Super Mario Bros. Wonder has more expressive animations than ever before, and the team has spoken more about that in a new interview published today.
Designer Koichi Hayashida revealed that ” joints and animations have more than doubled in number since the previous title.” This is ultimately what made more expressive movements possible.
One issue during development concerned characters turning towards the player to show their expressions. As art director Masanobu Sato put it: “if we set Mario’s nose to face the direction of travel, like we used to, with a modern 3D model, you wouldn’t be able to see his facial expressions.” The team “had to find the right balance to make it easy for players to see both the character’s expressions and where they’re headed.”
The team behind Super Mario Bros. Wonder has discussed being motivated by the reception to Super Mario Maker 2 as well as making a brand new engine for the game.
In an official Nintendo interview today, producer Takashi Tezuka noted how some felt that Mario Maker 2 “had eliminated the need for another 2D Mario game.” He added that “those kinds of sentiments may have been what motivated me to come up with ideas for this game.”
Right after that in the interview, Koichi Hayashida – who worked on game design – mentioned how director Shiro Mouri pushed for “a new game engine that would serve as a foundation for future 2D Mario games.” This was in part possible because the team wasn’t forced to rush for a deadline.
With Sonic Superstars launching today, SEGA has readied one last launch trailer. Quite a bit of gameplay is included here for those looking to get another look at the title.
If you need a recap as to what Sonic Superstars has to offer, check out the following overview:
Original (8/10): Publisher Perp Games and developer Xixo Game Studios today announced a final release date for Enchanted Portals. The title heads to Switch on September 6, 2023. Note that the physical version will follow on September 28.
Enchanted Portals was just confirmed for Switch this past June. We previously had a general summer launch window.
Fresh gameplay is here for Saltsea Chronicles, a story-driven adventure title. Die Gute Fabrik just recently put it on Switch.
We’ve got some information about it in the following overview:
Splatoon 3 will release a new version 5.1.0 update this week, Nintendo has announced. It should go live on October 17 in North America and October 18 in Europe.
The update adds special Splatfest data for and Splatoween and makes multiplayer tweaks. Also worth noting, the Mahi-Mahi Resort has been changed in all modes. A bunch of bugs have been fixed as well.
Nintendo also confirms that the next update will be released around the middle of November, which will add support for the Deep Cut amiibo. We’ll keep you posted on the patch notes.
As for this week’s update, here’s the full rundown:
Original (9/29): Microids, BadMudStudio, and Bilibili today announced that a new Switch version of Warm Snow is coming soon. It’s less than a month away with the game’s launch confirmed for October 20, 2023.
The title is a dark fantasy action roguelike in which a strange warm snow refuses to melt and plunges the world into chaos and people have been turned into uncontrollable monsters. As the wandering warrior Bi, you’ll need to bring down the now corrupt Clans that used to protect the land.
Ratalaika Games and 9Ratones are bringing NeonPowerUp to Switch, the two sides announced today. The title is due out on October 20, 2023.
NeonPowerUp is a puzzle platformer with 80 levels, unique power-ups, pixel art graphics, and chiptune music. Further details can be found in the following overview:
System: Switch
Release date: October 6, 2023
Developer: Creatures
Publisher: Nintendo
Detective Pikachu first released in Japan in 2016, although it wouldn’t be until two years later that western audiences would get their hands on the game. It might be an exaggeration to say that it was a bolt of brilliance, but it clearly left enough of a lasting impact to warrant a sequel on the Switch to tie up loose ends in the plot. The aptly named Detective Pikachu Returns is more of the same, and although for many it will be a game that has arrived a little too late (especially if you’ve seen the movie) it is a game with an abundance of charm that is an easy recommendation to make for younger players and for those looking to kick back, relax, and watch a gruff, overdramatic, coffee-loving Pikachu get himself into all manner of trouble and save the day with his deductive reasoning skills. With a little help from Tim, of course.
Pokemon GO has unveiled a new Party Play feature that will add four-player co-op to the game. It will go live starting October 17, 2023.
Party Play lets up to four friends (levels 15 and above) team up to complete challenges, unlock bonuses, and interact with each other. They’ll be tasked with completing Party Challenges to earn exclusive rewards like new Eevee avatar shirts. Parties can also obtain a special bonus in raids which can double the damage of their next Charged Attack. After players are done, they’ll be able to view to an Activity Summary showing highlights from their adventure.
Here’s a bunch of additional information:
