Review Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (WiiWare)
Is this a game fit for a king or a pauper?
Review Dr. Mario Online RX (WiiWare)
Zany pill-popping madness with Nintendo's favourite son.
Is LostWinds the innovative platformer Wii fans were hoping for, or just a lot of hot air?
Is this Toki Tori's grand comeback or is our feathered friend best left forgotten?
'Once you pop, you just can't stop' is proved to be true in this excellent WiiWare launch title.
News ESRB Update: EarthBound Finally Coming To Virtual Console!
It's finally happening!
News - May, 2008
Saturday31st May 2008
Review Burning Fight (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
A poor mans Final Fight
In the early days of the Neo-Geo SNK tried its hardest to cover all of the potential money-making bases of arcade and home console gaming. Fatal Fury catered to the one-on-one fighting crowd, NAM 1975 was an Operation Wolf clone with a difference, and Burning Fight clearly looked towards Capcom’s Final Fight for...
News Are Shantae Fans Going To Finally Have Their Wish Granted?
Way back in 2001, speculation begin circulating through the gaming world that newcomer developer WayForward Technologies were developing a Game Boy Color game that would stretch the system's hardware capabilities to their limits.
The game, called Shantae, was said to feature some of the most advanced animation techniques ever seen on a portable game...
News Toki Tori Coming To America On Monday!
WiiWare World can exclusively reveal that Toki Tori is due to be released this coming Monday (2nd June) in North America on WiiWare.
Lucky Europe got this excellent game on the 20th May as part of their WiiWare launch. Platform/Puzzle fans in North America jealously coveted a slice of the action but were to be disappointed when it didn’t come out...
Friday30th May 2008
News Japanese Virtual Console list - June 2008 (Super Mario RPG!)
Japan is bound to make every single person in the US, Europe and the rest of the world jealous next month - There's a certain SNES RPG featuring everybody's favourite plumber on the release list, after all... One of the Mega Drive's finest RPGs is also on its way to the land of the rising sun.
The full list is: Famicom: Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa...
Review Samurai Shodown (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
VICTOLY!
SNK became something of a fighting game factory in the early ‘90s, releasing titles like Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury to capitalize on public interest in the genre that had been kick started by a certain 2D fighting title from Cacpom. However, Samurai Showdown (or Samurai Spirits, as it was known in Japan) marked a real change of pace...
News Wario Land Shake - New Info: No Balance Board!
It was originally thought that one of the eleven games that Nintendo developed for the Balance Board would be a Wario game. With the announcement of Wario Land Shake many thought there might be some kind of incorporating of the Board but sadly it doesn't seem to be the case.
According to new information we've scooped up from MyWii.com.au the game...
News Nintendo Channel Arrives In Europe
If you go onto the Wii Shop Channel this morning you will be able to download the newly released Nintendo Channel which has a number of videos and stuff to watch.
It's all a bit disappointing really though. There is an interview with Shigeru Miyamoto and some WiiWare developer videos but apart from that it's pretty much commercials for Ninty's big...
Thursday29th May 2008
Feature WiiWare Publishers Lament Release Date Shambles
Wii Hear You
When WiiWare was first announced Nintendo proclaimed that it would revolutionize the way we buy our videogames. This was more than mere hyperbole; digital distribution undoubtedly allows smaller developers and publishers to get their product to consumers with the minimum of expense. However, it would appear that the process of getting...
Friday30th May 2008
News EU VC Releases - 30th May - Samurai Shodown
If you like SNK fighters and N64 puzzlers you're in luck today. There's two news games that fall into the former category, and one that falls in the latter. I think you can guess the N64 game!
The top pick this week is Samurai Shodown. Instead of making yet another generic modern-day fighter with special moves, like fireballs and such, they decided...
Thursday29th May 2008
News Nintendo Channel Finally Comes to Europe
About time
North American Wii owners have been ‘enjoying’ the pleasures of the Nintendo Channel for some time now, but European (and Aussie) gamers have had to endure a long a protracted wait in order to see what all the fuss is about. Thankfully, that is soon to change as Nintendo has triumphantly announced that new service, which allows you to...
Wednesday28th May 2008
News MSX Hits Japanese VC, Includes Special Options
As you might remember, the MSX was set to get its first games on the Japanese Virtual Console this month. Up until yesterday, the two slated games (Aleste and Eggy) still did not have an actual release date though, and it seemed as if they would be delayed again (Making it almost a year after their initial planned release date!). At the very last minute, Nintendo of Japan decided to release Aleste yesterday, together with the rest of the games that were planned for this week.
That's not all - Aleste (And we assum...
News Wario Land Shake - Balance Board Compatible? Blimey!
The rumoured Balance Board compatible Wario game has been given credibility, but, (shock horror!) it's not a WarioWare title as many forum-goers suspected.
Originating from a link our friends over at Cubed3 told us about, Nintendo's Japanese release dates list the following items: 7月10日 DS伝説のスタフィー...
News WiiWare World Finds Fame On German TV!
WiiWare World snatched its first moment of fame as German TV Show Wiimotion treated its viewers to a glimpse of our beloved pages on Monday on their WiiWare special show.
WiiWare World’s older cousin VC Reviews is no stranger to such fame, Vio Tensil of Wiimotion has already featured it on the show last year, and it even got another mention again...
News Capcom Say No To A Wii Street Fight
As awful as it looks from an art perspective, many Nintendo Wii owners were praying their favourite fighting game would get some Wii love. Sadly Mr. Capcom has just ruined their plans.
The new Street Fighter, the 4th in the series and a return to it's roots, will be developed for Playstation 3, XBOX 360 and PC. No Wii version has been announced and...
Tuesday27th May 2008
Review Family Table Tennis (WiiWare)
Will table tennis fans rally behind this challenger to Wii Sports?
Family Table Tennis is the first WiiWare game to directly compete with Wii Sports and Wii Play -- two games that almost every Wii owner already has. So, is it a waste of your hard earned Wii Points, or a fun, new experience that can be enjoyed alongside Wii Sports Tennis? Read on to...
Namco invite us all to Happy Ski mountain for a spot of skiing, Wii style.
We Ski appears speedily from over the cliff face just as Nintendo release Wii Fit with the now infamous Balance Board, which can, and should, be used whilst playing We Ski. At first glance We Ski might sound like just another skiing game with bolted on Balance Board controls,...
News World of Goo WiiWare: Exclusive Online Co-Op
2D Boy’s innovative puzzle title World of Goo has been on our radar for some time now thanks to its lovely visuals and addictive gameplay. As you might be aware the game is also being released for the PC and Mac, but 2D Boy has now confirmed that Wii owners will be getting exclusive online co-op, which makes that version the most appealing of the bunch.
This really is excellent news, not only because World of Goo is ideally suited for this kind of play, but that it bodes well for future releases. The more WiiWare games that showcase online multiplayer, the better! If you’re feeling flush then you can sample the PC-based pre...
Competition Star Soldier R Tournament - Are You Good Enough?
We got a cheeky little press release from Hudson today which we thought might be of interest to shmup fans here on WiiWare World.
Do you have what it takes to compete and win Hudson's Top 5 Wii Games along with 16,000 Wii Points? Note: This appears to only be open to American and Canadian Wii owners! More on the tournament registration page. Star...
News Helix Brings Rhythm To WiiWare - First Videos
A week or so ago we noticed that Helix got a rating from the ESRB so we have been getting an eye on the game’s progress with interest. We don’t know much about Texas based Ghostfire Games who are developing this innovative music rhythm game for WiiWare, but we have to say it does look quite interesting.
You can now get your first look at the...
Rumour New Wii SKU? Hard Drive Perhaps?
Nintendo's Wii console may be being phased out at the expense of introducing a new version of the console to consumers.
According to Neowin.net the console has reached "early warning" status in a "major American outlet". Apparently this means that the console is to be phased out in its current form and replaced by a newer SKU...
Monday26th May 2008
Review City Connection (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Driving round a bend
City Connection was a moderately popular arcade game in the early '80s. The game stars you as a rather strapping young man driving around the world to paint the roads white in order to prove he's been there. Doesn't make much sense to us, but hey, whatever floats his boat! While doing so you must watch out for cars (including...
News US VC Releases - 26th May - Metal Slug
A rather crowded day for the US today - There's two well-known titles, accompanied by two lesser-known ones. One of each of these two sets is a Virtual Console game.
The well-known VC game is of course Metal Slug for the Neo Geo. As Marco Rossi or Tarma Roving, you have to take on a whole army full of soldiers, tanks, planes, artillery and other...
News USA WiiWare Update: Dr Mario Online Rx And Family Table Tennis
This week North American WiiWare gamers can finally get their hands on Dr. Mario Online Rx. It has tormented some of our readers that their cousins across the pond got to play this before them last week. Don’t worry guys, six days of extra practice won’t matter for too long in your online battles. This is well worth a look if you like falling block puzzlers. We gave it the respectable score of 7/10 in our review last week.
If you are a bit of a sports fan you might want to check out Family Table Tennis. This wa...
News Guitar Hero: World Tour Adds Drum Support
Activision announce the latest incarnation of Guitar Hero, this time titled "World Tour" and will feature various new features most notably the addition of a drum kit!
Guitar Hero World Tour will transform music gaming by marrying Guitar Hero’s exhilarating guitar gameplay, with a cooperative band experience that combines the most advanced...
Okay, we know the Americans don't quite understand the quality of F1, but they have done something pretty special this weekend in both NASCAR and Indy 500.
Wii Fit will become a part of racing history when the Wii Fit-branded cars race in both the Indy 500 and the NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 this Memorial Day weekend. NASCAR: Chip Ganassi Racing's number...
News Nintendo Give Back At Wii Fit Launch
It's not difficult to realise that Nintendo are going to make a fortune with Wii Fit, thankfully for the global economy they decided to give some back at this weeks launch event.
To celebrate the launch of Wii Fit, Nintendo held an interactive release party for the public in the southwest corner of New York's Central Park, near the Merchants' Gate...
New creative drawing game from the Sega boys, promises three different modes and upto eight player support.
PictoImage is a pick up and play puzzle game in which players to take turns drawing the image of a word, while competitors race against the clock to guess the word first. The words are generated at random and can be anything from an apple, to...
Saturday24th May 2008
News Japanese WiiWare Tuesdays
This coming Tuesday (27 May) our friends in the land of the rising sun get two new WiiWare games up in their Wii Shop. Isn’t it nice how Nintendo of Japan is so kind to publish a release schedule?
These are the two delights that they are getting: Saikyou Ginhoshi Shougi - 500 points Oekaki Logic (features downloadable content) - 500 points Saikyou...
Friday23rd May 2008
News Soul Blazer – The Virtual Console Release That Never Was?
During our trips around the wonderful World Wide Web we noticed that a few sites seem to be listing Enix’s excellent Soul Blazer (also know as Soul Blader in Japan) as a Virtual Console title, even going as far as to state that it saw release in North America on the 12th May alongside Konami’s Tiny Toon Adventures. We’ve also had several emails from concerned readers regarding this, too.
A cursory glance at the Virtual Console shop on our American Wii shows that neither Soul Blazer or Tiny Toons are available, so we??...
News Major League Eating - New Screenshots And Video
In a WiiWare World exclusive we bring you a trailer showing footage from Mastiff’s upcoming Major League Eating: The Game. In addition to that we have all new screenshots too!
Since the game based on Major League Eating was first announced it has attracted a certain about of scepticism. Can Mastiff capture the fun and excitement of the “sport”...
News Best Trailer Ever: Samba De Amigo
What do you get when you put a fat guy in pink braces, a monkey with maracas and a bored family all in the same room?
The best trailer in the world of course. After the terrible SEGA Bass Fishing trailer, SEGA has finally earned our respect back.
News Nintendo To Shun 2008 Leipzig Games Convention
"Too busy washing hair" rumour is currently unfounded
It may have attracted 185,000 people last year and now ranks as the number one gaming expo in Europe but Nintendo has today confirmed that it wouldn’t be attending the Leipzig Games Convention 2008. The Japanese giant has commented that events such as road shows and small-scale local events...
Thursday22nd May 2008
Iron Man? Pssht. More like Tin Can!
Iron Man is one of those games that is just mediocre in everyway. It’s not broken but instead it’s simply no fun to play. From the mundane level design to the sloppy graphics, Iron Man is playable but no fun at all. It’s almost exactly what we expect from a movie tie-in. Based on the recent movie release,...
Friday23rd May 2008
Review Paradroid (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
The droid crew of a galactic space freighter have turned against their masters and eradicated every human crew member!
Legendary amongst C64 fans, and one of the highest rated games of the time, Paradroid’s depth of gameplay has kept it a firm favourite over 20 years later. Loosely categorised as a shoot-em-up, this description belies the subtle...
Thursday22nd May 2008
News Hudson Interview - Alien Crush, Bomberman, Tetris, Blue Oasis
Hudson is a company that needs little introduction. One of the first publishers to flock to the legendary NES console, Hudson has continued to be a solid Nintendo supporter and has recently opened its WiiWare account with the enjoyable Star Soldier R. Needless to say, the veteran publisher also has several other interesting titles on the horizon.
Wi...
News Family Gamer: Miniature Mobile iPod Games
This week with a chance to nab yourself a copy of Metroid Prime 3
First a little Family Gamer business; while clearing the office out, ready for its transformation into Ollie's room, I discovered some Nintendo games to give away. If you fancy winning Metroid Prime on Wii (PAL) just post a 'family gaming moment' on my Facebook wall before the end of...
News Pirates: The Key of Dreams - First In-Game Video
Avast, me hearties!
Pieces of eight and all that malarkey! Our ship mate Drake revealed the first screens on Pirates: The Key of Dreams only a matter of days ago. That was not good enough for the scurvy ridden seadogs at WiiWare World however. You threatened to make us walk the plank! In fear of being fed to the sharks we begged Oxygen Games for...
Friday23rd May 2008
News EU VC Release - 23rd May - Paradroid
Seemingly copying the US, Europe's VC only gets one new week. However, because WiiWare launched earlier this week, that makes Europe the only region to get a VC game in the same week as the WiiWare launch (Australia doesn't get C64 games, so we assume they get nothing today!).
Paradroid puts you in control of a robot on board an abandoned starship...
Wednesday21st May 2008
Review Critter Round-Up (WiiWare)
The animals aren't the only thing that stink in this mediocre WiiWare release.
Critter Round-Up has been branded by many people as an animal-themed version of the classic arcade game Qix. While that description isn't too far off the mark, there's more to it than simply boxing in area on the screen, but unfortunately it's not enough to keep this...
News David Braben Interview: LostWinds
We talk to the founder of Frontier Developments
David Braben, founder of Frontier Developments and the man famous for bringing the world such legendary videogames as Elite and Virus, recently gave us the honour of taking part in an exclusive interview. In it, he talks about Frontier's recent WiiWare release LostWinds and also gives a little insight...
News Beer Pong - College Drunkeness Is WiiWare Bound
When Nintendo announced WiiWare was going to pave the way for a new and more open world of videogame publishing, we were all fairly happy. After all, we all want to see the little guys of the software world get a fair slice of the pie, right? And WiiWare will undoubtedly open the window for more original and innovative gaming experiences.
Unfortunat...
Tuesday20th May 2008
Review Dr. Mario Online RX (WiiWare)
Zany pill-popping madness with Nintendo's favourite son.
Dr. Mario was the perfect NES game. A bold, simple statement to start this review, but never has a sentence rang so true in the ears of our peers. This was a game that combined mad colours, infectious soundtracks and a delightful twist on the classic Tetris formula and is (in our opinion) the...
Is this Toki Tori's grand comeback or is our feathered friend best left forgotten?
In 1994, the relatively unknown Dutch company, Fony, released a quirky little game called Eggbert for the MSX home computer. The system was never really all that popular outside Japan, but a few European countries (the Netherlands included) had quite a big fan base...
News New Hudson WiiWare Details for Tetris and Bomberman
In an interview with Siliconera, Hudson's Japanese vice president Kentaro Murayama has revealed some more details on their upcoming WiiWare games, Tetris and Bomberman.
There's not much new details for Tetris - They are thinking of incorporating the Wii Balance Board somehow, but have not made a decision on the matter yet. Imagine moving Tetris...
News World of Goo - New info and screenshots
I recently caught up with the guys from 2D Boy, the creators of World of Goo, which is one of the more interesting and original games coming to WiiWare to see how it was all going. Our regular readers may remember that way back in February we playtested a early build of World of Goo and the first impressions were excellent. If you think of Tim Burton’s art style mixed with the gameplay of Lemmings and Loco Roco then you won’t be far off the mark.
Anyway, we are all interested to know when we can expect to see this promising game on Wi...
What an absolutely awesome line-up. Thank you Mr. Nintendo. Thank you very much.
So anyone that marched over to the Wii Shop Channel this morning will have noticed WiiWare has landed and us Europeans got an exceptional array of microgame goodness. The lineup was as follows: Dr. Mario & Germ Buster (Nintendo) Final Fantasy: My Life As A King...
Review Star Soldier R (WiiWare)
Does Star Soldier R have enough fire-power to satisfy shooter fans?
The shoot 'em up genre has been lacking for many years now, so it's no real surprise that shooter fans have been anxiously awaiting Hudson's newest entry in their Star Soldier series. WiiWare seems like the perfect fit for a good old-fashioned space shoot 'em up, but many fans have...
Monday19th May 2008
Review Sky Kid (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
We're not kidding
Sky Kid is a NES port of the arcade game with the same name. You play as the Red Baron or Blue Max, both famous World War I pilots. Your mission is to fly through hordes of enemy formations, pick up a bomb, and drop it on the enemy's headquarters or main weapon. It is noteworthy that in this game, unlike most shoot 'em ups, you go...
It seems that while GTA4 may be edging the sales war at the moment, hot competitor Wii Fit has managed to win the controversy war as it appears to be labelling fat people as "obese". They do say that the truth hurts.
So the original article is coming from The Sun (we know, we know) who turn some garbage about an 11 year old girl into a full-on...
News Two Tribes Interview - Toki Tori
For many people Toki Tori represents the dark horse of the European WiiWare launch. Unless you were a keen Gameboy Color gamer there's a chance that you've never heard of this cute little character before, but he's been given a new lease of life on WiiWare in what is proving to be an extremely promising title.
Sensing that the world needed to know...
News US VC Release - May 19th - Sky Kid
After the amount of VC games in the US gradually started going down (Culminating in no VC games at all last week), it now appears to be slowly going up again, as there's just one new game this week.
Sky Kid is a NES port of a moderately popular arcade game. It's a shoot 'em up starring the world-famous World War I air pilots, the Red Baron and the...
News Pirates: The Key of Dreams - First Screens and More Information
UK developer Oxygen Games has been so nice as to provide us with some more information and the first screens of its upcoming WiiWare game Pirates: The Key of Dreams.
The game's story mode features a navy captain who is sent undercover to retrieve "The Key of Dreams", a dangerous artefact, from the hands of the famous pirate Blackbeard. To...
Tuesday20th May 2008
News WiiWare Launches In Europe
This was the day PAL Wii owners had been feverishly waiting for. Finally, after months of anticipation and hype, Nintendo’s WiiWare service has launched in Europe, bringing with it the tantalizing potential of ‘videogame publishing without frontiers’ – not to mention new headaches about internal storage space.
After a week of claim,...
Monday19th May 2008
Everyone has always dreamt of a full, big, 3D Pokemon game right? You know - none of this garbage where you're playing the same game with 8,765,546 Pokemon. We just wanted Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow in 3D right?
Just me then? Oh well. The news is this: developers of WiiWare game Pop have just pitched some ideas for "properties have neat ideas...
News Star Soldier R And Critter Round-Up Hit The USA Today
Two more games join the WiiWare library in the USA today. A cheeky puzzle game from Konami called Critter Round-Up and Hudson's Star Soldier R which is an update to the much loved classic Star Soldier series from yesteryear.
Here is some more info straight from the big N: Critter Round-Up (Konami, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Comic...
Blimey-oh-riley, we are. We just can't wait to get our hands on some online Dr. Mario action (if it ever drops?) and some LostWinds...
... But we still reckon there are at least 12 hours and 27 minutes left to go until we get to waste some Wii Points (Nintendo, please let me buy Wii Points with a Solo card soon!) on micro-games. We're not sure...
Sunday18th May 2008
Announced last month, Telltale has revealed that the infamous Sam & Max franchise will be coming to Wii in the form of Sam & Max: Season One, containing all 6 episodes released so far on the PC counterpart.
The Wii console is a perfect fit for the Sam & Max games. The series' story-driven gameplay and episodic structure has often been favorably...
News MadWorld: Light-hearted Brutality
SEGA's recently announced worldwide partnership with with PlatinumGames is all set to bring "MadWorld" to Wii, a black & white ultra stylish third person action game.
Described on its own website as "Light-hearted Brutality" PlatinumGames' MadWorld sounds like winner, players are set to master the use of various weapons found within their...
Saturday17th May 2008
News Dr Mario WiiWare Pulling A Sickie?
From the very moment a Dr Mario game was announced for WiiWare we’ve been eagerly anticipating its arrival. Whether we’re supposed to call it Dr. Mario Online RX or Dr. Mario & Germ Buster, it doesn’t matter to us; we just want to play it already! It was a surprising move for Nintendo to not make this available for the North American WiiWare launch last Monday, but now it looks like we may have to wait a little longer still.
With only Star Soldier R and Ko...
Review Gley Lancer (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
In the year 2025, a war breaks out between humans and a hostile alien race.
The Virtual Console certainly isn’t short of 2D shooters. We’ve seen some excellent (and not so excellent) examples of the genre come and go, but most of the games we’ve experienced so far are retro classics and will have been familiar to fans already. Gley Lancer, on...
Review Digital Champ: Battle Boxing (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Digital Champ Battle Boxing is a first-person-perspective boxing title that plunges players into the raw intensity of the ring!
When it was first released in 1989 Digital Champ caused quite a stir. Boxing games up to this point had been graphically modest affairs; Punch Out! was (and some would say, still is) the title of choice for prospective...
Friday16th May 2008
Feature Square-Enix Changes Its Mind About The Virtual Console?
Time will tell
Highly respected Japanese developer Square-Enix has broken its silence regarding the lack of support for Nintendo’s Virtual Console service in a recent interview at the 2008 Game Developers Conference. Producer of WiiWare title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King Toshihiro Tsuchida lifted the lid on why the company...
News Play It Safe with d_skin!
We'll explain all...
Are you one of those gamers who suffer from slow-loading, stuttering, scratched-to-hell game discs? d_skin could be saviour. A what? d_skin is a simple, protective cover which snaps onto CDs and DVDs and stops them getting damaged. The transparent film fits over any standard 14cm disc and stays there, so you can load, play or...
News Shenmue 1 & 2 Coming To The Wii?
Swedish magazine seems to think so
Sega loves the Wii. Lately we’ve been gifted with House of the Dead 1 & 2 Return, NiGHTS and Sega Bass Fishing, and if recent rumours are to be believed we’re about to see another classic franchise resurrected for Nintendo’s best selling console. Swedish magazine Game Reactor has excited blurted out this...
News Luc Bernard's Rose Princess Coming To WiiWare
Luc Bernard has been a busy chap lately. In addition to putting the final touches to the upcoming WiiWare title Eternity’s Child, he has also revealed that he has another game in the pipeworks called Rose Princess which is destined for WiiWare, if a publisher can be found.
Princess Rose is a cello player who kills anything she touches. She is...
News Toki Tori - Gameplay Trailer
If you're still not quite convinced of Toki Tori's awesomeness then this trailer might finally do the trick - It's the first actual gameplay footage of the game that's been released.
All four of the game's areas are shown, along with a bunch of the game's tools and items. You can also hear what the game's music and sound effects sound like. The game...
Review Star Parodier (Wii Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Cute'em-up.
Star Parodier is not only one of the best cute'em-ups ever created, it's also one of the best shooters ever made as well. Combining sugary sweet visuals, a stunning musical score, and some of the most responsive play control ever found in a shooter, Star Parodier proves that video game spoofs can be every bit as good, if not better, than...
Thursday15th May 2008
News Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People - More media!
A lot of our readers are pretty excited about Strong Bad's first outing on WiiWare. If you are one of them then you are probably eager to see more footage from the upcoming game!
Telltale Games has released a second trailer from Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People, a game developed for WiiWare and PC and starring Strong Bad, the...
Friday16th May 2008
News Family Gamer: Wii-Fit and GTA for a Healthier Life
Wii-TA
Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV and Wii-Fit, two of the biggest games of the year, were released to critical acclaim and not a little media circus. Although these two share top billing they couldn't be more different. One game is marketed squarely at the twenty something hardcore gamer whilst the other sets its sights on the family gaming market...
News EU VC Releases - 16th May - Third Hanabi Festival Week
If you're a shooter fan you're in real luck this week: There's two import shooters, and both of them are generally considered to be fantastic and some of the best the genre has to offer. There's also an import boxing game.
The first import shooter this week is Star Parodier on the Turbografx. After Konami made a wacky spin-off of Gradius called...
Thursday15th May 2008
News Castlevania Producer Hints At WiiWare Instalment
His name might not be as familiar to you as Hideo Kojima or Shigeru Miyamoto, but Koji ‘IGA’ Igarashi is the man currently responsible for the wellbeing of Konami’s highly esteemed Castlevania franchise and this role bestows him a certain degree of kudos and respect amongst videogame fans. The vampire-hunting series is well regarded and each new entry is put under intense scrutiny by veterans of the series.
However, of late the home console versions of Castlevania have been somewhat disappointing. Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkne...
News Save The Seasons With Potpourrii
When you hear the word 'Potpourrii' you may picture that bowl of perfumed wood shavings your mum has in her bathroom, but for WiiWare gamers the word is about to be given an entirely different meaning thanks to Dutch developer Abstraction Games.
Production on the company’s debut WiiWare title is now drawing to a close and MD Ralph Egas has kindly...
News Join The WiiWare World Facebook group!
To celebrate the launch of WiiWare World we have shamelessly jumped on the social networking bandwagon and set up a Facebook group!
Why not join up today? You'll probably never bother with it after you join in the true spirit of Facebook Groups, but getting a post on your wall to say you joined will give you a warm fuzzy feeling. We'd love to see...
News Ghostfire Games Drops Fresh Helix Screens
Ghostfire games has just revealed new screenshots for its upcoming WiiWare title Helix.
Falling neatly into the ‘rhythm action’ genre, Helix calls for the player to move their bodies in time with the beat of 26 different songs, each crafted by an independent artist. The required moves – which include punches, backfists and hooks - are shown...
Wednesday14th May 2008
Review Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (WiiWare)
Is this a game fit for a king or a pauper?
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, is the first WiiWare game from SquareEnix and they obviously spared no expense in putting this title together. Instead of pitting you in the fighting role, as in most normal Final Fantasy titles, this game puts you in the role of King and allows you full...
Review Defend Your Castle (WiiWare)
XGen takes a Flash game favourite and gives it a lick of WiiWare coloured paint.
Some time ago XGen Studios released a free Flash version of Defend Your Castle which unwittingly spawned a small following of loyal defenders. The game was unquestionably entertaining, but here at WiiWare World we don’t want to waste our time encouraging carpal tunnel...
Step on up to the Wheel of Fortune
TV Show King makes us wonder what the difference is between a video game and a regular game. We're aware that they’re judged by different criteria; for instance, no one complains that Monopoly hasn’t updated its look in about fifty years, while the control scheme of Hungry, Hungry Hippos would be lambasted by...
Review V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack (WiiWare)
Is success on the cards or is this game serving up a bum deal?
Is the gamble worth it? That is a valid question when looking at what this game has to offer for the 700 points you'll be paying for it. As you can tell from the title alone, the only game featured here is the well-known Blackjack, and in that respect it may seem a bit bare-bones. But as...
News WiiWare needs a storage solution NOW!
Wii Need Space
Now that the WiiWare service has launched it is ever more apparent how easy it is to fill up your Wii’s internal memory to full capacity. After all you just get a measly 2,163 blocks of internal memory, that’s the equivalent of just about 512MB! This has been just about bearable on the Virtual Console, it isn’t until you go...
Feature WiiWare Launch Games Review Round Up
Since the WiiWare launch you may have picked up one or two of the games and then cautiously waited for trusted reviews before splashing out your precious Wii points on some of the other games which you were less sure of. Or perhaps you are in Europe and want to do your homework before the WiiWare launch on the 20th May?
Worry not because your pals...
Is LostWinds the innovative platformer Wii fans were hoping for, or just a lot of hot air?
Let's face it, the Wii has already had its fair share of below-average platformers, so it comes as no surprise that, despite the enormous amount of hype surrounding Frontier Development's LostWinds title, Wii owners have approached the game with a certain...
'Once you pop, you just can't stop' is proved to be true in this excellent WiiWare launch title.
Pop, as the title suggests, is a game where you pop bubbles. But don’t be fooled by the deceptive simplicity of this idea; there’s more to it than might be apparent at first glance. First of all, Pop has a timer that counts down; if you don't pop...
Tuesday13th May 2008
News European WiiWare Lineup Revealed
About Tiime
With the US WiiWare launch fading into memory, it’s the turn of European gamers to start getting excited about upcoming downloadable content. WiiWare hits the ‘old world’ on 20th May, and surprisingly European Wii owners will be getting eight games instead of the six that arrived on North American shores. LostWinds and Final...
News Frontier Quietly Confirms LostWinds Sequel
Already?!
LostWinds was only released in the US yesterday, but if Frontier's website is to be believed, a sequel is already coming! On Frontier's page for the game, scroll to the very bottom to find this: Click here to REGISTER FOR ADVANCE INFORMATION on Frontier's forthcoming LostWinds sequel containing amazing new gameplay as Toku and Enril's...
Monday12th May 2008
Stay a while, stay forever!
As you're most probably aware, Nintendo’s new WiiWare service launched in the US today and to coincide with this truly momentous event we’re also lifting the lid on WiiWare World, your one-stop resource for all things related to the gaming portal. You might recognise some of the faces here from our stupendously...
Saturday10th May 2008
News North American WiiWare launch games
Here's what we have all been waiting for! Nintendo's press release so we know what the launch WiiWare games for North America are finally! As we expected there will be no Virtual Console games out this Monday!
REDMOND, Wash., May 12, 2008 – Nintendo’s Wii™ console has already changed the way people play games. Now its new WiiWare™ service...
Review Metal Slug (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Overthrow General Morden and win back the stolen weapon!
This game might be a bit redundant - seven of the games in the Metal Slug series were already released on the Wii in collective form as Metal Slug Anthology. However, none of the games on that disc allow for classic controller use, so if you desperately want to use it, then you have no choice...
News Introducing WiiWare World
The smell of change is in the air. On Monday 12th May the WiiWare service is launching in the USA. Will the world ever be the same again?
To coincide with this momentous occasion it is with great pleasure that we can announce we will be launching a new site specifically dedicated to WiiWare (or Wii Software to Euro gamers!). Behold the future,...
Friday9th May 2008
Review Cho Aniki (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Idaten or Benten are celestial warriors who are out to bring an end to the tyrannical rule of the emperor of Planet Builder.
The Japanese are often accused of creating some seriously weird and wonderful videogames. While this reputation is often underserved (with games like Jet Set Willy, Western developers are just as guilty of producing bonkers...
Review Break In (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
A bit of a break from the norm of Naxat Soft's other games.
Break In could have been a great game where you could play a burglar trying to steal some precious jewels; instead it is pool game simulator. These games used to be ten a penny in the arcade halls of old so it is only fitting that some home conversions were made. I am no expert on the game...
Thursday8th May 2008
Feature Playtest: The Shaft Virtual Console joystick
As old school gamers on Wii the only thing we missed was a joystick peripheral for that authentic arcade feel
. Back in the days anyone who was serious about Street Fighter II on the SNES would have owned a Super Advantage joystick. The NEO GEO was famed for the quality of its joystick – indeed it was almost as big as the console itself. Why...
Friday9th May 2008
News EU VC Releases - 9th May - Metal Slug and More Imports
After last week's relatively good batch of games we honestly expected Nintendo would choose the least interesting upcoming imports to release this week. Thankfully we've been proven wrong - They only chose a single bad one, plus two good ones, and on top of that, we get a non-import game!
Metal Slug needs no introduction amongst most hardcore...
Wednesday7th May 2008
News Nintendo Channel for Wii now available in North America
The Nintendo Channel, the interactive guide to Nintendo and Wii, has gone live in North America.
The channel is built to host a collection of promotional material and information for recent releases and upcoming games. This will include trailers, documentaries, demo videos and future downloads. American Wii gamers were sent the following message to...
News New name for Dr. Mario WiiWare
Since we first heard that Dr. Mario was coming to WiiWare there have been a few different western names for the game circulating on the net such as Dr. Mario's Virus Buster and Dr. Mario & Bacteria Extermination, both likely direct translations of the Japanese title, Dr. Mario & Saikin Bokumetsu.
Having checked out the new Nintendo Channel...
News GameLoft Brings More to WiiWare
GameLoft, who you might know as the company bringing their mobile game Block Breaker Deluxe to WiiWare, is bringing three more games to the service. Two of these are also mobile phone ports, but one of them is a new game.
The PEGI has rated Midnight Bowling, which we assume will be the first title to see release in Europe. It will be a slightly...
Dutch developer Two Tribes today released some new screens for Toki Tori, their upcoming WiiWare game. As you might know, it appears to be a remake of their original Game Boy Color game of the same name.
The game is a platformer/puzzler hybrid, combining quick reactions with smart thinking. It was originally released at the end of the GBC's life (In...
Nintendo have revealed that they will be one of the lead sponsors for the new series of Gladiators coming to Sky soon.
Apparently Nintendo have shelled out "big money" in order to ensure they are the sole sponsors of the upgrade to 90's classic The Gladiators. According to Marketing Week, this sponsorship is one of Sky's biggest and most...
News GTA Kicks Ass But Nintendo Are Still In Good Shape
GTA4 has had a record breaking first week outselling Wii Fit by a ratio as high as 9 to 1.
To be fair I don't think anyone expected the fitness title to keep it's crown at the top of the charts when GTA blundered along. With record breaking sales of 926,000 units and a place cemented at the top of the charts which is likely to last for a good while...
Tuesday6th May 2008
News Ubisoft Brings Protothea to WiiWare
In a completely random announcement today, Ubisoft has revealed they are bringing the 2005 PC game Protöthea to WiiWare. The game is a shooter, but doesn't really stand out too much.
The WiiWare release will include extra features and things to do, and apparently will be released on WiiWare's launch day for 1000 Wii Points. Ubisoft's James Regan...
Monday5th May 2008
Review Renegade (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A beat-em-up best forgotten
Technos' Double Dragon became a household name and River City Ransom gained rave reviews from all and sundry, but people often forget that the company also released Renegade on the NES, forming what many fans deem to be a classic trilogy of 8-bit fighting games. Sadly, Renegade is easily the worst of this trio. Although...
Saturday3rd May 2008
Review Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Gordon the Gofer
This is an almost arcade-perfect port of the arcade version of Gradius II, which was also known as Vulcan Adventure. Konami made no compromises in choosing the PC Engine’s Super CD format to release this game on, and the music sounds better than ever as a result. Sadly this never made it to the west as a TurboGrafx-CD game, so...
News US VC Releases - 5th May - Pokemon Puzzle League
So what wonderful games can you get your grubby mitts on this Monday? Prepared to be amazed as the Virtual Console is getting a new N64 game in the shape of Pokémon Puzzle League.
For those not in the know Pokémon Puzzle League uses the exact same gameplay found in the old SNES and Game Boy title Tetris Attack. You're given a Tetris-like field...
Friday2nd May 2008
News ESRB Update: EarthBound Finally Coming To Virtual Console!
It's finally happening!
If you're familiar at all with the Mother series (Only the second game was released outside Japan, as EarthBound) you should know it's got an enormous cult following. In fact, EarthBound was the number one wanted VC game in the Nintendo Power poll just a few days ago! Fans have pleaded for Nintendo to release the other games...
News Star Parodier and other imports in the next Hanabi festival
In today's Nintendo Europe news in a rare moment of transparency from Nintendo we now know what to expect from the next Hanabi festival:
Over the coming weeks, you’ll also be able to enjoy other never-before-seen greats such as Gley Lancer (SEGA MEGA DRIVE), Cho Aniki (Muscle Brothers) (Turbografx), Puyo Puyo 2 (SEGA MEGA DRIVE) and Star Parodier...
Review Final Soldier (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Once again its your job to protect the Galactic Empire from an alien invasion using nothing but your trusty starfighter.
There were basically three Star Soldier releases for the PC Engine/Turbografx-16 system, not counting the cute 'em up spin-off Star Parodier. Two of those releases, Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade, saw a release in the US...
Thursday1st May 2008
News RPG Titles Dominate Nintendo Power’s Most Wanted List
As we reported a while back, respected US magazine Nintendo Power recently asked Virtual Console fans to submit which games they would like to see on the service in the hope that it would make the Big N sit up and take notice. The results are now in and (unsurprisingly) SNES RPGs dominate.
Here’s the reader’s top 5 most wanted: Earthbound...
News Nintendo Wii hard drive coming soon?
A recent press release from Nintendo makes interesting reading. In addition to news that the company's fortunes continue to soar there was also an interesting bit of information from company president Satoru Iwata in regards to the hot topic of the Wii's limited flash memory:
Q6 I am personally enjoying WiiWare and Virtual Console but feel Wii’s...
Friday2nd May 2008
News EU VC Releases - 2nd May - The Hanabi Festival Returns!
Europeans who have had their Wii for a while will no doubt remember last September - Nintendo of Europe introduced a special "Hanabi Festival" dedicated to give us import game goodness. With games such as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, Mario's Super Picross and Sin and Punishment becoming available to us for the first time ever, who could refuse? Certainly not us!
Well, it looks like Nintendo knows that we won't say no to imports, because today's update includes three games, all import titles, and all marked with the Hanabi Festival fireworks icon that the import titles last year were labelled w...
