The best Mario RPG of the year. But who's making it?

There will be an original Mario RPG this holiday.

Kicking off the Nintendo Direct was the debut of Mario and Luigi: Brothership, the first original title in the series since 2015/16's Paper Jam. It will launch on November 7.

This is the first game in the Mario and Luigi series since the 2020 closure of previous series lead AlphaDream.

In fact, that seems to be all you play.

For the first time that Nintendo will acknowledge, Zelda is playable outside of a musou game.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is a new 2D Zelda game announced today in the Nintendo Direct for a September 26 launch. A branded Switch Lite system in gold will be sold the same day, which will also come with a year of an individual plan for the Switch Online Expansion Pack.

Yes folks, we got proof of life.

Metroid Prime 4 is going to go even farther beyond.

The final announcement was the first gameplay reveal for Metroid Prime 4, now subtitled "Beyond" and announced for a 2025 release. This is the first appearance of the game since development was rebooted in January 2019 and handed over to Retro Studios, after only being previously shown as a "4" logo at E3 2017 ahead of the announcement of Metroid: Samus Returns for 3DS at Treehouse Live.

Emergency meeting in the Happening Bunker!

The Direct sign has been engaged for the first regular Direct of the year.

As promised during Nintendo's last financials, a Nintendo Direct focused on Switch games for the 2nd half of 2024 will air tomorrow. The presentation will begin at 10 a.m. ET / 7 a.m. PT / 1500 CET, and is scheduled for roughly 40 minutes.

The window is open, let's see if some independent titles can get through it before they get crushed by Festivus.

Things we missed last week: Namco's 1985 shooter Star Luster (as a Vs Series machine) in the Archives.

Well, after a video caused Nintendo to hit the emergency meeting button, it seems all the more likely that I properly timed a vacation to coincide with the promised/threatened unveiling of Nintendo's... Read more...

And as with any retro game coming out in this year of Arceus 2024, it's got rewind and save states.

Yacht Club Games released a video today celebrating the 10th anniversary of their first release Shovel Knight (later renamed "Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope") with several new announcements.

The most concrete is a "remastered" version of the original Shovel Knight known as "Shovel of Hope DX". The... Read more...

The creator of Minecraft and Harry Potter steps into the ring. Somehow.

One of the year's most bizarre Japanese releases will be worldwide by the end of it.

Aksys Games has announced that they have picked up publishing rights for Fitness Boxing: Hatsune Miku, and will be bringing the game west in the fall. It launched in Japan on March 8.

In addition to 30 previous... Read more...

Adding system stability by removing an unstable social network owner.

The promised excising of the late social network Twitter has been completed.

System software 18.1.0 has been released tonight which has removed Twitter as an option for posting screen captures from the "Manage Screenshots and Videos" setting, leaving only Facebook as an option. Social media has been removed entirely from the Friend Suggestions option, leaving only Nintendo mobile apps and the legacy 3DS / Wii U friends lists.

One today, but the next one's not free.

With this being the 35th anniversary of the Prince of Persia series, there's still new content coming to January's The Lost Crown.

A free "Divine Trials" update is now out which includes both combat and platforming challenges along with new costume and gear unlocks. A story DLC called "Mask of Darkness" will follow in September.

You've got your choice of sweet and spicy in the "covers of monster raising RPGs" genre this week.

Things we missed last week: Rug Rats (1983) in the Archives, and in Japan a feature phone Persona 3 game starring Aigis which... if we're being honest here, is probably a better play experience than The Answer.

This week has a pair of large RPG remakes (well, a trio if you count an EggConsole re-release... Read more...

Microsoft was basically a dud, but the popularity of the Steam Deck means the Switch picks up a few titles.

As has become an annual tradition, a few of the games shown in the PC Gaming Show are also destined for the Switch. This year's announcement slate:

Maybe they should get more than a half hour next year.

The fourth of five events on an exceedingly busy Saturday was a showcase focused around games and studios helmed by women, with a few announcements for the Switch.

Latin America putting a little ceylon, a little oregano, and a LOTTA spice into the Summer Game Mess.

Immediately following the Wholesome Direct, a showcase video aired for games developed by teams in Latin America - and as a two hour show, it was loaded with confirmed Switch titles.

This is just the confirmed stuff in a sea of Steam pages.

Although down from prior years, the annual Wholesome Direct still featured a fair number of games confirmed for Switch release - including a semi-shadowdrop.

That is gonna take some getting used to.

Platforms were scarce in the Future of Play Direct, though there were a few things officially revealed that are Switch bound.

The biggest news from the show is the announcement of Slay the Princess for consoles (including Switch). Launched last year for PC, the adventure game developed by a Canadian... Read more...

One of the more insane birthday parties ever at the end.

Following the Summer Games Fest kickoff, the coinciding Day of the Devs presentation and Devolver DIgital shovwcase/movie aired on the same channel.

Switch-specific announcements from the shows:

I haven't beaten up a character played by Barbara Goodson this hard since 2019.

The next project from Digital Eclipse is another throwback, but this time it's to 1994.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind is a 5 player side-scrolling brawler and third person action game focused around the first season of the wildly popular action show of the early 1990s. Originally... Read more...

It's Sonic's 30th anniversary, and we get Zubaz Shadow so hope for Mario Wonder DLC.

Other announcements from today's Summer Games Fest kickoff show:

Yes, that Horizon. Harbinger of 30 million selling games Horizon.

MLB The Show isn't Sony's only franchise on the Switch this year.

The next Lego title is based on Sony's Horizon franchise... yet it will come to Switch this holiday. LEGO Horizon Adventures will combine action gameplay with Lego building starring the series's main character Aloy.

Originally... Read more...

Probably the only time we'll see a full slate of Mega Man games in a NSO library if we're being honest.

After filling in some launch gaps last month, the Game Boy library on Nintendo Switch Online has just gotten a Mega boost.

The five Mega Man games for the original Game Boy have all been added to the service in one update tonight. This represents the largest group of additions to the Game Boy library since it launched in February 2023.