More: Metroid Prime Trilogy, Retro Studios

Form Up Studios and Sc0tt Games are bringing out a new “retro-themed single-player puzzle game” for the Wii U eShop next week called Tri-Strip.

Below is a brief overview of the title:

It’s a retro-themed single-player puzzle game, much in the style of 90?s era puzzle games. Score points by arranging rows of triangular tiles into quads. Your score multiplies by however many quads you can create in a single move. Enjoy strategic gameplay at a fast pace in the Arcade mode. Push yourself to the limit in the five Challenge modes. Weep for mercy in the time-based challenges of the Super-Hardcore mode!

Tri-Strip will be available on February 5 for $1.99. Check out a trailer below.

More: Form Up Studios LLC, indie, Sc0tt Games, Tri-Strip

More: DLC, Hyrule Warriors, Koei Tecmo, Omega Force, Team Ninja

Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda was one of the designers on the original Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire games. That means he created environments and maps that make up the region of Hoenn.

In an interview with Kotaku, Masuda revealed that he was inspired by his childhood summers on the island of Kyushu in making Hoenn.

Masuda said:

“So [Hoenn] was inspired by when I would go and visit my grandparents when I was younger. I grew up in Tokyo, which was obviously a big city, and my grandparents lived in Kyushu, a Japanese island. It was really completely different there. Where I came from we didn’t have clean rivers or a lot of insects or wildlife, but when I visited my grandparents I got to experience that abundance of nature – I’d got out and catch bugs, play in the river, catch fish in the ocean, explore forests.”

“I really wanted to express those childhood memories with the Hoenn region when I first thought about Ruby and Sapphire,” he says. “It’s expressed in how abundant the nature is compared to some of the other settings, and also in the idea of secret bases, which was like making tree-houses or a special fort when I was a kid.”

In kanji, “Hoenn” can be roughly translated to “abundance” and bonds” or “connections” when considering “ho” and “en”. This is something that Masuda spoke about as well.

“One of the original themes was this idea of abundance – not just of nature, but of how warm people are in the country, and people were always so nice to me there. Neighbours would say hello to me on the street. That’s the hidden meaning: the abundant bonds between people and nature.”

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More: interview, Junichi Masuda, Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, Pokemon Omega Ruby

People came flocking to Nintendo World in New York City this week in hopes of getting their hands on the wave 3 amiibo. Kotaku reports that on one particular day, over 300 people were queuing around the block.

Interestingly, Nintendo World is the only store in the U.S. to have all of the retailer-exclusive figures in one place. The likes of Shulk and Rosalina were promised, which certainly made Nintendo World an attractive destination for consumers who are invested in obtaining all amiibo.

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More: Amiibo

Update 5 (1/29): Yoshi, Luigi, and Peach are currently back in stock.

Update 4: All amiibo are now sold out!

Update 3: And Yoshi is live. Remember, Mario is only available at launch through the Mario Party 10 bundle.

Update 2: Bowser and Peach are also live.

Update: Toad pre-orders are now open as well. Get them in here.

Amazon is the first retailer to be taking pre-orders in the U.S. for the new Luigi amiibo. To clarify, this isn’t the Smash Bros. Luigi figure – rather, it’s part of the upcoming Super Mario series.

Pre-orders for the new Luigi amiibo can be placed here.. It will be released on March 20 alongside Mario Party 10.

More: Amiibo, pre-order

More: Code Name: S.T.E.A.M, demo

More: comparison, Metroid Prime Trilogy

Last year, Rawkins Games revealed its first game for the Wii U eShop: Dolphin Up. It took longer than expected, but the game should finally be out next month. Rawkins Games tells us that Dolphin Up is slated for February 5.

Source: Rawkins Games PR

More: Dolphin Up, indie, Rawkins Games

A rating for Polarium Advance appeared in the Australian classification database today. Might it mean that a Virtual Console re-release is on the horizon? Maybe we’ll be seeing Polarium Advance on Wii U soon!

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More: Polarium Advance