DIGITAL EDITION
May/June 2017 $6.99 USA $8.99 CANADA
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and characters represented are © & ™ of Nintendo.
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Our Mission Statement
Little Player Magazine’s mission is to provide a safe, fun and advertising-free reading experience that parents can feel good about giving to their kids. We also want to inspire and teach kids to make good gaming choices and play what is appropriate for their age group. We only cover and review games that are rated EC, E, and E10+ to ensure that young children are not exposed to content meant for teens or mature audiences. 2 Little Player Magazine
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Playing video games as a family is more important than you think! Some of my favorite childhood memories are of playing video games with friends and family. In the past, competitive or co-operative gaming had to be done in the same room on the same screen as the other players. Now that online gaming is the standard, we have seen this experience all but disappear on most consoles. Luckily for this generation, Nintendo’s Switch has a bunch of games that focus on getting players in the same room and that means more potential for quality family time. Playing video games together can be as rewarding, if not more so, than simply watching TV or films. You can learn a great deal about each other when competing or working together as a team to solve a tricky puzzle. You can also pass along good sportmanship and the life lesson of having a good attitude whether you win or lose. Most of my lifelong friendships also happen to revolve around playing video games. In this issue, we review many games with great opportunities for playing together. Look out for Snipperclips on the Switch which requires players to really focus on teamwork to win the game. It is the sleeper hit of the entire Switch launch in my opinion and one of my favorite games this year!
Martin Alessi Publisher / EIC
little player
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Video Game Magazine for Kids A Massive Impact, Inc. Periodical ISSN 2572-6145 (Print) ISSN 2572-6153 (Online)
May/June 2017, Issue 7 1st Printing
Publishers Martin Alessi & Shelly Alessi Editor-in-Chief / Creative Director Martin Alessi Managing Editor Tim Wilkus Content Editor Jason Kaplan Associate Editor Nathan Alessi Junior Editors Isabella Ocampo Brody Patterson Hannah Friedman Aiden Friedman Copy Editor Jenny Kaplan Industry Correspondant Patrick Scott Patterson Art Director / 3D Artist Allen Forbes Illustration Artist Thor Thorvaldson Video Capture Technician Pete Hahn Creative Consultant David Ray Siller Legal Counsel Erich G. Monzon
© Copyright 2017, Massive Impact, Inc. All rights reserved. Little Player is published bi-monthly by Massive Impact, Inc., P.O. Box 512, Wheeling IL 60090. Subscriptions are 6 issues for $24.99. Please allow 6-8 weeks before receiving your first issue as well as any subscription changes on an existing account. Little Player is a registered trademark of Massive Impact, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without express written permission of Massive Impact, Inc. Trademark and copyright for all other products and characters contained therein are owned by the respective trademark and copyright owners. For permisson to reuse material from our publication or to use our logo contact martin@littleplayermag.com. DIGITAL EDITION
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Little Player is published bi-monthly. Domestic rate is $24.99 for 6 issues. NEW SUBS: www.shoplittleplayer.com Subscription Inquiries: 312-574-0499 subs@littleplayermag.com Please send letters and artwork to: letters@littleplayermag.com or Little Player Magazine P.O. Box 512 Wheeling IL 60090 Little Player Magazine 3
FEATURE STORY
Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Systems: Switch Players: Single-player, Multiplayer Release Date: 4/28/2017 ESRB Rating: E Content Descriptors: Comic Mischief
Race to the finish line in the ultimate Mario Kart! By Martin Alessi
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Switch is quite possbily the most action-packed and fun filled game in the series. This game is enhanced with new features and tons of options that make the gameplay even better than previous games. You will be able to choose from over 40 different characters and dozens of different vehicles. Selectable characters from Splatoon such as Inkling Girl and Inkling Boy are new to the series. There is an all new Battle Mode loaded with eight special courses and five battle modes to compete in. Many different multi-player options will make this game a blast for you and your friends.
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Pick from over 40 of your favorite characters!
More exciting new characters to choose from!
Bowser Jr.
Inkling Girl
King Boo
Inkling Boy DIGITAL EDITION
Dry Bones In this game all base and DLC characters from Mario Kart 8 on the Wii U are selectable from the menu. There are unlockable characters and variants too! Look for Gold Mario along with amiibo support for even more options! This is the largest collection of playable characters in a Mario Kart game so far! Little Player Magazine 5
PREVIEW
Publisher: Mojang AB Developer: 4J Studios Ltd./Microsoft Studios Systems: Switch Players: Single-player, Multiplayer Release Date: 5/11/2017 ESRB Rating: E10+ Content Descriptors: Fantasy Violence
Create and explore new worlds on the Switch! By Martin Alessi
Get ready to explore randomly generated worlds and of course build your own amazing things in Minecraft NIntendo Switch Edition! You can play in Creative mode with virutally unlimited resources or take a chance in Survival mode for more of a challenge. This updated version of the game will feature 4-player local split screen or up to 8-players at one time with multiple Switch consoles. There is also a Super Mario Mash Up pack that features 40 Super Mario themed skins including Mario, Luigi, Peach as well as Bowser and his minions. Play in Super Mario World itself with professionally designed versions of the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowser’s Castle, Bowser’s Ship and so much more!
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You can ride wild horses in this updated version of Minecraft for the Switch!
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Up to 4 players can play in Split-Screen Mode!
Enjoy all new Mario-themed worlds and more! There are so many Mario-inspired surprises to discover such as giant scuiptures of popular characters and islands shaped like Warp Pipes. Another cool feature is the addition of the original music from Super Mario 64! Not only are there Mario-themed levels to explore and enjoy, there are the classic-themed Minecraft worlds too! The Mineshaft, The Nether, The Village and The Vista are all there for you to explore. Minecraft Nintendo Switch edition will release on the Switch eShop on May 11th and as a cartridge later this year.
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Mineshaft
Nether
Village
Vista Little Player Magazine 13
Collector’s Corner
By Jason Kaplan
Collecting “Toys-to-Life” figures is really fun! Here is a guide to some of the newest figures that are coming out soon. You can use the check boxes to keep track of your collection.
Pikmin
Series: Hey Pikmin Release date: July 2017
Link
Series: Zelda - Majora’s Mask Release date: June 2017
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There’s some sweet new amiibo on the way! Starting June 23rd, you’ll be able to get your hands on three new Link amiibo! You’ll have Link from Skyward Sword, Twilight Princess, and Majora’s Mask where he’s holding the Goron Mask. In Majora’s Mask the Goron Mask lets Link transform into the Goron Darmani. Will the same happen with the amiibo? We’ll have to wait and see! Then in July there’s four new amiibo coming out! On the 21st we’ll have three Splatoon 2 amiibo releasing alongside the game! Those will be all an all new Inkling Girl, Inkling Boy, and Inkling Squid. One week after that on the 28th we’ll be getting a new Pikmin amiibo. Whew, July is a busy month! So far, we don’t know what functionality these amiibo will have but we think it’s safe to say the Link amiibo and the Splatoon amiibo should work like their counterparts do.
Link
Series: Zelda - Twilight Princess Release date: June 2017
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Link
Series: Zelda - Skyward Sword Release date: June 2017
Inkling Boy
Series: Splatoon 2 Release date: July 2017
Inkling Girl
Series: Splatoon 2 Release date: July 2017
Inkling Squid
Series: Splatoon 2 Release date: July 2017
It looks like sometime soon the 5th wave of Skylanders figures should be out. They’re on sale in the UK right now so hopefully the US release is just around the corner. As for this wave, there’s three new figures. We’ll have sensei’s Blaster-Tron, Ro-Bow, and Master Tidepool. Ro-Bow may be part of an adventure pack but that couldn’t be confirmed by the time we went to print.
Blaster-Tron
Series: Skylanders 5th wave Release date: 2017
Ro-Bow
Series: Skylanders 5th wave Release date: 2017
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Master Tidepool Series: Skylanders 5th wave Release date: 2017
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BIG & little Reviews Meet the Crew
BIG Players
little Players
SHELLY ALESSI
ISABELLA OCAMPO
JASON KAPLAN
HANNAH FRIEDMAN
TIM WILKUS
BRODY PATTERSON
MARTIN ALESSI
AIDEN FRIEDMAN
Shelly likes games that make her think and really got into Puyo Puyo Tetris and Realm Defense while putting this issue together. She is also having a total blast with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe on the Switch! Jason is glad the weather is warming up so he can be outside more but staying in and playing a lot of Breath of the Wild is a good trade. He’s looking forward to more E-rated games at this year’s E3.
Now that he has finished Zelda on the Switch, Tim is determined to perfect his skills at Puyo Puyo Tetris and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. He is getting excited about E3 and hopes there will be plenty of good games.
Martin is thrilled with all the new kid-friendly games on the Switch. It’s really hard for him to pick a favorite although Zelda and Mario Kart are the games that take really him back to his childhood.
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Isabella has been spending much time battling Bokoblins and raiding treasures from shrines in Zelda BotW, her favorite game this issue! Warmer days make for better weather for adventuring outside. Hannah is currently doing Lyrical Dance this spring. She is excited about being on the honor roll again this quarter. Hannah’s new favorite game is Snipperclips for the Nintendo Switch.
Brody is gearing up for a fun summer vacation, including going on his school trip to Washington D.C. His dad has been busy finding a lot of old classics on his game hunts that Brody looks forward to playing.
Aiden is currently on the honor roll this quarter. Aiden is looking forward to his second season of football starting up this summer. He loves playing Mario Sports Superstars for the Nintendo 3DS.
BIG & little Reviews
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Publisher: Nintendo Developer: Nintendo Systems: Switch, Wii U Players: Single-player Release Date: 3/3/2017 ESRB Rating: E10+ Content Descriptors: Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol
9.9 BIG REVIEW MARTIN
9.8
TIM
10
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is one of the most engrossing games I have ever played. The world is beautiful and the way the gameplay is introduced is unique to the franchise. Unlike previous Zeldas, Breath of the Wild doesn’t hold your hand. You are given the freedom to do almost anything from the beginning. This is a must play for any fan of the series.
10
JASON
The world you can explore is enormous and filled to the brim with content. If you can see it you can get there. There’s shrines and dungeons to explore and solve puzzles in, and you can even go hunting, bug catching and even cooking! You’re even free to do things how and when you want to do them because it’s not linear. I really think this is a sure win for game of the year.
This game is the closest to perfection I have played in quite some time. The vastness of the world combined with the freedom to go anywhere and do just about anything make it an adventure worth taking. The only aspect that is a liability is the game can be frustrating and difficult for younger (and older) players as the learning curve is quite steep. Do not miss this absolutely amazing game!
BIG REVIEW
BIG REVIEW
Average Score
little REVIEW ISABELLA
10
This glorious open-world game has to be one of the most intriguing and beautiful games I have ever played. It’s gorgeous, diverse worlds and sense of unbridled freedom unleashes and encourages a feeling of creativity to scrounge the great world for weapons, enemies, treasures and crafts. The difficulty curve, though a strong one, teaches players to adapt to the world around them to improve their experience. Breath Of The Wild is one in a million.
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