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1989 promo shows the 'Terminator' NES game that never was
The very first game based on The Terminator was supposed to be an NES side-scroller from Sunsoft, but it never panned out that way. The company lost the movie license and reworked the game into what would become Journey to Silius. However, evidence of what that game looked like was seemingly lost to the ages... until now. Gaming Alexandria has obtained a promo video Sunsoft made to advertise the Terminator game at winter CES 1989, offering a rare peek at what the title was supposed to look like.
Mahjong gets Cub3D on 3DS this summer
Atlus appears to have been eager for something to supplement Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked in its 3DS lineup, as it's picked up a Japanese launch window game we didn't expect to see localized. The publisher is bringing Sunsoft's Shanghai 3D Cube to North America this summer as "Mahjong Cub3D." Players will match mahjong tiles on the faces of a cube in "Cube Mode" or in a more traditional Shanghai arrangement (flat, facing up) in "Classic Mode." There will also be multiplayer via Download Play, if you want to test your tile-swapping abilities against an opponent. In all, Atlus claims there are 200 puzzles to be found. The first: What's a mahjong cub?%Gallery-121642%
MonkeyPaw bringing Galaxy Fight to PSN import store today
Another weird Japanese PlayStation game will hit the PSN Import Store today courtesy of MonkeyPaw Games. Galaxy Fight, originally released on Neo-Geo and Saturn in 1995, was Sunsoft's first fighting game. It's about ninjas, monsters, robots, and other assorted characters, who travel from planet to planet to beat each other up in infinitely-scrolling stages. It also marks the first appearance of the living punching bag, Bonus-kun. Galaxy Fight will be available with today's PSN update, for the usual $5.99 price. As usual, it's in Japanese, but ... it's a fighting game. You'll figure it out. And MonkeyPaw posted instructions.
Shenmue Town is a 'side story,' made by Yu Suzuki's new company
Here's a thought experiment. Would it be worse if: Yu Suzuki's Shenmue story continued, but in the form of a mobile game that none of us will ever play, or a new (mobile, Japanese) Shenmue game was made by Suzuki, and didn't continue the story? Both of those are kind of hellish -- the first means that we'd only be able to catch up with our pal Ryo through online summaries by fans, while the second would mean that the Shenmue story was being drawn out even more without reaching any kind of resolution. Shenmue Town, the Japan-only mobile game announced last month, will be a "side story" to the Shenmue games, developed by Yu Suzuki's Ys Net and managed by Sunsoft. So Suzuki finally figured out a way to make more Shenmue ... and it's a "side story." There are still few details about the game: Andriasang reports that you'll start in Yokusuka, setting for the first Dreamcast game, as Ryo Hazuki. Art on the official site is all Dreamcast-era character art, with a note that "Shenmue returns" and an invitation to "Come back this winter."
VC in Brief: Aero the Acro-Bat (SNES)
I gotta be honest with you guys: I thought I'd never get a chance to do one of these videos ever again. It seemed like Nintendo had forgotten about the poor old Virtual Console and left it to rot like some kind of thing that wasn't supposed to be left out and was then subsequently forgotten about. Uh, yeah, that sounds about right. Anyway, I'm just glad to be back. Head past the break for the latest episode of VC in Brief, featuring Iguana Entertainment's Aero the Acro-Bat. Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer VC in Brief as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.
Aero the Acro-Bat rated by OFLC
[Sega-16] Sunsoft's entry in the 16-bit mascot wars may be its next Virtual Console game. The OFLC has rated Aero the Acro-Bat for release on Wii, published by Nintendo (as all Virtual Console games are). The game was originally released on SNES and Genesis, and spawned both a sequel and a spinoff, Zero the Kamikaze Squirrel. Aero the Acro-Bat, as you may expect, stars an anthropomorphic bat who is also a circus performer. He uses a diagonal dash move to navigate platforms and defeat clowns. According to the OFLC, Sunsoft also has Ufouria in the wings for Virtual Console. In addition, the company has announced that it plans to release games from the Telenet catalog.
Rare NES game 'Ufouria' rated by OFLC, Virtual Console release possible
Sunsoft has started to revitalize its brand with the help of Gaijinworks' Victor Ireland. The strategy includes re-releases of classic games on Nintendo's Virtual Console, including Blaster Master, and the creation of original content -- also Blaster Master, actually. If a new rating by the Australian OFLC board is any indication, Sunsoft is planning a Virtual Console release of Ufouria: The Saga, a rare NES game that never made it to North America. Ufouria is a Metroidvania-style NES game starring Bop-Louie, who falls into a crater and is separated from this friends. Bop-Louie then explores the world in search of his lost companions, with his friends becoming playable once they are located. The game was released in Europe with an English translation, so if it does become a Virtual Console import, we'd even be able to read the text! [Via Aussie-Nintendo]
NintendoWare Weekly: Blaster Master Overdrive, Princess Tomato, Fieldrunners
There's a wide selection of downloads available on Wii and DSi this week -- including stuff that people might have heard of before and/or be interested in! Two days after its reveal, the new Blaster Master game is available on WiiWare, along with Hudson's Princess Tomato, a somewhat forgotten NES oddity. And DSiWare has the iPhone hit Fieldrunners and a new puzzle game by Intelligent Systems. Read about all ten (!) new games after the break. %Gallery-84941%
Sunsoft announces Blaster Master: Overdrive, coming to WiiWare next week [update]
Oh, Sunsoft, you shouldn't have. Here we were, thinking no news from this day would cause our hearts to swell in our chests, sending us into fits of nostalgic joy. Then you come along and announce that a new installment in the long-dormant Blaster Master franchise not only exists, but is coming out in two days. Yes, according to a recent Sunsoft press release, Monday's WiiWare update will see the addition of Blaster Master: Overdrive, a sequel to the NES classic, priced at 1000 Wii Points. Like the original, Overdrive features both side-scrolling and top-down action sequences. Looking at the images posted on Sunsoft's official site, it certainly seems to retain the same charm of the first game -- if it also preserves the original Blaster Master's completely awesome theme song, we might not be able to stop ourselves from purchasing the game two or three times over. Update: We've added the trailer after the break in all it's YouTube glory.
VC in Brief: Blaster Master (NES), Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis)
We've got a duo of high-profile titles to check out here on VC in Brief this week. Come for the shooting stuff, stay for the Pig Chutes. Blaster Master (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Earthworm Jim 2 (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.
NintendoWare weekly: Bejeweled, Blaster Master, Earthworm Jim 2
As promised, Sunsoft's brought Blaster Master to the Virtual Console -- though we think the impact is somewhat dulled by the quantity of other games available for download this week. There's a total of 11 different games available, so head past the break for the full list.
Sunsoft acquires Telenet game catalog (think: Valis, Cosmic Fantasy)
As part of its relaunch, Japanese publisher Sunsoft announced that it has purchased the rights to the entire 100-plus game library of Nihon Telenet. Even if you're not familiar with the name, you probably remember the games (most of which were published by Renovation) and their (at the time) exotic-looking anime-style covers. Telenet was the creator of the Valis series, along with action titles like El Viento, shmups like Sol-Deace and Gaiares, and the Cosmic Fantasy RPG series. Sunsoft will begin releasing classics from the library on the Wii Virtual Console and other services -- and then it will start producing remakes and new installments. This could finally be our chance for that non-pornographic Valis sequel we've been waiting for! Gaijinworks – the new company started by Working Designs' Victor Ireland – has been working with Sunsoft on the company's relaunch and is named as instrumental in this deal. Working Designs' history with Telenet goes back to 1992, when the company agreed to publish Telenet's Cosmic Fantasy 2.
Sunsoft kicks off American return with Blaster Master on Virtual Console
Sunsoft is coming back, with the help of Victor Ireland's Gaijinworks. The publisher plans to bring its brand back to prominence initially by re-releasing classics. The first? Blaster Master on Virtual Console. Sunsoft plans to launch the NES action title this month. Through its new website, the company plans to offer prizes and "exclusive, limited edition premiums," which reminds us of Ireland's former company, the swag-heavy Working Designs. More game launches will be announced soon. "This first Wii release is a great start," Ireland said. "But there is one upcoming announcement in particular that will demonstrate just how serious (Sunsoft CEO Kiharu) Yoshida-san is about rebuilding the Sunsoft console gaming brand here." [Via NeoGAF, GameSetWatch]
An unreleased Superman NES game for your enjoyment
This post is a little bit of a history lesson, but at the end you get to play a game, so stick with us. A few years ago, an unreleased Sunsoft game, called Sunman, was uncovered -- and it was pretty clearly a re-purposed Superman game. Now, an even earlier version of that same game (which actually features the Man of Steel!) has been discovered and made available for your perusal.The gameplay is so-so, but there's an absolutely gorgeous version of John Williams' Superman theme that we just adore. It's worth it for the music alone, trust us.
WiiWare manga service quietly launches
As promised, Sunsoft's WiiWare manga reader has just debuted on Japan's WiiWare service with Princess Ai, and Siliconera has posted a brief walkthrough to, well, reading Princess Ai on your Wii.It sounds straightforward, if a little unwieldy. Turning English subtitles (all translation work has been done by Tokyopop) on is easily done via the options menu, though this does mean you'll have to center on each speech bubble to make the subtitles appear (by pressing the A button), as opposed to smoothly scrolling through the manga.Meanwhile, the + and - buttons allow for zooming in and out, and accessing the next page is done by pressing left on the D-pad. There's also an option to listen to background music, five tracks from the newly released Princess Ai soundtrack, though how you people read and listen to music simultaneously we'll never know. Madness, we say.%Gallery-38561%
WiiWare manga releases next month, has English text
Remember Sunsoft's plans to start releasing manga over WiiWare? After several months of hearing diddly-squat, we've finally got confirmation that Princess Ai will be the first title delivered through the service. On January 6, Japanese Wii owners will have access to the first three chapters for 500 Wii points. Subsequent chapters will be released in pairs for 200 points a time. At fifteen chapters long, that means Princess Ai will set you back 1700 points, a pretty competitive price when compared to the paper-based version.Better still, one of the comic panels released by Sunsoft reveals subtitles in English -- Siliconera speculates that this could mean Sunsoft plans to localize its WiiWare manga viewer in the west. If that goes well, who knows what else could come our way?%Gallery-38561%[Via Siliconera]
VC Tuesday: Party time! Excellent!
How can the Wii have been in stores for two years without a Tetris game? At least Hudson is compensating for the lack of the staple video game with one that is both awesome-looking and cheap. It's being joined on WiiWare by a cheapo darts game and Brain Challenge -- which was actually pretty good on the DS. On the Virtual Console, a super old sidescroller from Sunsoft that looks like a slowed-down, more awkward Legend of Kage, and a totally cute Taito classic!Virtual Console releases: Kanshakudama Nage Kantarou no Toukaidou Gojuusan Tsugi (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points) The New Zealand Story (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) WiiWare releases: Darts Wii (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points) Brain Challenge (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Tetris Party (1-6 players, 1,200 Wii Points) %Gallery-18122%
