Mega Man Zero Banner

It's time for the final Nintendo Download Update before Christmas Day, and it's a meaty line-up in North America. We have a host of new downloads on both the Wii U and 3DS, two retro offerings on the home console and a whole load of tempting discounts. There's lots to see, so let's get to it.

Missed the European Nintendo Download Update? Oh you! Never mind, the details are right here.

Wii U eShop

99Moves (EnjoyUp Games, $2.49) — Another EnjoyUp Games title to make the transition from portable to home console, this arcade-like experience tasks you with getting through tricky stages with as few moves as possible. We weren't convinced that this one finds the right balance between difficulty and cheapness in our DSiWare review, but will see if this new version can persuade us otherwise.

BLOK DROP X TWISTED FUSION (RCMADIAX, $1.99) — Developed by Leuvsion, this fuses the world of upcoming Wii U eShop title Twisted Fusion with the concept of the falling block puzzler that was the début release for RCMADIAX earlier in 2014. We'll put this to the test for a review.

TOSS N GO (RCMADIAX, $0.99) — The latest budget experience from this developer, it'll focus again on the GamePad screen as the core interface. This appears to be a basic dice game in which you roll for points, supporting single- or two-player matches; we'll see whether we roll the right numbers in our review.

Plenty of Fishies (Nitrolic Games, $4.99) — This is a collection of modes and challenges for single players or groups up to five, it looks set to combine bite-sized challenges with decent variety, including asymmetric multiplayer with the GamePad. We'll see whether this is a deep ocean of fun content or a bit fishy.

Meme Run (Ninja Pig Studios, $4.99) — A runner that's divided opinion with its aesthetic and marketing, in some respects trolling and teasing the player. Damning indictment of modern internet culture of just a load of nonsense? Is it actually fun to play? These are questions we'll tackle in our review.

Cake Ninja 3: The Legend Continues (Cypronia, $4.99) — This series was previously on Nintendo's portable systems and now arrives on Wii U, though seems set to offer largely similar gameplay of slashing up cakes on the touchscreen across multiple modes. We were thoroughly unimpressed with this one's predecessors, but will go in for another slice in our review.

Wii U Virtual Console

Natsume Championship Wrestling (Natsume, $7.99) — Completing a Natsume double header on the Wii U Virtual Console this week, here we have a SNES era wrestling game that also supports four player local matches. There are 12 different fighters, though we felt the mechanics had aged somewhat in our recent Natsume Championship Wrestling review.

Mega Man Zero (Capcom, $7.99) — Release on 17th December to celebrate Mega Man's birthday, this Game Boy Advance spin-off brings yet another fresh approach to the IPs action; we were big fans of this in our retro Mega Man Zero review.

Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts

Mega Man 5 (Capcom, $2.49 until 22nd December, normally $4.99)

Mega Man 6 (Capcom, $2.49 until 22nd December, normally $4.99)

Mega Man 7 (Capcom, $3.99 until 22nd December, normally $7.99)

SteamWorld Dig (Image & Form, reduced until 1st January)

Little Inferno (Tomorrow Corporation, $4.99 until 1st January, normally $9.99)

Nano Assault Neo (Shin'en Multimedia, reduced until 14th January)

Art of Balance (Shin'en Multimedia, reduced until 14th January)

Wii U eShop Demo

Art of Balance (Shin'en Multimedia, free)

3DS eShop

Toys vs. Monsters (EnjoyUp Games, $1.99) — Undoubtedly arriving with good timing to target kids and big kids alike, this is a strategy title in which you assemble toys to take on monsters in a variety of environments; the developer is claiming that levels and extras will serve up over 20 hours of gaming. We'll see whether this is best played or left under the bed in our review.

Fairune (CIRCLE Entertainment, $2.99) — A budget adventure RPG, in which you save the world from an evil menace by unlocking three statues, fighting monsters, solving puzzles and collecting items along the way. We're still questing through this one for a review.

League of Heroes (Gamelion, $4.99) — This appears to be a rather colourful top-down hack-and-slash title, in which you attempt to save the world from monsters while customising and levelling up various parts of the game. This certainly looks promising, and we'll let you know what we think in our review.

Mes Comptines (RingZero Games, $4.99) — This is a collection of nursery rhymes, with animated videos and professionally sung tracks for young gamers to follow, while there is apparently some additional interaction involved. We'll see whether this hits the right notes.

3DS Retail Download

Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (Konami, $29.99)

Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (Bigben Interactive, $34.99)

I Love My Horse (Bigben Interactive, $24.99)

3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Mega Man II (Capcom, $1.49 until 22nd December, normally $2.99)

Mega Man III (Capcom, $1.49 until 22nd December, normally $2.99)

Mega Man IV (Capcom, $1.49 until 22nd December, normally $2.99)

SteamWorld Dig (Image & Form, $5.99 until 1st January, normally $8.99)

Art of Balance TOUCH! (Shin'en Multimedia, reduced until 14th January)

Fun! Fun! Minigolf TOUCH! (Shin'en Multimedia, reduced until 14th January)

Jett Rocket II: The Wrath of Taikai (Shin'en Multimedia, reduced until 14th January)

Nano Assault EX (Shin'en Multimedia, reduced until 14th January)

1001 Spikes (Nicalis, reduced from 19th December until 1st January)

VVVVVV (Nicalis, reduced from 19th December until 1st January)

3DS Demo

Cube Creator 3D (Big John Games, free)

Urban Trial Freestyle (Tate Media, free)


Beyond these details, a list of games currently on discount — and it is lengthy — can be found on Nintendo's official website.

Those are the final pre-Christmas offerings for North America. Let us know what you're planning to download in the poll and comments below.

What will you be downloading first this week? (241 votes)

  1. 99Moves (Wii U eShop)  0%
  2. BLOK DROP X TWISTED FUSION (Wii U eShop)3%
  3. TOSS N GO (Wii U eShop)  0%
  4. Plenty of Fishies (Wii U eShop)  0%
  5. Meme Run (Wii U eShop)5%
  6. Cake Ninja 3: The Legend Continues (Wii U eShop)1%
  7. Natsume Championship Wrestling (Wii U Virtual Console)1%
  8. Mega Man Zero (Wii U Virtual Console)15%
  9. One of the Wii U eShop discounts12%
  10. Art of Balance (Wii U eShop demo)8%
  11. Toys vs. Monsters (3DS eShop)  0%
  12. Fairune (3DS eShop)2%
  13. League of Heroes (3DS eShop)3%
  14. Mes Comptine (3DS eShop)  0%
  15. Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D (3DS retail download)3%
  16. Asterix: The Mansions of the Gods (3DS retail download)1%
  17. I Love My Horse (3DS retail download)  0%
  18. One of the 3DS eShop discounts)7%
  19. Cube Creator 3D (3DS eShop demo)5%
  20. Urban Trial Freestyle (3DS eShop demo)  0%
  21. Nothing for me this week31%

Please login to vote in this poll.