Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@Wesker nice, let me know how it goes - only if you like it though, I’ll feel bad if you don’t haha. I think you could feel the repetition a little once you’re on the surface but hopefully it’s a short lived downer as there is lots and lots of fresh stuff to do.

I decided to alternate Etrian Odyssey games with Ace Attorney in preparation for that new collection with the Apollo Justice games. Having beaten the first Ace Attorney again, I’ve never appreciated how good Rise from the Ashes was until now. I think it was always just very long and the DS version really did my head in with the gimmicks that didn’t fully work. The Switch version though takes away the annoying gimmicks (other than the Blue Badger puzzle) and it stands up as one of the most well thought out cases in the game. You get a real sense that the witnesses, victims, defendants etc all belong to the same police and prosecutorial community compared to some cases later in the series. It’s also one of the few times in the series that you basically work together with Edgeworth, a dynamic that I really wish was used more often as it feels good to come to the conclusions at the same time as the opposing counsel.

@kyleforrester87 Water Temple sucks. Wind Temple has a cool theme, but isn't very interesting in terms of gameplay (which, tbh, applies to the Temple boss as well). Lightning Temple is decent, but it's so murky and sandy that it's difficult to enjoy. I didn't get to the Fire Temple before stopping.

I actually prefer the Divine Beasts in BotW, tbh, since I found the concept of manipulating the orientation of the dungeons to be neat, and I found the build-ups to said dungeons to be more interesting.

Also, Korok puzzles are worse in TotK. Almost all I find now are these hideous fetch quest ones where you have to drag them over to their buddies.

Most gameplay aspects of TotK are an improvement over BotW, though. It has the most addictive open world to explore I've ever seen in a video game. I just wish the scripted stuff was better. Kinda hoping everything after the Temples makes up for those a bit.

@nessisonett Definitely. It's absolutely longer than it needs to be, but I've never understood why it's not more loved than it currently is. The epic scope and self-contained nature of the case makes it feel different from anything that came after it, and Gant is one of the most compelling Big Bads in the series. Utterly larger-than-life, but in terms of how the story pans out, also one of the most believable villains in the series to date.

Although tbh after the first game Edgeworth reappears almost exclusively to help you, with the exception of Mia's flashback cases in T&T.

Been playing through the Zelda Oracle games for the first time thanks to their drop on Nintendo Switch Online yesterday (currently 2 dungeons and two and a half hours into Ages) and it's really making me pine for more 2D Zelda games again honestly. It's been over a decade since we last got an original 2D Zelda and, while we got the absolutely stellar remake of Link's Awakening in the meantime (which still stands as my favourite Zelda game so far), I don't think it's too much to want something brand spanking new at some point, you know? I've still got a ton of 2D Zeldas left to experience myself (Oracle of Seasons, Minish Cap, the DS titles and Link Between Worlds) so I'm definitely not going to hit an event horizon for quite some time, but it still stings that my favourite part of Zelda is unquestionably the more neglected.

@nessisonett It's been nearly 2 years since I first played it and Rise From The Ashes still stands as my favourite case from all the games I've played so far (AA1-3 and the TGAA duology); just an excellently written, self-contained story filled with so many charming and memorable characters while also serving as a great bridge between AA1 and 2 (namely with the all the moments involving Edgeworth like you mentioned) and acting as great segway into Apollo Justice and beyond (such as the introduction of Ema Skye and the more 3D puzzles). The final cases of Great Ace Attorney Resolve came very close to dethroning it last year (and if we're looking at overall games, the TGAA duology is undoubtedly my favourite AA game) but in terms of singular cases? I don't think anything's beating RFTA for me

@Fizza I don’t think anything’s beating Bridge to the Turnabout any time soon!

@Ralizah It's a toss up between the lighting temple and fire temple as my favourite, I guess the fire temple itself is not as good but the lead up to it is really cool. I don't want to oversell it as it probably helps that my expectations were a little low going in, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the main story thread after the temples, it generally felt much less like I was going through the motions and I effectively mainlined it from there to the end, even though there were plenty of natural points in its progression to stop and go do something else I found I wanted to keep going to see where it all went, where as the temples I was just trying to get them done and out of the way, even when they were fun.

I view the Korok transportation puzzles as quite separate to the rest really, I agree they can be a bit of a bummer, mostly because they want to send you off in a direction you're not heading and it's a distraction. I tend to mark them as I find them, and then when I have plenty of materials I do a bunch of them at once using an appropriate autobuild. They are really quite easy plus you get double bubble!

But, the ultimate joy of TOTK and BOTW comes from every step of journey, not the reward at the end.. which is more often than not an Opal.

@Bentleyma Your PS5 and PS3 are both giving you dirty looks...

I've been easing myself back into gaming after 1.5 months off by diving into the oodles of expansion pass DLC I've ignored in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe until now.

I'd like to actually make some progress on my Switch backlog again before getting swallowed in the Game Pass tidal wave (Starfield; Persona 5 Tactica; Persona 3 Reload; Silksong) that's coming.

@Bentleyma You better. I read on their social media accounts that they are considering exploring other options.

Is anyone planning on buying the Baten Kaitos remastered collection in September? I don't know much about the games but I've heard so much praise for this series while growing up. Never played them because I didn't have a GameCube. I'd be remiss to pass up on this opportunity to play them, so I definitely want to get the collection on day one.

@Bentleyma XBC3 is amazing, as is SMO to be fair which I know you’re playing (again?) now. I’d probably give Pikmin a punt if I were you, no history with the series but it looks interesting.

God tier games, worth owning a Switch for any one of these:

Breath of the Wild
Tears of the Kingdom
Super Mario Odyssey
Xenoblade Chronicles 2
Xenoblade Chronicles 3

@Bentleyma XC3 is a masterpiece. Best game on the system.

Pikmin 4 is a lot of fun as well.

What else you looking at?

@Bentleyma nah, tbh I didn’t clear BOTW. No drama there.

@Bentleyma BotW is one of the least story-driven games I've ever played. If you know the characters, you won't even miss anything.

Kirby and the Forgotten Land is a must-own, too. Definitely pick it up at some point. Probably my favorite game in the series, or at least toe-to-toe with Planet Robobot.

Really incredible how I just have no feelings towards Pokémon whatsoever. I didn’t even have a GBA, it’s not like I’m one of those purists or whatever, the games just keep going with barely any improvements. A shame because Legends Arceus was brilliant but that mini Direct thing felt like a franchise running out of ideas.

A bit late to the party but I finally ordered Tears of the Kingdom. Should be here today, but not sure if I'll be able to get to it until later in the week.

I'm a little imposed by it's apparent sheer size, but hopefully I'll be able to at least work through the main quest by the time Wonder releases.

@Bentleyma How far in are you?

@nessisonett PLA was a shockingly fresh experience, and while Scarlet/Violet have a million issues, they're still the best mainline games in a decade or so. I'm... cautiously optimistic for the future.

@Bentleyma Yup. It's one of the most technically impressive games on the system. The improvements to visual effects and especially character animation make it look almost generationally better than XC2. The game manages to avoid the resolution dips that plagued earlier Switch entries when undocked as well.

Gem crafting... that should be chapter two, I think. The game should really open up soon. And when it does, the game becomes immensely better, because unlike previous games, XC3 actually has a lot of really good side-quests and a ton of stuff to see and do in the open world.

@LtSarge I loved the first Baten Kaitos back on the GameCube and hope it holds up. The battle system uses cards randomly drawn from a deck, so takes a little getting used to. It’s fast paced and quite unique, but also very enjoyable. Everything in battle uses cards, even potions and consumable food, and some cards change over time. Food/drink such as milk can go off: I don’t remember exactly, so may be wrong, but I think it could then be used to poison enemies. The visuals use beautiful pre-rendered backgrounds, which was unusual by then, but meant that more fantastical and detailed themes could be used. I also remember the music being quite nice. Hopefully the backgrounds have been nicely upscaled! One thing I didn’t like was the voice acting, as it sounded like it had been recorded using a phone from 1910 with a thermal sock covering the mouthpiece. In the original it could be turned off completely.

I haven’t played the second one, which is a prequel (although I guess needs to be played second as it will spoil things), but people seemed to like it. Apparently the battle system was simplified a bit.

@Bentleyma Considering how their older games struggled with other publishers, I'm willing to bet they enjoy the security and resources that come with being a first-party Nintendo dev.

Besides, even if it means needing to get a bit more creative with the technology, they're able to stand out on the system relatively easily. XC3 would be a good-looking but not visually remarkable game on Playstation or Xbox. On Switch, though, it really stands out.

btw how're you liking it so far? Seems like you got a fair bit further.