Dcubed

I love that Springman couldn't get in, but bloody Piranha Plant managed it! That is so funny that I can't stop laughing!

All Star Mode isn't All Star Mode anymore. It's just a variant of Endless Smash now. I get that they realised how insanely long it would take to complete All Star Mode now, with the ridiculous amount of characters they have here, but to not even have a cut down version here is super lame. There's nothing to really do in single player now except for Classic Mode and World of Light (Does it even have the stadium minigames like Homerun Contest anymore? Or any Event Matches? I don't see them anywhere!)

World of Light looks incredible! It's not Subspace Emissary 2, it was never going to be, but it looks much more substantial than Melee's Adventure mode and much meatier than I was expecting! Also Piranha Plant is just unbelievable! Everything about it is so insanely stupid and WTF that I am convinced that Sakurai and his team were on drugs when they came up with the idea! (No, let's not have Goomba, or Koopa, or Boo. NO! Let's have a character that can't even walk! BRILLIANT!!) I LOVE IT! He's the new Wii Fit Trainer of this game for sure! Those two things absolutely saved this Direct. Otherwise it was a bit of a lame duck really. Spirits Mode looks lame (It's basically just the return of stickers from Brawl), no Smash Run/Tour, All Star Mode is gone, no more Trophies (NO MORE TROPHIES!! ), minimal DLC (and only 5 new stages - with an invisible season pass to boot), so much missing stuff and the final two new characters (not counting Pirahna Plant) absolutely suck balls. It even has fewer challenges on the Challenge Board than in Smash Wii U; and the Wolf Amiibo looks like a Happy Meal toy. It was really disappointing right up until the end, when they pulled those rabbits out of their hat. ... Also sneaky Shantae inclusion, I really appreciated that

Finally caught up with it... That bloody SakuraiBias strikes again! From the very second the final part of the video started I instantly knew that Kirby would be the sole survivor!

How about roguelikes? I find them perfect in this day and age because each run is relatively short. Something like Binding of Isaac, Nuclear Throne or Rogue Legacy is perfect for me. At least some of those are on Switch I think! I do have BOI and it’s ok, I’m not a massive fan really. What I’m really hungry for is a crafted experience, not something procedurally generated. Ideally an action adventure or a good platformer. Something like Devil May Cry 5, Bloodstained, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Luigi’s Mansion 3 or Metroid Prime 4. Even Animal Crossing and Pokemon Gen 8 (not Let’s Go) are getting me excited! That’s what I really need to play now! Shantae GBC will do for now though. It’s been long enough since my last playthrough for it to feel fresh and it fits the bill nicely!

I have, but the length is a big turnoff. I do like the Ys series, but I just can’t stomach a big 50+ RPG right now. Might go back and play Ys 1 & 2 soon though, they’re nice and short! But I’m gonna replay Shantae GBC first. Just started again last night after listening to the music and getting into the mood!

I actually started playing it fairly recently actually! It is definitely a good game, but it’s very repetitive, so I can’t stomach playing it in anything but short bursts. Definitely more of a slow burn game for me. But I’m really looking for something like Luigi’s Mansion 3 or Metroid Prime 4 right now... A really good, traditional style action adventure or platforming game! Something action focused!

This is A-Grade bull. And the guys on Resetera who believe this are on drugs. They really think that Nintendo are gonna announce the N64 mini during the Smash Direct and release it within a month!? Really!? The SEGA Saturn strategy? Sure! That’ll work out I’m sure. Just dump the N64 mini out there, with no marketing build-up towards release at all; up directly against the Playstation Mini. Sure, that makes perfect sense. And because that’s too believeable as it is, this thing supposedly includes 30 games! (Where the NES Mini has 30 and the SNES Mini has 21!) How much is this thing supposed to cost even!? It’s already going to be more expensive to have 4 controllers, more powerful hardware to emulate the N64 and more storage to store the bigger games! Let alone the value of having 30 games on the thing! Hell, just for reference, the Wii U Virtual Console service only has 21 N64 games in total (and that includes 3rd party games!) Oh, and not only that, this thing apparently includes all of Rare’s N64 games too! Including Goldeneye! You know, the game caught in the world’s most insane four-way copyright deadlock (between Nintendo, Microsoft, Activision AND Sony Pictures/MGM). Sure, that sounds believable. And on top of ALL of that, you also have to consider Nintendo Switch and its 20 million unit goal into the equation. Do you think it makes sense for Nintendo to put out anything that could potentially compete against itself and prevent the Switch from reaching its lofty 20 million goal, when the company is betting everything on the Switch’s Xmas performance? No? Good, because I don’t either! Hell I’d sell my Switch for a product that unbelievably amazing! This is not a rumour, it is a fanboy fever dream.

Awesome interview here with the guys from M2 about Phantasy Star! https://www.dualshockers.com/switch-dreamcast-sega-ages-phantasy-star-rieko-kodama-naoki-horii-kagasei-shimomura-interview/ They've actually gotten Atlus USA to completely redo the English localisation! They've even added FM sound support for the English version (which not even the PS2 SEGA AGES release had!) Awesome! Lots of awesome stuff there, including hints at an online mode for Virtua Racing Switch and this interesting comment for Gain Ground... Exciting! Read it already you fools!!

Well at least 2019 is already looking much better @Hero of Time! Like I noted in the Switch thread, 2018 for Switch has reminded me a lot of 3DS in 2012; a bit of a breather year with not a whole lot going on (meanwhile, the DS got some pretty great last hurrahs, like Pokemon Black & White 2 and Pokemon Conquest)... ... but the Switch's 2019 lineup is already looking eerily similar to the 3DS' 2013 one! Which is fantastic, because 2013 was the 3DS' best ever year! I do reckon that it'll get there, but it's just gonna take time. HD development just takes up a massive amount of time and resources, there's no way to get around that, but it looks like 2019 will be the year where Nintendo finally get all of their ducks in a row! So I'm pretty excited for next year! Even though this year has been a bit of a lame duck for those of us who were loyal to Nintendo throughout the Wii U years (if you weren't, then this year has just been an embarrasment of riches!), 2019 looks a lot more ducking promising! I'm sure it's gonna be a quacking year!

I mentioned this in the General Switch Discussion thread, but a big part of why I’ve not been playing much is because I haven’t had much time to myself over the last couple of years... ... but another reason is because nothing on Switch is really engaging me. I’m looking for something substantial to play that is primarily single player focused, not a million hours long, not an open world game (I hate them) and is not really an RPG (I have both Xenoblade 2 and Octopath, but I just can’t bring myself to start them - it’s just too big of a time investment and I really don’t feel like playing an RPG). But there’s nothing outside of ports of games that I’ve already played, as well as Breath of the Wild (which i hated), Mario Odyssey (which I found to be very disappointing) and Kirby Star Allies (which isn’t bad, but it’s definitely a weaker entry in the series). I’m pretty sure that if could look at my Switch play-log, Bayonetta 2 would be the game I’ve played the most; and that’s a bit sad, considering that it’s a port of a 4 year old game. Sure, Switch has some cracking multiplayer games (and I do enjoy them), but as far as original, non-port, meaty single player games go? There really isn’t much, unless you love open world games or RPGs (and while I do like RPGs, I’m really just not in the mood for one - except Undertale, I’m down for Undertale; but it’s a very short RPG that’s also a bullet hell game, so nerr! It doesn’t count!). Meanwhile, my 3DS is getting much more playtime; WarioWare Gold and the Mario & Luigi SS Remake (yes I know it’s an RPG, but it’s a Mario RPG, which is nothing like a normal RPG, and a weird RTS game hybrid! Shut up!) in particular are the games I’ve played the most all year by far (around 40 hours a piece now), and that’s mainly in bits and pieces here and there when I can squeeze the time in. That and the occasional retro replay. I’m finding myself reading and talking about games more than actually playing them... But I do feel a desire to play, I just want something new that I can really sink my teeth into, that isn’t another bloody RPG or open world game! Something like Luigi’s Mansion 3 or Metroid Prime 4 is exactly what I’m after! But they’re just so far away... ... at least there’s Devil May Cry 5 and Resident Evil 2 Remake on the horizon! Finally!!

https://www.resetera.com/threads/sega-ages-phantasy-star-switch-finally-releasing-on-oct-31st-likely-worldwide.77532/page-3#post-14409276 Ahh, apparantly we're getting it on November 15. Sucks that we have to wait, but at least it isn't too long.

I do still like the SSFF channel, but I really don't like how they are now openly promoting piracy as a point of pride. That's pretty scummy really. Also I really don't appreciate just how much they're selling out with the Dollar Shave Club, it makes for some really uncomfortable viewing! (And not the spooky kind of uncomfortable!) Speaking on the SEGA store front, I really like the look of that Dreamcast mug and the VMU socks! Might have to snag those...

Schedule for AGDQ 2019 is up now! https://gamesdonequick.com/schedule Surprised that there's no Kirby: Star Allies, but I'm looking forward to the Super Mario RPG run!

http://www.siliconera.com/2018/10/29/the-sega-ages-phantasy-star-release-date-is-october-31-2018/ Bugger! Looks like US/EU will have to wait a little longer after the JPN release

The UK sales obviously didn’t reflect the US sales in the end; which is surprising, because it normally does. Perhaps it shows how increasingly irrelevant the UK market is on a world scale?

Yeah, I'm expecting a Smash one soon. We know for certain that one is coming this month because they've yet to unveil the Spirits/Story mode that they teased last time! As for the other one? We do usually get a main one in late November/early December, so it would be right on cue! Will probably confirm the Jan-April lineup and will probably include Metroid Prime Trilogy HD (February - this has been rumoured for February for yonks), Yoshi's Crafted World (originally meant to come out this year and would make for a nice March bookend to the financial year) and Fire Emblem: Three Houses (RPGs always perform best in April on Nintendo systems and Nintendo will be keen to not make the same mistake that doomed Fire Emblem Fates in Europe!). Speaking of which... Has anyone else noticed that the Switch's lineup for 2019 is looking eerily similar to the 3DS' 2013 lineup? It's remarkably similar! And I'm betting that isn't by accident... I reckon that they're planning on repeating the same strategy that worked so well for 3DS in 2013, with one new 1st party title every single month of 2019! They're well positioned to pull it off, as almost all of their development studios and partners are due to release something next year! Not a lot of holes that need filling. It's very doable! 2019 is well poised to be the Switch's equivilent to 3DS 2013 (AKA, the best year it ever had). Even without Metroid Prime 4 - which won't make it in time for 2019 (that has 2020 written all over it) - Sketchy on Bayo 3's chances as well TBH, but it's not impossible! They already have the Bayo 2 engine that they can build on, unlike MP4, which has to start from scratch.

Nintendo's financials for Q2 are out now! https://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/index.html Some highlights... There's a huge amount to get through, but what stands out to me? Switch has surpassed Gamecube! (it's also up YoY, despite the weaker lineup) MTA has surpassed ARMS! As has Kirby! DKCTF has surpassed the Wii U original! Xenoblade 2 has surpassed 1.5 million! (The legs!!) NES Classic and SNES Classic will likely outsell Wii U soon... There's just so much to go through! I'll leave it all to you to get on with!

https://www.resetera.com/threads/sega-ages-phantasy-star-switch-finally-releasing-on-oct-31st-likely-worldwide.77532/ Looks like Phantasy Star will just barely make it in time for October after all!

I still have my Pokemon Mini! I actually had some good fun with it; it was a pretty neat little device, and the shaking gameplay was pretty novel at the time (who know that it would go on to inspire hundreds of ripoffs on Wii!? ) Weird and wonderful

Lol! I hope to get more involved sooner of course! But I’m sure we’ll keep it going for at least that long!

Holy crap!! https://www.resetera.com/threads/red-dead-redemption-2-become-the-second-biggest-retail-launch-of-the-year-in-uk-27-of-gtav-launch.77480/ RDR2 only sold 27% of what GTA5 sold in its opening and failed to outdo FIFA19’s opening! Considering the absolutely insanely long development cycle (roughly 8 years) and the phenomenal budget poured into this game (rumoured to be as high as $800 million), that’s actually a very poor result! I’m honestly stunned and shocked! I expected much better! If this result is repeated in the US, RDR2 might actually be a bit of a flop! Potentially pretty damaging for Take Two if the rumoured budget is as sky high as it’s believed to be! (And considering that over 3,000 people worked on RDR2, it’s quite possibly true!) Rockstar definitely won’t be happy with these numbers!

You are indeed correct! PDP64 was cancelled and turned into Pokemon Puzzle League for us here in the west. Amazingly enough, Panel de Pon 64 actually did end up getting released in the end... as part of the Japan only Nintendo Puzzle Collection for Gamecube! Those with a keen eye will spot many of the gameplay features that are shared between the two games, including the Line Clear mode, 3D Mode and the Puzzle Mode (which share the exact same set of puzzles between both the N64 and GCN games). What really sets the GCN release apart from Pokemon Puzzle League though (aside from the obvious lack of fairies; this IS still Gen 1 after all!) is the addition of the (rad as hell) 4 player mode! Next to Tetra’s Trackers, it’s the best multiplayer experience you’ve never played! That being said, Pokemon Puzzle Challenge actually DID get released in Japan, pretty much unedited from ours. Though interestingly, it was itself a modified version of a cancelled Gameboy Panel de Pon title! In fact, this beta version is actually accessible from within Pokemon Puzzle Challenge via a debug cheat code! Even in the 3DS VC release! Punch those cheats in and see how deep the Buneary hole goes! Pokemon Puzzle League was my introduction to the Puzzle League/Panel de Pon series and naturally, being the massive Puzzle League nerd that I am now, I loved it to pieces! Today it’s one of my least favourite versions (I really don’t like the janky menus and overall presentation; everything outside of the actual gameplay code that they cribbed from Intelligent Systems’ original PDP64 project feels held together by string and duct tape!), but it’s the version I grew up playing and loving, so it’ll always hold a special place in my heart

I’ve not really been here for a little while because I just haven’t had the time. I’ve been training to become a nurse over the last couple of years and I am dying for free time. Have barely even be able to play anything over the last few years (as @Glen-i can attest to - hell you can see it for yourself if you look at my Switch profile!) and I can only sneak in bits and pieces here and there right now (usually on the train). It’s also the reason for why I haven’t been able to contribute anything to the main site for some time as well; as well as the forums. Hell I bought Jackbox 5 over a week ago and still haven’t had time to play it with anyone! (Desperately hoping that tonight will finally be the night... don’t let me down @Glen-i and @Ugh first aid!) I don’t really like Discord, it’s virtually impossible to get a discussion going or to even keep up with its sheer chaos! It has its place, sure. It’s great for organising online games (which is what it was originally meant for), but it’s just not conductive to long-term discussion. Even WhatsApp is better for that, because you can at least reply to someone instead of shouting into a noisy crowd! When I (hopefully!) qualify in September though, I should have more time to spend on the forums again. I do miss the in-depth discussions on here! (And I really want to get involved in the Monthly Game Club and get that really kicked into high gear! I love the idea and really want to make it something big on here!)

It could easily be replicated using gyro pointer controls. RE5 PS3 emulates the RE4 Wii controls pretty much flawlessly with the PS Move, so there's nothing stopping them from replicating the RE4 Wii controls here.