It’s an exciting month for Nintendo with the launch of Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the 20th of October. We’ve already had a first round of critic impressions and now another batch has arrived.
So far it’s been all praise, and it seems this second round is much the same – with the game being called “magical” and a potential game-of-the-year contender. First of all though, if you haven’t read our own impression of Wonder here on Nintendo Life, check it out in the articles below:
And now that you’ve read and watched all of this, here’s what everyone else is saying about Wonder so far. Starting off with GoNintendo, Editor-in-Chief Kevin Cassidy called it the “2D evolution the series needs”:
“Even with my short time with Super Mario Bros. Wonder, I have less than zero doubt this title will live up to that high-water mark for the franchise, and with ease. Of course, the question is will Super Mario Bros. Wonder surpass the series’ best 2D outings? I’ll need a lot more hands-on time with the final version of the game to find that out, but based on what I’ve seen and done so far, I’d say the odds are pretty damn good.”
God is a Geek called the preview of Wonder “magical”:
“Super Mario Bros Wonder appears destined to be revered in the same way we speak about past Mario adventures we have grown up loving, sprinkled as it is with the same timeless, magical sense of, well, wonder.”
Pocket Tactics noted how this new entry was truly committed to “fresh ideas”:
“Super Mario Bros. Wonder is forging a strong sense of personality of its own, and its clear commitment to fresh ideas is just so, so, refreshing to see. Rules are being broken everywhere…Wonder feels like a tightrope walk of nostalgia and new ideas, and it’s one that Nintendo is walking incredibly well.”
Metro Game Central said Wonder was likely a game-of-the-year contender and also called it a “return to form” for the 2D Mario series:
“It’s going to be a cliché before we even get to the review stage but to state the obvious, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is wonderful. A return to form for the series, that seems to be easily the best 2D Nintendo platformer since Yoshi’s Island in 1995. Maybe it’ll even end up as better, but we’ll have to play the whole game to know that – a prospect which we couldn’t be more excited about.”
And GamesRadar+ news writer Hope Bellingham said was going to be easy to get hooked on the magic of Wonder:
“I may have only visited Mario’s new world briefly, but I’m already counting down the days until I get to play more. There’s so many levels, characters, and Badges in Super Mario Bros. Wonder that I didn’t get to explore, so it’s got me excited to not only play the full game, but to also play it again as other characters, and with friends and family. I can already tell that I’m about to get as obsessed with this game as I did with New Super Mario Bros. back in 2006.”
Super Mario Bros. Wonder will be released exclusively for Nintendo Switch on 20th October. Have these previews sold you on the game yet? Tell us in the comments.
We’ve already seen some Switch game delays ahead of the final months of 2023 and now in an unfortunate update, Warner Bros. Games has annouced Batman Arkham Trilogy will no longer arrive next week on the Switch.
It hasn’t been cancelled or anything like that, it’s just been pushed back to 1st December, so it will still make the 2023 release window. Here’s the official announcement, mentioning how more time is required to deliver the “best possible experience” on the Switch:
“Batman Arkham Trilogy for Nintendo Switch will now launch on December 1, 2023. More time is needed to bring players the best possible experience on Nintendo Switch. We apologize to fans who are excited to play this version of the tirlogy. Thank you for your patience.”
When this trilogy does arrive on the Switch, it will feature Batman: Arkham Asylum, Batman Arkham City, and Batman Arkham Knight along with the DLC. Unfortunately for physical fans, you will have to download most of the trilogy.
Following the release of the DLC update for Pokémon Scarlet & Violet in September, a new bug has reportedly been discovered in Version 2.0.1 of the base game and it can supposedly result in some crashes at one of the most important moments.
As highlighted by Nintendo Wire, in the final battle against…spoilers…Paradise Protection Protocol, you must call on your legendary Koraidon or Miraidon during the fight. If the Pokémon is registered in your Pokédex and you highlight slot four, five, or six in the party, the game will then crash.
Again, what’s weird about this is that it apparently only just popped up in Version 2.0.1. You can see it below, courtesy of ‘mattyoukhana_‘ on social media:
The same source goes on to thank all players who reported the crash and assist in figuring out the requirements to replicate the issue. Fingers crossed Game Freak can sort out a patch for this bug sooner rather than later.
Fortunately, there are a few workarounds. The first is to have “three or less” pocket monsters in your party, and the other is to avoid highlighting boxes four, five, and six. If we hear about any updates for Scarlet and Violet that address this problem, we’ll let you know.
Have you encountered any game-breaking bugs or crashes in Scarlet & Violet so far? How are you finding the DLC? Leave a comment below.
Shigeru Miyamoto is perhaps the most legendary figure in all of gaming and over the years we’ve heard plenty of stories about how he’s often changed the course of development, or come up with a ground-breaking idea that’s changed the industry forever.
Although he is a living legend, Pikmin 4 chief and programming director Yuji Kando recently mentioned in an interview with Game Informer how it’s not just about making “Mr. Miyamoto happy” during the development cycle. Here’s part of the exchange:
GI: I imagine it is scary to have Miyamoto look at your game and offer feedback. How do you feel about that process of working with a legend like Miyamoto?
Kando: I always feel honored to be able to work with Mr. Miyamoto. With that said, I hope people don’t take this the wrong way, but we don’t work on a game with the goal of “to make Mr. Miyamoto happy.”
Kando added to this, explaining how “deep” discussions with Miyamoto normally lead to thoughts about “how thoroughly” teams have considered a game’s design, and this can result in scenarios where adjustments are made, or ideas are added based on Miyamoto’s feedback.
One scene in Pikmin 4 that Miyamoto apparently “put a lot of care and thought into” was the scene where the “GBA, drops and pops open”, according to Pikmin 4 planning director Yutaka Hiramuki.
Miyamoto mentioned himself during Nintendo’s ‘Ask the Developer’ interview series for Pikmin 4, how he realises his “words carry a lot of weight” – describing how people would often “get flustered” if he provided a “random bit of feedback” during the development phase of a game.
Miyamoto has taken a step back over the past decade and is now overseeing projects and sharing his knowledge of game design with younger developers at Nintendo. In an interview earlier this year touching on what Nintendo would one day be without him, Miyamoto said it would “probably be the same” in the sense that “everyone” has a “shared understanding of what it is to be Nintendo” within the company.
Are you surprised to hear developers within Nintendo aren’t always making a game simply to please Mr. Miyamoto? Leave your own thoughts below.
Nintendo has announced it will be hosting a special event called “Bowser Bash” next week with the assistance of Jakks Pacific.
There have not really been any specific details provided just yet but it is going to take place ahead of Halloween on “Friday the 13th” of October, between 5pm and 7pm. Jakks Pacific is a toy maker, so there could potentially be some Mario-themed products up for grabs.
Nintendo will be hosting a special event on Saturday the 14th October as well, between the hours of 11am and 2pm, where Super Mario-themed costumes are encouraged to be worn. Entry will be on a “first come first served basis” at both events, so if you want to be part of this bash, you might want to plan ahead.
Nintendo NY is also promoting it as an event you “don’t want to miss”.
@NintendoNYC Save the date! Mark your calendar for Friday the 13th because JAKKS Pacific is throwing a Bowser Bash at #NintendoNYC! Bring your friends and family for this fierce party from 5pm to 7pm! Entry is on a first come first served basis.
Any interest in this Bowser Bash? Have you got any Jakks Pacific Mario toys at home? Leave a comment below.
Super Mario Bros. Wonder definitely isn’t coming out on the NES, but this excellent fan-made commercial almost convinced us that it was.
YouTuber LUIZ do Comercial has created various “fake commercials” for video games, and his latest creation is a work of 8-bit art. Luiz has taken the over-the-top style of ’80s commercial and combined it with actual gameplay of a reimagined Super Mario Bros. Wonder on the NES.
Luiz has done all of the spritework himself, much of which looks like a blend of Super Mario Bros. 2 and Super Mario Bros. 3‘s visual style. But of course, given that there’s the new Elephant power-up, Luiz also had to create custom sprites for those, the Flower Coins, the Wonder Seed, and more.
There’s also some unique box art for this supposed NES game, clearly inspired by the box art for Super Mario Bros. 2, featuring Elephant Mario, and it looks very authentic to the original ’80s art style.
In the comments, Luiz told viewers that he was inspired by another channel’s own NES demake of Mario Wonder, Nimaginendo Games. This video is a full-blown gameplay showcase for a supposed old-school Mario platformer, whereas Luiz has taken the concept and created his own vision for the demake along with an advert.
Look, we know Super Mario Bros. Wonder is out on Switch in a matter of weeks — on 20th October — on Switch, but could we get an NES version too?
Check out Luiz’s fan-made commercial below, and let us know what you think of it 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, Gavin ponders his instinctual desire for backwards compatibility and why, perhaps, it’s really not needed this time around…
First things first, I would love ‘Switch 2’ to be backwards compatible.
In an ideal world, I’d love every new system to be compatible with the last, and prior generations, too. Every time a new console rolls around, my backlog of previous-genners gets buried beneath another layer of digital dust before getting lost altogether in the swell of shiny new games on the shiny new system. There’s a huge peace-of-mind benefit to being able to pack up my old console knowing that I can still play all its games on the new hotness.
However, as fresh rumours surrounding the Switch successor emerge freshly churned from the rumour mill on a weekly basis, I find myself realising that Nintendo’s next console really doesn’t need backwards compatibility. In fact, it needs it less than any previous Nintendo console, and — perhaps — any console ever.
The ability to play GameCube games on Wii, or Wii games on Wii U made upgrading a marginally easier decision, but the reality is that I would have gotten the new systems eventually, regardless. For lifelong gamers, convenience and peace of mind are the two main reasons we care so much about still being able to access previous-gen games on our new systems; the peace of mind that we’ll still have direct and immediate access to our existing library, without the inconvenience of digging out the old console or worrying if it still works.
Being able to trade in old hardware for new can be a significant factor in jumping into the next generation, too — I’m certainly not dismissing that, and for big home consoles with a price tag of $500+, it’s an even more serious consideration. And that’s ignoring the sheer space requirements to keep a PS5 or Xbox Series X set up in your entertainment centre alongside a new system. Those things are bloody enormous.
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
However, the more obsessive gamers among us are more likely to keep our old consoles, and keeping your trusty Switch in a state of readiness is an easier ask than those bulky home consoles. I needn’t worry about airflow or finding space or connecting cables. Worst-case scenario, I pick it out of the draw and charge it for a while.
From Nintendo’s point of view, the benefits of implementing Switch game compatibility, even if the rumoured Nvidia chip onboard the new system makes it feasible and relatively simple, may not outweigh the potential cons. Yes, you get a comforting selling point for the box that’ll go down particularly well with parents — all those expensive games you bought still work, no sweat! — but cutting technical ties with the previous platform helps establish the new system as its own thing. Nintendo will be desperate not to confuse people as it did with Wii U.
Perhaps more relevant to Nintendo’s bottom line and the firm’s overall approach to hackers and homebrew, any potential avenue to piracy will be locked tight with Switch 2. The original Switch that launched in 2017 was replaced by a revision incorporating the updated chip found in the Lite and OLED models due to an exploit discovered by hackers. Essentially an unpatchable vulnerability in the Nvidia chipset itself, the flaw blew the doors off the system’s security very early in its lifecycle. The updated SKUs fixed the issue, but the damage was done and videos of Nintendo games running in 4K on PC, sometimes before they’re even publicly available on Switch, are now par for the course. If there’s any chance whatsoever that backwards compatibility could prove useful to hackers and pirates, Nintendo simply won’t include it in the next system.
If I really want to get back to Astral Chain (and I do!)… well, I can just grab my OG Switch — Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life
And then, of course, there’s the ability to sell us last-gen games all over again! Hey, it worked for this gen with Wii U games, and Sony did nicely milking The Last of Us three times in nine years, so why not again? In reality, I’m not convinced Nintendo would take this path of diminishing returns. The Wii U ports this generation were a direct result of that console’s commercial failure and even the most cynical among us would likely concede that the steady stream of Deluxe upgrades have given new life to games that deserved more attention than they got originally. Sure, Zelda: Breath of the Wild Deluxe on Switch 2 would sell, but it’s hardly compatible with the company MO to ‘surprise and delight’. And I think we can all agree that BOTW got its dues. It sold over 30 million copies and counting.
With the Switch now over halfway into its seventh year, many of us have upgraded and have multiple Switches in the house. Unlike its bulky home console brethren, the rigmarole and inconvenience of digging one of these out to play some Breath of the Wild is negligible. As great as it would be, I really don’t need to be able to play BOTW or Mario Odyssey or Smash Bros. Ultimate on my Super Switch.
I would imagine that the retro games currently accessible through Nintendo Switch Online will transfer over to the new platform in some form, if not in their entirety. I’m sure we’ll get a convoluted ‘Nintendo-style solution’, but maintaining the value of the subscription service will be essential, and that substantial catalogue of retro gems is a simple way to deliver continuity alongside that peace of mind we’re all chasing. Albeit via a subscription service which could be shut down at any moment.
Image: Zion Grassl / Nintendo Life
In fact, perhaps the biggest reason for Switch 2 backwards compatibility is that Metroid Prime 4 runs on the thing, although that’s assuming that it’s still a Switch project. Personally (and I think many Metroid fans would feel the same), I hope that the project has shifted platforms to take advantage of additional power, BUT there may be Switch owners disappointed that a game announced so long ago isn’t coming to the console. Would Switch 2 exclusivity stop Prime fans from playing MP4? Almost certainly not, but having apologised for restarting development, Nintendo has form in delivering big games that bookend a console’s lifecycle. And there’s nothing to stop both consoles, old and new, from getting a version of the same game without any backwards compatibility. Yes, BOTW, I know. You can stop tapping me on the shoulder.
So, after umming and ahhing, I’ve come to the conclusion that of all the mainstream consoles from the big three manufacturers, ‘Switch 2’ is the one that makes the least compelling case for really requiring backwards compatibility. Who can say what’s in store — and I’d love to play all my current games on whatever the new system ends up being, and with a modest resolution and frame rate bump to boot — but if Switch 2 doesn’t play Switch games, it’s less of a deal-breaker than ever before.
Team17 has confirmed that it will be commencing a company restructure that will likely result in multiple job losses. In addition, it has also announced an ‘amicable’ split with CEO Michael Pattison. This comes following recent reports of significant layoffs at Epic Games.
As reported by Eurogamer and VG247, Team17 has begun a ‘period of consultation’ during which a significant number of redundancies are likely to be made. It confirmed the departure of Michael Pattison in a statement to VG247:
“In response to the reports concerning the departure of Michael Pattison from Team17, we can confirm we have amicably parted ways with Michael. We can also confirm that we have sadly entered into a period of consultation today within Team17 Digital, with Astragon and Storytoys remaining unaffected by the restructuring plans.”
As for the job losses themselves, it’s thought that this may affect the Internal QA (Quality Assurance) team the most, with up to 50 roles at risk. Staff were apparently informed of the upcoming restructuring in an emergency town hall meeting, with the consultation period lasting from now until November.
Michael Pattison joined Team17 in October 2021 after previously working at the likes of PlayStation and Capcom. Since then, Team17 had come under fire for its ‘MetaWorms’ NFT project before a damning report emerged of the firm’s working environment and business practices.
What do you make of this latest round of job losses? Let us know your thoughts with a comment down below.
Publisher Humble Games has revealed an upcoming ‘mini-campaign’ DLC expansion for the excellent FPS Prodeus.
All we know at the moment is that the DLC is ‘coming soon’, so we don’t have a release date in place just yet, but we’ll certainly keep an eye out. In the meantime, the above debut trailer showcases what players can expect from the expansion’s gameplay.
We’ve got a new grappling hook that seems to take inspiration from the likes of Halo Infinite and DOOM Eternal, while the overall aesthetic has a certain ‘Bayonetta‘ vibe to it, don’t you think? The enemies boast angelic wings and halos, looking like they’ve been plucked straight from Paradiso and into the firing line of your beloved Super Shotgun.
We’ll keep you updated on the eventual release date for Prodeus upcoming expansion. Hopefully it’s not too soon; we’re ready to jump back in ASAP!
Are you excited for this Prodeus expansion? What do you make of the first trailer? Let us know with a comment.
Horizon Chase 2 isn’t the most interesting racing game out there, but damn, if it isn’t hard to put down! It may not match the high-speed hijinks of kart racers starring Mario, Crash Bandicoot, or Sonic the Hedgehog, nor does it hit the same destructive highs of Burnout or the high-fidelity, simulative thrill found in other platforms’ exclusive driving games, Forza and Gran Turismo. Instead, you just go fast and feel good doing it. In other words, Horizon Chase 2 is arcade-y fun, and good at pretty much exactly what its title implies, though not much more, and it hits some bumps in the road on Switch.
Like Aquiris’ predecessor, Horizon Chase Turbo, Horizon Chase 2 is a throwback to a bygone arcade era; the only thing that matters is that horizon and the finish line that lies somewhere beyond. There’s no gimmick or catch. Everything around you becomes a blur as you hit dizzying speeds as you race through low-fidelity courses offering cute renditions of places like Morocco, Japan, the Continental U.S., and Brazil.
That said, Horizon Chase 2 seems to have learned the wrong things from the first game’s success. In what seems like an effort to push the series forward, this sequel goes too far in some places and not far enough in others. Instead of Horizon Chase’s bright, sharp environments, some of Chase 2’s feel muddier and much more drab. There are still highlights, but it’s almost like Aquiris tried to create more realistic levels and got caught in an awkward lane between charming, retro visuals and modern, high-fidelity graphics.
Luckily, the soundtrack’s high energy hasn’t faltered. Composed by Barry Leitch, it nails that synthy, pulsating feel you’d expect from a classic racer from the ’90s and early 2000s. Every track here’s a ripper, and it’s playing at all times, pushing you into the next horizon.
Certain modes bring small tweaks that add a modicum of extra depth to Chase 2’s pure ‘gotta go fast’ mentality. In World Tour, you’ll (you guessed it) race in courses around the world, doing your best to podium as you pick up collectible blue coins that populate the race track. The blue coins are the only real change from the races in other modes. If you manage to place first in a race and collect all of the blue coins scattered across a track, you’ll earn a special trophy and unlock car parts. Upgrading and leveling cars in World Tour could be better. Instead of earning garage-wide level-up options, you earn upgrades and unlocks for one car at a time, meaning you’re probably going to be locked to one car at a time.
Horizon Chase 2 does do a good job of giving you new, leveled-up cars each time you complete a specific country’s courses, though. They can’t all be winners, but each car feels distinct from the last. A luxury sedan with lots of horsepower feels tanky and hard to steer but just sings in long straightaways. Conversely, the maneuverable hybrid zips around corners like a treat but doesn’t hit very high speeds. None of the courses are exactly impossible to complete with any specific vehicle, but there are some that reward different traits more than others.
Knowing those strengths and weaknesses in a normal race isn’t as important as it is in Time Trials, where your speed, precision, and skill are put to the test. These challenges (which are all completely optional) function a bit differently from the time trials you might find elsewhere. Instead of racing along a path against the clock, you’re tasked with hitting a specific time by picking up time coins, which will each reduce your race time by one second, and making clever use of strategically placed boost pads (like what you’d expect from a Mario Kart or F-Zero). Suddenly, times that seemed unrealistically low – like 11 seconds for a three-lap course that typically takes 90 seconds to complete – appear within your reach. It’ll usually take a few tries, but these are the best part of Horizon Chase 2. And they’re tough as nails (and unfortunately sparse).
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)
Other modes boil down to the same kinds of races in other formats. For the most part, they swap blue coins out for little power pickups that, once you collect them all, give you a temporary speed boost that lasts longer than the four boosts you start each race with. Otherwise, the only thing that varies is the order of the courses presented to you in a four-race series.
Zooming through these races with reckless, breakneck abandon feels good, but the Switch doesn’t exactly love it and there are some significant dips in the frame rate. The Switch really chugs, but on the plus side, because your eyes are almost always on the road ahead and your car, the frame drops don’t affect your performance — they’re just noticeable. The frame rate did hold up surprisingly well in split-screen, though. The dips occurred at the same frequency in and out of split-screen multiplayer.
On the other hand, crashes are a different story. We encountered multiple full-on crashes. While they seem rooted in Horizon Chase 2’s frustrating insistence that you log into an Epic Games account, they’re still frustrating nonetheless. Clicking on an option that requires the login, like starting the game, and then declining before clicking it again caused the game to crash. In other words, if you have an internet connection, you’re all but forced to log into an Epic Games account to play Horizon Chase 2. The almost-always-online nature that comes from the multiplayer itself works well enough, with online play feeling smooth and lag-free. But requiring an Epic login to view leaderboards or start the game takes a heavy toll on the game’s otherwise breezy online functionality.
Captured on Nintendo Switch (Handheld/Undocked)
Its UI has a weird bug that seems tied to Chase 2’s insistence to be always signed in and online where every button prompt in the UI — stuff like ‘A Next,’ ‘X Retry,’ or ‘B Back’ — all get replaced with a prompt for a button that doesn’t exist on Switch: ‘RB’. It’s a frustrating bug that leaves a lot of the menu navigation up to guesswork. Sure, ‘A’ to proceed or go to the next screen totally makes sense, but it’s still a pretty serious issue that lacked rhyme or reason.
Conclusion
Horizon Chase 2 isn’t going to set the world on fire. No matter how fun it is to fly across the highway at blazing speed, no amount of speed can disguise the fairly limited breadth of content available. In fact, that speed only makes courses blur together even more. Ultimately, you’re left with a fun but shallow arcade racer that feels disappointingly shaky on Switch.
