Saturday, May 31, 2008

Super Mario RPG Released On Japanese Virtual Console

Fans of Super Mario RPG, or those that have been waiting to play it for the first time shouldn't have to wait much longer for a US release, as Japan has recieved Super Mario RPG on their VC this week.


Super Mario RPG was released on the SNES and will be available on the VC(someday soon let's hope) for 900 Wii Points.

Believe me, the 100 extra points are worth it.
Lets hope we are all looking at this screen soon.

Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff Announced For Wii

One of the greatest football games of all time is getting another issue.

Earlier this month Tecmo announced Tecmo Bowl for the DS. I, along with many others, rejoiced at this news because...well it's freaking Tecmo Bowl! And after seeing some DS videos all I can say is that Tecmo Bowl is coming back strong.

Now however, another little surprise has surfaced. Tecmo Bowl will also be coming to the Wii in 2009 (DS version is set for 2008), and will feature a generic 32 team roster(shame EA has the NFL licence rapped up so tightly), but the teams will have heavy customization.
Other then that small bit Tecmo Bowl for Wii is just an announcement, no release date, no videos, no screens, no nothing.

But the announcement is good enough for me because now I get twice the Tecmo Bowl, and twice the fun.

Poll Closed: Results

The poll has been open for fifteen days now, and thanks too the 23 people who voted in it and helped determine what the favorite console is for people who visit this site.

Results:
Wii- 13 (Winner)
PS3- 3
360- 2
PC- 5 (Second Place)
Other- 0 (No one likes the Virtual Boy?)

I would have expected the Wii to win(that's all I really do here), but the PC did very well considering.

Nintendo Channel Launches In Europe

Europeans can now enjoy the wonders of the Nintendo Channel on the Wii.

The Nintendo Channel features many videos about upcoming Wii/DS games, including informational, advertising and just general playing.
The channel also brings about a nice feature, DS Demos. That's right, your Wii is now a DS download center, no need to go to stores and hope they have DS demos set up, you can now do it from the comfort of your own home.
The channel also has some market research tools, they can track what games you play, and you can reccommend games. But I haven't gone to far into this feature to really give a good description of it.

The Nintendo Channel is free, and can be picked up off the Wii Shop Channel.
Enjoy!

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Rhythm Tengoku, Wario Land Announced

Gonintendo has translated some of the Japanese Nintendo release site. And they have found quite a few new titles, including some interesting info.

July 10 DS Densetsu no Starfi
July 24 Wii Wario Land Shake
July 31 Wii Rei (Fatal Frame)
July 31 DS Rhythm Tengoku Gold
Aug 7 DS Fire Emblem DS
Aug 22 DS Inazuma Eleven

Fire Emblem DS is still a ways off(good, means they are really working on it), Fatal Frame is nearly complete, Rhythm Tengoku is back and the Wii gets a Wario Land game(with balance board likely). Stafi gets another game(the assist trophy in Super Smash Bros Brawl if you don't know the character), hopefully that gets localized.
It's looking even better to be a Nintendo Wii/DS owner right now, more to come at E3.

Sim City Coming To Wii!

The popular PC franchise will be getting a new edition, on the Wii.

Magazine Scans:




The graphics aren't spectacular, but Sim City never pushes the graphics barrier. Everything else seems to be there, if the game is easy to control with the Wiimote then this game will likely be everything Sim fans are looking for in a console game.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

King Story To Release In Late 2008

I'm reading a bunch of rumors right now, that Nintendo Power has, inadvertently, announced that King Story(Project O as it used to be called) is going to be hitting the United States by the end of 2008. The sources seem good and the news isn't so far fetched.

I'm going to say this looks true, though I wouldn't be shocked if the game gets delayed sometime between now and the end of 2008.

It also looks like the game may have gone through a name change since we last saw it, as Nintendo Power is calling it "Little King's Story", personnaly, I don't like this name as much as the old one.
King Story is developed by Marvelous Interactive(Harvest Moon) and looks to be a city manager type game(think Final Fantasy: My Life As A King).
There has been very little info on the game, other then a quick video of it, but that video was enough to spark my interest in the game.

Rayman Raving Rabbids 3 Details Emerge

Looks like I was right about the balance board thing(though was it really that hard to predict?).
Gonintendo has posted a few bits of info, so far this sounds like an amazing party game. Might force me to go out and get Wii Fit for the balance board.
Here is the info from Gonintendo...
- Mainly supports balance board
- Over 65 new minigames
- Plot: Rabbids take over everything on television
- throughout the story, you'll play a week's worth of TV
- 8-player 'round robin' multiplayer
- balance board games designed around making some minigames easier/some more difficult
- some sort of 'sabotage' feature hinted at
- some minigames are played with your butt via balance board
- Xtreme Sports channel (wildebeest minigame - butt controlled)-
-Fashion Rabbidz minigame (poses on the balance board)
- shooting segments
- destroy movie sets
- no more FMV shooting segments
- Interactive TV commercials
- Winning player controls "TV remote" in multiplayer
- Shaking, precision, dexterity, balance, rhythm, combos, acting, and stepping minigame categories
- Rayman in more of a cameo position for this game. Focus is the Rabbids
- Custom costumes (Awesome!)
- take photos and send them
- Online leaderboards

Online leaderboards, lots of clever things, 65 mini games, balance board support...Ubisoft you better not mess this up.

Nintendo Power Moon Reveals Castlevania For DS

Well the latest Nintendo Power is out, and the secret game that they promised last month has been revealed. No it's not Earthbound, Pokemon or Kingdom Hearts, but it is what looks to be a good game in a good series.

Castlevania: Order Of Ecclesia.
Looks good, tons of little snippets of info, to bad it wasn't a Castlevania for Wii though.

Monday, May 26, 2008

Nintendo Set To Discontinue Original Wii?

I just had a chat with a nice guy working at Best Buy, and I asked him about a rumor I had heard, the rumor being that retailers were switching the Wii over to the "endangered list"(as I like to call it), for most retailers that means that the current item will no longer be sold in 90 days, and that it will be replaced by a newer version(Ipods do this a lot at my Best Buy).
So I asked this nice guy if he could check and see if the Wii was indeed on the "endangered list", and he does. Sure enough it was on the list, which surprised me.

So the question now is, are the current Wii's really going to be obsolete in just 3 short months?
I say no, Best Buy has likely screwed something up and listed the Wii by accident.
I would reccomend waiting until E3 atleast, 90 days puts us at about the end of August, just enough time to announce something at E3, let it sink in and then hit us over the head with it.
Another possibility is that this nice guy wasn't as nice as he let on, and he thought it would be fun to screw with me.

Just my thoughts, but it is definetly something strange, makes you think about what Nintendo really has planned for us in the near future.

5/26/08 WiiWare Releases

These are the WiiWare games that will be released in about an hour and a half.

My comments in red.
Dr. Mario Online Rx (Nintendo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): The doctor is in! Mario™ takes a break from his adventuring ways and once again dons his stethoscope for a new generation of germ-battling mayhem. In addition to the classic mode of using vitamins to exterminate viruses, you’ll find two battle modes and an online multiplayer mode where you can hone your skills against players from around the world. Feel like challenging a friend who doesn’t have Dr. Mario Online Rx? Then the WiiWare-exclusive Friend Battle Demo is just what the doctor ordered. Or maybe you’d like some help taking on those nasty viruses? Try out Virus Buster, where four players can simultaneously move capsules simply by pointing at them with a Wii Remote™ controller. Any way you look at it, Dr. Mario Online Rx is a prescription for fun that everyone can enjoy.
This is Nintendos first WiiWare game to hit the United States, and it will likely be worth the wait. Dr. Mario was probably the most anticipated WiiWare game, and most were sad that they didn't get it at launch(myself included). With online, this game will probably last you a good while, and for only 1000 Wii Points($10), you aren't risking much.
Status-Likely Purchase
Family Table Tennis (Aksys Games, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone, 500 Wii Points): It’s time for some good old family fun, and what’s more fun than table tennis? Just like a real family, choose your character from a cast of four, which includes Daddy, Mommy, Sarah and Billy. There are four table tennis-tastic stages where it doesn’t matter if you’re an indoors or outdoors table-tennis player. Pick your poison from a gymnasium, a forest park, a beach or even an amusement park. Choose from Single or Versus mode, or select a minigame to play. In Versus mode, you and a friend can play against each other to see who is the better table-tennis player. And if Single and Versus modes aren’t enough, select between three minigames, which include Target Table Tennis, Thrilling Table Tennis and Matching Table Tennis. The appealing cell-shaded graphics and endearing music, on top of the super-fun game play, will have you and your family playing from morning till night. Get your paddles ready.
I've seen one video of this game...somewhere. But it really just looks like the Wii Play ping-pong game with some cute graphics. Other then that I see no reason to pick this up, even at 500 Wii Points($5).
Status-Not Purchasing

So there you have it, Dr. Mario finnaly hits the US. And we get some family friendly ping-pong.
These games will be released Monday May 26 at 9:00 PCT (about an hour and a half).
Enjoy!

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Nintendo To Skip Liepzig Games Conference

Looks official, Nintendo will not be showing up at Leipzig GC 2008. And while some will be disappointed by this news remember that third party developers will still be there.
Nintendo never really did much at Liepzig, the only news I can remember from the event was 2 years ago, when they announced Battalion Wars 2 and Super Mario Strikers for the Wii. Other then that this really isn't that big of a loss. It will likely mean that Nintendo just uses E3 and TGS for all of their announcements, rather then spread them out everywhere.

Source

Ubidays: Rayman Raving Rabbids 3 With Balance Board?

A new video on the Rayman Raving Rabbids site shows the lovable rabbits with a balance board. Possible hint that Ubisoft is going to announce Rayman Raving Rabbids 3, with balance board support at their press conferences this week? Or just a funny video?
It seems like a good direction for the game to go, especially if competition(WarioWare is rumored to use the balance board in it's next game) is starting to use it.

You can find the video HERE.

Ubidays runs from May 28-29 in Paris.

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Nintendo Releases For 2008

These are the games that will most likely be released by Nintendo this year(in Japan)(give or take delays).

Wii

  • Fatal Frame IV
  • Kirby Wii
  • Wii Chess
  • Mario Super Sluggers
  • Wii Music
  • Animal Crossing Wii
  • Disaster: Day Of Crisis

DS

  • Glory of Hercules
  • Pokémon Platinum
  • Band Brothers DX
  • DS Air
  • Fire Emblem DS
  • Hoshi no Kirby: Ultra Super Deluxe
  • Wander Donkey

WiiWare

  • Dr. Mario RX
  • Everyone's Pokemon Ranch
  • Magnetica Twist
  • Yakuman Wii

Pretty nice list don't you think? Wii gets Animal Crossing, Disaster and Kirby. DS gets Fire Emblem and another Kirby, and WiiWare gets Dr. Mario.

Hopefully more good stuff like this is on the way.

Monday, May 19, 2008

WiiWare Releases 5/19/08

Today we get two new games for the WiiWare service. Sadly Dr.Mario couldn't join the party this week. But these games should hold you over until next week.

My comments in red.
Critter Round-Up (Konami, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Comic Mischief, 1,000 Wii Points): The critters have escaped, and the barnyard is in chaos! It’s up to you to quickly corral the animals in this puzzle-action challenge. You’ll have to mend fences in a hurry to keep all the critters safe and satisfied. But the fun doesn’t stop with the farmland; more than 50 challenging levels take you to several exotic locations, including the outback, the icy Arctic and more. There’s even a series of minigames for when the critters get you down: Snowball Soccer, Predator Rampage, Chicken Catch and Fence Trap. Up to four players can compete or cooperate as the critters run wild. So roll up those sleeves and grab a friend—those critters won’t catch themselves.
Interesting little title. I have actually thought that this game looked really fun.
Status-Likely Purchase
Star Soldier R (Hudson Entertainment, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): Star Soldier R is a new kind of shooter where players aim for the best scores within a two- or five-minute time limit. Develop various scoring strategies, and pump out those points within the breakneck time frame. Assembled in record time to counter the advance of a powerful enemy, the mysterious Brain Forces, the “Caesar” starfighter takes off to fight for the very future of mankind. Shoot down countless enemies, upgrade your ship to the max with power-ups hidden throughout the levels and wage an all-out assault against the core of the enemy fortress. Combining the excitement of shoot-’em-ups with in-depth scoring strategies, this state-of-the-art competitive shooter will keep you coming back for more. Upload your best scores with Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection, and pit your skills against the world’s best fighter pilots from the comfort of your living room. Hone your skills and show the world who’s boss.
I absouletly love SHMUPS, and Star Soldier has typically been a good game.
Status-Likely Purchase
The VC will also recieve Sky Kid today.
These titles will be made available on Monday, May 19 at 9:00 PCT.
Have fun!

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Final Fantasy CCMLAAK First Impressions

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King Impressions
My first WiiWare game, and I must say that it has been a generally good start to the service.

The game costs 1,500 Wii Points($15), and takes up 287 blocks of your Wii's Internal Memory. The game features Download Center, which will unlock more buildings and dungeons for your game, but it will cost you anywhere between 100-900 Wii Points, and take up a few more blocks. The game is developed by Square Enix, the developers of such classics as Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. As well as recent hits like The World Ends With You.
You will start off the game in a small kingdom, with a castle and a nice set of sturdy walls to protect you. You are the young king of this land, and you will be aided by Chime and Hugh Yurg. You and your partners find the kingdom completely empty at the start of the game, and after some cutscenes you will be given the power of Architek(building), Architek allows you to build houses(among a variety of other structures), Chime will give you a briefing on how Architek works and you will be allowed to build the first houses in your kingdom. Along with the houses come their inhabitants, often a father/mother figure and a young adventurer. After you have built 3 houses you will realize that your elementite has run out, and without elementite you cannot build anything. At this point the crystal will tell you that more elementite can be found in the dungeons and caverns surrounding your kingdom. You yourself want to go and get the elementite but Chime says that that is no job for a king(she's like your mom!) and that you should try to find some young civilian adventurers to go and fight for you.
A board just outside of your castle will show the adventurers that you hire the behests(quests) that they can complete on that day(chosen by you), you can then head down to the behest board and tell as many adventurers as you want to go out and try to complete that behest. The adventurers will then head out and attempt to complete their jobs, you can monotor their progress in the top right hand corner of the screen, but you cannot see any of their actions outside of town. If they complete their behests before the day is over you will be rewarded with whatever elementite they collected, along with a small portion of gold. The dungeons will start off easy, but eventually you will get some high level dungeons, and the loot will grow with the difficulty of the dungeon. You can hire 5 adventurers to help you complete the behests, and after a short time you will be allowed to build adventurer buildings(as I like to call them), these buildings will help equip your adventurers with all the things they need to complete their missions. And the best part is, the adventurers will spend money for equipment as they see fit, so you don't have to worry about who has what, the game will do it for you.
TIP: Build all of these buildings(Item Shop, Weapon Shop, Tavern, Guild Hall, Armor Shop, Black/White Mage Temples and Hugh Yurg's Training Area) NEAR your behest boards, if these buildings are spread out it will take your adventurers a while to get to them, and in doing so cut down on their time to complete behests(days are VERY short, they need to be quick at getting out of town).
Now your job in town is to use your ability to build the town up as big as you can, with the elementite that your adventurers bring back. Building your town can be a hassle at times, but once you have put it all together it is nice to sit back and watch your town blossom with activity. You can build Bakeries and Emporiums for your citizens, who will love the smells from the bakery, and the great deals the emporium offers. Also building these buildings will allow you to hold more morale balls(under the elementite and gold tallies in the upper left hand corner), and these can be a big help for improving your citizens friendships(and making the days last longer in the process). You will also be allowed to build spacious houses for your citizens, these houses will bring the standards(an adult and an adventurer) but they will also include 2-3 more citizens, making your population skyrocket(plus a cool blimp will show up the day after you build a spacious house, and drop off the new citizens). After Chapter 2 you will be allowed to dismantle and rebuild structures(you get the elementite back, so don't worry about wasting it) so feel free to experiment with town layouts.
A couple of small features I would like to point out. The more you use the morale balls the happier your citizens will be, and when they are happy they will keep their lights on longer, allowing the days to last longer, and while this takes some effort the reward is quite worth it. Another cool little feature is that the adventurers near a temple will get a small boost in stats, those professors teach things to everyone I guess. Also make sure that you use Chime, Pavlov, Hugh Yurg and the Moogle Brothers to their fullest potential, talk to them often!
Controls for this game are quite simple: (Control Pad)-will move the camera around for you. (A)- is for selecting citizens/options. (-/wave of the Wiimote)-will summon Chime. (+)-Allows you to move around the village from an aerial view, you can select citizens and get their names in this view. (1/2/B/C)-Nothing during general play. (Z)-Adjusts the camera 90 degrees. (Control Stick)-Movement around town.
The controls are quick and easy to master, when you stand on a patch of land shake the Wiimote to summon Chime and begin building there.
Download Center for this game is rather expensive, but the rewards are very good. The Download Center will cost you anywhere between 100-900 Wii Points, and these will unlock extra dungeons and bosses that your adventurers can go and defeat. Beating any of these special dungeons will get you a reward(depending on what you bought), these rewards can be anything from new races to Sacred Shrines for your adventurers. The real question is whether or not you think the DLC is worth it, if you don't then by all means do not get it. But if you want to unlock the games full potential then DLC will be needed.
Some of the little annoyances I have noticed in this game are: You cannot choose which board an adventurer goes to. The music can get dull. Some minor lag spots. And that the town, while large, also fills up quickly.
In the end, while this game can be a bit costly(on both blocks and Wii Points) the experience is generally a good one, with or without the download center. And yes while there are some glaring details the devlopers should have corrected the good outweighs the bad in just about every subject. The sheer length of the game, and the ability to always rework and tinker with your city(and the promise of more DLC items) should make this game atleast worth the $15 you spent on it, the game is an addictive experience that should keep you coming back for more, day's after you bought it.
Happy Building!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

NA WiiWare Launch Games Announced

These will be the WiiWare games released on Monday, May 12, 2008. Sadly, we will not be getting any Virtual Console games this week, and no Dr. Mario.
My comments in red

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King (Square Enix, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes, 1,500 Wii Points): FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a King takes a legendary franchise and launches it into the realm of simulation gaming. Players are challenged to rebuild a kingdom, leading its young king on a path of discovery through an adventure bristling with mystery and intrigue.
Probably the most complete game of the bunch, though at 1,500 Wii Points it may be a bit too expensive for some. This game will also feature Download Center, but no release date has been announced.
Status-Purchase


LostWinds (Frontier Development, 1-2 players, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 1,000 Wii Points): A fresh, enchanting platform adventure that puts the power of the wind in the palm of your hand – from raging tornados to the gentlest breeze. You’ll wield your Wii Remote™ controller to power Toku’s jumps and glides, suspend and smash enemies, meet friends and solve puzzles using LostWinds’ novel, intuitive and playful control system.
This could be the hidden gem of the WiiWare launch, or it could be a game we wish was lost in the winds(pun intended!). The game looks nice, and the controls are interesting, but they also seem a little unwieldy. There have also been reports that the game is only 2-3 hours long, and for 1,000 Wii Points, that doesn't seem like a very good deal.
Status-Undecided



Defend your Castle (XGen Studios, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Cartoon Violence, 500 Wii Points): Defend your Castle takes place on a grassy plain surrounded by invaders. You are the commander of your castle, and it is your duty to fling the invading enemies sky-high, watching them plummet to their demise. As you progress, add powerful spells and upgrades to your arsenal for repelling the attacks. How long can you hold them off?
Personally, I love this flash game. I have played it for many hours. And it looks like it has been updated enough to warrant 500 Wii Points.
Status-Purchase



Pop (Nnooo, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 700 Wii Points): Pop bubbles to score points and stop the timer from running out. Pop can be enjoyed by anyone – casual gamers can simply play to pop bubbles and keep the game moving, whereas advanced players will need to pick their shots rapidly and accurately and generate combos to maximize their score.
This looks like a fun little game, but extremely overpriced. If you have enough friends to keep the game fresh then it is probably a very good purchase. Me? I'm uncertain at the moment.
Status-Undecided



V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack (High Voltage Software®, Inc., 1-4 players, Rated T for Teen – Simulated Gambling, 700 Wii Points): V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack re-creates the casino experience, with fully animated players and a realistic Las Vegas dealer. Single players can increase their bankrolls, while multiple players can engage in a head-to-head mini-blackjack tournament.
I don't see the point in this game, a stack of cards can do the same thing(for cheaper). And I have never found animated Blackjack to be nearly as fun as the real thing.
Status-Not Purchasing



TV Show King (Gameloft, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): TV Show King transforms your living room into a real TV quiz show studio where you’ll face the challenge of answering more than 3,000 questions across six different categories. Compete against family and friends and use your Wii Remote controller in original ways to make it to the finals to see who can win the greatest amount of cash in one final, deciding duel.
This game came out of no where! I didn't know it existed until today. Considering it has 3,000 questions you will probably be able to play it for a quite a while. But eventually the questions will repeat, and then whats the point of the game? Family and friends can keep it fresh though.
Status-Undecided

So there you have it, WiiWare launches in North America with 6 games. A very good launch in my opinion.

These games will be released at 9:00 PCT on Monday, May 12

Monday, May 5, 2008

Nintendo Powers Got A Moon






Well for those of us that have a Wii or a DS, and patrol game sites(Gamespot for me), it is more then likely that you have seen the Nintendo Power scans showing a redish moon.




< ---For those who havent. It also came with a small heading
"Can you find the clues we've hidden in the moon?".


Now my first impression of this would be Harvest Moon, it's red like a Harvest Moon(right?). But after giving some thought to that it doesn't fit well with the riddle.

So then I saw a claim stating that the hidden image was a Pokeball. I didn't think to much into that until I saw an image comparison.





Now I must admit, while that looks similar it also looks a bit to far fetched, Pokeballs aren't usually shown tilted like that.


So, after that I have seen many different theories. Some say that the upper right hand cluster looks slightly like Fox or Link, personnally I don't see that at all though.

Others think that Castlevania, Earthbound and Kid Icarus could be the secret game, as all of them feature moons in some prominent form.
Another theory(that I like) is that the moon represents Majora's Mask(possible remake?), now this is a slight far fetched right? Well a poster at Gamespot found a picture of an old Majora's Mask (ad I believe, I lost my box).
Now that looks like the moon in the picture...but a little redder then our moon.
So while this is a nice theory I am going to have to say that it is unlikely.

Others think Luigi's Mansion...but I see no grounds for that claim.
Im running out of ideas...but out of the ones that I have left I would say the Earthbound and Castlevania are probably the most likely.
Zelda and Starfox and Kid Icarus would be saved until E3, Harvest Moon isn't even out in the US yet, Pikmin is just a crazy job of connecting dots and the Pokeball theory is also a bit far fetched for me.
Now what are your theories? I would love to hear them, I'll leave you with the riddle to keep you guessing....
"Can you find the clues we've hidden in the moon?".

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