Topic: Topic of the Day (2020 Edition)

[Khushrenada]

Weekend Reading!

Well, most likely I could just do a coin flip to choose between New Horizons and COVID-19 talk as the choice for the actual Topic of the Day based on user comments. But I've always envisioned this thread as highlighting other topics happening that may not be getting as much attention as others as a way of letting users realize other threads that might be of interest or worth checking out instead of the same old, same old. In that regard, I've wanted to mention Kairon's thread about the upcoming PS5 vs XBox Something-or-other-more-Xs console war that may or may not start this year. Like Kairon, I don't really pay much attention to the competition or what they are doing but there's no denying they have an impact on the industry. So, you may also want to throw in your two cents as to how well you think the next gen is going to go for them.


Other topics of interest:

As always, here's a bit of a round-up on some of the games released for the Switch which received some highly positive scores. Not too much to report this time around as just a couple games managed to score past the 8 mark.


Doom 64 returned to a Nintendo console to rip and tear up an 8.5 score.

Operencia: The Stolen Sun likewise managed to nab an 8.5 review score.

Perhaps next week will be different after all the surprise announcements and same day releases from the Mini Direct. I know I'm curious to see how games like Shinsekai and Good Job! end up faring once review and user feedback is made on them.

Of course, a game is more than just a review score so do try to check out the articles to see what is appealing about those titles and if they might appeal to you also. And don't be shy of leaving your own take or thoughts about any of those titles now or in the future.


As always, you may want to check in and let us know what you are playing or the latest game you've just beat. (Or maybe even do a Reader Review about a game and possibly have that become a Topic of the Day. )

Otherwise, you can always follow along in the latest Mafia madness. Day 3 has now begun and with the game still in the early stages, I think this day could go in many different directions yet. And if that doesn't interest you then you could always try your hand at misinforming the masses like so many others are busying doing in these trying times or maybe help pokepal148 in his goal of promoting country music as the most widely viewed thread ever on the forums. Yee-haw!

[Phil]

FWIW, I hate infinite scroll in discord so never check there, but I get the feeling it's way more happening then the forums these days? All the cool cats go there right?  I'm just too old...

I try to do the Discord thing, but I think I'm just too old as well. I *get* it, but it's not very interesting to me.

[Khushrenada]

FWIW, I hate infinite scroll in discord so never check there, but I get the feeling it's way more happening then the forums these days? All the cool cats go there right?  I'm just too old...

I try to do the Discord thing, but I think I'm just too old as well. I *get* it, but it's not very interesting to me.

I patrol Discord regularly and keep up with everything posted there even when the conversation doesn't interest me and that happens A LOT. There's been stuff I wonder why I'm even bothering to read through. Yet, once in awhile, a conversation will happen that I'd like to see continue on or get back to later but with the infinite scroll it makes it hard to do. That's why I like forums since you have that record you can get back to. Like a library. Take a book (topic) off the shelf. Read (post) some of it for a while then put it away and move on to another book. But if you want to go back to the first one later, you can still do so. I've thought about copy and pasting some comments from Discord to then create a thread on here with for Topic of the Day but haven't really followed up too much on that. Mostly, I can't recall seeing anything there in the past while worth doing. Maybe something will come up in the future and those that want to discuss on Discord can do so there and those that want to comment on it in the forums will have the conversation brought to them here to do so.

[Khushrenada]

Let's start the week off with the rumor of 3D Mario remasters that Nintendo may be planning to release this year. It's got some buzz here and on Discord where the news allowed Windyman and myself to remind everyone of the greatness of Super Mario Sunshine (remastered or not). Topic ooooooffffffffff the day.

[Khushrenada]

I've learned that today is Transgender Day of Visibility which I think means it is the one day of the year where the sun hits the Earth just right and makes them just visible to the naked eye...?  (I guess I haven't learnt the part of what it means yet.  ). Jokes aside, I suppose it only fitting to make the Topic of the Day tie into that and link BeautifulShy's Gender and Sexual Minorities Thread for today's Topic. Best of all, thanks to #30, she's taking any questions you want to ask her. So now's your chance to find out what what her social security number and bank account P.I.N. is.

[Khushrenada]

Although it is April Fools Day, today's topic is no joke. I thought April might make for a good chance to go back to an idea that was used when Topic of the Day was first announced: Community Themed Avatar Months! On that note, as NWR's Best Forum Manager (job title currently pending approval), I've decided to embrace the only game people want to talk about right now and declare April 2020 as Animal Crossing Avatar Month! You can read all about it by clicking the link or visiting the General Chat Forum although I do think the title is pretty self-explanatory as well. Topic of the... Month??!?!   

[Khushrenada]

Today's topic goes to a subject that's been a big conversation point about the Switch since its second year although it did start a bit during its first year on the market: Ports. The amount of ports for the system has had an effect on my view of the system. Sometimes positive for bring back strong third party support not seen for a Nintendo system since perhaps the SNES (although I could see an argument for the DS on the matter. Sometimes the porting is negative particularly when it comes to Nintendo's offerings as I'm more familiar with them then releases on non-Nintendo consoles. When Neal posted his method to quantify how much porting Nintendo has done in the past few years, it was a topic I was sold on from the title. I wish I'd thought of it first and done it myself. (So you know that's high praise. ). I think it's absolutely worth checking out and easily deserving of the highly sought after seal of approval that is Topic of the Day!

[Khushrenada]

You know, last week things got hectic with the shadowdrop Mini Direct which is a shame since I wanted to highlight the Sales thread which saw some action last week with the talk of how Switch had surpassed the 3DS in Japan. This week, when sales were posted, there was a little bit of discussion but it got overshadowed by the Port Index topic that was released yesterday. However, with no major topic happening right now, I'm going to give Enner and his long-time work on the Official Sales Thread his due today and promote that Switch domination.

[pokepal148]

So after a brief and unexpected hiatus (during which nobody missed us) topic of the day is back!

Have you picked your Animal Crossing avatar yet? Well you should. To further shame you into picking one we are going to name the Animal Crossing avatar thread thing topic of the day!

[pokepal148]

So that new iPhone got announced and it seems that the place to get all the latest thoughts and impressions on it is the Cell Phone thread.

Eat your heart out Engadget!

[pokepal148]

I'm going to give the currently belated yesterday's Topic of the day reward to the Animal Crossing thread. Animal Crossing has dominated our discussions around here and anyone who hasn't jumped on board yet needs to do so.

[pokepal148]

Have you voted in NWR's mario spinoff madness poll or whatever it's called? Well get on it! We must treat the Mario sports games like the blight they are upon our society.

TOPIC OF THE DAY of the weekend!

link to the twitter thread with all the polls.

link to the talkback thread.

[pokepal148]

From my point of view the Talkback thread on Star Wars podracer is topic of the day.

EDIT: WHAT THE? WHAT ARE YOU DOING MAKING A TOPIC OF THE DAY WHEN I'M MAKING A TOPIC OF THE DAY?!!?

[Khushrenada]

Covid, covid, covid. You win! Apparently I cannot flatten the curve of Covid discussion on the forum so I'll concede and make it the Topic of the Day again. Or how I learned to stop worrying and love the virus.

[pokepal148]

I forgot today is Monday. Oh well. You folks can enjoy a freebie.

[Khushrenada]

Historic Sales Numbers for Nintendo but in a good way?!?! How is Nintendo ever going to learn their lesson and go third party if people keep buying their stuff?  What a strange 10 years for Nintendo. Might as well enjoy the highs while they happen before the new lows in 5 years. No better way to enjoy them than making them Topic of the Day! 

[Khushrenada]

Oh, right! Topic of the Day. Boy, I've really lost my ability to schedule here. It may not be a flashy subject but keeping your Nintendo Account secure is a topic worth thinking about and remembering. Although I suppose to some people, like Harold Finch, maintaining good internet security can be a hot topic.

[Khushrenada]

The Mario Spin-off Tournament has hit the Final Four and it is a mess. Please vote for Mario Kart: Double Dash as it is the only worthy title left. I don't want to see Thousand Year Door win this. It is been getting much too over-rated in the last decade. It should have been Super Mario RPG that was triumphant against TTYD, I tells ya! So, the importance of voting Double Dash is definitely something worth making a Topic of the Day. (I think there is a good chance we see a GameCube vs Wii U final battle. Let's hear it for Nintendo's greatest systems.  )

[Khushrenada]

In a search for something that isn't Covid or Animal Crossing related right now, I'm going with a subject that got a bit of discussion here and on Discord: The new doctor for Dr. Mario World! Who will be next? That profound question truly deserves some heavy discussion making it a perfect ToPiC oF tHe DaY.

[Khushrenada]

Weekend Reading! (Late Edition) 

I guess I'll go with the game everyone is still talking about: Super Mario Maker 2. It got an update this week that I had contemplated as making topic of the day earlier but went with some other choices instead. However, that update has got some people uploading some new and old creations and sparking a bit of interest in the title again so let's promote it while it is hot.


Other topics of interest

It has been awhile since there was a big weekend reading update. In fact, the shadow-drop Nintendo Mini-Direct had just released a couple days prior to the last big update. As such, I'm going to look back at some games that were released a few weeks back but had some positive reviews to give them a bit more spotlight even if that attention was a bit delayed.


Good Job!, an action puzzler, does a.... good job... at entertaining and received a performance review of 9.

Deep Sky Derelicts: Definitive Edition, a roguelike in abandoned spaceships, scrounges up an 8.5.

Wunderling is a non-stop platformer that is able to bump into a score of 8.

Grimvalor, a Metroidvania-esque platformer battles its way to an 8.

Gunbrick: Reloaded, a puzzle platformer, also solves the puzzle of how to get a score of 8.


Last time, I mentioned being interested in Shinsekai: Into the Depths and Good Job! after that Mini Direct. While Good Job! ended up with a very positive review but Shinsekai and the Panzer Dragoon: Remake that also was released in that same period ended up getting a 7.5 score which is still decent. I usually highlight the more positive due to the amount of games always coming out and getting reviewed but the first half of April seemed to get a lot of games ending up with scores in the 6 and 5 range with Cooking Mama: Cookstar the worst of the bunch with a score of 4.5. My one regret of not keeping up with Topic of the Day for awhile was highlighting the discussion regarding the behind the scenes drama of that games release.

Of course, a game is more than just a review score so do try to check out the articles to see what is appealing about those titles and if they might appeal to you also. And don't be shy of leaving your own take or thoughts about any of those titles now or in the future.



As always, you may want to check in and let us know what you are playing or the latest game you've just beat. However, with people staying in, there's probably been a lot more movie and TV watching so you may want to create a topic on a program or film you've seen recently in the Movies & TV Subforum.


And if none of that interests you then perhaps you might want to try guessing the Personal Text of the forum users here from past and present.

[Khushrenada]

Monday's Late Topic

The Mario Spinoff Final's Battle that no one wanted. Going with Mario Kart 64 because I still think a Mario Kart should win it over TTYD.

[Khushrenada]

While it may not affect most users here, the fact that there will be some 3DS and Wii U eShop closures in much of Latin America should be seen as an early warning to start getting your digital house in order for those systems as the end may be coming for them in other markets at some point as well. It's also a reminder for me to keep pumping out those Best of the eShop threads now to review its offerings before it gets shuttered one of these days.

[Khushrenada]

Let's highlight a topic that's getting some action right now on these forums about other non-Nintendo developers and what started on the bad news for Naughty Dog is now morphing into musings about the videogame industry as a whole. Drop your takes while they're hot!

[Khushrenada]

Paper frickin' Mario! When I talk post about how after 2017, I just haven't been feeling the hype or saying wow at a lot of what Nintendo has been releasing since, this is what I've been missing! That trailer looks hype and as one of the few people who enjoyed Sticker Star, I ain't worried if this is an RPG or not. It just looks like an adventure I want to take in any form. This origami idea? *chef's kiss* Inspired. What a bold, perfect direction for this series. TOPIC OF THE DAY! (Don't call it a comeback.)

[Khushrenada]

Since the topic of the day will never be about soccer, I guess I'll just re-highlight the news of some more additions to the Switch NES/SNES Online libraries. The day of topic!