Nintendo Direct : 17 / 02 / 21 - 10pm (UK time)

[Julius]

4 hours ago, Julius said:

So, as revealed in the Japanese Direct, they're making a Shin-chan game which looks charming as heck, but will probably never make its way over here 

I don't even have that much familiarity with the series, but it looks so warm and cosy that I would definitely be interested if it did come over here.

I'll just cross my fingers and hope I guess...

So an update on this already: the game's director is looking to release a version for Europe! 

I'd be super onboard, fingers crossed! 

4 hours ago, drahkon said:

  NSFW (Reveal hidden contents)

And that's harmless  

Shin-chan covers nude scenes better than TLOU2 confirmed 

[Glen-i]

4 hours ago, RedShell said:

It started off pretty well with the Smash Bros. segment, which I actually really enjoyed, despite considering the character choice to be yet another wasted slot. Seriously, why are they still adding characters from franchises that already have representation?! 

Xenoblade 2 is the best selling game in the series. It was weird that it only had some spirits and 2 music rips, to be frank.

And hey, at least they squeezed 2 characters into one slot. Which means we have 7 fighters in this pass instead of 6.

[RedShell]

6 minutes ago, Glen-i said:

Xenoblade 2 is the best selling game in the series. It was weird that it only had some spirits and 2 music rips, to be frank.

And hey, at least they squeezed 2 characters into one slot. Which means we have 7 fighters in this pass instead of 6.

I just think when there are still so many options available for great characters from games which are yet to be included in Smash, it doesn’t make sense or isn’t really fair to add even more from a series that already has a presence in the game. I have nothing against the latest character BTW (it’s not like the Minecraft Steve situation ) in fact I think she looks really good (although I definitely disagree with you about the costume changes being an improvement) I just wish Nintendo would try to get as many unrepresented franchises into the game first, and then if there’s still development resources and demand for more content (which, let’s face it, there is ) think about adding additional characters from the existing roster at that point.

Let me put it another way, would you rather they add Pyra or Dillon?  

Now while I reckon I know what your answer to that question will be, I don’t actually have a preference between either of the above choices, however, I’d still prefer the latter purely because it’d mean a character from a different IP being added to the game.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, RedShell said:

I just think when there are still so many options available for great characters from games which are yet to be included in Smash, it doesn’t make sense or isn’t really fair to add even more from a series that already has a presence in the game. I have nothing against the latest character BTW (it’s not like the Minecraft Steve situation ) in fact I think she looks really good (although I definitely disagree with you about the costume changes being an improvement) I just wish Nintendo would try to get as many unrepresented franchises into the game first, and then if there’s still development resources and demand for more content (which, let’s face it, there is ) think about adding additional characters from the existing roster at that point.

Let me put it another way, would you rather they add Pyra or Dillon?  

Now while I reckon I know what your answer to that question will be, I don’t actually have a preference between either of the above choices, however, I’d still prefer the latter purely because it’d mean a character from a different IP being added to the game.

 

For me, this pretty much sums up Nintendo's attitude this whole generation. Pretty much everything that they have done have been safe choices, with very few things being left field. It's why I wasn't that fussed about the Mario Golf announcement because it's another game that appears on most of their consoles. It feels like Nintendo have a checklist of certain games and just gradually work through them each generation. 

The Switch has been a runaway success, bringing in a lot of mindshare and money for the company. Now should be the time for Nintendo to try and revive dead franchises and give lesser known games some representation but instead it seems they are happy to fall back to the things that are tried and tested.

[Ashley]

14 minutes ago, Hero-of-Time said:

For me, this pretty much sums up Nintendo's attitude this whole generation. Pretty much everything that they have done have been safe choices, with very few things being left field. It's why I wasn't that fussed about the Mario Golf announcement because it's another game that appears on most of their consoles. It feels like Nintendo have a checklist of certain games and just gradually work through them each generation. 

Oh for sure. Each console gets a Mario (lately a 2D and 3D), Zelda, Smash, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Animal Crossing, some form of Pokémon (appreciate that's not Nintendo directly), Kirby, Fire Emblem and then most get Mario Golf and other sports, Yoshi, DK etc. 

It almost takes the joy away as your essentially crossing off a checklist.

[darksnowman]

This Mario Golf has some potential as they are bringing back the RPG side of it. Mario Golf on GBC was amazing (and GBA too), but the 3D iterations have just been "mode select" games.

[Dcubed]

10 hours ago, darksnowman said:

This Mario Golf has some potential as they are bringing back the RPG side of it. Mario Golf on GBC was amazing (and GBA too), but the 3D iterations have just been "mode select" games.

Don't expect the Story mode to be anywhere near as extensive as the GBC/A games.  It'll most likely be a fleshed out version of the Castle Club mode from MGWT on 3DS.

A full scale MG RPG is just impossible in the world of HD development.

[Glen-i]

12 hours ago, RedShell said:

I just think when there are still so many options available for great characters from games which are yet to be included in Smash, it doesn’t make sense or isn’t really fair to add even more from a series that already has a presence in the game. I have nothing against the latest character BTW (it’s not like the Minecraft Steve situation ) in fact I think she looks really good (although I definitely disagree with you about the costume changes being an improvement) I just wish Nintendo would try to get as many unrepresented franchises into the game first, and then if there’s still development resources and demand for more content (which, let’s face it, there is ) think about adding additional characters from the existing roster at that point.

Let me put it another way, would you rather they add Pyra or Dillon?  

Now while I reckon I know what your answer to that question will be, I don’t actually have a preference between either of the above choices, however, I’d still prefer the latter purely because it’d mean a character from a different IP being added to the game.

Well, I mean, a character I'd want more than 95% of the current roster is a stupidly high bar for any character to clear.

I will literally shiv Pikachu out of existence if I had to, Pichu's way better anyway.

But you do have a point, in the majority of cases, a character from a fresh IP is way more exciting.

The problem with that is, as far as Nintendo is concerned, what's left? ARMS, Ring Fit Adventure and Rhythm Heaven are the only IP's that are even remotely relevant and big these days. And it's DLC, so there's much more of an incentive to choose someone that will sell. Most Nintendo IP's that lack a character are even less known than Dillon's Rolling Western.

The sad truth is that the only realistic chance for these more obscure IP's to get into Smash is in the base roster of a new game. Their unpopularity can be safely ignored because there'll no doubt be other bigger hitters alongside them.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Glen-i

[Dcubed]

10 hours ago, Ashley said:

Oh for sure. Each console gets a Mario (lately a 2D and 3D), Zelda, Smash, Mario Kart, Mario Party, Animal Crossing, some form of Pokémon (appreciate that's not Nintendo directly), Kirby, Fire Emblem and then most get Mario Golf and other sports, Yoshi, DK etc. 

It almost takes the joy away as your essentially crossing off a checklist.

Not really true in Kirby's case.  Gamecube didn't get a mainline Kirby game at all (sorry Kirby's Air Ride) and N64 only just barely got a Kirby game (sorry Kirby's Air Ride!); and Wii U only got a spinoff (It's own mainline game was robbed by Switch; yes I'm talking to you Star Allies!).

It's only really within the last 10 years that Kirby has come roaring back to life; there was a long period of time where Kirby lived a bit of a limbo existence, surviving on spinoffs and remakes (as well as outsourced games from Flagship).

Switch is also very likely to be the first Nintendo console to never get an original exclusive Donkey Kong game; not even an original spinoff! (a claim that even every Nintendo handheld can make!)

Edited February 19, 2021 by Dcubed

[Glen-i]

4 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Switch is also very likely to be the first Nintendo console to never get an original exclusive Donkey Kong game; not even an original spinoff! (a claim that even every Nintendo handheld can make!)

So basically, Metroid Prime 4's development issues killed K. Rool's glorious return in a third DKC returns style game?

[Ashley]

31 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Not really true in Kirby's case.  Gamecube didn't get a mainline Kirby game at all (sorry Kirby's Air Ride) and N64 only just barely got a Kirby game (sorry Kirby's Air Ride!); and Wii U only got a spinoff (It's own mainline game was robbed by Switch; yes I'm talking to you Star Allies!).

It's only really within the last 10 years that Kirby has come roaring back to life; there was a long period of time where Kirby lived a bit of a limbo existence, surviving on spinoffs and remakes (as well as outsourced games from Flagship).

Switch is also very likely to be the first Nintendo console to never get an original exclusive Donkey Kong game; not even an original spinoff! (a claim that even every Nintendo handheld can make!)

I wasn't really going back to the N64 as that feels like the inflection point between classic Nintendo and contemporary but a fair point about Kirby. I guess just the number of Kirby titles on Wii and 3DS clouded my memory. 

Although I think there's a few years left for the Switch, even if it limps on at the end like the Wii did. I could see a DK game coming. The Switch is practically begging to bring Donkey Konga back. 

[darksnowman]

40 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

Don't expect the Story mode to be anywhere near as extensive as the GBC/A games.  It'll most likely be a fleshed out version of the Castle Club mode from MGWT on 3DS.

A full scale MG RPG is just impossible in the world of HD development.

I'd say it depends how ambitious they want to be; there are plenty of HD-era RPGs out there.

[Ashley]

Yeah I do worry the story mode is just going to be a series of matches with XP gains between. 

[Dcubed]

1 hour ago, darksnowman said:

I'd say it depends how ambitious they want to be; there are plenty of HD-era RPGs out there.

Yeah, but they’re all dedicated RPGs.  Mario Golf SR is (shock of all shocks!) a Golf game first and foremost.

It’s unreasonable to make what is (essentially) two original HD games in one; especially for a small scale developer like Camelot.  Back in the GBC & GBA era? That was a lot more feasible, but now? Unless you have a team of hundreds, a AAA budget and are working on it for 4-6 years? That’s just not gonna happen.

[Mandalore]

2 hours ago, Glen-i said:

The problem with that is, as far as Nintendo is concerned, what's left? ARMS, Ring Fit Adventure and Rhythm Heaven are the only IP's that are even remotely relevant and big these days

Wasn't Fire Emblem struggling before the addition of Marth and Roy to Melee sparked interest in Western gamers? Adding a character from Advance Wars, Golden Sun, 1080 Snowboarding etc. would make these games relevant again.

[Hero-of-Time]

5 minutes ago, Mandalore said:

Wasn't Fire Emblem struggling before the addition of Marth and Roy to Melee sparked interest in Western gamers? Adding a character from Advance Wars, Golden Sun, 1080 Snowboarding etc. would make these games relevant again.

Fire Emblem's revival and its current success was thanks to Awakening on the 3DS. The series was on its last legs before that arrived. For better or worse, it gave the series a new lease of life by attracting a different audience.

[Jonnas]

30 minutes ago, Mandalore said:

Wasn't Fire Emblem struggling before the addition of Marth and Roy to Melee sparked interest in Western gamers? Adding a character from Advance Wars, Golden Sun, 1080 Snowboarding etc. would make these games relevant again.

Marth was added to Melee by sheer popular demand (a.k.a. he got added because he was already relevant, not the other way around). Him and Roy being in Melee is what convinced Nintendo to finally let the series exist in the West as well, but the series' relevance in Japan was otherwise unaffected by Smash.

Like H-o-T said, Awakening's success resembles more what you're thinking of. As for older series getting revivals thanks to Smash... Can't think of an example. Kid Icarus is almost it, but I'd call it cheating if Sakurai himself has to personally revive it  

[Mandalore]

Ah ok. But still, millions of gamers are going to buy the character season pass regardless of who's in it. Might as well test the waters with characters from old IPs, there's nothing to lose.

[RedShell]

3 hours ago, Glen-i said:

The problem with that is, as far as Nintendo is concerned, what's left? ARMS, Ring Fit Adventure and Rhythm Heaven are the only IP's that are even remotely relevant and big these days.

Don’t forget WarioWare and Chibi-Robo!

What? I need points in the roster prediction thing.  

48 minutes ago, Mandalore said:

Adding a character from Advance Wars, Golden Sun, 1080 Snowboarding etc. would make these games relevant again.

Not sure an appearance in Smash would be enough to do that, but yeah, it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

I also just think it’s really cool when older more obscure characters are brought back into the spotlight, like Duck Hunt Duo for example.  

14 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

The Switch has been a runaway success, bringing in a lot of mindshare and money for the company. Now should be the time for Nintendo to try and revive dead franchises and give lesser known games some representation but instead it seems they are happy to fall back to the things that are tried and tested.

Absolutely. But to be honest I gave up trying to figure out Nintendo’s strategies a long time ago. We all know that trying to understand why they do things the way they do, or trying to predict their next move is just pointless. There is clearly no logic involved whatsoever when it comes to Nintendo from both the creative or business side of things. They’re an enigma.  

[nekunando]

16 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Now should be the time for Nintendo to try and revive dead franchises and give lesser known games some representation but instead it seems they are happy to fall back to the things that are tried and tested.

I've been saying this for a while so it's a shame that Nintendo are still plodding along as they are

On the business side of things, seeing Splatoon 3 close out the Nintendo Direct probably makes sense instead of trying to revive other franchises that many of us grew up with but will mean nothing to the current generation.

However, the amount of work it would probably take to do HD versions of stuff like Wave Race: Blue Storm and F-Zero GX for the Switch means I'm sure they could do just about well enough to make a little profit.. but it's not just that. By releasing more of their portfolio on Switch, it gives those games a chance to grab an audience again and then perhaps they could become bigger franchises in the minds of their current consumers.

As for the Direct as a whole, I went in expecting to see plenty of games that weren't for me for the duration (which I did ) but to get a new Mario Golf (albeit one I absolutely predicted for this Summer) and be able to play Skyward Sword in HD (something I was a little less sure of), I somehow came away pretty happy.. because I expected nothing!

A release date for No More Heroes 3 makes it feel a little more real now so, as it stands, I at least have 3 games to look forward to playing this Summer! That's considerably more than the 0 games I was excited for before the Direct!

[Dcubed]

4 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

Fire Emblem's revival and its current success was thanks to Awakening on the 3DS. The series was on its last legs before that arrived. For better or worse, it gave the series a new lease of life by attracting a different audience.

It drives me absolutely batty that they’re not willing to take the same chance with Advance Wars! Especially given the strategy genre’s newfound popularity!

AW was always bigger than FE in the west (though certainly not in Japan).  Like... COME ON!!

[Louise]

 splatoon 2 looks like a really fun game, can try it out before the 3 one is out 

[Glen-i]

5 hours ago, Mandalore said:

Wasn't Fire Emblem struggling before the addition of Marth and Roy to Melee sparked interest in Western gamers? Adding a character from Advance Wars, Golden Sun, 1080 Snowboarding etc. would make these games relevant again.

Worth noting that Marth and Roy were almost cut from the Western release of Melee because everyone here would be like "Wait, who?"

Lucas had the same issue for Smash Brawl, but they kept him in and now people won't stop asking for Mother 3.

Those are prime examples of the power of the Smash effect. Even if it was a massive fluke.

4 hours ago, RedShell said:

Don’t forget WarioWare and Chibi-Robo!

You know full well that WarioWare is already in there, and that Chibi-Robo isn't even remotely relevant.

4 hours ago, RedShell said:

I also just think it’s really cool when older more obscure characters are brought back into the spotlight, like Duck Hunt Duo for example.  

It is, but remember, characters like Duck Hunt Duo and Shulk were relatively niche picks for Smash 4 that were balanced out by more well-known choices such as Rosalina, Lucina and Greninja. It didn't matter if you didn't recognise someone, because there were bound to be others you did.

But with the dawn of DLC additions, each of those characters now exist in their own kind of vacuum. When you purchase a new Smash Bros. game, you do so knowing that there's a large selection of new characters to try out and discover. But when you're buying a challenger pack, you're paying for that specific character and they don't have other characters they can fall back on if it falls flat.

Some people have mentioned something along the lines of "Character X is a waste of a slot". Ignoring the fact that's a silly argument because slots don't exist and all the characters have already been decided upon before this pass was even revealed, this kind of mentality is reinforced because of the knowledge that as of now, there's 2 more characters left.

This DLC pack needs to sell itself on it's own merits, it doesn't have the actual game to lean on, because they're sold separately, so big new IP's like Minecraft and Dragon Quest are choices that will sell more than niche picks such as Dillon and Chibi-Robo. Nintendo IP's do have more leniency because they don't need to pay for using their own characters, but money is still the driving factor, so using big successful Switch games like Xenoblade 2, FE: Three Houses and ARMS is the smart thing to do.

It sucks, but it does make a lot of sense.

Honestly, Ring Fit Adventure is the only Ninty IP I see having a shot in this pass. It all depends on how early it's success became apparent. (The recent spirit event does not fill me with hope there...) Anything less relevant and you're better off hoping for them to be included in the next entry. (Or a re-release of Ultimate)

[RedShell]

2 hours ago, Glen-i said:

You know full well that WarioWare is already in there

You know what though? (and this is kind of weird, but hey, nothing new for me ) I don't always see Wario in Smash as a representative of WarioWare. 

Yeah, I know... his default outfit is the WW get-up. The stages, the music... predominantly WW.
I guess having played many games featuring Wario long before WarioWare even existed is the reason.

Also, technically the game doesn't consider him exclusively as a WW rep either, as demonstrated by this:

 

Whereas if say, Jimmy T. or 9-Volt *cough* were to be added to the game, I imagine it'd look more like... *waves Photoshop wand*... this!:

 

 

2 hours ago, Glen-i said:

and that Chibi-Robo isn't even remotely relevant.

Why you got to be so cruel?

[Dcubed]

If anything? I'm more annoyed that Wario is always represented by the WarioWare series and not the actual Wario Land games!

Like... COME ON!! At least give us the bloody Shoulder Barge; you know, his key characteristic move!

That's something I really like about the Smash Remix N64 mod; it pays proper tribute to the Wario Land side of Wario  

Edited February 20, 2021 by Dcubed