S.C.G

Being that the release date is two week's away, I've pre-ordered the game now, from an outlet on eBay, for just under £40. Use the code PICKSAVE15 at the checkout, it still comes with the pre-order bonuses as well. Not a bad alternative, if you didn't want to order via the Nintendo Store for £50... so it saves you £10, and at that price, it's likely cheaper than other places too. That code can be used up until 16/03/21 and the outlet (boss deals) seem to have a fair few copies available, at this moment in time. In the meantime, I could check out that new demo this evening.

Happy MAR10 Day from N-Europe Up on the main page. An updated article from last year, featuring all the Mario reviews we could find. Plus, new for this year, featured videos and podcasts from the N-Europe YouTube Channel and Old Nintendo Gamer & Son. - - - - -

Pocky & Rocky Reshrined shoots onto the Switch this Autumn Now up on the main page. Check the article for the press release and trailer. - - - - - Pocky & Rocky is a great series, I reckon this new entry will do rather well. Also, you can still get the GBA game on the Wii U Virtual Console, for just over £6... It's almost a shame that more games from the series aren't on the Switch, they could put the SNES games on the app at least, indeed, that might happen now.

N-E Café Episode 67 now available! Now up on the main page. - - - - - Some great discussion this week, Zelda spin-offs is an interesting topic, I think it's something we'll see more of in the future, especially if the success of Cadence of Hyrule and the two Hyrule Warriors games are anything to go by. There's also the large gap between mainline Zelda games to consider, even if part of it is being filled by the Skyward Sword HD remake, there's still plenty of room for some experimental Zelda titles, or crossovers. Nice to hear about what you've all been playing, I'd never heard of Colourful Colore but it looks interesting enough, plenty of visual appeal from the restricted colour palette, and it looks like the game probably gets more challenging as you progress through it. I never finished Captin Toad, on any platform, let alone the standalone dlc... I could play it on the Switch, especially as it has those extra stages, I'd need to be in the right mood to play it though, I'd have thought. Pokémon Shield, I just don't have the enthusiasm for any more, I didn't get that far into it at the time, I've gone back for some of the dlc Pokémon but not all of them, again, another game I could play, but equally... it's a series I'm largely indifferent to now. Obvious picks for the banner, Zelda from Hyrule Warriors and Link from Link's Crossbow Training, to go with the theme. Excellent to see this week's episode up on the N-Europe YouTube channel so promptly, being that it was there and that I was posting articles earlier, I was able to get this week's promotional piece for the site done in a timely manner. Thanks to everyone involved in the production and promotion of the podcast. (I'll mention the podcast on the Thursday night Retro Faith stream, during the retro news section if I can)

Exophobia blasts onto the Switch eShop Everhood alters reality on the Nintendo Switch DARQ: Complete Edition descends upon the eShop Now up on the main page. A few recently released, or soon to be released titles, which stood out, for me. A retro-styled FPS, an experimental RPG and a puzzling platformer of sorts. Check the articles for the press releases and trailers. - - - - -

It seems to be what a lot of content on YouTube in general veers towards these days, it's also partly why I hardly watch any videogame content on YT these days, except for channels which I'm either genuinely interested in, or invested in them, (non-financially) in terms of them mostly being independent channels, such as N-Europe's channel (which is regularly updated with the podcast) Old Nintendo Gamer & Son (Lee's channel, which has great regular Nintendo content) and Retro Faith, because there's lots of great Sega content on there, retro news and interviews with different people, including some industry veterans. But when it comes to big YouTube channels, such as the one posted above, yes, I used to post those videos on the forums, and I did find some elements of them entertaining, for a time, but it's not hard to see through them, and other content creators, because even though they serve a purpose, and have their good and bad points, I think it comes down to the energy that they draw from, they get a lot of attention already... and as the saying goes... "energy flows, where attention goes" so it's probably best not to post them, unless they really happened to have something profound to say, which hasn't been said before. Perhaps a thread-rip is in order at this point? As while it is an interesting thread of conversation, we're quickly getting away from the topic. - - - - - Regarding the game, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild... it's a great title, outstanding in some ways, while lacking in some places, the overall impression I got from the expansive world, was nothing short of breath-taking at the time when I played it, when comparing it to previous entries, and I still believe that it's a title which is worth its many accolades, for its time of release, despite the lack of any classic Zelda dungeons, and the story, which the recently released Hyrule Warriors sequel seemed to remedy somewhat. The best thing about the latest mainline Zelda game, is that it still finds ways to surprise players, even more than four years on from its release, not that many modern-day titles seem to have that effect, at least not in the same way. Personally, I haven't been back to the game in many years, but if I were to load it up now, I'm sure that I'd find something interesting which I didn't know was possible, back when I first 'completed it' shortly after the Switch launched. There's certainly plenty that I could choose to do in the game, I didn't bother with any of the four guardians, for one thing, there are loads of sidequests which I never investigated, places on the map where I've likely never been, and obviously loads of Korok seeds to find, even if the reward for getting them all, isn't worth the effort... which I know, is the point of it. Indeed, if I was still more interested in gaming in general, Breath of the Wild is one of those titles, I could still see myself going back to, but as it stands, I've become steadily less interested in a lot of aspects of gaming, particularly when it comes to modern games, but I'm still grateful for the experience of playing every main game in the Zelda series, and that will never change.

Monster Hunter Digital Event March 2021 Roundup Up on the main page. N-Europe's roundup of the event, full press release and video embed. - - - - - Another demo for Monster Hunter Rise, nice, will check that out. Good to have a release date for Monster Hunter Stories 2, as well.

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.