@Don If LRG can pull off a physical release of Jaws, maybe Friday the 13th is possible, too. That’s another NES game I have find memories of playing at a friend’s house. Corny, but fun! I’d buy a re-release of that for sure.
I love the Next Gen era of Trek at least as much as Spock, Jim, and Bones, and I’m going to end up buying this game. Voyager really hooked me back then, and if that main orchestral theme is playing, I’m sure I’ll be motivated enough to finish a run or two!
It seems crazy to me that this will be only my 2nd Trek game, after the old wireframe-style arcade game. I guess because I never really gamed on PCs. Either way, looking forward to this one!
The snow is falling again this weekend - only 3-5 inches or so forecast, but once again my main game today will be Snow Shovel DX. That wretched groundhog must feel pretty smug, having predicted more wintry weather here in the U.S. 🦫 At least it’s a fluffy snow this time.
While inside I’ll probably do a puzzle or two from Sega Picross and play a little more of last week’s Arcade Archives brick-breaker title, Quester. It’s Namco’s 1987 homage of Arkanoid, and it’s quite well done! I bought the S2 version so I could try out mouse mode - I’d say it controls better than an analogue stick, but still not as good as a traditional “paddle” or “spinner” for this type of game. Hori, where are you with that promised arcade multi-controller? We need you!!
Wishing all NL friends a warm weekend with time for your games du jour! 🕹️👾
@GameOtaku Your disappointment is valid! I was a little surprised to see Hamster omit the OG Switch this time because they truly want to reach as wide an audience as possible. It must just be because of their bandwidth. They’re still continuing Arcade Archives every week, and they’re not the biggest company.
@Athropos
I think legally (unless they pay for the right/license) Hamster is prevented from using the original console names (NES, PS1, etc) in any official marketing. Like in yesterday’s livestream, Hamada-san tread carefully when he announced this week’s title as “the 8-bit home video game console title ‘Ninja Gaiden II’. But immediately qualified that by saying informally that it was released originally on “Family Computer.” No mention of “Nintendo,” except alluding to it as “N Co.” during discussions with guests during the show.
I’ve noticed this kind of “platform omission” with Evercade’s releases, too. Like we know the game ROM was the NES version, or the Sega Genesis version, but Blaze/Evercade and now Hamster aren’t licensed to tell us that outright.
@GameOtaku From what I’ve seen so far, Console Archives is announced only for S2 and PS5. It seems a shame to limit their audience like that, but they must have felt it was the best way to allocate their resources.
NL thanks for the tip!! I checked out Hamster’s website last night to learn more about Console Archives (Con-Aka) but didn’t see mention they were doing a weekly “Archiver” livestream for it like they do for Arcade Archives! How awesome!
I’m a Japanese speaker and love to listen to Hamster’s arcade program every Thursday AM, and now I can enjoy their console program on Fridays, too.
Folks I’m telling you, Hamada-san and his team at Hamster are a hard-working crew who love video games, and I expect they’ll bring back some real buried treasures from different consoles over the years. Some of the releases will cater more to the Japanese market, but we’ll get plenty that appeal to the West, too. I haven’t read about the starting game lineup here, because I’d rather hear it direct from Hamada-san in the livestream. Off I go to watch! 😁
It’ll be another little surprise to look forward to each week, and at the very least, a nice option for people who prefer to buy titles rather than subscribe to a service. Maybe Hamster will even put together some physical console game collections eventually. 🤔
I’ve just been a satisfied Ake-Aka shopper for years, and their moving to the console realm is an unexpected delight for me! Now I just need to magically summon more leisure time and money somehow…
Console Archives came out of nowhere and I’d say it’s a pleasant surprise! If Hamster does for obscure console games what they’ve done for old arcade games, this could bode very well. If they collaborate with Nintendo, we could actually have an option to buy some old NES or SNES games.
I’m hoping they bring us some nice niche games and cult favorites that companies haven’t been willing to give to Nintendo for the NSO service.
I'd be fine with a release date and some decent-looking footage for Elden Ring.
But what I really want to see is Minishoot Adventures finally come to Switch. That is totally an Indie World type of game, though.
How about some surprises from Sega, Capcom, or Konami? Its been a while since we heard anything about the Crazy Taxi or Golden Axe reboots (really, just give me collections of those games' classic titles). If Capcom could pull off some licensing magic and bring back their peak beat 'em ups (Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, Aliens vs. Predators, and the D&D games) it would be a retro dream come true. And I'm sure the Silent Hill games would find an audience on S2 (or would they be censored, too??).
I'm taking a swing at it, even though I dislike the $70 price tag. It seems like the game will be content-rich at launch, which I appreciate as a physical-first shopper.
@Nao120 Love your profile pic! It's always nice to see other fans of old anime and mecha shows here. Welcome to the NL community!
Well here’s hoping an uncensored Asian (not Japan) physical release comes out. I’m still hoping there will be some way for adults to play this game without Nintendo’s patronizing. I thought the “kiddy console” days went out along with region locks.
It’s a rare occasion when they got me to preorder game key cards (ugh) for the RE Generation Pack. I haven’t played any of those titles, and we’ll never get big cinematic games like that on conventional cartridges, so I relented. Looking forward to Tennis Fever, too.
I’m probably most hyped for Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and isn’t Rushing Beat coming out in March, too? I love my beat ‘em ups. 🥰
Then IIRC, Japan has R-Type Tactics 1&2 and Taito Milestones 4 coming soon, too, which I’ll have to import.
Lots of neat designs! The Veldt Man elephant bot, and Valve Man (fireman bot - should’ve named him Hydrant Man!) had the most impact for me, but I liked the maid bots and Osoji Man, Sanitize Man, and Tube Man (garden hose guy) as well.
It’s a frigid, frozen mess outside, but no need to shovel this weekend, so I’m sure I’ll get in some game time. I just keep waffling in different games, like Sega Picross and Black Skylands on Switch and Jaleco Arcade 1 and Jaleco (home console) Collection 1 on Evercade.
Maybe with more time and energy this weekend, I’ll feel more like maining a single game so I can finally get to some of my backlog beauties like Tears of the Kingdom and Age of Imprisonment.
Although, I really want to play this week’s Arcade Archives release, Quester, which is Namco’s 1987 spin on Arkanoid. I’m curious to see if mouse controls work well enough on a brick-breaker game, and this seems like the perfect game for it!
Wishing everyone a fun weekend, whatever your pursuit! 🕹️👾
What a debacle. 😑 My Switch/Deuce are my only modern game systems and as much as I’d love to play Dispatch, I have to see how this all shakes out before considering a purchase. I’m not willing to pay money for a compromised version of the game and support such censorship. I intended to wait anyway, in case a physical release is announced, but I’ll be keenly interested in seeing developments here.
The CERO compliant, single version of the game theory seems quite plausible. Unfortunate, but plausible. You’d think with the censorship toggle already built into the game’s options, Ad Hoc could release CERO and non-CERO versions of the game without too much difficulty, but who knows.
I just know that I won’t be buying Dispatch until they patch out the censorship (if they ever do).
How soon I forget Mom’s advice, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then say nothing at all.”
Before I segued into a bit of a negative vent here earlier, I mainly wanted to say that the game looks like weird fun, I love the inclusiveness, and I’ll be picking up a copy this April.
@Picola-Wicola I'm totally with you. It's beyond sad that Nintendo's biggest market is mired in an era of anti-arts, anti-academic book bans and censorship. And the chilling effect has crept into all the platform holders. I don't even care about the smut or naughty bits, it's the fact that they have stripped away the autonomy of paying adults that I can't stand.
FREE SPEECH! But only as long as the message is wholly aligned with the State's idealogy. The sooner we escape this regime of hypocrisy and lies and gross overreach, the better.
@EliasVoorhees Thank you for the insight! Sadly, I didn't really have high hopes that Japan or another region would have an uncensored version. Especially after learning that they even censored Cyberpunk 2077 in Japan (when they did not in N.A.).
I'll just not buy for now, and see if Dispatch ever gets a physical release and a patch to fix this puritan overreach. Ugh.
I love comics and stories that try to frame superheroes in a realistic light, and welcomed news of Dispatch coming to Switch 2. But this censorship is such a disappointment! Here we are paying adult money for our grownup Switch 2 systems that Nintendo is marketing to adults, but they won’t allow us our mature games? It’s frigging ridiculous. I wouldn’t buy a copy of Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns if the panels were full of mosaics and black bars. Why should I buy this Nintendo-scrubbed version of Dispatch?
Playing on Steam or PS5 is not an option for me (but way to go making me consider it, Nintendo nii-chan!). I guess I’ll hold off for now and check to see if they leave the Japan release intact.
My sis still calls me a “veediot” to this day, probably with justification, because I’ll most likely get the standard edition of this compromised collection just because it’s Ren Hoëk and Stimpson J. Cat.
I’ve never played the original, but I’ve been vaguely intrigued for a while and my kiddos are even keen to learn more. I’ll be tuning in! I imagine I’ll have to buy multiple copies of this weird game.
@Ooyah The Evercade has been a fun indulgence so far! I didn’t really want to have to make room and budget for another console, but Blaze just kept releasing collections I wanted!. The Activision collection you like was the proverbial straw that got me to buy, because I have such nostalgia for Pitfall! and River Raid. I’d be right with you buying an Activision 2 collection if it has Pitfall 2. Anything else would just be gravy! I was pleasantly surprised to see an Imagic game (Demon Attack) in Activision 1 - maybe we can get Space Arc or something in Activision 2?
As a kid/teen, I barely had any exposure to the Commodore or Amiga, but I’d be thrilled if Blaze somehow could bring us some old faves I loved dearly on Colecvision: titles like GORF, Venture, Jumpman Jr, Ladybug, Q-Bert, or Mr. Do! I’d be all over any Konami collections, that’s for sure!
I did preorder the Taito 3 and Turrican collections, so looking forward to trying those soon. Especially Taito’s Zoo Keeper!
I’ve just been using the stock control pad with my VS-R, but I’m tempted to see if some other 3rd party controllers will function. Have you had any luck doing so?
@Kraven And I’m way over here in Rhode Island. Just goes to show what a wide-ranging storm it’s predicted to be! Here’s hoping work will be called off on Monday and power will stay on for us both! 🤞🏼
It’s a frigid Saturday with a foot of snow forecast for tomorrow/Monday. It’s safe to say I’ll be spending time inside near my game consoles, praying for my employer to stay closed on Monday so I can dig out from the storm at my leisure. 🤞🏼
Lately I’ve been indulging my nostalgia and picking at different arcade games collected on ACA NEOGEO Selection carts on Switch, like Magician Lord and Sengoku, or trying out my new Evercade console to play Pitfall!, Bad Dudes, or Burgertime.
Also, there were a bunch of Bally-Williams tables from Pinball FX on sale this week which I couldn’t resist, either — I loved Pin-Bot, Earthshaker, and Taxi far too much in my teens to say no.
All the while I’m determined to finish Black Skylands at some point so I can get back to Prime 4.
Wishing all NL friends a warm and cozy weekend! 🕹️👾
@QuadraMage It’s a sad state of affairs, for sure. Were we still living in the pre- eshop era, I bet every game on my list would have had a physical release by now. But these days, when nearly everyone is content to buy digital and own nothing, relics like myself mustn’t complain when a few physical bones get thrown our way. 🫤
I've been resigned to "unacceptable" for a long time in the boutique physical game publisher market. We gripe about it all the time in the "Switch Physical Games List" topic in the NL Forums.
Just for fun, here is a list of my oldest unfulfilled preorders, and when I placed them:
And you guys thought Limited Run Games was bad! They've always delivered my orders within a year or so.
Of these vendors, I think SLG and RAG are making earnest efforts to dig themselves out the hole. I'm getting more nervous about Rock It and Premium Edition lately, but at least they are communicating with customers. First Press Games is just ridiculous at this point - zero communication from them over the years. I knew it would be a risk ordering from them.
I’m always sorry to see Nintendo veterans like Tanabe-san and (last year?) Imamura-san depart. Even if they’re not credited with any smash hits recently, they contributed greatly to the company’s legacy and no doubt worked hard in supporting roles and mentoring over the years. You lose a lot of intangibles when people retire.
Super Mario 2 (doki-doki panic) to this day is one of my favorite Mario games. Thank you Tanabe-san! Wishing you continuing success and plenty of fulfilling pursuits during retirement.
Boo! I have no love for Hasbro, since they announced they are abandoning their home state of Rhode Island to move to Boston. Hasbro, originally named "Hassenfeld Brothers" after its founders, operated in Pawtucket, RI since 1923. The Hassenfelds loved Rhode Island and were great philanthropists, who funded the opening of Hasbro Children's Hospital in nearby Providence. Alan Hassenfeld, grandson of one of the original brothers, was CEO of the company during the 80s to early 2000s and stayed on as emeritus chairman. He just died last year, and months later the execs all decide to chase the money and pack up and go to Boston, despite concessions from RI. So have fun with the heartless board members there, Doug!
Plus thanks to Hasbro's feud with WOTC/Larian, we probably won't ever get Baldur's Gate 3 on Switch 2, so double boo.
I spent all my free time last weekend playing Black Skylands. This little indie is kind of like top-down twin-stick shooting mixed with airship-to-airship combat & exploration and a nice progression of power-ups and base expansion. The characters and music don’t really grab me, but the pixel art is nice enough and the gameplay has got me pretty addicted. I must say the game stutters more than it should, though - it even crashed back to the home screen 2 or 3 times in my 12 hours playing so far. Fortunately, the auto saves are pretty frequent. I’ll keep sailing those skies this weekend, among the chores.
Wishing everyone fair tailwinds and bountiful encounters this weekend! 🕹️👾✈️
@DashKappei Thank you for the confirmation on the Japanese language support! The less I have to import from Japan, the better with these ridiculous tariffs lately.
This wasn't really a game on my radar, what with it being a GKC and my copy of Age of Imprisonment still sitting untouched on the shelf. I have a backlog that not even Shokatsu Koumei could devise a way to defeat. But PJ sold this Origins game really well! And I do have intense nostalgia playing the first 2 Sangoku Musou games extensively on my PS2 back in Japan.
I'd need Japanese text and especially Japanese dialogue to be able to enjoy this now. Maybe I'll check out the NA version for its language options, or just import from Japan if I have to.
Nintendo senpai says I played 80 different games for a total of 1410 hours - that’s a smidge over 3.75hrs per day! I do turn on my Switch or Deuce essentially every night, but probably half the time I fall asleep on the couch, controller in hand with the game in-progress. So I think my actual play time is more like 1100 hours or so.
My top 3 most-played in 2025 were: 1. Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Ed. 2. Hades II (my GOTY) 3. Freedom Wars Remastered
Sega Picross and Cyberpunk 2077 rounded out my top 5.
Praise Janeway, our Nintendo consoles are actually getting Star Trek games lately! I keep waiting in vain for physicals, but I will have to check out this and ST: Resurgence sooner rather than later.
@Duncanballs Thank you truly for the heads up about Labyrinth 40th Anniversary screenings! I’ve watched that gem on DVD with the kiddos a few times, but never on the big screen. I’ll see if I can motivate them to go to the theater with me tonight!
It’s a rainy weekend here which I’d just love to spend meandering on the couch with different games. The usual chores await, though, and I’m obligated to take down the Xmas tree and decorations or the neighbors will think I’m weird. Er, know I’m weird.
I’ve trailed off of Metroid Prime 4 a bit. It was the holiday sale’s fault. On the final sale day, I caved and bought 4 long-watchlisted eShop games at great prices: Barony, Black Skylands, Kingdom Eighties, and Wall World.
I didn’t need the games right now, but Holiday Tradition! I must get my cheap & good game purchases. And they’ll never make physicals of those, so the time was right.
So most likely Samus will have to keep doing laps on her vi-o-la this weekend while I dabble in my new indie purchases, ACA NEOGEO Selection games, and a Sega Picross puzzle or two.
Wishing everyone a peaceful and pleasing post-holiday pursuit, per your prerogative! 🕹️❤️👾
I’m gambling and decided to preorder Tennis Fever because of the big roster and single-player mode.
I swear, though - for $70, this game had best feel content-complete at launch, or it will be the last Mario sports game I buy at full price. If I pop in the cartridge and it seems like a hollow online trial in need of a year’s worth of patches and DLC,, like so many of the Switch-generation sports games, I’m out.
I'm torn between the Ghouls 'n Ghosts cover and the Arcade Stadium one. Although if we had a Forgotten Worlds cover, that would have been my number 1, easily.
I've enjoyed dallying in Arcade Stadium vols. 1 and 2 digitally for a few years now, and always wanted these physically for the shelf. Between this and Zen Studios' Williams Pinball physical collections which LRG offered a couple weeks ago, I'd say the publisher is doing good work! I'd prefer regular retail releases, of course, but if this is the only way to get these physical games, I'll take it.
My personal experience with LRG has been fine - they've always followed through on my numerous orders over the years, even if it has been as much as a year's wait at times. But I'm located in the US, so their international service/rates are not an issue for me.
My post-holidays weekend will be full of chores — I have to make my front lawn a little less gaudy (farewell till next Xmas, inflatable light-up Snoopy, Grinch, and Rudolph!) - but I’ll continue grinding puzzles in Sega Picross and hopefully start and complete the volcano zone in Metroid Prime 4.
Is there really no way to fast travel back to your home base in Prime 4, or do you just have to ride and hoof it out??
Outside of Switch, I updated my Egret II Mini so I can try out the latest expansion pack of Technos and Data East Arcade games - I’ll see how they measure up to my Taito faves.
If I’m super ambitious, I may try to make a spot near the TV for my new Evercade VS console, too - that and a few arcade collection carts were a late Xmas prezzie to myself that I haven’t played yet.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! 🕹️🎉👾
Although, given the news this morning, I fear we are in for a very turbulent year. 😑
@masterLEON
It sounds like there is a lot of effort put into those MAME and MISTer things, which I can appreciate, even if I've barely used those ROMs over the years (my plate is full as it is with normal commercial releases from NA, Japan, and the EU). I definitely salute those folks out there preserving games that have been left behind and just aren't available anymore, except for paying hundreds of dollars for a used arcade board or rare cartridge.
The only downside to that is making these rare games available for free can result in some people taking things for granted or feeling entitled. Then, when a legitimate, hard-working company like Hamster comes along and wants to charge a fair standard price for each game they port for the gaming public, the boo birds come out.
I understand to an extent, especially for those people with no emotional attachment for older games. But for every Hamster release like Space Invaders which feels a little expensive because I own it elsewhere already, there's titles like Assault or Frogger which I've gotten $30.00 value from, easily. Everyone has those certain old games that they love dearly. Hopefully Hamster brings out more and more of those special games for everyone as time goes by.
P.S. I've noticed on a lot of the AkeAka titles I've purchased that you can view scans of the vintage Japanese arcade instruction cards in the options menu. It's great to hear that they've started to integrate them into the wallpapers!
This week’s “Arcade Archiver” livestream fell right on Japan’s biggest holiday of the year (New Year’s Day) but as always, the show went on. Hamster President Hamada noted that normally, the first title they release each year is a game from Nichibutsu or Video Systems or some other Hamster-owned IP (last year was Castle of Dragon by Athena Co.) in order to avoid troubling any publishing partners during the new year holiday week. I’d say it shows just how closely Hamster works with Taito now - Space Invaders Part 2 is the 63rd Taito release on AkeAka, behind only SNK(105 games) and Namco (87). They had 2 guests from Taito and 2 more from Game Center Mikado join the stream today, filmed off-site as they shared a holiday meal together and carried on like old friends. 😁
Also, we will be getting 53 AkeAka releases this year, because there are 53 Thursdays in 2026! Both New Year’s Day and Dec 31st fall on Thursdays. I’ll be looking forward to what they bring us.
Comments 2,949
Re: Limited Run Games Is Bringing NES 'Jaws' To Switch Later This Week
@Don
If LRG can pull off a physical release of Jaws, maybe Friday the 13th is possible, too. That’s another NES game I have find memories of playing at a friend’s house. Corny, but fun! I’d buy a re-release of that for sure.
Re: Feature: "We Were Quite Nervous" - Star Trek: Voyager - Across The Unknown Dev Talks Returning Actors, Music & Fan Feedback
I love the Next Gen era of Trek at least as much as Spock, Jim, and Bones, and I’m going to end up buying this game. Voyager really hooked me back then, and if that main orchestral theme is playing, I’m sure I’ll be motivated enough to finish a run or two!
It seems crazy to me that this will be only my 2nd Trek game, after the old wireframe-style arcade game. I guess because I never really gamed on PCs. Either way, looking forward to this one!
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (7th February)
The snow is falling again this weekend - only 3-5 inches or so forecast, but once again my main game today will be Snow Shovel DX. That wretched groundhog must feel pretty smug, having predicted more wintry weather here in the U.S. 🦫
At least it’s a fluffy snow this time.
While inside I’ll probably do a puzzle or two from Sega Picross and play a little more of last week’s Arcade Archives brick-breaker title, Quester. It’s Namco’s 1987 homage of Arkanoid, and it’s quite well done! I bought the S2 version so I could try out mouse mode - I’d say it controls better than an analogue stick, but still not as good as a traditional “paddle” or “spinner” for this type of game. Hori, where are you with that promised arcade multi-controller? We need you!!
Wishing all NL friends a warm weekend with time for your games du jour! 🕹️👾
Re: Hamster's 'Console Archives' Starting Lineup Revealed, Includes More Than 10 Titles
@GameOtaku
Your disappointment is valid! I was a little surprised to see Hamster omit the OG Switch this time because they truly want to reach as wide an audience as possible. It must just be because of their bandwidth. They’re still continuing Arcade Archives every week, and they’re not the biggest company.
Re: Hamster's 'Console Archives' Starting Lineup Revealed, Includes More Than 10 Titles
@Athropos
I think legally (unless they pay for the right/license) Hamster is prevented from using the original console names (NES, PS1, etc) in any official marketing. Like in yesterday’s livestream, Hamada-san tread carefully when he announced this week’s title as “the 8-bit home video game console title ‘Ninja Gaiden II’. But immediately qualified that by saying informally that it was released originally on “Family Computer.” No mention of “Nintendo,” except alluding to it as “N Co.” during discussions with guests during the show.
I’ve noticed this kind of “platform omission” with Evercade’s releases, too. Like we know the game ROM was the NES version, or the Sega Genesis version, but Blaze/Evercade and now Hamster aren’t licensed to tell us that outright.
Re: Hamster's 'Console Archives' Starting Lineup Revealed, Includes More Than 10 Titles
@GameOtaku
From what I’ve seen so far, Console Archives is announced only for S2 and PS5. It seems a shame to limit their audience like that, but they must have felt it was the best way to allocate their resources.
Re: Hamster's 'Console Archives' Starting Lineup Revealed, Includes More Than 10 Titles
NL thanks for the tip!! I checked out Hamster’s website last night to learn more about Console Archives (Con-Aka) but didn’t see mention they were doing a weekly “Archiver” livestream for it like they do for Arcade Archives! How awesome!
I’m a Japanese speaker and love to listen to Hamster’s arcade program every Thursday AM, and now I can enjoy their console program on Fridays, too.
Folks I’m telling you, Hamada-san and his team at Hamster are a hard-working crew who love video games, and I expect they’ll bring back some real buried treasures from different consoles over the years. Some of the releases will cater more to the Japanese market, but we’ll get plenty that appeal to the West, too. I haven’t read about the starting game lineup here, because I’d rather hear it direct from Hamada-san in the livestream. Off I go to watch! 😁
It’ll be another little surprise to look forward to each week, and at the very least, a nice option for people who prefer to buy titles rather than subscribe to a service. Maybe Hamster will even put together some physical console game collections eventually. 🤔
I’ve just been a satisfied Ake-Aka shopper for years, and their moving to the console realm is an unexpected delight for me! Now I just need to magically summon more leisure time and money somehow…
Re: Hamster's 'Console Archives' Is The Closest We'll Get To Virtual Console In 2026
Console Archives came out of nowhere and I’d say it’s a pleasant surprise! If Hamster does for obscure console games what they’ve done for old arcade games, this could bode very well.
If they collaborate with Nintendo, we could actually have an option to buy some old NES or SNES games.
I’m hoping they bring us some nice niche games and cult favorites that companies haven’t been willing to give to Nintendo for the NSO service.
Re: Oblivion, Skyrim And Fallout Switch 2 Physicals Will All Be Code-In-A-Box, Bethesda Confirms
Bethesda you cheapskates. Can’t even release on game key cards?? Sheesh.
On the flip side, the Indiana Jones game on cart is a pleasant surprise!
Re: Talking Point: Nintendo Direct February Partner Predictions - What Do You Want To See?
I'd be fine with a release date and some decent-looking footage for Elden Ring.
But what I really want to see is Minishoot Adventures finally come to Switch. That is totally an Indie World type of game, though.
How about some surprises from Sega, Capcom, or Konami? Its been a while since we heard anything about the Crazy Taxi or Golden Axe reboots (really, just give me collections of those games' classic titles). If Capcom could pull off some licensing magic and bring back their peak beat 'em ups (Cadillacs & Dinosaurs, Aliens vs. Predators, and the D&D games) it would be a retro dream come true. And I'm sure the Silent Hill games would find an audience on S2 (or would they be censored, too??).
Re: Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase Announced For Tomorrow, 5th February 2026
I was just about to give up on any Direct for this week! I’ll be tuning in for sure, but will have to wait till lunch time.
But wow, Nate the Hate has some rock-solid sources. How much longer can they avoid the Nintendo bounty hunters??
Re: Round Up: The Final Previews Are In For Mario Tennis Fever
I'm taking a swing at it, even though I dislike the $70 price tag. It seems like the game will be content-rich at launch, which I appreciate as a physical-first shopper.
@Nao120
Love your profile pic! It's always nice to see other fans of old anime and mecha shows here. Welcome to the NL community!
Re: Dispatch Uncensored Physical Switch Release Apparently Not Possible
Well here’s hoping an uncensored Asian (not Japan) physical release comes out. I’m still hoping there will be some way for adults to play this game without Nintendo’s patronizing. I thought the “kiddy console” days went out along with region locks.
Re: Upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 Games & Accessories For February & March 2026
It’s a rare occasion when they got me to preorder game key cards (ugh) for the RE Generation Pack. I haven’t played any of those titles, and we’ll never get big cinematic games like that on conventional cartridges, so I relented.
Looking forward to Tennis Fever, too.
I’m probably most hyped for Marvel Cosmic Invasion, and isn’t Rushing Beat coming out in March, too? I love my beat ‘em ups. 🥰
Then IIRC, Japan has R-Type Tactics 1&2 and Taito Milestones 4 coming soon, too, which I’ll have to import.
Re: Mega Man: Dual Override Robot Master Design Contest - Top 20 Designs Revealed, Voting Now Open
Lots of neat designs! The Veldt Man elephant bot, and Valve Man (fireman bot - should’ve named him Hydrant Man!) had the most impact for me, but I liked the maid bots and Osoji Man, Sanitize Man, and Tube Man (garden hose guy) as well.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (31st January)
It’s a frigid, frozen mess outside, but no need to shovel this weekend, so I’m sure I’ll get in some game time. I just keep waffling in different games, like Sega Picross and Black Skylands on Switch and Jaleco Arcade 1 and Jaleco (home console) Collection 1 on Evercade.
Maybe with more time and energy this weekend, I’ll feel more like maining a single game so I can finally get to some of my backlog beauties like Tears of the Kingdom and Age of Imprisonment.
Although, I really want to play this week’s Arcade Archives release, Quester, which is Namco’s 1987 spin on Arkanoid. I’m curious to see if mouse controls work well enough on a brick-breaker game, and this seems like the perfect game for it!
Wishing everyone a fun weekend, whatever your pursuit! 🕹️👾
Re: "People Have A Right To Be P****d" - Dispatch Dev Says It Intends To Address "At Least Some" Censored Switch Content
What a debacle. 😑
My Switch/Deuce are my only modern game systems and as much as I’d love to play Dispatch, I have to see how this all shakes out before considering a purchase. I’m not willing to pay money for a compromised version of the game and support such censorship.
I intended to wait anyway, in case a physical release is announced, but I’ll be keenly interested in seeing developments here.
Re: Nintendo Responds To Dispatch Switch Censorship With Official Statement
The CERO compliant, single version of the game theory seems quite plausible. Unfortunate, but plausible. You’d think with the censorship toggle already built into the game’s options, Ad Hoc could release CERO and non-CERO versions of the game without too much difficulty, but who knows.
I just know that I won’t be buying Dispatch until they patch out the censorship (if they ever do).
Re: Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream Moves In On Switch 1 This April
How soon I forget Mom’s advice, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then say nothing at all.”
Before I segued into a bit of a negative vent here earlier, I mainly wanted to say that the game looks like weird fun, I love the inclusiveness, and I’ll be picking up a copy this April.
Re: Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream Moves In On Switch 1 This April
Removed
Re: Review: Dispatch Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - A Cracking Superhero Caper, With Some Naughty Bits Covered Up
@Picola-Wicola
I'm totally with you. It's beyond sad that Nintendo's biggest market is mired in an era of anti-arts, anti-academic book bans and censorship. And the chilling effect has crept into all the platform holders. I don't even care about the smut or naughty bits, it's the fact that they have stripped away the autonomy of paying adults that I can't stand.
FREE SPEECH! But only as long as the message is wholly aligned with the State's idealogy. The sooner we escape this regime of hypocrisy and lies and gross overreach, the better.
Re: Review: Dispatch Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - A Cracking Superhero Caper, With Some Naughty Bits Covered Up
@EliasVoorhees
Thank you for the insight! Sadly, I didn't really have high hopes that Japan or another region would have an uncensored version. Especially after learning that they even censored Cyberpunk 2077 in Japan (when they did not in N.A.).
I'll just not buy for now, and see if Dispatch ever gets a physical release and a patch to fix this puritan overreach. Ugh.
Re: Review: Dispatch Nintendo Switch 2 Edition - A Cracking Superhero Caper, With Some Naughty Bits Covered Up
I love comics and stories that try to frame superheroes in a realistic light, and welcomed news of Dispatch coming to Switch 2. But this censorship is such a disappointment! Here we are paying adult money for our grownup Switch 2 systems that Nintendo is marketing to adults, but they won’t allow us our mature games? It’s frigging ridiculous. I wouldn’t buy a copy of Watchmen or The Dark Knight Returns if the panels were full of mosaics and black bars. Why should I buy this Nintendo-scrubbed version of Dispatch?
Playing on Steam or PS5 is not an option for me (but way to go making me consider it, Nintendo nii-chan!). I guess I’ll hold off for now and check to see if they leave the Japan release intact.
Re: Ren & Stimpy Are Getting A 7-Game Retro Collection, Courtesy Of Limited Run
My sis still calls me a “veediot” to this day, probably with justification, because I’ll most likely get the standard edition of this compromised collection just because it’s Ren Hoëk and Stimpson J. Cat.
Re: Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream Nintendo Direct Announced For Thursday, 29th January
I’ve never played the original, but I’ve been vaguely intrigued for a while and my kiddos are even keen to learn more. I’ll be tuning in!
I imagine I’ll have to buy multiple copies of this weird game.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (24th January)
@Ooyah
The Evercade has been a fun indulgence so far! I didn’t really want to have to make room and budget for another console, but Blaze just kept releasing collections I wanted!. The Activision collection you like was the proverbial straw that got me to buy, because I have such nostalgia for Pitfall! and River Raid. I’d be right with you buying an Activision 2 collection if it has Pitfall 2. Anything else would just be gravy! I was pleasantly surprised to see an Imagic game (Demon Attack) in Activision 1 - maybe we can get Space Arc or something in Activision 2?
As a kid/teen, I barely had any exposure to the Commodore or Amiga, but I’d be thrilled if Blaze somehow could bring us some old faves I loved dearly on Colecvision: titles like GORF, Venture, Jumpman Jr, Ladybug, Q-Bert, or Mr. Do! I’d be all over any Konami collections, that’s for sure!
I did preorder the Taito 3 and Turrican collections, so looking forward to trying those soon. Especially Taito’s Zoo Keeper!
I’ve just been using the stock control pad with my VS-R, but I’m tempted to see if some other 3rd party controllers will function. Have you had any luck doing so?
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (24th January)
@Kraven
And I’m way over here in Rhode Island. Just goes to show what a wide-ranging storm it’s predicted to be!
Here’s hoping work will be called off on Monday and power will stay on for us both! 🤞🏼
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (24th January)
It’s a frigid Saturday with a foot of snow forecast for tomorrow/Monday. It’s safe to say I’ll be spending time inside near my game consoles, praying for my employer to stay closed on Monday so I can dig out from the storm at my leisure. 🤞🏼
Lately I’ve been indulging my nostalgia and picking at different arcade games collected on ACA NEOGEO Selection carts on Switch, like Magician Lord and Sengoku, or trying out my new Evercade console to play Pitfall!, Bad Dudes, or Burgertime.
Also, there were a bunch of Bally-Williams tables from Pinball FX on sale this week which I couldn’t resist, either — I loved Pin-Bot, Earthshaker, and Taxi far too much in my teens to say no.
All the while I’m determined to finish Black Skylands at some point so I can get back to Prime 4.
Wishing all NL friends a warm and cozy weekend! 🕹️👾
Re: "The Delays Have Been Unacceptable" - The Wait Continues For Rock It Games' Croc Physical
@QuadraMage
It’s a sad state of affairs, for sure. Were we still living in the pre- eshop era, I bet every game on my list would have had a physical release by now.
But these days, when nearly everyone is content to buy digital and own nothing, relics like myself mustn’t complain when a few physical bones get thrown our way. 🫤
Re: "The Delays Have Been Unacceptable" - The Wait Continues For Rock It Games' Croc Physical
I've been resigned to "unacceptable" for a long time in the boutique physical game publisher market. We gripe about it all the time in the "Switch Physical Games List" topic in the NL Forums.
Just for fun, here is a list of my oldest unfulfilled preorders, and when I placed them:
First Press Games
Chained Echoes (Dec 2022)
Premium Edition Games
Alisa: Developer's Cut (Dec 2024)
Turbo Kid (Dec 2024)
Red Art Games
Chronicles of the Wolf (May 2025)
Guild of Darksteel (May 2024)
Rock It Games
Volgarr the Viking II (Sept 2024)
Strictly Limited Games
Eschatos (May 2023)
Ray'z Arcade Chronology (July 2022)
Steel Empire Chronicles (Apr 2023)
And you guys thought Limited Run Games was bad! They've always delivered my orders within a year or so.
Of these vendors, I think SLG and RAG are making earnest efforts to dig themselves out the hole. I'm getting more nervous about Rock It and Premium Edition lately, but at least they are communicating with customers. First Press Games is just ridiculous at this point - zero communication from them over the years. I knew it would be a risk ordering from them.
All I can say is caveat emptor, I guess.
Re: Super Mario Bros. Wonder Is Getting A Trio Of New amiibo
Ugh this is not the era to be buying amiibo but I’m a gonna need that Captain Toad.
Re: Nintendo Producer Kensuke Tanabe Has Seemingly Confirmed His Retirement
I’m always sorry to see Nintendo veterans like Tanabe-san and (last year?) Imamura-san depart. Even if they’re not credited with any smash hits recently, they contributed greatly to the company’s legacy and no doubt worked hard in supporting roles and mentoring over the years. You lose a lot of intangibles when people retire.
Super Mario 2 (doki-doki panic) to this day is one of my favorite Mario games. Thank you Tanabe-san! Wishing you continuing success and plenty of fulfilling pursuits during retirement.
Re: Former Nintendo Of America President Doug Bowser Joins Hasbro's Board Of Directors
Boo! I have no love for Hasbro, since they announced they are abandoning their home state of Rhode Island to move to Boston.
Hasbro, originally named "Hassenfeld Brothers" after its founders, operated in Pawtucket, RI since 1923. The Hassenfelds loved Rhode Island and were great philanthropists, who funded the opening of Hasbro Children's Hospital in nearby Providence. Alan Hassenfeld, grandson of one of the original brothers, was CEO of the company during the 80s to early 2000s and stayed on as emeritus chairman. He just died last year, and months later the execs all decide to chase the money and pack up and go to Boston, despite concessions from RI.
So have fun with the heartless board members there, Doug!
Plus thanks to Hasbro's feud with WOTC/Larian, we probably won't ever get Baldur's Gate 3 on Switch 2, so double boo.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (17th January)
I spent all my free time last weekend playing Black Skylands. This little indie is kind of like top-down twin-stick shooting mixed with airship-to-airship combat & exploration and a nice progression of power-ups and base expansion.
The characters and music don’t really grab me, but the pixel art is nice enough and the gameplay has got me pretty addicted. I must say the game stutters more than it should, though - it even crashed back to the home screen 2 or 3 times in my 12 hours playing so far. Fortunately, the auto saves are pretty frequent.
I’ll keep sailing those skies this weekend, among the chores.
Wishing everyone fair tailwinds and bountiful encounters this weekend! 🕹️👾✈️
Re: Review: Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Switch 2) - A Super-Solid Port Of A Fantastic Reboot
@DashKappei
Thank you for the confirmation on the Japanese language support! The less I have to import from Japan, the better with these ridiculous tariffs lately.
Re: Review: Dynasty Warriors: Origins (Switch 2) - A Super-Solid Port Of A Fantastic Reboot
This wasn't really a game on my radar, what with it being a GKC and my copy of Age of Imprisonment still sitting untouched on the shelf. I have a backlog that not even Shokatsu Koumei could devise a way to defeat.
But PJ sold this Origins game really well! And I do have intense nostalgia playing the first 2 Sangoku Musou games extensively on my PS2 back in Japan.
I'd need Japanese text and especially Japanese dialogue to be able to enjoy this now. Maybe I'll check out the NA version for its language options, or just import from Japan if I have to.
Re: An Overlooked Disney Collection From Digital Eclipse Has Been Rated For Switch
Wow! Peeps have been clamoring for a Switch port of this for years. I’d gladly pick up a physical release. 🦆
Re: Nintendo Switch 2025 'Year In Review' Is Available Now
Nintendo senpai says I played 80 different games for a total of 1410 hours - that’s a smidge over 3.75hrs per day! I do turn on my Switch or Deuce essentially every night, but probably half the time I fall asleep on the couch, controller in hand with the game in-progress. So I think my actual play time is more like 1100 hours or so.
My top 3 most-played in 2025 were:
1. Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Ed.
2. Hades II (my GOTY)
3. Freedom Wars Remastered
Sega Picross and Cyberpunk 2077 rounded out my top 5.
Re: Star Trek: Voyager - Across The Unknown Beams Onto Switch 2 Next Month
Praise Janeway, our Nintendo consoles are actually getting Star Trek games lately! I keep waiting in vain for physicals, but I will have to check out this and ST: Resurgence sooner rather than later.
Re: Nintendo Switch 2 System Update 21.2.0 Is Now Live, Here Are The Full Patch Notes
>NEIGHS EXCITEDLY<
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (10th January)
@Duncanballs
Thank you truly for the heads up about Labyrinth 40th Anniversary screenings! I’ve watched that gem on DVD with the kiddos a few times, but never on the big screen. I’ll see if I can motivate them to go to the theater with me tonight!
“You remind me of the babe!” 😁
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (10th January)
It’s a rainy weekend here which I’d just love to spend meandering on the couch with different games. The usual chores await, though, and I’m obligated to take down the Xmas tree and decorations or the neighbors will think I’m weird. Er, know I’m weird.
I’ve trailed off of Metroid Prime 4 a bit. It was the holiday sale’s fault. On the final sale day, I caved and bought 4 long-watchlisted eShop games at great prices: Barony, Black Skylands, Kingdom Eighties, and Wall World.
I didn’t need the games right now, but Holiday Tradition! I must get my cheap & good game purchases. And they’ll never make physicals of those, so the time was right.
So most likely Samus will have to keep doing laps on her vi-o-la this weekend while I dabble in my new indie purchases, ACA NEOGEO Selection games, and a Sega Picross puzzle or two.
Wishing everyone a peaceful and pleasing post-holiday pursuit, per your prerogative! 🕹️❤️👾
Re: Mario Tennis On Switch 2 Has 38 Playable Characters – "The Most In Series History"
I’m gambling and decided to preorder Tennis Fever because of the big roster and single-player mode.
I swear, though - for $70, this game had best feel content-complete at launch, or it will be the last Mario sports game I buy at full price. If I pop in the cartridge and it seems like a hollow online trial in need of a year’s worth of patches and DLC,, like so many of the Switch-generation sports games, I’m out.
Yes, I’m grumpy this morning! 😤
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium Physical Features Five Cover Options, But Which Is Your Favourite?
@CammyUnofficial
This physical collection is only the 32 games bundled into the original "Capcom Arcade Stadium."
I hope and would expect to see a second physical volume that will contain the 30 games that are part of the "Capcom Arcade 2nd Stadium."
Re: Capcom Arcade Stadium Physical Features Five Cover Options, But Which Is Your Favourite?
I'm torn between the Ghouls 'n Ghosts cover and the Arcade Stadium one. Although if we had a Forgotten Worlds cover, that would have been my number 1, easily.
I've enjoyed dallying in Arcade Stadium vols. 1 and 2 digitally for a few years now, and always wanted these physically for the shelf. Between this and Zen Studios' Williams Pinball physical collections which LRG offered a couple weeks ago, I'd say the publisher is doing good work! I'd prefer regular retail releases, of course, but if this is the only way to get these physical games, I'll take it.
My personal experience with LRG has been fine - they've always followed through on my numerous orders over the years, even if it has been as much as a year's wait at times. But I'm located in the US, so their international service/rates are not an issue for me.
Re: Arcade Archives Celebrates 500 Retro Releases With Special Commemorative Game
@masterLEON
Can I like your post twice??
Seriously well said, my friend. 👍🏼
Though it will probably fall on deaf ears, I’m afraid.
Re: Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd January)
My post-holidays weekend will be full of chores — I have to make my front lawn a little less gaudy (farewell till next Xmas, inflatable light-up Snoopy, Grinch, and Rudolph!) - but I’ll continue grinding puzzles in Sega Picross and hopefully start and complete the volcano zone in Metroid Prime 4.
Is there really no way to fast travel back to your home base in Prime 4, or do you just have to ride and hoof it out??
Outside of Switch, I updated my Egret II Mini so I can try out the latest expansion pack of Technos and Data East Arcade games - I’ll see how they measure up to my Taito faves.
If I’m super ambitious, I may try to make a spot near the TV for my new Evercade VS console, too - that and a few arcade collection carts were a late Xmas prezzie to myself that I haven’t played yet.
Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! 🕹️🎉👾
Although, given the news this morning, I fear we are in for a very turbulent year. 😑
Re: Last Chance To Grab These 100+ Switch 1 & 2 Games In Nintendo's 'Hits For The Holidays' eShop Sale (North America)
I need no games to play.
Even so I am extremely tempted by Ball X Pit and Silksong.
Even though surely I will be buying those physically one day. 😅
Re: Arcade Archives Celebrates 500 Retro Releases With Special Commemorative Game
@masterLEON
It sounds like there is a lot of effort put into those MAME and MISTer things, which I can appreciate, even if I've barely used those ROMs over the years (my plate is full as it is with normal commercial releases from NA, Japan, and the EU). I definitely salute those folks out there preserving games that have been left behind and just aren't available anymore, except for paying hundreds of dollars for a used arcade board or rare cartridge.
The only downside to that is making these rare games available for free can result in some people taking things for granted or feeling entitled. Then, when a legitimate, hard-working company like Hamster comes along and wants to charge a fair standard price for each game they port for the gaming public, the boo birds come out.
I understand to an extent, especially for those people with no emotional attachment for older games. But for every Hamster release like Space Invaders which feels a little expensive because I own it elsewhere already, there's titles like Assault or Frogger which I've gotten $30.00 value from, easily. Everyone has those certain old games that they love dearly. Hopefully Hamster brings out more and more of those special games for everyone as time goes by.
P.S. I've noticed on a lot of the AkeAka titles I've purchased that you can view scans of the vintage Japanese arcade instruction cards in the options menu. It's great to hear that they've started to integrate them into the wallpapers!
Re: Arcade Archives Celebrates 500 Retro Releases With Special Commemorative Game
This week’s “Arcade Archiver” livestream fell right on Japan’s biggest holiday of the year (New Year’s Day) but as always, the show went on. Hamster President Hamada noted that normally, the first title they release each year is a game from Nichibutsu or Video Systems or some other Hamster-owned IP (last year was Castle of Dragon by Athena Co.) in order to avoid troubling any publishing partners during the new year holiday week. I’d say it shows just how closely Hamster works with Taito now - Space Invaders Part 2 is the 63rd Taito release on AkeAka, behind only SNK(105 games) and Namco (87). They had 2 guests from Taito and 2 more from Game Center Mikado join the stream today, filmed off-site as they shared a holiday meal together and carried on like old friends. 😁
Also, we will be getting 53 AkeAka releases this year, because there are 53 Thursdays in 2026! Both New Year’s Day and Dec 31st fall on Thursdays. I’ll be looking forward to what they bring us.