@JugOfVoodoo This is a very good theory. You might be right!
@westman98 Pokemon games have actually skipped consecutive years many times before, especially in Gens 1-3. It's just that since 2009 with the release of Platinum there was a new Pokemon RPG every year with the exception of 2015.
Just based on design (which we can only judge on as of now), Tears of the Kingdom one for sure.
Sure it's the newest but I genuinely think design-wise it's one of the best if not the best for Ganondorf. Besides Wind Waker, all the other designs are charismatic and intimidating but too in-your-face "I'm the villain!" Wind Waker Ganondorf and Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf don't look that way, and I much prefer a nuanced presentation of villains that isn't obvious than stereotypical cartoon villains.
Wind Waker Ganondorf is just too cartoony with awkward proportions for me to like. If I didn't know anything about Zelda, ToTK Ganondorf definitely would look like a major character but not necessarily someone I'd think was the villain. I like that approach to design.
I really wish Game Freak would take their time with these. Releasing these in 2023 with maybe a Let’s Go Johto by ILCA in 2022 would’ve been nice. Graphics still look a little iffy and they’re running the risk of PokeFatigue by having it come out less than a year after Legends Arceus.
This is absolutely ridiculous. Nintendo is out of their minds.
I don't usually make statements like this, but I have to for this case.
They're asking $50 per year, close to the same price as PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold which give you TWO CURRENT-GEN games per MONTH in addition to better online, voice-chat, etc, as compared to this NSO plan with just drip-feeding (remember they don't add games per month, just whenever they feel like it) N64 and Genesis and a $25 DLC for one game.
What if you don't have Animal Crossing? Sucks for you, still have to RENT the $25 DLC anyway PER YEAR.
Why couldn't they just keep the DLC as DLC and then keep the N64 and Genesis games as a $30/year option? Even for people interested in Animal Crossing DLC, it's much better to buy the $25 DLC since that way you only pay the $25 one time and can keep it as opposed to paying $25 per year for it and losing it if you ever decide to stop paying it.
Nintendo absolutely deserves all the negative criticism they can get for this.
@TheBigK It’s hard in the beginning but keep at it! I was just like you, I didn’t like it very much because I would constantly rely on the walkthrough to find out where to go. But the more you play it, the less you need the walkthrough, and the more you start to “understand” the game. When everything clicks the game feels SO satisfying. So I recommend you keep trying. For me it came right at the end of the game so you shouldn’t feel discouraged if you’re still feeling overwhelmed.
That being said, I’ll probably always need a walkthrough — I don’t view it as me giving up but more so getting direction on where to go, since at this point in my life I don’t have time to spend wandering aimlessly without fun in a game
@Maxz good catch! Honestly that is really curious. Your theory about Monster Hunter makes sense but that wouldn’t explain the DS and Gameboy’s sales. Only thing I can think of is GBA probably had the shortest life cycle of any major Nintendo product (just 3 years IIRC from 2001 to 2004) so it didn’t give them much time to buy it maybe? Or accumulate any games worth looking into by the time of the announcement of the (backwards compatible) DS?
Welcome back @ThomasBW84! I really enjoyed reading your detailed articles and reviews so it’s great to see you and your excellent writing back. And Kate’s done a great job as well, I love the personality and humor that comes through in her articles! Glad to see Nintendo Life as a whole doing well! Hope you guys continue to have record-breaking traffic to your site!
Great article @kategray! I agree, I played Ocarina of Time for the first time in 2009 (so I was used to more technologically advanced games at that point) but despite its technological limitations it manages to convey those feelings of atmosphere so well. I can’t imagine how amazing it must have been to play when it actually was state of the art in graphics and gameplay.
I love this game, it really feels like a PS4/Xbox game with its focus on a huge world to explore, storyline, grand boss fights, awesome combat, etc. It’s the first game I bought on my Switch that made the Switch feel like it had its own identity in my mind (virtually everything prior maybe save Odyssey was on Wii U in some form).
It’s a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the games on Switch, I highly recommend people to try it out. I liked Bayonetta but didn’t like how it was purely focused on combat, this has a nice mix of exploration, traversal, combat, and story that makes it feel like a much better experience
@Juga I personally think Astral Chain is a lot easier to control than Wonderful 101, and is way more compelling a game. Check out some YouTube videos to see what I mean!
I’m surprised so many people are voting 2015. Sure Nintendo had a poor E3, but for the Wii U we had Splatoon (a HUGE new IP and the first time Nintendo ventured into third person shooters with a primarily online component), Super Mario Maker (first time you could ever make your own Mario levels — and a great way to use the Wii U GamePad), Xenoblade Chronicles X (a great open world game with lots of content), Yoshi’s Woolly World (a delightful 2D platformer), Fast Racing Neo (a great game similar to F Zero), and Kirby. A pretty good year I would say!
2018 on the Switch was probably the Switch’s worst year so far, besides Smash. Pokémon Let’s Go was a huge disappointment for me, and I don’t think much else released besides Octopath Traveler (if you’re a fan of old school RPGs, otherwise not for you), Celeste, and Captain Toad (which was a port). 2018 was far worse than 2015 IMHO.
And people, let’s wait until 2020 is over before we vote 2020 as the worst year lol.
@scully1888 Great job with the review! It was really in-depth and thorough and you weren’t afraid to criticize parts of the game you didn’t like, as well as praise parts of the game you did like. It was really informative! While I disagree with the number rating (I would say it sounds more like a 7), numbering is all subjective anyway (so that 7 is my opinion, just like the 8 is yours and neither of those are “wrong”) and the most important part of a review is the description of the game and experience with the game, which you nailed. So great job!
@rjejr I just got confirmation that my Joy Con are being shipped back after being fixed at the NY Nintendo Repair Center. Completely free (Even after the warranty expired)!
Got my Switch in mid 2018 with its two Joy Cons. After about 9 months the left blue Joy Con started drifting, I got it replaced for free.
Now my right red Joy Con is also starting to drift, I’m planning to soon send that in for repair.
For the people commenting that the lawsuit won’t help us — it certainly does, since it forces Nintendo to acknowledge the issue and (at least in the U.S., where the lawsuit originated) forced them to have free Joy Con repairs. They should expand that to the rest of the world, but unfortunately they don’t want to unless the threat of a lawsuit is present.
My other Nintendo hardware all still works fine, I take very good care of all my tech. The Switch is just undoubtedly one of the worst Nintendo products ever made construction-wise, with its WiFi issues, Joy con drift, etc.
Great job with the article @dartmonkey! A nice and funny little article, theory 6 made me crack up cause of how out of the box it was. You make a good point about how 2019 originally looked sparse at this time of year too last year. Maybe in a month we’ll have the answer to this question?
@ryancraddock Thanks for sharing this, it gave me a much needed laugh! I’m busy with studying anatomy and a million exams so I took this article for what it is, a light and fun highlighting of a bug that admittedly is kinda funny (especially the second tweet with the MJ music in the background).
Good work everyone! THIS is why we contributed to the class-action lawsuit — this almost certainly wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the threat of a lawsuit. I’m fully satisfied at this point. Of course a new redesign of Joy Con that actually fixes this issue would be appreciated, but this is perfect for anyone who had or has Joy Con drift issues.
@AlternateButtons This example might be able to help you understand this situation better:
—————————————
I have never known anyone who broke their TVs or any other objects due to the Wii remote’s strap breaking. Likewise I have never even remotely had an issue with the Wii remote strap. It seemed like a lot of people who broke the strap and any surrounding objects were just careless with their Wii remotes. If they just took better care of their Wii remotes and didn’t carelessly throw their controllers around, there wouldn’t be any issues. It’s just a user-fault issue. They just need to take better care of their hardware.
—————————————
...See what I did there? Just because I had no experience with the Wii remotes straps breaking doesn’t mean the issue is nonexistent or due to user fault. Likewise for you and the Joy Con drifting.
Another thing to mention — a very similar situation happened with Apple fairly recently.
Their keyboards on their new MacBooks were prone to failure from an inherent design flaw. However, they stayed silent on the issue and people who said they had the issue were chastised for being too irresponsible with their hardware. Apple STILL stayed silent, and instead asked those with the issue to pay a whopping $700 to fix the entire bottom case of the laptop (including keyboard). Eventually a class action lawsuit was filed. THAT’S when Apple decided to acknowledge the issue and address it by extending the warranty for keyboard repairs (and make it free to repair during that extended warranty).
Unfortunately it took the threat of a class action lawsuit for Apple to address the keyboards not working due to an inherent design flaw, it’ll likely take the threat of this class action lawsuit for Nintendo to finally address the Joy Cons for having drift due to an inherent design flaw.
@JR150 That will only temporarily fix the issue. The underlying cause of the issue is an inherent design flaw that cannot be fixed with electrical contact cleaner.
@Darkyoshi98 @Silly_G @DanTheSausage @PBandSmelly Just because you haven’t experienced the problem yet doesn’t mean it is nonexistent or that anyone who experiences it mistreated their controllers. It has been well documented at this point that ALL Joy Cons will eventually drift because this is an inherent design flaw. Supporting the lawsuit is a good idea if you have Joy Con drifting — this isn’t about making money from Nintendo, this is about bringing to Nintendo’s attention that after 2.5 years of the Switch being on market, the Joy Cons STILL have this inherent design flaw AND Nintendo has not once acknowledged the issue. We’ve given them 2.5 years to address this — if they haven’t at this point, unfortunately the only way to bring it to their attention is by the threat of litigation.
TLDR; I’m certain me and many others aren’t supporting the lawsuit because we want Nintendo to pay us and lose money; we’re supporting it because we want our favorite video game company to be better and attempt to fix (or at least ACKNOWLEDGE) a major problem with their $40 controllers that they haven’t bothered to address in more than two years.
Sounds exactly as predicted by another site based on production/insiders (I think it was WSJ but not sure). They predicted a Switch Mini and slightly redesigned Switch for this year, with modest improvements on the regular Switch. Not sure if they also predicted a Switch Pro, but honestly that’s a matter of when not if. 2020 or 2021 sounds likely
They’re never going to actually say they will stop supporting the 3DS (besides the Wii U I don’t think they’ve ever explicitly said they’d stop supporting a system). The writing’s on the wall but I could see it being sold for a few more years as a cheap entry point into the Nintendo ecosystem. Once new games stop trickling onto the system, eventually it’ll fade away and support will end.
The majority of people here who are commenting “I don’t care about the Switch Mini, give me Switch Pro!” are forgetting that we are NOT the target audience for the Switch Mini.
The Switch Mini is going to target two major groups: those who were satisfied by the 3DS and have a smaller budget when it comes to gaming, and those who would like a secondary console to their PS/Xbox/PC but can’t justify spending $300 for just a secondary console. Switch Mini will target both of those groups with huge success. If Nintendo really wants 100 million Switch units sold and a Switch for each person, they are going to have to make a cheaper model — whether it’s a Switch Mini and even a small black box Switch Home — to make that happen. And that’s a win for everyone — more people buying means more developer support which means more games for everyone.
TLDR; While the Switch Mini won’t be for the majority of people who visit this site, it will target price-conscious people which would help expand the number of people who have the console and result in getting more games to the system — a win for everyone.
I get that a lot of people are saying not to complain about the $60 price tag ... but honestly, it would make me so much happier if they could just let us share and play dungeons we make online with both friends and random people. That’s it. That alone would justify the $60. Hopefully they would add it, I’m not too certain though since they never mentioned any online connectivity but since it’s not coming out until late September I hope there will be a surprise in store to add more value.
[Comes into comments looking to read excited Pokémon fans’ remarks about how fun the movie looks and what a fresh take on the Pokémon universe it seems to be]
[instead reads numerous comments from people who have supposedly already watched the whole movie and found it supposedly filled with swear words when in reality they are basing it off of one word that, in case anyone was wondering, was also in Ratatouille — which I don’t see people attacking for being too mature for kids)
Why can’t we all just look forward to the movie and, you know, WATCH IT OURSELVES before we make any criticisms about the movie? If any parents here truly think it’s too inappropriate for their kids AFTER watching it, by all means don’t let the kids watch it — there are PLENTY of kid-friendly Pokémon movies and more than a thousand kid-friendly Pokémon episodes for them to watch instead. Let’s just enjoy this fresh take on the Pokémon universe (especially for movies), shall we?
Great analysis Ryan! You hit the nail on the head — everyone who doesn’t seem to know much about Pokémon is more likely to say it’s average, and the people who do know about Pokémon are more likely to say it’s great. Like you said, I wouldn’t worry about the average reviews.
Honestly, this movie has the potential to be the best video game based movie ever. It’s funny and more importantly respects its source material. I’m super happy that they refer to all generations of Pokémon , not just generation 1. The movie feels like a celebration of ALL Pokémon, which is awesome. And of course seeing Pokémon and humans coexist makes my childhood dream come to life right in front of me. It’s shaping to be an awesome movie, I’m super excited to watch it.
@SepticLemon Oh OK makes sense. Although technically IIRC Gold and Silver can be played on a regular Game Boy even though they are labeled as GBC games — Crystal is the one where it can only be played on a GBC.
@OorWullie you know I think you’re on to something. I find it hard to believe that Nintendo would release a Pro model of the Switch so soon, I doubt there have been enough significant improvements to be able to manufacture a Pro model and have it meaningfully different from the regular model. Perhaps this is just an S style release, although that could still offer improvements (like support for HDR, upscaling to 4K, and better battery life)
Great article, although I think you guys missed a major aspect of the heavily rumored Switch Mini/Lite's appeal: it's supposed to be a lower cost entry to the Switch ecosystem, and thus appeal to gamers on a budget and parents buying a console/games for their kids.
Having a digital-only console would SEVERELY hurt that appeal, since buying games used or buying new games at discounts from major retailers would be much more cost-effective than buying games only from the Nintendo eShop.
In addition, aforementioned gamers on a budget or parents would definitely plan to sell games they don't play anymore to recoup some money back and use it towards future games, which without a physical media slot wouldn't be possible.
TLDR; due to the rumored Switch Mini/Lite's main role of providing a lower-cost entry into the Switch ecosystem, and the fact that being digital only would prevent used game sales and selling old games, I HIGHLY doubt we'd get a digital only Switch model anytime soon, if ever.
We should probably keep our expectations in check regarding new Gen 8 info being released tomorrow. Remember when Sun and Moon was announced we got nothing more than new titles in February 2016. We'll probably get an announcement of Detective Pikachu HD in May to tie in with the movie, some more info on Pokemon Go or a smaller mobile game, and ending with announcement of Gen 8 game titles and perhaps a release date (or at least month). I doubt we'll see anything gameplay related until end of May.
@Vulpern Hey I played both! Pop in is present to the same degree on Switch as on Wii U — didn’t notice any improvement there. Resolution is better (900p on Switch vs 720p on Wii U) although I didn’t notice a huge improvement subjectively. Frame rate is better on Switch, but once again didn’t notice a huge improvement subjectively; problematic areas like Korok Forest and Kakariko Village with rain still had noticeable frame drops on Switch. Overall the biggest noticeable improvements to me came in the form of handheld play being viable (720p screen vs the 480p screen of the GamePad makes a huge improvement, although TV still looks impressive) and usability of the Pro Controller which is lighter and more comfortable than the Wii U GamePad. Hope this helps!
Wow this came out of nowhere but best of luck to Reggie in retirement! He seems like a pretty cool guy who wasn't afraid to have a fun and playful personality, and made the best of what he had. Love how he acknowledges all the memes about him in his farewell video.
After thinking about this a bit, I think the answer is YES - Nintendo needs to release a Switch Mini. They need to replace the 3DS's role for price-conscious gamers/parents buying a game system for kids, and the $300 Switch just isn't doing it at the speed needed. A mini system at $199 or $169 would be big. The catch is to do it so that it's cheaper but at the same time compatible with the rest of the Switch library. My thoughts:
1. smaller screen with fused controllers
2. compatible with Joy-Con but Joy-Con sold separately
3. compatible with dock but dock sold separately
4. same internals as normal Switch
5. plays same games as normal Switch.
Sell it at $199 or $169 and I think it'll be a huge boost to Switch sales.
@DavidMac I’m not 100% sure about this, but I think you can still redeem the code. I think the deadline for redeeming the code is May or June. You just needed to register the physical game by last week — and since you bought digital you don’t need to worry about it. I’d check your emails and the deleted folder in your email account, and maybe call Nintendo Customer Service to see if they can resend the code to you.
Whatever Nintendo chooses — please Nintendo, PLEASE don’t revert back to having 2 consoles in the same generation (one home console and one handheld). Even for people who treat the Switch as just a home console or just a handheld, they’re still benefiting from having all of Nintendo’s output and games on one system. It will be a HUGE regression if we go back to the days of the 3DS/Wii U, where one system received games while the other one floundered due to lack of support.
I could see them pursuing an upgrade to the Switch in the same way the 3DS was to the DS — another gimmick/new way to play but still keeping the trademark feature of the previous generation. But from here on out I hope they only make one console per generation — a home/handheld hybrid — or else it will be a clear regression no matter what new way to play they add in.
I love Lifelight, when it came during the Smash Direct in November it gave me chills (in a good way). It's catchy and it somehow manages to fit with the theme of Smash. I still listen to it every so often via YouTube, and I love listening to it every time! Great job Abby!
2018 was honestly pretty disappointing, barely saved only by Smash and Pokémon Let’s Go. Nintendo seemed like they rested on their laurels and relied too much on the games launched in 2017.
On the other hand, I find it utterly despicable that people here are picking on other users because they don’t agree with their views. We all suffer as a community when people shut down others just because their views are different than the norm.
@gcunit That makes sense. That was the similar fun I had with my Wii U playthrough, I guess doing the same things again in Master Mode on Switch can be tiring for me. I did have lots of fun with a few new areas I discovered that I didn’t on my Wii U playthrough. For example after about 190 hours I finally found the snowball bowling game and Goron golf game, that was pretty neat. Hero’s Path helps a lot too.
Comments 204
Re: Pokémon Legends: Z-A Announced, Coming To Switch In 2025
@JugOfVoodoo This is a very good theory. You might be right!
@westman98 Pokemon games have actually skipped consecutive years many times before, especially in Gens 1-3. It's just that since 2009 with the release of Platinum there was a new Pokemon RPG every year with the exception of 2015.
Re: Poll: Which Is The Best Ganondorf?
Just based on design (which we can only judge on as of now), Tears of the Kingdom one for sure.
Sure it's the newest but I genuinely think design-wise it's one of the best if not the best for Ganondorf. Besides Wind Waker, all the other designs are charismatic and intimidating but too in-your-face "I'm the villain!" Wind Waker Ganondorf and Tears of the Kingdom Ganondorf don't look that way, and I much prefer a nuanced presentation of villains that isn't obvious than stereotypical cartoon villains.
Wind Waker Ganondorf is just too cartoony with awkward proportions for me to like. If I didn't know anything about Zelda, ToTK Ganondorf definitely would look like a major character but not necessarily someone I'd think was the villain. I like that approach to design.
Re: Feature: Pokémon Scarlet And Violet Starter Evolution Predictions, Illustrated By A Professional Artist
The fire starter mockup is really good, I'm not sure if the design will turn out exactly like that but the theme is spot on
Re: Back Page: Pokémon Moms Speak Out About Palindromic Regions And Raising Champions
Great article! It was fun to read!
Re: Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet Announced, Releasing Worldwide In "Late 2022"
I really wish Game Freak would take their time with these. Releasing these in 2023 with maybe a Let’s Go Johto by ILCA in 2022 would’ve been nice. Graphics still look a little iffy and they’re running the risk of PokeFatigue by having it come out less than a year after Legends Arceus.
Re: Back Page: After Spending $70B On Activision Blizzard... What If Microsoft Buys Nintendo Next?
This was hilarious, thanks Kate! Was a great read and I’m experiencing a rough time right now so I appreciated the laughs!
Re: Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack Release Date And Pricing Revealed
This is absolutely ridiculous. Nintendo is out of their minds.
I don't usually make statements like this, but I have to for this case.
They're asking $50 per year, close to the same price as PS Plus and Xbox Live Gold which give you TWO CURRENT-GEN games per MONTH in addition to better online, voice-chat, etc, as compared to this NSO plan with just drip-feeding (remember they don't add games per month, just whenever they feel like it) N64 and Genesis and a $25 DLC for one game.
What if you don't have Animal Crossing? Sucks for you, still have to RENT the $25 DLC anyway PER YEAR.
Why couldn't they just keep the DLC as DLC and then keep the N64 and Genesis games as a $30/year option? Even for people interested in Animal Crossing DLC, it's much better to buy the $25 DLC since that way you only pay the $25 one time and can keep it as opposed to paying $25 per year for it and losing it if you ever decide to stop paying it.
Nintendo absolutely deserves all the negative criticism they can get for this.
Re: Metroid Dread Report Volume 9 Outlines Some Tweaks To Key Features
@TheBigK It’s hard in the beginning but keep at it! I was just like you, I didn’t like it very much because I would constantly rely on the walkthrough to find out where to go. But the more you play it, the less you need the walkthrough, and the more you start to “understand” the game. When everything clicks the game feels SO satisfying. So I recommend you keep trying. For me it came right at the end of the game so you shouldn’t feel discouraged if you’re still feeling overwhelmed.
That being said, I’ll probably always need a walkthrough — I don’t view it as me giving up but more so getting direction on where to go, since at this point in my life I don’t have time to spend wandering aimlessly without fun in a game
Re: Nintendo Switch Is Now The Sixth Best-Selling Video Game System In Japan
@Maxz good catch! Honestly that is really curious. Your theory about Monster Hunter makes sense but that wouldn’t explain the DS and Gameboy’s sales. Only thing I can think of is GBA probably had the shortest life cycle of any major Nintendo product (just 3 years IIRC from 2001 to 2004) so it didn’t give them much time to buy it maybe? Or accumulate any games worth looking into by the time of the announcement of the (backwards compatible) DS?
Re: Site News: After Our Best Year Yet, Things Are Changing Here At Nintendo Life
Welcome back @ThomasBW84! I really enjoyed reading your detailed articles and reviews so it’s great to see you and your excellent writing back.
And Kate’s done a great job as well, I love the personality and humor that comes through in her articles!
Glad to see Nintendo Life as a whole doing well! Hope you guys continue to have record-breaking traffic to your site!
Re: Memory Pak: When Link Left The Temple Of Time In Zelda: Ocarina Of Time And Everything Changed
Great article @kategray! I agree, I played Ocarina of Time for the first time in 2009 (so I was used to more technologically advanced games at that point) but despite its technological limitations it manages to convey those feelings of atmosphere so well. I can’t imagine how amazing it must have been to play when it actually was state of the art in graphics and gameplay.
Re: Talking Point: There's Never Been A Better Time For Gaming Consumers, Nor A Worse Time For Gaming Innovation
Great article, thank you for writing it! I hope more thorough and Talking Point style articles like these appear on NintendoLife!
Re: Soapbox: Astral Chain Was The Game Nintendo Needed Most In Its 2019 Switch Lineup
I love this game, it really feels like a PS4/Xbox game with its focus on a huge world to explore, storyline, grand boss fights, awesome combat, etc. It’s the first game I bought on my Switch that made the Switch feel like it had its own identity in my mind (virtually everything prior maybe save Odyssey was on Wii U in some form).
It’s a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the games on Switch, I highly recommend people to try it out. I liked Bayonetta but didn’t like how it was purely focused on combat, this has a nice mix of exploration, traversal, combat, and story that makes it feel like a much better experience
@Juga I personally think Astral Chain is a lot easier to control than Wonderful 101, and is way more compelling a game. Check out some YouTube videos to see what I mean!
Re: Poll: No, Really, What Was Nintendo's Worst Year?
I’m surprised so many people are voting 2015. Sure Nintendo had a poor E3, but for the Wii U we had Splatoon (a HUGE new IP and the first time Nintendo ventured into third person shooters with a primarily online component), Super Mario Maker (first time you could ever make your own Mario levels — and a great way to use the Wii U GamePad), Xenoblade Chronicles X (a great open world game with lots of content), Yoshi’s Woolly World (a delightful 2D platformer), Fast Racing Neo (a great game similar to F Zero), and Kirby. A pretty good year I would say!
2018 on the Switch was probably the Switch’s worst year so far, besides Smash. Pokémon Let’s Go was a huge disappointment for me, and I don’t think much else released besides Octopath Traveler (if you’re a fan of old school RPGs, otherwise not for you), Celeste, and Captain Toad (which was a port). 2018 was far worse than 2015 IMHO.
And people, let’s wait until 2020 is over before we vote 2020 as the worst year lol.
Re: Review: Paper Mario: The Origami King - A Puzzling Battle System Can't Kill This Funny Adventure
@scully1888 Great job with the review! It was really in-depth and thorough and you weren’t afraid to criticize parts of the game you didn’t like, as well as praise parts of the game you did like. It was really informative! While I disagree with the number rating (I would say it sounds more like a 7), numbering is all subjective anyway (so that 7 is my opinion, just like the 8 is yours and neither of those are “wrong”) and the most important part of a review is the description of the game and experience with the game, which you nailed. So great job!
Re: PSA: Remember To Update Your Joy-Con, As Well As Your Nintendo Switch
@rjejr I just got confirmation that my Joy Con are being shipped back after being fixed at the NY Nintendo Repair Center. Completely free (Even after the warranty expired)!
Re: Nintendo President Apologises For Joy-Con Drift, Can't Comment Further Due To Ongoing Lawsuit
Got my Switch in mid 2018 with its two Joy Cons. After about 9 months the left blue Joy Con started drifting, I got it replaced for free.
Now my right red Joy Con is also starting to drift, I’m planning to soon send that in for repair.
For the people commenting that the lawsuit won’t help us — it certainly does, since it forces Nintendo to acknowledge the issue and (at least in the U.S., where the lawsuit originated) forced them to have free Joy Con repairs. They should expand that to the rest of the world, but unfortunately they don’t want to unless the threat of a lawsuit is present.
My other Nintendo hardware all still works fine, I take very good care of all my tech. The Switch is just undoubtedly one of the worst Nintendo products ever made construction-wise, with its WiFi issues, Joy con drift, etc.
Re: Feature: 10 Years Later, We Return To Our Abandoned Animal Crossing: Wild World Village
Nice and creative feature, Gavin! It’s interesting to revisit older games and see how our opinions of them have changed (or not).
Re: Feature: It's Been Nearly Five Years, So Where In The World Is Pikmin 4?
Great job with the article @dartmonkey! A nice and funny little article, theory 6 made me crack up cause of how out of the box it was. You make a good point about how 2019 originally looked sparse at this time of year too last year. Maybe in a month we’ll have the answer to this question?
Re: Random: Moonwalking Zacian Should Be The Next Luigi Death Stare, Change Our Minds
@ryancraddock Thanks for sharing this, it gave me a much needed laugh! I’m busy with studying anatomy and a million exams so I took this article for what it is, a light and fun highlighting of a bug that admittedly is kinda funny (especially the second tweet with the MJ music in the background).
Re: Review: Luigi's Mansion 3 - Gooigi Takes Ghost Busting To The Next Level
Great review Alex! Love the humor you have throughout the review, made it fun to read while learning more about the game!
Re: Feature: Where Does Nintendo Switch Fit In The PS5 And Xbox Project Scarlett Next-Gen War?
@damo Great article! I loved how thorough it was!
Re: Nintendo Will Reportedly Fix Joy-Con Drift For Free And Refund Customers Who Paid
Good work everyone! THIS is why we contributed to the class-action lawsuit — this almost certainly wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for the threat of a lawsuit. I’m fully satisfied at this point. Of course a new redesign of Joy Con that actually fixes this issue would be appreciated, but this is perfect for anyone who had or has Joy Con drift issues.
Re: Preview: Astral Chain Mixes Bayonetta, Wonderful 101 And Metal Gear Rising, And You'll Love It
@Pandaman Nice preview! Looks to be a unique game, kudos to PlatinumGames for deciding to make a new IP and making it full of depth and substance.
Re: Class Action Lawsuit Officially Filed Against Nintendo For Switch Joy-Con "Drifting" Issues
@JessM87 Exactly. Hope this makes Nintendo act.
Re: Class Action Lawsuit Officially Filed Against Nintendo For Switch Joy-Con "Drifting" Issues
@AlternateButtons This example might be able to help you understand this situation better:
—————————————
I have never known anyone who broke their TVs or any other objects due to the Wii remote’s strap breaking. Likewise I have never even remotely had an issue with the Wii remote strap. It seemed like a lot of people who broke the strap and any surrounding objects were just careless with their Wii remotes. If they just took better care of their Wii remotes and didn’t carelessly throw their controllers around, there wouldn’t be any issues. It’s just a user-fault issue. They just need to take better care of their hardware.
—————————————
...See what I did there? Just because I had no experience with the Wii remotes straps breaking doesn’t mean the issue is nonexistent or due to user fault. Likewise for you and the Joy Con drifting.
Re: Class Action Lawsuit Officially Filed Against Nintendo For Switch Joy-Con "Drifting" Issues
Another thing to mention — a very similar situation happened with Apple fairly recently.
Their keyboards on their new MacBooks were prone to failure from an inherent design flaw. However, they stayed silent on the issue and people who said they had the issue were chastised for being too irresponsible with their hardware. Apple STILL stayed silent, and instead asked those with the issue to pay a whopping $700 to fix the entire bottom case of the laptop (including keyboard). Eventually a class action lawsuit was filed. THAT’S when Apple decided to acknowledge the issue and address it by extending the warranty for keyboard repairs (and make it free to repair during that extended warranty).
Unfortunately it took the threat of a class action lawsuit for Apple to address the keyboards not working due to an inherent design flaw, it’ll likely take the threat of this class action lawsuit for Nintendo to finally address the Joy Cons for having drift due to an inherent design flaw.
Re: Class Action Lawsuit Officially Filed Against Nintendo For Switch Joy-Con "Drifting" Issues
@JR150 That will only temporarily fix the issue. The underlying cause of the issue is an inherent design flaw that cannot be fixed with electrical contact cleaner.
Re: Class Action Lawsuit Officially Filed Against Nintendo For Switch Joy-Con "Drifting" Issues
@Darkyoshi98 @Silly_G @DanTheSausage @PBandSmelly Just because you haven’t experienced the problem yet doesn’t mean it is nonexistent or that anyone who experiences it mistreated their controllers. It has been well documented at this point that ALL Joy Cons will eventually drift because this is an inherent design flaw. Supporting the lawsuit is a good idea if you have Joy Con drifting — this isn’t about making money from Nintendo, this is about bringing to Nintendo’s attention that after 2.5 years of the Switch being on market, the Joy Cons STILL have this inherent design flaw AND Nintendo has not once acknowledged the issue. We’ve given them 2.5 years to address this — if they haven’t at this point, unfortunately the only way to bring it to their attention is by the threat of litigation.
TLDR; I’m certain me and many others aren’t supporting the lawsuit because we want Nintendo to pay us and lose money; we’re supporting it because we want our favorite video game company to be better and attempt to fix (or at least ACKNOWLEDGE) a major problem with their $40 controllers that they haven’t bothered to address in more than two years.
Re: Rumour: Dataminer Supposedly Uncovers Tech Specs For New And Improved Switch
Sounds exactly as predicted by another site based on production/insiders (I think it was WSJ but not sure). They predicted a Switch Mini and slightly redesigned Switch for this year, with modest improvements on the regular Switch. Not sure if they also predicted a Switch Pro, but honestly that’s a matter of when not if. 2020 or 2021 sounds likely
Re: Doug Bowser Says Nintendo Will Continue To Support The 3DS Family Of Systems
They’re never going to actually say they will stop supporting the 3DS (besides the Wii U I don’t think they’ve ever explicitly said they’d stop supporting a system). The writing’s on the wall but I could see it being sold for a few more years as a cheap entry point into the Nintendo ecosystem. Once new games stop trickling onto the system, eventually it’ll fade away and support will end.
Re: Talking Point: The Sound Strategy Behind 2DS Points To A Switch Mini
The majority of people here who are commenting “I don’t care about the Switch Mini, give me Switch Pro!” are forgetting that we are NOT the target audience for the Switch Mini.
The Switch Mini is going to target two major groups: those who were satisfied by the 3DS and have a smaller budget when it comes to gaming, and those who would like a secondary console to their PS/Xbox/PC but can’t justify spending $300 for just a secondary console. Switch Mini will target both of those groups with huge success. If Nintendo really wants 100 million Switch units sold and a Switch for each person, they are going to have to make a cheaper model — whether it’s a Switch Mini and even a small black box Switch Home — to make that happen. And that’s a win for everyone — more people buying means more developer support which means more games for everyone.
TLDR; While the Switch Mini won’t be for the majority of people who visit this site, it will target price-conscious people which would help expand the number of people who have the console and result in getting more games to the system — a win for everyone.
Re: Hands On: Zelda: Link's Awakening On Switch Treads A Fine Line Between Remake And Reimagining
I get that a lot of people are saying not to complain about the $60 price tag ... but honestly, it would make me so much happier if they could just let us share and play dungeons we make online with both friends and random people. That’s it. That alone would justify the $60. Hopefully they would add it, I’m not too certain though since they never mentioned any online connectivity but since it’s not coming out until late September I hope there will be a surprise in store to add more value.
Re: Movie Review: Pokémon Detective Pikachu Does Enough To Break The 'Bad Video Game Movie' Curse
[Comes into comments looking to read excited Pokémon fans’ remarks about how fun the movie looks and what a fresh take on the Pokémon universe it seems to be]
[instead reads numerous comments from people who have supposedly already watched the whole movie and found it supposedly filled with swear words when in reality they are basing it off of one word that, in case anyone was wondering, was also in Ratatouille — which I don’t see people attacking for being too mature for kids)
Why can’t we all just look forward to the movie and, you know, WATCH IT OURSELVES before we make any criticisms about the movie? If any parents here truly think it’s too inappropriate for their kids AFTER watching it, by all means don’t let the kids watch it — there are PLENTY of kid-friendly Pokémon movies and more than a thousand kid-friendly Pokémon episodes for them to watch instead. Let’s just enjoy this fresh take on the Pokémon universe (especially for movies), shall we?
Re: The Detective Pikachu Movie Reviews Are In, And It's Actually Pretty Mixed
Great analysis Ryan! You hit the nail on the head — everyone who doesn’t seem to know much about Pokémon is more likely to say it’s average, and the people who do know about Pokémon are more likely to say it’s great. Like you said, I wouldn’t worry about the average reviews.
Honestly, this movie has the potential to be the best video game based movie ever. It’s funny and more importantly respects its source material. I’m super happy that they refer to all generations of Pokémon , not just generation 1. The movie feels like a celebration of ALL Pokémon, which is awesome. And of course seeing Pokémon and humans coexist makes my childhood dream come to life right in front of me. It’s shaping to be an awesome movie, I’m super excited to watch it.
Re: Feature: The 50 Best Game Boy Games - Zelda, Pokémon, Metroid, Mario And More
@SepticLemon Oh OK makes sense. Although technically IIRC Gold and Silver can be played on a regular Game Boy even though they are labeled as GBC games — Crystal is the one where it can only be played on a GBC.
@Fandabidozi See comment 73.
Re: Feature: The 50 Best Game Boy Games - Zelda, Pokémon, Metroid, Mario And More
How is Pokémon Gold and Silver not in the top 5? Unless it’s considered a Game Boy Color game and thus not part of the list.
Re: Rumours Of New Switch Models Cause Nintendo's Share Price To Significantly Rise
@OorWullie you know I think you’re on to something. I find it hard to believe that Nintendo would release a Pro model of the Switch so soon, I doubt there have been enough significant improvements to be able to manufacture a Pro model and have it meaningfully different from the regular model. Perhaps this is just an S style release, although that could still offer improvements (like support for HDR, upscaling to 4K, and better battery life)
Re: Talking Point: Could Nintendo Ditch Physical Media With A 'Switch Lite?'
Great article, although I think you guys missed a major aspect of the heavily rumored Switch Mini/Lite's appeal: it's supposed to be a lower cost entry to the Switch ecosystem, and thus appeal to gamers on a budget and parents buying a console/games for their kids.
Having a digital-only console would SEVERELY hurt that appeal, since buying games used or buying new games at discounts from major retailers would be much more cost-effective than buying games only from the Nintendo eShop.
In addition, aforementioned gamers on a budget or parents would definitely plan to sell games they don't play anymore to recoup some money back and use it towards future games, which without a physical media slot wouldn't be possible.
TLDR; due to the rumored Switch Mini/Lite's main role of providing a lower-cost entry into the Switch ecosystem, and the fact that being digital only would prevent used game sales and selling old games, I HIGHLY doubt we'd get a digital only Switch model anytime soon, if ever.
Re: Pokémon Direct Officially Confirmed For Tomorrow, 27th February
We should probably keep our expectations in check regarding new Gen 8 info being released tomorrow. Remember when Sun and Moon was announced we got nothing more than new titles in February 2016. We'll probably get an announcement of Detective Pikachu HD in May to tie in with the movie, some more info on Pokemon Go or a smaller mobile game, and ending with announcement of Gen 8 game titles and perhaps a release date (or at least month). I doubt we'll see anything gameplay related until end of May.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (February 23rd)
@Vulpern Hey I played both! Pop in is present to the same degree on Switch as on Wii U — didn’t notice any improvement there. Resolution is better (900p on Switch vs 720p on Wii U) although I didn’t notice a huge improvement subjectively. Frame rate is better on Switch, but once again didn’t notice a huge improvement subjectively; problematic areas like Korok Forest and Kakariko Village with rain still had noticeable frame drops on Switch. Overall the biggest noticeable improvements to me came in the form of handheld play being viable (720p screen vs the 480p screen of the GamePad makes a huge improvement, although TV still looks impressive) and usability of the Pro Controller which is lighter and more comfortable than the Wii U GamePad. Hope this helps!
Re: Reggie Fils-Aime Is Retiring After 15 Notable Years At Nintendo of America
Wow this came out of nowhere but best of luck to Reggie in retirement! He seems like a pretty cool guy who wasn't afraid to have a fun and playful personality, and made the best of what he had. Love how he acknowledges all the memes about him in his farewell video.
Re: Talking Point: What Do You Want From A Switch Mini?
After thinking about this a bit, I think the answer is YES - Nintendo needs to release a Switch Mini. They need to replace the 3DS's role for price-conscious gamers/parents buying a game system for kids, and the $300 Switch just isn't doing it at the speed needed. A mini system at $199 or $169 would be big. The catch is to do it so that it's cheaper but at the same time compatible with the rest of the Switch library. My thoughts:
1. smaller screen with fused controllers
2. compatible with Joy-Con but Joy-Con sold separately
3. compatible with dock but dock sold separately
4. same internals as normal Switch
5. plays same games as normal Switch.
Sell it at $199 or $169 and I think it'll be a huge boost to Switch sales.
Re: Piranha Plant Is Now Available In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
@DavidMac I’m not 100% sure about this, but I think you can still redeem the code. I think the deadline for redeeming the code is May or June. You just needed to register the physical game by last week — and since you bought digital you don’t need to worry about it. I’d check your emails and the deleted folder in your email account, and maybe call Nintendo Customer Service to see if they can resend the code to you.
Re: Talking Point: What's Next For Nintendo After Switch?
Whatever Nintendo chooses — please Nintendo, PLEASE don’t revert back to having 2 consoles in the same generation (one home console and one handheld). Even for people who treat the Switch as just a home console or just a handheld, they’re still benefiting from having all of Nintendo’s output and games on one system. It will be a HUGE regression if we go back to the days of the 3DS/Wii U, where one system received games while the other one floundered due to lack of support.
I could see them pursuing an upgrade to the Switch in the same way the 3DS was to the DS — another gimmick/new way to play but still keeping the trademark feature of the previous generation. But from here on out I hope they only make one console per generation — a home/handheld hybrid — or else it will be a clear regression no matter what new way to play they add in.
Re: Talent Behind Smash Bros. Ultimate 'Lifelight' Theme Song Reveals How The Opportunity Came About
I love Lifelight, when it came during the Smash Direct in November it gave me chills (in a good way). It's catchy and it somehow manages to fit with the theme of Smash. I still listen to it every so often via YouTube, and I love listening to it every time! Great job Abby!
Re: Feature: Nintendo's 2018: A Remarkable Year In Review
2018 was honestly pretty disappointing, barely saved only by Smash and Pokémon Let’s Go. Nintendo seemed like they rested on their laurels and relied too much on the games launched in 2017.
The good news is, 2019 looks to be amazing!
Re: Switch Has Outsold The Original And Slim PlayStation 4 In Japan
Congrats to the Switch! It’s a great system.
On the other hand, I find it utterly despicable that people here are picking on other users because they don’t agree with their views. We all suffer as a community when people shut down others just because their views are different than the norm.
Re: Switch Online Is Going To Be The Place To Play Classic Nintendo Content, According To Reggie
@roadrunner343 your comment is golden. I barely laugh out loud literally to anything but I couldn’t help myself when you mentioned retirement haha.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (November 10th)
@gcunit That makes sense. That was the similar fun I had with my Wii U playthrough, I guess doing the same things again in Master Mode on Switch can be tiring for me. I did have lots of fun with a few new areas I discovered that I didn’t on my Wii U playthrough. For example after about 190 hours I finally found the snowball bowling game and Goron golf game, that was pretty neat. Hero’s Path helps a lot too.