[Interview] Square Enix on how Romancing SaGa 2 was remade
Posted on 2 weeks ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Interviews, Switch | 0 comments
Nintendo Everything was recently given the opportunity to speak with Shinichi Tatsuke, the producer of Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven. The game just recently made it to Switch.
For those that are unaware, Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven is a 3D remake of the game that first debuted in 1993. Tatsuke was able to speak with us on how the team approached this new version. We were only able to ask a few questions, but some interesting insight was shared nonetheless.
Here’s our full discussion:
[Review] Sonic x Shadow Generations
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 25, 2024
Developer: Sonic Team
Publisher: SEGA
The original release of 2011’s Sonic Generations felt as much like recompense as it did celebration. The unsteady gait that Sonic had developed since his switch to 3D was slowing him to an unwieldy crawl, and developer Sonic Team felt it was time to earnestly look back at their legacy to plot a path forward. The result was about the best a 2011 Sonic fan could have hoped for – lashings of nostalgia without being overly condescending to the long-term fan, and with just enough tongue-in-cheek, self-referential humor to disarm the stern melodrama that had worked its way into Sonic’s latter outings. Sonic Generations was intended to serve as a launch pad for the next 20 years of Sonic, however, its mechanical jitteriness and saggy latter half dampened its appeal to fans old and new. Sega and Sonic Team are now back for another crack at it, with Sonic x Shadow Generations seeking to tighten up the overall experience and inject a jet-black dose of edge into one of Sonic’s more memorable recent outings.
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Kirby 64 holds up 24 years later – here’s why
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Ethan in Features, General Nintendo | 0 comments
Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards released in 2000. 24 years later, we decided to revisit the game with a 100 percent run. How does it hold up all these years later? We’d say that overall, yes, it does.
Kirby 64 released during an interesting era of the Kirby franchise. If you’ve ever played Kirby’s Dream Land 2 or 3, then you’re probably well aware that these games have their own unique feel to them that isn’t quite captured in future titles. Whether that uniqueness is a good thing or not is up to you, but Kirby 64, which came afterward, keeps that particular feel – in terms of not only its mechanics, but its aesthetics, characters, and general design philosophy as well.
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[Let’s Talk] Sakurai’s next game: Smash Bros. or something else?
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 0 comments
This week, we learned that Masahiro Sakurai is working on a new game. After coming up with a proposal for the project in 2021, actual development started the following year.
Here’s where the fan debate comes in. Some would like to see another Smash Bros. game with Sakurai at the helm while others would like to see him work on something else. If Nintendo wants a new Smash Bros. title on Switch’s successor and Sakurai is in charge of something else, that could mean that someone entirely different would need to handle the directorial duties.
Sakurai’s legacy will always be tied to Smash Bros. However, he’s obviously worked on games outside of that. During the early days of his career, Sakurai was heavily involved with Kirby. He’s also handled Kid Icarus: Uprising and Meteos.
What would you ultimately like to see here? Smash Bros. is always an option for Sakurai, but he could also make a Kid Icarus: Uprising follow-up or something totally different. Let us know in the comments.
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How save states make Nintendo Switch Online games accessible
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Ethan in Features, Switch | 0 comments
Speaking as broadly as possible, it’s probably safe to say that video games are slightly easier now than they were 30 years ago. Of course, that’s not the case for every video game – plenty of modern ones ramp up the difficulty on purpose. But when it comes to some of Nintendo’s greats – specifically in the Zelda and Metroid franchises – the older entries are absolutely more punishing, in most cases. Many of these older entries are currently available on Nintendo Switch Online (or its Expansion Pack), which allow save states and in some cases, rewinding time to correct mistakes you make in the game.
Today, we’re talking about which Nintendo Switch Online games benefit most from save states and rewinding for classic Nintendo platforms. Do you like using save states and rewind for a more casual play experience, or do you prefer playing these classic games as they were intended?
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Splatoon 4 should have these features and improvements
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Ethan in Features, General Nintendo | 0 comments
A hypothetical Splatoon 4 would certainly be a Switch 2 title – and at the time of writing, the console still hasn’t been officially announced. Seeing as Splatoon 3’s content cycle has just wrapped up, it might be a little bit too early to start thinking about the game. Still, for many, it was a high point in the series, and after the conclusion of the excellent Grand Festival, it’s only natural to think about what could be next for one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises. Today, we’re looking at all sorts of new things we think would be cool to see in Splatoon 4.
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[Review] Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 31, 2024
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture / Engine Software
Publisher: NetEase
When a game is given the label of “cult classic,” in my experience, this is typically due to one of two possible scenarios occurring. The first is that the game itself was generally deemed above average in terms of quality, but for business or marketing reasons never found a huge audience; this is the optimistic perspective. The second, more cynical perspective is that the game itself ended up as a middling experience due to creative or technical decisions, but managed to find a small fanbase in spite of these issues. Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered boldly labels itself as “a cult classic born from the most creative minds in the industry” on its store pages, so it begs the question: exactly what type of cult classic is this 2011 third-person shooter, and how does it hold up 13 years after its initial release?
[Review] Yakuza Kiwami
Posted on 3 weeks ago by Edan(@@Virtualboi92) in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 24, 2024
Developer: Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: SEGA
Ask any cohort of gamers what their favorite aspect of SEGA’s Yakuza series is, and you’ll doubt that each person you’ve involved in your study is talking about the same game. Some will highlight its accessible yet more-ish combat, or perhaps the unshakeable morals of the series’ most illustrious protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. Quiz anyone who owns a Switch, however, and they will likely bemoan the free-roam brawler’s absence on Nintendo’s hybrid console. With the machine now coasting through its autumnal years with a continuously stacked release schedule, SEGA has opted to bring Switch owners into the family by porting Yakuza Kiwami – a remake of the series’ inaugural outing – to the console that just won’t die.
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[Review] Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven
Posted on 4 weeks ago by Elias in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 24, 2024
Developer: Square Enix / Xeen
Publisher: Square Enix
Square Enix’s SaGa franchise has seen quite the return over the last few years. With almost as many entries as the mainline Final Fantasy games, the series has had a lot of time to define itself – resulting in a focus on non-linearity, exploration, and a unique take on character advancement and customization that in the modern age is still surprisingly addictive and proves that the SaGa renaissance is in full swing. Heading in to a game I first experienced on Switch when it was first ported to the west in 2017, I was incredibly excited to return to the world of Avalon in beautiful 3D with Romancing SaGa 2: Revenge of the Seven.
[Review] Card-en-Ciel
Posted on 1 month ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: October 24, 2024
Developer: Inti Creates
Publisher: Inti Creates
If there’s one thing I don’t think we get enough of these days, it’s video game crossovers and character cameos. There’s something delightful in watching characters from different series interact with one another in “what if” scenarios. Despite being a deckbuilder, which is a far cry from the 2D action games they are better known for, Card-en-Ciel feels like a love letter to Inti Creates’ catalog of releases up to this point, and it delivers a surprisingly deep combat system that somehow manages to stay fresh despite the repetition and roguelike trappings that occasionally throw off the pacing.
