Crash

After another busy week full of Switch Mini suspicions and a Mario Kart Hot Wheels announcement of all things, it's time for us to sit back and talk over our weekend plans. Members of the team have shared their entries below, and we'd love for you to get involved via our comment section and poll, too. Enjoy!

Ryan Craddock, staff writer

I have all sorts of stuff going on at home at the minute meaning my playtime is sadly limited, so I'm still working my way through GoldenEye 007 on N64. The end is in sight, though; I think I only have three or four mission parts to do so I need to be brave and take them head on this weekend.

Annoyingly, with so many amiibo releasing at the minute for the Smash Bros. line, I'm sadly restricted from a budget point of view, too. I'm determined to complete the Smash set (I've come this far!) so I'm having to put off the likes of Cadence of Hyrule, Crash Team Racing and Super Mario Maker 2. Some days I think buying all of these amiibo was foolish. Some days.

Liam Doolan, news reporter

Fortnite was beginning to take up too much space on my Switch, so I’ve decided to swap it out with the free version of Realm Royale, which has just been released.

When I’m not attempting to be the last player standing on the battlefield this weekend, I’ll either be speeding about in Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled or dancing to the rhythm of the beat in Cadence of Hyrule. I’m now up to the fourth champion (yes, I’ve taken the game slow), but most of my sessions have been in short bursts so far. I also find myself playing the game in handheld mode quite often, which is a bit of rarity for myself. Hopefully, I can power through the rest of it this weekend so I can focus on Super Mario Maker 2 next week.

Gavin Lane, staff writer

This weekend I’m planning to forfeit video games and catch up on some reading. I’ve been about a third of the way through John Szczepaniak’s The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers for at least six months and I’m determined to make a dent in it. It features interviews with developers, archivists and more, and everything I’ve read so far has been fascinating, even if I wasn’t overly familiar with the game(s) being discussed. So yes, reading on something that isn’t a screen! Well, it’s on a Kindle, but let’s not split hairs. Have a good one everybody.

Stephanie Woor, reviewer

Well, I did it - I launched headlong into Valkyria Chronicles 4, and Squad E are inevitably save-scumming their way deep in imperial territory. Yes, you really should “play your mistakes”, but when smooth progression and unlockable content is basically tied to your performance, you’re going to be endlessly repeating something.

There’s a lot to justifiably criticise in Valkyria Chronicles generally (they really should give the Shiba Inu more screentime) but even for all of its cribbing of real-world history and previous titles, it is still awash with creative ideas while having a feel distinct to other strategy RPGs.

Ollie Reynolds, reviewer

This weekend I'll continue to plug away at The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. In comparison to my first playthrough where I basically binged the entire experience in as little time as possible, I'm really savouring every moment this time. It's amazing what you can come across when you're just exploring the land of Hyrule!

I've not made my mind up yet, but I may well pick up Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled, time permitting. I had such fun with the original back in 1999 - CTR had an incredible boost mechanic that made it a joy to play!

Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer

This weekend I'm going to be scratching a very particular itch in the form of Blade II - The Return of Evil. Sadly this game doesn't feature Wesley Snipes in any capacity, but it is a Diablo-esque dungeon crawler with (so I'm told) all the usual ingredients present and correct. So lots of monsters and a ton of loot then? Look out for my official verdict next week, right here on Nintendo Life.

I'll also be dipping my toes back into the Wii U Call of Duty community. A seemingly final bastion of COD on Nintendo hardware. They might be small in number, but they're not short on dedication.

Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer

Japanese version updates to Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection, Castlevania Anniversary Collection and Contra Anniversary Collection are a fine excuse to continue my retro gaming binge for another weekend. Elsewhere I somehow found myself terribly addicted to Super Life of Pixel, the highly-stylized death choreography of My Friend Pedro, Mario Kart homage Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled and excessive violent doses of Mortal Kombat 11. Remember when there were game droughts during Summer? Ah, the simpler days...

My game of the week is unsurprisingly Rolling Gunner. The day you release a brand new ex-Cave employee's developed manic shooter on the Switch and I don’t take notice, my time as a gamer has come to an end.

Zion Grassl, video producer

I recently picked up EarthBound on 3DS right before my trip out to LA! I’ve played it before on the Wii U’s Virtual Console, but unfortunately, I ended up putting it down for other things. However this time I won’t make the same mistake. I’ve got about 10 hours in so far, but I promise to stay dedicated!

I also started back up the original Banjo-Kazooie on N64 a few weeks ago. Surprisingly for how big of a Banjo fan I say I am, I’ve never actually finished the game. I occasionally have this problem where I’ll make it to the end of a game, but never finish it! So I’ve made my way once again to Click Clock Wood and will do my best to collect all the notes and Jiggies I can before tackling that green oaf Gruntilda. Wish me luck!

Which games are you playing this weekend? (219 votes)

  1. GoldenEye 0072%
  2. Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda8%
  3. Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled14%
  4. Super Mario Maker 22%
  5. Fortnite  0.5%
  6. Realm Royale4%
  7. Valkyria Chronicles 41%
  8. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild8%
  9. Blade II - The Return Of Evil  0.5%
  10. Call of Duty: Black Ops II  0%
  11. EarthBound  0%
  12. Banjo-Kazooie3%
  13. Arcade Classics Anniversary Collection  0.9%
  14. Castlevania Anniversary Collection5%
  15. Contra Anniversary Collection5%
  16. Super Life of Pixel  0%
  17. My Friend Pedro6%
  18. Mortal Kombat 113%
  19. Rolling Gunner  0.5%
  20. Something else (comment below)37%

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As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a vote in the poll above and a comment below with your gaming choices over the next few days...