. You'll be good for Prime content.
Windwaker and TP will come out at some point in the next 5 years - which makes sense because there's no new 3D Zelda coming out in the next 5 years.
Re: Sonic Mania Team Celebrates 7th Anniversary With Trivia, Art And Unreleased Tracks
Sonic Mania was decent, but still didn't scratch the itch.
Sonic remains a few chaos emeralds short of reaching its true potential. SEGA have no clue how to get there... but seems to me, the fans aren't really sure either?
The gulf between where Mario has gone versus Sonic is absolute.
Re: Rumour: Game Developers Supposedly Told Not To Expect Switch "Successor" In Current Financial Year
The new hardware needs to be something all new in order for me to get on board anytime soon. The whole "Switch Pro" boat has sailed and if Nintendo are coming to the table on 2025 with new hardware that is essentially a Switch Pro, I think they are going to get a rude awakening.
Does it mean they MUST have something all new? No I don't think it's that either. The reality is Nintendo have waited too long to release a more powerful Switch. So now they're in a tricky position.
Honestly, the thought of playing Metroid Prime 4 on Switch 2 just doesn't excite me anywhere near enough to buy into it because my expectations are firmly set at Prime 4 and the Switch 2 BOTH being "more of the same".
I accept the "not broke don't fix it" approach... it makes sense for Switch successor to stay true to the success of Switch... but does that mean I'm fighting to be front of the queue? No it absolutely doesn't.
So yea... I'm ambivalent. Genuinely a tricky time for Nintendo. I'm intrigued to see what they do.
Re: Yes, Gamescom Opening Night Live Will Include "New Game Announcements"
I find it intriguing that when E3 was around, Gamescom got zero high profile announcements... but now E3 is not around, Gamescom still gets zero high profile announcements.
I feel bad for the organisers of Gamescom... they must find that frustrating. What do we think... another 2 years before this also disappears?
Re: Round Up: The First Impressions Of The Borderlands Movie Are In
The main reason games generally fail at being turned into films is because game developers can't write.
They can create fantastic games. Stunning locales. Emotionally charged music. Vibrant sound effects. Photo realistic graphics.
But they can't write a story. And it comes down to ownership. A studio comes up with an idea and thinks that gives them the right to tell the story and develop the characters.
Borderlands is a series I rate highly and enjoy. Does it have a good story to tell? No it absolutely does not.
I firmly believe the reason the games industry is largely mocked and laughed at by the wider arts and entertainment community is because of the writing standard being so low.
Even the games we, the videogame community, rate highly... Final Fantasy 7 has some moments of great storytelling.... but oh wait... it's descending into sheer and utter nonsense.
So yes. The film will be bad and its because the story is bad.