S.C.G

Quoting for the new page. (annnd unquoting, so there's not so much to scroll though) I'll be Alex

I'd be happy to, but it doesn't look like we're getting the results screen.

Comm Error at the end of the first battle and then it just went... odd.

A chance to interact and ask questions about Spyro as industry veteran Craig Stitt is being interviewed tonight at 9pm over on RetroFaithKnuckles Twitch channel. Faith will be playing Spyro, while Craig will be on hand to answer any questions anyone might have about the game, the stream is expected to last around two hours. Even if you can't join the Twitch channel, if anyone has any Spyro questions, I'd be happy to pass them on, to potentially be answered. Craig is probably more famous for designing the Hidden Palace Zone which was cut from Sonic 2 just days from its original release, there might be a chance to ask questions about his time when he was employed at Sega Technical Institute but as I understand it, the stream is mostly about Spyro. He's worked on other games, namely Kid Chameleon, Sonic Spinball and the earlier Ratchet & Clank games, plus he worked alongside Mark Cerny for many years. Retro Faith's Twitch channel is great fun, Faith and I, will often play Phantasy Star Online Episode I & II on a Wednesday and Sea of Thieves on a Friday, plus there's other retro games shown off at random times throughout the week, there is another interview with Craig Stitt over on Faith's Youtube Channel which focused more on Sonic 2, which I'll link below... I also linked to Retro Faith.net not so long ago when I posted the article about Sega Reveals Sonic's 30th Anniversary logo because Faith has taken the independent game journalist route, with a specialism in all things Sega, while also covering a variety of modern games and retro. And I'll just post the same text here which I posted on the Sonic article above at the time... 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. Indeed, I've noticed at lot of our own forum and staff members are doing their own thing when it comes to Youtube, websites, podcasts etc, which is great to see, and going forward, I would like to produce some more promotion features for the main site, so that N-Europe can feature anyone who is creating content which is related to gaming and is of an independent nature, as I think this could be a good way forward, as the cross-promotion could help a lot. (Faith has already put some links and shoutouts to N-Europe via her Twitch channel, which I'm grateful for) So, if anyone has their own independent videogame-related venture, which they'd like to be promoted on the main N-Europe page in the future, let me know, either here or send me a PM with your thoughts, I do think it's a good thing if we can help each other out in any way that we reasonably can. Anyway, it'd be great to see anyone from the forum on the Twitch stream later if it's something they are interested in, Craig Stitt seems like a pretty cool guy, who's been a part of the industry for many years before stepping away from it, but you can tell that he clearly still has the enthusiasm for it, and it's great to see him reaching out to fans after recently showing off footage from that SegaPede cancelled Mega Drive title and Treasure Tails a long lost Sonic spin-off game which never saw the light of day.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate European Online Challenge Throwback Throwdown announced All up on the main site. This might be worth entering, for anyone who's quite competitive at Smash. It looks like it runs from 5pm to 7pm UK time on Friday, 16th October, 2020.

Nintendo Treehouse Live October 2020 Roundup Up on the main site. No press release, so I just reported on what I saw in the gameplay demos. Both video embeds of each game are included in the main article. It was a good showing from all involved in this Treehouse Live presentation, good to hear about the Pikmin 3 Deluxe demo as well. Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is looking even better in this latest showing, I'm considering pre-ordering it.

Yep, scenes like this, used to be an every day occurrence in Hyrule, for me, when the Switch was first released.

Not as far as I'm aware, they are only limited to chests/shops. However, I just read up on a strategy for aquiring many arrows, go to somewhere on the map, where there are Bokoblins on horseback, run around in a cirlce and pick up the arrows which will land on the ground as you dodge them, apparently you can end up with more than enough arrows to last you many hours, just by doing this for a few minutes. I've not tested this myself, but it sounds like a good way to replenish your stocks.

Nintendo Treehouse Live October 2020 presentation to be shown later today Up on the main site. As always, we'll post a roundup article shortly after the presentation has aired, all being well.

Was the original release 60fps? And if not, are the other inevitable multiplatform releases 60fps, while the Switch version is 30fps? If it has always been 30fps and there isn't a 60fps version available on any other platform, then this Switch version is surely well worth picking up. Although, if the PS4 and Xbox One / PC versions are 60fps, then I can't see it doing quite as well on the Switch. As it stands though, I enjoyed playing this game a lot back on the Xbox 360, regardless of its framerate. It's just that, if it's a remaster and the Switch missed out on 60fps, then it's a bit of a shame, but it's good to have it as part of the console's library. Edit - nevermind, I decided to check out the main site... Depending on your specifications, 4K/60 FPS is supported on PC, and players can choose between 4K/30 FPS or 1080p/60 FPS on PlayStation 4 Pro and Xbox One X. Base versions of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will run the game at 1080p/30 FPS. In addition to the listed improvements for the Nintendo Switch version, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions are also updated with upressed UI, higher resolution reflections, boosted textures, more particles, and improved AA/SSAO. Wow, so the base versions on PS4 and Xbox One now have parity with the Switch when it comes to these multiformat releases... In this instance, I'd probably go for the Switch version then, seeing as every other version available to me, would also be 30fps anyway. I might pick up a physical copy of this (if there is one) if all content is on the cart, and probably later on down the line, when it's cheaper.

N-E Café Episode 47 now available! Now up on the main page. (I had the banner already prepared, and the writeup all mostly done in advance this time) - - - - - Thanks for having me on the podcast again this week, it was great getting to talk about Minecraft Steve in Smash with you both. Good all-round discussion I thought, nice recovery at the end after I had that power cut, at least the audio recording wasn't lost, and it sounds like it all edited together well. Nice choices on the tunes this week as well, I've given it a guess, as I'm pretty certain as to which game the tracks are from... I'll be sure to put the YouTube embed on the front page article, just as soon as the software allows that function again. (That may be a good time for me to finally go back and put the YouTube embeds in for all previous episodes as well, which I've been meaning to do.

Mr. Sakurai presents "Steve & Alex" from Minecraft in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Roundup All up on the main page. Full press release, and entire video presentation embed. - - - - - I thought Sakurai put on another good showing from his home, he really showed off how well everything has been implemented. Minecraft is getting probably the best representation it will ever have in a videogame, outside of the main game itself. (or even, including it) They've put in a lot of effort here, and It really speaks volumes about the Smash development team, when they can take a videogame series, and make you want to play as a character, from another series, in Smash, more than playing a game from the respective characters original series. Obviously, for something such as Minecraft, that's easily done if you're not too fussed about the main game already, but even with characters such as Min Min from ARMS, I've much rather play as that character in Smash, rather than in the original game, even though ARMS is great, for what it is... I'd probably say the same for Joker from Persona 5, though I have yet to give that game an actual playthrough, so I can't say for certain on that front. I just wanted to take a moment, to appreciate the amount of effort which goes into the DLC, regardless of whether it's for a character which each of us is invested in or not, the attention to detail, is still nothing short of impressive; and I can't wait to see what characters the series has in store for between now and the end of 2021, all going well. Also... Banjo-Kazooie, Byleth and Terry Bogard amiibo's, when? They all look really great, and I guess it won't be long before Nintendo have finished the Steve amiibo.

N-E Café Episode 46 now available! Now up on the main page. Another great episode this week, I enjoyed all the game industry talk with the Bethesda buyout. Nice to hear about Donkey Kong Country 2, Super Mario 3D All-Stars and Crimsonland. Episode 47 will surely have an interesting main topic. Plenty of new game discussion to be had too, especially with Super Mario Bros. 35 just being released.

In fairness, there are a lot worse character additions then Steve, and if we are going to be comparing, then it could be also said that at least it's not a non-descipt playable character from Fortnite... that really would be a lot worse, especially with that games art-style, which I've never understood the appeal of. I do think @RedShell has a point about the Minecraft art style though, while it isn't the worst I've seen in a game, there has always been something about it, that I really don't like, and the only way I can think to describe it, is that it's a very polished generic voxel art style; perhaps that's what makes it such an odd juxtoposition? There's definitely something about the art style and the game, where I can see why it would appeal to a wide audience.but I think for a lot of people who have played the game, it can seem like one of those titles, where once you see it for what it is, there just isn't a great deal of appeal to it. But the success of Minecraft is undeniable, as is the general level of appeal. I'm not saying that 'this is the worst thing ever!11!!!' and to keep it in perspective, this is one character, in a game which has a roster of around 80? characters, on a platform which has a load of other games to play; we are really fortunate as gamers. I know that this could be extended to anything, by extension, we're fortunate to even be able to choose to make the time to comment on this, and really, when it comes down to it, I'm just grateful that there even are more characters being added to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate at all... plus, playing as these characters when they come out, online with the N-Europe community, definitely makes it all the more memorable. Speaking of which... I believe there's an online game being hosted right now, so if anyone wants to join for a few games, then please do, all players welcome, as are all characters of pixels, polygons or voxels alike.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Minecraft Steve presentation Roundup All up on the main page. Full press release, statement from Mojang Studios and a video embed of the presentation. I get how big Minecraft is, I'm glad that this is something the fans of the series and the developer are grateful for... ...I just don't think that Minecraft is that great, but then, I'm not the target audience, so this doesn't matter. But, we did get Banjo-Kazooie... so if Minecraft was part of the Microsoft deal, then it was still worth it, as two different fanbases are satisfied. That's how I'm going to rationalise it, anyway, we've got a new character being added to Smash and at least there's more to look forward to.

Well... Microsoft won't ever outright buy Nintendo but you've got to wonder just how much money exchanged hands in order to make this happen. From a business perspective, and making a load of fans of Minecraft happy, it's a genius move. From a roster perspective, this feels like a wasted spot, when you consider how many other characters from the entire history of videogames could have been included. It is what it is though, and I reckon the only way is up from here when it comes to the other character reveals. This could have been so much worse, or better, depending on your perspective, personally, I can see it for what it is, but I can't say that I'm that surprised or enthused. If this means that Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is now enjoyed by a lot more people who wouldn't have considered it before though, or who will now buy the dlc, this is surely only a good thing for ensuring the long-term sales future of the series, but there isn't that much else to say about a character reveal where the motives behind it are so transparent. Ah well, this is the Pirahnah Plant of the season pass, for me at least... I just hope this is appreciated by those who actually asked for it, they can at least be grateful. I'm still going to play as the character, just like every other one in the roster, released or unreleased, but this was the best time to showcase this character, rather than wait until the end of the Season Pass... though it really does make me wonder, just which other characters we'll be getting now.

*nods* I can see it happening, I really can, that's why I'm going to put some energy into the thought that it could be Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia, coming to Smash. Also, this could be coupled with another announcement, Tales of Symphonia Remastered for the Switch... But didn't they remaster both Tales of Symphonia games for the PS3? Yes... but they really didn't do a great job, this could be a chance to port it again using the GC version. As for Lloyd in smash though, he could work really well as a character, especially with regard to how the battle system works in Tales of... games, what with the battles taking place in a 3D arena, but you only ever attack in a straight line, so it always felt like you were mostly battling in 2D anyway, only using the rest of the 3D space to either evade attacks, or change attack position. Plenty of fancy sword moves could be used, for attacks in all directions, the Final Smash could be a spirit summon, the arena could either be a floating style across the world map, similar to Dragon Quest, or just set it all inside Meltokio Colosseum, that way, you'd have plenty of scope to put any other Tales of... series characters in there as background elements or even make them part of the battle. I can see the reveal trailer now... Sword Kirby walks through a large, darkened doorway, into an unknown arena, Many sword-wielding characters face off against him, in this dark arena, You only catch a glimpse of them, but you can make them out from small details as they battle it out, One by one, Kirby takes them all on, and uses their powers against each of them, Then, as Hero-Kirby approaches the centre of the arena, one unfamiliar swordsman brandishes his sword, "Give me your name, and I shall give you mine!" states the character... you catch sight of the back of his hand, is that? an Exsphere?!? *ching!* It lights up, then the whole arena is lit up, fire torches are ablaze and the battleground is revealed, along with the challenger... Lloyd Irving pledges his swords to Smash! Ahem! Well, it would certainly make my day if it were to happen that way, anyway.

Pokémon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass Updates Roundup All up on the main site. Full press release and video embed. Good news for anyone who has been awaiting the second part of the DLC. Personally, I don't know if I'll finish the main game at this point, therefore the very idea of DLC is a bit superfluous. I'm glad for everyone who enjoys playing the game(s) though.

Boundary Break - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 A great episode, it really shows off just how much detail went into these remakes, both inside and outside the playable areas. I'm going to play some of this now, as since my initial second-hand copy arrived, I've only put a couple of hours into it.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity - Champions Unite! Trailer Up on the main page. That... was a really great trailer, I may well pre-order this nearer the time.

Did someone say, Astalos Butchery at 8pm, tonight? If so, I'm in.

Well, that was the most interesting game of Chess I've played in a long time. Good game @drahkon you played well. Chalk up another win for drahkon please.

I don't mind at all, will host it in a few minutes.

Kirby Fighters 2 is now available on the Nintendo Switch eShop Press release and launch trailer.

Best keep it to 7pm (UK time) less than four hours from now, that seems like a good time for a game of Chess, and gives enough of a buffer before Mario Kart.