Recent Posts

11

TalkBack / Re: Disney Afternoon Collection Finally Coming To Switch February 26 Alongside Switch 2 Version

« Last post by Stratos on Yesterday at 12:36:12 AM »

I'm hoping Goof Troop at least comes to the other versions. I bought this years ago, and I'd rather not buy it all over again for just one OK-ish SNES game (as unironically significant as that game is to gaming history).

What do you mean about its significance in gaming History? Was this the first Capcom licensed franchise game on the SNES or something?

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« Last post by Stratos on Yesterday at 12:34:45 AM »

I feel like Bananza should have been that zeitgeist game, but due to it being a more niche game compared to Mario, Zelda, or Pokemon, along with other factors like the "viral lightning" or other trigger made it miss it's chance.

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General Gaming / Re: What are you playing?

« Last post by broodwars on Yesterday at 12:20:52 AM »

I’ve been playing Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, which is a spiritual (maybe also actual?) sequel to Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Night. If you couldn’t tell, both games are pretty heavy on the melancholy, but more specifically, are Soulslike Metroidvanias with a distinct visual style and. Combat system that has you summoning assist spirits to perform your attacks, as your player character is a vulnerable child figure in both games.

Ender Lilies was a game that I started, but didn’t get very far into for some reason or another. I do know that the developer Live Wire Inc worked on one of my favorite Switch games in Harvestella, so I wanted to support them by picking up their other titles. Anyway, Ender Magnolia has a bit more of an alchemical/dieselpunk aesthetic in contrast with Ender Lilies, which was a bit more gothic/fantasy. This has resulted in a bit more artistic freedom and some truly gorgeously rendered environments, though the actual level geometry is still pretty standard for a 2D Soulslike. While the lore isn’t terribly compelling, the game is at least trying with its narrative and characters and I can respect that. I’m close to finishing now and feeling the Soulslike fatigue- while I do think generally better-designed games in this genre tend to avoid this, Ender Magnolia has this sprawling world map that also has a big final area with hard hitting enemies. This area also feels a bit less dynamic in design than other areas, which has somewhat tighter layout and decent gimmicks. I’m going to push through because the best part of the game are its boss fights, which are brutal dances that demand precision and tight inputs and also feature their own cute gimmicks. It’s not my favorite 2D Soulslike but it’s doing a fine job.

Ender Lilies is quite a good game. Definitely one of the better 2D Souls-likes I've played, though I hear Magnolia is more of a Metroid game than Lilies is. Magnolia's on the docket for me this year, but I'm currently waiting on my delayed physical version from..."them."

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« Last post by Evan_B on Yesterday at 12:10:01 AM »

I have no interest in buying a PS5, and felt the need to get a Switch 2 because I’m a shameless Nintendo fanboy the Switch was getting to a point where performance issues in the games I was interested in playing were becoming a norm more than an exception. But I’d argue a part of the Switch’s success is Breath of the Wild, which is a big cultural moment game, and maybe Mario Odyssey and Splatoon. I don’t see an equivalent on Switch in its first year, is all. I know that these new hardware iterations are incremental and it’s just further emphasizing this sort of bland and mirthless vibe I get from all of the Big Three’s hardware offerings.

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General Gaming / Re: What are you playing?

« Last post by Evan_B on Yesterday at 12:00:37 AM »

I’ve been playing Ender Magnolia: Bloom in the Mist, which is a spiritual (maybe also actual?) sequel to Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Night. If you couldn’t tell, both games are pretty heavy on the melancholy, but more specifically, are Soulslike Metroidvanias with a distinct visual style and. Combat system that has you summoning assist spirits to perform your attacks, as your player character is a vulnerable child figure in both games.

Ender Lilies was a game that I started, but didn’t get very far into for some reason or another. I do know that the developer Live Wire Inc worked on one of my favorite Switch games in Harvestella, so I wanted to support them by picking up their other titles. Anyway, Ender Magnolia has a bit more of an alchemical/dieselpunk aesthetic in contrast with Ender Lilies, which was a bit more gothic/fantasy. This has resulted in a bit more artistic freedom and some truly gorgeously rendered environments, though the actual level geometry is still pretty standard for a 2D Soulslike. While the lore isn’t terribly compelling, the game is at least trying with its narrative and characters and I can respect that. I’m close to finishing now and feeling the Soulslike fatigue- while I do think generally better-designed games in this genre tend to avoid this, Ender Magnolia has this sprawling world map that also has a big final area with hard hitting enemies. This area also feels a bit less dynamic in design than other areas, which has somewhat tighter layout and decent gimmicks. I’m going to push through because the best part of the game are its boss fights, which are brutal dances that demand precision and tight inputs and also feature their own cute gimmicks. It’s not my favorite 2D Soulslike but it’s doing a fine job.

16

Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« Last post by NWR_insanolord on February 03, 2026, 11:47:17 PM »

From what I understand, all this “fastest selling hardware” talk is just investor pandering. The industry has changed over the past forty years and the Switch 2 has yet to receive some sort of cultural zeitgeist moment, even as we move closer to its first year. Mind you, not every piece of hardware has that moment early on, but there’s usually a software release that captures the imagination and acts as an inflection point, even if it was Mario Kart 7 on 3DS. I just don’t feel that Mario Kart World has managed to drum up similar discourse or interest and I simply do not understand that game.

I noted that the Switch 2 has surpassed the lifetime sales of the Wii U, which is certainly sad, but Nintendo did have the 3DS as a consolation during that time. Still, I can’t imagine the very very very likely price hike this coming year will do much to keep this fast-selling momentum. I’d be shocked if any sort of consumer-friendly solution was made as a result of this, but a more aggressive digital software pack-in/bundle could mitigate this somewhat.

I don't know that I agree that there needs to be some kind of zeitgeist-grabbing game. Like, what would you say that was that game for PS5? There's been a lot of good games on that system, but I don't know that any one was like that. As you said, the industry has changed, and all three consoles are more iterative than revolutionary.

There's no guarantee this momentum keeps up, but it does hammer home yet again that the very-online gamer bubble isn't representative of real life. Social media and the YouTube algorithm really want to push the narrative that the Switch 2 is failing, but it's simply not true.

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Nintendo Gaming / Re: Official Sales Thread

« Last post by Evan_B on February 03, 2026, 11:33:29 PM »

From what I understand, all this “fastest selling hardware” talk is just investor pandering. The industry has changed over the past forty years and the Switch 2 has yet to receive some sort of cultural zeitgeist moment, even as we move closer to its first year. Mind you, not every piece of hardware has that moment early on, but there’s usually a software release that captures the imagination and acts as an inflection point, even if it was Mario Kart 7 on 3DS. I just don’t feel that Mario Kart World has managed to drum up similar discourse or interest and I simply do not understand that game.

I noted that the Switch 2 has surpassed the lifetime sales of the Wii U, which is certainly sad, but Nintendo did have the 3DS as a consolation during that time. Still, I can’t imagine the very very very likely price hike this coming year will do much to keep this fast-selling momentum. I’d be shocked if any sort of consumer-friendly solution was made as a result of this, but a more aggressive digital software pack-in/bundle could mitigate this somewhat.

18

General Gaming / Re: Community Event: Forum February 2026

« Last post by NWR_insanolord on February 03, 2026, 10:42:10 PM »

Don't mind me. I've just been posting walls of text no one reads for years.

That's really what separates the forums from something like Discord. I love our Discord, but there's no real place there for the kind of depth you can get with a long forum post. And I only don't read them when they're Khush's posts.

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General Gaming / Re: What are you playing?

« Last post by broodwars on February 03, 2026, 10:33:28 PM »

Still picking away at Astral Chain, mostly as a lunch break game when I have time. Made it to Chapter 9, where I finally have all the legions. If the chapters weren't so long, I'd feel tempted to go back and replay some just to get some of the collectibles I couldn't obtain before and to better some scores now that I have a stronger kit. Getting rather annoyed at the Premium Gene Code requirements for some of these unlocks. Many of them are locked behind the game's rather tedious and nebulous in-game "order"/achievement system, and you have to spend a LOT to unlock the final tiers of legion upgrades as well as your weapon damage & legion battery.

Went back to Ball x Pit. Cleared my way through the Fungi Forest and secured 10 playable characters & most of the stat upgrades. Pretty much everyone has A-level stat scaling, but the big bonus was the building that allows you to take a 2nd character into the levels, as well as to bump up their special attack strength to Level 3 from the start. Still a dangerously addictive game.

Finally, an old Vita favorite, Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack, was on sale on the e-Shop and I had $.60 to burn from picking up Xenoblade X the other day, so picked that up. I remember this game being more laid-back and relaxing than it is, as it's basically a 2D Katamari Damacy game. I don't remember so many timed segments with instant-kill lasers.

20

TalkBack / Re: Disney Afternoon Collection Finally Coming To Switch February 26 Alongside Switch 2 Version

« Last post by broodwars on February 03, 2026, 10:24:56 PM »

I'm hoping Goof Troop at least comes to the other versions. I bought this years ago, and I'd rather not buy it all over again for just one OK-ish SNES game (as unironically significant as that game is to gaming history).