The Video Game Critic

The hands-on with the new Mario Tennis completely slams it. From a Nintendo fan site even:

"The moment I opened up that online tab, my jaw dropped to the floor. The game has no support for lobbies or communities, which pretty much means that you can't play with friends. The only options on entering are Singles and Doubles. "

"What is insulting in all of this though, is that they use old character renders for the character select screen and the Knockout Challenge. This to the point where you see Peach, Daisy and Rosalina in their dresses, while being in their tennis outfits in the actual game. "

"Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash feels like a disappointment in every given way. With one stadium and limited online options, you already see how this game is shaping up. Then you also take into account the slight changes to the formula and how little everything in the game seems to matter. The game feels like a gap filler and not a great one."


http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/hand ... on-preview

Sounds like Nintendo rushed this one out just to have something to fill Starfox's spot.

NX17 wrote:Sounds like Nintendo rushed this one out just to have something to fill Starfox's spot.

And what does Reggie have to say about this?

"Who cares? It's not like we produce crap like the other companies do. Deal with it or go somewhere else."

Hardcore Sadism wrote:

NX17 wrote:Sounds like Nintendo rushed this one out just to have something to fill Starfox's spot.

And what does Reggie have to say about this?

"Who cares? It's not like we produce crap like the other companies do. Deal with it or go somewhere else."

Well they would actually have to speak up for once to say that. They've been eerily quiet now for a long time. I know a lot is probably due to Iwata's passing, but there's been no Nintendo Directs, no PR, no marketing push that I've seen from Nintendo. They're in cost-cutting mode and mailing it in now until the next system is ready to go I think. The Amibo line is pretty much keeping them afloat.

I'll check the leaks for Black Friday, but I would be very surprised if Nintendo is pushing anything with retailers. An extra game might come out of a Wii U bundle or so, but that's about it. The sad thing is, I don't even know necessarily that they will have the next system ready to launch next year. And as bad as this year has been for Wii U, next year looks even worse.

It's just sad to see the company like this. As far as new 3D Mario, Zelda, or Metroid games there's been a grand total of one this entire generation. I really hope the output is low because their effort is into their next system, but I've kept thinking that for years only for them to take longer and longer to release games.

Is anyone going to pick up Xenoblade Chronicles X? I think it's coming in December. With Star Fox not coming out this year and Halo 5 blowing chunks I'm trying to think of a few games to ask for Christmas. Maybe, this one?

What do you guys think?

I'll be picking it up when it's released. Judging off the previous game's crazy prices, and the Wii U's knack for cutting production for games for no reason, I'd rather pay full price than risk it being double that down the road. It might be a bit before I play it though. The first game was excellent!

Rev wrote:I'll be picking it up when it's released. Judging off the previous game's crazy prices, and the Wii U's knack for cutting production for games for no reason, I'd rather pay full price than risk it being double that down the road. It might be a bit before I play it though. The first game was excellent!

It's kind of sad it's come to that point really. I read a post a couple days ago on Bayonetta 2 on clearance for "only" $35. I guess it protects early adopters a bit and I guess tries to push digital, but to what end? Holiday season is not just a time to make money, an opportunity to influence your future customers. I remember being in mid N64 life and being able to pick up Link to the Past on SNES for like $20 Player's Choice. A game I otherwise wouldn't have played with Nintendo's philosophy today. They're basically ensuring no one will be able to pick up a budget line game anymore to get interested in the series.

The market and mindshare has gone heavily to Sony and Microsoft now, but now without even being able to say you have better value, you're not getting that market now either. If someone says 'hey you want an XBox One with better graphics, more storage, and a bundle of free games for basically the same price as Wii U with Mario Kart' - which will be chose?

Maybe Nintendo thinks they're holding firm at the price accepting the console is a failure and thinking any lower price won't raise sales enough to make them more money, or costing them money, but they're making a mistake. Lots of kids are going to get their first console, or second console, or something they're going to be playing for a few years. And they're not going to be playing Mario, they're going to be playing Halo or Call of Duty or Star Wars. And its been this trend for a few years now, they're losing a generation of potential customers by this hardline price stance.

NX17 wrote:

Rev wrote:I'll be picking it up when it's released. Judging off the previous game's crazy prices, and the Wii U's knack for cutting production for games for no reason, I'd rather pay full price than risk it being double that down the road. It might be a bit before I play it though. The first game was excellent!

It's kind of sad it's come to that point really. I read a post a couple days ago on Bayonetta 2 on clearance for "only" $35. I guess it protects early adopters a bit and I guess tries to push digital, but to what end? Holiday season is not just a time to make money, an opportunity to influence your future customers. I remember being in mid N64 life and being able to pick up Link to the Past on SNES for like $20 Player's Choice. A game I otherwise wouldn't have played with Nintendo's philosophy today. They're basically ensuring no one will be able to pick up a budget line game anymore to get interested in the series.

The market and mindshare has gone heavily to Sony and Microsoft now, but now without even being able to say you have better value, you're not getting that market now either. If someone says 'hey you want an XBox One with better graphics, more storage, and a bundle of free games for basically the same price as Wii U with Mario Kart' - which will be chose?

Maybe Nintendo thinks they're holding firm at the price accepting the console is a failure and thinking any lower price won't raise sales enough to make them more money, or costing them money, but they're making a mistake. Lots of kids are going to get their first console, or second console, or something they're going to be playing for a few years. And they're not going to be playing Mario, they're going to be playing Halo or Call of Duty or Star Wars. And its been this trend for a few years now, they're losing a generation of potential customers by this hardline price stance.

I agree 100%. I think the Wii U has been a big bomb and even though they have quite a few solid titles, Nintendo's management of the situation has become pathetic. I was raving about the Wii U and fully supported it about a year and a half ago, but with no price drop, cut production runs of games, and lack of any support for the console, I have lost faith in Nintendo. This is the first time I feel like I'm pretty much done with Nintendo, so unless the NX does something truly special, this is the last new Nintendo console I buy. I feel like there will probably be 5-6 more Wii U games that I pick up for this console and then I'll probably be done buying for the console (Star Fox, Zelda, Xenoblade, Rodea, and maybe something else that comes out later down the line).

NX17 wrote:but there's been no Nintendo Directs

Tatsumi Kimishima did say that there is going to be at least one new Nintendo Direct before the year's end. So at least we know those aren't going away. And considering how quiet they've been since the summer, I'm expecting some big surprises in the next one.

NX17 wrote:And I doubt some reviewers want to create a stir by low balling a little known digital game for Wii U.

Fatal Frame has a very dedicated fanbase. That's why the amount of discussion that it receives is so out of proportion with its level of commercial success. Not difficult to think that some outlet might want to stir them up and get them to visit a review that they otherwise wouldn't of ever read, increasing their traffic in the process.

When I've seen outlets give nonsense reviews in the past (The earliest that I recall is GameSpot's review of Mario Kart 64 back around 1997) that obviously aren't reflective of what the vast majority of people will think of a game, it's difficult to not be suspicious of the 40's and 50's that this one got from some reviewers. This seems to be a solid average game for most and a very good game for those that are long-time fans of this franchise.

Regardless, my main point stands. It's very odd to see this be criticized for being faithful to its roots by some of the very people that were shaming Nintendo for not bringing it stateside in the first place. Calling for Fatal Frame to be released and then loudly complaining that it's too much like Fatal Frame, is nonsensical.

Ultimately, almost all criticisms I've seen other than the easily solved motion controls, which is easily fixed thanks to a traditional dual analog control option, are criticisms that could've been levied against any other entry in this franchise since day 1. So it's safe to say that if you loved Fatal Frame in the past, you're going to enjoy this game.

NX17 wrote:

Atariboy wrote:In Fatal Frame's defense, several popular review outlets that received it well don't provide scores and thus aren't represented at Metacritic. And 9 of the reviews there have it pegged in the 70-74% category, 11 from 75%-85%, 1 at 90%, and only 8 failing grades (Including a couple of names well known for wanting to create a stir on occasion by significantly low balling games). So I'd say that the Metacritic average is rather misleading. .

I wouldn't say the way the scores are dispersed are any different than most 6 or 7 games.

How many games get a solid 70% or so score, with 8 failing grades around the 50% mark yet just 1 90% score to balance those extremes out?

I'd say that's fairly unusual and a good sign when it averaged as well as it did despite those outliers.

Well the Animal Crossing board game reviews and Mario Tennis reviews have come in, and they aren't pretty. They seem to be so barebones to even be considered a game these days, yet they're retailing for $60 (Amiibos with Animal Crossing.)

This hasn't been a good year for Nintendo, but at least I hope they haven't used too many resources for these games. Here's the list of all the titles this year that have been released and the current Metacritic scores. I've bolded the 'holiday timeframe' titles.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D - 89
Super Mario Maker - 88
Xenoblade Chronicles 3D - 86
Stretchmo - 83
Splatoon - 81
Yoshi's Woolly World - 78
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes - 74
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse - 73
Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition - 73
Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure - 69
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer - 67
Mario Party 10 - 66
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water - 66
Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash - 62
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash - 59
Pokémon Shuffle - 56
Pokémon Rumble World - 56
Devil's Third - 43
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival - 35

Not at all pretty. Splatoon and Mario Maker are legit titles they've provided support for to make even better, but all the other original titles vary from average to flat out shovelware. Forget holiday, this may be Nintendo's worst year of all time.