Donkey Kong Country Returns HD review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 5 months ago by Ethan in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: January 16, 2025
Developer: Forever Entertainment / Retro Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
With all the buzz around the new Nintendo Switch 2, it’s easy to forget that Donkey Kong Country Returns HD released on the same day of the big reveal. The original game released on Wii way back in 2010 and was praised for bringing the series back into the limelight for the first time in over ten years. Three years later, the game was ported to Nintendo 3DS where it received additional content in the form of brand new post-game levels. Now it’s 2025, and Donkey Kong has returned for a third time – and at full price to boot. Is Donkey Kong Country Returns HD a worthy Nintendo Switch remaster, and how does it stack up to its original release and 3DS port? And perhaps more importantly, how does it hold up against its sequel, which is also available on the console?
The Legend of Heroes: Trails Through Daybreak II preview
Posted on 5 months ago by Elias in Previews, Switch | 0 comments
Nihon Falcom has long been known for delivering compelling RPGs that blend peerless storytelling with robust and engaging gameplay mechanics. The studio’s latest entry continues this tradition, promising an experience that builds on its predecessor while introducing new elements to keep players engaged. With its western release set for February 14, 2025, anticipation is high among fans of the series. Having attended a preview event for the game, I’m excited to share a deeper dive into its features, beginning with the refined battle system that has become a hallmark of the franchise.
The state of every Nintendo franchise post-Switch
Posted on 5 months ago by Ethan in Features, Switch | 0 comments
As we head into the sunset era of one of Nintendo’s most beloved consoles ever, it’s as good time as any to take a look at all that’s happened over the past eight years. We’ve gotten tons of great games on Switch, and plenty of representation for most of Nintendo’s key franchises. Today, we’re taking a look at every single Nintendo series and each of its individual games on Switch. We’ll be analyzing how each series grew and changed over the course of the system’s life cycle – if it peaked, if it struggled, or if it wound up about average. Given the sheer volume of first-party offerings on Switch, this will be an extensive (and very long) analysis.
Freedom Wars Remastered review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 5 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: January 10, 2025
Developer: Dimps
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Despite the overwhelming and uncontested success of the Nintendo 3DS, I have always felt as though Sony gave up on the PlayStation Vita far too soon, and Freedom Wars is a fine illustration of this point. Originally released in 2014, the game went on to become one of the most successful first-party published titles for the system in Japan and easily filled the void left by the departure of Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise to Nintendo systems. With its post-apocalyptic dystopian setting, more detailed narrative, and varied mission structure that went beyond simply hunting large single targets over and over again, it felt like the next step for hunting-style action RPGs, limited only by its chosen platform. Playing through the game again over a decade later, Freedom Wars Remastered holds up surprisingly well.
More: Bandai Namco, Freedom Wars Remastered, highlight, top
These are the strongest final bosses in Kirby history
Posted on 5 months ago by Ethan in 3DS, Features, General Nintendo, Switch | 0 comments
While we wait for the next entry in the Kirby series (and therefore the next galactic crisis Kirby has to stop), we figure it’s as good a time as any to rank the strongest final bosses that are most canonically powerful. Out of all of Nintendo’s big franchises, Kirby might be the one most famous for its dramatic final boss battles. The scale and scope of these clashes have only increased over the years, and it’s certainly reached a peak with 2022’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land. As new games in the series are released, more lore and story tidbits come out to help us better understand the incredibly dangerous world Kirby happens to live in.
[Let’s Talk] Will you be picking up Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition?
Posted on 5 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk, Switch | 0 comments
With all of the talk surrounding Switch 2 right now, some may have forgotten Nintendo does still have games confirmed for the current system, including Xenoblade Chronicles x: Definitive Edition. We got a new look at the title this week with a brand new trailer and latest details. In case you missed it, we have that here.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is more than just a graphical update over the Wii U version. As was previously confirmed, new content will be included – plus there are other elements like an updated UI. We even found out this week that a brand new floating continent will be available.
We’re here to ask a simple question: will you be picking up Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition? Also, are you a new player or a returning player? Let us know in the comments.
Top 10 best Nintendo Switch exclusives
Posted on 5 months ago by Ethan in Features, Switch | 0 comments
If there’s one thing the Nintendo Switch has, it’s games. Quite possibly too many of them to rank! With the announcement of Nintendo’s new hardware presumably on the horizon, it’s a good time to look at all of the great games that have released on the platform over the past seven years. Whether the Switch is your favorite Nintendo console or just one of your favorites, it absolutely has one of the best libraries any console has had to offer. So today, we’re looking at 10 of the best Switch exclusives in no particular order. For the sake of this list, we’ll be excluding remakes, remasters, and ports – only brand new games are eligible here.
Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana review for Nintendo Switch
Posted on 5 months ago by Dawn in Reviews, Switch | 0 comments
System: Switch
Release date: January 7, 2024
Developer: Falcom
Publisher: Marvelous
Despite arguably being dethroned as Falcom’s flagship series over the years by the Trails series, Ys has nonetheless seen a rising amount of success since the release of Lacrimosa of Dana. The standalone nature of the games make it an easy series to jump onto at any point, and although it’s a difficult series to access in its entirety outside of PC ports thanks to several of the games being decades old and trapped on outdated platforms, it’s gradually making its way onto modern consoles through remakes and remasters. Ys Memoire: The Oath in Felghana is the latest chapter in Adol’s expansive adventures to come to Nintendo Switch, and is another strong instalment despite its age and notably different gameplay style from its successors.
[Let’s Talk] What are you playing? – January 2025
Posted on 5 months ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 0 comments
Along with a new month, a new year also just started. Now that we’re in January, we want to know what you’ve been playing.
Things have been quiet the past couple of weeks in terms of releases. Still, there’s plenty to play out there. Did you get anything new for the holidays? Playing something from your backlog? No matter the case, let us know in the comments.
These 5 fighters need a new Final Smash in the next Smash Bros. game
Posted on 5 months ago by Ethan in Features, Switch | 0 comments
With Super Smash Bros. Ultimate turning seven years old not too long ago, we’ve reached this sort of impasse within the series. Many are wondering where it’s headed next and how could it possibly be surpassed – especially given that Ultimate will be playable on Nintendo’s new hardware via backwards compatibility. We think the most likely solution is a new Smash game with fewer characters and stages, but with reworks and new moves provided to its veterans. One aspect of each fighter that could use a refresh are their Final Smashes. These powerful and cinematic moves are the cornerstone of each fighter’s moveset – in casual play, that is. But to this day, some fighters’ Final Smashes are outdated or no longer accurately represent them. We’ve come up with five particular characters who need new Final Smashes in the next Smash, as well as ideas for what those new attacks might look like.
