Tag: Nintendo Switch

Pros and Cons of Captain Toad Treasure Tracker on Nintendo Switch

However, with the new release come some clear improvements, but also some puzzling decisions. Here are my pros and cons for Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.

Author: Nathan Doverspike

I played Captain Toad on the Wii U when it came out in November of 2014, and while I didn’t beat the game completely at the time, I’m sure that won’t be the case with its recent release in the Switch. However, with the new release come some clear improvements, but also some puzzling decisions. Here are my pros and cons for Captain Toad Treasure Tracker.

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Handheld mode is the best way to play Captain Toad on the Switch.

Pros

Art Style Still Impresses

After its release in late 2014, Captain Toad was a beautiful title on the Wii U that I believe rivaled Bayonetta 2 and Super Smash Bros. for the best looking game on that console released that year. Now, with its release on Nintendo Switch in July of 2018, I still stand by that belief. This game looks amazing with its wealth of color and silky smooth textures. I can’t get enough of the art style, which makes replaying levels to get full completion still a joy even after playing the level for the third or fourth time.

Level Design Is Top Notch

Without the ability to jump, it would be reasonable to assume that this game would have a very limited number of ways to vary the dozens of levels it offers players. To my surprise, each level feels unique and it didn’t feel stale at any point throughout the game. A puzzle game with limited movement options needs variety in its puzzles, and Captain Toad is thankfully full of variety.

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Easy Controls

Whether you’re shooting for finding every Pixel Toad, finding all the secret objectives on every level, or 100% completion in general, Captain Toad is easy to master with its intuitive controls for any age. This game allows for youngsters to fully enjoy this game without the normal barrier of more complex controls that other titles like Mario Odyssey tout. It’s always nice to see games that are accessible to anyone and any age.

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This city looks very new and donk…

Plenty of New Levels

I was surprised at the number of new levels, all of which are inspired by Mario Odyssey. The art style meshes with that game perfectly, and seeing New Donk City condensed into a level in Captain Toad is really fascinating. The levels that focus on sprinting are by far my least favorite, but that’s a minor gripe and a small percentage of the levels.

Cons

Price seems a little high

At $40, Captain Toad is a little pricey, in my honest opinion. Sure it has new levels, but even they aren’t enough to justify the steep price. It’s still the same game you played on the Wii U. The addition of coop is nice, but it doesn’t change things up enough to justify almost a full price for this title. I enjoy the game, most than most I would presume, but I would be more satisfied if it was slightly cheaper at release.

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Even when condensed to a city block, New Donk City is still gorgeous.

Touch Pointer Is Obtrusive

When docked, a pointer is always present. There is no way to play the game without it while the Switch is docked, which I feel is a mistake. This is not an issue when playing in handheld mode since you can use your fingers on the touch screen, but just beware of playing it docked if that is your primary way of playing games on the Switch. It gets in the way of seeing where Toad is in the level, and can also be distracting. It would be better if it disappeared when you weren’t using the right analog stick when you need to interact with the environment. A patch to correct this would be very much appreciated.

Coop Isn’t Always Great

Speaking of the pointer and coop, the Switch version of Captain Toad introduces coop into the game. You each take a joy con, with the first player controlling toad and the second player taking control of the camera and pointer, which they can use to shoot enemies. Most levels end up being frustrating in coop, since both players can control the camera and with the second player controlling the pointer you both need to be on the same page at all times or you will inevitably fail levels due to the split in duties. The idea is nice, but the implementation isn’t ideal.

I want you hear from you. Did you pick up Captain Toad for the first time on Switch? Did you play it previously on the Wii U and pick it up again. Are you waiting for a price drop before adding it to your Switch library? Let me know in the comments!

Cat Quest 2 Announced, Coming 2019

I loved the first game, so the addition of these welcome features means this should be a treat for cat and dog RPG lovers alike when it releases in early 2019

Author: Nathan Doverspike

One of my favorite RPGs of 2017 is getting a sequel. The Gentlebros, creators of the feline themed RPG that came out on Steam, PS4, Xbox One, Switch, Android, and iOS as well, announced via their Twitter profile they are currently creating the sequel titled Cat Quest: The Lupus Empire.

In the release trailer, the addition of dogs is shown, as well as couch coop! I loved the first game, so the addition of these welcome features means this should be a treat for cat and dog RPG lovers alike when it releases in early 2019.

6 Tips For Getting Started in Xenoblade Chronicles 2

While the story isn’t as engaging as I anticipated, I can’t help but praise the art style, wonderful world, satisfying and sometimes challenging combat, and intricate systems. So without further ado, I present five tips and hints for starting your journey through Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Author: Nathan Doverspike

After almost a dozen hours in the breathtakingly beautiful world of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I feel it is safe to say I’m definitely enjoying my time with it. The JRPG, which is exclusive to the Nintendo Switch, caps of a brilliant first year for the versatile new console. While the story isn’t as engaging as I anticipated, I can’t help but praise the art style, wonderful world, satisfying and sometimes challenging combat, and intricate systems. So without further ado, I present six tips and hints for starting your journey through Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

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1. The Map is Your Best Friend

This one seems obvious, and it should be. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is a massive world, with countless side quests which combined together can understandably be overwhelming at first. I found it best to consult the map if I ever had trouble finding where certain side quests wanted me to go (indicated by blue diamond with white question mark inside). The main quest has been fairly simple to track, since it is denoted by magenta diamonds with white exclamations marks inside, but even then I have gotten turned around once or twice. Just keep in mind that you CAN navigate over large roots to trees in the left part of the map where the gold person is found on the image above. I found that out after an hour of wandering around and then getting slaughtered by a level 75 King Kong-looking monster.

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2. Spend Time Exploring the Menus

Like many JRPG’s, this game has A LOT of systems working simultaneously during battles. Whether it is upgrading your Arts, Affinity grid, or unlocking new Blades, there is always something that can be improved in your party if you know where to look.  The Affinity Chart above is a great example of all the upgrades available for completing certain tasks explained for each bubble. One might require you to revive a companion a single time in order to receive 20% extra health from potions dropped from enemies, while another may require you to enter 10 battles in order to get a permanent boost to physical defense. These may not seem like much, but you will appreciate that extra defense and health from potions when the battle lasts 10+ minutes and you have a skill that specifically drops health from enemies.

3. Don’t Expect Too Much From the Story

This one comes off as negative, but it isn’t meant to be. Setting your expectations appropriately for this game will help you enjoy it much more. After the great story from the original, I had high hopes for this one to continue that trait. It might fall flat on its face at times, and the lip syncing during cut-scenes might be laughably bad at times, but the game play and intricate systems make up for it. It won’t win any awards for the story it appears to be telling, but if you can get past that it will reward you with everything else it has to offer.

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4. Grinding Isn’t Just Necessary, It’s Also Fun

Games like Xenoblade Chronicles 2 usually feature some form a grinding, whether it’s White Knight Chronicles, FFXV, games from the Tales series. Grinding is something that is expected and can even be relaxing if you do what I do and throw on a podcast to listen to while you go through the motions for an hour or so each night, chipping away bit by bit at your slowing increasing experience bar. I haven’t found the grind to be too cumbersome at this point, and hope it doesn’t become frustrating come late game content. The enemies have interesting designs, and rounding a couple up can result in fantastically engaging battles that leave you nearly out of breath and HP by the end. A dozen hours in, and I look forward to spending some more time fighting the denizens of Alrest.

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5. Timing is Everything

Whether you are scavenging the clouds for treasure or fighting a plethora of monsters all at once, timing is everything. Whenever you choose to scavenge for treasure, you will be presented with button prompts. Hitting the corresponding button on screen while it is inside the inner circle in every prompt will result in better rewards from the dive, and can get interesting once you progress farther into the game and encounter enemies that are over 20 levels above you when you arrive on land.

Button prompts are also a key element of battles. While using your special attacks, depending on which ones you use with different weapons, you’ll have the opportunity to hit the correct buttons to do exponentially more damage. Timing your abilities just after landing a hit (auto-attack or Art) will increase the damage even further, so it is entirely possible to turn the tide of a lopsided battle in seconds once you begin to master the system.

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6. Tackle Named Monsters of Equal Level

During my time, I encountered a few named enemies that may look like normal enemies, but are denoted by a special symbol and are much more difficult to bring down. I attempted to bring a level 12 beast down when I was level 15, and after 10 minutes of intense button pressing and frantically running to pick up dropped potions, I felled the beast and received numerous rewards for their defeat. I highly recommend trying to tackle some of these once you gain three characters simultaneously in your party. The monster I took down wasn’t overwhelmingly challenging, and I felt great afterwards! They even have a little gravestone where they were that allows you to fight them again should that be something you wish to do.

Overall, I’ve had a great experience with Xenoblade Chronicles 2, despite a few frame rate stutters and the occasional annoying character. It is a JRPG after all, and I can’t stop looking ahead and getting excited about what awesome Blades I will be able to unlock or wonder how this connects to the original game.

Have you picked it up yet? If you have, are you enjoying it so far? Let me know in the comments!

Tips and Hints for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle

Author: Nathan Doverspike

I can’t believe how entertaining and polished Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle turned out to be! Not only is it polished to the high standard of most first party Nintendo games, but it’s just as enjoyable as well. Here are some tips and hints for beginners and people looking to play the game to completion (I’m going to go play some more of this gem now).

Don’t Worry About Missing Areas

This one might sound silly, but it’s true for this game. You will frequently come across areas that are inaccessible early on in the game due to your lack of abilities. That’s ok. Make a mental note and simply move on. This game is meant to have some replay value with all of the treasure chests hidden about and challenges that unlock after you complete that area. You’ll gain another ability after you defeat the main boss for that area, which will let you unlock a lot of those areas with ease as you run through them again without having to do any of the battles.

Don’t Be Afraid to Switch Up Your Team

No, that wasn’t supposed to be a pun, but I guess it works. You most likely won’t be able to use Luigi in every battle, no matter how awesome his vacuum/sniper is. There will be battles later in the game that will force you to think differently about the best way to approach situations. For instance, Rabbid Mario is more tanky than some of the other characters, and his shotgun can lay waste to multiple enemies unlucky enough to find themselves caught in its range. Using him instead of a character like Luigi would give you that short-range blast for groups of enemies that Luigi just can’t match. Keep in mind that you will have to use Mario in every battle (no idea why) and at least one Rabbid is also required. While annoying to think about, these don’t hinder the game due to amount of joy that comes from bouncing an enemy in the air and then sniping him out of the air with Mario’s “hero sight” ability.

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Use your environment to your advantage to quickly dispatch of those pesky Rabbids.

Restarting a Battle Doesn’t Penalize You

This is huge in my opinion. This game isn’t a cakewalk the whole time (it really ramps up after the second world), so being able to restart a battle at any time is awesome. Not only that, but the game doesn’t penalize you in any way for doing it, so there’s no risk in restarting if you brought a Rabbid Mario to a mission that requires Luigi. I’m not ashamed to say I started a few battles over when I quickly realized the odds were definitely not in my favor.

Play the Coop Missions

Something this game has that I had no idea until I looked on the back of the case is coop missions. These unlock after you finish a world, and are surprisingly fun. There are a handful of missions for each world, and range in difficulty and length. Some might take five minutes to beat, while others might take 15-20 minutes. If you have a friend or family member that is even remotely interested, give this mode a shot. My wife doesn’t play games very often and we had a blast playing through the tutorial and first set of missions after that.

Overall, I highly recommend this game. If you aren’t much of a gamer, don’t sweat it. This game even has an Easy mode for young, disabled, or people who would just like to enjoy the game without a steep learning curve. This game has a little bit of everything for anyone: humor, a fun story, beautiful worlds to explore, engaging game-play, the ability to upgrade characters and their skills, and lots of different weapons to play around with. If you own a Switch, this is one to definitely check out.

Best Games to Play When The Real World is Too Real (Updated List)

These games are adorable, fun, and generally a blast to play through.  So, without further ado, let’s dig in! UPDATED for 2018!

Author: Nathan Doverspike          

With all the protests, debates, angry social media posts, and just general unease, I figured now would be a good time to make a list of games that I feel help me deal with the real world (when it becomes too real). These games are adorable, fun, and generally a blast to play through.  So, without further ado, let’s dig in! UPDATED for 2018!

Super Mario Odyssey

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Platforms: Nintendo Switch

Released: Oct. 2017

This game was such a delight to play through! Every world brought a new child-like wonder, as well as dozens and sometimes hundreds of more collectibles to discover. From a samurai castle, a world made of food, and a massive forest are just some of the areas you will explore as the world’s most famous plumber. The music is equally as pleasant as the ascetics, and adding coop doesn’t hurt either, even if it isn’t as robust as it could be.

de Blob 2

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de Blob 2. Where painting buildings is legal and encouraged!

Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, DS

Released: Feb. 2011

While the first title, de Blob, was released exclusively for the Wii, the sequel graced the current generation of consoles in 2011.  The game follows a colorless blob as he brings color back to the world and defeats the evil INKT Corporation.  The art style is awesome, but the catchy music is just as good and will have you bobbing your head in no time at all.  With giant levels, the ability to mix colors, fun power-ups, and overall beautiful aesthetics, this game will get you into a joyful mood and groove instantly.

Yoshi’s Woolly World

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Yoshi’s Woolly World is strung together with magical yarn.

Platforms: Wii U

Released: Oct. 2015

This game is wonderful!  Being able to play the whole game cooperatively on one tv is something few games feature anymore, and something on which Yoshi’s Woolly World thrives.  Everything in the game, from the enemies to Yoshi itself, is made of gorgeous yarn art.  I cannot stress enough how beautiful every character, background, enemy, and boss are in this masterpiece!  Numerous power-ups that change how you play the game (like being unable to die from falling into pits or magnetically attracting items to your character throughout a level) make completing the game enjoyable for kids and adults alike.  While some of the later levels do become challenging, the overall experience of finding all the secret areas and unlocking dozens of different Yoshi yarn characters is something I hope everyone with a Wii U is able to experience! (Note: the game is releasing in Feb. 2017 on 3DS as Poochi & Yoshi’s Woolly World with all the content of the previous game and new levels focused on the yarn dog Poochi).

Kirby’s Epic Yarn

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Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Look how cute Kirby is!

Platforms : Wii, Wii U on eShop

Released: Oct. 2010

Noticing a pattern here?  The Wii and Wii U have some amazing first party titles, and Kirby’s Epic Yarn is another great example of beautiful aesthetics combined with simple yet satisfying gameplay to warm any gamer’s heart.  Similar to Yoshi’s Woolly World, Kirby has been transformed into yarn and needs to save the day!  Instead of sucking up enemies, Kirby now uses a whip (like in Kirby’s Dream Land) to defeat his foes.  It’s cute (oh my goodness is it!), has precise controls, and is fully cooperative throughout the charming adventure.  Did I mention it’s adorable, ‘cause it rivals Yoshi’s Woolly World as one of the most stunningly beautiful games I have ever played.

 Little Big Planet 2

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Little Big Planet 2’s player created levels are definitely worth checking out!

Platforms: Playstation 3

Released Jan. 2011

Ok, so I don’t know what it is about yarn characters, but I think I have an unhealthy obsession with them in video games.  Released in 2011, Little Big Planet 2 is a creative platformer that expanded on everything offered in the original, while giving players new ways to play.  You are able to create levels (not just platforming levels) that are so cool that you have to check them out!  I won’t spoil some of surprises in store, but let’s just say you can face off versus zombies and also go back to the future!  Also fully cooperative on a single system, this game allows you to play community levels from creators around the world, as well as create your own masterpieces.  Even if you aren’t into creating levels, a lengthy campaign with cute dialogue and interesting level design will hold your interest for quite some time.

Now it’s time for you to tell me, have you played any of these titles?  Are there ones that you feel I missed?  Comment and email us to let us know!

Five Things I Like About the Nintendo Switch

Author: Nathan Doverspike

As I raised my fists in victory, glowing as I watched the Nintendo Live Press Conference for the Switch last night, I realized just how excited I am for this ambitious device.  While the design is sleek, the controllers look comfortable (if slightly diminutive), and it looks easy enough to handle, I can’t express enough how encouraging their initial first year lineup appears on paper (and via the streamed video).  Below are the five things that excite me the most about the Nintendo Switch.

  1. The Design

This one is an obvious first choice.  While initially skeptical of a design that closely mirrors the failed Wii U controller, the tablet itself appears thin and comfortable to hold (per recent sources).  While the Wii U had a good concept, I never quite understood the weight to the device, or the fact that it felt like my hands were always too far apart for it to feel like an actual controller.  Hopefully this one gets it right.

  1. The Detachable Joy-Cons

While most knew about the detachable Joy-Cons since the initial design was leaked, no one was able to report on how they felt or looked for sure.  Now, we know that there are “shoulder” buttons built in to the side for use when apart from the main console.  Also, you can hold them apart just like you could with the nunchuk and Wii remote.  The freedom that gives your hands is something no other console can offer, and that’s always a plus.

  1. The Launch Lineup

It was speculated that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would miss the initial launch window.  Thankfully, our doubts were vanquished when Nintendo confirmed that it would, in fact, be released alongside the Switch (and this awesome collector’s edition is something to swing a sword at).

Also, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe looks beautiful and will release within two months of the console being available.  Breath of the Wild alone should be enough to satisfy the hardcore fans long enough for other promising titles to reach our anxious paws.

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  1. All of the Unique Games Announced

Now, I know that not all of the titles announced will be out anytime soon, let alone this year.  However, that doesn’t mean that a brand-new Shin Megami Tensei game on console or Fire Emblem Heroes isn’t enough to get me all fired up.  In particular, Super Mario Odyssey looks like a blast (minus the lifelike people in that trailer, boy they looked rough) and the super interesting Project Octopath Traveler have me licking my gaming chops.

  1. The Possibilities Ahead

This is my last point, and as such is somewhat ambiguous. Instead of focusing on a singular topic, I want to expand it to all the possibilities for this new console.  I know they haven’t announced or even mentioned Metroid yet, but how cool would it be to play a brand new Metroid game on a portable system that isn’t as limited as the 3DS?  To be able to take a console quality Metroid game on the go would be a dream come true!  Plus, with the added power,  the Switch could serve as a great return to form for a legitimate 2D Castlevania game that rivals SotN.

Those are my thoughts for now.  Feel free to comment or email us with any questions: officialgoldenagegamers@gmail.com