Author Topic: Boredom and Nintendo  (Read 3427 times)

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Offline Dinar87

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Boredom and Nintendo
« on: March 24, 2024, 09:18:39 AM »
The switch has had many great games released over its lifespan such as Metroid Dread and Fire emblem three houses, but for every year we get good games like them, we also get dry years full of waiting.

2018 was just smash ultimate. Kirby star allies was underwhelming to kirby fans. Wii u ports.
2020 obviously.
2021 did give us metroid dread, but that's it. And while I love metroid dread, it's also a very short game.

I blame series like pokemon falling off in quality. If pokemon wasn't completely ruined and was actually good like it was last console gen, it would help a lot filling out the years.

As it stands we're just waiting for the switch 2 with nothing but remakes to play and one princess peach game designed for little kids according to the reviews.

If they're going all in on remakes, how about giving us that Fire emblem 4 remake Nintendo?

Offline Evan_B

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2024, 07:24:11 PM »
It sounds like you have very particular tastes in games, and while Nintendo satisfies your proclivities for some, you don't always feel that your tastes are satisfied on a yearly basis.

No platform is wholly represented by its first-party releases, though it might have seemed as such during the N64 and GCN years. The Switch has had an incredibly healthy third party and indie scene, with many games filling the void left by your Fire Emblems and Pokemons and Metroids and whatever. And we're not just talking about old ports to new systems, either.

Asking for recommendations might result in some hidden gems that you may have overlooked.
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Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2024, 02:38:03 PM »
Meant to reply to this a couple days ago earlier but now is as good a time as any.

I agree somewhat with Dinar87 in that Switch has been an odd system for me and my feelings about Nintendo's efforts on it. It was late 2018 when I finally got the system. For me, I played Breath of the Wild on Wii U and so I have a bit of disconnect when thinking of it and Switch. Frankly, it was clearly supposed to be a Wii U game with Gamepad functionality and I wish it could have been released that way but that ship sailed long ago. I did quite enjoy Mario Odyssey and felt it the strongest Mario title since Super Mario Galaxy 2.

I was less enthused with seeing ports of NSMBU and Super Mario 3D World. 3D World is a bit more galling because they added Bowser's Fury which I'd really love to play but have never felt like paying for another copy of 3D World. Playing 3D World through with 4 person co-op did interest me as possibly making the purchase more worth it and different from my Wii U time with it but I'm not sure how easy it would be to wrangle up three other players from the community to set aside time to do that. We can't even get a co-op playthrough of Kirby and the Amazing Mirror happening. :(  It took near the end to finally get a new Mario platformer in Super Mario Wonder. I felt Super Mario Party was the best Mario Party game since probably Mario Party 8. Mario Party: Superstars wasn't the slam-dunk I thought it would be. It just sort of emphasized why my friends and I have often stuck with the GC games. All the orbs and capsules and variety of maps and strong minigames make them the strongest era of Mario Party games still. The Switch games have been unable to surpass them. Mario Kart 8 was pretty close to the same game that was available on the Wii U so it was kind of disappointing in that regard. It obviously greatly expanded on that version by adding all those extra courses over the last  year. Having not played Mario Kart Tour, it meant there were more fresh courses for me than perhaps others yet I'll admit to not really touching that content much as I had recently finishing playing through it and getting 3 Stars for all the Cups a couple months before the content was announced and had my fill of Mario Kart for awhile. Mario's also brought the sports over with Tennis, Golf, and Soccer. Nothing about those titles seemed to be considered a Must-Play or best of the series from what I have seen in fan reaction but they were solid enough entries once all the extra content was eventually added to them.

The one Mario I was quite excited for yet still have yet to touch was Paper Mario: The Origami King. I still get pumped for the Paper Mario series, however, I've also treated as something special in that I'm trying to space out and savor the series and not burn out on it. It's sort of like me and Professor Layton. I'd let a good three years go between each entry or so. I need to finally get around to Azran Legacy. I finished Miracle Mask back around 2020, maybe 2019. I'm ready for more Layton again. Likewise, I finally played through Paper Mario: Color Splash last year so Origami King is all that's left but still feels kind of soon for a new Paper Mario.

I believe that sums up the state of Mario on Switch releases. As for Zelda, there was another release of Hyrule Warriors which had already seen releases on Wii U and 3DS. There was a sequel to it with Age of Calamity, a game I'll forget exists until I think of the first Hyrule Warriors. Again, from comments I've seen about it, it just seemed like more Hyrule Warriors so if you liked the first then you should like the sequel but it didn't do anything knew to distinguish itself aside from the story setting and bringing in BotW characters to use. Skyward Sword was ported over but I finally played my Wii copy of that either before or around the time of the Switch port. Link's Awakening got the remake treatment. I have meant to play it a few times but keep dragging my feet since I've played the game so it's not exactly a new experience there either. In the end, Tears of the Kingdom will be the first fresh Zelda experience of the Switch for me yet I've held off from playing it since it came out. Partly, I've wanted to get other gaming things done before playing it before I commit to the weeks and months I'd expect to play it and also because seeing a lot of the same world being used has made feel it will be a bit of a let-down to the original BotW in which everything to see was brand new. I know there's been changes to the places seen in BotW and I wonder if it might give the feeling of visiting a town you spent years in and moved away and then came back to visit after sometime. You take in what's new and what's changed. There's still discovery but its not the same type of discovery as a new world. It's one of the things I've always like about Civilization games. Going out and exploring the new world that has been generated for a game. With Age of Calamity and Tears of the Kingdom, it also feels like it has taken over the Zelda brand and Nintendo is milking that for all the can but its also making Zelda feel a bit stale now. Its BotW themed or ports of older games. That just sort of adds to the boredom feeling you are likely talking about.

I'm glad that Metroid Dread got a release. The promise of Metroid Prime 4 made me more motivated to buy a Switch when Nintendo first released the system as it had been so long since MP3. It's been disappointing that after 7 years, there's been absolutely nothing has shown for it yet. Dread helped filled that Metroid craving and I think it's probably the best Metroid game since MP3 but I want to get back to some 3D Metroid again.

I agree that all the Wii U porting of Nintendo games has been disappointing but having 3DS and Wii ports now happening has just further seemed like Nintendo slowing down on new sequels. Even when they've done new sequels, the response has been that the Wii U stuff was better. Yoshi got Yoshi's Crafted World on Switch while Woolly World stayed on Wii U and 3DS but people have ranked the latter game as better than the former. Super Mario Maker 2 did not seem to have as much enthusiasm or love compared to the original on Wii U and 3DS. (At least, not the way this community talks about it on Discord.) Animal Crossing: New Horizon was a phenomenon yet I saw so much outcry from fans about it not being as full of content as New Leaf because Nintendo slowly added events / festivities to it over the course of a year. Now all that has probably been alleviated and it seems to allow for the most customization of things yet. But no one seems to care about it as much as New Leaf. It feels similar to Super Mario Maker 2 at this point. XC2 was not as loved as XCX or the original but XC3 seems to have been the better sequel but it took a long time for that better sequel to show up. Sort of like how Pikmin 3 got an early port to Switch and it was just last year that the sequel of Pikmin 4 was released. Practically 10 years after Pikmin 3 first came out. I haven't really gotten into the Splatoon scene but there, too, it just seems like no one feels 2 or 3 have done anything substantially better than the first game. It's just that Nintendo dropping events for a previous title has caused people to move on to the next. It's really living up to the reputation of possibly being Nintendo's answer to Call of Duty and getting the committed fanbase to move on and buy each new sequel without having to do much to expand the game. Just support the new title with events and let the old one wither away.

Smash Ultimate is an odd beast. Clearly, it lived up to its name of ultimate by having every fighter from all past games on the roster and has the most stages of any game. Yet, that also meant it didn't have a lot of new fighters added at first. Likewise, by bringing back mostly previous stages, it also felt a bit more derivative compared to past entries. It's like the next Mario Kart game having 95% tracks from previous games and 5% new. More new characters and stages did come to help create more uniqueness from past entries and freshen up the experience more but it also came at the cost of having to further pay more for that newness. I did pop in Ultimate one night as I flirted with the idea of playing through it for awhile and collecting spirits. I find that mode ok and perhaps it will win me over more when I get back to the game but gol-darn it! I miss trophies!! I understand Sakurai's reasoning on why it added more work and they saw it as unnecessary but to me the collecting of trophies is a core part of the Smash experience and why I play those games. I hardly do it for the multiplayer. Getting the trophies in Melee and seeing these various characters, items, and places and reading the blurbs about them helped get me curious about other Nintendo properties and seeking out past games and current games for these characters. I enjoyed seeing what new trophies would make it into the next game and the reminders of stuff I'd played in between Smash entries or had missed out on still. It's why I didn't care as much about collecting the stickers in Brawl. It's was just promotional art assets being used with no notes compared to the trophies. That's all the Spirits are for me in Ultimate. Just overused promotional artwork I've seen many times before. And that's my Smash rant for today. Thank you all for ignoring it again.

I did not get involved with Labo. The 1-2 Switch games have not been well received. NintendoLand was better for mini-game fun. WarioWare has two entries but WarioWare Gold or earlier entries like Twisted seem to still outshine those new entries on Switch. ARMS has been forgotten. Fire Emblem got two Fire Emblem Warriors games and those seem to have been forgotten as well. Engage was not as well received as Three Houses which you've brought up. Kirby Star Allies was a disappointment for many after Robobot. Kirby's Dream Buffet is nothing special either. Some people seemed to like Kirby Super Clash but I bounced off that game pretty fast. Forgotten World was pretty good but it straddled a line where sometimes I was asking myself "Do I actually like this game?". Pokemon got another remake of Red/Blue with Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee along with a remake/remaster port of Pearl/Diamond and Sword/Shield did not seem to get well received by the fans. But there seems to have been a rebound there with Legends: Arceus and Scarlet/Violet despite technical issues with the latter. Which seems to be part of a trend on Switch where a series might get two entries with one entry being good and the other lackluster.

In that regard, I'm with you Dinar87. Nintendo's output on Switch has been a very mixed bag for me based on my Nintendo gaming history. I also recognize that my situation is different for a lot of other Switch users. Many users could very well be in their teens and twenties and thus not have the back catalogue of games I do or will have played a bunch of these ports on a previous system already. Heck, the Wii U sales numbers indicate that the vast majority of Switch owners likely never played those ported Wii U games before. So, for them, the Switch experience will be totally different. For me, Nintendo's only had a small number of original games for Switch that were really great. Most others have been sort of average. Surprisingly, it has been the third party stuff that's been more unique to me. Having stuck in the Nintendo ecosphere for decades, having ports of all sorts of things like Katamari Damacy, Lumines, Grim Fandango, and Batman: Arkham Asylum that I've always wanted to try out has been great. It's those games that have been getting me to keep playing my Switch more these days. Indie stuff like Hollow Knight, Untitled Goose Game and even Suika Game have provided me with new engaging experiences to keep me invested in my Switch. And there's still so much more in those scenes I'd like to get to such as the recent Tomb Raider Trilogy (never played any of those games) or Cocoon.

Still, a lot of Indie stuff can be rather short and fleeting and third party stuff can lack that Nintendo polish and magic that keeps you wanting more. Nothing hits quite like the hype for a new entry in a Nintendo series you love that looks like it could be blast to play. A sequel to Endless Ocean is surprising but it doesn't hit the same for me compared to seeing a surprise announcement of a brand new 3D F-Zero with 8 Cups and 55 racers. I'm glad that the success of Switch has caused Nintendo to do some obscure porting like Famicom Detective Club and the Another Code games but that stuff is like the dinner rolls and gravy. Where's the sizzling T-Bone steak and twice-baked potato? Stuck in the oven waiting for Switch 2 to finish and so we have to stick it out with some appetizers and try to get hyped on that for now.

I'm definitely curious what Nintendo's software output will be for Switch 2. There's not a lot of Wii U Porting left. Will we see more GC, Wii and 3DS porting to make up for that or will Nintendo slow down on the porting? If they slow down on porting, does that mean original software for the system or just less output by them?
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Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2024, 02:40:05 PM »
My wall of text aside, one thing I'd like to know from Dinar87 is what are the games/series from Nintendo that you are a fan of and that you want to see new entries for to get hyped? Are there some series you've never played or tried? Are there some you've tried but just don't care for?
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Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #4 on: March 26, 2024, 03:14:05 PM »
You really have to look beyond Nintendo published games or you'll never be happy since it's impossible for Nintendo to constantly release certain types of games every single year. 

You mention 2018, 2020 and 2021 as dry years when in reality they were anything but.

2018 had 177 games that received positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/2018/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

2020 had 149 games that received positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/2020/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

2021 had 136 games with positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/2021/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1


We're almost to the end of March and the Switch has had 22 games with positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/current-year/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

Plus two of the highest reviewed games are Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Unicorn Overlord.  The new Prince of Persia is a Metroid style game and Unicorn Overlord is a Strategy RPG, the same genre Fire Emblem is in.  That's 2 highly reviewed games that should be appealing directly to you, but you seem to be ignoring them because they're not from Nintendo.


Seriously, this is one of the reason why I've grown distant from many of the hardcore Nintendo fans online.  The Switch has been home to an insane amount of high quality games that just get completely ignored by the kind of people said games are literally being made for.  Especially in recent years where there's suddenly been all this Gamecube nostalgia and Nintendo fans declaring the Gamecube the greatest system ever made and how the Gamecube era was the best time, when it's like, are you fucking kidding me.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/gamecube/all/all-time/metascore/?releaseYearMin=2001&releaseYearMax=2024&platform=gamecube&page=1

The Gamecube had 187 games that received positives reviews its entire lifespan.  In comparison, the Switch in just 2018 alone had 177 positive reviewed games and 2018 was supposed to be such a terrible year with nothing to play.  :rolleyes:

Never before has a Nintendo system offered the variety and gameplay experiences that the Switch has and yet some people are acting like we're in the final days of the Wii all over again.  The Wii in 2011 and 2012 COMBINED had only 19 games with positive reviews

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/wii/all/all-time/metascore/?releaseYearMin=2011&releaseYearMax=2012&platform=wii&page=1

The Switch has literally had more good games released for it in less then 3 months of this year alone, then the Wii had it's entire last 2 years combined.

Still, a lot of Indie stuff can be rather short and fleeting and third party stuff can lack that Nintendo polish and magic that keeps you wanting more. Nothing hits quite like the hype for a new entry in a Nintendo series you love that looks like it could be blast to play.

Only that's not true, there's a lot of indie and third party stuff on Switch that's just as good as the types of games Nintendo releases.  This is N64 Yamauchi era propaganda that too many still have in their heads.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/all-time/metascore/?releaseYearMin=2017&releaseYearMax=2024&platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

Just go down the list.  Yes, Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey and Tear of the Kingdom are at the very top but after them you have lots of third party titles right around what Nintendo's releasing.  Yes every gen the very top Nintendo games like Ocarina of Time, Metroid Prime, Mario Galaxy, Breath of the Wild get the best reviews, but those titles are very rare even by Nintendo standards.  Outside of the very top 1-3 Nintendo games each gen, the best third party games are easily competing with everything else.
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Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #5 on: March 28, 2024, 05:06:50 AM »
Especially in recent years where there's suddenly been all this Gamecube nostalgia and Nintendo fans declaring the Gamecube the greatest system ever made and how the Gamecube era was the best time, when it's like, are you fucking kidding me.

Recent years? The GameCube nostalgia was already happening after a couple of the Wii years. I know. I've been here and I've been part of it!  ;) ;D GameCube love has been happening through the Wii U and now. The demand for a GC VC has perhaps been a part of it but I'd say there's also another reason. There's a lot of GC software that hasn't quite been surpassed or is iconic. Like I mentioned about the Mario Party series. The Mario Party games that followed have been kind of off and never quite hit the mark like those games during its prime. F-Zero GX is the best game in that franchise and the last 3D F-Zero game. There's been nothing to surpass it since. Paper Mario:TTYD has been a rallying cry for some that want the series to go back to its RPG roots and keeps getting named as the best game in the series by a bunch of Paper Mario fans.

I believe Smash Bros. Ultimate should be the definitive game for tourneys and stuff going forward but Melee has hung on so long in that tourney sphere and people still can't quite quit it. Melee kept the GameCube controllers going through to today and probably played a factor in the system's legacy getting acclaimed while others soured on Wiimotes and the Wii U Gamepad. Around 2011 or 2012, this site did a tournament to declare the Best Nintendo Game of the past 12 years and Metroid Prime was the winner. Even now, Metroid Prime is often named favorite or best Metroid game by a lot of people when ranking the series or at least the best of the 3D Metroids which isn't a big list. Zelda is a mixed bag. BotW is my rank for number 1 but I still go to Wind Waker for Number 2. Twilight Princess also has its fans. That's why people keep hoping for those games to get ported to Switch. They made an impact with fans of the series and for those that miss the traditional Zelda style that BotW/Totk has deviated from those games are getting more nostalgia love.

There's a lot of sleeper software on the system that has its champions. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance was considered the top Fire Emblem game until Awakening came and gave the series greater popularity. Again, Ike in Smash Bros may have further helped keep that title in the minds of Nintendo fans. Chibi-Robo's GC has been that series best outing. The third game might possibly be better but Reggie committed the unforgiveable crime of not porting the game out of Japan after the second game was weirdly released in NA. Nintendo hasn't returned to Wave Race or 1080 snowboarding since the GC. Some still hope for Nintendo to follow up Eternal Darkness or to try porting that game. Donkey Kong Jungle Beat with bongos is still one of the oddest and so-insane-it's-genius games Nintendo's ever released. Another hidden gem is Battalion Wars. There was a sequel with Wii but it wasn't as highly regarded as the first and seemed to bomb sales-wise ending the potential series which is too bad since I like Battalion Wars over Advance Wars. (And here's something weird. I wanted to see how NWR ranked the two but there is no NWR review for BW2 despite the fact that Pale posted in a thread that Karl and him had both received review copies of the game. Way to let everyone down, guys! No wonder staff hardly get review copies now!  >:( )

Even with some third party stuff, other companies seemed to have defining entries. Has Resident Evil ever surpassed the heights it seemed to hit with RE4? I don't follow the series well enough to know. Star Wars Rogue Squadron 2 seems to be stuck on the Cube with it never being ported or released anywhere else since. There's also RS3 but it wasn't as good as 2. Factor 5 would later go defunct thanks to betting on PS3 so they never surpassed 2. And Sega! The Super Monkey Ball series has somehow continued on all these years despite none of the newer entries surpassing the start of the series at this time with 1 & 2. Even Sonic seems to have had his last few good years at this time. For all their flaws, the two Sonic Adventure games (particularly 2) stay fixed in gamer's minds as some of the highlights of the series particularly in 3D. There's been some other well regarded games like Sonic Colors and Sonic Mania but the brand was much stronger at this time. (It would also crumble at this time with Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog :P ) Tales of Symphonia often seems to be named as the height of that series with maybe Phantasia or Vesperia as other candidates. That's why people were so upset with how botched the recent Namco port of it was which means the GC version is still the definitive way to play it. In fact, that's happened with a few GC ports in which the best way version is still the GC copy.

However, I didn't really want to get into third party software so much as my focus is more on Nintendo's output which is, what I believe, the original intent of this thread. When Dinar87 talks dry years, he's only talking about what Nintendo's released and not what third parties also released. Likewise, Nintendo's output was also the focus in my earlier post. It's why I've been in the Nintendo ecosystem for more than 30 years  (:o that long already!) and have stuck with their systems whether it be a Wii U or Switch. It's their franchises and games that I love and I buy pretty much most of the software they put out unless I'm really sure it's not for me like Labo. I'm willing to give it all a fair shake like Wii Fit or Crosswords 3DS. That doesn't mean that everything is an instant winner or a favorite. That's why you see the discussions and arguments about what entries or games people think were well done and which ones weren't and why they think something why some games were more successful than others.

When it comes to the Switch, there will no doubt be titles people will want to see made still available in the future or that Nintendo might release for nostalgia / pleasing the fans like we've seen with the recent Super Mario RPG remake and coming TTYD port. Stuff like BotW, Odyssey, FE:Three Houses, Metroid Prime and even Luigi's Mansion 3 or possibly Smash Ultimate seem like instant candidates. But after that, I'm not so sure. Will there be people wanting Origami King or Yoshi's Crafted World or Kirby Star Allies and other such Nintendo Switch titles at that time?
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Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #6 on: March 28, 2024, 06:44:27 AM »

Still, a lot of Indie stuff can be rather short and fleeting and third party stuff can lack that Nintendo polish and magic that keeps you wanting more. Nothing hits quite like the hype for a new entry in a Nintendo series you love that looks like it could be blast to play.

Only that's not true, there's a lot of indie and third party stuff on Switch that's just as good as the types of games Nintendo releases.  This is N64 Yamauchi era propaganda that too many still have in their heads.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/all-time/metascore/?releaseYearMin=2017&releaseYearMax=2024&platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

Just go down the list.  Yes, Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey and Tear of the Kingdom are at the very top but after them you have lots of third party titles right around what Nintendo's releasing.  Yes every gen the very top Nintendo games like Ocarina of Time, Metroid Prime, Mario Galaxy, Breath of the Wild get the best reviews, but those titles are very rare even by Nintendo standards.  Outside of the very top 1-3 Nintendo games each gen, the best third party games are easily competing with everything else.

Only it can be true. I mean, first that's just, like, my opinion, man. And second, it depends on what you play. I agree there are a lot of great indie and third party titles. That's why I mentioned:

For me, Nintendo's only had a small number of original games for Switch that were really great. Most others have been sort of average. Surprisingly, it has been the third party stuff that's been more unique to me. Having stuck in the Nintendo ecosphere for decades, having ports of all sorts of things like Katamari Damacy, Lumines, Grim Fandango, and Batman: Arkham Asylum that I've always wanted to try out has been great. It's those games that have been getting me to keep playing my Switch more these days. Indie stuff like Hollow Knight, Untitled Goose Game and even Suika Game have provided me with new engaging experiences to keep me invested in my Switch.

There's a lot more stuff that could be mentioned as worth seeking out. However, when I said "Still, a lot of Indie stuff can be rather short and fleeting and third party stuff can lack that Nintendo polish and magic that keeps you wanting more. Nothing hits quite like the hype for a new entry in a Nintendo series you love that looks like it could be blast to play.", I'm thinking of titles in my head like Cruis'n Blast, A Case of Distrust, Murder by Numbers, Figment, Yono and the Celestial Elephants, or Yooka-Laylee. Heck, I'll throw Gris and Untitled Goose Game in that pile. I really liked Goose Game but wished it had been longer and it could be a bit rough in getting things to work as you wanted.

Linking the top rated games on Metacritic is just cherry picking the best and ignoring all the other third party and indie games below that aren't as well rated. Hence my comment that a lot (not ALL) indie and third party games can seem short or unpolished. I'm not just playing the cherry picked best stuff only. I'd also add that many of the games at the top of the Metacritic list are from games ported from early systems and not Switch console or current Switch-era titles. Like if Ocarina of Time 3DS were to get a $15 port on Switch (and OoT wasn't available on the N64 app) then it would probably get 9/10s just on the basis of it being OoT and having slightly better graphics than the N64 while reasonably priced. UnderTale, Portal, Persona 5, Ori and the Blind Forest, Bastion, and Nier: Automata. These are all games that have had a large reputation as top games in the industry or significant in someway but a lot of them have been available for years and on plenty of other consoles before Switch.

It's like pointing to Mass Effect 3 with the Wii U launch and saying the Wii U has good third party games for its launch because Mass Effect 3 is well reviewed on MetaCritic while ignoring that it had been out for some time on XBOX 360 and PS3. (And further ignoring that those systems were getting the Mass Effect Trilogy of all three games being released for them around that time while Nintendo was only getting the third game yet had never had the first two ever released on their consoles before.) Sure, it's great to have the option if you've never played these games before or like the portability aspect but as someone already complaining about Nintendo's habit of porting I'm gonna stick with my conviction and also complain about old third party ports having to carry the Switch too. ;)

For me, stuff like Celeste, Hades, Sea of Stars, Dragon Quest XI, or Unicorn Overlord are bigger contributors to making the Switch library more unique or helping mold the system's identity. Even with the games going to the other consoles, they've usually sold better on Switch or were released first and then later ported to the others after sometime making them more associated with Switch in gamer's minds. These are games that aren't just going by reputation but broke through while being new and against more competition. It could also be argued that it proves the point that Nintendo's output has seemed more average this gen and all this Wii U porting has made them seem less creative when compared to what some of these top third party games are delivering.

I will also provide the caveat that having third party games put out software that is as good, better or worth playing over a lot of Nintendo's software isn't a bad thing. I'm certainly not hurting when it comes to finding a game to play on Switch. Such strong third party support is absolutely a good thing for seeing a console succeed and, as a Nintendo fan, it's great to see how high a Nintendo system can climb with such support. It means Nintendo will still be around for sometime doing consoles their way. It's fantastic to see support that isn't low-effort copycat attempts like the Wii years. Yet, if the Switch had been like that with third parties or like the Wii U support level then I do question just how much any of us would have liked this system based on Nintendo's output. You might be feeling the same way Dinar87 feels.

It will probably always be hard to hit that balance but I feel the DS came close to that ideal of having both great Nintendo software and strong and unique third party titles. Switch has been unusual with the third party side seemingly a bigger draw yet Nintendo's posting all kinds of huge software profits despite this. Oddly, the system I have most fondness for besides the GameCube at this point is the 3DS and it is the rare system in which I have more Nintendo developed titles than third party. Even with GameCube, I have a bit more third party titles than Nintendo in my collection. That's why Nintendo's output is a big deal to me and why Switch has felt lackluster at times. Their software is what has kept me playing games for three decades now. It's why I still get hyped for a Nintendo Direct. I'm hoping to be wowed and excited by them all over again. They can keep kindling my gaming enthusiasm and keep me involved with this entertainment. They've been consistent and able to survive this long. I've been burned by third parties running franchises into the ground (Guitar Hero) or not releasing their sequels on Nintendo systems or getting shutdown. So, yeah, I'm always going to be more interested in Nintendo's output on their systems over third parties and perhaps judge their systems based on their software despite there being strong titles from third parties worth playing. Right or wrong, fair or not, Nintendo is my main focus in this industry and my judgement on whether it was a good year or not for a console is largely based on what they released for it because it's likely a large chunk of what I'll actually be buying and playing (at some point).
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Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2024, 12:25:42 PM »
It sounds like you have very particular tastes in games, and while Nintendo satisfies your proclivities for some, you don't always feel that your tastes are satisfied on a yearly basis.

No platform is wholly represented by its first-party releases, though it might have seemed as such during the N64 and GCN years. The Switch has had an incredibly healthy third party and indie scene, with many games filling the void left by your Fire Emblems and Pokemons and Metroids and whatever. And we're not just talking about old ports to new systems, either.

Asking for recommendations might result in some hidden gems that you may have overlooked.

That is true, I have specific tastes in games generally; mainly JRPGs and Metroidvanias. Occasionally some FPSs and Platformers.




Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2024, 12:38:13 PM »
My wall of text aside, one thing I'd like to know from Dinar87 is what are the games/series from Nintendo that you are a fan of and that you want to see new entries for to get hyped? Are there some series you've never played or tried? Are there some you've tried but just don't care for?

Ok so...

-Metroid Prime 4 obviously
-A new 3d mario like 64, Sunshine and Odyssey. Cautious about open world 3d mario if the rumors are true.
-A new 2d Metroid
-new Fire emblem in the style of Echoes and Three Houses, not Engage
-new F ZERO
-Pikmin 5
-Xenoblade Chronicles 4
-A brand new Paper Mario in the style of TTYD, but actually runs at 60fps like the original TTYD did. Minor nitpick but I grew up with the gamecube and it's wild that to this day its games still run the best frame rate wise out of all modern nintendo consoles.
-New Smash, but have a bigger story mode like brawl again. Also generally have lots of unlockables and single player content.


As for non-nintendo games/backlog games

-Sonic frontiers
-Sonic X Shadow generations
-Persona 3 Reload
-Persona 4 Golden
-Persona 6
-Metaphor Re Fantazio
-Tekken 8


Most wanted sequels of all time...

-Pizza Tower 2
-Sonic Adventure 3 (let's just pretend 06 never happened)
-Fire Emblem Path of Radiance & Radiant Dawn sequel.
-Bloodstained Ritual of the Night 2
-Metroid Fusion remake (more of a horror game than the original, similar to Alien Isolation but 2d)



What about you?

Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2024, 12:43:53 PM »
You really have to look beyond Nintendo published games or you'll never be happy since it's impossible for Nintendo to constantly release certain types of games every single year. 

You mention 2018, 2020 and 2021 as dry years when in reality they were anything but.

2018 had 177 games that received positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/2018/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

2020 had 149 games that received positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/2020/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

2021 had 136 games with positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/2021/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1


We're almost to the end of March and the Switch has had 22 games with positive reviews.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/current-year/metascore/?platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

Plus two of the highest reviewed games are Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Unicorn Overlord.  The new Prince of Persia is a Metroid style game and Unicorn Overlord is a Strategy RPG, the same genre Fire Emblem is in.  That's 2 highly reviewed games that should be appealing directly to you, but you seem to be ignoring them because they're not from Nintendo.


Seriously, this is one of the reason why I've grown distant from many of the hardcore Nintendo fans online.  The Switch has been home to an insane amount of high quality games that just get completely ignored by the kind of people said games are literally being made for.  Especially in recent years where there's suddenly been all this Gamecube nostalgia and Nintendo fans declaring the Gamecube the greatest system ever made and how the Gamecube era was the best time, when it's like, are you fucking kidding me.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/gamecube/all/all-time/metascore/?releaseYearMin=2001&releaseYearMax=2024&platform=gamecube&page=1

The Gamecube had 187 games that received positives reviews its entire lifespan.  In comparison, the Switch in just 2018 alone had 177 positive reviewed games and 2018 was supposed to be such a terrible year with nothing to play.  :rolleyes:

Never before has a Nintendo system offered the variety and gameplay experiences that the Switch has and yet some people are acting like we're in the final days of the Wii all over again.  The Wii in 2011 and 2012 COMBINED had only 19 games with positive reviews

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/wii/all/all-time/metascore/?releaseYearMin=2011&releaseYearMax=2012&platform=wii&page=1

The Switch has literally had more good games released for it in less then 3 months of this year alone, then the Wii had it's entire last 2 years combined.

Still, a lot of Indie stuff can be rather short and fleeting and third party stuff can lack that Nintendo polish and magic that keeps you wanting more. Nothing hits quite like the hype for a new entry in a Nintendo series you love that looks like it could be blast to play.

Only that's not true, there's a lot of indie and third party stuff on Switch that's just as good as the types of games Nintendo releases.  This is N64 Yamauchi era propaganda that too many still have in their heads.

https://www.metacritic.com/browse/game/nintendo-switch/all/all-time/metascore/?releaseYearMin=2017&releaseYearMax=2024&platform=nintendo-switch&page=1

Just go down the list.  Yes, Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey and Tear of the Kingdom are at the very top but after them you have lots of third party titles right around what Nintendo's releasing.  Yes every gen the very top Nintendo games like Ocarina of Time, Metroid Prime, Mario Galaxy, Breath of the Wild get the best reviews, but those titles are very rare even by Nintendo standards.  Outside of the very top 1-3 Nintendo games each gen, the best third party games are easily competing with everything else.

99% of those great games were third party, and I'm already aware of most of them.

I'm not interested in any ubisoft games, especially after what they did to poor rayman. Prince of persia also doesn't seem that interesting to me? A desert arabic environment doesn't seem as cool as a biologic space station or a haunted castle. The art style also looks too cartoon-y.

Unicorn overlord, I will get into if they announce a sequel and promise the series is worth investing in. I don't just want good games, I want series to be excited for and have games to look forward to.

Quality over quantity for the gamecube IMO. Pokemon Colosseum and XD gale of darkness are the best pokemon games and put the likes of scarlet and violet to shame. Paper Mario TTYD is the best one in that series too. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 both on the gamecube were amazing. Metroid Prime 1 and 2. Pikmin 1 and 2. Luigi's mansion 1 was actually creepy unlike the sequels.

Offline M.K.Ultra

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #10 on: March 29, 2024, 01:05:55 PM »
I remember getting a little bored in the Wii U days and I think I was just buying and playing the big first party releases. Then I started trying out third party games, replaying games, buying other nintendo systems (3DS), and eventually buying non-nintendo consoles. Now I have way too much to play (link to backloggery is in my signature) and even if there were no new games forever I would have enough to play. I am guessing that some of these options won't float with others as buying other systems takes extra money, so my advice would be to replay some older games. I get so much enjoyment out of replays either going for 100% completion, trying a harder difficulty, using different settings, or going for a speedrun. There was a great quote from Miyamoto about how games have become these consumables that folks just try once and then discarded but like a great book or movie, they can sometime not be fully enjoyed until they are experienced repeatedly. For Switch in particular I have put 50 hours into Mega Man 11 which can be beat in just an hour.

Another option is to get hooked on a game that never ends like Splatoon. I sometimes feel like I could just play Splatoon and nothing else and be happy. Of course there are a ton of great multiplayer games on switch that offer such extended replayability because of the online multiplayer. Some other great ones on Switch include the Mario Sports games and Mario Maker 2.

Then of course you can always come to the darkside and start playing Sony software. Some of my favorite games from last gen were never released on Nintendo consoles.

TLDR: replay an older game you enjoyed or try out a multiplayer game.

Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #11 on: March 30, 2024, 01:44:09 AM »
Then of course you can always come to the darkside and start playing Sony software. Some of my favorite games from last gen were never released on Nintendo consoles.

Banned! Banned! Banned! Banned! Banned! Banned!!!!  ;)

There's a lot of GC software that hasn't quite been surpassed or is iconic.

Quality over quantity for the gamecube IMO. Pokemon Colosseum and XD gale of darkness are the best pokemon games and put the likes of scarlet and violet to shame. Paper Mario TTYD is the best one in that series too. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 both on the gamecube were amazing. Metroid Prime 1 and 2. Pikmin 1 and 2. Luigi's mansion 1 was actually creepy unlike the sequels.

And there it is. The same point I was making in my earlier post. 20 years on and a lot of fans now see the GameCube had a lot of significant entries and high points for quite a few of Nintendo's franchises. It's like a film franchise. For instance, James Bond. There are certain movies that are considered the best, the worst and others that are good and ok yet even some of those entries can be a person's favorite for whatever reason. When looking at series like Metroid or Paper Mario or Smash Bros (or, heck, Sonic too, as mentioned by me and Dinar87), software released on the GameCube for various Nintendo franchises often ranks on the high side or top of the Best Games list for those franchises.

And to add a little bit more context to something and my perspective:

Especially in recent years where there's suddenly been all this Gamecube nostalgia and Nintendo fans declaring the Gamecube the greatest system ever made and how the Gamecube era was the best time, when it's like, are you fucking kidding me.

Recent years? The GameCube nostalgia was already happening after a couple of the Wii years. I know. I've been here and I've been part of it!  ;) ;D

I've mentioned it before but I'll bring it up again. During the N64 years, I was falling out of gaming love. First, it took a long time before I even got an N64. It was basically around the time DK64 came out. There was some stuff that I liked to play or enjoy but I was finding myself interested in other things. My brother played a lot more N64 than me. He'd rent games and I wouldn't even bother to play them once unlike all the years with our Super Nintendo. I can think of quite a few games in which I'd check in on him and watch him play a little bit of something and then go off and pursue other hobbies. Years later, I found myself wanting to track down and try some of that software that I missed out. When the GameCube was released, we ended up getting it early compared to the N64. Feburary 2002. The GameCube really reignited my love of gaming. I loved the controller way more than the N64 one and the level of graphics and what game design had learned from going into 3D just seemed so much more refined at that time. It took awhile to acquire software for it but I would replay a lot of the games I had for it over and over because I just enjoyed them. You can say that it might also be that I had more free time to play games on the GameCube as it was during that time I would graduate high school and begin working but I'm not sure how true that it is. I had a lot of time also while growing up to play SNES and N64 but GameCube software just spoke to me more.

It was that passion for GameCube stuff that led me to PlanetGameCube and posting on these forums. I remember back then how the community was despairing at Nintendo's shrinking market share. How Sony had the lion's share of 3rd party support and XBox was making waves with Halo and online multiplayer while Nintendo was choosing to sit out online for the Cube. How every decision Nintendo made was being scrutinized and if they could ever reclaim the market. I do think a big part of that is because of the passion a lot of us GameCube users felt from feeling that the actual product, the software and the hardware, were really great. It was the idea that if people would get past the "kiddy" label or the "purple lunchbox" dismissal then they would find that there was terrific software on it that was top class compared to what the other companies had. I mean, take away Halo and what other software are people reminiscing about for the original XBox? Most of it is practically forgotten while much more GameCube software, both third party and Nintendo, have withstood the time.

I'll also say that the GameCube is the system in which I've easily played the most multiplayer gaming on. Perhaps that's a factor in my continued love for it. There's definitely some added appeal when you can play software in-person with friends but that was also what Nintendo was focused more on. In-person multiplayer over online multiplayer and a lot of titles were and still are great for that.

Even with the Nintendo criticism on these forums, there was still a lot of excitement over what the next games in a series could be like for a Nintendo franchise and also a lot praise for software that was being released for the Cube. People were often quite happy with what they were playing and talking about it here. Despite the negativity people might feel about Nintendo's future, I was very happy with pretty much everything I was playing for the system at the time even janky stuff like Sonic Adventure 2 or Sonic Heroes. Maybe I was less cynical or less experienced with gaming so it made a difference with things still seeming new and fresh. I'm not sure. Yet, it feels like a lost time in game development when Sony and MS went HD and suddenly everything had to be a huge software seller to afford the development of a title and the market changed in how it made and released games.

When the Wii came out, I found myself disappointed somewhat with Nintendo's software for it and despite Nintendo's goal of trying to win back lapsed gamers, it actually made me a lapsed gamer as I just wasn't liking the system as I did the GameCube and my gaming time went very low and almost non-existent for a few years. At least for console gaming. DS was still keeping me a bit more active. The next time I felt like I had during the Cube year was actually with the 3DS and its early years. It got me reignited again and I really enjoyed a lot of the early software on it. The design of games and their length somewhat reminded me of games developed during the time of the Cube and PS2. Now, I find it comes in waves. If I play something really great like BotW or Hollow Knight then that can get me excited about gaming again and I'll start playing a bunch of other software. Yet, since a lot of other software can be middling then that enthusiasm can wane.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I've found that Nintendo Directs can sometimes act as a way of reigniting that enthusiasm. Just from watching a trailer of a game that might be a favorite entry of mine or looks like a sure winner, that can get me going to get back at playing games as I wait for that title to release. When that isn't there, which has been the case for over half a year then I feel the boredom that Dinar87 mentions. My gaming time has been very low these past six months. There was a bit of time in mid-February when I wanted to get back to gaming and finish up some titles I'd been working on and start up some new stuff and was playing my Switch a bit more regularly but that enthusiasm soon faded away. It's this vibe that there is nothing pressing to play right now. I'm not missing out on anything. There's nothing announced that's coming out soon where I feel I should catch up on a past title. With all the retro games I seem to be playing on Switch like N64 games or ports like Final Fantasy or Ori and the Blind Forest, it just seems like I can get to those whenever. I've waited this long to play them, they can wait some more before I get to them. Meanwhile, there can be new movies or TV Shows or books that I want to see now and don't want to be spoiled on or don't want to fall behind on. So, these things end up winning my time because the current offerings, particularly from Nintendo, don't seem as fresh or exciting.

There was a great quote from Miyamoto about how games have become these consumables that folks just try once and then discarded but like a great book or movie, they can sometime not be fully enjoyed until they are experienced repeatedly.

TLDR: replay an older game you enjoyed or try out a multiplayer game.

On the subject of time, there are a lot of games I'd like to replay and I have been returning to things slowly like stuff on the Switch apps or in my personal gaming collection. The problem is that I often feel guilty about doing so because there's so many games I've acquired that I've yet to play so why am I now returning and spending more time on something I've already played and finished. Usually, though, replaying a game doesn't take as long as the first time as you know more what to do and how to play it but it also makes me more aware of past games that do things which can waste a player's time which is why I love the save state or rewind feature with the Switch app titles to help speed a replay along. Sometimes I wonder why I'm buying new stuff if I just want to replay the games I already have. Gamers - We're Never Satisfied!
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Offline NWR_insanolord

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #12 on: March 30, 2024, 01:50:26 AM »
The GameCube nostalgia hits especially hard because it's in the sweet spot in terms of age and most of its library hasn't been rereleased, so in most cases it's purely going on memory. Sunshine was briefly available on Switch, and the Pikmin games came out last year, but besides those and the upcoming Thousand Year Door remake it's not easy to (legally) play a lot of that console's library on anything current.
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Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #13 on: March 30, 2024, 03:02:34 AM »
And another thing. This is sort of hearsay as I've done no real research on it but I had read a comment from an old poster that used to frequent this site (Professional666 or NinGurl69 *huggles* if you prefer) that "the gap between ps4/nsw is smaller than ps2/gcn." That surprised me as we often think of PS2/GC being comparable around that time as it was afterwards when PS3 and XBox 360 went HD while Wii stayed SD that people associate a big difference in power between the competition and Nintendo. I think that extra power for the GameCube might be another reason why it gets more fondly remembered for that era. 
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Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #14 on: March 30, 2024, 09:23:50 AM »
I think that extra power for the GameCube might be another reason why it gets more fondly remembered for that era. 

It's the entire reason.  Most people get hung up on the fact that the Gamecube was comparable to the competitors while Nintendo has been a generation behind since.  But completely ignored Nintendo's decision to use mini Disc instead of the standard DVD's like Sony/Microsoft combined with the systems lackluster sales made many third parties completely ignore the system because it wasn't worth the hassle.

The Switch on the other hand despite being a generation behind, was designed to handle the various game engines that most developers were using, so they could scale their games to run on the Switch much easier.  So even before the Switch gained the massive sales it did, many third parties where able to have games ready for the system even if they didn't have much faith in it because it was easier to port games for it then they could back in the Gamecube era.  And then when the Switch gained the massive sales it did, we started seeing ports of some of the more popular titles from the PS4 era because the hardware once again allowed for such a thing.

This is why when I've seen comments from some Gamecube fans saying the Gamecube was the last Nintendo system to have good third party support I have to roll my eyes so hard they literally fall out of my head.  The Gamecube was still Nintendo designing hardware for their own developers without a thought to third parties.  The Switch on the other hand was the first Nintendo system actually designed with third party support in mind and as a result, has by far the best third party support in Nintendo history.

I don't mind people saying the Gamecube is their favorite Nintendo system, but I do mind when they make stuff up.  Saying the Gamecube had better third party support then the Switch is just factually incorrect, when the actual data shows the complete opposite.


Oh and Gamecube fans are complete fucking hypocrite when you praise games like Luigi's Mansion 1, Wind Waker, Paper Mario TTYD, but then turn your nose at the recently released Princess Peach Showtime.  Quite a few of these highly praised Gamecube titles were incredible easy game, and yet the same people we now praise these games, say they have no interest in the recent Princess Peach Showtime because it looks too easy.  Give me a fucking break.

Seriously, this is why I have no respect for opinions like this.  This are the very definition of peak nostalgia blinding people.  Seriously, if Princess Peach Showtime was released on the Gamecube 20 years ago, the same people who refuse to play it now because it's an easy looking game, would be praising it as a masterpiece like they do to many of these extremely easy Gamecube era games.
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Offline broodwars

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #15 on: March 30, 2024, 10:08:48 PM »
The Switch is an odd system for me. I don't actively hate it like I did the Wii & Wii U, and I have a decently-sized library of exclusives on my shelf for it...but it's not a system I ever want to actually play. Part of it's the controller. If the GamePad was so ridiculously huge it was annoying to us, the Joycons feel like the exact opposite: they're so ridiculously small and the buttons feel so cheap to press that I never want to use them. I have a 3rd party controller that's reasonably sized, but the thing has no rumble capability and it just devours batteries.

The Switch's technical drawbacks have been a severe problem for me. I'm not a graphics snob by any means, but watching even cheap 1st party efforts like Princess Peach (or at least the demo) clearly struggle to even hit 30 FPS makes playing Switch games so much less inviting than my PS5 library. It's also really hard to get used to long load times again. About a month ago, I took advantage of an eShop sale to scoop up that Portal 1 & 2 collection for < $5, and I had a decent time replaying those games for the first time in a long time...but every time the games had to pause for lengthy load times every few minutes as I cleared test chambers, it was hard to not feel disheartened. Hell, part of the reason I bailed on Fire Emblem 3 Houses was just how extraordinarily poorly it ran (the other big reason being how repetitive it was).

The Switch is an enigma for me. I've enjoyed plenty of games on the thing, but as someone who doesn't enjoy the portal game experience, it's really hard to argue it should get the gaming time when my PS5 is right there.

When Nintendo puts out their next console, the big thing I'd like them to focus on is performance, because games on the Switch have run poorly pretty much since launch.
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Offline Evan_B

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #16 on: March 31, 2024, 10:41:46 AM »
Maybe it’s just me, but industry trends are so depressing and Nintendo’s technical issues on the Switch are so baffling that I find myself defaulting to indie titles instead. It’s why my library has ballooned (well, many review copies, too) and honestly so much more enjoyable. Not every game needs to be a 60-70 dollar 500-hour nightmare with bad industry practices baked in, and indie releases usually put some degree of effort into optimizing for platforms in the hopes of making a good impression.

It’s likely why I’m not qualified to participate in this discussion, but also why I find these takes on the Switch so baffling. I mean, yes, the hardware construction/design and overall UI is embarrassing and it will take some considered effort on Nintendo’s part to convince me of an upgrade if they’re going to use the same design philosophy as the Switch, but aside from the toppest of tiers in Nintendo’s library (and not even that sometimes), I’ve found the system to be best for portable, reasonably-sized games.
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Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #17 on: April 01, 2024, 12:19:51 PM »
I remember getting a little bored in the Wii U days and I think I was just buying and playing the big first party releases. Then I started trying out third party games, replaying games, buying other nintendo systems (3DS), and eventually buying non-nintendo consoles. Now I have way too much to play (link to backloggery is in my signature) and even if there were no new games forever I would have enough to play. I am guessing that some of these options won't float with others as buying other systems takes extra money, so my advice would be to replay some older games. I get so much enjoyment out of replays either going for 100% completion, trying a harder difficulty, using different settings, or going for a speedrun. There was a great quote from Miyamoto about how games have become these consumables that folks just try once and then discarded but like a great book or movie, they can sometime not be fully enjoyed until they are experienced repeatedly. For Switch in particular I have put 50 hours into Mega Man 11 which can be beat in just an hour.

Another option is to get hooked on a game that never ends like Splatoon. I sometimes feel like I could just play Splatoon and nothing else and be happy. Of course there are a ton of great multiplayer games on switch that offer such extended replayability because of the online multiplayer. Some other great ones on Switch include the Mario Sports games and Mario Maker 2.

Then of course you can always come to the darkside and start playing Sony software. Some of my favorite games from last gen were never released on Nintendo consoles.

TLDR: replay an older game you enjoyed or try out a multiplayer game.

I used to be a huge sony fan as well as nintendo, before the ps4 era when suddenly every game had to be a "cinematic masterpiece" like the last of us. Series like ratchet and clank lost their edgy humor. Jack and daxter, sly cooper, etc.. all dead.

Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #18 on: April 01, 2024, 12:24:30 PM »
Then of course you can always come to the darkside and start playing Sony software. Some of my favorite games from last gen were never released on Nintendo consoles.

Banned! Banned! Banned! Banned! Banned! Banned!!!!  ;)

There's a lot of GC software that hasn't quite been surpassed or is iconic.

Quality over quantity for the gamecube IMO. Pokemon Colosseum and XD gale of darkness are the best pokemon games and put the likes of scarlet and violet to shame. Paper Mario TTYD is the best one in that series too. Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 both on the gamecube were amazing. Metroid Prime 1 and 2. Pikmin 1 and 2. Luigi's mansion 1 was actually creepy unlike the sequels.

And there it is. The same point I was making in my earlier post. 20 years on and a lot of fans now see the GameCube had a lot of significant entries and high points for quite a few of Nintendo's franchises. It's like a film franchise. For instance, James Bond. There are certain movies that are considered the best, the worst and others that are good and ok yet even some of those entries can be a person's favorite for whatever reason. When looking at series like Metroid or Paper Mario or Smash Bros (or, heck, Sonic too, as mentioned by me and Dinar87), software released on the GameCube for various Nintendo franchises often ranks on the high side or top of the Best Games list for those franchises.

And to add a little bit more context to something and my perspective:

Especially in recent years where there's suddenly been all this Gamecube nostalgia and Nintendo fans declaring the Gamecube the greatest system ever made and how the Gamecube era was the best time, when it's like, are you fucking kidding me.

Recent years? The GameCube nostalgia was already happening after a couple of the Wii years. I know. I've been here and I've been part of it!  ;) ;D

I've mentioned it before but I'll bring it up again. During the N64 years, I was falling out of gaming love. First, it took a long time before I even got an N64. It was basically around the time DK64 came out. There was some stuff that I liked to play or enjoy but I was finding myself interested in other things. My brother played a lot more N64 than me. He'd rent games and I wouldn't even bother to play them once unlike all the years with our Super Nintendo. I can think of quite a few games in which I'd check in on him and watch him play a little bit of something and then go off and pursue other hobbies. Years later, I found myself wanting to track down and try some of that software that I missed out. When the GameCube was released, we ended up getting it early compared to the N64. Feburary 2002. The GameCube really reignited my love of gaming. I loved the controller way more than the N64 one and the level of graphics and what game design had learned from going into 3D just seemed so much more refined at that time. It took awhile to acquire software for it but I would replay a lot of the games I had for it over and over because I just enjoyed them. You can say that it might also be that I had more free time to play games on the GameCube as it was during that time I would graduate high school and begin working but I'm not sure how true that it is. I had a lot of time also while growing up to play SNES and N64 but GameCube software just spoke to me more.

It was that passion for GameCube stuff that led me to PlanetGameCube and posting on these forums. I remember back then how the community was despairing at Nintendo's shrinking market share. How Sony had the lion's share of 3rd party support and XBox was making waves with Halo and online multiplayer while Nintendo was choosing to sit out online for the Cube. How every decision Nintendo made was being scrutinized and if they could ever reclaim the market. I do think a big part of that is because of the passion a lot of us GameCube users felt from feeling that the actual product, the software and the hardware, were really great. It was the idea that if people would get past the "kiddy" label or the "purple lunchbox" dismissal then they would find that there was terrific software on it that was top class compared to what the other companies had. I mean, take away Halo and what other software are people reminiscing about for the original XBox? Most of it is practically forgotten while much more GameCube software, both third party and Nintendo, have withstood the time.

I'll also say that the GameCube is the system in which I've easily played the most multiplayer gaming on. Perhaps that's a factor in my continued love for it. There's definitely some added appeal when you can play software in-person with friends but that was also what Nintendo was focused more on. In-person multiplayer over online multiplayer and a lot of titles were and still are great for that.

Even with the Nintendo criticism on these forums, there was still a lot of excitement over what the next games in a series could be like for a Nintendo franchise and also a lot praise for software that was being released for the Cube. People were often quite happy with what they were playing and talking about it here. Despite the negativity people might feel about Nintendo's future, I was very happy with pretty much everything I was playing for the system at the time even janky stuff like Sonic Adventure 2 or Sonic Heroes. Maybe I was less cynical or less experienced with gaming so it made a difference with things still seeming new and fresh. I'm not sure. Yet, it feels like a lost time in game development when Sony and MS went HD and suddenly everything had to be a huge software seller to afford the development of a title and the market changed in how it made and released games.

When the Wii came out, I found myself disappointed somewhat with Nintendo's software for it and despite Nintendo's goal of trying to win back lapsed gamers, it actually made me a lapsed gamer as I just wasn't liking the system as I did the GameCube and my gaming time went very low and almost non-existent for a few years. At least for console gaming. DS was still keeping me a bit more active. The next time I felt like I had during the Cube year was actually with the 3DS and its early years. It got me reignited again and I really enjoyed a lot of the early software on it. The design of games and their length somewhat reminded me of games developed during the time of the Cube and PS2. Now, I find it comes in waves. If I play something really great like BotW or Hollow Knight then that can get me excited about gaming again and I'll start playing a bunch of other software. Yet, since a lot of other software can be middling then that enthusiasm can wane.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, I've found that Nintendo Directs can sometimes act as a way of reigniting that enthusiasm. Just from watching a trailer of a game that might be a favorite entry of mine or looks like a sure winner, that can get me going to get back at playing games as I wait for that title to release. When that isn't there, which has been the case for over half a year then I feel the boredom that Dinar87 mentions. My gaming time has been very low these past six months. There was a bit of time in mid-February when I wanted to get back to gaming and finish up some titles I'd been working on and start up some new stuff and was playing my Switch a bit more regularly but that enthusiasm soon faded away. It's this vibe that there is nothing pressing to play right now. I'm not missing out on anything. There's nothing announced that's coming out soon where I feel I should catch up on a past title. With all the retro games I seem to be playing on Switch like N64 games or ports like Final Fantasy or Ori and the Blind Forest, it just seems like I can get to those whenever. I've waited this long to play them, they can wait some more before I get to them. Meanwhile, there can be new movies or TV Shows or books that I want to see now and don't want to be spoiled on or don't want to fall behind on. So, these things end up winning my time because the current offerings, particularly from Nintendo, don't seem as fresh or exciting.

There was a great quote from Miyamoto about how games have become these consumables that folks just try once and then discarded but like a great book or movie, they can sometime not be fully enjoyed until they are experienced repeatedly.

TLDR: replay an older game you enjoyed or try out a multiplayer game.

On the subject of time, there are a lot of games I'd like to replay and I have been returning to things slowly like stuff on the Switch apps or in my personal gaming collection. The problem is that I often feel guilty about doing so because there's so many games I've acquired that I've yet to play so why am I now returning and spending more time on something I've already played and finished. Usually, though, replaying a game doesn't take as long as the first time as you know more what to do and how to play it but it also makes me more aware of past games that do things which can waste a player's time which is why I love the save state or rewind feature with the Switch app titles to help speed a replay along. Sometimes I wonder why I'm buying new stuff if I just want to replay the games I already have. Gamers - We're Never Satisfied!

Damn that sounded like a good time to be a passionate fan. Sure nintendo wasn't as popular but the games were all extremely fun. I wish I'd grown up with forums instead of youtube. Modern youtube is an insult to what the site used to be.

Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #19 on: April 01, 2024, 12:29:49 PM »
I think that extra power for the GameCube might be another reason why it gets more fondly remembered for that era. 

It's the entire reason.  Most people get hung up on the fact that the Gamecube was comparable to the competitors while Nintendo has been a generation behind since.  But completely ignored Nintendo's decision to use mini Disc instead of the standard DVD's like Sony/Microsoft combined with the systems lackluster sales made many third parties completely ignore the system because it wasn't worth the hassle.

The Switch on the other hand despite being a generation behind, was designed to handle the various game engines that most developers were using, so they could scale their games to run on the Switch much easier.  So even before the Switch gained the massive sales it did, many third parties where able to have games ready for the system even if they didn't have much faith in it because it was easier to port games for it then they could back in the Gamecube era.  And then when the Switch gained the massive sales it did, we started seeing ports of some of the more popular titles from the PS4 era because the hardware once again allowed for such a thing.

This is why when I've seen comments from some Gamecube fans saying the Gamecube was the last Nintendo system to have good third party support I have to roll my eyes so hard they literally fall out of my head.  The Gamecube was still Nintendo designing hardware for their own developers without a thought to third parties.  The Switch on the other hand was the first Nintendo system actually designed with third party support in mind and as a result, has by far the best third party support in Nintendo history.

I don't mind people saying the Gamecube is their favorite Nintendo system, but I do mind when they make stuff up.  Saying the Gamecube had better third party support then the Switch is just factually incorrect, when the actual data shows the complete opposite.


Oh and Gamecube fans are complete fucking hypocrite when you praise games like Luigi's Mansion 1, Wind Waker, Paper Mario TTYD, but then turn your nose at the recently released Princess Peach Showtime.  Quite a few of these highly praised Gamecube titles were incredible easy game, and yet the same people we now praise these games, say they have no interest in the recent Princess Peach Showtime because it looks too easy.  Give me a fucking break.

Seriously, this is why I have no respect for opinions like this.  This are the very definition of peak nostalgia blinding people.  Seriously, if Princess Peach Showtime was released on the Gamecube 20 years ago, the same people who refuse to play it now because it's an easy looking game, would be praising it as a masterpiece like they do to many of these extremely easy Gamecube era games.

Nintendo definitely got deservedly punished with the mini discs and cartridges, fucking over developers in an evil attempt to stop piracy (which is morally correct). But the games themselves were amazing.

You might be right about nostalgia, but even then the princess peach game would probably run better back then in 60fps as opposed to 30. Hell the REMAKE of TTYD seems to be running at 30fps when the 20+ year old original ran better.
« Last Edit: April 01, 2024, 12:32:34 PM by Dinar87 »

Offline ThePerm

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #20 on: April 05, 2024, 03:54:34 PM »
I never ended up buying a Switch because I was waiting for whatever upgrade was going to come out. It would have been the OLED Switch, but that came out so late I thought  "what was the point?" So, I never bought that either. I pretty much skipped this generation. I got gifted a ps4 in 2017 and just bought up some of the main games there.

At the same time. I have a Wii U. So, it isn't like I missed out on 1/4 of the games that came out for Switch.

It was a weird generation because I turned my room into a Mario room with blue turquoise sky walls and all and played ps4 the whole time. My office room I turned into horror themed.
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Offline M.K.Ultra

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #21 on: April 06, 2024, 11:31:29 AM »
I ended up upgrading to an OLED switch around January. I started thinking about how many games I have on Switch and figured I should have a back up console. Luckily there were still some Splatoon 3 special edition OLEDs available so I got one of those. It really is nice, especially the wired internet in the dock. My launch switch is now stored away as a back up. Then I thought the same about the Wii U so I bought a refurbished Wii U. My gamepad was a little messed up so I swapped in the better gamepad and stored the console away for safe keeping. Then riding this high of buying hardware I picked up a switch lite. Finally I bough screen protectors for all of them. I didn't really think about screen protectors before switch but now I have one on the gamepad and 3DS.

Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #22 on: April 07, 2024, 05:47:21 AM »
I never ended up buying a Switch because I was waiting for whatever upgrade was going to come out. It would have been the OLED Switch, but that came out so late I thought  "what was the point?" So, I never bought that either. I pretty much skipped this generation. I got gifted a ps4 in 2017 and just bought up some of the main games there.

At the same time. I have a Wii U. So, it isn't like I missed out on 1/4 of the games that came out for Switch.

It was a weird generation because I turned my room into a Mario room with blue turquoise sky walls and all and played ps4 the whole time. My office room I turned into horror themed.

If you ever get a switch I once again recommend Metroid Dread and Fire Emblem Three Houses.

Offline Dinar87

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #23 on: April 07, 2024, 05:56:47 AM »
We need Metroid Prime 4 this year. A lot of people say Nintendo is saving it for crossgen but that doesn't make sense when probably the next 3d mario and other big games will also be releasing, then Prime 4 gets no attention.

Metroid Prime 3 was IIRC the first Wii game announced and apparently had good marketing at the time, yet it got destroyed by all the other more popular games releasing at that time.

Offline Evan_B

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Re: Boredom and Nintendo
« Reply #24 on: April 07, 2024, 02:48:11 PM »
I don't argue that we need Metroid Prime 4, but my reasons are more selfish than anything. I think, with the approaching midway point in the year, we'll get a more tangible look at what is in store for us for the Switch's final holiday season. Whether that's more ports or MP4 as a last hurrah (similar to the Wii U era, where Nintendo seemed committed to following through with their claims of "we're making a Zelda for this console, trust us") will be up to how much pressure Nintendo feels at this point to maintain momentum for Switch or keep their most loyal customers ravenous for the Switch successor.
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