Glen-i

You should know the golden rule when it comes to fan made Pokémon. Sooner or later, you'll find one that you like so much, the actual official one can only disappoint. I did that to myself when I drew an idea of what Alolan Marowak could look like...

Oh right, make sure you have your opponent on your friend list.

Well, right now Sword has 2 more exclusive Pokémon than Shield has. So almost definitely, and I expect it to be a Pokémon that has no evolution, just like Farfetch'd was. Whether it's another Gen 1 one is unlikely. (And unneeded, when the likes of Dunsparce and Kecleon exist, plenty of single stage Pokémon that are utter crap in battle like Farfetch'd)

Yes, it appears that there's more pieces of heart in this version. Judging by the series tradition and the look of the HUD, I would guess that you can get a total of 20 hearts. The original had a max of 14. Which meant there was only 12 pieces of heart there. If I'm right, that would mean that it's very easy to get to a point where your hearts outweigh the damage you could possibly take, what with there being triple the amount to hide in that small Game Boy world. (Not to mention the Blue Tunic from the Colour Dungeon, but no-one chooses blue) It happens less often than in the original, but the screen still does the pause and scroll when you transition to certain areas.

Yes, I must admit, I am interested in what Mind freak means by his implication that the dungeons aren't fun. They're certainly not my favourite when it comes to top-down Zelda, but there're some great ideas in there (Like Eagle's Tower, that you mention). The only thing I can think of as a genuine problem for some would be how small each dungeon is, but again, that's due to the limitations of the Game Boy.

It's only a matter of time before something is done about lootboxes. And while there is a possibility that it may have an impact on gaming as a whole, at this point, I can't see how it can be anything other than a net positive. Anyway, you thought Anthem was done being a shambles? Yeah, I can't say I'm surprised, but hopefully those who invested in buying this game will think twice next time they're offered a live service with a promise of basic features to come. Considering that Bioware are owned by EA, it's worrying to see what will become of them as a result of this trainwreck.

This is the thing with Link's Awakening. It's a Game Boy game, a technical marvel of a Game Boy game, but still a Game Boy game. And because of that, it's a lot smaller in scope than even A Link to the Past. I could be wrong, but this remake doesn't seem to add a lot to lengthen the original game. To put it another way, it's the Pokémon Gen 1 problem. Fantastic Game Boy games, but they are really outdated and play nothing like the more modern entries. Someone trying the Switch version of Link's Awakening, but discovered the Zelda series through more recent titles, are in for a rude wake-up call. And if their first Zelda title was BotW, they are going to be amazed at how unlike the two games are.

Haven't watched that video yet (will do when I'm not on my phone), but as far as I stand, Microsoft just doesn't make the kind of games I like. To be fair, Sony doesn't fair much better, but now and again, Sony will show some exclusive and I'll think to myself "Well, I'd like to try it out" Never enough to actually warrant buying one of their consoles, but at least I show some interest. Microsoft doesn't quite reach the wacky, fun-focused philosophy of Nintendo or reach the heavy hitter of the AAA 3rd party market that Sony aims for. It sits awkwardly in the middle, trying to be a Jack-of-all-Trades, only to end up as Master-of-None. It also doesn't help in my eyes, that out of the three platform holders, Microsoft are the one most likely to shove exploitative microtransactions into their first party games, and that's a big no-no to me. Once I watch that video, I'll add some more thoughts to this. EDIT: Yeah, OK. That video is spot on. I watch Microsoft's E3 showings and about 90% of the time, all I'm thinking is that there's nothing new or interesting there. Microsoft are just coasting with their first party output while Sony are at least trying and Nintendo has the kind of high-quality stuff that appeals to a vastly different demographic. Who knows what their plan is for the future? Their small partnership with Nintendo is admittedly exciting. But while it appears to be that they're gonna try and make their games more accessible to more people, whether they'll have the products to back that up is an entirely different matter.

My threshold for Pokémon jokes are a bit higher than Farfetch'd leek jokes. I know excruciating detail on every Pokémon to date, I can certainly do better.

You're right, the name was leaked. We had no clue what it looked like until that tease though.

It's worth noting that Sirfetch'd (and Farfetch'd as well) are Sword Exclusive. Makes me wonder what Shield is getting instead. Also, Steadfast is a pretty meh ability. It'll live or die by it's moveset and stat spread.

Right-o. Seeing as I can't be in every room to adjudicate the results, I'll need each room to take a picture of all 15 end of race results. When I say that, I mean this kind of thing. Of course, you'll have to tell me who was who as well. If you somehow miss it, quickly record a video by holding the capture button, there's an option to save a screenshot from a video, so you can save yourself some embarrassment that way. Just to be safe, both players should try and remember to do it. Try and use a wired connection if possible. SNES Online App is much more prone to lag issues than MK8DX, due to SNES games not being built for online play. Oh, and avoid pausing mid-game if possible, it's pretty unsportsman-like. Ram your opponent off the track though, that's totally fine. And with all that out of the way. Next League Night: Tonight 8pm Room 1 @BowserBasher VS @RedShell Room 2 @martinist VS @Dcubed Room 3 @viceview51 VS @S.C.G I'll leave each pair to sort out who will host. I will have to sit out of this one, (although I'll defo be watching Room 2) that is, unless someone joins in at the last minute and forces me to reorganise. That means these rooms are not final and subject to change. So check before the night starts. I think that covers everything.

I wonder why. 2 generations late at this point. Maybe Niantic forgot about Kecleon at this point? Clearly not Mystery Dungeon fans.

Speaking of Capcom games... Yes, that was the final boss. Yes, that was the background. Yes, Breath of Fire 2 does the same thing. Probably because of the complicated sprite. No, I'm not showing you that, that would be spoilers. As I mentioned in a previous post, I only ever played the GBA version of Breath of Fire 2 beforehand, so I was keen on seeing where this admittedly forgotten series started. Some quick observations. Oh dear lord, there's no run button like the GBA version of BoF2 I played had, and it's very noticable! It makes the game really slow paced. It took me 29 and a half hours to beat it. Some characters are just flat out better than others. 3 of your 8 members are essentially useless and should never be used in battles. 2 of them can be fused with someone else so they at least contribute something, but the 8th character? No chance, he's utter crap. The translation may be actually competent (Square did the translation, not Capcpom), but the story is a bit bland and lets it down. It's not awful, it's just there. By comparison, BoF2 has a legitmately innovative story (for 1994, a lot of RPG's have ripped off it's big twist since) and hilariously bad translation. Character designs are great, anthropormorphic animal party members are surprisingly rare in RPG's, which helps BoF stand out with it's party. The actual character personalities are meh, though. It's nice to see multiple endings, but I couldn't figure out how to get the best ending for the life of me, so I had to look it up. Yeah, I never would have found what I needed without a guide. Amzingly enough, BoF2 was worse in this regard as not only is it's best ending hard to find, but it could be lost forever if you killed a certain boss. It's a decent RPG and I had fun with it, but I'd only recommend this to the die-hard RPG enthusiast. I also finished Super Metroid... again... but this time on Switch. The Space Jump in this game will forever be unreliable. I actually find it easier to do constant wall jumps off of a single wall!

Kecleon in yet?

See for yourself. It looks like they smoothed out the character sprites while forgetting to apply the same treatment to the environments. It looks pretty amateurish and inconsistent. For comparisons sake, here's the 2D version of DQXI. The sprites are much more consistent as a whole, despite looking more pixelated. It's much less jarring as a result. Square has an annoying habit of "remastering" the visuals for the mobile versions of games and it's never a good look. Never forget how they butchered FFVI's visuals.

I'm sure some of you know by now, but...

Hope @Vileplume2000 doesn't mind me hijacking our play through so I could confirm this about Big Boo. 27 years later and I'm still learning new things about this game! Don't worry, the suspend point is still at the same point.

Maybe the Joy-Cons are made of butter?

It's worth noting that you don't have to spend both at once, so if there's a first party title you know you want digitally coming out in the future, it's great value. Make sure you confirm that the game you want counts first. But yeah, if you value physical boxes, it gets harder to choose.

Not until you fix my game!

OK, I'll go open a room, seeing as our save data is on my profile.

Well, I'll be playing other games today (Probably Smash), so if you become available, give me some notice and I'll swap over to the SNES app.

Wow, and I thought I made nerdy jokes!

To be frank, MissingNo. needs to actually become an official Pokémon first.