The Nintendo "Off My Chest" thread (BE CIVIL)

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

There is a lot of narrative potential with Ganondorf and his interactions with Link and Zelda... but it is clear that Nintendo doesn't care about that at all. Remember the trailers of TotK, when everybody got their hopes up and thought that we would have, you know, a good story?...

To be fair, the Ganondorf from Tears of the Kingdom is not the same one from Ocarina of Time.

 

[Lenidem]

To be fair, the Ganondorf from Tears of the Kingdom is not the same one from Ocarina of Time.

So? He could have been the same one, and even if he was not, he could at least have been interesting. But Nintendo decided: a different guy, and totally plain. Because they don't care the slightest.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

So? He could have been the same one, and even if he was not, he could at least have been interesting. But Nintendo decided: a different guy, and totally plain. Because they don't care the slightest.

In fairness, Nintendo tends to focus more on the gameplay than actually setting up a well-detailed story. I mean, just look at the Super Mario series, and how it doesn't really bother with stories one bit.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Thinking about Zelda again, and I've thought of a quest that weighs on my mind.

Do you think there's anything left to do with Ganondorf, in terms of writing?

Of course. The origin of the Calamity Ganon for example. He has yet to return in the "Child Timeline" too after his defeat in Twilight Princess, so a game akin to Twilight Princess would work.

Also he's prone to revive himself anyway. He can always come back.

 

[fogbadge]

Of course. The origin of the Calamity Ganon for example. He has yet to return in the "Child Timeline" too after his defeat in Twilight Princess, so a game akin to Twilight Princess would work.

Also he's prone to revive himself anyway. He can always come back.

that’s not quite right I’m afraid. four swords adventure is part of child timeline

 

[Laniv]

I think I heard someone say that the Zelda timeline was just the devs printing the first timeline off Google that they felt was plausible, and I'm inclined to agree

 

[fogbadge]

I think I heard someone say that the Zelda timeline was just the devs printing the first timeline off Google that they felt was plausible, and I'm inclined to agree

nah, they pulled them names out of a hat

 

[Perkilator]

After thinking about it, I’ve become a little more open to the next Mario Kart dabbling in more guest content…but only a little.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

If the recent leaks about the Switch 2 mouse mode are legit, then it would be a wasted opportunity to not get a bunch of classic PC games on the system. There are so many classic puzzle, RTS, adventure, and even off beat action releases that would be great to have on a portable console with controls that could do justice to them. The Sierra and Lucasarts libraries alone would be a boost to the Switch 2's list of games.

 

[Perkilator]

If the recent leaks about the Switch 2 mouse mode are legit, then it would be a wasted opportunity to not get a bunch of classic PC games on the system. There are so many classic puzzle, RTS, adventure, and even off beat action releases that would be great to have on a portable console with controls that could do justice to them. The Sierra and Lucasarts libraries alone would be a boost to the Switch 2's list of games.

Some light gun games like House of the Dead would also benefit from this hypothetical mouse mode, especially since light guns themselves aare kind of a lost art nowadays.

 

[MBRedboy31]

If the recent leaks about the Switch 2 mouse mode are legit, then it would be a wasted opportunity to not get a bunch of classic PC games on the system. There are so many classic puzzle, RTS, adventure, and even off beat action releases that would be great to have on a portable console with controls that could do justice to them. The Sierra and Lucasarts libraries alone would be a boost to the Switch 2's list of games.

On top of that, I’d be interested to see Nintendo’s unique take on a more standard PC-style RTS. Now I’m imagining a Splatoon RTS spinoff where you can play through the events of the Great Turf War from either the Inkling or Octarian side, which would naturally have inking terrain as a unique gimmick compared to other RTS games. Or, they could make a new IP for it. I do wonder how they’d balance out making it newcomer-friendly.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

On top of that, I’d be interested to see Nintendo’s unique take on a more standard PC-style RTS. Now I’m imagining a Splatoon RTS spinoff where you can play through the events of the Great Turf War from either the Inkling or Octarian side, which would naturally have inking terrain as a unique gimmick compared to other RTS games. Or, they could make a new IP for it. I do wonder how they’d balance out making it newcomer-friendly.

Starcraft by way of Star Fox with the option to control Cornerian forces, Andross' Army, or the Aparoids? You could do a lot worse.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Hate to double post; I just have to say the obsessive focus on the Switch 2's release, to the point where any current Nintendo promotional activity is being met with either dismissal or hostility for not being about new hardware? It's really underscored another downside to the company monetizing hype like they have. I've seen some cynical types suggest that Nintendo Directs are more about being an endorphin rush for fans that just want to indulge in the passion of the reveals rather than get information about games they like, and while I generally don't think that's the case most of the time it's a sentiment that feels a bit on point here.

I understand the frustration in not knowing about the next system and how getting real updates from Nintendo is valuable, but in certain places it feels like there's an undercurrent of fans just wanting to experience the console reveal rather than be informed by it. There's an emotional appeal to that sure, however it feels like it's just subsumed so much of the vibe the speculation sphere as of late.

 

[MBRedboy31]

I personally want some upcoming games to be excited about and to be able to talk about. I’m only sorta mildly interested in DKC Returns HD, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Metroid Prime 4 (I need to be very into a big 60$ game to buy it instead of just watch livestreams of it) and it doesn’t seem like Nintendo’s going to reveal much else until after the Switch 2 reveal. If they reveal the Switch 2 hardware on its own without the games I’m going to be pretty disappointed…

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I personally want some upcoming games to be excited about and to be able to talk about. I’m only sorta mildly interested in DKC Returns HD, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and Metroid Prime 4 (I need to be very into a big 60$ game to buy it instead of just watch livestreams of it) and it doesn’t seem like Nintendo’s going to reveal much else until after the Switch 2 reveal. If they reveal the Switch 2 hardware on its own without the games I’m going to be pretty disappointed…

They will probably tease a couple of games like they did with the Switch. But yeah I feel that.

Nintendo's current lineup is two ports, Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends Z-A. Three of those things appeal to me directly but it ain't much. Especially since for two of those games, we virtually know nothing.

 

[Diddy Kong]

This thing right here basically.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

An addendum to my Switch 2 mouse post; that feature might also be ideal for DS games on NSO or outright remade on the next console. I'm not terribly keen on Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks without the d-pad mod patch, but both could be pulled off reasonably well in addition to stuff like Tetris DS's bonus modes and many others.

 

[Guynamednelson]

An addendum to my Switch 2 mouse post; that feature might also be ideal for DS games on NSO or outright remade on the next console. I'm not terribly keen on Phantom Hourglass or Spirit Tracks but both could be pulled off that way in addition to stuff like Tetris DS's bonus modes and many others.

I've thought it could be good for Elite Beat Agents, as well as an international release of Slide Adventure Magkid, which was bundled with an accessory that has the same infared sensor as a mouse.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

People who say "Donkey Kong's redesign is erasing Rare's legacy" - aside from signifying the weird persecution complex a lot of Nintendo-era Rare fans have - clearly do not understand "primordial" Donkey Kong history. Rare contributed a LOT more to DK than simply "being a hero" and "having tiny eyes", the modern idea of DK, not just the specific character portrayals, are built off of Rare just as much as they are 80s Nintendo. Even Jungle Beat has massive Rare DNA oozing off of it.

Although perhaps a bit obvious for a cartoon gorilla, bananas and living in the jungle, both recurring traits of DK in Mario games even when he's a villain, only had minor prescedent before Rare. Typically early DK was portayed as a zoo or circus animal.

Donkey Kong Jr. opens with a jungle stage, but nowhere is it explicitly stated to be the home of the kongs. Bananas are just one of many fruit and have no real special priveledge or point bonus. The rest of the game is industrial themed.

The Donkey Kong Junior cereal featured banana shapes, but in marketing placed them behind apple shapes, signifying apples as a more significant fruit. The commercial for said cereal (epilepsy warning) shows the jungle as a place DK Jr. likes to be in at least, but never explicitly states it to be his home. The non-Jr. Donkey Kong cereal didn't feature banana flavors whatsoever.

The closest implication to DK living in a jungle is this visual pun in a Coleco tabletop commercial, featuring an ape which is quite directly implied to not be DK, and even the "take Donkey Kong home" gag seems to line up with the lore of him being a zoo or circus animal.

Some marketing for DK Jr. portrayed the jungle environment not as a jungle, but an urban environment decorated with a jungle theme

The Game & Watch version of DK Jr. does not translate the banana as the sole fruit, but instead the apple

The title "kong" - both as a species and surname/honorific - is also a Rare creation. All monkeys before DKC were treated as monkeys, and had normal names instead of "descriptive adjective Kong"

Sonny (Saturday Supercade)

Sonny is a character in the Saturday Supercade episode "Hairy Parent." He is a resident of Safari Land who wishes to see his "Momma." Sonny first appears at the beginning of the episode, where he crashes into Donkey Kong while he is about to find...

www.mariowiki.com

Momma (Saturday Supercade)

Momma, or Sonny's Momma, is a character in the Saturday Supercade episode "Hairy Parent." She is an anthropomorphic ape resident of Africa who has deep affection for her son, Sonny. Momma first appears near the middle of the episode, where she is...

www.mariowiki.com

Clovis

Clovis is an orangutan co-star appearing in the Saturday Supercade episode "Movie Mania." His name is a reference to American singer and actor Elvis Presley. He first appears in Golden Studios, where Flint Westwood fires him and replaces him with...

www.mariowiki.com

Additionally, the pre-DKC jungles are just very different from the post-DKC jungles, they have less civilised elements - the DK Jr. cereal jungle is more cartoonish - akin to a dentist office wallpaper, with very blue skies and very green grass - and the Coleco Tabletop jungle is darker than any non-ominous DKC jungle ever seen, while DKC implemented minor tribal elements and a more grounded atmosphere between those two extremes, things that have never been detached from DK, even in the awkward period where DK was showing up in Nintendo games but not any other DKC elements, the DK jungles were clearly based on DKC's jungles in style, and not any prior Mario jungles or the DK merchandising jungles, even if not any specific iconography.

Even if we want to cherry-pick, the grassy jungles in DKC Returns use darker colours and have less vibrant plant life than the DK Jr. cereal commercial, while - again - being brighter, and still having less vibrant plant life, than the Coleco Handheld jungle.

Also: Diddy, Cranky, and Dixie are all confirmed to appear on the calendar. They're not going anywhere.

EDIT: Another thing about the DK redesign. I have a feeling the "Cranky is old DK" thing is long dead, which I don't mind. It was always a funny piece of lore, neat trivia to throw out to casual/non-fans, but has worn out its practical purpose decades ago given that the comedy in Nintendo's DK games is based more on silent slapstick compared to the somewhat non-replicable combo of 90s 4th wall breaks and British self-deprecation

EDIT 2: And even if all of that was untrue and DK was reverted to a girder ape and nothing else... Nintendo have no obligation to uphold Rare's legacy. It's a random company they partnered with in the 90s, and then naturally split up - they have as much obligation to preserve Rare's design descisions as they have to preserve their former partnership with Rockstar through using Kid Kirby, Rare is not particularly special in the grander Nintendo timeline - the many companies Nintendo partnered with for hardware arguably had a way more significant impact, to the point of effecting every game, and nobody would get mad if Nintendo blurred the ATI sitcker on a GameCube photo.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

For those whom have played Tropical Freeze, has anyone ever had the impression that the BGM, "Jammin' Jams", would work well alongside the beat block courses? It just seems to have that synchronization vibe, especially if one was to add the beeping sound effects onto it.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Kinda going off of the DK thing, and a post from a week or two ago about the babies and Nintendo Kart, I think a lot of devoted Nintendo fans are really out of touch with how the wider, general Mario (Kart) fandom percieves characters. People aren't picking Rosalina in Mario Kart because they liked her backstory in Galaxy, they're picking her because she's a pretty blue princess, and are picking Baby Rosalina because she's just that with an extra cute filter. They might not even know Rosalina has any affiliation with space. Similar would go for Donkey Kong just being a "funny gorilla" or Pink Gold Peach just being "shiny princess" - it's more like a fashion choice to most than a character choice - and that isn't an invalid way to look at things, knowledge =/= standards or intelligence. That's why the babies and metal clones keep coming back time after time, because people do want to play as them, and a very large audience at that. They just aren't the audience who plays online anonymously or goes to fan forums.

Another thing I should mention is that I don't think of this as an argument against reviving forgotten characters, and in fact think of it much more as a pro. Most Mario Kart fans probably don't know anyone except the SMB1 cast as anything other than kart drivers, casual players would not bat an eye at Ashley or Captain Syrup showing up, and if anything just think "Oh neat! They added a witch and a girl pirate!" and just play as them if they want to be a witch or a girl pirate - though, I do think there should be a bit of curation, Wart or (undisguised) K. Rool come to mind as characters who would kinda just seem like "off-brand Bowser".

 

[RealLuigisWearPink]

Rare’s been gone from Nintendo for close to 25 years at this point. It’s time to just let it go.

Besides, the idea that Nintendo doesn’t value Rare is completely laughable given the presence of so many of their games on NSO-including ones long thought impossible like Goldeneye.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

Rare’s been gone from Nintendo for close to 25 years at this point. It’s time to just let it go.

Besides, the idea that Nintendo doesn’t value Rare is completely laughable given the presence of so many of their games on NSO-including ones long thought impossible like Goldeneye.

Still, knowing that Nintendo only really likes to focus on its own creations highly suggests that those whom were created by other developers are ranked lower in the priority department. Heck, we didn't get Diddy Kong and Funky Kong in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe until the 6th wave of the Booster Course Pass.

 

[Louie G.]

Wart or (undisguised) K. Rool come to mind as characters who would kinda just seem like "off-brand Bowser".

I agree with your overall point, but I feel like this is kind of unfair to say after defending the clones of other characters, several of which are literal variants of Mario or Peach. If people want to play as "the shiny princess" I'm sure people would be down to play as the fat golden-plated crocodile without much question.

Besides, it's hard to feel like K. Rool is a particularly confusing character after being present in another recent, popular casual title that sold about 40 million units. Wart is another story, but if they designed him to look more amphibious against Bowser's reptilian appearance I'm sure it wouldn't be much of a head scratcher. Wart and K. Rool are perhaps cutting a little close to one another though, if it had to come down to one or the other.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I don't like the Toy style of Echoes of Wisdom and the Link's Awakening remake. It's a perfectly fine style and most characters look cute. The games are good too. But it's not a very appealing art style to me. I much prefer the more cartoony visuals of the Toon games or the more serious looking styles from games like OoT, TP and BotW.

I like the Toy style about as much as I like the retro NES art. Respectable but I don't like it.

 

[Perkilator]

Want to hear another example of characters from Mario Odyssey being woefully underutilized just because they're not Pauline? Super Mario Party Jamboree could've had the Broodals take the place of Bowser Spaces and mess with the players in different ways.

 

[Good Night !]

Still, knowing that Nintendo only really likes to focus on its own creations highly suggests that those whom were created by other developers are ranked lower in the priority department. Heck, we didn't get Diddy Kong and Funky Kong in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe until the 6th wave of the Booster Course Pass.

I don't think that's the case. We got Diddy, Dixie, Chunky, Funky and Cranky Kong in the Mario movie over Wario. If they wanted to focus on their own creation and only that, they would have been more straight-forward with it.

I do think that Diddy Kong should be in the base game of MK8D, but at least, he's here and they add Funky Kong too (which could not have been in any MK at all at the first place).

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

I don't think that's the case. We got Diddy, Dixie, Chunky, Funky and Cranky Kong in the Mario movie over Wario. If they wanted to focus on their own creation and only that, they would have been more straight-forward with it.

Even then, Cranky had a greater amount of screen time than any of the other notable Kongs (besides Donkey Kong of course).

 

[Good Night !]

Even then, Cranky had a greater amount of screen time than any of the other notable Kongs (besides Donkey Kong of course).

True, but I don't see this as a bad thing for Diddy, Dixie and the rest. Tbh, none of them have an important role to the story unlike DK and Cranky. The film would have remained the same without their presence. The fact that Nintendo decided to include them anyways should been a proof that they haven't forgotten them and not want to.

 

[Dinoman96]

I definitely think wherever DK goes next, the Kongs and animal buddies that appeared in DKCR/TF should be safe going forward, they're very much apart of DK's brand identity in 2024.

The rest of Rare's legacy characters (i.e K. Rool)...well, I hope to be pleasantly surprised by their return in the future.

 

[Diddy Kong]

I don't like the Toy style of Echoes of Wisdom and the Link's Awakening remake. It's a perfectly fine style and most characters look cute. The games are good too. But it's not a very appealing art style to me. I much prefer the more cartoony visuals of the Toon games or the more serious looking styles from games like OoT, TP and BotW.

I like the Toy style about as much as I like the retro NES art. Respectable but I don't like it.

Same here. However, the Toon look seems to have evolved into the mainstream look of BotW and TotK. Seems to, I emphasise.

I do miss it however. And I don't really think the new "toy" look is all too great either. I'd prefer a little more , I dunno, darker themes. A more serious tone, in which case I think the best example is Twilight Princess. There's a reason this game is so popular. I recently learned it had more sales than even Ocarina of Time.

Regarding Donkey Kong, I just wanna see and believe. I got my DKCR HD copy, I have yet to play it, but I do wanna give it proper attention. I just hope that they actually gonna give the series the full spotlight again that it deserves.

I also do think the Kongs are safe cause of the Mario Movie. I let that one sink it a little since the Mario Kart 9 reveal, as the Mario Movie wasn't a bad role for Donkey Kong and related characters at all. Its just... a design I don't like. Way too fluffy, I hugely prefer the old classic look established by Rare and especially with DKCR HD I felt they perfectly nailed that look. Now this ****.

Oh well, I just hope to see him more often. I'd take a new DKC game with this look, as long as they keep the core elements of course.

 

[MartianSnake]

Want to hear another example of characters from Mario Odyssey being woefully underutilized just because they're not Pauline? Super Mario Party Jamboree could've had the Broodals take the place of Bowser Spaces and mess with the players in different ways.

They're wedding planners, that's their job and who they are. They don't even seem to work for Bowser regularly, I'm pretty sure he just hired them to plan the wedding. Even if you ignore The Lore, they still LOOK like wedding planners, all the white and the dapper outfits are supposed to fit a wedding environment, not anything else.

 

[Mario & Sonic Guy]

I definitely think wherever DK goes next, the Kongs and animal buddies that appeared in DKCR/TF should be safe going forward, they're very much apart of DK's brand identity in 2024.

The rest of Rare's legacy characters (i.e K. Rool)...well, I hope to be pleasantly surprised by their return in the future.

Nintendo may have the full rights to the Kremling Krew, but it truly does feel like the Kremlings have been retired (the Kritters last appeared in Smash 3DS, which was over a decade ago; the Klaptrap last appeared in Ultimate as an Assist Trophy), much like what happened to the Koopa Kids after Mario Party 7.

 

[LiveStudioAudience]

Call it misplaced optimism but I could see K Rool as someone Nintendo keeps in their back pocket to bring back at some time in the future as a potential selling point for a major DK title. Likely not the next one as I suspect it'll be a soft reboot of sorts to really usher in the EPD era of Donkey Kong, but perhaps in a game or two down the line.

 

[Good Night !]

Call it misplaced optimism but I could see K Rool as someone Nintendo keeps in their back pocket to bring back at some time in the future as a potential selling point for a major DK title. Likely not the next one as I suspect it'll be a soft reboot of sorts to really usher in the EPD era of Donkey Kong, but perhaps in a game or two down the line.

I'm not so optimistic about K. Rool as I am with the Kongs. But I would like to see him back in action in a new DK game.

Even after he's been gone for a decade, people still remember him for being the "Bowser" of DK. He's still the arch-enemy of DK in people's mind. So Nintendo should make him appear more often.

 

[Perkilator]

They're wedding planners, that's their job and who they are. They don't even seem to work for Bowser regularly, I'm pretty sure he just hired them to plan the wedding. Even if you ignore The Lore, they still LOOK like wedding planners, all the white and the dapper outfits are supposed to fit a wedding environment, not anything else.

I mean...that doesn't necessarily mean they can't cut loose and have fun. Especially since Bowser's already playable in Jamboree.

 

[MartianSnake]

I mean...that doesn't necessarily mean they can't cut loose and have fun. Especially since Bowser's already playable in Jamboree.

Like I said, even if you ignore the lore, the characters are so intrinsically tied to weddings on a visual layer alone that'd it'd be weird.

Besides, there's plenty of other characters that can fulfill the Mario Party mean trickster role Bowser typically does.

Kamek, King Boo, the Koopalings, etc.

 

[Diddy Kong]

Call it misplaced optimism but I could see K Rool as someone Nintendo keeps in their back pocket to bring back at some time in the future as a potential selling point for a major DK title. Likely not the next one as I suspect it'll be a soft reboot of sorts to really usher in the EPD era of Donkey Kong, but perhaps in a game or two down the line.

I actually hope to see him in the very next Donkey Kong game. Regardless of whoever makes it. I'd see even Retro Studios use the Kremlings and their supreme Kommander King for a next game styled after Returns and Tropical Freeze. To finish off a trilogy completely, albeit late as ****.

I mean, even the Snomads took quite the inspiration from the Kremling crew. Wouldn't take that much effort to reclothe them into Kremlings in the sizes and shapes we know and love.

But I don't even know if we're ever getting the Donkey Kong Country format back at this point. Not sure if they wanna take their own take on it, whoever picks it up next. That seems to happen quite a lot... I wouldn't even be objected against a new Jungle Beat, taken they use at least classical DKC elements and characters at least also present in Returns and Tropical Freeze.

I also don't even think a full blown crossover with Mario is out of the question. Basically doing what the Mario Movie did. A 3D Mario game, but with Donkey Kong thrown into the whole mix. Making DK Isle just another "world" to explore, and having DK and possibly Diddy too playable alongside Mario, Luigi, Peach and maybe a few others.

The future is uncertain. I just think that if they gonna focus on Donkey Kong Country, they'll focus on everything that made the series what it is. And K.Rool and the Kremlings would be quite the marketing tool for the old skool fans.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

I think an arcade-centric DK future would be awesome. 94 and MvDK GBA are both great games that could be expanded on extremely well, and I don't think it'd be the biggest stretch to put the kongs (Rare creations included) into the player role there given how much they focus on lifting and carrying - it'd be really fun to put DK back in an urban setting for an entire game, and try to portray the rainy big city lights in a similar way to how DKC handles its atmosphere (Rickety Race, anyone?). First thing to come to mind is Sleepwalker, a pretty crap game but with a beautiful urban atmosphere. Some kind of "lost away from home" plot like Tropical Freeze would work excellently.

 

[Wario Wario Wario]

Oooh boy, this topic again, I may or may not be obssessed:

I've been reading way too much of the discourse about DK's design, and I think I've really come to hate the "Cranky is old DK" lore - not because of the meta humor but more because it creates a stupid separation between arcade DK and Country, and people tend to take it way too literally as if to imply these are separate characters in an out-universe sense. I think it's high time this got "? blocks are Toads"ed out.