clu-clu-land
Latest
New Nintendo eShop releases: Sonic Lost World DLC, Dr. Mario, Clu Clu Land
March has been a busy month for gaming, and clearly the Nintendo eShop is all tuckered out and in need of a rest ahead of next month's Game Boy Advance rush. This week is so quiet that arguably the headline new release is the Zelda-themed DLC speeding towards Sonic: Lost World, and you can find more about that by heading over here. Outside of that, the re-release of Dr. Mario provides absolute confirmation the Year of Luigi is over and normal Mario-based service is resumed. The NES color-matching pill-dropper comes to the Wii U this week, while underwater gold-grabber Clu Clu Land is bound for the 3DS Virtual Console. Our favorite release of the week, however, has to be the simply titled I am an Air Traffic Controller Airport Hero Hawaii. "Let's try air traffic control in an atmosphere of a summer resort," its trailer cheerily exclaims, where we'll find "SEA," "SUN," and, er,"SQUALL." We're assuming that refers to sudden rises in wind speed and not the mostly mute misanthrope from Final Fantasy 8, although we'd very much like the 3DS game to prove us wrong. If the new releases are a bit of a wash, Ubisoft's sale might tempt you back to some older ones. The publisher has select games discounted until 8.59AM PT/5.59AM ET on March 31, including Joystiq faves like Rayman Legends, down from $40 to 28, and ZombiU, half-off at $30. The full list of Ubisoftened prices can be found here. [Image: Sonic Powered Co.]
VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Revenge of Clu Clu Land
It may seem like unimaginable luxury to us, but for Japan, a week with just two new games on the Virtual Console and one on WiiWare is light. The last time the releases were this sparse was three weeks ago, with an update that, coincidentally, also included a Sega franchise game (a franchise that also included a Shinobi game) and a WiiWare minigolf title. Spoooooky. We are quite jealous of The Revenge of Shinobi, which Japan gets this week as The Super Shinobi, and which we may never get.Virtual Console: Clu Clu Land (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) The Super Shinobi (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) WiiWare: Okiraku Putter Golf (1-8 players, 500 Wii Points)
VC Friday: Clu Clu Lair
This week on the PAL Wii Shop, two Virtual Console games have been added to the selection. One of the new releases is a somewhat underappreciated Nintendo game, and the other is a previously underappreciated game that is now way overexposed, thanks to the Virtual Console.If you've never played the NES's Clu Clu Land before, be prepared for confusing controls that will eventually give way to a pretty fun vintage-style maze game. If you've never played the Genesis's Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair before, don't -- download the Turbografx-16 CD version instead for the same price!Grab the post break and swivel around it to see footage of both games.
Japanese Virtual Console: March lineup revealed
Nintendo Japan has revealed its March lineup for the Virtual Console and we're more than a little jealous. That's right, The Revenge of Shinobi is on the list and we don't know if we'll ever see it. You see, at one point the boss characters in the game were (very clearly) Batman, The Terminator, Godzilla and Spider-Man and while some of those characters have changed, Sega has never included the game on any Genesis compilations in North America for possible copyright restrictions.Japan nets a few other exclusives this month, beginning with Koei's New Horizons for the Super Famicom and the classically terrible platformer Takeshi no Ch?senj? from Taito on the Famicom. And in a surprising twist, Japan will play catch up to a few Virtual Console releases already available in North America, including: Sonic Chaos for the Sega Master System and the Famicom puzzler Clu Clu Land.The first titles to be made available -- releasing on March 3 -- will be Nihon Falcom's Mega Drive RPG, Dragon Slayer Legend of Heroes II and the PC Engine original Space Invaders from Taito. The rest of the titles will gradually release over the course of the month.
VC Monday Madness: Super Mario RPG and Clu Clu Land
Our commitment cannot be measured. Here we are on a holiday, bringing you another VC Monday Madness. This week is a big one, so we decided to take the most care possible with this week's video. The level of professionalism within will likely blow your mind. Hit it up above, then head past the break for more.
Retail and download releases for the week of September 1st
That's right, folks. North America finally gets one of the most anticipated Virtual Console releases. If you have the day free (with it being a holiday, it's likely you do), then you've got a date with destiny. We're sure if you try really hard, you can get through it today.Head past the break for details on this week's releases.
Super Mario RPG, Clu Clu Land press A to attack Virtual Console
Well, this is certainly a great surprise for Labor Day. We're pretty sure one of these Virtual Console games needs no introduction or description. It just needs your money. Clu Clu Land (NES®, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Obviously the greatest game about a sea urchin ever conceived. Obviously. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): A little-known collaboration between small developer Square Enix (at the time an even tinier Squaresoft) and struggling console maker Nintendo. The game is virtually unknown in all parts of the world.
Virtually Overlooked: Clu Clu Land
Clu Clu Land is one of Nintendo's most mysteriously underused franchises. Some of the company's early Famicom/NES games never became long-running series because nobody wanted any more -- Urban Champion, for example, or Donkey Kong Jr. Math; some were designed for the R.O.B. robot and died with it (Stack-Up) and some were too generic to really even count as franchises anyway (Baseball). But Clu Clu Land was an original puzzle game that just never reappeared. Except for that one time! And those other times, kind of!
Pokemon Company CEO: Pokemon is important
Having covered some basically illicit Pokémon content, we'll turn now to more official channels-- it doesn't get more "official" than Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara. Ishihara believes that a certain franchise is going to win the "hardware war" for Nintendo. Guess which franchise? No, not Clu Clu Land. "The hardware which has Pokémon on it will be the winner," he told Gamespot. Ishihara was also down on multiplatform development, saying that not being able to design around one system's unique features stifles creativity. Amusingly (to us) Ishihara hinted that he had "ideas" for the next Pokémon games. Of course he does! We all do: they're all in the previous games. We love Pokémon, but we are willing to admit that they're pretty much all the same game.[Via Next Generation]
