CM30 on September 22, 2017
When it comes to kingdoms in Super Mario Odyssey, we’ve seen a fair few of them. There’s the Metro Kingdom with New Donk City, where the trailers began all those months ago. There are the newly announced Seaside and Snow Kingdoms, which were shown at the recent Nintendo Direct.
And with unannounced but confirmed kingdoms like the Lake Kingdom and Mushroom Kingdom being present in game, it’s already shaping up to be quite the adventure.
But it seems something else may be present here too. A location Mario fans should be very familiar with…
Yep, Isle Delfino from Super Mario Sunshine has also been spotted on Super Mario Odyssey’s world map! Here’s a picture pointing it out, courtesy of Jordan Amaro on Twitter:
As you can see, that dolphin shaped island is a perfect match for the icon Super Mario Sunshine location. This indicates that not only has Nintendo added new kingdoms to the Mario world for this game, but also been careful enough to include older ones on the map too.
It’s pretty good from Nintendo, especially given how the company try to distance themselves from the idea of a Mario ‘canon’ as much as possible.
And that’s not all. Oh no, it also implies the area will be a playable level in some form too. That’s because every other landmass on the map indicates an area you visit in game. There aren’t meaningless details in this one!
So it seems like Mario will be visiting Isle Delfino here too. However, that still raises a few key questions.
Firstly, what part of Isle Delfino could you be visiting?
Because other kingdoms don’t have you visit every possible location. Instead, you only visit a certain place there. Like say, New Donk City in the Metro Kingdom. Or Tostarena in the Sand Kingdom.
So, would Isle Delfino work the same way? Would the level be based on Delfino Plaza, Ricco Harbour or Pinna Park?
Or would the player be able to visit the entire island in one big level? Either possibility is a valid one here.
Secondly, how could the area have changed from Sunshine if you do visit it?
Cause let’s face it, as great as Mario Sunshine is… few people want a complete carbon copy of its setting in a new Mario game without any changes. It’s a nice place, but it’s one we’ve already thoroughly explored before this point.
As a result, it’s likely a version in Odyssey would change up a few things. Maybe some of Bowser’s minions would be roaming around to cause havoc. Perhaps some new enemies or characters could be present here with interesting dialogue or behaviour.
At the very least, the Power Moon missions would significantly differ from the Shine Sprite ones.
So, the presence of Isle Delfino raises many questions here.
But hey, it’s an awesome inclusion none the less, and shows Nintendo may indeed be celebrating all the past Mario platformers in this one. Thanks Nintendo, this is a very welcome surprise in an already incredible looking title!
CM30 on September 22, 2017
When it comes to gaming journalism, ethics are generally lacking across the board. We’ve seen writers fired for giving negative reviews to heavily publicised games. Websites have exchanged great scores for early access (as seen in the Drivergate scandal). And well, if GamerGate proved anything, it’s that a lot of journalists seem to band together like an internet fraternity. That gaming journalists have almost become an internet priesthood dedicated to protecting its own.
In a world like that, a media controversy in the world of gaming journalism is almost irrelevant. I mean, how can you possibly top fired reviewers or dodgy scores?
Well, by taking down negative review scores on behalf of the game publisher, that’s how! Which is exactly what The Sixth Axis did with their NBA 2K18 score after 2K games got in touch.
That’s because (as you may know), NBA 2K18 is a bit of a trainwreck. It’s got save files that are far bigger than they have any need to be. It’s plagued with poor game design elements like artificial difficulty. And like so many triple A games nowadays, it’s filled to the brim with microtransactions and pay to win gameplay elements.
So, the The Sixth Axis’ reviewer slapped the game with a deserving 3/10 score. Exactly what you’d expect for a poorly designed game like this.
But obviously not a score that sat well with 2K Games. As a result, the company contacted The Sixth Axis to ‘discuss’ the review, leading to the score being removed from the article in exchange for a note saying the following:
Update: In discussion with 2K Games, we’ve temporarily removed the score pending a statement with regard to our criticisms, at which point it will be reinstated. Additionally, a draft conclusion was posted that incorrectly characterised our score as a protest vote, and has been reworded to reflect that our criticisms are rooted in the effect that VC and microtransactions have on the gameplay.
It’s extremely dodgy on every level. What’s more, it’s not a change the actual writer had any say in either. Oh no, 2K games just went straight to his editor, as he mentioned himself on NeoGAF:
Hello. Reviewer here. After review went live I’ve had no direct contact with 2K, instead their PR is chatting with my editor. All I know is that 2K are to issue a statement of some sort regarding issues raised in the review. Of course, the real issue is what updates the 2K18’s VC system gets. Just think of this as a review now in progress. If things remain unchanged so will my opinion.
So not only have we got a site removing scores because of negative from the publisher, but they’re not even working with the actual writers when they do so. Real respectful guys! How nice of you to annoy your reviewers by editing their work behind their back.
It’s really bad news all round really. And you know what else it is?
Continue Reading…
CM30 on September 20, 2017
A few days ago, we posted about a golf game on Nintendo Switch. This game (which is a port of the NES Golf title with Joy-Con controls and multiplayer), was found on the system with no apparent way to access it. As a result, we speculated it was there for testing the classic games service. Or perhaps as an example of a Virtual Console title.
But no, it turns out that’s not the case. Instead, the golf game can in fact be launched on the Nintendo Switch without hacking. How can you do that?
Well, by following the steps below:
- Make sure your Nintendo Switch has never connected to the internet. That’s because the timer needed to unlock the game is network synced, even if the option isn’t set to active in the menu.
- Next, ensure the date is set to July 11th, aka the date of Satoru Iwata’s death.
- Once that’s all set, detach the Joy-Cons from the system.
- Then, hold the Joy-Cons putting forwards/down, then move then to a vertical position and hold them for a bit.
- If you did it correctly, the game will unlock. Here’s the tweet from Nintendo Daily News showing the game working:
As well as various extra videos showing every step of the process.
It’s… an interesting unlock method to say the least. But what can you do if your Switch has already gone online?
Well the sad thing is… not much. All you can do is wait until July 11th 2018 when this process will work without changing the system settings. It’s annoying we know, but Nintendo was pretty damn tech savvy where date options on the Switch were concerned.
But yeah, it’s another mystery solved. The Switch’s golf game isn’t unused content, it’s an easter egg meant to commemorate Satoru Iwata by letting you play a game he developed for free on the system he never lived to see released.
Thanks everyone, it seems Iwata’s legacy lives on.
CM30 on September 18, 2017
When it comes to strange hidden content in video games, there’s almost no end of crazy examples. You’ve got Mario Kart Arcade GP, which has photos of a hostage crisis on the disc. There’s GoldenEye 007 with its built in ZX Spectrum emulator.
Heck, there’s even an old Datel mini game collection with a pirated copy of Metroid Fusion in it! In case you feel like pirating a Metroid game by buying a shovelware mini game collection. For some unknown reason or another.
And it seems the Nintendo Switch hardware only continues that trend. Why?
Because as the title suggests, a full NES emulator has been found in the system! This emulator comes with a modified version of NES Golf, which has been edited to add Joy-Con support and multiplayer options.
Here are a few screenshots of it from the Switchbrew wiki:
As you can tell, it’s pretty much done. So why isn’t it available yet? Why is this version of NES Golf sitting unused in the Switch’s files under the name ‘flog’?
Well, it’s likely down to Nintendo’s testing practices. You see, a while back, Nintendo announced a Virtual Console style subscription service for the system.
This service would let you access various classic games on a rental basis by paying for the system’s online subscription service. It was an interesting idea, and one that was quite heavily promoted early on.
However, Nintendo then decided it was better to give people a free trial for their online systems. As a result, said ‘rental’ service was put on a backburner instead.
So it’s quite likely this version of NES Golf was meant to test NES emulation for that service. That’s the most likely possibility here.
But there are others, and those include:
- The game being part of an easter egg accessed by pressing certain buttons/activating hidden menu options. It’s unlikely, but it has a precedent given the Luigi Bros mini game hidden in Super Mario 3D World.
- Or that it’s part of a Virtual Console service. Like the retro games service, this might also have needed a bit of testing, especially when it comes to new functionality like Joy-Con compatibility or motion control implementations for older games.
Either way, it’s an interesting little secret, and one I suspect we’ll find out more about in due time.
So what do you think about it? Are you intrigued by this random copy of NES Golf that Nintendo left lying around in the Switch’s code?
What do you think it’s there for?
Tell us what you think in the comments below or on the Gaming Latest forums today!
CM30 on September 17, 2017
With many people buying games digitally, file size has been an increasingly important concern in the world of console games. It’s why modern video games using 50+ GB of space has caused quite a bit of controversy over the last few years. Or why Gears of War 4 being more than a 100GB in size almost caused the community to go into shock.
And now with Super Mario Odyssey being released on Switch very soon, fans have been wondering exactly big the title is. After all, it’s billed as Mario’s biggest 3D adventure yet. The ultimate successor to Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine with almost infinite things to see and do.
So how big is the game? How much space will you need on your hard drive to download Super Mario Odyssey from the eShop?
Oh, 5.7GB worth.
Which in Mario terms is pretty damn big. It’s more than double the amount needed to store Super Mario Galaxy 1 or 2. As well as triple the size of Super Mario 3D World.
But it’s not that big in the greater scheme of things. Yes, it’s bigger than ARMS (2.2GB) and Splatoon 2 (3.1GB). Yes, it makes older Mario games look tiny by comparison. It’s pretty big for a Nintendo game, sure.
Yet compared to many games in the industry nowadays, it’s incredibly small. Forget Gears of War 4 at 100GB, almost every triple A game of the last decade is about ten times bigger than Mario’s latest adventure where pure download size is concerned. Doom 4 is 55GB. The Witcher 3 is 45GB. Heck, even Just Dance is over 50GB!
Compared to those… this is a pretty small game.
And it’s not the biggest on the Switch either. Zelda Breath of the Wild dwarfs it at 13.4GB. NBA 2K18 on Switch uses 5GB for the save file alone.
Heck, on Wii U, Zelda uses 5GB for the Master Trials DLC pack!
So, it’s really all down to perspective. Personally, I’d say Nintendo’s done a good job keeping the file size in check myself, since they’ve managed to cram a giant open world platformer into size of your typical video game update. For a title with dozens of worlds, hundreds of enemies to possess and almost too many mechanics to name, that’s bloody impressive.
Add how little content many other Switch games have in comparison to this (ARMS is not exactly content packed), and 5.7GB is a good file size for this thing. It’s certainly manageable to say the least.
But what do you think? Have Nintendo done well fitting Super Mario Odyssey into 5.7GB of space?
Or could the company have compressed it even further?
Let us know in the comments below or on social media today!
Source:
Official Nintendo Store Page for Super Mario Odyssey (Japanese)
