Splatoon
Two new weapon kits have been added to Splatoon this week.
The first one is comprised of the Slosher Deco weapon, with the Splash Wall as a sub weapon and the Kraken as a special weapon.
The second set contains the Slosher Machine weapon, with Splat Bombs as a sub weapon and the Splat Bomb Rush as a special weapon.
You can find some screenshots for both in the gallery below, followed by a video gameplay overview, courtesy of Nintendome.
Splatoon’s next North American Splatfest has now been announced, and it’s coming next weekend. The focus will be on food, with players choosing to be a part of Team Hamburger or Team Pizza. The event will start at 12 AM ET on December 5 / 9 PM PT on December 24.
Finally, Splatoon won the BAFTA Children’s Award for the “Best Game” category.
Super Mario Maker
Another official level from Nintendo has been added to Super Mario Maker’s Event Course list. This one is titled “NES Remix” and, when completed, lets players unlock the Frog Mario costume. You can find an introduction of the course below and some footage of the Frog Mario costume.
“Become the world’s greatest NES master! In the NES Remix series, a variety of classic Nintendo Entertainment System games are given a new lease on life. This course gives you a taste of the Remix Stages from that series, where you can play old games with a new twist! Enjoy rushing ahead with a Super Star or experiencing a course in reverse!”
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
Those with Japanese copies of Happy Home Designer will be able to receive various items inspired by Nintendo consoles, like the Wii U and the New 3DS, and several store displays, starting on December 1.This DLC content should be coming to the West at some point, but no announcements have been made so far. You can check out the various items in the image below:
The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes
The second part of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes Miiverse Miiting is now available. Director Hiromasa Shikata once again returns in this discussion, but this time he is joined by Grezzo’s Mikiharu Oiwa. During the Miiting they discuss the working relationship between Nintendo and Grezzo, concept art for Princess Styla, cut outfit ideas, an abandoned idea for an icon seller that would let you buy extra icons with Rupees, and much more. I also added the first Miiting, since I think I forgot to post it before. You can find both below (to read: right-click the images -> view image -> zoom):
Hyrule Warriors Legends
During the week, Koei Tecmo released two new trailer for Hyrule Warriors Legends. The first trailer showcases Ganondorf’s new Trident weapon, while the second introduces Skull Kid as a playable character. Check them out below:
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Nintendo released another batch of Xenoblade Chronicles X trailers and videos this week, including the fourth episode in the Survival Guide series. You can watch them all below:
https://youtu.be/uA9ph_fIgUo
We also got a few interviews about the game and Monolith Soft during the week.
The first one of these is by GameSpot and features executive director Tetsuya Takahashi and art director Norihiro Takami. During the interview, Takahashi and Takami commented on the complex nature of Xenoblade Chronicles X, the Xeno name and how the Wii U game is a culmination of ideas held onto for a very long time, among other things. You can read the interview over here.
The second piece is also by GameSpot and also features Monolith Soft’s head, Tetsuya Takahashi. In it Takahashi discusses things like the growth of the studio, making games that appeal to both Japanese and Western audiences, the mass hiring the studio had in October and the possibility of additional Xeno games. You can enjoy this piece over here.
The third and last feature is by Eurogamer and once again Takahashi talks about the development of Xenoblade Chronicles X and how the team is now inspired to pursue Western markets in addition to Japan. Overall, it also offers a glimpse on how Takahashi himself progressed since his involvement with Final Fantasy VII as an artist to his current position as Monolith Soft head. You can find the article over here.
Pokémon Picross
The official Pokémon Twitter account has finally revealed the release date for Pokémon Picross in the various regions. You can find them below:
JP – December 2nd, 2015
NA / EUR – December 3rd, 2015
AUS – December 4th, 2015
Genei Ibun Roku #FE
A new trailer for Genei Ibun Roku #FE has been posted by Nintendo on their Japanese YouTube account. This one is focused on Maiko Shimazaki, the president of the talent agency Fortuna Entertainment.
Shigesato Itoi on Mother 4, Earthbound’s popularity and Iwata’s passing
Japanese outlet Game Watch recently interviewed Shigesato Itoi at an Earthbound event held in Japan. During the discussion he addressed Earthbound’s continued popularity, series’ characters and scenes, the possibility of a Mother 4 being made and Iwata’s passing, among other topics. If you can check out a translation of the interview by TuxedoUnmasked over here.
Henry Sterchi on Excite Bike 64 development
Last month’s issue of GamesTM has an interesting feature on the making of Excitebike 64, where Henry Sterchi, a producer from Nintendo working on the title made in collaboration with Left Field Productions, goes over various details of the development of the game. If you can’t pick up the magazine to read it, you can check out some of it on Nintendo Everything’s site, over here.
Masayuki Uemura on Nintendo and Sony’s failed partnership, the state of the industry and Nintendo’s focus on innovation
NES designer Masayuki Uemura, recently spoke about Nintendo and Sony’s failed partnership, in an interview with Gamasutra, during a NES celebration at The Strong Museum of Play’s International Center for the History of Electronic Games. He explains how companies like Sony began to focus on graphics and the technological side of gaming back then, while Nintendo still pushed for innovation with design. He goes on to comment on the current state of the video games industry and how Nintendo has similar qualities to indie developers when put next to the rest of the industry in general. You can read up on the interview over here.
Nintendo Minute – Game of the Year
In this week’s episode of Nintendo Minute, Kit and Krysta reflect on 2015 by holding the third annual Game of the Year discussion, where they went over the best boxart, coolest amiibo and best multiplayer experience.You can check it out below:
Nintendo eShop opening in Eastern European countries next month
Soon, the European eShop will be open for business in various Eastern European countries, including Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania. The eShop is set to open on December 10th, consumers will need to pay in Euros, and the shop will be displayed only in the English language.