Check out a whole ton of new gameplay footage from the upcoming “Shaq Fu: A Legend Reborn” video game on Nintendo Switch with this Direct-Feed gameplay from PAX East, via Game Xplain. This game definitely has an expanded experience with it, as it’s not just a 2-D fighting game anymore. Is it actually worth playing? That is for you to decide!
VIZ Media, LLC (VIZ Media), a premier company in the fields of publishing, animation distribution, and global entertainment licensing, thrills manga and gaming fans with the announcement of the acquisition of the publishing rights for a new manga series based on Nintendo’s hit game title SPLATOON.
The SPLATOON manga series, created by Hinodeya Sankichi, is scheduled to launch exclusively in print in late 2017 and will be rated ‘A’ for All Ages.
Splatoon is a third-person shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii UTM and was released worldwide in 2015. The game was co-created by Shintaro Sato, a member of the Animal Crossing team, and centers around characters known as Inklings, which can transform between humanoid and squid-like forms, and hide or swim through colored ink sprayed on surfaces using shooters, blasters, or chargers and slosher, or brush-based weaponry. Splatoon has won multiple awards including a 2015 British Academy Children’s Award, IGN’s Best of 2015, and a SXSW Gaming Award in 2016. A sequel game title, SplatoonTM 2, will be released this year for the Nintendo SwitchTM platform.
In the SPLATOON manga series, four Inklings that can switch between human and squid forms get caught up in a Splatoon Turf War that launches them into all-new adventures inspired by the hit Nintendo video game!
Manga creator and artist Sankichi Hinodeya first appeared in a bonus issue of Square Enix’s Gangan Powered magazine with the series Maho Bozu Sankyu (Magical Monk Sankyu). In 2015, Hinodeya created the manga adaptation of SPLATOON, which is currently serialized in Japan in Corocoro Comic Magazine.
Everyone wants to know more about the graphical capabilities of the Nintendo Switch, especially since the upcoming Legend of Zelda title will be on both the Switch and the Wii U. Breath of the Wild probably should have been a Wii U game to begin with, but they instead held it off to help sell their next console. Is it really that big of an improvement? I checked out a bunch of different sources and compiled them here for you to take a look and decide how important getting a Switch is, especially if you are buying it for Breath of the Wild.
First, we have GameXplain showing us The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, comparing it with gameplay footage shown at E3 2016. The biggest difference is certainly the lighting and textures, but anti-aliasing still seems to be a bit of an issue for the Switch.
IGN did their own version as well, which shows a side by side comparision and goes back and forth between the differences in real time.
Nintendo World Report TV also sized up Mario Kart 8 against the new Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. There are some technical differences shown in this video, as well as some other interesting tidbits these folks found.
One can not deny that there are some differences, but is it enough to sell a system during launch? That is up to your wallets to decide!
With the reveal of the Nintendo Switch, we have a ton of trailers to watch to get us ready for the March release date. However, one of my personal favorites has to be their video on Parental Controls.
Starring the Bowser family, we see that being a parent is no different if you’re a human or a fire-breathing spiked turtle. Check out the video below:
Don’t you want to see more of these two together? Maybe we should start a tweet campaign to let Nintendo know we want more Bowser & Bowser Jr.! Also, the idea of Bowser using a smartphone is pretty hilarious on its own, let alone imagining this tyrant programming a time limit for his son to play games.
As for the parental controls, it’s neat since it does not shut down the system after you put in the time limit, it instead lets the parent know how bad the kid screwed up and leaves it to the adults to serve punishment. What do you think about the video?
It’s finally here! After months of waiting, Nintendo unveiled their next innovation in gaming, the Nintendo Switch. It’s like a hybrid gaming console, iPad, and Nintendo DS all wrapped into one. Here is what we know so far about it in a condensed form!
The Nintendo Switch will launch globally on March 3, 2017 for $299.99 USD ($469.95 AUD, £279.99 GBP, ¥29,980 JPY). This announcement came during Nintendo’s Switch Presentation.
The Switch has a 6.2-inch 720p capacitive multitouch display with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels – that’s the same size as the screen on the Wii U Gamepad, but a step up from that screen’s resolution of 854 x 480.
It will come with the console, L and R Joy-Con, Joy-Con wrist straps, Joy-Con grip, the Nintendo Switch dock, HDMI cable, and an AC adapter. The Pro Controller will be available separately, which is more like a traditional controller for XBOX and PS4. In addition, one model with come with grey controllers, and another model with one neon red and one neon blue. Both versions will be the same suggested retail price. The controller will feature HD rumble feedback (haptic feedback like a smart phone) and a specially designed sensor that can actually detect the shape a hand is making when in use. The Switch’s battery life will range between two and half to six hours, depending on the game being played.
The Switch will use cartridges similar to those used on the Nintendo 3DS. Players can also connect up to eight Switch consoles together for wireless local multiplayer experience.
Nintendo will also be bringing online services to the Switch. Free from launch, the service will move to a paid for model, similar to competitors, in the Fall. Subscribers will get a free retro NES or SNES game each month.
Here is the lineup of games for their ‘launch’, which extends to the holiday season (there are more out there that we saw and we will hunt down those dates as soon as we can):
LAUNCH DAY
1-2-Switch
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Skylanders Imaginators
Just Dance 2017
LAUNCH WINDOW
Has Been Heroes (March 2017)
I am Setsuna (March 2017)
Sonic Mania (Spring 2017)
Lego City Undercover (Spring 2017)
Arms (spring 2017)
Super Bomberman R (March 2017)
Snipperclips: Cut it Out, Together! (March 2017)
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (April 28, 2017)
Splatoon 2 (Summer 2017)
NBA 2K18 (September 2017)
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Fall 2017)
Super Mario Odyssey (Holiday 2017)
Most stores have already sold out of preorders on the Switch, but you can keep trying Amazon where you should be able to find a good deal once they are back in stock.
After the overwhelming success of 2013’s The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Historia and 2016’s The Art of Fire Emblem Awakening, Dark Horse is excited to expand their publishing partnership with Nintendo® to include an English-language edition of The Art of Splatoon™.
The Art of Splatoon is based on Nintendo’s 2015 award-winning game for the Wii U console where players control squid-like characters called Inklings. Inklings have the ability to shift between humanoid and squid form and back again. Inklings shoot their team’s color to claim territory or “splat” opposing players. Ink supply is replenished by swimming through their respective team colors.
Containing an “inkredible” 320 pages of artwork, including 2D and 3D illustrations of characters, maps, concept art, weapon and gear design, storyboards, sketches, hand-drawn comics, and more, The Art of Splatoon is sure to please Inklings and humanoids alike.
Dark Horse will also publish The Legend of Zelda™: Art & Artifacts on February 21, 2017. The Art of Splatoon is slated to hit shelves June 13, 2017.
During a recent Nintendo Direct press conference, the company announced that their new Nintendo 3DS will be able to play SNES game. This has been a highly-requested feature for a long time with this handheld console, but was allegedly never released because the previous generation of products were not powerful enough to play them. With their latest 3DS, the Super Nintendo can finally be unleashed in all of it’s 16-bit glory!
Here is the full list of titles that will be released as part of this initial wave:
North America
March 3 — F-Zero (Available now)
March 3 — Pilotwings (Available now)
March 3 — Super Mario World (Available now)
March 24 — Donkey Kong Country
March 24 — EarthBound
March 24 — Super Mario Kart
April 14 — Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
April 14 — The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
April 14 — Super Metroid
Europe and Australia (PAL)
March 3 — EarthBound (Available now)
March 3 — Super Mario World (Available now)
March 10 — The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
March 10 — Super Metroid
March 17 — F-Zero
March 17 — Super Mario Kart
March 24 — Donkey Kong Country
Japan
March 4 — F-Zero
March 4 — The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
March 4 — EarthBound
March 4 — Donkey Kong Country
March 4 — Super Mario World
??? — Super Metroid
??? — Super Mario Kart
??? — Kirby’s Dream Course
??? — Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
??? — Fire Emblem: Genealogy of Holy War
??? — Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest
??? — Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie’s Double Trouble
??? — Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon
??? — Final Fight
??? — Final Fight 2
??? — Final Fight 3
??? — Super Castlevania IV
??? — Super Ghouls and Ghosts
??? — Contra III: The Alien Wars
??? — Street Fighter II’ Turbo
??? — Super Street Fighter II
??? — Street Fighter Alpha 2
??? — Mega Man 7
??? — Mega Man X
??? — Mega Man X2
??? — Mega Man X3
These Virtual Console SNES games will include a “perfect pixel” mode to retain the original hardware’s aspect ratio, and the games will cost $7.99 each on the VC. Unfortunately, any customers who previously bought these titles for the Wii U will not be able to get a discount or even just download it for free since they already own it. In other words, if you want to play this on both systems, you will need to buy it twice.
You would not be hard-pressed to find a top 10 list online of best games for Nintendo or Sega Genesis or so forth, and we will certainly be adding to that pile soon enough. However, one author decided to take that idea and expand it into something with more credibility and information. Thanks to Schiffer Publishing, “The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987” has become a definitive countdown and textbook for old school gaming.
Written by Brett Weiss, a gaming journalist who has spent 15 years covering the video game industry (and spent another 40 years playing them), the book is the first of its kind. Transforming what could have been your average internet article into a fully-fleshed out book, it focuses on an era rather than a console, and is far from being a clickbait gimmick that you would find online. This particular period of gaming that the author has focused on was a decade of growth and expansion for video games, the spark before the explosion of video games. For those curious, Weiss also includes an appendix for the next 100 games which could not make the list, so this book is technically the 200 greatest console video games from that time period.
This book covers games for the original NES, the Atari 2600 and 5200, Sega Master System, the ColecoVision, the Vectrex, Odyssey2 and Intellivision, many names that would be foreign to the majority of gamers today. It also includes prices for the various elements of the games, including the cartridge, box, overlays (when applicable), and even the instruction manuals, a nice bonus for collectors. Every entry also includes some fun bonus facts that did not fit into each entry, along with the authors’ explanation for why that game made his top 100 list.
If you want a sneak peek at some of the games that made it, you can expect to see NES classics like The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Super Mario Bros among other older titles that have been forgotten over the years like Mr.Do, Frenzy, Escape from the Mindmaster, and Communist Mutants from Outer Space. How has that game not had a remake yet? There are far more lesser known titles, along with a few surprises for which system the author chose best represented many of the games that were on multiple consoles.
A top 10 is a daunting article to write, so I can not imagine the difficulty of making a top 100 list, but somehow Weiss pulled it off after what must have been months of replaying these classics. Many of these games were new to me, and the way Weiss reminisces and discusses them makes me want to play them to see if I really agree with his rankings or not. There is loads of research involved in this book that make these entries more than a vapid opinion piece, but add historical context to each game along with why they were fun and/or challenging to play.
“The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987” is a highly informative and very fun to read countdown of the best in console gaming history from a pivotal time in the industry. These games helped cement the foundations to transform a new type of recreation into a multi-billion dollar industry that thrives today with gamers of all ages. The best part is most of these games stand up to the test of time, and the ones that don’t are still pretty amusing.
If you are a hardcore gamer, I recommend this book, moreso if you are into old school video game history. You can order “The 100 Greatest Console Video Games: 1977-1987” on Amazon.com
The classic Super Nintendo game, “Super Mario RPG”, will finally get its long anticipated release on the virtual console later this week… in Europe.
The news comes from EuroGamer, who are happy as heck to get this game in their neck of the woods while this continent has to wait and see. “Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars” was originally released in North America and Japan in 1996, but was never released in Europe until the original Wii Virtual Console released it in 2008. As for Americans, we are still waiting on word from Nintendo if the title will be coming to our systems as well. The game is still available for the Wii on their virtual console, but until then, we must hold our breath and pray to the Mario gods.
On a similar note, earlier this month, Nintendo announced several new Mii Fighter costumes for “Super Smash Bros.” for Wii U and 3DS, which included an outfit for one of Super Mario RPG’s signature characters, Geno.
Super Mario RPG will launch for download on Thursday, December 24, and will cost €7.99.
The catchiest song ever in a video game has just been revealed to have words to go along with… which are not quite as catchy.
Back in 1985, a Japanese radio station asked their listeners to create lyrics for the video games theme song. One of them caught the attention of Nintendo, and the company gave it not only their official Nintendo seal of approval, but released a record of it with the words. Why has it taken American fans 30 years to finally discover this? Who knows, but better late than never. It makes you wonder if any other famous video game songs have lyrics (that is, ones that were not written by BrentalFloss).
In case you want to sing along, here are the lyrics in English (which don’t sound quite as good as they do in Japanese):
“Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running
Go save Princess Peach! Go!
Today, full of energy, Mario runs
Today, full of energy, jumping!
Today, full of energy, searching for coins
Today, keep going, Mario!
Get a mushroom – it’s Super Mario!
Get a flower – it’s Fire Mario!
Goomba! Troopa! Buzzy Beetle! Beat them all!
Mario is always full of energy and strong!
Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running
Go and beat the Koopa tribe, go!
Today, full of energy, Mario runs
Today, full of energy, jumping!
Today, full of energy, searching for coins
Today, keep going, Mario!
Get a star – become invincible!
Quickly, go save Princess Peach!
Lakitu! Blooper! Cheep Cheep! Beat them all!
Mario is always full of energy and strong!
Today, full of energy, Mario is still running, running
He’s made it to the castle and gets fireworks!
Lightly sidestepping the Hammer Bros.
Show the last of your power, Mario!
It’s been a long journey but it’s nearly at an end
You’ve done it, you’ve done it! You’ve defeated Bowser!
Princess Peach says “Thank you”
Mario’s got a great big heart!
Mario’s adventure is over for now, but
Mario’s dream lives forever…”
