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5·3 days agoThere’s nothing on the list that I’m really looking forward to. I might try out the Super Mario Bros. Wonder update, but that’s it for first parties. This is mostly good news, it means I can go through my backlog and catch up!
That said, there’ll probably be a Direct in January/February to announce new games coming out in 2026 and maybe even some shadow drop…
Do you think Metroid Prime 4 is a good Metroid game?
Absolutely! It has its issues, but it’s still a good game.
I am still hoping for Prime 2 and 3 coming to Switch, but it’s looking doubtful now.
Me too! Now that they’re done with MP4, maybe they’ll get on to that. I assume it’d take less time than a Metroid Prime 5! But it’s not looking good…
As I said, I didn’t play a lot of Absolum. But the graphics are amazing, like SoR 4, and it feels like a beat 'em up with rogue(like|lite) elements. It doesn’t lean on it as much as Double Dragon Gaiden I think, but I need to play a bit more to have a proper opinion.
spoiler
I think most of the issues with the game are probably consequence of its long and convoluted development.
What on earth were they thinking? I truly wonder if they created the desert first and added the motocycle to make it less painful, or if they added the desert as an excuse for the motorcycle. It’s so bland that if it didn’t exist at all, it wouldn’t feel like anything is missing.
Driving the bike was fun, they did a good job with the controllers. But they didn’t use it in any interesting way! Even the enemies in the desert are not interesting at all. I wouldn’t mind if they kept the bike for future games, but using it in a more creative, fun way. The desert seems to be a clash between making it more “Breath of the Wild-y” and a Metroid game. They sort of acknowledged it was messy.
Now, for the other characters in the game: I kinda like them. They get annoying when they’re with you and comment on everything you do (the first guy in particular) but I have no problem with them existing in the game. What I hate is Samus’ general apathy towards them. No matter what happens, she just stares at them. I know developers are deathly afraid of making her talk at this point, but a word of affirmation every now and then would work wonders. I didn’t believe for a second that Samus cares at all about any of them false-sacrificing themselves in the Mines. Or for real at the end. If that even is the real ending, I feel like I got the bad ending for pushing the button, but I genuinely don’t care.
I thought the same with the characters. They’re just badly written, particularly the first guy “Jar Jar Binks”. But like you, I don’t think it’s bad that they’re in the game. And yeah, when Samus doesn’t even acknowledge or gesture back when people talk to her, it just feels awkward. They really got burnt with Other M I guess 😅
Happy New Year!
I finished the main story in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, I played a bit more after that to get some extra items and crystals (I copied the save file right before the point of no return, what a weird decision to do this with the completed save file). It’s a good game, but given the time it was in development and how long since the last one, it could never live up to the expectations. It’s still great and looks stunning, hopefully it’ll be the beginning of a new trilogy. It made me want to play Dread and finish Prime 2 on my Game Cube.
Speaking of GameCube, I recently got a rather good price on a copy of The Simpsons: Hit & Run. I had Road Rage, which I really enjoyed, so my Simpsons GameCube collection is now complete. It’s a very fun game, lots of dialogue from the original cast. I have a backlog for GameCube now on top of the Switch/Switch 2 backlog 😬
I have been playing and really enjoying Mortal Kombat: Legacy Kollection on Switch 2. I already went through all the documentary stuff, which I loved! And I’ve been playing the games. I think my favourite is still MK II because it’s the one I played the most back then on my SNES. But I’m starting to like UMK III more the more I play it. These games are so fun, can’t wait to play with more people and laugh trying to pull off Fatalities and such.
I got Absolum for the Switch. I’ve only played a little bit so far, but it’s really good. Also a game I’ll really enjoy playing co-op soon.
Some gameplay, finally: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIy3PwqGYOs
I had a ton of fun with this game and it left me wanting more
I haven’t finished it yet, but I had the thought while playing that it’ll be cool to see what they do on Metroid Prime 5 (if it ever comes out). It still feels like Metroid Prime in essence, and the flaws are not that big. I thought the bike was a cool addittion, they just didn’t make it too interesting (at least not yet for me). The tutorial for the bike felt so disconnected, why am I playing F-Zero in Metroid now? And the desert is kind of monotonous. But there’s some potential! And great that they’re trying new stuff.
Most of the original people who worked on the initial trilogy are probably gone from Retro. My understanding is Prime Remastered was a way to get the new folks on the team up to date with development for Prime 4. So now that they have the talent and skill, a new title would hopefully take less than 8 years, and they could build up on what the did for Prime 4 and learn from the feedback. Just wishful thinking! (And please, don’t make another Jar Jar Binks type NPC for the next one).
The 8bit games were known for being difficult and sometimes frustrating. The Legacy Collection on Switch has a rewind feature to help with the hard parts.
My favourite Mega Man ever is the first Mega Man X, originally for the Super Nintendo. It built up on everything that came in the 8bit era and is easier to handle/more forgiving. I’d recommend that one as a start, I love it and still play it every now and then. The first stage is a master piece in design, teaching you how to play as you go.
Yeah, an official Capcom press release called it the 12th entry in the main series, so they’re not shying away from that. But it’s interesting to see. The graphics still look pretty similar to the style of Mega Man 11.
Definitely worth a try. I saw this review which you might find helpful!
I’ve been playing it on and off on my Game Cube. It definitely holds up and it’s fun! The stages have fixed camera with 3D platforming and some puzzles. The game mechanics are entertaining and it’s fun to hear Wario’s voice during the game. I really like Wario as a character since the Game Boy times and I’d love to see him return to these World/Land games, see what they could make these days with the character.
Yeah, I’ve been looking all over for a trailer or some gameplay footage, but I can’t find anything.
There were some interesting moments in the story, specially near the end, something I never thought I’ll say about a Warriors game.
That’s one of the things I’ve liked most about the Hyrule Warriors games. They do a better job at storytelling than Nintendo for sure. And it’s great on Age of Imprisonment too!
I played 100% of the content in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment, including the new content from the latest update and all the upgrades for every character. The only thing I’m missing for 100% completion is the Aside Quests (e.g. Kill 100 lizalfos with x character). If you finish them all for a given character, they give you an extra conversation with them. It’s a lot, and I think I’d need a lot more hours of replaying the same missions to finish them.
I’ll probably go back to replaying it for a few missions every now and then, but I’m not going to focus on 100%ing it. I had the chance to play it co-op last weekend, and it was really fun, so I might go back to doing that too. If they release some DLC in the future, I might get it. It’s been a really fun game which I’ll definitely replay in the future, and it’s mostly ruined the previous two games with how good it looks and plays.
I got Metroid Prime 4 delivered a few minutes ago. I’ve only put the cartridge into the Switch 2 to download the updates, but I haven’t opened the game yet. That’ll be what I’ll be playing tonight and probably most of the rest of the weekend 😬
I pre-ordered it from the official Nintendo store, but it didn’t arrive today. I’m done with Hyrule Warriors, so my body is ready for Metroid. Hopefully I’ll get it tomorrow in time for the weekend 🤞
More reviews:
IGN - https://www.ign.com/articles/metroid-prime-4-beyond-review
Famitsu - 8/9/7/8 [32/40] https://www.gematsu.com/2025/12/famitsu-review-scores-issue-1926
Eurogamer - https://www.eurogamer.net/metroid-prime-4-beyond-review
Bioshock is unfinished business for me! I remember seeing the first one at a friend’s house back in the day and playing a bit. I loved it at the time. I then got the collection on Steam for cheap, maybe on a Humble Bundle. I played very little of the first one (remasterd) but never gave it enough time to get to the exciting parts. And I think I tried a bit of Infinite. I just don’t play games on Steam that much, since the computer is at my desk where I also work, and I’d rather be gaming on the couch with my Switch. But anyway, I am constantly thinking I should get back into those games every time I see them mentioned!
I finished the main story in Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. The content update couldn’t have come at a better time! I was still doing some post-game content anyway. I think I’m mostly done with actual new content, so I’m replaying some missions to try and get the Aside Quests and any materials for side quests that I’m missing. As with the main games in the series, it’s a pain to find all the Korok seeds, but at least now I got a thing where I can see their location on the map. And I need a few of those as materials for some quests. I think I’ll definitely go for 100% if I can make it before Metroid Prime 4 arrives next week! Although this is the kind of game that’s been fun to come back to after a while and play a few missions.
It’s a long weekend for me, so hopefully I’ll have more time for gaming. I’ll probably get back to some Nintendo 64 games on the Analogue 3D!
I am definitely not going for 100% in Calamity now, but I might for Imprisonment. I’m done with the main story and the post-game content still has me hooked! So no Nintendo 64 games for me yet, there’s only Hyrule Warriors…
I’m still playing Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment. I’ve been doing a lot of the side missions and it’s really fun to play with different characters and their specific weapons and abilities. I also played some Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. At some point I considered 100%ing it, but after playing the new one on Switch 2, I don’t think that’ll happen 😅
I also got the Analogue 3D delivered this week, and I’ve been going through my Nintendo 64 games. I have my original cartridges from back in the day, and after I pre-ordered it (it’s been 84 years…) I got some more games off eBay. It’s amazing! I was holding off on seeing any reviews and the main negative stuff I’ve seen is very specific stuff about the image (which my basic brain doesn’t care about) and lack of compatibility with flash carts. Also some controllers like the official Nintendo Online 64 (Nintendo 64 Online?) don’t work yet. I have my original controllers and I don’t own a flashcart, but I’m sure these things can be fixed in a future firmware update.
My original save file for Super Mario 64 is only 6 stars away from 120. So that might be a weekend project!
It’s possible that Nintendo doesn’t allow it
Sounds unreasonable, so it’s probaby true 😅
Pokopia looked interesting, but it’s a game key card, so I’m definitely not going to consider it. Yoshi looks really cool, I might consider it if the reviews are really good. But I haven’t really played/enjoyed much of the Yoshi games since the SNES.