Kirby and the Rainbow Curse Art

It's that time again, North American gamers, for details of this week's download goodies to warm us up for the weekend. There's a tempting Wii U retail release, along with a classic SNES shooter, some interesting RPG options on 3DS, the return of DSiWare and more. If that's got your attention on any level, read on.

Missed the European Nintendo Download Update details earlier in the week? Don't panic, the information you need is right here.

Wii U Virtual Console

Axelay (Konami, $7.99) - The immediate reaction from NLife editorial director Damien McFerran to this one's recent release in Europe was "phroar, best shooter on the SNES ever", which sounded promising. He naturally praised this scrolling shooter a great deal in our subsequent Axelay review.

Wii U Retail Download

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Nintendo, $39.99) - This latest Kirby adventure continues some of the gameplay ideas seen in the 2005 DS title Canvas Curse, this time utilising the GamePad screen. It's utterly charming, as expected, and features co-op support for buddies that fancy playing as Waddle Dee and enjoying the gorgeous visuals on the TV. We enjoyed this, though also had some reservations, and you can get the full assessment in our Kirby and the Rainbow Curse review. Available from 20th February.

Wii U eShop Demo

Citizens of Earth (Atlus, free)

Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts

Ice Cream Surfer (Dolores Entertainment, $1.49 until 5th March, normally $5)

99Moves (EnjoyUp Games, on discount until 12th March)

Abyss (EnjoyUp Games, on discount until 12th March)

3DS eShop

Pokémon Shuffle (Nintendo, free) - Released on 18th February, this is Nintendo's first substantial effort at free-to-play with microtransactions, with basic match-three gameplay at its core. We'll bring you a review, but in the meantime we have shared some initial impressions on its implementation of microtransactions.

Adventure Bar Story (CIRCLE Entertainment, $5.99) - Previously on smartphones, this has RPG elements of setting up a Party and venturing out into the land, but all in aid of running a bar, winning over the locals and seeing off a major business rival. Collecting vital resources and pushing big sales at your bar is a mix of tasks not often undertaken, and we'll see how it all balances out in our review.

Excave (Teyon, $4.99) - A dungeon-crawling RPG, unsurprisingl the storyline is heavy on averting doom, in this case battling through dungeons under the Imperial City as war rages above. More interesting is the promise of a substantial equipment and levelling system along with 50 dungeon levels, including five boss fights; we'll see whether it's worth digging into with a review.

Flap Flap (Bigben Interactive, $7.99) - This has Flappy Bird-esque mechanics but does at least appear to have multiple environments and something resembling a level structure - we'll give it a go for review.

4Elements (Tulip Games, $3.99) — We're not sure why this gem-based puzzle game is listed as 'new', when it came out in November 2013; it appears to have just had a price cut. Oh well, it's Nintendo's list and it can do what it wants, and if you feel so inclined you can read our relatively positive 4Elements review.

3DS DLC

A variety of additional tracks will all be available in Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, with each costing $0.99. Below is the list of details provided in Europe, which we anticipate will match the content in North America.

  • Swivel BMS
  • Kainé / Salvation FMS
  • Echoes of the Spiral FMS
  • Frog's Theme BMS
  • Misgestalt BMS
  • Vamo' alla flamenco BMS
  • Song of the Ancients / Devola FMS
  • Megalomania BMS
  • The Ultimate Confrontation BMS
  • The Conflict BMS
  • Nemesis BMS
  • The Dawn Warriors BMS

3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Snow Moto Racing 3D (Zordix AB, $3.99 until 26th February, normally $7.99)

Chat-A-Lot (Teyon, $3.99 until 5th March, normally $7.99)

Toys Vs Monsters (EnjoyUp Games, $2.99 until 12th March, normally $3.99)

2 Fast 4 Gnomz (QubicGames, $2.99 until 12th March, normally $4.99)

3DS eShop Demo

Citizens of Earth (Atlus, free)

3DS HOME Theme

NES: Ice Climbers (Nintendo, $1.99)

DSiWare

Fishdom (Joindots, 500 Nintendo Points) — DSiWare is back! With a match-three puzzle game! These games can be undeniably fun, though in our view this one's a modest effort - check out our Fishdom review if you want the full lowdown.

4Elements (Tulip Games, $3.99) — Like the 3DS eShop version, but on DSiWare - naturally.


That's everything for this week in North America. Let us know what you'll be downloading in the comments and poll below.

What will you be downloading first this week? (275 votes)

  1. Axelay (Wii U Virtual Console)10%
  2. Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (Wii U retail download)12%
  3. Citizens of Earth (Wii U & 3DS demo)15%
  4. One of the Wii U eShop temporary discounts1%
  5. Pokémon Shuffle (3DS eShop)15%
  6. Adventure Bar Story (3DS eShop)3%
  7. Excave (3DS eShop)2%
  8. Flap Flap (3DS eShop download)  0%
  9. 4Elements (3DS eShop)  0%
  10. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call DLC3%
  11. One of the 3DS temporary discounts  0%
  12. NES: Ice Climbers (3DS HOME Theme)4%
  13. Fishdom (DSiWare)1%
  14. 4Elements (DSiWare)  0%
  15. Nothing for me this week35%

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