Messages

651

NWR Forums Discord / Re: Safe Words 17: Now That's What I Call... Round 1!

« on: March 07, 2021, 11:38:32 AM »

I am dealing with a newborn now so check in if I've fallen into the quantum realm of parenting.

Congratulations Stratos! The world needs some fresh lazy meme pirates.

652

NWR Forums Discord / Re: Safe Words 17: Now That's What I Call... Round 1!

« on: March 06, 2021, 12:48:18 PM »

The year is 1990 and Mr. Bungle has just scored a major record label deal with Warner Brothers thanks to the success of lead singer Mike Patton's other band Faith No More. Mike mentions how Faith No More covered "Pump Up the Jam" on their last tour and suggests Technotronic as the opening act for Mr. Bungle.

653

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Switch SNES Online: Now You're Playing with Khushrenada!

« on: March 04, 2021, 08:05:24 PM »

Let's just plan to meet next week. Looking forward to Safe Words.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Switch SNES Online: Now You're Playing with Khushrenada!

« on: March 04, 2021, 06:38:14 PM »

We can take the week off. Just let me know when you decide. There is always the ever-present backlog to tackle 

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« on: March 04, 2021, 05:37:49 PM »

The Switch did not hit 20 million sold before the PS5 sold 400k in Japan. It was fun watching. Who has another sales race challenge for these two?

656

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Buying New Panels For Upgraded Switch?

« on: March 04, 2021, 04:34:50 PM »

I can see that. But do you think they will give it a new name like they did with the "New 3DS"?

657

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Switch SNES Online: Now You're Playing with Khushrenada!

« on: March 04, 2021, 03:37:17 PM »

Tonight is the thrilling conclusion of our DKC VS. play through. Will Khushrenada get khrushed by his completionist tendencies or will Mr. B bungle his significant lead? I heard the loser has to post a recording of themselves performing the DK Rap .

658

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Buying New Panels For Upgraded Switch?

« on: March 04, 2021, 03:09:45 PM »

Maybe. Did they advertise the improved battery life? I only remember game sites reporting it. That seems like something that would also be advertised.

659

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Best of the Wii U eShop (Bonus Round D: GBA VC - Part 3)

« on: March 04, 2021, 03:05:21 PM »

Breaking News: The Pocky & Rocky series is back! Will Becky be there? You will have to check back in Fall when Pocky & Rocky: Reshrined comes to Switch.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Best of the Wii U eShop (Bonus Round D: GBA VC - Part 2)

« on: March 04, 2021, 03:04:04 PM »

oops, wrong topic 

661

Movies & TV / Re: HBO Max

« on: March 04, 2021, 02:56:32 PM »

Just wrapped up season 2 of His Dark Materials. Highly recommended if you like Harry Potter or Narnia type stuff. The younger actors give great performances and the animal companions (daemons) are super cute.

662

TalkBack / Re: Nintendo Buying New Panels For Upgraded Switch?

« on: March 04, 2021, 02:54:30 PM »

It sounds like another small revision that will not be advertised. We saw this once already with the current model having improved battery life over the launch hardware. Nintendo will probably not advertise these improvements or market it as a new model.

663

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mario Golf: Super Rush

« on: March 03, 2021, 05:26:44 PM »

Hope they'll add ChainChomp in this too

Careful what you wish for

664

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Best of the Wii U eShop (Bonus Round D: GBA VC - Part 3)

« on: March 03, 2021, 11:53:15 AM »

Here are the Metacritic ratings and select NWR Reviews for the games in this set.
Game Title (Metacritic Rating, NWR review)

• Metroid Fusion  (92, 9 from NWR)
• Metroid: Zero Mission  (89, 9.5 from NWR)
• Mr. Driller 2 (62, 6 from NWR)
• NAMCO Museum (79, 5.5 from NWR)
• Onimusha Tactics (64, 5.5 from NWR)
• PAC-MAN Collection (79)
• Pocky & Rocky with Becky (57)
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (67)
• Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire (81, 8 from NWR)
• Polarium Advance (N/A)
• Rayman 3 (83)
• Rayman Advance (84)
• Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (GBA) (78, 8 from NWR)
• Super Mario Advance  (84, 8.5 from NWR)
• Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World  (92, 7.5 from NWR)
• Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island  (91, 8.5 from NWR)
• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3  (94, 9.5 from NWR)
• Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival  (84, 9 from NWR)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap  (89, 9 from NWR)
• Wario Land 4  (88, 8 from NWR)
• WarioWare, Inc: Mega Microgame$ (89, 8 from NWR)

The Highlights
With heavy hitters like Mario, Zelda, and Metroid it is not surprising to see so many glowing reviews. Meta-critic confirms Uncle Bob's recommendation that Super Mario Advance 4 is a must play and rates it #3 of all GBA games. The top two on Metacritic are Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and A Link to the Past (GBA), which are not on the Wii U VC. The other game to get a 9.5 from NWR is Metroid: Zero Mission, which Insanolord has already called attention to. You both get gold stars for this one.

The lowest reviewed game on Metacritic is Pock & Rocky with Becky. I guess the high price tag on carts is based on rarity. From NWR, there is a tie for last with NAMCO museum and Onimusha tactics getting 5.5 each.

It is interesting to see the gaps in review scores here as well with several titles not getting reviewed by NWR and Polarium Advance not even having a Metacritic score  .

665

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mario Golf: Super Rush

« on: March 02, 2021, 04:41:41 PM »

Here are some other switch games with paid DLC:

• Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Expansion Pass $30)
• Luigi's Mansion 3 (Multiplayer Pack $10)
• Tetris 99 (Big Block DLC $10)
• Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 (Black Order Expansion $20)
• Splatoon 2 (Octo Expansion $20)
• Pokken Tournament DX (Battle Pack $15)

666

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mario Golf: Super Rush

« on: March 02, 2021, 04:16:07 PM »

Did Aces have DLC?

No paid DLC. There were just free updates the year following release. They added a decent number of characters (6?) and at least one new mode.

667

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Amazing Deals!

« on: March 02, 2021, 01:35:54 PM »

Ratchet & Clank (2016) for PS4 is free to download until 3/31/2021.
https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP9000-CUSA01047_00-RATCHETPS4000000

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Mario Golf: Super Rush

« on: March 02, 2021, 11:55:57 AM »

We got Peach & Daisy so I'm happy.

I am hoping Rosalina is included. With Mario Tennis Aces we saw a decent amount of playable characters added post launch so this may follow the same plan.

669

Nintendo Gaming / Mario Golf: Super Rush

« on: March 01, 2021, 05:09:50 PM »

One of the big games announced at the most recent direct that I am excited for is Mario Golf: Super Rush.

According to the game's web page the game is

• scheduled to release June 25, 2021
• is developed by Camelot
• includes the following modes: Standard Golf, Speed Gold, and Story Mode
• supports four player co-op locally and online
• supports motion controls
• includes the following playable characters: Mario, Yoshi, Waluigi, Daisy, Bowser, Peach, Luigi, Donkey Kong, Mii's, Toad, and Wario

Hopefully we can discuss the game as it's release nears and maybe even schedule some multiplayer with forum users. Here are some questions to get the discussion going:

• What is your history with the Mario Gold series?
• What mode are you most interested in playing?
• Are there any playable characters that were not announced that you hope get added to the roster?

670

Nintendo Gaming / Best of the Wii U eShop (Bonus Round D: GBA VC - Part 3)

« on: February 28, 2021, 12:47:29 PM »

Background
The Wii U eShop will only be open for a limited time so it is worth looking at the games there while there is still time to buy them. In the past few months we looked at all the available eShop games, but we omitted the Virtual Console releases, until now! Nintendo introduced the Virtual Console (VC) with Wii as a way to sell games from previous systems a la carte. That same service continued with Wii U and 3DS before being replaced with a Netflix style service bundled with the Nintendo Switch's Online membership.

The Game Boy Advance Virtual Console
The Game Boy Advance (GBA) sold about 81.5 million units and had quite a few exclusive games from well known franchises. However there have not been many attempts to re-release those games. There was no GBA virtual console for Wii; With the 3DS it was limited to the ten titles included with the Ambassador Program (Link to NWR article). There are a few games that managed to get re-released on other systems, but by and large most seem locked on either the original hardware or the Wii U eShop. The Wii U eShop has 74 titles ranging in cost from $6.99 to $7.99 (USD) and we will deal with them in three parts, sorted alphabetically.

The Games
In the final third we see the following 21 titles with information in the following order
Game Title (Release year, developer/publisher, current cartridge cost*, @ indicates part of the 3DS Ambassador Program)
* Loose cartridge only, USD, source: https://www.pricecharting.com/

• Metroid Fusion  (2002, Nintendo, $30, @)
• Metroid: Zero Mission  (2004, Nintendo, $38)
• Mr. Driller 2 (2005, Bandai Namco, $29)
• NAMCO Museum (2001, Bandai Namco, $5)
• Onimusha Tactics (2003, Capcom, $22)
• PAC-MAN Collection (2001, Mass Media Games/Bandai Namco, $5)
• Pocky & Rocky with Becky (2002, Altron/Natsume, $121)
• Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (2006, Chunsoft/Nintendo, $15)
• Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire (2003, Jupiter/Nintendo, $18)
• Polarium Advance (2006, Nintendo, $5)
• Rayman 3 (2003, Ubisoft, $8)
• Rayman Advance (2001, Ubisoft, $8)
• Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (GBA) (2002, Capcom, $37)
• Super Mario Advance  (2001, Nintendo, $10)
• Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World  (2002, Nintendo, $12)
• Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island  (2002, Nintendo, $14, @)
• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3  (2003, Nintendo, $14)
• Super Street Fighter II Turbo Revival  (2001, Capcom, $18)
• The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap  (2005, Capcom/Nintendo, $18, @)
• Wario Land 4  (2004, Nintendo, $20, @)
• WarioWare, Inc: Mega Microgame$  (2003, Nintendo, $30, @)

The Highlights
Half of the infamous 3DS ambassador games appear in this final third and include Mario, Zelda, and Metroid as well as two Wario Games.

Original cartridges are back to being expensive in this final set with eight titles costing $20 or more. But the most valuable game is also the one with the funniest name. If you were hoping to pick up Pocky & Rocky with Becky then you will be shelling out over $100. A new copy will even fetch $2000! That Becky is not a cheap date.

Checking in with publishers, we finally see some games from outside Japan with the pair of Rayman releases. Rayman 3 is a 2D game to accompany the 3D versions released on Gamecube and other homeconsoles. Rayman Advance appears to be a port of the original game in the series.

Speaking of games available elsewhere, the list includes Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, which was updated and released (Rescue Team DX) on Switch about one year ago.

Comments
I welcome any corrections to the information I found when compiling the list. The price information here is for the US so let me know about differences in other regions. Not sure what to comment, consider questions like:

• Have you played Polarium?
• What is your favorite Zelda game developed for a handheld?
• What else has Jupiter developed besides Picross and Pokemon Pinball?
• Are there any GBA games not on Wii U VC that you want to mention?

Next Round
Join me next week in taking a look at some Ultra games from the big N.

671

General Gaming / Re: The Winter of 2cold4gamez! (community event)

« on: February 27, 2021, 12:47:05 PM »

Despite my efforts to stop buying games I did it without even realizing it .  I have been learning Japanese and was recommended "Learn Japanese to Survive" on Steam. The cost was $1, it is educational, and it's on PC (which I don't really use for gaming) so I didn't even think I had bought a game, but technically I did. One the other side of things I saw the credits roll on Rhythm Heaven Fever. This happens after 35 levels and I think there are 50. I am going to keep playing and finish the other 15 but I wanted to get something else on the board to balance my purchase. I have a couple other games going now so I should be able to post a few more completions in the next couple weeks.

672

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Splatoon 3: Enter the Splatlands

« on: February 26, 2021, 02:27:37 PM »

I played Splatoon 2 for a good while when it first came out, but kinda fell off.

It looks like you haven't tried clam blitz. You should really give that a go. It is noticeably different from the other modes. You can check Splatlink to see when it is in the rotation.

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General Gaming / Re: Games Industry Death Watch 2010-present

« on: February 25, 2021, 06:23:58 PM »

I still want a PS4/PS5 version of Puppeteer, Sony.

Same here. Puppeteer is one of my favorite PS3 games. It looks gorgeous in stereoscopic 3D. I would love a PS4 version that works in PSVR, but that is very unlikely.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Splatoon 3: Enter the Splatlands

« on: February 25, 2021, 05:03:52 PM »

the last time I played I accidentally talked to a dude who insisted on detailing like 20,000 weapons I had apparently unlocked, and you couldn't escape that conversation. Literally sat there mashing A for 10 minutes. 

Yeah, that happened to me to. I think they fixed that and you can fast forward through it now by holding down A for about one minute.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Switch SNES Online: Now You're Playing with Khushrenada!

« on: February 25, 2021, 02:57:51 PM »

It's gonna be good! We're in the Kremkroc Industries now! Also, what are you linking to? This is my Twitch channel.

Now that's what I call music!