User blog:ZeoSpark/Reviewing 2019: The Good, The Bad, and The Meh

Hello! As usual I'll be posting my overall review of 2019 the last year of the decade. And overall it's been a pretty good one for Nintendo and there are already things looking forward to in 2020. Of course I'll be going over the stuff that was good, the stuff that was bad, and the stuff that just falls right in between of this year and I'll be mentioning other Nintendo games. Anyway, lets get to it!

Super Mario Maker 2 and Luigi's Mansion 3
It's really no surprise that the top Nintendo games of 2019 are these two and I'll go over SMM2 first. For starters, thanks Nintendo! When Nintendo was porting all of these other Wii U games into Switch games, I was hoping that Super Mario Maker was going to be ported as well and I was actually caught off guard when they made an entirely second game! This game as so many good things going for it including new enemies, features (slopes!), and of course being able to play with friends! Of course it does have it's obvious flaws being the laggy online for multiplayer and the fact amiibo don't work with this game but overall a good experience!

But the real winner of "Best Nintendo game of 2019" goes to Luigi's Mansion 3 definitely! This game is one of the most gorgeous looking games I've seen in a long time and even Super Mario Odyssey looks tame to it. This game is a perfect blend of the first and second games fixing the problems both games had (Luigi's Mansion short length and similar looking rooms and Dark Moon's mission-based structure and generic ghosts). The variety of rooms, the personality of each ghost, and of course the fun feature of Gooiugi being used right here makes this game an absolute winner. The only bad thing I could say about this game is that the online multiplayer is flawed (big surprise...). Truly a masterpiece!

The Reveals of Hero, Banjo & Kazooie, and Terry Bogard for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
The reveal of the rest of the DLC characters for the 1st Fighter's Pass (for the most part) came into full swing and my goodness they delivered. Hero form Dragon Quest series was a pretty interesting addition as it appeals to people in the East rather than the West where we live but then bam! Banjo & Kazooie to end that same Direct off was one of my favorite moments in Smash since "Everyone is Here!" And Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury was a fun addition as well! Many people were "Meh" to him because they don't know him but like Sakurai himself said (not direct quote) "It's more about if the character is fun to play as than if they're well known or not." It's still a bummer that we didn't get the last DLC character to end 2019 off on but it's better than nothing!

SNES games for Nintendo Switch Online
This may not be a popular opinion but I really do like they decided to add SNES games to Nintendo Switch Online service. There are SO many games for the SNES that I always wanted to play and never got the chance when I was younger (looking at you Super Metroid and A Link to the Past) and other games I found interesting (like Breath of Fire). The huge downside is that they're uploading new games very slowly now but the good games will get there in due time.

Nintendo Switch Lite
I have to say, I wasn't hyped for this at first due to already having a main Switch that I can already take on the go and even hook up to the tv. But the Lite is a blessing in disguise as I tend to leave my main Switch at home anyway and this thing is so easy to carry around. And the bright colors help in contrast the Switch's darker colors. It's also the perfect device to play those downloadable games online like Undertale or Stardew Valley.

Other fun Switch Games
This one will be brief as I don't want to go too off topic for this wiki but games like Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Newer Super Lucky's Tale, etc. were fun games to play as well especially FE giving you so much to do.

The 2019 Game Awards
This one is easy. Too easy. The Game Awards this year was, well, terrible. Nothing interested really happened and it seems like the announcers themselves didn't care for the awards. Especially how fast they were speeding through the awards. There were too many video game trailers and music sessions where it barely qualified as a Game Awards in the first place. But the worse thing about it? Nintendo barely did anything. They did next to nothing! There was no information on Metroid 4 or Breath of the Wild 2, there was no new updates for games, there wasn't the announcement of the final DLC character for the Fighter's Pass for SSBU! It would've been perfected to revealed any one of those but Nintendo chose not to! Let's hope the direct would make up for it...

Link's Awakening, Yoshi's Crafted World, and Pokemon Sword and Shield
Whoo boy... I can see people being upset over this and I'll try to explain myself starting with Link's Awakening. This is not a bad game mind you. This game looks good, it plays good, and is a really fun time. The reason why it's a "Meh?" Because it's a really short game that costs the full $60 price! I was hesitant to buy the game because I was thinking "This game must be really good to cost the same price as Breath of the Wild" and it's not bad. It's just short and got boring after I beat it. The Dungeon Maker thing is cool until you have to go and get the pieces yourself... If this game costed $40 instead, it would've been in the "Good" section that's for sure!

For Yoshi's Crafted World, again, it's a really fun and VERY stunning game! It really looks like something came from a work of art! But...it's a Yoshi game so it's two things: Easy and short. Also, this game gets really boring after a good while and not many people even remember this game much anymore. It got overshadowed heavily by Super Mario Maker 2 and other games like Three Houses. Just not a really stand out game anymore.

And finally Pokemon Sword and Shield. I feel a little safer talking about this because this game is extremely controversial for one main reason: No National Dex. This game severely cuts out a lot of Pokemon and kept only so many of the past region ones in to the point it feels like a downgrade from Pokemon Ultra Moon. Not to mention the game is fairly short and way too easy with the broken EXP candy feature. It's a fun game and I'll love to battle/trade with anyone! But for now...it's flawed man... and I really hate how it always connects you locally first which messes with my Switch's internet. They really need to patch in something to fix that.

Conclusion
Overall, this year was actually pretty good for Nintendo! Despite not showing at the Game Awards, they already showed everywhere else with amazing games and additions! 2020 is looking good with that FE crossover game and Animal Crossing in a few months! Of course I'll continue to be around for the better future as well! Time to end this because my hands are tired lol. Thanks for reading!