roadrunner343

@YourGoodFriendly You're being intentionally obtuse now. Your post is nonsense and fails to address anything I commented on. As I said, the visuals had nothing to do with the point I was trying to make. I just said it's clear to me they're not pushing bleeding edge and it's not the main focus of the game. If you disagree, that's fine, but it's completely irrelevant to the point I was making.

"Time" is always an issue, even if there is no "time limit"... re-read my posts and it should be painfully obvious I'm referring to time/effort costs from a business perspective. Time is always an issue. Smash continues to get content updates because it drives profits. Other games release free content as well, but that is simply part of their business model taken into consideration from a budgeting/planning perspective up front. Like I said, it's not impossible to include all 800 pokemon. Heck, it's not impossible for them to create 800 brand new ones just for this release, but that doesn't mean it makes sense from a business perspective. Obviously, there was always going to be a logical limit to the number of pokemon the continued to include.

Pretending that larger companies should not have staffing issues is complete nonsense. I've worked as a backend web dev for years in large organizations. The problems don't get easier to solve as software grows, they get exponentially more difficult and complex.

@YourGoodFriendly I think you're going out of your way to find something to ague about now with your last paragraph. My point was, visuals are clearly not the main focus of the Pokemon company, and they never have been. Obviously a lot of work still goes into visuals, but it's pretty clear that they are not pushing bleeding edge visuals with their games.

Next, how on Earth is time/effort NOT an issue with post launch support? Do you think that content magically develops itself post launch? It still takes company resources to make that content, regardless of when it is released.

Finally, saying complexity can't be an issue because they are a AAA company is nonsense. Anyone that has done any sort of development will tell you that the larger a project gets, the more complexity increases. Like I said originally - I never said it was impossible to include all the Pokemon. All I said, is it should have been painfully obvious that it was inevitable this day would come. Characters are dropped from sequels in countless other titles all the time - and that is in games with far fewer than 800 characters - so why would we expect Pokemon to be any different?

@YourGoodFriendly I never said it was impossible - I said it was not sustainable. Having "Better hardware" to work with isn't the issue - that's part of the problem. Development has become more complex, not less complex. It's not simply a matter have needing additional power - it's an issue of time and effort.

The rest of your points aren't overly relevant to the point I was making (That it's not sustainable indefinitely) but I'll attempt to address them anyway - could they be patched in later? Sure - but that doesn't address the underlying issue.

I never commented on on what "Looks and works right" or the graphics of the game. Again, there's far more to maintaining 800 characters than just the animations/graphics.

Not sure if your comment on the focus on visuals was directed to me, or the Pokemon company, or who - but I don't care so much about the visuals. It doesn't seem like that's the Pokemon company's focus either, honestly. I too would much prefer a game that plays well. But that doesn't really have anything to do with having 800+ Pokemon. It's possible reducing the number of pokemon could result in a more enjoyable experience by freeing up time to focus on other systems/mechanics. It's also possible it makes the game infinitely worse. It depends on the direction they take the game.

Like everyone, I'm a bit disappointed to miss out on some of my favorite characters, but it's not a deal breaker. It was inevitable. We could argue over whether or not now was the right time, but eventually, this was going to happen either way.

@GetShulked Which is still a perfectly valid reason. Everyone should have seen this day coming - it's simply not sustainable to have every Pokemon in every game for the rest of eternity. Even if they were to reuse animations, there's still a lot of work to be done to ensure everything looks and works as expected in the new game engine. It's not a simple drag and drop. There plenty of other reasons apart from animations as well that having the full dex every time simply isn't realistic. Of course it's a bit disappointing to lose some of your favorite Pokemon, but it shouldn't be that surprising.

@GetShulked Unless you're blind, what the video says is "Blatantly obviously ripped in every single way", are clearly different animations. Of course they're extremely similar - they are the same pokemon after all - why would they not have them move in a similar manner?

Next, let's pretend they did rip them frame for frame - who cares if they re-used their own animations and tweaked them? Literally every developer re-uses assets wherever possible. Whether animations, game engine, backend tools, etc... nobody starts a game from scratch anymore, nor should you want them too. Unless you would prefer crappier, more expensive games, you should be happy devs can build and improve off of their previous work.

@darkswabber That's the other side of the coin, and a bigger problem IMO - I don't like it when an RPG doesn't respect my time and forces me to grind for hours to progress. I don't mind grinding for a few minutes here and there if needed though. So I don't really have a silver bullet of how I think they should implement difficulty options. All I can say, is there have been plenty of other RPGs I found much more challenging, without needed to grind endlessly, so it can be done. I think I'd just like to see the base opponents level increased by a few levels.

@darkswabber I disagree, unless you are playing competitive multiplayer - I love the Pokemon series, but the games have not been challenging whatsoever for years, even post-game content. I'm not saying they're bad games, just that a difficulty option would be a welcome change.

@rjejr Obviously, if you plan to buy a second set of joycon and immediately start playing it in table top mode, a handheld only version of the console is not for you. It's not for me either, but let's not pretend that a $100 cheaper device isn't appealing to many people who play portable only, people looking to purchase a second system, or for kids.

@Don I certainly wouldn't call this "confirmed" either, but there's a pretty big difference between a trademark filing and an FCC filing

@Friendly Yes, there are practical limits to the number of bluetooth devices that may be connected at once. It used to be 7 - I don't know if that's the case anymore, or if Nintendo just breaks specification. Regardless, it is a very real possibility that Nintendo can't support 8 controllers + bluetooth audio. I'd much have the option though, even if they only allows 2 controllers to be connector or some other limitation. Besides - when would most people realistically need more than a controller or two + bluetooth audio? Odds are, if you're using a bluetooth headset, you aren't sharing the Switch with a group.

@Friendly Way to change your argument mid stride. I like the part where you apparently can't critique a device if you buy it. Apparently everything I have ever purchased is beyond reproach, because... well, I bought it, right? Pretty sure no one is "Demanding more" from Nintendo - I don't expect Nintendo to ship me a new Switch with Bluetooth audio simply because I ask nicely. That doesn't excuse them from criticism.

Acting as if Bluetooth audio is some costly extra feature is nonsense. Not only can you find it in the cheapest electronic devices, the Switch already has a functioning Bluetooth chipset used for the controllers, so its really bizarre they wouldn't have implemented Bluetooth audio. I love my switch, probably my favorite system of all time at this point, but that doesn't mean everything is perfect.

@Ventilator To be fair, FPGA is not inherently more accurate. The recent FPGA consoles from Analogue are of course extremely accurate, but that's simply because of the effort they put into accuracy. Similarly, software emulation can be extremely accurate as well, depending on the effort and focus placed on accuracy - see Higan and Mesen for examples. With that said, it's likely the emulation here will not be extremely accurate, but we'll have to wait and see.

Fire Emblem is likely my favorite single player Nintendo Franchise. That said, this is my least favorite Fire Emblem game that I can recall. There are certainly some performance issues, but it is tolerable. However, all the busy work at the academy takes my time away from what I actually love about the FE games - great tactical game play. I'm only about 8 hours in, but I think I've only had 4-5 battles so far. That is not to say it is a bad game, and I understand many other people like these mechanics, but it's like they took everything I didn't enjoy from Fates and ramped it up a few notches. Here's to hoping the game is more enjoyable for me after the academy.

EDIT: @FantasiaWHT I saw your comment after I posted mine. Unfortunately, my experience so far confirms your fears. I did enjoy the relationship mechanics in Awakening - partially because it was fresh and new - but also because like you said, I could ignore it for the most part. And even if I didn't ignore it entirely, I'd spend 5 minutes tops going through some of the support dialogue before jumping into the next battle. In Three Houses, it's been more like 30-45 minutes in between battles.

@Giygas_95 Oh man, Into the Breach is my kind of game - and perfect for the Switch and my limited game time. Amazing game, simple to pick up and play for just a couple minutes, and hands down my favorite strategy game since I don't know when. It's just a bit more of a puzzle in the way it plays than other turn based strategy games.

@Giygas_95 @Dualmask It's such a weird feeling. I'm early 30's now with two young kids, but in my head, I LOVE this style of game and turn based RPGs - but my completion rate of those types of games say otherwise. With the exception of the Fire Emblem series that is. I now tend to favor games that I can pick up and play for a few minutes at a time and still have a good time, rather than games that require an hour or so of my dedicated attention. Though, saying this game surpasses Wargroove (Which I really enjoyed, but did not finish) does pique my interest a bit.

@YANDMAN I think they're terrible mix & matched... but I would love matching sets =/

@Heavyarms55 Marketing it as a Gameboy would be the dumbest possible decision they could make. The Switch is now an established brand. It doesn't matter at this point if it "Switches" or not, the name has brand recognition - the original meaning no longer matters. See 3DS/2DS. Naming it something else would be far more confusing to the average consumer than a Switch that doesn't switch.

I agree with you that it's stupid they removed TV out capability. But there is still the original switch option if you need it. Despite what you want to hear - a substantially cheaper, portable only switch clearly isn't for you.

@WomboCombo Did you actually read the article? It was sent registered - far more securely than certified mail.

@Bunkerneath With registered mail, that shouldn't be the case. You typically have to sign for each item being delivered, so I'm not sure how this would have been signed for as part of a bulk shipment. Seems fishy all around.

@rjejr From what has turned up so far, it looks like it is using the same custom Tegra chip. I agree with you that it seems like they would have had to have gone out of their way to remove TV out from this version. That's why I'm hoping it is some sort of marketing nonsense to prevent confusion - similar to how they avoided showing the Switch's touchscreen capabilities for a while after the initial reveal - and maybe we'll see an update that enables it.

Also, I doubt it would fit in the dock, but I they could have shrank the existing switch a bit and maintained dock capability, but they obviously have their reasons for not doing so. Like you previously mentioned, at this point, I would rather just buy an original Switch tablet, and nothing else. I've got everything else I need. I do still think this will sell well, and will be a good entry point or second system for some.

@Kalmaro @Yorumi PC / Switch are my preferred platforms as well, but as someone that owned (and sold) a GPD WIN 2, PCs in a similar form factor as the Switch are just not as polished and user friendly.They're really cool devices still, but for the cost of several hundred dollars, I decided I would rather just buy the games I wanted portable again for Switch, or make due with my Laptop/Desktop at home.

It really is a bizarre stance in my opinion. The JoyCon rails seem perfectly tailored for this sort of thing. They obviously are fine with putting a D-Pad on the switch - so why not just continue to bundle the Switch with existing JoyCon, and sell a D-Pad version for those that want it?

@companyoflosers It sounds like we agree in principal - I've personally always strongly disliked multiple versions that were essentially identical, so I feel like this is a step in the right direction. However, like you said, this still isn't really enough differentiation for my personal taste, so I would like to see them either move away from multiple versions altogether, or continue to make them more unique. I really like your idea of starting in multiple regions as well.

@sanderev @ZelthkingYoutube Go figure, a brand new Nintendo hardware launch is a relatively big deal on a Nintendo-only news site. And of course, this article is posted under the "Soapbox" category, so it's obviously an opinion-piece rather than a news article. You're perfectly capable of skipping those.

@rjejr I agree with @Spoony_Tech - I gladly would have picked up a second if it supported docked play. I get marketing it as a "Portable Only" device, since it doesn't come with a controller or dock, but I don't know why they would intentionally eliminate the ability to dock. I'll need to see direct comparisons of the two, but based on the shape and port placement, it seems like it would have been doable. Fingers crossed for a firmware update?

@Krull If anything, this would suggest there is not going to be a price drop anytime soon. If ever an upgraded version launches at the $299 price point and we do see price drops, I would expect the Lite price to drop too. Regardless, price drops or not, this will be cheaper than the original model, so will always be desirable to some.

@companyoflosers That's not shady - that's what they should be doing. Selling two versions of virtually identical games has always been a bit asinine in my opinion. That's the practice that preys on the hoarder/collector mentality. I hope the games continue to be more and more unique - maybe someday we'll see Pokemon games be more like the Zelda Oracle games, where the two games were completely separate and unique experiences. At least then I'd actually consider purchasing a second version, and those that currently buy both versions would be getting something unique with each. Otherwise, I'd rather they do away with multiple versions altogether.

@electrolite77 Presumably by adding a number to the end of the title.

@StevenG For the most part, they don't "Retell the exact same story"... I'm sure there are examples of that, but that is not the case with most of the reboots I mentioned. There's more new plot than reused. Share the same backstory does not mean everything else in the game is reused or old, and all of the games I mentioned have plenty of original plot lines, character stories, etc... Even so, there's more to a game than just the story.

@graysoncharles I didn't down vote, but my guess is the issue is that @nessisonett isn't entirely clear in that post, in my opinion, and people are misconstruing his comment. I agree that China's has a capitalistic economy, but their government structure still has many communist aspects to it, so I don't think people are wrong that refer to China as a communist country. Perhaps a state capitalist/capitalist communism would be more accurate.

@The_Pixel_King I love the genre, so it comes as no surprise that I would highly recommend both Wargroove and Into the Breach. I liked Into the Breach a bit better, which isn't a knock on Wargroove, I just thought Into the Breach is an absolutely amazing game. One thing I would say though, it that I feel it plays almost more like a puzzle game than a strategy game, due to the limited number of units on the map at a time, perfect knowledge of the enemies' next moves, and short battles. I absolutely love the way it plays, just wanted to let you know it plays differently from most turn based strategy games.

@StevenG The terms aren't mutually exclusive. Call it what you will - a reboot, a re-imagining, it doesn't matter - they're new games, with 99% of the content being brand new. Being set in the same universe or reusing a tiny portion of a universe's backstory does not make it an old game.

@StevenG So if a game even uses a tiny fraction of a previous game's plot, it is immediately considered an old game? Give me a break. You're being intentionally ridiculous and childish at this point. A reboot can most definitely be a new game.

Brand new visuals, brand new plot lines, brand new audio effects, brand new musical scores, brand new game play mechanics... but you don't want to call those reboots new games? They're obviously new games, just not new IPs. But sure, call them whatever you want.

@StevenG Nonsense. We don't live in a binary world. I think it is clear things are a bit more nuanced, and there are plenty of "new" games that aren't direct sequels. What about prequels? Parallel stories? I think anyone that spends more than 3 seconds thinking about it can tell that the Wolfenstein, Doom, Tomb Raider, Final Fantasy VII, etc... reboots are completely different games that are simply set in the same universe. Heck, you could extend your silly definition to games like Fallout 3, but I guess since it has the magical number on the end making it a sequel, it doesn't count as a reboot.

@Blizzia I have no issues with people wanting to reduce piracy. I also have no issues with your comment of "Play it what its available on" even if I don't have any personal qualms with play ROMs of games I own - which in many places, is also legal. Again, if you want to do that, I have no issues there.

What I do have issues with, is you repeatedly saying you have no interest in playing old games as if that somehow invalidates others who do. It should not come as a surprise that if you have no interest in playing old games, that it doesn't bother you that it is often difficult or impossible to do so legally.

Saying the retro market isn't big simply because we don't have SNES games on the Switch is nonsense as well and you know it. There have been countless successful examples of reproduction FPGA and emulation based systems. Nintendo also had a vibrant virtual console on Wii, Wii U, and 3DS as well. But I guess that's all moot since it doesn't currently exist on Switch? Retro gamers may be a vocal minority, but your reasoning for it does not back up that claim.

@Crono1973 lol @ post #76 - that's all I wanted to say =)

I'm not even going to get into the piracy debate (again) but seriously @Blizzia - if you don't have any interest in replaying retro games, why are you even here discussing? There's obviously a huge audience for it, myself included. I have a huge retro collection, but that doesn't mean I always want to dig out my original system & carts to replay a game. Never mind the fact that devices similar to this one give you the option to play portably. If that doesn't interest you in anyway, clearly you aren't the target audience. That doesn't mean the audience doesn't exist.

@HalBailman It absolutely is piracy. It doesn't matter if it is the latest generation or not. And I'm not saying no one should pirate anything ever under any circumstances - I have several devices capable of playing roms, including several everdrives, modded consoles, etc... I have no moral issues playing roms of old games I've purchased. But let's not attempt to change the definition of piracy simply because it is convenient.

EDIT: To clarify, when I said "it" is piracy, I was referring to the act of loading roms. These devices themselves are not illegal, unless distributed with roms. Regardless of whether or not Nintendo releases a similar device, emulation has been tried and proven time and again to be legal.

@StevenG Those are definitely original games. If you mean original IPs, that's a completely different argument. I agree with you on the terrible physical releases though.

Not sure what to think. FoMT was my favorite Harvest Moon title, and I really enjoyed the more recent Story of Seasons titles, but I think this looks really bad. Hope it plays well.

This type of platformer is typically my favorite type of platformer (I.E., Celeste & Meatboy) but it depends on how death is handled. In those games, when you are defeated, you only have to replay a few seconds to get back to where you were. It wasn't clear to me from the trailer if that is the case here, which will make or break the game IMO. Looks intriguing though, and I hope they take a page out of the Celeste playbook if they levels are lengthy.

@TooBarFoo I agree with you - I think this is holiday 2020. I may be setting myself up for disappointment, but like you said - it's likely already been in development for a while, and reusing the same engine and many of the same assets should greatly reduce development time.

@WiltonRoots @Woosh193 Some people may expect that - but I would agree, those people are dummies =) My point is solely that there's no harm in comparing, and the comparison is beneficial, even when we all know there will be difference. Most of the comments I see here are not whining that trade offs were made. The concern is what trade offs, and how severe are they, which is why these comparison are useful.

@WiltonRoots @Woosh193 If there weren't a difference, there would be no reason to compare. That's exactly when you should be comparing. That is how you identify the differences and make a determination if the differences are important to you or not. That goes for comparing different types of games to one another, or the same game on different systems - there's absolutely value in comparing.

Simply stating differences, or pointing out where the Switch port is lacking, doesn't mean it is a bad port or anything of the sort. It's perfectly reasonable to point out where a Switch game may falter slightly in performance or graphic fidelity, yet still accept the trade off for the other benefits of having a game on Switch - as I almost always do. I favor Switch games 90% of the time, but that doesn't mean I have to be completely disinterested in how it stacks up to PC/XBOX/PS4 versions.

@rjejr I won't deny that staff replies are often defensive, but honestly, it's because many users are complete jerks spouting nonsense and insults at them. I don't always agree with some of the stuff that is posted, and I'll occasionally poke fun, but there is certainly a right and a wrong way to voice discontent. Unfortunately, most people typically choose the wrong way.

That said, I personally love your idea of a Switch TV, despite having no interest in it. I've been a proponent for multiple SKUs, although it could admittedly cause some confusion. I'd love to see a cheaper home console only version, portable only version (Still compatible with dock sold separately), and a new "Pro" model.

@Cathousemaster Sorry for the confusion - I should have said it isn't randomly generated each death. It is randomly generated for your save file, but it also contains some elements/areas that are not random. The important point I was trying to convey, was that this doesn't really feel very roguelike to me. Again, I like roguelikes, so I wouldn't have cared, but I think this game will be very appealing even to people who don't.

@Cathousemaster Replying to you, but this was a comment I wanted to make in general - as someone who is a huge fan of roguelikes in general, and absolutely loved Necrodancer, I feel like calling this a roguelike is a huge disservice to the game and very misleading to those potentially interested.

Don't get me wrong - I love this game! I've already put 6 hours into it, and I think I like it even better than the original - but it is a very different game. Yes, there are some random elements, but when review outlets call it a "Roguelike", I think it gives most readers the wrong impression. The overworld and parts of the dungeons in this game are not randomly generated on each death. There is a ton of progression that carries over from each life. There are a bunch of waypoints you unlock, allowing you to rapidly warp back to areas even after you fail a run. The game is far more forgiving than the original Necrodancer. Overall, it feels very intentionally designed, not procedurally generated.

All that to say, that yes, it does have some rogue elements to it, just like many other games do, but I wouldn't really consider it a "roguelike" game. If you really disliked the rhythm based gameplay, then this likely still won't appeal to you. Otherwise, I really hope that people give this game a chance, even if they weren't into the original Necrodancer due to rogue elements.

@Agent721 My best guess is that it should be comparable to streaming other video streams. Battery life will be better than running games locally, but if you're having battery drain issues while streaming media currently, you'll likely have the same issue with streaming games.

@Agent721 @NEStalgia I have to disagree on the point of battery usage. While I can't say with certainty, I am very confident that streaming will use much less power than local gameplay. While the radios will certainly drain power, they will be far less power hungry than rendering games locally. Again, I don't have any hard numbers or research to share with you, but anecdotally, I was in the Google Project Stream Beta, and the resource utilization, fan speed, CPU temps, etc... were all extremely low on my laptop. Everything was whisper quiet running Assassin's Creed Odyssey, even though attempting run even simple indie games often causes it to sound like a jet taking off.

@sanderev Right. So in response to a point blank question about what games inspired younger staff, he responds that they were playing RDR2. Shouldn't be too difficult to connect the dots.

Question: "What are some of your favorite foods"
Answer: "I've been eating a lot of Pizza lately"
Sure, I suppose you could argue that answer doesn't imply that I love pizza in any way, though.

@Pod that could be the case, but considering it was in response to a direct question about influences, I would assume he meant that it did influence the game in some way. Not in a direct "we loved RDR2 so will model the Zelda sequel after it" but more generally speaking. If many people on the team were playing it, it makes sense to me that they would be influenced by it in some way and take inspiration from some of the things RDR2 did well.

@sanderev Aonuma was asked directly what games inspired the sequel. His first response was RDR2. That's exactly what the title of the article implies. There's just about no way to make the article title more accurate. I don't think you have any comprehension of what click bait means.

10/10 for me. For anyone interested in card games - specifically, deck building games - this is the best one I've played, hands down. And not just video games, but this tops all table top card games for me as well. A must play for anyone remotely interested in the genre.

@LunarFlame17 To me, adding "Roguelike" doesn't change too much. Sure, the "maps" are randomized each run, but even tabletop deck building games (Dominion, Ascension, etc...) are random in nature and could be said to be "Roguelike". That said, if you have no interest in card games in general, this probably isn't for you.

EDIT 6/12/19: After playing many hours already, I would have to drop my score to an 8 or a 9. While the PC game is a 10/10 for me, I've encountered many random crashes in addition to some performance issues. Luckily for most, frame rate dips don't really impact card games. Unfortunately for me, frame rate dips are really distracting and bothersome. For me, they don't outweigh the ability to play this portably, but there are certainly some trade offs. Still an amazing game, just not perfect from a technical perspective.

@Ogbert Sorry, I guess I wasn't clear - I was speaking more generally, not just this concept. I have a few other issues with this concept as well. Though, I think there could be other benefits to non-removable JoyCon, not just cost. They should allow for a more compact design (By ditching the rails/buttons/batteries) and they could potentially be reworked to be more comfortable, or include a D-Pad, since they wouldn't need to remain compatible with the rails or sideways play. Cost is one of the least interesting benefits to me, but I'd love to see a more compact Switch, DPad, more comfortable grip, better buttons/sticks, etc...