Overview
- Also Known As
- Maboshi's Arcade
- Number of Players
- 3
- Genre
- Release Date
WiiWare
- 29th Dec 2008, 800 points
- 29th Aug 2008, 800 points
- 7th Oct 2008
- Series
- Controller Support
- Feature Support
Reviews
Review MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade (WiiWare)
Three games in one - Triple the fun or triple the terror?
MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade is a rather unique game from Mindware, a company that's relatively unknown outside of Japan. As the title suggests, MaBoShi is based around three shapes - Circle, Stick and Square. The gameplay comprises three mini-games based on these shapes, which all...
Screenshots 18
MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade News
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News USA WiiWare Update: Maboshi's Arcade and Pool Revolution: Cue Sports
The final WiiWare update of the year doesn't bring anything truly new to the table - Both new WiiWare games today have already been released in Europe. Still, who cares when both of them are good games?
The wait is finally over - After exactly 4 months, Maboshi's Arcade (Known in Europe as MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade) is finally released in the...
News Metacritic's Best Wii Games of 2008
As 2008 is coming to a close it’s time to check out Metacritic’s best videogames of 2008. Here you can see a breakdown of the top 5 games for all systems as decided by the average score from all the professional reviews which were tracked.
The results from the Wii top 5 is quite interesting as 3 of the 5 games are WiiWare games! Not bad going we...
News Mindware Interview Part 2 - MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade
Those among our readership with good memories will remember that a few weeks ago we did an interview..
...with Micky G. Albert the president of Mindware Corp. in Japan about his WiiWare debut with MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade. So detailed were his answers that we thought it best to run the interview in two parts! Here is the second part of our...
News Mindware Interview Part 1 - MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade
When we first saw some screenshots of MaBoShi: The Three Shape Arcade, we didn’t know what to expect.
However upon playing it following its release in late August all our reservations were swept aside and it was promptly awarded an 8/10 in our review. We wanted to know more about how this intriguing game came to pass so we set about contacting the...
News EU WiiWare Update: Critter Round-Up & MaBoShi
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News Maboshi: The Three Shape Arcade - WiiWare OFLC rated
A strange new OFLC rating popped up today - Maboshi: The Three Shape Arcade was no title we had ever heard of before! However, doing some searching, we came to the conclusion that this had to be the WiiWare title Katachi no Game: Maru Bou Shikaku (Game of Shapes: Ball, Stick, Square), which was announced for Japan a few months ago but has not been released so far.
We're still not quite sure what the game is about - It seems like some sort of puzzle/action game, and judging from the Japanese title, it heavily involves the shapes of balls, sticks and squares. At least now we know it's coming to Europe an...
About The Game
Featuring three distinct modes and simultaneous play across three game windows, the constantly changing environment of Maboshi’s Arcade creates an atmosphere unlike any other.
Each of the modes is based on one of three familiar shapes (circle, stick and square) and offers the same goal: score a million points. Use the intuitive controls to bash enemies in Circle mode, weave your way through Stick mode or burn a path around obstacles in Square mode - all while dealing with power-up items and keeping watch on which effects the other game windows may have on your own. Also featuring Mii characters, action replays that you can send to your Wii Friends via WiiConnect24, and the ability to download a version to a Nintendo DS, you may never want to leave this arcade.
Comments 39
This could be good could be bad but if it's a puzzle Europe will probably get it first we always seem to get puzzles first.
It was originally called "Circles, Sticks, and Squares" Sounds promising...lol =D
yeah kinda crazy, hopefully the review will has positive things to say.
This game looks confusing...it looks interesting...but im not getting it though
Sounds interesting....I'll wait for the review, but I think I'll probably end up downloading this.
Eh...I think I'll wait for a review on this one. Even then...I'll have to be truly impressed to consider downloading this one. :S Right now, I'm kind of "meh."
Ever since the SPOGs debacle, I've decided to wait for the reviews, and since then, the only Wiiware game I bought was Midnight Pool. this looks interesting, but it could be a flop like Critter Roundup.
Not the worst game in the world, but you need to give it a good five minutes or so to get used to it. (ie, if you say to folk "Here, try this!" they'll probably hate it!!)
The games, in order of that topmost screenshot..
Bar sucks! Or, at least, I can't get to grips with it.
The bar spins around a dot. You hold A button to use the swinging momentum to move the dot.
In essence, that should be good, but the fact that the swinging bar then loses it's momentum, and you need to wait for it to build up again, kinda kills the entire point of the game for me.
Imagine Kurukuru Kururin if the little helecopter kept changing it's speed every time you moved... It's that annoying!
Bare (bear!) in mind that you also have to hit enemies with the bar, and that it usually slows to a halt just as the enemy's about to get you... It's frustrating.
Very very frustrating!
BUT..
Square is snake WITH FIRE!!!
It's "Move as you like" snake, as opposed to constant momentum... As in, you tap a direction to move 1 space. (d-pad to move)
The last block of your tail is fire. If it sits aside any other block, that block catches fire, (and the fire spreads) and there's about 5 moves before the block's then destroyed. Note, that counts for the green blocks, but ALSO your own tail, too.. You can set fire to yourself!
It's not destructive, as you constantly grow, and you can get yourself out of little nooks and crannys by burning off your tail.
The playfield scrolls up about 1/4 of a block for every move you make, or 1 whole block if you're right up at the top... You also score bonus points by doing that.. But if any blocks (be they still aflame, or whole, it doesn't matter) hit the bottom of the playfield, you lose.
Cracking game, quite tricky, and keeps you thinking as you plan your moves so the flames don't reach the bottom.
Circle's initially baffling, but basically, the circle spins either Clockwise or Anticlockwise. (A Button to switch)
It uses it's momentum to spin around the outside of the circular level, and you switch to "fall" off the edge. Do it at the top, it falls down, and you bash any little creatures in the arena.
You have to kill 'em all before they can leave the arena, or it's game over.
Nice and simple once you get the hang of it.
Out of the three, Square's probably my favourite, if only because it's one of the best Snake clones in YEARS! Then Circle.. Then avoid Bar completely!
The "3 in 1" thing works like so. Each game plays independently of the other 2. You pick up a mii, stick it in the window, pick a game, play.
In the Squares game, any flames at the edge of the screen will flicker over onto the adjacent playfield, killing enemy, destroying blocks, or what have you. Similarly, bashed enemy in Circle and Bar will fling over to the adjacent windows, too.
So, although your game is your own, the other two windows interact on a very basic level.
It keeps things a little more fun, and seeing as there's AI players that kick in should the other games be empty, it keeps things going.
Additionally, you can pop the game on the DS, too! It looks a little worse for ware on the DS, but the gameplay's the same, albeit all on your own!
Jay says : If you like Snake, go for it! And who doesn't like Snake!!
@Mr Game & Watch (first comment): That was a freaky prediction. Care to tell me how I'm going to die as well?
As for the game: funky.
@Jayenkai: Square isn't really similar to snake at all, with the only link between the two games being the fact that you play as a block that gains extra blocks that attach to it. Plus, bar is very good fun once you get used to the controls, so I can't see why you didn't enjoy it.
Hmm...I gave in and decided to download it before the review, and I'm a little dissapointed. It's very simlplistic and mostly shallow, but I guess you do get what you pay for at only 800 wii points
Circle is very basic but quite fun once you get used to it. Basically you control the direction of rotation of a ball inside a big circle, and you have to manipulate this rotation to make this ball make contact with the enemies in the circle, before they can exit it. For me it was actually surprisingly intuitive, but its shallowness and the fact that it is quite unforgiving (some enemies really make a dash for freedom, give you very little time to kill them) let it down.
Bar takes a while to get used to, and once you do get used to it you realise how shallow it is. Basically, all you do is press the A button at the right time to make your stick move forward. Once you get this timing down the game just becomes a repetive tap of the A button every couple of seconds.
Square is the deepest game in the package, and a pretty decent snake clone . Although slower paced then snake, it makes you think alot more, and can actually get fairly tactically deep in the later stages.
I would give it a (tentantive) 6 out of 10.
The game structure (3 of them, one clearly superior) reminds me alot of No No No Puzzle Chai-Rian (aka, No No No Puzzle Chailien) on the GBA.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?artid=4384
I'm enjoying this alot more now...it's definitely one of those 'just one more go' games, and the fact that it's a high score game with a genuine goal means it won't just appeal to high score fanatics. And if you get other people involved in the race to one million, it also becomes a lot more fun. Definitely worth the download.
The interfaces of this game look really intuitive. I'm a big puzzler fan, but the genre has become a bit stale since the 16 bit days; this is the first game I've seen of late that really pushes aside the staples of "fitting blocks together" or "blocks falling from top of screen to bottom." 800 is a little bit steep for what it is, but if the replay value is there, who can complain? Definatly waiting to read the review and any first impressions.
I went ahead ad downloaded it before the review because it looked really original. I wasn't disappointed. All three games are enjoyable and challenging, and very addictive...
I think to say that the square game is a snake clone is a bit too much. Just the fact that the game is turn based and it's puzzle nature makes it a totally different experience from snake... More a puzzle than an arcade...
@Pocketim
Good review but what difference does 800 points instead of 700 make? If you're gonna complain about the price, make a realistic alternative. For instance, I'd be more willing to get MaBoShi if it was only 500 points.
This game looks cool and fun for me, cause i like these type of games and you cant stop playing them either, you can play them for hours if your into these... well, tomorrow is Labor Day monday and hopefully we get this wiiware game and with some other cool games like Super Mario RPG. "prays and hits the bed for the night"
Here's a review I wrote for the game. If there's anything wrong with it blame my Safari browser, since I ran spelling a grammar check beforehand.
MaBoShi The Three Shape Arcade
Arcade games are a lot rarer than they used to be nowadays, with the odd pinball game and pac-man compilation being some of the only additions to the genre. When it comes to online downloads though, they're as popular as ever, with Wild West Guns, Critter Round Up, Bomberman, Tetris and several others out this year on WiiWare.
MaBoShi is also an addition to the arcade selection, with three different mini games to make up for its shallow depth. These games are based around the three different shapes: circle, bar and square. None of the mini games require much thought or skill to get to grips with, and this only adds to the fun you can get from the experience.
The first game, ball, is very simple. You play inside a circular space where you must roll into enemies before they manage to squeeze through the outer wall. To control the ball, you simply press the A button to change the direction you are rolling (left or right), and that's all there is to it. It is very addictive, and further stages bring extra "fun" with the addition of obstacles littering the playing area.
Bar comes next, and in this mini game you control a small circle in a vertically scrolling area. Along the way you must destroy enemies and blocks with the spinning bar that is attached to you, thus defending the glowing ball in the middle. To control this one, you simply press A to shoot off in the direction the bar is facing. This can take a bit of getting used to, but when you get the hang of it, this is also an addictive gem.
Finally comes the more puzzle-based game square. In this game, you control a square that you move with the D-Pad. When you move the square, a trail of blocks are left behind yourself which eventually turn into flames, burning away other blocks scattered throughout each stage. The blocks trailing behind you act the same as the blocks you must destroy, and so if you get stuck between them you can't jump over them, and so the game ends. This game only moves when you press the buttons on your control pad, making the game as fast or slow as you wish, which also gives you a chance to puzzle out certain stages before advancing as quickly as possible. This game is probably the one you'll come back to least, but once again it is a nice addition to the collection.
Overall then, the three mini games are all very simple and fun. Although the shallow depth means that only high-score veterans may play each one for over an hour, they are easy for just about anyone to pick up and play. The short-nature of some of these puzzlers will put some people off from purchasing this game, but before they move on to something else, we suggest they look into the extra features as well.
First of all, there is the option to have three games running at once. The screen is always split into three boxes which means you can play along with the CPU or invite two friends to play mini games of their choice at the same time as you. To add depth to the mini games, this option also lets different screens interact with each other. For example, if you were to kill an enemy in ball, their shadow will shoot off to another part of the screen, possibly bumping into (and killing) some enemies on another players screen. This also works when the CPU are running alongside you, and helps you to build up your high score.
As well as these features, there is also the chance to save video and high score records for ten different Mii's (with a maximum of one video per mini game per Mii). These replays can be sent to Wii friends who also own the game, and they even interact with live games if you set it to play in a separate window. Plus, at random points during gameplay, you may find the AI character Mr Maboshi pop up in a separate window. He'll ask you to knock enemies or other items into his screen to defeat the random selection of balls that keep appearing, and hopefully gain him a million points (which is a very tasking objective indeed).
Along with the selection of background designs and music, there is one other thing that sets this WiiWare game apart from the rest: DS connectivity. After playing through each of the three games once, you will be given the chance to download each of the full games onto your DS at once. As a temporary download (you lose the game when you switch your system off), this means that high scores and replays aren't saved, and since the screen is too small it also means that you can only have one game running at once, but it is still a great way to practice your skills on the move.
To play each of the DS renditions of the games, you hold the DS on its side, Brain Training style, and rather than pressing A on the Wii remote, you press the right button on the D-Pad. Although it may seem strange that you can't simply tap the screen, it doesn't take long to get used to and soon enough you'll adjust to the controls.
All in all, MaBoShi's collection of three arcade style mini games are really enjoyable, with the high scores, DS version and interlinking play all adding to the value. The only real issues we have here are with the short lived nature of the games and the fact that every time you play one of the games, you always complete the same levels in the same order, but with the addictive fun of ball and bar, you'll hardly notice.
Gameplay 8/10 Presentation 7/10 Enjoyment 4/5 Other 4/5
Sorry if that was a bit long
Edit: I made a mistake when I said that you can't view replays and play as the same Mii at once - you can. Error corrected now.
Wow that was quite long, but very well written and informative. Are you trying to put our man Marcel out of a job?
Hopefully we get this game next week... i watched the video a couple of times and makes me want to download it and play it now, haha.. the cool part u can download this game to the DS and play it there too as well!
@Dazza: tell me how good the pay is - then I'll decide...
Nah, I'm kidding. If you want more where that came from, e-mail me
I am a bit confuzzled on the gameplay but It should keep me fairly entertained for a while once it gets to the states.
MaBoShi is coming to Japan October 7th!
http://www.nintendo.co.jp/wii/wiiware/wmbj/index.html
anybody have an idea when its coming to NA?
@Breaderer: When you least expect it...
ARG!!!! I want to download this, i get addictid to high score games. Please, come to north america
i predict it will come to america today.
And you predicted wrong. I want meh MaBoShi!!!
Its just been ESRB rated and its called...
MaBoShi's Arcade
I guess the NOA marketing department are trying to be like Tekeshi's Castle in naming...that marketing department needs to learn their names don't work (I'm convinced the reason Brain Training does worse in America than Europe is because it is called Brain Age) though I'll let the sales chart be the final judge of that...
WHEN ARE WE GONNA MABOSHI: THE THREE SHAPE ARCADE!?!
(I mean the worse named Maboshi's Arcade)
We want MaBoShi!!!!! Let's just hope it comes out this monday, or at least get a release date!
I hope MaBoShi will be coming before the end of 2008 at the latest.
Yeah i hope it really does come out next week on the 29th of Dec since it will be the end of 2008 as well.... i been waiting on this game for long and i want to play it too!!
I can't wait to buy this!
Meh, just not for me.
i downloaded it, and it's extremely addictive!
stick mode: easy to die BUT easy to get points AND shoot circles into other game windows using your own replays
circle mode: harder to die than in stick mode, but those pesky enemies can crawl away pretty fast
square mode: my favorite . can't die unless you trap yourself or leave blocks on the bottom (or blowing up, but...) , nothing happens until you move AND everything catches on fire! who doesn't love fire spreading games
instant download, 6 stars (goes back to square mode on his ds while family hogs the tv)
@Marioman64
I agree with you in full...except your favorite game. My favorite is definitely the circle game, but the reason is that it's the only one I am good at.
We had to wait a lot for this, but it worth it, I love this game, something simple to pick and play while waiting for Mom to call you for dinner; and the DS download feature is pure awesomeness, on the DS the game gets more addictive, a 5/5 for me.
I just got this game yesturday. The verdict is that this is a fun game. I love the DS download version. It is perfect for on the go.
I finally downloaded this game on Sunday, January 18. It is wonderful. It is extremely addictive! I do love all three modes. I would have to say that my favorite mode so far is Circle Mode, but my opinion might change as I progress. There is one problem with the DS version: I haven't tried it yet, and therefore I have not been able to form an opinion on it. I think anybody that is looking for a unique WiiWare game should look no further than Maboshi's Arcade.
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