It seems like Nintendo of Europe wants to make up for their single WiiWare release two weeks ago - This week there's not one, not two, but three new games available! Sadly there are no new DSiWare games today, you can’t have everything you want can you?
Bubble Bobble Plus! is obviously the biggest release of the bunch - This remake of the original game features improved graphics and sound, along with new levels, a selectable difficulty and a 4-player mode! It costs 800 Wii Points, which is very reasonable, and you can even download two DLC packs (With 50 extra levels each) for 200 points each. While waiting for the review, you could go over Sean's first impressions from the Japanese version one more time.
Equilibrio was released in the US last Monday - You maneuver a ball through an obstacle course by tilting your Wii remote. Previous "tilting" games on WiiWare, such as The Incredible Maze, have proven quite disappointing - Maybe this one will fare better? As you might've noticed our review isn't up yet - Don't worry, it'll be available very soon! In the meantime, why not read our Equilibrio interview?
Today's final new game is Family & Friends Party. This was also released in the US a while ago. It's a party game where you and up to 7 friends play a variety of minigames, which are all quite simple - Solving mathematical equations, guessing words, identifying a picture, and others. We thought it was quite average - There are better party games available on WiiWare already!
So which of these 3 WiiWare games (if any) will you be buying? Do let us know in the comments area below.
[source nintendo.co.uk]
Comments 55
I'm starting to worry if Bit.Trip is coming to Europe at all...
But who cares? BUBBLE BOBBLE, HERE I COME!
It's nice that NoE are getting their act together and giving us the news a few hours early. The future is looking bright on the upcoming WiiWare schedule for a change in Europe
Bubble Bobble Plus is a instabuy for me, yay finally!
Yay for bubble Bobble Plus! Nice to see Europe getting some Nintendo love tonight.
Whoa... you guys are lucky.
And NO GRADIUS! Damn it! When this game be released in europe for god's sake??!!!! It's too hard to translate a shmup?! Jeez... >___<
Bub Bob+ looks good!
Pretty nice update. I'm looking forward to the Equilibrio review...
@1. Mopsical:
I think the developers have confirmed it coming to Europe, but based on the list Nintendo gave us, Nintendo doesn't have anywhere to fit it in for release with in the next couple of months.
Sadly by that point, the second Bit.Trip game will probably be out.
I'll be getting Bubble Bobble Plus and Equilibrio (here's hoping they're not too difficult ).
I'm confused over the absence of New Adventure Island and Bit.Trip BEAT though. It seems ages since we got a Huson game now, and you guys have had Bit.Trip for a good few weeks. At least we know what to expect next time though, eh (cough, you hearing this Nintendo?, cough).
I need Bubble Bobble Monday. I just need it.
Ya now Europe has Equilibrio. Now maybe everyone will get an official review.
Cool! 3 Games. Please now for every WiiWare Release Week!
Looking forward to both Bubble Bobble and Equilibrio. I, also, am wondering where the hell Bit Trip BEAT and New Adventure Island are. Oh well.
Soooo....
How bout' that Equilibrio review?
No? ......didnt think so.
lol, Bahamut.
If anyone wants to know about Equilibrio, then just ask. I got it when it came out.
I'm REALLY happy for you guys getting BBP. It makes up for past releases, I bet. This is msot definitely a sign that BBP is coming to our WiiWare soon as confirmed by Taito themselves that it's slated for April release and the ESRB Rating not too long ago.
Bubble Bobble Plus... mmm... 800 points is very reasonable too.
Who IS the reviewer for equilibrio anyways?
I cant wait for Bubble Bobble!
Bubble Bobble Plus is getting downloaded by me in..about 65 minutes I've had points on my Wii waiting for this thing for around 7 weeks. Now....Cave Story, could you please come out in two weeks? My other points are sitting there for you.
Family and Friends may be average but since it was going to be released anyway, its better for it to be during a three game week than by itself. And we're really not that lucky - America gets one game every week, we get used to get 0.5 games a week - i.e. one every two weeks. I hope this is a sign of things to come for WiiWare even if we do mostly play catch-up with the American releases. The more the merrier I say, even if they're crap or average releases. I do hope LIT gets released soon, I think I may be downloading that sometime after it gets released.
XD. Nice, guys. Here's MY review of Equilibrio, since Monday: Good, but kind of overly difficult. Wiimote better than Balance board. 7 or 8/10
I don't see three games, I only see one remake and two shovelware titles.
Fine, fine. I salute NoE for releasing more than one, even with that awkward scheduling they do with WiiWare/VC weeks.
Well games like the big three take time to develop; can't expect to get similar quality games like those three every week.
@KS8: You bought another WW game? Why am I not surprised
But can we have your review (and then watch the reviewer, most likely Matt (hes been doing overtime on this site, and I applaud him for that) have a completely different review)
I'm looking forward to Bubble Bobble.
I'm not gonna cry for Gradius since I just downloaded Bubble Bobble and it's ace. But next time Nintendo, please...
Why is europe getting all the good stuff? cough cough Majora's Mask cough cough.
Europe has Bubble Bobble now? Congrats! (That game is just too cute...)
Both Equilibrio and Bubble Bobble are well worth the download imho.
7/10 for Equilibrio, 8/10 for Bubble Bobble
Hey Knuckles, is equilibrio very difficult? Looks pretty cool! I hope we get bubble bobble plus fairly soon.
Equilibrio is easily worth the 500 points. And it gets pretty tough in later stages. It has a nice gradual progression of difficulty.
Thanks, im gonna pick this up tomorrow!
Well, I'm going to get Equilibrio anyway. I'm looking forward to some Balance Board action (after some yoga, of course)!
I'll be more likely to use the BB in Overturn when it comes here as well as it won't mean having to sync the board to a different machine and back again.
Well something came up for our designated Equilibrio reviewer so I'll be stepping in to review the game. I'll try to get it reviewed as quickly as possible.
Great. Bubble Bobble was on my insta-download list, so i will b downloading it soon all things being well. Is it meant to pack a serious challenge? For some that'll b a good point, for others it'll b a bad point. Either way, its meant to be quality, and its only 800 pts. Doesn't it have differing difficulty levels to increase accessibility, anyway? Not sure about Equilibrio. Review? To b fair, you guys have had to do a lot of reviewing lately!
what a load of bollocks. We've really been shafted recently, and zelda mm was no consolation, i'm sure most of us got it when we bought wind waker. All these re-releases/re-makes, how many times will you buy the same game? Nintendo must think we are a bunch of idiots.
@LEGEN MARIOID: The Japanese release has four difficulty levels and yeah, the boards get pretty hard, not to mention the unlockable content which is even more challenging. I don't think I've ever gotten past level 32 in any version I've played!
I´ve read, that Bubble Bobble has 200 Levels. 100 Arcade original Levels and 100 New. Then you can Download 200 more, each Download Pack contains 100 levels! So ca. 400 Levels for this game!
Bubble Bobble is gonna be a contender alright, it has already entered the top 20 over here. I mean, sure it's far from what Mega Man 9 managed (reached 1st in a few hours) but the hype for that game was totally out of control... I'd say it has a decent chance of going straight to 1st in its first week.
The unlockable content is actually 50 levels each I think, RGVEDA, but still you've got 100 original ones, 100 new ones and the "Super" variants of each with different enemies, and then on top of that the extra 100 levels.
Well, I think it's enough Bubble Bobble for any sane person, really...and the music is really great too!
Equilibrio : Jay thoughts
1. I'm up to level 9, and it's still tutorial levels. If I did crap like this, I'd have more than 10 levels per game, too.. Man, I hate tutorials...!
2. Balance board completely unnecessary.. You still have to hold the controller in your hand anyway.. If you stand on the floor, hold the controller, and lean as you would on the balance board.. .. Same thing.
3. Levels last (so far) about 5 or 6 seconds.. Then there's a 5 or 6 second unskippable jingle, then there's the highscores, then there's the "You got X 'not-an-achievement'" thing, then there's level select.
By level 3 you're wishing it just got on with the game already.
Oh, right. 50 each. Sorry, my mistake
Still no Gradius, but this will do just fine. _
The levels in Bubble Bobble Plus go like this:
100 Arcade levels (with Super versions) 1-2 Players
100 Arrange levels (with Super versions) 1-4 Players
100 Expert Levels (50 per pack, 200 points a pop) 1-4 Players
There are four difficulties to choose from and you can play the game normally (unlimited continues), or play Ranking (limited number of continues).
@Sean. Thanks mate.
I've had a sess on BBP and am impressed though not quite as much as I thought I'd be. 7 or 8/10 "personal rating". Still a solid, worthy download for anyone. Recommended.
On Equilibrio, yes, it does get difficult. I'm on Level 24 or so. And yes, I've used the Balance Board two nights ago just to fool around with it.
Anyone wondering if it's worth 500, it is. Anyone who actually liked The Incredible Maze should get this.
Levels can last more than 5/6 seconds so don't get thrown off by what the above posted said.
Balance Board is not completely unnecessary. You only hold the controller in your hand to confirm selections.
@Bahamut: You shouldn't be surprised since I've been waiting for this game for quite some time...
Anything else you guys wanna know, feel free to ask.
So how does "Bubble Bobble Plus!" compare with the original NES version?
Favorably, I'm guessing.
Man, I want equilibrio so bad but I've only got 300 points and won't be getting any for a while.
@indenmark: Bubble Bobble Plus is based on the arcade version, so the levels, colors and fruits differ from the NES version, but in every other conceivable way it's definitely better.
@quakster: thanks for the reply, but I couldn't wait . . . I went ahead and d/led it, and I'm glad I did.
I like the enhanced look . . . particularly the tail and death animations.
Plus, it's good ol' Bubble Bobble!
Did you d/l it?
I did and I've played it for like six hours.
ive got 900 points itll probaly go to bubble bobble
@quakster:
What level are you on? I bet it's more than 7.
One thing that I find annoying is that there's no save, is there? I don't like starting from the beginning every time, although the swirly-bubble intro screen IS nice.
It's Bubble Bobble. You're supposed to get as far as you can on a single playthrough. Thanks to having played other versions of the game, I breezed through it in no time.
Now, to do the same with a limited number of credits...
Still no Gradius, but at least this is one of the better Wiiware updates we have had for ages. And the less said about Family & Friends Party the better.
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