Zippo's Nonsensical Ramblings and Other Stuff

  Hey! As expected, Nintendo has announced a direct that will air later today. I actually don't have much to predict this time around. I'm just eager to wait and see what they have for us today.  I'll have a quick take and bigger talking points later on once this airs. See you then!

  Hey Batter Batter! In today's "no shit" news, Nintendo is preparing a brand new Mario Sports game, this time being developed by Bandai Namco and Now Production. This is very likely to be a new installment in the Mario Baseball series, which hasn't seen a new entry since 2008's Mario Super Sluggers, though baseball did appear in Mario Sports Superstars for the 3DS in 2017. Now, I'm sure you're asking "Zippo, what the hell is Now Production?" If you've played the aforementioned previous baseball games, as well as the original Sonic Riders, you'll know the latter devs' work immediately. They were also the developers of last year's excellent Pac Man World remake, among many others.  GameXplain's very own Tris Valbeuna also pointed out something that I thought was quite interesting: Last year, it was discovered that Nintendo randomly started updating Daisy renders, one of them, interestingly enough, was from Mario Super Sluggers...

Hi, I've returned. Happy Belated New Year! First article of the year, and my one hundredth one, no less!  Just a bit of a personal aside before anything else. Papa Zippo had a stomach ulcer, I was quite sick for a bit, so the blog had to take a backseat. I'm feeling much better now. Thank you to all of you in the background who were supportive and wishing me well. You guys are the best.  Now, 2023 is looking like a pretty fuckin' stacked year for video games. There's already dozens of big games announced, and that's all merely just what they've announced for this year so far. Here's some of my predictions for the year. Power Stone Announcement: Most people have forgotten this, but a brand new Power Stone game was leaked in Capcom's gigantic leak from a few years back. It was set for a 2024 release and I still believe that's the plan. I'll go ahead and predict that this will be announced at this year's evo. The entire cast of the first two gam...

Hey, people have been asking for update on this new 2D Mario everyone's been wanting to see, so here's a bit more info. -It's been in development for over three years, and development should, or has just about wrapped up.  -Takashi Tezuka and Hiroyuki Kimura, who are longtime 2D Mario veterans, are once again serving as producers for this title.  -Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad are your playable characters this time around.  Fun Fact: This will mark the first time Peach has been playable in a 2D Mario since Super Mario Bros. 2, which was nearly 35 years ago. My god, that's a long time.  (No, a costume in Maker and a power up in NSMBU Deluxe don't count!) -Still set for release in the 2023/2024 fiscal year. This is less a statement on the game, but more on the future of the franchise itself. -Mario and co. will gradually take things and design elements from the movie moving forward, such as the brothers' updated outfits. You're actually starting to see this a...

  Here we are. It's been over four years since the release of the excellent Mega Man 11, we're now in December, and the Blue Bomber's 35th anniversary is soon approaching. I live and breathe this franchise and I can feel the hype. Given the tons of new merch we've been getting lately, a big leak from two years ago, teases of Mega Man in the RE engine, and now trademarks, it's all a telling sign of announcements being imminent. Here's a tiny thing from me: Alongside Battle Network Legacy Collection, there's an additional three Mega Man games that are in development. Should be about time to start announcing some of those things, yeah? A Megaman Direct sounds likely, methinks. Hopefully we get equipped with these new Megaman announcements soon.  Update 12/06/22: Oooooh boy. This blew up a lot more than I expected. Though, at this point you think I wouldn't be surprised, but here I am.  First off. I just found out that the banner was actually made an extre...

  Holy fucking shit . We have our FIRST AND SECOND trailers to the CG debut of Nintendo's first family, and I must say, my expectations have been completely blown past and shattered. What a fucking trailer. There's so much to unpack that I'll have to just do a separate article for all of that. But I've got tons of highlights. DK IS BACK! WITH A NEW DESIGN!!! WE HAVE THE ENTIRE DK CREW!  Jack Black SOUNDS SO GOOOD!!! CHARLIE DAY IS PERFECT AS LUIGI!!!! MARIO HAS A PERSONALITY!!!! PEACH ISN'T KIDNAPPED!!! WE'RE GETTING AN HONEST TO GOD MARIO KART ACTION SCENE!!! I was jumping up and down in my seat watching this trailer. I genuinely have not been this happy watching a trailer to anything in a very long time.  April cannot get here soon enough. Oh my word. Also, Hi, yes, I'm alive. I've been raising a family and finishing Sonic Frontiers while writing a review. Took six attempts, by the way.  Just needs one final edit.  See you soon. 

Here we are. Today is the day everything changes. Nintendo's main man is starring in his own CG movie. We've waited for this, for a very, very, long time.  I've had my fears and doubts, but I've tossed it all aside. I'm just ready to see it.  This is the biggest day for Nintendo since the Switch launched. Blow me away, Nintendo. I dare you . 

Wow. It's definitely been a big week, hasn't it?  There. Is. Too. Much. News.  I'm not complaining, mind you, but this has been pretty fucking crazy.   Next up, the State of Play. Expectations were measured going into it, but it actually ended up blowing past my expectations by quite a fair bit.  Like A Dragon Ishin is getting a remake, and I have to say...I'm interested. Being Japanese, I absolutely love period pieces of any time period from there, and going with the late Edo period, which was a time of radical change in Japan, is so damn cool.  Project Eve got it's final name, and we saw a new trailer, and the name fits, because it looks absolutely stellar. Character action games are literally made for me, and I'm all in.  God of War Ragnarok continues to look fantastic. I've seen all I need to see. No more, please. I just want November to be here already. And finally...Tekken 8. Holy fuck. The amount of details on the characters looks absolutely ins...

Hmm. That Nintendo Direct was... Decent. There was shit ton of third party games, which makes me happy that Switch still has some life in it. First party was okay. I'm not a Pikmin fan by any stretch, but I'm extremely happy that it was finally announced. Game looks absolutely stunning also. Kirby's Return to Dream Land was a huge surprise and I'm extremely happy about that. Fire Emblem Engage looks absolutely fantastic. I'm very surprised by that one. I'm interested. Octopath Traveler 2 is another big surprise. Day one. Of course, Zelda ended the direct, and while there wasn't much, game continues to look fantastic. And, it's finally got a date! Took them long enough. Oh and yes, too many fucking farm games, come on.  I'll have a fuller article on this soon. Just need to let this one simmer a bit longer.   

Hi, it's Direct time! Let's get started with some predictions. Bayonetta 3 Trailer: This is the safest prediction of this direct, but there will obviously be a new Bayo 3 trailer at the direct, giving one last look at what players will see before it releases next month. I'm quite excited to play it. Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster:  If the Kefka tease wasn't obvious enough, yes I've heard that the Pixel that the Pixel Remasters will come to Switch. Will they be in the direct? Here's hoping. I predict It'll release next year. GB/GBA NSO:  We know Game Boy NSO exists, and I think this is the time for it. I predict that Game Boy, Color and Advance games will be announced and will launch on NSO before the end of the month, at no additional charge for those who are already subscribed to the highest priced model. Super Mario Advance, Super Mario Land, Tetris,  Metroid Fusion, Kirby's Dream Land,  Mole Mania, Minish Cap, Kirby's Nightmare In Dream Land, and F-...

Boy, that sure was weird. I wonder what reason Kefka would try to take over my little blog for?  Ahem. Anyway... Hey! It's going to be a pretty crazy week coming up, so I'd like to get started with something going on as we speak.  Disney's big convention, D23, has returned, and there's a been a shit ton of announcements. I'd like to go over them. I'll handle talking about their games and animation first.  Disney Games Showcase: This sure was something... I'll be brutally honest here. I expected very little, and I was still let down. Mostly mid tier announcements, mobile games and small updates on things we already knew, with a few exceptions: Gargoyles Remastered: HELL YEAH! I've been waiting for this! Gargoyles is one of the greatest shows of all time, and this old, obscure SEGA Genesis game is one of the finest platformers of the 16 bit era. This is an absolute must play. Please please please get a physical release. Disney Illusion Island: Oh well, wou...