@Serpenterror Nice as it would have been to have the Sega CD version too, I suspect the problem with that idea is that it has some plot differences with the PS1 version. At least Lunar SSS, not sure about Eternal Blue. So you couldn't use the same save file and switch between versions. I suppose they could have done a separate save system, but that would have been more complicated.
Can someone let me know if it is possible to play local and online at the same time? For example, if I want to play ludo with my brother and his daughter (who live in a different town), can all three of us play at the same time (him and her in his Switch in his house, me on mine at my house)?
I also ticked Zelda 2 off my list with the help of save states. Back in the day I never actually made it to the last Palace, and never would have finished it (on the Wii VC) without save states. I think the article raises one of the dangers of relying on mod cons too much: playing a game can become almost a tick box exercise. For my own enjoyment I find that I need to strike a balance between playing a game 'old school', without any aids, and following a guide / using save states. If I rely too much on the latter, I soon get bored of the game, if I take the former approach, I can get frustrated (I no longer have that much time to play games!) But definitely I would not have finished many of the games I've enjoyed in the past 10 years without some of those mod cons - and I'm very glad I did it.
@JaxonH By visual style I meant only the oversexualised characters (e.g. wearing a thong into battle? Really?). I am also sure that not every single character is oversexualised, otherwise yes, it would be a Senran Kagura game.
I've left this comment on another site but I'll repeat it here:
Just because it is common in these types of games, it does not make it 'OK'. Mind you, it is possible to go for an anime style without the oversexualised characters (Ni No Kuni), or even to tone it down to the point where it does not get in the way (Skies of Arcadia). With Pyra it seems dialled up to 11, gratuitously so in my opinion. I do think we have to call it out when we see it, otherwise we perpetuate these tropes as "this is the way things are always done". That is not to say the rest of the game is bad, but every game has positive and negative aspects and this definitely falls in the negative side for me.
The thing that really baffles me is how all major publishers have done away with the physical manual. And they all did it together around 2012-13, as this generation got going. It smells a bit like collusion to me. I can understand why they do it:
1. It lowers manufacturing costs
2. It puts downloads on an equal footing with physical releases. As downloads always have bigger margins than physical, anything that nudges the customer towards download (or at least does not make it appear as if download is second-best) in in the publisher's interest.
3. It segments the market into those willing to pay for premium 'special editions' (sometimes little more than what a 'standard edition' would have had a couple of decades ago, especially when you compare with big-box PC games) and those looking for the most budget release possible.
In any case I would have thought that for Nintendo, which prizes being seen as a premium, quality publisher, retaining manuals would make sense. They make the purchased product that much more special.
@ThomasBW84 you said "Nintendo took its focus on creating a fresh brand seriously and came up with new cases - they're reminiscent of those we see with the PS Vita, in a sense." Don't the Switch cases look a lot more like the PSP cases?
It would be nice if Nintendo Life reviewed the in-game economy of the game after some time on the market. For example, how onerous is it to earn a fair number of orbs for free, how that affects game progression etc.
"We've been with Nintendo for a very long time" - this is some kind of ice-breaking joke right? As a joke it is pretty good albeit not the best timing for it. If it is intended as a statement of fact maybe it classifies as "fake news"; I did not notice them "being with Nintendo" during the past few years for example.
More seriously, don't digital triggers scupper Gamecube VC? How is one going to play Mario Sunshine with digital triggers? I tried once and it was much, much more difficult to control FLUDD.
Alex, don't worry about the 3rd party support. Remember: that guy from SEGA is considering making games for Switch. I mean, it's great he's not ruling it out. I'm sure there are others who are not ruling it out either.
I thought the presentation was really poor. It felt like it had been stitched together over the past couple of weeks - rather than being planned for several months as it should have been.
For me the low point was the collection of misfits from 3rd party studios that had to stand there and pretend to have a strong lineup of games. Hilariously all the poor SEGA guy could say was that they were 'considering' making some games for Switch. It was just embarrassing, none of those people added much to what we already knew from their studios' names appearing on the slide on 3rd party support.
This is a console that feels rushed to market for a 3/3 release; the presentation has convinced me to wait until at least the holiday season. Hopefully there will be a bundle available then, ideally with Mario Odyssey.
@Arngrim I think you've nailed. Nintendo seems to be overestimating the value of what they are offering with Switch. I fear that they are in for a rude awakening, and it'll be sad because they will probably offer the best games, but that does not justify the overpricing they are proposing.
I think I will pass on this online service unless it's very cheap (which being Nintendo, it will not be), it's not for me. After all I'm just a lifelong Nintendo fan with two young children - clearly not their target market it seems.
Is this some kind of sick joke? Are they mocking us?
Surely with digital discounts they can see the take-up of the various offers. Is anyone actually using these pathetic discounts? I would love to see the stats for this one.
@gatorboi352 I do own a Wii U but mine seems faulty - you can't take it more than a room away and it loses connection.
Seriously, the Wii U did not deliver the 'portable home console' experience - in my case I can take it to my bedroom (just above the living room) but if I try to sit in the armchair that is next to my bed it loses connection. So I can play in bed (not very comfortable) but not sitting down. Let alone taking it to the study which is yet another room away.
Seriously, as someone who often has to fight to get TV time I'm looking forward to this. Specifically for RPGs: I don't get enough TV time to grind up these days, but with the Switch I should be able to build up my level off-TV and play the big battles on TV.
How about this idea: what if the base unit that connects to TV is based on X2 but the mobile is X1? Games would come in two sizes like is the case for iPhone and iPad. Are we sure the base unit is a dumb terminal? Will it have any CPU or GPU of its own? Or RAM? Will it improve the quality of the pixels?
Funny thing is I kind of expected NX would be based on mobile technology. Earlier this year we had some claims that it was going to be based on tech that was beyond current gen, followed by others soon after claiming it was going to be less powerful than PS4/XB1.
The reality is that they were both right: it is based on technology that is more powerful than current gen mobiles, but less than PS4.
Personally I'm resigned to having NX as my 2nd console, so I'm OK with that. I will play the AAA 3rd party games on PS4 and I want NX to give me different gameplay experiences.
@antipop621 That was exactly my experience when I played it on PC.
In fairness, I was playing on OnLive (remember that?). I wonder if my struggles were due to lag issues.
But what isn't lag and is poor game design is that when you started that boss fight you could not exit and try to power up by collecting more health upgrades etc. That infurated me almost as much as the difficulty in the boss fight itself. Unless there is a fix to allow an easier time with that boss fight I'm unlikely to buy this game.
This would be a good idea. But for all that is holy please have a unified account system. I just will not buy the same game twice to play on my TV and on the go.
There is not much news value in the September guesswork. There are only so many months left in the year. It is likely to be after the Summer so it sticks in people's minds. Christmas period is already crowded with other entertainment announcements. So that leaves September or October as the likeliest months for a reveal. The rest seems to be a random collection of warmed-up rumours we have heard before.
What is missing from this analysis is discussion of this year's new hardware. You may have heard of it: iOS & Android.
Seriously though, I think any analysis of Nintendo's strategy that does not consider the implication of these new platforms is myopic. They are not going to me little bolt-ons, but core to their approach to providing gameplay experiences.
IGDA makes a good point. If your employee is the subject of a hate campaign by a racist group plaguing the industry such as GG then silence is not a neutral stance. GG has now won. I suppose GG will now have moved on to their next victim. Perhaps someone who posted something they might regret on social media? Or voiced a politically controversial position? Or who once watched a porn video on their company's PC? GG will find out and fan a mob against you. Not a good day for the industry and IGDA is right to call this out.
Nintendo is a quaint company. They were so much more. They could be so much more. But they would rather not be. They would rather not change. That is fine, they can stick to the niche to which they have been reduced. It is a comfortable niche, and I say that as someone who has bought 2 Wii Us (for me & to have at my parents) and four 3DS models (only missing the N3DSXL). But I certainly will not buy digital games from them because of their restrictive practices. I will always buy from Sony because of the cross-play with PSVita. For example, I've just bought Bastion for £3.39 (a steal!) and can play in my PS4 and PSV. Could have been you Nintendo!
Affordable Space Adventures on sale again, this time better than before Xmas... I shouldn't have bought it then and I would have saved £2. Or rather, I should have played it after buying it.
An important feature of the 'mission based' structure was that it was better suited to short bursts of play which are better for a portable device. I really enjoyed playing this in my commute to work many years back.
Any supplemental device risks fracturing the user base. Mention of the SEGA 32x is never far away. Nintendo will of course be very aware; presumably this is why in the past they have talked about the iOS approach of having a base game and an 'HD' version which requires better hardware / an upgrade.
Ah, so the killer skill that they are going to bring to mobile which will allow them to succeed where Capcom etc. have not is... Their marketing skills! Looking at how they have marketed the Wii U, I don't think so.
XC has a nice discount but as for Kid Icarus, I would go for the physical version which at the moment goes for £1 cheaper than this download at Zavvi. You get the stand too. To me this sale just highlights how ludicrous the digital prices are compared to physical.
LOL at this sale. Ultimate NES Remix is £11.99 at Zavvi right now (new) vs. £20.99 at the "Black Friday Sale" price. More like "Black Friday Fail" price.
12 out of 15 games are 1st party titles; I think this list is too skewed towards Nintendo's own output. I personally would have listed Rayman Legends & Deus Ex ahead of some of the titles on this list. Or even LEGO City Undercover or LEGO Marvel Superheroes. Also, where is Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate? There were some good 3rd party games earlier on in the system's life which should have made the list or the honourable mentions ahead of some others (looking at you Wii Fit U). Just my opinion of course.
Comments 86
Re: Review: Lunar Remastered Collection (Switch) - Two Of The Most Charming RPGs Ever Get A Fair, If Flawed, Port
@Serpenterror Nice as it would have been to have the Sega CD version too, I suspect the problem with that idea is that it has some plot differences with the PS1 version. At least Lunar SSS, not sure about Eternal Blue. So you couldn't use the same save file and switch between versions. I suppose they could have done a separate save system, but that would have been more complicated.
Re: Switch Online N64 Controllers Have Been Restocked In North America
Can you use these on an Xbox to play Rare Replay? Either via Bluetooth or wired?
Re: Random: Could Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Be The Final Part Of A Trilogy Of Zelda Games?
How will it rank against the original Zelda trilogy? I mean of course Faces of Evil, Wand of Gamelon and Zelda's adventure.
Re: Nintendo Adds N64 Controller Support To 3D All-Stars Version Of Super Mario 64
Can you use it on Xbox One with the Rare Replay games? Is it just like another Bluetooth controller?
Re: Review: Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics - You Won't Get 'Board' Of These Games Easily
Can someone let me know if it is possible to play local and online at the same time? For example, if I want to play ludo with my brother and his daughter (who live in a different town), can all three of us play at the same time (him and her in his Switch in his house, me on mine at my house)?
Re: Shakedown: Hawaii For Wii U Arrives Next Week
Shakedown Collectors more like.
Re: Feature: "Nintendo Killed My Son!" - Pulling Apart A Tragic Headline More Than Two Decades On
It is a headline from The Sun. Therefore you should assume that it is a lie as a matter of course.
Re: Random: Looks Like Capcom Forgot To Remove Mention Of The Wii In Ace Attorney Trilogy On Switch
Didn't Capcom once use an IGN branded picture for the Wii cover of Okami? It seems not much has changed in their QA department.
Re: Soapbox: In Praise Of Save States, Rewinds And Walkthroughs
I also ticked Zelda 2 off my list with the help of save states. Back in the day I never actually made it to the last Palace, and never would have finished it (on the Wii VC) without save states.
I think the article raises one of the dangers of relying on mod cons too much: playing a game can become almost a tick box exercise. For my own enjoyment I find that I need to strike a balance between playing a game 'old school', without any aids, and following a guide / using save states. If I rely too much on the latter, I soon get bored of the game, if I take the former approach, I can get frustrated (I no longer have that much time to play games!) But definitely I would not have finished many of the games I've enjoyed in the past 10 years without some of those mod cons - and I'm very glad I did it.
Re: Takahashi, Miyamoto And Shiota Discuss Proportion Of Female Employees In Nintendo’s Development Departments
@Mayor_Haggar you are right. The answers were good but they didn't really answer the question. What is the proportion in %?
Re: Ubisoft Shutting Down Online Services For Older Just Dance Games On Wii And Wii U Next Month
I like the old blue banners in NL.
Re: Soapbox: Nintendo's Maddening Stance On Retro Gaming Is Driving Me To Piracy
This article reflects my own views perfectly. Thank you.
Re: Review: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
@JaxonH By visual style I meant only the oversexualised characters (e.g. wearing a thong into battle? Really?). I am also sure that not every single character is oversexualised, otherwise yes, it would be a Senran Kagura game.
I've left this comment on another site but I'll repeat it here:
Just because it is common in these types of games, it does not make it 'OK'. Mind you, it is possible to go for an anime style without the oversexualised characters (Ni No Kuni), or even to tone it down to the point where it does not get in the way (Skies of Arcadia). With Pyra it seems dialled up to 11, gratuitously so in my opinion.
I do think we have to call it out when we see it, otherwise we perpetuate these tropes as "this is the way things are always done". That is not to say the rest of the game is bad, but every game has positive and negative aspects and this definitely falls in the negative side for me.
Re: Review: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Switch)
I will not be picking this up. For me the visual style with over-sexualised female characters is a deal breaker.
Re: Editorial: The Ongoing Pleasures of Nintendo Switch Boxes, Cartridges and (Occasionally) Manuals
The thing that really baffles me is how all major publishers have done away with the physical manual. And they all did it together around 2012-13, as this generation got going. It smells a bit like collusion to me. I can understand why they do it:
1. It lowers manufacturing costs
2. It puts downloads on an equal footing with physical releases. As downloads always have bigger margins than physical, anything that nudges the customer towards download (or at least does not make it appear as if download is second-best) in in the publisher's interest.
3. It segments the market into those willing to pay for premium 'special editions' (sometimes little more than what a 'standard edition' would have had a couple of decades ago, especially when you compare with big-box PC games) and those looking for the most budget release possible.
In any case I would have thought that for Nintendo, which prizes being seen as a premium, quality publisher, retaining manuals would make sense. They make the purchased product that much more special.
Re: Editorial: The Ongoing Pleasures of Nintendo Switch Boxes, Cartridges and (Occasionally) Manuals
@ThomasBW84 you said
"Nintendo took its focus on creating a fresh brand seriously and came up with new cases - they're reminiscent of those we see with the PS Vita, in a sense."
Don't the Switch cases look a lot more like the PSP cases?
Re: Feature: The Growing Pains of Curation on the Nintendo Switch eShop
Great article, thanks.
Re: Fire Emblem Heroes Microtransaction Prices and Early Impressions Emerge
It would be nice if Nintendo Life reviewed the in-game economy of the game after some time on the market. For example, how onerous is it to earn a fair number of orbs for free, how that affects game progression etc.
Re: Talking Point: Considering the Paid Online Service for the Nintendo Switch
I have a lot of confidence in Nintendo's pricing for this service. Everything about Switch screams value for money right now.
We'll be lucky if it doesn't cost $100 a year, with extra to use the voice chat via your smartphone.
Re: Nintendo Forces Us To Think Differently, Says EA's Patrick Söderlund
"We've been with Nintendo for a very long time" - this is some kind of ice-breaking joke right? As a joke it is pretty good albeit not the best timing for it.
If it is intended as a statement of fact maybe it classifies as "fake news"; I did not notice them "being with Nintendo" during the past few years for example.
Re: Soapbox: Nintendo's Switch Plan is Starting to Take Shape
More seriously, don't digital triggers scupper Gamecube VC? How is one going to play Mario Sunshine with digital triggers? I tried once and it was much, much more difficult to control FLUDD.
Re: Soapbox: Nintendo's Switch Plan is Starting to Take Shape
Alex, don't worry about the 3rd party support. Remember: that guy from SEGA is considering making games for Switch. I mean, it's great he's not ruling it out. I'm sure there are others who are not ruling it out either.
Re: Soapbox: The Switch Presentation Was Good, but Not Perfect
I thought the presentation was really poor. It felt like it had been stitched together over the past couple of weeks - rather than being planned for several months as it should have been.
For me the low point was the collection of misfits from 3rd party studios that had to stand there and pretend to have a strong lineup of games. Hilariously all the poor SEGA guy could say was that they were 'considering' making some games for Switch. It was just embarrassing, none of those people added much to what we already knew from their studios' names appearing on the slide on 3rd party support.
This is a console that feels rushed to market for a 3/3 release; the presentation has convinced me to wait until at least the holiday season. Hopefully there will be a bundle available then, ideally with Mario Odyssey.
Re: Breaking Down the Nintendo Switch Online Service Details
@Arngrim I think you've nailed. Nintendo seems to be overestimating the value of what they are offering with Switch. I fear that they are in for a rude awakening, and it'll be sad because they will probably offer the best games, but that does not justify the overpricing they are proposing.
I think I will pass on this online service unless it's very cheap (which being Nintendo, it will not be), it's not for me. After all I'm just a lifelong Nintendo fan with two young children - clearly not their target market it seems.
Re: New Super Mario Bros. Discounts Hit My Nintendo for PAL Gamers
Is this some kind of sick joke? Are they mocking us?
Surely with digital discounts they can see the take-up of the various offers. Is anyone actually using these pathetic discounts? I would love to see the stats for this one.
Re: Talking Point: The Nintendo Switch Pitch - A Jack of All Trades
@gatorboi352 I do own a Wii U but mine seems faulty - you can't take it more than a room away and it loses connection.
Seriously, the Wii U did not deliver the 'portable home console' experience - in my case I can take it to my bedroom (just above the living room) but if I try to sit in the armchair that is next to my bed it loses connection. So I can play in bed (not very comfortable) but not sitting down. Let alone taking it to the study which is yet another room away.
Re: Talking Point: The Nintendo Switch Pitch - A Jack of All Trades
Seriously, as someone who often has to fight to get TV time I'm looking forward to this. Specifically for RPGs: I don't get enough TV time to grind up these days, but with the Switch I should be able to build up my level off-TV and play the big battles on TV.
Looking forward to it!
Re: Talking Point: The Nintendo Switch Pitch - A Jack of All Trades
But will it have blast processing?
Re: Guide: The Best Nintendo Cyber Monday Deals - US & UK
@PlywoodStick Thank you, I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice the hidden advertisement.
Re: Nintendo Appears at Apple Conference to Announce Super Mario Run
Interesting that AC and FE have been delayed to Q1 2017.
Re: Video: A Look at Three Star Wars Games That Shared the Fate of Alderaan
Great tagline
Re: Review: New Adventure Island (Wii U / TG-16)
Confused with the score. Says 9/10 on the top box but 8/10 at the bottom.
Maybe I'm reading it wrong?
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo NX Deal Is A Vindication Of Nvidia's Shield Program
How about this idea: what if the base unit that connects to TV is based on X2 but the mobile is X1? Games would come in two sizes like is the case for iPhone and iPad.
Are we sure the base unit is a dumb terminal? Will it have any CPU or GPU of its own? Or RAM?
Will it improve the quality of the pixels?
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo NX Deal Is A Vindication Of Nvidia's Shield Program
Funny thing is I kind of expected NX would be based on mobile technology. Earlier this year we had some claims that it was going to be based on tech that was beyond current gen, followed by others soon after claiming it was going to be less powerful than PS4/XB1.
The reality is that they were both right: it is based on technology that is more powerful than current gen mobiles, but less than PS4.
Personally I'm resigned to having NX as my 2nd console, so I'm OK with that. I will play the AAA 3rd party games on PS4 and I want NX to give me different gameplay experiences.
Re: Listing Points to Darksiders Heading to Wii U
@antipop621 That was exactly my experience when I played it on PC.
In fairness, I was playing on OnLive (remember that?). I wonder if my struggles were due to lag issues.
But what isn't lag and is poor game design is that when you started that boss fight you could not exit and try to power up by collecting more health upgrades etc. That infurated me almost as much as the difficulty in the boss fight itself. Unless there is a fix to allow an easier time with that boss fight I'm unlikely to buy this game.
Re: Editorial: Nintendo NX in Multiple Form Factors Could Shake Up the Video Game Industry
This would be a good idea.
But for all that is holy please have a unified account system. I just will not buy the same game twice to play on my TV and on the go.
Re: Rumour: French Media Claims Nintendo NX is Set for September Reveal
There is not much news value in the September guesswork. There are only so many months left in the year. It is likely to be after the Summer so it sticks in people's minds. Christmas period is already crowded with other entertainment announcements. So that leaves September or October as the likeliest months for a reveal.
The rest seems to be a random collection of warmed-up rumours we have heard before.
Re: Metroid: Other M Zero Suit Samus Figure Can Be Posed, Stamped On
I'm surprised this qualifies as "news".
Re: Editorial: Nintendo Did A Solid Job at E3 2016, But That Didn't Ease Long-Term Concerns
What is missing from this analysis is discussion of this year's new hardware. You may have heard of it: iOS & Android.
Seriously though, I think any analysis of Nintendo's strategy that does not consider the implication of these new platforms is myopic. They are not going to me little bolt-ons, but core to their approach to providing gameplay experiences.
Re: International Game Developers Association Issues Critical Statement Over Nintendo and Alison Rapp
IGDA makes a good point. If your employee is the subject of a hate campaign by a racist group plaguing the industry such as GG then silence is not a neutral stance. GG has now won.
I suppose GG will now have moved on to their next victim. Perhaps someone who posted something they might regret on social media? Or voiced a politically controversial position? Or who once watched a porn video on their company's PC? GG will find out and fan a mob against you.
Not a good day for the industry and IGDA is right to call this out.
Re: Editorial: Nintendo's Virtual Console Revolution Must Wait as We Pay Once More for SNES Games
Nintendo is a quaint company. They were so much more. They could be so much more. But they would rather not be. They would rather not change. That is fine, they can stick to the niche to which they have been reduced. It is a comfortable niche, and I say that as someone who has bought 2 Wii Us (for me & to have at my parents) and four 3DS models (only missing the N3DSXL). But I certainly will not buy digital games from them because of their restrictive practices. I will always buy from Sony because of the cross-play with PSVita.
For example, I've just bought Bastion for £3.39 (a steal!) and can play in my PS4 and PSV. Could have been you Nintendo!
Re: Nintendo Download: 28th January (Europe)
Affordable Space Adventures on sale again, this time better than before Xmas... I shouldn't have bought it then and I would have saved £2. Or rather, I should have played it after buying it.
Re: Feature: Why We're Still Playing... Metroid Fusion
An important feature of the 'mission based' structure was that it was better suited to short bursts of play which are better for a portable device.
I really enjoyed playing this in my commute to work many years back.
Re: Intriguing Nintendo Patent Points to 'Supplemental Computing Device' and Cloud Resources for a Gaming System
Any supplemental device risks fracturing the user base. Mention of the SEGA 32x is never far away.
Nintendo will of course be very aware; presumably this is why in the past they have talked about the iOS approach of having a base game and an 'HD' version which requires better hardware / an upgrade.
Re: Nintendo's Smart Device Strategy Is About Getting People To Interact With Its IP More Frequently, Says Tatsumi Kimishima
Ah, so the killer skill that they are going to bring to mobile which will allow them to succeed where Capcom etc. have not is... Their marketing skills!
Looking at how they have marketed the Wii U, I don't think so.
Re: Nintendo of Europe's eShop Cyber Deals End With a Bang on Wii U and 3DS
XC has a nice discount but as for Kid Icarus, I would go for the physical version which at the moment goes for £1 cheaper than this download at Zavvi. You get the stand too.
To me this sale just highlights how ludicrous the digital prices are compared to physical.
Re: Nintendo of Europe Confirms Its Second Batch of eShop Cyber Deals
LOL at this sale. Ultimate NES Remix is £11.99 at Zavvi right now (new) vs. £20.99 at the "Black Friday Sale" price.
More like "Black Friday Fail" price.
Re: Level-5 CEO Talks About Bringing the Company's Games to Wii U and NX
Ni no kuni port please. What a lovely game.
Re: Feature: Our Top 10 Wii U Retail Games - Third Anniversary Edition
12 out of 15 games are 1st party titles; I think this list is too skewed towards Nintendo's own output. I personally would have listed Rayman Legends & Deus Ex ahead of some of the titles on this list. Or even LEGO City Undercover or LEGO Marvel Superheroes. Also, where is Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate? There were some good 3rd party games earlier on in the system's life which should have made the list or the honourable mentions ahead of some others (looking at you Wii Fit U).
Just my opinion of course.
Re: Site News: Nintendo Life Turns 10 Today
Happy birthday!