A Nintendo Direct finally arrived, so join Adam as he breaks down what it actually means. The Ocarina of Time remake is real but shown without a frame of gameplay, Kingdom Hearts IV lands on Switch 2 at launch, and Square Enix turns up in force. So why does a stacked lineup feel so empty if you don't already own the console? Join in for a conversation about ports versus system-sellers, the conspicuous absence of Mario and the next Zelda, and the GTA VI-shaped hole hanging over the entire holiday season.

Succession Planning is now available for pre-order wherever you get your e-books! https://books2read.com/u/bzE9g9

We covered the console version on the channel, so this week on The Backlog Files I'm taking the Game Boy Advance port of Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure out of the backlog. It's Tony Hawk in a Disney coat of paint, squeezed onto handheld hardware that doesn't want to cooperate, and it gets me thinking about something bigger: the slow disappearance of the on-ramp game, the accessible entry point that teaches you a genre. Why has nobody but Nintendo kept making them? Where's the kid-friendly Soulslike? Plus a look back at the strange era of GBA ports that tried to be the console game and ended up something else entirely.

Succession Planning is now available for preorder wherever you get your ebooks: https://books2read.com/u/bzE9g9

Fifteen years after it launched alongside the Nintendo 3DS, does Pilotwings Resort still hold up? Adam revisits the dormant flight series Nintendo resurrected as a glasses-free-3D showcase, and digs into a launch window built almost entirely on tech demos and ports. The controls are still great, the game around them is still thin, and somehow they made Free Flight grindy. A look at what Pilotwings always was, why it probably should have come bundled in the box, and whether a Switch 2 entry could finally give this series the engine it deserves.

Good-Feel knows how to make a Yoshi game look and feel inviting, but the question has always been whether there's enough underneath. On today's Backlog Files, Adam reviews Yoshi and the Mysterious Book; the Switch 2 exclusive that has charm to spare and a genuinely clever premise, but leaves you wondering if Yoshi deserves more of a challenge than this. Is delightful enough?

Adam discusses the new indie Paper Mario-like: Escape From Ever After.

Pokemon Champions is finally here and Adam discusses the borderline disastrous launch.

Adam discusses probably the worst game that's been discussed on this show, Neopets: Mega Mini Game Collection.

With The Super Mario Galaxy Movie releasing this week, Adam looks back at the Wii game Super Mario Galaxy.