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GameCube

After over ten long years, the future of Mario Kart is finally here. Indeed, the gap between Mario Kart 8 and Mario Kart World has been the longest in the franchise’s history. Sure, we received Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Mario Kart Tour, and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, but none of these were intended to be the next big Mario Kart game. Mario Kart World is exactly that, and with a new era for the series soon beginning, we figured it’s a great time to look at the development history of the Mario Kart franchise as a whole. There’s an absolutely huge amount of information here, so we’ll be telling the condensed version of Mario Kart’s history.

N64 Switch Online rewind.jpg

April 3: Nintendo has revealed that the Switch Online N64 app on Switch 2 is bringing along some extras, including the ability to rewind while playing games.

Rewind was already supported on the current Nintendo Switch, but only for some platforms such as NES and SNES. However, that was lacking when it came to N64 titles.

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April 2: Nintendo Switch Online made a major announcement today with GameCube games now confirmed for the platform. It will be available alongside launch.

This is the first time that Nintendo will be offering these titles as part of its classics service. During the Virtual Console days, support stopped with the N64. GameCube games have only been sold as individual releases, sometimes as updated remasters.

April 9: A key detail about Switch 2’s GameCube controller is seemingly confirmed. As it turns out, the device will apparently be compatible with just the upcoming Nintendo Classics app.

That information is included in Nintendo’s official video announcing GameCube games on Nintendo Switch 2. Since it’s only shown in the fine print of the UK upload (it’s not in the North American version), you may have missed it last week – in fact, it seems most people did.


Switch Online Gamecube Predictions

Today, we’re going over a bunch of popular GameCube games and how likely they are to come to Nintendo Switch Online on Nintendo Switch 2.

In somewhat of a surprise move, Nintendo recently announced that titles from that console are coming to Switch Online + Expansion Pack members exclusively on Switch 2. The reason this is surprising is that GameCube games on the service sort of run counter to Nintendo’s strategy with GameCube games on the current Switch. Up until now, Nintendo has been content to release individually-packaged GameCube games as standalone titles – or remake them altogether. Pikmin 1, Pikmin 2, Metroid Prime, and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door are all playable on Nintendo Switch already. That may knock out quite a few titles from Nintendo Switch Online, though it’s technically still possible that they could get a release later.

Shmupulations recently released a translated 2003 Nintendo Dream interview with the lead developers of Mario Kart: Double Dash. Producers Tadashi Sugiyama and Shinya Takahashi, as well as chief director, Kiyoshi Mizuki, all discuss the development of Double Dash as well as their concern over the two-driver mechanic.

Sugiyama suggested that the staff wasn’t very confident in the feature, as to not harm what made Mario Kart unique. The team was even simultaneously developing a single-driver version in the early stages, in case two drivers didn’t go over well. After they gained confidence, they discuss that most of the games’ development time was placed into tinkering with the two-driver mechanic.

Here’s what they said, as shared by Shmupulations:

Smash Bros. art styles

It’s been many years since the original release of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in 2018. There’s been no official announcement for a new game at the time of writing, but the wait between Ultimate and its eventual sequel is already setting a record. Indeed, the time between new Smash Bros. games has never been greater. But that leaves us with plenty of time to appreciate the titles we already have, and one aspect of them that often goes undiscussed is their art styles.

Despite being fairly similar to each other on a gameplay level, each Super Smash Bros. game winds up feeling distinct because of its art style. 64, Melee, Brawl, 3DS, Wii U, and Ultimate are all visually distinct from one another, and this is a trend we can expect to see when the next entry eventually does come out. In the meantime, today we’re analyzing the individual art style of each entry in the series and going over what makes each one charming.

Nintendo fans have been pouring over a new FCC filing that gives some hope about a GameCube controller for Switch 2.

The listing just went live today. There’s not much in the way of useful information, but the key relies in images associated with the listing.

Below is a look at what’s included:

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GameCube remasters Nintendo Switch 2

We’re going over a whole bunch of GameCube games we’d love to see ported, remastered, or remade on Nintendo Switch or Switch 2.

It’s well-known that Nintendo has a huge backlog of classic titles available via Switch Online, but one point of contention among fans is that none of those classic games are from the GameCube. Many players who grew up with that console (this writer included) now have extra purchasing power that they didn’t have as kids, and Nintendo is seemingly well aware of this – which is partially why GameCube titles probably aren’t coming to Nintendo Switch Online. On Nintendo Switch alone, we’ve seen many GameCube remasters and just about all of them have been well received. The most notable of these remakes and remasters are Metroid Prime Remastered, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Pikmin 1, and Pikmin 2.

As Nintendo Switch’s life cycle comes to a close (or rather, a continuation with Nintendo’s next hardware), we may see one or two additional GameCube ports to fill up the time. We may even see full-on remakes on Nintendo Switch 2 as major first-party titles. After all, the first few years of Nintendo Switch’s life were full of Wii U ports – we may see something similar (but to a lesser extent) again while studios work on their ambitious new original games. 

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Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective

November 25: Metroid Prime 1-3: A Visual Retrospective, a new collaboration between Piggyback and Nintendo, has been revealed.

The art book will cover the first three games in the series. Fans can expect a celebration of the franchise’s art “with exclusive insights from the game developers.” The hardcover book spans over 200 pages. Interestingly, this is Piggyback’s first art book.


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