Considering it’s been twelve years since the last original Super Monkey Ball game released, I half-expected that Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble might try and and take some big risks, maybe try and swing for the fences with some crazy new single-player modes or some sort of other significant mechanical shakeup. Instead of reinventing the wheel – or indeed, the ball – Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble is more focused on just being a really well-crafted Super Monkey Ball game, one that seems to understand the importance of executing its few core gameplay modes as tightly as possible while cutting out most of the extraneous distractions from other games in the series. With a robust and challenging single-player Adventure Mode, a smattering of simple yet well-designed Battle Mode activities, and robust multiplayer support across the whole package, Banana Rumble is exactly what I had hoped it would be: an a-peel-ing blast from start to finish.

More: highlight, SEGA, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble, top

[Let’s Talk] June 2024 Nintendo Direct reactions

Posted on 8 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Switch | 0 comments

The June 2024 Nintendo Direct aired this week, and it was a pretty big presentation. Considering where we’re at in the Switch’s lifecycle, there were quite a number of big announcements.

From Nintendo itself, it opened the show by announcing Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood – a surprise in its own given how many fans thought the series was dead, especially after main developer AlphaDream closed its doors. The news didn’t stop there though, as Super Mario Party Jamboree and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD were revealed as well. One of the biggest announcements of the show, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, will see Zelda herself take the starring role in a new 2D entry. Finally, we’ve all been waiting forever for Metroid Prime 4, and we got our first glimpse of it this week and a 2025 release window.

There’s a lot of other things we could bring up, including third-party content. Highlights include Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (and the first two entries getting the same treatment), Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics, Fantasian Neo Dimension, and Ace Attorney Investigations Collection. You can catch up on all of the news here.

What did you think of the June 2024 Nintendo Direct? Which games are you most interested in? Let us know in the comments.

More: highlight, top

[Review] Moonstone Island

Posted on 8 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments

System: Switch
Release date: June 19, 2024
Developer: Studio Supersoft
Publisher: Raw Fury

It’s always refreshing when developers make an effort to shake up a genre by injecting something new into it. It often yields unexpected surprises, or at the very least a different experience, which is equally as valuable in an overcrowded genre. Moonstone Island is another game that has taken the bold and ambitious move of throwing half a dozen different gameplay mechanics from assorted genres into a blender to see what comes out. The result is nowhere near as messy as that implies, but more care could have been taken with what was included nonetheless.

More: highlight, Moonstone Island, Raw Fury, Studio Supersoft, top

[Rapid Review] Monster Hunter Stories for Switch

Posted on 8 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments

System: Switch
Release date: June 14, 2024
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom

Monster Hunter Stories was easily one of my favorite titles on the system. The franchise lent itself surprisingly well to the monster taming genre, with a solid (albeit somewhat cliche) story behind it, an accessible rock-paper-scissors style of combat, and a gene system that added an unexpected amount of depth. But it was something of a sleeper hit, and most likely didn’t experience the franchise until the sequel, Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, arrived on the Switch nearly four years later. Now, just in time for the franchise’s anniversary, Capcom has finally brought the original to the Switch. But is it too little, too late?

More: Capcom, highlight, Monster Hunter Stories, top

[Let’s Talk] Are there too many gaming showcases?

Posted on 8 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments

Many years ago, online gaming showcases weren’t really a thing. E3, which is now dead, was typically where you’d hear about the latest games from Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox plus others like Ubisoft, EA, Konami, and more. Gamescom and the Tokyo Game Show would bring us updates as well.

Nintendo upended the tea table by abandoning E3 press conferences and introducing the Direct format about a decade ago. Now others have really followed in their footsteps. Aside from the fact that Nintendo Directs were extremely popular, the pandemic seemed to push things further. More and more online showcases have continued to spring up over the past few years. E3 is gone and in-person showcases are more of a rarity, and meanwhile, live streams are an overabundance.

More: highlight, top

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance – which route to choose

Posted on 8 months ago by Dawn in Features, Switch | 0 comments

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance features two separate story routes, the Canon of Creation and the Canon of Vengeance. Which path you go down will be decided at the very beginning of the game, as after the opening cutscene you’re presented with a choice – to take the girl’s hand, or to not take her hand. If you’re wondering what choice you should make, we’ve got you covered with this spoiler-free guide.

More: Atlus, highlight, Shin Megami Tensei V, top

[Review] Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance

Posted on 8 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments

System: Switch
Release date: June 14, 2024
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: SEGA

It took almost five years for Shin Megami Tensei V to release after it was first revealed and now, less than three years later, Atlus are re-releasing it as Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. It’s an extremely bad habit the company has maintained over the years with both the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series in particular, but it’s difficult to be angry when the amount of additional content added, combined with the quality-of-life changes, transform the game to feel like a completely different title. Any ill will I felt towards Atlus for doing this yet again evaporated within the first half hour, as Vengeance proved to be yet another case of fixing something I didn’t even realize was broken.

More: Atlus, highlight, Shin Megami Tensei V, top

[Rapid Review] Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Posted on 8 months ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments

System: Switch
Release date: May 23, 2024
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Publisher: Nintendo

Switch has proven itself quite the bastion for turn-based RPGs, but the GameCube of over two decades ago didn’t get quite the same treatment. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was one of just a handful of games where the eager adventurer could whet their appetite for grinding battles to level up, collecting money, and adding to their item stash at every new town. Now with a fresh coat of paint and a host of new features, is the title worth returning to after two decades?

More: highlight, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, top

Games that need a performance patch on Switch 2

Posted on 8 months ago by Ethan in Features, Switch, Switch 2 | 0 comments

Today, we’re looking at a bunch of high-profile Switch games and which ones would most benefit from a performance patch on the next console.

A little while back, a new rumor emerged that claimed a port of Breath of the Wild for Nintendo’s next console is in development. Though we aren’t sure of the specifics, the main reason to port this game would be to up the performance to 60 frames per second with even higher visual quality. This got us thinking: if games are getting performance patches on Switch 2, which of Nintendo’s first-party Switch games could use a boost?

More: Switch, Switch 2

[Let’s Talk] Summer Game Fest 2024 reactions

Posted on 8 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Switch | 0 comments

The season of what would have been E3 isn’t fully over, but a good number of events are in the books. Summer Game Fest, one of the bigger shows happening this week, was held yesterday. Other things like Devolver Direct, Days of the Devs, and Wholesome Direct have taken place as well.

If we’re looking strictly at yesterday’s Summer Game Fest showcase, we did see a few Switch announcements – namely LEGO Horizon Adventures, Civilization VII, Harry Potter: Quiddich Champions, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, and Fear the Spotlight. Sonic x Shadow Generations also got a release date and new trailer.

What did you think of Summer Game Fest, and how are you feeling about the non-E3 season as a whole? Let us know in the comments.