[Let’s Talk] Indie World Showcase + Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase reactions
Posted on 3 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Switch | 0 comments
Nintendo fans tend to go by the company’s patterns, but every now and then, the company throws a curveball. That’s exactly what happened this week. We’re generally used to getting a Nintendo Direct before the Tokyo Game Show in September, but we instead saw a new presentation to end August. On top of that, it was shown right after an Indie World Showcase. We’re not used to seeing back to back presentations from Nintendo, but again, you can’t always predict what the Big N will do.
There were so many games between the two presentations – over forty in fact – that we can’t possibly mention them all here. For the Indie World Showcase through, a big highlight was the announcement and release of Pizza Tower. Meanwhile, the Nintendo Direct: Partner Showcase featured Capcom Fighting Collection 2, Castlevania Dominus Collection, The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky the 1st, Atelier Yumia, Tales of Graces f Remastered, Tetris Forever, MySims: Cozy Bundle, Star Overdrive, and more.
More: highlight, Indie World, Nintendo Direct, top
[Review] Castlevania Dominus Collection
Posted on 3 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 27, 2024
Developer: Konami
Publisher: Konami
Since the surprise release of Castlevania Advance Collection I’ve had the question “are we getting a port of the DS titles?” sitting in the back of my mind and surfacing to the forefront every time a Nintendo Direct aired. Of course bringing the DS titles across to the Switch wouldn’t be as simple a task, so it is perhaps understandable that it’s taken three years for Castlevania Dominus Collection to finally make it onto the system. However, now that it’s finally here, the end result is more than worth the wait.
More: Castlevania Dominus Collection, highlight, Konami, top
[Review] Gundam Breaker 4
Posted on 3 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch eShop | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 29, 2024
Developer: Bandai Namco
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Although I’ve always appreciated the complex political machinations, emotionally charged character dynamics, and poignant themes of war that have defined a lot of media in the Gundam series, it’s often the designs of the Mobile Suits that have determined just how much I enjoy any one particular entry. If, like me, you’ve ever wanted to make your own Mobile Suit, or thought that one might look just a little better if a few tweaks were made, then Gundam Breaker 4 is the game you’ve been waiting for. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the franchise, the depth of customization on offer makes this worth looking into if you’re in the market for something that will let you test the limits of your creativity.
More: Bandai Namco, Gundam Breaker 4, highlight, top
Looking at the best partners across the Mario franchise
Posted on 4 months ago by Ethan in Features, General Nintendo | 0 comments
Today, we’re looking at all of Mario’s partners – not just from the Paper Mario series, but from almost every game in the entire franchise.
Over the years, Mario has been accompanied by many different partners – some of whom haven’t appeared since their initial debut. At the time of writing, the greater Mario franchise is in something of a transitional period. We do have Mario & Luigi: Brothership coming up, but beyond that everything is presumably being saved for Nintendo’s next console. That means it’s as good a time as any to review all of Mario’s partners and ask: which is your favorite?
[Let’s Talk] What would you like to see at the Nintendo Museum?
Posted on 4 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Let's Talk | 0 comments
This week, a special Nintendo Direct was held for the new Nintendo Museum in Japan. Aside from sharing the opening date of October 2, a bunch of details were shared about what will actually be there.
The museum seems to have two floors. You’ll be able to see side-by-side displays of products, participate in special experiences, make Hanafuda playing cards, visit the cafe, and check out merchandise at the shop. We’ve got plenty more details in our post here.
Despite covering a lot in this week’s presentation, Nintendo didn’t cover every last thing that will be at the museum. But in terms of what hasn’t been shown or what you feel might be missing, what would you like to see? Let us know in the comments.
More: highlight, Nintendo Museum, top
[Review] BAKERU
Posted on 4 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: September 3, 2024
Developer: Good-Feel
Publisher: Spike Chunsoft
BAKERU is an interesting mix of past and present for Good-Feel. As the co-producer of the long-running Ganbare Goemon series, Etsunobu Ebisu has clearly brought his expertise from that here by creating what feels like a spiritual successor in tone and presentation, and with an impressive resume of titles of a similar genre on Switch (including Princess Peach: Showtime! and Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn) this game represents the best of both worlds. Thankfully, it delivers on both fronts to be one of the best 3D action games I’ve played on the system this year.
Examining Splatoon 3, two years later
Posted on 4 months ago by Ethan in Features, Switch | 0 comments
At the time of writing, Splatoon 3’s Grand Festival is less than a month away. Though technically not quite confirmed to be the last Splatfest, it’s at least heavily implied to be. If that winds up being the case, then it’ll be the end of Splatoon 3’s two-year content cycle. There’s a lot to talk about with this game, and with its end potentially approaching, we figured it’d be a good time to take a look at everything Splatoon 3 has had to offer over the past few years – as well as some ways the series can improve with a potential Splatoon 4.
More: highlight, Splatoon 3, top
Top 5 saddest Nintendo endings of all time
Posted on 4 months ago by Ethan in 3DS, Features, General Nintendo, Switch | 0 comments
Today, we’re going over five of the saddest Nintendo endings of all time. As an important note, we’re only covering endings for games we’ve played, so if you can think of one that’s not on the list, feel free to share it with us in the comments down below.
For the most part, Nintendo is known for producing happy, feel-good games. Things like Mario and Kirby come to mind most here – just about all of their games end with a dramatic final boss fight, but a happy ending for the characters and world otherwise. That being said, some Nintendo games aren’t all kittens and rainbows at the end. Though far and few between, some of Nintendo’s sadder endings hit hard – and we’ve included five of the saddest Nintendo endings right here. Spoilers ahead!
[Let’s Talk] What’s the best Nintendo-published Switch game?
Posted on 4 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Switch | 0 comments
As each day goes by, we get closer and closer to Nintendo’s next console. It remains to be seen when exactly it’ll be announced and released, but by this time next year, the system is something many fans will be thinking a lot about.
As we wait for what’s next, let’s take a moment to think back on Nintendo’s current console. The company has put out a ton of games for Switch dating back to 2017, starting out with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Believe it or not, the Big N has published over 100 titles on Switch.
So what’s your favorite? Maybe you have an unconventional pick that not many would consider the best? Let us know in the comments.
Highlights from last week’s topic: What do you want to see next out of Monolith Soft?
nonweak
I want a new game. Not a remake or remaster, and not a small game either. Another full blown Xenoblade 3 150+ hour game. And when it releases it will probably easily be my game of the year, just like Xenoblade 3 was in 2022.
Obsidianheart
Xenoblade Chronicles X 2!
Gimme that sci-fi urban mecha open world goodness 10 years later! I meant in the setting, but now I realize it came out in 2015, so either meaning is applicable. Future Redeemed tied all the shared Xeno-series together, while also insinuating that there were more narrative threads that haven’t been explored in that universe, so maybe one of those that isn’t terrestrial.
Greatsong1
I still wanna see a XCX remake, but otherwise developing something new outside of the RPG genre would also be great. Monolith hasn’t done that (not counting the games that they only assisted with) since Disaster Day of Crisis and that was almost 16 years ago.
[Review] Elrentaros Wanderings
Posted on 4 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: August 15, 2024
Developer: Hakama
Publisher: Red Art Games
Hakama may have only released a handful of games since their formation by Yoshifumi Hashimoto in 2018, but with Rune Factory 4 Special and Rune Factory 5 as two of their more noteworthy releases, it’s fair to say the focus is more on quality over quantity. Unfortunately, although their latest title Elrentaros Wanderings (previously known as Rear Sekai) has hints of their trademark creative brilliance, ultimately fails to deliver on almost every front.
