
Nintendo of America kicks off its 8-bit Summer campaign this week with new 3DS Virtual Console games, plus there's a new Wii Virtual Console game and some eShop games too.
3DS Virtual Console
The Legend of Zelda (NES, Nintendo, $4.99, 49 blocks) — This game surely needs no introduction. See where it all started for Link and co. with this 8-bit classic. Not sure it's for you? Read our The Legend of Zelda review for more.
NES Open Tournament Golf (NES, Nintendo, $4.99, 64 blocks) — 3DS already has plenty of golf games available but this old-school title wants to show it still has what it takes to rule the links with an iron. Find out if it does with our upcoming review.
eShop
Akari by Nikoli (HAMSTER, $4.99, 292 blocks) — The latest in a long line of puzzle games from master Nikoli, we'll have a review soon (which should also explain what the heck an akari is in the first place.)
Family Tennis 3D (Arc System Works, $6.99, 501 blocks) — A 3D companion to Family Tennis on WiiWare, this tennis title aims to have players of all skill levels enjoying themselves right away. We'll fire a review your way soon.
Virtual Console
2020 Super Baseball (Neo Geo, D4 Enterprise, 900pts) — Here's a surprise addition to the Wii VC, a futuristic baseball sim from way back in 1991. It's not the most famous of Neo Geo titles but we'll see if it's worth a look in our upcoming review.
3DS Weekend Sale
Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword ($4.99 this weekend only, normally $6.99) — From 9 am Pacific time Friday to 9pm Pacific on Sunday you can grab this very good swordfighting game for $4.99 instead of $6.99. Read our Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword review to see if it's for you.
DSiWare
3, 2, 1... Words Up! (EnjoyUp!, 200pts, 49 blocks) — With a title that combines numbers, letters and punctuation so expertly we can't wait to see what developer EnjoyUp! did with the gameplay. Review coming soon.
Topoloco (Abstraction Games, 500pts, 86 blocks) — Are you crazy for maps? Then this game is for you! A topography game is a new one on us; let's see if it's on course for greatness in our upcoming review.
3DS Demo
Heroes of Ruin — Online multiplayer with Square Enix's upcoming action adventure. Get a feel for the title with the free demo then read our Heroes of Ruin review to see if the full game is worth your money.
WiiWare
Let's Create! Pottery (Infinite Dreams, 500pts) — We've already had Let's Create! Pottery on DSiWare but this WiiWare instalment means you can share the clay-throwing action with the whole family on the big screen. We'll sculpt a review for you soon.
It's been a long time since we had a Nintendo Download as packed as that. What will you buy this week? As always, let us know in our Facebook poll.
Comments 113
Nothing for me, just ambassador updates.
Well the demo is nice, and I'll probably get Zelda, so this is a pretty good week.
oh, maybe the heroes of ruin demo.
HOR demo is good, but that is about it. Already have Zelda from Ambassador program. Thankfully Rythem Theif comes out on Tuesday so that will make up for nothing good being released today.
Saw this coming with the surprise ambassador update last week
What happened to sonic labyrinth or Blast?!? I really wanted those games. No one likes NES golf.
Sweet mother of Miyamoto, there's a TON of content this week. As I'm not an ambassador, I'm grabbing me some portable Zelda. Always awesome to see more NES games released on the 3DS VC. Might take advantage of that weekend sale, too. Nice start to the Summer of 8 Bits, Nintendo!
@TheDreamingHawk Both set to arrive in the next few weeks
Getting the samurai game and the heroes of ruin demo. Have my ambassador games on my son's 3ds so I'm good there.
NES Open Tournament Golf
More like 8-Bit Bummer amirite!?
Nice update lots of great stuff! Never played 2020 baseball
@James But there is only 1 possible spot one of those games could come on, and that's the 26th. I have a huge feeling one of those games was going to come today. Better not be due to those idiotic sonic labyrinth haters.
How come no sales for Europe? We like money off games too y'know. >:/
Very excited about the demo. Disappointed about the drop in quality from last week on every other front though...
Best week ever this year
@MrWezzle yes that's the most things that I have seen yet.
@LordOtakWiiU - you're so smart
Everyone, get Sakura Samurai if you don't have it already. It's really good!
Was really looking forward to the sonic games, what happened? I mean, with only two open spots this month (This week and the 26th), and crappy NES golf stole it.
They were crappy Sonic games.
@Bass_X0 No they are not. Labyrinth is actually fun if you play it a while, and Sonic blast is very nice-looking for an 8-bit sonic game. I blame those idiotic complainers on facebook for this one.
I just don't want Sonic spinball. That's all.
NES Open Tournament Golf isn't bad, but I'd rather play Wii Sports Golf. At least there I feel like I have some control as to where the ball goes. Not just that, but if you make the mistake to start a game, you have to play all 18 holes before you can really do anything else. Geez. And on top of all that, it's just golf. No Super Mario super powers, no storyline where you have to beat Bowser, just golf.
Isn't Sakura Samurai normally $6.99, not $7.99?
8-bit summer is going to be very bad for my wallet, if this week is any indication. Lord that's a lot to do.
I'll get the heroes of ruin demo for sure. Nice to see another wii VC title. I'm sure it will never happen, but I'd love to see the robot baseball NES game called Basewars! That was great. You earned money by winning games. Then you could upgrade your robots with tank treds and swords and fun stuff like that. Then when you got on base, you had to fight the basebot to stay in the game and not blow up. Come on, thats good times!
I would like to see snes and genesis games on 3ds. I loved the 16 bit era.
@JaredJ Didn't we all?
@Tsuchinoko Yes.
...and I will be downloading Sakura Samurai today along with the Heroes of Ruin demo.
Zelda for me and heroes of ruin. Anyone wanna play?
@TheConsiglio
I will! Just go to my profile and add my FC and I'll do the same.
normally i try to keep my console games on consoles and portables on portables, but having zelda on the go = very tempting! why why why can't we transfer saves from zelda wii to zelda 3ds!!!!!!!?????? argh!!!! )(YES i know its not like its a long hard game that i havnt beaten hundreds of times, but i still don't want to have to keep up with two separate "quests")
@TheDreamingHawk If I'm not mistaken, their reviews were not so good.
And these reviews were by the Sonic lose....er...master of Nintendo Life
it’s not very good to be fair. Very short game. Also, Prince Adrian betrays you and he is the final boss
SPOILER
I wanna know more about this 2020 Super Baseball...
@LztheBlehBird They still are decent and fun, like the Sonic Blast review said. Play sonic spinball if you want a truly awful game.
@Mickeymac Its a baseball game set in the far distant future of 2020. With robots and stuff.
Wow. Not only do Americans get more eShop games than Europe and cheaper eShop games than Europe, they also get bigger discounts. And what do we get? A virtual card album. Yay.
NES Open Tournament Golf is awesome. Best surprise of all the ambassador games by far.
Wow so much stuff and in every category.
Impressive week!!! A game for each one of the Nintendo services!!! Am I dreaming or is it just a rare case like the Haley comet? I wish more weeks like these.
This was a great week,i will be purchasing Sakura Samurai and the Heroes of Ruin demo.
Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword!!!
YESSSS... It's was on my 3DS wish list and I was just waiting for a discount to download it.
I hope they make a discount for Dillon's Rolling Western. $10 is too expensive for an an e-shop game
um... is this stuff even in the eshop yet... cause i don't see any of it?
HELL YEAH! Heroes of Ruin Demo along with Ambassador Updates! Next week should be a thrill. I just want Zelda II to come to the eShop for everyone else because Restore Points would make the game SO MUCH BETTER.
@H_Hunter I haven't bought any Eshop games yet. Was waiting for Samurai, Dillon and Pushmo deals aww yeah!
Is Freakyforms good?
Holy crud! This is easily the best week of this year so far. Wow. I was expecting one of those Sonic GameGear games. Thank goodness we didn't get those terrible games. But they were a part of the 8-bit summer line up so I wonder if we'll be getting them at all this month now. (hopefully not so we can actually get something good in there place.) anyways
Wow, Sakura Samurai on sale!? Awesome, I gotta buy a points card before it's too late! Vaguely, very vaguely, interested in family Tennis, and I probably won't get the Hero of Ruins demo.
But I bought Sakura Samurai two weeks ago.. I swear to god if they don't have a discount on Dillon's Rolling Western soon I'll lose my mind.
Glad to see more Ambassador updates. Now give me restore points in Wrecking Crew!!
@Retro_on_theGo Hey now, Blast is better than all of those DSI games we are getting.
I judt want next week to come so I have some pinball.
Huge pass on both 3DS VC games. Never really cared for Heroes of Ruin, but I might try the demo. Glad to see a new Wii VC game and a Neo Geo game at that. I never heard of 2020 Super Baseball but I wanna know more about it. I'll wait for a review.
I'm speechless. I've never seen a download week this good.
@James Swapnote got an update in the US.
@Miss_Birdo I guess you'll enjoy Freakyforms only if you are good at drawing.
Wow that's a long list we got today, something for everything.
I'll wait for Petitcom and Harvest Moon, though.
Alright I have been waiting for the Heroes of Ruin demo. Everything else I will pass on.
Already beaten Zelda several times, so the update won't help me much. I'm GLaD I beat Zelda II before it's update, so bragging rights are mine.
I'll grab the Heroes of Ruin demo, but I have all 4 Zelda GBA carts (including The Legend Of Zelda) so can play them on my DS Lite any time I want. Nothing else interests me.
I lost 2 bucks buying Samuri Sword a couple months ago...
Nooo! I been meaning to get Art of the Sword
@pixelman Agreed! Finally someone with some sense... I've played NES Tourney Golf more than all the other NES Ambassador games combined so far.
@TheDreamingHawk There's actually three open spots right now. Most people forget 8-bit Summer covers first week of August too. The trailer didn't list anything for August but Reggie mentioned it on Nintendo Direct.
There's nothing interesting for me today except for the Heroes of Ruin demo.
Yes! Ive been waiting for Zelda. Problem is i dont got any money...
@Littlerves I third that notion. It was surprisingly my favorite as well. I didn't expect that much out of it, but it was great.
come on already!
Sakura Samurai is still @ 6.99
@H_Hunter The weekend sales start on Friday.
Getting the Heroes demo, updates for Zelda and NES Golf, plus the update for Swapnote. I am interested in Family Tennis, though I think I will stick with Mario Tennis Open.
@WarioFan63
But reggie said UNTIL august 1st, which is not a thursday.
I just hope sega makes it up to us next week. 3 VC in a week wouldn't be bad.
Ambassador game updates only for me, but this is still a great week. New content all across the board. Keep this up, Nintendo.
Samurai sale AND heroes of ruin? I dub this update a success!
I may not need Zelda as an ambassador, but everyone needs it, I got that much. I just want more GB games, though... Argh.
I loved baseball Stars 2... So 2020 Super Baseball will probably be right up my alley!
Really digging these NEO GEO updates!!
I can finally test Heroes of Ruin for myself and get a feel for it myself and decide if it's worth the money.
@SuperSonic95 "I'm speechless. I've never seen a download week this good."
Nope, you actually were not speechless.
Being an ambassador, I am SO excited to update Zelda. I want to play through the entire game without dying using the save state. I had to use a Game Genie to make it through the final dungeon, but the save state should be just as good for me.
Heroes of Ruin demo and Legend of Zelda maybe for me.
My big complaint is that the two 3DS VC games are already available on the Wii. I want to see GB and GBC classics, not games that were already released on the Wii. Not that Zelda isn't a great game because it's a classic, but there are so many classic GB games I want to see.
good, the pacifier made the crying stop.
Nintendo Should offer a discount on games that people bought on the wii like zelda and want to get on 3ds. its bad enough we technically don't own are digital content but to charge us again the price we payed for on the wii again its kinda crappy
I'd get the game on sale, but I already have and love it. I'll take the demo and swapnote update for this week though
Futuristic baseball ... for $9. Yay?
@TheDreamingHawk Added you and If nintendo does put neo geo games on there like they said, Sonic Pocket Adventure, INSTA BUY!
@Philip_J_Reed
You are right. And almost half the Ambassadors that have rated this game on the eShop would agree as they've given it an average of 3 1/2 stars. Pretty bad for a free game if you ask me. I actually purchased this game on the Wii since I had never played the original on the NES and could not get into it at all. This is my least played game of all the ambassador games. But since some of the people are praising it here, I'm willing to give it a third try
Solid week. I'll be getting LoZ.
I feel like I should download Topoloco, for someone that travels often my knowledge of Geography is embarrassing... +_+
I'll try out the Heroes of Ruin demo later.
And I might get The Legend of Zelda, but probably not anytime soon.
Does the chat work on the HoR demo
@Bubbab55 No.
I'll get the Ambassador updates, the demo, and possibly the baseball game depending on the review.
A Neo Geo game on VC? And it's not a fighting game?!?
I have fond memories of 2020 Super Baseball. I'm interested to see what the review says.
Wow. 3 for 3 on Nintendo's sale games. 3 weekends in a row a game goes on sale that's on my short wishlist. And I'm very glad to try the heroes of ruin demo. How about Link's Awakening next week? Let's go for 4 for 4.
Omg, I was thinking of getting Sakura Samurai earlier and it's for sale? Well, then i guess i can't pass that up !
Heroes of Ruin plus 3DS Ambassador updates for two more games. Sweetness.
Wow, Nintendo sure did make this weekly update nicely. Luckily for me (along with many others), I already had The Legend of Zelda and NES Open Tournament Golf from the 3DS Ambassador Program. (:
I've seriously been looking forward to 2020 Super Baseball for a very long time! It's a definite buy for Me.
Let's Create! Pottery for Wiiware!
eff yea!
Am I the ONLY ONE who's not an ambassador because I chose to wait for limited edition!!!!! Sheesh Nintendo, Why would you do that. I should get Zelda for free because of this. Anyways... bought LoZ and loving it. Now for Kid Icarus: Of Myths And Monsters and Wario Land! GO 8-BIT SUMMER!!! If Nintendo would put Sonic Pocket Adventure in there, I would be in VC heaven. Anyone Agree?
@TheConsiglio Yes, but I STILL have an angry feeling toward sega for not releasing the gane gear ganes they promised for an open spot today. NES GOLF WASN'T IN THE VIDEO!
well at least nintendo has not totally forgot about us virtual people ...
might actually get this just because I actually like Neo Geo games... never played them when I was a kid.... hopefully got some old school japan ball players in there.....
Wow. I'm really impressed with Heroes of Ruin. I wasn't expecting much, but that demo was great! I might have to add yet another game to my list of this year's 3DS games I need to buy. I still have to try it online though.
Also planning on taking advantage of the Sakura Samurai sale, even though I'm still somewhat annoyed that NOA started sales about a week after I spent most of my credit...
glad zelda came out,never had a chance really to play it on game cube,but now that its on 3ds I can work on it more.
good amount of content this week, but im still waiting for retro city rampage to come out...
sorry, not sure if this has been asked yet .. i only skimmed the comments, sorry if i repeat but
is Zelda in 3D? or is it 2D? if i turn on 3D will there be depth?
Well, I don't mind US gamers getting Sakura Samurai in a sale, that's super.
However, in the UK we're still waiting for it at ANY price!
Does anybody know when it's coming to the EU eShop?
@mushroomer
No. It's just the original Legend of Zelda from the NES, with some nice VC features like being able to create a restore point anywhere (basically make your own check point).
Also, although I've had the original Zelda now for months, I love it even more now! I NEVER lose in the Money Making Game! Thank you restore points!
Ahh.. good week for several reasons, but nothing. Glad because I'm trying to save my money
I downloaded Family Tennis 3D, and am surprisingly enjoying it. Quick Play, Free Play (singles and doubles), Tournament Play, Minigames (Human Backboard, Court Roulette, and Survival), 8 characters, and 6 courts. Not bad for $7.
They basically copied Mario Tennis in the gameplay department, but that's not a bad thing (and this game even has special shots, unlike the newest MT).
There's also a gallery with some unlockable stuff, but I haven't unlocked anything yet. There's also 3 difficulties (Beginner, Journeyman, and Pro).
The only negatives I can give it is the poor 3D, and lack of multiplayer modes, but even still, I'd say it warrants a 7 at least.
Another weekend sale?! We Europeans want that too!
Would get zelda, but I think is more comfortable to play it on the GBA SP :/
Thanks Ninty!
Looking for to what surprises will come with this week update.
So why the heck can't they send a few (geesh) 8 bit titles the DSIware way ??????
are we chopped liver ???? No I think not! we dsi folks have made them LOTS OF MONEY .
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...