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Wii

This Week's Virtual Console and WiiWare

by Neal Ronaghan - December 22, 2008, 11:33 am EST
Total comments: 13 Source: Press Release

This week features more tower building, some minigolf, and another Phantasy Star.

This week sees a familiar split of games: two WiiWare and one Virtual Console. On WiiWare, the previously announced Tiki Towers launches while Fun! Fun! Minigolf also sees release. On Virtual Console, the fourth Phantasy Star hits virtual shelves.

RealArcade's Tiki Towers appears to be the monkey version of the popular World of Goo. Using bamboo poles, coconuts, and vines to build towers, you and your monkey friends set to outwit rival tribes who want to destroy your constructions. You can defend your towers by getting your monkeys to chant for BananaMana, which is used to counter attacks. Featuring single player and a two-player cooperative mode, Tiki Towers is available for 500 Points ($5) and is rated E for Everyone.

The second WiiWare offering is Fun! Fun! Minigolf, a multinational minigolf game from Shin-en Multimedia. Offering simple controls and 27 holes spanning America, Asia, and Europe, Fun! Fun! Minigolf is playable with up to four players and is now available for 900 Wii Points ($9).

On the Virtual Console, the fourth entry in the classic RPG series, Phantasy Star, hits the service. Hailing from the Sega Genesis, Phantasy Star IV is the story of Chaz Ashley, a young member of the Hunters Guild who sets out to destroy the solar system's biocreatures. Featuring a large supporting cast and an epic story, Phantasy Star IV is available for 800 Wii Points ($8) and is rated E for Everyone.

WII-KLY UPDATE: TWO WIIWARE GAMES AND ONE VIRTUAL CONSOLE GAME ADDED TO WII SHOP CHANNEL

Dec. 22, 2008 - Did you think Grandma's house was the only travel destination on your itinerary this holiday season? Think again. Thanks to the Wii™ Shop Channel, you've got some extraordinary places to see, from tropical islands and exotic golf courses to a faraway planet in need of triumphant heroes. Whether you play solo or with family and friends, these awesome new offerings are sure to deliver an extra dose of holiday cheer.

Nintendo adds new and classic games to the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week's new games are:

WiiWare™

Tiki Towers™ (RealArcade, 1 -2 players, Rated E for Everyone-Comic Mischief, 500 Wii Points): Tiki Towers is a game of construction, destruction, problem-solving and monkeys. Reclaim the islands of your tribe by defeating a series of evil enemy chiefs. Work with your monkey friends to build towers out of bamboo poles, coconuts and vines. Match wits against the enemy chiefs bent on destroying your towers and driving you from the islands. Navigate levels filled with crazy building challenges, and deal with unfriendly wildlife and other environmental obstacles. Get your monkeys to chant for the BananaMana necessary to counter enemy attacks. Play in either single-player or two-player cooperative mode in this game where monkeys rule.

Fun! Fun! Minigolf (Shin'en Multimedia, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone, 900 Wii Points): Play minigolf with your friends in beautiful environments. Choose a character and turn your Wii Remote™ controller into a golf club. With its easy-to-use controls, all you need to do is aim, swing and see who's the best putter. Play 27 holes spread across America, Asia and Europe. Enjoy exotic locations all over the world. Go for gold in single-player mode, or invite your friends. Fun! Fun! Minigolf supports up to four players. You can use one to four Wii Remote controllers. Fun! Fun! Minigolf is the ultimate party game for everyone.

Virtual Console™

Phantasy Star™ IV (SEGA GENESIS, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone-Fantasy Violence, Mild Sexual Themes, 800 Wii Points): Phantasy Star IV is the fourth released game from SEGA's epic Phantasy Star series, one of SEGA's biggest RPGs on the SEGA GENESIS. In the year AW 2284, planet Motavia is once again plagued by strange biocreatures, and it's up to the brave men and women of the Hunters Guild to exterminate them. You are Chaz Ashley, a rookie Hunter straight out of training who is supported by Alys Brangwin-a crafty veteran whose good looks and prowess with the blade have earned her an awesome reputation. These two Hunters, along with a cast of supporting characters, will go beyond Motavia to unwittingly save their entire solar system.

Talkback

It is nice that Phantasy Star IV was released, but when is the first one going to come out?

DAaaMan64December 22, 2008

Was IV any good?

IV is supposed to be really good. I believe the third one is the black sheep of the series even though it also has fans.  :)

BeautifulShyDecember 23, 2008

Quote from: Penguin_Of_Time

It is nice that Phantasy Star IV was released, but when is the first one going to come out?

Maybe when PS Zero comes out.Also the SMS wasn't supported when Phantasy Star 2 came out.So I'm sure they will get to the original soon.
Is there a certain order that you should play the Phantasy Star games in?I want to play them in chronological order,story wise.

broodwarsDecember 23, 2008

The Minigolf WiiWare title kind of piques my interest (as I'm very fond of the real thing), but given the overall quality of WiiWare I don't have high hopes for it so we'll see what the reviews say.  Otherwise, yet another week of downloadable titles I don't really care about.  I didn't own a Genesis, so I don't have much interest in Phantasy Star (despite being an RPG fan).  There are still come great SNES RPGs out there, so I'm hoping we'll see those come down the pipeline sometime in the future.

With cash a little more available than it's been in the past, though, I might get around to picking up Megaman 9 this week.  And despite having already purchased it, I still need to start a game on Secret of Mana.  Hopefully that game's much better than the mediocre sequels it spawned...

KDR_11kDecember 23, 2008

The minigolf game is by the makers of Nanostray and looks pretty good graphically. Make of that what you want.

I'm kind of in the same boat as broodwars. It interests me, but I'm cautious.
I'll probably look into it to see if it plays well.

Tybo68December 23, 2008

They should hurry up and release Castlevania III. Thats the only game left that I want to play on VC

AVDecember 23, 2008

Quote from: Tybo68

They should hurry up and release Castlevania III. Thats the only game left that I want to play on VC

BAH HUMBUG !!!!!

Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood FTW !!!!!!!!!

if I get money i might get that monkey game since I enjoy World of Goo that seems like a good similar theme.

MorariDecember 23, 2008

Quote from: broodwars

I didn't own a Genesis, so I don't have much interest in Phantasy Star (despite being an RPG fan).

It seems to me that you'd be more interested, having never owned a Genesis. Maybe you only like to play games that you're comfortable with and have played before though?

The minigolf game does seem appealing... in theory.

Tybo68December 23, 2008

Quote from: Mr.

Quote from: Tybo68

They should hurry up and release Castlevania III. Thats the only game left that I want to play on VC

BAH HUMBUG !!!!!

Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood FTW !!!!!!!!!

I guess I want to see every Castlevania game possible on the VC but ever since I heard Europe got CV3 a while back I have been eagerly waiting every week.

broodwarsDecember 24, 2008

Quote from: Morari

Quote from: broodwars

I didn't own a Genesis, so I don't have much interest in Phantasy Star (despite being an RPG fan).

It seems to me that you'd be more interested, having never owned a Genesis. Maybe you only like to play games that you're comfortable with and have played before though?

Well, it's more like I play Virtual Console to play old favorites with a proper controller on a real TV (no game feels quite right in emulation with a keyboard).  I was a huge SNES RPG fan, so that's what I'm naturally drawn towards.  But more to the point, I never liked the genesis (especially that, for the time, wacky controller it had and the inferior audio hardware), so I don't really care when a Genesis game gets on VC.  If you're a Genesis fan and were looking forward to Phantasy Star IV, more power to you.  It's just not my thing.

KDR_11kDecember 24, 2008

Oppinions about Fun Fun Minigolf are divided, the WWW review was 6/10 but one major complaint was about the game having a bounds rule. The problem? The rule is actually part of real minigolf, people just never follow it.

EDIT: Tiki Towers scored 7/10, it sounds like it's closer to the traditional Bridge Builder experience with more emphasis on structural stability and different materials and such.

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