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Nintendo Switch

Started by radiator, 20 October, 2016, 04:48:49 PM

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Mardroid

Thanks Apestrife, I'll check them out.

radiator

I've been playing Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

It's really good stuff - an extremely lavish and polished 2d platformer - the level design is inventive and simply beautiful. It's one of the only platformers I've ever played where every single element and obstacle in a level has a reasoning behind it - ie there's no abstract, floating platforms anywhere in the game. In that sense it's really quite something, and certain levels (including one particularly memorable one set at twilight on a kind of African savanna themed area, where every character on screen becomes a simple silhouette) are absolutely gorgeous to look at.

However it is also (providing you don't cheat by using the easy 'Funky Kong' mode or constantly buy powerups) an incredibly difficult game (by modern standards at least). I've been moaning for years that the modern 2d Mario games have lost a lot of their addictive 'tightrope' quality by becoming exponentially easier over the years, and how I've wished they return to how punishingly difficult they used to be... and this game has really tested me on that  :lol:. In essence, World 1 in this game is about as hard as the World 8 in something like New Super Mario Bros. You will literally die on the very first level. Repeatedly.

Overall, though, after a rocky start and a severe mental readjustment, I've come to really appreciate the level of challenge and am enjoying it immensely (despite sometimes having to stifle the urge to hurl the Switch against a wall in frustration), and admire the developers a for sticking to their guns and making an old-school, hard as nails platformer, and not pandering to a modern audience.

The one aspect of the game I really don't like is the bosses. I don't really like boss encounters at the best of times, but the ones in this game are and pretty much my worst nightmare in that they take absolutely ages to beat, and go on for multiple distinct phases with wildly increasing difficulty and no checkpoints between them, meaning when you die, it's incredibly hard to summon the will to try again and not just give up. It's actually kind of embarrassing how long I was stuck on the World 2 boss for. World 2. And it's honestly got to the point where I dreading the bosses at the end of each world, and would rather go back and replay earlier levels than face them.

Apestrife

Tropical Freeze is insanely hard, but really good.

If you like a hard game. Played Mega Man 9? It's on the mega man collection 2.

radiator

Funnily enough, having got quite a bit further into the game now, it's only that World 2 boss I really struggled with. I did the World 3 boss on my first try, and the World 4 one - while difficult - was dispatched without too much trouble. I'm on World 5 now and the level of challenge just got kicked up a few notches.

I might pick up the Mega Man collections at some point, but it's the Mega Man X collection that I'm really looking forward to.

I, Cosh

On the subject of supposedly hard platformers, I've spent a good few hours playing Celeste lately. Follows the Super Meat Boy model of many short screens, so the inevitable retries don't feel too harsh.

Finished the main game, done half the B Sides and most of the collectibles.
We never really die.

GrudgeJohnDeed

I can vouch for Mega Man 9, that and Mega Man 2 are my jam! If you're fans of other NES or NES-inspired platform games there's a cool one that's just come out on pretty much every system (you'll have to wait a couple of days for 3ds and a week for Xbox One though) called Bloodstained: Curse of The Moon, it's a tie-in game to the crowdfunded game Bloodstained and a spiritual successor to the NES Castlevanias - my favourite era for the series personally.

Also sticking with 8-bit, Wonderboy The Dragon's Trap is a fantastic remake of a charming Master System platformer-rpg, where you can play with any combination of old and new graphics and sound. Having no real lives (you reappear in the hub section when you die and keep all your money, lose your consumables though) and RPG elements where you can save up money to buy better gear and items before attacking the next section, it's not as hard as these other games on normal difficulty but hard mode is a nice little challenge with tougher enemies and constantly draining health to make you get your skates on!

The Enigmatic Dr X

Quote from: GrudgeJohnDeed on 29 May, 2018, 10:58:47 AM
I can vouch for Mega Man 9, that and Mega Man 2 are my jam! If you're fans of other NES or NES-inspired platform games there's a cool one that's just come out on pretty much every system (you'll have to wait a couple of days for 3ds and a week for Xbox One though) called Bloodstained: Curse of The Moon, it's a tie-in game to the crowdfunded game Bloodstained and a spiritual successor to the NES Castlevanias - my favourite era for the series personally.

Also sticking with 8-bit, Wonderboy The Dragon's Trap is a fantastic remake of a charming Master System platformer-rpg, where you can play with any combination of old and new graphics and sound. Having no real lives (you reappear in the hub section when you die and keep all your money, lose your consumables though) and RPG elements where you can save up money to buy better gear and items before attacking the next section, it's not as hard as these other games on normal difficulty but hard mode is a nice little challenge with tougher enemies and constantly draining health to make you get your skates on!

Loved this remake. Really liked the idea of loading an old save code... I have happy memories of them lying about, scribbled on homework jotters.
Lock up your spoons!

GrudgeJohnDeed

Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 29 May, 2018, 01:40:44 PM
Loved this remake. Really liked the idea of loading an old save code... I have happy memories of them lying about, scribbled on homework jotters.

Yeah fantastic that they made sure the password system still worked,  I think it's insanely cool when I continue a game save from the 2000s so that would've blown my feeble mind if I'd been able to load up a 'save' from the late 80s/early 90s!!

radiator

I've got the Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection arriving today, and I've bought an extra wired Hori controller to go with it (I can't imagine it's much fun trying to pull off a hadouken with a joy con).

I've set up the switch dock in the office meeting room for lunch or after work tournaments (we played quite a bit of the OG SFII on the SNES Classic when that came out). Should be fun - I fell off the series after Super Street Fighter II and so never really played any of the subsequent games.

radiator

I also realised the other day that you get a 20% discount on a lot of upcoming Switch games if you pre order with Amazon Prime, which is a pretty amazing deal considering they are so rarely discounted much below RRP, even years after release - though I don't know if this is just a US thing or not.

Placed a pre order for Dark Souls Remastered and Smash Bros.

Apestrife

Their E3 showing wasn't their best ever, but it had some nice trailers. I especially like this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxPlBdk4HXY

Can't stop looking at it. Mechs and metal. Love it!

radiator

The presentation - and e3 in general - has been a huge let down for me regarding Switch news.

I was confident that, now the Switch has a solid install base, we'd see a huge surge of new games, ports and indie titles being announced, but I guess not?

In fact the only new thing to catch my interest so far has been the new Trials game. And that's really about it.

Sorely disappointing.

James Stacey

I think the most significant thing was big game releases from the likes of Bethesda and Ubi were saying 'available on Ps4 xBone and Switch'

JamesC

Quote from: James Stacey on 13 June, 2018, 09:17:04 AM
I think the most significant thing was big game releases from the likes of Bethesda and Ubi were saying 'available on Ps4 xBone and Switch'

But I can't help feeling what they really mean is 'the shite Switch version will arrive 8 months later'.
If this is the case we could end up with a similar sistuation to what happened with the Wii U - inferior version comes out late, no one buys it, support dries up.

jacob g

I'm fine with E3 Nintendo Direct, Daemon x Machine is right up my alley.
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