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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News, Videos | 11 Comments

Level-5 Vision 2015 will begin at 5 AM ET / 2 AM PT (an hour from now). It should last around 90 minutes. Expect news on Fantasy Life 2, Yo-Kai Watch 2, Layton 7, and more.

You can watch a live stream for Level-5 Vision 2015 below. Depending on how things go, updates will appear in real time below as well.

– Well, so far this event is a bust for Nintendo fans! Layton 7 an Fantasy Life 2 appear to be mobile exclusives…
– Level-5 teaming up with Nintendo for Yo-Kai Watch in the west

Yo-Kai Watch Busters

– Busters comes in 2 versions
– Internet play, level up weapons, etc
– Expanded version of the Yo-Kai Watch 2 mini-game
– Coming to Japan on July 11
– Aka Neko-Dan, Shiro Inu-Tai. All Yo-Kai will be playable
– Over 25 bosses

– Yo-Kai Sangoku-shi is a new collaboration between Level-5 and Koei Tecmo; platforms not announced
– Yo-Kai Watch anime – second season begins in Japan in July
– Yo-Kai Watch U, the prototype watch shown for the anime; new and old characters
– New Yo-Kai Watch movie in December

Yo-Kai Watch 3

– Set in America
– Game will evolve over time with free updates
– Updates: Ver 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 planned for the future
– Set in the town of St. Peanutsburg in the United States of America
– New heroine named Inaho Misora as well as a new yo-kai named USA-Pyon

Yo-Kai Watch U Prototype (toy)

– New medals
– They tried to incorporate the feel of USA into the toys and themes etc.
– You can plug SD cards into the Yo-Kai Watch U Prototype to add new songs and data
– Comes out in August
– 4,200 yen

The Snack World

– Cross-media franchise
– 3DS, mobile
– TV, anime, movie, toys planned

Source

More: Level-5, Level-5 Vision 2015, top

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, Just a Chat, Videos | 0 comments

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.

Stuff:

Brian’s Twitter
Daan’s Twitter

Share your thoughts about the Nintendo Direct here!

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Let's Talk | 40 Comments

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!

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Posted on 9 years ago by Patrick(@Patricklous) in Features, Reviews, Wii U, Wii U eShop | 7 Comments

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”?

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, General Nintendo, News | 0 comments

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!

More: Akihiro Hino, interview, Level-5, top, Yo-kai Watch, Youkai Watch

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News, Wii U | 3 Comments

Nintendo had a heavy presence at The Game Awards last year. New trailers debuted for Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. and Mario Maker. Additionally, Nintendo showed the first gameplay footage of Zelda Wii U, which certainly came as a surprise.

You may be interested to hear about how Zelda Wii U’s appearance at The Game Awards came together at the last minute. Geoff Keighley, who led the way on last year’s show, spoke about this during the latest episode of GT Live.

His comments in full are as follows:

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Videos, Wii | 1 Comment

When it comes down to it, there are two versions of Rodea: The Sky Soldier. There’s the game for Wii, which was Yuji Naka’s original vision. Kadokawa Games also prepared releases for Wii U and 3DS. If you’re interested in learning about how Rodea differs on Wii U, 3DS, and Wii, check out our report here.

We’ve seen plenty of trailers and footage for the Wii U and 3DS versions of Rodea: The Sky Soldier. You can now check out the Wii title in action below.

Rodea: The Sky Soldier launches on September 22 in North America, and September 25 in Europe. First-print copies of the Wii U game will include the Wii title.

More: Kadokawa Games, NIS America, Prope, Rodea: The Sky Soldier, top

Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, 3DS eShop, New Nintendo 3DS, News, Wii U eShop | 6 Comments

Polygon has some extensive comments from Tyrone Rodriguez and Edmund McMillen about The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth. There’s plenty of talk about why the game didn’t make it to Nintendo platforms until now, and what changed to make it happen. Additionally, we learn why Rebirth is planned for New 3DS only (rather than bringing it to the original 3DS as well).

We’ve rounded up the various comments below. You can find Polygon’s original article here.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in General Nintendo, News | 12 Comments

Update: All gone.

Best Buy has now opened pre-orders for the wave 4 amiibo. You can find links to each below.

Lucina
Robin
Wario
Pac-Man
Charizard

Note that Greninja will be exclusive to Toys “R” Us, Ness is a GameStop exclusive, and Jigglypuff is a Target exclusive, so they can’t be reserved at Best Buy.

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Posted on 9 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in 3DS, News, Wii U | 7 Comments

Rodea: The Sky Soldier has received an overseas release date. Today, NIS America announced that the title is slated for September 22 in North America, and September 25 in Europe.

All first print copies of Rodea: The Sky Soldier for Wii U will come with the Wii version. That’s the original game created by Yuji Naka.

More: Kadokawa Games, NIS America, Prope, Rodea: The Sky Soldier, top