Aussies get early hands-on with the Nintendo Switch 2
Spaces were limited, with a ballot held earlier this year to secure a spot at the event.
Melbourne gamers were some of the first in the world to get hands-on with the upcoming console. (Nine)
Held at Melbourne's Olympic Park, Nintendo fans filled the Centrepiece venue to experience the new console a month before launch.
Games on show included
Mario Kart World
,
Donkey Kong Bonanza
and
Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
— which highlighted the Switch 2's mouse control feature.
READ MORE:
Grand Theft Auto VI set to smash records
The Nintendo Switch 2 launches in Australia on June 5. (Nine)
Upgraded Zelda titles and third-party games like
Split Fiction
were also there for gamers to play.
The new console is set to be a big leap forward compared to the original Switch, with updated visuals and hardware.
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News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Donkey Kong Bananza: Iconic Nintendo character gets best makeover yet
The first Donkey Kong game in over a decade has just been released and critics (including this one) are already hailing it as the best Donkey Kong game ever. But what makes Donkey Kong Bananza so special, and why has it been so long between drinks? The big ape named Donkey has been a key Nintendo character for almost as long as Nintendo has been making video games. What most people don't know, though, is that the world of video games would look very different now if Nintendo had been able to release a Popeye game in 1981 as planned. The story goes that back in the 1970s, Nintendo was trying to make an arcade game to appeal to American audiences and save Nintendo of America from the verge of collapse after the failure of their Radar Scope release. The executives turned to a young, early career graphic designer named Shigeru Miyamoto to make this game. He decided to make a Popeye title, but because rendering the usual Popeye antagonist (Bluto) would require too many pixels and make him a giant, Bluto was replaced with a giant ape, marking the creation of Donkey Kong. Later on in development, due to unspecified licensing issues, all Popeye characters had to be removed from the game. He was replaced with an American plumber to match the setting of a construction site. In the instruction manual, this plumber's name was Jumpman, but the developers nicknamed him Little Mario, after the landlord for their office in Seattle. Olive Oyl was turned into Pauline. Donkey Kong then became one of the first platform games, and the rest is history. Donkey Kong kept antagonising Mario for a few more games, before they both went on to separately star in their own game titles, like members of a boyband going off to do solo projects. In this analogy, Mario is the Harry Styles of the group, Donkey Kong Is Zayn Malik and Pauline is one of the other band members no one ever remembers. Pauline never got to enjoy the same popularity as the other heroes, or even her fellow Nintendo damsels Peach, Daisy and Rosalina. However, her recent outing in Super Mario Odyssey began to get her some of the recognition she deserves. That's why her prominent inclusion in Donkey Kong Bananza is so notable, though it's weird that Nintendo aged her down to a 13-year-old. The reason Pauline didn't take off as a character earlier, or why Mario apparently broke up with her in favour of a princess, Adelaide-based Donkey Kong super fan Chris Button isn't sure. 'I'd really like to ask Nintendo that one myself, actually, because she's one of the original Mario characters,' he told 'She's also one of the earliest examples of the classic damsel in distress trope that video games have leant on ever since. I think Pauline deserves more respect than what she has previously received.' Button points out, though, that Pauline has gotten more attention from Nintendo in recent years, being included as a racer in the latest Mario Kart World game, and getting a role as mayor of New Donk City in the popular Super Mario Odyssey game. Pauline's time to shine might finally have come. Donkey Kong has now almost completely shed his old villainous ways (though his greed remains). This latest Donkey Kong Bananza game follows a different story to the ones we're used to seeing DK in. He's a miner now, sort of. The game starts with him trying to get special Banandium Gems from the ground in the middle of a gold rush. However, there is villainy afoot in the quest to have a great wish granted and so Donkey Kong gets to do what he does best: smash stuff, collect collectables, and eat bananas. But he also must help a 13-year-old Pauline, who in turn can help transform DK using her songs. I don't want to say much more to avoid spoiling the game, but it's surprisingly touching at times. I can't believe I'm saying that about a Donkey Kong game. Daniel Vuckovic, who runs Australian community Nintendo site and is based in WA, doesn't believe that Donkey Kong would be FIFO on the mines. 'Judging by the chatter of the characters in the game, it seems like he up and left to go mining because there's bananas there, so I think he's more of an on-site guy. He's really involved and goes where he has to go to get his bananas and his money.' Made by the same people who made Super Mario Odyssey, Bananza has some of the same DNA. Although it plays completely differently, it will still be familiar to players who enjoyed Odyssey. Some people are already theorising that Bananza is a prequel to Odyssey. However, Vuckovic cautions against trying to find continuity. 'I think like Zelda, and like Mario, there are some interconnecting ideas between games, but at some point they're all just different characters. 'Link from Breath of the Wild and Link from Tears of the Kingdom are different characters. Is there an actual timeline? Who knows anymore.' Donkey Kong Banaza walks a fine line between catering to longtime fans and being the perfect introduction for new players. It's filled with tonnes of references and Easter eggs to previous games, but is enjoyable even without the context, and it would work well as someone's first video game, if played in co-op mode with someone else. With the success of the Nintendo Switch 2 console as the fastest selling console of all time, and Donkey Kong Bananza being only the second exclusive title for the new console, it's expected to sell very well. But while other game companies might use success as an opportunity to suddenly release a lot more Donkey Kong games, that's not Nintendo's style. It might be a further 11 years before we get another one. Part of what makes Nintendo stand out from other game companies so much is that it's willing to let games breathe. Button says this is down to Nintendo focusing on unique ideas over quantity. 'I think Nintendo puts a real focus on trying to find a unique element to kickstart each game,' he said. 'You only have to look at the poor Metroid fans. I would love them to throw a bone to some of those long- neglected franchises or some of those franchises that have for gaps between games. 'But I suppose that when they do return with something, like when Metroid Dread came out a couple of years ago, they really knock it out of the park.' Having now played Donkey Kong Bananza, I can confidently say that they've definitely knocked it out of the park this time. Donkey Kong Bananza is avalable now on Nintendo Switch 2.
Courier-Mail
4 days ago
- Courier-Mail
The Legend of Zelda film casts two young actors as co-leads Link and Princess Zelda
Don't miss out on the headlines from Upcoming Movies. Followed categories will be added to My News. Two young British actors have been cast as the leads for one of the most challenging film adaptations attempted in recent years. Buoyed by the reception of The Super Mario Bros Movie in 2023, and having witnessed the popularity of A Minecraft Movie earlier this year, Nintendo is now seeking similar success by turning its celebrated video game series The Legend of Zelda into a movie too. It's the first attempt to adapt Zelda since an ill-fated animated TV series back in 1989, which was not at all well received. All involved will be hoping for better results now. So, the lead actors. Twenty-one-year-old Bo Bragason, best known for her role in the Disney+ show Renegade Nell, has been cast as the titular Princess Zelda. Bo Bragason at the London premiere for Renegade Nell back in March. Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage A version of Princess Zelda from the game Skyward Sword. Bragason also has credits to her name from TV series Three Girls and The Jetty, plus horror films Censor and The Radleys. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who was the voice of Pinocchio in Disney's 2022 live-action remake of the children's classic, will play the sword-wielding hero Link. His credits also include The Haunting of Bly Manor, All Fun and Games and Everything's Going to Be Great. Ainsworth is facing a rather unique challenge, and so are the writers who will come up with his lines. He's playing a character who, famously, never talks in the game series. At all. Link's only vocalisations are grunts, sighs and other non-verbal noises. It's about as unadaptable a character, for the big screen, as you could imagine. Benjamin Evan Ainsworth at the Canadian Screen Awards last year. Picture: Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic One version of Link, in the game Ocarina of Time, back in the 1990s. Picture: Nintendo And a more recent iteration, from Tears of the Kingdom. Picture: Nintendo Nintendo's legendary game director Shigeru Miyamoto announced the double-casting on social media, voicing his excitement. 'This is Miyamoto. I am pleased to announce that for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason-san, and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san. I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen,' he said. 'The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on May 7, 2027. Thank you for your patience,' Miyamoto added. The film is still awaiting its villain. In most of the Zelda games, Link and Zelda go up against a power-hungry demon king called Ganon, or Ganondorf. The director attached to the project is Wes Ball, whom you'd know from The Maze Runner, which adapted the young adult novel of the same name, and The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth film in that series. 'I've been thinking about it for a long freakin' time, how cool a Zelda movie would be,' Ball told Total Film last year. 'I want to fulfil people's greatest desires. I know it's important, this franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape. 'That's the thing I want to try to create. It's got to feel like something real. Something serious and cool, but fun and whimsical.' Originally published as The Legend of Zelda film casts two young actors as co-leads Link and Princess Zelda
News.com.au
4 days ago
- News.com.au
The Legend of Zelda film casts two young actors as co-leads Link and Princess Zelda
Two young British actors have been cast as the leads for one of the most challenging film adaptations attempted in recent years. Buoyed by the reception of The Super Mario Bros Movie in 2023, and having witnessed the popularity of A Minecraft Movie earlier this year, Nintendo is now seeking similar success by turning its celebrated video game series The Legend of Zelda into a movie too. It's the first attempt to adapt Zelda since an ill-fated animated TV series back in 1989, which was not at all well received. All involved will be hoping for better results now. So, the lead actors. Twenty-one-year-old Bo Bragason, best known for her role in the Disney+ show Renegade Nell, has been cast as the titular Princess Zelda. Bragason also has credits to her name from TV series Three Girls and The Jetty, plus horror films Censor and The Radleys. Meanwhile, 16-year-old Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, who was the voice of Pinocchio in Disney's 2022 live-action remake of the children's classic, will play the sword-wielding hero Link. His credits also include The Haunting of Bly Manor, All Fun and Games and Everything's Going to Be Great. Ainsworth is facing a rather unique challenge, and so are the writers who will come up with his lines. He's playing a character who, famously, never talks in the game series. At all. Link's only vocalisations are grunts, sighs and other non-verbal noises. It's about as unadaptable a character, for the big screen, as you could imagine. Nintendo's legendary game director Shigeru Miyamoto announced the double-casting on social media, voicing his excitement. 'This is Miyamoto. I am pleased to announce that for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason-san, and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san. I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen,' he said. 'The film is scheduled to be released in theatres on May 7, 2027. Thank you for your patience,' Miyamoto added. The film is still awaiting its villain. In most of the Zelda games, Link and Zelda go up against a power-hungry demon king called Ganon, or Ganondorf. The director attached to the project is Wes Ball, whom you'd know from The Maze Runner, which adapted the young adult novel of the same name, and The Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, the fourth film in that series. 'I've been thinking about it for a long freakin' time, how cool a Zelda movie would be,' Ball told Total Film last year. 'I want to fulfil people's greatest desires. I know it's important, this franchise, to people and I want it to be a serious movie. A real movie that can give people an escape. 'That's the thing I want to try to create. It's got to feel like something real. Something serious and cool, but fun and whimsical.'
