Messages

76

TalkBack / Re: Xenoblade Voting Results

« on: March 02, 2018, 12:05:48 PM »

All three games are so amazing that it's kind of hard to be too upset with any way the voting could have played out. For me, it's Xenoblade Chronicles > Xenoblade Chronicles X > Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but this could change depending on the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 updates we get throughout the year. I'm really looking forward to the story DLC later in the year, and even the version 1.3.0 update that released today is pretty substantial.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 558: The Quest to be Ruthlessly Topical

« on: February 12, 2018, 01:23:42 PM »

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 doing over one million in its first month makes me feel pretty confident about the future of the series. It should end up between 1.5 and 2 million, which is what both Fire Emblem Awakening and Fates sold as of the last numbers we got from Nintendo. Xenoblade Chronicles X is also badly in need of a sequel, so there is an obvious path for where they could take the series next as well (I know it was suggested on last week's episode that a Switch port of Xenoblade Chronicles X could "add an ending," but there was so much content cut from the story that I think you would need an entire game for it).

People seem to think Monolith Soft is moving in a different direction for their next project based on art and job listings that came up a few months ago, so I suppose the rationale Greg used could still apply from that perspective (although I still expect the Xenoblade series to continue in the relatively near future, even if Monolith Soft's next game does end up being something else).

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo World Report Tournament of GOTY 2017

« on: February 03, 2018, 12:29:01 PM »

It was always going to be Zelda and Mario in the finals, but this really highlights just what a tremendous year 2017 was for Nintendo. Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Breath of the Wild, and Super Mario Odyssey in year one of a console is still amazing to me.

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TalkBack / Re: It Is Time for a Switch.

« on: February 03, 2018, 12:16:20 PM »

It's good to know that the site will continue to be in the hands of someone who started out as a fan and really cares about it, and someone who fully understands what makes Nintendo World Report special. As I said in Neal's thread, I've immensely enjoyed the content the site has put out since I found it (be it written content, videos, or podcasts), and I'm sure that will continue with you at the helm, John!

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TalkBack / Re: Another Change at the Top

« on: February 03, 2018, 12:00:16 PM »

Thanks for all your hard work, Neal! Nintendo World Report has been a source of great enjoyment for me since I found the site a few years ago, and I'm super glad that a site and a community like this one can continue to thrive. Your work is truly appreciated, man, and I'm glad to hear that you'll still be sticking around in significant role for a while yet.

Best of luck to you and your family!

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 546: The Influence of Classical Waggle on the Modern Metropolis

« on: November 12, 2017, 08:46:12 AM »

Super Mario 3D World is also a family game, and as was mentioned on this episode, they found the co-op in that game to be more enjoyable. I don't remember anyone on the podcast saying that the co-op mode should not be fun for families and people with children, and that's certainly not what I'm saying. It's just that they can (and should) try to serve both audiences better.

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TalkBack / Re: Free Update For Fire Emblem Warriors Due Next Week

« on: November 11, 2017, 11:07:57 AM »

I started playing this game a few days ago after getting around 700 Power Moons in Super Mario Odyssey and wanting a bit of a break. Man, it almost hurts to know that so much of the discussion surrounding this game was only focused on the character choices prior to its release and may have had a significant impact on its sales. Koei Tecmo translated Fire Emblem to Warriors gameplay incredibly well, and the characters they did include were clearly handled with a lot of care.

In any case, it's nice to see free updates. The costumes for Rowan and Lianna look cool, and I hope we get some new costumes for other characters as well.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 546: The Influence of Classical Waggle on the Modern Metropolis

« on: November 11, 2017, 10:42:52 AM »

Sometimes I think people forget that these games are made for a wide wide range of people. The Co op mechanic is amazing with my kids because I can help with cappy or I can control Mario in harder sections and have them help with cappy and they love it. Much more than the Galaxy coop.

That's the problem, isn't it? These games are made for a broad audience, as you say, and the yet the co-op mode only seems to be useful for people with young children. I'm fairly certain that Guillaume's partner is not a 6-year-old, so you should understand why they didn't find it as enjoyable (especially coming off a game like Super Mario 3D World, which had great co-op for experienced players).

Also having a bunch of moons and some being super easy to get is perfectly fine. My kinds (4 and 6) find some moons way way too hard but some of the easier ones that are just “laying around” they love cause they still are having fun and they still get that sense of reward from getting a moon and it keeps them going instead of hitting a brick wall and just running around for an hour without getting one moon because adults complained that every moon should be a challenge.

Yeah, it is fine for the main game. The problem is that there are many superfluous post-game Power Moons as well. Just as it isn't unreasonable to expect Mario games to be very accessible for children or less experienced gamers during the main game, it's not unreasonable to expect that the game sheds the fluff and delivers a more lean platforming challenge after the credits roll. Having Power Moons that are in plain sight, require no platforming challenge to get to, and marked on the map as post-game content does make it seem like they were just trying to get the Power Moon count up.

I do think the RFN crew sometimes comes across as more critical of a game than they intend to, but this episode didn't really feel like one of those weeks. I was actually surprised at how effusive James was in his praise for this game, and the discussion felt pretty balanced overall.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 545: Gangsta-Ass Console

« on: November 01, 2017, 11:27:29 AM »

It's not just HD textures and graphics. Pokemon Switch is going to be a console game that is (likely) $60, and the world design and scope needs to reflect that. People who expect this to be Pikachu of the Wild are obviously setting their expectations way too high, and I still believe Pokemon Switch will feel very much like a handheld experience (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), but there has to be a significant jump in how expansive the world feels and how it's designed. That's to say nothing of the fact that most people will rightly expect a great improvement in areas like music, story, cutscenes, character models (which, unlike the Gen I-VII Pokemon, will likely have to be made from scratch), and the introduction of new elements like voice acting.

Given that it took Game Freak two years to make Pokemon Sun and Moon, I just think it's going to be difficult for them to release their most ambitious game yet so quickly. The Pokemon Company and Game Freak obviously care about the series a lot, and I think they'll recognize that it's more important to get this first Switch entry right than to get it out as quickly as possible. Obviously I'd love it if they could do both and I was getting ready to play Pokemon Switch around this time next year though.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 545: Gangsta-Ass Console

« on: October 31, 2017, 11:18:32 AM »

I think you guys are underestimating the power of Animal Crossing on a handheld. Animal Crossing: New Leaf has sold 11.23 million on the 3DS so far. Even Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer managed to cross 3 million units. In Japan, a new mainline Animal Crossing game on a handheld is a monumental release that rivals even Pokemon now.

I know Animal Crossing has a reputation as being a casual game, and it certainly leans in that direction very strongly, but you can't sell those kinds of numbers without capturing a good amount of the more dedicated gaming audience too. I seem to recall that New Leaf had a lot of fans on the NWR staff, for example. Nintendo would obviously still need more titles aimed at dedicated players, but I think Animal Crossing is absolutely a game that could be their major 2018 release. The fact that Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp is coming to warm people up helps too.

I don't think Pokemon Switch is a 2018 game. These were Ishihara's comments about Switch in an interview that went up in early September:

“I told Nintendo that Switch wouldn’t be a success before it went on sale, because I thought that in the age of the smartphone, no one would carry out a game console. It’s obvious I was wrong. I came to realize the key to a successful game is quite simple: software with absolute quality leads sales of hardware.

The fact that the president of The Pokemon Company seemingly had such little faith in the console until, apparently, some time close to or after launch does not really make it seem like Pokemon Switch has been in development for a long time. When you consider other factors like this being the first HD mainline Pokemon game and that Pokemon and Switch's demographics should line up much better in a couple of years (when we might see a revision and/or price drop as well), I think a 2019 release is much more likely.

Shin Megami Tensei V is another one that sounds like it's pretty far off. Koizumi said that Atlus had just started development on the game at the January event when it was announced. We didn't get a release window last week when it was officially revealed as Shin Megami Tensei V, and the director of the game would not commit to coming "soon" in a Famitsu interview that was published shortly afterwards.

Regardless, I'm really looking forward to seeing what we do get on the Switch in 2018. Nintendo's output in 2017 so far has been absolutely incredible (and we've still got Xenoblade Chronicles 2 coming in less than five weeks), and Fire Emblem Switch, on its own, is enough to get me incredibly excited about next year.

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TalkBack / Re: Super Mario Odyssey (Switch) Review

« on: October 29, 2017, 03:14:32 PM »

Nice review, Daan. About as in-depth and thoughtful as you can be while almost entirely avoiding any kind of notable spoilers.

I beat the main game Saturday morning less than 24 hours after starting it. I've always enjoyed 3D Mario games, but I've never played one quite like this. It's amazing. Even after beating the game, the first post-game world you go to just makes you want to keep playing without taking a break. Going back and really digging into all the kingdoms to look for all the Power Moons and Kingdom Coins is taking the game to another level. I wish I had something more insightful to say, but even after getting over 300 Power Moons so far over the weekend, I'm still mostly just in a state of blissful joy when I'm playing this game.

It's amazing that we got Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, two games that have a legitimate claim to being among the best of all time, in the same year. If Xenoblade Chronicles 2 can even moderately live up to its name, this is the best single year of Nintendo releases.

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TalkBack / Re: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (3DS) Review Revisit

« on: October 25, 2017, 05:18:23 PM »

I would agree that, overall, the music in Shadows of Valentia isn't on par with Awakening and Fates (though I prefer the latter's soundtrack). I think the endgame music in this game is definitely as memorable as those two games though. The battle themes for Alm and Celica in Act 4 are amazing:

As far as the endgame dungeons go, I didn't think length was the problem more than the lack of a second save point. They're the final dungeons, so they ought to be difficult and take you a while to get through, but one save room just isn't enough (especially since it's right at the beginning of Celica's, and you can totally miss it the first time and go straight to the battle with Berkut without saving in Alm's).

In any case, I'm glad to hear that a lot of people on the NWR staff greatly enjoyed Shadows of Valentia. Even though Nintendo marketed it as such from the very beginning, it was a surprise to me just how different this entry was to other Fire Emblem games, but I ended up loving it as well. I kind of hope this is the path Fire Emblem takes now: the new mainline entries largely evolve from Awakening, while we also we get these remakes of older Fire Emblem games under the "Echoes" banner which are handled with great care and respect the spirit of the original games in between.

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TalkBack / Re: Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp Direct Recap

« on: October 25, 2017, 11:42:55 AM »

Despite loving Fire Emblem, this is strangely more appealing to me than Fire Emblem Heroes. Maybe since I've only enjoyed Animal Crossing on a superficial level, and not gotten super deep into the core entries like I have with Fire Emblem, the concessions they've had to make for this to be a mobile game don't bother me as much. Although it does also seem like this is closer to core Animal Crossing, in general, than Fire Emblem Heroes was to the console Fire Emblem games.

Also, it doesn't seem like Nintendo is being as heavy-handed with how they monetize this game as a lot of people were expecting from an Animal Crossing mobile game. I'm sure a certain amount of that is because they intentionally chose to shy away from highlighting those elements too much in the reveal, but it sounds like this will be a pretty good experience even if you don't want to spend any money on it (much like Fire Emblem Heroes, at least from what I hear). I'm looking forward to playing this next month.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 533: I'd Like to GuitGud but the Video Game Is Closed

« on: August 15, 2017, 02:47:02 PM »

Nomura will have more than "an" character design in Xenoblade Chronicles 2. People mistakenly assumed that "Ira" was a character, but it's actually the name of an organization which has had two characters revealed to this point (one of whom is easily the best character design revealed for the entire game so far).

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Announces New 2DS XL

« on: April 28, 2017, 01:01:03 PM »

Why would Nintendo lower the price on something that they had no trouble selling at $199 this past year? The point, presumably, it to put out something for people who can't use (or don't care about) 3D and/or want something a little more affordable, but don't want to go all the way down to the 2DS.

Because Nintendo already launched its not-a-successor-but-totally-a-successor. As much as it wants to claim 3DS and Switch are meant to coexist, it knows they can't. Nintendo seems genuinely surprised Switch is selling so well, and the last time it had two products vying for sales in a similar space, it kicked GBA to the curb. Rightfully so, that was the better move. And 3DS was aged technology the day it launched, and even Nintendo has had to make compromises making games on it.

Nintendo is not going to kick the 3DS to the curb when they just moved over 30 million units of first-party 3DS software alone over the past fiscal year (nor should they). If there was evidence to suggest that continuing to support the 3DS was cutting into Switch sales, then you could argue that Nintendo should take the long view and retire the 3DS anyway, but I really don't see any. Moving away from the GBA so quickly made sense because the DS could play GBA games, and they both offered distinctly handheld-like gaming experiences with their software. In this case, you can only play Switch and 3DS games on their respective platforms, and they offer drastically different gameplay experiences with their software. No one is going to settle for a 3DS if they want to play full-fledged console games on Switch, and if someone wants to dive into a deep and excellent library of games like the 3DS can offer right now, the Switch is not a reasonable substitute yet. Nintendo can't continue to sell the Switch and 3DS in parallel long-term, but neglecting the 3DS market right now would be leaving easy money on the table for no real long-term gain.

I don't really buy the middle-of-the-line reasoning. When did Nintendo ever need one? And does it even need one for a sub-$200 product?

The used game market is proof that $50 can matter to a lot of people. The New 2DS XL isn't going to light the sales charts on fire, but, like I said, I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't want to pay $199 for a New 3DS XL, but also don't want to go all the way down to the 2DS with its small screens, slate design, and missing features. When there's such a wide gap between your two main offerings and there's still a market for the high-end one at its current price, yes, I do think it makes sense to release something in the middle.

Neither are the upgrade crowd, and if Nintendo really wants to target those last OG 3DS stragglers, a price drop functionally does the same thing without spending time, money, and effort on research and development, contracts on parts and labor, marketing, shipping etc. New 2DS XL doesn't even benefit from the same low price the OG 2DS had when it launched.

I rather like the design, and if the subset of a subset of a subset is interested, more power to them. I'm not going to buy this; I just find its existence baffling especially in 2017.

Research and development on what? It's not using new technology, and I seriously doubt Nintendo spent a lot of time and effort coming up with a slight variation of the same basic hardware design they've been using for years. Many of the parts it's using are likely the same, some are probably cheaper to produce or acquire at this point, and parts, labor, and shipping costs all still apply to manufacturing the New 3DS XL and 2DS. They were fairly hard to come by last winter, so it's not as if Nintendo has millions of existing units lining store shelves or sitting in the warehouses of their retailer partners. Ultimately, this is a Nintendo hardware refresh. I don't buy the argument that they're sacrificing a lot margin or spent a lot of extra time and money to bring this product to the market.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Announces New 2DS XL

« on: April 27, 2017, 11:46:58 PM »

Why would Nintendo lower the price on something that they had no trouble selling at $199 this past year? The point, presumably, it to put out something for people who can't use (or don't care about) 3D and/or want something a little more affordable, but don't want to go all the way down to the 2DS.

As far as the NES Classic Edition is concerned, I did not see a single mention of it (or its earning impact) over the past couple of days, and Kimishima mentioned at the end of 2016 that some of the parts involved were not easy to get a hold of. At this point, I'm not convinced that this thing was really as profitable as everyone seems to think it was.

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TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Announces New 2DS XL

« on: April 27, 2017, 10:50:36 PM »

I guess this makes sense. Right now Nintendo's main 3DS offerings are the New 3DS XL ($199) and the 2DS ($79), with nothing really in between. They've never seemed interested in selling the New 3DS on its own in North America, and if they feel that way because they believe the market for a smaller 3DS isn't there anymore, this makes sense as their middle of the line product.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: E3 2017: REGGIE GOES BIG

« on: April 27, 2017, 04:15:37 PM »

Takashi Mochizuki of the WSJ relaying some words from Kimishima:

Nintendo CEO said repeatedly there are "more unannounced titles" that should boost Switch itself's sales. Can't wait E3! (but I'm not going)

He notes that Kimishima did not specify whether this was in reference first-party titles, so this doesn't necessarily strengthen the rumors of a Smash 4 or Pokemon Sun and Moon port.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« on: April 27, 2017, 04:11:36 PM »

Seems like Nintendo is making sure that there a lot of Switch units available in North America to go along with the release of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe tomorrow. Hopefully they managed to send out a big shipment in Japan too. I'm glad to hear that it's selling out in Japan and consistently in the 40,000-50,000 range every week, but I wanna see it put up some bigger numbers!

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Puyo Puyo Tetris

« on: April 27, 2017, 01:37:12 PM »

Played this for quite a few hours since Tuesday, and it's lining up fairly well with my expectations. I'm not very good at either Puyo Puyo or Tetris (at least not yet!), but I'm having a lot fun playing and getting better anyway. I've checked out a couple of the tutorial videos Sega put on their YouTube channel, but I'm going to try to learn by playing as much as possible, since I find that to be more fun.

I've also been pleasantly surprised by the story mode thus far. Between the aesthetic, the music, the writing and voice acting, and the story itself, it's got an awesome Saturday morning cartoon vibe which fits the game perfectly. Going by the completion percentage, it looks like there are 70 levels (and there are objectives in each one beyond the minimum to advance the story), so there seems to be a fair bit to it as well. I'm sure the multiplayer is still going to be the star for most people, and that's probably where I'll put most of my time with this game too, but the story mode might actually end up being my favorite part.

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TalkBack / Re: Genyo Takeda Announces Retirement From Nintendo

« on: April 27, 2017, 01:21:57 PM »

I wonder how involved he was with Switch production. Maybe now thats its out, he feels his work is done

There was a lengthy interview with Shinya Takahashi and Yoshiaki Koizumi in Famitsu where they touched on this, and it sounds like Takahashi, Koizumi, and Kouichi Kawamoto were leading the charge in many ways. I'm sure that Iwata, Miyamoto, and Takeda all had very prominent roles in the console's development, but it seems like Nintendo really is starting to lean on the next generation a lot more.

Thanks for all the fun, Takeda.

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TalkBack / Re: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) Review

« on: April 27, 2017, 01:14:03 PM »

Plenty of people found the Mission Mode in Mario Kart DS to be memorable though. Daan specifically makes reference to it in NWR's second Mario Kart 8 Deluxe review, and I've seen others speak highly of it as well. The fact that it doesn't matter to you, on its own, is not a very strong argument that this isn't a legitimate complaint.

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Nintendo Gaming / Puyo Puyo Tetris

« on: April 25, 2017, 07:30:39 PM »

It's here!

I'm still playing through Breath of the Wild, but I was excited for this game and am looking forward to taking a bit of a break and playing something else on my Switch. Anyone else pick it up?

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TalkBack / Re: Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Switch) Review

« on: April 22, 2017, 02:52:38 PM »

Mario Kart 8 is a great game, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe obviously stands to be even better, but the single-player experience is not all that strong. The only real "fun" to be had is getting three stars on all the cups, except the structure, AI, and random element takes a lot of the fun out of that too. There isn't much to begin with, and what is there has some glaring drawbacks. Luckily the multiplayer is still awesome, and that's reflected in this review. I can understand calling out some the Switch bashing that has taken place on the internet over the last couple of months, but an 8.5 review that's mostly very positive is a pretty bizarre example to point to, man. Also:

I think unrealistic expectations are to blame. Like, take Neal's second review attempt of this game for example: citing the single player as a con. Like, seriously? In comparison to what?

It’s the culmination of a downward trend in the series as single-player has become a lesser and lesser factor since the height of its powers with Mario Kart DS’ fantastic Mission Mode. Mario Kart 8 offers little of value as a single-player experience, and while some people might say that doesn’t matter, it certainly matters to me.

If you really want to put up a defense of the single-player though, here's a question: why would you ever play the single-player in this game over the multiplayer?

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TalkBack / Re: Staff Sez: Top Three Switch Launch Window Games So Far

« on: April 22, 2017, 02:40:35 PM »

I've only bought Breath of the Wild for Switch so far, and it's pretty much all I've needed. I feel like I'm starting to give in to the Mario Kart 8 hype and might end up double dipping on that game next week, and I'm getting Puyo Puyo Tetris for sure, so I'll cheat a bit and say those are my other two right now since they're so close to release.