One of the bigger third-party games that has already been released on the Switch this year is Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers. The only issue is it’s not available outside of Japan yet.

In its latest online survey designed for fans who recently picked up Persona 5 Royal on the PlayStation 4, Atlus asked them if they’d like to see The Phantom Strikers localised. Keep in mind, a western release date for this game still hasn’t been announced.

As you might recall, Atlus shared a similar online survey back in February – asking players if they would like to see titles and series like Catherine: Full Body, Shin Megami Tensei, Devil Summoner and Etrian Odyssey on the Switch.

This was followed up last week during the Nintendo Direct Mini, when the Japanese developer and publisher officially confirmed Catherine: Fully Body would be heading to the hybrid device on 7th July 2020.

Is this the Persona game you’ve been waiting to play on your Switch? Show your support below.

The Resident Evil Resistance Open Beta is now live again on PS4 and Steam! Please make sure you grab the latest update if you still have problems connecting to a match! Sorry again for the delay and huge thanks to the community for helping us test out our open beta build! https://t.co/S7RMlpWyx2

— Al Yang (@QQBert) March 31, 2020

Problem: Given a list of strings. Sort the list of strings in alphabetical order.

Example:

['Frank', 'Alice', 'Bob'] --> ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Frank']

Solution: Use the list.sort() method without argument to solve the list in lexicographical order which is a generalization of alphabetical order (also applies to the second, third, … characters).

lst = ['Frank', 'Alice', 'Bob']

lst.sort()

print(lst)

# ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Frank']

Try It Yourself:

Python List Sort Alphabetically Case Insensitive

The problem with the default list.sort() or sorted(list) method is that they consider capitalization. This way, it can lead to strange sortings like this:

lst = ['ab', 'Ac', 'ad']

lst.sort()

print(lst)

# ['Ac', 'ab', 'ad']

Intuitively, you would expect the string 'ab' to occur before 'Ac', right?

To ignore the capitalization, you can simply call the x.lower() method on each element x before sorting the list.

However, my preferred method is to use the key argument to accomplish the same thing in a single line of code:

lst = ['ab', 'Ac', 'ad']

lst.sort(key=lambda x: x.lower())

print(lst)

# ['ab', 'Ac', 'ad']

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Python List Sort Alphabetically Reverse

You can reverse the order of the list by using the reverse keyword. Set reverse=False to sort in ascending order and set reverse=True to sort in descending order.

lst = ['Frank', 'Alice', 'Bob'] lst.sort(reverse=False)

print(lst)

# ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Frank'] lst.sort(reverse=True)

print(lst)

# ['Frank', 'Bob', 'Alice']

Python List Sort Alphabetically and Numerically

Problem: You’ve got a list of strings. Each strings contains a number. You want the numbers to sort numerically (e.g. 100 comes after 20, not before) but the characters to sort alphabetically (e.g., 'c' comes before 'd').

Example:

['alice 100', 'alice 20', 'bob 99'] --> ['alice 20', 'alice 100', 'bob 99'

Naive Solution (doesn’t work): Use the list.sort() method to sort the list alphabetically:

lst = ['alice 100', 'alice 20', 'bob 99']

lst.sort()

print(lst)

# ['alice 100', 'alice 20', 'bob 99']

Because the number 100 comes before 20 in an alphabetical order, the string 'alice 100' is placed before 'alice 20'.

Solution: I found this code on StackOverflow that nicely demonstrates how to do this:

import re def sorted_nicely(l): """ Sort the given iterable in the way that humans expect.""" convert = lambda text: int(text) if text.isdigit() else text alphanum_key = lambda key: [convert© for c in re.split('([0-9]+)', key)] l.sort(key = alphanum_key) lst = ['alice 100', 'alice 20', 'bob 99']

sorted_nicely(lst)

print(lst)

# ['alice 20', 'alice 100', 'bob 99']

The idea is to differentiate characters and numbers and use them as the basis of comparison for the sort routine.

Where to Go From Here?

The list.sort() method sorts the list elements in place in an ascending manner. To customize the default sorting behavior, use the optional key argument by passing a function that returns a comparable value for each element in the list. With the optional Boolean reverse argument, you can switch from ascending (reverse=False) to descending order (reverse=True).

If you keep struggling with those basic Python commands and you feel stuck in your learning progress, I’ve got something for you: Python One-Liners (Amazon Link).

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OFFICIAL BOOK DESCRIPTION: Python One-Liners will show readers how to perform useful tasks with one line of Python code. Following a brief Python refresher, the book covers essential advanced topics like slicing, list comprehension, broadcasting, lambda functions, algorithms, regular expressions, neural networks, logistic regression and more. Each of the 50 book sections introduces a problem to solve, walks the reader through the skills necessary to solve that problem, then provides a concise one-liner Python solution with a detailed explanation.

Today on Twitter, Pixel Vision 8 – a highly configurable and fully featured virtual console, announced that it would be free, including the pro tools during the current health crisis.

From the Pixel Vision twitter:

Pixel Vision 8 is available here, simply register an account and you can download Pixel Vision as well as all of the premium pro features.  You can learn more about PV8 and see it in action in the video below.  If you check out Pixel Vision 8, be sure to stop by Twitter and thank developer Jesse Freeman for his generosity during these trying times!

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GameDev News 2D Engine

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So, here we are. From completing my final Weekender last Friday, to what is going to be one of my last posts as Editor of Pocket Tactics. Since the handover is still scheduled to happen this week, I thought now would be a good opportunity to do my official ‘goodbye’.

Depending on how things go, I may still be around filling in with various news posts etc. but consider this my last official update. It’s been a blast!

I think about my very first post here quite a lot, as it’s probably one of the worst first impressions I think I could have ever made. Hopefully I’ve gotten a bit better since then, and at the very least I’ve aimed to try and maintain Pocket Tactics’ unique viewpoint on the mobile games market. Premium games in this space are not what they once were, but as long as there are still developers who want to make mobile titles with friendly business models, I’d like to think Pocket Tactics will always be here to shine the spotlight.

In case you’re reading this and you don’t know what the hell I’m talking about, I’d suggest reading this post first before you continue – it will explain a bit more about the changes expected to happen this week.

When the time comes, the following things will happen:

• The version of Pocket Tactics you’re viewing right now will disappear, and be replaced by a new-look website (it looks particularly good on mobile now).
• Much of the content, including this post, will disappear and be replaced by the selection of articles that were migrated as well as some filler stories Glen and Sean have been writing in the background up till this point.
• You will no longer need to ‘log-in’ to the website, however you will still need to login to the forums. Your previous details will still work.
• You will no longer be able to comment on individual articles, but I will be creating new areas in the forum to facilitate discussion.
• Last but not least, I will be transferring all social and related channels over to Glen.

These won’t happen in any specific order – things will need checking and monitoring, there may be some last minute tweaks, etc. but the plan is for the handover to be done and dusted within a day. Depending on what timezone you’re in, you might wake up to a brand new website waiting for you!

Pocket Tactics Archive

A quick note on the idea of ‘archiving’ or otherwise preserving Pocket Tactics, as I know some people have asked about this already. One intrepid user from our Discord crowd decided to download the entire site archive as it was on March 16th, 2020 and send it to me. The file is like 2.8 GB or something and I honestly have no idea what to do with it. But, take solace in the fact that it’s at least preserved in some form. There are currently no plans to make it usable in terms of putting it up on another live website.

It’s been a pleasure serving as PT’s Editor these past four years. I know I’m leaving you in good hands with Glen and Sean, but remember they are not me, just as I am not Dave or Owen. Their Pocket Tactics is going to be different from what’s come before, and we all need to give them time to present that vision to the world.

At the moment, there’s a report going around that suggests Nintendo will remaster most of Mario’s back-catalogue to celebrate the iconic plumber’s 35th anniversary this year. If you read our original story about it, you’ll already know this news surfaced on VGC, and was then backed up by Eurogamer.

In short, both outlets claim many of Mario’s 3D adventures will be making a return in 2020, alongside a new Paper Mario game. If you’re still not convinced, well now VentureBeat’s staff writer Jeff Grubb has chimed in. For the record, he’s the same guy who said we’d be getting two Nintendo presentations on certain dates this month, and we did. In addition to this, he’s now reached out to his own source about the latest report. Here’s what he found out:

For the remasters, our source is telling us that Nintendo is pursuing something like a Super Mario All-Stars 2 for the 3D Mario games. This would include Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and then Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2. It’s likely that 3D World may get its own, separate Deluxe-style release. While it’s possible the older 3D Mario games could come in a single compilation, it’s also likely that Nintendo will release them individually as it did with its Zelda remasters.

The Paper Mario game, meanwhile, represents a return to that franchise’s roots. This means something closer to the Nintendo 64 and Gamecube games, which are beloved. And leaving behind the baggage of the more forgettable entries on 3DS and Wii U.

Finally, expect Nintendo to fill out the Mario celebrations in other ways as well. This could mean even more Mario games on the Nintendo Switch Online subscription service, for example.

Again, it sounds too good to be true, but now that Jeff Grubb has relayed what he’s heard from his own source, we’re starting to believe. To add to this, a few months ago, the well-known Nintendo leaker Sabi said the Paper Mario series would return to form in 2020.

GamesBeat went to the extent of reaching out to Nintendo, and while it had nothing to say about the rumoured Direct-style event to celebrate’s Mario 35th anniversary this year, it hasn’t provided an official response to the main chunk of the original report just yet.

What do you make of all of this so far? What Mario games would you like to see make a comeback? Tell us below.

When you can’t go outside what should you do? Play video games, of course! Our lovely senior video producer Alex Olney has been indoors a little more regularly than usual as of late, and to help pass the time he’s decided to put together a video of the best Nintendo Switch games to play in this situation.

Games like ARMS, Fitness Boxing and Ring Fit Adventure will give you plenty of exercise, Animal Crossing: New Horizons allows you to escape from the harsh realities, Monster Hunter Generations Ultimate is a great pick, simply because of how long it takes to complete the game and then there’s the very social The Jackbox Party Pack.

If you’re looking for something with exploration in it, how about The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition? Then there are various other games like Super Mario Party, Two Point Hospital and Overcooked – another experience best with friends. And to finish off the list, we have Untitled Goose Game.

So, there you go – if you’re bunkering down indoors for a prolonged period of time, these are some of the games that will keep you entertained, help get your mind off things, provide a healthy dose of interaction and various other lifestyle and wellbeing benefits. What did you think of this list? Would you add anything else to it? Leave a comment down below.