Category: Video Game Musings

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/12/limited-run-games-is-bringing-nes-jaws-to-switch-in-massively-expanded-form

Yes, those physical snake oil merchants at Limited Run Games have struck again, planning to unleash a new expanded version of Jaws on NES, which will apparently include material from all four movies. I hate to pull that one quote from former Sony executive Jim Ross, but I have to ask “Why would anyone play this?”

The original Jaws cart on NES is relatively cheap to pick up and even then, it’s not exactly a lost gem or anything like that. Despite what Jeremy Parrish would have you believe – and I’ve been a regular viewer of his stuff for the past few years and enjoy his insight on things – Jaws is not a game that is clamoring for a revisit, let alone a re-release.

For reference, my original Jaws video review from 2013 can be found here.

So the Namco Legendary DLC for Atari 50 was released this past Thursday and contained a number of Atari ports of classic Namco arcade hits. You’ve got the 2600 version of Pac-Man that everyone hates (no, shut up. Nobody likes this game. Fuck you.) as well as the 8-bit versions. You’ve got 2600 and 5200 versions of Galaxian and Dig Dug, while also getting the 7800 versions of Galaga, Dig Dug, and Xevious. The game even includes the arcade Dig Dug and Xevious since Atari published both games in the U.S. once upon a time, which is nice to know.

Less nice is the fact that Xevious on 7800 is stuck on single-button mode, which means you fire both your laser cannon and ground blaster at the same time. In the original release, using a 7800 gamepad or ProLine Joystick allowed you to fire both weapons separately like in proper Xevious gameplay. The fact that this has been omitted from the Atari 50 release upsets me greatly because this is painting a falsehood that Xevious on 7800 couldn’t fire both weapons separately and that’s simply not true. Hopefully, a patch will come along to fix this error because it’s a serious blemish on an otherwise fine lookback at the interestingly fascinating Atari/Namco relationship.

Source: https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2025/09/nintendo-of-america-president-doug-bowser-announces-retirement

Truth be told, we have no clue how old future NoA president Devon Pritchard is… but come on now. They bring in a bald guy and replace him with a head of gray. She’ll last a week before the dentures fall off when she tries to get the table for someone named Bubba.

All joking aside, I wish Dr. Pritchard (law doctor) all the best in her new future endeavor. Here’s hoping that she becomes more of a presence than Doug Bowser was, who had a name going for him and that’s it. Last thing I want for her run to end in a few years time and my only thought is “I miss Reggie.”

Source: https://nintendoisgreat.substack.com/p/the-super-mario-bros-40th-anniversary?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web

Recently came across this post from Nintendo Is Great, a Substack blog thing that talks about how great Nintendo is… except in this case where the author explains how Nintendo has not given the 40th anniversary of Super Mario Bros – that Nintendo game from 1985 – the proper respect with a celebration worthy of the occasion. Is this really the case?

For those who don’t know, Nintendo used the occasion to announce a number of Mario-related projects. The title of the next Super Mario movie is “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” due in 2026. They also announced a new Super Mario Galaxy combo pack collecting both games in one cart (though you can buy both games separately digitally), a new Mario Tennis game, a Switch 2 version of Super Mario Bros. Wonder (with exclusive content) and a new Yoshi game. There’s also some minor notes on amusement park attractions that I will never get around to visiting and thus are not worth mentioning here.

I don’t know. Seems like a fair amount of Mario content being released… except for the fact that it’s content that probably would have seen release regardless of anniversary. If anything, Nintendo is using the 40th as an excuse to announce a bunch of Mario games that would have been out one way or another and nothing was done to truly celebrate the game that got the ball rolling. They did that for the 35th anniversary with the amazing (and long defunct) SMB35 battle royale game and the release of a new Game & Watch unit that housed OG SMB and the Lost Levels… that was pretty sweet too.

Maybe something like that would’ve been a worthy celebration of the 40th. Bring back SMB35… but now it’s SMB40 where you can play against 39 other players. Honestly, that would have sold me on a Switch 2 if they had gone that route… but they didn’t and nothing that they’ve announced has me clamoring for a next-gen Switch any time soon.

I don’t know, folks. There are those who would probably feel stronger about this than I do. I’ve seen the Direct, I’ve heard their announcements, and I came away shrugging and moving on with my life. At this point, major anniversary milestones being underwhelmingly undersold is the bare minimum expect from these people. And with Star Trek turning 60 next year, I’m expecting an equally placid celebration next year.