Topic: Nintendo Switch --OT--

@Haruki_NLI I do actually! Since when was this a thing?!
I’ve been using Mew, but I swear the effect carries over when I swap out, but still have it in my party.

@Fight_Teza_Fight Since...Gen 4? 3? Lots of abilities have out of battle effects

Intimidate lowers your encounter rate.
Magnet Pull attracts Steel types.
Static attracts Electric types.
Synchronise almost always mirrors your nature.
Compound Eyes increases the chance of wild Pokemon having held items.

And many more.

@LtSarge nice to know little hidden game mechanics that have been in the series for over a decade can be considered bugs now 🤣

@Haruki_NLI Well the more you know! I knew about magnet pull, but that’s about it. Thanks for clarifying- thought my game was busted!

@Haruki_NLI Haha, well to be fair I didn't know about this either! It does make more sense that they're hidden mechanics.

@Fight_Teza_Fight Im surprised you were in a situation to find that out accidentally, and notice it. Now that's rare.

@Haruki_NLI Tbf I only noticed cause I was trying to get some decent IVs, so I was checking each time in the box afterwards. Probably never would have figured out otherwise.

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I was planning to only play my switch docked, but recently I’ve playing it handheld.
With COVID cases going up again I’ve been working from home exclusively. We still have multiple meetings a day- which can drag, but enjoy just pulling out the switch & play 😄.

So I’m looking for a new game soon…
it’s between The Ori Collection, Xenoblade definitive edition & SMTV -which is the better handheld game?

@Fight_Teza_Fight While I haven't played SMTV yet, I would personally recommend Xenoblade since it's such a refreshing JRPG and perfect for handheld play. I remember spending 40 hours on the game on my 3DS and having an absolute blast with it.

@Fight_Teza_Fight Xenoblade is absolutely the worst HANDHELD game from the list. The games are very poorly optimized for undocked specs and suffer from terrible resolution dips in large open areas.

SMT V will look a little low-res undocked as well, but it runs well enough and image quality is more stable across the board, and is a fantastic monster-collector. And, honestly, if you're using a 4KTV, it might look better undocked anyway. The Ori games look and run perfect undocked, afaik, but I can't vouch for them as I've not played them yet. They review extremely well, though.

@Ralizah I’ve exclusively played the Xenoblade remaster in handheld mode and it’s alright. It’s less the frame rate that’s dipped and more that it just kinda looks like ass.

@Ralizah The only thing that differs between docked and undocked for Xenoblade is the resolution. The frame rate is pretty much the same:

Thanks everyone! I think I’m leaning towards SMT V now. I never played XC 1, but did watch a lets play of it. I owned the DS version, but never actually got to it. My issue is the battle system is pretty fast & I’d rather use a controller over joy-cons.
Ori I’d rather play using a DualShock/Pro, but at this point I don’t think it’ll ever be on PS.

@nessisonett @LtSarge Yes, the horrendous resolution dips that make it look awful are my concern. It's not quite as bad as XC2 was about utterly bottoming out, but it still dips to sub-PS Vita resolutions. Not a great way to experience these games.

@Fight_Teza_Fight If you have a Pro Controller, you could always prop it up with a tablet stand and play it that way.

Apologies for taking such a long time to reply to this @Ralizah but I only took a quick glance and thought the entirety of your post was to me (instead of some being directed to sol as well) and put it aside for when I had some time to properly look it over from how long it looked.

My bad 😅

Yes I have been! Yesterday was a parents evening so I've been preparing for that most of the week. Not to mention other things behind the scenes!

I've seen you've actually dropped your review of SMT V this morning ... But I'll just address this that you kindly wrote out for me at the moment!

That's an interesting takeaway Ral I honestly wasn't expecting to hear. I saw the first 20 minutes or so of a SMT V stream and they seemed to set up a LOT more human characters then Nocturne which you very well know has a grand total of 4 human characters. (6 if you include the protag and Hiriji in the mix.).

I saw they were promoting the humans a fair bit too in trailers for V and I honestly got the impression it'd be more story focused then 3's uniqueness with it's rather lonely atmosphere.

Those sound like good additions that fit the more unique structure Nocturne and V seem to embody compared to the others. Good to hear that the demon collecting seems to shape up nicely!

Nocturne last? 😮

Damn... That reminds me I actually need to go read that review of yours... Maybe'll that explain why you clearly have bad taste!!!

... Kidding of course!

But I do need to read it as I did kinda miss your review of it.

I've played the... Aeon Genesis (I think they're called?) Translations of 1 and 2 via SNES through totally legal means.

I got further through 2 from what I recall but I never finished either to be honest.

I missed strange journey thanks to being in the UK. The DS/3DS era of releases was not the best of time to be a Atlus fan if you didn't live in the US. I was much more against digital releases at the time which was why I never played SMT IV being Digital only in Europe and I never bothered with Apocalypse seeing as I didn't touch IV.

I played the devil summoner game that came out on 3DS though... But... I quickly got bored of it to be honest.

I actually would've got a Switch by now if it wasn't for... reasons that have not bore fruit.

I'm also very aware how unlikely it is to be ported over to PS4 (Though PLEASE give it to me Atlus) given how weirdly stubborn Atlus are and at times incredibly stupid they are like... WHY IS THERE NOW AN ULTIMAX PORT?!?! That'll saitiate the calls for Persona 5 on switch they'll ask about in ANOTHER survey they'll send out surely!

I can see SMT V making a jump to PC maybe... But that still means I won't get round to playing it -Sigh-

... Kinda completely off topic but I really hope Monster Rancher 1&2 DX isn't "stuck" on Switch and PC either as I REALLY wanna give that a shot. It looks fun and I ain't paying stupid money for a PS1 disc of Monster Rancher...

If I recall correctly you really liked MR2 right?

@Kidfried I also think Mario 3D World is the best Mario of the last ten years but I would probably go further than that. I'll probably lose my Super Mario Credibility badge for this, but I would actually rank 3D World as my third favourite 3D Mario game ever - only beaten by Galaxy and Galaxy 2.

I also don't like Breath of the Wild as much as most people but I do like it a lot. I just think it has way too many major problems to be as revered as it is.

Tropical Freeze though, I loved. I actually didn't play it until last year when I picked it up for Switch and I really, really like it. Although I probably could have had it one world shorter and I'd have been okay with that.

@Foxy-Goddess-Scotchy

Parent's evening... is that, like, a parent-teacher conference where you sit them down and talk about how their child is doing in school?

I never envied teachers having to do those, especially when it comes to the kids who aren't taking too well to an academic environment!

Yeah, despite the similarities to Nocturne (thematically, design-wise, and in terms of the lore), the marketing made it seem like it'd be more story-driven than that game, at least, and featured a heavy emphasis on the characters. Also doesn't help that the previous games both had a much heavier focus on character development.

Yeah, I... really hope they keep incorporating platforming elements and complex, open-air dungeons into future games. Maybe with a little more environmental diversity, though.

In most respects, SMT V feels like what I wish SMT III had been, though (aside from the elements Nocturne did better: plot and atmosphere).

Having played it more thoroughly, Nocturne has revealed itself to be a lot more obviously flawed than I initially realized. It's still a good game, but I think I'd probably say DDS1 is my favorite MegaTen game on PS2 at this point (with the sequel easily being the worst). I do explain all of my gripes in the review.

Have you played the HD Remaster on PS4 yet?

IMO if you decide to play the original again, go with the GBA version. It has the official Atlus localization patched into it, and the presentation has been touched up just enough that it's actually very enjoyable to play. I blitzed through it on my phone earlier in the year and had a great time.

Still stuck with the SNES version of II if you don't speak Japanese, though.

It was arguably a better time to be an Atlus fan in the US than the PS2 era, since they were so prolific. Sucks that European distribution of their games took so long to happen, though.

Aww, I love Soul Hackers. One thing I really dig about many of the 3DS SMTs (I guess this is technically a Saturn SMT, but whatever) is how so many of them have this amazing cyberpunk vibe to them.

I do need to go back and finish it someday.

I never expected P5 on Switch (Atlus is more stubborn than online portbeggers, so this was no surprise), but the fact that P4G HD never made it to PS4 genuinely mystifies me, considering how synonymous it is with the Playstation brand

Incidentally, the latest update to SMT V removes the PS4 configuration settings entirely, but considering I still have friends who swear Atlus is going to port P5R to Switch, I'm not expecting rumors to ever die down (unless they really do port it, I guess).

MR2 is one of my favorite PS1 games, yeah, and my favorite game in the series overall. Best assistant character, my favorite minigames, and a big step up over the original, which felt a little too rudimentary for my liking. I really, really like the simulation elements in the game as well.

And, of course, the disc gimmick is amazing. Choosing music tracks in the Switch version won't have the same charm, although I'll be glad to own a portable version of the game.

@Kidfried

That... is a take, I'll confess.

3D World was always a pretty good game, and the nasty reaction to it was mostly born from people seeing it as a replacement for a more ambitious sandbox style Mario game. I'm glad Nintendo re-released 3DW after Odyssey came out, since I think people are more able to easily appreciate its creativity now.

The way you feel about Tropical Freeze, I feel about DKC2. I'll never understand the acclaim it receives. Or most of that era's DKC games, if I'm being honest.

I do really love Retro's take on the property, though. Returns and TF are both awesome platformers.

@Kidfried 3D World’s alright but just not really my tastes. Even in the later levels, it just felt like I played it on autopilot. Nothing registering above a 7 in terms of enjoyment but a technically decent game. I love Sunshine though so I probably have the less popular opinion 😂

@nessisonett Sunshine is the best, you get the badge of approval.

@Octane To be fair, it’s mostly nostalgia talking. Sunshine has its problems but the vibe is great and I love the sandboxey feel over the more traditional point A to B levels from Galaxy.

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.