Feb. 8 to 14 Nintendo News Roundup

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD

Another week brings with it another couple tweets from Malo on the Japanese Zelda Twitter page.

Last week’s tweets are dedicated to Hero mode and Telma, the bar owner in Castle Town, and you can read up on the quoted contents below.

“…It’s Malo. In Hero Mode, the world becomes horizontally reversed… You also take twice the damage… You look so glad aren’t you… then stack it up with Ganondorf’s amiibo… You’ll take 4 times more damage then. …You look really glad now. So you have such a hobby eh…”

“…It’s Malo. This is Miss Telma, the barkeeper of the bar in Castle Town… She’s a woman who’s very caring and broad-minded… The heroine for me is definitely Miss Telma…”

Nintendo of Europe also released a new “Game Features” trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. Check it out below:

Fire Emblem Fates

It was confirmed this week during an episode of GameSpot’s The Lobby that although the touching part of the skinship feature in Fire Emblem Fates has been removed in the localized version, apparently there are still some interactions with characters who have married Corrin, the protagonist Avatar you play as.

According to one of the editors, you can still rub your marriage partner’s face to wake them up and blow into your 3DS’ microphone to remove steam from their face after they’ve taken a bath, for example.

You can find that specific section talking about Fire Emblem Fates below:

Nintendo has also issued a statement regarding this feature:

In certain circumstances, S-Level characters are able to wake up their spouses by blowing into the microphone or by tapping the screen to touch their hair, face or shoulder. These randomly triggered events are unrelated to the mini-game in the Japanese version.

During the week, Nintendo has uploaded another episode in its “Life in the Front Lines” video series, with this episode talking about the royal families portrayed in the game and some of the available classes. Take a look below:

The latest episode of Nintendo Minute also continued the Fire Emblem coverage, with Kit and Krysta talking about the differences between each version of the game. Take a look below:

Finally, here’s several new videos showcasing various features in the game:

Genei Ibun Roku #FE

Genei Ibun Roku #FE will be getting a 336-page art book in Japan on February 26 for 3,780 yen, according to Amazon Japan.

As expected of an art book, it will feature a ton of art, including images from character designer toi8, plus shots of the Performers, Mirages, weapons, backgrounds and props. Photos of the voice actors, such as Ryouhei Kimura, Inori Minase, reproduction of Tsubasa Oribe’s “Weekly Young Rabbits Gravure” and Maiko Shimazaki’s legendary “My COMPLEX” magazines, will also be included, in addition to dialogue scripts from the main story and sub-stories.

Pokémon 20th Anniversary

In celebration of the franchise’s 20th anniversary, The Pokémon Company has announced it plans to release a soundtrack album for Pokémon Red and Green on April 27th. The album will include the soundtrack from the original games and the cries of all 151 original Pokemon, making for a total of 3h55m of musical Pokémon goodness. It will also come with a 24 page booklet featuring an interview with Junichi Masuda.

The contents of the album are:

Disc 1 and 2

– Pokémon Red and Green soundtrack (45 tracks)
– Pokémon cries (151)
– 1 bonus track

Disc 3 and 4

– Pokémon Fire Red and Leaf Green soundtrack (73 tracks)
– 2 bonus tracks
– Pokémon Red and Green Best Selection (10 tracks)

Also in celebration of the 20th anniversary, a new line of Pokémon merchandise featuring sprites from the original games will be launched on February 27th. It will be available in Pokémon Centers and Amazon Japan.

Here’s a list and some screenshots of all the items:

Cushions – ¥2500
Pikachu hat – ¥5900
Not Pikachu hat – ¥5400
T-shirts – ¥1500
Backpack – ¥8200
Bag – ¥6800
Keychain – ¥450
Pen case – ¥800
File folder – ¥280
Hand towel – ¥400
Bigger towel – ¥1000

Moreover, Pokémon Centers in Japan will begin selling special Splatoon T-shirts based on the upcoming Splatfest of Red vs Green. The designs for both Red (Charizard) and Green (Venusaur) are due out on February 20. You can find some screenshots below:

New Pokémon “Magearna” Announced

This latest edition of CoroCoro magazine announed a new Mythical Pokémon called Magearna (Magiana in Japan) which will feature in the upcoming Volcanion related movie, now retitled Volcanion & The Ingineous Magearna.

Here’s an official summary for the movie:

As Ash and his friends journeyed onward, a huge Pokémon suddenly fell from the sky in front of them! Appearing from the cloud of dust whirled up from the impact of the fall was the mythical Pokémon Volcanion! It turns out that Volcanion, who lives in the secluded “Navel Plateau” together with Pokémon that have been injured by humans actually has an intense hate for all humans.

Volcanion completely ignores Ash and his friends, and attempts to hurry away, but for some reason Ash ends up getting pulled along with it. Volcanion makes a run for it, and Ash gets pulled along. Incredibly, without either of them noticing, the two ended up linked together by a strange chain! Even though they want to get loose from this chain, it proves impossible. With no other choice, Volcanion started running off towards “Azoth Kingdom” while pulling Ash along with it, constantly fighting with him on the way.

Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Jarvis from Azoth Kingdom, a city of super-machinery where gigantic cogwheels are constantly rotating, has obtained the ultimate invention he has been searching for for so many years. It was the artificial Pokémon Magearna, which was born in the kingdom 500 years ago but since went missing, as well as the unknown power called the “Soul Heart” said to reside inside Magearna.

As Jarvis plots to use this power to rule the kingdom, Volcanion was attempting to retrieve Magearna, who got abducted from the Navel Plateau! “Ain’t no way I’ll ever forgive the humans!”

Will Volcanion and Ash manage to work together and save Magearna while linked together? And what is the true power the “Soul Heart” hides? It’s time for the hottest battle in Pokémon history to begin!

Magearna is classified as the Artificial Pokémon, has an height of 1.0m and weights 80.5Kg. It is said to be a Man-Made Pokémon, created by humans 500 years ago. It posseses a metalic body, and the text confirms it was ‘made by human hands’. It seems to house some important secret and have some relation to Volcanion. CoroCoro also notices how it’s unobtainable in the games and that it’s still unknown how to acquire it.

You can also find some movie artwork and magazine scans depicting Magearna in the gallery below:

Pokkén Tournament

Due to Pokkén Tournament’s eShop page being available now, we have some new details.

In terms of controllers, Nintendo says the following options are supported:

– Wii U Pro Controller
– Wii Remote + Classic Controller Pro
– Wii Remote
– Wii Remote + Nunchuck
– Wii U GamePad

The page also indicates the existence of online play in the form of Online Multiplayer and Leaderboards.

Moreover, it seem like the title requires 4234.4MB of free space to be downloaded.

Below, you can also find the overview of the game and some screenshots:

Battle Pokemon live never before in all-new, action-packed arena fights! Perform vivid Pokemon movies in all their glory with button combinations through an intuitive fighting system to unleash devastating attacks upon your opponent to become the Pokken Tournament champion!

Learn various fighting styles of Pokemon such as Pikachu, Charizard, Lucario, and more. Any fan will be able to learn and execute signature Pokemon moves with a press of a button. Turn the tide of battle by calling upon support Pokemon to assist, and unleash devastating attacks to KO your opponent.

Battles await, and it’s up to you to claim the title of Pokken Tournament champion!

Additionaly, CoroCoro magazine also shares some new info on Shadow Mewtwo.

The magazine notes that its Psywave attacks can be used in multiple different ways. Shadow Mewtwo can go on the offence with both Power and Technical moves that keep shifting in order to confuse the opponent. Psywave is primarily used as a close combat move to set up combos, but it can also be used as a vortex to suck in opponents or be used as a projectile.

It’s also mentioned that Shadow Mewtwo storms the 1 Player Mode, Ferrum League. The magazine questions what Shadow Mewtwo’s objective is and its relation to the mysterious girl. It can also use Thunder Punch, Fire Punch and Ice Punch in quick succession. If all three hit, a huge amount of damage is dealt.

Finally, it states that standard Mewtwo is able to use other moves such as Hyper Beam.

Here’s the magazine scan:

Super Mario Maker

Super Mario Maker has recently received another event course, this time to celebrate Pokémon’s 20th Anniversary.

The new course is called “I Choose You!” and lets players unlock costumes for the first three Pokémon starters ever, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle.

You can find an overview of the course below, followed by some footage of the costumes and the course itself:

“This course is based on the beginning of any Pokemon trainer’s journey – from choosing your first partner in Professor Oak’s lab through reaching the first Gym. Clear the course to unlock a costume of whichever Pokemon you choose! Unlike the original games, it shouldn’t be too hard to clear it multiple times and catch ’em all!”

Mario & Sonic at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

Nintendo of Europe finally announced during the week via Twitter that Mario & Sonic at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games will be releasing in the region on April 8 for the Nintendo 3DS.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Game Informer recently published a new interview featuring Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam producer Akira Otani (Nintendo) and director Shunsuke Kobyashi (AlphaDream).

In it, Otani and Kobyashi talk about Paper Jam and the series in general as well as a few other topics. The two developers were asked about things like the possibility of the studio making a Paper Mario game (which seems to be not happening…), false endings in the Mario & Luigi series, and how tutorials were handled in the game, among other things.

If you would like to read the full interview, check it out over here.

Splatoon

Splatoon’s 11th Splatfest will be taking place next week, on February 19, in all three regions.

This time around, players can settle the eternal debate of which Pokémon version is the best by choosing between Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue (or Pokémon Green in Japan’s case).

Nintendo has also uploaded to its Japanese Youtube account the official version of the Squid Sisters performance at Niconico Tokaigi on January 30th. You can watch it below:

Finally, GamesMaster magazine interviewed Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami for its latest issue. During the interview, Nogami reflected on how the team was feeling a bit nervous before launch, as they weren’t sure how the multiplayer-focused game would be received by the public.

Nogami shared with the magazine:

“We’ve dealt with online multiplayer in a number of titles up until now, but this was the first time we’d taken up the challenge of releasing a package game where multiplayer was the main mode. We were not 100 percent sure about how a few sections would be received, and so we’re really happy to see them being well received not only by experienced online gamers, but by a really broad range of players including children and female players too; it’s a real confidence boost. If we have the chance in the future, I’d like to build on online gameplay even more.”

GamesMaster then followed those comments by asking Nogami if there was a possibility of Splatoon 2 happening one day. When asked, he responded with the following:

“We want to raise this new IP with care, so maybe we’ll get a chance to make it happen if players support us.”

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS

Now that all the DLC for Super Smash Bros. is finally out on both the Wii U and 3DS, Nintendo has released a new trailer promoting all the downloadable available. Take a look at it below:

Meanwhile, Sakurai has shared his thoughts once again in his latest Famitsu column, this time around talking about player exhaustion and how he likes to add new and refreshing characters (like Bayonetta and Corrin) as a way to keep players interested and invested in the game. You can read a full translation of the interview at Source Gaming’s website, over here.

Animal Crossing Amiibo Cards Series 3

Nintendo has recently announced that the 3rd series of the Animal Crossing amiibo cards will be released in Europe on March 18th and Australia and New Zealand on the 19th. The album where you can store the cards you collect from this series will also be released on the same day.

Virtual Console Trailers

Below you can find trailers for some recently released Virtual Console games.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon (Japan, DS)

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red/Blue Rescue Team (Europe, GBA)

Nintendo Treehouse on upcoming 3DS RPGs

Electric Playground managed to speak with Erik Peterson from Nintendo Treehouse during the 3DS RPG press showcase that was held by Nintendo a few weeks ago. In this video interview, Peterson mainly talks about Fire Emblem Fates and Bravely Second, but also touches upon Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and Project X Zone 2 a bit as well. Check it out below:

Q3 Final Results Briefing Q&A

The english translated version of the Q&A session with Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima at the recent Final Results Briefing is now available. You can find it here.

In this Q&A Kimishima talks about MiiTomo and other mobile apps, achieving “Nintendo like” profits, exposing more people to Nintendo’s IP, what his personal touch brings to Nintendo’s business strategy and Nintendo’s plans for the next fiscal year, among other topics.

Nintendo Selects coming to North America

According to Video Games Plus, a new wave of Nintendo Selects will hit North American retailers on March 11.

The new lineup includes several Wii, Wii U and 3DS titles. Here’s a list:

– Donkey Kong Country Returns (both 3DS and Wii);
– Mario Party: Island Tour (3DS);
– Yoshi’s New Island (3DS);
– The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (3DS);- Super Mario All Stars (Wii);
– Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii);
– Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii);
– Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze (Wii U);
– Super Mario 3DS World (Wii U);
– NES Remix Pack (Wii U)
– Pikmin 3 (Wii U).

Video Games Plus lists each of those Nintendo Selects titles at $29.99 CDN, which should convert to around $20 USD.

Although Nintendo hasn’t officially announced this new campaign for North America yet, it looks likely that it will be doing so soon.

Nintendo NX Rumours – Dev Kits, Unreal Engine 4 and potential Voice Chat

SuperMetaldave64 has recently uploaded another two interesting videos covering some Nintendo NX related topics.

In the first video you can find below, he shares some new details about what the PS4 developer who was trying to get a Nintendo NX dev kit has told him about the matter. According to his claims, Nintendo NX should have native support for Unreal Engine 4, which would be great news for developers out there, wanting to port over their games to the system, taking into account the level of usage that engine has seen in recent times.

The second video covers a recently uncovered patent registered in the name of one of Nintendo’s main employees, which involves a voice chat system with a facial recognition camera that could be used with a console, such as the upcoming NX.

Check both of them out, since they have some pretty interesting details.

https://youtu.be/eF8YOcscqq8