Joystiq [Nintendo]

JC Fletcher

- http://nintendo.joystiq.com

THE ERA AND TIME OF THIS STORY IS UNKNOWN. AFTER THE MOTHERSHIP "ARKANOID" WAS DESTROYED, A SPACECRAFT "JC Fletcher" SCRAMBLED AWAY FROM IT. BUT ONLY TO BE TRAPPED IN SPACE WARPED BY SOMEONE......

DSi LL is too big for its own box art

by JC Fletcher { 2 days ago }

The box design for the Japanese DSi LL has shown up on Amazon.co.jp, and, as usual, it is classy and fairly minimalist, featuring little more than a picture of the hardware on a white background.

We're childish enough to be amused by the fact that the whole DSi LL doesn't fit on the box. You know, because it's so big. Look how much room is on the DSi box! Somehow, despite not fitting on the box, the DSi LL fits in the box -- we can only assume it's in there disassembled like an IKEA desk.

[Via GoNintendo]

European Nintendo downloads: Banana fighting street

by JC Fletcher { 2 days ago }

Finally, the wait for Fighting Street is over for Europe! We suppose it's timely, given that a new Street Fighter game is in the news now, but ... it's still Fighting Street. The continuation of Tales of Monkey Island should be a bit more welcome, as should the DSiWare Bomberman Blitz.

Manic Monkey Mayhem on WiiWare sounds like it could be great (monkeys throw bananas to knock each other off of platforms), with online play -- but, of course, we always feel guarded about unknown WiiWare games. But monkeys! We look forward to hearing impressions.

As for the rest, Uno sounds like Uno and SUDOKU sounds like sudoku, but louder.

Fighting Street (Turbografx-16 CD-ROM, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Manic Monkey Mayhem (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 3: Lair of the Leviathan (WiiWare, 1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
Uno (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
A Little Bit of ... All Time Classics: Family Favorites (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)
Bomberman Blitz (DSiWare, 1-8 players, 500 DSi Points)
SUDOKU (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)

Fragile Dreams: Hello to a new title and screens

by JC Fletcher { 2 days ago }

click for moon-sizeToday, XSEED announced a slight title change for the North American release of Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon. The company has chosen to go the same route as Rising Star Games and add the word Dreams to the title. Along with the announcement, the company sent out the new logo. It's based on the Japanese logo, but -- to be extremely nitpicky -- loses something with the extra line and the subtitle font.

However, the game, as seen in new screenshots below, still looks lovely. And that's the part that matters, regardless of our petty complaints. The new title does have the bonus of making us think of Johnny Hates Jazz's "Shattered Dreams." Totally great song.

Gallery: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon (Wii)

Sin & Punishment 2 in the hands of an expert

by JC Fletcher { 3 days ago }

We suspect that even if we started playing Sin & Punishment 2 now and kept playing until the North American release in spring of next year, we wouldn't be able to play with the kind of skill and confidence on display in this video of Stage 1. The player in this demonstration on Nintendo's site builds up a 16x multiplier immediately and hangs on to it throughout the level.

In more S&P2 news, Siliconera has been translating an Iwata Asks interview with Treasure, mostly about the development of the first game for Nintendo 64, a system that "didn't work at all."

USK: Phoenix Wright holding court on Wii

by JC Fletcher { 3 days ago }

A rating on Germany's USK database suggests that Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is being planned for Wii. "Objection!!", you may say, thrilled to have the opportunity to work that in. "Didn't Ace Attorney Investigations producer Motohide Eshiro already say that the series would remain on handhelds?"

While it's true that future Ace Attorney games will probably be on handhelds, the series has already been ported to PC, proving that someone within Capcom -- and not necessarily anyone involved with actually making the Ace Attorney games -- has no issue with porting the existing titles, which is extremely likely to be what is happening here. And this is the same Capcom that said that Resident Evil 4 would be a GameCube exclusive.

Our guess would be an episodic WiiWare presentation of the first Phoenix Wright. Or a mistake in the rating description.

Easy Piano easing into North America next year

by JC Fletcher { 3 days ago }

Band Hero's reign as the DS music game with the silliest peripheral in America will soon be over. Valcon Games has announced that it will release Easy Piano, the piano teaching game with the 13-key keyboard attachment, in North America. It'll join the piles and piles of other games coming out in early 2010, but then those don't have keyboards.

Easy Piano includes a piano teaching system -- a mini Miracle Keyboard, essentially -- but also allows players to record four three-minute long performances, and includes a piano-based rhythm game. What it doesn't include, for obvious reasons, is DSi compatibility. Maybe the company will make a version for the DSi XL that connects wirelessly to one of those floor pianos from Big.

Also, we've changed our minds -- Band Hero is still the silliest.

Space Invaders Extreme Z invades Japan's DSiWare

by JC Fletcher { 4 days ago }

Taito surprised us with a last-minute addition to the Japanese DSi Shop, and a rather awesome one at that: a modified downloadable version of Space Invaders Extreme 2! Space Invaders Extreme Z features three "courses" of increasing difficulty based on SIE2's levels, playable in "score attack" and "time attack" modes.

Space Invaders Extreme Z is available on DSiWare now (in Japan only) for 500 DSi Points. It's the first DSiWare game from Taito, who has released several WiiWare titles including Space Invaders Get Even, Bubble Bobble Plus, Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! and Arkanoid Plus -- all of which were released in North America.

Ghost Trick returns to haunt us with new trailer

by JC Fletcher { 4 days ago }

Capcom's Ghost Trick was one of the most memorable games of TGS (in our opinion), combining a novel puzzle mechanic with a memorable style. We've been eagerly awaiting any new information or media that may (Ghost) trickle out, and now we've got a new-ish trailer to share for the 2010 release.

We say new-ish because it features the same intro animation seen in the TGS trailer. But this extended video also has brief snippets of gameplay footage, in which we can see Sissel possessing and "tricking" things like a cabinet door (to make a dog move). Check out the trailer after the break.

Gallery: Ghost Trick (TGS 2009)

[Via GoNintendo]

Continued →

Nintendo still planning to co-market Dragon Quest IX

by JC Fletcher { 5 days ago }

Though Square Enix has yet to say anything concrete about releasing Dragon Quest IX outside of Japan, Nintendo has discussed its own plans to market the title. Last year, Satoru Iwata mentioned his intention to promote the game in the West, and during this week's financial results Q&A session, senior managing director Shinji Hatano reiterated that intention.

"Hatano said that helping to sell Dragon Quest IX outside Japan is part of a larger effort on the part of Nintendo to partner with software makers to sell their games for Nintendo hardware," GameLife summarized. Maybe eventually, Square Enix will announce this game.

Also on the subject of Dragon Quest IX, at the same event, Shigeru Miyamoto praised DQIX's communication mode, which allows players to collect and interact with others' characters passively. "Dragon Quest IX's passerby communication has caused the number of people walking around outside using their DS systems to increase greatly, and I'm thinking that I could probably make something unique like that," he said. And then he said "Also, recently, we got a cat." Hint, hint.

[Via GameLife]

Japanese Nintendo downloads: Neo Geo, Art Style return

by JC Fletcher { 5 days ago }

This week marks two major events (sort of) for the Japanese Wii and DSi download services. First, both Wii and DSi downloads now go up on the same date. In this case, it's November 4, which is today in Japan. Second, the Neo Geo is back! The last Neo game came out in Japan in July 2008.

On DSiWare, there's more mahjong, more calendar apps, and more Art Style. Digidrive is a remake of one of the original Bit Generations games. It's been released as Intersect in Europe.

Fire Emblem Gaiden (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Fatal Fury Special (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)
"Aha! I Got It" Escape Game (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
Kyoto Students Taishi Higashida Thought Puzzle Inspiration Signed Painting (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
Handy Mahjong (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
Daily Growing Journal Calendar (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)
Art Style: DIGIDRIVE (DSiWare, 1 player, 500 DSi Points)

A ridiculously detailed guide to the changes in North America's Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

by JC Fletcher { 5 days ago }

forums.shoryuken.com/showthread.php

We know about the "big picture" changes made to Tatsunoko vs. Capcom for the North American release (and the Japanese re-release to follow): online play, new characters, no Hakushon Daimao. But those aren't the only changed. In every iteration of its fighting games, Capcom tweaks tiny behaviors and damage effects to balance the game.

The fighting game obsessives at Shoryuken have produced a list of minute changes that will affect how the game works. For example, the Megacrash move (which pushes the opponent to the opposite side of the screen) now pushes up in addition to away. And Roll's air dash is faster. Check out the wonderfully informative post for plenty more details that we never, ever would have noticed.

Gallery: Tatsunoko vs Capcom (TGS 2009)

[Via GoNintendo]

Choose your Rabbids Go Home bonus: Assassin's Creed Rabbid ... or Geek Squad Rabbid

by JC Fletcher { 6 days ago }

Rabbids Go Home is now out, having officially been released yesterday. However, the bonuses typically associated with pre-orders are still up for grabs, in the form of two sets of retailer-exclusive Rabbids. If you order the game from GameStop (who, confusingly, is still accepting pre-orders), you'll receive exclusive Rabbid costumes based on Splinter Cell and Assassin's Creed.

If you buy it from Best Buy (in-store), you'll receive exclusive Rabbid costumes based on ... Best Buy. The exclusive Best Buy Employee and Geek Squad Rabbids will be yours! It's a tough choice, we know: the guy from Assassin's Creed or the guy who sold you Assassin's Creed. However, we doubt the codes are one-time use, so you should be able to find all the costume codes online soon enough.

Celebrate Halloween with Scribblenauts

by JC Fletcher { 8 days ago }

If you're planning to visit the London Dungeon this Halloween, you may get a scare of some kind, but more importantly, you can also get an exclusive Scribblenauts level. An exclusive Halloween level will be distributed in line at the Dungeon from 12 to 3pm wirelessly.

If you're not planning to go to the London Dungeon, you can still enjoy some spooky Scribblenauts goodies in the form of this wallpaper (1024x768, 1280x1024, or 1600x1200). It's full of creatures that we haven't seen before, including the Candy Corn Man and whatever that adorable giant eyepatch-wearing cat is. If you know the word that summons the Candy Corn Man, please, please let us know.

MSX returns to Virtual Console in Japan with ... Metal Gear!?

by JC Fletcher { 9 days ago }

There hasn't been an MSX game released on Virtual Console in Japan since July 2008. Konami has decided to start releasing its MSX library on Virtual Console, and as a result (should these games actually come out), the MSX selection will more than triple in November. Which just means it'll go from a whole two games to seven.

One of the MSX classics planned for November? The original Metal Gear! Only available in America as a bonus with Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, the debut of Hideo Kojima's verbose series will be on Japan's Virtual Console for 800 points sometime next month.

The full list of planned releases, which doesn't include whatever arcade games Bandai Namco will overcharge for, is after the break.

Continued →

European Nintendo downloads: Zombies Lit, BBQed My Ghost Mansion

by JC Fletcher { 9 days ago }

Nintendo of Europe apparently believes Halloween is serious business and worth celebrating. Four of the five new downloadable games this week are in some way horror-themed! Zombies Ate My Neighbors arrives on Virtual Console in the same week as its North American release (under the European title Zombies), as does (unfortunately) Ghost Mansion Party. WayForward's LIT proves a more appropriate Halloween release than its Valentine's Day-adjacent release in the US would suggest.

Perhaps the biggest, scariest surprise of all: Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ is out in Europe, finally! And, while it was released on a cartridge here, it's an 800-point DSiWare download in Europe! No excising of zombie food talk for this one.

Zombies (SNES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
LIT (WiiWare, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
Ghost Mansion Party (WiiWare, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ (DSiWare, 1 player, 800 DSi Points)
A Little Bit of ... All Time Classics: Card Classics (DSiWare, 1-8 players, 500 DSi Points)