Archaic Sealed Heat, most formally known as ASH, seems to be heading stateside. ASH is a RPG game developed by Mistwalker and Racjin, and was released in Japan way back in October of last year. The ESRB has given the game a rating of E10+ for “Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, and Mild Suggestive Themes.”
Other updates include:
Helix (Wii) – E
FINAL FANTASY FABLES: Chocobos’ Dungeon (Wii) E10+
Looney Tunes: Cartoon Conductor (DS) – E
Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (DS) – E10+
Biomiracle Bokutte Upa (Wii VC) – E
City Connection (Wii VC) – E
21 May 2008 – Get ready for a double treat this summer as the season is set to be full of tasty food and colourful new Nintendo DS Lites!
Preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner with Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What To Eat? on one of three exciting new Nintendo DS Lite colours of Red, Turquoise or Green – a European first for that colour – is set to be a whole new mouth-watering experience!
Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What to Eat? Goes beyond the capabilities of printed cookbooks and literally talks budding chefs step-by-step through all the processes involved in cooking a tasty dish. With its numerous international recipe choices, dish search options, videos and simple step-by-step guides to choosing, preparing and cooking a dish, Cooking Guide: Can’t Decide What to Eat? can turn even the most hesitant of cooks into confident chefs. Cooks control the software through the Nintendo DS’s Touch Screen and by the user’s voice via the handheld’s microphone. It is simple for everyone to use, no matter what their previous experience – either with a Nintendo DS or in the kitchen!
“Basically, we decide. There is a certain number of titles that we have in the pipe, which are available, and then we select the ones we want to use. Then we have to proceed to localisation, which is always an important issue for Europe. I could tell you tons of stories about how difficult it is to bring back some games to the Virtual Console. The first issues are always legal-related issues: first we need to get the IP, and then you realise that you have one studio which owns one part of the game, then another studio has another part, which reduces the chances further. Then you have to get legal clearance, so it’s a long journey for us to pull together all those things. And sometimes the IP owner will just say ‘oh no thank you, I don’t want this on Virtual Console’. So it’s a case-by-case basis.” – Laurent Fischer, Senior marketing director of NoE
I’m not too sure as to why an IP owner would not allow a game to appear on the Virtual Console. It’s pretty much a win-win situation for the owner and gamers. On the other hand, I can understand the legal issues involved with the Virtual Console selection process. Are the problems mentioned by Mr. Fischer really the reasons as to why we have not seen Earthbound on the Wii Shop Channel yet?
Perhaps in an effort to continue their ongoing momentum, Nintendo has announced three new DS Lite colors will be releasing in Europe: red, turquoise and green. Gamers can expect the new colors to show up at retailers June 13th.
Nintendo has bluntly admitted – more than a few times – that Project H.A.M.M.E.R. was shelved. Because of this, people have given up on what appeared to be a unique title. However, an updated European release date listing shows that Project H.A.M.M.E.R. is still alive, and oddly enough, still on track for this year. It’s difficult to believe that the game is still in development and even has a chance of coming out this year based on the facts, but knowing that Project H.A.M.M.E.R. is on this release list is an encouraging sign.
Also worthy of note on the list is Animal Crossing, Disaster, Wii Music, and Pokemon Platinum for the Nintendo DS.
Front Mission 2089: Border of Madness (NDS, Square Enix): 7 / 7 / 7 / 7 – (28/40)
Mugen no Frontier: Super Robot Taisen OG Saga (NDS, Banpresto): 8 / 7 / 8 / 7 – (30/40)
Pro Yakyuu Team o Tsukurou! (NDS, Sega): 9 / 8 / 8 / 8 – (33/40)
13-Sai no Hello Work DS (NDS, Digital Works): 6 / 7 / 8 / 7 – (28/40)
Fushigi? Kagaku: Nazotoki Quiz Training – NazoTore (NDS, Beneese): 7 / 7 / 7 / 5 – (26/40) Kagaku: Nazotoki quiz Training – NazoTore (NDS, Beneese): 7 / 7 / 7 / 5 – (26/40)
Deep Aquarium: Kiseki no Shinkai (NDS, Ertain): 5 / 6 / 6 / 5 – (22/40)
While Beautiful Katarmai was never actually confirmed to be coming to Wii (strong hints pointed at a release, however), we now know that any possible project involving Katarmari is no longer in existence. Walmart sent out emails to its customers, informing them that the game has been canned. It’s a shame, since the type of gameplay found in Beautiful Katamari would work very well on Wii.
Virtual Console
1 (1) – Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES)
2 (2) – Super Mario Bros. (NES)
3 (4) – Super Mario World (SNES)
4 (3) – Double Dragon (NES)
5 (8) – Punch-Out!!! (NES)
6 (7) – The Legend of Zelda (NES)
7 (9) – Super Mario Bros. 2 (NES)
8 (6) – Mario Kart 64 (N64)
9 (10) – The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (N64)
10 (5) – River City Ransom (NES)
11 (11) – Super Mario 64 (N64)
12 (12) – Pokemon Puzzle League (N64)
13 (14) – Donkey Kong Country (SNES)
14 (13) – Pac-Man (NES)
15 (16) – Donkey Kong (NES)
16 (17) – Paper Mario (N64)
17 (18) – Star Fox 64 (N64)
18 (15) – Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)
19 (19) – The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (SNES)
20 (20) – Kirby’s Adventure (NES)
WiiWare
1 (3) – Defend Your Castle
2 (1) – Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
3 (2) – Lost Winds
4 (4) – TV Show King
5 (5) – Pop
6 (6) – V.I.P. Casino Blackjack
7 (N) – Star Soldier R
8 (N) – Critter Round-Up
Wii Fit
– No multiplayer
We Ski
– 4 player multiplayer, but only one can use balance board
– Wii Fit mini-game of skiing better than Wii Ski
– $30
Rock Revolution (DS)
-Choose one instrument (out of 4)
-Not too much praise given – forgettable
International Track and Field
-IGN team thinks it’s a good game
-Tons of movement with stylus
Castlevania DS
-Weren’t able to play it
-Wii Connectivity basically confirmed in interview
-Not sure if there’s actually a Wii game coming
