I dislike scores with a passion but, the lowest scored game on this site - Lawnmower Game: Racing got a 1/10 from Nintendo Life's Chris Scullion but no Shovelware filter despite being "one of the worst games on the Switch".
Toziuha Night: Dracula's Revenge? A game which seems to be a decent Classicvania inspiration with a healthy number of reviews (73) on Steam which trends Very Positive even with some criticism in a pretty competitive genre? Shovelware according to NL’s Better eShop.
Vroom in the Night Sky is THE best known so-called shovelware on Switch by far in part as it was a launch title worldwide digitally, but no Shovelware flag regarding that despite 17/100 on Metacritic and 3/10 on Nintendo Life.
Worst for me was when I found “50 Pinch Barrage!!” which I felt was a fantastic cinematic platformer which got an 8/10 from Nintendo Life on 3DS and the Switch release (which has no critic reviews - not even user scores on NL) is in the Shovelware section... I'll be fair and say I've bought it for Switch but only played the Switch demo so far (as well as the full 3DS game years ago). Maybe the full game specifically on Switch is "low quality, low effort or other kinds of spam" or standards have risen in the last decade somehow but if it is even half as good as the Switch demo or my replay/memories of the original game implies...
I struggle to think of how the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop could be even worse even if it kept the exact same library as the Switch and clogged things up by having Switch and Switch 2 games take two spaces...
Deku Deals, eshop-prices and Visual Novel Database all have their blind spots based on platform/genre... Steam is engineered to force you into a bubble where you buy games which are more expensive (or have DLC) and give Valve more money... Nintendo somehow made their worst eShop yet relative to the potential that they had and in comparison to the 3DS too - but even without working well and no easy filter options... All of these work better for me, though the effort was nice.
Better eShop does seem likely to improve on the shovelware side - which you consider to be "Games that are generally of low quality, low effort or other kinds of spam." It seems like a few games that were named above are no longer on the Shovelware list like the Squidlit games (I recommend these) but even if it somehow only put games that I never want to play/hear (perhaps as I've played them or have no interest in them being despite them being really good) and think are really bad into this category (which is a very wonky bar). It would still feel unethical to have such a category if it wasn't curated by the person who wants to use it as a short hand rather than a news site with an interest in particular games.
However, a global shovelware category like this is bound to catch misunderstood titles, short and sweet indie projects and more all without the game even being reviewed or even played, so it would be better of being divided into tags based on mechanics or genre which can be combined to avoid/seek certain combos.
Out of all of the Shovelware games currently listed (over 2000) only one of them has a NL Review Score (none of have a NL user review) - Cake Laboratory at 3/10 - not to say I expect you guys to play AND review them, but given how bad the official eShop is and as well as information about these games with even the Steam releases (which may have mostly positive reviews like Platform 4) having less than 10 reviews, it is hard to feel that I’m being informed by such a category without any context. It seems just as likely to knock a game with a short campaign (I play Squidlit regularly), simple loop (SUPER SHAKING GIRL!!! looks alright) or games which have a bit more meat and depth (Secret Summoner seemed quite good based on the demo - no critic reviews anywhere, no NL user reviews, 6 Steam reviews which are mostly positive... but it is "Shovelware") as really bad mobile ports.
Logged in for the first time in years and I've gotta say that this cure is worse than the poison - even if it was more impressive than I expected in terms of running, having music, having a pretend cart with multiple items and allowing user reviews. We don't get any information on the storage space taken, pages are all a single colour (rather than being styled to match a specific game), no video (which could be an embed) and there is no coverage of language options. I personally use eshop-prices as it covers multiple regions digitally for Switch games with conversion rate options (great for importers or folks with multiple accounts), but for most people, Deku Deals is the standard to beat since they basically get full marks in everything but being a copy of the eShop since it even includes PS, Xbox and Steam - physical media stores, demos and price history are tracked too without judging the game beyond a Metacritic in the corner (not ideal but okay).
On the note of judging games, I can't trust your filters to not catch interesting games which get bundled away due to inconsistent AI vibes, "hentai" or being believed to be shovelware. There is a lot of value in well done tags - the 3DS actually made it really easy to search for games from a specific developer AND publisher within a certain price window and user scores that you define while choosing the genre. The "Better eShop" currently takes the worst parts of the Switch eShop and the Steam store's curators. I can't speak for the "hentai" games at length, but have seen games rated 12 (Pretty Girl Escape) which don't even have an adult version anywhere else or any "hentai" games to my knowledge - age ratings range from 12 (at least) to 18 for these games and combining the official age ratings (which are already notoriously inconsistent) with arbitary decisions from NL curators and community members who won't go through VNDB levels of effort to actual detail what makes a game "mature" or "hentai" is pointless.
Parents are better served by Common Sense Media if that's the goals of the categories and anyone looking to avoid a specific side of gaming is still going to get it from tons of other games - it feels like only certain series or publishers are being caught by this with even games with almost 200 reviews on Steam and "sexual acts and violence" by the dev's description and a demo there and on Switch with a 16 rating but nothing saying "Mature" on NL's site.
@Action51 Again, I don't really disagree. Nintendo definitely has a lot of loyalty thanks to big hits which are consistent from platform to platform even if there are droughts that third parties might not always cover.
What I'm saying is that Resident Evil is an exception, the rest of Capcom's 3DS support has been very good.
@DiscoGentleman Well to be honest, I like Kamiya's games, find his persona as engaging as I do terrifying and argue at length whenever no one can provide conclusive sources but asserts a message.
Potential fanboyism? It could be a part. I really dislike misinformation though.
I googled "Bayonetta Smash Kamiya" and found nothing on the lines of him saying an explicit No to Bayonetta in Smash in tons of images. Seems even less likely when you consider he is friends with Sakurai and both have been spotted together in the past. I only asked you to link me since it removes the chance of me searching badly or picking Tweets I like.
That said, if him celebrating Bayonetta in Smash doesn't count as some form of approval, then we have nothing to say Nintendo went around him or not. I'll drop that subject till someone tries asking him at the risk of being blocked.
Again. 140 characters and not his native language. Kamiya responded to someone asking about custom controls by saying that it isn't necessary. Perhaps, if the question was framed more in depth with a nod to how it stacks very well onto accessible difficulty modes and how it allows disabled gamers to engage more (if he didn't retweet the award Bayonetta 2 got for touch screen controls, I'm sure Hashimoto did). He may have had a different response, goes double if he was being talked to in person.
I said "fellow team mates" since I remember a case of a new developer on the Devil May Cry 1 team suggesting a trip overseas for research and Kamiya approving it according to the developer's account in the DMC 3142 artbook. He seemed good at playing along with new Capcom staff and Nintendo staff already.
Perhaps, he needed to be convinced to say "Yes" and wasn't fond of Bayonetta in Smash Bros. Perhaps it is the opposite and he was glad that he could respond to people talking about it with open arms rather that "Blocked for repeating the same thing!".
Kamiya flipped out at that image? Are you really surprised given that he doesn't welcome pictures of Bayonetta without glasses and has already been bugged by Smash folks for years (and meme folks for long enough). >_> I won't disagree that it is irrational to flip out, but you can't say it is inconsistent or uncalled for him to not care for some jokes.
Thanks for encouraging me to Google though, had a laugh at the other stuff which turned up.
@Dankykong Said no to Bayonetta? Can you prove an explicit statement on those lines beyond him being bothered by a lot of people asking him the same question.
He wants to make VJ3 but will definitely block people if that got spammed when they should be asking Capcom. And he has answered the question dozens of times before.
No proof that Nintendo had to get around him too, with international agreements between two publishers and more it would only take one no from a notable name to hush it.
Anyway, if you looked into more of his Tweets more (a big ask when it is easy to belittle him) or interviews you'd be familiar with how he appreciates fellow team members and works with their visions. He doesn't like bending to focus groups though.
@Dankykong Said no to Bayonetta? Can you prove an explicit statement on those lines beyond him being bothered by a lot of people asking him the same question.
He wants to make VJ3 but will definitely block people if that got spammed when they should be asking Capcom. And he has answered the question dozens of times before.
No proof that Nintendo had to get around him too, with international agreements between two publishers and more it would only take one no from a notable name to hush it.
Anyway, if you looked into more of his Tweets more (a big ask when it is easy to belittle him) or interviews you'd be familiar with how he appreciates fellow team members and works with their visions. He doesn't like bending to focus groups though.
@Dankykong My bad, we should assume the worst out of every 140 characters or less that Kamiya tweets in English despite learning the language through Twitter. I mean, I'm afraid of a block myself but asking doesn't hurt.
Aside from that the two tweets displayed here have him thinking about the fans and we have many other occasions (since he uses Twitter a lot) of him clarifying things in similar ways.
Are other developers and video game types nicer on social media? Mostly yes. If you stay within the bounds of certain subjects or have something interesting to say/show/ask, Kamiya is a pretty nice guy who responds much more than others. He makes it very easy to see what has been asked for him in the past as well.
He also doesn't hold things against individuals on Twitter much unlike what I've seen some others do unfortunately, I won't make it about them being worse more than I have.
@Dankykong My bad, we should assume the worst out of every 140 characters or less that Kamiya tweets in English despite learning the language through Twitter. I mean, I'm afraid of a block myself but asking doesn't hurt.
Aside from that the two tweets displayed here have him thinking about the fans and we have many other occasions (since he uses Twitter a lot) of him clarifying things in similar ways.
Are other developers and video game types nicer on social media? Mostly yes. If you stay within the bounds of certain subjects or have something interesting to say/show/ask, Kamiya is a pretty nice guy who responds much more than others. He makes it very easy to see what has been asked for him in the past as well.
He also doesn't hold things against individuals on Twitter much unlike what I've seen some others do unfortunately, I won't make it about them being worse more than I have.
@Action51 Honestly, I think you should support games with the aim to get a good release, not an extended franchise on your system of choice but I agree that it is a let down to buy a game (say BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 on 3DS - not a great port but a great game, basically a copy and paste of the PSP one) only to see a successor skip your system of choice (BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend, it was even on the PSP in Japan).
My only assumption for the Resident Evil case in particular is that the co-op, RE.net (a system used for numerous RE games) and game structure wasn't going to be very compatible with the 3DS, it may not be a looker for the PS3 and above but it is a more ambitious title even if I like what I've played less. It even switched from a mostly RE4 control scheme to a generic dual analog control scheme which had enemies leaping out very aggressively.
The Wii U? It must have sold especially poorly for the platform since Capcom released Revelation 2 for the Vita at some point, perhaps it was Sony lending a hand.
@Action51 Honestly, I think you should support games with the aim to get a good release, not an extended franchise on your system of choice but I agree that it is a let down to buy a game (say BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 on 3DS - not a great port but a great game, basically a copy and paste of the PSP one) only to see a successor skip your system of choice (BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend, it was even on the PSP in Japan).
My only assumption for the Resident Evil case in particular is that the co-op, RE.net (a system used for numerous RE games) and game structure wasn't going to be very compatible with the 3DS, it may not be a looker for the PS3 and above but it is a more ambitious title even if I like what I've played less. It even switched from a mostly RE4 control scheme to a generic dual analog control scheme which had enemies leaping out very aggressively.
The Wii U? It must have sold especially poorly for the platform since Capcom released Revelation 2 for the Vita at some point, perhaps it was Sony lending a hand.
@DiscoGentleman I should check to be sure but the timing is important. He has been seen encouraging people to play other games on the Xbox One (Rise of the Tomb Raider) while Scalebound was delayed and only seems to have an opinion to share at worst. He is willing to criticise his own games, prior partners and promotional material as well.
Kamiya comes across as a genuine character to me, avoiding being a jerk (yes I insist) or businessman type. Perhaps he would seem like a better character if he didn't respond to people on Twitter, I can say his character would stick out in an interview regardless.
I don't mean other developers are soulless but there isn't any harm in the direction he has gone in either.
@Dankykong If he explictly said no to her in Smash, wouldn't we see him upset about it on Twitter rather than celebrating us "idiots" for supporting the idea. Same goes for Star Fox. Both are things he seemed interested in, perhaps even said so in an interview but people burned him out.
Most times when he says no or blocks people, it isn't because he hates an idea but because someone spammed it so much that he can't stand to read another message or respond to it.
You can imagine how he felt about being introduced to memes. Easiest block ever.
@JaguarWong He has said how he wanted to work on a Bayonetta 3, Okami 2, portable Jeanne game, portable Issun game, Vergil story, Sparda story and Viewtiful Joe 3 on Twitter for the last year or so.
Really a crossover between his first original IP and the emblem of PlatinumGames seems obvious.
Ah, I understand how he feels on this one. At least, he seems considerate of the fans and likely to give it the go ahead next time. This never would have happened if a formal Bayonetta/Kamiya and Dante/Itsuno crossover happened.
He has been hoping to work with Capcom on a number of things for a while and I hope with all the work he had with Nintendo and Microsoft, Capcom aren't far off.
@DiscoGentleman Wasn't it the opposite way around with him criticising the visual upgrades for Windwaker HD BEFORE his game released on the Wii U?
Should a developer not be free to express an opinion like that while under Nintendo's wing? Even if not assigned to that project?
@Action51 It actually sold well for the 3DS according to the producer of the game: "Going by the 3DS market at the time we released the game, it was definitely a success and we're certainly hoping we can repeat that success with the home console version."
Masachika Kawata continued: "Given the large development costs we had on the 3DS version, we would have liked to have even a little more sales than we did in the end. But that doesn't mean we saw it as a failure by any means."
Sold modestly on other platforms? I suppose, but if they were able to make good money while just tailoring a game for more hardware then adding DLC. That's a success and presumably why part of why they went with a Revelations 2.
Capcom in general don't really do exclusives unless there is no next to chance of selling it somewhere else, not that I can disagree about some third parties though. Correct me if I'm wrong.
@Action51 I'm aware that the 1.1 million doesn't include the 3DS from back then. Capcom definitely sunk some money just to reach all of those platforms.
However, it is Capcom's strategy to roll with "single content, multiple usage" whether it is a lot of ports, or anime, manga and movies related to their software. I don't think Capcom is spot on about Resident Evil, since they aren't community experiences which actively get fractured by more platforms (why they normally only do one portable?).
They seem to know how to work with Monster Hunter. Like you say, they did a good job cultivating a fanbase but I feel they picked the 3DS as the hardware was the only reasonable choice. It avoids them needing to go far out there to revamp assets, it gives them a massive established Japanese audience and so on.
The Vita wouldn't make sense with an audience which wouldn't get the 3 million sales of games like at least one PSP MH and multiple 3DS MH games.
@Windy Agreed. E.X. Troopers is a quite a looker both on the 3DS (both two copies - one is digital) and PS3 (got a physical copy). I can tell you a lot about the game, including that it doesn't actually support online on 3DS, but local multiplayer. The multiplayer consists of Versus, Capture the Flag and Cooperative Play on VR Missions. You can switch on items for the first two for something of a Mario Kart experience.
If you are interested in supporting localisation for the game and don't know much about the game in general. I recommend joining Capcom Unity to let people know about your interest and encouraging other people interested in the game to do so as well.
This is the main thread about the game - it details how localisation can happen: www.capcom-unity.com/capcom_games_discussion/go/forum/view/7341/17051/capcom-games-discussion
Out of the top 10, 4 games are MH, 4 are main series RE and two are SF2 versions.
@Warruz @SetupDisk
Either way, you guys all misread the sales for Revelations 2. Capcom reported it selling 1.1 million last year (http://gematsu.com/2015/05/resident-evil-revelations-2-sales-top-1-1-million) as a "strong start" and this report is an additional 500K sales leading to 1.6 million in total: http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/business/million.html 100K more than Revelations on all platforms but the 3DS already.
Still waiting for E.X. Troopers (localisation), Monster Hunter Stories (release - I'll import) and Dai Gyakuten Saiban (localisation).
Good to hear they are happy with their recent releases though. Revelations 2 is an interesting one, I started off really disliking it and still think the movement and health system are annoying. I might get the full disc release with time though since Episode 1 did improve with time.
@MarinoKadame Curious that 8-4 and Treehouse let Fire Emblem Awakening have Nowi (her clothes) and multiple children (Ricken and Donnel) plus you can marry then. Nowi being a 1000 year dragon doesn't change that she looks like a child (ultimately harmless but if she looked like an adult, people wouldn't take notice).
If something passes on a game system under a console manufacturer, all things under the same extremity should be fair again. Even if we stick to a single localisation team, they aren't even consistent.
As far as I can tell from the demo (ordinary 3DS but still), it was never good anyway. E.X. Troopers can't come to the west any sooner: www.capcom-unity.com/capcom_games_discussion/go/thread/view/7341/30030505/ex-troopers-localization-support-topic-ps3-3ds-title
I'd write a thorough review, but my brother's European 3DS that I used to play Burst isn't in the best condition (R button has issues - very important, switches off easily and other things) and I last thoroughly played the game months ago.
I can answer any questions that people have about things whether it is StreetPass (50 swimsuits unlocked through it, you get to see profiles and pose them) and mechanics but it'll take me longer to get through the story to detail those things than a lot of other people in the comments.
I'm not the kind of guy who writes a single take on a game once leaving it there.
A fairer review that I expected, though I suppose that may be due to reading some takes which really miss the point. As a bit of disclosure, I've been playing this game since last year through all of the patches and improvements so I have some serious disagreements to held over the depth (the highest of any combat focused 3DS game I played) of the game unless they took away the styles, character switching advantages (including the abillity to control two characters at once!) and such but I'll assume that detailing them is pointless given that I do agree on how levels aren't the best. I feel like the AI is much more aggressive here than most Senran Kagura games, including Burst thanks to how they punish you mid combo but if they changed that I guess that isn't a point.
I haven't read the Burst review, but it isn't relevant if you are a totally different guy (or changed your mind really). I can argue that game was better in some respects. I wish you would take the story and customisation into account for this review though, even if you could call them sleazy or camp, you could recognise and inform people that "Hey, these insane monster bosses even have some fanservice" or "Hey, there are two guys who can get reduced to little clothing" or "Hey, the story dives into comedy and dark elements which range from using fanservice to dismissing it". I dunno.
@Knuckles Thanks, I've been interested in buying Snake Eater on Japanese 3DS for a while but between the limited edition 3DS and a retail version. Both options were too expensive for me to jump on just yet.
Bandai Namco also wised up with digital availability with Digimon World Re:Digitize Decode last week and Tales of the World this week... I bought both despite not caring much about Digimon and already having Abyss' European release. >_> My wallet hates you too.
@Dreamcaster-X In a sense yes. The Attack on Titan game outdates Freedom Wars but both feature a lot of weapons and traps (though you aren't going to combo a titan or anything in AoT) while it also has the option to recruit generic characters with your funds or streetpass recruits who can die for good.
Probably M for Mature. The Japanese game was rated D (which is frequently but not always a good match), Japan's second highest rating. When you get eaten by titans, the detail isn't high fidelity and it doesn't even show your limbs thrown about like the fan game...
However, there is still more blood that a T game would probably get and you can behead the smaller titans in the 2013 version as well as remove limbs from bigger ones. Even if they aren't human, this sort of detail isn't going to be overlooked by the ESRB.
@ModernMARVEL
Both types of crawler are troublesome, but mostly for their spin attack which they can combo you and your allies with before grabbing and eating ya. They are the hardest 1 hit kill enemies in the 3DS version, but nothing on the fan game equivalents unless you are in a tight space.
There is a point with the "multi-platform" notice in the rating for Australia but I'll stick to assuming it will be released for the lead platform as that was the exclusive platform for the December 2013 release and we are just over a month away from Japan getting the Dec 2014 upgrade without a word about other platforms.
I suppose it could be on more platforms but people will probably not receive the presentation very well even if MH3U did fine and it isn't a looker.
@Spoony_Tech
So we have a full handful of em as recent or soon upcoming releases. A real trend we have here.
@Shotgunryugan I've played over 100 hours of the original game but probably spent less than 4 minutes as a titan. It is a temporary power up in World Mode (good idea) and a permanent form in some short story missions, so you won't get to use it much for it to really bug you.
You use it when you want to get through a fight more easily or for contrast. The main course is everything else.
Glad to see this come to more regions, but I'll still import the Japanese version. Enjoyed the 2013 version a lot.
@Shotgunryugan
I would like titan fights to be more interesting but what can they do? Being able to swing over and around architecture, dress up as a ninja, use a knife and fork as blades, have grenades + mines + traps as support tools and such is much more interesting. We aren't going to get a God Hand, The Wonderful 101 or Bayonetta level beat em up out of what in most fights is closer to a Dynasty Warriors experience with normal titans being fodder.
@snoox Well the full game of The Wonderful 101 gives you a good but quick introduction in the mechanics of the game as well as offering two easier difficulties from the get go, though I recommend in advance that you buy the block and dodge moves.
You can learn and unlock everything little by little in both Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101 (even learning in failure or after tons of playthroughs) since they share a lot in common. Just because the camera here looks more traditional, it doesn't mean it won't be just as merciless.
That said, jump on Bayonetta 1 + 2 and give TW101 a look for cheap while being patient and you'll be surprised how well it clicks.
@WanderingPB Yeah, you are correct I intended it for @kereke12 instead since he literally said "Yet Bayonetta sold only a few thousands of copies in Japan."
I generally agree to an extent since I care a lot more about good games existing and good games being available than console warfare, but the sales of Bayonetta 2 aren't going to pick up much on the "second week/first full week" since most sales tend to be on the first day/week (look at your life time sales total and compare them to the first week) anyway and it will be overshadowed by over a dozen games next week which release for the first time when it had last week to itself (New games wise).
Also, shipments are a good sign of reasonably estimating demand, not whether a game made the money back. Stores will only accept as many copies as they expect to sell.
Anyway, I messed up and replied to you by mistake. You can have your fun with Hyrule Warriors, I'll spend my time with Senran Kagura 2.
@snoox Bayo 1 first. I haven't played either one and next to no one here has played or seen much of Bayo 2 (Japanese importers of Wii U or playthrough watchers), but playing in order will let you recognise all of the improvements or changes that Bayo 2 makes and any nods to the prior game.
If you want to try out a game with technical action and fantastic design, this should be your cup of tea. It is challenging, has a high skill ceiling and makes you work for unlocks even if it gives you plenty to do, but it is a great pick.
If you have a Wii U, you should look into The Wonderful 101 as well. It has the same director as Bayo 1 (Kamiya is still supervising Bayo 2) and a lot of shared design choices with Bayonetta as well as Devil May Cry (same director), Okami (same director) and Viewtiful Joe (same director)
@Drawdler Yep, even if I don't have a Japanese Wii U, that is still preferable assuming that I would want a Zelda scarf and all of the goodies that the treasure box had.
I just wanted the game to have all of the preorder costumes (excluding DLC is okay) from the get go, no jumping through hoops for that and I would desire it more.
@Artwark The "word that can replace the number" is the text in the review, nobody who complains about a score reads it... or at least no one reasonable will complain about arbitrary numbers or indications at the end of a review when the reviewer tells us how it is and it turns out to be worth a buy/miss.
I guess a "Worth a buy", "Worth a rent", "Worth missing out on" may be more direct, but those don't drive up traffic, get them onto Metacritic/Gamerankings (which as awful as they are - still are important for sites getting exposure) and change much at all if readers are ignorant.
@WanderingPB
38K is a "a few thousands of copies" in the first week (well two days, but week)? Sure...
@KillScottKill I get that feeling as well when anyone says that Famitsu are harsh, their highest scored games at 39 or 40/40 include some real paragons of design, but also an anime licensed fighting games with microtransactions and poor balance and Final Fantasy XIII.
Just goes to show that scores alone aren't helpful and even more crazy... well it is to be expected but different writers have different tastes or personal feelings on scores (on top of the different sites having different feelings). I recall seeing a GameSpot or IGN livechat where the staff were disagreeing at large with a fellow writer responsible for a review.
@Marr_the_Great I was able to remap the A, B, Y, X, L and R buttons in my Japanese version as well as disable Up on the Circle Pad being Jumping, but I left the controls as the default and have managed with them.
Sadly, you can't have the D-pad handle movement, but at least you will be happy. Sakurai is a friend of yours, clearly.
If he was a friend of mine, Wonder Red would be in (hope he and others have a trophy in the 3DS version - it could be as close as I get to a portable SRPG based on the license).
@hybridseed While I'm also an owner of a Japanese 3DS with E.X. Troopers + Gundam the 3D Battle and also appreciate that Nintendo's store supports English debit cards, they missed out on the chance for me to both own a system earlier as not being able to ever own all of the games you could want even if you have the money is a huge miss and the chance of me buying limited edition 3DS from all regions since I need to gauge whether that American, Japanese or European library is actually worth my time.
To date, I have only have one 3DS (bought in 2013 even) and would have jumped on earlier, bought some more limited edition systems and more games if I could be certain that my games will work.
If importers are a minority, importers who buy multiple systems despite their games only running on one/few of them are a greater minority.
That includes the original Bayonetta game which reached one million worldwide across two platforms with time. Fortunately, Nintendo footed the bill and it still exists for us to enjoy.
@Tritonus Digital sales tend to be 10% or less of any retail video game's sales unless there are significant deals for a digital copy, it is a game which sells out but still has demand and/or it is a game that someone can and would like to store with their system 100% of the time.
Animal Crossing, Tomodachi Life and Smash Bros meet much of this criteria. Almost any console games misses out because there is less storage or reason to not get it on a disc especially if they have preorder bonuses or other specials.
@CaptainToad A first print of 15,600 copies selling out could be more of a sign of demonic resellers than genuine interest. I've got my first print and will never sell it, but it is a small number.
@Nintenjoe64 This game sold over 7 times as well as The Wonderful 101 in Japan first week which got around 5K.
@Punished_Boss I'm not sure how many people knew about it on Week 1, but since the PS3 port was abysmal and probably the 360 version had notable marketing even if there isn't exclusive content that could be why the 360 version did so well back then.
We are going into an Hate/10 phase before the main course which none of us have played comes around? Ignore the score, everyone knows this is one of the genre defining action games of the last generation and perhaps the best around.
Focus on the points that the reviewer uses to clarify this and whether not that the reviewer used a different number even if they feel just as strongly about the game good or bad. If the points are focused on objective factors and true, no problem even if the score left something to be desired.
Subjective stuff? Well more discussion may be good then.
I have a Japanese 3DS and also find it very tempting to get all of the free software and demos at once on top of the digital sales, my 32GB SD card isn't enough with the behemoths Bravely Default, Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3 and Senran Kagura Burst to get to 300 but I definitely have well over 100 software spots taken up.
I imagined there was a cap and don't really think 300 spaces is a problem, but I hope the cap gets removed or rather increased to the point where it is near impossible to be full all the same.
Don't think the Hyper Japan sales will be recorded by ChartTrack UK but the boost in awareness with the 50% off sale and it being a great family event will probably lead to a nice uptick in interest which may be reflected in future weeks.
They want it to succeed that's why. Yokai Watch had an anime which made the game series blow up and now the sequel is using variants on the anime's opening song for the two versions. The original Gaist Crusher has MH4 nods, Sengoku Basara 4 nods, a Gaist by the artist of One Piece, a Gaist by the artist of Dragon Ball among other things. Pretty much any game will try crosspromotion, especially with internal series as that is cheaper to organise.
Gaist Crusher God is here as they don't want to give up and perhaps had some ideas they were hiding like MH4U was. >_>
@AVahne
You need to sell your soul and have an earlier firmware on your 3DS to do so, but it is possible according to a number of January 2014 articles... I just bought a Japanese system instead.
@Cobra This game was developed by Ganbarion, who developed tons of previous One Piece games (Unlimited series, Grand Battle series, Gigant Battle series, Jump Superstars + Ultimate Stars too) as well as Pandora's Tower.
The lack of a dub is tied ultimately to what Bandai Namco feel like doing, given that most of the fans are followers of the Japanese voice cast and it is cheaper not to focus on getting both. They made this call for every One Piece game since Unlimited Adventure in 2008.
@BakaKnight Yeah, it may be more of your jam even with the faults and unnecessary changes. If you pay $30 for it on the 3DS, you don't have much to lose as well.
@Samuel-Flutter The 3DS is the lead platform, don't hesitate to get it for the platform that has a good user interface though I'll admit that the Wii U has drop in, drop out multiplayer in almost all modes even if the second player loses as much health as Tails from Sonic 2 because they didn't make an effort when porting the thing.
I'm sure it is clear that Holding X with Luffy leads to him doing that opposite attack but maybe the game didn't explain it as it gives you all of the attacks at once.
@BakaKnight
This game is considerably more linear to the point you don't even unlock combos and have less attacks though everything flows in a more traditional sort of way.
I think it is the worst Unlimited game yet, but given what you are asking for maybe it will be your favourite.
Comments 61
Re: The Switch eShop Is A Nightmare, So We've Made Our Own "Better eShop"
I dislike scores with a passion but, the lowest scored game on this site - Lawnmower Game: Racing got a 1/10 from Nintendo Life's Chris Scullion but no Shovelware filter despite being "one of the worst games on the Switch".
Toziuha Night: Dracula's Revenge? A game which seems to be a decent Classicvania inspiration with a healthy number of reviews (73) on Steam which trends Very Positive even with some criticism in a pretty competitive genre? Shovelware according to NL’s Better eShop.
Vroom in the Night Sky is THE best known so-called shovelware on Switch by far in part as it was a launch title worldwide digitally, but no Shovelware flag regarding that despite 17/100 on Metacritic and 3/10 on Nintendo Life.
Worst for me was when I found “50 Pinch Barrage!!” which I felt was a fantastic cinematic platformer which got an 8/10 from Nintendo Life on 3DS and the Switch release (which has no critic reviews - not even user scores on NL) is in the Shovelware section... I'll be fair and say I've bought it for Switch but only played the Switch demo so far (as well as the full 3DS game years ago). Maybe the full game specifically on Switch is "low quality, low effort or other kinds of spam" or standards have risen in the last decade somehow but if it is even half as good as the Switch demo or my replay/memories of the original game implies...
I struggle to think of how the Nintendo Switch 2 eShop could be even worse even if it kept the exact same library as the Switch and clogged things up by having Switch and Switch 2 games take two spaces...
Deku Deals, eshop-prices and Visual Novel Database all have their blind spots based on platform/genre... Steam is engineered to force you into a bubble where you buy games which are more expensive (or have DLC) and give Valve more money... Nintendo somehow made their worst eShop yet relative to the potential that they had and in comparison to the 3DS too - but even without working well and no easy filter options... All of these work better for me, though the effort was nice.
Re: The Switch eShop Is A Nightmare, So We've Made Our Own "Better eShop"
Better eShop does seem likely to improve on the shovelware side - which you consider to be "Games that are generally of low quality, low effort or other kinds of spam." It seems like a few games that were named above are no longer on the Shovelware list like the Squidlit games (I recommend these) but even if it somehow only put games that I never want to play/hear (perhaps as I've played them or have no interest in them being despite them being really good) and think are really bad into this category (which is a very wonky bar). It would still feel unethical to have such a category if it wasn't curated by the person who wants to use it as a short hand rather than a news site with an interest in particular games.
However, a global shovelware category like this is bound to catch misunderstood titles, short and sweet indie projects and more all without the game even being reviewed or even played, so it would be better of being divided into tags based on mechanics or genre which can be combined to avoid/seek certain combos.
Out of all of the Shovelware games currently listed (over 2000) only one of them has a NL Review Score (none of have a NL user review) - Cake Laboratory at 3/10 - not to say I expect you guys to play AND review them, but given how bad the official eShop is and as well as information about these games with even the Steam releases (which may have mostly positive reviews like Platform 4) having less than 10 reviews, it is hard to feel that I’m being informed by such a category without any context. It seems just as likely to knock a game with a short campaign (I play Squidlit regularly), simple loop (SUPER SHAKING GIRL!!! looks alright) or games which have a bit more meat and depth (Secret Summoner seemed quite good based on the demo - no critic reviews anywhere, no NL user reviews, 6 Steam reviews which are mostly positive... but it is "Shovelware") as really bad mobile ports.
Re: The Switch eShop Is A Nightmare, So We've Made Our Own "Better eShop"
Logged in for the first time in years and I've gotta say that this cure is worse than the poison - even if it was more impressive than I expected in terms of running, having music, having a pretend cart with multiple items and allowing user reviews.
We don't get any information on the storage space taken, pages are all a single colour (rather than being styled to match a specific game), no video (which could be an embed) and there is no coverage of language options. I personally use eshop-prices as it covers multiple regions digitally for Switch games with conversion rate options (great for importers or folks with multiple accounts), but for most people, Deku Deals is the standard to beat since they basically get full marks in everything but being a copy of the eShop since it even includes PS, Xbox and Steam - physical media stores, demos and price history are tracked too without judging the game beyond a Metacritic in the corner (not ideal but okay).
On the note of judging games, I can't trust your filters to not catch interesting games which get bundled away due to inconsistent AI vibes, "hentai" or being believed to be shovelware. There is a lot of value in well done tags - the 3DS actually made it really easy to search for games from a specific developer AND publisher within a certain price window and user scores that you define while choosing the genre.
The "Better eShop" currently takes the worst parts of the Switch eShop and the Steam store's curators. I can't speak for the "hentai" games at length, but have seen games rated 12 (Pretty Girl Escape) which don't even have an adult version anywhere else or any "hentai" games to my knowledge - age ratings range from 12 (at least) to 18 for these games and combining the official age ratings (which are already notoriously inconsistent) with arbitary decisions from NL curators and community members who won't go through VNDB levels of effort to actual detail what makes a game "mature" or "hentai" is pointless.
Parents are better served by Common Sense Media if that's the goals of the categories and anyone looking to avoid a specific side of gaming is still going to get it from tons of other games - it feels like only certain series or publishers are being caught by this with even games with almost 200 reviews on Steam and "sexual acts and violence" by the dev's description and a demo there and on Switch with a 16 rating but nothing saying "Mature" on NL's site.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
@Action51 Again, I don't really disagree. Nintendo definitely has a lot of loyalty thanks to big hits which are consistent from platform to platform even if there are droughts that third parties might not always cover.
What I'm saying is that Resident Evil is an exception, the rest of Capcom's 3DS support has been very good.
2011 - SSF43D, The Mercenaries, MH3G, Nazo Waku Yakata
2012 - Resident Evil Revelations, E.X. Troopers,
2013 - Gaist Crusher, Monster Hunter 4, MH3U, AA5
2014 - Gaist Crusher God, Monster Hunter 4G.
2015 - Monster Hunter X, Great Ace Attorney.
This year has AA6 and Monster Hunter Stories and isn't a complete list though most games I didn't mention are VC.
You can say RE doesn't pop up on the 3DS as often as it did and even that Capcom need to localise more/faster. I think their output is fine though.
Re: Detective Pikachu
I've been playing pretty slowly, but should finish the game this week. Looking forward to a localisation of some sort too.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@DiscoGentleman Well to be honest, I like Kamiya's games, find his persona as engaging as I do terrifying and argue at length whenever no one can provide conclusive sources but asserts a message.
Potential fanboyism? It could be a part. I really dislike misinformation though.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@Dankykong
I googled "Bayonetta Smash Kamiya" and found nothing on the lines of him saying an explicit No to Bayonetta in Smash in tons of images. Seems even less likely when you consider he is friends with Sakurai and both have been spotted together in the past. I only asked you to link me since it removes the chance of me searching badly or picking Tweets I like.
That said, if him celebrating Bayonetta in Smash doesn't count as some form of approval, then we have nothing to say Nintendo went around him or not. I'll drop that subject till someone tries asking him at the risk of being blocked.
Again. 140 characters and not his native language. Kamiya responded to someone asking about custom controls by saying that it isn't necessary. Perhaps, if the question was framed more in depth with a nod to how it stacks very well onto accessible difficulty modes and how it allows disabled gamers to engage more (if he didn't retweet the award Bayonetta 2 got for touch screen controls, I'm sure Hashimoto did). He may have had a different response, goes double if he was being talked to in person.
I said "fellow team mates" since I remember a case of a new developer on the Devil May Cry 1 team suggesting a trip overseas for research and Kamiya approving it according to the developer's account in the DMC 3142 artbook. He seemed good at playing along with new Capcom staff and Nintendo staff already.
Perhaps, he needed to be convinced to say "Yes" and wasn't fond of Bayonetta in Smash Bros. Perhaps it is the opposite and he was glad that he could respond to people talking about it with open arms rather that "Blocked for repeating the same thing!".
Kamiya flipped out at that image? Are you really surprised given that he doesn't welcome pictures of Bayonetta without glasses and has already been bugged by Smash folks for years (and meme folks for long enough). >_> I won't disagree that it is irrational to flip out, but you can't say it is inconsistent or uncalled for him to not care for some jokes.
Thanks for encouraging me to Google though, had a laugh at the other stuff which turned up.
Look into this page if you have free time anyway: http://kamiyatweets.tumblr.com
You don't seem to be a fan of what he says on Twitter but he does share more words suggesting that a PxZ3 may end up having Bayonetta.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@Dankykong Said no to Bayonetta? Can you prove an explicit statement on those lines beyond him being bothered by a lot of people asking him the same question.
He wants to make VJ3 but will definitely block people if that got spammed when they should be asking Capcom. And he has answered the question dozens of times before.
No proof that Nintendo had to get around him too, with international agreements between two publishers and more it would only take one no from a notable name to hush it.
Anyway, if you looked into more of his Tweets more (a big ask when it is easy to belittle him) or interviews you'd be familiar with how he appreciates fellow team members and works with their visions. He doesn't like bending to focus groups though.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@Dankykong Said no to Bayonetta? Can you prove an explicit statement on those lines beyond him being bothered by a lot of people asking him the same question.
He wants to make VJ3 but will definitely block people if that got spammed when they should be asking Capcom. And he has answered the question dozens of times before.
No proof that Nintendo had to get around him too, with international agreements between two publishers and more it would only take one no from a notable name to hush it.
Anyway, if you looked into more of his Tweets more (a big ask when it is easy to belittle him) or interviews you'd be familiar with how he appreciates fellow team members and works with their visions. He doesn't like bending to focus groups though.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@Dankykong My bad, we should assume the worst out of every 140 characters or less that Kamiya tweets in English despite learning the language through Twitter. I mean, I'm afraid of a block myself but asking doesn't hurt.
Aside from that the two tweets displayed here have him thinking about the fans and we have many other occasions (since he uses Twitter a lot) of him clarifying things in similar ways.
Are other developers and video game types nicer on social media? Mostly yes. If you stay within the bounds of certain subjects or have something interesting to say/show/ask, Kamiya is a pretty nice guy who responds much more than others. He makes it very easy to see what has been asked for him in the past as well.
He also doesn't hold things against individuals on Twitter much unlike what I've seen some others do unfortunately, I won't make it about them being worse more than I have.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@Dankykong My bad, we should assume the worst out of every 140 characters or less that Kamiya tweets in English despite learning the language through Twitter. I mean, I'm afraid of a block myself but asking doesn't hurt.
Aside from that the two tweets displayed here have him thinking about the fans and we have many other occasions (since he uses Twitter a lot) of him clarifying things in similar ways.
Are other developers and video game types nicer on social media? Mostly yes. If you stay within the bounds of certain subjects or have something interesting to say/show/ask, Kamiya is a pretty nice guy who responds much more than others. He makes it very easy to see what has been asked for him in the past as well.
He also doesn't hold things against individuals on Twitter much unlike what I've seen some others do unfortunately, I won't make it about them being worse more than I have.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
@Action51 Honestly, I think you should support games with the aim to get a good release, not an extended franchise on your system of choice but I agree that it is a let down to buy a game (say BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 on 3DS - not a great port but a great game, basically a copy and paste of the PSP one) only to see a successor skip your system of choice (BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend, it was even on the PSP in Japan).
My only assumption for the Resident Evil case in particular is that the co-op, RE.net (a system used for numerous RE games) and game structure wasn't going to be very compatible with the 3DS, it may not be a looker for the PS3 and above but it is a more ambitious title even if I like what I've played less. It even switched from a mostly RE4 control scheme to a generic dual analog control scheme which had enemies leaping out very aggressively.
The Wii U? It must have sold especially poorly for the platform since Capcom released Revelation 2 for the Vita at some point, perhaps it was Sony lending a hand.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
@Action51 Honestly, I think you should support games with the aim to get a good release, not an extended franchise on your system of choice but I agree that it is a let down to buy a game (say BlazBlue Continuum Shift 2 on 3DS - not a great port but a great game, basically a copy and paste of the PSP one) only to see a successor skip your system of choice (BlazBlue Continuum Shift Extend, it was even on the PSP in Japan).
My only assumption for the Resident Evil case in particular is that the co-op, RE.net (a system used for numerous RE games) and game structure wasn't going to be very compatible with the 3DS, it may not be a looker for the PS3 and above but it is a more ambitious title even if I like what I've played less. It even switched from a mostly RE4 control scheme to a generic dual analog control scheme which had enemies leaping out very aggressively.
The Wii U? It must have sold especially poorly for the platform since Capcom released Revelation 2 for the Vita at some point, perhaps it was Sony lending a hand.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@DiscoGentleman I should check to be sure but the timing is important. He has been seen encouraging people to play other games on the Xbox One (Rise of the Tomb Raider) while Scalebound was delayed and only seems to have an opinion to share at worst. He is willing to criticise his own games, prior partners and promotional material as well.
Kamiya comes across as a genuine character to me, avoiding being a jerk (yes I insist) or businessman type. Perhaps he would seem like a better character if he didn't respond to people on Twitter, I can say his character would stick out in an interview regardless.
I don't mean other developers are soulless but there isn't any harm in the direction he has gone in either.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@Dankykong If he explictly said no to her in Smash, wouldn't we see him upset about it on Twitter rather than celebrating us "idiots" for supporting the idea. Same goes for Star Fox. Both are things he seemed interested in, perhaps even said so in an interview but people burned him out.
Most times when he says no or blocks people, it isn't because he hates an idea but because someone spammed it so much that he can't stand to read another message or respond to it.
You can imagine how he felt about being introduced to memes. Easiest block ever.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
@JaguarWong He has said how he wanted to work on a Bayonetta 3, Okami 2, portable Jeanne game, portable Issun game, Vergil story, Sparda story and Viewtiful Joe 3 on Twitter for the last year or so.
Really a crossover between his first original IP and the emblem of PlatinumGames seems obvious.
Re: Bayonetta Could've Been in Project X Zone 2
Ah, I understand how he feels on this one. At least, he seems considerate of the fans and likely to give it the go ahead next time. This never would have happened if a formal Bayonetta/Kamiya and Dante/Itsuno crossover happened.
He has been hoping to work with Capcom on a number of things for a while and I hope with all the work he had with Nintendo and Microsoft, Capcom aren't far off.
@DiscoGentleman Wasn't it the opposite way around with him criticising the visual upgrades for Windwaker HD BEFORE his game released on the Wii U?
Should a developer not be free to express an opinion like that while under Nintendo's wing? Even if not assigned to that project?
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
@Action51 It actually sold well for the 3DS according to the producer of the game: "Going by the 3DS market at the time we released the game, it was definitely a success and we're certainly hoping we can repeat that success with the home console version."
Masachika Kawata continued:
"Given the large development costs we had on the 3DS version, we would have liked to have even a little more sales than we did in the end. But that doesn't mean we saw it as a failure by any means."
Sold modestly on other platforms? I suppose, but if they were able to make good money while just tailoring a game for more hardware then adding DLC. That's a success and presumably why part of why they went with a Revelations 2.
Capcom in general don't really do exclusives unless there is no next to chance of selling it somewhere else, not that I can disagree about some third parties though. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
@Action51 I'm aware that the 1.1 million doesn't include the 3DS from back then. Capcom definitely sunk some money just to reach all of those platforms.
However, it is Capcom's strategy to roll with "single content, multiple usage" whether it is a lot of ports, or anime, manga and movies related to their software. I don't think Capcom is spot on about Resident Evil, since they aren't community experiences which actively get fractured by more platforms (why they normally only do one portable?).
They seem to know how to work with Monster Hunter. Like you say, they did a good job cultivating a fanbase but I feel they picked the 3DS as the hardware was the only reasonable choice. It avoids them needing to go far out there to revamp assets, it gives them a massive established Japanese audience and so on.
The Vita wouldn't make sense with an audience which wouldn't get the 3 million sales of games like at least one PSP MH and multiple 3DS MH games.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
@Windy Agreed. E.X. Troopers is a quite a looker both on the 3DS (both two copies - one is digital) and PS3 (got a physical copy). I can tell you a lot about the game, including that it doesn't actually support online on 3DS, but local multiplayer. The multiplayer consists of Versus, Capture the Flag and Cooperative Play on VR Missions. You can switch on items for the first two for something of a Mario Kart experience.
If you are interested in supporting localisation for the game and don't know much about the game in general. I recommend joining Capcom Unity to let people know about your interest and encouraging other people interested in the game to do so as well.
This is the main thread about the game - it details how localisation can happen: www.capcom-unity.com/capcom_games_discussion/go/forum/view/7341/17051/capcom-games-discussion
A pal and I have done a lot of work on the Wikipedia page as well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.X._Troopers
There is a localisation section worth reading, though my posts as "Gogeta" on Capcom Unity clarify a ton.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
As for @Action51 in particular, most games fail to sell as much as Monster Hunter. Look at the Platinum Titles list linked in this post here: http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/business/million.html
Out of the top 10, 4 games are MH, 4 are main series RE and two are SF2 versions.
@Warruz @SetupDisk
Either way, you guys all misread the sales for Revelations 2. Capcom reported it selling 1.1 million last year (http://gematsu.com/2015/05/resident-evil-revelations-2-sales-top-1-1-million) as a "strong start" and this report is an additional 500K sales leading to 1.6 million in total: http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/business/million.html 100K more than Revelations on all platforms but the 3DS already.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
@yourfriendjake The Ace Attorney game set in London for the most part, the protagonist is a predecessor to Naruhodo Ryuiichi (Phoenix Wright).
The Wikipedia page looks fairly good: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dai_Gyakuten_Saiban:_Naruhodō_Ryūnosuke_no_Bōken
There are also a lot of trailers. It commonly gets called "Great Ace Attorney" just in case you want to look around.
Re: Monster Hunter X (Cross) Sales Hit 3.2 Million as Capcom Talks Up 'Firm' Overseas Results
Still waiting for E.X. Troopers (localisation), Monster Hunter Stories (release - I'll import) and Dai Gyakuten Saiban (localisation).
Good to hear they are happy with their recent releases though. Revelations 2 is an interesting one, I started off really disliking it and still think the movement and health system are annoying. I might get the full disc release with time though since Episode 1 did improve with time.
Re: You Can't Alter The Chest Size Of Female Characters In The Western Version Of Xenoblade Chronicles X
@MarinoKadame Curious that 8-4 and Treehouse let Fire Emblem Awakening have Nowi (her clothes) and multiple children (Ricken and Donnel) plus you can marry then. Nowi being a 1000 year dragon doesn't change that she looks like a child (ultimately harmless but if she looked like an adult, people wouldn't take notice).
If something passes on a game system under a console manufacturer, all things under the same extremity should be fair again. Even if we stick to a single localisation team, they aren't even consistent.
Re: IRONFALL Invasion Returns to the 3DS eShop Following IRONHAX Issue
As far as I can tell from the demo (ordinary 3DS but still), it was never good anyway. E.X. Troopers can't come to the west any sooner: www.capcom-unity.com/capcom_games_discussion/go/thread/view/7341/30030505/ex-troopers-localization-support-topic-ps3-3ds-title
Re: Review: SENRAN KAGURA 2: Deep Crimson (3DS)
@TheWPCTraveler
I'd write a thorough review, but my brother's European 3DS that I used to play Burst isn't in the best condition (R button has issues - very important, switches off easily and other things) and I last thoroughly played the game months ago.
I can answer any questions that people have about things whether it is StreetPass (50 swimsuits unlocked through it, you get to see profiles and pose them) and mechanics but it'll take me longer to get through the story to detail those things than a lot of other people in the comments.
I'm not the kind of guy who writes a single take on a game once leaving it there.
Re: Review: SENRAN KAGURA 2: Deep Crimson (3DS)
A fairer review that I expected, though I suppose that may be due to reading some takes which really miss the point. As a bit of disclosure, I've been playing this game since last year through all of the patches and improvements so I have some serious disagreements to held over the depth (the highest of any combat focused 3DS game I played) of the game unless they took away the styles, character switching advantages (including the abillity to control two characters at once!) and such but I'll assume that detailing them is pointless given that I do agree on how levels aren't the best. I feel like the AI is much more aggressive here than most Senran Kagura games, including Burst thanks to how they punish you mid combo but if they changed that I guess that isn't a point.
I haven't read the Burst review, but it isn't relevant if you are a totally different guy (or changed your mind really). I can argue that game was better in some respects. I wish you would take the story and customisation into account for this review though, even if you could call them sleazy or camp, you could recognise and inform people that "Hey, these insane monster bosses even have some fanservice" or "Hey, there are two guys who can get reduced to little clothing" or "Hey, the story dives into comedy and dark elements which range from using fanservice to dismissing it". I dunno.
Re: Video: Nintendo Shows Off a Series of New Third-Party 3DS HOME Themes in Japan
@Knuckles Thanks, I've been interested in buying Snake Eater on Japanese 3DS for a while but between the limited edition 3DS and a retail version. Both options were too expensive for me to jump on just yet.
Bandai Namco also wised up with digital availability with Digimon World Re:Digitize Decode last week and Tales of the World this week... I bought both despite not caring much about Digimon and already having Abyss' European release. >_> My wallet hates you too.
Re: Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind Looks Set for a Western Release
@Dreamcaster-X In a sense yes. The Attack on Titan game outdates Freedom Wars but both feature a lot of weapons and traps (though you aren't going to combo a titan or anything in AoT) while it also has the option to recruit generic characters with your funds or streetpass recruits who can die for good.
Re: Poll: Buying Bayonetta 2 - eShop Convenience or Battling for Copies in Stores?
It was the First Print, so once I got a copy secured I didn't have to worry about a thing.
Re: Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind Looks Set for a Western Release
@Seanmyster6
Probably M for Mature. The Japanese game was rated D (which is frequently but not always a good match), Japan's second highest rating. When you get eaten by titans, the detail isn't high fidelity and it doesn't even show your limbs thrown about like the fan game...
Play that if you can't get permission to play this: http://fenglee.com/game/aog/
However, there is still more blood that a T game would probably get and you can behead the smaller titans in the 2013 version as well as remove limbs from bigger ones. Even if they aren't human, this sort of detail isn't going to be overlooked by the ESRB.
@ModernMARVEL
Both types of crawler are troublesome, but mostly for their spin attack which they can combo you and your allies with before grabbing and eating ya. They are the hardest 1 hit kill enemies in the 3DS version, but nothing on the fan game equivalents unless you are in a tight space.
Re: Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind Looks Set for a Western Release
@polivar4
There is a point with the "multi-platform" notice in the rating for Australia but I'll stick to assuming it will be released for the lead platform as that was the exclusive platform for the December 2013 release and we are just over a month away from Japan getting the Dec 2014 upgrade without a word about other platforms.
I suppose it could be on more platforms but people will probably not receive the presentation very well even if MH3U did fine and it isn't a looker.
@Spoony_Tech
So we have a full handful of em as recent or soon upcoming releases. A real trend we have here.
@Shotgunryugan
I've played over 100 hours of the original game but probably spent less than 4 minutes as a titan. It is a temporary power up in World Mode (good idea) and a permanent form in some short story missions, so you won't get to use it much for it to really bug you.
You use it when you want to get through a fight more easily or for contrast. The main course is everything else.
Re: Attack on Titan: The Last Wings of Mankind Looks Set for a Western Release
Glad to see this come to more regions, but I'll still import the Japanese version. Enjoyed the 2013 version a lot.
@Shotgunryugan
I would like titan fights to be more interesting but what can they do?
Being able to swing over and around architecture, dress up as a ninja, use a knife and fork as blades, have grenades + mines + traps as support tools and such is much more interesting. We aren't going to get a God Hand, The Wonderful 101 or Bayonetta level beat em up out of what in most fights is closer to a Dynasty Warriors experience with normal titans being fodder.
@Spoony_Tech
Bravely Default.
Senran Kagura.
Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai
Attack on Titan (probably)
Monster Hunter 4
I'm sure there are more games which come with the definitive version first.
Re: Bayonetta on Wii U Bewitches as the Best Version
@snoox
Well the full game of The Wonderful 101 gives you a good but quick introduction in the mechanics of the game as well as offering two easier difficulties from the get go, though I recommend in advance that you buy the block and dodge moves.
You can learn and unlock everything little by little in both Bayonetta and The Wonderful 101 (even learning in failure or after tons of playthroughs) since they share a lot in common. Just because the camera here looks more traditional, it doesn't mean it won't be just as merciless.
That said, jump on Bayonetta 1 + 2 and give TW101 a look for cheap while being patient and you'll be surprised how well it clicks.
Re: Bayonetta on Wii U Bewitches as the Best Version
@WanderingPB Yeah, you are correct I intended it for @kereke12 instead since he literally said "Yet Bayonetta sold only a few thousands of copies in Japan."
I generally agree to an extent since I care a lot more about good games existing and good games being available than console warfare, but the sales of Bayonetta 2 aren't going to pick up much on the "second week/first full week" since most sales tend to be on the first day/week (look at your life time sales total and compare them to the first week) anyway and it will be overshadowed by over a dozen games next week which release for the first time when it had last week to itself (New games wise).
I can see a case that Bayonetta 2 did outsell a lot of games (outsold The Wonderful 101 7 times over), but even if they were funded by Nintendo and it will sell more in the west, all of the prior games were C or D for sales: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-17-platinum-games-president-rates-its-sales-as-a-c-or-even-a-d
Also, shipments are a good sign of reasonably estimating demand, not whether a game made the money back. Stores will only accept as many copies as they expect to sell.
Anyway, I messed up and replied to you by mistake. You can have your fun with Hyrule Warriors, I'll spend my time with Senran Kagura 2.
Re: Bayonetta on Wii U Bewitches as the Best Version
@snoox
Bayo 1 first. I haven't played either one and next to no one here has played or seen much of Bayo 2 (Japanese importers of Wii U or playthrough watchers), but playing in order will let you recognise all of the improvements or changes that Bayo 2 makes and any nods to the prior game.
If you want to try out a game with technical action and fantastic design, this should be your cup of tea. It is challenging, has a high skill ceiling and makes you work for unlocks even if it gives you plenty to do, but it is a great pick.
If you have a Wii U, you should look into The Wonderful 101 as well. It has the same director as Bayo 1 (Kamiya is still supervising Bayo 2) and a lot of shared design choices with Bayonetta as well as Devil May Cry (same director), Okami (same director) and Viewtiful Joe (same director)
Re: Hyrule Warriors Limited Edition Sparks Huge Numbers of Fans to Queue Through the Night
@Drawdler Yep, even if I don't have a Japanese Wii U, that is still preferable assuming that I would want a Zelda scarf and all of the goodies that the treasure box had.
I just wanted the game to have all of the preorder costumes (excluding DLC is okay) from the get go, no jumping through hoops for that and I would desire it more.
Re: Bayonetta on Wii U Bewitches as the Best Version
@Artwark
The "word that can replace the number" is the text in the review, nobody who complains about a score reads it... or at least no one reasonable will complain about arbitrary numbers or indications at the end of a review when the reviewer tells us how it is and it turns out to be worth a buy/miss.
I guess a "Worth a buy", "Worth a rent", "Worth missing out on" may be more direct, but those don't drive up traffic, get them onto Metacritic/Gamerankings (which as awful as they are - still are important for sites getting exposure) and change much at all if readers are ignorant.
@WanderingPB
38K is a "a few thousands of copies" in the first week (well two days, but week)? Sure...
@KillScottKill
I get that feeling as well when anyone says that Famitsu are harsh, their highest scored games at 39 or 40/40 include some real paragons of design, but also an anime licensed fighting games with microtransactions and poor balance and Final Fantasy XIII.
Just goes to show that scores alone aren't helpful and even more crazy... well it is to be expected but different writers have different tastes or personal feelings on scores (on top of the different sites having different feelings). I recall seeing a GameSpot or IGN livechat where the staff were disagreeing at large with a fellow writer responsible for a review.
Re: Review: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS)
@Marr_the_Great
I was able to remap the A, B, Y, X, L and R buttons in my Japanese version as well as disable Up on the Circle Pad being Jumping, but I left the controls as the default and have managed with them.
Sadly, you can't have the D-pad handle movement, but at least you will be happy. Sakurai is a friend of yours, clearly.
If he was a friend of mine, Wonder Red would be in (hope he and others have a trophy in the 3DS version - it could be as close as I get to a portable SRPG based on the license).
Re: Nintendo Region Locks Consoles To Get More Hardware Sales, Says Mitchell Corp Boss
@hybridseed While I'm also an owner of a Japanese 3DS with E.X. Troopers + Gundam the 3D Battle and also appreciate that Nintendo's store supports English debit cards, they missed out on the chance for me to both own a system earlier as not being able to ever own all of the games you could want even if you have the money is a huge miss and the chance of me buying limited edition 3DS from all regions since I need to gauge whether that American, Japanese or European library is actually worth my time.
To date, I have only have one 3DS (bought in 2013 even) and would have jumped on earlier, bought some more limited edition systems and more games if I could be certain that my games will work.
If importers are a minority, importers who buy multiple systems despite their games only running on one/few of them are a greater minority.
Re: Review: Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS)
@BensonUii Circle Pad only on the Japanese version, I doubt they've changed anything so if you are lucky a patch will give you D-Pad support.
I have the full Japanese version and can clarify on points if you ask, but I'm a sleepy fool. You have been warned.
Re: Super Smash Bros. Continues Chart Domination in Japan as Bayonetta 2 Grabs Third Place
3rd place sounds good, but Platinum's Minami commented that all of the other Platinum releases would be a C or D for sales in this article (Revengeance probably doesn't count): http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-04-17-platinum-games-president-rates-its-sales-as-a-c-or-even-a-d
That includes the original Bayonetta game which reached one million worldwide across two platforms with time. Fortunately, Nintendo footed the bill and it still exists for us to enjoy.
@Tritonus Digital sales tend to be 10% or less of any retail video game's sales unless there are significant deals for a digital copy, it is a game which sells out but still has demand and/or it is a game that someone can and would like to store with their system 100% of the time.
Animal Crossing, Tomodachi Life and Smash Bros meet much of this criteria. Almost any console games misses out because there is less storage or reason to not get it on a disc especially if they have preorder bonuses or other specials.
@CaptainToad A first print of 15,600 copies selling out could be more of a sign of demonic resellers than genuine interest. I've got my first print and will never sell it, but it is a small number.
@Nintenjoe64 This game sold over 7 times as well as The Wonderful 101 in Japan first week which got around 5K.
@Punished_Boss I'm not sure how many people knew about it on Week 1, but since the PS3 port was abysmal and probably the 360 version had notable marketing even if there isn't exclusive content that could be why the 360 version did so well back then.
Re: Review: One Piece Unlimited World Red (3DS)
More than a little late given that the 3DS is the lead platform for the game, nice to have a review of it still.
Re: Review: Bayonetta (Wii U eShop)
We are going into an Hate/10 phase before the main course which none of us have played comes around? Ignore the score, everyone knows this is one of the genre defining action games of the last generation and perhaps the best around.
Focus on the points that the reviewer uses to clarify this and whether not that the reviewer used a different number even if they feel just as strongly about the game good or bad. If the points are focused on objective factors and true, no problem even if the score left something to be desired.
Subjective stuff? Well more discussion may be good then.
Re: Looks Like You Can Only Install 300 Games And Apps On Your 3DS
I have a Japanese 3DS and also find it very tempting to get all of the free software and demos at once on top of the digital sales, my 32GB SD card isn't enough with the behemoths Bravely Default, Inazuma Eleven 1-2-3 and Senran Kagura Burst to get to 300 but I definitely have well over 100 software spots taken up.
I imagined there was a cap and don't really think 300 spaces is a problem, but I hope the cap gets removed or rather increased to the point where it is near impossible to be full all the same.
Re: Tomodachi Life Sneaks Past Watch Dogs in Single-Format UK Charts, Just Behind Minecraft
Don't think the Hyper Japan sales will be recorded by ChartTrack UK but the boost in awareness with the 50% off sale and it being a great family event will probably lead to a nice uptick in interest which may be reflected in future weeks.
Re: Gaist Crusher God Is Getting A Beastly Serving Of Monster Hunter 4 Content
@Einherjar
They want it to succeed that's why.
Yokai Watch had an anime which made the game series blow up and now the sequel is using variants on the anime's opening song for the two versions. The original Gaist Crusher has MH4 nods, Sengoku Basara 4 nods, a Gaist by the artist of One Piece, a Gaist by the artist of Dragon Ball among other things. Pretty much any game will try crosspromotion, especially with internal series as that is cheaper to organise.
Gaist Crusher God is here as they don't want to give up and perhaps had some ideas they were hiding like MH4U was. >_>
@AVahne
You need to sell your soul and have an earlier firmware on your 3DS to do so, but it is possible according to a number of January 2014 articles... I just bought a Japanese system instead.
Re: Review: One Piece Unlimited World Red (Wii U)
@Cobra This game was developed by Ganbarion, who developed tons of previous One Piece games (Unlimited series, Grand Battle series, Gigant Battle series, Jump Superstars + Ultimate Stars too) as well as Pandora's Tower.
The lack of a dub is tied ultimately to what Bandai Namco feel like doing, given that most of the fans are followers of the Japanese voice cast and it is cheaper not to focus on getting both. They made this call for every One Piece game since Unlimited Adventure in 2008.
Re: Review: One Piece Unlimited World Red (Wii U)
@BakaKnight
Yeah, it may be more of your jam even with the faults and unnecessary changes. If you pay $30 for it on the 3DS, you don't have much to lose as well.
@Samuel-Flutter
The 3DS is the lead platform, don't hesitate to get it for the platform that has a good user interface though I'll admit that the Wii U has drop in, drop out multiplayer in almost all modes even if the second player loses as much health as Tails from Sonic 2 because they didn't make an effort when porting the thing.
Re: Review: One Piece Unlimited World Red (Wii U)
I'm sure it is clear that Holding X with Luffy leads to him doing that opposite attack but maybe the game didn't explain it as it gives you all of the attacks at once.
@BakaKnight
This game is considerably more linear to the point you don't even unlock combos and have less attacks though everything flows in a more traditional sort of way.
I think it is the worst Unlimited game yet, but given what you are asking for maybe it will be your favourite.