Teksette

I got as far as the colosseum boss before I drifted off to attend other new games that came in late this year. I was really loving it, though, and looking forward to going back to it this winter! The tweaks and little bit of extra content can only help.

There are so many factors at work here - tariffs, inflation, STAGflation, government shutdown and overall chaos, AI resource-gobbling, a middle class being strangled, and American consumers' lack of confidence all come to mind - but also Sony has been offering pretty aggressive discounts on the different PS5 models. They've been $100-$150 off at different retailers since before Black Friday. I saw PS5 Slim systems with a disc drive and extra controller priced at $450, equivalent to a discounted S2 + MKW bundle.

I've been basically Nintendo-only since the PS3 days, but even I was tempted to buy one of those enormous white Sony monoliths at those prices.

Hopefully the rumors are true - despite this new AI demand for our memory storage media (and electricity, and water, and arable land, just sayin...), having more S2 cart sizes available could help mitigate this GKC plague, even if only a little.

I don't often play titles that skew towards visual novels, but this looks like a fun superhero homage! I'll watchlist this for sure and hope we eventually get a physical version.

It really is a short list! But some decent games for sure.

I’m really looking forward to Cosmic Invasion, when the physical edition arrives in March. Just the fact that we’ve got Silver Surfer and Beta Ray Bill in a beat em up is enough to excite me!

I put a lot of time into Ultimate Alliance 3 and would snap up a sequel to that.

@Zeeba
Yes you nailed it! Games have always been a good escape for me. I tend to enjoy creative fantasy and sci-fi titles, and steer away from more realistic, cinematic fare. Although I do appreciate a decent simulation, too - I played Silent Service on the NES as much as I played Blaster Master or SMB 2.
Lego Voyagers piqued my interest a little, but I don’t think I’d want to solo it and my kiddos probably wouldn’t be interested.

I’ve settled into playing Prime 4 and Sega Picross, but every moment spent gaming is tinged with guilt as there is so much Christmas prep or other year-end matters to attend to. It’s hard being an incurable procrastinator! C’est la vie.

Wishing all NL friends plenty of leisure time and an enjoyable weekend with your fave games! 🕹️👾

@SpecialT @Chlocean
This Pragmata trailer was pretty much my first exposure to “sad dad” games, too. I guess Nintendo players will be introduced to the genre finally in the S2 generation. So yay for some people?

The trailer didn’t appeal to me, though - the little (robot?) girl’s design is weird and would probably creep out my daughters irl. And why is daddy wearing the grotesque power armor and fighting fascist metal gear mechs? It doesn’t seem like the kind of uplifting experience I’d want after living through 2025 America. 😓

Thanks Tom, for another insightful review! A "7" is no problemo in my book and I'll look forward to going on a few old-fashioned runs in the game when my calendar clears up a bit (there's too many games right now!).

Looks cute! It reminds me of 80s space anime like Dirty Pair.
Like everyone else, though, I’ve got no-one to co-op with! My daughters are probably not going to want to spend time with it.

Maybe it’s just my nostalgia for the late eighties, but Jaws, to this day, remains one of my favorite NES games. Right up there with Friday the 13th.
An LJN licensed game had no right being as fun as it was back then!

I’m happy they left the original version of the game intact and I most definitely will be preordering this. This is the type of physical release I’m willing to wait for!

@Fake-news
I have to give credit where it’s due, though.
Just a few hours after posting my SLG grumble above, I get home to find a SLG-branded package on my front step!
It was Dezatopia & Mecha Ritz, another preorder I’ve waited 3+ years for, immaculately packaged in an oversized box and bubble wrap.
Even better, they included a coupon apologizing for the long wait and giving me a 10 euro coupon code to use on a future order. (And no tariffs charged to me, either.)

So that was a nice gesture! It seems like they’re sincerely trying to dig out of the hole they’re in.

Now just send my Ray’z Chronology, Steel Empire Chronicles, and Eschatos, and all will be forgiven!

I’ll be preordering this, R-Type Tactics 1&2 Cosmos, and Taito Milestones 4 from Japan. They all release around the same time in March 2026.

Strictly Limited Games is also offering preorders for this R-Type III renewal, but my patience has about run out with them.
I’ve been waiting for my copy of Ray’z Arcade Chronology from them since July 2022. ☹️

Isn't the world of corporate mergers and acquisitions wonderful?? Now businesses and IP built on the blood, sweat, and tears of hundreds, if not thousands, of people (thinking specifically of the works of Midway / Atari Games) is dumped again, into the portfolio of media conglomerate corpos who don't give a damn, except for the dividends they'll pocket from the deal.

I’ve had a Switch 1 Skyrim cart sitting on the shelf for years, unplayed. I can’t handle any more huge games at the moment, but when I finally give Skyrim a shot, I will have to go with this upgrade.

I’ve never played this game, but I’m going with Japan on this one, as it shows the playfield in more color and detail. As a pinball fan, that’s what I want to see! Plus it has a couple of metroids floating about, and I dig what looks like the ballsave electric field.

The NA/Europe cover isn’t bad, but the table is washed out, and Samus is placed on the opposite side of those chunky flippers from us, making her look like a target to bash!

Either way, I should seek this game out sometime. My DS still works. I just always thought MPP was a GBA title, and I’ve never owned that handheld. And I didn’t know rumble packs for the DS were a thing!

@Nambit
That rots that Wally’s screwed you over like that!
FWIW, my local GameStop had at least 20 extra copies of the S2 physical Prime 4 on Thursday night.

I’m glad at least you can take solace in Pinball FX. I totally agree that STTNG is one of the best pins ever, and fun to play on Switch or the deuce.

I jumped off all my other games to start playing Metroid Prime 4 and wow! I’m not used to games looking so good! Basically I’m a Nintendo-and retro-only player, so the S2 and titles like Cyberpunk, SW: Outlaws, Kirby Air Riders, TOK S2 Edition, and now especially Prime 4 have been really eye-opening for me! With this new taste for gorgeous games I was sorely tempted by Black Friday deals on PS5s this week, but I restrained myself. I’ve already got too much to play!!

Speaking of which, I’d be playing Marvel Cosmic Invasion too, this weekend, but I’m holding out for the physical edition in March. I’m with the Merry Marvel Faithful in spirit, though. 😁

So Link and the Absolum crew will have to be patient for a bit while I roll around and scan things with Samus. But even she can’t protect me from my addiction to Sega Picross! I’ll keep trying to solve a puzzle a day all winter long, probably.

Wishing everyone a fun weekend! Excelsior!!
🕹️💥👾

@Ooyah
My siblings and I called them “thousand-legged bugs.” They are nightmarish and they move like greased lightning!

Their one redeeming quality is that they hunt roaches, which goes a long way in my book!

What a disgrace to see WB plummet like this - no good ever comes of these mega-acquisitions.

Hold onto your Batman games everyone!

I'm afraid this means the Midway Games IP will stay locked up in license purgatory for years to come.
Hey WB, why not split off and sell your Midway IP to the reborn Atari company (someone who can appreciate it)!

@Ooyah
There were too many centipedes around my childhood home, so I must still bear a grudge.

Come to think of it, Centipede was always one of my favorite Atari games!

Looks fun, though it would probably just make me want to play E! D! F!!!!!!

The Earth Defense Force games have always filled my bug blasting urges over the years.

Oh so fun! And the squishy Metroid amiibo!! I’ve been seeking one of those all year! I’m hoping it’s restocked in the NA store. too.

The S2 physical and the set of amiibos was a Christmas prezzie to myself. ^_^

I tend to drift off of first-person games but hopefully this one grabs me, whether I jump right in tomorrow or save it till I finish TOK this winter.

See ya on Viewros!

@Mommar
They are Marvel crossovers with extraterrestrial characters and events, are they not? That’s all I’m saying.

I am hereby forewarned about Conquest.

If you’ve vented all your negativity now, I’d suggest you go watch some Macross and enjoy some Minmei songs and cheer up a bit!

Great review! Ollie's enthusiasm for the game really shines through - reading excerpts like "best Nintendo graphics in history" and "this is an all-time great that people will be returning to 10 or 20 years from now" has me even more hyped to pick up my preorder this Thursday. I just have to decide if I'm going to drop everything to play this right away, or risk putting it in the backlog black hole.

A little radio chatter from NPC's won't bother me (if it's within reason). Rather, I'll probably enjoy having some "damsels" to rescue and extra story to read, if the writing is decent and there are proper poignant moments of solitude to balance everything.

I bought a Vi-O-La amiibo for my shelf, but I'll join everyone in hoping that any amiibo perks are eventually unlockable just by playing the base game.

@Mommar
Well fortunately, the bundle I bought included the Conquest books, and an “Annihilators” series, too. I understand the game is really a mishmash of different Marvel books and 90s cartoons. I think I was just looking for an excuse to read some grand Marvel crossover event, mainly. 😁

I remember back in college I kept seeing “Operation: Galactic Storm” branded issues, which I was always curious about but never picked up. That unscratched itch probably led to my buying this more recent cosmic storyline.
Either way, it’ll be fun to read some comics after so long!

I'm so impatient to play this game! I have such a soft spot for beat 'em ups and I loved Shredder's Revenge, SoR4, and other greats on Switch. It's good to hear our faithful reviewers Tom and Jim enjoyed the Cosmic Invasion chaos!

I am a lapsed comic geek. I was intrigued by MCI right away, given its pedigree, and insta-bought it in my mind as soon as they announced Beta Ray Bill and Silver Surfer for the lineup.

It's going to be a long wait until March for the physical S2 edition. But I have Absolum to finish before then, and also my hype for MCI inspired me to pick up Marvel's Annihilation collected editions for required reading before I play. I don't even know who Phylla-Vell is, and I haven't read anything about Nova since his mullet hair was still in fashion, so I expect it'll be fun and enlightening "homework!"

I'm fervently hoping we get the Fantastic Four or some other surprises for DLC later, though that will mean I'll have to buy the physical a second time.

BC on the NES (NA) was one of those 3rd-party games that I really imprinted on back then, in 1987(?). What a great adventure, swinging around on your grappling arm and blasting through the game.

How surprised I was, a few months after I beat the game, to see a Bionic Commando cabinet (or was it called Top Secret?) in a local arcade! It was an arcade rendition through and through - such nice graphics, but so brutally difficult. My quarters were gone in an instant.
(Anyone curious can find Top Secret playable in Capcom Arcade Stadium 1, which frequently goes on sale on Switch.)

Later, while living in Japan and chatting with a friend about our fave NES/Famicom games, I learned my beloved BC on the NES was a sanitized version of the Famicom title “Top Secret: Hitler’s Return,” where you’re fighting the nazi lord himself! (And there he is, looming on that JPN box art!)

I voted NA just because I loved that game so much (one of many I wish I never sold off) and I like the Ame-comi style cover. That Famicom boxart is quite notorious though, and may win today’s battle.

It’s a Thanksgiving 4-day holiday weekend for me here in the ‘States, so you’d think I’d have ample time for games, but between attending the local football game, meal prep, hosting, making a big batch of turkey soup, and now decorating the house & the yard for the Yuletide, couch time with my S2 hasn’t been as plentiful as I’d like! That bodes ill for the backlog, as I didn’t even make good on my promise last weekend to do better juggling my games. Instead of playing balanced amounts of Absolum, Hades II, Kirby Air Riders, and LOZ: Tears of the Kingdom like I promised, I up and buy Picross S: Sega Genesis & Master System Edition on sale and played that all week! Ugh, those horrible, addictive little grids just begging to be filled in!! But, I at least got the paraglider for Link in TOK yesterday. 😅

Wishing everyone a relaxing weekend, and plenty for which to be thankful!! 🕹️🦃

Wow good stuff! I didn’t even know there were Bionic Commando and Kid Icarus games on the Gameboy!
I really didn’t need more games to play at the moment, but I’ll have to check these out a bit.

I picked this up on launch day but haven't touched it because I never finished TOTK! I'm playing that now, among other things, but at the rate I'm going it'll be February before I'm finally ready for Imprisonment Musou.
I'm glad to hear there will be extra content waiting for me then!

I'll be there day one for the physical release, in March. It'll be a long wait! Other games can stand aside when I finally get my hands on this cartridge.

By then I hope to have read the Marvel "Annihilation" crossover series of comics. It's been AGES since I've flipped through any superhero comics.
Actually, the game producers put together a video showing a "must read" list of comics which inspired the game. Well worth a look if you're excited about Cosmic Invasion!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BamMz1n9cQQ

NA version for me, as that’s the one I bought! Plus it looks like the full-size SNES box, which I also purchased, back in the 1900’s! 😅

I happily picked up my Hades II and Kirby Air Riders preorders yesterday, a full physical one-two punch that could very well remain unmatched for the rest of the S2 generation. The auspicious moment brought a couple new developments for me this weekend:

1) Skip the backlog pile, proceed directly to cartridge slot.
I started playing Kirby right away, which is rare for a game-hoarding procrastinator like me. GOTTA UNLOCK ALL THE STUFF.

2) Try to learn to juggle.
I’ve always preferred to focus on playing a single game at a time, rather than juggle a bunch at once. But I’ve got Kirby, Absolum, and TOTK all started recently and demanding attention, and Melinoë wanting to continue our quest in Hades II. I might have to try to work something out! For now, I’m dual-wielding my OLED with Absolum in it, and my Deuce with the other 3 games. 😅

I’ll be thankful for a little extra spare time during the Thanksgiving break. The Holidays are nearly upon us!

Wishing all fellow Nintendo Lifers plenty of time to appreciate your fave friends, family, and games this weekend! 🕹️💕🦃

These look incredible!
I will play the game long enough to unlock the customization cosmetics, at least. I think even those alone will make Air Riders a worthwhile purchase for me.

OMG what is the matter with people?! 😂
Also, this is brilliant.
I guess it’s inevitable when you have such deep customization options. Can’t patch it out of our physical cartridges, either. Yay!

@Polvasti
Puraimu not Praimu, of course, you’re right.
プライム

I hope I didn’t seem proper or pedantic - I was just having fun with “Engrish!” 😉

@Yoshi3
Excited!!
But you misspelled “Praimu” 😉

Praise Oatu, our prayers have been answered!! 🤩

It will be a long wait till March, but it will feel fantastic finally preordering this game.

This makes me so happy. My introduction to Picross was Mario’s Picross on NSO, which I loved, and I’ve been meaning to buy the Sega and Namco versions for many months now. I’m glad to see more classic game tie-ins to pick from later.
These are just such a great way to decompress and forget about life’s cares for a bit, very satisfying, while you reminisce about the games and characters you love. 🥰

Very classy! I’m picking my copy up tomorrow. t’ll have an honored spot on my shelf for a while. 🤩

"People do not care about the use of AI in games" says the man who's leading a gen AI company and citing Roblox as industry standard.
Such selfless altruism!!

Good thing we have visionaries such as Jacob here telling us what we like. I mean, the 30 million kids who played that Roblox mod obviously represent the entirety of the video gaming population. /s

I can't imagine AI ever being a net positive for humanity. Try as they might, nothing these vested tech bros say will ever dissuade me. Perhaps they'll feel differently, too, someday, when AI takes THEIR jobs.

I hate seeing this topic come up over and over again, but I guess it's a sign of the sad times we live in.

I never played the GC original and was hesitant about Air Riders, but after seeing the 2nd Direct and the depth of everything on offer, I was sold. The global Test Ride provided a little taste of what was to come, and now PJ’s endorsement will have me picking up my preorder eagerly this Friday!

The single-player content and retro Top Ride mode looked great to me, so thanks for the confirmation PJ! I know I’ll enjoy the story mode and unlocking everything. And the depth of customization aspect and overall cuteness may even tempt my daughters into playing.

Slinging yourself around the track seems like an apt description of how the game plays. I’m going into it with an open mind (as in, this is not MK) and will just enjoy the ride. 😁

I suspect I’m geezer enough to really enjoy surfing this software. I think it’d be amusing the same way those wonderful GTA Vice City radio stations were - a fond parody of bygone times. Lack of any “game” wouldn’t bother me if I’m chuckling and reminiscing while flipping channels like in the old days. 😄
I’ll have to watchlist this oddity for a rainy day.

@Morsel
Thank you Morsel! It’s so great of you to think of me. You just earned your spot on my NL Friends List (a feature I’ve often wished we had here on NL). ☺️

I’m wondering, though- how does your brain not melt when you switch between playing Cyberpunk and Hello Kitty Island Adventures?? If it were me, I’d be calling Kero-Kero Keroppi my main choom and worrying half the other NPC’s were out to shoot me. 😜

I spent 10-15 mins this morning typing my usual Saturday morning update, only to realize later I never posted it! What a waste 😓

Well, to keep my weekend streak going, I’ll just say briefly that I rolled credits on Hades II and thoroughly enjoyed doing so! There’s still plenty left of that game to play, but for now I’m moving on to Absolum or maybe return to finish TOTK to better enjoy Age of Imprisonment without spoiler paranoia.

Wishing all NL friends ample time to spend with your fave games this weekend! 🕹️👾🍄

A game I imagine I’d enjoy, yet have never played and never was particularly tempted to buy, till now. A nice complete physical edition to add to the collection and play on a quiet day sounds appealing.
I have to look to see if they patched in joycon mouse support for this game.

Looks good to me, though I fell off of Prime 1 back in the GC days and I never tried the sequels. But I'm looking forward to picking up my preorder in 3 weeks, and hopefully Prime 4 will provide some excitement this winter. I think having Federation troops out there to rescue will motivate me to keep playing.

I’ll be preparing to buy this collection again physically, for the 3rd time.

I feel like getting the rights for the Atari Midway games such as Paperboy, Gauntlet, Hard Drivin’, etc would take some kind of divine intervention, so let’s start smaller
Get the Imagic games! I remember really liking a few of those when I was a kid, like Space Ark. Then there were Parker Bros games like Frogger that were popular back then. I wish we could unearth some licensed gems like E.T, too. But it would be the Activision games that would truly complete the Atari 50 celebration. Activision was founded by Atari defectors, after all, and their titles (Pitfall, Pitfall 2, River Raid, Kaboom!) were some of my absolute favorites on the 2600.