The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth is just a couple of weeks away from launching on Nintendo platforms. Today, Nicalis announced that the game will be hitting Wii U and New 3DS on July 23. It will be made available as an eShop download.
Note that the July 23 release date only applies to North America. Nicalis will hopefully bring The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth to Europe in due time, but there’s no news on that front yet.
It's official, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth comes to Xbox One, Wii U and new 3DS in North America July 23rd! pic.twitter.com/zAZ4PKcAHY
— Nicalis, Inc. (@nicalis) July 7, 2015
Do you remember the Japanese 3DS eShop game The Legend of Kusakari? You know, the one about grass-cutting. Well, now we have some footage of the game! Check it out below.
We posted about some details regarding amiibo support in Fire Emblem Fates earlier today. Now you can check out a video below showing Lucina in the game.
An old – but recently translated – Famitsu column from Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai gives insight into Brawl’s Subspace Emissary.
In one portion of his column, Sakurai talks about how there were initially plans for a separate company to handle this mode. The main team would have provided oversight.
Things sadly didn’t go according to plan since the team “couldn’t find a promising studio to take on the contract.” Aside from the cut-scenes, all aspects of Subspace Emissary were created “almost entirely in-house.”
Here’s the relevant excerpt from Sakurai’s column as translated by Source Gaming:
In the first project plan, this mode would have been worked on by a separate company, with oversight from us. For the evolution of “Smash” simply increasing the number of stages and characters is not good. I have already reached the limit. From the production and playing perspective, if I don’t spend enough time on a character, that character wouldn’t receive the love [that they need], the project would become bloated and disorganized, and versus would have no room to breath. The previous game, “Melee” barely made it….of course. Naturally, I will do my best, one step at a time.
Therefore, I thought we could arrange the main team would work on the game in conjunction with another team who is working on the action game in a different location.
… Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a promising studio to take on the contract. Well. In the end, everything other than the cutscenes was done almost entirely in-house.
As much flack as Subspace Emissary gets, I would have loved to see an evolution of it in the latest Smash Bros. games for Wii U and/or 3DS. It added a little something extra to the single-player experience!
The full tournament schedule is in for EVO 2015.
Various battles in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and Melee will be taking place at various hours on July 17. Quarterfinals for both titles will be held later in the day.
On July 18, semifinals are planned for Smash Bros. Wii U and Melee, with the former title’s finals being held on the same day. Melee’s finals are set for July 19 – the last day of EVO 2015.
Square Enix is finally bringing a new Dragon Quest game to the west in Dragon Quest Heroes for the PlayStation 4. But Nintendo fans are probably more interested in the likes of Dragon Quest X, Dragon Quest VII, and the upcoming Dragon Quest VIII.
In an interview with Polygon, Dragon Quest series executive producer Yuu Miyake noted that Square Enix wants to release the different games overseas. But they’re “very text-heavy, so the time and the cost it takes to localize these and do it well is quite something.”
As fans continue to speak up, Square Enix will be more keen on pursuing localizations of past Dragon Quest entries. The company seems to be using Dragon Quest Heroes – a game picked for the west since it’s an action experience with fully-voiced characters and a higher potential for strong sales – as a means to determine how much interest there is for the series in North America.
Miyake said:
“We want to get them out here. We really do! The Dragon Quest games are very text-heavy, so the time and the cost it takes to localize these and do it well is quite something. Business-wise, we have to think quite hard whether we’ll make that money back from localizing to North America. It’s always been a difficult decision. But the more you tell us, the louder the voices, the more likely we are to do it.”
“We’re really using this (Dragon Quest Heroes) as a kind of opening up of the market. We can gauge whether the American people might want to go back after Heroes and see some of the other Dragon Quest games. Hopefully we could use that as leverage to get those out over here.”
Despite what Miyake stated, it appears that Square Enix already has plans to bring over some of the latest Dragon Quest games to North America and Europe – at least, that’s what’s been indicated by series creator Yuji Horii. Horii said at the Japan Expo this past weekend that he wants to release Dragon Quest VII and VIII for 3DS in France. Square Enix wouldn’t just localize these titles for the French market, so they would include other languages as well – like English.
Another set of details have come in for Disney Magical World 2 from the game’s official website. Siliconera translated the information, which we’ve rounded up below.
– Enjoy life in the world of Disney like the last game
– Shop, go on walks, go adventuring, fishing, farming, jewel excavating, costume and furniture crafting, partying, and hanging out with Disney characters
– There are different Disney motif interior designs for your cafe
– An episode in Frozen’s world tells the story of what happens between the film Frozen and its short film sequel Frozen Forever
– The scenario and artwork has been done in collaboration with Walt Disney Animation Studio
– Will feature songs like “Let it Go”
– In the dance show mini-game, you can invite buddies and participate with other characters
– Dream Fantasy is a new feature in the game that happens when you fall asleep in the game
– It’s a place full of light and music, and all kinds of magical things that await the player and other characters
– Can take commemorative photos in the game
– Theme song: “Sparke ~Kagayaki wo Shinjite~” by May J.
Fire Emblem Fates is one of Nintendo’s latest games to make use of amiibo. Players can scan in Marth, Ike, Lucina and Robin from the Smash Bros. line for use in the My Castle area. Here’s everything we know:
– Characters appear in your plaza
– Each one will challenge you to a battle
– Speak to them and they’ll share humorous fourth-wall dialogue about their time in Super Smash Bros
– Robin says: “I have the strangest feeling that before coming here, I battled against many combatants… launching people, getting launched…”
– Ike: “I just remembered… before coming here, I matched up against countless warriors from all over the world to hone my skills.”
– When you enter battle, the camera zooms in on Ike, who performs his iconic taunt from Super Smash Bros
– Lucina mentions “that battleground,” a place where she “honed her skills by matching up against competitors from around the world.”
– Marth says he’s happy to see you again and says “As we spoke before, my bonds with everyone have deepened through battle.”
– He then claims that he wants to know more about you, and then challenges you to a fight
– Characters join your party after defeating the amiibo fighters in battle
– The main character will mention that s/he’s “is in the middle of an adventure”
– The amiibo characters will then respond differently
– Robin reflects on his own adventure, having fought many powerful enemies and making good friends
– Ike says that by following you, he’ll become more powerful
– Lucina notes that she came to this world to borrow your power
– Marth notes that he understands you better now, and would like to join you without interrupting your journey
Former Rare staffer Mark Stevenson shared a render of Donkey Kong wearing a mining helmet from Donkey Kong Country over on his Twitter account. Originally, the plan was for Donkey Kong to have it on during the cave levels. Stevenson explained that Squawks the Parrot ended up replacing the helmet.
@NujaviBardales @BringBackKRool @WinkySteve maybe I should remember to add the pic as well. Doh! pic.twitter.com/pxDO2WQqdp
— Mark Stevenson (@playtonicalMark) July 5, 2015
@wildvine47 @NujaviBardales @BringBackKRool @WinkySteve originally intended as the torch light for dark levels. Was replaced with Squawks
— Mark Stevenson (@playtonicalMark) July 5, 2015
Steve Mayles, another former employee from Rare, answered a question about King K. Rool that some fans have been dying to know:
@dkvine Armour. Wonder no more.
— Steve Mayles (@WinkySteve) July 6, 2015
In a guidebook for Xenoblade Chronicles X, fans left various feedback about the Wii U RPG. Players noted that they wanted a more passionate/rich story, the UI was a little difficult to use, and the battle system had a bit too much going in.
Xenoblade Chronicles X executive director responded to all of the feedback, and thanked fans for everything they had to say. He also said he agrees with most of what was mentioned.
Other feedback left by fans:
– Letters are too small
– Inviting other party members was tedious
– It would be cool to be able to go into out-space
– Fans more lively online features in Monolith Soft’s next title
Takahashi concluded his thoughts with the following:
“Being several years behind others in the development of an HD title and taking into account Monolith Soft’s company size, there are just some thing that we could not achieve, which couldn’t be helped, but in order to move on towards the next step, there was no avoiding this. And that is the truth.”
