TLDW: Nintendo Direct January 11, 2018! The World Ends with You, Mario Odyssey DLC, and more!

Those sneaky guys at Nintendo released a very early morning stream of their Nintendo Direct of what games were coming out this year. Here what was shown off.

The World Ends with You: Final Remix: Release: 2018

The cult classic Nintendo DS game, The World Ends with You, is back! Remastered for the Nintendo Switch, you play as Neku and his group of friends trapped in alternate dimension in Shibuya. Your goal is to complete the task assigned by Reapers or die! The game was famous for its unique soundtrack, art, character design, and gameplay. The gameplay revolved around designer pins which gave Neku different attacks and comboining with your partners against evil monsters. The game will also include a new scenario involving a new character that was never shown in the Nintendo DS or mobile version. This was my favorite game of the entire Nintendo DS generation and its great to see the game come back on the Switch after the director/creator retired earlier this year.

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Pokken Tournament DX DLC Battle Pack Release: Pack 1: Jan 31st Pack: 2: March 23rd

pokemon.jpgPokken Tournament will have two DLC packs. The first one will contain the Pokemon Aegislash, a sword and shield Pokemon. It will also come with two support characters: Mega Rayquaza and Mimikyu. The second pack will have Blastoise and support characters: Mew and Celebi. They will also come with new avatar designs if you wanna change your Trainers appearance.

Kirby Star Allies: Release: March 16th

New copy abilities were shown such as the Painter and the Spider. You can also combine your abilities with a friend called Friend Abilities to create unique attacks with different powers. Your friends will play as Monsters. With 4 player co-op, you can access unique areas in maps. The game looks absolutely gorgeous and there will be unique enemies. For the Nintendo 3DS, Kirby Battle Royal! demo is out on the eShop. Dragon Quest Builder Demo is also out on the Nintendo Switch.

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Hyrule Warriors: Definitive Edition: Release: Spring 2018

hyrule.jpgIf you missed Hyrule Warriors on the WiiU, you’ll get another change to play the game. It will come with all the DLC, 29 characters, maps, and even support mobile multiplayer and split screen action! Also Breath of the Wild costumes if you want. A unique Dynasty Warrior type game for fans of slashing through multiple enemies and huge power-up attacks.

 

Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze: Release: May 4th

dkThe amazing DK game that was only on the WiiU is finally being ported to the Switch. The game will also include Funky Kong. The cool ape has unique abilities that make the game easier for newer players. His surfboard allows him to double jump, avoid spikes, and he has an invulnerable, infinite roll and spin. If you want to chill and play through it again, I highly recommend picking it up. I guarantee you’ll have an ice time.

 

Mario Tennis Aces: Releases: Spring 2018.

A new Mario tennis game! There is a more focus on skill but it looks more like a normal tennis game. Less power-ups and random attacks. There is a new story mode that hasn’t been seen since the GBA tennis game. The story-mode will have boss fights and unique challengers. More is set to be revealed as the game comes closer to launch.

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Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of DANA Release: Summer 2018

ys.jpgA port of the PS4 game, Ys follows the story of Adol who becomes shipwrecked on an island full of monsters. You’ll have to gather party members who were also shipwrecked. As you grow stronger, your home on the island will grow bigger. Monsters will have different weakness so you’ll need different party members to hunt monsters down. A classic JRPG game to start the year.

Mario Odyssey DLC: Balloon World! Release: February 2018

A free Mario Odyssey DLC for people who have beaten the game! You can find Luigi who will give you access to Balloon World. A unique hide and seek game where you hide balloons on the map or seek out other players’ balloons. You’ll have 30 seconds so people who know the maps or fun jumping skills will have a fun time hiding or seeking them. You’ll climb the leader boards depending on how fast you or other players find it. It is called speed-running objective hunting. The DLC will also come with new outfits and snapshot filter.

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Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle DLC: Spring 2018

rabbids.jpgNew DLC for Mario+Rabbids. An unexpected but good game for the Switch. The new DLC will allow you to play as Donkey Kong. No info on how he plays but he seems to have a boomerang attack and long tossing ability. The DLC’s price is unknown.

 

Payday 2: Feb 27th

Local and Online play for people with the Switch version of the game. It’ll come with all the DLC and a new character, Joy, a Japanese computer hacker, and time-exclusive heist. HD rumble will give you different effects from being shot to firing bullets. Joy will also have unique hacking abilities for firewalls and guns. If you haven’t picked it up on the other consoles, you now have a mobile version.

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SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy: Summer 2018

snk.jpgA (casual?) fighter involving the female fighters from the King of Fighter series. It is a tag-team fighter with items. You won’t able to defeat them with damage alone, you’ll need to use a “Dream Finisher” to win the fights. You can also customize your character fighters with costumes. Not sure if the game will be competitive fighter or a casual game.

ACA Art of Fighting 2 is available on the Nintendo eShop. A classic 16-bit fighter

Fe: Feb. 16th

A unique platformer. You’ll traverse the world and use unique abilities with nature. From plants to animals, to singing or platforming or even flying, the animals you meet are all unique. The game apparently takes advantage of HD rumble and will have different feels for different animals. A unique indie game.

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Celeste: Jan 25th

A unique mountain climbing platformer. With huge stamina system, Celeste can climb anywhere. She also has a air dash for platforming. The 16-bit like 2D platformer has a variety of characters to meet. The game will be tough so there’s an assist mode if you need the help or if you prefer a challenge, there are unique difficult platformer levels.

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Dark Souls: Remastered: May 25th

The famous JRPG from last generation. The game will be remastered for the Nintendo Switch. Known for its difficulty and unique story, the game has become famous for its challenging environments and bosses. And of course the Sun itself. How the game looks or feels hasn’t been shown but this is a step forward in showing that Nintendo wants to have games for a hardcore audience since the GameCube.

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Dragon Ball FighterZ Beta Launches Jan.13

If you’ve been waiting to try Dragon Ball FighterZ, the beta will launch on Saturday, January 13th if you have pre-ordered the game. For everyone else, it’ll launch on Sunday, January 14th. The beta will launch with 11 different characters from the original 20 roster. The beta will only be for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and end on January 16.

Mad Catz is Back

Resurrection! Mad Catz, the video game peripheral company, went out of business in 2017 after poor investments into Rock Band 4 and other poor and expensive controller design choices. The company was well known for their controllers and their arcade sticks. According to sources from CNET from Alex Verrey, Mad Catz is back. After a teaser trailer showcasing on of their mouses, it was revealed today that the company is back. After most of their assets were acquired from a Chinese holding company, they are building new products and are showcasing them at CES 2017 in Las Vegas. They will be showcasing the Strike 4 mechanical keyboard with RGB lighting, the Freq 4 gaming headset, a new gaming mouse known as the Rat Air which can operate completely wirelessly — thanks to a wireless power system built into its included mousepad.

On their website, they are also showcasing keypads, mouses, headsets, and mousepads. Mad Catz may be under new management but the new owners have experience in the peripheral industry. The owners are individuals who worked in the companies’ Chinese factory. They have an understanding in manufacturing since they were the ones who made the products. They are planning to bring back the products that Mad Catz abruptly stopped manufacturing because of the shutdown. The company’s main focus will be on quality instead of quantity. They also only be producing products under the Mad Catz name and will look to expand in the future.

A big question from fighting game fans is Mad Catz going to continue to create fighting game sticks. While there has not been an official announcement, Selena Chang announced on the website that “we’re already working on delivering products which we believe will enhance gamers’ abilities and do justice to the Mad Catz name.” Mark Julio, aka MarkMan, was one of the biggest faces for Mad Catz. He helped change the perception of Mad Catz FightSticks from garbage to legitimate options.

Unfortunately, he announced during an interview with CNET he would not be returning after being let go during the huge lay offs from Mad Catz.

I believe in the brand focusing on its strengths. I felt Mad Catz had a few good products and key communities that backed them. It’ll be interesting to see how fans, communities and individuals will feel about them making a comeback. Just having a product is one thing, having the vision and competency to make the products live longer than just their marketing/shelf life…. that’s another thing.

Many people (myself included) have moved on with life after Mad Catz. Can ghosts from our past still find a place in today’s gaming world? I think so… they’re gonna have their work cut out for them though. Timing is everything.

Are you excited for the return of Mad Catz? Do you consider the return to be good or do you know them as the second controller makers?

Sources:

CNET

MadCatz

Polygon

My Favorite Game of 2017

There isn’t a lot of news so I’ll just talk about my favorite game of 2017. I also didn’t play too many games because I was working. The cons of being an adult. I only finished two games: Persona 5 from Atlus and Super Mario Odyssey from Nintendo.

No automatic alt text available.My favorite game of 2017 was Persona 5. I clocked in 111 hours into the game and maxed all the Social Links in the game after beating Persona 3 and 4SPOILERS AHEAD!

 

Story: 8/10

I prefer this story over the previous series. It did a good job combining character growth with the overarching story.  Ryuji, Morgana, Ann, Yusuke, Makoto, Haru, and Futaba’s personalities changes throughout the story but also contributed to solving the main plot of corrupt adults taking advantage of people. I also thought the theme was great because the villains don’t actually affect real people in supernatural ways like in P3 or P4. If the Phantom Thieves never existed, nobody was going to die or the world wasn’t ending. It was more of a story about good people going out of their way to make the world better. Usually, people are scared or complacent in trying to help the world and would rather watch events unfold on their own similar to the overall theme of Persona 5. Shido is definitely not as good as a villain as Adachi and the final boss being a God again is now predictable. Also Akechi being the betrayer was too obvious which has always been an issue with the series with obvious villain types. The reveal of Igor and the Twins was surprising to me.

Gameplay: 10/10 

There is something so satisfying about ripping off a Shadow’s mask. The user interface of Persona 5 is probably the best in any video game. Style and art blend seamlessly with the gameplay. Although the battles are turn-base, the addition to the baton system and negotiation makes battles feel more dynamic. I wanted different outcomes for each fight, whether it was items, money, or a new Persona. The dungeons and boss fights were fun with more problem solving rather than brute force or attrition. Whether it wad dumping paint on the boss or cutting the veins of the Holy Grail, it was a lot funner than only buffing your characters, debuffing the enemy, and attacking. The Social Links giving you abilities encouraged you to obtain all of them. My personal favorite besides the main cast was the Sun, the politician, and the Star, the shogi player.

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Music: 10/10

Shogi Meguro, the music composer for Persona, continues to release amazing soundtracks. Etika’s reaction to the soundtrack is me throughout the entire game. The mix of acid jazz and lyrics was amazing. As usual, the music fit the theme and environment

 

Opinion:

I love this game. I love the color pallets, the story, the designs, and the social link. My only complain is that there’s nothing after Christmas in the game. Also there is no point in leaving Tokyo. Best game of 2017 for me but I didn’t finish Breath of the Wild or Nier: Automata.