It seems every two weeks Pokémon Shuffle continues to get bigger and bigger, and we’ve reached yet another milestone today – Pokémon Shuffle has reached over 3 million downloads!
Unlike the other times milestones have been announced, this one is purely informative, so no Jewels, Disruption Delays or anything of the sort this time around, folks. Sorry.
A new event stage has been added for Mega Blastoise in Pokémon Shuffle! This event is similar to the Mega Lucario event that was conducted a few weeks ago, where players could compete to be one of the top in their region for a chance at a Lucarionite that couldn’t be obtained by normal play.
Just like the Mega Lucario event, the Mega Blastoise challenge will last a week long, ending on April 13th, and will reward players a Jewel just for playing once then event is over.
When you go to Check-In, you’ll be required to download the new patch, Version 1.1.8. Once you do that, you can head on over to the Special Stages tab and try aiming for one of the top spots in your region for a Blastoisinite!
European players will compete to be one of the top 10,000, North American players have 20,000 spots to fill, and the top 50,000 in Japan will be given a Blastoisinite.
Good luck, Trainers!
I’m joined by Daan once again for a new Just a Chat, with the new Nintendo Direct taking center stage. Pretty much everything from the presentation was discussed, including Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 DLC, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, and much more.
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Share your thoughts about the Nintendo Direct here!
Another Nintendo Direct is in the books! After more than two months, a new presentation was finally delivered, and it covered a whole bunch of topics. We finally got our first glimpse at Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, and received a big update on the new Fire Emblem game for 3DS. There was also major DLC news for Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 (including the game’s free 200cc update!). Plenty more was shown of course.
What’d you think of it? Are you pleased with what was shown? What is your personal highlight? How do you feel about Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, which seems to be getting mixed reactions?
I’ll kick off the discussion with my own thoughts.
This Nintendo Direct really delivered in my view, especially if you kept your expectations in check. With E3 2015 only two months away, I wasn’t expecting much in the way of brand new game announcements. That’s why it made no sense to me that people were predicting that Star Fox for Wii U would be shown. Star Fox is the sort of game that you need to hold on to for a big event like E3.
Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem is one of the biggest game that appeared during Nintendo Direct. Even though it was reconfirmed at last year’s E3 that the game was still in the works, it was nice to finally see a visual confirmation of this. I’m actually a tiny bit surprised that it wasn’t revealed at this year’s E3.
There are a lot of mixed thoughts when it comes to Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem. Right now, I’m in the “positive” group. I do like what was shown. Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem is getting a fair amount of comparisons to Persona, and I don’t mind that at all personally – especially since I played (and adored) Persona 4 Golden last year. We still barely know anything about it, so I think it’s too early to make any sort of absolute judgment.
I could probably write up a whole bunch of thoughts about this week’s Nintendo Direct, but then this post would end up being way too long! That being said, the news about Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8 was exciting. The Yoshi amiibo is adorable. And hey, the Wii U Virtual Console is still alive thanks to the introduction of N64 and DS titles! It’s about time.
Now we want to hear from you. Let’s talk about this week’s Nintendo Direct! Sound off in the comments below. Just like last week, I’ll be stopping by the comments section and replying to some of your thoughts. Let’s keep the conversation going!
System: Wii U (eShop)
Release: April 9, 2015
Developer: KnapNok Games & Nifflas Games
Publisher: KnapNok Games
Author: Patrick
I have to confess, I’m not a fan of the Wii U’s GamePad. For a peripheral that comes with every console, very few games have justified using this massive tablet over a more conventional controller. Sure, off-TV play is great and some of the early releases like ZombiU and Game & Wario provided a nice taste of what the controller was capable of, but the GamePad as a whole smacks of wasted potential. Thankfully, next week sees the eShop release of Affordable Space Adventures, a planet-exploring puzzle game that promises to put the GamePad to good use. If any studio can use this pricey controller effectively it’s developer KnapNok Games, who previously published Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party, one of the few titles that did use the GamePad in interesting ways to create an quirky co-operative experience. Joining them in this collaboration is game designer Nicklas “Nifflas” Nygren, who has produced several moody games based around exploration including Knytt Underground. These two European studios both have very different styles, so how well do they mesh and deliver on their promise that the game “truly utilizes the potential of the Wii U”?
Nikkei Trendy recently conducted an extensive interview with Akihiro Hino, CEO of Level-5. There was plenty of discussion about various topics, but some of Hino’s more interesting comments came about when he was asked about plans Level-5 has for Yo-Kai Watch aside from developing new installments.
Hino said:
Opening up to global market is a thing that is left to do. We are already refining the strategy of Yo-Kai Watch for global expansion. North America is the biggest market and we are starting to create a system which is required to realize the same cross media strategy (games, anime, toys etc.) as in Japan. When targeting overseas market for a big title like Yo-Kai Watch, we commit to that title 100% and create a powerful system which manages the brand and maximizes business opportunities.
Hino was next asked if North America is the main target of overseas expansion. To this, he responded:
We are spreading out to North America and Europe at the same time. About Asia, we have already started expansion in Korea. Toys have sold very well and the TV anime has higher ratings than other anime programs. As they have been a hit, we would like to bring a movie and other things, too. We are also steadily progressing in reaching out to other parts of Asia.
The first Yo-Kai Watch game launched in Japan back in July 2013. A sequel came out in July of last year. We’re still waiting on a Yo-Kai Watch title to arrive overseas… which hopefully will happen sooner rather than later!
Natsume has eight GBA Virtual Console games planned for the Wii U Virtual Console. That’s according to the company’s Graham Markay, who shared the news on the latest Fragments of Silicon podcast.
As previously mentioned, Natsume’s Virtual Console plans include the Medabots games Medabots AX and Medabots: An RPG Adventure. Pocky & Rocky with Becky is also on the way.
Markay noted in the podcast that Natsume has been working on its new Virtual Console plans “for awhile”.
We’ll begin seeing Natsume’s new Virtual Console releases on the eShop at the beginning of June.
It’s time for the latest Famitsu’s most wanted games chart! Highlights include Bravely Second at #2 and Fire Emblem If at #6. Xenoblade Chronicles X/3D are also in the top ten.
Head past the break for the full chart. All votes were cast between March 19 and March 25.
