Long time listener, long time comment lurker here, sliding in to casually mention that I have a podcast, and on that podcast, I interviewed Nama Takahashi, the developer of Öoo. You can listen to that here:
Apologies for the blatant and unsolicited self promotion, but I really liked your chat about it, and as you mentioned the game being like a conversation with the developer, I thought this was relevant!
I think the hardest part of Metroid prime remastered for me has been the lack of save points. I've really struggled as a new dad with trying to play it because i can't easily stop and help with my baby and save. I also think y'all are a bit hard on the switch 2. It might not be the amazing thing but Mario Kart World got a bad rap but frankly is the best single player Mario kart ever. Dk Bananaza is awesome - I'm struggling to understand the disconnect with the besties on this one. Prime 4 is rough but Kirby air riders ruled. Pokemon Pizza was rough. But I feel like overall the switch 2 hasn't even been out 8 months. I love the size and it feels great compared to my steam deck. I just don't get how you can be so in love with the rogue Ally or steam deck and not like the switch 2. But maybe I'm just a Nintendo bot - I do have a soft spot for those games
You’re never going to leave aside the first year of switch 1: BotW, Odyssey. Arguably the two best Nintendo games ever came out in year 1. It was like finding a genie’s lamp. Unbelievable. Oh, Mario Kart 8 too. And as much as I know it’s unrealistic and unfair, part of my brain wants that magic back. I mean, that allure got me to buy my first console since GameCube.
I think Mario Kart World adds more mechanical depth to kart racing without going too sim-y, but those games are the best selling games on the switch and switch 2 because anybody can pick up and play them, not because they’re the best games on the switches. Every big NS2 game for me has an asterisk and I’ve mostly used it for indies or old Nintendo games I wanted to catch up on, like the 2022 Pokémon’s.
Bananza is good and my favorite NS2 exclusive but the focus on destruction negates a lot of the platforming, imo. Feels like it’s a gimmick aimed at kids, because obviously it is, that’s the point of nintendo, but for me it’s a knock against my enjoyment of it
Pokemon is always a mixed bag for me and I think any older fans. Legends is cool because it’s a sub-line that tries new, different stuff, but feels more like a proof of concept than a fully realized vision of what that series can be
Kirby Air Riders needs to take some adderall, man
Hyrule Warriors I actually feel like deserves more attention, Brendon Bigley over at Into the Aether had nothing but praise for it, but I’m not gonna pay $100 Canadian dollars to see if I like a spinoff in a genre I’ve never connected with before just because it’s an exclusive
And then there’s Prime 4. Nintendo’s Dragon Age Dreadwolf/Veilguard. You almost can’t blame the game itself for being a kind of Frankenstein’s monster of over a decade of development and cancellations and reboots. But you can blame them for annoying pre-teen-targeted sidekicks that feel out of place for this franchise. I will counter Justin’s point about being fed clear objectives, that that is basically Metroid Fusion
For me, none of those are an Odyssey or Beaty of the Wild, even though BotW was a cross-gen title and Odyssey launched months later. If we’re expecting a perfect analogue to the Switch’s first year, then I feel like there’s another shoe that has to drop. And from what I’ve seen of Nintendo’s directs, I don’t know what that is for me yet. It’s mostly updates to games I already have and like.
It’s a great system to play Switch 1 games a little better but Ty that’s hardly a reason to buy, it’s a similar value proposition to the PS5 Pro for me
Anyways that’s my two cents as an underwhelmed S2 owner. My favorite S2 games so far have basically been Silksong and Hades 2
As someone whose stepdad has also fallen down the 3d printer rabbit hole, could we get a picture and maybe some resources on how the joycon mouse attachment thing works in the next newsletter? That sounds really interesting.
Hey! If Griffin has been enjoying Rhythm doctor, y’all should check out UNBEATABLE! It also came out a few days ago and it’s a story driven game with where every challenge is a rhythm game. Jumping rope, beating up cops, dodging cars, hitting baseballs, and also playing music sometimes. It has an entirely original score that’s really compelling. It even has a couple tracks by Lena Raine (who did Celeste and also has kick ass original music everyone should listen to) it’s weird and gives Scott pilgrim vibes and has great music.
Anyone else think Justin was having serious technical issues with his switch 2? His take on the games graphics is wildly out of step with my own and most reviews experience. I think this is one of the best console games out there graphically and the best Nintendo game graphically ever. That and his comment about it seeming sluggish? Maybe reset your machine or reinstall? Doesn’t sound at all like he was playing it optimally at ALL.
I think that Nintendo considered Metroid Prime a separate series from Metroid and the Prime series maps have been getting progressively less interconnected as they’ve gone on. I don’t think Prime 4 is that far removed from Prime 3 and I’ve been enjoying it much more than Prime 2 and 3 so far.
I think the Switch 2 has had a pretty great first year, but also I’m really excited for the stuff that’s coming year 2. In addition to the Mario Wonder and Animal Crossing DLCs (I am like the worlds biggest Animal Crossing fan so ymmv) they’ve also got Tomodachi Life, Rhythm Heaven, and Pokopia incoming.
I like Prime 4 and will definitely be playing the whole thing, but critically speaking, it has some major issues. The level design, mechanics, and narrative are dated such that this could've come out a year or two after Prime 3 and it would've felt normal. I don't then really get the point about it being a disjointed experience. This game follows (to a fault) beat-for-beat a lot of what was set up by its previous entries (esp. Prime 3) and is cohesively aiming to be the next metroid prime game. It fails to reach Beyond the other games, though.
I didn't hear any specific examples of how it's disjointed except speculation about the little we know of the tumultuous development cycle. I feel like if you played metroid prime 3 somewhat recently, you would not be shocked about hardly any of the evolution of the mechanics, dialogue, or narrative choices in this game.
I am excited for the Besties bracket next week! I'm rooting for blue prince (sorry Russ)
Since I’m psychic I think I’m qualified to answer this for you. (1) the change in atmosphere between empty, open-world vs dense dungeons. (2) tonal change between solo exploration vs chatty companions.
……………
I just took an online test, and it turns out I’m not psychic after all. Take all the above with a grain of salt.
Lol thank you for your psychic response. I don't think having parts of the game have chatty companions and more contemplative sections, or more open sections and less open sections necessarily makes a game disjointed, and in fact this is present in many many games, from Zelda to Skyrim. The game's structure is a lot like Ocarina of Time, really. And I would point out that Retro was moving in this direction through the Prime series. I guess it just feels very much like a Retro Studios game, and sure, a lot of it feels half-baked, but disjointed doesn't feel like the word.
Seems like a confusing decision for N to pump up Animal Crossing again with Tomodachi Life sequel on the horizon. That announcement was incredibly huge in terms of raw view count. But will it be a system seller?
News lately says they're up against the wall with AI demand driving up RAM prices. Will a price hike come along with no compelling reason to eat the cost?
Random recommendation. I know y’all are frequently looking for good mobile games, and I recently picked up Bat to Bed. It’s basically “What if Flappy Bird was made by Bennett Foddy?” Seems like something you’d be into.
If Griffin is having a hard time with our boy Norman being stuck inside the PS5, has he tried streaming it through PS Remote Play on his many Android handhelds?
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on a new game “Mosaic of The Strange” it feels like a Besties-ass game for sure. I’ve been playing the series for a long time and this one is the best by far. It’s the same kind of game as proverbs but this one has a storyline to it that you discover as you beat the puzzles. The main gameplay is kind of like a minesweeper style numbers game. Once you complete a puzzle you unlock a small article about each object, and in this one they’re all x-files conspiracies. If you haven’t checked it out there are demos for most of the games in the series.
Long time listener, long time comment lurker here, sliding in to casually mention that I have a podcast, and on that podcast, I interviewed Nama Takahashi, the developer of Öoo. You can listen to that here:
https://www.dialoguetree.cc/episodes/025-show-dont-tell-nama-takahashi-on-ooo-elechead-and-the-design-of-new-ideas
And there's a Substack post for it too!
https://adialoguetree.substack.com/p/025-show-dont-tell-nama-takahashi
Apologies for the blatant and unsolicited self promotion, but I really liked your chat about it, and as you mentioned the game being like a conversation with the developer, I thought this was relevant!
Thank you for sharing this!
Ha, no worries. Thanks for acknowledging/not banning me for the shameless self boosting.
I think the hardest part of Metroid prime remastered for me has been the lack of save points. I've really struggled as a new dad with trying to play it because i can't easily stop and help with my baby and save. I also think y'all are a bit hard on the switch 2. It might not be the amazing thing but Mario Kart World got a bad rap but frankly is the best single player Mario kart ever. Dk Bananaza is awesome - I'm struggling to understand the disconnect with the besties on this one. Prime 4 is rough but Kirby air riders ruled. Pokemon Pizza was rough. But I feel like overall the switch 2 hasn't even been out 8 months. I love the size and it feels great compared to my steam deck. I just don't get how you can be so in love with the rogue Ally or steam deck and not like the switch 2. But maybe I'm just a Nintendo bot - I do have a soft spot for those games
You’re never going to leave aside the first year of switch 1: BotW, Odyssey. Arguably the two best Nintendo games ever came out in year 1. It was like finding a genie’s lamp. Unbelievable. Oh, Mario Kart 8 too. And as much as I know it’s unrealistic and unfair, part of my brain wants that magic back. I mean, that allure got me to buy my first console since GameCube.
I think Mario Kart World adds more mechanical depth to kart racing without going too sim-y, but those games are the best selling games on the switch and switch 2 because anybody can pick up and play them, not because they’re the best games on the switches. Every big NS2 game for me has an asterisk and I’ve mostly used it for indies or old Nintendo games I wanted to catch up on, like the 2022 Pokémon’s.
Bananza is good and my favorite NS2 exclusive but the focus on destruction negates a lot of the platforming, imo. Feels like it’s a gimmick aimed at kids, because obviously it is, that’s the point of nintendo, but for me it’s a knock against my enjoyment of it
Pokemon is always a mixed bag for me and I think any older fans. Legends is cool because it’s a sub-line that tries new, different stuff, but feels more like a proof of concept than a fully realized vision of what that series can be
Kirby Air Riders needs to take some adderall, man
Hyrule Warriors I actually feel like deserves more attention, Brendon Bigley over at Into the Aether had nothing but praise for it, but I’m not gonna pay $100 Canadian dollars to see if I like a spinoff in a genre I’ve never connected with before just because it’s an exclusive
And then there’s Prime 4. Nintendo’s Dragon Age Dreadwolf/Veilguard. You almost can’t blame the game itself for being a kind of Frankenstein’s monster of over a decade of development and cancellations and reboots. But you can blame them for annoying pre-teen-targeted sidekicks that feel out of place for this franchise. I will counter Justin’s point about being fed clear objectives, that that is basically Metroid Fusion
For me, none of those are an Odyssey or Beaty of the Wild, even though BotW was a cross-gen title and Odyssey launched months later. If we’re expecting a perfect analogue to the Switch’s first year, then I feel like there’s another shoe that has to drop. And from what I’ve seen of Nintendo’s directs, I don’t know what that is for me yet. It’s mostly updates to games I already have and like.
It’s a great system to play Switch 1 games a little better but Ty that’s hardly a reason to buy, it’s a similar value proposition to the PS5 Pro for me
Anyways that’s my two cents as an underwhelmed S2 owner. My favorite S2 games so far have basically been Silksong and Hades 2
As someone whose stepdad has also fallen down the 3d printer rabbit hole, could we get a picture and maybe some resources on how the joycon mouse attachment thing works in the next newsletter? That sounds really interesting.
Hey! If Griffin has been enjoying Rhythm doctor, y’all should check out UNBEATABLE! It also came out a few days ago and it’s a story driven game with where every challenge is a rhythm game. Jumping rope, beating up cops, dodging cars, hitting baseballs, and also playing music sometimes. It has an entirely original score that’s really compelling. It even has a couple tracks by Lena Raine (who did Celeste and also has kick ass original music everyone should listen to) it’s weird and gives Scott pilgrim vibes and has great music.
Anyone else think Justin was having serious technical issues with his switch 2? His take on the games graphics is wildly out of step with my own and most reviews experience. I think this is one of the best console games out there graphically and the best Nintendo game graphically ever. That and his comment about it seeming sluggish? Maybe reset your machine or reinstall? Doesn’t sound at all like he was playing it optimally at ALL.
Samus must come from an incredibly racist society if their name for a whole sentient space-fairing species is just “Space Pirate”
I think that Nintendo considered Metroid Prime a separate series from Metroid and the Prime series maps have been getting progressively less interconnected as they’ve gone on. I don’t think Prime 4 is that far removed from Prime 3 and I’ve been enjoying it much more than Prime 2 and 3 so far.
I think the Switch 2 has had a pretty great first year, but also I’m really excited for the stuff that’s coming year 2. In addition to the Mario Wonder and Animal Crossing DLCs (I am like the worlds biggest Animal Crossing fan so ymmv) they’ve also got Tomodachi Life, Rhythm Heaven, and Pokopia incoming.
I like Prime 4 and will definitely be playing the whole thing, but critically speaking, it has some major issues. The level design, mechanics, and narrative are dated such that this could've come out a year or two after Prime 3 and it would've felt normal. I don't then really get the point about it being a disjointed experience. This game follows (to a fault) beat-for-beat a lot of what was set up by its previous entries (esp. Prime 3) and is cohesively aiming to be the next metroid prime game. It fails to reach Beyond the other games, though.
I didn't hear any specific examples of how it's disjointed except speculation about the little we know of the tumultuous development cycle. I feel like if you played metroid prime 3 somewhat recently, you would not be shocked about hardly any of the evolution of the mechanics, dialogue, or narrative choices in this game.
I am excited for the Besties bracket next week! I'm rooting for blue prince (sorry Russ)
Since I’m psychic I think I’m qualified to answer this for you. (1) the change in atmosphere between empty, open-world vs dense dungeons. (2) tonal change between solo exploration vs chatty companions.
……………
I just took an online test, and it turns out I’m not psychic after all. Take all the above with a grain of salt.
Lol thank you for your psychic response. I don't think having parts of the game have chatty companions and more contemplative sections, or more open sections and less open sections necessarily makes a game disjointed, and in fact this is present in many many games, from Zelda to Skyrim. The game's structure is a lot like Ocarina of Time, really. And I would point out that Retro was moving in this direction through the Prime series. I guess it just feels very much like a Retro Studios game, and sure, a lot of it feels half-baked, but disjointed doesn't feel like the word.
Seems like a confusing decision for N to pump up Animal Crossing again with Tomodachi Life sequel on the horizon. That announcement was incredibly huge in terms of raw view count. But will it be a system seller?
News lately says they're up against the wall with AI demand driving up RAM prices. Will a price hike come along with no compelling reason to eat the cost?
I heard this game is good for folks waiting for Elder Scrolls 6.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1466060/Tainted_Grail_The_Fall_of_Avalon/
Random recommendation. I know y’all are frequently looking for good mobile games, and I recently picked up Bat to Bed. It’s basically “What if Flappy Bird was made by Bennett Foddy?” Seems like something you’d be into.
If Griffin is having a hard time with our boy Norman being stuck inside the PS5, has he tried streaming it through PS Remote Play on his many Android handhelds?
Can you guys just like DM me your Sektori strats, the campaign is killing me
Fuck Yes citizen sleeper 2 made it into the audience picks!
Also, I have not played Dispatch or Rootrees but just from what I’ve heard, I’m happy that they are in
I *have* however played Indiana Jones and I honestly don’t really feel anything there lol
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on a new game “Mosaic of The Strange” it feels like a Besties-ass game for sure. I’ve been playing the series for a long time and this one is the best by far. It’s the same kind of game as proverbs but this one has a storyline to it that you discover as you beat the puzzles. The main gameplay is kind of like a minesweeper style numbers game. Once you complete a puzzle you unlock a small article about each object, and in this one they’re all x-files conspiracies. If you haven’t checked it out there are demos for most of the games in the series.