ricklongo

@GC-161 I'd say games like Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania relied on extremely cheap difficulty (including enemies showing up out of nowhere, unfriendly jumping movement, and insta-death traps) to extend the playtime. Mega Man, by contrast, offered a challenge while providing a learning curve, excellent controls, and cool ways to get around tough situations (like the weapons and items).

Most NES games haven't aged well in my opinion, but the Mega Man series is a shining example of ones who did.

This is a weird game in that I can't for the life of me understand its appeal. Hopefully it's a good one, though.

This game screams Dragon Quest Builders for me, and seeing how I absolutely loved that one on PS4, this is certainly on my wishlist. Only the ridiculous amount of games sitting on my console waiting to be played kept me from getting it day one, but I'll get around to it.

The first X game, and both other SNES entries, are truly great. By the time the series got to the PS2, however, it was utter dross. Mega Man X7 is one of the biggest disappointments of my gaming life.

The fact they decided to mar the tried-and-true, pristine gameplay loop with endless skippable cutscenes was the writing on the wall, as early as the PSone entries.

Still, I'm getting this. There's more than enough great moments to salvage in the X series, even though the aforementioned problems mean it doesn't really hold a candle to the original series in my opinion.

@Deadstanley Word about the running animation, but I do have faith that it will improve as development progresses. They have almost a year until release!

@ThanosReXXX Precisely. 2.5D worked wonders for DKC, no reason why it shouldn't for Mega Man. All we really need is good level / weapon design on top of that.

@ACK Is this confirmed? I hope it's a single package, especially seeing how it's coming to the system much later than other versions.

Either way, after all the announcements today, I'm really not complaining about Capcom for once. This day is a dream come true for me!

Okay, Capcom. I forgive you. See, it really doesn't take much!

The fact that Legacy Collections 1 & 2 AND the X Collection are coming to Switch is just icing on the cake.

This is a happy day.

So it's L.A. Noire meets Majora's Mask? Completely sold.

The micromanagement and exaggerated nuance of XCX was a turnoff for me, even thouh I did like the game a lot, so it's slightly disheartening to read it's pretty much more of the same here.

I am, however, glad the story seems to be better. XCX's plot was nothing short of atrocious.

I know cynicism is en vogue, but well, the wording makes me cautiously optimistic. They didn't go out of their way like this to try and hype the 25th anniversary, so maybe there's something to this after all?

I choose to believe. Come on, Capcom.

Man, that's a bummer. Although I must say I don't think the visuals are that bad at all, at least from screenshots.

Is this supply issues FINALLY coming to an end? Very interesting jump, especially since other consoles remained stable.

I though after Mario, the reaction for Yooka-Laylee's Switch release would be far more lukewarm that it would have been otherwise, but a few of my friends have already commented on how they want a smaller 3D Platform to play around with now they've 100%'d Odyssey. So I guess we'll see what happens!

Myself, I'm a proud Kickstarter backer and remain incredibly excited. Chose to not change my pledge to PS4 in order to play it on the Switch, and I'm super glad the wait is almost over.

@Anti-Matter As for why you keep playing consoles while your relatives have moved on, it's a matter of taste, like anything else. They probably found other hobbies as they grew up, or maybe they have a real life situation (like a child, or a long-hour job) that makes smartphone gaming much more suited to them.

@Anti-Matter Like I said, it's complicated. I fully believe a kid, who is used to smartphone games because that's what their parents introduced them to as an infant, can end up being enthralled by consoles if they get the chance. Others, namely older people who use their smartphones because of its convenience, are going to be a tougher sell. And some, like my girlfriend's 60-year-old godmother who is hopelessly addicted to Candy Crush, will never in a million years be interested in sitting down in front of a TV to play Zelda.

Of course, those are broad stereotypes; at the end of the day, it really depends on the particular person. If you think someone could be into the wonderful world of consoles if properly introduced, by all means go for it!

@Anti-Matter I think there's a bit of depth in that discussion.

For example, I would say most young people who would have been console gamers back in the 8 bit era are actually console gamers these days. The NES, which was a huge worldwide success that single-handedly revived the industry, sold 60 million copies. These days, the most successful consoles tend to sell well past that - the PS4, for example, has already tied the NES lifetime total, and is still very much alive and selling well.

Smartphones actually tend to appeal to a different type of demographic. A lot of smartphone gamers are people who would never be interested in a dedicated console anyway; they play because the games are available right there on a device they're taking everywhere anyway. This also helps explain why the free-to-play model is so prevalent in smartphones, as their audience isn't really the kind of people who wants to shell out more than a few bucks upfront for a game.

Sure, there's some overlap, but the crazy numbers some smartphone games achieve is only possible due to this situation. Smartphones and consoles really are different animals with different audiences, so it's hard to really compare them in a straightforward manner.

I feel like such an old geezer, because the smartphone fever haven't caught me at all. Sure, it's nice to be able to browse the web and text friends anytime, anywhere, but I much prefer to do it on an actual computer, with an actual keyboard.

Gaming is no different, as actual physical controls are a must for me - plus I simply loathe the popular methods of monetization that have become a synonym of the platform. So I've never been a smartphone gamer, and probably never will be - even with my favorite gaming company embracing it. Just not for me, I guess.

The closest for me was the 64 era. Had to go with Mario there - but went with Zelda as best overall.

My only experience with Telltale games comes from Game of Thrones, and I was sorely unimpressed. That one is an extremely guided story that strives to give you an illusion of choices having consequences and fails miserably at it. So yeah, it would take a bit of a revolution to make me even think of spending money on such a title again.

I don't understand the "not at home on a Nintendo console" thing. I mean, we have Skyrim, Doom, LA Noir. The SNES, 25 years ago, had Mortal Kombat. No such thing as "not at home on a Nintendo platform".

I'm interested in Portal Knights, but it's hard to justify it when it's $10 more than it would be in my PS4. Maybe the portability would be worth it, but at this point I'll wait for the Switch-specific reviews.

At 30 bucks, I'd buy Bomberman. 40 is still a bit much, though.

I think it's important to investigate things further, but not to preemptively crucify the devs. Let's see what else surfaces.

I think PUBG has a great premise, but the gameplay is 100% not for me. Which is why I find it hard to get too excited about this news, but hey, fingers crossed for something cool.

@JaxonH @BenAV Well, personal tastes and all that, but I personally don't think Ace Attorney games come close to comparing to this one. And yes, I'd also rate L.A. Noire an 8/10.

Awesome stuff. May give me a reason to return to the game this holiday.

As a fan of detective novels, I'm loving my time with this game. It's far from perfect, but its setting and unique gameplay more than makes up for it.

And yeah, now I want a sequel set in England. Gotta scratch that Sherlock/Poirot itch properly.

@QwertyQwerty Anywhere specific where we can read about it?

The title change is good news. Maybe this means we'll get to play it on the Switch at some point!

I still can't understand the point of this movie. Who thought this was an interesting and mass-marketable idea?

Teslagrad was awesome, so I've been looking forward to this one for a while. Should offer a nice counterpoint to Ni No Kuni 2 in January.

As cool as the Game Boy was back in the day, it really hasn't aged all that well in the ergonomy front. Likewise, this looks like it won't be that comfortable to play in when we have handheld designs such as the Switch or the Vita.

I'm not the biggest twin-stick shooter fan, but that's a lovely premise. Will keep an eye on it.

I only played the first game on DS back in the day and honestly didn't like it. That said, I guess I'd be game to give the series another try.

Man. I guess I'll get in on PS4.

Honestly not bothered about save times, as the end of a day generally was my cue to take a bathroom break or go grab a snack. Super excited about the sound fix, though.

I was around 95 hours in when Odyssey hit, and I do see myself getting back during the holidays to start my fourth year and try to have a second child. Lovely game, probably my favorite indie of all time.

The fact the Switch version of Sonic beat the Xbox One is a good sign for Nintendo's system's momentum.

As for Doom, well, it's a decent result, I guess, but given that it's an old game by now I wasn't exactly expecting for it to lit the charts on fire. I do hope Skyrim does better, though.

This was a great review. I now know this is absolutely not for me, as it seems to offer none of the escapism I want from games like this. It's like playing Stardew Vallew trying to min-max everything instead of just relaxing and soaking in the game's world - may work for some people, but no thanks.

@JaxonH I understand what you're saying, and I do know that what I want myself from video games is almost never what the market at large wants. My only pet peeve is the use of "real third party" to describe this, instead of a less loaded term like "triple-A third party" or "high-budget third party". It may seem like an innocuous thing, but it's stuff like this that encourage people to have an incredibly limiting view of video games, which benefits no one who wants the most amount of high-quality products from the industry.

I think calling Doom "real third party support" is incredibly dumb. I own a Playstation 4, meaning I have access to pretty much any third party title I want. Wanna know my favorites from the last few years? Stardew Valley, Axiom Verge and Shovel Knight.

Yes, Doom is very important and a landmark when it comes to triple-A third party games on Switch. Just don't offend our intelligence by implying other amazing games with lower budget aren't 'real' games.

I really don't understand the appeal of these "fight the controller" games. For example, I tried Snake Pass at a friend's house and got immensely frustrated very quickly.

Figuring out and easing into controls really isn't something I'll ever enjoy. If they don't feel intuitive and well-implemented, count me out, as I'd much rather have different kinds of challenges.

If they made an open world RPG title focusing and expanding on Rowling's Wizarding World (and not necessarily with the characters we all know in it), I would be all over that. So much potential!

Super excited for this one. Hopefylly I'll be done with Odyssey until it releases (less than a couple hundred moons to go).

I got the taxi one after getting the name from the Talkatoo (and after scratching my head for a good while), and I had the biggest smile afterwards. Dunno why, really; it just had that absurdist feel mixed with some sort of Peter Pan magic.

This is absolutely not for me, but I'm nonetheless happy it's here and lives up to the series.

I guess my #1 wish for this game is for a story that's actually compelling, unlike XCX's cliche-driven mess. #2 would be to have a more densely populated world, so it seems we're on the right track.

That final "Rex!" scream is enough to covince me I'll never even bother downloading the Japanese track.

Good for those who want it, though.

Yeah, Odyssey is bound to have left a lot of us spoiled when it comes to the quality of 3D platformers. Nevertheless, this looks intriguing. The building mechanic seems a cool idea.

Depending on reviews and price, this could be a day one for me.

@AlternateButtons Just realized the reviewer for Polygon is Jeremy Parish, so let me just disagree vehemently that he has no 'journalistic integrity'. The man has been one of the best in the business for years.

The focus on speedrunning means this is absolutely not for me. I'm happy to see another quality platformer hit the Switch, though.