Issue #467

January 25, 2026

Kensuke Tanabe retires from Nintendo after 40 years

Hello, hope you’re doing well. Issue #467 of Hanafuda Report here, with your Nintendo digest.

This week saw Nintendo veteran Kensuke Tanabe retire from the company after four decades. It also came to light that Hideki Konno left the company at some point in 2025. We’re going to see more and more of this in the coming years with the ‘old guard’ of Miyamoto (now 72), Tezuka (64), Kondo (63), and Aonuma (62) to name just a few, reaching the ends of their lengthy careers. It’s a unique situation for Nintendo really, as very few other places in the industry enjoy such high levels of staff retention — such longevity serves the company well for training up the next generation and ensuring whatever ‘magic’ needs passing down will be. I think this clip from Keza MacDonald sums up that intergenerational benefit rather well.

This week also saw another Mario Galaxy movie trailer, a peek at the Mario Bros. Wonder update, a weird Talking Flower thing that I’m not really sure I’d want in my house, Switch 2 sales updates, and more. Busy! Plenty of links on all of that below.

There’s also just over 15 games coming to the eShop listed below.

Finally, throughout February Hanafuda Club members will be playing through Wario World. If you fancy joining us there’s still time to support the newsletter, and become a member.

Ok, that’s all from me. Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you next time!

Cheers,
Chris ✌️

▶ The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Direct — January 2026 — A quick five minute Direct for a two minute trailer. You can catch just the trailer here if you’d prefer. It’s essentially an introduction to Yoshi and his role in the upcoming film (due in April).

Nintendo of America // YouTube

▶ 35+ secrets you missed in the Yoshi ‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ trailer

GameXplain // YouTube

REVIEW Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade — “a deeply weird game with awesome combat, wonderful writing, incredible music, and a joyously baffling story“.

Neal Ronaghan // Nintendo World Report

Kensuke Tanabe is retiring, here are all the Nintendo games he has worked on over the past 40 years

Chris Brandrick // Hanafuda Report

Nintendo veteran Hideki Konno, known for Mario Kart and Yoshi’s Island, has seemingly left after 39 years — In other ‘old guard’ leaving news…

Chris Scullion // VGC

Nintendo announces Super Mario Bros. Wonder Switch 2 Edition release date, plus Elephant Mario and Captain Toad Amiibo — Arriving in late March, this upgraded Switch 2 version of the 2023 platformer has some nice upgrades, particularly for co-op, but the will set you back $20 if you already own the original Switch version. Seems a tad pricier than I was expecting?

Tom Phillips // IGN

REVIEW Mio: Memories in Orbit nails the art of the Metroidvania — “committed to the act of exploration to a surgical degree“.

Giovanni Colantonio // Polygon

Nintendo Switch 2 sold 4.4 million units in the US in 2025, remains the fastest-selling console in US history

Chris Scullion // VGC

Fable is in ‘consideration’ for Switch 2, it’s claimed

Sam Sepiol // Insider Gaming

REVIEW The Legend Of Heroes: Trails Beyond The Horizon continues the best epic in games

Marc Normandin // AV Club

12-Player Animal Crossing: New Horizons is a nightmare because Nintendo handles online functionality in the most ridiculous way possible

Rebekah Valentine // IGN

▶ Are we emotionally prepared to return to Animal Crossing?

Super Switch Headz // YouTube

‘Six months with my Nintendo Switch 2’

Prof. Rock // Prof. Rock’s Learning Arcade

We wanted to be serious about screen time. We changed our minds — and everyone was fine

Emily Marler // Crossplay

Wario World is the Hanafuda Club Games Club game for February — For the month of February Hanafuda Club members will be playing through the 2003 GameCube platformer Wario World. Join us!

Chris Brandrick // Hanafuda Report

Upcoming Releases

⭐️ = One to Watch

📦 = Physical Release

🔑 = Game Key Card

🎮 = Demo Available

Tue

27

Astro Party EX — A chaotic local multiplayer sci-fi space brawler. It’s free to download, but there’s an add-on which upgrades things.

Wed

28

Heroes Battle Awakening — It’s monsters versus monsters in this top-down tower defense tactics.
⭐️ Crosak — A caveman platformer with a play-dough aesthetic.
Maid of Salvation — Dark fantasy, fast-paced action RPG.
Century of Anticipation — Another free game, this one is a weird, plain adventure with a scratchy hand drawn style.

Thu

29

Card Quest — Dungeon crawling strategy with a feline hero.
Majotori — Interactive narrative adventure with quiz elements.
Countless Army — You’re the villain in this reverse tower defense game.
2️⃣ Grid Legends: Deluxe Edition — Sim racer with all the DLC included.
The Rite of Lilium — Horror adventure — Japanese language only.
Running Fable Petite Party — Mini-game party game for four.
Simpli Casa — If you thought the best bit of The Sims was building your home, this may appeal.
📦 Chrono Ark Deluxe Edition — Deck-building roguelike RPG. (Physical release)
The Perfect Pencil — Surreal story-driven action platformer set in a hand-drawn kingdom.
Egg Console Wonderland of Carbuncle MSX2 — A ‘peculiar’ 1991 shooting game about collecting falling apples.
Escape Game The Museum of Memories — Escape game set in an art museum.

Fri

30

Our Burial Dolls Remastered — Horror mystery visual novel featuring a ritual in a remote mountain village.

Release dates are for Europe & U.S. markets unless otherwise stated.
Data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.

Quick Links

The release date for the Mario Galaxy Movie has been brought forward.
Something of a nice (and unexpected) surprise — Donkey Kong Country Returns HD got a free Switch 2 update.
Big toy maker Hasbro has added former Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser to its board of directors.
Analyst firm Niko Partners believes the Switch 2 will see a global price increase at some point this year.
A ‘Rayman 30th Anniversary Edition’ has been rated for the Switch.
If you want the brothers side-by-side, a big Luigi ‘Mario Kart’ LEGO set has been teased.
Here’s a new trailer for The Eternal Life of Goldman — I’m impressed.
You can now do team battles in Mario Kart World’s Knockout Tour.
Is IKEA hinting at an Animal Crossing collab?
Masahiro Sakurai sure does love putting JPEGs of food in his games.
It’s now been over nine years since that ‘ice cubes in my Joy-Con’ Switch presentation.

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Thanks to: Seany!, Perfect Flyer, FrozenTrout, GeeDuhb, MindFad, Paul Pace, Evelynn, CapnGoat, m12y, Geen …and others.

Kensuke Tanabe retires from Nintendo after 40 years

Upcoming Releases

Quick Links

As Switch 2 sells 17 million, the original Switch reaches a new milestone

It’s 2026 and the Virtual Boy is sold out

Wario World is the Hanafuda Club Games Club game for February