Dev-N

I don't remember Nintendo ever making a mistake like this before. That's too bad for Rapid Blaster mains. This IS a game themed after chaos though.

These comments remind me of how meh I felt about Mario Wonder when it first came out and how people overhyping it made me actually feel bad for dissing the New Super Mario games. I’m still giving Wonder another chance and I actually expect to like it more now, but it’s just interesting how some people have come around to how I felt a few years ago.

I’m still playing my borrowed copy of Princess Peach Showtime. It’s… interesting to say the least. I was harsh when I played the demo before the game released, but when bought for half the price and just casually playing through it, it has merit despite its technical hiccups and extremely simple gameplay. A free Switch 2 update smoothing things out would be seriously nice.

I’m still messing around in the early stages of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom. I surprisingly like exploring the Depths. Things are also getting interesting on my new island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons now that I got a three star rating. I’m getting The Roost, Harv’s Collective, and the Hotel going all at the same time!

Yoshi’s starting to get weirder, but other than that this continues to look stunning. Love how expressive the Octoombas are! I think it’s pretty clear that Peach and Toad are on their own adventure while the Mario brothers were turned into babies by Kamek and Yoshi has to battle him to change them back.

Strange how Bowser still isn’t seen again even though Junior obviously freed him. It’d be ironic if he’s become a giant like in Mario Galaxy 2 after being mini for so long.

I’m like Salmon Run’s equivalent of an X player, but I could never get gold in Eggstra Work. There’s only so many Boss Salmonids to get their own sticker.

Big Run will continue with another one at Eeltail Alley in March, but who knows after that? It could be the last one. I personally think the Spring Fest and Summer Nights repeats will be the final Splatfests.

Finally! I appreciate the free upgrade too. I stopped playing when a Switch 2 version was announced the day of Switch 2’s launch. With all the content that’s come out since then and the complete silence about this, it was a long, tough wait. Now that this exclusively-Nintendo player doesn’t have to put up with the Switch 1 jank anymore, I’m eager to start over fresh!

Wouldn’t have known about the Blaster bug because it’s been a couple of years since I’ve played the S-BLAST ’92. I somehow used to be SUPERFRESH with that back then.

As a seasoned player of evergreen games, this only makes sense. Nintendo would never abruptly drop their best-selling system anyway. It helps if the release slate of new games might be worryingly light.

There’s now Mario Kart World to join the evergreen club, too.

Meh, I’m not interested. If anything, I’ll just be curious about Disney games like whether the Kingdom Hearts games are really coming to Switch 2 and finally a release date for the Switch 2 version of Dreamlight Valley.

Solid third party support is a good thing, but Nintendo themselves need to step up more. People buy Nintendo game systems for Nintendo games, after all. I’m personally going to be OK with at least one interested game each month this late winter and spring, and the second half of 2026 will definitely be more interesting than the first, but I’m slightly concerned that Switch 2’s momentum will dip outside Japan, if not drop.

February clearly isn’t the big Direct month it used to be. Maybe it’s April now?

I think the adventure mode might end up being pretty standard despite the baby theme, but if the gameplay is solid, the online works, and the Fever Rackets are a solid gimmick and not just shoe-horned in, then this should be good. I just had a decent time with Aces, but I like the 64 game and I remember having a good time with Open on 3DS.

Posture will probably be the biggest challenge for me, but I have a high table and enough chairs. The controller would’ve been nice, but I love playing my Pro 2 controller for everything, so I’ll be fine.

Yeah, I’m largely the same, but playable Rosalina and improved visuals are enough for me. The Koopalings having something akin to “boss courses” could be interesting, even if they may or may not just be similar to bonus stages. I want to give Mario Wonder another chance, as I’ve posted before. That’s that for me, though.

Oh look, Splatoon Raiders didn’t become Splatoon 3 DLC after all. What a massive relief. I was worried…NOT.

I hope it can make it this year. If for some bizarre reason this spin-off game can’t, that might indicate this is a WAY bigger game than even I thought!

This is well-deserved for the system that liberated me from TV-only gaming at the time, as well as its stunning library across the board. I thought it would be a success, or just do anything better than Wii U, but I certainly didn’t think it would be Nintendo’s biggest. Congrats!

Never listen to the doomers. Nintendo’s 2025 actually doesn’t get enough credit. They knew exactly what they were doing with launching a new system with Mario Kart. A 3D DK did very well for not being a 3D Mario. Now I just hope that Nintendo keeps momentum with more games!

There's some bloat, but there's some genuinely good tunes in there. Here's my top five.
1. Afternoon on the Island
2. Compatibility Tester (International Ver.)- I like Japan's piano version and the music box version, too.
3. Staff Credits
4. Tomodachi Quest: Battle
5. Tomodachi Quest: Boss
Honorable mention: Food Mart, just because I always got a kick out of how silly and peppy it is whenever I quickly popped in to get something to feed a Mii.

Only got one wrong because I don’t follow LEGO news, unlike my LEGO fan sister.

Splatoon Raiders is my most hyped 2026 game by far, with Yoshi and the Mysterious Book a very distant second. I don’t even know what the gameplay is, but Raiders is Splatoon’s first spin-off game, a story hopefully big enough to stand on its own, and it stars Deep Cut. Sign me up!

Yoshi and the Mysterious Book just needs to be better than Yoshi’s Crafted World to be a win for me. I’m getting Mario Tennis Fever, but I don’t expect it to really wow me. It’ll just be a good pick-up-and-play game. For Mario Wonder, I’m just looking forward to playable Rosalina and the Koopaling boss courses.

I borrowed a copy of Princess Peach Showtime my sister got for half the price, so I’ll play that this weekend. Other than that, it’ll be a quiet weekend with mainly my evergreen games Animal Crossing and Splatoon 3. I'll revisit Tomodachi Life considering the new game coming up.

@Dark-Luigi What gets me is that these are many of the same people who demand Nintendo make more games that aren’t Mario or Zelda, yet complain when Nintendo makes more varied games like this.

Yes, I enjoyed the 3DS game and this is just a bigger, more ambitious sequel. There’s still more I want to know though. Trying to restrict image sharing is dumb, but will this go way too far and restrict taking screenshots outside of the photo studio? Is there still a Compatibility Tester or a Concert Hall? I could use more reassurance, but I’ve seen enough to know that I’ll have some fun regardless.

If he's right, meh. February might not be the big Direct month it used to be. Maybe it's April now? I actually wouldn't have expected much from a general Direct anyway. I'm even starting to get doubtful about 3D Mario this year.

I'll just hope that Tomodachi Life and Yoshi meet expectations, keep looking forward to my almost-certain-GOTY Splatoon Raiders, and Luigi's Mansion 4 being the only major first-party announcement I can be hopeful for this year. 2026 may be quiet, but I can always use more time to clear my backlog!

This Direct was a good 7. I'm still getting the game and looking forward to it, but I'm not quite as hyped as I should be because I'm tempted to worry about the image sharing restrictions and the perceived lack of some features. But, again, it's still early.

Doesn't sound like we're being restricted from making screenshots outside of the photo studio at all, only sharing them. Weirdly cumbersome.

But of course people will find ways to work around this!

Does restricting image sharing mean we can't even take many screenshots outside of the photo studio? That would be incredibly disappointing for me. I'll be taking hundreds of photos...

They obviously won't show everything and it's early with two months to go, but there's more I want to know. I hope there's still a Compatibility Tester. I didn't use it much, but no more Concert Hall would be a shame. I guess there may not be a way to download other people's Miis or designs in general and I might have to make everything myself.

Oh well, I'm still looking forward to this!

Yep, it’s more Tomodachi Life, but with a greater Mii creator hopefully on par with or close to Miitopia’s and lots of landscaping. Wasn’t really expecting much more than that. I’ll still play this on the Switch 2 rather than the 1, like I do with any Switch 1 game released since the 2 launched. Having watched this on the Switch 1’s YouTube app on the TV, the game looks pretty good for what it is, so an S2 edition might’ve been unnecessary anyway.

Feels great to finally know when the game is coming out!

I'm OK with them. They're just there like the Fizzbangs have just been there in Splatfest when they were added. They might encourage some cooperation.

But I don't play Turf War in 3 anywhere near as much as I used to, so it's not anything radical for me personally. They can test the waters (or should I say the ink?) for Splatoon 4 all they want.

I like to imagine Baron K. Roolenstein is the one putting Dixie and Kiddy in time-out, but it’s probably just Cranky.

But the first Country’s Game Over has haunted me since childhood. DK and Diddy standing sad and bruised in darkness while sad jungle music plays.

This is my big Nintendo-related news for today! Having two more games is a decent concession after all these years of shunning the Switch.

These will be great to have on my Switch 2 alongside my already-transferred Aladdin, The Lion King, and The Jungle Book. February will be a great month for me for sure!

Good thing I splurged on the main accessory rather than the cheap(er) cardboard. Those Game-Boy-like colors are easier on the eyes for sure, but I don’t know if I’ll use them a lot though. Seeing red is the Virtual Boy’s signature.

I preordered not that long ago. I’m honestly intrigued about playing Virtual Boy for the first time, and playing unreleased games only makes it better.

Good thing I splurged on the main accessory, not that I would resort to cheap cardboard anyway. Playing with Game Boy colors should be refreshing after seeing red too much.

Don’t know how Gateway Galaxy got a cloud ring, but I like it. I’m more curious about the spaceships.

I don’t play Turf War like I used to, but even I can recognize how huge these gameplay changes are. Making it harder to hit a swimming opponent? Changed hit boxes? Health bars in Splatoon?! These are the kinds of changes I’d expect more from Splatoon 4, not the current game…

Yeah, Splatoon 3 isn’t going anywhere. More Splatfests, more Big Runs, and now VERY different Turf War battles.

@TripleJump WarioWare reused several tracks from Wario Land 4, which I didn’t know until I finally played that game many years later. I hope this is a step toward that game coming to NM at some point!

Not sure how Walmart can get this kind of information but I'm not ruling it out. I'm surprised Super Mario Sunshine is taking a while, but I'd say my most wanted GCN game might be Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour.

Excellent, I still play this game on Nintendo Classics. It’s the perfect pick-and-up-play-game. I even got a high score of 88 in the Thrilling mode recently!

Here’s my Top Five
1. Nature (Kat & Ana)- Four Seasons
2. Sci-Fi (Dribble & Spitz)- Drifting Away
3. Staff Credits
4. Pyoro: Stage
5. Menu

Even with all the repeating micro tracks, this might be my favorite addition to the app since Paper Mario TTYD. Those micro tracks could make for fun intermissions for my playlists like a random radio commercial. Having the music for an old, obscure Nintendo game like Sheriff and WarioWare’s versions of Gnat Attack (Fly Swatter) and Dr. Mario (Dr. Wario) is also pretty neat.

Yes, Waddle Doo has been buffed! He's one of my mains.

I'm glad that they did anything for the Machine Market and custom machines. I still think limiting ourselves to just twenty decals is way too restrictive though. It makes the so-called "weight limit" of Smash Bros. Ultimate's Stage Builder look generous...

People need to be reminded that Tomodachi Life was one of the 3DS’s best sellers. There’s quite a few things to do in Tomodachi Life and Living the Dream is hopefully a bit more ambitious than the 3DS game, so there’s enough to talk about to justify it’s own Direct. And this allows a big Direct to spend more time showing other games.

I’m still sure a big February Direct is happening. Things like Switch 2 editions, a movie, and a Switch 1 game like Tomodachi Life (even if it gets a S2 edition) are mainly fluff that can be cleared out before a big Direct that is mostly focused on Switch 2 and new games. No problem.

@Nep-Nep-Freak Whoops, I meant after. Kind of busy at the moment…

@Anti-Matter I know, most people outside of the Internet won’t care, but it’s still a funny oddity.

The April Fools’ Day timing is weird, but whatever.

It’s interesting how this is coming out just under a week after Mario Wonder’s Switch 2 edition comes out, unlike the original version being much later in the year of the first movie.

My second most anticipated game of 2026 behind Splatoon Raiders. I’ve been tired of all the vague Spring 2026 release windows. I like how Nintendo is gearing up early this year!

No, this still doesn’t change my hope for a normal Direct. There could still be a big Switch-2-focused Direct in February. That’s when I would expect Yoshi and Splatoon to reappear along with more new games.

There'll be one more trailer at the beginning of March just like last time.

The April Fools' Day release is kind of funny. It's also just under a week after the Switch 2 edition of Mario Wonder comes out, so perfect timing there. They must've learned their lesson when there wasn't any Mario game around the original movie until Mario Wonder came much later that year.

Yoshi looks and sounds great, so that's a relief. This trailer looked lovely on my Switch's YouTube app on the OLED TV.

So now, if anything, I just wonder how much time they spend on Mushroom World before finally going to space. I might not expect Wario at this rate, but seeing Birdo as well as the Ninjis fighting Peach makes me wonder if even Wart might appear? Keegan Michael Key mentioned there would be "deep cut" characters.

With a lot of snow likely coming here soon, I’m staying home all weekend, so it’s a good time to play games while staying warm!

I’m gradually trying to get used to Zelda Tears of the Kingdom again in my effort to finally beat it this year. I might try some Turbo Attack time trials in Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (I got gold in the Crazy Cart level) while enjoying Dixie being in the game now. Besides those, it’s the usual Animal Crossing or Salmon Run in Splatoon.

I mainly remember him for the Mario Kart series, but he’s definitely done a lot more. The 3DS is most likely my favorite Nintendo handheld pre-Switch. Not knowing this until over half a year later might be strange, but it’s an understandable privacy thing.

Yeah, I definitely think it’s odd this is on a Sunday. Not only do I have church, but a snow storm, too!

Oh well, it’s just going to be Shigeru, Chris, and maybe one or two more saying brief remarks before a trailer. Not too much at all. And this is yet another palate cleanser before the February Direct.

Hoping to see Yoshi and Wario this time!

How they handle Yoshi in particular is my only possible concern with the movie at this point. I’d rather him just say “Yoshi” rather than speak like in the Mario World cartoon, even if he technically talked in the early stages of Mario Galaxy 2…