Did you know there was a new Persona game out this year?

I’m not talking about Persona 5: The Royal Edition, but Persona Q2: A New Cinema Labyrinth for Nintendo 3DS. A release that has so far eluded much media attention, this is a solid Persona dungeon-crawler game that deserves more interest that it has received.

Starting with the Phantom Thieves from Persona 5, Q2 is a followup from the surprise hit Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth, released back in 2013. It doesn’t exactly interrogate the first game’s mechanics or style too deeply, opting to mimic and refine rather than reinvent. But that’s fine, and is a worthy send off for your 3DS, which is unlikely now to receive many new exclusive games. Particularly if the rumours are true and a cheaper, portable-focussed Switch is on the horizon, it may finally be time to put down the 3DS after the forty or so hours you will take to complete this game.

But what will you be doing in Q2? For the most part, the game revolves around a cast of characters from three different Persona games, Persona 5, Persona 4 and Persona 3. Caught in a strange world, they must work together to find out what’s happening and who’s behind it. To do this, you’ll spend time in three main activities: talking, first-person dungeon crawling, and undertaking turn-based fights.

Let’s start with the cast: initially starting with a large portion of the cast of Persona 5, you soon encounter other persona users from Persona 3 and Persona 4. It’s sort of a big super-group atmosphere, and lore contradictions and gaps are papered over for the purpose of keeping things moving and enjoyable. It’s a fun mix, but with so many characters conversations often become extraordinarily long, with each character putting their two cents in, and then reacting to each other’s comments. Rather than almost the entire cast of each game, one or two characters from each could have worked better.

Between the extremely long conversations, you’ll spend most of your time walking around dungeons in first person, Ultima style. These aren’t your typical dungeons however. While that word typically brings up images of grey stonework and medieval themes, dungeons here are varied, with some excellent visual design. You can only move around them in cardinal directions on a grid, avoiding enemies, activating shortcuts and looking for the stairs up and down. It’s all fairly linear, but there are some interesting level designs to be seen.

The dungeons are where you’ll find the combat, which is much the same as in Persona 5. For the most part, you’re discovering the critical weakness of each enemy and using it to deal massive damage and knock it down. Once down, your team can do a stylish all-out attack that will hopefully take it out of action. Keeping your team managed with a variety of persona skills, enough skill points to pull them off, and enough health points is the key to success. It’s made slightly more complicated with the inclusion of a front line and back line, but in general I felt right at home from my experience with previous Persona titles.

As you walk around the dungeons, the game tasks you with drawing a map on the bottom, touch-compatible 3DS screen. You’ll have to trace outlines of walls, add doors and shortcuts, and mark treasure chests for future reference. The map mechanic was an interesting choice, and theoretically does match up well with capabilities of the 3DS system. In practice however, taking something that we normally take for granted in other games (a map), and turning this into a manual process was frustrating. It distracted me from the main dungeon crawling, and served to artificially lengthen my time in the game.

Rather than the slick, more “realistic” anime style of Persona 5, Q2 goes with a Chibi, bobble-head look. It works, though with the characters now looking more like children, some of the more mature themes come across strangely. Ann in particular, with her skin-tight red leather outfit, sits uncomfortably in her new childish chibi outfit.

The anime style does suit the low-resolution Nintendo 3DS screen however. With lots of block colours the system is still able to put out a decent graphical effort. That said, going back to the 3DS’ screen resolution is difficult in the age of the Switch and 4K mobile phone screens. Merely acceptable at the time of the 3DS’ release, the 400 x 240 screen in today’s world sticks out as a relic of a technology frontier long past. And of the 3DS’ signature 3D, I found no trace whatsoever, continuing the trend of other recent 3DS games.

As a swansong to the Nintendo 3DS, it is hard to ask for a better send-off than Persona Q2. A great soundtrack, interesting, fast-paced combat and a menagerie of characters from games past and present all adds up to a worthy follow up to the original Persona Q2, showing how that game was not a one hit wonder. It’s just a shame that this game is likely to be overlooked simply because of the platform it is on, one that, multiple years into the Switch’s life, most people have now moved on from. Now, let’s get Persona 5 proper onto Switch.

The post Persona Q2 (3DS) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Nintendo has continued its support of the 3DS, mostly with remakes of older games from old consoles and this is still happening with the port of the Wii game, Kirby’s Epic Yarn. Thanks to not having a Wii, this was a gem that I missed, so the chance to finally check out this unique journey of our favourite hungry pink ball is something I wasn’t going to miss.

Kirby is wandering through the world when he eats a tomato, which turns out to be an evil sorcerer named Yin-Yarn resulting in his banishment to patch land. Here Kirby runs into Prince Fluff, a blue looking version of Kirby, and goes on to save Patch Land which has been torn apart. It’s a light-hearted silly story… you know, a Kirby game.

The most obvious change to the game is the beautiful and creative yarn design. Kirby, like the other characters and enemies in the game are made from wool outlines which isn’t only clever, it’s gorgeous. The detail in the yarn, and the complex design of characters and their animations as they move or transition to different states is a treat to witness.

Anyone that knows Kirby at all, especially if they know him from Smash Bros, is that he is iconic for his ability to eat anything using a vortex of a bite, and that he can balloon up to fly. Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn takes a different approach by removing both iconic moves in his yarn state. This seems surprising, but instead of gaining enemies powers by sucking them up, he gains it by flinging his slingshot to collect powerups, so it still feels like the Kirby you have played before. The flying isn’t missed as the platforming isn’t built around that.

2D platformers tend to age well, and despite this game being eight years old it feels as fresh as any new game would. The platforming feels good, and thanks to Kirby’s yarn state, he changes into different forms like a car to go fast, which is a fresh spin on the classic character. It’s a quirky way to have Kirby be the same Kirby, but different.

The Levels themselves are cleverly designed and are nicely varied, with excellent stage music. Levels range from classic 2D side scrolling, to needing to travel up, to fun moments where Kirby becomes overpowered such as becoming a giant, or as a flying saucer. If there is one thing that can be said about the game, I never got bored.

The fact that I didn’t get bored is even more surprising due to the game’s biggest flaw, its simplicity. Kirby games tend to be easy, geared more towards the younger gamers among us. This can be fixed by including harder modes for older gamers, but that isn’t Kirby’s jam. If you are hoping for a 2D brutal platformer like Super Meat Boy, then Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn is probably not for you.

The rebuild comes with some interesting tweaks, and one addresses the difficulty with devilish mode available for each Level. This mode switches Kirby’s inability to die with a health bar and introduces devils which appear throughout the Level which can come at some inconvenient platforming times. Early on Devilish Mode levels are still easy, but it does ramp that difficulty up. A big win is they don’t force you to play on normal to unlock the harder difficulty either. If you want it a little harder, you can play Devilish mode Levels.

If you haven’t played Kirby’s Epic Yarn and enjoy simple charming platformers as much as I do, then I can’t recommend Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn enough. If you have but wished that it was harder, then there may be enough here for you too. It’s a charming fun romp that is cute as all hell… you know, Kirby.

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Remakes are a wonderful thing, which is something I would have been kicking myself for saying only six years ago.

Generally, it allows someone who enters a console ecosystem to experience older games in newer glory, and it gives a good reminder for people who missed a game for any reason, to give it another go. In the case of Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey, I had heard about the Mario & Luigi series for years, but generally skipped over them, then this remake popped it straight back into my mind, and onto my 3DS.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story was originally released on the DS in 2009. Eagle eyed fans will notice that they can still play this game on the 3DS, and that’s right, if you can find a copy these days of the original. This is where old owners will struggle to justify the extra purchase as they can still play the old game on their current hardware.

For newcomer though, there is an experience here you don’t want to miss. The story kicks off with the mushroom kingdom being infected with an illness called the blorbs. Basically, infected mushroom characters find themselves as giant balls like Violet in Willy Wonka, except they roll around out of control. This is a disaster for a mushroom based kingdom like the Mushroom Kingdom.

The kingdoms leaders are talking about the disaster when they are interrupted by Bowser who wants to be part of finding the solution that is affecting the entire kingdom, including his land. His totally reasonable request results in him being beaten and sent off where he tries to find the power to beat Mario. This results in him eating a mushroom that ends up with him eating everything in sight including Peach, Mario and Luigi, which is slightly less reasonable.

Mario and Luigi find themselves awake in Bowser’s body who then proceed to wake him up, then eventually need to make their way out. Meanwhile Bowser is exploring the world, also trying to solve the problem at hand, unaware that the brothers that are in his body also doing their part to help the story. It is one of the most bizarre stories I have seen, with its silly charm making the whole thing a delightful and funny ride.

Exploring the game’s world itself has Bowser walking around a 3D world, while Mario and Luigi explore a 2D side scrolling environment. Battles in the game are based around a classic JRPG battle system where characters and enemies are lined up on the screen, with you choosing your attacks from the available options. It’s mostly simple and generic but one quirk is the ability to jump over an enemy’s attack. You also benefit from pressing a prompt at certain times during an attack to do more damage. Bowser has slightly different commands, but it’s similar. Bowser’s interesting quirk is the ability to swallow enemies which Mario and Luigi fight instead.

Comparing to old screenshots there is a clear and amazing graphical overhaul in place. The game looks like a good Switch game, and a great 3DS game with a lot more detail but without the old cell shaded style. The other obvious addition is the Bowser Jr.’s Journey mode which tells the story of home when Bowser is away. Bowser Jr. is a weird brat who is commanding troops in battle, generally ignoring the advice of his carers.

The gameplay looks similar in screenshots to battles in the main game, but instead of controlling the characters it is all automated. You choose which troops to send into a battle, and where to place them, then basically watch them fight waves of enemies. You use button prompts at certain times on some attacks to make them more damaging, but there isn’t too much more to it. Initially I thought it was a fun spin, but it got boring quickly.

Dust off that 3DS and check out Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey if you haven’t yet. It’s a great game with bonus content that’s worthwhile. If you already own the game and aren’t a fanboy that wants every extra piece of content possible, it’s a tougher sell. Either way it’s a great game, that continues to be great.

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Thanks to a limited history with Nintendo’s consoles, Luigi’s Mansion is one of those games I had lightly heard of, but never experienced. Now Nintendo has given the opportunity to check out this classic horror-ish game, so long as you didn’t trade your 3DS in for a Switch.

For the few uninitiated like myself, Luigi’s Mansion tells a weird story where Luigi won a mansion and when he gets there he finds Mario is lost somewhere inside its confines. This leads to him meeting the Professor E Gadd who explains to him about the ghosts in the mansion, equipping him with a vacuum to suck up and defeat the ghosts.

It’s a bizarre story that isn’t as surprising when you think about how it’s 17 years old but fits into the modern nature of a Mario franchise game. After a few hours of play it’s easy to see why Luigi is portrayed as the helpless wuss brother in pop culture, as it’s doesn’t exactly shine Luigi in a heroic light as he spends the whole game walking slowly around rooms, teeth chattering, and whimpering.

The gameplay has you exploring the mansion room by room finding unique ghosts that you must beat to unblock new doors in the mansion. In this way it leans more towards being in the puzzle genre than action as it appears initially. To beat certain ghosts, you need to observe them doing their thing, like reading books, and find something to make them expose their hearts. That’s when you get to start vacuuming them up.

The vacuuming process has you initiate a mini game whereby you need to hold the joystick in the opposite direction of where the ghost is trying to fly. These vary in length depending on how strong the ghost is. If you don’t succeed fast enough, you will need to initiate the vacuuming process again.

Ghosts throughout the game come in a few major types. The first are simple ones that you need to stun with the torch and suck up, usually in waves that can be frustratingly annoying depending on how many you get. Then there are the mini bosses which have you need to find the way to initiate their hearts to start the vacuuming process, usually requiring a few attempts to get their health down.

Then there are actual bosses. These start the same way as the mini bosses where you need to find the way to set them off, but then go into a classic boss state where the boss has wave-based attacks to avoid. My personal favourite is the first you encounter which is a giant baby ghost that fires toys at you, which is disturbing if you think too much about it. I recommend you don’t think too much about it.

Surprisingly the game hasn’t aged as badly as I would have expected. Without an actual point of reference, I can’t say if it has aged well, or if it has had some great porting work done, but it doesn’t feel like a 17-year-old game. Some of the graphics and controls feel a little old, but nowhere near two decades.

If you are tossing up checking out Luigi’s Mansion for the first time and still have a 3DS laying around I highly recommend checking it out. Some minor dated gameplay elements are easily outweighed by the opportunity to meet Gooigi. It’s worth it alone for that pun.

The post Luigi’s Mansion (3DS) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Nintendo have shown a remarkable commitment to the Nintendo 3DS family since the Switch was announced and subsequently released.

It’s true that releases have slowed down, though hardware sales have continued to be strong, and the total sales now sit over 70 million consoles. So it is worth Nintendo’s time to make sure owners of 3DS and 2DS consoles have something new to play.

And what a strange but nevertheless very well-suited to 3DS game than WarioWare Gold.

From the bizarre micro games, sometimes grotesque and subversive aesthetic, and flamboyant lead, it’s almost like Nintendo has created a full-blown parody of itself. Yet at the same time it does feel familiar. There is much in common with Warioware touch on the Nintendo DS, though thankfully updated and broadened for the success to that handheld.

WarioWare Gold starts off with a short story mode that serves as the introduction to each style of mini game. Firstly there’s touch, using your finger or the 3DS’ stylus which sees you picking noses, pulling Wario’s shirt down, and spinning around lattes. Second is tilt, where you move the 3DS side to side to do sit ups and keep a pig in a pen among other wacky activities. The last main control system is simply using the D-Pad and ‘A’ button to control your character on screen. In the remix ‘Ultra’ modes, there are also some games that require you to blow into the 3DS’ microphone. Each mechanic is introduced slowly, with a gradual ramp up of effort, speed and difficulty. The pacing is nicely done, though the only times that I felt truly challenged was when I encountered a new micro game I hadn’t played before and therefore didn’t know what to do.

And this situation is the true double-edge sword of the series.

The truly hardest part of playing WarioWare Gold is not the micro games, but the meta game of predicting and reacting to what micro game is coming up next, particularly in the Ultra mode where it routinely swaps between control schemes. One second you might be using your stylus, and the next using the D Pad. Mentally managing these changing systems is difficult, but often in a good way. For me, the arcade mode where you simply try and do better at one single micro game didn’t appeal, and each game by design doesn’t have much depth to it. Once you know how to play each micro game you know how to do it, there’s no additional layers of mechanical complexity to discover. Which is not a bad thing at all – swapping between the dozens of micro games shows that sometimes quantity can be just as good as quality.

Now many of these micro games will feel familiar to those who have played previous entries in the series – this is more of a compilation of past entries than a wholesale new rethinking of what a WarioWare game would / could / should include. There are plenty of returning micro games and others that directly reference or take snippets of past Nintendo classics such as The Legend of Zelda, and whether you like them or not I think depends deeply on your existing familiarity with other Nintendo franchises.

If this game is sounding all a bit too bizarre to know whether it’s something you would like, there’s a demo available in the eShop, so if you’re unsure whether WarioWare Gold is the sort of game that would appeal to you, or it’s too familiar to previous entries, then there’s no reason you can’t check it out before committing to the full package.

Nintendo’s send-off games to the Nintendo 3DS family are generally a mixed bag, but the focus on the Switch has given the developers still on 3DS games the freedom to experiment with some strange titles. WarioWare Gold is one of these, even if it seems familiar.

It peels back the corporate shininess that often covers Nintendo, revealing the strange yet relatable minds that work on and around Nintendo properties. WarioWare Gold is a game that embraces and reflects back all the odd and fringe aspects of Nintendo fandom and answers the questions only deep fans ever dreamed – what if Wario was handsome? What if Nintendo made a game that looks like the imitation Mario flash games that have proliferated for decades now? It’s a bizarre package, but one that’s strangely compelling as a quick hit.

WarioWare Gold isn’t a game that will captivate you for hours, but it’s a great in between game, a pick up and play experience that will easy distract you from whatever you need. And yes, I would have loved to see this on the Switch.

The post WarioWare Gold (3DS) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Detective Pikachu is a cute and entertaining adventure game for the Nintendo 3DS. It is certainly not a traditional style Pokémon game but certainly one I was looking forward to experiencing. As the name implies it is about being a detective alongside your partner, Detective Pikachu (cute hat and all), to solve mysteries usually involving both people and Pokémon.

This game definitely takes to heart many point and click adventure game styles. While it has a side scrolling vibe, it does offer depth of field to the game to provide less of a 2D feeling experience. There is good selection of chapters to get through that involve exploration, collecting evidence and then using it to decipher the mystery or problem at hand… or paw. The game is set in a slightly less anime and cartoony vibe than Pokémon is known for and also incorporates Pokémon from many generations. This was refreshing, and I did appreciate this new tone in collaboration with the Pokémon universe.

The environments that each chapter was set in did manage to offer some diversity and interesting features that conveyed an amiable and welcoming feel to the game. However, in the end, these areas felt a bit small and become a bit tedious. This was due either finding new clues in the same spot or running back and forth having to recheck everything within the area as new evidence came to light.

I did also have mixed thoughts about the difficulty. In some areas it seemed way to easy while in other aspects it seemed to require some actual attention and memory skills. This certainly left me slightly confused as to the target audience. In some instances, I could forgive the simplicity of it all if it was aimed at younger children but other times I was certain that the same audience would not understand some of the dialogue and related detective work.

Though I am a huge Pokémon fan this did not blind me to some of the frustrations this game presented.

You must collect evidence to make a case. However there where several instances where I knew what to do or had the appropriate evidence but was unable to start the process as I needed to do some other useless or annoying things to trigger the option. This made me feel disinclined to continue as it was definitely a reoccurring incidence that didn’t get less annoying as time went on.

I did greatly enjoy the characters. Specifically, I loved Detective Pikachu and found the corresponding voice acting to be entertaining and well performed. He provided a light hearted and amusing aspect to both the game and the usual nature of Pikachu. He is a determined confident coffee loving character that can’t help but enjoy.

You play as is Tim Goodman, the son of a missing detective, and Tim has come to the city to find his father and ends up bumping into Detective Pikachu along the way. Turns out, Tim has a unique bond with this Pikachu in that he can understand him. This mechanic allows for some enjoyable interactions and allows for more in-depth engagement into the world of other Pokémon as you progress through the game. I found this Tim fellow to be likable but not as great a character as Detective Pikachu, I feel the most effort was focused on Detective Pikachu’s personality, not that I’m complaining.

Detective Pikachu is a charming mystery puzzle game that certainly does some fan service for Pokémon lovers. However, it does have some frustrating aspects that subtract from the experience. The story was about as interesting as any Pokémon movie, that is to say, it might take a fan to be particularly interested. It is well presented but failed to really capture me and provide that addictive factor that a good mystery should.

I would still recommend this to fans to simply experience the sassy and amusing Detective Pikachu but not so much that I feel it will bring outsiders into the franchise.

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For those out of the loop, Pokémon is a RPG style game where, you the trainer, explores a region of the Pokémon universe battling and catching Pokémon to eventually complete a set of challenges created for Pokémon Trainers while thwarting whatever nefarious plans that a team of villains has cooked up.

As for most generations of Pokémon games there is always an updated re-release that provides a few new extra bits and pieces for the latest generation of Pokémon and for Sun / Moon there is now Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon.

These updated versions can sometimes feel a bit stale and just too similar to the original to pick up and actually complete another entire play through. This, however, is not the case with Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon as it not only has numerous new features, it does a decent job of implementing these well enough to provide a fresh and just as enjoyable experience.

For one, there is a different selection of Pokémon available not mention more to catch.

This alone already helps provide players with a different experience to that of the original. I honestly enjoyed rebuilding my team of Pokémon from the fresh selection provided. This bigger collection of Pokémon also extends to the Legendaries available as a combination, between Ultra Sun and Moon – every Legendary can be caught. While the original and iconic Legendaries, Solgaleo and Lunala, remain the same to maintain the spirit of a change, they now have new forms and new Z-moves to accompany them further expanding on unique experiences this version has to offer.

There are several other additions, some minor and some major. Some of the more major alterations include the expansion in the story, new characters, a new trial and just more to do later in the game. It provided enough new story content to keep me surprised at well placed intervals. There is also a few new variations to the Totem Pokémon trials which once again helped provide a fresh experience rather than a stale old one. It is all another aspect that I find as a welcome addition.

On the minor additions list, Rotom Pokedex has a small selection of new features from the Roto Loto, that can provide temporary power ups that with enough friendship gained, will enable your Pokémon to utilise the Z-Power twice in one combat.

While catching them all is always the primary objective, Ultra Sun / Moon introduces another collectibles with totem stickers. These aren’t the be all and end all but it was an enjoyable little extra collection to obtain along the way that even contributes to the primary goal.

The reward for collecting these is of course more Pokémon, specifically Totem Pokemon.

Another small extra is the Mantine mini game which allows you to traverse between some islands by surfing on a Mantine the whole way. During which you need to surf the waves while racking up points for tricks and navigating obstacles. These award you Beach Points that can be spent on Stat improvement items or a selection of moves for your Pokémon. Once again it was a pleasant surprise to play and is not essential after the first go. So, if you aren’t a fan you don’t have repeat the experience.

As far as Ultra Moon verses Ultra Sun, the key difference is the selection of Pokémon available to you. You may want to check that out prior to purchase but honestly, I wasn’t too concerned with the exclusive Pokémon anyway. I found the regular variety was well catered for and a delight to discover along the way.

One thing I did find with this version was that it provided more of an overall challenge. Where previously I could speed through with flying colours with just the starter Pokémon, with Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon I found it necessary to grind and really build a up a good Pokémon team to complete the trials and progress through the game. I found this honestly to be the most enjoyable change.

Pokémon Ultra Sun / Moon is a delightful addition to the series that builds on nicely to the foundation set by the first instalment(s), Sun and Moon. This entry to the series is a vast improvement and provides a different experience from the first. I loved playing through it and actually found it overall to be a more enjoyable experience than the first. There is enough new content to keep old players entertained and I would happily recommend this fabulous instalment in the Pokémon franchise.

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At the dusk of its life, the Nintendo 3DS family is going out with a bang.

Just the last year has included Super Mario Maker, Ever Oasis, Metroid: Samus Returns and now Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions. Even though I loved my Game Boy Advance I never got to try Superstar Saga in its original form on that console so I was excited to try this new remake. A serviceable remake of a fantastic original role-playing game, it’s updates include a more questionable addition that can thankfully be ignored.

Superstars Saga starts out like any other Mario title – with Princess Peach in trouble. Peach’s voice has been stolen and Mario, Luigi and Bowser (who doesn’t want any other baddie getting the glory of kidnapping Peach) set off after the culprits. The original writing and translation work is exemplar, with a quirky sense of humour that often left a wry smile on my face.

The unlikely trio’s journey leads them to the bean kingdom, which apparently borders the Mushroom kingdom to the west. Once there, Mario and Luigi explore the overworld (controlling Mario with A and Luigi with B) and battle monsters that live in it. Battles take place on their own screen, similar to Final Fantasy or other JRPGs.

Combat focuses heavily on timing, from the basic jump where you can double the damage if you press your character’s button at the right time to more complex attacks, counter-attacks and dodges. Button-press timing is very particular, and getting your timing wrong can be devastating. You must learn the weaknesses of your enemy through experimentation, and it reminded me a lot of Persona’s combat. If you get the flow right, you might not take any damage at all in a battle, but mess it up and you could be on the ropes for some serious damage. This took awhile to get used to. After about four hours something clicked though and I was able to get my button presses right, but there was definitely a struggle at the beginning. There are also special moves called Bros. Moves – where you time multiple button presses in a row for extra damage in combat.

These can be quite stylish when pulled off correctly, which is much harder than it sounds.

Progressing through the overworld is rarely as simple as move and jump. You’ll need to harness a variety of abilities such as a whirlwind, hammer smash and an extra-high jump to access new areas and solve simple environmental puzzles. Puzzles are generally of a high quality though there’s one bad escort mission where you must keep Princess Peach on the screen with you at all times, otherwise she’d be immediately kidnapped. While this is a somewhat humorous commentary of the incredulity of mario games’ narratives, it was incredibly frustrating. In so many ways game design has moved forward since Superstar Saga was originally released, and it shows in some small parts of the game.

The graphics have been nicely revamped from the original Game Boy Advance presentation, though to be truthful I would have been just fine with transporting the original pixel art onto the higher resolution 3DS screen. Speaking of, unfortunately there’s no 3D support at all from what I could see – I feel that Superstar Saga would have benefited from the increased sense of depth perception that the 3DS’s 3D functionality provides. But now that Nintendo’s preference is clearly 2D (see New Nintendo 2DS XL) I can’t say I’m surprised to see 3D’s absence.

In addition to Superstars Saga, Nintendo have included a brand new game called Bowser’s Minions. It can be accessed after about 3 hours of gameplay, but after that you can switch between each mode freely. This mode, which is really a whole new game separate from Superstars Saga, features fairly hands-off battles. You are the somewhat dim-witted Captain Goomba, determined to rescue your hapless Lord Bowser. To get to him you set up battles between Bowser’s minions and inhabitants of the bean kingdom and let them play out, intervening occasionally to prevent a special attack or boost your own side. While setting up the battle – selecting your team, examining your captain’s calls and putting them into formation – was interesting, actually watching the battles unfold was for lack of a better word, boring. There’s not too much to do except hope you chose correctly and see the results.

While Bowsers Minions is inoffensive, I can’t imagine anyone becoming particularly invested in this mode. Thankfully, it can safely be ignored and you don’t really ever have to play it if you don’t want to. There’s support for the new amiibo released alongside this game but unfortunately I wasn’t able to test this.

Mario & Luigi: Superstars Saga + Bowser’s Minions was a bit of a surprise game for me. While initially it didn’t leave a strong impression, it was strangely compelling. I found myself looking for little moments to get some time with the game – explore a few more areas here, win a couple of battles there – much to my surprise. Once you become familiar with the rhythm and timings of combat in particular, Superstars Saga really opens up. It is mechanically complex though, and the extremely tight timings might not suit young children or those not able to react as quickly as the game demands.

Though the Switch is here the Nintendo 3DS still has much to give, and it would be a shame for players to miss out on some extremely high quality experiences being released for it this year. While the latter part of Mario & Luigi: Superstars Saga + Bowser’s Minions is largely forgettable, Superstars Saga should not be missed. It doesn’t add much to the Game Boy Advance release, but on a new console and with brand-new graphics, it’s a must-play for 3DS owners this year.

The post Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions (3DS) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

It’s been many years since a new Metroid game has been released, especially for a classic 2D adventure. “Metroidvania” games, as they’re known, have become a vibrant genre with entries, such as Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest taking up the mantle left behind by Nintendo. In many cases they’re improved upon the formula, adding in modern-day niceties and sensibilities. Having abandoned the 2D side-scroller metroidvania for so long then, how will publisher Nintendo and developer MercurySteam fare when they attempt the same with 3DS exclusive Metroid: Samus Returns?

In a way it should be easy. Metroid: Samus Returns is a remake of Metroid II for the original Game Boy. Take the old game, slap on a new coat of paint and release it, right? We already know the core of the game is what we all want, a Metroid game. But to say that Samus Returns is simply a port of the Game Boy game doesn’t cover the extensive redesign and thought that has gone into every aspect of the experience. It’s an incredible feat of re-imagination, while maintaining what makes Metroid such an iconic Nintendo franchise, even years after the last release.

The best that can be said about Samus Returns is that it feels like a Metroid game, it’s familiar tones, systems and world all feeling as familiar as other entries in the franchise. You’ll be doing all the usual Metroid things, exploring labyrinthine worlds and discovering new and returning abilities, which allows you to explore further and find even more abilities. In that sense nothing has changed, but everything else has.

MercurySteam and Nintendo have re-examined every part of the original Metroid II and brought it into modern era. From the polygonal graphics, the addition of a melee counter, free-aiming and perhaps one of the best uses of the Nintendo 3DS’ 3D functionality, this is as modern a metroidvania as anything else in the franchise. It also allows the franchise to move forward and out of the shadow of Super Metroid without leaving behind what made that game the progenitor of the genre.

This is the first 2D side-scroller Metroid to use polygonal graphics, which could have been a controversial choice. Fortunately, the developers have been able to translate the world and eerie mystery captured so perfectly in pixel art into a polygonal representation. Backgrounds give a fantastic sense of scale, and enemies zoom in and out between the different layers. This sense of depth helps to give you an idea of how alone Samus is and how great of a threat she faces. 3D only adds to this, and I would recommend playing with the 3D up as far as you can handle. Using 3D, backgrounds stretch into the distance and Samus herself seems like a more realistic character. The extra resolution of the 3D layer also helps to sand off some of the shortcomings of the 3DS’ low resolution screen.

Controls have also been overhauled. Instead of eight directional points, Samus can now free aim by holding down a button. This alone makes combat feel much more fluid, freed from the tyranny of the D-Pad’s limitations. It makes the game feel easier, but only in the sense that older games now feel unnecessarily limited. Another significant change to combat is the melee counter. By pressing the button at just the right time, Samus performs a counter attack, pushing back your enemy and temporarily stunning them. Boss fights in particular are centred around countering at just the right time, then pressing the advantage when your enemy is down. You’ll be using the counter often, particularly as enemies attack as soon as you’re on screen. This can seem unfair at times. If an enemy is right above what’s visible on screen, even a small jump, bringing them into view, will make them attack. Being attacked by something you can’t see, or can only see for microseconds is frustrating, especially in an exploration-focused game. That said, energy to restore health is relatively easy to come by, so being attacked by offscreen enemies won’t generally get in the way, but I wish I had just a couple of seconds more time to counter enemies.

One area where Samus Returns hasn’t messed with is the soundtrack. Kenji Yamamoto and Minako Hamano, composers on Super Metroid, have returned to score Metroid Returns, and their impact is obvious. Ominous synths abound, weapons have that just-right sound, and enemy cries are all distinct. It also makes fantastic use of stereo, something 2DS owners will unfortunately miss out on unless they use headphones. The soundscape helps both to establish and ground the atmosphere, keeping the game from space-opera chintz and as vital telegraphs for combat. I found playing the game on mute (such as when I forgot my headphones for the bus) made the game substantially harder.

As with all modern Nintendo games, amiibo support is included in Samus Returns. This has proven somewhat controversial, as the Metroid amiibo does unlock an extra-hard fusion mode played in Samus’ fusion suit. Once you beat the game a harder mode is unlocked, but locking away a whole mode behind an amiibo can be frustrating, mostly given the scarcity of certain amiibo – try finding a Guardian amiibo, months after Breath of the Wild’s release. I think Nintendo should include a way to unlock it that doesn’t require the amiibo, even if it were (reasonably-priced) paid DLC.

And as with all this winter’s 3DS releases, the question remains why isn’t this on the Switch? I understand that development began years ago, before the Switch was announced, but with such a slate of high-quality games on both of Nintendo’s portable consoles, having to decide which one to bring (or making room for both) is not an optimal solution. That’s without mentioning the potential benefits of a much higher resolution, giving the beautiful visual design of the game a chance to shine on modern hardware.

But Samus Returns makes an extremely strong case for lugging your 3DS with you, alongside or even instead of your Switch. It’s fantastic to see such a high-quality game released this late into the 3DS’ life, one that has had so much care poured into it on every level. For those who have been urging Nintendo to make a new 2DS Metroid, you will not be let down. Metroid: Samus Returns is perfectly titled: Samus has returned, better than ever.

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