Search found 34 matches for VC

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A Treasure Trove of Content!

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We've heard your cries for better coverage of The Legend of Zelda series which admittedly we're missing a ton of reviews for, so this year we'll be reviewing every Zelda Wii, Wii U, 3DS, and Virtual Console game that we've failed to review thus-far, but we'll also be publishing a new Zelda-themed exclusive feature each month as well!

What do you think of this announcement? As always be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

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#News #ZeldaFest2019 #Reviews #Features #WiiWareWave #Wii #WiiU #3DS #Switch #eShop #VC

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Link To The Amazing!

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Developed and published by Nintendo, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past returns to the formula that the original game in the series utilized, but adds to it in many ways and all of which are positive improvements! Continue reading our review to find out why we think you should add this retro game to your Wii U Virtual Console collection of games!



The story in ALTTP is by and far better than the one that the original The Legend of Zelda title had and showed that RPG's weren't the only genre that could be epic in this regard! The gameplay while similar to that of the NES original added quite a few changes such as eight-way movement, much more complex equipment, weapon and equipment upgrades, and even an entire second world.

The game is also quite lengthy for an SNES game that's not a JRPG, clocking in at over 20 hours in length! The controls are also easy to learn which is always a good thing! Another good thing is the game runs much better on the Wii U than it did on the original Wii with far less stuttering and frame-rate drops.



The controls in the game are quite good, but we highly recommend using the Wii Classic Controller Pro for the best experience. The game's Off-TV play is executed perfectly with a great balance in its sound-level and ALTTP looks absolutely gorgeous on the Wii U Gamepad.

The audio-visual presentation is also superb with gorgeous cartoonish graphics that are exceptionally detailed for an SNES title, and the animations are fluid with rarely any dropped frames. The soundtrack is also pure bliss with catchy chiptunes and surprisingly good sound effects!



Bottom-Line: With an amazing and lengthy story , excellent gameplay, great controls, and a nearly flawless audio-visual presentation, The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past has aged gracefully and is just as fun today as it was when it was released well over 25 years ago! The better frame-rate compared to the Wii Virtual Console release makes this the most definitive re-release of the game thus-far! We give The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past for the Wii U Virtual Console a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #Nintendo #Action #Adventure #WiiU #3DS #Wii #eShop #VC

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A Baby Splash In Time!

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Developed and published by Nintendo, Mario & Luigi: Partners in time is the second title in the now long-running Mario & Luigi series and adds to the formula of Superstar Saga with time-travelling shananigans with the now-famous Baby Mario Bros. in tow. Is this zany title as good as its predecessor? We think so and here's why:



The story in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is just as epic as you'd expect from a true to form Mario RPG. Of course there's plenty of humour to be had, but unlike recent Mario RPG's Bowser is not the main focus as an antagonist, much like in Superstar Saga and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door there's a cast of refreshingly unique antagonists to tackle which is a breath of fresh air to be quite honest.

the gameplay is revamped from Superstar Saga, there's a time-travelling element, plus the baby bros. join the team, giving you four different allies at your command at once which adds alot of depth to the gameplay formula. Puzzle solving plays a big role in Partners in Time and ctn be challenging at times while the battles are substantially more difficult than those in Superstar Saga.



Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is also quite a long game, clocking in at over 40 hours in length. The controls are also superb which is always a good thing. The audio-visual presentation while simple in nature are quite beautiful and fit the game like a glove, while the soundtrack is far better than the one in Superstar Saga. Overall the game looks and sounds like pure perfection!

Bottom-Line:

With a wacky and highly enjoyable story, superb gameplay, and flawless audio-visual presentation, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is the pinnacle of perfection and one of the best DS games we've had the opportunity to play and as such we give the game a perfect level of recommendation!

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #Nintendo #WiiU #VC #DS #Mario #RPG #Retro

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Pokémon Wranglers Unite!

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It looks like, yet another Pokémon title will be hitting the Wii U Virtual Console Service as a listing for Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia has appeared on Nintendo of America's website! The game will be priced at the standard cost of $9.99 the same as most other DS games on the service!

Are you looking forward to this game's VC release? As always be sure to leave us a comment below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #DS #PokémonRanger #ShadowsOfAlmia

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Wrangling Mons!

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It looks like the DS title, Pokémon Ranger will be released on the North American Wii U Virtual Console Service tomorrow according to a listing on Nintendo of America's official website! The game will be priced at $9.99! Are you looking forward to this upcoming Virtual Console title? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

Source: Nintendo.

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#WiiU #eShop #VC #DS #PokémonRanger

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New Console Ahoy!

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It's been a longtime coming, but the wait is finally over in North America as TG-16 games are now starting to roll-out on the Wii U Virtual Console service! The first three TG-16 games will be hitting the eShop tomorrow. Here's the full launch lineup:

◆ Bonk's Adventure.
◆ R-Type.
◆ New Adventure Island.

The games will be priced at $5.99 with a discounted price of $1 if you already have the titles via Wii Mode! What do you think of this week's VC lineup? Are you excited that a new system is finally hitting the Wii U Virtual Console service? As always be sure to let us know in our comment section below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #TG16

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Everyone's Totally Favorite Chameleon Is Back On Wii U!

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Nintendo of America was quite late in confirming our Virtual Console line-up this week for the Wii U and 3DS! All three titles this week were quite unexpected as Super Paper Mario (Wii) and Drill Dozer (GBA) will be hitting the Wii U eShop shortly! On the 3DS side of things, Mega Man 7 (SNES) will be hitting the New 3DS eShop in a short while!

What do you think of this week's VC lineup? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

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#VC #eShop #WiiU #N3DS #Wii #GBA #SNES

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R-Type & New Adventure Island Listings Lead To Speculation!

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The ESRB has just rated two Turbographx-16 titles for the Wii U Virtual Console service, which has led to speculation of a potential release of more consoles on the Wii U Virtual Console Service! The two games that were rated yesterday are New Adventure Island and R-Type!

Update! Three more Turbographx-16 titles have been rated! The three new titles are Bonks Adventure, Bomberman 93, and Neutopia! It really does look like Turbographx-16 will be added to the Wii U Virtual Console lineup!

What do you think about this news? As always be sure to let us know in our comment section below!

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#ESRB #WiiU #VC #eShop #TG16

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A Wonderful Week For All Nintendo Hardware!

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It's Wednesday evening once again, which means that we have a fairly good idea as to what will be releasing tomorrow on the Wii U and 3DS eShops in North America! This week looks to be fantastic with two AAA (NES) first party Wii U Virtual Console titles, and a bunch of excellent looking eShop releases on the Wii U and 3DS!

These are the confirmed releases for the eShop in the region tomorrow "so far":

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Wii U eShop Releases:

★ Dragon Fantasy: Book II: The Black Tome of Ice ~ JRPG ~ $9.99

★ Futuridium EP Deluxe ~ Shooter/On-The-Rails ~ $7.99

★ Dual Core ~ Shooter/Action/Adventure/RPG/Party ~ $9.99

★ Rynn's Adventure ~ Platformer / Metroidvania ~ $9.99

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Wii U Virtual Console Releases:

★ Star Tropics (NES) ~ Adventure ~ $4.99

★ Zoda's Revenge: Star Tropics II (NES) ~ Adventure ~ $4.99

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3DS eShop Releases:

★ Dragon Fantasy: Book II: The Black Tome of Ice ~ JRPG ~ $9.99

★ Infinite Dunamis ~ JRPG ~ $9.99

★ Epic Word Search Collection 2 ~ Puzzle/Word Game ~ $7.99

★ Conveni Dream ~ Simulation ~ $5.00

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What do you think of this week's confirmed update so far? Are there any games you plan on downloading? Also what do you think of the pricing of the games? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

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#WiiU #3DS #eShop #VC #NA #WeeklyUpdate #Downloads

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Another Big Week For U!

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It's Wednesday evening once again, which means that we have a fairly good idea as to what will be releasing tomorrow on the Wii U and 3DS eShops in North America! This week looks to be fairly good with a very interesting Wii U Virtual Console title, and a bunch of solid looking eShop releases on the Wii U side of things, while the 3DS update looks to be rather sparse once again with only a single eShop game and a "New 3DS" exclusive Virtual Console title releasing tomorrow...

These are the confirmed releases for the eShop in the region tomorrow "so far":

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Wii U eShop Releases:

★ Chompy Chomp Chomp Party ~ Party ~ $11.99

★ PixelJunk Monsters ~ Tower Defense / Strategy ~ $9.99

★ Sweetest Thing ~ Board / Strategy ~ $6.99

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Wii U Virtual Console Releases:

★ Poképark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure (Wii) ~ Theme Park / Adventure ~ $19.99

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3DS eShop Releases:

★ Digger Dan DX ~ Platformer ~ $0.99

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New 3DS Virtual Console Releases:

★ Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES) ~ Action-Platformer ~ $7.99



What do you think of this week's confirmed update so far? Are there any games you plan on downloading? Also what do you think of the pricing of the games? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

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#WiiU #3DS #New3DS #eShop #VC #NA #WeeklyUpdate #Downloads

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Emulation Fail...

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Review written by @Jnes5 and edited by @Ichigofan.



It is the year 511 of the Unified Era in the continent of Imperia, which began after the War of Unification, which was meant for the realms of Athos, Elyria, Thena, Certes and the Vestra to unite and form the land of Imperia, has ended in success. A new war, the War of Independence, is occurring between Athos, Certes and Thena joining to face against Elyria in order to gain more territory from them. But as years have passed, the war was calmed down a little and since then, the Elyrian kingdom were having their traditional Harvest festival event until an incident occurs as the chosen one to sing in the main festival, Elena, becomes cursed and transform into a hideous beast and wreaks havoc upon the city. Aeron, a friend of hers, later finds her unconscious and returned to her human form next to a Vestra merchant named Mavda, who helps them escape from the city and from the Elyrian army and eventually reach the wastelands of Okanos, where a fortress known as the Thirteen Towers is located, over a massive chasm called The Scar, which was caused by a violent event called The Cataclysm and is only stopped from growing bigger and engulfing the world by the Thirteen Towers, where it is suspended in the middle of the chasm by twelve chains connected to the surrounding cliffs. Mavda reveals that she has seen Elena's curse before and that in order to lift it, Aeron must use the Oraclos Chain, a special weapon given by her, to obtain the flesh of the monsters that live in the Thirteen Towers. Although Elena will be returned to human form after eating the flesh of any monster in the tower, Mavda tells them that the only way to truly remove the curse is to retrieve the flesh of the 12 Masters of the Towers.

Story:

I do think that the story in this game is pretty good, although it lacks on certain areas, the whole setting to the whole world is not covered enough to know more about them, such as the empires in war towards Elyria and even how they even are or look like, it lacks a lot more background behind the whole setting and you even need to pay close attention to some details that the game might give you regarding the whole background of its setting to try to understand what is going on in the world... however, the game is still fine aside from the lack of background since the main story, which focuses on Aeron saving Elena from her curse from spreading any further, is presented very well, as you continue towards the game, there will be notes laying around that can give you much more on the background on the towers and even the war that happened years ago in the game's current time, as well as the character Mavda giving you a bit more of background from her casual talks to giving you notes detailing what's going on in the world, the game also gives you hints and mysteries throughout the game that of a side plot that  will affect the main story at the final climax of the game, one of the hints that lead up to more of the background related to the main story is very well told while the other hints that is also in the same main story is kind of predictable, although still well done, the main story is very interesting and with the hints and mysteries that the game will give you later on, but it would've been more appealing as to where you want to know what will happen in the end of the story if the character development was better (more on that later on...).

The game contains six endings which are S, A, B, C, D and the bad ending and each from them range from high to low respectively, and the lower the rank is, the more depressing the ending is, but one important thing to mention is that each ending can give you more background into the story the higher the rank is, including fixing a few plotholes as well, but the thing is the S ending is much more better in that regard since the other endings, while each of them quite different from each other and well told on their own, don't bring the benefits of the story that the S ending brings, that and because to be completely honest, the A ending, being the 2nd one from the top rank, was really sad despite the fact that it's supposed to be one of the "less" depressing endings from the rank...



Gameplay:

Pandora's Tower (also known as "Pandora's Tower: Until I Return to Your Side" in Japan) is an Action game with Role Playing elements that can be played with the Wii Remote + Nunchuck and the Classic Controller/Pro, The main objective of this game is to explore all 13 towers filled with many monsters and defeat the bosses in each tower and collect their flesh, but you also must return to the observatory every once in a while to keep Elena from turning into a beast by giving her any type of monster flesh while also strengthen your relationship between you, as Aeron, and Elena. The controls might be a little complex at the beginning, but it will be much more simpler later in the game, you attack with the A button and with the Z button in the Nunchuck you can defend yourself if stationary and you can roll out if moving and pick up items with the C button, there's also a helpful menu that you can open up with the + Button where you can manage and see the inventory, equip some armor, weapons or such, look at the map, etc., two interesting things to mention is that you can use any usable items by scrolling with left and right on the D-pad on a small menu and use that select item with either up or down on the D-pad, and the other one is what makes this game unique which is the Oraclos Chain, this chain can be helpful in ranged distances by aiming with the cursor with the Wii remote and when highlighted on an object or monster you can tap the B button to quickly grab it, hold it or attack it, but you can also hold down the B button to make the cursor have a little zoomed-in view of where you are pointing to where you can aim in great detail what you want to grab, this might sound troublesome when in battle, but the big advantage is that the game slows down when doing so, meaning there's no regrets of ever using this feature, but when the chain grabs something, you either pull it by holding down the C button or by violently pull it down by shaking the Wii remote downwards, you can also attach two objects with the same chain by pointing it to another object and pressing the B button while the chain is currently grabbing something else, you can even reach some items from a far distance with it. The controls feel well, there are also some other mechanics included in the controls that are also helpful that I will mention later like jumping where it's automatic in which once you run towards a gap, and there's another platform towards you, you will jump to it, however I did have a problem with shaking the Wii remote down in order to pull out something violently, as in sometimes it might work but sometimes you might need to shake a little more harder in certain times, and this can get bothersome if you are fighting with a lot of enemies, but other than that, the controls are good despite some little issues, but you can also use the Classic Controller/Pro in this game, replacing the whole aiming with the Wii Remote to aiming with the right stick as well as replacing the Oraclos Chain's controls with the R button, one issue I have is that the controls in the Classic Controller/Pro might be awkward to get used to and might take some time to be comfortable with it when using the chain, especially if you get used to the Wii Remote + Nunchuck, but it is great for those who don't want to aim and shake on the Wii remote and Nunchuck, making this game feel much more accessible to anyone in terms of controls.

This being an action game, the combat feels amazingly fluid and comfortable since dodging in this game actually feels like you are dodging attacks unlike other action games where dodging was useless since they can't even help you evade an attack, especially if it didn't hit you (sadly you can't constantly spam the dodging move since the game will punish you by making you vulnerable if you do it two times quickly, but to me it's a fair mechanic), there are also other mechanics that you can do in which there's a charge attack you can do by holding down the A button and then let go, you will also see a visual cue when doing a charge attack where you see a circle closing towards Aeron and when pressing the A button when the circle is almost gone, it will help Aeron to pull of more combos from the charge attack, the Oraclos Chain is even useful for battle in some cases, since you can use it by specifically point the enemy towards a certain limb to grab it and then violently pull it off, slightly damaging it, and you can get certain items from them by defeating them and when they're lying on the ground (with some red mist coming from them indicating they are defeated) and then aim which limb to take from, and then once the chain grabs it, you violently pull it off, you can get certain items from them but if it's in the stomach (in most enemies) you will always get the monster's flesh in which it will be useful for a certain situation (more on that later...), the chain also even has its own meter that that determines how much damage it can do when violently pull off someone and you can raise it if you use the chain in different ways but in a quick consistent way as it can slowly reset to zero if it doesn't do anything, it's meter can also be upgraded by defeating a boss, it's a pretty nice action game but it also has a great amount of RPG elements on it, for example you can level up your character by earning enough experience points by defeating enemies, you can level up your health meter, your attack power, etc. one RPG mechanic to mention is the inventory and equipment menu, in the inventory menu you are limited to carry a certain amount of items depending on how much your bag can hold, at the beginning it is very frustrating due to how low it is, but you can thankfully make Elena help you expand it with a certain item, and the equipment menu is sort of the same in terms of its functionality, there's a grid menu where you can set the equipment on them and take some space and the bigger the item is, the more space it will take, so you have to arrange them in order to make the equipment to have a little bit of more space by turning them or such, think of the item menu in Resident Evil 4, only much more smaller and you can't combine items and such, but you can upgrade its space by leveling up which is a good thing, speaking of equipment you can also acquire two new weapons eventually in the game aside from the sword, one which is more quicker to swing but very weak to use and one that has a great attack range but it is slow to swing, and all of your weapons can be upgraded to become more stronger with the help of Mavda by bringing her certain types of material items. And speaking of items, it has a great emphasis on the game as there's many types of items located inside the towers that you can use in a different way, you can find them by destroying some crates, find them in a certain spot or by finding the in chests, which said items are usable items, the equipment items, etc. but the most that gets more attention is the material items, since in this game you can also find items that you can use to create items of any kind with the help of Mavda, you can create usable items, gift items, more material items and also be used to make your weapon stronger as I've mentioned before, the game can get difficult if you don't use this mechanic often in order to help you out in the game, as I had trouble in a few dungeons due to not using this mechanic well and not often, but thankfully I did use it well and often later on and I had the choices of how I am going to play the game (better attack power, better defense, better range, etc.), some material items can each be found in a certain tower, meaning that you might go to a certain tower in order to get a certain item, but I think that is for completionists since I did fine and I didn't needed strong weaponry (but I did needed strong armory which can be obtained easily) to beat the game, but other people might struggle in order to get their equipment they want.

The towers are the ones you must explore and reach to the top, the exploration in this game can differ in each dungeon, but mainly it composed with rooms where it can be full with few or more enemies, which there's is a nice variety of them (both common and special) and each special enemy is unique to represent the tower they're on, and some rooms might have a certain mechanic that might help you progress through the tower with the help of the Oraclos Chain, for example there are elevators that can be operated to go up and down by operating a lever by using the chain from a distance if the lever is a little far away and there are some helpful structures that you can grab and help you in some way like the ladders that you can grab a part of it to get on to it and some hooks on the ceilings that you can grab to either hang onto it or swing back and forth in order to later jump towards another unreachable platform, and each tower has a different mechanic between each other that can be operated differently in order to progress, for instance there's one where you must operate a giant waterwheel in order to grab its handles sticking out of its sides in order to reach the next unreachable floor and there's one where you have to grab some stones that are sticking out of the walls in order to get higher to the tower, but the towers each have uniquely designed obstacles in some rooms that differentiate from others as well, for example there's one where you have to jump quickly over some stones they fall down the lava in a fire based tower. All of the towers though have a giant door at the top of the floor where the boss is inside, and the only way to defeat them is by pulling their master flesh out of them, however all of them have a massive health bar and the only way to hurt them is by making them expose their master flesh (since each boss have a unique way to fight them as they have different patterns and behaviors that you must attack them in a certain way to make them expose their flesh) and once exposed you must remove it with the help of your chain by making it stronger (which you can do that by pulling them for a while and then, at the right time, violently pull it down) and the more stronger it is, the more health you can get rid of, it is a great and fun game design but the thing is though the giant doors that lead to each of these bosses is locked up with chains, and these chains can be found in special rooms located throughout the tower by pulling the door's lock with the chain and then when inside, you destroy the chain with your weapon, so it encourages you more in exploring rather than reaching the top of the tower, but thankfully the whole towers do not have a very complex design that can take you very long to beat (the later ones might be but you might get used to the whole game to not take too long), and I say this because you have a time limit in these towers.

The game is not just about exploring the towers, it's about keeping Elena from turning into a beast, there is a gauge that acts like a time limit in the bottom-left corner of the screen that represents the amount of time left for her to turn into one, shaped in a circular form with three colors filling the gauge (white which means she's alright, purple which means half her body is going to change, and red which means almost all of her body will be transformed) and when time decreases, the gauge will decrease while staying in one of the colors where Elena's progress will be in, sadly you can't stop the gauge, you have a rest area which is the observatory, and inside there are a lot of helpful things (it even stops the timer until you go to a tower) such as a save point, a big chest that you can keep your items in and Mavda where you can talk to her and help you by offering her shop, strengthen your weapon, craft some new items, etc., and she can reward you some gold (in here they're called leots) if you bring her some notes or some spare flesh that you want to get rid of, and there are also some rooms in the observatory that can be visited and maybe find some items every once in a while, but the most important one in the observatory is Elena, and what you need to do to keep the gauge from decreasing is to feed her with the enemies’ flesh as I've mentioned before, and the monster's flesh comes from four varieties, one which is the master one that can recover Elena completely, but they can only be pulled from the bosses and are required to continue the game, but the other three are more common since they come from the enemies in which are the normal flesh that can only gain you a little bit of time, the dripping one that can give you a decent amount of time, and the pulsating one that can give you a great amount of time. But there's more, you not only keep her from turning into a beast, but you must also strengthen your relationship with her by giving her gifts (that can only be obtained by either buying them from Mavda's shop or by crafting one in Mavda's workshop) or by selecting the correct option when she asks you a question by talking to her,  but you can weaken her relationship by giving her the wrong items or if you answer the wrong question, and you relationship is indicated on a meter above the time limit that that is only seen when you're in the observatory and the higher the meter is, the more better the ending is going to be as I've mentioned before. Responsibility plays a great role in the part of the gameplay, as you not only must explore the dungeons, but you must also keep Elena from turning into a beast, otherwise it's game over and you will get the bad ending, but you must also keep your relationship with her as well, in order to affect the ending in the end, and for some reason the whole responsibility did not affect my enjoyment of the game, I did get used to it in order to get through the game, however I do think that some people might find this very tedious and a chore to do to play this, while the game is designed well in order to not be too long, the game does get harder in the later dungeons and some people might not have the patience for their responsibility to be much more difficult.

I thought that the game was good, despite the fact that the game has a time limit and some other issues, I do think that the responsibility is a strong focus in this game and the controls feel really good despite some issues and not to mention that the game is designed well in other to balance some of the issues like the time limit and the responsibility to be much more acceptable as you are playing, and it was enjoyable to me due to how strategic it can be despite not having any strategic mechanics in the gameplay, however I do think that some people might get frustrated with this game due to the responsibility and the other tedious issues like the item collecting and such.

Graphics:

I will admit that the game looks pretty dated, in fact it kind of looks like a game from the Gamecube Era, it goes with a medieval-fantasy style, but some textures, mostly the walls and the floors, look somewhat muddy and some of the environments lack some detail, but other than that, there are some settings that can look really great, some of the lightning and the water effects look nice, but the character models were great, they have great detail and they look like they were finely modeled, specially the bosses, although I have some issues with it since I feel the Aeron looks a bit... odd, and also the fact that there was a suggestive detail that was altered to not look like so, but it just looks strange and unnatural...



Music and Sound:

The soundtrack is very good, it has an orchestral score for all of its songs and in some of them they have choirs as well to accompany the music, although it needed a little bit of attention to be somewhat memorable since some of the songs are pretty quiet and the gameplay pretty much distracts from it, there is some songs that really accommodate some moments such as the boss battles, the important events, etc. and they all sound amazing and do a great job at setting the mood of the scene.

The sounds are somewhat very simple, most of them sound a little low-budget but for some reason they really fit well with the game, like the sword slashing, the ground being pounded, etc. but there are some sounds that are very nice that fit appropriately like the tensely-heard heart beat and others. The voice acting in this game is really great, although Aeron doesn't speak much, the voice actor Ryan Philpott does his best for the role and he is good at it in the end, Charlotte Sanderson as Elena is pretty good although I wanted to be it a bit more better since there are moments where she sounds a little quiet due to the music being loud at times or due to some other issues, but she does a great amount of effort into her role since the game has Elena so much to talk about when talking to her or giving her gifts and such, but the best one by far is Ann Beach as Mavda, she sounds perfect in this game, Mavda being an old woman and very mysterious for the other characters, the voice actress does the greatest job at portraying her at who she is, the other voices are fine but these three in which are the most important do a great job at this game. And also this game actually supports all common languages like Spanish, French, etc. but they are only subtitled as the voices are only in English.

Presentation:

Despite only the game being set in one place, the game does a great job at giving the towers that you visit an interesting and different design that doesn't make itself look repetitive, for example there is a tower with a green and forest nature-like environment, a blue and water based environment such as waterways and a giant waterwheel, etc. and each tower represent their uniqueness with said environments and a game design that takes the environment and integrates it into the gameplay, meaning that the towers feel very "alive" and they are interesting to explore it, and even when not in the towers the observatory can have its moments too, while it doesn't have any secret rooms to explore, it does have some rooms that look really great, for example at the next room of the main observatory you can go a spring-like tower area and it look very pretty to look at, everything in this game along with its setting feels great and I do feel that in this section it is very well polished.

What it isn't very well polished though... is the character development, I do feel that Aeron lacks more depth and while Elena is fine as she is, I do feel that some people might find them boring or uninteresting, therefore not caring if they want to struggle with the whole responsibility and the time limit of the gameplay since they don't want to play more enough of it due to doing it for some characters that they don't even care about, the director of this game actually said that Aeron was developed like this so that he can become not too outspoken or assertive so in that way we can feel related to him... although it didn't work for me and I'm sure some people (not all mind you) won't either... and also speaking of which, some people have found that his face detail in the game's box art cover seems to be copied from Noctis from the upcoming Final Fantasy XV...

As for the replayability, there is a lot of stuff to do in this game, there is the great amount of items of many types you can collect, the hidden notes that you can collect, etc. but one great thing to mention is that the game does give you a New Game + when beating the game, in which all of your stuff in your first playthrough will be in the next new game such as your level and the items you had in your inventory and in the chest, the weapon enhancements, the items created by Mavda in the workshop and even Elena's affinity and the given gifts, but not only does this new playthrough will give you new texts in the Observatory, a new weapon and some new scenes with Elena, in the first playthrough you will find red doors that, no matter what you do, they will not open, but in the New Game +, Mavda will sell you keys that will get those doors open, in which some include new items in the open and some require you defeating monsters but you can also acquire the new items, in other words, while you will be quite busy with this game, some people might be put off when wanting to 100% complete the game due to the time limit...

Be warned however that for those of you who want to complete this, there is a bug in the game that will make this game freeze in a certain moment, it won't happen to those who want to simply beat this game though, but in this link there are more details about the bug and how to fix it (without the need of a hack or a patch).



The Wii U Difference:

There's a potential flaw in the Wii U version of the game that can cause the game to freeze 100% of the time if you leave the fourth tower before completing it, this flaw seriously hurts the game's overall score, the Off-TV-Play on the other hand is definitely a nice addition to the game!

Bottom-Line:

I did find this game to be fun and interesting to play with, it has one of the best combat mechanics that is very appropriate for it, the story is very interesting coupled with a very unique and sometimes great looking setting, and while the graphics leave much more to be desired, it isn't really doesn't look that bad, however the game does give you great responsibility, as it has a time limit and a reputation meter that you must both each work hard in order to not get a bad or worse ending, and while I find that the game has a great balance in its game design in order to not be much of a chore to do but not be that easy when get used to the gameplay, I do find some people being frustrated with this game, coupled with the fact that the characters might not be deep enough for other people to care, which is the game's main reason for its gameplay design, so if you don't like a lot of responsibility in your games specially if you don't want to do it with characters that don't have a lot of depth on them, I might suggest that you skip this game, but if you're interested in this game but are worried about the flaws I've mentioned, give this a rent if you can to see how well it will do for you, but if you're very interested in this game and don't mind the game mechanics I've mentioned before, then I say give this game a go, however due to the Wii U version's flaws we give this game a decent level of recommendation...

Price: $19.99

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Score: ★★★★★★½☆☆☆ 6.5/10

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#Review #WiiU #VC #eShop #Wii #PandorasTower

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In Celebration of A Huge Wii U Virtual Console Title Hitting The North American eShop Tomorrow!

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It's been awhile since we last updated our website in any way, but we have decided to change our website's theme to celebrate The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass' release on the North American Wii U eShop tomorrow! What do you think of our new theme? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

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#WiiWareWave #SiteUpdate #Theme #WiiU #eShop #VC

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Mamamia! What A Spicy "And Sweet" Adventure!

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Review by @Ichigofan and @Jnes5.



Bowser has invaded the Star Haven, stole the Star Rod and has imprisoned the seven Star Spirits who guarded the Star rod! Now Bowser's fortress becomes attached to Princess Peach's castle and lifts it up to the sky, sadly the Star Rod makes Bowser invincible, so it's up to mario to save the seven Star Spirits in order to lend them their power to thwart Bowser once and for all!

Story:

Even though the story isn't anything original, the whole story has quite a cheery and charming tone behind it! The story also has some humor as well, while it's not going to make you die-laughing, it does serve it's purpose of it being very charming and cheery, the game can also change it's tone a little, but not by much, so overall, the story is so good that you can't help, but feel the charming and cheery tone it has us following!



Gameplay:

The game plays like an RPG, but it has it's own unique twist that's makes the mario RPG's a one of a kind! First thing's first, the game takes place in a lot of overworlds, some of which are long and some of which are small, and sometimes it can include physical obstacles in your way and you, as mario, can jump and use his hammer to overcome most of them, however some might require you to think and explore in order to solve them! Not only that, the game also includes "partners", which are your allies who can not only help you fight enemies, but they can help you with the game's puzzles that they can only solve, since many of the game's puzzles and boundaries are based upon the abilities of Mario's partners, you can accumulate partners as they advance into different locations.

You can only have one partner that can accompany Mario in the overworld, but you can interchange between them at any time, and the best part of all, your partners have no HP so that's means that when they take damage, this results in temporary paralysis on them where they cannot attack, but they will never get KO'd, the gameplay on all the overworlds feel like an adventure-oriented puzzle game, and they keep the game from not being just an RPG.

And this is where the uniqueness comes from! One of the things that makes this game unique from some other RPGs is that you can control the actions when mario and a partner or an enemy is going to attack! Fairly early in the game, you will obtain an item called a "Lucky Star" which will give you the ability to use the "Action Command", with this you can influence the power of a move when attacking or defending by timing a button-press accurately or performing some other action command as required, like pressing a button repeatedly, tilting the control stick and letting it go in a certain moment, with this you can double up your attacks and reduce half the damage when you're defending!



This is pretty great and it's definitely worth it because it feels like you're helping mario in this game! Another thing that is unique in the battle system is that Mario and his partners have a capacity called "Flower Points" (FP), which is the equivalent of magic in RPGs, which these can allow you and your partners to perform special moves, but each of these moves can consume a particular number of flower points when performed, so you must choose to use them wisely.

Other things included are the "Star Points", which are the equivalent of experience points, in which unlike other RPGs, you only need to collect 100 of them to level up, and the capacity does not increase in any way, while this might sound easy to level up, here's the thing, when you level up in a certain area full of enemies, those enemies might decrease the number of Star Points they drop but even that, and this is one of the best parts of the game, is that you don't really need to level up in order to proceed! the only thing that you need to rely on, are your skills...and your use of badges!

The badges are items you can collect and each of them have and advantage of helping you in a certain manner, like for example, one badge can increase your attack power, one can increase your health, one can give Mario another special move, some can make you invulnerable to some things, and much much more! Each badge consumes a set number of" Badge Points" (BP), meaning that you can only equip a limited number of badges at a time, so choose which are the ones that you think will help you the most at the moment! Different situations may warrant changing badges to make certain boss battles easier! There is also an on-screen gauge to display Star Energy, which is required to perform another type of move if you saved a star spirit, and each of them have a unique move that can help you in battle, and they can raise your gauge as you advance throughout the game, you can also locate hidden battle upgrades in the game's overworld, which promotes one partner character to a new rank once at a time and they can become stronger as well!

All of this and more, is why the game is really fun and very unique as well! However, even though some overworlds might not be fun, the game is still very great with it's gameplay and uniqueness!



Graphics & Soundtrack:

Since the game is called "Paper Mario", the game's visuals feature two-dimensional character cut-out designs contained within three-dimensional backgrounds, and the 2D characters look really good! They look just like a cartoon, and because of that, they haven't aged at all so they look just as good now as they did when the game first released on the N64! As for the 3D backgrounds...yeah, those are the ones that haven't aged well at all, but the thing is, some of those are so bland, that they weren't all that impressive even when this game was first released. Regardless the game's graphics are nice overall.

The soundtrack of this game is ok, some of the music tracks are very catchy, some of them set a great mood, some of them are decent, some of them are very awesome... as you can see, the soundtrack has a lot of variety when it comes with its quality.

The sounds are cutesy and some of them sound a little bit low quality, but as they are, they sound ok, and as for the voice acting... there isn't any, at all, well except a few mumbles and roars among other simple sound effects, but overall there really isn't any, which is perfectly fine in our opinions!



Presentation:

The game is kind of represented as a storybook, the game is divided in chapters, the game's progression depends upon interaction non-player characters (NPCs), who will often offer clues or details for the next chapter, and as I've said, the game does a good job on having a charming and cutesy tone throughout the entire story.

As for the replayability, this game has a lot of it! You can collect the badges, you can maximise your level, you can collect the star peices, you can play the minigames included in this game, you can do some hidden sidequests, all of this and more are awaiting those of you who are willing to fully explore this game's world, so there is no worries there if you're looking to be busy with a game for awhile!

The Wii U Difference:

The Wii U's emulation of the game is spot-on and looks and sounds a little better than the Wii Virtual Console release of the game. The Off-TV-Play feature and rumble-pak compatibility of the game give the Wii U version of the game a definite edge over the Wii version!



Bottom-Line:

Paper Mario 64 is a great mario RPG! The game has some great gameplay and a charming storyline, and even if there are some things that needed a few tweaks, this game is still a must-but for any Wii U owner! You might be skeptical if you REALLY love Super Mario RPG for the SNES or Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for the GCN, but regardless, don't hesitate and buy this if you like RPGs! and as for us, this game gets a great level of recommendation!

Price: $9.99

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★☆ 9.5/10

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#Review #WiiU #VC #N64 #PaperMario #eShop #Nintendo

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Another Excellent Week For Wii U Owners!

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It's Wednesday evening once again, which means that we have a fairly good idea as to what will be releasing tomorrow on the Wii U and 3DS eShops in North America! This week looks to be interesting with a AAA first party Wii U Virtual Console title, and a bunch of excellent looking eShop releases on the Wii U side of things, while the 3DS update looks to be rather sparse with only a single edutainment game releasing tomorrow...

These are the confirmed releases for the eShop in the region tomorrow "so far":

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Wii U eShop Releases:

★ Super Meat Boy ~ Platformer ~ $11.20

★ 8-Bit Hero ~ Action-Adventure ~ $4.99

★ Color Symphony 2 ~ Platformer ~ $9.99

★ Queen's Garden ~ Puzzle / Match-Three ~ $6.99

★ Tachyon Project ~ Shooter / Twin-Stick ~ $9.99

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Wii U Virtual Console Releases:

★ The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass (DS) ~ Action-Adventure ~ $9.99

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3DS eShop Releases:

★ WordsUp! Academy ~ Edutainment / Word-Game ~ $2.99

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What do you think of this week's confirmed update so far? Are there any games you plan on downloading? Also what do you think of the pricing of the games? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

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#WiiU #3DS #eShop #VC #NA #WeeklyUpdate #Downloads

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Big Week For U, Plus A Bizarre VC Release, But Not Much For 3DS...

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Update! Super Punch Out! (SNES) appears to be hitting the New 3DS Virtual Console Service tomorrow in North America! We'll keep you updated if any additional games get confirmed for release before tomorrow's weekly eShop update!

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It's Wednesday evening once again, which means that we have a fairly good idea as to what will be releasing tomorrow on the Wii U and 3DS eShops in North America! This week looks to be interesting with a rather unexpected Wii U Virtual Console title, and a bunch of decent looking eShop releases on the Wii U side of things, while the 3DS update looks to be rather sparse with only a single game releasing tomorrow...

These are the confirmed releases for the eShop in the region tomorrow "so far":

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Wii U eShop Releases:

★ The Beggar’s Ride ~ $5.99

★ Escape From Flare Industries ~ $3.99

★ Midnight 2 ~ $1.99

★ PixelMaker ~ $2.99

★ SpaceRoads ~ $9.99

★ Sudoku and Permudoku ~ $0.99

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Wii U Virtual Console Releases:

★ Style Savvy (DS) ~ $9.99

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3DS eShop Releases:

★ Pocket Card Jockey ~ $14.99

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New 3DS Virtual Console Releases:

★ Super Punch Out! (SNES) ~ $7.99

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What do you think of this week's confirmed update so far? Are there any games you plan on downloading? Also what do you think of the pricing of the games? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

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#WiiU #3DS #eShop #VC #NA #WeeklyUpdate #Downloads

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All For U And Nothing For 3DS...

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This week's North American eShop releases have been confirmed and though the Wii U will be getting an average number of eShop games, a retail title and one Virtual Console game, the 3DS will be getting zilch this week, perhaps save for a single demo of the upcoming Pocket Jockey title which still hasn't been listed on Nintendo of America's official website, but was scheduled to release tomorrow. This is definitely the first time in a longtime "if ever" that the 3DS eShop won't be receiving a single new title...

Here's the entire list of eShop releases for this week:

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Wii U Retail Releases:

★ Star Fox Zero ~ Platinum Games / Nintendo ~ On-The-Rails Shooter ~ $49.99

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Wii U eShop Releases:

★ Star Fox Guard ~ Platinum Games / Nintendo ~ Tower Defense / Strategy ~ $14.99

★ Blockara ~ Haunted Bees Productions ~ Puzzle ~ $6.99

★ Dreamals ~ XINESS Co. Ltd ~ Puzzle / Strategy ~ $4.99

★ The Pinball Arcade ~ FarSight Studios ~ Pinball / Arcade ~ Free-To-Start

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Wii U Virtual Console Releases:

★ Mario Party DS (DS) ~ Nintendo ~ Party ~ $9.99

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What do you think of this week's confirmed eShop releases for North America? Also what do you make of the total lack of new content for the 3DS eShop this week in the region? As always be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comment section below!

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#NintendoWeeklyDownloads #WiiU #eShop #VC #Downloads #WeeklyUpdate

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Fantastically Frantic Digging!

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Developed and published by Namco Games and originally released on the NES back in the early 1990's in North America and Europe, Dig Dug II is an excellent sequel to the widely popular Dig Dug arcade game that was released in the 1980's, though it was and still is very underrated by gamers despite possessing far more content than its predecessor. Dig Dug II has withstood the test of time and it is still a very good game in our opinions and here's why:

The gameplay in Dig Dug II is fairly simple, but extremely challenging. You are armed with a harpoon that can inflate enemies and pop them for a small number of points and a jackhammer that can make cracks in the island and sink sections of the island. Drowning enemies award players with a very large amount of points, especially if you drown a large number of them in one go! Sinking three sections of the islands causes a fruit, vegetable, beverage, or mushroom to show up which is worth anywhere from a small number of points to a rather sizeable number depending on the item.



The game possesses seventy-two stages which can take two to four hours to complete as well as an additional hard-mode that can be played after beating the first seventy-two stages and possesses smarter and slightly faster enemies! The game is rather strange in-terms of difficulty as the level of difficulty ramps-up until the sixty-fourth stage and then suddenly becomes easy during the final eight stages.

The controls are very simplistic, being an NES title, that's not surprising, however you'll need quick reflexes in order to save yourself in some of the more challenging stages. The Gamepad's Off-TV-Play feature is great for this kind of game and you never have to worry about losing your high-score or progress in the game thanks to the save-state feature so overall this game might actually be superior to its original NES release!



Visually the game has aged well, by NES standards anyways, with colorful characters and stages. One thing that really impressed us was the quality of the emulation in this title, there's no frame-rate dips or visual bugs such as "ghosting" or darker and muddier visuals that are prevalent in many other titles on the Virtual Console Service, which is an absolutely incredible feat on Bandai Namco's part!

The audio has a few issues such as very rarely skipping music notes and such, but isn't a major issue. The sound effects are standard arcade fare which isn't necessarily a bad thing and the music is very catchy and enjoyable. Perhaps not as memorable as Bubble Bobble's theme song, but both of Dig Dug II's songs are pretty catchy. The game over jingle is also very iconic in our opinions! Overall the audio-visual presentation in the game is superb with only a few minor issues!



Bottom-Line:

With solid gameplay, excellent controls, great new features courtesy of the Wii U Virtual Console service, and a superb audio-visual presentation that has very few emulation issues, Dig Dug II is a quality title that we highly recommend downloading especially for its price! So if you haven't downloaded the game yet, do yourself a favor and download it ASAP!

Price: $4.99

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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

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#Review #WiiU #VC #eShop #DigDugII #Namco #NES #Arcade

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Great Game, With Emulation Issues...

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Review by Jnes5 and Ichigofan.

(Wii U Virtual Console)

(C) 2000, HAL Laboratory inc., Nintendo

Developer: HAL Laboratory
Publisher: Nintendo

June 25th 2015, (Europe)
July 30th 2015, (North America)

Players: 1 player (single player), 1-4 players (Multiplayer)
Price: $9.99/€9.99/£8.99
Genre: 2D Platformer



Ripple Star, a planet that's populated by fairies, is being invaded and conquered by a threat called a Dark Matter. Ribbon, one of the fairies living in the planet, flees from home with their sacred treasure, a giant crystal, but then in their pursuit, the Dark Matter shatters the crystal into pieces throughout the galaxy and Ribbon falls onto Pop Star... Heartbroken to find that she is left with only one of the shards from the giant crystal, Ribbon also meets Kirby, and as she explains her situation to it, Kirby agrees to retrieve all of the crystal shards and save Ripple Star from the Dark Matter's control.

Story:

The story is good for a kirby title, it’s just a simple and straightforward plot that kirby games are known for, so I'm not expecting deep and complex stories from them, but its appropriate for this certain title since it's cutesy and charming, I did however find it interesting that this certain story does contain two endings ! one bad (in which it left me pretty tasteless) and one good (in which it was pretty good !) and they can be unlocked it depending on how many crystal shards have you collected (more on that later on).



Gameplay:

Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (also known as "Kirby of the Stars 64" in Japan) is a 2D platformer game. You can start out with a video explaining the controls or not, but as any other kirby game, you play as him obviously, while you can jump with it, you can also flutter for a short amount of time by repeatedly pressing the A button, you can inhale some enemies by holding down the B button, and once you've inhaled someone or something, you can either press B again to spit them out, and making it hit something in front of you, or you can press down to swallow them up, but some certain enemies might have a certain power where if you swallow them up, you can gain its powers in which are called copy abilities!

in which they are fire, stone, ice, bomb, etc. but if you get hit many times, the copy ability that you are having right now will bounce out of you, that will be in a shape of a four-spiked star, and you can get it back again by swallowing it up again, you also have a health meter where you can recover by collecting the food that are spread in the game and below the health meter is a star meter where if you collect 100 stars that are also spread in the game (in which a yellow one cost 1 unit and a blue one costs 10 units) you will receive an extra life. The gameplay has the same good and enjoyable formula that many kirby games are known for, however, it also included a new mechanic in the copy abilities!

In this game, you can now combine copy abilities to turn them into one ! and you do this by pressing either the R button or any direction in the C buttons to pull out a power that you have right now and then throw it with the B button to launch it in front of you (you can also throw it upwards and get rid of it by pressing the indicated button again), and if you hit an enemy with a power, you can combine a new power in which it looks like an eight-spiked star, and then swallow it! You can combine two different powers or power of the same kind and these combined powers can make the game easy and some of them are either just pretty useless or boring or both, they all make the game more enjoyable due to how powerful and fun they can be!



The game also includes certain moments where kirby's friends will help along the way in certain areas in certain levels, Waddle Dee can help kirby go to a next area with the help of a vehicle that he found where the game turns into an on-rails platformer where you can jump and collect items in the air and avoid obstacles, Adeleine can draw an item that can help kirby recover health, receive a powerup, etc. and finally there's King Dedede, where he can ride you and basically control him, you can attack with his hammer with the B button and you can also make it charge up by holding it, but it doesn't do anything once you let go... but you can destroy wall and attack enemies with it, but you can't flutter in the air, you just only climb any escalators in the area in order to go up, I thought that these additional gameplay elements were slow paced (with the exception of adeleine) due to how they kind of interrupt the flow of the game, but there isn't that many moments to begin with and there are also not that bad.

The objective of the game is to select a planet from the galaxy screen and then selecting the level of the planet, and you must reach the end of all the levels included in said planet by reaching the picnic of kirby's friends where you must set an angle and the distance as to where do you want to land on the item in the picnic, so that way you can unlock the boss of the planet, so that way when you defeat him, you will collect a shard and then go to the other planet, but there is another objective in the game as well, and that is to collect the crystal shards that are in each level in each planet, they are spread throughout the game and you must collect them by touching it, all of these are either in the open, hidden, require a certain copy ability to reach it, by defeating a mini boss, etc.



Most of these are pretty difficult and a pain to collect, since most of them won't be possibly collected during your first playthrough so you must either require a good knowledge of this game and replay a certain level over again in order to obtain certain crystal shards or you can just consulting a strategy guide, while these might not seem necessary to beat the game, you do need them since the game can't continue to the last level if you don't have them all... that's right, ALL of them! I do think that this is pretty much a killjoy for me since it doesn't feel right that you must collect all of the crystal shards in order to get more of this game since most of them, as I've said before, can become tedious and a pain to do...

The game also includes multiplayer, but it only supports in the minigames that this game includes additionally and it doesn't have any multiplayer in the main game. These 3 minigames are 100-Yard Hop where you race to the finish line by hopping to the stones that are in the water by pressing the A button to jump 1 space and the B button to jump 2, fall in the water or slip on an object and it will delay your race, Bumper Crop Bump where you catch many fallen fruit from the as possible and you can even make a character move out of the way by holding a direction the character's in and then pressing A, and finally there's the Checker Board Chase, where you and three opponents are on an 8 X 8 squared chess board and you must make all the blocks in front of you fall by pressing A so that an opponent in front of it must fall, each character has five lives and they lose one life if they fall, and when one opponent has lost all of its lives, the checker board becomes more tiny!

The game is fine itself, I did really enjoy the whole idea of the combining copy abilities and other things as well, but the whole thing about the crystal shard collecting could've become much better since it this game make it seem forceful and tedious to do, but for what it is, I did had some enjoyment from it.



Graphics:

The game is designed in a 2.5D environment with a good amount of details in the backgrounds in some levels, but in a true kirby fashion, it's colorful, charming and it has it's very cool (and some even disturbing!) moments in certain areas! It looks great for its time and it does look good now, but there is an issue where I found some graphic details outdated and make it feel out of place, but there are some moments where it takes the whole environments feel more noticeable and necessary to progress on the game! And I do appreciate how this game takes advantage of that!

Music and Audio:

The soundtrack in this game is pretty good, it can have a variety of classical scores, cool tunes and obviously kid friendly music but in a medium but still great sounding quality, there are some really good songs in there since some are catchy, some are smooth and calming, and some even are just amazing to hear, it might be even memorable to some people!

The sounds are ok, while the sounds like the kirby inhaling and fluttering have gotten a much more updated and more modern sound (during its time), there are some that lack impact and there are some that just sound more appropriate for them, thankfully the latter is much more frequent. And believe it or not, this game does have some voice acting in it!

They are just bits and pieces of them since they consist of kirby getting hit or completing a boss level (and even dedede has one where he takes a hit!) and what they are, they do sound great and much more appropriate for the characters!



Presentation:

What can you expect from a kirby game? Its charm? Its cutesy nature? This Nintendo 64 game presents at what a kirby game would be like with a game console like this by also including cutscenes that represent the story and it doesn't break the whole nature of the game's charming nature at all, in fact, it makes it better by having a really smooth and good quality that doesn't make it look cheap and not charming.

The levels are also greatly made as well, since they feel more alive due to how much interaction is going on in the background and sometimes even pretty great with its pretty cool moments like in a moment where a pyramid rose up from a dessert (and all while you're playing mind you!) and imaginative and inspiring worlds, sure they might be just there for show to some people, but I do think that this game did a great job at making something different but still be charming and great that a lot of kirby games are known for.

As for the replayability, there is so much to do in this game! You can collect all of the crystal shards that are in the main game, you can also collect all of the Enemy Info Card that can be only obtained in each and single level in the game that has the picnic mode in the end (but sadly nothing happens when you collect them all...), you can unlock and replay a certain cutscene in the game in the movie theater by reaching said cutscene in the main game, you can unlock a boss rush mode by beating the game with the good ending and a sound test mode by beating the game with the bad ending, but as I've mentioned before, there are the minigames that you can unlock its higher difficulty by beating its previous difficulty.

The Wii U Difference:

The Off-TV-Play and Miiverse functionality are certainly great additions that weren't present in the Wii Virtual Console version of the game, however the visuals are much muddier and darker than they were on previous releases of the game and the audio is slightly lower quality as well, which is to be expected with re-releases on the Virtual Console service, however it does still slightly hamper the game's overall score.



Overall:

This game is pretty fun and a pretty good kirby game handled well for this console, it has that great charming feel, look and fun kirby games are known for, but it makes it more great thanks to its great quality on its elements such as the combination of copy abilities, the 2.5D desing, and more! While the flaws such as the tedious way of collecting certain crystal shards and other flaws did affected the enjoyment of this title, I still think that this is a good kirby game that might have been a little more better, so if you love kirby games or want a great platformer with collectathons included in it, then go ahead and get this one! If you are easily frustrated with backtracking or if you were put off with some of the flaws that I've mentioned in this game, then skip it, as for me this game gets a solid level of recommendation!

Price: $9.99

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Score: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

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#Review #Kirby64 #VirtualConsole #VC #WiiU #eShop #HalLaboratory

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Guardians of The Galaxy "Pun Intended"!

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First Announced at E3 2005 under the title Starfox DS Starfox Command was well received on the show floor. Taking advantage of the then new Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection; Command has the distinction of being both the first handheld and Online playable Starfox Title. Starfox Command was developed by Q-games and published by Nintendo. Since it was one of Nintendo's popular 1st party titles it was released on the DS to boost the handhelds sales. Unfortunately the online servers were shutdown in 2015.



Starfox Command takes place a few years after Starfox Assault and features six different endings based on how you choose to progress through the game. The plot is everyone on the Starfox team has split up and gone their separate ways. Fox is wandering the galaxy doing basically nothing. Falco is a drifter going from job to job. Slippy is engaged to a female frog named Amanda, Peppy is now general of the Cornerian Army and Krystal has joined up with Starwolf after fox told her to leave the team feeling that the life was to dangerous for her. The game introduces a new enemy called the Anglers, giant fish beings that live in the venom sea. Like Andross they too want control of the Lylat system and launch an invasion to get it.



As always you take control of Fox and his arwing to do battle against the Anglers. The game takes you too many different planets and sectors and there are a number of different enemies to fight. As you might have guessed players use the touch screen to control the arwing. The controls are very similar to Metroid Prime Hunters, with a few changes. For right handed people L is to shoot and when you hold it down you do a charged attack. The game is mostly controlled using the touch screen, slide the stylus left to go left or slide the stylus right to go right, draw circles on the touch screen to do barrel rolls these can also be changed to inverted controls.

Unlike other Starfox titles "cough" Starfox 64 "cough" there are no landmaster missions or voice acting. Characters in the game talk in this annoying gibberish chatter. Thanks to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connect service shutting down in 2015, all online features in this game have been rendered useless, which does hurt the game's overall score.



In the graphics department, Starfox Command look awesome, most likely because at this point in the consoles life people didn't know what the DS was capable of. Even now on the Wii U VC service the game has aged quite well visually and looks every bit as good as Starfox 64! In game play it was interesting what the developers did,the game is a mix of aerial combat and strategy. Let me explain, when you get your mission you don't just jump in and start shooting stuff, you get a map and on the map there are small red dots (in later levels there is fog so you have to clean it away with the stylus first but there is a certain amount you can clean away at one time) these are your enemies.

On the same screen there is the great fox and an arwing, basically you just draw a line to the enemy you want to engage. That line you drew is the arwings flight path, but you cant get carried away drawing too many lines because the longer the line means the more fuel you're using and you only have a certain amount per turn so draw your lines carefully. While your objective is to take out enemies and clear a stage your primary objective is to protect The Great Fox. If any enemies get through and destroy the ship the level is lost and will restart.

Throughout the game you will run into many characters some new most old, like Pigma Dengar, James Mcloud, Andross, Katt Monroe, Octoman from F-zero and many more



Bottom-Line:

Overall Starfox Command is a great game. The graphics are great, the control are great, the mix of strategy and classic Starfox combat is awesome and suits the game perfectly, the story and its many endings will make you want to play the game over and over again! Unfortunately for some people getting the controls down can be a pain they take some getting used to. Trying to unlock all the different characters and endings can also be a pain as you have to play through the same levels multiple times. And the removal of the online elements is a real issue as well. Besides all that Starfox Command is a great game and gets a great level of recommendation!

Price: $9.99

Source: You can read @KingreX32's original review of the game here!
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Score: ★★★★★★★★☆☆ 8/10

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#Review #WiiU #VC #eShop #Nintendo #Starfox #DS #KingreX32

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New Games, Themes, And Apps For All!

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This week is an interest week for the Wii U and 3DS eShops in North America as there is quite a wide variety of new content available this week, including VC, themes, demo's, DLC, eShop titles, and even a new app for the Wii U! Here's the full listing of new downloads on the North American eShops!

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Wii U eShop:

★ Grumpy Reaper – Lawn Defense - $4.99

★ Jewel Quest – Puzzle - $4.99

★ Star Ghost – Shoot 'Em Up - $8.99

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Wii U Virtual Console:

★ Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Gregar – JRPG - $6.99

★ Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar – JRPG - $6.99

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Wii U Apps:

★ Rhapsody – Music & Radio - Free

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Wii U Demos:

★ Word Puzzles by POWGI - Word Search - Free

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3DS eShop:

★ Blast ‘Em Bunnies – Shooter/Arcade - $4.99

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3DS Demos:

★ Bravely Second: End Laye: The Ballad of the Three Cavaliers - JRPG - Free

★ Word Puzzles by POWGI - Word Search - Free

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3DS DLC:

★ Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation  - SRPG - $19.99

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3DS Themes:

★Fire Emblem Fates : Two Kingdoms

★Blast ’Em Bunnies : Zombies

★Blast ’Em Bunnies : Western

★Blast ’Em Bunnies : Ninjas

★Blast ’Em Bunnies : Luchadors

★Blast ’Em Bunnies Bundle

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What do you think of this week's eShop updates in North America? Will you be downloading any of the new content this week? As always, be sure to let us know in our comment section below!

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#NA #WeeklyUpdate #Downloads #WiiU #3DS #eShop #DLC #Themes #VC

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A Parade of Releases For U!

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According to listings on Nintendo of America's official website there are more eShop titles releasing this week than there are monkeys in a barrel 'o monkeys! This is easily the most massive weekly eShop update ever in the region! here's the list of upcoming titles confirmed to be releasing this week!

Wii U eShop:

★ Chasing Dead

★ 6180 The Moon

★ Inside My Radio

★ REPLAY : VHS is not dead

★ Smart Adventures - Mission Math

★ Volcanic Field 2

Wii U VC:

★ Medabots AX: Metabee Version

★ Medabots AX: Rokusho Version

3DS eShop:

★ Sadame

★ Toy Defense

3DS VC:

★ Pokémon Red Version

★ Pokémon Blue Version

★ Pokémon Yellow Special Pikachu Edition

That's a total of a whopping 13 titles in all! Visit Nintendo.com/games to find the sources as we can't put 13 source pages in our article as it would look dreadful. What do you think of this week's eShop update? Be sure to let us know which games you'll be downloading and why in our comment section below!

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#WiiU #3DS #eShop #VC #NA #WeeklyReleases #Nindies

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Farewell, May You Game In Peace...

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Naoki Horii, the president of the Tokyo-based M2 Co. Ltd. has announced today that Akira Saito, a programmer for the company, passed away at the age of 43 after a battle with cancer. Akira Saito was apparently the main reason why SEGA's 3D Classics were released in the western hemisphere. Akira Saito also worked with Nintendo to produce some of the emulators for Wii Virtual Console, including the SEGA Master System, and SEGA GENESIS emulators as well as working on the Konami Rebirth series for the WiiWare service!

Our thoughts are with his family. It's always extremely sad when someone passes away at such a young age. Be sure to leave us your thoughts and condolences in our comment section below...

Source: Game Sutra.

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#Obituary #RIP #M2 #AkiraSaito #SEGA #3DClassics #Wii #VC #KonamiRebirth

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NES Overload For U!

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Nintendo of America has been on a roll the past several weeks with multiple Virtual Console releases hitting the Wii U eShop in the region each week! This week another three titles are releasing on the service in the region! The trio of NES titles are Ninja Gaiden II, Ninja Gaiden III, and Double Dragon III! All three games have been listed for release tomorrow on Nintendo of America's official website.

Are you looking forward to these upcoming Wii U Virtual Console titles? Be sure to let us know in our comment section below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #NinjaGaidenII #NinjaGaidenIII #DoubleDragonIII #NES

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A Big Week For The Virtual Console Service In North America!

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This week looks to be a fantastic week for Virtual Console releases on the Wii U eShop in North America as Big Brain Academy (DS) and Polarium Advance (GBA) are hitting the service tomorrow on top of the import release Kuru Kuru Kururin for the Gameboy Advance which we already reported just a short while ago! It seems that the Virtual Console service, at least on the Wii U is really picking up the pace in-terms of weekly releases in North America, let's hope that this trend will continue!



Are you looking forward to these two upcoming Wii U Virtual Console releases? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in our comments section below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

Thanks to @Minato for yet another news tip!

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #BigBrainAcademy #PolariumAdvance #DS #GBA

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No Not The Character From Dragon Ball Z!

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It looks like the import title Kuru Kuru Kururin for the Gameboy Advance will be hitting the Wii U Virtual Console service tomorrow according to a listing on Nintendo of America's official website! This is the first time that Kuru Kuru Kururin has been made available officially in the North American region so the gameplay is a secret to everyone in the region "at least for those of you who haven't imported the game". Sorry we couldn't resist a bit of Zelda humor!

Here's some information regarding the game:

Overview wrote:“Kururin’s brothers and sisters are lost across 10 different worlds! In his special helicopter, the Helirin, navigate through mazes as quickly as you can while avoiding obstacles such as walls, pistons, and cannons.

You can also customize your Helirin by using items acquired in Adventure mode.”

Are you looking forward to this upcoming Wii U Virtual Console import title? Will you be downloading the game when it hits the eShop tomorrow? As always be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

Source: Nintendo.

A special thanks goes to @Minato for the news tip!

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #import #KuruKuruKururin #GBA

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Sailing The Seas of Adventure!

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Developed by Camelot Games and published by Nintendo Golden Sun: The Lost Age is essentially cartridge 2 of the original Golden Sun title as both titles were originally supposed to be one game, but Camelot Games was unable to make the massive title fit in one GBA cartridge so they split the game in two.

You can use the password system in the first title to transfer your save file to Golden Sun: The Lost Age which is a fantastic feature that even works in the Wii U Virtual Console version of the game!

As for the story, Golden Sun: The Lost Age picks up where Golden Sun left off. The story actually feels much more epic this time around and many secrets are revealed about alchemy and the state of the world! Another unique story-related feature is that depending on your actions in the first game, some special story events may occur in Golden Sun: The Lost Age which is extremely cool as it connects the two games together as one single intertwined story!



The gameplay is similar to the first Golden Sun title for the most part, but there are several additions to the formula! First of all after a certain point in the game you'll obtain a ship that'll allow you to travel the seas and explore the world. This ship will later be upgraded so it can fly, allowing you to reach even more places in the vast world of the game.

The game features a ton of optional dungeons and some of these are quite challenging. Though the dungeons in general are far more difficult than the one's in the original Golden Sun title as the puzzles are at times extremely complex!

The battle system is more or less the same as it was in Golden Sun, but there are a few changes. First you can now obtain new summons via. Summon Tablets from certain dungeons that allow you to utilize multi-elemental summons that are more powerful than their single-elemental counterparts! Some of these summons can be exceptionally difficult to obtain.



The other new feature in combat is the switch system! At a certain point in the story your party will grow to a total of 8 members. You can switch members during combat or if all of your 4 member party dies the other 4 party members will jump in automatically which is a great feature when facing off against some of the stronger bosses in the game!

Golden Sun: The Lost Age also has a New Game+ feature that allows you to replay the game at an adjusted level of difficulty! You can choose whether the game is easier or more difficult and this will affect the stats of the enemies you'll face in battle during that playthrough of the game! The overall length of the game is incredible as well as it'll take most players 100+ hours to complete the game on top of the 80+ hours to complete the first Golden Sun title!

The controls are really tight and are very easy to learn. The graphics are also fantastic for a GBA title and The Lost Age appears to even be a little better than the first Golden Sun title visually! The graphics are a bit more crisp and clear. On the audio side of things, Golden Sun: The Lost Age is absolutely amazing, the sound effects are varied and sound great, and the soundtrack is one of the very best that we've ever heard from a GBA title!



Bottom-Line:

With top-notch gameplay with over 100 hours worth of gameplay, a fantastic story, excellent controls, and an unparalleled audio-visual presentation for a Gameboy Advance title, Golden Sun: The Lost Age is one game currently available on the Wii U Virtual Console service that every Wii U owner should have in their library of games! We give Golden Sun: The Lost Age a perfect level of recommendation!

Price: $7.99/£6.29/€6.99/¥700

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Score: ★★★★★★★★★★ 10/10

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#Review #WiiU #VC #eShop #Nintendo #Camelot

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Absolutely Haunting Gameplay Coming To U!

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Resident Evil 4: Wii Edition is easily one of the best survival horror titles that was released on the original Wii console with a perfect blend of motion controls and traditional survival horror gameplay! The game also features a second story campaign for good measure!

The game was released on the European Wii U eShop during the week of Halloween last year and is finally being released on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean as Nintendo of America has just announced via. trailer that the game will be hitting the North American Wii U eShop on Thursday February 4th for the standard cost of $19.99!

Are you looking forward to this game hitting the Wii U Virtual Console service this week in North America? Be sure to check-out the trailer above and to leave us a comment below!

Source: Nintendo Life.

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #Horror #Capcom #Wii

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Tactical Release!

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Earlier this week Nintendo of Europe listed Final Fantasy Tactics Advance as one of the upcoming Wii U Virtual Console titles releasing on Thursday in their weekly eShop announcement! Now the game has been listed for a release on the North American Wii U Virtual Console Service tomorrow on Nintendo of America's official website!

Are you looking forward to this rare upcoming Square title on the Wii U Virtual Console Service? Be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

Source: Nintendo.

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #SquareEnix #NA #EU

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eReader Stages Included!

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According to listings that have just appeared on Nintendo of America's official website, it appears that both Super Mario Advance 4 and Zack & Wiki will be hitting the North American Wii U Virtual Console Service tomorrow! It also appears that Super Mario Advance 4 will feature all of the eReader stages unlocked in the game, including the many Japanese exclusive stages!

Are you looking forward to these two titles? Be sure to let us know in our comments section below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

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#WiiU #VC #eShop #Wii #GBA

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It's About Time!

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It's been an excruciating wait for Metroid: Zero Mission to arrive in North America on the Wii U eShop, but it looks like the wait is just about over as the game has been listed for a North American release tomorrow on Nintendo of America's official website!

Are you looking forward to finally getting to download the game on your Wii U's? Let us know in our comment section below!

Source: Nintendo Everything.

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#WiiU #eShop #VC #Metroid #Finally

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Triple Light Guns!

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Nintendo of America has announced that three of their NES era light gun games will be arriving on the Wii U Virtual Console service in the region on Thursday. These games have the same Wii Remote/Gamepad requirements as Duck Hunt a game that was released a good while back on the service in the region.

The three games in this week's Virtual Console update are:

• Hogan's Alley

• Wild Gunman

• The Adventures of Bayou Billy

Will you download these games when they finally arrive in the region? As always we'd love to see your thoughts in our comment section below!

Source: Nintendo Life.

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#VC #eShop #WiiU #Lightgun

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