You want fireworks? Look no further than the Wii™ Shop Channel, where vibrant bursts of classic gaming action and fresh WiiWare™ content will help fill your living room with a flurry of ooohs and ahhhs. Puzzle-game mavens can enjoy a wild new addition to the WiiWare library, while the Virtual Console™ brings a truly classic fighting game to the fore. For an added holiday-week blast, fans of the WiiWare hit FINAL FANTASY® CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: My Life as a King™ can enhance the action with new Add-On Content.
Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:
Readers
1) Earthbound
2) Mother
3) Mario RPG
4) Chrono Trigger
5) Smash Bros 64
Staff
1) Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
2) Mega Man: The Wily Wars
3) Terranigma
4) Mario All-Stars
5) Super Punch-Out
“It is not that we have not bothered with DS. As a fact Mario Golf and Mario Tennis on mobile game consoles are still popular and we have requests to make the sequels. It would be immense fun if there was a golf game that uses the touch screen, with scenario mode, some character growth system and if it was made by people other than us! To be honest this type of game is very difficult to make, since it is like making two games, a golf game and an RPG.” – The Takahashi Brothers
Best Buy
Free Aerosmith Greatest Hits CD with purchase of any Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game/bundle
Free Wall-E movie cash with purchase of any Wall-E game
Circuit City
Free Guitar strap with purcahse of any Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game/bundle
Big Beach Sports – $26.99
Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge – $26.99
We Ski – $26.99
Free mini purse or traveler’s case with purchase of any DS
2 games for $40 for the following games: Kung-Fu Panda, Dogs & Cats, Gourmet Chef, Zoo Tycoon DS 2, Super Mario DS, Pet Vet
LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures >>>> $42.49
Target
Free Aerosmith Greatest Hits CD with purchase of any Guitar Hero: Aerosmith game/bundle
2 guitar Wii Guitar Hero Aerosmith bundle pack with game and 2 wireless guitars – $149.99
-2 goals: entertain with trademark spee and more-refined gameplay in 2D and 3D; new actions for Sonic
-Wii stages share the same themes with PS360 version, but different designs to take advantage of the remote. Helped by Sonic Advance 2 and Sonic Rush teams
-Same actions in different versions (I guess that means tackled on waggle): buttons for basic actions, certain actions involve motion control
-Interactive combat sequences using motion sensing in remote and nunchuk
-Quick Step (evade obstacles without slowing), Sonic Boosts (hyperaccelerate/blow up objects)
– Action-Chaining: earn more energy by stringing together actions leading to special moves and shortcuts
– QTE for branching paths like PS360
– No passage of time during levels – day and night cycles are fixed to certain events/locations
– Originally envisioned as Sonic Adventure 3
– No multiplayer or online modes
Update: Looks like this is nothing more than an old ESRB rating. If you do a search on the ESRB website for the “Online” platform, you can tell that “Zelda Universe” was rated around 2001, at about the same time Oracle of Ages/Oracle of Seasons were released. You may also remember the Zelda Universe interaction that once appeared on the official Zelda website. Back in the day, it seems that the ESRB sometimes rated some content with online website user interaction – as was the case for one ESRB pogo.com rating.
I’m sure everyone that is a true Zelda fan has considered the prospect of a Zelda online title at least once. The idea may be much more than a simple prospect in the future, however. There is a rating on the ESRB website that is for the “Online” platform and is titled Zelda Universe, published by Nintendo. Could this be Nintendo Power’s surprise in their next issue?
Final Fantasy IV (DS) – 9.0
Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness (DS) – 7.0
Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2 (DS) – 8.5
We Love Golf! (Wi) – 8.5
Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo’s Dungeon (Wii) – 7.5
The Incredible Hulk (DS) – 7.5
Civilization Revolution (DS) – 7.5
Rock Band (Wii) – 8.0
Carnival Games (DS) – 4.5
The Incredible Hulk (Wii) – 3.5
Thanks to JonLy once again for the Nintendo Power tip.
E3 is just around the corner, so it should be no surprise that rumors are beginning to surface regarding Nintendo-related announcements. The latest unconfirmed report is that information on Retro Studios’ new title is coming soon (E3 being the most likely venue for such details.) However, there are some signs that may shed some validity on such an allegation. Nintendo’s Mark Franklin confirmed a few weeks back that Nintendo is planning on revealing games for the core gamer at this year’s E3. Of course, we all know that Retro Studios is a fairly hardcore company that has brought us the revered Metroid Prime series. In addition to this tidbit though, Retro has redesigned its company website, which has led many to believe that the company has changed it for an upcoming announcement.
