First Zelda BotW Review in and...its Not Looking Good...

[Robert_Downey_Jr.]

Kai_Mao said:

Robert_Downey_Jr. said:
It's really hard to judge Nintendo games based on scores. They tend to be inflated with reviewer nostalgia with these older franchises. Nintendo has made some classic games and recently too, but I find most of the time I have to watch the videos of them playing to see if it looks interesting or not. This one looks like a winner from previews but I do hate the weapon degeneration. Always hate simmish stuff like that in games, especially open world ones.

Just curious what games do you trust being good if they're reviewed well?

I get nostalgia is a factor, especially for Nintendo games. But I would like to think that critics (and hopefully gamers as well) can judge games on their own merits and not bring nostalgia too much into the overall perspective of the reviewed game. Games like Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros. Wii U, Pokémon Sun and Moon, A Link Between Worlds, etc. appear to more than deserve their high scores and sales. 

I think they deserve high scores, I just don't think they deserve THAT high of scores.  I feel like Nintendo does not get nearly as much backlash for lack of innovation as other developers.  That was one of my big criticisms of SSB WiiU is that it felt VERY similar to everything they'd done before and kinda lacked a wow factor, but the reviews made almost no mention of it.  I've brought this up to my fellow Nintendo gamers before and they usually say "but I don't want them to change too much.  I LOVE Mario/Zelda/Smash/Pokemon!"  and I feel like that's the general attitude.  I'm not saying they're bad games but when I see Ratchet and Clank get docked for lack of innovation it seems unfair. 

 

It's even true in the same franchise!  I mean does SMG2 deserve the same meta as SMG1?  SMG1 did all the innovation yet the second doesn't get any of the "samey" review docks that so many other games do?

 

Sales is fine because people like what they like and personally I'll buy the same thing if it has new levels and a new adventure, but the double standard with reviews in regards to that is what I take issue with.  Wheras a reviewer might say "it all feels like you've been there before" for one game, for a Nintendo game they might instead say "it has all the usual Nintendo charm that you know and love"