2024 In Review: All My Homies Hate The eShop
20 HRS AGO - To those who noticed the eShop is full of unmitigated junk this year: WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG???When Expand
20 HRS AGO - To those who noticed the eShop is full of unmitigated junk this year: WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG???When Nintendo launched their Year in Review site in mid-December, I did click in to see what my time on actual games was this year, knowing full well that I’d probably have to at least double it to account for all the time I was checking various regional eShops on weekends to update the Downloads... Read more... Collapse
Nintendo Museum Thoughts & Concerns
8/30/2024 - Justin and Willem shares their thoughts and concerns with the upcoming Nintendo Museum.Last week Expand
8/30/2024 - Justin and Willem shares their thoughts and concerns with the upcoming Nintendo Museum.Last week we were treated to a special Nintendo Museum Direct where legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto took us on a 13 minute tour around the upcoming Nintendo Museum. This project has been something I’ve been anticipating for a while and was extremely curious as to what direction it would go in. Now we finally have some answers.
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We're Not Getting a 2024 Switch Price Cut Are We?
6/19/2024 - A strong Nintendo Direct showing recontextualizes the Switch's entire 2024.Before the morning of Expand
6/19/2024 - A strong Nintendo Direct showing recontextualizes the Switch's entire 2024.Before the morning of June 18, 2024, the unspoken vibe I was picking up was that 2024 would be Nintendo stretching their product line up with niche intellectual properties and ports and remakes of older games.
In that frame of mind, I thought that maybe, just maybe, the long awaited Switch price... Read more... Collapse
Why StreetPass Functionality Would Make Sense for the Switch 2
2/21/2024 - There's multiple reasons why the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass feature should return in the Nintendo Expand
2/21/2024 - There's multiple reasons why the Nintendo 3DS StreetPass feature should return in the Nintendo Switch successor.Until Nintendo reveals the Switch 2 there's plenty of space to speculate about what they'll do for their next act. It'll be a more powerful system on some level - that alone is a prolific topic of speculation - but for a company with such a unique history of hardware innovations/changes, how exactly... Read more... Collapse
The Blunder of Mario Wonder
12/4/2023 - Justin takes a critical look at one of the year’s most acclaimed titles.Back in 2006, New Super Expand
12/4/2023 - Justin takes a critical look at one of the year’s most acclaimed titles.Back in 2006, New Super Mario Bros. released on the Nintendo DS after a 15 year hiatus from the traditional Super Mario Bros. series. The first game in the New series was met with mostly positive reviews, but even back then I was a little let down by the entry. Over time it seems as though more people... Read more... Collapse
Almost A Year Later and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Still Suck
9/12/2023 - Squandered potential makes for a Paldean mess. Willem went nuts and made an entire video essay for Expand
9/12/2023 - Squandered potential makes for a Paldean mess. Willem went nuts and made an entire video essay for this editioral, so be sure to give it a watch over on our YouTube-channel!
I’d say that when it comes to faith in the Pokémon series I’ve been on the more positive side over the last decade. I’ve written and made a whole video essay... Read more... Collapse
EA Sports FC Is Replacing FIFA on Switch, But Will It Actually Be New?
4/6/2023 - Time will tell if this year's EA Sports soccer game be more than just another Legacy Edition on Expand
4/6/2023 - Time will tell if this year's EA Sports soccer game be more than just another Legacy Edition on Nintendo Switch.Back in 2017, FIFA was featured as a core part of Nintendo's initial Switch marketing campaign. You could play some footie on the road. It's portable soccer! But after a decent outing in 2017, EA Sports' notable soccer franchise stalled. After a few minor tweaks in 2018's FIFA 19, every ensuing year featured a "Legacy Edition" - essentially just the same game as the 2018 release but with new rosters. This was an annual disappointment.
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VGM Saturdays Vol. 2. No. 006
2/11/2023 - I hope you like jazz, synth and battle music, because that's what we got on the menu for this Expand
2/11/2023 - I hope you like jazz, synth and battle music, because that's what we got on the menu for this Saturday. Pop in those ear buds or headphones and let the good tunes play. Guile's Theme - Street Fighter II (AC) - Mitch MurderThe theme that goes with everything. What could make it even better? A killer synth arranged version by our boy, Mitch Murder. The CPS-II version of Guile's Theme is the one that gets the most recognition and this rendition is played in the same key of said version. If this version of the theme isn't on one of your playlists, something is very wrong with you.Mute City - F-ZERO (SNES) - Mitch MurderAnother Mitch Murder synth cover? What can I say, I'm a sucker for his work. And anyone that gives Nintendo's forgotten F-ZERO series some love in any way, shape or form is alright by me. There's a key change at the two minute mark and Mitch even put another tune in this one.Steam Gardens - Super Mario Odyssey (NSW) - The ConsoulsJazz is one of my favorite music Collapse
Control Issues: A Blessing in Disguise
2/2/2023 - Image: Reggie White Jr.My past five years with first party gaming controls have been, how Expand
2/2/2023 - Image: Reggie White Jr.My past five years with first party gaming controls have been, how shall we say, enlightening. Usually, whenever I purchase a new game console, I stick with the first party controller. The concept of having multiple third party controllers never really occurred to me. And then I bought a PS4 and Nintendo Switch.Drifting. A term associated with racing games to get around turns without sacrificing speed. I love drifting. It feels so good to do in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and it makes me realize how much I miss the Ridge Racer series. These days drifting is more commonly used to refer to the analog stick imputing movement on its own without any movement from the player. This results in unwanted movement and can really mess with your game. Drift is such a widespread issue on the Switch that Nintendo was hit with a lawsuit. If the Joy-Cons are used enough, drift is inevitable. I've had it happen on my first Switch. My nephew is on his second pair of Joy-Cons. My Collapse
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The Switch Successor May Be A Pricey Proposition
9/11/2024 - Or other lessons from SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS.Well, the absolute madlads did it. In Expand
9/11/2024 - Or other lessons from SIX HUNDRED AND NINETY NINE US DOLLARS.Well, the absolute madlads did it. In the announcement today of Sony’s greatest upgrade since the 8GB SPOSTDFW or the PSVR 2, I’m not sure which, they managed to outdo the infamous $599 US launch price of the PlayStation 3 in 2006 with the PlayStation 5 Pro at $699.99. And since I don’t live... Read more... Collapse
One Way Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition is Better than NES Remix
7/29/2024 - Let's talk about speed.As someone who has been excited about Nintendo World Championships: NES Expand
7/29/2024 - Let's talk about speed.As someone who has been excited about Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition since its initial leak and subsequent announcement, I’m probably exactly the target audience for this game. Born in 1979, my formative grade school and middle school years were defined by playing these NES games and... Read more... Collapse
Five Questions About Pokemon Legends: Z-A
2/28/2024 - Caution: Although this is a Pokemon article, it is rated PG-13.Well, that was surprising and in a Expand
2/28/2024 - Caution: Although this is a Pokemon article, it is rated PG-13.Well, that was surprising and in a way, not surprising. I believe I might have referred to a new mainline Pokemon game on Switch being announced in the Pokemon Presents as “the free space on the bingo card”, and it came to pass pretty much as expected. We do have a new Pokemon game coming to Switch, but it’s still leaving a lot of questions. Specifically, I have five.
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Nintendo's 2024 Lineup Will Be Fine
1/29/2024 - Sure we only know about some ports, remakes, and a Peach game, but this is year 8 of a console and Expand
1/29/2024 - Sure we only know about some ports, remakes, and a Peach game, but this is year 8 of a console and a new one is coming. Right?This time last year, we only knew about five video games confirmed to be coming out from Nintendo on the Switch in 2023. Those comprised four games in the first five months and an unidentified Pikmin release. We had all sorts of chatter back then about nothing of importance hitting the Switch after... Read more... Collapse
An Explanation, and a Public Shaming: What Are “Things Nintendo Owes Me After Quest for Camelot?”
9/28/2023 - Correct!I just played the first level of Quest for Camelot, the latest addition to the Nintendo Expand
9/28/2023 - Correct!I just played the first level of Quest for Camelot, the latest addition to the Nintendo Switch Online's Game Boy Color library, and I'm in pain. This addition was so substantial that Nintendo deemed it worthy of being the only English language NSO game in that batch (other titles: Kirby’s Star Stacker, Joy Mech Fight, Downtown Nekketsu March Super-Awesome Field Day!).
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Cities Without Civilians - How Playing Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp Made Me Feel Uncomfortable.
5/4/2023 - Advance Wars in 2023 rings hollow in the face of actual war.I experienced a weird sort of whiplash Expand
5/4/2023 - Advance Wars in 2023 rings hollow in the face of actual war.I experienced a weird sort of whiplash with the announcement and release of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp (AW). Not only was the game’s release postponed twice, with all signs pointing towards a largely finished title, but the major cause of its primary delay was an event that at first had little... Read more... Collapse
I Saw Three Images and I'm Enraged
3/10/2023 - When they say life comes at you fast, they aren't taking the eShop's terrible latency into Expand
3/10/2023 - When they say life comes at you fast, they aren't taking the eShop's terrible latency into account.I am incensed.
I am bewildered.
I am awake, well beyond my bedtime, unable to calm a mind poisoned by confusion.
I was in the eShop, minding my own business, trauma-dumping dubious products into the Nintendo World Report Discord (join today!). I consider this a form of ablution; I behold the inexplicable, and I then cleanse it from my mind by delivering it to you - our unsuspecting readers.
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Let's Discuss: That FIRE Feb 8, 2023 Nintendo Direct
2/10/2023 - The Big N announced that they would be dropping a Nintendo Direct on Feb 8 that would consist of Expand
2/10/2023 - The Big N announced that they would be dropping a Nintendo Direct on Feb 8 that would consist of roughly 40 minutes of gaming goods for the first half of 2023. "First half of 2023" is a bit misleading since some games won't come out until July or late August but this Direct was so freaking good, so I'll let that slide. Stuff that has me hyped for the Switch in 2023? Read on.Pikmin 4Image: NintendoWe finally saw gameplay footage of this game. It looks just as cute, charming and as fun as the other games. Ice Pikmin were shown off and that makes me wonder if there are other new types in the game as well. There is an adorable two legged dog that doesn't have a nose and I need the plushie for him NOW! I suppose I should finally pick up Pikmin 3 Deluxe and finish it. I loved the demo.Kirby's Return to Dream Land DeluxeImage: NintendoThe demo was dropped after the Direct. I decided to pass on it because I already know I'm going to love this remake. The Magalor Epilogue makes for some nice Collapse
VGM Saturdays Vol. 2 No. 004
1/28/2023 - I love me some lofi, so I've included two tracks this week along music from 2021's Cyber Shadow Expand
1/28/2023 - I love me some lofi, so I've included two tracks this week along music from 2021's Cyber Shadow and SEGA's Fantasy Zone II among others.Ridley - Tune in with Chewie This song was first heard in the 1994 mega classic, Super Metroid under the title Big Boss (no relation to the dude from the Metal Gear series). The theme would be so heavily associated with Ridley over the years that it would go on to become his theme with an arrangement of it playing during his reveal trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. This lofi remix turns the tense, fist pumping track into a more chill piece and it works really, really well. Apparitor, Pt 1 - Cyber Shadow (Multi)Cyber Shadow is like the NES Ninja Gaiden games. Except there's way, way less cheap bull to keep you from rage quitting. The game can be tough but fair. I'm hoping for a physical release of this game but a year later and still no luck. Secret of the Forest - Pontus Hultgren - Beyond the Flow of Time: Music from Chrono Collapse
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Whose Trails Is It Anyway? The Mystery Of The Partner Showcase's Most Stunning Remake Announcement
8/31/2024 - The last release for Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter in English was contemporaneous with Xenoblade Expand
8/31/2024 - The last release for Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter in English was contemporaneous with Xenoblade Chronicles X, for the record.For my money, the biggest announcement of the August 27 double dip of Nintendo shows was actually tucked into a sizzle reel for Western consumption. During the Partner Showcase, the announcement of Trails In The Sky: The 1st led off the first of two different sizzle reels, presumably to keep the combined... Read more... Collapse
Three Ways NES Remix is Better Than Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition
7/22/2024 - A game all about competition with bargain bin online features.Nintendo's summer offering to Expand
7/22/2024 - A game all about competition with bargain bin online features.Nintendo's summer offering to satisfy the thirst of old-school Nintendo fans is Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition, which is essentially a collection of speedrunning challenges. Instead of igniting discussions about who’s the fastest or most clever when it comes to titles like Super Mario... Read more... Collapse
What A Generational Transition Means For Pokemon
2/23/2024 - For one thing, it means a once-in-a-decade event.After Nintendo's last financial results release, Expand
2/23/2024 - For one thing, it means a once-in-a-decade event.After Nintendo's last financial results release, the latest updates to Pokemon game sales indicated that the mega-franchise has shipped somewhere over 100 million copies on Switch, with “main” games - defined as anything that can move Pokemon into the Home subscription service - being more than... Read more... Collapse
2023 In Review: The State Of The Switch eShop Is Fallen
1/2/2024 - Observations from a year that single-handedly proves Sturgeon’s Law to be true.Early in 2023, Expand
1/2/2024 - Observations from a year that single-handedly proves Sturgeon’s Law to be true.Early in 2023, author and hot-air balloon resident Cory Doctrow published a piece on how TikTok had shifted value from users to business partners to itself and now was in the process of dying, calling the process “enshittification”. For most of the year, I’ve thought of this as a good explanation... Read more... Collapse
Metroid Prime: Federation Force Is Great, Actually
9/21/2023 - Or how not to launch a spinoff.2015 was a year of transition for Nintendo for a variety of Expand
9/21/2023 - Or how not to launch a spinoff.2015 was a year of transition for Nintendo for a variety of reasons. The Wii U was definitively a sales bomb, regardless of how well received Splatoon and Super Mario Maker were when they launched to critical and fan acclaim that year. The 3DS was doing okay, but as the system entered its fifth year... Read more... Collapse
VGM Saturdays Vol. 2. No. 008
4/9/2023 - Keeping it even this week, we have three songs from games and three arrangements of game tracks Expand
4/9/2023 - Keeping it even this week, we have three songs from games and three arrangements of game tracks that are not in games. The Conflict - Romancing SaGa (SFC)Another week of VGM Saturdays, another track by Kenji Ito. This time we have the standard battle theme from Romancing SaGa. The Romancing SaGa games alone have all kinds of stellar battle themes but even when compared to greats like Beat Them Up!, The Conflict is still a big favorite of mine.PLAYER SELECT - Art of Fighting 3: Path of the Warrior (ARC)I haven't touched any of the games in SNK's Art of Fighting series but the soundtracks are not something that is lost on me. Personally, I think Art of Fighting 3 has the best music of the lot. More laid back character select themes, please.We Ain't Came to Loose - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge (Multi)The soundtrack to Shredder's Revenge is GODLIKE. Of course they just had to have one of the most baller vocal tracks play when you fight Shredder. Even if rap isn't Collapse
VGM Saturdays Vol. 2. No. 007
2/18/2023 - I went with the Arial font for the titles this week. Nothing against Georgia font, but I thought I Expand
2/18/2023 - I went with the Arial font for the titles this week. Nothing against Georgia font, but I thought I could use a bit of a change.K.K. Cruisin' - Animal Crossing (N64) - Funk Fiction, Tee LopesK.K. Slider is one of the best dogs in gaming. Not just for his super chill attitude, but for his wide selection of music. A big favorite of mine ever since the first game has always been K.K. Cruisin'. That is a jam that can be heard in one or sometimes two rooms in my house on New Horizons. Back in 2020, Funk Fiction and Tee Lopes worked together to give us this sweet remix and it just might be my favorite K.K. Cruisin' arrangement. Dice-Dance-Days / Dancing Smash Hero - Gunstar Heroes (GEN) - MonteSince I plan a great deal of these VGM Saturday posts out in advance, I sometimes surprise myself when I look back on the music I choose. Legend of the Gunstar Heroes definitely deserves more listens. Since it has been a while since I heard this one, I'd forgotten how hard the guitar goes on this Collapse
VGM Saturdays Vol. 2. No. 005
2/4/2023 - Dranius, Tales of Symphonyia Remastered, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Octopath Travler II, Expand
2/4/2023 - Dranius, Tales of Symphonyia Remastered, Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe, Octopath Travler II, Theatrhythm Final Bar Line. This month is packed with releases, so much that I don't know if I'll be able to afford them all. Heck, I didn't even list them all. Momentary distractions are one of life's treasures, so here's some music to take your mind off of this month's wallet apocalypse. Ordinary People - Trials of Mana (SNES)In 2019, the sequel to Secret of Mana (Seiken Densetsu 2 in Japan) was at long last released officially outside of Japan in the Collection of Mana anthology under the name Trials of Mana. In 2020, the game got a full remake and from what I hear, it was received much better than 2018's Secret if Mana remake. I'm nowhere near as familiar with the soundtrack to Trials of Mana as I am Secret of Mana's score, but Hiroki Kikuta wrote the music for both games. If you haven't heard the music to Trials of Mana and need an invitation, there ya go. One of my Collapse
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