The 5 best 2D to 3D jumps for Nintendo’s franchises
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Features, News, Videos | 0 comments
Recently, the first Kirby game with true 3D gameplay was released on Switch. It’s fascinating to observe that process and notice the many adaptations developers make to guarantee that everything works perfectly in that sort of new and complex environment.
In today’s video, we’re looking back at some of the franchises from Nintendo that made the jump from 2D to 3D with great success. I specifically went with five series that I consider the best. You can check the full list in the video down below.
[Preview] LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga shakes up the LEGO formula (new gameplay)
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Previews, Switch | 0 comments
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is the newest installment in the long-running LEGO series. Recently as part of a press preview, I had the opportunity to watch more than 40 minutes of gameplay for the title ahead of its launch and I came away quite impressed.
The game appears to be a departure from the classic LEGO formula. New layers of complexity are added to the gameplay, making the whole experience feel more engaging and truly different from past games in the series. You can check out my full impressions and the gameplay footage in the video down below.
Mario Strikers is back and why that’s a big deal
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Features, Switch, Videos | 0 comments
In the last Nintendo Direct, we saw the announcement of a new entry on the Mario Strikers series after 15 years in the form of Battle League.
The game is one of the many spin-offs in which Mario and his friends play a specific sport. However, I would argue that this is a good example of how to break the usual formula that we see in those titles. What we see in Strikers is indeed soccer, but it’s a kind of soccer far removed from reality, with so many insane concepts that it almost feels like an entirely new sport.
In today’s video, I discuss how Mario Strikers manages to be different and why it’s so nice to see the series coming back with the upcoming release of Battle League. You can check out the video down below.
Nintendo’s output on Switch has been impressive, let’s take a look back
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Features, Switch, Videos | 0 comments
It honestly doesn’t feel like five years have gone by since Switch first launched. Personally speaking, I still very much enjoy the novelty of playing games either in portable mode or on the television. But of course, the most important aspect of a console is always its library and the Switch has a lot to offer in that area.
In today’s video, I discuss Nintendo’s strategy on Switch as a publisher and how the company is making smart use of its assets to provide a new game almost every month, being very close to sustaining the console on their own and releasing games of all sizes. You can check out the video down below.
Should Nintendo ever use dual screens again?
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in 3DS, DS, Features, Wii U | 0 comments
Should Nintendo ever use dual screens again?
This may sound like a strange question, but after looking back on Nintendo consoles in the recent past, we know that the concept was used three times. Switch then represented the end of that trend, but could the idea could come back in the future?
In today’s video, I discuss the pros and cons of dual screen gameplay and, in the process, try to figure out if it is an idea that Nintendo should revisit in the future. You can check out the video down below.
It’s a great time to be a Xenoblade fan
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Features, Switch, Videos | 0 comments
There’s a huge contrast between Xenoblade position as a series today and twelve years ago when it started. Early on in the series, Nintendo didn’t even consider releasing the first game in North America, which led to the creation of “Operation Rainfall” – a campaign in which fans asked for the western release of 3 Wii games, including Xenoblade Chronicles.
Well, things are very different right now. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was just announced and the level of popularity has increased considerably. Taking all of this into consideration, I discuss the good place that Xenoblade is in right now and why Nintendo is promoting the series so much. You can check out the video down below.
More: highlight, Monolith Soft, top, Xenoblade Chronicles 3
How Nintendo refined Directs
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Features, Videos | 0 comments
For a long time now, Directs are the primary channel in which Nintendo communicates with its fans. These presentations provide updates about what’s being developed internally and always keeping the cycle of hype alive.
With more than ten years of producing these videos, Nintendo evolved a lot, changing the format and trying to create better and more entertaining presentations. Since 2017 it seems that they finally found a good formula, usually bringing a lot of new and exciting announcements. In the video below I analyze Directs to understand how Nintendo managed to refine the formula. You can watch it down below.
More: highlight, Nintendo Directs, top
How far Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s influence goes
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in News, Switch | 0 comments
Since its launch in 2017, everyone expected The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild to be influential in the gaming industry. The title received a rare level of praise and brought a new life to the “open-world” genre.
Breath of the Wild is almost five years old and we can already witness how it has influenced some games in different ways. In today’s video, I try to pinpoint the new things that the title brought to the table and how it inspired other developers. You can check the video down below.
How Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie laid the groundwork for 3D platformers
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Features, General Nintendo, Videos | 0 comments
Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 are both at this moment available to play on Switch via Nintendo’s online service. It’s great to see those two together considering how important they were for early 3D gaming. I decided to revisit them recently and I was impressed by how well they still hold up.
In today’s video, I talk about the different ideas that Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 brought to the industry, how they understood the best ways to bring the full potential of 3D environments, and also how they failed in some aspects due to how early ideas and the technology were at the time. You can check the video down below.
More: Banjo-Kazooie, highlight, Super Mario 64, top
Looking back at Nintendo’s greatest acquisition
Posted on 2 years ago by Luiz in Features, Videos | 0 comments
In the context of the recent news regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, I decided to look back at Monolith Soft’s trajectory inside Nintendo. The studio was acquired in 2007 and it’s interesting to see how it grew to be almost essential for Nintendo’s biggest franchises.
If you’ve been following Nintendo in recent years, you are probably familiar with the name “Monolith Soft”. The studio garnered a lot of respect for its work on the Xenoblade series and supporting some other Nintendo franchises, such as Zelda.
You can check the video down below for our thoughts on Nintendo’s acquisition of Monolith Soft.
