Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@nessisonett Gonna have to disagree with you there. The original character models and a lot of the texture work were uggo in the original. Even compared to some considerably older JRPGs I can think of. The game genuinely hurt to look at on an HDTV.

Took me three tries on three different platforms to get through the first game, but I did eventually beat XCDE. Considering XC3 is my favorite JRPG to date, it's funny how strongly I dislike the original.

I do need to go back and play Future Connected, though. And X, actually, which I never beat. Although I wonder how it'll feel without the online integration now. It wasn't an MMO, but it definitely wasn't a strictly offline, single-player adventure, either.

@Ralizah Yeah, I played Xenoblade 1 on a CRT years ago and I remember it looking pretty nice. The character models were blocky but I think the faces felt less stylised and dare I say out of place, the colours are super bright on Shulk’s hair specifically. Original was blocky as hell though. The combat’s a bit odd and can feel almost like it’s on rails but I do like the plot and the affinity chart is up there with the best systems in JRPGs, it’s like the Bomber’s Notebook on crack.

@nessisonett my friends keep beating me over the head to play the trilogy. >.>
I was planning to buy them physically but that fell out, I got them digitally. They’re loooooong but my friends keep saying they’re good, so I’ll take their word.
I do like the music, the combat was a little fun on my first impressions hour, I think I’ll like it.
Lots of traversal and running around though.

@nessisonett I don't mind the affinity system in and of itself, but the choice to hide character-building dialogues at SPECIFIC locations behind affinity requirements annoyed the hell out of me. Love it when I can't see a bit of character development until I grind two particular characters in a party for hours on end to build up their affinity levels. -_- XC2 ditching that requirement for H2Hs and actually fleshing them out (voice acting; more interaction) is probably my favorite aspect of that game.

Xenoblade 1 does feel very... hands-off at times. Xenoblade 2 improved this with timed button presses and arts being mapped to buttons instead of an unwieldy arts bar, but got a little overly complicated with several of its systems. XC3 combined the best of both worlds: combat is still interactive, but not overly complicated.

@Ralizah I mean more the affinity chart for every named NPC in the game rather than the party affinity! Seeing changing dynamics between NPCs depending on sidequest dialogue choices and such was inspired, plus you can track where they are with one button if you need to find them. The party affinity has just too high of a grind attached for pairings that don’t include Shulk.

@Yousef- Traversal is one of my only criticisms, it’s very very slow. Feels like a PS2 MMO level of slow at times in the bigger maps.

@nessisonett I getcha. It's interesting. It returns in full force (minus the party affinity issues) in the third game.

Especially interesting when major plot events change up huge chunks of the chart.

@nessisonett traversal is my ultimate gaming gripe, if I could just emulate these games that would solve so many of my issues. >.>

When you reach a story trigger and it’s just Shrek saying “g’day, innit? Monado monado”, it can be a bit silly. But I’ll get over it.

@Yousef- I like the voice acting! It’s full of UK actors in the best way possible, Jenna Coleman’s Melia and she was in Doctor Who and much more. Plus Sharla’s actress has been in EastEnders for the last 10 years. Dunban did W1A and Hunderby, two great comedies over here. And Daddy Pig from Peppa Pig’s voice actor very obviously turned up later on to the point I was laughing at serious story events. Basically the only ones not to be actors off the telly are Shulk and Fiora’s voice actors, they mostly do games.

@nessisonett I didn’t know about the overlap between them with the Doctor and peppa pig. That is insanely cool.
Yeah, I like we get more British dubs (my de facto choice in ape escape), and welsh too? (Also if it wasn’t clear, my comments earlier were story related, not voice acting related).
Great ace attorney is also British dubbed. xd

@Yousef- There’s a few games with British voice actors but it does tend to be relegated to fantasy and suffers from the same class problem that actual Britain has, with regional accents being used primarily for peasants. That’s why I’m glad there’s games like Thank Goodness You’re Here and Still Wakes The Deep to provide a range of regional voice acting that more accurately represents how culturally diverse the UK is.

@nessisonett very insightful and fun to learn about. :0
I got nothing further to add so cheers!

Been a while since I played anything on Switch, thinking of picking up a voucher to grab new games. Looking between FE Encore, Astral Chain and Xenoblade 3, which two out of those three would everyone recommend?

Pretty good miniature Direct today.

I am flabbergasted that Trails in the Sky is apparently getting a 3D remake, and they drop this news via three seconds in a sizzle reel. But Suikoden ports get a full segment. WTF

@Pizzamorg Xenoblade 3, absolutely. One of the very best games ever made. Any experience with previous entries?

Tokyo Mirage Sessions (what I assume you mean by "FE Encore") is an interesting game, but sort of feels like the Atlus version of a lower-tier JRPG, if that makes sense. It lacks the strong identity of normal MegaTen, and doesn't have enough Fire Emblem in it. I like it, but Astral Chain is much more unique.

@Ralizah Just Yakuza on Switch is insane enough to show that even Nintendo’s mini Directs are about 12 times better than Sony’s biggest of showcases.

(I also kinda prefer the old style of Trails games to the 3D ones anyway so not that fussed about Sky getting a remake)

Enjoyed the Directs. VERY happy about Castlevania DS games coming, some of the best ever on Switch is such a treat.

@nessisonett I try to avoid saying that kind of stuff, since it makes me sound like a fangirl, but... it's really true. Nintendo always puts on a good show, even if not everything there is what people are looking for. They invented and are still unrivaled with regard to direct communication with their base.

Yakuza Kiwami on Switch is nice, but I'm half expecting it to be some half-hearted $60 port sent out to die so higher-ups at Sega will stop bugging them to support the Switch.

Well, now, you know how I feel about Sky 1. But a remake coming in a major JRPG franchise is big news anyway, and TitS coming to consoles is also big news on its own, so, regardless of one's personal excitement level, it absolutely shouldn't have been given the same level of regard as some random indie games and relegated to momentary clips without context.

@Enriesto Yaaaas! I've wanted proper ports of the DS games for so long. They're all good, with Order of Ecclesia being a top three Castlevania for me.

@Ralizah It’s a bit odd that it was an afterthought when it’s an actual announcement and not just reiterating a game that’s already been shown off.

Didn't even know there was a Direct today, but holy crap, a 3D remake of the first Trails in the Sky? It looks absolutely brilliant! I don't really like the old style of the Trails games as the 3D titles convey more emotions in the characters instead of simply blank faces. That's one of the reasons why Trails from Zero wasn't that appealing to play for me. But this looks phenomenal, I'm super excited to play it!

Also, DS Castlevania games coming to modern consoles is awesome! Still haven't played them due to how expensive they are to get on DS. I've heard nothing but great things about them, so this is also something I'm looking forward to.

Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma tentatively looks great as well.

Tentatively because RF5 was a whole big mess, so I'm being cautious.

Adore the traditional Japanese theme, though, and based on the footage, performance might not be a big issue this go around.

@Ralizah yeah my bad, the name on that game is so long I didn't know how to shorten it. 😂 So you would say Astral Chain is a better pick up than Mirage Sessions?

In terms of Xeno, I own the first one but struggled with it mostly cause of the combat because I found it quite overwhelming and messy, but in the years since I picked that up, I've gotten more used to real time combat systems that require you to constantly jump between characters dumping abilities, so I am hoping I will be better prepared for the third one.