Phew, brutal Hyrule Warriors placement. Is it really sub DragXDrive? :)

I think Bananza is looser, in many ways: it's a chaotic game with a party atmosphere to it. It has a sense of abandon, and is less manicured. I liked that it's a wild one — Japanese metal in a Nintendo game felt fresh. It's a big swing, and that's what I want from them.

It's interesting that tweaks like moons=fuel made Odyssey more meaningful for you. I'm generally disinterested in Nintendo's storytelling, honestly. It's often very... functional — collect some things to open the next thing and beat the final boss. But Odyssey did feel more... idk. Classy?

Thanks for concisely making the case for me to watch it in a way the generalised hype burble has not

Yeah, I can understand that. I agree that the story/structure, such as it is, is a tenuous thread. I think they may have been leaning into the novelty and delight of not knowing what to expect next.

So you thought Odyssey's whirlwind tour of disconnected areas was more coherent?

I said Mario World! But Odyssey isn't that dissimilar to the loosely associated cereal bowls of content, in my memory. Desert! City! Jurassic! And now beat Bowser!

I don't think crescendos of storytelling have ever been Nintendo's whole deal.

Much unlike perfectly paced narrative masterworks like Super Mario World and Breath of the Wild?

Yeasss

It used to be the Tories who wanted to create a "hostile environment" for immigrants. Now it's (what was once) Labour creating a hostile environment for genuine refugees.

Is there no best amputated finger sidekick category?

I have Routine, Sleep Awake, and Half-Life 3 (lol) with a 32 point gap between me and the league leader... one of my two obscure horror games would have to be a shock 92-score.

True that. There's maybe an outsized feeling of fondness for it though? There's a certain fairydust/togetherness feeling to Nintendo console launch(ish) games. Everyone playing Bananza on their Switch 2s was a moment I'll remember from 2025.

If shows were in here, I even think Andor might go in at number three...

I didn't think Solo was that bad. Better than the shitty final trilogy. And the shitty second trilogy tbh.

Oh, just for a visit! My wording could have been better here

Haha I was thinking you'd like those when I was editing :)

The menace, the superstar