Dashing onto the Virtual Console

It's Monday, so it's time to see what we have lined up for this week's Nintendo Download update in Europe, minus any E3 surprises, of course. One of the year's most anticipated 3DS retail titles finally lands, along with the latest Famicom Anniversary Promotion game and a lot of Game Gear retro throwbacks. Let's get right to it.

Wii U Famicom Anniversary Promotion

Mario & Yoshi (Nintendo, €0.30 / £0.30) — This next part of the Famicom Anniversary monthly promotion will be available from 13th June, leaving you with just a few days to grab Super Metroid with some spare change. Although name-dropping two iconic mascots, this is at its core a decent if unspectacular puzzle game, enjoyable but not overly compulsive. We'll cast fresh eyes over this version, but until then you can check out our 3DS Virtual Console Yoshi review.

3DS Virtual Console

Sonic the Hedgehog (SEGA, €4.99 / £4.49) — Quite likely the highest profile of today's Game Gear blitz, the SEGA mascot made his portable debut in this title. Although outgunned by the Game Boy commercially, the Game Gear pushed impressive visuals for its time, and we'll see how this stacks up against its home console contemporaries in our upcoming review.

Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (SEGA, €2.99 / £2.69) — Puzzle games were a mainstay of retro portable systems, and this one brings Sonic's nemesis to the fore before he was named after poultry products. This Puyo Puyo title has you matching four coloured beans at a time, so we'll get own brains into gear to bring you a review.

Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (SEGA, €3.99 / £3.59) — Shining Force is a fondly remembered franchise on SEGA systems, and now this portable entry makes its debut on the 3DS. Turn-based strategy is all the rage, making this one's timing ideal; we'll take to the battlefield and let you know what we think.

Columns (SEGA, €3.99 / £3.59) — This match-three puzzle title will be familiar to some that received it as part of a Mega Drive hardware bundle, and was fast-paced and compulsive on the 16-bit machine. It's hard to see where the Game Gear version could go wrong, but we'll jump in for a review soon.

3DS Retail Download

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (Nintendo, €39.99 / £34.99) — What can we say about this one? It's been high on the hype charts for a number of weeks now, and will be available to download from midnight on 14th June; this may be a title perfectly suited to being easily accessible on your SD card. It's more of what fans have come to love in the franchise, with plenty of online fun and Mayoral duties to freshen up the experience. It's been critically acclaimed, and you can check out our Animal Crossing: New Leaf review for our glowing recommendation.

Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns (Rising Star Games, €29.99 / £24.99)

4 Elements (MSL, €12.00 / £10.79)

Luxor (MSL, €11.99 / £10.79)

PETZ Fantasy 3D (Ubisoft, €19.99 / £17.99)

Wii Virtual Console

The Path of the Warrior Art of Fighting 3 (D4 Enterprise, 900 Nintendo Points) — It's a Neo Geo fighting game, and another example of an intuitive experience with some depth for those that fancy themselves to be pros in the genre. It perhaps lacks the bombast of other franchises and isn't a notable step-up over its predecessors, but had enough in its favour to earn a solid recommendation in our The Path of the Warrior Art of Fighting 3 review.


So that's your lot, though previous form suggest that we might get one or two surprise downloads in the coming days of E3. As always you can let us know what you plan to download in the poll and comments below.

What will you be downloading first this week? (201 votes)

  1. Mario & Yoshi (Wii U Virtual Console Famicom Anniversary Promotion)25%
  2. Sonic the Hedgehog (3DS Virtual Console)12%
  3. Dr Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine (3DS Virtual Console)3%
  4. Shining Force: The Sword of Hajya (3DS Virtual Console)10%
  5. Columns (3DS Virtual Console)1%
  6. Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS retail download)29%
  7. Harvest Moon: The Tale of Two Towns (3DS retail download)1%
  8. 4 Elements (3DS retail download)1%
  9. Luxor (3DS retail download)1%
  10. The Path of the Warrior Art of Fighting (Wii Virtual Console)  0%
  11. Nothing for me this week16%

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