Sep. 28 to Oct. 4 Nintendo News Roundup

Nintendo Selects

Nintendo started the week by announcing that several 3DS games are joining the “Nintendo Selects” program, meaning they will be available at a reduced price at retail.

You can check the announcement and reworked boxarts below:

28th September, 2015 – Nintendo Selects is a range of popular Nintendo games offered at great value. Whether you want to discover a game you may have missed the first time around or simply just get a great deal ahead of Christmas, the Nintendo Selects range offers varied gaming experiences at a value offering. With over 20 classic Wii titles already available to enjoy as part of the Nintendo Selects range for Wii and Wii U, that line-up is set to expand and get even bigger on 16th October when Nintendo 3DS games, playable on the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld systems including Nintendo 2DS, join the Nintendo Selects range for the very first time.

Nintendo of Europe is set to re-release six of the most popular games for the Nintendo 3DS, which have sold a combined total of over 3.8 million units across Europe to date. The line-up is set to include:

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds: Following on from the 1992 Super NES title The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, discover a new story in the kingdom of Hyrule. Armed with new items and the ability to move across walls as if he were painted on them, Link must conquer perilous dungeons in his quest to restore peace to two very different worlds.

Star Fox 64 3D: The Star Fox team returns for one of its greatest missions, originally released as Lylat Wars in Europe. Blast enemies as you fly through ruined cityscapes and dense meteor fields, and take on friends in local multiplayer in this action-packed 3D shooter.

nintendogs + cats: Have you ever wanted to play with puppies and kittens in the palm of your hand? Look after a range of breeds, teach them tricks, enter them in different challenges and activities, and dress them up in a range of accessories. Different breeds are available to choose at the start of each of the game’s three versions: French Bulldog, Toy Poodle, and Golden Retriever. All breeds can be unlocked in all versions.

Mario Tennis Open: Thrilling tennis action for up to four players, either online or in Local Play. Run your opponent ragged with topspin, backspin, lobs and more, then get in position to pull off a stunning Chance Shot that’s sure to leave them completely bamboozled!

Yoshi’s New Island: Yoshi and Baby Mario are reunited for a free-wheeling platform adventure packed with classic Yoshi gameplay, all wrapped up in a collection of dreamy art styles. Hunt high and low for countless collectibles, and even smash through obstacles with the new Mega Eggdozers.

Mario Party: Island Tour: A content-packed party in your pocket! Dive into 80 hilarious new minigames and share the fun with friends via Download Play, where four people can party on together with just one Game Card between them.

Owners of a handheld system in the Nintendo 3DS family, including Nintendo 2DS, can look forward to great games at great value when these six Nintendo 3DS titles join the Nintendo Selects range for the very first time across Europe on 16th October.

Super Smash Bros. for WiiU and 3DS

A new patch and wave of DLC are now out for Super Smash Bros. on 3DS and Wii U.

The new update is 300MB in size (2,076 blocks) and brings the game up to version 1.1.1.
Nintendo has since published the official patches notes, which you can see below.

Wii U

Ver. 1.1.1 [Released 09/29/15]

• Users will be able to purchase newly added downloadable content. Click here for more information.
• Updated features when posting to YouTube and Miiverse.
• Adjustments have also been made to make for a more pleasant gaming experience.

3DS

Ver. 1.1.1 details (Released on September 29, 2015)

• Users will be able to purchase newly added downloadable content. Click here for more information.
• Added the Duck Hunt Stage.
• Adjustments have also been made for a more pleasant gaming experience.

The new DLC wave includes the following add-ons:

Super Mario Maker stage

3DS – $2.49
Wii U – $2.49
3DS/Wii U – $3.49

Pirate Ship stage (returning from Brawl)

Wii U – $1.99

Duck Hunt stage

3DS – Free with patch download

Mii Fighter Costumes (bought individually)

3DS – $0.75
Wii U – $0.75
3DS/Wii U – $1.15

• Business Suit (Outfit Only) (All types)
• Toad Hat + Toad Outfit (Brawler)
• Viridi Wig + Viridi’s Outfit (Sword Fighter)
• Hunter’s Helm + Hunter’s Mail (Sword Fighter)
• Rathalos Helm + Rathalos Mail (Sword Fighter)
• Fox Hat + Fox Outfit (Gunner)
• Captain Falcon’s Helmet + Captain Falcon’s Outfit (Brawler)

You can find some screenshots of this content, and a trailer for the Mii Fighter costumes, below:

In and additional but potentially quite interesting note, after this recent update went up, @ShinyQuagsire once again managed to find a number of unused character and stage slots in the new game code. Apparently, there are three unused character slots and three unused stage slots, but this time around it’s impossible to tell what they will be used for, since the Smash team seems to have learned from past experiences and just left the entries as generic placeholder names. These might belong to future DLC soon to be disclosed, or maybe already represent spaces for content related to the ballot… we will have to wait and see. I added the game code images below, and marked the placeholder filenames in the tables.

Super Mario Maker

Nintendo announced on September 30 that Super Mario Maker has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and that over 2.2 million courses have been made by players thus far. Courses have also been played nearly 75 million times until now.

Here’s the official announcement by Nintendo:

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–For the last 30 years, Super Mario fans have proved to be some of the most passionate, loyal and dedicated video game fans on the planet. Traditionally that fervor has been most clearly measured by unit sales, and with more than 310 million units sold and counting in the Super Mario franchise, that fervor is historic. And now, with the recent release of the Super Mario Maker game for the Wii U console, Nintendo has a new way to measure fan engagement: level creation.

Today it was revealed that more than 1 million units* of Super Mario Maker have been sold around the world since its launch on Sept. 11**. The addition of 1 million new “fan” developers has led to the creation of more than 2.2 million Super Mario courses, which combined have been played nearly 75 million times.

“For Mario fans around the world, including myself, Super Mario Maker was a dream 30 years in the making,” said Nintendo of America President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “The game has captured and unlocked the imaginations of gaming fans of all ages and brought their dedication to Nintendo to a whole new level.”

Using the touch screen of the Wii U GamePad controller, Super Mario Maker players can create levels in four different Super Mario game styles. The game offers dozens of enemies, items and power-ups, and lets people design everything from the terrain to where to place Warp Pipes. Completed levels can then be uploaded and enjoyed by other players around the world. Some seem simple, some offer fun challenges and some prove maddeningly difficult – it all depends on the designer. But everyone can find courses to enjoy and may find some courses to provide insightful inspiration for their own new creations.

For more information about Super Mario Maker, visit http://supermariomaker.nintendo.com.

Remember that Wii U features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu.

*Based on Nintendo’s internal sales figures. Includes standalone physical, bundled physical and digital units.

**Super Mario Maker launched on Sept. 10 in Japan; on Sept. 11 in the Americas and Europe; and on Sept. 12 in Australia

Meanwhile, in Japan, it has now been revealed that you can unlock a Mystery Mushroom costume in the game, based on Arino, the host of GameCenter CX,  if you beat various stages that he has designed. It’s still unclear at the moment how these stages will be distributed or if they will be available outside of Japan. You can check out the announcement below, in addition to a recent episode of GameCenter CX dedicated to Super Mario Maker.

Finally, you can also watch the last episode of the Nintendo Minute Super Mario Maker SUP-tember video series below, where Kit and Krysta make a level based on viewer feedback.

Splatoon

Once again, Splatoon got another new weapon this week, the Carbon Roller Deco.

You can find an overview, screenshots and footage of the new weapon below:

“Have you ever looked at your Carbon Roller and through to yourself, “Hey, I wish this looked jazzier!”? Well your prayers are about to be answered when the Carbon Roller Deco goes on sale tonight! The Carbon Roller Deco comes with not one, but TWO ways to use Seekers – as a sub, or as a special that unleashes a whole swarm of ‘em.”

Meanwhile, the 6th Splatfest event has now been announced.

The Japanese Splatfest will begin on October 10 at 9 AM Japan time and pit the Kura Corporation squid and octopus sushi against each other.

The North American Splatfest will begin on October 9 at 9 PM on the West Coast and October 10 at 12 AM on the East Coast. Players will need to decide how they prefer to travel, by car or by plane.

Finally, it could be interesting to note that Splatoon has managed to surpass the number of sales of Mario Kart 8 in the initial 18 weeks of both titles being in the market. Through week 18, Splatoon has sold 681,495 copies, compared to Mario Kart 8’s sales of 678,250 units during the same time frame. Apparently, Splatoon is also Japan’s fastest-selling Wii U game. Quite a feat, if you ask me.

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer

Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer is now out in Europe (and everywhere else for that matter), so Nintendo has released a few more trailers and commercials during the week to promote the game. Check them out below:

The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes

Thanks to Nintendo and Nintendo World Report’s preview, we now have more details about The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes. You can find a list of those below:

– The game is set in a kingdom that is obsessed with fashion, the Kingdom of Hytopia, who is mostly known for their stylish princess, Styla;
– Styla loves outfits and stylish looks from all manner of places, and she was adored by many, however she received a cursed gift from an evil witch that made her wear a leotard, which she can’t remove by hand;
– The king of the land, King Tuft, is desperate to help the princess and sends out a call for heroes to come to aid;
– You then take on the role of one of the new legendary Totem Heroes and have to stop the witch and free the princess from her curse;
– There aren’t many cutscenes, outside of a cute opening cinematic;
– There also isn’t a good reason given why there are three people that look like Link walking about;
– You can give your character his own name, and then travel to different worlds;
– These include Woodlands, Riverside, Volcano, Ice Cavern and Fortress;
– Each of the lands has four missions for you to tackle with various items and puzzles playing an essential part;
– Players are given an item at the start of a level, ranging from a Bow to Bombs, or from a Gust Jar to a Magic Hammer;
– As long as the item hasn’t been picked up yet, every player can choose the role they want to fulfill;
– You can hit enemies and switches from a distance using the bow or use the Fire Gloves to melt pillars of ice, for example;
– Exploration can’t solely be done with items or fighting enemies with your standard sword, you need to work with the group to clear the game;
– You will need to form a totem to beat certain enemies or reach obstacles that seem too high to get to;
– The Margoma fight in the Woodlands is one example of this. This spinning wheel of doom will hide its eye on top, hidden from the players. You need to throw bombs up there to have his eye revealed, which you slash with your sword. In the second phase, the creature’s eye will hop about and here the player with the bow will have to hunt it down. You can then strike him to stun him and execute more direct attacks.
– You can generally get “special powers” from wearing costumes, while some of them enhance the powers of certain items instead;
– The Kokiri Clothes allow you to shoot three arrows at once;
– The Torrent Robe gives you the ability to create water towers, so that you can access more areas in the Riverside area;
– You can also get stat boosts or an increase in specific items from some costumes;
– Legendary Dress gives you more hearts all across the stage;
– Timeless Tunic changes all of the music into 8-bit tunes and sound effects;
– Not all of the costumes will be easy to obtain and you will need materials to create some outfits;
– You get these by finishing the levels, where each character selects a material box for you to keep;
– One in three boxes will usually net you a rare material, but you never know what you will get;
– A store in the hub town also sells new items daily, and you can earn Rupees by clearing stages or selling unwanted items in the shop;
– There’s a daily chance game that can give you quick access to an item. In this game, there are four boxes, with one of them containing an item, while the rest contain “Freebies”, low-value dud prizes that can be sold back. If you don’t get the item you want, you can open another chest on the next day, once per day until you get the item. Once you’ve collected the main prize, the puzzle resets on the next day;
– The Freebies eventually grant access to a Dapper Spinner Kit, an handy attire that lets you do Spin Attacks incredibly fast;
– It takes a long time to earn every costume;
– Every level in the game has three Bonus Challenges to uncover and complete, like completing stages with fewer time or hearts, without a sword or in complete darkness. There are also some challenges where you have to stay close to an orb or move swiftly out a Wallmaster’s way;
– When using Download Play, there will be Extra Data added to the receiving player’s SD card. This way, any materials that they collect will be saved for later Download Play sessions or for them to use in-game if they decide the purchase their own copy of the title;
– Within the limits of the Download Play session, you can already earn two new costumes;
– When online, you can randomly search for people, search or start a friend lobby or use a combo of both. Unfortunately, it seems that you can only play with people in the same region as yourself;
– Fairies, which are your lives, can be used up to skip parts of levels;
– A new boss is Blizzagia, an evil reptile that you have to beat down with Fire Gloves and Magic Hammers. When facing it, the camera is placed behind the player.

You can also find some new screenshots, trailers and commercials for the game below:

Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash

You can find two new Japanese commercials for Chibi-Robo!: Zip Lash below:

https://youtu.be/Byr626bhtik

https://youtu.be/DL3zEDIWjL8

During the week, Kensuke Tanabe, the producer behind Chibi-Robo, recently spoke with The Verge about how it hasn’t been easy making Chibi-Robo resonate with all players and turning the series into a mainstream success like originally intended. He also suggested that Zip Lash could very well be the last entry in the franchise if it doesn’t perform well in sales.

“To be honest, this might be the last chance for us.”

“I’ve continually thought about ways to build this into a mainstream success. We’ve challenged ourselves in assorted ways along those lines, but I can’t say that we’ve found the answer yet.”

Tanabe then went on to discuss the origins of Zip Lash:

“The first thing we decided upon was that we’d make an action game that took advantage of his plug and cord. We then placed the core of the gameplay on using it like a grappling hook, throwing it into a faraway edge and using that to traverse gaps and so on. As we kept thinking about ideas, we naturally settled on the 2D side-scrolling format. If the character can gain more recognition, I believe we’ll have a chance to produce another adventure-style game for a large number of people. I’m hoping that we made the right choice for this game’s play style.”

“Instead of trying to come up with a character we thought would be a commercial success, it was more like we first had the Chibi-Robo character, and then we thought about what kind of game we could make that’d portray this character in as attractive a way as possible. It’s kind of fun along those lines, like taking an artist I’ve found and trying to mold him into a famous creator. That, of course, also creates its own unique challenges.”

He was then asked if Chibi-Robo does manage to capture success, would it be possible that he’ll appear in other places like Smash Bros.. Tanabe said: “If we receive an offer, we’ll think about it”.

Even with all this doubt cast over the franchise’s future, assistant producer Risa Tabata told USgamer in an interview that she’d like to see another adventure-style entry in the series.

Tabata’s statement was as follows:

“I actually wouldn’t call this ‘smaller’ at all, especially in terms of the game’s scope. I think a lot of people will be more than satisfied with it. Personally, however, I think it’d be great if we could release another adventure-style Chibi-Robo.”

Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival

Nintendo has recently announced the various release dates for Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival.

The game is hitting European store shelves on November 20, together with the various compatible amiibo figures. The picture below features all the items that will soon be available in Europe.

Meanwhile, in North America the game and amiibo will be releasing on November 13, with the exception of the amiibo for Lottie that will release on the 22nd of the same month.

Finally, the game will be released in Japan on November 21 for 6,000 yen.

You can find the Japanese introduction trailer and some clips from the website below:

In addition, Japan will be getting  a new wave of Animal Crossing amiibo, comprised of the characters Blathers, Celeste, Mr. Resetti and Kicks, on December 17. You can take a look at them in the gallery below:

Xenoblade Chronicles X

Nintendo of America has now uploaded the second episode of the Xenoblade Chronicles X Survival Guide. You can watch it below:

You can also watch a demonstration video and some fan reactions from EGX below:

Star Fox Zero

GameSpot recently interviewed Platinum Games’ Yusuke Hashimoto, one of the directors behind Star Fox Zero, about their experiences with the game.

First, Hashimoto talked about the two screen setup.

“Those two screens, you can’t find that anywhere else. When we were doing Bayonetta 2, we just used that screen as a touch pad. With Star Fox, Miyamoto originally had the idea that he wanted to create a shooting game that used both of these screens, and then we said, okay, how can we combine this with Star Fox? Just having to use those two screens makes things interesting.”

“We’ve been working with action games long enough. We understand how the players play an action game, how they respond to an action game, how they’ll move, what they’ll do in the situational stuff. What we’re making here now, it’s totally a new learning experience for us, which is kind of fun to find out.”

He then discussed the importance of nailing a solid 60 frames per second running speed on both the television and the GamePad.

“We’ve got them both moving at 60 fps, which is big for a lot of people, I think. But I think that it’s kind of a milestone in gaming, in a way. It’s not something that we have done ourselves before at Platinum, and it’s just not even something that has been done in gaming before. So it’s a lot of new challenges.”

Finally, Hashimoto briefly commented on Star Fox Zero’s delay, implying the decision was made in order to give the game more of a “Platinum feel”.

“We want to make it feel as great as possible. It’s easy to say [it was delayed] to increase its quality, or whatever, but that entails a lot, whether it be visuals, or controls.”

Genei Ibun Roku #FE

Thanks to this week’s edition of Famistu we now have some new details about Genei Ibun Roku #FE.

The magazine starts by covering a few keywords relevant to Genei Ibun Roku #FE’s content, like “Idolsphere”, “Mirage” and “Mirage Master”.

The Idolsphere is an alternate version of cities such as Shibuya and Harajuku where the Mirages come from. As for the plot, it’s about an average protagonist who stumbles into such a world.

Mirages are mysterious beings from the Idolsphere dimension that lend their power to humans. Of course, their looks are modeled after Fire Emblem series’ heroes and villains.

Mirage Masters, who receive aid in battle from heroes such as Chrom and Sheeda, are those who hold a mysterious power that allows them to utilize Mirages by summoning them.

Genei Ibun Roku #FE’s two worlds – the Entertainment and Other World – each have their own battles. The Entertainemnt World takes place in a modern Tokyo setting that looks peaceful, and allies here are involved in entertainment lessons, live shows and other events. Meanwhile, the “Other World” has players defeating invaders by summoning allies from the Idolsphere in a turn-based combat setting.

When borrowing power from their Mirages, Mirage Masters change form and wear majestic suits named “Carnage Form”, and battles become more intense as a result. Additionally, various costume changes are available.

Famitsu also tells us some detials about the newly revealed characters and Mirages.

Mamori Minamoto

– Voiced by Kaori Fukuhara;
– A talented Mirage Master who works in the same entertainment district as the protagonist;
– Had a small breakthrough to fame as the “Wrenchin’ Idol Mamorin”;
– She’s a middle schooler who loves to sing Showa ballads and wears traditional clothing.

Draug

– Voiced by Takeuchi Ryouta;
– Mamori’s Mirage;
– Mirage of an impregnable Armor Knight;
– Supports with great defense;
– Utilizes a giant axe in combat to assist his master.

Barry Goodman

– Voiced by Yuuichi Nakamura;
– Barry is a musician who came to Japan seeking Otaku culture (loves the anime “Dear Witch Mother” by the way!);
– A trainer at Fortuna Entertainment, teaching the protagonist and others in Spartan-like lessons;
– Famitsu describes him as a strict teacher from abroad known as the “Demon Instructor” in the entertainment world;
– Thanks to his bright demeanor, that makes any place feel at ease, he’s a “mood-maker”.

Eleonora

– Voiced by Ayane Sakura;
– A half Japanese girl who aims for Hollywood;
– Likes to be called Ellie;
– An upperclassman to those in the Entertainment World and as a Mirage Master;
– A caring older sister type.

Virion

– Voiced by Hiromichi Kogami;
– The Mirage of a magnificent Archer;
– His noble personality sticks out when having to support the unmanageable Eleonora;
– Changes into a bow during battle.

Kiria

– A top musician who is both cool and beautiful;
– Has a lot of support from younger people;
– Has a secretive private life, not many people know about it.

Tharja

– A Mirage of a Dark Mage that uses forbidden arts;
– Supports Kiria by becoming a staff in battle, also supports her in everyday life.

Finally, you can find some screenshots recently released by Nintendo, pertaining to this information, below:

Yo-Kai Watch

It has recently been announced that the release date for Yo-Kai Watch has been bumped up to December 5 in Australia and New Zealand. Europe still keeps its 2016 status though.

While you wait for the game to release, here’s some footage for you to enjoy:

Pokkén Tournament

Nintendo has recently released a first impressions video from the 2015 Pokemon World Championships Pokkén Tournament Invitational. Check it out below:

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Nintendo has revealed that Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam will be launching in Japan on December 3.

They have also confirmed that the game will have amiibo support and the following amiibo will be compatible with the game:

– Mario (Super Smash Bros. series)
– Peach (Super Smash Bros. series)
– Yoshi (Super Smash Bros. series)
– Luigi (Super Smash Bros. series)
– Bowser (Super Smash Bros. series)
– Dr. Mario (Super Smash Bros. series)
– Mario (Super Mario series)
– Peach (Super Mario series)
– Toad (Super Mario series)
– Luigi (Super Mario series)
– Yoshi (Super Mario series)
– Bowser (Super Mario series)
– Green Yarn Yoshi (Yoshi’s Woolly World series)
– Pink Yarn Yoshi (Yoshi’s Woolly World series)
– Blue Yarn Yoshi (Yoshi’s Woolly World series)
– Mega Yarn Yoshi (Yoshi’s Woolly World series)
– Mario Classic Color (Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary series)
– Mario Modern Color (Super Mario Bros. 30th Anniversary series)

Finally, here’s a new batch of screenshots from the game:

Viewpoint 2064

Viewpoint 2064 by Sammy Corporation was a game in development for the N64 that was only shown at Space World in 1999. Unfortunately, the company had some development issues and this sequel to the scrolling shooter Viewpoint was cancelled and then disappeared for many years, at least until recently.
That is because Viewpoint 2064’s prototype managed to sell for $3,000 on eBay. Its new owner also shared some never before seen footage from the game, which you can see in the video below.