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What’s good, spider balls and morph balls! It’s bonus time! We had so much to talk about in NEP 026 that we made it double the length! We’ll also be doing an EXTRA episode during the week: a spoilercast for Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon: Every Buddy!

In this episode of NEP, we discuss Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Thieves, the controversy of Persona 5 not being announced for Switch and the community’s negative reaction. This leads us to talk about reality vs expectation, vocal gaming culture and how some gamers handle disappointment. We then lighten things up by talking about Super Mario Maker 2’s upcoming release, Nintendo’s financial briefing (including Pokemon and E3 details), and some more information about Nintendo and Tencent Holdings partnership to break into the Chinese market with the release of Nintendo Switch. And even more!

We hope you enjoy the extra effort this week! As ever, we would appreciate your help in growing the show by sharing the podcast with a friend!
Thanks for listening!

System: Switch
Release date: April 23, 2019
Developer: Square Enix / Virtuos
Publisher: Square Enix


It’s just another ordinary day: Hell has frozen over, pigs are soaring across the skies, and you’re playing Final Fantasy X on a Nintendo console. What was once thought impossible has become a delightful role playing reality. The series infamous for its break with Nintendo has come back home with plenty of classic games in tow, and this remarkable trend continues with the release of Final Fantasy X and its direct sequel on Switch. So many years after these games defined a generation of RPGs, they continue to hold up in fine form on Nintendo’s newest system, retaining every bit of their strategic and storytelling brilliance with a few modern enhancements thrown in to sweeten the deal.

System: Switch
Release date: April 25, 2019
Developer: Rayark
Publisher: Flyhigh Works


Music has always been essential in games since the beginning of time, spanning from chiptune to various forms of electronic based music with MIDIs, synths, and beyond, to the more contemporary live orchestrations. It’s no shock then that rhythm games – where the core focus is music itself – would gain popularity and only continue to grow thanks to the likes of Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. Recent hits help remind us about what makes the rhythm genre so great, not only giving us tons of great songs to play through, but introducing clever and inventive ways to play. That trend continues on Switch with Cytus Alpha – a re-imagining of one of mobile’s most enjoyable and highest grossing games.

System: Switch (eShop)
Release date: April 25, 2019
Developer: Image & Form
Publisher: Thunderful


The SteamWorld franchise has to be one of the most ambitious and varied IPs in indie gaming today. Since its inception on DSiWare in 2010, the series has stretched from Metroidvania platformers to tower defense games to real-time strategy, and with SteamWorld Quest, the latest entry on Switch, they’ve made the natural progression to the card-based RPG genre. But of course, we have to wonder: does Image & Form have another ace up its sleeve with SteamWorld Quest? Let’s shuffle our deck and see what hand the game has dealt us.

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

System: Switch
Release date: April 23, 2019
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom


Imagine waking up, going down to your kitchen and seeing every utensil you own now suddenly has a different color and function. Your whisk? Slice your bread with it. Potato peeler? No, pizza cutter. That’s Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen, a game that somehow manages to feel totally familiar and utterly unrecognizable all at the exact same time. There are flashes of familiarity to its design – Dark Souls, Skyrim, Monster Hunter and many others – but they all manage to exist as just that, flashes. Underneath the welcoming facade of these similarities there’s a game that will stick in your memory for the foreseeable future, for better and (sometimes) for worse. Originally released in 2012 for the PS3 and 360, Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen was Capcom’s offering to the action RPG pantheon. Now, in 2019, it has made the jump to the Switch in a move almost as peculiar as the game itself – and remarkably, it works.

System: Switch
Release date: April 18, 2019
Developer: Studio MDHR
Publisher: Studio MDHR


Back in 2014, the world was first introduced to a peculiar game known as Cuphead that had an aesthetic thought to be long forgotten, but presented itself with such panache that it was as compelling as it was unique and eye-catching. Its 1930s art direction oddly made you excited to watch the next episode to a show that didn’t exist, and the game was able to hit the right notes with so many people from so many generations. Now Cuphead has been given a chance to shine once again thanks to its new release on Switch.

Hello, Team Hare and Team Tortoise! This week on NEP, Galen kicks the show off with his EXCELLENT Banjo (Banjo-Kazooie) impression. That sets the mood for the laughing/crying fit we have right after as we joke about how depressing Chocobo’s Mystery Dungeon gets in the late game, including some high-level Final Fantasy lore jokes. We then take a deep dive into Smash 3.0 where Galen gives some thorough impressions and we discuss all of the custom stages Nintendo’s cracking down on; Galen tells his horror story. Afterward, we have some chill Marvel talk because we just got a street date for Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3! Then we get serious as we talk rumors from Nikkei about a Switch Mini releasing this autumn, and Oni talks the importance of accurate translations so as not to spread misinformation. And we tidy things up by discussing the growing likelihood of Switch releasing in mainland China, who Tencent is, and international business culture.

We hope you enjoy this episode, because we had a ton of fun recording it! We would appreciate your help in growing the show by sharing the podcast with a friend!
Thanks for listening!

It was the end of an era this week with Reggie Fils-Aime retiring from Nintendo of America. Reggie had a lengthy stay with the Big N having been there for over 15 years, including his role as president for 13 years.

Reggie was very different compared to your average company executive. He developed a fan following thanks to his personality, various appearances, and meme-worthy moments. Reggie was on stage at E3, in video presentations, at launches for new systems and games, and more. He was never afraid to embrace the community or poke fun at himself either.

Since Reggie has retired from Nintendo, we want to know what your favorite memory is of him during his time at the company. Was it his initial introduction at E3 2004? The time when he said “What’s wrong with you?” if you didn’t own a 3DS during one of the first showings of a Nintendo Direct presentation? Let us know in the comments below.

System: Switch (eShop)
Release date: April 18, 2019
Developer: Askiisoft
Publisher: Devolver Digital


Maybe Katana Zero didn’t immediately stand out to you on the eShop. Perhaps it’s because it’s seemingly just one more pixelated indie game, or because you’ve already preloaded a certain other stylish indie action game releasing on April 18. Or maybe it’s because you’re like me, and expected Katana Zero to be yet another pretty, but ultimately forgettable indie experience. And you know what, these are all reasonable expectations to have.

Hey guys! Edan here, just wanted to give you all a status update on our My Time At Portia review. A few weeks back we received review code for the game, and as someone who has plunged over 200 hours into Stardew Valley, I jumped at the chance to review what is one of my most anticipated Switch titles this year. Unfortunately, things haven’t exactly been straightforward.


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