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CulturePokémon Brilliant Diamond, Shining Pearl, And Legends: Arceus Get Release Dates
Make sure to kiss your mom goodbye and stock up on your Max Potions, because the three latest Pokémon games finally have release dates. Today, The Pokémon Company announced that the Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl remakes will launch on November 19, and a new open-world game Pokémon Legends: Arceus will come later on January…
By Ash Parrish Published May 26, 2021 -
CultureReport: Valve Is Making A Switch-Like Portable Codenamed SteamPal
If the Nintendo Switch has proven anything, it’s that being able to play previously PC-only indies on the go rules. Soon, though, you might not need to wait for Switch ports of your Steam-powered faves: a new report claims Valve is working on its own handheld. The report comes from Ars Technica and cites “multiple”…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 25, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsNintendo Patent Looks Like A Giant Shitpost
On June 5, 1997, Nintendo filed a patent titled “Video game system and method with enhanced three-dimensional character and background control due to environmental conditions.” I can’t even begin to parse what the heck that means on a technical level, but what I do know is that the document’s contents are ripe for absurd internet…
By Ian Walker Published May 25, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapanA Totally New Metal Saga Game Announced For Nintendo Switch
This week, a completely new Metal Saga has been announced to mark the franchise’s 30th anniversary. It’s called Metal Saga: Hangyaku no Rouka (The Beacon of Rebellion) and is bound for the Nintendo Switch. Metal Max was first released in 1991, and due to trademark issues, the games in the franchise have been released under…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 25, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsMiitopia On Switch Completely Ate My Weekend
I had things to do this weekend that weren’t running through endless random encounters in the console port of a ridiculous four-year-old 3DS role-playing game. The problem I encountered was that none of those other things were as simple and easy as picking up my Pro Controller and popping back into Miitopia for a battle…
By Mike Fahey Published May 24, 2021 -
CultureE3 Fan Registration Opens Up Next Week
Following a year off as a result of the covid-19 pandemic, E3 will return next month as an all-digital event. It’s free—despite what some earlier reports suggested—but you’ll still have to register if you want access to what passes as a show floor at an online event without an actual show floor. Registration will kick…
By Ari Notis Published May 24, 2021 -
CultureSplitscreenHalf-Life: Alyx Almost Had Enemies Who Reacted When You Flipped Them Off
Hands. You wouldn’t have human civilization without them, meaning you wouldn’t have video games, either. Or, like, houses. But even though hands are front and center in many games, we don’t talk about them all that often. On this week’s episode of Splitscreen, we stop keeping hands at arm’s length. In honor of Resident Evil…
By Nathan Grayson Published May 21, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsWhat Gaming Was Like The Last Time Cicadas Emerged, 17 Years Ago
You may know them as Brood X, or Brood 10, or the Great Eastern Brood. To most people, they’re periodical cicadas—insatiable insects that emerge from subterranean slumber every 17 years for the sole purpose of fucking each other to smithereens. Over the past week or so, Brood X cicadas have started to crawl out of…
By Ari Notis Published May 21, 2021 -
CultureWhat Are You Playing This Weekend?
Did you know the weekend was the best possible time to play an absurdist take on the traditional Japanese role-playing game? I just made that up, but it’s probably true. It’s time for Miitopia, a game that originally came out for the 3DS in 2017 at a tie when I was not playing games on…
By Mike Fahey Published May 21, 2021 -
CultureThe Nintendo Download: Shin Miitopia Tiger Trio Xylophone HD
There are 36 games coming to the Nintendo Switch eShop this week. Among those 36 games are the remaster of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, a Switch version of 3DS RPG Miitopia, a puzzle game about sushi-making tigers, and a $10 virtual xylophone. I restarted our weekly posting of The Nintendo Download to highlight some…
By Mike Fahey Published May 20, 2021 -
CultureNintendo Switch Online Will Soon Have More Than 100 Games You Might Want To Play
Nintendo’s $20-a-year online subscription service gets slightly better on May 26 with the addition of Caveman Ninja, Magical Drop 2, Super Baseball Simulator 1.000, Spanky’s Quest, and Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun, bringing its grand total of playable old games to 104. Which are you most excited for, and why? I’m probably looking most forward to Magical Drop…
By Mike Fahey Published May 19, 2021 -
Kotaku EastJapan“Nintendo Marriage” Trends In Japan After Celebrities Tie The Knot
Earlier today, soon after singer Gen Hoshino and actor Yui Aragaki announced they had gotten hitched, the phrase “Nintendo-kon” (任天堂婚) or “Nintendo marriage” began trending on Twitter in Japan. No, the couple probably did not have a Mario-themed wedding (well, not as far as I know!), but rather the term refers to how both Hoshino…
By Brian Ashcraft Published May 19, 2021 -
CultureNew Zelda Amiibo Has A Bullshit Special Power
Amiibo granting special powers in a Nintendo game is nothing new, it’s half the point of the things existing, but normally those powers are fairly tame, or simply shower the player in gifts. This new Skyward Sword HD one, though, is very disappointing, because it bestows an ability that all players should have, all the…
By Luke Plunkett Published May 18, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsChuck, No, This Is Mario Golf
Nintendo recently updated the official Mario Golf: Super Rush website with short clips of every golfer performing their Special Shot. None of these powerful moves, however, are more special than Chargin’ Chuck’s. Chuck, baby, listen. I know this is your first time in a Mario Golf. Heck, I’m pretty sure it’s your first time being…
By Ian Walker Published May 17, 2021 -
CultureMario Golf: Super Rush‘s Speed Golf Mode Looks Like A Trip
Golf is normally a game about being patient and waiting your turn while wearing awesome pants. In Speed Golf, a new mode coming in next month’s Mario Golf: Super Rush, four players tee off at once and then race across the course to complete the hole first. I’d pay to watch real golfers do that.…
By Mike Fahey Published May 17, 2021 -
CultureTown In England Installs Super Mario Pipes, Residents Not Happy
Local residents in the UK town of Walsall aren’t happy about the 15 giant green planters that have recently been installed in the town center, with many pointing out how they look like the warp pipes found in Mario games. As reported by Birmingham Mail, the pots were bought and set up in town using…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 17, 2021 -
CultureBabies Love High Kicks
This week on Snapshots get ready for some action! Get ready for some speed! Get ready for some… dead birds? Sure. That too. This week has some great screenshots from games like Resident Evil Village, New Pokemon Snap, and Far Cry 4. “KICK MORE! MORE KICKS!” Kid, I’m tired. Give me a moment to drink…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 15, 2021 -
CultureOdds and EndsQuick, Take A Dip In Animal Crossing Before Nintendo Fixes The Glitch
Animal Crossing New Horizons players just discovered a new glitch that lets them climb inside different objects, including pools and bathtubs. The glitch quickly grew popular and many players are asking Nintendo to leave it in the game. The most common use of the new glitch is to relax in the many inviting-looking pools that…
By Zack Zwiezen Published May 14, 2021 -
OpinionImpressionsThese Famicom Detective Club Games Have Aged Surprisingly Well
There’s nothing about the art, animation, voice work, or music of Nintendo’s new Famicom Detective Club games that betray their origin as a pair of Japan-exclusive Family Computer Disk System adventures from the late 1980s. The dated gameplay, however, is a dead giveaway. Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and its prequel, Famicom Detective Club:…
By Mike Fahey Published May 14, 2021 -
CultureWhat Are You Playing This Weekend?
This weekend is for playing Mass Effect Legendary Edition. That’s it. Nothing else may be done or played this weekend. There will be no celebratory vaccine brunches or prolonged afternoon naps. Just an endless parade of dead-eyed Shepards approving messages. I know there are many people out there who don’t care about Mass Effect, along…
By Mike Fahey Published May 14, 2021