Celebrate four decades of play, design and memory.
8BitDo has announced a brand new ‘NES40 Collection’ of products which incorporates an Ultimate 2 Bluetooth controller, 68-key Retro Keyboard, and a rather fetching Retro Cube 2 speaker.
The new range, which is now available to pre-order over at 8BitDo’s official website, certainly looks stunning, and it manages to add a few nice little touches to a line-up that stick to the look and feel of previous “Retro” offerings from the company.
If you never got around to reading Ask Iwata or just want an excuse to revisit it, VIZ Media has announced it’s releasing an English paperback version in Summer 2026.
This book, edited by Hobonichi, compiles the former Nintendo president and CEO’s famous interviews into a “motivational collection”. Iwata touches on a range of diverse subjects, such as how success breeds resistance to change and why programmers should never say no.
Lost Origins saw reprints earlier this year, but now that they’ve dried up, we’re seeing the usual climbs in this Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield expansion. What I didn’t expect was to see so many Trainer Gallery cards drop in value, but I think this is more of a market correction.
It was only at the beginning of the year that Gengar and Pikachu were in the pocket money binder at your local TCG and collectables stores, but those days are still a distant memory.
Crashers and Climbers: Lost Origin
With Pokémon Mania 2025 still going crazy, everyone is trying to grab new release sealed product at retail, which means it’s a great time to snag some overlooked cards from older sets before they climb up.
For example, I got most of the cards in today’s crasher section for around $5 each 12 months ago, so although they’re currently lowering in price, they’re still a great buy. Let’s get straight into it.
Pokémon Card Crashers
Gengar TG06/TG30 is a bit of a risk to play in-game, Netherworld Gate can bring it back from the dead without the need to evolve it, but you also get three damage counters. Screaming Circle can work out well then opponents have a full bench for one Psychic energy, but it’s still a risk that might not be worth taking. The artwork itself is fantastic, and it’s one of my favorite Gengar cards just for the bold colour and Gengar being fascinated by a washing line. This card has had a brutal crash from $56 to $38, but I see this as more of a correction.
Pikachu TG05/TG30 has the exact same charm, seeing it having a nap with the female trainer from Legends: Arceus. It’s such a sweet image and can see why this card is worth over $26. It’s come down from over $30, but I’m sure this will grow far past this point in the next 12 months. It’s really not worth including in your deck, but it’s a cracking pick for a trainers binder.
Gold and black cards never really did much for me personally, so I can see why the value of Mew VMAX TG30/TG30 has dipped from $26.04 to $21.42. But that’s besides the point, it’s still Mew and there’s plenty of people who need every Mew they can find in their collection, so this still isn’t bad.
Charizard TG03/TG30 is another card im suprised to be calling a crasher this week. It’s Charizard cuddling up with Champion Leon, which is a recipe for a banger card. We’re seeing a lot of Trainer Gallery cards go through a bit of a correction right now, but a 25% drop from $23.95 to $17.98 is a bit rough. I’d reccomend picking one up before it ticks back up.
Pikachu VMAX TG29/TG30 is matching that Mew energy. I pulled this from a booster earlier this year, and it’s a bit of an underwhelming card despite the rarity. It’s not dropped by much, only 9%, and it will probably climb in the next year or two, but black gold cards could have been so much cooler.
Pokémon Card Climbers
Giratina V 186/196 has gone through the roof and into the stratosphere over the last month. In September these we’re going for $570, but it’s now over $720, and I’m here for it. I’m yet to get my hands on one, but what an incredible work of art this card is. It illustrates the Distortion world perfectly.
It’s nice to see Aerodactyl card climbing up in value, especially it’s V Alt Art (180/196). It’s a gorgeous scene of it slying over a tropical area, with a shedload of detail and some lovely use of color. It’s easy to see why this card has been bumped from $129 to just over $180 in the space of a month.
Red and Pikachu, this is peak Pokémon generation one nostalgia at its finest. Showcasing Red checking out a map and Pikachu looking ready for a new adventure, there’s no reality where Pikachu V TG16/TG30 twouldn’t double in value in a month. At $99.07 right now, trainers would be wise to add this to their collection sooner rather than later.
Pikachu VMAX TG17/TG30 takes this nosgalia and kicks it up a gear into the Sword and Shield era of Pokémon with Pikachu Gigantamax form. The posture of Red ready for another challenge with chonky Pikachu just happy to be standing upright is a cracking scene. This card used to be $10-20 higher than Pikachu V, but is settling in the same ballpark at $96.
Rotom is a cool Pokémon and no one will tell me any different. I’d have one in my phone making it fly around every day of the week, and i’d love to have Rotom V 177/196 in my collection one day. It’s cheap and cheerful at $26, but it’s climbed up from $22 in a month, so I’d call that a low risk investment.
Christian Wait is a contributing freelancer for IGN covering everything collectable and deals. Christian has over 7 years of experience in the Gaming and Tech industry with bylines at Mashable and Pocket-Tactics. Christian also makes hand-painted collectibles for Saber Miniatures. Christian is also the author of “Pokemon Ultimate Unofficial Gaming Guide by GamesWarrior”. Find Christian on X @ChrisReggieWait.
Chickenhare & the Treasure of Spiking-Beard: From Screen to Game
Vincenzo Bianca – Game Designer & CEO, N-ZONE
Summary
A brand new original adventure in the universe of Chickenhare.
Engaging gameply for great times between parents and younger players.
A fantastic way to introduce kids to the video game world.
A Wholesome Adventure for the Whole Family
Chickenhare and his loyal friends, Meg and Abe, are about to set out on their very first video game journey. Originally created by comic book author Chris Grine, this unlikely trio has already starred in two animated feature films – “Chickenhare & the Hamster of Darkness” in 2018 and “Chickenhare & the Secret of the Groundhog”- releasing alongside the game. Both films inspired kids around the world to believe in themselves, embrace friendship, and discover that our differences can be our greatest strengths.
For developer N-Zone, the leap into video games felt natural after seeing the first movie. Beneath the humor, courage, and heartfelt storytelling, there was a clear potential to create an interactive adventure. And what better way to bring the trio’s world to life than through a colorful, family-friendly 3D platformer?
An All-New Epic and Original Story
Staying true to the heart of the franchise was the top priority in development. Each hero’s personality was carefully translated into gameplay mechanics that feel both natural and rewarding. Chickenhare can glide with his long ears and leap to places no one else can reach. Meg is the fearless queen of combat, taking down multiple enemies with her skunk-like powers. And Abe, the wise turtle, uses his shell to smash barriers and withstand dangers that would overwhelm others.
These traits shaped the entire level design, encouraging players to swap between heroes to solve puzzles, overcome platforming challenges, and uncover secrets. At the same time, N-Zone went beyond simply adapting familiar stories. The team introduced an entirely new villain, the dreaded Spiking-Beard, who brings fresh challenges and expands the universe with new lore. The adorable – yet terrifying – hedgehog who serves as the game’s antagonist was born from a bedtime story shared between Vincenzo Bianca, CEO of N-Zone, and his four-year-old daughter. When she complained that her father’s beard was a little too prickly, Spiking-Beard was born. Alongside him, players will also uncover the legend of the Golden Feather, a mystical treasure tied to precious stones guarded by each kingdom—an element that deepens the sense of wonder and adventure at the heart of the game.
With guidance and support from nWave, the studio behind both films, N-Zone was given the freedom to build original lore while keeping the soul of the franchise intact.
Building Bonds Across Generations
Choosing a platformer was not only about matching the spirit of the films. For many of today’s parents, iconic platformers were their very first steps into the world of gaming. Chickenhare & the Treasure of Spiking-Beardpays homage to that era while offering kids the same kind of joyful introduction.
Though the game is single-player, it’s designed to be shared. Parents can guide their children through colorful levels, help them discover mechanics, or simply sit by and enjoy watching as puzzles are solved in creative ways. The thrill of chasing clues, uncovering secrets, and overcoming challenges together creates moments that will last a lifetime. This is a chance to pass on the love of gaming to a new generation, all while creating family memories that go far beyond the screen.
Adventure is calling! Join Chickenhare and his friends on an epic quest to recover the 7 crystals before the dreaded Spiking-Beard and save the Kingdoms from chaos. Explore magical worlds, solve clever puzzles, and uncover hidden secrets… and who knows? You might just find the path to a real treasure.
A heart-pounding adventure for kids and parents alike—are you ready to become a true treasure hunter?
Play alongside your favorite characters and their unique abilities:
Chickenhare soars through the air, using his ears to glide past obstacles and reach new heights.
Abe might be a little bit too cautious sometimes, but you can always count on him and his shell to destroy vulnerable structures and clear your way.
Meg is the master of martial arts – she kicks, jumps, and even do both at the same time to reach higher places and even has a secret twist if she’s surrounded by a mob of enemies.
Journey across a variety of breathtaking locations, each brimming with charm, danger, and mystery. From the majestic halls of Featherbeard’s Castle to the shadowy depths of Demon’s Hole, every world is filled with secrets to uncover, treasures to claim, and surprises—both delightful and perilous—that will keep you exploring. With stunning visuals and imaginative level design, Chickenhare delivers an all-new adventure in the beloved universe of the movies and comics—brought to life for the very first time in a video game.
Borderlands 4 is a looter shooter that revolves around… loot. But what happens when you can’t get your hard-earned Legendary drop because it got trapped out of bounds or behind an invisible wall? Desperate Borderlands 4 players are running into that exact problem and are now pleading with developer Gearbox for a fix.
But if that Legendary flies off and lands out of bounds, the frustration is just as intense as the euphoria that proceeded it. Double the intensity if the Legendary spirals away after a particularly difficult boss fight.
This has been a problem with Borderlands 4 since launch, but it was exacerbated this week with the weekly endgame content reset, which rotated The Oppressor into this week’s Big Encore boss fight. The problem here is The Oppressor is a flying enemy (flying enemies in shooters are almost always more annoying to fight than any other), which means it darts about the sky, sometimes over areas the player can’t reach. And what happens when you land the killing shot as it’s in the air? The loot flies sometimes lands on a roof, behind an invisible wall just out of reach, or off the map entirely.
Players are, understandably, infuriated. “Do not waste your Eridium on this week’s Big Encore Boss Opressor unless you want to lose loot,” declared redditor PuzzleheadedDust8094. “If you value your Eridium and dislike getting screwed out of your items because Gearbox can’t seem to prevent your loot from flying outside of the arena or through walls, you absolutely should avoid fighting this boss UNTIL THEY FIX THIS.
“I have lost so much loot to bosses dropping stuff in places you can’t get to because it’s a giant death pit or because of bogus invisible walls. This week’s Big Encore boss might just be the biggest offender yet. I’ve lost (and I wish I was joking) 7 OUT OF 10 Big Encores worth of loot. That’s 700 hard earned Eridium down the drain.”
“I swear to god if they don’t fix The Oppressor loot issues (out of bounds or spread around the entire arena rather than where the boss is) and flying around for a full f***ing minute before you can even hit him, I may lose a bit of faith,” said StretchDizzy7792.
“Please QC your Big Encore picks. Two weeks in a row of bosses with issues (loot under floor on last weeks). It takes 15 minutes of farming the boss to realize if there’s an issue most people will experience.
“I hope to god they pushed back the patch to add a fix in for this.”
“Big Encore… 6 kills. 3 Legendary’s out of bounds. 0 Legendary’s in the lost loot box,” said S0LWAY. “Horse apples! Absolute horse apples!!”
That’s a reference to Borderlands 4’s Lost Loot Machine, which is supposed to be a backup for this very problem by scooping up lost loot and saving it for collection later. But it doesn’t seem to be working properly — at least, players believe it isn’t working properly — because it tends to favor low quality loot over rare loot and thus fills up, leaving no room for those prize guns.
“The Lost Loot Machine has to be broken,” said one disgruntled player. “There is no way it’s working correctly right now. I’ve only seen one purple and one blue item in it. The rest has always been white and green.”
“It’s supposed to replace gear with higher quality loot once full but it’s definitely not doing that,” said another. “I constantly leave behind blue gear and that thing should be littered with blues, but nope.”
@GearboxOfficial@Borderlands Flies around sporadically with no inertia looking awful, gets stuck on map geometry, upon dying flies out of arena to drop all loot in inaccessible places. Arena is filled with invisible walls for no reason. Did this fight even go though QA? pic.twitter.com/JFUwmWKqJr
For now, Borderlands 4 players are trying to help each other out by suggesting fixes for the problem, although there’s no consensus on what works and no guarantees, either. Some suggest saving and quitting as soon as the Legendary goes out of bounds, and then, upon loading back in, heading straight to the Lost Loot Machine. Maybe you’ll be lucky. Maybe not.
This week’s hotly anticipated patch — the one set to nerf “unintended interactions” such as the crit knife, was delayed to early next week. Some are hoping this ‘Day 30 Update’ will also sort out Borderlands 4’s lost Legendaries problem. In the meantime, there’s a new mod, on the Borderlands 4 NexusMods page, that some players are finding success with (this is only if you’re playing on PC, of course). It’s called Ground Loot Helpers and lets you teleport all the loot to your character. Now that’s a quality-of-life improvement I can get behind.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Who’s your starter Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Z-A? Wait, wait, let me guess: is it Totodile?
Odds are, I was correct, at least based on a poll we’ve conducted surrounding the launch of Z-A yesterday. Our poll’s been up for 22 hours and has over 11,000 votes from IGN readers, and it reveals that of the three Z-A starter Pokémon, over half of IGN’s audience is picking Totodile over Tepig or Chikorita.
At the time this piece was written, water-type Totodile had 56% of the vote, with 24% choosing grass-type Chikorita, and only 20%, one-fifth of our readers, picking fire-type Tepig.
This might not be a shock to anyone, though, as Totodile has long been a fan-favorite. Just look at the bitey boy! Chikorita and Tepig have historically gone less-loved, and Tepig in particular is an outlier in this trio as both Totodile and Chikorita hail from Johto, while Tepig was a starter in Pokémon Black, White, Black 2, and White 2.
That said, while I personally went with Chikorita (having picked Totodile in Generation 2 every single time and wanting a change-up), I gotta say, Tepig by far has the best final Mega Evolution of the three. All members of this trio get new Mega Evolutions in Z-A, and while I won’t spoil them here, Meganium’s was rather disappointing and Feraligatr’s just looks weird. Emboar though? Looking awesome.
Don’t overthink it though. All three starters are perfectly viable for the entirety of Z-A’s campaign, and it’s very easy to catch all three Pokémon for your PokeDex once you hit the endgame, so you won’t be missing out.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. You can find her posting on BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Hey, everybody! Kristen and I are back this week to celebrate the launch of Ghost of Yōtei, discuss upcoming releases, and share the latest news. This episode also includes an interview with Erika Ishii, voice of Atsu from Ghost of Yōtei.
Stuff We Talked About
Next week’s release highlights:
Ninja Gaiden 4 | PS5
Jurassic World Evolution 3 | PS5
Painkiller | PS5
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 | PS5
Dispatch | PS5
Double Dragon Revive | PS5, PS4
The Jackbox Party Pack 11 | PS5, PS4
The Lonesome Guild | PS5
Bounty Star | PS5
Once Upon A Katamari | PS5
Ghost of Yōtei armor builds — Check out the best armor builds for your playstyle and situation, from staying undetected to charging ahead with a full frontal assault.
Lumines Arise preview — Take a tour of the new modes and challenges ahead of the November 11 release date.
Battlefield 6 series enhancements — See how the latest entry in the franchise elevates the classic formula and adds new tactics to the fray.
Thanks to Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
After a short hiatus, the Magic: The Gathering Crashers and Climbers are back – and there are some decent drops on Spider-Man cards that you may have on your radar.
There are some fun synergies popping off, too, leading to climbs for cards that came out when I was 8 years old – a poignant reminder that, like death and taxes, Magic is forever.
Let’s get into it.
MTG Crashers This Week
Now that the Spider-Man set is here, a lot of the pre-launch pricing has settled down and that means you can grab some fantastic cards on the (relative) cheap.
Gwenom, Remorseless is down to just $13 now, and is a 4/4 with deathtouch and lifelink who can play card from the top of your library. The fun thing is that you pay for those cards with life instead of mana, hence why that lifelink keyword is handy.
Next up in Spidey’s baddies, Norman Osborn/Green Goblin is a 1/1 that can’t be blocked, triggering Connive and giving him the potential to climb in power. Pay the mana cost, and he turns into Green Goblin, able to cheapen spells from the graveyard that you discarded through Connive. He’s $15 now.
Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer we’ve already touched on, and he’s now $12 or so. I’m personally planning to pick him up once we get to around the $10 mark I think.
Next up, the meme-worthy Imposter Syndrome has levelled out at around $10. It lets you create a non-legendary copy of a creature that attacked.
Finally, if you wanted to build a five-color Spider-Verse deck, Cosmic Spider-Man is just $10 now. He’s got a ton of keywords that he transfers to other Spider Hero characters, and makes an ideal Commander for anyone looking to drop a ton of them into the same deck
MTG Climbers This Week
Number one on our climbers this week is Mortuary, a card that’s 27 years old and basically bounces creatures from your graveyard straight to the top of your library.
It’s simple enough, and it’s been a few dollars at most. Now, TCGPlayer has it climbing to around $30 thanks to the emergence of Gwenom, Remorseless, which can pay life to cast cards from the top of your library.
Next up, when is a Turtle Ninja not a Ninja Turtle? When it’s Taeko, the Patient Avalanche, of course. Nothing to do with the upcoming TMNT set, this card enters tapped and powers up as cards leave the battlefield without dying. It’s reached $15, having been around $5 just a week or two ago. Turtle power, indeed.
Next up, Attunement came out in 1998 and works very nicely for turning Norman Osborn into Green Goblin and causing chaos. Did the designers in 1998 ever anticipate that sentence? It’s unlikely, but the card is up to $11 right now.
Goryo’s Vengeance is a nice bit of graveyard recursion that gets you flinging a big nasty from the graveyard back for one last hurrah, all for just two mana. It’s up to $15.
Entangler is a very fun one. It pairs with Anti-Venom, Horrifying Healer (more from him shortly), allowing him to block multiple creatures at once. That’s particularly useful given he ends up negating that damage and powering up with counters in return. After being under a dollar, Entangler is now reaching closer to $10.
Lloyd Coombes is an experienced freelancer in tech, gaming and fitness seen at Polygon, Eurogamer, Macworld, TechRadar and many more. He’s a big fan of Magic: The Gathering and other collectible card games, much to his wife’s dismay.
You’ve played through countless immersive sims as a cyborg, a thief, and a cyborg thief. Now, try doing it as a scuttling demon dominatrix. Brush Burial: Gutter World is the sneaky and frenetic new dollop of squalor from Knife Demon Software. It casts you once again as Fennel, a swamp devil with a pronged tail you can use as a whip and a grapple, knocking props around and swiping crossbow bolts out of midair.
Fennel seems as agile here as in the previous, excellent Brush Burial, pouncing from head to head like a tic, but they’ve bolstered their moveset with an injection of overclocked koppōjutsu. You can snare foes to perform sinuous, bone-crunching takedowns, the catch being that you’re vulnerable during the execution. It’s deeply, moreishly unpleasant. Those little fatal jerks at the end of the animation are more visceral than anything in Doom Eternal. I’m not sure I can bear to watch the trailer again. Here it is.
Pokémon Legends: Z-A on Switch is ‘fine’. For a lot of people, that’ll be enough. And certainly, even I’m surprised it’s as stable as it is after Legends: Arceus and Scarlet & Violet had more than their fair share of performance woes — the latter of which is almost a completely different game with the free Switch 2 patch.
But, this should go without saying, If you have the newer console and you want Legends: Z-A, get it on there. You can read my general thoughts on the entire game in my review, but performance-wise, 60fps, sharper image quality, and better stability means it’s a stronger experience overall by a wide margin on the Switch 2.
