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Hudson's 'Master Higgins' sings on new game music CD
For some of us, the latest game music remix album release from Hudson is going to be a bizarre retrogaming oddity. But for a few -- those who love Hudson classics and also idolize Takahashi Meijin, the Hudson PR executive who became famous for his ability to push a button 16 times a second, and who served as the model for Adventure Island's protagonist, Takahashi Meijin Legend: Soul of the 16 Shot -- is instantly going to become one of the year's most anticipated music releases. And a bizarre retrogaming oddity. Soul of the 16 Shot features the Meijin singing, auto-tuned, over new arrangements of the music from classic Star Soldier, Challenger and Milon's Secret Castle. It'll be available on CD and in the Japanese iTunes store January 27. After hearing the new interpretation of the Adventure Island music, we're going to hope really hard that it shows up in the US iTunes store as well. Listen to some preview tracks after the break! [Via Chiptuned]
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This Week on the Nintendo Channel: Calling has a story
It seems the Nintendo Channel is still in vacation mode, because there isn't much in the way of new content this week. Sure, there's some No More Heroes 2 footage to check out -- odds are you've already seen it on our site -- but the only genuinely new and interesting video is the story trailer above for Hudson's survival-horror game, Calling. Check it out then be sure to head past the break for the full list of this week's content. %Gallery-67748%
NintendoWare Weekly: Castlevania ReBirth, Pilotwings, Oregon Trail
Nintendo's been on quite the roll recently, providing plenty of content in its weekly offerings -- and today is no different. There are ten new titles to check out, including high-profile downloads such as Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth, Oregon Trail and -- finally! -- Pilotwings on the Virtual Console. Head past the break to check out the full list.
Rooms: The Main Building: A Trailer
If the Flash game Continuity were more slow-paced and puzzle-oriented, and swapped out its stick-figure aesthetic for a more opulent, woodgrain look, it would be Rooms: The Main Building. Hudson's DS (and Wii) port of the PC puzzle game, out next spring, turns the rooms of a building into a slide puzzle. By configuring the rooms in the correct manner, the player can navigate between them with doors and ladders. Why would anyone even dare to enter a building with sliding rooms that threaten to trap you forever? For a birthday party, of course!
NintendoWare Weekly: Tales of Monkey Island, Bookworm, The Combatribes
If you thought last week's NintendoWare Weekly update was huge, well ... you'll probably think the same thing about this week's update! That's mostly because Nintendo provides quite the overweight offering this time, with a total of ten new titles available for your post-Thanksgiving download. Loosen that belt and make some room for more by heading past the break for the full list of this week's releases.
New Hudson survival horror trailers are Calling
Hudson released a pair of trailers for Calling, due out in Japan on November 19. We don't know if this will reflect on the actual scare content of the game, but the trailer above is creeeepy, bearing all the hallmarks of Japanese horror -- by which we mean terrifying little girls getting in your face, and that weird head-rattling motion (in this case performed by dolls). After the break, see another video demonstrating gameplay. Not only can the Wiimote be used to simulate the in-game cell phone, but apparently that phone can be used as a teleportation device? But ... that would only be possible if you were some kind of ghost. We're scared. %Gallery-67748%
Diner Dash serves XBLA on Nov. 18
With the rough time a downloadable title can have finding success in the fourth quarter, it's probably a good thing that Diner Dash could likely give a plate-dropping damn how successful it ends up being on the console after it arrives on November 18th. The casual title by PlayFirst is already a hit in realm of personal com-pu-ters, having sold over five million copies.The XBLA version of Diner Dash naturally includes HD-ified graphicals, along with a new multiplayer mode that includes support for up to eight players. The game will allow direct control over protagonist Flo, or the "traditional control scheme," which involves "point-and-click style with hotkeys." All the best to Flo in opening up her diner in the midst of the triple-A retail season ... she's going to need it.
NintendoWare Weekly: LostWinds, Shootanto, Rygar ... Domo
It's an unexpectedly packed week for Nintendo downloaders! On WiiWare, there's a game that should be wonderful and another that should be, uh, interesting. There's an arcade classic on Virtual Console, and DSiWare features the arrival of one of the weirdest game series to be announced at E3: a set of five games based on NHK mascot and generally adorable monster Domo-kun.%Gallery-75855%
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, more PSone Classics rated by the ESRB
The ESRB has exposed a new round of PSone Classics for PS3 and PSP on its ratings site, including Naughty Dog creative director -- and Uncharted creator -- Amy Hennig's 32-bit opus, Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver. Other titles recently rated for re-release via PlayStation network include Bomberman Party Edition, Fighting Force, Dirt Jockey and International Track & Field.After last week's deluge of classic PlayStation games gone downloadable on PSN, we were befuddled by the utter lack of any new additions with yesterday's update. We could very likely be looking at the next round in the list -- the only question is when Sony will push them out the digital distribution door.[Thanks, Dylan!]
Shootanto evolves into a North American WiiWare release
We never expected to see Grand Prix Games' WiiWare light gun game, Shootanto, leave Japan, and we certainly never expected it to be published by Hudson, a company with plenty of internally developed WiiWare games to release.In case you're not familiar with the game (now being called Shootanto: Evolutionary Mayhem), a game we previously said "looks hilariously ill-conceived and poorly made, and is probably great fun to play and laugh at": it's a shooter about monkeys fighting giant plants and lizardmen. As your monkey progresses through the game, it evolves into a missing-link creature, a caveman, a knight, and finally into a modern soldier. All of whom shoot at lizardmen.Hudson plans to release the game sometime this fall, and it could find an audience if the company markets it as a B-movie experience. Of course, since it's a WiiWare game, nobody's going to market it at all. If it does manage to become a success, it could lead to more localization of niche Japanese WiiWare games from Hudson. Like the Shootanto sequel!
This Wednesday: Military Madness and Football Genius Bust-a-Move onto XBLA
This week's Xbox Live Arcade lineup is Madness -- Madness, we tell you! Well, okay, so it includes Hudson's revival of the TurboGrafx-16 classic Military Madness, but also two other releases. Still: Madness! Military Madness: Nectaris takes the hex-map strategy game into the era of polygons and -- better yet -- four-person online play. It's going to run 800 ($10), which is considerably less than a used TG-16, a TurboChip (remember those? If so, you're old) and the original game will cost you on eBay.Another classic strikes back in the form of Bust-A-Move Live, the latest retooling of the bubble-shooting puzzle game that's appeared on every system dating back to the abacus. Did you know it's a spin-off of Bubble Bobble Neo from two weeks back? Well, it is. It's also 800 ($10).Rounding out the bunch -- and making us thankful that every XBLA game has a trial version -- is Football Genius, a football trivia game about that kinda football; otherwise known as "soccer" up in here. We'd give the 800 ($10) release a shot ... if our goal was to be bored. (We love you, soccer/footie fans, but c'mon, seriously?)
Bomberman Live: Battlefest trailer is unexpectedly funky
There's usually a nostalgia element to Bomberman games -- since the core gameplay has remained basically identical over the last twenty years or so, a lot of the appeal of Bomberman lies in memories of awesome multiplayer sessions past. But there isn't usually a '70s nostalgia element, mostly because Bomberman didn't exist until 1983. Hudson's teaser for Bomberman Live: Battlefest, the new WiiWare/XBLA/PSN Bomberman party game, adds a lovely anachronistic touch not usually seen in Bomberman marketing. And also a bunch of footage of stuff exploding in cross patterns.
Hudson announces Bomberman Anytime for DSiWare
Nintendo's DSiWare platform is set to become a bit more combustible later this fall -- according to AndriaSang, the Japanese release list in the latest edition of Famitsu reveals an October launch for Itsudemo Bomberman (which translates to Bomberman Anytime) on the handheld's download service. The magazine also lists a price of 500 DSi Points ($5) for the portable title. Hudson hasn't taken the trouble of actually announcing Itsudemo Bomberman yet -- regardless, we've contacted them to see what, if any, details we can surmise about the game. [Thanks, Fernando.]
New downloadable Bonk, Bomberman found on Hudson's website [update]
NeoGAF user VideoMan discovered currently unannounced games on Hudson's website, including a multiplatform downloadable Bonk update, a Bomberman Live sequel, and a Wii/DS version of Big Fish Games' generically titled Rooms: The Main Building. Most of the pages have been removed, but Bonk is still up, and VideoMan saved the screenshots and product descriptions. Bonk: Brink of Extinction is a WiiWare/PSN/Xbox Live Arcade 2.5D action platformer with online co-op (!) and eight different transformations. The 3D makeover the game has received is ... suboptimal, and the Adventure Island refresh wasn't great, but we can't help but be thrilled about the return of the Turbografx-16's mascot. It'll apparently be out first on XBLA in spring 2010. Bomberman Live Battlefest is also coming to all three console download services, and adds new arenas, gametypes, and team play to, well, Bomberman. And Rooms: The Main Building seems to be a Wii/DS retail game, based on the PC slide-puzzle adventure. We're contacting Hudson to learn what we can about the company's plans for these unannounced games. Update: Hudson officially announced Bonk and Bomberman, and sent screens over. Screens for Bomberman and both the PSN/Xbox and WiiWare versions of Bonk can be found in our galleries. %Gallery-71549% %Gallery-71548% %Gallery-71552%
See Tower of Shadow in action
This is going to have to be one of those cases of style over substance, because even though we know the trailer for Tower of Shadow looks quite pretty, we can't make out a word of the strange moon man language attached to it. Seriously, what is that, Sanskrit? Barred from informative text, we're forced to critique the aesthetic choices made in the trailer. In brief, the music is great but that title font? Yuck-o. It's like Stryper's font guy half-finished the logo before taking the day off before letting his drunken five-year-old nephew finish up. %Gallery-69616%
Bomberman Live blasts out 500,000 downloads
Hudson has announced that Bomberman Live, the XBLA version of its perennial explosion festival, has eclipsed 500,000 downloads. Sabine Duvall, Hudson's Vice President of Digital Download, states that the company is "awed by the enthusiasm and excitement" of the series' fans, adding that the milestone "is a testament to the longevity of the Bomberman series." Just to put the sales in context, Bomberman Live was released on XBLA way back in July of 2007, meaning it took just over two years for the title to amass 500,000 downloads. It was also one of the first XBLA titles to add Avatar support. If you've yet to pick it up and happen to be looking for an evergreen party game, we suggest you give it a try.
Hudson finally announces Deca Sports on DS
We first heard rumblings from Hudson about a DS version of the surprisingly popular Deca Sports back in May of last year. Those ... offhand remarks have finally come to fruition, as Hudson has officially announced Deca Sports DS, for release in North America at the same time as every other game ever (Spring 2010). Scans of the Japanese version have also appeared, providing a first look at the handheld sports game.The DS game includes customizable team designs, multiplayer modes and, most importantly, new sports. The events on this cartridge include golf, ping pong, wall climbing, bobsled, rugby, arm wrestling, clay shooting, cheerleading, and sepak takraw, only one of which we had to look up. (Wall climbing? What is that?)Will Deca Sports be a hit on DS? Will the kind of inexplicable success of Deca Sports counteract the super-crowded release schedule? It should be interesting to find out.[Scan via GoNintendo]
Shadow Tower: Hudson's beautiful Wii platformer officially revealed
Hudson has opened the official site for its lovely new platformer, Shadow Tower, affording us the opportunity to see more than one screen, and without the glare from a camera flash! Which is good because the game is so pretty. That is, except for the giant UI in the top-left corner. Why does this game need a big display like that? More screens at Famitsu show that it gets even bigger. We may have to wait for the trailer to figure out what's going on with that crazy display. In the meantime, we're just going to look at the rest of the screen, with all the ruins on lush green landscapes, and the giant industrial structures. Famitsu says there is currently no price or release date given for Shadow Tower.%Gallery-69616%
Hudson sheds light on new Wii platformer, Shadow Tower
An article in the latest Famitsu magazine, summarized by 1UP, reveals a new Wii game from Hudson Soft. Shadow Tower doesn't seem to have anything to do with the From Software PlayStation RPG of the same name, instead appearing to be a platformer in which players control the shadow of an otherwise invisible boy.As he travels through an abandoned landscape and climbs up the tower featured in the name, the silhouetted character actually travels on the shadows of platforms and structures, interacting with shadow objects to trigger movement in their real counterparts. He is joined by a butterfly who can reach objects he can't -- 1UP offers the example of a light source that the butterfly changes to alter the shape of the shadow landscape and make a chasm navigable.Pretty much everyone who sees this mentions the ICO-esque look, and we think that's an apt comparison. Given that we like the look of Team ICO games, and we like original platformers, we're going to be following this one.[Image via Nintendo Everything]
TurboGrafx-16 games coming to North American PSN
Don't worry, Bonk fans. The PlayStation Store's expansion into TurboGrafx territory won't remain a Japan-only affair. Hudson confirmed to Siliconera that it plans to port its classics onto the North American PSN -- although it didn't provide a time frame. Japanese gamers can already download a variety of "PC Engine" games from the PlayStation Store, including Bomberman '94, New Adventure Island, Sengoku Mahjong and Devil's Crush, each for ¥600 ($6.33). As with downloadable PS1 games, these titles are compatible with both the PS3 and PSP.
