S.C.G

N-Europe Turns Twenty-Four Five days after the date, with a repurposed banner from two years ago, but it's up on the main page. Some ramblings, observations and gratitude for this site, forum and everyone who has made it all possible. There's some Nintendo game related talk, especially as this site started with the N64, and the platform has renewed interest thanks to Nintendo Switch Online. At least we have (almost) a year to potentially prepare for the next anniversary. Thanks, everyone. And all the best for the year ahead.

Out of those games, I'd pick The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword because it seems to be a solid remake of a game which was well designed, and it gives you more ways to play. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is also a good remake, but it does seem to lose a lot of charm that the original had, while offering various improvements. Pokémon Sword & Shield are decent games, though I couldn't get into them, I know that they offer a new take on the old formula, plus there are expansions if you like the base game. Pokémon Diamond & Pearl seems to be decent remakes, though they aren't without their drawbacks, though I would say it's worth checking out our review if you're interested. Although, I haven't played any of these games for more than a few hours, I did complete Skyward Sword the first time on the Wii and enjoyed it, same for Pokémon Diamond version on the DS, though I seem to recall the game becoming drawn out towards the end, and Link's Awakening is a classic title, I'd still say that the GB/GBC version is more enjoyable, but there are parts of the Switch remake which are well done.

Nintendo eShop new releases (week 51) Last weeks eShop releases, featuring a few interesting highlights... Arcade Archives: Xexex is a horizontally scrolling shooter game from *Konami. Pure Chase 80's appears to be a high-octane arcade racing title which pays homage to classic racing games. Check the article for the full roundup. *(The words Konami and game in the same sentence?!?)

Aspire: Ina's Tale is out now on the Nintendo Switch eShop Now up on the main page. Press release and launch trailer, plus this title is currently 25% off until 16/01/2021. There should be a full N-Europe review of this game available on the main page soon. (It will likely be the first N-E review for 2022)

Nintendo Indie World 15/12/2021 Presentation Roundup All up on the main site, N-Europe's Roundup of the presentation. Full press release and video. No expectations = no disappointment.

Indeed, one side effect or unintended consequence if you like (though perhaps intentional?) of these monthly subscriptions is that the price of what used to be standard, boxed, physical games, do seem to be lowering at a significant rate, so if you've got any old PS4 or Xbox One games (soon to apply to PS5 and Xbox One X games possibly) that you don't play any more, then it might be worth considering selling them, while they are still worth even a few pounds. Of course, if you don't subscribe to these services and still buy physical games, chances are games will be a lot cheaper, and become more affordable at a quicker rate, so if you intend to buy one or two games throughout the year and don't mind waiting, then you probably won't be paying much for them. Though I suppose if you only play one or two games a year, you could sign up for a trial of one of these services, play the games you wanted to check out, and then cancel. Either way, modern physical games are seemingly becoming almost disposable on Xbox and Playstation platforms with the introduction of these services. It's nice to have options, but at the rate things seem to be going, physical games could well be phased out, at least on Xbox and Playstation, with the only way to get them being limited print runs for those that still want them. Personally, I'm not too bothered any more, I've collected games for a while, and I've often advocated for physical games in the past but if you don't form that much of an attachment to modern games, in the same way as a lot of older games, then they might as well just be cheap and accesible. Thousands of digital distractions at your finger tips, all on a pay-monthly service... I can see the appeal, even if it's something I'm unlikely to invest in.

I just had a look, nothing of any real interest which would persuade me to buy anything on the eShop right away. But then, I'm not as interested in games as I used to be, so this isn't that surprising to me. I did see plenty of 'good deals' as in games which are likely decent and would be worth buying at the sale price. The collection of Castlevania Advance titles is now around £14... the recently launched Gynoug is around £4... It's an old horizontally-scrolling shooter which I've played on the Sega Mega Drive during the Nineties, it's a decent game, and this multiplatform digital port looks solid, it's certainly cheaper than buying an original cart, and the main difference I can see just from looking at the video, is that the audio isn't the same as the original, but then it wouldn't be, if you're not playing it on a Mega Drive, but it's still good enough that if you'd never played the game before, you could still enjoy it... the controls have apparently been revamped, plus it's a challenging title from what I can recall of it, in addition to having a really unique aesthetic. There are surely plenty of bargains, though I'd advise looking at them via the online store in a web browser, as opposed to on the eShop as it takes a fair while just to load the next few titles when you're scrolling through, I quit out of the eShop after looking through a few hundred titles, and only about maybe five games or so really stood out... it really depends on what kind of digital distraction you're looking for though, if you like shmups, there are plenty of good scrolling shooters I saw on sale, nearly all of the Sega Ages titles are on sale again etc... In summary... there are good deals, if they are the games that you're looking for, but if not... then there are no good deals.

There's at least three Sega published games on that list which I bought several years ago now, when Xbox games were first getting backwards compatibility updates. Well, one which I had from back in the day of its original release... Gunvalkyrie, which I haven't played since then. Also, Otogi & Otogi 2... both From Software games, puslished by Sega, I'd always been curious about those two titles. Chances are I'll give them a try now at least. And if they aren't my kind of game(s) then at least they will be more saleable to anyone else looking to check them out on an Xbox One / or Series X/S. Both of those Timesplitters games are great, I don't play many modern FPS games, but these are from around the era of FPS titles that I remember the most, though I've only played them on the GameCube, so it will be interesting to see how they hold up on a modern Xbox console. Beautiful Katamari is a notable Xbox 360 title which I'll likely try out as well, even though it's on the Switch now. If this really is the last backwards compatiblity update, due to licensing etc... then, it's still a decent offering, and I may have a few more reasons to load up my Xbox One again, the last time I did that was, a good month or two ago, and the update 'sort of' bricked my original Xbox One console... (it was a widespread issue which only affected the launch model of the console) but it could be fixed, though it did require a full console reset (which apparently deleted the save data on the machine, though not cloud storage) which still keeps the game data on the console at least. This latest update should already be a lot better, as the bar is pretty low now, all it has to do is not brick the console, and make all those backwards compatible games playable.

I just happened to post it, right before Glen went offline. Soon.

Bump! A new post is approaching! (on the next page) ...probably.

640 X 480 upscaled most likely. So the games will appear in the center of the screen, with the usual black border around, like with the NES and SNES games. You can expect the games to appear clearer than they would, if you were using a standard N64 on a HDTV, but they won't look 'HD' as such, just crisper, with clearer text. If you are going to be selecting the NTSC 60Hz version of the games (recommended) then the games may run slightly faster than you might remember, but this is always how they were meant to run, as the 50Hz European N64 games only ran slower because of the different TV standards at the time. There will be inout lag, but it shouldn't be that noticeable, though there is apparently audio lag, which is noticeable, but this is the same with the NES and SNES games, so if you can play those fine, then it might not be that much of an issue, though it would be good if this issue gets improved in a patch. All of the games should be very much playable on new TV's, in fact, this is probably one of the easiest ways to do so, and it is a lot cheaper than buying an N64 with games. If you don't have any other way to play N64 games, and like the idea of playing them on the Switch, with added online multiplayer, then it would seem to be worth it. I haven't bought the Expansion Pack, so I'm just gathering up information from the experiences of others, and based on my own experiences of playing N64 games in various forms. Hopefully, this should give you a good idea of what to expect from N64 games on the Switch.

I just got the dispatch notification for the Samus and E.M.M.I. Metroid Dread amiibo figures, from the Nintendo store. I don't really collect amiibo as such any more, in fact, I sold most of mine, only keeping the following figures... Mario, Sonic, Link, (Majora's Mask) Young Link, (Ocarina of Time) and all of the Metroid series amiibo figures to date. Clearly, if there was going to be any amiibo figures which would persuade me to rationalise "OK, but just these ones, because Metroid" then these would be it. I'll unbox them and take a few pictures of them in the packaging and out of it, then maybe I'll add those to the potential Metroid Dread Special Edition image gallery feature. I am tempted to pick up a Banjo-Kazooie amiibo, it's good to see that they are still available for a reasonable price. Aside from that though? I can't see any more Metroid amiibo being released, unless alongside Metroid Prime Trilogy HD, Metroid Prime 4 or a future Metroid remake/game. Which should mean, no more amiibo to purchase... it did seem enjoyable to collect them for a while, but like with everything collectable, they're just objects, so I thought it best to just keep the ones which still actually mean something to me, on some level, even if it's just to look at them to remind myself how enjoyable those game series have been to me over time.

Pikmin Bloom app launches today across mobile devices Now up on the main page. Press release and launch trailer. - - - - -

Tetris 99 hosts 26th Grand Prix event featuring a Metroid Dread theme Now up on the main page. Details and theme trailer. - - - - -

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity update (version 1.3.0) is out now Now up on the main page. Patch notes and dlc trailer. - - - - -

Metroid Dread update (version 1.0.1) is out now Now up on the main page. Patch notes. - - - - -

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp has been delayed until Spring 2022 Now up on the main page. Press release and reveal trailer. - - - - -

GTA: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is coming to the Nintendo Switch Now up on the main page. Press release and reveal trailer. - - - - -

Might as well add Sin and Punishment to the Virtual Console list, and Sin and Punishment: Successor of the Skies to the Wii list, if you like on-rails shooters, with a difference.

The 3DS version of Majora's Mask is inferior. It's not terrible, in fact, for the time of release, Nintendo/Grezzo did a reasonable enough job, but some of the textures they replaced were not as good as the original, and the gameplay changes, mostly to the mechanics of Zora Link really made the game unplayable (to me) not literally unplayable, of course... but, if you've played the original, and are accustomed to how the swimming mechanics were, then this has proven to be a deal-breaker for some, including myself. Being that it has been a while since I last played Majora's Mask properly (not counting the incomplete 3DS save file) and that I'd only probably be playing it once more, for a while potentially, I'm glad that I decided to play it in 60Hz and with improvements. Though, at least the version which will be on Nintendo Switch online will be the original N64 version, but if you're not planning on going for the Expansion Pack subscription (I'm probably not going for it either) then it would be worth your while picking up the N64 original, if you can... although, if you really are planning on picking up a Wii U, you can still get it on there, I believe? Yes, you can... I just checked, and it's £8.99 to purchase outright, which is pretty good. Again, it's nice to have options.

Thanks for the games everyone. It was great fun playing as Sora, and it really is a fitting end to the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster of characters. I can appreciate what has been done here, to incorporate the character, and it clearly shows off the Kingdom Hearts series in a positive light. Of course, it was great to see battles between various characters as well, with Cloud, Sephiroth, Cuphead, Rosalina, Duck Hunt Duo and of course, dat' dere' Kirbeh! The custom stages were another highlight as well, especially the Everyone is Here! stage with that cameo at the end, priceless. I did happen to capture moreorless the whole three and three quarter hour session as well, so if that's something anyone would want uploaded unedited let me know, though I think the game comes across better in the excellent and well-edited videos which I'm sure will get posted in here at a later date, so I look forward to seeing those highlights. It was good to have a session on a Saturday as well, typically I don't play many games, but Weds/Thurs are when I usually do, so I'd usually only join for short sessions whenever there has been a new character added, I checked and the last time I played Smash was July 1st... and while Kazuya was a great addition, Sora is definitely fun to play as.

Steamworld Dig is worth checking out, if you like games with a digging mechanic, I hear the sequel is good too, though you may have played them already. If not, they are probably the closest thing to Spelunky, though they have their own style. Hmm, maybe add both games to a wishlist though, I've just noticed that the first game is £7 and the second game is £15... I'd have thought they would both be around a fiver by now, they probably go on sale regularly though, and it's not that I'm saying that they aren't worth the money, they do seem to be solid titles, but they have been out for a few years now... there is an option to buy all the Steamworld games, which is quite good value, but not much good if you just wanted the Dig titles.

Oh yeah, this is happening on Saturday, perfect. I'll play as KH3 Ultimate Form as that costume doesn't seem too bad, for what it is. Though, admitedly... the original costume and Timeless River are the ones which fit in well with SSBU. But it's an alternative costume, for a character which belongs to a videogame series which I'm not that invested in, partaking in a fighting game, which itself is more of a celebration of videogames in general than anything else, as fun as it can be. So, it's probably best not to overthink these things. Anyway, new character, in Smash, playing online for the first time since Kazuya was introduced, with the potential for hilarious antics to be witnessed. What's not to love?

Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct 15/10/2021 Roundup Now up on the main page. Full press release, and YouTube video embed. - - - - -

Here's the text from the support page relating to that error, as it contains potentially useful information... Essentially, it seems that this error will only occur near the end of the game, and only if you have used a door icon map marker, or... if you have the map cursor over a door icon perhaps? It's not completely clear from the description, but if it's related to using the coloured map markers, this seems to be avoidable by just not using them, at least until the update is available. After a quick bit of research, it does seem that this will only occur if you place a map marker, on a specific door and then when you destroy the door with the marker present, it just crashes the game, preventing progress, but even if this does happen, all you need to do is restart the game, remove the marker before destroying the door at a certain point in the game, and it should be fine. That's not so bad, at least the issue has been spotted, and the patch should be available soon.