Switch Weekly - I'm loving Metroid Prime

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Issue #‍323 | March 12, 2023 · These boots are made for plumbing

Hey, Chris back with another Nintendo update for you — it's issue #323 of Switch Weekly. Hope you've had a good weekend.

I've been playing a ton more of Metroid Prime this week, and I'm really enjoying my time with it. You know it's good when you find yourself thinking about a game when you're not even playing it — I was doing some housework and found myself thinking about the new areas I can probably go and explore now I had a certain power up. Good stuff. This game holds up super well, was clearly ahead of its time in some regards, and talk about nailing the 2D to 3D journey off the bat.

Beyond Metroid, I also checked out the new wave of Mario Kart tracks — the Yoshi's Island track is a gem filled with lovely little details and great music, so be sure to give that a go if you haven't.

Next week is a busy one, with nearly 40 games hitting the Switch. Full list below as ever.

Finally, I'll be closing the State of Switch survey in a few days, so please do fill it out and spread the word.

Cheers,
Chris ✌️

🎮 Currently Playing: Metroid Prime Remastered, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

▶ The Super Mario Bros. Movie - Final Trailer — Our last look at the upcoming Mario movie before it arrives on screen next month. Rainbow Road never looked so good. This trailer was shared in a short, related 'Direct' featuring Miyamoto explaining MAR10. There's also a ~15 minute interview with some of the cast here, and a trailer breakdown looking at all the details you may have missed.

Universal Pictures // YouTube

REVIEW Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse — This once Japan Wii-era exlusive (also known as Project Zero) makes its official debut in the west with this Switch version. It seems to be a no-brainer for fans of the franchise, but Ollie notes that others need to be aware of the "number of quirks" that should have been ironed out. Chris Scullion for VGC also tested out this remaster but notes how there isn't enough to get past the "frustrating feel in any meaningful way".

Ollie Reynolds // Nintendo Life

PREVIEW Bayonetta Origins offers a taste of what Platinum does best — "there’s a tweeness and simplicity that feels like a bid to put Bayonetta in front of a different audience".

Matthew Castle // VGC

▶ The Nintendo-fication of Jazz — This is a superb half-hour look at how Nintendo music (particularly Bob-Omb Battlefield) has become something of a 'videogame jazz standard' and how the the scene around videogame music has evolved.

Adam Neely // YouTube

Switch’s successor faces backwards compatibility challenges, developer suggests

Jordan Middler // VGC

Wargroove 2 brings strategy to the shores on Switch later this year

Alana Hagues // Nintendo Life

REVIEW Paranormasight: The Seven Mysteries of Honjo — "truly the gold standard of engaging visual novels and a must for anyone fascinated by the deliciously dark world of the supernatural and the occult". Hayes Madsen at Inverse called it "already the most underrated game" of the year.

Tilly Lawton // Pocket Tactics

REVIEW The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure

Alana Hagues // Nintendo Life

Trails to Azure proves no other RPG series does worldbuilding better

Hayes Madsen // Inverse

REVIEW The Last Spell

Trent Cannon // Nintendo Life

The Switch needs the Nintendo 3DS' most underrated social feature

Ian Carlos Campbell // Inverse

Walking Zelda — On playing Breath of the Wild: "Video games, when done well (and I believe Zelda in its many incarnations is one of the best-done ones of all time), are miraculous tools that can elevate the mind and, eventually, the body".

Craig Mod

Nintendo's supply problem: Scalpers win, fans lose

Ben Magnet // Go Nintendo

If you loved Metroid Dread, Metroid Fusion is where the story starts

Maddy Myers // Polygon

Fortnite won’t slow down

Andrew Webster // The Verge

How Pokémon YouTuber PokiChloe is paving the way for women

Meg Bethany Koepp // Prima Games

Nintendo keeps banning these ‘Mario Maker’ levels, but the creators just publish them again

Patrick Klepek // Waypoint — Vice

Decades later, Super Mario Bros. 3 is still full of surprises

Nicole Clark // Polygon

The Zelda timeline doesn’t matter

Jeffrey Parkin // Polygon

ICYMI The State of Switch Survey 2023 — I'll be closing this year's survey in a few days, so make sure you've filled it out if you haven't yet.

Chris Brandrick // Switch Weekly

🎮 Upcoming Releases

All releases are digital, Europe & U.S. unless otherwise stated.
Release data sourced in collaboration with Switch Scores.

⭐️ = Ones to Watch · 📦 = Physical release · 🎮 = Demo available

Mon

13

⭐️ Life of Delta — A point-and-click adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic world.

Tue

14

Tents and Trees — Strategic puzzler about placing tents in the great outdoors.
Terminal Velocity: Boosted Edition — An updated version of the 1995 arcade flight combat sim.
The Wreck — A mature 3D visual novel about sisterhood, motherhood, grief and survival.
Vernal Edge — Pixel art Metroidvania set across a series of floating islands.

Wed

15

📦 Kung Fury: Street Rage: Ultimate Edition — A arcade-style beat 'em up, with co-op, in which you fight Nazis and Hasselhoff is a playable character... (March 20 in U.S.) (Physical via Limited Run Games)
Steal It — 2D arcade platformer in which you grab diamonds.
Tricky Thief — Tile-based sliding stealth puzzles.

Thu

16

Air Battle — Fly WW2 aircraft in this arcade game.
📦 Alice Gear Aegis CS Concerto of Simulatrix — A 3D arena battler with online, and a visual novel to help the story along. (Physical release)
Amber City — 2D indie puzzler with hand-drawn levels.
⭐️🎮 Backbeat — A strategic music puzzle game set in the 90s.
Bitter-Sweet Cohabitation — Bishojo visual novel. M for mature.
Blocky Farm — Farm management sim mobile port - looks like Crossy Road.
Flame Keeper — A 3D action rogue-lite.
Link the Cubes — Relaxing top-down puzzle game.
Loop — A 'contemplative' 3D puzzle adventure game through a mysterious temple.
Loot Box Simulator: Heroes of the Dark Age — Some weird thing where you open boxes for pictures of fantasy RPG characters.
My Little Prince: A jigsaw puzzle tale — Six puzzles to solve, with cute enough illustrations.
⭐️ Nono Adventure — One that nonogram/picross fans will want to check out. 200 levels and a story to uncover
⭐️ Post Void — This fast-paced FPS looks wild. A "deeply atmospheric and blinding haze of retro-styled violence". M for mature.
📦 Session: Skate Sim — A skating sim that looks to be riffing off the approach EAs Skate took. (Physical release)
📦 Sixtar Gate: Startrail — A rhythm game that promises a "musical space voyage". (Physical release)
Squad 51 vs the Flying Saucers — An interesting spin on the arcade shoot 'em up featuring a 1950s sci-fi look and live-action cutscenes too.
Subway Midnight — A haunted-house indie horror adventure.
Tanky Tanks 2 — A tank shooter game with local multiplayer.
The Guise — A 'monstrous' metroidvania adventure full of secrets and horror.
Unmatched: Digital Edition — Board game adaptation card-battler, with online.

Fri

17

⭐️📦🎮 Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon — A new, prequel spin-off. (Physical release)
Cute and Creepy — Digital colouring book.
Fantasy Ball — Budget arena sports game for four players. (March 18 in U.S.)
⭐️ Fur Squadron — On-rails arcade space shooter with a team of animal pilots ala Starfox.
Off the Tracks — A budget 'chaotic' physics-based first person platforme.
📦 Peppa Pig: World Adventures — Hog goes on holiday. (Physical release)
📦 The Legend of Heroes: Trails to Azure — This once PSP Japan-only RPG makes its way west for the first time.
The Treflik Family — Kids game based on the TV show.

⚡️ Quick Links

Kinda weird, but Nintendo had a real life pair of Mario's shoes from the upcoming movie made up.
A demo of the Front Mission 1st remake is up on the European eShop.
Microsoft claims it can get Call of Duty Warzone and MW2 running nativly on Switch.
Settle in, as Summoning Salt is back with another feature length world-record recap video, this time for a 100% Super Mario Bros. 3 run.
Add a new newsletter to your morning routine with the best stories the web has to offer, curated by Refind. #Ad
I'm probably gonna back this adorable game about learning Japanese via taking photos.
Always thought Wii games looked a little blurry? There's a new 2023 fix for just that.
How would you go about creating a battery-free Game Boy? Someone tried to figure it out.
Looking for something to try in Mario Maker 2? This great 'Super Mario Bros. Remix' features 36 courses.
Curious what the critics made of EarthBound when it landed in 1995? Here are some high-quality scans.

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Curated by Chris Brandrick

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Switch Weekly - I'm loving Metroid Prime

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