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The Rabbids are back, this time in 3D.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24693
Appearing on the list of Nintendo 3DS games to be released in Spring 2011, Rabbids: Time Travel is a 2D platformer starring the Rabbids.
The game will have the same theme as the Wii game, Raving Rabbids Travel in Time, but completely different gameplay. The Wii title is a mini-game collection.
Nintendo might have underestimated the popularity of the anniversary bundle.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24689
In less than a month, Super Mario All-Stars: Limited Edition has sold out nationwide. With no new shipments of the game scheduled, the only way to obtain a copy is to pay up to three times the retail price on eBay.
For those bummed about missing the boat on the original print, Nintendo is considering a reprint of Mario’s latest Wii game. In an interview with Wired.com last Friday, Marc Franklin of Nintendo’s public relations team said "Because of the strong response, we are exploring the option of bringing this item back at a later date."
Nothing has been finalized yet, but he did say, "Until that decision is made, consumers should check with retailers, as supplies will vary by store."
Get prepared to choose which version you want to pick up.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24688
Just as they did with Nintendogs for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo is prepping multiple versions of Nintendogs + Cats for its release.
In all there are three different versions of Nintendogs+Cats, those being Toy Poodle & New Friends, Bulldog & New Friends and Shiba & New Friends. It's unknown if there are any large differences between the different versions, though most likely it is limited to just the types of dogs available like in the original.
Nintendogs + Cats is scheduled for a February 26 release in Japan as a Nintendo 3DS launch title.
When will gamers be able to get their 3D jiggle on?
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24679
A translation of a Famitsu schedule on NeoGAF reveals a March 24 Japanese release date for Dead or Alive Dimensions. This marks it as the first 3DS title to get a solid release date outside of the launch titles.
Pricing for the game is not yet known, but rumors have 3DS games priced at around ¥5,800 ($70).
Impressions from Tokyo reveal new changes to the 3DS remake of one of the best games of all-time.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24672
Even though The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D looks to have missed the launch date of the Nintendo 3DS, that hasn't stopped Nintendo from demoing at the game at Nintendo World, where many new details were unveiled.
At the bottom of the screen is a camera tap icon which can be used to switch the view mode. By clicking this button, players can physically move their 3DS handhelds to look around. If they want to see what is behind them in the game, they just simply turn their 3DS around.
Players use the circle pad on the 3DS to look around and the touch screen to select items. Players use the "view mode," which can also be accessed by tapping the camera tap icon, to aim projectile weapons.
The demo at Nintendo World featured three save files: one running around the starting village, another in the first dungeon, and one that has not yet been confirmed.
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D is due out this spring in Japan.
NeoGAF user sheds some light on the release dates of upcoming titles.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/rumor/24671
According to a poster on NeoGAF, Japanese Nintendo 3DS owners will be able to play with dogs and cats at the system's launch.
NeoGAF user Shikamaru Ninja reports that Nintendo's first-party Japanese release schedule for the Nintendo 3DS is as follows:
Nintendogs+Cats (3 versions) - Launch
Steel Diver - Spring 2011
Pilotwings Resort - Spring 2011
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D - Spring 2011
Star Fox 64 3D - Summer 2011
Kid Icarus: Uprising - Summer 2011
There are no specified dates for Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, or Paper Mario.
NWR has yet to see confirmed reports from Nintendo, so it remains to be seen if this is indeed to the official lineup. Details should be trickling out overnight as Nintendo's Nintendo World show opens its doors.
The Virtual Console takes a break in the first Nintendo Download of 2011.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24644
This week's downloads presents us with 2 WiiWare titles, a WiiWare demo, and three releases on DSiWare.
The first game available this week is Sneezies from Chillingo. Players use their Wii Remotes to drop sneezing powder into a field of floating Sneezies and watch them burst their bubbles in chain reactions.There are more than 45 levels to play through in Classic Mode and another 15 in Challenge Mode. All of these levels can be yours for 500 Nintendo Points ($5).
This week’s other WiiWare game comes from Legendo Entertainment. Ghost Mania offers a different take on the falling-block genre. The goal of the game is to catch all of the ghosts before it's too late. There are 70+ levels to enjoy as well as four different game modes, those being Arcade Mode, Puzzle Mode, Endless Mode and Party Mode. Like Sneezies, this puzzle game will set you back only 500 Nintendo Points ($5).
Robox was released on WiiWare in November and this week players can enjoy a free demo of the game.
On the DSiWare service, Abylight has released another game in the Music On series, this one focusing on drums. The game features 160 different sounds, which can be used to create different musical arrangements. After figuring out patterns, players can then use them to create a much more complicated production in Song mode. In order to sign up it will cost you 500 Nintendo Points ($5).
Word Searcher 2 from Digital Leisure is also available this week. As the title suggests, Word Searcher 2 is a word search game that features more than 100 themed word search puzzles. These 100 puzzles can be yours for 500 Nintendo Points ($5).
Today’s final game is Alt-Play: Jason Rohrer Anthology. This is a compilation of award winning games from auteur Jason Rohrer, and includes Passage, Gravitation, and Between. The game is a mere 200 Nintendo Points ($2), so those whose interest has been slightly awakened can check out the game for themselves at a budget price.
A new generation of Pokémon arrives in North America this March.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24599
Pokémon Black and Pokémon White are coming to DS in North America on March 6, 2011.
The pair of games feature more than 150 new Pokemon as well as a brand new area known as the Unova region, which is based off of New York City, to explore. Each game has their own unique legendary Pokémon to obtain as well as unique areas to explore.
Pokémon Black and Pokémon White debuted in Japan in September 2010, and are the best-selling games in Japan this year, having sold almost five million copies. A release date for Europe has not yet been announced, but it is expected to be around the same time.
Some games are better off left in Japan.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/24501
Samurai Warriors 3 is the third installment in the Samurai Warriors series and the first to be released on a Nintendo platform. Even though Tecmo Koei and Omega Force have handled the distribution and development of past games, Nintendo got its hands on Samurai Warriors 3 and published the game in territories outside of Japan. For those expecting the game to be at the same standard as many of Nintendo's other games, they will be disappointed to hear that Samurai Warriors 3 is a horrid entry into the Wii's ever-growing library of games.
Samurai Warriors 3 is a fast-paced action game in which players make their way through hordes of enemies in order to complete a set of objectives. The game focuses on the unification of Japan. There are more than 35 different characters playable, each of which has their own unique skills and weapons, as well as their own perspective on the game's story. This adds some extra incentive to try out each of the game's characters, though it would have been nice if the story was a little more interesting and less predictable.
Aside from the story mode, Samurai Warriors 3 also plays host to numerous other modes such as the "Murasame Castle" mode, which is based off of The Mysterious Murasame Castle, a game originally designed for the Famicom Disk System by Nintendo. This is mode allows players to use a character that they have unlocked or one that they have made battle cooperatively via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection with other games around the world. While this recreation of the original Famicom game is a nice addition to the package, it, like the rest of the game, becomes incredibly repetitive and lackluster after a short period of time due to its similarity to the main adventure. The core concepts are identical with the missions playing out like the ones in the rest of the game. The only reason why one might want to try this mode out is as a noveltly, to see what the Japan-only Famicom game was like.
Samurai Warriors 3's biggest fault is that the gameplay becomes tedious very quickly. Even thought the thought of blowing through hundreds of enemies might seem a little interesting at first, players will quickly discover that it is not. There are only so many waves of enemies you can wipe out before you feel as though you have lost your incentive to play. It would have been nice to see some variation in the gameplay to make it feel somewhat more engaging and enjoyable.
The gameplay is not the game's only fault, the graphics also leave much to be desired. It runs at 30 frames-per-second, which could come as a disappointment to some gamers. Samurai Warriors 3 also suffers from muddy textures, as well as bland and uninspired visuals. For those looking for a visually impressive game, Samurai Warriors 3 will end up as a disappointment.
The game does, have one feature that is satisfactory. The game can be controlled with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk, the Classic Controller, the Classic Controller Pro, or the Nintendo GameCube Controller. All of the control schemes work adequately, and the variety of control methods is nice.
There are also a fair amount of unlockables, the chief among them being the numerous playable characters. While you will have to endure the game's horrible gameplay in order to gain access to this content, those who stick to the game will ultimately be rewarded with a rather satisfying game. Hardcore fans of the genre might be able to have some fun with the game, but for everyone else, it would be wise to look into some of the Wii's other titles.
Super Mario Collection and Pokemon Black and White make way for two new chart toppers.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24417
After top position last week, Super Mario Collection finds itself down the charts as it dips from 1 to 3 in its second week. This drop is due to a 61 percent decline in sales. Still, it logs a larger second week than both Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2, which really shows how popular the 2D Mario games are, as it is a port of SNES game. It finished the week with sales of 119,485.
Pokemon Black and Pokemon White continue their descent down the charts as they drop two rings to spot 4. They saw a modest 16 percent decline in sales, helping it stay close to the 70,000 mark. The duo of games is performing better than Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl in terms of lifetime-to-date sales but the weekly sums are much lower.
Nintendo released Golden Sun: Dark Dawn in Japan not too long ago, the new handheld entry starts with sales of 46,500. This number may seem disappointing, though Nintendo has been said not to be heavily promoting the title, and Nintendo DS game sales are down in general.
Kirby’s Epic Yarn saw a decent third week of sales as it rose one position to spot 5. It once again saw a week-on-week decrease in sales, though it managed to stay above the 25,000 mark.
Solatorobo from Bandai Namco starts its chart life in spot 7 with sales just shy of 22,000. Rounding out the top 10 is Wii Party, which saw a modest rise in sales to 17,300.
The new Mario anniversary Nintendo DS systems went on sale last month in Japan and caused a spike in sales for the handheld. Retailers are reporting sell-outs of the models, and pre-orders for the upcoming red Wii are also selling out.
The Nintendo DS family of handhelds ended the week with sales of 59,000, 18,000 ahead of the PSP. The PS3 saw a slight boost due to the new Winning Eleven 2011 console bundles, whereas the Wii saw a modest increase in sales. The consoles finished the week with sales of 28,200 and 12,700, respectively.
Media Create October 25-31
Position / Position last week [Platform] Title – Week total / All-time total (% change)
01. / 00. [PSP] God Eater: Burst (Bandai Namco) - 263.150 / NEW
02. / 00. [PS3] World Soccer Winning Eleven 2011 (Konami) - 215.227 / NEW
03. / 01. [WII] Super Mario Collection: Special Pack (Nintendo) - 119.485 / 427.240 (-61%)
04. / 02. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) - 68.686 / 4.311.998 (-16%)
05. / 00. [NDS] Golden Sun: Dark Dawn (Nintendo) - 46.516 / NEW
06. / 05. [WII] Kirby's Epic Yarn (Nintendo) - 25.257 / 153.170 (-29%)
07. / 00. [NDS] Solatorobo: Sore kara Coda e (Bandai Namco) - 21.915 / NEW
08. / 00. [360] Fable III (Microsoft Game Studios) - 20.025 / NEW
09. / 03. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 (Bandai Namco) - 19.090 / 82.765 (-70%)
10. / 10. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) - 17.337 / 1.155.964 (+9%)
11. / 00. [PSP] Dream Club Portable (D3 Publisher) - 15.181 / NEW
12. / 00. [PS2] Hakuouki: Reimeiroku (Idea Factory) - 14.864 / NEW
13. / 00. [PSP] Da Capo I & II Plus Situation Portable (Kadokawa Shoten) - 14.256 / NEW
14. / 04. [PS3] Vanquish (Sega) - 14.042 / 62.360 (-71%)
15. / 07. [PSP] Lord of Arcana (Square Enix) - 12.056 / 106.928 (-52%)
16. / 00. [PSP] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Ryouran Sangokushi Engi - Wei-Hen (Yeti) - 9.887 / NEW
17. / 11. [NDS] Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (Square Enix) - 9.405 / 151.153 (-37%)
18. / 00. [360] My Wife: A Wife Just for You (Idea Factory) - 8.369 / NEW
19. / 06. [PS3] Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts) - 8.260 / 33.625 (-67%)
20. / 08. [PS3] Beat Sketch! (SCE) - 7.130 / 29.295 (-68%)
A great sign that the Pokemon Ranger formula is still as fun as it ever was.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/24399
Pokemon Ranger: Guardian Signs is the third entry in the Pokemon Ranger series, all of which have been released on the Nintendo DS. The line of games is aimed at a younger demographic, perhaps one that would feel overwhelmed by the amount of depth in the main Pokemon games, and while it is quite apparent that these games are significantly easier, they pack enough content and enjoyment to keep Pokemon fans entertained.
By stepping into the shoes of a Pokemon Ranger, players are bestowed with the task of keeping both humans and Pokemon in a state of equilibrium. In the Oblivia region, the Pokemon Pinchers are stealing Pokemon and abusing them. By joining forces with a lost Ukulele Pichu, your goal is to stop these criminals and restore peace to the region, with peacekeeping tasks along the way such helping Pokemon who are in peril. The plot is kept rather simple, this not a story-heavy game.
One of the key differences between Pokemon Ranger and the main Pokemon games is that there are no Pokemon battles. Instead, players use their Capture Stylers to befriend Pokemon that can be used to help out on the journey. These Pokemon will not stay with the character permanently, but instead return to the wild after they have helped. This mechanic is great in the sense that the game keeps pushing the player to try and befriend all the different kinds of Pokemon, but it would have been nice to have the option to keep a couple of favorite wild Pokemon to take through the game.
Pokemon Ranger makes heavy use of the touch screen in its gameplay. In the capture sequences, all of the commands are performed using the touch screen. Navigating the character around the map is also performed using the touch screen, which makes the game easy to control. Everything is kept simple throughout the game in order to avoid overwhelming children, which makes it feel a little shallow as it never goes that extra step in terms of complexity.
In order to use the Capture Styler, players must first come into contact with a Pokemon. The game will then switch from an overworld perspective to a zoomed in look. The Pokemon will wander around the screen, and while it is doing this, players must draw loops around it in order to convey feelings of friendship towards it. By drawing a certain number of rings, it will eventually decide to join your party and follow you around. It is a simple concept that is made difficult by the Pokemon's ability to unleash attacks that can damage the Capture Styler. If the Capture Styler takes too much of a beating, it will shut down, resulting in a game over screen. As the game progresses, the Capture Styler will become a stronger device through upgrades that give it more energy or health.
Up to eight Pokemon can accompany the player at one particular time. Pokemon in the game each have their own abilities, or field moves, that can be utilized in order to destroy obstacles. These moves range from using cut to destroy trees or logs that block a path, or a water move to eliminate fires.
The game is broken up into missions with a very linear flow. The main story can take upwards of 20 hours to complete, and with the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, additional missions can be downloaded to further extend the length of the game. The game is good value as there is a decent amount of content that will easily be enough to satisfy young gamers.
Guardian Signs adds some new features to the Pokemon Ranger formula. As the name suggests, players can draw signs on the touch screen to call upon legendary Pokemon, such as Raikou and Entei, to help out on the journey. They do not add much to the experience as they are basically just ordinary Pokemon, but young gamers will get a smile out of riding on their favorite legendary Pokemon.
Guardian Signs is not a deep game at all. The core gameplay mechanics are shallow, the story is largely forgettable, and the difficulty level leaves much to be desired. If you know a five year-old child who enjoys Pokemon but has trouble understanding the main games, this is a great game for them. It is a simple game designed for young audiences, which is great and all, but for core Pokemon gamers, Guardian Signs will likely feel like a missed opportunity. If you are looking for a different take on the Pokemon formula, Guardian Signs is a great title, but just remember that this is not at the same level of quality as the main Pokemon games.
Pokemon takes a back seat while Mario celebrates with 300,000 copies of the Super Mario Collection sold.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24380
After leading the Media Create sales charts for five consecutive weeks, Pokemon Black and Pokemon White’s reign atop the summit has come to an end as they step aside for Mario and his latest Wii offering.
Super Mario Collection: Special Pack began its life in Japan in the top spot with sales of 307,755. With the limited availability of the game and the holiday season approaching, the game should continue to sell well in the near future.
Settling for the runner-up spot for its sixth week of sales is Pokemon Black and Pokemon White, which dip 1 to 2. Their fall is due to a 51 percent decline in sales, giving a total just short of 82,000 copies. Kirby’s Epic Yarn sold an additional 35,000 units this week, a 61 percent decrease in sales, falling from 2 to 5 in its second week.
Rounding out the top 10 is Nintendo’s Wii Party, which falls 6-10. It ended the week with sales of just under 15,000.
Outside the top 10, Kingdom Hearts Re:coded exits the top ten in its third week of sales as it plummets 4 to 11. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is the only other game for a Nintendo platform to find itself in the top 20. It opens in the 13th position.
Hardware sales continue to experience decline. The Nintendo DS saw a sharp drop as sales fell from 47,100 to 34,400, largely due to the Pokemon boost wearing off. The PSP was knocking on its doorstep with sales of 33,500. The PS3, despite seeing the release of the PlayStation Move accessory, saw a small drop of 2,000 units. Super Mario Collection and Kirby’s Epic Yarn prove to continue to have no effect on Wii hardware numbers as the console fell below the 12,000 mark for the week.
Next week sees the release of Golden Sun: Dark Dawn for the Nintendo DS. It may have a chance of the top spot, though it will have to deal with competition from Super Mario Collection and Pokemon Black and Pokemon White.
Media Create October 11-17
Position / Position last week [Platform] Title – Week total / All-time total (% change)
01. / 00. [WII] Super Mario Collection: Special Pack (Nintendo) - 307.755 / NEW
02. / 01. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) - 81.915 / 4.243.312 (-51%)
03. / 00. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm 2 (Bandai Namco) - 63.675 / NEW
04. / 00. [PS3] Vanquish (Sega) - 48.318 / NEW
05. / 02. [WII] Kirby's Epic Yarn (Nintendo) - 35.633 / 127.913 (-61%)
06. / 00. [PS3] Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts) - 25.365 / NEW
07. / 03. [PSP] Lord of Arcana (Square Enix) - 24.939 / 94.872 (-64%)
08. / 00. [PS3] Beat Sketch! (SCE) - 22.165 / NEW
09. / 00. [PS3] FIFA 11: World Class Soccer (Electronic Arts) - 18.995 / NEW
10. / 06. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) - 15.895 / 1.138.627 (-32%)
11. / 04. [NDS] Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (Square Enix) - 14.995 / 141.748 (-52%)
12. / 00. [PS3] Time Crisis: Razing Storm (Bandai Namco) - 12.653 / NEW
13. / 00. [WII] No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Marvelous Entertainment) - 11.373 / NEW
14. / 00. [360] Vanquish (Sega) - 11.204 / NEW
15. / 05. [PS3] Red Dead Redemption (Take-Two Interactive) - 10.454 / 107.347 (-60%)
16. / 00. [PS3] Resident Evil 5: Gold Edition (Move Special Pack) (Capcom) - 9.399 / NEW
17. / 00. [360] Medal of Honor (Electronic Arts) - 6.958 / NEW
18. / 15. [PSP] Monster Hunter Freedom Unite [PSP the Best Reprint] (Capcom) - 6.371 / 456.266 (-2%)
19. / 00. [PS3] Sports Champions (SCE) - 6.349 / NEW
20. / 07. [PS3] Gekijouban Macross F: Itsuwarino Utahime - Hybrid Pack (Bandai Namco) - 6.123 / 176.892 (-66%)
Another Japanese release for the Wii with new features.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24338
While the Taiko Drum Master games are rarely seen in other territories, within Japan, there have been two Taiko Drum Master games for Wii since 2008. Even though last year’s entry failed to meet the sales of the first Taiko Wii game, Namco Bandai is readying another version of the game, slated for release in Japan later this year.
One of the big new features this time around is the addition of four-player support. The game includes seven party games that are playable by up to four players, all of which can be accessed from "Dream Taiko Land."
The game features 70 new songs from games such as Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, Idol Master SP, and Monster Hunter. Taiko Drum Master Wii: Everyone’s Party hits Japanese stores on December 2.
Pokemon keeps Kirby from debuting at the top.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24337
Pokemon Black and Pokemon White have held the top spot in Japan for five consecutive weeks, keeping many games from reaching the summit. This week Kirby is forced to sit in the runner-up spot as Pokemon Black and Pokemon White continue to dominate with sales of 168,000, pushing it further past the four million mark.
Kirby's Epic Yarn opens with sales of just over 92,000. This is the third lowest opening for a Kirby game according to Media Create, well below Kirby Super Star Ultra's first week sales in 2008, but Kirby Air Ride and Kirby Canvas Curse opened with sales of around 80,000.
Kingdom Hearts Re:coded slides 3 to 4 thanks to a 67% decrease in sales. Wii Party continues to see small decreases in sales each week as it ends the week with sales of 23,000. This was enough to secure it sixth position for the second week in a row.
Outside of the top 10, One Piece: Gigant Battle sees a 42% increase in sales causing it to fly 22-14. Super Mario Galaxy 2 saw a small 10% decrease in sales, selling 6,200 copies. Wii Fit Plus and Mario Kart Wii can also still be found on the outskirts of the top 20.
Hardware sales of Nintendo’s platforms continue to see decline this week. The Nintendo DS family of systems continue to decline in sales as the Pokemon Black and White effect wears off. The three models of handhelds sold 47,100 units last week, 3,000 less than the week before. The PlayStation Portable rose slightly to 38,700 whereas the PlayStation 3 rose to 22,00 without any major software releases. The Wii, despite the release of Kirby, rose by only 700 units to 12,800. The Xbox 360 and PS2 continue to linger around the 2,000 mark.
Next week Super Mario Collection hits stores, a very likely candidate for next week's number one game.
Media Create October 11-17
Position / Position last week [Platform] Title – Week total / All-time total (% change)
01. / 01. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) - 168.541 / 4.161.397 (-27%)
02. / 00. [WII] Kirby's Epic Yarn (Nintendo) - 92.280 / NEW
03. / 00. [PSP] Lord of Arcana (Square Enix) - 69.932 / NEW
04. / 03. [NDS] Kingdom Hearts Re:coded (Square Enix) - 31.247 / 126.753 (-67%)
05. / 04. [PS3] Red Dead Redemption (Take-Two Interactive) - 26.293 / 96.982 (-63%)
06. / 06. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) - 23.304 / 1.122.732 (-11%)
07. / 02. [PS3] Gekijouban Macross F: Itsuwarino Utahime - Hybrid Pack (Bandai Namco) - 18.071 / 170.769 (-88%)
08. / 11. [PSP] Black Leopard: A New Tale of Yakuza (Sega) - 11.263 / 247.748 (-41%)
09. / 05. [PSP] Class of Heroes 3 (Acquire) - 9.848 / 40.420 (-68%)
10. / 09. [PS3] Dead Rising 2 (Capcom) - 9.761 / 113.872 (-60%)
Kyle Hyde returns in this excellent sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/24254
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West is the sequel to Hotel Dusk: Room 215 from 2007. The first game focused on the life of a former member of the New York Police Department who was on the move trying to find out details about his old partner. Now one year later, Kyle Hyde finds himself inside the Cape West apartment building. Soon after exploring it, he finds that it may have a connection to his father's death, and decides to explore the building's mysteries before it is demolished.
Last Window throws players into a brand new experience but makes oblique references to the past game, through items found in the apartment complex and characters that occasionally appear. Those who finished Hotel Dusk will obviously understand their purpose, though for newcomers it is not mandatory to understand their background to complete the story.
The game is controlled by turning the Nintendo DS on its side like a book and using either the touch screen or the D-Pad for Kyle's movement. An overview perspective of the room you are in can be found on the right screen, while a 3D look can be seen on the opposite screen. While the conversation scenes contain fluid animations from the characters, the 3D perspectives of the various rooms are rather muggy and lack clarity. In general these perspectives work well, though it cannot help but be noted that the character models, which are in 2D, look awkward in three-dimensional areas. It’s not a huge gripe, but considering the fuzzy backgrounds, the exploration part of the game comes off as a little disappointing in the visual area.
Most of your time is spent engaging in conversations to learn information about the apartment building complex or wandering around the hotel, searching for clues and investigating items. Occasionally, a puzzle might come along that you may need to solve, but for the most part, you’ll be interviewing people and trying to dig deeper into their past. Sometimes you'll stumble upon an object that seems a little out of place. By tapping it, Kyle Hyde can focus on that object and examine it. You may find something behind it by turning it or by shifting the angle that Kyle looks at it.
As just mentioned, Kyle Hyde spends a large chunk of his time talking to the tenants who are in the Cape West building. By listening to what people have to say, players can pick on small details and then question the individuals about it to find out even more information. You have to be careful of how much you ask though, because if you get the character upset, it will result in a game over screen.
One aspect of Hotel Dusk that garnered complaints was the massive amount of text that was bestowed upon players. That text is still present in Last Window, but an option to skip the text is included. However, taking advantage of this feature will mean that you miss out on important information, and considering that the game quizzes you at the end of each chapter, it might be worthwhile to read the text and enjoy the game for what it is.
Last Window is a fairly lengthy game. The game is composed of ten chapters, each of which can have anywhere from one to three hours of gameplay. The chapter system makes it easier to jump into the game when you start playing again, much like how it makes reading a novel easy to do.
Last Window: The Secret of Cape West is a fitting send-off for Cing, the developers, who were forced to file for bankruptcy in March. Their last game is one of their best games, and also one of the best for the Nintendo DS platform. The game never has a dull moment as once you have one mystery solved, another comes along to pique your interest. The game is not on the short side either, as the main quest can take over 10 hours to complete. For those looking for something to sink their teeth into as the days become shorter, Last Window is the game for you.
The latest Inazuma Eleven 3 release will have exclusive content.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24244
Level-5 decided to take the route of releasing two different versions of the last two Inazuma Eleven games, in a similar way to the Pokemon series, but apparently two is not enough. They are planning a third version of this DS title, set to be released in Japan this December.
Inazuma Eleven 3: The Ogre complements the Spark and Bomber versions of Inazuma Eleven 3, which were released in Japan during the summer. The new version is scheduled to be released on December 16, just one week before the upcoming Inazuma Eleven movie and will feature a story related to the movie. It will also feature new maps and characters, as well as the ability for wireless play with Spark and Bomber.
Expects them to be in line with current Nintendo DS prices.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24211
At the recent investors' Q&A, Satoru Iwata mentioned that games for the Nintendo 3DS will be pretty much in line with the current price of Nintendo DS games.
He later went on to comment, "We don't believe that the world is in a state where high priced software will sell well, so we don't believe it will be in a price range too far off from current DS software."
In Japan, most new Nintendo DS software is priced at 5,040 yen (currently, about $60), while premium titles are priced at 5,980 yen ($71).
Despite the retail prices be roughly the same, Iwata expects development costs for some games to be far greater than the cost of developing a D title.
In the same report, Iwata commented on opinions that the 3DS price was set too high at 25,000 yen ($300), saying that the system price was set by considering a number of factors, including the enthusiastic response at E3.
Pokemon Black and White remain at the top in Japan.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24183
Pokemon Black and Pokemon White posts back-to-back weeks at number one in Japan despite experiencing a 68% dip in sales. The games became the fast-selling ever in Japan last week, and there is indeed still indeed plenty of interest for the duo of Pokemon games. From September 20-26, Pokemon Black and White sold just over 828,000, bringing its lifetime-to-date total to just short of 3.4 million.
Wii Party saw a position five to three rise thanks in part to a 18% spike in sales. This week the game officially crosses the one million mark as well, becoming one of only a handful of Wii games to sell over a million copies in Japan this generation.
The new One Piece for the Nintendo DS saw sales of just over 14,000. It also rose one position to number six this week.
Hardware remained strong this week as the Nintendo DS line of handhelds saw a slight boost in sales as the Pokemon effect continues. The line of systems sold 89,199 systems this week, more than doubling the number of PSPs sold in the same timeframe. The PS3 continues to outpace the Wii, selling nearly 4,000 more consoles last week.
Media Create September 20-26
Position / Position last week [Platform] Title – Week total / All-time total (% change)
01. / 01. [NDS] Pokemon Black / White (Pokemon Co.) – 828,580 / 3,386,358 (-68%)
02. / 00. [PSP] Black Leopard: A New Tale of Yakuza (Sega) - 174,213 / NEW
03. / 05. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) - 43.077 / 1,040.102 (+18%)
04. / 00. [PSP] Durarara!! 3-way Standoff (ASCII Media Works) - 21,566 / NEW
05. / 06. [PSP] Monster Hunter Diary: Pokapoka Ailu Village (Capcom) - 18,652 / 447.329 (-35%)
06. / 07. [NDS] One Piece: Gigant Battle (Bandai Namco) - 14,339 / 174,316 (-49%)
07. / 02. [PS3] Front Mission: Evolved (Square Enix) - 10,421 / 61,504 (-80%)
08. / 00. [PSP] Shin Koihime Musou: Otome Ryouran Sangokushi Engi - Wu-Hen (Yeti) - 10,240 / NEW
09. / 03. [PSP] Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's Tag Force 5 (Konami) - 9,805 / 55,684 (-79%)
10. / 00. [PS3] Winning Post 7 2010 (Koei Tecmo) - 9,714 / NEW
Muramasa: The Demon Blade may soon be playable in 3D.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24184
In a recent Siliconera interview with Marvelous Entertainment, it was revealed that the company would like to bring Muramasa: The Demon Blade to another dimension with the Nintendo 3DS.
When the Group Manager of Marvelous Entertainment, Tomio Kanazawa, was questioned about what he thought of bringing Muramasa: The Demon Blade to the Nintendo 3DS, he responded by saying, "That’s a pretty good idea! That is one of the many things we think our fans want, and we want to provide to them," he replied. "We at Marvelous Entertainment want to continue to meet and exceed the expectations from our fans as we continue to bring them new experiences."
Marvelous currently has several Nintendo 3DS titles in the works, ranging from Animal Resort to a new Harvest Moon.
Nintendo's latest Pokemon games have broken several records in just two days.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24089
Pokemon Black and Pokemon White were released in Japan over the weekend. Some retailers sold out, but even with demand exceeding supply, Pokemon Black and Pokemon White still managed to sell exceptionally well.
Pre-orders for the game managed to reach 1.7 million, though some retailers stopped taking pre-orders as they were afraid that they wouldn’t have enough stock. In a mere two days, the games managed to sell 2,637,285 copies, breaking the record for the biggest all-time game opening in Japan.
To put this in perspective, only Final Fantasy VIII for the PlayStation managed to sell over 2.5 million units its first week, and only five other games have ever broken the 2 million mark for first week sales in Japan.
What makes the feat even more amazing is that Pokemon Black and Pokemon White had two days of sales in the tracking period opposed to the usual four, due to the game being released on Saturday rather than the usual Thursday. The next shipment of games is not scheduled to arrive until this weekend, so it appears as though some gamers might have to do some searching to find a copy of the game.
Here are the openings of past mainline Pokemon games in Japan, as well as their lifetime-to-date totals.
1. [NGB] Pokemon Red / Green / Blue (Nintendo) – 140,074 / 7,783,101
2. [NGB] Pokemon Gold / Silver (Nintendo) – 1,425,768 / 6,089,503
3. [NDS] Pokemon Diamond / Pearl (Pokemon Co.) – 1,586,360 / 5,767,283
4. [GBA] Pokemon Ruby / Sapphire (Pokemon Co.) – 1,245,003 / 5,337,045
How many versions of solitaire is enough?
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/24039
Card games are plentiful on the Nintendo DSiWare Store and 24/7 Solitaire is the latest variation on the activity to be released. It is unique in the fact that it offers a vast amount of content the other versions lack.
24/7 Solitaire offers many variations on the original formula, ranging from Klondike to Four Seasons. There are about 30 different variations of solitaire packed into this game, so it is a great investment compared to the service's other solitaire games.
Peg solitaire is also present in 24/7 Solitaire, which is not really solitaire at all. The game has seven different boards to play this activity on, each one with their own unique setup. Your goal in peg solitaire is to remove a certain number of balls from a grid until there is only one left in the center of the board. This is accomplished through selecting balls and having them hop over other ones, thus resulting in them being removed from the game.
24/7 Solitaire is a great solo experience but it is a shame that the developers skipped over the opportunity to include some competitive play. A multiplayer mode, whether local or online, would have been a nice addition to the game.
The presentation is a little bare-bones as both the graphics and sound are fairly simple. This is common to solitaire games on the service, but 24/7 Solitaire has a somewhat more colorful and lively feel to it, which is definitely a plus. The audio, while somewhat minimal, is decent and is not overly repetitive.
Solitaire games are no stranger to the Nintendo DSiWare service, and while 24/7 Solitaire has a slightly higher price than other solitaire games on the service, it packs quite a bit more variety. 30 different variations on the activity will keep gamers occupied for quite some time and the addition of peg solitaire is just icing on the cake. In short, this is the definite handheld version of solitaire.
A follow-up to the Pokemon-esque game is coming to Japan in 2010.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24009
Super Kasekihorida, a sequel to Fossil Fighters, is coming to Japan before the end of the year courtesy of Nintendo and developer Red Entertainment, according to the latest issue of CoroCoro Comic.
Fossil Fighters, released for the Nintendo DS in Japan in 2008 and in North America the following year, featured gameplay similar to Pokemon. The game, whose title translates to Super Fossil Fighters, appears to be similar to the previous title.
Red Entertainment was recently responsible for Nostalgia, an RPG published by Ignition that was released in North America last fall. They also co-developed Lords of Thunder, the celebrated TurboGrafx-CD shoot-'em-up, which is also available on Virtual Console.
Super Kasekihorida is set for a release in Japan this year. A North American release has not been announced.
The Wii has its lowest sales month since launch, but Mario just keeps on selling software.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/24003
The August NPD numbers have been released, and Nintendo once again yields the top console sales spot to Microsoft. While the recently-redesigned Xbox 360 sold the most systems overall, the Wii finished August in third place with sales of 244,300, with the Nintendo DS finishing second with 342,700. The Wii finished the tracking period with its lowest month of hardware sales since its 2006 launch.
On the software side, Madden NFL 11 was unsurprisingly the top game of the month, taking the top two spots on the chart. Super Mario Galaxy 2 finished in third, roughly 770,000 units behind second-place Madden NFL 11 for PlayStation 3. Its sales of 124,600 were enough to push it ahead of Mafia II for the Xbox 360. New Super Mario Bros. Wii and Wii Fit Plus continued to be big software sellers on the platform, taking the sixth and tenth spots respectively. New Super Mario Bros. for DS outpaced its console big brother for the month, moving 110,400 units to earn the fifth spot.
A comparison of year-to-year numbers with last August reveals some interesting trends. Portable system sales are definitely taking a hit, with dollar sales for portable hardware, software and accessories all down 25% versus last August. Meanwhile, console dollar sales are only down 6% for the same period. This certainly must have factored into Nintendo's recent decision to drop the prices on its DSi and DSi XL systems on September 12.
In terms of console sales, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are trending upwards, while Wii appears to be trending downwards. The Xbox 360 was the top-selling console for the third month running (and this probably won't change with next week's release of blockbuster Halo: Reach), while the PlayStation 3 posted its 13th consecutive month of year-over-year sales increases. NPD analyst Anita Frazier was still bullish on the Wii however, stating that, "With games like Wii Party or Disney Guilty Party which are fun family-oriented games that have worked so well for the Wii platform, we'll see hardware unit sales increase."
NPD Group's U.S. Video Games Industry Sales – August 2010
Reporting period: 8/1/10 - 8/28/10
Hardware Sales
Software Sales
Sales continue to decline as the Obon holiday effect wears off.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/23981
While Capcom’s Monster Hunter Diary: Pukapoka Ailu Village debuts atop the Japanese sales chart this week, all eyes are on Pokemon Black and Pokemon White as pre-orders continue to pick up steam With both games due for release later this month, if Nintendo can meet demand the pair could represent the biggest-ever opening sales week for a Pokemon title in Japan.
In the meantime, new games continue to flood the top 20. Capcom managed to bring its new PSP Monster Hunter Diary game to the summit this week, seeing it debut with sales of just over 256,000. In a distant second is another new PSP title, Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault, with sales of 57,000.
Wii Party continues to perform as it ends its eighth week on the charts with sales of around 55,000. The game has managed to move 860,000 units to date, and with its strong legs should easily pass the 1.5 million mark by the end of the year.
Last week’s top game dives to number four this week thanks in part to a massive 87% drop in overall game sales. Hakuouki Zuisouroku Portable from Idea Factory opens at number 5 with sales of 25,000.
Inazuma Eleven 3: World Challenge! Spark / Bomber takes a couple of steps back to position 6, though it just barely managed to scrape past Super Mario Galaxy 2. Art Academy held strong in the eighth position, while the new Tales game slips three spots to number nine. Rounding out the top is Senoku Basara 3, which plummeted five spots to number 10.
On the hardware side of things, the PSP sees its sales double thanks in part to a new promotional push tied in with Monster Hunter Diary. The Nintendo DS family of portables sees a slight decrease, just barely missing the 40,000 mark. The PS3 continues to outpace the Wii, and should be only a couple of thousands units behind the Wii’s year-to-date total next week.
Media Create Japan Game Sales: August 23-29
01. / 00. [PSP] Monster Hunter Diary: Pokapoka Ailu Village (Capcom) - 256.076 / NEW
02. / 00. [PSP] Ace Combat X2: Joint Assault (Bandai Namco) - 57.785 / NEW
03. / 02. [WII] Wii Party (Nintendo) - 54.673 / 859.733 (-21%)
04. / 01. [PS3] Another Century's Episode R (Bandai Namco) - 28.354 / 248.203 (-87%)
05. / 00. [PSP] Hakuouki: Zuisouroku Portable (Idea Factory) - 24.469 / NEW
06. / 04. [NDS] Inazuma Eleven 3: World Challenge!! Spark / Bomber (Level 5) - 12.889 / 810.718 (-28%)
07. / 07. [WII] Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Nintendo) - 11.977 / 795.602 (-14%)
08. / 08. [NDS] Art Academy (Nintendo) - 10.301 / 148.759 (-22%)
09. / 06. [PSP] Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X (Bandai Namco) - 9.371 / 161.875 (-43%)
10. / 05. [PS3] Sengoku Basara 3 (Capcom) - 8.834 / 361.452 (-50%)
Media Create Japan System Sales: August 23-29
01. / 03. Sony PSP - 56,248
02. / 01. Nintendo DS - 39,992
03. / 02. Sony PlayStation 3 - 25,053
04. / 04. Nintendo Wii - 15,989
05. / 05. Microsoft Xbox 360 - 2,665
06. / 06. Sony PlayStation 2 - 1,358
Nintendo's answer to Hudson's My Aquarium struggles to stay afloat.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/23974
Way back in 2008, Hudson released My Aquarium exclusively for the WiiWare service, and to many people's surprise, it turned out to be a huge success. Fast forward to almost two years later and along comes Nintendo's answer to My Aquarium, AquaSpace. While AquaSpace appears to have a lot more going for it, such as the inclusion of Mii characters, it ultimately fails to challenge My Aquarium as the best fish tank simulator on WiiWare.
The goal of AquaSpace is simple as you design and decorate your very own fish tank. The game gives you full customization of your aquarium, ranging from its look to the fish that will inhabit it. To no surprise, AquaSpace is more of an interactive screensaver than a game. Of course, designing and decorating your own fish tank can be very time consuming, but the intention is to pop the game on and have it playing on your television while you entertain a party or while you relax.
The game features more or less the same experience that Hudson's aquarium simulator contained two years ago, except with the ability to bring your Mii character into the game. Sadly, the Mii support is lackluster. All the game does is automatically create a path for your Mii to follow, offering no direct control.
In terms of visuals, the game has a very muggy and flat look to it and ultimately comes off looking dull and uninspired. Combine that with the boring and repetitive background music and the game just sinks.
AquaSpace's biggest selling point was the ability to swim with your Mii character, and it is a shame that that part turned out to be such a disappointment. For just 100 Wii Points less, My Aquarium is a much more enjoyable fish tank simulator. If Paon and Nintendo had managed to work out the problems surrounding the Mii mode, it would have been a little easier to recommend AquaSpace, but in its current state, it is pretty hard to do so.
