Nintendo has announced the upcoming Splatfest for Splatoon 3. This time, players will choose which food they would eat every day between Bread, Rice, and Pasta. The Splatfest will run from August 10th, 2024, at 5:00 PM PT to the 12th at 5:00 PM PT.
Nintendo has shared with us the top 30 most downloaded games during the first half of 2024 for the Nintendo Switch in Japan. Suika Game managed to dominate the list, and Monster Hunter Rise took No. 2. Only five out of the top 30 were games released this year. Check out the top 30 below.
- Suika Game
- Monster Hunter Rise
- Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl Ultimate Edition
- Overcooked 2
- Minecraft
- Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy
- Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
- Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder
- Splatoon 3
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Unicorn Overlord
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
- Momotaro Dentetsu World: The Earth Spins with Hope
- Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Human: Fall Flat
- Overcooked!
- Among Us
- Puyo Puyo Tetris 2
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
- Together! The Battle Cats
- Civilization VI
- Persona 4 The Golden
- It Takes Two
- Mario Party Superstars
- Princess Peach Showtime!
- Forever Blue Luminous
The award-winning independent game studio Unbound Creations (best known for “Rain on your Parade” and “Headliner: NoviNews”) will release their next title “Just Crow Things” on August 15th, 2024 on Nintendo Switch.
More about the game:
In “Just Crow Things”, you’re a little crow trying to prove herself to the world. Make new animal friends, poop on unsuspecting hoomans, and steal all the shiny trinkets! Each level is a little sandbox full of fun items to discover and puzzles to solve, while leaving a bit of chaos behind. Why? Just caws!
Feature Highlights
- Explore 10 unique and sandbox-y levels
- Customize your crow with cute hats, scarves, and more
- Eat delicious foods and discover new “poop modes”
- Use variety of tools and objects you pick up
- Make new animal friends and help them out
In this level-based, sandbox-y adventure game, you must become the coolest bird in town and earn the trust of new animal friends. Completed tasks to slowly build up your Crowputation across diverse settings, such a quaint French Riviera, Ancient Egypt, or bustling New York. Some tasks will test your skill, some will test your intellect, and some are honestly just really dumb. Pick and choose the most fun ways to create Adorable Chaos™ - there’s something for everyone here!
Spread your wings and soar to new heights of cuteness as you customize your adorable crow-tastic appearance!
Famitsu review scores for issue 1857
3 Switch games up for review
The latest issue of Famitsu has made its way to subscribers in Japan, and that means yet another round of review scores. Want to see how this week’s games fared? Check out the score round-up below!
Remember, each Famitsu review is handled by 4 critics. They each give a game a score of 1 to 10, and then the scores are added together. In other words, a perfect game would get a 40 out of 40.
- OMEGA 6: The Triangle Stars (Switch) – 7/8/8/8 [31/40]
- Quiz Seikai wa Ichinengo presents Atsushi no Meitantei (Switch) – 7/8/7/7 [29/40]
- Some Some Convenience Store (Switch) – 7/7/7/6 [27/40]
Developers G-MODE and Plus81 are bringing their visual novel SHINJUKU SOUMEI to Switch in Japan on Nov. 21st, 2024. There will be a 3,990 yen digital edition, 4,389 yen physical edition, and 7,689 yen physical limited edition. The limited edition includes a Kohaku Sumeragi-illustrated B2-size tapestry, a special book with a short story written by Tomo Kataoka, and a soundtrack CD.
Written by Tomo Kataoka, the creator of the highly successful game Christmas Tina in China, and illustrated by Kohaku Sumeragi, a popular illustrator praised not only in Japan but all over the world, this collaboration brings you SHINJUKU SOUMEI, a visual novel.
Visual novel games, as the name implies, aim to immerse players in captivating narratives and evoke emotional connections with the characters. The gameplay mechanics are intentionally simple, often requiring just a touch of a button to progress, making it accessible and enjoyable even for novice gamers.
Set in the vibrant city of Kabukicho, surrounded by the expanding dilapidated slum of Shinjuku Kowloon, this city is home to the poor, outcasts, and those exiled from society. Shinjuku Kowloon has grown by consuming the lives and desires of various individuals. “Torao Hiira,” a man who buries lives in this town, What is the reason behind so absurd his behavior?
REVIEW: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD scares up fun with spooky secrets
"That will be my legacy in the world of paranormal science!"
Who you gonna call?
Before the universally acclaimed Luigi’s Mansion 3, we got to experience a fantastic adventure in Dark Moon on the 3DS: a game that used to its fullest the 3D effect to create an immersive environment. Now, with a fresh coat of HD paint, the title remains as fun to explore as ever, together with a very expressive Luigi.
City Connection announced Wolf Fang/Skull Fang Saturn Tribute Boosted for Switch, and it’s set to arrive in Japan on October 31st, 2024. This will be both a physical and digital release, with standard and limited edition physical versions planned. The limited edition includes a copy of the game, clear file (pre-order bonus), cassette tape (Claris Shop-exclusive), official fan book, and a two-disc arrange soundtrack, all housed in a special box.
Wolf Fang/Skull Fang Saturn Tribute Boosted includes the following games:
- Wolf Fang: Kuuga 2001 (known as Rohga: Armor Force in the west)
- Skull Fang: Kuuga Gaiden
These titles have been updated with the following new features:
- Rewind
- Save & Load
- Boosted background music arrangement
- in Wolf Fang: Kuuga 2001, you can change your mech’s color, strengthen its armor, and increase gauge recovery speed
- in Skull Fang: Kuuga Gaiden, you can enable unlimited continues and change the screen to a vertical monitor format
The new arranged soundtrack features tracks from COSIO, Fantom Iris, MASAKI of ZUNTATA< O.T.K., Shohei Tsuchiya of ZUNTATA, Hagane (STEEL PLUS), Keishi Yonao, Ayako Saso, Shinji Hosoe, and Daisuke Matsumoto.
Luigi's Mansion 2 HD "Aussie Accolades" trailer
What they thought down under
Were you a fan of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon on 3DS? Never had the chance to play that one? Well either way you’re in luck, as Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is now available on Switch. Wondering if the game is for you? Check out the accolades trailer above to see what Aussie critics think of Luigi’s scary escapades.
Explore multiple spooky mansions and clean house as the easily scared Luigi in this visually enhanced version of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. Evershade Valley is filled with chilling locales to visit and clever ghosts to capture. Luckily, Luigi has the tools for the job – like the Strobulb to stun enemies and his trusty Poltergust to vacuum up ghosts or interact with the environment.
Good thing, because his paranormal escapades will take him to a variety of places, including a former plant research lab, a broken-down clock factory and an icy, snow-covered mine, just to name a few. Plus, hunt ghosts with up to four players online in group “exorcises” across different multiplayer modes, or conjure up fun frights in the local multiplayer ScareScraper mode.
Splatoon 3 is being updated to Ver. 8.1.0 on July 17th, 2024. Ahead of the update, Nintendo has released the full patch notes. You can see what’s included in this update via the patch notes below.
Changes to Player Controls
Made it so that when a player opens a brella’s canopy, the canopy opens on other players’ screens quicker than before.
This is to decrease the delay between the canopy opening on the user’s screen and the canopy opening on other players’ screens as much as possible.
Made it easier to place Squid Beakons and Big Bubblers close to elevation differences.
Made it so that the scattered weapon and gear of a defeated player vanishes quicker than before.
Made it so that, when a swimming player returns to Inkling form and uses a weapon right away, the ink on their body vanishes quicker than before.
This is to alleviate the decreased visibility when the player is the same color as the ink on the ground even when in Inkling form.
Made it so that when a player is moving at the edge of an elevation difference, the phenomenon where that player moves back and forth between the higher and lower elevations in a short period of time on other players’ screens will occur less often.
Made it easier than before to jump while moving along the edge of terrain.
Made it so that, when equipping the Mint Decavitator and the Charcoal Decavitator and holding the ZR Button, the sight that indicates where the attack will impact or terminate displays just like when not holding the ZR Button.
New trailer released for Chrono Sword
Hope you like time travel!
Chrono Sword is a pixel art souls-like action adventure about time travel. The title is slated to release on Switch sometime this year, and a new trailer has been shared showcasing how the game is coming along. Check out the fresh gameplay footage above.
The pixel characters with fluid motions, beautiful pixel environments with interactive VFXs and the epic emotional music will give you more immersive experience.
The combat works detailed and intuitive without stamina to give more immersion which never achieved in 2D view. The combat is also expandable with skills and usable items for more fun beyond previous repetitive souls experience.
The levels are designed as vertical and non-linear based on seamless world, to encourage you to try travel everywhere for more challenge and secrets freely in the past and the future.
Unlike the other souls-like games with lack of story, you will be a charming heroine - Aenor and drive the journey to reveal the secret of the past, the future and the secret other side of time travelers
Suntory announces Splatoon 3 merch campaign
T-shirts and tote bags up for grabs
The latest Splatoon 3 merch campaign is about to kick off in Japan, and this one’s through a collaboration with beverage company, Suntory.
Starting today, customers who purchase four or more Suntory bottled drinks have a chance to snag a Splatoon 3 t-shirt. Customers will need to keep their receipt as entrance into a lottery system, and the receipts have to be dated between July 16th and Aug. 22nd, 2024. 1,000 winners will be chosen in all, and there will be adult and child t-shirts with Octoling and Inkling designs.
Along with the t-shirts, Suntory is also going to offer tote bags for the same amount of receipts, and there are four designs in all. These are available as supplies last, so there’s no need to enter a lottery to get in on them. These bags are first come, first served.
Mega Lucario unleashes its aura in a Pokémon GO Ultra Unlock Raid Day event
L-U-C-A-R-I-O, look who's here for Pokémon GO!
Niantic has announced an Ultra Unlock: Mega Lucario Raid Day event for Pokémon GO, and it’s set to run Saturday, July 27, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time. During this time, Mega Lucario will make its Pokémon GO debut in Mega Raids! Event bonuses during this event include the following:
- Mega Lucario will appear more frequently in raids
- Receive up to five additional free Raid Passes from spinning Gym Photo Discs
- Increased chance to encounter Shiny Lucario
- 1.5× more XP from Raid Battles
- Increased chance to get Rare Candy XL from in-person Raid Battles
- The Remote Raid limit will be increased to 20 from Friday, July 26, at 5:00 p.m. to Saturday, July 27, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. PDT
For more details on the Ultra Unlock: Mega Lucario Raid Day event, check out the official Pokémon GO blog.
Pokémon Café ReMix-inspired meals seeing release in Japan
Fabulous, give me 14 of them
The Pokémon Co. is no stranger to unique merch collaborations. They’ve teamed with all sorts of companies in the past to bring about limited-time snacks, apparel, toys and more. Those collaborations are set to continue with some very tasty-looking meals that you’ll only find in Japan.
Japanese grocery chain Oisix has just revealed meal kits that are inspired by Pokémon Café ReMix, and they’re set to arrive on August 15th, 2024. These kits will let Pokémon Café ReMix fans recreate in-game meals that a perfect for at-home devouring.
Altogether, there will be 3 Pokémon Café ReMix meal kits to purchase: Piquant Pikachu Curry, Happy Snorlax Loco Moco, and Fluffy Eevee Pancakes. While the Snorlax and Eevee options will be sold exclusively through the Oisix EC website, the Pikachu meal will be at brick-and-mortar Oisix locations as well.
While pricing for these Pokémon Café ReMix meal kits hasn’t been shared, we do know that they’ll come in the following options: two servings, three servings, and two-servings set with a bonus Poke Ball-inspired bowl. Last but not least, each kit includes a Pokémon Café ReMix-inspired luncheon mat.
Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon "Ciel's Route" opening animation
Will you go down this path?
TYPE-MOON and Aniplex recently released the visual novel Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon on the Switch eShop. There is also a $79.99 limited physical edition if you’d rather skip the digital option. Today brings us a new video for the game, which shows off the opening animation for Ciel’s route.
The celebrated visual novel from Kinoko Nasu and TYPE-MOON is born anew…
Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon collects the two tales that make up the “Near Side of the Moon” portion of the original Tsukihime: Arcueid’s scenario, “Moon Princess,” and Ciel’s scenario, “Midnight Rainbow.”
Creator Kinoko Nasu has painstakingly disassembled and rebuilt the story, updating the setting to 2010s Tokyo and expanding the narrative. This reimagined presentation will exhilarate players with its hard-hitting tension and realism.
Featuring beautifully evolved visuals, animations, and music, Tsukihime: A Piece of Blue Glass Moon presents a fresh take on TYPE-MOON’s genre-defining classic.
Point-and-click title "Heir of the Dog" hits Kickstarter goal, locked in for Switch
A pixel art comedy
Developers Tall Story Games Ltd were hoping to fund Heir of the Dog on Kickstarter, and they were looking for just under $20k to make that happen. The Kickstarter just launched today, and that goal was hit in less than 2 hours! That makes Heir of the Dog a lock for Switch release sometime down the road.
Inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Heir of the Dog invites you on a hilarious romp through the dark streets and back alleys of Victorian London, where you’ll discover talking lice, cannibalism, a secret society and rather a lot of dogs.
Replete with intricate, witty, and sardonic storytelling, Heir of the Dog, tells the story of bachelor and upper class twit, Cummerbund Bandersnatch. When visiting his uncle’s laboratory, Bandersnatch discovers an experimental new formula guaranteeing a ‘good time’ for whoever drinks it. Seduced by the promises listed in his uncle’s journal, he drinks the strange elixir and undergoes a monstrous transformation. Life will never be the same again.
There’s obviously still plenty of time to help Heir of the Dog hit some Kickstarter stretch goals. If you’d like to lock in a copy or help the game reach further heights, you can check out the campaign here.
