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Dataminers have apparently discovered an update to the Nintendo Switch Online retro games library, and it looks like Nintendo may be planning a spiritual successor to one of the Wii U's crown jewels.
Despite being a standard thing in the industry for over two decades now (yes the Xbox 360 was 21 years ago, you're old), Nintendo has never dabbled into achievements. Some games have featured an in-game version of them, sure, but there has never been a console-wide system for it, with Shigeru Miyamoto saying all the way back in 2009 that "I'm not a big fan of using the carrots to motivate people to play. I want people to play because they enjoy playing and want to play more."
However, it looks like Nintendo may now be dabbling in a similar system, but rather than being strictly achievements, it instead feels like a spiritual successor to the fantastic NES Remix series. BlueSky user Luigiblood reportedly found the details while datamining the NES, SNES, and Game Boy Nintendo Classics apps. Rather than give you achievements for completing specific tasks in-games, you'll apparently select a challenge which will then plunge you into a given retro game to complete it.
Meanwhile user Spectralstar69 posted a look at the first batch of apparent challenges, which are all themed around Donkey Kong games. These don't tell you what the actual challenges are, but the cards have descriptions, like "Catch the Key" for Donkey Kong on Game Boy, and "High-Flying Mine Cart!" on the original Donkey Kong Country. Even Donkey Kong Jr. Math is getting in on it, with a challenge called "DK Accounting!"
Presumably we could find out more about this new challenge system in the Nintendo Direct later today, and as someone who is a big fan of the NES Remix games, I'd be excited to see Nintendo get back to introducing fun challenges to its retro titles.
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