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New Nintendo eShop releases: Toki Tori 2, Castlevania
Two Tribes has let its baby bird leave the nest; Toki Tori 2, the subject of a sudden delay last year, will be available today on the Wii U eShop.Meanwhile on 3DS, the biggest release is a game from 1987, the original Castlevania. It's out on the eShop just in time to be a few weeks late to promote Castlevania Lords of Shadow: Mirror of Fate. A couple of former retail games, including the adorable Gabrielle's Ghostly Groove, are also available, as is some DLC for Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity.
Mega Man 3 coming to 3DS Virtual Console next week
Mega Man 3 will launch on the 3DS Virtual Console next week, March 14 to be exact, according to a Capcom Unity update. What's more, Mega Man 4, 5 and 6 will launch in subsequent months.Capcom notes that by the time Mega Man 6 heads to the 3DS eShop, it will make digital versions of each game's soundtrack available for purchase. No prices were announced for the games, though Mega Man 2 landed on the 3DS eShop just one month ago for $4.99.
Zelda: Oracle of Ages, Oracle of Seasons to hit 3DS eShop in Japan [update: Western release confirmed!]
Update: As eagled-eyed commenter TravenousMaximus spotted, Zelda series producer Eiji Anouma confirms the games are coming to other territories' Virtual Consoles. Posting on the Zelda Miiverse page, Anouma writes, "The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages will be released for Virtual Console on Nintendo 3DS in Japan, but it'll be a little while longer till the're out in other territories. We''d like to ask for your patience until they're ready for release. Thank you!" So it was foretold: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons will come to the 3DS eShop in Japan. The Capcom-developed Game Boy Color games, hits with fans and critics alike in 2001, arrive individually on the Virtual Console February 27, priced ¥600 each (around $6.50), and then in a combined pack next month at ¥1000 (around $10.50)As the reveal came in this morning's 3DS-focused Direct broadcast for Japan, there's no news as yet on the re-releases heading westwards.
Nintendo releasing 60Hz F-Zero onto Europe's Wii U Virtual Console
European Wii U owners get to play F-Zero at the same speed as North Americans - always handy with a racing game - when the SNES classic arrives on the Wii U's Virtual Console this week. The news of the 60Hz version coming to Europe follows the criticism Nintendo received last month for releasing a 50Hz version of Balloon Fight.Games running at 50Hz, which they used to in Europe because over there older TV sets only displayed the lower refresh rate, run noticeably slower than their 60Hz counterparts, as clearly demonstrated by audio and side-by-side comparisons.F-Zero isn't the only Nintendo download racing into Europe this week. Demos for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (both on 3DS and Wii U), Trine 2: Director's Cut on Wii U, and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate on 3DS are speeding their way there, as is a full-blown releases for NightSky on 3DS.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Wii Street U, Dig Dug
Finally, you can browse your neighborhood through the tiny window of your Wii U GamePad. Wii Street U is free on the Wii U eShop today for a limited time, enabling augmented reality Google Street View. Grab it now, because it seems unlikely you'd want to pay for it.Meanwhile on 3DS eShop: video games! The NES version of arcade classic Dig Dug is available, as is a demo for chibi action game Naruto Powerful Shippuden. Bit.Trip Saga is also discounted. If you lack even one of the Bit.Trip games, this is a great way to get them all in a portable format.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Puddle, Ikachan
The 3DS eShop is crowded today! Ikachan launches today, as does the Virtual Console release of Ice Climber and a bunch of other things. There are even new downloadable Mario decoration sets for Sparkle Snapshots 3D, if you're feeling like a bit of photo festooning. And don't forget Fire Emblem: Awakening, coming Feb. 4.Wii U has relatively few offerings this week, but they're interesting: Puddle and a demo of The Cave.
Nintendo reveals exact dates for Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign games
Nintendo's celebration of the Famicom's 30th birthday – the Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign – kicked off last week with the release of Balloon Fight on the Wii U eShop. Each month, Nintendo will release a classic game at a special $.30 price, for 30 days until the next eligible game debuts. Today, Nintendo released the schedule for the discount promotion: February 20: F-Zero (SNES) March 20: Punch-Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream (NES) April 17: Kirby's Adventure (NES) May 15: Super Metroid (SNES) June 12: Yoshi (NES) July 15: Donkey Kong (NES)The Virtual Console doesn't officially launch on the Wii U until this spring, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed during the latest Nintendo Direct event last week. Despite that, Balloon Fight as well as several other games can be acquired through the Wii U eShop.
Wii U Virtual Console saves incompatible with Wii saves
When you buy the Wii U version of a Virtual Console game – currently, Balloon Fight is the only one available – you get a new version of that game. That means GamePad controls, access to a Miiverse community, and the great customization options afforded to Wii U VC games.It also means your old Wii saves are incompatible. Nintendo told Kotaku that when you transfer your games from Wii to Wii U, then update to the new Wii U version of the game, you won't be able to use your save file on the Wii U version. For Balloon Fight, that's not such a big deal, but it's important you're aware of that before you try to pick back up in a longer game.
NintendoWare Weekly: Brain Age demo, Super C
The new Brain Age: Concentration Training may make you feel terrible about math, or it may increase your brainpower. The only way to find out which of the two (or how much of each) is to get the demo, available on 3DS eShop today. Also on 3DS today is a surprise Virtual Console release, the Contra sequel Super C., and an eShop release of the launch game Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars.Wii U already had a couple of off-schedule additions this week. If you missed them, The Cave went up Tuesday along with its release on other platforms, and Balloon Fight is on sale now for a pittance.
Wii U Virtual Console Trial Campaign hands-on
Looking forward to the Wii U's incoming Virtual Console update? No need to wait -- despite the service's post-spring update launch announcement, Nintendo is already rolling out fully functional (and Wii U enhanced) Virtual Console games to the eShop. It's part of the Famicom's 30th anniversary celebration, and gives gamers a chance to sample a handful of Nintendo's best at a hefty discount -- only 30 cents a pop. We tossed a few dimes toward a copy of Balloon Fight to give the upcoming service a quick look.
Wii U's Virtual Console appears to be a big step back
Welcome to Living in the Past, a weekly column about what's new in old games. Now get off our lawn. There's a lot about the Wii U Virtual Console that's encouraging. Starting it off – even before the official launch of the service – with a sale that gives users great games for 30 cents is a smart move, one that should entice lots of people to give it a try. And the implementation of the games is great, with a surfeit of control options well beyond what the Wii Virtual Console offered.And, to state the obvious, playing Balloon Fight on the GamePad is fantastic, just like playing Balloon Fight anywhere is.But despite these encouraging steps, today's Virtual Console announcements also disappoints me and leads me to believe that the Virtual Console as a service peaked back on the Wii. I don't have much hope that it's going to get much better in this next generation.
Wii U Virtual Console features fully customizable controls
Though the Wii U's Virtual Console is far from perfect, the implementation of the actual games is nicely dense with features. I just downloaded Balloon Fight, and found a surprising amount of control customization available to me.By tapping the touch screen (ZL+ZR also worked), you can access the Virtual Console menu, which allows you to create a restore point, reset the game, or change controls. From there, you can alter the individual button mapping for any controller you have plugged in: I tried a GamePad, Wiimote, Wii U Pro Controller, and Wii Classic Controller, and each let me set the function of every button on the device. The GamePad, Wiimote, and Classic Controller all served as the player 1 controls, and the Pro Controller defaulted to player 2.I hastily snapped photos of all the menus, which you can see in our gallery to find out just what 30 cents gets you.%Gallery-177046%
Virtual Console headed to Wii U, launching after spring update
During the latest Nintendo Direct presentation, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata revealed that Virtual Console will soon be enabled on the Wii U. It's set for this spring, after a Wii U system update meant to improve the speed of launching software. Another update is planned for the summer that will improve the speed of returning to the Wii U menu.The Wii U Virtual Console will launch with a selection of NES and Super Nintendo games, though Iwata noted that it will not launch with the entire library already available on the Wii Virtual Console. The reason for this, said Iwata, is that Wii U Virtual Console games are being newly developed especially for Wii U and will feature the ability for players to save their progress and play directly on the GamePad. Furthermore, the Wii U Virtual Console will eventually include Gameboy Advance games. (What, no Virtual Boy?)NES games will run from $5 to $6, while Super Nintendo games will run from $8 to $9. However, users who already own a particular NES or SNES game for the Wii Virtual Console will be able to pick up its Wii U counterpart for $1.00 or $1.50, respectively.
Nintendo Wii U to get Virtual Console service this spring
Nintendo's Satoru Iwata just announced via Nintendo Direct that Virtual Console will be available on the Wii U this spring. Previously, the service was only accessible via the Wii emulator on Nintendo's new console, but will now arrive on the eShop at some unspecified time in Q2 and feature GameBoy Advance titles for the first time. Before that can happen, however, the company wants to implement two key software updates designed to address system performance issues. Nintendo's also devised a pricing scheme to offer users who've amassed a retro gaming library a more affordable way to re-download past VC purchases (as opposed to that clunky transfer system). For any previously downloaded NES ($4.99 - $5.99) and SNES ($7.99 - $8.99) titles, users will have to fork over $1.00 and $1.50, respectively. And, as part of a celebration of the Famicom's 30th anniversary, Nintendo's offering up a trial campaign that'll make certain titles available to download for 30 cents over a 30 day period. Starting in January and running through July, users will be able to demo one select title per month from the eShop: Balloon Fight, F-Zero, Punch-Out featuring Mr. Dream, Kirby's Adventure, Super Metroid, Yoshi and Donkey Kong. But, take heed, these teases will only last for the month they're offered and, hopefully, entice you to pay full price when the service officially launches on Wii U.
PSA: Wii Shop purchases don't get Club Nintendo coins through Wii U
Here's an annoying situation that could cost you a few of the "Coins" used as currency on Club Nintendo. If you transfer your Wii content to your new Wii U (or just start fresh on the Wii U) then buy WiiWare or Virtual Console games through the Wii U's "Wii Mode," you won't get the Coin value of those purchases.This is because you can't link your Club Nintendo account to the virtual Wii within your Wii U, which you'd use to buy legacy games.The easiest solution would be to buy whatever you want on Wii, and get the Coins, before transferring your Wii data to Wii U. But if it's too late for that, you have the choice either to buy on Wii U and forfeit the potential Coins, or realize it's 2013 and that you've likely been pretty much caught up with WiiWare for the past two years, with the possible exception of La-Mulana.
NintendoWare Weekly: ZombiU demo, Hello Kitty
A demo on the Wii U eShop today will allow you to get your first taste of our #10 game of 2012, ZombiU. Perhaps that's not the best phrasing for a zombie game, but nonetheless. An NBA 2K13 demo will also be available.Meanwhile on 3DS, there's fishing, hunting, DinoPet...ting, and Hello Kitty Picnic with Sanrio Friends, a minigame collection with unlockable "supercute outfits for Hello Kitty."
Street Fighter X Mega Man out today, Mega Man 1-6 coming to 3DS
Street Fighter X Mega Man, the Capcom-supported fan crossover game by Seow Zong Hui, is available for download now. We're guessing there's significant interest in a new, semi-official, free Mega Man game, because Capcom's site seems to be getting overwhelmed. Mega Man fans know how to be patient when waiting for a new game, of course, so we know you'll be able to get it eventually.In other exciting Mega Man news, Capcom plans to release all six NES games on the 3DS Virtual Console in North America and Europe, starting with Mega Man on December 27, followed by Mega Man 2 on Feb. 7. Yes, we're excited to have two pieces of Mega Man news in one day.
NintendoWare Weekly: Crimson Shroud, Rayman Legends demo
Two more demos join FIFA on the Wii U eShop today: Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, and the painfully distant Rayman Legends. 3DS also sees the arrival of two demos, one for the eShop game Art of Balance Touch and one for WayForward's Adventure Time, a game which was released to retail last month and finds a home on the eShop today.Also arriving on 3DS eShop: Yasumi Matsuno's tabletop-style RPG Crimson Shroud, the third of Level-5's Guild01 games.
Ninja Gaiden infiltrates the 3DS eShop next week
Retro gaming fans can snag the original Ninja Gaiden on the 3DS next week, according to a Virtual Console listing on the eShop right now. The listing gives it a price of $4.99 and a December 6 launch date, though Ninja Gaiden was originally slated to launch on the 3DS Virtual Console back in November.The latest installment in the series, Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge, just launched on the Wii U. Our review notes its many improvements over the lackluster original release.
Wii Virtual Console: A look back at the service that looks back
Welcome to Living in the Past, a weekly column about what's new in old games. Now get off our lawn. There will surely be a slow trickle of Neo Geo games and the occasional Capcom release, but with the release of the Wii U, and the announcement of a Wii that drops literally all backward compatibility including the Virtual Console, I think we can safely assume the Wii Virtual Console is essentially dead. And having just now established its death, it seems like an appropriate, if artificial, opportunity to look back, to determine how successful an experiment Nintendo's old games marketplace was.While there is plenty to lament about how the service turned out, it's easy to overlook just how unprecedentedly fantastic it is, even in its current state.