But, sometimes, something just doesn’t quite add up. You start to wonder if all of these reviews are really carefully considered by people who played the game to completion, focusing just on the merit of the game without unfair comparisons and influence from others already saying the game isn’t very good. It starts to feel like a bandwagon, and perhaps some reviewers are placating to the mainstream more than being honest and saying they enjoyed the game, or are distracted from giving it a chance in the first place.

The biggest thing that the game has going against it, and I would imagine the series always had, is its comparison to the GTA series. Without a doubt, the game is heavily influenced by GTA, of course, but that’s a very high bar of comparison for any game to live up to. The games from the GTA series, deservingly so, are perhaps the highest rated games of all time.

Personally, I’m very good at controlling my expectations, not listening to other opinions until I see for myself, compartmentalizing from comparing to other similar works, and finally, immersing myself into a story, no matter the medium. I’m not a professional reviewer, but I’ve been gaming for 25 years. I’m not a babe in the woods when it comes to identifying a polished, AAA title. And Mafia III is clearly a polished labor of love, with a decent enough budget (being owned by the same parent company, Take-Two, as Rockstar, developer of the GTA series).

Going in with fresh eyes and not even having ever played Mafia or Mafia II, I found that the the story is amazing (your cliché revenge story, sure, but done well); the characters are amazing; the acting is amazing; the location is amazing (New Orleans); the era is amazing (the ’60s); the soundtrack is amazing (Rolling Stones, Beach Boys, Elvis, Johnny Cash, CCR, and many, many others); the graphics are amazing; the driving physics are amazing (weight, sliding, drifting — I played with the Simulation setting on); the stealth is amazing; the gunplay is amazing. Oh yeah, and there are gators, which are also amazing:

All in all, the game is simply well-made and fun. If you can enjoy it on its own merit, it’s a great game. If you compare it to GTA, of course it falls short, like any game would. Outside of being in the giant shadow that GTA casts, some of the main complaints I’m seeing are:

#1: It’s buggy. — That’s true; it is. The game crashed on me at least once every play session I had with it (which is apparently the case with most people who played the game). It would happen after playing for a few hours. Strangely, it didn’t bother me that much. Considering the way games have evolved to auto-save and load quickly, it was never really an issue of losing my progress or having to wait an absurd amount of time to get back into the action. If this were an older game, where much of the difficulty lied in the fact that after you reached a milestone, you had to survive just in order to manually save or else you’d completely lose your progress and have to start all over again, that would indeed, be control-throwingly infuriating. And sure, like any game with the complexity of an open world like this, there were other bugs, but mostly they were fun or funny. Nothing really that ever caused me to fail a mission or die because of poor mechanics or camera angle issues.

#2: It’s repetitive. — Again, that’s true; it is. The missions were very grounded in reality, without anything too wild or imaginative happening. Again, this isn’t GTA. There are no variety of missions involving planes, helicopters, tanks, or aliens. It was just straight, back to basics, gritty, on the ground, hand-to-hand, knife, and gun fighting. I really enjoyed it and it never became repetitive in a tiring way. It was repetitive in a fun, replayability kind of way.

#3: Bad AI. — As long as you play on the hardest setting (which I would recommend for most modern games anyway as they generally make games too easy these days), it was challenging enough, especially when enforcers were called in, who seemed to have their AI or aggressiveness turned all the way up. It seems though that it’s impossible to please the current generation of reviewers these days concerning AI, as they often complain about it not being smart enough, but then when a developer makes the AI really smart and strong, they complain about that too. I feel for developers as this is a “damned if they do, damned if they don’t” situation.

#4: No online mode. — I actually don’t recall anyone complaining about this, but just for good measure, I’ll cover it anyway. Honestly, breath of fresh air. Games have become too focused on online play, and I was really needing a fix of some strictly story-based gameplay. There are also 3 upcoming story DLCs that I’m looking forward to, especially the third and final DLC, titled “Sign of the Times,” which focuses on the Charlie Manson cult aspect of the late ’60s that I had in the back of my mind and was wondering if anything like that would make an appearance in the game while I was playing, as it was such a crucial part of the history of the late ’60s. So, that answers my question on that.

Bottom Line

The game clearly got off to a rocky start, which needed some patches and a few more to come I’m sure. But, I sincerely hope that people can look past those issues and the bad reviews and give it a try, because I simply don’t think they were significant enough to take away from the otherwise great game that’s there to be enjoyed. Perhaps that will scare most people away from a brand new purchase, but hopefully not from a discounted or used purchase at least, which is just around the corner I’m sure.

However, we’re quickly reaching the point where a new 3D Mario game needs to be announced. Notice how I said “needs,” as it definitely needs to happen. The Switch is still firing on all cylinders and there are some heavy hitters that are on the horizon. However, the new 3D Mario game has got to be close.

It’s Been Almost Four Years

Super Mario Odyssey was released on October 27, 2017, and that was the last 3D Mario game the world got. Yes, I’m aware that Bowser’s Fury was an extension that was developed for Super Mario 3D World. Yet, that was an extension and not its own game, let’s just be real. We’re less than two months away from Odyssey being four years old.

Now, if you look at the history of the 3D Mario franchise, four years between installments is not unheard of. The thing that’s peculiar is the fact that Nintendo hasn’t dropped even a little news on when we can expect the next installment. Given that they, typically, like to reveal the newest 3D Mario close to when it will actually release, it’s not too far-fetched to expect it by the end of 2022.

2023 is the Most Likely

With how stacked 2022 is looking for Nintendo, it’s probably a good guess that the newest installment is not going to be until 2023. As for what it is, it has to be the sequel to Odyssey. Unless Nintendo plans to wait until their next console to release the new one (which would be absurd), this is the only logical assumption.

To be honest, the point of this article was just to remind all fans that 3D Mario is still a thing. I wish there was more news that could be detailed, but there has been virtually nothing. A September Direct has been rumored for quite some time, but at the time of this writing, Nintendo hasn’t confirmed anything.

However, I wouldn’t expect to see anything related to this at the Nintendo Direct. Hopefully, they reveal news on the new game during E3 of 2022 or something. That could be their major reveal. Until then, fans like me are going to continue to wait in anticipation for the famous plumber to finally jump into a new 3D adventure again. It’s just a matter of when, not if.

For the record, golf is my favorite sport, and Mario is my favorite video game franchise. So, I feel my opinion on Mario Golf: Super Rush does have some validity. It’s also worth mentioning that Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour (which was made by the same company) is probably my favorite Mario Sports game of all time.

Anyway, I want to detail the many reasons why I feel the way I do about the most recent Mario Golf entry.

Lack of Content

This has been a major issue for modern games in the Mario Sports genre. Perhaps it’s because we live in an era of DLC where content can be released post-game. Regardless, this is just another game in the genre that simply doesn’t have a ton to offer. This is especially true when compared to Toadstool Tour. That entry had game modes galore and did so without a true story mode (which this version actually has).

Speaking of the story mode, it gets old in Super Rush in about 30 minutes. Nope, I’m not exaggerating as the cringy voice acting and the repetitive gameplay gets very tiresome very quickly. I guess this would be a good time to mention the new “Speed Golf” mode. To be honest, I feel the game was built around the concept and really tailored to it.

I like to take my time while playing golf, but I can see where a group of friends would find a lot of enjoyment in speed golf. My lack of care for this mode is probably a huge reason why I don’t like it, honestly.

Game Mechanics

Now, to those who’ve played this game, this might come as a surprise. The game mechanics, on the surface, are very clean and well-executed. So, what’s the problem with them? It’s quite simple, actually, the game mechanics make the game way too easy. As a person who loves playing golf in real life, I understand that a video game will never be able to truly replicate the difficulty and fun of the real thing.

However, going back to Toadstool Tour, that game at least has game mechanics that are a little harder to master. In Super Rush, all you have to do is press a button. The former was just much more immersive. Additionally, all the pre-shot controls and options of Toadstool Tour are much better.

Course Design

Wow, the course design in this game is just bad. Now, the “New Donk City” course that was added looks really cool (I haven’t tried it yet because I couldn’t care less to play this game again). However, besides that, on top of having a very limited number of courses, most of their designs are pretty bland. Yes, golf courses can easily be repetitive, but “Camelot” was able to pull off some epic courses back on the GameCube.

Back when this game was unveiled earlier in 2021, I was extremely excited about it. Literally, five hours into the game, and I realized just how bad it was. Perhaps more and more updates will continue to improve the game, but is it really too much to ask to release a $60 game that’s actually good on day one?

With that out of the way, let’s get into this. As much as I enjoyed the game, it had one job. No, seriously, it had one job and it somehow managed to screw it up. All fans of Breath of the Wild were expecting this game to have a very, very depressing story. After all, it was supposed to take us back in time at the heart of the Great Calamity.

While it certainly did achieve that, the story was completely altered. Now, I’m not going to spoil the happenings that occurred, but let’s just say that not everyone dies. Actually, the one person we thought was dead, didn’t even die (which was a really cool moment). Anyway, in Breath of the Wild, all the Champions (and various others) ended up perishing thanks to Calamity Ganon.

Overall, Breath of the Wild portrayed the Great Calamity in somewhat of a different light than Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity did. With that said, I still feel the latter did an excellent job of telling the story, outside of not going all the way with it. Maybe the Zelda team (as we know they were working with Omega Force) just didn’t want the story to be incredibly depressing.

Yet, what they did by doing so was create a totally different storyline altogether. In what everyone thought was supposed to be a prequel to Breath of the Wild, actually turned into somewhat of a sequel, when you think about it. Again, I won’t spoil what exactly happened, but the events of Breath of the Wild had to occur for Age of Calamity to happen.

What Age of Calamity also did was create some confusion for the sequel to Breath of the Wild. After all, which game is the sequel going to continue the events from, as they have totally different outcomes? Is Age of Calamity going to end up being just a spin-off, or will it end up being canon in the main story? If nothing else, it makes the hype for the sequel even higher, as if it really needed that. Still, the game had one job, one job!

He’s My Favorite Video Game Character

Yeah, this is pretty much the most biased way I could’ve started this. But, hey, we all have our favorites, and King Boo just so happens to be mine. I love all the Boos, but the King is just something special. He first debuted in Luigi’s Mansion way back in 2001. The first game in the Smash series, for the record, was released two years prior to that. What that means is both King Boo and the Smash franchise have been around for nearly the exact same amount of time. Think about that for a second.

He Would Add Something Different

It’s worth pointing out now that I don’t even like this franchise all that much. Heck, I don’t even own the newest game, which says a lot. If Nintendo added King Boo, though, I would be buying it in a heartbeat. Now, let me just say this, the cast of fighters in Ultimate is really, really good. Yet, most would agree that Nintendo needs to stop adding sword-based characters. King Boo, given his unique nature, would immediately be one of the most compelling, unique, and intriguing fighters to use.

Born in Nintendo

This is what really bothers me, honestly. Nintendo does a great job of adding third-party characters from other companies. Yet, you have a character sitting there that you created and own the rights to, and you still won’t add him. Seriously, what’s this disrespect for King Boo? Do they not think he would be a good character; can they not think of a move set for him? I wish I had the answers to these questions, but I’m as lost as the next guy.

It Could Help Other Games

The biggest game King Boo has been in during recent times is Luigi’s Mansion 3. While that game has been here for quite some time now, it would’ve been a great way to get more eyes on it to release the main villain in Smash. That’s the way my brain would think about it anyway, maybe I’m alone. Who knows, if they would’ve done that, it might not have impacted the sales of either game in the slightest. I highly doubt it, though.

Again, I don’t really even like this franchise, but if King Boo was added, Nintendo would have another sale for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It really goes to show the power of one character, and I’m sure others feel the same about different characters.

If someone has leaked rumors that ended up coming true in the past, their credibility is boosted. Yet, if some random nobody just decides to “leak” information, you have to expect that 90 percent of it is BS. Now, the reason I’m bringing all that up is just recently, somebody leaked out some major Nintendo Switch news, regarding software in the future.

I’m going to dive into it a little bit, and then assess whether or not the leaks are believable. So, right now, go ahead and check out the tweet that was sent out by @markomaro:

1H 2021
New Pokemon Snap (Spring)
Pokemon Collection (Feb)
Famicom Detective Club remakes (At least in Japan)
Zelda BOTW Sequel (April if is not delays)
Metroid 2D (If not more delays, already finished)
New IP (Not announced yet)
Fire Emblem Remake (Spring-Summer)

— markomaro (@Newmarkomaro) November 19, 2020

Now that you’ve seen it, let’s talk about it.

Is it True?

Yeah, might as well start with this, right? A user on Reddit went ahead and shared this tweet looking for some information on the leaker’s credibility. If you scroll down in the comments section of the post, you’ll notice that many people aren’t buying this one at all. It’s worth pointing out that not all Reddit users can be taken seriously, but when this many people are calling out the leaks for being fake, it’s alarming for sure.

The sad part is the information that was leaked is insane. If even half of this were to be true, Nintendo Switch owners would be in for a heck of a future. Though I’m starting to believe that 90% of it isn’t going to happen (at least in the manner the games were predicted). Here’s what I’d be most looking forward to on the list:

Donkey Kong Country 6

Without question, this is what piqued my interest in this leak in the first place. It’s been so bloody long since we had a new entry into the DKC franchise that I’m starting to wonder if we’re ever going to get a new one. Clearly, if there was a game in development, it’s most likely not going to be called Donkey Kong Country 6, as that would most likely be just a placeholder name.

There are no more details about it, however, which is unfortunate. I’d love to see it, but I’ll only believe it if and when Nintendo confirms it.

The BOTW Sequel in April

The likelihood of this happening is very, very slim. You even will see some commenters in the Reddit post mocking this prediction. We all know the BOTW sequel is coming, but to expect it as early as April of next year would probably be pushing it. This is Nintendo we’re talking about here, as they have historically done this with Zelda. With that said, we’d all lose our marbles if we actually had the chance to play this game that soon.

It Just Seems Like Too Much

Someone made mention of this in the Reddit post. It just seems like there are too many games on this list for the information to be accurate. How could someone know that many games in the coming future are coming to the Switch? It just seems fishy for sure, but I wanted to share it anyway. Leaks are fun to speculate about, and all we can hope for is that some of the information turns out to be true.

I’d say it was roughly five or six years ago that I really started to get into it, and it all started with one video game. Sure, there have been many DBZ fighting games over the years, but my heart will always belong to DBZ: Budokai 3. It’s not just due to the nostalgia, either, as it’s mainly due to how well this game holds up all these years later.

The Fantastic Ki System

The major mechanic that makes this fighting game unique from literally every other one I’ve ever played is the Ki system. Fans of the franchise know that Ki is very important. In this game, it’s the primary component that you need to understand to do well. With most fighting games, you can just mash random buttons to high success. That’s not the case here as the Ki system creates endless strategies.

Possessing Ki allows you to use super attacks, to dodge behind your opponent, and to do a variety of other tasks. At any time, you can charge up your character to build Ki. Though different characters possess different base Ki, everyone utilizes it.

The Canceling System

It’s not as if this is the only fighting game that allows you to cancel attacks, but none do it better. The difference between a high-level player and a mid-level player often comes down to how well the players can cancel. Top-level players will be able to string along huge combos simply by canceling. Along with the Ki system, canceling allows for further strategy opportunities. Even better is that some characters have a ton of different cancels that you can utilize.

Transformations and Variety of Characters

Dragon Ball Z is synonymous with transformations. Above all else, this is the aspect that people typically remember the most. Being implemented into this game, transformations allow for new opportunities for characters. Speaking of characters, this game has an excellent variety available. From Cell to Super Buu to Vegeta to Piccolo, the fantastic characters read like a who’s who of DBZ greats.

It Hasn’t Aged a Day

Yes, the graphics have aged, but I couldn’t care less about that. People are so consumed with how good games look that they often forget why they’re fun in the first place. This game is a fantastic example of that as the gameplay, music, and overall fun haven’t aged a bit. And even if you can’t stomach the PS2 version anymore, you can always dive into the PS3 version. All these years later and it’s still the best DBZ game ever made.

Yes, we got Super Mario 3D All-Stars, but that was honestly kind of a disappointing release. Additionally, it didn’t offer anything new (outside of being able to play the first three entries in HD). What we really want is an actual new entry in the franchise, but what do you think that’s going to be? Today, I want to talk about that a little (no rumors will be present, this is all for fun).

Super Mario Odyssey 2

Out of all the possibilities, this one is the most likely. Honestly, it’s really only because Nintendo seems bound and determined to support the Switch for another couple of years at least. And there’s no way they’d wait all the way until their next console to release a new 3D Mario game. It also seems unlikely that we’d see a brand-new game. The safe bet is on the sequel to Odyssey and, personally, that’s the entry I want it to be the most.

Super Mario Galaxy 3

For whatever reason, this game has been speculated and wanted for literally a decade. Now, I’m a huge fan of the Galaxy games (the first is arguably my favorite 3D platformer of all-time). However, if I’m being brutally honest, I just don’t see the point in making a 3rd. The time has come and gone, and at the end of the 2nd entry, I got the idea that Nintendo sort of ran out of ideas. Super Mario 3D All-Stars proved that a Galaxy game can run on the Switch, but I still don’t see a 3rd entry happening.

Super Mario Sunshine 2 / Super Mario 64 2

I just figured I’d talk about both of these at the same time. Again, this is a list of what new entry you’d want in the franchise, and many would be eating these two up. Personally, an actual sequel to Super Mario 64 would be insanely cool. We’re not going to talk about the other game, as I’m not that big of a fan of it. Both of these, however, seem highly unlikely. This is especially true considering both of the original games finally landed on the Switch. Both of these would probably be pipe dreams.

A Brand-New Idea

Outside of a sequel to Odyssey, I would just prefer a brand-new concept for the next game. Yet, why waste this on the Switch? I feel Nintendo will wait for their next console to create a brand-new game. Plus, with as amazing as Odyssey is, I really want to see what they could do in a sequel. So, you know my two cents, what’s yours?

For me, however, there’s just a magic to popping in a video game for the 2nd time. I’m going to attempt to explain my reasoning to the best of my ability. Before I do, though, let me point out that there are distinct advantages that the 1st playthrough has over the 2nd. I love them both to death, but let me dissect why I still prefer the 2nd.

You’ve Already Played and Beaten the Game

It’s official, you all probably think I’m delusional. If you didn’t think I was already nuts, I just claimed that the 2nd playthrough in games is better than the first because you’ve already beaten the game. Let me explain what I’m talking about. When you first play a video game, everything is brand-new to you (unless you’re playing a direct sequel or something like that). This means that, at least for me, you don’t really let everything digest right away.

Plus, most people won’t find all there is to find on the 1st playthrough. So, when you get to that 2nd playthrough, you’re no longer wondering how the game progresses or ends, as you already know. This then allows you to further explore other aspects of the game. Additionally, you’ll often forget about the earlier content, making it almost feel brand-new.

It’s More Relaxing

When I play a game that I’m really looking forward to, I sometimes want too badly to finish it. My curiosity gets to me so badly that I end up rushing to the end. It doesn’t always happen, but it typically does with awesome video games. Once I know how everything unfolds, I can then play the game again feeling completely relaxed.

There is no rush to beat the game as I already know what happens. This isn’t just specific for story-based games, either, even platformers and such. I’m just way more relaxed on the 2nd playthrough.

Finding New Content

Oh yeah, this might be the trump card for me. I play a lot of games that are riddled with secrets. Two such franchises include Zelda and Mario. For those games, the 2nd playthrough always has more secrets in store. I typically like to have a casual 1st run through to ensure that many more discoveries will be on their way. Not all games will offer this and, ironically, those are the types of games that I sometimes struggle to play again.

If I’m being honest, there are some video games that I play several times and still get vast enjoyment out of them. On the other hand, others I really only care to play once and maybe twice. Regardless, for me, the 2nd playthrough of games will always be my favorite.

But I honestly have little to no interest in the PS5, and that’s more the fact that I don’t really like modern gaming. I’m an old-school gaming fan who enjoys when games weren’t attempting to be as realistic as possible, as I think it’s ruining gaming. Yet, that’s a conversation for a different day. And I still get excited for some modern games, mostly first-party games from Nintendo such as Mario and Zelda.

However, this is what I want to discuss today; what if the upcoming PS5 was backwards compatible with all generations of PlayStation? That’s right, I’m talking about the PS1 library all the way up to the PS4. Now, as many of you probably know, the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PS4 software, but it stops there sadly.

Would it Even Be Possible?

While I’m a tech-savvy individual, I don’t know the specific details on what would make it possible to make this happen. I do understand that older games don’t play very well on modern consoles and TVs, due to framerate and quality restrictions. It simply makes sense as the technology when they were made is vastly different than what you see now.

Truly, the only way old-school games look good on modern platforms is if they’re remastered or upscaled in some way. However, if Sony were to just create a system that could play all their games, the older generations wouldn’t look so hot.

Could Technology Be Integrated?

Alright, so here’s a question, could Sony implement specific technology into their PS5 to cope with this issue? You can never bet against technology, and I’m convinced that something could be implemented. Yet, really, I’m just an ignorant gamer who doesn’t know the specifics on how this would be done. So, I can’t complain all that much because it might not even be feasible.

Can You Imagine?

Can you imagine how cool it would be to have a system that could play five generations’ worth of games? There are many games I want to play that are Sony-exclusive games, but I really don’t feel like spending the money it would take to hunt down all the old consoles. Honestly, this integration would be the only reason I would ever buy a PS5. Thankfully, there are not too many gaming fans out there with the mindset that I have. So, it’s not like the console is not going to sell because of it.

That was just my two cents, though. It’s fun discussing this type of stuff. But, for now, it’s probably going to remain nothing more than a pipe dream.