Nintendo Switch Catch-All 2.0

Taharka wrote:

Started playing The World Ends With You on Switch last night. You can play in either Joycon mode (which only uses one of the two joycons, and turns the one with the home button off) or touchscreen mode, and I think it's safe to say that the game was really made for touchscreen mode.

It was. TWEWY was originally released on DS WAAAAAY back in 2007.

My understanding is that the Switch version is a port of the tablet/smartphone version, so it's even more touchscreen-only than the DS one was.

Yeah, I played through the DS one back in the day. The joycon controls just feel bolted on.

So Gamestop *did* allow me to purchase an e-shop card with their gift card, so I did that and just got Skyrim and Diablo 3 on sale today, and then got Stardew Valley just for fun. Yay!

Announced tonight: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 exclusively for the Switch next year, developed by Team Ninja.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Announced tonight: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 exclusively for the Switch next year, developed by Team Ninja.

Wow! That's really exciting. 4 player coop should be a blast

M:UA games were some of my favorite. It really disappoints me that the recent ports don’t even have all of the content from the first two games.

Just saw what is possibly my favorite video game trailer ever for the Switch version of Crawl:

Chimalli wrote:

M:UA games were some of my favorite. It really disappoints me that the recent ports don’t even have all of the content from the first two games.

The first one was a great co-op experience with my wife (friend/girlfriend at the time). Super excited to hear a new one is coming and Switch exclusive is a huge plus as a game being on the Switch is pretty much the only way I might get her to play.

Here's the trailer for anyone that hasn't seen it yet.

Oh yeah, probably swiftly forgotten was the premiere of a game called Sayonara Wild Hearts, which describes itself as "A Pop Album Video Game". Visually and stylistically it looks interesting. Sadly it's basically the precise era/type of pop music to repel me like Iron Maiden repels my old man.

The MUA3 announcement on Switch had the trailer. But I didn't see a play icon there. Just thought it was a screenshot when I clicked and then yay trailer.

Does anyone know when games should typically go live? Smash went live last night, but Katamari still isn't available to purchase yet.

DSGamer wrote:

Does anyone know when games should typically go live? Smash went live last night, but Katamari still isn't available to purchase yet.

Yeah usually midnight local.

Although the store updates at 10am pacific on Thurs with sales and stuff.

So maybe 15 minutes from now if that's the store daily update time?

Katamari is live - I just downloaded it.

So my first response to the Game Awards last night was that they were disappointing. What is silly about it is that I am disappointed by the announcements rather than the awards themselves, or the minimal screen time they got. Either I've grown to not care or I've become shamefully complicit in this farce of a commercial circus the industry is. I am, after all, a sucker for hype.

This gave way to realizing that the shame is really on me, for I wasn't merely hoping for but expecting a reveal of gameplay for either Metroid Prime 4 or Bayonetta 3. Shame on me for thinking Nintendo would reveal something substantial in an event where they have to share the spotlight. However, this also gave way to plenty of other thoughts, not least of which is how strange it is that I'm feeling a complete absence of major things to be hyped about. There's not really anything in 2019 that I'm looking forward to above all other things in a substantive way. Devil May Cry 5 is always the first thing that comes to mind, but with the release of Darksiders 3 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate there's nothing major for me to undoubtedly be hyped about.

All of this to say that I'm really, really, really itching for Nintendo to announce a new Nintendo Direct to more clearly detail items for 2019. Metroid Prime 4 is, at this moment, the only thing for me to be hyped beyond all things, and all I know is that it is a thing being made by Nintendo. Same with Bayonetta 3. There's also the new Fire Emblem, and I know there are many looking towards Animal Crossing. I expect the latest Pokemon on Switch is going to be saved for E3 2019.

But I'm just kind of looking for my hype fix, and while I could really go for some info from Square Enix or Platinum Games, I'm looking to Nintendo because Metroid is the thing which hits all my right buttons.

....

So this post was sort of pointless, just a lot of words to say "I want a new Direct dag nabbit". But whatever. I am a victim and accomplice to this country's worst sins of greed.

I feel ya ccesarano. I'm not in the same boat right now, but I've had times when I felt like that. It's nice to have games to look forward to. I'm sure there'll be some kind of Direct by January at the latest.

You young whippersnappers should get off the Hype Train and come sit down on this here bench on the station platform with me. You can watch the Hype Train take off into the distance. We can wait for the next train to come in. No, I've no idea when, I don't have a timetable to look at. Where's it coming from? No idea. But sometimes a really neat one rolls right up to the station and it's a lovely surprise.

I'm all about the hype train Jonman. Doesn't matter if it's a slow crawl like BOTW or something speedier like Smash, it's nice having games to look forward to.

I’m a train hopper. I will wait on the bench until something comes along, but mostly get on hype trains at the last moment before they leave the station. It lets me take a breath and look at what might be coming down the track without missing some of the big trains.

Jonman wrote:

You young whippersnappers should get off the Hype Train and come sit down on this here bench on the station platform with me. You can watch the Hype Train take off into the distance. We can wait for the next train to come in. No, I've no idea when, I don't have a timetable to look at. Where's it coming from? No idea. But sometimes a really neat one rolls right up to the station and it's a lovely surprise.

And these surprises can be some of my favorite games to get a release, be they AAA, AA or indie. "Huh? What's this? Oh, this trailer seems neat. Lemme give it a try." And one of those very surprises was Iconoclasts, still pretty much my game of the year.

I guess this is all just been going on in my mind, wondering when hype trains started for me. I watched what is essentially PostMesmeric's well-structured video blog on the anticipation of Kingdom Hearts III, and how the game can never live up to anyone's expectations. Which, really, is the problem with long periods of hype. Your expectations inevitably become so high that there's bound to be a period of disappointment. However, when I look back on, say, my hype for Final Fantasy VII, it was pretty much everything I had wanted it to be.

How often did I get hyped for things back then, though? More often I was surprised. Oh, what's this game called Harvest Moon being covered in Nintendo Power? I dunno how I feel about a farming video game, but I really like that art style. I'll see if my mom can take me to the rental store to give it a spin. Oh wow, this is, like, my favorite game of the entire year!

Part of it is simply becoming older, I think, and part of it is the slow change in technology, but I really do think hype has become something of a drug that you get used to. A continuous exhilaration, to always be looking forward to the next thing because once something is in your hand and it exists, it becomes real (as PostMesmeric quotes of Lewis Black). Once something is real it cannot be anything but imperfect. It doesn't matter how good it really is, it's imperfect because the experience you were hyping up was this vague feeling.

Without that hype, though, you simply have surprise, and those flaws fail to be disappointments. They're just part of what that game's experience are.

Nevertheless, that Metroid Prime 4 is only a logo at the moment is part of what has me feeling itchy. I want to see what it is so that my imagination can stop being so vague about my expectations and become somewhat grounded, even though after that the anticipation and vague expectations will restart all over again.

More companies should practice the whole "We're announcing this brand new thing, aaaaaand it's released today. Go buy it. Download it. Have fun."

I think I'm in love with this Switch. Although I don't have any Nintendo exclusives on it yet (can't wait for new Animal Crossing!), I have already played a bit of Stardew Valley and the ability to have not only a portable version of this game, but that even the portable is on a large enough screen to see AND still have the ability to play on the TV too...it's wonderful! Will be so much more convenient than lugging around a laptop to play.

ccesarano wrote:

Part of it is simply becoming older, I think, and part of it is the slow change in technology, but I really do think hype has become something of a drug that you get used to.

I think there’s something to what you mentioned, but I also think part of is that there really aren’t any companies creating big games anymore that are interesting, risky or groundbreaking outside just a few developers (not talking about indies). Back in the day that happened regularly enough that there was almost always something on the horizon to get hyped about.

I don’t think I’ll buy a new game in 2019 unless Death Stranding comes out. Which is fine because I already own enough games I haven’t played to last me for a few years.

Jonman wrote:

Katamari is live - I just downloaded it.

Finally got it. I still love it.

Jenny LeClue Detectivú is coming to Switch.

I really hope Below comes to Switch eventually. It would fit that platform so well and I’d likely double dip. Switch is absolutely my preferred platform for roguelike/lite and action/adventure games these days.

Pro controller for $55 on Amazon.

http://ow.ly/PMpf30mUYkt

So I'm out of town right now in a place with no TV and I was still able to play SKYRIM on the Switch. How cool is that!! I had something of a hard time really falling in love with my 2DSi/3DS. I mean I like them and still use them from time to time (especially for Animal Crossing) but I don't know if it was the small screen, or maybe it was the games, or...something I don't know.

But the Switch seems to be world changing!

(Also, I don't have the pressure of achievements, so I hope Nintendo never implements those. )

Skyrim on a handheld really is a great experience.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

Skyrim on a handheld really is a great experience.

Agreed. Dove back into it recently quite a bit and was really struck by how mindblowing I was doing would seem to 2011 me.