● Quietest news week of the year due to New Year. The eShop is back to normal although Pokémon Bank is yet to hit the West and unavailable in Japan (although it should work for those that already downloaded), the first party sales have yet to be rescheduled and there was some limited downtime on New Years Day.

● Still no retail sales data for The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods 2 (it should come tomorrow) although there are reports of it being sold out in many stores and as of this moment has overtaken Bike Rider 2 on the latest eShop charts.

● Hamatora: Look at Smoking World has been announced for 3DS by FuRyu for release this Summer. No details on the genre but the teaser site is at http://www.cs.furyu.jp/hamatora/

● No other game announcements although Senran Kagura 2: Crimson is strongly rumoured and I expect the confirmation to be made by Wednesday.

● The big game scheduled for next week is Kirby Triple Deluxe which I personally expect to do very well because a) it’s traditional Kirby, b) the first new Kirby on 3DS, c) the first new Kirby game in over two years, and d) it looks ace!

● Three reviews this past week: the excellent Swords & Darkness (8/10), the ultra-difficult (and with the best soundtrack on the 3DS) Phosphorescent Lanze (6/10) and the disappointing Excave (5/10). The next review will be Getsu Fūma Den and I hope to fit another in before Kirby Triple Deluxe! And thanks for following!