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Tag: Splatoon 3

  • All The News From Yesterday’s Nintendo Direct (February 8th, 2023)

    All The News From Yesterday’s Nintendo Direct (February 8th, 2023)

    Nintendo presented a Direct today with news about games coming out during the first half of 2023. There’s a ton of release dates, some vague, some specific, some even coming out today. You can watch the whole thing here or by watching the video above. I’ve listed most of the announcements below, my commentary is inline and boy do I have a lot of comments.

    Pikmin 4

    Pikmin 4 comes out July 21, 2023.

    Xenoblade Chronicles DLC Volume 3

    The DLC introduces a new character and will be released February 15th. Volume 4 will be released later this year.

    Samba de Amigo: Party Central

    You shake the joy-con controllers like they’re maracas. There’s a “love checker” mode to check compatibility between two players. There’s a “world party mode” that is basically last man standing wins. Samba de Amigo: Party Central will include 40 songs at launch and comes out this summer.

    Fashion Dreamer

    Okay, this has got to be the worst game I’ve ever heard of. In Fashion Dreamer, your goal is to become a stylish influencer and grow your brand. I vomited a little bit in my mouth just saying that. You go around and if you see an NPC with an outfit you like, you can rate it. You can go online and see what your friends or other people around the world dressed up as and rate their outfits. And of course, you can create your own outfits and hope to get likes as well. Essentially, this is gamified social media. I wouldn’t touch this game with a 10-foot pole and would not recommend it to anyone. There should not be a game about getting likes. It normalizes all the bad things that social media is about. It’s the same reason I hated the game play of Pokémon Snap.

    Dead Cells: Return to Castelvania

    Okay, this has me super excited. Konami… is whole other topic but more or less abandoned making video games in favor pachinko machines. They seem to have revived their video game department with the announcement of all the Silent Hill projects. Castlevania kinda recently got a little bit of love with the Castlevania Advance Collection released a year and a half ago (a collection which is totally worth getting and an absolute steal at just $19.99). But this, a DLC pack of what looks like a full blown Castlevania game? Count me in. I’ve never played Dead Cells but I may have to now. Pre-orders start today.

    Tron: Identity

    This is a timed exclusive for Switch and will be released in April.

    Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

    Summer release.

    DecaPolice

    This looks like a fun anime-inspired RPG. Game date is set for 2023.

    Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the last Demon

    Bayonetta is an interesting set of games. Despite owning them, I’ve never played them. This prequel is a radical departure from its hack’n’slash formula. You play as Cereza before she became known as Bayonetta, and partner up with a demon known as Cheshire. As Cereza you can’t attack and instead provide support for Cheshire by locking down enemies. You use the left joy-con to control her and the right one to control Cheshire. Not only does the gameplay offer up something different in the series, but the art style is pretty nice too in my opinion. The game comes out on March 17th with pre-orders open right now.

    Splatoon 3 Expansion Pass

    Okay this is a biggie. An Expansion Pass was announced for Splatoon 3 consisting of two waves. Wave 1 is bringing Inkopolis back from Splatoon 1 as a destination in the game. New shopkeepers, the return of Spike, and Squid Sisters performances during Splatfests are the main draw here.

    Wave 2, called “Side Order”, is a single-player campaign. Apparently, something has happened to Inkopolis Square from Splatoon 2. Perhaps the completion of the campaign will unlock Inkopolis Square and bring it into the fold of Splatoon 3 in the same way that Wave 1 brought in Inkopolis from Splatoon 1.

    Purchasing the Expansion Pass will net you some bonus items in the game: currency, and food and drink tickets. There is no shortage of food and drink tickets let me tell you so this bonus doesn’t really feel like a bonus.

    Wave 1 releases in Spring of 2023. Wave 2 launches sometime later than that. You can purchase the Expansion Pass today. I cannot wait!

    Disney Illusion Island

    This one caught me by suprised. The art style is utterly charming. Each character has its own personality. A 2D plaformer that features 4-player local co-op, Disney Illusion Island will be available July 28th with pre-orders starting today.

    Fire Emblem Engage Expansion Pass

    An update on the upcoming waves. If I’m understanding it correctly, wave 2 and 3 will feature new Emblems / characters and wave 4 will have a new Xenologue story. Wave 2 is available today.

    Harmony: The Fall of Reverie

    The biggest draw for Harmony seems to be the branching story paths. It’s a timed exclusive and will come out in June.

    Octopath Traveler II

    Another game to add to my backlog! There is a demo available on eShop right now. The demo for the first game allowed you to carry your save data over to the full game. Not sure if that’s the case with II. The full game comes out February 24th.

    We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie

    Play as King of the Cosmos. There’s a selfie mode. I think there’s a demo available for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers but I haven’t had a chance to verify that. Meh. Comes out sometime this year.

    Sea of Stars

    Sea of Stars look like an old-school SNES-era pixelated RPG. The game launches on August 29th with a demo available on the eShop today!

    Omega Strikers

    Yet another free-to-play battle royale game. This one comes out on April 27th.

    Etrian Odyssey Origins Collection

    This collection collects Etrian Odysseys I, II, and III remastered in HD. You can also buy each individual game by itself. There’s a new automapping function which sounds like a huge quality of life upgrade from the original releases. The games launch June 1 with pre-orders open today.

    Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

    This game was delayed from last year due to the conflict happening in Europe but I guess Nintendo has feels like it’s okay to relesae now. The release date is April 21 with pre-orders open today.

    Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe

    This is a remake of the Wii game with with a new Magolor epilogue. The epilogue is locked behind the story mode, so clear that and you’ll be able to play this new chapter. The game features 4 player local co-op. The demo even features a special 4-player vs. mode with select stages and games. Launch is set for February 24th.

    Game Boy and Game Boy Advance Games for Nintendo Switch Online

    Hot off the “it’s about freakin’ time!” desk comes this small tidbit. Nintendo will be releasing Game Boy games on Nintendo Switch Online. Games available at launch will be Tetris, Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Gargoyle’s Quest, Game & Watch Gallery 3, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Metroid II – Return of Samus, Wario Land 3, Kirby’s Dream Land. You can choose Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket color filters. You can play 2 player games either locally or online. More games will be drip-fed in the future.

    Game Boy Advance games are coming to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass. Launch ames include Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (will include 38 extra levels that were available from the e-reader accessory), Wario Ware Inc.: Mega Microgame$, Kuru Kuru Kururin, Mario Kart Super Circuit, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Local and onlnie play for up to 4 players is available for supported games. More games will be added in the future like Metroid Fusion (!) and Golden Sun (!!).

    The Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games are available to play today assuming you have the appropriate subscription level. I’m not on the “Expansion Pass” level subscription. Up until now it didn’t seem worth it. But that all changed with the addition of the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games library. That, and since it includes DLC content for games at no extra cost, the value is definitely there now.

    Metroid Prime Remastered

    I nearly hyperventilated when this came up. It is only the first game which is slightly disappointing but I am holding out hope that the other two games will be remastered and released in the second half of the year and/or next year. The game’s controls have been updated to include dual stick controls or you can opt for the original control mode. It’s available digitally in the eShop right now with a physical version releasing on February 22nd. Hype!

    After Metroid, there were bunch of games that were announced that I kind of wasn’t really paying attention to due to the fact that I was in the Metroid Prime Remastered afterglow, up until this next one came up:

    Professor Layton and The New World of Steam

    No date or anything but it’s gotta be soon right? Why else would it be included in the Direct?

    Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass – Wave 4

    Wave 4 will include a ew course, Yoshi’s Island, and a new selectable character, Birdo. Comes out this spring.

    More titles I kind of was half paying attention to like Minecraft Legends, Blanc (February 14), Mega Man Battle Network, Have A Nice Death (March 22nd), some kind of baseball game, Disney Dreamlight Valley (April), and Tales of Symphonia Remastered (February 23).

    The final segment of the Direct was this:

    The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

    The release date is May 12. Pre-orders are open today for the regular edition, a Collector’s Edition featuring the game, a SteelBook, a poster, a pin set, and an art book:

    and a new Link amiibo:

    Pre-orders start today. Good luck getting the Collector’s Edition. You can check out the official site for more information.

    Man, what a doozy of a Direct. Lots of good stuff. Straight 🔥

  • A Nintendo Direct Happened Yesterday and It Was Just Okay

    A Nintendo Direct Happened Yesterday and It Was Just Okay

    A bunch of games were shown but let’s start with the number one game on my hit list: Splatoon 3. No release date other than “Summer 2022” but they did show a video showing the next version of Salmon Run: Next Wave. New boss salmonids were to be expected, but the biggest upgrade is the Egg Throw. Yes, you can now throw eggs a short distance to be picked up or caught by another player. You can even throw eggs into the egg basket! That’s huge! As sweet as that sounds, I just know the levels are going to be harder to account for new mechanic. I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it though.

    And the rest of the Direct was just okay. There were a few things worth pointing out though so here we go in no particular order:

    Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp

    I miss the Advance Wars pixel art style. Maybe it’ll be an option in the game? One can only hope right? Anyway, rather than just upgrade the graphics, slap the two games into this one package, and call it a day, Nintendo gave it once over and then some. There’s voice acting now of all the generals, there’s a new campaign, new enemy bosses, local and online play, and a mapmaker. It’s quite an overhaul to bring the game current adding all of the features you’d expect of a game coming out this generation. Advance Wars 1+2 Reboot Camp comes out on April 8.

    Mario Kart 8 Deluxe DLC Tracks

    Nintendo is working on bringing more tracks from all versions of the Mario Kart games into Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The “Booster Course Pass” will have 6 waves consisting of 8 tracks each. That’s 48 courses in all with the goal of completing them by the end of 2023. The cost? $24.99 for the entire pack. You can pre-order it today with the first wave available on March 18th.

    I guess I should also mention that if you’re in the tiny minority of people who are a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscriber, then you can get it for free. Looking at that screenshot, it feels like Nintendo is desperately trying to add value to its Expansion Pack. The Expansion Pack more than doubles the cost of an annual subscription and since when does any “Expansion Pack” cost more than the base product?? Not worth it. If you have a regular sub just pay the 25 bucks and be done with it.

    Triangle Strategy

    I love me some pixel art and this game looks gorgeous. Very reminiscent of Octopath Traveler. I never ended up playing Octopath but this one I might try to carve out some time for. There’s a new demo out for allowing you play up to the end of Chapter 3. If you like what you see and end up buying it, your save data carries over.

    Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series

    I really enjoyed Klonoa on the Game Boy Advance and never really had the opportunity to play other games. But I’m kinda excited for this one. This game collects the first two Klonoa games in one package in Klonoa Reverie Series. This collection comes out on July 8.

    And The Rest…

    The Direct actually kicked off with Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes.

    No Man’s Sky is coming to Switch. Go see what all the fuss is about this summer.

    The next Mario fighting game disguised as a sports game is coming in the form of soccer in Mario Strikers Battle League. The game can be played 5v5 (up to 8 human players in 4v4 with one computer AI goalie) and will include items, tackles, special shots, and hyper strikes. It also includes a character customization feature. You can play 4v4 on one system. There’s also online play with club mode and a club can have up 20 players. That’s probably where the Battle League part of the title comes into play. I’m just guessing here. The game comes out on June 10.

    The tactical RPG games Front Mission 1st and 2nd are coming to Switch. I never played these games but I’m intrigued. Front Mission 1st comes out in the summer. No release window for 2nd.

    Disney Speedstorm looks like a Mario Kart rip off. I suppose it’s hard to make a fun combat racing game without being compared to Mario Kart. Honestly, they should have just licensed the characters and created content updates as paid DLC for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe instead. This game comes out in the summer.

    Do things Luke could only dream of in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed starting on April 20.

    Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection will include two bonus short films that I assume is exclusive to the collection. This comes out on February 17. I should mention this game is made by Ubisoft.

    SD Gundam Battle Alliance will be released sometime in 2022.

    Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is out on April 7. Sorry this game looks like ass.

    Kirby and the Forgotten Land will be ready to swallow your car on March 25.

    MLB The Show 2022 comes out on April 5th and features cross-platform play.

    Kingdom Hearts Integrum Masterpiece for Cloud collects Kingdom Hearts 1.5/2.5, 2.8, and the Re-Mind DLC. You can also get each individual game in the eshop right now and they’re all on sale too!

    Portal and Portal 2 will be arriving on Switch in the Portal Companion Collection. Portal 2 will include local, online, and splitscreen multiplayer. No solid release date other than 2022.

    Live a Live is coming stateside. This is the first time it’s being released outside of Japan. You’ll be able to play it on July 22.

    Wii Sports is being resurrected as Nintendo Switch Sports. It includes Tennis, Bowling, and Chambara. It also includes new sports Soccer, Badminton, and Volleyball. There’s local and online play with random matchmaking. There’s a leg strap accessory, the same one used for Ring Fit Adventure, that can be used with a Soccer drill. An update will allow you to use it in the Soccer game. There’s an online beta play test happening from February 18-20. The full game comes out on April 29.

    There’s a new Taiko game coming out in 2022, Taiko no Tatsujin: Rhythm Festival. It includes 76 songs out of the box including a Legend of Zelda theme song. Up to four players can play. There’s also an in-game subscription that will let you access over 500 songs at launch.

    There’s a paid DLC update for Cuphead called “The Delicious Last Course”. It includes a whole new island with new bosses and a third playable character, Ms. Chalice. You can start dying a lot again on June 30th.

    There a free update for Metroid Dread. The update includes “Dread Mode” which gives Samus 1hp. The update also swings the pendulum the other way and includes a “Rookie Mode” which increases recovery and maybe softens the enemies a bit? I don’t know. There’s a second update incoming in April where a Boss Rush mode will be added. Kinda feels like an indie title now.

    Nintendo Switch Online will be graced with not one but two Earthbound games: Earthbound for NES and Earthbound Beginnings (better known as Mother in Japan) for SNES. Both games are available now.

    Zombie Army 4: Dead War comes out on April 26.

    GetsuFumaDen: Undying Moon is available now.

    Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yahiba- The Hinokami Chronicles comes out on June 10.

    The mobile game LEGO Brawls is headed to switch on June 2022.

    Two Point Campus will be released on May 17.

    Xenoblade Chronicles 3 was announced. Slated for a September 2022 release.

    You can check out all the trailers and the Direct stream on the Nintendo YouTube channel.

  • Nintendo Direct 2.17.2021

    Nintendo Direct 2.17.2021

    We got a ton of games, so we’re going to split this up and write about the games we’re interested in. That seems fair.

    Pyra and Mythra, two anime girls from Xenoblade Chronicles 2, are the new fighter for Smash Ultimate. It looks like they’ll be similar to Zelda and Shiek from Melee, being able to switch between both characters.

    Aside from that, I’m not sure if they’re going to have a deeper gimmick, like Steve, or be more traditional, like Sepiroth. Sakurai will likely have a breakdown here in a few weeks so we can learn more about them.

    They come out in March.

    Fall Guys

    I hope this game is still relevant. It’s a great Switch game, and I’m glad to see it come to the system. Fall Guys really hit hard and then pretty much vanish last Spring, so maybe this is its second coming. It’ll launch Summer 2021.

    Outer Wilds

    The Outer Wilds, aka probably my (Eric) favorite gaming experience of all time, is coming to Switch. The more people who can play this game, the better. I’m probably going to end up getting it just for the portability. Please everyone who’s reading this: buy this game when it comes out this Summer.

    Famicom Detective Club – The Missing Heir and Famicom Detective Club – The Girl Who Stands Behind

    • Never released in America
    • Japanese murder / ghost mysteries visual novel style games
    • Comes out May 14

    Samura Warriors 5

    The latest in the “Warriors” franchise. Described as “1 vs 1,000”, so if you’re into that kind of spectacle, this is your game. I’m a sucker for a historical (ish) Japanese setting, so I may end up checking this one out. Comes out Summer 2021.

    Legend of Mana

    I’ve (Nick) owned the Legend of Mana game multiple times, but never actually gotten around to playing it. I didn’t spend a whole lot of time in the PSX ecosystem, but I loved Secret of Mana on the SNES, so it seemed like a solid game. Problem was that my PSX hated my TV at the time, so I played only a handful of things. I’ve always wanted to go back to it, and an upcoming article about a series of playthroughs I’m doing means this will certainly be in the pile. It’s a remaster of the PS1 game, with new graphics and music, and comes out June 24th.

    Monter Hunter Rise

    • Exclusive to Switch
    • A Monster Hunter special deluxe edition Switch console will also be released as well as a Monster Hunter Pro Controller.
    • Everything comes out March 26

    Mario Golf: Super Rush

    The biggest genuine surprise for me in the Direct (Nick), I’m very excited for a new Mario Golf game. The original NES game is a cult classic, the N64 is weirdly one of the best games for that console, and the Gamecube game was fun. Since that time, though, it’s only really existed in the mobile space and hadn’t seen much love. Overall, the mix of seemingly optional motion controls, a new multiplayer speed golf mode, and single player and RPG modes looks like this will be another crazy winner in the series. It comes out on June 25th.

    Tales from the Borderlands

    Tales from the Borderlands – the 2014 Telltale game – is coming to Switch on March 24. As far as Telltale games go, I’ve never so much as heard anyone* mention this one. So…take that as you will. Hidden gem? Commercial flop? Your call. Comes out March 24th.

    * Nick here, chiming in that I’m aware of this game. It’s weird in the whole Borderlands saga, as it tells a whole lot of background stories for fan favorites, especially Borderlands 2 villain Handsome Jack. This is widely considered the best of the Telltale games outside of the first Walking Dead one, for those who follow it. I’m kind of curious who is actually behind it, given that Telltale imploded a couple of years ago.

    Capcom Arcade Stadium

    • 1943 for free
    • pay for everything else
    • Available today!

    Stubbs the Zombine in Rebel without a Pulse

    • Comes out March 16th.

    No More Heroes 3

    • Travis Touchdown vs. Aliens
    • Comes out August 27th

    Neon White

    • Another Annapurna Interactive game that looks slick and fun!
    • Comes out this Winter 2021.

    DC Super Hero Girls: Teen Power

    None of us want to write about this one so I guess I’ll just get it out of the way. This game looks like a cash grab. Apparently it’s a Cartoon Network show, so that’s something. I can’t think of a single redeeming thing about it, but I’m a cynical man, so maybe there’s some preteen girls out there who are all about this game. Who knows. I’m sure DC did their research. June 4th on this one.

    Plants vs. Zombies Battle for Neighborville

    • Frame rates and resolution for this game should be excellent.
    • I’m being sarcastic.
    • Comes out March 19, 2021.

    Miitopia

    • 3DS game rerelease.
    • It looks just as boring as the original.
    • Comes out May 21.

    Animal Crossing: New Horizon Super Mario Items

    • If i’m following the trailer right, the first Mario item you get is free, and then it unlocks a bunch of items in Nook’s shop.
    • There’s a warp pipe item that will let you fast travel between two locations on your island.
    • Mario items will be available starting February 25th.

    Project: Triangle Strategy

    • Pretty sure the Octopath Traveler team is behind this.
    • decision based dialogue
    • Turn based tactical RPG.

    Star Wars Hunters

    • 3rd person shooter
    • Free to play, pay to win!
    • Zynga
    • Hard pass. I’m not going to list a release date for this trash. That’s how much I hate it.

    Knockout City

    • Dodgeball? Dodgeball. Very Fortnite-ish.
    • Comes out May 21

    World’s End Club

    • Comes out May 28

    Hades

    Hades, my (Eric again) 2020 Game of the Year, gets a physical release on Switch, alongside a digital copy of the soundtrack (or, you know, just use Spotify), and a gorgeous 32-page art book. I can’t recommend this game enough, and I’ve heard people describe it as perfect for Switch. You can get the digital version right now, or grab the physical copy on March 19th.

    Ninja Gaiden Master Collection

    • Ninja Gaiden Master Collection includes Sigma, Sigma 2, and 3: razor’s edge
    • Comes out June 10

    Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity Expansion Pass

    • $20 bucks for DLC that comes out in two waves. Apparently, there’s more calamity to play through than what the original game gave you.

    Bravely Default II

     

    • Comes out in a little over a week, February 26th.

    Ghosts ‘n’ Goblins Resurrection

    • February 25th

    SaGa Frontier Remastered

    I’m (Nick) decently excited about this game… the only SaGa games I’ve played are the first in the series, released as Final Fantasy Legends in the US on the original GameBoy. The collection for those just came out the Switch, so clearly we’re getting more in that line showing up as Square continues to release more and more games from their back catalog. Yet they haven’t re-released Final Fantasy I or II on anything other than mobile platforms outside of Japan (where it got a 3DS release) in more than a decade. Hopefully this is a continued sign that more and more of the classic catalogs will be coming, after this drops on April 15th.

    Apex Legends

    I’m getting kinda burnt out on Call of Duty: Warzone, so I might check this one out. Switch has never been a great console for FPS in my opinion, but, again, if it’s portable, that’s good enough for me.

    Then, Eiji Aonuma walked out.

    Nothing new from Breath of the Wild 2, which, honestly, didn’t expect too much there. A lot of people were hoping against it, despite Nintendo plainly telling them that the Direct would focus on 2021 releases… Nintendo fans continue to build up hype despite being told not to. However, director Eiji Aounuma did announce The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD.

    Skyward Sword is by no means a great Zelda game. But it’s a pretty darn good game. I replayed it on Wii two years ago and it held up surprisingly well, aside from the motion controls.

    Astonishingly, the Switch remaster will give the option to use the right stick instead of motion controls to allow people who own the Lite enjoy it as well. I have no idea if that will work, and a sneaking suspicion it will be awkward as hell. However, with the vastly improved motion control tech of the Switch compared to the Wii, I have a feeling using the JoyCons like a sword and shield will actually feel pretty good.

    They’re also releasing a special pair of Zelda-themed joy-cons:

    Everything will be released in a few months, on July 16. 2021 is Zelda’s 35th Anniversary, so this may not be all the Zelda surprises in store for this year.

    And now, hear Ace gush about Splatoon:

    Splatoon 3

    I had some predictions on what we’d see in the direct: Zelda, Pokémon, and Metroid seeing as to how they are all hitting anniversaries this year. None of that panned out except we did get Skyward Sword HD, which isn’t great imo. I had one wishlist item and it was Splatoon 3. I was really not expecting the Direct to end with this. This trailer pretty much saved the entire Direct for me. I’ll be dissecting what we see in a separate post.