The Nintendo Switch has arrived! Now that I've had the console for almost two weeks, I thought I'd share a few thoughts while I take a break from Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
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I thought I'd do something a little different this for E3. I'll have some focused articles on various E3 games and announcements over the coming days and weeks, but I thought I'd also highlight some of my tweets with off-the-cuff reactions to the conferences.
You can follow along for the full discussion on my Twitter account, too, of course.
It's been over a month since Nintendo released Super Mario Maker, a game that lets you build your own Mario levels. In that time, I've been trying to find time to write a review of it, but it's taken me this long because I can't stop playing this game. It's captured my imagination in a way that probably no other game has before, and it's finally Wii U's "killer app" to show why its tablet-meets-gamepad controller lets players do things no other console can offer.
It's been nearly nine months since I first posted about Amiibo. At that time, I had four lonely figures: Samus Aran, Wii Fit Trainer, Fox McCloud, and Link. In the time since then, things have changed. I now have a collection six times that size (24 total figures) that spans Nintendo's core franchises, niche series, and even third party characters.
Let's check in on it, shall we?
Fire Emblem was always a bit of a mystery to me. Apart from a few a characters that had appeared in various Smash Bros. games, this strategy RPG (think chess meets Final Fantasy) was a Nintendo series I had squarely ignored.
And then, back in early 2013, Nintendo released its latest game in the series, Fire Emblem: Awakening. Suddenly, it seemed like every podcast and gaming site was talking about the 3DS game. After two years, I finally purchased this game during this year's E3 sale on the eShop when it dropped to a rare, low price of $27.99.
So, was it worth all the the hype?
Any long-term gamer who was paying attention to the Wii's launch back in 2006 likely had one very specific feature call to them amid the hype surrounding motion control, blue ocean strategies, and a console promising a "revolution"—the Virtual Console.
And yet, as with so many of Nintendo's innovations, strange policies and limitations have, over time, turned this selling point into a pain point.
Fox McCloud is back! Yes, we'll all be to "do a barrel roll" when Star Fox Zero releases on Wii U later this year, and I'm pretty excited to jump back into an Arwing.
Nintendo led into the formal unveiling at the beginning of their Nintendo Digital Event video by way of an amazing introduction during which muppet versions of Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime, and Shigeru Miyamoto gradually turned into muppet versions of Peppy Hare, Fox McCloud, and Falco Lombardi of Star Fox fame.
It was as weirdly charming as it sounds.
This morning's Super Smash Bros. for Wii U & 3DS livestream on Twitch had a lot of news (some of which had leaked), but I'm most excited about some of the awesome-looking amiibo announced. Before we get into that, though, let's talk about some of the other news.
This week, I finally received one of the last rewards I'll ever get from Club Nintendo: a 3DS XL Pouch styled with The Legend of Zelda pixel art. In the past, I've received desk calendars, a Mario Hat, a Majora's Mask soundtrack CD, and free digital games from the now-defunct loyalty program.
Earlier this year, Nintendo announced its plans to retire Club Nintendo, and it's no longer possible to take their weird, little surveys and redeem those precious coins for all manner of strange, Nintendo-themed goodies. Even though they weren't always perfect, I'm going to miss this program, and I sincerely hope Nintendo has replacement in the works.
And, actually, I think it might be something they announce next week at E3.
A few days ago, the internet was swirling with rumors that Nintendo's next console, codenamed NX, would be running on an Google's Android OS. Today, Nintendo has denied these rumors outright. Whether or not they're not true, it's hard to argue that the hardware maker has yet to release a system with a truly spectacular OS, so it's a problem I'd like to seem them solve.
Every gamer has embarrassing blind spots—games they know they should have played but ignored for one reason or another. For me, the Mega Man series has always seemed like something I would love but never quite clicked.
Recently, I've set out to remedy that.
In a surprise move this week, Nintendo stealth-released Stretchmo, the third game in the Pushmo/Crashmo series on 3DS, without any advance notice and with a "free to start" purchasing model.
While it's great to see Nintendo continue to support a really inventive, newer series, I'm more interested in the way they released Stretchmo and what it means for Nintendo's future.
Polygon's Brian Crecente wrote an opinion piece today titled "The console needs to die and Nintendo should be the one to pull the trigger." It's an interesting proposition, but I'm not sure I buy into it—at least not yet.
I'll admit it: I'm a fan of the 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula.
Most people pan the film for Keanu Reeves' admittedly wooden acting (fair), but I love Gary Oldman's portrayal of the iconic vampire and the generally spooky feel of the film. Plus, it really does capture the Bram Stoker novel better than any other adaptation. So, when I saw a copy of the Super Nintendo (SNES) game at my local used game shop, it was inevitably going home with me.
Keep reading to find out if it stands the test of time.
Nintendo, as promised in their recent Nintendo Direct video, released the latest update to StreetPass Mii Plaza this week (4.16.2015) that includes two new games, a set of free updates, and the ability to purchase a set of paid enhancements. Let's dive into all the details!