On December 13 2024 03:56 KobraKay wrote: Its almost that time of the year when we get a Nintendo year review right?
This year im looking forward to that one more even than the steam one.
Year in Review 2024 for Nintendo just came out
My top three most played games on the Switch, this year, are Ring Fit Adventure (170 hours), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (78 hours), and Pokemon Shining Pearl (70 hours).
Yeah I'm back :D was more than a month without being able to access TL.
I'm late to the party as usual....My year in review was actually nice but it showed both myself and my kid shifted our attention to the switch after the first Q (and my steam review clearly shows the opposite).
On my end it was Pokemon Scarlet leading by a large margin, SM Odyssey came second with half the time followed by Arceus and Mario Kart.
Also had respectable times in Mario Party. I got a full year Nintendo online subscription so im expecting NES nostaliga to take a big chunk of my 2025 year in review
As for the switch 2 for some reason i'm loving everything about it and the confirmation of both digital and physical backwards compatibility (I thought only digital was expected!) was like the definitive selling point that I was missing.
Kid will be happy when he realises he will get to "own" my current switch :D
Also glad they are starting with a new MK, expected I know, but i remember in early days switch 1 playing a lot of MK with my wife and it was a blast now wiith the kids as well its going to be even better.
The quick nod to Mario Kart 9 in the Switch 2 teaser, and your post, got me thinking about what changes I'd like to see in MK9. After all, Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe) was the best-selling console game of the past decade or so, significantly outselling every other Switch game, PS4 game, PS5 game, and Xbox Series game. What could top that?
The answer, for me, is 100% this:
I don't think it's very likely to happen, but having races through other famous Nintendo games (and increasing the cast of racers to include other Nintendo franchises, similar to Super Smash Bros.'s roster) would probably create the most amazing hype possible for the next Mario Kart game. Have a 2D-Mario circuit/cup. Have a 3D-Mario circuit/cup. Have a Zelda circuit/cup. Have a Pokemon circuit/cup. Et cetera. Best fan service ever.
I would go for it for sure.
Not related but intriguing. I was looking into your tier list and saw that you play a multitude of genres and games but i miss seeing any luigi's mansion there.
Is there a particular reason those were a skip for you?
No particular reason! I played the very first one on GameCube and enjoyed it, and then never really got around to playing LM2 or LM3. They've both been recommended to me before, and they're on my list of games I'll likely buy once I'm done with my current backlog (currently I'm absolutely loving Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake). I haven't been trying to avoid LM2 or LM3, and they've gotten great reviews overall! I have nothing against the franchise
Thanks for the feedback!
I still have the 2nd voucher of one of those 2 for 100 deals in Nintendo online and LM3 is in contention so i decided to see where it standed in your list.
I would take over-zealousness with IP and being anti-rentals over battle passes, loot boxes and live service any day of the week. "Anti-consumer" and then meanwhile shit like Diablo Immortal exists.
On December 13 2024 03:56 KobraKay wrote: Its almost that time of the year when we get a Nintendo year review right?
This year im looking forward to that one more even than the steam one.
Year in Review 2024 for Nintendo just came out
My top three most played games on the Switch, this year, are Ring Fit Adventure (170 hours), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (78 hours), and Pokemon Shining Pearl (70 hours).
Yeah I'm back :D was more than a month without being able to access TL.
I'm late to the party as usual....My year in review was actually nice but it showed both myself and my kid shifted our attention to the switch after the first Q (and my steam review clearly shows the opposite).
On my end it was Pokemon Scarlet leading by a large margin, SM Odyssey came second with half the time followed by Arceus and Mario Kart.
Also had respectable times in Mario Party. I got a full year Nintendo online subscription so im expecting NES nostaliga to take a big chunk of my 2025 year in review
As for the switch 2 for some reason i'm loving everything about it and the confirmation of both digital and physical backwards compatibility (I thought only digital was expected!) was like the definitive selling point that I was missing.
Kid will be happy when he realises he will get to "own" my current switch :D
Also glad they are starting with a new MK, expected I know, but i remember in early days switch 1 playing a lot of MK with my wife and it was a blast now wiith the kids as well its going to be even better.
The quick nod to Mario Kart 9 in the Switch 2 teaser, and your post, got me thinking about what changes I'd like to see in MK9. After all, Mario Kart 8 (Deluxe) was the best-selling console game of the past decade or so, significantly outselling every other Switch game, PS4 game, PS5 game, and Xbox Series game. What could top that?
I don't think it's very likely to happen, but having races through other famous Nintendo games (and increasing the cast of racers to include other Nintendo franchises, similar to Super Smash Bros.'s roster) would probably create the most amazing hype possible for the next Mario Kart game. Have a 2D-Mario circuit/cup. Have a 3D-Mario circuit/cup. Have a Zelda circuit/cup. Have a Pokemon circuit/cup. Et cetera. Best fan service ever.
I would go for it for sure.
Not related but intriguing. I was looking into your tier list and saw that you play a multitude of genres and games but i miss seeing any luigi's mansion there.
Is there a particular reason those were a skip for you?
No particular reason! I played the very first one on GameCube and enjoyed it, and then never really got around to playing LM2 or LM3. They've both been recommended to me before, and they're on my list of games I'll likely buy once I'm done with my current backlog (currently I'm absolutely loving Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake). I haven't been trying to avoid LM2 or LM3, and they've gotten great reviews overall! I have nothing against the franchise
Thanks for the feedback!
I still have the 2nd voucher of one of those 2 for 100 deals in Nintendo online and LM3 is in contention so i decided to see where it standed in your list.
I appreciate you checking out my list for recommendations!
Besides Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake on Switch, I'm also currently playing Pokemon X (not on Switch) from the Gen 6 Pokemon X and Y games. I've been steadily grinding out all the mainline Pokemon games that I hadn't played growing up, and I've left this generation as the last set, since the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Z-A for Switch / Switch 2 takes place in the same setting, and I want it to be somewhat fresh in my mind.
On a related note, Pokemon Day is February 27th (just over a week from now), and there have consistently been Pokemon Presents videos on that day each year (basically Nintendo Directs / annual teaser videos for upcoming Pokemon games/ideas): https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Pokémon_Presents
I think it's reasonable to predict that we'll be hearing some Pokemon updates before February is over! And I'm creating a tier list of all the mainline Pokemon games too, with some lists of observations/likes/dislikes for each set/generation of games. I'll post it within the next few months, once I'm done with it, but in the meantime, here are 3 old school Pokemon clips that get me every time:
On February 17 2025 05:40 Turbovolver wrote: I would take over-zealousness with IP and being anti-rentals over battle passes, loot boxes and live service any day of the week. "Anti-consumer" and then meanwhile shit like Diablo Immortal exists.
Nintendo, like the entire industry, are a bunch of sleazy scum buckets. As a consumer, if you know that going into things this is how it is you're in an ok spot. after all, its just video games.
It is interesting that the Pinball Machine industry... the male centered fun-hobby industry before video games was just as scummy.
On February 17 2025 05:40 Turbovolver wrote: I would take over-zealousness with IP
they are attempting to patent vaguely defined game play mechanics thereby killing innovative new game mechanics by any small developer any where. Total. Scum. Bucket. Move.
Nintendo's behaviours make it impossible for me to celebrate their financial success. I do not think their stock price going up can be considered an unqualified positive as the poster indicated.
On February 25 2025 01:34 JimmyJRaynor wrote: Nintendo's behaviours make it impossible for me to celebrate their financial success. I do not think their stock price going up can be considered an unqualified positive as the poster indicated.
You literally created a whole-ass thread on this forum to talk about ATVI's stock price and celebrate it going up, and that's ATVI, the company that used their copyright on Starcraft to kill the Korean proscene, the whole reason a lot of us are even here on this forum.
You are just not a serious person. Like, what even can be said?
Not gonna lie, for once I was pretty disappointed.
The last ~6 minutes were about Legends: Z-A, the only reveal/elaboration that I was interested in. I suppose if someone enjoyed X and Y, then a lot of Z-A would resonate with them, but I'm currently playing X and it's nowhere near the top tier for me. Lumiose City is unreasonably large and unwieldy in X and Y, but I don't see how the Z-A version can match the expansiveness of Legends: Arceus, unless most of the gameplay is actually outside the city (and just not revealed yet).
I think having parts of the city as designated wild/battle/catch areas is clever, and being able to scale buildings and fly/float is nice. I also really like how battling can now incorporate dodging attacks, making it less traditionally turn-based and adding a new form of skill to combat. Battle mechanics can make or break an RPG for me, and I'm cautiously optimistic about Z-A's system.
I'm unhappy with the 3 starter Pokemon. Gen 2 except replacing Cyndaquil (my favorite of the 3) is lazy. If they didn't want to introduce new starter Pokemon, at least pick 3 old starter Pokemon that match or pick 3 old Pokemon/types that had never been starters before.
It's launching in late 2025. Looking forward to seeing more.
I really enjoyed X so going back to Kalos would be cool but it looks like its pretty focused in Lumiose only?
I enjoyed arceus novelty but at some point i felt a bit frustrated that it didnt feel my pokemon choices mattered at all. Also, at some point the grind of catching the same pokemon/using the same attack so many times started to take its toll. I was really glad when i finally got everything to catch arceus and be done with it. This was made much more problematic because afterwards i played 400h of scarlet with my kid and had so much fun for so long. Never felt like a chore.
So im not sure if i'll be jumping right away to ZA despite being a region that a like and potentialy having the novelty factor again.
On March 01 2025 02:55 Laurens wrote: I thought Legends Arceus was garbage tier so I’ll happily skip this one.
XCX though. Very much looking forward to that. In my top 5 games of all time.
Interesting; I loved it! If there's one thing I've learned about the mainline Pokemon games, it's that everyone seems to have a different personal tier list.
I've finally finished playing all the mainline Pokemon games/generations. I wrote down some thoughts/observations for each, and made a tier list. I color-coded each Pokemon generation, and I grouped each generation's remakes with their original games. Super subjective ranking, as always
Pokemon Mainline Games Tier List S: Gen 8 2nd Round (L:A) A+: Gen 5 Games (B/W) > Gen 5 Sequels (B2/W2) > Gen 4 Remastered (BD/SP) > Gen 4 Games (D/Pe/Pl) A: Gen 2 Remastered (HG/SS) > Gen 2 Games (G/S/C) A-: Gen 1 Remastered 2 (LGP/LGE) > Gen 1 Remastered 1 (FR/LG) > Gen 1 (R/B/G/Y) B+: Gen 9 1st Round (S/V) > Gen 8 1st Round (Sw/Sh) B: Gen 3 Remastered (OR/AS) > Gen 3 Games (R/S/E) B-: Gen 6 Games (X/Y) C+: Gen 7 Remastered (US/UM) > Gen 7 Games (S/M) C: C-: D: F:
Games:
Gen 1: Red/Blue/Green/Yellow – Original, straightforward, nostalgia, 151 Pokemon, outdated graphics, gameplay aged decently well, sets the bar with which I’ll be comparing every other Pokemon game
Gen 1 Remastered 1: FireRed/LeafGreen – QoL improvements (running shoes, can delete HM moves), better graphics, some significant neutral Gen 1 retcons (islands, changing Pokemon/types/moves/TMs), probably received better by younger players who don’t have any nostalgia from the original Gen 1 games
Gen 1 Remastered 2: Let’sGoPikachu/Let’sGoEevee – 3D Switch game, not open world, similar to Yellow, visible encounters (not random), weird/neutral Pokemon changes, decent next-gen QoL improvements, you might as well play this modernized/upgraded version of Gen 1 if you’ve never played Gen 1 before
Gen 2: Gold/Silver/Crystal – Great 2nd game after Gen 1, net positive improvements/graphics to Gen 1, 251 Pokemon now, 2 regions to explore (Johto + OG Kanto), slower/longer beginning than Gen 1 though, rival is worse than Gen 1, mostly unique towns but some are too similar to Gen 1 (Goldenrod = Celadon)
Gen 2 Remastered: HeartGold/SoulSilver – QoL improvements from Gold/Silver/Crystal (running shoes), way more Pokemon (251 -> 493), retcons (Flash HM->TM), remastered versions seem to be a net positive
Gen 3: Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald – Running shoes for movement, double battles, useless secret bases, early game is mainly normal/flying/bug types (copying Gen 1 and Gen 2) instead of more diverse types, can reuse TMs, free premier ball per set of 10 poke/other balls from mart (still have unlimited $ though), receiving the Exp. Share early (to give more Pokemon experience for battles) is a convenient change, arbitrarily given key TMs/HMs just to advance the very slow game progression, map is too spread out, game feels like it’s dragging/boring at times, Team Magma/Aqua trite story (to be expected in Pokemon), linear exploration, the Pokemon Contests + Pokeblocks + Cool/Tough/Clever/Beautiful/Cute are lame
Gen 3 Remastered: OmegaRuby/AlphaSapphire – Better graphics, 2 screens (GBA -> DS), triple battles, better battle animations, some neutral gameplay features from later-gen games (e.g., mega evolutions), some rare random encounters end up as 1v5 wild Pokemon (and other odd, surprising battle scenarios), Safari Zone is “removed” (now it’s just a regular area where you use your own Pokemon and Pokeballs), might as well choose the remastered versions, this generation wasn’t as fun or as entertaining for me
Gen 4: Diamond/Pearl/Platinum – Diverse wild Pokemon types during the first few hours of the game, starting Pokemon are all solid choices, decent quality-of-life (running shoes / organized backpack), impressive number of sidequests/post-game (Underground, Battle Tower, etc.), hackneyed story, linear, Platinum is generally perceived as much better than Diamond/Pearl, my ranking averages all three games
Gen 4 Remastered: BrilliantDiamond/ShiningPearl – Same negatives as Gen 4 (story, linear gameplay), even more positives though (more QoL, better graphics, even more optional content / post-game perks), slightly better than the original Gen 4 (worth it if you’ve never played Gen 4, but not worth it if you have)
Gen 5: Black/White – All 3 starter Pokemon are chosen (you pick one, and then you have two rivals), Pokemon Center now includes Poke Mart (instead of two separate buildings), DS = 2 viewing screens, linear gameplay, antagonists’ plot is interesting (Team Plasma wants to liberate all “enslaved” Pokemon), seasons/days affect the game, better graphics than Gens 1-4, diverse wild Pokemon types in early game, arbitrarily gifted TMs and HMs by NPCs (feels contrived/unearned), double/triple/ally/rotation battles, repels are necessary (encounter rates are insanely high, especially in caves, towers, and the tall grass), Elite Four onward is actually tough to solo-win with just the starter Pokemon (actually requires a team), two Exp. Shares is helpful for leveling up the team, a huge amount of optional and post-game content
Gen 5 Sequel: Black2/White2 – Proper sequel (expanded Unova region, same starter Pokemon / NPCs), extremely diverse wild Pokemon types in early game (normal, dark, bug, grass, water, electric, fighting), three Exp. Shares for leveling up faster, Team Plasma is gone / split between N (good) and Ghetsis (bad), plot isn’t as interesting anymore (compared to Black/White), linear gameplay (normal for Pokemon), arbitrarily gifted TMs and HMs by NPCs (feels contrived/unearned), double/triple/ally/rotation battles, Elite Four / late game is actually challenging, there’s a huge amount of optional and post-game content, decently reuses Black/White’s Unova region but there are still plenty of empty areas during main game
Gen 6: X/Y – Character models are kind of in-between the old-school 2D design and modern 3D design, mixed feelings about two sets of starters (Kalos + original Kanto), camera auto-zoom/spinning is jarring, too many Gen1 Pokemon in the early game (Pidgey, Weedle, Caterpie, etc.), lame Viridian Forest clone, starting with 4 rivals/friends (one of whom initially auto-heals you) is an interesting/unique approach, extremely diverse wild Pokemon types in the early game, Mega Evolutions / O-Powers aren’t appealing, Lumiose City is way too big/confusing for this game’s design and constantly-turning camera angles, arbitrarily gifted TMs/HMs, story and Team Flare aren’t great, very easy, post-game content is just okay
Gen 7: Sun/Moon – Actual full-scale 3D models (like in the later Switch games), camera is inconsistent, Alola region = Hawaii, the rival picks the starter that is elementally weak (not strong) against your starter, can sprint immediately (no Running Shoes needed), can check an attack’s stats/description during battle, Pokemon Refresh/Affection can lead to optional benefits, better graphics/cutscenes than previous Gens, older Pokemon look different/strange (like how Rattata is black instead of purple… and has a mustache), Exeggutor is now a giraffe dragon, Vulpix and Ninetales are now ice types, Diglett and Dugtrio have hair, more efficient PC/pause/combat UI/UX, battle attacks are labeled as super effective / not very effective, slow gameplay, too many cutscenes, diverse early-game Pokemon, early-game Exp. Share is an Exp. All, the Pokedex is controlled/haunted by a battery Pokemon (Rotom) who constantly talks and annoys me, Festival Plaza / Totem Pokemon / Mega Evolutions are uninteresting, bizarre interdimensional storyline, town gyms/badges are replaced with island trials/Z-Crystals, Team Skull is lame, Gen 7 is very different, too many mandatory distractions unrelated to exploring the world or catching/battling/playing Pokemon
Gen 7 Remastered: UltraSun/UltraMoon – Very similar to original Sun/Moon, upgraded versions overall, more Pokemon/forms/content, slightly different story/climax/finale, added quality-of-life improvements, might as well play this over Sun/Moon if you’ve never played Gen 7 (but I don’t really recommend Gen 7)
Gen 8 1st Round: Sword/Shield – 3D Switch game, open world, decently fun to explore and experience, very easy, didn’t really care for the new additions/transformations (raids, Dynamax, Gigantamax, etc.)
Gen 8 2nd Round: Legends:Arceus – 3D Switch game, open world, incredibly fun gameplay/exploration, entertaining sidequests, actually challenging, getting to choose how to interact with / fight Pokemon, this game is essentially what every child wanting to live in a wild Pokemon world dreamed of in 1996
Gen 9 1st Round: Scarlet/Violet – 3D Switch game, open world / non-linear, plenty to do, very easy, laggy, new Tera forms of Pokemon, 3 main questlines to complete (Nemona: defeating gyms and the elite four, Arven: searching for healing herbs and fighting Titan Pokemon, and Penny: fighting the Team Star bullies)
Gen 9 2nd Round: Legends: Z-A – 3D Switch game, open world/city, based on Gen 6 (X/Y, Kalos, Lumiose), can dodge attacks during combat, releases in late 2025, unsure if it will be as great as Legends:Arceus
I finished Pikmin 4 recently. It’s hands down my favorite game for the switch. The way it essentially doubled the campaign length was amazing. I didn’t do night missions till really late then was like both, woah this is amazing and why’d didn’t I do these earlier for the dog points! I played my first run doing mega dog attacks and am rerunning with a more multi commander split focused mindset with increased multitasking. I love how even after the entire campaign doubled, there was even more campaign in the origin missions, followed by even more campaign in the underground area. I think I put in 60hrs on my first play through!
XCX Definitive edition launches tomorrow. I’ve 100%ed it twice on Wii U. Will get it on Switch to 100% it a third time. Recommend it to everyone who hasn’t played it yet!
Just bought Suikoden I & II HD Remaster. Never played those games before, but I figured I'd like them because I enjoy RPGs and retro-style games. Holy crap, Suikoden I... What a letdown. Besides the graphics simply not making sense (environment has been beautified but the characters still look terribly pixelated), exploring rewards you with nothing, the NPCs reward you with nothing, and even if you spend all your money on armor, you consistently die during the first battle of the game. I thought the first time was either a fluke or intentionally designed to lead to a cutscene, but nope... you just lose. So after trying two more times, and getting obliterated all three of my first battles - even on Easy mode - I just quit. You start with a party of five people, and you just get party-wiped by the earliest enemies in the game. In one of the three battles, I technically "won" and it ended with one party member remaining, and the other four dead members didn't get any experience. Hard pass on this game, unless you want every battle to come down to RNG and/or you want to walk back to town to heal after every battle. What were the game devs thinking? One hour of my life down the drain isn't a big deal, but damn what a waste of $40.
Update #1: I figured some things out after looking up similar concerns online. Apparently, some battles at the start are indeed impossible to win, but there's also a chance to fight some beatable enemies too. Walking away from the starting area quickly puts my party in the no-win zones. Instead, after leaving the first town, I need to generate a few random encounters directly outside, and these fights are more likely to be appropriate. So I just walked back and forth for about 20 minutes without really traveling anywhere, until I won enough battles to level up a bunch. By level 7, I was able to reliably beat all the enemies in the first region. Still not a great first impression, but maybe now the game will at least be playable.
Update #2: Suikoden I is a remarkably unreliable and outdated game that really didn't age well. Items and equipment are very limited, even for an RPG from 1995. Some of the towns and routes are empty and worthless. The combat isn't anything special or fun or strategic either, essentially becoming a turn-based auto-battler. This won't be particularly high on my Switch game tier list; maybe playing the second Suikoden game in the bundle could boost the overall grade of this two-game package.
EPT
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