Update: These have now sold out (thanks Jason).
Original: Over on the official Nintendo UK store, pre-orders are open for the new Zelda: Breath of the Wild amiibo. The two Link versions, Zelda, Guardian, and Bokoblin are in stock. Find them all here.
According to the latest data from mobile app store market intelligence group Sensor Tower, Super Mario Run has slipped out of the top 50 grossing iOS apps in the U.S. It’s now sitting at the 52nd spot.
One significant reason for Super Mario Run’s decline on the charts is due to the way it handles monetization. Rather than offering a free-to-play model like the upcoming Fire Emblem Heroes, Mario instead is a one-time $10 payment.
A short while ago, Nicalis tweeted out a picture (now deleted by the way) suggesting that Cave Story and 1001 Spikes are on the way to Switch. There was one additional game at the very end which was clipped out, so it wasn’t entirely clear what that was. Now gamers have pieced things together, and it seems that Nicalis is also planning Hydra Castle Labyrinth for Switch.
Hydra Castle Labyrinth is a 2D platformer / action-adventure game created for PC. Similar to Castlevania, players explore a big dungeon and gather items along the way to process.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild has a massive world to explore. At last year’s E3, Nintendo said that the Great Plateau represents an extremely small percentage of the game even though it was pretty spacious itself.
So just how big is the world in Breath of the Wild? Reddit user have put together an estimate and rough size comparison based on various calculations, the results of which are above. Wind Waker’s size is off, though the others should be somewhat close.
Indie developer Vertex Pop has announced a new Switch game Graceful Explosion Machine, a “dazzlingly intense shoot-em-up”.
We have the following overview:
“Skillfully pilot the advanced Graceful Explosion Machine (GEM) fighter while blasting swarms of crystalline enemies with your ludicrously overpowered quad-weapon array! Lost in deep space, you’ll shoot, dash and combo your way through jewel-hued alien worlds, fighting to find a way home.”
Graceful Explosion Machine will release during Switch’s launch window. You can expect the game on the eShop sometime during spring.
Nintendo of America indie game manager Kirk Scott said of the news:
“Graceful Explosion Machine fits perfectly as a premiere indie game in our launch window lineup. It reflects the diversity and breadth of the kinds of top-notch games we’re looking for on the Nintendo Switch system.”
Watch a trailer for Graceful Explosion Machine below:
We have another round of news about Shovel Knight. First, Shovel Knight: Treasure Trove and Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment will launch first on Switch during the system’s launch window for $24.99 and $9.99 respectively. That would indicate today’s earlier news of an April launch applies to Wii U and 3DS instead of Switch.
Specter of Torment and Shovel Knight co-op will be playable on Switch for the first time at PAX South later this month.
Yacht Club Games is also announcing today that Shovel Knight Sound Test Mode is on the way. It’ll come to all versions of the game as a free update.
Nicalis has revealed plans to bring another two games to Switch. At some point in the future, we’ll be seeing both Cave Story and 1001 Spikes.
Nicalis previously announced The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth+ and Redout for Switch.
Some folks may have missed a noteworthy tidbit about Puyo Puyo Tetris’ pricing from last week’s announcement. At retail, the game will be $40. If you choose to go with the digital version, however, it’ll only be $30.
I personally prefer physical myself, especially in this case. Puyo Puyo Tetris is a “special launch edition” that “will only be available in quantities limited to pre-orders and first-run printings of the game in the Americas.”
Yesterday, Nintendo gave us a look at Fire Emblem Heroes, the first outing for Fire Emblem on mobile. Various maps were shown throughout the Fire Emblem Direct. Interestingly, these appear to be based on maps featured from previous titles.
Maps seem to be inspired by Nabata Desert, the map from Fire Emblem Awakening Chapter 7, the Soulful Bridge from Fire Emblem 3, and Pirates of Galder from Shadow Dragon.
Here’s a close look:
We can’t say that every single map in Fire Emblem Heroes will be a callback to past series entries. Still, this is rather neat to see. Fire Emblem Heroes encompasses the franchise as a whole in many ways, so the maps are another element of that.
Developer FDG Entertainment has updated the Monster Boy blog to let us know that they are in the ending stages of the development cycle. It seems that the game is almost finished but they still have to polish some details. After receiving some feedback, they reworked the face of the protagonist, Jin, and the fantastic graphics really look colorful.
Monster Boy will get a simultaneous release for all systems including Switch, but it’s too soon to have a launch date yet.
Finally, FDG Entertainment will be showcasing their games at PAX South from Jan. 27, 2017 to Jan. 29, 2017 and are looking forward to meet any of their fans.
