Nintendo Switch Chat Thread V

[Pedz]

twitter.com/LimitedRunGames/status/1392168391654445058

I wonder how many copies of this Jawa would buy?

at least 1+1.

[Tomous]

@Balladeer, had to make sure Grassland Groove was in there and it is, so I'm happy.

[Pedz]

Nice, we might get a decent DK game for a change!

WHAT!?

Even if you don't like the DKC games Jungle Beat was strawberry floating amazing.

[Preezy]

Anyone else going to dive into Subnautica when it drops this evening?

[Captain Kinopio]

Same, DK is (at best) a C tier Nintendo franchise for me

strawberry floating hell

[Jenuall]

Same, DK is (at best) a C tier Nintendo franchise for me

strawberry floating hell

Yeah probably should have just called it like it is: D tier


But honestly, it's a series with very little appeal to me personally. I'd pick many Nintendo games above DK, in terms of their "platformers" I'd say all of Mario, Wario, Yoshi and Kirby are more interesting to me

[Captain Kinopio]

Same, DK is (at best) a C tier Nintendo franchise for me

strawberry floating hell

Yeah probably should have just called it like it is: D tier


But honestly, it's a series with very little appeal to me personally. I'd pick many Nintendo games above DK, in terms of their "platformers" I'd say all of Mario...

Wario...

Kirby...

Yoshi.

[Victor Mildew]

I'm not going to stand here and listen to you badmouth the greatest fast food restaurant the world has ever known.

Miss Millie's

[Christopher]

God tier gaming








Donkey Kong, C tier

[Jenuall]

None of them appeal, at all.

That's not strictly true, the original Donkey Kong arcade game is fun (and the Game Boy sequel) but everything since... Meh.

[Christopher]

The Donkey Kong games including the Rare and Retro developed ones are Nintendo’s most hardcore games. They start out so simple and then become some of the most satisfying and challenging games Nintendo have ever made.

Donkey Kong ‘94 is my personal favourite game bearing the Donkey Kong name. I hope the new one starts out like the original in the style of Mario Odyssey section and then becomes a challenging puzzle platform game. It’s the 40th anniversary of Donkey Kong so it would make sense to make a new Donkey Kong building on the original and 94.

[Balladeer]

None of them appeal, at all.

That's not strictly true, the original Donkey Kong arcade game is fun (and the Game Boy sequel) but everything since... Meh.

Goofs aside I'm genuinely curious as to why. I do get what OR says about the heavier momentum, but you've included some annoying floaty boys in your 'better than DK' selection who kill momentum dead in exchange for vertical movement (and in Yoshi's case egg aiming), as well as a heavy boy in Wario (who I'd forgotten did platformers. Apparently his last two were Not Good); and it's not like DK controls exactly the same in every game. What is it that puts you off about the ape?

Goofs back to front and centre: you asked for YouTubes, I gave you YouTubes, at least listen and then slag them off.

[Fisher]

shyguy64 did you get new recipe in animal crossing new horizons today.

[Victor Mildew]

The Donkey Kong games including the Rare and Retro developed ones are Nintendo’s most hardcore games. They start out so simple and then become some of the most satisfying and challenging games Nintendo have ever made.

Donkey Kong ‘94 is my personal favourite game bearing the Donkey Kong name. I hope the new one starts out like the original in the style of Mario Odyssey section and then becomes a challenging puzzle platform game. It’s the 40th anniversary of Donkey Kong so it would make sense to make a new Donkey Kong building on the original and 94.

I got donkey Kong land for the gameboy when it came out on holiday in Florida. Every spare second I would be playing that game, and I managed to fully complete it before the holiday was over

Donkey Kong country returns is amazing too, I got it on the run up to Christmas one year, and it quickly became a Christmas game, to the point where playing it at any other time of year doesn't feel right.

[Drumstick]

Anyone else going to dive into Subnautica when it drops this evening?

I've been hoping that they were able to optimise the Switch version to eliminate performance issues, but alas it hasn't happened.



If it gets a physical release I might still jump in but it'd have to be at a reduced price.

Please do let me know how you find it!

[Jenuall]

None of them appeal, at all.

That's not strictly true, the original Donkey Kong arcade game is fun (and the Game Boy sequel) but everything since... Meh.

Goofs aside I'm genuinely curious as to why. I do get what OR says about the heavier momentum, but you've included some annoying floaty boys in your 'better than DK' selection who kill momentum dead in exchange for vertical movement (and in Yoshi's case egg aiming), as well as a heavy boy in Wario (who I'd forgotten did platformers. Apparently his last two were Not Good); and it's not like DK controls exactly the same in every game. What is it that puts you off about the ape?

Goofs back to front and centre: you asked for YouTubes, I gave you YouTubes, at least listen and then slag them off.

I think it's a whole host of things where DK is concerned really (and primarily this is based on Donkey Kong Country and Donkey Kong Land as those are the ones I've played the most):

The characters themselves are not interesting, either from a design perspective or in terms of any actual characterisation they give them.

The art style really doesn't appeal - it all looks like the sort of thing someone would create in "My Super Game Maker + 1998 Edition" - stock assets lacking artistry cut and pasted onto each other, everything is short of refinement and cohesion, not looking like it truly belongs together etc. It's similar in a way to things I don't like about the look of New Super Mario Bros. Everything is very generic and lacking unique character to it

The level design is just dull - often just a single wobbly line to follow along with the occasional raised platform or some barrels to follow. Being a contemporary of something like Sonic 3 with its massive sprawling maps with multiple routes, clever design etc. I just never saw how the dull level layouts in DKC were supposed to be appealing!

And yes the movement and "game feel" is genuinely one of the worst I've experienced in a 2D platformer, it just doesn't feel fun for me to control DK or any of the others. The momentum, character acceleration, responsiveness, air control ... it all just doesn't come together into a set of characters that I enjoy controlling. I appreciate that others may like it but for me it's poor.

The animation in the games also has something very off about it, stilted and robotic in a really odd way that doesn't sit right. The characters don't feel really part of the world they are in, DK sort of sliding around on these backgrounds like he is somehow disconnected from it. I know it was new tech they were working with but for me the results are far inferior to the well animated sprite artwork and animation that we were getting at the end of the 16 bit era.


Since the SNES/Game Boy DK games nothing has really come along to make me re-asses my views - 64 was trash, there were a load of things that just looked like gimmick games, and Returns/Tropical Freeze were just framed as (unsurprisingly) a return to DKC, which as stated I hate so why would I want to return to it?!


So yeah like I say it is not a Nintendo franchise that I have any real affinity for (aside from DK94 on the GB) and so it really does rank below most of their other "platformer" franchises in my book. I'm much more likely to pick up a new Yoshi or Kirby game than anything new that DK does. Hell, I'd probably buy a new Kid Icarus over DK!


Also - I listened to those tracks you posted. I mean they are certainly good (and better than what I remember from DKC) but I wouldn't class them as top tier personally. But it's very hard to objectively rate a game track without having played the game it is from, the connection it has to the level you are playing and the emotion you feel at that point in the game etc. all feeds into how much you appreciate a music track so I've every reason to believe I might like them more if I had some tangible connection to them in the actual game .

[Preezy]

Anyone else going to dive into Subnautica when it drops this evening?

I've been hoping that they were able to optimise the Switch version to eliminate performance issues, but alas it hasn't happened.



If it gets a physical release I might still jump in but it'd have to be at a reduced price.

Please do let me know how you find it!

I've seen quite a few reviews and it seems that handheld (my preferred playing style) is the way to go for a smoother experience. Nintendo Life's review said performance was completely fine and whilst there's some muddy textures and pop-in, you'd expect it on a handheld which I guess is half excuse-making and half pragmatism.

I do think I'll be getting it and I will share my thoughts.

[Balladeer]

@Jenuall (no interest in Subnautica, The Lady loves it but water navigation is so rarely done well and I don't fancy survival):

I agree with you on the art style for the earlier games! Everyone goes on about how pretty the style looked for the time but it has aged atrociously - Country worse than Land I reckon. The animation feeds into this. The only early DK I've played is Land 2 but I found the level design almost the opposite, with quite a few of the levels confusing and sprawling (I was maybe 6 at the time!). The point I'm working up to is that none of these are problems in the latest two games. They obviously look completely different and the level design is much better than what I remember on my Game Boy.

I can't say that characterisation is a big thing for me in a platformer so long as they're not actively objectionable (that's why I pick Dixie not Diddy). The weight of the main ape is still there, granted, but I imagine they've tailored the controls and weight for modern times.

As for 'gimmick games', I would agree with you regarding Jungle Climber which I played but didn't get on with, but Jungle Beat is far too well received for me to think that's in any way fair coming from someone who hasn't touched it. Give it a go Jen, you might be surprised!

Also - I listened to those tracks you posted. I mean they are certainly good (and better than what I remember from DKC) but I wouldn't class them as top tier personally. But it's very hard to objectively rate a game track without having played the game it is from, the connection it has to the level you are playing and the emotion you feel at that point in the game etc. all feeds into how much you appreciate a music track so I've every reason to believe I might like them more if I had some tangible connection to them in the actual game .

This is completely fair enough, but then WHY DID YOU ASK FOR THEM Some of my favourite tracks are from games I've never played but I concede I'm in the minority there.

[Jenuall]

@Jenuall (no interest in Subnautica, The Lady loves it but water navigation is so rarely done well and I don't fancy survival):

I agree with you on the art style for the earlier games! Everyone goes on about how pretty the style looked for the time but it has aged atrociously - Country worse than Land I reckon. The animation feeds into this. The only early DK I've played is Land 2 but I found the level design almost the opposite, with quite a few of the levels confusing and sprawling (I was maybe 6 at the time!). The point I'm working up to is that none of these are problems in the latest two games. They obviously look completely different and the level design is much better than what I remember on my Game Boy.

I can't say that characterisation is a big thing for me in a platformer so long as they're not actively objectionable (that's why I pick Dixie not Diddy). The weight of the characters is still there, granted, but based on your game picks you've never played as Dixie (who appears in Tropical Freeze) so I'd say you probably could and should still try the latest game in the series before tarring them all with the SNES/Game Boy brush.

As for 'gimmick games', I would agree with you regarding Jungle Climber which I played but didn't get on with, but Jungle Beat is far too well received for me to think that's in any way fair coming from someone who hasn't touched it. Give it a go Jen, you might be surprised!

To be fair Tropical Freeze has been on my "maybe buy in a good sale" list for a while now based on how glowing everyone has been about it. It's just never reached the point where I've pulled the trigger, largely because my antipathy toward the series/character in general presents such a high barrier!

Also - I listened to those tracks you posted. I mean they are certainly good (and better than what I remember from DKC) but I wouldn't class them as top tier personally. But it's very hard to objectively rate a game track without having played the game it is from, the connection it has to the level you are playing and the emotion you feel at that point in the game etc. all feeds into how much you appreciate a music track so I've every reason to believe I might like them more if I had some tangible connection to them in the actual game .

This is completely fair enough, but then WHY DID YOU ASK FOR THEM

Because I wanted to be wrong and have my mind blown by the irrepressible greatness of them!

[OrangeRKN]

God tier gaming


Donkey Kong, C tier

I don't count Donkey Kong as a Donkey Kong game