crispy4000

Time Spent: 15 minutes Rating: *** Action platformer that takes influence from a number of places. You have three air jumps/dashes, and can wavedash like in Smash Bros Melee (love it!). Every form of jumping and dashing is mapped to the same trigger button, so its never too cumbersome. There's also a Viewtiful Joe styled zoom in + slow down mechanic. And lastly, it's a dual-stick shooter where you fire with the right analog. Like Viewtiful Joe, I think the slow down mechanic becomes an excuse to ramp up the difficulty, which I'm not a big fan of. Visuals are a bit to simplistic for my tastes as well, maybe even a step below Grapple Force Rena.

Time Spent: 15 minutes Rating: ** This game has gotten high praise as an indie darling. It could be that there's some big payoff later I'm just not seeing at this point. Controls feel surprisingly great due to some heft to your cursor (even with the mouse). But I quickly noped out after learning I had placed a bunch of items incorrectly, according to some unexplained rules running behind the scene. I'd rather not waste my time guessing what the creator's OCD patterns are, which is the opposite of cathartic to me.

Wait for a PC port maybe? PS5 Pro?

Time Spent: 45 minutes Rating: *** A Metroidvania with a slightly garish color scheme, justified as you returning color to the world. Gameplay-wise it's very castlevania inspired, all the way to including a backdash. The character outline makes me think they were most inspired by GBA/DS ones. There's a Hollow Knight-like mechanic where you can recharge your magic/shield health by attacking enemies. Difference here is that you can optionally recharge this meter after it depletes completely (leaving you with individual health points left). So you can technically spam shots from the corner of a room at basic enemies. Just don't get hit unaware. Overall, its nothing unique, but is fun of what I played. Progression and map design feels a little hollow. The style points are probably the biggest thing going for it, as is the animation, but I'd still call it an acquired taste visually.

This should have been a slam dunk unless Respawn was stretched too thin.

If EA doesn't think it will succeed.

None of which happened for the factors you cited. They’re their own worst enemy at times. As I said, with software divisions combined, their at less risk today or a bomb than in the past.

There is no looming threat to their business fundamentals from iPhones, tablets and PCs. They’re on the verge of Switch being the best selling game platform of all time. That’s evidence enough to dispel the notion that their pitch isn't compelling enough. It's being propped up by things like Mario movies and theme parks too. We’ll see how the portable PC trend and cloud plays out… that’s what is new this go around. Nintendo may need to do something unique to make their new hardware exciting, but that’s the same challenge they take on every generation. And probably less of a risk than the Wii U with software divisions combined.

The skeptic in me expects one timeline to focus mainly on the FF7 plot itself, the second to pull in all the random grab bag of in-references, then they try to mash it together in the most contrived way possible by the end.

Apparently so. But don't worry, you can catch up in their gacha game.

This is also true. There's places in the world like Japan where modding closed hardware is illegal in of itself. We're worse off if that becomes the norm.

I don't think the conversation has fundamentally changed other than Sony and Microsoft doing it. Otherwise, its the same song and dance that suggested the PSP, the iPhone, etc would spell doom for Nintendo and they should start porting everything. (and look at how short sighted that ended up being with mobile, they never needed to do it) The reasons for keeping exclusivity have remained same. Their properties are popular enough to sell their hardware. When their hardware sells, they keep more royalties, and pay out none. With conservative game budgets, they have all the opportunity they need to make a killing. Furthermore, it doesn't fall on their hardware to sell itself. They'd probably exit that business if they ever went multiplatform. You could make a strong case that the Splatoon series could thrive even more as a multiplatform title. But Nintendo isn't in the business of making the most they can off individual titles. They're in the business of making people come to them, where they set the rules, and can best maintain their image as a family friendly destination. And sell dozens of millions of Mario games regardless.

Within the legal limits, sure. There is a right to use things you paid for in a non-illegal fashion. Tech would be better off if this principle was more universally applied, as right-to-repair is pushing for. Some Nintendo fans would like to see modding made illegal, took personal offense to Project M, etc. Overzealous opinions are present on both sides.

We have a different perspective, for sure. I don't mind any references to the original game's happenings, since it's been long enough and a lot of the twists are common knowledge. And its still a great game. Although I do feel somewhat bad for people at the end of remake lacking context. It's the stuff like this that bothers me. Just in the past week, I've learned about all sorts of things I would have never considered to be brought in, or even knew about like the existence of like the novel. Remake limits itself to one game, maybe two if you count Crisis Core. Rebirth, the references and inside knowledge keeps coming... PSA: A Final Fantasy VII Spin-Off You Didn't Play Matters In Rebirth KOTAKU.COM No spoilers, but you should catch up on The First Soldier and Ever Crisis before jumping in

I won’t say no in that case. Could you PM me it?

Their responsibility is to make money, yes. I buy less of their games as a result of them getting too greedy this gen, so in that respect, they’re losing me. I’m aware I’m probably an outlier considering the records they’re shattering. The question I have is if their pricing policies will ever come back to bite them in future generations. Switch 2 can’t rely on monopolizing the handheld space in the same way. They’re not in a bad position by any means, but it’s telling people this is what they’re about, when the future is subscription leaning. And where so many other libraries (with more reasonable discounts) can now be carried with you portably. They also have a responsibility to stay relevant in this environment. I look forward to seeing their case for that.

I’d argue that the desire to do so largely stems from the desire for a Switch Pro model that never materialized. And now that there’s viable dedicated handheld PCs out there, I think Nintendo’s stewing.

It’s true that you always have that choice as someone who purchases entertainment. (And less of a choice as someone who needs groceries) That said, I don’t think any of these companies plan to keep their online subscriptions in line with inflation. With subscription bases tapped, their responsibility to the shareholders is to squeeze us for more of what they can. Where I take issue with Nintendo’s game pricing is that I can’t afford to be a fan of theirs like I once was. Even when my gaming budget and income has changed for the better. That simply can’t be chalked up to inflation, but to Nintendo not discounting in the way they once did. And yes, I buy a ton more games elsewhere as a result. I am voting with my wallet. At least with console pricing, there’s material forces that dictate them staying close to full price these days. The games? Nintendo is largely alone in their discount policy. Even Rockstar games see deeper discounts years in.

I take issue because I’m a fan. Let’s put this another way: If they doubled or tripled the price of their online subscriptions overnight, would you say it’s not their responsibility to make it affordable?

You could justify any shit practice in this industry with the same logic.

Yes that’s the deal, same with console modding. I won’t pretend otherwise. Even though preservation is a part of that. Same with it being a fail safe if your console dies, as has happened with quite a number of Wii U’s. It does not negate the fact that they need to treat their consumers better. They prefer to go after pirates than discount and preserve.

Without emulation/modding, it's now impossible to play some of these games if you missed that window. Cherry on top, only Capcom had the gall to do decent going-away discounts. Nothing you say won't make the whole thing dumb.

Go turn on your 3DS or Wii U and try to buy something on said eShop.

Having a patreon that unlocks builds is skirting the line a bit. No idea if they could legally go after them for that. The emulator itself could be squeaky clean but they’re still using the Switch ecosystem to make money essentially. But hopefully you’re right.

How many storefronts is it that they’ve they killed now?