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Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town

This week’s North American Nintendo Downloads are as follows:

Switch Retail

Overcooked! All You Can Eat – $39.99 (available March 23)
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition – $39.99 (available March 19)
Root Film – $39.99 (available March 19)
Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town – $49.99 (available March 23)

The latest Japanese hardware sales from Famitsu are as follows:

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Animal Crossing: New Horizons has set the sales charts on fire since its launch a year ago, and the game has now set another record. In an announcement today, it’s revealed that the title is the fastest-selling Nintendo game ever launched in Europe.

Nintendo of Europe president Stephan Bole noted in a statement today:

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville originally released towards the end of 2019, but the game is just now about to make its debut on Switch. EA will be releasing the title next week and it will arrive as the first Frostbite engine-enabled title on the platform. It’s more than just a simple port, as the team implemented features like motion controls and ensured that most of the experience can be played offline.

As we were eager to learn more about Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville on Switch, we recently spoke with Melvin Teo. You can read our full discussion below, which touches on topics like Frostbite, how it was adjusted for the console, and more. 

There’s been a lot of discussion surrounding the art style employed by Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World since the initial reveal. Rather than going for a pure 2D look, the game is instead using something that many have referred to “2.5D”. It’s quite a bit different compared to other recent entries in the series like Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap and Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom.

Speaking with Nintendo Everything, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World director Ryuichi Nishizawa provided an in-depth explanation as to why the team settled for this approach. He pointed to a few different reasons, such as how it can be easier to work with 3D assets and not having access to top-notch artists.

Nishizawa’s full words:

MAR10 Day took place earlier this week, so now’s as good a time as ever to discuss the simple topic of favorite Mario games. Super Mario has been around for 35 years now, and aside from the core platforming titles, the IP has expanded in so many different ways. The franchise has been a part of racing, sports, mini-game partying, RPGs, and more.

With that in mind, what’s your personal favorite Mario game (or games)? Do you have any particular memories you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments below.

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[Review] Bravely Default II

System: Switch
Release date: February 26, 2021
Developer: Square Enix / Claytechworks
Publisher: Nintendo


It’s hard for me to reflect on the 3DS without thinking about the fond memories I’ve had playing Bravely Default, spending over 150 hours to fully complete everything the game had to offer – from getting all jobs and characters to max levels, to seeing credits roll, completing all dungeons and sidequests, and just about everything until my cartridge became no more than a paperweight by the end of it all. It was a part of the genre I had so deeply missed, and while I love the innovation and how far role-playing games have comes since the days of Final Fantasy Adventures and Chrono Trigger, sometimes you can’t help but “go back to the basics” to a simpler time where you could strategize more, form a party of warriors and mages, and go on a fantastical adventure. Now with the power of Unreal Engine 4, Bravely Default II looks as beautiful as ever, as your party of four shines in battle with a more 3D-esque approach compared to its predecessors, yet still retaining its artistic integrity and stunning environmental design. The series’ Switch debut is a massive leap forward for the series on both a mechanical and technical level, even if there are some tweaks made this time around that may or may not be questionable to those who have played the entries before it.

Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World

During the online version of Gamescom last August, Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World was announced for Switch and other platforms. Fans were a bit mixed on the reveal with some feeling that the title could use some improvements. Thankfully, the team took the feedback to heart and has been hard at work on responding to some of the early criticism.

In an interview with Nintendo Everything, director Ryuichi Nishizawa spoke about how Studio Artdink has improved Wonder Boy: Asha in Monster World, stating:

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition is about to launch on Switch, and it’s a very significant release. For the very first time, Nintendo’s console is getting a game built with the Frostbite engine.

Nintendo Everything was recently able to speak with producer Melvin Teo to discuss the Switch port in greater detail. We know that there are a lot of folks curious about the game from a technical perspective, and fortunately we were able to find out more.

Last week, Pyra/Mythra was added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as the latest DLC character. The two-in-one fighter is the new representative from Xenoblade Chronicles 2 instead of Rex, who has the starring role.

You may recall that Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai talked about the decision to feature Pyra/Mythra over Rex a bit during a presentation from earlier in the month. In his latest column in Famitsu though, he went into a bit of extra detail about the thought process behind it all.

We’ve now gone ahead and prepared a complete translation of Sakurai’s piece from the Japanese magazine. Continue on below to read it in full.


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