Topic: Nintendo Switch Discussion

I got to the final boss in Metroid Dread last night, and routinely got my butt kicked.

To be fair, by about the 3rd time I could clear the first phase with (near) full health, but he always seems to get me during the second phase, even only through war of attrition (I got good at dodging most of his attacks, but he always nickel & dimes me with that rapid fire attack & eventually wears me down before I can complete the phase).

@RR529 yeah, 2nd stage is a pain because it is very very long and I would recommend to not use at least half of your missiles as they do not give them back at the end of that stage. In general take your time to dodge everything and hit him only when you're sure you won't be damaged and train your Spin jump flying as it needs to be on point

That final boss can @#$& right off, lol. Seriously, I played Ninja Gaiden Sigma 1 & 2 a few months ago, and that was still one of the toughest bosses I've experienced all year. Satisfying to put him down, though.

Played for just over 1:40 today in SMTV (according to in game counter). Still at the first proper save point (I'd go out & explore, come back, go out again, etc.) and have a full team now (Nahobino, Pixie, Slime, & Petra) with the MC at level 7 & everyone else level 5 I believe.

Aesthetically it looks interesting, though everything feels just a bit constantly choppy roaming around the overworld (probably because I just finished playing a couple games on my laptop at a pretty consistent 60FPS, so I'll have to get used to mostly hitting 30), though of course this isn't a problem in combat. Definitely more tense than your typical JRPG (magic seems to be your biggest path to success, though that MP drains quickly).

NSO mega drive controllers are available to order in the UK now!

At 110 hours I need a break from Age of Calamity but wow this has to be the most enjoyable spin off I have ever played. Like I don’t wanna play as Link anymore. I’ll likely have to do another run through of BOTW to prepare me for Mr. Grunty again. Will start on Great Ace Attorney. Started it on 3ds and got distracted by other games so this will be my first real playthrough.

@Ryu_Niiyama It does look really good, but how was the performance? I heard the framerate is pretty choppy. Despite that, do you feel it's a big step up from the original Hyrule Warriors?

@Raffles Personally, I found no framerate issues and there are some levels that are certainly very hectic. I think I can be on occasion generous about framerate because I can’t always perceive minute dips (I know some people are sensitive) but I didn’t encounter any issues. I don’t know if that is because I started well after the DLC launched but battles are snappy and dynamic and there is a lot of variety in character movesets (sometimes with the same character).

I really enjoyed the original Hyrule warriors but I felt less of a pull to that story versus AoC and AoC shrinks the grinding. You still grind but there are no separate adventure boards and the grinding is incorporated into normal game play. Again I have the DLC and never played it without so I don’t know if that is due to AoC’s current state or if it always felt that way. That being said each game has its own identity and narrative focus. HW is a series celebration and thus is by nature thematically chaotic because it pulls from a lot of Zelda games. AoC is laser focused it is designed to be a companion game to BoTW and everything from music to presentation to gameplay reflects that. So I still like both but feel FE warriors is a better compilation game than HW is and AoC is a really cool companion game. Albeit a bit divisive for some that don’t like the story beats.

@RR529 Have you played the other Metroid games? How would you rank this? I've heard it's not as great.

@BlueOcean, I haven't played any of the 3D games or Zero Mission, so I can't compare it to those, but compared to the ones I have played I think it's a solid entry.

I think it has absolutely the best boss fights in the series (at least the main bosses, there are a few mini-bosses that are repeated a time or two too much), and I appreciate them doing something new with the E.M.M.I. areas but in the end I think it was better off during the more traditional segments, which seemed just as good as ever.

Definitely better than the original Metroid & Metroid II, and I'd pace it above Samus Returns as well as it builds on it. I think I prefer Fusion overall though (nostalgia probably plays a part as it was my first game in the series), and whether or not you like it more than Super will probably come down to whether or not you like the classic or newer games more.

It's seemed to have an overall positive reception from what I've experienced for what it's worth (I will say that as much as I liked it I probably wouldn't say it's one of my absolute top of the line favorite first party/exclusive titles on the system).

@RR529 I've played all the 3D games, Fusion and Super Metroid. I think your assessment is accurate, more or less what I've read. Fine game, not the best and frustrating at times. Super Metroid is a masterpiece and I only played it for the first time on SNES Classic! I have Samus Returns on 3DS, I should play it soon.

@BlueOcean @RR529 It's hard to rank this with the 3D games in mind, but I definitely think Dread is the best 2D Metroid. More modern controls, better graphics, you revisit past areas a lot (which you don't do nearly enough in past Metroid titles). It has easily the best story of all the games due to it having cut-scenes, voice acting and it shares a lot of interesting backstory for Samus and Metroid lore in general. Not to mention the plot twists in this game are genuinely good. Furthermore, the boss fights are superb, they're actually challenging and require you to utilise a lot of your attacks. Speaking of attacks, the inclusion of the counter attack is such a simple addition but it makes battles so much more engaging, especially boss battles. While most people didn't like the EMMI, I think they were a much needed addition to an otherwise stale formula that's been unchanged for decades. All the great Metroidvanias have their own take on the formula: Hollow Knight has Souls elements, Bloodstained has RPG elements and so on. I think the Metroid games are now becoming known for having horror elements (Fusion, Zero Mission, the Prime games and now Dread) and it just makes Dread stand out a lot more than just being another 2D Metroid game. The added challenge is just the icing on an already delicious cake (when was the last time we've actually had a challenging Nintendo game?).

@LtSarge Better graphics? I think Super Metroid has better graphics than Metroid Dread. Metroid Dread has 3D graphics but they seem very generic and monotone.

@BlueOcean I mean, the game is on a more graphically powerful system so objectively, yes the graphics are better. Whether you like the art style or not is subjective but that wasn't what I meant with "better graphics".

I'll also add that the game has more varied environments and more details like things happening in the background. It actually feels like a living world.

To begin with, saying that Metroid Dread graphics are better is an opinion, my opinion being that they are not. You can say that they are 3D but that doesn't mean that they're better. It's like saying that New Super Mario Bros. has better graphics just because they are 3D. The graphics are the final results on the screen, not the techniques or engine used for getting those results. If you compare a 3D remaster with an original 3D game yes, the remaster will have better graphics if there aren't visual downgrades. Examples: Twilight Princess (GC/Wii) vs. Twilight Princess HD (Wii U) and Perfect Dark (N64) vs. Perfect Dark (Xbox 360). If you compare pixel art with 3D-built games like New Super Mario Bros. or Metroid Dread no, the graphics are not objectively better. Examples: Super Mario World vs. New Super Mario Bros. and Super Metroid vs. Metroid Dread.

To be fair, all the E.M.M.I. zones do share the same kind of sterile, lab like environment (though I'd argue that it was perhaps a necessary decision so players can quickly tell which areas/rooms are "safe" or not), however the environmental design is more varied everywhere else (I particularly liked the obligatory "water area", where you had sea life swimming around in the background).

One thing I'll mention that I don't think I've heard anyone else mention is how "small" Samus can feel at times. Every other 2D Metroid has the camera close enough to Samus that things feel personal & comfy so to speak, but here the camera can be positioned quite far away in the larger rooms/areas and while this is done to instill a sense of scale (which is used to impressive effect at times), it can feel a bit off after leaving a more compact area where the camera is zoomed in closer to Samus like normal.

@RR529 I'll play Dread eventually but first I want to play Samus Returns, Zero Mission and the fan remake of 2. Then I will have played all of them except the NES entry 😅.

@Ryu_Niiyama Thanks for the mini review

I like beat 'em ups and hack 'n slash games, so I should like Musou, but have never particularly got into any of them. Maybe this is the one

@Raffles No Problem. Musou games do follow a certain formula but the spin offs try very hard to really blend in the source material. They have a bunch of demos though. I know AoC and Samurai Warriors 5 have one. You might want to give one a go.

Switch year in review is now available. My stats:

12 games (down from 26 last year).
220 hours (down from 345 last year).
52 in XC:DE, 43 in SMTV, 30 in ACNH.
5 hours in one day for SMTV
100% playtime docked.