Category: Nintendo News

Nintendo News

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Nintendo And Panasonic Filed Patent Applications For Two ‘Quality Of Life’ Devices In February

In June this year, there were suggestions Nintendo’s ‘Quality of Life’ initiative was dead. At the time, it was linked to a dramatic fall in the company’s share price. Hardware partner Panasonic had also reportedly withdrawn itself from the project in March. The last official acknowledgment was when Nintendo’s Annual Report for 2017 revealed a ‘QoL’ project was still underway.

The latest update is in the form of two patent applications, filed by Nintendo and Panasonic earlier this year in February at the US patent and trademark office. The applications were for two quality of life lighting devices focused on relaxation, rest and sleep. It is noted the first device saw a non-final rejection in June this year. As always, there’s absolutely no certainty surrounding patent applications.

Below are the details including the abstract and excerpt for each:

  • Appl. No. 15/904,326, LIGHT EMISSION CONTROL DEVICE, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND CONTROL METHOD
  • Appl. No. 15/904321, LIGHTING APPARATUS, LUMINAIRE, AND ELECTRONIC APPARATUS

The device:

Abstract
A light emission control device includes a light emission controller which controls a light emitter and performs normal control and wake-up control, the normal control being control for causing the light emitter to emit light having a color temperature and luminance according to an instruction of a user, the wake-up control being control for causing the light emitter to emit light at increasing luminance over time to wake up the user who is sleeping. The maximum luminance of light emitted by the light emitter in the wake-up control is greater than the maximum luminance of light emitted by the light emitter in the normal control.

Claims (excerpt)

1. A light emission control device comprising: a light emission controller which controls a light emitter and performs normal control and wake-up control, the normal control being control for causing the light emitter to emit light having a color temperature and luminance according to an instruction of a user, the wake-up control being control for causing the light emitter to emit light at increasing luminance over time to wake up the user who is sleeping, wherein maximum luminance of light emitted by the light emitter in the wake-up control is greater than maximum luminance of light emitted by the light emitter in the normal control.

The apparatus:

Abstract
A lighting apparatus includes: an illuminator including a light source which emits illumination light; a lighting controller which controls the illuminator; and a receiver which receives, from a control apparatus, a control command signal generated based on at least one of user information and environmental information in order to control the illumination light of the illuminator, wherein the control command signal received by the receiver includes one or more parameters including, as an element, at least one of a brightness of the illumination light of the illuminator, a color temperature of the illumination light of the illuminator, and control time for controlling the illumination light of the illuminator.

Claims (excerpt)

1. A lighting apparatus, comprising: an illuminator including a light source which emits illumination light; a lighting controller which controls the illuminator; and a receiver which receives, from another apparatus, a control command signal generated based on at least one of user information and environmental information in order to control the illumination light, wherein the control command signal includes one or more parameters including, as an element, at least one of a brightness of the illumination light, a color temperature of the illumination light, and control time for controlling the illumination light.

What do you make of this? Would you like to see Nintendo’s quality of life project eventually released? Or do you think its days are numbered? Tell us in the comments.

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Embrace The Pirate Life When Don’t Sink Sails Onto Switch eShop Later This Year

Aspiring pirates can look forward to sailing the high seas this fall when Hitcents, in partnership with Studio Eres, brings Don’t Sink to the Switch eShop.

This colourful looking pixel title is described as a “sandbox-adventure-pirate-RPG” drawing inspiration from classic video games such as Sid Meier’s Pirates and Pirates of the Caribbean (the 2003 game based on the movie of the same name).

Players will explore a massive open world filled with unique landscapes and islands while conversing with the people that live on each island. The sea, as always, is dangerous. As you travel, you’ll need to deal with illness among your crew, management of supplies and most importantly, keeping your ship afloat.

The game is touted as being easy to learn but hard to manage due to the numerous events only the most experienced swashbuckler will be ready for. There are also cutscenes, promising to add more life to the world.

Here are the exact features direct from the Steam page:

  • Sailing between islands is necessary to expand your control over the world and to increase your reputation
  • Tending to the morale, hunger, and thirst of your crew will require you to maintain a supply of food/water and consider whether or not rationing food is required during long journeys
  • Governing islands you’ve conquered is a difficult responsibility as you will need to solve economic issues before they get out of hand
  • Purchase larger ships as you fight your way through the sea. Famously powerful vessels such as the Galleon and Man of War are but a few of the available ships

Would you like to live out a pirate’s life on your Switch? Does this game sound interesting to you? Tell us in the comments.

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Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country is available now!

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country is available now!

The standalone prequel story Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country is out now on Nintendo Switch, either as part of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Expansion Pass or as a standalone version at retail or digitally on Nintendo eShop or Nintendo.com! In this new story mode, uncover the full history of Jin and the fall of his homeland that took place 500 years before the events of Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Director Tetsuya Takahashi prepared some production notes to tell us more about the release. Take it away, Mr Takahashi!

Hello everyone. This is Mr Takahashi at MONOLITHSOFT. The last part of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Expansion Pass, Torna – The Golden Country, is finally available. This title is set up as an additional scenario to the main game, and in fact, adds quite a few changes and renovations.

First, the technical aspects. There’s a new rendering engine in Torna – The Golden Country. This comes at a transitional period for MONOLITHSOFT, as we look ahead to future projects, so the results of the change are slight – but it does look a bit nicer than the main game.

The fields of Torna are an area where you can easily see the difference. Granted, this doesn’t have anything to do with how fun the game is, so it might not matter all that much…but take a look at the difference between the grass in Gormott versus Torna.


We also made some usability improvements to the UI and tutorials compared to the main game. One example is that the one-button controls to change characters and entire teams now work while out in the field. We wanted to make getting into battle feel more user-friendly, considering that you’ll have a team of nine characters you can swap in and out during battle.

We also split the items you can get in the field into categories, making them even easier to collect.

Plus, now there’s a Tips section that lets you review past tutorials.


Next, let’s talk about the battle system, which now uses battle teams. There are three members to a team, and a maximum of three teams, meaning that a total of nine characters can be used in battle.

(You only have direct control over one team during battle. The other teams are controlled by the CPU.)



You can switch who on the team is at the front (the Vanguard) or the rear line (the Rear Guard) in battle. Unlike the main game, those at the back participate directly in battle by supporting the frontline.

To make battles more strategic, effects like Break, Topple, Launch, and Smash, which were inflicted by certain Arts in the main game, can now be inflicted by Switch Arts, which activate when swapping between the Vanguard and Rear Guard.


The way that Blade Combos and Chain Attacks work have also been revamped, so I hope you’ll enjoy the different feel of these battles compared to the main game.

The conditions on accepting and clearing quests have been streamlined too, and we’ve implemented a new Community system. Community is a more straightforward version of the Affinity Chart in Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X, which helps you see who is involved in each quest. There’s an icon that shows who has a quest for you.


Compared to the main game, in Torna – The Golden Country there’s more of an emphasis on how each quest’s characters relate to the main characters. There are quite a few quests that delve into the relationships between these characters, so I hope you’ll be sure to play through them.

Camping is another new system we implemented for Torna – The Golden Country.


This is a unified system that combines the crafting, Inns, and Heart-to-Hearts from the main story in one place, so you can enjoy these elements in a more streamlined way. With crafting, each character has a field they specialize in, and they are able to generate Pouch Items that have effects in battle and on the field. You might also enjoy the fact that the items the characters make match their personalities.

Now, just a little about the story. The story of Torna – The Golden Country is centered around Jin and Lora, and follows the events from 500 years before the main story. The plan was to fit this story between chapters seven and eight in the original plot, but now that it’s its own additional scenario with more quests, we gave it a much larger scale. What was Jin thinking back then? And Lora? What about Mythra?

Their stories were touched on only in fragments in the main story, but will now come to light.

There are also 11 new songs, including some arrangements of existing music, that Mitsuda and others composed just for this game. They have a real jazzy and acoustic sound. You definitely have to hear the groove in the battle music, and the new ending sung by Jen.

Torna – The Golden Country feels so grown up! And it’s finally released, nine months after the main game came out.

Character designer Masatsugu Saito drew an illustration to commemorate the release of Torna – The Golden Country and the conclusion of the Expansion Pass. Every character that Mr Saito designed is in this illustration! I bet there’s a way to see this elaborately drawn image of everyone in all of its glory in-game…

Please enjoy Torna – The Golden Country, everyone!

Thank you, Mr Takahashi!

Want to know more? Check out our Twitter account for updates, or visit the Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country section of our Xenoblade Chronicles 2 gamepage! For more information about the original game, visit our Xenoblade Chronicles 2 website.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna – The Golden Country is available now as part of the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Expansion Pass and as a standalone version at retail.

For more information about Xenoblade Chronicles 2, visit the official site.

Game Rated:

Language
Suggestive Themes
Use of Alcohol and Tobacco
Violence

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Final Fantasy Composer Nobuo Uematsu Takes Indefinite Break Due To Health Problems

If you have ever played one of Square Enix’s Final Fantasy games before, you will have probably heard Nobuo Uematsu’s work. The famous Japanese composer, aged 59, is occasionally referred to as the “Beethoven” of video game music and has been working at Square since 1985.

In the latest post on his Line blog page, Nobuo revealed he would be taking an indefinite break from work, due to his current health. It sounds as if holding concerts worldwide and composing new works on a regular basis has finally caught up on him, with serious fatigue now setting in.

His current plans are to use the remainder of 2018 to rest up, in hope of regaining his health and stamina. While he’s not sure about an immediate return to his work next year, he remains committed to making a recovery.

From the community and team here at Nintendo Life, we wish Mr Nobuo all the best and hope to see him back doing what he loves in the near future.

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Review: Velocity 2X – A Finely-Tuned Arcade Extravaganza That Will Seriously Test Your Talents

In 1975, a Hungarian psychologist named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (try pronouncing that one out loud) coined the term ‘flow’, referring to a state of mind in which one becomes so enchanted or focused on something that all sense of space and time outside of that focus point essentially seems to disappear. The state of flow is something to be strived for, and it can be found in virtually any circumstance once certain parameters are met, and this includes video games. If ever there were a game that embodies the concept of flow and could most reliably put a player into that state, it would be Velocity 2X, an enormously enjoyable arcade action title that absolutely seizes your attention and doesn’t let it go.

Velocity 2X puts you in control of Lt. Kai Tana, the strong-willed pilot of an experimental flying weapon called the Quarp Jet. After the final events in Velocity, which saw our brave heroine flying her jet into the heart of a black hole, Kai’s body has been partially replaced with bionic enhancements by her ship’s medical AI, and she finds herself in a strange galaxy ruled over by a cruel race of alien beings called the Vokh. Spurred on by a newfound friend and the desire to return to Earth, Kai embarks on a new adventure to discover the extent of her cybernetic abilities and help free a benevolent alien race from the iron fist of the Vokh. Although the plot isn’t exactly what we would describe as riveting, Kai’s journey nonetheless manages to entertain and occasionally hit on some emotional notes, providing a fitting context to the lightning-fast arcade action.

Right from the off, Velocity 2X makes it clear that this is an experience that’s designed to be all killer, no filler; from stem to stern, the campaign will push your dexterity to its very limits by demanding absolute precision and adaptability as it throws chaotic and high-intensity action at you. The majority of gameplay will see you taking control of the Quarp Jet, blasting enemies and smashing through glass with bombs and lasers while utilizing warp technology to jump around the map. Occasionally, the way forward will demand that you disembark, placing you in control of Kai in action sidescroller segments that see you dashing through all manner of traps and enemies in a desperate race to find a switch that will open the way for your jet.

It may sound like a ho-hum action game so far, but where Velocity 2X shows its brilliance is in how the entire campaign is a dozen(ish) hour long tutorial on how to play the game right. Every few levels, a new concept or ability will be introduced, like a throwable warp pod or a directional bomb attack, and the next few levels will expand on it and show you various places the new concept can be taken. After several dozen levels, you’ll have built up quite a repertoire of moves and obstacles to overcome, and the things that you’ve learned earliest will become second nature. Velocity 2X excels in the art of passive teaching; of drilling things into the player over and over without them fully realizing it as it shapes you into the kind of player that you need to be.

The point of all this training, of course, is speedrunning, which is the bread and butter of Velocity 2X. New stages are unlocked based on how well you perform in previous stages, so if you wish to see everything this game has to offer, you’ll have to perfectly clear every stage. This means that you must make it to the end of every stage having killed every enemy and collected every collectable while moving at a full sprint, without dying. Early stages ease you into this, with generous time limits and simple obstacles to overcome, but it doesn’t take long for the difficulty to ramp up considerably and demand fast reflexes and raw muscle memory to succeed. Should you fail – and you certainly will many times when trying to perfect a level – respawning is almost immediate, and you can even restart a run with a simple tap of both shoulder buttons.

The reason why this speedrunning approach works so well, and why Velocity 2X can be so infuriatingly difficult to put down, is because of how each level is designed to be in perfect harmony with your abilities. On your first playthrough, Velocity 2X seems like just an average action game, but coming at it with a full loadout of moves and several hours of experience shows it for the painstakingly fine-tuned experience that it is. Every enemy, jump, and obstacle is placed precisely where it is for a purpose, pointing the way towards a single, optimal path towards clearing a stage with flying colours. In a way, Velocity 2X becomes a sort of rhythm game once you reach the point where this is evident, as individual elements melt away and you go into a Zen-like state of naturally reacting to everything that’s thrown at you. It becomes a game of building and maintaining momentum, of playing stages repeatedly to learn from every mistake and finally clinch that perfect run.

Those of you that are looking for replayability will be pleased to know that there’s plenty to keep you coming back, such as online leaderboards that show how you stack up compared to friends and other players in the world. On top of this, there’s a slew of unlockable content, such as concept art, daily challenge runs, and all the previous paid DLC included free of charge. Though Velocity 2X may not appeal to everyone, this is certainly a game that offers up significant bang for your buck.

To match the intensity of the gameplay, Velocity 2X features a stylish, comic book-like art style that focuses on strong colour contrasts and bold, straight lines. When in motion, it makes the game look like concept art that has jumped straight off the page; there’s a certain raw and functional aesthetic about it that feels like the perfect way to portray this sort of gameplay. This is supplemented, too, by smart use of HD rumble, which does a great job of helping you to feel the action in big and small ways; it may not be the best use of Nintendo’s curious tech that we’ve seen, but it’s certainly a cut above many other games’ implementation of it.

All of this is backed by a stellar soundtrack of electronic music which pulls from a variety of subgenres to provide a diverse experience to suit multiple moods. For every fast-paced, high-BPM track that plays during ‘Critical Urgency’ levels, there’s an equally chill and atmospheric track for the more relaxed conversations happening in the cutscenes between levels. We’d recommend you pull out the headphones for this soundtrack, as there are certain nuances to the music that you might miss while playing on the TV, and it helps that much more in immersing you in the action.

Conclusion

In an age where indie titles are becoming increasingly more reliant on procedural generation to do all the heavy lifting, it can be immensely satisfying to play a game that is tailor made for one specific experience. Velocity 2X excels in this regard, offering up an immaculately designed, endlessly replayable arcade experience that shows just how engaging twitch gameplay can be. We would give Velocity 2X a high recommendation, especially to anybody who’s looking for a great pick up and play arcade game for their Switch; this is one you definitely don’t want to miss out on.

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The Last Generation 7 Pokémon Zeraora Is Coming To Ultra Sun And Moon Next Month

The Pokémon Company International has revealed that Zeraora, a mythical Pokémon that just so happens to be the final entry in the Pokédex at present, will soon be made available to western players in Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon.

The announcement comes alongside a new Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Sun & Moon – Lost Thunder, which is set to be available this November. The Pokémon will be distributed as part of the recent ‘Year of Legendary Pokémon’ celebrations, and will be available to add your team from 1st October – 15th November.

Further details regarding the distribution are still to be announced, although it will likely follow in the footsteps of the previous legendary Pokémon giveaways which have been presented to players through the games’ Mystery Gift functionality online, or via codes obtainable at GAME, GameStop, and Best Buy stores. When you do finally get your hands on this elusive ‘mon, you can expect to find its stats to be as follows:

  • Level: 50
  • Moves: Plasma Fists, Thunder Punch, Close Combat, Thunder
  • Ability: Volt Absorb
  • Held Item: Air Balloon

Will you be grabbing this final Pokémon for your Pokédex? Let us know if you’re still catching ’em all with a comment below.

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Double Pug Switch Will Bring A Plentiful Portion Of Puppy Platforming To Switch Next Year

The EGX 2018 announcements are starting to creep their way out of the show floor, with a brand new platformer called Double Pug Switch being revealed for Nintendo’s hyrbid platform.

The game is the debut title from The Polygon Loft, and is described as a “challenging platformer” that puts you in control of a mischievous dog with a unique dimension-swapping power. Players must challenge themselves with the game’s side-scrolling, alternative dimension-switching mania, with lighting quick reflexes being needed to jump, hop, and dimension-swap your way to victory.

Details are still rather few and far between at the moment, although EGX attendees can go hands-on with the title to see what it’s all about. We do have a selection of images to share with you, however, as well as a few game features:

FEATURES:
– Manoeuvre the levels with absurd environment powerups
– Multiple worlds and levels to test the players skill
– Competitive local multiplayer (2, 3 and 4 players)
– Customise your pug with endless silly hats!

No release date has been confirmed for the title just yet other than “spring 2019”, so you’ll have to add this one to your future Switch wishlist for now.

What do you think? Do you like the look of this one? Let us know with a comment below.

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Sega AGES Finally Launches In The West, Sonic And Thunder Force IV Available Now On Switch

After months of speculation, we’re happy to reveal that the Sega AGES range has finally launched on Switch in the west.

Sega of America has today announced that the first two titles of Sega AGES, Sonic the Hedgehog and Lightening Force: Quest for the Darkstar (also known as Thunder Force IV), are now available digitally on the Nintendo eShop for $7.99 each. For those of you in Europe, don’t worry – we’ve checked the eShop and they’re ready and waiting for you too at £5.99 a pop.

We already knew that the two titles were launching today in Japan, but it was unclear when they would make it to western shores. With the recent announcement of Sega Mega Drive Classics – which is also on the way this winter – the Switch will soon be completely flooded with Sega goodness.

Of course, we also know that other classics like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Out Run, Space Harrier, Columns II, Thunder Force AC, and Phantasy Star are all on the way, too, but we’re still waiting on the release dates for these. Sega promises us that specific timing details are “coming soon”.

Will you be giving the blue blur a whirl on your Switch today? Or perhaps reliving the epic battle against the Ohn Empire? Let us know in the comments below.

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SNK 40th Anniversary Collection Adds Street Smart And Prehistoric Isle

The SNK 40th Anniversary Collection for Nintendo Switch will include multiple titles from the Japanese veteran’s library of work. As the November release here in the west draws closer, another two games have now been introduced in trailer form as a part of the collection.

The first is Street Smart, a 1989 beat ’em up about throwing down the best fighting moves and claiming all the glory. Players can move and fight in eight directions, with two unique fighting styles on offer. There is also the option to select from the “Karate-man” or a wrestler. Prehistoric Isle was released in the same year and is about two pilots who must explore an island where many planes have disappeared. It’s essentially a horizontal shoot ’em up that promises to take players on an adventure through the land of the dinosaurs.

This trailer follows the news that an additional 10 games would be added to the collection after launch as free DLC. Below are the first five DLC games, with more announcements to come:

  • Chopper I
  • Fantasy
  • Munch Mobile
  • Sasuke vs. Commander
  • Time Soldiers

The games already confirmed in the collection can be seen below:

As we noted in our E3 2018 hands-on, the collection includes a rewind function and certain games will be playable in both ‘Home’ and ‘Arcade’ form.

Have you played Street Smart or Prehistoric Isle before? Are you looking forward to this SNK release? Tell us below.

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Limited Run Games Reveals Golf Story Collector’s Edition, Pre-Order Next Friday

Physical distributor and specialist Limited Run Games has revealed the Golf Story Collector’s Edition for $79.99 on its Twitter page. The game will “get physical” on 28th September when pre-orders officially open. Adding to this announcement was the reveal of a partnership with Spoony Bard Productions and Infinite NES Lives to release GALF on a fully-functioning NES cartridge.

If you’re not familiar with this title, Golf Story is a 2017 eShop release by Australian developer Sidebar Games and is exclusive to the Switch. It mixes the RPG genre with golf.

Will you be picking up a physical copy of this game? Are you interested in the collector’s edition? Tell us in the comments below.

[via twitter.com, limitedrungames.com]