I had very similar reactions to each of the games here and your thoughts on each were enjoyable to read. Thanks for posting!
I have to say I'm shocked Twilight Princess and Wind Waker never ended up on Switch; I'm fine playing them on original hardware but this is bad news for non-retro gamers, both HD remasters are quite expensive and more importantly: trapped on the Wii-U.
Yeah I feel like Nintendo has left money on the table by not porting those two to the Switch. Maybe they still will before the console's day is done, but the final Switch direct would have been a perfect showcase for them.
My wife got way too excited for PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY, Nintendo doing a daily app thing is the most Nintendo way to end things also. And they know we'll all download it cause they will just drop huge things there out of the blue for reasons only Nintendo knows.
Whoa! I think this was a fantastic direct. More Metroid Prime 4 and a marvel beat em up! It was nice to only see 1 farming game. (typically directs have a million) We were blessed with 3 rhythm based games, Patapon, Rift of the Necrodancer, and a NEW Rhythm Heaven game got me hype. We are handing things off to the Switch 2 gracefully. :)
The Marvel beat em up does look nice, hard agree. Metroid Prime 4 looks good too, I just wish there was a little something more there. Not sure what...
Thanks for the rundown. I don't disagree too much with any of your takes. At first it looked like this was going to be a JRPG remake / visual novel Direct.
Shadow Labyrinth is a bizarre concept but my guess is that this one and Goldman are the ones I'm most likely to personally enjoy. Which is to say, I really like my 2D Metroidvanias and both of these seem promising and unique. Not as big on 3D Metroidvanias, so I was never really hyped for Prime 4 and don't expect I'll ever shell out $60 for it unless I'm hearing that it blows all prior Primes out of the water.
Not sure if you played the earlier Necrodancer games (including the Zelda one). I enjoyed them thoroughly, highly recommend. They also have co-op. But this guitar-based one doesn't strike me as having the same appeal.
And yeah, Marvel Cosmic Invasion definitely looks cool, and I don't even like superheroes that much. But I do enjoy a beat-em-up with a large roster and highly differentiated characters. Did the classic X-Men arcade beat-em-up ever have a home port? Because I remember yearning for one, a long time ago.
The classic X-Men arcade did see a port to the 360/PS3 in the early 2010s, but I think there were some rights issues as it didn't last long on those consoles' stores.
Goldman definitely looks good. I hope Shadow Labyrinth is good, but it's hard for me to get behind a grimdark Pac-Man.
That's the thing, I don't wish ill will on most of these games, but man, do I clearly not have my finger on the pulse of what people enjoy today, at least when it comes to games.
Haven't played any of the Necrodancer games. They seem... interesting. Perhaps they feel better to play than the trailers make them look? Cause they look really jittery and visually confusing to me. But I imagine if you play them, you get into a solid groove?
I definitely didn't ask for grimdark Pac-Man. But if it ends up having some unique ideas that work out in practice, I could see myself buying in and going along for the ride.
I can definitely see how the Necrodancer games look weird if you haven't played them. But if you have any love in your heart for the individual components involved in them, then by all means give them a try. Careful tactical movement combined with rhythm and constant pressure. It's sort of like chess-boxing, which is also a sport I like in theory (though I've never played it).
The music is generally awesome, both the original tracks in the original and the Zelda remixes in the Zelda version.
The Zelda one is definitely easier and has more to offer for Zelda fans. The original has more of an old-school roguelike feel. I think it's probably the better game from a pure gameplay standpoint and I like the level of challenge better (even if it's excessively brutal at times), but, you know, no Zelda.
Definitely agree. I swear bro, expectations for these Directs have inflated to an insane degree. This Direct had some real bangers, new announcements, gameplay of upcoming games, and plenty to look forward to beyond the fact a new system is launching soon! It's totally fine that this Direct was just solid and not groundbreaking, it was never supposed to be.
I had very similar reactions to each of the games here and your thoughts on each were enjoyable to read. Thanks for posting!
I have to say I'm shocked Twilight Princess and Wind Waker never ended up on Switch; I'm fine playing them on original hardware but this is bad news for non-retro gamers, both HD remasters are quite expensive and more importantly: trapped on the Wii-U.
Thank you!
Yeah I feel like Nintendo has left money on the table by not porting those two to the Switch. Maybe they still will before the console's day is done, but the final Switch direct would have been a perfect showcase for them.
The decision not to do Metroid Prime 2 and 3 is baffling as well. I have a nagging feeling that will bite them in the ass.
My wife got way too excited for PATAPON 1+2 REPLAY, Nintendo doing a daily app thing is the most Nintendo way to end things also. And they know we'll all download it cause they will just drop huge things there out of the blue for reasons only Nintendo knows.
Patapon is a great game to be excited about!
Totally agree, just another way to get us loyal fans brainwashed even more so we can buy more "new and exciting Nintendo products."
Whoa! I think this was a fantastic direct. More Metroid Prime 4 and a marvel beat em up! It was nice to only see 1 farming game. (typically directs have a million) We were blessed with 3 rhythm based games, Patapon, Rift of the Necrodancer, and a NEW Rhythm Heaven game got me hype. We are handing things off to the Switch 2 gracefully. :)
The Marvel beat em up does look nice, hard agree. Metroid Prime 4 looks good too, I just wish there was a little something more there. Not sure what...
The new Rhythm Heaven should be awesome.
I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
Definitely most excited about the Marvel beat-em-up as it's developed by the same team that made Shredder's Revenge
Still haven't played Shredder's Revenge! Need to get on that...
Thanks for the rundown. I don't disagree too much with any of your takes. At first it looked like this was going to be a JRPG remake / visual novel Direct.
Shadow Labyrinth is a bizarre concept but my guess is that this one and Goldman are the ones I'm most likely to personally enjoy. Which is to say, I really like my 2D Metroidvanias and both of these seem promising and unique. Not as big on 3D Metroidvanias, so I was never really hyped for Prime 4 and don't expect I'll ever shell out $60 for it unless I'm hearing that it blows all prior Primes out of the water.
Not sure if you played the earlier Necrodancer games (including the Zelda one). I enjoyed them thoroughly, highly recommend. They also have co-op. But this guitar-based one doesn't strike me as having the same appeal.
And yeah, Marvel Cosmic Invasion definitely looks cool, and I don't even like superheroes that much. But I do enjoy a beat-em-up with a large roster and highly differentiated characters. Did the classic X-Men arcade beat-em-up ever have a home port? Because I remember yearning for one, a long time ago.
The classic X-Men arcade did see a port to the 360/PS3 in the early 2010s, but I think there were some rights issues as it didn't last long on those consoles' stores.
Goldman definitely looks good. I hope Shadow Labyrinth is good, but it's hard for me to get behind a grimdark Pac-Man.
That's the thing, I don't wish ill will on most of these games, but man, do I clearly not have my finger on the pulse of what people enjoy today, at least when it comes to games.
Haven't played any of the Necrodancer games. They seem... interesting. Perhaps they feel better to play than the trailers make them look? Cause they look really jittery and visually confusing to me. But I imagine if you play them, you get into a solid groove?
I definitely didn't ask for grimdark Pac-Man. But if it ends up having some unique ideas that work out in practice, I could see myself buying in and going along for the ride.
I can definitely see how the Necrodancer games look weird if you haven't played them. But if you have any love in your heart for the individual components involved in them, then by all means give them a try. Careful tactical movement combined with rhythm and constant pressure. It's sort of like chess-boxing, which is also a sport I like in theory (though I've never played it).
The music is generally awesome, both the original tracks in the original and the Zelda remixes in the Zelda version.
The Zelda one is definitely easier and has more to offer for Zelda fans. The original has more of an old-school roguelike feel. I think it's probably the better game from a pure gameplay standpoint and I like the level of challenge better (even if it's excessively brutal at times), but, you know, no Zelda.
Definitely agree. I swear bro, expectations for these Directs have inflated to an insane degree. This Direct had some real bangers, new announcements, gameplay of upcoming games, and plenty to look forward to beyond the fact a new system is launching soon! It's totally fine that this Direct was just solid and not groundbreaking, it was never supposed to be.