Delayed by over a year, Pocket Rumble is finally out on Nintendo Switch! Be forewarned that the first 30 minutes or so of the live stream is pretty brutal as I get demolished repeatedly by skilled players and the AI. Thankfully I got a bit better by the end!
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Mario Tennis on the Nintendo 64 has proven to be a very difficult act to follow. Released in 2000, Nintendo found the sweet spot between simulation and arcade action that made that game a master-class title. To this day, if you play any of the Mario Tennis games released after this one in “Classic” or “Simple” mode, you’re essentially playing the same game that was conceived almost 20 years ago.
Later installments of the franchise would try really hard to make meaningful additions to its seemingly-iron-clad formula with little luck. Mario Power Tennis on the Gamecube undermined the skill-based action of the original with silly power shots and even sillier courts that were so cluttered with crap that it was hard to discern what was even happening. As for Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash – besides being an overall lackluster product – also failed to build on the core formula, as it simply made standard power shots more powerful through jumping and added a mega mushroom that essentially gave you power shots all the time.
It may have taken almost two decades to get here, but Nintendo has finally found a way to make Mario Tennis better.
Did I stand a chance against FGC pro GCYoshi?
…of course not! But I tried valiantly to keep up!
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Anime worlds collide in BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle! As with any fighting game, onboarding is going to be a bumpy ride. Even though this one has a lower barrier to entry, it’s also a niche fighter with a hardcore audience that can make the newcomer experience even tougher than most. If you’re tired of being shredded by Ruby and want to be the one slicing and dicing with her scythe, maybe this guide can get you off the ground floor!
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Just got my copy of Mario Tennis Aces and the first thing I did was square off against my brother Randy! He’s got a head start on me, but can I stop him from completely running me over?
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Having just built the Motorbike Toy-Con, of course I had to try it out in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe! Take a wild guess at how well I performed. Or just watch the video!
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Recently, Nintendo made a surprising announcement that the Motorcycle Toy-Con was now compatible with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch. As someone who has enjoyed building Labo Toy-Cons but has been underwhelmed with its accompanying software, this is a brilliant bridge between the two concepts. It may be asking a lot to buy a whole Variety Kit just for a motorcycle peripheral for Mario Kart 8, but this is a great way to add value to those who already own it. That said, you can buy the cardboard for just the Motorbike for a few bucks online from Nintendo.
Going forward, I’m excited to see what other games and cardboard mash-ups they have in store. Unlike the Wii peripheral era of the past, it’s fun to build these, the Joy-Cons are responsive enough to handle many different motion control functions, and once you’re done playing with them, simply recycle them or pack them back up in the original box. You don’t have to have these collecting dust in your house until the end of time (looks back at Rock Band instruments collecting dust in the basement). What Labo and Nintendo game mash-up do you want to see next?
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Weiss takes a back seat for Ruby to shine! Does she have what it takes to star as part of my dynamic duo of the future?
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In tough against a player with 500+ more wins than me, and we’re still only in week 2!
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Still VERY early in my BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle journey, but it’s still a lot of fun and I think I have the start of a team here!
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In Third Person 