Sakurai talks about Satoru Iwata’s passing, Smash Bros. Ultimate being Iwata’s final mission for him
Shigesato Itoi’s company Hobonichi has been publishing new interviews with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate director Masahiro Sakurai. As part of this, Sakurai spoke about the passing of late president Satoru Iwata. He also discusses how Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was the final mission Iwata gave to him.
Here’s a translation of that excerpt, courtesy of Siliconera:
Hello, my beautiful animal buddies! This week on NEP, we’ve got a lot of games under our belt: Tokyo Mirage Sessions, Dragon’s Crown Pro, and Byleth impressions from Smash. Then, we fawn over how gorgeous this new Animal Crossing: New Horizons limited edition Switch is. And the big news about Switch outselling the SNES in under 3 years. Has Switch really been this successful? It’s surreal. Also surreal is the details finally releasing on Pokemon HOME. It’s a mixed bag, and most reaction has been less than great. And some more details on Super Nintendo World opening in Universal Studios Japan in Osaka this summer.
If you’re enjoying NEP, please consider giving us a 5 star review on Apple Podcasts, aka new iTunes. It’s incredibly helpful in getting us exposed to new listeners through algorithms, so we would greatly appreciate your help. Thank you for listening!
Jhony Ljungstedt, a former art director at EA’s DICE studio, is now with Retro Studios.
Ljungstedt previously was the art director for Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst and Battlefield V. He also worked on Battlefield 3: Close Quarters and Back to Karland, and Medal of Honor (2010). Ljungstedt will likely now be contributing to Metroid Prime 4.
Retro Studios had another notable hire back in August. Halo creative Kyle Hefley joined the developer as its new lead character artist.
Play-Asia has opened pre-orders for Little Busters! Converted Edition. You can reserve a copy here.
Little Busters! Converted Edition supports full English and Japanese text support. Additionally, it can be played on any Switch system regardless of region.
Little Busters! Converted Edition launches in Japan on April 23. We have more information about the title here.
According to an eShop listing, Heaven Dust will be arriving on Switch this month. Publisher indienova and developer One Gruel Studio will have it ready to go on February 27.
We have the following overview and trailer for Heaven Dust, a love letter to classic 90s survival horror games:
A new teaser trailer has arrived for Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe. The digital release features “an HD upgrade, more difficulty options, re balanced challenges, some new surprises, and an all-new third chapter”.
Here’s the video:
Angry Video Game Nerd I & II Deluxe is “coming soon” to Switch.
One Finger Death Punch 2 was last on track to hit Switch in early December. It seems that never actually happened, though the game has finally received an eShop listing showing a new release date of February 26.
Here’s an overview of One Finger Death Punch 2, along with a trailer:
A new Japanese “Storm the New World” commercial is in for One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 showcasing the game’s Dressrosa Arc. View the advert below.
#海賊無双4 スペシャルTV CM第５弾～新世界突入編～公開！
★第１弾「特報ワノ国編」 第２弾「アラバスタ編」 第３弾「エニエス・ロビー編」 第４弾「頂上戦争編」は公式サイトをチェック！⇒https://t.co/9vDnr4g6C1 pic.twitter.com/ENleYGcYbI
— 「ONE PIECE」家庭用ゲーム公式 (@opgame_official) February 2, 2020
Listings on the eShops provide file sizes for a bunch of Switch games. These include Darksiders Genesis, The Town of Light: Deluxe Edition, and more.
Here’s the full roundup:
