What Q1 2017 Means, And Zelda’s Use Of Geography

My time over the last few weeks has been taken up by Zelda and a few other relatively big things going on in my life. I guess I can take a moment though to at least say something about my time with Zelda and look back at what has been an uncommonly good first quarter of the year in video games.

It almost feels like a fall release schedule in that there has simply been too much new stuff for any one person to play thoroughly, between Gravity Rush 2, Yakuza 0, Resident Evil 7, Nioh, Nier: Automata, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. What’s interesting to look at though is that it has been an uncommonly good quarter for console games. Of what I mentioned, only RE7, Nier, and Andromeda have PC versions. If I’d been able to play these games I would have actually gotten some use out of my consoles. Possibly more important though is that this quarter likely signifies 2017 as sort of the year Japanese console games came back.

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The Difference Between PS4, Xbox One, and Switch 1st Party Games

Quarter one of 2017 has been pretty good for first party exclusive console games, particularly from Sony but also for Nintendo if you count one incredible game. In the midst of this I’ve also heard a lot of talk that one reason Microsoft is behind Sony in console sales is because its lineup of exclusives is weaker. What’s interesting is if you look at the first party lineups of each console manufacturer you see different strategies or a preference for games with different kinds of business models.

What Separates Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon: Zero Dawn From Other Games?

With lots of hype comes lots of scrutiny. As of this writing I haven’t touched either Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Sony’s Horizon: Zero Dawn, and before I (or you) do I think it would be good to examine that scrutiny and think about what each game needs to do to rise above it.

Wii U In 2016: Catching Up To A Console On Its Deathbed

After Nintendo’s most recent financial announcements basically confirmed 2016 to be a lame duck final year for the lame duck of a console the Wii U has become, I went over how the 3DS is Nintendo’s only chance to salvage the year. I’m also however mulling over my decision to buy a Wii U back around February (?) and how I’m going to spend probably my only significant year with the console.

The 3DS’s Surprisingly Strong 2016 Lineup

Emotions among Nintendo fans are running high coming off the announcements from the company’s financial meeting this week. One thing in particular caught me off-guard though: how much Nintendo seems to be propping up the 3DS with software this year. Last year I think I predicted something like 2015 would be the last significant year of the 3DS. Good God was I wrong.

Star Fox Zero: Evolution vs Iteration

I only just realized Star Fox Zero comes out this week. I plan to play it at some point this year, just not now. At least not until I’m finished with Dark Souls III. A little over a year ago I talked about how I saw it as just a “good enough” return to Star Fox and that’s pretty much what I’m thinking now on the eve of its release. I haven’t read reviews or anything, that’s just my general feeling, especially after seeing the launch trailer.

Back To Console Gaming

Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U just became the first physical console game I bought in… a year maybe? I don’t even know honestly. Playing it and starting a new Demon’s Souls character over the weekend, I thought my return to consoles for a while would be this big contrast against what I’ve been doing on PC for so long but now I’m not so sure. The convergence of PC and console functionality has been prevalent for years now and I guess I can finally say it’s a real thing in my experience.

The Value Proposition Of 2D Platformers

After finishing New Super Mario Bros. U I started to question where the 2D Mario games were headed. Now after finishing Kirby And The Rainbow Curse I’m starting to think about the future of 2D platformers in general and where they stand in today’s retail console market.

The Adequacy Of Star Fox Zero

The only thing out of this week’s Nintendo Direct that really caught my eye personally was Star Fox Zero. The rest of the stuff looked great, but I’m probably only thinking about buying that one (and Rhythm Heaven). I think it’s time I kind of wrote down something in defense of it.

Honestly, I never really saw the problem with Star Fox Zero ever since its first unveiling. When people talked about the graphics or the weird motion controls I just shrugged and said “looks fun to me.” I can understand if maybe some of the people who went hands-on with the motion controls didn’t like them, so I guess I’ll just have to see about that. What I’m not really critical of though is the other gameplay which looks very typical of Star Fox, and I’m fine with that right now, which is a bit surprising to me given how I’ve felt about the series in the past.

Late To The Party: New Super Mario Bros. U

After just completing the main portion of New Super Mario Bros. U, I think I can finally say I’m caught up on all the mainline Mario platformers. If you haven’t been following my posts, it’s not like I’d never played Mario before, I always had as a kid, but I never made serious attempts at completing any of the 2D games until the last few years or so. I’ve been anticipating the point where I can finally sit back and tally them all up.

I think I like Super Mario Bros. 3 the most.