Fizza

Been quite fond of Umbraclaw from the moment the first gameplay trailer of it dropped so I'll definitely be giving this a download to see what it's all about!

@Mz3player Based on what I've seen on Twitter, multitap doesn't seem to be possible on NSO unfortunately. It does make me wonder if four players could be feasible via NSO's built-in online play though 🤔

@StarryCiel I really want to get around to playing Marvelous at some point myself as it not only looks like a super charming spin on a Zelda-styled adventure game, but is also, as you said, the directorial debut of one of the most legendary figures at Nintendo, making it insanely memorable from a historical standpoint as well. Maybe I'll find a fan-translation of it down the line, who knows 😛

While this certainly isn't the most stunning lineup ever, it really does reinforce just how awesome it is that Nintendo is finally willing to provide previously Japan-only titles overseas for the very first time; Joy Mech Fight, Kirby's Super Star Stacker and now Wrecking Crew '98 are all games that would've been impossible to get outside of Japan during the Wii/Wii U VC days and I find that insanely cool personally 🥰

As for the games themselves then, Amazing Hebereke looks absolutely hilarious (in a good way), Super R-Type is definitely the NSO game of all-time and Wrecking Crew '98 is a brilliant surprise (especially so for me as I had no clue it even existed prior to this announcement XD). Definitely checking these out as soon as possible!

The funny thing for me is that I actually found 2023 to be a pretty dull year personally in terms of the new releases; with the exception of certain games like Hi-Fi Rush, Kirby's Return to Dreamland DX and Ghost Trick HD, not much really grabbed my attention. 2024 meanwhile has felt almost specifically catered to my exact gaming tastes: Ace Attorney, Another Code, DecaPolice, Plucky Squire and Paper Mario are all games I want to grab/have already grabbed before year's end which feels absurd given how frugal I tend to be with new releases.

As for my own backlog, it's kind of like a hydra: knock one game out of it and suddenly two more take its place XD

I've made really good tracks in a number of series though, such as Classic Mega Man (4), Metroid (3) and Castlevania (3) with plenty more to follow later in the year (I'M COMING FOR YOU RONDO OF BLOOD) so it's going pretty well all things considered.

if Slay the Spire was so good why didn't they just do a Slay the Spire 2- HOLY S****

I played StS for the first time last year when it had it's NSO Game Trial period and to say it quickly shot up to being one of my favourite games of all-time is an understatement. If Dead Cells was my gateway into roguelikes as a genre, Slay the Spire was what made me obsessed with them. Absolutely over-the-moon about this and can't wait for it's eventual release!

One criticism I do have though? I've noticed a disheartening lack of The Defect from the footage so far. #JusticeForMyBoy #WhereIsHeMegaCrit

Another very good month in terms of smaller-scale eShop releases; I've had my eye on Death Trick ever since it got shown off at that Indie World from a while back, Berserk Boy looks like the perfect game to grab once I'm done with my current Mega Man marathon and Pepper Grinder have been on my wishlist for AGES. Really hoping to get PG especially before the year's end (preferably after making my way through Drill Dozer beforehand XD).

I mean Everybody 1-2 Switch was also a flashmob game if you know what I mean

It's hard to pick just one for a topic like this, but I'd personally love to see one for Rogue that explores not only how groundbreaking it was from a technical standpoint relative to the time it released, but how important/influential it's been in forming one of the most popular modern subgenres of games in roguelikes/lites 😁

I've been sick for the majority of this week (on the mend now though so don't worry 😷) so I don't have too much planned for this weekend myself. I'll definitely be continuing my way through the ranks of F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (just took care of the Pawn and Knight Leagues and it truly is the F-Zero of all time XD) along with tackling more puzzles in Picross S but other than that? Yeah I'll probably be spending most of my time catching up on Batman: The Animated Series if I'm honest 😅

and I thought the amount Embracer was selling their studios for was low, holy hell 😳

This is probably one of the more bizarre sales the industry's had this past while, though if it allows Headup to keep publishing quality titles like Pumpkin Jack (which I really need to get around to playing myself funnily enough) then it seems like a net-positive overall.

Just got around to playing Maximum Velocity for about half an hour there and yep: it is certainly the F-Zero game of all time.

I don't think it's bad mind you and it absolutely gets major brownie points from me for being the first portable F-Zero....but yeah, it's definitely nowhere near as refined as it's console counterparts as a result; iffy controls, pretty bland visually and god save your soul if you try to take a sharp turn at high speeds (tldr: it's not pretty). Overall, it's definitely in the same kind of ball-park as MK Super Circuit to me: a fun novelty though not one I can see myself returning to in the same way as the main console titles.

Anyone who knows me will be well-aware of how massive a sucker I am for mystery games from the DS era specifically so I'd be incredibly down for trying out the series via this collection. Gonna wait for reviews to see how the series translates to button-based controls (it is called 'TOUCH Detective' for a reason XD) but if it ends up being good? It'll be an instant purchase for me!

@martynstuff ILCA is a particularly fascinating example of the 'one bad apple poisons the broth' mentality as pretty much everything they've worked on besides BDSP has been received relatively favourably: One Piece Odyssey went down pretty well with both critics and fans from what I've heard and they've been a big support studio for a ton of massive titles this past while such as Dragon Quest XI, Nier Automata/Replicant and Ace Combat 7.

I'd say potential harassment plays a very big role in this kind of decision myself. Just look at Pokemon for instance (a series Nintendo is intimately involved with): Game Freak has gotten tons of verbal abuse online on a near consistent basis since 2019 which somehow got even worse when ILCA took on BDSP. While I doubt companies like ArtePiazza or Good-Feel would have nearly as much vitriol hurled at them for their work, Ninty probably wants to avoid any and all pre-release trolling nonetheless so that the devs can focus on....well, development.

BLOODY FINALLY

I've been pretty interested in trying out Maximum Velocity ever since it was announced to be coming in the February Direct of last year as a massive F-Zero nut and it coming out three days before I go on a holiday is pretty brilliant timing I gotta say. Excited to finally give it a go!

Also I believe every game from the initial GBA NSO roadmap from last year has been added at this point correct? Maybe we'll get another roadmap of more games at this rumoured April Direct (Wario Land 4 anyone?)

@Daniel36 I think if I were to pick up New Horizons, I might just leave it in the backlog until Spring of next year honestly; I'll be finished up with school for a good bit at that point and I've always liked the idea of starting an Animal Crossing game in the first few months of the year

Not too much grabbing me here at the moment but I'm definitely tempted to finally take the plunge on ACNH after skipping over it for the past four or so years (good lord has it really been THAT long since release??? XD).

Looks like Team Keyboard was an (octave) leap above the rest 😎

GG's everyone! This Fest was genuinely a ton of of fun for me (I have seen the light on Octobrush XD) and I can't wait for SpringFest to finally roll around now in about a month's time!

@CRB1984 I like tackling about one-to-two Picross games a year myself; absolutely adore the puzzle structure they have but they're very easy to get burnt out on if you play too much of them in a short period of time XD

Is the Switch version of the OG Dragon's Dogma a good way to experience the game for the first time? I've been wanting to try out the series for the longest time and seeing DD consistently go on sale for around €5 has me extremely tempted XD

Finally started my Easter holidays so given how I'll have marginally more free-time for gaming, I've got a couple things planned XD

• Zelda Oracle of Seasons: Finally found the time to start this up after playing Ages last year when it initially released on NSO and I'm having a great time so far. While changing the seasons doesn't feel quite as impactful as OoA's time-travel, OoS feels a lot more snappy in terms of it's overall pacing and moment-to-moment gameplay which, when OoA's main problem is how much the pacing drags at points, is very nice. Currently about to head into the 4th Dungeon and can't wait to see how things carry on from here!
• Splatoon 3: Haven't been on Splatoon too much lately but you KNOW I gotta represent Team Keyboard in the Splatfest this weekend: the pianist in me would not allow anything to the contrary XD
• Picross S: Got about 50-ish puzzles left to go between both Normal and Mega Picross before S1 is 100%-ed so I'm definitely going to make tracks on that as well.

Overall a pretty solid weekend mainly dominated by Zelda and the Splatfest

Sounds pretty much exactly like what I expected after playing the demo honestly: really nice, though probably not my kind of thing (especially given how many 2024 games I've already got planned for this year). Great to see Good-Feel put out two bangers in quick succession between Mameda no Bakeru (localised version when) and now this!

@Melee_Ace Not yet but I did pick up the FF1-6 Pixel Remaster Collection digitally in a recent sale so I'll definitely be tackling it at some point next year! 😁

also yeah, I can't WAIT to eventually make my way through the X and especially Zero/ZX series; been playing all the Classic games for the past year or so and X/Zero/ZX look like they're gonna be a fantastic time 😊

I love the Switch for many reasons but one of the biggest has got to be the sheer quantity and quality of retro collections released for it. No joke: I've gotten TWENTY ONE different collections since I first got my Switch back in 2018 (with probably dozens more to follow as well like the rest of the Mega Man ones, Castlevania Advance, Karateka/Llamasoft, etc.). The Switch was the first console I was really able to broaden my horizons with in terms of the games I played and having all of these ace collections available for (usually) great prices/QOL is genuinely a dream come true for someone like me 🥰

Started Vampire Survivors for the very first time last night thanks to it being the current NSO Game Trial and I'm already in love; fantastic music, a highly engaging gameplay loop and one of the most unique games I think I've ever played. Already put roughly 3 hours into it and am about to tackle the Dairy Factory later on, what a great game man 😊

Other than that then, I'll probably just be finishing off my Proto Man playthrough of Mega Man 9 (he's a blast to play as but god taking double damage in a game as difficult as MM9 is BRUTAL XD) alongside a little bit of Picross S as a way to unwind.

I'm probably going to be picking my copy up about a month after release so I most likely won't be biting on any of these, though a paper plane is an immensely creative idea for a bonus XD

also having stickers as a pre-order bonus for a Paper Mario game is an....interesting decision to say the least.

I'm tempted to give this a go to finally see what all the hubbub is with Vampire Survivors....but at the same time I'm terrified as to what will happen to my productivity should it be as addictive as everyone says it is XD

If it doesn't have a shooter/farm sim hybrid set in space with live-service elements THEN I DON'T WANT IT 😤

Almost assuredly won't be able to watch this live as it's smack-dab in the middle of exam season but it'll definitely be interesting to see what they have in store for this year as the last one was....alright.

@Vortexeo Yeah Monster Hunter Stories is definitely one I've had my eye on for a good while, even before the original game got announced for modern platforms. While I don't usually like to start a series with a spinoff, Stories appeals to the Pokemon superfan in me in a ton of ways and given how much I actually love MH's monster design, I'll gladly take it as a way to get acquainted with the roster in a stress-free environment XD

For being such a self-admitted Capcom fanboy, I've never really been able to crack Monster Hunter personally. I vividly remember spending hours in MH Rise's demo back when it initially released but could just never vibe with how the gameplay felt for one reason or another. Are there any MH games that'd be good for someone like me who's quite foreign to the series? I've heard people talk very highly of the 3DS entries and MH Stories has been on my radar for a very long time but other than that, I have pretty much no idea what's good or bad XD

@Magrane I have absolutely zero issues with short games myself (haven't been able to get enough of them lately as a matter of fact!) but there's definitely a difference in overall enjoyment between a game being short....and a game being less than an hour long....which is what Mario Land 1 is XD

TTYD COMES OUT IN THE MIDDLE OF MY EXAMS NOOOOOOOOOOOOO I WAS AFRAID THIS WOULD HAPPEN 😭

Personal despair aside, I'm glad we finally have release dates for these two (and comparatively soon ones at that). TTYD coming out at the end of May will sting for me specifically but I suppose it'll make picking it up as an end-of-school treat feel all the better 😊

@Uncle_Franklin I doubt they'd actually do it given the original game's notoriously short length but if they did decide to give SML1 the remake treatment, I hope they go about it the same way Konami did with Castlevania: The Adventure back on WiiWare: fully redoing a middling-at-best game from the ground up to not only have it play significantly better, but to make it a love-letter to the series it's a part of.

still not sure whether it'd be worth €50 at that point myself but hey it's a thought XD

All jokes aside, I'm really looking forward to this. The first film was a highly enjoyable, if very by-the-numbers, adaptation/love letter to the series and I have full faith that the sequel will be just as delightful as before (if not moreso).

The wording of 'broadening Mario's World further' in particular has me very intrigued as it could be them implying they'll be pulling in characters/series from across the wider Mario mythos (Yoshi's Island? Mario Galaxy? Maybe even WarioWare?).

I can take it or leave it with Dr Mario GB personally but the Camelot Tennis/Golf RPGs getting added is a fantastic surprise; will definitely check them out when I have the time!

also where the hell is Mario Land 1 XD

Got a couple things on the mind for this weekend myself: going to be participating in Splatoon 3's latest Big Run on Eeltail Alley (though given that map's reputation, I'd rather let the Salmonids keep it if I'm honest XD) in addition to finally making some headway in my Stephen playthrough of Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game. Lastly, given how MAR10 Day is tomorrow, I thought I'd finally start up a Mario game I've had on the backburner for a LOOOOOOOONG time: SMB: The Lost Levels. Happy gaming everyone! 😁

I genuinely can't find the words to properly express just how shocked and saddened I am by this. While I didn't grow up on series such as Dragon Ball as a kid, it cannot be understated how important and incredible Toriyama was and is for modern Japanese culture as a whole. Manga, anime, games; this man's work has transcended just being pieces of entertainment and have become iconic and irreplaceable tenets of Japan as we know it. May he rest in well-deserved peace, 68 is far too soon for a man as brilliant as him ❤️

The Switch is probably the most significant console for me in terms of how I enjoy games these days. Back when I was younger, I had a very close-minded attitude when it came to playing games: if it didn't have Pokemon or Mario on the cover then I wanted nothing to do with it. The Switch however, thanks to it's utterly MASSIVE library of games as well as being the first console I had during my teenage years, was just the push I needed to step outside of my comfort zone and try out some new stuff and I've been introduced to so many of my favourite series thanks to it (Splatoon, Ace Attorney, Crash Bandicoot, etc.). Happy 7th Anniversary to the little tablet that could and I can't wait to see what the future holds 🥰

Tons of great stuff this month, with every game in the Top 3 being ones I plan on grabbing as soon as possible. Special mention especially has to go to Pocket Card Jockey; I still need to play the demo (hence why I haven't bought the game proper yet) but the minute I do? I know for a fact it'll easily be in the running for my GOTY alongside stuff like Apollo Justice XD

Got a couple things planned for this weekend, but only one of them is going to be getting my full undivided attention: Mega Man 9. I've been looking forward to MM9 for a good while now (especially after 7 and 8 were a bit of a letdown overall) and I can't wait to finally see how the progenitor of the modern 'retro revival' ends up panning out!

Other than the Blue Bomber then, I'll mainly be hopping on Splatoon 3 once again in order to check out all the new stuff Fresh Season 2024 has in store in addition to continuing my quest for 1000% in Side Order (currently got Pearl, Marina, Marie and Frye's Palettes out of the way so far) as well as continuing my on-and-off playthrough of Mystery Tower on NES NSO (a cute enough puzzler but GOD is it cryptic XD).

With the sheer quantity of dreadful news coming out of the gaming industry over the past while (layoffs, poor working conditions/management, etc.), it feels so refreshing to actually get something so overtly positive for once. Toys for Bob is easily one of my current favourite devs thanks to their work on stuff like Spyro Reignited and especially Crash 4 so to see them escape the CoD mines and go indie genuinely has me over the moon. And the fact they're still going to be working closely with Microsoft gives me hope that they're not quite finished with either Crash or Spyro just yet (or even crazier still: they might be able to make a new Banjo-Kazooie game XD). Super happy for the folks over at TfB and I can't wait to see what they're cooking up next!

Sounds like a disturbance to the lifestream if you ask me.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS BABY YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

This is a great selection of choices this time round, I must say. It actually looks like it'll be a very balanced set of teams for once as well which, after the last couple Fests have been marred by popularity influencing the results, makes me extremely happy!

As for my own choice this time round then....well I literally already play piano as is so I feel like I kind of HAVE to go with Team Keyboard XD

Switch players can finally experience the horrors of TOTSUGEKI TOTSUGEKI TOTSUGEKI

Gaming as a medium feels like it's about to implode at any second now in almost every territority except Japan (for now anyway) and honestly? I'm absolutely f***ing terrified.

While I fully recognise the convenience of going digital in terms of gaming and have dabbled in eShop purchases numerous times in the past, I personally don't think I could live in a physical-less world. Not only is physical gaming nice for preservation/collection's sake, but physical games also have a major advantage I'm surprised I don't see more people talk about: file sizes. Physical games (at least on Nintendo consoles) tend to take up significantly less storage space than digital titles and can make a ton of series that'd otherwise be murder on stuff like SD cards (see the majority of Zelda/Pokemon games on Switch) much more enticing to play when I don't have to sit through hours of it downloading in the background and can simply hop in immediately.

Again, I fully understand why so many people have made the jump to 100% digital, but unless the apocalypse comes (which, given how the 2020's have panned out as of now, is probably more likely than you'd think XD), I'll continue to have a pretty even physical-to-digital split in terms of my games

I've had the Dex 100%-ed for well over a year at this point but I'll probably return to finally finish off perfecting every single mon's dex entry (got about 100-ish out of the way already so pray for me XD). I'll take any excuse to return to PLA though honestly; easily my favourite modern Pokemon game and I still can't quite believe we're getting a sequel 🥹

A lot of fantastic modern RPGs have entirely urban settings (think Persona and Like A Dragon for instance) so I'm very intrigued as to how this'll play out assuming this isn't Nintendo misinterpreting what was shown. It does make me wonder how you would go about catching mons though given how most if not all of them would be in a cityscape rather than the wild 🤔

@kkslider5552000 Adventure games like Pentiment usually get very little marketing prior to release for whatever reason (unless you're Ace Attorney). My guess is that it's both pretty hard to market a game/genre whose whole appeal is not knowing what's going to happen in terms of the story/gameplay along with said genre being the definition of an acquired taste, though I could be wrong here.

Probably doesn't help matters that Pentiment itself originally released three days prior to Pokemon Scarlet/Violet XD