the8thark

@FlashBoomerang
And the rest. Obviously you're not a southerner.

@Gurtelytis

Nintendo hasn't told us how this affect the southerners now currently in summer.

Will Southerners have to wait 6 months to be able to swim.
Or will be be swimming in the near freezing winter waters? Oohhh chilly.

@westman98

Wild World is the top single SKU game that was not also sold boxed with the console.
Not at all an applesto apples comparison.

All of them. 8 skins for 8 different characters with the same moveset.
Lots of people have said this and all of us who have said this agree with each other.

The monthly NintendoLife findraising drive via affialiate links.

I won't support that overhyped youtube personality.
The game happens to be garbage also.

Yo Dawg,
I heard you like Nintendo so we put your Nintendo in a Nintendo so you can play your Nintendo while it's docked in a Nintendo.

@TheFullAndy
You said - "Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill!"

I replied directly to that statement saying why in my opinion it is not a molehill. I believe it's massive news. What I said did directly relate to what you said.

Whether you agree with me or not - that's your choice and I'm ok either way.

@Paraka
You said "Popularity has nothing to do with appeal."
It seems you and I agree to disagree on this statement.

People purchase games that appeal to them. Sales figures are a good indication of how widely a game appeals to the gaming public.

What you are talking about is cross IP popularity.
Will Mario or Dragon Quest fans buy Smash Bros?
Some will. Some will not. What we do know however is a lot more people then just the competitive scene bought Smash Bros U. A lot of the Smash Fans just like the game and don't give two hoots about who beat who in which tournament.

I would argue most of the Smash Bros U sales are not the competitive community. They just like Smash Bros. I'm one of the non competitive Smash Bros U fans.

By your definition Animal Crossing is also buys into a specific group of people. That group being people who like chill relaxing sandbox games. No different to Smash bros or any other game that ever existed. If what a specific game is, appeals to you, then you go out and buy it.

Sure people can find games appealing for reasons outside the traditional typical reasons. But overall the more appealing a game is, to a wider audience of people, the more sales it will get.

@TheFullAndy

Actually read what I said and it will make better sense to you.

@Paraka
That's not true and you know it.
Both Smash Bros and Animal Crossing are insansely popular. Also both are some of the easiest games in their respective genres to get into. Neither of the games are niche at all.

@TheFullAndy
This is not a molehill at all. It's massive news. Many people thought Animal Crossing was a really niche game. That's because it's not what so called "traditional gamers" like. However for the millions of people who are not really into gaming, something liek Animal Corssing is the perfect entry. There's no hard button combinations or fast reflexes required. However the joy from getting that next piece of loot is still in AC as well as a fun small taste of what the multiplayer experience is.

Even though AC appeals to everyone, it especially appeals to many female gamers who are not into the majority of other gamers. AC is not specifically for female gamers. However it does take Iwata's concept of making gaming accessible for everyone and runs with it to the extreme.

This is what Nintendo does like no other by having something for everyone.

Also what helps the constant sales is the new drip fed content. It's not like the Splatoon drip fed content where the older players have experience with the older content whereas the newer players do not. In AC in a new season, everyone is at the same point, everyone is new to the event. Apart from a pretty house and a pretty island, there is nothing you do to have an edge over the newer players.

******

Also as an aside Bethesda replying to that question on twitter (via their DOOM twitter) back in 2019 also helped AC explode.

The question that was asked:
"Which 2020 game do you want a documentary made for"
They gave a few examples of games to choose from.
Bethesda ignored them all and just answered "Animal Crossing"

This spawned all the DOOM x Animal Crossing fan art and got fans from the opposute game interested in the other. Both games had increased sales as a result. This mattered as the twho fanbases are so totally not interested in the other game but it got people really into the other game. Of cause the 10 yearold AC fans will not be buying DOOM Eternal. But . . . I know many people, a few girls too who bought DOOM Eternal as their first DOOM game pirely based on this crossover fan art. As far as I know they all liked DOOM Eternal. I'll see if I can get them to play Classic DOOM 1/2 as well but who knows . . . we'll see.

Personally, I like both IPs. However I really didn't like DOOM 2016. I bought it for $10 on a PS4 game sale. Not a fan of it, though I reeally like Classic DOOM 1/2. For the record I think DOOM 3 is utter garbage and DOOM 64 is alright even though it's a little too much Quake for my liking.

However DOOM Eternal looks amazing, even if the final boss is not that interesting. I will be getting it when it drops in price. The crossover fan art really got me pumped for DOOM Eternal as well.

@Moroboshi876

Boris Johnson was not making fun of the virus. He did not underestimate it either.
Keep your political hatreds away from these comments.

People still don’t realise that metacritic is the cesspool or toilet of review sites.

Paid critic reviews and public review bombing is all that exists there.

IGN only sharing snippets from the interview. They are not putting up the whole transcript to read. Unfortunately.

Great game on N64. I will probably get the remaster. Easily I can recommend this.

@PanurgeJr
What you mention I have discussed above. I've specifically said that aesthetic choices in a game can help the game to preform better. I do understand what you claim I do not. Re-read my posts above and you'll see.

I agree with the facts you are sharing. I am saying I've clearly demonstrated above my understanding of them just as you also have. We both understand how it works.

@johnvboy
If the game was reviewed as well as some people claim then there would be nothing to hold the reviewer to account for. That's simply not the case here. The review is good but far from perfect.

When an impressions video by the same person is a better review than the actual official review they also wrote . . . that's the issue.

Alex's impressions video totally got me off the fence and I pre-ordered the game. That's something this review could never do for all the reasons mentioned above in this comment chain.

@CashMadness
Those who care about higher quality reviews will take notice.
Not everyone cares though. Some condone mediocre review quality and nothing anyone can do about it. However those who care will support those who have the guts to speak up to push for positive change.

@Crockin Not at all. I'm just after a good, informative review that answers all the important questions.
We should all be pushing for higher standards from the reviews we read.

@k8sMum
We are also free to critique those who misunderstand comments said about a review.

Nothing I said was addressed in the original review. That's why I said it. Just saying this so there is no confusion.

Really? Cherry picking a few good words from favourable reviews?
What is the point of this? I good as in praising AC, not, good as in answering the questions want all Switch games reviews to answer.

"Alex says the game is good, go get it"
That's all we need to know. Alex's impressions video did this really well.

As an aside, Alex's previous videos where he was mostly unscripted and just told us how he really felt about the game did more to influence my purchase of the game than this review did.

Alex loved the game because???
They sold me on the game.

This video in particular is 1000% better than the review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-VrNy7jy0Q
Alex just takes us through his thoughts on the game. Totally unscripted and sold myself and so many others I know on the game.

Really Alex's impression's videos are so much better than his reviews. I would like his impression videos 10x over if I could. Totally amazing. His emotions really shine through.

@UmbreonsPapa
Yes BotW and SMO did have compromises.

BotW had to also deal with the whole "still has to be playable on the WiiU" issue as well as the open world aspect. It's really taxing on the Switch. Frame rates suffer as well as distant object quality and pop in and other things. Of cause all things considered it's still a masterpiece on the Switch. It's amazing stuff like this can even be done on mobile chipsets.

SMO has compromises, mostly in hard hits when the dynamic screen resolution kicks in. To keep the fps stable.

Saying they are a game design choice is partially correct. Nintendo does design their games such that the assets and engines used do play better on Switch. However it's not only design. Compromises need to be made. That's just how it is on Switch.

@k8sMum

We are free to critique reviews as much as we want to. In the end, if NL takes these critiques seriously they will have better written reviews in the long term.

@Woomy_NNYes
That is correct. Nintendo even tinkers with the CPU speed to do so. We all know the Switch CPU (tegra X1) is permanently under clocked. Nintendo lessen that underclock during load times to speed up the loading. The Switch does not overheat because it's only done for a short time and usually there's not much action happennig on screen during a load.

@nintendork64
The review stated co-op existed right away and you can play it without delay. That says nothing about gow good that co-op is. They just said:
"If wireless ‘ain’t your thang’ you can also rope in another user (or three) from the same console to join you in your endeavours."

We know what features the multiplayer has, Nintendo already told us. We want to know what is the opinion of the reviewer of the multiplayer. Does it work well in practice? Is there any extra lag, input or otherwise? Is the multiplayer actually fun?
Reviews should go into more depth than just repeating what Nintendo has already told us in directs. Reviewer's, need to give us their opinions. Yes reviewers are subjective, yes they are opinionated. That's a good thing. We want to know how all the specifics of the game felt to them. Not just rehashing a Nintendo Direct on the game.

The one thing I don't like about NintendoLife reviews on games NL is really hyped about is:
NL really gloss over the cons and don't make the effort to really QA/review the game hard to find as many cons as possible.

If cause good games will have less cons but the cons here really feel like NL just had a fun time while playing the game instead of really analysing their play time to the fullest extent during and after play.

"In all seriousness, the presentation in every sense here is all but flawless."
This sentence is in the review and it's such a throwaway lazy line to say. Almost no game's presentation is flawless. Digital Foundry, as an example always find something that needs improvement, even in the ray traced masterpieces.

On all the Switch titles Digital Foundry analyse they always mention the comprimises needed to get the game on Switch to look as good as it does. Even 1st party Nintendo developed titles need to make compromises. Simply due to the nature of the hardware.
What compromises did Nintendo take to get this game looking and playing good on Switch? 30fps is one which is unsurprisingly not mentioned in this NL review. That should always be mentioned in reviews as it's a very important topic for Switch games.

Secondly, what's NL's opinion of the game docked vs handheld?
The review does not say . . . no surprises there.

This review just feels like a journal of their play session. It's good and I enjoyed reading it. Hoever all the important questions are not asked.

I'll simplify it. These are the questions every review of a Switch game should answer . . . if the reviewer is aiming to write a good review.

1. What's the reviewer's opinion of the game docked vs portable?
2. What obvious compromises were made to get the game on Switch?
3. How responsive are the controls in docked and portable mode?
4. What are the loading times like and do they affect gameplay all that much?
5. Is the game for a niche market or does the reviewer feel a wider audience will really like the game?
6. If the game has online features, is Switch Online required?
7. Is there any lag or other issues with online multiplayer (if the game has this feature)

There is probably more questions that every Switch game review should answer but these 7 are a very good start.
This review answers zero of these 7.

That's why I believe this is a poorly written review.
It's just a journal or story of the reviewer's play session without any deep analysis given to the core aspects of the game, on a technical level. A DF type analysis not required, just the reviewer's opinion on the above points, that's what a good review should have.

@antdickens

There was no agression. Secondly you do need to be assertive with your point. If you are take the softly softly, over polite approach, nothing happens. If you want positive change, you need to demand it. Just like in other areas of life.

The author quited the source. I wish all NL articles did this, but unfortunately they do not.

Still thank you for good journalism in this particular article.

The developer's website disagrees with this.
https://www.vblank.com/ShakedownHawaii/

@BAN

I hope you don’t think NL actually take our comments here seriously and fix up factually incorrect articles.
Does not happen. Once the articles are written they are fixed. Inaccuracies, bias and spin all stay and won’t be fixed.

No source in the article.
So many terrible game journalists out there.

PS. We know it's Nintendo, but from where?
Was NL emailed this? Was it on a Nintendo website? Was it twitter? etc etc. Also which branch of Nintendo sent it. The rumour is Nintendo fo Europe but the article here doesn't say.

Very poor journalism indeed.

Great review.

However I don't think the reviewer actually played the WIiU port. If they did, they would have noticed the low frame rates and long load times. The Switch port supposedly fixes most of this basicly by being better hardware.
Important information left out of the review.

@DrJon216

People are entitled to their own opinion even if that opinion is frivolous and pointless. People are also entitled to hold someone to account for that opinion.

The review says it well. The censorship happened but the only people who will be bothered by it are pervs who are breast obsessed. The rest of us will enjoy the game as it is.

@Dunan

Here are my experiences for comparison.

I order from Amazon Japan from time to time. Everything I want there can be shipped to me. I'm a Queenslander. So I wonder why they will not ship to you. That's strange.

My local JB HiFi are about on par with EB games for new game prices but occassionally they have better prices so always worth shopping around.

Big W, I agree with you there their prices are often better but their selection is a lot smaller. A lot of the new games they just don't stock. I do compare prices as both Big W and EB games are in my local shopping centre.

When I am in town I check Target and KMart too. Though KMart's selection is really bad, almost non existant. Target often has good prices though.

I also am like you and will not touch a digital store unless there is no other way of getting a game. I have to agree the PS4 games are often cheaper physically. Especially a few months after launch. Most of the PS4 games i own I bought for $30 or less on disc.

I guess I should check out the Amazon Australia store for their deals. That's good advice - Thank you.
Though I'd never pay full price there, no point when we can get it locally instead.

I only use Amazon US/UK/JP for games that are released physically overseas but only digitally here.

Thank you and good luck with your future purchases.

@Dunan

Hardly anyone uses Amazon Australia. It’s really that bad. We all use Amazon US/UK/JP and shop around for the best prices.

JB Hi-Fi is the main physical store competition and their prices honestly are just as high most of the time.

I feel the main reason for this in Australia is the digital game stores. They are slowly taking over.
Also when the digital copy is like $10-$30 cheaper most people will just get that and forgo the cart or disc.

The game is much better than the haters make it out to be. It's quite fantastic.

What you need to know about this game - I've beaten it on WiiU

1. This game is persona lite. There is no day to day system. Well there is but it's not like Persona where you can only do a limited number of things each day. You can do whatever you want each day and you move on with the story when you want to.

2. There is no hundreds of personas or similar to catch and merge.

3. There is no English language option, well there was not on the WiiU. It's all japanese voice with English subtitles.

4. The music videos are the star of this game. Thankfully they are very well done. The songs themselves are also pretty good.

5. Apart from using a few Fire Emblem characters in the story, this game has no other connection to Fire Emblem.

6. The Switch port has quite a bit of new content.

7. The Switch port is the censored port. This is not a bad thing as in many respects the censored port is better than the uncensored port.
Those complaining about the censorship need to grow up and appreciate the game for what it is.

8. 95% of all side quests in every RPG ever are boring. Saying TMS has boring side quests, well yeah that's mostly true but they are still fun to do. A lot of the quest outcomes are quite interesting to experience.

9. Better load times and frame rates on the Switch port. A good things as this was an issue on the WiiU port.

10. No special edition for the Switch port.
The WiiU port has a few limited editions Two of them were:

NTSC
http://www.jvdx.ca/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/WiiU_TokyoMirageSessions_FE_bundle.0.jpg

PAL
http://www.impulsegamer.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Tokyo-Mirage-Sessions-FE-Fortissimo-Edition.jpg

As I am Australian I own the PAL one. I have to say the best part of it is the art book. It's really well done and the art in this game is really good.
The sound selection CD well it's lacking all the songs in this game so I bought the full soundtrack from Amazon Japan. I don't think it's on sale there anymore so here's a photo of mine.
https://i.imgur.com/bh0Uqwj.jpg

11. The only downside I found on the WiiU version is there is no way to replay the music videos whenever you want to until new game plus. I hope this is rectified on the Switch port as those music videos are good enough to rewatch and we should not have to wait till new game plus for it.

*****

It's a good game, very good in fact. It's quite niche though and will not sell well on Switch because of this. But if this is your thing, you'll totally like it.

@Stecav67

The western version is actually better. . . Can you handle this fact?
I guess not. You're too busy B&^%$ing about a little more breast coverage while never have played the game to know the actual truth.

I beat the game on WiiU (western version)

"Please note that some links on this page are affiliate links, which means if you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information."

I would argue all of the sale links on this page are affiliate links.
Can anyone prove that wrong?

@Joe-b
Also I beat that last boss a different way. I used a certain item on him. Which makes the boss fight way easier.

@Joe-b

This tree is outside the headmaster's office in the Acadmie de Medalles. You hand in the midi medals to the headmaster. It's literally like a few steps from the headmaster's door inside the Acadmie on one side.

@Joe-b
A lot of RPGs do this. They don't have any story post the final boss being beaten so they just put you back just before the final boss fight so you can still play the game and do whatever in it.

The game storewide says you have yet to beat the final boss but the cartridge does remember this and you get the recognition for it. That's what that save is for. To recognise you've beaten the game. That way you get the accolade for it and that accolade is saved to your file but if you want to re-experience the ending, you can beat the final boss over again.

One thing I don't remember is:
Is the post final boss ending accessible at the tree in the Academy after experiencing it the first time. You know the one, that lets you re-watch any video you've already seen in game. I guess I'll find out when I beat the Switch version. I'm not going back tot he PS4 to find out.
Also I like how you can watch the videos with the base character costumes or whatever character costumes you have currently equipped.

It is a great game I agree. Quite amazing. I actually think the Switch port is the better version of the game. I think the added content and the quality of life changes really made the game even better. I double dipped because it's really so good.

It's a shame DQ Heroes 1 and 2 are not translated into English for the Switch. As they are really good in my opinion too.

Party wise, in the Switch play through I really tried to find a use for Sylv and Eight. I actually did and both are quite effective in their own way.

Jade in my opinion is a little broken when the item duplication mechanic is abused. Really it's only one or two items that really benefit from this. One is unique to Jade.

Serena was my go to healer, but after re-thinking about Sylv, he's just as good a healer.

Only Veronica and Rab I didn't use that much. Veronica for story reasons and Rab because I don't think he does anything good enough to make it into the 4 that enter battle. Rab's best ability, his 100% change to ressurect dead party memebers is just as good outside battle, assuming you don't come close to a total party wipe.

Erik and Hero, I keepo them both in battle mostly. Hero because most of the pep powers need him in party and Eric's I just like one of his abilities. Though he's a little samey to the hero if you use dual swords.

So far my party is
Hero (Dual swords) + Erik (dual swords) + Eight (dual ???) + Jade (claws)
I replace one of the last 3 for Sylv when I need healing in a tougher boss fight.

Note well - I used the word Eight and ??? for the obvious story spoilers. Don't want others reading this to be spoiled on one of the main story points in the game.

Finally, I'm doing the pastword area after I've beaten the main game.

@Joe-b

I have finished the game on PS4. On Switch I'm about half way through now. So I can answer your questions.

@Tao

Why should I educate you when I can link to the experts who can do a much better job of telling you.

Also please do share any links you want to. It'll be interesting to analyse the article content there to see how much (if any) fact is contained within.

@Tao

Time to educate youself courtesy of Digital Foundry.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfBeett5FII

Secondly apart from that, a good game is a good game. The subjective part is whether we individually like the game or not. There's enough good games out there I don't like. My not liking them does not prevent them from being good games. They are just not my cup of tea.
I also like a few bad games too. Dumb glitchy fun, but no way would I call them good.

The separation of "is this a good game" and "do I like this game" many people have trouble doing.

Yooka-Laylee is a good game. Up to you if you want to accept or deny the facts.

@Tao
You are factually incorrect with your statement above. That's ok though, as the game is not for everyone and I don't expect everyone to like it.

@Seananigans
Yeah I agree that's nostalgis bluring the facts. The N64 fixed position camera is old and outdated when compared to modern 360 degree cameras.

@Tao
Yooka-Laylee was hated by a minority who did not understand what the game was trying to achieve. Everyone else really liked the game. Yooka-Laylee is not perfect but it's still a pretty good game.

@Cotillion
I agree. Better games than this got worse or the same scores. Yooka-Laylee for example got an 8/10 also. Strange as Yooka-Laylee is an objectively better game even pre-patch. This was to be expected as you can't compare a game made by a bunch of experts vs a game made by very small team of people in different parts of the world.

A Hat In Time is a good game if you understand that those who made it where separated by thousands of KMs of distance and were not that good with coding a game. The game is full of work arounds and hacks to get it working. By this I mean the codebase is far from elegant. It's one of those things that under the good is not pretty at all but it works and the end result is not a bad game.

@Kienda
We are allowing the reviewer to have their own opinion. They are free to praise whatever they want. However we are free to hold the reviewer to account over factually incorrect information in the review and question percieved bias in the review.

If a reviewer wants to polish a turd of a game in their review we will call them out on it. A Hat in Time is not a turd of a game, as we all know. It's just a good game that needs a patch to fix up a number of issues so it's a better, less buggy experience.

To this end, a good review should state this this review is based on the current version of the game. If a major patch releases, then you can edit the review and possibly edit the final score up or down. Saying "with a patch this game will be great". Seriously wtf? Review that you played, not what might or might not happen in the future. If the patch comes, then review that, but for now just review what exists now.

Also the comments to the reviews here are also a good way to know if a game is good. Reviewing the review is important. No one should blindly believe the opinion of a single reviewer. However 50+ comments is a larger sample size to trust.

@KitsuneNight
There are a lot of good Switch ports of multi plat games now. Some needed a patch which they did get.

• DOOM + DOOM 2
• New DOOM
• Witcher 3
• Yooka-Laylee
• Yooka-Laylee - Impossible Lair
• Dragon Quest XI-S
• GRID Autosport
• Splatoon (2)
• Hyrule Warriors
  And probably more

A Hat In Time is not on this list. The core game is good but the port job is poor. It's on my backlog list to get one day . . . but now it's on the "when the bugs are fixed in a patch" I'll get it.

@antdickens

Also we as readers should not condone bad practices also. Fair is fair. It works both ways. Everyone, on both sides should do the right thing.

@antdickens

Not everyone to plays games via the television owns a console other than a Nintendo Switch. You don't need 1080p to have a great time. Of cause it's desirable but not a hard requirement for fun.

Remember the NES and SNES? 240p goodness on a CRT.

Finally you know as well as we all do that review scores are worthless and always have been. It's the actual review content which matters. Most of the time the review content here is quite detailed. That's one reasons I'm still on this website. Of cause we can nit pick that review content but the fact is, the content is there. Lots of it and it's in quite some detail. That should be commended and that I will do. Thank you. I appreciate it.

Is a game worth a 7/10? Maybe. However that's question doesn't help anyone.
Why is this game worth 7/10? Now this is a good question and that's what the whole review tried to do.

The famous monologue at the end of the movie Ratatouille sums things up well. More people should watch it and understand it.

@brandonbwii
Quite a few people want to know this question. The above review didn't answer this question unfortunately.

@antdickens
Do the staff at NintendoLife respect the opinion that some of their reviews fail to understand who people why graphically inferior ports of games on Switch. This review is a good example of this. This review says "don't buy this game on Switch because it's inferior".

Also another opinion is reviews like this fail to understand the comprimises that need to be made to port the more modern games to Switch. Overwatch on Switch, this fact along is amazing. The Switch is getting so many great newer games, all on mobile hardware. Of cause it can't do 1080p at 60 frames for these kinds of games, but that's expected. Only a fool would whinge that their Swirch port does not do 1080p/60 frames. If that's what you want, don't buy the Switch port.

The third opinion is reviews like this review the games based on what the reviewer wants, not what the purpose of the game is. The purpose of the game is a modern game on portable hardware. It achieves this pretty well.
However it does not achieve the reviewer's unrealistic wants so the score gets dropped.

The last opinion - reviews of games like this will never imprive in quality unless the above opinions are taken seriously by NintendoLife.

@SwitchForce

I just noticed a feature in the PS4 version has been removed in the Switch version. This being camera zoom.

In the PS4 version you can zoom the camera out wide or in close it’ll its first person mode. This is for the outdoors areas. I did use this feature a little in the larger areas.

Was it removed because the Switch can’t handle that much game stuff on screen at once? Who knows?

As far as I know this is the only feature removed on the Switch version.

@SwitchForce
You don’t go back to the start of the game in 2D. You go back to a previous major checkpoint in the game. Not sure if you can go back in the same game mode though.

Also you can’t quit to the title screen in 2D mode.

I do agree this game is a masterpiece.
Also the graphics are quite comparable to the PS4 version. Same pop in. Slightly more aliasing. Slightly lower resolution textures. Slightly more shimmering when moving the camera left to right.

That sounds like a lot but it’s not. The game still looks great on the Switch docked. Easily one of the best looking games on the Switch.

I am staying away from 2D mode though. It’s ancient to the core. Looks great but lacking features that the 3D version has. Also 2D has random monster encounters which I’d prefer to avoid.

I double dipped on it because it’s that good. I am playing it 3D, orchestral music, English voices (I don’t know if NA used different voice actors to my UK/Aus version), DQXI outdoor music (I prefer it to the DQ8 option).

Easily worth the full price.