The Blog

Dragon Quest fans, rejoice! Just in time for the series’ 25th Anniversary, Square Enix has just published a video honoring the occasion. The video is pretty short, though the biggest announcement comes in the form of news that a new Dragon Quest Monsters game is coming to the Nintendo Switch!

While there’s not much info to speak of quite yet, it is exciting to see that Dragon Quest fans will continue to have more to look forward to, even later in the Switch’s lifecycle. We’ll be sure to update as soon as we know more

Sunshine Shuffle is a game that tells the tale of several cute animals at a table playing Poker, and it’s real good! The game itself was due to release on PC and Switch this week, and while the former is true, Nintendo has temporarily kept the game from releasing on its eShop due to a “joke” that lead dev Xalavier Nelson, Jr made leading up to release.

Nelson is quite known for his goofy online presence, and as the head of the studio producing Sunshine Shuffle, decided he wanted to bring some of that energy with the lead-up to Sunshine Shuffle’s release. Due to the game’s juxtaposition of cute animals playing Poker, Nelson felt it would be funny to make it a running gag that the game “teaches children how to gamble”, which, to clarify, the game does not do. Despite the intentions of the jokes though, this eventually led to some folks taking his points seriously, to the point where the game is now temporarily banned from being sold on the Nintendo eShop, as well as banned entirely from sale in the Republic of Korea!

Nelson goes on to further explain in a video, attached below

Going off of Nelson’s statements, he says the inspiration for those jokes was to get ahead of the bad-faith criticisms from folks who would see the game featuring cute animals playing Poker, and thus claiming that the game is trying to teach children to gamble. Nelson says that the development studio even tried reworking the game with different rules, ones that didn’t use normal playing cards but ultimately decided that it didn’t work for the gameplay and narrative dynamics we wanted.”

Despite all of this, Nelson remains optimistic about the game’s banning, and rather seeing it as an opportunity to speak with their audience on a genuine, human level

There’s even a happy ending to this story too because, as of writing, the PR firm representing Sunshine Shuffle announced that the game will be released on the North American eShop on Wednesday, May 31. The game still remains banned in the Republic of Korea.

The Splatoon 3 & Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Championship 2023 Qualifiers have been announced, and they’re set to begin with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on May 27, just a few weeks away! This news was tweeted out by the Nintendo Versus account on Twitter, with the full blurbs for each event detailed below

Event details and registration guidelines can all be found on the Nintendo Versus website. So, what do you think? Will you be competing over the summer?

The story of Super Mario as we know it began in the mid 80’s with the release of Super Mario Bros. for the NES – a humble arcade platformer developed by Nintendo that featured the titular character, Mario, running and jumping his way through a variety of levels all in pursuit of saving Princess Toadstool, aka Peach.

Unbeknownst to Nintendo at the time, Mario would soon become the face and brand of the company as a whole, soaring in popularity through the 90’s to eventually becoming the household name that he is today. For nearly 4 decades, we’ve seen countless Mario games, tons of tie-in merchandise, and even more recently a whole theme park! However, in all that time, there has only been one concerted effort by Nintendo to create a feature film based on the little red plumber… and it failed miserably! Sure, it’s achieved a ‘cult classic’ status among some fans, but that is far removed from the expectations Nintendo likely had for it.

The original Super Mario Bros. film released in 1993, after which fans received nothing but radio silence as far as Nintendo-based film adaptations were concerned. That is, until 2018, when it was revealed to the world that not only would Nintendo be making a grand return to the big screen, but they wouldn’t be doing it alone. They would also be working with Illumination to produce an animated Mario movie. Naturally, many fans had their concerns.

I’ve been a fan of Super Mario my whole life, with 1996’s Super Mario 64 being the first video game I ever owned, as well as THE game to introduce me to the medium as a whole. Now, all these years later, I consider the Super Mario brand to be a major part of who I am today. So, when the news of a new film came through, I was cautiously optimistic – especially when considering how Nintendo’s first outing went.

Thankfully, now that the film is out in full, I can confidently state that 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a fantastic adaptation of one of gaming’s most iconic characters. That’s not to say the film is without its flaws, but for fans like myself who have effectively been waiting for this moment all their lives… it’s good to report that it lives up to the hype.

Pokémon fans have a new season of ranked battles to look forward to, as today marks the launch of Season 5 in Pokémon Scarlet/Violet’s Ranked Battles. This new installment runs throughout this upcoming month, starting April 1st and ending on April 30th 2023.

Of course, the biggest thing trainers look forward to with every season is the new rulesets that come with them, and Season 5 is the first of its kind to use the ‘Regulation C’ set of rules that allows for the use of Wo-Chien, Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu and Chi-Yu, also known as the ‘Treasures of Ruin’.

What do we think, trainers? Will you be climbing the ranked ladder this month?

The official Splatoon account has shared a brand new illustration for the game’s brand new Splatfest event starring various cryptid creatures! This Splatfest is going on in-game right now and throughout the weekend. Which team are will you be fighting for?

Pokémon GO’s Hoenn Tour event is already underway, and trainers all around the world are getting their chance at battling legendary raids themed around Pokémon’s 3rd generation.

Niantic has also shared that this event will feature music created by series composer and founding member of GAME FREAK; Junichi Masuda!

While Niantic isn’t specific on which tracks Masuda has contributed, we’re hoping it won’t be long until we get to find out! These songs are available as part of the game’s newest event, and available in the app right now.

Fans of Pokémon, and even more specifically fans of Squirtle rejoice! LINE and The Pokémon Company have announced a new series of Squirtle themed stickers that have made their way to the popular chat app.

The full set features 24 unique stickers, all featuring the popular Kantonian starter, and you can check out a preview of the stickers included in our gallery below!

This sticker set is available in the app now, and you can purchase them here for around $1.99 USD!

Niantic has announced that 2023 will be seeing the return of Pikmin Bloom’ s St. Patrick’s Day event and it will feature items themed around clovers, meaning you’ll even be able to earn Pikmin with clovers on their heads, including those of the 4 leaf variety if you’re lucky enough!

This year, the event will be split into 2 different parts. The first part begins on March 1st, and will feature 30 different missions to complete. Finishing these missions will reward you with varying amounts of Gold Seedling packets, which are used for aiding in sprouting the limited time clover Pikmin. It’s important to earn as many of these as you can before part 2 begins on March 17th, as they’ll be useful in completing battles against fungi that sprout all over the map, and the more clover Pikmin you have for these fights, the better!

Check out all the details of these missions and the rewards for completing them below!

Part 1 Event Missions

Mission 1: Plant 1500 yellow-colored flowers

Mission 2: Plant 1500 red-colored flowers

Mission 3: Defeat 5 mushrooms★

Mission 4: Plant 1500 blue-colored flowers

Mission 5: Plant 1500 white-colored flowers

Mission 6: Defeat 5 mushrooms★

Mission 7: Plant 1500 windflowers

Mission 8: Plant 4000 flowers

Mission 9: Grow 6 Pikmin★

Mission 10: Plant 2000 yellow-colored flowers

Mission 11: Plant 2000 red-colored flowers

Mission 12: Defeat 5 mushrooms★

Mission 13: Plant 2000 blue-colored flowers

Mission 14: Plant 2000 blue windflowers

Mission 15: Grow 6 Pikmin★

Mission 16: Plant 3000 white-colored flowers

Mission 17: Plant 2000 white windflowers

Mission 18: Defeat 5 mushrooms★

Mission 19: Plant 3000 yellow-colored flowers

Mission 20: Plant 2000 yellow windflowers

Mission 21: Grow 6 Pikmin★

Mission 22: Plant 3000 red-colored flowers

Mission 23: Plant 2000 red windflowers

Mission 24: Defeat 5 mushrooms★

Mission 25: Plant 3000 blue-colored flowers

Mission 26: Plant 2000 blue windflowers

Mission 27: Grow 6 Pikmin★

Mission 28: Plant 5000 flowers

Mission 29: Plant 3000 windflowers

Mission 30: Defeat 5 mushrooms★

Keep it locked to GoNintendo for more on Pikmin Bloom!

As we’ve previously reported, the Overwatch team has its eyes currently set on launching the game’s upcoming 3rd Competitive Season. There’s a long list of things coming with this new update including new balance patches, new skins, and even a new map! You can read on more of those updates coming in Season 3 here

In addition to the new changes, it seems that Blizzard has begun pushing out this update to some players to preload the new content before the official launch date on the 7th! Be sure to keep it locked here for more on Overwatch 2 and future updates!

Not long after the trailer celebrating 1,000+ Pokémon was released, the official Pokémon website has been updated to feature artwork for all the new creatures introduced in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet! This includes Pokémon that were initially introduced via trailers or promo videos, as well as ones that were never seen prior to release.

While the website does feature artwork for every Pokémon, it is worth noting that certain variants such as Squawkabilly’s alternate colors, Maushold’s ‘Family of 3’ form as well as a few others are understandably not featured here. It is unknown whether this will change moving forward, though we feel like this may be a bit unlikely.

You can view a few of our favorites of the new artwork below, or if you’d like to see all of them in one place, you can check out the Pokémon website’s official Pokédex page here.

Pokémon is a franchise we’re all pretty familiar with. I mean, being the biggest media franchise in the world, it’s no surprise, right? From the hardcore fans, to the more casual players, and even to the moms, dads & grandmas of the world…it really seems as though everyone has a certain set of expectations when it comes to Pokémon. Then, in walk Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

During a console generation in which Pokémon games are continuously challenging the idea of what it means to be a Pokémon game, Scarlet and Violet are here to continue forward with the foundations that Sword/Shield and even Legends: Arceus established for the series.

The only question is, do these new games bring Pokémon into that bold new future Game Freak has been building up to? Or do they feel stuck in the past?

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet take place in the beautiful new region of Paldea, a brand new region set in an open world inspired by Spain and other Latin American countries. Just walking around the game’s overworld you start to get a real sense of the game’s Spanish inspirations from things like the big open countrysides, the vibrant color schemes in its architecture, the Spanglish lingo from its locals, and even down to the Pokémon themselves.

All of these factors work in service of making Paldea feel like one of the most inspired regions in a Pokémon game to date. There were many moments during my initial playthrough that made me feel motivated to explore the world around me, like the beautiful seaside market of Port Marinada, the future tech city of Levincia, and even the snowy ghostlike charms of Montenevera. Most importantly for these cities is that they all feel lived in, featuring equal amounts of people and Pokémon in any given scene from streets, sidewalks, to the insides of buildings.

It’s clear that this game’s world is trying to sell you on the idea that Pokémon are a big part of it, and it all adds to the believability of the region at large.

Speaking of Pokémon, the new creatures for this generation of games are all absolutely great! Arguably one of the most important parts of every new generation of Pokémon, the standout highlights when it comes to new games is always going to be the creatures that come along with it. Of course, this is all just going to be a matter of opinion, but I do feel that some of these new designs and names are among the coolest and most creative we’ve seen from Pokémon in a while, like Sprigatito!

Taking the English word “sprig” (small twig) and the Spanish word for “small cat” (gatito) and putting them together to make a small grass cat is just brilliant! Another one of my favorites is Arboliva, taking the Spanish word for tree (árbol) and combining that with the English word “Olive” to make this large Olive orchard-esque tree design is so good! Then there’s Flamigo, the new Flying/Fighting type Flamingo friend (amigo) whose body design is in the shape of a boxing glove!

All in all, I love the new designs on display here. There are certainly far more than will be mentioned in this review (103 to be exact), but they all work together towards that common goal of giving the Paldea region, and the games at large, a unique sense of identity for Pokémon’s 9th generation.

Perhaps the biggest change to the franchise in recent years comes from the steady phasing out of linearity in the pursuit of a truly open world. We saw this crop up first in 2019’s Sword and Shield, and even more recently with Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

While rather tame by comparison, these games’ “Wild Areas” certainly felt like Game Freak’s first foray into that open world design. Sort of like they were getting their feet wet, rather than fully diving in on the concept. Then, we come to Pokémon Scarlet and Violet whose whole brand exists within that open world. While it may be a turn off for some, especially in a world full of other games going for the same thing, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet really nail it with just how seamless it all tends to feel.

The biggest pain point for me with “open world” games is pointing somewhere in the distance with the intent to go there, just to be stopped by some invisible wall or loading screen, and it’s at those points when the whole experience starts to fall apart for me. Scarlet and Violet have none of that, and apart from the game’s opening prologue there’s virtually no limits to where you’re able to explore on the map. In my time playing and streaming the game, I’ve talked to many different people about their experiences so far and each response I get is totally different from the last. I have heard some people starting at completely different gyms than I did, different sections of the map, and even some individuals exploring the entire map while only having a few badges!

There seems to be a huge degree of agency the player has over crafting their own story with these games. Nothing that changes the actual narrative of the game obviously, however it is empowering to know that you have some say over whether to take on the bug gym that’s right next door, or the more challenging ghost type gym in the snowy mountains of the north.

In addition to having a large map to explore, you’re also able to tackle the entire thing in co-op thanks to Scarlet and Violet’s brand-new multiplayer mode! Accessed via the Union Room, players can host a lobby of up to 4 trainers that, once connected, are able to freely explore not only the map, but the entire game’s story as well.

That’s right, not only does the game give you the freedom to access the entire map independently, and without the need to stay within proximity of one another, it also gives you the freedom to play through the game’s story as well. This means that no matter what your other 3 friends are doing at any given time, you are still able to tackle gyms, play out cutscenes, whatever your heart desires and all without losing any progress.

You don’t even need to be the host of the lobby either, all 4 players have total control over the multiplayer experience they want to have, all at any given time. I personally had low expectations for this mode going into Scarlet and Violet, as my mind was occupied by thoughts like “Alright, but what CAN’T I do?”, to which the answer is nothing, it’s all available to you.

Having this much freedom in a multiplayer session is fantastic and a huge step in the right direction towards a truly cooperative experience for Pokémon. While you can’t battle gym leaders cooperatively or make appearances together in the game’s cutscenes, there are certainly a lot of doors that open just by having this feature available, and I am loving playing together with friends. Cooperative shiny hunting, anyone?

Of course, if you’re reading this near the time of review then I’d feel like it’d be remiss of me to NOT talk about the games’ various technical issues.

Tons of videos have cropped up over the last week showcasing so many weird bugs, glitches, and other visual oddities. My personal favorite has been the Jigglypuff flying away in the wind. I can only speak from my personal experience of course, and in my first campaign play though, I’ve only experienced the occasional game crash, which while frustrating isn’t exactly exclusive to Scarlet and Violet. I’ve had the same thing happen to me across multiple other games like Splatoon 3, and even some other first party games though it’s only ever sparingly.

To Game Freak’s credit, this could have been way more frustrating for me if not for the fact that the game auto saves relatively frequently so I only lose small amounts of progress. This experience is helped by just how fast Scarlet and Violet boot up after completely resetting the software. Outside of game crashes there are also things like framerate issues, and other graphical oddities that can certainly break the immersion for some but for me a lot of this just felt like a non-issue. I was simply too busy enjoying my time with the game’s story, catching Pokémon or who knows what to feel that my enjoyment was being hampered by the occasional dip in frame rate.

This is something that’s going to vary wildly depending on who you ask, but for me this did little to nothing to harsh my experience with the games, though I do feel they could use a general performance patch or two to smooth things out for all of us.

Another factor that plays into the game’s nearly 60-hour campaign is the story, which is quite honestly one of, if not the best storyline the series has ever seen

Throughout my first playthrough of the game, I found myself shifting from an attitude of “Oh okay, I know where this is going” to one of “They put THIS in a Pokémon game?!”. Without getting too much into the specifics, these games’ story is one of the darkest and more surprising narratives we’ve seen yet from a Pokémon game, that all culminates in the biggest, most bombastic ending sequence that the franchise has ever seen. While subtly weaving its way through some pretty tough themes, the games do a phenomenal job at keeping the player engaged from start to finish, thanks in large part to its vibrant cast of characters.

Now, when it comes to Pokémon characters over the years, a lot of them can tend to feel pretty one dimensional, at least in the grand scheme of things. In Scarlet and Violet, you can get a mixed bag as well, but the main cast featured throughout the game’s 3 storylines are as strong as ever. I don’t think we need to go analyze every single character, though if there’s one role that is always subject to the most criticism, it’s the player’s rival and this time around? She’s actually really cool!

Nemona is the academy’s Student Council President, she’s your hometown neighbor, and she really wants to battle you. I mean she really, really REALLY wants to battle you. On the surface she may seem a bit one note in that regard, though as the story unfolds, the player begins to learn more about why she is the way she is and why she’s so obsessed with the idea of challenging you. Outside of details locked behind story progression, one thing about her is made immediately apparent and it’s that even in her defeat, she’s always cheering for you to do and be better. I found this to be particularly endearing as nobody likes having a rival who is also a sore loser.

After 25+ years of constant (albeit slow) evolution, the Pokémon franchise is getting a huge step in a brand-new direction with Scarlet and Violet. Despite its technical hiccups, these new games offer so much value to new players and longtime fans alike. From its fantastic art direction, brilliant storytelling, and Pokémon designs that are just as charming as ever, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are no doubt the best Pokémon games on the platform and certainly among the best in the franchise.

At the end of the day, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet evolves from the foundations of games’ past to bring forth a new generation of Pokémon games that fans will still be discussing far into the future, and for years to come.

A new generation of Pokémon usually means tons of new Pokémon to catch and collect, as well as some creative or even odd ways to evolve them.

In this new generation, one of those Pokémon happens to be Pawmi. To evolve a Pawmi, the player must walk alongside their partner for a total of 1,000 steps using the game’s “Let’s Go!” feature. On paper, this seems like a simple feat to accomplish as you’re walking (or biking) most of the time anyway. However, this can wind up being a bit more difficult than it sounds as the Pokêmon following you have certain limitations for how far you can walk from them before they return to their ball, thus taking away from your progress towards 1,000 steps.

Luckily, it seems that one Japanese player has discovered a rather simple trick to make this whole process a lot easier, and all it requires is the High Jump ability.

As you can see in the video, the trick is pretty easy, basically requiring you to send out your Pokémon using “R” or ZR”, then jump on top of a Pokémon Center using the High Jump ability that’s acquired from the ‘Path of Legends’ storyline in the game. Once the player is on the roof, the Pokémon that’s left on the ground will proceed to run around in circles as it attempts to reach the player. Once this happens, all that’s left is to give the Pokémon about 5-10 minutes (or longer) to get in its cardio for the day, then level it up to evolve and BOOM! You should have a shiny, brand new Pawmot by the end of it. If for whatever reason it doesn’t evolve, you can repeat the process from the start until it does.

What do you think of this method? Feel free to let us know in the comments below!

Just a few short weeks ago, the popular Pokémon x Mister Donut collaboration made its way back to stores across Japan, with donut designs featuring Pikachu among others. Now, it’s been confirmed that a new, familiar face will be making a big debut during this upcoming holiday season!

Mister Donut has announced that it will be adding a new Jigglypuff donut to its menu and will be made available for sale during the month of December 2022. In a press release, Mister Donut confirms that the Jigglypuff donut’s hair tuft will be made out of whipped cream coated with strawberry chocolate, while its eyes and ears will be made of chocolate.

What do you think of this new menu item? Is this a treat you’d be willing to try?

2022 has been a great year for the Pokémon Local Acts initiative, and the organization is not quite done yet because today we have word that 9 more Chansey-themed manhole covers will be making their way to Japan’s Fukushima prefecture very soon!

This organization’s goal is to beautify certain areas of Japan, while also attracting tourists to areas. One of the big efforts of the PLA has been replacing manhole covers with covers that spotlight Pokémon, and it’s been a great success so far. You can see a gallery of all of the new designs below, and visitors to the local area can see them in person after their installation throughout December 2022!