It’s hard to believe the Nintendo Switch’s first year gave us The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey just a few months apart, but it really was a fantastic start for the system. So fantastic in fact, that both of which feature as #2 and #3 in our top 100 Nintendo games of all time list.
Given its size and scope, that’s a big deal, and it’s still the most recent 3D Mario platformer we’ve got. This huge 3D adventure pairs Mario with Cappy, a fun new character who allows Mario to transform into characters, enemies, and inanimate objects alike, opening up the sandbox of each of its distinct worlds to fun puzzles.
With the arrival of the Switch 2, the game looks better than ever. There’s improved image quality, particularly when playing on TV, and HDR support added. The update is free, too.
In our review, Ryan McCaffrey awarded a ‘Masterpiece’ score of 10 out of 10, and said, “Super Mario Odyssey is a brilliant adventure and love letter to the series that made Nintendo a household name.”
The Nintendo development team that worked on Super Mario Odyssey released Donkey Kong Bananza as a Switch 2 exclusive last year year, and it even got nominated for Game of the Year as well.
Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
This article features contributions from Lloyd Coombes.
Pokémon TCG Mega Evolution's latest expansion, Ascended Heroes, is (as per usual) increasingly hard to get hold of right now. While Ascended Heroes cards are now available, stock is painfully low or nonexistent at most major retailers.
If you're looking to bag yourself an ETB (or several) that sport a rather magnificent Mega Dragonite, now that it's officially 'available', then here's where you can currently pick one up, and what prices to expect at each retailer.
MSRP is $49.99, but the current market price at TCGplayer is listed at around $119. That's a fairly significant drop from what we were seeing near the beginning of the month ($140-$160), and back to the prices we were seeing across January.
Fans can only hope this doesn't reverse in the coming weeks, and perhaps even continues to drop further. But, in my view, the market price looks to be levelling out at around $115-$120, so if you're desperate and not looking to wait any longer, this is the best time to buy. Walmart also currently has the ETB in stock for $60, with access limited to paid Walmart+ members.
Compare this to Phantasmal Flames, as that was settling at around $150-$200 in November last year, but has thankfully since come down to around $80-90 market price, which is much better, a whole lot more what most fans would be happy/ expecting to pay for an ETB these days, even if it is above the original list price. We can only hope that Ascended Heroes follows a similar trend.
In terms of where to buy, TCGplayer is the most reliable option, but also the most expensive, so proceed only with the knowledge that you're paying a premium. Amazon is sticking to matching market price, so you can find an Ascended Heroes ETB for $119.99 there as well.
It's also significantly down compared to its sky high $399 price point I'd seen most recently online, and, according the latest data, has dropped 29.83% at TCGplayer over the past month.
It's still pretty steep all things considered, but hardly unsurprising with how sought after these exclusive ETBs are, even years after release. Still, at this price, I wouldn't be surprised if more than a few fans snap it up, as it's one of the better resale deals I've seen on a Pokémon Center exclusive ETB.
That's the price of cards on the resale market these days! I'm sure most of us are already quite used to it, even if it's still a mega pricey. That being said, in my opinion, you may be better off waiting for prices to come back down a bit a few months down the line, so a bit of patience may pay off if you can manage it.
I'd say anywhere around the $100 mark is a good time to buy the standard ETB, but if you can wait a few months longer, hopefully we can see these falling to around $80-$90 as well, just like the Phantasmal Flames ETB has.
Robert Anderson is Senior Commerce Editor and IGN's resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter/X or Bluesky.
PlayStation just launched a brand new sale on everything PS5, and it's genuinely got some excellent offerings to consider. Of which, a clear standout is Sucker Punch's Ghost of Yotei, which was released to high critical acclaim in October last year.
For now, the deal is only on physical copies of Ghost of Yotei, so it'll require buyers to own a PS5 with a compatible disc drive.
Those looking to pick up the game can do so from PlayStation's dedicated online store, PlayStation Direct. The promotional sale is running until March 9, so there's a limited time left in which to secure the offer as well.
We had high praise for Ghost of Yotei in our review, awarding it an 8/10. Reviewer Michael Higham had this to say about the game: "A predictable but well-executed story takes you through Ghost of Yotei's gorgeous landscapes and satisfying, fluid action combat."
"With a new protagonist in Atsu as a vigilante who does not care about honor in her quest for revenge, you get a stronger lead character and an expanded weapon-set that elevates the gameplay principles set by Tsushima."
"Although the novelty has lost a bit of its sheen, the Kurosawa influence is still strong and used to great effect. So while it may not be transforming open world games, Ghost of Yotei is a great refinement of the samurai power fantasy."
Developer Sucker Punch has also recently announced Ghost of Yotei: Legends, an upcoming free DLC for the studio's hit 2025 open-world action-adventure.
PS5 Games On Sale This Week
Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
PlayStation just launched a brand new sale on its online store in the US, and it includes some of the best deals and discounts we've seen for PS5 since Black Friday. The sale runs until March 9, and includes a wide variety of offers to check out across games, accessories, and more.
Standout inclusions are $20 off physical copies of Ghost of Yotei, its first major discount since release, alongside the limited edition Death Stranding 2 DualSense Controller, which has also secured a $20 discount.
Some other highlights include the complete edition of Horizon Forbidden West for $20 (physical copy), which is an amazing deal, especially since this includes all the add-on content, such as the Burning Shores story expansion that picks up where the main game left off.
That expansion costs $20 alone, so if you've been playing via PS Plus, it's massively beneficial for you to now own the full game and DLC as a single purchase.
That's not the only fantastic game down to $20 either, as you can also score God of War Ragnarok with an almighty $50 discount. Both of these are down to their Black Friday pricing from last year, and well worth considering.
Just to top things off, there's also $100 off PS5 consoles in the form of the ongoing Fortnite Flowering Chaos Bundle (which first featured over Black Friday/Holiday sales last year), and up to $150 saving on Certified Refurbished PlayStation consoles, controllers, and more. My favorite from this offering is definitely on the DualSense Edge Controller, which you can score for $169.
That's Black Friday level pricing, even if it is a refurbished deal, I guarantee you won't be able to tell the difference, and it just makes things all the more affordable in a difficult and expensive time to be a gamer. But, it's worth noting that the certified refurbished deals are an ongoing offer at PS Direct, so they won't expire once the official promo period ends on March 9. PlayStation, and myself, are simply highlighting them during the sale.
Moreover, as mentioned, $100 off PS5 consoles is another great deal, but it is also another ongoing promotion that has been going since the end of last year. It's still a limited edition console, and a great deal at that, but not something that is specificto this particular sale. Still, I wanted to include it, as it's still a tidy offering, and worth considering if you're in the market for a new console, perhaps to even play GTA 6 later this year.
PlayStation's new sale is fairly extensive, and the best deals we've seen on physical games since November last year, and in some cases the deals are even better. There's plenty more offers to check out in the sale right now, with several other games discounted that I haven't mentioned, so be sure to check out the full sale in case I've missed anything important to you.
Robert Anderson is IGN's Senior Commerce Editor and resident deals expert on games, collectibles, trading card games, and more. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Bluesky.
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