Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: Switch
Rumor: Zelda Wii U, Smash Bros 4, Splatoon, Mario Maker remasters in the works for NX
Hold on to your (red) hats… a new rumor is claiming that remasters of The Legend of Zelda Wii U, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U, Splatoon, and Super Mario Maker are in the works for Nintendo’s NX console. Nintendo insider “Emily Rogers” (via Nintendo Ethusiast) is reporting that Nintendo is currently hard at work on the remasters, but there’s a possibility that not all of them will make it onto store shelves:
The following Wii U ports in development for NX: Zelda, Smash Bros, Mario Maker, Splatoon. But…and yes there’s a “But”… Just because something is in development doesn’t mean it’ll be released. So either all four of these ports will come…or only two of them. I spoke with at least 10 people regarding these four ports. Splatoon is up in the air. Zelda / Smash Bros sound like guarantees.
While these rumored remasters are far from a guarantee, I’m sure that many lapsed Nintendo fans would be thrilled to see some of the Wii U’s best titles on the company’s next console. Nintendo is widely expected to unveil the NX console later this year, but when that is is anybody’s guess.
Posted in News, Switch
Tagged Splatoon 2, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
A Day-By-Day Guide to All of 2016’s New Video Games (April – September)
The Spring and Summer months are currently less dense with new releases than the first three months of the year, but that should change fairly soon, especially since publishers have staked a claim to every week from the beginning of April to the end of June with at least one big new release dropping every seven days.
Are you ready? Because here… we… go… (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Switch, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Ark: Survival Evolved, Battleborn, Bravely Second: End Layer, Dark Souls III, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Dishonored 2, Doom (2016), Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past, Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, Fable Legends, FIFA 17, Gears of War, Homefront: The Revolution, Hyper Light Drifter, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Madden NFL 17, Mighty No. 9, Mirror's Edge: Catalyst, NBA 2K17, NHL 17, No Man's Sky, Odin Sphere, Overwatch, Pikmin 4, Quantum Break, Ratchet & Clank, Star Fox Zero, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Umbrella Corps, Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, World of Warcraft, Zero Escape Volume 3
GalaxyTrail officially announces Freedom Planet 2
GalaxyTrail has announced that they will continue the story of their Genesis-inspired platformer, Freedom Planet, in the upcoming Freedom Planet 2. The scoop on the sequel comes to us via the game’s recently launched official website, which delves a bit into Freedom Planet 2’s story:
An ancient terror has emerged from the depths of the ocean. Merga, a water dragon from Avalice’s oldest and deadliest war, has been freed from her crystal prison as a consequence of the Kingdom Stone’s destruction. Through her acts of vengeance, she holds a dark and terrible truth about Avalice’s leaders that will change the history of the three kingdoms forever.
War is imminent once again, but this time, the heroes are split between sides. As friendships are tested, will the girls stand united when Bakunawa rises?
Main characters Lilac, Carol, and Milla will all return in Freedom Planet 2, which will also feature a redesigned art style, a difficulty modifying system that lets you “change the rules of the game temporarily to make certain stages easier or harder,” and several new special items including a shield block and a quick revival after losing a life.
Executive Producer Stephen DiDuro said these changes will help make Freedom Planet 2 stand on its own: “The original Freedom Planet was modeled as a tribute to Sega Genesis platform games. We’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, what’s fun and what’s frustrating, what we should expand on and what we can afford to lose. With all of this in mind, we feel that we are ready to bid farewell to nostalgia and create a sequel that will define Freedom Planet’s identity as a franchise.”
Freedom Planet 2 will be released for PC platforms in mid-2017, with a plan to bring it to Nintendo platforms (the Wii U or, more likely, the NX) sometime after that.
Posted in News, PC, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Freedom Planet 2
Vblank announces Shakedown Hawaii, a 16-bit sequel to Retro City Rampage
Two weeks ahead of this year’s PlayStation Experience, Vblank Entertainment has announced Shakedown Hawaii, a sequel to Retro City Rampage. Set to be released for the PS4 and Vita sometime in the “to be announced” future, the game will be playable on the show floor at Sony’s big showcase. Developer Brian Provinciano teased a tiny bit about Shakedown Hawaii, which will have a 16-bit art style, on the PlayStation Blog:
Shakedown Hawaii brings the Vblank open world universe into the 16-bit era, powered up with destructible environments and an arsenal of supercharged weapons. Taking place some thirty years after the events of Retro City Rampage, the game follows The Player as he comes out of early retirement to rebuild his neglected corporate empire.
The footer of the official Shakedown Hawaii website confirms that the game will also be available for the PC (via Steam) and at least one unnamed Nintendo platform.
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS4, Switch, Vita
Tagged PlayStation Experience 2015, Shakedown Hawaii
Super Mario Producer Takashi Tezuka has “interesting things” planned for the franchise
After successfully launching Super Mario Maker in September, Producer Takashi Tezuka has no plans to sit on his laurels. The lifelong Nintendo employee (he’s been with the company since 1984) told Nintendo Dream (via Nintendo Everything) that a new game in the series is already in the planning stages. Tezuka also has some “interesting things” he’d like to try:
“I think many people wonder what will happen to the next entry in the original series after we created this new form of side-scrolling Mario action. Don’t worry, we intend to come up with interesting things even after this, so please look forward to those, too.”
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying Super Mario Maker, so I’m completely on board for more “interesting things” from Takashi Tezuka.
Posted in 3DS, News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Odyssey
Dragon Quest XI: In Search of the Departed Time announced for 3DS, PS4, Nintendo’s NX
Square Enix announced the next game in the long-running Dragon Quest franchise today, while also kicking off the frenzy for more information on Nintendo’s NX system.
Dragon Quest XI: In Search of the Departed Time is the name of the next game in the series and its in development for the 3DS, PS4, and Nintendo’s NX system. The announcement event was held in Japan, and currently, Square Enix has only confirmed that the game will receive a Japanese release. However, we Dragon Quest fans in America should remain hopeful as the eleventh entry in the series will drop the MMO style of Dragon Quest X and return to the franchise’s single-player roots.
Dragon Quest XI: In Search of the Departed Time will be directed by Yuji Horii, with character designs by Akira Toriyama, and music by Koichi Sugiyama. A development house by the name of Orca will assist with the game’s production.
We don’t know much else about the game at this point, though we do know that the 3DS version will include a 3D game world on the top screen and a 2D sprite-based world map on the bottom screen. It’s a pretty neat effect and could make the handheld version of Dragon Quest XI the one to get. We also know that Toy Logic will assist in the development of the 3DS version.
A release date for Dragon Quest XI: In Search of the Departed Time wasn’t announced, but you can watch the reveal presentation above (apologies, but it’s entirely in Japanese).
Posted in 3DS, News, PS4, Switch
Tagged Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age
Slightly Mad officially hits the brakes on Wii U version of Project CARS
It looks like Slightly Mad Studios couldn’t coax enough horsepower out of the Wii U to properly port Project CARS to Nintendo’s console after all. Speaking to Nintendo Life, Studio Head Ian Bell confirmed the cancellation this morning:
The official line is that we’re awaiting an announcement from Nintendo on new hardware. As of now [Project CARS] is simply too much for the Wii U.
After a number of delays (and the cancellation of planned PS3 and Xbox 360 ports), Project CARS was released for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One in May. Nintendo plans to reveal more information about their next console, the “NX,” in 2016. Perhaps it will be powerful enough to handle Project CARS 2, Slightly Mad’s recently announced racing sequel.
Posted in News, Switch, Wii U
Tagged Project CARS
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata dies at age 55
It’s a sad day today, as Nintendo has announced the death of President and CEO Satoru Iwata due to a bile duct growth. He was 55 years old.
“Nintendo Co. Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth,” was the company’s only statement to the public. In the hours since the news was released, Nintendo of America posted the following message to Twitter and Facebook: “In remembrance of Mr. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo will not be posting on our social media channels today.”
Iwata had been with Nintendo since the 1980s, starting out as a programmer at HAL Laboratory (where he worked on Balloon Fight and EarthBound, among others), before reaching the level of CEO in 2002. The executive also had a close relationship with Nintendo’s devoted fans. He regularly made appearances at industry events, hosted Nintendo’s monthly Nintendo Direct videos, and conducted Iwata Asks, a regular interview series in which he would talk to the developers of Nintendo’s games. Iwata had been battling this illness for several years, missing last year’s E3 Expo due to a surgery. But he made his final public appearance as part of this year’s Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 just last month.
Above all, Iwata was a principled man in an industry that’s dead set on nothing but making money and treating customers like cattle. When Nintendo failed to reach its financial projections in 2013, Iwata voluntarily cut his salary in half for the next five months.
There is no word yet who will be named Nintendo’s next President and CEO, though it will be extraordinarily difficult to replace a man like Iwata.