[Review] Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight
Posted on 9 years ago by Dennis Gagliardotto(@LyonHart_) in 3DS, Reviews | 1 Comment
System: Nintendo 3DS
Release: August 4, 2015
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Author: Dennis
Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold is an epic dungeon-crawling experience in which you and a fixed group of party members embark on a journey. The objective is to complete a century-old ritual by a princess you randomly run into inside the forest close to the town your newly formed guild stumbles upon, High Lagaard. It is here you familiarize yourself with the townsfolk and collect quests to help you on your way to completing this ritual with the Princess. However, while deep in the dungeons heading towards the location where the ritual will take place, you come across a large monster in which you are forced to fight. It is here you stumble into other adventurers from faraway places and transform suddenly into an inhuman monster— wielding the power of a legendary sentient being once known as the Fafnir Knight. From this point forward you aim to figure out exactly why, and how, you were bestowed this power. You must uncover this mystery all while trying to complete this ritual with new friends and allies. Just as you have your own special skills and abilities—so do your allies, each with their own individual strengths and weaknesses. You are the hero of this tale, with your guild and a princess; you embark on a quest to uncover the truth behind the origins of the powerful Fafnir Knight.
Alph was considered as a possible full-blown clone character in Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 11 Comments
Alph is included in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS as a palette swap for Olimar. Interestingly, it seems as though he was once considered as a full-blown clone character.
That information is based on design documents that come straight from Masahiro Sakurai (and translated by Source Gaming). For the modeling team, Sakurai has a note about Olimar which states: “Consider including Alph (Pikmin 3 protagonist) as a clone character.”
Ultimately, Alph didn’t make it onto the Smash Bros. Wii U/3DS roster. Maybe he’ll be considered again for the series’ next entry…
Nintendo on the challenges of making amiibo, shows how they’re tested for safety and reliability
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments
The Nintendo CSR Report 2015 was recently published. In the digest version, there’s a big focus on amiibo, including a few interviews.
One portion of the report features an interview with Nintendo’s Masaki Amano. He spoke about the challenges faced in developing amiibo at one point, noting:
Nintendo has developed a variety of game systems such as Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. However, amiibo development was extremely challenging because we couldn’t use our existing knowledge at all and had to proceed through everything by trial and error.
For example, when we make a game system we usually make a mold of each part by cutting the metal directly from 3D data using a drill or some other tool. For a figure, however, you use almost no machinery at all to make the mold, and do everything by hand instead. For amiibo, we started by creating a master. We then took this master apart to consider how to easily coat colors or create each mold. Link, for example, has 24 separate pieces.
We took a cast of the first mold by pressing clay into each part of the master and then coating it with silicon. Finally, after repeatedly duplicating the mold with harder substances, we used iron to create a metal mold. Although we could not apply our existing knowledge or experiences, we learned along the way as we pursued absolute quality.
That wasn’t the only notable element from the Nintendo CSR Report 2015. We also get a look at how Nintendo tests amiibo for safety and reliability. See the image below.

More: Amiibo, interview, Masaki Amano, top
Nintendo will be checking Super Mario Maker courses to determine difficulty level
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 12 Comments
Courses uploaded by the community in Super Mario Maker will feature different difficulty labels. For the most part, this is chosen dynamically as more players try out the level. As an example, if a course has only been completed 10 times out of 150 attempts, you’ll probably notice that it’s in the hard category.
This isn’t the only way that a course in Super Mario Maker will earn its difficulty label. Engadget reports, “user-created levels are also vetted by Nintendo moderators to determine level difficulty before it’s available for anyone to download.”
More: Super Mario Maker, top
Yuji Horii on Dragon Quest XI – story theme, choice of platforms, protagonist, and more
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News | 4 Comments
Gematsu has translated a number of comments from Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii about the series’ newest entry, Dragon Quest XI. Horii spoke with Jump about several topics, including the story theme, platform choice, protagonist, and more.
Head past the break for Horii’s comments. You can find Gematsu’s original article here.
More: Dragon Quest XI, interview, Square Enix, top, Toylogic, Yuji Horii
Splatoon’s third North American Splatfest is next week
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 48 Comments
Splatoon’s third North American Splatfest is taking place next week, Nintendo has revealed. Players will be able to choose between two sides: roasting marshmallows or hot dogs.
The Splatfest will kick off at 12 PM ET on August 8, and 9 PM PT on August 7. It will last through the following day.
Splatfest will be held from 8/7 at 9 PM PT until 8/8 at 9 PM PT! Let us know what you’d rather roast over a campfire! pic.twitter.com/UDcTOLiscI
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 31, 2015
So how about it – which side will you choose?
Rumor: GameStop taking pre-orders for R.O.B, Duck Hunt, Game & Watch amiibo 3-pack on August 8
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, Rumors | 2 Comments
The R.O.B., Duck Hunt, and Game & Watch amiibo could be seeing their first pre-orders as early as next week. Speculation has surfaced about an event GameStop will be hosting on August 8, and an exclusive three pack containing the three figures will supposedly be offered.
Here’s the lowdown:
– Special GameStop amiibo event
– Stores are being allocated extra hours in the early morning
– The 3-pack will be a GameStop exclusive (not the individuals)
– The 3-pack will be a Retro Pack featuring R.O.B., Duck Hunt, and Mr. Game & Watch
– Each store will have roughly 30 available for pre-order
– Pre-orders will be the traditional “head in store and put $5 down” style rather than Web In Store
– If a location allows more than their allocated pre-orders, the customer will not receive their pre-order
– As of now, the 3-pack is the only pre-order officially announced internally for the 8/8 event
– As a side effect, GameStop most likely not be receiving individuals of R.O.B., Duck Hunt, or Mr. Game & Watch
– Pro members may be allowed in to stores an hour early
All of this information is unconfirmed for the time being. If we hear anything official, we’ll be sure to bring the news to you.
First Terraria Wii U and 3DS screenshots
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, Screenshots, Wii U | 4 Comments
Yesterday, 505 Games officially confirmed that Terraria will be coming to Wii U and 3DS. We now have the first screenshots of both versions. All of the images are in the gallery below.
Terraria will launch for Wii U and 3DS in early 2016.
Nintendo releases “Realistic Escape Game” on the Japanese 3DS eShop
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS eShop, News | 8 Comments
Nintendo has released a surprise new 3DS game on the Japanese eShop. Here’s what we know about it thus far:
– From Nintendo and Scrap Magazine
– 1,023 blocks
– Program bombs were planted around the world inside 50 million 3DSs
– Solve the mystery to prevent your 3DS from explosion
– Play online
– Can simultaneously play with other players
– There will be further stories (at a price) added at a later date
– the first full episode coming 2 September
– The first episode is indeed free from 2 – 30 September and then will cost ¥100
– The delivery dates for the other episodes (all ¥100 each or ¥450 together) are 5, 12, 19 and 26 September
And a video:
More: Japan, Realistic Escape Game, top
Range Blaster and Inkbrush Nouveau coming to Splatoon today/tomorrow
Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Wii U | 2 Comments
Splatoon’s latest two weapons will soon be added to the game. The Range Blaster and Inkbrush Nouveau should be available later today in North America, and tomorrow in Europe.
Here’s when they’re set to arrive:
– 7 PM PT
– 10 PM ET
– 3 AM in the UK
– 4 AM in Europe
We’ll post a reminder about these two new weapons later today.