Japan Gaming Guide

A mini version of the SNES/Super Famicom bundled with a range of software will launch before Christmas, according to a report in Eurogamer.

The new system is the reason the hugely successful NES mini has been discontinued. Nintendo scored a big hit with the retro console, but raised a few eyebrows by cancelling it so soon. The new console will likely follow a similar format, with a bunch of classic games bundled with the system.

The SNES boasts a fantastic software library and will surely be a hit with fans. Games like Super Mario World, Super Metroid, Secret of Mana, Super Tennis, Pilot Wings, Super Punch Out, Chrono Trigger, Super Mario Kart and Zelda – Link to the Past are well worth revisiting. Here’s hoping the rumours are true.

The Switch debuted last Friday and it looks to have launched with an instant classic. Zelda:Breath of the Wild has picked up rave reviews being described by some as the best game in the series. Edge magazine awarded the game a coveted 10/10 score, and Eurogamer ranked it as essential. Breath of the Wild is also available on Wii U, which owners of the older console will be pleased to hear, runs the game without any major compromises and only marginal changes in graphical quality.

The Switch itself had a decent opening weekend, outselling the Wii U launch and shifting 80,000 units. We’ll be watching it closely over the next few months to see how it performs. The new Mario game later in the year will surely give it another boost.

Nintendo just revealed details of their new hybrid console and in good news for expat gamers, the system will be region free, meaning you’ll be able to buy games from wherever you like.

We got a look at several launch games, including a long trailer for the impressive looking Zelda – Breath of the Wild. A new Mario game for the system, Mario Odyssey, looked intriguing, appearing to be set in an open world city with realistic citizens walking around. Grand Theft Mario, anyone? We also saw footage of Splatoon 2, which looked good. Other confirmed games included Xenoblade Chronicles 2, Skyrim, FIFA soccer, Ultra Streetfighter 2, Steep, Minecraft, Arms – a motion controlled boxing game and several others.

Just five titles will be available at launch, Zelda, 1-2 Switch, Super Bomberman R, Skylanders Imaginators and Just Dance 2017.

Launch price will be Y29,980 which has raised a few eyebrows, but is slightly less than the Wii U Premium bundle. Peripherals do seem expensive with the pro controller going for $70 and the Joy-Con going for $50 each ($80 for a pair).

There will also be a subscription model for online play which is a shame, but it is worth pointing out that Wii U multiplayer performance is rock solid and the infrastructure for that doesn’t come cheap. There was some mention of a smartphone or device being used for online features, but we’re not yet clear on how that will work. Apparently subscribers will be entitled to play a single NES or SNES game each month, but it isn’t clear they’ll be able to keep it. Compared to the generous bundle of games offered with Playstation and XBox subscriptions this does sound somewhat Scrooge like. Overcharging for their retro content on modern system has always seemed a bit of an own goal for Nintendo but we’ll have to wait to see exactly what’s on offer before passing judgement on this.

All in all though we’re pretty pleased with this. The games look good, it’s region free and it seems to have a bit of third party support. Roll on March 3.

We got our first good look at the new Nintendo NX today thanks to footage uploaded to twitter. Henceforth it shall now be known as Nintendo Switch. Not a bad name. Might be confused with a bank card in the UK but that shouldn’t deter the hardcore fans.

Several games are shown, the exciting looking new Zelda, Splatoon, what looked like a new Mario Game, something a bit Skyrimy and one or two others.

The trailer shows off the ability of the system to switch between playing on the TV and working as a fully portable system. Someone is also shown at an airport, which hopefully means Nintendo have decided they’d actually like to sell some systems and abandoned their region locking nonsense this time around. Fingers crossed! Anyway, there’s not long to wait. Nintendo Switch will launch in March 2017.

Watch the trailer at the official site, here.

When word spread last year that Nintendo was dipping its toes into mobile markets, fans were absolutely delighted. The expectation was that we might get a gaming experience based on one of the company’s iconic characters or properties that could be downloaded onto mobile devices. Indeed, one has to imagine Nintendo could make an absolute fortune by expanding some of its most beloved titles to mobile. It all seemed inevitable.

Then Nintendo came out with Miitomo, a bizarre social app that has to be one of the bigger letdowns in Nintendo history. As Forbes put it, the app “disappoints and baffles” with its apparent desire to take on Facebook rather than produce a real gaming experience. In Miitomo, your task is to create a “Mii” avatar (you know, like you did when you first turned on your old Nintendo Wii back in 2006), and then answer questions about yourself. Your Mii then interacts with your friends’ Miis like a social network.

But for all its greatness, Nintendo is no stranger to misfires. The company has produced its share of disappointments over the years, but it always seems to rebound. So in the hopes that they’ll do just that, here are 10 ideas for better mobile apps than Miitomo.

1. Super Mario

Let’s just start with the most obvious idea. A side-scrolling, platformer Super Mario game would translate pretty well to mobile devices, and it would most likely become the most popular app in the market.

2. Donkey Kong

Pretty much any Donkey Kong experience could enjoy similar success to a Super Mario app, though it would be really cool to see Nintendo go all the way back to the original Donkey Kong arcades. Those games were not only simple enough from a control standpoint to translate well to mobile, but their pixellated quality fits in pretty well with some hot design trends in app gaming.

3. Pokémon Red/Blue

Yes, Pokémon Go is an interesting idea. But has there ever been a Nintendo game that seems more like a mobile app already than the original Pokémon Red/Blue titles? Built for Gameboy, these games were exceedingly simple from both a visual and a control standpoint. Not to mention they were some of the biggest sensations in video game history. Pokémon Mobile could be the most lucrative app in history if Nintendo decided to go for it.

4. Super Smash Bros.

There are countless mobile games that have adopted the fighter style, pitting foes against each other in simple, swipe- and tap-based combat. It wouldn’t be as sophisticated as Super Smash Bros. games on consoles, but the general format adapts well to mobile.

5. Mario Golf

This game is too often overlooked among other great N64 titles. However, IGN pointed it out in a post about Nintendo franchises that would be great on mobile, and I have to agree. The article made a few wise points about this one. First, you could load up, play a few holes, and come back later, which satisfies the desire for quick gaming sessions. Second, there could be a connected leaderboard feature to satisfy more competitive gamers.

6. Mario Kart

Mario Kart would surely be a hit, even if racing games are a little bit hit-and-miss on mobile. Even if this were done clumsily, people would love the chance to play one of the most iconic Nintendo franchises on mobile.

7. Nintendo Bingo

If Nintendo wants to keep things simple, they could look for a gaming format that allows for the placement of popular themes and characters but doesn’t actually adapt an established title. Bingo is an interesting option in this regard, as there’s a strong precedent for similar games. There are several themed titles at Gala Bingo that are available on mobile platforms and that appeal to fans of various TV shows and the like. Nintendo could do the same with their own themes and characters, using simple backgrounds, cards, and character callers to create a simple, albeit satisfying, experience.

8. Nintendo Poker

Everything I said regarding bingo would also work well with poker. These types of casino games are well established in mobile markets and don’t require a whole lot of invention to embrace themes. It would be particularly cool if a poker game allowed you to use Nintendo characters as your own avatar (you know, instead of a Mii…).

9. The Legend Of Zelda

You didn’t think I’d forget Zelda, did you? These games have covered a pretty broad spectrum of styles over the years, but some of the earlier Zelda games are every bit as simple in look and gameplay as Pokémon and could adapt very well to mobile. Indeed, it’s been tried by other companies, so frequently that Games Radar wrote up a list of 10 games that have blatantly ripped off Zelda.

10. Super Mario RPG

Possibly the most underrated Nintendo game in history, this SNES title was an extensive RPG that utilized a really interesting cast of Mario characters we just haven’t seen very often elsewhere. There’s endless evidence that RPGs work pretty well on mobile, and a Super Mario RPG comeback would be a stroke of brilliance by Nintendo.

This list could keep going and going, but you get the idea. The good news is that Miitomo is viewed as just the beginning for Nintendo’s foray into mobile markets, so let’s hope they get moving with some more interesting ideas.

The 3DS bandwagon just got a little easier to climb onto as Nintendo have announced the ‘Happy Price Selection’, a range of cut price titles for the handheld. The collection launches on March 17 and each title will sell for a little under Y3000 yen.

Titles include Animal Crossing:New Leaf, Tomodachi Collection, Luigi’s Mansion 2, Nintendogs and several others. Check here for the full selection.

We’ve been playing around with Pokemon Picross for a few days and are rather enjoying it. It’s a free game with a few restrictions but we enjoyed it nonetheless.

For those unfamiliar with Picross, you are presented with a series of grids with numbers above and to the left indicating which squares are filled. For example ‘2,3’ would indicate two filled squares, with a gap of at least one square, then three filled squares. Sometimes these numbers give you enough information to fill in a row/column immediately, sometimes you’ll be able to mark a few squares, sometimes you’ll need to get some help by working out the contents of other rows/columns. It’s a really good core game and has quite a lot of depth to it, as well as being straightforward to pick up.

This being a Pokemon game, there’s a bit more to it than that. The twist here is that every level you’ll free a Pokemon who is added to your roster. You can take a team of Pokemon into each level, where they give you special abilities, such as filling in a couple of rows, highlighting mistakes, or giving you clues on what to fill in next.

Though the freemium nature of the game is a little annoying it doesn’t spoil things too much. You will need to take breaks every now and then as you can only make a limited number of moves within a certain time, although so far we’ve been able to do several levels consecutively without this kicking in. Similarly the Pokemon time outs can be a bit restrictive, but all the levels so far have been do-able without these abilities, and the difficulty spikes have been a welcome change from the gentle overall pace. Puzzle-heads may relish these challenges, but more casual players might not be so keen.

Overall we’d thoroughly recommend taking a look at this. It’s a lot of fun and the fremium stuff isn’t too annoying. There seems to be plenty to get your teeth into, and fans of puzzles and/or Pokemon will find a lot to enjoy.

Have a look at the trailer here:

Sad news struck the gaming world earlier this week, as Nintendo President Satoru Iwata passed away at the age of 55 from bile duct cancer.

Beginning his career as a programmer, Iwata-san worked on many notable games including Earthbound and Kirby and contributed to series’ including Zelda, Mario and Pokemon. He was also instrumental in the development of the Wii and DS, two of Nintendo’s most successful consoles.

Always a gamer rather than a businessman at heart, Iwata’s passion for coding didn’t stop once he moved into management, he would frequently go back to programming and help out with development. An innovator, he was keen to expand the reach of games, and with the DS and Wii was a key player in expanding the gaming market and reaching out to new players.

A rainbow appearing over Nintendo headquarters was dubbed the ‘Rainbow Road to Heaven’ in honour of Iwata-san, a man who bought so much joy to players round the world.

There’s good news for 3DS gamers wanting to play games from other regions. An exploit has been discovered that alllows you to do just that:

link: regionFour
source: Eurogamer

Mario Kart 8 has been a joyous triumph for the Wii U. Like so many of the platform’s games it feels like the quintessential entry in the series. The first of its two bundles of DLC was a big success, bringing a generous selection of new tracks and racers to the game.

The second bundle was expected to be more of the same, but it turns out Nintendo have an extra surprise in store for us. For the first time, Mario Kart will be getting a 200c mode, effectively adding a fourth difficulty level. This means that as well as the new tracks, long term players will have a reason to go back to all the old favourites, to try and master them at this new faster speed. Unlike the extra tracks, the 200c mode will be free of charge.

Additionally, the new mode and second group of new tracks will be available earlier than planned, on April 23rd, so there isn’t that long to wait.