Author: sick skills

Mario and Sonic both have new side-scrolling games arriving in the same week later this month and it has been generating some discussion online.

If you’ve been wondering how the developers of Super Mario Bros. Wonder feel about this, according to the game’s producer Takashi Tezuka, the Nintendo team doesn’t mind and is generally looking forward to the return of “2D side-scroller action games”. He did admit though that it was an “interesting coincidence”.

Here’s exactly what he had to say during a recent interview with Game Informer:

Takashi Tezuka: “I think it’s an interesting coincidence. We’ve been creating 2D action games for a long time and we, of course, want as many players as possible to enjoy those games. We’re looking forward to as many people as possible having the opportunity to play these 2D side-scrolling action games, Mario and otherwise.”

It’s a significant contrast to the ’90s when Mario and Sonic were direct competitors in the 2D pixel space. Since Sega’s exit from console production, the pair of mascots have teamed up in series like Mario & Sonic, and the blue blur has even been featured as a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. games.

Early impressions of Wonder and Sonic Superstars have been positive so far, but Mario’s game might have the edge based on the latest round of previews, which are already calling it a potential “game-of-the-year” contender. Sonic’s new game will arrive on 17th October and Mario’s title will follow on 20th October.

What are your own thoughts about these games releasing in the same week? Are you going with Sonic or Mario, or will you be picking up both? Leave a comment below.

Yesterday, Nintendo announced it would be ending “online play and other functionality” for the 3DS and Wii U in “early April” next year.

Although a lot of different parts of the 3DS online service will be impacted, one that won’t be in the foreseeable future is Pokémon Bank for the 3DS. As noted in the original announcement, this service will still be available even after other online services end.

The official ‘Play Pokémon’ social media account has now shared a new post about this to spread awareness while advising trainers to transfer their Pokémon to the Pokémon HOME application on Switch and mobile devices as soon as possible.

“Nintendo 3DS online services will be discontinued in April 2024. While Pokémon Bank can be used beyond that date, we encourage players to transfer their Pokémon to Pokémon HOME at their earliest convenience.”

While Pokémon Bank will remain available beyond the end date of the 3DS “online play” closure, Nintendo has noted how this could also end at “some point in the future”. The Poké Transporter will also be able to be used beyond the end date of “online play”.

You can learn more about this next phase of the 3DS and Wii U online shutdown in the original story and guide here on Nintendo Life:

Will you be making use of Pokémon Bank and the Poké Transporter while you still can? Tell us below.

This week sees the release of Detective Pikachu Returns, a direct sequel to the original 2018 3DS title starring Pikachu and Tim Goodman.

We’ve already shared our own thoughts awarding it a score of 7 out of 10, and although it’s not the best-looking Switch game, it still offers up plenty of fun forensics. So, what did other critics have to say? Read on to find out!

VGC awarded it 3 out of 5 stars, labelling it an enjoyable but simple mystery adventure:

“Detective Pikachu is full of simple puzzes, witty dialogue and Pokemon to discover. It won’t thrill older fans from a gameplay perspective, and it’s visually inconsistent, but it will likely introduce throusands of young fans to a whole new genre of video games.”

GameSpot gave it 6 out of 10 and called it “soft-boiled”:

“Detective Pikachu Returns is charming and well-made enough for what it is, but that is a mystery game made for younger readers. Its setting, story, and mechanics are all geared toward gently introducing the uninitiated to mystery tropes with a soft-touch approach, and that makes it hard to recommend for any age group above tweens. There’s some satisfaction to be had in seeing the story unfold, but mostly this is a game made to be played by or with kids, not to make you feel like a kid again.”

Comicbook.com called it “Ace Attorney for 8-year-olds” and awarded it 2.5 out of 5:

“Unless you’re a Poke-Fanatic or a young child, Detective Pikachu Returns probably won’t hold very much for you. Detective Pikachu is still a joy to watch, but his shenanigans are hardly worth the $50 price tag. However, I think that this game would be a great fit for younger Pokemon fans who aren’t looking for deep multi-layered mysteries. As much as I wished that Detective Pikachu Returns had a stronger storyline, Detective Pikachu still has plenty of charm and the kids seem to enjoy his shenanigans as much as they did during his movie.”

IGN thought the game had a bit of a dark streak to it, delivering a final score of 6 out of 10:

“The mystery story of Detective Pikachu Returns makes some bizarre and unexpectedly dark choices to get to its underwhelmingly predictable conclusion, and as a result it’s unclear who this is all for. Is it for young kids who will find the simplified puzzles about right, or adults who grew up with Pikachu and can handle the more mature themes of the second half? It’s still a cute, bubbly, animated adventure with humor, unique pokemon to meet, and a mystery to solve, but the mystery solving is long-winded, the visuals are lackluster, and the gameplay is so basic it might as well not be there at all.”

And last but not least, Eurogamer gave this sequel 3 out of 5 stars, calling it one for Pokémon fans:

“All of the game’s Pokémon are pretty great, in fact, and are given enough personality that I’m again reminded of the franchise’s anime, rather than its main series games. Not since Pokémon Mystery Dungeon have fans been able to see Pokémon natter quite so much amongst themselves about, well, us – and it’s always interesting to hear what quirky comments they might have to share. As a window into the world of Pokémon I can’t help enjoying this second slice of Detective Pikachu’s story – though it’s an experience I’d likely only recommend to similar Pokéfans.”

---

Will you be checking out Detective Pikachu Returns on the Switch this week? Tell us in the comments.

In case you missed it, Bandai Namco’s battle royale PAC-MAN 99 will be ending its online service later this week on 8th October.

“The online service for Nintendo Switch Online subscriber-only software “PAC-MAN 99″ will end on Sunday, October 8, 2023. You can continue to enjoy the offline mode of paid additional content even after the online service ends.”

Bandai Namco’s website for the game explains how the online services and distribution of the main game will be discontinued. Paid custom content and modes have already been discontinued.

Although this Switch Online battle royale game is coming to an end very soon, Nintendo seems to still be interested in the concept, recently releasing F-Zero 99.

Pac-Man 99’s online shutdown will follow on from Super Mario Bros. 35. In other news, Nintendo yesterday announced it would be ending “online play and other functionality” for the 3DS and Wii U in “early April” next year.

Will you be checking out PAC-MAN 99 one last time? Tell us in the comments.

If you ever wondered what Elephant Mario from Super Mario Bros. Wonder would look like in Super Mario 64, wonder no more as modders have added this new character to the game.

This model started off as a creation by ‘Koop the Koopa’ and was then ported to the 1996 3D platformer with some improvements. As you can see, this character has the same old abilities as Mario, only now he looks like an elephant!

Elephant Mario can even transform into Metal Elephant Mario. This mod also allows players to do a palette swap, changing the colours of the character’s overalls.

While there was no hesitation to add Elephant Mario to Super Mario 64, Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto wasn’t quite as taken with the character’s early design during development, mentioning how it didn’t look like a Mario character and offering the team some feedback.

What do you think of Elephant Mario yourself? Think he looks the part in Super Mario 64? Tell us below.