Direct to You

The recent Nintendo Direct has revealed games that were painfully obvious (Castlevania Advanced Collection, which was referenced in Australian content rating documents months ago) along with titles that came completely out of left field (ActRaiser Renaissance, a modernized version of the cult classic with polygonal graphics and expanded town building gameplay). The most surprising of these announcements was Kirby and the Forgotten City, a 3D platformer set in an abandoned metropolis. Yeah, his royal pinkness has gone all post-apocalyptic on us. I never would have seen that coming! 

Post-apocalyptic settings have been
done to death in video games as of late,
but this well-worn cliche almost seems fresh
again now that Kirby is doing it.
(image from game-news24)

Forgotten City also features stages that stretch out in all directions, letting Kirby explore at his leisure and adding depth to his copy abilities. Take Needle, for instance. Instead of just sitting there with his spines out, Kirby can roll around the playfield as a salmon-colored sea urchin, sticking to any foes unfortunate enough to be in his path. Some people are already fretting about Kirby's shift to a 3D environment, but personally, I'm eager to see what this will bring to the series.

The strangest announcement was the reveal of an expanded online service, which gives players access to a small pool of games originally released for the Nintendo 64 and... the Sega Genesis. Okay, I get the N64, but can't you play Sega Genesis on practically everything these days? Hell, there's a collection on the Switch right now. That's a library of thirty something games you can fire up whenever you like, and you don't have to pay a monthly subscription fee for 'em.

Similarly, Namco's arcade oldies, already represented on the Switch with Namco Museum, will also be released a'la carte, under Hamster's Arcade Archives banner. You know, just in case you didn't already have Pac-Man for a dozen other formats. I shouldn't complain too much... this opens the door to a lot of games that weren't included in the Switch version of Namco Museum, including Assault and Libble Rabble. It's just a shame that Namco made its Arcade Archives debut with... what else?... Pac-Man. The poor guy's jaw is gonna fall off at this point.

Speaking of all things Switch, there are a ton of games on sale at the eShop right now. We're talking the original Castlevania Collection, Axiom Verge, Borderlands, Valkyria Chronicles, Mortal Kombat 11, Blaster Master Zero 3, a dozen flavors of Mega Man... it's going to take a heavy toll on your wallet.