[Let’s Talk] What do you want to see next out of Monolith Soft?
Posted on 2 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 0 comments
Monolith Soft has become one of Nintendo’s most important subsidiaries over the years. For one thing, the company has developed a very consistent RPG in Xenoblade Chronicles going back to the Wii era. Monolith Soft continued to expand and now has extra teams working on other first-party games, ranging from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and Breath of the Wild to the Splatoon titles.
This week, we heard that Monolith Soft is hiring for a “new RPG” with Tetsuya Takahashi at the helm. It’s certainly possible that this could be for a new Xenoblade game. On the other hand, we can’t help but be intrigued by the company working on something entirely new.
We want to ask you though: what would you like to see out of Monolith Soft? Let us know in the comments below.
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[Rapid Review] Thank Goodness You’re Here
Posted on 2 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 1, 2024
Developer: Coal Supper
Publisher: Panic
It’s not very often that a video game makes me laugh. There are usually a few lines of dialogue that will elicit a smile or two, or maybe even a small chuckle if it’s especially witty. But prior to playing Thank Goodness You’re Here I couldn’t remember the last time I was genuinely amused, especially not to the point that I needed to put my console down to compose myself for a few moments at times. It’s definitely something you need to experience firsthand to appreciate, and unlike anything else I’ve played this year so far.
More: Coal Supper, highlight, Panic, Thank Goodness You're Here, top
The history of the “free update” model in Switch games
Posted on 2 months ago by Ethan in Features, General Nintendo, Switch | 0 comments
Today, we’re going over the history of the “free update” business model of certain first-party games released for Switch.
Free updates and DLC weren’t quite as common for Nintendo games back in the Wii U and 3DS era. Company culture changes aside, one possible reason for this is that those consoles could only store so much extra data and updates for their games (with Super Smash Bros. pushing the limits of this restriction). Needless to say, things have sort of changed during the Switch era. Free updates have gone from a nice bonus to… something else, we’ll say. Here are some of the most prominent examples of Switch games that relied on a free update content cycle, and what these updates added to each game.
Worst Shiny Pokemon of all time
Posted on 2 months ago by Ethan in Features, General Nintendo, Switch | 0 comments
Following our recent list of the best Shiny Pokemon of all time, we’ve put together a list of the absolute worst Shiny Pokemon of all time. When you look at a big list of every Shiny Pokemon, you’ll notice that there are many more average or poor ones than good ones. This is especially prevalent in some of the earlier generations. It’s rumored that Shiny Pokemon colors were originally determined via an algorithm, but we couldn’t actually find any confirmation of this – maybe the developers just got better at picking colors as the years went by. In any case, we’ve looked through every single Shiny Pokemon and included some of the very worst ones here.
[Review] Trinity Fusion
Posted on 2 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 1, 2024
Developer: Angry Mob Games
Publisher: Angry Mob Games
The idea of a multiverse is nothing new, but it tends to be the domain of movies and TV series rather than video games, especially in recent times. Angry Mob Games’ title Trinity Fusion brings this concept to the roguelite genre in some interesting ways that make it a far more immersive experience than I was expecting, although it never capitalizes on its more unique premise to deliver a more memorable time. Despite this, for fans of the genre it is definitely worth a look-in.
More: Angry Mob Games, highlight, top, Trinity Fusion
[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – August 2024
Posted on 2 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
A new month just started up this week. Now that we’re in August, we want to know what you’ve been playing.
Have you been busy with Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition? How about other games like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate or Star Wars: Bounty Hunter? No matter the case, let us know in the comments below.
Cutting the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster in half
Posted on 2 months ago by Ethan in Features, General Nintendo | 0 comments
At the time of writing, we’re kind of in a dull spot for the Super Smash Bros. series. Ultimate’s DLC ended several years ago, cementing that title as the franchise’s definitive entry. We’re left wondering – what’s next for Smash? An enhanced port that retains all of the characters plus a few new ones, or a complete reboot with fewer characters? No one knows what’s next, but just for the fun of it, we’re going to speculate on which characters are most likely to stay or leave for Smash’s next entry.
Revamping Kirby’s moveset in Super Smash Bros.
Posted on 2 months ago by Ethan in Features, General Nintendo | 0 comments
If you’re familiar with developer talk centered around Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, you might recall game director Masahiro Sakurai saying that Kirby is one of the most challenging fighters to develop – especially in Smash Bros. games with DLC characters. This is because Kirby has a unique neutral special for every single character, and each one gives him a unique hat to wear. Given that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has well over seventy characters, that means over 80 unique hats for Kirby were needed – plus seventy “Kirby-ified” versions of the corresponding moves.
At the time of writing, we’re not sure what the next Super Smash Bros. game will look like. Will it be a port of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the next hardware with even more characters? Or will it be sort of a soft reboot of the franchise with fewer characters, but new movesets for the returning ones? Whichever the case may be, we’ve come up with a new Copy Ability system for Kirby that would most likely make developing his character easier while remaining true to his series.
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[Let’s Talk] Which Nintendo franchise should be revived?
Posted on 2 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 0 comments
These days, it feels like anything has a chance of returning. Looking at Nintendo specifically, the company just recently announced Emio: The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, which is the series’ first new game in three decades. Mario & Luigi is also making a comeback after nearly a decade (again we’re talking new here), and this is after many thought the franchise could be dead since developer AlphaDream shuttered. We’ve seen other examples as well such as Kid Icarus: Uprising on 3DS, which followed Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters on Game Boy way back in 1991.
Nintendo has plenty of series it could return to. There are more obscure names like Ice Climber and StarTropics, but things have even been quiet for others such as Donkey Kong Country (though we’re at least getting Returns HD at the start of next year) and Star Fox.
What are your thoughts here? Is there a certain Nintendo game or franchise you’d like to see return? Let us know in the comments.
[Review] Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – Deluxe Edition
Posted on 3 months ago by Nicholas Serpa in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: July 11, 2024
Developer: Project Aces / Future Tech Lab
Publisher: Bandai Namco
While the Switch may be feeling a bit long in the tooth these days, leave it to Bandai Namco to swing for the fences with an incredibly ambitious port in the tail end of the console’s life. There’s nothing quite like Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown on the platform – dogfighting games are a rare breed in general, these days – and Ace Combat has always been a singular experience, melding fast and frenetic aerial gunplay with schlocky, yet surprisingly captivating storytelling. I’m a fan of the genre as a whole, so I was excited to see how the game would play on the Switch in what Bandai Namco is calling the game’s Deluxe Edition. While this version of Ace Combat 7 certainly is held back by the raw power of the Switch, it’s also an impressive port that retains the white-knuckle gameplay of the original release, and it captivated and challenged me from start to finish.
