Last week’s issue of Famitsu featured a new column from Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai. The piece addressed a few questions that fans may have about the new games.

On the topic of deciding enemies for Smash Run in the 3DS version of Smash Bros., Sakurai said that the following ideas were considered in the selection process:

– serves well as a general enemy
– light processing of movement on 3DS (comes down to the system’s hardware)
– it is possible to create uniqueness for that enemy
– maintaining balance between big or small, weak or strong enemies
– reduction of the relative workload that is required
– comes from a series that is possible to choose

More: Famitsu, Masahiro Sakurai, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS, top

Famitsu’s most wanted games (9/21/14)

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

It’s time for the latest Famitsu’s most wanted games chart! Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Persona 5, Final Fantasy XV, Pokemon Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, and Tales of Zestiria are the new top five.

Head past the break for the full chart. All votes were cast between September 4 and September 10.

More: Famitsu, Famitsu's most wanted, Japan

Hyrule Warriors – first look at playable Volga and Wizzro

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii U | 1 Comment

Koei Tecmo showed a first look at Volga and Wizzro during a (very low-quality) stream at TGS. Both will be playable following the release of an upcoming update. Check out the footage above!

More: Hyrule Warriors, Koei Tecmo, Omega Force, Team Ninja

Pre-order updates (9/21/14)

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 0 comments

Below are the latest titles that can be currently pre-ordered at retailers:

Wii U

NES Remix Pack (new) – GameStop
The Voice: I Want You – Amazon
Penguins of Madagascar – Amazon, GameStop
Disney Planes: Fire & Rescue – Amazon, GameStop
Disney Infinity: Marvel Super Heroes – 2.0 Edition – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
GameCube Controller – Super Smash Bros. Edition – Amazon
GameCube Controller Adapter for Wii U – Amazon
The Legend of Zelda – Amazon
Xenoblade Chronicles X – Amazon, Best Buy
Hyrule Warriors – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Yoshi’s Woolly World – Amazon, Best Buy
Splatoon – Amazon, Best Buy
Kirby and The Rainbow Curse – Amazon
Mario Party 10 – Amazon, Best Buy
Devil’s Third – Amazon
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Amazon, Best Buy
Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric – Amazon, GameStop
Super Smash Bros. bundle – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Just Dance 2015 – Amazon, GameStop
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Skylanders Trap Team Dark Edition (Collector’s Edition) – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Skylanders Trap Team – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Watch Dogs – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Bayonetta 2 – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Super Smash Bros. – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

3DS

Ultimate NES Remix (new) – GameStop
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate Collector’s Edition – Amazon, GameStop
Poptropica Forgotten Islands – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Danger of the Ooze – Amazon
Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate – Amazon, GameStop
Adventure Time: The Secret of the Nameless Kingdom – Amazon, GameStop
Penguins of Madagascar – Amazon, GameStop
Disney Planes: Fire & Rescue – Amazon, GameStop
FIFA 15 – Amazon, GameStop
Disney Big Hero 6 – GameStop
The Legend of Korra A New Era Begins – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Harvest Moon: The Lost Valley – Amazon, GameStop
Power Rangers: Super Megaforce – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. – Amazon, Best Buy
Fossil Fighters: Frontier – Amazon, Best Buy
Fantasy Life – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth: The Wild Cards Premium Edition – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal – Amazon, GameStop
Pokemon Art Academy – Amazon, Best Buy, Best Buy
Story of Seasons – Amazon, GameStop
LEGO Batman 3: Beyond Gotham – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Pokemon Omega Ruby – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Pokemon Alpha Sapphire – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures 2 – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Skylanders Trap Team – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Tenkai Knights: Brave Battle – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Super Smash Bros. – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

Amiibo

Mario – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Link – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Samus – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Donkey Kong – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Yoshi – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Kirby – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Pikachu – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Fox – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Peach – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Marth – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Villager – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop
Wii Fit Trainer – Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop

Thanks to Jake for the tip.

More: pre-order

Hackers starting to make custom Mario Kart 8 tracks

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 3 Comments

Hackers are starting to get involved with Mario Kart 8, but not necessarily in a negative way. Fans are now looking to create custom tracks in the game. In the video above, you’ll get a very early look at the “Incendia Castle” track.

Thanks to Vinicius P for the tip.

More: Mario Kart 8

Kamiya discusses scenario writing in Bayonetta 2

Posted on 10 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 0 comments

PlatinumGames has posted a new Bayonetta 2 blog post covering scenario writing. Hideki Kamiya himself wrote the piece.

First, check out a few excerpts below:

At long last, the release date is right around the corner! It’s been a long road getting here, filled with bumps, twists, and turns. There was even a time when we almost lost hope of releasing the game altogether. It makes me happy that we can bring you Bayonetta 2, and I would like to extend my personal thanks to Nintendo for stepping in and making this game a reality.
But before we get into that, I’m sure many of you are a bit confused about what a game supervisor does. It is quite an important-sounding title, but to put it simply, they supervise the project from a position one-step removed from development. At PlatinumGames, the person who has the final say on what goes into a game, and who is ultimately responsible for how it turns out, is the director. I believe that every game should be infused with the unique color of its director. Because of this, my involvement in Bayonetta 2 consisted of regular meetings with Director Hashimoto where I only provided advice when necessary. The one exception perhaps, was Jeanne; when it came to her character, I butt in with my comments at every opportunity.
Planning for the Bayonetta 2 scenario began during a discussion with Hashimoto. It was almost like a casual chat, where we went back and forth saying “what if this happened?” and “what about this character?”, deciding the overarching story and overall structure of the stages. Once the rough outline was in place, we brought Bingo into the discussion and had him fill in the details. Next, we had Bingo turn this outline into a game scenario. This became the first draft of the scenario: a detailed plan for each stage explaining when each cut scene would play, how each character would make their appearance, and the way each story beat would unfold. From here, I worked on the flow of the characters’ dialog and added scenes to bring out that unique Bayonetta flavor. At this point it was basically the text equivalent of a storyboard; everything was in place. Since the first draft was well structured, I was able to concentrate on bringing out the personality of the characters and fleshing out the world without having to worry about the story / action balance. At the end of this process, we completed the final draft of the scenario.

And be sure to read the full blog post here with lots of information.