somnambulance

@tankymctankus I agree wholeheartedly. People forget that Black and White were received relatively poorly at the time of release compared to other Pokemon games and the fanbase turned away pretty seismically too (and Game Freak’s not even sure if they should remake the games because they don’t understand a “cult game” as much). What the fans consider good today and tomorrow in the Pokemon world is rarely accurate. Sun and Moon had a lot of people very upset too, if I remember correctly. You wouldn’t know that so much from these ratings.

Finished Z-A yesterday and there is no way in a million years is it the worst Pokemon game. The bias against Pokemon since Sword and Shield is incredible. I guarantee that the low scores for Z-A have more to do with people scoring the game before finishing it or before even playing it than they do about the actual quality of the game. It’s not a perfect game. I’d rank it an 8/10. However, the vitriol against it is absolutely ridiculous and I have my concerns with regards to the amount of people that are blindly buying into such nonsense.

Instead of focusing on what a game developer “should do,” focus on what they actually produced and evaluate it in the context of how much fun a game actually is and what it actually accomplishes, you know?

Finished Pokemon Z-A this morning (and the final season of Resident Alien, as much as that is not a game). And after that, there was a new Katamari game. I will be out of town in a moment for the next two days. I will bring the Switch 2, sooooo… maybe a round of Hades 2 and Absolum to complement Katamari? Or maybe just Katamari. Katamari is such pure good to me.

@charliecarrot Totally agree. Just get past the tutorial section (which is a bit long, sure, but, I mean, we’ve all got to remember that kids are playing this too) and the game turns into magic. The catching and combat are fantastic.

@liljmoore I agree. It’s one of the better games to release this year for me. It absolutely nails things on the fun factor. While it doesn’t top Donkey Kong Bananza or Silksong for me and isn’t truly a GotY tier title in my eyes, it’s definitely in my top 10 this year. It may end up landing higher than Hades 2 and Ghost of Yotei by the time I finish with them all (and I already do like it more than GotY frontrunner Clair Obscur, call me crazy, I know), based on how I feel right now. The lack of voice acting and the stiffness of the NPCs are a concern, sure (though the stiffness thing is a JRPG thing, as they all sort of have that, even FF7 Rebirth), but the gameplay is utterly brilliant. The gameplay is the best Pokemon has ever been and it’s a shame some out there are so eager to slander the game that they can’t realize that.

Gotta be real: that was a fantastic presentation, but I’m still not sure I need another cart racer in 2025. I’ll try the demo for sure though and find out!

An 8/10. I like the game more and more the more I play it. Right now, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about the story, but the vibes are there. It’s a bit samey in environments, but the game also feels shorter and more compact. While the environmental textures could be better, the character models are pretty solid, honestly, so I think the online reaction has been sort of clickbait. I love the combat and catching mechanics. It’s truly addictive and I really enjoy my time playing the game. It’s no GotY, but it’s a really solid game.

@Jedrus_Lilac The introductory section of the game definitely makes a strong argument that a lot of people wear too much of an adult hat when it comes to Pokemon, as it was driving me nuts. Then I look to see how my 8 year old sees it and he doesn’t mind it at all because he sort of needed that section. Even so, with an adult hat, this game is exceptional in the fun factor and is perhaps the most addictive the series has ever felt. Once the game lets you just play, it’s a really enjoyable experience.

I wouldn’t argue Pokemon games are a cash grab. More that they’re an annualized release where Game Freak is clearly working on 8 projects at once, given the leak, so, given the workload on their developers, they’re creating more interesting results than most other games with similar development cycles, such as CoD or the EA sports titles. Also, basically anyone that wants to see results of the progress in the franchise in a significant way should consider maybe waiting a few years between which releases they purchase. If you went from Let’s Go to Z-A, for instance, the change is a lot more noticeable. I mean, to use CoD as an example again, all CoD games feel the same for a lot of people if they don’t take a break from the series and return to see the gaps.

Bringing up CoD though, once they have Beavis and Butthead skins, that’s when I’d constitute Pokemon going for cash grabs. Lol

@Jedrus_Lilac Hopefully the internet backlash doesn’t affect this game much. The game is largely solid and most of the hate videos I’ve seen have been from people that admitted in their videos that they haven’t played it and won’t buy the game because of what they see… without playing it and thus missing the game portion of the game.

Sure, there’s some issues Game Freak needs to address, but they’ve ensured the game has proper performance and released an addictive and fun revamp on series mechanics. Believe it or not, Z-A has a higher Open Critic score than the recent Digimon release as well. Not to pit them against each other as many are doing, but just to highlight the fact that, rather than seeing two series be in conflict, we should be perhaps celebrating that we’ve got two good games that released near each other in a similar genre and both games are different enough from each other to warrant playing them both.

The internet backlash is largely for the clicks at this point rather than any real passion for the IP. Are there issues with Z-A? Yes, there’s some areas Game Freak needs to work on, but they’ve worked on other issues from the last generation already and the fun factor is certainly present and strong in the game. Given the speed at which they release games, they’re creating better quality than you’d expect and being more creative with their IP than say… Madden or CoD is on a yearly basis.

@AverageGamer I only want them to remake Gen 5 if they’re going to make it worthwhile. Judging by the leaks, it seems Game Freak isn’t sure how to feel about Black and White either. Interest in Pokemon was sort of at a low at that time and it seems the company doesn’t look back on that era fondly for internal reasons. I wouldn’t be surprised if the ScarVi DLC shifted to Unova to acknowledge the region and move on, just the same as I wouldn’t be surprised if Z-A is doing the same thing for Gen 6. I suppose I’d understand if Game Freak is shifting away from straight remakes and putting the focus elsewhere.

I would agree that most of the remakes are good. SoulSilver/HeartGold might be the best game in the series, honestly. The leaks and the fact that Gen 4 was outsourced leads me to think that Game Freak’s vision may be in a different place now though.

Japan for me, but, man, I remember getting this one for my birthday ages ago. If you mixed Peter Molyneux with Pokemon, that was this game… except it didn’t work at all. For such a “cute game,” it was beyond frustrating to play.

Oh no… it’s Balatro for pinball… that sounds intoxicating in all the best and worst ways of gaming…

NES was my first console. I haven’t played it on the console in a long while, but I know that it still works. It’s in my parents’ basement still hooked up. Usually for me, I’ll play NES games on NSO or compilations though. I truly love and appreciate the NES and I’d say I play games from that era the most if I’m not playing modern games.

@PateloDim After the Gen 4 remakes, do we really want a remake? I say this as someone who loves Gen 5 and is typically far more positive about Pokemon than the rest of the forums here. BDSP is probably the only Pokemon game that felt like a full-on misstep to me. I just… want to preserve my current thoughts on Gen 5. Totally understand if you don’t feel that way. I know plenty of people that don’t.

Totodile! A definite top 5 starters of all time Pokémon!

Pokémon Z-A. I am suspecting everything else I was playing will temporarily be put on hold for a bit after my session last night. The discussion on its “Dreamcast visuals” is totally overblown and untrue. If we’re going to pick a topic that makes more sense to go after Game Freak about, it’d be the lack of voice acting…

Anyway, the gameplay so far is just so good and addictive! I had a hard time putting the game down now that I’m finally out of the introductory portion of the game and I have the freedom to play as I like.

I was playing other things before Pokemon, such as Absolum, Hades 2, and Yotei, but those games will be on ice for a little bit.

Also, I’ll be making a habit of showing off that I was on TV yesterday! Lol.

@Lady_rosalina I actually agree with you on that. I think I liked the music better too.

People are still playing Splatoon 2 instead of 3?

That’s sort of cool to know.

I’m not surprised, given that it’s been half a year without an update on it. With this and Mina the Hollower being delayed, I should actually be able to finish every game I’ve purchased this year on the plus side?

Really looking forward to this one. Hopefully we get a release date soon.

Sort of surprised to see NintendoLife be on the lower end of the spectrum with reviews here, but I trust the opinion. Good to see that the game is averaging above ScarVi and Sw/Sh currently on Meta and Opencritic. I’m honestly far more interested in the game than I was yesterday following all the reviews. Can’t wait to try the new combat system. Sorry Ghost of Yotei if I don’t see you for a bit.

@LazyDaisy It allegedly has details going up to Gen 11 being listed as a 2030 release. There’s one game in particular that looks like exactly what I’d like from a future Pokemon game. The leaks are certainly interesting.

Great that Toree Saturn can be inserted here. Bad End Theater sounds interesting…

Well, I forgot to write on this yesterday, but so far I’ve played Absolum, which I love to start, Kuukiyomi 4, which my son stole from me and proceeded to play as rudely as possible, a few rounds of Hades 2, which I’m starting to progress in now (and I agree with everyone that prefers the first game, basically, because the second one may have better gameplay but a less compelling storyline), and Super Mario Galaxy 2… because my son was having trouble with bosses.

Hopefully I get a chance to play Yotei as well! Pokemon is coming out next week and, after a relatively easy year to stay ahead of games, I’m sinking now! A good problem to have, huh?

@Bass_X0 I’d be down for that. The game’s one of the most enjoyable fighting games I’ve ever played and certainly the best Dragon Ball game.

I’d say the only thing I want to leak is the reviews, but honestly, after how the last couple of games have reviewed, I don’t trust reviews on Pokemon games anymore. I fully expect a series of critical reviews at this point and the game to sell millions regardless and also generate more conversation than the majority of GotY tier titles because… that’s Switch era Pokemon for you!

I’m looking forward to seeing how the game is, even if I’ve got way too much to play at the moment. 😵‍💫

Well, since Mina the Hollower got delayed, maybe I should see what this one’s about, huh…

@benmalsky198 I mean, if you want to get into a philosophical debate on if anything is good or bad, we can go there, but Adventures in Gameland is certainly not of the same quality as say… Silksong, and nowhere near as rich in content or fun either. Or to make things more comparable to its genre, I would say something like Elechead or Belle Boomerang are far more fun and a better value (you can get them both for less cost than the Rugrats game as well!). Or I mean, Megaman and Super Mario Bros are pretty easy to get access to as well, and are far more exceptional experiences. Adventures in Gameland is an ok game that could’ve been better. It’s sort of fun.

Depends on the year. This year I’m floating around 20 in total, but I’ve definitely hit the 30-50 range in years past.

Physically though, I used to buy one a month at least, but I’ve only bought two physical carts this year…

Already got Galaxy 2, preordered Pokemon and Katamari and gutted that Mina got delayed since it’s absolutely fantastic, buuuut… I’ll be fine. More time to play what I already have. I’m tempted with Mortal Kombat, but I’ll resist because I truly do have enough to play this month. I’ve also got Yotei on the PS5, so I mean, that’s four games to play in a month. That’s my heaviest month this year for sure!

@benmalsky198 I largely play indie games, so I’ve got a pretty decent vantage point to compare the game to other indies of various budgets and scopes, and that’s where I feel I can acknowledge its strengths and weaknesses as a game pretty confidently. To cut them some slack, I don’t think the development team had the experience for a license as big as Rugrats and I think they did the best they could with their limitations. However, as sympathetic as I towards that, it doesn’t mean that the game ended up being a success in that it had a decent amount of pitfalls in how the gameplay felt, the brevity of the levels, etc. I suppose it does simulate the 90’s feeling of a licensed game pretty well, but I doubt that’s what they were aiming to do. To compare it with those though, it’s one of the better ones in that comparison. That’s probably a friendlier comparison point than the indie scene.

@benmalsky198 Adventures in Gameland was a missed opportunity. The visuals are largely solid, but the level design and gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. It’s a 6/10 to me. I’d recommend reading some reviews on the game. They’re not wrong. It’s a frustrating game because you can tell the developers have passion towards the game and they had elements of the game right, but its sort of clear to me too that the game could’ve used more time to cook.

Those shows would probably resonate more with my younger siblings. I don’t dislike the shows. They’re good shows, just a different nostalgia though, I suppose.

@benmalsky198 I’m not sorry about it. There’s a definite charm about the retro era and I’ve basically grown up with the modern history of gaming. Plus, I was in high school during the PS2 era, so I got plenty of it, just not much in the way of like SpongeBob games or whatever. The best TMNT games are NES/SNES, fyi. I’ve heard the SpongeBob games are pretty solid, but I just don’t really have the connection to the character like I would have for the Klasky Csupo cartoons, you know? I really wanted to like that new Rugrats game, but, man…

Yeah, I dunno. I think fun means different things to different people. For me, completing intricate platforming sections in a game are fun, but I’m well aware that that’s not for everyone. And I like a lot of offbeat games too, which aren’t for everyone either. I get more toy box vibes from stuff like that.

@benmalsky198 Your reasoning totally makes sense to me. It could be a generational thing as I’m about 10 years older and the NES/SNES/N64 eras were littered with bad games that only sold because they had a name brand attachment.

And, no, I don’t particularly like it when there’s crossovers if it doesn’t make sense to me. I’m not opposed to crossovers though. I liked when Supernatural and Scooby Doo had a crossover. Lol. But for me, most works of fiction have their own in-universe sense of logic to them and things get a little weird when things get mixed.

@benmalsky198 @benmalsky198 Nickelodeon’s legacy in games has been for licensed games of all different qualities. Back in the N64 era, there were some unplayable clunkers dropped by Nickelodeon. I definitely had a decent amount of Nickelodeon games as a kid. I can admit to not playing SpongeBob games, but definitely Rugrats, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko, etc, and I’d be hard pressed to call any one of those games a classic by any means. I’d argue most Nickelodeon games I’ve played have been along the lines of a 5/10 tier game, some worse, some slightly better.

And yeah, I don’t like crossovers so much unless there’s a story or rationalization to have it make sense. It’s one of the reasons I think Crossworld is worse than MKW. Other people feel the same too. I can understand your analogy for dumping the toy box, but uhh… I dunno… I still think there needs to be a logic beyond, “People like these characters too, so we have a business partnership and brought them in because we thought that would drive sales.” In my opinion, that’s how the characters feel as additions.

Again, the game’s not bad. It’s a strong kart racer, but it’s a bit all over the place in some respects for me. Your comment about the toy box though, again, really rationalizes to me why the game has some middling reviews but some really glowing reviews. I’d wonder if there’s a correlation between doing that as a child and loving this game

@Orwellian87 @Res462 Thank you. I must’ve been tired yesterday night. Total bummer this one got delayed, but I’m sure they’re doing the right thing. It’s lovely when you can trust the developers fully to deliver a wonderful game.

Did they say a new release date and I’m missing it?

@Sonicka @benmalsky198 I’m not particularly a fan of Megaman or any non-Sega IP being in it anyway. It’s not Smash in that it’s a celebration of gaming as a whole, Nickelodeon doesn’t really have much legacy in the video game outside of licensed games for their cartoons. I get where some people would like them, but for me they don’t add value to the experience, but rather show the corporate synergy between the two brands. So, yes, exactly, it’s Paramount and Sega shaking hands.

It DOES feel very Fortnite, which I can’t stand Fortnite as a Petri dish of popular IPs tossed into a BR shooter, so it makes sense why I don’t like it.

@benmalsky198 They’re separate universes. It doesn’t really feel like the characters would ever really interact. I mean, if we had to do crossovers, why not use Sega IP? Ai Ai or like Joe Musashi, you know? Nickelodeon doesn’t really conn fit in a way that makes sense outside of cross marketing

I bought Galaxy 2 since I already have 3D All-Stars. At $40, it’s fantastic value for a fantastic game. I tested it out for a bit and it’s still a very 10/10 tier game. I’ll go back and play it in December or January though when the release schedule thins out, trying to play through all the newer games I’ve gotten before Metroid if it’s possible.

I thought Crossworlds was ok from what I played of it. Admittedly, I’ve got about five or six times about as much time in MKW as Crossworlds, but I like that MKW abandons the three lap structure for intermission courses and I sort of feel that Crossworlds feels a bit too busy at times. MKW feels like the most relaxed yet skill intensive entry whereas Crossworlds feels like Sonic Racing inspired by Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart, but at double speed. I do NOT like Crossworlds having Nickelodeon characters in it, but respect MKW for staying in-universe.

Admittedly, kart racers aren’t my favorite genre, and my son argues that both of them are worse than MK8. Personally though, MKW’s probably the most fun I’ve had with the genre since MK64 whereas Crossworlds feels like a competent kart racer with a neat hook but that’s about it. I am curious how I’ll feel about Kirby Air-Riders. I sort of hope there’s a demo for it because I’m sort of at kart racer saturation right now. I don’t know who’s the genius that thought the Switch 2 needed 3 of them for launch year.

Absolutely agree with Silksong at #1 and Hades #2. Earthion’s a solid #3, but… for me, I think I actually liked both Henry Halfhead and Lego Voyagers more than Earthion, even if that game’s made by the best minds in the shmup genre, basically. I just prefer oddball games to shmups in 2025, I think.

But, yes… Silksong… it’s the best game to release on Switch and Switch 2 this year for certain with potentially only Mina the Hollower and Metroid Dread to contest it now.

It’s honestly getting sort of hard to find a solid game NintendoLife hasn’t reviewed or covered in one of these style articles! So… good job, NintendoLife! As always, thank you for embracing the indie community!

Ghost of Yotei, Silent Hill F, Lego Voyagers, and Hades 2. I suspect I’ll play all four of them in some capacity.

So far, I’ve yet to start Silent Hill F, so it’s hard to comment on it, but Lego Voyagers seems like it’s pretty underrated. My son and I have had fun with it to start. Meanwhile, I’m still making opinions of Hades 2 and Ghost. To start, they both feel like sequels that don’t quite hit like the first games in their series, but that could just be because it’s early in both of them for me. I am sort of surprised by how similar AC Shadows’s seed plot is to Yotei too. Even though, Atsu’s a very different character and the way the stories are told are different, it’s sort of interesting that the revenge narrative was put down in two massive games this year like that.

First person. I went from liking RE to loving it while playing 7 and 8. There’s just a different kind of immersion for me with it for me. Both games felt better and deeper than the older entries for me. I know that’s an uncommon viewpoint, but I genuinely feel this way

I still miss PAC Man 99. I used to play it pretty regularly…

Looking forward to playing Galaxy 2 soon enough. I think I’ll prioritize new games still for the month, but definitely purchased it because I know I’ll play it again someday. Playing Galaxy 1 when 3D All Stars came out was proof that a good game is a good game, no matter the age or limitations of the original hardware. I personally find Wii era games difficult to return to, but these ones are timeless. It’s such a wonderful thing that 2 is now available on Switch as well.

Not surprised that Crossworlds launched below MKW. It’s funny they pitched a Nintendon’t style ad for it and couldn’t beat it.

Japan for me.

My wife got me this one for Christmas in 2019. Still barely started it and she’s still asking me to go back to it. What’s the consensus on this game? I’ve never played a Professor Layton game, so I’ve no comparison point. I like the art, but you know the drill… other games come out and some games you just never go back to and all that. Just curious if I’m missing something with this one.

More Silksong and that will remain my game until it is completed. I may try Hades 2 out because I’m deeply curious about it or watch my son play Henry Halfhead too. I did pick up Lego Voyagers as well, so that’s possible. With Silksong and Hades being such massive indie hits that basically dropped from nowhere, is it weird that I’m like jeez Mina the Hollower, I knew your release date first, so let’s complete the trinity a little sooner please?

I’ll be picking up Ghost of Yotei and Mario Galaxy 2 next week, so I’m basically at a point where my gaming is planned and stacked for maybe the next 4, 5 months. Should I get Silent Hill F too?

@SirLink May Silksong emerge victorious!

Death Stranding 2’s my personal GotY, but, man, Silksong’s also a 10/10 and it’s got that following (as of right now, I’d be ok with Bananza as GotY too, but it doesn’t feel like anyone’s championing that). I may be an outlier but Expedition 33 is more like a strong 7/10 for me. It’s a good game with some flaws.