Julius

I mentioned it in the anime thread because I wasn't sure where to put, but seeing as we've got this dedicated thread, might as well move it here I guess Key art: Description: @martinist, I'm guessing it at least covers the first game and parts of - if not the whole of - the second too, just judging from the description. The "beyond Hong Kong" line could be applicable to both the latter part of II and the whole of III, but if it's only 13 episodes, I can't imagine it getting it to III? Not sure of course, but that would seem...kind of brisk paced, but then I guess a roughly four-episode arc per game could work? Just wouldn't be much room for growth apart from with Ryo though, I guess. And if it's going to be a more mature retelling, filling in some gaps, I'd rather they leave room for future seasons? I wonder if this is them gearing up to either continue the story in another medium instead of making IV as a game, or if this is to get more people invested ahead of a potential fourth game. I'm leaning towards the latter, just considering the general reception to III. And we better see the forklift races in all their glory! But apparently it's the director from One Punch Man S2, which I haven't seen, but also haven't heard the greatest of things about? Something to keep an eye on for sure, either way.

As someone who works a lot with people who struggle with debt, and has had many conversations with people about their debts and everything that comes with that, I just want to recognise that it sounds like that was a massive undertaking. It's not easy to clear debt even if you have the disposable income and a plan to do it, and it's even harder to talk about a lot of the time too because of how debt is viewed, so it really can weigh people down. I can't imagine the ins and outs of what you've been through while dealing with it, because it impacts people so differently, but either way, this is big! Congrats Cube!

I mean, if a club were going to do it, I feel like they would have had that conversation with Messi already. I think his interview shows that whoever wants him is going to be patient. And yeah... don't think we'll be in for him as much as Abramovich is a big fan of Messi and tiki-taka, he wouldn't suit the style of play we're building towards, or the players we've signed this summer, especially with such a focus on signing youth. It would seemingly fly in the face of everything Lampard is trying to centre our team around, so great a player as he is...I just don't see it happening. Also, I know FFP is being relaxed somewhat as a result of COVID, but as @Kav mentioned, even with that I don't think we'd be able to pull it off based on our current structure. It's hard to see us financing a move in a similar way to how Juve financed Ronaldo's salary (getting Fiat to step in). The club which suits him most is undeniably going to be City, and while I'm sure they'll try to get plans ready for a free transfer next summer now instead, this is going to allow them to get the team even more prepared for a Champions League run with Messi, because their match against Lyon showed a lot of tactical weaknesses in Pep's side, and there are certainly some key areas which need strengthening still. From the sounds of it even City weren't planning on paying the €700 million, and at most were planning on a €300 million bid depending on how the contract review went. Either way, like Messi, I don't see Pep or Txiki wanting to burn bridges with Barça in such a way. Yeah, this is a good point. That and the fact that you and us both can't really offer a team with the potential for a run deep into the Champions League, nor can our projects really afford to do anything but focus on the rebuilds we've already done. And thing is, his style of play isn't best suited for probably any club in England except City, and even outside of England, who could want to build a team around him? He'd ruin Bayern's wage structure; PSG already have the attacking quality, it's just about everywhere else that they need to strengthen; Juve has already shown what happens when not using one of the greatest of all-time in a way which makes sense - why they haven't learned from Zidane's template of resting him plenty for key matches I'm not sure - much as I'd love to see Messi and Ronaldo share a kit; and Real were never seriously going to be in for him other than to be cheeky, but Perez is a romantic (other than that whole Figo incident, but I guess he wasn't Barça blood like Messi is) and I doubt he'd have been interested (think he'd much rather wait on Mbappé). City's offer to have him for a few years then ship him off to NYC honestly sounds like the smarter move to me for Messi (unless he was ever serious about moving back to Old Boys): a couple of last cracks at the UCL with the manager who he had his best seasons with, a team suited to him and can compete on all fronts without him playing every game, and then the chance to retire in America. It gives him the potential for one last hurrah in Europe and the chance to really put eyes on the MLS. And of course I'd selfishly hope Ronaldo ends up in America too, on the same team obviously, just so we can see what that's like

Got to love Gamexplain sometimes

Had no idea where to put this, so I guess I'll put it here: Shenmue is getting an anime adaptation. So, I think this is pretty big news, all things considered, because after the poor critical reception to - and sales performance of - Shenmue III, I feel like they might be testing this as a means to either continue the story in another medium, or to get more people invested in the series if a Shenmue IV is in the works and does come to fruition. s crossed we hear some familiar music and it manages to capture the Shenmue vibe. From the description I'm guessing it covers the first game and at least a good portion of the second game, if not all of it. Have to imagine that would mean a pretty brisk pace, but then again, taking out some of the somewhat time-consuming tasks out of the equation in the game could streamline it.

Messi's staying at Barça, but only because he doesn't want to go up against the "club of his life." Full GOAL interview here (how the heck did they of all places swoop in for this scoop?). Some choice quotes for your perusal: Good to see him go in on this board, they deserve nothing but the worst. Curious to see if he'll be leaving next summer either, what with the elections in March and a new board, and the potential for a new manager to come in at that point. Basically being held hostage for a year. Well, it was fun while it lasted.

The textures on the cat suits are making me feel super uncomfortable.

I remember trying this out a couple of years ago and not really feeling it a couple of hours in. Maybe I'll give it another go at some point? Either way, CDPR really know how to get in the good graces of their fans, don't they? One of the few

Response from @Glen-i saying it wasn't Game Freak who made this game, but Chunsoft, in 3, 2, 1...

Not sure when I'm going to get to playing it (a JRPG for a week or so, then we've got Mario 3D All-Stars...), but hey, it's here at least! Hopefully get around to playing it by the end of the month.

To be clear, I was speaking strictly about the world, characters, and combat all (pretty much) being improved upon, it was a continuation of the same sentence, but that's my bad for not being clearer when I finished the game back in April I shared what I thought the flaws were, so I'm certainly not of the opinion that everything is better this time around, just that pretty much all of the the world, (to clarify, main cast/secondary) characters, and the combat are; the rest I guess we'll have to wait and see! I love the original game, and really want to play it all through again before Part 2 of the Remake Project, but the parts I mentioned just feel so much more fleshed out here. Yes, there are issues with pacing and other things which are going to split opinion, but Midgar being realised as fully as it is; the care and thought put in to flesh out the main cast (who are written better in my opinion this time around) and many of the secondary characters; as well as the moment-to-moment enjoyment I got from the combat is what I'm referring to, mainly. I love turn-based battles, but it's the way in which the new battle system pays homage to and incorporates the original which makes me enjoy it so much, especially with it feeling so much more involved. It needs some refinement, without a doubt, but it's a solid foundation for this project's combat system as a whole. I'm also a big fan of the pre-rendered backgrounds of the original, but yeah, that's not what I was talking about

So I completely missed the new trailer for No Time To Die, so sharing it in case anyone else did too Looks great, honestly been such a long year I forgot this was even managing to come out in November! Feel like they might have shown a little too much, though.

Yeah, so if you're going to shadow drop a Direct, this is how you do it: you make sure it's good! But seriously, this is probably the Direct which is the best paced - and had the best mix of announcements and surprises - since what, last year's September Direct? I was going to suggest E3 2019, but Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, Banjo coming to Smash, SNES Online, dates for a slew of already announced and exciting first party titles...that was a really good Direct looking back at it now. A big fan of a lot of their announcements, first time I've come away in a long time saying "yes, I'm getting more than one game from that Direct!". Really hope Zelda gets similar treatment for its 35th next year, because man am I ready to experience some of those too! Curious to see what Pokémon does - I know it's not just Nintendo calling those shots, but it is their 25th, so while I'm waiting for a Diamond/Pearl Remake...who knows, they might so something crazy. I mean there's not much they need to do, in my opinion. They can't directly compete with next gen on so many fronts, and I think it would have been very unwise for them to release a massive title like Breath of the Wild 2 or a potential Switch Pro. Competing directly like that wouldn't have been good for them anyways, even more so with limited budgets for most as a result of COVID. Thee Switch is having its best year to date, and if nothing else I think it's going to work just like the box office, as it's primed to be solid counter-programming for both next gen consoles: an already existing library of great games on a console probably only nearing its midway point. Perhaps the only thing I would suggest Nintendo potentially does in response to next gen launching is - assuming those consoles come in at £500 or more - is dropping their price to £249.99 or a little less, especially if a Pro is on the way in time for next Christmas. Being able to say that you're selling at half the price (or less!) of the other consoles on the market is a massive sell to most, and let's not forget that those next gen consoles could well end up selling out. Though all that being said, yes I'd love another game this year, but it's already a pretty busy end to the year for them with a game published by them nearly every month? 3D All-Stars this month, Pikmin 3 next month, and we've still got Bravely Default II on the way too - not quite what everyone wanted I don't think, but it's just how the year has played out unfortunately. And let's not forget the Pokémon DLC and another Smash character I imagine in that period as well. But I'd be happy to be wrong

Okay, so a question as someone playing through the "main" Mario games (have only played Super Mario Bros. on NES Online so far): is it worth me hopping over to SNES Online and playing those games in their All-Stars version instead? I'm sure I can look up the differences myself (the updated sprites are at least a bit easier on the eye), but what I'm more interested in is if these are viewed as the definitive/better ways to experience these games?

Right, so I've been putting off Odyssey to play older 3D Mario games first to enjoy that sense of evolution, and it looks like the wait has paid off. Very excited to finally get a taste of some of these games, and always a fan of soundtracks being recognised by making them more accessible. Hopefully they've been cleaned up a bit! As for the price...it doesn't bother me personally, because I'm just grateful to play the games on the Switch, to be honest. I've ended up with a pre-order of just over £40, so I'm justifying that as £15 on Galaxy and Sunshine, and £10 on 64, which to me is what I'd be more than willing to pick the games up for anyways. I feel like if - or when? - they're sold individually Galaxy could end up being £25, Sunshine could end up being £20, and 64 could end up being £15. The price tag feels justified for me going in knowing how critically acclaimed these games are, and wanting to return specifically to Sunshine for nostalgia and nothing else that I've mentioned elsewhere before. That being said, I do appreciate the perspectives of those saying that maybe Nintendo could have done more - be it with the frame rates of some of these games, or having a wide screen option for 64 - because, really, if you're putting out a collection like this I think you're right to expect the best versions of these games. When the Final Fantasy Collection eventually arrives, will I take a set of ports with sprites from the mobile version, with jank and all? Heck no. I'm expecting the original or best-looking sprites they've had before to be all dressed to the nines. "All-Stars" is Nintendo screaming from the roofs that they're bundling together some of the best 3D Mario games, so yeah, I think it's fair to want them to take it all the way. Does it bother me? Not particularly, because I (perhaps selfishly) just want to play these games for the first time. As for the limited time run, yeah, I'm landing hard on the side that by all means have that be the case for the physical version (I mean I'm sure it would make enough to support it, but I understand wanting to make it something of a collector's item)...but why the digital version too? I'm struggling to justify it even from a corporate perspective, unless of course they are planning on selling it piecemeal at some point. Sure, it's happened in the past, I get that, but it being the precedent isn't justification to do it again. It's an excuse. And, as @gaggle64 rightly mentioned, the end date of the limited run being the end of their financial year just screams some level of confused desperation from (or for?) their shareholders, by artificially generating demand through the fear of missing out, as others have brought up. It's just such a strange move to me. I don't think anyone else would get a pass on something like this - can you imagine if Xbox did this with the Master Chief Collection, or if PlayStation did this with the Uncharted Collection? - so I have to stick with my gut and say Nintendo is being a bit obtrusive here. But yes, I'm buying it, because I want to play these games, and I can't wait. I'm seeing some disappointed about Galaxy 2 not being included, but I'm happy with what we're getting in this, though of course I do hope that comes down the line to save me picking up a copy on my dusty Wii!

Kings of left field indeed, I think this looks awesome! A really distinct and creative idea, I'm a big fan of Nintendo still being in the toy business and trying to branch out from games, especially in ways like this where it ties back into gaming. Will I get one? Nope. But if I had a kid would I absolutely use them as an excuse to? You bet Honestly, I was a bit concerned about the price being too high, but £70 or thereabouts seems pretty fair to me. The only thing I can really think to compare it to is a Scalextric set, and the most basic of "starter" sets growing up were somewhere in the £80 - £150 range. Hope they continue to support this with maybe more accessories (ramps? Hot Wheels-style loops?) and racers down the line, feel like this could potentially build up quite a healthy following if it's an ongoing thing.

This looks really neat, smart way to follow up on the success of Tetris 99 being attached to NSO too. Not sure if I'll dabble with it for particularly long, but it looks like a good time! As for the limited release window, in this case, I have to wonder if it's tied to some performance figures they saw for Tetris 99?Maybe the number of players tailed off around the six month mark, and that's why Nintendo are planning to drop it at the end of March? I think it would be great if they just left it up to be honest, because this is almost exactly the typical argument for game preservation: a digital-only release being taken away after a limited time. Hope they at least think about it if it does well, but the limited time run lasting only until the last day of their financial year just feels grubby to me. Guess there's another game I'll be mentioning that for...

Right, just finished rewatching the Direct, so if you notice me bumping all of the threads for the games...that's why Only heard great things about 3D World having not played it before, and it looks fantastic. Bowser's Fury sounds like a reason to be excited, glad there's some extra content there for fans of the game already around. Will definitely be picking this up!

Kena is going to be Game Informer's next cover story, with a 14-page spread to boot! Really looking forward to hearing and seeing more about this game!

I was only thinking in terms of pure handheld experiences for some reason, I guess I've got them on my Switch as part of NES Online? Think I might have just shown how little I play in handheld...

Zero. Saying that makes it more tempting. Why are you doing this to me Glen?!

It's up on the UK Store! £44.99. Managed to talk myself down from that ledge: looks awesome and like it will be worth a lot in years to come, but doubt I'd play with it for more than an hour. EDIT: someone else please talk me down from this ledge because my finger is hovering over pre-order!

I spend 2 hours refreshing the main page...and even when it is added it doesn't show up there? Appreciate the heads-up @Helmsly, managed to get a pre-order in

Your point?

Even worse (by a day), it's out on the 18th! And the physical version is still nowhere to be seen over here...been refreshing the UK Store home page for a good hour and a half or so now, which is where the game page redirects to at the moment for those interested in physical copies. Only place I've seen comment on it was GAME... Very odd. I'm guessing stores haven't been given much of a heads up if it's even caught the official UK store by surprise!