Soapbox: How Nintendo Unexpectedly Taught Me To Love Gacha Games

From Nah-cha to Got-cha.

Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, how Tim learned to love the lottery…


When I first played Xenoblade Chronicles 2 upon its launch, I was ecstatic to once again bond with memorable characters and explore open expanses teeming with powerful beasts. Then I was faced with a foe more repugnant to me than any other encountered on my Alrestian journey: Core Crystals.

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Monster-Fusing RPG Cassette Beasts Lands New Game Mode And Rewards In ‘Gauntlet Update’

Plus, bonus cosmetics in new DLC.

The creature-catching RPG Cassette Beasts has landed a bumper pack of bonus content today, publisher Raw Fury and developer Bytten Studio announced, thanks to the arrival of the ‘Gauntlet Update’ and ‘Fashion Pack’ DLC.

We’ll start with the free stuff. The Gauntlet Update brings the game up to ver 1.7, and the biggest addition, unsurprisingly, is a new gauntlet-style game mode. Hopping aboard one of Mer-line’s interdimensional trains after you’ve completed the main story will give you the chance to partake in ‘Magikrab’s Gauntlet’ — an endless series of carriage-based combat encounters where you can rack up some tasty rewards.

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Guide: 133 Games You Should Pick Up In Nintendo’s ‘Cyber Deals’ Switch eShop Sale (North America)

Every game we scored 9/10 or higher.

The Black Friday sales are well and truly upon us. The European eShop got treated to a wave of tasty discounts earlier this week and now it’s North America’s turn. The ‘Cyber Deals‘ eShop sale is now live, with a boatload of titles getting a price cut until 2nd December at 11:59pm PT.

This sale is rammed with so many quality discounts that it can be hard to find the cream of the crop. To help you nab a gem, we’ve rounded up every game in the Nintendo’s North American Cyber Deals eShop sale that we awarded 9/10 or higher — and be warned, it’s a long list.

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Mario & Luigi’s Future In Doubt As A Potential Sony Acquisition Emerges

Update: Kadokawa acknowledges Sony’s offer.

A new report from Reuters has emerged that reveals Sony is potentially in talks to purchase Kadokawa, a Japanese media conglomerate that serves as parent to dozens of entertainment companies.

In the gaming space, Kadokawa owns Spike Chunsoft, Acquire, Gotcha Gotcha Games, and FromNetworks, while also owning a majority stake in FromSoftware alongside Tencent and Sony. We imagine that FromSoftware is proving particularly attractive for Sony, since the studio is responsible for the likes of Elden Ring, Bloodborne, Dark Souls, and the Armored Core franchise.

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Switch Online’s Missions & Rewards Adds New And Returning Pokémon DLC Icons

Gotta collect ’em all.

If you’ve been wanting more Pokémon avatars for your Switch, the Switch Online ‘Missions and Rewards’ program is now offering new and returning icons.

As highlighted by Serebii.net, you can now get icons based on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet‘s DLC offerings. The first wave is now underway and will be followed by multiple other icons featuring trainers and various Pokémon from the newest entries.

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Dragon Ball Daima DLC Is On The Way To Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot And Xenoverse 2

Updates for Xenoverse 2 and The Breakers are now live.

The new Dragon Ball Daima anime series launched last week and as part of this, there’s some new themed content on the way to multiple Bandai Namco games.

First up, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot will be receiving some new DLC, officially titled ‘Daima: Adventure Through the Demon Realm‘ with part one “coming soon”.

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UK Charts: Mario & Luigi: Brothership Drops Anchor Outside The Top Ten

Dragon Quest and LEGO Horizon debut even further down.

After missing key data last week, GfK has finally provided an updated look at the UK charts so we can get an idea of where all the newbies have landed.

For Nintendo’s latest, that’s a little way down. The latest look informs us that Mario & Luigi: Brothership got off to a good start last week (not that we saw it) and arrived in third, but the same can’t be said for its second appearance as the Bro-led RPG has wound up in 12th this week.

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Random: Iconic ‘DK Rap’ Song Has Been Remade 25 Years Later

With help from rapper ‘Substantial’.

If you’ve been a part of the Nintendo gaming community for a while, then chances are you’re well acquainted with ‘DK Rap’, the charming introductory theme tune seen in 1999’s Donkey Kong 64. It’s gained significant notoriety and love over the years, though many fans do concede that the song isn’t actually that good.

Well, it’s good now, folks. Almost 25 years after its debut, DK Rap has been remade, courtesy of original composer Grant Kirkhope and rapper Substantial, bringing it fully up to date, albeit with one eye firmly on the past. Indeed, one commenter on the YouTube video said it had been given the ‘3rd Strike’ treatment, and we have to agree with this assessment.

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New Switch Emulator Devs Are Jumping Through Hoops To Avoid A Nintendo Takedown

Ninjas in 3… 2… 1…

Earlier this year, the Switch emulator Yuzu was shut down after being caught in the fiery gaze of the great eye of Nintendo. A follow-up based on the same source code, Suyu, appeared shortly after, though it unsurprisingly met the same fate. Now, over eight months on, there’s another new kid on the block (thanks, Overkill).

Citron is the latest Yuzu fork, now available in early access on Android. According to AndroidAuthority.com, the Switch emulator is much the same as its predecessor, with a couple of “minor upgrades and optimisations” to keep things slightly distinct.

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