S.C.G

Let me know when you'd like to play these matches @viceview51 We could play them tonight some time between 7pm and 9pm? If not, a similar time at the weekend, if that's better for you?

Just in time by the looks of it, I think Will-Sama is the only fresh character I have saved.

Nicely done, Dennis. This game really does look good, I think this art style really suits this type of game, of course there's plenty of assets reused, but it all makes sense. I'm unsure if I'll pick this up when it comes out, I think I should at least try to put some more time into the original Hyrule Warriors first. But this does look like a nice exclusive title for the Switch, and what a game for November as well.

N-E Café Episode 43 now available! Now up on the main page. An excellent PodPals episode I thought, all of the talk about The Messenger just makes me wish that I had gotten around to playing it before now. The music from the game sounds really good, I think I will get aorund to playing it soon anyway, it has been on my list of games to play for a while. Of course, the banner couldn't be anything else but The Messenger, it was surprisingly difficult to find any clean .png images for this but I got a clean logo from the press kit. Thanks again for another excellent episode.

I really meant to play The Messenger before this weeks episode, that definitely didn't happen though.

I'm still waiting on my second-hand copy, I might send the seller a message asking if it has been posted yet if it doesn't turn up tomorrow. I wouldn't be surprised if they're still playing the game and were hoping that it didn't sell immediately so that they could play through it. It was listed a mere day or two after it came out, but I did buy it and pay for it on Saturday. If that was me selling it, I'd have had it in the post on the Monday even if I was playing it in the meantime. I don't mind so much, just so long as it's at least posted before this weekend, as that will be a whole week gone then. Looks like the game(s) are worth the wait at least.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity announced for Nintendo Switch Up on the main page. Full press release and announcement video. So, that's the Switch game for November then.

That is a great dark mode. Ah well, I'm on a desktop, so the blue text isn't that bad on a big screen. Still though... nice dark mode. (I think I want a real dark mode for N-Europe forums on all devices more than any next-gen console right now) - - - - - back on topic... erm... who's definitely getting an Xbox Series S/X/One/Pro/Project Scorpio Edition when it comes out?

I should go ahead and answer my own questions as well... 1. Streets of Rage 4 because it's my favourite game of 2020, and it just got a significant patch. 2. Not including Super Mario 3D All-Stars, I'm looking forward to picking up Hot Shots Racing as it looks like a very smooth arcade style racer. 3. Getting it day one, especially as it's out so soon. 4. I'm mostly interested in playing Super Mario Galaxy with a Pro Controller, but I'll load up Super Mario 64 first, then Super Mario Sunshine (why no GC pad?) , then SMG.

You mean, you're not using the Nintendo Switch Grey theme? It's the only theme equivalent to a 'dark mode' which doesn't hurt my eyes, I thought lots of people used this theme. Worth trying out, if you haven't used it before, you can change it at the very bottom of the page, at least on desktop.

While Nintendo don't need to sell the Switch at a cheaper price while it's still selling out everywhere, it might be a good move to cut the price slightly before the end of this year. Either that or bundle in an extra game, or even an extra set of joy-cons, as I don't think those controllers have much perceived value any more, especially as it looks like in a lot of cases, you might even need an extra pair at some point down the line. I haven't had any problems with either of my two sets of joy-con controllers, but I don't use them a great amount. Certainly the Switch is a great console, which offers excellent value for what it is, but for anyone directly comparing it to the next gen consoles, it will never "win" that way. I don't think it needs to now, it's not really about 'winning' anymore (even if it is) there's enough space for all of these consoles on the market, just about. The number of people who end up owning all three machines will likely go down though, I think what you'll have is people either own a Switch and another platform from either Sony or Microsoft and a PC if their setup requires it, also depending on funds of course. Personally, I'm grateful to own a Switch, a PS4 and an Xbox One, I hope to make them last as long as possible, along with my aging Windows 7 PC. - - - - Switching back to the thread topic, what games are people playing on their Switch at the moment? What's the next game release you're looking forward to? How many people are actually picking up Super Mario 3D All-Stars on day one? Which game are you looking forward to playing first? As exciting as next-gen gaming can be, what's happening right now is just as important, if not moreso; It's nice to hear about people playing and enjoying games in the moment.

It took me longer than I'd like to even type that out due to the bizarre naming conventions of the many boxes of 'X' What I was asking though is something I thought I probably knew the answer to already, but I just wanted to be sure... "Will my base mode Xbox One, be able to play Xbox Series X games?" (damnit, I wrote Xbox One Series X originally and had to edit that even) I can see now, that the answer is a resounding "no" but, due to all this naming confusion, plus different SKU's, I thought I should at least ask. OK, it's just the extreme size difference which got me thinking... "that new console is around the same size as an Xbox One S... does that mean..." I can see now that it doesn't. Although... I will still be able to play Halo Infinite on an Xbox One... so there's that, I suppose it will just be limited time cross-generational support. I wonder what will happen when it comes to Indie games though? Surely there will be some which will still run on both? Also, maybe certain games out now, will get even more of a boost, I can see that happening for games such as Streets of Rage 4 perhaps. Hmm, so if I was in the market for a new Xbox, which I'm not currently, it might have made sense to go for the Xbox Series S... except not in my case, because I like physical games, but I do have a 1080p TV which I also wasn't planning on upgrading, so even if I was in the market for a new Xbox, it looks like I'd still be going to the Xbox Series X due to the fact it has a disc drive and better graphics, even downsampled to 1080p presumably? At this point, there's nothing coming to the Xbox Series X which would make me want to buy... *Rare just announces that new remoured Perfect Dark game* Well, damn.

So, if this Xbox Series S is no more powerful than an Xbox One Series X (a current gen console) does that mean that all Xbox Series X (next gen) will run on all current gen and next gen platforms, but in a way which is considered, vastly "downgraded" but still essentially running the games?

Well played Dotemu... I just tried the game out again, following the recent patch, and sure enough, the gameplay has been significantly improved across the board. Although, I will say... if you thought that the last stage was tough to begin with, then you'll likely have fun trying to beat it all over again, because it's significantly more challenging. The spike ball from the Gourmand room is now gone, replaced by? More enemies, so you can't just watch them roll into the spike ball any more. Both the Ms. Y fight and Mr. Y fight are significantly harder, I didn't even make it to the final part of the last battle, so it looks like I'll be going back to the game more often. Online seems smoother, but it's hard to tell when people keep quitting, also, I noticed that out of all the patch improvements, there still isn't an option to give you the power to change whether friendly hits are On or Off when you join an online game; this would have been helpful, because the amount of times I've joined a game and people leave the option On is far too frequent, and while I understand that you could damage the other player in the original games, here it's more of an issue as you'll end up hitting the other characer you're playing with, even when you're trying not to... plus you'll always get that one player online who will combo you for no good reason. Overall, the changes definitely make the game feel even further improved, but that last stage is going to take some getting used to.

You're not alone here, I miss the Virtual Console, not just because it was a huge part of my life, and others on this site, for many years, but because it really was an amazing concept, only let down by Nintendo's unwillingness to support it beyond a certain generation; which is ridiculous in itself, because now, they have the perfect platform to relaunch it on. - - - - - Anyway, at least we can dig into these games properly when the collection launches in a week and a half, also, we can confirm that there will be an N-Europe review of these games soon after they launch, as many of us will be buying this compilation, and while we can't say much more than that, (not for embargo reasons, but more that we'd like to keep the format of the review a surprise) we will bring you a review of Super Mario 3D All-Stars as it's something we're all very much looking forward to, despite the niggling aspects of the collection. With that said, we recognise that it's not perfect, and we can certainly have a joke about how the compilation might have come about... (here's something I posted in the staff section about how some of the Mario 35th Anniversary conversation might have gone)* *This fictional exchange is just a few words stated mostly in jest, because you surely have to be a little bit curious about how the internal conversation might have gone at the time. Anyway, perhaps it might put a smile on someone's face, the compilation will be out soon so look forward to our review and personally, it will be good to play the games again and also see what everyone else thinks of them, particualy in the case of anyone who might not have had a chance to play any of these games yet.

Streets of Rage 4 new balancing patch now available Dotemu have just released a sizeable patch for Streets of Rage 4. Check the article for the full patch notes.

I played Super Mario All-Stars last night, I ended up playing through Super Mario Bros. twice through, probably for the first time not using any warps. I took a few screenshots along the way...

DF Retro EX: Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1&2 Well worth a watch, I'm looking forward to playing the game(s) soon and in the meantime, I might just load up the Dreamcast versions.

I've found that this way, even though there are a lot of games in this collection which I've never played, even if I don't do very well, I still learn about the game by playing, it's fun just to see what happens, rather than reading the rules sometimes. Then again... there can be that initial moment of "why can't I move that piece to that space?" but I soon come to understand how it works. I enjoyed our games, and I look forward to seeing what the other games in the collection have to offer in the coming weeks. Also, I was aware that you were planning on playing Super Mario Bros. 3 as well, and as interesting as Worldwide Games can be, there's no contest when it comes to an all-time Nintendo classic. In fact, I'm going to give Super Mario All-Stars a go myself in a bit, as it has been a while since I last played it.

You're correct, I've never observed the rules of Backgammon, but, I insist, each of these matches should be counted.

I'll be right there.

I don't mind, 6pm could work, I've just got to be a bit more organised when it comes to cooking, in order to coincide with that time. It might end up being more towards 6:15pm or so, if that works? I'm just being realistic, I don't want to say 6pm and then keep you waiting.

I see...

A second-hand copy just came up on eBay, so I've bought it.

N-E Café Episode 42 now available! Now up on the main page. Decent all-round game discussion in there this week, Streets of Rage 4 was mentioned though, so that had to go in the banner, Nice to hear music from the game in the intro and outro music as well, there's usually not too much time which passes between each replay of SoR4 for me. I meant to promote this weeks episode on the main page a lot earlier, also... I really should get on with playing The Messenger... Thanks again for another excellent episode.