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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2025 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

« Last post by Mop it up on August 14, 2025, 02:45:53 PM »

I won't be able to go whole-hog like I used to, but I should still be able to get a couple of completions on the board.

First up, I've got Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time for Xbox Series X. Since I recently wrapped up playing the Crash trilogy remake, I figured that I might as well get to this one while the series is still fresh enough in mind. It seems like a pretty faithful sequel for the fans, sticking with similar level designs and concepts for better or worse. I do appreciate the modern conveniences of removing the life system and having a persistent shadow underneath Crash at all times. I've rolled the credits and I don't think I'll be going back for the mirror stages nor other extras and cheevos, so I'm calling it finished here.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2025 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

« Last post by broodwars on August 13, 2025, 10:22:09 AM »

I also finished Bananza. It was good overall. It has some good moments and some boring moments and some mind blowing moments towards the end.
I liked it for the main quest. I wasnt interested in hunting for bananas. Eventually I also lost interest in the challenge rooms too.
It gets surprisingly difficult near the end with the boss battles.
I finished it with 254 bananas.

By contrast, I believe I finished with 768 Bananas. I got all the Bananas you could get until finishing the game, along with all the fossils.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2025 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

« Last post by Lemonade on August 13, 2025, 08:13:09 AM »

I also finished Bananza. It was good overall. It has some good moments and some boring moments and some mind blowing moments towards the end.
I liked it for the main quest. I wasnt interested in hunting for bananas. Eventually I also lost interest in the challenge rooms too.
It gets surprisingly difficult near the end with the boss battles.
I finished it with 254 bananas.

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TalkBack / Re: Chibi-Robo Plugging Into Switch 2 GameCube NSO Library Next Week

« Last post by broodwars on August 13, 2025, 12:48:37 AM »

Looking forward to finally playing this, considering the game's reputation over the years.

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TalkBack / Re: A Return from an Unprecedented Downfall? Nintendo and EA's Recent History

« Last post by Order.RSS on August 12, 2025, 09:59:15 PM »

Several interesting things in this article which I didn't know about, like the EA Origin/MiiVerse link, or how EA sent their devkits back prior to the Wii U's launch.

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Podcast Discussion / Re: Episode 937: I'm Worried About Razor's Reading Progress

« Last post by pokepal148 on August 10, 2025, 06:26:39 PM »

If only someone would tell me what the email is.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2025 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

« Last post by broodwars on August 10, 2025, 12:50:38 PM »

I have finished 2 games:

Resident Evil 5 (PS4) - Every once in a while, I like to replay an RE game to scratch that "horror shooter" itch, and I've been meaning to replay this one for a while now, as well as "the good version" (allegedly) of RE6. Having Platinumed this game once again, I have to say that this might be the most replayable game in the series from a pure mechanical perspective. The game's not the least bit scary, the difficulty scaling's all over the place, and the plot is just plain stupid, but it sure is fun to shoot these enemies in the face over and over again as you farm for treasure and higher difficulties.

RE5 does not give a **** what you need or want to do to complete it. Ran into a rough spot in the main game and you're low on ammo? Sure, you can replay an easier early level to replenish your stock. The devs don't care. Want to replay just a single chapter of the late game on other difficulties? Hey, it's your game. Go nuts. It's a very liberating game in that respect. Yes, there are FAR better RE games, but I can't think of any other game in the series that lets you play it however you want.

Donkey Kong Bananza - Finished this one last night, and considering this game was the entire reason I bought into the Switch 2 early I'm sad to say this game is just "good". It's not "great". It's kind of the quintessential 7.5 or 8 out of 10, largely because the game is so goddamn easy and takes so long to get interesting. IMO, the first 1/3 of the game is incredibly dull, because the only mechanics the devs decided to work with early on was "punch wall" and "punch floor". I'm sorry, but I didn't find the countless forgettable moons worthwhile in Odyssey, and I don't find the similar Bananas much better here, even if they do feel less random.

It doesn't help that the game will go to great lengths to build potentially interesting setups to Bananas, only for me to inadvertently smash through the back entrance through a wall or ceiling because I saw them on my radar and the radar doesn't distinguish between Bananas you're MEANT to tunnel through and ones you're meant to overcome an obstacle to get. The game starts designing Banana challenges surrounded by impenetrable material in the later areas, but by that point it's too little too late.

As the game goes on and it starts layering new materials with special properties and Bananzas with special abilities, it does get a LOT better but I don't find this entire "big open area with dopamine hits every 5 seconds"  design particularly satisfying. I prefer the older Nintendo/Rare style of collectathon where the major collectables were few in number but memorable and challenging.

At least the game ends in a particularly memorable fashion, though I don't think I'll bother with the post-game. I didn't really bother with it in Odyssey, either. I just don't feel any compulsion to replay areas I've already spent hours in just to do more busywork.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2025 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

« Last post by RABicle on August 10, 2025, 09:00:03 AM »

Guess what losers I just rolled the credits on Dear Me, I was. Gotta get those numbers up!
I also absolutely completed Project Highrise the other night. On the 8th. So that’s two games down and a bunch more to go. Probably do Beyond Good and Evil next.

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General Gaming / Re: Backlaugust 2025 - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition

« Last post by M.K.Ultra on August 10, 2025, 08:36:21 AM »

I completed Monkey Barrels on Switch a couple days ago. This was another short game, though my Switch profile still just says "First played 7 days ago", so I don't have a time estimate from the console, but I would say it took 5-10 hours. This is a twin stick shooter from the fine devs at Good-Feel. Overall the game controls well and has an interesting set with two main weapons, controlled with ZL and ZR, that have periodic cool downs *reloads* and two sub weapons, controlled with L and R, that have limited ammo. There is also a dodge button and manual reload button. For most of the game you can just get by with the basic weapons and no dodging, but the last couple boss battles get really tough and required me to experiment with different weapons and master the dodging. It would of been nice if that was a more gradual ramp up in difficulty but not a big deal.

The story and cut scenes are cute, especially if you like monkeys. I found the graphics during game play to be a little too blocky and blurry for my liking. This is where you can separate the quality of an independent Good-Feel game from a Nintendo supported Good-Feel game. In terms of completion, each regular level has four collectibles that are pretty easy to find so it was not much more work to get all those while playing the first time. There is also an online multiplayer mode but I could not get a game going due to lack of participation. If anyone does want to try this out let me know.

I am wrapping up a big game next and should have that done within the week.

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TalkBack / Re: Chillin' by the Fire (Switch 2) Review

« Last post by nicholascarson on August 07, 2025, 10:25:17 PM »

The game features a meter indicating the strength of the fire, fluctuating based on the size of the flames and the consumption of logs. While starting the fire is straightforward, maintaining its growth presents a real challenge.  It supports both online and local gameshare, allowing friends to join in even if they don’t own a copy of the game. This feature evokes nostalgia for the DS Download Play era. quordle