Nintendo News
When he’s not paying off a loan to Tom Nook, Liam likes to report on the latest Nintendo news and admire his library of video games. His favourite Nintendo character used to be a guitar-playing dog, but nowadays he prefers to hang out with Judd the cat.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder arrives on the Switch next month, and in the lead-up, Nintendo is planning on offering some exclusive missions to Switch Online members located in Australia and New Zealand.
As highlighted by Vooks.net, these missions focus on Mario’s classic 2D adventures – with the first mission scheduled to start on 25th September. There will then be a new mission every week until 22nd October and Nintendo will share more details about what to expect in the near future.
“The titles span across a selection of Super Mario 2D adventures in the Nintendo Switch Online classic games library!”
Anyone who participates will earn Platinum Points which they can then use on the My Nintendo Store to purchase physical and digital rewards. If we hear any other details about this event, or similar online missions elsewhere, we’ll let you know.
Mortal Kombat 1 admittedly hasn’t got off to the best start on the Nintendo Switch this week with series creator and director Ed Boon mentioning how this version will “absolutely” be getting an update at some stage.
If this wasn’t already enough to deal with, Nintendo fans have now spotted a Steam notification for what seems to be an achievement in the official Mortal Kombat 1 Switch trailer. This video was uploaded directly to Nintendo’s YouTube channel before being set to private.
At the 1:52 mark in the now-removed video, a notification appeared in the bottom right of the screen during a mini-game featuring the Steam UI, the Mortal Kombat logo and the text “Achievement 38” and “Dialogue 38”. Obviously, this isn’t a big deal, but it’s also not a great look as some fans have noted, when it’s meant to be a game trailer for the Switch release.
@jermeister6 “This Switch game looks so good… that it even has Steam achievements”
Again, the good news is Nintendo has now noticed this and the video has been set to private. Fortunately, we did capture a screenshot as you can see above.
For anyone who wants to learn more about the Switch release, be sure to check out our Nintendo Life review. Although it needs some work on Nintendo’s hybrid platform, the gameplay itself is absolutely superb.
What do you make of a Steam notification popping up in a Nintendo trailer? Have you tried out the Switch version of Mortal Kombat 1 yet? Tell us in the comments below.
In a big win for preservation, a lost Pokémon browser game has been restored and is now fully playable online, thanks to DidYouKnowGaming.
Pokémon 2000 Adventure was developed by Cyberworld International Corporation, which was a client of Warner Bros., and was released to tie in with the movie Pokémon the Movie 2000. As reported in DYKG’s video on the subject, Nintendo gave Warner Bros. permission to create officially licensed products to help promote the second Pokémon movie — so Warner Bros. of course commissioned for Cyberworld to create a game in their QBORG engine, following on from the success of their Harry Potter-based browser game.
Pokémon 2000 Adventure blends 2D sprites (based on the anime versions of the Pokémon) with 2.5D backgrounds, and upon release, it became a hit. Eddie Ruminski, who worked at Cyberworld, said the browser game “had about a million downloads in the span of a month”. It was at that point that Nintendo “freaked” as the browser game proved much more popular than the company expected.
Nintendo then issued a cease and desist, Ruminski states, because “they thought Warner Brothers breached the contract — they exceeded the contract’s allowable scope”. Essentially, Nintendo was expecting something smaller to promote the movie rather than a whole new video game.
Given that the browser game was released back in 2000, you have to consider — as DYKG points out — that there were only two 3D Pokémon games out in the West at the time: Pokémon Snap and Pokémon Stadium. So Pokémon 2000 Adventure could’ve given the wrong impression to fans about a new direction for the series.
The game has been long thought lost — though according to Lost Media Wiki, the website was still up and available on the Wayback Machine as late as 2012. But you don’t need to worry about that now as Ruminski has kept hold of the files of the game and has shared them with DidYouKnowGaming. And the right thing to do, obviously, was to dump the files and archive them online. That means that yes, after years of being a piece of lost media, Pokémon 2000 Adventure is now fully playable once again.
Pokémon Garden (which was covered by our friends at Time Extension) archivist Rufus10 and a friend DoomTay both got the game working on modern computer systems, with DYKG dumping the files so all can experience. You can watch the full video for coverage on a whole host of cancelled and lost Pokémon games down below.
While it’s only a ten-minute or so experience, you can replay the game with three different teams of Pokémon and choose from one of three difficulties. Plus, it’s just kind of cool to see this lost piece of Pokémon history in motion.
You can check out instructions on how to play the game over on DidYouKnowGaming’s YouTube channel. Not only is the game fully playable, but you can also download concept art, storyboards, and the soundtrack — all of which have also been archived.
Huge thanks to Eddie Ruminski, Rufus10, DoomTay and DidYouKnowGaming for preserving this game. We’ll see if Nintendo manages to let this piece of history sit safely and soundly online for now…
Do you remember Pokémon 2000 Adventure? Will you be checking this out now it’s re-available? Let us know.
Legendary Nintendo name Takaya Imamura’s debut manga is being turned into a video game — in case you missed that announcement last year — and the first trailer has just dropped at the Tokyo Game Show.
Coming to Switch and Steam in 2024, Omega 6: The Video Game sees the 2022 manga being adapted into a text adventure game, but it looks like there will also be combat in the style of turn-based battles. Imamura-san is working on the game’s art direction, which blends the French manga’s style with retro pixel art visuals, with another Nintendo veteran — composer Shinobu Amayake, who worked on Wario Woods and Stunt Race FX — joining the team to bring this space-faring adventure to the world in a new format.
Despite being based on the popular manga, the game will actually follow an original story with new characters. And those at the 2023 Tokyo Game Show will be able to check out more of the game at the convention itself.
City Connection shared some photos of the booth over at the show, with Imamura-san also commenting, saying that he “would like to express my deepest gratitude to everyone involved” for turning his hobby manga into a video game and being able to exhibit it at TGS (via Google Translate).
We can’t help but look at those grid backgrounds and not think Star Fox, of course. Imamura-san was responsible for creating the iconic characters of the Star Fox series, alongside F-Zero. He was also the art director of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, just to name a few highlights.
But Omega 6: The Video Game is looking like something very different from the video game veteran — just check out the trailer up top and browse these screenshots below to see what we mean (Note: the trailer and screenshots are only available in Japanese at the time of writing).
Omega 6: The Video Game launches in 2024 on Switch. And yes, it has indeed been confirmed for a worldwide release!
Have you read the manga before? Will you be picking this game up next year? Let us know in the comments.
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, Kevin ponders if it’s even possible to spoil a game about a tubby plumber who jumps around a lot…
Super Mario Bros. Wonder is right around the corner, and I think I speak for just about all of us when I say that I am very excited. When a Wonder-dedicated Nintendo Direct was announced last month, said to preview the upcoming game’s features and gameplay more in-depth, I debated on whether or not I should even watch it. After all, it’s almost here, isn’t it? Is it worth ‘spoiling’ my appetite?
And it got me thinking: is it even possible to spoil a Mario game?
Spoiler alert: It totally is.
Traditionally when we think of spoilers, we tend to think of ruining big surprises in a story’s narrative structure. A character’s death in a TV show, a major plot twist at the end of a movie, just anything you would tag as a spoiler to be polite. “Wait, that guy was a vampire the whole time?!” “Oops, my bad.”
So of course, one could technically spoil a Mario game, such as the upcoming remakes of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, which both have rich memorable stories and iconic character moments.
But I’m talking more about spoilers on a fundamental level, as they relate to the mainline platforming Mario games. Seeing something or knowing something ahead of time can spoil any kind of surprise element.
I think back to one of my favorite games to be released within the last 10 years: Super Mario Odyssey. At first, we were told nothing aside from the fact that it was a new 3D sandbox Mario game, in the vein of Super Mario 64. And then in typical Nintendo fashion, further details relating to the game’s core mechanics were revealed later on, such as the capture ability, as well as a few key areas in the game. Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that those are spoilers — something as fundamental as that is core to the game’s basic pitch to the audience. It was just enough, in my opinion, to whet our appetites, and to get us curious about the possibilities.
When the game finally released and I had actually beaten it, I was very pleased with how little I knew of it going in. Sure, Bowser stealing Princess Peach is a plotline we’ve seen many times before (too many, some could say) but the vast majority of the game’s charm came from, “I wonder… will this work? …Oh my gosh, it did!” Trying new things, seeing what happens, and exploring exciting new locations are what I would consider ‘light spoilers’ if shown in advance.
Without spoiling it myself (albeit nearly six years on from release), one of the best moments of the game was arriving at Bowser’s Kingdom, and seeing what the devs did with it that time around. I hardly even recognized it! And that’s not to even mention the game’s thrilling climax, and how they capitalized on the core mechanic there. Just… *chef’s kiss*.
And it wouldn’t have had quite the same impact if I knew more about it ahead of time.
I can definitely see how some would consider this take to be a bit curmudgeonly. “Oh, am I not supposed to talk to my friends at all about the game just so I don’t ruin the ‘surprise’ that you have to jump on a boss’s head three times to defeat him?” Sharing your progress with others playing a game alongside you is fun, and can honestly elevate the experience. Remember being on the playground as a kid and swapping stories and strategies with your friends? It’s fulfilling to talk about things you are excited about, with people you care about.
Of course, there’s no need to be completely tight-lipped, but I do think if you want someone to get the most out of something that you have already enjoyed yourself, it’s best to let them go off on their merry way! The best part of an adventure is getting lost, trying new things, and finding your way, after all.
One of the main criticisms levied against many of Nintendo’s modern presentations is that it ends up showing off too much of a game the closer it is to the release date. Most of the time this doesn’t relate to story-heavy spoilers, but just seeing gameplay sections where some might think, “Man I wish I could have discovered that on my own,” is more than enough reason to hold back a bit more.
The final infodump for Pikmin 4 was a great example of that. You discover Glow Pikmin fairly early into the game, so I don’t think there needed to be a dedicated section of a Nintendo Direct explaining what they do just weeks before release.
That being said, I also have to applaud Nintendo for holding back on Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom spoilers. It could have shown off so much of that game ahead of time, and discovering just how massive it was for ourselves on day one is a memory I think many fans will cherish for a long time to come. A real class act, in my opinion.
At this point, I’ll be going on a full media blackout when it comes to Super Mario Bros. Wonder. The game is already sure to be so dense with secrets and surprises, and I can’t wait to uncover them all on my own, or maybe even with a couple of friends playing alongside me!
Let us know if you think it’s possible to spoil a Mario game down in the polls below, and tell us what you think in the comments, too.
Sega has released a new animation for its upcoming launch of Sonic Superstars on October 17th, 2023 called Sonic Superstars: Trio of Trouble.
The animation clocks in at approximately 5 and a half minutes and features the brand new villain Trip along with the long-anticipated return of Fang the Hunter. It’s a fun little jaunt that, if nothing else, gives us a little glimpse into the behaviour of Trip, who is said to be a departure from the usual type of villain you might see in a Sonic game.
Here’s the official description from Sega itself:
“While escorting Dr. Eggman and his hapless new helper Trip through a perilous ruin, Fang the Hunter will need to muster all his cunning to overcome past mistakes and escape the coils of a fierce new enemy. Meanwhile, Eggman discovers what may be the key to his next dastardly scheme.”
Sonic Superstars, developed by Arzest, is a 2D adventure featuring a modern visual presentation. Players can tackle levels as either Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, or Amy, with local multiplayer available for co-op play and online multiplayer for PvP.
We went hands-on with the game at Summer Game Fest earlier this year and came away feeling pretty positive about the experience, noting that it “might well continue Sonic’s return to 2D form”.
What do you make of this animation from Sega? Are you looking forward to finding out more about Trip? Let us know with a comment.
Koei Tecmo has announced that Romance of the Three Kingdoms 8 Remake will be upgrading the 2001 military-strategy title and bringing it to the Switch in early 2024.
The Romance of the Three Kingdoms series has had a somewhat inconsistent release for Western audiences, with many of the entries being available only in Japan and with no official translation available, so seeing the new remake come our way is something to get excited about.
We don’t know all that much about what the upcoming entry will hold (Koei Tecmo has stated that more information will be shared at this week’s Tokyo Games Show), though it has been revealed that the remake will have a complete visual overhaul — as seen in the above teaser trailer — an updated games system and will include the “All Officers Play” and “All Periods Scenarios” features.
We can expect this one to once again see you taking command of a famed Chinese army and using them to your advantage in an attempt to unite the country under a singular command. History is yours to write in this series, so you’ll have to do as you please to create drama, win wars and come out on top — sounds juicy, right?
For a slightly closer look, check out the following screenshots from the publishers.
There is no precise release date for this one just yet outside of ‘early 2024’, though perhaps TGS will shed some more light on that soon. Those new to the series might want to check out the following articles for a little more information on what’s in store:
Does this one have you interested? Let us know in the comments.
Embracer Group is continuing its efforts to restructure its organisation, this time resulting in multiple job losses at developer Beamdog, which was acquired by Aspyr / Embracer last year.
As reported by GameDeveloper (thanks, Eurogamer), a total of 26 employees at the MythForce developer were let go according to multiple posts on LinkedIn.
Amongst these was Associate Producer Misia Bloniarz, who wrote “On Friday 26 people were laid off at Beamdog, and I unfortunately am one of them. After 4 years at the company, I look back at my time there fondly, and wish everyone the best.”
Beamdog was acquired by Embracer back in April 2022, however, the media conglomerate has been hit by hard times recently, announcing in June 2023 that it would be commencing a “restructuring program” that would include “the closure or divestments of some studios and the termination or pausing of some ongoing game development projects”.
It was also recently reported that Embracer may be looking to sell Borderlands developer Gearbox Entertainment shortly after the total studio closure of Saints Row developer Volition. Needless to say, it seems Embracer Group is most certainly following through on its restructuring plan.
What do you make of this latest round of lay offs at Embracer Group? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.
Just as Disney Speedstorm prepares to leave early access and speed into the free-to-play realm next week, publisher Gameloft has today announced that it will be marking the occasion with the start of a new Aladdin-themed season on 28th September.
Much like the previous Lilo and Stitch-inspired chapter, the upcoming Season 4 will be introducing us to a whole new world (sorry) with four new racers — Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie and Jafar — a new ‘Cave of Wonders’ course and we’d expect a helping of new customisation options and crew members too.
Gameloft previously announced that Disney Speedstorm will be leaving early access on 28th September too, so it’s likely that Aladdin and co. will be the first faces that many of us see when we get to try out the free-to-play racer next week. To ensure that you are up to date on all of the available drivers before this launch, you can check out our complete character guide below.
Are you excited to take Disney Speedstorm for a spin next week? Drive down to the comments and let us know.
