Nintendo Weekly Fan News March 19th-23rd

Today’s weekly news update is brought to you by Nindie games and a certain coffee drinking Pokémon. 

Nindies Showcase Details

Before we get started, let me explain what “Nindies” are exactly, if you don’t know. First off, Indie games are games from independent game developers. Nindie games are games made especially for Nintendo by independent game developers. So Indie plus Nintendo equals Nindie. So let’s get started. 

There was a wide arrange of games announced, so here is a list of them:

• Mark of the Ninja Remastered from Klei Entertainment

• Banner Saga 3 from Versus Evil

• LUMINES REMASTERED from Enhance Games

• Just Shapes and Beats from Berzerk Studio

• Reigns: Kings & Queens from Nerial and Devolver Digital

• The Messenger from Sabotage and Devolver Digital

• Fantasy Strike from Sirlin Games

• Pool Panic from Rekim and Adult Swim Games

• Garage from tinyBuild Games

• Light Fall from Bishop Games

• Bomb Chicken from Nitrome

• Pode from Henchman & Goon

• West of Loathing from Asymetric

• Bad North from Plausible Concept and Raw Fury

A brief summary of each game can be found here and the video presentation can be found here.

Detective Pikachu Release

After much wait and anticipation, the great Detective Pikachu finally makes his debut. 

From first-hand experience, I can tell you the game lives up to its expectations. I’ll try to not spoil anything, so let’s get started.  First off, the cut scenes are extremely funny and cool. They add flavor to the already interesting story. The game starts out a bit slow, but builds up over time. Pikachu’s advice is interesting, to say the least. Last but not least the puzzles in crime scenes are fun to solve. 

The game costs $39.99 and the giant sized Detective Pikachu amiibo costs $29.99. 

P.S. The giant sized Pikachu is definitely worth it. 

Source: Nintendo

Pokémon Bank Special

Every Pokémon player loves it when you are able to get your favorite starter with their Hidden Ability. Well, maybe not competitive player. And maybe not players who play casually. But it’s really cool all the same.  

Pokémon Bank is offering a cool deal right now where you can obtain all three Alola starters with their unique Hidden Abilities. The Pokémon and their Hidden Abilities include:

• Decidueye’s Hidden Ability of Long Reach. Long Reach is a never before seen ability and it enables the Pokémon to not make contact with the opponent. This means abilities like Flame Body and Rough skin won’t affect the Pokémon.

• Primarina’s Hidden Ability of Liquid Voice. Liquid Voice is another never before seen ability and it makes all of Primarina’s sound based moves, like Hyper Voice, become Water type. Since they are now the same type as Primarina, it increases the moves power.

• Incineroar’s Hidden Ability of Intimidate. Intimidate lowers the opponent’s Attack when Incineroar enters the battle.

As you can see, a certain Pokémon got the short end of the stick. Anyway, in order to get these Pokémon, you must have a subscription of Pokémon Bank, which is $4.99 a year. 

Source: Pokémon Company International

Before I end this segment, here is Detective Pikachu’s business card in case you need it. 

Source: Nintendo 

Well, that’s all for this week, so I hope to “see” you next week.

~William S.

Nintendo Weekly Fan News March 12th-16th

Today’s weekly update is brought to you by details of upcoming events, both good and bad.  

Switch System Update: Version 5.0.0

On March 12^th, a new system update for the Switch became available for users to download. 

The newest update includes:

• Ability to add Facebook and Twitter friends through Friend Suggestions

• Additional Parental Controls

• New Icons for your user

• Various aesthetic changes

A full list can be found here.  

Source: Nintendo

Toy-Con Garage Details

Nintendo Labo is set to come out on April 20^th, but before then some new details on another aspect of the latest gadget has arrived. 

The Toy-Con Garage mode is where players can find new ways to play with their creations and even make new creations from common house hold materials. There are also “nodes” which help the player know how certain creations work and how they will respond to Nintendo Labo. 

The Toy-Con Garage mode is integrated within each Nintendo Labo kit.  

Source: Nintendo

Nintendo Showcase Details

As a heads up, on March 20^th at 9:00 a.m. pacific time, Nintendo will have a Nindie Showcase. 

Source: Nintendo

Kirby Star Allies Release

After many months of waiting, Kirby Star Allies has finally arrived on March 16^th. 

In this game, Kirby must once again protect Popstar from some evil forces. In order to do so he must team up with his enemies and prepare some awesome combos to defeat these new enemies. The main mechanic of the game is to team up with your enemies to form an unstoppable team to solve puzzles and destroy other enemies. 

The story of this game is interesting, as some of the bosses in this game are major bosses from previous games. King Dedede is an example of this, as he is taken control from the beginning of the game. There are also familiar items and faces you might encounter in the game, so be on the lookout. 

The game retails for $59.99.

Toys R Us Closure

Although this isn’t necessarily Nintendo related news, it still is significant enough to note. 

After over 70 years of being in business, Toys R Us will finally close their doors over the course of the next few months, or even weeks. Many will know Toys R Us has carried some exclusive Nintendo items, such as console bundles or amiibo. Now people will have to look elsewhere for these exclusive items. It is also a sad to see an iconic toy store leave after so many years. Other retailers may start expanding their toy and game sections, but they will never be the same as Toy R Us.  

To end on a less depressing note, here is a picture of Detective Pikachu amiibo vs. Pikachu amiibo.

Source: Pokémon Company International

Well, that’s all for this week folks, so I hope to “see” you next week!

~William S.

Nintendo Direct Special Report

Today’s weekly update is brought to you by a Nintendo Direct and also a new Super Smash Brothers! It also comes out this year.

Nintendo Direct

On March 8^th, a new Nintendo Direct showcased tons of new games for both the Switch and 3ds. I’ll touch on a few of the games. The Direct can be viewed here.  

For the Switch:

• Super Smash Bros. - The greatest announcement during this direct was the announcement of this game. Little is known about it other than Mario, Link, and the Inklings from Splatoon are in the game. Even the game title is in the works. 

Source: bgr.com

• Splatoon 2 Update(s) – Version 3.0 will arrive late April. It is free update that adds 100+ new pieces of gear and lots of new stages. There will also be a new Rank X. Next is the paid DLC arriving this summer. This new DLC, Octo Expansion, follows a new character who also happens to be an Octoling. This Octoling, Agent 8, has lost her memories and in this new single player mode you will find out more about the world of Splatoon than ever before. The DLC will cost $19.99.   

• Mario Tennis Aces – This is the latest game to enter the Mario Tennis series. There are a bunch of game refinements, such as new shots like the Zone Shot. With these new shots also comes new ways to block them, such as Zone Speed. There are various ways to play, such as a story mode. There is also a mode called Swing Mode that allows the player to use their Joy-Con as a tennis racket. The game launches June 22. Before the game actually launches, there will a pre-launch tournament so you can try the game before you buy it.  

Source: Nintendo

• Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker – Originally on the Wii U, this game now arrives on the Switch and the 3DS. On the Switch, there will be levels based on Super Mario Odyssey. The Joy-Cons can be used to play with 2 players. On the 3DS version, there will be stereoscopic 3D visuals and touch-screen controls to enhance the game. Both versions will release July 13^th. 

Source: Nintendo 

The rest:

• Dark Souls: Remastered

• Kirby Star Allies

• Octopath Traveler

• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy

• Okami HD

• South Park: The Fractured But Whole

• Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido

• Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes

• Little Nightmare: Complete Edition

• UNDERTALE

• Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition

For the 3DS:

• Luigi’s Mansion – The original game from the GameCube system will be launching on the 3DS. The game includes new features such as a map on the bottom screen and a Boss Rush Mode. The game will release sometime this year. 

• Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey – This game is making a comeback on the 3DS. The game will include new graphics and a brand new story that shows the story from Bowser Jr.’s point of view. 

Source: Nintendo

The rest:

• Detective Pikachu

• WarioWare Gold

• Dillion’s Dead-Heat Breakers

Well, that’s all for the Direct, so I hope to “see” you next week!

~ William S.

Nintendo Weekly News February 26th-March 2nd

Today’s weekly news update is brought to you by the One Year Anniversary of the Nintendo Switch! 

Payday 2 Release

Originally released back in 2013, Payday 2 finally made its way to the Switch on February 27^th. This game is rated M for Mature, so beware. 

Payday 2 follows the events of the original game when the crew arrives in Washington DC to pull off some heists. Build up your crew to pull off some tricky heists and with the new rumble feature you can really experience the game. The feature CRIME.NET allows you to set up and play local multiplayer games. As a special Switch goodie, there is an exclusive character called Joy that comes complete with her own mask and weapon. 

Despite all of these great features, not so great reviews have been coming through for the game on the Switch. The content of the game has no problem, but it seems to be the reduction of the game’s visual graphics and performance that seems to plague the port over. There have been mixed reviews and if you don’t care so much for graphics, then game is fine as is. 

The game retails for $49.99. 

Heatran/Regigigas Release

The newest Pokémon available for the year of Legendary Pokémon are Heatran and Regigigas. You had to opt-in to get the newsletter and the newsletter should have come in a with a code for either of these Pokémon, depending on your game. Ultra Moon/Moon players will get Heatran while Ultra Sun/Sun players will obtain Regigigas.

You had to sign up by March 1^st.  

Source: Pokémon Company International 

Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Updates

Two new updates have arrived for Xenoblade Chronicles 2, so let’s look into both of them. 

The first update is free and updates the game to version 1.3.0. One of the new features is a new mode called New Game Plus, which is a more difficult version of the game. New various features have been unlocked such as Zeke’s “Eye of Shining Justice” skill. Other updates include the ability to skip the lottery animation when bonding with blades. 

The second update is some more DLC being available from the Expansion pack. It unlocks the Helpful Items Pack 4. 

These updates are available now and a full list of features from this update can be found here. 

Source: Nintendo

One Year Anniversary of the Nintendo Switch

So on March 3^rd, 2017, the world was introduced to the next console from Nintendo, the Nintendo Switch. The games released alongside the Switch were Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 1-2 Switch. Switches were selling out faster than anyone expected and there was little stock to meet demands. 

Fast forward to March 3^rd, 2018 and now the Switch is still in demand, but with more stock than before. The Switch outranks its competition and LoZ: Breath of the Wild is the best game of the year. There has been a wide release of games that keep the Switch going, such as Super Mario Odyssey and Xenoblade Chronicles 2. There is even more games to release over this year. Even the newest gadget, Nintendo Labo, is set to release this year. 

Let’s celebrate 1 whole year of the Switch and more years to come for the console! 

Source: Nintendo 

Well, that’s all for this week, so I’ll “see” you next week.

~William S.