General Nintendo Direct/Treehouse/Other Interweb Broadcast Thread

I thought that was a superb direct, where I only tuned out at the Octopath bit so aye lot's of great stuff.

Some of my highlights in no particular order:

Dark souls footage/network test and Solaire amiibo. Praise the

Okami HD - never beat this back on wii so up for giving it a try again on Switch.

No more Heroes: Travis strikes again - this looks very different from the first two but it still looks amazing!

Hyrule warriors is out on my birthday.

We going all in? Cool, for me, the must haves:

• Detective Pikachu. For the most part I'm done with 3DS, but I've been playing a fair bit of Pokemon on the train lately and I'll dabble on this and Phoenix Wright still.
  
• Okami Really hyped to play this the only way games should ever be played: on Switch
  
• Dark Souls That parry looked like a classic Dark Souls parry. They haven't fucked it, you get a Solaire Amiibo, both endings all over again and then a Onebro run? Don't mind if I do!
  
• No More Heroes Obviously
  
• South Park Never got around to playing either of these n XBox. I couldn't even tell you why. Hyped to have one on The Best Machine.
  
• Mario Tennis Looks like a quality Mario sports game. Hopefully this will get some play around these parts.
  

Then we had the SPLATOOOOON news, about which I am very hyped. Oh and Smash, although we still don't know much about it.

That Sushi thing still looks alright. Little Nightmares and Octopath look intriguing, not sure I'll get around to either of them though.

And lol, Crash Bandicoot is crap even when its not on the same machine as a Mario game.

Nut, Crash Bandicoot N.Sane Trilogy is great. I strongly recommend that you trade in Monster Hunter and get it bought. 👍

Seconding Cappa, there. Well, not the Monster Hunter getting traded-in part, natch.

I think it was the stretch of indie ports I've played or I'm not fussed about into the ARMS tournament stuff into Splatoon 2 news that had me fading away towards the end. Cool news, but not something that I'd be tuning in for if it was announced prior to the Direct.

I'm all over that Solaire amiibo though! I actually yelped when I saw it. Utterly pointless in that all it does is make you do the in-game emote, but I still want it.

As I always say, I buy amiibo for nice Nintendo figurines first, functionality second.

The ports were no issue for me as someone who doesn't play anything other than Switch. As for Splatoon, that's the only thing giving me life on this otherwise dismal Earth. Highlight of the Direct for me, to be honest.

Just remembered that the Direct didn't cover a lot of stuff that I'm already definitely getting, like Yoshi, Runbow and Street Fighter 30th Anniversary Collection. What a library of games that the Switch has. 👏

My personal highlights:

WarioWare Gold - I'd been hoping for WarioWare to make a return in some form for a long time, and here we are!

Okami HD - sad it's not retail but delighted overall that Switch fans are getting the game in some form.

Octopath Traveler - it's dropped its 'Project' but still looks gorgeous and fun.

TSA: No More Heroes - did I spot Benedict Cumberbatch as a boss?!

Dark Souls amiibo - how very Nintendo of you, Nintendo. I wonder how many such amiibi will be sold to people who never play the Switch version of the game?

Mario Tennis Aces - female commentator on International Women's Day. V. nice.

Undertale - it will be mine... eventually.

Smash 4.5/5 - even though my personal jury is still out on Smash, I'm feeling excited by that reveal. This is the version of the game that'll bring back individual Break The Targets stages and the silly awards at the end of a fight, I'm sure...

Going all in from the direct and the rest of the year on Switch:
3DS Stuff don't care, sorry

16/3 Kirby Star Allies, Got preordered already and will be just a fun game
27/4 Nintendo Labo, I'm going to give the variety pack a go
18/5 Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition, I own this twice already that I don't really need it but it's Zelda and I'm yet to play the Linkle story as the 3DS version ran like soup with chunky vegetables
8/6 Sushi Striker, I liked the look of it at E3 but it coming to 3DS would have meant it was unlikely to get but will now
13/6 Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Now this was budget on the Wii U that I'm hoping for the same and curious how it might play as it did use the gamepad rather well
22/6 Mario Tennis Aces, Looks great and the BETA should be fun to try out
13/7 Octopath Traveller, Great demo and one of my most anticipated Switch games and the summer is a great spot for it

Summer Splatoon 2 DLC, It looks good but maybe a tad pricey
2018 Super Smash Bros for Switch, More SMASH is always good
2018 Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, I wasn't overly keen but we saw 3 of 7 game modes and is a game that is more fun to play than look at
2018 Fire Emblem, Little surprised not to see it in the direct
2018 TWEWY, Never really played
2018 Yoshi, Be a lot like Kirby just a fun game but nothing special
2018 Pokemon, If it makes it to 2018

Even without ports of 3rd party games, that's still 9 games from the direct that I'll likely get (why so much in June though) and 13 in total without Nindies and any other announcements at E3 or in any other direct this year.

Japan did get shown 3 games we didn't - Phantasy Star Online 2 Cloud which is out April and I'm not sure even with the console being region free we will be able to play it, SaGa Scarlet Grace: Brilliant Red Ambition which is just 2018 and I feel this might come to the west, Taiko no Tatsujin: Nintendo Switch Version is out this Summer and I can't see us getting it meaning an expensive import with that drum.

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On Crash as someone that got Crash 2 and Crash 3 day one back on PS1, I didn't think it was all that the HD version it was fun for about 10 mins and it was like wow I'm playing Crash and then it was just okay after that. I do think it's unfair to compare to Mario as even though they're both 3D Platformers, they play really differently and Crash is sort of like a 2D Platformer but they've put the camera behind him.

I'm very curious how it will do on the other systems now as it was one of the best-selling games of 2017 and was sold in the UK for a good while but that #nostalgia is from the PS1 and be curious like how many have switched to the others but the Switch version does offer something different that I can see some double dipping.

mas wrote:

Even without ports of 3rd party games, that's still 9 games from the direct that I'll likely get (why so much in June though) and 13 in total without Nindies and any other announcements at E3 or in any other direct this year.

They had a decent line up last summer as well, didn't they? I think it's smart considering it's a time when most other companies don't release many games.

Yeah, I'd just like to have seen something alongside Labo in April as more of a core game but as I'll be playing God of War doesn't matter that much.

Zero wrote:

Okami HD - sad it's not retail but delighted overall that Switch fans are getting the game in some form.

Oh really? That is a bit of shame & hopefully the file size isn't stupidly big like LA Noire.

The_Jaster wrote:

Zero wrote:

Okami HD - sad it's not retail but delighted overall that Switch fans are getting the game in some form.

Oh really? That is a bit of shame & hopefully the file size isn't stupidly big like LA Noire.  

The announcer said it was going to be out on the eShop but didn’t mention retail. I don’t imagine it’ll be that big, but await details, as always.

Watched this last night and was pleasantly surprised. The Switch line-up has been supplemented well but it was the 3DS stuff that caught my eye. Luigi's Mansion, Bowser's Inside Story and Captain Toad were unexpected and to see Nintendo supporting the system until 2019 is good. They seem to have finally done away with the games built for the "New 3DS" and ensuring that the 2DS audience can play these games, which means I can get Luigi's Mansion for my eldest. She loved it on Cube but it's a bit of a faff setting up a GameCube game these days.

You're still currently playing it, GJones, according to your sig.

JayMoyles wrote:

I think it was the stretch of indie ports I've played or I'm not fussed about into the ARMS tournament stuff into Splatoon 2 news that had me fading away towards the end. Cool news, but not something that I'd be tuning in for if it was announced prior to the Direct.

This.  Before MTA, I was enjoying most of what they showed; after MTA, it just seemed to sag.  I'm not a Spla2n fan, but even if I were, I wouldn't want to see five minutes on the DLC, and the squid lab chap didn't say anything it wasn't easy to pick up from the trailer beforehand.  The pace fell off a cliff.  The rest was ports and an ARMS tourney.  Thankfully they rescued it again at the end.

I'm interested in (in order of decreasing interest) SSB5/4.5, Okami, MTA, Travis Strikes Again, Dark Souls, Octopath, Undertale which I'm primarily buying to show support (although I'll enjoy pacifisting (er) my way through it again)... and Detective Pikachu.  If I had a working 3DS I'd be all over that weirdness. As it is, time to put gentle pressure on The Lady...

Urgh, you're all wrong, I'm gonna go find a forum where people actually like Nintendo.

I see it like being a fan of a football club: you love them, intrinsically, from the bottom of your heart to the top... but that doesn’t stop yu grumbling about some of the decisions that are made. Like, why are Forest consistently playing only one person upfront? We’ve got enough strikers to be able to have two up top, but they consistently just put the slightly lightweight Ben Brereton, 18, on his own. That’s just asking for trouble...

I've talked about this before, but I think it's problematic to liken appreciation for a games company to a sports team. I support Nintendo because I like their games and the people who make those games. If Nintendo started putting out stinkers and being run by arseholes, I wouldn't keep arguing that they're actually good. I wouldn't buy crap games and force myself to play them even while better stuff was on xbox/ playstation.

It’s not a perfect analogy by any means, I agree. I just wanted to get across that I feel our criticisms come from a place of love for the company more than anything else.

Mine is ohh more old 3rd party ports but the funny thing is, when I was looking at a PC last year and went for One X instead that was based on me looking back at games of 2015, 2016 and at the time 2017 games where I only play about 8 to 10 3rd party games a year.

I can only play so much and I much sooner play the Nintendo and PlayStation exclusives plus indies as that's loads of games which are normally miles better as well.

I LOVED the direct & might have even done a wee dance of excitement at the Solaire amiibo and Splatoon 2 stuff.

As a Nintendo fanboy, and as someone who's switched his sporting allegiance, I think Zero's analogy is an excellent one.

Hypothesis: Solaire amiibo would have made Jas love the Direct regardless of anything else. My problem wasn't the Spla2n stuff (which looked genuinely grand for fans of the game), it was how long it went on for, when the initial trailer got all the worthy points across. Were you still dancing halfway through the Squid Research Lab bit?

Balladeer wrote:

Hypothesis: Solaire amiibo would have made Jas love the Direct regardless of anything else.

Not true at all, was it the stuff I was most excited for? Yes but I loved a lot of the others too. (NMH, Hyrule warriors, MTA etc.)

Balladeer wrote:

Were you still dancing halfway through the Squid Research Lab bit?

Maybe not dancing all they way through it but I don't think the pacing of the direct overall was as bad as you're making it seem, since you aren't a Splatoon fan it's normal to drop off and it not hold your interest (I done the same for the Octopath rpg bit) but for me that doesn't mean the pacing was poor or too long.

Plus I love the Squid research lab shtick as it reminds of all the quirky stuff Mr Iwata used to do.

I may have been exaggerating somewhat.

Perhaps, and JRPG segments do frequently go on for too long (I zoned out during Octopath a bit too). I think that, as the showing was coming up to the end, the Spla2n segment had to be tighter than the bits in the middle; and I swear they didn't say anything I hadn't already deduced from the trailer.

As for the Squid Research Lab... maybe it is just that I don't care for Splatoon, but it feels like a pale imitation of the Iwata bits. You know what was like that, that I really liked? The bit where your man Koizumi pretended to hit a ball into someone's face. It just felt like a really sweet moment.

To be fair, they could have reined in that Octopath section a bit. The release date was the big news there - anything else was surplus to requirements.