Category: Nintendo News

For some time now, there’s been much confusion about when the Switch online service will be launched. Nintendo originally said it would arrive in September and then narrowed it down to the second half of the month. With September now here, Nintendo’s Japanese Twitter account has had to issue a tweet to clarify the service won’t launch on the first day of September:

The message went on to explain how Switch owners would eventually be notified about the official start date of the service on the Nintendo website and also on Twitter. Yesterday, a rumour surfaced, with hackers reportedly uncovering more information about the Switch online service hidden within the upcoming firmware update. 

Will you be using the Nintendo Switch Online service when it launches in the second half of September? Tell us below.

Once again, it’s that lovely time of the week where we get to sit back and enjoy a lovely gaming session or ten as the weekend wraps us up in its relaxing embrace. This time around, team Nintendo Life is playing online shooters, retro-inspired platformers, and Metroidvania style modern classics – a nice range of styles, then! But what about you? Make sure to chuck us a vote in our poll down below and leave a comment or two with which games you’re playing – after reading our lovely words, of course.

Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer

This weekend it’s going to be a busy one as I return to the first season of Telltale’s The Walking Dead to see just how well it holds up on Switch, continue to throw down in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy and explore new worlds in Planet Alpha. Look out for them on the site next week, in review form, naturally.

I’ll also likely be continuing my love affair with Paladins. Even now, after all these months, few things on Nintendo Switch offer as much online fun as Hi-Rez Studios’ hero shooter. If only it could just patch in native support for voice chat and it would be even better…

Liam Doolan, news reporter

I’ve played about four hours of The Messenger so far and I’m glad to report that every second has been an absolute blast. The game has a great sense of flow, the level design is superb and the enemy, boss and environmental challenges are varied. The new abilities keep the gameplay feeling fresh and the humour ensures the title doesn’t take itself too seriously. Even little touches like the musical adjustments underwater add to the overall experience. I’ll be playing this game all weekend until I’ve delivered the all-important message.

Glen Fox, guides editor

All is quiet on the Switch front for me right now, and I don’t really see that changing very much until Pokémon Let’s Go. Having said that, I’m nowhere near done with Paladins so I’m going to play a few bouts this weekend. I really want to unlock Khan because he seems to fulfil my playstyle more than the other heroes. I also dig his Darksiders/World of Warcraft-inspired art style. That’s where the fun lies in Paladins for me – messing around with different characters and builds while I figure out my favourite character. I actually like having to unlock characters slowly, as it gives me a chance to get to know each of them individually. That way I have a better idea of how to counter them while playing too! My only real complaint with Paladins is the slow release of new content, but hopefully that will change now that it’s settled.

Jon Cousins, Japan correspondent

This weekend I’m still going to be chipping away at Hollow Knight. It keeps getting bigger and better, and I just enjoy wandering around the glorious environments and listening to the amazing soundtrack. Other than that, I have finally given in and got FIFA 18. It’s been 20 years since I owned a FIFA game (I went over to PES after France 98) but at a sale price of 12 quid, the caveats are tolerable and as ’19 is on the horizon, it might be enough for me to get fully back involved.

Ryan Craddock, staff writer

Any spare time this weekend will likely be given to Hollow Knight. I finally gave in to the pressure of buying it after it went on sale recently – with the added bonus of some Gold Points I had saved up, I actually managed to nab it for £5 – and early signs indicate that it was a very good decision. I’m only about two hours in, but after a couple of days away, I’m already missing its enchanting worlds and feel the need to explore even more.

Elsewhere, Fortnite‘s fifth season is nearing completion and I’m slowly edging my way towards reaching the maximum Battle Pass tier. It looks like I’m on track to hit it, but I’ll make sure to play through any challenges to help the cause.

Dave Letcavage, contributing writer

Last week I was undecided between purchasing Hollow Knight or Dead Cells. Well, I went with the former, and I’ve been hooked. I’m 20-something hours into the subterranean kingdom of Hallownest and hunting down every ability, boss, and secret area possible. With all the DLC included, I have a feeling it’s going to be a while longer before I see the credits roll. But who knows. With the way I’ve been committed, the end may come sooner than expected! If it does, that just means more time for the wife and I to play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Alan Lopez, contributing writer

This weekend I’m at PAX West. I will be playing all that is handed to me. Will it be Diablo 3? Bastion? No More Heroes? Time will tell.

However, what I’ve already been witness to while sleeping on a friend’s couch were the sounds of the new indie arrival, The Messenger. Or maybe I should say, the nonstop, disco party fever dream that is The Messenger’s soundtrack. Every single stage claps. At least from what I’ve witnessed, not even the obscure sub-menus could escape the 8-bit thrashings of its compositions. Who scored this thing? I hope they’ve since gotten enough water and have come back to Earth safely.

As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a vote in the poll above and a comment below with your gaming choices over the next few days…

M2 is best known in recent years for handling Sega’s 3D Classics line on the 3DS and modernising iconic series like Sonic the Hedgehog, Out Run and Fantasy Zone.

Having now made the transition across to the Switch, the developer recently sat down with Denfaminicogamer to discuss its future port plans, following a Twitter poll asking Japanese fans what games they would most like to see adapted to the current hardware generation. According to the team, the projects will likely be based on games created during the ’90s, as most of the titles from the ’80s have already been re-released.

M2 President Noki Horii said he was pleased to see Konami’s ReBirth series – developed by M2 – was on the poll, as these games were last released on WiiWare. As Wii Points can no longer be added, this makes these titles inaccessible to modern audiences. The team will now strongly consider this series for the latest systems after a rumour from earlier this year suggested they could be on the way to the Switch eShop. These releases include Gradius ReBirth, Castlevania The Adventure ReBirth and Contra ReBirth.

Speaking about Nintendo’s current system, M2 has been testing Shot Triggers, but is struggling to resolve issues linked to processing speed and slow down. President Horii also clarified the problems had nothing to do with the Joy-Con controllers, despite various online reports citing the hardware as a problem. It was explained games would not be released until each one could adhere to the standards set by titles such as Sega Ages Thunder Force IV.

The team at M2 noted how the Switch was ideal for motion-control and joystick orientated games. M2 planner Kazuki Kubota further elaborated on this by saying how Nintendo Labo had inspired the team to work on games with special interfaces. 

Are you a fan of M2’s work? Are you looking forward to its future releases on the Nintendo Switch? Do you have a past game M2 has released you particularly admire? Tell us below.

Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes was originally announced last year, with the first footage revealed months later during a Nindie Showcase. Suda51 still hasn’t really confirmed where exactly this game sits within the timeline, but at the very least, it’s a continuation of the popular series that started out during the Wii era. 

Following the appearance of the title at PAX East, the upcoming Switch release is now also playable at this year’s PAX West. In celebration of the occasion, Grasshopper Manufacture has announced the game will launch next year on 18th January:

The story in Travis Strikes Again is crazy as ever, with Bat Girl’s father attempting to kill Travis Touchdown when they are absorbed into a video game console. They must then battle each other in multiple games to survive. 

Have you been anticipating the release of Travis Strikes again on the Switch? Did you play the original games on the Wii? Tell us below.  

When Blizzard revealed the Diablo III Eternal Collection was Switch-bound, the focus was predominantly on the title’s performance, online features, and exclusive in-game content. Surprisingly, there was no mention of amiibo functionality.

No need to worry, though, as a Blizzard developer at this year’s PAX West has reportedly confirmed the Switch version of Diablo III will include support for Nintendo’s popular toys-to-life figurines. Unfortunately, no other information about this feature was provided.  

It’s now got us wondering if Blizzard would ever consider its own Diablo-themed amiibo – much like the Dark Souls and Shovel Knight amiibo.

Are you glad to hear your amiibo collection will be supported in Diablo III when it arrives on the Switch later this year? Would you like to see exclusive Diablo-themed amiibo? Tell us below.   

In April, we revealed a retail version of the tactical turn-based strategy RPG trilogy Mercenaries Saga Chronicles would be arriving on shelves this summer. Circle Entertainment, PM Studios and acttil media have now announced the physical release will be made available on 11th September. 

Just like the Switch eShop release, the physical version will contain Mercenaries Saga: Will of the White Lions, Mercenaries Saga 2: Order of the Silver Eagle, and Mercenaries Saga 3: Gray Wolves of War. The three games were originally released on mobile devices and the 3DS. 

The PR made no mention of regions or pricing, but this announcement appears to be for the North American release, with the game currently listed for pre-order on Amazon for $39.99. 

Is this another physical release you’ve been holding out for? Do you already own the eShop trilogy? Tell us in the comments. 

Bloober Team, the studio behind psychological horror Layers of Fear: Legacy, has announced that its cyberpunk horror outing Observer (or ‘>observer_’, as it’s actually stylised) is making its way to Nintendo Switch.

Ominously described as a “horror game designed to disturb you”, Observer takes place in the year 2084. You are Daniel Lazarski, an elite neural detective known as an ‘Observer’, whose purpose is to hack and invade suspects’ minds. To gather evidence, you must relive their darkest fears, and, finally, face your own.

The game initially launched on other platforms last summer, going on to receive ‘very positive’ reviews on Steam and scoring well among critics. We enjoyed Layers of Fear: Legacy when that game arrived on Switch, awarding it a ‘great’ 8/10 in our review, so we’re excited to see the studio’s next effort make it onto Nintendo’s platform as well.

Here’s a handy list of game features to give you a little more info.

Features:
– Observe and Report – You are Dan Lazarski, an elite neural detective known as an Observer, and part of a corporate-funded police unit whose purpose is to hack and invade suspects’ minds. In this future, anything you think, feel, or remember can be used against you in a court of law.
– A Dark Dystopia – The year is 2084. If you somehow survived the Nanophage, odds are you were killed in the War. Those who live have turned to drugs, VR, neural implants— anything to distract themselves from this new reality. But they can’t hide from you.
– Interactive Insanity – As you hack into the unstable minds of criminals and victims to look for clues, you will relive their darkest fears, forcing you to question your own reality — and your sanity.
– Take the Horror With You! – >observer_ for Nintendo Switch uses all of the unique features of the system, including full Joy-Con support, Touchscreen, and the option to play both in docked and in handheld modes.

We don’t have an exact release date for the Switch version just yet, but we’ll make sure to keep an eye out for any more news on this one over the coming weeks.

Do you like the look of this game? Have you already been scared senseless by Observer on another platform? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

Monster Hunter is Capcom’s second-best-selling video game franchise. It’s bigger than Street Fighter, it’s bigger than Devil May Cry, and it’s bigger than Mega Man. However, Monster Hunter has had a rocky road leading up to the monumental success of Monster Hunter: World earlier this year, and most recently, the release of Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate.

So, how did the series manage to reach the heights that it enjoys now? It all begins with the advent of online console gaming. When Sony released the PlayStation 2 Network adapter in 2004, Capcom set out to develop online games to support this brand-new infrastructure; one of the fruits borne out of this initial effort was Monster Hunter, a third-person action game where you can team up with your friends to take down gigantic monsters. Inspired by games like Phantasy Star Online, Monster Hunter established its trademark gameplay loop early. Gather, Craft, Hunt, Repeat.

However, upon its release, Monster Hunter released to lukewarm reviews, with Gamespot calling it “a living fossil”. Suffice to say, it wasn’t exactly a runaway hit. Nevertheless, Capcom went ahead to develop Monster Hunter G, adding in new subspecies of Monster, leading to more armour sets and most notably, more weapons. Monster Hunter G never got a Western Release, but its expansion, Monster Hunter Freedom for the PSP, did.

Monster Hunter found a dedicated audience on the PSP in the East, with its co-op collaborative play becoming incredibly popular. It was here that Capcom started work on the Second Generation of Monster Hunter. Monster Hunter 2 debuted in 2006 on the PlayStation 2 as a Japan-Only release, adding key features such as upgradeable armour, ‘Gem Skills’ and the addition of now-iconic weapons like the Long Sword, Gunlance, Horn and Bow.

With Monster Hunter hitting fever pitch in Japan, another PSP expansion was ordered, and Monster Hunter Freedom 2 was released worldwide in 2007. This game kickstarted the cult status of Monster Hunter in the West, with many having their first experiences with Monster Hunter Freedom 2, such as prolific Monster Hunter YouTuber and Nintendo Life friend Arekkz, who cited his first interaction with the series as Freedom 2. A year later, we saw the release of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, which added an endgame G-Rank for experienced players, along with a host of new monsters – and, for the first time, downloadable quests. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite went on to sell 3.8 Million copies worldwide.

With the next generation of home consoles in full-swing Capcom’s beast-busting franchise found itself in a strange spot; poor sales of Monster Hunter Frontier combined with the issue of Japanese developers struggling to wrestle with the PlayStation 3’s confusing hardware architecture, which meant that the next generation of Monster Hunter was set to release on red-hot Nintendo Wii; not the most technically-advanced system on the market, but certainly the best-selling. This time, both Capcom and Nintendo were eager to push this as a ‘hardcore’ Nintendo Wii release, which meant a rather curious marketing campaign over here in the West.

With a bundle that came along with a Wii Classic Controller and Wii Speak, 2010’s Monster Hunter Tri wanted to make a splash with brand-new underwater hunts, some new weapons, and a new variety of areas to explore. Curiously, while online play was free in Europe and America, the Japanese release of Monster Hunter Tri required a monthly fee to hunt online. While Tri managed to find a smaller, niche audience in the West, it still lingered in obscurity, as its expansion, Monster Hunter Portable 3rd, was Japan-only just a year later.

The series continued to have widespread success, and Monster Hunter 3G was released for 3DS in 2011, with a fully-online Wii U and 3DS release coming two years later in early 2013. This time, Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate had a host of tricks up its sleeve to smooth out some of the edges that gamers were getting stuck on. With the introduction of the Target Camera, gamers were no longer having to ‘claw’ their way around the maps on the portable versions of the game, and the 3DS and Wii U had a save-transfer service where you could pick up your character from each version and take it with you on the go. New monsters and areas were added, in addition to weapons that were not featured in the original release of Tri.

Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate started to generate some genuine hunger for Monster Hunter in the West; the Wii U’s online services and built-in mic made for online play extremely smooth, and didn’t require gamers to rely on local-play to team up with their friends, unlike its portable brethren. With more quests, subspecies and added depth through modification of armour via the use of gems, the customisation aspect of Monster Hunter grew even deeper, iterating and evolving with every release.

With the successes of Monster Hunter on Wii, 3DS and Wii U, Nintendo was eager to grab a bigger slice of the portable pie to boost its 3DS software lineup. It was around this time that rumours swirled that the next mainline Monster Hunter game would not be coming to Sony’s PlayStation Vita, with Capcom signing an exclusivity deal with Nintendo that would last for three years. While never officially confirmed, this rumour would now appear to hold weight – between 2013 and 2017, Monster Hunter was entirely absent from Sony systems.

Monster Hunter 4 Released in late 2013 as a Japanese exclusive for the 3DS, boasting more verticality in its environments and gameplay, alongside a bigger focus on story content for the single-player campaign and full online functionality. An expansion would arrive in late 2014 in Japan and early 2015 in Europe; Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate released alongside the ‘New’ Nintendo 3DS, with full support for the console’s second analog ‘nub’. It also added more monsters and a G-Rank mode. Critics were all over it, with Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate garnering a respectable Metacritic score of 86, as well as being the best-selling title in the series outside of Japan at the time of release.

With Monster Hunter 4’s formula established, Capcom decided to put work into developing each weapon’s move-set and style, adding flashy finishing moves and equippable arts into their next release. In late 2015 Monster Hunter Generations made its debut in Japan under the title Monster Hunter X (Cross), and with fans clamouring for a Western release, it was finally localised for the west in 2016. With a whopping 72 different Hunting Styles and packed with locations, maps and assets from the series’ rich history, it sported 93 unique monsters and is often viewed as a ‘Greatest Hits’ of the series up to this point – before the biggest revolution in Monster Hunter’s 14-year history. Before we get to that one though, it’s worth mentioning the spin-off Monster Hunter Stories, which adopted a more traditional JRPG approach and would eventually find its way to the west in 2017, following its initial Japanese launch a year earlier.

Monster Hunter: World made use of the horsepower of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, being revealed at E3 in 2017. Its distinct change in colour palette, focus on hand-holding and various ‘quality of life’ changes to the core gameplay loop made longtime fans sceptical at first; however, thanks to the removal of loading screens in large areas and drastically improved visuals, Monster Hunter: World hit the mark – it has enjoyed sales of over 10 million copies worldwide and has become Capcom’s best selling game ever.

However, the story doesn’t end there. In 2017, Monster Hunter Generations spawned a further expansion in Japan – Monster Hunter XX – which remained exclusive to the region. Japanese players would benefit from an upgraded version of this title for the newly-launched Nintendo Switch in August 2017; this has just been released in the west under the title Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate. With its original release being based on Monster Hunter Generations, the future of the series seems divided between the two styles; given the incredible commercial success of Monster Hunter: World, it remains to be seen which route Capcon will take with any future instalments. Whatever happens, it’s a good time to be a Monster Hunter fan; as YouTube content creator and Monster Hunter enthusiast Arekkz says, “Whatever is next for Monster Hunter, we will surely see the lines blur between these two groups, and hopefully see the series get bigger and better.” Amen to that.

Now there’s an image that instantly gets our attention. Devolver Digital has shared a teaser trailer for Gato Roboto, an upcoming game which has been described as a ‘CatMechtroidvania’.

The trailer arrives with absolutely no additional information, other than the fact that it will be releasing on Switch and PC in 2019 and has been made by developer Doinksoft. As you can see, however, the game adopts a black and white, retro aesthetic, with clear inspirations drawn from titles such as – you guessed it – Metroid.

Check it out below.

This early footage sure looks like Gato Roboto could be a lot of fun, with a nice dollop of cutesy humour combining with some very solid looking gameplay. If you’re heading out to PAX West this weekend, you should be able to find the game tucked away in a booth on the show floor.

What do you think? Does a cat-Samus fusion sell the game for you immediately? Do you like the look of the gameplay in the trailer? Let us know with a comment.