Kickstart Guide to BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle

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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Ranking the Games Featured on the NES Classic

The NES Classic Mini is back! Assuming it hasn’t sold out again, of course, which is a very real possibility.

To celebrate, let’s rank the games on the console from worst to best! I’m sure you’ll disagree with my picks, so share your rankings with me in the comments!

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Sibling Rivalry! Brothers Square Off in Mario Tennis Aces!

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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Playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with the Labo Motorbike!

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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Nintendo Adds Labo Support to Mario Kart 8

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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Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash Live Stream

I know Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash got slammed for having very little content, but having played it for the first time just now, I’m actually stunned at how little Nintendo put into this title!

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Slice and Dice! Teenage Mutant Nina Turtles on Gamecube Demo

A far cry from Turtles in Time, I was incensed by the banality of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles demo on the Gamecube. Was this really supposed to inspire someone to buy the game?

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Throwback! Mario Power Tennis on the Gamecube!

In anticipation of Mario Tennis Aces on the Switch, I take a trip back in time to remember why I didn’t like Mario Power Tennis on the Gamecube. It’s too wacky for my tastes, but to each their own!

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BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Review

Historically, my relationship with the BlazBlue franchise has been strained at best. Initially wowed by its visual splendor, its gameplay complexity was impenetrable to me. As they had done previously with the Guilty Gear franchise, they stacked character-specific mechanics on top of an already steep list of system-level mechanics onto BlazBlue, making for a game with an incredibly steep learning curve. Even now, as someone with almost a decade of serious fighting game experience under my belt, mainline BlazBlue is too much for me to handle.

When news of a BlazBlue tag-team spinoff arose, I didn’t bat an eyelid. Having been burned by the first two entries in the series, I wasn’t ready to try again. However, after having spent some time with the demo, I realized that this wasn’t the same type of BlazBlue game that didn’t work for me back then.

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Ruby Joins the Battle! BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle Matches

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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