Okay, now we’re straying into familiar territory. With tonight’s Nintendo Direct getting everyone’s pulse racing, it seems the old rumour about a Star Fox racing game from Retro Studios is doing the rounds once more.
According to a post from GameFAQs user Vergeben, the long-rumoured Star Fox: Grand Prix will finally be revealed this evening. He’s got form with Smash Bros. character information and his original claims for the barrel-rolling racer were backed up by other websites; we, too, heard things on the grapevine.
From Vergeben’s post:
From what I hear you won’t be waiting too long for it to release as I am hearing spring & there is even a beta scheduled to happen soon after its announcement tomorrow.
That last line sounds interesting – Nintendo is hardly famous for its pre-release betas, although the Splatoon 2 Testfires and Global Testpunches for ARMS arguably set precedent, especially if the company is looking to push a theoretical online component. With Retro now taking on Metroid Prime 4development duties, perhaps the company was simply too busy with this until just recently.
Do you think this holds any water? With the rumour mill in full swing, can tonight’s Direct possibly please everyone? Let us know in the comments.
Japanese chart figures are now in for 4th – 10th February, revealing that New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe has reclaimed the top spot.
Mario and friends managed to shift another 38,482 units at retail this week, outselling last week’s number one Kingdom Hearts III which came in just behind with 35,450 sales.
There are no new Nintendo releases to speak of in the top 20 this week, although all the usual heavy-hitters are still enjoying the limelight in and around the top.
Here are the top 20 (first numbers are this week’s sales, followed by total sales in brackets):
[NSW] New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe (Nintendo, 01/11/19) – 38,482 (397,231)
Switch is still the best-selling console by a comfortable margin, leading the hardware charts with 61,280 units sold last week. Here are this week’s figures, with last week’s in brackets:
For those of you eyeballing the Old West action on other consoles with jealousy, there’s a 2D stranger just waltzed into town.
Colt Canyon is a retro-flavoured roguelike where you take control of various gunmen and bring justice to the West, pixel-by-pixel. Headup Games has released details describing a handcrafted world with otherwise randomised elements that will change with every permadeath. You’ll encounter bossfights and unlock playable characters as well as upgrade weapons and ammo to help as you make progress in each run.
The game’s webpage has some more info:
Loot. Shoot. Dodge. Reload. Take your revolver and rescue your kidnapped partner in this atmospheric and punchy roguelite game.
Colt Canyon is a 2D pixel art shooter where you control a cowboy, or one of the many other unlockable characters, whose mission is to save his kidnapped partner from the ruthless bandits. Take your gun and TNT and shoot your way through a hostile canyon full of hidden treasures, weapons, obstacles and all kinds of bloodthirsty scum. Maybe you can save more people than just your partner. But watch out. Once you got your partner your job is not done. You’ll also have to get back home…
Also mentioned are AI companions and two-player local co-op. While the beige screenshots don’t do the game any favours up close, seeing those pixels in motion with a dash of Ennio Morricone-esque music makes this one to keep an eye on.
Does the look of this make you want to hit the trail? Tired of the pixel art aesthetic and think the industry should move on to the polygonal look of the 32/64-bit era? Let us know in the commments below.
Super Mario Maker 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening coming in 2019
In a new Nintendo Direct video presentation, Nintendo announced that Super Mario Maker 2, a sequel to the groundbreaking original game, and a stylish re-imagining of The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening are both launching this year for the Nintendo Switch™ system. The video also revealed ASTRAL CHAIN, a new action game from PlatinumGames exclusive to Nintendo Switch.
Plus, starting today, Nintendo Switch owners will have access to surprise launches like the online 99-player puzzle-fest Tetris®99and classic SQUARE ENIX role-playing game FINAL FANTASY IX, as well as new co-op DLC for Captain Toad™: Treasure Tracker and free demos for upcoming anticipated games.
“Every game covered in this Nintendo Direct is slated for launch for Nintendo Switch this year,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “Whether you’re looking for new games in classic franchises, new content for existing hits or completely new experiences, Nintendo Switch has something for everyone over the next several months alone.”
Super Mario Maker™ 2: In this new game, players can create the Super Mario courses of their dreams, with access to even more tools, items and features. Super Mario Maker 2 launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch this June.
The Legend of Zelda™: Link’s Awakening: Originally released for the Game Boy™ system more than 25 years ago, one of the most beloved games in the Legend of Zelda series returns. In this modern re-imagining, players travel to the mysterious island of Koholint to guide Link on a perilous adventure. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening arrives exclusively on Nintendo Switch in 2019.
ASTRAL CHAIN:ASTRAL CHAIN is a new action game from PlatinumGames, directed by Takahisa Taura, known for his work as the game designer on NieR:Automata, and supervised by Hideki Kamiya, creator of the Bayonetta™ series. As part of a police special forces unit in a multicultural futuristic city, players work together with a special living weapon, the Legion, in a synergetic action system of battle and exploration. More details about this Nintendo Switch exclusive will be revealed in the future. ASTRAL CHAIN launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch on Aug. 30.
Fire Emblem™: Three Houses: The Black Eagles. The Blue Lions. The Golden Deer. Three noble houses that are part of the Officer’s Academy, an elite facility that trains students in the ways of weapons, magic and special skills. As a professor, the player must choose one of these houses to lead its students in grid-based battles with life-or-death stakes. Each house is comprised of many different students to meet and train, each with her or his own personality and skills. These students can interact with each other at the academy, strengthening their bonds and supporting each other on the battlefield. The Fire Emblem: Three Houses standalone game and theFire Emblem: Three Houses – Seasons of Warfare Edition both launch exclusively for Nintendo Switch on July 26.
BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL!™: Welcome back, BOXBOY! The fan-favorite puzzle series is back for the first time on Nintendo Switch with a brand-new game! In addition to 270 new levels, two players can work as a team to solve puzzles in a new co-op mode. As a bonus, players who complete the game can access a new adventure starring Qudy. BOXBOY! + BOXGIRL! unboxes itself on Nintendo eShop on April 26.
Tetris® 99: The iconic puzzle game Tetris®; arrives, but with an online experience like no other. In this next entry in the storied puzzle franchise, 99 players compete together until only one is left standing. Nintendo Switch Online members (membership sold separately) can battle for dominance in this free-to-download software. The Nintendo Switch exclusive will be available to download starting today, and players can look forward to battling it out in upcoming online events.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night: The side-scrolling action of yore rises once again in Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night. Play as Miriam, host of the Alchemist’s Curse, as she steals the abilities of enemies, bends gravity to her will and darts around the game’s elaborate castle at lightning speed. Here, the laws of reality – and 2D side-scrollers – don’t apply. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night emerges from the shadows this summer for Nintendo Switch.
Mortal Kombat 11: New and classic characters return for more over-the-top fighting action in Mortal Kombat 11, launching for Nintendo Switch on April 23.
Yoshi’s Crafted World™: Before Yoshi’s Crafted World launches on March 29, Nintendo Switch owners can head to Nintendo eShop to download a free demo for the artfully handcrafted game starting today! In the Yoshi’s Crafted World game, players can explore the Front and Flip-Side of stages while rafting, racing solar cars, tearing through the sky on a plane and experiencing many other wild and surprising gameplay sequences. Using coins collected through the varied and secret-filled levels, players can unlock 180 different crafted costumes that Yoshi can wear.
Captain Toad™: Treasure Tracker Update and Special Episode DLC: Guess who is still ready for adventure? After downloading a free Nintendo Switch version update for the Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker game that is available starting today, all courses in the game will support a new two-player co-op mode featuring a second Toad to explore simultaneously with a friend. And on March 14, new paid DLC arrives that adds 18 new challenges to the game, including five new courses and new Shiny Crowns, which can be obtained in each course. New players can get the Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker game together with the updates and all the new Special Episode content in a digital bundle available for purchase on Nintendo eShop beginning Feb. 13. Players who purchase the bundle or the Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Special Episode DLC will receive early access to one of the courses in Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Special Episode, with the remainder of the courses launching on March 14.
Super Smash Bros.™ Ultimate Update: The fastest-selling console-exclusive game in Nintendo history is about to spring forward with a free Ver. 3.0 update coming to the game this spring. Before the end of April, Joker from Persona 5 will be available as a playable fighter. Announced in December, Joker is the first Fighters Pass DLC fighter to join the game’s expansive cast. Players who want to get access to five upcoming DLC fighters plus additional stages and music can purchase the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters Pass by visiting https://smashbros.nintendo.com/buy/dlc/. Additional details about the 3.0 update and upcoming Fighters Pass content will be revealed in the future. Also, be on the lookout for new amiibo in 2019 like Snake, Simon, Squirtle, Pokémon Trainer and Ivysaur.
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice: Winner of multiple awards, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice is coming to Nintendo Switch. Created in collaboration with neuroscientists and those with lived experience of psychosis, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice pulls players deep into the mind of a Celtic warrior on a haunting vision quest to fight for the soul of her dead lover. Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice launches for Nintendo Switch this spring.
DAEMON X MACHINA: Starting today, mech pilots in the making can get a free demo for DAEMON X MACHINA called “Prototype Missions,” available for a limited time to download from Nintendo eShop or Nintendo.com. In the demo, players can battle through four different missions while testing out the game’s controls and mech customization. After playing, select players will receive an email containing a link to an online survey where they can provide feedback about the game to Director Kenichiro Tsukuda and the development team. Currently in development, DAEMON X MACHINA is scheduled to launch for Nintendo Switch this summer.
MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order: For the first time in 10 years, the MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE series returns with four-player action and an original story … all exclusive to Nintendo Switch! Assemble your dream team from a huge cast of Super Heroes, including Marvel’s ultimate cosmic protector, Captain Marvel. Players can save the world together with up to four players** in TV mode, with four separate systems locally or online. A dynamic zoomed-in Heroic Camera will give players the option to get closer to the action. As characters level up, they’ll learn new skills they can use on the fly, and also perform powerful Alliance Extreme attacks. MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE 3: The Black Order launches for Nintendo Switch this summer.
Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition: Ready for a grand adventure filled with memorable characters, an enchanting story and classic RPG gameplay that can be taken on the go? This enhanced version of the critically acclaimed game features the same sprawling content of the original, but with newly added character-specific stories, the option for increased battle speed, fully orchestrated field and battle music, and the ability to switch between HD and retro-inspired 16-bit visuals. Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition launches for Nintendo Switch this fall.
DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2: Combining both RPG and crafting gameplay together, players gather materials to create things like weapons, buildings and even entire towns. With the help of the mysterious Malroth and other villagers, players will explore large islands, find quests and battle monsters and bosses scattered around the world. Those who own the original DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS on their Nintendo Switch system can craft the Legendary Builder’s outfit and the Dragonlord’s Throne. DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS 2 launches for Nintendo Switch on July 12.
ONINAKI: To uphold the tenets of reincarnation, players must travel between the Living World and the Beyond to rescue lost souls from the terrible fate of becoming monsters. In battle, the souls you rescue manifest within you, granting you strength and new abilities. ONINAKI launches for Nintendo Switch this summer.
New Star Fox Missions in Starlink: Battle for Atlas:The Starlink: Battle for Atlas digital update coming in April will add new Star Fox missions to the Nintendo Switch version of the game. Play as Peppy, Falco and Slippy to help aid the fight to down Star Wolf’s lieutenants, Andrew, Pigma and Leon, in a series of challenging missions. Additional content released as part of the update includes new starship races, faction missions and more. The spring update of Starlink: Battle for Atlas launches this April on Nintendo Switch.
Disney TSUM TSUM FESTIVAL: Disney’s adorable Tsum Tsum are coming to Nintendo Switch in a new game! In Disney TSUM TSUM FESTIVAL, players connect matching Tsum Tsum to clear them and set a high score. Up to four players can compete against each other in local or online modes. Disney TSUM TSUM FESTIVAL launches exclusively for Nintendo Switch in 2019.
Rune Factory 4 Special and Rune Factory 5: Classic RPG Rune Factory 4 is being remastered for Nintendo Switch. Interact with townsfolk, grow vegetables and fruit on the farm, catch fish, raise monsters and wield weapons and spells in this new version of the game. Rune Factory 4 Special will be ripe for playing on Nintendo Switch later this year, with the newly announced Rune Factory 5 coming at a later date.
DELTARUNE: The next game from the creator of Undertale is coming to Nintendo Switch. Download DELTARUNE Chapter 1 for free on Nintendo eShop beginning Feb. 28.
FINAL FANTASY VII: Return to Midgar in one of the most iconic RPGs of all time, when FINAL FANTASY VII finds a new home on Nintendo Switch on March 26.
FINAL FANTASY IX: First-time players have the chance to fall in love with Vivi like the rest of the world when the beloved RPG FINAL FANTASY IX comes to Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch later today.
Dead by Daylight: Dead by Daylight is an asymmetrical multiplayer horror game where one player takes on the role of the savage Killer, and the other four players play as Survivors, trying to escape and avoid being caught and killed. The Nintendo Switch version features loads of maps, characters and cosmetics, and a deep progression system to try out. Dead by Daylight creeps onto Nintendo Switch this fall.
Assassin’s Creed III Remastered: For the first time on Nintendo Switch, experience Assassin’s Creed III with revamped gameplay and features tailored to the system like motion aiming and touch input. In addition to all the original game’s DLC, the standalone game Assassin’s Creed Liberation Remastered will also be included when Assassin’s Creed III Remastered launches for Nintendo Switch on May 21.
Unravel Two: Take control of two adorable characters made out of yarn and solve challenges in Unravel Two. Play as both characters in single-player or team up with a friend in local co-op. Unravel Two launches for Nintendo Switch on March 22.
GRID Autosport: GRID Autosport comes to Nintendo Switch fully loaded with a mix of high-speed thrills, realistic handling and a difficulty level that scales to players’ skills. Players will feel like pro racers as they master the world’s fastest cars to win motorsport’s most exhilarating races, from the prestigious Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps to the narrow city streets of Barcelona. All DLC is included in this version of the game, with 100 cars, 100 circuits and some welcome additions like tilt controls and custom controls. GRID Autosport launches for Nintendo Switch this summer.
Remember that Nintendo Switch features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about other features, visit https://www.nintendo.com/switch/.
*Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) and Nintendo Account required for online play. Not available in all countries. Internet access required for online features. Terms apply. nintendo.com/switch-online
**Additional accessories required for multiplayer mode; sold separately.
Remember OlliOlli? Its addictive 2D take on the trick-combo formula that fuelled the Tony Hawk franchise for a good fifteen years launched on PS Vita back in 2014 and then got ported to pretty much everything else, including Wii U and 3DS. For a game so suited to portable play sessions, it’s taken a remarkably long time to come to your favourite ‘homeheld’ console, but here it is, and the belated arrival feels like a handheld homecoming. Fortunately, the wait has been worth it; OlliOlli is just as satisfying – and infuriating – now as it was five years ago.
If this is your first encounter with Roll7’s indie title, OlliOlli: Switch Stance combines both the original game and its 2015 sequel, OlliOlli 2: Welcome to Olliwood, in one gnarly package. For the uninitiated, it’s a side-on, auto-scrolling skater that relies on twitch movements to negotiate short but tricky courses filled with grind rails and obstacles. Every time you come a cropper you restart the course, although hitting ‘X’ restarts immediately if you’re not satisfied with your performance.
Pulling and releasing the left analogue stick launches you into the air, and rotating the stick in different directions (as you might in a beat-‘em-up) enables you to pull off a wide variety of tricks, the names of which will be familiar if you’ve ever dabbled in the skating genre – plenty of ollies, nollies, kickflips and the like. Grinding is achieved by holding the left stick in any direction when you’re above a railing or other grindable surface. Perfect timing gives you a minor speed boost – you’ll otherwise have to tap ‘B’ on the ground to gain momentum.
Tony Hawk casts a long, lanky shadow over the skateboarding genre and OlliOlli is obviously indebted to the series which bears his name, but its trick system also reminds us of 1080° Snowboarding. You tap ‘B’ to ‘flex’ your knees on landing, which took us back twenty years when we were trying to land spins by hitting ‘Z’ at just the right moment on the slopes with Dion Blaster (work your body, wo-work your body). Similarly, it takes a while to learn but proves to be a fluid, satisfying system once you nail the basics. It takes longer to master the spins on ‘L’ and ‘R’, but each one adds a 1x multiplier to your trick score, so it’s worth incorporating them into your repertoire. All the moves are catalogued in the Tricktionary, accessible at any time should you need to consult specific inputs to fulfil objectives or challenges.
Both games feature five worlds, each with ten courses (five amateur, five pro). Completing challenges unlocks the harder difficulties – these can be as simple as collecting tokens and making it to the end or performing specific tricks and getting perfect launches off ramps. Fortunately, you needn’t conquer them all in one go – they remain unlocked once you’ve met the requirements, even if you wipe out.
And you’ll wipe out often; there’s very little middle ground between a perfect run and total failure. Be prepared to stick with it through the initial learning curve if you want to get your money’s worth. Learning the courses takes time, and while you may be able to wing it through earlier levels, the later ones require careful memorisation and planning.
As you complete levels, ‘Spots’ open up – essentially a high score mode limiting you to a single trick combo per stage (you’ll halt the moment you land). Both games also feature the Daily Grind, a one-time opportunity to post a single score to online leaderboards every day.
While the base experience is very similar in both games, the sequel adds a Hollywood film set spin to the worlds you travel through, ditching the pixel aesthetic in favour of a cleaner, simpler style that works well on screens big or small. Personal preference will dictate which you gravitate towards – we preferred the cleanliness and visual variety of Welcome to Olliwood. Given the choice, we’d prefer to grind on steam trains and oil wells in the Old West or kickflip through a zombie-infested amusement park.
The sequel also throws new tricks into the bargain, with manuals (performed by tapping left or right while landing with ‘B’) enabling you to string combos together over flat ground, just as you did back in the day in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2/3/4. The original game feels decidedly calmer after you’ve sampled the hectic trick-chaining of the follow-up. The sequel also includes Skate Park, an area to practice specific moves, and Combo-Rush, a local split-screen multiplayer mode that came as a free update for the original release. You can tailor the competition to be either a straight race or score-based, then crack out the Joy-Con and challenge up to three friends. It’s mildly diverting on a TV, but the likelihood that you’ll have three mates proficient enough to make the contest interesting is slim. The screen is split in four even if there’s only two of you, so your screen is minuscule in tabletop mode – it’d be tough to get a tournament going at your rooftop rave, in the park or under the flyover – all those spots where Nintendo reckons the cool kids hang out.
Oddly, you can’t switch between games without quitting to the Switch’s menu – no biggie, but a tad irritating. The touchscreen isn’t used in any capacity, but HD rumble gives some satisfying feedback. Beyond the difficulty, the most off-putting thing about OlliOlli is arguably the smooth chillout that plays in the background. It grows on you, but it’s undeniably repetitive. Maybe we’re simply dinosaurs who associate skating with VHS tapes of hilarious, eye-watering fails, but OlliOlli’s ambient acid jazz didn’t really gel with our constant faceplants. New tracks unlock as you progress and you can skip them by tapping the right stick at any time, but we’d rather fire up a podcast or, better yet, find a Tony Hawk playlist on Spotify (or your streaming platform of choice). We’ve always found digital skating goes down awfully well with a spot of Goldfinger or The Offspring (google it, kids).
Conclusion
OlliOlli is one of those games you really have to live with; perseverance pays dividends, but so does taking a break and coming back in the morning to find muscle memory kicking in. Before you know it you’ll be grinding elegantly and racking up impressive points, but you need to stick with it. With the skateboarding genre largely on hiatus, this is an easy recommendation to newcomers with the patience to master it. This version doesn’t bring anything new to the table if you’ve played it before, but it’s a fine game in fine form on Switch.
Several members of the development team behind Sonic Mania have banded together to form their very own game development studio, Evening Star.
The studio has its headquarters based in Los Angeles, with others working across Melbourne and London. It describes itself as a “boutique” studio, with each team member pursuing “a goal to make their own great games”. It’s new website states that “by encouraging strong technical foundations in every discipline, members are given a voice and latitude to impact games in unique ways. By reinvigorating gaming history’s more cunning techniques, the team boldly explores directions long since left behind”.
Joining Christian Whitehead, perhaps the best-known member of the Sonic Mania development team, is CEO and producer Dave Padilla, art director Tom Fry, technical and audio director Hunter Bridges, and design director Brad Flick. Each of these founding members previously worked on Sonic Mania Plus before quietly starting this new adventure in November 2018.
Evening Star says its mission is “designing fresh, fun games which will stand the test of time”. To do this, the core technology and architecture behind Whitehead’s Retro Engine (the tech used to build Sonic Mania) is being reborn as the Star Engine, which will go on to form the basis of the studio’s new games. It just so happens that the team is hiring, too.
Are you expecting big things from the studio? What sort of games would you like to see from the creators of Sonic Mania? Share your desires in the comments.
Nintendo’s announcement that Metroid Prime 4 was effectively being taken back to the drawing board wasn’t exactly the January surprise fans were hoping for; the sizeable delay to this much-anticipated sequel was an understandable downer for fans.
Despite disappointment, the video update was met with general acceptance and understanding from most corners of the internet; after a couple of missteps in recent years, more time in the oven is fine if it results in the sequel we’ve been dreaming about since 2007’s Metroid Prime 3: Corruption, the last ‘proper’ entry in the Prime series. We’ve waited this long – what’s another couple of years between friends?
However, reading between the lines, the video communicates a lot more than a mere apology and perhaps points towards a renewed investment in a franchise that hasn’t had the best support of late.
Please Understand That We Hear You
More than simply demonstrating contrition and honourably owning the mistake, the video was also a calculated move to show publicly just how seriously Nintendo regards the franchise and its fans – to prove that the platform holder is aware and cares about Metroid. It’s a curious and arguably necessary move after the much-derided Metroid Prime: Federation Force caused the franchise faithful to wonder who on earth was calling the shots.
Nintendo inexplicably chose to reveal Next Level’s spin on multiplayer shooter Metroid Prime: Hunters at the revived Nintendo World Championships in the guise of side-game Metroid: Blast Ball. Divorced from the brand, it might have been a mildly diverting, inoffensive little game, but Samus fans were hungry. Federation Force? Perhaps it’s some kind ofHalo ODST-style spinoff! we thought. No – what we saw was a bunch of chibi-looking bounty hunters running around mini Rocket League-style arenas playing 3v3 first-person ‘football’. If that weren’t enough, the fact it was on 3DS was a red rag to an already-peeved bull.
Who knows? Perhaps it was a misguided attempt to woo Japanese gamers to a series they’ve historically been lukewarm on, but regardless of intent, the whole debacle was a spectacular misjudgement that suggested Nintendo had lost its way and completely forgotten what made the franchise special for millions of gamers. The fact that there hasn’t been a solely in-house developed instalment since R&D1’s Metroid: Zero Mission on the GBA in 2004 only reinforces that argument.
Please Understand That We’re Sorry
Fortunately, Metroid: Samus Returns – the fabulous remake of the Game Boy’s Metroid II – felt like a make-good for a fanbase desperate for a ‘proper’ instalment ever since Team Ninja’s divisive Metroid: Other M in 2010. It was an effective apology, only dampened by its release on the ageing 3DS rather than Switch. With Switch going a long way to winning back the hearts of the ‘hardcore’ after the waggle of the Wii era, some would argue that Prime 4’s existence indicates a change of attitude towards the franchise.
Although it had been on many a fan’s E3 bingo card for years, that logo’s sudden appearance in 2017 was an uncharacteristically predictable move for a company which prides itself on novelty. That reveal proved once again that you can never quite guess what you’re going to get from Nintendo; Smash fans crowed for years about King K. Rool, but did we ever really expect him to join the line-up? Why the sudden change of heart?
Please Understand The Numbers
Although Metroid’s popularity seems evident – it’s arguably part of that holy trinity alongside Mario and Zelda in the hearts and minds of western gamers – the sales reality makes for sobering reading. On paper, it simply isn’t the tentpole franchise fans perceive it to be, especially in Japan. Metroid Prime, for example, might have done well in the west, but back in Nintendo’s homeland it sold just shy of 40,000 copies in its opening week and managed around double that in lifetime sales. Despite faring much better in the US, sales still aren’t up there with Mario or Zelda. It’s also worth remembering that even the weighty Game-Of-The-Year entries in those franchises haven’t historically been Nintendo’s biggest sellers either – the big 3D Mario and Zelda titles do just fine, but are dwarfed in relative sales terms by the likes of Mario Kart, Wii Sports and New Super Mario Bros..
While (in pure sales terms) Metroid is a rung below Zelda and Mario, sales figures of the Switch instalments of those top-tier franchises show that perhaps that trend is changing. According to Nintendo’s financial reports, Breath of the Wild is the fourth best-selling game on the system with 11.68 million units sold (as of 31st December 2018, including bundles and digital downloads). Super Mario Odyssey’s 13.76 million sales put it in second place, with only Mario Kart 8 Deluxe selling more (15.02 million). Granted, we’ve yet to see life-to-date sales of New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe which got off to a very healthy start, but these numbers are encouraging for fans of huge, expansive 3D games. If Switch really is the happy medium between the casual and the core audiences, perhaps Nintendo believes a strong Metroid entry could bridge the disconnect between fan perception and business reality.
Please Understand The Competition
Whether Prime 4 signals a new-found belief in the series or is simply pandering to the hardcore crowd recaptured by Switch doesn’t really make much difference; the result is still a new ‘proper’ Metroid. While some might have hoped for a 2D entry in the vein of Super Metroid, it’s no wonder that Nintendo would return to the 3D branch – the grammar Nintendo arguably invented has now been learnt and mastered by countless others. You can’t move on the eShop without tripping over quality Metroidvanias, and with so many fabulous alternatives, what fresh spin could Nintendo offer?
Of course, the company has a very good track record when it comes to reinventing the wheel, often managing to exceed expectations in the most unlikely circumstances. Its batting average for bringing back series and updating them in new and interesting ways is impressive; you can point to the obvious instances of bringing Mario and Zelda into the third dimension back on N64, but there are plenty of examples of eyebrow-raising propositions turning out very well indeed. A Link Between Worlds was an incredible return to a beloved childhood world – the moment you began playing, all the tension and worry melted away and you were transported back in time, as if there was never any doubt.
Please Understand We’re Only Human
That’s not to say Nintendo doesn’t stumble, though. Even its brightest stars lose their shine occasionally, with the highest expectations magnifying flaws in games like Mario Sunshine or Skyward Sword. We’d argue that Star Fox has received the patchiest treatment over its quarter century, with dev team after dev team struggling to recapture the magic of Star Fox 64.
Metroid fans have had a far better run of things. Many bemoaned Nintendo’s original choice of partners for Prime 4, Bandai Namco, especially after the previous collaboration with Team Ninja underperformed, and giving the keys to the franchise back to Austin-based Retro Studios – the second-party developer that moved the series into the third dimension – is a sign to many fans that Nintendo have finally regained their senses after having Retro monkeying around with Donkey Kong for so long. It’s easy to surmise that perhaps some residual bias from upper management in Japan – coupled with their experience of Prime’s long and troubled overseas development – played a part in the original decision to keep development in the east.
Please Understand We’re On It
With a clean slate to work from, Retro’s good form updating the much-loved Donkey Kong Country series with Donkey Kong Country Returns and Tropical Freezeshould be heartening to gamers. Although many of the original Prime team have since moved on, it’ll be a matter of personal pride for the studio that the third sequel lives up to fans’ expectations, although it won’t see the light of day for a good while yet.
Assuming Retro are starting more-or-less from scratch, the realities of modern development cycles means that, like Breath of the Wild – which, lest we forget, was a Wii U title to begin with – we may even see the Switch’s successor before this game releases. We’re not suggesting it’ll launch exclusively on a new system, but it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that it could ‘pull a Breath of the Wild’ and bridge the generations.
Please Look Forward To Further Announcements
And in the meantime? Well, Nintendo has some gems in the vault to placate the Metroid faithful and also familiarise newcomers with the franchise. The original NES game is available to all Switch Online subscribers, and if rumours of a coming SNES library are true, the classic Super Metroid will be joining it before too long. A port of MercurySteam’s Metroid: Samus Returns would make eminent sense to build further anticipation, and a Switch edition of Metroid Prime Trilogy would surely be a port that nobody would argue with.
So it seems that despite a gloomy start to 2019, the future hasn’t been this bright for Metroid fans for a decade or more. We can all raise an arm cannon to that.
Minesweeper Genius is making its explosive debut on consoles today, blasting down the Switch eShop with the classic gameplay you’d expect from any Minesweeper-inspired release.
A modern take on the classic game of logic, Minesweeper Genius has players sweeping their way through more than 130 levels, 55 of which are “extra-difficult” stages for any Minesweeper experts lurking around. As you can see, though, this isn’t your usual game of Minesweeper; instead, you’ll be moving an alien-cloned Aristotle around the grid (we’re not sure why, either), planting flags and using special tiles to work your way around each level.
Once you’ve managed to beat all of the game’s levels, you can then go on to create your very own with a console-exclusive Custom Level mode. You can see it in action in the trailer above; with a mixture of procedurally-generated wizardry and your customised settings options, you can create pretty much any type of level you like.
As noted above, the game launches today on Nintendo Switch. You can pick it up for yourself for $5.99 / £4.99 / € 5.99 / 7.99 AUD.
How many hours have you put into Minesweeper over the years? Will you be picking this up for your daily commute? Tell us below.
If there’s one thing we’ve been clamouring for over the last few years (“we” meaning “at least one of us”), it’s a direct sequel to Pokémon Snap. The 3DS seemed like a perfect opportunity with its camera functionality, but nothing, and the Wii U’s GamePad seemed even more suited as you’d be able to line it up with the TV, but nope. We’d argue that it’d be just as great on Switch, or even as a mobile game, but it just isn’t happening, is it?
Well, Niantic is now offering the next best thing with its world-dominating Pokémon GO. A new feature called GO Snapshot is on the way to the game, giving players a much more robust photo system using the game’s AR+ feature. Billed as an easy way to take photos of any of your Pokémon, the new option will become available when looking at a Pokémon or when accessing the camera in your bag.
An update from Niantic’s official blog sheds more light on exactly how the feature will work:
“It’s simple to use. Select a Pokémon and tap on the screen to throw its Poké Ball to that spot. Once your Pokémon is situated in the ideal spot, you can then move around it to find the best angle for your photo. Is your Pokémon distracted or looking the wrong way? Brush across it to get its attention, and it will be sure to face you.
Take as many photos as you like during your session. Once you’re finished, all photos are saved to your device automatically! It’s also easier than ever to share your favorite photo via social media. Just select the linked social channel you want to share with, and you can show your friends your masterpiece with a couple of quick taps.”
It does sound like a nice little extra for fans of the game and it could be a great way to get creative, finding clever ways to show off your collection.
Will you be using the feature? Would you be up for a Pokémon Snap feature, too? Please tell us we’re not alone in the comments.
JRPG Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland is seeing the light of day on Tuesday 21st May according to Koei Tecmo. A sequel to the PS3 Arland trilogy – available individually or in a Deluxe Pack on Switch – sees you controlling a young woman named Elmerulia Lulua Fryxel, an apprentice alchemist.
The official announcement offers more details:
Lulua studies diligently to fulfill her dream of becoming a great alchemist just like her mother, Rorolina Frixell; but during her training Lulua discovers a mysterious Codex, awakening an ancient power within her that enables Lulua to decrypt but a single page with many more riddles for her to unravel. Players will be tasked with performing actions focused around the core Atelier series gameplay Gathering, Battle, and Synthesis to allow them to decipher more of the text, as well as learn exciting new types of alchemy.
There are a few sparse details on Koei Tecmo America’s website along with the pretty pictures we’ve reproduced here. No word on pricing yet, though.
Are you a fan of the series? Does this trailer get you in the mood to return to that world? Share your impressions below.
