@anamethatisnt@sopuli.xyz made a good point here and I tend to agree. It’s more about something being gone and brought back. How long does it take for something to be considered gone? At the very least, I wouldn’t consider something retro if it can still be easily purchased via official channels (never gone).

Can we stop calling 12-year-old games “retro”?

Another World be my pick for best retro intro.

So, what are they going to play in 20 years?

I wouldn’t mind replaying MGS4 and Motorstorm.

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I replayed the remake on Switch and the fast forward function is a better feature than all the other things they’ve changed in the remake.

$130 for what? Every $30 Handheld from ali express runs those systems flawlessly. Probably also comes preloaded with every of their games ever.

The Atelier games are in stand alone arcs. I would suggest to start with the Ryza arc. The first one is called “Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout”. Not only is it on of the newer games with tons of modern conveniences but it also has the best main character of them all (fight me, I said it). The DX versions came out last year which are updated versions with additional content (similar to how Atlus double dips). Not a fan of this practice but if you’re getting a version now this is the one to get.

Can’t wait to play more games from the series ☺️

The problem with that series at the moment is that they have a big hole in their releases on Switch. Second Chapter Remake should come out this year if they keep their release date, but then you are out of luck waiting for Third Chapter which will hopefully be released quickly. The next two games are available again, followed by another hole for Switch users with Cold Steel 1 and 2. The remaining games are all available again up to the newest entry in the saga.

It’s such a mess for Switch users who can’t just hit the missing games up on PC, especially since the games are one of those that definitely should be played in order without skipping entries.

So, if you’re looking for a “comfort RPG” might I recommend the Atelier series? Atelier Ryza: Everdarkness and Secret Hideout would be a good starting point. It has a less epic story than the Legend of Heroes series which spans almost 40 years, but in return you get something a lot more comfy with a pedigree of also close to 30 years (even though the stories aren’t linked so start with whatever trilogy you want).

I finished Fatal Frame 2 Crimson Butterfly (Project Zero in some regions). It was better than Maiden of Blackwater, but still overall pretty ‘meh’. Back to Monster Hunter Stories 3.

Give Monster Hunter Stories a go. It’s a turn-based JRPG in the Monster hunter word with Pokemon-Gotta-Catch-Them-All elements.

Another good JRPG series to play on Switch is Xenoblade Chronicles. Start with X.

Recently, I enjoyed the remake of Trails in the Sky FC a lot, but there is a huge gap right now in that series that you cannot play on Switch. It’s best to play this series in order, so I cannot really recommend starting with it right now as long as the gap isn’t filled with remakes or ports.

When you like to dip your toe into the Tactical JRPG genre, you can find a treasure trove of great titles on Switch as well. Final Fantasy Tactics, Valkyria Chronicles, Unicorn Overlord, and Triangle Strategy to start with.

Last but not least, I’m a fan of the Atelier series since it hit my sweet spot between comfy and adventure. It’s rather obscure in the larger JRPG landscape, but it has been a long-running series since 1997 with a steadily growing following. Story-wise, the series is generally more about personal goals and friendships than the large-scale world-ending events in most other JRPG series, but that is the appeal for me. They come in arcs of 3 (plus a bonus 4th title sometimes), so you can start with whatever first title in an arc that you want. Personally, I would recommend starting with the first Ryza since it has enough modern conveniences.

MHStories3 is so good. I love that they put the dual-element color variations back into the game. It’s a small thing with very little effect on the gameplay (I think it’s +10% for corresponding skills) but the special color variation is what makes it my Monstie instead of all the wild ones.

I’m not a fan of how it looks in this first previews, but I’m interested to see the potential of this in future iterations. For example, I’ve seen a whitepaper of someone running something similar on top of GTA and make it look photorealistic. If this current implementation gets a couple more “papers down the line” this could possibly speed up development of games immensely and allow for a graphical fidelity that isn’t feasible with current tech. But that’s just potentially. Right now, I don’t see what they’ve shown so far to be anywhere near releaseable.

I’m replaying Cyberpunk 2077 on Switch2. I just got it for the collection, booted it up out of curiosity how it runs, and now I’m 70 hours in again.

is currently more popular than ever

Shifted to a collector-based IP. It’s not kids playing anymore, but old guys with sealing pouches.

I’m finishing up some bits and bobs in Metroid Prime 4 before committing to the point of no return.