Nintendo – gamefeeling

Click. Clack. Clunk.

I love quirky presentation and interface design, and Nintendo and NDcube have nailed it with 51 Worldwide Games. Flipping through the games is like rifling through a box of board games in your attic, and presents the same pleasing click, clack and clunk. Cute, animated icons represent each game, and I often sit and scroll through them just because it feels so good.

Must stop scrolling…

My procrastination would be a problem if the games weren’t fantastic, but the quality is clear. Hanafuda cards fly onto the table with satisfying slaps; Yacht Dice rattle around with neat HD Rumble and Four-in-a-Row counters land with a delightful bounce that makes beating my buddies even more gratifying.

The skits are low on detail but great fun

Shiny little plastic figures introduce every game in a cheesy skit. While you may find them grating (pun intended), and light on rules, I found them charming and was comfortable to learn how to play via the following static screen.

Of the myriad board, card and miscellaneous games available, my favourites are those that I’d never played.

Mancala, an ancient board game based on sowing seeds, is simple, addictive, and polished. The bright, glassy pieces drop into their compartments with rhythmic thunks.

Card game President is a capitalists dream. The winner of each hand pilfers the best cards from the plebs, perpetuating their stay at the top. Outside skilful play (or a sloppy leader) the sole method to topple the administration is to reverse play by laying four of the same card. I’ve developed a mild obsession with it.

Slot Cars is the Scalextric kit I always wanted. But highlights my main issue with 51 Worldwide Games: the lack of replayability in the miscellaneous games. Slot Cars comes with a measly three uninspiring tracks, and while you can create your own, you can only do so in Mosaic Mode.

Mosaic Mode allows you to line up multiple Switches in any configuration and swipe across them to create a unique track. It’s a clever, but expensive way to offer variety in a single Switch household. Further, while well made, I lost interest in Toy Boxing, Tennis, Football and Baseball, even in multiplayer, after one round each.

The quality of NDcube’s offerings has always been mixed (see Mario Party 10 and Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival). But I’m impressed with 51 Worldwide Games and 2018’s Super Mario Party. While there’s no doubt they’re making Super Mario Party 2 after the original sold 12m, I’m excited to see what NDcube pulls from the attic next.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Thanks for making me look stupid, buddy.

(Author’s note – I found the Tuna while taking the screenshots for this article…)

O Tuna, Tuna, wherefore art thou Tuna?

That slippery sucker has been avoiding me for nearly two weeks and, while I adore Animal Crossing: New Horizons, the distinct lack of Tuna on the end of my rod has me considering what may be my only gripe with the game.

Horizons introduces a new fishing mechanic, allowing you to scour the beach for Manilla Clams to dig up and use as bait. Searching for the clams is enjoyable; the little hiss that bubbles up through the sand marking their location as you stroll by never ceases to put a smile on my face.

But to use the clams to attract fish, you must first craft them into bait at one of the game’s new crafting tables. You can only craft one portion of bait at a time and must click through the crafting menu and endure the (albeit charming) crafting animation each and every time. This is okay in principle, and even exciting the first time you do it, but it gets tedious very quickly and yet more wearisome when fifty portions of bait do not secure you the Tuna of your desires.

It’s encouraging, then, that Nintendo seems intent on iterating on the game with regular updates. This time around, themed holiday events are not in the game and will be patched in closer to the time, in what I think is a great move, disincentivising time travel and giving even more reason to revisit the game throughout the year. I can only hope that one of these patches includes an option to craft more than one portion of bait at a time.

Not only would this expedite my hunt for Tuna, but it would also advance my journey to become a ‘bellionare’. Allowing me to make more than one ‘hot item’ at a time and sell them to Timmy and Tommy for double the regular asking price.

I appreciate a substantial part of the joy of Animal Crossing is found in its leisurely pace, and speeding up the crafting process does not gel with that aim, but please, for the love of god, Nintendo, patch in a ‘craft multiple’ option and let me catch that Tuna.

Oh, and patch in Brewster’s coffee shop at the top one of the suspiciously destinationless staircases in the museum. I want to have coffee with Pete the Pelican Postman again. Thanks.