Category: Nintendo News

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 developer Monolith Soft has revealed that all players will soon be eligible to receive a selection of in-game goodies as part of a celebration for the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles 2: Torna ~ The Golden Country expansion.

As you’ll no doubt be aware if you’re a keen player of the game, the new expansion is releasing this Friday for owners of the Expansion Pass, and next Friday (21st September) for everyone else. The in-game goodies on offer come in the form of bonus items which can be used in the main game – not the expansion. The items are:

– Legendary Core Crystal x15

Pouch items:
– Char-Grilled Grumbirds x3
– Crispy Blendshake x3
– Clicky-Clacks x3

The best news is that these items aren’t exclusive to those who have purchased the expansion pass, or even those who buy the DLC separately. All Xenoblade Chronicles 2 players can get their hands on the items, simply by registering the game with My Nintendo. Doing so will automatically register you into a database to receive the items, and you should find an email sitting in your inbox sometime after the 14th with a download code to redeem.

In order to receive the gift, you must do the following things:

• Redeem your points on My Nintendo. If you purchased the game through the eShop you’re all set – the game will have been automatically registered. If you treated yourself to a retail copy, make sure you’ve manually redeemed your My Nintendo points for the title. If you haven’t done so already, hover over Xenoblade Chronicles 2 on the Home Menu and press + or – to access the Options screen. Select ‘My Nintendo Rewards Programme’, and click on ‘Earn Points’ to register.
• Make sure your Nintendo Account is set to receive emails from Nintendo. If you’ve activated your game, the next step is to head over to the Nintendo Account website, go to Other Settings > Emails from Nintendo, and make sure ‘Recommendations about games, events, special offers, and more’ is set to ‘Yes’. Going to all this trouble and having your email settings turned off would be highly frustrating!

Will you be grabbing these free gifts for yourself? Let us know if you’ll be keeping an eye on that inbox over the next few days – we hope these instructions are useful!

Bandai Namco has announced that Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition will be arriving on Switch on 11th January 2019.

The announcement comes in the form of a tweet (as seen below) where you can also get a glimpse of a lovely looking steelbook case. The tweet describes this as a “special edition”, suggesting that we may see both the steelbook, and a standard physical edition.

This definitive edition includes up-scaled screen resolution, characters, events, and costumes that were never released outside of Japan, and is also set to introduce two new playable party members – Flynn Scifo, the main character’s best friend and rival, and Patty Fleur, a young pirate searching for her lost memories.

The game uses a specialised iteration of the series’ signature ‘Linear Motion Battle System’ for combat, with players controlling a single party member in real-time combat while other party members strut their stuff thanks to a customised set of A.I. commands. Players can swap between any of the game’s characters at any time during battles, all while performing physical attacks, ‘Magic Artes’, or ‘Mystic Artes’.

As the tweet mentions above, we expect to hear more on this title as the months pass by; we’re only four agonising months away from its release so make sure to keep an eye on the site for further news as it arrives.

Are you excited for this one? Have you been waiting for more details on this since it was announced at E3? Share your thoughts with us in a comment below.

If you’re a fan of Kirby – or just food, actually – then this wonderful gallery of images will no doubt be of interest to you. A Kirby Cafe is set to open its doors later this month in Japan, and its official website has now shared the full menu in picture form. Sit back, scroll through, and try not to salivate too much.

Marvellous Mains

First up, we have the main meals. Ranging from burgers to rice, to a bread stew, there’s sure to be something that takes your fancy.

Something Sweet

Of course, no cafe would be complete without something sweet for an after-dinner delight. When you’ve finished your main meal, why not treat yourself to one of these items?

This temporary pop-up cafe is located at the Skytree Town in Tokyo, opening on 27th September until 17th February 2019. You can check out the full website here for more information – or reserve your spot if you’ll be in Tokyo during this time. It reminds us of the recently-opened Pokémon Cafe – also in Tokyo – which you can see for yourself here and here. We’d love for these kinds of restaurants to appear in the west, but we’ll just have to stare at these images for now.

Would you visit the Kirby Cafe if you could? Are you perhaps going to be in Japan in between those two dates? Let us know below.

The Pokémon goodness just keeps coming, this time in the form of yet another brand new Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! trailer.

Yes, on top of the brand new limited edition Switch console design featuring Pikachu and Eevee, and the promise of a world exclusive trailer airing next weekend, this trailer shows off Secret Techniques, partner-exclusive moves, and much more.

As you can see in the video, Pikachu or Eevee can help players overcome obstacles they encounter by learning Secret Techniques. These special skills can be used by the player’s partner Pokémon outside of battle to clear away trees (Chop Down), glide across water (Sea Skim), and quickly revisit towns and cities that have already been explored (Sky Dash), essentially replacing the need for HMs as seen in previous titles.

The player’s partner Pikachu or Eevee can also use exclusive moves that can help players face any challenge during their adventures, reminding us a little of Pokémon Sun and Moon‘s Z-Moves. Once the player’s relationship with their partner reaches a certain level, the partner Pokémon will occasionally send a sign during battle that its partner power can be used. Pikachu can use ‘Pika Papow’ and ‘Splishy Splash’, while Eevee can use ‘Veevee Volley’ and ‘Bouncy Bubble’, ‘Buzzy Buzz’, and ‘Sizzly Slide’. 

The trailer also gives us our first look at Celadon City, including the Gym Battle which takes place there against Erika. Across all trailers presented so far, we’ve now seen half of the game’s Gyms in action – perhaps the intention is to show all eight before the games are released?

What a day for Pokémon fans! Is this the end of the news for today?

The Wave Race inspired title – Aqua Moto Racing Utopia – will be receiving an expansion in the near future. An exact release date has not been confirmed. Developer Zordix revealed the update would include several new tracks and a special championship featuring a famous rider:

We are proud to announce that we have teamed up with world champion Emma-Nellie Örtendahl to expand the Aqua Moto Racing Utopia world. In the expansion you get to test your driving skills against Emma-Nellie in her own championship. The expansion will be free for everyone to download and features several new tracks and the champion Emma-Nellie Örtendahl.

Aqua Moto Racing already includes 44 different watercraft and over 55 custom-made race tracks set in various exotic locations around the world. If that wasn’t enough, there’s single player, online, local modes and even split-screen multiplayer. 

Have you played Aqua Moto Racing before? Would more tracks and a new challenge interest you? Tell us below. 

The original NBA Playgrounds game on the Switch eShop had a rough launch. There was no online play on release – requiring players to wait several months before they could access this mode. Eventually, they were compensated with a free game.

Saber Interactive has since moved onto development of the sequel and already missed the released date. This was all because 2K Sports took over the publishing rights and rebranded the title to NBA 2K Playgrounds 2. 

With the game meant to arrive on the Switch eShop soon, a listing on BestBuy Canada reveals the title will now also be available on the Switch in physical form for $39.99. 2K has not yet made an official announcement regarding such a release. 

Will you be giving NBA Playgrounds a second chance? Did you play the original game? Would a physical copy of the sequel tempt you? Tell us below. 

Yesterday, the weekly Japanese variety show Pokénchi displayed video footage of Pikachu riding a surfboard in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! for Switch. A neatly assembled clip compiling all of the previously described scenes and actions into one reel has now been uploaded.

Running for two minutes, it shows the special field moves (similar to HMs) in action and Pikachu riding the waves alongside the game’s protagonist. This follows with two battles – one encounter shows Pikachu using the water-type move Splash Surf and the other has Eevee demonstrate the fire-type move Flare Burn.

On a related note, according to Serebii.net, an exclusive trailer for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! will air on next week’s episode of Pokénchi. 

Do you like the look of the upcoming Pokémon games? Which one will you be picking up on release? Tell us below.  

Thief’s Roulette is a recently launched Kickstarter project striving for a Switch release in September 2020. It’s a one-person developed game, described as a thriller mixed with visual novel and puzzle elements. It’s inspired by the likes of Danganronpa and the Zero Escape game series. 

As can be seen in the trailer above, the gameplay takes place from a first-person perspective. It requires you to interact with various characters while solving puzzles within 3D environments. The narrative touches on themes of betrayal, deception, and trust – with choice-driven scenarios presented to you along the way and even multiple game endings on offer.  

The setting is in the future, where high-tech society is now normal. You awake in an unknown location to discover you have been kidnapped by a mysterious woman named Lady Luck and must now fight for your survival by completing a series of challenges. 

Here are the exact features:

• A gripping story of deception. Who you choose to align with may either lead to your death or your survival.
• Heavy Player Choices that can alter the path of the Story.
• Multiple Endings
• Immersive and Intricate Puzzles to Solve.
• A Natural approach to Difficulty: Any time during a Puzzle, you may ask your teammates for help. Players who want to take on the challenge with no clues can simply not ask for assistance.
• Fully explorable 3D Environments and VN Style Artwork.
• A cast of unique characters with their own goals and personalities. Some are only out for themselves, others may have your back when the time comes.

To find out more, head over to the Kickstarter page for a comprehensive rundown. At the time of writing, there are 28 days remaining to get the project across the line. 

Does Thief’s Roulette look like a game you would be interested in playing on the Switch? Tell us below. 

Nintendo’s strong marketing within the domain of television advertising continues, as it is estimated to have spent $6.2 million during the month of August compared to $5.8 million during the month of July.

This once again makes it the biggest spender of the month. According to GamesBeat and its partner iSpot.tv (a real-time television ad measurement company), Nintendo’s estimated spend was across 11 commercials, airing over 3,200 times and generating 395.5 million impressions.

Epic games had the commercial with the biggest budgetary push, promoting Fortnite and multiple other games across various networks including Adult Swim and Nick Toons.

Mobile developer Niantic came in at number four this month under FoxNext Games, with an estimated spend of $3 million on a single advertisement for Pokémon Go – airing more than 2,600 times and generating 310.8 million impressions.

Sony’s PlayStation television advertising during August was unsurprisingly focused on Marvel’s Spider-Man – spending around $3.9 million on a single advertisement for the anticipated release, which generated 249.5 million impressions after airing 792 times. This once again placed the company behind Nintendo. 

Overall, the video game industry has steadily increased its spending leading into this year’s major release period, going from $18.3 million in July to an estimated $24.9 million in August.