Category: Nintendo News

Nintendo News

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Video: Mega Man 11 Will Blast Onto Nintendo Switch On 2nd October (And You Can Pre-Order It Right Now)

Following on from an unfortunate leak on a Singapore branch of the PlayStation Network, Capcom has officially confirmed that Mega Man 11 is arriving on 2nd October, 2018 with a new trailer and the ability to pre-order the game as you count down the next six months until the full return of Rockman. 

You can watch the trailer above, and you can pre-order your copy direct from Capcom right here. Oh, and here’s the box art and a better look at the Mega Man amiibo in all its blueish glory. There’s an an amiibo Edition you can pre-order, which bundles in the new NFC figure, some stickers, a patch, a microfiber cloth and a copy of the game. Nice!

Will you be adding Mega Man 11 to your Nintendo Switch game collection? If so, what are you most looking forward to about it? Share your hot take below…

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The Original Professor Layton Game Is Getting A Mobile HD Remake In Japan

It has been revealed that Professor Layton and the Curious Village – the very first title released in the series around a decade ago – will be receiving a mobile HD remake.

The news comes from the latest issue of the weekly Famitsu magazine, which states that Level-5 intends to release the remake on mobile platforms under the name ‘Professor Layton and the Curious Village EXHD’ with some additional elements. The page has no mention of the title coming to west, nor any suggestion that we could also see the remake appearing on Switch.

We’ve already heard that Level-5 has been thinking of ways to use the Switch for upcoming games in the series, with the docked mode of the console bringing up particular concerns thanks to the touchscreen-based nature of the games, but a remake of the original game could be a nice test for the studio. We’ve seen other titles launch on Switch as handheld-only games (such as VOEZ), so it hopefully wouldn’t be too much of a stretch for Layton to follow suit.

Either way, we’re definitely hoping to see some more of good ol’ Hershel and his sidekick Luke in the west in the near future. Would you like to see this mobile port arrive on western shores, or perhaps you’d prefer an entirely new Switch entry to the series? Let us know your thoughts down below.

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Fifa 18’s World Cup Update Is Out Today On Switch, But It’s Crashing People’s Consoles

With the World Cup fast approaching – taking place just as E3 is winding down, as it so happens – the recently announced free update for Fifa 18, bringing a playable version of tournament along for the ride, should have been a nice way to warm up for the big event. Today is the day of the update’s release and some players have already downloaded the patch – but it might actually be best to hold off.

Upon launching their Switch systems, players around the world have started to notice the download taking place today, but things seem to have taken a turn for the worst. Reddit users have claimed that the update appeared to be fine at first glance, before freezing when trying to start up a World Cup game. After performing system reboots, attempting to play content that isn’t part of the World Cup package, and likely wanting to shed a little tear at the distress of it all, it appears that nothing they can do can salvage the game.

It isn’t just the Switch version of the game that’s having trouble, though, as the PC version is said to be facing similar issues. Whether this bug will affect every Switch user is unknown, but we’d recommend waiting to see if EA releases a statement over the next couple of days to address the issue.

We hope it can be fixed, and we hope it can be sorted relatively quickly, but until the issue is resolved it is sadly unlikely that players will be able to enjoy any of the (already restricted) online functionalities of the game.

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Legendary New Nintendo 2DS XL system coming exclusively to GameStop stores on July 2

Legendary New Nintendo 2DS XL system coming exclusively to GameStop stores on July 2

Every legendary hero needs a shield, just like every legendary gamer needs a video game system that looks like a shield! Launching exclusively in GameStop stores on July 2 at a suggested retail price of $159.99, the special edition New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition system resembles Link’s iconic Hylian Shield from The Legend of Zelda series, and comes pre-loaded with the critically acclaimed adventure The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds.

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds is a sequel to the beloved Super NES game The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. In this follow-up, Link must once again save the kingdom of Hyrule from an evil force by transforming into a living painting and crossing into a dark parallel world. Conquer puzzles, traps and hidden rooms of deadly dungeons to save both worlds from certain doom!

New Nintendo 2DS XL plays the entire library of Nintendo 3DS games in 2D. With two large screens and built-in amiibo support, it’s the ideal portable system for any type of gamer – especially ones looking to dive into The Legend of Zelda series for the first time.

For more information about the New Nintendo 2DS XL Hylian Shield Edition, visit https://www.nintendo.com/2ds/buynow/#new-nintendo-2ds-xl-hylian-shield-edition.

Game Shown:

Fantasy Violence

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Pokémon games unveiled for Nintendo Switch

Pokémon games unveiled for Nintendo Switch

During a special Pokémon press conference in Tokyo today, The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo announced three new ways to play Pokémon for Nintendo Switch™—Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, and the free-to-start Pokémon Quest. With the addition of these new titles, Pokémon is broadening the scope of video game offerings from the franchise to appeal to its wide variety of fans at all player levels. Pokémon also announced that the next introduction to its popular core RPG series, which was teased last year at E3, will arrive in late 2019 on Nintendo Switch for the first time.

Pokémon: Let’s Go Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!

With Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, Pokémon is inviting fans on a new journey by taking them back to a familiar setting. Inspired by Pokémon Yellow, which was originally released in Japan on Nintendo’s Game Boy in 1998, these two new titles feature many of the intuitive gameplay functions offered to players in the hugely popular Pokémon GO and are designed for players taking their first steps into the Pokémon video game world. Trainers will embark on an epic adventure set in the iconic Kanto region joined by their trusty Pikachu in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Eevee in Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! They feature brand new gameplay to make the most of the unique capabilities of Nintendo Switch, such as throwing Poké Balls to catch Pokémon by swinging Joy-Con™ controllers, as well as the opportunity for family and friends to battle and explore together in a new two-player mode. The games were unveiled in partnership with GAME FREAK, the games’ developers and original creators of the Pokémon video game franchise.

“With the launch of Pokémon GO in 2016 and the global sensation that ensued, millions of new players were introduced to the world of Pokémon,” said Junichi Masuda, director at GAME FREAK inc. “For many people, Pokémon GO was their first experience with the Pokémon brand, so we have crafted these two new titles to be an accessible entry point to our core RPG series while giving our longtime fans a new way to play Pokémon.”

The connection between these two new titles and Pokémon GO doesn’t end there – literally. GAME FREAK and The Pokémon Company teamed up with Niantic to bring next-level innovation by offering players the ability to connect their Pokémon GO to their Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! game. Players can catch Pokémon originally discovered in the Kanto region in Pokémon GO and then transfer them into their Nintendo Switch adventure. Something special will also be coming to the world of Pokémon GO, making the connection between both games even more appealing for Trainers. Details for this will be revealed in the near future.

The Poké Ball Plus* a device that can be used to play Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! in place of a Joy-Con or alongside Pokémon GO instead of the Pokémon GO Plus, was also unveiled, continuing the innovative ways to connect the games. The Poké Ball Plus features motion controls, lights up with a variety of colors, vibrates, and plays sounds. When catching a Pokémon in the Nintendo Switch games, players will be able to feel it moving within the device. It also does more than function as a controller—using the Poké Ball Plus, players can bring one of their Pokémon from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! with them as they explore the real world, giving Trainers the opportunity to spend time with favorite Pokémon even when they’re not playing the game. Additionally, Trainers can receive a variety of rewards once Pokémon are returned to the Nintendo Switch games.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will launch on November 16, 2018, exclusively on Nintendo Switch. The Poké Ball Plus will be available at participating retailers on the same day.

Watch the Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! announcement trailer here.

For more information about Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, please visit: Pokemon.com/PokemonLetsGo.

Pokémon Quest

Pokémon Quest, a rambunctious action RPG game, was also revealed at the press conference, along with the surprise for fans that it is available today on Nintendo eShop. Developed by GAME FREAK, Pokémon Quest takes players across Tumblecube Island, where everything’s a cube—including the Pokémon. Travel the length and breadth of the island hunting for treasure, battling with wild Pokémon, discovering unexplored territories, and even cooking tasty treats to tempt new Pokémon to join your party.

Gameplay features of Pokémon Quest include:

  • Battle by tapping—Pokémon Quest uses simple touch controls that can be enjoyed by everyone.
  • Befriend many Pokémon—Use items collected throughout expeditions to befriend a wide array of Pokémon.
  • Create your Pokémon dream team—Partner with three of your Pokémon friends to battle through diverse environments.
  • Pokémon unique to you—Use different Power Stones to personalize your Pokémon friends however you want and give them unique stats.
  • Customize your base camp—Decorate your home with cute and fun collectibles that not only look good, but can provide in-game benefits.

“This new Pokémon title, developed by GAME FREAK, lets players explore the island of Tumblecube with their team of cute, cube-shaped characters known as Pokéxel,” said Shigeru Ohmori, director at GAME FREAK. “Players will be able to personalize their Pokémon and develop a strong bond with their Pokémon friends while battling their way through the adventure. With the simple touch-screen controls, Pokémon Quest is a game that Pokémon fans of all ages can pick up and play.”

Watch a trailer for Pokémon Quest here: https://youtu.be/j0AEUmgGHRE.

For more information about Pokémon Quest, please visit: Pokemon.com/Quest.

*The Poké Ball Plus will be sold separately and is not included with Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! At the time of release, the Poké Ball Plus will only be compatible with Pokémon Go, Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! and will not be compatible with any other Nintendo Switch software.

Games Shown:

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Review: Die for Valhalla! (Switch eShop)

In 1991, Jaleco published Avenging Spirit for arcades and one year later for the humble Game Boy. What set this cute platformer apart from the rest of the bunch was the ability to possess enemies, thus offering up a varied roster of characters with different abilities to navigate each level. So it’s a pleasant surprise to rediscover this very same mechanic nearly three decades later.

Die for Valhalla! sees you playing the role of a Valkyrie, creatures from Norse mythology who are responsible for deciding who lives and dies in battle. In the case of this video game, that translates into the ability to control fallen Vikings by raising them from their graves, possess live Viking warriors mid-battle, takeover inanimate objects such as bushes and barrels and (with the proper upgrade path) even slip under the skin of some enemies, too. All of this in a multiplayer scrolling beat-’em-up with proceduraly generated maps plus some rogue-like character development elements thrown in with a good serving of humour and Norse mythology lessons.

Once you decide if you will play a bigger, more relaxed adventure or a smaller, more hardcore experience, a tutorial level introduces you to your controls. ‘Y’ is your standard attack while ‘X’ unleashes a stronger, special attack unique to each character. Tapping ‘B’ while controlling a Valkyrie will allow you to take over a character or inanimate object. After a successful possession, ‘B’ becomes your jump button. ‘A’ is your useful dash option, limited to your character’s blue stamina bar. 

‘L’ enables you to defend and is an essential skill to defeat some opponents, while a top of ‘R’ unleashes Odin’s blessing when available (this game equivalent of Golden Axe’s screen-clearing magic attacks). If you wish to discard your currently possessed vessel, a quick click on the right analog stick will return turn you back to your original Valkyrie form, but get killed in this form and it’s ‘Game Over’. These quickly become second nature as you progress in your quest to discover what is behind the mysterious invasion of your homeland.

Across your adventure you will be collecting quite a bit of glory. Beyond the intangible glory of your heroic deeds in combat, defeating enemies will produce orbs of glory that are the de facto experience points needed to upgrade your Viking warrior. You know you’re doing right when your chosen warrior begins to wear a fancier helmet, while at the same time improving his basic health and stamina stats and even gaining a new charge attack executed by keeping ‘Y’ held down for a bit. At the end of each successfully cleared level or defeating one of the many screen-filling giant bosses, you are showered with tons of glory and potions. 

Each of these potions adds one extra beneficial effect for your Viking (or if you choose hardcore mode, sometimes a penalty) such as adding status effects to your default attacks. Since these stack up, you can end up with a massively powerful warrior by clearing a few levels but don’t get too attached to him/her because when they’re slain you will lose all accumulated glory and potions. It’s not impossible to play the entire game with a single Viking character, but to do so is a tremendously difficult task, especially since the generous amount of flying hearts you can use to restore your Viking’s HP in the earlier levels become increasingly scarce as you progress in the randomly generated world.

Your Valkyrie also levels up after acquiring a certain amount of glory. You get to pick two options for your development between levels. The Runes mini-game lets you pick a path of stats bonuses for your vessels while the skills bonus lets you pick fixed bonus that you can use through the rest of your adventure. Incentive to keep playing comes in the form of Clans. At first you only have access to the Iron clan – three distinct classes (hunter, berserker and warrior) of both genders for a total of six different potential possession targets. 

Hunters use bows and arrows to fight at long range, berserkers excel at close combat by dual-wielding weapons while warriors use sword and shield. Each comes with a unique special attack such as the warrior’s shield bash for stunning foes. While progressing in adventure mode, stronger enemies will drop Thor’s Hammer and once you collect 20 of these you get to unlock another of the 11 clans, each with their own distinct classes and bonuses. It is a very clever way to reward your progress while at the same time progressively expanding the playable roster.

While some of background graphics do tend to get reused often, both Viking heroes and foes are aesthetically pleasing and often have some humorous touches. Animation might not be up to everyone’s taste as it uses a technique similar to South Park rather than the more conventional frame-by-frame sprite animation. The actual fighting is both fun and smooth. Despite the repetitive nature of the genre it proves interesting enough to keep you going (or just possess a different character the mix things up). The music is suitably epic and the interludes between stages and the ones after them that expand the plot will often leave you smiling thanks to some well written, clever humour. Despite being roughly on the same level of lore teaching as Jotun, Die for Valhalla! does not take itself as seriously.

Despite all this successful mix of genres and ideas, the lone Valkyrie might find herself a bit tired of all the work ahead. Monster Couch game was designed with local multiplayer as a major focus so if you can find one to three extra Valkryies to come along the journey, the experience is a far more hectic and satisfying one.

Conclusion

Die For Valhalla! is a successful mix of several genres that mainly presents itself as a lengthy side-scrolling beat-’em-up and just like the majority of such games is best enjoyed with friends along the way. There is still a lot to chew for the lonely solo player out there, so if you into the genre and Norse mythology, do consider giving this one a possession. Odin would approve and so do we.

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Wulverblade Developer Highlights Success On Switch

Ever since the launch of Nintendo Switch there has been an influx of releases into the Nintendo eShop. It’s appeal is obvious, a growing, dedicated user base hungry for games that can be played both on the move and in your living room.

Now, both PlayStation and Xbox have had success in the past with the “indie” market, but Nintendo’s Switch platform is arguably the first truly successful platform Nintendo have had with Nindies after mixed results on both 3DS and Wii U.

It’s not perfect however, Nintendo have come under fire a few times from both developers and publishers, especially with regards to the curation and options within the current eShop interface therefore it’s always interesting to see how sales actually compare to other platforms.

Fully Illustrated, the company behind Slash-em-up Wulverblade recently posted some interesting 2D graphics on their twitter timeline.

With eShop sales figures a tightly guarded secret at Nintendo it’s fascinating to see a Switch game doing so well against other platforms.

Naturally there are many factors at work here, not least the different release dates, but interesting all the same.

Did you pick up Wulverblade? If so, what made you decide which system to buy it for? Let us know in the comments below

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Suda51 GameCube Title killer7 To Be Remastered

Originally published by Capcom for Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2, killer7 was a visually striking action-adventure developed by Suda51’s Grasshopper Manufacture.

Rumoured for quite a while, but after 13 years NIS America have now announced that a remaster is underway and will be heading to Steam later this year.

Whilst versions for other platforms have not yet been announced, it seems quite likely that they will follow this initial release if demand warrants it.

Do you remember playing this on GameCube? Would you be interested in a port for Nintendo Switch? Let us know in the comments below.

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Exploring Ubisoft’s Unreleased Wii U Game, Know Your Friends

Ubisoft were big supporters of Nintendo during the Wii era which continued during the launch window for Wii U, however after sales of the system quickly dropped away the relationship between the two companies also cooled.

This was further demonstrated by an infamous situation where Ubisoft had a completed, ready for release Wii U game that the publisher decided to sit on to see if sales would recover.

Ultimately the identity of the game was revealed back in 2015 as friends-party game, Know Your Friends, a Jackbox-esque game that involved you answering questions about your friends.

Friend of Nintendo Life, Liam Robertson of Game History Secrets, has recently released a new video that explains the whole saga in detail and takes a much closer look at the title than ever before:

Whilst the game clearly wouldn’t have turned around the fortunes of Wii U, it’s another example of Ubisoft making the most of the unique dual-screen setup that the Wii U offered along with best in class examples Zombi U and and Rayman Legends.

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Nintendo Has No Plans To Bring Dockless Switch Bundle To The West

Nintendo wants every house to have more than one Switch console, and fulfilling that ambition involves new SKUs – the first of which has just released in Japan. This new pack is aimed at homes which already have a Switch, as it comes without the all-important dock.

This strategy makes perfect sense, but it would seem that it’s exclusive to Japan for the time being. Nintendo of America has issued a statement to US Gamer which says the company has no plans to offer the bundle in that region.

Perhaps NoA has another hardware configuration in the works with slightly different items, or maybe it just wants to sell the complete package while demand is high. Whatever the reason, if you just want a Switch and no dock, you’ll have to import for now.