SwitchVogel

@LEGEND_MARIOID I would be absolutely shocked if there isn't a Switch 2 port or patch sitting on the shelf behind the scenes. There's no way Gust would want to miss the hype of being one of the first RPGs on the new hardware, especially given how well the series has done so far on Switch.

@-wc- Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you shared! You're right on; I've never played the original and can't speak to how this one differs, if at all. That doesn't mean that my opinion is any less valuable here, as it's just as important that reviews capture the experience of newcomers as well as series veterans.

Ultimately, a reviewer can share nothing less or more than their own personal experience, which is why I'd encourage you to read multiple reviews before deciding on a game purchase. My opinion is no more definitive than anyone else's, and I don't think it's helpful to rely too heavily on any one person's or site's perspective, including this one.

Given that you took the time to share your criticism, you obviously care quite a bit about the content of our reviews here, which makes me curious, what do you feel our reviews consistently lack? And what are some ways that you think we could improve on them?

Just in, Nintendo's response to this headline: "No. ❤️"

@Lightsiyd Just realized I never replied to this! Target appears to be 30 FPS, and though it stutters every now and then, it's never enough to negatively affect the gameplay. I think there's a performance patch coming soon, too.

@TomSupreme I've actually never played them all myself, but I still enjoyed this game and its predecessor quite a bit even given my limited experience with all of Trails. I think you're good to play both of these as your entry point, but like any game in this series, your experience will naturally be enhanced the more you understand the full context of all the plotlines.

@nessisonett Falcom created a new engine for all their games that debuted with the first Daybreak, same one was later used for Ys X. It runs much better than their earlier releases!

@Nf157 @Warioware Apologies, forgot to reply to these last week! I found the default text size to be perfectly readable (this is on a Switch OLED), but if you still think you may struggle, there's a "Large" option in the settings menu that blows things up a bit more.

@rta Haha, fair enough! I find that's the best way to indicate the 'meat' of a game, as most games typically iterate on a relatively simple loop with a high volume of diverse content (i.e. a 2D Mario game is always about running to the goal and overcoming obstacles so you can move on to the next, it's simply the layouts, enemies, gimmicks, and powerups that change in each level).

It is a bit 'academic' of a term, but I'm curious what you would prefer in its place. Is there another phrase that refers to this concept that you would find more appealing?

@PluckyRicky Haha, I said what I said! It personally grew on me a bit more as I played it after posting the review, but I still stand by the score I gave it.

@Yodalovesu With a few exceptions (Alien Isolation comes to mind) the Switch version is obviously always the 'inferior' version because you're making that trade for portability. However, I'd say that over these last few years, more games have been undershooting even those lower expectations for performance, and I personally think that's something that prospective buyers should know when reading a review.

It's not about asking if the Switch version is the best of them all, but whether the Switch port itself is good enough to even justify its own existence. For this game, I'd say it barely clears that bar.

Y'all are out of your minds voting so much for the Lite; the original DSi is without a doubt the best design out of the DS family.

@Markatron84 I believe it is! They definitely re-recorded the OST for this one, I really appreciated the music here.

Lol FPG sounds so butthurt in that statement. Their 3+ year backlog of unfulfilled orders suggests to me that they seem to be more interested in spending all their customers' money on fruitless legal attacks on their partners than on delivering the goods they promised.

I'd say it's nothing more than a publicity stunt to get them in the gaming news for something before the Switch 2. Giving all these people access to something secret and then telling them they can't talk about it only serves to create even more intrigue and curiosity.

@MindfulGamer Unfortunately, this was the game that came after they did an engine overhaul, and the cost of making that new engine nearly bankrupted the company, so I wouldn't expect any Falcom games to look much better anytime soon.

In defense of the company, I'd say this is the prime example of an 'AA' game. Falcom isn't quite indie, but it has nowhere near the resources and funds that a company like Atlus or Square Enix can throw at a project. Naturally, this means that they simply can't match the graphics and production quality of bigger studios, but I don't think that means they can't compete. Ys is seen by many as one of the best examples of an action RPG, and I think it's commendable that Falcom has built the series to what it is today.

@somnambulance Yes-ish. The controls feel great. Combat definitely adds a lot to the gameplay loop and it can actually be pretty tough with the relatively thin margins for error.

I wouldn't say that the gameplay is a slog here, but it also clearly isn't the primary focus of the experience. I never actually played Gris myself, so I can't say how much better or worse this plays in comparison, but I was never bored or hoping that the combat or platforming sections would wrap it up soon. Again, it's an incredibly well-paced game--challenging without being punishing and simple without being too basic.

Buying Monolith has got to be one of the best decisions Nintendo made in the last couple decades. They've been insanely prolific, double as a support studio, and never let their quality dip as they scaled up more. Really excited to see why they've been working on lately!

@canaryfarmer I honestly don't remember, that's almost the very first thing you do in this game. Something that egregious would've stuck out pretty quick to me though, so I think they patched it.

"Say fellas, did someone mention the Door to Darkness?"

@glennthefrog I disagree with the kaizo statement. I beat the first game 100% and only the final secret world had levels that were extra challenging, and even then, they weren't kaizo level.

@RupeeClock I noticed very minor dips here and there, but nothing to the extent or frequency of what I saw in the original. I think they had time to optimize the engine more this time around.

SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE US DOLLARS. At that price, I think Sony just sold more units of the Switch 2 than it'll ever sell of the PS5 Pro.

@Teksetter Apologies, I forgot to reply to this! Yes, there is dual audio and the voice acting is overall solid--it has really crisp quality and all the actors do great in their roles, though I'm personally not a huge fan of the hammy 'anime' kind of thing they tend to go for. This is actually my first game in the series, so I can't speak to how it remixes any old tracks. The music was just kind of 'there' for me, but it felt quite thematically consistent. Lots of rock and pop elements here, though nothing that really jumped out to me.

I still find it hard to believe that they canned the remake of 3 and 4 after the first remake did so well. Here's to hoping they bring them back!

@Truegamer79 I agree, but the reality is this is a $20 game being sold on a market with no shortage of alternatives that offer very similar experiences, often for even cheaper than $20. I think it's still worth the punt, but I also wouldn't fault someone for looking at something like Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and deciding this isn't worth their money as much as that. But luckily, we're not forced to ultimately decide between games--as long as they have the money and time, someone can just get both!

@rjejr If I recall, it's about 10-20 hours depending on how much you wanna collect. Doesn't overstay it's welcome, but it certainly feels complete.

@Thomystic Thanks! 😄 I've for sure got everyone beat here on NL, but Sammy B. over at Push Square actually holds the top spot — he's got over 800! Lol I'm gonna catch him one of these days though, he had about a five year headstart on me.

@SillyG I'd say about 5 hours, depending on how quickly you solve some of the puzzles. Replayability is pretty low, too, it's for sure a one and done kind of game.

@ozwally I agree with this. I think Splatoon 3 was their best one yet, but I don't know if I'd buy a Splatoon 4 unless there are some big changes or additions. I only spent about half as much time in 3 as I did in 2.

@ozwally The negative reaction among fans to this one always came off to me as needless whining. Heaven forbid the developers try something new for a new game. Not to mention the fact that the PC version of the original has quite a lively mod scene, there are at least a few sequels worth of fresh and great content to try there if they still want more of the same after beating it.

@brakeman90 Never played the original on Switch, but I had no problem with the text size on this one.

@MeloMan Resident Evil sIXteen, an emotional, coming-of-age story about a girl learning to navigate the ups and downs of high school after her father died during the last zombie outbreak

That is crazy news, next you're gonna tell me Nintendo is working on another 3D Zelda.

If I remember right, this has now been in development for longer than Duke Nukem Forever. I'll believe it when I see it.

@DripDropCop146 Second only to the tragedy of Yoshi, whose whereabouts are still unknown due to being on the run for tax evasion after refusing to pay property tax on the island he owns.

So nothing surprising then. I'm for sure interested in this, but full price for what ultimately amounts to an HD remaster is a bit much for me. Maybe on sale sometime after Switch 2 is out.

@Solomon_Rambling Run length may depend on your disposition, mine were generally an hour and a half to two hours. I tend to rinse every floor for all events and combat encounters though, I think you could probably do it in 45 minutes if you focused more on rushing right for the boss of each floor.

@AndrasLOHF No, the only thing that carries over are a few demons from your stock in the original game.

This game deserves way more attention, feels like it flew under the radar for most people. Love the mechanics here, and there's so much personality in the art. It's honestly one of my favorite deckbuilders on Switch!

@Axecon Lol nope, Atlus gonna Atlus. You have to buy the whole game again if you want to play any of the new content.

@SBandy1 Feel free to disagree! Personally I really dig the art style of this game--I think the new HD demon designs look excellent, they're just let down by the resolution issues.

@WiiWareWave No, we don't have the resources to re-review games, so the score and text will remain unchanged aside from that note at the top that there has been some additional work done via patches. To keep up with the current state, I'd recommend connecting to the game's community via their subreddit or discord to see where things are at now.

@Solomon_Rambling

@Zaruboggan They added that around S6 or 7 I think. Up to four players at once, everyone has an assigned color and they track how many tiles each person has filled. The person with the most 'wins' that puzzle, but you're all working together to solve it.

@Solomon_Rambling Totally agree, I think their decision to go open world with the last few entries was a little too much. The crafting systems felt super tacked on and the plot only made sense if you've been following the anime.

@Solomon_Rambling Lunistice is definitely towards the top of my list for these old school 3D platformers! One I'd recommend that I don't see talked about too much is Mail Mole. It was a student project from some Spanish game design students that they later fleshed out into a whole game--pretty short and simple overall, but I really enjoyed the aesthetics and the digging mechanic. The devs later did Koa and the Five Pirates of Mara, which was really a spiritual sequel, but I think Mail Mole was the slightly better game of the two.

@Fizza @Sisilly_G Haha, I'll have you know that I did ask about doing a mini review when it came out! Just wasn't in the cards, I guess. On a personal note, I'm seriously shocked that entry didn't receive an 'M' rating; the incredible violence in the flashback cutscenes and the first person shooter segments was way too over the top, even for a Nintendo game.

Pet theory: The rumors about a new DK game coming out are true. It's announcement timeline was also delayed when they pushed back the new Switch hardware reveal and they want the opening of the new section of the park to line up better with all the info coming out soon.

@ShingoTamaiX No drops that I saw, all 60 FPS.

@arabiansanchez This is my thought, too. A big pool of testers would probably make it harder to prevent or track a leak if one happened--they're cleaning house so they can limit who sees what Switch 2 games and when.

Lol this was me being caught playing my GBA under the covers at night when I was a kid