Nintendo 2023 Year in Review: The Games (TOTK, Metroid Prime, & More! - Part 1)

[@BigUzi46]

Really crazy how this 45 minute long video only covers games that launched in the first half of the year. It just shows how great of a year 2023 truly was for Nintendo

[@SALTYTOAD00]

2023 was one of Nintendo's best years, except for Everybody 1-2 Switch.

[@TheSpeedfoever]

That game is great too come on

[@sharkgam3z592]

I forgot about that lmao😂

[@ZakaryN]

yeah

[@mr_m4613]

Playstation and Xbox could use an everybody 1 2 switch for sure, hell ANYTHING at this point.

[@marcuslk07]

And except also with Charles Martinet retiring as the voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi😢

[@sethyoung9922]

The members who like Tears of the Kingdom should say more things they like during these discussions. Feels too one sided

[@TheSpeedfoever]

Dominant year for Nintendo not just because of the games but the theme parks and the Mario movie!

[@M64bros]

Indeed, 2023 was pretty much the best year for Nintendo!

[@pedromonteiro2248]

Zelda TOTK is the true GAME OF THE YEAR!!!!!

[@The-wrench-ki2uw]

I agree

[@mkjjoe]

If it hadn't been over-reliant on what already won 6 years ago while losing focus, I could have said the same

[@pedromonteiro2248]

@@mkjjoe You didn’t play the game. TOTK outclasses at least 3 times every aspect of BOTW! And BOTW is one of the best games of all time! This game is a once life gaming experience!

[@mkjjoe]

@@pedromonteiro2248 I love when people tell me what I did or not 😄 I did TOTK 100% with over 300 hours, but also BOTW 100% multiple times with over 1000 hours, and been with the series since the beginning. I think I'm in a good spot to criticize any of it.

[@pedromonteiro2248]

@@mkjjoe Actually, It is pretty hard you make 100% in TOTK in a first run with just 300h! Get all Korok seeds and all items to upgrade all armor takes too long! I am with 805h and didn’t get the 100%! You are a LIER! You even didn’t play the game…

[@Raul_27]

Jake's taste in games is the opposite of mine.

[@lukelhant5077]

Nice video as always and I respect the opinions of how they feel about totk but at the end of the day it is my favorite Zelda game of all time. Wind Waker was my number 1 favorite but it had been eclipsed by totk by a good bunch

[@tdotran]

Man Future Redeemed was a fantastic DLC. It was amazing.

[@rj_4mp100]

It’s funny coming back into gaming discourse after taking a break basically since I beat TotK, and seeing the way the game is being talked about by some circles online. And to be honest after listening to these opinions, I think gaming personalities/KZbinrs are taking video games a bit too seriously. Just enjoy the games man you don’t have to question yourself every 5 minutes “BUT DOES ULTRAHANDING THIS RAFT EVOKE THE SAME FEELINGS IN MY LOINS THAT BOTW DID 6 YEARS AGO???”. I’m probably being too harsh and I apologise, but video games are a fun escapist hobby, not some serious work of art that needs to be overanalysed to death imo. But maybe I would feel differently if Gaming Coverage was my job, instead of just an effective (and expensive) de-stressing tool 🤷‍♂️. Respect to you guys for doing it 24/7.

[@thecunninlynguist]

a good year. My Nintendo Wrap Up consisted of NS games between GB/GBA/NES/SNES. But I also had fun w/ Kirby, Mario RPG, Advance Wars

[@seahawks2483]

52:05 see I can relate to this, I haven't had this drive to play TOTK like I did for BOTW because I have already explored the world. I'm enjoying the game, I actually like it more in hour 90 then how 15 but still it doesn't feel as exciting or fun as BOTW In a vacuumed TOTK is the greatest game of all time. But in a world with BOTW its just a good game

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

Much as I dislike BotW, it was a huge game with all new content and concepts. I know no one likes hearing it, and it's a bit hyperbolic, but when BotW exists Tears really does feel like an expansion to me, more than a game itself. A technically impressive one, but still.

[@YianniPapazis]

TOTK is very mid. @@TaliesinMyrddin

[@rj_4mp100]

I find this to be a very surface level view of this game tbh. Yes it’s the same map, but recontextualised with a bunch of new experiences and additions: themed caves, Depths and Sky, significantly better side quests. Idk, BOTW just feels obsolete to me after TotK. I think this is just the usual Zelda backlash period and in 3-4 we’ll see the public opinion change once the vocal minority dies down.

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

@@rj_4mp100 @rj_4mp100 If anything, I think more people will admit to its flaws over time than a "vocal minority dying down". There are plenty of people I've seen who were singing its praises in the months of release who have cooled dramatically on it since. The overworld being 'recontextualised' doesn't change the fact it's 90% the same map. If the Depths didn't exist and the new shrines didn't replace the old ones, everything else outside of Ultra Hand could've been part of a large DLC update, rather than a sequel. And the Depths isn't even that impressive - it just takes rules based on the surface world, inverts a few landscape features and got some extra details sprinkled around it. It almost feels procedurally generated than hand-crafted. None of that's to say people are wrong for enjoying it, but it's definitely debatable whether it deserves game of the year status versus other games that were built from the ground-up within the same development period.

[@legomaster2538]

The fact that my top 3 favorite Nintendo franchises (3 Super Mario, 2 Fire Emblem, 1 The Legend of Zelda) all got new games in the same year is amazing. That hasn’t happened since 2019 The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening Remake, Luigi’s Mansion 3, and Fire Emblem Three Houses.

[@maevblog9955]

What about the M+R sparks of hope DLC?

[@GamerFunOriginallyAarush]

I love 2023 in gaming! So many great games came out this year!

[@jordanthomas7090]

A very strong year for Nintendo.😌👍🏻

[@Ray-dl5mp]

Yea it’s time for the Switch 2. Don’t mess it up Nintendo. Don’t get too cute now. Good discussion.

[@clodiemoo4704]

I adored Cereza and the Lost Demon, definitely my game of the year

[@Leopez02]

YEAR 2023 have been an AMAZING for NINTENDO defienitily with games. Here's My Top10-List about of the BEST NINTENDO SWITCH Games in 2023: 10: Detective Pikachu Returns 9: Dragon Quest The Dark Prince 8: Song of Nunu a League of Legends Story 7: Disney Illusion Island 6: Sonic Superstars 5: Super Mario Bros Wonder 4: Super Mario Rpg Remake 3: Metroid Prime 2: The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom 1: Master Detective Airchaves Raincode Nintendo's DLC:s was AWESOME too, My Favourite are Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass and Pokémon Scarlet/Violet Hidden Treasure of Area Zero The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disc Nintendo and Universal Studio The Super Mario Bros Movie is surprisilly GOOD. There's a lot of NINTENDO SWITCH 2 Rumors in 2023. And in the Game Awards 2023 Super Mario Bros Wonder won the BEST Family Friendly Game and The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom won the BEST Action/Adventure Game. Goodbye an AMAZING NINTENDO 2023 Year and Welcome New NINTENDO Year 2024, Happy New Year! 🌎🌍🌏🎇🎆🐉

[@BigKlingy]

Regarding Advance Wars, I do remember there was a decent amount of buzz when the OST started to hit KZbin, general consensus being WayForward knocked it out of the part when they did NOT need to go that hard. It feels like those who were excited for the game ended up enjoying it, and the CO Power animations turned out a lot more charming that I expected. But it would've been nice to have more of a marketing push, there was a rumor that a demo was planned for the original 2022 release.

[@georgeg7259]

Near silence on playing through Bayonetta Origins, Advance Wars, Return to dreamland, only one person played through these? Give me a break. They better talk about Pikmin 4 in part two. I will be surprised if more than one person finished it. These gaming news people need to play more Switch games 🙄

[@pietstokman6610]

The Zelda slander is so weird. If the arguments were actually good, I’d have nothing against it, but some (if not most) arguments are bad… Really bad. ‘Ahh, the game just does this and then that happens and that’s boring.’ Wtf man… 🤣 Also, the comments about e.g. The Depths are just factually false. There is much to do down there, so I have a feeling some of the guys didn’t play the game much at all. 👍🏻

[@akaimizu1]

What’s odd is that this year had an incredible release for 1st party games. And I think the real issue is that maybe too many of them made some of us forget some of the other stellar releases. Pikmin 4 being one of the arguably best Pikmin releases and a very strong title. Heck FE Engage came out this year, and for classic FE fans, it was an absolute treat. The battle system was so well done, and it was kind of wild to be able to actually explore the towns and or battle locations, in 3rd person, after you claim victory over them, was a nice touch. In my opinion, 2023 was an even better 1st party push than 2017, even if by a small number. What really made 2017 feel so significant was that Nintendo came out with 2 GOTY contenders from the literal ashes of the Wii U. It was that amazing coming to full form, of the Switch, which made 2017 seem so big. But when it comes to brand new games and brand new sequels and/or expansions, 2023 easily has that beat, as far as I’m concerned. However, maybe a lot of people’s change in how they look at it is completely down to the pressures of a new hardware generation above all else. It kind of clouds the vision of taking the games themselves, at face value, without looking at the hardware race aspect of it.

[@supermannygamer2003]

2023 was the year if nostalgia bait and remasters Change my mind

[@blainev1596]

I had a great time with the releases this year. I know it didn’t make much impact, and people thought it was overpriced, but I LOVED Cereza and the Lost Demon. And I’ve never played a Bayonetta game. I liked it even better than Tears of the Kingdom, and I’m a lifelong Zelda fan. That game will be living rent free in my head for years to come. 😊 I wish more franchises would get that treatment. Splatoon would be great, but I would love just a small side Zelda game with a similar storybook art style.

[@Raven-Rose_Goth584]

My best year was Zelda Breath of the Wild finally completed it sill got quest to do I use to have 5 hours of terse of the kingdom now 40 hours completed Mario bro’s u deluxe and complete Mario wonder spent hours on Fortnite and smash bro’s ultimate 900 hour mk8d I’m glad got dlc I enjoyed it so much

[@KirbyMasterArchives]

Jake acting like super abilities weren’t in the original Return to Dream Land? lol And there is plenty of challenge in this game if you look for it (True Arena, Challenge Stages, Magoland Missions)

[@KirbyMasterArchives]

@@jakesteinberg9540 Fair enough haha definitely the weakest of the modern Kirby gimmicks

[@zeplays]

I hope you the “Sounds like money” video for 2024! It was so much fun last year! hahahaha

[@Cynim]

I really wonder if a middle ground between traditional Zelda and open-world Zelda can exist…? It’ll be interesting to see what Nintendo comes up in the future. What’s for sure, is that they don’t keep things stale anymore.

[@Cynim]

About the Splatoon 3 DLC, the content is great - having Inkopolis return, then Side Order coming up. The big problem is indeed the packaging and marketing. In terms of timing, not an issue, even if it’s more than a year. But yeah, what were they thinking…?😅 a pre-order bonus for what’s coming up, why not?

[@billybobandboshow]

Where is Mario Wonder??

[@Cynim]

The criticism about NSO and how games are made available rather sporadically is valid. However, as a normal consumer, I don’t mind it much at all. I actually like that they release games only every so often, because my video gaming time isn’t infinite. But that’s just me.

[@ivanhernandez7888]

In a sense you are right; but that isn’t the problem. People complain about release schedule because a lot of people wish to see specific titles that just don’t arrive.

[@Cynim]

@@ivanhernandez7888 that's true as well. Not necessarily everyone thinks that way, but definitely a large number of people - though it might not be the majority.

[@themothreborn]

Secret Stone? Demon King?

[@darkstalker696]

I love engage as a long time fe fan , but my friend told me who only played fates and 3h said engages gives a very weird feeling of celebrating a series history while knowing you can't even play 90% of the franchise. So all of the references and throwbacks kind of fall flat because just because most if the emblems are in Smash bros isn't enough to sell a game like engage. Especially they are still japan exclusive games when Nintendo clearly see fire emblem as a flagship franchise but it's nintedos most inaccessible franchise.

[@BigKlingy]

As a long-time fan, it's surreal that only 3H, Engage and Blazing Blade (via Switch Online) are legally playable right now. We REALLY need a Gamecube/Wii virtual console with Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn re-releases, I'm sure most new fans would love them.

[@darkstalker696]

@@BigKlingy I believe they would. IMO the next fire emblem needs to be another echos title to follow up engage. Not only does it make engage better to play with more knowledge of the series. It also will start to solve the most crucial problem with this series in accessibility.

[@darkstalker696]

@@BigKlingy it still blows my mind why they haven't remade binding blade yet when roy is so popular even outside of the fire emblem community.

[@BigKlingy]

@@darkstalker696 I'm sure either Binding Blade or Genealogy is the next remake in line. I'm hoping for Binding, as it's a game I used to hate but now really like.

[@reezrahman1350]

wow, you guys are ganging on TOTK 😞 focusing on so many subjective views rather than the objective value of the game, especially JAKE. pfft.

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

What objective value? The sales? They mentioned that.

[@zynux8252]

Jake himself said that it was probably the most impressive game of the year, just wasn't the most fun for him. That seems pretty objective to me, you can recognize how much of a technical marvel TOTK is but that doesn't mean it will be fun for you.

[@timmy3441]

@reezrahman1350 Completely agree, it's a little sad to see to be honest. Especially after his video comparing TotK to Pokemon, noticing how much care went into TotK and how we should raise our standards for Pokemon. That was of my favourite videos of the year that I keep coming back to as an example of TotK's quality - it's been a little sad to see him jump on the standard TotK hate bandwagon which has been... almost fashionable lately.

[@mkjjoe]

@@timmy3441 The fact that it's become a trend doesn't make the criticism less relevant. It always happens in big franchises, especially Zelda and since BOTW the popularity made this a bigger phenomenon. It's not like they don't acknowledge the technical prowess and commercial success, but when we care about a series we should be honest about its issues... Also it's everyone's responsibility to not be emotionally attached to someone else's opinion. I don't stay in sorrow every time a fan pretends the game has no flaw whatsoever, instead we can all share a point of view.

[@timmy3441]

@@mkjjoe Normally I'd agree, but in this particular situation? Nah. It's completely over the top.

[@A_Dad]

I completely agree with what Jake says about TOTK. The game was fun for maybe like 20 - 30 hours but got extremely tedious and boring. Its nice to see a channel focused more on Nintendo not mindlessly call it the best game ever made. It's also funny reading comments from people butt hurt about the criticism.

[@mr_m4613]

This is BY FAR the best year Nintendo has ever had, this is non debatable. With everything they released along with the super mario brothers movie hitting big and the super Nintendo world debut its not even close.

[@cyber-thundr_]

There’s one of the reasons why blockbuster films this year in 2023 performed poorly at the box office, one of the reasons is because video game companies have been on a role lately this year 💴💰 games like Super Mario Bros Wonder, Breath of the Wild 2, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and many more have been taking more chances in front of the general public, they’re taking more risks.

[@mkjjoe]

What are those risks? TOTK and SM2 seem like safe sequels to me

[@bklyn40]

Don’t forget Just Dance 2024 because this game was in the year 2023. And this game is my favorite.

[@WaleedBarkasiyeh]

I don't understand the totk hate really. Also the old zelda games were tiring to the degree where the franchise needed a soft reboot 😒 😑😑😑😑

[@LiuKangoGodsssz-vn6sw]

Pretty much. The massive sales of botw and Totk just proves that the old classic games were getting stale with Skyward Sword being one of the worst selling Zelda games ever made

[@alecamp5369]

They are just a minority. Most people love TOTK. It is a critical and sales darling.

[@NotTakenGreatName]

This is the Zelda cycle, every single one for as long as I can remember goes through the same discourse. X is boring or not as good as you thought, it needs Y from the old games, it needs Z from another franchise and it goes on and on until the next one comes out and the cycle repeats.

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

It's because a lot of people had hopes that Tears would fix the issues they saw in BotW, and then it either didn't, or doubled down in some cases. It's not hate, it's recognition that it's not perfect and some disappointment.

[@Pera6]

@@TaliesinMyrddinIt fixed all of botw issues wdym?

[@Cynim]

Oh hey! You forgot to mention that Metroid Prime Remastered is only $40!

[@zynux8252]

They mention it later in regards to Bayonetta Origins 34:04

[@Cynim]

Yep! I was commenting the video as I listened, but forgot to edit this comment when it was brought up after. ;)

[@Cynim]

As far as a year supposedly at around the end of a console lifecycle, this was an excellent year! Usually, Nintendo lets their consoles fall off a cliff rather quickly, so this is remarkable.

[@alliesangalli1757]

I think it's so interesting how, when people talk positively about TotK, the popular comments are criticizing the game, and when people talk negatively about it, the popular comments are praising the game. Really shows how divisive the game ended up being. I think the game overwhelmingly succeeds as a sequel, but I still like hearing different viewpoints.

[@Eienias]

nintendo had a rough call to make with advance wars and ultimately the delay really didn't help the game. i remember seeing hype for the game before but a year later with almost no promo, unless you were already a long time AW fan i wouldn't be surprised if most ppl just forgot about it or moved on. sucks given the reboot was to hopefully revitalize interest in the series. these last few years have killed all interest i had in FE so finally seeing Intsys other strategy series come back was a shining light, i can only hope it did well enough to continue but who knows on a more positive note, i got metroid prime remastered for christmas and i've been playing it. game looks dern great. i did pick up the trilogy on wii u as one of my last wii u purchases some months before the remaster was revealed. i've passed where i left off on wii u XD excited to get back to it

[@DoubleJT1234]

So TOTK wasn’t good because there was too many things to do? Interesting guys. Nailed it. 🙄

[@iceclkeyheart3060]

It's really hard to think of it as a new 3D Zelda specialty with how much it's just botw but again DLC like

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

I'm glad to see despite all the game of the years they're not afraid to call out Tears' flaws

[@notsyzagts7967]

Perhaps but the hate was stronger than the praise. They seem to enjoy dumping on things. Getting a bit carried away in that regard.

[@ddgaming9717]

Biast Mario rpg remake best year everything else came out/announced was a bonus

[@armen.geddon]

Really enjoying lego fort. Wish tears was something like that.

[@Joshuadavidgoodman]

oh my gosh dang that is cool cool cool!!

[@alecamp5369]

Wow, Jake really has become a TOTK hater. Too sad to see. I wish Gamexplain made a debate, because it seems Jake doesn't even want to hear the other side in fear that he realizes what he's thinking is flawed.

[@TaliesinMyrddin]

Honestly, you could say the same for a lot of TotK stans.

[@mkjjoe]

I think everyone has expressed their opinion by now, and much of what he says is echoed within the community. I'm not talking about old gatekeepers and trolls who can't argue beyond "old games better", but the general idea is that there's clearly room to be more subtle in how they fill this open world. TOTK is impressive and yet extremely reliant on BOTW's structure which holds back the sense of progression in this world. To pretend someone's thinking is flawed just because they focus on the negatives is precisely flawed, IMO.

[@alecamp5369]

@@mkjjoe "Much of what he says is echoed within the community". Except that is echoed by a vocal minority. Sure there is always room for improvement, but to act like all parts of the game are unredemable is crazy.

[@mkjjoe]

@@alecamp5369 Sure and we wouldn't spend 100++ hours if it felt that bad playing it... but the insistence can be proportional to how frustrating some things can be, relative to how much we care for it to be as good as possible. Also hindsight in 20/20 and arm-chair development is easy. But idk about a vocal "minority". The criticism is there, we're a bunch of people saying different things and when someone sums it up it may sound like spiteful trendy hate, when really it can be used to move forward. That doesn't prevent from enjoying the game.

[@iceclkeyheart3060]

​@@alecamp5369it just feels as equally insane to say that it's not botw DLC like basically.

[@Rizky-Gumilar]

Nintendo desperately need new more powerful hardware soon. Their tech is just freaking outdated they're getting obliterated by ps5 steam deck new iphone15 right now.

[@gizmoxx999]

Are they? Go on…..

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

Normally I don't used meme formats but I can do an exception: *A video where Nintendo is being sucessful exists* Rizky Gumilar: I'm about to end these people's whole career

[@SALTYTOAD00]

Looks at the sales of the Switch. I think they're more than fine.

[@Rizky-Gumilar]

​@@gizmoxx999baldursgate3 obliterated TOTK

[@Rizky-Gumilar]

​@@SALTYTOAD00they're not fine bruh their tech is freakin outdated

[@fgfhjfhjfbhfghf5771]

No Star Fox = bad year

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

Poor, Star Fox It didn't get anything for it's 30th anniversity

[@ADULESSONS]

This year is an F

[@therealseanw.stewart2071]

Wouldn't exactly be the first time I've STRONGLY disagreed with Jake on something, but I loved Return to Dream Land Deluxe. It was as good as I remember! STILL playing TotK, and haven't beaten it yet! (been putting it off for months lol) It's been a great year. So many fantastic releases.