Time to sit down for another YvoCaro Plays. Today my weekly gaming chat is about last nights Nintendo Direct. What did you think? I went to sleep being a happy little gamer!
If you like these bits of gaming thoughts you can find the previous ones here
No complaining about the lack of Animal Crossing
I’m pretty sure there are readers among you who were thinking after last nights’ Nintendo Direct: “oh no, no news on Animal Crossing. I bet Yvonne will moan about that again”. Rest assured. I won’t.
I hadn’t expected any news, the time isn’t right yet. If you ask me, there will be a special Nintendo Direct for this gaming coming to Switch. And if they are smart, they will make this a Summer of Winter holiday release. What better way to entice Animal Crossing fans to shell out for a special themed Switch console? People will have free time on their hands, and what better gift then Animal Crossing in your Christmas stocking. Not being cynical here, that’s how I would do it when I was in marketing.
Actually, I was pretty chuffed about last night’s announcements. Of course, there had to be some Mario in there. I’m no fan of the guy, but what is Nintendo without a Mario title of any kind, right?
Dragon Quest!
There was a plethora of games shown and my interest wasn’t really peaked until Dragon Quest Builders 2 was shown. I loved the first game on my Vita, and this new one looks even better. There’s going to be co-op for up to four players! I was surprised it can be played in first person too. That feature never sits well with me. I’m not prone to motion sickness, but playing first person in Minecraft really made me feel sick. I’ll stick to third person then. Underwater exploration is added, how cool will that be? July 12 for the release date…I can wait that long, I think!
Dragon Quest XI S was next. The game has been out before of course on the PS4 and the 3DS, although that last version wasn’t released in the West. This version will be the definitive edition, nice! I don’t have a lot of experience in the series, but I did play Dragon Quest IX on my 3DS. And finished it too, which, if you know my gaming style, is a big achievement. They are heading for a fall release.
Surprise: Rune Factory. Wonderful
The next segment of the Direct was a big surprise for me. A lovely surprise too. Rune Factory on the Switch! I played RF4 on the 3DS, and I had given up hope after the developing studio went bankrupt. But, surprise surprise: Rune Factory 5 is in development! That is such good news.
You know how I love a good farming game, loved the original Harvest Moon: a New Beginning which had an awesome building aspect. I love Story of Seasons too, but Rune Factory adds something extra: the RPG part. I think it makes it my favourite series of the kind and I played all of them. Remember Rune Factory: Frontier on Wii? I’m guessing we will get something similar and possibly even bigger. Such good gameplay, so much to explore.
If you’ve never had a chance to check out Rune Factory, you might want to take a look at an article I made years ago. It might get you enthusiastic to try out one of the 3DS games. Read about it here
Fire Emblem and Zelda
We finally got to see more footage for Fire Emblem Three Houses. Fire Emblem is a good game I have to be in the mood for: the strategic battles take a lot of thinking and can span more than one hour which I don’t always have. I like the gameplay, and what I particularly like about Fire Emblem is the storyline. It will be interesting to see what life in the monastery as a teacher will be like. The release date of July 26 will be a bit of a problem for me, as I suspect I’ll be totally engrossed in Dragon Quest Builders 2 by then.
The last announcement for Zelda: Link’s Awakening is being ported to the Switch! I loved the art style, it looks amazing. However, I don’t know if I’m ready for a more conventional Zelda adventure. I’m spoiled with Breath of the Wild, where exploration was key for me. So I’m still on the fence for that one, it depends on the releasedate I guess.
So you see? No complaining about the lack of Animal Crossing content. I went to sleep as a happy gamer, and I was very happy Paige made such an excellent article recapping it all. If you want all the details about the games that didn’t take my fancy, click here to read her article.
What games are you really looking forward to? And was this Direct your cuppa tea?
Based on your writing, you haven’t played Link’s Awakening yet, and so allow me to alleviate you of your concerns – exploration is _paramount_ in Link’s Awakening! Not much in the way of direction is given, and it’s up to you to wander around the island and figure out where to go next. So, very similar to BotW in that regard.
It’s got tons of dungeons that are lengthy and tricky, and it’s got that one secret trait that you and I both seem to enjoy in our games: charm! The music, character personalities, and that classic bit of old-school Zelda game goofiness makes it my favorite Zelda game of all time and I think it’ll resonate 🙂
I’d disagree, it’s one of the most ability-gated Zelda’s out there, with parts of the world map locked off until you have the right item. It’s got the best story, best NPCs, best dialog etc of any of the Zelda games and the dungeons are amazing puzzles but don’t get your hopes up for a “go anywhere” Zelda game like LbW or BotW.
That said, I love the “doll” look of this remake. Link’s Awakening is one of my favorite games. Breath of the Wild finally surpassed it, but, it’s such a different kind of game. Link’s Awakening was a tight puzzly story/adventure game.
Hi Geddy, good to see you! You remembered right, that is what I love in BOTW. Exploring and charm. There are two Zelda games I actually finished. Windwaker and the Phantom Hourglass. Both have the cutesy style. BOTW isn’t finished yet, I haven’t picked up the courage yet to confront Ganon.
How are you doing, still happily gaming and writing?
If you do play Link’s Awakening, I hope you enjoy it. It’s a great and charming game, and based on what we have seen so far, it seems Nintendo found a way to make it even more charming. My only complaint is that I replayed the original a few months back, so getting it when it comes out won’t be that appealing to me.
I was very happy with the direct. I have got Dragon Quest 11 on the ps4, but I will be getting it on the switch. DQ11 is one of the few games I have been able to finish(over 120 hours) and I will happily dive into it again. The characters and story are fun and engrossing. The Marvel game looks interesting. And the Zelda remake is one I’d like to see more of in the future. I think Pokémon, Animal Crossing and Shin Megami Tensi will be shown more during e3. They will want to pack a punch during that event and they will do it nicely.
You may be right, that they’ll wait with AC until the E3. After all, Nintendo is a master at prolonging the suspense right? I remember buying the 3 DS at release because they had featured a bit of New Leaf at the E3 back then. Took them over s year to finally release it.
Like you I was very pleasantly surprised by the Direct. My only complaint is that it’s rather summer-heavy! Still other than that there’s plenty to be excited about. I was happy to hear about Rune Factory too, I’d been hoping the series would return. Also since we never owned a 3DS Rune Factory 4 will be new to me, so looking forward to that as well as the all-new entry later. Fire Emblem looked great too, good to see more of that. Certainly seems like if you like Japanese RPGs Switch will have you covered 😉
Summer heavy is right. And as I don’t normally play my games a lot on a holiday that’s a bit of a pity. But I won’t complain, the line up looks very good to me as I do like Japanese RPG!