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Watch every Final Smash in Smash Bros for Wii U
Smash Bros fans are familiar with two very different games. The first game is, of course, Smash Bros. The second game is waiting for the new Smash Bros to finally come out. Super Smash Bros for Wii U is still over a week away, so we decided to make the wait a little easier by throwing together a video of every single Final Smash attack featured in the game. Enjoy.
Color in your calendars for Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Nintendo's lining up Kirby and the Rainbow Curse for February 13, 2015, according the publisher's Facebook page. The big N previously outlined the Wii U game for February, but it's always good to draw a line under things with a specific date. So, you'll all be lining up outside stores... alright, we'll stop with the line thing. If you hadn't guessed, in Rainbow Curse you draw multicolor lines on the GamePad for Kirby to roll along as the pink puffball traverses weird and wonderful worlds. Talking of the weird and wonderful, check out the game's adorable Japanese box art below the break.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe mini-games transform into standalones in Japan
Nintendo is releasing two Kirby: Triple Deluxe mini-games as standalone downloadables in Japan, including the Smash Bros-like Kirby Fighters Z. The eShop sucks in the multiplayer fighter along with rhythm platformer DeDeDe's Drum Dash on July 23, priced 750 yen each (around $7.38.) It's not known if Nintendo will spit them out onto Western 3DS systems. A Nintendo of Europe spokesperson told Joystiq "nothing has been announced for Europe to date so there's nothing further we can share at the current time." To check out trailers for the new standalones, roll on past the break.
Kirby: Triple Deluxe review: Maximum pink
Kirby's an adventurous little guy, taking frequent breaks from his side-scrolling roots to explore other genres, often to great success. His experimental efforts, like Kirby: Canvas Curse and the recent Kirby Mass Attack, have informed subsequent games in the series, and even his traditional platforming quests frequently stand out as wildly original and creative. Kirby: Triple Deluxe is the pink puffball's latest platformer, following in the grand tradition of classics like Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Super Star. Compared to previous games in the series, Triple Deluxe takes a great step forward in terms of complexity, as Kirby is armed with a greater variety of enemy-absorbing powers and attacks than ever before. Though Triple Deluxe will be familiar territory for those who played through Kirby's recent outings on the Nintendo Wii, the package still stands out as a high point in the series, thanks to its briskly-paced platforming and refined gameplay mechanics.
Japan gets Kirby: Triple Deluxe in January
Kirby: Triple Deluxe will be one of the Japan's first new releases of the coming year, when it hits retail shelves there on January 11. The deliciously-titled 3DS platformer has a 2014 window in North America, but for reference, the last three Kirby games headed west within a few months of being released in Japan.
Earthbound and children at play
This is Making Time, a column about the games we've always wanted to play, and the games we've always wanted to play again. Earlier this month, a friend on Twitter asked his followers to name a "perfect game." The resulting conversation was fascinating, as hordes of players listed games while also admitting that each had "flaws," or that the plot wasn't strong enough to be considered perfect. Some refused the notion that a perfect game could ever exist, or argued that it shouldn't exist, because perfection is unattainable. After spending time with Earthbound's recent Wii U Virtual Console, I've come to think otherwise. Earthbound is perfect. To be clear, it's not perfect because it's a flawless product, but because it expresses a coming-of-age adventure in every ounce of its code. At its roots, Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan) is like a group of children at play, in a world much larger and darker than themselves.%Gallery-195204%
Best Buy taking Animal Crossing 3DS XL bundle pre-orders
If the thought of going to a store and purchasing something the day it comes out only fills you with panic (what if they're sold out?!) then we have some reassuring news for you. Best Buy is taking pre-orders for the Animal Crossing 3DS XL bundle, launching on June 9 in North America. The $219.99 bundle comes with a 4GB card, pre-loaded with Animal Crossing: New Leaf. In this latest entry in series, players assume the role of Mayor.
Yoshi Wii U game by Kirby's Epic Yarn team announced
It only takes a look at this newly unveiled Yoshi game for Wii U to know it's by the Kirby's Epic Yarn team. The as-yet-unnamed Wii U game will feature the same art style and likely some of the same mechanics of Good-Feel and HAL Laboratory's charming 2010 platformer.As revealed on this morning's Nintendo Direct, Yoshi's Island and Yoshi's Story director Takashi Tezuka will supervise the game's development. %Gallery-177049%
Here's what you get in Kirby: 20th Anniversary Special Collection
Nintendo has been pretty quiet about that anniversary collection of Kirby games for the Wii ever since it was announced way back in April, but now the full list of games included in the collection, as well as the collection's Japanese title, have been released by Famitsu and translated into English by Andriasang.Kirby: 20th Anniversary Special Collection will include Kirby's Dream Land, Kirby's Dream Land 2, Kirby's Adventure, Kirby Super Star, Kirby's Dream Land 3 and Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards. The collection also includes a timeline and soundtrack, and will launch in Japan on July 19, according to Andriasang. Alas, no North American release information has surfaced as of yet.
Thank Kojima's son for getting Snake into Smash Bros. Brawl
Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and Sora Ltd. head Masahiro Sakurai are friends. So when Hideo Kojima wanted one of his most famous characters, Solid Snake, put into Sakurai's fighting series, Super Smash Bros., all the two had to do was talk. "When I was developing Super Smash Bros. Melee for GameCube, Hideo Kojima contacted me and practically begged me to put him in there, but at that time we were deep in dev and it was too late," Sakurai told Kotaku back in 2006. Snake didn't end up in Melee, but did appear in the Wii's iteration of Super Smash Bros.: Brawl.So what drove Kojima to "practically beg" Sakurai to get Snake in the game? "My child likes Super Smash Bros., so we play it a lot together. And he told me that there's no character that you made in that game," Hideo Kojima told a group of interviewers late last week ahead of the Smithsonian's "The Art of Videogames" exhibit. Aside from his son's pleading, Kojima pointed to Metal Gear's low profile on Nintendo consoles as a second reason."As you know, we did make Twin Snakes, but generally speaking, there hasn't been a lot of Metal Gear on Nintendo platforms. So from that perspective, I thought it was a good way to expose younger people to this character, Snake," he said. It must be working, as Snake is one of Brawl's most popular characters.
HAL's NES Ghostbusters II game almost came to North America
The Ghostbusters II game we got in America, developed by Kemco and published by Activision, was poop. Meanwhile, Japan and Europe got a completely different Ghostbusters II game called New Ghostbusters II by talented developer HAL Laboratory -- creators of Kirby and Lolo, and employer of future Nintendo president Satoru Iwata. It was much less poop-like. New Ghostbusters II never came out in North America, likely because Activision had already secured the rights for a game based on the movie. Nintendo Player discovered (and dumped) a prototype of an unreleased US version of HAL's Ghostbusters II game, and documented the minimal differences between that version and the ones released elsewhere. Apparently, HAL did have plans to release this at some point! And then, for some reason, potentially because of interference from Activision or Vigo the Carpathian, it instead became the footnote it is now.
Iwata reveals three canned Kirby games, more than a decade in the making
The relative ease of Kirby games usually result in their powderpuff protagonist avoiding death from start to finish -- however, Kirby's not immune to the most permanent form of death there is: Project cancellation. In the most recent Iwata Asks, Kirby's Return to Dreamland producer Shigefumi Kawase revealed that three installments in the franchise were killed off mid-development, explaining "We spent 11 years ... making and abandoning these three games." The three Kirby titles in questions would have been starkly different: One was a 2.5D four-player adventure title (sort of like Return to Dreamland, but with more depth), one was a fully-3D exploration-centric game and the other was an animated platformer with "pop-up visuals." They sound charming as all-get-out, which makes us all the more forlorn that they're dead as doornails. Goodnight, sweet princes. May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
Kirby's Return to Dreamland review: Sleepwalking
Kirby's Return to Dreamland is too easy. I know I'm going to have to back that up, given that you couldn't die in the previous Kirby game, and I loved that one -- and given that Kirby has never exactly been synonymous with brutal difficulty, and that's kind of the point. But Kirby's Return to Dreamland, unlike Epic Yarn, centers on giving Kirby the most impressive, most exciting, and most powerful powers he's ever had, and then fails to put them to any kind of interesting use. Really, the only ability you have to master in order to succeed in this game is pushing the attack button. %Gallery-125891%
Kirby: Mass Attack review: Pink, puffy and preposterous
The core conceit of Kirby: Mass Attack was dreamed up by a complete lunatic. That's the only thing I can say about the game with absolute certainty. What sane human being would choose to eschew the time-tested formula of floaty-platforming and adorable mimicry that serves as the keystone for the franchise? Who, in their right mind, would swap that formula out for a bizarre, chimeric blend of the platforming, real-time strategy and mini-game collection genres? That's not a condemnation of Kirby: Mass Attack, of course -- that sort of outside-the-sanity-box thinking also led to the creation of the magnificent Kirby: Canvas Curse. This latest aberration of the powderpuff series doesn't quite reach the heights established by that predecessor; but during those moments where its preternatural ideas work in tandem, it comes awfully darn close. %Gallery-125888%
Kirby: Mass Attack minigames feature minis, games
Historically, very few small pink blobs have done more to further innovation in the field of minigame design than Kirby, and judging from the above trailer, HAL Laboratory's DS swan-song Kirby Mass Attack will continue that proud tradition. Other continuing traditions include: ruthlessly destroying docile forrest creatures via accurately timed button presses, and ruining Whispy Woods' day in as many ways as possible.%Gallery-132563%
Report: Kirby Wii officially named 'Kirby Returns to Dreamland'
After waking up just in time to briefly appear at Nintendo's E3 2011 press conference, Kirby will apparently be heading back to Dreamland in his forthcoming Wii appearance. In speaking with a Nintendo rep at this week's San Diego Comic Con, Siliconera heard that the none-too-subtly-named Kirby Wii will actually be named "Kirby Returns to Dreamland" when it arrives this fall. Nintendo has yet to confirm the title, but we expect we'll hear official word when the company decides to make a big release date announcement. And given how much we liked the game when we played it back at E3, here's hoping that announcement comes soon.
Kirby's Epic Yarn spun down to $30 on Amazon
Crocheting is super hot right now, you guys. Take it from a gaggle of scarfmakers like us: You want to get in on the textile movement before it passes you by. Here's a good starting point! Amazon's Deal of the Day is the threaded platformer Kirby's Epic Yarn, which is now on sale for $29.99.
Kirby Wii preview: King Dedede, you, and me
It's hard to speak about Kirby Wii without a tinge of regret, and harder still to do so after seeing this video of a very similar, cancelled Kirby title for the GameCube. The game was never quite "cancelled" per se, but it was put on hold for quite some time while its developer, HAL Laboratory, pursued other projects -- Picross 3D and Face Raiders, among others. Among a mess of other logos flashed at the end of Nintendo's E3 2011 presser, Kirby Wii prominently stood out, reminding us that the game still exists. And when I spotted the game in Nintendo's press area available at a hands-on kiosk, I jumped at the chance to finally play the six year old game. What I found was a New Super Mario Bros. Wii meets single-player Smash Bros. Brawl mashup, with a hefty dollop of pink fluffy Kirby covering everything. Something not quite as "hardcore" looking as the GC game, but not far off.%Gallery-125891%
Kirby: Mass Attack preview: Kirby's other avalanche
For the first few minutes of my Kirby: Mass Attack demo, I felt bad. I felt bad for the Kirby series for leading to this failed experiment. I felt bad for the DS for having something so irritating as its swan song. I felt bad for the poor booth attendant who was tethered to this game and forced to stand around as people played it all day. And I felt bad for myself for playing this. By the end of the demo, I was totally, unreservedly into it. It built up steadily from something awkward to something elegant. I still felt bad for the woman corded to that demo DS, though.%Gallery-125888%
New Kirby Wii game coming from HAL Laboratory
There's a new Kirby game coming to the Wii. And this time, it's far more epic than yarn. Tucked inside Nintendo's quarterly report is mention of a new Kirby sequel, developed by series originator HAL Laboratory. As you'll see in the video teaser (after the break), the pink mascot appears much more powerful than ever before. Not only is he seem toting a giant sword, he also summons a fire dragon, sucks in an entire group of enemies, and shoots out a massive death star. "Warm and fuzzy" this is not.
