Category: Nintendo

When legacy becomes a liability.

After nearly two decades of dormancy for the series and an infamously drawn-out development cycle, it feels slightly surreal to now have Metroid Prime 4: Beyond in the rearview. The game arrived under immense expectation, and it’s fair to say it ultimately proved more divisive than Nintendo and developer Retro Studios had hoped.

If Metacritic scores are anything to go by, Prime 4 reviewed well but stopped short of the near-universal acclaim enjoyed by the original trilogy. It’s been described as a game of ‘high highs and low lows,’ a characterisation that I feel broadly holds true. In hindsight, though, it’s a game I wish I could have experienced with less of the noise that surrounded it.

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Regional rift.

Welcome, folks, to another edition of Box Art Brawl!

Last week, we checked out Mario Power Tennis for the GameCube and, as expected, the results weren’t even remotely close. With a much more interesting cover, Europe and North America easily won the day with 70% of the vote, leaving Japan to mop up the remaining 30%.

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Or you can run it at a “stable” 30fps.

Koei Tecmo and developer Omega Force are bringing Dynasty Warriors: Origins to the Switch 2 next week. It was previously revealed the Musou would run at a fixed but “stable” 30fps on Nintendo’s new hybrid platform, and now that reviews have gone live, it’s been confirmed there’s also a ‘variable’ option.

This might not necessarily be the best option for everyone, but if you’re eager to see the game closer to 60fps on Switch 2, it’s at least there. As shown in tests by the YouTube channel Cycu1, the title’s quality mode outputs a consistent 30fps, while the variable mode targets 60fps (and mostly jumps between the 50s and high 40s).

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Former Sega producer reveals “funny” Mario & Sonic demand.

Developers who have worked with Nintendo’s intellectual properties have often shared stories about odd requests and demands from the video game giant. With this in mind, the latest story to surface comes from former Sega of Japan producer, Ryoichi Hasegawa.

During a chat with Arcade Attack Retro Gaming Network recently, the Sega legend retold a “funny story” about Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and a certain demand Nintendo apparently made at the time. Here it is in full:

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What’s on the agenda, Brenda?

We are blowing through January faster than a big blowy fast thing that’s been blowing faster than usual right now, and the delicious slices of gaming goodness continue to drop across Switch consoles.

This week has seen the arrival of Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Nintendo Switch 2, which the wonderfully handsome and beautiful Alex had a look at, the award-winning (and thoroughly excellent) despelote finally dropped on Switch, and the excellent The Legend of Heroes: Trials Beyond The Horizon stuck the landing with epic RPG action on both Switch 1 and 2. Hooray!

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MORE!

Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties hits the Switch 2 next month and if you weren’t already excited about the game, to top it off, there are a bunch of retro Sega titles you’ll be able to revisit.

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Coming soon.

Earlier this month, Nintendo announced it was bringing the ‘My Mario’ line to the West on 19th February 2026.

This line is supported by a “range of partners”, and now, ahead of the launch, Mattel’s Fisher-Price brand has officially revealed three Mario-themed ‘Little People’ sets. Here’s a look and some information about each one:

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Update: Officially announced.

Fri 16th Jan, 2026 06:05 GMT: Late last year, after some rumours, Nintendo teased a new Legend of Zelda-themed Lego set coming in 2026.

Now that we’re in the new year, it seems this set might have actually leaked ahead of the official reveal. As the rumours suggested, it appears to be a diorama based on the “final battle” between Link, Zelda and Ganondorf in the N64 hit, Ocarina of Time.

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For realsies, this time?

Hi-Fi Rush, the most GameCube-esque title to launch in the last five years, has once again been rated for the Switch by PEGI.

Sound familiar? It should, because this has happened before. Back in April 2024 when developer Tango Gameworks was still sitting under Microsoft, a PEGI rating for the game on Switch appeared, but sadly nothing happened and Microsoft unceremoniously ditched Tango Gameworks entirely later that year.

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Bang for your buck.

Those who have played The Hundred Line – Last Defense Academy know just how big of a game it really is. According to the publisher, however, the release was actually two games in one, and that’s supposedly how it’s going to be marketed from now on.

Confused? Yeah don’t worry, it’s understandable. Effectively, once you complete 100 in-game days, you roll the credits and then commence ‘New Game +’ (although the title menu does, in fact, display ‘The Hundred Line 2’), during which you make key decisions to splinter the narrative into dozens of potential branches.

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