Virtual Console
Final Fantasy (600pts NES - Square Enix) --The one that started it all and was never released in Europe has finally arrived on our shores. Of course as a Hanabi Festival release it's 100 Points dearer than what our North American and Japanese cousins have to pay, but if you're itching to play the first instalment in one of the biggest RPG franchises around, you probably won't mind too much. Read our Final Fantasy review to find out if this adventure is what you've been waiting for!
WiiWare
Pub Darts (500pts - Big Blue Bubble, Inc.) -- Whilst pubs abound in Europe where you can play the real thing, the Wii Remote does seem to invite the creation of dart simulations to save replastering the walls in your house on a night in. This is a pretty basic game, so you'll want to check out our Pub Darts review before you go throwing sawdust on your floor.
DSiWare
Flips: Silent But Deadly (500pts - Electronic Arts) -- Another entry in the ongoing series of books aimed at younger readers with a bit of interactivity on the side. We'll be sure to get a review of this one for you soon.
Metal Torrent (500pts - Nintendo) -- Nintendo's own take on the "bullet hell" shooting genre with some of the more impressive 3D effects seen on the DSi and online leaderboards as well. We weren't happy with the largely absent collision detection in the one we downloaded from the Japanese DSi Shop, but it could be that things have been improved for this localised release. Until we get a full review up, read our Metal Torrent preview to find out what we thought about the original Japanese version of the game.
Bounce & Break (500pts - Enjoy Gaming) -- This breakout game with levels themed for the four seasons was released Monday in North America; expect our review soon.
Rytmik (800pts - CINEMAX) -- An application for creating music using drum samples and and other music loops similar in concept to Korg's DS retail release. You can bet we'll have one of our resident mixmasters on the case to review it soon.
Naturally you can read Nintendo's full press release below:
6th May 2010: A true legend of a game comes to the Wii Shop Channel this week in form of an exclusive Virtual Console Hanabi release – Final Fantasy®, the starting point into the best loved fantasy RPG series of all time, never released before in Europe in its original form.
Available to download from WiiWare this week is a great game of Pub Darts – perfect for parties or for playing with friends.
On Nintendo DSiWare this week, a fantastic new interactive book for kids, Flips – Silent But Deadly, will see you immersed in a story that will have you on the edge of your seat.
Metal Torrent™ is an all-action shooter that will get the pulse racing, Bounce & Break will have you coming back for more as you try and beat your score, and Rytmik will turn you into a DJ or music producer in no time!
Virtual Console - FINAL FANTASY®
(SQUARE ENIX, NES, 600 Wii Points)
Take yourself back to 1990, when one of the greatest role playing fantasy games of all time appeared on NES… the legendary Final Fantasy from Square Enix.
The world lies shrouded in darkness. The winds die... The seas rage... The earth decays... But the people believe in a prophecy, patiently awaiting its fulfillment.
“When darkness veils the earth, four Warriors of Light shall come...” After a long journey, four young travelers did at last appear... and in the hand of each was clutched a crystal…
Relive the excitement and recapture the atmosphere of Final Fantasy on Virtual Console!
WiiWare - Pub Darts
(Big Blue Bubble Inc., 500 Wii Points)
Pub Darts is a simple but brilliant darts simulation which uses the Wii's unique controls to mimic dart throwing motion. The game is set in a local pub where the players will settle in to play some of their favourite dart games including 501, Cricket, Around the Clock, Killer, and Baseball.
Controls function just like throwing a real dart and players are able to create their own personal profiles including selecting their avatar image from a collection of creative characters and also selecting the design they would like displayed on the dart flights.
DSiWare - Flips – Silent But Deadly
(Electronic Arts, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
Flips Interactive Books are the fun new way for kids to read.
When Mr Watts, the science teacher, turns up for class and tries to open his briefcase with his teeth, James, Alexander and Lenny realise he's not quite himself. The friends investigate, and uncover a plot so dangerous that the life of every pupil and teacher is at risk. How will they possibly foil it and restore Mr Watts to normal?
NINTENDO DSiWare - Metal Torrent™
(Nintendo, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
Prepare yourself for one of the most intense shoot ‘em ups to hit Nintendo DSiWare. Your mission is simple: get the highest score possible, across eight phases of fierce vertical-scrolling action.
Choose from two powerful craft: Red Orion and Blue Nova, tailored for novice or experienced players. Both ships have standard blasters for unlimited fire, as well as special weapons unique to each craft. Special weapons drain your energy gauge, though, so think before you fire!
Collect cubes dropped by destroyed enemies to refill your energy gauge and increase your score. Skilled pilots can boost their scores even further by collecting chains of consecutive cubes without missing any.
Once you've blasted your way to a score you're proud of, you can use Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection to upload it to the online leader boards and compare it with players across the world. You can also view replays of top-ranking players’ games and learn from the best!
NINTENDO DSiWare - Bounce & Break
(Enjoy Gaming, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)
Bounce & Break is an innovative break-out game taking place in a Zen Japanese universe. You will play in four different universes and each one is divided into four seasons. The best two scores are saved in the Top Ranking table. Be the best player to enter this Hall of Fame!
NINTENDO DSiWare – Rytmik
(CINEMAX, 800 Nintendo DSi Points)
Rytmik is an application for creating rhythmical and melodic themes and for composing whole songs. Its user interface blends the fast and well-arranged interface of classic drum machines with the flexible pattern interface of popular trackers and with a modern sound library. It contains more than 170 carefully selected sound samples of drums, cymbals, percussion, bass and melodic instruments
With Rytmik you can quickly and easily create the basic building stone – an audio clip. It consists of musical notations for up to four instruments that you may transpose, select their location in the stereo field, and modify their volume, polyphony and echo. You may combine up to 128 such clips in four tracks and create complex pieces of music. A rhythm library and varied collection of 16 pre-made compositions at your disposal allows you to quickly compose your own pieces.
Rytmik is a lot of fun – but in the hands of a skilful musician it can become a serious musical instrument. Connect headphones or a quality speaker system and you’ll be the toast of the party in no time….
As the Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop are continually updated with exciting and refreshing games and applications, make sure you keep checking the Nintendo Channel, Wii Shop Channel and Nintendo DSi Shop for all the latest news and releases on already available and upcoming Virtual Console, WiiWare and Nintendo DSiWare titles.
Be sure to also check out Nintendo of Europe's WiiWare portal, which functions as the main hub for the latest WiiWare news and game sites, while at the same time providing the perfect entry point for newcomers to the service. Weekly and all-time Top 10 lists show which WiiWare titles the UK Club Nintendo members are currently downloading most, and which are the most popular of all time.
The portal also provides step-by-step tutorials explaining how to connect the Wii console to the Internet and how to download WiiWare games, as well as a video showing how to use Nintendo Points. Visit www.wiiware.co.uk for all the details. Downloaded games can be saved to Wii's internal memory or SD card and added to the console's Wii Menu or SD Card Menu for anytime easy access.
Comments (25)
Ooh. I might just have enough points for Final Fantasy.
Is it as epic in it's playtime as the following Final Fantasys?
Congrats on getting Final Fantasy!
Yay Rytmik!
w00t! Rytmik is 800! I should get ready with some points so I can get it when it comes to NA.
Wern't we getting Runner this week?
EDIT: My bad, next week.
Pretty bad update though.
@edhe: Final Fantasy is definitely more old-school than others in the series -- expect some grinding and old-fashioned RPG difficulty spikes -- but is still a solid game that hasn't aged as badly as Dragon Quest. The story isn't as epic as the SNES (and later) sequels, but there are still secrets to find and a huge world to explore during your quest. For 500 points it's a pretty good deal.
I've heard it said that playing time is 12-15 hours IF you have played before and/or are relying on a game guide and map. Expect that to be considerably higher (likely double) if you are experiencing the game the first time and not letting GameFaqs make all the decisions for you.
Nothing for me this week.
I am so getting Rytmik if/when it comes to the states.
@edhe the game is kicking my arse hardcore. There is much grinding to be had, and at times it is unforgivable, but i really find it to be just as addictive as some of the later ones. I do with the story was more immersive though.
What a super boring week end!"!!!
Mmmmm, Final Fantasy =)
I'll check the review for metal torrent (when it's up) before getting it.
Looks like you guys got a pretty fair update.
Cant wait until Rytmik makes it over here in the states. Hopefully its wotth the NP's.
Oh lookie, a VC release!!
Ya know I thought for once we wouldn't have people whining about the update.... but noooo.
And Nintendo is unleaching a bullet hell double whammy in europe this week!
@edhe: "Epic"? Depends on your definition of the word - Final Fantasy is heavily grounded in AD&D-style adventure, where you "create" your own character and explore a world somewhat freely, making discoveries and fulfilling quests along the way. There's little in the way of movie-style storytelling like in the later entries, but there's a hell of a lot more gameplay, interaction and strategizing to be had - and in addition, it had tremendous replay value to to it's job system, where you create a non-changable gang of heroes at the start of the game and play through the entire game with those, rather than switching and changing according to the situation at hand. Opens for even more straegy, really, since you need to adapt to situations based on your team rather than adapt the team based on situation. it's my favorite entry in the series.
And contrary to "popular" belief, it does not require any grinding. It requires you to use your head and put more thought into battles than just hammer A and go fight imps for a month whenever you can't one-shot everything. Of course you CAN do that, but that's neither fun nor necessary. If you absolutely NEED to grind, you're just bad at the game.
W00t, nice to see you guys finally got NES Final Fantasy. It's a toughie but a goodie.
"Final Fantasy is heavily grounded in AD&D-style adventure"
Haha no. AD&D is meant to be freefrom role playing - Arena is a better retro example of something modelled after AD&D
Final Fantasy was an attempt to take the core statistic element of AD&D, and water it down into something that a primitive system like the NES could handle. It's a great game, but to compare it to AD&D is going to lead to disappointment for anyone genuinely familiar with AD&D
@WaltzElf: That's true, but it's still far closer to that than the recent "watch movie cutscenes and press A in battle a lot to win" games.
I don't see you giving a better explanation of what FF1 is like and how it differs from the modern FF games, either.
Great, I'm getting Final Fantasy.
M-E-T-A-L T-O-R-R-E-N-T! Gods heard my prayers... I think)))
I tend to find battles get in the way of progression through an RPG. I wouldn't want to walk through the most Zubat filled cave ever and not be able to just jab the A button each time.
Battles get in the way in RPGs most of the time because battles are boring "press A to win" annoyances most of the time due to that "wah don't want to put any effort in anything" modern RPG fanbase.
The entire point to their existence is that they're a meaningful part of the game, and when they're reduced to "just press A a bit and move on", you might as well not even have them.
If goombas in a Mario game just froze Mario in his tracks for 5 seconds to annoy the player, there wouldn't be a point in having them, either.
The preferable point to your Zubat situation would be to walk through the cave without even entering a single battle. In FF1, however, the battles actually matter, because the group of "don't want to put any effort into the game" people hadn't gotten loud enough yet at the point.
If you don't like the type of battles that are in FF1, the answer isn't to want them dumbed down to mindless A-pressing annoyances, it's to play a straight adventure game that doesn't have battles in the first place.
Is Final Fantasy 60hz, if so i'll download it?
Nothing for me thsi week. Awful wiiware update - I want darts rage!
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