I finally played StarFox on Switch 2 after being busy and playing 64, and it is a very faithful remake of 64, with some caveats. The levels are designed exactly like the original are and they are visually beautiful. The controls are good, and the music is a good upgrade of the original. I still do not like the voice acting and writing of the dialogue and I still think it’s pretty bad especially during the missions. During briefings they are alright, but that’s because it’s moreso planning than something full on emotional. I also had some issues with Andross that I think should be fixed up a bit, and the visuals for him during the first phase are more boring than the original. Otherwise, he’s fine and works as good as before. I need to play more of the game, but I overall had a good time. Definitely prefer 64 because I’m a bit biased and I prefer the characterization of the crew in that game, but I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you want a more visually stunning version of StarFox 64, I’d give it an 8.5-9/10.

Twilight Princess had a beautiful character-driven story focused on both Link and Midna, characters who both develop more as the game continues forward, with the message of finding hope in darkness, prejudice, as well as some themes of grief, loss, emotional devastation, or finding a purpose. Majora’s Mask tells a great story with the theme of grief, loss, mortality, importance of how we spend time, and the importance of human connection even when the inevitable of death is around the corner. These are both games that especially resonate with me as someone who has delt with grief, prejudice because of my disability, and lack of purpose. There are so many more great ones that I also love but may resonate more with so many other people, which is kind of something both BOTW and TOTK lack because the story is optional, locked behind cutscenes that have nothing to do with your progression through the game, etc. It’s not that those games don’t have any story or overlaying message at all, it’s the fact that they are presented and executed in a way that’s too loose to the point where it’s completely optional, and ironically that’s kind of one of my main problems with both of those games: they focus so hard on being non-linear and open that almost everything is optional and the story barely has any presence within the actual game (especially in TOTK). So yes, Zelda is capable of telling great stories, idk why we are pretending like they don’t.

Real ironic coming from the guy who falsely accused me of being apart of a hate mob because I didn’t like Metroid Prime 4 and it’s incredibly disappointing to see you still doing this sad shit, thinking in black and white rather than having nuance. Reece, people are allowed to have their own opinions, samething with you. No one’s denying the fact that most game franchises evolve and that isn’t the problem people like me or others have with BOTW or TOTK. The problem is that in execution, those games went way too far into open world and non-linearity to the point where everything is incredibly loose, most objectives feel optional (because they technically are), the dungeons and even most shrines are incredibly weak in comparison to those older games, and the story is optional, basic, and barely progresses the game forward or develops Link as a character. I’m not saying we should fully go back to the 3D formula or that the new games are bad, but I am saying that there should be better balance between the two. Two things can be true at once: just because something needed to evolve and the older formula felt stale doesn’t make the new formula a perfect or good evolution of the former. You are an interviewer and podcaster, you seriously cannot be saying stuff like this in a way that undermines people’s issues by flattening them into something more nuanced than how you are interpreting it, it’s dangerous. I hope you actually consider the nuance in why people don’t like this, because acting as pretentious as you are doesn’t help in the long run. Get your shit together