Fizza

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

For as much as I adore Pokemon, the boxarts for the mainline games have never really been anything particular special and Yellow is no exception, pretty much just pulling the exact same layout from Red, Green and Blue. I'm going to go with the NA/EU design myself as it's the one I associate the most with Gen 1 Pokemon but both are just....fine.

People already complain about Joy-Cons being inconsistent as all hell, adding magnets for attaching purposes sounds like it'd just make things even worse XD

I actually just finished the original Shadow of the Ninja on NSO in preparation for this (still holds up pretty well, though is held back almost entirely by the virtue of being a NES game XD) and a late August release date couldn't be any better for me specifically. Day One purchase for me, can't wait!

also, I forgot to mention it in the past couple of articles for KAGE, but the remix they've been showing off of the Stage 1 theme is absolutely PHENOMENAL

I've played and loved a lot of 30FPS games over the past while (with Pokemon Legends Arceus, Kirby and the Forgotten Land and even the original Paper Mario being great examples from the past year or two) so this does not bother me whatsoever. I hope they've adjusted some of the more stringent action command timings to compensate for the FPS getting slashed in half but if it has to be this way in order for the game to look as beautiful as it does? Eh, that's fine with me XD

• Brand new QOL like an improved Partner Swap/Fast Travel system
• Stunning visuals
• Retains most if not everything from the original game in addition to adding brand new stuff too
• Incorporates aspects from the modern PM games that people actually liked into a more beloved overall package
• THE BATTLE THEME CHANGES DEPENDING ON THE AREA JUST LIKE ORIGAMI KING

ok yep its settled: this is going to be my Game of the Year.

I've never heard of these two in my entire life up until this point....and I don't mind in the slightest because WOW this is cool XD

I've always been a huge fan of NSO's deep cuts in terms of the games it decides to put on the service; WinBack, Spanky's Quest and Shadow of the Ninja are all fantastic examples of games I had no idea even existed prior to getting added to NSO that would go on to be some of my favourite games of their respective systems. Do I think the same will be true for these two? Probably not, but the fact they're willing to bring such intensely obscure games to the limelight is insanely cool. Will definitely be checking both of these out when I get the chance!

also I'm not the only one who's absolutely f***ing terrified by the boxart for Iggy's Reckin Balls am I? XD

Haven't got anything for this time round unfortunately but I'm slowly getting more confident in picking up stuff that hasn't got a review on here so I'll hopefully have something for next time!

@Sisilly_G You're going to give poor Mitch a heart attack at this rate XD

Cheers for the shoutout folks, this was a very fun read!

Massive recommendation for A Short Hike from me; played it for the very first time around my birthday last year and it ended up being one of my favourite games of the entire year. If you're a fan of DS-era presentation, fun dialogue and overall chill vibes, I can't recommend it enough ^_^

Love collecting stickers IRL (especially around World Cup/Euros season) but I'm probably gonna give this one a pass myself. Not because I think it looks bad, far from it in fact: I'm just really bad at request-fulfillment type games XD

I picked a really good time to pick up the whole series on Switch huh XD

I definitely want to play the original Heist before deciding whether or not this is for me but it's looking a fantastic iteration of the first regardless. A fantastic closer to a very fun presentation, I gotta say.

For as much reverence as WayForward (rightly) gets, their 3D games are usually a coinflip in terms of how quality they'll be and, at least for right now, I'm not really feeling it with YARS. Don't get me wrong: it looks like a perfectly fine gateway game into search-action games and them partnering up with Atari has me immensely intrigued. But other than that? Yeah it really does just look like a cartoony, simplified version of Metroid Dread and not much else. Would love to be proven wrong though 👍

Hadn't heard of this one prior to today myself but holy hell I am IMMEDIATELY enraptured with the premise/execution. It comes out right when I get my holidays too so yeah: extremely tempted to pick this one up as soon as I can!

Probably my game of the show honestly. I'm a massive fan of platformers focused on V I B E S and Europa looks to be capturing that feeling in such an immensely zen way. Love what I've seen so far and I'll definitely be giving that eShop demo a shake sooner rather than later!

well it's not exactly like they'd have much to show there XD

I'm always a fan of Nintendo's Gamescom presence personally (no matter how small it may be at times) so this is definitely a bit of a bummer, though given how there are literally only three 1st-Party releases currently on the horizon for 2024 (all of which being out in less than 2 months at that), I can't say I'm surprised. Those rumours getting out about the Switch 2 being showcased behind closed doors at last year's event may have also sweetened the decision to not come back this year XD

I'll be dragged away kicking and screaming before I buy an all-digital system; sure they're cheaper (though not by much I might add), but the mere existence of physical games is a vital part of the gaming landscape both in terms of giving you more options for getting a game as well as being great from a future preservation aspect.

Oh and while I'm here, I'll definitely be trying my hand at one of those Nintendo haikus. Granted I'll probably be terrible at it since I've never written one before in my life but hey there's a first time for everything I suppose XD

While this is the first week in a long while where I haven't really got anything in particular planned, I've got a couple things in mind which I'll probably be giving a shake.

• Slay the Spire: With the recent announcement of its sequel, I've gotten a big urge to return to the Spire once again. Already beaten the game with Defect so now I'm going to try and do the same with the other 3 characters! (I might also tackle another roguelike spire in Splatoon 3 but we'll wait and see on that one 😛)
• Mega Man 10: While I did beat MM10 about a week ago, I've yet to tackle its Bass Mode DLC so I'll hopefully be doing that today. I have pretty mixed feelings on 10 overall so I'm hoping that Bass will add a much appreciated level of memorability to it.
• F-Zero Maximum Velocity: Got the first two cups out of the way already so I'll hopefully be tackling the third in my free-time.

I probably won't be playing too much given how much work I have to do but it should be a fun weekend nonetheless 😁

@Con89 I can think of a couple examples myself.