It’s a beefy week for software on the eShop in Japan. Not only did three different Virtual Console games arrive, multiple 3DS Downloadable titles and videos also hit the eShop. Daan has joined me this week as he officially takes over the name Captain eShop and I am demoted to eShop Lite. Enough of that, though. Let’s take a look at a break down of all of this week’s releases:

3DS Downloadable Titles

Okiraku Ping Pong 3D (Carefree Ping Pong 3D) – 500 yen
Dasshutsu! Zombie City (Escape! Zombie City) – 400 yen
Pokémon Zenkoku Zukan Pro (Pokédex 3D Pro) – 1,500 yen
Oni Training DEMO – FREE
Kobitodzukan Kobito Kansatsu Set DEMO – FREE

Virtual Console

Puri Puri Primitive Princess (Game Boy) – 400 yen
Shadamu Crusader Harukanaru Ōkoku (Defenders of Oasis, Game Gear) – 300 yen
Rockman (Mega Man, Famicom) – 500 yen

Video Content

Nintendo held another small Nintendo Direct event pimping out Oni Training. The event in its entirety, all 12 minutes of it, are streaming on the eShop for your viewing pleasure...if you have a Japanese 3DS at any rate. Iwata stars in the video and talks more about the upcoming game. Professor Kawashima and Iwata even have a conversation as floating, polygonal heads. It’s bizarre and complete with head spins and intense facial expressions from both men.  You can check out the video in it’s entirety on the official Nintendo Direct page. Oni Training releases in Japan on July 28.

New Super Mario Bros. 2, which is releasing on the same day as Oni Training, also has some great new videos on the eShop, three in total. Two of the videos are commercials, with one focusing on cooperative play, and the other focusing on the gameplay and nostalgia that permeates the game, such as the Super Leaf, Koopa Kids, and the Koopa Clown Car from Super Mario World. The longest video, which is about two minutes in length, shows off gameplay footage streaming in 3D. Cooperative play is highlighted in this video as well as the main theme behind the game, “going for the gold,” showing off some video footage of Silver Luigi. To be honest, from the video, the 3D effects don’t seem to do too much for the game. Sure, it adds a bit of depth to the backgrounds, but it doesn’t feel as immersive as the effect was in a game like Super Mario 3D Land.

Lastly, there lengthy nine minute preview for Dragon Quest X for the Wii on the eShop. The video is set to sell the games merits to fans of the series who might be wary about jumping into an experience with online gameplay elements. Square Enix focuses on one of the main elements of the Dragon Quest series – communication with other characters. Obviously with an online element to the latest title, communication will still play a large role in the game, but in a completely different way than before. Now, players are communicating not only with NPCs, but also with other gamers from across the country heading towards the same goal. It isn’t groundbreaking for the gaming industry, but it’s definitely a new element that Square Enix hopes that fans of the series can get over or jump aboard and enjoy with Dragon Quest X. Even if you aren’t down with the online functionality of the game, there is still quite a bit of fun to be had with the game as familiar enemies and beautiful artwork and a lush world await you.

Software Impressions (by Daan Koopman)

As a gigantic Pokémon nut, this time could have not been better with the release Pokémon Black/White 2 and Pokémon Dream Radar in Japan. However, there is now a third pillar to add to the chaos and its name is Pokédex 3D Pro. The differences between the original Pokédex 3D and the Pro version are directly in view. Most imporantly, the new application has the Pokémon available right from the start. No crazy collecting skills through SpotPass and StreetPass are required here and in fact, aren't even supported. The Pokédex 3D Pro offers not only information about all the regular Pokémon, every different version has its own page in the app. This results in having 727 species for you to enjoy and learn more about. Every page offers the usual information such as their movesets, their official entry from the Pokédex and so much more. Another thing is how by entering a new Pokedex page, its name will be spoken out loud so you will know exactly how to pronounce every single critter at long last. There is now also a Movedex, in which you can learn about every single move now, too.

A brand new addition to the Pokedéx 3D Pro are the Pokémon Challenges, which are various quizzes that will test your Pokémon knowledge. There are 36 categories in total, which vary from questions about evolutions to their cries. It is insanely addictive and will really put your love for the franchise to the test. You can even add additional ones by entering special passwords and there are daily challenges for you to try out as well. It is the most game-like feature in Pokédex 3D Pro, but it is quite a lot of fun. Finally there is the AR Viewer, in which you can make your own photos of Pokémon by using special AR Markers. This is a feature that was already available in the original in the Pokédex 3D, but with every Pokémon available from the start, the possibilities are endless. Setting Pokémon in cool poses and throwing in a background photo from your SD Card is still extremely neat. An interesting thing to note about the application is that you can choose six different languages in the options menu. This means that even when you just own a Japanese 3DS, you can still play with all the features and look at all of the Pokémon in English, French, German or whatever you fancy. The Pokédex 3D Pro is a brilliant piece of software, but its brilliance comes at a high price: 1,500 yen. While I really enjoyed my time with it, I can't imagine the expanded audience paying this amount of money for it. At a max of 1,000 yen, it would have gotten an easy recommendation out of me, but at the current price, it is something you really have to think about. That is perhaps the only and biggest shame about this eShop title. All and all, Pokédex 3D Pro has some very neat aspects that will make interesting for the fans.