Nintendo

Bayonetta 3 upholds the franchise's lineage of being one of the most imaginative and stylish third-person action-adventure games available.

Developer PlatinumGames continues to feature some of the most chaotic cinematics and wildest turn of events in gaming today, perhaps ever. It is impossible to predict what will happen next, which beyond the amazing gameplay, is arguably the best aspect of the game.

Bayonetta 3 is a game that must be experienced to be believed.

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Gameplay Impressions and Accessibility Options

PlatinumGames once again does an excellent job providing accessible features to ensure gamers of all ages can enjoy the gameplay and advance through the story. The difficulty options are fantastic, especially the casual difficulty and different control schemes that can assist players with awesome combos.

For gamers who love to mash buttons and feel overpowered in their hack-and-slash games, Bayonetta 3 is very much like Bayonetta 2 in that anybody should be able to simply pick up the controller and have a blast. There's plenty of moves to unlock and items to purchase with in-game currency, but with the accessibility options players will be able to feel like they have a command of the gameplay and not have to worry about figuring out which buttons to chain in order to master combos.

The "Witch Time" dodge mechanic and special "Climax" moves return. Despite appearing in multiple games, these features never get old. It is always fun to see how much damage Bayonetta can inflict in the short window when time slows down after executing the perfect dodge for Witch Time, especially when combining with the attacks of the biggest and likely most divisive feature: Summons.

It's understandable PlatinumGames would want to make the new summons a staple within the gameplay, but compared to previous games, it feels a bit too reliant on this new mechanic. The appeal for many people with these games is being able to control Bayonetta because she's a commanding character and her stylish gameplay has proved to be awe-inspiring.

Although summons often are not mandatory, the ease of use by simply holding the ZL button definitely feels like the developer pushing for their use. There are encounters that don't allow for the use of summons, which is smart so gamers don't feel the need to always use them. However, for encounters where summons are an option, it feels like they're the ideal way to go in order to maximize damage output.

Granted, gamers have previous games to go back to in order to experience Bayonetta combat if they want, so summons are a way to push gameplay to a different level. However, considering how prevalent summons are in the game, some may wonder if they would have been better served tied to specific moments instead of being so readily available.

Another major change that will likely be divisive is the introduction of the new character Viola.

Viola is every bit as fun to control as Bayonetta from a gameplay perspective. There are enough similarities and differences to ensure the forced switch during the story doesn't feel jarring. Sequences with Viola further push variety and prevent things from being predictable. Viola has different weapons, a different summon and her own skills for unique combos, so it's easy to see how important of a character she is to PlatinumGames given how much care and attention went into her sequences.

There will be no spoilers here as gamers will understand the importance of her inclusion as they progress through the story. Despite that, it's safe to assume many people will prefer Bayonetta since they've been part of her journey for two other mainline games, plus appearances in other franchises like Super Smash Bros.

In general, gameplay sequences are quick, especially in relation to how many cinematics there are. Players might be playing a sequence for less than one minute and are then thrusted back into a cinematic. This isn't new to the franchise or other character-action games, like Asura's Wrath, but it may be jarring for players who just want to get back into the action. Of course, there is an option to skip scenes altogether, which will make speedruns very appealing.

PlatinumGames does a great job with the level design as they feel bigger than previous entries. One interesting element is that it's possible to miss some combat encounters if the player just focuses on the linear path to the next story beat. This isn't a negative, but instead a plus, as that inherently will drive replayability as players replay chapters to see encounters they may have missed.

Although Bayonetta is rated for mature audiences as it skews on the risqué side, "Naive Angel" mode will create an experience for more people to enjoy, especially younger gamers. Since Nintendo leans toward family-friendly experiences, this is a brilliant accessibility featured in order for PlatinumGames to cater to all people instead of isolating potential gamers.

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Conclusion

Bayonetta 3 is a spectacle showcase in every chapter as the absurdity level continues to top itself. Although it likely won't match Bayonetta 2's Metacrtic score of 92 or even the original's Metacritic score of 90, it is a worthwhile and unique experience to expand the Bayonetta franchise.

The game is filled with weird and random moments that make for an extremely varied experience. PlatinumGames is constantly changing up gameplay sequences to keep the game feeling fresh and preventing it from being too stagnant in any chapter. Bayonetta 3 is one of the most unexpected and unpredictable games available, even by standards set by the franchise more than a decade ago.

Bayonetta 3 features awesome set pieces from around the world in well-designed levels. The zany story will keep gamers on the edge of their seat to see what will happen next as it goes to places difficult to even imagine.

The gameplay is the star of the show once again, which might be the only predictable aspect of Bayonetta 3 because the game goes to places that are so unpredictable. It is surely a must-play for fans of the series to see the evolution of Bayonetta's character, the carefully crafted world and fantastic gameplay.

Mario Party Superstars is an excellent and welcomed addition to the Nintendo Switch library. 

It's been three years since Super Mario Party released, which truly puts today's gaming landscape into perspective since the first three Mario Party games released in three consecutive years from 1998-2000 on Nintendo 64. It's always great to see Nintendo continue to feature some of its most popular multiplayer games, especially as fans continue to hold out hope for games like Mario Kart 9.

It's exciting to have another installment of Mario Party on Switch, especially because Mario Party Superstars is a compilation of boards from Mario Party 1-3, including an extraordinary 100 minigames from throughout the Mario Party series. This is an amazing nostalgic trip for gamers who grew up playing Mario Party 1, 2 or 3 on Nintendo 64. However, the selection of boards and minigames are smart and so much fun that this is of course a great package for gamers who didn't grow up with them and want to experience the origins of what made Mario Party so entertaining from its inception.

Even for gamers who choose to view Mario Party Superstars as an expansion of sorts to Super Mario Party, the endless, intense and chaotic fun to be had in this package during offline solo, local play or online play makes it a must-have for fans of Mario Party or gamers looking to have another multiplayer option heading into the holidays.

The graphics are stunning, as expected. Nintendo's art style, polish and adorable charm continue to stand out and impress in the Switch era. Seeing these N64 boards remade more than 20 years later and playable on a modern television or the vibrant Switch OLED screen is a pure joy. There's never any glitching as things run smoothly as expected given Nintendo's brand.

Important aspects of the package are some of the customizable features, controller support and sheer number of minigames. Players can select a "pack" from the 100 minigames available for each board game, such as only having original N64 minigames, GameCube minigames or even separating by different types such as "Family," "Action" or "Skill." Of course, the options for random minigames to be chosen from all packs is available, but it's great for players who are nostalgic for certain minigames, especially the N64 minigames since that's where the boards are from.

Customizable options are available before starting a game, including the option to use classic "Bonus Stars," turn on/off "Bonus Stars" and even giving a player Stars at the start of the game.

The "Bonus Stars" are always an interesting option. Even just one Bonus Star can be either a final saving grace for a player or the unfortunate downturn of somebody's hopes of winning, both of which happened in two of my games. I lost because Bonus Stars were awarded to the CPU in one game and then won another game because I received multiple Bonus Stars. Such is the life in a Mario Party game!

One of the biggest and most important improvements from Super Mario Party is the ability to play handheld with the Joy-Cons attached to the Switch, plus being able to play in tabletop mode or on the TV using regular Joy-Cons or the Pro Controller.

With Super Mario Party, using a singular Joy-Con turned sideways can be uncomfortable for some people, so having the option to use more "standard" controller support and this being a more "traditional" Mario Party game are major pluses for Mario Party Superstars. It made sense at the time of Super Mario Party's release to experiment with a single-Joy-Con game since the Switch was still such a new console and that was an important feature to highlight, but having a Mario Party with more traditional controller support is certainly welcomed at this point in the Switch's lifecycle, especially after the introduction of the Switch Lite in 2019.

Mario Party in general isn't the most accessible of Nintendo games because of the variation of button commands, such as mashing a button to be quicker than opponents, but at least there's more controller support available this time. Minigames featured from the N64 games also translate well to a modern control scheme, so no need to be concerned about going from the ergonomically abnormal N64 controller to the Joy-Cons or Pro Controller. The minigames especially feel great using a Pro Controller because the buttons are bigger. 

Another cool option is the ability to add turns to the board game if people want to keep playing, although that must be decided before the final round. For example, if players select the minimum 10 turns at the start of the game, they can decide to add to a total of 15, 20, 25 or 30 turns. That's definitely a good option for local couch co-op play when things are heated among friends or family and everybody wants to keep that game going instead of starting fresh.

Of course, a vital option in today's gaming landscape is the ability to play online with friends or others. This is especially important for solo players who still want the thrill of playing against real people instead of the CPU, although local play is always the most fun for Mario Party games because sessions can get so heated between friends, which makes for some hilarious moments to see where allegiances lay.

Thankfully, the new dock that comes with the Nintendo Switch OLED edition has a wired LAN port for more stable online gaming since every inch or second counts in Mario Party, as lag would definitely be an issue for a minigame like Shy Guy Says.

It's nice to have characters like Rosalina and Birdo added to the mix since the original Mario Party 1-3 games either had only six or eight total characters. It's fun to see them on these classic boards. However, it's disappointing not to see more characters available given Nintendo's vast list of characters in the Mario universe as seen in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe or even just Super Mario Party, which featured Bowser, Goomba, Monty Mole and Bowser Jr., among several others.

While there will always be a desire for more characters and boards to be included in the package, there's still some quality-of-life options that would have made for ideal additions. Perhaps the biggest would be the ability to fast forward (or even skip) the CPU players' turns while in a board game. Thankfully, there's the option in the settings menu from the main home screen to toggle on speeding up the CPUs turn. However, once that option is turned on (or off), there's no way to adjust once the game has begun.

Another element lacking is that there's no costumes for Mario and the other players to wear during certain boards.

For example, in the original Mario Party 2, Mario and Co. would dress up in Halloween costumes on the Horror Land board. In Mario Party Superstars, Mario and Co. just look like their regular selves. It would've been a great addition to the game not only to be able to dress the characters in costumes, but even to have unlockable outfits to purchase with coins attained through gameplay or other achievements. Currently in Toad's Shop, gamers can purchase Stickers, Card Designs, Encyclopedia pages and Music tracks with coins. They're fine unlockables, but some gamers may ultimately feel these are superfluous for the overall package.

Overall, Mario Party Superstars will offer countless hours of fun for gamers looking to relive classic boards and minigames, plus create new memories that will test friendships. Although it would be nice to have post-launch DLC, such as more characters and boards, the base package of Mario Party continues to offer gamers something new because each session is always going to be different.

Even gamers who aren't nostalgic for these boards will still receive an extremely well-polished game featuring some of the best minigames ever from the Mario Party series, which is great for both multiplayer and solo-play sessions.

The additional controller support separates Mario Party Superstars from Super Mario Party in a major way to truly makes these packages feel like different experiences, so gamers who may have passed on Super Mario Party, or gamers looking to expand their Mario Party options on Switch, can consider Mario Party Superstars a must-have game. 

A sealed and graded copy of The Legend of Zelda for the Nintendo Entertainment System set a new record Friday for the most expensive video game to ever be sold at auction.

According to Daniel Kreps of Rolling Stone, the game sold for $870,000 through Heritage Auctions, breaking the record of $660,000 set by a copy of Super Mario Bros. in April.

Video game grading company Wata gave The Legend of Zelda a grade of 9.0. While it didn't fare as well to the 9.6 grade that Super Mario Bros. received, the scarcity of that particular copy of The Legend of Zelda put it over the top.

The Zelda game that sold for $870,000 was a NES R variant. The first production run of the game yielded the NES TM variant, followed by the NES R variant and then the far more common Rev-A variant, per Heritage Auctions.

Only two sealed copies of the NES R variant produced in 1987 are known to have been graded by Wata, and only one sealed copy of the NES TM variant is known to exist.

Since it is possible the NES TM variant will never become available to the public, Heritage Auctions noted that the NES R variant that sold Friday "is the earliest sealed copy one could realistically hope to obtain."

Regarding the sale, Heritage Auctions video game specialist Valarie McLeckie said: "I had a lot of confidence in this game, and, yet, I still feel like the reality of today's bidding exceeded my vision of how it would play out. Making history is never an easy thing. I'm just really proud we got to be part of this yet again."

Much like sports trading cards, the graded video game market has hit an all-time high since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Friday's auction is further proof that there is no end in sight to the video game boom.

Zelda is one of the most popular and recognizable franchises in the history of video games, though, meaning it will take something truly special and unique to top the record it set Friday.

It seemed only a matter of time before Nintendo brought out another Switch big hitter in the form of a Mario Golf revival.  

Mario Golf: Super Rush from developer Camelot Software Planning is the first entry in the nostalgia-littered series since Mario Golf: World Tour in 2014. 

A storied franchise on handheld and home consoles alike, this latest iteration aims to utilize the Switch's one-of-a-kind functionality to offer a must-play experience on the console—handheld or on the big screen. 

While another Mario Golf entry could have had a by-the-books feel, an innovative, wildly fun new gameplay mode uplifts Super Rush in an unexpected, must-see way. 

   

Graphics and Gameplay

Super Rush's visuals aren't going to drop many jaws—which isn't a bad thing. 

By now, Nintendo fans and even casual observers know what to expect visually from a game in the Mario franchise, be it Mario Party, an HD remake or something else. The color factor is on overload and characters cutely emote just as fans would expect them to based on what's happening. The environments feature droves of detail and easter eggs to the observant eye. 

Where Super Rush really excels from the presentation standpoint is in how it utilizes space and access to information.

The HUD itself can actually spar with some of the best sporting titles out there. This is an arcade game, sure, but critical information litters the screen. A list of available clubs lines the right side, while helpful scoring, hole and wind information, plus a helpful map, occupy the left side.

And the shot meter to the right of the club information is easy to see and use. It's where players will time their swings, and it displays yardage numbers and hole locations based on swing power. Here is where players will also see what type of spin they put on a shot.

Another fun wrinkle to the shot meter is where it curves the higher up it goes. Time a shot to stop within the curved portion of the meter and the risk for the ball to veer off course increases. It's a fun risk-reward element, as going to the very top of the meter creates the most yardage but with more risk. More of the shot meter is curved depending on where the character shoots from on the course.

In the past, golf games have struggled mightily with how much information to actually put on the screen. Some have drowned the player in information in the name of simulation, only to overdo it and turn players away. Others have given off too little info, which arguably feels even worse.

Of the many courses, only the training course feels bland. The rest feel like they drop a player right into a traditional Mario level. This is especially the case when characters have to actually navigate the level between shots, dodging traps and the usual cast of harm-inflicting enemies that occupy Mario levels. 

Those courses are a good representation of the marriage between visuals and gameplay. Some are tougher than others, and while novice players can cut their teeth on the practice course, obstacles like shot-ruining trees start to pepper the unlockable courses and increase the challenge. 

Still, the game is easy enough to grasp for new players. The game helpfully selects the proper club and minor details upon lining up for a new shot, and it becomes a matter of aiming, timing the proper button prompts and even putting spin on the balls.

That, or in Wii Sports-esque fashion, players can use motion controls. It's fun to swing a Joy-Con like a golf club, of course, but it's still more enjoyable to use traditional controls.

No matter one's choice, it's a joy of an arcade-style game to play, if not relaxing. There's some notable depth, too, as missing a putt usually ends up with the player smacking themselves for some detail they missed, such as the slope of the green or the wind factor. 

Out of the box, opponent A.I. feels all over the place, which is surely intentional. Sometimes they're on fire, other times players will have to wait around while they bumble through triple-bogey holes. In that way, at least, it's a dash of realism that makes things enjoyable. 

As one should expect, though, the game is endlessly more fun with multiple players, whether it's passing a Joy-Con around for a local gaming session or online. That random element gets multiplied quite a bit, especially because the experience is so accessible to players of all ages and capabilities. 

True to its arcade-based nature, there's also an easy way to fast forward once a character hits a shot. Instead of watching a ball bounce ploddingly after coming back down from orbit, players can zoom through this and get on to the next shot.

Maybe this all files under the "expected" column, but Nintendo had long ago nailed down this gameplay formula. That it just happens to feel like the perfect game for the Switch's functionality is a sort of cherry on top. 

       

Story, Multiplayer and More

Super Rush uses the backdrop of a story mode for what is effectively a tutorial to get players acquainted with some of the finer details of the sport and game.

Dubbed Golf Adventure, the story mode lets players dig into some light RPG systems while they progress along a guided path. It hits the expected tones and plot points for a Mario-sports hybrid game and is generally entertaining. 

Though players are stuck with Mii characters, the mode does a good job of managing to work in interesting conversations with a colorful cast of characters, never mind some boss battles based around golf challenges. Weather patterns provide unique challenges at times, too, to keep things fresh.

Along the way, players will work on skills like power, stamina, speed, control and spin. In the background, there's enough in the way of detail to the pseudo-tutorial that even veteran Mario Golf players might pick up a thing or two that will come in handy.

On the RPG side of things, besides earning skill points to improve those certain areas, earning coins to buy attire has big benefits beyond just looking good on the courses. Certain items provide buffs, such as faster running through a bunker. They can be highly situational boosts, but they shouldn't go underestimated and provide a layer of depth the mode otherwise wouldn't have. 

This mode also opens up a bit in a free-roam sense that resembles a town in the recent Pokemon games. Players can pop into different rooms and buildings, chat with side characters and decide where they go next. It's nothing mind-blowing by any means, but it's a small bit of worthwhile immersion instead of just going from menu to course to menu over and over again. 

Impressive as Golf Adventure might be, it's nothing compared to Speed Golf.

Hinted in the intro as the big innovation, Speed Golf throws a Mario Kart—if not Super Smash Bros.— element into the game of golf. Four characters tee off to start a hole, then they must grab their clubs and dash to wherever the ball landed. 

It sounds simple, but it isn't. Players receive grades based on how quickly they complete the hole and by how many shots they take. The presence of collectibles on the course, special traversal moves and special shots that impact other players and the spots of their shots add a brilliant, chaotic element. 

Sprinting after a ball while trying to avoid the opposition and quickly getting off the next shot is an absolute blast. The theme is urgency, and while one might be goaded into quickly firing off shots, players still need to take into account the many details that go into making a golf shot. One mistake can be critical and have the player's entire run derailed. 

Special Shot and Special Dash abilities highlight this new mode. The dash is just what it sounds like: A unique movement ability exclusive to each character to help them speed ahead. Mario's, to keep it simple, is a series of flips. The Special Shots are themed, too—Luigi's will freeze the ground around where his ball lands, altering things for his competition, for example.

Those five attributes also play a role here, as characters must pick up items that refill stamina gauges. Getting hit by other characters, naturally, drops said items. The key is—on top of the usual things that go into a golf game—proper resource and skill management while keeping the proverbial head on a swivel. 

As a whole, Super Rush spans 16 characters and six golf courses. The former are unlocked from the initial launch, while the latter are not. But it never feels unfair to work for those courses. With any luck, the game will only keep expanding on both of these areas with future updates. 

Super Rush supports four players online, and so far it has been smooth sailing. A large list of options and settings to tweak should keep things simple and the action on the course.

A highlight of a trip through the menus is the glossary. That might sound boring, and maybe it is. But the fact the developers went out of their way to make sure folks new to the game could thumb through and understand all of the terminologies of the sport despite this being a cartoonish arcade game deserves a tip of the hat.

    

Esports Appeal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okfELNVfOVI

Super Rush is bound to have some esports appeal in the same sense Mario Kart or past Nintendo sports games have managed to do. 

Maybe Super Rush won't demand its own international events or anything that broad in scope, but the reach of the Switch console globally and the fun factor of the game here—plus the skill needed to be really good—should mean it has quite the healthy competitive scene for a long time. 

Maybe an underrated element to the multiplayer side of this new offering is the ability to tweak how a match proceeds. Players can choose an all-in-one option, meaning a player takes all of their shots until they finish a hole before another player gets to start. This, as opposed to the traditional everyone-takes-turns-by-shot approach, could speed up matches, add tension and improve the viewing experience.  

Plus, it sure doesn't hurt that the mentioned fun factor and skill ceiling make it a candidate to have a massive following online, be it with must-see clips on a platform like Twitter or as live material on a platform like Twitch. 

    

Conclusion

Super Rush is one of the most enjoyable games to launch on the Switch this year, if not since the console released—which is saying something given the impressive depth of the console's library. 

Outside of the expected Mario character and polish, Super Rush just has the arcade-style golf down in a way that should leave any other contenders taking notes. It's a blast to play solo, somehow even better with friends or online and has some surprising depth. 

Speed Golf is by far the major star of the show, but the love and care that went into each course, the gameplay mechanics and similar things like the extensive tutorials and glossary really speak to the effort put in. 

Whether players enjoy it from a home console or on the go, Super Rush has the legs to last another seven years, should Nintendo elect to go that long before releases in this series again. 

Bravely Default II isn't shy about its classical inspirations and plenty bold (or brave) about where it chooses to innovate.  

The latest in a strong line of role-playing games heavy in the JRPG category, Bravely Default II leans heavily into its innovative battle systems and a gorgeous world to weave a gripping tale. 

Developer Claytechworks, with Nintendo handling publishing worldwide, aims bigger with this release on Nintendo Switch after the prior two entries were on handheld systems.

It's a recipe that certainly works on paper, with the turn-based combat, immersive world and strong cast of characters looking like an ideal fit on the Switch. But like any number of brutal boss battles in the game, the execution on a moment-to-moment basis will decide how the first jump to big consoles for the series is remembered. 

    

Graphics and Gameplay

Bravely Default II is a gorgeous game in many respects. 

The art style is engrossing, with beautiful, memorable towns. An early one features a sandy desert area half-submerged in a flood, with pole boats dotted around the sunken areas. That's just one of many examples of superb storytelling through visuals. Details like a waterway adjacent and below the player path is stunning and provide backstory to the town without throwing it in a player's face. In one instance, there is a waterfall visible behind a building interior. Most times the towns and buildings do fun things with perspective, too. 

Each area is unique with a fitting citizenry, and out in the open world, many staples of the classic genre such as wandering monsters persist. In battle, it's never too difficult to see what's going on, and the escalating nature of magical and job moves are strong enough for the turn-based format.

That world isn't just window dressing like it could have been, either. The non-town segments of the open world don't just look great. There is plenty of interaction to be found, including chopping down grass to find items, uncovering secret chests and even stumbling upon brutally difficult fights (with the monsters outlined in red). Thankfully, there's even an auto-run feature tucked into the menus. 

The day-night cycle doesn't go to waste either. In towns, certain quests only open up at night. Out in the world, night is a time for monsters, so players can encounter even more than usual while exploring, lamp in hand. 

It helps that the soundtrack and music are so, so good. Tunes accompanying each town are liable to get stuck in a player's head—and that's 100 percent guaranteed of the battle music. The same can't be said for the voice acting, which ranges from superb to sounding way too forced at times, depending on the accent and context of the situation. It would also be nice if catchphrases weren't repeated so many times per battle turn while, say, using the Fira spell four times in a row. Those pair poorly with another big issue with the presentation.

The biggest problem with the visuals in Bravely Default II is the characters. Sounds harsh, but when the game cuts into a cutscene where characters talk to one another, things just fall apart. It's like the game wanted to straddle the line between realism and anime with the models, and it comes off as odd. Characters look like bobbleheads on smaller bodies as they parade around the screen, often distracting from what can otherwise be really important story beats. It worked on the handheld games but suffers on a bigger console.

Jarring disparity between character models and beautiful world aside, the game's namesake again shines in the form of the battle system. 

At its most basic, the "Brave Point" system functions as a clever way to manipulate the constructs of a turn-based battle. By pressing "default," a player can defend and bank one of their turns to use at a later time. By using "brave," players can cash-in future turns up to negative-four, unleashing a flurry of attacks or magic before having to sit out until their counter is back to zero.

And that's just the turn-based system. Players have items, magic, the jobs system and plenty more to juggle in a given battle. There are also vulnerabilities for elements and weapons that go both ways and finer details like catching a group of baddies from behind, which lets the player's group start with a turn advantage. 

It all sounds intimidating and is, though gunning through the mobs early in the game is simple enough and akin to training wheels. It takes time to figure out who should use which weapons, what items to stock up on and how to chain together jobs for the best offensive or defensive output. 

That said, the easiness of the early battles makes the bosses seem all the more difficult. Early bosses can feel like endgame material, even when a player doesn't go out of their way to avoid optional fights in the overworld. 

Maybe the idea is to encourage players to experiment and find the right combination of party members, weapons, magic sets, jobs and all that jazz for the right situation. But it has to walk the tightrope of letting players go about the game in the way they want, too, so it sometimes comes off as feeling way too difficult. That leads to the experience seemingly hinging on grinding out levels to even be competitive against some bosses. 

Call it a minor annoyance and one almost expected of JRPGs, though. The battle system is addictive in its simplicity, and the satisfaction of emerging victorious is downright engrossing in its complexity. It's a mixture of tried-and-true traits with just the right amount of innovation that can keep players happy and having fun for a long time. 

    

Story and More

Story-wise, somewhat like the gameplay, Bravely Default II goes some expected and unexpected routes. 

There are some groan-worthy moments to the story, which features the typical hero's journey and when several prophesized folks happen to come together at just the right time to save the day. But Bravely Default II weaves in some unexpected shockers to combat the tropes and truly creates some moments players won't soon forget.

Characters especially get fleshed out via optional conversations. These aren't extensive cutscenes by any means—the participants yak it up about timely events and otherwise from mere panel portraits that aren't voiced. But those who take the time to invest in some reading get a treasure trove of character development and understanding of motivations and actions. 

Of course, the story gets a massive assist from the downright breathtaking world. Even side quests offer some intrigue too, whether it's just details about the world or stumbling upon an interesting character. The really special ones seem to have voiceovers, and even if the listed rewards for the wide ranges of tasks don't seem worth it, sometimes it is just to hear what folks have to say. 

The game also innovates in some fun ways that aren't all that typical. Exploration mode, for example, is something players can set at a vendor in town before taking a break from playing. The game detects when the Switch is in sleep mode and sends a friend off in a ship to go on missions that reward the player with items and goodies. 

It's not only fun to read about the adventures, but the items are very useful. This one little system makes level-grinding easier, which is important because there are so many things to grind. Whether it's just sheer level or the level of a new equipped job, players need all the help they can get, and this system is A-plus stuff in that regard. 

Speaking of assists, this one has the typical JRPG items fans will expect. There are tents to restore the party, dungeon escape items, cures for things like silence, MP restores and on and on. The same goes for the weapons and equipable clothing and armor. Swords, bows, spears, helmets, armor and more all with their own properties, passive benefits and tucked into a weight system players need to manage for each character. 

We could go on for hours about the seemingly endless items in the game. Specific types of monster bait spawn specific types of monsters and an experience multiplier happens when fighting more than one group of baddies at a time, for example. 

The mentioned Jobs system is a way of sorting characters into roles. Players can find a big number of Jobs by collecting Asterisks. A Black Mage, for example, dishes out plenty of elemental damage, while a White Mage turns the magic inward, healing and protecting teammates. 

But like everything else, it's not that simple. Players can assign a job and sub-job to a given character, meaning both sets of options will be available during battle. There are also passive benefits tied to each job. A character who levels up, say, four different jobs, can then mix and match the passives they actually equip—and this is where players can discover the overpowered builds.

Bravely Default II should also receive plenty of praise for its extensive menus and player onboarding process. The tutorials pause the game and walk players through details and are then reviewable later in the menus. Ditto for the party conversations. 

While it's an intimidating game, any sort of information a player could wish to find is tucked into the menus. They can be hard to navigate at first, but the feeling fades quickly. There are even different difficulty options to ease the burden of the grind and/or the boss fights. 

   

Speedrunning Tips

The Bravely series always made for interesting speedrunning fodder because of the battle system, which let skilled runners go all-in on interesting strategies and character/job tandems that blitzed through the games. 

Rest assured Bravely Default II will be more of the same, and likely on a much more appealing level now that it isn't confined to a handheld system. 

First, the basics. Flicking on auto-run from the menus is a must. So is skipping dialogues and cutscenes. Learning when and how to take battles out in the open world to make sure the party's level stays where it needs to be is a must too. Simply practicing pathing to get the quickest routes through dungeons is also critical. 

Early on, one of the more interesting strategies looks like letting the powerhouse character take a job that can encourage other players to attack him and only him. He can soak up the punishment and characters with other jobs can cast magic that also encourages enemies to attack him. Meanwhile, magic users who are borderline glass-cannon types go ignored by the baddies while unleashing devastating attacks. 

But that's just merely one very basic example of the flexibility permitted by the Jobs system. It's sure to make speedruns incredibly interesting from the moment the game launches and will likely be the backbone of a strong community for years to come. 

      

Conclusion

It's certainly hard to complain about the Bravely series returning to offer up another stellar JRPG experience that feels almost endless in its complexity and playability. 

Thankfully, the story itself has some amazing and unexpected moments. It's only boosted by an incredible world, wonky character models notwithstanding. 

Courtesy of the Jobs and battle systems, Bravely Default II is a triumph of a 2021 release and a monster in its specific genre lane. It's addicting in the best sorts of ways, and the experimentation permitted by those systems is something that carries the whole experience from front to back. 

If it sounds like just another spectacular Switch release, it is. 

Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is the latest headline offering from Nintendo as it celebrates the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. 

Following the superb Super Mario 3D All-Stars compilation of three classics, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury combines a classic with a little bit of something new.

This isn't just a rehash of a little-played Wii U game brought forward to entice a new audience. The Bowser's Fury part of the game is completely new, giving the package a "two-for-one" feel.

Super Mario 3D World was an instant classic on Wii U in 2013 (hence the 93 Metacritic score), and Bowser's Fury is a possible hint at the future of Mario, so to say it's an appealing package before even diving into the details is an understatement. 

     

Graphics and Gameplay

Super Mario 3D World remains a stunner in the graphics department, just as it was all those years ago. Nintendo says the visuals have received a minor boost with this port, but it's almost hard to tell the difference.

Truth be told, it looks glorious, and one could probably be convinced it was originally a Switch release. Nintendo games just hold up in this department. And the bonus here, of course, is that the game is fully available as a handheld experience thanks to the Switch's functionality. 

Which is to say, the game is as colorful and visually popping as players will recall, and it's one of the more impressive-looking games on the Switch. The environments are packed with details, the characters are expressive, and the locales, as always in a Mario game, vary greatly and stick with players long after completion. 

There is a caveat, though, as Bowser's Fury is clearly a stressful, boundary-pushing bit of game for the Switch, especially in handheld mode. The graphics and resolution just don't hold as well there, and the framerate takes a hit. But trading off graphics and frames for the ambition of the project while on the go is hard to knock too much. 

At its heart, this is still the classic 2D/3D hybrid fans loved all those years ago. It always existed in a bit of purgatory after major releases like Super Mario Galaxy, but it holds up well as one of the best linear 3D Mario games ever. 

Players still uncover creative items like the cat suit, which opens up the well-crafted worlds in interesting ways because it lets characters climb on walls. Each character still has their quirks, with Peach floating farther, Luigi jumping higher, etc.

One thing hardcore players from the Wii U release might notice quickly? Character speed has been given a nudge. It doesn't dramatically change how things play, but it's just enough to make the experience feel even better. Otherwise, slight UI tweaks are the noticeable differences compared to the original. 

But the thoughtful design of the original remains in all its glory. It's a tried-and-true homage to the classic Mario games and stands in stark contrast to the grander experiences of things like Super Mario Odyssey. The levels are mostly linear, perspective is a tool often used to create challenges, and the escalating nature of the difficulty and obstacles serves as a gentle guiding hand as players go from learning to jump to becoming experts. 

It's not hard to see why the game was so well-reviewed all those years ago. Like all first-party Mario efforts, this stands the test of time. In fact, the update happens to perform even better, with the developers having the benefit of hindsight to speed things up just enough to make the game feel smoother for players of all experience ranges. 

    

Story, Bowser's Fury and More

The baseline Super Mario 3D World story is the usual all-ages stuff—Mario and the gang stumble upon something, Bowser shows up and kidnaps Peach and the adventure begins. 

It's a fun romp, and for those who missed out on the Wii U offering, the game manages to weave in some of the most memorable live-action moments and boss fights of the last few decade's worth of Mario games. 

Bowser's Fury, though, is a whole different conversation. 

Mario drops into a new world, stumbles on to large footprints and away things go. Like the base game, let's just say some of the things players will encounter, especially late, are incredible. 

The separate experience is more of an open-world game in the Odyssey sense, with it feeling likewise in scale to a kingdom in one of those recent games. Gone are the linear levels. In their place, players are free to explore different sections of the map with their own names. These varied locales offer their own sets of challenges and things to collect. 

At its heart, even Bowser's Fury is still a collect-a-thon, with blockades in the form of puzzles, hidden items and skill checks. It's refreshing to go from the base game to the open-world element and tackle the challenges in a different manner, even if the camera controls feel a little too slow. 

Clearly, the new mode doesn't shy away from trying new things. Weather turns sour in the world, and Bowser is a giant big-bad (no, really, like Godzilla huge) who must be avoided now—an interesting twist on a strong The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild open-world element. Players can use Bowser's appearances to their advantage, of course, but the fundamental way the world suddenly shifts each time he pops up makes for a welcome change to the tried-and-true formula. 

Not that Bowser's Fury doesn't mind dipping into the greatest hits well, either. Bowser Jr. from the classic Super Mario Sunshine is there to help (and available as a multiplayer option), and both he and Mario are—you guessed it—cleaning up the area just like in the Gamecube release. 

Overall, this fresh slice of game is a bit like a huge body of water, albeit shallow. The space to mess around in is huge, but the experience as a whole doesn't last very long. Still, it's fun, and viewed through the lens that it's more of an experiment that could get turned into a fully-fledged experience down the line softens the blow provided by its brevity. 

If Bowser's Fury is a bit of modernization for the franchise, so too are some of the ways to get more than one person involved at once. Multiplayer is still a blast, too, with up to four players on screen at once creating a bit of chaos that generally sways into hilarity. 

It's not restricted to couch co-op, either. Players can create and make a room online from the world map. Only the host of those rooms makes progress, but something is still better than nothing, especially when it comes to Nintendo's track record with online multiplayer. 

   

Speedrunning Tips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erESjl57FrI

Speedrunners have had a long, long time to tear through Super Mario 3D World. 

And the community is going strong enough despite the novelty of the launch system. The current best-ever run in the any-percent category checks in at just over one-and-a-half hours, and a 380-star run is now right at the four-hour mark (a 100-percent run takes seven to eight hours). 

That said, Super Mario 3D World was always a little under the radar as a speedrunning game in part because of the launch system, but also because of its somewhat-punishing nature. It's a skill-based run, with little in the way of randomness to assist or impede. 

That means a lot of it comes down to skipping things like dialogue, level memorization and even exploits. The most notable facet of most runs is the cat suit momentum dash, which isn't a typical sort of movement animation. That requires the suit and the ability to cancel a dash after a jump repeatedly to move through levels faster. 

But, at first, simple route-planning and practice on tricks to each level is the proper way to go. And given the uptick in character movement speed for this release, there's always a chance for better routes, if not movement exploits, for runners to discover in time.

     

Conclusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ5-UkskZWk

Even though it is mostly a port, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury is a surprising offering and one of the more robust packages available on the Switch. Given the console's incredible library so far, that's saying something. 

That Super Mario 3D World was an absolute classic upon release isn't much of a secret. But something as simple as a slight uptick in speed manages to make it feel that much better. While the online portion of the multiplayer isn't perfect, it's still one of the best local multiplayer Mario games ever. 

Bowser's Fury is a fun, albeit short diversion of a mode that might offer a big hint of where Mario's game design heads next. And if the brief blast of innovation gets expanded upon properly, the gaming medium is in for a real treat. 

Add in the backdrop of the Switch's handheld capabilities, and this old-new package really shines as a standout. 

Pikmin 3 Deluxe is the latest former standout Wii U game brought forward to the Nintendo Switch.  

A re-release of the series-best Pikmin 3, initially launched in 2013 on the Wii U as a follow-up to Pikmin (2001) and Pikmin 2 (2004), this offering includes all the DLC, some savvy additions and a robust package befitting the Switch's capabilities. 

Arguably more important of note is the arrival of Pikmin's whimsical setting and characters, as well as the engrossing real-time strategy present throughout the experience—on a big screen or on the go. 

While it doesn't stray too far from the original release in most ways, that's hardly a bad thing when viewing Pikmin 3 Deluxe as a whole. 

    

Graphics and Gameplay

Pikmin 3 wasn't a bad-looking game by any means, and that's true for the Switch iteration. It's still the colorful, if not goofy miniature romp through varied Earth-looking locales. 

Deluxe does seem a little clearer than the Wii U game and with better draw distances, but it feels like frame rates and such haven't seen a major upgrade. And again, not a bad thing—the world of Pikmin and its varied cast borders on distracting. 

Whether it's marching through the snow and tunneling through caves or avoiding monsters in sprawling sand dunes or beyond, Pikmin 3 never held back in its eye-catching creativity. It helps that the sound design is so unique and fun, with the main characters each sporting unique, funny quips and the varied Pikmin all sounding distinct, all with an amazing Nintendo-feeling soundtrack pumping in the background. 

Along those same lines, players with past experience in the series will feel right at home considering all that much hasn't changed in the gameplay department. 

Players command multiple scientists tasked with controlling armies of varied Pikmin via a whistle. Sounds simple and is at first, but the game gradually stacks more and more variables onto the gameplay to keep the challenge and pace right on clicking.  

Red Pikmin are the best fighters and resistant to fire, yellow are big jumpers and resistant to electricity and blue—get this—swim. Pikmin 3 added two more classes via a rock type that can shatter glass and do good damage when thrown and pink winged Pikmin, which could fly.

At the time of its release, Pikmin 3 was the pinnacle of gameplay for the series, albeit a very safe sequel that didn't pull off too many surprises. Players have to harvest fruit to keep the scientists alive, and Pikmin harvest the corpses of defeated enemies to produce more Pikmin (one of the scientists quips about nature being cruel early in the game, which is fair enough despite how cutesy everything looks). 

Both are critical because running out of fruit means running out of juice, which in turn means game over. And letting Pikmin go extinct by getting them all killed just makes things harder. 

Players face the same challenges as Pikmin 3 originally offered. Splitting up the scientists with different groups of Pikmin and solving clever puzzles, getting to hard-to-reach areas and even encountering some unique boss battles with memorable mechanics and moments is a quick summation of the fun journey. It's not a hard game to play by any means, but mastering the intricacies of sending off one group to accomplish feats while controlling the other one or two is what lets players start seeing their names pop up on all the online leaderboards. 

The lock-on system was maybe the biggest point of contention in prior games. But it feels like some small refinements for this re-release have helped shape the best-feeling system to date for the series. Players can move the cursor over something they want to lock on to, then hit ZR to do so. Hitting ZR again will cycle through lockable targets. 

Is it perfect? Far from it. At times, it can be hard to tell how the lock-on will cycle through targets, and unsticking it isn't always easy. But time investment generally makes it easier to understand and use, and it's still a step up compared to prior efforts.

There's also a new, in-depth hint system. Pop that up and the game will not only cycle through a few slides to show players what to do next, a GPS-styled overlay will also guide players to where they need to go. It removes a little bit of the guesswork that made exploration so fun in the series, but it's an optional thing that certainly doesn't detract from the experience if it makes it more accessible for all sorts of players. 

Gameplay can escalate into challenging, tense moments very quickly, to say the least. But the charm of it all, from the gorgeously crafted environments to funny sound effects, makes for a brilliant backdrop for an experience with some surprising depth. 

     

Story and More

Pikmin threw a curveball at fans of the series with its narrative, making past main characters Captain Olimar and Louie the guys in need of saving by the trio of Alph, Brittany and Charlie. The latter group crash-lands while seeking out food for their home planet because the population sucked it dry and, in the process of collecting as much sustenance as possible, stumble upon the Pikmin. 

And the story is absolutely hilarious with its charm. The main characters wistfully misunderstand real-world items they happen to find. They have fun banter between each other that we won't spoil here, and a rubber ducky manages to inhabit a central story beat. Those who have played the story in the past won't be caught off guard by anything that happens, but it's a blast to power through it quickly all these years later. 

It's a neatly packed narrative that hits good story beats as the game itself escalates the challenge by introducing different colored Pikmin at a time while gently starting to combine all of the mechanics as players near the end. 

Aptly named Side Stories offer a prologue and epilogue and add some nice context to the overarching story. These aren't massive additions to the game by any means, nor do they stray from the tried-and-true gameplay package. But it's fun to get Olimar and Louie back in the driver's seat briefly while playing more of the excellent overall strategy experience. 

There are also 30-plus additional missions outside of the main story mode. They're fun, if not brief romps through familiar territory that task players with defeating enemies, collecting treasure and other checklist-type items against a timer. 

When it comes to the limited new additions here, The Piklopedia originally from Pikmin 2 makes a return too and serves as a fun database for lore. It's just another way for the wittily written characters to take up more of the spotlight. 

There's also a small versus mode dubbed Bingo Battle mode which pits two local players again one another in a similar gameplay ecosystem with the objective being to collect more than the other to win. And (notice a theme?) it's fun to pop in and throw down from time to time, especially as Pikmin flood the screen and things get intense. 

Multiplayer is a focus in other ways too, as players can pop into a co-op mode quickly, and it's a riot to have another person there to take control of one of the protagonists and an allotment of Pikmin. It works well and makes for an easier time, provided said co-op partner isn't too happy to take major risks. 

Considering the original game was a pretty robust package in its own right, it's nice to see just about everything make a return here, plus a few new wrinkles. Whether one just wants to dip toes into the universe and enjoy it all or take it uber-seriously on the competitive scenes, the feature set has a robust, all-encompassing feel. 

   

Speedrunning Tips

Pikmin speedrunning is no joke. 

That's an important disclaimer to get out of the way considering Pikmin 3—released in 2013 on a somewhat-obscure console—still has world-record runs getting set as recently as a month ago. 

The appeal is simple: Players can tackle an any-percent run or something like an all-fruit run. Along the way, extreme precision, decision-making and even mechanical skill come into play to tackle some of the unique challenges no other strategy game really presents. 

And speedrunning it isn't easy, though some basic tips encompass beginner and even veteran runs. Skipping cutscenes and doing things like fast-forwarding through juicing are a must.

During gameplay, little things like constantly spamming the whistle to get Pikmin to stay on the player instead of going back to where they picked up something from means no going back and gathering up strays. Similar story for pushing along Pikmin who are carrying items to make them go a little fast, as well as throwing more than the required amount of Pikmin onto an item to make them carry it faster. 

It'll sound a little boring, but straight-up memorization is important too. Knowing how to tackle challenges within levels means better setting multiple characters to auto-complete tasks while working on something else. Knowing what players can get away with as far as camera angles, throwing characters to different elevations and what enemies to outright avoid means quicker runs.

    

Conclusion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXDmX3piow8

Pikmin 3 Deluxe delivering such a strong package to players despite undergoing so few changes is a testament to just how great the original release was, even if it popped up on a niche system. 

While we could argue the merits of a simple re-release like this (hardcore fans surely just want Pikmin 4 already), it's never a bad thing to have a great game added to the Switch's library. And in this case specifically, Pikmin 3's core experience feels like a dream match for the Switch hardware. 

Re-release or not, this is the perfect entry point for new players to enjoy one of the most charismatic and unique franchises out there, never mind one of the better strategy offerings in gaming that has withstood the test of time.  

Nintendo knows what its fans want and what the Switch library needs—hence the arrival of Super Mario 3D All-Stars.  

It also knows the power of a good surprise, as the collection of classics became known to the world on September 3 ahead of the September 18 release date. 

The 35th-anniversary collection contains high-definition ports of Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine and Super Mario Galaxy, three all-time classics from one of gaming's biggest franchises. 

While execution is critical in any sort of compilation like this, the simple idea of these classic games going portable and using the unique functionality of the Switch makes it one of gaming's biggest releases of 2020. 

    

Super Mario 64

For those who have played Super Mario 64 in the past, hopping back in on the Switch feels like rediscovering a forgotten favorite. 

Originally released in 1996 on the Nintendo 64, Mario's first foray into 3D still stands the test of time—with the bonus of being able to take it on the go. That all functions as one would expect in 2020 on a console as powerful as the Switch. 

Visually speaking, by now, the blocky graphics are part of the charm. So long as players didn't go into this one thinking it is a remaster or some sort of upgrade, the charm remains. 

Where 64 is the most disappointing of the three in this particular release, though, comes on the technical side. The lack of 60 frames per second, 720p and 4:3 aspect ratio that leaves black bars on either side of the image is disappointing when the other two offerings got upgrades in these areas. 

That sort of small complaint aside, 64 obviously has a welcome home in a package like this and makes for a fun nostalgia trip. It's a testament to the design all those years ago that it can hold its own today and not wear out its welcome, even in a non-upgraded state.

    

Super Mario Sunshine

Released on the Gamecube in 2002, Super Mario Sunshine was a bold shift in direction for Mario (and a hint of things to come with Nintendo's willingness to take risks!), as everyone's favorite plumber hit a tropical island and donned the F.L.U.D.D. to creatively use water to clean things up. 

It's a sheer joy to take another trip back to Isle Delfino and get to cleaning up the graffiti left behind by Shadow Mario while at times hopping into the more traditional levels. 

Sunshine was groundbreaking at the time of its release in its own right, and it's still impressive to see how well the graphical side of things hold up. Games have obviously expanded on the island idea at staggering scales since, but the way water interacts with the environments and plays into physics and gameplay remains impressive. 

These aren't overhauled graphics, either, but the game does sport better textures on things like menu UI and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The 1080p in TV mode (720p in handheld) is superb. It's just enough to feel a little different, but it's still like players are booting up a Gamecube again. 

Of course, that statement pertains to graphics only. Unfortunately for what is likely a rather large chunk of players, this collection doesn't offer GameCube controller support. It's a shame, as the traditional experience is then altered for veteran players. 

It's not enough to ruin the experience by any means, though. Back in 2002, the idea of taking an experience like Sunshine, keeping it perfectly the same and transplanting it to a handheld seemed impossible. It's a reality now, and it's not hard to shrug off a minor control shortcoming. 

       

Super Mario Galaxy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV0SOT9dYrw

Naturally, the next step after a trip to a tropical island was outer space with 2007's Super Mario Galaxy. 

Hailed rightfully as another classic entry in the series, the Wii powerhouse of a release takes Mario and friends to the stars. Nintendo pounded the creativity button seemingly endlessly here, with different galaxies and planets featuring different gravity rules and more. 

Galaxy, like Sunshine, holds up incredibly well from a graphics standpoint and follows the same display resolutions as Sunshine in docked and handheld modes. 

But this release, in particular, was always going to have the most questions surrounding its gameplay controls. Nintendo has thrown in optional Joy-Con motion controls. Just as notably, the spin ability has been completely remapped to a face button.

Those motion controls replace the pointer in the original game that helped players pick up star bits. In handheld mode, players can simply swipe across the screen while playing to pick up those bits. 

It's unorthodox in handled mode at first, as is the new spin button (this doesn't really apply to new players). But it's all natural enough after players spend a good amount of time with the game. This port also boasts Switch Pro Controller support, a welcome way to take control for those who don't want to mess with motion controls or Joy-Cons in general. 

    

Speedrunning Tips and More

For the uninitiated, Mario speedrunning is a serious business. 

The three titles contained in this release are to this day seeing players hit new world records. The last 64 record checked in around the hour-and-a-half mark. Sunshine? A little more than an hour. And Galaxy, just three months ago, finally squeaked under the two-and-a-half-hour mark. 

Whether Super Mario 3D All-Stars becomes the preferred speedrunning tool to run these games is hard to say right out of the gates. Different releases and re-releases of these games over the years have had mixed responses from pro runners because different quirks to the editions meant different routes and strategies—some releases were just better than others when seeking out the optimal approach for the lowest times. 

The type of run matters, too. The times listed above are for normal Mario runs where runners had to, for example, collect all 120 stars in 64. The no-star run, due to glitches, checks in at just over six minutes. 

We'll see what unfolds when pro runners get their hands on these versions. But general Mario, glitch-less tips still apply. Gunning through as much dialogue as possible and outright avoiding enemies is a must. It sounds simpler than it is given the serious movement techs players have to learn, especially in the non-Galaxy games. 

That said, there are many, many different star routes that have been formulated over the years for 64. Getting accustomed to one of those (after running many 16-star routes to perfect movement) is the best way to get serious. 

Realistically, unless there is a stunning development, Galaxy will remain the least-popular speedrunning item of the package simply because of the more restrictive nature of the game's narrative, never mind how long it is. 

Elsewhere, it's worth pointing out the production values of this package as a whole quickly. The main menu before choosing which game to dive into is a visual treat, with each game's presentation on the selection screen feeling unique and fitting. 

And the soundtrack is tremendous—emphasis intended. Nintendo has thrown in 170-plus tunes and a music player mode to customize the soundtrack, and it's a quiet, albeit staggeringly-good part of the release. 

   

Conclusion

Super Mario 3D All-Stars is a superb package of classics that was going to have a hard time failing given the historic nature of its contents. It also raises some interesting questions and hope for the future. 

It's hard not to mention the current omission of Super Mario Galaxy 2, the follow-up and perfect companion piece to the original that expanded on the formula in many ways and stands as one of the best games in the franchise's history. And the limited release nature of this offering is a polarizing one. 

There's a give and take, too: Do these ports mean there isn't a full Super Mario 64 remake in the works? And do these ports mean other franchises (ahem, Zelda and Metroid) are that much closer to getting special releases like this?

Regardless, it's only fitting games that defined different console generations arrive on the Switch, a piece of hardware that breathes a bit of new life into them via its portability. Gamers know what they're getting with this release, and sometimes predictability is a boon, not a detriment. 

Like many of its heavyweights released on the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo is comfortable giving fans largely the expected with Paper Mario: The Origami King.  

The latest from developer Intelligent Systems doesn't stray too far from the tried-and-true formula of the long-running Mario spinoff series. Mario and friends have been flattened down to 2D and tasked with exploring a beautifully-crafted 3D world in creative ways while looping in some light RPG elements and comedy. 

Keeping things light in the RPG area, though, and a reworked battle system is where The Origami King will draw the most raised eyebrows. The entire package, while gorgeous and fun throughout, almost feels like a half-measure at times compared to some of Nintendo's other big titles that have released on the Switch. 

    

Graphics and Gameplay

The Origami King is good looking and can stop a player in his or her tracks to take things in and soak up the details. It's a little akin to the gobsmacking visuals found in Yoshi's Crafted World from last year—playing the game is like taking part in a little piece of art come to life. 

As always, Intelligent Systems gets creative with how to utilize all the inherent nature of paper itself, creating fun folding surprises, texturized wrinkles and more. Call it par for the course with Nintendo on the Switch—the visuals are engrossing and, technically speaking, the game has no stutters or issues on its base or in handheld mode. 

The game really does dial in on the details players will appreciate if they look for it. Besides the environments themselves, for example, dialogue boxes of non-folded characters appear on smooth paper. Folded-up characters have dialogue boxes with crinkled paper. 

Maybe that's a little silly, but the attention to detail gives everything a handcrafted-with-love sort of feel. Thanks to an artsy approach that's so well done, there aren't any big nitpicks to mention. The game is always a pleasure to experience, either as a player or onlooker. And as expected, the accompanying soundtrack is fitting and matches the mostly jovial tones of the journey. 

How the visuals blend with the gameplay is always the most interesting facet of this series. Early on, Mario is discovering layers of paper he can peel back to find secrets, and he's using confetti gathered from walloping things with his hammer to patch holes in the environment. Not much later, he's still patching these holes for goodies, but he's doing so much more in the form of manipulating the environment in creative ways. 

This serves as one of the best examples of environmental usage in gaming today. Mario can find Toads hidden in the world all over the place. There are so many Toads, and it gives the game a dense feel. It isn't uncommon to exhaust one's attention in an area thinking it's complete, only to come back later and accidentally stumble into more toads. 

The adventure takes Mario and friends all over the place, as any traditional Mario game would. There are colorful forests with secrets, gigantic animals, an industrial-stylized locale, golf courses, little bars to enter and so much more. 

It's a truly massive world littered with unique locales, and Mario employs some fun modes of transportation to move quickly between areas. 

Actual battling gameplay is more puzzle than RPG in a lot of respects. Once the player enters a battle, Mario plops down in the center of a circular grid. He immediately partakes in a "line them up" phase in which he rotates tiles to align enemies in a way he sees fit. 

That's the puzzle—line up four enemies in a row and his jump attack, activated via his boots from an RPG-styled screen, can pound on and defeat all four. Make a smaller formation of enemies in the early game and selecting his hammer wallops all of them. Line them up right and there's an added damage bonus to attacks. 

It sounds simple, and it is, though The Origami King isn't content to let players get too comfortable. A timer attached to the "line them up" phase provides a sense of urgency, though players can spend coins to get the timer extended. Mario only has a limited number of moves in this phase for each encounter, too. Coinage found throughout the world can also get tossed at audience members who will throw out assists in the form of health packs and otherwise. Late in the game, the puzzle aspect isn't something players can breeze through or they'll get punished for doing so, which is something of a good compromise for those seeking a hardcore JRPGish experience. 

Simply put, the environmental exploration and trying to uncover all of the game's folded, hidden secrets is quite a bit more engaging than the actual battle system in place. It's not bad, and does its intended job well enough, but it's not like some RPGs that have players enthusiastically entering fights. 

It's somewhat funny that for as lighthearted as things are and how casual the gameplay might be to RPG fans that actually losing can be a terrible time thanks to an archaic save system. Mario has to pop save cubes throughout the world to save a player's progress. But the distance between these cubes is sometimes quite far, meaning one mishap could equate to replaying a bunch of content again.

The battle system, by and large, is just a vehicle to help get the player through the story and doesn't detract from the experience as a whole. But it's the overworld, not the puzzlish fights, that carry the gameplay.

    

Story and More

Mario's stories don't deviate too much from the formula—2D, 3D or whatever else. 

This time, Mario and Luigi head to Princess Peach's castle after being invited to an origami festival. A neat scenario where the camera follows closely behind the brothers' kart while they navigate the abandoned festival leads into the revelation that a villain by the name of King Olly has taken Princess Peach and others and folded them into origami. 

Mario is then whisked away on a quest to triumph over Folded Soldiers he encounters while pursuing the massive, colorful streamers nailed down throughout the world that hold the now-kidnapped castle atop a high mountain. 

The narrative devices in the story itself aren't unexpected by any means, though the already-praised art style really brings things to life. So does the usual Paper Mario humor and whit. While the dialogue might grate on some, the one-liners and zingers the series is known for are all here. Comments and quips from a folded-up Bowser as he hops along behind Mario are hilarious. Some of Luigi's early lines are money. 

In the end, the story accomplishes its goal for players—they get to play another Mario game, this time with some added wrinkles via innovation while meeting some new characters. 

As should clearly be the understood theme now, just don't expect the accompanying gameplay to have massive amounts of depth like other RPGs. There aren't experience points to grind out, loads of party members to min/max in different roles or major stopping points requiring a re-examination of the entire approach. 

It's a little grating that the only massive form of progression is through coins. Those coins can buy more powerful items for Mario to use in battle but eventually break, meaning players need to purchase more. Coins are rather abundant for those who explore. Simply spamming unnecessary battles to earn more coins for temporary weapons to keep that loop going without another form of progression (like experience points) is a little odd. 

For those who just want to experience the story, it can become an effort in avoiding unnecessary battles if Mario has enough coins, then simply making sure he has enough for mandatory fights like boss battles. 

And those boss battles here and there do just enough to break up the puzzle formula of the battle system. Bosses flip the whole idea on its head more often than not, changing the order of how an encounter goes or simply setting new rules and restrictions. Which isn't to say they're hard, but they are a welcome curveball in a game that likes to mostly stick to its formula. 

Either way, the game isn't an overly difficult one with high barriers to entry. The only major divider is more attentive and/or patient players will come across more secrets in the worlds. 

    

Speedrunning Tips

Paper Mario has a rather proud speedrunning history. 

The most recent game in the series, Color Splash, had a good community that had world-record runs check in around the eight-hour mark. Arguably the best game in the series, The Thousand-Year Door on the Gamecube, has world records pushing the two-hour mark with runs as recent as a few months ago. 

Whether The Origami King has enough staying power to stick around for so long down the road is hard to say. The 100 percent runs where runners have to speedily uncover every secret in the game would make for a fun watch. 

As for optimal runs upon release, it's going to come down to picking and choosing the battles. Stocking up on coins in a smart manner will equate to being able to skip nonessential battles. For the essential, having the best equipment is a way to error-proof the actual battling process should problems arise in lining up enemies. 

Otherwise, darting through dialogue as quickly as possible is a must. Depending on the type of run, ignoring almost any and all side events that don't progress the story and allow advancement through the world also qualifies as a must. 

      

Conclusion

The Origami King plays it really safe, leaning into beautiful art design and clever exploration to craft a fun, lite action RPG. 

And that's not a bad thing. It's unfortunate the game doesn't go heavier on the RPG side of things in the form of leveling up characters and making the battling feel more meaningful at every turn. But asking players to grind clearly wasn't what the game wanted to accomplish. 

More of the same is fine—with the exception of a ho-hum new battling system—if it's done well. The Origami King mostly strikes the right notes in the humor department, goes to interesting places and introduces some interesting faces. 

While it won't headline the Switch's library, The Origami King is an enjoyable experience from front to back and yet another strong entry for the console's deep library.