S.C.G

Yeah, that was great fun. The room certainly lived up to its title, Pyramania indeed. It was nice to have some matches against lots of other characters, and see how Pyra fares against Mythra and vice/versa. Thanks for the games @RedShell and @BowserBasher some close matches there as well. I saved every video, I could actually do something with the footage, make up a highlight reel, will see how the week goes.

Room is open, if anyone wants to join. Room name - Pyramania! ID: 920GM GQHX3 Set to Friends - Pass 4444 (if applicable) I'm playing as default colours (but they pop!) all other palettes are available. I'll keep the room open for a good while. @BowserBasher @RedShell Xenoblade Chronicles 2 has an excellent OST.

Good point, Glen. And I'm inclined to agree, the earlier the better with dlc characters, so... it might be short notice but, who wants to play as Pyra/Mythra if I set up a room at say... Tonight at 9pm? Pyra/Mythra Default - Spoileriffic Green - Confusing Reversed Colours - Brown and Yellow Nia Flavour - Edgy Dark Outfits - Aerodynamic White and Blue - Default Colours, But They Pop! - S.C.G Gold and Silver - I'll gladly host if anyone wants to join, and if not, just say when would be a better time.

Watching, but also participating on a weekly basis, on RetroFaithKnuckles over on Twitch, as there's a few streams on Weds, Thurs, Fri most weeks. Wednesday is the PSO stream, as Phantasy Star Online is just about the only game I'm playing at the moment, so it's a good chance to play a classic online game for a few hours, and a fair few other players have gotten into playing the game through watching the stream. It takes place over on the schtserv, which is an independently run server for the game, one of the few ways you can still play it, if you've got either a GameCube with the required hardware, or just with a Wii or via the PC, but those latter methods are more involved. It's good fun though, if you like PSO, we usually just start up a Discord chat with three or four players, and play through a few areas in the game, or a few quests. Thursday is the Retro Radio stream, recently, I've been helping out with the news section, so that means covering the news articles which we have on N-Europe (there's also a link which comes up on the stream, during the evening) and I try and mention the N-E Café Podcast plus other independent YouTube channels, such as your excellent Old Nintendo Gamer & Son channel, at times when it can be reasonably linked in. There's also Sega news, whenever possible, as Faith is more about Sega and retro games, plus retro news to keep it all relevant to the audience. On last night's stream, I covered the Pokémon Direct news, Smash, Qubic Games 17th anniversary sale, I mentioned the last two editions of N-E Café, plus there was Panzer Dragoon II Remake news, and new games on Antstream. The rest of the Retro Radio stream, usually consists of a guest, this week it was Sam Victor who appeared in Star Wars: Rogue One as a speaking part, which was an interesting interview in itself, giving some insight into film production etc. And then, later on there's a collector corner, this week it was Colonel Falcon, who collects console bundles and variations, he had a nice collection, plus I don't think I've ever seen so many different GameCube bundles in one go. Friday is a Retro Gaming stream, most recently, it featured Xenocider, which is an independently developed, on-rails shooting game, in similar vein to Space Harrier etc, by Retro Sumus, who have been interviewed on the stream as well, which gave a really interesting look into indie development, kickstarter etc. It's a great game, I followed it from when I originally backed it, but the kickstarter didn't get funded, so they just went ahead and made it anyway. You could order copies of the game, a lot are sold out, but they've made some cheaper digitial options available now, which I believe you can play on a Dreamcast, as long as you have a certain setup or a boot disc. This isn't a paid affiliation, but it is promotion of another independent site, which is passionate about videogames, and being that Retro Faith has a focus on Sonic, this is promotion which is in context and this is something which N-Europe may look to persue in the future; promotion of independent sites or channels which are passionate about videogames. So if you know of any independent websites which have a specialisation in specific areas of videogames, which you think might be of interest, then please let us know and they may be featured in the future. I know this should probably be in the General Retro Discussion as I posted similar posts in there a while back relating to some interviews, but being as we're talking cross-promotion, there may be more chances in the future, or as a regular thing that N-E Café and/or Old Nintendo Gamer could be mentioned, especially if there's things which link into what's on the stream, in the podcast episodes, or maybe from some of the highlight videos as well. N-E Café Podcast, Old Nintendo Gamer & Son, Retro Faith, and a few YouTube channels are all I tend to watch when it comes to gaming these days, but I'm definitely keen to promote independent videogame media, sites, ventures etc where possible, even if I don't play/review/talk about games quite as much as I used to.

N-E Café Episode 66 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - I enjoyed the game that you all played this week with the various Nintendo franchises, a good selection of titles in there, some obvious picks at the start and some potentially surprising ones, but then, that's the good thing when you're playing a game based on whittling down either favourite games, franchises etc... you'll usually get different results each time, depending on who is playing, and it can be interesting to see what we really value out of all those options available. It was a good call to put certain franchises on a 'safe' list, as those will usually be the ones which will be there until the end of the game anyway, also, I was putting the above banner together while listening to the podcast, and just as I was pasting one of the logo's up there (I won't say which one) it was mentioned at the exact same time, some interesting synchronisation there, I thought. A lot of the logo's in the banner, were chosen based on the palette, and where they seemed to fit, I reckon it turned out well enough. Also, I should be able to give the podcast and/or N-Europe a shoutout on a stream later this evening, trying to do a bit of cross-promotion, when possible, plus Old Nintendo Gamer as well possibly, will see how it goes, but anyway, keep up the good work, everyone, as the podcast really is great to listen to each week, and there's a lot in it for what's normally an hour and a half to two hour long (or more) show.

Mr. Sakurai presents Pyra/Mythra in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Roundup All up on the main page. Full press release, and entire video presentation embed. - - - - - Another great presentation, it'll be interesting to play as these latest dlc characters, even though I've yet to finish Xenoblade Chronicles 2.

Excellent, it's likely I'll be listening to it in a bit, straight after the Smash presentation, I should have the promotion article up this afternoon.

QubicGames Celebrates 17th Birthday with Massive Discounts for Fans Now up on the main page. Check the article for details. - - - - -

N-E Café Episode 65 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Another great episode, some decent coverage of the latest Nintendo Direct as well, but the main highlight is hearing about all of your experiences with the latest Podpals game, What Remains of Edith Finch as this is a game which I've played before, years ago when it was first available on the PS4, I really enjoyed my time with the game, and for anyone who has played the game before, I think they'd definitely enjoy listening to this episode, as I did. But, for anyone who has yet to play this title, definitely play the game first. I've used some of the graphics in a banner before, there aren't a lot of .png images which work that well, but I think this simple banner promotes the episode well enough. Thanks again to @Londragon @nekunando @Nicktendo for their views on the game, and for everyone else who contributed discussion to this Podpals edition, plus thanks to @Vileplume2000 for putting the YouTube version up.

Pokémon Presents 26.02.2021 Roundup Now up on the main page. Full press release and video embed. - - - - - I didn't catch this live, I've only just seen the main highlights from it but... well, there certainly were more Pokémon games announced. Pokémon really doesn't interest me that much any more, aside from perhaps playing a bit of Mystery Dungeon. I'm glad for anyone who's excited about any of the new games announced, but I didn't feel anything for any of the newly announced titles, and that's OK. New Pokémon Snap however, that looks really decent, and probably everything you could want from a sequel which has been long overdue. Although... I do wonder if it has now been too long? I think there will be more of an appeal to it, for younger players, who haven't played the original.

This is no longer exclusive? If it's coming to the PC then... surely it's only a matter of time before it comes to other platforms as well then? Having said that, this doesn't make that much difference to me, my PC isn't that modern, so that version is out, and I wasn't planning on renewing subscriptions for either PS Plus or Xbox Live, plus I already renewed my Nintendo Switch Online subscription, because it's only £17.99 for the year, and this was my main reason for renewing. The only decision now is, buy it for the Switch, or not? I probably will, for the multiplayer, and the fact that it's genuinely the only upcoming game, on any platform, which I have an interest in at the moment. Hmm...

Pokémon Presents 26.02.2021 to be shown tomorrow Now up on the main page. N-Europe will have the full Roundup article posted, shortly after the presentation. - - - - -

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Mr. Sakurai Presents Pyra/Mythra to be shown on March 4th Now up on the main page. N-Europe will have the full Roundup article posted, shortly after next week's presentation. - - - - -

Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 and 2 grinds onto the Switch Now up on the main page. Check the article for the press release and the latest trailer. - - - - - Narita Boy launches on March 30th, 2021 Also up on the main page. Check the article for the press release and the latest trailer. - - - - -

Star Wars: Republic Commando storms the Switch eShop Now up on the main page. Check the article for the press release and the latest trailer. - - - - -

N-E Café Episode N64 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Thanks for sharing your N64 memories with us, I enjoyed hearing about your early experiences with the console, it was a similar story for me, when we got an N64 as a Christmas present from our grandparents on Boxing Day of 1997, I believe it was... I'll never forget playing Goldeneye for the first time with my brothers. That N64 quiz was great, there were plenty of tracks I didn't recognise, but also a fair few which I knew instinctively, as for the transition tunes, there may be twelve in total, but I only picked out ten, so I must have missed two early on in the podcast, but I can definitely name ten of them with near-certainty; anyway, best of luck to anyone who gets all twelve and enters the challenge. There weren't that many .png images under N64 which fitted in very well with the banner, so I decided to make up an N64 boxart of sorts for the episode.

Nintendo Direct 17/02/21 Roundup N-Europe's roundup of the direct. Full press release and video embed.

Yep, this was the highlight for me as well, I've always wanted a version of Skyward Sword which has the option of traditional controls, and sharper visuals... here it is. I enjoyed playing the game at the time, but the motion controls were never perfect, and the game had such a nice art style that it was a shame to see it in such a low definition. I'll have the roundup article up in a bit, typical that Nintendo choose Wednesday night, the one time a week that I still tend to actually play games on.

Nintendo Direct 17/02/21 to be broadcast tomorrow Up on the main page. We'll have the full roundup article with the press release etc up on the main page shortly after the event airs tomorrow. Personal expectations? A release date for Metroid Prime 4, obviously. Realistic expectations? A character reveal for Smash, some sales data, and an Indie sizzle reel.

That's really good of you to offer, Adam. I'm seriously considering taking you up on that, as even though there aren't many games I'm playing right now, this is one which I'd make some time for, even if it's just a quick run through the main game to see the differences, (the "200cc" speed the game now runs at, sounds interesting) and then check out Bowser's Fury.

The spoiler tag seems to be working in @Hero-of-Time 's original post, just not in @Sheikah 's quoted post, for whatever reason. *edit - it is working as indended now though, must have been a glitch. Adam has always posted images from game completion screens, they've always been in spoiler-tags, from what I've seen, and it's a record of beating the game. - - - - - I'm just glad that people are enjoying playing the game anyway, if it's a first-time playthrough for anyone on here, then I reckon they'll be enjoying the game that little bit more, though I can't say for certain due to the change in character speed, and having only played the Wii U original. I was considering picking up a copy after seeing everyone else playing it, but I've resisted it for now, as I'm not really playing that many games these days. I'll be interested to hear more about what people think about the extra content though, it sounds interesting enough, that I may see if I can get a copy of the game for £35... but £45 to £50 just isn't worth it, to me, having played the game before on the Wii U, like so many of the other ports on the Switch. It's nice to see that it's just about as well received as it was the first time, ranging from 'It's not a bad Mario game' to ' It's the best Mario game ever!!1!' personally, I enjoyed it at the time, it's not the best Mario game I've played, it's not the worst, and at least it's getting a bit more exposure on the Switch.

N-E Café Episode 63⅓ now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - It was interesting to hear how you all started out with The Legend of Zelda series, for me, it was Ocarina of Time, that was the first game in the series I played from start to finish. Then, I went back through the games from there, because even though I had played A Link to the Past on a friends SNES back in the day, I didn't own one until later, same with the NES. I've played every main entry in the series since then, aside from the spin-offs, as I'm not that bothered about Tri-Force Heroes or the Hyrule Warriors titles, I could go back to them and play them properly, but it's unlikely, though I'm interested in playing Cadence of Hyrule. Definitely some great memories of the series though, playing through both Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask at around the end of the year, something about playing a new Zelda title during the last few months of the year, just seems right.

If anyone really wanted to play Prince of Persia: Sands of Time then there are many different versions of it across GC, PS2, Xbox, PC... plus a GBA version. There's even Prince of Persia Trilogy on the PS2, plus a later PS3 HD version, unless there's something wrong with those versions? I can only speak for the quality of the games on the GameCube, I'd imagine that they still hold up pretty well today though. Also, I just checked and the Xbox version is backwards compatible on the Xbox One.

N-E Café Episode 63 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Nicely done, I think making this into two episodes is a good call, looking forward to N-E Café Episode 63⅓ with all of the Zelda talk. Also, I was listening to this episode earlier, I registered that Panzer Dragoon Remake was on sale for less than £6... I was going to get it, and... I forgot, so now I'll either wait for the next time it goes on sale, try to secure a review code, or just not bother and be glad that I've saved a few quid, but I would have picked it up for just over a fiver, ah well. For future reference, if anyone is picking up a game on sale from the eShop, it really does change the price, bang on midnight now.

Narita Boy is coming to the Nintendo Switch Now up on the main page. Narita Boy comes to the Switch, thanks to a publishing deal with Team 17. Check the article for the press release and the latest trailer. - - - - - I can't believe its been nearly three years since the start of the Kickstarter. I remember @Ashley posting about it, the game looked great, so I backed it as well, and its a title which has really been looking like it'll be great once it's out. This is a perfect fit for the Switch, and I'm glad that Team 17 saw the clear sales potential that this game has.