|OT| MetaConsole | Here we can talk about anything regarding consoles

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Sega will probably charge £50 again for a Switch 2 version, but I’d love to see Persona 5 Royal get updated.

I can’t believe DF once said the Switch version on an OLED console was a better experience than on the Deck LCD. I played it for 5 minutes on my OLED and it was a blurry mess at 30fps.

I bet it looks even nastier on the Switch 2.

Alas, I think most third party Switch games will be left well enough alone on Switch 2, which is a shame.

I do hope Nintendo makes their way through their back catalogue and updates everything, though. Even if it’s just a resolution and framerate boost.
 
Shinrei Jusatsushi Tarōmaru has been translated into English (as Psychic Killer Taromaru). It seems like a low key release at the moment (despite the game being one of the rarest, most expensive for the Saturn these days), I can't find footage of anyone playing it yet so here are videos in Japanese instead. This is a very unique and cool game with some awesome level and boss visuals, just imagine if Castlevania or something had taken full advantage of 32 bit systems in the same way back then (instead of be like SNES++ with some extra effects/polygons here & there - which was still great).

Granted it's smaller in scope than a Metroidvania that would need a huge budget to have all those areas and enemies up to this level (it's not like Konami couldn't afford it anyway) but hey, they could have had a Classicvania (or three, then use their tech/assets for a Metroidvania) alongside SOTN...​
 
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Seems like this port (or rather the Switch 2) was panned cos of some youtuber saying it runs like ass but apparently it's a solid one, especially given the RT stuff.

Loving what it means for upcoming handheld PC hardware tbh, come on Deck 2, it'll probably be enough for me to not have to shell out for a desktop overhaul.
 
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These “uncertain times” have seemingly influenced PlayStation’s decision on the look of the next PlayStation, too, as rumblings suggest that this time around, the PlayStation 6 will have a much simpler design than its predecessor, again to maximize efficiency, shipping space, weight, and so on.

Hopefully this is true. The PS5 is the ugliest piece of consumer electronics I have ever owned.
 
60 mins. Switch 2 reveal direct was also an hour long but that one was a console reveal.

Damn.
 
So, after an ginormous amount of research and consultations from top men, I decided to buy a state of the art console along with the latest and greatest game available.

IMG_3022.webp

The only issue is that it comes in some weird, unknown language so I am currently attempting to contact aliens to see if I can learn more about this language :thumbsupblob:

In all seriousness though, I got this a couple of weeks ago. It all started off with the reveal of this handheld PC/gaming device that is due soon

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I was kind of enamored by this machine because I really do love this dual screen form factor and there are still a bunch of DS and 3DS games I want to play. The company making this machine started pre-orders for it and it's fairly reasonably priced too. I'd want to get the $350 variant if possible. The problem is that my country charges upwards of 40% import duties on cost + shipping for any item that gets imported. So $350 plus let's say $50 shipping would mean the whole thing would cost me $550 and now that's very, very expensive. So I got to thinking about what I can do about it. Russ from RGC had a video up a few weeks ago where he listed all his favourite modern hardware to emulate every old gaming system and for some reason, his preferred devices to play DS and 3DS games were... original DS and 3DS machines. That was actually surprising because I feel that surely playing those games with higher power hardware and better screens through emulation would be a better experience but hey, subjective opinions. It got me thinking about getting another 3DS. I actually have one which has custom firmware on it but I always sort of regretted not getting a second one while they were available.

Now, most of you reading this wall of text probably live in a country with a large gaming market so you can buy a (new or used) 3DS if you wanted from ebay or something similar. Unfortunately, there is no such secondary market in my country (that isn't full of scammers anyway) and I live in a relatively smaller city so there isn't even a CEX here. So my only option to get a device like this was to import it, which again means 40% taxes. Anyway there aren't even a lot of options for importing but luckily Amazon Japan does ship some stuff here. I went looking there and they didn't have new 3DS devices for sale at all. They did have a handful of 2DS devices and I ended up buying one of them. This was not my preferred colour (I would have chosen black and blue) but it was the cheap and from a reliable seller. In the end it cost me 47000 yen shipped. Which is actually a fairly reasonable price these days for a brand new 2DS/3DS device even though it's roughly twice what the thing used to cost back when it was actually available.

The plan is to put custom firmware on it and change it to a US region device. The process of installing of custom firmware is super easy and idiot proof, but having to navigate the console in Japanese during the process is going to cause a lot of problems especially since you need to connect to the internet through the device during the hacking process. I'll get around to it at some point. I picked up the Pokemon game because for some reason I feel like getting 1-2 of these for both the 3DS and Switch. It's just a matter of figuring out which ones to get and finding them at a reasonable price. For 3DS I got Ultra Moon and I'm hoping to find a copy of X/Y at a decent price somehow. For Switch I got Arceus and I'm hoping to get Violet by the end of the year. Anyone here have any suggestions for any other Pokemon game I should consider? All the Switch games are available but unfortunately they're all expensive and Nintendo stuff never goes down in price here so it has to be a carefully thought out decision to buy those games.

On an unrelated note, I'm not far into Donkey Kong Bananza but I really liked what I've played so far. I just feel like I have a goofy grin while playing the game and discovering secrets and hidden bananas and stuff. Just a joyful game honestly.
 
That new Yoshi game looks neat, but whew this is pretty boring so far.

Edit: New Fire Emblem

 
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At first the Direct seemed naff but new yoshi's story thing and hyrule warriors looked good.

Also dragon quest vii remake & other multiplatform stuffs. Remaking fatal frame 2 again?

Didn't see that coming for metroid prime. Having a motorcycle so guess there's open worldish stuffs. Too short tease. Release date!

Monhun stories 3 looks good too. Switch 2 getting resi requiem is nice, hopefully it's a sweet port like star wars outlaws.

New fire emblem looks rad!
 
I'm very interested in the new Fire Emblem. They didn't show a ton but there was some new (to me?) in general?) stuff in those brief shots.

Not super interested in Yoshi but it think it's awesome that it is being made. Same with making Galaxy 1 & 2 available to more people. I worry on the pricing on all of those though.

DQ 7 remake is interesting. I liked DQ XI. Was not super interested in the HD-2D remakes, but this looks like it's splitting the difference between those ends. Feels like XII is still a few year out with an announcement like this too.
 
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Didn't love the art style of DQ7, but I am not a fan of the series anyway. I think the HD2D ones were more appealing to me, but I still never bothered.

Fire Emblem is the kind of series that keeps drawing me in when the character designs are good (which isn't a sure thing with this series), but the gameplay never really hits right with me. I want to give Three Houses another shot as I don't think I was in the right mood for it when I last tried it. This one again appeals to me, but I suspect I will be disappointed by the gameplay.

I'll probably grab the physical edition of Galaxy 1 & 2. I already have 3D All-Stars on Switch and Galaxy 2 on Wii, but having versions of both games on one cart is appealing.

Other than that it was a pretty lukewarm direct. A few games appealed, but given the lacklustre (and overpriced) storage on Switch 2 I'm only buying physical non-GCK releases, so that kinda limits what I'll play on the system.

So far I am not disappointed in Switch 2 as DK Bananza and MK World have made the system worth it, but I can't say I'm super happy either. This system has "early 3DS days" vibes about it, and I think that's because Nintendo is still only one foot out of the door with Switch 1. I don't blame them given the number of sales that system has, but there will come a point where they need to say bye bye to Switch and get people on the upgrade treadmill, because they won't get a second chance this time as it's their only system with nothing to prop it up.


"Let's make our games as unappealing as possible!" - The Games Industry, apparently.

This quote also just doesn't plain make sense. Nintendo are the second worst (only behind Sony) for re-releasing games and are far and away the worst for limiting a game's lifespan, and they're not touching GKC's with a ten-foot barge pole.

The GKCs are basically a fudge. Nintendo increased the IO of storage on Switch 2 and haven't been able to match it on physical copies. We've seen this play out in real world situations where games like CP2077 and first party Nintendo games load faster when installed to storage vs when played from the cart.

But instead of doing the sensible thing (using cheaper and slower cards that users can install games to storage from) they opted for the GKC albatross. In fact, there were a number of sensible things Nintendo could've done, that they chose not to.
  • Cheaper SD card compatibility for playing Switch 1 games and "cold storage" of Switch 2 titles
  • Slower game cards that can selectively install Switch 2 data to internal storage, either in full or progressively (to free up total storage used at any one time) as users make their way through the game, which could also be used with digital copies of games in "cold storage" on the SD card
  • Replaceable internal storage via 2230 NVMe
None of these are impossible. Their competitors are already doing similar. They are all choices Nintendo didn't make, by and large because it probably didn't even occur to them. It's been made clear by people working in Nintendo that they never look at what anyone else is doing, so they're constantly reinventing the wheel or coming up with ass-backwards insane features like GKCs.

I suspect many in Nintendo were very shocked about the reception to GKCs, which in their mind they probably thought was the only compromise solution available. They had to take down an online survey because they were getting hammered about them.

Absolutely thoughtless and shortsighted.
 

Xbox Series S 512GB: $399.99 (up $20 from $379.99)
Xbox Series S 1TB: $449.99 (up $20 from $429.99)
Xbox Series X Digital: $599.99 (up $50 from $549.99)
Xbox Series X: $649.99 (up $50 from $599.99)
Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Special Edition: $799.99 (up $70 from $729.99)

He did that.
 
I started playing Pokemon the other day and man, the lack of voice acting is so immediately jarring. Couldn't help but think that Koei Tecmo/Gust sell a million copies of their Atelier games and even they add in voice acting but Pokemon that sells 20 million a year can't? Imagine a world where Pokemon (and Nintendo) fans demanded more from the company :expressionless-face:

The visuals are a mixed bag. The horrible buildings are always in your perspective but there is some good artwork that saves the overall presentation. The Switch 2 version is basically just the Switch 1 game with higher textures and filtering and 60fps. At times the game looks like those old HD mods that people used to make for some PC games where they'd basically just replace textures with higher res, sharper ones and the end result felt like it was out of place and uncanny. But overall I'd say the game looks acceptable and there are some things (like NPCs popping in 20m away) that you just have to live with in a Nintendo game.

The game itself seems fun enough so far. I don't have much experience with Pokemon games outside of a few attempts to play them on the 3DS so I have no expectations or preconceived notions of how something should be. It doesn't bother me if some feature is missing or something was added that people don't like. The game takes place entirely in a city but after running around it for a bit it does seem like the space is big enough to support a full RPG. So yeah, I'm enjoying it even though there are aspects of the game that I don't fully understand. If anyone is on the fence because they're apprehensive about the visuals or any changes they've made (like the real time combat), I would say it's worth checking out.
 

Microsoft can BS all they want, but they're done with inhouse hardware.
I mean, the price hikes are tariff related. They sell so few units outside of the US they can't spread the tariffs across multiple regions like Sony and Nintendo have been (but would obviously deny). US consumers just have to eat shit on the whole thing.

That said, I think it's kinda crappy that other companies are making non-US customers effectively pay for US taxes.

But I don't think it's doing them any favours and their hardware endeavours are basically finished at this point.
 
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This has to be the weakest year for a Nintendo console launch in a several generations.
 
Someone slap Hamster with all the money Japanese devs and pubs have been making on PC or something so we get their Arcade Archives too.

Doesn't mention actual multiplayer so might lose some of the appeal (alongside the rad arcade cabinet controls). Seems a lot like like a slower paced Alien Front on Naomi/Dreamcast (and that one can be played online nowadays if you're interested) but tanks only instead of tanks vs aliens. Definitely inspired that.
 
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It's crazy (to me) that Switch 2 versions of 3rd party games already (5 years vs 5 months old) can sell on par with PS5 there (the franchise is hardly Nintendo oriented, its mainline games switched platforms based on what was the most popular I guess, from SNES to PS to PS2 to DS to spreading to 3DS/PS4/Switch roughly equally etc.). Is Requiem launching simultaneously on all platforms? I wonder how that will do if that's the case. Long wait for that though, are there any other big 3rd party multiplatform games coming before that? Not remasters/remakes like Dragon Quest, something big and brand new folks look forward to..?
 
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My Ayn Thor arrived this weekend. It was a ~$400 order and I was prepping to pay customs duties of about 40% but I did some mild tax fraud and got it without having to pay any customs at all. Saved about $160-170 and I see that as an absolute win.

The device is just beautiful and a joy to use. It's a perfect replacement for a 3DS. Folks who have used the device have some gripes with emulation input delay, the triggers are a bit awkward to use and the aspect ratio of the screens isn't perfect but... honestly, I feel like everything else it does is such a massive upgrade over the 3DS that these things don't matter at all. The NDS/3DS were inspired and revolutionary systems for their eras but the hardware is total junk in 2025. It's kind of unbelievable how we ever put time into systems that run so poorly.


I was hoping to play some of the old DS and 3DS games that I missed and never got around to. I just (sort of) finished Pokemon Z-A the other day and I'm interested in playing some of the older Pokemon games now. We'll see if I can find the time and motivation to do that, but this is the device for the task. Very happy with the purchase and I haven't even started a game properly yet.
 
Hawt. Looks like a worthy sequel, welcome back Prime. 3 was ace, a human element always enhances stories and scenes and the world being seamless with manual travel between the different areas over teleporting or having a cut scene with the ship is neat. I don't get the haters, fanbots seething for exclusives?🤷‍♂️
 
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I haven't played any Prime games (don't expel me) but the music in that trailer is pretty incredible.
 

oof

Oh god the Eurogamer review made a comparison to Skyward Sword.
 
DF's review seems the opposite of EG's, more in line with the rest, now they aren't part of them/IGN.

Seems like great reviews with a couple outliers that didn't even review the remaster to see what they think of Prime. Like Gamekult 6/10, what even is it. EG has weird (not negative, it's other areas they take issue with, like the - expected? - end game fetch questing) af comparisons to Skyward Sword.
Specifically, the way you go back and forth between slightly larger spaces and gradually push slightly deeper into them to progress the story is reminiscent of Skyward Sword.
Seems like par for the course for any Metroid-like, to go back to previous areas with new abilities that allow you to explore further, nothing SS specific, though I suppose it's different to other pre-SS Zeldas where new tools were used in the dungeon you get them in/for and then forgotten past that.
So too is one of Prime 4's two new gimmicks. Its big new weapon greatly resembles that game's 'Beetle', where you can fire a projectile and manually steer it through the air. This is used to great effect in numerous puzzles, and by a couple of bosses.
Again nothing SS specific here. A remote controlled gadget/shot. I guess you can think of it like Batman rc batarang if it doesn't bring as negative feelings? They also didn't find the NPC chatter/story bad, except for Samus being a silent protagonist in return. I guess they'd hate Half-Life 2 and such.

Skimming the rest of it, I don't even see enough negativity to warrant their 6/10, other than apparently finding the ending super underwhelming. Ok then. Good to know the desert is as thought, OoT's Hyrule field going around with Epona to reach the next areas bringing the game world together.

So its bad aspects are like Half-Life 2 and Ocarina of Time, those awful games nobody should take elements from, we totally wanted to hear Samus not being a silent protagonist but going on about babies or whatever and would prefer disjoined areas/stages with teleports over a seamlessly connected world, I guess.

Folks really need to convey criticism properly instead of such vague statements that can just as well apply to actually great games as above, reading such reviews you learn nothing other than confirm your biases one or the other way and not coming out of it any wiser, you still gotta play to find out.

There are like 5 6/10s, 5 7/10s and 50 8-10/10s, seems if you like Prime and generally Metroid-likes you'll like this game and if not it won't change your mind.
 
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oof

Oh god the Eurogamer review made a comparison to Skyward Sword.
I don't want to say I've been getting bad juju from MP4, but what I saw of it over the last few months has basically made me think it's going to be a good but not great title.

Then again, I'm biased because I haven't enjoyed any game in the series.
 
I will most likely wait for a price drop unless fomo catches me. Only ever played Metroid Prime Remastered (fun game, 8/10), but I also didn't pay 70$ for it.

For 70$, a game truly needs to be exceptional, groundbreaking, a fully fledges masterpiece. MP4 doesn't seem like that.

However, DF seems to like it, so that's cool, but 70$ is still 70$.
 
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oof

Oh god the Eurogamer review made a comparison to Skyward Sword.
That's my favorite Zelda before Botw taking over. So good news to me? :blobeyes:
 
The reviews seem fairly consistent in their praise and criticisms of the game. The highlights seem to be the artwork, music, level design and atmosphere of the levels along with fun combat and worldbuilding if you use the scanner. The downsides are the open world devoid of any real purpose other than grinding out crystals, the companions which seemingly rarely elevate the experience and the story/ending being sort of meh. The scores vary depending on which of these positive and negative factors influenced a particular reviewer more.

Not specific to Metroid but I've always believed that developers should put extra effort in the first and last level of a game. The first, obviously, to make a good first impression on the player, but the same goes for the last level too. A player's last impression of a game will also be their lasting impression of the game. If the last bossfight is too hard or the story ends abruptly then that is the thing that will stick in a player's mind no matter how good the rest of the game was. A prime example of this was the original Rage from id software. The game was generally fun to play despite some glaring issues but they royally fucked up the ending. They clearly ran out of time and the final level just randomly, abruptly ends with a short cutscene. It was so jarring that I still remember it 15 years later. Developers really should put 200% effort in making their ending good. As in, allocate much more time and resources on the final level than you do on every individual level that comes before it.

I'm personally sort of interested in Metroid but my main problem is that I'm absolutely horrible with first person shooters using analog sticks. I know the Switch 2 will let me play with mouse controls but I have no idea how good they are generally and specifically for this game. And the game is going to be far too expensive to risk just buying it to see if mouse controls are something that work for me. I really wish they had put out a demo for the game. I might still get it anyway because I sure do have a habit of buying a lot of games I don't actually end up playing. This would be the perfect game to get on sale but that's just not likely to happen for physical copies of this game in my country.
 
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Metroid Prime sub series combat is more like Zelda with guns, not twitch fps, sure it can have similar surface controls on dual analog/mouse too but generally you're meant to simply lock on an enemy so you then are locked in a a circle strafe with them and dash left/right to dodge attacks or jump to avoid ground pound AOEs or to get behind them and such for bosses or go for weak point attacks and such or use the correct tool because they don't take damage in this or that way, it's not a twitch shooter. You could start with the Prime remaster if that's cheaper and to see if the series is for you. Or the Gamecube games/the Wii trilogy bundle (though that again has its own control scheme but the gist of it is similar enough), whether on real hardware or emulated. I mean if you haven't cared to look into if not try the 3 games before this one over the last couple of decades I guess there's no reason to pay attention to the 4th either though. Metroid Dread is a side scroller instead, like the main series has (mostly) always been so there's that (and most previous games) for Metroid without the fps bit.
 
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Well the IGN review said that this game is a good starting point for newcomers. Generally though, I'm open to new experiences all the time. I just played and finished my first Pokemon ever and that was like the 650th game in the series. It's just that the combination of me being extremely bad at controlling FPS games with sticks and the price of Switch 2 games is putting me off. I do remember playing first person Metroid Prime on the NDS for a bit back in the day so yeah, maybe I could emulate that. I actually do own Prime remastered (one of those games I picked up and never played) and I specifically avoided getting Dread because, despite the amazing reviews, it's apparently a very hard game and I'm also generally quite bad at high difficulty/high precision platformers. It's the reason I won't play Cuphead or Hollow Knight (although I did give it a shot)... just acceptance of a pure lack of skill and aptitude for such games.
 
It seems like the people that are loving MP4 also really loved MP1. If you came into Metroid with Dread and/or didn't play those remasters this is probably a pretty big shock. Sounds like people are surprised by the open world not being BotW, which is fine with me (esp in a Metroid game), but maybe if you hadn't played a Metroid Prime before then you would be surprised this isn't like Breath of the Wild/Tears of the Kingdom. IDK.
 
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I've played Prime 4 for like an hour and yeah Myles Mackenzie is as bad as I had feared. It feels like he was written during peak MCU popularity and the MCU is passe nowadays so the quips falls flat. If he was just boring straight-laced soldier then it would be a lot better (and be a better tonal fit for the series).

Otherwise it's fun.
 
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Hard to say much, no other Metroid reviews on that channe but the way its reviewed there it seems he'd bash the original/remaster the same. Launch trailer:
 
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I bought Prime 4, it does look good graphically at 120hz, played a bit of it and enjoying it, it's a short time, so we'll see if it gets worse in later levels, but I never finished Prime 1 and so I've no attachment to the series, I'll probably enjoy it enough. I hope they patch Prime 1 remastered on Switch 2 so I can play that too.