[Review] Rhythm Heaven: The Best Plus
Posted on 8 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, Reviews | 7 Comments
System: 3DS
Release date: June 11, 2015 (JP)
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher Nintendo
Author: Patrick
Okay, so full disclosure: Rhythm Heaven is probably my favourite Nintendo-published series if not my flat-out favourite game series of all time. For me the core gameplay clicked immediately with the cute and creative minigames that make up the series proving to be a brilliant way to test players’ musical abilities. You could sell me a Rhythm Heaven game that was 75% old content and I’d still eat it up. And that just so happens to be what Nintendo have done this time. The currently Japan-exclusive Rhythm Heaven The Best+ brings rhythm games from the previous three entries in the series to the 3DS along with a handful of new games and some structural changes. It’s a solid compilation of the series’ highs, even if there’s a sense that the developers didn’t quite get why Rhythm Heaven is “the best”.
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[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – November 2015
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 21 Comments
Let’s Talk #29: What are you playing? – November 2015
It’s the beginning of a new month (close enough anyway, right?). November is upon us, and there are only a few months left in 2015. Tell us what you’ve been playing or what you intend to play soon!
As for me, I just wrapped up Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin. Great, great game. I’ve talked about how atrocious my backlog before, and the fact that I only beat this game a couple of days ago further shows that! Within the past few weeks I’ve also been playing a bit of Lumines: Electronic Symphony, and some of Dillon Rolling Western which I wasn’t enjoying too much.
Highlights from last week’s topic: Has your opinion on Nintendo’s November Wii U releases changed?
TruExtent
I think the line up has potential but they are focusing my the wrong things. I don’t care for AC Amiibo Festival and I have a feeling the new Mario Tennis will only generate so much interest.
Everyone is forgetting Xenoblade X.
If Nintendo wants to generate more interest this holiday, they need to market the hell out of Xenoblade to the level that Microsoft is pushing Halo and Ubisoft pushing Assassin’s Creed. From the very few times I look at a TV if I see a video game advert, it’s one of those two games; I never see Nintendo’s stuff. If Xenoblade can’t cut it, maybe Devil’s Third can (with the right marketing). I feel an action game will have far more potential than a party game and an arcade sports game.
Meanwhile, the 3DS should be just fine.
Steve793
Nope not really. Wasn’t interested in them before, still am not.
For me, the Mario sports series are just meh. I personally wish they didn’t exist and Nintendo had made sports games using new IPs with new characters and such, instead of just putting the Mario IP on it. Think of it this way, that would mean more characters from different series for Smash… But, they could have had a Mario Team, a Zelda Team, etc for in-game opponents or have Mario, Link and Fox as surprise characters. That’ll never happen, so whatever. But seriously, for sports games, I’d rather go outside and play the actually sport than do it in a video game, especially tennis. Then again, I’ve only played Super Sluggers, and while that was alright, I wasn’t hooked, but I could still be persuaded on Mario Sports games, but I’d still rather see new sports games with new characters.
And since I’ve never played an Animal Crossing game, and don’t particularly care for Party games like Mario Party and such, I’ll be skipping this, and playing my backlog until Xeno X.
JuleyJules
Not at all. Wasn’t interested in whatever is coming in November before especially a tennis game with no motion controls. Do we really need another Wii Party U/Mario Party 10 style game on Wii U with other characters? The whole rolling the dice by using amiibo was a pain in MP10 and quickly turned everyone I know off of it. Still not interested now. They need to step it up to keep people interested until the NX comes out imo.
ecoutercavalier
I can’t really justify either purchase yet. Amiibo Festival seems like a lazy excuse to make AC amiibo. I’m not sure what I would want out of an Animal Crossing themed board game, but what they came up with just isn’t doing it for me. Even with the new modes that have been announced I doubt I could convince a group of friends to play it more than once.
Mario Tennis looks sort of bland, but I’ll forgive it if we find out that there are loads of good mini-games or a compelling tournament mode. I like the amiibo support. If I’m not mistaken this is the first game that allows you to use amiibos in online play. It’s not necessarily enough to play perfectly if you haven’t bothered training your amiibo, but if you have then it might be able to cover some of your mistakes. It’s very cool in concept, but I’ll wait to see how balanced it is before passing any judgement.
Temple of Yog interview and hands-on preview
Posted on 8 years ago by Brady(@emitremmus22) in Features, Interviews, Previews, Wii U eShop | 0 comments
Temple of Yog is a game about human sacrifice, it’s a tightly controlling roguelike temple crawler, and it just might be the sleeper hit of the fall for the Wii U eShop. I had a chance to play the game and talk with lead designer Cody Diefenthaler at IndieCade Festival 2015.
Temple of Yog is, at its core, a top-down dungeon crawler with a colorful and detailed pixel art style. The controls are relatively simple – left stick to move, right stick to aim and attack. But things get interesting when you begin to encounter the multiple interconnected systems that add a tremendous amount of gameplay potential to the experience.
[Review] Yo-kai Watch
Posted on 8 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in 3DS, Reviews | 8 Comments
System: 3DS
Release date: November 6, 2015
Developer: Level-5
Publisher Nintendo
Author: Dennis
Few games in the last few years have excelled at making me feel truly lost in their world. When these types of experiences come about, they can make you forget who you are, your age, status, and more due to the fact that you’re so invested in them your mind completely clears. Yo-kai Watch manages to accomplish this and delivers an unbelievable experience that excels in everything it has to offer, from its graphics, gameplay, story, mechanics, as well as an art form a lot of games don’t bother utilizing anymore: humor.
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Update: Entries closed – [Giveaway] Octodad: Dadliest Catch
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Giveaway | 117 Comments
Update: Entries are now closed! We’ll announce a winner this weekend, likely alongside our next Patreon update.
It’s been awhile since our last giveaway! I’ve sort of had my hands in about 100 different site-related things over the past few months, so they’ve been put on the back burner slightly. Finally though, we’re back with a giveaway pertaining to a game that just launched on the Wii U eShop: Octodad: Dadliest Catch.
In total, we’ve giving away six codes. We have three codes for North America, and another three for European Wii U owners.
The task is simple: tell us about your favorite unconventional game – given the kooky nature of Octodad – in the comments below. Also, please be sure to specify which region you’re entering for! We’ll let the giveaway run through Tuesday, and we’ll then announce the winners soon after, who will be chosen randomly.
Oh, another important thing. All of our $5+ Patreon members are automatically eligible for this giveaway. No comment is needed for them to enter.
I believe that’s all of the important stuff. Good luck, everyone!
More: highlight, indie, Octodad: Dadliest Catch, top, Young Horses
[Review] Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations
Posted on 8 years ago by Vincent Ward in 3DS, Reviews, Wii U | 7 Comments
System: Wii U (reviewed) / 3DS
Release date: October 20, 2015
Developer: Vicious Cycle
Publisher Little Orbit
Author: Vincent
Adventure Time: Finn and Jake Investigations is a game that I want to love. I really do. I used to enjoy the show, and taking a quick glance at this title, it really doesn’t seem that bad. Once you dive deep enough, however, you quickly begin to realize how everything falls apart and how this becomes something that really doesn’t seem worth adventuring through.
[Let’s Talk] Has your opinion on Nintendo’s November Wii U releases changed?
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Wii U | 25 Comments
Let’s Talk #28: Has your opinion on Nintendo’s November Wii U releases changed?
Nintendo is bringing out two more Wii U games next month: Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash and Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. Before this week, both were shrouded in mystery for the most part. Nintendo hadn’t really said much about either game since E3, which was odd given how we’re under a month away from release.
With Mario Tennis, things started out particularly strangely. Nintendo showed off a trailer confirming a few more characters, but that was pretty much it. Perhaps they heard some of the complains, since just a few days later, we received another trailer and press release that shed more light on the game. We now know that there are things like amiibo support and online play.
Nintendo showed the Board Game as just one mode in Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival at E3. Thanks to new information shared this week, the Desert Island Escape, Balloon Island, and Quiz Show modes are now confirmed.
How do you feel about these two titles? Has any of the new information/trailers/videos swayed your opinion at all?
Highlights from last week’s topic: Have you ever been to a convention or expo?
LordDisco
I go to Tokyo Game Show every year I can, and it’s one of the highlights of my nerd-life for the entire year. This year, especially, was a dream. Tons of great swag, and I got to play a lot of cool games, including Star Wars Battlefront, Monster Hunter X, Hyrule Warriors Legends, a sweet Oculus Rift demo, and a few indie games.
The atmosphere is also so much fun. Everyone there is trying to have fun, and in the 6 years I’ve been going, not a single year do I recall any negative confrontation or fighting. It’s amazing that a crowd of over 100,000 at a given time can keep such a fun-loving, caring, and nerdy environment.
I only hope for future Tokyo Game Shows that Nintendo will make their presence known. The past many years, especially, has just been third-party support, which really doesn’t help promote their hardware. You’d think Nintendo would make a showing at the biggest game show in their home country, right? Right?!
Vigilante_blade
The only convention I have ever gone to was Otakuthon, which is an anime convention. It’s fun, and I like it. I also went to the gaming festival called Arcadia in Montreal, but I admit it wasn’t that great. I went to play Brawl’s demo at that time, but after playing it, I didn’t really have any fun, and was really bummed about it. There wasn’t a lot of game and most of the new stuff was Ubisoft-related. While not a great con, it did have a funny moment where they had the brilliant idea of giving energy drinks and Axe body spray to everyone on the venue… Let’s just say that after the Nintendo reps had finished throwing swag at us, they were prompty sprayed with Axe by a mob of angry fans. They had to get every single fan in the building and open every door and window. It was a mess, but funny nonetheless.
[Review] Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water
Posted on 8 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in Reviews, Wii U eShop | 72 Comments
System: Wii U
Release date: October 22, 2015
Developer: Koei Tecmo
Publisher Nintendo
Author: Dennis
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water sees the return of a series that has been dormant since Mask of the Lunar Eclipse’s release in 2008 for Wii. Sure, there have been a few spinoffs since then – most notably Spirit Camera on 3DS back in 2012 – but it’s been a while since we’ve seen any mainline entries, especially considering Maiden of Black Water would be the first Fatal Frame released outside of Japan since Fatal Frame III: The Tormented in 2005. Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water takes a different approach mechanically and gameplay-wise than any of the other releases in the franchise, yet it still very much stays true to form delivering a great horror experience that we seldom see on Nintendo consoles.
[Preview] Solving the mysteries of Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon
Posted on 8 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in 3DS, Features, Previews | 10 Comments
I just couldn’t wait for the European release next year, so I spent the last month memorising Japanese Pokémon names and diving into the import version of Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon. The following are my impressions after playing through the main storyline, although there seems to be a massive amount of stuff to do after the credits. Don’t worry, I’ll keep it spoiler-free in posting my thoughts on the Japanese version of Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon. Yes, not the one that that’s being released in America – I can’t stress that enough. Ain’t no embargos being broken here.
[Just a Chat] NX, Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, and more
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Just a Chat, Switch, Videos, Wii U | 2 Comments
It’s been awhile since the last episode of Just a Chat, but we finally have a new discussion for you to listen to! There’s talk about NX, Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, and Splatoon. Have a listen below!
Stuff:
