The New Pokemon Direct; A Prime Example of Nintendo's Inadequacies in the Modern Era

[K.Rool Addict 718]

Wow, talk about disappointing -.- 

As soon as I saw that the main announcement was about Pokken I was like "Oh please let Meloetta be playable this time, oh PLEASE!" <-- As that would have been pretty much the only thing that could possibly get me even slightly excited for Pokken Tournament. Of course, that didn't happen lol.

Then came Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon... REALLY?? This was just plain facepalm-worthy. Those new legendaries look atrocious, once again the graphics are complete shit, and no Switch upgraded version in sight. Ugh!

Pokemon Gold and Silver are nice to have (it was something I wished for like a year ago) but now I just find it too little, too late. Also, wtf, no Crystal?? Crystal was always my fav >.< I don't see why they'd skip Crystal when they offered Yellow alongside Red and Blue/Green last time >:T

Anyway here, take a gander for yourselves:

 

^I was anticipating a bunch of Nintendrones damage controlling while simultaneously trying to "hype up" these reveals, so I went into the comment section of the English video and saw something that quite surprised me:

 

^ I am so glad to see the sheep are finally waking up.

It really sickens me to see people constantly defending a company's shortcomings. If Nintendo was a non-profit organization and they released all their games for free, it would be a different story, but they are charging people to play these games, and the stupid corporate slaves oftentimes settle for mediocrity and (somehow) hype it up. Then if you express dissatisfaction with the company in question, the fanboys will defend the company like they are a freaking family member.

New flash, Nintendo apologists: Entitlement does not EXIST within the realm of consumable goods. It is the consumers' collective obligation to demand excellence in the products they consume. No consumer should make excuses for a company's shortcomings and attempt to suppress negative feedback -.- I say this whilst being a huge Nintendo fan myself, as close to 90% of all the treasured videogame memories from my childhood are a direct result of playing Nintendo games.  

In case you need more proof, here are my top ten games of all time (which I compiled a few months ago after many rigorous hours of elimination):

1. Super Mario Sunshine                         10/10
2. Shadow of the Colossus                      9.9/10
3. Xenoblade Chronicles X                      9.85/10
4. Super Mario World                               9.6/10
5. Pikmin (1)                                             9.55/10
6. Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker              9.5/10
7. NieR: Automata                                    9.5/10
8. Super Smash Bros. Melee                   9.3/10
9. Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island    9.25/10
10. The Dark Spire                                     9.2/10

                  ^Only 2 of which are not Nintendo exclusive games. 

 

Anyway, what do you guys think of all this? The Direct, Nintendo's recent laziness, fanboys damage controlling; the whole works.

[ImDaMisterL 532]

Me right now. The new legendary designs look more like Digimon than Pokémon tbh

[CastletonSnob 3,023]

Since when have Pokemon games been known for their graphics?

Also, why the fuck wouldn't Nintendo charge for the games? They're not running a charity. 

Finally, Nintendo doesn't have much involvement in the creation of the Pokemon games.

I guarantee that if Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were announced for Switch, you people would bitch about having to buy a Switch just for upgraded versions of Sun and Moon. 

Edited June 6, 2017 by VG_Addict

[AlbaTross 1,581]

You guys realize Nintendo only owns about 1/3 of The Pokemon Company right?  They may look like a first party studio but they're actually second party.  Nintendo owns enough shares that they're never going to release their games on other systems, and they may have some say over what kind of Pokemon get put in the games, but they do not make the games themselves.

That said, Nintendo has long since become like somebody's grandparent who's desperately trying to stay "hip", but failing miserably to all but diehard fans, who defend Nintendo mostly for what they were rather than what they are now.  I mean, yes, there's Breath of the Wild, which shows what they can do when they actually try, but they're still overpricing outdated hardware and while the gimmick they're forcing on us this time isn't so bad, it's still an excuse for them not to have built a more modern system.  They're a company who relies largely on nostalgia and a family friendly attitude to sell systems, and the former is probably a brilliant move because most of their diehard fans have been fans for a very long time.

The thing that frustrates me though is that they used to be cool.  They were once they Sony/MS of their time and sported the best hardware, great software support and in general seemed to be way more in tune with the industry of the time, which helped them outsell even Sega, their rival at the time.  They're certainly not the whole reason why Sega doesn't make systems anymore (that has more to do with Sega making baffling business decisions), but they did beat their competition.  It just seems like they don't understand the modern industry anymore, and when they do actually make use of a staple of modern gaming, they go overboard like an old person who discovered some tech or app that "the kids seem to like" for the first time.  Case in point, Fire Emblem DLC.  I still like Nintendo and we go way back, but I want the old Nintendo back.  I'm holding out hope that maybe we will see them come back one day, but it's a pipe dream at this point.

[ImDaMisterL 532]

20 minutes ago, VG_Addict said:

I guarantee that if Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were announced for Switch, you people would ***** about having to buy a Switch just for upgraded versions of Sun and Moon. 

I was actually thinking they were for the Switch, was surprised when I saw those were still for the 3DS.

I do not care about the graphics or the charging for games, but I was pretty disappointed at how uncreative the new pokémon game was, although I know it's made mostly by Gamefreak and not Nintendo.

Still, Nintendo isn't the same as it used to be, and AlbaTross rose great points. I approve of their post.

[CastletonSnob 3,023]

Also, why the fuck did anyone expect Pokemon Stars or any new Pokemon game to be announced? Do you people not realize that a Pokemon game takes YEARS to make?

[Photon Jet 5,489]

I thought the Nintendo Direct was very good. Here are my opinions after I've watched it:

Remember when Mario Kart 8 Deluxe was introduced on the Switch? Well, Pokken Tournament Deluxe if I'm correct would obtain the same results as that game. I think it's a good move because the Wii U version you have to play the game in one spot where the Nintendo Switch you can use almost anywhere (except underwater and in volcanos) with more ways to play. Sometimes, you love to hang out with your friends and have a good time. Plus, the Nintendo Switch is stronger than the Wii U so that's why additional content is put in the upcoming game. 

Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon are in the top of my to-buy list. I was surprised to see the look on the enhanced legendary Pokemon and it looks they'll be even more content introduced for all us Trainers to enjoy. The more content, the better. Hopefully both remakes fixes the problems that Trainers have in the original Pokemon Sun & Moon. (Also we might see what's really under Mimikyu's disguise...Brr...)Just like Pokemon Black 2 and White 2, both remakes have great potential until they come out.

Finally, Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver on Virtual Console doesn't seem to appeal me that much as I have the Pokemon Silver original cartridge and Pokemon Stadium 2. If there would be a Pokemon Stadium reboot, I'm SO getting it as I adored it to bits!

Those are my thoughts on today's Nintendo Direct. All in all, things are still looking bright.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Photon Jet

[ImDaMisterL 532]

1 minute ago, VG_Addict said:

Also, why the **** did anyone expect Pokemon Stars or any new Pokemon game to be announced? Do you people not realize that a Pokemon game takes YEARS to make?

Speculations will be made, no matter the time. No one implied Stars would be coming out right after Sun & Moon, although it was a possibility if it was ever a thing, people just thought that'd be the next game they'd announce, taking years or not.

I'd honestly prefer a Diamond & Pearl remake, but not an Emerald or Platinum-like game for the Sun & Moon series. It seems we'll be getting the Black & White 2 equivalent for it...

I won't be complaining if it's like Black & White 2 though, those were quite different from the first games.

[K.Rool Addict 718]

36 minutes ago, VG_Addict said:

Since when have Pokemon games been known for their graphics?

Extremely detailed animated sprites on Crystal:

^Pixel placement used to be expertly planned out too.  As opposed to the more lazy sprite design of the later games

 

Ruby, Sapphire, and Emeralds BEAUTIFUL overworld sprite artwork that still looks good today:

 

^Wonderfully animated flourishes that brought the game to life. Clouds drifting across the reflections of bodies of water and puddles, REMEMBER all this was on the GBA! The amount of work they did with the little they had in terms of graphical capability was astonishing!

 

Then you had the extremely detailed full sized Berry sprite art in Ruby and Sapphire

 

^In subsequent games the berry sprite work was vastly neutered as the resolution was greatly reduced despite the overall res for the games being increased -.-

 

It just goes to show wonders can be accomplished even on lackluster hardware. Gamefreak simply isn't even trying anymore. They know their sheeplike fans will eat it up regardless of how little effort they put in. And that mentality carries over to modern day Nintendo as a whole.

Edited June 6, 2017 by K.Rool Addict

[Megas 27,039]

I never owned either Pokken Tournament so no skin off my back. I like that they're adding more mainline Pokemon games are being available for VC, only issue is why they didn't include Crystal(especially considering they included Yellow when they had the R/B rerelease), then again I also never played those games either so I'm not really complaining much

As for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, this is the same company who released Black and White 2 on the DS back when the 3DS was getting it's ass handed to it early on. The only difference this time is that this time the Switch is off to a great start.

The fact that this is basically Sun and Moon+, while a questionable decision to not release on the Switch, means that it'll probably heavily rely on reused assets and such. If a mainline Pokemon comes to the Switch, I'd rather they go all out(especially since we're already getting enough ports as is <_<)

 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

1 hour ago, VG_Addict said:

Also, why the fuck wouldn't Nintendo charge for the games? They're not running a charity. 

 

^EXACTLY. Nintendo is running a BUSINESS. They are SELLING their products. Fans cannot use the accusation of "entitlement" to discourage consumers from expressing discontent with their current offerings. As I stated above:

 

2 hours ago, K.Rool Addict said:

It really sickens me to see people constantly defending a company's shortcomings. If Nintendo was a non-profit organization and they released all their games for free, it would be a different story, but they are charging people to play these games, and the stupid corporate slaves oftentimes settle for mediocrity and (somehow) hype it up. Then if you express dissatisfaction with the company in question, the fanboys will defend the company like they are a freaking family member.

New flash, Nintendo apologists: Entitlement does not EXIST within the realm of consumable goods. It is the consumers' collective obligation to demand excellence in the products they consume. No consumer should make excuses for a company's shortcomings and attempt to suppress negative feedback -.- I say this whilst being a huge Nintendo fan myself, as close to 90% of all the treasured videogame memories from my childhood are a direct result of playing Nintendo games.  

 

Edited June 6, 2017 by K.Rool Addict

[AlbaTross 1,581]

52 minutes ago, ImDaMisterL said:

I was actually thinking they were for the Switch, was surprised when I saw those were still for the 3DS.

I do not care about the graphics or the charging for games, but I was pretty disappointed at how uncreative the new pokémon game was, although I know it's made mostly by Gamefreak and not Nintendo.

Still, Nintendo isn't the same as it used to be, and AlbaTross rose great points. I approve of their post.

Well, in their defense the industry has changed a lot too since they were in their prime.  The problem is they used to change with the times, assuming they weren't actually the ones leading the charge.  Yeah, it's hard to believe now but they were once the trendsetters.  They were also quite brilliant in establishing a diehard fanbase, some of whom to this day take any negative comments about Nintendo as personally as if someone had actually insulted a really dear old friend of theirs.  That didn't come from nowhere.  They worked their way into the childhoods of a lot of people, and all those great gaming memories were no lie; that was all real.  And yes, in all fairness they can still make decent Mario and Zelda games, or even outright great ones like Breath of the Wild.

As for the Pokemon Company, I can't say I blame them for cutting corners here and there.  They were brilliant too, and to an extent still are.  I remember when Pokemon first came out and my dad said it was just a fad, and it probably would have been that if a lesser company was at the helm.  They were great at knowing just when the series needed to be reinvigorated with new releases and new gens and features.  They've also always had the anime and the cards to fall back on too in case kids ever thought they could escape from it.  It worked, and I'd say it still is.

The problem is Pokemon prints money to the point where I think any executives in charge of such an IP would rest on their laurels to an extent.  You see that with all sorts of IPs both in Japan and in the West so it's not an alien concept to us.  Moreover, they also need to come up with new and creative creatures every gen and I'm not going to lie...there have been times when that creativity seemed to have run out.  There's very little The Pokemon Company can do to truly sabotage the franchise's success at this point.  Some people might even buy a turd with a Pokemon label on it.  They're still kicking off gens periodically but they've long since settled into a rhythm with that to the point where it's less about gauging the market and more like "X amount of time has passed so it's time for a new gen".  

[Envy 5,992]

My feelings:

The Switch continues to be a Wii U port machine.

Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon are not very exciting. I was okay with second versions for Black and White, but that's because Generation V was great. Sun/Moon felt so lacking. While these games could undo some of the mistakes made in Sun/Moon I know I can't hold my breath over it. Chances are it's just a quick cash-in.

For the record, I'm not bothered by US/UM being 3DS games. They wouldn't be any more exciting on the Switch. Gamefreak needs to build a game from the ground up for the Switch. US/UM would not cut it.

The lack of Pokemon Crystal for VC is painful. Like really painful.

It's amazing that they could announce so much in an eight minute Direct but still be so disappointing. Something tells me that E3 will just bring more of this.

I've never been less hyped for new mainline Pokemon games ever.

Edited June 6, 2017 by Envy

[Ganondorf8 11,117]

The Pokémon Company is mainly responsible for the development of these games that were announced with Nintendo playing more of an advisory role whilst providing some developmental assistance here and there. With regards to what was announced during this Nintendo Direct, I had a sneaking feeling that this was going to end up being the result though I'll also say that I am disappointed that they couldn't come up with something maybe a little better. These announcements have already caused a debate in other places from what I've seen so it's a matter of what happens next when E3 rolls along.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 40,203]

Pretty disappointing showing. Nintendo isn't great with these types of things. Enhanced versions of Sun and Moon aren't really exciting, Pokken Tournament wasn't that great and is just a port, and while I love Gold and Silver on the 3DS, not including Crystal is an idiotic move. I am not hoping for anything from Nintendo at E3 because Nintendo has been acting like they don't need to do anything at E3 the past few years it seems. 

[Steve Piranha 28,724]

11 hours ago, K.Rool Addict said:

Wow, talk about disappointing -.- 

As soon as I saw that the main announcement was about Pokken I was like "Oh please let Meloetta be playable this time, oh PLEASE!" <-- As that would have been pretty much the only thing that could possibly get me even slightly excited for Pokken Tournament. Of course, that didn't happen lol.

Then came Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon... REALLY?? This was just plain facepalm-worthy. Those new legendaries look atrocious, once again the graphics are complete shit, and no Switch upgraded version in sight. Ugh!

Pokemon Gold and Silver are nice to have (it was something I wished for like a year ago) but now I just find it too little, too late. Also, wtf, no Crystal?? Crystal was always my fav >.< I don't see why they'd skip Crystal when they offered Yellow alongside Red and Blue/Green last time >:T

Anyway here, take a gander for yourselves:

Ah, I remember those days where Nintendo magazines covered E3 and you'd get excited for the insane amounts of upcoming games back in the early 2000s 

10 hours ago, VG_Addict said:

 

Also, why the fuck wouldn't Nintendo charge for the games? They're not running a charity. 

 

Yeah, but it feels their products are overpriced compared to what they deliver. Felt that with the WII, and it seems they haven't improved afterwards  . 

10 hours ago, AlbaTross said:

You guys realize Nintendo only owns about 1/3 of The Pokemon Company right?  They may look like a first party studio but they're actually second party.  Nintendo owns enough shares that they're never going to release their games on other systems, and they may have some say over what kind of Pokemon get put in the games, but they do not make the games themselves.

That said, Nintendo has long since become like somebody's grandparent who's desperately trying to stay "hip", but failing miserably to all but diehard fans, who defend Nintendo mostly for what they were rather than what they are now.  I mean, yes, there's Breath of the Wild, which shows what they can do when they actually try, but they're still overpricing outdated hardware and while the gimmick they're forcing on us this time isn't so bad, it's still an excuse for them not to have built a more modern system.  They're a company who relies largely on nostalgia and a family friendly attitude to sell systems, and the former is probably a brilliant move because most of their diehard fans have been fans for a very long time.

The thing that frustrates me though is that they used to be cool.  They were once they Sony/MS of their time and sported the best hardware, great software support and in general seemed to be way more in tune with the industry of the time, which helped them outsell even Sega, their rival at the time.  They're certainly not the whole reason why Sega doesn't make systems anymore (that has more to do with Sega making baffling business decisions), but they did beat their competition.  It just seems like they don't understand the modern industry anymore, and when they do actually make use of a staple of modern gaming, they go overboard like an old person who discovered some tech or app that "the kids seem to like" for the first time.  Case in point, Fire Emblem DLC.  I still like Nintendo and we go way back, but I want the old Nintendo back.  I'm holding out hope that maybe we will see them come back one day, but it's a pipe dream at this point.

Despite that the Gamecube lost it's console generation, I think the Nintendo touch was still there, with tons of games that you could play over and over. Now, it feels like they've lost their own soul. Now it's hard to get a home-console made by them that feels like our old Nintendo from times yore

3 hours ago, Kyoshi said:

Pretty disappointing showing. Nintendo isn't great with these types of things. Enhanced versions of Sun and Moon aren't really exciting, Pokken Tournament wasn't that great and is just a port, and while I love Gold and Silver on the 3DS, not including Crystal is an idiotic move. I am not hoping for anything from Nintendo at E3 because Nintendo has been acting like they don't need to do anything at E3 the past few years it seems. 

After that "wonderful" E3 2008, I've stopped expecting much from them 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

On June 6, 2017 at 0:54 PM, VG_Addict said:

I guarantee that if Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon were announced for Switch, you people would bitch about having to buy a Switch just for upgraded versions of Sun and Moon. 

If the games featured a significant graphical overhaul I highly doubt anyone would "bitch" about it. There would be so much hype, it would be inconceivable.

 

 

^The problem is that good graphics cost both time and money; and Nintendo/ Game Freak has proven they are not willing to put those resources into making quality games (with the exception of very rare occasions).

The last Nintendo game I have played which I thought was NOT compromised from either a gameplay or graphical standpoint was Xenoblade Chronicles X and that wasn't even made by Nintendo or The Pokemon Company. If we count games made directly by 1st party Nintendo, I think the last title was maybe Pikmin 3, and before that a HUGE jump all the way back to the Gamecube era.  For Pokemon it would be either Pokemon Colosseum or Pokemon Emerald. Pokepark looked pretty nice for the lackluster hardware of the original Wii I'll admit, but the gameplay left much to be desired.

I want Nintendo games to both look great and play awesome. We need much more powerful hardware, passionate artists, and AMBITIOUS developers to get Nintendo back up to their throne of gaming divinity. Complex gameplay mechanics, more complex and nuanced controllers. No more of this oversimplification of their mainline offerings. Deep, rewarding gameplay systems are what is needed most egregiously. Nintendo used to set standards with innovations like the analogue stick and analogue triggers; now they grasp at straws for relevancy among the casual/ non gaming markets, while stabbing all their long time supporters in the back. 

I dream of the day Nintendo rises back to the top through INTEGRITY and AMBITION instead of forever wallowing in gimmicks and shitty business practices 

( -.-)/)

Edited June 7, 2017 by K.Rool Addict

[CastletonSnob 3,023]

12 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

If the games featured a significant graphical overhaul I highly doubt anyone would "bitch" about it. There would be so much hype, it would be inconceivable.

 

 

^The problem is that good graphics cost both time and money; and Nintendo/ Game Freak has proven they are not willing to put those resources into making quality games (with the exception of very rare occasions).

The last Nintendo game I have played which I thought was NOT compromised from either a gameplay or graphical standpoint was Xenoblade Chronicles X and that wasn't even made by Nintendo or The Pokemon Company. If we count games made directly by 1st party Nintendo, I think the last title was maybe Pikmin 3, and before that a HUGE jump all the way back to the Gamecube era.  For Pokemon it would be either Pokemon Colosseum or Pokemon Emerald. Pokepark looked pretty nice for the lackluster hardware of the original Wii I'll admit, but the gameplay left much to be desired.

I want Nintendo games to both look great and play awesome. We need much more powerful hardware, passionate artists, and AMBITIOUS developers to get Nintendo back up to their throne of gaming divinity. Complex gameplay mechanics, more complex and nuanced controllers. No more of this oversimplification of their mainline offerings. Deep, rewarding gameplay systems are what is needed most egregiously. Nintendo used to set standards with innovations like the analogue stick and analogue triggers; now they grasp at straws for relevancy among the casual/ non gaming markets, while stabbing all their long time supporters in the back. 

I dream of the day Nintendo rises back to the top through INTEGRITY and AMBITION instead of forever wallowing in gimmicks and shitty business practices ( -.-)/)

I'll say it again, people don't play Pokemon for its graphics. 

 

Also, Nintendo still has passionate artists and ambitious developers. Just look at Splatoon and ARMs. 

Edited June 7, 2017 by VG_Addict

[K.Rool Addict 718]

Just now, VG_Addict said:

The point was that people don't play Pokemon for its graphics. 

 

People don't play GAMES in general merely for graphics. That can be used as an all encompassing statement. Increase in graphical quality is EXPECTED. Otherwise the developers appear lazy.

People play games for the gameplay. And Pokemon's mainline series' performance has been absolutely abhorrent in that category for quite awhile now. Remember the awesome breeding system introduced in Gen 2? Remember the crazy in depth post game content ala the Battle Frontier in Emerald? These were TRUE innovations. The only thing Pokemon has improved upon since then have been minor things like adding a Physical/ Special ATK split for attacks of all types and making EV training slightly more tolerable (albeit wonky as all hell).

If a series stays stagnant over the course of so many years, how can you blame the fans for no longer enjoying it? We long time Nintendo gamers have been playing these games since the 90s. Whats even funnier is back then each new installment brought huge changes to both gameplay systems and graphics. If you wanna look at it in a negative light I suppose you could say we Old School Nintendo fans were "spoiled" by Nintendo's prior excellence in game design. Being the "spoiled" gamers we are, we expect more from the company that "spoiled" us to begin with  

For further clarification and disambiguation, may I refer you to a little chat I had with a fellow member of these fine forums:

 

[CastletonSnob 3,023]

19 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

 

People don't play GAMES in general merely for graphics. That can be used as an all encompassing statement. Increase in graphical quality is EXPECTED. Otherwise the developers appear lazy.

People play games for the gameplay. And Pokemon's mainline series' performance has been absolutely abhorrent in that category for quite awhile now. Remember the awesome breeding system introduced in Gen 2? Remember the crazy in depth post game content ala the Battle Frontier in Emerald? These were TRUE innovations. The only thing Pokemon has improved upon since then have been minor things like adding a Physical/ Special ATK split for attacks of all types and making EV training slightly more tolerable (albeit wonky as all hell).

If a series stays stagnant over the course of so many years, how can you blame the fans for no longer enjoying it? We long time Nintendo gamers have been playing these games since the 90s. Whats even funnier is back then each new installment brought huge changes to both gameplay systems and graphics. If you wanna look at it in a negative light I suppose you could say we Old School Nintendo fans were "spoiled" by Nintendo's prior excellence in game design. Being the "spoiled" gamers we are, we expect more from the company that "spoiled" us to begin with  

For further clarification and disambiguation, may I refer you to a little chat I had with a fellow member of these fine forums:

 

"Prior" excellence in game design? Breath of the Wild got glowing reviews from just about every gaming site out there. 

They haven't lost their ambition in game design. Again, I point to Splatoon and ARMs. 

 

"Nintendo fans of old were forced to master games with crazy difficulty". I don't know if you know this, but games in the NES days were hard because they were short. And a lot of those games had cheap difficulty. It had nothing to do with ambitious game design. 

Edited June 7, 2017 by VG_Addict

[Jeric 46,834]

19 minutes ago, K.Rool Addict said:

If a series stays stagnant over the course of so many years, how can you blame the fans for no longer enjoying it?

I can't actually believe that someone use the phrase "consumers have an obligation to demand excellence". This is the same line of thinking that somehow connected the word average with failure. Consumers have no such obligation. 

14-16 million units sold means that whatever they are doing (or not doing) is still being appreciated by many. In 2020 when they release the next generation of games I guarantee it will be about the same sales figures. 

Until a see a main new entry in the series drop below 10 million, I'm going to say they are still serving the interests of their fans, even if they aren't doing much more than incrementation. 

[K.Rool Addict 718]

5 minutes ago, VG_Addict said:

"Prior" excellence in game design? Breath of the Wild got glowing reviews from just about every gaming site out there. 

They haven't lost their ambition in game design. Again, I point to Splatoon and ARMs. 

 

"Nintendo fans of old were forced to master games with crazy difficulty". I don't know if you know this, but games in the NES days were hard because they were short. And a lot of those games had cheap difficulty. 

 

As I mentioned in that massive wall of text above, Breath of the Wild IS one of the only recent offerings from Nintendo that were truly ambitious in game design. It's like something straight out of the Gamecube era. Unfortunately, the very Gamecube-like graphics are a bit off-putting considering the game is from 2017 not 2004 lol. But yes, the gameplay aspect does supersede the graphical shortcomings. I just wish the whole package could be free of compromises as I do believe beautiful graphics can vastly enhance immersion in games, especialy in a sandbox game like BotW.

 

You point to Splatoon and ARMs?? Are you freaking serious? >.> Both of those games absolutely PALE in comparison to their last new IP from the Gamecube era, Pikmin. Splatoon is a shallow "CoD for kidz!" game pandering to parents who don't want little Jimmy playing overly violent fare like CoD or Battlefield. It had an interesting concept, what with the whole terrain painting mechanic and overall focus on such, but as a cohesive game, the mechanic did little to truely immerse the player in a DEEP experience. It was fun for just killing time; play a few matches of Splatoon for like maybe 2 hours max, then go about your day. With ARMs you've gotta be completely kidding me. The thing looks like a glorified Wii shovelware title. I may not have the game but I have watched countless Gamexplain coverage and it simply looks shallow as all hell; even MORE shallow than Splatoon. >.< I'll admit, the presentation of the game is impressive, but presentation hardly makes a good game (just look at the king of presentation, Kid Icarus Uprising, for comparison). Also, just a quick clarification, "presentation" does not equate to graphical quality. It's more or less the way the game... well "presents" itself to the player. Basically all the stuff surrounding the game seems polished, but even a well polished turd still stinks pretty bad Dx

 

Nintendo games of old were hard. All of them were at least harder than Nintendo's recent offerings. Completing a legit hard game on the NES made for such a rewarding experience. It doesn't matter what the reason was for the games being hard, the fact is that the extra difficulty added and extra layer to the gameplay, thereby creating a far more immersive overall experience. Do I think hard automatically equals "good"? Hell no. But many more challenging titles on the NES were actually legitimately well designed games. Tight controls, fun varied level design, interesting gameplay mechanics, 2D platformers with some actual exploration... great stuff. Now, I certainly don't consider NES to be Nintendo's best console; not by a long shot. I would say GCN > SNES >> N64 > NES >>>> Wii U >>>>> Wii. <-Of course that is only my opinion =^-^= Many others will tell you the SNES is by far the #1 console Nintendo has ever made.

[AlbaTross 1,581]

16 hours ago, Steve Piranha said:

Despite that the Gamecube lost it's console generation, I think the Nintendo touch was still there, with tons of games that you could play over and over. Now, it feels like they've lost their own soul. Now it's hard to get a home-console made by them that feels like our old Nintendo from times yore

They lost that gen, but not as miserably as Sega.  I believe the GameCube only had 1% less marketshare than the original Xbox, although maybe saying they were only slightly behind the new kid at the time isn't making a very good case.  If I had to hazard a guess as to why they lost, aside from Sony just dominating that gen, is because even then their system was kind of seen as the less gritty and adult oriented console.  The quality was there, but the PS2 and Xbox looked like the more mature consoles to the untrained eye.  The limited storage of the mini-disc format probably didn't help the GameCube much either, not that disc swapping was an alien concept to PlayStation fans at the time mind you, many of whom had a PS1 prior.

I will say that the mini-disc format did help keep the disc drive small which in turn helped keep the system small and light, and it's great for travelling.  I remember my cousins would set theirs up in their car with a TV screen because they could.  Heck, more recently at a bubble tea place I sometimes frequent, I've seen some retro gamers playing SSB on their GameCube and a small CRT TV they bring with them.  It really is a neat console and it saddens me that it didn't do better.

I think what really tipped the scales for Nintendo was when they decided to try their hand with the Wii, and ended up selling a lot of units to people who are typically non-gamers thanks to creating a fad.  Maybe having success with the DS, which was their first attempt at trying something new and innovative, encouraged them to try something new with their new console.  Of course, like most fads it died out but not without it selling so well that it technically won its gen.  It still lost in software sales, mind you because soccer moms aren't known for investing in a lot of software and most gamers who had one didn't really use it much.  

Well, now Nintendo just sticks to gimmicks over hardware quality, and while the latest gimmick isn't so bad I will say that while the Wii was a novel concept at the time, Nintendo's focus on "innovation" isn't new and exciting anymore.  If anything it just makes them look old hat now.  I think the Switch has potential and I want it to do well, but that's up to Nintendo.  So far it's doing alright but what they do from here on out will determine whether it fizzles out or keeps picking up steam.  I'm surprised they haven't bothered with their VC service on the system as I can write paragraphs on how the Switch could be the ultimate legacy system.  As it stands, I wish them all the best with their new system and will have to wait and see if I should purchase one in the future.