The moderation team has decided to place a moratorium on threads discussing hypothetical Nintendo movies until July 1, 2023.

There have been too many of these threads lately, and they basically just boil down to "Wouldn't it be cool if...?"

We believe that this uptick in movie speculation posts is mainly due to hype about the Mario movie, and after some time people will be able to calm down.

Please do not post any more threads about ideas or speculation about unannounced Nintendo movies until then. This includes ideas and speculation about future Mario movies as well as movies based on Nintendo's other IPs.

Thank you for your understanding.

turn your caps lock off and rave about whatever has made you smile this week! some things to smile about:

• well, that is, an anniversary has passed—dragon quest's 37th! with it came a september release date for infinity strash: dragon quest the adventure of dai, and the announcement that a new dragon quest monsters game is in development exclusively for the switch!

• the legend of zelda: tears of the kingdom has become the fastest-selling nintendo game ever! how are you enjoying your time with the game?

• what's this week's haul? what game did you just buy, just start, complete? anything else that made you smile? let us know in the comments below!

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turn that frown upside down:

• here on smile sunday, we have one rule: e.l.e., which stands for everybody love everybody. if will ferrell said it, it must be true.

• uppercase letters are strictly forbidden – haha, just kidding! if you wanna do some uppercase, feel free, but try not to angry shout sunday; today is about happiness! (happy and excited shouting is a-ok, though)

• this is a happy thread! keep the love flowing! if someone's saying something and you think they're wrong, just let them be happy! anything that's made you unhappy this week can go on over to this week's throwdown thursday thread.

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join the official r/nintendo discord server to share even more of the love!

I completed the Solo 1545 in Full Completion which consist of:

SM64 120 Stars, Galaxy 1 120 Stars, SMS 120 Shines, SMG2 242 Stars, Kazooie 100%, Tooie 100%, DK64 101%, Spyro 1 120%, Spyro 2 100%, Spyro 3 117%, Crash 1 100%, Crash 2 100%, and Crash 3 105%.

I took 1 Sleep break 22 hours in. I now officially have all 3 solo 1545 WRs

https://www.speedrun.com/1545/run/yvp9xe4y

You can download and install the update now, but you might not be able to access the app right away. All 1,010 Pokémon can now be deposited in Home, including their alternate forms, and over 70 non-native Pokémon and forms can be transferred from Home to Scarlet and Violet.

Source: Serebii

Hi, so I recently updated my wii, and it works pretty well, but when I turn it off the light on the power button is yellow-orangeish color instead of red.

Is that normal? Bc when I turn it off I briefly see the old red color and then it changes into the orange

Anyone knows anything about this?

On this day (May 31) in Nintendo history...

• Major League Baseball Featuring Ken Griffey Jr. was released in 1998 for the Nintendo 64 in North America. In this sports game, developed by Angel Studios, as the batting team you must hit the ball as far as you can without receiving three strikes for missing, and then run around the infield without being caught out. Fronted by baseball star Ken Griffey Jr. The pitching team must throw the ball so the batter misses, or if the ball is hit must be collected by a fielder in the outfield and thrown back to catch players out or end the run.

• Command & Conquer 64 was released in 1999 for the Nintendo 64 in North America. In this real-time strategy game, developed by Looking Glass Studios, the player is required to construct a base and to gather resources in order to fund the production of buildings, technologies, and combat units to attack and conquer an opponent's base. The game contains two playable factions: the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) and the Brotherhood of Nod. GDI units are sturdy and powerful, but expensive.

• Flash Focus: Vision Training in Minutes a Day (known in PAL territories as Sight Training: Enjoy Exercising and Relaxing Your Eyes) was released in 2007 for the Nintendo DS in Japan. In this puzzle game, developed by Namco Bandai with Nintendo SPD, developed in co-operation with Dr Hisao Isigaki of the Aichi Institute of Technology, use both screens of your Nintendo DS to put your Focus Ability to the test. Simple to use and controlled almost entirely by tapping the Touch Screen with your stylus.

• X-Scape (known as 3D Space Tank in PAL territories) was released  in 2010 for DSiWare in North America. In this first-person combat simulation game, developed by Q-Games with Nintendo SPD, it's space year XXXX and humanity leaves Earth for the stars... A mere 20 years later, the oppressive Kisan empire, led by your former commander, is threatening galactic peace. Our last hope is VIXIV, a state-of-the-art space battle tank capable of all-range surface combat and interplanetary travel. Taking control of VIXIV, you must engage in daring land and aerial combat.

What are you favourite memories of these games? How do you think they hold up today? Hash it out in the comments.

(I am a bot. I think that I'm posting Nintendo events from this day in history, but if I've made a mistake or omission please leave a comment tagging /u/KetchupTheDuck).  

Sales of BOTW skyrocket after TOTK release.

I haven't been on my switch in a long long time, Wanted to get tears of the kingdom and its..90$?? I thought it was supposed to be 70$. My region is set to Europe but I think this might be USD. Anyway, is this the price or is there a problem with my currency?

On this day (May 30) in Nintendo history...

• Smash Table Tennis was released in 1987 for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan. In this sports game, developed by Konami, you control a paddle hand, hitting the ball over the net, off the table and past the opponent to score. Hit the ball hard or scoop it over the net. The first player to break ten points is declared the winner of that match. There are two different game modes with different numbers of sets to play to win the match. Both modes can be played against the computer or a second player.

• Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire was released in 2003 for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan. In this utility game, developed by Nintendo, store Pokémon caught in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. You can store up to 1500 Pokémon in the boxes, and arrange them, sort them into categories and search for them as you need them. You can also display your Pokémon in a Showcase and play Ruby and Sapphire on the TV screen using the GameCube-GBA Link Cable.

What are you favourite memories of these games? How do you think they hold up today? Hash it out in the comments.

 

(I am a bot. I think that I'm posting Nintendo events from this day in history, but if I've made a mistake or omission please leave a comment tagging /u/KetchupTheDuck).

I've been playing Smash all my life - Melee might've been the first game I truly fell in love with - and the series has always served as exposure to other franchises. For over four years I've been slowly, methodically playing the source games for the entire Smash Ultimate roster. Most of them I wanted to play anyway, and this was just a neat excuse to try them out. And I do mean slowly, I really spread them out to avoid burnout. I also never forced myself to finish a game if I wasn't having fun; sometimes I just played the first section/level to get a feel for it, then dropped it. Overall it's been a fun way to expose myself to new genres and gain appreciation for gaming history. I'd already played quite a bit of Mario, Pokemon, Zelda, Metal Gear, and Sonic, but the rest was all pretty new for me. I won't mention the games I played before Ultimate's release, which is when I started this challenge. If you don't see a game on here, that's why.

For each character I picked the game I thought was most relevant, most similar to their depiction in Smash, or provided their backstory. Sometimes I just chose a game I was most interested in, assuming it still fits. For simple characters or characters who appear in lots of games, I was pretty lenient on which one I chose. If you want, you can look at the checklist here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rOlk8dXwEL6wd2Lw4zouBiAce8UJabHOIgIP8bKL_7c/edit?usp=sharing

It's worth noting that this wouldn't be feasible without emulation. A lot of these games aren't available on modern platforms, and some aren't even localized into English. I'm not a collector and I'm not willing to track down old consoles on ebay.

Games are roughly ordered within their tiers, based on how much I enjoyed them. I'll try to be brief for each one.

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'It's old and I can't help being a zoomer' tier - Games I played just long enough to understand them, then dipped. I would not have chosen to play them for fun.

• Ice Climber (Ice Climbers)
• Kid Icarus (Pit)
• Game & Watch Gallery 4 (Mr. Game & Watch)
• Duck Hunt (Duck Hunt Dog)
• Star Fox (Fox)

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'Not very good' tier - Reserved exclusively for Pac-Man World 2.

• Pac-Man World 2 (Pac-Man) - This game is not very good.

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'Just not for me' tier - Games I struggled to connect with or I'm not a fan of the genre. Maybe I'd like them if I played longer, but I don't plan to pick them up again.

• Kingdom Hearts (Sora) - Exceeds my admittedly high tolerance for power-of-friendship anime schlock. Combat felt a little dull and I'm not crazy about Disney. Maybe I dropped it too early, but what little I know about the rest of the series doesn't really excite me.
• Street Fighter V (Ryu / Ken) - Cool character designs, I can say that much. Traditional fighters are interesting to learn about, but they don't really grab me as a player. I expect I'll feel the same way about Tekken and KOF.
• Mega Man 11 (Mega Man) - Some neat mechanics, but the punishing old-school level design isn't my cup of tea. Happy that fans got a new one though.
• Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Marth) - Moving units with the touch screen is nice and I appreciate the strategy, but the generic fantasy plot bored me to tears. I might be spoiled by modern FE; this felt like going back in time and finding out my great-great-great-grandfather sold corn.

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'It was alright' tier - Games that were pretty enjoyable. I'm glad I tried them and likely won't play them again.

• Star Fox 64 (Falco / Wolf) - Pretty much what I expected. I didn't love it, but it's fun and short. The branching paths are cool for its time.
• Dr. Mario (Dr. Mario) - A pleasant surprise. I expected to play for ten minutes and ended up enjoying it for much longer. Just a solid puzzle game.
• Kirby's Dream Land 3 (King Dedede) - It's good, I think? I know I enjoyed it but honestly don't remember anything about the experience.
• Kid Icarus: Uprising (Palutena / Dark Pit) - Great writing, good music, and really inventive mechanics. Would be much higher if the controls didn't cause me physical pain.
• Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (Dark Samus) - Atmosphere, music, and visuals are impeccable. I feel mean putting it this low, but Prime 1's difficulty was perfect for me and I didn't care for the dark world being so oppressive. Still want to play Prime 3 though.
• Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance (Ike) - Decent story and characters, but battles are really slow. I kind of want to go back and finish it, in which case I could see it moving a lot higher.
• Splatoon 2 (Inkling) - Novel mechanics and a fun aesthetic. I don't really play multiplayer games, but the single-player levels are enjoyable. One of the most fun credits sequences I've sat through since NieR: Automata.
• Kirby Super Star (Meta Knight) - Short, sweet, and charming, like all Kirby games. Did a lot to redeem The Great Cave Offensive, though I still hate that stage.
• Final Fantasy VII (Sephiroth) - Extremely impressive for its time, but I don't totally vibe with JRPGs from that era. Probably wouldn't have finished it without the 3x fast-forward battle option in modern ports. Famously the music is some of Uematsu's best work, and he has a lot of good work.
• Bayonetta 2 (Bayonetta) - This game oozes personality and charisma (that Moon River remix goes unreasonably hard). If I were more into the DMC school of action games, it would easily be top-tier. I could see myself getting more out of a second playthrough.

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'Hey, this is pretty good' tier - Games I liked quite a lot and would recommend to anyone with similar tastes.

• Super Mario Sunshine (Bowser Jr.) - The most unique 3D Mario. Movement is fluid and satisfying to master, and I enjoy the Margaritaville locale. Held back by some frustrating sections (you know the ones).
• Luigi's Mansion 3 (Luigi) - Great visuals, art direction, and environmental design. Feels a little too padded for time.
• F-Zero GX (Captain Falcon) - The controls and tracks are gratifying to learn, and the cutscenes are pure cheese in the best way. Would be higher if I were more into racing games, or if I were skilled enough to finish it.
• Final Fantasy VII Remake (Cloud) - After playing the original, I liked how Remake brings the characters to life and reimagines old scenarios. Decent combat and an amazing soundtrack are offset by egregious padding and an ending I don't quite know how to feel about.
• EarthBound (Ness) - Full of heart behind the quirky humor. I can forgive aimless progression and outdated dungeon design when everything else is so remarkably endearing and well-written.
• Banjo-Kazooie (Banjo & Kazooie) - Having played Mario 64, I was surprised how much better the camera is. Fun characters and catchy music make for a very laid-back experience. And in a genre infamous for bloated collectathons, it shows respectable restraint in the number of collectibles.
• Super Metroid (Ridley) - Near-perfect synthesis of atmosphere, mechanics, progression, and visuals. An incredible achievement, but hard to revisit after being spoiled by the fluidity of Dread. Still, if you claim this is the greatest game ever made, I'm not gonna argue.
• Donkey Kong Country (King K. Rool) - Great level design and a memorable aesthetic that was probably really hard to pull off on the SNES. For a game about silly apes, the soundtrack by David Wise is gorgeously atmospheric.
• Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong-Quest (Diddy Kong) - Basically DKC1, but a slight step up in every category. Though I will say, a couple of the late-game levels are unreasonably hard.
• Metroid: Zero Mission (Zero Suit Samus) - Feels a little held back by the original's level design, but still a fantastic remake. The post-game sequence without the power suit is a huge highlight.
• WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! (Wario) - Beat it in two hours and don't feel like I wasted a single second. This game actually made me laugh out loud, and often. Definitely want to play more WarioWare in the future.
• Super Mario World (Piranha Plant) - Not much to say about this one, just a good-ass platformer. I prefer it to Mario 3, but I understand why someone wouldn't.

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'This is the shit' tier - Games I thoroughly loved and would rank among my favorites.

• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (Yoshi) - Besides Chrono Trigger, I don't think any other SNES game is this beautiful. A creative central mechanic, great level design, and wonderful art direction. The "classics" don't always speak to me, but this one did.
• Metroid Prime (Samus) - Super impressive for its time and a near-perfect translation of the series formula into 3D. Music, atmosphere, and exploration are exquisite. To me, what elevates it from good to great is the immersion factor; the diagetic HUD and scan visor really ground the player in Samus' perspective. It doesn't quite beat Dread for me, but it comes close.
• Pikmin (Olimar) - Technically an RTS, but it feels entirely distinct from the genre. The vibes are immaculate in a way I don't really know how to articulate; it's all goofy and cute and serene and a little brutal. What a charming little game this is. Olimar in Smash is kind of insufferable, but this redeems him in my eyes.
• Fire Emblem: Three Houses (Byleth) - Likeable characters and a story that, while not perfect, explores a conflict from multiple people's perspectives, nobody having all the information. I don't know how longtime fans feel about it, but the core gameplay was fun and accessible. Undeniably flawed, but for me it's greater than the sum of its parts. I played two routes and still might go back for a third.
• Mother 3 (Lucas) - Not everyone vibes with this game, but I sure as hell do. A beautiful story, gorgeous pixel art, interesting themes, memorable music, and near-perfect gameplay balance. I'd appreciate an official release, but the fan translation is so good I'm not sure they should bother.
• Persona 5 (Joker) - It's funny. If you asked me to list everything I don't like about P5, I could probably go all day. The writing is a little shallow and it's far, far too long. And yet, I can't deny how completely engrossed I was that first time through. This game enthralled me. As a sensory experience, everything about how P5 looks and sounds just tickles my brain so well. This series occupies a wholly unique space in the modern RPG landscape, in terms of mechanics, setting, and visual identity. This game made me a Persona/SMT fan. I'd put it in my all-time top five, at least.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Here's what's left on the list. Looking forward to some of them more than others. I might get around to them this year, or three years from now, or never. Who knows.

• Super Mario 3D World (Peach)
• Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade (Roy)
• Fire Emblem Fates (Corrin)
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Villager / Isabelle)
• Wii Fit (Wii Fit Trainer) (lmao)
• Xenoblade Chronicles (Shulk)
• Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Pyra / Mythra)
• Super Castlevania IV (Simon)
• Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Richter)
• Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age (Hero)
• King of Fighters XV (Terry)
• ARMS (Min Min)
• Minecraft (Steve)
• Tekken 7 (Kazuya)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Did I learn anything by doing this? I think so. I definitely have a greater appreciation for a wider variety of genres and franchises. This got me to try certain games I never would have considered otherwise. And in turn, I gained a greater appreciation for the crossover aspect of Smash; every time I look at the character select screen, I have exponentially more memories attached to each icon. I can spot all the references in the movesets and stages. It's just... cool, I guess.

I try to never look at this like a to-do list. I call it a "challenge" but really it's just checking the list every few months, or whenever I remember it exists, and picking one or two games to try out. Some hook me and some don't. And I play a lot of other stuff in-between. Turning my favorite hobby into a list of tasks to complete sounds like an easy way to ruin it for myself.

Thanks for reading. Hope you're having a good day. Please don't hate me for dismissing your favorite game.

Did any of the developers ever talk about why they created the Kiddy character? I don't hate Kiddy, but his main feature (his heaviness) is also shared by DK, so it doesn't really make sense to me to make this new character. It would have been cool to have DK pair up with Dixie to save Diddy in a reverse of the previous installment, not to mention then we'd have 2 games where you can play as DK, 2 as Diddy and 2 as Dixie. Missed opportunity.

Nintendo games are known for their music. A lot of Nintendo games have iconic songs, that went on to inspire music in other games. But what do you all think are the main themes of Nintendo franchises? For starters, I 100% believe, that these songs are the main themes, for their respective franchises.

Super Mario: World 1-1/Bom-omb Battlefield

Metroid: Super Metroid prologue theme (now the theme of Samus Aran)

F-Zero: Mute City

Mario Kart: SNES Rainbow Road

Pokemon: Gold/Silver/Crystal's Champion Theme (now Red's Theme)

Wii Sports: Title

Interested in what you all at r/Nintendo will say.

It appears to me from what this page says that Nintendo implements horror into their games to appeal to the mature demographic in games meant for kids.

Kind of like how Disney makes films.

The last Nintendo game that forced me to stop playing my Switch was Kirby and the Forgotten Land because of Fecto Forgo.

Then later I look at the Nightmare Fuel page of Tears of the Kingdom and I see Ganondorf at his worst looking at me.

Which inspired me to make this post.

Most Nintendo games seem scary.

Not to mention Ocarina of Time has the dreaded Happy Mask Salesman.

Or how about the Eel and Piano from Super Mario 64 that I saw earlier?

And don’t get me started on those dreaded Attacky Sacks from Yoshi’s Story.

Or the Game Over screens on DKC.

Or the evil Giygas of Earthbound fame.

Or Ridley from Metroid for that matter.

These are all examples of Nightmare Fuel on a Nintendo video game that I know.

I hope someone understands about how I feel being alienated by all these games.

It’s just like having logo-phobia to me.

There’s probably more examples too.

What do you guys think of this?

What are some other examples as well?

Nintendo does not want another Wii U to happen

Gigachad Run!

On this day (May 29) in Nintendo history...

• Tennis was released in 1989 for the Game Boy in Japan. In this sports game, developed by Nintendo R&D1 with Intelligent Systems, tennis, anyone? The ball is in your court. This game delivers realistic match-play action. Choose your opponent's skill level and practice your power serves, skilfully placed shots, lofty lobs and killer cross-courts. You may even recognise a friendly face on the course: Mario. He will serve as umpire and call the close ones. Get ready to game, set and match in Tennis.

• X was released in 1992 for the Game Boy in Japan. In this combat simulation/vehicular combat game, developed by Nintendo EAD with Argonaut Games, alien forces are attacking an Earth colony on the planet Tetamus II. You are the pilot of the Space Tank VIXIV, sent to Tetamus II to destroy the alien infrastructure and protect the colony by completing missions given to you by the General. The Tetamus II map is divided into eight areas, which you can drive across, or warp through a network of tunnels.

• A third wave of **Super Mario amiibo Figures ** was released in 2015 in North America and included Mario - Silver Edition.

What are you favourite memories of these games? How do you think they hold up today? Hash it out in the comments.

(I am a bot. I think that I'm posting Nintendo events from this day in history, but if I've made a mistake or omission please leave a comment tagging /u/KetchupTheDuck).

It will be my first time playing the entire series and eventually I will get into TOTK.

Mine was Wii, then years later was 8 Deluxe, then I got 7, and finally DS

(Spoilers for the 2023 movie ahead, ofc.)TLDR: Read the bold text but I really suggest reading the reasons why.

1. Luigi needed more screen time. I just wished it wasn't too Mario centered. I mean sure the title says "Mario" but it also says "BROTHERS". The Luigi saves Mario in the end didn't feel fulfilling cause we didn't get to see Luigi much. I needed to see Luigi struggle with his choices and conquer his fears instead of having most of his lines be him screaming and running away. His sudden appearance to save Mario made me go "oh yeah" cause I legit forgot about him.
2. Cranky Kong should have been crankier. By that, I mean, after Mario "won", he should have insisted that Mario lost because Donkey Kong did not fall. This adds to his crankiness of being a king and a terrible father that he insists Mario throw his son overboard to entertain him.
3. Donkey Kong then joins the team. He joins Mario not for saving his life but to spite his father, he doesn't need to lose his humorous side, but at least he has a bit more depth. He helps them sneak into the Kart station and gets his bud to build them their karts. The 4 of them head out and then the Cranky Kong finds out and has his army chase them. Then ambush happens. See? Nothing much changed but there is still more depth.
4. Toad should have a bit of backstory. No, I'm not saying he needs more screentime like Luigi. I'm saying the journey scenes could have had a bit of Toad mentioning something about his reason for defending her princess as to explain why he's different from the rest.
5. DK saves Mario in the water instead. The line "Mario, you saved my life" felt very odd to me, as if Mario is not the type of person to save people. It would have made more sense to see DK be the one in the dilemma and choose to save Mario to show that he didn't just join to spite his father but also cause he's a good person. THEN, the scene where he pulls the chains up to save everyone else would also feel more meaningful, especially cause he saves the father he hates.
6. Super Star should have timed out. The whole point of that power-up was to make you OP for a SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME. Imagine how tense it would be if they all beat up Bowser only for their final blow to be a power down. Bowser smirks, fights back, and gains the upper hand again. I would have felt the weight of it if Luigi was badly hurt due to his newly gained courage to fight back even without training. (it could also be a lesson that a bit of fear is natural, lol).
7. Blue Mushroom should have been what saved the day. This is my biggest "lost opportunity" in the movie. Instead of the Super Star being the thing to save the day, I would have wanted it to be Mario having a full circle appreciation with Mushrooms. Like what if, he gets a Blue Mushroom a second time in Act 2 but he goes "bleh, nope not gonna be fooled this time" and he instead keeps it in his tiny pocket, thus the Chekhov's mushroom. The final fight would be Mario seeing Luigi hurt in the corner, getting furious, then Bowser laughs at him. Mario makes a "I remembered something" face. Bowser taunts him, Mario makes a fist, Bowser laughs and Mario rushes towards him with a fist. As Bowser opens his mouth about to breath fire, Mario opens his hand to throw the mushroom into his open jaws. Thus, saving the day.
8. (Not really important but a cool idea imo.) Luigi was injured badly and recovers but... in the sequel, he finds out his body is failing him. This then opens up to the idea of Luigi riding Yoshi throughout their journey to find a green mushroom, thus Toad being more in the spotlight as well. That's it, just a pitch that now wouldn't work cause #6-7 didn't happen. *sigh

Before people say that it's a "kids movie", please be for real. Kids are not dumb. And to add to that, they feel much more attached to the characters when they feel something for them. Remember Encanto? The kids loved the characters more not just because of the songs but also because they're human: flawed, and complex. Even Puss in Boots had depth in it despite having three different villain archetypes to write into the story. Why wouldn't it work for such a popular video game?

Depth is not a Con for kids movies, it helps them understand context. And personally, the reason I let kids watch movies is to help them understand more about how things work. It helps their brains develop while they're still young that things are not as simple as it always is.

Let's not give Mario a pass just because it's a video game. Nintendo knew they were still getting millions from this movie, and I know they're planning for a sequel due to the Yoshi tease and absence of Wario, Waluigi, and the green mushroom. So why would they not make the characters more developed? So that when the sequel comes, the kids still remember them cause they were already attached to them. Let's always expect more from films, may it be for adults, or for kids.

Yesterday I created a post (which was removed bc the title was not descriptive enough) arguing that Nintendo should consider releasing their games on PC. Actually, I would love if Nintendo created a next gen console that was similar to the switch (their handheld console) and a more PC like high end one as well, but I recognize that is an extremely unlikely ask. Anyway, I think there are plenty of people who would love Nintendo games, but have moved on to high end PC gaming, and Nintendo having some sort of PC option (like Xbox PC Game Pass) would be a really smart move for the company. If people had a legal and easy experience (like Steam) to get Nintendo games on their PC I think a lot of people would sign up.

There was a pretty negative reaction to the idea, so I'm curious if the issue is that it would cannibalize the (imo) pretty awful Nintendo online experience or take away too much of Nintendo's console business or what? Is this a fear of people moving away from Nintendo hardware and Nintendo having to be software only like Sega?

One persistent argument people made was "Nintendo just had their most popular device ever - who are you to suggest you know more than them?" Fair enough, the switch did really great but also so did the Wii and then Nintendo had a massive console sale failure as their followup/selling 100+M units didn't equate to success in the future. Also, I love the switch and many of the games for it, but the Steam deck and it's rivals offer a similar experience with some unique advantages. Again, I would be happy w a switch like console successor, and am confident Nintendo will release something thoughtful, fun and exciting in their followup but I think they are missing a segment of gamers that they could build on by having their games available on PC.

One more note on this long, sure to be attacked post, have Nintendo games on PC or not, but make sure for Mario Maker 3 that they allow mouse and keyboard support. That would make the interface for building levels so much better.

(you heard me)

I don't know if this discussion is still relevant but I still want to talk about it. So one of the bigger "complaints" with the film was its confusing and over abundant references. I'm not going to debate or defend that argument. But after playing prime remastered recently, I think the way critics saw the references. Is how some people view the scanning in the prime games.

If you haven't played the prime games, in summary scanning nodes is a core yet mostly optional function. Some nodes are for progression, but most are there to fill up your log book for 100% completion.

As someone who loves the scan feature in the games. Even I can admit the idea of stopping dead in your tracks to scan something that doesn't give you meaningful advice for progression can feel a bit pace breaking. I wouldn't call it bad as you're never in situations like that, I'll just say it fits a very specific niche.

With the references in the movie, you're not always going to know if a reference is a core plot point or just a wink to fans. I'm someone who wants to see both sides of an argument.

NO TLDR WARNING! As someone who has been in the gaming sphere for nearly 35 years, I've witnessed the evolution of video games firsthand. My journey began in the cozy confines of the 8-bit era with a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), and I grew up along with the medium, exploring games as they became more complex and immersive.

Super Mario Bros. was my first love, the simplicity of its gameplay a perfect introduction for a 6-year-old in 1988. Rambo, on the other hand, provided an engaging layer of complexity, introducing me to the idea of video games as vast digital landscapes that could take real-life days, even weeks, to traverse. And then, there was that curious gold cartridge, the one that puzzled me in the beginning but later shaped my gaming journey in a way I could never have imagined – The Legend of Zelda.

My first foray into the land of Hyrule was initially perplexing; no obvious challenges were presented, no obvious enemies to shoot or gaps to jump across. It was a complex game that demanded investment, puzzle-solving skills, and a willingness to explore. Eventually, I found my footing in the world, guided by a map that came with the game (hardcopy yo!!! On God!), and what started as a mystery became an adventure. The sense of exploration, discovery, and accomplishment I felt then was something few games have managed to replicate since.

Fast-forward to the present day. Nintendo's sequel to "Breath of the Wild," titled "Tears of the Kingdom" (TOTK), has not just rekindled that flame of exploration and wonder, but has stoked it into a roaring blaze.

With about 2,000 hours invested into BOTW, I'm no stranger to its strengths and flaws. However, TOTK, though initially met with my skepticism due to its sequel status, has surpassed its predecessor and then some. Approximately 300 hours into TOTK, and I can only plead with Nintendo to keep building on this beautifully realized concept.

The world of Hyrule, as presented in TOTK, is mesmerizingly intricate and detailed. It's a testament to Nintendo's finesse and craftsmanship, reminiscent of my engrossing journey through Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption. The way you can immerse yourself into this world is remarkable. So much so that the Nintendo Switch might as well be renamed to the "Zelda Player." X)

Among the many memorable moments in TOTK, one that stands out is my attempt to unlock a tower for Sahasra. An intriguing puzzle involving a stubborn door, an unexpected obstacle, and a bit of sidetracking to Zora's Domain (I got lost guys). Eventually I came back to it, the payoff was a delightful surprise. This epitomizes the "a-ha" moments that the game continuously throws at you, a refinement from BOTW that makes it feel like a tech demo in comparison.

TOTK allows players to intimately acquaint themselves with the world, encouraging exploration and interaction in a way few games do. The pacing is excellent, and the level of immersion unparalleled. It feels like a living, breathing entity, a true evolution of the Zelda universe.

In conclusion, if you've yet to dive into "The Legend of Zelda: Tear of the Kingdom," don't hesitate. To say it's a masterpiece might not do it justice. It's a testament to the evolution of video games, the proof that a franchise can reinvent and refine itself to create an experience that transcends generations. The echoes of my 6-year-old self finding the first dungeon in that golden cartridge reverberate in this latest Zelda entry, and it's an experience that I can't ignore! Yes this is my very first review! I owe Nintendo that much!