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  1. This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content: Fire Emblem Heroes Events: Special Heroes: Winter’s Envoy – Some Special Heroes in wintry outfits are here to bring a splash of color to these winter days. These Special Heroes are part of a Special Heroes summoning event in the 5 ★ Focus. For new summoning events, the first time you summon, you won’t have to use Orbs! But that’s not all … these Special Heroes also appear in the new Paralogue, Winter’s Envoy, and there are some related limited-time special quests as well! This event lasts until 10:59 p.m. PT on Dec. 31. Daily Special Maps – Look for Special Maps to be added daily for 11 straight days starting at 11 p.m. PT on Dec. 23! The first time you clear each of these maps, whether on Normal or Hard mode, you can receive one Orb. Clear the Daily Special Maps and earn Orbs daily! This event runs from 11 p.m. PT on Dec. 23 until 11 p.m. PT on Jan. 2. Note: Each map will be available for one week. Activities: Pokémon My Nintendo Rewards – When it launched in Japan 17 years ago, the Pokémon Crystal game introduced many new and exciting elements to the beloved Pokémon franchise. Now this groundbreaking game is coming to Nintendo eShop on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on Jan. 26. To celebrate, My Nintendo is offering Pokémon themed rewards, including Pokémon Crystal wallpaper. You can also redeem your points for discounts on several classic Pokémon games in Nintendo eShop: Pokémon Trading Card Game – 30 percent off Pokémon Art Academy – 30 percent off Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team – 30 percent off Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team – 30 percent off And for even more Pokémon style, redeem your points for a Pokémon: Pikachu & Poké Ball Nintendo 3DS HOME Menu theme. Style Savvy: Styling Star My Nintendo Rewards – The Style Savvy: Styling Star game launches on Dec. 25 for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. My Nintendo is celebrating in style with wallpaper inspired by the game. Plus, don’t forget to try the free demo for Style Savvy: Styling Star, now available for download in Nintendo eShop. Nintendo 3DS My Nintendo Rewards – Resolve to take your gaming up a notch in 2018! To get you started, My Nintendo is offering new reward discounts on challenging Nintendo 3DS games that’ll give your gaming skills a workout. Redeem your points for these discounts today: Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past (Nintendo 3DS) – 30 percent off (Available Dec. 22) EarthBound (Nintendo 3DS / Wii U) – 50 percent off (Available Dec. 22) Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. (Nintendo 3DS) – 30 percent off (Available Dec. 22) Metroid Prime: Federation Force (Nintendo 3DS) – 30 percent off (Available Dec. 22) Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword (Nintendo 3DS) – 30 percent off (Available Dec. 22) With your My Nintendo points, you can also ring in the new year with a January 2018 calendar featuring the Master Cycle Zero from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild game. And don’t forget to update your Nintendo 3DS system with The Legend of Zelda: A New Adventure HOME Menu Theme. Looking for more intense games? Check out the Games for Gamers lineup on the Game Store. Not a member yet? Visit http://my.nintendo.com. Nintendo eShop sales: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Great deals this week! Check out the full list of deals available this week at http://www.nintendo.com/games/sales-and-deals. Also new this week: Frederic: Resurrection of Music (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) TINY METAL (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Dark Witch Music Episode: Rudymical – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) 60 Seconds! (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Tiny Troopers Joint Ops XL (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Puzzle Box Maker (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) FruitFall Crush (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) The Deer God (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) The Coma: Recut (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Max: The Curse of Brotherhood (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) ACA NEOGEO Pulstar (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) The Next Penelope (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Heart&Slash (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Tactical Mind (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 22 Bloody Zombies (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 23 Sparkle Unleashed (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 25 Energy Cycle (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 25 RXN -Raijin- (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Mom Hid My Game! (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Mom Hid My Game! (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) The Legend of Dark Witch 3 Wisdom and Lunacy (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) PICROSS e8 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
  2. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King from developer Castle Pixel and publisher FDG Entertainment follows in the footsteps of action-adventure games like A Link to the Past and delivers a fresh game with plenty of classic elements. The top-down perspective, assortment of items, and hidden secrets scattered across the game's overworld will be instantly familiar to anyone that has enjoyed a classic Zelda game. But despite the clear inspiration from Nintendo's franchise Blossom Tales is far from derivative. The pieces may be familiar but Blossom Tales reassembles them into a charming, engaging adventure. You play as Lily, a newly recruited Knight of the Rose, who sets out on a dangerous journey to save the king who has fallen under a powerful sleep spell by an evil wizard—pretty classic adventure game fare. Blossom Tales does add a cute twist by making the entire game a story that a grandpa is telling to his grandchildren, à la The Princess Bride. This narration structure sets up some fun premises throughout the game including a few self-aware jokes, though for the most part this is still a classic adventure game formula: Lily explores, helps out the townsfolk she meets, and conquers vast dungeons. Even if it's not wildly original you'll still be charmed by the game's endearing style and dialogue. Comparisons to Zelda are inescapable when talking about Blossom Tales; the grandpa even makes a pointed reference to the series at the beginning of the game. The vast overworld to explore, the dungeon design with key items found in each one, the heart pieces to extend Lily's health—the entire structure is instantly recognizable, though in a way that works to the game's benefit. Most players will be able to instantly jump into the action and hence appreciate how well the developers have captured the balance of exploration, puzzle-solving, and sense of challenge that make these types of action-adventure games so engaging and rewarding. Even if the game isn't too difficult for anyone experienced with Zelda games there are still some great puzzles to decipher and fun environments to lose yourself in. The formula in Blossom Tales may be familiar, but there's something to be said for simply executing a formula so well. And there are a few ways that Blossom Tales distinguishes itself from the Nintendo series. For one, Lily can execute a sword attack combo ending in a jumping slash that makes combat a little more interesting. There are few truly challenging battle encounters, but the game gives you enough tools to keep fights engaging, especially with the wealth of side quest items you can collect from defeated foes. You'll often be tasked with collecting twenty of some item to turn in for a reward, and if adventure games as a whole are any indication there's something oddly satisfying about carrying out these little fetch quests. Blossom Tales also takes a unique approach to items by tying all item use to a stamina meter, i.e. you don't have to collect or buy arrows or bombs, you just need to have enough stamina to draw your bow or toss another explosive (and stamina recharges naturally). Granted this is yet another feature similar to a Zelda game, specifically A Link Between Worlds, but in Blossom Tales it forces you to think about your item management. Bombs and spells are particularly powerful in this game but with the stamina limitation you can't just spam them over and over. It adds a little touch of strategy to combat, particularly boss fights, which is a welcome change over games that turn into button-mashing sword-swinging fights. In the audio and visuals department Blossom Tales also looks back to classic game design for inspiration. The top-down perspective lends itself to classic square-shaped environment design but the characters are a bit less detailed than the 16-bit era A Link to the Past. Just like the gameplay the visuals do a great job of paying homage to a classic style but still creating a unique look for itself, which particularly shines through with the little environmental details like clouds and fog. And everything in the game looks absolutely adorable—the flower in Lily's hair bouncing as she walks is a great touch. The audio is a perfect match for the 16-bit era as well: bouncy, rhythmic, and just plain fun. Though if any aspect of Blossom Tales risks treading on Zelda's toes a bit too much, it's the music, where some of the songs are a little too similar to Zelda. Blossom Tales lasts a good ten hours or so, but a big part of that play time depends upon how much exploration you do. Like any adventure game worth its salt there is a whole wealth of collectibles to uncover: heart pieces, stamina meter extenders, optional items, etc. You can spend a lot of time just wandering around trying to discover everything you can in the overworld, and to be honest that's half of the fun in a game like this. Once you've found everything and defeated the final boss there isn't much incentive to replay the game, but the amount of optional content does make this a great candidate for speed runs. It's clear that this game owes a lot to Link and his adventures in Hyrule, but Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King never feels like just a copy of Zelda. It pays homage to all of the classic elements that have made the Zelda franchise as beloved as it is today, and adds a few unique twists and some fresh challenges to make a game that is just delightful from start to finish. And that may be the most important aspect of Zelda that Blossom Tales captures: the pure sense of fun in exploring an overworld teeming with secrets, in working through challenging puzzles, and in overcoming one boss after another in order to save the day. In the end that's what makes Blossom Tales another excellent addition to the Switch's library. Rating: 8 out of 10 Blossoms Review copy provided by publisher Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King is now available on the Switch eShop for $14.99.
  3. The first Ittle Dew landed on the Wii U eShop to little fanfare, but its charming cartoon design, clever puzzles, and loving parody of adventure game staples won over players looking for a cute but challenging adventure. I'm happy to see it even gained enough of an audience to warrant a sequel, one that does a great job of building upon the original's core mechanics without feeling like the exact same game again. Ittle Dew 2+ puts Ittle and Tippsie on a new island, full of dungeons and treasure, and gives you the freedom to explore wherever and however you choose. If the first game is The Legend of Zelda in style, Ittle Dew 2+ is A Link to the Past: a bigger world, more elaborate puzzle mechanics, and more optional content to seek out. Like its predecessor Ittle Dew 2+ takes a firm tongue-in-cheek approach to the adventure game genre. Ittle and Tippsie are adrift on a raft when they wind up in the middle of a pond on an island. An island rife with dungeons, and the only way to get a new raft is to explore each one. Along the way Ittle is just looking for treasure and Tippsie provides the sarcastic commentary. The dry humor is great, and not just because it's a sense of humor rarely seen in video games, at least not at this level. Everything in the world of Ittle Dew 2+ is goofy, witty, and wonderfully self-aware, from the first dungeon that is literally covered in protective foam and pillows to ease you into the adventure to the repeating bosses that tell you they're just there for a paycheck. It's a charming parody of adventure games, and the thing about great parodies is that they can't just poke fun at a genre, they have to actually be good at the genre as well. And Ittle Dew 2+ is a great adventure game. From the start of the game you're plopped down right in the middle of the island and told to head east to the first dungeon. But, in the spirit of the great adventure games of the past, you're actually free to do whatever you want on the island. You can go straight to dungeon number seven first. You can hunt down all of the secrets that the game has to offer (and there are a lot). You can just plain wander around if you want to. Ittle Dew 2+ is wonderfully open in that regard—outside of the final dungeon no area of the island is off-limits or blocked off by a specific item. You can discover all of the game's secrets using just your trusty stick. In fact it's pretty beneficial to head off the beaten path since you'll find health upgrades and other items to boost your abilities. But the key here is that discovering little secrets is always fun, and Ittle Dew 2+ gives you the freedom to do just that whenever you want. The only minor complaint about exploration is that the map system can be a little unhelpful while navigating. The full view of the island map makes it hard to actually make out details like paths and obstacles, and you can only zoom in on the region you are currently in (i.e. the forest area, the mountain area, etc.). It would have been even more useful to be able to zoom in on the entire map so you can plan your route between areas more easily. It wouldn't be an adventure game without dungeons, and they wouldn't be dungeons without various puzzles to solve. In the case of Ittle Dew 2+ the majority of them are sliding block puzzles or hidden switches, but like the first game there are just a few key items that are used in a wide variety of ways to solve each and every puzzle. Each item has multiple ways it can be used, so you really need to put on your thinking cap and consider all the ways your items can be leveraged, both individually and in tandem. The first Ittle Dew had entire bonus challenge routes that really cranked up the difficulty. This game doesn't have those anymore, but since you can explore the dungeons in any order sometimes you'll find a shortcut by using one item or another that may not have been accessible if you went through the game in order. For an adventure game that's heavy on puzzles, this is a pretty brilliant way to add some replay value, and to incentivize you to approach each puzzle from every angle you can think of. Combat is the one area of the game that hasn't really evolved since Ittle Dew. Ittle has her main weapon—which starts out as just a stick—and can use the other three items to not only solve puzzles but in combat as well. However, actually fighting enemies feels pretty basic, and oftentimes tedious. The combat is of the "smack it until it dies" variety, so there's not a lot of finesse here. Even dodging enemy attacks has more of a scrambling feel rather than skill and style, since many enemies are relentless with their attacks. The good news is that there's very little penalty for dying. You'll restart at your last checkpoint or the entrance of the area/dungeon you are currently in, but you won't lose any progress. For example, if there's a locked door that requires you to defeat a miniboss and you defeat it but die in the next room, the door is still unlocked (the monster will respawn but you can march right past it). You can sort of brute force your way through these combat challenges, which isn't super satisfying from a gameplay perspective—there's little incentive to fight well outside of boss fights—but at least it mean that, even if the combat isn't very rewarding, it won't hold you back from progressing through the game. The game also takes some pity on you if you're stuck by the puzzles too. While exploring the overworld you can find lockpicks which can be used in dungeons to essentially bypass any puzzles that have you stumped (at least, those puzzles that reward you with a key). Ittle Dew 2+ has its share of head-scratching puzzles, but the game gives you some wiggle room if you need it. And on the other hand, if you want more of a challenge, there are several optional dungeons and challenge rooms for you to enjoy. Some of these optional areas don't give you anything significant—and the game even warns you as much, if you're only in this for the treasure—but the bonus dungeons offer some valuable rewards. And just like the first game Ittle Dew 2+ is built for speedrunning. You can easily ignore all of the exploration and optional dungeons of the game and just power through the eight required dungeons, in which case you can finish the game in as little as an hour. It's more likely the game will last around ten hours for your first playthrough though, especially if you spend the time to fully explore the island. On a technical level the game runs perfectly smoothly except for one rather prevalent problem: loading times. It's a necessary evil for modern gaming but the loading times in Ittle Dew 2+ are obnoxiously noticeable, particularly because they come up so often (every time you enter a building, cave, dungeon, move between regions, etc.). Don't get me wrong, the loading times aren't ridiculously long, but they're just long enough to be annoying. The whimsical visuals in Ittle Dew 2+ are really what draw the player into the game, at least initially. The art style is just perfect for the tone of the game: cartoony, bizarre but not too elaborate—it's the kind of delightful absurdist design that video games revel in, which makes it a fitting setting for the parody/tribute that is Ittle Dew 2+. The sight of Tippsie, a winged fox, quietly scowling at you from the corner of the screen is hilarious from the first moment to the last. The game also sports a solid soundtrack. The music isn't as openly satirical as the writing or visuals; instead it's simply a proper, atmospheric adventure game soundtrack. From the moody dungeon melodies to the upbeat overworld tunes the music sets the tone for an epic exploration adventure. Ittle Dew 2+ is everything that fans of Zelda games will love, while also poking fun at all the little quirks of the genre. It's the kind of game that doesn't take itself too seriously—it's a game after all—but that doesn't mean it's some kind of mindless adventure either. Beyond the fun parody elements lies a properly challenging game that makes excellent use of only a few items to cook up all manner of puzzles and challenges. The combat still isn't a particular strong point of the game and faster load times would do wonders for the mere pacing of the game, but overall Ittle Dew 2+ offers a ton of clever, satisfying puzzles in classic adventure game and dungeon-exploration format. Rating: 8 out of 10 Dungeons
  4. This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch Enter the Gungeon – The Enter the Gungeon game is a dungeon crawler that follows a band of misfits seeking to shoot, loot, dodge roll and table flip their way to personal absolution by reaching the legendary Gungeon’s ultimate treasure: the gun that can kill the past. Yooka-Laylee – Explore huge, beautiful worlds, meet (and beat) an unforgettable cast of characters and horde a vault-load of shiny collectibles as buddy-duo Yooka (the green one) and Laylee (the wisecracking bat with the big nose). Embark on an epic adventure to thwart corporate creep Capital B and his devious scheme to absorb all the world’s books ... and convert them into pure profit! Romancing SaGa 2 – Sit upon the throne of the Varennes Empire and control several generations of rulers in a valiant battle against the Seven Heroes. A dynamic freeform scenario system – a hallmark of the SaGa RPG series – enables you to take command of a variety of protagonists along the line of imperial succession and experience the history of a nation as it grows and changes based on your actions. The Romancing SaGa 2 game is available on Dec. 15. Nintendo eShop sales: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Great deals this week! Check out the full list of deals available this week at http://www.nintendo.com/games/sales-and-deals. Theme Shop on Nintendo 3DS: New themes this week include: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Four Champions Also new this week: Gorogoa (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) One More Dungeon (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) ACA NEOGEO The Last Blade (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Mutant Mudds Collection (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Embers of Mirrim – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Pinball FX3 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Stern Pinball Arcade (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Bleed (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Poly Bridge (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Black the Fall (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Never Stop Sneakin (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Mecho Tales (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Hammerwatch (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Unholy Heights (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Unepic (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 15 Hiragana Pixel Party (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 16 Crawl (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 19 DragonFangZ – The Rose & Dungeon of Time (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 19 Brawlout (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 19 BLOK DROP CHAOS (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
  5. Tiny Barbarian DX brings players back to a simpler time, when action games were two-dimensional (literally) and the hero only had a few attacks to deal with hordes of enemies and massive bosses. It's a love letter to classic NES action games like Ninja Gaiden or Castlevania, from the pixel-art graphics to the tough-as-nails gameplay that will have you dying and retrying over and over as you slowly master the game's challenges. In some ways the game is a little too retro though; a few more modern touches could have made the game less repetitive. In true NES game fashion the storytelling in Tiny Barbarian DX is pretty minimal. The game doesn't begin with any elaborate cutscenes. Instead it pretty much gets right into the action of slashing enemies with your barbarian blade. However, in a rather clever nod to classic games, the developers have created a digital manual that outlines the backstory as a short comic. The whole manual feels like it could have been pulled right out of an 80s game case, but the comic is a particularly fun touch. There still isn't a ton of storytelling going on in Tiny Barbarian DX—and the later episodes only get crazier and have less explanation of what's going on—but to be fair this is all definitely true to the game's retro style. That retro style begins to get less endearing when it comes to the gameplay though. Tiny Barbarian DX is classic 2D action-platforming, meaning you'll have to fight a variety of enemies with only a handful of different sword skills and you'll jump across hazards that require pixel-perfect timing. The developers have certainly done a fine job of recreating this kind of classic gameplay, but they've also recreated many of its annoying aspects as well with things like knockback on hit which can make it extremely easy to die, especially since you only have a sword with limited range. Thankfully there is one important modern feature in Tiny Barbarian DX: there are no lives or continues. If you die you just restart from the beginning of the area. Granted some areas can be pretty big but it certainly beats restarting the entire level, or restarting the entire game. The game is still very much founded upon the cycle of dying and retrying as you slowly learn where enemies are and what hazards lay before you, which can be a pretty tiresome cycle and can leave you stuck on a single level for hours on end, but at least it isn't quite as tedious as it could be. The combat, however, is regrettably mired in the past. Tiny Barbarian DX only uses two buttons—jump and attack—so there isn't any room for anything like blocking, dodging, or special attacks. It is possible to perform three-hit combos which can also be directional—i.e. a forward dash, an upward slice, or a spinning attack midair—but enemies rarely give you the opportunity to do much more than mash the attack button. Oftentimes combat is simply getting a few quick swipes in and then retreating to safety. This is especially true in boss battles where preserving your life is so important. Cautious gameplay in and of itself isn't necessarily bad, but in Tiny Barbarian DX it makes the combat feel slow and a little boring. There is definitely room to make the combat feel more rewarding in this game. In another nod to classic games like Double Dragon, Tiny Barbarian DX offers co-op in each of its four levels. There isn't anything fancy added with another player—player 2 is simply another barbarian, this time with a blue loincloth—but a bit of old fashioned couch co-op is still fun to see, and a helping hand can make some of the combat challenges a little easier. Player 2 is tethered to player 1 so he can't actually move around that much (moving off-screen when player 1 isn't moving means instant death for player 2) so you do have to be a little careful while coordinating, but since player 2 will just respawn on the next screen anyway it's a pretty minor hazard. And yes, Tiny Barbarian DX is technically only has four levels (plus a short bonus level post-game). But the catch here is that each level is quite long. Each level follows a long map that basically looks like an entire playthrough of Castlevania. Even if you play well each level will last at least an hour or so, and it's more likely that you'll spend a lot more time with the game from dying over and over. There is also a score system in the game so you're encouraged to replay levels to get the best score you can in the shortest amount of time, though just finishing the game once may be exhausting enough for many players. The real highlight of the game is its presentation though. The classic pixel art style looks great. Even if you aren't nostalgic for this kind of retro artwork the game's charming animation and stylish backgrounds will easily win you over. Across the four levels of the game there is quite a variety of environments, some of which also pay clear homage to classic games with effects like a spinning tower, and all of it looks great on the Switch. And the music perfectly captures the style of 80s action games. The chiptune soundtrack positively explodes out of your TV while playing, driving the action on screen with pounding rhythms. Tiny Barbarian DX tries to capture a certain style of retro action game, and it absolutely succeeds when it comes to the visuals and audio. As a whole, Tiny Barbarian DX is a little hard to recommend though. The game pays such heavy homage to a classic game format that it kind of forgets to add anything new to the mix, outside of a more convenient retry system. Even with the variety of locations and platforming challenges in the game there is an underlying, frustrating aspect of repetition that makes the game more draining to play than truly fun. Tiny Barbarian DX may fit the bill if you're in the mood for an old school action game, but there's just not a lot of enjoyable depth here. Rating: 6 out of 10 Barbarians
  6. Nine Parchments from developer Frozenbyte brings all the fun of classic co-op to the Switch: battling hordes of monsters together, overcoming massive bosses together, and occasionally blasting each other apart with fireballs. This Gauntlet-style action-RPG puts every player in the role of wizard, but the catch here is the wide assortment of spells to choose from, along with equipment you can find throughout the game, skill trees that you can customize as you level up, and unlockable characters for subsequent playthroughs. Nine Parchments has a few rough edges but at its core it's a fun and frantic take on classic co-op gameplay. In Nine Parchments you play as a group of student wizards eager to prove their magical capabilities. When an explosion at the academy sends nine valuable pieces of the academy's spell book flying out into the world you take it upon yourself to retrieve them and prove your worth. But aside from that prologue the story takes a bit of a backseat in Nine Parchments. There's some scattered narration and your characters occasionally engage in banter during a level but for the most part the plot isn't a significant part of this game, which feels like a missed opportunity. When you're in the middle of blasting away enemies alongside your friends though, you won't really mind the light story. Nine Parchments is an action-RPG that is essentially controlled like a twin-stick shooter. In each level you'll come across groups of enemies and you'll use the right stick to carefully but quickly aim your selection of spells. You can't just blast away willy nilly for a couple of reasons. One, there are different elemental types in the game, and monsters are immune to their own type, i.e. an ice spell used on an ice monster deals no damage. Perhaps more importantly though is the friendly fire aspect of Nine Parchments. It's very easy to hit allies accidentally, and whether you just graze them with a fireball or temporarily stun them with a lightning blast it's poor form to bewitch a fellow wizard. At first the friendly fire mechanic may seem chaotic but it actually helps rein in some of the chaos of Nine Parchments. When you need to pick your shots a little more carefully battles are more engaging, and require some coordination—going into every fight with full force would probably get stale pretty quickly. You can even combine your spells with another player to dish up a more powerful combo, if you can aim it properly. Ultimately the friendly fire aspect of the game promote a more rewarding sense of co-op gameplay. The game can still be fairly difficult at times though, even when you aren't getting shot in the back by a friend. Thankfully these wizards are well equipped to deal with all manner of monster. There is a decent variety of spells in the game, even with some repetition since the same spell type can have different elemental affinities. After each boss encounter when you retrieve one of the eponymous nine parchments you'll add a new spell to your repertoire, which helps make each playthrough somewhat unique in addition to increasing your power. It can be fun just seeing how the different spells work, though it's always best to try to keep a variety of elemental types on hand—you don't want to be caught with only ice spells against all ice monsters. You may have to resort to just whacking enemies with your staff, which somehow feels undignified for a wizard-in-training. The gameplay, then, is about aiming your shots thoughtfully, sticking to the right elemental affinity as necessary, and most importantly managing your spells' mana. Each of your spells has a separate mana pool, and each spell has a different rate of mana regeneration, so your more powerful spells may take more time to reload but you can blast away with the weaker but more frequent spells. Battles can really be a juggling act as you manage your mana, which again gives Nine Parchments a layer of strategy—you can't expect to just walk through every enemy encounter in this game. And here's an invaluable tip you might not notice at first: you can aim area-of-effect spells that you lob out by hitting ZR a second time while the spell is in mid-air, causing the spell to drop down and land. I went a few too many levels without realizing that's how you're really supposed to use those spells. Although Nine Parchments can be played solo it's definitely a game meant for multiplayer, and local multiplayer at that. You can jump into an online game with strangers or try to join a friend's game but since there are no communication options on the Switch the experience just isn't the same as when you're in the same room as the other players and can quickly call out strategies or requests for healing spells. And however many players you have the game scales in difficulty, so you won't be completely overwhelmed by enemies if you tried to play alone (though it still is pretty difficult to play solo). Despite the option to play solo, locally, or online Nine Parchments runs into one rather confounding problem: there's only one save file, meaning that if you play a few levels with some friends then want to play solo, you'd start over at the beginning (or continue playing new levels, just without your friends). On one hand this all sort of makes sense since there are unlockables which you might miss by jumping around and playing levels out of order, but it is a rather obnoxious limitation all the same. One full playthrough of Nine Parchments can last a good eight hours or so, which isn't quite short enough to justify restarting over and over when you just want to try out a new character. However, the good news is that the developers have already announced that they are working on a patch which would allow you to keep separate save files for your different playthroughs, which should make it much more convenient to start up a game with friends but also experiment in solo play on the side. Much like Frozenbyte's Trine series the graphics in Nine Parchments are almost absurdly rich and vivid, full of bright colors and gorgeously detailed backgrounds. It's hard not to get caught up in the scenery at times—just be careful you don't fall off any cliffs! There are only a handful of different monster types in the game but the scenery from one level to another more than makes up for a bit of repetition in the enemy designs. The soundtrack is just as engaging in its own way, and is also distinctly reminiscent of Trine. The music style is somewhat airy, which is kind of perfect for a game focused on fantasy and magic. Nine Parchments fully delivers on the promise of good old fashioned frantic co-op multiplayer with a variety of spells, characters, and opportunities to "accidentally" freeze your friend in the heat of battle. Juggling your spells' mana and their elemental effects gives the game a satisfying degree of depth and challenge, especially once you have several spells at your fingertips. The game's emphasis on multiplayer means solo games can be a lot more difficult and a lot less rewarding, but if you can't wrangle together some friends for couch co-op there's always the option of online multiplayer. No matter how you team up, Nine Parchments is a satisfyingly chaotic action game, perfect for scratching the co-op itch. Rating: 8 out of 10 Parchments Review copy provided by the developer Nine Parchments is available now on the Switch eShop for $19.99.
  7. So... looks like they're coming to the Switch. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/outlast-1-and-2-are-coming-to-switch/1100-6455535/ I played a decent bit of the first one on another platform, and while it's technically a good survivor horror experience, the style of always being helpless, having to run, hide in lockers, etc until the insane asylum boogeyman goes away just isn't my thing. I'm a big horror guru but I prefer having at least some form of combat/defense, however subtle it is... That said, I won't deny Outlast gave me some jump-scares the first time I progressed as far as I did, but also got kinda boring after awhile. I don't know, but if I ever give it a chance again, I'm open to doing so on the Switch.
  8. This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch Floor Kids – Floor Kids is a unique breakdance game featuring dance battles, freestyle gameplay and funky beats. Discover original hand-drawn animation by JonJon, a fresh soundtrack by Kid Koala and innovative controls that allow you the freedom to play the way you like. Lead your crew of B-boys and B-girls through the city, unlock new characters and locations, battle against your friends, and discover new combos as you rock to the beat and find your style. The End Is Nigh – The End Is Nigh is a sprawling adventure platformer in which the player takes control over Ash, one of few “things” that have survived the “end of the world.” Follow Ash as he flops his way through a future of pain and suffering. Feel his stress levels rise as you throw him into an endless swarm of decaying, mutant animal-like creatures, and help aid his final epic quest … to simply make a friend. The End Is Nigh will be available Dec. 12. WWE 2K18 – The most realistic WWE video game experience just became more intense with the addition of eight-man matches, a new grapple carry system, new weight detection, thousands of new animations and a massive backstage area. A new rendering engine also gives WWE 2K18 a visual overhaul and will bring the drama of WWE to life like never before. Nintendo eShop sales: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Nintendo eShop Cyber Deals – Last Chance – Treat yourself this holiday season with big savings on select digital games. Act fast, though, as the sale only runs until Dec. 11 at 8:59 a.m. PT. My Nintendo Activities: Happy Holidays, Animal Crossing Fans! – Did you already download the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp game on your smart device? You can build your own dream campsite and invite adorable animal friends to hang out! You can also visit your friends’ campsites, craft your own furniture and lots more fun things. Now is the perfect time to join in the fun, as a limited-time holiday event just started. Unlock seasonal outfits and collect in-game candy canes to craft cute holiday-themed items. To help everyone get into the holiday spirit, we’re giving away a Santa hat for your campsite manager. Be sure to check your in-game mailbox! By the way, did you know that linking your Nintendo Account to the Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp game can help save your in-game progress? Sign up today and keep your camp data! My Nintendo is also offering some adorable Animal Crossing Nintendo 3DS HOME Menu themes this month. You can redeem your My Nintendo points and get these: Animal Crossing – Winter Frolics theme – Available Dec. 8 Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Jingle’s Toy Day theme – Available Dec. 8 Animal Crossing: Isabelle theme Want to catch up on other Animal Crossing games? You can redeem your My Nintendo points and get the following discounts to help you get started: 20 percent discount on Animal Crossing: New Leaf – Available Dec. 8 40 percent discount on Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer – Available Dec. 8 You can also redeem your Gold Points to get online access to the Animal Crossing: New Leaf Prima Official Game Guide. Theme Shop on Nintendo 3DS: New themes this week include: Pokémon: Winter Hide-and-Seek Also new this week: ACA NEOGEO TOP HUNTER RODDY & CATHY (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) ACORN Tactics (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Dimension Drive (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Embers of Mirrim (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) GUNBIRD for Nintendo Switch (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Human: Fall Flat (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) LOST SPHEAR – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Party Planet (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 12 Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Plague Road (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Plantera Deluxe (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Red Game Without a Great Name (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Riptide GP: Renegade (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Slain: Back From Hell (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Tennis in the Face (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 8 Teslagrad (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) The Sexy Brutale (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) TouchBattleTankSP (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Vostok Inc. (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Yōdanji (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Robonauts – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) 80’S OVERDRIVE (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Christmas Night Archery (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Japanese Rail Sim 3D Travel of Steam (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Squareboy vs Bullies: Arena Edition (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) RTO (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
  9. In a lavishly decorated mansion-turned-casino, guests enjoy an endlessly-looping day of decadence and gambling—right up until the point where every guest is brutally murdered each night. The Sexy Brutale, co-developed by Tequila Works and Cavalier Game Studios, takes the time-looping concept of Groundhog's Day and compacts it into an intricately designed casino full of fatal hazards and supernatural dangers. You'll need to sneak from one room to another to gather information on each character's looping path and find a way to prevent their grisly deaths, and ultimately find a way to escape the deadly mansion. This delightfully macabre backdrop sets the stage for a unique murder mystery that you'll find hard to put down. In The Sexy Brutale you play as Lafcadio Boone, one of the hapless guests of the masquerade party doomed to relive the nightmarish twelve hours over and over. But a mysterious figure grants you the power to retain your memories with each winding back of the clock, which gives you a chance to find a way to prevent each murder. With further powers gained by rescuing the other guests Lafcadio is able to explore the mansion and rescue each of the other victims, but always within the twelve hour time limit—when the clock strikes midnight everything is reset once again. Like any good mystery the fun of The Sexy Brutale is learning the why—learning about the characters, their histories with one another, and ultimately why they have all been gathered together to be murdered in one fateful day. From the first tick of the clock The Sexy Brutale paints a compelling setting that will easily pull in player's imagination, culminating in a satisfying, emotional climax. The characters' backstories aren't required to solve the puzzles surrounding their murders but it is well worth the effort to seek out all of the details hidden in the game. Some of it can be quite tricky to find but the developers have created such a unique, vivid environment that you'll enjoy sifting through every bit of information available. The gameplay is a mix of stealth and adventure-game-puzzle-solving, i.e. you'll need to find a way to prevent a guest's murder by collecting a necessary item or hitting a switch while avoiding the casino's staff as well as the guests themselves. Lafcadio's unique power allows him to skirt the boundaries of time itself, but the other characters will notice that he is out of place and will react violently if you're in the same room. Hence, an important part of the game is spying upon the other characters and tracking their movements across the twelve hours of the game's time frame. Don't worry though, the game is actually quite lenient on the player. If you're caught in the same room as another character you have ample time to flee, so although you have to be stealthy to a degree—by peeking through keyholes, listening through doors, and even hiding inside wardrobes—the game doesn't punish you for any little slip up. Once you've tracked a character's movements their path will even be outlined on your map in the pause menu for a handy reference. The real challenge of The Sexy Brutale is just making sure you have enough time to do what you need to in order to rescue someone, so there's no time for dawdling. Twelve hours may sound generous at first, but there's a lot to see in this game and you'll need more than a few rewinds to take it all in. That may be why the game makes it easy to spot what objects you can interact with in any room. This isn't the kind of adventure game where you have to click on everything or go pixel hunting: anything you can pick up or examine is clearly highlighted, so you won't waste any time while exploring (though again it is very much worth the effort to examine everything that is highlighted to better understand the setting, and you may even find a clever pop culture reference or two). It's nice to see the game doesn't beat you over the head with a specific order of operations either. With a little luck you can actually stumble over some solutions or interact with objects without necessarily knowing what the effect will be, so you don't have to slowly gather clues and proceed step by step to the puzzle's conclusion. Of course, you'll miss out on some of the storytelling going on in the mansion by not listening in on every conversation you can, but it does help the game move at a brisk pace. The downside is that this can all make the game a bit too easy at times. Some puzzles are so straight forward that it's really just a matter of checking each room at least once and the solution will be clear. There are few true head-scratchers in The Sexy Brutale, and even the time-sensitive solutions are fairly generous with the actual timing needed to solve the puzzle. Though to be fair, a game based around replaying the same day over and over could easily have been tediously repetitive rather than a touch too easy, so at least the developers erred on the more enjoyable side. In fact, that may be one of the more impressive aspects of The Sexy Brutale: for a game founded upon replaying sequences repeatedly, the game never actually feels repetitive. The game moves quickly enough that it never feels like a chore. If there is one problem with The Sexy Brutale though, it's load times, or more specifically, the buffering that happens when transitioning from one room to the next. There is noticeable frame rate stuttering when moving between some rooms, particularly between different sections of the mansion where the game has a whole new set of rooms to load, such as when you're moving between floors. Even when you're just spying through a keyhole the game will stutter for a few seconds as it struggles to properly load the scene. Thankfully, despite the time-sensitive nature of some of the puzzles, these hiccups never really interfere with the gameplay and are more of a cosmetic annoyance, but an annoyance all the same. And it would be a shame to portray either the visuals or the audio in a poor light, because both are stunning in The Sexy Brutale. This game has style in spades, from the infectiously upbeat main theme that plays in the casino to the eerie but opulent rooms that seem to hide some sinister secret in every corner. The art design hits a perfect balance between its charming character designs, flamboyant scenery that simply screams wealth, and the macabre details that shine through when you look closer. The fixed camera angle in each room allows each to be set up as a specific tableau, but it still would have been fun to have a zoom function to really examine the details that give The Sexy Brutale it's unique cartoonish, opulent, and ominous style. And even beyond the main theme—which really will get stuck in your head as soon as you start up the game—there are some great songs to enjoy, all of which add to the game's dichotomy of jazzy party atmosphere and deadly traps. Given its stealth, adventure, and puzzle elements the length of The Sexy Brutale can vary quite a bit depending on how carefully you comb through each area, but you can expect around six hours to finish the game. Not particularly long, and the desire to see the entire mystery unfold will keep you glued to the game anyway. As mentioned there is quite a lot of optional text that fleshes out the backstory of the characters and the history of the casino itself, and finding all of it can be a little tricky, so there's good reason to be thorough. There are also 52 playing cards scattered throughout the game—a bonus collectible that might yield something interesting if you can find them all—though without a convenient way of tracking which ones you already have it can be difficult to gather all of them. Other than that, like many adventure-puzzle games, there's little replay incentive besides watching the story unfold once again. Time-looping stories in video games may not be a new concept, but few are executed with the unique panache of The Sexy Brutale. The developers have built a fascinating little world within the confines of this sprawling casino. Just exploring it would be entertaining on its own, but preventing one murder after another and inching closer to the root cause of the mansion's sinister machinations will leave you transfixed to your Switch. Despite some technical hiccups the compelling writing and intriguing setting set The Sexy Brutale apart in a year already filled with fantastic games. Mystery fans will love uncovering the secrets that the gilded casino hides, from the first shocking revelation to the last. Rating: 8 out of 10 Playing Cards Review copy provided by the developer The Sexy Brutale is available now on the Switch eShop for $19.99.
  10. After a rocky initial launch last year, Slain: Back from Hell from developers Andrew Gilmour and Thomas Jenns and publisher Digerati Distribution was, much like its protagonist, given a new life when significant overhauls patched up the gameplay for a more rounded and enjoyable experience. However, it wasn't a complete 180 in terms of quality. Despite some significant improvements Slain: Back from Hell on the Switch eShop still seems hellbent on trying the player's patience, with only meager rewards in return. Extra challenging, old school game design can be fun when handled well, but when it turns into a repetitive slog you end up with a game like this. In terms of story, visual design, and music, Slain takes all of its cues from heavy metal. You play as Bathoryn, a fallen warrior who is brought back to life in order to fight the evil Vroll and his minions of death. You travel through forsaken landscapes battling witches, wolves, and skeletal warriors—the art design in this game is like a metal album come to life, and put through a pixel filter. The writing isn't exactly top notch as the characters talk in overly dramatic, stilted sentences and ultimately the game ends with a confusing cliffhanger clearly meant to set up another game, but the graphics are pretty fantastic. Slain puts pixel art to great use, creating vivid, bloody landscapes with just the right touches. And the music is, naturally, one heart pounding metal song after another. It's the perfect soundtrack to pump you up while you battle waves of undead monsters inside a bloody castle littered with bones. The rest of the game may have some significant problems but the presentation at least is both unique and wonderfully realized. Slain's pixel art design is a little more advanced than the kind of stuff you'd see on the NES, but the gameplay feels right out of that era. This is classic 2D action game fare—sidescrolling environments, some platformer elements, waves of enemies, etc. Slain also retains many of the annoying quirks of those old school games, like knockback on hit, precise platforming despite meager movement controls, stiff combat, and one hit kills. You're going to die in Slain. A lot. But the truly frustrating thing is that, unlike other games where you may die repeatedly but still feel compelled to keep trying, Slain's appeal fizzles out pretty quickly. The main problem here is how stiff and ultimately unsatisfying the combat is. You swing your sword pretty slowly and it doesn't have much range so it can easily by interrupted by enemy attacks. You have to time your strikes carefully, especially when there are multiple enemies around and you can easily end up being juggled by their attacks. It's not necessarily such a bad structure on its own since it's meant to force you to be careful, but in Slain you have so few combat options and even basic enemies can take several attacks to bring down, so pretty much every encounter with an enemy devolves into a super repetitive game of waiting for the enemy to attack and then counterattacking. Action games don't necessarily have to have flashy, elaborate attacks to be appealing but there should at least be some sense of fluidity to the combat. Enemies that attack from a distance are even worse since your only ranged attack—magic bolts—are extremely limited and also not very powerful, so you often have to slowly approach, jumping over or reflecting enemy projectiles. At the very least, Slain doesn't leave you completely defenseless. You can dodge, though it's pretty short and only backwards. You can block, but you'll still take some chip damage (and there's no option to increase your health throughout the game). You can also perfect block, and this is essentially your go-to move for just about every enemy encounter. When you time you block just right you'll execute a perfect block, take no damage, and the enemy is open to a counterattack. It can be tricky to time it right and admittedly it's satisfying to do, but no so much the thousandth time you do it. Slain is in dire need of more viable combat options, especially something to deal with aerial enemies, since perfect blocking isn't all that useful on these highly mobile targets. A better designed combat system would even make the high frequency of instant death traps more tolerable (though in the one concession the game gives to the player there are frequent checkpoints, so you'll restart relatively nearby). Slain isn't actually that long of a game. If you were somehow able to complete it without constantly dying and retrying, it would really only be a couple hours long. As it is you'll probably spend at least six hours with the game to finish it, though again this heavily depends on your skill with old school action-platforming. And once you finally reach the end and watch the credits roll, there isn't anything left to do in the game. No difficulty options, no replay incentives—the only reason to even try to explore the game's linear levels is to find all five pieces of a special talisman which makes you a little stronger for the final boss fight. Not that I was eager to jump back into the game immediately after completing it, but still, the game is quite short. Slain: Back from Hell may be an improvement over its initial release, but it still has some serious problems with the core structure of the gameplay, which ultimately pigeonholes the player into repetitive attacks against enemy after enemy. A game can be super challenging but still satisfying. Slain is super challenging, but the tactics you need to use to get through the game are just not fun. Oftentimes it feels like sheer persistence rather than skill, which makes each victory less of a satisfying accomplishment and more like a trial you were forced to sit through. Slain manages to capture the extra difficult style of old school action games but fails to deliver it in an engaging way. Rating: 5 out of 10 Headbanging Skeletons Review copy provided by publisher Slain: Back from Hell will be available on the Switch eShop on 12/7 for $19.99.
  11. Imagine if Studio Ghibli made an Iron Chef movie, and then you might have a rough idea of what this game is like. Battle Chef Brigade on the Switch eShop, from developer Trinket Studios and publisher Adult Swim Games, is a wonderfully bizarre combination of side-scrolling combat and match-3 puzzle gameplay, all set in the backdrop of the most elaborate cook-off challenge you can imagine. This isn't just some goofy combination of game types though. Battle Chef Brigade may draw you in with its unique concept, but you'll stay for its charming design and engaging race-against-the-clock gameplay. In the world of Battle Chef Brigade, chefs don't just stay in the kitchen, watching over their pots and pans. They find the ingredients themselves by dicing up monsters to find the perfect element for their culinary creations. This all leads to the Battle Chef Brigade itself, a highly respected band of chefs that have mastered the art and ply their trade for the benefit of everyone in the land. It's a wonderfully unusual setting for a game, especially since the ultimate goal is to feed people delicious meals rather than defeating evil overlords or saving the world from destruction. It's a refreshingly earnest story, which also relies heavily on how charming the cast of characters is. You play as Mina Han, a bright-eyed woman from a little village eager to join the brigade by competing in the brigade's tournament. Along the way she meets numerous friends and opponents in the tournament, and it's hard not to love each and every one of them. The only downside is that the story feels rushed at times. In addition to the tournament itself there are a few other plotlines woven through the game but not all of them feel properly fleshed out. Battle Chef Brigade's unusual gameplay structure could essentially be boiled down to two key aspects: hunting monsters to collect ingredients, and combining ingredients to make a dish. Let's start with the former. Instead of simply gathering ingredients from a pantry or refrigerator, chefs in this game cut down monsters themselves by dashing out the kitchen's back door—at least we know these ingredients are fresh. While hunting you are basically playing a 2D action-platformer. You can attack monsters to collect meat, cut fruits and vegetables, and even find treasure chests with valuable sauces. You only have a few combat options at your disposal, including a handful of magic spells, but it's enough to make the hunt feel engaging even by the end of the game. Besides, the real focus of hunting isn't about executing fancy attacks, it's about collecting the right ingredients as quickly as possible so you can get back to the kitchen and prepare your dish. No matter how experienced you are at hunting monsters that time pressure adds a satisfying sense of urgency. So what makes a great dish? Well thankfully you don't need to worry about how actual flavors combine or play off of one another. In Battle Chef Brigade you only have to worry about combining ingredients in a match-3 format, i.e. line up three red gems and the quality of your dish will increase. Match-3 is a well-worn game format but the time pressure here adds quite a bit of excitement to the cooking process, plus you are given specific ingredients that must be included and a guiding flavor that should dominate your dish. For example, you may be tasked with using boar meat in a dish that predominantly has green gems, but boar meat always gives red gems, so you need to combine other ingredients and maximize the point value of your dish within the allotted time. Dishes also have a limited amount of space for gems, so you need to line them up and match them to upgrade the three gems into one high level gem, thereby freeing up space and adding to your score. I know this sounds like one of the strangest games ever cooked up, but once you start playing the gameplay is highly intuitive and quite addictive as you take on one tournament challenger after another. Battle Chef Brigade wastes little time in providing plenty of other spices to help you refine your meal into the perfect offering for the judges. There are numerous options when it comes to items that change the way you hunt, cook, and even how your dish is scored at the end of the match (these bonus points can be incredibly valuable in a tight match). The hunting items are fairly standard stuff—increased health, increased mana, more inventory space for collecting ingredients—but the cooking items can truly change the way you approach each battle. You can use different cooking pans which have unique effects, such as only matching red gems but you only need two to make a match instead of three, or a pressure cooker that will slowly upgrade gems while you're hunting or preparing a different dish. A lot of items seem highly specific in their use which makes it a little annoying that you can't see the special ingredient or the guiding flavor until after you have already selected your items for the match, but still, your choice of cookware can drastically change the way you operate in the kitchen, and change the way you approach each challenge. Just like in an actual kitchen two people could have drastically different styles, though both can lead to delicious dishes. Whenever you're not racing against the clock in the kitchen with an opponent chef you can explore the small stretch of town where Mina has rented a room. More importantly, you can take on side quests to earn some coin, and then buy new items to help your cook-off performance. The side quests aren't particularly challenging, but it's nice to have something else to do in the game between matches. Similar side quests are also available in the main menu as challenges where you can compete for a high score against other players. There are sadly only a few challenges to enjoy, but like the side quests they can be a nice break from the main game. If there's one problem with Battle Chef Brigade, it's that there simply isn't more of it. The story mode is surprisingly short and can be finished in a few hours (unless you're particularly bad at cooking and need to retry matches repeatedly). As already mentioned the story comes off a bit rushed sometimes, and in general the concept of the game could easily sustain a much longer adventure. More ingredients, more battles, even more playable characters—there is so much potential here for a longer game. And really, the main reason I'm so insistent on this is that Battle Chef Brigade is so polished as is that I truly didn't want to stop playing it. The game does feature one aspect that gives it some replay value: there is a Daily Cook-Off challenge that gives you predetermined items to create a dish in a quick match, and you can then compare you score against other players online. The predetermined items does add a unique bit of challenge to these cook-offs so there's a decent reason to keep loading up the game each day, but still, a longer story mode would have been the icing on the cake. And of course I would be remiss not to mention the absolutely lovely artwork in Battle Chef Brigade. The character and monster designs are just beautiful—there's some clear anime influence in the designs—and the screenshots here don't do the animation justice. The backgrounds are delightful as well with their soft, watercolor style that is wonderfully detailed. There may only be a handful of unique locations in the game but each is so well-crafted that you'll enjoy poring over each one every time you visit. The soundtrack makes for a perfect complement to the game's cheery approach to chef battling, though the somewhat surprising highlight of the audio is the excellent voice acting. You might not expect such quality work in an indie game but the voices do a great job of bringing the game's colorful cast of characters to life. Battle Chef Brigade gets high marks for originality, and the best part is that the unusual combination of gameplay types coalesces into a clever, engaging game. As disparate as they are every aspect of the game comes together in a wonderful blend of flavors: the charming storyline, delightful artwork and audio, and uniquely challenging gameplay make Battle Chef Brigade hard to put down. Like a short-order cook you'll find yourself juggling various demands in the kitchen and even some outside as you hunt down the perfect ingredient to wow the judges. The only issue with the game is that the highly polished design is so much fun that it'll leave you hungry for more. Rating: 9 out of 10 Dishes
  12. This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Lost in a sea of clouds, entire civilizations rest on the backs of Titans. As the giant beasts march toward death, the last hope is a scavenger named Rex – and Pyra, a living weapon known as a Blade. Can you find the fabled paradise she calls home? Command a group of Blades and lead them to countless strategic victories before the world ends. Each Titan hosts its own distinct cultures, wildlife and diverse regions to explore. Search the vast open areas and labyrinthine corridors for treasure, secret paths and creatures to battle and index. The Xenoblade Chronicles 2 game will be available on Dec. 1. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Expansion Pass– If you own the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 game and buy this Expansion Pass, you’ll gain access to some titanic new content, including new story content in fall 2018! On Dec. 1, the Helpful Item Pack will roll out, with the New Quest Pack opening up in January. Plus, the New Rare Blade Pack will be added to the game in spring, with the New Challenge Mode Pack next summer. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Free Japanese Voice Pack – On launch day (Dec. 1), after downloading a free software update, users will have the option to download a free DLC pack that will allow players to play the Nintendo Switch game with Japanese audio and English subtitles. Nine Parchments – Nine Parchments is a co-op blast-’em-up game of magic mayhem. The game combines real-time spell-shooting action with RPG elements. Level up your character and collect magical loot, filling your wardrobe with myriad wizard hats and powerful staves. The Nine Parchments game launches on Dec. 5. Nintendo eShop sales: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Nintendo eShop Cyber Deals - Treat yourself this holiday season with big savings on select digital games. Shop on Nintendo.com or in Nintendo eShop on your Nintendo Switch, Wii U or Nintendo 3DS family system to purchase and download games to play over the holidays. My Nintendo members also earn Gold Points on qualifying digital purchases, so it’s a win-win. The sale runs through 8:59 a.m. PT on Dec. 11. Activities: Fire Emblem Heroes Update – The recent free update to the Fire Emblem Heroes mobile game adds a ton of cool features to the mobile game. These new features include: Book II of the Main Story Has Begun – The saga of Fire Emblem Heroes moves on to the next chapter. Meet Fjorm, Princess of Ice, and get her to join your team as an ally by clearing Chapter 1: Part 5 of Book II. A Legendary Hero and new Blessings Have Been Added – A new Legendary Hero has been added. Fjorm is the first of them, but in the future, you’ll have the chance to obtain others, too. Legendary Heroes have one of four legendary elements (Water, Wind, Earth and Fire) that resonate with the corresponding Blessing to give Heroes strength. With these Blessings, different Legendary Heroes will give different stat bonuses. Level Up Your Skills with the Weapon Refinery – Strengthen the weapon skills of your Heroes! After clearing Chapter 13 in the main story and then clearing the Intermission chapter, The Rite of Blades, the Weapon Refinery can then be found under Advanced Growth. With Weapon Refinery, some existing weapon skills can be improved with boosted stats or even additional abilities. Other weapons can even be upgraded into high-level weapons skills. Fire Emblem Heroes Bonuses – To celebrate the major 2.0.0 update for the Fire Emblem Heroes game, you can receive a Log-in Bonus of free Orbs up to 10 times until 10:59 p.m. PT on Dec. 12. These Orbs can be obtained from your Present List. But that’s not all: A double EXP and SP event will also take place until 10:59 p.m. PT on Dec. 4. My Nintendo Activities: Happy December! (available on Dec. 1) – The holiday season is right around the corner, and we’re celebrating all month long with Mario games. Redeem your My Nintendo points and get discounts on favorites that the whole family can enjoy: 30 percent discount on Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (Nintendo 3DS) 30 percent discount on Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash (Wii U) 50 percent discount on Super Mario Bros. 3 (Nintendo 3DS / Wii U) 50 percent discount on Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Wii U) 40 percent discount on Super Mario Maker(Wii U) You can also redeem your points and get these full DLC packs for the Mario Kart 8 (Wii U) game*: Mario Kart 8 DLC Zelda Mario Kart 8 DLC Animal Crossing You can still redeem your points for these festive Mario rewards, too: Mario Nintendo 3DS HOME menu theme Mario Holiday wallpapers And finally, don’t forget to stop by Play.Nintendo.com during the holidays for tips about how to create your own Cappy ornament and Toad garland – the perfect additions to that gaming-themed tree. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Wallpaper – To celebrate the launch of Xenoblade Chronicles 2, My Nintendo is offering a special December calendar and wallpapers featuring imagery from the game. Redeem your My Nintendo points for these rewards: Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Kingdom of Uraya Wallpaper Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Argentum Trade Guild Wallpaper Xenoblade Chronicles 2 – Argentum Trade Guild December 2018 Calendar Nindie Game Gold Point Rewards Vol. 2 – Got Gold Points? Get select games! This holiday season, My Nintendo users can redeem Gold Points for some of the hottest indie games on Nintendo platforms. For a limited time, redeem points to download select Nintendo 3DS and Wii U games from talented independent developers. Users will receive a download code that is redeemable in Nintendo eShop. Toki Tori 3D (Nintendo 3DS) – 20 Gold Points Retro City Rampage: DX (Nintendo 3DS) – 80 Gold Points Tengami (Wii U) – 80 Gold Points XType Plus (Wii U) – 30 Gold Points Also new this week: OPUS: The Day We Found Earth (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Arcade Archives Traverse USA (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Serial Cleaner (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Caveman Warriors (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Dec. 5 ACA NEOGEO WORLD HEROES (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Syberia 2 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) MUJO (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Star Ghost (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Draw a Stickman: EPIC 2 (Nintendo eShop on Wii U) BATTLE LODE RUNNER (Virtual Console on Wii U) Bomberman ’93 (Virtual Console on Wii U) *The full version of the Mario Kart 8 game is required in order to purchase the DLC.
  13. For all the games that have you shooting down dozens of enemies, how many games show the aftermath? Someone has to clean up all of those bodies and guns after all, and if this game is any indication it's a messy job with its own hazards. In Serial Cleaner, available on the Switch eShop from developer iFun4all and publisher Curve Digital, it's your job to make sure the crime scene is spotless, even when the area is already crawling with cops. There are no fancy gadgets involved here, no magic teleportation—you can't even fight back when the cops start chasing you. Serial Cleaner is about pure stealth: watch the enemy patterns, plan your route, and get out of there as quickly as you can. This kind of challenge isn't for the faint of heart, but then neither is being a cleaner. You play as Bobby, and average guy paying his bills by doing a little dirty work for the mob now and then. Bobby is a cleaner; he's not the guy pulling the trigger, but he makes sure there's no evidence left behind when the cops show up. And as you might expect, eventually something goes wrong, and Bobby finds himself in over his head with an ever more dangerous client. For a game with such macabre subject matter and a suspenseful storyline it might be surprising to hear that Serial Cleaner is actually not that dark. In fact, it's really quite charming. Bobby lives with his mom and you can check in with her before each mission. The 70s setting lends the game a certain funky aesthetic that balances out the criminal aspect of the plot. Who would've guessed that cleaning up dead bodies could be portrayed in a fun, light-hearted way? As mentioned Serial Cleaner is a stealth game with almost no bells or whistles. In fact there are only a couple of controls in the game, and the only concession the game gives you to make the stealth gameplay a little easier is Cleaner Vision, which allows you to see the entire map so you can better plan your movements. The lack of special items or abilities adds a satisfying intensity as you sneak around—this isn't a stealth game that you can just stumble your way through. The goal of each level is to remove any incriminating evidence left behind at the scene of the crime. The police always manage to get there before you so you need to avoid being seen as you dispose of bodies by loading them into your station wagon or dumping them in specially marked locations, pick up items like murder weapons, and vacuum up the blood on the ground. Yes, in the world of Serial Cleaner a vacuum cleaner is the most efficient way of cleaning blood—a quirky touch, but also relevant to the gameplay since anyone nearby will hear the vacuum, so you have to find the right time to vacuum. The cops move about on predetermined paths and later levels give you a few options as far as distracting or blocking off their movements. You can also hide in certain areas of the map—even if a cop is chasing you and sees you hide, you'll be safe, so oftentimes a chase ends in a mad dash to the nearest hiding spot. That's essentially all there is to the game, but even with relatively few mechanics the developers have done a great job of challenging the player's planning abilities and sense of timing. And just to make things a bit more complicated, the position of bodies, evidence, and blood is randomized, so each time you fail and retry a level the key objectives might be moved around (hiding spots can also move but the core stage layout and enemy positions never change). The randomization can be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes you find yourself just plain stuck, unable to get the timing right or find a viable path through the level, but then the objectives move and it ends up being easier for you. That can be a huge boon sometimes. But the opposite can also be true: you have a good layout but make one mistake, now everything seems to be in a more difficult spot on the map. Sometimes it feels like you're just cycling through randomized sets until you find a manageable layout, which is less of a fun challenge and more of a luck of the draw. At the very least it keeps you on your toes and adds some replay value, even if it can be frustrating at times. With only twenty levels in the story mode Serial Cleaner can be a fairly short game. You can also unlock ten more bonus levels based on recognizable movies from the 70s, but that still doesn't quite pad out the game's length much. The real value of the game comes from its challenge modifiers. You can replay any level with an extra helping of difficulty by using special rules such as no Cleaner Vision, no enemy vision cones so you can't easily tell where they're looking, an endless mode where bodies continuously spawn until you're caught, etc. The game keeps track of your best time for each of these challenges but surprisingly there's no online leaderboard. The challenges don't fundamentally change the way you play the game, but at least it's something to keep you engaged if you want more Serial Cleaner after finishing each level once. Whether you're hooked by the game's replay intensive format or not, Serial Cleaner has a groovy sense of style. The simple, sharp edged art style is simultaneously adorable and stylish, which is then offset by the bright splashes of scarlet blood scattered around the stage. It's a great juxtaposition and gives Serial Cleaner a striking, almost pop art look. Plus you can unlock bonus outfits for Bobby, also drawn from 70s pop culture like the bonus levels—I doubt you'll see anything quite as delightfully bizarre as a character cleaning up dead bodies while dressed as Dr. Frank-N-Furter from Rocky Horror Picture Show. The real star of the show might be the soundtrack which perfectly captures the funky 70s aesthetic and feels like it could be right at home in any action movie or TV show from that era. The catchy guitar riffs, groovy bass lines, blaring horns, and soulful sax make the perfect background music as our antihero rolls up his sleeves and gets to work in one criminal enterprise after another. Serial Cleaner isn't a flashy, elaborate take on stealth games. It's very much the opposite: a game that focuses on the core element of examining your environment and relying upon a solid gameplan and careful execution to make it through levels unscathed. It's challenging, but the funky soundtrack and stylish art design are utterly charming and fun, even in the face of the bloody work the game is centered around. The randomized elements of the game can sometimes work against that philosophy, but at the same time a little chaos helps buoy the game's replay value given its short story length. In the end stealth fans should appreciate the challenge, and the game's undeniable style will keep them coming back for more. Rating: 8 out of 10 Bodies Review copy provided by the developer Serial Cleaner is available now on the Switch eShop for $14.99/£14.99.
  14. This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch DOOM – DOOM is back as a brutally fun and challenging modern-day shooter experience. Relentless demons, destructive weapons and fast, fluid movement provide the foundation for intense first-person combat – whether you’re ripping through the single-player campaign or competing against friends across numerous multiplayer modes. DOOM will be available on Nov. 10. L.A. Noire – Amid the post-war boom of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Cole Phelps, an LAPD detective, is thrown headfirst into a city drowning in its own success. Using revolutionary facial animation technology, the L.A. Noire game blends breathtaking action with true detective work for an unprecedented interactive experience. Solve brutal crimes, plots and conspiracies inspired by real crimes from 1947 Los Angeles. Search for clues, chase down suspects and interrogate witnesses as you struggle to find the truth in a city where everyone has something to hide. L.A. Noire will be available on Nov. 14. Rocket League – Rocket League is a high-powered hybrid of arcade soccer and driving with rewarding physics-based gameplay. Take to the pitch for a fully featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special “Mutators” that let you change the rules entirely. Express yourself with one of the deepest customization systems around, and battle opponents on other platforms with groundbreaking cross-network play. The Nintendo Switch version features exclusive Battle Cars: Mario & Luigi NSR and Samus’ Gunship. Rocket League will be available on Nov. 14. Snipperclips – Cut it out, together! DLC – Paper pals Snip and Clip must cut each other into the right shapes to overcome new obstacles in this paid DLC update to the original Snipperclips, Cut it out, together! game. Partner with friends or family to solve puzzles, including new comic book and toy box worlds, three new Blitz games and a new Stamp mode*. You can also revisit the original levels using new shapes!** If you’re new to Snipperclips, you can purchase the game and DLC bundled together in Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch. The game + DLC bundle is also available as Snipperclips Plus – Cut it out, together! at retail stores. Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS Mario Party: The Top 100 – Ever partied with Mario? Stuffed mouthfuls of pizza? Dodged penguins? Well, the party is back with the top 100 minigames in Mario Party series history! Test your memory, speed and luck in a variety of multiplayer minigame types. With Download Play, up to four players can party on their own systems with just one player with the full game. This time, the fun comes faster, thanks to some fresh features, including a Favorites option for quicker minigame selection and streamlined instructions. Nintendo eShop sales: Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS Great deals this week! Check out the full list of deals on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U available this week at http://www.nintendo.com/games/sales-and-deals. Activities: The Legend of Zelda My Nintendo Rewards (available on 11/10) – This year, Nintendo is turning Black Friday into Legendary Friday with two new items related to The Legend of Zelda series: the Link Edition Nintendo 2DS system and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Explorer’s Edition. My Nintendo is also getting into the act with some great The Legend of Zelda rewards: Wallpaper inspired by The Champions’ Ballad Expansion Pass DLC Pack 2. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo 3DS Theme for your Nintendo 3DS or Nintendo 2DS system. If you’re looking for more adventures in Hyrule, we’re also offering 40 percent discounts for each of these games in The Legend of Zelda series. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Nintendo 3DS/Wii U) The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D (Nintendo 3DS) The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes (Nintendo 3DS) The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword (Wii U) You can also redeem your points for the official The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword eGuide from Prima Games. For more info, visit https://my.nintendo.com. Theme Shop on Nintendo 3DS: New themes this week include: STORY OF SEASONS: Trio of Towns Also new this week: Batman – The Telltale Series (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 14 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 14 RiME (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 14 UNO® for Nintendo Switch (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Ittle Dew 2+ (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 14 Octodad: Dadliest Catch (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) ACA NEOGEO Street Hoop (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Rock’N Racing Off Road DX (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Ben 10 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 14 Tallowmere (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Maria The Witch (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Cat Quest (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 10 Spellspire (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Super Putty Squad (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Koi DX (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Hulu (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Bonds of the Skies (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) RTO (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Worcle Worlds – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Lords of Thunder (Virtual Console for Wii U)
  15. I'll admit, I was skeptical of this game when it was first rumored to exist, months before its official E3 unveiling. A Mario and Rabbids crossover game sounds more like a fever dream, and adding in guns and strategy gameplay only made it sound more insane. But if there's one thing the Rabbids do well, it's insanity. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is hands down the strangest game to grace the Switch so far, but it may also be one of the best thanks to its surprisingly deep strategy gameplay that demands careful planning while still pushing forward as quickly as possible. As unlikely as the combo of Mario and Rabbids is, the underlying gameplay will capture your attention and draw you into this oddball adventure. So how do the Rabbids even get to the Mushroom Kingdom in the first place? Well the story is a bit complicated. First the Rabbids, using their Time Washing Machine, stumble upon a young inventor's home who has created a SupaMerge helmet—a helmet capable of combining two objects into one, e.g. a Rabbid and a balloon are transformed into a Rabbid balloon. When one Rabbid starts playing with the helmet he hits the Time Washing Machine, sucking in the Rabbids and all of the Mario merchandise and decorations in the room, which transports the Rabbids to the Mushroom Kingdom where they pretty much immediately start wrecking havoc, combining objects and Rabbids into more dangerous creations. Like I said, the story starts out kind of complicated. It's definitely a long road to travel to get to the point where Mario and his friendly Rabbid companions are battling dangerous Rabbids in turn-based encounters, but once it gets going you can enjoy the story for just being a bizarre adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom. The game is packed with plenty of Rabbid humor, i.e. goofy, ridiculous, toilet humor (and with the Rabbids "toilet humor" is meant literally) but even if the Rabbids aren't your cup of tea there's something charming about Kingdom Battle. It's such a strange premise that you can't help but sit back and enjoy the ride. For all of his gaming travails across his long career, Kingdom Battle may be the first time Mario has engaged in turn-based strategy like this. Fans of the genre may be worried that the combo of Mario and Rabbids would mean the gameplay would be oversimplified, but rest assured Kingdom Battle doesn't pull its punches. It certainly eases you into the gameplay over the first few battles, but soon enough you'll find there is plenty of depth to this strategy game. Mario and his Rabbid companions move around a grid-based battlefield, where positioning is key to hit enemies (and avoid getting hit yourself). Characters can also execute dash attacks while moving by charging straight into an enemy, or do a team jump by using an ally as a springboard to move further, cross gaps, or leap onto higher ground (and high ground provides an attack bonus on enemies). Movement can be so crucial in a grid-based strategy game like this and the developers have done a fantastic job of making each movement feel like it truly matters and feel unique compared to similar games. Then there are the characters themselves, each of which comes equipped with different weapons and skills. For example, Mario can perform a team jump to stomp on an enemy's head and then use a hammer for close quarters damage, while Luigi is adept at sniping distant enemies. Each character feels unique and is best used in different scenarios, plus you can customize your playstyle with each character's skill tree. Completing chapters of the game earns you skill points, and these points can be used to unlock new abilities and upgrade them, further giving each character unique tools to approach each situation. One of the true joys of the game is discovering how best to use each character's unique talents—by the end of the game you can crush enemies in just a couple of turns with the right combination of skills and positioning. Playing around with different team combinations can be a lot of fun, and help you rethink how to approach certain challenges. There aren't quite enough skill points to fill out the tree for any character, but you can reset your skill points at any time if you want to try something new or feel like a specific skill would be vital for your current battle. Free resets is surprisingly forgiving for a game like this but it's not really a required tactic either so you can just as easily ignore it. And again, just because you have all of these tools at your disposal doesn't mean the game is easy, especially if you want to earn gold trophies for each chapter. Each chapter has one or more battles, and you earn high marks for keeping all of your characters alive and completing each battle within a set number of turns. In the early parts of the game your healing options are quite limited, so balancing safe movements with pushing forward to finish under par can be a good challenge and balancing act. You really have to plan out where your openings are to best survive, which can be very rewarding when everything works out in your favor. Battles can also have different objectives: defeat all enemies, defeat a certain number of enemies, reach the goal area, escort a character to the goal area, etc. When you add it all up Kingdom Battle actually has a surprising wealth of strategy elements that you'll need to keep track of in each battle, which is just the kind of thing strategy fans should love. I will say that there is one area that Kingdom Battle simplifies things, and that's in hit chance. Other games may use the full breadth of 0-100% chance to hit an enemy, but in Kingdom Battle there are only three options: 0%, 50%, and 100%. This makes it easier to plan your attacks and know what to expect—anyone that plays strategy games knows the true frustration of missing an attack with a 90% chance to hit. In that sense it does make it easier on the player, but since you're limited to three characters per battle every shot needs to count, so it really just removes any doubt whether a shot will land or if it's a calculated risk on your part. Between battles there are short exploration/puzzle sequences, presumably meant to break up the gameplay a bit so it doesn't feel like one battle after another. It's a nice effort but there isn't a lot of meat to the exploration or puzzles. The most rewarding aspect is that you'll find treasure chests that sometimes have new weapons or free skill points in them. These exploration bits feel particularly pointless when you need to retread your steps. After finishing a world there are bonus challenges and a bonus chapter unlocked somewhere within the world, so you need to go through the whole thing again to find them all (as well as extra chests that you couldn't access before). The challenges are well worth it for the coins and skill points earned—plus they're just plain fun—but repeating a world does make the puzzles and exploration feel a little unnecessary, even if the scenery looks great. If there's one minor thing to complain about in Kingdom Battle it's the team selection process. Each character is a lot of fun to use but you can only bring three into a battle, one of them has to be Mario, and one of them has to be a Rabbid (i.e. you can't just use Mario, Luigi, and Peach). The gameplay still works because it's tailored to this set-up, but it feels a little limiting, and needlessly so. It would have been interesting to see larger bonus chapters with more enemies using four or five characters, just to see how different your strategy can be with wildly different parameters. The one area where you are free to use anyone is in the co-op challenges where two players control two characters each, but it would have been nice to see this kind of larger set-up in the main game as well. And finally you unlock the last character extremely late in the game, which is a shame—he ends up being mainly for replaying levels rather than experimenting with new challenges. It seems like the developers had a lot of fun turning Mushroom Kingdom mainstays on their heads. The SupaMerge helmet has created a truly silly landscape for Mario and company to explore, and it's all pretty gorgeous. From desert environments to spooky graveyards the visuals have a nice balance between the Mario and Rabbid senses of style, resulting in a very colorful, playful world. You can also unlock concept art by finding it in treasure chests which is really beautiful and shows off the kind of detail and forethought that went into Kingdom Battle's universe. And of course there is the excellent soundtrack from Grant Kirkhope, whose compositions are just as playful and fun as you would expect. The soundtrack culminates in the third world boss fight, which I won't spoil here but truly feels like the core element of what Kingdom Battle is all about, style-wise: goofy, jolly, and fun. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle is without a doubt the most surprising yet delightful game to grace a Nintendo console this year. The Switch and 3DS have had some unexpected releases but no one could have predicted this collaboration between Nintendo and Ubisoft, nor the fact that the game would end up being so good. And it's not just good as a goofy crossover game (though it definitely is a goofy crossover game); it's good as a truly inventive turn-based strategy game, one that is flexible enough to acclimate new players to the genre but deep enough to satisfy more experienced players. Ubisoft has created something truly special here: an engaging game with all of the polish and style of a Nintendo game wrapped up in the charming absurdity of the Rabbids. Rating: 9 out of 10 Rabbid Bwaaaaahs ************************* Posting this a little early since I'll be with family for the rest of the week. Happy Thanksgiving to anyone celebrating, and seriously try out Kingdom Battle, it's a lot of fun.
  16. http://fireemblemwarriors.nintendo.com/ Heroes from across the Fire Emblem universe collide in Fire Emblem Warriors on Nintendo Switch and New Nintendo 3DS, available starting October 20th! General discussion for FE Warriors goes here!
  17. TIME Magazine has put together a list of the 25 best inventions of 2017 and the Switch has made the list!... Link to article: https://gonintendo.com/stories/295750-time-names-the-switch-one-of-the-the-25-best-inventions-of-2017 It's crazy just how much everyone loves the Switch. Nice to see Nintendo with another successful system after the failure that was the Wii U.
  18. The Legend of Zelda got the Musou treatment a few years ago on Wii U and 3DS, and now it's Fire Emblem's turn. Fire Emblem Warriors combines the colorful characters of Nintendo's strategy RPG series with the visceral and over-the-top action of Musou games like Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors. Thoughtful, turn-based combat is traded for real-time action where hundreds of enemies charge at your heroes, heroes drawn from across the history of Fire Emblem (though largely from the more recent entries in the series). It may be quite a gameplay change for Fire Emblem but like peanut butter and chocolate the two come together perfectly. Nintendo fans familiar with Hyrule Warriors will see some immediate similarities with FEW: worlds collide when portals between different Fire Emblem universes open up, allowing various heroes to fight alongside one another. And just like in Hyrule Warriors there are a few original characters as well. Rowan and Lianna are the twin prince and princess of Aytolis, and they're the ones that bind the group together on their quest to prevent the revival of the evil dragon Velezark. The plot isn't exactly a complex piece of writing, but FEW is still first and foremost a game catering to fans who want to see their favorite characters interact with one another. It may not be an elaborate story but it's fun to see a bunch of characters team up and battle alongside one another. There are even some support conversations as in the main series which is a nice touch, especially when characters from different universes interact. Musou games are founded upon a very simple tenet: it is a lot of fun to destroy enemy armies. Sure you have specific goals on each map and there are sub missions to keep you occupied as well but when it comes down to it, games like FEW are satisfying just for the enjoyment of wrecking whole swathes of enemy soldiers and building your kill count as high as you can. Sure it can be a little mindless at times but it really is gratifying to play. And to be fair there is still an element of strategy at play here as well. It's not quite on the same level as the main Fire Emblem series, but it's enough that if all you're doing is knocking down enemies you're not going to win on some of the tougher maps. In FEW you're both fighter and tactician, and you need to keep an eye on the whole battlefield to know where your ass-kicking skills are most needed at any given moment. Allies may be in danger, powerful enemies may spawn in unexpected locations, or one area of the map may just be overrun. The game alerts you to these developments, though sometimes it's hard to tell exactly what is happening on the mini-map. Thankfully there are some important strategy tools at your disposal. You can pause the game to get a good look at the map and direct your characters to attack or defend certain points. You can also switch between characters at any time—the AI is simply never as effective as a player controlled character—so you can quickly move to whatever point needs you most. On the truly difficult maps it can feel like spinning plates, trying to keep your army afloat against overwhelming odds, but that just makes the victory all the more satisfying. FEW also takes a few cues from the Fire Emblem series to add a bit more nuance to the gameplay. FEW features the weapons triangle (sword beats axe, axe beats lance, lance beats sword) and when you have advantage over an enemy it's easier to stun them and deal heavy damage. You can only bring so many characters into each battle so you'll want to survey the map and plan accordingly as far as what weapons might be most useful. You can also pair up characters just like recent Fire Emblem games, adding a bit of offensive and defensive power to the main character. Some characters on the map are strictly there for support purposes but if you pair up two playable characters you can switch between the two and make better use of the weapon triangle to take down enemies. It's great to have a bit more strategy at play in the game, but on the flipside you aren't beholden to it. If you want you can fight lance users with a sword-wielding character—it'll be a little harder, but FEW also has RPG leveling, so if you are a few levels above your opponent you won't have much trouble cutting through them like paper anyway. If you really want to stick to using specific characters you can (for the most part; some maps do have requirements/restrictions on whom you can bring). And with twenty playable characters in the main game—with more as unlockables and DLC—you're bound to find some that are your favorites. Even outside of the different weapon classes there is a decent amount of variety in how each character fights, so replaying maps with different characters can feel a little different. And Musou games are gold mines for replay value. You can build up support levels between characters, raise levels, earn gold, and gather items for upgrading character skill trees. Suffice it to say that, if you want to 100% complete FEW, you'll be putting a lot of time into the game. And if those hours upon hours of gameplay aren't enough the game also has a string of DLC planned, some of which is even free. A lot of it can be pretty repetitive but it's still satisfying to destroy waves of enemies, even the hundredth time you've done it. FEW also features split-screen co-op, and the only thing better than decimating enemy armies is being able to do it with a buddy. Co-op can also make it easier to coordinate your units since you can just plan together what needs to be done and cover more ground. The downside is the game takes a pretty noticeable hit to performance with two players. When one player is using a special attack the frame rate drops, and since the game is rendering two characters at different locations there are a lot fewer enemies on screen—sometimes this can actually make it a lot harder to hit the bonus goal of 1,000 enemy kills in a single map. The mini-map is also poorly handled in co-op. Both players get their own mini-map which is not only completely unnecessary, but it makes actually seeing the details of the map difficult. Of course you can just pause the game and look at the map there but it really is silly to have separate maps with a split-screen view. It has been quite a while since Fire Emblem fans have gotten to see a game made for a home console rather than handheld, and never before in HD. As a fan of the series it's a lot of fun to see these characters on the big screen, with all of the flashy, over-the-top attacks that pause the battle just so you can drink in all of the destruction. Even if the normal soldiers are pretty faceless there's still something so satisfying about seeing whole waves of them get knocked down with each attack. The game also has a pretty solid rock soundtrack, fused with bits of familiar Fire Emblem themes, but you'd hardly know it while playing. During battle it seems like characters never stop talking, whether to announce some change in battle or spout out a one-liner before a special attack. It's not that the voice acting is poor, for the most part it's pretty good, but it's kind of shame that it steps on the soundtrack's toes so often. As a longtime fan of Fire Emblem it's so much fun to see how much the franchise's popularity has boomed over the past few years, to the point where it now has a spin-off largely catered to the fans. But where Fire Emblem is slower paced and strategic, Fire Emblem Warriors is fast, chaotic, and thrilling. It's a distinctly different style but the characters of Fire Emblem and the gameplay of the Musou series manage to blend perfectly in a game all about fast, rewarding action gameplay. This game doesn't do much to reinvent the Musou franchise—there is still an undeniably repetitive cycle to the way these games work—but at the end of the day it doesn't really need to. Fire Emblem Warriors is still a beautifully action-packed game, one that will reward tenacious players with hours upon hours of game time. The only question now is: what will be the next Nintendo franchise to get the Musou treatment? Rating: 8 out of 10 Emblems
  19. This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Winner of more than 200 Game of the Year awards, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an open-world masterpiece where you can be anyone and do anything. And now, with the power of the Nintendo Switch system, you can play it anywhere – at home or on the go. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim brings to life a complete virtual world for you to explore any way you choose, including features new to this version of the game like using motion controls and outfits and gear from compatible Legend of Zelda series amiibo figures (sold separately). Battle Chef Brigade – In the fantasy realm of Victusia, the members of the elite Battle Chef Brigade are revered for their ability to skillfully take down monsters and transform their kills into delicious cuisine. But being a part of the Brigade isn’t easy: Chefs from across Victusia must vie for their spot in a high-stakes competition. Follow two contestants, Mina and Thrash, as their journeys through the tournament unfold. In order to become a Brigadier you’ll need to hunt monsters with combo-based attacks and prepare your freshly caught ingredients in puzzle-based cooking challenges to serve up winning dishes to the judges – all while the round clock ticks down. The Battle Chef Brigade game will be available on Nov. 20. Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS Pokémon Ultra Sun / Pokémon Ultra Moon – A new light shines on the Alola region! Take on the role of a Pokémon Trainer and unravel the mystery of the Legendary Pokémon Necrozma’s two new forms: Dusk Mane Necrozma in the Pokémon Ultra Sun game and Dawn Wings Necrozma in the Pokémon Ultra Moon game. You can encounter and battle 400+ Pokémon, including new forms. A brand-new showdown awaits! Nintendo eShop sales: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS, and Wii U Great deals this week! Check out the full list of deals available this week at http://www.nintendo.com/games/sales-and-deals. My Nintendo Activities: Nintendo Holiday Sweepstakes – Don’t forget to enter the My Nintendo 2017 Holiday Sweepstakes before 8:59 a.m. PT on Nov. 20! Exclusively for My Nintendo members, vote for your top five choices of this year’s popular Nintendo products for a chance to win a prize pack that’ll make your holidays bright.* My Nintendo is offering holiday-themed wallpaper and a Nintendo 3DS Home Menu theme, which can be received by redeeming My Nintendo points, that are perfect for this time of year. You can even share the holiday wallpaper with your friends. Theme Shop on Nintendo 3DS: New themes this week include: Pokémon: Necrozma Also new this week: ACA NEOGEO Karvnov’s Revenge (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Antiquia Lost (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Dead Synchronicity: Tomorrow Comes Today (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 21 Ginger: Beyond the Crystal (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 17 Green Game: TimeSwapper (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 17 Lumo (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Xenoraid (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 17 Gear.Club Unlimited (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 21 RIVE: Ultimate Edition (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 17 SUPERBEAT: XONiC (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 21 VVVVVV (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 17 MXGP3 – The Official Motocross Videogame (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 21 River City: Rival Showdown (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) – Available Nov. 21 Phil’s Epic Fill-a-Pix Adventure – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Break In (Virtual Console on Wii U) Salamander (Virtual Console on Wii U)
  20. Just got the Doom port for Switch for $25 at Best Buy (had rewards and game membership). Wasn't going to get it unless I could get it for cheap. I must say I am very impressed. You can actually play Doom while taking a shit and it works spendidly. I have a PC that runs Doom at 60fps, 1080p on Ultra Settings so I know how well it plays compared to the PC version. Basically it is a very good port of a stellar game. Compromises had to be made but even with those compromises (720p @ 30fps both docked and undocked and no SnapMap support) it is easily the best Doom game ever released on any Nintendo platoform. So we can now take a shit and Doom it up while doing so with no problem.
  21. As mentioned in this week's Nintendo Download today, Hulu is now on Switch! *I'm giving this its own thread since it was burred at the bottom of the Nintendo Download with all the "Also new this week" stuff".* Link: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/hulu-switch Nice to see we're finally getting streaming apps on Switch. Now I just want my YouTubes and Crunchyrollz! Hopefully we don't have to wait too long. EDIT: Here's a first look at the app on Switch...
  22. It's a testament to Nintendo's developers and designers that Mario has endured as a gaming icon for over three decades now. And it's not from resting on Mario's laurels—though Super Mario has possibly the most consistently outstanding catalogue in all of video game-dom. Each new Mario platformer goes above and beyond to provide an exhilarating, fresh, and most importantly a fun adventure. Adventures that may give you new ways to control everyone's favorite Italian plumber, or new features to explore in the colorful Mushroom Kingdom, but adventures that are, at their core, joyous experiences for the child in all of us that just loves to play. And that's exactly what Super Mario Odyssey is. Let's set the scene first for Mario's latest adventure: in the skies above Peach's castle, aboard Bowser's airship, Mario and his longtime rival are locked in a heated battle. Bowser has, yet again, kidnapped Princess Peach, and this time he is intent on marrying her. King Koopa gains the upper hand and knocks Mario down to the Cap Kingdom, where Mario meets Cappy, and the two team up to rescue Peach and Cappy's sister, Tiara. The duo must travel from one kingdom to the next, collecting Power Moons to improve their vessel, and put a stop to all of Bowser's wedding preparations (stealing a suitable ring, dress, cake, etc.). Fundamentally it's the same "Mario rescues Peach" story that has been found in almost every Mario platformer, but it's still a suitable enough spark to start Mario on his latest odyssey. More importantly, it sets the scene for a globe-trotting adventure with Cappy's unique powers. It's no secret that Odyssey draws inspiration from Super Mario 64, and in this game Mario has all the same 3D movement abilities—long jump, back flip, triple jump, etc. Longtime fans will find such controls immediately familiar, and new players shouldn't have trouble picking it up either as the game eases you into the finer points of gameplay in the first couple kingdoms. The important addition in Odyssey is Cappy and his ability to cap-ture enemies, which allows Mario to control them. Your first introduction to this is with a simple little frog, and as a frog Mario can leap even higher than his legendary skills normally take him. Every enemy provides new abilities, some of which feel familiar to classic power-ups and some of which are wonderfully inventive. The capture system is a brilliantly clever way of integrating new features into Odyssey's gameplay without overdoing Mario's core abilities. With the capture system there are dozens of new abilities to play with throughout the game, but since they're limited to the enemy you capture you can only use them in specific areas/kingdoms, so you won't be overwhelmed with possibilities. The developers have also done a fantastic job of making each captured ability feel unique and still give the player room to experiment and discover new uses for each captured enemy. This gets to the heart of what Odyssey is all about: explore, experiment, and discover fun little features on your own and at your own pace. Plus when Mario captures a creature the creature looks completely adorable, so that's a plus too. Cappy isn't just used for capturing enemies either. Mario's new hat toss can be used to stun foes or break blocks, uncover hidden moons, and for a little platforming boost. Mario can toss Cappy then jump on the hat for a little extra height. It's a tricky move at first but incredibly useful once you get the hang of it, because although there are plenty of fantastic platforming sequences using captured enemies, there is still a lot of classic 3D Mario platforming to navigate as well (as well as some sequences that go even further back in Mario's history for platforming inspiration). For the most part though Odyssey's platforming finds the perfect balance of challenge and accessibility. Veteran players may not find too many truly difficult areas but there's enough complexity to keep you engaged regardless. The design of each kingdom plays a huge part in how easy it is to simply get sucked into Mario's adventure. Each kingdom is open-world and is absolutely packed with things to discover, and not just Power Moons (though a moon is usually your reward for exploring). The level design itself is so well balanced that, no matter where you are in the kingdom or what you might be focusing on currently, you'll see something else to interest you nearby or in the distance. This makes Odyssey incredibly difficult to put down; there's always something enticing you to keep playing. Just like in Breath of the Wild, Odyssey is almost dangerously addictive in how compelling the environments are to explore, and how easily you can get hooked on finding Power Moons. And oh boy are there a lot of moons to discover. Super Mario 64's 120 stars looks paltry next to Odyssey's Power Moon count—most kingdoms have dozens of moons to find. On the other hand moons are much easier to come by in Odyssey. Sometimes you can literally find them just lying around! But since you don't have to restart the level every time you find a moon (outside of a few story-centric moons which change the layout of the kingdom) you're free to simply wander and find what you can find. Odyssey is the best Easter egg hunt you'll ever play. It wouldn't be a modern Nintendo game without a couple of touches to make the game easier/more accessible to any player. For one thing, Odyssey includes an Assist Mode—essentially an easy mode where Mario has more health and you aren't penalized as much for dying. Even in the normal mode though Odyssey takes it a little easy on the player. Unlike other Mario adventures there are no lives in this game, you just lose a few coins for dying, so it really encourages you to just keep exploring at your own pace. Additionally, there are a couple of in-game hint systems to help you find moons. There's Talkatoo, a chatty bird that tells you the name of a hidden moon, thereby giving you a hint as to how to reach it, and a Hint Toad which will tell you the location of a moon (for a small fee). You can even use amiibo to help point you toward a moon. Some moons may be out in the open but others require a fair bit of hunting to find, so the hints are definitely a welcome feature. Of course, you can always choose to simply not use these and tough it out yourself, but there really is an insane amount of moons in Odyssey, and a hint or two can be a big help. Possibly the only minor downside to Odyssey comes from its controls, and more specifically the motion controls. You can toss Cappy with a simple press of a button but to perform more stylish moves you need to literally move the controller. Even after hours of gameplay and adjusting the sensitivity the motion controls just don't feel completely smooth. Thankfully at least the motion controlled actions are very rarely required to progress or find a moon, but it's kind of a bummer that the fancier attacks end up feeling useless just because activating them isn't super consistent. It should be no surprise that Nintendo would pull out all of the stops to make Mario, their flagship mascot, look absolutely gorgeous on the Switch. Every visual aspect of Odyssey exudes the bright, colorful, charming style that helps make the game such a joy to explore. The game covers the standard video game zones (desert, forest, snow drifts, etc.) but it's the levels that buck the trend like the Metro Kingdom that are particularly impressive and imaginative. As already mentioned Mario looks adorable when capturing an enemy, but even the regular creatures are utterly charming as well—just try to look at the chubby seal-like Shiverians without smiling. And then there's the music which is just as fun and energetic, and pulled from a variety of inspirations to match each location Mario visits. But the standout star of the soundtrack, by far, is Jump Up, Superstar, the ridiculously catchy song that perfectly speaks to the Mario franchise's sense of fun and whimsy. You could probably finish Odyssey in around ten hours or so, but it's unlikely that you would limit your playtime to only that. Even though you could get through the story in that time there is an incredible amount of optional content in the game, as well as post-game content, and finding all of it is really what Odyssey is about. This game isn't about finishing a level and moving on to the next one, it's about exploring and playing in these sandbox levels to try to uncover every little secret you can. And the exploration is so much fun that you probably won't want to move on until you've seen as much as possible in each kingdom. For fans of the sandbox structure of Super Mario 64 or Sunshine, Super Mario Odyssey is everything one could hope for and more. The kingdoms are jam-packed with secrets to uncover, and it's an absolute delight to just wander in one direction, picking up any moons to be found along the way. All of that freedom is matched with some truly fantastic platformer stage designs, along with imaginative creature abilities that provide new, exciting challenges in each kingdom. Every aspect of Odyssey's design breathes excitement and the thrill of adventuring through creative, colorful landscapes. I truly don't know how you could play this game and not have fun, not have a huge grin on your face—Odyssey is simply an exhilarating adventure. Nintendo once again proves that they are masters at making, above all, a fun game. Rating: 10 out of 10 Moons
  23. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/45766/super-mario-odyssey-fastest-selling-mario-switch-game-ever CRUSHING IT IN SALES..... #1 fastest selling Mario title.
  24. This week’s Nintendo Download includes the following featured content: Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch Sonic Forces – In the darkest of times, the world needs a hero. Fight through a world destroyed by Dr. Eggman and a powerful new villain in Sonic Forces, the new fast-paced action platformer from the team that brought you the Sonic Colorsand Sonic Generations games. Sonic Forces lets you speed through rolling ruined landscapes as Modern Sonic, catapult past perilous platforms as Classic Sonic and use powerful new gadgets as your own Custom Hero Character. Sonic Forces will be available on Nov. 7. Nintendo eShop sales: Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS Great deals this week! Check out the full list of deals on Nintendo 3DS and Wii U available this week at http://www.nintendo.com/games/sales-and-deals. Activities: My Nintendo Holiday Sweepstakes – Have you signed up for the My Nintendo rewards program yet? If so, you can enter the Nintendo Holiday Sweepstakes, exclusively for My Nintendo members.* Vote for your five most-wanted gifts for a chance to win a prize pack that’ll make your holidays bright. For more details, please visit http://happyholidays.nintendo.com/. Not a My Nintendo member? It’s easy – and free! – to join here. Sonic the Hedgehog My Nintendo Rewards – The Sonic Forces game arrives Nov. 7 on Nintendo Switch. My Nintendo is celebrating the occasion with Sonic the Hedgehog rewards, including wallpapers, a Nintendo 3DS theme, and 50 percent discounts on some of Sonic's greatest hits! See the full selection of available Sonic the Hedgehog My Nintendo Rewards here. Also new this week: Sparkle 2 EVO (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Farming Simulator Nintendo Switch Edition (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 7 Perception (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Hiding Out (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) – Available Nov. 6 Morphite (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Super Beat Sports (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) ACA NEOGEO ART OF FIGHTING 3 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Wheels of Aurelia (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) Heroes of the Monkey Tavern (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch) – Available Nov. 7 Style Savvy: Styling Star – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Physical Contact: 2048 (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Physical Contact: SPEED (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Phil’s Epic Fill-a-Pix Adventure (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS) Tomeling in Trouble (Nintendo eShop on Wii U) Power Golf (Virtual Console on Wii U)
  25. When Nintendo showcased Nintendo Switch at their presentation in January, one of their key talking points about system features was the all-new HD rumble built into the Joy-Con controllers (also included in the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller), providing an enhanced tactile experience to games. At that particular event, Yoshiaki Koizumi of Nintendo notably used the example of the particular feeling of ice cubes in a glass to describe the difference of HD rumble to the audience. Of course, and as some may have expected, this feature has so far gone fairly underutilized, with most platform titles not taking advantage of it. Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the popular launch title for the Nintendo Switch, could have been a great vehicle to introduce HD rumble to most players, but unfortunately it was not included, leaving the feature to be discovered through miscellaneous titles over the course of the year. You might have tried out the HD rumble experience in the Nintendo titles 1-2 Switch or Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, or through third party games like Blaster Master Zero or Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, but I think it's safe to say most Nintendo Switch owners still haven't tried this. That is, until the release of Super Mario Odyssey this week, a key title which makes extensive use of HD rumble, allowing players to experience Mario's movements and the environments around him in an unprecedented way. Speaking for myself personally, I had no idea Super Mario Odyssey was even going to feature HD rumble, so in my experience of playing the game this weekend, I was caught by surprise as I figured out why the rumble in my controller felt different. It actually does feel like high definition rumble, with the vibrations feeling much more rich than what I've been used to up until now. I find it pretty cool and it's one of the many things I continuously look forward to as I play further into the game. For those who've tried it out, what are your impressions with HD rumble, whether with Super Mario Odyssey or another Nintendo Switch title? Do you think it's a good enough feature to hope to see other platforms (for example, PlayStation or Xbox) adopt HD rumble into their own controllers as well?
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