@AgentCooper No problem. I'm an unrepentant Nintendo geek and will look for any excuse to gab about the wonderful games on this system.
Yeah, Nintendo is pretty good about reissuing some of its games physically with the extra updates on the cartridge. Very, very cool. That said, the convenience of digital has mostly won me over.
Be sure to keep watch on sites like Amazon and raise.com for deals on discounted eshop credit. Where I live, it's not uncommon at all to see $5 off $50 eshop credit deals.
So let's say you want two first-party games. That would be $120 normally. With the vouchers, that comes down to $100. With discounted credit at the rate I mentioned, that price goes down to $90. Then also consider you're getting the equivalent of $6 digitally in gold coins.
Just be sure not to spend the vouchers on games that aren't full-price. I don't know what Nintendo's pricing is like outside of the U.S., but the vouchers are a wash for anything under $59.99.
It was particularly cool getting the recent Zelda game (Tears of the Kingdom), Nintendo's first $70 release, for the equivalent of $45 with a voucher and discounted credit.
In terms of grips, the big contenders are Skull and Co. and Satisfye. I personally own a Skull and Co. NeoGrip for my OLED that has served me really well. It comes with a variety of attachable handles to modify the grip for bigger or smaller hands (having very large hands, I tend to go for the largest ones).
The biggest issue is it won't fit in most cases be default with the handles attached, but I've actually found even just having the frame of the grip left on the system helps with leverage versus naked joycons.
So, since you're receptive... more recommendations! These are ones I love, with with some caveats for each.
I wanted so badly to put Xenoblade Chronicles 3 on my first list. It's an INCREDIBLE game. Legitimately perhaps my favorite JRPG of all time at this point. The music is gorgeous, it delivers unbelievable visuals for the system (you could easily mistake it for a PS4 release at points), the cast is one of the best I've seen in a video game, the plot is gripping and twisty (although, fair warning: it won't hesitate to punch you hard in the gut, and certain scenes probably hit even harder for those with children), and it effectively but subtly touches on a number of socio-political, existential, and religious themes that make the experience that much more special.
That said, it... is the final game in a trilogy. You don't need to play the previous games to understand and appreciate this one, but certain references and returning characters won't be as meaningful if you don't play the previous two games, and it can also spoil certain plot elements from them. And the previous two games are excellent in some respects, but flawed in others. And, more important, they both have resolution issues when played undocked, which will be your primary means of interacting with the system. XC3, through some black magic upscaling solution, manages to turn out visuals undocked that look almost native most of the time, making it a far better experience when undocked. The game's color palette also, frankly, looks stunning on the OLED display, with lots of sharp blacks being punctuated by neon colors that pulsate through the screen.
All this is to say that if you just want an AMAZING 100+ hour JRPG to play, grab XC3 and play it. It'll be an experience you'll never forget. If you have any interest in the first two games, you'd be better off playing those first... but whether you gel with those games or not, still get XC3, since it addresses nearly every flaw those games had.
If you've never encountered this series before, it's developed by Monolith Soft, a JRPG dev composed of old-school Squaresoft vets who formerly developed games for the PS1 and PS2 before being acquired by Nintendo. The Xenoblade games feature unique battle systems that feel like single-player evolutions of what you'd find in an MMORPG. Uniquely for Nintendo devs, their games are very cinematic and narrative-driven, and tend to feature more focused world design that funnels players through massive environments in a semi-linear fashion which balances exploration with consistent narrative pacing, akin to older JRPGs. And the games all have god-like soundtracks lol.
Since you're playing BotW, it's worth mentioning Monolith Soft also heavily helped Nintendo with that game as a support studio. Primarily in terms of open world environmental design.
They're sort of like Sony's Insomniac Games in the sense that they're the crown jewel of Nintendo's acquisitions who consistently release incredible games for the hardware.
Super Mario 3D All-Stars is another great release, collecting together three of the best older 3D Mario platformers of all time. In particular, Super Mario Galaxy is a masterpiece, and enjoys a beautiful native res/60fps remaster that elegantly adapts the Wii controls to a system without pointer controls. It's endlessly fun, gorgeous, has an amazing score, and features a strangely poignant atmosphere that balances on a tonal knife-edge between whimsy and melancholy (it is, to date, one of the only Nintendo games I've played that has caused me to cry lol).
The only problem? Nintendo, in its infinite wisdom, decided to make this a "limited" release for Mario's 35th anniversary, meaning they delisted it digitally after a year or so. So the only way to get it is physically. Now, I've heard physical copies are still not difficult to come by because they printed a ton of them, but the tactic of artificial scarcity they employed is one of the most deplorable things I've ever seen. No excuse whatsoever for it. Sony would have been raked over the coals for ever doing something like this, but somehow Nintendo gets away with it.
Still, it's a lovely collection, and it's worth buying for Mario Galaxy alone, so if you see it, I highly recommend grabbing a copy.
Metroid Dread actually has nothing wrong with it, other than that it's a $60 2D Metroidvania. But you can easily grab it in sales for less (I picked it up when it hit $30 at one point physically), and it's an amazing showcase for the OLED's screen with its gorgeous colors and sharp visuals.
On the same note, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze is one of the greatest 2D platformers ever made. Also worth picking that up if you can find it at a discount.
Definitely also check out Kirby and the Forgotten Land (the first fully 3D mainline Kirby platformer, and just a delight to play), Triangle Strategy (another tactical war game, but with an HD-2D artstyle akin to Octopath Traveler; it feels like a PS1 Squaresoft game that released in the modern era), Luigi's Mansion 3 (a cute adventure game with almost Pixar-like visuals where you vacuum up ghosts), and Pikmin 4 (a unique real-time strategy release from Nintendo; you essentially play as an alien who has to manipulate tiny, lemming-like creatures known as Pikmin in order to collect resources and survive against a variety of threats in your environment).
There's more, of course, so many more, but I feel like that's a lot for you to chew on for now
Just watched the credits roll in Another Code Recollection. I think I liked the first part (of the two included) a bit more as it felt more isolated & mysterious.
The first part has a very small cast, while the second's balloons comparatively and has a LOT more talky bits. Also, the first one largely takes place in a mysterious mansion while the second sees you exploring a generally cheery lakeside resort, just with a few dilapidated places closed to the public. Also, while the first's puzzles are unique across the board, the second one feels like they got a bit complacent as it feels like 50% of it's puzzles are just a lock hacking mini game where you have to pull off a random series of button presses/gyro gestures in the correct order, even though it does have a few really good ones thrown in (plus a gyro dependant "ball in a maze" puzzle that may call to mind a certain BotW shrine, lol). Neither part ever gets particularly hard though, as they're generally easygoing experiences, and it's worth playing both to fully experience the story.
Also, for those wondering, non-story related spoiler, you do unlock Ashley's original design/outfit from the first game once you complete both parts.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
@AgentCooper Yeah, it is a bit since I was excited to jump in and start with Xenoblade Chronicles and Fire Emblem: Three Houses. I bought them both right after I got the system up and running and had a hard time deciding which one to go with first, but obviously went with the former first since that was the only one I actually finished. I had picked several others I was going to play after those two, including Triangle Strategy, but again, it would be extremely hard to support playing more than one system right now. It also really sucks that I can't use my other game voucher either since I naturally let my online sub expire, which is partially my own fault, but still sucks.
I technically have all 3 systems like you, but only turn my Series X on for updates and to do the weekly +5 point rewards for games on Microsoft Rewards. Getting older usually means less time, for most at least.
PSN ID/Xbox Live Gamertag: KilloWertz
Switch Friend Code: SW-6448-2688-7386
@AgentCooper Technically not on purpose. It's my own fault like I said, but I stupidly forgot that you had to be a member to actually use them. Obviously I knew you had to be to buy them, but I somehow forgot in regards to actually using them while I was still subscribed.
PSN ID/Xbox Live Gamertag: KilloWertz
Switch Friend Code: SW-6448-2688-7386
I'm, very cautiously, keeping an eye on the new Endless Ocean.
I always wanted to try the ones on Wii, but the fact that this seems to be multiplayer centric & procedurally generated to a degree (it said the sea changes with each dive) are turnoffs.
Hope it has some sort of single player goals.
Currently Playing:
Switch - Blade Strangers
PS4 - Kingdom Hearts III, Tetris Effect (VR)
@nessisonett Well done! My performance has drastically improved since I realised that the order/positioning of the joker cards actually matters... (ie you want to have your xMultiplier cards on the far right, and your +Multiplier jokers on the left)
So I started playing Chorus on Series X as I was in a mood for a spaceship shooter and it got me thinking: what if Nintendo made an open world Star Fox game with RPG mechanics (e.g. gathering resources and upgrading your ship, like in Chorus). I mean surely that could work out. Star Fox games have always been on-rail shooters and that just feels wrong considering you're in space. There needs to be more freedom of movement. Making it open world feels very natural. You can have dog fights in space and then arrive at planets and use the Landmaster or have on-foot sections. In fact, it would be very much like Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time. We already know that Fox and friends have a lot of different attacks while on foot thanks to Smash Bros. It just makes sense to me and I really hope Nintendo gets on that soon. Star Fox needs to return with a bang.
@LtSarge Star Fox Adventures and Star Fox: Assault.
They've not always been on-rail shooters.
Oh, and the Switch version of Starlink: Battle for Atlas from Ubisoft can effectively be a Star Fox game of sorts thanks to a heavy collaborative effort with Nintendo.
Started Super Mario RPG. Cute, and the redone visuals and music are BEAUTIFUL on Switch, but sorta simple, and the dated level design doesn't do it any favors.
I'm glad I'm getting to play it, but I doubt it'll change my opinion that the Rabbids crossover RPGs from Ubisoft are, far and away, the best Mario RPGs to date.
I seriously can't believe that I'm playing The Thousand-Year Door now. I've been wanting to play it for so long now and it's finally here! The game looks absolutely clean on the Switch and the music as well as the presentation are fantastic as expected. Can't remember the last time I was this excited about a Nintendo game.
Super late I know but I checked out the Unicorn Overlord demo. Played probably only the first hour or two, but I liked what I tried. Its weird cause on paper this game is my jam, but I feel like audiences and games media collectively did a really poor job of explaining what this game is. Making it sound like this really convoluted messy experience that just completely put me off. And especially during the early part of the year there was so much other to play it was easy to just toss this aside. Now the year is really really dry (for my tastes) and hearing its on discount and that there was a multi hour demo I thought I'd finally try it. I dunno, maybe it gets really complicated later on, but at least based on the first few stages I cleared, people really oversold the complexity of this. (not to say the game isn't complex in a sort of depth kind of way, but from an actual mechanic gameplay sense it is very easy to pick up. Much easier than I expected given how people explained the loop).
Just finished Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch after 32 hours. Still can't believe that I've finally played through this game. So many years of wanting to play it but couldn't because I didn't have a GameCube or a Wii and even if I did, I would have to pay around €200 for a physical copy.
But I'm glad that I waited because this reworked version is sublime. The improved graphics are absolutely stunning, especially the lighting. It made the game much more enjoyable to play. And I'm sure people who have played the original will like the redone soundtrack. I can't compare it to the original, but for a first-time listener, it was amazing.
With that out of the way, the actual game is everything that I thought it would be. The story and the gameplay were excellent. It plays pretty much like the first game. The partners were much more likeable compared to the first game as they got more time to shine and felt more unique. I still would've liked to have interacted with them more throughout the story. But yeah, the game was so much fun to play and I enjoyed every minute of it.
One aspect that could've been improved is the chapters. Two of the chapters felt rather repetitive, which were Glitzville, which was basically a battle arena where you had to battle 20 opponents, and Poshley Heights, which was for the most part a train ride and the issue with this chapter was the constant back-tracking through the train. The chapters in the first Paper Mario were better overall in my opinion.
Having played the first two Paper Mario games now, I can see why the developers went for a completely different approach with the third game on the Wii (despite the obvious reason that Nintendo's studios were encouraged to utilise the Wii's capabilities). The gameplay is pretty much the same in the first two iterations and if they had made the third game similar, I would've gotten burned out in all honesty. I mean yeah, they went from an RPG to a 2D platformer, but it still had RPG elements, partners (even though they're nowhere near as unique as the ones in the first two games) and a rich story. In fact, having now played the first three games, I still think Super Paper Mario had the best story and the most interesting characters (specifically the villains) of the three games.
All in all though, I'm so glad to have finally gotten to experience this absolute gem of a game. If you're looking for a unique turn-based RPG, you absolutely have to play The Thousand-Year Door. In terms of the overall Paper Mario experience, it's easily the best one of all the games in the series.
That was the best Direct in a long time. New Mario & Luigi, new Zelda where you play as Zelda, new Mario Party with boards from MP 1 and 2, new trailer for Metroid Prime 4, Ace Attorney Investigations Collection (I'm fairly certain the Edgeworth games haven't been released outside of Japan, or at least not the second one) and a new "Danganronpa" game. This is turning out to be a fantastic year for gaming along with some compelling PlayStation and Xbox releases later this year (to clarify, M&L, Zelda, Mario Party and AA are coming out this year). I don't know how I'll have the time to play all of them lol.
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