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OlliOlli World Switch

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Roll7’s Jemima Tyssen Smith about OlliOlli World, including the new art style, the Switch version, and more. This comes ahead of the game’s release next week.

Below is our full discussion:

mario 64 banjo kazooie 3d platformers

Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 are both at this moment available to play on Switch via Nintendo’s online service. It’s great to see those two together considering how important they were for early 3D gaming. I decided to revisit them recently and I was impressed by how well they still hold up.

In today’s video, I talk about the different ideas that Banjo-Kazooie and Super Mario 64 brought to the industry, how they understood the best ways to bring the full potential of 3D environments, and also how they failed in some aspects due to how early ideas and the technology were at the time. You can check the video down below.

Metroid Dread E.M.M.I.

In a lengthy interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, series producer Yoshio Sakamoto shared a peak behind the curtain on Metroid Dread’s development including the E.M.M.I. mechanic as well as memories of his time working on the series.

Sakamoto has been involved with the franchise since its inception on the NES. In the interview, he touched on what it was like to work with MercurySteam to create the series’ first HD entry, went into the specifics of E.M.M.I.’s design, and much more.

Our full translation of the interview can be found below.

We only just received a major Pokemon release on Switch with Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl back in November, but another major title has now arrived with Pokemon Legends: Arceus. This is the latest project from Game Freak, the developer of the mainline Pokemon titles. The company has been tinkering away on Arceus while ILCA made Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

While the launch of Pokemon Legends: Arceus only took place yesterday, it’s likely that a number of you picked up the game and have played a number of hours already. If you’ve played it at all, what are your thoughts thus far? Let us know in the comments below.

Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth review

System: Switch
Release date: January 28, 2022
Developer: Team Ladybug
Publisher: Playism


Record of Lodoss War is one of the oldest still-running Japanese series a lot of people have probably never heard about. With media that includes not only video games but novels, manga, and anime, the franchise’s history dates back over three decades to 1986. While Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth is the newest installment in the series, it’s also nostalgic in a lot of ways, from its beautiful 2D pixel art style to its story.

Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity characters

In an extensive interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, select members of the Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity development team have discussed key aspects of the game’s Expansion Pass DLC, including the new characters and maps. The talk featured director Ryouta Matsushita, producers Yosuke Hayashi and Masaki Furusawa, and artist Yu Oboshi.

Our translation of the interview regarding the Expansion Pass for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is below: 

Nintendo acquisition

In the context of the recent news regarding Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, I decided to look back at Monolith Soft’s trajectory inside Nintendo. The studio was acquired in 2007 and it’s interesting to see how it grew to be almost essential for Nintendo’s biggest franchises. 

If you’ve been following Nintendo in recent years, you are probably familiar with the name “Monolith Soft”. The studio garnered a lot of respect for its work on the Xenoblade series and supporting some other Nintendo franchises, such as Zelda.

You can check the video down below for our thoughts on Nintendo’s acquisition of Monolith Soft.

Metroid Dread difficulty

In a previous interview with Japanese magazine Famitsu, Metroid Dread producer and longtime series contributor Yoshio Sakamoto spoke about how the development team landed on the game’s difficulty.

Though it’s considered harsh by some players, Sakamoto explained that E.M.M.I.’s punishing nature and the way players gradually learn to avoid it over time was designed to mirror how Samus gets stronger as she collects power-ups throughout the game.

Below is our translation of Sakamoto’s comments regarding the difficulty in Metroid Dread:

olliolli world preview

We recently had the opportunity to play an early demo of OlliOlli World, the new entry in the series that mixes 2D platforming and skateboarding. While we specifically went hands-on with the PC version, the game will also come to Switch for its launch on February 8.

Based on my time with OlliOlli World, I was really impressed by how much fun I had playing it. The gameplay is a bit different compared to the typical titles out there, but it works really well, with each mechanic complementing the other. Be sure to check my full impressions in the video down below.

arcadia fallen review

System: Switch
Release date: January 5, 2022
Developer: Galdra Studios
Publisher: Galdra Studios


It’s hard not to respect a game that tries to punch above its weight and bring fresh ideas into a crowded genre; that alone was enough to get Arcadia Fallen on my radar. Developed by a small team and originally funded on Kickstarter, the game appears at first glance to be just another visual novel about magical beings trying to save the world, but Galdra Studios created something special by adding layers of decision-making and puzzle mechanics to what otherwise would have been a by-the-books experience. And while the individual elements of Arcadia Fallen’s presentation and systems lack the polish and nuance to match its ambitions, its heartfelt narrative and lovable cast of characters elevate the experience to something greater than the sum of its parts.


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