Nintendo Switch Online’s NES and Game Boy libraries got a new pair of games each today, the former for the first time in nearly a year. Battletoads and Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos are now available for the NES library, while the Game Boy collection gets Bionic Commando and Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters

Battletoads, first released in 1991, is both beloved and infamous as a classic and challenging co-op brawler. Developed by Rare, it’s now technically owned by Xbox as well. Ninja Gaiden II: The Dragon Sword arrived in 1990 as the second entry of the NES trilogy of Ninja Gaiden games. You may be surprised to know that it’s a very hard game.

The Game Boy version of Bionic Commando was released in 1992 as a largely faithful port of the NES original. Its arrival on Nintendo Switch Online marks its first-ever re-release. 1991’s Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is the Game Boy exclusive sequel to Kid Icarus, and would be the last entry in the series until 2012’s Kid Icarus: Uprising.

If you’ve lost track of what’s available on the Nintendo Switch Online’s various classic games libraries, be sure to check out our complete database of every game on the service.

Bungie today offered a deep dive look at the new Destiny 2: Renegades release, which is scheduled to arrive for players next week, on December 2. The new major release for the game is an unusual one, as it’s rooted in a partnership with Star Wars. A quick look through the early visuals of the game don’t leave much room for doubt on that, as there are lots of things that look like lightsabers, stormtroopers, and villainous Sith.

But as today’s vidoc makes clear, Bungie is trying to thread a more nuanced line with this release that it first appears. While plenty of features may look like Star Wars, the team is going to great pains to make sure it remains a true and canon Destiny experience. Those aren’t lightsabers but rather Praxic Blades. Those aren’t stormtroopers but instead members of the surging Barant Imperium. And that’s not a Sith – it’s a dangerous new big bad named Dredgen Bael.

Whether the developer can pull off keeping those distinctions or not will be a matter to decide once we can play the game, but the early descriptions and footage offer good reason to be excited.

The storyline appears to focus strongly on Drifter as a central character, acting as a conduit into some of the criminal underworld of the solar system. With his scoundrel demeanor, Drifter pretty clearly nods a bit toward characters like Han Solo in the Star Wars fiction.

We also get to know a character that has been mentioned in the past in written lore entries for Destiny. Aunor Mahal is about as close as the game is likely to have to a Jedi, with her Praxic Blade that she is using to fight against Dredgen Bael.

Players will pledge to a faction and build up reputation as they fight across the Lawless Frontier, an explorable space with a dedicated social hub in the form of Tharsis Outpost. Factions include the anarchist Eliksni biker gang called The Pikers, the group of sentient Vex call the Tharsis Reformation, and the rogue Cabal called Totality Division. You’ll run jobs for these factions like smuggling, bounty hunts, and sabotage-focused missions.

While Aunor is shown in some pretty slick lightsaber-esque battles, NPCs aren’t the only people getting fun new Star Wars-themed toys to play with. Players will also be able to wield Praxic Blades, and will even be able to try out different fighting styles, very much like a Jedi. With the exotic primary, kinetic Praxic Blade, you can deflect attacks, melee attack enemies, and even throw. And, just to set clear expectations, Bungie has shared that the Praxic Blade won’t be unique to this content drop; it will continue to be a relevant weapon in future expansions to the game.

Renegades also introduces new Blasters inspired by Star Wars, including several distinct variants, from dynamic blasters that hit harder with brute force, to more fast-firing balanced blasters. Blasters overheat and must cool down, rather than have a traditional magazine reload. We also learned about a special solar exotic crossbow called Heirloom, inspired by Chewbacca’s weapon in the movies.

Players will also be able to pick up different “renegade abilities,” that seem in some way to tie together with the faction you work for.

Across all the new content Bungie showed off today, one of the features that stood out the most was the music. By drawing direct inspiration from the Star Wars scores, arguably some of the most extensively varied and beloved of all film music, the new Destiny themes that were part of this preview presentation were, quite simply, riveting. The Renegades experience may be worth returning to play if only to hear more of that great music in action.

There's plenty more to learn in the complete rundown. Check out the full vidoc below to get a comprehensive look at what Bungie is cooking up. Destiny 2 continues its march into the future with Renegades on December 2. 

Dragon Quest launched in Japan in 1986, and a little over a year later, Final Fantasy launched in 1987. Though the two are now sister RPG franchises at Square Enix, before the 2003 merger between Square and Enix, these series were competitors. And if you ask fans, they might use a word like rivals. 

I traveled to Tokyo, Japan, last month to visit Square Enix's Shibuya offices, play Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, and interview the team behind the remake for Game Informer's latest cover story. But as part of this trip, I interviewed Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii for 90 minutes about all kinds of topics, including the aforementioned competition between his franchise and Final Fantasy. He didn't call it "competition," as I did, but admits, "I was definitely paying attention to it." 

"Way back then, when Final Fantasy originally came out, I was definitely paying attention to it because it was something we needed to look out for," Horii tells me. "But there's one key difference that I really saw back then: the protagonists in the Final Fantasy titles, they speak a lot. Whereas for Dragon Quest, the key objective for [the games], or the experience it offers for the player, is that the player becomes the protagonist themselves.

"In Final Fantasy, you kind of observe the protagonist, but you're not necessarily becoming the protagonist in the games. So I thought that was a really interesting and stark difference between Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy, but I didn't necessarily see them as a rival back then." 

Horii says in Dragon Quest, protagonists don't "just start talking on their own." 

"Final Fantasy, again, [the protagonists] just talk a lot," he continues. "I do like Final Fantasy, though. When I first saw Final Fantasy X, I recall feeling this was the ultimate perfection of Final Fantasy." 

Great taste, Horii. 

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined launches on February 5 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, and PC.

In the meantime, check out this article breaking down everything in the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined issue of Game Informer, and be sure to subscribe here if you haven't yet to access the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined cover story, our deep dive into Dragon Quest history with creator Yuji Horii, and so much more.

FX is developing an anthology TV series adapting Ubisoft’s Far Cry franchise. The upcoming show will stream on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ internationally.

According to a press release, the series will “retain Far Cry’s signature standalone storytelling format” and each season will take place in a new setting and star a different cast. Far Cry is being helmed by executive producers Noah Hawley, creator of FX’s Fargo and Alien: Earth, and Rob Mac (formerly McElhenney after a legal name change this summer), creator of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Mac, who also co-wrote and stars in the FX docuseries Welcome to Wrexham and Apple TV's Mythic Quest, will join the cast of Far Cry in the starring role.

“What I love about the Far Cry game franchise is it’s an anthology. Each game is a variation of a theme, the same way each season of Fargo is a variation on a theme,” said Hawley in a press release. “To create a big action show that can change from year to year, while always exploring the nature of humanity through this complex and chaotic lens is a dream come true. I’m excited to partner with Rob and bring our shared irreverent, ambitious sensibility to the screen.”

"Getting to work alongside Noah Hawley is a dream realized,” said Rob Mac in a press release. “Ubisoft has been remarkably generous, entrusting us with one of the most iconic video-game worlds ever created. And through it all, my FX family continues to lift me up with their constant belief and support."

Far Cry 6

Far Cry’s executive producer credits also include names from various production companies, such as Emilia Serrano (26 Keys), Nick Frenkel (3 Arts), Jackie Cohn (More Better), and John Campisi. Ubisoft Film & Television executives Gerard Guillemot, John Campisi, Margaret Boykin, and Austin Dill are also involved.

FX’s Far Cry has no premiere date or announced cast besides Rob Mac.

Whether it's the 2010 Prince of Persia film or the 2016 Assassin's Creed film, Ubisoft has never been shy about bringing its franchises to the big and small screens. Far Cry already has a TV show to its name in the form of 2023's Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, an adaptation of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. There is also the terrible 2008 Uwe Boll Far Cry film, but perhaps that is best forgotten.

Other recent Ubisoft adaptations include a live-action Assassin’s Creed series currently in development by Netflix, and the animated show Splinter Cell: Deathwatch, which premiered on Netflix in October, is nominated for a Best Adaptation trophy for this year's Game Awards. 

For more on Far Cry, you can read our review of its most recent entry, 2021’s Far Cry 6, here. 

Riftbound, the League of Legends physical trading card game, has had its Origins set go live worldwide. Now, Riot Games is looking towards its second set, Spiritforged; and Game Informer was offered the opportunity to reveal one of its upcoming Champion cards.

Surprisingly, our chosen card wound up being one familiar to both myself and fellow Video Editor Alex Van Aken. Jax is, in League of Legends, a potential menace in the top lane. As the last weaponmaster of Icathia, he wields a lamp as his chosen implement, leaping around the battlefield and smacking foes left and right. His Champion card Jax, Unrelenting reflects his particular proclivity for weaponry.

 

Jax, Unrelenting is Jax's Body (aka Orange) Champion Unit, standing at 3 Might for 4 and one Body Rune. The real eye-catching text is in the bonus text, however. Jax's Weaponmaster ability allows you to Equip an existing piece of Equipment on the field to Jax for one Rune less, even if it's already attached. This makes upcoming Equipment pieces like the Long Sword a free Equip-on-entry for Jax, The Unrelenting.

The second slice of text says that when you attach an Equipment to Jax, Unrelenting, you may pay 1 to draw 1. Card draw can be a very powerful advantage in card games. This version of Jax means you're drawing deeper into your deck, finding more options, and making use of those odd bits of floating, untapped Rune power.

Jax's associated Legend, Grandmaster at Arms, makes it easy to attach and detach Equipment as well. It seems like Jax is the Legend to go after if you want to lean into Spiritforged's introduction of Equipment. Get some early pieces on the board, fight and tussle, and then play Jax, Unrelenting to vacuum up some equipment for card draw and a giant push. I don't think anyone will want a piece of the champ after that.

The next Riftbound set Spiritforged is currently set for February 2026 in English, and December 2025 for China. Go check out the other cards being announced and revealed during this preview season over here.