Messages

226

TalkBack / Re: Splatoon 3 Announced: Coming In 2022

« on: February 18, 2021, 12:07:50 AM »

I look forward to playing this on the Switch 2, because there's no way this isn't a Switch 2 launch game, having a nebulous 2022 release date like that.

I agree. I'm wondering if it could be a cross-gen Switch and Switch 2 game with a unified online community.

The Switch is still selling like crazy and has yet to even drop in price.  A successor isn't coming out until at least end of 2023.  Of course with Splatoon 3 coming next year, I wouldn't be surprised if a successor is closer to 2024 or 2025.

When Nintendo told investors they plan on supporting the Switch longer then previous systems, they're not releasing a successor 5 years after launch when previous successful systems all got at least 6 years.  Microsoft and Sony just gave their last systems a 7 year lifecycle so it's not hard to believe Nintendo can do the same.  Especially when the Switch is selling better and has more momentum then either the PS4 and Xbox One did at this point in their lives.

227

TalkBack / Re: The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD Coming to Switch With New Control Options

« on: February 17, 2021, 11:41:09 PM »

The fact they're adding button controls already fixes the biggest issue many Skyward Sword haters had.  I'd bet all my money they'll rework Fi so that she doesn't interrupt players anymore as well.  Even if they leave the rest of the game alone, those two changes just opened the experience up to a much wider audience.

Of course since this is a post Breath of the Wild world, I wouldn't be surprised if they've done some other changes to strengthen the game.  Even Wind Waker HD which came years before BOTW made the Triforce quest less tedious, so it's not outside the realm of possibility that some changes will be made to some of this games fetchquests as well.

228

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Place your bets on Feb 17th Megatons!

« on: February 16, 2021, 09:42:36 PM »

I'd say if Nintendo is confident BOTW 2 will be out this year, we're getting a trailer.  Zelda always gets more hype then other Nintendo franchises and it's announcement trailer was over 1.5 years ago.

I think Smash character will either be Crash to go with the recent announcement of the Switch port of Crash 4 or a Monster Hunter character to go with Rise.

Since it's also the first Direct since Sep 2019, which was the Direct that SNES games being added to Switch online was announced we're getting new systems added.  Since Mario 3D All-Stars shows Nintendo has a working N64, Gamecube and Wii emulator, we're getting all 3 systems added in April.  But a new pricing tier will be added to play them.  I'm going to say about $60 a year to access them since these games are meatier then NES/SNES and adding online play to games like Mario Kart 64 and Smash Bros Melee is something that Nintendo knows people will pay good money for.

Maybe Gameboy games added to the $20 price range?

Metriod V from Mercury Steam will be announced and will be a May release.  That games been in development since Samus Returns was finished in 2017 so there's a great chance it close to completion by now.

229

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Airing Direct February 17: Planned For Fifty Minutes

« on: February 16, 2021, 10:32:44 AM »

Holy ****!!!

First official Direct since September 2019, and it's one of the longest being 50 minutes.  Some megatons are about to drop.

So of course I'll still be at work during it.

230

Nintendo Gaming / Re: poll: How many Wii U ports have you double dipped on?

« on: February 08, 2021, 10:43:45 PM »

So far I haven't bought any of Nintendo's Wii U ports but there's several I will buy when they eventually drop in price.  I was going to get the upcoming Mario 3D World port for Bowser's Fury, but when I read it's only about 3-6 hours to complete, I decided I'll wait for a price cut.  I mean I really want to play Bower's Fury because it looks great, but not enough to justify $60 on.

Basically I'm waiting for these games to drop below $30 before I buy.

Breath of the Wild
Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury
New Super Mario Bros U
Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze
Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition
Captain Toad

Of course there's also Pokken and Tokyo Mirage Season which I might get someday as well.  I own both on Wii U but still have yet to play them so I really need to get to that one of these days and I see if I like them enough to wait until there Switch versions become cheap enough as well for the extra content.

The only Wii U game I've re-bought so far is Shovel Knight because it was on sale for half off I never played the DLC with Spector and King knight which I think I'd have to pay extra for on the Wii U version, so the Switch version was a good deal since all the DLC was included.

231

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« on: January 22, 2021, 12:29:08 AM »

If it was 20 million before 500k I would say yes.  Monster Hunter Rise will be huge over there and probably give the Switch a 300k week at release and several over 150k weeks after.  But 20 million before 400k like the poll is for could be tough.  Mario 3D World is kind of a wild card since there's already been a 3D Mario released on the Switch, but this game is a different kind of 3D Mario.  Is there still a large Mario audience that hasn't bought the Switch yet?

If there is then I think 20 million before 400k is possible but if not, it'll probably fall a few weeks short.

232

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« on: January 09, 2021, 11:34:50 PM »

What does the PS5 have as a killer app for the Japanese market?  Sometimes it can be as simple as that.

This is the main reason.  Even though home consoles aren't as popular as handhelds the Wii U was selling better at this point in its life then the PS5 in Japan.  The Playstation 5 is no different then an Xbox to them now.  The current lineup is mostly Western style games, so what are they suppose to buy?

233

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« on: January 06, 2021, 01:05:58 AM »

A new model can breath a lot of life into the console.  The new consoles may make it tough though.

The new consoles are dead in Japan and will have no impact on the Switch.  Sony has completely abandoned Japan for the West and isn't even remotely trying to regain any ground in that country.  Japan has truly become Nintendo Land at this point and unless Sony creates a handheld PS5, nothing is stopping the Switch momentum over there.

The Switch only needs another 7 million to surpass the 3DS in Japan.  With Monster Hunter coming, the Switch is guaranteed to have another strong year in Japan.  If they sell anything close to what they did this year, they'll have the gap down to close to 2 million by the end of 2021.  Unless the second half of 2021 is a complete wastland which I find hard to believe since so many Nintendo studio's haven't released anything in 3 or more years now, it's hard to imagine the system performing noticeable worse this upcoming year.

At this point, the Switch will easily surpass the 3DS lifetime sales in Japan.  The only question at this point is if it can catch the original DS which will be the much harder number to hit.  That will be the one that depends on how long they support the system and will need some new models to extend the life.

234

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Acquires Next Level Games

« on: January 06, 2021, 12:35:14 AM »

Luigi's Mansion 2 sold over 6 million copies and Luigi's Mansion 3 was close to 8 million by the end of September and will easily cross the 10 million mark within the next year alone.  Next Level Games has basically turned that series into one of Nintendo's A-List heavy hitters so it's no surprise Nintendo didn't want to lose them.

Seriously, now that Nintendo owns them, they're literally one of their most important studio's.  Only a few of Nintendo's studio's are able to produce 10 million + sellers and Next Level Games will soon be one of them.  I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo's about to give them a major expansion.

235

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Oh you like video games? Name every game you beat in 2020

« on: January 05, 2021, 12:02:18 AM »

I have that feeling a lot as well. Also, I thought you played a lot more Castlevania than that. In the Backlaugust theard, you listed a whole lot at the time to really help boost the NWR score and join RAB and I as most accomplished completers.

Well in that thread Mop it up brought up the point if someone plays the same game on a different platform, should it count as part of your backlog since you were using loopholes to inflate your numbers.  So I took it to the next level and said if playing on a different system counts, then so should replaying the game on a higher difficulty, or a different character, or to a different ending as well.   That's why my Castlevania list was so high.

So if I was to get that technical for this thread

This wall of text was brought to you by Khushenada


Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
MetaGal
A Hole New World
Oniken (Normal Mode)
Blazing Chrome (Normal Mode)
Cave Man Ninja (Picked the bottom path ending)
Cave Man Ninja (Picked the middle path ending)
Cave Man Ninja (Picked the top path ending)
Mega Man Zero (Normal Mode)
Mega Man Zero (Hard Mode)
Mega Man Zero (Normal Mode A Rank average)
Mega Man Zero 2 (Normal Mode)
Mega Man Zero 2 (Hard Mode)
Mega Man Zero 2 (Normal Mode A Rank average)
Mega Man Zero 3 (Normal Mode)
Mega Man Zero 3 (Hard Mode)
Mega Man Zero 3 (Normal Mode S Rank average)
Mega Man Zero 3 (Normal Mode S Rank average using only the Z-Saber)
Mega Man Zero 3 (Normal Mode S Rank average using only the Buster)
Mega Man Zero 4 (Normal Mode)
Mega Man Zero 4 (Hard Mode)
Mega Man Zero 4 (Normal Mode S rank average)
Mega Man Zero 4 (Beat Normal Mode in less then 1 hour)
Contra (Arcade)
Super Contra (Arcade)
Contra (Famicom)
Super C (NES)
Operation C
Contra III: The Alien Wars (Normal Mode)
Contra III: The Alien Wars (Hard Mode)
Contra Spirits (Normal Mode)
Contra Spirits (Hard Mode)
Super Probotector: Alien Rebels (Hard Mode)
Contra: Hard Corps (Pick both bottom choice route ending)
Contra: Hard Corps (Pick the first bottom choice then the top choice route ending)
Contra: Hard Corps (Pick the top choice then the bottom choice route ending)
Contra: Hard Corps (Pick both top choice route ending)
Contra: Hard Corps (Secret ending, character used was Brad)
Contra: Hard Corps (Secret ending, character used was Sheena)
Contra: The Hard Corps (Pick both bottom choice ending)
Probotector (Pick the bottom then top choice route ending)
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap 2017 remake (Normal Mode)
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap 2017 remake (Hard Mode)
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
Ristar
Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero (Normal Mode)
The Messenger
The Messenger: Picnic Panic
Blossom Knight: The Sleeping King
Gunlord X
Final Fight (Arcade)
Captain Commando (Arcade)
The King of Dragons (Arcade)
Night Slashers
Rock Man X
Mega Man X
Rockman X2 (Zero parts not collected)
Mega Man X2 (Zero parts collected)
Rockman X3
Mega Man X3
Rock Man X4 (Zero story)
Rock Man X4 (X story)
Rock Man X5 (Zero ending)
Mega Man X5 (X bad ending)
Mega Man X5 (X good ending)
Mega Man X6 (X ending with Zero being found before end of game)
Final Fantasy Adventure
Secret Of Mana (SNES)
Trials of Mana SNES (Duran as main character)
Trials of Man SNES (Riesz as main character)
VVVVVV
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Episode 1)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Episode 2 Good Ending)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Final Chapter, beaten with all characters recruited)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Episode 2 Bad Ending)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Episode EX)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Final Chapter, beaten with Zangetsu alone)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 (Single Character Mode using Hachi)
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon (Using a team of just Zangetsu and Miriam)
Pop'n Twinbee (Normal Mode)
Castlevania
Akumajō Dracula
Castlevania 2: Simons Quest (Worst Ending)
Castlevania 2: Simons Quest (Best Ending)
Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (Beaten as Trevor alone)
Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (Beaten with Sypha as partner)
Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse (Beaten with Alucard as partner)
Akumajō Densetsu (Beaten with Grant as partner)
Akumajō Densetsu (Beaten with Alucard as partner)
Castlevania: The Adventure
Castlevania 2: Belmonts Revenge
Dracula Densetsu II
Akumajō Dracula (Normal Mode)
Akumajō Dracula (Hard Mode)
Castlevania Bloodlines (Normal Mode as John)
Castlevania Bloodlines (Expert Mode as John)
Vampire Killer (Normal Mode as Eric)
Vampire Killer (Expert Mode as Eric)
Kid Dracula
Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (Top route as Richter)
Dracula X: Rondo of Blood (Bottom route as Richter)
Dracula X SNES (Worst Ending)
Dracula X SNES (Maria saved but not Annette)
Dracula X SNES (Both Maria and Annette saved)
Paper Mario Color Splash
Mighty Gunvolt Burst (Gunvolt story)
Xeodrifter
SteamWorld Dig 2
Omega Strike
Mario 64
Mario 64 DS
Iconoclast (Harder Mode)
Iconoclast (Challenge Mode)
Gris
Fairune
Fairune 2
Fairune Origin
Fairune Blast
Sly Spy
Bad Dudes
Wizard Fire
Celeste
Two Crude
Katana ZERO (Normal Mode)
Katana ZERO (Normal Mode but made the right choices to fight a secret Final Boss)
Dandara (True Ending)
Dandara (Normal Ending)
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Devil May Cry (Normal Mode)
Devil May Cry (Normal Mode, but this time found most Blue orbs and made sure to max out Devil Trigger gauge)
Devil May Cry (Hard Mode, maxing out Devil Trigger gauge in Normal makes this mode so much more manageable, since I was getting my ass kicked the first time I tried it after completing Normal Mode since I spent all my upgrades on buying new moves and neglected the Devil Trigger.  That's why I replayed Normal again to max out the Devil Trigger which let me just destroy Hard Mode the second time I tried it.

I would have liked to finish 2020 by completing Dante Must Die mode on the original Devil May Cry mode as well but I've had to take a break since I just can't beat the fucking Nightmare boss because the camera angles keep screwing me over in the fight.  Normal and Hard, your Devil Trigger just eats through the bosses health so the fight doesn't last very long, but in Dante Must Die the boss has so much health no matter how well I play it's only a matter of time before the camera switches to a different angle and I get off screened by an attack and half my health is gone.  I had to stop because my blood pressure was going through the roof.  Will come back in the near future, but need break for now.

236

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Oh you like video games? Name every game you beat in 2020

« on: January 03, 2021, 08:35:20 PM »

Lets see if I can remember them in order.

Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link
MetaGal
A Hole New World
Oniken
Blazing Chrome
Cave Man Ninja
Mega Man Zero
Mega Man Zero 2
Mega Man Zero 3
Mega Man Zero 4
Contra (Arcade)
Super Contra (Arcade)
Contra (Famicom)
Super C (NES)
Operation C
Contra III: The Alien Wars
Contra: Hard Corps
Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap (2017 remake)
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
Ristar
Shantae: 1/2 Genie Hero
The Messenger
Blossom Knight: The Sleeping King
Gunlord X
Final Fight (Arcade)
Captain Commando (Arcade)
The King of Dragons (Arcade)
Night Slashers
Mega Man X
Mega Man X2
Mega Man X3
Mega Man X4
Mega Man X5
Mega Man X6
Final Fantasy Adventure
Secret Of Mana (SNES)
Trails of Mana (SNES)
VVVVVV
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2
Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon
Pop'n Twinbee
Castlevania
Castlevania 2: Simons Quest
Castlevania 3: Dracula's Curse
Castlevania: The Adventure
Castlevania 2: Belmonts Revenge
Super Castlevania 4
Castlevania Bloodlines
Kid Dracula
Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
Dracula X (SNES)
Paper Mario Color Splash
Might Gunvolt Burst
Xeodrifter
SteamWorld Dig 2
Omega Strike
Mario 64
Mario 64 DS
Iconoclast
Gris
Fairune
Fairune 2
Fairune Origin
Fairune Blast
Sly Spy
Bad Dudes
Wizard Fire
Celeste
Two Crude
Katana ZERO
Dandara
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
Devil May Cry

I think I had a pretty productive year.  Played a lot of new games while still enjoying older experiences again.  I wish I could give a more indepth review for every game I played but that would literally take days putting my thoughts together.  That time is better spent playing more games for the new year.

237

Nintendo Gaming / Re: What will Nintendo release in 2021?

« on: January 02, 2021, 01:56:35 AM »

I'm going to go big this year.

1.  The Bowser's Fury part of the upcoming Switch port of 3D World can almost be considered its own game.  The original Wii U version of 3D World was only 1.7 GB while Nintendo's own reports say the Switch version will be 5 GB.  Mario Odyssey in comparison was 5.7 GB.  So either something like New Super Luigi that redesigns every level, or some huge Mario Odyssey style open world levels.  Either way it's going to be epic.

2.  Zelda's 35th Anniversary will be huge.  Nintendo will also release a Zelda 35 similar to Super Mario 35 that is available for a limited time and based off the original as well.  The rumored Skyward Sword HD will be released as part of the upcoming 35th anniversary as well.  Nintendo will pull a Mario 3D All Stars with Zelda and release a limited time collection that includes Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker HD and Twilight Princess HD.  Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity will get a huge DLC expansion that actually has the original story of what happened during the Calamity instead of the DBZ style alternate timeline the base game has.  And finally Breath of the Wild 2 will be Nintendo's big holiday game this year.

3.  Metroid will also have a big year.  A New 2D Metroid from Mercury Steam will come out this year and it will be Metroid 5.  And yes the villains will be who the 100% completion reward for beating Samus Returns shows.  A trailer for Prime 4 will be shown with a 2022 release date at the end.  Metroid Prime Trilogy HD which has been done for a while will finally come out this year as well since they'll finally have footage of Prime 4 to show so they'll want to get Metroid Prime hype train going.

4.  A new 2D Kirby that's a traditional adventure game will come out this year.  Unlike Star Allies, this one will be more single player focused with some major gimmick like Planet Robobot.

5.  With Retro busy with Prime 4, Nintendo has gotten Playtonic Games to create the next 2D Donkey Kong.  Since the studio is made up of former Rare employees who even worked on the original Donkey Kong Country games, Nintendo is more then happy to work with them again.  The game will be announced this year but won't come out until 2022.

6.  A new Wario Ware for the Switch will be released.

7.  A new Fire Emblem Echo's will be released that will be a remake of the 4th game, Genealogy of the Holy War.  The 5th game Thracia 776 will also be remade for the game as something unlockable after beating it or DLC announced later.

8.  Arms 2 and Splatoon 3 will both be announced and released this year as well.

9.  A port of Xenoblade X will happen with an added epilogue to deal with the huge cliffhanger left at the end of the original Wii U game.

10.  One of the upcoming Smash Bros DLC character will be Crash Bandicoot.  For the final Smash Bros DLC character, Sakurai will say **** it and reveal Goku.

238

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Nintendo Switch 2020 Statistics!

« on: December 25, 2020, 01:53:39 AM »

Well I certainly up'd my game this year.  Of course having my employer closed for 2 months did give me some extra time.

Total Hours played

2020: 649
2019: 434

Games played

2020: 48
2019: 30

Most played games

2020

1. Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection
2. Collection of Mana
3. Contra Anniversary Collection
4. Castlevania Anniversary Collection
5. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity

2019

1. Hollow Knight
2. Dark Souls Remastered
3. Smash Bros Ultimate
4. Super Mario Maker 2
5. Blaster Master Zero

Wow, my top 4 games this year were all collections of old games.  If only Nintendo had put Galaxy 2 in 3D All-Stars, then I would have bought it and my top 5 could have been all compilations.

239

TalkBack / Re: Sephiroth To Super Nova Smash Ultimate Starting Today, Full Rollout December 22

« on: December 18, 2020, 03:03:15 AM »

The big news for me is we got more then 2 songs this time, and some are new remixes as well. 

Of course the Geno news is certainly a big one as well but not too surprising.  When Sakurai said Nintendo gave him the choices for DLC, that kind of hurt his chances.  The last 3 are probably going to be from famous third party characters, or from more recent Nintendo titles.  Poor Geno certainly had a lot of support online, but I imagine Nintendo wants characters that the general public has either heard about or someone who might introduce them to a current Nintendo franchise like ARMS which they're still selling at full price.

240

TalkBack / Re: Donkey Kong Country 3 Highlights December Additions To Switch Online Libraries

« on: December 15, 2020, 12:03:38 AM »

I've heard The Ignition Factor is suppose to be pretty good so that should be an interesting one to try.  Super Valis IV is a pretty surprising choice.  I've always wanted to play one of the Valis games and was kind of hoping the Genesis or TurboGrafix mini's would have included some of them since that series was more famous on those systems.  So it should be nice to finally try this series even if this entry is considered one of the weaker ones.

241

TalkBack / Re: Final Fantasy VII's Sephiroth Is Ninth Smash Ultimate DLC Character

« on: December 10, 2020, 07:51:33 PM »

I'm guessing after Cloud got in, the Final Fantasy VII fanbase rallied around Sephiroth and he got an insane amount of request as a result.  Considering how devoted that games fanbase is, can't blame Nintendo and Sakurai for wanting that easy money.

242

TalkBack / Re: Smash DLC Character To Be Revealed At Keighley Event Tonight

« on: December 10, 2020, 05:27:22 PM »

Ten V-bucks says it's someone from Fortnite.

Would be worth it for the meltdowns alone.

Personally I'm going to predict Crash followed by a Crash 4 Switch port to go with it.  We got Banjo and Terry in the first round of DLC, so Crash would fill a similar spot this time.

243

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Super Mario 3D All Stars: Yea or Nay? (And other Nintendo ports)

« on: November 06, 2020, 12:23:40 AM »

One 100% a game is never a requirement...although some may say we desire it. 

It's not so much the reward for getting 100%, but the fact getting 100% in Sunshine is such BS that it's not worth even trying it.  I mean all the 3D Mario's have some stars or levels that can be annoying to get, but Sunshine takes the cake with the amount of unfun content players are required to do.  Of course it also doesn't help that some of the worst Shines to get in Sunshine are some of the required ones which already leaves a bad taste in peoples mouths so by the time they beat the game, the desire to even go for 100% is already lost.

That's one of the great things the rest of the 3D Mario games have excelled at.  Just getting to the bare minimum required to beat the game is extremely polished and enjoyable for most people.  This makes people more willing to go for 100% in them because they want to keep experiencing this great content, which they generally keep providing as well.

244

TalkBack / Re: Original Fire Emblem Being Localized For The First Time Ever December 4

« on: October 26, 2020, 12:19:44 PM »

...the sad thing is, I'm actually tempted to ask the NPD Group if they count this as a game for sales chart purposes.

Aw nuts! I was hoping it would be on the NPD. I wanted to see next-gen games losing to an NES game in sales! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Nintendo does report million sellers in their quarterly and yearly reports.  So if it does a million by the end of December they'll report it in January and if it does a million by the end of March 31st, they'll report it in their yearly totals they release in April.

So you might get your wish.

245

Podcast Discussion / Re: RetroActive 48: Super Mario 64

« on: October 22, 2020, 09:38:06 PM »

I find it rather odd that Wet-Dry World is a later stage.  There's no bottomless pits in the stage and because of the water it's easy to refill your health.  I guess I can see Nintendo feeling the village part that requires you to be good at wall-jumping should be later, but even then, some of the earlier levels have stars I'd considering harder as well.

At the same time I've always found Cool, Cool Mountain one of the harder levels to get all the Stars in and yet that's one of the first in the game.  It's pretty easy to slide off the mountain if you're not careful, as well as the penguin race can be pretty tricky the first few times.  I honestly feel that's a harder snow related level then Snowman's Land, despite that level being a later one as well.

Of course part of me wonders if this was intentional.  Since you only need 70 stars to just beat the game, they put some of the harder levels earlier so it wouldn't be a complete cakewalk.  Since 99% of the stars can be taken in any order, if the game had a more linear difficulty, players could get almost all 70 stars in the easy levels by the time they reach the third floor.  That would certainly explain why something like Shifting Sand Land is earlier in the game when it's right up there with Tick Tock Clock and Rainbow Ride in difficulty.

246

TalkBack / Re: Original Fire Emblem Being Localized For The First Time Ever December 4

« on: October 22, 2020, 09:17:14 PM »

Since it's only $6, I'll gladly take it.  The DS remake added and changed certain things so playing the original is a different experience for anyone that might have played that version.  Of course be warned that the original Fire Emblem is pretty outdated to anyone that's used to the modern games.  The rewind feature and bookmarks should at least help cut out some of the frustration, but it's still going to be kind of rough for anyone that isn't a hardcore Fire Emblem fan that doesn't know how far the series has evolved since then.

247

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Un-Official Super Mario 64 Retroactive thread waiting room.

« on: October 21, 2020, 09:48:37 PM »

Well what a different going for 100% makes.  The DS version was better early on but I found myself getting bored toward the end.  The controls while better when played on the Wii U, still aren't the best for the later levels like Rainbow Cruise.  I got all 150 stars, but the final 30 stars really do feel like bloat for the most part.

Went back and got all 120 stars on the N64 version after finishing the DS.  When going for 100%, I'm back to finding the N64 controls to be better.  The analog controls while still not the best when played on the Wii U at least, are much better suited for some of the harder stars.  And speaking of harder stars, even though the N64 version was causing me lots of frustration at time, I actually prefer the difficulty over the DS version.  While I like what it did with some stages like the Desert, they toned down some like the Clock level way too much.  The Clock is actually one of my favorite levels in Mario 64, since it has some of the most pure platforming in the game.

Overall, I wont say one version is clearly superior to the other.  The DS version does have a better camera and makes some nice changes to some of the stages.  But on the other hand, I find the N64 version more fun to pick up and play thanks to the controls which are smoother and faster.  The DS version adds more content but I found a lot of the new stars to not really be all that great.  I liked new stage they added where you rescue Mario but none of the other new ones felt all that compelling.  I wonder if because that's the only new stage that's you're required to play so they put more effort into it then the others.  I didn't really mind the switching between the characters that much since not that many stars require a certain character, and they do give you hats to turn into Mario, Luigi or Wario in the stage itself.

If I had to chose, in the end I'm going to have to say I prefer the N64 version over the DS version.  It was still nice to be able to finally play both right next to each other to compare them.  Hopefully we'll get a remaster with more effort put into it someday that includes both version together.

248

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Un-Official Super Mario 64 Retroactive thread waiting room.

« on: October 10, 2020, 12:20:10 AM »

After getting 72 stars I just finished the game, don't think I'll go for 120 this time since I remember Rainbow Road giving me trouble years ago and don't feel like getting that angry at the moment.

I've been playing Mario 64 DS today and already at 60 stars in that game.  I must say, I'm actually enjoying that version a lot more then the N64 version, at least when played on the Wii U.  The camera in Mario 64 DS while still not perfect, is much better then its N64 counterpart.  I also kind of like that fact there's a run button since my biggest problem with playing the N64 version is Mario takes off running way too fast too easily making some sections so frustrating while the DS version being able to choose between walk and run with a button lets me manage these area's so much easier.  Also helps that they made other changes like the Wing Cap is easier to control when flying now, not as twitchy as the N64 version.  I also noticed a few other changes in area's that I found somewhat frustrating yesterday so it shows Nintendo themselves was well aware of the issue's people had with Mario 64 when they made the DS version back in 2004.

So yeah, I'm really glad I'm finally playing the Mario 64 DS on the Wii U.  Using a joystick has fixed the main issue I had while playing it on a DS back in the late 2000's.  So much easier to run in circles now as well as jump diagonally.  Yes it's still not as smooth as later 3D Mario's, but the improved camera and level changes makes it work well enough for me at least and I haven't had any where near the frustration the N64 game was giving me yesterday.  Now if I was to play Mario 64 on a real N64 and Mario 64 DS on a real DS my opinion might be different but when played at the same time on the Wii U with it's controller, I find the DS version more fun to play and control.

249

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Un-Official Super Mario 64 Retroactive thread waiting room.

« on: October 09, 2020, 03:01:37 AM »

So far, I'm at around 65 stars, having obtained all the stars in the first 7 stages plus some miscellaneous ones. Unfortunately, I'm now at the desert stage, one I just can't stand. This is one of those stages that's always put a bit of a premium on using the Flight Cap, and to this day I've never gotten the hang of using that thing properly. It's also one where something like 3/4 of the playable area is instant-kill quicksand. Fun.

I'm literally at that stage as well right now and while I actually do like the inside of the pyramid, yeah the outside part is pretty much garbage.  If you use a cannon to shot Mario with the Flight Cap he moves way too fast to control and if you use the Triple Jump he moves way too slow and can hardly get any altitude.  Oh and going up the pyramid on the outside is BS since if you're just one little pixel off the game sends you sliding to your doom.  Even when using the flight cap several time I thought I landed on the top but the game still made me slide off to the quicksand below.

At 55 stars I'm remembering how frustrated I got back in 2015 when I got all 120.  The camera is just so shitty and is literally responsible for 90% of all death since it's so hard to perfectly line up my jumps for some of the harder stars without accidentally missing the platforms or landing on an area that makes you slide off screen and my god is this game obsessed with making you slide around.  I wouldn't be surprised if one of the reasons they gave Mario the ability to hover in Sunshine in the first place was to help address these issues since it'd be easier for Mario to still land his jumps even if the camera angle isn't the most ideal.

250

Nintendo Gaming / Re: The Un-Official Super Mario 64 Retroactive thread waiting room.

« on: October 08, 2020, 10:21:07 PM »

After completing a few more games in my backlog, with all the talk about Mario 64 recently it's now as good a time as any to finally get in on the action.  Just starting playing Mario 64 on my Wii U today, already got 20 stars.  Last time I played Mario 64 was literally 5 years ago on my Wii U around the time Mario Maker came out.  I was literally going back and forward between 2D and 3D during that time.

Anyway playing it today still gives me the same feeling I had back in 2015.  It's still a fun game to play and I love the variety it offers in gameplay for such an early 3D game, but the controls and camera have not aged the best.  Most challenges come from a combination of the camera and controls causing you to slide into a bottom less pit.  But the main reason I'm replaying this isn't to reevaluate the original 64 game since my memories of it in 2015 are still pretty fresh, but to finally finish Mario 64 DS and compare the differences between the N64 and DS version.

That's right, before starting up Mario 64 on the Wii U I went and bought the DS version from the eShop so that I can start playing that game right after I get all 120 stars in the N64 original.  Last time I played the DS game had to be over a decade ago on the original DS, and I stopped playing because the controls were bothering me.  Well now I'll be playing with a joystick and on a big screen so things should be somewhat better on that front.  So hopefully in the next months I can finally have a clear verdict on which version of this game is the best.