I could listen to John talk about games all day. It's clear how much reverence and appreciation he shows for every game he plays and enjoys - I normally jump on only the mostly highly acclaimed games, but he makes me want to try so many others and appreciate them for what they are - quirks and all (though actually having the time to is another thing of course)
Absolutely. DF Retro is one of my favourite TH-cam shows. Can't wait for Kirby. I have it pre-loaded and will be playing the moment it unlocks at midnight.
I don't understand why some reviewers are shy to say Kirby looks gorgeous. It's ok to say even if it's on the Switch. Thanks DF for putting some shine on this game. That's such breath of fresh air.
@@henkken It looks terrific, gorgeous even. Not Horizon Forbidden West gorgeous or whatever current game you may think of but the art direction is spot on. Realism or more near realistic graphics doesn’t always mean better. Comic style graphics are awesome and I’m glad that Nintendo is keeping that style and the platformer genre alive.
Seriously that statement needed to be said. Games are in a weird state, unfinished, or unplayable till patched. Kirby & the Forgotten Land. As soon as you press A or +. You're off. Nothing holding you back
Yep. Four months later and it's still on version 1.0. You can really tell they took absolutely as much time as they needed to polish the hell out of every aspect of this game. If it gets an update, it'll probably only be to add new content, which is how it *should* be. The game crashed *once* in my entire experience, and that was just a completely random, once-in-a-million error that probably wasn't anything to do with the game itself, since I couldn't recreate the crash.
It looks really good. I think this is going to be a big hit, something about the state of the world and the recent run of gritty games makes me think people are very ready for this. I've never been into Kirby games and I'm looking at this and wanting to play it
Same here. I mean, I've been collecting a some Kirby games over the years when they got cheap, but the only one I've played for more than a couple of levels was Epic Yarn, and even then never got nowhere close to finishing it. But this? Look at what I've been playing the past few weeks: Elden Ring, Fallout New Vegas, Stranger of Paradise and Bloodborne of all things. Even the games I've chosen to revisit are gritty or edgy (if comically so - CHAOS!). I've also started Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on PC, but while it isn't gritty at all, it's still a fighting game, so it's not exactly relaxing either. All in all I can't stress how ready I am for Kirby in 3D once I (re-)finish at least some of these.
Video rendering on youtube is decided by google and by what codec you video gets converted too. For example channels with avc encoding have lower quality compared to vp9 and AV1 ones.
I really enjoyed the demo, as a 30 year old gamer who has played alllll sorts of games over my years, I love when good slow paced Nintendo games come out. It reminds me that we don’t need a crazy fast paced action game, or a 100 person fight to the death shooter to have a great time playing video games… I’ve always loved Kirby games and I’m happy to see that this one is going to also be a great game!!
Games have been more varied than ever since 8th gen came out but 3D platforming is dying. I was filled with joy when A Hat in Time released. Some 3D platforming released last year are great like Sack Boy and Psychonauts 2.
@@MyDecade insinuating what? Once you hit a certain age you can’t game anymore? I bust my ass working 50 hours a week. And I game in my downtime. Is that a problem for you?
I love hearing you (and the rest of DF) talk about games. Not just the tech behind them but the actual gameplay too. I know the channel's focus is on the tech, but you're all so passionate about gaming I can't help but enjoy videos like this one.
Holy crap, I am way more excited for this than I realised, I had no clue this was a full 3D Kirby game! That’s so cool and I want to play it so badly. I can’t believe it’s out yet though, I swear it got only got accounted the other day.
I don't even have a switch but I just really appreciate the effort you guys put into your videos. You guys always kick ass and I hope to see you guys continue for a long time as gaming gets more and more exciting/scary haha
This game looks absolutely stunning, I am incredibly excited to play it. I'm also really tempted to upgrade to an OLED switch so I can experience it in all it's glory lol
Excellent review John! You really hit so many interesting little points that are easy to overlook, like UX. Pretty sold on getting this for my son and probably liking it as much :) Not even that much of a Kirby player. What Nintendo manages to get out of that Switch... quite impressive
Awesome video as always guys. Seems very polished! Tbh i prefer the absense of anti-aliasing on these switch games. It's because the resolution is already low enough, and by adding one of them can make the image quality extremely blurry. After a while my eyes start even to feel i bit tired because they think they have adjust the focus
Polished doesn't really pair well with a game that can't hold 30fps or 1080p when docked when we have games like Mario Odyssey that achieved it years ago.
@@larkan511 odyssey doesn't run at 1080p tough.. in many stages the resolution is 720p. And the overall graphics of this game is more detailed than mario odyssey
@@larkan511 First, Mario Odyssey doesn't hold 1080p at all. John even mentioned that it often ran at lower resolutions compared to Kirby. Were you listening? Second, Mario Odyssey had the same "objects in background animate at slower framerates" thing that Kirby has. It was super distracting to me in New Donk City. Third, yeah I'll agree that it is a little disappointing to see 30fps compared to Mario being mostly 60fps (let's not lie, there were some occasional drops), it does hold. John found a couple spaces where it went to 29 for an incredibly short amount of time? You're not going to notice that. Unless there's more intense parts later in the game that weren't in this video, it appears like it's holding just fine. Compared to other Switch games that were absolute disasters with their framerates, like Link's Awakening, No More Heroes 3, and Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity? Kirby is absolutely polished. Go play one of those three if you want to see what unpolished looks like.
I'm surprised you didn't draw more comparisons to Star Allies, since it seems like a lot of the tech in Forgotten Land can be traced to that game (pre-baked indirect lighting, distant depth of field, the menus running at 60 fps for some reason, etc.)
Star Allies is more important as a stepping stone to this game than most people realize; the final boss in that game being in full 3D could have provided the groundwork and experience to turn it into a full game
On one end of the japanese dev specturm we have Nintendo first party studios then on the other end we have FromSoft who should honestly stick to game design
@@noahdavis7406 lmao I’m talking about how on one end of the Japanese game Dev spectrum we have very skilled developers who know how the optimise their games, I.e. Nintendo first parties like HAL. Then on the other hand we have FromSoft who has been fumbling their way through optimising their games for years now
Really caught my eye when it was showcased on Nintendo direct. As someone who doesn't keep up with Nintendo as much nowadays this looks awesome. I always liked Kirby & always wanted to see a full 3D Kirby game release, nice to see!
looks like a fun time. Ive always liked Kirby and its good to see the franchise going in to 3d and pulling it off really well. 2022 is shaping up to be the best year in gaming for a long time.
Trust me guys I have this stunning game & it plays superbly & feels really smooth to play. 60fps would've been nice but 30fps doesn't hurt itat all. I loved the many transformations of kirby as they really add layers of extra depth & fun 2 it's unique gameplay. This really is a triumphant 1st 3d outing for kirby on the switch. The 3d world works surprisingly well & really adds lots of solid atmosphere, giving kirby that amazing 3d Mario world look & feel. Kirbys previous game star allies was also an excellent game 2 play so naturally this was high on my list of must have switch games. This game really surprised me at just how good it was & I'd highly recommend it to everyone. This is one of those magical games that will delight & put a huge smile on your face, it really is that good. Thanks again John loved your in depth analysis, it was spot on. 😄👍👍👍👍👍👍
This is seriously my game of the year so far. No I'm not joking. I've not played Elden Ring but I played and completed this with my 4 year old daughter and on my own file. So the game already feels quite special in a sense. I'm about 74% complete and I played it non stop on release weekend
When this was announced I had such a good feeling it would be special. I've told friends that I fully expected it to sneak into a few Best of Year lists here and there, something we haven't seen since Epic Yarn I believe? Glad to see that it seems my hunch was right. At least the first part of it, at any rate. The second part we'll need to recheck later.
It does have that type of energy, and atmosphere. From unique colors, to the dystopia, plant life, and creatures that inhabit each area. It is beautiful, and heartfelt. The world is alive, changing as you explore
Im no tech expert but i thought the game ran at 60fps from my playtime, guess its not the case but it all feels so smooth to the eye imo, it does kind of suck about the background having reduced frame rates but not all of the stages suffer from this, and either way it doesn't really detract from the amazing experience this game is.
Moving enemies or objects in the distance with animation frame rate cut in half kinda give them the illusion like they're being animated with stop motion in mind. And weirdly enough, I actually kinda like seeing that in the game sometimes.
I really appreciate your in depth review of this. You’ve played more Kirby than me. I’ve been playing since Kirby Super Star 8 Games in One and a few more after that. I’m loving it so far!
30 here vs the 30fps of Star Allies is huge in my experience with the demo though. The frame rate in Allies felt limiting to the experience. It made the game inputs feel laggy and all of the visuals harder to discern. It made the game my biggest purchase regret on the Switch. The demo for Forgotten Land feels so great though. It feels like a game that was made for, not limited by 30fps. Visuals are all distinct, input is snappy and while yeah 60fps always looks smoother, it really isn't needed here. I'm so glad they put a demo out, otherwise I probably wouldn't go for it, remembering how bad Allies felt. But this is an easy purchase this time.
The 30 FPS cap is pretty forgivable when Star Allies was also capped at the same rate. That game was pretty disappointing to me overall especially when the 3DS entries ran and looked so very good. Robobot is still incredible!
I played the demo and thought the game seemed surprisingly smooth, despite the 30fps cap. I'm not going to get hung up on the framerate here, and neither should anyone else.
I am a gamer from the 2600 systems... I always look for the best quality games, it's not always about getting 4K video, or getting 60+ FPS, it's about the game, how it plays, how it pulls you in and how enjoyable it is. This looks like a perfect game for that, I will be playing it tonight... I had a feeling it was going to be this good, and thanks for confirming it !
Maybe I'm not as true a Kirby fan I thought or am just forgetting, but John mentioned how the Kirby series has always had post-apocalyptic undertones and I'm trying to remember which games did
I actually think Nintendo and HAL avoiding AA so much is good in the long term. It's an effect that looks impressive for it's time, but games that use it tend to age very poorly in visual terms as displays evolve. N64 games, for example, look a lot blurrier and, quite frankly, harder on the eyes than PS1 games. Yeah, the N64's ''softer'' look was probably impressive at the time, but I think the sharper look generally survives the test of time a lot more gracefully.
Just compare games like Majoras Mask, Perfect Dark, Conker, DK64, Wave Race, Turok 2 etc. with the best looking games on PSX. As much as I love the PSX, it doesn´t hold a candle against the best looking N64 games. Further proof are the multiplats like Shadowman, Glover, Rayman 2 etc. which look vastly superior on the N64 in most cases (exceptions are there like Duke Nukem I think, but those are rare to be seen). I also love many PSX visuals like MGS, Vagrant Sotry (one of the best looking games of that generation), many games with pre rendered backgrounds and so on but overall the best looking games on N64 dwarf the best looking games on PSX.
I tried the demo as soon as it hit the eShop and it was wonderful, I'm so happy to finally have a proper 3D Kirby. You aren't kidding about the aliasing though. A few months ago I finally got a 4K TV and the demo was first time I'd turned my Switch on in almost a year. The vibrant colors and art direction go a long way in helping the visuals, but there are rough edges on practically everything. I kinda wanna boot up Pokemon Sword out of morbid curiosity. That game already looked bad on my decade-old Sony Bravia, I bet it looks even worse on a 4K display.
If you have around 100 dollars you can something called Mclassic by Marseille which not only upscales games up to 1440p (if your display supports receiving a 1440p signal and allows upscaling said signal) but applies anti-aliasing which makes everything smoother. I used it while playing this game's demo and it looked superb
A damn good looking game. The switch my not be as powerful as the other consoles but it can still still pull of some gorgeous graphics. In terms of framerate I'll always take a smooth 30 over an inconsistent 60.
One thing I like about not using AA is that it doesn't make the image worse when emulated. The ability to get rid of the FXAA in Metroid Dread, for example, was a godsend. These games are incredible at 4k. Also that's not an apple :(
The framerate was a huge bummer for me, especially since this game and the kirby game before that can run at 60 fps. I don’t see how they could not. Odyssey had huge open areas whereas this game is more comparable to the cat mario and bowser’s fury game looking at the levels. But I’ll always play a good game, even with 30 fps or old graphics. ;)
I don't understand why aliasing/shimmering and image quality is such a big topic in all your videos, but the performance mode of Forbidden West is still no topic. We would still need a video about that, because otherwise this problem will be forgotten and never fixed. You already can't find the support thread for specifically this problem anymore. It contained thousands of comments, but now it is gone.
Never played a Kirby game in my life. Saw the demo & downloaded it - what a great fun game, and looks beautiful. Bought it for my 6 year old son who absolutely adores it; so full of colour, imagination, whimsy and fun. We play co-op together and it’s just such a breath of fresh air. He loves the boss rush mode & improving waddle Dee town. This will be a hit.
Wow. That Analogue Pocket looks great! (And the N64 on RetroTink.) The game looks great. I don't mind the 30 fps or the animation tweaks. Too bad it's not on PC. 😅 I wish BotW would be as stable as this Kirby game. I don't mind the 30 fps cap, especially when it seems as "good" as in this Kirby game, but that's not how I remember BotW.
The game looks lovely! Can't wait to play it since Kirby is one of my favorite Nintendo characters of all time. Thanks for the awesome video, John! On another note... why have you guys completely ignored Hogwarts Lecacy? Are you beefing with WB? There isn't a single mention about the gameplay reveal on the website whatsoever, or a DF video about it....
@@spike5499 you never know lol A year or two ago there was a website (i forget which one it was, but it was a pretty big one) that was constantly sh*tting on Bethesda, because they stopped sending then review codes early lol
Nintendo does care about graphics and this has always shown. It’s the reason why their games are typically the best looking games on the systems they produce. Nintendo just understands how important art direction is and has a ton of developers who work hard at developing a consistent and good looking art style that allows their games to look good even years later. Nintendo knows that realism always looks dated a few years later so they go for a more unrealistic style that plays within the systems limitations while still looking great
Love John's video. He always come across as a genuine lover of video games. I know that sounds like an obvious thing to say about someone who makes videos about games but his videos really do show his enthusiasm for games and how much he enjoys playing them with an interesting mix of facts, opinion and constructive critique. They are always very well done and actually make me want to buy the game he is showing... that is if I haven't already bought it! Oh, and yes, I have this game on the way from The Games Collection!
This - it seems like most of the other prominent presenters are more into dissecting the minutia of image quality (that if we're being honest, especially when it comes to things like AO subtleties, 99% of people aren't going to notice in action anyway) then gameplay/actually playing games. John clearly enjoys/relishes games.
To be honest, I didn't even notice it was 30fps until it was mentioned. I'm normally a big proponent of 60fps+ games but sometimes I don't think it's really necessary as in this case. I think the slow camera movement does a lot to mask it.
I could listen to John talk about games all day. It's clear how much reverence and appreciation he shows for every game he plays and enjoys - I normally jump on only the mostly highly acclaimed games, but he makes me want to try so many others and appreciate them for what they are - quirks and all (though actually having the time to is another thing of course)
Ikr he's so cute!!!
Absolutely. DF Retro is one of my favourite TH-cam shows.
Can't wait for Kirby. I have it pre-loaded and will be playing the moment it unlocks at midnight.
Yes, he's not a hype fiend and he's not just here to make content. Its clear that he only reviews games that he is genuinely interested in.
He’s a great content creator and has a good voice
John Linneman is a being of pure love and wholesome snuggliness
I understand and believe John is a genuine big Kirby fan, but he called a Maxim Tomato an APPLE.
I had to pause the video to make sure that it really was a Maxim Tomato, because I was wondering how an obvious big Kirby fan would call it an apple.
@@jerryjaboodyjohnson7393 More than that; HAL knows how not to confuse one thing with another, and apples are Whispy Woods' ammo that can't heal
Reminds me of those Crash Bandicoot fans that call Wumpa fruit "apples" or "peaches"
I just assumed that was an inside joke or a meme of some kind
Just paused the video to find this comment. It's really not a big deal, it doesn't even look like a tomato TBH :D
I don't understand why some reviewers are shy to say Kirby looks gorgeous. It's ok to say even if it's on the Switch. Thanks DF for putting some shine on this game. That's such breath of fresh air.
If only it ran at 60. Then I could use black frame insertion.
Because it doesnt look very good? + Its 30fps
@@henkken it looks dayumm good
@@helloguy8934
Why would you wanna use black frame insertion and why on a game that runs at 60 fps?
@@henkken
It looks terrific, gorgeous even.
Not Horizon Forbidden West gorgeous or whatever current game you may think of but the art direction is spot on.
Realism or more near realistic graphics doesn’t always mean better.
Comic style graphics are awesome and I’m glad that Nintendo is keeping that style and the platformer genre alive.
What amazes me with this review is hearing John said at 13:26, “this game is complete in the age of incomplete games and online DRM“
Seriously that statement needed to be said. Games are in a weird state, unfinished, or unplayable till patched.
Kirby & the Forgotten Land. As soon as you press A or +. You're off. Nothing holding you back
Yep. Four months later and it's still on version 1.0. You can really tell they took absolutely as much time as they needed to polish the hell out of every aspect of this game.
If it gets an update, it'll probably only be to add new content, which is how it *should* be.
The game crashed *once* in my entire experience, and that was just a completely random, once-in-a-million error that probably wasn't anything to do with the game itself, since I couldn't recreate the crash.
@@alfiehicks1 I wonder if there's any other recent examples of complete games not needing a patch like Kirby?
Can we get a supercut of every time John says "Make no mistake" and "mind you" in any of his videos? Just something I noticed lol.
Perhaps a bespoke, “John” filter.
Available in the here and now.
By and large
Kudos
@@Rockapotamus91 Ooh, that's another one I hear often hah.
"to behold"
This game never released a patch. A truly complete game.
The game real men have been waiting for 😂
Lol
you wouldn'd say that if you 100% the Game after the Main Story. There are seriously impressive boss battles in this Game. Especially in the Arena.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not but this is an unironically true statement.
It looks really good. I think this is going to be a big hit, something about the state of the world and the recent run of gritty games makes me think people are very ready for this. I've never been into Kirby games and I'm looking at this and wanting to play it
Same here. I mean, I've been collecting a some Kirby games over the years when they got cheap, but the only one I've played for more than a couple of levels was Epic Yarn, and even then never got nowhere close to finishing it.
But this? Look at what I've been playing the past few weeks: Elden Ring, Fallout New Vegas, Stranger of Paradise and Bloodborne of all things. Even the games I've chosen to revisit are gritty or edgy (if comically so - CHAOS!). I've also started Persona 4 Arena Ultimax on PC, but while it isn't gritty at all, it's still a fighting game, so it's not exactly relaxing either.
All in all I can't stress how ready I am for Kirby in 3D once I (re-)finish at least some of these.
I played the demo didn’t think much of it the games to easy
Kirby games are never a hit. They allways mid.
My body is ready!!!
We all need more Kirby in our lives
DF has the best capture and video rendering on TH-cam. Just looking at your videos is awesome! I love that you always have HDR
It's great. And then you have companies with 20x the money like IGN whose video reviews look like 360p.
I think their mic quality lacks some bass to the voice. sounds flat - also many videos lack 4k I think ?
Except for this video, which does not.
Their video quality is great, but they rarely upload HDR videos.
Video rendering on youtube is decided by google and by what codec you video gets converted too. For example channels with avc encoding have lower quality compared to vp9 and AV1 ones.
I really enjoyed the demo, as a 30 year old gamer who has played alllll sorts of games over my years, I love when good slow paced Nintendo games come out. It reminds me that we don’t need a crazy fast paced action game, or a 100 person fight to the death shooter to have a great time playing video games… I’ve always loved Kirby games and I’m happy to see that this one is going to also be a great game!!
Games have been more varied than ever since 8th gen came out but 3D platforming is dying. I was filled with joy when A Hat in Time released. Some 3D platforming released last year are great like Sack Boy and Psychonauts 2.
Had to comment, I’m also 30 and your comment resonated like crazy with me I couldn’t agree more!
30? What part of the spectrum are you?
@@MyDecade insinuating what? Once you hit a certain age you can’t game anymore? I bust my ass working 50 hours a week. And I game in my downtime. Is that a problem for you?
I appreciate the use of Fragile Dreams music in the post-apocalyptic Kirby review.
Yeah, noticed the same immediately. Such a great game. Just recently played through it again.
I love hearing you (and the rest of DF) talk about games. Not just the tech behind them but the actual gameplay too. I know the channel's focus is on the tech, but you're all so passionate about gaming I can't help but enjoy videos like this one.
Holy crap, I am way more excited for this than I realised, I had no clue this was a full 3D Kirby game! That’s so cool and I want to play it so badly. I can’t believe it’s out yet though, I swear it got only got accounted the other day.
Demo is on nintendo eshop
@@abynaxdbr2510 he's gonna lose it when he sees this
@Miles Doyle can you not?
@@abynaxdbr2510 and you can emulate it up to 4k making it look way better then nintendo intended.
I don't even have a switch but I just really appreciate the effort you guys put into your videos. You guys always kick ass and I hope to see you guys continue for a long time as gaming gets more and more exciting/scary haha
In short:
It looks good, it plays good, and it's one of the best Kirby games to date.
yup, probably gonna grab this one.
@@ramonandrajo6348 I want to buy this game so they make more like it
@@ramonandrajo6348 who the fuck is asking about you pirating the game then?
@@ramonandrajo6348 Go give your opinion elsewhere mate.
@@ramonandrajo6348 And you’re annoying with all the spam in the comments section.
Kirby Yarn was and still is one of the most impressive games on Nintendo
No kidding, this is one of my favorite games of all time. It was the first game I played with my son.
The soundtrack is superb. Lava Landing is one of my favourite tracks in any Kirby game.
@@ramonandrajo6348 No one said anything about that
@@Doughty321 Lava Landing is so good. The 'chorus' bit in that track is stunning.
I fell asleep playing it.
I don't care if a game runs at 30 fps, it just has to be stable. This game looks great and I'll definitely pick it up
I wish it was 60
It’s not stable. It has some noticeable slow down and occasional hitching.
@@ReGo001 it’s stable enough
@@mariodelrio2387 The Switch can't handle this game at 60. Maybe it could with a far lower resolution.
This game is visually beautiful.
If you're 5 years old, yea.
@@JFinns bruh
@@JFinns You're so mature bruh
@@JFinns it looks so good
@@JFinns you're so cool, go be cool somewhere else
Just bought the full retail version at Target. It was already on the shelf.
Lucky you
@@sausage5488 i said this in my head lmao
stop the cap. it's street dated so the register wont allow the sale, so you either stole it or had someone steal a copy for you.
@@ramonandrajo6348 🤡
@@halo3boy1 Tell that to Target then because I’m playing as I type this.
Brilliant touch to add Fragile Dreams piano theme at the begining.
Kirby is one of my favourite characters. Quirky, funny and down right adorable. This looks a really polished game. Might just have to pick it up.
Always love a new Kirby game.
This game looks absolutely stunning, I am incredibly excited to play it. I'm also really tempted to upgrade to an OLED switch so I can experience it in all it's glory lol
Oled is so worth it. I just upgraded!
cant wait to buy it so i can play it in 4k 120fps in my mid range pc. why do i even still have this godamn console
Or you can play it on 65 inch oled. As John said.
The OLED is just quality
@@StarmenRock I don’t know sell it if you don’t want it
Man wish Iwata was still with us to see how well the switch has done and how Kirby has done as well.
Excellent review John!
You really hit so many interesting little points that are easy to overlook, like UX.
Pretty sold on getting this for my son and probably liking it as much :)
Not even that much of a Kirby player.
What Nintendo manages to get out of that Switch... quite impressive
Until I saw this review I didn't even notice the frame drop, which is only 1 frame, Hal and Nintendo did an amazing job on this game.
Kirby games are some of the very best on every Nintendo platform.
I love when a review has the honesty to add “and it feels great!” between commas
Awesome video as always guys. Seems very polished!
Tbh i prefer the absense of anti-aliasing on these switch games. It's because the resolution is already low enough, and by adding one of them can make the image quality extremely blurry. After a while my eyes start even to feel i bit tired because they think they have adjust the focus
Polished doesn't really pair well with a game that can't hold 30fps or 1080p when docked when we have games like Mario Odyssey that achieved it years ago.
@@larkan511 odyssey doesn't run at 1080p tough.. in many stages the resolution is 720p.
And the overall graphics of this game is more detailed than mario odyssey
@@larkan511 First, Mario Odyssey doesn't hold 1080p at all. John even mentioned that it often ran at lower resolutions compared to Kirby. Were you listening?
Second, Mario Odyssey had the same "objects in background animate at slower framerates" thing that Kirby has. It was super distracting to me in New Donk City.
Third, yeah I'll agree that it is a little disappointing to see 30fps compared to Mario being mostly 60fps (let's not lie, there were some occasional drops), it does hold. John found a couple spaces where it went to 29 for an incredibly short amount of time? You're not going to notice that. Unless there's more intense parts later in the game that weren't in this video, it appears like it's holding just fine.
Compared to other Switch games that were absolute disasters with their framerates, like Link's Awakening, No More Heroes 3, and Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity? Kirby is absolutely polished. Go play one of those three if you want to see what unpolished looks like.
I'm surprised you didn't draw more comparisons to Star Allies, since it seems like a lot of the tech in Forgotten Land can be traced to that game (pre-baked indirect lighting, distant depth of field, the menus running at 60 fps for some reason, etc.)
Star Allies is more important as a stepping stone to this game than most people realize; the final boss in that game being in full 3D could have provided the groundwork and experience to turn it into a full game
18:07 this actually plays a nice "roll" in this!
I see what you did there, John!
Awesome video John. I hope these Japanese devs stay on top of their game. These experiences are so important to me.
On one end of the japanese dev specturm we have Nintendo first party studios then on the other end we have FromSoft who should honestly stick to game design
@@alolanstarboy Slightly confused on what you mean by this
@@alolanstarboy The fuck am i reading
@@alolanstarboy wtf you talk about?what fromsoftware to do with this game?
@@noahdavis7406 lmao I’m talking about how on one end of the Japanese game Dev spectrum we have very skilled developers who know how the optimise their games, I.e. Nintendo first parties like HAL. Then on the other hand we have FromSoft who has been fumbling their way through optimising their games for years now
I swear, playing the demo I did not realize this game was 30fps, it feels so smooth all the time. It also looks ridiculously good on portable.
@@ramonandrajo6348 that had nothing to do with the comment, so shut up. Pirating every game is morally correct
Really caught my eye when it was showcased on Nintendo direct. As someone who doesn't keep up with Nintendo as much nowadays this looks awesome. I always liked Kirby & always wanted to see a full 3D Kirby game release, nice to see!
looks like a fun time. Ive always liked Kirby and its good to see the franchise going in to 3d and pulling it off really well. 2022 is shaping up to be the best year in gaming for a long time.
It looks like 3D world for sure, the scene at 12:36 particularly, looks like 3D world's first boss fight.
Trust me guys I have this stunning game & it plays superbly & feels really smooth to play. 60fps would've been nice but 30fps doesn't hurt itat all. I loved the many transformations of kirby as they really add layers of extra depth & fun 2 it's unique gameplay.
This really is a triumphant 1st 3d outing for kirby on the switch. The 3d world works surprisingly well & really adds lots of solid atmosphere, giving kirby that amazing 3d Mario world look & feel.
Kirbys previous game star allies was also an excellent game 2 play so naturally this was high on my list of must have switch games.
This game really surprised me at just how good it was & I'd highly recommend it to everyone. This is one of those magical games that will delight & put a huge smile on your face, it really is that good.
Thanks again John loved your in depth analysis, it was spot on.
😄👍👍👍👍👍👍
Yes, makes games like New Horizons and Arceus feel amateurish.
This is seriously my game of the year so far. No I'm not joking. I've not played Elden Ring but I played and completed this with my 4 year old daughter and on my own file. So the game already feels quite special in a sense. I'm about 74% complete and I played it non stop on release weekend
This looks gorgeous. Many people blame Switch as a hardware weaker than a mobile phone, but in good hands like this time, Switch can fly.
The music really works because I can’t stop humming certain songs while I work. It sticks with you.
When this was announced I had such a good feeling it would be special. I've told friends that I fully expected it to sneak into a few Best of Year lists here and there, something we haven't seen since Epic Yarn I believe?
Glad to see that it seems my hunch was right. At least the first part of it, at any rate. The second part we'll need to recheck later.
Some of those locations look straight out of Nier Automata. Love the melancholy they transmit.
It does have that type of energy, and atmosphere. From unique colors, to the dystopia, plant life, and creatures that inhabit each area. It is beautiful, and heartfelt. The world is alive, changing as you explore
Another seal of quality from Nintendo.
*HAL Laboratory
Im no tech expert but i thought the game ran at 60fps from my playtime, guess its not the case but it all feels so smooth to the eye imo, it does kind of suck about the background having reduced frame rates but not all of the stages suffer from this, and either way it doesn't really detract from the amazing experience this game is.
17:00 very 80s inspired, love it!
Moving enemies or objects in the distance with animation frame rate cut in half kinda give them the illusion like they're being animated with stop motion in mind. And weirdly enough, I actually kinda like seeing that in the game sometimes.
This game looks super fun. Glad to see you guys covering it. Shame it's locked to 30fps. We definitely need a beefier Switch model.
just get a steam deck
@@Youraveragegamer_97 Uh.. a Steam Deck doesn't play Switch games, which, you know.. is sort of the point of having a Switch.
@@GameplayandTalk ive seen videos saying otherwise, botw, mario kart 8, mario odyssey run fine on yuzu emulator on steam deck
This is one of those games that does 30fps well. I cannot believe I'm saying that but some games and devs somehow make 30fps playable.
@@GameplayandTalk yes it does if you have more than 1 brain cell
I really appreciate your in depth review of this. You’ve played more Kirby than me. I’ve been playing since Kirby Super Star 8 Games in One and a few more after that. I’m loving it so far!
30 here vs the 30fps of Star Allies is huge in my experience with the demo though. The frame rate in Allies felt limiting to the experience. It made the game inputs feel laggy and all of the visuals harder to discern. It made the game my biggest purchase regret on the Switch. The demo for Forgotten Land feels so great though. It feels like a game that was made for, not limited by 30fps. Visuals are all distinct, input is snappy and while yeah 60fps always looks smoother, it really isn't needed here. I'm so glad they put a demo out, otherwise I probably wouldn't go for it, remembering how bad Allies felt. But this is an easy purchase this time.
Yeah people will say "it's 2022 it should be 60 frames Nintendo should of made a switch pro"
Your video openings... So, so good. All great, actually. Some special work you're doing.
John you are literally the greatest game reviewer I've ever seen. Always love watching these so much.
Man, I love these Linneman-Reviews
The 30 FPS cap is pretty forgivable when Star Allies was also capped at the same rate. That game was pretty disappointing to me overall especially when the 3DS entries ran and looked so very good. Robobot is still incredible!
Robobot is awesome.
agreed, Robobot is a top 3 Kirby game IMO
Yeah 2d shouldve been 60, but ehhhh maybe ill let th is one have a pass but i hope the next game is 60
I kinda like how far objects move at half frame rate, looks like stop-motion.
That is not a bad thing
12:13 That's no spinning apple! Kirby has always been partial to tomatoes for extra Vitamin C.
I played the demo and thought the game seemed surprisingly smooth, despite the 30fps cap. I'm not going to get hung up on the framerate here, and neither should anyone else.
nice to see Kirby again! ^^
I am a gamer from the 2600 systems... I always look for the best quality games, it's not always about getting 4K video, or getting 60+ FPS, it's about the game, how it plays, how it pulls you in and how enjoyable it is. This looks like a perfect game for that, I will be playing it tonight... I had a feeling it was going to be this good, and thanks for confirming it !
I wish they would make a Kirby Air Rider 2 for Switch, I think it could do well although Mario Kart has boxed out the kart racer market pretty well
Maybe I'm not as true a Kirby fan I thought or am just forgetting, but John mentioned how the Kirby series has always had post-apocalyptic undertones and I'm trying to remember which games did
Maybe it is a reference to Shiver Star from that N64 Kirby game. Literally a dead earth.
Fantastic deep dive into Kirby! The game looks beautiful and as fun as can be. I’m stoked for this Friday.
I actually think Nintendo and HAL avoiding AA so much is good in the long term. It's an effect that looks impressive for it's time, but games that use it tend to age very poorly in visual terms as displays evolve. N64 games, for example, look a lot blurrier and, quite frankly, harder on the eyes than PS1 games. Yeah, the N64's ''softer'' look was probably impressive at the time, but I think the sharper look generally survives the test of time a lot more gracefully.
Just compare games like Majoras Mask, Perfect Dark, Conker, DK64, Wave Race, Turok 2 etc. with the best looking games on PSX. As much as I love the PSX, it doesn´t hold a candle against the best looking N64 games. Further proof are the multiplats like Shadowman, Glover, Rayman 2 etc. which look vastly superior on the N64 in most cases (exceptions are there like Duke Nukem I think, but those are rare to be seen).
I also love many PSX visuals like MGS, Vagrant Sotry (one of the best looking games of that generation), many games with pre rendered backgrounds and so on but overall the best looking games on N64 dwarf the best looking games on PSX.
Absolutely brilliant work as usual John! I'm starting to think your game analyses are second-to-none.
Passion is so tangible in this video. Thank you John.
I tried the demo as soon as it hit the eShop and it was wonderful, I'm so happy to finally have a proper 3D Kirby. You aren't kidding about the aliasing though. A few months ago I finally got a 4K TV and the demo was first time I'd turned my Switch on in almost a year. The vibrant colors and art direction go a long way in helping the visuals, but there are rough edges on practically everything. I kinda wanna boot up Pokemon Sword out of morbid curiosity. That game already looked bad on my decade-old Sony Bravia, I bet it looks even worse on a 4K display.
If you have around 100 dollars you can something called Mclassic by Marseille which not only upscales games up to 1440p (if your display supports receiving a 1440p signal and allows upscaling said signal) but applies anti-aliasing which makes everything smoother. I used it while playing this game's demo and it looked superb
11:00 - _"Nice water."_
What can I say but... nice reference.
Looks absolutely brilliant, can't wait for this 😍
Kirby is $49.99 in store at Walmart. For some reason all Switch games are $10 off.
Hell yes. Nintendo devs are geniuses
A damn good looking game. The switch my not be as powerful as the other consoles but it can still still pull of some gorgeous graphics. In terms of framerate I'll always take a smooth 30 over an inconsistent 60.
I'm amazed that they got such beautiful graphics out of the five year old Switch.
unlike gamefreak
Just shows how " 4K" "120fps" "RT" etc aren't needed to enjoy fun and good looking games
it's cause it's 30 fps, also nintendo devs are wizards. Mario Odyssey is gorgeous and that's 60 fps
@@NonsensicalSpudz Game Freak is not under Nintendo’s supervision, but that of The Pokémon Company.
That's art design, baby
Games running on more powerful hardware can look like ass because their artstyle sucks ass
It is incredible that the hardware from the Switch can output these gorgeous games.
Creativity comes from limitations
10/10 game for sure
One thing I like about not using AA is that it doesn't make the image worse when emulated. The ability to get rid of the FXAA in Metroid Dread, for example, was a godsend. These games are incredible at 4k.
Also that's not an apple :(
The framerate was a huge bummer for me, especially since this game and the kirby game before that can run at 60 fps.
I don’t see how they could not. Odyssey had huge open areas whereas this game is more comparable to the cat mario and bowser’s fury game looking at the levels.
But I’ll always play a good game, even with 30 fps or old graphics. ;)
Because this games graphics are better than odyssey's by a little bit and this runs at a higher average resolution
I don't understand why aliasing/shimmering and image quality is such a big topic in all your videos, but the performance mode of Forbidden West is still no topic. We would still need a video about that, because otherwise this problem will be forgotten and never fixed. You already can't find the support thread for specifically this problem anymore. It contained thousands of comments, but now it is gone.
This looks incredible. Reminds me a lot of Super Mario 3D Land on 3DS but with a bigger scope.
@@ramonandrajo6348 Broke boy
@@ramonandrajo6348 do you even know a tear of social interaction and the things people give a fuck about
@@ramonandrajo6348 I'm not a fanboy I'm just a person
@@ramonandrajo6348 that was a loud i
@@ramonandrajo6348 you REALLY can't tell the difference between emulation and piracy
Never played a Kirby game in my life. Saw the demo & downloaded it - what a great fun game, and looks beautiful. Bought it for my 6 year old son who absolutely adores it; so full of colour, imagination, whimsy and fun. We play co-op together and it’s just such a breath of fresh air. He loves the boss rush mode & improving waddle Dee town. This will be a hit.
Love how Nintendo games look.
"Plays a nice role" as Kirby is rolling in mouthful mode
I'm hyped!
Apparently, it's the Super Mario Odyssey engine, with Unity for the custom camera and pre-rendered assets.
Wow. That Analogue Pocket looks great! (And the N64 on RetroTink.)
The game looks great. I don't mind the 30 fps or the animation tweaks. Too bad it's not on PC. 😅
I wish BotW would be as stable as this Kirby game. I don't mind the 30 fps cap, especially when it seems as "good" as in this Kirby game, but that's not how I remember BotW.
People on pc are running it at 60 FPS
This game was incredible
i see kirby games
ofc dayone buy
"A Dedication to...Everyone", never thought i would hear this song in a digital foundry video
Thank you , I was wondering what that track was.
Now we're talking about a real game, Elden Ring, stand aside!
1:25 Really cool reference to a Fragile Dreams fits great with the clips
The game looks lovely! Can't wait to play it since Kirby is one of my favorite Nintendo characters of all time. Thanks for the awesome video, John!
On another note... why have you guys completely ignored Hogwarts Lecacy? Are you beefing with WB? There isn't a single mention about the gameplay reveal on the website whatsoever, or a DF video about it....
LMAO "Are you beefing with WB?" 😂
@@spike5499 you never know lol A year or two ago there was a website (i forget which one it was, but it was a pretty big one) that was constantly sh*tting on Bethesda, because they stopped sending then review codes early lol
Do you need them to tell you how choppy the footage obviously is?
@@justarandomstan LMAO that's hilarious, but I'm sure Bethesda absolutely deserved it 😂
Why would they make a video about a trailer?
What a beautiful review! Thank you John and DF!
*cough cough* anti-aliasing is overrated *cough cough*
What I took from this video most was that I can not wait for my Analogue Pocket to arrive
Beautiful game
Excellent video. We appreciate you guys
Nintendo understands we want games, not graphical showcases.
Yeah, they took their dog out of the graphical fidelity fight and let it loose making fun games. Works 66% of the time, everytime *sad WiiU noises*
Yeh Nintendo understands simple games for simple people
Nintendo does care about graphics and this has always shown. It’s the reason why their games are typically the best looking games on the systems they produce. Nintendo just understands how important art direction is and has a ton of developers who work hard at developing a consistent and good looking art style that allows their games to look good even years later. Nintendo knows that realism always looks dated a few years later so they go for a more unrealistic style that plays within the systems limitations while still looking great
Surprising but strangely fitting choice to use a song from Fragile Dreams. Instant chills.
Stop saying TAA is good. Please.
It's definitely good if not playing at a low resolution like 1080p.
FXAA even at high resolutions still flicker too much.
Love John's video. He always come across as a genuine lover of video games. I know that sounds like an obvious thing to say about someone who makes videos about games but his videos really do show his enthusiasm for games and how much he enjoys playing them with an interesting mix of facts, opinion and constructive critique. They are always very well done and actually make me want to buy the game he is showing... that is if I haven't already bought it! Oh, and yes, I have this game on the way from The Games Collection!
This - it seems like most of the other prominent presenters are more into dissecting the minutia of image quality (that if we're being honest, especially when it comes to things like AO subtleties, 99% of people aren't going to notice in action anyway) then gameplay/actually playing games. John clearly enjoys/relishes games.
This will look great in 4k on Yuzu :)
😆😆💯
To be honest, I didn't even notice it was 30fps until it was mentioned. I'm normally a big proponent of 60fps+ games but sometimes I don't think it's really necessary as in this case. I think the slow camera movement does a lot to mask it.