Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)

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Parksey
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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Parksey » Fri Jun 17, 2022 12:47 pm

shy guy 64 wrote:so how long roughly will bastion last me? cant guess if its long or short


What's Bastion like compared to Hades?

Hades was my first taste of the studio, and it's obviously excellent and probably my favourite game from last year.

I'm aware Bastion isn't a roguelike but seems visually similar, and it's always just a few quid Transistor is also perennially on sale.

Honestly, this £100 gift card from starting my internet contract could feasibly all go on Switch indie games...

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by shy guy 64 » Fri Jun 17, 2022 1:05 pm

Parksey wrote:
shy guy 64 wrote:so how long roughly will bastion last me? cant guess if its long or short


What's Bastion like compared to Hades?

Hades was my first taste of the studio, and it's obviously excellent and probably my favourite game from last year.

I'm aware Bastion isn't a roguelike but seems visually similar, and it's always just a few quid Transistor is also perennially on sale.

Honestly, this £100 gift card from starting my internet contract could feasibly all go on Switch indie games...


Can’t help you there bastion is my first taste

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Balladeer » Fri Jun 17, 2022 1:29 pm

I did do that a bit. :lol: I'm not much of a strategy person, especially not a 'real challenge' one with permadeath, but it sounds more interesting than Sola to be honest!

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Fisher » Fri Jun 17, 2022 11:56 pm

shyguy64 did you buy items in animal crossing new horizons today.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Herdanos » Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:33 am

Barnsy! wrote:
Herdanos wrote:Bought Kaze and the Wild Masks & Monster Crown :toot:


I bloody love Kaze and the Wild Masks one of my favourite platformers. Really hope you have fun with it - it would be cool if you let us know what you think of it once you have a chance to play it :D


Here we go then...

Balladeer wrote:Basically, Kaze wants to be Donkey Kong Country really badly.


Balladeer isn't wrong. :lol: Kaze isn't so much inspired by DKC. If it is, then Mario Galaxy 2 was 'inspired' by Galaxy 1, TimeSplitters 3 by TimeSplitters 2, etc. It's more of the same, really; it's more like Donkey Kong Country Returns than Donkey Kong Country Returns ever was.

Thing is, I bloody love it for that. :datass:

DKC2 in particular is one of my favourite games ever, though Kaze is clearly an homage (a love letter, even) to the entire SNES trilogy. Kaze handles just like Dixie. As far as I can tell each of the enemies is a direct clone of a Kremling. The levels each echo particular environments I played back in the 90s (though there is no re-using of aesthetic across levels, which I really appreciated) with memorable features recreated. At times even the music contains flourishes that I'm sure I recognise!

So if I'm being honest, I'm not certain that this game would resonate with anyone who hasn't got strong, fond memories of playing Rare's 2D platformers. Even the controls (Kaze's Dixie-esque ability to float in particular) aren't that well-explained to newbies. But it just didn't matter. It was just so pleasingly familiar. It's like revisiting one of your favourite games and discovering there's a whole game's worth of extra content left to tackle that you'd never previously found.

That's not to say it has no new ideas of its own, but they're mostly QOL improvements to enhance what is already a fantastic experience. There are no "lives" - if you die, the game throws you straight back in with minimal interruption (you go back to the level start or last checkpoint). Likewise with the bonus levels - if you fail, the game lets you reattempt until you succeed, rather than forcing you to play the whole level through again and find the bonus level in order to try it. It's a great feature, particularly as some of them are really, really tough. But it doesn't seem unfair (so far) - I'm about 20% through the game after about an hour's play - and each time I've died it's provoked a wry smile rather than a knuckle-clenching fury at any perceived injustice. However, maybe that's because I have this peculiar sense that I've been here before.

If I had to pick faults, the enemies lack charm (as does Kaze herself arguably - particular during cut-scenes) and there is definitely some slowdown at times, which is a bit ludicrous giving how little a workout the Switch seems to be getting technically. So I'm not that surprised to hear Balla report of crashes later in the game. But so far neither of these have been deal breakers.

I hope I've only scratched the surface because I've adored what I've played so far.

Drumstick wrote:Balla's done a grand job of selling that game to me.


Mate, you have to get it. It's Donkey Kong Country 4.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Balladeer » Sat Jun 18, 2022 8:31 am

Can confirm that I never played the SNES Donkey Kong games. Your comfy old slippers of a game were me unearthing a pair with holes and a funny smell from the bottom of a cupboard. Possibly as a result I definitely felt a knuckle-clenching fury at perceived injustices. Dunno if you've hit the dragon levels yet.

Also Celeste is still on sale until this Sunday, if you want to try an actually great hard 2D platformer that doesn't use nostalgia as a crutch. ;)

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Drumstick » Sat Jun 18, 2022 9:34 am

Visually, Celeste is not at all appealing to me.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by shy guy 64 » Sat Jun 18, 2022 9:37 am

Fisher wrote:shyguy64 did you buy items in animal crossing new horizons today.


i dont think i did

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Herdanos » Sat Jun 18, 2022 9:57 am

Celeste looks to me like a cross between Knytt and Super Meat Boy.

Drumstick wrote:Visually, Celeste is not at all appealing to me.


Yeah, same - at least on first impressions. Though I've never played it. And I appreciate that a game doesn't have to look great (which is at least partially subjective anyway) to play great.

I might give it a go when it's on sale again and I've gotten through my current stack of 'new' games. Once I'm done with Kaze I've got Monster Crown and Dragon's Dogma to start. :datass:

Edited to be less instantly dismissive of a game I've never played.

Last edited by Herdanos on Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by OrangeRKN » Sat Jun 18, 2022 10:25 am

I don't think the aesthetic appeal of Celeste really matters. More important is how readable the screens are and how the character animation gives precise feedback to the platforming. The squash and stretch of Madeline, the changing hair colour - these are all in service to the gamefeel, that won't really come across without playing it. The nature of the game is that you aren't sitting back and looking at the areas as vistas or for their visuals, you're very much engaged at the gameplay level.

Comparisons in platforming genre to super meat boy are apt (although its worth noting meat boy itself was inspired by the Jumper games by Maddy Thorson, the developer of Celeste, so these inspirations are more intertwined).

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Drumstick » Sat Jun 18, 2022 2:36 pm

OrangeRKN wrote:I don't think the aesthetic appeal of Celeste really matters.

It matters to some.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Balladeer » Sat Jun 18, 2022 2:58 pm

Herdanos wrote:Celeste looks to me like a cross between Knytt and Super Meat Boy.

I've played neither of these, but I've heard about Meat Boy. My understanding is that Celeste feels a lot nicer to control and, while hard, is less gratuitously punishing.

Also I'm not going to pretend aesthetic isn't a key choice for me in some cases when it comes to gaming, but for Celeste it's massively missing the point; and I say this as somebody who isn't a big fan of chunky pixel art at all. In any case, the game looks an awful lot nicer in motion than Kaze - IMO I guess, but Kaze's aesthetic was utterly boring and unimaginative. I didn't play them but I know the DKC games for two things: looking amazing at the time and the splendid David Wise soundtrack. Those are two areas Kaze didn't even attempt to challenge on.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Tomous » Sat Jun 18, 2022 3:01 pm

Drumstick wrote:
OrangeRKN wrote:I don't think the aesthetic appeal of Celeste really matters.

It matters to some.


Yeah can't be doing with that

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by OrangeRKN » Sat Jun 18, 2022 4:13 pm

Drumstick wrote:
OrangeRKN wrote:I don't think the aesthetic appeal of Celeste really matters.

It matters to some.


What I mean is it's not a game where you often stop to admire the scenery. There are platformers where the visuals are important to the feel and experience, but with Celeste it's more important that you can understand each screen for its platforming elements/layout. I think Madeline's animation is less about looking good and more about feeling good.

Balladeer wrote:I've played neither of these, but I've heard about Meat Boy. My understanding is that Celeste feels a lot nicer to control and, while hard, is less gratuitously punishing.


Gratuitous is a good word for Super Meat Boy with its gleeful desire to throw you into spikes and circular saws and splatter your blood across the level - the way the blood remains and paints each screen is fun and a smart way of showing your progress and where you are struggling.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by jawa_ » Sat Jun 18, 2022 6:33 pm

From the little I know about him, I like Reggie Fils-Aimé; when he was a boss at Nintendo he was a real character and always seemed to hold a genuine passion for games beyond them just being a job to him.

But... dang, Reggie, please shut up about Nintendo :lol: . In past months there have been regular quotes from him - apparently linked to a book that he has written - about what Nintendo should and shouldn't be doing. Feels a bit off when a short time ago he had the influence to help enable some of these things!

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Tomous » Sat Jun 18, 2022 7:26 pm

jawa_ wrote:From the little I know about him, I like Reggie Fils-Aimé; when he was a boss at Nintendo he was a real character and always seemed to hold a genuine passion for games beyond them just being a job to him.

But... dang, Reggie, please shut up about Nintendo :lol: . In past months there have been regular quotes from him - apparently linked to a book that he has written - about what Nintendo should and shouldn't be doing. Feels a bit off when a short time ago he had the influence to help enable some of these things!



FWIW I'm not sure how much influence he actually had on these types of decisions. Final say would have been made in Japan. Reggie's role was more of a marketing and supply and distribution role. Yes he was front and centre to western audiences, but that was largely because of his personality and the fact he was well liked. I doubt he actually had much influence over key strategic decisions.

I may be off the mark, but just the impression I get.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by ITSMILNER » Sat Jun 18, 2022 9:07 pm

Yeah from everything I have seen Japan call the shots, Reggie/NoA do have some involvement, more just advising Japan on if they think a product would do well but Japan definitely are in charge.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Tomous » Sat Jun 18, 2022 9:09 pm

It is a better approach than Sega in the 90s when Sega of America and Sega of Japan both decided they were in charge.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Jezo » Sat Jun 18, 2022 9:43 pm

OrangeRKN wrote:Madeline's animation is less about looking good and more about feeling good.

So many devs get this wrong. They'd rather realistic animations for 'muh immersion' than fluid, fun gameplay.

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PostRe: Nintendo Switch Chat Thread Six(ty Four)
by Jenuall » Sat Jun 18, 2022 11:37 pm

Celeste is basically a perfect combination of look and feel in terms of animation, control and player feedback.

It's also just bloody gorgeous IMO.


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