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Game Gear titles head to 3DS on March 14 for ¥300 apiece
March 14 is the big day for Game Gear on Virtual Console, with a trio of titles headed to Japanese 3DS owners, Nintendo announced this morning. Unsurprisingly, Sega leads the lineup with three classics: Sonic (Sonic and Tails 2), Shinobi (GG Shinobi), and Dragon Crystal. The titles will cost ¥300 ($3.75) apiece, and no word was given as to when they'd head Stateside.Of course, Sonic Triple Trouble and Shinobi were rated by the ESRB for 3DS back in February, and we were last told that Game Gear (as well as TurboGrafx-16) games would arrive on the handheld's Virtual Console store in "late May." So, uh, they're coming to North America, just not quite yet. We'll also venture a wild guess that Dragon Crystal will end up in the US as well. Sure, why not?
NintendoWare Weekly: Metal Gear Solid 3D demo, Strider
The Metal Gear Solid 3D demo arrives today, accompanied by relatively big news on the Virtual Console! The first NES Ambassador game for 3DS is now available for purchase by non-Ambassadors! Super Mario Bros. is on the eShop now for five bucks. And if you already have it through the Ambassador Program, you can get a free update to add multiplayer and save states!There's also news for the Wii's Virtual Console: the Genesis version of Strider can be purchased today. We hadn't heard about a Genesis VC game in a while, so we looked into it. As far as we can tell, this is the first Genesis game on Wii in North America since Sonic & Knuckles, on February 15, 2010. It's been two years and a day since the last Genesis VC release.In fact, this appears to be the first Wii Virtual Console release of any kind since The Ignition Factor six months ago. Enjoy it! This doesn't happen very often.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) pulled from Virtual Console
You waited too long. It was only a couple bucks, but you thought, "I have time. It'll always be there. I'll get to it eventually." But now you can't download Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the Virtual Console and your world is destroyed.Honestly, it was a weird goal to have, but we didn't want to say anything. In each and every region, it seems the turtles have retreated from the Virtual Console. Nintendo World Report reports Konami cited an "expired license," the same issue that claimed TMNT Turtles in Time Re-Shelled.There's no word on whether the turtles will return to the surface any time soon, so we've contacted Konami for more.
NintendoWare Weekly: BurgerTime World Tour, Maru's Mission
The XBLA/PSN reimagining of BurgerTime needed a little more time on the grill before hitting WiiWare, but now MonkeyPaw Games is ready to serve BurgerTime World Tour to a hungry audience on a plastic tray all right these food metaphors are falling apart. We'll have to warn you about this week's 3DS eShop game, lest you get unreasonably excited. Maru's Mission is not about Maru the cat. It is a cute-looking ninja action game, though. But not about Maru. Sorry!%Gallery-146918%
ESRB rates Game Gear games for 3DS
Despite using more electricity than a Lady Gaga performance and being the size of a small cathedral, the Game Gear was a pioneering handheld system than did many things better than its contemporaries. Twenty-two years later, the heart and soul of Sega's plucky little handheld lives on in the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.Shinobi and Sonic Triple Trouble have both been rated by the ESRB for the 3DS, which indicates that the ports are close to, if not entirely ready for release. If you had told us 22 years ago that someday we'd be playing Sega games on a Nintendo handheld, we'd have pushed you off the monkey bars.
Club Nintendo swaps downloadable games, adds Mario Party 2, Art Academy
With a new month comes a new selection of downloadable games for which you can exchange your Club Nintendo Coins. The new lineup is half as varied as those of previous months, offering only one DSiWare download and one Wii Virtual Console game.For 150 Coins each, you can choose Art Academy: First Semester for DSiWare (but only available on 3DS through this offer) or Mario Party 2 for Wii. If you get that one, use the money you saved by buying it with Club Nintendo money to buy some extra controllers, either for friends or to replace the ones ruined by Mario Party.For fans of physical, tangible goods, there's also this new 3DS card case. It holds 18 games and includes four "double-sided card covers." And it looks really nice.
Rad: Bionic Commando swings to 3DS eShop this week
Surprise! The 3DS eShop is getting not-terrible! The original downloadable games are starting to stack up (Pushmo, Mighty Switch Force), and the Virtual Console is home to a lot of interesting games -- like, for example, the Game Boy version of Bionic Commando, coming out December 29 in both North America and Europe. We aren't sure how it's able to make it to the shop when the NES Bionic Commando never could. That's the same day North America gets VVVVVV. See what we mean about the eShop no longer being a terrible destination for games?
Legend of Zelda is Japan's first NES release for 3DS Virtual Console, Ambassadors get free update
Quietly, and very much in Japanese, Nintendo released the original NES game, The Legend of Zelda, on its eShop Virtual Console section. Zelda marks the first of the 10 NES "Ambassador Program" games to arrive on the eShop for sale, replete with save states and a price tag: ¥500 (approximately $6). Those of you who already have the game downloaded via Nintendo's early adopter Ambassador Program are able to snag the updated VC version of the game for free as well. And for those of you who really wanted a virtual copy of the game's instruction manual, Nintendo's got that covered as well! Hot dog!
'Prince of Persia' for Wii and 3DS, 'Rayman' for 3DS rated
Ratings have popped up in Australia for 3DS games called simply "Rayman" and "Prince of Persia," along with a Wii "Prince of Persia." Ubisoft has done plenty with both of these franchises, ensuring that we can't know for sure exactly what's been revealed here. The simplest explanation is that these listings are all for Virtual Console downloads. Prince of Persia was released on both the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, making it eligible for the 3DS Virtual Console -- and it was made for almost all of the platforms supported by the Wii Virtual Console. In addition, a game called "Rayman" was released on Game Boy Color, which was a combination of elements from Rayman 1 and 2 -- and thus providing an example of why we'd have a hard time knowing what the plain "Rayman" title referred to. [Image: GameFAQs]
Now you can exchange Club Nintendo Coins for games
If your home is already full to bursting with Mario paraphernalia, you'll be delighted to learn that you can exchange your Club Nintendo Coins for downloadable games. Nintendo is featuring a rotating selection of WiiWare, Virtual Console, DSiWare, and eShop downloads offered on the North American Club Nintendo site. Through January 10, your choices include Super Mario Kart (100 Coins), 3D Classics: Xevious (100 Coins), Fluidity (150 Coins), and Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again (150 Coins). In a way, this is really cheap as it trades illusory fun money for games -- but in another way, it's outrageously expensive as said fun money is only acquired through the for-real purchase of multiple games. Those of you with more space for swag have new reward options as well: three different, adorable Mario notebooks, and a Zelda poster set.
Virtual Console's classic JRPGs: What holds up?
This is a column by Jason Schreier dedicated to the analysis (and occasional mocking) of his favorite genre, the Japanese role-playing game. Whether it's because they're too antiquated or just too niche, he believes JRPGs don't get enough attention in the gaming industry today. It's time to change that. Last week, we dug into the PlayStation Network's library of old-school JRPGs, suffering through blocky graphics and annoying voice acting in a valiant effort to figure out what games are still worth playing in 2011. This week, we attack the Wii's Virtual Console. Granted, Nintendo hates American JRPG fans, as evidenced by the publisher's refusal to localize critically acclaimed games like Xenoblade, but its Wii Shop Channel has a surprisingly robust selection of classics, mostly thanks to the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis. We had it good during the 16-bit era. Real good. Like last time, I'll be spending 30-60 minutes with each JRPG -- certainly not enough time to properly review a game, but enough to get a feel for whether it holds up today, and how it compares to my memories of it. (I've played each game to completion at various points over the past two decades. Some of them multiple times.) Let's roll.
NintendoWare Weekly: Kirby's Adventure
Nintendo delivers another kind of remastered classic, with 3D Classics: Kirby's Adventure. It's much less "remastered" looking than earlier 3D Classics -- it's windowed, and has all the UI on the top screen with the gameplay. On the other hand: Kirby's Adventure! This week, WiiWare offers Pinocchio-themed jigsaw puzzles, and DSiWare offers a Chinese language learning game and a thrilling, chilling game about being stuck in a convenience store. Do you dare enter the convenience store of mystery?%Gallery-139731%
Super Street Fighter II coming to Virtual Console with online multiplayer
Details are slim at this point, but Capcom Unity announced yesterday that the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive version of Super Street Fighter II: The New Challengers will be coming to Nintendo's Virtual Console ecosystem sometime in the future. No word on pricing or availability, but we do know that the port will feature online play, which, believe it or not, actually existed in the original release in the form of XBAND compatibility. If you're not old enough to remember XBAND, you're probably not old enough to be excited about one of the many variants of Street Fighter 2 being re-released. If you are old enough to remember XBAND, we hope you can find time between refinancing your mortgage and picking the kids up from band practice to go a few rounds.
NintendoWare Weekly: Catrap, 101-in-1
Deceptively big numbers abound (as big numbers tend to do) on Nintendo's download services this week. 101-in-1 Explosive Megamix collects entirely too many games in a single pack on WiiWare, and 1001 Blockbusters provides a similarly excessive number of block-breaking levels on DSiWare. On 3DS, there's an obscure, but interesting Game Boy puzzle called Catrap, which is actually about puzzles that you can accidentally trap yourself in -- and not rapping cats. If you're looking for something more passive to do with your 3DS, there's a new "Night of the Living Carrots" short starring characters from Monsters vs. Aliens on the Nintendo Video service.%Gallery-136465%
NintendoWare Weekly: MotoHeroz, Mega Man
RedLynx flips out onto WiiWare with its long-awaited party stunt game, MotoHeroz. It's the sole WiiWare release for the week, and the anchor of a week that is similarly light across all Nintendo platforms. The single eShop release is also pretty cool: Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge. We've been waiting for another chance to buy this, ever since the GBA collection was canceled years ago.
NintendoWare Weekly: Pac-Man, Trenches Generals
In case you missed it yesterday, the Nintendo 3DS Ambassador Program has officially launched. Those who signed up to the eShop before August 11 can now download ten NES games from the eShop, though it's an annoying process. If you can't get into the 3DS Embassy, it's a much less exciting week. The Game Boy version of Pac-Man awaits 3DS owners, and a House, MD game is up on DSiWare. There's a bit of intrigue, however, in a WiiWare tower defense game called Trenches Generals.
NintendoWare Weekly: Gargoyle's Quest, The Ignition Factor
Once again, to our delight, Virtual Console games grace two separate Nintendo platforms today, and both are "fire" themed to a degree. On the 3DS eShop, Capcom's excellent RPG-ish Ghosts 'n Goblins spinoff, Gargoyle's Quest, is now available. The somewhat more obscure SNES firefighting game, The Ignition Factor, is on Wii. DSiWare sees a very cute Bubble Bobble-esque game, and ... Calculator. Which is a calculator.
The Last Story, Pandora's Tower due in Europe in 2012, more Euro releases dated
The Wii does have a lifespan beyond 2011 -- in Europe. Nintendo of Europe sent out a list (PDF) of upcoming titles today, including the two other games for which Operation Rainfall is campaigning: Mistwalker's The Last Story and Ganbarion's Pandora's Tower. Both are slated for 2012 in Europe now, and have yet to be announced in North America. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be released in Europe November 18 while Kirby's Adventure Wii is coming in December. The release list also provides November and December windows for Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 on 3DS, respectively. Super Pokemon Rumble will also be released in Europe this December. On DS, DQ Monsters Joker 2 is coming October 7, Kirby Mass Attack is due October 28, and Professor Layton will answer The Spectre's Call in November. Cave Story will finally come to DSiWare in Europe in Q4. A few standout downloads listed: in Q4, the 3DS Virtual Console will see releases of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, Metroid II, and the Game Boy Bionic Commando game. Nintendo previously blocked the NES version from Virtual Console.
Gargoyle's Quest heading West on 3DS Virtual Console
Gargoyle's Quest, Capcom's Ghosts 'n Goblins spinoff -- about the flying red devil Firebrand (who you may know as that awful thing that kills you in most Ghosts 'n Goblins games) saving the Ghoul Realm, was one of the first Game Boy games to be released on the 3DS eShop in Japan, a fact of which we have been super jealous for quite some time. The side-scrolling platformer/RPG is headed to the west -- at least, it's headed to Australia, according to a rating in that country. It's safe to assume that if it shows up on Virtual Console there, it will in the rest of the world as well. There are no localization barriers in this case: Gargoyle's Quest came out on Game Boy in North America back in 1990. [Image: GameSpite]
NintendoWare Weekly: Super Adventure Island 2, Go! Go! Kokopolo
The Wii Virtual Console continues to expand at a glacial pace, with one more classic making an appearance today: Super Adventure Island II. In this SNES adventure, Master Higgins ventures across Waku-Waku Island to save his amnesiac wife from the king, by throwing hammers at birds and jumping over fire pits. The wildcat protagonist of Go! Go! Kokopolo on DSiWare handles his conflicts in a different way: he scratches his enemies in order to enrage them into chasing him through maze-like levels, and then leads them into the jaws of a carnivorous plant.
