Nintendo was kind enough to send us a Switch unit earlier this week. That means we had no choice other than to unbox it! Take a closer look at the console below.
In many ways, Switch is what I’ve always what I’ve wanted out of a Nintendo console. Back during the N64 era, I dreamed of being able to take a game like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Super Smash Bros. anywhere I wanted. Sure, we did receive Ocarina of Time 3D a few years ago and a portable version of the new Smash Bros. more recently, but what Switch is offering is completely different. Switch provides a new means of moving between your television and a portable screen, and based on my early hands-on time with release hardware, it does so incredibly well.
This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:
Wii U Download
forma.8 – $14.99
Ghost Blade HD – $9.99 (available Feb. 28)
Maze Break – $7.00
Placards – $1.99
Vaccine – $9.99
Swapdoodle is a fairly recent 3DS app from Nintendo that allows users to write messages and draw 3D pictures. A number of add-on packs are already available, but more are being added – including one for Switch.
At least in Japan, Nintendo will be offering lessons on how to draw Switch beginning on March 3. New Zelda packs for Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker were also added in today.
Here’s a look at the latest Swapdoodle video while we’re discussing the app:
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is nearly here. When the new campaign is ready, the update will increase the number of save slots. Yacht Club Games posted some news on Twitter yesterday noting that the Profile count will be doubled.
The message is as follows:
A new campaign calls for new saves! Specter of Torment update doubles the Profile count so you won't have to part with your old adventures. pic.twitter.com/4d94Hd04KQ
— Yacht Club Games (@YachtClubGames) February 22, 2017
It was just confirmed yesterday that Shovel Knight and the new Specter of Torment content is launching with Switch on March 3. Other platforms, including Wii U and 3DS, will have access later on.
Nintendo has finally started to share some news about what we can expect from the eShop on Switch when the system launches next Friday.
First, a Nindies Showcase video presentation will be shown on February 28. This will be available here at the following times:
– 9 AM PT
– 12 PM ET
– 5 PM in the UK
– 6 PM in Europe
Nintendo says that the eShop will feature more than 60 indie games this year. FAST RMX, Specter of Torment, and Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove are confirmed for launch.
Moving away specifically from indies, Nintendo has officially confirmed that eShop funds from the Wii U and 3DS can also be carried over to Switch. Also, Virtual Console will not be available for launch.
Nintendo additionally made mention of Switch’s day one update. It “downloads in the background, is designed to install quickly and doesn’t disrupt gameplay.”
Continue on below for today’s official announcement.
Pokemon Duel’s next event has started. The Fighting Gym Cup will last until March 2nd – for the duration of this event, all Fighting types with 1 or 2 movement get an additional 1 movement, and all Psychic-type white and gold attacks get an Attack increase of +20. Getting win streaks during this event will net you Gym Boosters which contain new figures like Dragonair and Deoxys’ Normal Forme.
Fire Emblem Heroes’ second Grand Hero Battle has just gone live, but we may already know something about the third one.
Reddit user lighto13 stumbled upon the following: if you tap on “More” on the notification for Robin’s Grand Hero Battle, you get a primer about Grand Hero Battles in general and some more info about Robin specifically, such as her skills as a 5-star unit. At the bottom, there’s this blurb:
When at 5-stars, this Hero can access her greatest powers as a magician and can learn to wield Gronnwolf+, which is es effective against mounted units. It’s also rumored that she could be very helpful for the next Grand Hero Battle. That is, if you can maker her your ally and level her up in time…
Given that Gronnwolf+, an anti-cavalry skill, is specifically mentioned just before the line about the next Grand Hero Battle, it seems pretty likely that the next event will feature a cavalry unit – which one, though? Both characters featured in the Grand Hero Battles so far, Narcian and Female Robin, have one thing in common: they are both currently in the game as enemies in story missions, but can’t be summoned as playable characters through the game’s gacha system. There are actually a couple more characters to which this applies – and some of them are cavaliers as well.
We can likely rule out ???, the masked man seen in the game’s story and one of Fire Emblem Heroes’ original characters. That leaves us with three possible choices – Camus, a Blue lance user, Ursula, a Blue tome user and Xander, a Red sword user. Female Robin, being a Green tome user, would also have the weapon triangle advantage over Camus and Ursula, and her Tomebreaker ability would give her an even bigger edge over Ursula.
So there you have it – Camus and Ursula seem like the most likely suspects for the next Grand Hero Battle, though Xander is also a possibility. Of course, Intelligent Systems could surprise us and use someone that’s not currently in the game, but we feel pretty confident that it will be one of these three characters.
SEGA held a Puyo Puyo Tetris tournament on February 4, featuring the Switch version. They have now uploaded videos of the competition. You can watch a brief overview of the event below, and lots more footage after the break.
Fire Emblem Heroes latest update brings a new Grand Hero Battle and a Summoning Focus. The Grand Hero Battle is against the female version of Robin. The Tactician has two maps. The Normal version costs 10 Stamina, is a Level 25 challenge, and will reward a two-star Robin if completed. The hard version costs 15 Stamina, is a Level 35 challenge, and will reward a three-star Robin. Both maps require all of your units to survive in order to complete. There are screenshots of the battle below.
There is also a new Summoning Focus, Battling Robin, giving a higher chance of rolling certain five-star Heroes. These are Fir, Tiki (Naga’s Voice version), Hawkeye, and Maria. Both this Focus and the Grand Hero Battle will run until February 27 at 2 AM (EST).
