There's not a lot that I find super-compelling about the iPad or iPhone, but I'll be damned if their screens aren't like looking into some magical pool - the resolution is so good, it just looks like a solid object in front of you instead of a bunch of pixels.

Do you have a 3DS? If the Switch doesn't pan out, I'd strongly recommend the 3DS - you get two libraries (DS + 3DS), along with quite a bit of Virtual Console emulation along with some of the best new games being made. Don't think me a shill - I just like to recommend what's worked for me!

I was this close to picking No Man's Sky for most disappointing, as it didn't inspire past a certain point. In spite of that, though, I did really enjoy my time with the game and it offered a very unique virtual experience. It also provided an emotion I rarely feel playing games - awe.

I voted for The Witness, though weirdly Paper Mario: Color Splash was right up there too. It would be Xenoblade Chronicles X, since I exclusively played that in January and February 2016, but it did technically get released in 2015.

What a delightful video. Zelda looks incredible, and even slicker than on the Wii U (in terms of performance - visually it looks identical, inasmuch as one can tell with the various mediating factors of a Youtube stream of projected video). Performance on the off-screen mode looks tight as well!

Wow, my brain doesn't even have a place to put that.

I've been working out enough on my stationary bike to actually have my legs aching, so I've been dialing it back a little bit. It's nice that the ramp-up in frequency and intensity has happened so naturally, but I really like not having tired legs, haha.

That's pretty intriguing! I guess it's a good reminder to look into a variety of sources, given that the controller overlay could be a serious hurdle for some players while others might find it unremarkable.

Having grown up in an era of discrete genres with very distinct mechanics, I've found the "super-genre" leaves me very cold. There's a reason I've drifted more into the idiosyncratic, unique designs of indie and Nintendo titles over the past five years, and I suspect you've hit the nail on the head. Narratives in…

It's pretty surprising that this would be the case in an Ueda game. I would have thought his auteur design model and tendency towards minimalism would entirely eschew such a frustrating feature, but that's apparently not the case. You have to wonder if it was imposed due to poor testing or an intentional design choice…

Same. That one easily takes the cake for me (particularly since it was a puppy that my parents had in a cardboard box when my sister and I came into the room, and she poked the lid off with her nose while we were standing there!).

Shadow Tactics sounds super-cool!

As a series, I'd contend that they've largely improved over time. In particular, the switch to 3D was a significant improvement; it brought more life to the world and, more importantly, the creatures, and what's anyone playing these games for if not charming/cool monsters?

That game is excellent! My wife and I really enjoyed playing through it as the new episodes were released, though we didn't move on to any of the more recent seasons/specials. We started them and found that whatever mysterious factor that had attracted us to the first season was gone.

I'm not sure what to make of the cutscenes. On the one hand, they contribute to the strongest story the series has included so far. On the other hand, they get in the way of what most people (including myself) consider the central feature of the games - training and collecting your monsters. I'm also sorry to say…

It's funny you should bring up procedural generation - I've also been playing Steamworld Heist, and I'm told the levels are procedurally generated, but I'm pretty sure the layout's been the same when I've had to replay sections due to losses - the enemy placement changes, but I haven't noticed the rooms themselves…

GAMES THREAD

You're our hope! America's got nothing left to give…

I'm right there with you. Pokemon Sun may be the first game where I've begun to include status moves alongside attack moves. I wonder how much of this is down to the absence of HMs, the increased emphasis on tougher team battles (even with wild Pokemon!), or the ease of discovering what moves do. That little screen…

Funny enough, I'm playing Tokyo Mirage Sessions at the same time as Pokemon Sun and wondering if Game Freak pulled their effectiveness overhaul from TMS (and other similar Atlus titles). In those games, part of the fun of a new area is the tension the player feels as she or he tries new elemental attacks on various…