ricklongo

This is a game with a lovely story - one of my favorites in recent time - but incredibly dull gameplay. I still recommend it for those who are into story-based progression, but do keep that in mind.

Yeah, at this point I'm completely sure I'll never be amazed by a Sonic game ever again. Mania was cool and all (even if it did highlight just how annoying the series's level design has always been to me), but my dream for the hedgehog is a non-retro win. Needless to say, I'm not holding my breath.

Very cool premise. Will keep an eye on this one. I do hope they don't follow the episodic route for this, as apparently the full game is already out.

Ha, that's a cool tribute. Not necessarily out of the blue, though, as Super Mario is a very common nickname in football - both Balotelli and Mario Gómez were called that during their heyday.

Yeah, this is one I can't really afford at the moment at that price tag. That's mainly because I've got so much on my wishlist for both Switch and PS4 - if this was released back on the Wii U era, chances are I'd get it right away because there just wasn't a lot of other games fighting for my money. These days, I guess I'd rather get both Celeste and World to the West for less than Lost Sphear costs.

Either way, I remain very interested, but will wait for a sale or a price drop.

It warms my heart to see Stardew Valley do so well. It's my second favorite Switch game so far, even ahead of Super Mario Odyssey.

@ClassSonicSatAm They report on no-Nintendo news all the time, especially when it comes to nostalgic subject matters like the Mega Drive. If it's at least tangentially related, I see no problem with that.

@thesilverbrick Whoa, really? My experience was almost the exact opposite!

I made a point of not looking anything up, and had close to no problem getting to grips with the game's logic. I'd say this is one of the very few "no instruction" games that get it right, making it feel like you're actually coming to terms to the character's new reality instead of just fumbling around.

I'm only interested if sandbox mode is worth it. I hope it is, as the DS original is near and dear to my heart.

Never heard of this before, but it sounds super lovely. I hope there's references to the Dungeons and Dragons 80's cartoons, because that should be the first thing the pops into anyone's mind when they hear "Saturday morning" and "RPG" in the same sentence.

Meant to get it on PS4 last year but got sidetracked. Definitely taking the plunge on Switch if this turns out to be true.

Been waiting for this one! I'm eager to see what the Teslagrad devs have cooked up for a more open adventure game.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I have to say sometimes I think people here are too hard on you, but hear me out for a second: what does that comment accomplish, really? Well, yes, this is a port from a game that was already released on Wii U, which is a trend that happens in every single console released these days. Perhaps mildly annoying for people like us, who own that console, but nevertheless pretty cool as an additional option for those who don't. Do we really need a comment pointing out this fact on every single review, especialy when it adds zero else to the discussion? I mean, come on now.

I'm not really a follower of the Smash competitive scene, but I stumbled upon a sort of biography article for Zero the other day and couldn't help but sympathise for the guy. Sounded like he can be a bit of a jerk sometimes, but also got a lot of crap thrown his way for no reason other than being the best.

Either way, I wish him well.

@Agramonte That same article you linked says that sales on Xbox 360 day one were in fact good, even with the troubles they had. I mean, seriously. Why are people so hellbent on downplaying success?

Given that this is a seven year old game that's out everywhere, this is nohing short of phenomenal news for the developers

I could never get into Dark Souls, mainly due to finding its dreary and colorless world very unappealing. I can, however, recognize its quality for people who dig this sort of feel.

I guess I just wish the Direct's big reveal was something more up my alley, but I'm nevertheless happy that such a high profile third party game is coming to the Switch.

All I can say is, if their entire Direct plans for January is announcing this, I'll be majorly disappointed with Nintendo for the first time in over a year.

@Marshi I can't remember ever experiencing noticeable frame rate drops. In fact, the way it ran silky smooth is one of the things that impressed me the most about Bayonetta 2.

Surprisingly... Yeah, I'll go ahead and agree with her.

Although the point about a Nintendogs app not necessarily being a gateway to Nintendo hardware holds. Maybe this could work as Nintendo's first "standalone" app, though.

@JLPick SNES outsold the Genesis, for what it's worth.

Intriguing premise that seems right up my alley, but I didn't get that excited about the trailer. Could see myself giving it a try if it reviews well.

Excellent read. I agree with the vast majority of points.

Mega evolutions in particular are the most uninspired idea I've ever seen in the series. I hope they revert to a "less is more" aproach for the Switch title (which I'm nevertheless extremely excited about).

As someone who loves Fantasy Life, I should have been all over this game. But yeah, the Switch happened, and my 3DS already had a slightly broken D-pad, so I passed on it.

I do hope they make a port or sequel for the Switch.

I'm juggling Yooka-Laylee, Xenoblade 2 and the Zelda DLC, and just got Oxenfree earlier today for that steal of a discount price. So I guess it's just as well that this is a quieter week.

@sillygostly Yep. Capcom sure are kicking themselves right now. Thankfully they seem to have smartened up in regards to future releases.

I have to admit I was in absolute awe of the Divine Beasts. Aside from looking so majestic, they each felt like a big interconnected puzzle to solve. For someone who was 100% tired of the old formula for Zelda dungeons, they were a breath of fresh air.

I wouldn't mind it at all if the next 3D Zelda eschewed traditional dungeons once again.

@NEStalgia I strongly disagree. Production values are merely one of many factors (gameplay loop, mechanics, writing, setting, worldbuilding) that go into how good a game is. For example: out of the Switch games that came out this year, I would rate Stardew Valley, Steamworld Dig 2, Axiom Verge and plenty of others higher than, say, Xenoblade 2 or ARMS.

I get part of what you're saying - this game looks higher than a 6 for me - but this is a matter of this particular reviewer's impressions, not an overal rule of thumb. This very site has given plenty of high ratings (even 10s, like in the case of Axiom Verge) to deserving indie games.

I feel like the criticism here could easily be applied to similar games that rely on super-macho soldiers instead, such as Contra and Metal Slug, and I still enjoy those games a lot in multiplayer. I'm probably getting this one before I go visit my hometown near New Year's Eve.

@Nikkarin What @Dijita said! You have to use the right-stick cursor, as simply standing in front of the wall won't allow you to choose a place with precision.

Breath of the Wild for me. The game is just something special, and might end up being not only my favorite Zelda, but my favorite GAME of all time, period.

Shout out to Stardew Vallew and Mario Odyssey, which are both 10/10s as far as I'm concerned.

Phantasy Star on the SMS was the first ever console RPG to be translated into Portuguese, so it was my first foray into a genre that would become one of my favorites. Many fond memories of that one, even though I never got to play another title in the series.

Such a bummer that it's such a tiny selection. One of my favorite tracks (Lost Kingdom) is nowhere to be seen.

And I mean, Jump Up is awesome, but did we really need it to take four slots? Having more variety would be a much better choice here.

@Nikkarin The game allows you to do that. I myself made a point of collecting paintings in the game.

As much as I've wanted to see the series adopt a new art style instead of yet another pixel art entry, I must say I'm wary about the music. The absolute best tracks in the series have hands down been chiptunes; I've found every non-8 bit Mega Man sountrack to be okay at best.

I do hope they make it work this time. It would be a dream for it to reach the heights of Mega Man 5, which is my favorite soundtrack of the series.

Amazing game. I was completely enthralled by it on PS4, so one can only imagine how dangerously addictive it must be to have on the go.

@MortalKombat2007 I respect your opinion, but vehemently disagree.

@retro_player_22 Yeah, my thoughts exactly. That trailer felt a bit like a cheap mobile game. Still, if it delivers on the gameplay front, count me in.

If that is a screenshot of the actual game, consider me VERY interested.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Same here regarding Yooka-Laylee. Having played a few hours so far, I honestly hope it sells well, because I think it absolutely deserves that.

Well, there we go. Not sure how the previous versions performed, as I waited for the game to come to Switch, but it's been absolutely fine for me so far.

Like I said on the review thread: if you're a Banjo fan, absolutely don't let this one pass you by.

Thank you for this review. I've been playing my backer copy and all I can say is this: if you're a fan of Banjo-Kazooie, this is nothing short of a must-play.

Please, don't let the fact that this sort of gameplay has fallen out of favor with mainstream games media fool you.

Great numbers all around this week, but hey, that's December for you.

I'm very curious to see how Monster Hunter fares on PS4. These hardware numbers, even without the game bundled, are encouraging for Capcom.

I've been mildly disappointed with the beginning of the Champions' Ballad, and I say this as someone who has BotW as probably his favorite game of all time. It's just that it focuses on trial-like challenges, and not in what makes me love Zelda (the exploration and worldbuilding).

Hopefully it'll get to it... We shall see.

@GC-161 Well, yeah, those games were more difficult than any Mega Man. Not disagreeing with that.

And since you didn't bother to actually elaborate on why you disgree with me as far as the cheapness goes, and instead resorted to simply being unpleasant, well, I guess we're just going to leave it at that.

Awesome! I was a fan of the DS orginal, and I'll be all over this on Switch.

Seems like an ambitious title, which is certainly good, but it's kind of drab-looking if I'm honest. I wish they had gone for a less realistic and more stylized art style, as it's hard for lower-budget realistic stuff to look good these days when we have graphics like The Witcher 3.

To be fair, first-person shooting is the furthest thing from my mind when I think "classic gameplay vibe".

This is such a bad move. It seems to me the hype was building up again, especially because 1) they've been going on about how polished this version is, and 2) it's a Nintendo platform, which is the natural home for such a game. And then this comes to light and it gets people talking in a bad way again.

I'm a Kickstarter backer; if I wasn't, I would still get it at that price because I love what Playtonic is trying to do here. I just don't believe the majority will feel the same thanks to the price point.

They both look quite interesting for me, but I'm gonna need more details before getting really excited. Either way, it's awesome to keep getting new indie announcements seemingly every day.

@ThanosReXXX Thanks for the rundown! I'm absolutely a fan of building stuff, but that usually means cities (SimCity), empires (Civilization) or farms (Stardew Valley). Building a bridge just seems... I dunno, too limited. I will keep what you said in mind, however, especially when there's a sale of some sort.