Time for my weekly write up of Handheld Gaming News. Fortunately I’m able to sit down in a room that’s slightly cooler then last week. We’ve been having tropical days here in the Netherlands. Way too hot for me, and as it’s not customary to have air-conditioning in our homes it really gets uncomfortable when the weather is so uncharacteristic. I mean, trying to sleep when the bedroom is about 27 Celsius (80 Fahrenheit) is no fun.
Still, the weather has cooled a bit, so with all windows open around me I’m trying to get it a bit more bearable in here. Some rain would be good too, especially for the garden! Anyway, do come in and get yourself something to drink. Coffee, or another kind of refreshment? Let’s chat a bit about gaming!
Demo for MiiTopia in European eShop
First of all, last week I mentioned the American demo for MiiTopia in the eStop, now you can download demo for the game in the European eShop too!
Demo for Hey Pikmin! available in the 3DS eShop
Another demo is available for download in the European eShop. No date yet for the American eShop. Here’s your chance to get to know the adorable Pikmin. A pity that it’s not an open world adventure just like the console games, but I will surely give the demo a try.
Ever Oasis released worldwide
Finally, a year after is was first mentioned on the E3-2016, new IP Ever Oasis has been released yesterday. As you might expect I bought it immediately, really been looking forward to this one. Sadly I haven’t been able to play much yet, but I like what I’ve seen.
Somehow there’s this need to compare a new kind of game to other games we already know, and this one isn’t easy to label. It makes me think a Animal Crossing in that you can manage your Oasis, and chatting and befriending villagers is important. I’m reminded of Rune Factory because of the RPG component combined with a bit of farming. And the art style reminds me of Fantasy Life, as well as all the side quests. And all this is combined with some nice puzzles in the dungeons. I think this might be a great game!
Layton’s Mystery journey is kicking off in real life
As I’ve mentioned before, the mobile version for Layton’s Mystery Journey will be released for mobile one month from now (July 20) and is expected on the 3DS too before 2017 is over. The website for the game is up now and eases you into it by having you solve puzzles in the real world. The puzzles range from “examining videos to visiting various websites to gradually grabbing a part of an answer”.
50 puzzles will appear over the next three months. If you enter your gmail account, you’ll get a notification if new puzzles appear. If you want to get in the mood, check out the website here. Registering and playing the game means you will carry over some progress in the upcoming mobile game.
Animal Crossing for Mobile still on course for 2017
In an interview Reggie Fils-Aimée confirmed once again that the Animal Crossing mobile is still on track to be released in 2017. All I can say is: they’d better! We’ve waited long enough now! This is from the interview:
” So, specifically now, Animal Crossing. Animal Crossing development continues quite strongly, the teams are very excited about what they have. It’s an application that is going to launch this year, as we’ve committed. And we’ll be sharing more information in due course. We believe, just as we’ve seen with Pokémon Go, just as we’ve seen with Super Mario Run, Fire Emblem Heroes, we believe that the application will help broaden the user base for Animal Crossing, and it’s going to end up having a positive impact on our dedicated video game business of Animal Crossing.”
Oceanhorn now available on the Switch
Sunk many, many hours into Zelda Breath of the Wild and you’ve done all there is to do? The game that is inspired by Zelda, Oceanhorn, is now available for download on the Switch. To celebrate it’s release on Switch some 30 minutes of gameplay have been added. Check out the extra gameplay and see if it’s for you!
Huge update for Pokémon Go
Niantic is gearing up to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of Pokémon Go with a massive update. Lots of new features are added, most noticably:
- Gym features significantly updated to add the all-new motivation system.
- New Gym Badge feature.
- Added in-app and push notification system for Gyms.
- Raid Battles, a new cooperative gameplay experience.
- Four new items available only by completing Raid Battles.
- Raids tab added to Nearby screen.
- Search functionality to Pokémon collection screen.
- Visual indicator to unvisited PokéStops.
There are a few other things to mention though. Apparently raid battles can only be played if you are level 35 and higher…wow. That would take a lot of levelling up! And players who’ve acquired new Pokémon by using illegal methods will be marked with a slash in the player’s inventory and “may not behave as expected”.
I haven’t experienced the changes yet myself, but this may be a nice time to dive back into the game!
This weekend’s gaming
Enough for this week. Now I have to figure out where to find more gaming time. I’m still very much immersed in Zelda. Pretty pleased with myself that I’ve conquered the Divine Beast Vah Rutha and in one go too. I did use some tips from the internet, but still: very chuffed about that. And now there’s Ever Oasis to play too!
But, too many games is a nice luxury! What will you be playing this weekend?
Thanks for reading, and happy gaming my friend!
I have been playing the demo for ever oasis and I cant wait to grab it next Friday. It is also the day my purse will run screaming from me. God Wars on the vita, Ever Oasis and Rpg maker on the 3ds… at least. I want to get playstation money for a game called The Caligula Effect. Its by Atlus and made by the creators of the Persona games, gameplay looks like my cup of tea.
I am very happy the heat got turned down, I think my fan motors were burning out! 🙂
I have a few levels to go on Pokémon go before I can go on raids. I am level 24 at the moment. I’ll get there one day. 🙂
So far this weekend I have been playing, on 3ds Pokémon Sun (trying to actually finish the game since seeing the upcoming Ultra Sun and moon games are heading our way in less than 6 months) I have never left a new pokemon game this long to finish since yellow came out. Usually within a month of release my only task is to finish the pokedex.. I just cant get into sun and moon. On my vita, Walking Dead season 1 and Trails of Cold Steel 1. Though right now, 2:30am, I am playing a little minecraft. That and Call of duty are my guilty pleasures.
Hope you have a great weekend.
Thanks Kimi, hope your weekend was great too. But looking at your gaming list, it must have been. I’ve not really looked into the Caligula Effect yet. Is it a turned based game like Persona is?
To tell you the truth, I haven’t finished my Pokemon Moon yet either. Somehow it feels too much like a chore at the moment, so I’ll leave it until the PokéFever infects me again.
Always love a gaming chat. Rare occurrence.. 🙂 I had a little gameplay look and it is turn based… but from what I saw you can ‘fake attack’ trying different attacks until you find one that you like, or will do the most damage, then execute that attack.
I feel I have to finish Sun just because I have always at least made it to the end of a pokemon story… maybe not filled the pokedex up though. I don’t know if its the lack of gyms, or that I was more hyped for yo kai watch, but the … magic just seems to be missing. I know that as soon as I get home on Friday… Sun gets put in the overflowing ‘play later drawer’ and in goes Ever Oasis, because something about it has grabbed my interest. Then again, as everyone says, it feels like Fantasy Life, which I didn’t stop playing till the ending, which was about 2 months… longest I have ever kept focus on one game.
Well I hope your week goes well and that you have plenty of time to relax and play games.
I’m digging Ever Oasis right now. It’s cute, and so far, not too hard. Which honestly, sometimes that’s exactly what I want.
I totally agree Carrie. I’m having a grand time in Zelda, but at times, it’s fun to not have such a serious quest at hand. And have a colourful relaxed adventure!
I think you’ll love Ever Oasis when you get a chance to sit down for an hour or two and dig in. I picked it up at launch because it looked decent and now I simply can’t put it down. My wife keeps asking me what I’m doing because I keep making these giddy noises and such in response to the events, amazing scenery, and music (excellent for a 3DS!)
I think it’s adorable and the character’s emotions and dialogue seem to have more depth and not as shallow as some RPGs can be. The first hour or so is more of a tutorial so once you get past that and start adventuring and building more, it picks up quickly.
I’ve had to put Oceanhorn on hold for now. I think my Switch might collect a little dust… -_-
Thanks for your thoughts on the game.
I feel like the four hour in mark could just be the turning point in Ever Oasis. Up till then I liked it, but only after you get the option to form a party to go into the dungeon does it get even better. Indeed, difficult to put down, and Breath of the Wild is demanding my attention too. Love it, good music and great graphics!!
I’m gonna grab Ever Oasis and RPG Maker Fes this Friday. After playing the demo for Miitopia and Hey! Pikmin I definitely want to get them.
The coming weekend well I’ve got a lot of games to finish but I’ll probably be playing ARMS and Mario Kart ~!~
I’m glad the Miitopia demo has reached Europe! Now you too can be hopelessly addicted to the silly thing.
Haha, yeah, the game’s fun. Despite not being able to control the other party members (that aren’t the main character), the AI is actually pretty good. It isn’t TOO idiotic, unlike a certain red-haired icey lady who keeps on spamming “Marin Karin!”.
icey redhead???? oxymoron impossible
I’m quite surprised that all reactions I hear are so positive about the game. I haven’t tried it myself yet, I’m seriously lacking in gaming time at the moment. But I’m glad MiiTopia is well received. We wouldn’t want Nintendo to stop making quirky titles, right?
Pokemon Go is only a year old? Wow, it feels like ages since it first came out. Loads of people at work played it, but most of them has since lost interest. Guess that happens a lot with mobile titles.
True, most of the people I know stopped playing too. Still, the game is still highly grossing, so they are doing something right!