As mentioned in its original announcement, WarioWare Gold is a sort of ‘best of type’ collection for the WarioWare franchise in general. With microgames taken from every title in the series and control mechanics inspired by their respective games, it seems the game is meant to be the equivalent of Mario Party the Top 100 for WarioWare, with the returning aspects intended to highlight the series’ history.
However, it seems WarioWare Gold isn’t only pandering to nostalgia here. Nope, because as a piece of artwork for the game on the 3DS eShop suggests, an all-new character seems to be coming to the series as well!
Yep, as shown in this piece of promo art on the European 3DS eShop, a mysterious extra WarioWare employee seems to be added to the game. This employee is another young girl sort of like Mona or Ashley, and can be seen to the left of the latter in the picture below:
Which in turn makes us wonder…
Who is she exactly?
Because based on her design, she does seem to share a fair few similarities with Ashley. She’s got the strange looking bow, a hair style that may resemble hers in some way or another and a design that makes her almost look like a ‘good’ equivalent to her in general.
And that in turn makes us wonder how her microgame selection may work here. After all, Jimmy T also got characters similar to him in the DS title, with those two having microgame selections taken from the sets played so far. So, could this newcomer be similar? Could she also be related to an existing character and have random games from others’ selections in her set?
Or will she instead be an all new, unrelated character instead? After all, even those associated with others in the series have more originality in their microgames now, with both Mike and Penny Crygor having their own unique microgames and story despite being associated with Dr Crygor in various ways.
It makes us wonder, and either way seems perfectly possible. As for now? Well, we’re just gonna be happy that a new major WarioWare character is coming to WarioWare Gold, and that Smooth Moves isn’t going to be the last title to introduce newcomers to the cast list. Good job there Nintendo. Glad to see Mario and Zelda aren’t the only series getting new characters and concepts introduced, and that even a ‘compilation’ title like this one has something more than rehashes to offer.
But hey, what do you think about it all? Are you happy to see a new WarioWare character in WarioWare Gold? How do you think her storyline will play out? And what do you think of the design in general?
Have your say in the comments below or over on the Gaming Latest forums today!
Ever since the Nintendo Switch was announced, there have been suggestions to sell the system as a handheld console. These suggestions usually talk about dropping the dock and Joy-Con grip and marketing the system as a 3DS successor meant only to be played on a smaller screen.
And now it seems like Nintendo may have paid attention to these suggestions. Because in a move that’ll surprise many fans, the company has started selling dockless Switches in Japan, with buyers being able to purchase the system without a dock or other home console accessories. Here’s a picture showing what’s included in such a deal:
It’s not quite a handheld only variant of the system, but it’s certainly close enough. However, there’s a problem with the whole ordeal.
And that’s the price. You see, while the idea of a Nintendo Switch without a dock is decent enough, Nintendo’s actual pricing for this setup is another story. That’s because not only does this version of the Switch not include the dock, but it also doesn’t include things like the charger, HDMI cable or Joy-Con grip either.
Which in turn makes it a pretty damn bad deal indeed. Remember, the original Nintendo Switch (with everything included) costs $300 (or ¥32,378), while the dockless version comes in at $245 or ¥26,978. This means that you’re getting far less for your money than you’d ever expect, and suggests you’d almost always be better off buying the normal variant with the extras included.
Especially given the prices for these bits of kit on their own. For example, the AC adaptor (which is missing from this kit) costs about $20-30 on its own, whereas the dock costs close to $80 and the Joy-Con grip is about $25. So, for the $50 you save on the initial purchase, you end up spending a good $100 or more further down the line instead. Not exactly a great bargain, to say the least. Not even for people who already own a Switch and want a second one for whatever reason.
But still, what do you think about it? Would you buy a dockless Switch for $245? Or do you think the prices for the Switch and accessories make that a bad deal all around?
Tell us what you think in the comments below, or over on social media today!
Earlier this year, Ubisoft announced that Donkey Kong would be coming to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. More accurately, he’d be coming as part of a new DLC pack that added a new campaign and options to the title, all themed after the Donkey Kong Country series.
And now, they’ve just gone and released a new trailer for said DLC. Yep, as seen on their Twitter page, here is the latest trailer for the Donkey Kong Adventure DLC pack for Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle:
As you can tell, it looks pretty good. You’ve got two new characters in the form of DK and Rabbid Cranky, four new areas to explore, musical remixes based on Donkey Kong 64 and various other things that’ll make Donkey Kong Country fans very happy indeed.
What’s more, it also adds a few new mechanical twists too. For instance, Donkey Kong can throw enemies and cover around the map to take out his foes, as well as pull Rabbid ears from the ground to pre-actively strike reinforcements. It’s a neat set of additions and adds to the original game without overhauling it completely or what not.
So yeah, this is definitely one to check out for any Mario + Rabbids fans out there!
And this time, it’s the RC Car one from New Donk City. You know, the one where you have to get around the track in under 30 seconds. Either way, here’s a video showing it in Mario Kart 8:
As you can see, it actually works really well. Oh sure, it’s not the most exciting layout, and it’s a bit less visually impressive than the Bound Bowl one.
But it’d be fantastic for a first track in a new Mario Kart game. Indeed, we could see this slotting into the Mushroom Cup in Mario Kart 8 perfectly, and its enclosed layout for make for a fantastic Baby Park esque mad house experience too.
So, check it out if you’re interested. It’s a good port and provides another shining example for how Nintendo could bring Odyssey’s locations to the Mario Kart series.
With the NES Classic Mini and SNES Classic Mini being so successful, many have speculated about the possibility of a Nintendo 64 version. And well, it seems a recent trademark registration has thrown even more fuel onto the fire here. That’s because the trademark is for the N64, and covers video game programs, the familiar controller, a TV games system and various other elements that hint Nintendo may be considering the idea in future.
Which in turn means the possibility of a Nintendo 64 Classic Mini is better than ever. After all, Nintendo don’t just trademark things at a whim, and with the success of the NES and SNES versions in recent years, a Nintendo 64 version does seem like the next likely step.
But could it work? Would the idea of a N64 Mini be a viable one for Nintendo?
Because there are still a few issues that remain unanswered, like the obvious one about the games. What games would be on such a system?
Cause while the two Zelda games, Super Mario 64 and Smash Bros are shoe ins, and a fair few other Nintendo made titles would be likely as well, many of the best games for the Nintendo 64 were not by Nintendo themselves.
No, they were by Rare. Such as GoldenEye 007, Banjo-Kazooie, Conker’s Bad Fur Day and Perfect Dark among many others.
So, would said games be included?
Well, we’d hope so. Cause let’s face it, Rare were the number 1 reason to buy an N64 back in the day, right behind Nintendo themselves. If you bought the system, you almost certainly bought the Banjo-Kazooie games, GoldenEye, Perfect Dark or various other such titles along with it, and not having them on an N64 Classic would really lose the feel of the system.
However, the rights issues with Rare games pale compared to a certain famous title. That’s because while Microsoft are open to working with Nintendo on various things and have let their IPs get released on Nintendo systems, the rights for GoldenEye are far messier.
Basically, Nintendo owns part of the game since they published it. Rare owns part of the game, because they developed it.
But a third party also owns part of the game, since the actual James Bond license isn’t owned by either Rare nor Nintendo. This means any GoldenEye rerelease has to get the approval of three different companies before it can go ahead.
And at this point in time… we have absolutely no idea who this mystery third company might be. Oh sure, it used to be Activision (hence the GoldenEye remake on Wii, and the cancelled port that was in development for Xbox Live Arcade). Yet they lost it a few years back, after their last few games were terrible and underperformed at market. Hence no one really knows what’s going on with the franchise when it comes to video games right now, and the relevant license seems to be floating around in limbo somewhere.
So, if Nintendo wants to put one of the most beloved games on the system on a retro N64 console, they’d have to track down the rights to Bond and figure out who the hell actually has the ability to make video games based on him anymore. Or hell, even go and buy the rights themselves from Danjac LLC or Eon Productions. Would they go through with that? We’re not sure to be honest, especially not for a short-term release like a mini console.
Outside of Bond and Rare, things don’t get much better either. Why? Because quite a few other classic titles from the era were also third-party products, and not the kind that would be easy to redistribute in 2018.
For example, on various top N64 games lists online, the following games often crop up:
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater
WWF No Mercy or WWF Wrestlemania 2000
Various Star Wars games (Rogue Squadron usually)
Resident Evil 2
Various Turok titles (often Turok 2)
Beetle Adventure Racing
Those aren’t exactly easy titles to secure the rights to, and some of them involve companies long since dead. Add in a few more obscure choices to round out the numbers, and well, things could get complicated here.
Then there’s Pokemon. Yeah, Pokemon Stadium 1 and 2 were really well received in their day too, but those relied on the old transfer pack to work properly, and hence ended up never being released on Virtual Console because of it. Would any of these games be included? Hard to say, but if they didn’t include the transfer pack they’d be virtually useless, since the in-game rentals are as good as useless in actual gameplay.
But game rights are the only thing that makes us question the idea of an N64 Classic Mini. No, simple product viability has to be called into question too.
Because let’s face it, as much as we really hate to say this…
The Nintendo 64 was not a fantastic seller in its heyday. It did better than the likes of the Sega Saturn yes, but it was thoroughly trounced by the original PlayStation in sales and its audience was nowhere near as wide as that of the NES or SNES.
So, you have to ask yourself… would Nintendo really make a mini console based on it?
Or would they release one based on the Game Boy instead, a console which sold over a hundred million units and became a massive phenomenon throughout its life? Honestly the choice seems pretty clear from a business perspective, and it’s not one that’s stacked in the N64’s favour.
But still, the trademark is there, and the possibility does seem more open now. So, what do you think? Could Nintendo really be working on a Nintendo 64 Classic Mini? Would you buy one if third party games or GoldenEye 007 wasn’t present?
Tell us what you think in the comments below or on the Gaming Latest forums today!
