Nintendo recap: Switch Sports damaging TVs in new ways, Bandai Namco's remaster project, Bugsnax extras

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest Nintendo recap. This week has been absolutely packed with Nintendo news. First off, we learned that Bugsnax is finally making it to Switch this month and bringing with it 80% more content in a free update. Plus, one of the most influential Zelda games hit a huge milestone this week and Nintendo also revealed that it has purchased land to create a second building near its Tokyo headquarters.

Then, in a financial briefing, Sega explained its 'SuperGame' project, which will likely land multiple games on Nintendo consoles. In other news, Bandai Namco has been contracted by Nintendo for a remake or remaster of an action game. Finally, Nintendo Switch Sports previewers have discovered that the game can still damage your TV even with new precautions put in place from the original Wii Sports. There's even more to cover so let's dive in.

Bugsnax coming to Switch and including 80% more content

Young Horses' silly adventure about a reporter going to the mysterious Snaktooth Island to learn about the titular half-bug, half-snack creatures that inhabit it is not only coming to Nintendo Switch on April 28 but is also getting a physical release produced by Fangamer, which comes with a field guide, set of stickers, and an activity sheet similar to those given to children at diners. It was not yet available for preorder at the time of this writing.

In Bugsnax, the grumpus explorer who invited you to the island has gone missing, so you'll need to figure out what happened to her while solving the squabbles between the other grumpus settlers. There are over 100 Bugsnax to capture, but you have to determine which tools to use to catch them all. Oh, and another thing... if you eat a Bugsnax, a part of your body turns into food, but this doesn't bother the other grumpus settlers. This is a creature collection game that walks the line between the unsettling and the hilarious for a fun, story-driven plot.

This game originally only released on PS4, PS5, and Steam in 2020, but now that it's coming to other platforms including Switch, Xbox X|S, Xbox One, and Xbox Game Pass. A free update is also coming with 3-4 hours of additional content. The biggest part of this free DLC allows players to explore a new area, The Isle of Bigsnax, which features massive new Bugsnax for players to catch, along with new puzzles. Other new features include the ability to find Bugsnax wearing hats, home decoration, and fast travel between different areas using the map. This is a hilarious game and definitely something you should check out if you haven't yet.

A Link to the Past hits its 30th anniversary

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the most influential Zelda games of all time, and it just so happened to hit its 30 anniversary in North America on April 13.

So what did this iconic game bring to the series? Well, it introduced several mechanics and elements that have been staples in most Zelda games ever since. For example, this is where we first saw pieces of heart, bottles, Link's spin attack, Ganon's human form, the seven sages, and even the Master Sword. If you'd like to experience the classic game that determined Zelda's basic structure for three decades, you can play it on Switch via a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

Nintendo acquired land for a second building near Tokyo HQ

This week, we learned that Nintendo has acquired land near its current Tokyo headquarters to build a second building that is scheduled to be completed by 2027, as reported by NintendoLife. The cost of this land is reportedly around 5 billion yen, which is roughly $40 million.

According to the official announcement (via Google Translate), the point of this second office is for research and development. This is expected from an additional Nintendo building. At the very least, the company's decision to expand shows how well Nintendo has done for itself in the last few years.

Kingdom Hearts 4 revealed and gives Sora a new realistic look

Last weekend, Square Enix celebrated the Kingdom Hearts 20th anniversary by revealing some upcoming games: Kingdom Hearts Missing-Link for mobile and Kingdom Hearts 4. The latter is the first entry in The Lost Master Arc now that Kingdom Hearts 3 has closed the Dark Seeker Saga.

The art style for the upcoming game looks far more realistic than ever before, and shows off a sprawling city akin to Tokyo. Sora sports a new hairstyle and wakes up on a couch in a tall building. He soon spots what appears to be the latest iteration of a Dark Follower Heartless wreaking havoc on the streets and runs to fight it while summoning his Keyblade. There's a quick cut to figures in dark robes watching the chaos ensue. At the end, we cut to Donald and Goofy exploring a dark location while looking for someone. A ball of blue flame appears behind them and turns red. It sounds like the dog and bird will be seeking Hades' help to get Sora back to them after the events of Kingdom Hearts 3.

This game is still in early development and will not be available for a few more years at least. We also do not know which platforms it will be coming to yet. But considering that most of the series has made its way to Switch, it wouldn't be surprising to see it come to a Nintendo console in the future, even if it's done through cloud streaming.

At least one player has been able to access Advance Wars 1 + 2 on Switch

You might recall that a few weeks back Advance Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp was delayed indefinitely "in light of recent world events." The game had been slated to come to Switch on April 8 prior to the delay, but now the digital version is no longer on the Switch eShop and physical copies are locked away in warehouses. However, at least one person who preordered the game and whose Switch Lite had it preloaded prior to the delay has been able to play it.

Twitter user, Rachael, explained that they thought other people also had access to the game and in a later tweet stated, "I've no idea why it's letting me play, but as far as I'm concerned I paid 50 quid for this so I'm going with it." This was accompanied by several never-before-seen screenshots. However, on April 10, Rachael tweeted again that Nintendo sent them an email explaining that the company would be canceling and refunding the purchase.

It's kind of strange thinking about stacks of games wasting away in warehouses around the world. But considering the game's basic idea centers around an invading force moving in on its neighbor, it's best not to release it while the conflict in Ukraine continues.

Sega attempts to explain 'SuperGame' project NFTs and cloud streaming

A few months ago, Sega announced that it would be working on a 'SuperGame' project, but never really explained what that meant. Thankfully, we got a bit of an explanation last weekend during a financial results presentation, as reported by VGC. Sega Japan's VP Shuji Utsumi explained, "we have defined 'SuperGame' as the development of AAA titles that cross over Sega's comprehensive range of technologies, and we will aim to achieve this in our five-year plan."

He went on to say that in order to be a 'SuperGame' a project must adhere to four things: "(i) multi-platform, (ii) global multi-language development, (iii) simultaneous worldwide release, and (iv) AAA titles. In other words, you can imagine that the scale of game development will be that of a global blockbuster."

Sega also announced that it has multiple SuperGame projects currently in progress. In an interview, Sega producer Masayoshi Kikuchi stated, "it is a natural extension for the future of gaming that it will expand to involve new areas such as cloud gaming and NFT. We are also developing SuperGame from the perspective of how far different games can be connected to each other."

Now, this doesn't fully explain how the SuperGame plan differs from other video game companies' projects, but it gives us more insight into what Sega is trying to accomplish. If nothing else, it seems like it wants to release massive scale games that are available to consumers on just about any platform. Plus, they're very open to NFTs and cloud gaming. But that honestly doesn't sound very different from other video game companies' plans.

Nintendo contracts Bandai Namco for remake/remaster

Some job listings have been found on Bandai Namco's website that show Nintendo has contracted the company for a remake or remaster of a 3D action game, as originally pointed out by a user on Resetera. One of the job listings, in particular, explains that the hiree would be "required to perform HD remastering of the 3D background" on a 3D action game. This further drives home the idea that this is an older game being reworked.

Bandai Namco has worked on many Nintendo games over the years, with some of its more recent work being on Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and New Pokémon Snap, so it makes sense that Nintendo is contracting them yet again. However, there is currently no concrete information on what this game is.

This has led fans to speculate and name their preferred remasters. The most common hopes are that this is either a Kid Icarus or Star Fox project since Pit and McCloud haven't really seen much of a presence on the Nintendo Switch. At any rate, we probably won't learn what game it is for several years yet since it's still in early development.

Mixed responses to Nintendo Switch Sports motion controls and a new way to break TVs

The best-selling Wii game of all time is Wii Sports, a local multiplayer title that had players use motion controls to participate in tennis, baseball, golf, boxing, and bowling, arguably the most popular activity. The successor, Nintendo Switch Sports, is coming out on April 29. Some outlets have already gotten hands-on experience and have released previews for the game. However, they aren't all positive.

Multiple journalists have reported that the motion controls are more fine-tuned than the Wii predecessor, so players need to be more purposeful when waving their arms around to get the results they want. This appears to be especially true with bowling or the sword fighting game Chambara. Tennis reportedly feels mostly the same as the Wii version, but then the new badminton and volleyball are apparently very easy to play, so much so that some reported that they were relatively boring and lacked a challenge. Lastly, there's the new soccer game that proves that the days of accidentally throwing things at the TV is not behind us.

The original Wii Sports is notoriously known for being the game that caused players to break their TVs by accidentally throwing their controllers at it. While Nintendo took pains to make this less likely to happen in Nintendo Switch Sports by updating controls with the Joy-Con, it looks like there's a new problem that can cause the same kind of damage. While IGN's Kat Bailey previewed the game's new leg strap that allows you to attach a Joy-Con to your leg to register kicking movements for soccer, her shoe came flying off and hit the TV screen. This being the case, you'll want to make sure you're wearing shoes that won't kick off while playing.

To prevent damaging your TV while playing Nintendo Switch Sports, Nintendo recommends you wear the wrist strap connected to your Joy-Con to prevent flinging it anywhere. Additionally, many of the controls on Nintendo Switch Sports require players to hold down on the buttons instead of tapping to give a better hold on the gamepad, theoretically preventing it from slipping from your fingers. Of course, accidents will likely still happen, so you'll want to take precautions and be careful when playing once it releases at the end of the month.

Have a great one!

That's another busy week come and gone. We're getting closer and closer to the summer when several big Switch releases are set to launch. But for this weekend, I'll be spending my time diving further into The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, which I started playing on April 13. I hope you all have a lovely weekend and you enjoy whatever games you play.

Until next time.

- Rebecca Spear