S.C.G

Well, I might as well get this out there, seeing as I already told Greg via a PM about my most recent gaming confession... I haven't finished Super Mario Odyssey I just never finished it, even though I was definitely enjoying the game at the time. I suppose this is partly down to there being so many games on the Switch, but it could also be attributed to myself lacking discipline in finishing games, either way, I have recently sought to rectify this situation by returning to the game and making some progress. On my last playsession, I finally recruited all of the musicians in New Donk City and got to see that impressive performance after completing that rather special piece of platforming which I thought was a really well put together homage to a classic Nintendo game and an important part of Mario's history; just in case, for anyone else who might not have played or finished the game yet as I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone else. As of yet, the game still remains unfinished but my appreciation of it has risen in recent weeks since returning to the wonderful worlds of Super Mario Odyssey and I will be making a point of going back to the game on a more regular basis, when I can, in a concerted effort to finally finish what is easily one of the best Mario games I've played since Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii. It's probably safe to say, that I'll have the game finished before any of the rumoured remakes of classic Mario games get released on the Switch... now watch as Nintendo shadow-drops them onto the console before the end of the month.

Doom 64 because it deserves more recognition that it got when it was first released, this is now the definitive version, available on all platforms and I really want to play it. But pick any of these games and I'll likely play them, it's just that Doom 64 is vastly underrated so it surely deserves to be played by a larger audience. If we're doing second, third, last choices... the order would go... Doom II, Doom, Doom 3 because the second game is amazing, the first is still great and the third, though decent for what it is, still doesn't stack up to the rest of the series despite being the first game to really go for a more rebooted style before Doom 2016. I think Doom 64 is more of a new entry in the series, in fact it's probably the most 'canon' game after the first two, while Doom 2016 and Doom Eternal seem like more of their own thing. By the way @londragon I think a trick was missed by not calling this selection... Nintendoomed!

For what it's worth... Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies N-Europe Review Myself and @D_prOdigy enjoyed reviewing the game back in the day.

Well, I'm glad that part of the game is over, for now... I just finished getting all the materials and making all the stuff so that three new residents can join the island. I looked at the signs and it looks like the following residents will be moving in... AL, Norma and Sprinkle Are these good residents? Or should I start drafting their leaving letters now?

Yep, it's the reason that I've purchased every Switch game I own from new... ...so that I can unseal them and lick them myself.

Happy Birthday @Aneres11 That's really cool, celebrating your birthday on Animal Crossing, I forgot that was even a thing, cool to see that they go all out on this version though. Nice bit of cake there as well, the Joy-Cons on that Switch cake look better made than the real thing they're probably more reliable and taste better. (I'd imagine) I hope you enjoy your day and if there's anything you need in the game, let me know, I'll have a look in my shop later if I remember. I must remember to play the game today, I don't want to miss out on those star fragments again.

Thanks for opening your island up @Dog-amoto I had a Meteor Shower the other night and then didn't check the game the next day, so missed out on a load of star fragments. I'll be combing the beach on my island tomorow though, for sure. You've got a really nice island, was cool to meet both yourself and @Tales as well.

This one's pretty good also... I bought the original model grip a year or two(?) ago and I've found it great for handheld play, got it when they were selling the grip in red for a limited time. Both the original model and the newer model are both good and you can buy this bundle with the grip, cap sticks, charging cable etc for a reasonable price though do take into accounr shipping, especially as it's overseas but worth it though for a quality product. Check it out on Satisfye if you're interested. Disclaimer - N-Europe does not benefit from you clicking that link, this is a product I have personally purchased and probably mentioned before, I just thought it worth sharing.

I was going to post about the recent discount, but I'm glad to see that you noticed the game from the list of discounts in those excellent New Releases and Discounts articles which you post on the front page every week I thought at that price, it would finally be too good to ignore and in fairness, if anyone wants to buy MHGU and isn't fussed about having a physical copy then you really can't go wrong at 60% off. Also... This offer still stands, plus I might have mentioned in the Discord for A Smashing Cast that I'd be up for hunting on the game as well, either as part of an episode or just generally. If anyone else purchases the game or already has it and wants to get in on the action as well, then just say the word and we'll arrange a time to play one evening. - - - - - Just for general information... Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate - 60% off - Until 28/05/2020

Nintendo Switch Online NES and SNES applications will be updated soon Nintendo really do pick the weirdest times to update these applications. Oh well, it's all up on the main page now and it will be nice to see these games appear on the service from 20th May, 2020. NES - Rygar - previous VC release? Yes - any good? Yes - a dated yet decent title which is still a classic. SNES - Wild Guns - previous VC release? Yes - any good? Yes - a great arcade-style Western-themed shooter. Panel de Pon - previous VC release? No - any good? Yes - an underrated Puzzle game which is well worth playing. Operation Logic Bomb - previous VC release? No - any good? according to a SNES Drunk review... Yes... it's worth playing and apparently, because it was one of those games which lacked any save feature, this should do well on Nintendo Switch Online. All in all, this is a pretty good update, let us hope that it isn't too long until the next batch of games though.

Paper Mario: The Origami King unfolds for Nintendo Switch on July 17th, 2020 Up on the main site, I saw the Press Release appear in my inbox, probably the first time that I've heard about the game first that way before even on the forum. Great news of course, while I've always been a fan of the earlier Paper Mario games, I don't doubt that there are good parts to the more recent titles. It's just that, this latest entry looks like it could end up being one of the best yet potentially, though I still would have bought any remaster of the other games. Pre-ordered anyway, as it's now available on the Nintendo Store UK.

I'm genuinely intruiged by that stylus as it's pressure-sensitive and connects to the Switch via the headphone jack, so it requires no batteries, doesn't need to be wireless and looks to have a decent-sized lead, plus with it being directly connected, it should be very precise I would have thought. Also, I'm guessing that it will probably just work with the Switch generally... I hope so, even if it's just for this software then, that's still cool but if you can use it with other games and pieces of software on the Switch then that really will be very much worth having just for the peripheral alone, let alone the sure to be excellent software.

Colors Live is coming to the Nintendo Switch via Kickstarter Potentially exciting news for any aspiring or exisiting artists who own a Nintendo Switch. Colors Live is coming to the Switch via a Kickstarter, digital software but it comes with a unique pressure-sensitive stylus. (this should interest @Dcubed as I remember this is something you've been after for a while) Also, thanks to @Ashley for letting me know about this I meant to post it earlier but it's on the main page now. The original software Colors 3D on the 3DS was amazing, so I've got high hopes for this one, plus the Kickstarter has already met its target.

So many triangles... But it was an impressive demo, I posted my thoughts about it over in the PS5 thread. If the demo really is truly representative about what we can expect to see, then it's certainly interesting.

That was a solid PS5 tech demo, my level of interest in the console has definitely increased. Visually, it looks like we can expect much of what we've already seen on the PS4... but just more stable and of course... more triangles. What they're doing with the sound is interesting, I was listening to it in surround, not even in the best sound mode and what I heard seemed comparable to something straight out of an Uncharted game, if not ever so slightly better perhaps? Which is high praise, as I remember all of the Uncharted games sounding incredible. As for the actual game demo itself, I would be very surprised if they don't turn that into some kind of working title, or if indeed it already is a working title which might be ready for launch; because if that really is purely all made for this demo then... well played indeed.

Streets of Rage 4 (Official Soundtrack) Partly for research, but mostly because it's a solid soundtrack.

Haha, it's true though... there isn't much which is certain at the moment about these console launches except maybe the basics. For the launch of the PS5, I can see... superior versions of existing PS4 titles such as Ghost of Tsushima or The Last of Us Part II and probably a launch title from Housemarque. You'll have the usual 'next-gen' versions of Cod etc and any free to play games you care to mention and maybe one or two high-profile surprises from third-parties. I wouldn't put it past Sega to reboot Sonic the Hedgehog in true '06 style... but hopefully nothing like that game for the 30th anniversary next year. Imagine if Sonic was suddenly a system seller again, launch title for both platforms and somehow a miraculous Switch port just because... As for a true exclusive, the PS5 could get a new God of War game but it might be too soon, definitely not too soon for an upgraded version though.

I should get back into this game, I was enjoying it a lot at one point and I really liked the expansion. Maybe I'll return to it soon.

No company deserves blind loyalty. When it comes to Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, each company has their positive aspects along with a myriad of faults. I used to prefer Nintendo over the other two, going so far as to not even properly bother with buying any Playstation or Xbox console until much later on. Looking back at some old posts I made about Sony and Microsoft, I can see that my perceived 'loyalty' to Nintendo prevented me from giving some great games a good chance. I've been a multiplatform gamer for many generations now with access to probably more games than I'll ever reasonably play. The thought of next generation consoles is always interesting but also, I quite like where things are now with the Switch, PS4 and Xbox One. If I were to consider buying any new console however, it would most likely be a PS5 even though I'll do everything I can to not want one due to the expense. Looking at where we are now with the Xbox One Series X and the PS5, they are both consoles, which will likely come out next year, there will be some games at launch. That's all we really know at this point, aside from the fact that both machines will be using new ways to deliver games to us faster and make them run better. Has anyone actually seen a genuinely exclusive game announced for either platform which makes them want to buy into either system on day one? Or is it still too early to tell either way? I keep thinking that I won't join in with the speculation on either machine until we know a little bit more but... I cant deny that it is interesting, to a point.

I keyed in a quick search and apparently people have got decent returns out of burying a max stack of bells in the game. It's not always guaranteed and the tree will supposedly take longer to grow but there's a good chance that you'll get a lot of your bells back or more. There is also the chance that it'll be capped at something like 30K bells per bag but at least all is not lost. Disclaimer - I don't know that much about it, I just found this out and I've only buried a maximum of 1,000 bells per tree so far, though I might start burying more bells now.

I'll still use them but only for those exclusive releases which I can't get anywhere else, especially if we're talking about games which are around £25 - £30 on the eShop anyway, it makes sense to pay a little bit more for them (to me) so that most of the game is on the game card (as much as possible) saving on SD card space and there's that relative security that you can still play the game if for whatever reason the digital version becomes unavailable. But even I'm thinking twice about buying from a lot of these places now. Yep, they all take money upfront, prepare to pay at least six pounds for postage as well, but if you're ordering a signature edition or two versions this isn't too bad, not compared to LRG's shipping charges, which don't result in import charges (thankfully) possibly because it's already factored into the delivery charge which is usually £12 or more... so it makes sense to combine two releases if they are coming out on the same day but this is not always possible. Streets of Rage 4 is one of those games which derserves to have a wide-spread physical version though, like Sonic Mania did with the Plus version, as many people will surely still want to play it years down the line and these consoles which we're playing on now, although the account system is better than the previous generation, it's only good enough for as long as all these services stay active; it makes me wonder for the future of games really... I'm sure you'll still be able to play them offline with your account in a basic form but it's not as simple as it was back in the day, as I can still play the original Streets of Rage trilogy thanks to owning the original cartridges.

I'm glad to hear that Streets of Rage 4 is getting a more standardised release, but also gutted that Limited Run Games had to embargo this information to garner more sales. Oh well, I've ordered the Signature Switch edition (mostly for the soundtrack) and the standard PS4 edition, at least I know these will be versions which should be completely fine for compability with any future dlc which may be coming out... the LRG versions should be as well but I think I'll just be keeping those sealed for now at this point. It's a bit annoying because I really thought up until recently that Limited Run Games would be the only place which would be selling physical versions, just Switch and PS4 at that, now that I've downloaded the Xbox version, there isn't much point to buying that again and I may well just not keep the LRG versions in the end. This is a good thing though, the game being more easily available physically, I just don't like the way thet Limited Run Games have gone about this, they won't be getting as much business from me as they used to, because while they are great for physical versions of games which would have otherwise only been available digitally such as Celeste... when it comes to a game like Streets of Rage 4 they clearly wanted to really milk it for all it was worth and while I don't blame them for it, there will be a bit of backlash from it inevitably but then again... Panzer Dragoon has a physical release from them and that is the only way you can get a physical version of that game... for now. Anyway, not to take anything away from the game itself, which is amazing, I've been playing it every other night, spending several hours on it each time and I can easily say that it's one of my favourite games of the moment, the whole of 2020 and in quite a long time because I can't remember the last time I enjoyed playing a game so much.

Well, another week went by without me playing any Animal Crossing but thanks to @RedShell @Vileplume2000 and @Nicktendo last night, I ended up playing for most of the evening. It all started off with us possibly recording for A Smashing Cast but when that didn't pan out, instead we all just met up in Nick's town and played some games including Hide and Seek, a Fishing Competition and perhaps the best one... 'Catch the Tiger Beetle...' which eventually turned into just 'Catch a Bug... ANY Bug!' after Red quite accurately stating that there were no bugs around (there really weren't that many and a few were scared off) but eventually, a big was captured, so that was good. We were partly on voice chat on Discord while Red was on his trusty keyboard incidentally... I didn't know that you could just plug in a USB keyboard, I may do that as well for next time but this is something we would like to do with A Smashing Cast in the not too distant future, have anyone from the forum join in by showing us their island and optionally joining us on Skype, then you'd have your island featured in the episode plus there would be some kind of game to play on one of our islands; so give us a shout either in here or in the A Smashing Cast thread if you're interested, as this would typically happen at around 8pm BST on a Tuesday. Thanks for the gifts again as well everyone, I know I bought some items from my shop which... may or may not have been that useful but I tried... and I'm grateful for the fruit as now I have one of each fruit at least on my island, well... soon to be more as I've planted them all now. In fact, as I was really feeling it (the urge to keep playing the game) I carried on playing for another couple of hours, during part of which I was listening to the latest episode of N-E Café Podcast which is probably one of the better ways to enjoy the show I've found, sometimes I'll listen to other shows while playing Animal Crossing because although the game is good, a lot of it is busy work... for instance, Nook wanted me to find locations for three residents AND furnish all of their homes... he claims there will be a reward for it but I somehow don't think it's going to be worth it, but it does't matter because this is Animal Crossing where Nook somehow always gets you to go along with all of this I mean... it's not that bad I suppose, I just got to the point where I realised just how much I'd need to craft and then worked out that I'd probably need a hundred of each wood plus other materials and I got so far with bashing trees... then my Axe broke and I called it a night, so I'll go back to it either later or tomorrow I think. If we had some of those quality of life improvements featured in that video though, I'd probably be much more inclined to put some more time into the game.

Well... I was waiting for that announcement, I'm not really buying as many limited release Switch games as I used to but the Shantae games are ones which I tend to go for the physical versions wherever possible, I'll likely just go for the standard edition though as even though the soundtrack is surely spectacular, I'm not sure it's worth paying double the base price for, but it's probably worth it for anyone who wants all of the other extra items in that collector's edition. Looking forward to hopefully playing the game soon, though I do need to play a lot of the previous games before that as well.

Yep, I think you're right there Ash... From what I remember when playing the original The Last of Us when it relaunched on the PS4, I definitely enjoyed the game and while the story was good, it's deifnitely more of a game which is sold on the setting and the gameplay mechanics, which definitely presented some interesting moments and setpieces. As for the story... I really couldn't tell you everything that happened in it, just that there were definitely less characters in the game at the end than there were at the start, so it lives up to its namesake at least and without knowing much about this second part, it's safe to say that there will probably be even fewer characters by the end of this game. (I didn't see any of the spoilers and this is purely a guess from the bleak precedent that was set in the first game) I'm sure that I'll still enjoy the game though, when I hopefully get to play it but I'm not expecting the story to be stellar even though the acting will surely be great; this will still probably be pretty great in a lot of ways though but it does make me think about the future of games and where a lot of them are trying to go with story-telling etc.