Welcome back to the Wire Weekly, where I, Amelia “Check out my character in #GranblueFantasy!” Fruzzetti, run through the week’s assortment of Nintendo news with what could charitably be referred to as wit, sarcasm, and personality.
Ah, the beginning of April – when the jesters emerge for one day of gallivanting and trickery, lightening up this bleak world with good-natured falsities. In all realness, I personally love April Fools’ Day, provided it’s used to make amusing, off-the-wall jokes rather than bald-faced lies that just make people worry. We had a bit of fun with it ourselves with a Link’s Awakening De-Make and a deep dive into Tetris’ plot. And other branches of the Nintendo-sphere had their own fun to make as well.
But if there was one Joker to rule them all, it was Best Buy, whose tomfoolery both preceded and succeeded the day in question. First they apparently leaked Joker’s Smash render. Then Persona 5 itself. And if that wasn’t enough, listings for Metroid Prime Trilogy and A Link to the Past (of all things) were also found in the system. Joke’s on them!
Best Buy: “We live in a society.”
Honestly, the leak wasn’t quite as scandalous as it first appeared. We knew Joker was going to be in Smash, and people have been clamoring (and practically expecting) a P5 port ever since that announcement. Metroid Prime Trilogy has been in every leaked Nintendo Direct since like, December. Which just leaves A Link to the Past – of all things. A remake in a similar style to Link’s Awakening sounds plausible, but considering that game was announced only months ago it would be strange to have a sister-game alongside it so soon. And why ALttP? That game’s just kinda ok. They should remake one of the better Zeldas, like the Oracle games. Or A Link Between Worlds. Or almost anything else.
Pictured: A pretty good video game, got some nice things going for it, but ultimately nothing that special, never quite got the buzz. Two and a half stars. (Sorry TJ)
Even that, arguably, was not the biggest news this week, as it was quietly and suddenly revealed that both Super Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild would be getting Labo VR support. And if you could possibly make the general Nintendo fanbase interested in VR… well, that’s the way to do it! While the Odyssey VR looks mostly like a neat tech demo, the prospect of playing all of BotW in VR is so mesmerizing that I went straight from a “maybe eventually” to a “day one purchase” on Labo VR. Assuming there’s not problems from a technical perspective, it has a chance to dazzle. Though I find it interesting (and honestly a little smart) that the company is downplaying VR on the Switch a little bit – we’re at the point currently where that technology is fresh and exciting, but I think it needs a little time to develop into something profound, so this kind of roll-out is good. And there are some other, older games that would be well suited to the format…
This would go from the best game of all time to the best game of all time but even more-er.
Those were the big headlines, but there are as always some smaller news items worth noting. That new Dragon Quest movie looks really cute. FEH is adding more update stuff, which has set the fanbase on fire for the trillionth time. SEGA is coming out swinging with its own retro-console with the Genesis Mini, boasting an impressive 40 games. And Smash Ultimate, Sakurai, and Kirby all won Famitsu honors for their excellence in achievement and daring good looks.
The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit
That’s all for this iteration of the Wire Weekly. April’s still started, and while it’s a light month release wise, the anticipation of Joker in Smash alongside potential P5 on Switch news is enough to keep us enticed. Until next time!
You can follow Amelia Fruzzetti @FruzzyPickles on Twitter.
Written by Amelia Fruzzetti
A writer and Nintendo fan based in Seattle, Washington. When not working for NinWire, she can be found eating pasta, writing stories, and wondering about when Mother 3 is finally going to get an official localization.
