“revival”
Hello Nintendo Life! I’ve noticed that within the last year or so, there’s been somewhat of a Mario RPG revival. Mario itself has felt a bit different ever since Super Mario Wonder, but in a good way. A unique charm that (more often than not) avoided the franchise for a long time…returned! Specifically for Mario RPGs, things weren’t looking so good until recently. Paper Mario started getting rid of unique characters, story, and RPG elements, and Mario & Luigi seemed to have disappeared. But now with the recent remakes like Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door which kept the unique characters and story, and the return of the Mario & Luigi series with Brothership which seems to have a lot of unique charm like the previous entries, I now have hope for the future of Mario RPGs! How good of a chance do you think Nintendo will continue making Mario RPGs with the unique characters and story like we saw with games like M&L, TTYD, and Super Mario RPG?
PikminMarioKirby
I don’t think the games ever lost their charm — that was the only thing pulling me through The Origami King’s battles, personally — but they certainly lost some je ne sais quoi for a time. It’s telling that two of the three you mentioned are remakes of games from generations ago. Hopefully, going back to those has reminded the devs what made the best entries so engaging. The future is looking bright, but I’d still approach with expectations in check. Brothership will be the test. – Ed.
“love for Baron fur”
Nintendo life. What’s up? Where is Tetrisphere? Where is Wetrix? Where is Mashed fully loaded? Been waiting for these games longer than waiting for a new car. All would go well on the Switch. Let’s bring them back. Also how about some love for Baron fur is gonna fly. Peace out.
James
I used to keep a tier list of the N64 games I’d buy if I saw them cheap, and Tetrisphere and Wetrix were both on it. Never saw ’em cheap, though. Sounds like perfect NSO fodder to me.
And just for you, I’ve updated our Baron: Fur Is Gonna Fly game page with a banner and icon art. That’s the extent of the love it’s getting from me but hit the comments if you’re a fan of flying fur. – Ed.
“somewhat philosophical”
Hello again, Nintendo Life! Thanks for responding to my letter last month! Certainly awakened repressed memories of browsing the PS4 discs only to see the Dark Souls III’s beautiful cover tarnished by all the “Game of the Year” stamps. Harrowing stuff.
Moving along, my question is somewhat philosophical, How much do you think hardware power and scale of games truly matters? Obviously it’s a given that games must run well with minimum performance problems but the discussion doesn’t end there. Does the Switch 2 really need to be that powerful? Replaying my favorite 6th gen titles has made me ponder how much power do we need to create compelling experiences. Sure, as a big Musou nut I was happy to see Age of Calamity being as pretty as it is, but it should definitely not come at the expense of performance. I do believe a middle ground has to exist somewhere.
Yousef
Nintendo demonstrates every generation that you don’t need unlimited power to make the best video games in the world. BUT! One massive benefit of more powerful hardware is other companies being able to get their ports running with less optimisation needed. Publishers are extremely risk-averse at the moment and Switch ports aren’t as financially viable as they were five years ago. The software competition is intense, despite the huge number of consoles in the wild. A decent port of a good game with a 70 on Metacritic? That could easily fail to break even.
This isn’t a case of ‘lazy devs’ not wanting to put the hours in to optimise; it’s a question of money. Again. More power gives teams who don’t have Nintendo’s resources — studios who don’t manufacture the hardware and know its foibles inside-out — a valuable buffer, ultimately reducing dev costs and mitigating the risk of putting out games. Sure, the weave in Mario’s denim will look better than ever before, but beyond the novelties of Nintendo’s own experiments, more power will really enable third parties to get their games on the platform, regardless of scale. – Ed.
“fixer-uppers”
Hi there, NL team!
As I’ve come to learn, the people who restore and repair aging hardware are a very cooperative community, and there’s always new knowledge being thrown around.
I think it’s very *VERY* important to emphasize how impactful a skill it is to see something broken and be able to say “how can I fix it”.
Whether it be directed toward a crusty ol’ gameboy or the state of modern gaming, we are a community of fixer-uppers, and we should continue to share our thoughts and passions on this. Never be afraid to think to yourself, “Can I fix it? How?”, because someone definitely has the answer.
What are some of the cool things you have restored or fixed?
Much love (with a hint of rubbing alcohol),
MetaCrysta
Hmm, well, I’ve disassembled and cleaned up a couple of DMG-001s in my time, and I don’t own a Joy-Con that I haven’t cracked open and repaired. I put a new blade on a kitchen blender the other day. Took apart the hoover. Filled some old screw holes in the wall. Does that count? – Ed.
What about you Alana?
Ollie?
Bonus Letters
“I’m not trying to spam.” – Pastellioli
That’s exactly what a spamming Spammy McSpammer would say. – Ed.
“2 years ago I created a Donkey Kong build out of Lego, and 2 years later, it’s less than 700 supporters away from being reviewed by the Lego Team. It has over 9300 of the 10000 supporters needed and it only has 70 days left before it expires. Would this be something you might be able to share on any of your socials to help give Donkey Kong the chance of becoming a real set?
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/c2b4c41c-eba9-4882-ad8f-ed8caa405d82″ – Richard
Oh, go on then. You know I’ve got a soft spot for Lego. – Ed.
“Thank you for reading my letter!” – Isaac Estudillo
My elite squad of underpaid letter-readers enjoyed it immensely. – Ed.
“Hat Trick of Stupid: Only earlier this morning Nintendo were Fine And Freaking Dandy with it ” – Coffeemonstah
Oh, that Shigsy is a fickle one, prone to upending tea tables. The fine china he’s gone through! – Ed.
That’s all for this month! Thanks to everyone who wrote in, whether you were featured above or not.
Got something you’d like to get off your chest? A burning question you need answered? A correction you can’t contain? Follow the instructions below, then, and we look forward to rifling through your missives.
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