Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a polished little gem, but the word "little" is key. While not brimming with content (it clocks in at about 7 hours), its brain-bending stages are a welcome dose of EAD Tokyo goodness, even if it does lack co-op. Short but sweet, Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker isn't a must-play, but you're unlikely to regret buying it.
Tales of Hearts R isn't the pinnacle of Tales games, but it is a lovely re-imagining of a classic entry. The iffy 3D combat may be a put-off for some, but the new anime sequences, improved graphics, and extra content all work together to make up for it.
Digimon All-Star Rumble probably means well, but has little evidence to show for it. Though its party-fighting mechanics are fun with friends, story mode amounts to little more than drudgery and the battle system wears thin sooner than it should. Hardcore Digimon fans may still give this a try, but don't feel pressured otherwise.
Bayonetta 2 doesn't look like a PS4 game, but you'd be hard-pressed to find anything else wrong with it. Sublime combat meets high-adrenaline action in perfect harmony, resulting in a game that elevates its genre to new heights. The only remaining question is how Platinum can possibly top this with a third game in the series.
Smash Bros. on 3DS isn't perfect, but it's about as close a match to console-quality Smash as anybody could reasonably expect on the go. The addition of a C-stick via the New 3DS next year will make a huge difference, but in the meantime this is still a worthy means of passing the time until the Wii U version releases.
Hyrule Warriors is mindless fun, with surprising detail and depth. It's not pure Zelda though, and if that's what you're expecting then you may want to prepare yourself first.
You may have heard that the latest in Wayforward's superb Shantae series of platformers is ready for primetime, but what of features that only the New 3DS (coming to the West in 2015) can provide?
Nintendo has been pumping out some serious TV spots lately, be it the Mario Kart 8 instructional videos or the recent Japanese ads for Super Smash Bros. Starting today, there's a new batch of U.S. Smash Bros. ads featuring the 3DS version, and they're pretty hilarious on their own merits. You can check one of them out at the top of this post, or the rest here.
Still reeling from the Final Fantasy XV trailer reveal at TGS? I know I am. As is often the case with Japanese blockbuster RPGs, gaming magazine Famitsu has the scoop on what everything we learned at TGS ultimately means. In this case, an interview with the game's director Hajime Tabata is the main source.
It's been said that Nintendo is getting a bit too liberal licensing out its properties of late, but personally I couldn't disagree more. I've been a fan of the practice ever since Link appeared in Soul Calibur II, and though the Nintendo costumes in Bayonetta 2 are undeniably wacky, to me that's all part of Platinum Games' charm. The above video had me laughing more than anything else.
