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Virtually Overlooked: Arkanoid
With the 30th anniversary celebration of Space Invaders (probably) coming to a close, celebrated most recently by the release of Space Invaders Get Even on WiiWare, I find myself brimming with happy feelings about anything that falls in the category of "classic Taito." Arkanoid is a perfect companion piece to Space Invaders, sharing the same basic layout as the shooter: a player character on the bottom of the screen, moving left and right and aiming projectiles at obstacles arranged on the top half of the screen.DS updates of both games were released simultaneously, and while Space Invaders Extreme turned out to be one of the best games of the year, Arkanoid DS proved to be merely a pretty good Arkanoid-type game. Arkanoid deserves a lot better than that, and while rereleasing the NES game without the paddle controller isn't ideal, it would at least allow new gamers to familiarize themselves with real Arkanoid.
VC Tuesday: Simon says 'Buy my game for 500 Wii Points'
It's a week of twos on the Virtual Console in Japan. SNK Playmore's Metal Slug 2, which Metal Slug fans generally like, and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest, which is fairly polarizing. Some Castlevanians enjoy its RPG elements and day-to-night cycle, while some hate its plodding gameplay and completely inscrutable puzzles. Everyone's right! We suspect that the release of Simon's Quest is timed to coincide with the latest DS Castlevania game, Order of Ecclesia, which came out last week. Or it's timed to coincide roughly with the one-year anniversary of the North American release of Simon's Quest!Sadly missing from this week's releases is the SuperGrafx Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts, which has failed to make its announced October release. Unless Nintendo surprises everyone on Halloween!Virtual Console releases: Dracula II: Noroi no Fuuin (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points) Just one WiiWare game, but it's ... well, okay, it's a cheapo Breakout clone. @Simple Series Vol. 1: THE Block Kuzushi Neo (1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
D3's Simple series becomes even simpler on WiiWare
It may not shatter the earth as Dead Rising did, but the latest Famitsu has interesting news for fans of D3 Publisher's Simple series. Joining the Simple Wii and Simple 2000 Wii series is another new line, the @Simple games, a line of 500-point WiiWare games.The first two games in the lineup, @Simple Wii Vol. 1 THE Block Kuzushi Neo and Vol. 2 THE Number Puzzle Neo, are the usual early Simple stuff (Breakout and sudoku), but for five bucks! Download services are where this series belongs, in our estimation. The low budgets can be matched with even lower prices (and even less commitment from the customers).
Block Breaker Deluxe breaks out onto Japanese WiiWare
In what may be Japan's only WiiWare release for May (much like Minna de Puzzloop was the only April release), Gameloft's Block Breaker Deluxe is now available for download in Japan. For 800 points, Japanese gamers can now play a decent-looking Breakout/Arkanoid clone with a neon visual theme and goofy images of "cool" people that make it look so much like a cell-phone game (which it was). Or Miami Nights.We'd like to see this one soon within the U.S. launch of WiiWare, because we're perfectly willing to overlook all the posing jerks -- and the inauspicious origin of the game -- for a chance at a new big-screen Breakout game.[Via Inside-Games]
Own the first Miyamoto-designed console
Looking to complete your Shigeru Miyamoto collection/shrine? Don't forget to pick up Block Kuzushi, the first system to have benefitted from his caring touch.Supposedly, a young Miyamoto put his industrial design degree to good use and devised the Color TV Game console's external design. Essentially a Breakout clone, the system uses a dial to control its in-game paddle.Eric from Japan Games, the same shop that introduced us to the Lasabirdie, is selling a complete Block Kuzushi on eBay, new and never used. That mint condition is almost unheard of for this 1979 console! Bidding ends in six days, so expect the price on this auction to shoot up to preposterous heights.[Via Retro Treasures]
Simple Block Kuzushi drops the ball
While a couple of the games in the Simple Wii series have been interesting (though we can't comment on their actual quality), it's fairly apparent from screens that Simple Wii Vol. 5 THE Block Kuzushi is basically a miss, due to some questionable design decisions. The main problem is that the actual playfield is so small. About 20% of the screen is occupied by actual game, with the rest going to gaudy backgrounds and a view of your "Apian" avatar (all the Simple Wii games use the same totally cute avatar creation system). This seems like an odd choice, especially since it forces all the actual blocks and the paddle to be tiny onscreen. In addition, if there is pointer control for the paddle, we would much prefer to have the whole screen at our disposal instead of being restricted to minute movements.The other issue we can spot from screens is that, for some mysterious reason, the playfield is tilted. Both of these choices seem like they would make the game harder to see and more annoying. On the upside, the game has a level editor. With the awesome-looking THE Shooting Action scoring a 17/40 in Famitsu (and with little chance of localization), we shouldn't continue caring about these games, but we still do. Famitsu reviews don't matter anyway.
D3's Simple plans
Before TGS, we learned that D3 Publisher would be expanding their Simple series to the Wii, with the first two titles being Everybody's Kart Race and Everybody's Bass Fishing Tournament. But after the first two entries in the series, D3's already got four more titles lined up, not including Oneechanbara R, which comes from a series that used to be in the Simple category. The next four games are, in order of Simple series number, THE Party Casino, THE Shooting Action, THE Block Kuzushi, and THE Wai Wai Combat. A Block Kuzushi game actually came out in the U.S. for the DS, under the name Break 'em All, so there may be a possibility of a similar release on the Wii. If Data Design Interactive can get away with PS2 shovelware on the Wii, then we don't see why D3 can't make some original budget software and market it worldwide. We've always wanted to see the Simple brand in the U.S. There's something refreshingly honest about making the "budget-ness" of a game apparent right away.[Via Siliconera]
