Composer and sound designer Hirokazu “Hip” Tanaka has worked on a number of Nintendo releases over the years – especially during the early days of gaming. One of his more well-known projects is Metroid, which just happened to have celebrated its 30th anniversary. In honor of the big event, Tanaka shared a special message attached below:

Aside from the message, Tanaka also put together a collage using sounds from the original NES game. That can be heard below.

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More: Hirokazu Tanaka, Metroid

Miitomo has been updated with new content once again. Players can nab some new items in the latest Miitomo Drop stage, “Calling all competitors! High-Impact Sports #2”.

Available items include:

– Luchador mask
– Pro-wrestling costume (separates)
– Pro-wrestler costume (long tights)
– Boxing wear (separates)
– Boxing wear (trunks)

Users can select Miitomo Drop stages from the Shop tab. Miitomo coins or game tickets are needed to play.

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A new month is here! We’ve just entered August, so that means we want to know what you’ve been playing. Have you started up something entirely new for the month? Or maybe you’re continuing something you started a little while back? Whatever the case, let us know in the comments below!

Highlights from last week’s topic: Nintendo Entertainment System: NES Classic Edition

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More: highlight, top

Update (8/6): Z-Crystal 9 Pack now up for pre-order on Amazon here.

Update (8/4): Was out of stock for a bit on Amazon, but it’s back now. GameStop is also taking pre-orders for the “Z-Ring Crystals 3 Pack”.

Original (8/3): A whole bunch of Pokemon Sun/Moon information was unleashed earlier in the week. The latest update included details on new Pokemon, the island challenge, and Z-Moves.

Z-Moves are powerful attacks that can be executed once per battle when a Trainer and Pokemon’s wishes resonate with each other. They can be performed with the Z-Ring fitted on a Trainer’s arm, with Z-Crystals set into it. If a Pokemon holds the same type of Z-Crystal, the two will be able to resonate with one another.

The Pokemon Company is teaming up with Tomy to bring out a real-life version of the Z-Ring and Z-Crystals later this year. When a player using the Z-Move, the Z-Ring lights up, vibrates, and emits sounds to go along with what’s happening in-game.

Pre-orders for the Z-Ring (Set) are starting to live. It includes the Z-Ring, three Z-Crystals, and a 2-inch Pikachu figure. For those in the United States, you can place an order on Amazon here or GameStop here. In Europe, pre-orders are live on Amazon Germany here. We’ll keep you informed about other pre-order news.

Here are some new images and details from the Amazon product page:

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More: Pokemon Moon, Pokemon Sun, pre-order

GameStop has the Yoshi’s Woolly World amiibo bundle on sale. For $40, you’ll receive a copy of the game plus a green Yarn Yoshi. That’s $20 off the original asking price. Place an order here if interested.

More: GameStop, sale

Some of you may recall that Nintendo hosted Splatoon Koshien last year. The nationwide Japanese tournament did very well, and now it’s returning for 2017. First details were shared today about the new event.

Splatoon Koshien 2017 will once again consist of several Japanese battles throughout the rest of the year. It will then culminate on February 11 and February 12, where a winner will be determined.

As for the initial tournaments, those are as follows:

September 25: Tokai (Nagoya)
October 16: Hokkaido (Sapporo)
October 22: Tohoku (Morioka)
November 5: Kinki (Osaka)
November 20: Shikoku (Takamatsu)
November 23: Chugoku (Hiroshima)
December 3: Kyushu (Fukuoka)
January 21-22: Kanto (Tokyo)

The rules consist of the following: Turf Wars, all weapons, all gear, and eight stages in pool that are randomly chosen.

Speaking of the stages, these were the ones selected during a live stream hosted a short while ago:

1. Walleye Warehouse
2. Museum d’Alfonsino
3. Piranha Pit
4. Urchin Underpass
5. Kelp Dome
6. Ancho-V Games
7. Mahi-Mahi Resort
8. Flounder Heights

Check out the gallery below for a look at this year’s truck, uniforms, bandanna for all players, and the trophy.

Source 1, Source 2

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With Metroid Prime: Federation Force launching in two weeks, the full North American website is now online. You can visit it here.

The Metroid Prime: Federation Force site has the usual suspects of content. Visitors will come across game information, footage, and screenshots. The game launches on August 19.

More: Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Next Level Games

A listing on Target’s website contains the boxart for Cartoon Network: Battle Crashers. See the pack shot above.

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More: boxart, GameMill Entertainment

Dragon Ball: Fusions came out in Japan a couple of days ago. Take a look at an hour of gameplay in the video below.

More: Bandai Namco, Dragon Ball: Fusions, Ganbarion, Japan

Mario and Sonic have starred alongside each other in various games based on the Olympics over the years. However, that’s not what Yuji Naka – one of Sonic’s creators who has since moved on from SEGA – originally envisioned.

We’ve heard about this a bit in the past, but Naka spoke about the origins of Mario & Sonic in greater length in an interview with Famitsu. When he gave a presentation in front of Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto during the GameCube era, it was for an action game featuring the two characters. Unfortunately, that didn’t lead anywhere, but SEGA obtaining the license for the Olympics eventually led to Mario and Sonic teaming up for a game. Yet to this day, Naka still wants to see the two characters in an action title.

Here’s what Naka had to say about Mario and Sonic co-starring in titles based on the Olympics and the origins of it all:

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More: Famitsu, interview, Mario, Naoto Ohshima, SEGA, Sonic the Hedgehog, top, Yuji Naka