Keeping an IP or trademarked characters relevant all these years implies two things: Protect/Promote your IPs and release new games for these.

I love how they are trying to be cool with the kids and then have the tag “shellstationsus”
Shell Stations US was probably their intention... but the kids will read it differently.

That’s the kind of emotional destruction that machines will never be able to convincingly replicate.

I was going to mention exactly this.  Trying to mimic another character almost never comes off well.

As a pc gamer too, I can appreciate higher fps but for sure, anything over 60 is just bonus. That’s the sweet spot where controls are responsive, there’s no visual lag when moving the camera, etc. It just feels right. 30 is fine if that’s all they can achieve but..

Nah, it's Chrono Cross. The combat, the progression, no random battles, no grinding etc. 

Less than that, really. It’s easier to think of your two lead characters as a single combined protagonist. You can swap between them freely at campfires and it only changes minor dialogue depending on who’s in the lead. They’re not quite “silent protagonist” but are definitely left as rough character sketches for the…

The game reassures you that your choice of “primary” character actually changes nothing. I don’t yet know if that’s a trixy hobbitses lie, but, so far, nothing. The two starting characters are basically Siamese Twins as far as the plot goes, and it doesn’t strain credulity in the slightest. I’ve never even once…

I’ve only played through as one character, but I *think* changing characters doesn’t even really change minor things. Both characters are either always present, or you play through both of their experiences. At most, I suspect it only changes who delivers a few lines of dialogue, or who reacts to statements said by…

I can’t do this anymore...I just can’t with Live Service games. I’m too old, there’s too many cool games, there’s just not enough time.

“...

Yeah this is kind of how I feel now. I want to be able to play these giant games, and I probably would have been thrilled to see my $60 (now $70) go this far when I was in high school and college and couldn’t afford many new games, but I just don’t have the time anymore, because I’m not sure it’s even for me.

I suspect Nintendo is using AI for the voice of Mario. Nintendo is all about saving money and delivering big profits.

Nope! It’s closer to Final Fantasy. Each game is completely stand-alone. Occasionally there’s a reference to an “NPC” that turns out to be a protagonist from a previous game, but it’s just like, brief cameos and nothing meaningful.

Not in particular. In 4 Golden, there is a small section where you go on a school trip to the High School from 3 with a few familiar characters(but they only have like 10 lines of dialogue). And maybe a few minor nods to P3. And in P3 Portable, a character from P4 is shown as in a scene as a kid. Other than that,…

I’d have made it three strikes though

“I want to cosplay as Sailor Moon.

And even if it did sell like that, if it was a Square Enix Europe game, it was still a failure for not selling more. Thankfully that’s not a problem anymore... but I wouldn’t call selling what used to be Eidos to Embracer Group much of an improvement.

Sadly, many studios and publishers lump together the vitriol and most negative feedback together nowadays. Especially companies like Square Enix, where if it’s not glowing praise they generally don’t want to hear it.