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It's time for another Nintendo Download Update for North America, and this week has shaped up rather nicely. On 3DS there's a huge retail release and a tempting demo, while a notable download arrival brings a bit of punch to proceedings. On Wii U there are some interesting Nindie options to consider, while a classic from the N64 era also arrives. Let's get to the details, shall we?

Missed the European Nintendo Download Update earlier in the week? Don't panic, the details are right here.

Wii U eShop

Toby: The Secret Mine (Headup Games, $9.99) - A rather handsome puzzle-platformer by Lukáš Navrátil, this tasks you with navigating dangerous areas and solving puzzles, with an art-style that is somewhat reminiscent in tone to Typoman. We'll let you know what we think of it in a review.

Koi DX (CIRCLE Entertainment, $3.99) - This rather intriguing title appears to take place within a Koi pond - obviously - with missions, customisation and more involved in the gameplay. It has some rather handsome visual design and could be worth a look.

Mega Maze (Justin Keys, $3.99) - This is a first-person game in which you work your way through mazes, finding keys for locked areas and trying to reach the end goal. There are some online features and even a level creation tool, too; we'll try not to get lost and will bring you a review soon.

Snowball (CRT Factory, $3.00) - A retro-style game in which you work your way through single screen stages as a seal, grabbing snowballs and avoiding hunters before tackling them in a boss encounter. It promises retro, score chasing fun, and it'll be interesting to see whether it achieves those targets or melts away.

Wii U Virtual Console

Star Fox 64 (Nintendo, $9.99) - A classic of the Nintendo 64 era and, arguably, the definitive entry in this franchise. Great for short run-throughs or for detailed sessions chasing secret routes and high scores, we loved this in our most recent review.

3DS Retail Download

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (Square Enix, $39.99) - The second major remaster in this series to make it to the West in a matter of months, this is another to add to the impressive line-up of RPGs on the portable. An excellent game is beautifully produced here, with enjoyable extra content and features adding to the sizeable original adventure; we loved it in our Dragon Quest VIII review. Available from 20th January.

New Nintendo 3DS eShop

COLOR CUBES (RCMADIAX, $1.49) - Seemingly another score-chaser, in this case you tap to change the colours of boxes with the challenge ramping up and demanding faster reflexes.

3DS eShop

Punch Club (tinyBuild Games, $9.99) - A title that's previous dealt out damage on PC, this is a management sim of sorts in which you train your boxer to rise through the ranks while also learning about your father's death. It's packed with pop culture references and humour, and from what we recall on PC packs quite a punch in difficulty. We'll go for a KO in our review.

3DS Demo

Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World (Nintendo, free)


As always Nintendo of America wants you to check out the eShop and Sales and Deals page for discount details. The January Digital Deals are still running until 25th January, and fresh discounts this week include Word Logic by POWGI and Family Tennis SP.

That's the full Nintendo Download Update for North America this week. Let us know what you plan to download in the comments and poll below.

What will you be downloading this week?

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