Analyzing the art style of every Smash Bros. game
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Ethan in 3DS, Features, GameCube, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
It’s been many years since the original release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2018. There’s been no official announcement for a new game at the time of writing, but the wait between Ultimate and its eventual sequel is already setting a record. Indeed, the time between new Smash Bros. games has never been greater. But that leaves us with plenty of time to appreciate the titles we already have, and one aspect of them that often goes undiscussed is their art styles.
Despite being fairly similar to each other on a gameplay level, each Super Smash Bros. game winds up feeling distinct because of its art style. 64, Melee, Brawl, 3DS, Wii U, and Ultimate are all visually distinct from one another, and this is a trend we can expect to see when the next entry eventually does come out. In the meantime, today we’re analyzing the individual art style of each entry in the series and going over what makes each one charming.
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Comparing all three Splatoon games against each other – series comparison
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Ethan in Features, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
For the most part, the Splatoon series is iterative – each new game that releases is intended to replace the previous one. Even though Splatoon 3 is currently the most recent entry in the series, there are still reasons – albeit small ones – to go back to the original title on Wii U plus Splatoon 2 on Nintendo Switch, which still has semi-active servers in Turf War and the like. Most of these reasons boil down to the unique story modes available in both games, which have unique levels and lore that Splatoon 3’s story mode doesn’t. Also, even though Splatoon 3 is essentially meant to replace both Splatoon and Splatoon 2, there are still reasons to love these two games above all else. Today, we’re going through all three Splatoon games and the unique features they have over the others and asking you: what’s your favorite of the three?
More: highlight, Splatoon, Splatoon 2, Splatoon 3, top
Analyzing the Year of Luigi and how Nintendo could do it better
Posted on 1 month ago by Ethan in 3DS, Features, Wii U | 0 comments
It’s no secret that Luigi is one of the most beloved characters in the Mario franchise. Mario is well-liked, too, but lots of Super Mario fans like Luigi better thanks to his deeper personality and his whole “living in his brother’s shadow” trait he has going on. To celebrate this, Nintendo hosted a special event all throughout 2013 called the Year of Luigi. The idea was that Nintendo would release games and merch featuring Luigi more so in 2013 than ever before, all to commemorate everyone’s favorite green-capped plumber.
That being said, while the Year of Luigi is an interesting part of Nintendo’s history, it wasn’t a runaway success. Today, we’re analyzing everything Nintendo released as part of the Year of Luigi, plus how they could do it better if they ever dedicate an upcoming year to a specific character (which, for the record, seems a bit unlikely).
A brief history of the Wii U’s most forgotten feature
Posted on 1 month ago by Ethan in Features, Wii U | 0 comments
Today, we’re talking about an incredibly niche feature that some of you may have never even heard about. It’s the Wii U’s most forgotten feature – and it isn’t Miiverse. Whereas Miiverse had lots of charm and character, the feature we’re talking about isn’t one we think anybody particularly misses. It’s Nintendo TVii, a rather obscure service that you might have noticed on your Wii U menu before it was eventually removed in 2015.
More: highlight, Nintendo TVii, top
The best Animal Crossing games, ranked
Posted on 1 month ago by Ethan in 3DS, Features, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
Compared to other easily-ranked Nintendo franchises, Animal Crossing is a bit different. At the time of writing, there are only a handful of main series Animal Crossing games and even fewer spin-offs. Most of them are incredibly high quality and well-received by fans, with only a small number of exceptions. There also aren’t quite as many games in the Animal Crossing series compared to some of Nintendo’s other juggernauts – these games take a long time to develop, and we suspect it’ll be a while before we see a new Animal Crossing game on Nintendo Switch 2.
In the meantime, we’ve made our own subjective list of the best Animal Crossing games, ranked from worst to best. Do note that we’re not including Animal Crossing Plaza (which really had very little to it) or Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp; the former is defunct and we’re focused more on Nintendo platform games for this ranking. Here’s what we came up with.
More: Animal Crossing, highlight, top
Nintendo maintenance schedule – February 16, 2025
Posted on 1 month ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Switch eShop, Wii U | 0 comments
Nintendo’s latest maintenance schedule for the week of February 16, 2025 is now available.
A couple of sessions have been scheduled at the moment. Nintendo Switch, Wii U, and 3DS will all be impacted.
Below is the full Nintendo maintenance schedule for the week of February 16, 2025:
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Nintendo warns against using “unauthorized services” such as online Wii U replacement
Posted on 2 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments
A statement was posted on social media today in which Nintendo is cautioning fans against using “unauthorized services”. Specifics weren’t shared, but the company acknowledged that there are ways to continue playing Wii U games online. Nintendo claims that using these services “may pose unexpected security risks.”
Online support for Wii U – as well as 3DS – was discontinued last April. But there are ways to circumvent that. The open-source project Pretendo was previously established for this very reason, offering online functionality via custom servers and “clean-room reverse engineering.” Users need to hack their device in order to use the service.
Rumor: Metroid Prime dev Retro Studios was once working on a music RPG
Posted on 3 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Rumors, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
At one point in time, Retro Studios apparently had a project in development as a music RPG.
The company shipped Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze on Wii U in 2014. After that, there was essentially a decade-long gap without a new game from Retro Studios. Tropical Freeze was ported to Nintendo Switch a few years ago and Metroid Prime Remastered dropped in 2023, but outside of that, nothing made it to market.
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Why Yoshi’s Woolly World deserves a second chance on Nintendo Switch
Posted on 3 months ago by Ethan in Features, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
Of all the Wii U titles that haven’t made the jump to Nintendo Switch, Yoshi’s Woolly World is absolutely one of the most deserving.
Early on in the Switch’s life span, Nintendo filled what would have otherwise been gaps in their release schedule with plenty of Wii U ports. Between Super Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3, New Super Mario Bros. U, and especially Mario Kart 8, many of that console’s best-received titles found new life on Nintendo Switch. Lately though, we haven’t been seeing many Wii U ports at all. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition could be counted as one, but between the graphical overhaul and added story content, one could argue that it goes beyond that.
The point is, we likely won’t be seeing many more Wii U ports on Nintendo Switch or even Switch 2. Nintendo has, for the most part, ported all of its heavy hitters. However, we’re now talking about one particular Wii U game that has sort of fallen into obscurity: Yoshi’s Woolly World.
More: Good Feel, highlight, top, Yoshi's Woolly World
Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection release date set for January, new trailer
Posted on 3 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection was given its final release date today. The title heads to Nintendo Switch on January 23, 2025, Grimorio of Games confirmed.
Sword of the Necromancer: Resurrection, a remake of the original game, was unveiled towards the start of the year. The original goal was to have it out in 2024, but the launch slipped a bit.
