Category: Nintendo News

The time that we wished would never come has now arrived, Miiverse is officially now no longer a thing. Back in August Nintendo notified customers that the plug would be pulled on the 8th November, and so it came to pass.

Miiverse users were encouraged to submit a final doodle in October, which would be used to create a giant collage to celebrate Miiverse’s short lived reign of glory. In addition to this, the legendary Shigeru Miyamoto shared a doodle of his own, which is just adorable:

So thus ends Nintendo’s quirky social network which started with the launch of the Wii U and quickly spread on to the 3DS. The writing was on the wall when Miiverse wasn’t a feature on the Switch; however games like Splatoon 2 do allow you to share doodles in the main plaza, so in a way the spirit of Miiverse lives on.

Let us know your thoughts on the closure of Miiverse with a comment below.

For those of us that already own L.A. Noire on PC / PS3 / Xbox 360, it’s tough to justify buying it again for the Nintendo Switch. Then you see Rockstar’s new Switch trailer and realise how cool it is to have the game on a portable device, and suddenly it’s time to check the bank balance.

Assuming these are real Switch visuals and performance levels it’s looking pretty good on the diminutive screen – 720p when undocked, of course, but it looks smooth. Naturally some will doubt it’s legit Switch footage, but let’s remember this is a last-gen game, so Nintendo’s hybrid should theoretically be able to handle it rather well.

Check it out for yourself below.

It’s out on 14th November; are you tempted to pick it up?

Humble Bundle is publishing Dumb & Fat Games’ Wandersong on Switch, it has been confirmed.

Described as a “side-scrolling musical adventure”, you assume the role of a “silly bard who embarks on a globe-trotting journey to learn about the mysterious Earthsong, said to be able to prevent the universe’s imminent end.”

Wandersong offers around 10 hours of gameplay and is blessed with a “sprawling soundtrack” by A Shell in the Pit, the team behind the music in Rogue Legacy and Night in the Woods. 

It’s coming in early 2018. Excited? Let us know below.

It’s time for the Nintendo Download Update, and it’s another busy week in Europe. There are multiple intriguing retail arrivals on the Switch, along with various download-only options and DLC. The 3DS and Wii U also get in on the act along with the usual batch of discounts, so let’s get to it.

Nintendo Switch Retail Downloads

DOOM (Bethesda, €59.99 / £49.99) – This intense and fast-paced shooter was critically acclaimed when it launched in 2016, and it’s made an impressive transition to Nintendo’s hybrid system. A full-on solo campaign is joined by some fun online multiplayer options, so it’s an impressive package to have on the go. Despite a few day one flaws we still gave this a thumbs up in our DOOM review. Available from 10th November.

Sonic Forces (SEGA, €39.99 / £34.99) – The long-awaited next entry in the 3D Sonic series, drawing ideas from the likes of Generations and Colors. In this one there are wisp powers once again, and in addition you also create and control your own avatar characters in some stages. We gave it a modest recommendation in our Sonic Forces review.

Farming Simulator: Nintendo Switch Edition (Focus Home Interactive, €44.99 / £37.99) – While it’s easy to dismiss a humble farming sim, this series is surprisingly popular. Farming Simulator 17 attracted a whopping one million players within the first month of its launch. Even the German Chancellor Angela Merkel can’t get enough of ploughing virtual fields. If that’s your thing, this may be worth a look.

Ben 10 (Outright Games, €34.99 / £34.99) – A single player action brawler which could certainly be fun for fans of the TV series. Available from 10th November.

Nintendo Switch Retail Download / DLC

Snipperclips Plus: Cut it out, together! (Nintendo, €29.98 / £26.98 for a ‘bundle’ of the full game plus new content, DLC alone is €9.99 / £8.99) – Coming to retail as a complete package with the new content also available as DLC for those that own the original; there’ll be 30 new stages, remixes of old stages and some additional features such as a ‘stamp’ mode. Available from 10th November.

Nintendo Switch Retail Download Pre-Purchase

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Nintendo, €59.99 / £49.99 or €89.98 / £76.98 with the expansion pass) – Full game unlock on 1st December.

L.A. Noire (Rockstar Games, €49.99 / £44.99) – Full game unlock on 14th November.

Switch eShop

Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Young Horses Inc, €13.99 / £11.99) – A game based around tricky controls and chaos, it was actually a sequel and certainly earned plenty of plaudits when it first arrived. It eventually made its way to Wii U but, unfortunately, it wasn’t a perfect port. Our review of the Switch version will be with you later today.

Cat Quest (Pqube, €12.99 / £9.99) – One of the quirkier titles that’s been in the works for some time, this is “an open world RPG set in the pawsome world of cats!” Expect lots of cat-themed wordplay, but it also looks like it could be a relatively deep and fun game – we’ll ask whether Dog Quest is in development and see whether this one is purrfect in a review.

Heroes of the Monkey Tavern (Monkey Stories, €9.99 / £8.99) – This one picks up the style of old-school first-person dungeon crawlers, with a mix of classes, enemies, puzzles and plenty of combat to tackle. It looks rather simplistic in footage but neverthelesss captures the stronger points of the genre; we gave it a recommendation in our Heroes of the Monkey Tavern review.

UNO (Ubisoft, €9.99 / £7.99) – No, that’s not a typo, it is a Ubisoft game, and considering the fact that the company’s version of Monopoly costs a slightly ludicrous $39.99USD / £29.99 on the Switch, this is at least reasonably priced. This spin on the card game includes online play and various customisation options to switch things up.

Tallowmere (Teyon, €6.99 / £6.29) – Perhaps you remember this one from its release on the Wii U eShop last year; we really liked it in our review. The challenge is to see how far you can get into the dungeons. Each randomly-generated room gets bigger, harder, and more rewarding the further you go, and you strive to earn better gear as you progress. We’ll check it out on Switch and let you know what we think.

Koi DX (CIRCLE Entertainment, €5.00 / £4.99) – Released on the Wii U a while ago, Koi DX places you in the role of a lone fish which has become separated from its owner and is tasked with purifying waters polluted by mankind. To do this, you must explore the waters for other fish and guide them to flowers of the same colour while avoiding the malevolent black fish. The game includes “memory jigsaws”, new skins and alternative fish to control. We’ll swim towards a review soon.

Transcripted (Plug In Digital, €7.99 / £6.99) – This is a match three puzzler / dual stick shoot ‘em up hybrid that looks a bit like the love child of Nano Assault and Zuma. We’ll see how it shapes up in a review.

Spellspire (10tons, €9.99 / £8.99) – Spellspire casts the player in the role of a nerdy wizard climbing a 100 level tower; plenty of monsters must be defeated and loot collected on the way. Combat uses a word game mechanic, where the player picks letters from a grid of ten to spell out words; these are cast out as spells, with longer words producing more powerful blasts. We’ll dig out a thesaurus and get cracking on a review.

Maria The Witch (Naps Team, €4.99 / £4.49) – One of those ‘tap to fly’ games popularised on mobile and with a few similar experiences on Wii U and 3DS, your task is to collect mail and various items through a variety of stages. We’ll see whether it casts a spell over us in a review.

Rock ‘N Racing Off Road DX (EnjoyUp Games, €7.99 / £7.19) – Another title making its way across from the Wii U, it features a variety of tracks, an arcade mode, time trials, and multiplayer action to get stuck into as well as a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack for accompaniment. We didn’t have a great experience with the game on Wii U so we’re hoping for a pleasant surprise on the new console.

Street Hoop (HAMSTER, €6.99 / £6.29) – The latest ACA Neo Geo release fills that Basketball gap in the line-up; we reviewed this back in 2010 when it landed on the Wii Virtual Console it netted an impressive 8/10.

Nintendo Switch DLC

Sonic Forces: Shadow Costume (SEGA, free)

Switch eShop Demo

Super Beat Sports (Harmonix, free)

Switch eShop Temporary Discount

Sparkle 2 (10tons, €6.79 / £5.94 until 16th November, normally €7.99 / £6.99)

3DS eShop

Bonds of the Skies (KEMCO, €9.99 / £8.99) – When we saw the artwork and title we instinctively thought ‘that’ll be a KEMCO RPG on 3DS’, and so it came to be. In this one humans and Gods team up to find a demon that’s ‘cast a town into a sea of flames’, which is a normal weekend for most of us.

Hiding Out (Green Lightning, €4.99 / £4.99) – Drawing inspiration from retro platformers, this looks like a simplistic title in which you hunt for photo parts. 

New Nintendo 3DS eShop

RTO (nuGAME, €8.99 / £7.99) – This appears to be a scrolling gallery shooter in which you control multiple characters to shoot a whole lot of scary aliens, though the developer describes it as an “FPS survival horror game with permadeath”.

3DS DLC

Culdcept Revolt – Challenge from Hell (NIS America, €0.99 / £0.89)

Culdcept Revolt – Soltis (NIS America, €0.99 / £0.89)

Culdcept Revolt – Zigzag Tour (NIS America, free)

3DS Demo

Worcle Worlds (Lightwood Games, free)

3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! (Shin’en Multimedia, €2.24 / £1.87 until 30th November, normally €2.99 / £2.50)

Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D Download Version (Zordix AB, €4.99 / £4.49 until 16th November, normally €9.99 / £8.99)

Me and My Pets 3D (Treva Entertainment, €4.99 / £6.24 until 30th November, normally €29.99 / £24.99)

My Pet School 3D (Treva Entertainment, €9.99 / £8.24 until 30th November, normally €29.99 / £24.99)

3D Game Collection (Joindots, €5.24 / £3.74 until 23rd November, normally €6.99 / £4.99)

Atlantic Quest (Joindots, €5.24 / £3.74 until 23rd November, normally €6.99 / £4.99)

Secret Agent Files: Miami (Joindots, €5.99 / £4.49 until 23rd November, normally €7.99 / £5.99)

Kutar Apple (CIRCLE Entertainment, €0.69 / £0.69 until 23rd November, normally €0.99 / £0.99)

Kutar Burger Factory (CIRCLE Entertainment, €0.69 / £0.69 until 23rd November, normally €0.99 / £0.99)

Kutar End Credits (CIRCLE Entertainment, €0.69 / £0.69 until 23rd November, normally €0.99 / £0.99)

Kutar Powder Factory (CIRCLE Entertainment, €0.69 / £0.69 until 23rd November, normally €0.99 / £0.99)

Kutar Ski Lift (CIRCLE Entertainment, €0.69 / £0.69 until 23rd November, normally €0.99 / £0.99)

New 3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Super Destronaut 3D (Petite Games, €1.59 / £1.43 until 23rd November, normally €1.99 / £1.79)

FIFTEEN (RCMADIAX, €0.99 / £0.93 until 23rd November, normally €1.49 / £1.39)

Wii U eShop

Annihilation (TreeFall Studios, €1.99 / £1.79) – A pixel-based top-down shooter in which you try to resist waves of enemies; also includes support for co-op.

Wii U Virtual Console

Digital Champ: Battle Boxing (Konami, €6.99 / £6.29) – An interesting idea and technically impressive for the time, this first-person boxing game falls short once it steps into the ring; that’s what we thought in our review, anyway.

Wii U Demo

3Souls (RedColumn, free)

Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts

Bridge Constructor Playground (Joindots, €7.49 / £6.36 until 23rd November, normally €9.99 / £8.49)

Dracula’s Legacy (Joindots, €5.99 / £4.49 until 23rd November, normally €7.99 / £5.99)

Frankenstein – Master of Death (Joindots, €5.99 / £4.49 until 23rd November, normally €7.99 / £5.99)

Island Flight Simulator (Joindots, €5.99 / £4.49 until 23rd November, normally €7.99 / £5.99)

Suspension Railroad Simulator (Joindots, €5.99 / £4.49 until 23rd November, normally €7.99 / £5.99)

Toon Tanks (Petite Games, €1.59 / £1.43 until 23rd November, normally €1.99 / £1.79)

BLOK DROP U (RCMADIAX, €0.99 / £0.86 until 6th December, normally €1.49 / £1.29)

BLOK DROP X TWISTED FUSION (RCMADIAX, €2.00 / £1.80 until 6th December, normally €2.99 / £2.69)

FIFTEEN (RCMADIAX, €0.99 / £0.93 until 23rd November, normally €1.49 / £1.39)

ORBIT (RCMADIAX, €0.99 / £0.93 until 23rd November, normally €1.49 / £1.39)

PINBALL (RCMADIAX, €0.99 / £0.93 until 23rd November, normally €1.49 / £1.39)

SPHERE SLICE (RCMADIAX, €0.99 / £0.93 until 23rd November, normally €1.49 / £1.39)

TABLETOP GALLERY (RCMADIAX, €2.00 / £1.80 until 23rd November, normally €2.99 / £2.69)

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That’s it for the European update this week – let us know what you’ll be downloading in the poll and comments below.

If we were to bet on whether the big N will produce a Nintendo 64 Classic / Mini in the next couple of years, we’d put our money on that happening. The success of the NES and SNES models has clearly got the company’s attention, as it’s been putting effort into distributing decent stock for the latest system and is preparing to bring the NES back. Nintendo has looked at the sales and online demand and realised that it’s sitting on easy money.

So, we reckon there are good odds that the Nintendo 64 will happen. However, there’s been a bit of buzz about a supposedly new list of game manuals for N64 games, and some are excitedly speculating that the line-up of 19 games could be an inadvertent leak of the prospective N64 Mini’s library. Well if it is it’ll be a coincidence, because it is in fact an old list.

Former Nintendo Life writer and N64 expert actually tweeted about the list back in January this year.

On top of that, when you look at the Sin and Punishment manual it’s actually a reproduction of the European Virtual Console manual, so it’s not even a quality scan of the original.

As for why the files were uploaded in the past (possibly before January this year) it may have simply been an informal project or a nice gesture, offering scans for some well known game manuals. Of course, there’s always a chance that a potential N64 Mini could have those games on them, but we doubt this is any kind of smoking gun or leak.

Still, we’re excited about the potential for a Nintendo 64 Classic / Mini, but don’t think old Virtual Console PDFs are proof.

With thanks to Martin Watts for the heads up and information.

To say Super Mario Odyssey gives you freedom of movement is quite the understatement, as no doubt anyone who’s played the game can attest. We love them so much that we’re looking to you for the absolute best jumps possible, be they high, long, or just extremely complex and satisfying.

We’ll be featuring the very best clips in an upcoming video compilation that shows off as many as possible. If you want to get involved, all you have to do is record your jump from your Switch by long-pressing the capture button and sharing it with us on Twitter using the hashtag #MarioMegaJump. We’re keeping an eye on all submissions using that tag, so as long as you’ve spelt it correctly you needn’t worry about it getting lost.

We look forward to all your submissions!

If you have fond memories of playing the classic Game Boy game Penguin Wars back in the day, like your humble scribe, then you will no doubt be delighted to hear that the game is being revamped for the Switch by Dispatch Games and is planned for a release in early 2018.

The classic rule of having 10 balls to throw at each other is still the core of the game. However, in the updated game players can evolve their characters in Story Mode and use them in both local and online gameplay against their friends; this release also introduces multiple sets of new rules. Music from the original version released in 1985 has been remixed and updated by notable musicians from Japan, which will hopefully be another highlight in the final game.

The physical Limited Launch Edition version of the game will come packed with a digital download code for the full soundtrack, and at a later date the game even has DLC planned.

Let us know if you plan to p-p-pick up Penguin Wars next year with a comment below.

It’s the middle of the week, which means it’s time for the Media Create charts out of Japan. The previous week saw Super Mario Odyssey hit around half a million sales at launch, the figure varying depending on whether you prefer Media Create or Famitsu numbers. 

Starting with the software chart this week, Mario’s adventure has been toppled from the number one spot by the PS4 version of Call of Duty: WWII, but nevertheless returned sales numbers in six figures in its second week. Style Savvy: Styling Star made its debut on 3DS in fourth place, which isn’t bad but doesn’t exactly set the charts alight. The results are below with lifetime sales in brackets.

1. [PS4] Call of Duty: WWII (SIE, 11/03/17) – 168,234 (New)
2. [NSW] Super Mario Odyssey (Nintendo, 10/27/17) – 116,931 (578,969)
3. [PS4] .hack//G.U. Last Recode (Limited Edition Included) (Bandai Namco, 11/02/17) – 61,816 (New)
4. [3DS] Style Savvy: Styling Star (Nintendo, 11/03/17) – 32,176 (New)
5. [NSW] Splatoon 2 (Nintendo, 07/21/17) – 23,557 (1,295,008)
6. [PS4] ARK: Survival Evolved (Spike Chunsoft, 10/26/17) – 23,370 (93,547)
7. [PS4] Assassin’s Creed Origins (Ubisoft, 10/27/17) – 22,272 (71,692)
8. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (Nintendo, 04,28,17) – 15,913 (788,445)
9. [3DS] Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux (Limited Edition Included) (Atlus, 10/26/17) – 9,978 (70,647)
10. [PS4] Gran Turismo Sport (Limited Edition Included) (SIE, 10/19/17) – 9,045 (177,001)
11. [PS4] Taiko Drum Master: Drum Session (Bundle Edition Included) (Bandai Namco, 10/26/17) – 7,679 (35,924)
12. [NSW] The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (Limited Edition Included) (Nintendo, 03/03/17) – 6,662 (629,352)
13. [PS4] The Evil Within 2 (Bethesda Softworks, 10/19/17) – 5,809 (61,374)
14. [NSW] Pokken Tournament DX (Nintendo, 09/22/17) – 4,882 (111,829)
15. [PS4] Itadaki Street: Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy 30th Anniversary (Square Enix, 10/19/17) – 4,858 (56,520)
16. [3DS] Animal Crossing: New Leaf Amiibo+ (Nintendo, 11/23/16) – 4,008 (264,236)
17. [PS4] City Shrouded in Shadow (Bandai Namco, 10/19/17) – 3,511 (60,563)
18. [PS4] Middle-earth: Shadow of War (Warner Bros., 10/12/17) – 3,367 (37,462)
19. [3DS] Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions (Nintendo, 10/05/17) – 3,171 (49,746)
20. [3DS] Idol Time PriPara: Yume All-Star Live! (Takara Tomy A.R.T.S, 10/26/17) – 3,080 (17,965)

Moving on to hardware, the major Switch bump driven by Odyssey bundles fell away, but the system is still way out from its rivals as the best seller. New 2DS LL and New 3DS LL (XL) also delivered increases in their customary third and fourth places.

1. Switch – 64,387 (126,701)
2. PlayStation 4 – 21,830 (18,719)
3. New 2DS LL – 11,116 (9,203)
4. New 3DS LL – 7,914 (6,448)
5. PlayStation 4 Pro – 6,993 (5,934)
6. PlayStation Vita – 3,576 (3,705)
7. 2DS – 1,539 (1,412)
8. New 3DS – 287 (220)
9. Xbox One – 114 (97)
10. PlayStation 3 – 56 (45)
11. Wii U – 38 (41)

So there you have it, another week with some positive sales results for Nintendo in Japan.