#187: Your Nintendo Update

▶ Mr. Sakurai presents “Min Min” — Yep, here’s a in-depth look at the next fighter to join the Ultimate roster, and this time it’s the Noodle fighter from ARMS. The character is landing in game tomorrow – June 29 . Oh, we also got some new Mii Fighter costumes announced (including Vault Boy) and a look at some new Amiibo.

Nintendo // YouTube

▶ Animal Crossing: New Horizons – Summer Update — Good to see more new content being added to this megahit of a game. This summer update adds in swimming, and will land on July 3. A second summer update is planned for August.

Nintendo // YouTube

Pokémon fans aren’t thrilled about Pokémon Unite — Oh boy. This MOBA got announced earlier this week in another ‘Pokemon Presents’ vid. That video is now one of Nintendo’s most-disliked uploads. As for why? Well, it looks like folks expected one thing and got…another. The optics on it are a bit messy really, as some thought we may be seeing remakes of earlier titles, and others took issue with Tencent’s involvement. Anyway, the trailer for this free-to-start game is in the post here if you are yet to see it.

Alistair Jones // Kotaku UK

Ninjala’s cute Shinobi (literally) kick ass and chew bubble gum — This free-to-play brawler ( rocking a Splatoon-aesthetic ) launched this week, and it sounds like I really need to download it and take it for a spin to see what the fuss is about. These initial impressions from Mike Fahey are fairly positive, and over one million folks have downloaded it already .

Mike Fahey // Kotaku

Nintendo chills mobile ambitions after Animal Crossing success — Expect the rate of new mobile titles from Nintendo to slow, as President Shuntaro Furukawa recently commented that the company ” are not necessarily looking to continue releasing many new applications for the mobile market “. No surprise really, considering not only how reluctant the company were to enter the mobile space to begin with, but also that they felt it necessary to do so during the drab Wii U era following investor pressure. The Nintendo of now don’t need to be diverting attention to making mobile games. Honestly, it feels like they never really got it right anyway, maybe their heart wasn’t in it. 😉

Takashi Mochizuki // Bloomberg

Nintendo says Switch hardware production is recovering and its 2020 games are on track

Tom Ivan // VGC

REVIEW SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated — Fairly mixed reviews for this remaster of the 2003 platformer. Despite being ” exactly what a lifelong SpongeBob fan hoped it would be” others may not be so keen to rush to it. IGN tagged it as a ‘skin-deep’ remaster , saying it does ” little to stand alongside the best, or even the pretty good, platformer remakes and remasters we’ve seen this generation” .

Steven Rollins // Nintendo Enthusiast

REVIEW Mr. Driller Drill Land — This 2002 GameCube game was exclusive to Japan until 2020, and now, 18 years later it’s finally seeing a wider release. Neal thinks the wait has been worth it: ” This is an excellent and intense puzzle game filled with a ton of variety that, courtesy of the HD remake, shows absolutely no signs of age.”

Neal Ronaghan // Nintendo World Report

REVIEW Yes, Your Grace — This sim/RPG went down well when it launched on Steam, and it’s now on Switch. “.. an enjoyable hybrid game, filled with obvious lies, surprise twists, quirky characters, and lots and lots of needy petitioners” .

Kay Purcell // Gaming Trend

REVIEW Star Wars: Episode 1 Racer — ” A fantastic port of a twenty-year old game “.

Daryl Baxter // Stealth Optional

REVIEW Pokemon Cafe Mix — Seems to be ok, for now .

Chris Scullion // Nintendo Life

REVIEW Warborn — Looks like this turn-based strategy game seems to play it safe with the Advance Wars formula.

PJ O’Reilly // Nintendo Life

Switch Retrospectives — The excellent aggregator site Switch Scores has started publishing a new feature that looks back over the Switch library and highlights the highest rated games from months past. It’s a neat way to find some of the hidden gems in the vast Switch library.

Ben Barden // Switch Scores

Nintendo Switch Online vs Virtual Console — There are now over 80 games as part of the Switch Online service, but is it enough to make up for the lack of Virtual Console?

Molgrim // Super Jump Online

Tuesday, June 30

• The Legends of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III — Uncover a dark plot in this RPG. 📦
• The StoryTale — Fairytale platformer.
• My Bewitching Perfume — A love sim otome game. (July 1 in U.S)

Thursday, July 2

• Pool Slide Story — Make your own water park in this isometric sim.
• Infliction: Extended Cut — Creepy ‘interactive nightmare’.
• The Wanderer: Frankenstein’s Creature — Puzzle adventure taking a ‘fresh look’ at the myth.
• Alluris — A Reigns-style casual adventure RPG.
• Biped — Co-op 3D adventure game.
• The Otterman Empire — Quick-fire party shooter game, with jetpacks.

Friday, July 3

• Singled Out — Identify your target quickly in this budget puzzle shooter.
• Ghost Grab 3000 — Arcade score attack game with a grapple beam mechanic.
• Clash Force — Run and gun arcade platformer.
• Infini — Perspective shifting puzzles.

Saturday, July 4

• Zombies Runied My Day — Yeah, they’ll do that. Budget cartoon shooter.