The Blunder of Mario Wonder
15 HRS AGO - Justin takes a critical look at one of the year’s most acclaimed titles.Back in 2006, New Super Expand
15 HRS AGO - 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
VGM Saturdays Vol. 2 No. 002
1/14/2023 - Normally, I would go with all winter themed music for this time of year and I had very much Expand
1/14/2023 - Normally, I would go with all winter themed music for this time of year and I had very much considered going that route, but as I as compiling tracks for this week's music, it had completely slipped my mind to include all cold type music. So enjoy the very mild selection of winter tracks this week.Walking the Beat - Cosmic Star Heroine (Multi)I was recommended this game by a good friend of mine, so I scooped it up on PS4 and never got around to playing it. When it came out for the Switch, I bought it for that system. Neeeeeveeeeer got around to playing it. What I did get around to is listening to the soundtrack or some of it, at least and it is very impressive stuff. I probably should get around to playing the game at some point.Greenpath (From "Hollow Knight") - Hollow Knight Lofi - CollosiaThe indie scene is overrun with Metroidvania games. Hollow Knight manages to stand out from the pack with a huge map, tough bosses and highly memorable areas to explore. Oh and the music is all Collapse
Don't Worry About Nintendo's 2023 (For Now)
1/6/2023 - In recent memory, Nintendo never reveals their full year as of January 1.I felt a major sense of Expand
1/6/2023 - In recent memory, Nintendo never reveals their full year as of January 1.I felt a major sense of deja vu recently. "Nintendo has nothing for this year!" "Switch is going to be barren after May." "We only know of five games Nintendo's bringing to Switch!" "When's new hardware?"
Those kinds of sentiments fill the Nintendo discourse every time the calendar changes years.... Read more... Collapse
Neal's Top 25 of 2022 and More
12/30/2022 - A lengthy list of games played and games not played.For close to a decade, I’ve kept a running Expand
12/30/2022 - A lengthy list of games played and games not played.For close to a decade, I’ve kept a running list ranking my favorite games of the year. I add new games as I play them, idly tinker with it once every month or two, and sometimes make big swings when a game turns sour over time or I find myself returning to it more than I expected. It’s a fun exercise... Read more... Collapse
Ranking Square Enix's Jam-Packed Upcoming Switch Lineup
9/16/2022 - Square's busier than Nintendo on their own platform from now until February. Who knew?It seems Expand
9/16/2022 - Square's busier than Nintendo on their own platform from now until February. Who knew?It seems like every week, another Square Enix game is announced for release soon. A third Voice of Cards game came out the day of the September 13 Nintendo Direct and wasn’t mentioned in the Direct, likely because at least 5 other Square Enix games already had a chunk of time in the 40-minute presentation.... Read more... Collapse
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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
About Sonic Frontiers Losing to Genshin Impact
1/13/2023 - The 2022 Game Awards have come and gone and for a yearly event I have never really cared about, I Expand
1/13/2023 - The 2022 Game Awards have come and gone and for a yearly event I have never really cared about, I did find them interesting for a number of reasons, but mainly for the Player's Voice award.The Player's Voice award is exactly what it sounds like: fans get to vote for the game they wish to get recognition. It got quite heated between Sonic fans and Genshin Impact fans for the award but in the end, the gotcha game that was released in 2020 emerged victorious. To say that some Sonic fans weren't pleased would be an understatement. I would have liked it if Sonic Frontiers did get the Player's Voice award, but at the end of the day, I'm not really bothered by Genshin winning.One of my favorite games of 2022 (spoilers for a future blog post, BTW) is Kirby and the Forgotten Land and it won Best Family Game from the Game Awards. As great as that is, that isn't what I or for that matter, most people will remember Kirby's 30th anniversary game for. Kirby's first big 3D adventure will be Collapse
My First 3D Super Sonic Battle
1/5/2023 - Image: SEGAWARNING: The following post contains spoilers for Sonic Frontiers. If you have any Expand
1/5/2023 - Image: SEGAWARNING: The following post contains spoilers for Sonic Frontiers. If you have any interest in playing the game and do not wish to be spoiled, do not proceed any further.3D Super Sonic boss fights. Since Sonic Adventure, Super Sonic boss fights have served as a final battle for dedicated players. These showdowns are often accompanied by stellar music tracks like Open Your Heart, Live and Learn, What I'm Made Of or outstanding orchestrated versions of the game's main theme such as the Sonic Unleashed theme song, Endless Possibilties. I've heard these music tracks and seen clips of these clashes on YouTube but I've always been on the outside looking in. And then I played Sonic Frontiers. The first time I ever participated in a 3D Super Sonic boss fight and it just so happens to be in Sonic's latest outing that has received much acclaim from both fans and critics. It was better than anything I could have imagined. And I didn't have to wait until the end of the game Collapse
Thank You, Kevin Conroy
11/18/2022 - Kevin Conroy recently passed away. He died on November 10th, 2022 at the age of 66. He was an Expand
11/18/2022 - Kevin Conroy recently passed away. He died on November 10th, 2022 at the age of 66. He was an actor. You might have seen him on shows such as the Office, Another World, or Search for Tomorrow. I never saw him in any of his TV or film roles. It would probably be more apt to call Kevin Conroy a voice actor, because, well, let's be real; that's what he was most famous for. In particular, Kevin Conroy was known for his work vocing one of the most iconic ficonal characters of all time: Batman. Batman: The Animated Series hit TV screens in 1992 and it was the first time I'd ever heard Kevin's voice and by extension his take on Batman/Bruce Wayne. The voice he gave Bruce was light hearted, sounding almost carefree. It was the complete opposite of his voice for Batman. This was done intentionally to distinguish the two identities. Kevin's voice for Batman was gruff, raspy and every bit as dark as Batman himself. It was the first time in any media that Batman and Bruce Wayan sounded like Collapse
Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival
8/12/2022 - An event I've been looking forward to all year is the Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Fest, a live Expand
8/12/2022 - An event I've been looking forward to all year is the Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Fest, a live stream orchestral concert. Me being a goof, I let the date of the live stream slip past me and I wasn't able to catch it live. Thankfully, some super kind souls have preserved it on YouTube. At least until Nintendo comes along and axes it. Enjoy it while you can.You can catch the entire event......Or a cut up stream that has only the music. Collapse
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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
VGM Saturdays Vol. 2. No. 003
1/21/2023 - Here's a little behind the scenes info. These VGM Saturday posts? I have the songs picked out in Expand
1/21/2023 - Here's a little behind the scenes info. These VGM Saturday posts? I have the songs picked out in advance. In the past I wouldn't have the songs picked until the very day I post. Now? I have songs picked out weeks and weeks ahead. It makes things a lot easier on me since I'm working on multiple different blog posts at a time.Ahem.Anyhoo, enjoy this week's tunes! Johnny's - Eastward (Multi)I almost bought Eastward on the Switch digitally last year, but that physical version kept me from double dipping. And it is yet another game I have not gotten around to playing. Johnny's quickly earned a spot on my Relaxing playlist on both Spotify and YouTube Music. Lofi artists, where is the cover of this banger already?Spark Man - Mega Man 3 - Neon XSynth wave is something I've really fallen in love with over the past few years. YouTube ended up recommending videos by Neon X. I've been subscribed to him for about two months now. This is the first of many tracks I'll be posting from the Collapse
VGM Saturdays Vol. 2. No. 001
1/7/2023 - I'm doing something I've thought about doing for a long time now: starting VGM (Video Game Music) Expand
1/7/2023 - I'm doing something I've thought about doing for a long time now: starting VGM (Video Game Music) Saturdays fresh. The original had a good run and as much as I love milestone numbers, the landscape of game music has changed a lot over the past decade on YouTube and I'd like for Volume 2 to reflect that. This means that whenever possible, official track uploads will be embedded from YouTube here. Of course, there's a lot of game music that isn't on YouTube officially and Nintendo still refuses to get with the freaking times and post their music like other game companies do, whuch has made me question whether I should even post unofficial video embedding of their music. In the end, I decided to post what I can from the Big N while it is available. Since we're starting over, you'll see music from the original run of VGM Saturdays along with a slew of new music. The world of game music is vast and I hope more and more of it will be officially posted on streaming sites and apps. Get Collapse
The Year In Too Many Downloads
1/3/2023 - Or “Nintendo, can I please get my weekends back?”One of the fun features of the website is that it Expand
1/3/2023 - Or “Nintendo, can I please get my weekends back?”One of the fun features of the website is that it preserves the Talkback threads in the article proper, basically serving a function of a comment section but with actual moderation. Recently, friend of the site Syrenne took time out from her vacation to dig up this psychopathic comment from a 2010 blog post (yes, we had blogs at one point) by Neal called “This Week In Awful Downloads” and drop it in the Discord:
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Let's Discuss: The Super Mario Bros. Movie Teaser Trailer
10/7/2022 - Image: Illumination/NintendoThere was much anticipation from Nintendo fans for October 6th, in Expand
10/7/2022 - Image: Illumination/NintendoThere was much anticipation from Nintendo fans for October 6th, in particular, fans of the Big N's mascot, Mario. This afternoon Nintendo graced us with a teaser trailer for the Super Mario Bros. Movie with a short Nintendo Direct. After some words from from some of the folks involved with the movie including Shigeru Miyamoto and voice cast Chris Pratt and Jack Black, the moment we were all waiting for had finally arrived. And it did not disappoint. Mostly.That opening scene where Bowser rolls up with a whole friggin' island to take a Power Star was AWESOME. That Bowser slow walk, the delivery of "OPEN THE GATES!" to Bowser displaying his fire breath had the perfect blend of action and comedy, topped off with some great facial expressions from Bowser, and the penguins. Say what you want about Illumination but they put in serious work on this flick and it really shows.I think the biggest criticism people have about this teaser is how Mario sounds. Granted, Collapse
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