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VC Monday Madness: Magnetica and Fatal Fury 2
Gamers anxious for more than a pair of titles this week, one from WiiWare and one from the Virtual Console, are going to be disappointed. That's exactly what's available this week. So, let's check out what's on offer.This week's WiiWare download is: Magnetica Twist (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points) This week's Virtual Console download is: Fatal Fury 2 (Neo-Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)
Wii Fanboy Review: Actionloop Twist
Developers of the world, repeat after me: just because the Wii Remote offers a new and different way of controlling games, this does not mean that motion-based controls are suitable for everything. Got that? Good. Now write it down on a sheet of luminous yellow A3 card, and pin it to the walls of your offices (or, better still, your foreheads). Learn it, live it, breathe it, and with any luck promising games such as Actionloop Twist (or Magnetica Twist as it will be known stateside, or Minna de Puzzloop in Japan) will never again be marred with awkward, Wiimote-only configurations that are a pain to use.Oh, and I mean pain literally.%Gallery-24708%
Not-VC Friday: An unexpected Twist
In the week that WiiWare launched in Japan, the Virtual Console received nothing. No problem, we thought. This was just a case of Nintendo not wanting to distract people from its shiny new download service with a shmup from the '80s or something. As long as this neglect of the Virtual Console wasn't a regular occurrence, we could cope without an update on this one-off occasion.But now it's happened again. This week, Europe and Australia got absolutely zilch in the way of Virtual Console games, with only Actionloop Twist (Magnetica Twist in the states, or Minna de Puzzloop in Japan) on WiiWare. We're not suggesting that we dislike Actionloop Twist or anything -- our decision on that matter can wait for our review -- but this is a tad worrying. If Virtual Console updates are already being ignored just two weeks after WiiWare launched, this could easily happen again. And that kind of sucks, because we love our golden oldies. Actionloop Twist -- WiiWare -- 1000 Wii Points Make the jump for a Japanese trailer of Actionloop Twist, and keep an eye out for our review in the coming days.
Non-Earthbound ESRB ratings fly high [update]
Okay, so they aren't Earthbound. That one got its own post (and, we hope, its own release sooner than ESRB-rated gems like Pro Wrestling and Zombies Ate My Neighbors). Even though we're all tired from freaking out about Shigesato Itoi's sci-fi RPG, a bunch of awesome game ratings that would normally cause us to freak out have as yet gone un-freaked-out-about, on both Virtual Console and WiiWare. The biggest news for us on the VC: Super Dodge Ball. It's probably the NES game, but there's an outside chance it's the Neo Geo game. Either way, we love Aksys. And from SNK, Samurai Shodown II and Metal Slug.WiiWare's ratings range from expected to thrilling. Among the games found on the ESRB website that were not yet confirmed for U.S. release, Dr. Mario Wii and Family Ping Pong stand out. Other new ratings include Gyrostarr, Pop, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, V.I.P Casino: Blackjack, and Magnetica Twist (Minna de Puzzloop).[Update: removed reference to Donkey Kong Country 3. Not sure why that was mixed in with the recent ratings, or why I forgot it was already out. Well, I know why I forgot about it.]
Puzzloop for Everyone in Japan next week
Japan hasn't received any new WiiWare content since the service's March 25th launch, with the exception of DLC for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King and Lonpos. It would appear that WiiWare is on a monthly release schedule, because one new game has been announced for release next Tuesday: Minna de Puzzloop (Puzzloop for Everyone).The puzzle game, about shooting marbles at same-color marbles as they come down a looped path, was originally released by developer Mitchell as an arcade game in 1998, but most gamers are most familiar with it as Magnetica on the DS. This 1000-Wii Point version supports four-player simultaneous play (though it doesn't seem to be playable online), and of course it also supports being able to buy it from your couch.[Via Famitsu]
Japanese Wii Ware page debuts
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Japanese_Wii_Ware_page_debuts'; The steady stream of Wii Ware news continues, this time with Nintendo's launch of its official Japanese site for the video game download service. So far, the hub lists almost a dozen upcoming titles, attaching new screenshots to some of the releases: FFCC: The Young King and the Promised Land StarSoldierR Word Puzzle Mojipittan Wii Pokemon Ranch Dr. Mario's Virus Buster Marubou Shikaku Magnetica Bomberman Okiraku Ping-Pong Wii Angels' Solitaire Joysound Wii LostWinds and other western-developed games are noticeably missing, but that doesn't necessarily mean they aren't planned as launch or near-launch titles for other territories. Much to our disappointment, the page neglects to mention any specific pricing for the titles. One worthwhile detail that we spotted is the above screenof Dr. Mario's four-player cooperative mode. The puzzler was already perfect before -- now it's even perfecter. There's also a multiplayer shot for Magnetica (Puzzloop) worth checking out! [Via NeoGAF]
Nintendo unveils more WiiWare titles, new Dr. Mario details
Following last night's unveiling of upcoming Wii Ware titles, Nintendo has announced its first-party lineup for the downloadable service when it hits Japan in March. In addition to last night's Dr. Mario and Pokemon Farm announcements, Nintendo will also release Maruboushikaku and Minna de Puzzloop (known stateside as Magnetica). Maruboushikaku involves three screens displayed, each with its own pattern (circle-, line- and square-based). We don't yet know the objective of the game, but your actions in one window will affect the other two. The game previously known as Pokemon Farm is officially titled Pokemon Bokujou Channel (Pokemon Ranch Channel) and will let you take your Miis to the ranch to take pictures of your pokemon and send your friends. Pokemon management was mentioned, but no information on whether you level up your characters in the channel. Dr. Mario & Saikin Bokumetsu (or "bacteria extermination") will also feature your Mii characters in-game and has options for online multiplayer. Saikin Bokumesu is a minigame from the Japanese Brain Age 2 and will feature four-player online co-op. IGN has a handful of pictures from the game. Star Soldier R, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Young King and the Promised Land and Moji Pittan Wii were also announced last night. Wii Ware is coming to Japanese consoles in March.
MumboJumbo brings mass-market games to the PSP [Update 1]
Have you ever played LUXOR? I haven't, but according to Pocket Gamer, over 40 million people have! Yikes! I guess casual gamers really ARE an important demographic for companies to target. Well, it looks like two casual games are coming to hardcore PSP owners: Luxor: Wrath of Set and Platypus. Luxor is one of those marble games, akin to DS's Magnetica. Platypus looks to mesh the shooting action of Gradius with the classic look of Clayfighter.Both games are coming to the US in November for the "mass-market" price of $30.[Update 1: Yes, made a boo-boo on the names. And Platypus is a weird word to spell.]
Upcoming DS games dated [Update 1]
No doubt attempting to organize the masses of people who constantly barge into stores at random intervals and demand games that aren't due for release in months, Nintendo has sent out a handy "release list" thing. If we understand this correctly, it's supposed to tell you on which day some of their major DS games will be set loose upon the public. That's Nintendo for you--always innovating.June 5: Big Brain Academy™June 5: Magnetica™June 11: Nintendo DS™ Lite (although that depends on where you're shopping)June 26: Sudoku GridmasterAug. 28: Star Fox DSSept. 18: Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue TeamSept. 25: Mario vs. Donkey Kong™ 2: March of the MinisOct. 9: Clubhouse Games™Oct. 30: Children of ManaSadly, it looks like the new Kirby game and Yoshi's Island 2 will only be released during or after the cheerfully explosive holiday season. Don't let that stop you from demanding it from the store clerk next week.[Update: To clear up any confusion - this list encompasses Nintendo titles only.]
