Category: Nintendo News

PQube and Onion Soup Interactive have announced today that the “multiplayer Japanese sports extravaganza” Nippon Marathon will be coming to the Switch later this year.

Currently available on Steam Early Access, the four-player racer tasks you with getting ahead of your rivals by any means possible while avoiding hazards and changes in the environment. It all looks a bit bonkers if you ask us.

Here’s some PR:

San! Ni! Ichi! Hajime!!! Stretch your muscles and embark upon the ultimate marathon of Japan in a raucous ragdoll party multiplayer racer where anything can happen. Hurdle barrels, outrun Shiba Inu and dive out of the paths of bicycles – all while chucking fruit at your opponents and dashing across planks precariously balanced over waterfalls – in an unreal experience that must be played to be believed.

Four-player madness!
You can’t spell Nippon Marathon without ‘P’, ‘A’, ‘R’, ‘T’ and *checks letters* ‘I’, we suppose… Solo play is supported, but grab up to four pads and enjoy the supreme silliness of gaming’s greatest marathon.

See all of Japan!
Cross the entirety of the land of Nippon in a series of creative courses spanning busy city streets, village lanes, bustling markets, mountaintop shrines, supermarkets and even unsafe sake distilleries! Four courses will be available at the launch of Early Access, with more being added on the road to completion.

Wacky characters!
Go toe-to-toe with some of the coolest contestants who ever did, er… contest! Lobster-man J DARWIN, onesie-obsessive Elizabeth Nishibori, school uniform fan Zenbei “Xen Bae” and the completely normal Snuguru Maestro are among the challengers vying for the podium!

Epic pratfalls!
Swinging poles! Giant face-slapping fish! Cyclists! Shiba Inu! Panes of glass! Traffic! False doors! Barrels! Rolling beams! Wobbly planks! Flying fruit! More Shiba Inu! EARTHQUAKES!!!!! Dodge and dive over the lot or suffer the painful and embarrassing consequences of physics-based collisions…

Tons of surprises!
You never know what will happen next in Nippon Marathon. Perhaps you’ll find time for an impromptu spot of slot machine fun? Maybe a news anchor will jetpack in to interview you on the racetrack? Heck, anything is possible…

Drop-in/drop-out play!
Need a bathroom break to squeeze pineapple juice out of your foam lobster claws? Random pedestrian passing by your couch and wants to play? Whatever the cause, hop in and out for the ultimate, flexible party get-together!

Our friends over at Eurogamer played it recently and did a good job of communicating how utterly insane it all is:

Let us know if you’ve already played the game on Steam and what you think of it. The Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One versions are expected in Autumn this year.

Hot on the heels of its complete English translation of Princess Minerva last year, Dynamic Designs is back with a new translation release for yet another Japan only Super Famicom JRPG; Shin Seikoku: La Wares now joins the ever growing list of Super Famicom games that is now accessible to any English fluent retro enthusiast.

In this 1995 J-Force-developed, Yukata-published RPG you get a fairly unique mix of medieval fantasy combined with mecha armour. The game is an official adaptation of popular Japanese pen and paper RPG brand Wares Blade, featuring Golems (mechs) from an ancient civilization that can only be piloted by certain people and shape the entire concept of civilization and warfare. The combat takes place in a Dragon Quest/Phantasy Star first-person viewpoint, but it’s divided into classic party combat in the dungeons and Golem combat in boss fights and over-world encounters.

The game kicks off with an introduction to the current state of the realm, a plot by a shady bunch to revive one of the eight sacred Golems and the unlikely pair of main protagonists: The young bandit Chiffon and tomboy princess Michelda. You can sample the new English translation in the prologue below.

If the characters and box artwork style look familiar, you are probably a Sailor Moon fan. No, those designs are not just inspired by Kazuko Tadano, those are her actual creations! She was part of the team working in the game and these certainly translate her style very well. If you happen to have the original Super Famicom cartridge around, you can use the translation patch along with your RetroN 5 or Retro Freak clone console.

Was La Wares one of the many JRPGs that caught your eye back in the day? Will you give this game a spin now that the English translation joins up with the original Romanian translation was released back in 2015? Or perhaps you prefer something a little more recent like the (surprisingly similar) Lost Sphear? Polish those Golems and drop us a comment below.

Data East’s love affair with the Nintendo Switch is set to continue next week thanks to Hamster’s Arcade Archives label. Magical Drop III drops onto the eShop giving puzzle lovers who keep wandering why Taito’s Puzzle Bobble is still a no show on the system something to look forward to. This charming third entry in the popular series not only brings the addictive multiplayer versus mode, but also a great big chunk of single-player story mode if you prefer to mix and match those bubbles alone.

Another slice of retro arcade action is also seeing release next week with Irem’s Heroic Episode (also know as Youjyuden in Japan) joining the rest of the ACA library. At first you may be fooled into thinking this is Irem’s answer to Capcom’s Commando set in a heroic fantasy world. However, once you beat the first level boss, your character stands on a cliff, spreads his wings and jumps over the edge! The game then becomes a more traditional TATE scrolling shmup, thus combining both run-n-gun and scrolling shmup genres into a single package.

Both titles will be released on 22nd February at the regular $7.99 / €6.99 / £6.29 price point. Will you be inserting coins in any of these two next week? Ponder your comments while gazing at the ridiculously awesome arcade flyer for Youjyuden.

The Switch’s HD Rumble is pretty impressive – but as Australian programmer Chris discovered, it has added benefits.

Posting on Reddit, Chris explained that as a huge Nintendo fan, he bought a Switch early on. During one of his many heated Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sessions, he noticed a pain in his right hand:

As soon as I played Mario Kart I started getting a shooting pain from my right palm to the first joint in my index finger when the controller vibrated, especially when collecting coins.

He shrugged it off initially. Speaking to Kotaku, Chris said:

I’m a programmer, and it was a pretty busy time at work, so I just put it down to [a repetitive stress injury] or something similar. I thought maybe it’d go after a few quieter days. I would’ve definitely used it as an excuse if I had been losing races against friends, but I’m currently unbeaten, so no one really knew about it.

However, his wife – who played Mario Kart with him – picked up on his complaints of pain. What was strange was that when using other controllers with rumble, such as the Xbox One pad, Chris didn’t experience any discomfort. It was only when playing Mario Kart 8 – which uses a short, sharp rumble effect when picking up coins – that he felt the issue.

Eventually, Chris sought medical help:

After a few weeks with the pain still there, and a small bruise-like mark showing on my palm. I definitely knew something was wrong, but the doctors told me to just keep an eye on it, especially when they found out that I use my hands a lot at work.

Six months later, and Chris had a small lump on his hand. He returned to the doctor and was told it was a tumour which had around a 5 percent chance of being cancerous:

According to the UltraSound and a MRI they’re thinking it might either be a vascular malformation or a giant cell tumour. They won’t know until they take it out.

He’s due to have it removed next week, and credits Nintendo’s console with detecting the issue:

I definitely believe that if it hadn’t been for the Switch I wouldn’t have gone to the doctors until the mark started to raise from my palm months later.

Another selling point for Switch!

Thanks to SLIGEACH_EIRE for the tip!

Bayonetta 2 sure does like its secrets. There are an absolute ton of different items to unlock in the hack and slasher, which either make life easier or much prettier for you.

We also want to make life easier for you, so that’s why we’ve rounded up all of the secret accessories, weapons, characters, and costumes in Bayonetta 2 to help you unlock them.

Secret Accessories

Accessory	How to Unlock	Halo Cost
Bracelet of Time	Beat Story Mode on 2nd Climax with at least Gold on every chapter.	200,000
Climax Brace	Acquire 50 Umbran Tears of Blood.	500,000
Climax Brace II	Complete Story Mode on 2nd Climax with at least Platinum rank on every chapter.	500,000
Eternal Testimony	Acquire 25 Umbran Tears of Blood.	500,000

Secret Weapons

Weapon	How to Unlock
Handguns	Beat Story Mode on any difficulty.
Scarborough Fair	Purchase Super Mirror.
Shuraba	Purchase Super Mirror.
Chain Chomp	Beat Story Mode on 3rd Climax.
Rodin	Beat Rodin.
Umbran Armour	Beat Story Mode Chapter 14 on any difficulty and purchase the Earrings of Ruin.

Secret Characters

Character	How to Unlock
Jeanne	Beat Story Mode on any difficulty.
Rosa	Beat Story Mode on 3rd Climax.
Balder	Beat Balder’s Verse in Tag Climax.
Rodin	Beat Rodin’s Verse in Tag Climax.

Secret Costumes

Costume	How to Unlock
Rakshasa Umbran Elegance	Purchase Rakshasa.
Kafka Umbran Elegance	Purchase Kafka.
Chernobog Umbran Elegance	Purchase Chernobog.
Takemikazuchi Umbran Elegance	Purchase Takemikazuchi.
Chain Chomp Umbran Elegance	Purchase Chain Chomp.
Super Mirror 2	Progress in Story Mode.
Schoolgirl Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 2.
Police Woman Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 2.
Witch Apprentice Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 2.
Metal Witch Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 2.
Dress Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 2.
Uniformed Couture Bullet (Jeanne)	Purchase Super Mirror 2.
Super Mirror 64-2	Progress in Story Mode.
Mushroom Kingdom Princess Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 64-2.
Sarasaland Princess Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 64-2.
Hero of Hyrule Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 64-2.
Galactic Bounty Hunter Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 64-2.
Super Mirror	Beat Story Mode on 2nd Climax.
Old-Old Hairstyle Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror.
Nun-Old Hairstyle Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror.
Uniformed-Old Hairstyle Couture Bullet (Jeanne)	Purchase Super Mirror.
Super Mirror 64	Beat Story Mode on 3rd Climax.
Sarasaland Princess-Old Hairstyle Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 64.
Hero of Hyrule-Old Hairstyle Couture Bullet	Purchase Super Mirror 64.
Galactic Bounty Hunter-Old Hairstyle	Purchase Super Mirror 64.
Mushroom Kingdom Princess	Use compatible Princess Peach amiibo.
Sarasaland Princess	Use compatible Daisy amiibo.
Hyrule Costume	Use compatible Link amiibo.
Galactic Bounty Hunter	Use compatible Samus amiibo.
Fox McCloud	Use compatible Fox McCloud amiibo.

Yes, it wasn’t a fever dream – Dark Souls: Remastered really is coming to Nintendo Switch and it’s just over three months out. And as we drag our hollowed form towards that release date, more details are beginning to emerge regarding its development, including who might be dealing with the porting process.

According to a listing the Australian Classification Board (which deals with game ratings Down Under), China-based studio Virtuos is listed as a developer. Neither the developer nor publisher Bandai Namco has officially confirmed the news, but if true, it could be another reason to be excited for the first portable Souls.

The studio has a lot of experience porting titles to console, and that includes the Nintendo Switch version of L.A. Noire that made a respectable impression on us last year. It’s also believed that Polish porting studio QLOC and some members of FromSoftware are also working on the ports.

Let us know what you make of the news, and whether it gives you more reason to check out Dark Souls Remastered when it hits Switch on 25th May, 2018… 

Runner3 is one of the higher profile indie games on the horizon for the Switch, continuing the rhythm-platformer gameplay in what seems like an even more outlandish adventure than the last. The game was promised for a 2018 release date, and it seems that the developers are closing in on announcing that release date, as it’s just been confirmed that Runner3 is currently under review at Nintendo.

A post recently appeared on the official devblog confirming that Runner3 has gone gold and that Nintendo is in the process of ensuring it’s fit for a release. Assuming all goes well, Choice Provisions will then commence the printing of the game on physical cartridges and have the release date announced shortly after. Hopefully this all means that we’ll be seeing the game sometime this spring, but the wait may turn out to be longer than that.

What do you think? Will you be picking up Runner3? Which Bit.Trip game was your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Yesterday brought with it the fascinating news that the upcoming re-release of the Mega Man X series will likely be split between two separate collections, echoing the predecessor collection for the classic Mega Man series. It was assumed that Mega Man Legacy Collection would simply be re-released in two parts as it appeared on other platforms, but a new ratings listing seems to indicate otherwise.

The ESRB recently published a rating for Mega Man Legacy Collection 1 & 2, indicating it will be a single release. If this turns out to be an accurate listing, then that would mean that Capcom will be tossing the full Mega Man classic series onto one cartridge. It wouldn’t be too surprising if this did come to pass, but nothing’s official until we hear about it from Capcom. Given the recent influx of Mega Man news, it probably is gearing up for an announcement.

What do you think? Would you buy a complete Mega Man Legacy Collection? Which Mega Man game is your favorite? Share your thoughts in the comments below.