Pikachu – the world’s most famous Pocket Monster – has been made a Cultural Ambassador for the City of Osaka. No, you’re not dreaming.
Foreign Minister of Japan Tarō Kōno presented Pikachu with the position at a ceremony recently. Hello Kitty (but of course!) was also given the same role.
The two characters have been enlisted to assist in strengthening Osaka’s claim for the 2025 World Expo, and will be joined by Club de Fútbol Pachuca player Keisuke Honda and Kyoto University professor (and 2012 Nobel Prize winner) Shinya Yamanaka, both of whom must be feeling pretty intimidated by the incredible merchandising power and plush softness of their fellow ambassadors.
World Expos are held every five years, with the next one taking place in Dubai in 2020. Saclay in the suburbs of Paris, Yekaterinburg in Russia and the Azerbaijan capital of Baku are the other contenders to host the 2025 event, but none of them are able to call upon the immense adorability of Pikachu and Hello Kitty, so we assume it will only be a matter of time before they do the sensible thing and announce they are stepping out of the running.
Another week, another indie shooter drops on the Nintendo eShop. While it would be rude to complain about the number of games coming to Nintendo’s newest console, the roguelike shooter has been more than popular among developers and publishers on the machine. With that in mind, there is a balance to find between tapping into a beloved genre and adding enough to make it both interesting and stand out from the crowd.
Xenoraid is a space-themed, top-down scrolling shooter from developer 10tons, who have recently brought over JYDGE, Neon Chrome and Time Recoil to the Switch. While these were twin stick shooters with varying degrees of variety and narrative, Xenoraid is much more ‘straight up’, both figuratively and literally.
Top-down shooters aren’t lauded for their narrative impact, and Xenoraid doesn’t attempt to change the formula. It’s a pretty predictable and shallow ‘save the world from an incoming alien invasion’ set up, and will win no prizes for the stale attempt at epic-sounding hero speech rhetoric; the generic dialogue exchanges are pretty disposable but aesthetically reminiscent of Time Recoil. Presentation overall is functional yet derivative, save for the (inter)stellar ominous ambient synth soundtrack and meaty gunfire sound effects. The characters are well drawn but static, with no moral ambiguity or personal demons, just a bunch of astro-heroes wanting to save the planet. The softly coloured planets and cosmic backdrops are similarly pleasant, if a little limited. There are also asteroid fields to navigate on a regular basis, while the enemy types lack both individuality and variety in terms of visuals, but have decent lighting effects and smooth motion.
Thankfully, the game doesn’t take long to move on and you are into the action fairly quickly. Each of the five chapters are split into between six and ten stages, with a short exchange between pilots setting up each scenario. There is the option to buy, sell, repair and upgrade spacecraft in between levels, but as this feature doesn’t carry over from chapter to chapter, there is more a sense of short-term achievement rather than long-term resource management.
The game’s HUD during a battle explicitly displays the number of small, medium and large enemies that have to be destroyed in order to progress in the bottom left, while the status of your fleet is bottom right. The enemies come in waves, with small dialogue boxes appearing regularly to try and add some tension to the proceedings. Buying and using custom load-outs and special abilities will aid your progression, such as a screen clearing nuclear blast when someone runs out of health. While using these abilities add a little strategy, truth is, the resource management in between stages, while competent, takes a back seat compared to the games main gameplay crux.
In addition to the standard movement using the left stick and ZL and ZR to deploy primary and secondary weapons, in any given stage you have (finances permitting) up to four spacecraft at your disposal. Furthermore, you are able to swap out these ships on the fly during a stage by tapping one of the four face buttons to deploy the corresponding vehicle. The swapping mechanic in game can be used to a player’s advantage, as it renders the craft impervious to enemy attack for a short time. The largest types of enemy ships have devastating and resolute homing missiles that will test your reflexes. It takes a bit of getting used to, but switching ships regularly is a skill worth honing, as the outline as to where the next craft will appear allows for a little shrewd strategy during more heated sections.
Paradoxically, with regular switching between vessels, it’s difficult to truly master the handling of any one craft. As you progress, more ships and weapons become available, but the ships themselves have very little identity in terms of visuals, and are all very similar looking. Although the craft are not particularly striking or different from one another visually, controlling their movement varies greatly. In combat, your firepower is limited but your bullet’s trajectory is based on your ship’s direction, as opposed to keeping its straight line, and each ship handles differently. Regardless of which ship you are controlling, though, none of them feel tight enough compared to other games in the genre.
There are also two additional modes outside of the main campaign, including a survival mode and local coop for up to four players, which is, of course, ideally suited to the Switch hardware. In handheld, the game runs smoothly, and while it technically doesn’t struggle, the coop mode is best suited to a big screen.
Conclusion
Although Xenoraid does nothing to shake up the genre, changing spacecraft in the heat of battle and using different weapons on the fly tries to add spice to an otherwise solid but unspectacular top-down shooter experience. The characters, dialogue and locations are neither varied nor dynamic enough to be very engaging, and the gameplay, while serviceable, will satisfy but certainly not impress anyone who has already played one of its ancestors or contemporaries, either on Switch or elsewhere.
Nintendo pays some very smart people a lot of money to promote its products, and it knows how to ‘play’ the internet and get our attention in the wrong ways. That must be the thinking behind this 1-2-Switch trailer, called “Fun for all the family this Christmas”, released by Nintendo UK.
It’s suitably cheesy, showing a typical household (albeit a surprisingly tidy one) on Christmas Day. But then the milking game comes into it, and our despair for mankind deepens.
Finnish studio 10tons has revealed that its “full contact tennis game” Tennis in the Face will launch on the Switch next Friday, priced $4.99.
Described as a “physics based puzzle game with slapstick humour” and boasting 120 “increasingly challenging levels”, Tennis in the Face places you in the plimsoles of former tennis star Pete Pagassi, who has “sworn to rid the city from the grasp of the corrupt energy drink manufacturer Explodz Inc”.
Our friends over at Push Square awarded it a respectable 7/10, saying:
Outside of its outlandish energy drink-inspired storyline, this is a straightforward arcade game which revels in the base appeal of hitting people with balls. Lively presentation belies comatose gameplay, but its simplicity serves as a solid palette cleanser between longer gaming rallies.
Will you be ordering in the strawberries and cream for when this launches next week? Let us know with a comment.
Sega has reduced its full year sales and profit forecasts for the current financial year amid struggles in the pachinko industry.
Full-year net sales of $3.38bn and profits of $98.1m were originally predicted by the Japanese veteran, but it has now revised these totals to $2.94bn and $44.6m respectively.
The culprit isn’t the video games business as you might have expected, but the pachinko industry. Sales are now expected to be some 30 percent below initial forecasts.
Sega’s entertainment business – which includes video games – has actually done rather well, although Sega has still lowered its game sale forecasts by $44.5m to $1.9bn. However, operating income is expected to rise by 30 percent.
It’s been something of an odd year for Sega, with Sonic Mania – which, was arguably intended to be an appetiser between mainline Sonic games – becoming a critical and commercial hit, while Sonic Forces has suffered something of a mauling at the hands of reviewers. Sega’s other big success this year has been Total War: Warhammer 2.
Here’s the official statement issued by Sega:
As to the entertainment contents business, strong performance is evidenced by operating income as of the end of the first half surpassing the previous full year forecast and such.
Although launch of new titles for digital games field might delay compare to initial plan, several new titles include mainstay titles are scheduled to be released in packaged games and amusement machine sales field of the entertainment contents business in the second half, operating income is expected to surpass the previous forecast.
What have you made of Sega’s efforts this year? Let us know with a comment.
Time again for a look back at some retro gaming! There was a TurboGrafx-16 game that graced the Wii Virtual Console back in 2007 called J.J. & Jeff. That game was originally known as Kato-chan & Ken-chan, and was quite well-known back in Japan. The game was changed in a few key areas when brought to the West – namely the playable characters’ names and likenesses. This was because the Kato and Ken in the game were famous celebrities in Japan, and the game was based off of their TV show that was on the air when the game was made.
The show – as well as its stars – were not known outside of Japan, so the game went under the knife, as so many classic titles have, and none were the wiser. However, the game’s re-issue on Virtual Console in the Internet Age meant that people could dig up and compare the versions and learn the secret backstory to this game, and many others. Not only were the characters changed, but some of the more adult elements were taken out of the English version. The most notable is that the characters Kato and Ken go to the bathroom outdoors – a lot.
You may already know the story of how Kato-chan & Ken-chan became J.J. & Jeff. Or, you might know how one segment of their TV show became America’s Funniest Home Videos, a hit show in its own right. But, have you ever seen the show? Do you know how the show was made into the game? They are in other games as well! I have found some tapes and put everything together to point out exactly how famous Kato and Ken are, what funny gags from the show made it to the game, and how those were changed in the J.J & Jeff version you may have played.
Check out the video below to see it all. Its packed with trivia tidbits and game history goodness, with lots of Japanese TV craziness you’ll love!
If you liked this video be sure to check out GTV for more things retro, Nintendo and Japan.
Make sure you’ve got some tissues handy for this one, because there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when we watched this video at the Nintendo Life Towers.
Nathan Neidigk, a teacher at Volcano Vista High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, lost his wife a few years ago and recently had to deal with the catastrophic news that his three-year-old son Mikey has Leukaemia. The cost of shelling out for medical treatment over the next 3 and a half years means that Neidigk has had to forgo treating himself and his son to a Nintendo Switch this Christmas – something his class was aware of.
Keen to see their favourite teacher get some good news, the kids clubbed together $475 and purchased a Switch along with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and surprised Neidigk at the start of class one day.
As you can see from the footage, Neidigk cannot believe his class have been so thoughtful, and seems genuinely touched by the gift. He even mentions that he forces himself to walk past the Switch consoles in his local Target store because he cannot afford one.
Student Kayla Yaksich said:
It was an early Christmas gift for Mr Neidigk. We knew it was the only present he wanted but that the medical bills for his son meant he probably couldn’t afford it. I had tears in my eyes watching his reaction. He had no idea what to expect and seemed to be overwhelmed with the surprise.
Neidigk later commented that the console will be perfect for when Mikey has to stay in hospital during his chemotherapy treatment. He also stated how much his class’ generosity means to him amid his current struggles:
These guys are awesome. I’m just incredibly overwhelmed with their generosity and support. It’s the guys and gals in my class that are the big reason that keeps me going during tough times.
If you’ve been touched by this heartwarming story then you might want to contribute to a Go Fund Me page which has been set up to raise cash to cover Mikey’s medical bills.
Splatoon and Splatoon 2 are fantastic games, establishing a new franchise that’ll likely run on for many years to come. A big part of the games, apart from splatting things, is the music – from day one the IP has had its own distinct style that goes from strength to strength with each added track, while live performances are hugely popular in Japan especially.
Nintendo is consistently adding music to the latest title on Switch, and over the past two weeks has continued the trend of releasing behind the scenes videos, showing some of these tracks being laid down in the recording studio. As is often a case with Nintendo’s music videos they’re a fascinating watch, and a chance to marvel at the talented musicians that make the quirky beats happen.
It’s good stuff, though we’d likely be corpsing / breaking a fair bit if we were performing this music; it must be a lot of fun working on projects like that.
Are you still enjoying all of the music that Splatoon 2 has to offer?
While we don’t make a habit of covering every single accessory released for Switch, we’re perfectly happy to make an exception every now and then – and this is one of those times.
The moment we saw these officially licensed Super Mario Quick Pouches for Switch we knew we had to own them. Produced by Keys Factory, each pouch is made from a soft neoprene-like material and comes with a velcro fastener to keep your console nice and snug inside.
Available in Mario and Luigi designs, these pouches don’t offer storage for game cards or anything like that, but they also don’t bulk up your system too much, making them ideal for those people who don’t have room in their bag for a large case.
We could explain the design and specifications in more detail, but who are we kidding? The selling point of these pouches is the way they look. Expect to get plenty of admiring glances / troubled looks when you pull these out at the local cafe.
Hironobu Sakaguchi is something of a legend in Japanese video game circles. He created Final Fantasy – arguably one of the most popular franchises to emerge from the Land of the Rising Sun – and has also been involved with classics such as Super Mario RPG, Xenogears, Blue Dragon and The Last Story.
Sakaguchi’s Mistwalker studio is currently working on smartphones via his Terra Battle series, but has expressed an interest in moving back to consoles at some point, perhaps even with the third Terra Battle title.
…I do want to develop games on console again at some point. We’re even working on Terra Battle 3 right now and maybe console will be the right fit for that. Just because we are developing heavily on mobile right now doesn’t mean we have completely left console behind. After all, the Nintendo Switch is a very good piece of hardware.
The success of the Switch – and the unique possibilities it offers – is attracting a lot of developer support, so it’s hardly surprising that Sakaguchi is interested. Still, getting a developer of his talent on board would be amazing; let’s hope this is more than just a platitude and the man behind Final Fantasy really is going to bring something to Switch.
