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Check Out This Twitch Streamer Playing Through BotW With A Custom Ocarina Controller
Made possible with a real ocarina!
Beating games with weird controllers is always a fun watch, and gv_mimi is currently playing through BotW with a great Zelda-themed controller, an Ocarina.
Thunderblight Gannon is one of the harder bosses in BotW, and this custom controller doesn’t make it that much easier! Next up gv_mimi is looking to beat a Lynel, which certainly will be a bit harder to say the least.
Be sure to check out gv_mimi’s Twitch Stream here!
Few things come close to that feeling of pulling a rare Pokemon card, and you might be feeling that a little more often from now on! With the new Scarlet and Violet expansion coming to PokemonTCG this month, every pack will include 2 reverse holos and a single holo in each pack.
Checkout the tweet below for the full list of changes coming with the new expansion!
Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse Director "Deeply Moved" by The Game's Western Release
Nothing scarier than ghost photos
Originally released in Japan over 15 years ago, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse never saw the light of day here in the west, until now. To celebrate the occasion, Nintendo Life interviewed some of the team behind the game. Makoto Shibata, director of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse,expressed just how happy he was that the game is finally seeing a western release.
This was the first game in the series to be set in a non-Japanese setting, such as Western-style buildings and a hospital, so we created it with Western players in mind. We felt the difficulty of creating a game in which the height of the viewpoint differs between cultures where people sit on the ground and cultures where people sit on chairs so I am deeply moved to finally be able to hear the feedback of these players.
Make sure to check out the full interview here.
Shashingo, A New-Japanese Learning Game, Launches Kickstarter
Learning Through Gaming!
Interested in learning Japanese, and want an original, fun way to do it? Shashingo just launched their Kickstarter which promises just that! If you already know a little bit of Japanese, the game’s name explains how it works already. Shashin is Japanese for “Photograph”, while the go suffix is used to denote language.
Shashingo is shaping up to be quite a meaty experience, including a variety of modes, flashcards, and built-in grammar lessons. Backing the game early comes with its perks as well, including bonus flashcards, stickers, pins, and other more advanced rewards. For full details on the game and its rewards, check out the Kickstarter.
Shashingo is shaping up to be quite a useful game, and if it meets its goal is looking at a July release. Thankfully, it’s looking like it will meet its goal, as it’s already nearly half complete.
MarioGPT Creates AI-Generated Mario Levels
Do the Mariobot!
As AI Technology grows and expands, it’s becoming easier and easier to make some pretty niche applications using AI. This new program, called MarioGPT, uses GPT2 technology to generate Mario levels based on text-input.
Checkout the developer’s description of how this technology works below.
Our MarioGPT model is a fine-tuned version of the distilled GPT2 language model. Like GPT2, MarioGPT is trained to predict next token sequences. Levels are represented as strings, which are tokenized by a Byte-Pair Encoding, similar to the original GPT2 model. The level is then split by columns and flattened into a single vector (or batch of vectors for multiple levels).
To incorporate prompt information, we utilize a frozen text encoder in the form of a pre-trained bidirectional LLM (BART), and output the average hidden states of the model’s forward pass. This average hidden state is then used in the cross attention layers of the GPT2 architecture in combination with the actual level sequencing being passed into the model.
If you would like to try your hand at some AI-Generated Mario, check out the instructions here.
Gamer's Reunited With Their Old Games Courtesy of Tokyo's Named Cassete Musem
Welcome Home, Old Games!
For those of you that have lost track of some of your old retro games, there may still be hope. That is, if you both live in Japan and wrote your name on the cartridge!
Junji Seki, founder of the Named Cartridge Musem, didn’t start off with this goal, instead, he started off simply collecting cartridges. For those of us who have a collection of game cartridges, there are bound to be a few in our collections with some long-forgotten name scrawled somewhere on it. Junji noticed this and opened the Named Cartridge Museum in an attempt to reunite people with their old games.
The process is fairly simple. All you need to do is alert the director that you think they may have your old game, which they then will deliver it to you, provided you can pay for it and will allow the museum to document the experience.
If you would like to see some of these games (and can read Japanese), check out the Musem’s Website here.
Cuphead's Japanese Deluxe Edition To Recieve Art By Final Fantasy's Yoshitaka Amano
Great art for a great soundtrack!
In a strange (but awesome) mashup, Final Fantasy 1-6’s lead artist Yoshitaka Amano has created original art for the Japanese Deluxe Edition of Cuphead! This art will be used on the soundtrack’s jacket and features Cuphead’s cast in a completely new style. Check out the full image in the tweet below!
“This is the unveiling of the DLC soundtrack jacket, a collaboration between world-famous artist Yoshitaka Amano and Cuphead! It pays homage to the various classic fantasy RPGs that inspired Cuphead. Please see the fierce battle with the devil! Available only in the DELUXE 1st RUN that comes with the package version of this work released from @sdxgames!”
The Lion King seems to be the star of Dreamlight Valley’s latest update, which you can get a preview of with the video above! There’s no official word on all that will be added, but it seems like there will be at least 2 new characters available to move into your town, as well as an entire Lion King section to play around in!
Splatoon 3 2.1.1 Update Avaliable Now
This is a game-changer!
With the announcment of new DLC, we need a way to buy it! This new Splatoon 3 update added just that, aswell as a variety of fixes listed below! Click here for the full list of changes!
Ver. 2.1.1 (Released February 8, 2023) Expansion Pass Order Bonus Available
Players who order the Splatoon 3: Expansion Pass – Inkopolis & Side Order DLC will receive an in-game battle-boosting bonus. To collect your battle-boosting bonus, you must first purchase and download the DLC content. Then start the Splatoon 3 game, visit the lobby terminal, and select Get Stuff.Fixes to Player Controls
Fixed an issue that caused communication to be interrupted while performing certain actions with the Splattershot Jr. or Custom Splattershot Jr. weapons, even if those actions can usually be performed. Fixed an issue that caused ink to be displayed incorrectly if a Slosher and a Tri-Slosher both attacked at the same time. Fixed an issue where there could be a delay in recovering from existing damage if you were within range of an attack from a Wave Breaker or Big Shot and avoided taking damage by jumping or other means.Fixes to Multiplayer
Fixed an issue where players between terrain and a Tacticooler could clip inside the terrain if the Tacticooler was set up in the corner of the terrain. Due to this change, you will now be able to pass through the Tacticooler—even in Inkling or Octoling form—while performing an action that causes you to move quickly, such as a Dodge Roll while using a dualie weapon. Fixed an issue in Brinewater Springs where players could get onto rocks outside the stage.Other Fixes
Fixed an issue that occurred while replaying Tricolor Turf War battles where the cheers from Deep Cut would sometimes be for teams other than the ones in the battle. Fixed an issue that occurred while replaying job scenarios in the Shoal. If the replay contained weapons labeled with a question mark, it could cause the screen to go black and prevent the game from starting.Note: Compatible with Ver. 2.1.0 battle replays. Not compatible with Ver. 2.0.1 or earlier battle replays.
With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it was announced that there would be a brand new Link amiibo to go along with the game. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild also featured amiibo support, but its sequel one-ups it’s amiibo support with new customization options.
As seen above, scanning the Majora’s Mask Link amiibo will give a Majora’s Mask-themed paraglider skin! Other amiibo have not been confirmed to give similar treatment, but since they would give exclusive gear such as this in Breath of the Wild, it would make sense if they also came with similar upgrades for the sequel.
Piczle Lines 2: Into the Puzzleverse Set to Release February 22nd
Positively Puzzling!
Piczle Lines 2: Into the Puzzleverse is developer Rainy Frog’s second entry in the Piczle Lines series, and it’s coming out very soon. If you’re looking for a new puzzler, check it out when it releases on February 22nd.
Piczle Lines, the most addictive logic-puzzle known to Man, is back in this all new story-driven, extras-filled, puzzleverse-exploring extravaganza! “Help Score-chan and professor Matrix find their dumb cat, Dbug, in another entirely avoidable, self-made crisis! Delve into your favourite literature that spans the entire Puzzleverse, solve PICture puzZLEs to recreate the objects in each chapter to uncover DBug and bring them back to safety. All you have to do is connect pairs of number-dots by drawing a line between them and the picture will reveal itself, one line at a time. Aside from the mad antics of the Story Mode, you’ll find hundreds more puzzles in Puzzle Mode, from musical instruments, to great pieces of Art, to zodiac animals and so much more!” New for Piczle Lines 2: – Bigger, better and more beautiful puzzles of many shapes, sizes and themes. – New visual themes to choose from to customize the puzzles’ looks. – Earn and inspect figurines of all the characters. – A wealth of new options to customize the way you play. – Check for mistakes or use focus mode to help zero in on clues. – Find secrets in each chapter to unlock extra secret puzzles. – 100+ hours of picture puzzling fun. – Seasonal puzzle packs unlock at various times during the year. – Additional puzzle packs available for purchase separately.”
Pizza Pikmin Added To Pikmin Bloom
Pizzimin
Starting today, Pikmin in Pikmin Bloom are going to get a little tastier. Heading out to local Italian restaurants can add new pizza-themed decor Pikmin to your army! For the full details (and some delicious pizza-facts), check out the official site here.
Natsu-Mon! 20th Century Summer Vacation Announced For Switch In Japanese Direct
The direct keeps giving!
Those watching the Japanese Direct got something a little extra, with the reveal of Natsu-Mon! 20th Century Summer Vacation, releasing this summer in Japan. Those of us in the states can still play it, however, as the Switch isn’t region locked! Interestingly, Kaz Ayabe, creator of Boku no Natsuyasumi, is the creator, designer, and writer of the game!
Natsu-Mon: 20th Century Summer Vacation is a heartwarming summer vacation adventure game in which you play as a 10 year-old boy and enjoy a special summer vacation in the verdant countryside by the sea. The player will have one month to spend their summer vacation in the 3D open-world countryside. The game is the latest title by Kaz Ayabe of Millennium Kitchen, who is known for creating many nostalgic summer vacation and childhood-themed games, and will be published by Spike Chunsoft.
A circus troupe comes to the the countryside. The protagonist is the ringmaster’s only son. Enjoy a special summer vacation filled with nostalgic spectacles like thunderous clouds, evening sunsets, and the sounds of cicadas. After eating breakfast with everyone, do radio calisthenics in front of the shrine. Then, go fish in the ocean or river, catch rare insects in the hills and fields, and record everything in your picture diary.
During your vacation, you can help out the circus, or enjoy the summer festival to your heart’s content. Enjoy fireworks and Bon Festival dances at night, or take the train over to the next town over. As you experience various things, the more you will be able to do. Whether you climb to the top of the mountain, swim in the ocean, or stroll around downtown, you will be able to make plenty of summer memories.
After today’s announcement for Splatoon 3’s Expansion Pass, one might be wondering when they would be able to buy it. Well, Nintendo isn’t making us wait long, as today’s Splatoon 3 update will add the ability to pre-purchase the pass! Those who do will be awarded an “in-game battle-boosting bonus”! Exciting! This update will also come with some bug-fixes as an added bonus.
Evil Dead: The Game To Recieve A New Mode, New Skins, And A New Character In Tommorow's Update
Good night, Fortnite!
Coming February 2nd, Evil Dead: The Game will be receiving it’s next big update, which has a big focus on the ill-fated Ash vs. Evil Dead. First up, the newest survivor joining the fray is Ruby, a character original to Ash vs Evil Dead.
While the Puppeteer demon was featured in Ash vs Evil Dead, this icy variant is new to the game!
A variety of skins straight from the show will be available, including Necronomicon Pablo, Jacksonville-themed Pablo and Ash, and a yet-to-be-revealed Kelly skin.
Last but not least, an entire new mode will be avaliable tommorow, Splatter Royale. While details are still sparce, this mode will feature 40 demon-possesed survivors battling it out to see who will be the last one standing!
Phew, thats a lot to go through! This is shaping up to be one of Evil Dead: The Game’s biggest updates yet, making it a perfect time to hop on and fight some deadites!
