Show Posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.


Messages - JusDBerube

Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 17
1
TalkBack / Princess Peach: Showtime! X Kung Fu Tea Review
« on: March 26, 2024, 06:04:00 AM »

Justin is back to see if he can handle a Kung Fu Tea gauntlet like never before.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/66712/princess-peach-showtime-x-kung-fu-tea-review

On March 18, 2024 Kung Fu Tea revealed that in just four days they would be rolling out a new line of beverages to coincide with the launch of Princess Peach: Showtime! I found this somewhat surprising as with Kung Fu Tea’s previous promotions for Kirby & Pikmin, I remember getting several months notice. I’ve survived the sugary beverages in the past, but my gut’s fortitude would be put to the test like never before as there were a whopping five promotional beverages to sample this time. Someone has it out for me.

I should also mention that all of these beverages are peach flavored to match the Princess Peach name. What makes this drink gauntlet even more difficult for me is that I don’t really care for peaches, but I knew I couldn’t let the avid readers of Nintendo World Report down and made sure to try everything. Onto my thoughts.

(Note: All bold text is the official drink description.)

The Leading LadyA standing ovation for our NEW Leading Lady – a delicious creamy Peach Slush topped with our exclusive Peach Milk Cap. This slush is our Kung Fu take on the classic dessert, Peaches & Cream! *Contains dairy (Dairy free without milk cap)

The Leading Lady is a frozen beverage and its peach flavor wasn’t as hard hitting as some of the other options. This is mainly because it is mixed with the Peach Milk Cap which basically just tastes like cream. The cream flavor softens that peach and actually compliments it well. Though, at times I was wishing to just have a cup of the cream but honestly that would probably have killed me. This is easily my favorite beverage of the lot even with one downside being not all the ice was crushed enough leaving some small chunks to chew.

Peach’s Showstopping Milk TeaOur classic milk tea meets Princess Peach for the ultimate showstopping flavor. This is guaranteed to be a fan favorite so grab it before the curtain closes! *Contains Dairy and Caffeine*

The first thing I noticed while drinking Peach’s Showstopping Milk Tea was actually that it tasted like tea. Yes, this is the first product from Kung Fu Tea that I’ve tried that doesn’t just taste like a dessert and actually lives up to the brand’s tea name. The milk helped to soften the peach flavor and made it even better. The included boba bubbles were good and chewy as well. This creation actually surprised me as I thought it would be the one I liked the least.

Peach Premiere Green TeaCatch this refreshing and crisp tea before it hits the stage! The Peach Premiere Green Tea is a delicate blend of floral peach and crisp green tea, ready to shine at center stage! *Contains Caffeine

The Peach Premiere Green Tea just tasted like sugary tea. I really did not enjoy the pieces of floral peach mixed in, though it was bearable. The included Lychee Bubbles were nice to chew on but didn’t taste like much of anything. Would never even consider getting this item again.

Spotlight SipperMade for the spotlight - our Peach Oolong Tea is made with bold flavor and the delicious taste of ripened peaches - you’ll get why the limelight is on her. *Contains Caffeine

The Spotlight Sipper was in the spotlight for one reason and that’s because I found it putrid. One sip and I was completely disgusted. I’ve never had oolong tea before, but I’m not sure if it’s because of that or the really awful pieces of peach and aloe jelly. I couldn’t drink more than a few sips of this and regret every second of it. The crap coming up the straw also didn’t have a nice texture and I’d warn anyone to stay away. Seriously, I’m feeling sick just thinking about it.

Peach Green Tea CanOn the go? Our Peach Green Tea can is the perfect light and refreshing companion to keep you quenched on your next adventure!

The coolest thing about the Peach Green Tea Can is that it comes in a can featuring artwork from Princess Peach: Showtime!. This is the first Nintendo cross promotional drink from the company to do this and it looks kind of cool. The tea itself was middle of the road tasting exactly like a mix of peach flavoring and green tea. That said, it did have a bit of a flavor that tasted somewhat fake which some consumers may detest.

-

All the drinks except can came in a special promotional cup featuring Princess Peach and special tops featuring her too. There are four cups, two in each size, to collect but my store only had two in stock. Every item also included a Princess Peach: Showtime! Straw Topper of Princess Peach’s crown. Coming later this month stores should also be getting a promotional bag too. So Kung Fu Tea has really taken this promotion to new heights.

That said, even though I found some of the drinks tolerable I think this is overall the worst tasting drinks of the entire Kung Fu Tea X Nintendo line. I’d probably never order any of these drinks again unless Kung Fu Tea forces my hand. In the end I still think the Kirby drink was easily the best. It just sucks Princess Peach had to really get that name in North America because I think I would have preferred some Toadstool beverages to the nasty peach gauntlet I had to survive this past weekend.


2
TalkBack / Splatoon 3: Side Order (Switch) Review
« on: March 12, 2024, 06:23:40 AM »

Is the main course of Splatoon 3’s DLC as fresh as fans had hoped?

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/66592/splatoon-3-side-order-switch-review

It’s been a long wait for Splatoon 3’s Side Order. First teased in an August 2022 Splatoon Direct presentation, fans had to then wait nearly a year and a half after Splatoon 3’s release to gain access to it as part of the paid Expansion Pass. While it may be called Side Order there is no denying it’s actually the main dish when it comes to the entirety of the premium content. The first part of the Expansion Pass, which was made available nearly a year prior, mostly consisted of access to Inkopolis Plaza from the original Splatoon, which only offered a cosmetic difference to Splatoon 3’s hub world.

Side Order on the other hand offers a Rogue Lite experience set within the world of Splatoon. This is actually a fresh take and I do welcome trying new things with the franchise as the main campaigns are starting to get pretty stale. Players take the role of Agent 8, who is the returning protagonist from the Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion DLC. Upon arriving at Inkopolis Square, the main plaza from Splatoon 2, things are very off as the color and life is seemingly removed. Pearl, one of the members of the idol group/newscast from Splatoon 2, returns but in a weird drone form. What’s going on?

I won’t spoil much in terms of the story but the main goal is to make it to the top of a tower floor by floor, initially, to find Pearl’s other half Marina. The first time you do this is kind of a tutorial mode that makes the max floor 10, but after successfully completing this task player’s will have to make it to floor 30 in order to be successful in subsequent runs.

So how’s this all work? At the start of a run a player selects a Palette, or weapon set, they are locked into for the duration of the run. Each floor then presents the player with three potential challenges to choose from at various difficulties. Different challenges include destroying enemy spawn points, destroying x number of enemies that will run away, Splat Zones, shooting a target until it moves to the end of its path, and getting balls in specific spots. There is also a Cash based reward tied to the difficulty of the challenge, as well as the all important Color Chip.

Color Chips are how you upgrade yourself in Side Order, but these will reset at the end of each run. Color Chips can do all sorts of beneficial stuff such as increase weapon firing rate, lower charge rates, give the Pearl Drone more attacks, and much much more. Choosing a floor that benefits your play style and weapon choice really matters and is a major part of your success in Side Order.

Vending Machines occasionally appear in place of one of the challenges on some floors and allows players to spend their earned cash on all sorts of things. These include the ability to change Sub Weapons, Special Attacks, additional Color Chips, and more. Every 10th floor you’ll also encounter a boss fight. Completing these 10th, 20th, and 30th floors for the first time with each weapon will give the player keys which can be used to unlock deeper Splatoon lore, bonuses in the main game, and new weapons to take through the Side Order tower. In order to get the full ending you’ll need to win with all 12 weapons, the last of which does change the rules up a bit.

After each run, successful or not, the player is awarded with Prlz. This currency is used to unlock Hacks, which are permanent upgrades, before each run that will make each subsequent climb easier. Some of these are really good and worth investing into. Prlz can also be used on some rewards that transfer to the multiplayer mode as well.

Side Order manages to be fun for a while and after I got the hang of it a good mode to just veg out on. Once you establish a play style you like you can tend to focus on those specific Color Chips to make your climb to the top easier, especially if you start stacking those upgrades. Overall I had a fun time, but there are some issues.

My biggest complaint with Side Order is everything seems somewhat limited. After maybe half of my full weapon completion I really felt as if I had seen nearly every type of floor there is. Not just in design, but in terms of what challenge is present there too. While having a different weapon can change the strategy a bit you too may get tired of every floor combination offered.

The boss fights are also limited. The final boss on the 30th Floor is always the same, but the boss on the 10th and 20th floor is random from a set of only three. So, yes, even these will get repetitive as well. This overall lack of variety makes Side Order seem to go a bit stale before it should, which is a shame.

I also have a bone to pick with what’s needed for true 100% completion. Even after getting the full ending by winning with all 12 weapons the player will more than likely be left with a lot more to grind out. This includes earning enough Prlz to unlock all the permanent upgrades and all the multiplayer mode bonuses. However getting all the Color Chip data is by far the worst grind of all.

You see, in order to get all the data on a specific type of Color Chip you’ll need to max out each one in a single run. The ability to do this is random, but the permanent upgrades do allow this to be a little more easily manipulated. Some Color Chips are also weapon specific. Ultimately this turns the end game into an even more miserable thing especially when you’ve more than likely seen everything long before you get to the end of this goal. I’m of the opinion that tedious tasks like this shouldn’t be slapped into a game, but your opinion may differ.

One final gripe I have is something that’s an issue with all Splatoon games. Whenever the characters talk they only make weird noises, but their text speech is shown in text boxes at the bottom of the screen. During the heat of battle it’s basically impossible to read these and also focus on the core gameplay. Splatoon needs voice acting badly as it would decrease the distraction, offer real advice as to what’s going on, and actually make the entire world feel more alive. There is more fun lore and character backstories to be found in Side Order, I just also worry that I missed some because I didn’t have time to read it.

Ultimately Side Order is a fun gameplay concept while it lasts. I’d suggest Splatoon fans play through the mode with each weapon once then bounce off. It’s a great game to play while listening to a podcast or something, but the lack of variety makes the mode get repetitive by the end especially if you’re trying to unlock everything. Hopefully this mode makes it into the inevitable next Splatoon with much more variety than what’s currently offered here.


3
TalkBack / The Blunder of Mario Wonder
« on: December 04, 2023, 07:24:40 AM »

Justin takes a critical look at one of the year’s most acclaimed titles.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/65701/the-blunder-of-mario-wonder

Back in 2006, New Super Mario Bros. released on the Nintendo DS after a 15 year hiatus from the traditional Super Mario Bros. series. The first game in the New series was met with mostly positive reviews, but even back then I was a little let down by the entry. Over time it seems as though more people have come to agree that the first New Super Mario Bros. game isn’t that strong of a title when compared to other legendary games in the franchise.

Fast forward to 2023. A decade has passed since the previous Mario game was released (New Super Mario Bros.U), and we can see Super Mario Bros. Wonder being met with near universal praise. While I do think Wonder is a great game worthy of praise, I don’t think the level of which it is being met with is warranted. I aim to take a more critical look at the game that will hopefully stand up more to the test of time.

Before you grab your pitchforks please remember I do enjoy Super Mario Bros. Wonder and really feel the art style is much better than the generic look of the New series. It’s a solid title, but lacking in many places. I’m writing this more critical look because I love the franchise and want it to be better. If I were to rate Wonder in a traditional review I’d give it an 8 out of 10. With that out of the way I hope you can view this as a constructive look at the latest entry in the Super Mario Bros. series.

The first piece of gameplay I’d like to look at is the main new mechanic, the Wonder Flowers. The gameplay in Super Mario Bros. Wonder is largely built around these new items that can change the stage in many ways. Upon getting the item the gameplay will be warped to meet whatever secret twist has been concocted. This can be very fun and surprising, but the issue is because there are so many different elements, each new idea is short lived and lacking depth.

Only a handful of ideas come back in later stages and this is a big problem. It makes the level of difficulty that each can be presented with stay consistently easy because they have to assume the player is learning about these new gameplay mechanics for the first time. Usually in platformers things tend to ramp up, however due to new elements constantly being introduced the difficulty curve remains fairly low. It makes Wonder feel more like a roller coaster ride instead of a platforming challenge. Fun, but lacking the larger sense of accomplishment.

The Wonder Flowers also pose another issue. If you choose to ignore them, which the game often tries to make sure you don’t by having Talking Flower’s warn you, the levels don’t have much to offer. Many will end soon after a Wonder Flower is skipped, or the level will just be weakly built for players that skip them. The game would have been much stronger if these branching paths were more creative, as in several cases you need to beat the level both ways in order to hit the tops of the Flagpoles for multiple exits - a necessity for full completion.

My final issue with the Wonder Flowers is that they make the traditional Mario power-ups less impactful. This is because after touching several of the Wonder Flowers the gameplay or Mario’s form can often change making them pointless. While many of the new power-ups are fun, they sometimes just mean less in this new gameplay environment.

Next I’d like to touch on the new Badge system. The Badge system is one of many crutches found in Super Mario Bros. Wonder.  That’s not a bad thing, I just find they aren’t implemented well. The game starts players off with the Parachute Cap Badge, which I would consider the most busted Badge in the game. This Badge lets you float, and skilled players will quickly find it also lets you wall jump off a single wall infinitely. This not only makes the rest of the badges much less useful outside a few specific instances, but it makes earning them feel pointless. For example, the Parachute Badge can do what the Wall-Climb Jump Badge does only better.

Balance isn’t my only issue with the Badges as I think they could have been incorporated into stages to let players find secret exits that would require them. Imagine having some areas you’d have to go back to with a specific Badge earned later in the game that would allow you to cut to various places early, maybe even getting to credits sooner if played wisely. Sadly there are also no early end game warps in Wonder either, but I think more Badge specific secrets within stages would have been a good addition that would add value to specific Badges.

Multiplayer is the next element of Wonder I’d like to touch on. While I only played a little local multiplayer, I have heard several reports of it not being that great amongst more serious players. It sounds like there are issues on who the camera focuses on which need to be ironed out. The online multiplayer is also a major crutch for lower skilled players. Again, this isn’t necessarily bad, but it can make much of the game a joke as I’ve seen people damage boost as a ghost through almost the entirety of the game having people save them on the other side of challenges. Also it’s a bit sad that the hearts earned by playing online are completely meaningless. Ultimately, it’s a little embarrassing that we can’t just play co-op Super Mario Bros. with friends in 2023. It seemed to work well in the Switch release of Super Mario 3D World.

One thing I would like to applaud Nintendo on is the fact that characters no longer bump into and bounce off one another while playing local multiplayer. When the characters stopped one another in past titles it felt really miserable for 2D platforming. There is, however, likely room for a middle ground. It would be cool if when a shoulder button was held it then turned on the ability to interact with other players. That way if two players held it down they could do some useful things like bounce one character higher or something. Just an idea I’d like to see in the future.

Boss fights are low-hanging fruit for criticism. They are just bad in Super Mario Bros. Wonder with maybe the exception of the final boss. They are jokingly easy and mostly uncreative, especially the Airship endings where you are tasked with just touching a Switch at the end. You’d think with all these fresh new Wonder Flowers changing gameplay the developers would have come up with some very unique ideas. Sadly they didn't, and even worse is that the Koopalings don’t show up at all.

This leads me right into the general difficulty of Super Mario Bros. Wonder. Due to the previously stated issues with the Wonder Flowers, the game rarely gives the player much of a challenge. Add on top of this the several crutches for weaker players such as Easy Characters, Badges, Online Help, and the game can be a cakewalk. The only stage I found difficult was the true final stage, and I’ve even seen people cheese that with the online play. I want to be clear that I think it’s fine to offer crutches for weaker players in order to experience the content, but even without them the game doesn’t offer much of a challenge outside of the final level. Ultimately, due to the game offering various types of gameplay the more traditional platforming challenges are weakened.

The difficulty rating system found in the game is also a bit out of whack. The range of difficulty found in the five star category can be all over the place. I’ve completed a few five star stages on my first or second attempt. This rating system may need to be expanded to a 10 star system instead of the current five in a sequel.

One solution to the difficulty problem would be to keep the standard game as is, but also include a New Super Luigi U style second quest that increases the difficulty and depth of mechanics for more expert players. While I do enjoy the length of the main game I think a harder level set is necessary as there is clearly an aim on a more mainstream audience with the difficulty of the current game. I just want a more fair Mario challenge and I’m not talking about Kaizo stuff some people create in Mario Maker. Kaizo has its audience but I don’t find one frame tricks or fighting the physical limitations of my controller to be that fun.

Anything else I’d change? Yeah. I am very happy that it’s possible to play as more characters but I do feel having them all play the same, outside of the easy characters, to be a bit boring. Having each character play a little differently just adds personality and depth to the gameplay and it’s something I miss. Also, I was very disappointed that the final reward of the game was a useless Badge and not Rosalina. Additionally, it would be nice if a player, after completing everything, could do a New Game Plus mode with all the Badges unlocked from the start so they could maybe try doing a full playthrough with some of the weird Badges like the Invisibility Badge. Some additional gripes include Standees being meaningless for offline play and the limit of holding a maximum of 999 Flower Coins is extremely short sighted.

I’d also like to see the Time Limit and Score come back. The game just felt way too relaxed without the Time Limit and fun things can be done with the Scoring mechanic. I remember a mode in Super Mario Bros. Deluxe which required players to learn how to get high scores on each stage and that was very fun. A shame that’s never been expanded on in a Mario game since. It would also be nice to balance the game better by dishing out fewer lives and punishing players that lose them. Again, the game is pretty easy as a result of the current setup and I don’t think there is anything wrong with raising the stakes a little more or finding a new use for 1-Ups.

To conclude, Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a fun game, and I recommend picking it up. However, I do think in time this game will start to get more criticism due to many of the issues I’ve pointed out, though I don’t think it will fall as far as the original New Super Mario Bros. has in critical opinion. Ultimately I want the Mario series to continue to get better and Super Mario Bros. Wonder is, in many ways, a step in the right direction. However, I still clearly think there is room for improvement. Here’s hoping that Super Mario Bros. Whimsey, or whatever the sequel will be called, can push the franchise to the mega heights I know it’s capable of.


4

Justin reviews a book that takes a deep look back at the golden age of Nintendo merchandising.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/64540/the-world-of-nintendo-a-visual-history-volume-one-book-review

One day while surfing the web I stumbled upon a link to a website for The World of Nintendo - A Visual History. Upon first glance it just seemed too good to be true. The author, Andy Cunningham, claimed to be putting the finishing touches on this largely visual book that appeared to have a plethora of Nintendo merchandising pictures and history. I was a bit skeptical at first, but took my chances. When I got the signed copy in the mail I was blown away.

The World of Nintendo - A Visual History Volume One: A World of Wonder immediately appeared to exceed all expectations. While the book is largely a visual spectacle, it is also filled with a fair amount of text detailing the deep history of Nintendo of America entering the retail merchandising market, which helped lead to their success as a dominant market leader in the video games space in North America between 1987 through 1990.

There are stories included in here I hadn’t yet heard, and the volume goes deeper into the details about the people and history behind the merchandising scenes at Nintendo of America. I’m very impressed with Cunningham’s research into NES Merchandising Inc. (NMI),  a subsidiary of Nintendo of America I’ve heard about but didn’t know the unique history behind. It’s a fascinating read and one Nintendo researchers will have to look at more deeply in order to fully understand how Nintendo marketed their products back when they had an iron grip on the gaming market. Some of the details revealed here behind the crazy Nintendo retail merchandising machine are definitely partially responsible for the success of NOA in this space. The book wraps by also taking a brief look at how some of these NMI innovations were used in Europe and in Mexico.

Cunningham doesn’t just go into the basic history behind NMI either; he manages to take a deep look at how merchandisers worked with and rewarded stores, information on corporate training and rewards, and much more. I’m also happy to see lots of detailed information and many pictures covering the various displays that were seen within retail stores during the time. Even my M40A World of Nintendo Logo Hang Display is seen here! I’m lucky to own even a small part of Nintendo history from this era.

The main star of this book is definitely the vast number of pictures taking up large spaces, or even entire pages. It’s truly remarkable. Andy has managed to take me back to a time that has lived on in my memory but has lost all tangibility, that is, until now. I remember a few times in my youth seeing some of the World of Nintendo retail spaces, pretty sure at a Sears store in a local mall. As a very young Nintendo fan it really blew me away. Looking back over these pages brings a tear to my eye as I can once again relive those glory days as a youth looking on in wonder at the beautiful Nintendo retail spaces I will probably never be fortunate enough to see again in person. This is the closest I’ll likely ever get to returning to this retail heaven.

Also scattered throughout the book are QR codes that can be scanned. These codes bring readers to the World of Nintendo book site that then redirects to unlisted YouTube videos showing off various things related to the information found in the book. These videos range from news reports, internal Nintendo videos, awards and training seminars, info on how to install displays, behind the scenes looks at Nintendo, and more. Some of these videos I have come across before on my own, but the vast majority are new to me and very exciting.

My only real issue with the book is that the QR code videos aren’t as permanent as the book itself, and I really wish Cunningham allowed for those that purchased the book to download a package with all these videos with the page numbers linked to each video for preservation purposes. It would be a shame if these carefully curated videos were lost to time. Otherwise they are a delight, but I can understand some people finding a few of them boring. That said, I sat through them all except for a few I’d seen already.

Overall, The World of Nintendo Book - A Visual History Volume One: A World of Wonder gets my highest recommendation. The book is filled with valuable information and the pictures alone make it a great addition to any Nintendo coffee table book collection. This is one to hold on to, and I’m really looking forward to the promised Volume 2 coming in the future. Those interested can visit the official book site for ordering information.


5
TalkBack / Pikmin Tropical Punch and Slush Kung Fu Tea Reviews
« on: August 08, 2023, 09:48:36 AM »

Justin is back to tackle another sugary Nintendo treat.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/64491/pikmin-tropical-punch-and-slush-kung-fu-tea-reviews

Kung Fu Tea has done it again! That’s right, another Nintendo promotional beverage for 2023 is here. I guess last year’s Kirby inspired beverage from the boba franchise did well enough to entice them to take on Pikmin. After barely surviving the previous beverage, I had to come back for more to tackle the Pikmin Tropical Punch and Slush.

First, I just want to thank Kung Fu Tea for having the guts to back Pikmin in such a way. I know it’s not one of Nintendo’s most known franchises, but it’s for that reason it feels all the more special. Pikmin 4 is a great game and well deserving of its own speciality drink.

Anyway, onto the Pikmin beverage adventure. Kung Fu Tea isn’t the biggest chain, so I do have to go a bit out of my way to even get to one. Luckily the first store I called claimed to have all items included in this special promotion, so I excitedly headed off. Upon arriving, I noticed that the store had a poster for the two advertised Pikmin drinks, in addition to having these drinks appearing on in-store screens to help sell them.

I ordered one Pikmin Tropical Punch and two Pikmin Tropical Slushes. Why? There are three different cups–that sane people would throw out–displaying the Red, Blue, or Yellow Pikmin on them. Additionally, there are three special Straw Toppers that can be collected that depict each stage of a Pikmin’s strength, so there are the Leaf, Bud, and Flower toppers.

The good news is that I was able to acquire all three Straw Toppers. Sadly, even after being told the store specifically had them all, and asking for them when ordering, there was only the Red Pikmin cup to be found at this location. I was upset, but took the prizes I did have outside for a few pictures. The cups look cool especially with the collectable Straw Toppers that serve little purpose afterwards, but I’m sure Nintendo lunatics like myself will be clutching them to the grave.

First up in my taste test I tackled the Pikmin Tropical Slush. The beverage tastes like a slushy version of fruit punch; it was really good! The downfall, in my opinion, is that the bubbles used in this drink were a bit different than the ones in last year’s Kirby drink. I remember the Kirby bubbles being chewy, but the bubbles in the Pikmin Tropical drinks are like a thin sugary film filled with goo. Upon popping them in my mouth I felt the flavor gush out, but that film still remained to be eaten. This is fine overall, but as someone who doesn’t drink much boba I’m not used to these variances.

The worst part of the drink is that these bubbles are filled with mango flavor. I’m not big on mango and was worried going in. That said, the flavoring in these bubbles wasn’t super strong, and I even came to like them a little. It wasn’t the overpowering mango I’m used to in other products. Still, I wish they would have chosen a different fruity flavor to complement the icy cold drink.

Another thing I noticed was that I didn’t feel like death while making my way through the drink like I did with last year’s Kirby’s Fruity Flurry. I’m just going to assume that the Pikmin Tropical Slush has less sugar or that I’ve somehow built up a tolerance for drinking these surely unhealthy treats. Thinking about it, it’s kind of strange that a drink based on vegetable creatures isn’t better for you.

I sampled the Tropical Punch on the first day but dove in on day two after it had sat in the fridge for a night. Honestly, I think the two drinks are about the same, and it just comes down to how you want to consume them. If you prefer slush drinks, go with the slush option. If you want the beverage to be more like a special fruit punch, go with the punch. Drinking the punch is easier though and goes down smooth. It also still has the same mango bubbles. Those looking to try both on a budget could drink half of the slush and then try letting it melt into its punch form. Maybe there’s more of a difference, but I couldn’t really tell.

Overall, I think the Pikmin Tropical Slush and Punch drinks are decent, but I definitely enjoyed Kirby’s Fruity Flurry more. I say that knowing full well that I definitely felt way worse after drinking Kirby, so there is that caveat to the comparison.

Anyway, even after I enjoyed my first beverage on day one, I knew my quest wasn’t over. I still needed the Blue and Yellow Pikmin cups. I then traveled to another nearby Kung Fu Tea location in a crowded area with awful parking. That right there should tell you my desperation. When I got in I told them my story and the guy behind the register responded with a mix of shock and confusion, “You’re trying to collect the cups?”

Sadly this location also only had the Red Pikmin cups. The employee was nice though and told me to try back in the coming weeks and then asked if I had the Kirby cups. I coolly replied, “You know I do.” The clerk estimates that the Pikmin drink will last for about two months, but those interested probably shouldn't wait. Who knows how long those straw toppers will hold out. Good luck out there Pikmin fans. Hopefully we can all return to our Onions with the treasures we desire!

10.jpg


6
TalkBack / The Super Mario Bros. Movie Blu-ray Review
« on: June 06, 2023, 06:19:04 PM »

Mario is finally physically here to watch again and again and again.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/63898/the-super-mario-bros-movie-blu-ray-review

I’ve eagerly been awaiting the home physical release of The Super Mario Bros. movie, and it’s finally here. Though, it’s hard for me to pin down when it actually released. Mine shipped last week, but officially it's not supposed to come out until June 13th. That said many retailers are selling it now, so good luck if you're interested. I pre-ordered the Best Buy exclusive Power Up Edition that comes with a special SteelBook. This edition includes a 4K Ultra HD version of the film, the standard Blu-ray, and a digital copy of the movie.

Upon first examination, the SteelBook looks very nice, especially the inside art of the Mushroom Kingdom. However, it does include a paper back that folds over the front a bit, and there is no way to nicely tuck that stuff inside. I’ve also found it hard to remove the standard Blu-ray version in the back, and the SteelBook seems to scratch fairly easily. So if you go with this version handle it with care.

I’ve hopped around to selected scenes of the movie, and it looks great on my home setup. When I have more time, I’ll give it a full viewing, while taking full advantage of a feature I couldn’t use when seeing the film in a theater: the magical “pause” button. I’ve already given it a shot and was able to spot an Easter egg I missed in theaters, so I’m excited to hunt for more on my own time. The movie sounded fine to me, but I have a simple soundbar setup.

While the movie may be great, I was rather let down by the Bonus Features included on both the 4K disc as well as the standard Blu-ray. These consist of Getting to Know the Cast, Leveling Up: Making The Super Mario Bros. Movie, The Super Mario Bros. Movie Field Guide, “Peaches” Lyric Video, and Leadership Lessons from Anya Taylor-Joy.

All of these are fairly straightforward but don’t offer much substance. It’s mostly the cast, directors, and other fine folks that worked on this cinematic masterpiece saying typical marketing stuff about the movie interrupted by frequent clips from the film in an attempt to add entertainment to the presentation. There is some concept art shown and brief behind-the-scenes looks at things, but it all goes by fast and everything here feels more like an infomercial for a movie I just bought.

There are some Nintendo personalities shown in the Bonus Features, such as Shigeru Miyamoto and Koji Kondo, and it was nice seeing them. Miyamoto especially seems thrilled to be there and not forced due to some contractual obligation. Though I should say Jack Black continues to seem like the cast member that is enjoying his time the most during all of this.The biggest takeaways from the Bonus Features are that Miyamoto came up with the idea of Mario disliking mushrooms for the film, and most of the cast and people behind the movie would love to do another Mario movie and/or spinoffs.

I don’t know what I was expecting out of the Bonus Features; some more in-depth talk about why certain decisions were made, a concept art gallery, some commentary with Miyamoto would have been nice, but maybe asking a bit much. Sadly we got none of this. I just walked away from the extra content, which I think ran for a little more than an hour, wishing I hadn’t watched it at all. Please folks, just stick to the great feature length film instead of seeing clips, some of which are repeated throughout the Bonus Features while people sell you on it.

Overall, I’ll live with the purchase as it’s still The Super Mario Bros. Movie whenever I want it and in high definition. But if you’re going to get a copy for yourself you should probably stick with the standard case version unless the SteelBook is really appealing to you. I only went with it to match my SteelBook copy of the hit 1993 film titled Super Mario Bros.: The Movie. That ain’t no game.


7
TalkBack / Analyzing Mario Kart Tour’s Biggest Update
« on: October 18, 2022, 03:34:00 PM »

Our own Mario Kart Tour addict shares his thoughts on the biggest update to the game yet.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/61878/analyzing-mario-kart-tours-biggest-update

The Battle Tour launched about two weeks ago in Mario Kart Tour and brought along with it a new mode, Higher Player Level caps, a completely new economic ecosystem that removes Gacha, and more. All of this comes after another major update in March that added a new system for Mii racers amongst other things. So is Mario Kart Tour better than ever? It’s complicated.

First let’s talk about some things that are clearly good for the health and longevity of Mario Kart Tour. Many different caps have been increased such as the Player Level cap, Competitive Weekly Ranked Cup Tiers, and the Multiplayer Grade cap. These all give players more to shoot for. The Player Level Cap will especially take a long time to hit, with my rough estimate being about a year or so of play. This ultimately depends on the rollout of new tracks and only the most insane hardcore grindly players should hit it in that time, but it’s proof that Tour has plenty of life left in it. Additionally, several items, including a few bad ones, have received changes and buffs too. Battle Mode has also been included in the update. All good news, but more on Battle later.

Then there are several things I’m a bit more iffy on. These are the types of things that may be good, might be bad, but it probably depends on what kind of player you are in the ecosystem. For example, the Points Cap Limit on items has been boosted to a fourth unlock. The good news is the cost of 12 Points-Cap Tickets isn’t nearly as bad as anyone anticipated. The bad news is I don’t think enough of these are given out, and could lead to some ridiculous scores. It’s probably only a good idea to boost this far on items with a ton of coverage in your personal roster. Sorry if I lost anyone here, but Mario Kart Tour is a pretty deep game with several systems. Less confusion ahead.

Next I want to touch on the single player Battle Mode that has been added in place of a few races. These can also be part of the weekly Ranked Cup where the goal is to score well on three tracks and compete against 20 other random players from around your Ranked Tier. In single player, getting a good score is key. This is done by a combination of having good Drivers, Karts, and Gliders in your roster for a track, having them leveled and experienced more, playing well, holding combos, and of course some luck when it comes to items and Frenzies.

My issue is, when Battle Mode gets thrown into this mix it gets a little weird. The game offers Bonus Points for completing a Battle fast, but that’s really not the best strategy. The best way to proceed is to stall hoping to hit the time limit (Which oddly isn’t displayed), hold a combo, and hope to get good items and Frenzies until it’s over. If you do this you have a good chance at a high score. It’s still fun, but may not be the best way to implement Battle in a single player environment. Also some character specific special items may have much higher score ceilings in this mode.

Now we have to talk about the biggest change of all in the history of Mario Kart Tour, the new economy. The Gacha elements that let players pull on pipes to obtain items are now gone. But is it really better? Really depends on who you ask. The Gacha pipes were hated by some players, though I feel as though many of these players left the game very early on. That said, almost all of them were somewhat fair and offered a promise of the Spotlight items if you pulled, at max, 100 items out of it. Doing so before would cost players, at the very least, 450 Rubies. Now the game has introduced a Spotlight Shop where High-End Drivers are offered for 150 Rubies, while High-End Karts and Gliders cost 100. There seem to be some items that stick around in honor of the current Tour’s theme which change weekly. In addition to this there are a good set of items that are pulled randomly from a pool that changes daily.

So what’s the issue? Many people think the cost may be a little bit high. Before players were able to possibly get these things for less (or with bad luck more) and along with it random other lower tier items. These lower tier items definitely help newer players, but over time become less important as the game is way more focused on High-End items. Though, with some of the changes, some lower tier items may have a bit of usage to fill some gaps while players scramble for resources to use on their more valuable High-End items. The good news about obtaining Normal and Super items is that there are a lot more pipes to be fired off now in each Tour. So players should be filling out their rosters a lot more as most of the items coming from them will fill those lesser categories.

My concern with the new Spotlight Shop is that, in a way, it’s more predatory than the random Gacha Pipes. This is because the Gacha Pipes really made many players think about if an item is really worth it for your account, which due to all the overlap in coverage provided by each will be completely different from player to player. Are you going to risk your Rubies to try and obtain that? Maybe you’ll just do it for a character you like. Now though, there is almost no element of caution. There are a ton of cool looking items right in your face daily and you can quickly drain your premium Ruby resource by buying them with a few simple clicks. It’s so easy, and that’s what they are hoping for especially with new premium currency pricing and packs!

My word of advice is to always be cautious on what you spend your currency and resources on in Mario Kart Tour. As mentioned, many items may not even benefit you no matter how cool they are. I highly recommend filling out community made tracker lists to really understand what kind of value each item could add to your account. Or maybe you just want to have fun and get stuff you like. It really depends on your goals and what enjoyment you can find in the game. There is no set answer for everyone.

I also need to discuss something that is undeniably bad this Tour. That is, the online Multiplayer was quickly taken down due some issues with players losing rank even if they won. For a Tour so focused on Battle it’s a shame that we haven’t even been able to try this new mode against other human players. This hurts the overall Tour in many ways. First, it’s not possible to complete all the challenges offered right now because some are Multiplayer focused. This could set some players back. There are also new Pipes that players can earn from playing Multiplayer, so those random item gains will be impossible to get. It’s a shame but I really do sympathize with the devs on this. The developers are being fair about the downtime though. They offered some free Star Tickets which can be spent to complete some of the Battle Tour’s specific challenges. Additionally, further compensation will be coming in the future. Multiplayer is slated to reopen in the Halloween Tours starting on October 19th.

The final thing I want to touch on is the rewards for players seem to be dropping a bit, more so for Free to Play players. It’s harder for all players to earn Rubies starting this Tour. Additionally, the Rubies in the Ranked Cup Rewards have come down slightly too. Overall I think this, amongst some other changes, is trying to push more players to pay the $5 a month fee for a Gold Pass subscription. Many won’t like this, but in my opinion it’s the best thing an active player can pay for as it provides the best value for your money. I also like to support the devs for the continued bi-weekly content updates. The only big negative I see from this is with less Rubies to bring in each tour more players will likely feel persuaded to purchase further Challenges to try and keep up. Additionally many players may feel the same about High End Tickets of all types with the new caps. My word of warning is to try to play smart as a big part of Mario Kart Tour is resource and team management.

Overall, it will still be some time before everyone can fully wrap their heads around all the changes that have hit Mario Kart Tour in its largest update yet. The changes will hit each player differently but I will say I’m still loving this game and think it may give some players who didn’t give it a chance to come back and take a second look now that the Gacha is gone. I still think this is the most interesting, deep, and fun Mario Kart game yet and there are many things the next console iteration should learn from it. Just please go in with an open mind and you may be surprised.


8
TalkBack / Nintendo Cold Stone Creamery 2022 Review
« on: July 27, 2022, 10:44:40 AM »

Justin is back again to review more sugar-laden Nintendo goods.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/61080/nintendo-cold-stone-creamery-2022-review

Nintendo has teamed up with Cold Stone Creamery for the third time and have added some non-Mario items to the mix. New this time include creations based on Kirby and Animal Crossing. As soon as I had heard about the promotion I planned to track them down even though I was still recovering from the recent Kirby X Kung Fu Tea promotion. Nintendo World Report needs snack coverage after all.

Of course, finding items like this is always a journey, and there is always a problem I run into. The first Cold Stone I went to seemed sad and broken down. One of their two freezers were busted, they were out of crucial ingredients like strawberries and bananas, the bathroom was out of order, and the manager was very nasty. To make matters worse, they only had two of the three promotional ice cream cups!  When I explained I couldn’t accept substitute ingredients because I’m reviewing these items for a very prestigious news outlet they didn’t understand.

The first location did, however, have the returning Rainbow Sprinkle Road cake in their one working freezer, but since it’s a little pricey and exactly the same as one of my previous reviews, I opted not to review it again. You can read my previous review of Rainbow Sprinkle Road here!

I did purchase the Mario Party Superstars themed Superstar Sprinkle Blast. Superstar Sprinkle Blast includes Cake Batter Ice Cream, Yellow Cake, Blue Frosting, and Rainbow Sprinkles. In short, it’s very good, but almost an exact rebranding of Mario’s Super Birthday Blast from 2020. The main difference is the sprinkles are now of the rainbow variety instead of star shaped. When I reviewed it last time the store actually didn’t have star sprinkles, so this item is exactly what I had previously. Even though it’s a returning item, Superstar Sprinkle Blast is delicious and the cake bits really stand out. It stores well in a home freezer tasting just as good later on. If you want more details you can check out my previous review here!

So my hunt for the two new items and the lone remaining promotional cup continued into the next day. I went to a second Cold Stone Creamery and ran into an extremely nice manger. This location seemed on top of everything. They had the ingredients, the three cups, two freezers full of Mario cakes, and other items. I ordered the two new creations, left the store a nice tip, rushed home, dropped the precious treats in the freezer, and got ready to try them later.

First up was a Kirby and the Forgotten Land branded creation called The Mighty Pink Puff. This includes Strawberry Ice Cream, Strawberries, Mini Marshmallows, and Caramel. I really enjoyed the strawberry flavor, and as a marshmallow fan I was delighted. I think it would work a bit better if the marshmallows were somehow just goop and not actual small marshmallows, but it still tastes great. The issue for me was the strawberries had frozen in my freezer, so they were a bit harder to eat and dig out, becoming a little frosty. This one may be better fresh.. as I didn’t even notice the caramel. Still, this item was delicious and gets a thumbs up from me.

Now finally we come to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons themed Island Getaway creation. It has Chocolate Ice Cream, Strawberries, Bananas, and a Whipped Topping. The only difference between mine and the advertised product is that the Whipped Topping I got was blue and not white, but it still tasted good. The chocolate ice cream is as expected but, like with the Kirby creation, my strawberries and bananas were more solid than probably intended thanks to my at home freezing. While tasting I noticed the banana flavor really spreads to most of the rest of the dish, so be prepared. I do think this one, while having two fruits, is still lacking something to make it stick out even more like the other two choices. Still, it was an enjoyable distraction from the misery of everyday life, and I also recommend it.

If I were to rank the three signature dishes I’d probably put them in order: Superstar Sprinkle Blast, The Mighty Pink Puff, and then Island Getaway. They are all good and I'm sure everyone will have their own favorite. If you’re trying to hunt them down though do call the store in advance as each location seems randomly run. As for me, I’ll be happily looking at my three unused promotional cardboard ice cream dishes until I turn to dust.

10.jpg


9
TalkBack / Kirby’s Fruity Flurry Kung Fu Tea Review
« on: July 13, 2022, 11:01:23 AM »

Justin enters his own Mouthful Mode in order to review a Kirby culinary delight.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/60952/kirbys-fruity-flurry-kung-fu-tea-review

Last March, Kung Fu Tea announced their partnership with Nintendo to help promote Kirby and the Forgotten Land. This promotion included a sweepstakes for prizes, as well as a new Kirby themed drink to be released July 1st. Yes, we had to wait over three months for the true promo item to hit, well after the release of the game it’s promoting, but I didn’t forget and I managed to hunt it down.

The hunt for Kirby’s Fruity Flurry, as the beverage is known, wasn’t very easy. For starters, there aren’t many Kung Fu Tea locations in my area. Secondly, I had to call several to even find it. The first location I tried sold out only a few days after release, or so I was told. The second kept telling me it would be there the next day, for several days. However, they eventually received their supply and I immediately headed over there.

I ordered Kirby’s Fruity Flurry and left a nice tip to make up for the several times a day I had to annoy these employees about a dumb promotional product. Regardless, the prize was in my hand: A cheap plastic cup resembling Kirby turning into a bubble tea, sorta like Mouthful Mode in his latest adventure. Or is it boba? I always heard it was bubble tea until recently when boba seems to have taken over the common vernacular.

After taking some pictures in the parking lot on a nice day, I was ready to sip Kirby up—Kirby’s Fruity Flurry featuring Berry Crystal Bubble in a cool looking Kirby cup. However, at that moment I was met with a hard choice. You see, Kung Fu Tea applies a thin layer of plastic over the top of the cup. In this case, it was also Kirby themed. I tried to peel back this delicate Nintendo collectible, but it was no use. I was going to have to puncture it with the straw. Even if it’s the standard for most bubble teas, this particular sealing method represents a really sad design for the psycho lunatics who are going to save this trash as a collectors item. Yes, that’s me.

So after stabbing the top of the cup in what seemed to be the safest location, I was ready to indulge in this hard to find beverage. I took my first sip and Wilford Brimley immediately flashed before my eyes. My taste buds were slammed with a sugary sweet berry flavor. If I were to guess, I’d say it was strawberry and raspberry, maybe some others. I can’t be sure. It tasted really good. If the chewy bubble things in this drink were meant to taste like berries, I didn’t notice. I tried to taste a few without my mouth being filled with the thick cold beverage, but they tasted kind of like plain soft gummy bears or something. Maybe it was like those pineapple Haribo ones? Still good, but not nearly as fruity as you might be led to believe.

The further down the cup I sipped, the more regret I became filled with. While it may be tasty, Kirby’s Fruity Flurry may be the most sugary and sweet product I’ve ever consumed. I should have stopped, but I also didn’t want to. I had to review this product for the readers of Nintendo World Report. I kept at it: drinking the concoction and chewing the bubbles. Some of those bubbles were launched to the back of my throat by accident, but I survived. By the end, I was laden with sugar and knew I had made a big mistake. The sugar crash later hit me like a truck.

Was it worth risking my health to bring you the tale of Kirby’s Fruity Flurry? I hope so. However, if you decide to track down this promotional beverage, be aware that the portion for this type of slushy fruit drink, which is nothing like tea despite the establishment’s name, may be too much for any reasonable human. Drink at your own risk Kirby fans. As for me, I’m probably just going to drink water and V8 for a week.


10
TalkBack / 48 New Tracks Won’t Save Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
« on: February 28, 2022, 07:00:58 AM »

Justin isn’t satisfied with the major content update coming to one of the best selling games on Nintendo Switch.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/59776/48-new-tracks-wont-save-mario-kart-8-deluxe

There’s no denying Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is extremely popular. The title is closing in on a staggering 45 million units sold. That said, part of me was a bit disappointed when I found out that 48 new tracks would be coming to the game over the next two years as part of the Booster Course Pass. Yes, this will double the amount of courses in the game, but is this all we should expect from Mario Kart?

For starters, let me say that I don’t hate Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The game feels good to play and it looks very nice. The online works and Nintendo even eventually added online voice chat even if it is through their weird mobile phone app known as Nintendo Switch Online. Without the voice chat option online matches felt completely sterile, almost as if you were playing against CPUs. So in general the game is alright, but there are problems.

You see, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe in its current form is nothing more than a slightly updated version of Mario Kart 8 that was released in 2014 on Wii U. The innovations in Mario Kart 8 don’t really matter much either. Yes, you can drive on walls but you wouldn’t know it without the Kart’s wheels changing direction, there is Mario Kart TV which I guess birthed the angry Luigi meme, and 200cc which I personally think feels awful to play in 8. Overall, both versions of Mario Kart 8 are very bare bones. There really isn’t much single player content in Deluxe outside of racing against CPUs. Yes, there are some things to unlock and earn in Deluxe, but it’s all rather boring.

You can unlock an alternate color scheme for Metal Mario by getting first place on all the 200cc Cups, slowly unlock Kart parts by collecting coins on the tracks, and the final two parts you can unlock by beating some Staff Ghosts and by getting a certain Star Ranking on the Mirror Mode Cups. And really, that’s it. Most of it is extremely passive or doesn’t matter much at all. The problem is there is no progression and you’ll get most of the important things just by playing in any mode. There isn’t much sense of accomplishment in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

I bring this up because when the Booster Course Pass was announced during the latest Nintendo Direct I knew we wouldn’t be seeing a new console Mario Kart for quite some time. It’s sad because there are so many more innovations we can expect to see out of the franchise and they are proving it in the mobile game Mario Kart Tour. Before you get angry about mobile games, hear me out.

Mario Kart Tour adds so much to the franchise’s formula. There is a scoring/combo system so racing isn’t just about winning in single player games. I’ve never been a fan of Mirror Mode and thankfully it has been replaced with the ability to play most tracks in Reverse, or a Trick version with a bunch of ramps and boosters, or a Reverse Trick version. Some courses get new RMX (Remixed) versions which generally also get R/T/RT variants as well as many completely new tracks. Playing courses in different ways takes some editing of the tracks by the developers and works out much more nicely than the cheap image flip found in Mirror Mode.

Character specific special items are back in Mario Kart Tour. Players can manage a roster of Drivers, Karts, and Gliders and use different resources to power them up to help make a more rounded team which gives a real sense of progression. Earning and using different drivers and items actually matter now. Yes, there are Gacha elements in Tour, but they aren’t that bad compared to other games and there is a fair Tiering system so as to not make new players feel completely left behind. The game’s a slow burn, but it burns so good when you slowly amass power.

Tour also gets updated biweekly with new characters, courses, and events. When all the variants are currently accounted for Mario Kart Tour has over 280 tracks, 140 drivers, 200 karts, and 140 gliders. In many ways it really does feel like Mario Kart Ultimate and the true progression of the Mario Kart series which is sorely lacking in 8 Deluxe.

Now I’m not saying Mario Kart Tour is perfect, it isn’t. The touch screen controls have a bit of a learning curve, the online multiplayer needs work, and certain elements like the Gacha stuff isn’t for everyone. But there is still a lot the next console Mario Kart could learn from the mobile version.

So when Nintendo revealed that 48 news tracks were coming to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe I had very mixed feelings. Sure, more players will be able to experience some of Tour’s cool new courses like the amazing Ninja Hideaway, but each of these tracks will be missing the alternate versions. And for players who think Mario Kart 8 was a bit basic like myself, we will probably have to wait until 2024 at the earliest for a console Mario Kart game that evolves the franchise in ways that Tour teases. That’s a decade of Mario Kart 8. There is so much more we should expect from a Mario Kart game outside the bare minimum, but we may have to wait until the launch of the Switch successor to see a package full of complete innovations the console side of the series is in dire need of.


11
TalkBack / NWR's Nintendo Holiday Gift Guide
« on: November 23, 2021, 09:50:00 AM »

The NWR Staff shares their picks for the best Nintendo games and merchandise you should get for yourself and others.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/58728/nwrs-nintendo-holiday-gift-guide

It's that time of the year again. A time when you must buy things for everyone you're close to, and maybe grab some things for yourself too. The deals a plentiful and the vultures are circling retailers all over the world. The holidays have arrived and Nintendo World Report is here to tell you which items to feast on. From games, merchandise, toys, and even clothes. NWR is ready to help you out in this time of need.

This Nintendo Holiday Gift Guide is split into sections curated by specific NWR Staff showing off what each of us feels is worth your time this season. So click on through and see if anything tickles your fancy. And don't wait to order either as the year will be over before you know it!

Justin's Picks - Nintendo merchandise and other cool collectibles.

Neal's Picks - From Square Enix's eclectic Switch lineup to game recommendations from my toddler.

Donald's Picks - One RPG, a lot of visual novels. Yep, that's Donald all right.

Jordan's Picks - Something for Everyone.


12
TalkBack / Ranking the Classic Metroid Series
« on: October 07, 2021, 08:21:36 AM »

After replaying them all in the span of a month, Justin weighs in on the 2D Metroid debate.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/58603/ranking-the-classic-metroid-series

Over the last month I’ve played through the entire 2D Metroid series in preparation for the release of Metroid Dread. I’ve been a Metroid fan for most of my life and remember when there was only one game in the Metroid franchise. Metroid has always seemed like a very special Nintendo series to me because the games are all pretty good and, for some reason, seem to be somewhat niche in their global popularity. When there is new Metroid merchandise I usually take notice because it just feels special.

But none of that really matters. You’re here to see how I rank the entire 2D Metroid series after having played them all over the past few weeks. And maybe when I’m done with Dread I’ll come back and add that to the list too.

However, to be clear, I don’t think any game on the list is bad, so if your favorite wasn’t ranked highly enough just know I still enjoy all of these.

#6 Metroid: Samus Returns

Samus Returns is a remake of Metroid II, but heavily expanded in terms of scope. It may have nods to the source material but it’s largely a completely new game. It also introduces a Melee Counter and Aeion abilities to Samus’s arsenal.

That said, I feel like Samus Returns is a bit of a slog. The Melee Counter is too heavily relied upon. Nearly every enemy in the game is hyper aggressive, takes way too many hits to defeat, and the best way to annihilate them is waiting for their counterable charge attack. This makes traversing the world slower and annoying.

The Aeion Abilities could be fun, but it adds some confusion to the combat. Throughout Metroid games players can collect missiles to have more ammo to use for special attacks. But during boss fights in Samus Returns I still have no idea if it’s best to use missiles or to go for the Beam Burst (rapid fire) Aeion Ability.

Speaking of Bosses, Samus Returns has some of the hardest bosses in the Metroid series. This is both good and bad. More experienced players will likely manage, but I can see new players bouncing off certain bosses hard since some are quite involved. Players also have ways to do extra damage to bosses by using the Melee Counter at certain points, but the window on some of these is very small and the tells could be better.

I’m also not so sure about the Aeion Scan Pulse ability. This is the power that reveals large chunks of map around the player when used. It, like the constant aggressive general enemies, seems to slow down gameplay due to players looking for it all having to constantly use it. It would have been nice if there was a way for it to slowly drain Aeion Energy when new areas are hit instead of having to be constantly used by the player.

The different areas also largely look similar, hurting the sense of discovery a bit. Additionally, there is an overuse of fans around morph ball and bomb puzzles that just comes off as lazy and uninspired, overuse of switching items on the touch screen, baffling button controls that could have been mapped better especially for New 3DS users, a map that requires an electron microscope to see the details of, and an annoying special ability/mobility option that isn’t even hinted at in game that’s needed to collect all the items. It also uses several music tracks from the Metroid Prime series instead of a wider selection of updated tracks from the source material.

Yeah, I may have said a lot of negative things about Samus Returns, but it’s still an enjoyable experience. It should be praised for its addition to the 2D Metroid lore, for connecting the 2D series to the Metroid Prime games, and introducing warp points across the map which makes re-traversal easier. Some of what Mercury Steam, the team behind the game, was going for could be refined to make a great Metroid game, but this first attempt left a lot to be desired.


#5 Metroid Fusion

Metroid Fusion is probably the hardest game for me to place on this list because it’s so different from all the other Metroid titles. The look is fantastic and the colors really pop if you’re playing on a modern display. Really, Fusion looks great and makes me wish for another sprite based Metroid game.

Samus feels amazing to control and I think the twist to gameplay with the X Parasite is very fun. It’s cool seeing enemies turn into different things and having to hunt them down after being destroyed instead of getting generic power-up drops. The addition to the overall Metroid lore is also interesting and gave players a ton to talk about over the years.

That said, Metroid Fusion is the most linear Metroid experience out there and you’ll either love or hate it. This is probably very good for beginners to the series as it’s an extremely guided experience that does reward players for a moderate sense of trying things and exploring. The bosses are also fun and there are several of them to experience.

My problem with the exploration is that, like in many Metroid games, you may want to go back to previous areas to collect items with your newly gained abilities. However, players will often find themselves unable to if they try, but only after making it close to some of these places. You see, the terrain often changes in Fusion. Destroyed doors and areas will block the player's path to a previously reachable destination. The frustrating part is none of this is ever indicated on the map so if you do try to go back you will quickly find out you’re wasting your time. Therefore it’s best to explore only after completing the main game but by then you’ll likely lose interest.

On the positive side of things I must say the SA-X is a great foe in Fusion creating tension when encountered which really jives well with the sense of isolation found in most Metroid games. Sure, you’re not as alone in Metroid Fusion, but there are several forces working against Samus that makes everything happening feel more desperate. I only wish the final two bosses of the game were more of a challenge because it does feel a little off, but maybe Samus just gets that strong by the end.


#4 Metroid II: Return of Samus

I know many claim Return of Samus to be a bad game, but they are wrong. Sure, it’s a bit dated, but it did a lot to advance the Metroid formula and is still a ton of fun. Metroid II introduces saves (for those outside of Japan), the ability to shoot down, crouching, Varia Suit, Spider Ball, and more! It even included ways to fully restore health and ammo which wasn’t present in the first game.

Return of Samus doesn’t have a map, but that’s much less of a problem this time around since the game is more linear. Each area that opens up has a set amount of Metroids to hunt down before the next place opens up. Each zone is pretty segmented and there isn’t much of a reason to go back to previous ones unless you’re looking for all the optional power ups. One negative is that trying to find everything is really a daunting task in this game, but the good news is nothing is tied to it.

The music and tone in Metroid II is also special. Tons of creepy sound effects and atmospheric yet catchy synth tunes add to the atmosphere and have stuck with me for years. It’s a real shame more of these weren’t updated in the remake.

Return of Samus is a short and sweet linear Metroid experience that doesn’t really have much BS thrown in. It’s the game that really made me fall in love with the Metroid franchise and it even has a specially selected default color scheme if played on a Super Game Boy, and specially added color if played on Game Boy Color.


#3 Metroid

The game that started it all. Some people will think I’m crazy for placing the original so highly when some of the previous entries have advanced the formula so much, but there is a lot to be said about the first Metroid title.

For starters, there are many ways to tackle Metroid. Metroid, as a series, is often thought of for it’s non-linear gameplay and that is present right from the start. There are ways to bust this game open like none other, especially if you start using glitches to really mess with it.

Metroid is a very challenging experience since there is no map, but I think that’s part of the charm. It’s easy to get lost in these caverns and each time you figure something out it feels like an accomplishment. The dark backgrounds also add to the crazy sense of isolation and the game’s overall tone in this sense is really only matched by its direct sequel, Metroid II: Return of Samus. However, I can understand how the lack of a map can be frustrating at times but I think many of the game’s original players would share fond memories of graphing it all out as they played.

The biggest problem I have with the NES classic is that death is far too punishing. When Samus is revived she comes back with a measly 30 health. This makes it so the player is likely going to spend a ton of time grinding their health back. It would be great if Nintendo added a SP release on the Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online app that gives Samus full, or even half of her health back upon death. I feel this would instantly make the game better for newer players. For more experienced individuals they probably know where to look to get more E-Tanks, which fills up all health upon collecting.

Maybe it’s my personal nostalgia, but it’s one of the Metroid games I’d like to drop more time into. As stated there are many ways to tackle it and fun options to break the game. The music is also unforgettable and the characters introduced will stick with me forever.


#2 Super Metroid

Super Metroid is a masterpiece and could easily take the top spot on this list depending on my mood for the day. The third Metroid title really solidified and shaped the genre like none other and holds up incredibly well today. It’s also the most replayable Metroid in existence and the one best suited for expert players.

Samus goes back to Zebes in this Metroid and bumps into old foes, as well as many new ones. There are a ton of fun new upgrades and many ways to sequence break making the game extremely nonlinear for those who can really push Samus and her abilities to the max. And yes, there are a number of cool glitches that allow players to push the game further too.

There are several fun bosses, amazing music, and secrets, so many secrets, to be discovered. The overall level design is great and the game is filled with a bunch of unforgettable moments which I don’t want to spoil here for new players. Though, if you haven’t played this game you really should as it’s one of the most accessible Metroid games ever made.

I love Super Metroid, but it does have some minor flaws. Yeah hate me for saying that, but it’s the truth. The map isn’t the best, though in its defense it was the first in the series. Samus feels a bit janky in this game as well but you can, and will, adjust to it. Though wall jumping can be a hard skill for newer players to master. And finally, that stupid final save point locks players out from returning to other areas to get all the items. Just don’t save in the final area and you’ll be fine.

Super Metroid is one of the best games on the Super Nintendo and every gamer should really give it a shot. It’s a true classic and its game design should be studied by game developers.


#1 Metroid: Zero Mission

Picking between Zero Mission and Super Metroid was a very daunting task, but in the end I think Zero Mission is, overall, the best built Metroid game. Maybe not necessarily for pros, as I said that award goes to Super Metroid. However, Zero Mission gets a lot of things right and is well deserving at the top spot as far as I’m concerned.

First off, Zero Mission is a remake of the original game and is one of the best video game remakes ever. It takes the first title and updates it greatly. When players of the original bump into familiar areas they may know what to expect, but the gameplay is fresh and at times there is even more added to it.

Beginners to the Metroid experience will also be pleased to know the game offers a more guided experience by placing markers on the map the player should try and reach. Experts will also quickly learn they can largely ignore these at times to sequence break and do things their own way. It’s really the best of both worlds.

Samus controls wonderfully in Zero Mission with the only gripe I have being the wall jump is a little hard to master, but in a completely different way than in Super Metroid. The graphics are great, there are new bosses to mix with the old, abilities and powers from other Metroid games are added, and a new section at the end of the game that helps expand the Metroid lore and connects it to the official manga that was released in Japan. The map is also probably the best out of all the Metroid games, though maybe that will change once Dread releases.

I only have a few minor complaints about Zero Mission. The Ridley and Kraid boss fights just seem a bit too easy. Luckily there is a Hard Mode players can unlock, but this could just be a personal preference. Also the final area of Zero Mission, which is a completely new addition, can be hard to re-navigate if you wish to go back for all the items. Speaking of going for 100% completion, it will take some skill as a few will require players to push Samus’s abilities to the max. It’s a challenge that beginners will probably dislike, but for me it’s pretty cool. Opinions will vary on this but none of those mega advanced skills are required to complete the game.

Minor complaints aside, Zero Mission is the best Metroid game and it’s a damn shame it’s not easily accessible on any current gaming platform. It was released on Game Boy Advance and as a Virtual Console title on Wii U. It would be great if this game could be brought to a platform like Switch for more people to experience because it’s really that good.


13

If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's that Mario Golf Super Rush is objectively perfect in every way.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/connectivity/57720/episode-279-coarse-discourse-on-the-mario-golf-course

Neal is out this week but he's assembled a elite team of people who don't like Mario Golf Super Rush very much. But before we get to that, Justin Berube and Matt Zawodniak chat about the new Smash DLC character and their weirdly good experience with Microsoft's Cloud. In the main event Justin and Matt break down why they've been disappointed with Mario's most recent trip to the golf course and John tries to rationalize why he likes it so much.

Connectivity has joined Twitter, so be sure to follow @ConnectivityNWR to be up to date on any announcements. We are wanting more listener participation, so feel free to ask questions, they may show up in the show!

Please send in some hard-hitting questions for the Connectivity gang to ponder over: the address is connectivity@nintendoworldreport.com


14
TalkBack / Spiritfarer Receiving Physical Release Via iam8bit
« on: May 27, 2021, 04:00:00 AM »

And yes, you still get the updates.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/57272/spiritfarer-receiving-physical-release-via-iam8bit

One of the most serene games of 2020 is finally getting immortalized in cartridge.

Spiritfarer, the afterlife management simulation from Thunder Lotus Games, will receive a physical edition on July 27. After a listing appeared on Amazon Germany overnight, iam8bit confirmed they would be distributing the release.

The standard edition will retail for US$49.99 and include a digital artbook / soundtrack, plus postcard and sticker sets depicting locations in the game. There will also be a double-LP vinyl release of the soundtrack and a Collector's Edition, in a matter similar to their releases of the Ori titles on Switch.


15
TalkBack / Mario Kart’s Newest Track is Hiding in Plain View
« on: April 18, 2021, 03:21:58 PM »

You don’t have to wait for Mario Kart 9 to play this Ninja themed course!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/56959/mario-karts-newest-track-is-hiding-in-plain-view

Yes, there is a brand new course in the Mario Kart universe and it’s known as Ninja Hideaway. It comes in three different versions, you can play it right now, it’s free, and it’s currently only in Mario Kart Tour. In case you don’t know, that’s the amazing Mario Kart mobile game.

Since Mario Kart Tour launched a year and a half ago several new tracks have been added to the game’s lineup. Some of the new tracks include courses themed over real world cities such as New York Minute, Tokyo Blur, Berlin Byways 2, and Los Angeles Laps. Even a new track based on an N64 favorite has been added, Kalimari Desert 2, helping to give Mario Kart Tour the most robust stage list in the history of the series.

Ninja Hideaway is different though because it’s the most ambitious new track to hit Mario Kart Tour yet. The course has players driving through a Japanese Castle Ninja Dojo for the newly added Ninja Shy Guy character as part of the Ninja Tour. Ninja Hideaway has several branching paths, both horizontal and vertical, and it’s possible to swap between paths at several different times on the route. There is even a shortcut you can take if you use the right items.

The theme is amazing on this track as well. There are so many details thrown throughout the course to make it feel very in line with the Ninja Tour it’s meant to represent. Ninja Shy Guy will sometimes run through parts of the course, others will poof away and turn into bananas or appear in their place. Some Ninja Shy Guys can even get in your way while gliding by floating on paper kites. Paper walls of Mario villains such as Chain Chomp and Wiggler can also be seen.

There is tons of Japanese representation on the course as well. From cuisine, art, bamboo shoots, cherry blossoms, paper lanterns, shuriken spikes on dropping platforms, statues, candles, taiko drums, architecture, and more. Some of the artwork even appears to be of a certain card from a Nintendo hanafuda card deck. The amount of effort put into designing the set pieces for this course didn’t go unnoticed.

One more detail that’s important to note is that there are a ton of Wario references on this course. From his unmistakable mustache appearing on statues and above doors, to symbols and monuments of his beloved garlic, and the obvious Wario trademark W on various items. For some reason or another Wario is training a Ninja Shy Guy army here… or they just worship Wario. It’s kinda weird but that’s what Wario is about.

As previously mentioned the course comes in three varieties which is standard for tracks in Mario Kart Tour. The first is the classic Ninja Hideaway. Second is Ninja Hideaway T (Trick), which adds a bunch of ramps, boosts, and alters the course in other exciting ways. The final version is Ninja Hideaway R (Reverse) which lets you play the track backwards. While many tracks in Mario Kart Tour also have an RT (Reverse Trick) variant, this has yet to be seen for Ninja Hideaway. However a future release is possible.

In short, you should get over your fear of trying Nintendo’s best mobile game and download Mario Kart Tour. The Ninja Hideaway track is well worth checking out due to the fun course layout, great variety, excellent theming, and Mario references. Ninja Hideaway is a course that deserves to be in Mario Kart 9 no matter what platform it lands on in the future. Until then though, take a look at it while you still can as the bar has just been raised for what is possible in Mario Kart Tour!

Additional words from Xander Morningstar -

Justin has covered the new course here, in great detail. Before we decided to write about Ninja Hideaway, I had mentioned to the NWR crew, that it was worth checking out. I realize most of the staff, and likely many of our readers have moved on to other games. I can understand that, because I too had moved on till about two months ago when I decided to return and see how things had shaped up. Two months later, I can say there are some really high highs and low lows with this Mario Kart title. But by and large, Ninja Hideaway has been one of, if not my biggest highlight. I will go as far as to say that it may be one of the best tracks in the series, and is certainly one of the most creative. Tragically, Ninja Hideaway is not going to be available forever. In fact, as of this writing, it has mere days left. April 20th, 2021 will be the final day of the Ninja Tour, and with it, Ninja Hideaway will disappear as well. Fear not, because the tracks do rotate, so it is likely that it will return. But it may be several months. There’s no guarantee; it may be six months or even a year till this course returns.

Thankfully though, the barrier of entry to experience it is free. If you download the game right now, it is the very first track available, as it is the featured part of the Ninja Tour. You can experience all three versions of the course, the wonderful drums that are prominent in the soundtrack, and delve into all of the small secret routes right now, for free. Interestingly, I did not see any Ninji’s in the course, nor is Ninji a playable character. One would think that would be the spotlight character, but instead, Nintendo has opted for a Ninja-themed Shy Guy…complete with a small katana. But whilst this character is missing, the course itself is the best mobile game original track I have played. I have not been a big fan of how difficult it is to obtain the unique costumes and characters, but that is the nature of what this mobile game has to offer. But thankfully, there have been no premium racetracks (yet… but I wouldn’t put it past them for a moment).


16
TalkBack / Five Zelda Games We'd Like Nintendo to Revisit
« on: February 14, 2021, 12:02:20 PM »

The Zelda games most deserving of an HD update.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/56256/five-zelda-games-wed-like-nintendo-to-revisit

This month marks the 35th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series. Over the past decade or so, we’ve seen Zelda’s history celebrated with a pretty regular trickle of remakes and remasters. While Nintendo will almost certainly do something for Zelda’s big three-five, Justin Berube and I decided to come up with our own personal list of five Zelda titles we’d like to see Nintendo revisit. These could be straight remasters such as Twilight Princess HD, or more wholesale updates such as Link’s Awakening on Switch.

Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link

Over the years we’ve heard plenty of people demand a remake of the very first Zelda, and Nintendo themselves have even explored the possibility of a remake with Capcom in the past. But the Zelda game that perhaps deserves some much delayed attention more than any other, is Zelda 2. This ambitious follow up to the genre-defining classic, released in Japan in 1987. It introduced full-on RPG systems such as experience points and level ups that altered Link’s stats. Like the original it was entirely open world and largely non-linear. In fact, it would be the last Zelda game to be this open until Breath of the Wild returned the series to the classic design. Zelda 2 also placed an increased focus on story. The map was littered with towns full of villagers who could be spoken with for hints and lore.

When it comes to bringing this game back, Zelda 2 would require a full overhaul, much like Metroid 2 received on 3DS. The original NES version was hampered by the limitations of the platform. Hints and objectives were often vague, and moments of the game were annoyingly obtuse. A full remake that brings Zelda 2 up to modern standards while maintaining its combo of top down, and side scrolling gameplay, could finally get this game the attention it deserves.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

Skyward Sword was a somewhat divisive Zelda game, as is seemingly any Nintendo game where complex motion controls are introduced for the first time (no, Twilight Princess on Wii doesn’t count). For our money, however, Skyward Sword was incredible. Motion controls made for new and interesting gameplay mechanics and puzzles. The story is one of if not the best ever told in the entire series. Not to mention Skyward Sword originally released as a celebration of Zelda’s 25th anniversary. An HD version ten years later feels very fitting.

Visually, Skyward Sword honestly wouldn’t need much. This could be a Twilight Princess style remaster with updated textures here and there but mostly just a boost to a full 1080x1920 resolution. As for those motion controls, you bet we’d want them preserved on Switch. In addition, we’d love a left-handed mode to finally give the option to put Link’s sword back in its rightful place. As for handheld mode, an alternative control option could be made available which would map sword and other motions to the right stick, as Skyward Sword never offered full camera control anyway, so that stick would be otherwise unused.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Seasons

Alright, this one is kind of cheating because yes, they’re two seperate games, but in our imaginary remake they both share a single cartridge. Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons were the first two of three Zelda games developed by Capcom. Like Link’s Awakening DX, they helped to continue the 2D line of Zelda as Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask forged a new path into the 3D future.

The Oracle games made use of the assets from Link’s Awakening and likewise, the Switch remake could use assets from Grezzo’s Switch remake of Link’s Awakening. Packaging these together would also allow for easy access to the Ganon fight previously only available by linking completed versions of both games. Perhaps they could even reintroduce some elements from the cancelled third Oracle game that never saw release. Like the adorable Link Amiibo for Link’s Awakening, Oracle of Ages and Seasons animal friends would make great additions to anyone’s Amiibo library.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures

If ever there were a Zelda game that plenty of fans didn’t realize existed, let alone played, Four Swords Adventures would be it. As a sequel to a side mode in the Gameboy Advance port of Link to the Past, Four Swords Adventures was always a bit of an odd sell. With optional multiplayer for up to four people, Four Swords Adventures is probably the best multiplayer Zelda game ever made. It is also the most recent original, non-remake, 2D Zelda to ever be made for a home console. That’s right, there hasn’t been a brand new 2D Zelda developed for a home console in seventeen years.

As for a re-release, Four Swords Adventures should maintain its 2D sprite work because, to be blunt, it's absolutely gorgeous. All Four Swords Adventures needs is to have those sprites redrawn at a higher resolution. The biggest change for this version would be the addition of optional online multiplayer. Better yet, an option to let players download a free version so they can play with their friend who owns the game. And hey, maybe if we want to get real crazy, allow people to use the GameCube adapter to plug in their GBAs and play just like the old days.

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

The final Zelda game made by Capcom, Minish Cap is, in my (John's) opinion, the best 2D Zelda ever made. It takes everything that worked about A Link to the Past and just does it better. Then on top of that it adds tons of new items and a shrinking mechanic that makes the overworld a fascinating puzzle to explore. While all the Zelda games are great, Minish Cap is a masterpiece.

So how do you improve it? Well, you don’t. Much like Four Swords Adventures, Minish Cap should remain entirely 2D. Clean up the art with crisp new HD sprite work and backgrounds, and perhaps introduce the more dynamic camera used by Four Swords Adventures and Link’s Awakening on Switch. Of course, the audio could use some cleanup, too, given that the GBA didn’t exactly output the highest fidelity sound. The main reason to remaster, remake, or otherwise re-release Minish Cap, though, is not because it needs a makeover, but simply so that more people can play one of Link’s greatest adventures of all time.


17
TalkBack / Cold Stone Creamery Super Mario Promotion Review
« on: October 19, 2020, 08:39:24 AM »

Celebrate Super Mario’s 35th anniversary by tasting these promotional creations.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/55248/cold-stone-creamery-super-mario-promotion-review

Nintendo and Cold Stone Creamery have teamed up to celebrate the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. by offering three treat options for a limited time under the promotional title, “Super Mario Birthday Cake Batter Bash.” This isn’t the first time the two companies have teamed up, having done a similar promotion in 2019. Last year I sampled the two available options and was quite impressed, so I didn’t hesitate to review this year's offerings. The new products include Mario’s Superstar Shake, Mario’s Super Birthday Blast, and Rainbow Road Rally.

First up, I drank Mario’s Superstar Shake. I probably overdid it a bit by getting the largest size, which seemed like a good idea when comparing the prices, but may have destroyed me later on. The shake includes Cake Batter Ice Cream, Bright Blue Frosting, Whipped Topping, and Star Sprinkles. Well, mine didn’t have Star Sprinkles, maybe the store hadn’t received them yet, but I’m sure the regular sprinkles I did have mixed in offer the same taste.

My initial thoughts upon sipping Mario’s Superstar Shake are that it tastes like a delicious piece of birthday cake. This thick drink manages to get through the straw easily enough along with what seems like very tiny bits of cake. The flavor is great and really reminds of eating a liquid version of last year’s Rainbow Sprinkle Road cake.

Mario’s Superstar Shake was very good, and I, scarily, almost drank the entire thing. Consuming this much delicious sugar probably isn’t good and I kind of crashed hard afterwards. As good as it is, please remember to limit yourself. That said, I consume these products to help inform the loyal readers of Nintendo World Report, so I have no regrets.

Mario’s Super Birthday Blast was the next item I tried, which is an ice cream mix consisting of Cake Batter Ice Cream, Yellow Cake, Bright Blue Frosting, and Star Sprinkles. Again, the Star Sprinkles in mine were replaced with sprinkles of the Rainbow variety. This creation tastes really good. I was initially blasted with a birthday cake flavor and the Blue Frosting plus sprinkles really helped mix the texture up in certain spots. The highlight here is easily the actual pieces of delicious yellow cake mixed in. This product also tastes similar to last year’s Rainbow Sprinkle Road cake, even more so than the shake thanks to the amazing yellow cake. This one is a winner and don’t worry, I paced myself eating it over the course of two days. Lesson learned.

My biggest complaint with both Mario’s Superstar Shake and Mario’s Super Birthday Blast is only with the presentation. Both items look absolutely nothing like what is shown in the promotional shots. However, if you get the Gotta Have It size for Mario’s Super Birthday Blast you will get one of four different Mario promotional cardboard cups. As a collector I made sure to snag one of each, all clean and never used.

The last desert that’s part of the Super Mario Birthday Cake Batter Bash promotion is the Rainbow Rally Road cake. However, I didn’t purchase this cake because it’s very similar to last year’s Rainbow Sprinkle Road cake with two differences. Last year’s cake used Rainbow Sprinkles and Sweet Cream Ice Cream, the new Rainbow Rally Road cake uses the new Star Sprinkles and Cake Batter Ice Cream. Since my location didn’t receive the Star Sprinkles, and knowing the cake is expensive as is, I decided to skip the cake this year. It’s a very visual piece and without the correct components I’d feel a bit let down after dropping a nice chunk of change. I may try again for the cake in the future, but for now I must point you towards my cake review last year. I wasn’t let down by the similar cake, so I’d be shocked if this year’s creation is a complete flop.

The final piece of the Super Mario Birthday Cake Batter Bash is that if you’re enrolled in Cold Stone’s rewards program you can get e-mailed a redemption code for 100 My Nintendo Platinum Coins. Redeeming the Cold Stone Platinum Coins also counts as a Mission on the official Mario 35th Anniversary site. However, I experienced great difficulty obtaining the code for the My Nintendo Platinum Coins.

Cold Stone’s promotional program isn’t the best. I think I had to log into three different places to even gain access to my account, which is very confusing. Then, even after making the purchase with my account for the Mario related items, I never received the My Nintendo Coins code. I had to call Cold Stone twice and wait days to get a few e-mail replies before I finally obtained my reward. I’ve heard some people were sent the e-mail with their codes right away, but most people I’ve asked have struggled and had to eventually contact Cold Stone’s poor customer support to obtain their sweet Platinum. In contrast, last year’s promotion gave out scratch cards with My Nintendo Platinum Coins codes on the back. Doing the same this year would have been much better.

Overall, I’d still highly recommend tasting the Mario treats as they are all very tasty. It’s a fun way to celebrate the anniversary of the Super Mario Bros. franchise. Be sure to get all four of those cups if you’re a collector! And if you’re trying to get the Platinum Coins in order to complete the official mission, which may eventually have its own rewards, good luck. You may be in for a small battle.


18

The biggest and best collection of custom Animal Crossing designs from around the web.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/53441/the-best-animal-crossing-new-horizons-custom-designs-collection

Animal Crossing: New Horizons features a plethora of customization options and users are going crazy making all sorts of custom content for the game. That's why we here at Nintendo World Report went digging around the web to create this massive collection of awesome user-generated content. All the best stuff, all in one place!

So if you're looking for some cool designs to start wearing or using in your game, look no further. There are several hundred designs to choose from in a number of fun categories. And if you don't see your favorite, or wish to add your own, leave a comment in the Talkback thread below, or drop it in the User Generated Content channel on our Discord Server.


19

The truth hurts, but someone has to come out and say it.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/editorial/53069/why-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-is-a-failure-to-the-zelda-franchise

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most critically acclaimed games of this generation. However, the title exudes flaws and leaves so much to be desired from a game in the Zelda series. If you’ve been a fan of the site for some time, you probably know my feelings on Breath of the Wild, but for its third anniversary I thought it was time to finally sit down and explain my full list of problems.

Before I dig in I do want to share some of the good things I found in Breath of the Wild. For starters, the Great Plateau is an excellent starting area that does a good job at teaching players how the game will ultimately work. Amiibo functionality is also great, giving players access to a ton of exclusive items. Additionally, the Wolf Link Amiibo is awesome, even if it sadly doesn’t scale well much farther than the early areas of the game.

The general combat is also well done, and the Shrine system is a great way to compliment dungeons in the Zelda world. The DLC is also very good with those Shrines being some of the best in the game. Gliding through the world is also fun, and the way you can get creative with the limited Sheikah Slate toolset is fantastic. Guardians are great villains that can really strike fear into players, so that was pulled off exceptionally well. That said, these few great elements don’t make up for the shortcomings of the rest of the game.

To start off, the story in Breath of the Wild is not very good at all. Not only is its current placement on the timeline left intentionally vague, but many things aren’t explained. Like what is a Calamity Ganon and how does it tie back to the regular Ganondorf? Maybe these shortcomings will be explained in the future, but for now everything seems like some sort of Zelda fanfiction because it’s so far removed from direct connections to the other games which is downright unheard of for a console 3D Zelda title. The self-contained story is also not very interesting because it’s extremely basic and the in game flashbacks don’t add any real exciting revelations.

The characters also leave much to be desired. There aren’t that many of them, and the ones you do encounter aren’t very likeable. Everyone may have a favorite of the four Champions, but once they start talking, the terrible voice acting really ruins them. The other characters are quite bland and seem to lack the typical Zelda charm with few exceptions.

The sidequests and minigames almost always lack any meaningful reward, making them virtually pointless. Zelda games over the years have conditioned players to do well in minigames and to complete quests in order to obtain great items, but in Breath of the Wild that’s rarely the case. Most of the time you’re just handed a bit more pocket change which, in this large game, isn’t nearly as big a deal as you may think since there are many ways to earn moolah.

Mounts seem to be given a lot of attention in Breath of the Wild, at first glance. However there are several animals you can’t ride even though it seems like one should be able to. Also, since so much emphasis in the game is put on climbing over mountains and other terrain, mounts ultimately become almost worthless and can’t go with you most of the time. It feels very strange.

Breath of the Wild is one of those games with an inverse difficulty curve. You start off with nothing and are very vulnerable. However, the way I played it, I eventually wound up becoming a god before too long in the sense that I couldn’t die. I’d have so much food saved up that I’d have to be stupid or just make a gravely critical error in order to perish. Games like this aren’t necessarily bad, but once you hit this point every encounter feels like a waste of time since you know you’re not going to lose.

The music in Breath of the Wild is bad. Well maybe it’s not considering there’s a five-disc soundtrack set, but you rarely hear much of the music while actually playing. That’s because for 95% of someone’s actual time with the title you will be treated to the same ambient track. The track is memorable, but probably just because you have to listen to it for hundreds of hours if you aim for full completion of the game.

Earlier I may have said the combat is good in general, but unfortunately it’s bogged down by the breakable weapon system. There are so many flaws for the breakable weapons, but it ultimately compounds the fact that Breath of the Wild forces players to use a poor item management system far too often. You can take out a camp of foes but then, if playing optimally, you have to compare leftover weapons to what you’ve already got, but also need to keep in mind you may have used some so they are weak but you can’t really tell until they are about to break, so good luck. It’s a damn mess and people playing Breath of the Wild will find they are goofing off in the menus for far too long instead of playing the actual game. Not to mention, the developers didn’t even put enough armor slots into the game for a player to collect each armor type. It’s only short by a handful of slots, but this is really a bad design decision.

One other gripe with the combat is that for almost the entirety of the adventure, one of the best strategies is to first use the Sheikah Slate to freeze an enemy with the Stasis ability. Then you just wail on it until it’s dead or almost dead.

Additionally, how awful does it feel when you finally obtain a Champion’s epic weapon only to find out it will break just like all the others? It’s really stupid and, like the Master Sword, these weapons should have been given some sort of recharge rate, even if it meant completing some sidequest in order to do so. But as we know by now, sidequests in Breath of the Wild can’t give anything that helpful unless they open up a Shrine.

Breath of the Wild is also big on letting the player climb over almost everything. Sadly, this is frequently ruined by the rain. I get that maybe they were going for some realistic thing here, but rain ruins a major element of the game by making climbing much harder. Often times I’d just hang off the side of a cliff, physically walk away from the system, and wait for the rain to pass to not lose progress on my climb. It’s really annoying. Add to that the fact that there are no items that counteract the rain and it’s maddening. Oh yeah, there is a set of gear to help climbing though, which does help on any climb, but you will then have to open your menu and select each piece of gear for it one by one because there is also no way to create easily selectable armor sets. It’s impossible to avoid menu hell in this Zelda title.

In a game like Breath of the Wild a huge emphasis is placed on the exploration aspect of the entire world. However, in reality you see just about everything far sooner than you may think. I remember the first time I encountered a mighty Hinox and thought about how cool it will be when I can come back and beat this guy. Surely this enemy is one of a kind and guarding a bridge for a reason. WRONG! The same three, four if you count the big desert foe, major enemies are copy pasted throughout the entire continent. In fact the enemy variety is completely lacking in Breath of the Wild.

The copy-and-pasted elements don’t end there though. From ever-so-slightly altered puzzles, to standard enemies, enemy camps, friendly camps, and much more are seemingly the same everywhere. There are a few exceptions, but 90% of the game is the same and this completely damages the sense of discovery the developers attempted to incorporate because of it. Compare this to any of the Xenoblade games where there are unique monsters, enemies, stories, places, and all sorts of stuff scattered throughout the world and you can see how bland Hyrule appears to be. Yeah, the enemies get harder over time in Breath of the Wild, and some versions of them fit the environment, but it just winds up being boring especially since the environment in general is just so empty that most of the time you’re walking in a giant void of familiar elements you wind up seeing hundreds if not thousands of times.

You may remember earlier I praised the Shrine system, and I don’t take that back. But all Shrines have the same aesthetic, which is kind of lame. The Shrines are where most of the traditional Zelda puzzles appear in Breath of the Wild. Sadly, of the 120 base game Shrines, 20 are Tests of Strength requiring players to do a dumb fight that repeats across several Shirnes, and 29 are Blessing Shrines. Blessing Shrines don’t have any puzzles in them, and some may argue that just unlocking them was the puzzle. I’d argue that going into an empty Shrine is a letdown. That means this seemingly large and epic game, that I’ve already established if full of copy pasted elements, only has 71 mini puzzles that are in actuality the core of the Zelda franchise.

When actually completing the puzzles within Shrines, and sometimes elsewhere, there are also clearly designed puzzles that developers had to put effort into making. These puzzles often have a standard solution that you can figure out, but may be challenging to do. Breath of the Wild will then often gives the player ways to cheat it using their abilities. At times this feels good because you, as a player, can outsmart the game. But there are other times where I actually feel bad for the people put in charge of having to make these detailed puzzles because there are clear and obvious ways to forgo what they did rendering their work meaningless. Frankly, bypassing the intelligent design by outsmarting the game is sometimes cool and empowering, but it should have had more checks and balances because it often gets out of control. Actually completing the puzzles as intended at times may feel more rewarding than cheating using the in game systems.

Oh yes, I’m sure some of you are now going to remind me about the four Dungeons, or Divine Beasts. Sadly, these Dungeons also keep the same feel and aesthetic throughout and are actually some of the worst designed dungeons in Zelda history. So there is another core Zelda staple butchered. Why was such little care taken on such a major part of the game? I have no idea.

Now I think it’s time to talk about one of the worst elements of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game includes the worst sidequest in Zelda, and quite possibly gaming, history. That is the quest for the Korok Seeds. Not only does this quest send players on a wild goose chase all over a gigantic map, but it forces players to complete a handful of puzzles that are only ever so slightly altered. Again, it feels lazy and copy pasted. While this quest is rewarding for nearly the first half of the 900 available seeds, the second half of the quest gets you absolutely nothing. Get them all and one of the biggest jerks in Zelda, Hestu, rewards Link with a steaming pile of golden poop, which is probably some analogy to the game you just spent playing.

Some people will tell me to stop collecting the Korok seeds after getting half while playing, but I pin bad quests like this on the developer since they had to consciously make the choice to design it so poorly. They decided to make locating all the Korok Seeds insanely difficult with no in-game items to help except a weak DLC mask that barely helps. They chose to make it so it stops being rewarding, and for the final reward to be useless. And they had to choose to make completion of the quest mandatory in order to fully complete the game. So if you make an element of your game unfun, it’s on you.

The endgame in Breath of the Wild is also boring requiring players to farm pieces of the three Dragons in order to upgrade their gear. Unfortunately this requires a lot of waiting for those guys to fly past, which isn’t fun at all.

Breath of the Wild may have a handful of fun moments like Eventide Island, and the mazes to name a few. However the game ultimately falls short on so many levels. I played at least 400 hours of the title and searched nearly every nook and cranny of the world trying to fully understand what the game is. Unfortunately what I found is a disaster of a Zelda game that really feels like a rushed project that some college student pulled an all nighter on and handed in at the last minute. It’s like the team spent all of their time working on how the physics and elements would interact as well as building this giant world that they forgot to populate it with good dungeons, fun characters, an interesting story, real Zelda puzzles and elements, diverse enemies, rewarding quests, enough fun places, and more.

What I’m trying to say is Breath of the Wild lacks polish because it was clearly sent to the market before it was done to meet the launch of the Nintendo Switch. When compared to the previous 3D Zelda title, Skyward Sword, it’s like the polar opposite. Skyward Sword has a great story, amazing characters, the best dungeons in 3D Zelda, and makes the best use of the motion controls found on Wii to create a truly innovative, unique, and polished Zelda gameplay experience that actually blows Breath of the Wild out of the water in every way.

Now I know many of you are going to still tell me how wonderful Breath of the Wild is, but I actually think most people who played the game have blinders on. The fact is they focus on the short time they played doing the main quest, and maybe a few side things, and don’t look at the game in terms of the big picture. To me, this is just ignorance and more people need to “Open your eyes” and “Wake up” to the truth that Breath of the Wild is in need of some Tic Tacs.


20
TalkBack / ARMS Graphic Novel Status Update
« on: February 27, 2020, 03:03:29 PM »

Still just out of arms reach.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/53020/arms-graphic-novel-status-update

The graphic novel series based on Nintendo's ARMS franchise is still in development with no current projected release date. This information comes directly from a representative of Dark Horse at Toy Fair NY this past weekend.

Dark Horse is set to publish the ARMS graphic novel series which was announced back in late 2017 and originally slated to have a fall 2018 release date. The project was then delayed to January 2019. A short preview of ARMS was given out as a promotional item during Free Comic Book Day in 2018, but little has been heard about the project since.


21
TalkBack / Jakks Pacific Mario Toy Release Schedule Revealed
« on: February 27, 2020, 03:03:18 PM »

For all you World of Nintendo fans out there.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/53021/jakks-pacific-mario-toy-release-schedule-revealed

Jakks Pacific has announced a release lineup for their 2020 Mario series of toys. Some of these are already hitting store shelves, and others we were able to see last weekend at Toy Fair NY.

So for all you collectors out there, here is the upcoming lineup:

Spring 2020

2.5-Inch Figures

Mario (New)

Luigi (New)

Cheep Cheep (New)(Not listed as Yellow but I'm assuming so.)

Odyssey Mario

Piranha Plant

4-Inch Figures

Blue Shy Guy (New)

Magikoopa (New)

Yellow Yoshi (New)

Mario

Odyssey Mario

Mario Kart Racers

Mario

Luigi

Shy Guy

Yoshi

Playsets for 2.5-Inch Figures

Underwater Diorama Set - Includes Mario, Cheep Cheep, and Blooper figures.

Underwater Playset - Includes Mario figure.

Deluxe Underwater Playset - Includes Mario figure.


Fall 2020

2.5-Inch Figures

Yellow Yoshi (New)

Fire Mario (New)

Raccoon Mario

Bob-Omb

Red Koopa Troopa

4-Inch Figures

Ice Luigi (New)

Odyssey Mario (New)

Red Koopa Paratroopa

Iggy Koopa

Raccoon Mario

It's-A Me, Mario!

12-Inch tall Toy with fabric overalls, 13 points of articulations, 20 phrases, sound effects, and five songs from the games.

Playsets for 2.5-Inch Figures

Super Mario Underground Diorama - Includes Ice Mario, Green Koopa Troopa, and Spike Top figures.

Super Mario Underground Playset - Includes Ice Mario Figure.

Deluxe Boo Mansion Playset (TARGET EXCLUSIVE) - Includes Fire Mario figure.


22
TalkBack / Toy Fair New York 2020 Roundup
« on: February 22, 2020, 03:32:00 PM »

Justin and Jared hit up the big toy show to see the latest in Nintendo merchandise!

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/52931/toy-fair-new-york-2020-roundup

Yep, it's that time of year again. Toy Fair New York 2020, basically the E3 for toys. Luckily for Nintendo fans there are a ton of toy manufactures with licenses that pertain to the company. Be it Nintendo directly, Pokémon, Kirby, and more. We've even included some pics from third parties products with friendly ties with Nintendo!

Products can be found under the company which was showing them off, just check the sidebar. It was a lot of work getting all these images, so we hope you enjoy!

This page will be updated as we process our pictures and video. Please keep checking back. I'll post here when there won't be further updates.


23
TalkBack / The State of Mario Kart Tour
« on: January 14, 2020, 01:19:44 PM »

Thoughts on the game from a serious player.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/52612/the-state-of-mario-kart-tour

Mario Kart Tour really surprised me when it was released on mobile devices last September. I hadn't paid much attention to the mobile version of the Kart Racer much before its release. That said, upon giving the game a shot it really blew me away.

You see, for years Mario Kart has been stuck in a rut. Each iteration would release with the same basic game skeleton, maybe advanced forward slightly, and then add in some minor gimmick to the entire premise. Mario Kart 8, while graphically impressive and fun, still has the same issues.

Now, Mario Kart Tour has managed to really flip the series formula around. Sure, you can still play for first place, but now there is an Excite Truck / Excitebots scoring element added to the mix. This is all tied to player skill, grinding out higher points for each kart part and character, and yes, some gacha elements that seem more fair than most people would realize at a glance.

Additionally, the annoying classic Mario Kart Mirror Mode tracks have been eliminated and replaced with something far better. There are four versions of each track in Mario Kart Tour. The Standard version you’re probably familiar with. Reverse, or R, version of the track will let players race the course in reverse. The T, or Trick version, which adds all sorts of crazy elements like ramps, boost markers, and more. And finally a mix of Reverse and Trick known as R/T.

I’ve been playing the game like crazy and enjoying the biweekly updates, known as Tours, that add new tracks, wacky fun characters, and other features. I’ve put enough time into the game to hit the max Player Level of 99 and have really pulled ahead of the competition in some aspects. At max level, I get a significant boost to my points for placing in first compared to much lower level players, and the penalty of losing some player experience for quitting a race or performing poorly is virtually removed.

This allows me to really focus on the core of the game. The daily tasks, like getting the max part experience, working on completing the biweekly tours, and of course the ever important weekly Ranked Cups. You see, each week in Mario Kart Tour you face off against 19 other players who are all competing for the best combined top score in one Cup, which consists of three playable courses. What place you get amongst the 19 other racers determines important rewards, which will allow players to pull for more items in the gacha style environment. These important rewards include Coins, that are used to buy items from the daily shop, Point Boost Tickets, which allow players to make their already obtained items worth more when picked, and Rubys, the important premium currency used to mainly pull for more characters and karts.

One of the biggest factors in determining score is having the skill to keep your combos up during a race, but also some luck for getting what’s known as Frenzies. Frenzies give you invincibility during a race for a brief time as well as infinite use of a random item. The good news for someone at max level like me is I can just quit a race at any time if I don’t think it’s going well during these Ranked Cups and not suffer the usual penalty of losing experience. This makes the luck portion of the Ranked Cups more bearable. Getting to the max Player Level is a long and tedious grind, but not impossible. Luckily, there are rewards along the way.

Mario Kart Tour isn’t infallible, though. There are a few gameplay issues that need some work. Ranked Cups may rely a bit too much on the luck element of Frenzies, both in frequency and the item type that comes up. The players everyone goes against seem to vary widely in skill and ability even though the game is supposed to place every player in tiers based on previous results in Ranked Cups. The premium currency and other real world cash offers outside of the Gold Pass (which is something all people putting any time into the game should get) are outrageously overpriced and shouldn’t be purchased.

Finally, the online Multiplayer Mode, which was briefly previewed in a Beta Test form, was super lacking. Not only were there no rewards for competing against other players, almost everyone used the best characters and kart parts in each race. This not only made the character variety boring, but it meant that everyone was earning three items per Item Box and had a good chance to earn Frenzies that would litter the track with even more items. In short, it was a total disaster.

To fix some of these issues I hope the team behind the game makes some changes. I propose that the weekly Ranked Cups only let players in your tier compete against you as this doesn’t seem to be the case at the present time. Then I suggest instead of making it a competition with 20 random players, make it so players in different score percentiles get rewarded and moved up a tier if necessary at the end of the week. This would create a much more balanced game and make whales face off against one another after the new ranking system starts to settle.

The online multiplayer needs to be revamped in ways that might have to change vastly from the core gameplay. Maybe remove Frenzies and make it so that good characters only get two items on their preferred track instead of three. Mediocre characters can then get one item per item block and low tier characters get none. Additionally, it might be good to reward character diversity in this mode in some way: add a new set of Challenges associated with this mode, and actually reward players for choosing to compete here.

As stated earlier, the Gold Pass is a great value for people actually playing the game. For only $5 a month, players can get access to more rewards and they are usually very meaningful and helpful. That said, I think it would be wise for the developers to implement a Platinum Pass for $10 a month that adds even more to this package. I know many people will scoff at this, but the current Gold Pass deal is really necessary if you intend to play the game and at the current rate would run someone $60 a year. That’s really not that much money to spend if you’re dedicated to playing the game on a daily basis. For People who are really into it $120 a year also isn’t a deal breaker especially if you get even more useful rewards.

The prices for additional Rubies can stay the same to milk the whales (I know this is a damn business that needs to generate results), but there should also be some more decent deals for the more thrifty players. They did this once with a cheap deal on the 2020 Glider Package during the New Year’s event. However, I feel in many ways the gacha elements feel like a trading card game. I probably would consider dropping a few extra bucks now and then per Tour if I could get one or two Fire 10 pulls from the pipe for a cheap price. Then if I want more, sure make me pay up. This will also help advance serious players at a more fair pace since at max level, it becomes much harder to earn Rubies at a regular rate.

As a side note for those who are scoffing at the gacha element in Mario Kart Tour. I’ve only paid for the cheap Gold Pass and the affordable 2020 Glider package. In total I’ve spent about $23 on the game and have a very healthy roster of characters and kart parts to choose from. It’s really not that bad if you stick with the game, but it will obviously be a bit overwhelming if you’re just starting out. However, that’s why you’d be placed in low competitive tiers. It works out!

Finally, the game needs to start allowing players to trade in Point Boost Tickets for Level Boost Tickets. People who have been playing from the start are getting to the point where Point Boost Tickets are becoming less and less valuable since we have almost all our items at max point values. Let me do something productive with them like trade a stack in for a Level Boost ticket to keep the Point Boost Tickets relevant.

Even though Mario Kart Tour has a few rough edges, it still excites me as a player. It’s doing some things better than any Mario Kart game has done before. The item management and collection system is entertaining, the biweekly updates exciting, and the new track varieties exhilarating.

I don’t see myself turning my back on Mario Kart Tour anytime soon. At its core, it’s still a Mario Kart game that controls and feels true to the franchise. It’s easily the best Nintendo mobile game in my book and one where more people should just swallow their anti-moble/gatcha game pride to check out. It’s a Mario Kart game that is evolving the series in many positive ways and I hope many of these changes make it to Mario Kart 9, whenever that inevitably happens.


24
TalkBack / Nintendo World Report's 2019 Game Awards
« on: January 05, 2020, 02:57:00 AM »

The NWR staff came up with some surprising choices for our annual awards Feature.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/52515/nintendo-world-reports-2019-game-awards

It's everyone's favorite time of the year here on Nintendo World Report. A time when a bunch of staff members who usually get along wind up fighting each other to the death in order to determine which games of the previous year should be honored by our coveted yearly Nintendo World Report Game Awards!

Over the course of the year the staff here have been adding their picks to multiple award categories and recently got together on a group call to hash out the final winners. The discussion was at times brutal, funny, insane, disturbing, and many of the choices will leave you scratching your heads.  Of course, those who want to hear how it all went down can listen to the entire discussion by supporting the site over on Patreon! Please consider it as even a little bit can go a long way in supporting this completely volunteer site.

Additionally, so there is no confusion, unless specifically numbered Runners Up in each category aren't ranked in any specific order. They are just titles we thought were also worth giving a secondary mention to.

So buckle up, get ready, and prepare to be amazed and baffled at Nintendo World Report's 2019 Game Awards!


25
TalkBack / Nintendo Cold Stone Promotion Review
« on: October 16, 2019, 02:14:23 PM »

Justin samples some Nintendo inspired treats.

http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/51982/nintendo-cold-stone-promotion-review

Cold Stone Creamery had a Nintendo promotion throughout locations in the United States. The promotion included a Mario & Luigi inspired Masterpiece ice cream dish and a Mario Kart Rainbow Sprinkle Road cake. I was able to digest both items for an unofficial review.

Before I begin I want to say this was my first time actually getting anything from Cold Stone. I walked in one once, and was in shock at the somewhat high price for what I’d be getting, and left. It took a Nintendo promotion to actually get me to purchase something, and I actually wasn’t disappointed.

First, I tried the Mario & Luigi’s Masterpiece ice cream dish, which appeared to be available in three different sizes. This recipe included sweet cream ice cream, rainbow sprinkles, blue frosting, and fudge. Each treat was served in one of three collectible cardboard ice cream dishes. The different options available were based on Super Mario Maker 2, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and Yoshi’s Crafted World. When purchasing, you should also receive a matching scratch card for your cup that includes a redeemable code for My Nintendo Platinum coins. These coins are actually not that impressive if you’ve checked out Nintendo’s reward program, but it’s better than nothing.

The first thing I noticed with the Mario & Luigi’s Masterpiece is how the ice cream in my cup didn’t look even close to the advertisement. The colors weren’t the same as it seemed even more mixed together than the promotional image. That said, it was delicious and I highly recommend it. The blue frosting seemed to have a cake like taste and the chocolate fudge was definitely a highlight.

The second item I ordered, and took home, was the Mario Kart inspired caked called Rainbow Sprinkle Road. The cake, available in two sizes, is filled with yellow cake, sweet cream ice cream, rainbow sprinkles, and is wrapped in a “fluffy” blue frosting. I opted to order the larger version. On top of the cake are three cake toppers, Mario in a kart, Luigi in a kart, and a very thin plastic set of flags. These karts seem somewhat cheaply made, but can be used as toys later on. I did, however, find it annoying to clean off the frosting and remove the sprinkles. Additionally, you may think the flags are generic but they aren’t. There is some Nintendo copyright information written on the part that sticks into the cake. The Cold Stone logo seen in pictures isn’t actually a cake topper and is an edible sugar piece. At least after eating it, I hope it was! The cake toppers are placed on a Rainbow Road of sprinkles which is a nice touch and helps complete the official theme.

Much like the first item I tasted, I found the cake to be really tasty. The actual yellow cake is a wonderful compliment to the sweet cream ice cream, and the sprinkles are good too. The frosting is pretty sweet as well. The highlight here is easily the combination of actual cake and ice cream which seems to be missing in most ice cream cakes. That said, it may have benefited from the addition of chocolate fudge that was found in the Mario & Luigi’s Masterpiece. In any case, I still think it was very delicious and enjoyed slowly eating the cake with my family over the course of a week.

Overall, the Nintendo Cold Stone Creamery promotion is a fun one and really gave Nintendo fans a reason to stop into the shop. The only warning I can issue is that Cold Stone isn’t the place to go on a budget. But the quality seemed great and Nintendo fans were given added incentives to make a purchase. Collectors will be happy with the promotional items like the cake toppers and My Nintendo Platinum Points scratch cards. For the more insane collectors like myself, the disposable ice cream dishes also made a trip to the store worth it.


Pages: [1] 2 3 ... 17