westmeadow

Happy Birthday to one of the best sites on the World Wide Web! I respect your coverage, of course, but it also seems like you try to do business in a thoughtful, well-meaning way, and I support that just as much. Keep up the excellent work!

Pumped for this one. When I eventually buy a Switch 2, this will be one of my first games.

The only Pokemon Switch games that really appeal to me are LGPE and Legends: Arceus. Pokemon was once my favorite series, but that's changed as I've gotten older and the games generally haven't gotten better. I was open to getting this instead of Arceus, but I don't think I will.

The battle system in Z-A looks excellent, and I hope they keep using it for future games! But seeing trailers for this game made me realize that one of the things I enjoy most about Pokemon games is going on an epic journey and achieving things as I travel, so Arceus is more closely aligned with that, even though the battling is ho hummer.

Pokemon might be the gaming franchise with the most regularly missed potential. I know reasons ultimately come down to money, which is sad. If the developers had a budget to match the profits these games make, and were able to work on a game for at least three years or so, they could make one of the greatest games of all time, especially if they implemented this new battle system!

The Pikmin music is absolutely there. I think a Pikmin game set in a house could be fun! I have no interest in a Pikmin movie, though.

No doubt these games are spectacular. I own both on Wii. However, reading the comments here, it's no wonder Nintendo can set prices to whatever they want. We're voting with our wallets, and we're telling Nintendo they can push even harder.

My top 10, considering how great they were at the time as well as how well they hold up today (more heavily weighted toward the former) are:
10. Sunshine
9. New SMB U
8. 3D World
7. Galaxy 2
6. Galaxy 1
5. Mario 64
4. Mario 3
3. Wonder
2. Odyssey
1. Mario World

Are Smash and DK64 the best games on the system? No (though Smash is close, imo). But it's the nostallgiaaaa, and I put so many hours into those games as a kid, particularly multiplayer.

It may sound crazy, but NSO's current offerings are almost enough to get me to resubscribe to the service. These two games are what would push me over the line. Then all I will need is some friends and some free time!

I would have been pleased with $25, so $20 is quite a treat! They could have gotten away with $50 and still done well, so hats-off to them for caring about their customers!

I agree with this article overall, though it doesn’t bother me quite as much as the author. Yes, market research has shown pretty definitively that X is the most marketable letter. You see it with phones and cars quite a bit too

I think the only places it’s perfectly acceptable are when it represents a cross (in which case it should be pronounced “eks”) and as a Roman numeral — though this only when it is, in fact, the tenth in a series, AND when the others in the series are numeraled Romanly, as in the case of Final Fantasy X (“ten,” and X-2, “ten two,” though that’s a whole other issue)

Can’t say I’m surprised, based on the previews. As a pretty big Tolkien fan, I do want to say thank you for the enjoyable title and subtitle of this review. At least something good came of the game.

Splatoon games are awesome, but I’m not particularly into the music

DK64 multiplayer was actually one of my all-time favorite local multiplayer experiences! Very solid silly multiplayer 3rd-person battling. Great memories with friends there.

As a parent of three little who works full time, I get little time to game. My habit in recent years has been play Switch (and retro games) exclusively, and only buy games on sale. Looks like my new habit will have to be playing Switch 2 exclusively and only buying games on sale.

The character at the top of the post made me think, "Imagine if they added Raven Beak from Metroid Dread"

I actually said NES because Clu Clu Land, Duck Hunt, Excitebike, Ice Climber, and Super Mario Bros. On a level playing field, obviously those games suck compared to modern games. However, taking into account gaming history, it was the most revolutionary launch lineup, imo

After that, I'd put SNES, then Switch 2. If Prime 4 and DK Bananza could be there at launch, it would probably have taken the crown

Switch 2 was the smarter choice from a marketing standpoint, so I guess overall I'm glad they went with that because I want it to do well

Super Switch appeals to me a lot more, personally

This app would be cool if it could sync with other calendar services like Google Calendar. I just want a regular calendar app, but Nintendo-themed with awesome Nintendo widgets!

I am cautiously pessimistic. Hopefully they can make it work well.

I've been on the internet for 10 minutes and I keep seeing... good news after good news! What is this, 2007? I almost don't want to close my laptop and end the streak!

THPS3, 4, and UG1 are my personal favorites, so any remakes involving those games will definitely be a buy from me, as long as the quality is anywhere near the 1+2 remake.

I actually do fall into the camp saying the GameCube theme was too dang long. Same effect taking half the time would have been perfect. Love it as a console, of course.
GBA has my favorite startup sound (and it lasts about half as long as the GCN’s, just sayin).

Anybody remember Pokemon toys at Burger King back in '99? At least here in the US, the toys originally came in cheap plastic pokeballs, but then a toddler suffocated on one and they were then packaged in regular plastic baggies. Then there were the golden collector's cards featuring Pikachu, Mewtwo, Charizard, Togepi, and others.

Pre-internet (for most of us), pre-scalping (as far as I know) – simpler times.

As many others are saying, I think $399 is probably fair market value. If they can get $349, they will fly off the shelves.

I think this is a valuable point that raises interesting discussion, whether I fully agree with it or not. There are many factors to consider. Nintendo has been playing their cards better than Sony and Microsoft recently when it comes to game consoles, so they’re naturally going to play it a bit safer. I am interested to see what new technologies they may have implemented about which we don’t have much detail at this point, but it is wise to have a Switch sequel at this time.

It’s one of the most successful consoles of all time – may yet become the best selling ever! When you catch lightning in a bottle, you don’t bet double or nothing, you iterate to varying degrees.

We all love that Nintendo is a big-ish tech company that’s still not afraid to take risks, and I hope that never changes, but that should never be the very top priority.

If this approach starts to sour, I think we’ll be more likely to see something that has more “new” to it, and that will be exciting – but making that move now would be imprudent.

Call me basic, but Silksong, Pokemon Legends, and Metroid are the only three that remotely interest me on this list. And that's honestly a good thing because my to-play list is already at [checks notes]... oh my... 94.... Apparently the Switch is going to be my last console.

Happy Christmas! I haven’t had a chance to play any 2024 games, but here are my top five that I’m excited to play when I get around to it:
5. Sonic X Shadow Generations
4. Animal Well
3. Mario Party Jamboree
2. Paper Mario: TTYD
1. Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

I've long been comfortable as a last-gen gamer, and was all set to buy a Wii U soon after the Switch was released. However, once I saw the Switch's popularity and how many of the Wii U's best games were quickly released or announced for the Switch, I saw the writing on the wall and sprung for current gen, and boy am I glad I did.

As of now, with my long list of games yet to buy and play on Switch, I'm planning on sticking with this system through the next gen. That said, this experience has made me more open to keeping up with current gen than I once was, at least when it comes to Nintendo consoles.

Fun article to read – as well as, I'm sure, to create!

I am a big LOTR fan, so I want to love this game. However, I'm just not into farming/life sims, so I'll probably skip it.

It looks like all that it has going for it is the middle earth theme and farming sim mechanics, and, for some people, that will be enough. What would take it to the next level and give it much wider appeal (including to me) would be some great writing and, especially, beautiful environments (regardless of realistic graphics). Maybe the visuals will improve enough by release to meet that second criterion, but, unfortunately, it's not doing it for me as of now.

Super cool! But every time I see these all I can think of is ligma.

It would be nice to get at least one actual new game from Nintendo this year that's not a remake or, ideally, not even a sequel. I'm a nostalgic person and have greatly enjoyed the remakes and remasters released for Switch, but let's keep innovating too!

I learned the hard way that I won't do that unless I disliked a game enough that I refuse to ever play it again (and that's super rare because I only buy games that I know I will like or that are very well reviewed!). Back in the PS2 days, I had the mindset that, "hey, I've beaten this game, may as well get a little cash for it." At that point I had never experienced nostalgia before, so I didn't take into account that, actually, years later, I will want to REplay this game. Video games are one of the few things in life that I will allow myself to hold onto "just in case" I want to revisit it, because I know that by the time I do it might be hard to get ahold of it.

Personally I prefer fewer extra apps. It's purely a gaming device for me. But overall I think I vote yes just so we can hopefully avoid a bunch of articles called "Why does the Switch STILL not have _____?!?!?"

I would think it's not a huge ask for Nintendo, but they're so weird about online services it might actually take significant resources from other development for them.

I doubt it. The only path I see to breaking the record would be at least 1-2 more giant game releases (at least A-tier IPs, if not S, or something new that's extremely good) before the Switch 2 is announced, which might bring it within shooting distance, then a price drop or bundle worth approx. $100 or more around the time of Switch 2 announcement that eventually inches it past PS2. Very unlikely, all said.

Not a dud on this list. Amazing that if someone only bought all of the games on this list, which are all on sale, they'd have many years of enjoyable gaming. Easy to forget just how many great games are available on Switch, no matter one's taste.

As someone who probably wouldn't be getting it day 1 anyway, I'm actually encouraged to hear that they're demonstrating that they're taking this port seriously and putting effort into it.

I'm truly so glad I can count on this being a spoiler-free site. Thanks!

So many good quests, but From the Ground Up has to be the best. So wholesome, impressive in terms of game design, and satisfying.

Surprisingly fun quiz! I got 13/15. Should have gotten the “jewelry-obsessed mammal” one, even though I haven’t played that particular title. I don’t feel bad about missing the “death penalty” one, though, as I know basically nothing about any of those options.

Based on how great BOTW was, length of development, the fact that this is the game they’re testing the $70 water with, and how good previews have been… I am 85% confident this will be a top-tier Zelda game and 60% confident it will be the best yet. So yeah, I am hyped.

Sure, this would be bad as an actual track, but it was sure fun to watch the video!

I just wish I could select multiple answers in the poll, because I really think/hope we'll see the majority of these things!

Fun question! Top 6 for me:
1. SNES
2. Switch (my favorite console overall)
3. NES
4. N64
5. GameCube
6. Game Boy

My judgment of the poll is that readers give a little too much weight to the N64/GC era since that's how old most of them were when they were old enough to start getting good at games. I'm early 30s, so that's certainly the case for me. However, NES and GB are criminally UNDERrated here, imo. SNES runs away with it for me. Switch has lots of very good 1st party offerings, but in another 10 years there will only be 1-2 that are considered alongside the top 5-6 SNES games.

@Divide_and_Wander I’m guessing you’re spot on

Shoot, they are CONFIDENT in this title!

Mixed feelings. Is it a fair price? If it’s as good as BOTW or even better, absolutely. Do I like spending more money. No, I do not, nor do I like one of my favorite companies gouging just because they can. Does this surprise me? No.

I’m one of the patient few who will wait for a sale. I know, I know, “good luck.” If it takes long enough, I’ll pay the $70 eventually with no regrets. It will be just as fun playing it for the first time in two years as it would be on launch day. I’ll try to avoid too many spoilers, but that’s not a major concern for me. In the meantime, I’ve got plenty of cheaper great games to buy and play.

Surprised repairing got so many votes. That just means more time going around collecting stuff. I think definitely keep it with some tweaks. The system adds much more than it takes away overall. Best tweaks would be some combination of…
– Make all weapons like 35% more durable
– Get increasingly better unbreakable weapons as you progress, but they’re always a step down from other breakable weapons you can obtain at the time
– Make weapon durability an upgradeable stat so it’s less and less a problem as you work through the game

I’m guessing it will be backwards compatible, but you never know with Nintendo. The most recent high-selling Nintendo home console was, of course, the Wii, and they did opt for backwards compatibility there, so here’s hoping. That said, I always laugh when everyone seems to forget that, if it’s not… you don’t need to get rid of your Switch; you’re allowed to go back and forth between consoles. Not ideal, sure, but I don’t quite understand how it’s such a huge dealbreaker for so many.

TMNT, Splatoon 3 (don’t have a Splatoon game yet), Xenoblade 3, Portal Companion Edition, Bayonetta 3, Strikers, and Tinykin (in that order, actually) have all made my list of games for me to buy from the past year. Nothing blew me away like BOTW, Smash, or Odyssey did, but overall almost as good a year as any other, in my book!

I know this is a year’s end repost, but I deleted my original comment and amend it to this: I think most should start with Breath of the Wild.

Ultimately this is the correct answer because, besides being arguably the best of the Zelda games (despite, and partially because of deviating from the excellent traditional formula), it’s simply where the series is at now. Let’s be honest, none of the Zelda games actually build on a previous game’s story. I really think even Majora’s Mask isn’t significantly more enjoyable for playing OoT first. They’re all fine candidates for an entry into the series, so one may as well pick it up at the current entry, then go back and enjoy past entries if they so choose. That way, when TotK comes out, they’ll have played the most recent entry and will have a better idea of what to expect than they would if coming from LttP or OoT (as amazing as those games are).