theconstellationiris

Love the review, and am thrilled to see a new Metroid getting such glowing praise…but while I could care less about the bike skins and extra music, locking progression behind an amiibo purchase on top of a full-price game (especially in current economic conditions) sours what is otherwise a long-awaited, triumphant return.

Ohhh, Battletoads is about to get a lot of multiplayer love in my house. Great additions all around.

At a time when there is much discussion around whether or not physical media will even continue to be around in another generation or two, it’s nice to see something like this.

Whoa, whoa, whoa…I was already a lock-in for buying this anyway, no need to sell me even further on it.

Brie Larson is delightful, I'm excited to see her take on Rosalina.

@Pillowpants Mine is basically a desk ornament at this point, but honestly, it’s still pretty fun. The animations are cute, and the hourly chime is a nice reminder to get up and move about, rest the eyes a little, etc. I do wish I could pair it with my phone or something, though, if only just to give it read access to my calendar.

@ShadLink And that I totally get, just still seems funny to me. It looks like a fun set of gear otherwise.

@Oldstalk True, the native DLSS does a lot of heavy lifting. Outlaws has been a lot of fun on Switch 2. I don’t know yet how much I trust Square’s optimization efforts, though, ha. It’s a game that looks pretty rough on a base PS5 a lot of the time, too.

Since it’s originally a PS4 game, it looking good on Switch 2 in docked mode doesn’t surprise me. The real tests will be Rebirth and whatever “Re” suffix Square uses for the third game. The former looks like garbage on Steam Deck, but surely Switch 2 will be at least a bit better.

Where’s the poll option for “I play them on several of these options”? Ha. But yes, a mix of original hardware when I feel nostalgic, as well as NES Classic, NSO with the NES controllers, or FPGA when I just want convenience.

At that price, you can also pick up an actual NES, a CRT television, and a solid handful of games, too. I couldn’t get into the LEGO NES for that same reason.

This is the first time I can remember in a very long time that Nintendo have not only apparently exceeded expectations for a new console, but also have met (or even exceeded) demand with considerable supply. Stories abound that Switch 2 hasn’t been selling well because stores have had plenty of inventory available, showing how we’re not used to thinking of a Nintendo launch year where supply actually meets demand, even when that demand is incredibly high.

@Don IIRC, Europe has a Final Fantasy VIII Remastered release for PS4.

[laughs nervously]

@AussieMcBucket Adding to what you’ve already heard, I’d say it’s worth playing the original, even if it’s with cheats enabled, to get context for the remake. Saying as little about it as I can, there’s a lot in the game that (despite what Square has said) expects you to at least be familiar with the story and characters. If playing it proves unpalatable, I’d say a YouTube playthrough that skips regular battles would suffice, as well.

This makes me sad, but I’m excited to see what comes next! Thank you for six awesome years, Zion!

“Not a Best of Both Worlds — not something you're going to dig out the Blurays for specifically — but a solid mid-Season Three-er that's absolutely worth a (re)watch.”

And at $20…resistance is futile, indeed.

I can understand this position; I, too, arguably peaked in the 90s.

Sigh…ah, the old times, when you could go to your local retailer, purchase a game on a cartridge or disc, take it home, insert said media into its appropriate gaming device, and know you were getting the complete experience without needing to think about any of this crap. Those were the days.

Hard to believe it’s been ten years already. He was and continues to be one of a kind, and deeply missed. I must have subconsciously been aware that the anniversary of his passing was coming; I’ve been revisiting my DS, 3DS, and Wii libraries a ton lately. His influence, and indeed now his legacy, remains such a delight.

Rest easy, Iwata-san. We continue to remember you.

Meanwhile, Microsoft just executed a veritable bloodbath of layoffs, studio closures, and game cancellations, despite having “more players, games, and gaming hours than ever before”, or that their “platform, hardware, and game roadmap have never looked stronger”.

Chilling effect, indeed.

That’s nice. I’m not spending a dime until the physical copy I preordered two and a half years ago ships, though.

Wow, a Game.com. Never thought I’d see one of those again, that brings back memories.

@PJOReilly @TheBoilerman And my axe! Or something.

“In the wake of the reveal, which has excited a lot of very old gamers”

I beg your pardon. 😂

Personally, I can’t really see a new remaster or remake happening. Usually, when they do something like that, there are new assets created for the game, and they try to bring back the original artist to at least supervise (if not have a direct hand in) the creation of new art. They kind of can’t really do that with Chrono Trigger. 😕 It wouldn’t necessarily be unprecedented for them not to, but Chrono Trigger itself is very distinctive with a loyal (and vocal) fan base. If they’ve been hesitant to do anything with it so far, I can’t imagine they’ve become less so.

Just…please get Nall (and Ruby) right. Please. I just can’t ever really play the mobile or PSP versions of Silver Star for that reason alone.

A beautiful tribute; thank you for this, Alana. Reading it made an otherwise particularly crappy day a little better. Happy 30th birthday to one of my two favorite games of all time. 🕰️

To me, the real story isn’t whether or not the Switch can surpass either the DS or the PS2 in sales numbers. Sure, it’s a measurable metric, and that’s great. But the real story is that it wasn’t that long ago that people were clamoring for Nintendo to go the way of Sega, exit the hardware market, and make phone games and a downloadable Virtual Console app. Instead, they redoubled their efforts, sprinkled it with some of that Nintendo magic they still had up their sleeve, and produced what may end up as their best selling console ever at a time when everyone was sure that the gaming market was all phones now hands-down. As long as they stay that course with Switch 2, there’s a bright future ahead for Nintendo players.

I love that all five games below the top slot are the exact titles that have been duking it out in Game of the Year lists everywhere, and meanwhile these Japanese creators have responded with “that’s great, but we still prefer the (excellent) remake of a (groundbreaking) 36-year-old Dragon Quest game”.

It also says a lot that all three Square titles in this list are remakes.

As a lifelong fan, I’ve loved a lot of the newer games — FFXIV in particular, and wow do I wish that XVI and VII Rebirth had been combined into a single, original FF game — but I would be thrilled to see a back-to-basics FF game sometime in the near future, from one of their core teams. Not a remake, but a new, original title. Playing through Fantasian again on console has really hammered home how much that style is very missed in the series.

Gods, this is sad, but what a treasure he leaves behind. Falcom’s success and legacy continue to grow and grow, and I’m glad he got to see so much of it. For those of us who have been enjoying their games for many years, and for those who have only recently found them or will find them, I hope we continue to do so for a long time yet, and remember him when we do. Thank you for the memories.

I love both my Switch and my Steam Deck, and will admit that for certain games that run on both, I’ve opted for the Steam Deck version that currently runs better than on Switch, but as far as “competition” goes, we’re talking about devices that sell maybe a few million vs devices that have sold close to 150 million.

The Steam Deck is mostly being purchased by enthusiasts who are interested in portable versions of their existing PC library. The next Nintendo console already being backwards compatible with Switch is a smart move on Nintendo’s part in the face of rising portable gaming competition. These “digital moats” matter; we’ve already seen, especially during the transition from the Xbox One/PS4 era to the current gen, that people are going to go stick with where their libraries are.

I don’t see these devices as being competition that eats Nintendo’s lunch. I think these companies saw what Switch did, and learned how to make better gaming devices for their customers from it.

As long as they continue to let Monolith run as its own entity with its own company culture, I’m happy with this. They’ve been such a success story under Nintendo that it’s hard to see them try to fix what isn’t broken, at least. I’m sure Takahashi-san et al would enjoy a well-earned retirement if they wanted, as well.

Gods, I hope this also means a cart release with the DLC that isn’t tied to First Press Games.

Those late game boss battle puzzles are no joke; I definitely took my sweet time in the second half just out of sheer frustration (which was also levied at the massive decrease in EXP earned even through late-game Dimengeon grinding). Still, regardless of any other perceived shortcomings, I loved this game on Apple Arcade for what it is, and am so excited to finally see it on a Nintendo console (and on a cart, too, thank goodness). It absolutely succeeds in conveying that feeling of playing a modern SNES/PSX-era classic RPG. Thanks for the in-depth review!

On the one hand, I know full well that if they announced this, I would preorder it so fast. And on the other, I saw what they did with the HD-2D version of Aria di Mezzo Carattere, and…oof.

Still my favorite game ever, thirty years later. Can’t count how many times I’ve played it front to back, and yet continue to drink from that well. So many dear memories, wouldn’t even know where to start. I’ll be making more of them for another thirty years to come, I hope.

Agreed that we’ll probably never know if this is actually true or not, but I sure like to think it is.

I’m a grown adult, I’m a grown adult, I’m a grown adult, I’m a grown adult…

Everything about this makes me so happy I could burst. Congratulations, Sakaguchi-san!

Still can’t wait to dig into it later today, but this sucks. I couldn’t care less if the frame rate is 30fps instead of 60fps, but when it’s inconsistent and bouncing all over the place, it really takes me right out of my enjoyment of the game.

I could not preorder this cart fast enough when they went live a little while back. Glad it’s coming earlier in December, rather than later! Looking forward to another playthrough, on what is (IMHO) its proper home.

For those looking for a cart, Play Asia has store pages up, although you can’t preorder just yet. Not sure what other stores have them up yet.

Please, for the love of all that is good in this world, give us a cart release that I can sit alongside the Grandia and Cosmic Fantasy collections.

[screaming intensifies]

I sincerely hope he has a nice retirement soon — he’s certainly earned it — but let’s be honest, the man is categorically incapable of “finishing” any of his projects.

I continue to keep my fingers, toes, eyeballs, and wires crossed for a cart for this sometime soon!

I would think the only way we’d see any announcement of the Switch successor before the holiday shopping timeframe would be if they were planning to launch it around the same time next year. Historically for Nintendo, the period and timing of the Switch announcement up until release was pretty anomalous, compared to prior console/handheld generations.

Literally everything about this gives me warm fuzzies and a tear to my eye. I could not have preordered the Switch cart for this fast enough when they became available, even if I’d already finished it on iOS. Sakaguchi and Uematsu on the current Nintendo system, published by Square? And almost exactly thirty years after the last main Final Fantasy game to launch on Nintendo? Absolutely legendary.