Review Terranigma (Super Nintendo)
Does the final release in Enix's Gaia Trilogy hold up?
The Super Famicom version of Star Ocean might feature a lot of flashy technology, but it's the game's epic storyline and unique combat system that's made it such a beloved classic among 16-bit RPG fans over the years.
Review The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)
There's no just masking how great it still is
News Interview with Brian Fehdrau - Secret of Evermore
We recently got a chance to talk with the lead programmer of Secret of Evermore and found out some very interesting information regarding the development of this unique Super Nintendo RPG title.
Review Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Super Nintendo)
Lufia II might not be as recognizable as some of the bigger name Super Nintendo RPGs, but that doesn't mean it packs any less of a punch.
Review Nintendo DSi Browser (DSiWare)
Almost three years after the release of the original Opera Browser for the Nintendo DS, does this new iteration meet expectations or are we once again plagued with loading times from a decade long past?
News - April, 2009
Thursday30th Apr 2009
Review Job Island: Hard Working People (Wii)
In the words of Sir Alan, You're hired!
After Hudson’s relative success with Sports Island, last June, comes the first of two new titles; Job Island: Hard Working People and Sports Island 2. Job Island (aka Help Wanted) has to be one of the most bizarre ideas for a mini-games title yet, working! Job Island has 3 main game modes: Employment office,...
News Sexy Poker Headed to WiiWare
It seems the WiiWare service just got a little sexier
According to the German USK ratings service, Gameloft's Sexy Poker title is headed to Nintendo's WiiWare service. As you might imagine, the game is basically a video game version of strip poker. The female players place bets using their own clothing instead of money. Since Nintendo is quite...
News Williams Pinball EU Release Date Confirmed for September
Finally the collection pinball fans in Europe have been waiting for!
System 3 Software, the UK-based publisher of Williams Pinball Classics in Europe, has not only created a brand-new website featuring all of their products but also seen fit to put forward a new release date of 11th September 2009 for it. Whilst we have no idea what has caused the...
Nintendo Download Bit.Trip Beat, Dr. Mario, Magic and Galaxy Force II (EU)
Alternating Virtual Console and WiiWare weeks come to an end!
WiiWare's almost been out for a year in Europe, and it seems that because of that, Nintendo of Europe has decided to start using the same schedule North America does - Releasing both VC and WiiWare games every week. Of course there's another DSiWare game as well. None of the games are...
News Final Fantasy IV: The After Years Official Website Goes Live
Square Enix opens the window to one of their latest Wiiware offerings...
If you're a fan of the Super Nintendo classic, Final Fantasy IV, then prepare to bask in a deep bowl of nostalgia soup. Square Enix's Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is soon to arrive on WiiWare services around the globe, and for a sip of this rich classic gaming stew you can...
News Klonoa Remake Coming to US Next Week
The remake of the classic Playstation platformer is coming to Wii
Playstation fans might remember that Klonoa: Door to Phantomile first made its appearance back on the original Playstation console in 1998. The game was a 2.5D side-scrolling platform title that featured a floppy-eared protagonist named Klonoa. The game featured some beautiful polygon...
News Madden NFL 10 Wii to Showcase Stylized Look
EA reveals new shots of its best-selling sports franchise
After a few attempts to create next-gen visuals on the Wii, Electronic Arts has finally come to its senses and has given the latest version of Madden NFL a light-hearted visual sheen. The new shots show the unique caricatured players, which the developer promises will boast amusing animations...
News Namco Bandai Turns Up The Heat With Cook Or Be Cooked
A realistic Cooking Mama?
'Casual' gaming on the Wii is currently big business so we probably shouldn't be surprised that Namco Bandai - along with Ghostbusters developer Red Fly Studios - is working on a 'serious' cooking title. Food Network: Cook or be Cooked contains a fully-stocked kitchen and will attempt to give a more true-to-life...
News Peter Moore: "EA Needs To Do Better On Wii"
Former Microsoft man comes clean about EA's poor Wii performance
EA Sports boss Peter Moore has admitted to Eurogamer that his company isn't doing as well as it could be when it comes to the Nintendo Wii. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the UK-based website, Moore had this to say: I think we need to continue to work on the Wii. When I look...
News New WiiWare Screenshots - Karate Phants
1970's German cartoon inspires new WiiWare fighting title
We just got our hands on 12 brand new Karate Phants: Gloves of Glory screenshots showing the WiiWare title in action. As you can see, the game looks to be a two-player one-on-one fighting title. The game is based on an old 1970's German cartoon called The Ottifants. Apparently the cartoon was...
News East Meets West In Red Steel 2
Details on the newly emerged action title begin to spill...
Although Wii launch title Red Steel received a mixed response from the critics, its sequel is deep in the works and presents more than a little promise. The motion sensitive Wii Remote seems an uncanny representative for both shooting and sword fighting games, and Red Steel 2 promises to...
News Nintendo UK Set To Attend GameOn! London
More than 20,000 gamers expected to visit the UK-based 'eSport' event
Nintendo UK has confirmed it will be joining the lineup at this year's GameOn! event in London. The two-day show takes place at London’s Olympia National hall and will be attended by more than 20,000 people. As well as witnessing various 'eSport' events such as UKeSA (United...
Wednesday29th Apr 2009
Review Cocoto Platform Jumper (WiiWare)
Will Cocoto have you jumping for joy or off a cliff?
It's no big secret that WiiWare could use more platformers, . Cocoto Platform Jumper may count itself lucky then that this genre is relatively underrepresented at this time. Is it worth enough to spend your hard-earned cash, though? It just might be. The player is represented by the whimsical...
Review Clubhouse Games Express: Card Classics (DSiWare)
Call Nintendo's bluff or fold.
In the vein of the previously released Express titles, Clubhouse Games Express: Cards Classics offers a very slimmed-down, bite-sized version of its full-featured cartridge release. Whether this package offers enough to warrant a purchase is the question, and although this is a strong hand, ultimately there's no real...
News No Madden NFL On DS This Year
EA's Gridiron franchise is Wii only for '10
EA has confirmed that its best-selling Madden NFL franchise will be skipping the DS for the 2010 edition. Rumours started to circulate when EA revealed the cover artwork for Madden NFL 10 and the DS version was missing, but EA Sports' Senior PR Manager Rob Semsey has confirmed what DS-owning American...
News Toss Some Tuna in Sega's Wacky World of Sports
"Mind boggling sports action" is coming to the Wii!
Flush from the success of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games, Sega has today announced the rather strange-looking Wacky World of Sports. Containing such dubious 'sports' as Tuna Tossing, Extreme Ironing and The Mud Slide, this off-the-wall title is obviously aimed at party play. Here's the...
News Capcom Announces Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth for Western Release
Play as Phoenix's rival in the newest Ace Attorney game.
If you've been following the game since it was announced for Japan (As Gyakuten Kenji) you should already know what Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth is like - It focuses far more on the investigation aspect of the previous Ace Attorney games, leaving out the court scenes entirely...
News Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (29th Apr)
It's Wednesday again and time for the WiiWare Top 20!
It's time to take a look at the most popular WiiWare titles available on the Wii Shop Channel. If you're feeling adventurous you can even take a look for yourself by simply logging on to your Wii Shop Channel, heading into the WiiWare section and then viewing "Popular Games". It's that...
News Come Wish Pixel a Happy Birthday!
It's the Cave Story creator's birthday
Guess what? It's Pixel's birthday and the guys at Nicalis would like to request that game fans head over to their blog to wish him a Happy Birthday. For those of you who don't know, Pixel is the creator of the Cave Story games, and is currently working on the WiiWare title as we speak. He's also the guy who...
Tuesday28th Apr 2009
Review Pokémon Red and Blue (Game Boy)
Catching them all never felt as good as it did back in 1998.
To say that Pokémon has made its mark on the video game industry would be something of an understatement. While many claimed the franchise to be a fad when it first made its debut in each of the world’s four major video game regions, over time those people have been proven wrong. Even...
Review Red Alarm (Virtual Boy)
Should Fox McCloud be scared?
Red Alarm is a 3D shooter where you take your Tech-Wing Fighter and battle through five enemy-filled levels, each ending with a showdown with a boss character. When it was originally released the first thing people noticed were the wire frame graphics, bringing to mind games such as Battlezone and Elite; although these...
News Official Punch Out!! Site Reveals New Brawler
Nintendo is being SUCH a tease, you guys!
We already know that many familiar faces will be returning in the Wii version of Punch Out!!, but Nintendo has confirmed that new characters will be present also. The Punch Out!! website now has a little teaser online which shows the outline of a new challenger, along with the words 'Coming Soon'. Could Iron...
News Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 in "Not Coming to Wii" Shocker
Wow, that was unexpected.
If you've kept your ear to the ground you'll know that Capcom has recently announced that Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 is coming to Xbox Live Arcade and the Playstation Network. This is very much a BIG DEAL because the game is a 2D masterpiece. Sadly, the Wii is getting the cold shoulder. Capcom won't be bringing Marvel Vs. Capcom 2...
News New Game Play Video - Toribash
Nabi Studios releases new game play video of their upcoming WiiWare title Toribash in action.
The main goal behind Toribash is to give players unprecedented freedom by providing them with total control over their fighter's bodies. The developers have said that they hope this will provide a unique experience on the WiiWare service for gamers who have...
News Mr. T and Will Wright Vs. The Nazis?
Okay, we didn't see this one coming...
ZootFly, developers of action games for the PC and Xbox have turned their attention to licensed properties and after completing a game based upon hit TV show Prison Break are going to tackle the Mr. T graphic novel license. Not only are they planning on doing a Mr. T game, but apparently a series of Mr. T games...
News New Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles Trailer Shows More Gameplay
At Captivate '09, Capcom released a new trailer for the upcoming Umbrella Chronicles sequel.
The game looks fantastic for a Wii game - although this is no real surprise, because the previous game The Umbrella Chronicles was one of the better-looking Wii games. Still focusing on the game's Resident Evil 2 scenario, the trailer shows many familiar...
News Smashmouth Games Announces Ongaku for WiiWare
Rhythm/action game Ongaku is on its way to WiiWare
Smashmouth Games has just announced that their flash-based rhythm/action game Ongaku is headed to Nintendo's WiiWare service later this year. With the recent popularity of these rhythm/action games, it comes as no surprise to see them make this announcement. You can check out a snippet of...
News Nintendo Power Reveals New Red Steel 2 Artwork
Game to showcase a Wild West theme?
US magazine Nintendo Power has published some new imagery from Ubisoft's upcoming Red Steel 2. The new artwork appears to show some kind of katana-welding cowboy. The images shown so far are merely snippets from the final print magazine, and we'll have to wait until the physical issue hits the news stands before...
News Henry Hatsworth Gives Australia a Miss
Our tea-drinking hero won't be making the trip Down Under
Henry Hatsworth in the Puzzling Adventure is certainly one of the freshest games to emerge from EA in quite some time. Featuring a unique brand of 2D visuals and old-school puzzle/platform gameplay, we awarded it a very respectable 8/10 when we reviewed it not so long ago. Bearing this in...
News The Conduit: More Multiplayer Details Revealed
Hopefully this will save a lot of tooth enamel...
IGN blogger gamingmaster42 had many questions about the multiplayer aspects of The Conduit (as do many of our own forumites) and decided to send off a missive to get the straight story from High Voltage regarding ranking/achievements, friend codes and WiiSpeak. Here is the response from Josh Olson,...
News Bit.Trip Beat Coming to Europe on Friday
Time for European gamers to get a dose of Bit.Trip Beat!
It seems the wait for Bit.Trip Beat is almost over. Alex Neuse, CEO of Gaijin Games has just announced that their unique retro WiiWare title will be released on the European WiiWare service this coming Friday. Bit.Trip Beat takes the classic idea of Pong and injects a whole new level of...
News New Bit.Trip Game Teaser Image
Check out the new teaser image for Gaijin Games' new upcoming Bit.Tip WiiWare title.
Gaijin Games has sent us over a new teaser image for their upcoming Bit.Trip title. While we'd love to tell you the name of the game, Gaijin Games has asked us to keep it under our hats until they have a chance to make a formal announcement of the game. It shouldn't...
Monday27th Apr 2009
Review Real Football 2009 (DSiWare)
A good effort, but does it hit the back of the net?
As the first Premium title available on DSiWare, there’s a certain amount of expectation surrounding Gameloft’s Real Football 2009. Do you get enough game for your 800 Points? First things first – Real Football 2009 is more or less a straight conversion of the same game that was released on...
Review Jewel Quest Solitaire (DS)
Is this puzzle game a hidden gem or a useless trinket?
If there's one thing you could say about Nintendo’s DS console it's that it certainly isn't short of puzzle titles. Over the years we’ve seen many good (and not so good) games that reside within that particular genre, and in Jewel Quest we have another to add to the ever-expanding ranks. The...
You know what to do…
Blocks fall down the screen and the player has to place them to make lines. Get a line and it disappears. Get multiple lines for extra points. Alexey Pajitnov’s falling block puzzle game has been ported to many different systems over the years, all essentially playing the same, only differentiated by the variety of modes...
Nintendo Download Clubhouse Games, Paper Planes, Platforms and Warring States (US)
Nintendo of America's DSiWare push continues.
The pattern continues this week - Two new DSiWare games and one new game each for WiiWare and VC are available once again. Both DSiWare games are cut down versions of already existing games. Clubhouse Games Express: Card Classics includes five card games from Nintendo's DS game Clubhouse Games, but be...
News Controversial Super Meat Boy Advertisement
Team Meat attempts to stir up some interest in their upcoming WiiWare title.
As far as advertising goes, there are several ways to draw attention to your product. You can pay thousands of dollars to an advertising firm to come up with an extremely catchy slogan or jingle that will make your product instantly recognizable to consumers, or you can do...
Interviews Cocoto Platform Jumper - Neko Entertainment
Neko Entertainment spills the beans on their latest Wiiware game.
Coinciding with the release of Cocoto Platform Jumper for Wiiware in North America, comes our chat with the folks who brought it to us. So sit back, relax, and open the floodgates of knowledge which shall pour forth from the minds of Neko Entertainment! Nlife: First off, what can you...
News The King of Kong Strikes Again
Steve Wiebe bags the Donkey Kong Jr. World Record
As we noted a while back, Steve Wiebe (star of the hit movie King of Kong) is busy preparing to make another attempt on the Donkey Kong world record at this year's E3. As part of his training he's set a new high score record for Donkey Kong Jr. - 1,139,800 points, to be exact. Here's the full story,...
News Mad Dog McCree Coming To The Wii?
Crusty old FMV shooter gets rated by the ESRB
Chances are many of you won't have been alive when the FMV gaming craze happened in the late '80s/early '90s; the storage power of formats like LaserDisc and CD-ROM caused game developers to go a little crazy, creating titles with live action footage that had all the depth of a shallow puddle. One such...
News Dead Space: Extraction Screens Emerge From The Shadows
New shots from EA's on-rails scare-em-up
EA has unleashed more shots of its upcoming Wii-exclusive title Dead Space: Extraction. Based on the same universe seen in the 360/PS3 original, Extraction is an on-rails shooter which sees the player fighting off alien monsters called Necromorphs. These rather nasty creatures inhabit dead bodies and...
Sunday26th Apr 2009
Review Adventure Island: The Beginning (WiiWare)
Higgins is back after a 15-year break. Is he still the master?
As you might know, Adventure Island is a bit of an odd series. The main character Master Higgins is actually a real person, although he's only well known in Japan. Ask anybody there about Takahashi Meijin (Master Takahashi) though and they'll know him for sure - he's a legend over there,...
News Ten Game Boy Games You Should Be Playing
Here are ten Game Boy games that you should be playing.
With anticipation already building as to whether or not Nintendo is going to actually bring classic Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance titles to the DSi system via some type of Virtual Console service, we thought it would be fun to sit down and come up with a list of ten classic...
News Asphalt 4: Elite Racing Gets ESRB Rated
The iPhone racing hit heads to Nintendo's DSiWare service.
We finally have our first DSiWare racing title making itself known with the official ESRB rating of Asphalt 4: Elite Racing. While we don't currently know a lot about this iPhone racer, we did manage to get a snippet of information from the ESRB rating listing that you can check out below...
News Need Some Tetris Lessons?
We know a man who can help you master those pesky Tetriminoes.
In these troubled economic times it is great to see some entrepreneurial spirit looking for an opportunity to turn their skills into cash. A good example of this ability to think outside of the box would be the chap from Vancouver who posted the following ad on Craigslist: In response...
Saturday25th Apr 2009
News Pixel Customizes Wii Remotes
Pixel turns standard Wii Remotes into works of art!
Pixel, artist extraordinaire and lead artistic designer on the upcoming WiiWare release Cave Story, has taken it upon himself to decorate a few Wii Remotes to make them a little more interesting. While the designs are black & white, they're certainly no less eye-catching. Nicalis plans to give...
Friday24th Apr 2009
Review Little King's Story (Wii)
Fit for a King!
We've all dreamed of being King or Queen of our own miniature Kingdom: sat upon our thrones, dishing out orders from on high, pleasing our loyal subjects and amassing loads and loads of money. Sadly, for anyone other than the bosses of Nintendo Life, this is destined never to come true, but don't despair, regal wannabes! Little...
Crashed and burned…
CID The Dummy from Oxygen Games is an action platformer that was released earlier in the year on Sony's PSP. The hero is a crash test dummy, CID, given special powers by inventor "Professor B.M. Werken" to go on a mission to save his apparently very beautiful daughter. From the outset the very idea of the game feels just a...
News Patent Images of Nintendo's Wii Controllers
Ever wanted to see how the various Nintendo Wii controllers started out?
Patent images have recently surfaced of some of Nintendo's various Wii controller designs. For those who want to see how these controllers took shape, you can check out the images below. The Wii Remote designs are probably the most interesting of the bunch. As you can see, one...
News Little King's Story available from Club Nintendo
If you've got 5000 Stars in your account, that is.
Here's a spot of breaking news for you - highly recommended action-strategy game Little King's Story has only just been released in the UK this very day, but Nintendo Europe are very generously offering a limited number of copies to its Club Nintendo users, at the princely sum of 5,000 Stars a pop...
News Nintendo Throws Rhythm Heaven Events
If you're a fan of Rhythm Heaven, we've got the events for you.
For all of you Rhythm Heaven fans out there, Nintendo is throwing a few Rhythm Heaven events today and tomorrow. They'll be setting up these Rhythm Heaven 'lounges' at various major hubs across the US. You can check out the specific dates and locations below as well as a short snippet...
News MySims Agents officially announced for Wii and DS
Not at all like Ocean's Eleven: The Game.
We brought you the first teaser of EA's forthcoming MySims Agents a few days ago, but now the game has officially gone public and the first few scant details have come to light. Billed as an "action-puzzler", MySims Agents sees you putting together a motley crew of hackers, stealthy thieves and...
News Hollow Victory for Nintendo as Latest Pokémon Title Tops Japanese Charts
Oh noes! Mystery Dungeon sales down!
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Sky (AKA: Pokémon Fushigi no Dungeon: Sora no Tankentai) was recently released in Japan and promptly sold 141,000 copies, which equates to around a 30% sell-through. This retail performance was enough to place it at the top of the Japanese multi format games chart...
News Codemasters Announces New Formula One Title for Wii
The first in a new line of F1 games is hitting the track soon
Codemasters has officially confirmed that it is releasing a game based on the Formula One 2009 season. The official F1 licence used to be Sony's property but there hasn't been a game for quite some time now. After rumours that EA were considering picking it up, UK publisher Codemasters...
News Game Play Trailer - ColorZ
Check out Exkee's colorful WiiWare puzzler in action!
Exkee was kinda enough to send us over the brand new official game play trailer for their upcoming WiiWare title ColorZ. The game is basically an action-style puzzler that uses basic color changes as the premise for how you're able to navigate through the game's many levels. Below is a copy of...
News EA thrilled with MotionPlus
The producer of Grand Slam Tennis at Giganto-Company EA had quite a bit to say on the subject of Nintendo's Remote-enhancer, and a quick whisper of new in-game characters too.
Producer Tommy Singleton has the enviable honour of being in charge of one of the first MotionPlus-supported games (and the expectations that come with it), but quite luckily...
Nintendo Download 28 April 2009 (Japan)
Another six releases for our Japanese friends.
I'm sure many in the PAL/NA territories will be green with envy and I've got to say I'm going to have a hard decision to make here. You see amongst the three WiiWare releases coming to Japan next week is Bit.Trip.Beat. Given that there's no projected release date for Europe whatsoever, can I resist...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - May 2009
Only 6 games for Japan in May (Not counting yet to be announced arcade games), but it's quite a good selection.
May seems to be a Famicom month of sorts - 4 of the 6 games planned for release are for Nintendo's original console. And they're not exactly obscure games either - Final Fantasy and Famicom Wars (The first in the "Wars" series,...
Nintendo Download Adventure Island, Crystal Defenders R1 & Real Football 2009 (EU)
Another lovely lump of downloadable goodness lands in Europe
It's Nintendo Download time again folks! This week we've got a tasty trio of European gaming greatness to tell you about. Adventure Island: The Beginning (WiiWare, 1000 points) is Hudson's latest instalment in its long-running Adventure Island series. This 2.5 platform title - which stars...
Thursday23rd Apr 2009
News Europe Gets Adventure Island: The Beginning On WiiWare Tomorrow
Master Higgins rides again!
For any of our Euro / Aussie readers who are patiently waiting for Hudson Soft’s Adventure Island: The Beginning we can gladly tell you that your wait will soon be over. It will be on sale in the Wii Shop at midnight tonight for 1000 Nintendo points (GMT of course!). This installment of Adventure Island will return...
News Sony: We Own the Living Room, Nintendo Owns the Closet
That's fightin' talk where I come from!
In a recent interview with Gamasutra, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America Peter Dille and SCEA Corporate Communications Manager Julie Han let fly with what is likely to become a near-legendary series of quotes: JH: The other point, I think, to what Peter said earlier, is...
News Peter Moore at MI6 Conference: Capturing the Wii Audience with Original Content
Encouraging words from EA...do they finally get it?
During the conference keynote address EA Sports head Peter Moore spoke about EA Sports' current philosophy towards the Wii stating that "You can't simply take what you're doing on the PS3 or Xbox 360 and port – that's a dirty word – down to the Wii." New titles like Grand Slam Tennis...
News Game Play Trailer - Icarian: Kindred Spirits
Check out the new game play trailer for the upcoming WiiWare title Icarian: Kindred Spirits!
We just managed to get our hands on the brand new official Icarian: Kindred Spirits game play trailer. The game follows the adventures of Nyx, an enigmatic winged girl, who must descend from the heavens in search of her missing friend Icarus. The game is...
Wednesday22nd Apr 2009
Review Dr. Mario Express (DSiWare)
Dr. Mario Express retains all of the addictive charm of past releases and proves to be a great fit for the DSiWare service.
Over the years, Dr. Mario has become one of the most beloved Tetris clones available for any game system. From its original inception on Nintendo's NES console to the more recent offering on the WiiWare service, Dr. Mario has...
More than just a quick thrill?
Looking at the library of DS games it is evident that racing is a scarce genre, with motorbike racing being even more so; such games tend to generate little excitement due to the DS’s restricted graphics capabilities and potentially awkward controls. Despite this, will Moto Racer DS – the first outing of the series...
News Mike Tyson is Entirely Oblivious to New Wii Punch Out!!
...and reveals that he's rubbish at the NES original
Former boxing champ and part-time ear-biter Mike Tyson was in the original NES Punch Out!! - this you probably already know. However, when he went off the rails Nintendo quickly removed him from the game in order to avoid upsetting the wee kiddies. They even scrapped plans for an intergalactic...
News Seriously Cool Game Boy Timeline
The Game Boy is 20!
Gadget site Gizmodo is celebrating the 20th birthday of Nintendo's Game Boy in style; the site has posted an illustrated timeline of the machine's history which goes all the way back to 1889. Along the way the timeline picks out moments of success (and failure) as well as mentioning key historical events, too. It's one of the...
News WiiWare Games Now Available On Amazon
More power to the customer or missing the point entirely?
If you head on over to the popular online store Amazon and look around a little you can find something pretty weird: A listing for World of Goo on the Wii. Reading the item description reveals that this is not actually the game, but rather a code you can enter in the Wii Shop to get the game...
News NES Controller is in the Bag
Quite literally
Crafty Etsy gal inhope has decided to grace her online shop with this lovely NES-controller bag -- not a bag for carrying a NES controller, but a ladies shoulder bag which has NES controller stylings (it does look like you could probably fit a Wii into that thing along with a large wallet, however). inhope is based in the USA and...
News New Swords & Soldiers Faction: The Chinese Empire
The third army of Ronimo Games' upcoming WiiWare epic is revealed
Ronimo Games has announced details of the third faction in its highly promising WiiWare title Swords & Soldiers. As you may already be aware, Swords & Soldiers is a 2D sidescrolling real-time strategy game. Ronimo has been slowly drip-feeding information about the title over...
News Game Center CX Looks at the Virtual Console
Is Arino up to the challenge?
If you don't already know what Game Center CX is well, I'll tell you: a Japanese T.V. show which started out being about Japanese arcades and retro games, with a "challenge" featuring Shinya Arino, a Japanese comedian with meagre gaming skills. The series has had its own DS game (released in the west as Retro...
News Wii Punch-Out!! Head to Head Screenshots
Check out the Head to Head action in Nintendo's upcoming Wii Punch-Out!! release!
We were fortunate enough to get our hands on some brand new Wii Punch-Out!! screenshots showing off the game's Head to Head mode in action. As you can see in the shots below, the split-screen action looks solid and offers both players the same fighting perspective...
News Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (22nd Apr)
It's Wednesday again and time for the WiiWare Top 20!
It's time to take a look at the most popular WiiWare titles available on the Wii Shop Channel. If you're feeling adventurous you can even take a look for yourself by simply logging on to your Wii Shop Channel, heading into the WiiWare section and then viewing "Popular Games". It's that...
News The Wii is in 8 Million Japanese Homes
The Japanese simply cannot get enough of this machine
According to Japanese magazine Famistu, the Nintendo Wii crossed the '8 million sold' mark in Japan on April 19th. Enterbrain has also released the top five selling Wii games in Japan (it's worth pointing out that Wii Sports was not bundled with the console): 1. Wii SportsLaunch:...
Tuesday21st Apr 2009
Review Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals (Super Nintendo)
Lufia II might not be as recognizable as some of the bigger name Super Nintendo RPGs, but that doesn't mean it packs any less of a punch.
If it's one thing the Super Nintendo System had a lot of, it was RPGs. Some were good, some were bad, and some were outstanding. Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals would fall into the latter category. Not only does...
Review Crystal Defenders R1 (WiiWare)
Break out the safe box.
Trailing off the coattails of Final Fantasy Tactics comes Crystal Defenders, Square's take on the incredibly popular 'Tower Defense' genre. Instead of methodically leveling units, using items, and strategizing your way through battle, you’ll be tasked with defending a set of crystals by means of brute force. Some may be...
How does Nintendo's ball-flicking puzzle game stand up to their other efforts?
Some games are destined to sink into obscurity, and unfortunately, Nintendo’s ball-flinging puzzler Magnetica was one of them. When the game was first released it was met with rather positive reviews but even such high critical praise wasn't enough to make a dent in the...
Review Master of Illusion Express: Deep Psyche (DSiWare)
Master of Illusion: Deep Psyche proves to be yet another tiny segment of average magic tricks taken directly from the DS retail release.
Master of Illusion: Deep Psyche is essentially a small selection of magic tricks from the DS retail release packaged into a tidy little 200 Point DSiWare release. While the two new tricks are fun enough, once...
News Starfy Finally Coming to North America!
Nintendo's unique platformer is finally making its North American debut in June!
For those of you who don't already know, Nintendo is finally bringing their cute little starfish Stafi to North American with the upcoming release of The Legendary Starfy on Nintendo DS. As you can tell, they've changed the little guy's name a bit, but he's still the...
Warner, TT Games and Harmonix join forces to bring you the latest in the new cross-over genre of LEGO and music - LEGO Rock Band!
Players will become rockers as they embark on a journey to stardom that the whole family can enjoy as they work their way through local venues, stadiums and fantasy locations on Earth and beyond, that mimic the...
News Muramasa: The Demon Blade Loses North American Publisher
The NA fate of Vanillaware’s stunning 2D action title hangs in the balance
XSEED Games – the company that gave North American gamers the superb Retro Game Challenge – has announced that it will no longer be distributing Vanillaware’s upcoming 2D masterpiece Muramasa: The Demon Blade. The statement runs as follows: XSEED Games confirms that...
Wednesday22nd Apr 2009
Talking Point Should Game Stories Be Regarded as Highly as Literature?
Expert assures us that games do, in fact, tell us stories that engage our minds.
Dr Souvik Mukherjee of Nottingham Trent University believes video games should be regarded as a storytelling medium that can stand along with traditional literary texts. Of course as a computer game narrative expert he has conducted an arbitrary research study to make...
Tuesday21st Apr 2009
News Tiger Woods and Grand Slam Tennis Get EU MotionPlus Bundles
US gamers only getting Tiger bundle love?
A press released just issued by EA has confirmed what we've expected for a while - the Wii MotionPlus is getting bundled with third-party software. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis will both be packed with the new device, but the press release states that only the former will be getting the...
Monday20th Apr 2009
Review Secret Command (Virtual Console / Master System)
Secret Command takes you back to an era when run 'n gun titles ruled arcades.
With overhead run 'n gun titles like Ikari Warriors and Commando snatching up large numbers of tokens in arcades, it comes as no real surprise that Sega would have to create one of their own for their Sega Master System. The game was originally released under the name...
Nintendo Download Dr. Mario, Wonder Boy, More Magic Tricks and Crystal Defenders (US)
Yes, it's yet another update with two DSiWare games!
Art Style: CODE and Paper Plane are still absent - But don't worry too much, because you're now able to download Dr. Mario to your DSi. Dr. Mario Express is a simple portable version of Dr. Mario. But beware - You can only play the classic mode or Vs. CPU, there's no multiplayer mode! Naturally...
News Colour Me Bad With These New DSi Hori Protect Cases
Want one of those fancy new colours that Japan has, but don't want to import?
In Japan, in addition to the current White and Black models, the DSi was recently released in three brand new colors: Pink, Lime Green, and Metallic Blue. If you want one of these new colors, you could always import, but this complicates things - language barrier,...
With the release of Punch-Out!! rapidly approaching, new details are starting to emerge.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, Punch-Out!! is the next big title from Nintendo. With its May release date fast approaching, new details are starting to emerge. With that, our friends at Nintendo Pad have compiled a list of noteworthy data that may appeal to you...
News WiiWare Sales Targets: More Details Emerge
Solid figures quoted by WiiWare developer
We recently heard about Nintendo’s sales targets for WiiWare games, and it didn’t make particularly pretty reading if you’re a developer. In a new twist, Kotaku has apparently been contacted by a developer “familiar with the subject” and they’ve given what appear to be fairly solid numbers:...
News WiiWare Threshold Is Really About Quality Control
It’s all about stomping down on shovelware declares mysterious WiiWare developer.
Following this morning’s revelation about WiiWare sales targets as told to Kotaku the mysterious NDA breaking WiiWare developer has contacted Eurogamer in order to set the record straight: I'm concerned this recent threshold news is generating an artificially...
Talking Point Could The Conduit Be in for a Rough Ride at Retail?
Game designer predicts poor sales performance for high-profile FPS
With past ‘hardcore’ failures like No More Heroes, House of Dead: Overkill and (more recently) Madworld, the Wii is getting a reputation for being a casual gamers’ machine first and foremost. This certainly doesn’t bode well for Sega’s upcoming FPS title The Conduit...
News Miyamoto's Unused Touch Screen RPG
Interesting new game design patent appears
The Nintendo DS certainly has had its share of unique RPGs, but Miyamoto's take on the genre is certainly one of the best. In another Miyamoto patent that popped up recently, we see another game idea that Nintendo has to use. An RPG idea for the DS in which enemies appear on the touch screen, and players...
Sunday19th Apr 2009
Review Terranigma (Super Nintendo)
Does the final release in Enix's Gaia Trilogy hold up?
It was during the 16-bit era that the action-style role-playing game began to take off. Instead of using the turn-based battle system found in most traditional RPGs, many developers were putting the player more in control of the actual battles in an attempt to broaden the appeal of the genre...
News Reggie says "important" Wii titles coming
Strong sales should follow.
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said in an interview with Reuters that the company has a number of important new games on the way for Wii, saying "we’re confident that we’ll continue to see very strong hardware sales behind those launch titles.” What could these key titles be? Wii Fit+ has been...
Saturday18th Apr 2009
News Nintendo comments on GTA: Chinatown Wars sales
Despite the somewhat lackluster first month sales of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, Take-Two is going to continue supporting Nintendo's handheld.
It seems as though almost everybody is disappointed with the first month sales of Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars. We reported earlier this week that the game managed to shift a tame 88,000...
It looks as though Electronic Arts has another MySims title planned for this year.
With MySims Party released last month on both the Wii and the DS and MySims Kart planned for release this summer, many thought that would be the last time we'd see the MySims this year. Surprisingly though, Electronic Arts has another title planned for this September...
News Nintendo’s Stock Drops 7.5%
Falling Wii sales to blame
Following the news that Wii sales were 17% down on this point last year, the value of Nintendo’s stock has plummeted by 7.5%. It’s hardly a shocking plunge but considering the general shoddy state of the global economy at present it certainly could have been a lot worse.
News More Guitar Hero Spin-offs are on the Way
The German USK ratings board has updated with a listing for Guitar Hero: Van Halen.
It seems as though gamers can't get enough of the Guitar Hero franchise, and Activision can't get enough of trying to milk the franchise for all its got. Earlier this week, the German USK ratings board updated with a listing for Guitar Hero: Van Halen, presumably a...
Friday17th Apr 2009
Review Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)
Can Kirby prove that his latest DS adventure is a super offering?
It’s not at all hard to love Kirby – after all, he’s an adorable little puff ball! Nethertheless, despite being cute and on the short side, he packs a powerful punch and is not scared to dish out pain. This gives Kirby the appeal to satisfy young and old gamers alike, which has...
Is Trace Memory worth remembering?
Ten years after her parents’ presumed deaths, thirteen year-old Ashley Robbins receives a mysterious package – apparently sent by her father – that contains a small device coincidentally resembling a Nintendo DS. Tracing this package to the deserted Blood Edward Island, Ashley sets out on an adventure to...
Review Kirby: Canvas Curse (DS)
Paint the town red. And orange, and yellow, and green, and blue...
Creative freedom has become an essential element of game design. Without it players are left following the path developer have set, and where is the fun in that? Worry not however; Kirby: Canvas Curse allows players to express themselves in ways you probably wouldn't expect. Forget...
Review Challenge Me: Brain Puzzles (DS)
A challenging brainteaser or a couple of mindless puzzles?
If someone had told you a few years ago that a videogame which trained your brain through a series of puzzles and mini games would be one of the biggest sellers on the DS, well, you probably wouldn’t have believed a word of it. However, fast-forward a couple of years and the Brain Training...
Review Pass Your Driving Theory Test (DS)
A pass, with a few minors.
Here in UK before you can attempt the practical driving test you must pass the Theory test. Pass Your Driving Theory Test by LDC aims to get you through the theory test. The game, if you can call it that, is played with the DS on its side. The questions are on the normal screen and the answers are on the touch screen. When...
News Hudson Launches Official Adventure Island: The Beginning Website
Hudson's official Adventure Island: The Beginning website is now open for business.
It seems the wait for Hudson's upcoming WiiWare title Adventure Island: The Beginning might be just about over. Hudson has just announced that their Official Adventure Island website is now live. You can check out the site for some new tidbits of information on the...
News Retail Success Eludes GTA: Chinatown Wars
A case of the right game on the wrong platform?
It might be the highest-rated game in the history of the Nintendo DS, but critical success hasn’t translated into commercial victory for Rockstar’s GTA: Chinatown Wars. The game failed to make the top 10 or 20 best-selling games for the month, and has sold well below the 200,000 copies that...
News Game Play Trailer - Bomberman 2 DS
Check out Hudson's new Bomberman 2 DS title in action!
Hudson has just released the official game play trailer for their brand new Bomberman 2 DS title. You can check out the official game play trailer below. Bomberman 2 DS has already been released in Japan and Europe, but there's currently no word on a US release for the game at this time. We'll...
News Game Play Trailer - Job Island
Check out Hudson's new Job Island title in action!
Hudson has just released the official game play trailer for their brand new Wii release Job Island. You can check out the official game play trailer below. Job Island has already been released in Japan and Europe, but North American gamers will have to wait until May 13th to get their hands on the...
News Deca Sports 2 fails to score in Japan sales charts
Foul ball!
While Deca Sports proved to be a monster hit in terms of sales for Hudson, its sequel - which was released earlier this week in Japan - doesn't look like following in its predecessor's footsteps, at least in Japan. With first day sales of only 2,500, Deca Sports 2 has failed to capture the public's interest quite like its older brother...
News March NPD - MadWorld Debuts With Sales of 66,000
Sega's latest hardcore Wii title didn't exactly open with the sales many expected.
While MadWorld certainly has received a lot of praise from the media and many gamers, Sega's latest hardcore Wii title didn't exactly open with the sales many expected. The NPD has confirmed that for the month of March, MadWorld managed to sell 66,000 units, a...
Nintendo Download 21 April 2009 (Japan)
Green shades anyone?
In Japan you simply cannot have a download release list that's less than four games and next week will be no exception with a mixed total of six. Only two WiiWare releases: World of Goo published by Nintendo themselves for 1500 points -- I think everyone knows what this game is by now! Hajiite Block Rush from Agenda for 500...
News Brain Challenge Heading to DSiWare
Gameloft's popular Brain training series is heading to the DSiWare Store.
Released back in November, Brain Challenge has gone on to become one of the Wii Shop Channel's most popular titles. Hoping to ride on the wave of success of that version, Gameloft is releasing a portable installment in the series on Nintendo's DSiWare Store. Below is part of...
News DSi Sells 435,000 as Nintendo Dominates US Console Market
"It prints money!", etc
While the jury is still out on just how significant an update the DSi is over the DS Lite, the American public has voted emphatically with their wallets by snapping up almost half a million of the machines since launch. To put this figure into perspective, the DS Lite sold 226,000 units in the same time frame. Strong DSi...
Thursday16th Apr 2009
Review Virtual Fishing (Virtual Boy)
No Bluefish here!
Virtual Fishing aims to replicate the fishing experience, pitting you against six opponents as you compete in several competitions. Upon starting the game you are presented with a 3D map screen with five locations on for you to compete at, as well as a training area where you can get used to the controls, which are pretty...
Friday17th Apr 2009
Nintendo Download Alex Kidd, Secret Command and Mixed Messages (EU)
Two Sega Master System games and the first DSiWare update for Europe.
Not much to get excited about this time - Other than Secret Command, today's picks are fairly weak. Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars was already released in North America a while ago. It's the second game in the Alex Kidd series and basically the beginning of the end for Sega's original...
News NPD Sales Results for March 2009 - Software/Hardware
With plenty of blockbuster hits released in March, which games managed to come out on top?
Hardware Sales Nintendo Wii - 601KNintendo DS - 563KXbox 360 - 330KPlayStation 3 - 218KPSP - 168KPlayStation 2 - 112K Software Sales Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360) - 938KPokemon Platinum (Nintendo DS) 805KHalo Wars (Xbox 360) - 639KResident Evil 5 (Playstation 3)...
Thursday16th Apr 2009
News Japanese Sites for Made in Ore and Asobu! Made in Ore Go Live
With the upcoming release of Made in Ore and its WiiWare counterpart, Nintendo has launched an official site with plenty of screenshots.
Just over a week ago, Nintendo officially announced a release date for the latest entries in the highly acclaimed WarioWare franchise. With its release date in just a few weeks, information has begun pouring in on...
News Nintendo DSi – Deconstructed
Cool stop-motion video surfaces of a DSi ripping itself to pieces
Whenever there’s a new hardware launch you can practically guarantee that some nutcase will take it upon themselves to rip the machine open to see what it looks like inside. Nine times out of ten all they discover is a bunch of circuit board and some chips – hardly surprising...
News High Voltage: No DLC for The Conduit, More WiiWare on the Way
Looks like gamers looking for additional content in The Conduit will have to wait until a sequel.
In a recent interview with Destructoid, High Voltage Software confirmed that their highly anticipated first-person shooter will not have any downloadable content. Destructoid: I know the Wii isn’t known for being DLC friendly, however, could we see...
News Nintendo Sets Down Some New Release Dates
New Play Control: Chibi-Robo, New Play Control: Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, and Friend Connection have all been given June release dates by Nintendo.
Late last year Nintendo of Japan started re-releasing Nintendo Gamecube games on Wii with motion controls, and in some cases, special features. On June 11th though, the New Play Control line will...
News Made in Ore Gameplay Videos
For those who are a little confused as to what to expect with the latest WarioWare title, Nintendo has released plenty of videos to help explain things a little better.
Over the past week, we've done plenty of coverage on Made in Ore and its WiiWare counterpart, Asobu! Made in Ore. Thoiugh we've given you plenty of details on these upcoming titles,...
News Steel Penny Games Update - Part 2
Jason Hughes explains what he really meant to say in his last blog entry.
You might remember that we reported on the rant Jason Hughes of WiiWare developer Steel Penny Games went on during his recent blog post. Well Jason just posted a new entry in an attempt to set the record straight as to exactly what he was trying to get across in his last blog...
News The Conduit Slips, Multiplayer Gets Downsized
High Voltage’s ambitious FPS gets some fine-tuning
The Conduit is easily one of the most egarly awaited Wii titles of 2009 but it looks like we’re going to have to wait a little bit longer to get our hands on it. Sega has confirmed that the game has been pushed back from Spring to Summer. This might be related to the fact that developer High...
Wednesday15th Apr 2009
Review Pokémon Battle Revolution (Wii)
There’s a lack of evolution in this revolution.
Pokémon Battle Revolution was first announced back in June of 2006, and it sounded as though it was going to be the ideal console Pokémon game: destructible environments, Wii-DS connectivity, online battling – everything we wanted from the franchise. Satoru Iwata lived up to his promise of...
Review Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles (GameCube)
Change is good.
After first being officially announced on December 21 at the 2003 Jump Festa event in Japan, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles marked the dawn of a new era for Nintendo fans. After Square Enix packed their bags and left Nintendo’s consoles, the state of the role-playing genre on Nintendo’s consoles was questionable; developer...
Review Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
Can Harry Jr. fill his father's boots?
The two original Pitfall games for the Atari 2600 have become quite dated now – walking across a handful of endlessly repeating screens in the hope of finding treasure has lost its appeal. Activision once tried to "upgrade" the formula by allowing the Japanese developer Pony Canyon to make Super...
Review Retro Game Challenge (DS)
A TV show about a man playing videogames actually works as a game itself.
Retro Game Challenge was originally released in Japan back in 2007 under the title Game Center CX: Arino’s Challenge. This is because the game is actually based on the Japanese TV show titled Game Center CX, which stars Shinya Arino, a popular Japanese comedian who tackles a...
A dark and twisted adventure that takes the player deep into the depths of the human psyche - both a truly rewarding and at times painful experience.
Lux-Pain has a tried and tested set-up common in many Japanese visual novels; an idyllic suburb of a Japanese city where all is not what it seems. Fans of the genre will be pleased by the wealth of...
Review Master of Illusion Express: Shuffle Games (DSiWare)
Does Nintendo's second Master of Illusion DSiWare release stack up any better than the first iteration did?
While the retail version of Master of Illusion was an interesting package, it didn't exactly light up the DS sales charts, nor did it get much love from the media either. So how exactly does a second stripped down version of the game fare as...
News DSi Contains Improved Anti-Piracy Technology?
Early reports suggest that dodgy DS fakes are unplayable on the new machine
If you’re keen on sailing the seven seas of piracy then you might be interested to know that early reports are suggesting that fake DS cartridges fail to operate on the shiny new DSi console. It’s still not known whether or not this is down to improved anti-piracy...
News Next DS to Have Mobile Phone Capabilities?
Miyamoto drops a hint
Although Nintendo has gone to great lengths to insist that the DS and iPhone aren’t in direct competition, a recent comment from golden boy Shigeru Miyamoto has led to speculation that the company's next portable will have some kind of wireless connectivity that will allow users to access data when they’re out and about –...
News Conduit Multiplayer Reveal Falls Victim to Server Issues
Sega's private press event doesn't go quite to plan.
The multiplayer component of Sega's highly anticipated Wii-exclusive FPS The Conduit was set to finally be revealed to the press several hours ago at a private event. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as intended, with Nintendo's own servers going down just minutes before the demo began...
News Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (15th Apr)
It's Wednesday again which can only mean one thing.
It's time to take a look at the most popular WiiWare titles available in the Wii Shop. If you're feeling adventurous you can even take a look for yourself by simply logging on to your Wii Shop channel, heading into the WiiWare section and then viewing "Popular Games". It's that simple!...
Tuesday14th Apr 2009
Review Samurai Shodown Anthology (Wii)
Victoly!
You certainly can’t accuse SNK Playmore of ignoring its past. Recently we’ve been blessed with the retro-themed duo of King of Fighters Collection and SNK Arcade Classics, and the Japanese veteran is now following up with yet another compilation of top-notch vintage action. Samurai Shodown Anthology contains six slices of weapon-based...
Review Flower, Sun and Rain (DS)
Flower? Nope. Sun? Very little. Rain? In buckets.
Flower, Sun and Rain is the first DS game from game director Goichi Suda, aka Suda51. It started life as a Japanese PS2 game, but it's been ported over to DS presumably to take advantage of the feature-rich console. Or so you'd think... Known by many as the mastermind behind classic style-driven...
Review Mixed Messages (DSiWare)
Activision's DSiWare debut leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
Mixed Messages could be classified more as an experience than an actual game, since there's actually no clearly-defined goal. You basically just alternate typing sentences and drawing pictures to try to match each other in an attempt to keep the original message intact. As you can probably...
Review Nester's Funky Bowling (VB)
From comic strip to bowling alley.
After a few years' absence (spent as a struggling actor according to the instruction booklet) former Nintendo Power comic strip star Nester returned in this bowling game, featuring three modes of play and some “funky” animations. Before the Wiimote provided a natural way to play bowling, video games had to find...
News Rhythm Heaven Creator Talks J-Pop and Music Games
Record producer turned games designer speaks to Wired
Rhythm Heaven has shifted 1.5 million copies in Japan so far and looks set to repeat its success here in the West. However, not many people are aware that the brains behind this unique game is a 40 year-old J-Pop record producer previously famous for creating the all-girl Japanese super group...
News Konami Announces Driift for WiiWare
Konami's fourth WiiWare game is an eight-player overhead racing game.
Driift seems to be similar to the classic top-down racer Super Off Road, featuring tracks which are only one screen big. The racers all compete for the number one spot and will not just have to use driving skills, but also items to help them achieve that. More from Konami's press...
First Impressions Let's Hitchhike!
Nippon Ichi delivers an oddball game as only the Japanese can.
It's literally called Let's Zenryoku Hitchihaiku!!!!!!!!! (yes nine exclamations!), which I guess you could translate as Let's Totally Hitchhike, Dude! (the "Dude" is my personal addition) and it's a recent release to the Japanese WiiWare service which I just had to try out...
Wednesday15th Apr 2009
News Some WiiWare Developers Won't Get Paid
It seems that being an independent WiiWare developer isn't all it's cracked up to be for some.
According to Gamasutra publisher and Independent Game Festival chairman Simon Carless, Nintendo has a threshold in place that determines whether or not an independent developer is paid for their game release. Carless goes on to say that this number is in...
Tuesday14th Apr 2009
News Online MultiPlayer talk with The Conduits' Rob Nicholls
Multiplayer Online? Realistic FPS graphics? Is this a Wii game? Rob Nicholls at High Voltage Software says so!
Just looking at screens of the upcoming Wii shooter The Conduit will have your trigger finger itching. It looks like it could be pushing the limits of the Wii. A recent interview with lead designer Rob Nicholls gives us a little more...
News Wii Sports Resort & MotionPlus: Prices and Dates Confirmed
Nintendo of America's press site is updated with some information Wii gamers have been waiting for!
If you live in North America, you'll be pleased to know that Wii MotionPlus and Wii Sports Resort have finally been given release dates. Dates? Plural? Correct. Wii MotionPlus has been dated for June 8, 2009 and will carry a MSRP of $19.99, and just...
News Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers trailers
Square-Enix makes up for lost time with eleven preview videos.
As reported previously, the official website for Square-Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy game Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers launched with a message reading "More Visits, More Movies!" True to form, the site was flooded with visits from the far reaches of...
Competition Tetris Party Tournament No. 4 Details
If you want another chance to win free Wii Points with your Tetris skills the time has arrived once again.
Tetris Online's press release sums it all up nicely: WHAT: Tetris Party Tournament No. 4 is the final opportunity for Tetris Party players around the world to win Wii Points™ by demonstrating their competitive Tetris skills. The top 100...
News Wii to increase by £20 in UK?
UK retailer Gamestation appears to be preparing for a price rise.
As we reported a month or so ago, Nintendo recently increased the price of Wiis to retailers by up to £20, reflecting the increasing strength of the Yen versus pound sterling. At the time it was unsure whether or not retailers would pass the price increase to customers, but now...
News Reggie: We’ll Be Better at E3 This Year
Nintendo hoping to make amends for 2008's dire performance
E3 2008 wasn’t a particularly good one for Nintendo. Sure, the company was riding high in the sales charts but the limp presentation (which was essentially geared towards the casual gamer) did little to appease dedicated fans – and after all, they would have been the ones watching. You...
News Virtua Tennis 2009 - Better than t'real thing?
SEGA want us to compare their upcoming Virtua Tennis 2009 to the real thing.
And I have a little treat for you, it’s some more new footage of Virtua Tennis 2009. Watch and play spot the difference as you compare the similarities between the real life action and the gameplay footage. Taken from the SEGA Europe blog is the following trailer for the...
News Mighty Flip Champs! On Nintendo Channel
This game looks flippin’ awesome!
If you read our recent interview with WayForward about their upcoming DSiWare game, Mighty Flip Champs! if you are anything like us you probably put this game right on your “instabuy” list. It certainly looks set to be the first DSiWare title to try and bring something original to the table. If you are keen to...
Monday13th Apr 2009
Review Game & Watch Collection (DS)
A blast from the past or something best left forgotten?
If you are a Nintendo fan living in North America, you probably remember the heavily publicised launch of the Club Nintendo program last December. Additionally, if you were a big investor at the time, you were probably hoping that you had enough recent Nintendo products to afford the coveted...
Review Conker's Bad Fur Day (N64)
One mean %&*@% Squirrel…
Once upon a time, there was a cute little squirrel that captivated the hearts of children in his debut game for the Game Boy Colour. This red-tailed critter was known as Conker: Conker The Squirrel. No one knows the full extent of what happened to this cute woodland creature in his transition to the N64; he had a...
Review Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (DS)
The definitive version of Square Enix's latest FF outing.
Square Enix has made some outlandish choices in the past, but none as strange as their decision to port Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time to the Wii. While the home console version wasn't all that impressive, its portable partner is a much more enjoyable experience. With the...
Review Junior Brain Trainer (DS)
Shaping the minds of tomorrow or simply boring them today?
Junior Brain Trainer is a learning game in a similar vein to the slew of other "brain training"' games released for the Nintendo DS. The genre was made famous with the massive popularity of Nintendo's Dr.Kawashima's Brain Training and many games since have attempted to capitalize...
Review Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time (Wii)
Can the Wii version echo the quality of the DS game it spawned from?
It’s not every day that you hear about a game being ported from console to handheld, let alone the other way around. That’s why when Square Enix announced their plans to do this with Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time many started scratching their heads. For...
News It’s Tyson vs. Aliens in Aborted NES Punch Out!! Sequel
Rare ROM surfaces after 17 years lost in space
The Wii version of Punch Out!! is going to be with us shortly so what better time for a kindly NES collector to release the ROM for the awesomely bad Mike Tyson's Intergalactic Power Punch (the aborted sequel to the original NES Punch Out!! which was eventually released - sans Tyson - as Power Punch II)...
Nintendo Download Mixed Messages, Pitfalls, Magic Tricks and Pirates (US)
This week brings a new western publisher on board - Activision! And they haven't just released one game, but two!
If you bought a DSi you'll be quite glad to hear that there's already some new games available this week. Of course the Wii Shop gets its usual new WiiWare and VC game as well! Mixed Messages is Activision's first DSiWare game. It's...
News id Chief: "Show Me Why I Should Develop For Wii"
Hollenshead isn't sure the Wii is a viable platform
Following on from last week’s worrying report that third party development on the Wii is a risky business, id Software head man Todd Hollenshead has added his own two cents to the debate. Speaking to Gamespot, Hollenshead had this to say: If you look at the data, the Wii is Nintendo—and then...
News Excitebots - Online Mode Info & Screenshots
Show off your tricks to gamers all over the world in this exciting racing game.
You lucky North American gamers! It’s only one more week until Excitebots: Trick Racing goes on sale. I bet you can’t wait to get your hands on this bad boy? In the build up to the Excitebots launch we’ve been sent over some new screenshots from our pals at...
Sunday12th Apr 2009
Mama trades her spatula for a shovel; will the result be a blossom of fun, or a game only a Mama could love?
Our bright-eyed Mama is back and this time instead of breaking eggs, mixing ingredients and needing dough to make mouth watering recipes, your task is to grow a garden that rivals Eden. As with the entire Mama series this final goal will be...
Saturday11th Apr 2009
Review Bubble Bobble Plus! (WiiWare)
Space Invaders Get Even proved that drastically changing a classic Taito franchise works very well. Bubble Bobble Plus, however, is more of a flat-out remake - is it a good one?
Bubble Bobble's one of the most well-known arcade games - If you so much as hum the theme song to someone it's very likely they'll recognize it. As such it's really a...
News Dan Aykroyd is Loving His Wii-based Alter-ego
Bustin' makes him feel good, we guess
Ghostbusters: The video game is coming to every platform imaginable pretty soon. And you know what? The Wii version is sporting a slightly different look to the 360 and PS3 editions. Of course, this occurrence is nothing new – Wii owners are used to getting their own versions of multiplatform titles (they’re...
Steel Penny Games developer Jason Hughes sets the record straight on what his development squad as been up to since the release of their Bruiser & Scratch WiiWare title.
We haven't heard much from Steel Penny Games lately since the release of their WiiWare puzzler Bruiser & Scratch so it was a bit surprising to see a post from their own Jason...
News More Wii horror from Grudge director Shimizu
Takashi Shimizu is working on a game adaption of his classic Ju-On film series
Who doesn’t love having the pants scared off of them? There's nothing more exhilarating than the feeling! That’s why it’s welcome news that Takashi Shimizu is working on a new horror game for the Wii, which is tentatively called 'Feel'. It’s based on his hit...
News Telltale Says Strong Bad Game Sales Double, More WiiWare Titles Coming
Telltale Games, the people behind Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People have had great success recently. Does this mean they'll be pushing quality titles?
Nintendo’s SD card update announcement at GDC, evidently, has served more than us fans. Telltale Games recently sent out a press release stating that sales of Strong Bad’s Cool game for...
News THQ is having a Big Huge sale; God: The Game in Limbo
In times of woe THQ is looking to sell off Big Huge Games to stay afloat.
Ok, it’s not huge news that the economy isn’t doing so well, so it’s no surprise that THQ is looking to get rid of extra weight in the form of subsidiary Big Huge Games. Hard to blame them after they posted a $191.8 million loss last quarter. A number of its employees...
Friday10th Apr 2009
Another great RPG hits the DS in the form of Final Fantasy IV.
When Final Fantasy IV was originally released on the SNES in 1991, it quickly became a hit. Unlike many of the other RPGs at the time, it boasted a large cast of characters that were tied into a deep and intriguing plot, and this helped elevate it above the crowd. In 2005, Final Fantasy...
Review Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Grand Theft Auto makes the jump from the big screen to Nintendo’s small screen.
Whenever studios branch out and transform series well suited for consoles into the handheld format, there is always an element of risk – none more a prolific example than Rockstar’s GTA Chinatown Wars for the DS. Though we’ve already seen the Grand Theft Auto...
Review Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword (DS)
Can Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword live up to the standards of previous titles?
Set six months after the events of the original Xbox version of Ninja Gaiden, Ryu Hayabusa has rebuilt Hayabusa Village. Momiji, a resident of Hayabusa, is abducted by the Black Spider Ninja Clan. During his quest to find her, Ryu uncovers the mysteries of the Dark...
Mistwalker gives their Blue Dragon franchise a real-time strategy makeover and the end result is one surprisingly entertaining DS title.
When the original Blue Dragon title was released on Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, it became one of the system's first traditional RPG experiences. Blue Dragon captivated the gaming audience with its unique charm...
Equiibrio might not have the flash of a Kororinpa, but you're still getting an enjoyable game at a much cheaper price.
While we've already seen several 3D ball-rolling titles like Sega's Super Monkey Ball and Hudson's Kororinpa put the tilt function of the Wii Remote to good use, Equilibrio marks the first time this unique gameplay experience has...
Review Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ (DS)
Who knew Little Red Riding Hood was so much fun?
At Nintendo Life, we very much doubted that anyone expected a great deal from Little Red Riding Hood’s Zombie BBQ. The title sounded like it would attract a very immature audience, and the box art didn't exactly inspire casual gamers to buy it either. So imagine how surprised we were when we played...
Saturday11th Apr 2009
News Morrison's offering DSi on the cheap
Get yourself down to Morrison's this weekend to save £20 on a DSi
Despite the DSi's strong first-week sales, British supermarket chain Morrison's are planning to shift even more of the things by offering them at £130 over the Easter weekend, a saving of £20 on Nintendo's RRP. Wii consoles are also set for a knockdown, available at £150, shaving...
Friday10th Apr 2009
Nintendo Download 14 April 2009 (Japan)
Another week, another 5 releases for Japan.
It's true the Japanese have another week with a mix of VC and WiiWare content, but Wii owners in North America and Europe need not feel the usual pangs of jealousy (well, I guess that depends on how much you've been wanting to see a couple of these...). On the WiiWare front we have a couple of things that...
Thursday9th Apr 2009
The Super Famicom version of Star Ocean might feature a lot of flashy technology, but it's the game's epic storyline and unique combat system that's made it such a beloved classic among 16-bit RPG fans over the years.
The Super Nintendo is well known for sporting a rather large and outstanding library of RPGs, but there were several of these...
It's not quite as fun as it should be
Released simultaneously with another Taito revival, Space Invaders Extreme, Arkanoid DS is an attempt at trying to breathe life into an old arcade classic. When Arkanoid was originally released, it was essentially a clone of the Atari classic Breakout. Despite this shameless copying, Arkanoid became quite a hit...
Nintendo Download Bubble Bobble Plus! & More WiiWare Goodies (EU)
Bub and Bob come to WiiWare today!
It seems like Nintendo of Europe wants to make up for their single WiiWare release two weeks ago - This week there's not one, not two, but three new games available! Sadly there are no new DSiWare games today, you can’t have everything you want can you? Bubble Bobble Plus! is obviously the biggest release of the...
News Mini Ninjas Set To Invade DS and Wii
Hitman developer trains assassins of diminutive stature
IO Interactive – the studio behind the best-selling Hitman series of video games – has allowed its latest venture to spring from the shadows. Mini Ninjas is a cute-looking action title that features – yes, you’ve guessed it – vertically-challenged ninjas. It marks something of a...
News New Wii Punch-Out Screenshots
Want some new Wii Punch-Out screenshots? We've got a few!
We were able to get our hands on a group of brand new Punch-Out screenshots for the upcoming Wii release. As you can see, the game is shaping up quite nicely and looking like the Punch-Out game Wii fans have been hoping for. The screens show King Hippo, Von Kaiser, Disco Kid, and Glass Joe...
News DSi Has a Strong Opening Weekend
Just how many units did the DSi move its opening weekend?
It was announced earlier today by Nintendo's President and CEO Satoru Iwata and Senior Managing Director Shigeru Miyamoto , the DSi had a successful opening weekend overseas and moved over 600,000 units between North America and Europe combined. 300,000 units per territory is a pretty...
News Analyst Reckons Wii Investment is "Fools Gold"
Warning for third parties looking to make a quick buck
The Nintendo Wii recently became the fastest selling console of all time and is generally perceived to be doing pretty well right now. However, analyst Doug Creutz from Cowen & Company has commented that third parties looking to make easy money by sinking cash into Wii development may be...
News LIT Officially Headed to Europe
European gamers can finally breathe a sigh of relief as WayForward's LIT is on its way to the European WiiWare service.
Although we've already seen hints here and there regarding LIT_'s eventual European WiiWare release, the guys at WayForward decided to make it official today with their announcement that LIT is indeed coming to the European WiiWare...
News The DS To Get Video On Demand Service?
Iwata spills the beans.
It was announced before that the Wii would be getting its own video service before long in Japan, and eventually other territories should be following suit. Recently however President Iwata dropped a few tidbits about how this service may not be exclusive to Nintendo's home console. The Nintendo DS may be getting some love as...
News Wii Sports Resort to Launch Internationally in July
No longer just a rumour!
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata today announced during his address to The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan that Wii Sports Resort would be released in Japan in June, with an overseas release in July. The sequel to Nintendo's hugely successful pack-in title uses the enhanced motion-sensing capabilities of the Motion-Plus...
News Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (8th Apr)
It's Wednesday again which can only mean one thing.
It's time to take a look at the most popular WiiWare titles available in the Wii Shop. If you're feeling adventurous you can even take a look for yourself by simply logging on to your Wii Shop channel, heading into the WiiWare section and then viewing "Popular Games". It's that simple!...
News Nintendo Looking to "Re-energize" Game Market
Could a slowing market and a boost in "core" game sales have us swimming in great releases this year?
Wii and DS sales are slowing down in Japan causing an uncomfortable disturbance in the force that is Nintendo's cash flow. This has also highlighted a boost in “hardcore” game sales there. Does this mean that to get the more “hardcore”...
Wednesday8th Apr 2009
Can Captain Rainbow save the day in this quirky action title?
Let's face it; whenever Nintendo announces a new project, we all grow a little skeptical. With Nintendo creating games that are more accessible and aimed at casual gamers, hardcore types end up feeling more and more sidelined. It's for this reason that when Nintendo of Japan announced in...
Sticking him in a go-kart worked out well. What else can we try?
Mario’s Tennis does exactly what it says on the cartridge. It takes Mario and six other characters and places them in a Tennis game. Singles and doubles matches are available as either one-off matches or a Tournament, and standard tennis rules apply. A launch game in Japan and the...
Review Insmouse No Yakata (VB)
Because everyone knows spooky mansions are the safest place to be…
Insmouse no Yakata, apparently based on a film that’s based on a story by H.P. Lovecraft (The Shadow Over Innsmouth - how they got 'Insmouse' from that is anyone's guess) is a first person shooter that sees the player work through maze-like floors of a mansion as they try to...
Talking Point Copyright and Video Games
What is stopping us from experiencing the entire history of video games?
Last year Taito issued Space Invaders Get Even on the WiiWare download service as well as multiple versions of the original game on the Japanese, PAL and North American Virtual Consoles. This was in celebration of the 30th annivesary of the release of Space Invaders in arcades...
First Impressions Puzzle Bobble Wii
Taito delivers another enjoyable update to an arcade franchise.
For those who aren't familiar Puzzle Bobble is a late-90s arcade puzzle franchise from Taito featuring Baburun and Boburun from Bubble Bobble. Fans in the rest of the world may remember this game better as the ill-titled "Bust-A-Move." It's had five arcade iterations, two of...
News Konami: VC Arcade Support and WiiWare Life Force
Another big developer jumps on the VCA bandwagon!
Before publishers rerelease their old games on VC, they're required to renew the trademarks for them - a bunch of classic Konami trademarks appeared today, which seems to indicate they're going to be releasing arcade games as well! Konami has registered these new VC-related trademarks: Green Beret...
News No Fatal Frame IV for North America
Tecmo's survival-horror title denied a stateside release by Nintendo.
Wii-exclusive survival-horror title Fatal Frame IV: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse has been out in Japan since late July. Co-developed by Tecmo (Ninja Gaiden, Dead Or Alive) and Grasshopper Manufacture (Killer7, Contact, No More Heroes) and published by Nintendo, many assumed a...
News Robocalypse - Beaver Defense Coming to WiiWare
Robocalypse - Beaver Defense offers madcap weaponry and uproarious destruction in a "tower defense" style game.
Vogster Entertainment has just announced their new upcoming title Robocalypse - Beaver Defense that will be coming to the WiiWare service this summer. You can check out the official press release below for more information on the game as...
News The N64 and Nintendo’s Fall From Grace
UK magazine EDGE charts the grim days of the 1990s
Highly respected UK video game magazine EDGE has posted up a feature on its website about the fall of Nintendo in the mid ‘90s. It’s been penned by veteran journo Douglass Perry (who actually wrote for Edge’s US sister publication, Next Generation, which is now sadly defunct) and focuses...
News Dunaway: No E3 Snowboarding This Time
NOA exec says it will be ‘all about the games’
Last year’s Nintendo E3 press conference was mildly painful to experience. Cammie Dunaway, NOA’s executive VP of sales and marketing, made a somewhat misguided attempt to ‘sell’ the Balance Board, and ended up looking a bit silly. Dunaway is back for this year’s event, but you’ll be glad...
News Spaceball: Revolution - First Screenshots
A puzzler that is more than just a load of old balls.
Yesterday Nintendo of Europe released lots of info about the upcoming Wiiware / DSiWare lineup. Among those games was a title called Spaceball: Revolution by Virtual Toys, the Spanish developer who brought Yummy Yummy Cooking Jam to WiiWare a short while ago. Keen to know more we got in touch and...
News Nintendo Backs Edinburgh Interactive Festival
2009 event shaping up to be one of the highlights of the year
Nintendo has confirmed that it will be the supporting this year’s Edinburgh Interactive Festival, which takes place in the UK (Scotland, to be exact) in August. The event is part of the Edinburgh Festival, which is the biggest gathering of its kind in the world. Here’s the press...
News Get Ready For Even More WarioWare!
Later this month, Japanese gamers will be able to get their hands on the latest title in the WarioWare series.
Just a few days ago, the latest WarioWare was released via DSiWare, and there's already another title in the series ready to ship for the platform. Entitled Made in Ore, the game puts a huge amount of emphasis on creating microgames as...
News Brits buy 92,000 DSis in launch weekend
Console the fourth fastest-selling in UK history.
Overcoming its reasonably high price tag and lack of launch games, Nintendo's latest handheld has still been leapt upon by gamers and early adopters who hunger for the newest technology available. According to official GameTrack statistics, over 92,000 units were sold in the machine's first three...
Tuesday7th Apr 2009
Review Uncharted Waters: New Horizons (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Look forward to new horizons
Koei released quite an arsenal of strategy titles during the 16-bit era, many of them on the Super Nintendo console. While the original Uncharted Waters laid the foundation, its sequel New Horizons picked up right where it left off and managed to add quite a few new game play ideas to the mix to form one of the most...
The mightiest weapon of the medieval battlefield is at your disposal.
Towering over your soldiers, the mighty Odama rolls a path of destruction over all it touches - friend or foe. Direct your soldiers with voice commands, and guide them out of harm’s way on to victory. Let the battle begin! This is a pretty epic game, so allow us to set the scene...
Is this the definitive version of Trivial Pursuit or does it raise too many questions?
Let’s face it: with the wider and more diverse spectrum of gamers that the console is now catering for, the Wii isn’t short of party-type games. We’ve seen countless conversions of popular board games springing up throughout the Wii’s life so far – many...
Review Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Wii)
Does Guitar Hero: Aerosmith live up to the standards set by other Guitar Hero games?
After the huge amount of attention Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock received after its launch, it’s definitely no surprise that there was going to be a Guitar Hero IV. The most recent installment in the popular Guitar Hero series will not only utilize a guitar,...
News Sony: PSP is Better Than The DSi
Wow, that was unexpected
You can’t beat a good console war, but with Nintendo’s current dominance of the both the home and portable video game industries it feels like years since we had a good, close fight between two major hardware manufacturers; the glory days of the 16-bit console war seem like an eternity ago. Thankfully, it looks as if...
News 20 Years On, The Power Glove is Still Awesomely Bad
“I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad.”
When Lucas Barton uttered those immortal words in the 1989 movie The Wizard it made every single Nintendo fan on the face of the planet want one. The reality was a little less impressive, but thankfully modder Matt Mechtley is ensuring that this iconic peripheral isn’t forgotten; he’s tinkered around...
News The Wii Gets Its Own Brutal Legend
Double Fine's gut-busting metal adventure becomes a strong likelihood for the Wii
For those unaware, Brutal Legend is a game that stars heavy-metal-groupie-turned-hero, Eddie Riggs (voiced by Jack Black), who is pulled into a world of rock ‘n’ roll fantasy where evil reigns most awesomely. Full of heavy riffs, babes and headbanging, Brutal...
News Nintendo of Europe Announces April-July WiiWare / DSiWare Lineup
Cave Story and others coming soon!
For the first time in, uh, well, forever, Nintendo of Europe has decided to give us a small glimpse of what we can look forward to in the next couple of months. Note that list is not complete - For example, Square Enix announced only yesterday that Bubble Bobble, Rainbow Islands and Crystal Defenders R1 and R2...
News Gameloft Announces Real Soccer 2009 for DSiWare
Gameloft looks to bring the authentic soccer experience to DSiWare with the announcement of their first DSiWare title Real Soccer 2009.
Gameloft has just sent out a press release for their upcoming DSiWare title Real Soccer 2009. Combining realistic soccer elements with the unique DS touchscreen controls, the game hopes to produce not only a...
News A DSi You Cannot Object To
Capcom and Nintendo team up to bring a special edition Ace Attorney DSi to Japan.
Fans of the Ace Attorney series will probably go wild at the prospect of owning the recently announced limited edition DSi that features the emblem of the game's police force, Taihokun. Over the years the series has been going from strength to strength, and now has 4...
Wednesday8th Apr 2009
News More DSiWare Titles Revealed
It looks like it's almost time for another round of DSiWare releases.
Although we've just now experienced our first round of DSiWare launch titles, anticipation for more releases has already begun to build. Nintendo has just put up their new Official DSi Site which contains a new DSi promotional video containing footage of not only the...
Tuesday7th Apr 2009
News Ubisoft announces first DSi-enhanced game
My Cooking Coach to harness the immense power of the DSi for... not much, really.
Ubisoft today announced the launch of cooking aid My Cooking Coach, designed to support the new functionality of the Nintendo DSi. You can watch the (DSi-less) trailer below the fold. The "DSi-enhanced" title, set for release in June and playable on both the...
News Takt of Magic on track for a May release
Nintendo caters to Japanese fans via Takt of Magic.
With Nintendo focusing on their new line of New Play Control titles, many thought that their release schedule for original Wii titles would come to a halt. Though those individuals were correct, that period seems to be over - or at least in Japan. According to the latest Shounen Jump, Takt of...
News Squibs Arcade - LCD Madness From Alten8
All your game are belong to us!
Squibs Arcade is certainly one of the more unique upcoming WiiWare titles we have come across. It’s basically a parody of all the top rated titles for Xbox 360, PS3 and Wii, oh yeah and Assassins Creed too! The trick is all these modern games are stripped down to their core gameplay essentials and presented as a LCD...
News Beyond Good and Evil 2: Now More Topical!
The sequel to Ubisoft’s unsung masterpiece has taken inspiration from real-world events.
Five years ago saw the release of Beyond Good and Evil: a game that in many people’s eyes broke convention by having an intelligent female lead character who was a bit of a tomboy. Yet those who played it didn’t just fall in love with the game because of...
News New York Holds Host To Rhythm Heaven
On April 9th (Rhythm) Heaven will be at Scratch Academy as part of a high-profile invitation-only event.
Nintendo's recent release, Rhythm Heaven, went down a treat at Nintendo Life, and it appears that the beat-bopping rampage is not going to relent for a while yet – Nintendo have just announced an invitation-only event that will be showcasing...
News Wii Manufacturing Cost Reduced by 45%
These are tough times for many people, but apparently not for Nintendo.
According to Credit Suisse analyst Koya Tabata, the cost of manufacturing a Wii console has gone down by 45%. If this number is accurate, that would mean each Wii sold is bringing in nearly twice the profit as in previous years. And yes, the Wii most definitely brings in profit...
News Fish'em All! Game Play Trailer Released
Fish'em All!, an arcade game with a real "coin-op" flavor!
We've just received a bit of new information on Abylight's upcoming WiiWare title Fish'em All! that you can check out below. We've also included the brand new game play trailer showing the game in action below as well. Hold on tight to your Wii Remote™ and fish 'em all! Alone, or with...
News PS3 Outsells the Wii in Japan
But is Nintendo concerned?
The answer is "not particularly." Nintendo responded to Sony's Playstation 3 outselling the Wii by just under 50,000 units in Japan in March by saying "it is still the first few months of the year when sales are slow for the industry" and that the plan of action is "to line up strong software to...
Monday6th Apr 2009
Review Nintendo DSi Browser (DSiWare)
Almost three years after the release of the original Opera Browser for the Nintendo DS, does this new iteration meet expectations or are we once again plagued with loading times from a decade long past?
The Nintendo DS Browser was released around three years ago on October 6th 2006 for the Nintendo DS and the then newly released Nintendo DS Lite...
Review Brain Age Express: Math (DSiWare)
It may be a stripped-down version of the original retail release, but Brain Age Express: Math retains much of the charm and fun from past titles.
Nintendo's Brain Age DS releases were very successful titles, so it comes as no real surprise to see them releasing a trimmed-down version of the games for their brand new DSiWare service. Whereas the...
Take a trip to heaven, Nintendo style!
Simplicity in game design is often a double-edged sword. On the positive side, the player is provided with a sleek and easy to understand interface. However, this often has an equally negative impact on the depth of the experience and what you’re left with is a quick 'pick up and play' variety of game. With...
News Gamebridge Announces European Release of Overturn: Mecha Wars
Battle it out with robots online, with up to 4 players!
Gamebridge, a new UK-based publisher, has announced that they are planning to bring over the WiiWare game Overturn: Mecha Wars. This was previously released in Japan last December, and was developed by the Japanese developer Studio Zan. The game could prove another worthwhile download for those...
Nintendo Download DSiWare, Equilibrio & Uncharted Waters (US)
A monster DSiWare update to kick off the new North American ‘Nintendo Download’. Worry not, Wiiware and VC fans are not completely forgotten this week either.
As you will see this week’s 'Nintendo Download' update is a bit of a beast as it includes all the DSiWare launch titles (which of course came out on Sunday!). For those thinking about...
News WiiWare Versions of Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands Coming to Europe Soon
Bubble Bobble this week, Rainbow Islands next month!
Ratings for Bubble Bobble Plus! and Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! have been sitting on the OFLC for quite a while, and as you might know, Japan got the two games quite a while ago. Thankfully they're now coming soon! These two games are not just straight-out remakes of Bubble Bobble and...
News StarFox Developer Not Interested in Wii Sequel
Dylan Cuthbert was there when it all started - but he's ruled himself out of McCloud's future adventures
If you asked any hardcore Nintendo fan which key first-party franchise they’d like to see appear next on Wii, you can be pretty sure that amongst F-Zero, Donkey Kong and Kid Icarus the name ‘StarFox’ would crop up. The first game...
News More Accuracy Than You Can Shake a Wii Remote At
Wii Motion Plus tech is almost TOO accurate says Grand Slam Producer
Most of us are eagerly awaiting solid release dates for Wii Motion Plus and games that will use it, many of them sports games but are we really ready? Ok, think back now. When was the last time you went out and played a real tennis match and hit the ball where you wanted it to go...
News Don’t Stop Believing In More Downloadable Tracks For Rock Band
11 more tracks this week for Rock Band 2 on Wii.
More classics coming your way this week at the Rock Band 2 in game music store on the Wii as announced today by Harmonix and MTV. Journeys famous uplifter “Don’t Stop Believing”, as well as tracks from Foo Fighters, Oasis, and some family friendly fare from SpongeBob Squarepants. Also the...
News Iwata and WarioWare: Snapped!
Playing WarioWare Snapped! - 500 Points; Watching Iwata play WarioWare Snapped! - Priceless
If you've played WarioWare Snapped!, then you know by now that it will make you do things that you ordinarily would never be caught on camera doing. But WarioWare Snapped! changes all that, by taking pictures of you while you play through the various...
News Tales Of Graces Unveiled for Wii
Namco Bandai's RPG series returns to the Wii for another adventure.
Namco Bandai this week announced not one but three new releases in the long-running Tales series by year's end, among them Tales Of Grace, developed exclusively for the Wii. First revealed in late 2008 via an unnamed trailer, Tales Of Grace serves as the latest...
News Equilibrio Available on WiiWare Today in North America
Gripping, Gyrating Ball Puzzler That Tests the Old Grey Matter played with either the Wii Remote or Wii Balance Board.
There were whispers of the WiiWare action puzzler, Equilibrio coming out today in North America over the weekend, but we thought we’d wait until we could show you the full press release. For Balance Board owners this looks set to...
News Crystal Defenders R1 and R2 Coming to Europe Soon As Well!
Bubble Bobble and Rainbow Islands aren't enough - Square Enix wants complete WiiWare domination the next few weeks!
It's not just Taito properties that Square Enix will be releasing on WiiWare in April and May - They're also releasing the Final Fantasy spinoff Crystal Defenders, which comes in two parts - Crystal Defenders R1 and Crystal Defenders...
News Bplus Bringing Vektor Tank to Wii
Bplus turns their attention to Wii retail with their upcoming title Vektor Tank.
Having gotten their feet wet on Nintendo's WiiWare service with the releases of their Plättchen and Niki Rock 'n Ball titles, developer Bplus have now turned their focus towards Wii retail titles with the announcement of their forthcoming Wii game Vektor Tank. Bplus...
News Wii Sports Resort With MotionPlus Coming in July?
Could Wii MotionPlus finally have a release date?
A picture was taken at an Amsterdam gaming retailer which shows a much-hyped Wii Sports Resort coming bundled with the Wii MotionPlus accessory being released on July 10, 2009. It also shows the Wii Motion Plus “Controller” being sold as a separate item as well. This could mean that it would be...
Sunday5th Apr 2009
A compilation of two of the silliest, most enjoyable, minigames to ever hit WarioWare.
Anybody who's played every microgame in the original WarioWare will have met a small red bird called Pyoro. Basically, Pyoro is a member of an unknown species who has an extremely long tongue and an insatiable appetite for beans. And now, he's the star of not one,...
An upgraded version of the classic WarioWare minigame, but is it enough to warrant a purchase on its own?
When the original WarioWare, Inc. was released for Game Boy Advance, it brought with it a fresh new genre all its own. The concept of 'microgames' – a continual bombardment of shortened games that must be completed in a few seconds – has...
Review Art Style: AQUITE (DSiWare)
Addictive, entertaining, and a bargain.
The Art Style series has never ceased to impress us; when the first three titles hit the WiiWare service late last year, they blew us away with their overall quality. Featuring elegant design, polished graphics, and pick-up-and-play controls, the Art Style series was a perfect-fit for WiiWare. Now that the DSi...
Review Art Style: CODE (DSiWare)
An Art Style game based on boring old maths – could it be any good?
If you've been following WiiWare and DSiWare releases closely, you should know all about the Art Style series – loosely based on the Japan-only bit Generations titles for Game Boy Advance (with two of the WiiWare games borne as remakes of these) – the games all feature very...
Review Master of Illusion Express: Funny Face (DSiWare)
Is Master of Illusion: Funny Face the magical experience DSiWare fans are hoping for, or is it more of a one-trick pony?
While the retail version of Master of Illusion was an interesting package, it didn't exactly light up the DS sales charts, nor did it get much love from the media either. So how exactly does a stripped down version of the game...
Saturday4th Apr 2009
Review The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (N64)
There's no just masking how great it still is
Ocarina of Time proved that the Zelda series was even more captivating in 3D than it was in 2D. It is still regarded as one of the greatest games ever made, but despite this, at the very end of the N64's life, it got a sequel that quite a few people missed out on – Majora's Mask. Not counting the...
Review WarioWare: Snapped! (DSiWare)
After two years we finally get our hands on the sixth game in the WarioWare series, but is it anywhere near as good as its predecessors?
So far, every WarioWare game has focused on a certain gimmick: the original game simply had button controls, Mega Party Game$ was multiplayer-based, Touched! used the DS touch screen and mic, Twisted! had players...
Review Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (DS)
What if you awakened one day as a Pokemon?
What if you awakened one day as a Pokemon? What if all of a sudden you find yourself in an unknown world, where you can speak and interact with many other Pokemon? Well essentially, that's what happens in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team; you wake up one day in a strange new world where you have...
News New WiiWare Game: Fish'em All
Get your nets out and prepare to catch yourself some fish for dinner!
Another day, another WiiWare game to announce to the world! Spanish developers Abylight recently got in touch giving us an exclusive look at their upcoming WiiWare puzzler Fish'em All. As you will see from the screenshots in our gallery below, it certainly looks very nice. We...
News South Korean President feeling sad about DS Piracy
Special memory cards for copying vastly outsell actual games in South Korea with little sign of slowdown.
In case you’ve just dropped onto planet earth and somehow ended up on here surfing a Nintendo website there is very popular phenomenon called a Nintendo DS. In South Korea it’s sold about 2 million console units since 2007, but software...
Friday3rd Apr 2009
Review Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DS)
The stylus is mightier than the sword.
With a name like Advance Wars, one is likely to expect an action packed, heart pounding war game. Needless to say, the Advance Wars series is really none of those things. Rather, the franchise has focused on slower paced turn-oriented strategy gameplay that is not unlike a glorified game of chess. So what is...
Review Chibi-Robo: Park Patrol (DS)
Saving our ecosystems, one park at a time.
Chibi-Robo Park Patrol is one of those few great games that many people are just going to skip over because of its exclusivity to select retailers. Well at Nintendo Life we took it upon ourselves to give this game the review it deserves, and we must say that doing so put huge smiles on our faces; the unique...
Saturday4th Apr 2009
News Original Gameboy turns 20 years old!
Where were you when you first got ruined by a girl in Tetris? holding a Gameboy back in 89, no doubt!
You already know this if you had your first kiss while playing a Gameboy, or perhaps you passed your first drivers ed test while playing a Gameboy, or fought your first battle with a Gameboy under your flak jacket. Twenty years ago this month the...
News Ghostbusters Wii to feature exclusive co-op play
Split-screen multiplayer allows Wii owners to cross streams and much, much more.
The latest blog entry from Red Fly Studios, developers of the Wii version of the upcoming Ghostbusters game, offers up some details on the game's exclusive co-operative multiplayer features. Wii owners will be able to enjoy the entirety of the single-player experience...
Friday3rd Apr 2009
News Curve Officially Announces Explodemon!
Although we posted a news article yesterday about Curve's upcoming WiiWare action/platformer, it's finally been made official with today's press release.
For those of you who have seen the gameplay trailer for Explodemon, it would seem that this is just the type of game the WiiWare service has been in need of lately. Curve has just sent out the...
Nintendo Download 7th April 2009 (Japan)
Another games tsunami hits the Japanese Wii Shop!
You know I just bought 6000 Wii points for the PAL service expecting a ton of new WiiWare and Virtual Console Arcade titles to appear imminently. I may be somewhat impatient, but it's extra disheartening to see two single-release Fridays in a row and then the nearly non-stop flood of content hitting...
News Former King of Kong to Appear at E3
Steve Wiebe to make another record attempt this year
For those of you that haven’t seen the brilliant King of Kong yet, stop reading this post, grab your coat and run down to your DVD store. Purchase the film, watch it, and then resume reading. Done that? Good. Steve Wiebe – the ‘good guy’ of the movie who triumphed by beating the ‘evil...
News Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Crystal Bearers - Site Updates
The more people that visit, the more we see!
Just like the site implies, the more visits the site has, the more content that is shown. In just two days since we reported on the Crystal Bearers' new webpage, even more content has been revealed - with more teasers to come! If you head over to the Crystal Bearers site, you'll now see new gameplay...
News NoA President Talks DSiWare
Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime distances the DSi from the iPhone, and lets a few tidbits drop as well.
In a recent Q&A with Wired, Reggie Fils-Aime made a point of distinguishing the DSi's downloadable titles from the iPhone's. Specifically: "We are taking a film-festival approach — high-class content done by...
Thursday2nd Apr 2009
Ikaruga might not be quite as intricate as its predecessor Radiant Silvergun, but its added intensity more than makes up for it.
There are very few shooters that can bring a smile to a shooter fan's face quite like Ikaruga can - which brings me to my quandry. What can I say about Ikaruga that hasn't already been said a hundred times before. It's...
Time travel has never been so complicated
Ever since the launch of the Nintendo DS console, the format has been heralded as a great way to bring out adventure games to make use of the stylus as a mouse substitute. In many ways this has borne fruit, with releases like Another Code, Hotel Dusk and the Phoenix Wright series all proving to be excellent...
Review Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo's Dungeon (Wii)
A fun spin-off in the highly acclaimed Final Fantasy series
When you think of Wii, you may think of very vibrant family friendly games – games that are very easy to pick up and play, as well as those that have little or no challenge. In other words, games that appeal to non-gamers more so than the hardcore veterans. Though Wii holds host to some...
Friday3rd Apr 2009
Nintendo Download DSiWare Launch Games and Majora's Mask (EU)
DSiWare makes a splash while Link experiences a Groundhog Day
The European launch of the shiny new Nintendo DSi has predictably been accompanied by a smattering of equally shiny new DSiWare games. European gamers can choose from the following downloadable items: Art Style: AQUITE - 500 Nintendo points Art Style: CODE - 500 Nintendo points Birds...
Thursday2nd Apr 2009
News Modern Games Get a NES Makeover
Gears of War 2 on the humble NES? You wish
Imagine if video game console technology stopped at the NES and never progressed to the 3D powerhouses we have today. A scary thought, perhaps? Not for the people at video game comedy site the-minusworld (yes, that is how it’s spelt); they’ve posted up some fake box art for some seriously cool ‘modern...
Interviews WayForward talk Mighty Flip Champs!
From the moment we first heard of Mighty Flip Champs! we were intrigued. There wasn't much information on the game, but what we knew was exciting indeed.
With WayForward's impressive pedigree, and some tantalizing gameplay mechanics, we knew we could expect their DSiWare debut to be something special, and we couldn't resist tracking them down for...
Feature April Fool Jokes – The Dust Settles
We select our favourite Nintendo-related pranks from the big day
April 1st is a day feared by regular inhabitants of the internet. It’s the one day of the year when you can practically ignore all amazing and outlandish news stories as rival sites attempt to out-do each other with their attempts at humour. However, putting aside the more pathetic...
News Nintendo 'Not So Green' Based on Environmental Report
Greenpeace puts Nintendo in last place for green practices, but are any waggling hands listening?
On March 31st Greenpeace released its annual “guide to Greener Electronics” in an adorable easy to read meter format, which lists from 1 (worst) to 10 (best) a rating for the most green of the market leading electronics companies. Guess who came in...
News Sega's "Project Ringo" revealed!
Called it.
Sega of Japan's "Project Ringo" has finally been revealed in this week's Famitsu magazine. To the surprise of very few here at Nintendo Life, it's an all-new Puyo Puyo game! Imaginately titled Puyo Puyo 7, the latest entry in Sega's classic falling-block puzzler series appears quite similar to previous Puyo games, with the majority of...
News Rock Band 2 drops Pearl Jam's Ten
The Wii Rock Band 2 music store adds Classic Jam and a few others
The Wii’s Rock Band 2 music store has recently added Pearl Jam’s classic debut album “Ten”. As part of weekly additions it’s also added songs from Devo, Faith No More and Fall Out Boy. All songs are master tracks and run 200 Wii Points each. The update includes the entire...
News The End Of The World Starts In Europe
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask graces the Virtual Console
A short while back Japan's Virtual Console forecast list for April revealed that The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask for Nintendo 64 would soon be hitting the service. In a surprise turn of events however, Nintendo is releasing the game first in Europe! Be sure to check your Wii Shop...
News Official Furry Legends Gameplay Trailer
If you've been dying to see the upcoming WiiWare title Furry Legends in action, your wait is now officially over.
Gamelion Studios has just released the official gameplay trailer for their upcoming WiiWare title Furry Legends and we were lucky enough to get our hands on it. As you can see in the gameplay trailer video, the game has quite a few...
News US DSiWare Launch Titles Revealed!
In a press release today, Nintendo has finally confirmed the complete list of North American launch titles. And there are a few surprises.
The North American market will unwrap their brand new DSi units on Sunday, and if they decide to log on to the DSiShop, they will have the following five titles to choose from. There's WarioWare: Snapped!,...
News Explodemon Coming to WiiWare
For those of you who've been dying for a solid action/platformer on the WiiWare service, have we got a game for you!
Curve Studios has just announced that their intense action/platformer Explodemon is headed to the WiiWare service (as well as PC and PSN). As you can see from the video below, the game definitely takes a page out of the Mega Man book...
News Interview with Brian Fehdrau - Secret of Evermore
We recently got a chance to talk with the lead programmer of Secret of Evermore and found out some very interesting information regarding the development of this unique Super Nintendo RPG title.
Brian Fehdrau was the lead programmer on the Squaresoft USA team that developed the Super Nintendo rpg hit Secret of Evermore. We were recently able to...
Wednesday1st Apr 2009
Review Eledees: The Adventures of Kai and Zero (DS)
The Elebits head to the Nintendo DS in this action-packed sequel.
Shortly after the Wii was launched in 2006, Konami released one of the most bizarre and enjoyable third-party games that year. Entitled Elebits, the game showcased the new functionally of the Wii Remote. Played from a first-person perspective, players explored the land looking for...
Review Rygar: The Battle of Argus (Wii)
Tecmo's legendary warrior returns for another outing, but is this more than just a re-heated port?
Back in May of 2007, Tecmo stated that it had plans to port Rygar: The Legendary Adventure (a seven year-old PS2 game) to the Wii. Predictably, many gamers were very vocal with their opinion of this move. For starters, why would they want to port such...
Can the Dokapon Kingdom host a party for all ages?
In general, the Wii isn’t well-known for epic role-playing titles, nor is it famous for hardcore games. Though gamers are having fun playing Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, there hasn't been very much to quench gamer's thirst for RPG's. While Japanese Wii owners are getting a several...
Review Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (DS)
Pokemon Ranger 1.5 arrives on the Nintendo DS
During the holiday season of 2006, the attention of gamers the world over was focused solely on the release of the Wii and Playstation 3, the latest consoles from Nintendo and Sony. As a result, quite a few gems for the Nintendo DS got lost in the marketing onslaught, most notably Elite Beat Agents and...
News Welcome to the New Look Nintendo Life!
Times they are a-changin'
In the history of mankind there have been many great moments. The discovery of fire. The invention of the wheel. The harnessing of electricity. Now we can add yet another achievement to that list - the creation of the new-look Nintendo Life! Yes indeed, what you now gaze upon is the culmination of months of hard work and...
News Infinite Space clears for launch in Japan
PlatinumGames' epic space-sim/RPG gets a Japanese release date
Publisher Sega has announced that Japanese DS owners will be able to get their hands on sci-fi space-opera Infinite Space (known as Infinite Line in Japan) on June 11. Co-developed by PlatinumGames (ex-Clover Studios team and makers of MadWorld) and Nude Maker (Steel Battalion),...
News Silent Hill Wii-make Will Make You Wet Your Pants All Over Again
Konami lifts the lid on a radical re-imagining of a horror classic
The latest issue of US magazine Nintendo Power has exclusive details relating to Konami's rumoured remake of its 32-bit Playstation horror classic Silent Hill. Entitled Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, the game will make use of the Wii's unique controls and according to Konami...
News Magnetis - New Magnetising Puzzler for WiiWare
At Nintendo Life: WiiWare we love to be the first to reveal upcoming WiiWare games – introducing Magnetis!
Magnetis, you scratch your head, what is this wonderful sounding game? Well folks it’s another puzzler for WiiWare, but this time with a magnetic twist. The game is being developed by a Parisian studio by the name of Yullaby who contacted...
News Reggie Clarifies: There is No "Magic Number."
One million copies sold to make a profit sounds ridiculous? It is!
Earlier it was noted that in order for a Wii title to actually make a profit, one million copies of that title must be sold, and as many were quick to point out, that number just didn't seem right. Well, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime, it isn't. Reggie...
News DSiWare Launch Titles in Australia (and elsewhere...?)
The Australian DSi Shop is open for business. Could its contents hint at identical launch titles for EU and NA?
Just a quick run-through of the launch titles that Australia is now able to access and download on their brand-spankin'-new DSi units! Not really a very surprising launch as very similar rumors have been circulating for the past week or...
News DSi Launch Party in Los Angeles
Nintendo will be holding a DSi launch party in LA, which of you mad cats will be attending this sweet scene?
Nintendo’s DSi launches in the United States April fifth. Hold your suspense, yes, that’s this week. If you’ve got your calendar set on this event, and if you also happen to be in Los Angeles, you’ll have the chance to attend a launch...
News Two New Swords & Soldiers Gameplay Videos!
For those of you who are anxiously awaiting Ronimo Games' upcoming WiiWare title Swords & Soldiers, we have a nice little treat for you.
The guys at Ronimo Games were kind enough to send over two brand new gameplay videos of their upcoming WiiWare title Swords & Soldiers in action. The first video is a gameplay video of the game's Campaign Mode...
News Top 20 WiiWare Games in USA (1st Apr)
It's Wednesday again which can only mean one thing.
It's time to take a look at the most popular WiiWare titles available in the Wii Shop. If you're feeling adventurous you can even take a look for yourself by simply logging on to your Wii Shop channel, heading into the WiiWare section and then viewing "Popular Games". It's that simple!...
