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Wii Warm Up: The best of the Mega Man games
We already asked you about going through the original Mega Man games before Mega Man 9 releases, but we thought we'd also ask you all which of the Mega Man games is your favorite. So, which game is it? Also, do you enjoy the original Mega Man games, or are you more for the newer spin-offs, such as the X series or the Battle Network games?
Wario Land: Shake It (at Six Flags)
Unbearably long queues, bawling kids, and exorbitant prices: it takes a lot to make a visit to any theme park bearable. Is a chance to play Wario Land: Shake It and win some neat prizes enough? Let's hope so, because over the coming weeks, the platformer will be appearing on demo kiosks at ten Six Flags theme parks. At two of those locations (Six Flags Magic Mountain near Los Angeles and Six Flags St. Louis) on September 27, the player who completes a specific level in the fastest time will win a holiday to New York and a "Bottomless Coin Sack," containing a Wii, the game itself, a DS, and a gift certificate for Six Flags merchandise ( ... yay?). Hit the break for a full list of participating parks and dates.%Gallery-26293%
VC Monday Madness: Mega Man 2 [update 2]
Update 2: Video is back!Mega Man 2 is something folks can talk at length about. Whether it's strategy involving the 8 initial bosses and their stages, or the bickering between which weapon is the best, it's a game that many hold near and dear to their hearts. If you're a gamer in their 20-somethings, you likely remember this being one of the greatest games of your life. And, to celebrate the upcoming Mega Man 9, it's released to the Virtual Console. If you can't download this amazing game for $5, or don't already own it, you're doing yourself a great disservice. Everyone should spend some time with this game at least one time in their life. Each week, we here at Wii Fanboy like to check out the latest Virtual Console releases in our VC Monday Madness feature, in the hopes that you can make the most sound decision possible regarding purchasing retro titles from the Wii Shop Channel. If you're looking for more retro goodness, check out Virtually Overlooked, which talks about games that should be on the Virtual Console.
Top 5: RETRO REVIVAL PLZ!
As the release of Mega Man 9 looms closer, the so-called "old school gamers" are about 17 pixels away from exploding out of their skin with anticipation. This is the retro gamer equivalent of a "Phan" witnessing a Phish reunion. The kid inside all of us, having been smothered behind flabby beer guts for years, is beginning to crawl towards the surface. I imagine there's quite a few younger gamers who scratch their heads at all of the love for comparatively prehistoric graphics and gameplay. However, if one were to wipe off the thick coat of nostalgia emblazoned onto the games of long ago, they'd often find enjoyable and satisfying titles. They're not definitively better or worse; just different from much of what is released today. Some prefer that, and they're hungry for more. The biggest hurdle for those folks is commercial success. Not too long ago, retro revivals were rarely considered serious. After all, it would be silly to have Mega Man 9 released on a retail DVD disc. Yet with the success of downloadable services, the floodgates are now blown wide open. The slightly less hyped but similarly retro-themed Gradius: Rebirth was just released in Japan, and cowboy hat-clad developer Igarashi has stated that he's "very much looking into [WiiWare]." Perhaps the style of retro gaming is seeping into the bloodstream of major retail releases. Despite the beautiful hand-drawn graphics and cutscenes of Wario Land: Shake It!, the gameplay is heavily grounded in 2D. Perhaps we're experiencing a retro-renaissance, if I may quote Mr. Greenhough. With this in mind, here's a few more dusty franchises we're nominating to be reborn through the birth canal of Nintendo's online service (wow, gross). These range from the unexpected to painfully obscure, so don't be offended if your favorite was not included. A small note: I excluded some IPs due to either a retro-esque presence on the GBA/DS or because they are likely destined for WiiWare. These include Mario, Castlevania, Contra and Metroid. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; } The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
Save those Wii Points: Samurai Shodown Anthology releases this winter
When we found out that Wii might see the release of SNK Arcade Classics, we got all kinds of tingly and warm inside. We like those old school SNK games. But when it was confirmed, along with Samurai Shodown Anthology and King of Fighters: The Orochi Saga, well, we had to lock ourselves in a padded room for hours just to get the excitement out. Now we have a release window for Samurai Shodown Anthology.As you might have guessed, the title is due to hit shelves sometime this winter, meaning it could be available anywhere from now to December 31st. For those of you who aren't in the know, Samurai Shodown Anthology will include 6 games from the classic fighter franchise and will probably be a little more than the cost of 2 SNK games on the Virtual Console.
2D Boy close to covering our world in goo
2D Boy updated their blog to inform us all that World of Goo has gone gold. The game is almost upon us, as they comment the PC boxed version will likely hit shelves in the first week of November. As for the online copies of the game, including the WiiWare version, they will "likely happen sooner." 2D Boy is adding the final touches as you read this to the WiiWare version and will have it submitted to Nintendo for approval at some point this month. We're very excited to see this hit WiiWare and anxiously anticipate its release. What about you all?%Gallery-16000%[Via Joystiq]
Taking a whirl around Tornado Man's stage
Click to see the new screens Some new screens from Tornado Man's stage have been released by Capcom and, well, it looks like classic Mega Man action. There's a screen full of deadly spikes that Mega Man must navigate, as well as that all-too-familiar close quarters combat with the stage's boss. By now, you should know what the deal is. So head into our gallery and check out the new screens.%Gallery-30253%
Tatsunoko vs Capcom? Don't expect it in the U.S.
Remember that rumor we posted regarding Tatsunoko vs Capcom? Well, Capcom is saying that the title might not be destined for the United States (does this imply all of North America?). In fact, the possibility of the arcade game coming over here is situated somewhere between slim and none.Of course, this doesn't answer questions regarding the Wii port of the title. If the game does get ported to Wii, and released in Japan, homebrew aficionados will have little problem enjoying it on their console. For the rest of us that want a localized version, however, we should probably stop holding our breath.
Development for StillAliveDS is ... continuing
Promoting the 1.2 update for StillAliveDS (and drumming up votes for his Neoflash homebrew coding competition entry), programmer T4ils put out this trailer for the new version of his 2D Portal remake.The release piles some impressive additions on top of an already exemplary stack of features; in addition to its polished mechanics, in-game level editor, and online custom game directory, StillAliveDS now features custom campaigns/stories, DS Motion support, online leaderboards, a skinning system for tilesets/sprites, and cool new elements like the wall that reflects your portal gun's shots.If you haven't downloaded and played it yet, you should! This great game isn't a lie!%Gallery-24064% Wacky Japanese games, emulation, DS Fanboy's recommendations, naughty homebrew: our recent week of homebrew coverage had it all. Don't be put off if you're a beginner, either -- we have guides and a glossary for the newest of newbs.
Check out the Concrete Shot in Mega Man 9
Click for more screens With Mega Man 9's September release right around the corner, it's about time that we finally caught a glimpse at one of Mega Man's new powers, the Concrete Shot. As evidenced above, it's basically like shooting some concrete out of your arm-mounted cannon. Simple enough, right?Based on these new screens, though, it looks like it can also have an effect on the environments Mega Man will be traversing. Awesome!%Gallery-30253%
Point/Counterpoint: Should GTA be 2D or 3D?
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Should_GTA_be_2D_or_3D_on_DS'; That's right folks, it's that time again: two bloggers square off in debate over one subject in our Point/Counterpoint feature. This time, we're talking GTA: Chinatown Wars and whether or not the title should be 2D or 3D. So, without further ado, hit the button below and read the arguments. NEXT >> #ninbutton { border-style: solid; border-color: #000; border-width: 2px; background-color: #BBB; color: #000; text-decoration: none; width: 100px; text-align: center; padding: 2px 2px 2px 2px; margin: 2px 2px 2px 2px; } .buttontext { color: #000; text-decoration: none; font: bold 14pt Helvetica; } #ninbutton:hover { text-decoration: none; color: #BBB; background-color: #000; }
Confirmed: Bob's Game has gameplay, 'several' publishers interested
After impressing us with the first ever video of Bob's Game, Robert Pelloni is back with a second piece of footage for his homebrew title. This time it looks and sounds more like a game, in that it shows gameplay. The mission in the video above forms part of the title's tutorial, and sees protagonist Yuu hunting around for batteries for his mother. We're yet to figure out how to complete this quest, but then again we're a bit thick at this kind of thing.In other news, Robert reveals on his blog that "several publishers have expressed interest" in Bob's Game, including a "large, well-known" company. After half a decade of development, a publishing deal is probably the least Pelloni deserves.
Possible Wii port for upcoming Capcom fighter?
Capcom's Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Cross Generation is a title set to release in Japan this year. If the name throws you (or you don't keep up with the Japanese fighting game scene), just know this: it has Capcom vs in the title so it has to be good. It's almost guaranteed to be great, even, with past titles such as Marvel vs Capcom 2 and the near-perfect Capcom vs SNK 2 being examples of what to expect in terms of quality here. According to a Japanese website, the game could be coming to Wii.The original rumor was that the title will support a "Wii-compatible board," which might cause some to think it's Balance Board support. Well, we found that the term describes the circuit board the arcade game uses, meaning that porting the game to the Wii would not be an impossible task.[Via Nintendic]
First Impressions: Maple Story
Welcome to our First Impressions of the king of all 2D MMOs, Maple Story! If you haven't played it, consider this a dip of the toe into its cuter-than-thou madness. We're not divulging secrets here, this is not a guide of any sort; this is just a record of the way we found the game during our first hour or so of play. Caveat emptor!First of all, please notice the banner ad at the top of this post. That should tell you everything you need to know about MS in a nutshell: Cute superdeformed anime-esque graphics, goofy-themed gameplay, and an engaging sense of humor about itself. Cyborg turkeys, yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Don't forget, clicking on the following pictures leads to their hi-res versions. Read on, O brave audience!%Gallery-29725%
In the year 20XX, Capcom might release more Mega Man
While this is a skip and a hop from being glorious confirmation of more Mega Man, this Comic-Con interview seems to suggest that Capcom is already thinking of follow-ups to Mega Man 9.We can't identify the Capcom developer in the video above, but whoever he is, we like what he's saying -- especially around two-thirds of the way through the video, when our mysterious new hero announces: "Fans will want more Mega Man titles, so I think we'll continue with it, especially after the huge response we're seeing now to Mega Man 9."If you were part of the internet's collective omgasm over Capcom's game (we like to think that we were), pat yourself on the back.
Five years of work: Bob's Game
What drove Robert Pelloni to spend over five years creating a Nintendo DS game by himself? The same thing that motivates most homebrew programmers: "It's the game I wanted to play when I was younger, a vision I've been following since then."The video above isn't a proper representation of his 20-hour-long adventure game, as it's only a technical demo of its assets and features (in fact, you would be better off watching the annotated version at the clip's Youtube page), but Robert reassures us that the finished product will be like an RPG, except focusing on "story, puzzles, items, and communication instead of repetitive battles with palette-swapped enemies."The project, tentatively titled Bob's Game, doesn't have the high production values of big-budget titles backed by major or even minor dev teams, but the code, sprites, music, tiles, and everything else are all original, making for a very unique game. Who knows, it could be the next Cave Story! Robert is currently seeking a publisher for the project.See also: Japanese homebrew games that will blow your mind
Wario gets his shake on in these latest trailers
It's no secret that we're madly in love with Wario Land: Shake It! and its amazing gameplay. When one of us got to check the game out back at E3, we found it to be the title of our dreams. Seriously, there wasn't a single bad thing we could say about the game. As of right now, we're counting down the days until its August 25th release.After you've watched the new trailer above, head past the break for some more.%Gallery-26293%
Igarashi definitely looking at WiiWare; we plead for 2D Castlevania
If Castlevania Judgment leaves you confused and alarmed, you can relax a litle; it seems Koji Igarashi spent a lot of time at E3 telling people that this whole WiiWare thing looks pretty cool. Just the other day, we heard from Wired about budget issues and the impact Mega Man could have on Castlevania, and now MTV Multiplayer further word with Igarashi on WiiWare. "I'm definitely interested in WiiWare and I think it's one of the areas that 2D can still be very strong at. I'm very much looking into that."It seems Mega Man 9 really is going to determine the fate and future of a certain style of gaming, so it's a good thing it looks so completely awesome. We have little doubt that a great Castlevania title on WiiWare could cause just as much excitement, and probably yield the same results. Let's just hope Konami figures that out, too.[Via Joystiq]
Next 2D Castlevania could crack whip on WiiWare
While Konami is already exercising options with Gradius Rebirth, Castlevania stalwart Koji Igarashi has now expressed interest in dipping his own whip into the Wii's digital waters. Given that 3D fighter Castlevania Judgment promises to take face-to-palm when it's released, Iga's interest in WiiWare looks to rekindle fans' triple-shot prayers for a traditional 2D Castlevania for consoles."I'm definitely interested in WiiWare and I think it's one of the areas that 2D can still be very strong at," Igarashi told MTV Multiplayer. In a separate interview with Wired's Game|Life blog, he also noted that he's watching Capcom's decidedly retro Mega Man 9 "very closely" to see how it's received once it debuts later this year, noting that "if it is successful that definitely opens up doors for what I can do." Now all there's left to do is wait, though if you get hungry we hear that there's some delicious turkey hidden inside the wall.
New Wakfu trailer spotlights cross-media push
For those of us not fortunate enough to be part of the Wakfu closed beta, the game has remained something of a mystery. A beautiful, sexily-rendered 2D turn-based mystery, but a mystery nonetheless. We've seen a few screenshots, we know its release is going to be accompanied by an animated series, and we know the game is going to be in the same general vein as sister series Dofus, but beyond that it's still a little vague.The marketing team over at French developer Ankama Games has passed a trailer our way that really highlights the synergy between the animated series and the game proper. It also puts the game engine into motion, giving us a better idea of what the gameplay might be like, including some glimpses of player-to-player interaction, albeit in French. Check out the video after the jump if this sounds like it might possibly be your cup of tea.
