Ho ho ho! Welcome to this special festive edition of the Nintendo Life Mailbox. It’s December and at the time of reading we’re hopefully tucking into a hearty meal with the family, embarking on a festive board game or puzzle, or else we’re tucked up in front of the telly with a sherry and mince pie.
Either way, we’re relaxing for the holidays, so what better time to rifle through the Nintendo Life mailbag for festive treats in a special edition of our monthly letters page? What makes it ‘festive’, you ask? Beyond the opportunity to converse with our lovely NL family at this time of year? It’s the Christmas-y lead image. Dead giveaway, that.
Got something you want to get off your chest? We’re ready and waiting to read about your game-related ponderings. Each month we’ll highlight a Star Letter, the writer of which will receive a month’s subscription to our ad-free Supporter scheme. Check out the submission guidelines at the bottom of this page.
Let’s dive into the festive sack slung over our shoulder, shall we?
Nintendo Life Mailbox – December 2023
“old stuff” (***STAR LETTER***)
Hey NLife!
I wanted to talk about the amount of remakes/remasters we’ve been getting lately as I’ve seen a lot of people saying how they’re getting sick of how much old stuff is coming back compared to new experiences, particularly after the September Direct. And while I can see where they’re coming from, I’m having the time of my life in regards to it. I, like probably many others, missed out on a ton of iconic releases due to growing up around the DS/Wii era so being able to play stuff like Another Code, Apollo Justice and especially Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door (with modern conveniences at that) has me over the moon. Between that and 2023 being my ‘retro catchup’ year, I feel like rereleases of older titles should be welcomed with open arms instead of being dismissed without a second thought just because it isn’t a brand new thing.
Fizza
At this point in the lifecycle, first-party Switch remasters and remakes signal Nintendo putting smaller, less experienced teams on projects while the established departments knuckle down on sparkling new software for the next system. It would be nice to see more original ideas, certainly, but in a year when you get a brand-new Zelda, Mario, and Pikmin — excellent ones, at that — it’s tough to be too sore.
The next system is surely coming soon. Personally, while we wait, I’m absolutely content to suffer the slings and arrows of ‘old’ stuff like Metroid Prime Remastered and Super Mario RPG. – Ed.
“major shift”
Hello,
I have been gaming my whole life. Over the last 5 or so years, I’ve become a big fan of RPGs old and new, while shying away from things like shooters. However, I came across an old social media post of mine where I called RPGs boring and said I mostly played shooters (I was in college). Has anyone on the staff had a major shift in their preferred genre over time?
Kazman2007
I’ve never had a preferred genre — I tend to get bored with the same thing over and over. I love a good roguelike or Metroidvania, but I’d go mad if I played nothing else. Likewise, I can’t stand it when Netflix says, Hey, you watched a Christmas movie. Want to watch 30 others that range from ‘not-quite-as-good’ to ‘offensively awful’? Err, nope! Decency laws should be drafted to stop Best. Christmas. Ever! being thrust upon me because I watched Elf. And lord help you if you accidentally click and then it stays in your ‘Continue watching’ lineup, forever highlighting your error with its obnoxious chee—
Ahem. What say you, team? – Ed.
- “I’ve grown more fond of certain genres over time. Survival horror has always been the top dog, though. I used to avoid RPGs back when they were rigidly turn-based and had dumb timers and stuff. They’re much better at respecting the player’s time these days, so I enjoy them quite a bit.” – Ollie
- “I’ve always been too indecisive to settle on a ‘preferred genre’, but I never used to get on with strategy/tactics games and I now count them among my faves.” – Jim
- “I’ve always liked basically every genre – it’s more mechanics I’m a little picker with. It took a combination of Xenoblade, The Witcher 3, and Breath of the Wild for me to finally get open-world games and ‘huge environments'” – Alana
“Switch cycles”
Hey guys,
I’m just going through all my beautiful screenshots on the Switch and I wonder … how come there’s not an option that the Switch cycles through these screenshots like a screensaver thing. That would be so cool.
Do you mind help spread the word please.
Thanks, and keep up the great work!
Much love,
Yannick
This… is a great idea! I currently have *grabs and checks Switch* 10,306 images and videos in my Album. Most of them are shots of sunsets in BOTW, my Animal Crossing dude wearing Star Trek costumes, or that time when Katrina says ‘poo’. Who wouldn’t want to see those again with some Ken Burns thrown in? Get on it, Nintendo. – Ed.
“Best ____”
I love reading through your “Best ____ on Nintendo Systems” lists. Have you ever thought about maybe making some “Worst” lists to go with them?
Mike
It could be fun, but with so much negativity readily available online (in the gaming sphere and everywhere else) we try to foster a positive, club-like environment on NL. Obviously, we address the bad stuff as it comes up and don’t shy away from calling out rubbish or voicing negative opinions (seriously, everyone involved in Best. Christmas. Ever! should be thoroughly ashamed), but just highlighting the worst in lists where we point and laugh doesn’t jibe with our vibe. Something that might make for an entertaining chat down the pub can turn sour when it’s sitting online and people pile in. The collaborative nature of making video games means that many talented, hard-working people may well work on games that end up being total toilet for reasons beyond their control.
Or not — there are plenty of games that are willfully, cynically awful, but revelling in the swill isn’t something we’re interested in when we could be celebrating the good stuff. – Ed.
“less of an urge”
My big brother recently moved out, and he introduced me to gaming when I was just a little toddler. And I was wondering, when you lose a gaming buddy, is it normal for you to have less of an urge to pick up a controller? And are there any ways for me to become more motivated to play video games?
EllaTheQueen6
Sounds normal to me, especially if you’re used to having a wingman while you play! I’ve drifted away from games for periods in the past for one reason or another. Leaderboards that let you compete with friends without being online at the same time — or any online game where you collaborate — would be the go-to, I’d say. Perhaps you could pick something to play separately and work your way through discussing as you go? There are so many possibilities, but it depends on the types of games you like to play together.
If anyone has recommendations for Ella, head down to the comments! – Ed.
“priorities”
Recently, I’ve just finished up Xenoblade Chronicles 3. And to be honest, I really was not a fan of the gameplay. I found it to be very repetitive, every battle felt the same, and it felt more like a test of whether you or the enemy had a higher level, rather than strategy or skill.
However, I stuck with the game, clocking in around 70 hours before the credits rolled. I decided to keep on going because I was so invested with the characters, story, visuals, music, and the world. Many people say that the most important element of a game is the gameplay, but this is the first game I’ve played where I’ve started to question these priorities.
So my question is: Is good gameplay required to make a good game? And: Have you ever kept playing a game with bad gameplay?
imadeanaccount
Blimey, well done for sticking with it! Outside of something I’m reviewing, I can’t think of anything I thought had awful gameplay that I’ve stayed with just because the story was good. A foundation of solid gameplay trumps all else for me — probably why I love Nintendo’s stuff so much. If you’re a dev desperate to tell a gripping story but can’t work out how to integrate it into a third-person action-platformer or whatever, the visual novel genre is thriving on Switch. There’s plenty of room for all sorts, but also more competition than ever before, meaning there’s no time (for me) to be putting up with anything that’s straight-up bad. – Ed.
“beauty, awe, and terror”
What are some launch ports you’d love to see on the inevitable Switch 2? I am really hoping Nintendo goes all out in working with Bandai Namco and brings Elden Ring (plus its upcoming DLC) to the Switch 2. I’d love to start from scratch all over again in that world. Elden Ring has been such an amazing experience on my PS5, and while I know I could get a Steam Deck to play it portably, I want to see it on a Nintendo console so that Nintendo console owners can experience the beauty, awe, and terror of The Lands Between.
Josh
Oof, can you imagine? I’d love to see a Baldur’s Gate 3 and Alan Wake 2 GOTY Editions. maybe some Yakuza Like a Dragon? And I’ve been jonesing for FTL on Switch for years. No, it doesn’t need the power of ‘Switch 2’ to work, but I just love that game! – Ed.
“personally thankful”
This question is about the rewind feature found in a lot of retro compilations nowadays. I am personally thankful when a collection has one, it has made a lot of older games more accessible to me. However, in my mind, I can see someone looking at these rewind features going “No! You’re missing the point of the game! You’re supposed to fail over and over because that helps you learn! You’ll never learn if you keep rewinding!” So what do you think? Am I cheating by using rewind features? Does anyone else on your team perhaps have thoughts on this topic?
Willax
I have/had thoughts on this topic! TL;DR: However you want to play — and whatever helps you enjoy the game — is A-OK, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. – Ed.
