Author: sick skills

Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.

Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.

Snipperclips – Cut it out, together! is a lovely game, and was a deserved launch success on the Switch eShop. Developed by the small UK studio SFB Games and published by Nintendo, it’s set to have a second life as a retail release with the upcoming Plus edition, with that version’s extra levels and modes also being sold as DLC for those that have the original download.

One slightly odd oversight in the original, the sort of missing feature common in games that arrive on a new console’s launch day, was support for the Joy-Con Grip and Pro Controller. It’s a game that needs to be enjoyed in co-op and taps into the idea of taking a Joy-Con each, but those with extra controllers haven’t had the luxury of using larger pads for a more comfortable experience.

Well, that oversight will be fixed soon – Nintendo’s Assistant Manager of Product Development Todd Buechele said as much to IGN:

We actually have always wanted to support them, even from the beginning. It was just something that we ended up having to shelve at the time, and that was actually one of the key targets when we looked at Snipperclips Plus.

It will actually be a default in Snipperclips Plus, and then we are releasing a patch for Snipperclips next week that will bring Pro Controller and Grip support to all players who have already downloaded the game.“It’s a free update, so that capability will be there very soon.

Snipperclips Plus is due out on 10th November, so it won’t be long before the new content is available; we’ll be sure to check it out and let you know what we think.

Retro-Bit has revealed that select Technos titles will be featured on its forthcoming Super Retro-Bit micro-console.

The company lifted the lid on the new system a short time ago, and announced that it would come pre-loaded with Capcom and Data East titles such as Strider, Final Fight, Joe & Mac and many more besides.

Technos is of course most famous for its seminal Double Dragon series, which will feature in the Super Retro-Cade’s lineup. Other genre classics such as Combatribes and Renegade will also make the cut.

The console launches this year for $59.99. Does this news put you any closer to ordering one yourself? Let us know with a comment.

While Mario and Zelda are often cited as Nintendo’s biggest franchises, few video game series attract as loyal and dedicated a following as Metroid. 

Since the first NES game in the ’80s players have become hopelessly immersed in the world of Samus Aran, and after a long period without any new games, we’ve been gifted the superb Metroid: Samus Returns and have Metroid Prime 4 to look forward to.

Given the status of the franchise, it should come as no great shock to learn that Slope’s Game Room’s latest “Complete History” video – which focuses on Metroid, obviously – is over an hour long. It goes into incredible detail regarding Samus’ adventures and outings, and although it will take up your entire lunch hour (and more) it’s well worth a watch.

Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.

With over 200 games already available on the Switch eShop we’re seeing most genres and game styles covered, to varying degrees. Platformers, puzzle games, shooters, FPS, racing – they have been catered to in one form or another. A welcome recent addition is Chess Ultra by Ripstone, filling another gap and giving us an experience that seems perfectly suited to the hardware. Chess is one of the world’s oldest and most involving games, from quick matches with friends in the pub right up to Grandmasters competing for world titles.

The option to play on the sofa or on the go is a big benefit for this title on Nintendo’s system, and with the game fresh on the eShop we caught up with Ripstone’s Head of Development, Matt Southern, to learn more. From Tutorials to quick offline games and full tournaments online, we were keen to learn more about the game’s key features and how the team worked to make the most of the Switch hardware.

With Chess Ultra developed internally by Ripstone, can you first tell us a little about the team and how it got started?

Here at Ripstone we’re known for being an independent games label that offers a fairer, better deal to developers. We were founded in 2011 by publishing and production veterans and our focus was, and still is, getting indie games onto the digital stores of home consoles and PC. We’ve published numerous games in collaboration with external studios, including Pure Pool, Ironcast and Stick It To The Man. Whilst working with these indie developers, we started building a small in-house team to help with some of the games they were working on, as well as taking on projects such as bringing Plague Inc. Evolved to console. Eventually our internal team was big enough to develop a game ourselves, and so we began planning the game we now all know as Chess Ultra. We’re a small team but very experienced, and have worked on large projects in the past including Forza Horizon 3 and Driveclub. As a result, we love making small, focused games with jaw-dropping graphics.

What drove the initial decision to produce a chess game for console?

You have to have passion for the games you create. You want to leap out of bed every morning to go to work, and this really played a big part in choosing to make Chess Ultra. It was the right ‘first’ game to make 100% in-house and we’re incredibly proud of the outcome. Back in 2012 we published our first chess game Pure Chess, which saw great success with over 2.5 million players taking to the board. We learnt a lot whilst publishing Pure Chess and this sparked new ideas for an even better chess game that would take advantage of current gen console and PC capabilities. The arrival of console specific features such as enhanced visuals and Joy-Con controllers kept us on our toes so we were constantly tailoring Chess Ultra to be the best it could be on each individual platform.

Going back to early in development, what were your core objectives in terms of features in Chess Ultra? What drove that decision making?

Our players and the wider chess community absolutely drove the decision making. We all played a lot of Pure Chess and gathered as much community feedback as we could. The whole team were dedicated to making Chess Ultra the best chess game possible so hearing what our players liked and disliked was really important. We also took advice from a series of Grandmasters and International Masters, who provided insight into skill levelling whilst putting some of our own chess skills to shame… but let’s not talk about that.

Aside from this we compiled a list of core features that we felt were high priority for Chess Ultra – seamless online play, top notch 4k and HDR visuals and support for Virtual Reality. We have a team of incredible artists and programmers that can really bring an environment to life, and to say that they were excited by the prospect of creating the first ever chess game in 4k would be an understatement! For Nintendo Switch, we wanted to make use of the unique features of the hybrid console’s design, and utilising the screen as a more traditional chess board for local co-op was our main objective.

We see that there are extensive Tutorials available; can you talk about these? Are they catered mainly to beginners or players at various levels?

Both! They’re designed to help people who’ve never played chess before to get up to speed fairly quickly, and soon after they’ll find themselves being confident with deeper and more interesting elements like the en passant move and tactical motifs like Fork, the Pin and the Skewer.

In Challenges there are various move-related tasks, but the ‘Historic’ category is certainly interesting. Can you talk about the level of research that went into producing these challenges based on classic matches?

Chess has been around for over 1500 years, meaning competitive chess has a rich history filled with incredible moments of success and failure. We wanted to re-enact a selection of these moments for our players and that is exactly what the Historic Challenges in Chess Ultra do. You are invited to pick up where a Grandmaster left off, perhaps after a particularly bad blunder or a missed capture, to potentially change the outcome of the game.

To decide on which classic games to include, we researched the top 100 chess games in history and delved into the strategy, positioning and outcome of each one. Some of the matches that made it into Chess Ultra were played by Grandmasters you may never have heard of, but the games highlight mistakes and successes that have shaped chess over the past 600 years. We showcase the plays of 13 year old Bobby Fischer, right through to those of current World Chess Champion GM Magnus Carlsen.

For those unaware, can you outline the offline options for matches, including Switch-specific local multiplayer options?

There are 10 levels of AI difficulty to challenge in offline matches, ranging from Novice right through to Grandmaster level and a series of different time controls. You are also required to select an environment and chess set, which can really impact the atmosphere of each game. Playing in Woodburn Manor, which is the current most popular online environment, with the classic Staunton set feels very different to battling it out in the pits of Gomorrah with the Fire and Brimstone set, so you can have some fun mixing and matching the sets to suit your mood.

For the Nintendo Switch version of Chess Ultra we developed a unique way for two people to play the game with local multiplayer in a cross-table playing mode, with the console acting as the chess board. You place the console down between you and your opponent to play cross-table chess and each player uses an individual Joy-Con controller to take their turn. The game includes an adaptive UI that adjusts each turn to be visible for players on each side of the table. We’re really excited about how great it feels to play, not to mention there’s the optional extra of being able to kick your opponent under the table if you’re losing. We’ve seen many a rage quit in Chess Ultra…

In terms of the varied online modes, can you first tell us about the process for implementing cross-platform play? Was this relatively straightforward or complex to put in place? 

The decision to implement cross-platform play was an absolute no brainer for us and plans to include the functionality were in place at the beginning of development for Chess Ultra. It sounds like it should be a complicated process but when accounted for from Day 1, it’s not. We’ve had great support from platform holders in regard to implementing the feature and we’re looking forward to Nintendo Switch players being able to settle their score with players on other systems! It’s fair to say that we’re living in hope that one day all platforms will be able to play together, as it’s what the players want and it’s what we want too.

How important is the ‘Tournament’ mode for the experience? Aside from seasonal Ripstone tournaments, how hopeful are you of seeing the Switch community embrace and organise their own contests?

We’re really hoping the community run with it and have as much fun with it as we do. (Although Chess Ultra tournaments in our office can be INTENSE.) We added the Tournament options to make it as easy as possible for players to connect with each other in a more competitive environment, and we’ve seen a great response from the first official Ripstone Tournament earlier this year. The Nintendo Switch has been one of the most exciting new developments in videogames this year and we’re all big fans, so fingers crossed new players connect with what we’re trying to achieve. Cross platform online play provides scope for even more tournaments, more entrants and a better experience for players.

With single match online games you offer various options, from no time limit to live clock-managed games. Can you outline these options for our readers?

We spent a lot of time exploring different styles of chess during development, and it quickly became clear that since the launch of Pure Chess in 2012 there has been a shift in how chess is played and consumed online. Speed chess (also known as Blitz) has become hugely popular and is a great way to shake up the traditional style of time controls; restricting time either per game or per individual move. Chess Ultra includes 5 time control option ranging from Blitz, which provides each player just 5 minutes to complete an entire game, to Marathon, in which players have 24 hours to make each move with no overall time limit. It adds an extra layer of complexity to the game and brings it up to date with the current chess landscape online.

Which online mode and game setup is mode popular so far in Chess Ultra, across various systems?

The Standard timer mode is by far the most popular online playing option. This mode provides each player with 45 minutes to complete an entire game, and is a time control very often seen in modern chess competitions. Woodburn Manor is the most popular environment, along with the classic Staunton chess set.

In terms of developing for the Nintendo Switch, were there any particular challenges in that process?

It was a real pleasure to develop for Switch, and an interesting learning experience for us. You never lose the buzz of opening a box with a brand new console development kit in it, and ‘Switch day’ was no exception! The biggest challenge was trying to squeeze all of the detail from a 4k game onto a non-4k device, but the end result is beautiful. Because Chess Ultra was developed with 4k detail from the beginning, the Switch version has really benefited and the game is as stunning as it could possibly be.

What’s the best feature of the Switch in relation to Chess Ultra, from your perspective?

Using the Switch as a chess board. It’s like the perfect hybrid of technology and tradition. As soon as the console was announced we wanted to implement the feature and got straight to work once our development kits arrived. The Switch shipping with two controllers is also a huge benefit for a game like Chess Ultra, as it’s ready to go for local multiplayer straight out of the box.

Looking forward, can you outline some of the DLC that’s planned for the game on Switch?

You’ll have ‘check’ back later for full details! (Sorry, bad joke) For now, we’re working on bringing pre-existing Chess Ultra DLC to the Nintendo Switch, including new chess sets and environments. The Pantheon game pack is confirmed and adds a Roman temple environment and set of Imperial soldier chessmen. So, not your usual chess setup!

Do you have a final message for our readers?

There’s a reason people are still playing chess after 1500 years – even in the age of video games the chess experience is one of world-leading deep tactics and strategies, and beautifully balanced gameplay mechanics. From everyone here at Ripstone, we really hope you give Chess Ultra a try and enjoy playing it as much as we enjoyed making it!

If you want to find out more information about Chess Ultra on Nintendo Switch, you can find us on Twitter at twitter.com/ripstonegames or over on Discord at discord.gg/ripstone.

---

We’d like to thank Matt Southern for his time. Chess Ultra is available on the eShop now and our review will be live this weekend.

A new Fig crowdfunding campaign has opened for Obelus, which is described as an “intense arcade combat sidescroller with a thought provoking narrative”. 

Created by Springloaded, Obelus places you in the shoes of Dave an interplanetary insurance salesman who finds himself “travelling and fighting aggressive fauna across the galaxy” with only his company-approved mech AI to keep him company.

The pixel-heavy visuals looks swish, and the soundtrack is shaping up to be something pretty special, too. The game’s proposed platforms are Steam and Switch, but – depending on the success of the campaign – it could come to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as well.

At the time of writing, Obelus has raised just over $11,000 of its $50,000 goal.

Finding every Power Moon in Super Mario Odyssey is quite the adventure; the amount of different methods needed to acquire a complete collection is staggering and you may find that you need a little bit of help along the way. One of the many tasks you’ll need to complete for a full set is finding every single Captain Toad location.

Yes, Captain Toad can be found in 14 of Super Mario Odyssey’s Kingdoms (usually after an area has already been cleared) along with that signature, shrill, shrieky, and yet oddly compelling yell that bursts out of his mouth at any given time. If you manage to find him you are rewarded with a shiny Power Moon to add to your ever-growing tally so, if you’re ready to go on an adventure, let’s track him down!

Naturally, this guide contains several spoilers including post-game content – you’ve been warned!

Cap Kingdom

We’ll start you off gently with a nice and easy one – the Cap Kingdom! Here, Captain Toad has decided to climb right to the ‘top’ (ahem) of Top-Hat Tower. Simply warp over to the tower (or return to the top by foot if you haven’t hit the checkpoint) and climb the spiral slope all the way to the top where you had your first boss encounter. Our little friend is sitting right in the middle of the raised platform and will give you a shiny Power Moon for your troubles – ‘Good Evening, Captain Toad!’

Cascade Kingdom

In the Cascade Kingdom you will need to return to this area’s boss fight arena (situated in the top-left of the map near the ‘Fossil Falls Heights’ checkpoint). Once you’ve reached the boss area, head over to the left hand side and you should see a platform with one of the game’s metal boxes (unless you’ve smashed it already, of course). Jump onto this platform and tilt your camera down so that you can see what is below it – you should notice a second platform tucked away under the cliff’s edge. Drop down onto this platform to grab ‘Good Morning, Captain Toad!’

Sand Kingdom

To find this Kingdom’s Captain Toad, you’ll first need to travel to the small body of water in the bottom-right hand corner of the map. You’ll notice a Lakitu enjoying a spot of fishing but, unfortunately for him, his playtime is over as you need to capture him. As Lakitu, slowly float yourself away from the water in a northerly direction until you reach an area with three cacti and a noticeboard. Cast your line into the sand to attract the largest silhouette you can see – once you’ve caught it, use the left stick to reel it in and you’ll find that you’ve caught yourself a nice, fresh Captain Toad. ‘You’re Quite a Catch, Captain Toad!’ is yours!

Lake Kingdom

For this Moon, warp to the ‘Water Plaza Entrance’ and turn around 180 degrees so that you are facing the opposite direction to the plaza itself. Capture one of the many available Cheep Cheeps and swim back into the main Plaza entrance, making sure to splash along the floor inside until you can get yourself safely into the circular-shaped pool. With your new-found ability to breathe underwater, you will now be able to dive all the way down to the bottom of what turns out to be an incredibly long tunnel. Once you reach your destination you’ll see Captain Toad sitting safely inside his own snow globe-like area. Talk to him to secure the ‘Let’s Go Swimming, Captain Toad!’ Power Moon.

Wooded Kingdom

In the Wooded Kingdom, Captain Toad is located on that tiny piece of land way out to the right-hand side of the map. To get there, you’ll need to head to the nearest place available to it in the main body of land (warping to the ‘Observation Deck’ is your best bet here). From that checkpoint you should be able to see Glydon – the wonderfully cute, yellow dragon who can fly you around the map. Capture him and turn around to the left to find a thin piece of the scenery sticking out with some purple coins floating innocently at the end. If you walk to end of this platform you’ll see that distant blob of land in front of you – simply glide down to it to meet Captain Toad and grab your ‘Hey Out There, Captain Toad!’ Power Moon.

Lost Kingdom

For the Lost Kingdom Captain Toad, you’ll want to start by warping to the ‘Mountainside Platform’ checkpoint. From here, turn around and jump over to the area with gold coins hovering inside a square-shaped walkway, making sure to capture the Tropical Wiggler who is wandering around nearby. As the Wiggler, move your way over the platforms in front of you, dodging the Fuzzys along the way. Right on the opposite side you’ll see a small platform with a single coin on it – head over to that platform and spin the camera around a little to reveal a small alcove on the green-coloured wall to the left. Use your Wiggler powers to wiggle into that space and find Captain Toad inside – as well as a small bank’s worth of gold coins! ‘Get Some Rest, Captain Toad!’ is now safely in your possession.

Metro Kingdom

To find Captain Toad in the Metro Kingdom, start by warping to the ‘New Donk City Hall Plaza’ (the area where you can see Pauline standing outside). Simply run around the left-hand side of this building – passing a couple of human residents as you go – until you find a pile of cardboard boxes on the right. Jump over (or smash your way through) these boxes and you’ll see Captain Toad sitting precariously on a fatally high platform to your left. Jump down onto the platform and run all the way along until you can talk to him – the appropriately named ‘How You Doin’, Captain Toad!’ will be added to your collection.

Snow Kingdom

Captain Toad has hidden himself right at the top of the map in the Snow Kingdom so start off by travelling to the ‘Corner of the Freezing Sea’ checkpoint in the top-right. From the flagpole, make sure you’re facing a north-westerly direction – immediately in front of you you’ll see a thin channel of water leading into a pond and a snowbank just behind that. If you look carefully at the top of the snow you’ll see an alcove that has been covered up. Head over there and smash away all of the snow to find Captain Toad ‘chilling’ (sorry) just behind it. Talk to him and you’ll receive the ‘Captain Toad is Chilly!’ Power Moon.

Seaside Kingdom

In the Seaside Kingdom you’ll actually want to begin your search for Captain Toad from the Odyssey itself. Start by capturing a Gushen (one of those water-dwelling creatures that you can use to boost around with). Just behind the Odyssey there are some platforms sticking out of the cliff and one of them has a small body of water in it – head up onto this platform and land in the water to replenish your supply. From there you need to boost up, and then to the left, finding another small platform with a regular Power Moon sitting in open space (you’re welcome). Using the same technique again, launch yourself skywards from this platform and continue your journey to the left. You’ll need to fly around a slight corner in the cliff face before eventually getting your first view of Captain Toad’s little platform. Land there and talk to him to get the ‘Good Job, Captain Toad!’ Power Moon. Good job, reader!

Luncheon Kingdom

As he was in the Wooded Kingdom, Captain Toad has somehow managed to find himself ridiculously far away from anything else of importance in the Luncheon Kingdom. As you can see, he is located at the very top of the Kingdom’s map but you’ll want to start by heading to the ‘Start of the Peak Climb’ checkpoint. From here, make your way up through the platforms in front of you, using the resident forks to flick yourself upwards. Keep climbing the mountain, passing the Fire Piranha Plant and the rolling fruit, until you eventually get the chance to capture a Lava Bubble. As a Lava Bubble, jump off the mountain into the pink goop below – this allows you to travel around a large chunk of the Kingdom freely. Swim all the way up to that northern point as indicated on our map above and you’ll find Captain Toad sitting alone on a tiny island – engage in conversation and ta-da! – ‘Bon Appétit, Captain Toad!’ will be yours.

Bowser’s Kingdom

In Bowser’s Kingdom, start by heading to the ‘Outer Wall’ checkpoint. Run passed the huge Thwomp-like fella’ and fall down onto the green roof tiles to the right-hand side. Climb up and over the next roof and you should see a group of three ‘?’ Blocks to your left. Continue along the roof and jump down to the next available section on the left – Captain Toad is right there! Walk on over to him to collect your ‘Good to See You, Captain Toad!’ Power Moon.

Moon Kingdom

The Moon Kingdom doesn’t really provide many places for Captain Toad to conveniently hide away so, luckily for us, he’s rather easy to find. Starting at the Odyssey, head around to the back of the ship to find a small gathering of creatures from a variety of Kingdoms. They are all standing next to a small bump in the Moon’s surface and, behind that small bump, you can just see the familiar sight of a red and white mushroom. Jump over to have a chat with the little explorer and pick up the ‘Thanks, Captain Toad!’ Power Moon.

Mushroom Kingdom

The Mushroom Kingdom is home to perhaps the easiest of the Captain Toad locations. Directly in front of the Odyssey (and to the left slightly) you’ll see a water fountain with some purple coins on top. Just beyond that you’ll see a mushroom-shaped building that is home to this region’s Crazy Cap store. Sitting on top of the store is none other than Captain Toad himself. Simply jump onto the boxes just outside and perform a backwards somersault (‘ZL’ followed by ‘B’) onto the roof. Say “hello” to receive ‘Forever Onward, Captain Toad!’.

Dark Side

One last Captain Toad to find! If you haven’t yet unlocked Dark Side and are wondering why you can’t travel to it just yet, don’t worry! Once you have collected 250 Power Moons you’ll be able to fly directly to this area and complete your Captain Toad treasure hunt. 

When you make it to Dark Side you’ll need to travel all the way to the huge, carrot-shaped tower at the furthest northern edge of the map. As you climb the tower you’ll face a series of boss challenges which will need to be completed in order to find Toad. When you have defeated the Broodal on the fourth floor of the tower, head through the exit at the back of the room to continue your tower climb. Run all the way around the narrow corridor until you see the green pipe at the end and, instead of going through the pipe, keep running directly at the wall as if you’re about to launch through Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. Captain Toad is waiting for you inside and will grant you with the final Power Moon in his collection – ‘Captain Toad on the Dark Side!’

We hope that you have found this guide on where to find Captain Toad useful. Let us know if you’ve managed to track him down in the comments below.