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This Week’s Japanese Game Releases: Switch OLED model, Metroid Dread, Far Cry 6, Alan Wake Remastered, more

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Switch [10,388 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/nintendo/switch”>Nintendo Switch OLED model, Metroid Dread [5 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/games/metroid-dread”>Metroid Dread, Alan Wake Remastered, and Far Cry 6 are the highlights of this week’s Japanese video game releases.

Get the full list of this week’s Japanese game releases below. It should be noted that Gematsu will receive a small percentage of money from purchases made through Play-Asia links. You can also save five percent using our “GEMATSU” coupon code.

Hardware

Physical and Digital

  • Alan Wake Remastered (PS5, PS4)
  • Astria Ascending (PS5, PS4, Switch) – Launching digitally worldwide.
  • Doki Doki Literature Club Plus! (PS5, PS4, Switch) – Already available worldwide.
  • Far Cry 6 (PS5, PS4) – Launching worldwide.
    • Ultimate Edition (PS5, PS4)
    • North American Version
    • European Version
  • The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild + Expansion Pass (Switch)
  • Lyrica and Lyrica 2: Stars Align (Switch)
  • Metroid Dread (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Splatoon” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/games/splatoon”>Splatoon 2 + Expansion (Switch)
  • Shuuen no Virche -ErroR: salvation- (Switch)
  • Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (PS5, PS4, Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Ultra Age (PS4, Switch) – Already available digitally worldwide.

Digital-Only

  • AAA Clock (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Alan Wake Remastered ( Xbox Series [1,464 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/xbox/xbox-series”>Xbox Series, Xbox One [10,207 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/xbox/xbox-one”>Xbox One, PC [13,763 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/pc”>PC [Epic Games Store]) – Launching worldwide.
  • AmaneSwitch (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Balloon Pop: Learning Letters, Numbers, Colors, Game for Kids (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Creepy Tale 2 (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Earth Marines (Switch) – Already available worldwide.
  • Enigmatis 3: The Shadow of Karkhala (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Far Cry 6 (Xbox Series, Xbox One, PC [Epic Games Store, Ubisoft Store]) – Launching worldwide.
  • G-Mode Archives+: Tantei Kibukawa Ryousuke Jiken-Tan Vol. 7: Otonari Keiji no Sousa Memo (Switch)
  • Jack Axe (Switch, PC [Steam]) – Launching worldwide.
  • JETT: The Far Shore (PS5, PS4, PC [Epic Games Store]) – Launching worldwide.
  • Lyrica 2: Stars Align (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • No Longer Home (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Panmorphia (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey [2 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/games/puzzle-bobble-3d-vacation-odyssey”>Puzzle Bobble 3D: Vacation Odyssey (PS5, PS4, PSVR) – Launching worldwide.
  • Prehistoric Life Puzzles (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Song in the Smoke (PSVR) – Launching worldwide.
  • Super Arcade [342 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/arcade”>Arcade Soccer 2021 (Switch) – Already available worldwide.
  • Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania (Xbox Series / One, PC [Steam]) – Launching worldwide.
  • Tetris Effect Connected (Switch) – Launching worldwide.
  • Top Down Racer (Switch) – Already available worldwide.

The PS5 [1,842 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/playstation/ps5″>PlayStation 5, PS4 [22,002 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/playstation/ps4″>PlayStation 4, and Switch titles listed above can be purchased through Japanese PlayStation [38,914 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/playstation”>PlayStation Network and Nintendo [15,192 articles]” href=”https://www.gematsu.com/platforms/nintendo”>Nintendo accounts using prepaid cards:

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Technology

Metroid Dread Footage Has Leaked Online Ahead Of Next Week’s Launch

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Image: Nintendo

It seems Metroid Dread is the latest victim of a “leak”. According to social media and websites like ResetEra, footage of the game is now doing the rounds online.

We’ve had a look at certain parts of the internet ourselves and can also confirm this. On one page – featuring quite a lot of clips, there was footage at what’s believed to be the “second” boss in the game.

In other words, if you’re worried about any spoilers – you might want to refrain from searching or looking at anything related to Metroid Dread for the next five days until you get hold of your own copy.

The game is already in the hands of reviewers, and our Metroid Dread review will go live next week ahead of the official launch. Metroid Dread has been described as the conclusion to the original Metroid saga, so the story is expected to be very exciting.

“The first 2D Metroid game with a new story in 19 years is coming this year to Nintendo Switch. Metroid Dread is a direct sequel to 2002’s Metroid Fusion and concludes the five-part saga focusing on the strange, interconnected fates of bounty hunter Samus and the Metroids, which kicked off with the original Metroid for NES.”

If we hear any other developments, we’ll be sure to let you know.



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Technology

Here’s A “First Look” Inside Metroid Dread’s Nintendo Switch Game Case

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Launches October 8th

  • by Liam Doolan
Image: @Nintendeal

The release of Metroid Dread is upon us and to fill in time until its arrival, we present you with what’s being described as a “first look” inside the game’s retail case for the US market.

As you can see, the case itself is quite empty (as most Nintendo game cases are nowadays), but there is some lovely artwork on display – showing off a wireframe version of Samus.

In addition to this standard retail release, there’s also a Metroid Dread special edition physical release and Metroid amiibo double pack featuring Samus and E.M.M.I.

Will you be picking up a physical copy of Metroid Dread when it arrives on 8th October? Tell us down below.

[source mobile.twitter.com]



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Nintendo’s Metroid Dread Marketing Campaign Is Well Underway In Japan

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Image: Nintendo

Nintendo has been criticised in the past for not giving the Metroid series enough spotlight compared to certain other franchises, but it seems things will be different this time around.

Ahead of the release of Metroid Dread next month, Nintendo is rolling out the red carpet for its intergalactic bounty hunter. In addition to all of the trailers, reports and social media posts it’s released so far, the company has also gone to the extent of throwing up gigantic Switch ads at train stations in Tokyo:

While it might not seem like much, keep in mind this is Metroid we’re talking about here. Seeing Samus instead of Super Mario, Link or Animal Crossing is a big deal, and it’s great to see Nintendo giving the conclusion to the original Metroid saga the attention it deserves.

It seems the new entry for Switch is already on track to become possibly the best-selling Metroid game to date – with the title topping Amazon and other pre-order charts just days after it was announced. And with Metroid Prime 4 still on the way, Samus’ resurgence is likely to only get bigger and better.

Do you think Nintendo has done enough for Metroid Dread ahead of its release? Will you be picking up Dread when it arrives on the Switch on October 8th? Show your support in the comments below.



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Nintendo Changed The Culture At Retro Studios Following Metroid Prime Crunch

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Image: Nintendo

Thanks to a recent interview on Reece Reilly’s Kiwi Talkz podcast, today has brought some rather interesting details around Retro Studios and Nintendo. We’ve had the humorous tale of how the blowing mechanic was added to Donkey Kong Country Returns, and some interesting insight into the development of Metroid Prime Trilogy. These nuggets have been given by Mike Wikan, who used to work at the studio and played a key role in various major projects.

Another interesting segment, to us, was a discussion around crunch at Retro Studios. It’s an important topic in the industry, of course, and it’s also no secret that extended hours and unreasonable working conditions have been a prominent issue around various companies.

Wikan notably shuts down stories that Nintendo enforced any unreasonable deadlines on the studio for Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, and highlighted how the company stepped in when it realised there was a serious issue after completion of the first game. The decision to move forward with Echoes in its eventual form was a change of heart from the parent company, though the ‘dark and light’ mechanic enabled the team to work smartly and use rooms twice, for example.

After Metroid Prime 1 we rarely crunched, we had a change of leadership between 1 and 2…

We had some crunch (in 2) but it wasn’t the nine month death march that we had at the end of Prime 1. That was the worst.

I had two times where I was there 48 hours straight with one hour of sleep, and then a couple of 36 hour days, for the last nine months we were there pretty much 24/7…

At the end of that time everyone was ready to quit, we were like “we’re done”. I had two job offers from two different companies, and to their credit Nintendo realised what was going on and took over the company, bought it out. They put Michael Kelbaugh in charge. He’s a sweetheart, real good, he was head of Nintendo’s QA department. He said “guys, give me a few weeks to turn it around. And he did”.

… He restored faith in leadership and in the company. I loved working for Nintendo.

Michael Kelbaugh is still President and CEO of Retro Studios, and had worked at Nintendo for over 14 years at the time of his appointment. Later in the interview Wikan briefly touched on his plans to play Metroid Prime 4, the long delayed project that was initially being made elsewhere before Nintendo reversed course and gave it to Retro Studios. He has confidence that the current team will deliver.

And Metroid 4 will be great. A lot of the core designers on the team are guys who were there when I was. They understand, they understand what a Metroid game is.

Nintendo has been known to delay some projects to avoid overworking teams, citing a need to care for its employees when it originally pushed back Animal Crossing: New Horizons, as one example. Metroid Prime 4, of course, has no meaningful release window at this time, so the project’s reboot is clearly being given plenty of time.

Let us know what you think of Wikan’s comments, and whether you’re still full of bubbly optimism for Metroid Prime 4.



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Technology

Gorgeous Hand-Drawn Game Guides Kickstarter Cancelled By Nintendo

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Image: Hand-Drawn Game Guides

Hand-Drawn Game Guides creator Philip Summers knew it was a legal risk to launch his gorgeous, story book-style Nintendo game guides on Kickstarter, but it was a risk he was willing to take. When you pour through all the gorgeous artwork of his unofficial Metroid, Contra, Ninja Gaiden and Legend of Zelda guides, you can see why.

The Kickstarter for the project showed off a range of fantastic, full-colour comic walkthroughs designed to take players through the complex missions and goals of each featured game. According to Summers, the intention behind these guides was to replicate the feeling of leafing through a good game guide as a child, with all the wonder and spectacle that used to go along with it.

But while the game guides look absolutely stunning — and were a major success on Kickstarter, raking in over $300,000 — the project has now been cancelled, courtesy of Nintendo.

Image: Hand-Drawn Game Guides

In a recent update, Summers shared the grim news that the books would no longer go into production.

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“Tonight I pulled the plug on the Hand-Drawn Game Guides Kickstarter. Yes, for exactly the reason you think it’s for,” he said in an update on Kickstarter. “I had hoped that I could successfully navigate any legal trouble, but alas I wasn’t able to do so.”

For fans of the project, it’s a major bummer — but Summers says he’s still grateful for the experience.

“Of course I’m disappointed, but I completely understand why this happened,” he explained. “It’s okay. I’m not mad.”

For now, all orders for the game guides will be cancelled, although Summers says he’ll find out whether the project is truly dead in the water “in the coming days”. Backers can expect a cancellation email shortly if they don’t already have one, and all money will be refunded via your payment method.

It really is a disappointing turn of events.

While these game guides were always going to have IP issues with Nintendo being notoriously strict about protecting their assets, each book is a lavish work of art, created after painstaking hours of work. Summers’ talent and passion is clear in every page and frankly, his game guides look far better than anything else on the market.

Here’s to hoping Summers is still able to produce these guides in some capacity, whether that be through official channels or an entire rework of the project.

These Hand-Drawn Game Guides deserve their time in the sun, and a place on all our shelves, regardless of Nintendo’s efforts to nuke the project.

This story originally appeared on Kotaku Australia.

NINTENDO’S LAWYERS NEED TO CHILL

It has almost a meme at this point, so predictable and tragic has the process become. A fan makes something cool, everyone gets excited, then in comes Nintendo to shut the whole thing down.

READ MORE

 

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Hand-Drawn Game Guide Kickstarter Taken Down Following “Legal Trouble”

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Cor, look at ’em

Update: It looks like Nintendo’s legal team has struck again, as the Hand-Drawn Game Guides Kickstarter has been taken offline by its creator. The campaign had raised over $322,000 before it was taken down.

Original Story [Fri 6th Aug, 2021 17:00 BST]: Remember guides? We certainly don’t, because of that terrible brain accident. But we’re pretty sure that they were excellent, fun little books filled with lovely art and weird semi-canonical facts about how Mario is secretly a tower of eggs in a trench coat.

Anyway, you can now (or… soon) relive those glorious manual-filled days with Hand-Drawn Game Guides’ Kickstarter. You may recognise the name from our coverage of artist Philip Summers’ work; now Summers is making them super-extra-(un)official, with lots and lots of loveable hand-drawn art (as you can probably guess from the title) and very professional hardcovers.

The games getting guides are Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, and a combined guide for both Contra and Ninja Gaiden. All of them will include a range of guide-type-stuff, like helpful walkthroughs, maps, tips, and art, as well as unique looks at the game experiences told through diary entries from the characters and storybook-style narratives that will help you see the games in a new light.

The Kickstarter is live right now, and you can pre-order one of the guides, or all three for a discounted price. Higher tiers include original art, and stretch goals will potentially add gilded edging (oooh) and gold foil on the covers (OOOH).

Go on then, which guide do you want in your grubby hands? Let us know in the comments and check out the lovely Zion waxing lyrical over his paperback copy of the Hand-Drawn Zelda manual below.



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Metroid Dread Reintroduces Kraid To Samus’ Rogues Gallery

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It’s him.
Gif: Nintendo / Kotaku

Nintendo dropped some new Metroid Dread info this morning, complete with a video detailing the different skills franchise heroine Samus Aran brings to the table in the upcoming Switch game when it launches on October 8. But this all pales in comparison to the reveal that Kraid, a secondary antagonist who hasn’t been seen in years, is making his glorious comeback.

Kraid first hit the scene in 1986 as one of several bosses in the original Metroid, appearing as a little, spike-shooting dude barely bigger than Samus herself. Kraid was overshadowed by Ridley, the space dragon who would go on to become the bounty hunter’s main rival. Kraid did receive substantial makeovers for 1994’s Super Metroid and 2004’s Zero Mission remake before quietly disappearing from the series.

According to former Retro Studios artist Gene Kohler, there were plans to feature Kraid in 2002’s Metroid Prime as a boss battle on par with Meta Ridley, a Space Pirate-resurrected version of Samus’ eternal foe who acts as the game’s penultimate antagonist. Work never got past modeling and skinning. Sadly, all Kraid assets were removed from the game before launch, but Kohler was kind enough to provide an image of the big guy’s early model during the aforementioned interview.

Another ex-Retro employee, Greg Luzniak, shared concept art in 2015 of what a potential battle with Kraid would have looked like had he survived to Metroid Prime’s release.

But back to Metroid Dread. The latest trailer depicts Samus stumbling upon Kraid in some sort of containment chamber. He lunges at her but can’t quite make it due to his restraints. Later on, Samus is shown climbing Kraid’s belly towards his face for an up-close-and-personal reunion.

Another important Metroid Dread foe appears to be one of the Chozo, a race of technologically advanced, bird-like people that raised Samus after her colony was destroyed by Ridley as a child. While Kraid is a rare sight in the Metroid series, the Chozo are practically extinct, their once-grand civilization reduced to ruins.

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Metroid Dread is the first time a Chozo has actually appeared in the flesh throughout the decades-old franchise, which would be a big deal for Samus if she wasn’t immediately attacked by the armored figure and left bereft of her signature abilities.

Nintendo is keeping story details close to its chest for now, so we’ll need to wait a little longer to learn more about this mysterious Chozo.

 



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The Fan-Made 2D Metroid Prime Game Has Been Forced To Shut Down

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Image: Nintendo Life

Back in April, we covered a story about a talented group of developers known as “Team SCU” who were working hard on a 2D version of the Nintendo GameCube hit, Metroid Prime.

It was called ‘Prime 2D’ and at the time, the first demo of the game had just gone live. It was quite impressive, we might add. SCU even noted in this demo how the title was a project “made by fans for the sole purpose of having fun”.

Despite this, it seems the project has now been shut down. This information was shared over on the project’s Discord by ‘Troid92’ and then reposted on the Metroid subreddit. While no names are mentioned, a “certain games-related company” has informed the team to stop their work immediately.

The demo has also been taken down, along with the MP3 soundtrack – and there’s now a dialogue between the two parties taking place. In the same message to fans, it’s noted how the decision to release the demo was the “right choice” for the team and SCU has no regrets about it. Here it is in full:

At this stage, it shouldn’t be hard to guess which company is behind the shut down. With any luck, the project can resurface in some way or form, in a way that doesn’t include the use of the Metroid IP.

For more information about this fan-made project, check out our previous story:

Did you try out this game’s demo in the end? Were you looking forward to a 2D return to Talon IV? Tell us down in the comments.



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Mysterious And Super Rare Nintendo Game & Watch Discovered At Auction

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A Yahoo Auctions listing in Japan made headlines in the collecting community recently when it offered for purchase a Nintendo Game & Watch that was so rare many people were convinced it was fake.

As Nintendo super-fan and author of the incredible History of Nintendo series of books Florent Gorges explains in the video below, this particular Game & Watch came in a regular retail Donkey Kong box, but on its top plate had an illustration of three men, along with a commemorative note about Nintendo having sold 20 million Game & Watch devices.

Those notes have been seen before in other rare Game & Watches, but the presence of the three men here is what made this particular unit so mysterious. One was Nintendo legend Gunpei Yokoi, but the other two—Momose and Ishida—were complete unknowns, and had seemingly never been Nintendo employees.

That fact, the style of illustration and some other little things—like the lack of a serial number—had a lot of people convinced the unit was a fake, but as Gorges spells out, after some research it turns out the unit was most likely legit, and incredibly rare at that.

The three men were drawn by legendary artist Makoto Kano (who worked on everything from the original Metroid to Pokémon Stadium), and after some digging by Gorges and some friends discovered, the other two weren’t Nintendo employees, but instead partners involved in the production of Game & Watch hardware. Momose was the director of the factory that produced the aluminium plates found on every Game & Watch, while Ishida was an employee of that factory who was Nintendo’s direct contact.

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Armed with all that information, and with this likely being one of only a handful of these ever made (maybe even just one for each of the men pictured), Georges and some other collectors teamed up to try and buy the unit at auction so they could add it to their historical collections. Sadly their Yahoo account was limited to a maximum bid of one ¥1,000,000, and the winning bid ended up being…¥1,000,100, but as Georges ends the video saying, there’s always hope that the buyer, realising the rarity and worth of the item, was also someone committed to preserving it, and was maybe even Nintendo themselves in order to add it to their upcoming museum.

The video below is in French, but has proper English subtitles available once you enable them.

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