Getting close to finishing Mario RPG, what a brilliant funny little game. It's mostly easy bordering on too easy but has a few challenging moments fortunately to keep it interesting. Dialogues are something else. 
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In the latest episode of the United Hour Podcast, Nik and Imran hold a long overdue conversation about United's awful league form with 1 win in 7. They discuss a disappointing draw at Bournemouth, a not so disappointing draw against Liverpool and a crushing defeat at Chelsea - Is time nearly over for Erik Ten Hag?
Then in a special second half of the pod, Nik welcomes Natalie ( https://twitter.com/natalie_17) to discuss the fortunes of Manchester United Women as they booked a place in the FA Cup Final after a historic first ever win vs. Chelsea.
Really cool game. The Castlevania dlc is well worth getting too.
Loving Mario Wonder. I'm hoping the difficulty spikes up though as it's currently way too easy and I want it to last long.
If you are trying to grab all wonders it becomes more difficult as you progress, and the special world is just plain brutal. Took me 25 hours to get to the final level which I was not able to complete. Absolutely loved the game though and will definitely finish it again.
I am making this year pretty much a Switch only year, catching up on all the games I bought the last two years and haven’t completed yet (including virtually all Nintendo made games that scored above 80/100). Currently re-playing SM3D which I originally finished on Wii U 10 years ago and having an absolute blast, what a wonderful game. Bowser’s Fury which I never played is supposed to be even better.
LM3, DK: Tropical Freeze and Pikmin 4 are next in line, and so many 3DS games to catch up on, not to mention NSO library games which I want to play. My current library should easily last until Switch 2 is released (my bet is September/October) along with hopefully new 3D Mario.
These games are just so much more fun to me these days than narrative driven AAA titles which feel like a chore sometimes.
Any news on when the next gen console will be revealed? I see that the Switch is 7 years old which feels like a long time in terms of the normal lifespan of a console
Nothing confirmed but heavily rumoured to be coming out in late Q3/Q4
if that’s the case expect announcement in March
Ok cool any interesting rumours? I'm tempted to buy a switch but if a new console is coming soon I'd prefer to wait.
Might be a 2 screen device but could be speculation
It will almost certainly come out this year, judging by Nintendo's relative lack of announced Switch games beyond Summer, and it will more than likely just be a more powerful, backwards compatible Switch which is all it really needs to be.
Also I'd say a new 3D Mario game will be one of the launch titles and it'll be incredibly amazing.
Also I'd say a new 3D Mario game will be one of the launch titles and it'll be incredibly amazing.
Going back to current generation, I recently bought Octopath Traveler 2 on sale and intend to start playing soon. How accessible is it for someone who hasn't really played many jRPG (but loved Persona 4)? Seems like it has incredible graphical style, awesome locations and I do like the idea of having 8 simple(ish) stories to follow rather than one convoluted 80-hour journey.
Metroid 4 maybe as well?
My money is on a fully fledged remake of OoT. Nintendo have been sitting on that for a while since remastering Skyward Sword and Link's Awakening
I'd expect Wind Waker / Twilight Princess remakes first. But they need a new game and 3D Mario would be a system seller.
I expect it to come out within the first year of the console's life cycle but not at launch. A bit like Mario Odyssey came out six months after Switch released as they had BOTW to compliment it before. Metroid is also a less popular franchise so they can phase it to later. It'd probably be like Switch and Mario coming out September/October and then Metroid hitting the shelves in March.
They've been so good at releasing games at the right time during Switch era that I fully trust them with it. When you look at first party games they've put out for Switch it's nothing short of amazing, there seems to be a true banger every quarter and even in 'quiet' quarters they still do get some cool titles out or just release remakes.
Finally finished Mario Wonder. The end section (invisible bit) of the final final test was beyond frustrating but overall it was a great game.
I always thought the 'Switch 2' (just going to call it that until we hear more) would be announced mid-to-late March, with a release in late September/early October. For what it's worth I think this was the case, but a lot of outlets are starting to report that there have been internal delays, probably on the production side, so the console now most likely won't release until March 2025. It will still release in the next financial year, but we will probably hear of Nintendo's expected hardware sales for that financial year by May this year - if they are well South of 20million then I think that's a clear indication that these rumoured delays are true. The original plan was to produce 10million units to sell through October - March, which coupled with what we should expect the current Switch to do (still 10million+ IMO) would mean Nintendo's target would be over 20million 'consoles' sold in Financial year April 2024-March 2025. If the Switch 2 is delayed until March, you'd have to assume they would probably only be able to hit 2-5million Switch 2 consoles sold in that first few weeks (lets say it was on shelves for 3 weeks of the next FY) and be heavily relying on the current Switch to make up the bulk of sales. Current Switch will still hit 15million+ in the FY we're in now which is insane for a machine that is practically 7-years-old. It will decline again of course, but considering it is now even more likely to be the only Nintendo machine on shelves for almost another year, I think 12million might be a realistic target (hitting 152million~ by April 2025). I'm struggling to see it not overtaking the DS and PS2 now.
This probably changes plans for a few games - I think the next 3D Mario game will be a Switch 2 exclusive so it'll be interesting to see what the 'big' game is for this holiday. I think Metroid Prime 4 is going to be a dual release, so will most likely release a couple of weeks either side of the Switch 2 if not on the same day/week. I'm sure a Pokemon game will release between October-March which will aid software sales and potentially prop up hardware sales for the next FY - this will be a current Switch game but may receive a patch to have updated performance on Switch 2. We will see some more remakes, definitely a Zelda game and maybe a remake of an old Fire Emblem game releasing this calendar year as well.
This probably changes plans for a few games - I think the next 3D Mario game will be a Switch 2 exclusive so it'll be interesting to see what the 'big' game is for this holiday. I think Metroid Prime 4 is going to be a dual release, so will most likely release a couple of weeks either side of the Switch 2 if not on the same day/week. I'm sure a Pokemon game will release between October-March which will aid software sales and potentially prop up hardware sales for the next FY - this will be a current Switch game but may receive a patch to have updated performance on Switch 2. We will see some more remakes, definitely a Zelda game and maybe a remake of an old Fire Emblem game releasing this calendar year as well.
I was initially a bit disappointed with the delay but end of the day it's only going to be another 5-6 months of waiting and they will probably release a few more Switch games in the meantime. I still have a very significant backlog which I'm only catching up on, having been pretty much Switch only for more than a year now, so I won't complain about lack of new console. The only thing I'm really looking forward to is potentially having an NBA 2K game in 60 FPS on next generation.
Finished Super Mario 3D World core game again, having initially completed it on Wii U some 10 years ago. Still a brilliant game, I think I actually find it more enjoyable than Odyssey in some ways - definitely works far better as pick up and play. Now off to finish post-game worlds, and then play Bowser's Fury which I never tried. The next one on my list are Donkey Kong and Pikmin 4, after which I'm probably going back to Tears of the Kingdom to finish it, then Advance Wars 2, Luigi's Mansion 3 and Fire Emblem (either Engage or Three Houses). By the time I'm done it will probably make sense to re-play Wonder, try Metroid Dread again and in the meantime there are so many third party titles I'm yet to complete, and I've recently cleaned dust off of my 3DS.... Yeah I'll be fine for another year.
Finished Super Mario 3D World core game again, having initially completed it on Wii U some 10 years ago. Still a brilliant game, I think I actually find it more enjoyable than Odyssey in some ways - definitely works far better as pick up and play. Now off to finish post-game worlds, and then play Bowser's Fury which I never tried. The next one on my list are Donkey Kong and Pikmin 4, after which I'm probably going back to Tears of the Kingdom to finish it, then Advance Wars 2, Luigi's Mansion 3 and Fire Emblem (either Engage or Three Houses). By the time I'm done it will probably make sense to re-play Wonder, try Metroid Dread again and in the meantime there are so many third party titles I'm yet to complete, and I've recently cleaned dust off of my 3DS.... Yeah I'll be fine for another year.
Lots of games to get on with for you!
However, I am quite apprehensive to go back and replay anything on the current Switch because I really think a significant amount of that first year of Switch 2 could be staggered release of enhanced versions / performance updates of some of the bigger and better selling Switch games along with cross-gen games. Anything on that list of 60+ games that have sold over 1million copies is fair game IMO, but I'd probably lean towards:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Animal Crossing New Horizons
Zelda Breath of the Wild
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
Super Mario Odyssey
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Luigi's Mansion 3
Splatoon 3
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Pikmin 4
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Along with anything released in the last year or so realistically and all games going forward.
Being the most likely to see updated versions for Switch 2. Whether it's free updates, entirely new downloadable/boxed game releases, or paid upgrades like we've seen on other platforms, or a mixture of all of these things is to be seen. I just think they'll be something... And it would be enough of a reason for me to play Pokemon Scarlet I think.
Third parties will probably be given freedom to take their own approach. I think they'd want to re-sell the game more often than not.
I’ve bought (too) many games over the years, a New Year’s resolution for this year was to not buy any new games (technically I have a 3 game allowance which I haven’t tapped into yet) and just play what I already own. I am finding Switch/Nintendo games perfect for my current lifestyle and taste, just cannot get into any storyline heavy games anymore and they are usually very, very light in that aspect (save for Fire Emblem which I play for gameplay anyway, and stop really caring about it’s ridiculous story after a couple of hours).Lots of games to get on with for you!
However, I am quite apprehensive to go back and replay anything on the current Switch because I really think a significant amount of that first year of Switch 2 could be staggered release of enhanced versions / performance updates of some of the bigger and better selling Switch games along with cross-gen games. Anything on that list of 60+ games that have sold over 1million copies is fair game IMO, but I'd probably lean towards:
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Animal Crossing New Horizons
Zelda Breath of the Wild
Zelda Tears of the Kingdom
Super Mario Odyssey
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Pokemon Legends Arceus
Luigi's Mansion 3
Splatoon 3
Super Mario Bros. Wonder
Kirby and the Forgotten Land
Pikmin 4
Xenoblade Chronicles 3
Along with anything released in the last year or so realistically and all games going forward.
Being the most likely to see updated versions for Switch 2. Whether it's free updates, entirely new downloadable/boxed game releases, or paid upgrades like we've seen on other platforms, or a mixture of all of these things is to be seen. I just think they'll be something... And it would be enough of a reason for me to play Pokemon Scarlet I think.
Third parties will probably be given freedom to take their own approach. I think they'd want to re-sell the game more often than not.
Also I approach them differently these days, Mario games I used to just finish and be done with it and now I’m after every star/seed and as close to 100% completion as possible (without really getting to 100% as that’s overkill). Same with Zelda, I got maybe 40 shrines in BOTW but 120+ in TOTK.
Links Awakening is another one I need to play.
Yeah, that's actually a similar position to me a few years ago. Since I got the Switch I have bought less games but got more time out of them as well. On the 3DS and Wii U in particular, I was buying practically every first party Nintendo release, on release (somewhat more understandable on Wii U due to lack of games, even though quite a lot of the ones that came out were good).
Last year, I actually only bought Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for Switch in the end and that was more for my partner and her Zelda collection - I got the collector's edition as we have quite a substantial amount of interesting / rare Zelda items. I spent most of my gaming time on Monster Hunter: Rise and Pokemon Violet and went back to play some more Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered with friends. I've also been playing Paper Mario 64 on NSO in preparation for The Thousand-Year Door remake which I think is going to be the next game I purchase depending on when we get its released announced (I think it will come between March & May).
The only games I'm a bit gutted I have not played yet are Mario Wonder & Mario RPG - I think these are games I could eventually buy as I doubt they will take too long to finish the main story and I can decide later if I want to go for 100%. It will just depend on what else is announced over the next few weeks/months. The only other game announced so far that is a day one purchase for me is Fantasy Life on 10th October, mostly because I will be playing through that with three of my best mates who I have played through Monster Hunter & Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles with.
I thought the Partner Showcase was good yesterday! Not much for me personally bar Fantasy Life, but I could see myself trying out Monster Hunter Stories as I skipped it on the 3DS and didn't buy the second one due to not having played the first. But again, I will make the decision on those later as I'm sure there will be a Pokemon game of some kind as Nintendo's big holiday game announced next week.
My launch switch is a bit fecked now which is probably to be expected given how old it is and it’s been carted around with me, and I’m travelling a lot at the moment and want to play but who knows when the new one will be out. No idea whether to punt for an OLED one or not
Fully expect the Switch successor to release in about a year's time at most, so I guess it depends on if you'd be expecting to purchase that on release or wait a few years into that generation before you do?
Purely speculation, but I do think a lot of franchises will start to shift their new games onto the next console now. Metroid Prime 4 is probably going to be the last new first party Nintendo game that releases on the current iteration of the Switch. However, I do think we will continue to see a lot of remakes/remasters of GameCube/Wii/3DS games on Switch for the next two years that will release as more cross-gen games (releasing on both Switch and whatever the new console is called).