YEAR *clap* REVIEW
So, Nintendo’s 2018 was pretty soft. I wouldn’t go as far as to call the year downright bad, especially when third party, indie, and 3DS support is factored in. But, for the purposes of today’s discussion, we’ll be looking primarily at 2018 as it relates to Switch first-party Nintendo support, and what it means for the system moving forward. To that effect, I was incredibly impressed by Nintendo’s DLC practices, as I sunk at least ten hours in Luigi’s Balloon World and absolutely dug Splatoon 2’s Octo Expansion. In fact, the Octo Expansion is, in my opinion, the most creative and fun piece of content that Nintendo released this year, building on the world of Splatoon with really smart and challenging gameplay concepts. That said, their full games for 2018 unfortunately left a lot to be desired.
Kirby Star Allies was a fun romp through Dreamland, albeit a familiar one, lacking that creative spark that has come to define the puffball. I did enjoy my time, but to use a food analogy, Star Allies felt like the oyster cracker of the series. Now, I do like oyster crackers (yes, really) but they don't have all that distinct a taste. By and large, that is how I felt about Star Allies. Basic Kirby fun with a great presentation. Nintendo Labo was up next, and I'm rather mixed on this product. I loved the creation aspect, but the gameplay just wasn't there. Unfortunately, my Toy-Con are stuffed in a box under my bed, and I doubt I'll be pulling them out anytime soon. There just isn't much depth here, so I don't have much more to say. That sentiment extends to Sushi Striker, which I did buy and play a bit of, but the game just didn't click with me. I can appreciate its production value and I'm glad it found an audience, but I couldn't get into this one at all.
Next up, Mario Tennis Aces. A game full of surprises, both good and bad. I was pleasantly surprised upon its announcement, and unpleasantly surprised when I actually went hands-on. This title is just marred by some really ugly design choices, devoid of personality or creativity. I did, and still do, really enjoy the game in local multiplayer due to its great mechanics, but that's it. From a single-player or online perspective this game falls woefully short. It, and to a lesser extent Kirby, have improved radically with post-launch updates, which is good, yet I can’t help but feel that the ship has already sailed. The new roster additions are great fun, the online overhaul is an improvement (but still lacks meaningful progression!) and the new co-op challenges are fun distractions too. I just wish these changes had come sooner. The age-old adage of “better late than never” doesn’t really apply here, I don’t think. The IV drip of new features simply can't coerce me into revisiting a poor game when there are new, exciting experiences on my console. By the time Aces reached a better state, I’d already moved onto 2018's somewhat-holy trinity of Super Mario Party, Pokemon Let’s Go, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Speaking of which, by and large, this trio was a good way to end out the year. I have vaguely positive opinions of Super Mario Party, but these days I only break it out during a local multiplayer hootenanny occasionally, as the title quickly loses its luster. Back in October, this was my go-to local multiplayer title. These days, Smash has totally taken over, and odds are, Mario Kart or even Mario Tennis will be chosen over Mario Party. The issue is that, paradoxically, Super Mario Party has both a lot of content, and not all that much replay value, because like Aces, the game is strangely designed. Nd Cube took a scattershot approach, creating a range of modes and activities that are fun upon first blush, but lack the depth for repeat sessions. Luckily, both Pokemon and Smash really struck a chord with me. The former somewhat snuck up on me, as I was rather down on it pre-release. In the end, I truly enjoyed my time with the game front to back, awarding it an 85 in my Gaming Trend review, which will be linked below as well as my coverage for the other games mentioned here. The latter, well, it’s Smash Bros. That said, for as much as I love Smash, I don’t love it in the same way that I love 2017’s heavy hitters. Ultimate feels like the peak form, the final form, if you will, of the Smash experience. Nothing about it really surprised me, though, as it feels like an evolution of the past 19 years worth of Nintendo-themed fisticuffs.
Even just looking at the Switch years doesn’t truly show any sort of pattern. We have two years to analyze, one as great as the other poor, and that's certainly not enough data to draw overarching conclusions from. What we do know is there is a slate of, at minimum, tantalizing projects hitting in the coming months. I think that 2019 could be great, and barring delays, the year will at least be far busier than 2018. Personally, I cannot wait to learn more about Animal Crossing, Pokemon Gen 8, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Metroid Prime 4. From what footage I've seen, Yoshi's Crafted World and Town both seem promising. But will all those games be good, well, that’s the “X” factor, and at the end of the day, it's what really matters and something that is nearly impossible to speculate on. If all these games hit and are great, well, then I'll be smitten with the coming year. But, I'm going in with a fair bit of trepidation, just in case. Every system has its highs and lows, and the Switch is no exception. Until a clear pattern emerges, I’m just going to sit back and take the hits as they come. A mere 365 days isn't enough to sway my opinion of Nintendo for better or worse, and while I'm approaching it with a neutral mindset, I'm incredibly excited to see what the future holds, both good and bad.
Speaking of which, by and large, this trio was a good way to end out the year. I have vaguely positive opinions of Super Mario Party, but these days I only break it out during a local multiplayer hootenanny occasionally, as the title quickly loses its luster. Back in October, this was my go-to local multiplayer title. These days, Smash has totally taken over, and odds are, Mario Kart or even Mario Tennis will be chosen over Mario Party. The issue is that, paradoxically, Super Mario Party has both a lot of content, and not all that much replay value, because like Aces, the game is strangely designed. Nd Cube took a scattershot approach, creating a range of modes and activities that are fun upon first blush, but lack the depth for repeat sessions. Luckily, both Pokemon and Smash really struck a chord with me. The former somewhat snuck up on me, as I was rather down on it pre-release. In the end, I truly enjoyed my time with the game front to back, awarding it an 85 in my Gaming Trend review, which will be linked below as well as my coverage for the other games mentioned here. The latter, well, it’s Smash Bros. That said, for as much as I love Smash, I don’t love it in the same way that I love 2017’s heavy hitters. Ultimate feels like the peak form, the final form, if you will, of the Smash experience. Nothing about it really surprised me, though, as it feels like an evolution of the past 19 years worth of Nintendo-themed fisticuffs.
Both Breath of the Wild and Odyssey felt like revolutions, truly offering new experiences in their respective series. Zelda blew open the conventions of its franchise and the entire open-world genre to boot. Mario returned to its exploration-based roots while discarding the archaic elements of design which plagued Super Mario 64 and Sunshine. Ultimate is the total Smash package, refining its mechanics and offering hundreds of hours of fun. But, really, it is just a refinement. Does that mean I dislike Ultimate? Not in the slightest. In fact, I prefer it to Odyssey, personal taste and all that, and, as I alluded to feel it is easily the best in the series. I've already put over 40 engaging hours into the title, and I feel as though I've only scratched the surface of what it has to offer. I’m merely positing that on the Richter scale of innovation and resonance (pun fully intended) Ultimate fell a bit short of its 2017 contemporary tentpoles. In terms of quality, not so much, but if you’re only going to release one game of consequence in a year, it should give me a sock-related wardrobe malfunction, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down.
Now, let’s think a bit bigger than just games. When we zoom out, we see Nintendo tripping over its own feet. From the bizarrely handled January Mini Direct that set the tone for the year to the clumsy and under-baked Online Service, the company just wasn’t at the top of its game. In fact, it isn’t on top of its classic games either, as the Virtual Console was deconfirmed for the Switch, essentially smiting any notion that the Switch could be the be-all end-all Nintendo legacy machine. But, harping on these points almost feels moot--you feel these things as acutely as I do.
Now, let’s think a bit bigger than just games. When we zoom out, we see Nintendo tripping over its own feet. From the bizarrely handled January Mini Direct that set the tone for the year to the clumsy and under-baked Online Service, the company just wasn’t at the top of its game. In fact, it isn’t on top of its classic games either, as the Virtual Console was deconfirmed for the Switch, essentially smiting any notion that the Switch could be the be-all end-all Nintendo legacy machine. But, harping on these points almost feels moot--you feel these things as acutely as I do.
But, what does that all mean for the Switch at large? Well, I don’t think it means that much. I’ve seen a lot of alarmism online, and I can understand why. We go from 2017, a year full of brilliant games and smart marketing moves, to 2018, a year full of clock-running, hype-deflating antics, and people understandably ask questions. I’ve thrown around some possibilities as well, trying to figure out if 2018 was the anomaly or if 2017 was the outlier all along. In other words, did Nintendo pack 2017 with excellent games to get the Switch off the ground, and then do the bare minimum to coast through a light 2018 before hammering us with a line-up of amazing 2019 titles on par with the Switch’s launch? Or, is 2018 the beginning of a Nintendo that is comfortable putting in minimum effort to turn a quick buck, tossing all their resources into a single huge project a year?
Frankly, I don’t know. I think evidence suggests that we’re looking at the former; from Yoshi to Animal Crossing to Luigi’s Mansion to Pokemon and everything in between, 2019 looks to be bombastic in the best way possible. And, for as tone deaf as moves like Nintendo Switch Online were, we can’t forget that Nintendo has been listening to the audience more than ever. From that excellent 2017 Super Bowl trailer, to pointedly calling Odyssey the third exploration-based 3D Mario adventure, to Sakurai taking Ultimate input from competitive players, to the end of the Creators Program, I think Nintendo is actually paying attention. Yet, at the same time, I thought Kirby, Mario Tennis, and Mario Party would all be knock-out, return-to-form titles because of how good 2017’s titles were, and I thought E3 would be filled with a deluge of surprising games in light of last year. But, I was wrong on all fronts. No matter how much I look at the trends, I can’t confidently nail down what this year means for the next.
Frankly, I don’t know. I think evidence suggests that we’re looking at the former; from Yoshi to Animal Crossing to Luigi’s Mansion to Pokemon and everything in between, 2019 looks to be bombastic in the best way possible. And, for as tone deaf as moves like Nintendo Switch Online were, we can’t forget that Nintendo has been listening to the audience more than ever. From that excellent 2017 Super Bowl trailer, to pointedly calling Odyssey the third exploration-based 3D Mario adventure, to Sakurai taking Ultimate input from competitive players, to the end of the Creators Program, I think Nintendo is actually paying attention. Yet, at the same time, I thought Kirby, Mario Tennis, and Mario Party would all be knock-out, return-to-form titles because of how good 2017’s titles were, and I thought E3 would be filled with a deluge of surprising games in light of last year. But, I was wrong on all fronts. No matter how much I look at the trends, I can’t confidently nail down what this year means for the next.
And, that’s precisely the point I want to get across here. You can choose to be optimistic about Nintendo’s future, sure. You can choose to be pessimistic about Nintendo’s future, alright. Or, you can just cut between both camps and be realistic. Nintendo has released a dozen systems across more than thirty years. They’ve been up, they’ve been down, they’ve held the course. As tantalizing as it is to project about how 2019 will be based on 2018, the fact of the matter is that we just don’t know with Nintendo. It is nearly impossible to observe trends in such an unpredictable company. For as long as I’ve been a Nintendo fan, for as many predictions as I’ve made, pinning down even a single move is difficult. Speculation is fun, and I often engage in it, but at the end of the day, I acknowledge it as such. Nintendo really does march to the beat of their own DK Bongos, which I think is part of the company's charm. When it seems like they'll bob, they weave. When you think they'll zig, they'll zag. When you think they'll release an excellent Mario Tennis game packed full of content and personality, they give you Aces.
Even just looking at the Switch years doesn’t truly show any sort of pattern. We have two years to analyze, one as great as the other poor, and that's certainly not enough data to draw overarching conclusions from. What we do know is there is a slate of, at minimum, tantalizing projects hitting in the coming months. I think that 2019 could be great, and barring delays, the year will at least be far busier than 2018. Personally, I cannot wait to learn more about Animal Crossing, Pokemon Gen 8, Luigi's Mansion 3, and Metroid Prime 4. From what footage I've seen, Yoshi's Crafted World and Town both seem promising. But will all those games be good, well, that’s the “X” factor, and at the end of the day, it's what really matters and something that is nearly impossible to speculate on. If all these games hit and are great, well, then I'll be smitten with the coming year. But, I'm going in with a fair bit of trepidation, just in case. Every system has its highs and lows, and the Switch is no exception. Until a clear pattern emerges, I’m just going to sit back and take the hits as they come. A mere 365 days isn't enough to sway my opinion of Nintendo for better or worse, and while I'm approaching it with a neutral mindset, I'm incredibly excited to see what the future holds, both good and bad.
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