Off Topic Nintendo

[Ashez]

4 hours ago, Rob said:

You going to do a top ten for your games of the decade?

Decided to do a game a year but some years have a runner up. I did look at doing 20 years but things got too fuzzy lol. 

[Ashez]

My Games Of The Decade!

I've thrown together my list of games of the decade by selecting one game from each year between 2010 and 2019. The rules I had in place were I wasn't allowed to pick ports/remakes which meant various Zelda's and the likes of Dragon Quest 8 3DS were excluded, I also decided against cheating and selecting collective volumes of games like the Return To Arkham or Devil May Cry trilogy collection. I also went by the games original European release which is admittedly a tad off for one year where I included it based on its Nintendo platform release, to be honest the game wasn't finished until ages after its Nintendo release so I don't feel bad about this one slight rule bend, especially as I didn't have access to it before it's Switch release and it was my game of the year that year. 

So lets get on with the show!

2010
Winner: Dragon Quest 9 Sentinels of the Starry Skies
Platform: Nintendo DS
Runner Up: Red Dead Redemption

The list starts off brutally as I have to decide between one of the greatest games ever made and one that means an awful lot to me but in the end my heart wins out as Dragon Quest 9 comes out on top. I really enjoyed Red Dead Redemption and it's one of the few reasons I still own a Xbox 360, the Wild West setting is more in my interests than Rockstars other hit series GTA and it's story is amazing as is the world building, however Dragon Quest 9 was an enlightening experience where I discovered a deep love of a genre I previously thought just wasn't for me, I've spoke at length before about how I hated RPGs in my youth but DQ9 converted me, every RPG I've experienced since (apart from Pokemon) is because of DQ9. I remember being addicted to this game, I remember the first time I played it and how it completely took over my life. Basically the game had sat on my shelf for a while but I kept putting it off due to it being a RPG, however I was going away and I wanted a holiday game for the airport and hotel room down time so I decided screw it lets play the opening and see if it'll last me two weeks in Spain, I believe I was then something like 10 hours in before we even left, it just instantly got it's hooks into me! It's just one of those video game memories you cherish. Unfortunately I wouldn't say 9 is the best in the series as I think 8 deserves that honour (I'm yet to play 11) but 9 is very special to me. Mario Galaxy 2 was also this year ffs!

2011
Winner: Batman Arkham City 
Platform: Multiplatform

Thankfully 2012 was a much easier decision as Arkham City is one of my favourite games of all time, damn it Rocksteady where is that Switch Port!!! I 100%'d this game doing all the story, all the side missions, finding every Riddler trophy, doing all the combat and stealth challenges and on top of that I've played through it multiple times. The Arkham games blend my favourite characters/universe into one of my favourite genres as the Arkham games are basically 3D Metroidvania's, and the fact they use designs similar to the animated series and their voice actors just makes this game basically perfect in my eyes. The story can be a tad ropey but the characters are fantastic and the ending is so clever and shocking at the same time, I just adore this game, oh and the combat system is one of the most entertaining ones I've ever experienced, my only disappointment with this series is how much I hated it's sequel Arkham Knight. 

2012
Winner: Football Manager Handheld 2013
Platform: Mobile & PSP

It turns out 2012 was a rough year for my tastes but with its release date FMH 2013 just sneaks into 2012 to take the crown, who knew SI's awful release dates would have it's uses. To be honest 2013 did make my rough notes before I started scouring through yearly releases but I didn't expect it to make the list, however I have no complaints as 2013 is easily my favourite year of FMH but if it didn't sneak into 2012 it wouldn't have beaten my 2013 pick. Anyway this winner is controversial as I'm including both the mobile and PSP version of FMH as one game which doesn't really work as they're completely different experiences, however that's entirely why I love FMH 2013 as I could jump between games when I was tired of the one which basically meant I played FMH all year around. 2012-14 was basically my glory years on Vibe as so many of my big saves came in that period so it really does mean alot to me, I never anticipated FMH would make this list but after writing this it simply had to. 😮 @samhardy 😮

2013
Winner: Fire Emblem Awakening
Platform: Nintendo 3DS

FMH wouldn't have made the list if it released in 2013 simply because my game of 2013 is another game I'd have flying high on my favourite games of all time list. Awakening wasn't my first Fire Emblem title but it was the title that made me fall in love with the series, the story is solid, the support system is engaging, the characters are wonderful and the gameplay is perfection, admittedly it can be broken very easily but I sort of like that. The cast of core characters here are still my favourites in the series and while the newer titles have expended the series none have over taken Awakening as yet for me as I have gripes with Fates, Echoes and Three Houses, they're all solid games but I like the protagonist style alot more in Awakening which makes me care about the story more. I will say the story in Three Houses is easily the best but the scope of that game is so overwhelming it just confirms that Awakening is my comfort food Fire Emblem.

2014
Winner: Mario Kart 8
Platform: Nintendo WiiU + Nintendo Switch

How couldn't I pick the greatest kart racer of all time? Especially as it was one of the only reasons to own a WiiU outside of a few other titles and the two HD Zelda remakes. MK8 was one of the few games that saw my WiiU see serious play time as the console is garbage but MK8 was one of its saving graces which I think it's Switch success backs up, hell I double dipped and I haven't regretted it for a second. MK8 has some of my favourite new tracks while it also brought back some of the classics, especially after its DLC which brought Link and Animal Crossing to the table as well. Mario Kart is one of the best video game series' going and I have no hesitation saying MK8 is the definitive Mario Kart, but obviously get the port on a system worth playing. 

2015
Winner: Steamworld Heist 
Platform: Multiplatform

In 2013 I discovered I could love strategy/tactics games so when a cover based shooter in this genre was released by one of my favourite Indie developers I was on board instantly buying this game digitally day one. This was a rough time period with the WiiU sucking and the 3DS not being the freshest thing on the market but Steamworld Heist was a real highlight and a game I often find myself thinking about. The game is a 2D side scrolling shooter where you take turns to move and line up shots with various levels to complete within the Steamworld universe, I love this game so much I already own it twice (WiiU physically and 3DS digitally) yet any time I see it on sale on the Switch I'm extremely tempted to buy it again, which will be even harder soon as Super Rare Games might be releasing it physically on the Switch in the near future. Seriously this game is dirt cheap pretty often and I'd recommend looking into it at the least. 

2016
Winner: Pokemon Sun & Moon
Platform: Nintendo 3DS

The final 3DS game to make my list is Pokemon Moon which really pulled me back into the series after I was massively disappointed in ORAS and underwhelmed by X&Y, however I've since grown to appreciate the latter alot more. Anyway Sun and Moon aren't perfect games as the story is slow and laboured which made a second play through pretty painful but on that original play through I absolutely adored this game, the story was enough to keep me going and the locations are some of the best in series history, however the new features were hit and miss but you can't deny they didn't attempt to change up the feel of the game. I completed the dex (what was missing from my Y living dex), I shiny hunted a few favourites and I bred loads of Pokemon I never got around to using as I annoying seem to love the planning and making stages of teams but actually using them is where I drop off lol, I problem I have also ran into in Sword and Shield. Speaking of the latest Pokemon releases they should have topped this game for me but unfortunately they didn't live up to these titles imo, either did Ultra Sun and Moon which were just painful to play through being so similar to the original titles. Mudsdale is my dude, Mudsdale is life. 

2017 
Winner:The Legend Of Zelda Breath Of The Wild
Platform: Nintendo WiiU + Nintendo Switch
Runners Up: Dragon Quest 8 & Mario Odyssey

What a bloody year 2017 was as two games I'd have in my favourites of all time released but this was an easy choice, even if DQ8 wasn't a port it wouldn't have toppled the fantastic Breath Of The Wild and while I love Odyssey I don't think it comes close. The biggest compliment I can give BOTW is if I could experience one game for the first time again it would without a shadow of a doubt be the latest instalment in the Zelda series and I'm not even the biggest 3D Zelda fan going. However the world and freedom Nintendo presented us with in BOTW was simply amazing, while I'd love to experience this game again for the first time it speaks volumes that I can still return to it and have an absolute blast, even this year I returned to polish up the remaining side quests and I soon became addicted all over again, this game is simply magical. However I'll freely admit the story is lacking and the main dungeons are garbage but the sense of adventure and shrines easily makes up for these negatives, I'm beyond excited for its sequel which will hopefully appear in 2020. 

2018 - Darkest Dungeon 
Platform - Multiplatform

Darkest Dungeon was my game of 2018 and while it released elsewhere in 2016 it didn't see a Switch release until 2018 so I'm allowing it here because I bloody love this game and it wasn't fully finished until the Colour Of Madness DLC released in 2018, feel free to complain but it's my list so jog on! Any way I've sunk over one hundred hours into this game if I recall correctly but my time with it is actually alot higher than that as I've also watched hundreds of hours of let's plays on this game, I find I truly love a game when I'll happily watch others play it which isn't something I'll do often as I'm not really a let's play fan, why watch someone play it when you could play it is my view. However this game is so random and brutal watching it destroy other players and seeing them go through the gut wrenching deaths you did is stupidly satisfying. For those unaware Darkest Dungeon is a dungeon crawling rogue like RPG where you explore areas for loot and experience but when a character dies they're dead for good, however that's not the only mechanic as the game also features a stress meter which when maxed out can cause all sorts of troubles to your party. This game isn't for everyone as I know @Nucleus didn't really get into it while @Foxy seemed to before dropping off of it, but this is the type of game I can just get lost in. The lore is based on Lovecraft's work and the designs are some of my favourite from any game, the art book and diorama set are two items I really want in my collection but they don't come cheap and it's from the US. The atmosphere and narration are also some of the best I've ever experienced, I've debated replaying this game so many times but I've got too much to play to fall back into madness. Darkest Dungeon 2 has been announced and it's up there with BOTW2 as my most anticipated future release.  

2019 - ??????

Find out in my monthly update which will include my Game Of The Year for 2019 titles and older titles I've played for the first time this year. Last year I also ranked my top 5 favourite Switch games so far so maybe that'll see some updates as well. 

I tried to rank the yearly releases as a top nine but it was way too painful, sorry! 

Obviously I'd love to see your views on my list and your guys games of the decade! 

[zaangie]

Bought FFVII for 5 euros. I remembered playing as a kid and only get through the first boss. Now I want to know why most people think it's the best FF. 

[Nucleus]

3 hours ago, zaangie said:

Bought FFVII for 5 euros. I remembered playing as a kid and only get through the first boss. Now I want to know why most people think it's the best FF. 

I loved my playthrough of it. It hasn’t held up well graphically but the story is as beautiful as ever

[Rob]

Great writeup and a pleasure to read.

It’s funny - you kinda look at the past with rose-tinted glasses and often think ‘I wish it was how it used to be’, but 2017 is a year to remind us all that, by God, games can still be awesome.

I love that FMH made it 😂

[Ashez]

1 hour ago, Rob said:

Great writeup and a pleasure to read.

It’s funny - you kinda look at the past with rose-tinted glasses and often think ‘I wish it was how it used to be’, but 2017 is a year to remind us all that, by God, games can still be awesome.

I love that FMH made it 😂

2017 was god tier! I can't say enough how much that year and the Switch breathed new life into my gaming world 😂

I'm equally as shocked but 2012 was a rough year as an Nintendo fan. 

[zaangie]

On 21/12/2019 at 15:28, Nucleus said:

I loved my playthrough of it. It hasn’t held up well graphically but the story is as beautiful as ever

The graphics are really bad, even for a ps1 game. The people's arms are so hilarious 😂

[Ashez]

9 hours ago, zaangie said:

The graphics are really bad, even for a ps1 game. The people's arms are so hilarious 😂

PS1/N64 are the games I struggle the most to return to, Snes and Gamecube are easy but that inbetween generation is rough. 

[Ashez]

What I've Been Playing 

December

Switch 

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - I am the proud 2019 Mario Kart Xmas Champion after beating the missus' family in a series of time trial races 😂. 

Castle Of Heart - I tried playing this to keep me away from Pokemon but it bored me to tears, I played the first world and just never felt the need to return unfortunately. The combat is extremely unsatisfying, the jump isn't as good as the designers think and I just found no reason to continue this game, the only thing it had going for it is it looks okay and has a highish difficulty. The gimmick is you're always losing health so you have to keep moving forward but the design goes against this gimmick as you're encouraged to explore, however it was in the first boss battle where the tedium wore me down. He was a healthy heavy hitting brute as you'd expect but he was only really attackable at certain times and since your HP is always depleting it just became extremely frustrating. I beat him and then turned it off never to return, maybe I will in the future but I doubt it. 

Pokemon Shield - I've poured over ninety three hours into Pokemon Shield and usually I write these things as I go or the second I've finished a game but with Shield I needed time to reflect and take things in, after failing at having some time away from the game I've ended up feeling extremely mixed. The core game is excellent and the Pokemon experience I wanted yet there are so many problems with this title, it does completely feel like a stepping stone while Gamefreak find their feet, it's like they took the Sun/Moon criticism and ran way too far with it, however I have alot to say so similarly to the Starlink write up which left me conflicted let's break this game down. The Starters - One of the most important things in any Pokemon game in my opinion is the starters and unfortunately Sword and Shield massively missed the mark here. The starting point for all three are solid but they all go down hill extremely fast as all of the

Spoiler

 

middle stages are oddly coloured and just horrendous, I don't have a single positive thing to say about any of the middle evolutions. While the final stages are better and grew on me over time I can't say I like any of them, admittedly I love the gimmicks behind all the final forms but the designs are just shit. Rillaboom is easily my favourite but I can't stand the drum, Cinderace has grown on me and I love it's animations but it just doesn't look like a Pokemon to me and the least said about Inteleon the better. 

New Pokemon - Thankfully the rest of the dex has some really solid designs, obviously Pokemon designs are subjective and like most gens there is plenty of trash in the new list but I've attached myself to a few that I just love. I dunno what it is but I just love Dottler/Orbeetle, Corviknight is a badass, Drednaw should have been a starter, Coalossal grew on me after originally hating it, Appletun is adorable, Toxticity is punk, the new fossils are bizarrely brilliant and Dragapult is just cool. All in all I think they're all pretty solid additions to the Pokemon world, Grimmsnarl however is an abomination. 

Dexit - I was someone that was gutted about Dexit as I have a living dex I've poured hours into and the thought of that being useless now sucks, however after playing through Sword and Shield I've actually found Dexit just wasn't a big deal. The game has plenty of Pokemon as is and I'd likely struggle to tell you what's missing outside of a select few. I had more than enough options to build an in game team and for competitive play, Dexit if anything made me not use old trusted friends and instead make new memories. The Pokemon variety in the game is massive, so much so I've already started to theorize potential type only runs as you have so many options early on. Dexit also meant I cared about the entire dex and not just the ones I needed to continuing my living dex, due to this I've a Shield living dex of 398/400! It pulled me in to do it all over again! 

Presentation - There is no getting away from the fact Sword and Shield are HD 3DS games, it's clear to see everywhere and unfortunately the game can look rough at times. However I never found the presentation distracting or off putting, it was acceptable where it was good enough to look at but not breath taking like other Switch games have been. The game runs fine outside of being stuttery at times while being online in the wild area but it was never unplayable, just slightly annoying. I can look passed the graphics to be honest but my biggest issue with the game is the lack of voice acting! It makes the game feel so dull, especially as most cut scenes look designed with voice overs in mind and this is the one area where GameFreak have really dropped the ball in my opinion. Voice acting really would have added so much to the adventure and we're in 2019/20 now not 1998, the game should simply have it. DQXIs, Fire Emblem There Houses and Breath Of The Wild have shown how voice acting brings games to life, without voice acting I'd have hated Three Houses. When you consider the diverse accents in the UK and how they could have brought the game to life it just sucks. 

Story - The story is complete and utter garbage, it's basically got nothing going for it at all. The story starts with a focus on the gym challenge which while bland and simple it works, but at the end they shoe horn this big plot in that just doesn't work. One of the biggest knocks I have is the game does alot of show and not tell, like you'll see something happen then be told "oh that's nothing to do with you, we'll handle it" but then at the very end we get dragged into it and we're meant to care? It's just bad. They really took the Sun/Moon criticism to heart and just went too far the other way, the pacing of Sword and Shield is brisk with any cut scenes or story dumps being short (especially compared to Sun/Moon) but it just ends up feeling empty, you're doing the gym challenge and some plot is going down in the background which you're forced to ignore. Finally none of the gym leaders have build up or a story component which makes them completely forgettable as well, the story is just very disappointing as you just go town to town with very little happening. I actually liked the focus being on the gym challenge but the game just lacks a driving force or anything to add interest, it's also pretty predictable. 

Rivals - You have three rivals in the game being your main rival who starts off annoying but his arc is okay after a few badges, one thing I really liked about him is his team changed throughout so he was interesting to battle, he was still bland and a little annoying but not as bad as the main rival from Sun and Moon. The second rival is the arsehole rival we've all missed but unfortunately he basically disappears in the mid game but returns at the end, his character wasn't the most developed but being an arsehole was a nice change of pace for the series. Finally there is this girl who's basically a rival but her role was essentially meaningless as if she was removed you'd hardly notice her absence. 

Gyms - The gyms in Sword and Shield were pretty solid to be honest as they had two parts as following on from Sun/Moon each gym had a trial before facing the leader in battle. These trials ranged from catching Pokemon to little mini games which just changed up the gameplay. Unfortunately when it came to challenging the gym leader all but one of the battles were really easy and they followed the same script of gigamaxing their final Pokemon, there was just no worry of them pulling the trigger early and putting you at a disadvantage. Like I've already said the gym leaders are pretty much forgettable as while some have personality they just lack screen time or story importance as I'd say the mini games are more memorable than the actual leaders. 

New Champion Tournament - I haven't played through the Champion Tournament a second time but this is what replaced the traditional Elite 4. It's a traditional knock out tournament that you need to win to challenge the Champion, it's pretty basic but a nice change of pace from the traditional system, I believe on a second play through after beating it once you can select the brackets or something. On the first play through however it's a pretty story driven experience. 

Villains - What villains? There is an obvious big bad who's unimportant until the end and no evil team throughout. This really kills The game! Obviously there are the previously revealed cheerleader grunts but like the rival they follow they're meaningless with there only purpose being to block routes so you don't leave cities too quick. They have no plot, no goals and no Pokemon variety, they're just there to be annoying and this is one area the game really let me down. The evil team has been done to death but removing them is knee capping the story in my opinion, especially as the game has a weak imitation of one in team cheer. 

The Wild Area - Okay the wild area is bloody fantastic, it's small and repetitive yet I found this area so bloody addictive! It has so many Pokemon available which change after every badge and depending on the weather so it can be different every time you return, I spent so many hours just exploring to see what I could find. The technical issues when playing online are it's only negative in my opinion as the wild area was easily the highest point of this game as it's where you'll find the majority of Pokemon, items and the raid battles. The thought of the wild area developing to be every route in future games really excites me as this is hopefully the start of open world Pokemon. 

Routes/Towns - Unfortunately the routes are extremely bland as they're just A-Z routes with hardly any avenues to explore or secrets to find. The game has no dungeons I'd class as dungeons, there are no secret based to explore, there are no hideouts to sneak through, there is just no sense of adventure at all out side of the wild area which makes the routes of Sword and Shield the weakest in the series imo, they aren't memorable or interesting at all. It doesn't get any better for the region however as the town's are also small, one note and just not memorable. In most you turn up, walk around, do the gym and leave as even the bigger towns are tiny compared to what we've seen previously in 3DS games. Admittedly I didn't mind this at time as I was excited to get to new routes to see new Pokemon but thinking back about it the journey was empty outside of the wild area. 

Raids - In previous gens I ignored mega evolutions and Z moves and I fully expected to ignore raid, dynamax and gigamax battles but to my surprise I ended up absolutely loving them. The gimmick just never wore out with me as the beauty of dynamax is every Pokemon can do it so it's not restricted to the same bland Pokemon, dynamaxing just opened doors to all strategies. However that does mean I'm not a fan of gigamaxing as that's only available to a select few which beats the point in my opinion, but it's on a competitive level where I think this extra feature sucks as they're in the VGC rules. Anyway raid battles have so many uses as they provide items like levelling candies, dynamax candies, one use TMs called TRs and various other items, this is on top of also giving better IV Pokemon if you manage to catch a five star Pokemon. Then since launch GameFreak have supported the game with bonus raids where you can earn extra candies or even boosted shiny odds, I can see this feature pulling me back in over the coming months. 

Post Game - The post game is crap, short, irritating and pointless. You get more story in this short post game than you do in the main game lol, I really could have done without this. 

Competitive Changes - The changes to breeding, how raids make getting good IV Pokemon easier, the levelling candies, the nature mints, EV training by vitamins, the cheaper battle tower and just everything combines to make Sword and Shield extremely easy to get into competitive team building. I've bred a dozen or so competitive Pokemon just because I found it fun, admittedly I've not touched the Competitive aspect of the game outside of the battle tower but that's more because I need to move on due to my backlog, the fact I can quickly and easily get into the competitive scene if I wanted to though is awesome. 

Online - Sigh, the online sucks. Like I said above I've not tried online battling but online trading is back to the dark days of no GTS and no communication which makes random one on one trading infuriating. Thankfully I got lucky a few times where who I was trading with clicked I was doing exclusive for exclusive so we did all the trades we could in one go, if it wasn't for these people on my wavelength or @Aaron55 my living dex journey would have been a nightmare. The amount of people who only offer legendaries or shinies then just leave is infuriating. Thankfully wonder trade is back and still as fun as ever as it's a great way to get rid of breedjects in the hope of receiving someone else's which you can use as a good start of breeding that Pokemon. The final online component is for raid battles where it works okay, at times getting into raids can be annoying but once you're in one they run very smoothly. 

What I Did - I did everything I could have in this title as I have a living dex of 398/400 only missing the Sword legendary and a second Type-Null. Thanks to a raid event i shiny hunted a Magikarp, while I also built a single and doubles team to master rank the battle tower. The only thing possibly left for me to do is get into the online which does tempt me but the time investment makes me want to move on. 

 

Conclusion - This write up is very negative, it's more negative than I expected yet I still really enjoyed this game, I've played it for over ninety hours and it's had a strong pull on me since I started playing, I often found myself turning it on and just wondering around even after doing everything, if I had a few mins I'd jump in and see what raids were available and hatch a few eggs, like seriously I was addicted. I've played ten extra hours since I started this write up, I just couldn't stay away from it. The game has serious issues but it's just a comfy game, this game is a blanket in the winter, it's just a game you can chill with. Admittedly I got into it so much because I love the catching and team building aspects of the series, if I played it straight like many I'd be massively disappointed I'm sure. Sword and Shield are massively stepping stone games which I can stomach for now but the next game needs to improve on this, honestly if a Pokemon Lance or whatever was announced tomorrow I don't think I'd be interested unless alot was improved upon, especially after how disappointed I was with Ultra Sun/Moon. All in all I got my monies worth, I had nearly one hundred hours of fun with this title and I hope the future brings improvements but the game isn't the breath of fresh air people wanted, this is only a 7/10 game unfortunately. 

Demo's

New Super Lucky's Tale Demo - Super Lucky's Tale was originally released exclusively to the Xbox where it received mixed reviews, however the developers have reworked the entire game rebranding it New Super Lucky's Tale and ported it to the Switch. The main change they implemented was a controllable camera compared to the previously fixed one as well as new levels and the usual port updates and by all accounts this version is the definitive version. Being an old school 3D platformer which is a dying breed in recent years it's a game I've kept my eye on since it was announced and after playing the demo I'm pretty impressed! The visuals are lovely in that charming family friendly manor, the controls and movement are extremely tight as it flows really well, you can jump and dig into the ground which flows similarly to Mario throwing Cappy and diving on him, it just feels good to play. Like most 3D platformers NSLT is a collectathron where you need to collect pages by doing various tasks like collecting so many coins, beating the level and finding the letters to spell Lucky, basically the same stuff as the N64 glory years. I'm pretty much sold on getting this eventually as while the demo is short it provided me with enough information to know I'm interested and everything I've heard about this game suggests it's just a charming and casual adventure, it is very much on the easy side however as it's clearly targeted at the younger crowd. 

Game Of The Year
 
New Releases

1. Fire Emblem Three Houses 
2. Pokemon Shield
3. TLOZ Link's Awakening
4. Tetris 99
5. Reigns Game Of Thrones

My top five is basically the entire roster of new games i played this year, if anything it's a top 4 as Reigns makes the list purely by default. Three Houses takes the crown of my game of the year and it's not even close, while I played Pokemon basically twice as much that was purely down to ease of play. Fire Emblem was an incredible experience but it was intense, I had to feel like playing it and have a decent chunk of time available to make progress, while Pokemon was so comfy it was easy to pick up and play. The list of games I want to play I didn't get to this year is massive! 

First Time Played This Year

1. Starlink Battle For Atlus
2. Mario + Rabbids Donkey Kong Adventure
3. In Between 
4. The Way Remastered 
5. Super Mario Party

Starlink got alot of flak but it's a game I really enjoyed, it is repetitive but I found alot of fun in this title, I'm gutted if bombed as I think a sequel could have been special. Mario + Rabbids is one of my favourite Switch games and the DLC continued that awesomeness while In Between is ranked so high purely because of how it impacted me, it's really not a great game but that story completely broke me. This list will be intense this year as I could predict a top 5 right now from my backlog! I'm sure a game I got for Christmas will top this next time though. 

Recent Pick Ups

Robonauts - Switch - £0.00 - I know nothing about it but it was free due to something else I own so why not download it and try it out 😂. 

Hard West - Switch - £1.79 - Hard West is another I've had my eye on, for those that saw my game of the decade post you'd noticed I mentioned a Western, strategy games and a cover based shooter so one that puts that into one package is obviously going to catch my eye. It was this cheap when I got Fire Emblem so i held back but seeing it this cheap again made it an easy buy, it was just £1.14 after gold coins. Hard West is more in the X-com style but it's a series I've never had access to before so I'll give this a whirl instead, tbh the main reason I got it is because a physical release is coming and I know it would tempt me so I decided to try it at a quid then double dip if I'm impressed. 

Dragon Quest XI - Switch - £34.99/Gift - I saw this on sale the week before Xmas so I decided to treat myself, unfortunately the missus was in town with me and beat me to the register to buy it me as a Christmas gift lol. Obviously this is a game I'm super excited for, I actually regret getting Link's Awakening instead of this as in hindsight this should have been my 2019 priority, the two games I got instead all felt like something was missing and I think apart of that was this was the one I really wanted to play. Thankfully the start of the year looks quiet on the Switch front so I'll be able to demolish this in the coming weeks and months. Soon @Nucleus soon 😂

Children Of Morta - Switch - Gift - A newer release by the physical release company Merge Games who haven't let me down yet, basically any game they release I look into as Darkest Dungeon and Dead Cells are among their products. Children Of Morta is an action based, dungeon crawling rogue like, with an unusual for the genre story focus which reviewed really well and one of the podcasts I listen to raved about it. I saw Game had it on sale like a month after it's release but when I looked they didn't have it on the shelf (online said they had stock), so I asked and they had it but never put it out! The employee had never heard of it before! Anyway instead of moaning at what a shit show Game is Children Of Morta's graphics are stunning pixel art and since it's a story driven rogue like it actually has a end which added to the appeal, they have also announced multiple free and paid DLC/updates as well. 

Wargroove - Switch - £19.99 - Wargroove is an Indie take on Nintendo's hit Advance Wars series which got solid hype and reviews when it released, it wasn't one I was massively interested in but I found myself in town with too much cash in my pocket and this on sale so i was weak 😂. Wargroove does look to have a little more Fire Emblem in its DNA than Advance Wars though which is why it appealed to me more than Nintendo's series. 

Disney's Aladdin & Lion King Collection - Gift - My little brother delivered the goods this Xmas by getting me a game I really wanted. As I've said countless times The Lion King on the Snes is one of my favourite childhood games so I'm ecstatic to have the HD remake physically on the Switch, especially as it comes with Aladdin which I've never played. 

Merry Switchmass and a Happy New Year!!

[zaangie]

I still have like 3 hours of Pokémon lol. Unfortunately it sucks. Period. I'll finish it later. I'm busy with FFVII and DQXI. 

[Ashez]

Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) Tweeted:
Tune in on 09/01 at 14:30 (UK time) for roughly 20 minutes of new #Pokemon information in a livestreamed #PokemonDirect presentation. 
👉 https://t.co/RgRxLxEk22 https://t.co/vlcOjdXBFy

I'm surprised and intrigued @zaangie

[Rob]

We need a few new future AAA titles announced?

[Ashez]

48 minutes ago, Rob said:

We need a few new future AAA titles announced?

That's what the January direct usually does as typically it'll cover till around E3, so I dunno if we'll get a normal direct after this one. The next big release is Animal Crossing in March which I don't care for lol. 

[zaangie]

1 hour ago, Ashez said:

Nintendo UK (@NintendoUK) Tweeted:
Tune in on 09/01 at 14:30 (UK time) for roughly 20 minutes of new #Pokemon information in a livestreamed #PokemonDirect presentation. 
👉 https://t.co/RgRxLxEk22 https://t.co/vlcOjdXBFy

I'm surprised and intrigued @zaangie

They'll probably show Pokémon home and sleep. Not to excited about it. 

[Ashez]

12 minutes ago, zaangie said:

They'll probably show Pokémon home and sleep. Not to excited about it. 

20mins is ages though, 100% Home will show up but the rest? They've never shown Pokemon mobile games on Direct's before as far as I remember. 

[Ashez]

Pokemon has finally got with the times!

Like I said i doubt I'd have got a third version of Sw/Sh but two DLC "campaigns?" bring it on! No paywall on the DLC Pokemon either! £27 isn't too bad either depending on how big these areas are. 

[zaangie]

So basically they are selling us what should have been in the base game. Felt like a kick in the nuts. But I really like what I saw. Gonna wait for reviews to decide if I'll buy or not. 

Rescue Game remake looks good. Never played one before so I'm gonna try that demo. 

[Ashez]

I don't agree with that tbf, the game was without a doubt rushed but it was finished. Unfortunately the sell you more later approach is accepted now, while the nature of that is debatable DLC vs a Third game is a no brainer. I wonder if they'll stop at two though, they could do another set to continue to add Pokemon and give them time for the next game, especially if the D/P/P remakes are next. Either way I'll wait for reviews as why preorder digital content, I know I'll get it either way I guess but I want to know it's length. 

That's the one I tried playing on the DS a few months back and I hated it but this does look more appealing so I'll give it a whirl eventually. 

[Ashez]

Gutted to have missed this real 😠😠😠, I only checked my emails a hour before n all 😂. Hoping they get more stock or someone matches it but I doubt Game will. 

[Rob]

That trailer for Super Nintendo World Japan ❤️ Anyone else seen it?

[Ashez]

10 hours ago, Rob said:

That trailer for Super Nintendo World Japan ❤️ Anyone else seen it?

I didn't watch it properly last night but just watched it again and it's pretty hype tbf! 

The Smash Direct and final fighter of this DLC is happening Thursday!!!!

 

[Ashez]

Wow the final (for now) Smash reveal is the most underwhelming ever. 

[Rob]

I wish they wouldn’t bother with Smash and just give us some more Mario kart tracks 

[Ashez]

4 hours ago, Rob said:

I wish they wouldn’t bother with Smash and just give us some more Mario kart tracks 

I'm amazed we've not had more DLC tracks (Zelda/Animal Crossing were DLC on WiiU). Unless Mario Kart 9 is coming which I don't think makes sense since MK8 is the highest selling Switch game with over 19m sold. 

However we still don't know what the big holiday game will be, and MK9 is an option. For me it's that, BOTW2 which might be too early or Odyssey 2. We know it's not Pokemon so outside of those three I dunno what else is big enough for Xmas. 

We've not had a new Mario Kart since 2014!! So maybe MK9 makes more sense than I think. IIRC BOTW, Odyssey and MK8 were all year one of Switch and all three will get sequels and in theory Mario Kart is the easiest to do and guaranteed sales. Yet all three are still selling bloody well, especially MK8 so why cannibalize those sales, hence why I expected more DLC packs. 

[Rob]

The other thing backing up the idea of MK (maybe just DLC) is potentially tying it in with with the launch of Super Nintendo World and, in particular, the MK ride.

[Ashez]

1 hour ago, Rob said:

The other thing backing up the idea of MK (maybe just DLC) is potentially tying it in with with the launch of Super Nintendo World and, in particular, the MK ride.

Don't forget the mobile game as well! Nintendo said they'd use mobile games as an entry point to console games. 

Damn it @Robyou've got me on the MK9 hype/hope train!!!! 

[samhardy]

1 hour ago, Ashez said:

Damn it @Robyou've got me on the MK9 hype/hope train!!!! 

Can I get on the train?

[Rob]

I’ve managed to convince myself too. 😅

[Rob]

So the big rumours are 2d Metroid and Paper Mario. Urgh.

[Ashez]

26 minutes ago, Rob said:

So the big rumours are 2d Metroid and Paper Mario. Urgh.

One of those potentially excites me :ps

They're both pretty safe guesses though as we've not had either for a while and the team that did Samus Returns on the 3DS did a cracking job, the fact the rumour is connected to Fusion is intriguing. As for Paper Mario I've never played one. 

Neither of those are Holiday titles though imo, Metroid I'd say September