MM3 Dart

It's an exciting week for dedicated Nintendo gamers in Europe, with the New Nintendo 3DS arriving in stores and some long-awaiting retail games also landing in the eShop. Nintendo of Europe kept us waiting, but we now know that beyond those big-name releases there are loads of download-only treats too; there are plenty of options to consider, so without further ado let's get to the details.


Wii U eShop

Blek (Broken Rules, €5.49 / £4.49) - A rather unique and promising puzzle concept previously released on iOS and Android; the concept is simply to complete and form shapes by drawing lines, but with multiple solutions and a minimalist style this aims to be an immersive, relaxing experience. We'll chill out and let you know what we think in a review.

Red Riding Hood (Brave Rock Games, €0.90 / £0.66) - Effectively a visual / audio novel that utilises the GamePad, this is pitched as an entertaining story-telling approach for children; in reality we think it's a bit rubbish.

Wii U Virtual Console

Blaster Master (Sunsoft, €4.99 / £3.49) — Certainly classed as one of the stronger third-party titles of the NES era, you alternate between navigating the world in a tank and on foot, with eight regions making this lengthy by 8-bit standards. Importantly, it's a lot of fun over that playtime, as our Master Blaster review explains.

Mappy-Land (Bandai Namco, €4.99 / £3.49) - A surprise NES arrival, simply due to the fact it was never released on the Wii Virtual Console. It's an old-school platforming experience in which you play as "Mappy, the police mouse", with the basic premise of retrieving presents while avoiding an assortment of foes; we'll hop to it and bring you a review.

Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts

Trine 2: Director's Cut (Frozenbyte, €8.49 / £6.99 until 12th March, normally €16.99 / £13.99)

Spy Chameleon (EnjoyUp Games, €3.99 / £3.59 until 5th March, normally €4.99 / £4.49)

Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party (KnapNok Games, €3.99 / £3.99 until 26th February, normally €8.99 / £8.00)

Knytt Underground (Ripstone, €3.99 / £3.99 until 26th February, normally €8.99 / £7.99)

Wii U eShop Permanent Discount

Tested With Robots! (M.R. Games, €4.99 / £4.49, was €10.00 / £9.00)

3DS eShop

IronFall: Invasion (VD-Dev, free, €9.99 / £8.99 for Campaign or Multiplayer individually, €19.98 / £17.98 for both) - This action-shooter has been fairly heavily promoted by Nintendo, produced by a small studio of three and filling a notable gap in the eShop's line-up - it'll make use of the c-stick on the New Nintendo 3DS, while it includes local and online multiplayer mode for up to six alongside a single player campaign. It looks promising, but we'll see how it shapes up in our upcoming review. Available from 13th February.

Kirby Fighters Deluxe (Nintendo, €6.99 / £6.29) - One of two eShop releases that delivers an extended version of a minigame from retail title Kirby: Triple Deluxe, this is a Smash Bros.-lite concept in which multiple Kirby characters - each with a copy ability - duke it out. The single-player aspect is expanded with a couple of boss battles and nine stages for each copy ability, while there are more arenas for local multiplayer matches; we were fans of this in our Kirby Fighters Deluxe review.

Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe (Nintendo, €6.99 / £6.29) - The second of the spin-offs from Triple Deluxe, this is a rhythm game in which you manoeuvre with the Circle Pad and time button presses to bounce Dedede and grab stars. Like its sibling this adds plenty of content over what we saw in the original minigame, with 14 stages, lots of new music and a host of nods and fun references to various Kirby games. A twist on typical rhythm play that has fantastic music, we gave this a glowing recommendation in our Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe review.

3D Fantasy Zone (Sega, €4.99 / £3.49) - This iconic scrolling shooter comes in remastered form thanks to the brilliant work of M2, with upgraded visuals and the now-standard 3D Sega re-release bells and whistles. We'll bring you a review soon.

Undead Storm Nightmare (G-STYLE, €4.99 / £3.49) - A follow-up to DSiWare title GO Series: Undead Storm, the focus of this title is simple zombie shooting fun. With a top-down view and solid mechanics this certainly delivers, and we gave a recommendation in our Undead Storm: Nightmare review.

Space Lift Danger Panic! (Springloaded, €2.49 / £1.99) - A rather simple arcade / sci-fi concept, ultimately, in which you tap the screen to create portals and rescue tumbling humans. Though fun this can certainly be overly repetitive - nevertheless we gave it a decent recommendation in our Space List Danger Panic! review.

Best of Arcade Games - Air Hockey (Bigben Interactive, €9.99 / £8.99) - Another in this line of releases, this time promising 20 challenges in the simple game.

Best of Board Games - Chess (Bigben Interactive, €9.99 / £8.99) - Promising plenty of challenges, 'advanced' AI and the option to switch between 2D and 3D views, this joins the small band of chess options on the eShop.

Nintendo Anime Channel (Nintendo, free) - This free channel will host regular videos including Pokémon, Kirby and Inazuma Eleven.

3DS Retail Downloads

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (Nintendo, €44.99 / £39.99) - Heavily in demand ever since The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D arrived on the current-gen portable, we now have its experimental and darker follow-up from the Nintendo 64 era. This version brings enhanced visuals and design tweaks to accommodate its new platform, but remains the same engrossing, captivating experience - we feel it's one of the definitive Legend of Zelda titles, and you can read more about it in our The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask review. Available from 13th February.

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (Capcom, €44.99 / £39.99) - Just like its predecessor in the west, this is the second iteration of Capcom's fourth main entry in the series; there are plenty of spin-offs and sub-entries, naturally.It's packed with a huge amount of content, features new weapons, monsters and shakes up gameplay with greater verticality in environments. A huge title in every respect, we'll bring you our review very soon. Available from 13th February.

Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy+ (Bandai Namco, €39.99 / £29.99) - Originally released late in the first year of the 3DS, we now have an enhanced version featuring a range of special Nintendo-themed planes that are either found in-game or unlocked at any time with the relevant amiibo toys. We rather enjoyed the original and will bring you a review of this fresh version very soon, but until then you can check out our recent first impressions article. Available from 12th February.

SpongeBob HeroPants (Activision, TBC)

3DS eShop Demo

Undead Storm Nightmare (G-STYLE, Free)

3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Sweet Memories Blackjack (CIRCLE Entertainment, €2.99 / £2.69 until 26th February, normally €3.99 / £3.59)

Brunch Panic (CIRCLE Entertainment, €2.99 / £2.69 until 26th February, normally €3.99 / £3.35)

3DS HOME Themes

Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy +: ACES (Bandai Namco, €0.99 / £0.79)

Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy +: ADF-01 (Bandai Namco, €0.99 / £0.79)

Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy +: PHOENIX (Bandai Namco, €0.99 / £0.79)

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: Hunter's Seal (Capcom, €1.99 / £1.79)

Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate: Palicoes 4 Ever(Capcom, €1.99 / £1.79)

Basic Colour Set (Nintendo, free)

Simple Colour Set (Nintendo, free)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Dire Moon (Nintendo, €1.99 / £1.79)

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask: Gold Edition (Nintendo, €1.99 / £1.79)


That's the full line-up for this week in Europe. Let us know what you'll be downloading in the comments and poll below.

What will you be downloading first this week? (231 votes)

  1. Blek (Wii U eShop)1%
  2. Red Riding Hood (Wii U eShop)  0%
  3. Blaster Master (Wii U Virtual Console)3%
  4. Mappy-Land (Wii U Virtual Console)  0%
  5. One of the Wii U eShop discounts1%
  6. IronFall: Invasion (3DS eShop)18%
  7. Kirby Fighters Deluxe (3DS eShop)1%
  8. Dedede's Drum Dash Deluxe (3DS eShop)2%
  9. 3D Fantasy Zone (3DS eShop)8%
  10. Undead Storm Nightmare (3DS eShop)  0%
  11. Space Lift Danger Panic! (3DS eShop)  0%
  12. Best of Arcade Games - Air Hockey (3DS eShop)  0%
  13. Best of Board Games - Chess (3DS eShop)  0%
  14. Nintendo Anime Channel (3DS eShop)8%
  15. The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS retail download)19%
  16. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate (3DS retail download)9%
  17. Ace Combat Assault Horizon Legacy+ (3DS retail download)1%
  18. SpongeBob HeroPants (3DS retail download)  0%
  19. One of the 3DS eShop discounts  0%
  20. One of the 3DS HOME Themes12%
  21. Nothing for me this week17%

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