Following on from our reader-voted Top 50 Games of the Decade, Nintendo Life staff members will be picking their personal favourite Nintendo games between the years 2010-2019. Today, Gavin looks back nearly seven years and tries to remember the name of his kid…

Picking one’s favourite game from a decade’s worth is a tough proposition. It involves quantifying something intangible. What does ‘favourite’ mean exactly? The games I’ve had most fun with were invariably tied up with people, places and periods of my life where the game itself was just a single element, one part of the puzzle. They’re tied up inextricably with memory and these days I have trouble remembering what I did at the weekend. You might suggest looking at solid metrics like Most Played Game to help arrive at a decision, but is StreetPass Mii Plaza really my Game of the Decade?

My introduction to the Fire Emblem series was through Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. Having got in early with the 3DS (and paid top dollar before the price cut), I was eligible for the Ambassador Programme and the 20 Virtual Console games it gifted. I played through several of the exclusive GBA offerings for the very first time and Sacred Stones was one of them. I’d tried Advance Wars back in the day but somehow bounced off it (I should really go back and try again at some point), but Fire Emblem’s mix of story and strategy hooked me immediately and I devoured Sacred Stones on my commute over a month in 2012.

Being a listener of the 8-4 Play podcast (check it out if you’re a fan of Japan, games or Japanese games), hearing that they were behind the translation of the upcoming 3DS entry encouraged me to dive in early, and digitally – a novelty for me at the time. I remember weighing up whether I wanted to wait until morning just to have a box or start playing that very night (a couple of days after the EU launch on Sunday 21st April 2013 according to my 3DS Activity Log – how I miss these stats on Switch). Impatience got the better of me, so I got it on the eShop and dived right in.

I don’t remember why, but for some reason I went straight in on Hard difficulty. Perhaps I’d heard that was the best way to play (it certainly is for the latest entry on Switch). Whatever the reason, it was the right choice; the pitch-perfect level of challenge that expertly walked the line between frustration and compulsion and had be hard resetting many, many times. Permadeath is a fundamental part of the series, but I wasn’t about to let any of my team go gently (or not so gently) into that good night – not on my watch! In fact, I doubled my playtime through resets as I restarted battles again and again to make certain my entire team survived.

Where normally such a rigmarole would sour me on a game immediately, Awakening was brilliant enough to make hard resets essential. I simply had to go back, rethink, restrategise, and redeploy my team to attain victory. I was invested in all aspects of the game – the positioning, the strategy of terrain, character and weapon type, and the stories behind the characters themselves. Every component dovetailed to make Awakening one of the most challenging and satisfying games I’ve ever played.

Much of its appeal comes down to the writing. The web of interactions between all characters is complex and relationships are forged and strengthened in a system which puts friendships at the heart of the game, on and off the battlefield. Fighting alongside one another strengthens a pair’s bond and you find yourself playing social engineer as well as coordinating offensives on enemy forts. The spunky Sully quickly stole my heart and we ended up marrying and fighting back-to-back on many occasions. We had a kid, too, although I’m hazy on the details. I told you I can’t remember what I had for breakfast – you expect me to remember my kid’s name? Sully, though! She sure sticks in the memory…

In addition to the synergy between narrative and gameplay, it’s one of the games that used the 3DS’ namesake function really well. The battlefield UI and map was well-designed and easy enough to parse without it, but the 3D effect separated each layer and made it a breeze to understand what was going on at a glance. A thrilling soundtrack and beautiful presentation rounded out what has to be one of the 3DS’ most perfect packages: it would seem you lot agree, too. The game was so good that you really didn’t notice the absence of feet for the entire cast.

You’d think that having enjoyed Awakening so much I’d have gone on to devour Fates and Shadows of Valentia, but other games got in the way. The latter, in particular, is one I’d like to return to at some point, but I’ve had Fire Emblem: Three Houses sitting on my Switch for months and have barely scratched the surface thanks to about thirty other games waiting to be played. This is what I do now – buy and collect brilliant games and never play the damn things. Maybe that’s another factor in how fondly I look back on Awakening. Back then I had the time to pump 100+ hours into an SRPG and get totally lost in it, hard resetting over and over with no care for the clock.

So, there we are – I went with Fire Emblem: Awakening. Shout-outs to Super Mario Galaxy 2, Kirby’s Epic Yarn, Dark Souls II, Breath of the Wild, Overcooked and about forty others, but Awakening was particularly special for me. Is it categorically my ‘favourite’ game of the last decade? Pah, I’m not sure what that even means anymore. All I know is that it’s a phenomenal game that’s worth hunting down a 3DS to play.

The open source 2D game engine GDevelop just released beta 84 of their 5.0.0 branch.  Major features of b84 are BBCode formatting support, dozens of new layer effects, improvements to the integrated pixel graphics editor and more.

New features in beta 84 from the release notes:

• Add dozens of new effects for layers, and allow developers to easily create extensions bringing new effects.

  • See an (incomplete!) list of effects available on the wiki.
  • Thanks @Bouh and @blurymind for porting, trying and setting up these new effects for GDevelop: Black and White, Noise, CRT, Godray, Tilt shift, Advanced bloom, Kawase blur, Zoom blur, Displacement, Color Map, Pixelate, Reflection.
  • Want to add a new shader effect to GDevelop? Take a look at the explanations about effects here.
  • Support for effects on objects will be added in a next version

• New object BBText (thanks @blurymind!)

• Improvements in Piskel sprite editor (thanks @blurymind!)

  • Color index shift brush (useful for cell shading sprites)
  • Ability to source all layers when using the bucket tool
  • Palette transfer tool (apply the currently selected palette colors to the frame you are on)

• Add an option to automatically resize game resolution to window or screen size. It’s recommended to activate it especially for games on mobile phones.

Be sure to check the complete release notes for more details of the release.  You can learn more about GDevelop in our hands-on video embedded below.

GameDev News 2D Engine

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By Joe Robinson 07 Jan 2020

Originally announced way back in August 2017 for an early 2018 release, publisher Annapurna Interactive has confirmed via a tweet that the long awaited Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition is finally arriving on Switch on 28th January.

Containing all five episodes of the point-and-click adventure, the TV Edition was dependant on the completion of the fifth and final act. While it seems to have taken a little longer than anticipated, the wait is finally over and we’ll soon have the chance to play the entire game through on Switch (and other consoles).

The console version includes all five Acts, plus the Interludes that developer Cardboard Computer released in between the main instalments. Combining elements of magical realism with striking visuals and writing, the game follows the journey of truck driver Conway was he travels Route Zero making a delivery and meeting strange folk along the way. The first two episodes released in relatively quick succession back in 2013, followed by another in 2014 and the fourth in 2016.

With Act V apparently concluding Conroy’s adventure, it’s been a long journey for fans who were there at the beginning, but the plaudits the game has collected along the way suggest the wait will be worth it on console. We’ll be reviewing the game when it’s finally ready, so keep an eye out for our verdict at the end of the month.

Have you played Kentucky Route Zero on PC at any point over the past 7 years? Let us know what we can look forward to and if you’re planning on picking up the Switch version below.

Metroid fans have had some ups and downs when it comes to Nintendo’s haunting space-based series, but it’s been a while since we’d seen everyone’s favourite bounty hunter outside Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The most recent outing for galactic bounty hunter Samus was 2017’s excellent remake of the Game Boy’s Metroid II: The Return of Samus for the 3DS, and the year before that we had the underwhelming spin-off title Metroid Prime: Federation Force.

Since the announcement of Metroid Prime 4 way back at E3 2017, fans have been salivating at the prospect of jumping into Samus’ space suit again, but it’s been a bumpy ride so far for the highly anticipated first-person sequel to Retro Studio’s celebrated Metroid Prime Trilogy.

Below we’ve chronicled the ins and outs of Metroid Prime 4’s story so far, including the game’s announcement, its delay, Retro Studio’s return and every detail that’s been revealed about the upcoming Switch game to this point. We’ll be updating this article as new details are revealed, so be sure to check back for all the latest Metroid Prime 4 information.

So, while we wait for more juicy deets, let’s take a look at everything we know about Metroid Prime 4.

Metroid Prime 4 – The story so far…

We start two-and-a-half years ago. In a move that went against Nintendo’s general rule of only discussing games releasing in the coming year, the company revealed a logo for Metroid Prime 4 way back at E3 2017, just three months after the release of Switch. Confirming that the game was in development, it soon came to light that Retro Studios, the development company who made the original trilogy of games on GameCube and Wii, was not involved with this new game (at that time).

Regardless of who was involved, the very existence of the game created ripples of excitement among series fans. The following February it was revealed that Bandai Namco Singapore was working with Nintendo on Metroid Prime 4. The company has co-developed (or assisted development of) several Nintendo games in the past including entries in the Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. franchises, so it was hardly a surprise that Nintendo might turn to them for assistance with Metroid.

Come E3 time, Nintendo made it clear that Metroid Prime 4’s announcement the previous year was “a departure from [its] usual approach” of focusing on “near-term stuff” and would not be appearing in E3 2018’s Nintendo Direct broadcast.

Despite its no-show, Reggie reassured us in July that development of Metroid Prime 4 was “proceeding well” and clarified that its unusually early reveal was intended to reassure Metroid fans that, in addition to Metroid: Samus Returns on 3DS, there was also a Metroid game in development for Switch; the ‘new system’.

So, a year after the initial reveal we’d seen absolutely nothing more of Metroid Prime 4 beside a logo, but Reggie assured us all was well. A photo of the Nintendo of America president wearing a Metroid shirt sent the rumour mill into overdrive, but in November 2018 he once again assured fans that the game was well into development. We had nothing to worry about!…

Or so we thought. In a classic ‘Please Understand’ moment, an official statement and video apology from Nintendo confirmed that the entire project had been scrapped and would be restarted with the involvement of original Metroid Prime development studio, Retro. Shinya Takahashi, Senior Managing Executive Officer at Nintendo thanked fans for their excitement and support and explained that “the current development progress has not reached the standard we seek in a sequel to the Metroid Prime series”.

It was very disappointing news, to be sure, although the fact that Retro Studios was back in the frame helped mitigate ire from fans. Soon job listings started cropping up indicating that Retro would be starting from scratch rather than using any work already done by Bandai Namco. In June, Retro was still seeking an Art Director for the project, with ex-Halo character modeller Kyle Hefley reported to have joined the studio by October – presumably working on Metroid Prime 4, although that remains unconfirmed.

A recent rumour that environmental work on the game might be outsourced to external providers in order to make up for ‘lost time’, coupled with the trickle of hiring news that’s leaked over 2019, indicates that there’s still a long way to go with development of Metroid Prime 4.

What’s been confirmed about Metroid Prime 4?

Very little at present – all we officially know is the name, but obviously that’s subject to change (we wouldn’t be surprised if a sneaky colon crept in).

Looking at the comings and goings of talent to the studio gives us an indication as to the staff involved on the project, but nothing has been confirmed. Approximately half of the development team who worked on the last entry in the proper Prime series are reportedly still at Retro Studios, with fewer than 10 of those having worked on the first Metroid Prime game – the main creatives and project leads left years ago (or have sadly passed away).

Of course, the delay has severely impacted the roll out of information. Nintendo is reluctant to discuss any project until it can deliver concrete details, footage and other information to its audience, and while the reveal of the in-development game was intended to placate Metroid fans wondering why Metroid: Samus Returns was on 3DS rather than Switch, that plan backfired somewhat with the delay resulting in radio silence. We know Metroid Prime 4 is coming, but the lack of information creates room for increased fan speculation.

So, what are people speculating about Metroid Prime 4?

Well, arguably there’s more speculation around what Nintendo will do to plug this Metroid ‘gap’ until Prime 4 arrives. With Retro quite rightfully taking its time with the Switch sequel, Nintendo has a couple of excellent options to help fans pass the time.

Leak group LeakyPandy believes that both a Super Metroid remake and an HD update of Wii’s Metroid Prime Trilogy are in development, in addition to Metroid Prime 4, although LeakyPanda’s track record is patchy.

What do we think? Well, a Super Metroid remake would be brilliant – it is, after all, one of the greatest video games ever made – but if we’re honest we can’t think of a game that requires a remake less than Super Metroid. The SNES original is a classic which holds up marvellously in 2020, and it’s already available on Switch as part of the Nintendo Switch Online subscription. Don’t get us wrong – we’d love to see it, but a Switch port of 3DS’ Metroid: Samus Returns arguably makes more sense.

If Nintendo wants to whet the appetite of Metroid fans and potentially onboard new fans who may have missed the original trilogy across GameCube and Wii, Metroid Prime Trilogy HD is the most obvious and plausible option. Originally released on Wii and combining all three Metroid Prime games in one handy package, it introduced motion controls from Metroid Prime 3: Corruption into the two previous entries and, a few missing graphical effects aside, is arguably the best way to play the games today.

Having the entire series on Switch would be a dream come true for many fans, and would act as a perfect apology to desperate fans following the delay of Metroid Prime 4. Metroid Prime Trilogy HD on Switch seems like an open goal, but will Nintendo tap it in? Fingers crossed.

When will Metroid Prime 4 be released?

Well, video games take a long time to gestate. For a game of Metroid Prime 4’s stature, three years would seem to be the minimum amount of time required to get it off the ground and released, although it could easily take longer. It appears that very little if anything was salvaged from Bandai Namco’s time on the game, so assuming Retro started from scratch, Holiday 2021 would seem to be a relatively realistic release window at this point.

That’s not to say Nintendo and Retro won’t be doing their utmost to get the game finished as soon as possible, and rumours that they’re outsourcing environmental art would support the idea that they’re eager to speed things along. Still, assuming the size and scope of the game will be in line with the previous entries in the series (at least), there’s not much more to be done than let the talented folks at Retro get on with the work.

Of course, who can say what the console hardware landscape will look like two years from now. Could Metroid Prime 4 launch alongside some sort of updated Switch hardware or ‘Switch Pro’? It’s certainly not beyond the realms of possibility that it becomes a cross-generational title bridging two consoles similar to how The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did with Wii U and Switch. It really depends on how long development will take.

Ultimately, despite our disappointment and impatience to continue Samus’ adventures on Switch, most Metroid fans will console themselves with that famous quote from Shigeru Miyamoto: “a delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad”. Far better that Samus arrives a little late to the party in fine form than bursting in half-ready with a boot missing and her hair caught in her visor, no? We’ll be keeping a close eye on developments.

Remember, we’ll update this page with more information as and when it arrives. If you’re eager for more marvellous Metroid content, feel free to check out our ranking of the best Metroid games of all time.

It’s the first month of a new year and after gorging ourselves on the very best games of 2019 over the holidays, our appetite for new games is steadily returning as we get into January. Of course, Nintendo announcements come in video-based packages direct to us (and you), and the whispers have already begun. When is the first Nintendo Direct of 2020? That is the question!

Will there be a Nintendo Direct in January 2020?

Well, looking back to last year, Nintendo kept us on tenterhooks until mid-February when it dropped a real whopper of a Direct before following it up at the end of the month with a Pokémon Direct devoted solely to the reveal of Pokémon Sword and Shield. Looking at past years, Nintendo has generally avoided making big announcements in January, preferring to wait until February or March instead (the New Nintendo 3DS reveal and first Switch Direct being notable exceptions).

There’s no guarantee that they’ll follow suit in 2020, though, and with Animal Crossing: New Horizons coming in March, there’s every chance we’ll be getting a Nintendo Direct broadcast sooner rather than later.

So, let’s take a look at our predictions for the first Nintendo Direct of 2020, whenever it may be…

Nintendo Direct 2020 Predictions

New first-party announcements, obviously

Despite the ‘known knowns’ like Animal Crossing, and the ‘known unknowns’ like Metroid Prime 4, Nintendo does like to keep us on our toes with a total surprise. As fun as a huge new IP or new Splatoon would be, a new smaller scale game would be equally welcome. The Stretchers was a unexpected little treat last year, for example, and with this year’s first-party release schedule looking a little light, Switch surely has some tasty treats to fill the gaps in the calendar.

Looking back, 2019’s schedule looked similarly sparse this time last year, so there’s no reason to think Nintendo hasn’t got some aces up its sleeve in 2020. Then, of course, there’ll be the ports…

A Wii U port or two

As they’re wont to do, rumours have sprung up over the last few days of Wii U ports planned for Switch in 2020. No need to call in Columbo to come to that conclusion, of course – Nintendo will obviously be looking to plug holes in its release schedule with choice ‘Deluxe’ ports from its previous console, as it has successfully done since the very beginning with Switch.

We asked you which Wii U titles you’d like to see join their brethren on Switch, and the results were certainly interesting. For our money, Super Mario 3D World and Xenoblade Chronicles X would be very welcome, although we wouldn’t turn our noses up at the Zeldas, The Wonderful 101 or any of the others, either.

Except, perhaps, Devil’s Third. That can stay right where it is.

… and some choice third-party ports

After the total home run that is Witcher 3 on Switch, there are plenty of commentators with egg on their faces as they chew on mouthfuls of their own headgear. When it comes to third-party ports on Nintendo’s console, it would seem that anything is possible given the appropriate resources, time and talent. Games that we thought could never scale to Switch’s mobile chipset suddenly look plausible and only a fool would categorically state that ‘Game X will never come to Switch’.

Rather than pin our hopes on Red Dead 2 or Cyberpunk 2077, though, it might be more fruitful to look to the past. In addition to brand new big hitters like DOOM Eternal, studios like Feral Interactive are bringing excellent ports like Alien: Isolation and GRID Autosport to Switch. These great games might have been around for a few years, but they still show what can be done on the handheld with some know-how and elbow grease. We’d jump at the chance to revisit classics from the Wii U era that skipped Nintendo platforms, provided they got a similar level of care and attention on Switch.

Bayonetta 3 news

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Platinum Games’ Umbra Witch and finding out more about her third game is one of the things we’re most looking forward to in 2020. E3 2019 feels like the most natural fit for the showboater to reveal more about Bayonetta 3, but we’d expect to see a trailer in any upcoming Nintendo Direct presentation.

The development studio has spoken of ‘big things’ ahead in 2020, and we’re ready to be wowed. We played (and loved) Astral Chain, but there’s always room in our book for Bayonetta’s brand of swagger and we’re eager to catch up with her soon.

A new Sonic game

The blue hedgehog has been quiet for a suspiciously long time in the realm of video games, although we’ve seen plenty of news concerning his upcoming silver screen debut. We doubt that there’ll be a specific movie tie-in game (unless its a mobile title), but it’s impossible that Sega would let 2020 pass without Mobius’ favourite son popping up on Switch and other consoles. After all, we were promised a new game in 2020 at the very start of April last year…

A deluge of Animal Crossing: New Horizons details

Animal Crossing: New Horizons was delayed last year and unfortunately slipped into 2020, although in hindsight this was probably a good thing, and not just so that the developers had the time to finish the game without grinding themselves into the ground. 2019 was so jam-packed with new games that we struggled to play many of them. If the all-consuming Animal Crossing had been thrown in there too, we’d have likely missed out on a whole lot more besides.

We already know quite a bit about Animal Crossing: New Horizons, but there’s going to be plenty more to come over the next couple of months before its 20th March release date. We wouldn’t be surprised if New Horizons gets its own dedicated mini Direct, either. The first-party schedule might look a little barrem at the moment, but if Nintendo wants to keep April and May free of juicy new releases, that would at least give us some space for our island getaway trip. Bring it on.

The return of a dormant franchise

Last year we looked at dormant franchises we’d like Nintendo to bring back, and now that we’ve seen a Switch entry in most of Nintendo’s big name series, it’s the perfect time to bring back the ‘B-tier’. Longtime readers will be aware of various Nintendo Life staff members’ F-Zero fanaticism, but there are plenty of other games which would really fire up hardcore fans and also appeal to the broader audience Switch now enjoys. We can’t help imagining how incredible a new Wave Race could look on Switch. How about something smaller like Pushmo? Where’s the long-rumoured Pikmin 4? Or Picross, perhaps?

That last one’s a joke; Picross is the least dormant series on the planet. There hasn’t been one for at least a month, though, so expect another imminently.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Challenger #5 news

This could come as part of a Nintendo Direct or just as easily make up its own mini Direct presentation. The fifth and final DLC fighter that forms part of the initial Challenger Pack for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is still a secret, but the final piece to this puzzle is scheduled to fall into place by the end of February.

Of course, Masahiro Sakurai has confirmed we’ll be getting even more DLC characters after this lot has wrapped up, so the flame of hope still burns for Waluigi fans. Personally, we think Waluigi would make the perfect final DLC fighter before Sakurai drops the mic and retires.

That is until Nintendo locks him in an iron lung and puts him to work on Super Duper Smash Bros. Ultimater. Poor guy.

Metroid… something

With Retro Studios knee-deep in development on Metroid Prime 4, obviously we’d love to see a little gameplay tease or something more than a temporary logo. On the other hand, any material produced for a Direct would take likely somebody away from developing the game itself, and by all accounts there’s still a long way to go, so probably best not to disturb the team while it’s got its nose to the grindstone.

If Nintendo wanted to throw Metroid fans a bone, though, there’s an easy win just sitting there in the form of Metroid Prime Trilogy HD. We want it, you want it, everybody wants it. Chop chop, Nintendo.

So, that’s what we’re expecting, although when it comes to Nintendo it’s usually best to expect the unexpected. Mother 4? Virtual Boy Classic Mini? A Labo tea set with fully functional teapot and biscuit dispenser? Let us know below when you expect to see the first Nintendo Direct of 2020 and exactly what you’d like it to contain below…