XSEED has another trailer up for Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale, separate from the features one we posted a few days ago. You can see it below.
XSEED also published a new blog about Return to PopoloCrois, accessible here. It goes over some interesting features, including ones not in the Japanese release like an encounter rate toggle and quick save (instead of temporary save).
Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash finally launched in Japan last week. To celebrate, Famitsu spoke with a few developers who worked on the game. The lineup includes director Shugo Takahashi and producer Hiroyuki Takahashi from Camelot as well as Nintendo producer Toshiharu Izuno.
Our complete translation of the interview can be found after the break. The staff touched on topics like approaching HD development for the first time, how new characters were selected, amiibo integration, and online play. There’s also an interesting bit about how Nintendo was initially opposed to including Boo in Mario Tennis 64.
Speaking with GamesMaster this month, Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma commented on how feedback from the fans is greatly valued.
He said:
“We’re constantly thinking about how to make it unique compared to other games, both in general as well as to others in the Zelda series. Of course, the response of fans is most important and something we care very much about, which is why recently we have been showing early previews at events like E3. We’re looking to see that there are no problems with the directions we’re taking, and are reflecting the reactions we do get into subsequent development.”
At another point of the interview, Aonuma talked about how the Zelda games are free of meaning. He finds the idea of putting ideologies in games “kind of scary.”
Aonuma stated:
“I haven’t and won’t be trying to put any message or meaning into the games. (If someone else were to make a Zelda game though, of course it might be different.) Occasionally I receive messages from fans telling me how playing Zelda games has changed their lives. While of course this makes me incredibly happy to hear, I feel a great sense of responsibility as well, so part of me feels that developers putting their own ideologies in games is kind of scary.”
That wasn’t all from Aonuma. During the same interview, he also weighed in on Link having a voice. You can find his comments about that topic here if you missed them last week.
Several new games out came out this week on the Wii U and 3DS eShops. If you’re interested in checking out what’s new in screenshot form, take a peak at the gallery below.
More online Wii U maintenance is set for early next week (online play, rankings, etc.). This will be taking place on Tuesday for folks in North America, and just as Wednesday begins in Europe.
Here’s the schedule:
– 4:50 PM PT (Tuesday) – 6:30 PM PT (Tuesday)
– 7:50 PM ET (Tuesday) – 9:30 PM ET (Tuesday)
– 12:50 AM in the UK (Wednesday) – 2:30 AM in the UK (Wednesday)
– 1:50 AM in Europe (Wednesday) – 3:30 AM in Europe (Wednesday)
This isn’t the only maintenance happening next week. The Wii U and 3DS eShops, Wii Shopping Channel, and DSi Shop will be down on Monday.
Gunscape is starting to make its way to consoles, and that means players are starting to upload a ton of footage. You’ll find 28 minutes of gameplay below.
Thanks to Mike for the tip.
GameXplain has uploaded yet another video for Fire Emblem Fates showing amiibo functionality and what the revamped Private Quarters visits are now like in My Castle. View the full video below.
Buddy & Me, a 2D platformer featuring Metroid Prime developer Jason Behr as creative director, started out as a Kickstarter project back in 2013. It launched on mobile platforms a little bit later, and has been ported to a number of mobile platforms over the past couple of years.
Buddy & Me now appears to be setting its sights on Wii U. On Kickstarter, the team teased the following:
“So what’s next?
With all the effort put into transitioning into Unity, we’re anxious to take advantage of Unity’s cross-platform support. While we don’t quite have the budget to retroactively update all our old platforms’ builds, we do still want to do something very special. In next week’s update, I’ll share about what we’re working on now, plus some hints about other future project ideas.
I hate to tease, but, I wonder what’s in the box Buddy got for the holidays? Hint: Wii haven’t forgotten our promises.”
For Buddy & Me’s Kickstarter, a Wii U version was actually a stretch goal. It fell around $13,000 shy of that target, though it now seems as though an eShop release could be happening.
We have yet another video for Fire Emblem Fates, this time for the Nohr side of things. Check out an hour of English footage below.
Shantae: Risky’s Revenge originally landed on DSiWare back in 2010. It’s been on several platforms since then, and WayForward is now gearing up to bring it to the Wii U eShop.
The studio wrote in a Kickstarter update for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero today:
“Breaking news today for Shantae fans! Shantae: Risky’s Revenge Director’s Cut is moving into submissions at Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe. Now Wii U owners will be able to play the most popular Shantae game on the planet, with all of those fancy bonus features like the new Warp System, improved balancing, HD illustrations, and the infamous Magic Mode Costume!”
In other news, here’s a look at Tuki, an enemy in Shantae: Half-Genie Hero designed by a fan:
“This is it! The final Backer Enemy to appear in Half-Genie Hero! Say hello to Tuki, the sneaky, snakey seller of magical secrets by Backer Matt B! Matt B worked with our Matt B on several designs, and eventually landed on this devious shop keeper rather than a traditional combat enemy. Tuki will appear at various points throughout the game to offer the player new dances in exchange for old ones. What could go wrong? Traditional enemy? – No. Interesting choice? Abso-slither-lutely!””
Thanks to Andrew for the tip.
