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Oh no, don’t get this K. Rool fan’s hopes up. He’s just part of the daily animation for that theme, which should pay tribute to the whole DK series anyway. K. Rool’s and Void’s actors could just as easily have voiced background characters. But now I can’t help fantasizing about King K. Rool eating a kabob and turning into Kaptain K. Rool at Wario Shipyard or eating popcorn and turning into Baron K. Roolenstein at Boo Cinema. Thanks a lot…

DK and Pauline having only ONE costume is truly suspicious though. I just don’t expect Mario Kart World to have a paid DLC expansion until later next year.

@OldGamer999 Agreed. I’m expecting Luigi’s Mansion 4 next October. Considering how gorgeous 3 looked on Switch 1, 4 will be jaw-dropping on 2!

My Switch 2 is still in perfect condition and playing the Pro 2 controller still feels like a dream. I don’t buy many games anyway, especially with today’s prices, but I don’t think 2’s Year One lineup was ever going to top 1’s. It’s admirable how well it’s doing though. It’s not going to slow down at all.

Nintendo’s few heavy hitters this year have still been heavy for sure. Mario Kart, DK, and even Kirby Air Riders have been such amazing experiences that it’ll personally be hard for next year’s games to top or match those three for me. 2026 seems to have a lot of “smaller” or filler games. Only Splatoon Raiders truly excites me right now, and that one should be bigger than we expect!

I haven't played in weeks (and I actually love Mario Kart World) thanks to Kirby Air Riders, but I'll come back for this out of curiosity. Nice to see that the ridiculous grind for Fish Bone at the hot springs like I had to do in mock local multiplayer is finally gone.

Oooh, I’ll be having this DK theme for sure. I’ve just had Splatoon since the beginning. The Snowmads are perfect timing considering I’ve just gotten my first real snow of December. Maybe I’ll alternate between Splatoon and DK depending on the month?

I’m still torn as ever between ranking Kazooie or Tooie higher, but Tooie is truly a splendid game. Grander scale, bigger stages, epic boss battles, equally good music, and keeping the charm intact despite the darker undertones, not to mention that FPS minigame. Just certain Jiggies and its performance compared to the buttery smooth Kazooie hinder it for me.

This game doesn’t get talked about enough here. Yes, I’d love another City Trial map too, as well as more race courses and characters. It’s truly one of Air Riders’ few downsides. Having a complete package of a game at release in this day and age is great, but for an online multiplayer game like this, it’s disappointing to know that there’ll never be something new to look forward to and more classic characters like Nago, Ribbon and Elfilin will never be playable in this game.

I’m not really worried about the online scene fading anytime soon. Making, sharing, and buying custom machines alone should keep some people’s interest for a while!

I’m playing Salmon Run in Splatoon 3 to attempt to get the gold badge for Jammin’ Salmon Junction.

I still have to beat Road Trip in Kirby Air Riders. I got worn out from grinding miles to buy a beautiful Paper Star of Ribbon from Kirby 64, but I don’t want to go through something like that again! You better hurry to buy a new machine you like before it gets popular and stupidly expensive. I could really use some tips for farming miles in Air Riders. Pretty sure I played dozens of Air Ride and Top Ride races and just a few City Trials…

And I still need to get the Lanky Kong statue in Donkey Kong Bananza. It’s WAY harder than the first event, but considering the rewards, I shouldn’t be surprised.

Good article, this is my second favorite Mario & Luigi behind Superstar Saga and one of my top DS games. Always felt it was underrated. I didn’t even know there was complaining about long boss battles. The one I really struggled with as a teen was Princess Shroob, which was just trickier than I thought.

Nintendo's increasingly deep relationship with Bandai-Namco over the years doesn't make this a surprise. I look forward to seeing their work on Splatoon Raiders and Splatoon 4 in the future!

I'm familiar with Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, but I never got past that horrible Minotaur boss. He was just the first boss, too! I know the game gets better after that, much like the first game got better after the Underworld. It's a shame that Uprising doesn't consider that game canon just because it never released in Japan.

I’ll get mine anytime now after preordering on Amazon when it was first available. Should be good to occasionally revisit just like Nintendo’s art books from Dark Horse I’ve gotten. Not having the new final chapter is a shame knowing how good it is, but it’s not a deal breaker.

Mario Party games usually have long OSTs and I'm sure there's some bangers in here, but I haven't played Jamboree as much as I've wanted to. Just like Kirby's Dream Buffet, I'll have to do some serious listening to figure out my top three and five. I can enjoy the remixes of older Mario Party music, at least.

My only cons so far are the relatively few tracks in the game, Skyah being the one and only stage for City Trial, the character roster being smaller than expected, and the machine customization being weirdly restrictive despite still being good. I haven’t unlocked everyone, but it already seems like quite a few fan-favorite characters have missed out and will never be in this game because of no DLC.

My Machine only allows 20 decals, the camera is wonky, and there’s not a way to make objects thicker or thinner vertically, not just horizontally. Hasn’t stopped me from making a trio of lovely machines of Splatoon’s Deep Cut, with more to come!

9. I have almost zero history with Air Ride, only familiar with its music over the years. But as a Kirby fan as well as much of Sakurai’s work, I wanted to take the plunge, and I’m so glad I did!

This game is a blast. A must-play for any Kirby fan. Sakurai scores again! Fun, lots of content, great for pick-up-and-play, stunning cutscenes, excellent soundtrack, and rewardingly deep gameplay for those patient and intentional enough to stick with it. It helped that I got my bearings in the Test Ride demo first.

Top Ride is addicting. Making custom machines has been a bigger hit than I thought. Road Trip seems rather repayable with its multiple paths. And I haven’t even played online yet! Trust me, don’t dismiss this game or give up on it too easily.

Now that my recent wild work days are behind me, I can concentrate on Kirby Air Riders! I'll still make time for my usual Animal Crossing and Splatoon, but Kirby obviously gets the fire lion's share of my playtime for being a new game. A new game packed with content!

Nope. It’s not just sticker shock, it’s highway robbery. Maybe once they collect too much dust on store shelves and hooks, places like GameStop might make them go on sale? But I probably still won’t be interested. I’d want more unique characters to have amiibo than just Kawasaki.

My first machine, Shiver Star, is now ready! She's a Formula Star.

This is pretty fun! Too bad you're limited to 20 decals, and I would've liked a better ability to make shapes thinner or thicker, but I can work with this.

I’m sure someone’s made them already, but I want to make my own machines based on each member of Splatoon’s Deep Cut: Shiver Star (no relation to the snow world from Kirby 64), Frye Star and Big Man Star.

Who needs Bikini Kawasaki when you can have Macho Dedede? That one could actually stay on there.

Maybe I'm just biased as a big DK fan, but Bananza is absolutely phenomenal. Never a dull moment. One of the best 3D platformers ever. A total love letter to the DK series that goes above and beyond what fans could ever hope for.

It's one of those games you wish you could forget so you could experience it all over again. THAT finale. Can we talk about it yet without spoiler tags? It's simply unforgettable.

Yet another Smash reference! And just like Smash, these will repeat after they're all done.

Loving the game. If it wasn't for work so much, I'd be diving in harder and I know for sure I will tomorrow.

I'd say the biggest things that somewhat unnerved me were venturing inside Banjo's burned-out house with its sad theme playing, meeting the plesiosaur that looked like a total boss at first until you find out you had to help it with stomach ulcers, and feeling bad for Klungo getting abused by Grunty whenever he failed beating Banjo and Kazooie and looking visibly worse every time I fought him.

I was actually kind of interested in zombified King Jingaling for his mumbling about the game's bosses. Mr. Patch was just a silly, Yoshi-like monstrosity. The two dragons were so cool, even after they were revealed to have cute, little bodies underneath their impressive heads and necks! Those two alone probably serve as a great example for this game's dark, yet still silly tone.

Besides, he must be at least a little humble if he always accepts Nintendo telling him to work on Smash Bros. over and over again, or even Air Riders, apparently. Still find it hard to believe Air Riders was Nintendo’s idea, not Sakurai’s.

Good for him trying to stay humble even though he does put himself out there a lot. It would be too easy to have an ego with his kind of accomplishments. More people should share his thoughts on interviews….

Not surprised by the divisive, but still mostly positive, reception considering the first game, but even just from the demo, this seems to be a game that could reward you handsomely if you stick with it. I know I will. If I ultimately liked the demo despite its flaws, I won’t be surprised if I’m blown away by the full game!

Never seriously played Air Ride, but I jumped on this game because it’s made by Sakurai and his Sora team, it’ll have loads of new content BECAUSE it’s made by Sakurai and company, and it’s clearly a must-have for any Kirby fan. Even just listening to the music on Nintendo Music has been a unique way to get hyped.

I got a head start from the demo thanks to starting out poorly, but winning a few Stadiums and almost all the races in the end, so I’m not intimidated by the learning curve. Challenge accepted!

The demo should've been better. Why not have allowed us to play Air Ride mode offline at any time? It was silly to have that mode open only when the City Trial was live even though it was offline only. No Top Ride was also a mistake. Doing some things differently might've made a difference for some people.

Yes, I already had it pre-ordered. Even though I didn’t seriously play the original, I trusted Sakurai and his Sora team to deliver another high-quality game, and I’m a Kirby fan anyway. Kirby almost never disappoints.

I’ve spent a few hours on the demo. Air Ride is clearly the kind of game that takes time to click. I went from being almost totally incompetent at City Trial to winning a few Stadiums. I’ll likely still enjoy the racing itself the most. Learning all the different machines and getting the right combos will be the biggest challenge.

I don’t know if it’ll top Mario Kart World, but I know I’ll enjoy Kirby Air Riders quite a bit. There’s still the Top Ride mode, collecting gummies, listening to a bunch of music, more characters, and the Road Trip story mode to look forward to. All that will keep me entertained enough!

I’m good with both of them. I wondered more about Link than Zelda. However, the million rupee question is whether Link will speak or not. I’ve still been very torn about that since this movie was first announced, and it still seems like it could go either way. Guess we won’t know until there’s finally the first trailer, which probably won’t happen until a year or so from now.

Watch, there'll be an event at Lagoon or Landfill, but without Peekabopoid Demolisher and perks for beating enemies a certain way. One of those two layers will TRULY shine then!

Odd how Agent 3 represents Splatoon Raiders when there’s a little artwork of Mechanic and Deep Cut in their outfits already.

I’m looking forward to my Nintendo Switch Year In Review any day now!

They look pretty good to me. I want to see more characters and how the animated monsters will look. I’m still not sure whether Link will speak. Too bad it’ll be a long time before we get a trailer.

On another note, I seriously love getting notified by Nintendo Today and seeing something there first before anywhere else. Makes big Nintendo news feel just a little more special.

I’ll gladly take any acknowledgment of these two in many years!

Hilltop Layer is tough with its lack of enemies. I’m not worried about having a hard time with this rush, though.

I'm playing the Test Ride for Kirby Air Riders again this weekend. I think I'm doing a little better in City Trial. I actually won a Dustup Derby at the end with Waddle Dee on Rex Wheelie!

Just the usual Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Salmon Run in Splatoon 3 and Mario Kart World otherwise.

Makes me think how much time they'll spend on the Mushroom World before they actually go into space.

Like I posted before, I think they'll also take a proper visit to Yoshi's Island instead of just passing through. Thing is, that green Yoshi hatched in Brooklyn. Maybe they'll try to return him home only to end up bringing him along on their space adventure?

Ugh, the potshots at Mario Galaxy 1 when ranking 2 higher. I used to like 2 more, but in recent years I've come to better appreciate 1's more somber tone. Rosalina played a much bigger role the first time. Unlike 2, I've beaten 1 many times over the years without it ever feeling "vanilla" at all.

I'd say WarioWare Gold should be the best WarioWare, but it sadly came way too late for people to notice. I can understand why the first game is still so great. Even nowadays, I often find myself coming back to play Mega Microgame$ on Nintendo Classics for a quick break. Perfect for pick-up-and-play!

I agree with Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour for best Mario sports game, Superstar Saga for best Mario & Luigi, and as much as I love the original games with the Kremling Krew, Tropical Freeze for best Donkey Kong Country.

Is this Kirby’s “You’re a kid now! You’re a squid now!” moment?

I guess they wanted to capture that silly 2000’s commercial nostalgia. Good; Nintendo hasn’t made commercials like they used to!

Mmm hm, I had that long matchmaking for City Trial once. It was awful. Made me go take a break and leave the game running. But that's what this demo is for!

Other than that, this game runs very smoothly. City Trial and getting to grips with all these different machines will take time, but the full game will no doubt keep me entertained enough. There's still the racing itself, Top Ride, collecting gummies, custom machines, and a story mode with Road Trip.

Like Tostarena, I'm sure Mario and company will make a proper visit to Yoshi's Island rather than just passing through in the first movie. I guess that casino scene is like a bonus stage for fighting a bunch of enemies, like the ones in Galaxy 2 or 3D World.

Feeling awkward about Bowser Jr. sounding much older, but I’m happy with Rosalina! Nice that she’s actually called a princess. It’s always bothered me when Nintendo would never call her one in the games despite clearly looking like one. It made me think she might’ve been a queen at times.

I was right about Junior freeing his papa from his cage. The movie looks gorgeous already. Watching a Mario movie on an IMAX will be a feast for the eyes again. I still want to see another trailer, especially with no Yoshi yet.

I barely even remember Dream Buffet itself, let alone the music! It was a decent, little game, but the grind got boring for me and the online died very quickly.

I'd much rather have had any game from the main series or Kirby Air Ride. Feels pretty lame to give a spin-off like this more of a priority, even if it was an anniversary thing. I'll still listen to this OST later out of curiosity.

Once again, I’m not expecting greatness, but a fun time. It’ll be nice if it’s better than the first movie, but I just don’t see them taking things seriously at all. There’s no avoiding Rosalina’s story, but I don’t expect Illumination to make it hit hard like Disney or Pixar would. They might just gloss over it with flashbacks.

What I’m looking forward to seeing is more characters, even obscure Mario Galaxy characters and bosses. Bowser Jr. could have a nice dynamic with Jack Black Bowser. I hope that one Mexican rumor about Wario being a secondary antagonist is real! Yoshi looks fine to me, but the million dollar question is, will he just say, “Yoshi” or will he talk?

Might not be the best 3D art, but it’s fine to me. His eyes just seem extra cheery.

I still remember how artwork of Mario was leaked for the first movie and people were unsure until actual movie footage was shown. Come on with that first Mario Galaxy Movie Direct, Nintendo!

He looks fine to me. Bowser Jr. was always a lock. The Earth-like planet is obviously the Mushroom World. I was hoping for the first Direct this week, so this just makes me think it's coming that much more!

I’m playing the Kirby Test Ride demo this weekend, mainly today and next Saturday. I got used to it more quickly than I thought, but all the different machines and City Trial will take a lot of getting used to. Definitely going to be trying out a bunch of combinations once there’s the full game. Everything looks and plays great, and the GCN controller is perfect, unsurprisingly.

Splatoon 3’s Salmon Run and Mario Kart World are my regulars, but I’m playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons more intensely the rest of this world to get my island started up and prepared for next year’s update. Trying to fully expand my house as quickly as possible by diving for sea creatures to sell. Still my best way to make bells!

So basically any Octoling invites Cece and any Inkling invites Viche, though Callie invites Cece. Odd how Smallfry only invites Cece, unlike being either/or with Big Man.

I’ll use Shiver and Frye anyway, but it’s nice of them to allow more ways to unlock them than just their character’s amiibo.

I think it’s interesting that many people are treating Mario Kart World as if it’s a pack-in game like Wii Sports. If that’s the case, it won’t be topped, at least not for a long time.

And if or when Nintendo decides to give the game significant DLC, it’ll get that much more of a boost, in total spite of the likelihood it’ll be paid DLC and the Internet squawks about a technically $100 game.

It's just a summary of Sakurai's extensive, in-depth analysis. I think playing the demo alone will be enough to reassure me. I may not be 100% certain about Air Riders' gameplay, but I trust Sakurai and his Sora team wholeheartedly!

Good first impression of the app here. Everything seemingly runs smoothly. It seems like a good transition to the store site. The play activity effortlessly recording everything from long ago, right down to the minutes, is very impressive for this kind of tracking not being available for so long.

I hope the notifications prove effective just like the Nintendo Today ones have been when it comes to a new Direct or shock game announcement.