Why Nintendo Switch Online Gets Weird Games: The Japan vs. US NSO Secret Revealed!
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- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- Today I talk about the Nintendo Switch NSO games and exploring why sometimes we get WEIRD games like... Spankys Quest? Yeah there's a reason.
Edited by: @Bloops
Additional Art from: @OfficiallyTCK
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Commenting corrections, constructive criticism, and even rude comments of the content is accepted. However posting incorrect corrections or generally promoting misinformation will be removed.
The fact that the first Fire Emblem isn’t on US Online is the dumbest shit ever. They’re sitting on a full translation but they did that limited time nonsense instead🤦🏻♂️
Now hold on just a minute! Next year is the 35'th anniversary of Fire Emblem, meaning that the longest we'll have to wait in order to have Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light in English again is only 1 more year thereabouts. Japan doesn't have Gaiden yet, so we'll probably see both happen on the same day.
@@Nathaniel_E_Dearingor not because Gaiden already had a remake on the 3ds.
@@therealjaystone2344 And Metroid II: Return of Samus also got a 3DS remake. Your point was? There is a 5-7 year statute of limitations as it were for remakes of retro games. After that time has passed, the original can then be reasonably expected on NSO. Gaiden's time is just about up, meaning it's arrival is likely within 1 year or so from now.
That thing being a limited time deal was so freaking stupid. Like, having all the physical stuff to celebrate Fire Emblem's anniversary, I can understand that being a limited time offer, physical resources being a factor here, but the game itself was a digital download, and there's no good reason not to have the download just be available continuously afterward.
If it never had a localized version during the lifetime of the console, it’s not going to be on NSO. Period. People just don’t understand what this service is
Minor correction.
Alone in the Dark was included when the GameBoy service launched, if it replaced any Japanese exclusive, that would be Yakuman.
When The Frog for whom the Bell Tolls released we didn’t actually get any equivalent. Likely because it also released alongside Super Mario Land, which they probably figured would already be enough to carry that batch.
Repeat after me: “In Japan…”
They always get the good stuff in Nintendo’s homeland.
Even though games like Spanky's Quest and Alone in the Dark GBC may not be the first games that come to mind for a service like this, I am super glad this "weird" stuff is on there, because a lot of it has never had any kind of rerelease before! And most of us have played the classics already, so having old school games I never got to try out before - or never knew existed - is an absolute treat!
Isn't it called "the frog for whom the bell tolls"? Weird title for sure lol but it looks so neat! I wish I spoke Japanese
There is a fan translation of it, and it's quite good. They translated the title as "For The Frog The Bell Tolls".
I loved cobra triangle. I've learned from looking at the comments from the NSO updates their are almost always fans of the games that are released. Just saying just because you don't think the games released are all that special doesn't mean it doesn't have its fans happy to see it.
The Switch is not region locked
I mean hey, Spanky's Quest is legit good. Deserves more praise, tbh.
World 5 was a bit annoying, but the ball mechanic is so good. Overall it's a super satisfying game to play
@@Faucet254 I personally haven't gotten that far yet, I gotta sit down and commit to a full playthrough at some point. I should also point out that the Japanese version of the game is overall better. It has actual tutorial levels! The international releases just drop you in and expect you to figure stuff out yourself. Plus, the box art reflects the game's art style much more accurately.
@@PCEngineLives I feel the same about Mappy-Land to be honest. It's a game the gaming community don't normally talk about and since they're not familiar with it, thus not give it a proper chance, lot of people call it "garbage shovelware" when it's ported on NSO. But in my opinion, Mappy-Land is a really great gem, it has this really fun and addictive Arcade style game play that still highly holds up even to this day. I'll go as far to say Mappy-Land is in my top 5 favorite games, it definately deserves more praise. But that's the unfortunate thing about lot of people in the gaming community, just because it's not a recognizable IP like Mario, Zelda, Mega Man, Banjo Kazooi, Earthbound etc, they assume it's trash.
@@retrofan4963 It's definitely among some of the great arcade type games on NES. It's actually a console only sequel to a Namco arcade game, Mappy. But yeah, I think it's not super fair to outright dismiss some of these games. If you just personally don't feel interested in a certain game from the start, I can understand that, but it's also nice to once in a while give something new to you a shot.
@@PCEngineLives Exactly friend. I agree, it's really unfair. They're not open-minded about the underrated gems, so the more recognizable IP's that the gaming community talks about more often are the games these people seem to think are the the only great ones. That's the reason why there are so many under-appreciated gems that didn't get the praise and recognition they deserve because while these underrated gems like Mappy-Land and Spanky's Quest are really great games, they sadly did not get the same attention and these people just straight up ignore em. I do agree that if there's a certain game they're not interested from the start, that's fine. But if someone straight up calls the game trash and question like "how would anyone would like it, if someone likes it, he or she must have bad taste" even though that person never played it before, that's extremely unfair.
And yeah you're right :) Mappy-Land is a sequel. That's the reason why I wanted to play Mappy-Land in the first place because I love the original Mappy Arcade game and I'm really looking forward what Mappy-Land offers. I'm not disappointed when I finally played Mappy-Land, it's a really great sequel and lives up to the quality and charms of the original. Sorry for the long comment, looks like I do have a lot to say about thislol
Why did I get the impression from the thumbnail going to the video that the explanation for the A-B button ordering was going to be finally explained.
Nevertheless, this was a very nice & relevant thing to discover, having played 1 of the JP-only games that is "SMT if.." . Thank you!
Appreciate it lloyd!
The problem is: people want the famous popular titles, but most of those are either already on the service, or simply don't qualify. The major third-parties aren't just gonna give away their #1 games because we want them to, the #1 games get sold in compilations instead, that's just how businesses work! representative samples may happen, but not everything. Otherwise, those who continually complain are just selfish and ungrateful!!!
There's plenty of third-party games from smaller publishers, such as Natsume or Sunsoft (both of which already have games on the service).
Then explain why we don't have any non spinoff Pokemon games on the GB app. That was literally the reason to buy a GameBoy. And everyone wants them. And Pokemon is Nintendo's IP. People are begging for old school Pokemon.
@@BLOODY__FATALITY Patience; this year is Gold and Silver's 25th Anniversary, so maybe, just maybe mind you, we could see Gold and Silver added during the Pokémon Presents in August. Otherwise, 2026.
When the Mega Man World GB games hit NSO, I was immediately like "Oh, so Capcom isn't to make a Mega Man World Collection to buy the?" That would have the famously hard to buy Mega Man (World) V with the Stardroids."
They still haven't put Mega Man & Bass GBA anywhere since WiiU and original Mega Man and Bass on SuFami is still lost to time.
What I am saying is that going to NSO is usually a sign the company doesn't particularly care to try and sell it.
Notice no Castlevania EXCEPT Castlevania Legends and Bloodlines (which is the only one also available to buy) is on NSO. I don't see them not putting the 64 games, but I am shocked Legends isn't with the Advance Collection. Unless somehow the N64 ones end up with a 32 bit collection to finally give Symphony, Rondo, and the DS games.
What is and isn’t considered an “all-time classic” is in the eye of the beholder, I think. Some games North America gets on NSO might not be all that well known but are legitimately great. I would consider StarTropics a relatively obscure game and more of an underrated gem than an “all-time classic”, since a phrase like that would imply notoriety and fame, and StarTropics is, unfortunately, not that well known.
Not that they’re all winners, though. Bombuzal is a good example of “why is this even here?”
Wow who would have thought Japan having, Japan only games is not like that has happened for over centuries by now right?
It is a shame for anyone learning Japanese. But you might learn a bunch of 90s Japanese. Imagine someone learning English from skate or die 😂
I hope at some point they officially localize some of these games for American NSO players, especially the Fire Emblems and SMTs.
Nintendo and Atlus need to make a collection for both Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei on there older titles translated especially now due to the popularity of each series being higher then it has ever been where there newest games have callbacks to these older titles. It can be done as Arc system works and Konami have translated old games before ( A load of Kunio-kun games aka river city ransom and Kid Dracula Famicom respectively). Both Fire Emblem and SMT have big install bases nowadays so collections like these would sell well.
Or just download the ROMs for free
Interesting to see this after the announcement of the Starfy games on GBA coming to all regions.
The game I am shocked isn't on NSO is Metal Gear Solid GB (Ghost Babel). It makes me question what Konami is doing with it. Throwing it in with Master Collection 2? They are never ever going to sell it otherwise, but also I wonder if Nintendo would ever pay for the license, but then who knows how the deals actually work considering they seem to be for the life of NSO to begin with.
Breath of Fire on NSO means Capcom isn't planning to sell them outside a collection with the other 2 missing games (3 counting Dragon Quarter), but that's a matter if they believe it would sell and half of it is free with Nintendo.
Minor correction: Alone in the Dark 4: The New Nightmare was not a Game Boy exclusive. It's actually a port of a PS1 game, that was also on PC, Dreamcast, and later the PS2. Obviously, they had to cut a lot of corners to make it run on a Game Boy Color, but the fact that it works at all is impressive.
Personally, I like that NSO has a bunch of weird games that I wouldn't have played otherwise. I bought most of the classics on Virtual Console anyway. Yeah, it would be great to get translated versions of games we never got in the west, but that's a big ask, and they probably wouldn't put them on NSO
Alone in the dark would have been great if it wasn't such a bad puzzle to make the game longer.
Is there a good camera translation app that anyone would recommend? I know that those can prove to be effective in translating Japanese to English in small bursts, but I don’t know if there is one that can help with a full game or book for instance. If there is one, then this is HUGE because that means Westerners actually have an easy access to Mother 3 official along with games like this NES game and the recent Starfy games!
I'm still just upset that we didn't get Mother 3 on NSO. A translated rom exists online already, and I don't put it beyond Nintendo to just take that version and make slight modifications to add it to the service
not a lawyer but iirc theres some legal funk theyd have to get around in order to use that translation. the mom3 translation was done by fans rather than being done by nintendo themselves. cos of the legal funk + the cost of translating a fairly obscure game, theyve pretty much decided that its not worth releasing stateside, which is why mom3 wasnt released on VC outside of japan on the wii u
most of why Mother 3 has never been localized and released is due to music licensing. There are a lot of music tracks that very obviously reference other music and its likely that there will be some legal issues.
What you're asking for is legally impossible and would open a can of worms no company is going to do. Also the Fan translations are English, so you know the official one would need French and Spanish just for a North American release... let alone a minimum of 5 different languages for Europe.
To do it legally, they need to take staff they already have (which means they aren't working on worthwhile projects) or hire new ones or outsource it and obviously they need to be PAID FOR THEIR EFFORT AND TIME. And after all that localization work which reminder is more than translation and into at least 7 languages, you're going to put it out for "free" on your online service to ONLY the people paying for the HIGHER PRICE TIER OF THE SERVICE after spending all that money paying people to localize it for the planet. They are not running a charity. It's supposed to be effort makes a RETURN ON THE VALUE SPENT.
Mother 3 is never going to make that money back just being released on NSO and it's likely not making it back if released physically --because that's adding manufacturing and distribution costs and brick and mortar stores BUY GAMES TO SELL CUSTOMERS so they have to BELIEVE it will make the investment back.
Also, Fan translations are not LOCALIZATIONS. People need to grasp that. They don't ever take in account what makes sense to the intended audience. Writers understand that, editors understand that. It's someone's job to make your work make sense to an audience with who you don't understand their language let alone cultural nuances.
All of this is money spent and expectations of returns and when returns don't happen, franchises die.
Edit: Shesez saying Cobra Triangle isn't one of Rare's best titles is funny, because I just watched a video where a guy literally, unironically says he thinks Cobra Triangle is Rare's best game and his personal favorite. He's also a huge advocate for Zero Wing outside of its meme status. Guy has a genuine love for NES games, that's for sure.
Original comment:
Funnily enough, I've come to really enjoy and anticipate the weird, unexpected games Nintendo adds to NSO, and I realized this with the Extreme-G and Iggy's Reckin' Balls drop. I saw SO many people gush about how good and underrated Extreme-G was (and even saw a few fans of Iggy's Reckin' Balls), so really, you never know what game is really an underrated gem with it's own following. Plus, the fact that these games are available with the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service means that there's no real harm in trying out an unknown game that's part of the library, just to see if you ended up liking it.
Don't get me wrong, I want to see the likes of Donkey Kong 64, Donkey Kong '94, Banjo-Tooie, Diddy Kong Racing, the Wario Land games, and the mainline Pokemon games get added to NSO as much as anyone, though if Mole Mania, an underrated Game Boy game that I love to death, gets added and I see people gripe about how they're adding "garbage shovelware" instead of adding the popular games they specifically care about, I think I might deck someone.
4:52 when Tuff E Nuff was announced someone (I think in Europe somewhere) drew a beautiful cover that was used in both Japan and Europe as the cover as the developer somehow saw it. I have no idea why we got the ugly American cover even in Europe on NSO...
Also whatever happened to "hanami" translations from the Virtual Console? Couldn't they use them? And make more?
I'm still waiting on the NES Ninja Gaiden 2 & 3. By the way, AitD The New Nightmare wasn't exclusive. It was a demake of console versions at the time.
Alone in the dark the new nightmare actually isn't a game boy advance exclusive, there is a console version of the game.
The GBA version is just a very rough Port of that game, but probably one you'd see put on a show like punching weight where they go over very ambitious ports.
I actually saw both versions played on a channel called supergreatfriend, he was doing an alone in the dark series Marathon including some ports of the later games in preparation for the alone in the dark reboot.
(Rip the studio that made that game btw)
The parent company, embracer shut them down like everybody else they owned. Hate that damn company, they use the excuse that sales didn't meet expectations but frankly with how much debt they put themselves in they have shut that studio down regardless.
It’s ok guys, we’ll get SNES Fire Emblem in the US in the year 2032 through a limited access streaming service with a small additional fee!
I always wondered about this!!! Bummed for some of the stuff we're not getting....VPN anybody?
No need for vpn is really easy to make a Japan only account
Not really any need to, the Switch is not region-locked, just create a Japan-region account and you're free to download the Japanese NSO collections.
I think the real problem with there not being many Japan only games in the US NSO officially comes from the whole “they’re too lazy to hire actual translators to make it available” routine they went for. That and licensing
I've always known about the different releases on the Japanese service for a long time. When Nintendo announces new games for the service, I also check out Nintendo of Japan's channel to see if they got something different.
2:56 No it's not lol
I and a friend don't know any Japanese, but played quite a few matches
Nintendo could at least spend more than two dollars on some of these licenses! Why are we getting a game based on Quest for Camelot instead of something like Shatterhand or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers?!
While it's a shame the games aren't translated, saying you can't play them is a bit disingenuous, as you said at the end, anyone can just make a JP account and get the Japanese versions. Yes playing them would be a pain, but you can try, especially nowadays with apps that translate text on screen. In my country we had to play games either with a dictionary, or just not being able to read at all, since games wouldn't be translated to our language.
I should create a Japanese account just for my curiosity.
I wish they'd localize some of these. I know people don't like 'use ai' but I don't see how a big company like Nintendo would put them out otherwise. And I'd prefer them not to use ai.
They say they won't use AI for creative stuff so..! But some of the games have translations from the Virtual Console Hanami program, why not use them and bring that back??
That wouldn't be localization to begin with and to say it is would already show a gross misunderstanding and disrespect for what it is or the product in question.
By definition, LLM's can't localize because it can't understand cultural nuances (let alone tone in human speech and language, certainly not sarcasm).
And if you say "use them both", you're still paying a person (who also won't use LLM's either anyway because it makes his job harder proofreading and editing the LLM instead of doing it from scratch) and then you still have to justify the effort payment on the potential returns.
I just hope we can get more GBA games in the future, right now the drops feel so sparse- and I know this is a dead horse but more Pokemon would be nice but we don't know if we'll have to wait 2 years (30th anniversary) to get anything Pokemon related or not.
what do you think of the update we just got
@@davidgoldammer348 Amazing! I'm glad the updates are more consistent. Getting Starfy was a nice surprise.
@@mrsuperheatran2794 nice!
I don't think you answered your question. You spent this whole video going "Look at all these awesome Japan exclusive games Japan got, meanwhile we got the short end of the stick with Spanky's Quest and Jelly Boy." A lot of those weird games, including Spanky's Quest, were made in Japan and also available on Japanese NSO.
Cool!!!
😐 >app
😁 >app, japan
Sonic 1 isn't even on there lol.
hell doesn't exist
I don't really understand why we get non-translated games on the NSO. These aren't even games people know about it's just obscure japanese minigames.
Also I hate how they added the normal zelda four swords version instead of the anniversary one. The anniversary version for the DSi let you play by yourself and if you wanted with other people but it was the same game. Now I can't relive my childhood whenever I want because I need 3 people I don't have to be synchronized with my timezones and schedules...
Of course they added the GBA version, we have the GBA app. They can't just install a DSi game onto it and call it a day.
@@mrsuperheatran2794 They can at least make it single player. All these emulators can be made in a day.
You had 3 people with GBAs, a copy of the game and a Mini-Pak literally whenever you wanted back in childhood? I don't believe you. You're literally more able to connect with others now than at any time in human history before and with more access to the same equipment, unlike before.
Also, they did make a single player version of Four Swords GBA... it's called The Minish Cap, you should play it, it's on NSO already.
I wish Four Swords Adventure was on the platform, but I understand it would be an entire separate app in a more "99" type situation.
And no, sarcasm or not, "emulators" are not just made in a day especially not by people who aren't getting paid for their time. Companies for the most part still have to pay employees for their time, unlike how fans seem to disrespect developer time and act like things just happen magically for free with zero problems. Compatibility issues alone between two pieces of software can be a huge hundle. There are games on Steam older than you've been alive that don't run well on modern vastly more powerful machines, but you think solutions can be made up in a day.
In any case, the final answer to your request is "money + time + effort = return?" as in will the money spent to pay people to do it equal getting that money back plus interest. If no, cease action.
That's basic boolean language that games use when making them.
Professional yapper. First of all, the "four swords" game I am probably talking about in my original comment is for the Nintendo Dsi. It's just like four swords but without having to connect with other people to play, the dsi controls could have been implemented instantly to the switch since all of the buttons are the same. Minish cap is a completely different game that's why it's called minish cap and not four swords.
Secondly, if random people can make games in a day Nintendo can definitely make emulators in a day, most games on the NSO still have the original glitches and bugs in them just because of how much copy and paste is there. Nintendo sometimes is in need of things like sprites from fan made emulators, guides, fan sites or game recreations as well. They are not making a new game they are doing a very complicated collage. The Nintendo and especially the Zelda developers and programmers are one of the best ones out there.
Thirdly. I don't give a shit about how much these people are getting paid. Yeah it's very sad that they are locked inside a room eating bread once a week but it's not my problem I can't do anything to help them. Every time I'm criticizing Nintendo I'm criticizing Nintendo as a company and it's decisions. Not it's tools not it's developers or programmers or graphic designers or advertising department... I am criticizing the decisions made by someone who's not a tool for the company.
A Nintendo Dsi four swords (anniversary edition?) emulator for the NSO could be made in week if Nintendo decided that that's a good idea and if Nintendo decided to pay their employees.
I'm the cheapest Nintendo enjoyer and I have spent for the switch only at least 600€. I won't even count how much money I gave to this company with the DS, dsi, 3ds, Wii.... If Nintendo paid their employees normally they could do anything I can already think of two RUclipsrs that can feed 3 developers daily.
@@thetophatguyandroid5959 I know it's the DSi / 3DS, my point you already can't play that. Or Four Swords Adventure or Triforce Heroes. And crapping on developer effort is usually why devs WON'T do things, because why would you put your actual hard manpower into something that isn't going to be rewarded or appreciated. You're complaining about something that isn't happening and giving the least realistic and most selfish solutions possible.