This new patch brings all of the tweaks and additions made to other versions of the game (which we reckon is really very good, actually) to Switch 1 and 2, so there’s total parity across all versions.
That means the Switch releases have received the CPU Ranked Match mode, the new “Advance Win” feature — which allows you to call time on matches with huge leads (as well as some anti-cheat measures for online) — and a bunch of other tweaks and fixes to boot.
The game’s executive producer (and Level-5 CEO, lest we forget), Akihiro Hino, dropped the full deets on social media, although we are still awaiting some more detailed patch notes. Here’s the tweet, plus the machine translation below:
The latest version of Inazuma Eleven: Heroes’ Victory Road has been updated. The versions are 1.4.0 and 1.4.1. Distribution will begin on each platform at various times. It will be after 9 PM for all platforms. The time may be subject to change. ・Advance Win, Advance Time ・First-time route unlock battle: Kizuna Star x5 ・AI ranked match And so on, including bug fixes, many new features will be implemented across platforms including Switch.
With this latest update, alongside 1.3’s added ranked level cap and bug fixes, Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road is certainly in good shape, and looking and playing every bit the soccer star that it is!
The game launched back in the middle of November, and Ethan called it “the franchise’s most premium experience yet” in our recent review:
Have you been playing Inazuma Eleven: Victory Road on Switch? Enjoying it so far? Let us know!
The first time I played Red Dead Redemption was, of course, the day it launched. 2010 really doesn’t seem all that long ago at all, but there was a level of expectation and excitement to those opening moments in Rockstar’s utterly wild West that I do feel I haven’t experienced in a very long time indeed.
It was an excitement that had me on my phone to an equally exuberant friend (we’d been to buy our copies together earlier that day, like something out of a Dickens novel), as we both gawped in amazement at this incredible recreation of a lost world. Do games still drop jaws in the same way that a big Rockstar joint used to back in the day?
As the camera settled on John Marston aboard the game’s opening train ride, as we started to get a gauge on just how no-holds-barred and authentic this particular cowboy adventure was gonna be, there was an air of something special, of a game that might just be everything we’d wanted and more besides. And it was!
I reviewed Red Dead Redemption on Switch for its 2023 release, so check that out for a full run-through of the finer details of the game itself. However, I ‘only’ gave it an 8/10, which may seem odd given all the gilding of its lily I’ve just done above this very paragraph. But a lack of multiplayer, alongside a lack of polish overall, meant it had to go down as a barebones port. Still amazing in its narrative and gameplay, but in need of TLC. It was eminently playable, and already looked nice, though, so you were in safe (if unspectacular) hands on Switch.
This Switch 2 update, on paper, gives us the basics and no more, too. Oh, you’ve given it more resolution, have you? Increased the frame rate? Well done. But wait. We’ve now got mouse controls for fine-aiming, and they feel really good. Also, and as expected as resolution or frame rate increases are nowadays, my goodness, it really does look and feel very nice indeed. Have I ever played this game at 60fps before? I’m beginning to wonder, because I’m sure it’s never played this nicely.
Remember the journey into Mexico, that magical bit with the music, the showstopping part? It’s all the more magical when you can see the very dust in the air, the shimmering heat haze in the distance now as clear as day thanks to pristine visuals. HDR is really helping to make things pop in comparison to the older port, that’s for sure.
Yes, there’s still no multiplayer, but it now feels as though the game is being presented on a Nintendo console in a manner befitting such an epic slice of gaming history. With slick controls, DLSS, HDR, volumetric effects, options to personalise mouse mode, 60fps that felt flawless, and a resolution bump that’s got it looking super sharp, this is a gem that still feels modern, immediate, and relentlessly replayable on Switch 2. Now that’s rootin’ tootin’, partners!
We have been keeping an eye on Mina the Hollower for some years now. This is the GBC-looking Zelda-like from Yacht Club Games, the studio behind Shovel Knight, that launched on Kickstarter back in 2022, and only recently missed out on its initial release date thanks to a last-minute delay. It feels like it has been a long time coming, a fact that Yacht Club is reportedly painfully aware of.
In a new report from Bloomberg (paywalled), studio founder Sean Velasco described Mina as “make-or-break” for the future of Yacht Club Games. In the time since Shovel Knight, the studio has downsized, faced a global pandemic and divided its teams into two — later reforged into one — and delays don’t come cheap, either. “If we sold 500,000 copies, then we would be golden,” Velasco told Bloomberg, “If we sold even 200,000, that would be really, really great. If we sold, like, 100,000, that’s not so good”.
According to the report, the game’s inception came back in 2019 by designer Alec Faulkner. Yacht Club initially split its staff into two teams — one focusing on Mina, and the other on a 3D Shovel Knight follow-up — though the former project quickly grew in ambition, with Faulkner reportedly struggling to operate as the game’s director.
Seeing that the system wasn’t working, the studio laid off some staff to cut expenses and re-combined the teams to focus purely on the Mina project, with Velasco stepping into the director role. According to artist Sandy Gordon, had the team stuck together right from the jump, “we would’ve finished it two to three years ago”.
“If Mina flops, we’ll still be around,” Velasco told Bloomberg, though he’s quick to clarify that they would “need more money”. The studio is already taking steps to cut back on this front, moving fully remote at the end of the year and shifting its attention to only working on one project at a time.
From the little of Mina that we have seen so far, we remain cautiously optimistic that the full game will deliver the goods. There’s a free demo now available on the eShop (sporting 120fps on Switch 2, no less), and it plays every bit as much like a 2D Zelda game as you would hope. A delay is never a welcome sight, but our fingers are crossed that we don’t have to wait too long to see things hit their full potential.
Are you still excited for Mina the Hollower? Let us know in the comments.
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is very nearly here. It’s so close, in fact, that the reviews for the Switch 2 version of the game have now gone live, letting us all find out what we can expect from Samus’ long-awaited adventure on the latest hardware.
Here at Nintendo Life, we had a blast with Beyond, calling it “quite possibly the boldest, most well-realised Metroid game to date” in our 9/10 review. Here’s a snippet, followed by the full shebang, so you can check out our thoughts for yourself:
After 18 years of waiting, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond manages to replicate that magical sense of discovery from the GameCube original while pushing the series in some incredible new directions. Separating the main biomes with a vast open world sounds ridiculous on paper, but the slick traversal provided by Vi-O-La makes exploration more satisfying than ever
But we’re not the only review out there! Below, we’ve rounded up a handful of reviews from across the internet to give you a snapshot of the range of opinions on display. We predicted that this might be a rather divisive one in our review, and divisive it has been…
Kicking things off with a full beans 10/10 from Giant Bomb, where the outlet describes Prime 4 as “one of [Samus’] greatest adventures”:
Time will tell where I place Metroid Prime 4 in the ranking of the overall series, but fresh off my first playthrough, I feel comfortable putting it among the likes of Super Metroid and the original Metroid Prime
With a similar score to us, Game Informer awarded Prime 4 an 8.75 out of 10, praising just about everything the game has to offer, but feeling let down by the finale and save shenanigans:
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond maintains the high standard set by previous games in the series with incredible atmosphere and subtle touches that make the planet of Viewros look and sound real, but it is not without a handful of annoyances that hinder the immersion
TechRadar Gaming opted for a similar 4/5, and while the outlet seemed up on the story and “gorgeous” visuals, its big sticking point came in the open-field desert area:
If the desert was a touch smaller, and there were a few extra rooms to explore in each biome, it’d be on its way to sitting alongside the first two Prime games in quality
Things dropped ever so slightly for GamesRadar+, whose 3.5 review similarly struggled with the “padding” of the overworld, even amidst the excellent levels:
Within its actual levels, Metroid Prime 4 is triumphant, delivering immersive first-person exploration like nothing else in the genre, with some of the greatest levels in the series to date, dripping with potent atmosphere. But outside of those, Metroid Prime 4 is such a drag, and actively gets in the way of reaching those heights
VGC went for a 3/5, describing Prime 4 as “a game stuck between two worlds”, as it tries to keep the series’ backbone while trying something new:
When it’s emulating the series’ past, Beyond is an entertaining, if overly conservative, sequel. However, as the shadowy corridors make way for open-world fetch quests, and Halo-style expeditions with AI companions, it’s left feeling like a diluted experience that doesn’t fully deliver on the spirit of earlier entries
And finally, Eurogamer also went for a 3/5, feeling let down by the game’s ending and chatty companions, despite its high points:
No matter how much you enjoy the gameplay part, I don’t think there’s much more disappointing than finishing a game that’s relatively narratively-driven and thinking, “that’s it?” at the credits
A pretty large spread, no? At the time of writing, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond sits at a Metacritic score of 80, based on 63 reviews. We’ll have to wait a little while longer to see how things fare on Switch 1, but rest assured, we’ll have our impressions on the old hardware release with you before long.
Are you still excited for MP4 after reading the spread of critical opinions? Let us know in the comments.
Yoshinori Konishi (director and programming director), Hiroki Hamaue (programmer), and Takahisa Ikejiri (art director) sat down to share their experience in developing this online multiplayer title, which is controlled entirely with the Switch 2’s Mouse Mode.
In Part 1, Konishi shares that the game was inspired by “sports such as wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, wheelchair motocross, BMX and skateboarding”, particularly the former. Hamaue had previously rode a wheelchair “for a research project back when I was a student”, but for Konishi and Ikejiri, the first time they got to experience wheelchair basketball was at an experience in Osaka.
Image: Nintendo
The developers purchased both an everyday wheelchair and sports wheelchair to help with the process. But the problem was that, as Konishi says, “We were restricted to the small space inside the office and could only let loose down the hallway once everyone else had gone home for the day. (Laughs)” because the project was tightly under wraps.
Talking about the wheelchair basketball experience, Ikejiri recalls that he “wasn’t prepared for how difficult it was to shoot the ball. In wheelchair basketball, the hoop is placed at the same height as in standard basketball. But since you take the shot sitting down, my shot didn’t reach the basket at all.”
“Maneuvering a wheelchair is difficult unless you get the hang of when to apply and release force,” Hamaue adds. “You can’t just propel yourself along smoothly in a single stroke. But it cemented for me how deep the controls are”.
As well as trying out wheelchair basketball for themselves, Konishi details the variety of reading materials the team gathered up: “From an encyclopedia of wheelchairs to videos and essays by wheelchair athletes and even manga about basketball or wheelchairs, we pulled together as much reference material as we could lay our hands on and studied it together.”
And, crucially, wheelchair basketball players also got a chance to go hands-on with Drag x Drive during development, which provided Konishi and the rest with valuable insights: “Because the players use wheelchairs in their daily lives, they were all really good at turning and moving backwards in the game. Of course, we learned a lot about the controls, but we gained even more insights watching them think about what to do on the court as they played.”
Hamaue adds that “seeing actual wheelchair basketball players get the hang of the game and its controls so quickly confirmed to us that it could work well as an intuitive control scheme.” And we’d agree; there’s nothing else quite like Drag x Drive on the market, and while its control scheme may not be for everyone, it makes for a unique experience.
All three parts contain video clips and test footage of Drag x Drive’s development, and are worth reading especially if you’re interested in checking out the new update. Perhaps it’s time to dive back and try out Survival Tag mode as the Holidays approach…
Are you still playing Drag x Drive? What do you think of the development process? Let us know in the comments.
If you can believe it, we are very, very nearly at the official launch of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. It’s a cross-generation release, but we always knew that this was going to be a big player for the Switch 2, making the most of the new hardware’s beefed-up specs to squeeze the most out of the space adventure. The question is, how does it hold up?
Our good friends over at Digital Foundry are here to answer just that. In the above video, the tech experts break down everything you need to know about the game’s performance, and we’ve got the full rundown for you to read through below. So, let’s dive right into it.
Kicking things off with the visuals, DF states that the game is “truly beautiful”. With crisp visor reflections, rain droplets and light peeking through cracks, the game is packed with more detail than ever before, and it’s used to great effect.
In terms of performance, we all know that MP4 offers two different options — ‘Performance’ and ‘Quality’ — though, according to Digital Foundry, things are a bit more nuanced in actuality. In Quality, the visor ‘frame’ and main image appear to be rendered separately, and while the real meat of what you’re looking at “generally does read as a native 4K image”, it’s still “very much 1440p” (1080p in handheld). The sharpness is right where you’d want it, though, with DF calling it “the best image quality I’ve seen from a Nintendo game on Switch 2 thus far”.
‘Performance’ mode drops the resolution down to 1080p (720p in handheld), giving everything a slightly softer look. That said, the presentation remains “sharp enough” and is still sharper and clearer than Metroid Prime Remastered was on Switch 1 by a “significant margin”.
But what about the much-discussed frame rate? You’ll be pleased to hear that the 120fps promise (in the relevant mode) is delivered on, locking to 120, and holding it “with complete consistency” — bar the very odd, tiny dip when riding around the open world. And yes, the same level of smoothness applies to the 60fps mode.
The truly “mind-blowing” feature, according to DF, is the HDR, which stacks up as “one of the finest HDR presentations I’ve seen in years, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the very best”. So, expect those highlights to pop, and the shadows to deepen in docked. The same can’t be said for handheld, mind you, where the Switch 2’s native screen can’t keep up.
And finally, the load times are right where you’d want ’em, with door opening times much reduced from the previous entries.
You can find the full tech review in the above video or over on Digital Foundry’s new site. As for us, we were absolutely blown away by MP4, calling it “quite possibly the boldest, most well-realised Metroid game to date” in our review — read all about it below.
What’s your hype level looking like for MP4? Let us know in the comments.
Reviews for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond are live, including ours, although you may have noticed that it’s focused on the Switch 2 Edition, and MP4 is also launching on Switch 1.
If you’re looking for impressions on the original Switch version, they are coming – please bear with us. We weren’t able to test on the older hardware prior to the review embargo, but we do now have access and we’ll be posting our Switch 1 review just as soon as we’re able to give it a thorough look.
It’s been a long ol’ wait since the game was revealed back in 2017, and with development restarting from scratch in 2019, everyone’s understandably itching to find out every last detail about how Retro Studios’ return to the Metroid universe holds up on the hardware it was announced for.
The NS2 Edition cart also works on your original Switch, so we’re as eager as you to see how it compares to the 4K, 120fps version Ollie’s been enjoying.
So, watch this space, and we’ll get our verdict live as soon as we can.
When Metroid Prime 4: Beyond landed with Retro Studios back in 2019, we’re not sure anybody was truly shocked by this turn of events. Retro is, after all, the original developer of the Prime series, and while many of the veteran team members have since left, the sheer quality of the fourth entry on Switch 2 demonstrates that the studio is still one of the very best in the business.
The folks over at Retro didn’t do it alone, though. As highlighted in the game’s credits sequence, many separate companies lent their talents to the development of Prime 4, including Next Level Games and Virtuos.
Next Level Games, as you may know, is already familiar with the Prime series, having worked on Metroid Prime: Federation Force for the 3DS in 2016. As of 2021, it’s a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nintendo alongside Retro Studios itself. The specific developers at Next Level Games credited as helping out on Prime 4 were Matt McTavish, Cavin Yen, Mark Blanchin, and Christopher Rice.
Here are the teams listed in the credits:
Retro Studios
Next Level Games
Virtuos
Territory Studio
Waterproof
Keywords Studios
Liquid Development
Volta
AMC Studio
GameSim
Smoking Gun Interactive
Forge Studios
Red Hot CG
Original Force
Devoted Studios
Room 8 Studio
Next Gen Dreams
Mock Science
Cup of Tea
Formosa Interactive
House of Moves
Meanwhile, longtime producer Kensuke Tanabe at Nintendo also provided the text for the in-game scans, while Samus herself is now voiced by Erin Yvette with motion capture by Krystle Martin. Fans of the series will know that Jennifer Hale had previously provided the voiceover for Samus in the original Prime trilogy.
In our review for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond for the Switch 2, we said that it “manages to replicate that magical sense of discovery from the GameCube original while pushing the series in some incredible new directions”, awarding it a score of 9/10.
What do you make of Next Level Games’ assistance in the development of Prime 4? Will you be playing the game when it launches this week? Let us know with a comment.
I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Ever since Metroid Prime 3: Corruption ended on a slight cliffhanger (provided you obtained the 100% completion rating) back in 2007, I’ve been wondering where exactly Nintendo and Retro Studios might take the series next. 18 years would follow, and that’s an awful long time to formulate an idea of what the perfect sequel might look like.
Now that Metroid Prime 4: Beyond is finally here, it’s absolutely nothing like I’d imagined – and that’s a good thing. What Retro Studios has delivered might well be the studio’s finest work yet, and it’s certainly up there as one of the very best Metroid games of all time.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
I should say, however, that I think this game may prove divisive. Retro has successfully replicated that magical feeling of discovery from the GameCube original, but it’s also taken some pretty wild swings with Beyond’s new open-world hub, high-speed motorbike traversal, and yes, Galactic Federation companions. I’m not sure everybody is going to get along with it like I did, but what I do know is that Beyond feels like a natural evolution of Corruption. The Prime games have set themselves apart from the rest of the series by expanding Samus’ world to introduce more and more side characters, and this latest entry takes this concept further than ever.
To illustrate, Beyond kicks off on the planet Tanamaar, with Samus fighting alongside a host of Federation troopers against an attack from Sylux and their Space Pirate cronies. It’s a great sequence to get reacquainted with your beam attacks, missiles, morph ball, and double jump before most of it gets ripped away in classic Metroid style. Y’see, following a confrontation with Sylux, Samus gets transported to the mysterious world of Viewros, seemingly alone in a hostile environment stuffed with creatures looking to kill you.
What follows is an intriguing mystery that introduces the brand-new Lamorn race, which is essentially Prime 4’s Chozo. Uncovering what happened to the Lamorn is a joy, and you don’t need any prior series knowledge to enjoy this story. Phazon’s out, Dark Samus is out, and Sylux gets enough screen time as the new Big Bad. Fans will adore it, but newcomers can get right on board, too.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
The first thing that leapt out when wandering around the lush opening section of Fury Green was just how beautiful Beyond really is. Environments and creatures are brought to life like never before, with accompanying lighting and particle effects making this the best-looking game Nintendo has ever published. The art design is simply astonishing, constantly compelling you to just stop and soak it all in, which was easy given how much there is to uncover with the Scan Visor. Go back to (the lovely-looking) Prime Remastered and you’ll see just how much of a step up this is.
The visuals are augmented by the incredible soundtrack, which is comfortably the best since the original Prime. You’ve likely already heard the Fury Green theme from trailers, but every major biome rocks its own awesome variant, from the thumping, electrically-charged Volt Forge to the calming, ethereal Base Camp. I quite literally sat for about 10 minutes just vibing in the latter, and with the combined effects of the art style and audio, it was the first of many moments where I thought, ‘Okay, yes, this is a really special game.’ It’s the kind of thing you just know you’ll be going back to in 10, 20 years’ time.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
The enemies and boss characters are comfortably some of the best, most grotesque in series history, and the battles that ensue are equally thrilling and challenging. Even better, they’re all completely new and don’t lean on nostalgia – sorry Ridley, maybe next time. There are loads of different enemy types, including the ferocious Grievers, the exploding Pyremite, and the deadly Psy-Bots. I only wish there was a 3D model feature like Prime Remastered to better appreciate their incredible designs.
Provided you have the right setup, you can choose between two performance modes on Switch 2: Quality at 4K/60fps (1080p handheld) or Performance at 1080p/120fps (720p handheld). The bump up to 120fps in Performance Mode is certainly noticeable, but not half as much as the resulting downgrade in resolution. As such, I spent the vast majority of the time in Quality Mode; it looks absolutely gorgeous in 4K while docked, with performance that appeared locked at 60fps with no noticeable dips. Trust me, you’ll want the highest resolution possible for this game.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
You’ve also got several different control methods from the off, including dual-stick aiming and motion aiming. Opt for the former, and you use the analogue sticks for your movement, while gyro aiming can help with fine-tuning. Mouse controls are also featured for both options, so if you’re playing with the Joy-Con 2 detached, you can put the right controller side-down to immediately activate mouse mode. It’s a little erratic at first, so you’ll probably need to bring the sensitivity down a bit, but it feels pretty great. Overall, my control method of choice remained dual-sticks with a Pro Controller, but all options feel perfectly viable.
In typical Metroid fashion, you’ll be exploring various biomes throughout the world of Viewros, including the luscious forest of Fury Green, the frozen laboratories of Ice Belt, and much more. In addition to familiar abilities and armaments — missiles, grapple beam, morph ball — Samus gains a host of new psychic powers early on. This includes the ability to move devices remotely and open up paths, hurl your morph ball bombs at enemies and bomb slots from a distance, and directly manipulate the direction of your ‘Control Beam’ to hit multiple targets at once.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
In pre-release trailers depicting the psychic powers, I was worried that they might prove gimmicky, but this isn’t the case. It makes for some really cool sequences, including (but not limited to) the new Psychic Boost Rails, which hurl you around the environment on an almost-but-not-quite invisible path; perfect for locating those coveted Missile Expansions. Think of the Magatsu Rail from Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance, and you’re on the right track.
Of course, you’ll also gain new weapons on your travels, and these work a little differently this time. In the past, you’d acquire new beams while your standard missiles would remain the default sub-weapon. In Beyond, your Power Beam is maintained throughout, while elemental beams — specifically Fire, Ice, and Thunder — are mapped to the missile input and require their own ammo called Shots.
So, in addition to Missile Expansions, you’ll also be on the lookout for Shot Expansions. I was concerned this might limit my approach to battles if I’m constantly worried about running out of ammo, but truthfully, you’ll find so many expansions on your travels, depleting your supplies is never a major concern.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
Travelling from one biome to another is also a little (a lot) different this time around. A few hours in, you’ll gain access to Vi-O-La, an awesome futuristic motorbike that comes equipped with boost abilities and projectile weapons. It controls like a dream, too, with light touches of ‘L’ allowing you to slide and turn sharp corners at will. Upgrades found in the environment add more boosts to your arsenal, and soon you’ll be racing from one end of the hub world to the other in no time at all.
Sol Valley itself is a pretty vast area, and at first it felt completely empty, but looks can be deceiving. In addition to connecting the major locations necessary to progress the story, Sol Valley also includes a bunch of Shrines (yes, there’s that Breath of the Wild influence), Galactic Federation debris sites, and dozens upon dozens of Green Crystal clusters that you simply drive through at speed to collect.
Ultimately, including such a meaty open world amongst the usual labyrinthine biomes is a stroke of genius on Retro’s part. Think about how previous Metroid games (or really any Metroidvania titles) work: completely different environments will be separated by a mere door or an elevator, and while this works perfectly well from a gameplay perspective, logically it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
What Sol Valley demonstrates is that these games don’t need to be confined to dense corridors for the duration of the experience. You can open up the world, make the biomes link together more logically, and still maintain the essence of that classic Metroid experience. I can’t wait to see how it influences the genre going forward.
Like the missiles, energy tanks, and whatnot, those Green Crystals found in Sol Valley are a finite resource. You’ll need to nab the whole lot to bag some sweet rewards, but the game introduces some neat little perks later on that make this a lot easier than you might think. Truth be told, this is possibly the most approachable Metroid game ever, since hidden Scout Bots located in each environment can also ping their radars and reveal the locations of any undiscovered items on your map. Granted, you won’t be able to activate these until much, much later in the game, but it makes chasing that 100% completion rating a lot more digestible than ever before.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
As you make your way across Viewros, you’ll also run into a handful of Galactic Federation troopers: Myles Mackenzie, Reger Tokabi, Nora Armstrong, Ezra Duke, and VUE-995. Honestly, none of them are even remotely as irritating as previews suggested, and I genuinely came to enjoy their presence. There are brief moments where one or two might join you in the fight, but these are kept to a minimum, and Retro wisely ditches them before they outstay their welcome. Overall, the dialogue is a lot stronger than anything seen in Corruption, and the voice actors do a wonderful job at bringing them to life.
But this is also where my one little nitpick comes in. While exploring Sol Valley, Myles will occasionally ping you on the radio to let you know what you should be doing next. Whether it’s making your way to your next objective or heading back to Base Camp to activate a new beam upgrade, Myles is essentially Prime 4’s Navi from Ocarina of Time – always there to nudge you in the right direction.
It’s not as frequent as you might fear — once you’ve heard him once, that’ll be it until your next major outing on Vi-O-La — but I’d love it if Retro Studios could add the ability to mute him completely. Sometimes I just want to ride around in peace, y’know?
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Handheld/Undocked)
I did find myself longing for a couple of extra features: namely, the ability to change the bike’s colour and to listen to some custom music while roaming about. Well, these are both here… if you buy the amiibo.
The Vi-O-La figure unlocks skins for your ride, while Samus adds the Vi-O-La Radio, letting you toggle through a small selection of banging Metroid-themed tunes. It’s frankly irritating that Nintendo decided to lock these features behind amiibo; they should have been in the game by default, no question. The Sylux amiibo apparently unlocks a specific cutscene early, which you’ll otherwise need to 100% the game to see. All other Metroid series amiibo just play a random Metroid-themed jingle.
At the time of writing, I’ve beaten the game with 100% items and 97% logbook scans, and this has taken me roughly 16 hours (don’t worry, I’m already looking for that remaining 3%). Keep in mind that I’ve sped through for review, so playing through at your own, slower pace could nudge your time to over 20 hours if you’re after absolutely everything; mainlining the story may shave it down to around 10 hours.
Captured on Nintendo Switch 2 (Docked)
I’d recommend finding all collectibles if you can, though, since this will uncover everything in the game’s Gallery section, which is filled with concept art from Beyond’s development – it’s a lovely behind-the-scenes look at a game that’s been heavily shrouded in mystery for years.
The Pokémon Company has revealed yet another new Mega ‘mon arriving in the Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension DLC, but more than that, it has revealed a whole new type of Mega Evolution.
Mega Lucario Z is the latest Fighting- and Steel-type Mega Evolution to join the line-up, boasting a swanky blue and yellow look as well as some particularly fetching fringe work. This marks the debut appearance of Z Mega Evolution — a new take on the mechanic that sees Pokémon able to fire off their moves quicker, but also burn through their Mega Power at a faster rate.
Pokémon that undergo a Z Mega Evolution might not be best suited for long battles, then, but they’ll likely pose a good way for wrapping up fights with a decisive victory.
Here’s the official rundown of Mega Lucario Z and a handful of snaps from The Pokémon Company:
While Mega Lucario concentrates its aura into a destructive force, Mega Lucario Z uses it to surround its entire body, cloaking itself to increase its defense, flexibility, and agility. It can utilize its aura in a variety of ways, including stretching it into a shield or channeling it into physical blows by concentrating it into specific parts of its body, such as its legs or fists.
Mega Lucario Z will arrive with the other new Megas in the Legends: Z-A DLC on 10th December.
What do you make of this new take on Mega Evolution? Let us know in the comments.
