I'm honestly not excited for this given that Silicon Knights is spearheading the project. If it was announced that Retro had been given the task of making an Eternal Darkness sequel, I'd probably need a new change of pants. Unfortunately it has been written that the reason Silicon Knights was only as great as it was in the Eternal Darkness days was because they had Nintendo to keep them in line. Given Silicon Knights' output since then, I feel compelled to beleive it.

I think one of the reasons the Wii U's drought is worthy of review is that not only is the Wii U in a post launch slump but also because its coming off a rather significant slump in its predecessor's life. The PS2 was releasing games well into the PS3's life and the PS3 still has a healthy lineup of new titles going into the PS4's release.

The Wii, on the other hand had very few significant releases in the last two years of its life and now the Wii U is going nearly a whole year without steady, worthwhile releases.

@Joshers744 I definitely agree with you there. Actually its not so much that we have to wait for weekly releases but that we have to wait for weekly releases, most of which are already available on the Wii Shop channel that I have access to on my Wii U.

@Windy I loved Ace Combat. The gameplay is basically identical to Sky Crawlers on the Wii, which is a big plus in my book.

I'll be getting Liberation Maiden this week. I bought Crimson Shroud a while ago. I wanted Aero Porter to be like an airport management game kind of like Sim Tower was for skyscrapers but I can't find much gameplay aside from the bag sorting and I really hope that isn't the whole game.

I want Castlevania Blodlines so hard!

I love me some classic Castlevania!

I actually have the Genesis cart but I've never owned a Genesis lol

Please be a sequel to FFCC: Crystal Bearers. You can't just leave me at the dawn of a new era like they did! D:

While I recognize Lords of Shadow as a well made game I can't really enjoy it as a Castlevania game. Granted, I wasn't a fan of Castlevania's first format change but LoS just feels so alien to me I just can't connect with it.

For a moment I thought the article was about Koji Igarashi wanting to ruin another series I once loved.

I find the lack of Sky Crawlers disturbing

I'm not sure the main Final Fantasy series can win me back at this point. If they want my money they'd quietly announce another Crystal Chronicles game. I've felt that one of the biggest strengths of that (sub)series is that its very low-profile compared to other games in the series so the developers are able to experiment quite a bit while continuously building on a single world.

hmmm, Crystal Bearers did leave off on the perfect place for a sequel. Hopefully they explore that.

Rabbids? SOLD!

Now if Ubisoft would make a proper follow-up to Rabbids Go Home we'd be cherry

So why don't these analysts ever moan about Microsoft putting Halo on the iPhone or Sony putting Uncharted on Android?

Why is it only Nintendo that's making the "huge mistake" by not putting their properties on third party platforms?

looks over at his Sonic Mega Collection, Sonic Gems Collection, and Sonic Adventure DX

I'm good

My new game ritual usually involves opening the box in the car and reading the manual on my drive home (now that I'm the one driving I leaf through it in the parking lot) but damn do I love me some physical copies.

Sure you can get a lot of games cheaper by buying them digitally but for those of us that prefer physical copies its not just the game we want, we want part of the game to exist; that we can hold in out hands put on a shelf, look back on years later and look through again. We want part of the game to exist and be real. When they exist solely as data on my computer they're no more real to me than my resume word doc or the random youtube video I saw last week and don't even remember.

Even looking to the future, I can tell you that handing my Future kids their first copy of Super Mario Bros and seeing them hold it in their hands will be far more satisfying than giving them my Steam password or setting up their own account where I'll have to rebuy the games I could've otherwise just handed them.

Hopefully Nintendo takes the top 2 and makes the cover art reversible.

Who else thinks Mario and Sonic should quit with the Olympic warm ups and think its about time they release a proper 2D/3D crossover game? Bowser and Eggman team up and only Mario & Sonic can stop them!

Well that's a shame. I thought the first game was one of the Wii's better mini-game collections (the first Raving Rabbids is probably my personal favorite) and Nintendo Life loved the second game (which I still need to pick up). Oh well.

Who else thinks Mario and Sonic should quit with the Olympic warm ups and think its about time they release a proper 2D/3D crossover game? Bowser and Eggman team up and only Mario & Sonic can stop them!

Honestly I'm guessing NoA would want to see how Xenoblade does in the US before considering releases for Last Story or Pandora's Tower. I don't expect they announce anything until May so they can see Xenoblade's first month sales which means we'd be looking at a late summer/fall release IF they decide to localize any of the other games.

I'm honestly not surprised. Skyward Sword is really the only Nintendo-published game this year to even have a chance at the top 10 list and going up against multi-platform blockbusters like Call of Duty, Skyrim, and Battlefield certainly wouldn't help any. The 3DS doesn't have the install base to push Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 into the top 10 and as great as Kirby is its definitely not a title that sells in the same leage as a top 10.

I'm not too optimistic about 2012 either since Nintendo hasn't announced anything really worthwhile outside of Xenoblade, which the UK already got and I don't see selling the millions needed to crack the top 10 anyway. All I can think of for 2012 at the moment is Mario Party and Rhythm Heaven and those are barely mildly interesting. I'm not really expecting major from Nintendo till the Wii-U and unless the Wii U sees the same rabid sales as the Wii did, I doubt any exclusive Wii U game will have a crack at the top 10.

If they'd bundle it with Sons of Liberty 3D and Twin Snakes 3D you'd have a Metal Gear Solid Trilogy that I'll buy day one!

I'm really glad the game's getting a sequel, I just hope its basically the same [good] game on all platforms seeing how the Wii tends to get the short end of the stick in most multiplatform situations.

give me a disc release with all the episodes ala Sam & Max, Bit.Trip, or Back to the Future and I'll be fine

Damn, NoA seems really behind the curve as of late.

oh, that's Nintendo Europe's list.

I got all excited when I read "The Last Story" and kinda sad when I didn't see "Xenoblade" then I saw "Europe" and now I'm doubly sad

Great news for me! I absolutely loved the motion controls in this game. lol some people mentioned it was weird going back to Twilight Princess after playing Skyward Sword but I tried playing Ocarina of Time 3D after Skyward Sword and that was a strange experience to say the least.

I'm all for more Zelda (more games in general even) with motion controls as refined as Zelda's. Hell I'd love to see Nintendo re-release Twilight Princess with Skyward Sword type contols.

well, I know what I'm doing after I get out of class

"would you like to pre-order any upcoming games"
"OMGXENOBLADECHRONICLESPLSKTHNX!"

@Bigdog dude, just grow a third and fourth arm. Problem solved

@Incognito_D yeah, Yoshi's Island is a completely different game. Its actually considered a sequel to SMW2: Yoshi's Island and include baby Luigi, Peach, Wario, DK, and Bowser.

As for the Virtual Console, all I want is Castlevania: Bloodlines and Legacy of Darkness and I'll be set, but no, I am left wanting!

I don't really mind about the Wii U getting this year's games ported next year so long as developers take advantage of it. If Arkham City on the Wii U is a Game of the Year version with all the DLC plus some Wii U features, I'll gladly buy it (I have it pre-ordered on Amazon for $50 since I'm all but certain Wii U games will cost more once the price is finally revealed). Same for many of the other ports. Make them Game of the Year Editions with the DLC included and I'd still be willing to pick them up.

damn, I was hoping this would release before thanksgiving so I could trade my current system for the Zelda-themed one and do the system transfer right at the counter.

For fun I think I'll toss up a list without any first party Nintendo titles.
in no particular order:
GCN
BloodRayne
Second Sight
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
James Bond: Everything or Nothing
Batman: Vengeance
SoulCalibur II
Killer 7
Tales of Symphonia
Summoner: A Goddess Reborn
Resident Evil 4

Wii:
Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces
World of Goo
Bit.Trip Complete
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King
Final Fatnasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers
Little King's Story
Sakura Wars: So Long My Love
Dead Space Extraction
Silent Hill: Shattered Memories

Considering EA has been in the business a long time and has experience both with traditional games and casual games, I'll take their prediction over PopCap's any day.

You know, people were complaining a lot about many of the possible Wii U games being ports of games released first on the 360 and PS3.

If you ask me, the Wii U is in a great position to launch with GotY versions of the big blockbusters coming out this year. Arkham City has seen a lot of DLC that could be bundled in a Wii U release along with Skyrim and its inevitable expansions.

I'm not really worried about ports since its normal to see ported games on the last gen system on the next and really any games from this year to hit the Wii U during its launch window wouldn't have taken any longer then a few of the 360 to PS3 ports.

As for Ninja Gaiden 3, I haven't played the series since Ninja Gaiden Black but it does seem to be a series most people core gamers enjoy and can help flip the perception of the Wii U from a continuation of the Wii to something gamers as a whole can find interesting.

Six players per console! Two players on Wii U controllers, playing on their own screens, and four more players split screen on the tv.

Just you wait!

Come on San Diego!

We didn't get a video game concert this past Comic-Con (we've had Video Games Live and a couple Final Fantasy concerts before) and this would certainly do nicely!

They should totally be in the next Smash Brothers

for everyone waiting for a price drop, the game is on Amazon's Buy 2 get one free list along with much of the 3DS' library

Amazon Buy 2 get 1 Free

While I certainly think WiiWare's file size limit should be raised, I'm really sick of developers announcing games LONG after the service's limitations being well known and then acting like it was some giant roadblock that snuck up on them.

It happened with Super Meat Boy. They knew the restrictions going in but figured they'd be given an exemption from the restrictions and they weren't. Developing a game under the assumption that you'll be exempted from the console requirements is just silly.

Just for the record, Castlevania 64 was initially well received and currently holds a 78 on Metacritic.

In their original review for the game 12 years ago, IGN's review said "The good news is that almost everything else remained intact, making the N64 Castlevania a great first step into the third dimension. It's not as good as Symphony of the Night, but it's certainly one of the top third person action games on the N64."

Much of the Castlevania 64 hate came later, probably a combination of the change over to the Metroidvania-style, the fact that the N64 was losing its console war against the Playstation (which hosted the most popular game in the series), and Igarashi's attitude toward the game among other things.

(sorry all the recent Castlevania articles have left me with Castlevania on the brain)

While I'm not a fan of the metroidvania games, I do admit seeing all the parallax layers actually separated into 3D planes would look awesome!

But the logo! Classic vampire killing demands the classic logo!

You know, now that I think about it, the logo is a pretty good separator between classic and modern Castlevania.

Except that VGChartz has long been recognized as an inaccurate source for sales figures since their numbers are based on an extrapolation of a tiny fraction of the marketplace. VGChartz bases its numbers on maybe 2-3% of the market wheras more reputable sources like NPD cover as much as 65%.

What VGChartz does and doesn't do for the industry
Why we don't reference VGChartz numbers

In addition to the numbers mentioned in the articles above, VGChartz numbers still vary greatly as can be seen in in their Best Selling games of 2010 list VGchartz 2010 Top 10 compared to NPD's NPD 2010 Top 10

Even removing the games that VGChartz Tracked that NPD didnt, like Wii Sports, and the multiplatforms, to make examination easier, VGChartz still doesn't hold up. According to VGChartz, NSMBW outsold Halo Reach, directly contradicting NPD, universally recognized as the more accurate and reputable of the two. Kinect Adventures appears on the VGChartz list but is completely absent from NPD's. Mario Galaxy 2 beats out Just Dance 2 on VGChartz list but is also absent from NPD's.

Expanding our view to some multiplatform games, Red Dead Redemption on both the PS3 and Xbox 360 ranks 5th on the NPD above Wii Fit Plus, however their combined VGChartz numbers (3,836,319 units) would put it below WiiFit Plus on VGChartz's graph. Assassin's Creed Brotherhood totalled 3,068,672 units on the PS3 and 360 combined on VGChartz list. This would put the game between Wii Fit Plus and Just Dance 2 in their top 10 however, it ranks beneath Just Dance 2 on NPD's list.

Furthermore, looking at Resident Evil 5's first month numbers, VGChartz reported 1.01 million sold on the 360 vs 938k reported by NPD. NPD reported 585k sold on the PS3 in its first month where VGChartz reported 645k.

Finally, internal figures like the ones Capcom posted tend to be very accurate, considering they're the ones producing and selling the games to retailers. Few, if any reputable news outlets report using VGChartz's figures yet they will report when Capcom announces their figures. In addition, if Capcom had sold as many copies of Resident Evil 5 as VGChartz reports, nearly 40% more copies than they've reported, don't you think Capcom would be announcing those figures instead?

If you have a 360 it was made available as a download for $10. In addition it has been released on disc for the 360 as part of Konami Classics vol 1, which runs for about $15 and also includes Super Contra and Frogger.

The original Playstation version has been added to PSN and the game was also included as part of Dracula X Chronicles for the PSP.

If you only have a PS2, the game was re-released as a Greatest Hits title which drove the prices down slightly. Looking on Amazon its available on the marketplace for as low as about $20, there's a buy-it-now on ebay for $30 (free shippng), and there are quite a few listings on Half.com for under $30

@bauckster

Symphony of the Night for the Playstation was the first "Metroidvania" game in the series. Afterward came Circle of the Moon, Harmony of Dissonance, and Aria of Sorrow for the GBA. On the DS followed Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia. In addition there's the multiplayer Harmony of Despair for the 360 and PS3. So that's 8 games by my count. The PS2 games, Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness (also on the XBox) had many elements in common with the Metroidvania games but different enough that I don't think they should be counted.

I'm not a fan of that style of gameplay so I hold many games in the series in much lower regard than most.

The classic (i.e. anything lacking Igarashi) Castlevania games are some of my favorite games. My top 5 list looks a little like this:

1. Legacy of Darkness/64
2. Super Castlevania IV
3. Rondo of Blood
4. Dracula's Curse
5. Circle of the Moon

My least favorites:
Judgement (by a LOOOOONG shot)
Legend
Lament of Innocence

And to think nine years ago they were making Eternal Darkness...

For the love of god, give me Castlevania: Bloodlines! I never owned a Genesis and isn't that what the whole virtual console was supposed to be for?

I weep!

@Altrix To be fair, the Gamecube had a tiny fraction of the market compared to the PS2. In addition, they announced the PS2 version and the fact that it would have a ton of bonus content before the Gamecube version was released. And really, the game was already 3 years old when it was re-released for the Wii so selling 2 million copies seems more like an accomplishment than a failure.

In addition, I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers from since Capcom's internal figures as of June 30th, 2011 (http://www.capcom.co.jp/ir/english/business/million.html) show the GCN version selling 1.6 Million and the PS2 version selling 2.2 milliion worldwide, a far narrower gap made all the more impressive by the immense difference in install bases of both consoles. And finally it shows the Wii version at 1.9 million copies worldwide, which puts it within a stone's throw of the PS2 version's massive sales, despite it being released three years later.

In addition, The Playsation/Playstation 2/Playstation 3 have altogether 9 Resident Evil games on Capcom's Million sellers list, while Nintendo systems (Gamecube and Wii) have five titles on Capcom's list despite the fact that the series didn't appear on a Nintendo console until six years and five games had already been released on the Playstation with Resident Evil Zero (Resident Evil Gaiden, the handheld game did appear on the Game Boy Color the year before that). And by the way, Resident Evil 5 has only sold 5.6 million units on the PS3 and 360 combined, not the 7 million you mention.

If anything the real numbers show that Resident Evil does incredibly well on Nintendo's system. Well enough to nearly overcome incredible gaps in system install bases. There is most certainly a future for Resident games on Nintendo platforms; not just proper numbered titles but also its fantastic spin-offs like Umbrella and Darkside Chronicles.

I'm not sure its right to call the two Chronicles games non-narrative. Unnumbered, sure but the two Chronicles games are basically all narrative as they basically boil down the series' story into something that might actually work. After all the retelling of RE2 is about as close as you can get to the canonical record of events for the game since the canon adopts events from all 4 RE2 playthroughs.

In addition, the Chronicles games add on their own bits of story like Leon and Krauser's relationship pre-RE 4, Chris and Jill's activities pre-RE5, Wesker's escape from the mansion, and Ada's escape from Raccoon City.