Justin, Ryan and Aaron recap the E3 2019 Nintendo Direct and discuss the future of the convention. There’s no such thing as too many Zelda games. How many will cave to both Pokemon and Animal Crossing in the same calendar year?

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Show Features

Cast: Justin Lacey, Ryan Billingsley, Aaron McNeal

• Nintendo Intro
  • A couple highs
  • A couple lows
  • How did Nintendo do?
• What does E3 2020 look like?

E3 2019 Podcasts

• Google and Microsoft
• Third Party Party
• Nintendo and E3 2020

This team went way above and beyond just releasing a game this year.

Nintendo

We try to avoid large developers that have teams to release multiple games in a year, but Nintendo could not be denied in 2017. They had to bring it and they conquered with two of the critically best games of the year and a handful of additional titles that brought more than a few smiles to their devoted fans.

Finalists

• Ubisoft
• Ninja Theory

• Podcast Deliberations - Part One
  • Old Game of the Year
  • Quickie Game of the Year
  • Feature of the Year
• Podcast Deliberations - Part Two
  • Best Sounding Thing of the Year
  • Mr Dave Award for Best New Character
  • Best Looking Thing of the Year
  • Moment of the Year
• Podcast Deliberations - Part Three
  • Developer of the Year
  • Story of the Year
  • Game of the Year

• Games of 2017 Articles
• Josh Lee - Podcast Interview
• Coop - Podcast Interview | Games List
• JB Buckner - Podcast Interview | Games List
• Justin Gifford - Podcast Interview | Games List
• Aaron McNeal - Podcast Interview | Games List
• Ryan Billingsley - Podcast Interview | Games List
• Cole Monroe - Podcast Interview | Games List
• Justin Lacey - Podcast Interview | Games List

Debating your favorite Mario Kart is as entertaining as it is ridiculous. I never expected to find a new favorite Mario Kart and not be able to tell people about it. That was the fate of several great Wii U games. I stopped playing Mario Kart 8 because I got tired of playing alone. I do not have that problem on the Switch. The perfect port with a lot of smart decisions around new features and unlocked characters.

Debating Mario Kart 8 as the best Mario Kart is a waste of time. It's too easy of a choice, and now plenty of my friends agree with me. The only surprise there is that they are still my friends after all of those shells. Thanks for putting it all together, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

Throughout January, the Games of 2017 will lead the way towards The 2017 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

Previous years

• Games of 2016
• Games of 2015

I definitely did not know my way around New Donk City, but it became my home in Super Mario Odyssey. It's the world that reminds you just how fun and weird all of the Mario games can be and it shouldn't work at all. It jarred me back into my childhood and changed my perspective on the entire game. Worlds that I didn't "get" finally made sense and the worlds that came after made the game even better.

Then, I beat the game and I found the Mario game I was looking for all along. The joy creeped across my face. The nostalgia hit each of my feels individually. I even wanted to high five Cappy (somehow) by the end. There isn't time though because I've another moon to catch. Thanks for being something for everyone, Super Mario Odyssey.

Throughout January, the Games of 2017 will lead the way towards The 2017 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

Previous years

• Games of 2016
• Games of 2015

It was nice to actually have a bunch of squidkids to splat around with this year because squidkids know how to have a good time. It's even better when you actually know the squids you are swimming with. At least you think you know them until they join Team Mayo...

The turf wars were all well and good, but we never knew what was missing until Salmon Run opened up. That's when friend codes really earned their keep. Those fish should have stayed in the water because they can't handle the ink. Thanks for spraying everywhere, Splatoon 2.

Throughout January, the Games of 2017 will lead the way towards The 2017 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

Previous years

• Games of 2016
• Games of 2015

Samus and I were in a bad place last we met back in 2010 in That-Metroid-Game-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named. I desperately wanted a rebound to get us back to where we thrived best: on our own, blasting aliens, upgrading that suit for the billionth time, and never looking back at explosions. What better title for a game that is a remake of an older entry but feels fresh anyway than Metroid: Samus Returns?

Yes, Samus Returns is essentially Metroid II again, but it looks better, sounds better, and now she can counter-punch the shit out of anything that gets too close to her helmeted grill. And I mean anything. Any alien that I shot, I likely also punched. It's standard space procedure now.

The rest of the game remains solid as well. Run here, pick up that, go back there, open a locked door. Still good, occasionally perplexing. While I wait for more information on Metroid Prime 4 (or 4 to those in the know), I love that Samus returned to form as a reminder that she's still got it. Thanks for socking some aliens, Metroid: Samus Returns.

Throughout January, the Games of 2017 will lead the way towards The 2017 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

Previous years

• Games of 2016
• Games of 2015

Ryan looks for support in standing by a platform decision for Destiny 2. Justin looks for a positive gaming influencer to step up so we can move on from the one that won't go away. Plus, JB tries to find his voice before it falls off a cliff.

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Show Features

Cast: Justin Lacey, Ryan Billingsley, JB Buckner

• Kinda Games: Destiny 2 Japan Trailer, PC Upgrades, Console priorities
• Headliner: Waiting longer for Destiny 2
• Supporting Acts
  • Blizzard Is Building Its Own Esports Arena
  • In Splatoon 2’s McDonald’s showdown, nuggets take narrow victory
  • Raptr shutting down as optimization services become obsolete
  • Here's a better look at PUBG's upcoming foggy weather
  • New South Park Game Gets Harder If You Play A Black Character
  • Final Fantasy XV's Director Wants You To Know He Can't Find A Switch
  • Nintendo: Super NES Classic production has been dramatically increased
  • Baseball/fighting mash-up Lethal League gets a sequel
• Headliner: What's next for influencers?
• New Releases
• Games of the Week
  • Uncharted 2
  • Everybody's Golf
  • Resident Evil 7

Justin, Ryan, and Cole recap the E3 2017 Nintendo press conference. What wouldn't look good in a Mario hat? When does a JRPG go full anime? Has Nintendo heard of cross-buy? How do we feel about the number 4?

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Show Features

Cast: Justin Lacey, Ryan Billingsley, Cole Monroe

• State of Nintendo and Expectations
• A couple highs
• A couple lows
• What's next for Nintendo?

Link - Nintendo E3 2017 Showcase

In case you missed it, Ryan likes his Switch and thinks Nintendo may be back. Justin apparently dislikes good demos as well as bad demos when they are in place of good reviews. Plus, goin' primal on Vivendi's pirate cruise in the danger zone.

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Show Features

Cast: Justin Lacey, Ryan Billingsley

• Kinda Games: Drums, Receivers
• Headliner: Nintendo is Back!
• Supporting Acts
  • Rampage has started filming
  • Report: Vivendi's takeover of Ubisoft planned for this year
  • Burnout creators making Danger Zone
  • Little Girl Finally Gets To Play Mario Kart - Thanks To Smart Steering
  • Fire Emblem Heroes makes more money than Super Mario Run despite 10x less downloads
  • Sea of Thieves trailers show ship battles scouting and skeletons
  • 50 Cent’s 7 year-old kid was responsible for all the helicopters in Blood on the Sand
  • EVE Online's latest war is being fought over anime
• Headliner: No Pre-reviews Necessary
• Questionable Associations - Last Week - Nintendo's Old Games
• New Releases
• Games of the Week
  • Puyo Puyo Tetris
  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

We're light on virtual console news for the Nintendo Switch, and the NES Classic just got discontinued. I think it's fair to be a bit confused as to what Nintendo's ideas are for distributing its back catalog.

How should Nintendo sell its old games and what is your dark horse pick for the 30th game on the rumored SNES Classic?

Cole Monroe
I'm tired of buying the same games over and over again on different platforms. They need to figure out how to tie those game purchases to my Nintendo ID and I should be able to take them with me on each subsequent Nintendo console. Yeah, I know, this isn't an original idea but it makes so much damn sense. I was among the lucky few who managed to grab a NES Classic and while the game library on that thing is pretty damn good, there are some omissions that are glaring. For example, how do you put Super C on there and not original Contra? I don't think these "classics" are the right way to sell it's old games in a viable, ongoing way. Keep em digital and transferable and I'd be one happy Nintendo fan boy.

My dark horse pick for the SNES classic would be** Ken Griffey Jr. presents Major League Baseball or NCAA Basketball**. Games that I have fond memories of that would be licensing nightmares now.

Rob Shaw
I agree with Cole on the old Nintendo games. I really don't want to buy Super Mario World again just to play it on my Switch... but I probably will... and Nintendo knows that. I think on Wii U they offered games at a reduced price if you've purchased them previously on the Wii virtual console... but still. It would be great if they would just carry over and be tied to the Nintendo ID. That would be my preferred (legal) way of enjoying the classic Nintendo games. I like the nostalgia and ease/simplicity of the classic consoles. I think they're a really cool idea if there were enough of them to go around... it would be even cooler if there was a storefront to expand the library on them, but I understand why they would just keep it simple and not get into all that.

As for the 'dark horse' pick for a SNES Classic game... I was a Genesis guy and never owned a SNES, so I didn't play a lot of the SNES games. There are two games that come to mind, though. I borrowed a SNES from my cousin for a couple weeks once. She didn't have a lot of games for it but I actually spent a lot of time with Mario Paint. I know that's kind of a lame pick today, but what the hell... I had a great time with it back then drawing and making animations. I would sneak that on there for my own nostalgia. The other game is not Nintendo exclusive and I don't think needs explaining... I played the hell out of it on my Genesis. Earthworm Jim. Groovy!

Justin Lacey
I think Nintendo has two options here. Option A - honor my previous virtual console purchases and carry them forward on new systems as the games become available. If this is where we are headed, it needs to communicate that fact ASAP. Option B - follow the Xbox Game Pass route and launch a subscription download service where I can play a full library of games. I'd even forgive losing my past purchases with this model if Nintendo games are always available on the system. Third party games can rotate in availability as license negotiations shake out. I'm cool with that.

In short, don't make me rebuy anything ever again and make a plan for the future.

My dark horse SNES Classic game would be Zombies Ate My Neighbors. By all accounts its the best game I never played, so having an easy way to do that would be perfect.

Justin Gifford
I have very little to add to this conversation that is not profane and potentially libelous regarding Nintendo and its marketing strategy. For all of its failings, thus far, when I've bought an Xbox game, there appears to be at the very least a good faith effort to allow me to play games I own on all of my systems. I'm new to Sony, but same deal. PC? Hell, if I had the five 3.5" floppy disks that I had DOOM II on in 1993 and a floppy drive on my computer, I could still play it.

What can Nintendo do? Hire Lord Nelson. Their marketing bullshit with the Classic, which I had hoped to acquire and play with my son, has turned me full effing pirate. GOOD JOB, NINTENDO. YOU GET NOTHING. GOOD DAY, SIR.

Coop
The only request I have of Nintendo is to tie those purchases to a universal Nintendo account so that as long as they keep supporting Virtual Console on future consoles, those purchases go with it. You shouldn't have to keep rebuying games you own just to play them on the latest console. You either support backwards compatibility or you don't. Half-assing it just pisses people off. I could see a subscription service working, but I don't think they can get away with rotating the games because the people who want to play those classic games usually have specific ones in mind. They might actually be able to pull off a higher monthly fee for access to their entire back catalog.

My dark horse pick game would be Zombies Ate My Neighbors. I played the hell out of that game as a kid, but I actually think I enjoyed it more going back to it as an adult.

So much anticipation. So much hysterics. So much hype. In the end, Nintendo made a fun, dynamic mobile game. On the surface, it is a simple runner where you can jump and spin your way to the familiar flagpole at the end of the level. Dig a little deeper and you find challenging puzzles that will keep the struggle alive. Getting all three special coins for a level feels like an achievement worthy of the time you spent getting there.

As a developer, I was impressed at how “Mario” this game feels in Unity. I feel for the developers who had to tweak that system to get Mario to have the right jump that has been refined over the past three decades.

Toad Rally is the only part that is questionable. It is good, don’t worry. It is just a matter of whether you get sucked in by Nintendo’s odd take on competitive multiplayer. I have the same reservations about it as I did about Mario Kart’s ghost system. You are never quite sure if you are competing against a person or a computer or something in between. Just bask in the praise from the all the Toads and their undying love for you and have fun. Thanks for the mushrooms, Super Mario Run.

Throughout January, the Games of 2016 will lead the way towards The 2016 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

It had been a long time coming for me to experience my first Pokemon game. You see my childhood ended just outside the reach of the original and it wasn't until recent years where I really felt I was missing out on this cornerstone of gaming. Even when confronted by that realization, it wasn't exactly easy to find an entry point into the franchise. Pokemon Sun and Moon seemed like the perfect fit for me upon its announcement. Moving the game to a brand new region featuring tons of new Pokemon was the closest thing I was going to come to a fresh start for the series.

I really enjoyed my time with Rowlet, and found myself immediately spending to much time caring for and petting my Pokemon versus battling them. I worried about the Pokemon outside of my party almost as much as I did about my real life dog who was always staring longingly at me while I had the 3DS in hand. I realized I would never be the world's greatest Pokemon trainer, but I will keep coming back to Alola to find some new friends. Thanks for waiting on me, Pokemon Sun and Moon.

Throughout January, the Games of 2016 will lead the way towards The 2016 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

There's something to be said for Nintendo's ability to release key franchises at just the right moment. No franchise has been better timed for me than Picross. I abuse Picross when I have it, but then things calm down just long enough for me to realize, "I could use another Picross." In that regard I shouldn't have been surprised by Picross 3D: Round 2's existence, but I didn't have time to focus on that because Picross 3D: Round 2 is somehow both more Picross and the best Picross. It's all about that second color. More complexity and more fun.

Now, I get it if you are more of a 2D puzzler, but if you turn these 3D block puzzles in the right way, you are basically working through layers of 2D puzzles. Except you get a super sweet 3D sculpture when you are done. There's a bonus though, now that it's actually on the 3DS for the first time so you can see that 3D object IN 3D! Actually, I don't really care about 3D in that way, but I do get super excited at the end of every puzzle. Which means I have to do one more puzzle before I pass out. Oh %^&#!, it's 4am. I can finish another one. Oh %^&#!, it's time to leave for work. Thanks for the insomnia, Picross 3D: Round 2.

Throughout January, the Games of 2016 will lead the way towards The 2016 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.

You know what? I'm glad I tried Miitomo. That Mii creator and especially that voice modifier were some good happy fun. There were a lot of smiles in the office on launch day even before we knew exactly what we were getting into. It's also exciting to see Nintendo branch out into mobile and still maintain their identity. Miitomo is an awesome first step for the company and should be a lot of fun for its fans.

My problem is, I don't have time for Miitomo. I don't want another social network or another app on my mobile devices that I have to check in on a regular basis. I personally reached peak status app saturation a couple of years ago so I'm pickier with how I use my mobile time. If I'm going to play a game, I'm going to play a game and if I'm going to socialize, I'm pretty happy with my options. I don't really feel like building up and engaging with another friends list.

What did you say?

All of that being said, I blissfully wasted a dozen of hours over a long weekend with Miitomo. Every time I broke away from it, I couldn't believe how long I had my head down with it. I was answering dozens of questions and reading hundreds of responses from my friends. I bought a few dumb outfits and some even dumber ones. I wanted to be the most random Mii to show up in my friends apps. That's all I cared about.

After a while though, I found that I didn't care about my answers shortly before I stopped caring about the questions I was being asked in general. I didn't really care about my friends replies because they were all over the map from being serious to being funny to being really not funny. It was hard to say what I was actually getting out of it. Which led me to asking what I wanted out of it? Without that answer, all I saw in Miitomo was a timesink, so I put a stop to it.

I didn't stop Miitomo because I didn't enjoy it. I stopped before it could become important to me. I can get wrapped up in collecting things and checking off boxes (just ask any of the idle games I've played in the last couple of years) like I had before. I've learned things about my own game addictions from worse experiences than Miitomo and I wasn't going to let this one trap me. Not this time, Nintendo, I'm stronger now! Wait did you just say that Animal Crossing is coming to mobile? Sonofabitch.

There were a lot of reasons to doubt Nintendo in 2015. I've never been more worried about a major Mario release than I was for Super Mario Maker. Despite being indoctrinated since before Issue #1 of Nintendo Power, I still hadn't learned to trust the plumber and I didn't want Mario Maker to be half-assed. It's hilarious now, because there's never been more of a Nintendo'd Nintendo release than Super Mario Maker.

Every little detail oozes that Nintendo charm, polish and playability. It shouldn't be this easy to make a Mario level. It shouldn't be this easy to make all kinda of Mario levels. Sure, the online tools suffer a bit from the negative side of Nintendo being Nintendo, but that didn't stop level sharing from taking over the internet this year.

Even if making Marios isn't your thing, just keeping up with the latest and greatest levels is like getting a new classic Mario game every week. Thanks for being more than we deserved, Super Mario Maker.

Stay tuned for more Games of 2015 this month as we build towards The 2015 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.