A new month is underway, which means another pair of free Legendary Pokemon are now available for Pokemon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. This time, The Pokemon Company is giving away the Ruby and Sapphire cover monsters Groudon and Kyogre as part of its ongoing Year of Legendary Pokemon promotion, but as usual, you'll only have a limited time to grab them. [Update: The deadline for grabbing these freebies is coming up fast, so make sure to get them while you still can.]
As with previous distributions, the way to receive the Legendaries differs depending on where you live. Once again, US residents will need to travel to a specific retailer to pick up a free download code for the Pokemon. This time, the code will be available at participating GameStop stores from August 3-26. Pokemon fansite Serebii reports that players in the UK will need to travel to Game stores to get the code.
The Legendaries can be redeemed in any seventh-generation Pokemon game, but the one you receive will depend on which version you're playing. Those with either Sun or Ultra Sun will get Kyogre, while Moon and Ultra Moon players will get Groudon. Additionally, the Pokemon will come at different levels and know different attacks based on the game you own. You can see their movesets in each version below:
Pokemon Ultra Sun
Kyogre -- Level 100 (w/Gold Bottle Cap)
Origin Pulse
Ice Beam
Water Spout
Calm Mind
Pokemon Sun
Kyogre -- Level 60
Ice Beam
Origin Pulse
Calm Mind
Muddy Water
Pokemon Ultra Moon
Groudon -- Level 100 (w/Gold Bottle Cap)
Precipice Blades
Earth Power
Fire Punch
Swords Dance
Pokemon Moon
Groudon -- Level 60
Earthquake
Precipice Blades
Bulk Up
Solar Beam
To claim your Legendary, you'll need to redeem the download code using the Mystery Gift feature from the games' main menu. After selecting Mystery Gift, choose the option to receive your gift with a code/password, and input the code you picked up from GameSpot. The Pokemon will then be downloaded into your game. Once those steps have been completed, you'll be able to pick your Pokemon up from the deliveryman waiting inside any Pokemon Center.
But more importantly, you're probably wondering how the songs sound with the English voice actors chanting incessantly over them. Well look no further, because we've recorded and collected playthroughs of all songs demoed so far from the Western versions of Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight and Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight.
All songs are played on Hard difficulty, achieving a "Brilliant" score ranking or better. We only managed to get one perfect "King Crazy" ranking during our demo session, which disappoints us immensely. All Night difficulty has not been shown officially so far.
Set for release later this fall, Blizzard's legendary action-RPG series will be making its Nintendo debut in the form of Diablo III: Eternal Collection. As the most complete version of the long-evolving title, this will mark the first time where players can engage in the series' slash-and-loot gameplay on the go, with the treasure falling in droves and legions of monsters swarming en masse. As the first Blizzard game released on a Nintendo platform in 15 years, the upcoming release of Diablo III is a strong way for the publisher to make its return. Shortly before its reveal, we had the chance to go hands-on with the game and chat with Blizzard about the development of the Switch port.
As a refresher, Diablo III on console is quite different compared to the original PC release. With a totally redesigned control scheme, along with an added dodge move for characters, Diablo III on consoles retains the focus on fast and class-focused action-RPG gameplay while presenting a different take on the series' particular style of combat. While far more accessible compared to its PC counterpart, the console version totally stands side-by-side with the original, making for two unique editions of the Diablo III experience. The Eternal Collection for Switch features all of the game's existing content--which includes the base game with all its revamped content, the Reaper of Souls expansion, the new Necromancer class, and the ongoing Season events.
Speaking with senior producer Pete Stilwell, he detailed the project's beginnings, and what was needed to adapt the game to the new hardware.
"We were essentially sitting around and talking about projects that would be amazing and additive to what the company has, and maybe even trailblaze some new things," said the producer, who previously worked on StarCraft: Remastered. "The Switch was a thing we were all playing, and something we were all interested in. We thought of it as something sweet to bring [Diablo III] onto, and then we started experimenting with the Switch and then got to talking with Nintendo--where we believed that it would be feasible and fun to play on. We wanted to guarantee that it would be smooth and responsive, to ensure that it was everything that you wanted it to be for an [action RPG]."
With the Eternal Collection on Switch, the port takes advantage of the console's functionality and portability, while still retaining the core aspects of the Diablo experience. Running at 60 frames per-second both docked and undocked--rendered at 720p resolution in handheld mode and at 960p when docked--the game runs well on the modest platform, which has managed to prove time and again that it can handle ports of titles from more powerful platforms. While there are some noticeable drops in graphical quality, such as the textures appearing somewhat muddy and less detailed compared to other releases, Diablo III on Switch is a consistent and smooth experience--especially during its hectic, screen-filling battles.
One of the most interesting features to come with the Eternal Collection is the drop-in co-op play via LAN, without the need for an online connection. Players with their own devices nearby, or playing off a single Switch with Joy-Cons and controllers, can sync up with others and drop into games on the fly. However, if you're not able to find others nearby, online co-op via Battle.net is still an option.
During our session, we got to engage in a game of couch co-op play with three different Switch units. It felt incredibly organic diving into a game with a nearby player, and it will no doubt be one of the Switch version's most defining features. With the expectation that players will be on the move when playing Diablo III, the developers added in offline saves and stat-tracking, which are uploaded to the cloud when players have their Battle.net accounts synced up to their game. The majority of the game can be played offline; however, participating in the ongoing Season event will require online play.
Much like other Switch ports, such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the new release also takes the liberty to add in some Nintendo-themed content. We saw an early look of the new armor sets for the Barbarian and Crusader, which players can acquire by visiting the transmog vendor to turn their gear into items belonging to Ganondorf. The Dark Lord's armor pulls from his Twilight Princess incarnation--which fits well into the Diablo aesthetic. Furthermore, players can also acquire a unique Tri-Force portrait emblem for their character, along with a pet Cuckoo that will follow their character into battle.
Diablo III has continually gotten better with age, and experiencing it in this new format was a fresh way to dive back into the dungeon-crawler. The Eternal Collection doesn't look to reinvent things in a big way, and it's largely what you might expect from a Switch port, but the small changes and additions play well to the console's strengths. Though the exact release date is still unknown at this time, it's reassuring to see that the port is in great shape--which will it yet another in a long line of solid ports for Nintendo's console.
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