The Blog

NEKO-NIN exHeart, a romantic visual novel is coming to Switch in 2023. Sekai Project has announced that the Whirlpool developed game will not only come with Interface and U.I. updates but that the rest of the NEKO-NIN series will also come to the platform at a later date.

Below is a summary of the game from it’s Steam page.

At Anime Expo Sekai Project announced that they will releases the illuCalab developed Metroid-vania ‘Alice Escaped!’ to Switch in the Third quarter of 2023. The game is currently in Quality Assurance testing, we will keep you updated when an exact release date is announced.

Below is a summary of the game from it’s Steam page.

Game Informer have posted a new Interview with NetherRealm Studio’s Ed Boon to discuss Mortal Kombat 1 and how classic characters are being revamped in the new/old entry.

You can check out the full interview above.

Earlier this month it was announced that Original Stitch, the company behind the premium ‘Pokémon Shirts’ design line would be shutting it’s doors. Typically, this would mean that all the companies works with Pokémon would be lost to time but thanks to some dedicated fans that didn’t happen.

In the above Tweet thread Archivist Lewtwo describes the process they and their team underwent to preserve all materials related to Original Stitch in just 6 hours.

This not only includes all of the shirt designs but also special promotional materials, we suggest checking the full Twitter thread to get a sense of the scale of all materials preserved.

If you want to see/download the designs yourself you can check out the Link to the archive down below and maybe consider supporting the team that works hard to keep all this information readily available.

A new shoot ‘em up originally released on Apple Arcade called Air Twister is making it’s way to Switch November 10th from the developers at YS NET. You can watch the full trailer above and read an overview of the game below.

While Japan will receive physical and limited editions of the game it is unknown if there are any plans for a physical western release, we will keep you updated if any announcements are made.

This July, we’re welcoming white, yellow, and red frangipanis into Pikmin Bloom! Just the sight of these fragrant flowers, and you may find yourself almost feeling a tropical breeze! Enjoy creating beautiful trails when you plant them during your walks this month!

Throughout July, Big Flowers may occasionally bloom into calla lilies, hydrangeas, lilies, roses, frangipanis, or sunflowers when you plant regular red, yellow, white, or blue petals around them.

During July, fruit obtained from tackling mushrooms will give either regular, calla lily, hydrangea, lily, rose, frangipani, or sunflower nectar.

In July, Community Day will be held on the following dates: July 8th and 9th. Details to follow soon.

A report from KFTV states that the upcoming Minecraft movie will begin filming in New Zealand later this year on August 7th. KFTV also provides a brief synopsis on what the movie’s plot will entail.

The Minecraft movie is currently slated for release on April 4th, 2025. We will keep you updated on any new information as it becomes relevant.

Ever since the Super Mario RPG remake trailer was announced in the recent Nintendo Direct fans have poured over the footage to try and uncover new details. We reported on a reference to Famicom mascot Diskun that was made more clear due to the game’s cleaned up graphics but we have another reference that was cleared up thanks to one of the original game’s character designers!

As you can see in the Tweet above, Super Mario RPG Character Designer Kurashima Kazuhiro was asked on Twitter by fan @Retro64_ to clear up a reference in the design of the boss Valentina.

Valentina’s odd parrot…hair? hat? has caused some confusion among Mario RPG fans, not just due to the bizarre anatomy but also the bird’s coloration baring a striking resemblance to animal buddy Squawks from the Donkey Kong Country Series.

Kazuhiro made it very clear that yes, this was an intended reference to DK’s feathered friend which shouldn’t be that surprising considering the existence of the Chained Kong enemies.

Kurashima Kazuhiro still has more tidbits about Valentina. Fans have noticed a change to her design in the remake and Kazuhiro has commented on it, and no, we’re not just talking about the reduction of…“physics” in her taking damage animation.

roughly translated the above Tweet from Kazuhiro reads “Margarita I didn’t study enough. . We apologize for the inconvenience. .”

This might seem like a random thing to say but he is actually referring to the Japanese name of Valentina, which is Margarita, and a mistake in the original that is fixed in the remake.

As you can see in the above Tweet from Supper Mario Broth despite being named after the alcoholic beverage of the same name in Japanese, Valentina does not hold a Margarita in her original artwork.

Kazuhiro’s comments seems to imply he was not aware that margaritas are typically served with lime wedges rather than cherries so her design was updated to have the name make more sense for Japanese audiences.

Who knows what other secrets from the original game will come to light now that the remake is on the way.

Welcome back to GoNintendo’s Smash Character review series. in today’s episode we will be jumping all the way up to one of the more recent inclusions to the lineup in honor of their 25th anniversary, Banjo and Kazooie!

To say this bear and bird duo hold a special place in many a Nintendo fan’s heart would be an understatement, as their original outing is still fondly remembered by players to this day, and it was a crucial building block in creating RARE’s undeniable legacy.

It’s been a longtime coming for these icons to throw their proverbial hats into the ring, as many have been asking for the duo’s appearance since the very first installment. That’s not hyperbole; there was actually a poll on the Japanese Smash 64 website that asked players who’d they want to see in a hypothetical Smash Bros. sequel and the pair were the second most requested RARE creation behind the GoldenEye 007 version of James Bond.

In the years following, RARE were seeking to be bought by Nintendo, but the Big N decided not to pursue, leaving Microsoft to snatch them. Since then, many have felt Banjo and Kazooie’s chances for a Smash appearance were impossible even though third party characters were introduced with Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Thankfully, those same fans kept asking for the pair’s appearance, and the stars eventually aligned with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Unlike the past two characters we’ve covered Banjo and Kazooie were made from the ground up for Ultimate. This lets us see how Smash’s character design conventions have both changed and stayed the same. Once again, we recommend you checking out the first installment in our series for a full breakdown on how things work.

Right now the IAAPA (International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) conference is going down in Singapore. This conference is a place for theme park ride manufacturers to show of their latest tech in hopes of landing deals with companies or to show off what projects they are currently working on. Basically, Theme Park E3.

Chris Nilghe of TDRExplorer (A Japanese theme park blog) posted the below tweet showing off a ride vehicle for an unannounced new trackless dark-ride created by Sansei Technologies, a company that has worked with both Universal Studios and Disney in the past.

While the vehicle itself is very generic, Chris speculates this was intentionally done to keep the theme of the ride a secret. Chris then goes on to speculate that this might be the vehicle for a rumored Pokémon replacement for Universal Studios Japan’s Spider-Man ride.

While that may seem out of nowhere, Pokémon replacing Spider-Man at Universal Japan has been a rumor circulating in the theme park community for a while now though it was unknown if the plans fell through or not.

We do know that Universal Japan are collaborating with the Pokémon company to create “entertainment projects to immerse you in the world of Pokémon” and it would make sense that a Pokémon ride would be one of these collaborations.

Considering how big Pokémon is, especially in it’s home country of Japan, t’s not that surprising that USJ would want to get Pikachu and pals into a ride as soon as possible.

This is again, just speculation based on rumors so take everything here with a Garganacl-sized piece of salt. And even if it is true, it doesn’t necessarily mean this specific ride will make it’s way to the American Universal Parks

In case you weren’t aware, McDonald’s teamed up with developers Gumpy Function to release a new Gameboy Color styled game starring Grimace in celebration of his birthday. You can play the game here in a browser or even download the ROM to play on GameBoy emulators or, theoretically, official hardware!

GameXplain have posted an exclusive interview with Tom Lockwood, Game and Level Designer of Grimace’s Birthday, which you can watch above.

Mr. Lockwood reveals interesting details on the game’s development including it being inspired by classic titles like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater or the Kirby series and the game being developed in a 7-week period. Stay tuned to the end and you may find out what Mr. Lockwood’s McDonald’s order is.

Mr. Lockwood also discusses some of his other projects, so if you enjoyed seeing their work on Grimace hopefully you can consider supporting their other endeavors.

You may recall the Final Fantasy racer Chocobo GP releasing to mass ire due to heavy use of microtransactions. Well, it seems Square Enix have recently re-released the game as a full release as opposed to a free to play title.

Now the game is available for $50 and you can check it out on the Nintendo Switch eShop at the link below!

EDIT: To make the story on the game’s original release a bit more clear. While the game did launch with micro transactions and a Battle Pass the game was heavily altered after it’s first season to reduce the focus on these features.

Unfortunately, by the time these changes had been made, the game was out of discussion and many (including myself) we’re unaware these changes had been made.

Also the “free-to-play” version of the game mentioned earlier was more accurately a stripped down Demo of the proper game.

We apologize for the misunderstanding we may have caused.

Spike Chunsoft have reached out to us via email to inform you that unfortunately the Mysteriful Limited Edition of Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE’s release has been delayed to July 14th in North American Territories.

This only affects the limited edition the standard and digital releases will still release on June 30th. Below is a more detailed explanation from Spike Chunsoft on why the delay has occurred.

We reported earlier that Circuit Superstars will finally be releasing on Switch June 21st, 2023. We are also happy to report that a special collaboration DLC with British TV Show Top Gear will also release on the same day!

You can watch the trailer for Top Gear: The Stig Challenge DLC above and read a bit more about the DLC below.

Overwatch 2’s next season entitled “Invasion” arrives August 10th and new details have been revealed on the developer blog, check it out below.