Brian Provinciano from Vblank Entertainment recently appeared on Electric Playground Live to demo and talk about his upcoming multi-platform release, Shakedown Hawaii.
One of the more interesting parts was when he was asked if it would be possible to run the “open-world comedy” on the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis (Mega Drive). This was his reply:
“To be honest, I would love after this game is done to go back and do something like that, I love tinkering with old hardware.”
Admittedly, he would be unable to port this game itself to a retro system, but would “love” to build a top-down action game on old school video game hardware.
In saying this, Provinciano did mention how he managed to get his previous release Retro City Rampage up and running on the Game Boy Advance:
“I actually did get RCR running on the Game Boy Advance and so that was really fun, I haven’t really unveiled it too much, but it was just a hobby… I’d say it’s 85 percent done, there are a few frame rate hiccups.”
When encouraged to actually release it, Provinciano said he would like to get permission to do it officially. It’s also worth pointing out how he worked on a NES prototype for Retro City Rampage way back in 2013.
To hear and see more about Provinciano’s latest Switch and 3DS-bound release, though, take a look at the below video which runs for over an hour:
Shakedown Hawaii is due out at some point this Spring. Tell us below if you’re looking forward to playing it and if you’ve also experienced Vblank’s previous release.
Love them or hate them, the big-headed Funko Pop figures are seemingly here to stay. At this year’s New York Toy Fair, Newsweek sat down with the Funko CEO Brian Mariotti to discuss the future of the company.
One interesting comment made by Mariotta during the interview, was how one of Funko’s main goals is to secure the license for Nintendo’s IP.
“We still have to get those Nintendo characters.”
Funko had somewhat of a breakthrough in the past year with The Pokémon Company, allowing it to produce a Pokémon Funko Pop line, including a seasonal Pikachu run.
“To build that relationship is super important to us. We all grew up playing Pokémon, with so many fans around the world, it’s amazing to land that license finally.”
Mariotti believes this is just the beginning, stating how production is going to be increase this year, with the plan to make four Pokémon Pops for each quarter.
“We’re going to ramp it up a bit with what we did last year.”
Do you collect Funko Pops? Would you like to see Nintendo-themed ones? Tell us in the comments.
Just days ago, Reggie Fils-Aimé shocked the video game community, when he announced he would be stepping down from his role as Nintendo of America President after nearly 13 years to spend more time with his family. Replacing him is the appropriately-named Doug Bowser. While the majority of the spotlight is still on the current President, Doug has already received extra attention since the news dropped.
To show his appreciation, he took to Twitter to thank fans for the “warm messages” and stated how he had been taught so much by Reggie over the past number of years at Nintendo and would use all of this knowledge to fuel his own enthusiasm:
“Thanks everyone for your warm messages as I look ahead to this new adventure. I have learned so much from Reggie. His love and passion for Nintendo, along with yours, will never be far from my mind.”
Besides welcome messages, fans on social media were also quick acknowledge the fact Mario’s number one enemy had taken over Nintendo of America. As a result, it’s already turned into a bit of a meme (in more ways than one). Below is a round-up, courtesy of Eurogamer:
How do you feel about Bowser taking over Nintendo of America? Tell us down below.
Earlier this week, Splatoon 2 players found out the Japanese manga magazine CoroCoro would be offering exclusive in-game gear to readers via a special download code in an upcoming issue. The ‘Mecha Gear’ as it is known (see above), is tied to a competition to design new accessories for the online multiplayer team-based shooter.
Nintendo intends to adapt this gear to the game, giving the design its own spin. It’s not actually the first time a competition like this has been run, either. The ‘Traditional’ and ‘Moist Ghillie’ sets both originated from a contest held by Japanese gaming publication Famitsu.
Although previous contest-winning sets have made their way across to the west in the past, this latest exclusive content for Japanese CoroCoro readers has sparked outrage here in the west on social media. The #GearForAll campaign has Splatoon 2 players in this part of the world essentially protesting against region specific in-game content.
Below are some of the tweets if you search this hashtag gaining traction on Twitter right now:
Tell us in the comments below if you’ve joined this movement and generally what you think about region-exclusive content in your video games.
Ah, the strategy game. Once a stalwart of the PC gaming scene, the genre has bloomed on console in recent years as developers re-approach the genre in new and exciting ways. And it’s those titles that break away from the traditional military concept that’s gripped its mechanics for so long, taking the principles of an RTS and applying them in ways we’ve never seen. RIOT – Civil Unrest does just that, but while its pixel art revolutions look the part, the game itself simplifies itself too far and loses some of the control that makes an RTS so exciting to play.
On paper, the concept is certainly bursting with potential. Based on real-life riots and incidents of civil unrest that occurred across the world in recent years, you’ll either choose the side of the mob or the police. Whichever side you choose, you’ll need to meet a key objective or set of challenges before a timer runs out. Both sides differ in their options, making for some oddly uneven encounters. The police are usually smaller in number, but have key divisions for use in certain scenarios. Some have shields for driving back protesters, others have batons for when things get tasty or tear gas for quick crowd dispersion.
The mob, on the other hand, doesn’t have as many clearly defined roles. Instead, you get to control a much larger mass of human defiance divided into smaller manageable groups. More often than not, success while playing as the side of protest usually boils down to micromanaging each group so a large enough number of people are hindering the progress of the police. For instance, to protect a series of tents from being smashed to pieces, you’ll need to use each group to systematically force the fuzz into a tiny retreat. Each scenario is very much a to-and-fro affair, with gains and losses being constantly traded.
Preparation between the two sides also differs. For the police, choosing to equip certain units with particular gear will affect their usefulness in the field; for instance, giving heavy shield-toting coppers a radio (for gathering all available units to their location) is a far better fit than a gas canister. However, on the flip-side, the things you choose to take into a protest could potentially affect how many people actually turn out to join you. If you start packing weapons and other aggressive forms of expression, then the potential for violence will likely put some passive protesters off. It’s the little aspects such as these that show, however frustratingly, just how rich in potential RIOT really is.
The problem comes in the execution. Whichever of the three modes on offer you choose to play – Global (a setup that compares your performance in each scenario and adds into a leaderboard for both protesters and police), Story (specific missions based on real-life events) and Versus (two-player, split-Joy-Con affair using missions unlocked in Story mode) – you soon start to see how RIOT’s execution struggles to live up to its concept.
The lack of precise control is central to the issue. Yes, a mob of protesters – whether passive or aggressive – is meant to be unruly and nebulous by design, but there’s no attempt to mesh this with the precise tactical agency one associates with an RTS. You can cycle between defined units by pressing ‘L’ and ‘R’, then use the left analog stick to pull them in a particular direction. Movement is sluggish and too often our groups broke apart (even without coming into contact with a unit from the other side). Without support for touchscreen controls – something that would have suited the top-down unit dragging mechanics – managing your protest/police response never truly feels responsive, and that goes a long way to undoing the developer’s good work.
The variety of challenges and objectives in a given scenario to help add a little spice to proceedings – such as keeping protesters from controlling a key area or forcing your way past armed officers on a narrow bridge. Little messages pop up on-screen occasionally to add a little extra drama to proceedings, which is in turn reflected in the mood of either side. Start arresting too many protesters while they’re being passive yet pushy and you could send them into a full-on riot, for example. All of these systems have so much potential, but much of it never does enough with that potential to create something truly unique in the RTS genre.
The lack of a proper tutorial is another black mark against the game; while it’s just about possible to muddle through if you’re familiar with the RTS genre, a clearly defined mode which explains RIOT’s many systems and mechanics would make things easier to stomach – even if it wouldn’t necessarily solve the title’s other problems.
Conclusion
RIOT – Civil Unrest could have been something special, but its move to Nintendo Switch from other platforms hasn’t seen that potential embraced any further. The lack of touchscreen support and the absence of a proper tutorial mode are odd decisions considering how difficult it can be to follow the action when playing in handheld/tabletop mode. Even its use of real-life clashes between protesters and police fails to bring anything insightful or interesting to the table. Sadly, this riot is already fizzling out.
Remember when The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild would occasionally hand out free items and food if you read the survival tips on the Switch news feed? Well, Splatoon 2 will be running a similar promotion very soon.
According to the Nintendo Versus Twitter account, as of “late next week”, the Splatoon channel will be posting articles about gear abilities. If you view these articles on your Switch, you’ll receive free drink tickets which can then be redeemed in-game.
Like free loot? Check out the Gear Ability tips articles starting late next week via the #Splatoon2 #NintendoSwitch News Channel! View the article on your Nintendo Switch, and you’ll receive some Drink Tickets in-game!
Are you eager to get your hand on a free digital drink? Are you still playing Splatoon 2 regularly? Tell us in the comments.
As soon as it was revealed Reggie Fils-Aimé was stepping down as the Nintendo of America President, the man himself reached out to fans with a special recording via social media, thanking everyone for their never-ending support, passionate love of Nintendo and for putting a smile on his face every day.
If his words alone weren’t already heartwarming enough, one fan actually made an interesting discovery in what is likely to be Reggie’s final video for the company.
Nintendo DIY expert GandaKris spotted the custom-made amiibo she sent Reggie, sitting on his desk. She didn’t even know if the amiibo gunner had got to him when she passed it onto Nintendo Wire for delivery, so it was a rather big surprise when she did notice it. Below is her reaction:
If the name sounds familiar, it’s possibly because you’ve seen the work of GandaKris here on Nintendo Life in the past. She was recently responsible for those replica Super Smash Bros. Ultimate invitations and a while ago when the social media sensation Bowsette was trending, she created a custom-made amiibo.
This is another example of just how much Reggie adored the Nintendo community. For anyone who missed his retirement clip, here it is below:
Share your memories of the Regginator in the comments below.
Ah, Saturday. Quite possibly the best day of the week; certainly in the top five. It’s been a busy week despite the post-Direct lull. News that Reggie Fils-Aimé will be stepping down in April had us rewatching classic clips with a tear in the eye. Enough of that nonsense, though. Reggie wouldn’t want us moping around – he’d want us playing the very best games that Switch and 3DS have to offer, so that’s what the Nintendo Life team are going to do! These are our game-based plans and we’d love to hear yours, so get involved in the poll and comments. Have fun!
Austin Voigt, contributing writer
This weekend, after Reggie’s announcement, I’m honestly just looking for comfort and warmth in a world of utter darkness. I think I’ll stick to my favorites – finishing off the DLC in Breath of the Wild, unlocking some new characters in Smash Ultimate, playing a few rounds in Splatoon 2. I’ll probably pick up the old 3DS as well, and knock back some Animal Crossing & Pokémon. I’m feeling sad, people, so all I wanna do is play games that I know and love. I’ll also be rewatching “best of” clips of Reggie on repeat via the YouTube app on Switch – does that count?
Gavin Lane, staff writer
It’s been a busy week and I’ve only managed to squeeze in thirty minutes with the latest Tetris game to arrive on Switch. Those thirty minutes were enough to confirm two things: firstly, I’m absolutely rubbish at Tetris, and secondly, I need to be careful that Tetris 99 doesn’t suck away all my weekend hours.
Assuming I can avoid that particular pitfall, I’d really like to get into Ikaruga. I got the game, I got the Flip Grip but I just haven’t had the chance to play the thing, much to the chagrin of my fellow Nintendo Life staff. I’m on the case, team! Let’s just hope I’m better at shmups than Tetris…
Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer
There is so much shooting to be done this weekend courtesy of the eShop! The excellent Rock n’ Roll Racing spiritual sequel BlazeRush, the solid Cybernator-inspired mech action of Gigantic Army, becoming the aliens in X-Morph: Defense and even WW2 dogfighting and air base management in Warplanes: WW2 Dogfight. But the most shooting of all will be done in Gameloft’s surprisingly impressive Modern Combat Blackout, proof that you don’t really miss Call of Duty until Activision simply stops releasing it in your Nintendo console of choice and every other FPS out there is now some sort of F2P Battle Royale thingamajig.
Game of the week goes with little surprise to Protoculture Game’s appropriately titled horizontal shmup Devil Engine! A love letter to retro shmups where you will have as much fun testing your skills to a non-stop barrage of action while also picking up Easter eggs references to other shmups such as Thunder Force IV and Last Resort. Time to pick up a 5th microSD card I guess…
Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer
This weekend I’m going to be playing a LOT of Anthem. However, when I’m not flying about shooting grabbits in my javelin, I’ll be taking Trials Rising on Nintendo Switch for a spin. I’ve loved the series since it debuted way back on Xbox 360, so I’m hoping this port will live up to the hype. I imagine I’ll be swearing my head off when a mistime a jump for 100th time, but that’s Trials! Look out for my review on the site next week.
Liam Doolan, news reporter
This weekend I’m playing more Tetris 99, more Wargroove and more Hollow Knight. I’ve also managed to finally rip myself away from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to spend some well overdue time with Dragon Ball FighterZ. It’s another one of those games I bought in launch week and never got around to properly playing due to the busy time of year. When I’m not playing any of these titles, I might give the Trials Rising beta another go. I’ll admit the Switch version definitely isn’t the best-looking one, but it hasn’t been enough to detract from the overall level of fun I’ve had with the game so far.
What games are you playing this weekend? (311 votes)
Since Nintendo revealed the trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on Switch, there have been a number of videos uploaded to the internet comparing this remake to its original Game Boy counterpart.
If you haven’t already watched enough of these, here’s one more. It’s about as close as we’ll get to an official comparison video for now, as it’s done by Kit and Krysta from Nintendo Minute. For most parts, the eight-minute clip focuses on the earlier stages of the Game Boy Color version, while pointing out the similarities it shares with the upcoming Switch release. See for yourself in the video above.
Are you excited about this remake? Do you think it will be as enjoyable as the Game Boy outings? Tell us in the comments.
As previously revealed, volume one will arrive next week on 28th February. It includes the new playable character Shinobu Jacobs, who is played by Kimberly Brooks, and also the new Badman Strikes Back Adventure.
The second DLC pack, Bubblegum Fatale, is set to follow this and will be released on 30th April. It includes the new playable character Bad Girl, an additional stage and another new adventure.
As we’ve already mentioned, the Season Pass is available for $9.99 / £8.99 / €9.99 – although this is included in physical copies of the game and some digital bundles.
Did you buy this game in the end? Has this DLC got your attention? Tell us below.
