Fizza

Huh!?

Like, I get it from a target-audience standpoint but....HUH!?!?!?

Confusion aside, it does look like just as much of a delightfully goofy romp as the other modern LEGO games. I definitely feel like it leans more towards the 'LEGO' part of the title than the 'Horizon' bit but it still looks immensely charming all the same.

god Antonblast just OOZES personality from every possible angle holy s***

Really want to give it a go later down the line, though I'd rather play through a couple Wario Land games beforehand so that I can get a better picture of the kind of platformer Antonblast is. Still looks fantastic though and its definitely going to be one for the future!

HOLY S*** ALL FIVE OF THEM!? THAT'S INCREDIBLE! 🤩

I'm extremely surprised Capcom signed off on this given how notoriously stingy 3rd-parties are with putting their games on NSO and it is admittedly very funny that we got the Game Boy Mega Man games before any of the NES ones (I know they're on the Legacy Collection but you get what I mean) but I don't care whatsoever because this might be one of the most high-quality drops around (with IV and V in particular apparently being fantastic platformers in their own right). I've become highly obsessed with the Blue Bomber over the last year so I'll definitely be checking these out whenever I get the chance!

Oh wow that's great! I actually bought the original Yooka-Laylee (plus Impossible Lair) in an eShop sale a couple months back so its nice to have an excuse to finally dive into it in prep for this new remaster! The original YL has a fair amount of problems from what I recall so I hope they'll go about fixing them in addition to the pretty great visual facelift they have in place too

LM2 is a big personal favourite of mine (especially due to it being my introduction to Luigi's Mansion as a series) but I'm not really sure I could wholeheartedly recommend grabbing this, as much as I so desperately want to.

It looks like a pretty good facelift visual-wise (nowhere near as good as LM3 but eh: it is what it is) and LM2's core gameplay is going to feel even better with a proper controller, but the pricepoint is still utterly ridiculous for the content being offered and it seems like it'll be locked to 30FPS at all times which is a big shame; I'm no framerate snob in the slightest, but when the original managed to achieve between 40-60FPS on a decade-old handheld, it feels a bit silly that the Switch can't get it running at around the same level when its much more powerful.

I am planning on doing a series marathon of Luigi's Mansion over the course of next year though so I'll almost certainly be picking this port up then to see how it fares compared to the 3DS original. I just wish I could recommend it in good conscience right now 🥲

Not exactly the Donkey Kong series I was hoping would get NSO icons personally but I'm always a sucker for these types of game-specific icon parts so eh XD

I find it absolutely fascinating how, despite Splatoon being conceived as Nintendo's big online multiplayer IP, most of the playerbase's issues with the game/series would be remedied by it being an entirely single-player experience instead XD

I'd much rather Splatoon 4 come out much later than this would suggest personally as Splatoon games have historically had pretty rocky development cycles (S2 was most likely made in under 2 years, S3 was being developed during the pandemic, etc.) and given how much S3 tried to tie up loose ends from both a story and gameplay perspective, I have a feeling Splatoon 4 is going to be a RADICAL reinvention of the series and would like to see it get the time it needs as a result.

alternatively this could just be a codename for a spinoff/more DLC and we're all losing our marbles for nothing XD

While I do like the more abstract weapon-focused composition of the North American cover....yeah no there's no beating Toriyama. His style is so instantly synonymous with the series that seeing a Dragon Quest game without it feels so incredibly off in a way that's hard to really describe in writing. Japan definitely gets my vote for this week.

Might seem like an odd choice, but I'd love one of those painting/portrait-styled LEGO sets with the map of Link To The Past as its filled to the brim with so many little details that would translate over to LEGO incredibly well. Plus you could even have it so that the front contains the map of the Light World while the back contains the Dark World; its too perfect to pass up in my opinion


also yes I'd like the next set to be in the realm of affordability XD

we've technically already had an animated Minecraft series on Netflix if you think about it 🤔

I'm very surprised it took them as long as they did to make a proper animated Minecraft series given the sheer popularity of the IP but hey: better late than never I suppose 🥴

also, a small extra tidbit, the studio making this got revealed to be WildBrain Studios who are mainly known for making animated series aimed at a pretty young audience (perhaps most infamously with that Mega Man cartoon from a couple years back) so maybe temper your expectations accordingly XD

tf did Splash Wall do to the devs 😭

@FishyS Don't you mean pick and cross?

Pretty much as expected really; its very hard to mess up the standard Picross formula and I'm all for introducing elements like crossover sprite puzzles to keep things fresh every so often. As a matter of fact, seeing Jupiter cross over with both SEGA and Namco now has me really excited at the potential prospect of them doing the same with Capcom's arcade library at some point. There's a ton of great games/series to pull from as well between Street Fighter, Ghosts N Goblins, Final Fight and a whole bunch more so I'd love to see them do one like that down the line if possible!

Hmm, a tricky one this week for sure. I usually prefer RPG boxarts like For The Sequel's where the party's all together in one collective image, but at the same time I almost always associate Bravely Default with the minimalistic stylings of Flying Fairy's art. Think I'm going to give the edge to NA/JP this time round but both are excellent honestly (and remind me that I really should give the series a go sometime down the line XD).

I'm not too well-versed in FE myself (only really played Blazing Blade and still haven't actually beaten it at that) but saying that ALL the strategy elements should go away feels like you're letting your personal biases with the series take over logical thinking. Do I like the gameplay of strategy games myself? Not particularly. But saying that should be taken out of FIRE EMBLEM purely because the social-sim elements draw more people in feels like it'd have the exact opposite effect you're proposing and end up cutting off a huge corner of the existing fanbase who enjoy FE for its gameplay above all else (see games like Engage or Thracia 776).

I think a change that could hopefully appease everyone would be to structure it more like Rival Schools (specifically the Japanese version) where the core game is still the series' tried-and-true turn-based strategy, but there's now a new mode focused entirely on the social-sim elements that is completely separate from the main game, allowing the devs to hone both to a sheen without either getting in the way of each other.

I think a good one could be 'what is your favourite series you've been introduced to on Switch?' as between remakes/remasters, collections and NSO, the Switch has been a breeding ground for retro/3rd-Party content for pretty much its entire life. I've been introduced to countless different series thanks to the Switch (Ace Attorney, Splatoon, Castlevania, etc.) and I imagine tons of others are the same.

OH MY GOD WE'RE GOING TO GET A VIVIAN NSO ICON HOLY S*** WAIT

I will absolutely be buying every single one of these the moment they come out and none of you can stop me.

Dead Cells has always had a very goofy style outside of the game itself (particularly in all of its animated DLC trailers) so I'm very glad this adaptation sticks to that sort of vibe while still looking wonderfully distinct. I'm also really curious as to how the story's going to play out as Dead Cells (the game) is very light on actual narrative besides environmental interactables so it should be an interesting watch all around. Can't wait for the English dub to come out in a couple months time!

MORE PICROSS BABY YEAHHHHHHHHHHH I LOVE PICROSS

I've been slowly chipping away at the original Picross S since the end of last year (currently about 30 puzzles away from finishing the whole thing) so hearing news of a new one always puts a big smile on my face. Great to see them do another gaming crossover again as well: given how many they've done in the past, I'm surprised this only the third one on Switch after the SEGA and Overlord ones.

Fun fact: the average Metacritic critic score for the remake is currently sitting higher than the original game!

it feels so good to be so back XD

THE REMAKE IS GOOD THANK THE F***ING LORD 😭

Not reading too deep into this review myself as I'm going to try and remain as spoiler-free as I can (well, as spoiler-free as you can get for a remake of a nearly 20-year-old game XD) but I am just so glad that my most anticipated release of this year has ended up just as good as the original (if not even better).

I unfortunately won't be able to actually get my hands on it until about a month after release (summer exams are currently killing me XD) but I don't think I could ask for a better way to signal in the freedom summer will bring than this 🥰

SHE DID IT: SHE ACTUALLY MANAGED TO DO IT

I was on Team Bucket List myself and holy hell this might be one of the most bonkers Splatfest runs I've ever had honestly: managed to win both of my matches on ROM-en Tricolour on Defenders, won five 10x's nearly back-to-back and even managed to get my first 100x win in nearly a year. Ended up with about 400K Clout total and I couldn't be happier honestly; delighted that Frye finally managed to take it home for the first time in a long while!

@chapuH Given the way certain people acted during the Deep Cut Splatfest, I'm personally more terrified than excited at the prospect of doing a similar thing but with EVERY idol XD

SASHIMORI MY BELOVED I NEVER THOUGHT I'D SEE YOU AGAIN

I haven't kept up much with Splatoon lately due to the unending pressure of summer exams but this is looking like a great season! The new Splatana and Stringer look super fun, Lemuria Hub is basically 'what if Saltspray Rig was good' and BIG Big Run sounds like a disaster in the best and most enjoyable way possible. Excited for Sizzle 2024 to arrive and I hope to God there's more seasons after it!

also, that shot at the end....that's not implying what I think its implying, is it?

because if it is....oh god XD

Given how the series' 30th Anniversary is in 2026, I'm pretty sure saying that Gen 10 is coming out that year is less of a 'leak' and more just 'astute observation'.

If previous anniversaries are anything to go by though (DP for the 10th, SM for the 20th and PLA for the 25th) then I can definitely see Gen 10 being a banger and a half. I've ended up becoming kind of jaded on Gen 9 so far personally; I still really enjoy it and it certainly does a lot right, but it really does feel like almost every cool thing it does ends up being undermined by something else (particularly in its region design) so a new Generation that's able to learn from the mistakes of the former sounds like it'd be a great time all around.

I still have my qualms about moving the series into an open-world direction (especially when PLA's open-zone structure worked perfectly fine) but I'm willing to give it a chance because, at the end of the day, it's still Pokemon: of course I'm gonna like it XD

It's always very fun/funny observing the dichotomy between the review and reader score in these kinds of lists: seeing the reviewer absolutely rip into Alleyway while the reader aggregrate has it ranked higher than positively-reviewed stuff like Blast Master: Enemy Below is endlessly enjoyable to analyse XD

The Game Boy NSO library is a strange one for me as, for the most part, it's been surprisingly underwhelming. Sure, there are absolutely highlights (chief among them being Mario Land 2 and the three 2D Zelda games) and I massively respect the system from a historical standpoint....but YIKES there is not a lot of substance to most of the games on it 😅

Still hopeful we'll get something like Gen 1-2 of Pokemon though; those games getting added would make me do a complete 180 on the entire app XD

Konami will do literally anything with Castlevania except actually make a new game 🫠

I'm not sure how I feel about the Netflix series implanting the idea that Castlevania as a whole is a very mature and adult piece of media when like....no? Sure its creepy but there's almost never anything that's outright scary either; its mainly built off of the vibes of its creatures/locations and assuming its just another horror-centric series does kind of undermine a lot of CV's appeal in my opinion.

....can you tell I've gotten very into this series over the past couple months XD

People finally getting Mario Land 1 after months of asking for it only to realise/remember that the game itself is very middling has been a very funny thing to witness play-out online XD

This lineup is....alright though. All three games seem to be unified under the theme of 'early Game Boy launch window titles' and from a historical standpoint, they're pretty cool (especially Alleyway being a blatant Breakout ripoff XD). I'll definitely be playing Mario Land 1 whenever I can and I'll probably dabble in the other two titles in my spare time over the next while as well, not a terrible selection in all honesty.

In my opinion, it feels almost impossible to examine Braid from an objective angle because sure: nowadays, its pretty simple (perhaps to a fault) in terms of the general indie game landscape. But for 2008? Having a game that stood in such staunch defiance of what was expected out of a 2D platformer was/still is incredibly important in establishing indie games as we know them today.

I've personally never gotten the opportunity to actually experience Braid until this port and will definitely be picking this new version up....once it goes on sale that is (listen, I know I just sang this game's praises to hell and back, but at the end of the day its still a 15+ year old title XD).

Pretty confident that I'll be grabbing this on or around about release myself. Never played the original NES Remix titles personally but I'm a sucker for speedrunning challenges that are baked into a game's core gameplay loop (Crash Bandicoot is a great example with its Time Trial Relics) so I'll probably have a good time with NWC: NES Edition. I am hoping its a bit meatier than what the trailer has let onto though

Yeah no arguments from me, Japan easily takes the cake this week: great composition, far more visually striking and Firebrand himself actually looks like a cunning monster rather than....whatever the hell his facial expression is trying to convey in the Western version XD

Holy hell, I was not expecting a 10! I haven't had too much of an interest in Animal Well personally as my experience with Metroidvanias has been pretty limited for the most part so far, but this is definitely going on the wishlist now. Glad to see BIGMODE's first title live up to the hype!

imagine f***ing up a rebrand so badly to the point that Nintendo themselves actively want nothing to do with you

I've used the Twitter integration feature in order to send over my screenshots/videos for a good while now as trying to do the whole QR code method always ends up crashing my system (an issue that a good amount of people seem to have as well if timeline scrolling is anything to go by) so this certainly throws a spanner in the works. I've been slowly prepping for moving my operations over to Facebook (🤢) as I figured this was going to happen sooner rather than later and lo and behold: here we are.

Gonna try and move as many screenshots/videos over in the month I have left but yeah: what a disaster from Twitter's perspective.

@dartmonkey NES Remix: The Remixening

Very surprised they didn't save this for the confirmed June Direct but I don't really mind in the slightest because this looks like a great time. Still unsure as to whether it's worth the €30 entry fee (even if the Deluxe Edition is suitably brilliant) and I really wish they managed to snag some 3rd Party titles for this (Mega Man 2, Castlevania, Pac-Man, etc.) but besides those minor grievances, this is looking like a really cool evolution of the NES Remix titles and I'll probably end up picking it up later down the line!

also, as an aside, there's something so immensely jarring yet charming about seeing the most basic LiveSplit-esque timer in the bottom lefthand corner of the gameplay XD

I gave my initial reactions to this over on Push Square but god man I am in such disbelief and misery over this. I've been gushing about how badly I've wanted to play Hi-Fi Rush for months on end; it's such a perfect contrast to the current dystopian state of the gaming landscape with its boldness in style, gameplay and overall positivity and knowing that when I eventually get around to getting it that absolutely zilch of that money is going towards the legendary developers behind it makes me want to break down and cry honestly.

Such a horrid move and I hope those at Microsoft who enforced it get what's coming to them when all these acquisitions end up imploding (because let's face it: that's exactly what's going to happen if they keep this up).

This being the first review to come out after the Switch successor confirmation really does drive home the main reason people want new hardware: the Switch is great, but its become abundantly clear that a lot of the stuff coming out for it in the past year or so is being knee-capped by decade-old tech.

I know for a fact that Another Crab's Treasure is a quality soulslike and it's one I definitely have on the wishlist for future reference, but on Switch? It really is just another in an ever-growing list of 'good game, bad port' 😞

Got pretty low expectations for this Direct myself given the fact that we now know FOR DEFINITE that is going to be the last Switch-centric Direct but I've still got some hopes for it regardless, namely a roadmap for more GBA NSO games (METROID ZERO MISSION PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE), a couple more remakes/remasters (my money's on Hotel Dusk/PMD: Explorers of Sky) and maybe even a new title or two, who knows :3

oh and Prime 4 is absolutely going to be in this Direct, no doubt in my mind

@MS7000 You say that as if the rumour mill hasn't already been in maximum overdrive for the past two years XD

oh great another bloody Switch 2 rumour, how many times must we do this same song and dance over and over agai-

....wait a minute

Never in a million years did I expect them to announce something as massive as the Switch's successor so casually but hey: they did the same thing for the Zelda movie and the MAR10 Day stuff so maybe this is just their thing now XD

If anything, I'm more excited by the confirmation of a June Direct than of the Switch 2's existence funnily enough. Can't wait for both though and its gonna feel absolutely surreal to finally experience the build-up to a brand new system in real-time!

As someone who hasn't seen The Boys, I must ask: why is he being so sensuous with that bottle of milk.

EDIT: Just read the explanation and really wish I remained in blissful ignorance.

I adore LM2 personally and wish I could recommend this to everyone as soon as possible....but that $60 pricetag is a massive turnoff made even more confusing by the remasters of Metroid Prime and Pikmin 1+2 (which are only a year old mind you) providing more improvements/content for far less.

If LM2HD ever goes on sale though, I'll be the first to sing its praises to hell and back; an absolutely fantastic little gem.

I'm currently in full exam revision season myself so this is probably gonna be the last bit of gaming I do for the next month or two, but I've still got a good amount planned regardless:

• Mega Man 11: I finally started the final (for now) chapter in my year-and-a-half long journey through Mega Man on Wednesday and it's been an absolute blast so far, potentially even my new favourite game in the whole Classic series. I've only got the Wily Stages left between me and the end so I'll definitely be gunning at it today and tomorrow!
• Picross S: another title I've been chipping away at for the past couple months, I've got about 50-ish puzzles left between both regular and Mega Picross so I'll try and make tracks in that as well.
• Extreme-G + F-Zero: Maximum Velocity: If I had a nickel for every below-average futuristic racing game released on NSO in 2024 that I still have yet to fully complete....well you probably get the idea XD

Overall it's mainly Mega Man-focused, though with a little bit of spice thrown in here and there for good measure 😁

@_Figo_ Not too bad if that ends up being the case, though I am expecting a bit of a meatier experience overall if it is €30.

@LinktotheFuture Oh really? I had no idea, that sounds fantastic! I'm actually planning on picking up a 3DS for myself this summer so I might try and hunt it down in that case, sounds like a great gateway into the series!

Seems a bit odd to make a Nintendo World Championships game when we haven't actually had one in ages but a NES Remix-styled title with a heavier emphasis on speedrunning sounds like it'd be a ton of fun. I missed out on NR1+2 back in the day due to their Wii U exclusivity so I'd be incredibly down to try a new rendition of it if this rating is true (provided its priced fairly XD).

@FishyS The wildly mixed review scores have ironically had the complete opposite effect on me funnily enough; I had pretty much zero interest in playing EO Luminous before yesterday but seeing the divisiveness of it has gotten me really intrigued with the idea of giving it a go (after I play the first two of course XD)

aw hell yeah dude i love fish

I'll definitely be picking the NSO icons up myself (who the hell WOULDN'T want to be a hyper-realistic anglerfish am I right) and I'm always a sucker for T99's Maximus Cups so I'll try to make time for that as well (Endless Ocean getting an event in Tetris 99 in the first place is also somewhat poetic given how both were made by Arika XD).

Seeing Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz and Scott Pilgrim be a part of this sent daggers through my soul.

While I don't despise Funko Pops quite as much as others do, I can't really say I like them much either (with some exceptions obviously) so this does absolutely nothing for me. Seeing the game itself be so shockingly violent/gory is also a huge turnoff for me personally. Like listen: I got no problems with violence/gore in my games (Dead Space is a personal favourite of mine after all), but this being as grotesque as it is feels less like it was done with purpose and moreso like it was done out of spite given the disdain the general populous have for Funkos.

Sounds pretty much like what I expected; I imagine existing fans of EO1+2 are going to have a fine time with Luminous regardless as its basically more of the same with a new coat of paint, though I don't think I can see it bringing in any new fans whatsoever (which just makes me wonder why they didn't pull a Pikmin and release a collection of the first two beforehand).

As a tangentially-related aside, EO Luminous really highlights how frustrating Nintendo's marketing has been for their 2024 releases so far. With the exception of Mario vs Donkey Kong, the most marketing the majority of their games have gotten is a single overview trailer less than a month before release (with Another Code and Endless Ocean being prime examples). It's absolutely maddening given how little we know about future releases as is and it makes it really hard to get excited for what's next as a result.

@StuTwo I'm moreso referring to the irony of having stickers as a bonus for a modern Paper Mario game given how despised 'HE WHO SHALL NOT BE NAMED' is XD