Yooka-Laylee, the Banjo Kazooie Spiritual Successor

From Playtonic Games, formed by Rare veterans.

If you’ve ever heard of Banjo-Kazooie, you’ll know that it’s one of the franchises that defined 3D gaming and people have begged for that experience for years, and now, we finally get a collect-a-thon from the original developers of that experience.
Yooka and Laylee, the main characters.

IGN released some screenshots and even gameplay footage of an upcoming collect-a-thon from the creators of legendary Banjo Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee.

We know very little other than how the characters and some environments look like, with more information promised during the week-end. There’s also a gameplay video from IGN that you can watch here.

It’s also worth mentioning that the game is fully multi-plat, comming to the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC & Mac.

Have you ever played Banjo-Kazooie? Does this look like the game you’ve been waiting for? Let us know in the comments.

"Iwata Asks" Interview with the Xenoblade Chronicles X crew

Asking the Xenoblade Chronicles X team

In the latest Iwata Asks, a web series of interviews by Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata, we get an interview with the team behind the Wii U’s upcoming title, Xenoblade Chronicles X.
We get details on priorities when starting development, storytelling, connection with the characters, amount of content, and much more!

Tetsuya Takahashi, general director of
Xenoblade Chronicles X
As always, the interview starts by introducing the interviewees, who present themselves one by one. They then talk about how one of the game’s priorities was the feel of the game, the immersion, Tetsuya Takashi, the general director of the game, even says he believes the setting to be important in RPGs.
They explain that in the previous title of the series, they couldn’t make a completely open world due to the Wii limitations, but now they were able to make the open world they wanted with the Wii U.
Koh Kojima, Monolith Soft director for
Xenoblade Chronicles X
Koh Kojima, director from Monolith Soft for this game, tells how difficult it is to make an open world where players can free roam, because you can’t make a linear layout where you take players where you want, you have to make each area interesting and rewarding so each one counts. It’s then described as a heaven for players, a hell for creators.
During the interview, we also get insight into the storytelling, the Skell mech suits, thoughts, amount of content, conection between areas and characters, and more.
If you want to know more about the development of Xenoblade Chronicles X, you can read the whole interview here: Iwata Asks – Xenoblade Chronicles X

Gengar Joins Pokkén Tournament

The Shadow Pokémon is Confirmed in the Upcoming Fighting Game.

Gengar, the fan favorite Ghost-type, has been confirmed to be on Pokkén Tournament, an upcoming arcade fighting game based on the Pokémon series.
Also confirmed is the appearance of Mega Evolutions in the game.

Gengar showing off his move Shadow Ball.
Gengar is one of, if not the most beloved Ghost-type in the series, and a Generation 1 Pokémon, so it is not that surprising that we’re now seeing him in the upcoming, more selective, arcade game.
Mega Gengar, as he appears in the game.
We get some gameplay footage showing some classic moves from the original games, such as his Shadow Ball, Shadow Punch and some others fans might recognize, all attacks are shown in interesting and functional ways for this title.
At the end of the trailer we can see Mega Gengar, confirming Mega Evolutions appear in the fighting game. As to how will these work, is yet to be shown if they’ll work as special moves or as temporary transformations, either way, this shows just how much deep this game is digging into the Pokémon series.

There’s no official source for the footage yet, but there’s a live capture from an event in Japan bellow:


Are you excited for the upcoming arcade game? Are you hoping this makes it to the Wii U? Let us know in the comments.

S.H. Figuarts Super Mario Bros. Line

Mario and Yoshi by S.H. Figuarts

We take a look at the Super Mario Bros. S.H. Figuarts Toy Line

For a couple years now, Nintendo has been expanding their merchandising, arguably, it started when we saw the Figma Link, Samus and Pit from Good Smile Company.
As years go by, not only do we have a steady toy line with Jakks Pacific’s World of Nintendo, but we also have othes, such as the one we’ll be talking about today, S.H. Figuarts Super Mario Bros. line!

S.H. Figuarts is a toy line by company Tamashii Nations, which makes collectible action figures based on famous characters from movies, anime, manga, and video games.
Mario & Luigi figures

Nintendo has partnered with this company to create a series based on the Super Mario Bros., and it seems to be quite successful, for now we have 5 different products out with 3 more on the way.

The first one, to no one’s surprise, was Mario himself, fully pose-able and came with a couple accessories such as a coin and a question block. The next figure was Luigi, who also came with a couple accessories, and a Yoshi and Fire Mario figures on the way.
Not only does this line has these 3 characters, but it also has what is advertised as “Diorama Playsets” with two based on the classic Super Mario levels, complete with Green Pipes, Goombas, Red and Green Koopa Shells, and Display bases for the figures.
The third Playset came with a Red Pipe and a Piranha Plant, among other things, and the fourth one will come with a handful of enemies, such as a Koopa, a Boo, and a Bullet Bill. No upcoming release has an American release date, but the Yoshi has a May release window, Fire Mario and the Display Playset D both have a September release window, all three of them for Japan.

Have you collected any figures on this line? Are you interested? Let us know in the comment section bellow

You can find the full catalog and a very wide gallery on the official website: Tamashii Web – Super Mario Brothers Series
Fire Mario
Mario and Playset D
Luigi with Playset C
Mario with Playset A and B

Nintendo Treehouse plays Xenoblade Chronicles X

Nintendo Treehouse Live Friday 24th Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct.

Nintendo Treehouse played yesterday, Friday 24th, Xenoblade Chronicles X.  Showing off what was previously announced in the Nintendo Direct of the same day.
Xenoblade Chronicles X is a Wii U game currently under localization process for all regions outside of Japan, and is looking up to become one of the biggest and brightest games available on the system.
The video is over an hour long and shows off very nicely how the game plays and just how big the world map is. The video also demonstrates combat gameplay and exploration, as well as weapon customization and the game HUD, with in-game menus and the touchscreen display.
If you have an hour to spare and are interested in the game, you might be interested in watching the Nintendo Treehouse gameplay:
Are you interested in this game? Has the recent information on the game influenced your interest? Let us know in the comment section bellow.

TVG News – Mario Kart 8 DLC, Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct & Amiibo Tap

Weekly News: Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2, Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct & Amiibo Tap.

On this week’s news roundup: Mario Kart 8 DLC Pack 2 has been released, Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct shows information on the game, and Amiibo Tap is released in Japan.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct

What we learned from the Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct.

From the world map, to side-quests, to the story line, to the controls, and more.
Humanity has managed to survive an Alien attack by leaving their home planet and starting a new society in a new planet, Mira, in a city called New Los Angeles.

There’s 5 continents in this world, each very different from one another, Primordia, where the player starts its journey and humanity has started to create a new society, Noctilum, a wilderness filled with vegetation and water, Oblivia, a giant dessert with an oasis, Sylvalum, a deep tundra, and Cauldros, a post-apocalyptic volcanic area with ancient architecture from an unknown culture.
A character on a Skell gazing upon New Los Angles.
The Wii U gamepad’s touchscreen will be used for exploring and tapping on the map, exploration, quest log and other features that will prove useful to keep track of all the content this game has to offer.

The creatures in this game vary in shape and size, also varying in how easy it is to approach it, and if they’ll be peaceful or attack you head on.
There’s two items which will aid you exploring new areas, the first is the Nav Ball, which is a light ball that will show you the path you must take to go forth in the story. The other item is the Hopper Cam, which basically works as the live google maps within the game.
Skells are the mech suits in the game which allow you to explore the world easily weather it is by air or land, and also give you an advantage in combat.
For more details and to take a look at the graphics of the game, you can watch the Xenoblade Chronicles X Video Showcase here:

Did the Direct build up the hype you where expecting for? Let us know in the comment section.

Xenoblade Chronicles X Direct confirmed for April 24th

Directly to You.

The North American Direct will take place this Friday, at 11 a.m. PT and 1 p.m. CT. Nintendo has also announced that it will be followed by a Live Treehouse event, as most American Directs lately.
We expect to learn more about the story, gameplay, release date, and other things already available for Japanese audiences, like the story trailer. You can see the official announcement (and possibly the live stream, once it comes out) right here: Xenoblade Chronicles X Nintendo Direct
What do you expect from this Direct? Let us know in the comment section.

New Splatoon trailer! Plus, new Wii U Bundle announced!

“Get Ready to Get Inked!”


Splatoon, Nintendo’s big summer home-console title, is very close to release now, and Nintendo has released a new 30-second trailer and showcased the newly announced Wii U bundle for the game’s release.

The trailer shows gameplay footage and voice over of some of the features within the game, plus some catchphrases in hope of making an impact on your mind.

Splatoon Amiibo 3-pack
The bundle itself has the same things as any other 32GB edition Wii U, the only big difference is that this bundle has both Splatoon and Nintendo Land, it costs $299.99 at Best Buy.
The Splatoon site says the game will be released May 29th of this year. It also shows some of the features of the game plus it gives a little insight into the Amiibo functionality, which consists of exclusive gear and “amiibo challenges”, providing with a few hours of extra content should you have the figures.
You can watch the official trailer from Nintendo’s Youtube Channel bellow.