Update: Added in Saturday’s updates.
Nintendo Badge Arcade has been receiving daily updates since heading to the 3DS eShop. Because it’s continually updated with content, we’re rounding up all of the additions and changes in a weekly post.
Here’s what’s on tap for the week of March 6:
March 6
– 30 Zelda panels (3 with 2 days left, 1 with 1 day left)
– Thank you badge offer until March 9
– Zelda theme offer until March 9
– 1 free play
In the past, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma has spoken about being inspired by games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in creating Breath of the Wild. But what about the game’s director, Hidemaro Fujibayashi?
Fujibayashi cited two games while speaking with EDGE this month about games that inspired him: Minecraft and Terraria. He told the magazine:
“I was rather inspired by playing Minecraft and Terraria. I was able to learn from the gameplay and the possibilities found in. I could learn from the sense of adventure, exploration and how it inspired curiosity.”
As for real life inspiration, Fujibayashi is involved with an adventure club with other Nintendo staff in which they participate in outdoor activities:
Nintendo released a new video today showcasing a few European digital game highlights from February 2017. You can watch it below.
Vblank Entertainment’s Brian Provinciano stopped by Video Games Awesome to show off Shakedown Hawaii on Switch. An hour of footage can be found in the video below.
Super Bomberman R didn’t set the sales charts on fire when it debuted in Japan last week, but it still managed to do fairly well. Even though it only sold around 37,000 copies, it was the best-selling third-party game on Switch.
Looking into Super Bomberman R’s sales further reveals an interesting fact. It actually had the best opening week for the series in nearly twenty years. It’s also one of the best openings for the series as a whole.
Here’s a look at previous first week sales for Bomberman games in Japan:
Mario Sports Superstars has a total of eighteen playable characters. Sixteen are immediately available, while the remaining two can be unlocked. If you’d like to know about the identities of the unlockable characters, head past the break.
By all accounts, Switch did well for its launch in the UK. The system reportedly sold 80,000 units during its opening weekend, which doubles up on Wii U. Switch may have sold even more if additional stock was available.
HMV head of technology and games Phil Browes told MCV that Switch’s launch was “fantastic”. He also said:
“We satisfied all pre-orders and blasted through the remainder of our initial allocation. Every single one of our pre-order customers received their console on launch day, and we’re optimistic that with some great games due to be released, Switch can establish itself as a successful third console in the market. We’re a bit tight [on stock] but we’re looking forward to more deliveries this week.”
Miitomo has been updated with more content. Users will find returning stages with more items.
“Don’t bite my style! Baked Goodness” is the returning theme. The stages provide the following:
– Tasty donut hood
– Pastry-print shirt
– Pasty-print shorts
– Butter pat
– Pancakes suit
– Sandwich tee
– Sandwich skirt
– Baguette hood (set)
– Baguette suit (set)
– Croissant pendant
– Toast pin
The returning stages will be available until March 14 at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET.
Capcom has been announcing collaborations for Monster Hunter XX left and right. One of the biggest partnerships, featuring Zelda: Breath of the Wild, was revealed on Friday.
Another collaboration that went under the radar involves Ace Attorney. The DLC will have an early release between March 18 and March 20. Players can partake in an event quest, which provides a special felyne weapon and costume.
As you can probably tell, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD served as a big inspiration for the art style in Breath of the Wild. This goes all the way back to when Nintendo was working on the Wii U remaster a few years ago. Breath of the Wild art director Satoru Takizawa spoke about how the game’s style was determined during a session at GDC last week.
When looking to see how different Zelda games would look like in HD, Nintendo took models from previous games and placed them into a development environment to try different mockups. Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and The Wind Waker were all tested. Wind Waker “stood out” the most “and really captured the imagination of the lead artists on Breath of the Wild”. The team took it from there.
While Wind Waker would end up being used as inspiration, the art style couldn’t be carried over completely. The cartoonish direction couldn’t allow for a certain sense of realism that the team wanted to achieve. Additionally, there was some concern about it being a turnoff for older players.
Breath of the Wild’s final look was ultimately determined based on a slogan Nintendo decided on, which is “refreshing and full-flavored.”
Here’s the full explanation on how the game’s art style came to be from Takizawa:
