video game Nintendo Base | Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (9/24); Metroid Prime 4 trailer (2025)

[thatsmydemi]

My jaw dropped with the end of chapter 5. 

 

Also... I'm so gay that all Mío needed to become my fave character was

 

Long hair

 

 

 

 

After a week out I'm back to playing. I'm almost 70 hours and in the beginning of chapter 6! 

 

 

 

[Edibles.]

How am I supposed to survive the next two weeks without Splatoon 3? That online demo was so fun. 

[youreyesgocold]

23 minutes ago, Edibles. said:

How am I supposed to survive the next two weeks without Splatoon 3? That online demo was so fun. 

You can already buy it and play it right now, you don’t have to wait 2 weeks 

[Edibles.]

51 minutes ago, youreyesgocold said:

You can already buy it and play it right now, you don’t have to wait 2 weeks 

Boooooo tomato tomato tomato 

[feelslikeadream]

I've been so busy with work that I never wrote my thoughts on XC3  but here goes. I'll break the game down by the elements I consider most important in a JRPG and share my thoughts. I'll avoid spoilers for my general thoughts (or speak in a veiled way).

 

Combat

One of the stronger aspects of the game. I liked the fusion arts system (which thankfully is unlocked relatively early) and the ability to highly customize the palette. I appreciate the depth possible here—with not only fusion arts but skills, accessories, gems, etc.—although I think that depth is vastly underutilized; even on hard, the combat is really easy as long as you're at the same level as the enemy. The battles are also extremely repetitive once you find the class/skills you want on your palette, which turns the combat into a waiting game of just looking at the bottom of the screen, waiting for arts to fuse, then hitting the button. Because combat was so repetitive for me, I had it set to auto-battle for the last 1/3 of the game  I would have liked to see more variation in enemy skill that forced you to think creatively. For example, imagine a boss that spins around the entire time so that it's much harder to land positional arts. Or an enemy whose special ability (designated by flame sign in health bar) is to lock your chain attack so you're forced to actually fight the second half of the battle. The options are endless, but unfortunately every single boss fight is the same: hit fusion arts until it's at ~half health, do one chain attack, game over. On a more positive note, I'm impressed by the UI; I was always able to tell what was going on, even with 7 characters fighting.

 

Exploration

Honestly, this is the most important aspect of gameplay for me. It's why I loved BOTW so much and why Elden Ring is my current GOTY. Past entries have been great with exploration, but I think XC3 doesn't quite live up to the earlier games. This is because the areas do not have creative designs (XCX has the best environments), and 90% of the time, you pretty much know an entire biome the moment you set foot there. There are very few secret areas worth finding, hardly any surprises at the end of cave systems, no worthwhile treasures to seek (just containers, everywhere!), etc. I kind of thought the field skills would gatekeep certain areas in a way I actually enjoy (as a Metroidvania fan), but even those weren't that common. Things I did like: the fast travel system, ease of finding collectible items, colony size, ease of avoiding enemies/battles while exploring.

 

Side Quests

Unforgivably, inexcusably dull. I've complained about this in here already so this is no surprise, but having 90% of side quests as fetch quests in the year 2022 is flat out unacceptable. Just as important is the very poor design around side quests. Without spoiling, I'll recap one late game side quest: Get quest -> Fast travel to location, walk ~30 steps, talk to someone -> Fast travel, walk ~50 steps, talk to someone -> Walk ~30 steps to trigger cutscene -> Battle -> Fast travel, walk ~50 steps, talk to someone. This is not good side quest design!!! The only real gaming here is the one battle; everything else feels tedious. And there are plenty of side quests with no battles—literally just talking to people and walking. In a post-Witcher 3 world, this quest design should be illegal. I don't consider Xeno- games to be "retro RPGs," but even those have found a way to eliminate those dull side quests (see: DQXI) so seeing it in abundance here is absolutely my least favorite part of the game.

 

Story

Very much a mixed bag. There were moments I really felt invested in the plot/characters—usually side characters or antagonists—although even the strongest bits usually had a few silly elements added. (For example, the baby thing was really cute, but it introduces a whole lot of questions about why 10-20 year-olds are running around without going through puberty or having any sex.) Like most Xeno-games, the main cast is a mix of stronger and weaker characters, but I thought unlike earlier entries, the main cast here doesn't experience much growth across the game, Mio being the only exception. As much as I like Eunie and Lanz, they are exactly the same people at the end of the journey as they were at the start. (My favorite story cutscene is with Eunie though, when she finds the badge thing.) Noah is the most dull protagonist I've experienced in ages. He speaks in platitudes, he's extremely slow to understand what's going on, he shows no development throughout the game, etc. I think the game has one of the best story setups in the franchise and a lot more could have been done with it. 

 

Spoilers:

Even when the best story arc plays out—the backstory of M and N—Noah is basically untouched by the turn of events. He does nothing to help "Mio" (like literally doesn't even try to use his special blade, when prompted ), has ZERO chemistry with the supposed love of his life (whom he keeps returning to in each "life"), and is ultimately FAR less complex than the antagonist version of himself. I was way more interested in N's decision to turn moebius than with anything Noah did the whole game (i.e. nothing). Can you imagine Noah being faced with that tough choice? He'd spew some platitudes and make no decision. He's so dry that even after learning of N's backstory (including killing everyone) he was still trying to talk him off a ledge. Anyway, that whole thing had me confused re: plot holes. When M and N became moebius, why were their bodies not taken out of rotation for rebirth? Speaking of nonsensical plot points, the absolutely nadir of the game is the inclusion of Crys  The way he is apparently still nice and cool as moebius??? But then fights the group with ZERO explanation?? Then is back to being nice?  His arc has zero emotional resonance and was such a waste of time. I've truly never witnesses such awful character development and plotting in a game before.

 

Final Thoughts

It feels to me like Monolith decided to make XC3 much closer to XC1 than XC2, to its detriment. Rather than build on some of the elements that made XC1 such a great game upon release in 2010 (12 years ago!), they just kind of reused some of that very dated gameplay and set it in dull environments, amidst a story full of plot holes and psychobabble. XC1 still kind of holds up in part because the story is strong and the cast is memorable, including the best Xeno- character (Melia). But XC3 feels like a dated RPG at times without the strong story to redeem it. I'm surely one of the biggest Xeno- stans on this site, so I wanted XC3 to be Monolith's magnum opus, but I honestly just felt bored a lot of the time. I am almost always a game completionist, but I really can't find the energy to go back into postgame and complete side quests (esp. ascension quests ) with hardly any payoff. I already have the DLC so I'll def check out the story expansion—maybe I'll come back to the game with a more positive outlook then, but for now:

 

XC2 & Torna > XCX > XC1 & Future Connected > XC3

[Subomie]

There's a real disparity with some of these Ascension quests

 

 

Like Ashera's quest actually giving the character a whole new depth and some meaning, while Isurd's was just like an anime filler episode between plot arcs 

That said, I certainly didn't mind the Lanz and Isurd hot springs scene at the end

Edited August 28, 2022 by Subomie

[aayAlex]

splatoon 3 coming for 20m sells

[P!nk]

Add me gheys and non-gheys:

 

SW-3454-8158-5023

Edited August 29, 2022 by P!nk

[youreyesgocold]

Hmm I have 2 ascension quests I’m blocked on because 

 

Spoiler

they require me to go to the city (Isurd, Riku&Manana) but I can’t travel there anymore since it’s underground after the events of ch5 and I don’t see it on the map anymore…?

Am I supposed to go searching the map for a new entrance, or does it become available again via story progression?

 

EDIT

Never mind I found and completed the quest which makes it available again. 
 

Edited August 30, 2022 by youreyesgocold

[thatsmydemi]

omg only 1 heroe left   

[Eternium]

Bayonetta 2  

[youreyesgocold]

2 hours ago, P!nk said:

Add me gheys and non-gheys:

 

SW-3454-8158-5023

I added you 

 

42 minutes ago, Eternium said:

Bayonetta 2  

Metroid almost clearing 3m as she should 

[feelslikeadream]

Wow, great numbers for Miss Kirby She ate!

[youreyesgocold]

19 minutes ago, feelslikeadream said:

Wow, great numbers for Miss Kirby She ate!

Kirby was so great. I still have to beat the final “real” boss in the boss rush ugh but doing that damn boss rush mode is so annoying

[feelslikeadream]

1 hour ago, youreyesgocold said:

Kirby was so great. I still have to beat the final “real” boss in the boss rush ugh but doing that damn boss rush mode is so annoying

I haven't played cause I don't wanna pay full price  I'm hoping in a couple years they put it up as a trial and I can just binge it and beat the whole thing

[youreyesgocold]

@Magickarp about the hero with the massive gunssss

 

Spoiler

The way I just learned while progressing through his ascension quest that Gray is a literal daddy at 60 years old, married to a 30 year old gorgeous woman  The way that should be meeee. Not that redhead living my fantasy 

 

Also now with his mask off and his scraggy beard he looks even better!  How is that possible????

 

[Eternium]

Supposedly there's a Nintendo Direct coming within two weeks. I hope they don't announce a new Switch. I need at least one more year for the current one so I can finish some games  

[znake]

42 minutes ago, Eternium said:

Supposedly there's a Nintendo Direct coming within two weeks. I hope they don't announce a new Switch. I need at least one more year for the current one so I can finish some games  

New Switch is coming in 2024 holidays at earliest 

 

 

[Erreur2 La Nature]

Jeff Grubb said he is 100% sure that there is a direct in september and that it will have TWW/TP HD ports. 

[Eternium]

4 hours ago, znake said:

New Switch is coming in 2024 holidays at earliest 

 

 

That’s what I’m hoping for. Let manufacturing get back to normal and come with a console strong enough to play PS5/XOne games while still being portable.

1 hour ago, Erreur2 La Nature said:

Jeff Grubb said he is 100% sure that there is a direct in september and that it will have TWW/TP HD ports. 

I hope not. We need ALTTP/ALBW and we just got TWW/TP HD. I skipped them on Wii U so I’ll honestly buy it, but it would be a letdown. Especially when we have so many 2D Zelda’s needing love.

[Erreur2 La Nature]

12 minutes ago, Eternium said:

That’s what I’m hoping for. Let manufacturing get back to normal and come with a console strong enough to play PS5/XOne games while still being portable.

I hope not. We need ALTTP/ALBW and we just got TWW/TP HD. I skipped them on Wii U so I’ll honestly buy it, but it would be a letdown. Especially when we have so many 2D Zelda’s needing love.

I have never enjoyed playing on portable consoles so I never got to play the 2D Zelda games but I really don't understand why Nintendo abandonned making 2D Zelda since the release of the Switch, it does not make any sense. It's the perfect hardware for that, they would sell like hot cakes and would be a great wai to patiently wait between two big 3D games.

[aayAlex]

3 hours ago, Erreur2 La Nature said:

Jeff Grubb said he is 100% sure that there is a direct in september and that it will have TWW/TP HD ports. 

Wind Waker HD is the best Zelda game of the Wii U

[youreyesgocold]

1 hour ago, Erreur2 La Nature said:

I have never enjoyed playing on portable consoles so I never got to play the 2D Zelda games but I really don't understand why Nintendo abandonned making 2D Zelda since the release of the Switch, it does not make any sense. It's the perfect hardware for that, they would sell like hot cakes and would be a great wai to patiently wait between two big 3D games.

This Link’s Awakening erasure, I- 

 

2 minutes ago, aayAlex said:

Wind Waker HD is the best Zelda game of the Wii U

Actually m’aam it’s Twilight Princess 

 

[Erreur2 La Nature]

14 minutes ago, youreyesgocold said:

This Link’s Awakening erasure, I- 

 

Actually m’aam it’s Twilight Princess 

 

Link's Awakening isn't a new 2D Zelda game. It got released in 93 I think.

[Rith]

On 8/29/2022 at 8:26 PM, Eternium said:

Bayonetta 2  

SMT 5 couldn't even sell 1M copies??? 

poor super mario party, i wonder if it will ever reach 20M sales