I guess I’ve successfully de-oxidized my media digest, because I’ve only learned about the negative reactions to this Direct about a week after the announcements. I’m surprised by the tepid reaction to Ocarina of Time, as it’s only grown on me since the first gameplay reveal, but I do empathize with the lack of additional features in the vein of Link’s Awakening’s build-a-dungeon concept, or perhaps Twilight Princess’ additional Cave of Trials? On the other hand, I don’t doubt that the folks at Nintendo found the Ocarina voice recognition to be a novel and toyetic addition, which is always a central part of their design.
I felt the Ravenous trailer telegraphed itself pretty well, in that it seems Samus gets mortally wounded to the point that she is going to need to “eat” enemies to regenerate/sustain herself like a Metroid, which she’ll probably adapt out of as Greg mentioned. With the bold visuals and energy, though, I did feel this has a chance to be further removed from some of the earlier design philosophy of the other Mercury Steam Metroids.
I guess I didn’t realize how fatigued people were feeling by Nintendo’s seeming insistence on their B-tier IP early in the life of the Switch 2, but I’m certainly picking up that vibe from the discussion I’ve heard surrounding this Direct. I do think that the Switch 2 versions of some games like Forgotten Land right into something new from Kirby like The World Beyond makes the announcement, regardless of my personal excitement, a bit lukewarm. I’m curious about your collective thoughts on Nintendo’s software output in the first 18 months of the Switch 2, as I feel they’ve taken some swings that are appealing to a specific subset, but maybe not always hits.
I will say that Gui should definitely take a look at Romancing SaGa 2 remake at some point, as someone with a passing familiarity with SaGa it was a joy to play and felt very approachable while so having that open-ended progression feeling. And I did also want to chime in and recommend Ys Memoire: Revelations in Celceta to James, as I think it’s a great example of that addictive exploration cycle that modern Ys has embraced (it was also the game released right before Ys VIII so it shares lots of DNA).