In the latest Kickstarter update for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, WayForward has revealed that a new hard core mode that will be added for free in a future update. 

Hard Core Mode is a new difficulty setting for the main “Shantae” mode in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. This mode is designed to provide an old-school, tough-as-nails challenge to players who miss the days of rage-quitting and throwing controllers. This mode offers a stiff challenge to any player daring to test their mettle. The same studio that developed such unforgiving brutal bliss as Contra 4, Bloodrayne Betrayal, Double Dragon Neon, and the original Shantae has returned to its roots, preparing for you a scalding hot platter of anger food. Trust us, there is no mercy to be found in this new mode, and if you want to survive you’ll need to master the game completely. There is no mercy to be found here – it’s Hard Core!

Warning! This new mode is not for everybody! On the other hand, it IS for everybody since it will be FREE to Backers, and anyone who bought the game.

What to expect in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero HARD CORE MODE:

• Pain and suffering!
• Harder hitting enemies!
• Faster enemy patterns!
• Faster scroll speeds!
• Remixed enemy locations, and more of ‘em!
• New Boss patterns, attacks, and stats!
• Healing Items capped at six!
• Re-balanced magic items!
• Poor Shantae!

Along with news of some bug fixes, WayForward dropped this little teaser for those waiting for news on a WayForward project for the Switch.

Last but not least, are you buying the new Nintendo Switch? The team over here is excited for Switch, and WayForward is a Switch developer. And yet, we haven’t announced… anything at all? It makes you think we’re up to something. It’s all so suspicious!  Don’t worry – we’ll have more info for you soon. Enjoy launch day, and we’ll see you on the other side!

While nothing concrete, WayForward clearly has plans for the console that they’re keeping under wraps for the time being. We’ll have to wait and see to find out what they have in store. 

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More: Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, WayForward, XSEED Games

System: Switch (reviewed) / Wii U
Release date: March 3, 2017
Developer: Nintendo
Publisher Nintendo

The Legend of Zelda’s prolific, seminal history has been striking the hearts of players across the globe for three decades. Attachment fans have with the series has withstood the test of time thanks to its immense and vibrant world of Hyrule, memorable characters, iconic set pieces, composition, and more. Now the newest Zelda game is finally here and puts players back in Hyrule where they must protect the kingdom from the ferocious evil that is Calamity Ganon after being asleep for 100 years. Breath of the Wild breaks out of a lot of classic Zelda traits, while instilling new ones and simultaneously making the world and game familiar for veterans, as well as accessible and eye-opening to new players alike. Breath of the Wild is unlike anything we’ve ever seen before, not just for Zelda standards, but for gaming as a whole.

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Atlus has discounted several games on the North American eShop. Persona Q, Shin Megami Tensei IV (plus Apocalypse) and Stella Glow are among the titles included.

Here’s the full lineup:

Citizens of Earth – $4.49 (was $14.99)
Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars – $9.99 (was $29.99)
Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan – $19.99 (was $29.99)
Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth – $29.99 (was $39.99)
Shin Megami Tensei IV – $14.99 (was $19.99)
Shin Megami Tensei IV: Apocalypse – $39.99 (was $49.99)
Stella Glow – $29.99 (was $49.99)

More: Atlus, sale

YouTube channel SwitchForce has offered up more Snipperclips footage with 27 minutes of gameplay. Watch their video showing world 1 below.

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Niantic CEO John Hanke previously indicated that Pokemon GO’s lore would be expanded in the coming months. However, in an interview with Polygon, senior product manager Tatsuo Nomura mentioned that it isn’t a top priority currently. That’s simply because Niantic is “a very small team and we can only do so much at once.”

Nomura added:

“It’s not like we’re forgetting [about the characters], but it’s just resource-wise, what we are doing next … Do we do multiplayer and gen two versus putting out more narrative?. So far, it’s not being our focus, but we are not leaving it behind. I personally still want to think a lot more stories behind them and narratives.”

Niantic is currently focusing on building new functionality of Pokemon GO. This includes trading as well as other multiplayer features.

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The latest episode of the Play Nintendo Show is live. For the latest entry, Andrew and Jenna share some of their favorite Nintendo Selects games. Check out the video below.

Update: We’re now live!

Dennis will be hosting a live stream for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in about an hour from now on our YouTube page, though you can also watch it via the embed below. The first half will be from the start of the game to avoid spoilers, while the latter half will concentrate more on the latter sections. Join us for an early look at the new Zelda ahead of tomorrow’s official launch.

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Team17 readied a new trailer for The Escapists 2. See the video, titled “Return To Center Perks”, below.

More: Team17, The Escapists 2

Xbox boss Phil Spencer already responded positively to Switch in January. In a new interview with IGN, he provided some additional comments.

“Our relationship with Nintendo is great,” Spencer noted during the latest episode of IGN’s Xbox show Unlocked. He also added that “they’ve done some really innovative work.” Spencer “love[s] the hardware design” and feels that “anytime Nintendo brings a new product to the gaming market it’s good for all of us.”

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Nintendo just put up a new video for Switch that explains how users go about creating a Nintendo Account for use on their new system. Have a look at it below.