Very disappointed how Metroid always seems to get the silent treatment. Absolute minimal, no news, no voice over announcement inbetween some random games as if it's a third party eshop cash grab game.
Very disappointed how Metroid always seems to get the silent treatment. Absolute minimal, no news, no voice over announcement inbetween some random games as if it's a third party eshop cash grab game.
It's funny how the saga of Prime 4 has been so volatile. Big announcement in 2017 with lots of fanfare! -> radio silence for years -> development has been restarted! -> more radio silence ->...
It's funny how the saga of Prime 4 has been so volatile.
Big announcement in 2017 with lots of fanfare! -> radio silence for years -> development has been restarted! -> more radio silence -> Promising trailer in 2024! -> not-so-promising trailer in 2025
I don't know how to feel about it. Hoping for the best--but also tempering expectations? Retro is a good studio but the development cycle has been a rough one.
I mean hey, we get a cool bike. Which is all I took from it. I don't understand how Nintendo frequently, without many misses, makes the stupidest advertising decisions they could do. Metroid isn't...
I mean hey, we get a cool bike. Which is all I took from it. I don't understand how Nintendo frequently, without many misses, makes the stupidest advertising decisions they could do. Metroid isn't some 10 dollars cash grab bullshit, it's a highly acclaimed, long going game series. Yet they treat it repeatedly like we should be glad it isn't completely forgotten.
BUT HEY, shitass pseudo re-release of their worst ever flopping game console is TOTALLY what everyone wants and needs a fullass trailer with voice over and physical accessory.
You know, reading your comment I began to wonder again about how Nintendo of Japan just doesn't understand the world audience. I mean, I assume that it's Nintendo of Japan calling the shots on...
You know, reading your comment I began to wonder again about how Nintendo of Japan just doesn't understand the world audience. I mean, I assume that it's Nintendo of Japan calling the shots on what they prioritize what they show off in a Direct. The Virtual Boy thing makes no logical sense, not even from a financial standpoint. I can't imagine that it will make them any significant money, yet... they seemed super excited to present it to us. The next installment in one of their most popular video game franchises, in a highly acclaimed sub-series to boot... well that, they couldn't care less about. It's just another game.
Think about another oddity: While I am excited for Tomodachi Life... they announced the game now, probably a full year or longer before it will be released. Why is that franchise, which doesn't sell well and only entered the rest of the world market with the last 3DS entry, seemingly so much more important to them? Why do people need to know about it now, so long in advance?
Also, why do we need a talking flower?
I have therefore arrived at the conclusion, that I need to write these odd marketing decisions off as just Nintendo being a company rooted in a culture that is very different from ours, and has extremely quirky, yet influential men at the top, who like to push their agenda. They like to force their pet projects onto us, which sometimes align with their financial interests and the audiences' wishes, but very often, they also don't. if it wasn't like this though, we wouldn't get the occasional banger. Think how Pikmin basically started because Miyamoto observed some ants in his garden or whatever. So many of the great games they have released, seemed like crazy ideas at first, and ironically, a lot of people were very skeptical about the original Metroid Prime, but two decades later, here we are, impatient to play the third sequel.
I don't know about you but the voice over is usually the worst part of any Nintendo trailer. Yoshi would've looked so much better without the narration. The lack of voice over is usually a plus...
I don't know about you but the voice over is usually the worst part of any Nintendo trailer. Yoshi would've looked so much better without the narration. The lack of voice over is usually a plus for me. Galaxy doesn't need someone explaining that Mario jumps, it's 3D Mario, it looks cool. Neither does Samus need a voiceover telling us she's got a bike now. Just, here's the bike. Get it in December.
I don't think the game looks bad or anything but the way the trailer was treated during this direct was a little odd for sure, almost feels like nintendo's own faith in the game dropped. After she...
I don't think the game looks bad or anything but the way the trailer was treated during this direct was a little odd for sure, almost feels like nintendo's own faith in the game dropped.
After she gets off the bike some of the first person combat stuff looked a bit clunky but thats kinda always what the series has been like and while I respect some people might be looking for modernization I'm ok with it being a bit more like its classic predecessors since we haven't had it in so long.
Hot take: While watching, I was excited to play Galaxy 1 and 2 again, thinking, Hmm, I'd pay maybe $30 for them. When they announced the price at $40 each (so $50 more than I wanted to spend), I...
Hot take: While watching, I was excited to play Galaxy 1 and 2 again, thinking, Hmm, I'd pay maybe $30 for them. When they announced the price at $40 each (so $50 more than I wanted to spend), I lost interest. I'll consider just taking my Wii out to play the first one again some time and wait for the second to go on sale. I've also considered going full pirate-mode with my original Switch once I pick up a Switch 2.
When I was a kid, I mowed lawns for my grandpa for four Saturdays straight (hiding the money he paid me, as my parents expected me to work for free) in order to buy the two Galaxy games from...
When I was a kid, I mowed lawns for my grandpa for four Saturdays straight (hiding the money he paid me, as my parents expected me to work for free) in order to buy the two Galaxy games from Target at $20 each. Now, I find myself wanting to play the Galaxies again, and I have grown-up money; I could just buy the collection, but some animalistic part of me is deeply wounded that the cost of these games in lawns has nearly doubled in the last decade.
A new console plus the price of a new game is going to cost far too much. I'll wait 10 years and hopefully there'd be a Pikmin 5 by then. In the meantime I'm going to not have enough time to play...
cost
A new console plus the price of a new game is going to cost far too much. I'll wait 10 years and hopefully there'd be a Pikmin 5 by then. In the meantime I'm going to not have enough time to play any number of wonderful $15 / humble bundle new games anyway
No moral judgements on piracy from me, but i will pass along a friendly reminder to be sure you fully strip your account out of your old switch, assuming you are using the same one. Depending on...
No moral judgements on piracy from me, but i will pass along a friendly reminder to be sure you fully strip your account out of your old switch, assuming you are using the same one. Depending on the model, you could even do a full factory reset and still be able to mod it. All it takes for nintendo to identify your switch as modded is one connection to their servers, which normally only results in a console ban. However, Nintendo seems to be getting more spicy lately and did put a clause in their Eula or TOS that they can brick your switch 2 if you do things they don't like. Not worth the risk in general imo
Thanks for the warning. I've already hacked my Switch, but only to make the Master Sword unbreakable in Tears of the Kingdom (and adjust the durability of other weapons), and have had no problems...
Thanks for the warning. I've already hacked my Switch, but only to make the Master Sword unbreakable in Tears of the Kingdom (and adjust the durability of other weapons), and have had no problems because of it. But maybe I'll hold off on pirating stuff on it and just play a rom on my PC or something.
There was really nothing that got me excited, but I find it hilarious that they were bringing back the Virtual Boy. the Virtual Boy is, to me, without a doubt the biggest mistake Nintendo ever...
There was really nothing that got me excited, but I find it hilarious that they were bringing back the Virtual Boy. the Virtual Boy is, to me, without a doubt the biggest mistake Nintendo ever made. The games were meh and you would end up with eye, neck and head pain after only a short while playing.
I saw at least two posts related to two different announcements that were made during the direct, but not an actual topic discussing the whole thing, so... here it is. Allow me to share with you...
I saw at least two posts related to two different announcements that were made during the direct, but not an actual topic discussing the whole thing, so... here it is.
Allow me to share with you the only four announcements that I cared about:
Super Mario Galaxy
I knew that they would release a new movie at some point, but although I watched the first one (which did feature a Luma), I somehow just did not expect that time to come around so fast. I mean, it will have been almost precisely three years when the next movie releases. I don't know about you, but this time just flew by for me. What I expected even less, is that the new movie would be centered around my two favorite 3D Super Mario games. I love it when Nintendo surprises me what I didn't know I wanted.
It goes without saying that I, as the hopeless Nintendo fanboy that I am, will also be purchasing the re-releases of the games, separately, on the eShop, to vote with my wallet, as they say. I did have a Wii, and I 100%-ed both games, but I did that only once, and I've been craving them so bad for so many years. In fact, I've been thinking about these exact two games since I bought my Switch 2. It's like I manifested them or something.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
I have always been super curious about this series, but never had a chance to play the games. I don't know what it is about them, but they just look quirky, Japanese-y, and funny in a very Nintendo way. Honestly, it somehow reminds me of what the original Animal Crossing (N64/GCN) set out to be: a social simulation game (over the years, the series drifted away into what I call a "decoration sim", which profoundly saddened me).
Side note: Just like Animal Crossing is known as Animal Forest in Japan, Tomodachi Life also has a different name there: Tomodachi Collection. I'm sure that once I play the game, I'll see more similarities.
I'm astonished that the series has come this far at all though. The original title on the NDS was popular in Japan but didn't exactly ship a lot of units. The second installment on the 3DS sold more, and eventually got an international release, but I think that it still flew completely under the radar. Yet Nintendo is not giving up on it. This is when Nintendo is at its best for me, when they believe so much in an idea that they keep pushing it until a wider audience starts seeing the value. If they market the game appropriately, then I think that it could become a success, and establish itself as a proper IP.
Am I the only one who felt that this game is Nintendo's answer to Palworld and the PixelmonMinecraft mod?
Either way, it looks adorable. Finally something new in the series. I'm definitely getting this one.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
A friend pointed out to me that the trailer felt underwhelming and almost like an afterthought. The game didn't get the attention that it deserves, and I agree.
However, I also replied to him that it makes some sense to me, given that the star of this Direct was the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. (for which we get a new Yoshi game, for some reason).
Keep in mind that the game will release in April next year. I would be surprised if they don't do another Direct until then (maybe in February), to properly start the hype train for its arrival. It wouldn't be wise to reveal their hand too soon.
However, they had to give us the release date. This game has been in development since 2019 (and two years before that, until they started from scratch). People got to demo the game, and it looks basically finished, so they were starting to get impatient (me included). This was meant to be just a reveal of the release date and nothing else. They tried to appease us. It worked on me.
Still, they could have been a bit more enthusiastic about it.
On the day that the Direct was announced, I predicted that they would reveal the release date, and then joked that maybe the reason why it's been taking them so long to finish developing it is because it's going open world. Well, my joke turned out to be prophetic, and I'm not happy about it. I sure hope that they implemented the open world side of the game properly, and that it won't detract from the action that I have come to know and love this series for (I played through the entire trilogy on their original releases). I also hope that it won't require me 500+ hours to 100% because of it.
I read in the YouTube comments something like: "Samus on a motorcycle was not on my 2025 BINGO card." Same. She completely nails it though.
Disappointments
No new games for the GCN on NSO. Will I ever get my beloved Animal Crossing back?
Also, still no Pokémon gens I and II, even though Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2 are collecting dust on their servers.
Last but not least: No Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which is the only "proper" Pokémon game that I have wanted to play since Black and White. I will get it eventually, and I will love it, but those graphics... I was under the impression that the game was actually popular, so why not give it some extra content, polish up the visuals, and make some easy cash? Isn't the Pokémon Company all about making easy cash? Come on! I'm offering you free money!
Also, I still hate the concept of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Sorry. Not interested in being confined in a pseudo-European, colorless city, much less one where every building looks like it got copy-pasted. I feel uncomfortable every time I am reminded that this game is exists and is going to be released. I'll read some reviews after its release just to give it a chance to prove me wrong, but from what I have seen so far, it looks even more boring than Scarlet and Violet.
Wait, what? Did I really get confused by the way that they ordered the numbers on the date? Edit: Shoot... THE GAME IS COMING OUT IN DECEMBER!?!?!? screams
Wait, what? Did I really get confused by the way that they ordered the numbers on the date?
Edit: Shoot... THE GAME IS COMING OUT IN DECEMBER!?!?!?
WE ASKED FOR HOT TAKES! I'M GONNA DISH EM! Seriously though, I hope it's integrated well but it just does not feel like Metroid at all to me with a big hub of some sort. I didn't like the...
WE ASKED FOR HOT TAKES! I'M GONNA DISH EM!
Seriously though, I hope it's integrated well but it just does not feel like Metroid at all to me with a big hub of some sort. I didn't like the disjointed nature of Corruption, but I guess we'll see.
Super Mario Galaxy movie is an interesting swing, feels like going to space is more of a third or fourth movie deal. Like the Mushroom Kingdom is pretty big and we're already introducing space...
Super Mario Galaxy movie is an interesting swing, feels like going to space is more of a third or fourth movie deal. Like the Mushroom Kingdom is pretty big and we're already introducing space aliens into our portal fantasy world? I get that just doing the same movie with different power ups and mechanics doesn't cut it, but it feels like too much, too fast. I'm not the prime demographic, so not sure if I get a vote.
A Pokemon Base Builder on an island seems like a very pointed response to Palworld transposing creature collecting RPG into a survivalcraft, and I'm interested what Game Freak's take on it would be.
I'm hoping that an official VR headset for Virtual Boy games promotes a VR renaissance for Switch, but that ship has probably sailed.
Super Mario Galaxy Movie Really thought the second movie was gonna be something still rooted in mushroom kingdom but Yoshi-centric due to the teaser at the end of the original movie. I mean, I'm...
Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Really thought the second movie was gonna be something still rooted in mushroom kingdom but Yoshi-centric due to the teaser at the end of the original movie. I mean, I'm sure they won't let that hang as a loose end but I'm guessing Yoshi will be more of a subplot/smaller thing and not the focus now that we've seen the galaxy theme is a focal point.
So, you want the “hot take”, I’ll throw my $.02 in as well. What was Nitnendo’s business objective of this Direct? First, I believe Nintendo was trying to shine the light on smaller IP or...
So, you want the “hot take”, I’ll throw my $.02 in as well.
What was Nitnendo’s business objective of this Direct?
First, I believe Nintendo was trying to shine the light on smaller IP or experimental titles as they wait for the following:
1.) for “early adopters” to buy up NS2.
2.) To maximize the end of the NS1’s life and massive user base with cross gen titles.
3.) Keeping their BIG IP spread out and the heavy hitters (Animal Crossing, Smash, 3d Mario, new 3d Zelda) will be released strategically around the ps6 handheld launch.
Now let’s talk about the other problem Nintendo has. Average age of a Nintendo console buyer is in their 30’s. This is not unique to Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation have the same problem. But, Nintendo is fighting battles on multiple fronts at the moment.
1.) Fighting Roblox, Palworld and other F2P games that target younger or mobile/pc players. (Roblox specficially, it would appear Nintendo clearly hates).
2.) NIntendo’s need to appeal to younger audiences, and lower the barrier to entry to get into games for young audiences.
3.) Nintendo needs to develop new and wider variety of IP/titles to keep newer users engaged and expand reach.
4.) Nintendo wants to reestablish older IP like DK to expand their multi media offerings.
Was the Direct an “A+”? No sadly, imo.
But I DO think Nintendo did check many of those points above.
My 3rd grade nephew was only interested in two titles. He liked Mario Galaxy and Pokotopia (or whatever it is called). That is a start for Nintendo.
The movie preview looks great and the kids LOVED IT!
Fire Emblem looks great and looks like a more mature story for older gamers.
Yoshi looks great for younger audience.
Mario Tennis looks much improved. Finally, it looks like a “complete” Mario sports game.
Square Enix is on fire, and doing great work with FFVIIR, and DQ7R.
The problem imo, was 3rd parties. Resident Evil was a great “get” for older gamers. Though, we all assumed these titles were coming.
I think the lack of Xbox games is showing strongly. If Nintendo Direct had one or two more BIG 3rd party announcements, i think the general consensus would be much more favorable.
For example: If the Direct had any of the following two titles that are rumored, I think we would view this Direct very differently. If the Direct added any of these two: Minecraft Switch 2 edition, Sea of Thieves, Halo, Gears of War 1, Forza Horizon, Killer Instinct, Age of Empires, Fallout or Red Dead 2, Elden Ring (likely delayed), COD, Goldeneye Reloaded, Tekken, Boulders Gate 3, Mass Effect, Metal Gear, Assassins Creed or something else.
I would have liked to see one more family style game as well.
Truly, i feel it was just a couple of 3rd party titles short. This is something that can hopefully be remedied soon.
Edit: Metroid Prime 4. I really don’t know what to make of this game. The first trailer back in March looked amazing and a natural extension of Metroid Prime. The new trailer with the motorcycle, i am not sure what to make of it. Maybe it is a good thing, like BoTW. Maybe not. I really hope Nitnendo does a Metroid Direct and explains everything!
I had not considered points 1 and 2. It makes sense. The Switch 2 user base is too small for now. They need more people on the new console before they can go all out on their most popular...
I had not considered points 1 and 2. It makes sense. The Switch 2 user base is too small for now. They need more people on the new console before they can go all out on their most popular franchises. Of course, strategically releasing them to draw attention away from their competitors must also be a consideration. It's actually a really good thing for them that they can release cross-generation games that will sell on either platform, especially the previous one, which has hundreds os millions of people still playing on it. They can't throw that out right away. That's also good for people who want to buy a Switch 2, but want to wait a bit longer. They are, of course, trying to convince folks to move over, which is why some games are exclusively coming to the Switch 2.
You also made a good point about younger audiences. I recently heard someone say that the kids don't identify themselves as "gamers" anymore, but as "players" of a certain game, like Fortnite, Minecraft, or Roblox. Those games are universes unto themselves. The kids don't care about platform loyalty or any of that nonsense. Nintendo doesn't have any experience with live service games as such. Well... maybe the Splatoon franchise, which is a big deal for the company, but it doesn't attract that many players (especially young ones) as a whole, I'd say.
It's Pokopia, but I funny enough, I kept thinking that Pokotopia would have made more sense. Maybe they wanted to keep the name short, but I suspect that many more people will keep saying Pokotopia in their heads. lol
I would wait on making any premature judgment about the state of Mario Tennis Fever. lol I didn't play the last one, but I heard that it was pretty bare bones.
You made a good point about 3rd parties. It's odd that there's no Minecraft for Switch 2 yet.
I also hope for a Metroid Prime 4 Direct before launch.
So, the odd thing I found about the Pokopia. Is my nephew instantly knew who the girl pokemon was and the others were without any prompting. He also shouted “it’s like Minecraft”. So, a very small...
So, the odd thing I found about the Pokopia. Is my nephew instantly knew who the girl pokemon was and the others were without any prompting. He also shouted “it’s like Minecraft”. So, a very small sample size, but Nintendo may have something there.
Second, you are 100% right about Nintendo not having any real experience with service games. There is an old interview with Miyamoto and other Nintendo execs and they were asked about Minecraft, and they said “we had an idea for something similar to Minecraft on n64” but didn’t see the mainstream appeal. They also stated that they were confident they could create that experience now.
I 100% disagree with this. I don’t think they could. Nintendo would need to lower the barrier to entry and at the very least would need to have their game on every platform. Or at least mobile/pc/Nintendo. I just don’t know if they are willing to do that.
We have to wait and see on Metroid. Clearly now it was delayed for some reason, and should have been out sooner. December is usually a month where games go to die. Nintendo has been Abe to avoid this however with Smash, Xenoblade and a couple of smaller titles. Releasing in December also removes it from GoTY consderation. But again, SO MUCH is unknown we have to wait and see what MP4 actually is.
This is an excellent point that I didn't think about. Even with the Switch 1's (not talking about the Switch 2) current user base, I can't imagine Nintendo coming out with a live service game...
I 100% disagree with this. I don’t think they could. Nintendo would need to lower the barrier to entry and at the very least would need to have their game on every platform. Or at least mobile/pc/Nintendo. I just don’t know if they are willing to do that.
This is an excellent point that I didn't think about. Even with the Switch 1's (not talking about the Switch 2) current user base, I can't imagine Nintendo coming out with a live service game (which by nature would need to be an online multiplayer game, which they are notoriously bad at supporting) that would actually attract a large enough audience from among their NSO subscribers that it would become profitable in the long term. Even if people could play it without NSO, it would need to be multi-platform to break even on their investment.
I think that the only thing that comes close to this, which they have had a lot of success with, are their iOS mobile games, like Fire Emblem Heroes, Pikmin Bloom, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (I don't know how well Super Mario Run did). I played the latter two and spent actual money on Pikmin Bloom (maybe altogether somewhere between $25 to $50). That proves the point though: That kind of success cannot be replicated on the Switch, or at least not on the Switch by itself.
I posted this on socials just after the Direct: Super Mario Galaxy movie LET'S-A-GO! About time I replayed Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2. New Yoshi game looks great—I’m all over that. Virtual Boy...
I posted this on socials just after the Direct:
Super Mario Galaxy movie LET'S-A-GO!
About time I replayed Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2.
New Yoshi game looks great—I’m all over that.
Virtual Boy peripheral is very cool.
Bananza DLC seems nice. Just got the main game but not started it yet.
Lego Voyagers looks intriguing.
The rest left me cold... I'm so picky these days. I don't need any more shooters or rpgs.
I'm interested in the new Fire Emblem entry, Engage seemed pretty lame from the story/character development angle and looked more like some gimmicky gacha cross over. The classes looked like they...
I'm interested in the new Fire Emblem entry, Engage seemed pretty lame from the story/character development angle and looked more like some gimmicky gacha cross over. The classes looked like they had some unique flavor. It isn't enough on its own to make me interested in getting a S2, it is about the only game of interest on the system for me, so I'm bummed I can't play it on my original switch.
My partner gets mad about Fire Emblem games, like no one should find the tactical gameplay fun haha, so they won't even stay in the room if I play it on the TV.
Are you a long-time fan of the series? Are you're saying that Engage isn't worth the money? What about Three Houses? What is a Fire Emblem game that you'd recommend to a newbie like me? I only...
Are you a long-time fan of the series? Are you're saying that Engage isn't worth the money? What about Three Houses? What is a Fire Emblem game that you'd recommend to a newbie like me? I only ever played the Tellius games and I can hardly find the words to explain to you how much I loved them both in terms of gameplay and the story. I'd like to play another entry in the series someday, but there are so many to choose from...
Three Houses is a great game. I would recommend it as an introduction to the series, but do know that it is more focused on socializing with the NPCs than games in the past. I have not played...
Three Houses is a great game. I would recommend it as an introduction to the series, but do know that it is more focused on socializing with the NPCs than games in the past. I have not played Engage, but its supposed to be more of a focus on the traditional play style of the series at the (apparent) expense of the story. Fire Emblem has always had great turn based tactics, but I did find Three Houses to be on the easy side in the late game.
Oh I'm no veteran, the only mainline FE game I've finished was Three Houses, haven't played the Tellius games (despite my interest). I wouldn't say Engage isn't worth playing per se, I'm just not...
Oh I'm no veteran, the only mainline FE game I've finished was Three Houses, haven't played the Tellius games (despite my interest). I wouldn't say Engage isn't worth playing per se, I'm just not interested in investing my time into it. My understanding is that it was well-received for its style and gameplay improvements, but that the plot wasn't as good as other entries. That was also the impression I got from recycling previous characters instead of having a unique cast. It isn't actually a gacha game, though they do have one, Heroes.
So yeah I can't earnestly recommend one outside Three Houses, which I do recommend if you're interested! The new trailer makes direct references to it, but how directly related to the time and characters of 3H remains to be seen.
It's for 3DS, but Awakening was a great game. Three Houses is good too, but I haven't been able to finish the story and I've tried twice. POR and RD are some of my favorite games of all time and...
It's for 3DS, but Awakening was a great game. Three Houses is good too, but I haven't been able to finish the story and I've tried twice. POR and RD are some of my favorite games of all time and I'm sorry to say I haven't found a FE game since that has lived up to either of them.
My dark horse suggestion is Thracia 776 if you don't mind using an emulator, but you'll need to find an English patch ROM if you don't speak Japanese.
During the very first Engage trailer I was absolutely certain it was gonna be some kind of a gacha game spinoff and then it just wasn't. Which is the better outcome than if it was, but it says a...
During the very first Engage trailer I was absolutely certain it was gonna be some kind of a gacha game spinoff and then it just wasn't. Which is the better outcome than if it was, but it says a lot about how the game looked and vibed.
Fire Emblem. Yes yes good good. I don't always love the way the series handles things, and god knows I basically dipped out of it for years, but I NEED more tactics games in my life.
Fire Emblem. Yes yes good good.
I don't always love the way the series handles things, and god knows I basically dipped out of it for years, but I NEED more tactics games in my life.
Yes and mostly. It was the first one I really enjoyed in forever. The overworld was kinda annoying if you’re more in it for the tactics but it at least felt interesting. The one that came after...
Yes and mostly. It was the first one I really enjoyed in forever. The overworld was kinda annoying if you’re more in it for the tactics but it at least felt interesting.
The one that came after had very clever combat mechanics and was utterly dull otherwise , so here’s hoping this next one can split the difference.
Engage is probably the closest any of the legacy characters will get to having an HD game for a long whike, so i appreciated that as an anniversary title. But yeah, we all know crossover games...
Engage is probably the closest any of the legacy characters will get to having an HD game for a long whike, so i appreciated that as an anniversary title.
But yeah, we all know crossover games always sacrifice story: it's hard to marry anime OC to the tales of 10 different worlds of games even with an excellent writer. Engage using salad dressing for the main story and focusing more on the fanboying of the legends was pretty much how I would have gone about it.
Idk. Three House, to me, has to be the weakest game in the series. And I haven't even played all of them. I haven't played an FE since Three Houses, I was so disappointed. So we'll see about this...
Idk. Three House, to me, has to be the weakest game in the series. And I haven't even played all of them. I haven't played an FE since Three Houses, I was so disappointed. So we'll see about this new one. I say that, but I don't even have a Switch 2. And probably not getting one anytime soon.
Anyway, Three Houses is like a mix of Persona and Fire Emblem. Which I don't know really works. I like Persona. I don't even mind the school life stuff. I kinda like it. But Three Houses has waaaay too much of it for my tastes. It's so repetitive and I feel like you spend more time doing school stuff than doing battles. Which is why I play FE, because I like TRPG battles.
I haven't finished it; I'm probably at least 3/4 way though. And I'd like to finish it. But I also haven't played it in prob 2yrs. And that's not the first at-least-a-year-long break I've taken with Three Houses. But maybe you'll like it. It's definitely not a bad game. I wouldn't go that far. But to me, it doesn't quite scratch the itch.
The Direct overall was quite shit. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book looked amazing and I know people that would be happy with a new Fire Emblem, but other than that, it was mainly Switch 2 Editions...
The Direct overall was quite shit. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book looked amazing and I know people that would be happy with a new Fire Emblem, but other than that, it was mainly Switch 2 Editions and ports of existing games.
The Switch 2 exclusive DLC for Super Mario Bros Wonder seemed like a blatant cash grab to me. Wonder had no problems running on original Switch hardware, so adding multiplayer DLC that legitimately could have worked with the base game and locking it behind hardware requirements is just bad.
Similarly for Pokémon. Pokopia looks like the same generic sandbox life sim surivival game slop you'd see everywhere on Steam, while it's shocking that they're already announcing paid DLC for Legends Z-A over a month before its official release date, with the main draw being two forms of Mega Raichu...
And the addition of Virtual Boy games to Nintendo Classics...
Why the fuck do I have to either spend £66.99 on a plastic replica of the Virtual Boy headset or £16.99 on a crude cardboard cutout just to play these games? Why aren't the games playable in 2D or in black & white mode rather than the headache-inducing redscale graphics of the original hardware? If emulators can accomplish this, why can't Nintendo?
I won't disagree (I hope that they improve the graphical quality a bit), but I'm still super excited for it. Before I had my Switch 2, I was procrastinating on settling for one of the hundreds of...
Similarly for Pokémon. Pokopia looks like the same generic sandbox life sim surivival game slop you'd see everywhere on Steam...
I won't disagree (I hope that they improve the graphical quality a bit), but I'm still super excited for it. Before I had my Switch 2, I was procrastinating on settling for one of the hundreds of sandbox life sim survival slop games available on Steam, so I'm happy to finally play a sandbox life sim survival slop game from Nintendo, and a Pokémon-themed one to boot!
...while it's shocking that they're already announcing paid DLC for Legends Z-A over a month before its official release date...
I found this to be almost criminally offensive. I already deeply disliked everything that I have seen from that game, but to then be told that there will be paid DLC upon launch, makes me hope that the game fails so hard, that The Pokémon Company never pulls this off again.
I think that the Virtual Boy was someone's pet project, and the higher ups really wanted to push it. It makes no logical sense in any way, not from a marketing standpoint, not financially, nothing.
For me, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is the highlight, but there is some trepidation as the Square-Enix Blog post suggests it has been streamlined even further than the 3DS version's streamlining....
For me, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is the highlight, but there is some trepidation as the Square-Enix Blog post suggests it has been streamlined even further than the 3DS version's streamlining. I don't fully know the impact of this given that I haven't played the game in any form yet... which I guess means I won't notice anything's missing in Reimagined, and I could always just make one of the older releases my subsequent playthrough if I like it enough to go back for seconds a few years down the line.
On a separate note, as someone who doesn't own a Switch 2 yet and is lukewarm on the console except for future exclusives, I'm glad to read that DQVIIR is a multiplatform release.
I don't know why, but I just wasn't expecting much new. So my expectations were tempered. The only "new" things were pokopia, which is genius but not a genre I engage with, and next Fire Emblem....
I don't know why, but I just wasn't expecting much new. So my expectations were tempered. The only "new" things were pokopia, which is genius but not a genre I engage with, and next Fire Emblem. Which is good, but I guess being behind by a few games made me less hyped.
Oh, yoshi looked nice too. That's all I can reall say. Yoshi as a franchise has wlayes been more of a "experimental side game" for Nintendo.
I don't know if I have any hot takes, per se. My best shot is: it's really funny that NOW we're getting virtualboy attention, but is that really want Nintendo needed for it's first year into it's new generation? I feel this came a mere year too late. It would have been a nice little nostalgia/novelty sale before the economy became too broken to ignore.
So yeah, nothing crazy, but wasn't expecting much. Nintendo has plenty of up coming games and they just wanted to make sure they were in people's minds.
Very disappointed how Metroid always seems to get the silent treatment. Absolute minimal, no news, no voice over announcement inbetween some random games as if it's a third party eshop cash grab game.
It's funny how the saga of Prime 4 has been so volatile.
Big announcement in 2017 with lots of fanfare! -> radio silence for years -> development has been restarted! -> more radio silence -> Promising trailer in 2024! -> not-so-promising trailer in 2025
I don't know how to feel about it. Hoping for the best--but also tempering expectations? Retro is a good studio but the development cycle has been a rough one.
I mean hey, we get a cool bike. Which is all I took from it. I don't understand how Nintendo frequently, without many misses, makes the stupidest advertising decisions they could do. Metroid isn't some 10 dollars cash grab bullshit, it's a highly acclaimed, long going game series. Yet they treat it repeatedly like we should be glad it isn't completely forgotten.
BUT HEY, shitass pseudo re-release of their worst ever flopping game console is TOTALLY what everyone wants and needs a fullass trailer with voice over and physical accessory.
You know, reading your comment I began to wonder again about how Nintendo of Japan just doesn't understand the world audience. I mean, I assume that it's Nintendo of Japan calling the shots on what they prioritize what they show off in a Direct. The Virtual Boy thing makes no logical sense, not even from a financial standpoint. I can't imagine that it will make them any significant money, yet... they seemed super excited to present it to us. The next installment in one of their most popular video game franchises, in a highly acclaimed sub-series to boot... well that, they couldn't care less about. It's just another game.
Think about another oddity: While I am excited for Tomodachi Life... they announced the game now, probably a full year or longer before it will be released. Why is that franchise, which doesn't sell well and only entered the rest of the world market with the last 3DS entry, seemingly so much more important to them? Why do people need to know about it now, so long in advance?
Also, why do we need a talking flower?
I have therefore arrived at the conclusion, that I need to write these odd marketing decisions off as just Nintendo being a company rooted in a culture that is very different from ours, and has extremely quirky, yet influential men at the top, who like to push their agenda. They like to force their pet projects onto us, which sometimes align with their financial interests and the audiences' wishes, but very often, they also don't. if it wasn't like this though, we wouldn't get the occasional banger. Think how Pikmin basically started because Miyamoto observed some ants in his garden or whatever. So many of the great games they have released, seemed like crazy ideas at first, and ironically, a lot of people were very skeptical about the original Metroid Prime, but two decades later, here we are, impatient to play the third sequel.
I don't know about you but the voice over is usually the worst part of any Nintendo trailer. Yoshi would've looked so much better without the narration. The lack of voice over is usually a plus for me. Galaxy doesn't need someone explaining that Mario jumps, it's 3D Mario, it looks cool. Neither does Samus need a voiceover telling us she's got a bike now. Just, here's the bike. Get it in December.
I don't think the game looks bad or anything but the way the trailer was treated during this direct was a little odd for sure, almost feels like nintendo's own faith in the game dropped.
After she gets off the bike some of the first person combat stuff looked a bit clunky but thats kinda always what the series has been like and while I respect some people might be looking for modernization I'm ok with it being a bit more like its classic predecessors since we haven't had it in so long.
Yep. I couldn't have said it better.
Hot take: While watching, I was excited to play Galaxy 1 and 2 again, thinking, Hmm, I'd pay maybe $30 for them. When they announced the price at $40 each (so $50 more than I wanted to spend), I lost interest. I'll consider just taking my Wii out to play the first one again some time and wait for the second to go on sale. I've also considered going full pirate-mode with my original Switch once I pick up a Switch 2.
When I was a kid, I mowed lawns for my grandpa for four Saturdays straight (hiding the money he paid me, as my parents expected me to work for free) in order to buy the two Galaxy games from Target at $20 each. Now, I find myself wanting to play the Galaxies again, and I have grown-up money; I could just buy the collection, but some animalistic part of me is deeply wounded that the cost of these games in lawns has nearly doubled in the last decade.
A new console plus the price of a new game is going to cost far too much. I'll wait 10 years and hopefully there'd be a Pikmin 5 by then. In the meantime I'm going to not have enough time to play any number of wonderful $15 / humble bundle new games anyway
No moral judgements on piracy from me, but i will pass along a friendly reminder to be sure you fully strip your account out of your old switch, assuming you are using the same one. Depending on the model, you could even do a full factory reset and still be able to mod it. All it takes for nintendo to identify your switch as modded is one connection to their servers, which normally only results in a console ban. However, Nintendo seems to be getting more spicy lately and did put a clause in their Eula or TOS that they can brick your switch 2 if you do things they don't like. Not worth the risk in general imo
Thanks for the warning. I've already hacked my Switch, but only to make the Master Sword unbreakable in Tears of the Kingdom (and adjust the durability of other weapons), and have had no problems because of it. But maybe I'll hold off on pirating stuff on it and just play a rom on my PC or something.
There was really nothing that got me excited, but I find it hilarious that they were bringing back the Virtual Boy. the Virtual Boy is, to me, without a doubt the biggest mistake Nintendo ever made. The games were meh and you would end up with eye, neck and head pain after only a short while playing.
I saw at least two posts related to two different announcements that were made during the direct, but not an actual topic discussing the whole thing, so... here it is.
Allow me to share with you the only four announcements that I cared about:
Super Mario Galaxy
I knew that they would release a new movie at some point, but although I watched the first one (which did feature a Luma), I somehow just did not expect that time to come around so fast. I mean, it will have been almost precisely three years when the next movie releases. I don't know about you, but this time just flew by for me. What I expected even less, is that the new movie would be centered around my two favorite 3D Super Mario games. I love it when Nintendo surprises me what I didn't know I wanted.
It goes without saying that I, as the hopeless Nintendo fanboy that I am, will also be purchasing the re-releases of the games, separately, on the eShop, to vote with my wallet, as they say. I did have a Wii, and I 100%-ed both games, but I did that only once, and I've been craving them so bad for so many years. In fact, I've been thinking about these exact two games since I bought my Switch 2. It's like I manifested them or something.
Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream
I have always been super curious about this series, but never had a chance to play the games. I don't know what it is about them, but they just look quirky, Japanese-y, and funny in a very Nintendo way. Honestly, it somehow reminds me of what the original Animal Crossing (N64/GCN) set out to be: a social simulation game (over the years, the series drifted away into what I call a "decoration sim", which profoundly saddened me).
Side note: Just like Animal Crossing is known as Animal Forest in Japan, Tomodachi Life also has a different name there: Tomodachi Collection. I'm sure that once I play the game, I'll see more similarities.
I'm astonished that the series has come this far at all though. The original title on the NDS was popular in Japan but didn't exactly ship a lot of units. The second installment on the 3DS sold more, and eventually got an international release, but I think that it still flew completely under the radar. Yet Nintendo is not giving up on it. This is when Nintendo is at its best for me, when they believe so much in an idea that they keep pushing it until a wider audience starts seeing the value. If they market the game appropriately, then I think that it could become a success, and establish itself as a proper IP.
I will definitely get my grimy hands on a copy.
Pokémon Pokopia
Am I the only one who felt that this game is Nintendo's answer to Palworld and the Pixelmon Minecraft mod?
Either way, it looks adorable. Finally something new in the series. I'm definitely getting this one.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
A friend pointed out to me that the trailer felt underwhelming and almost like an afterthought. The game didn't get the attention that it deserves, and I agree.
However, I also replied to him that it makes some sense to me, given that the star of this Direct was the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. (for which we get a new Yoshi game, for some reason).
Keep in mind that the game will release in April next year. I would be surprised if they don't do another Direct until then (maybe in February), to properly start the hype train for its arrival. It wouldn't be wise to reveal their hand too soon.
However, they had to give us the release date. This game has been in development since 2019 (and two years before that, until they started from scratch). People got to demo the game, and it looks basically finished, so they were starting to get impatient (me included). This was meant to be just a reveal of the release date and nothing else. They tried to appease us. It worked on me.
Still, they could have been a bit more enthusiastic about it.
On the day that the Direct was announced, I predicted that they would reveal the release date, and then joked that maybe the reason why it's been taking them so long to finish developing it is because it's going open world. Well, my joke turned out to be prophetic, and I'm not happy about it. I sure hope that they implemented the open world side of the game properly, and that it won't detract from the action that I have come to know and love this series for (I played through the entire trilogy on their original releases). I also hope that it won't require me 500+ hours to 100% because of it.
I read in the YouTube comments something like: "Samus on a motorcycle was not on my 2025 BINGO card." Same. She completely nails it though.
Disappointments
No new games for the GCN on NSO. Will I ever get my beloved Animal Crossing back?
Also, still no Pokémon gens I and II, even though Pokémon Stadium 1 and 2 are collecting dust on their servers.
Last but not least: No Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, which is the only "proper" Pokémon game that I have wanted to play since Black and White. I will get it eventually, and I will love it, but those graphics... I was under the impression that the game was actually popular, so why not give it some extra content, polish up the visuals, and make some easy cash? Isn't the Pokémon Company all about making easy cash? Come on! I'm offering you free money!
Also, I still hate the concept of Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Sorry. Not interested in being confined in a pseudo-European, colorless city, much less one where every building looks like it got copy-pasted. I feel uncomfortable every time I am reminded that this game is exists and is going to be released. I'll read some reviews after its release just to give it a chance to prove me wrong, but from what I have seen so far, it looks even more boring than Scarlet and Violet.
Just to clarify: are you saying you're going to pay $40 + $40 to buy the games separately instead of just getting the bundle for $70?
That's exactly right. How could I call myself a fanboy if I saved $10?
I...uhhh...I admire the dedication. I think. :thonk:
small correction: Metroid Prime 4 releases December 4, not April 12.
Wait, what? Did I really get confused by the way that they ordered the numbers on the date?
Edit: Shoot... THE GAME IS COMING OUT IN DECEMBER!?!?!?
screams
Samus's bike is something you'd see Spider-Man riding in the Target toy aisle with little missile launchers that don't go far enough.
Oh dang, shots fired!
WE ASKED FOR HOT TAKES! I'M GONNA DISH EM!
Seriously though, I hope it's integrated well but it just does not feel like Metroid at all to me with a big hub of some sort. I didn't like the disjointed nature of Corruption, but I guess we'll see.
Super Mario Galaxy movie is an interesting swing, feels like going to space is more of a third or fourth movie deal. Like the Mushroom Kingdom is pretty big and we're already introducing space aliens into our portal fantasy world? I get that just doing the same movie with different power ups and mechanics doesn't cut it, but it feels like too much, too fast. I'm not the prime demographic, so not sure if I get a vote.
A Pokemon Base Builder on an island seems like a very pointed response to Palworld transposing creature collecting RPG into a survivalcraft, and I'm interested what Game Freak's take on it would be.
I'm hoping that an official VR headset for Virtual Boy games promotes a VR renaissance for Switch, but that ship has probably sailed.
Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Really thought the second movie was gonna be something still rooted in mushroom kingdom but Yoshi-centric due to the teaser at the end of the original movie. I mean, I'm sure they won't let that hang as a loose end but I'm guessing Yoshi will be more of a subplot/smaller thing and not the focus now that we've seen the galaxy theme is a focal point.
So, you want the “hot take”, I’ll throw my $.02 in as well.
What was Nitnendo’s business objective of this Direct?
First, I believe Nintendo was trying to shine the light on smaller IP or experimental titles as they wait for the following:
1.) for “early adopters” to buy up NS2.
2.) To maximize the end of the NS1’s life and massive user base with cross gen titles.
3.) Keeping their BIG IP spread out and the heavy hitters (Animal Crossing, Smash, 3d Mario, new 3d Zelda) will be released strategically around the ps6 handheld launch.
Now let’s talk about the other problem Nintendo has. Average age of a Nintendo console buyer is in their 30’s. This is not unique to Nintendo, Xbox and Playstation have the same problem. But, Nintendo is fighting battles on multiple fronts at the moment.
1.) Fighting Roblox, Palworld and other F2P games that target younger or mobile/pc players. (Roblox specficially, it would appear Nintendo clearly hates).
2.) NIntendo’s need to appeal to younger audiences, and lower the barrier to entry to get into games for young audiences.
3.) Nintendo needs to develop new and wider variety of IP/titles to keep newer users engaged and expand reach.
4.) Nintendo wants to reestablish older IP like DK to expand their multi media offerings.
Was the Direct an “A+”? No sadly, imo.
But I DO think Nintendo did check many of those points above.
My 3rd grade nephew was only interested in two titles. He liked Mario Galaxy and Pokotopia (or whatever it is called). That is a start for Nintendo.
The movie preview looks great and the kids LOVED IT!
Fire Emblem looks great and looks like a more mature story for older gamers.
Yoshi looks great for younger audience.
Mario Tennis looks much improved. Finally, it looks like a “complete” Mario sports game.
Square Enix is on fire, and doing great work with FFVIIR, and DQ7R.
The problem imo, was 3rd parties. Resident Evil was a great “get” for older gamers. Though, we all assumed these titles were coming.
I think the lack of Xbox games is showing strongly. If Nintendo Direct had one or two more BIG 3rd party announcements, i think the general consensus would be much more favorable.
For example: If the Direct had any of the following two titles that are rumored, I think we would view this Direct very differently. If the Direct added any of these two: Minecraft Switch 2 edition, Sea of Thieves, Halo, Gears of War 1, Forza Horizon, Killer Instinct, Age of Empires, Fallout or Red Dead 2, Elden Ring (likely delayed), COD, Goldeneye Reloaded, Tekken, Boulders Gate 3, Mass Effect, Metal Gear, Assassins Creed or something else.
I would have liked to see one more family style game as well.
Truly, i feel it was just a couple of 3rd party titles short. This is something that can hopefully be remedied soon.
Edit: Metroid Prime 4. I really don’t know what to make of this game. The first trailer back in March looked amazing and a natural extension of Metroid Prime. The new trailer with the motorcycle, i am not sure what to make of it. Maybe it is a good thing, like BoTW. Maybe not. I really hope Nitnendo does a Metroid Direct and explains everything!
I had not considered points 1 and 2. It makes sense. The Switch 2 user base is too small for now. They need more people on the new console before they can go all out on their most popular franchises. Of course, strategically releasing them to draw attention away from their competitors must also be a consideration. It's actually a really good thing for them that they can release cross-generation games that will sell on either platform, especially the previous one, which has hundreds os millions of people still playing on it. They can't throw that out right away. That's also good for people who want to buy a Switch 2, but want to wait a bit longer. They are, of course, trying to convince folks to move over, which is why some games are exclusively coming to the Switch 2.
You also made a good point about younger audiences. I recently heard someone say that the kids don't identify themselves as "gamers" anymore, but as "players" of a certain game, like Fortnite, Minecraft, or Roblox. Those games are universes unto themselves. The kids don't care about platform loyalty or any of that nonsense. Nintendo doesn't have any experience with live service games as such. Well... maybe the Splatoon franchise, which is a big deal for the company, but it doesn't attract that many players (especially young ones) as a whole, I'd say.
It's Pokopia, but I funny enough, I kept thinking that Pokotopia would have made more sense. Maybe they wanted to keep the name short, but I suspect that many more people will keep saying Pokotopia in their heads. lol
I would wait on making any premature judgment about the state of Mario Tennis Fever. lol I didn't play the last one, but I heard that it was pretty bare bones.
You made a good point about 3rd parties. It's odd that there's no Minecraft for Switch 2 yet.
I also hope for a Metroid Prime 4 Direct before launch.
So, the odd thing I found about the Pokopia. Is my nephew instantly knew who the girl pokemon was and the others were without any prompting. He also shouted “it’s like Minecraft”. So, a very small sample size, but Nintendo may have something there.
Second, you are 100% right about Nintendo not having any real experience with service games. There is an old interview with Miyamoto and other Nintendo execs and they were asked about Minecraft, and they said “we had an idea for something similar to Minecraft on n64” but didn’t see the mainstream appeal. They also stated that they were confident they could create that experience now.
I 100% disagree with this. I don’t think they could. Nintendo would need to lower the barrier to entry and at the very least would need to have their game on every platform. Or at least mobile/pc/Nintendo. I just don’t know if they are willing to do that.
We have to wait and see on Metroid. Clearly now it was delayed for some reason, and should have been out sooner. December is usually a month where games go to die. Nintendo has been Abe to avoid this however with Smash, Xenoblade and a couple of smaller titles. Releasing in December also removes it from GoTY consderation. But again, SO MUCH is unknown we have to wait and see what MP4 actually is.
Hopefully we get more answers soon.
This is an excellent point that I didn't think about. Even with the Switch 1's (not talking about the Switch 2) current user base, I can't imagine Nintendo coming out with a live service game (which by nature would need to be an online multiplayer game, which they are notoriously bad at supporting) that would actually attract a large enough audience from among their NSO subscribers that it would become profitable in the long term. Even if people could play it without NSO, it would need to be multi-platform to break even on their investment.
I think that the only thing that comes close to this, which they have had a lot of success with, are their iOS mobile games, like Fire Emblem Heroes, Pikmin Bloom, and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (I don't know how well Super Mario Run did). I played the latter two and spent actual money on Pikmin Bloom (maybe altogether somewhere between $25 to $50). That proves the point though: That kind of success cannot be replicated on the Switch, or at least not on the Switch by itself.
I posted this on socials just after the Direct:
The rest left me cold... I'm so picky these days. I don't need any more shooters or rpgs.
Interested in the Virtual Boy thingy but very cautious/curious about price. It's nice that there will be the cardboard version at least.
I'm interested in the new Fire Emblem entry, Engage seemed pretty lame from the story/character development angle and looked more like some gimmicky gacha cross over. The classes looked like they had some unique flavor. It isn't enough on its own to make me interested in getting a S2, it is about the only game of interest on the system for me, so I'm bummed I can't play it on my original switch.
My partner gets mad about Fire Emblem games, like no one should find the tactical gameplay fun haha, so they won't even stay in the room if I play it on the TV.
Are you a long-time fan of the series? Are you're saying that Engage isn't worth the money? What about Three Houses? What is a Fire Emblem game that you'd recommend to a newbie like me? I only ever played the Tellius games and I can hardly find the words to explain to you how much I loved them both in terms of gameplay and the story. I'd like to play another entry in the series someday, but there are so many to choose from...
Three Houses is a great game. I would recommend it as an introduction to the series, but do know that it is more focused on socializing with the NPCs than games in the past. I have not played Engage, but its supposed to be more of a focus on the traditional play style of the series at the (apparent) expense of the story. Fire Emblem has always had great turn based tactics, but I did find Three Houses to be on the easy side in the late game.
Oh I'm no veteran, the only mainline FE game I've finished was Three Houses, haven't played the Tellius games (despite my interest). I wouldn't say Engage isn't worth playing per se, I'm just not interested in investing my time into it. My understanding is that it was well-received for its style and gameplay improvements, but that the plot wasn't as good as other entries. That was also the impression I got from recycling previous characters instead of having a unique cast. It isn't actually a gacha game, though they do have one, Heroes.
So yeah I can't earnestly recommend one outside Three Houses, which I do recommend if you're interested! The new trailer makes direct references to it, but how directly related to the time and characters of 3H remains to be seen.
It's for 3DS, but Awakening was a great game. Three Houses is good too, but I haven't been able to finish the story and I've tried twice. POR and RD are some of my favorite games of all time and I'm sorry to say I haven't found a FE game since that has lived up to either of them.
My dark horse suggestion is Thracia 776 if you don't mind using an emulator, but you'll need to find an English patch ROM if you don't speak Japanese.
During the very first Engage trailer I was absolutely certain it was gonna be some kind of a gacha game spinoff and then it just wasn't. Which is the better outcome than if it was, but it says a lot about how the game looked and vibed.
Yeah, the coliseum vibe really gives it a DA2 "Everything will take place here, just different set dressing" feeling, which is not a good one.
I was talking about Engage in my prior comment actually, not Fortune's Weave...
The Pokemon Animal Crossing Minecraft is probably the game that will push me to get a Switch 2.
Yeah! Let's go! I'll definitely be playing that one too!
I'm getting really strong Dragon Quest Builders vibes from the trailer. I know my wife is going to love it
Fire Emblem. Yes yes good good.
I don't always love the way the series handles things, and god knows I basically dipped out of it for years, but I NEED more tactics games in my life.
Did you play Three Houses? If yes, was it fun? I only ever played the Tellius games and loved the heck out of them.
Yes and mostly. It was the first one I really enjoyed in forever. The overworld was kinda annoying if you’re more in it for the tactics but it at least felt interesting.
The one that came after had very clever combat mechanics and was utterly dull otherwise , so here’s hoping this next one can split the difference.
Engage is probably the closest any of the legacy characters will get to having an HD game for a long whike, so i appreciated that as an anniversary title.
But yeah, we all know crossover games always sacrifice story: it's hard to marry anime OC to the tales of 10 different worlds of games even with an excellent writer. Engage using salad dressing for the main story and focusing more on the fanboying of the legends was pretty much how I would have gone about it.
Idk. Three House, to me, has to be the weakest game in the series. And I haven't even played all of them. I haven't played an FE since Three Houses, I was so disappointed. So we'll see about this new one. I say that, but I don't even have a Switch 2. And probably not getting one anytime soon.
Anyway, Three Houses is like a mix of Persona and Fire Emblem. Which I don't know really works. I like Persona. I don't even mind the school life stuff. I kinda like it. But Three Houses has waaaay too much of it for my tastes. It's so repetitive and I feel like you spend more time doing school stuff than doing battles. Which is why I play FE, because I like TRPG battles.
I haven't finished it; I'm probably at least 3/4 way though. And I'd like to finish it. But I also haven't played it in prob 2yrs. And that's not the first at-least-a-year-long break I've taken with Three Houses. But maybe you'll like it. It's definitely not a bad game. I wouldn't go that far. But to me, it doesn't quite scratch the itch.
The Direct overall was quite shit. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book looked amazing and I know people that would be happy with a new Fire Emblem, but other than that, it was mainly Switch 2 Editions and ports of existing games.
The Switch 2 exclusive DLC for Super Mario Bros Wonder seemed like a blatant cash grab to me. Wonder had no problems running on original Switch hardware, so adding multiplayer DLC that legitimately could have worked with the base game and locking it behind hardware requirements is just bad.
Similarly for Pokémon. Pokopia looks like the same generic sandbox life sim surivival game slop you'd see everywhere on Steam, while it's shocking that they're already announcing paid DLC for Legends Z-A over a month before its official release date, with the main draw being two forms of Mega Raichu...
And the addition of Virtual Boy games to Nintendo Classics...
Why the fuck do I have to either spend £66.99 on a plastic replica of the Virtual Boy headset or £16.99 on a crude cardboard cutout just to play these games? Why aren't the games playable in 2D or in black & white mode rather than the headache-inducing redscale graphics of the original hardware? If emulators can accomplish this, why can't Nintendo?
I won't disagree (I hope that they improve the graphical quality a bit), but I'm still super excited for it. Before I had my Switch 2, I was procrastinating on settling for one of the hundreds of sandbox life sim survival slop games available on Steam, so I'm happy to finally play a sandbox life sim survival slop game from Nintendo, and a Pokémon-themed one to boot!
I found this to be almost criminally offensive. I already deeply disliked everything that I have seen from that game, but to then be told that there will be paid DLC upon launch, makes me hope that the game fails so hard, that The Pokémon Company never pulls this off again.
I think that the Virtual Boy was someone's pet project, and the higher ups really wanted to push it. It makes no logical sense in any way, not from a marketing standpoint, not financially, nothing.
For me, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is the highlight, but there is some trepidation as the Square-Enix Blog post suggests it has been streamlined even further than the 3DS version's streamlining. I don't fully know the impact of this given that I haven't played the game in any form yet... which I guess means I won't notice anything's missing in Reimagined, and I could always just make one of the older releases my subsequent playthrough if I like it enough to go back for seconds a few years down the line.
On a separate note, as someone who doesn't own a Switch 2 yet and is lukewarm on the console except for future exclusives, I'm glad to read that DQVIIR is a multiplatform release.
I don't know why, but I just wasn't expecting much new. So my expectations were tempered. The only "new" things were pokopia, which is genius but not a genre I engage with, and next Fire Emblem. Which is good, but I guess being behind by a few games made me less hyped.
Oh, yoshi looked nice too. That's all I can reall say. Yoshi as a franchise has wlayes been more of a "experimental side game" for Nintendo.
I don't know if I have any hot takes, per se. My best shot is: it's really funny that NOW we're getting virtualboy attention, but is that really want Nintendo needed for it's first year into it's new generation? I feel this came a mere year too late. It would have been a nice little nostalgia/novelty sale before the economy became too broken to ignore.
So yeah, nothing crazy, but wasn't expecting much. Nintendo has plenty of up coming games and they just wanted to make sure they were in people's minds.