Why Pokemon Scarlet and Violet feel like new games on Nintendo Switch 2
Posted on 2 days ago by Ethan in Features, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Almost three years after their original release, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have received a performance patch on Nintendo Switch 2. Today, we’re talking all about its improvements.
It’s no secret that things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing for the Pokemon series on Nintendo Switch. The release of Pokemon Sword and Shield saw one of the franchise’s biggest controversies yet – for the first time, a majority of Pokemon were cut and made completely unavailable in the game. That would be somewhat understandable on its own, but the developers went on to explain that those Pokemon were cut so the team could focus on “high-quality animations”. That statement sort of led more “dedicated” Pokemon fans to view the games with increased scrutiny, and the series hasn’t had the same reception since. When Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launched on Nintendo Switch 2, players did notice that the games were ambitious with their new open world – but its implementation drew criticism, and of course the games’ subpar performance and low visual quality were noted as well.
More: Game Freak, highlight, Pokemon Scarlet, Pokemon Violet, top
How to farm Banandium Chips in Donkey Kong Bananza
Posted on 6 days ago by Ethan in Guides, Switch 2 | 0 comments
For those playing Donkey Kong Bananza, we’ve got a new guide that serves as a helpful way to farm Banandium Chips.
As you might expect from a collect-a-thon platformer, Donkey Kong Bananza takes quite a while to 100 percent complete. Even if you grab all static Banandium Gems, you won’t have enough Skill Points to max out your Skill Tree. For that, you’ll need to trade in Banandium Chips for extra Banandium Gems. You’ll earn a fair number of these just by playing through the game, but inevitably you’ll get to the point where you need to collect more.
We’ve tested several different methods and have settled on the fastest one – shout-out to Relative_Barber_1921 on Reddit for figuring this one out. The location of this method is one of the later layers in the game, so if you’re looking to avoid spoilers of all kinds, you might want to bookmark or remember this post and come back later.
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Kirby: Star-Crossed World lore predictions
Posted on 1 week ago by Ethan in Features, Switch 2 | 0 comments
One of the best parts of the Kirby franchise is how flexible it is. If you so choose, you can romp right through the main campaign of whichever game you please while paying little attention to the story. For those who do want to delve into Kirby lore, though, there are plenty of tidbits to uncover here and there. Kirby and the Forgotten Land was absolutely bursting to the brim with new lore details, and you can read all about them here. Now, Kirby and the Forgotten Land is receiving a new DLC story called Star-Crossed World. As you might expect, this will probably contain at least a few new lore drops. And today, we’re here to make a few predictions about what those might be! We’ll be discussing spoilers from a few major Kirby games, so keep that in mind before you continue.
Donkey Kong Bananza’s ending explained
Posted on 1 week ago by Ethan in Features, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Donkey Kong Bananza has been out for a week now, and it’s been met with rave reviews across the board. If you’re playing through casually and not going for 100% completion, the game isn’t overly long – you can get through the main story in about 20 hours, so we’d imagine some of you have already rolled the credits. Donkey Kong Bananza contains plenty of interesting story elements, and today we’re analyzing how this could change the lore of the greater Mario franchise. Yes, we’re aware that it’s a Donkey Kong game and lore isn’t terribly important – but it’s still fun to speculate. Needless to say, there are major spoilers within, so you might want to bookmark this post and come back later if you haven’t beaten the game yet.
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Donkey Kong Bananza music disc farming guide
Posted on 1 week ago by Ethan in Guides, Switch 2 | 0 comments
For those playing through Donkey Kong Bananza, we have a new guide ready to go dedicated to disc farming.
Banandium Gems and fossils aren’t the only collectibles in the game – there are also 110 different music discs to collect, and you can listen to them all at the Getaways you can create throughout the Underground World. In summary, you can get these discs by defeating enemies, but the chance that they drop isn’t very good under normal circumstances. Thankfully, there’s an excellent method to getting a whole bunch of these fast, and we actually discovered it by accident. Please note that you’ll need to clear the main story to access this farming method, so keep that in mind before you continue. Light spoilers ahead!
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Donkey Kong Bananza review for Nintendo Switch 2
Posted on 1 week ago by Ethan in Reviews, Switch 2 | 0 comments
System: Switch 2
Release date: July 17, 2025
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
These days, Nintendo doesn’t often release new 3D platformers – but when they do, you know it’s going to be something special. On Switch, Nintendo published Super Mario Odyssey and Kirby and the Forgotten Land as the console’s flagship titles in that category. They were both met with critical acclaim, and now it’s Donkey Kong’s turn to give 3D platforming a go. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen DK in the spotlight like this – his last 3D adventure was Donkey Kong 64, which released over 25 years ago. After playing Donkey Kong Bananza, I wonder how we’ve survived so long without a 3D Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong Bananza is a brilliant masterwork of creativity, freedom, and whimsy – and it’s an absolute must-play for anyone even remotely interested in the genre.
More: Donkey Kong Bananza, highlight, top
Here’s what we could see from a July 2025 Nintendo Direct
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Ethan in Features, Switch, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Today, we’re going over some potential announcements we could see in a July 2025 Nintendo Direct.
You know the drill by now – it’s that time of the year again. To some extent, Nintendo Direct rumors are always swirling about in one form or another. If we reported on every single “there’s a Direct this week” rumor that comes up, we’d probably be posting multiple times per month. In fact, generally speaking, the only time we report on Nintendo Direct rumors is when NateTheHate (who correctly predicted the Switch 2’s reveal date) mentions that one is coming soon.
If you haven’t heard already, there’s supposedly a Nintendo Direct in development for later this month. The most likely days for this presentation would be July 23, July 24, July 30, or July 31 – but at the time of writing, we don’t know which one it is yet or if the Direct is happening at all. Either way, we’re due for one soon.
More: highlight, Nintendo Direct, top
What we want to see from the next big Zelda game on Nintendo Switch 2
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Ethan in Features, Switch 2 | 0 comments
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were huge landmarks for the franchise on Nintendo Switch, and they were also the beginning of a new philosophy. In previous Zelda titles, the intended routes through the games were fairly linear (speedrun tricks and glitches aside). Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword all clearly intended you to do their dungeons in a planned order, and by the time Skyward Sword released, some fans began to want less linearity in their Zelda games and more freedom. Indeed, when Breath of the Wild released in 2017 for Wii U and Nintendo Switch, that request was answered – from that point on, the entire Zelda series has shifted to a new idea: let the player do whatever they want, in any order they want. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom both have five main “dungeons” (if you count Divine Beasts as dungeons), and for the most part you can tackle them in any order. In fact, you don’t even have to do them – you can skip right ahead to the final boss if you think you’re up for the challenge.
The point here is, now the pendulum has shifted the other way. Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom were universally acclaimed and sold excellently, but some fans now think that the emphasis on freedom and lack of direction makes the games feel too empty and pointless. This begs an interesting question: with that in mind, what could we see out of the next big Zelda title on Nintendo Switch 2 in a few years? Will the developers listen to the admittedly vocal minority of complaints, or will they double down on their current philosophy and make the next big title free and open-roaming, too? It’s impossible to know for sure, but today we’re talking about freedom versus linearity and some things we’d like to see out of the next big Zelda game.
More: highlight, The Legend of Zelda, top
A helpful tip for Donkey Kong Bananza completionists
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Ethan in Guides, Switch 2 | 0 comments
Much like Super Mario Odyssey that came before it, Donkey Kong Bananza includes a metric ton of collectibles to find on each layer. Writing in-depth location guides for the bananas and fossils would take several weeks at a minimum, so in the meantime, we’ve got a particularly helpful tip that will bring you closer to the 100percent completion mark. You can actually put these recommendations into play within the Lagoon Layer, which is Donkey Kong Bananza’s first real level.
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Donkey Kong Bananza has ways to help reduce motion sickness
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Ethan in News, Switch 2 | 0 comments
From what we’ve seen a very small percentage of players have encountered about motion sickness in Donkey Kong Bananza. We wanted to take this opportunity to remind you that the developers actually have included options within the settings that can help reduce this – don’t forget to change them if you’re one of the people affected.
