Originally published on Switch Weekly

Issue #358

December 11, 2023

Will Link talk in the Zelda movie?

Hi , Chris here with issue #358 of Switch Weekly — your Nintendo round-up.

Starting a tweet with ‘ This is Miyamoto ‘ is a real strong move — and yup, the Zelda movie is officially a thing. Plenty of thoughts on that this week, with a few good reads on just what may be in the issue below. I’d love to know what you think about it, so please do hit reply if you wanna share.

There’s around 35 games landing on Switch next week, including a new Persona game, a Naruto brawler, that Hogwarts Legacy port, and the remake of 90s classic Super Mario RPG.

Thanks for reading!

Cheers ,
Chris ✌️

🎮 Currently Playing :

The Legend of Zelda: live-action movie in the works, Nintendo announces — After Mario this was the obvious next step for Nintendo. This being live-action is possibly not what many expected, and it’s curious to see Nintendo choosing not to work with Universal on this one, instead going with Sony. My dream of Nintendo opting for creating an animated work with Studio Ghibli ends here though I guess.

Sian Cain // The Guardian

Miyamoto and Avi Arad have been discussing the Zelda movie for a decade — Arad (of Spider-Man 3 fame …) is producing this upcoming Zelda flick. This means the pair have been in talks since Breath of the Wild was in development.

Ollie Reynolds // Nintendo Life

If Link talks, I walk —Thoughts on the recently announced Zelda film.

Nathan Grayson // Aftermath

Nintendo’s Zelda movie is setting itself up to fail —” A twink in a green tunic finds a cool sword and uses it to rescue a princess. Big deal. It’s the kind of stripped-down hero’s journey we’ve all seen a million times before — fun to play, but not captivating to watch “.

Robin Bea // Inverse

Nintendo raises profit forecast to $2.8bn as Zelda shifts close to 20m units

James Batchelor // gamesindustry

Despite Nintendo’s financial success, the Switch 2 is needed now more than ever

Amaar Chowdhury // Videogamer

2023 marks the turning point for Nintendo as a full-blown entertainment brand

Logan Plant // IGN

REVIEW Air Twister — ” a prog-rock rail shooter from the Shenmue guy? Sure okay. “.

John Rairdin // Nintendo World Report

REVIEW Fashion Dreamer

Allyson Cygan // Nintendo World Report

Removing the timer from Mario Wonder is a revelation for 2D Mario

Oli Welsh // Polygon

Nintendo’s new tournament rules limit disabled player inclusion

Laura Dale // Access-ability

Six months later, Tears Of The Kingdom’s sense of wonder is still unmatched

Jim Norman // Nintendo Life

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is one of the most underrated Zelda games

Ana Diaz // Polygon

The most underappreciated Mario Kart game deserves to see the light of day again — Yes, it’s about Double Dash, which has just turned 20.

Mark Hill // Inverse

🎮 Upcoming Releases

All releases are digital, Europe & U.S. unless otherwise stated.
Release data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores .

⭐️ = Ones to Watch · 📦 = Physical release · 🎮 = Demo available

Mon

⭐️🎮 Spirittea — Spirited Away fans take notice, this game sees you run a bathhouse for spirits.
⭐️📦 Super Crazy Rhythm Castle — I’ve heard of this new four player co-op rhythm-based adventure game from Konami before, but it looks equal parts interesting and chaotic. ( Physical release )

Tue

Astral Ascent — A fast-paced 2D fantasy platformer roguelite with two player support.
📦 Hogwarts Legacy — There’s better places to play this, but if you were holding out for the Switch port, here it is. ( Physical release )
⭐️ KarmaZoo — This is a unique little indie arcade platformer where kindness wins — helping others online and working together is the name of the game here.

Wed

Castle Invasion: Throne Out — Basic, cartoony castle defense with 50 levels.
Dream Town Island — Another sim from the Kairosoft team, this time about building an island town.
Lily in Puzzle World — Budget-friendly 2D platformer meets puzzler with plenty of single-screen challenges to take on.
Prison City — A 2D side-scroller action game set in 1997 in which Detroid is now a ‘mega-prison’. Looks to have lots of retro appeal.
⭐️ The Last Faith — An ‘unholy alliance’ of Metroidvania meets Soulslike — if that sounds good to you, this seems worth checking out. M for mature .
🎮 Turbo Shell — This is a fast-paced eggy precision platformer with a Smash-style ‘ Break the Targets ‘ component.
Zombies Rising Dawn — A Plants Vs Zombies-alike.

Thu

Adventure Tanks — Single player 3D cartoony tank battler.
Astlibra Revision — Side-scrolling JPRG with ‘god-like’ boss battles. M for mature .
Cats on Streets — Find hidden kitties in cities such as Tokyo, Paris and London.
CometStriker DX — A 2D arcade space shooter with dodging and power-ups aplenty.
Low Story — A 2.5D side-scrolling action shooter.
MechanixMind: IQ Puzzle Adventure — A puzzler with real-world physics — meaning you can approach a puzzle in countless ways.
On Rusty Trails — You’re a robot named Elvis in this ‘lightning-fast’ platformer.
Smoots Pinball — Five tables with multiplayer.
The Myth Seekers 2: The Sunken City — Fantasy-themed hidden object game.
Until the Last Bullet — An on-rails shooter set in an abandoned factory combined with full motion video moments to tell the story. M for mature .
📦🎮 Yohane the Parhelion: Blaze in the Deepblue — 2D underwater Metroidvania action game. ( Physical release )

Fri

📦 Bluey: The Videogame — My son is a big Bluey fan, so I’m probably going to end up grabbing this one. ( Physical release )
Call of Sniper Combat: WW2 — A basic Sniper FPS – based on the screenshots it has nothing to do with WW2 though. M for mature .
Drag Racing Car Simulator — 3D racing game.
⭐️ Grotto — A curious looking ‘mystical, narrative-focused experience’. M for mature .
⭐️📦 Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections — Brawler with a ton of characters from the anime, and it tells the story of Naruto and Sasuke, including scenes from the show. ( Physical release )
⭐️📦 Persona 5 Tactica — Phantom Thieves tactical RPG spin-off. ( Physical release )
Runnyk — A mini-sized 2D Metroidvania featuring viking mythology and a GBA-style look.
⭐️📦 Super Mario RPG — Take down the Smithy gang on the Star Road in this remake of the classic SNES RPG. ( Physical release )
⭐️ The Forest Quartet — A nice looking 3D narrative puzzler with a musical theme.
The Smurfs: Learn and Play — Edutainment for kids.
📦 The Walking Dead: Destinies — Rick Grimes adventure. M for mature . ( Physical release )

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⚡️ Quick Links

All 48 courses of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Pass are out now , and the game is closing in on 60 million copies sold.
A LEVEL-5 event later this month will give us a fresh look at the new Professor Layton amongst other games.
Super Mario RPG is getting a physical instruction manual in Japan , not included in the box though.
This page on Nintendo’s Japanese site is a lovely way to look back over some classic Famicom box art.
What game do you most regret buying on Switch? Reddit discussed this week .
So, just which Zelda game would make for the best movie ?
Reimagining the bedroom from Pokemon Red, going from a top-down view to an isometric one is rather lovely to watch come together .

💸 eShop Bargains

Here’s a quick list of some current offers on the Nintendo eShop that caught our eye. Price tracking is provided via Family Gaming Database .

Looking for more? Family Gaming Database has a full list of the Switch games that are on sale right now.

Will Link talk in the Zelda movie?

🎮 Upcoming Releases

⚡️ Quick Links

💸 eShop Bargains

Nintendo’s financial results reveal Switch 2 hits 10 million units sold

Former Nintendo employees reveal what it took to launch the NES in America

The NESBOOK is a Nintendo Entertainment System Companion Coffee Book