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New Nintendo eShop releases: Pushmo World, Another World, some other worlds
Loads of new eShop games this week, though it's fair to say there are standouts. Top of the pile in more ways than one is Pushmo World on Wii U, with 250 block-pushing puzzles to solve this time around. Meanwhile, Iconic 1991 cinematic adventure Another World is doing the rounds again, and that includes Wii U and 3DS. It didn't take as long as Another World, but How to Survive hits Wii U finally this week too. If you prefer something a bit more sedate, Farming Simulator '14 has a few jobs for you on 3DS. As ever, we've got all the new releases below the break. That just leaves sales to talk ab-oh man, there are a few of those too. When the eShop updates, Toki Tori 2+ and Fractured Soul will both be discounted to $6 until July 3, while Shin Megami Tensei 4 is $25 until June 23. You can find more on the new eShop sales here.
VC Tuesday: For all players hoping to touch the true entertainment
There are only two Virtual Console games this week in Japan, but of course for the US that would be a massive week. Both are sports-themed, and both are excellent. Well, actually, we've never played the PC Engine version of Super Dodge Ball, developed by Naxat, but it is Super Dodge Ball, and thus probably wonderful. Mario Golf needs no explanation. Mario Golf 64 (Nintendo 64, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Nekketsu Koukou Dodge Ball-bu: PC Bangai Hen (PC Engine, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) The biggest news in WiiWare (as in, the game that no other region has and is thus news) is Aero Guitar, Yudo's Wiimote rhythm game, which we're hoping to see more of now that some people can buy it. Tsuushin Taiyoku World Chess (1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Wi-Fi 8-Player Bomberman (1-8 players, 1,000 Wii Points) Aero Guitar (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
Virtually Overlooked: Super Dodge Ball
We're ridiculously crazy about Technos and their Kunio games. Normally, the release of any Kunio series game -- save Renegade -- on the Virtual Console would be cause for a weeklong celebration here on Wii Fanboy. We'd break out our special Kunio-shaped cake pans and observe the traditional Kunio Week rituals (playing games). We'd be pushing the game on you in unrelated posts, even.Unfortunately for Super Dodge Ball, Mega Man 9 had to happen this week and distract everybody. In fact, we are also freaking out about Dodge Ball -- we just delayed our reaction a bit. We'll have our little nerdfest now, in the most counterintuitive way we can think of -- celebrating the NES Super Dodge Ball by talking about another version.
VC Monday Madness: Super Dodge Ball and Vectorman
While most of the attention is being lavished on the latest WiiWare release, don't discount today's Virtual Console offerings. Up for grabs are two very solid retro titles for the Sega Genesis and NES. Check out the video above, then cruise past the break for the rest.
Vectorman dodges balls on Virtual Console today
A pseudo-classic Genesis sidescroller debuts on Virtual Console today, as well as an NES sports favorite ... but really, you're playing Mega Man 9 right now. We know. You're not even reading this, are you? Super Dodge Ball (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Without adding too much innuendo, the gameplay is pretty self-explanatory. You dodge balls. Vectorman (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): While he never became as popular as Mega Man, this robot fought without a torso, and best of all, could shoot upwards.
Retail and download releases for the week of September 22nd
Click image for more screens Well folks, just as stated, we've got a new Mega Man game to play this week. What's even better is that along with the sure-to-be-awesome Mega Man 9, we've also got some solid retail releases. And there's a surprise or two with this week's Virtual Console releases, as well. Head on past the break for the info. This week is going to be chock full of gaming goodness.%Gallery-30253%
VC Tuesday: Hi!
This week's Japanese Virtual Console releases are, unquestionably, awesome. Art of Fighting 2 may not be as awesome as the others, but just being the least awesome game in this week's lineup is still pretty great. Nintendo of Japan is just now getting around to offering Blazing Lazers, which we got in May. Japan is actually getting the U.S. version of the game; the Japanese version, Gunhed, was based on a movie license to which Hudson apparently no longer has the rights.As great (and interesting) as Blazing Lazers is, the Famicom release, however, is the best of the bunch. It's Super Dodge Ball. It may be extraordinarily flickery and simplistic, but the gameplay still holds up. Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball Bu (Famicom, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points) Blazing Lazers (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) Ryuuko no Ken 2 (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)
Super Dodge Ball gets super remix
Before we go into fits induced by the awesome fact that Super Dodgeball Brawlers is releasing in a mere two weeks, we figured that the least we could do is spread some love for an aspect of the original game that's often ignored -- its music.Of course, the best thing to do with great video game music is remix it, and The Bad Dudes have done just that. Taking Kazuo Sawa's score from the original Super Dodge Ball (NES) and arranging it with some ethnic flavor (based on the different teams' countries of origin) makes for a great combination. Don't just take out word for it, though -- give it a listen or download the zip file over at No Balls, No Glory.Aksys also plans to use this EP to promote the upcoming DS remake, which is set to hit American stores on May 27th.[Via Destructoid]
Non-Earthbound ESRB ratings fly high [update]
Okay, so they aren't Earthbound. That one got its own post (and, we hope, its own release sooner than ESRB-rated gems like Pro Wrestling and Zombies Ate My Neighbors). Even though we're all tired from freaking out about Shigesato Itoi's sci-fi RPG, a bunch of awesome game ratings that would normally cause us to freak out have as yet gone un-freaked-out-about, on both Virtual Console and WiiWare. The biggest news for us on the VC: Super Dodge Ball. It's probably the NES game, but there's an outside chance it's the Neo Geo game. Either way, we love Aksys. And from SNK, Samurai Shodown II and Metal Slug.WiiWare's ratings range from expected to thrilling. Among the games found on the ESRB website that were not yet confirmed for U.S. release, Dr. Mario Wii and Family Ping Pong stand out. Other new ratings include Gyrostarr, Pop, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, V.I.P Casino: Blackjack, and Magnetica Twist (Minna de Puzzloop).[Update: removed reference to Donkey Kong Country 3. Not sure why that was mixed in with the recent ratings, or why I forgot it was already out. Well, I know why I forgot about it.]
Nintendo lays out 2008's releases, we totally freak
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/nintendo/Nintendo_s_upcoming_releases_to_flood_shelves'; Nintendo sent out a press release detailing the 2008 release schedule, and along with all the yay-awesome stuff we knew about, there's a ton of new stuff! We were just casually looking down the list, expecting familiar titles and release dates, and we almost spit out our Diet Cherry Coke when we saw previously-unknown release dates, and even a few new titles! For the safety of your computer, DS Fanboy recommends that you put down your Diet Cherry Coke before proceeding.For the first time, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon sequels have been announced for U.S. release. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness are tentatively slated for a "Q2" release. More personally exciting is the revelation that Bangai-O Spirits was picked up by D3 of America, also Q2. And by "personally exciting" we mean "OH YES AWESOME. AWESOME."Other surprises include Ubisoft's Quick Yoga Training (April), Nintendo's Crosswords DS (May 5th!), Rondo of Swords (which we Eric surmised is Success Corp.'s Ituwari no Rondo) and complete unknowns like Organize It (May 8th).We've reproduced the whole list for you after the break, so you can freak out. We think we're over the initial shoOH DUDE SUPER DODGEBALL IN APRIL. If you can handle the intensity, check out the Wii schedule as well!
Super Dodgeball Brawlers: the first American Kunio game
When Siliconera's Spencer Yip interviewed Aksys's Gail Salamanca about Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles, he also submitted a battery of questions about Super Dodgeball Brawlers, many of which were submitted by readers. One reader asked if Aksys would keep the Kunio series characters for the game, rather than making them more generic and American. Salamanca responded with "Yes, we will be keeping the Kunio names for the US version."This may only be significant to us and to the person asking the question (who was, we admit, also us), but that means that Super Dodgeball Brawlers will be the first Kunio game in the U.S. Renegade, River City Ransom, Crash 'n the Boys Street Challenge, Super Spike V'Ball, Nintendo World Cup, and every previous version of Super Dodge Ball were all part of the Kunio-kun series from Technos, starring two rude high-school kids named Kunio and Riki. And without exception, the original characters were excised from the localization.Another reader asked if more Kunio games were upcoming, and Salamanca replied "We hope so." Not much news there, but if Aksys wants to continue publishing upcoming Kunio games, we're happy to hear it. What a great day for Technos nerds.
Passion Yara agrees: Super Dodge Ball is awesome
Passion Yara is some Japanese comedian we don't really know much about. He does sports-related humor and thumps his chest a lot, and seems to enjoy making faces for the camera. For awkward attempts at reference, here's a machine translation of his Wikipedia page. But really, the fact that he got dressed up in athletic gear to play Chou Nekketsu Koukou Kunio-kun Dodgeball Bu tells us everything we need to know: he accepts money for public appearances he loves the game.Look at him posing in front of a tiny poster, along with some guy from Arc System Works! Only people who genuinely love the game would pose in front of a tiny poster! Look at those other guys, slumped over the table in defeat! Thanks, Passion Yara, for reminding us that the world is worth living in.
Spring 2008: American balls get dodged
We don't know how today could get any better, unless we suddenly found a copy of Contra 4 in our Boo Berry (checking ... nope). Siliconera just reported that Aksys Games (also known as heroes of game publishing) will be bringing Chou Nekketsu Koukou Kunio-Kun Dodge Ball Bu to the U.S. under the excellent name of Super Dodgeball Brawlers. Because they play dodge ball, and also get into fights.Even if you don't like Super Dodge Ball, buy it. Buy a couple of copies so Million gets the idea that they need to continue making more new Kunio games. In the meantime, we're going to start ordering decorations and (of course) dodge balls for the Super Dodgeball Brawlers welcoming party. Spring 2008 is just around the corner!
Virtually Overlooked: Renegade
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.We often feature bad games on Virtually Overlooked. A lot of bad games are historically notable or weird enough to enjoy. Sometimes they're just funny.Today's bad game, Renegade, is one of the historically important ones. It's also kind of funny, if you don't have to play it for long. It's the first beat-em-up from Technos, who we'd say we'd follow to the grave if they weren't already there. And, yeah, it's got some tuff boxart.
