rosemo

I've never played TTYD so I'll be grabbing that.

Ok, I'll take the bait. It's a low stakes discussion... video games right? So, I respect the opinion of the author, but it seems common among the video game journalist community. I have listened to a number of podcasts/videos where the opinion among people who play videogames for a living is that MKW is a letdown. Free roam is boring, not much content, etc. And, compared to the final form of MK8DX, it probably isn't as good, though it looks a lot nicer. But I just have to say, I think in general people may be expecting too much of Nintendo. If they did MK9 that spammed out crossovers like the Sonic game, then a good chunk of people would criticize that. MKW, taken for what it is, is a really good attempt at a new direction for Mario Kart. Nintendo needed to do it to stop the series from getting stale. And guess what, it will happen for Smash Bros and maybe Animal Crossing this generation too. Enjoy the ride and see where it goes over time. My kids and I are having a great time right now and are looking forward to more content down the road.

This just looks bad... Why not go the route that TMNT and Marvel did?

I still have the GBA cart of this. The music makes me nostalgic for when my kids were little. One of my favorite GBA games. Highly recommended and hopefully finds some new fans on NSO.

Don't feel too happy for those who are getting the jobs. In 5 years, those jobs will be done by AI.

I just finished the game yesterday! I enjoyed it even without the update but agree that the echo menu is rough.

@Dev-N I get the sense that, with the Free Roam mode, there will be some sort of loose story or missions baked in for a single player experience. It may be light like that Mario Tennis and Golf games on Switch but anything would be interesting.

I will join the chorus of people who are saying this should be a pack in title and the fact that it isn't indicates that Nintendo is a little out of touch and trying to nickel and dime. On the 3DS, they included a lot of software to show the capabilities of the hardware. It builds goodwill with your customers and gets them excited to buy other software that uses these capabilities. To charge for this means that almost no one will buy it.

The two Diablo like GBA games were great. My friend bought me those for my birthday one year. I didn't keep them, but they were quality licensed games.

The reference to "private Idaho" comes from a B-52s song released in 1980. Some of you younglings may not have heard it. It's about living in a state of isolation and paranoia.

There is, in my opinion, a less than 10% chance that Nintendo will not remaster these games at some point given how the first one was received. Whether that will be before or after Switch 2 arrives is another question.

@PepperMintRex If you buy it on the discount, it is $30. I can't remember how much GBA games were new back in the day, but I bet it was $20 or $25 back then. I think some were even $30 new. So, adjusted for inflation, this is not unreasonable, given that this is a new game to most players.

YAWN I am not getting over to Japan any time soon so I don't really care. Let me know when new hardware is ready.

I forgot this even existed. Maybe Nintendo patched it just to remind everyone. Kind of like Game Builder Garage or Arms. Yawn... moving on...

I played that main game and had a good time with it. However, I agree that it overstayed its welcome a little bit so I've just ignored all the DLC.

Brian Shea's All Things Nintendo podcast is, in my opinion, the absolute best Nintendo podcast out there. I'm glad to hear he is continuing that and looking forward to supporting his efforts.

I am extremely not shocked at all by this. It is a 16-year puzzle platformer. First, about half the owners (or more) of a Switch weren't even born when that game first came out so there is no "name recognition". Second, many who had been born came back to gaming with the Switch so there is no name recognition there either. To others' point, many already own it on another platform and it still plays great. Third, like Metroidvanias, there are a lot of other puzzle platformers on Switch, many of which stand on the shoulders of Braid...and are regularly on sale for $2. That undermines the value proposition of this release.

8/10. I think Nintendo might have a problem next year, in that they have released so much quality for the Switch that many people will not want to upgrade right away. I will probably be in that camp, unless their launch offering for Switch 2 is really compelling. Personally, I've got a roadmap for the Switch that could last the next 3 years.

Outside of Nintendo and some Capcom games, I've basically just started focusing on indie games to avoid things like this. I'm not concerned if companies like EA go belly up, there are already too many games to begin with.

This looks so much more exciting than Build. I'll probably pick this up and play it before Build.

My take is that the problems began with Quest, which hardly anyone has mentioned so far. Steamworld Quest was fun but not particularly memorable. Unlike the other games, my kids and I will never replay it. So I think the momentum began slowing with Quest. Then, instead of following a new genre game with a sequel to a previously covered genre (e. g. Heist 2), they took a long time to make Build, which as others noted wasn't maybe as appealing to the fan base. A final point: in the past, the Steamworld games were released first on Nintendo consoles, giving the impression that it was a Nintendo fan driven series. Build came out on everything at the same time which gives the impression Thunderful is moving away from its roots as a Nintendo first dev. I think this mattered in the Wii U/3DS era. Anyway, I still plan to support the series since I'm a fan but won't be looking for Build 2 anytime soon.

I've only played Pikmin 3 but I found red pikmin to be way more useful than blue. To me, in Pikmin 3, it's red, winged, yellow, rock, blue.

I thought a lot of the critical reviews were off on this movie. Granted, I am a lifelong Mario fan, but this movie was clearly made to introduce you to the characters and the world. Sales people often talk about "land and expand" as a sales strategy. You get your foot in the door with a product or service and then try to expand from there as you learn more about your client. This movie is where they "land" to get a foot in the door with audiences and now they will "expand" the franchise over the next decade. My thought is that this will include series for some characters on Peacock and mainline movies. There will be plenty of content.

Also, and this is a little bit of a hot take, but Chris Pratt did well as Mario. While watching the movie, I never thought I was just listening to Chris Pratt talk. I've seen a lot of internet discourse about his casting in particular and using more actual voice actors. However, I doubt this push back came when Tom Hanks voiced Woody in Toy Story or even Jack Black in Kung Fu Panda. Famous actors are cast all the time as voice actors for animated films. You may not like Chris Pratt's personal life or views and that's fine. But in my opinion, he fit in well with the rest of the voice cast. The only one who I was disappointed in was Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong. In my head, CK is supposed to sound like a doddering old man, but oh well...

I'm playing SteamWorld Quest right now and having a great time with it. Dig 2 and Heist are still my favorites!

I had read one of the articles that the author linked to and thought the same thing, that you could say any platform holder had a rough year of not for a couple games.

I've basically stopped listening to a certain Nintendo podcast because one or two of the co-host keep talking about how Switch is "long in the tooth" and "Steam Deck is so awesome." These people play games as a profession and may be in touch with the hard core gaming crowd. However, I know at least three kids that got a Switch for Christmas. They and their parents don't have a clue that a Steam Deck exists and frankly don't care. Steam Deck is much better in the specs department but it's also sold at a substantial loss. Nintendo won't and shouldn't embrace that model.

Further, in my son's college dorm, everyone has a Switch. Almost no one has an Xbox or PS5 and absolutely no one has a Steam Deck. When they play competitive games, they play MK8 or Smash. These are not old geezer Nintendo fans like me. They are all born this century.

In my opinion, Nintendo had a great year and the next financial report will prove that. People in games journalism need to think about encouraging people to enjoy the things we have, though in some cases criticism is warranted and should be voiced. Others who complain about nothing to play may need to consider a new hobby or a change of pace to learn contentment. Now I'm off to play some Kirby and Great Ace Attorney!

Boomerang Fu is regularly on sale for $1.99. Pick it up then, it's a great game to play with kids. Speaking of that, how is Bugsnax on Switch? Is it a good game for kids?

Paper Mario Sticker Star. I never played a Paper Mario game before this one. While it is inferior to other entries, the music is top notch, the visuals are great and the game play isn't too bad outside of the bosses where you need to have specific stickers to win. For that, I just recommend consulting a guide.

@Oswinner Just finished playing Yoshi's Crafted World and I found it to be delightful. It was a little too much of a collect-a-thon but I enjoyed finding the Poochy pups. The levels were varied and looked great. However, a lot of people feel it is inferior to Woolly World which admittedly I never played.

I finished Star Allies at around 95% completion recently and really enjoyed it. I know many people were "meh" on it but I thought it was a great game to play with my 7-year-old kids that didn't demand a lot of my time. I look forward to checking out Kirby and the Forgotten Land maybe later this year.

I agree with the Second Opinion more than the actual review. My family all played the new tracks last night and the consensus was that this wave is better than the first one. Most of the wave one tracks we felt were kind of "meh" except for Ninja Hideaway. Sky High Sundae is broken but an interesting experiment. Waluigi Pinball and Mushroom Gorge are awesome and we liked the changes to Kalimari Desert. Sydney Sprint is a good Tour track. Keep 'em coming, Nintendo! Wave 3 as a Christmas "present"!

I haven't watched the video but I've played both games extensively and played almost every entry in the series. In my opinion, neither game is fantastic. Phantom Hourglass has some redeeming qualities but poor design choices. Spirit Tracks is the worst Zelda game and the only one I didn't bother finishing though I got close to the end. ST is so boring, empty, repetitive and frustrating towards the end. I had fun even with Chibi Robo Zip Lash but really struggled with Spirit Tracks.

I played the first one on the DS. It was alright but weird. I'm just thinking this won't be localized. These games are too niche but I guess all manner of low budget visual novels are pumped into the eShop every week so why not this.

This is on my wish list for a sale. Looks great!

I still have both GBA games, complete in box. The wistful music, clever level design and colorful aesthetics make these two games top tier GBA games in my eyes. I've never played the other games but I plan to check them out now. I was hoping the GBA games would be included in the collection.

I have read the report and listened to Kat Bailey (the IGN author) talk about this on Nintendo Voice Chat. As a manager, I always endeavor to treat my employees fairly, no matter if they are FTE (full-time employees) or contractors. Bullying and harassment are never right. However, the truth is that contractors are not owed the same benefits as full-time employees. Nor are they owed a permanent position. Many of them grow into this based on the value they bring to the company. The contract defines the terms of employment. That is the nature of the "gig economy". Further, if the contract is through an agency, then technically they are employed by the agency. Whatever benefits are provided by the agency is what they are entitled to receive. Nintendo has no say in that, though they could (and should) refuse to work with an agency that does not treat their employees well. As a client of the agency, Nintendo can request that a person be removed from their account at any time for any reason. If Nintendo abides by the terms of the agreement, either with the independent contractor or with the agency who employees the contractor, then they cannot be accused of wrongdoing. However, they are responsible for their general work environment and should not abuse or demean their employees or contractors. On the other side, a contractor should not abuse their position with Nintendo by disclosing confidential information. Let the investigation proceed and report back if there is something substantial to report.

@hypercoyote Yeah, I applaud Kotaku for "tracing" this back to the source. Probably one of their writers received their joycon back, saw the box and thought, "I wonder what this place is like."

I plan to play some Slay the Spire this month. I just finished A Short Hike (highly recommended) and am playing Jenny LeClue, which is a high quality point-and-click. My daughter played it about 6 months ago and recommended it to me.

1.) NLife should just hire Kit and Krysta. These articles must get a lot of clicks.
2.) I agree with Kit. In fact, I just let my Switch Online subscription expire. I told my kids they are welcome to split the cost with me if they want. No one has spoken up yet.

Here are other games I recommend:
Picturebook Games: The Royal Bluff
Number Battle
Flametail
Ivy the Kiwi
Aura Aura Climber
Pop Island
Save the Turtles

Also, Looksley's Line Up or Face Pilot?

@invictus4000 My kids still play Photo Dojo. It was criminal that no sequel was made for the 3DS. The best $2 on DSiWare. By the way, where's Spotto?

Looks cool, and I like the GBC but...I guess I expected a little more out of Yacht Club after all these years?

I'm currently playing the 3DS version and having a lot of fun.

Catching the Wii?!? Just Dance 2030 for Switch CONFIRMED!

@Specter_of-the_OLED Well, you are assuming they can stock enough of them this Holiday season. I imagine parents are going to have a hard time finding some gifts for their kids due to chip shortages and supply chain woes.

Well, I'm not angry about this but I am disappointed. You can get most of these Genesis games on the switch for cheap. The N64 games are cool but not worth it at the moment. I have still have NES and SNES games I want to play in the service. I'll stick with the base sub for now. $40 would have been a better price point. It may be worth $50 if they add GBA. In general, I think their pricing is high. Warioware was fun but probably not worth $50. I paid $30 from having a gift card and it was definitely worth that. That's just my opinion.

I think that if these folks really have a case against MercurySteam that they can sue for damages instead of trying their case in the "guilty until proven innocent" world of the internet where every corporation is automatically bad and corrupt based on one person's tweet. But they won't because they likely don't have a case.

@CharlieGirl There are many things that are "utterly abhorrent" in this world but being left out of credits is not one of them. People are unfairly treated all the time in the corporate workplace. Is it ok? No. Is it just? Likely not. However, did these folks know the policy and are just using this to get their five minutes in the limelight? Maybe. We only have one side of the story and to call it "abhorrent" is a bit of a stretch. Let's agree to save that for issues of life and death.

I liked the first game. Wasn't too big on the subject matter of their second game. I thought it was somewhat sacrilegious. Hopefully this one will be good.

@Yodalovesu I haven't played the game so I am speaking as an outsider on this one. However, bugs and lack of polish in my opinion should be counted against a game. If you applied this to a sports team, then you could say "Well, if only the players and coaches just made better decisions or better plays, then they would be an all-time great team." But they didn't, so their record is bad. In hearing people talk about this game, it sounds like they are going way out of their way to be charitable because it looks nice and they want it to be good. I heard Casey on NVC talking about this game and you could tell she hated it but was trying to be nice. I think our society is geared that way now, where we have to try to find the good in everything. However, there is nothing wrong in saying, "This is not a good game. It's disappointing. I don't recommend you buy it." The developers may try harder to either patch this game or make a better game next time. Or they may be inspired to start a new career that leads to astronomical success. I'm not saying to be overly critical or harsh, but be honest. If it's not good, give it a 2 or 3. Don't lead people to spend their hard earned on something that isn't worth it.