Nintendo Everything

Liam Robertson dug deep into the development and troubles surrounding Project H.A.M.M.E.R. earlier this year.Today, Robertson published a new report that sheds even more light on the cancelled Wii game.

Here are a few highlights:

– Shigeru Miyamoto wasn’t happy that NST spent over $1 million on lavish CGI sequences which were ordered the game design was concrete and before the game’s reveal in 2006
– Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis also featured cut-scenes from Silver Ant for a high sum of money
– This all caused the person in charge of budgetary concerns on both H.A.M.M.E.R. and Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 getting a slapped wrist from Miyamoto
– Miyamoto branded the investment in CGI “superfluous”
– This ended NST’s relationship with Silver Ant
– Katsuhiko Kanno was the person in charge at the game’s inception
– Kanno was apparently “difficult to work with”, “rude” and “uncooperative”
– Around this time, is is thought that a large number of NST staff left the company under their own volition
– Staff count at NST dropped from 50 to about half of that
– To steady the ship staff were moved onto the project from elsewhere in Nintendo’s North American network
– Metroid Prime level designer Jason Behr was brought on to bring things back on course
– Behr found himself singled out as a scapegoat for the game’s shortcomings
– Behr stayed on until around 2008, and would leave NST to join Monolith Productions
– Senior staff at NST finally spotted the friction between Kanno and his team
– He was removed from the project in 2007 and replaced by Masamichi Abe (Pikmin 1 and 2 director)
– Metroid Prime producer Kensuke Tanabe joined in a supervisory role towards the end of the project
– He didn’t have much of an impact, and only visited NST’s offices a handful of times
– Project H.A.M.M.E.R. would be re-tooled as Wii Crush, a casual title aimed at the Wii Sports audience
– Would have supported MotionPlus
– Project cancelled entirely in 2009

You can see the latest report on Project H.A.M.M.E.R. in its entirety below.

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The Pixel Mario New 3DS cover plates, which were announced for Japan last week, are now confirmed for Europe as well. They’ll be releasing across the region on November 27.

Here’s the news straight from Nintendo’s European Twitter account:

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Another round of footage has come in for the Quiz Show mode in Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival. Check it out below.

Nintendo has announced a sizable update for Super Mario Maker. This will be made available starting on November 4.

Once the update has been applied, mid-level checkpoints can be used. These flags let players start at the selected point if they lose a life instead of having to start again at the beginning of a level. Existing levels that are edited and re-uploaded can be made with checkpoints as well as entirely brand new ones.

Also coming next week is the addition of Event Courses in the Course World online hub, which feature levels from partner creators outside Nintendo. One of these will be the “Ship Love” from Facebook’s “hackathon” event. You’ll also find a new Official Makers section in Course World that contain specially selected courses, including some created by Nintendo.

Finally, the patch introduces a more challenging version of Gnat Attack and allows players to insert power-ups dependent on Mario’s status. For the latter, by attaching a Super Mushroom to a Fire Flower and placing it inside a block, Mario will receive the Super Mushroom when he is small, and the Fire Flower when he is large.

View a trailer for the update below. You can also find today’s full announcement after the break.

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Corecell Technology is developing AeternoBlade II for 3DS and PlayStation Vita, the company announced today. We’ll be seeing it on the eShop “around the end of Q2 2016.”

New to AeternoBlade II is the inclusion of a time manipulation mechanic and more action features. The game will still maintain the “Metroidvania-style” features of the original, including exploration, solving time puzzles, and collecting relics.

AeternoBlade II will star Freyja and Bernard. Here’s an overview of each:

Freyja

After creating a new paradox, her life has changed for the better. But in response to a universal time effect, Freyja has to pick up the AeternoBlade again.

Bernard

A young knight who specializes in heavy weaponry. He isn’t very talkative, but has a kind heart.

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Pre-orders for Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival are now up on the Nintendo UK store. You can reserve the game here.

Various bundles and pricing options are available, ranging from free amiibo display cases to the inclusion of the amiibo 3-pack. The lowest option is £49.99 for the standard bundle with a pair of display cases whereas the highest amount is £112.99 for the game, amiibo 3-pack, Tom Nook amiibo, Mabel amiibo, Lottie amiibo, and a free amiibo Trio Case.

Famitsu is reporting that over 3.2 million courses have been created in Super Mario Maker. About a month ago, that number was at 2.2 million units.

Famitsu also has news about its collaboration content in Super Mario Maker. In order to obtain Nekki – the magazine’s mascot – as a costume for Mario, players will need to clear a level designed by the editorial team.

Some of you may be aware that Famitsu reviews are often published by four different editors. The magazine decided to settle on the level that will be made available to players in Super Mario Maker by reversing things a bit. Four Nintendo representatives were put in charge of judging and ultimately determining the level that will be distributed. The lineup includes producer Takasahi Tezuka, director Yosuke Oshino, senior director Yoshikazu Yamashita, and Yamamura from Nintendo News.

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This week’s Famitsu review scores are as follows:

FIFA 16 (PS4/PS3/XBO/360) – 9/8/9/9
LEGO Jurassic World (PS4/PS3/Wii U) – 9/8/9/8
Disney Magical World 2 (3DS) – 8/8/8/9
Fairy Fencer f: Advent Dark Force (PS4) – 8/8/8/9
LEGO Jurassic World (3DS) – 8/7/8/8
IronFall Invasion (3DS) – 8/8/8/7
To Love Ru Trouble Darkness: True Princess (PSV) – 8/7/7/7

Yesterday, Nintendo announced that the Green Yarn Yoshi amiibo would be leaving the Yoshi’s Woolly World bundle next month. Walmart has followed up on the news by opening pre-orders for the plushie. You can reserve the amiibo right here.

This week’s 3DS eShop charts are as follows:

Software

1. Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
2. Mario Kart 7
3. Super Mario Bros. 3
4. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
5. 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2
6. Devil Survivor Overclocked
7. Shovel Knight
8. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden
9. The Legend of Legacy
10. Smash Controller
11. Super Mario Bros.
12. Super Smash Bros. for 3DS
13. SmileBASIC
14. The Legend of Zelda
15. Cooking Mama 5
16. Etrian Odyssey IV
17. Animal Crossing: New Leaf
18. Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX
19. Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D
20. Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal World Duel Carnival

Videos

1. Zelda: Tri Force Heroes – The Princess Tells All
2. Dragon Ball Z: Extreme Butoden Trailer
3. Yo-kai Watch E3 2015 Trailer
4. The Legend of Legacy Full Trailer
5. 3D Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Trailer
6. Zelda: Tri Force Heroes Launch Trailer
7. Meet Chibi-Robo!
8. IronFall Trailer
9. Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer PAX Prime 2015 Video
10. Pokemon Rumble World Trailer
11. The Smurfs Trailer
12. Let’s Watch! Super Mario Maker Overview!
13. Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon – E3 2015 Trailer
14. The Magic Hammer Trailer
15. Little Battlers eXperience Trailer
16. Chronus Arc Trailer 2
17. Nintendo Treehouse Live @ E3 2015 Day 1 Yo-kai Watch
18. Gunslugs 2 Trailer
19. Super Smash Bros. Mii Fighters Suit Up for Wave One
20. Binding of Isaac: Rebirth Nindies@Night PAX Trailer

Source: 3DS eShop