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Xenoblade Chronicles X - Switch 2 Edition Trailer (Upgrade available now for $5 for existing owners; Physical release on April 16)

Literally a remaster of a remaster.

I can just imagine how shit IQ probably was on the last release, so I guess it's for the better.
 
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"These days" I'd say it was already the case back during PS3 and PS4 gen.

But the "definitive edition" on Switch 1 would be the real remaster rather than a port.

back in the PS360 era people mostly just called them HD ports, or HD Collections .and they often just had that HD added to the name.

but then after that you couldn't do another HD version, we already had HD, and HD as a buzzword didn't work well anymore... so people just started calling every port a remaster, since HD port didn't work anymore, and 1080p port would sound weird.

the only word left for people to use was remaster...
 
back in the PS360 era people mostly just called them HD ports, or HD Collections .and they often just had that HD added to the name.

but then after that you couldn't do another HD version, we already had HD, and HD as a buzzword didn't work well anymore... so people just started calling every port a remaster, since HD port didn't work anymore, and 1080p port would sound weird.

the only word left for people to use was remaster...
yea, the MGS4 is a port pretty obviously, but I am pedantic like this
 
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I'll give this game another chance I guess.
Gameplay was too complicated IMO and the story was barely there. The world is amazing visually but that by itself isn't enough for me. Let's see if the extra performance carries me to a point I like it more.
 
I'll give this game another chance I guess.
Gameplay was too complicated IMO and the story was barely there. The world is amazing visually but that by itself isn't enough for me. Let's see if the extra performance carries me to a point I like it more.
It's definitely the weakest in the series, in my opinion. But that still makes it better than most other JRPG's.
 
yea, the MGS4 is a port pretty obviously, but I am pedantic like this

most "remasters" are just ports.

in the modern era people kinda forgot that a port back in the day very often meant that a game would get multiple graphical changes, either in a negative or a positive way.

the GTA 3/VC ports for Xbox massively improved the textures, car models, character models, and effects like reflection maps on cars.

Soul Reaver on Dreamcast had a whole new character model and texture improvements... and of course the textures and polygons didn't wobble like a motherfucker anymore either 🤣 all while running at 4x the resolution as well.

that was generally a thing on Dreamcast with PS1 ports. like Spider-Man, Tomb Raider etc.

it was very normal that, if a system had better hardware, a port would make use of that hardware.


hell, let's go further back!
here's Turrican on C64 vs the Amiga port:
original%20turrican%20titlescreens%20c64%20and%20amiga.webp
 
So which Aladdin is better ? SNES version or Mega Drive ?

SNES.

but those aren't even ports. that's just 2 different developers/publishers getting the IP rights to the same movie for different platforms lol

the Mega Drive version is just a badly designed and unimaginative action platformer,
while the SNES version actually tried interesting mechanics and has actually good level design, albeit with slightly stiff feeling controls.
 
Nintendo is so weird with these updates.

Resolution and framerate updates for Super Mario Odyssey, Captain Toad, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom etc.:
Oprah Lol GIF by Amy Poehler's Smart Girls


Resolution and framerate update for Xenoblade Chronicles X:
n6erP3g26iptXEsl.jpeg
 
Is it just me or are the eShop servers slammed trying to get this? 🙃

EDIT: it was my Adblock DNS server for anyone having issues, changed it on Switch 2 and it worked suddenly.
 
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Nice! I hope they do same for numbered Xenoblade as well, especially for Xenoblade 2&3.
Hell, I'd pay for a physical re-release of the entire saga if they offered it. This is the one series that could get me to do so as Not even Zelda could get me to re-buy their physical Switch 2 editions (at least not at those asking prices)
 
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Good. This game is great.
Ok. Sell me on it.

Xenoblade chronicles 1 I completed and it was a slog…. It did not hold up. I think I gave it a 6/10 because combat was mindless, the middle of the game felt horribly paced, but the ending made it worth going through.

XBC2 I'm maybe 15 hours in and put it down. Just not feeling it at all.

Would you say this is better than those games in the narrative and pacing department? Is combat more engaging?
 
Nintendo is so weird with these updates.

Resolution and framerate updates for Super Mario Odyssey, Captain Toad, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom etc.:
Oprah Lol GIF by Amy Poehler's Smart Girls's Smart Girls


Resolution and framerate update for Xenoblade Chronicles X:
n6erP3g26iptXEsl.jpeg

If I had to guess, they're using these $5 upgrade fees to help cover their increasing costs of components (RAM, memory, etc). At this point, every bit of money they can make, to help stave off increasing hardware prices, and they'll take it (same for Sony)
 
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I own, and have never finished, every Xenoblade except for this one.

This title seems standalone, and it's really tempting, but I'm a bit apprehensive. Too many games to play right now.

EDIT: Just realized I owned this on Wii U...and never finished it.

EDIT 2: Bought lol
 
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while the SNES version actually tried interesting mechanics and has actually good level design
The SNES game is as average and random a SNES platformer could be, while the MegaDrive game opened a new world of possibilities in terms of scale, design and animation. In a sense, the SNES feels like an enhanced 8 bits game while the MD game showed what could only be achieved on a 16 bits console.

Otherwise, great news for Xeno X. Will wait for physical.
 
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The SNES game is as average and random a SNES platformer could be, while the MegaDrive game opened a new world of possibilities in terms of scale, design and animation. In a sense, the SNES feels like an enhanced 8 bits game while the MD game showed what could only be achieved on a 16 bits console.

Otherwise, great news for Xeno X. Will wait for physical.

the MD game is trash. it has literal blind jumps with death traps, it has generic gameplay with no interesting mechanics, and the level design is a completely convoluted mess.

the SNES game had interesting parkour mechanics, had good level design WITH NO BLIND DEATH JUMPS, and just looks better
 
and just looks better
You can prefer the level-design and mechanics of the SNES game, fine.

But the game looking better ? Come on lol. It is random as it gets for SNES games. The average pixel-art from Capcom with the same uninspired gradients and lack of contrast. As well as small sprites and basic animation. And the sound is just bad. Aladdin on MD "looked and sounded like the movie", it had huge sprites and superb animation.
 
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You can prefer the level-design and mechanics of the SNES game, fine.

But the game looking better ? Come on lol. It is random as it gets for SNES games. The average pixel-art from Capcom with the same uninspired gradients and lack of contrast. As well as small sprites and basic animation. Aladdin on MD "looked like the movie", it had huge sprites and superb animation.

being animated like a movie is not a good thing. game animations have very different priorities from movie animations.

being smoothly animated can easily kill readability and make the visual feedback feel worse.

the SNES game might look a bit generic, but the SNES' typical advantages make it look far more appealing imo.


and I do not "prefer" the level design of the SNES game...
there's no bigger objectively bad design choice than having a blind jump into a pit, or a blind jump into spikes that hurt (possibly kill) you. and the MD game has both of them. and that's not down to opinion if that's bad... that's just objectively bad design. there's no preferring happening here. just good vs bad design

and I wouldn't be surprised if they are done on purpose, as they probably followed the same old same old "we need to make it artificially hard to not let people finish it in one weekend" shit to discourage renting the game.

and that instantly disqualifies it from being a good game 🤷
 
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Nintendo is so weird with these updates.

Resolution and framerate updates for Super Mario Odyssey, Captain Toad, Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom etc.:
Oprah Lol GIF by Amy Poehler's Smart Girls's Smart Girls


Resolution and framerate update for Xenoblade Chronicles X:
n6erP3g26iptXEsl.jpeg
It's not weird, one is just a patch and the other is a native port, something that itself obviously requires a lot more work.
 
If they added the option to change the city and combat OST I would pay more for it. But then I remember that X is the weakest game in the series by far.
I dont think its the "weakest" but its big departure from numbered series and some got in to it and some didn't.
 
SNES.

but those aren't even ports. that's just 2 different developers/publishers getting the IP rights to the same movie for different platforms lol

the Mega Drive version is just a badly designed and unimaginative action platformer,
while the SNES version actually tried interesting mechanics and has actually good level design, albeit with slightly stiff feeling controls.

are you smoking crack over there?
 
being animated like a movie is not a good thing. game animations have very different priorities from movie animations.

being smoothly animated can easily kill readability and make the visual feedback feel worse.

the SNES game might look a bit generic, but the SNES' typical advantages make it look far more appealing imo.


and I do not "prefer" the level design of the SNES game...
there's no bigger objectively bad design choice than having a blind jump into a pit, or a blind jump into spikes that hurt (possibly kill) you. and the MD game has both of them. and that's not down to opinion if that's bad... that's just objectively bad design. there's no preferring happening here. just good vs bad design

and I wouldn't be surprised if they are done on purpose, as they probably followed the same old same old "we need to make it artificially hard to not let people finish it in one weekend" shit to discourage renting the game.

and that instantly disqualifies it from being a good game 🤷
Yet the MD game is not longer than the SNES game despite the "blind jumps" that irritate you. I am going to disagree with you on this. I think Aladdin on MD, on top of being a much more impressive and faithful game, played exactly like what people expected coming from the movie, and this is the reason why it was such a huge success.

You trying to tell us it is "objectively and factually" a bad game feels a bit desperate honestly.
 
Still not a fan that Nintendo are charging money for better visuals and performance if you play an old game on a new system. 4K resolution and stable 60fps should come free of charge if you play that shit on the new console that you have paid 400€+ for...
 
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