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Category: Nintendo News
Nintendo News
Video: You Can Fit Practically Everything In WaterField’s New SwitchPack Carry Case
Bag maker WaterField has been producing superb storage and travel options for Nintendo fans since the days of the 3DS, and has already given us an excellent Switch option. However, the company clearly sees room for improvement in everything it makes, as it has just released the new, larger SwitchPack carry case – and wouldn’t you know it, our video expert Alex has put one through its paces.
The big plus points here are additional security for your Switch (it’s now concealed behind a zipper) and enough room to house a small family. Yes, this bag may look dinky, but don’t allow that to fool you – there’s enough room inside to not only store your Switch, but the official dock as well!
If you like what you see then, erm, tough – the WaterField SwitchPack case is completely sold out at the time of writing. However, we’d imagine that the company will be starting a second production run soon, so keep your eye on the official site for more news.
Live: Watch The Nintendo Switch Nindies Spring 2018 Showcase Right Here
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Futuristic Combat Racer GRIP Will Be Burning Rubber On Switch Later This Year
Wired Productions and developer Caged Element have announced that GRIP, an upcoming futuristic racing game, will be heading to Nintendo Switch this year.
Currently available as a Steam Early Access title, GRIP was inspired by the Rollcage games of the late ’90s, aiming to deliver a super-fast, hugely competitive racing experience alongside gravity defying physics and a bristling arsenal of outlandish weapons.
Evolved from the age of street racing, the world of GRIP is designed to be brutal and cut-throat to the core. You’ll be scaling walls, ceilings and anything else you can get your tyres on to as you master every track, performing various stunts to race your way across the cosmos. In-game options will allow you to customise your vehicle, and thanks to the game’s destructible environments you can ensure not only victory, but the complete annihilation of your opponents.
No specific release date or prices have been confirmed just yet, but we’ll make sure to keep an eye out for this one when it lands later this year.
Do you like the look of this one? Let us know your thoughts below.
Grab Zelda, ARMS, FIFA 18 And More In The Big eShop Sale On 3DS, Wii U And Switch
With the Nindies Showcase arriving this week (later today, to be exact), what better way to celebrate than some much-needed discounts? Across the European Switch, Wii U and 3DS eShops over 140 titles that have had their prices slashed – including some of the biggest titles to feature on all three platforms.
Here are some highlights. DOOM, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and ARMS can be yours for €39.99 each (they were €59.99 a piece); L.A. Noire is now €37.49 (was €49.99); Rocket League has come down to €14.99 (previously €19.99) and FIFA 18 has been slashed from €59.99 to just €29.99. Now that’s some serious savings.
Elsewhere in 3DS land, the trifecta of Monster Hunter Stories, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate and Monster Hunter Generations are €23.99, €22.49 and €22.49 respectively. Even the classic, 3D-rejigged The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is now €11.99.
Head on over to each eShop to find more bargains. The sale runs from 2pm GMT on 22nd March to 23:59 (local time) on 5th April. Let us know which ones you’ll be grabbing when the sale kicks off this Thursday…
Be Afraid, Will.i.am Wants To Make “The Next Pokémon GO”
Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am – real name William James Adams Jr. – has expressed an interest in creating what he feels could be the successor to the wildly popular Pokémon GO.
The band have just collaborated with Marvel on the comic Masters of the Sun, which was accompanied to market by an Augmented Reality app. However, will.i.am reveals that he’s far from done with the technology, and cites Niantic’s smartphone smash as inspiration for his next project:
We have a new instalment of this intellectual property that we’re going to bring to culture later on in this year. For example, there’s Spotify and then there’s also Deezer, Apple Music and Pandora. There’s Instagram stories, and then there’s Snapchat. For everything there is another thing. But Pokemon Go? What’s the other Pokemon? It doesn’t exist, right? There is no other that.
And that s*** made a lot of money. But nobody is trying to go out into the world and do that s*** because to do that you have to have augmented technology. I’m just saying you have to start to identify and see things, trigger things and place things. And it’s amazing that there is no other Pokemon Go. For everything you can imagine, there is another thing. Except for that one. Wow it’s crazy!
Will.i.am has his fingers in a lot of pies. As well as music and fashion, he’s a big fan of technology and was appointed director of creative innovation at Intel back in 2011. His smartphone accessory company i.am+ has been expanding in recent years, snapping up other firms to increase its line of products, which include the smartwatch ‘dial’ and Bluetooth headphones BUTTONS.
He’s clearly someone with their finger on the pulse, but could he possibly challenge Pokémon GO in the smartphone arena? Let us know with a comment.
Feast Your Eyes (And Your Belly) On These Little Dragons Café Screens
Last month, publisher Aksys Games confirmed the quirky world of Little Dragons Café is headed to Nintendo Switch this summer, and now we’ve been treated to some of the first delectable screens from the game (courtesy of Gamefly).
Coming from creator Yasuhiro Wada, who brought us the enduring Harvest Moon/Story Of Seasons series, Little Dragons Café will task a pair of twins with the unenviable task of running their very own quaint eatery while somehow finding the time to raise a baby dragon. You know, as you do.
The Gamefly page also states a release date of the 24th August, and while that would fit the ‘summer’ window stated previously, there’s been no official word yet so don’t pop your dragon eggs all in one basket until we know more. Regardless of when it does arrive, these tasty screens have us hungry for more. Thanks to PixelPar for the tip.
What do you make of Little Dragons Café and its unusual premise? Worth a punt for Wada’s involvement alone? Share your thoughts below…
Hollow Knight On Switch Not Part Of The Nindies Showcase, But Release News Is Coming Soon
Nintendo is broadcasting a Nindies Showcase later today which will no doubt be packed to bursting point with loads of lovely indie goodness for Switch.
One game that won’t be included is Team Cherry’s eagerly-awaited Metroidvania outing Hollow Knight; the team behind the game – which has already had a successful launch on Steam – has officially stated that it’s not going to be part of today’s broadcast:
Still, some news is better than no news at all, and we can’t wait to hear when this excellent title will be headed to the Switch eShop.
Let us know if you’re disappointed about Hollow Knight not being part of the Nindies Showcase by posting a comment below.
Review: Real Bout Fatal Fury (Switch eShop / Neo Geo)
The third Fatal Fury game may have been subtitled ‘Road To The Final Victory‘ but the Legend of the Hungry Wolf was far from over. The first game to follow that third instalment (released in the same year, in fact) was Real Bout Fatal Fury, a game that feels in part like an upgraded Fatal Fury 3. Using the same three-plane fighting system (the only other game in the series to do so), the cracking music returns as do all 13 characters – including the bosses who are now playable. New tunes also feature and the fighter lineup is expanded with the inclusion of Kim Kaphwan, Duck King and Billy Kane – all returning from Fatal Fury Special, though now with redrawn sprites.
As always, the aim of the game is to win a series of best-of-three round fights (13 in total) and to do this you’ll be performing combos or single punches, kicks throws and special moves; a partial movelist is included in the electronic manual. To avoid getting hit you can block, jump/hop away or make use of the multiple planes to stay safe. Being able to move into the foreground as well as the background may provide more options than are really necessary, but the temporary trips out of the centre lane work well for avoiding a beating (and maybe put you in position to launch a counter-attack).
So far, so Fatal Fury 3, but there are some differences, such as the number of attack buttons used. Real Bout ditches the four-button approach for a single punch, a kick and a strong attack button; positioning determining what this is. The fourth button is now dedicated to changing planes (press with down to move into the foreground) where previously button combinations were required. Coming off Fatal Fury 3, this similar-but-not-quite-the-same gameplay style can take a moment to get used to, but it works well.
A new introduction is the power gauge, which offers a few different options during the rounds. Once it turns yellow (half-way) certain special attacks can be used as a guard cancel move to quickly go from a defensive position to an offensive one, even breaking through your opponents own guard. More powerful are the moves available should the gauge fill up, such as your Super Special move and (should your life bar be low) a devastating Potential Power move – much like the desperation moves of previous games.
Fights take place across four main stages (Geese has his own), with you having three fights in each location. Though a low number, each is full of the detail typical of a SNK game and changing times of day provides some visual variety; the subway station at night in particular having a much different feel. As with Fatal Fury 3, the final blow of the match can knock a defeated fighter towards the screen, but they can no longer be flung into the background scenery. What you can do, however, is knock your opponent off the sides in the main stages for an Out of Bounds victory.
Not just a spectacular finish to a fight, these can be used to end a round early. Barriers such as crates, doors and even people are at the edges of the screen, but hit them enough and they’ll disappear, enabling you to send your opponent flying from the designated fighting area. Defeated foes may crash into electrical equipment, fall from a platform or land atop an elevator and one amusing finish sees the defeated fighter land on a train, which then departs with them still aboard. Some characters look suitably dejected when deposited in water while somewhat ominously others fail to resurface.
The potential for out of bounds victories gives you more options to consider during a fight. Barrier damage is carried over between rounds so even if it doesn’t come into play in the current round you may be able to get a quick victory in the next. When the barrier is gone you have to be careful not to jump past your opponent and gift them a victory, yet similarly if you are taking a battering against the edge of the screen but manage to get the other side of them, you can snatch a win. With the various ways fights can play out, barriers won’t always disappear during your fights, but it’s a fun inclusion that works well and it’s surprising it didn’t appear in future instalments.
Although not as tough as some fighters, the usual eight difficulty settings are available to adjust the challenge of the CPU fighters to your liking. As usual HAMSTER have included online leaderboards so you can try and improve your standing in the regular arcade as well as one-credit Hi-score and five-minute Caravan modes. Of course most of the replay value in a fighting game comes from just fighting rather than point scoring and a second player can buy into the arcade mode at any time. Though not ideal, the new control scheme works quite well with detached Joy-Con should you be out and about and have no other option for an impromptu two-player showdown.
Conclusion
There’s been a tweak to the controls, but Real Bout Fatal Fury offers similar fast-paced fighting thrills to Fatal Fury 3. This game builds on that with some extra characters and the introduction of a power gauge to give you a few different things to consider during battle. It also features fun sights such as a defeated fighter somehow finding themselves trapped aboard a ship, hammering desperately on the hull in the hope of getting free before it leaves. The Real Bout games that followed would make some changes, including more character additions, but this is still a well put together entertaining fighter.
Video: Nintendo Releases Infectiously Upbeat Switch Spring Line-Up Video In Japan
Nintendo’s got a lot of forward momentum right now, but if 2018 is going to be anywhere near as successful as 2017, the company needs to keep hammering home the key “play anytime, anywhere” message of the Switch.
That’s precisely what it’s doing in Japan with this new spring line-up commercial, which not only shows of the versatility of the console but also gives ample screen-time to the likes of Mario Tennis Aces, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Kirby Star Allies, as well as the new Splatoon 2 single-player DLC.
It’s a pretty effective piece of marketing – goodness knows we want to be invited to that rooftop party at the end so badly – but do you think Nintendo’s slate of spring releases is strong enough to keep sales brisk? Let us know with a comment.