Warp Zoned Presents
Most Recent: DS
Nintendo Download: Tiny Galaxy, Blaster Master, Airport Hero Narita, more
Six titles were added to the Nintendo eShop today. In no particular order, they are…
- Tiny Galaxy (Wii U) is a side-scrolling platformer that takes place on a variety of planets of different size, each with its own gravity and rotation.
- Blaster Master (Wii U) is a beloved NES side-scroller that is now available on the Wii U’s Virtual Console for the first time.
- Airport Hero Narita: I Am An Air Traffic Controller (3DS) is an air traffic controller sim.
- I Love My Dogs (3DS) is a pet ownership sim.
- G.G. Series: Score Attacker (DSi) is a vertically-scrolling space shooter.
- G.G. Series: Vector (DSi) is a falling block puzzler.
More information on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata dies at age 55
It’s a sad day today, as Nintendo has announced the death of President and CEO Satoru Iwata due to a bile duct growth. He was 55 years old.
“Nintendo Co. Ltd. deeply regrets to announce that President Satoru Iwata passed away on July 11, 2015 due to a bile duct growth,” was the company’s only statement to the public. In the hours since the news was released, Nintendo of America posted the following message to Twitter and Facebook: “In remembrance of Mr. Satoru Iwata, Nintendo will not be posting on our social media channels today.”
Iwata had been with Nintendo since the 1980s, starting out as a programmer at HAL Laboratory (where he worked on Balloon Fight and EarthBound, among others), before reaching the level of CEO in 2002. The executive also had a close relationship with Nintendo’s devoted fans. He regularly made appearances at industry events, hosted Nintendo’s monthly Nintendo Direct videos, and conducted Iwata Asks, a regular interview series in which he would talk to the developers of Nintendo’s games. Iwata had been battling this illness for several years, missing last year’s E3 Expo due to a surgery. But he made his final public appearance as part of this year’s Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 just last month.
Above all, Iwata was a principled man in an industry that’s dead set on nothing but making money and treating customers like cattle. When Nintendo failed to reach its financial projections in 2013, Iwata voluntarily cut his salary in half for the next five months.
There is no word yet who will be named Nintendo’s next President and CEO, though it will be extraordinarily difficult to replace a man like Iwata.
Nintendo Download: Art Academy Home Studio, Star Fox Command, Mario & Luigi Partners in Time, more
Indulge your artistic side this week on the Wii U eShop with Art Academy: Home Studio, which offers 30 new art lessons to paint and draw with the Wii U GamePad. Players will be able to share their masterworks through the Miiverse, and even upload time-lapse videos to YouTube. Elsewhere in this week’s Nintendo Download (but still sticking with the Wii U) is Never Alone, an “atmospheric puzzle platformer” developed in collaboration with an Alaska Native people.
Also available the Wii U eShop this week are a pair of DS re-releases. Star Fox Command adds a touch of strategic plotting to the space shooting, while Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time adds time travel to the plumbing duo’s portable RPG series.
More information on all these games (and a bevy of new DSiWare titles) can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo Download: Lego Jurassic World, Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure, more
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth!
Welcome to this week’s Nintendo Download, where Lego Jurassic World will soon be available on the 3DS and Wii U. The game, which recreates all four Jurassic Park films using Lego bricks, will be available through the 3DS eShop and the Wii U eShop beginning tomorrow, June 12. In case that wasn’t enough dinosaur adventuring, Jurassic World will open in theaters tomorrow as well (or tonight, if you’re willing to brave the crowds).
Also available this week, today actually, is Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure for the 3DS. All your favorite Dr. Mario modes, including classic style, Dr. Luigi style, and Virus Buster mode, will be included. And new power-ups called Miracle Cures can eradicate the germs like never before.
Finally this week, a pair of 3DS titles from Arc System Works are now available to download. Ninja Usagimaru: The Gem of Blessings is a side-scrolling platformer while Swords & Darkness is a medieval 2D brawler.
More information on all of these games (and a few more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure, Lego Jurassic World
Nintendo Download: Adventures of Pip, Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven, Pac-Attack, more
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for another Nintendo Download. Here’s a look at some of the titles you can find on the Nintendo eShop beginning today:
- Adventures of Pip is a side-scrolling platformer for the Wii U that pumps pixels into its main character to help him overcome challenges.
- Pac-Attack is a “fun and quirky” for the Wii U’s Virtual Console that originally appeared on the Super NES.
- Cube Life: Island Survival is a game that looks ridiculously similar to Minecraft and its available now for the Wii U.
- Lord of Magna: Maiden Heaven is a Japanese RPG for the 3DS that bases its attack system on bowling over your opponents.
More information on all of these games (and a few more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Cube Life: Island Survival
Nintendo Download: Splatoon, Don’t Starve, Mega Man Zero 3, more
A large number of new releases were added to the Nintendo eShop today, but one game stands above all the others and it actually won’t be available until tomorrow. Are you ready… because Splatoon is finally available for the Wii U.
Nintendo’s take on the team-based shooter involves human/squid hybrids known as Inklings fighting for turf using paint guns. Use your squid powers to swim through the ink and use your human powers to blast other Inklings while claiming territory for your team. if multiplayer gaming isn’t your thing, there’s also an extensive single-player story mode that offers more towns to paint red (or yellow or purple or blue).
Also available for the Wii U this week is Don’t Starve: Giant Edition, a survival game from Klei. The game’s description says it all: “Fight, farm, craft, scavenge and do whatever it takes to survive in a wilderness filled with science, magic and things that go bump in the night.” Best of all, players who purchase Don’t Starve will receive a giftable bonus code to give to a friend.
Finally this week, Capcom is closing out Mega May with three classic Mega Man titles, all of which were originally released for the Game Boy Advance. Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon and Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun continue the saga of Lan and Mega Man within the computer world, while Mega Man Zero 3 closes out Zero’s story in one of the hardest platformers ever produced.
More details on all of these games, and a few others, can be found after the break. (more…)
Insert Quarter: Should Mega Man Make a Comeback? Maybe We Don’t Need Him…
Insert Quarter is our showcase for some of the best and most interesting writing about video games on the Internet.
With Shovel Knight, 20XX, and the upcoming Mighty No. 9 giving the gaming populace their fill of homages/spiritual successors to Mega Man, some people have started to wonder if a new game starring the original Blue Bomber is even necessary. GameRadar’s David Roberts is one of those people.
According to Roberts, Capcom is so handcuffed by the Mega Man formula that we might just be better off with the imitators. I’m not sure I agree, but he makes an interesting case:
It’s been nearly five years since Capcom released the last official Mega Man game. Mega Man 10 was just like all the other Mega Man games (Mega Mans?) that came before it; crunchy 8-bit graphics, a series of themed robot bosses, and soul-crushing difficulty. Since then, Capcom has released a fan-made Street Fighter/Mega Man crossover and let the Blue Bomber fight against a stable of Nintendo characters in Super Smash Bros. That’s all Mega Man has to show for the last five years; everything else has been cancelled. And you know what? Maybe that’s for the best.
The full article is available for your perusal at the GamesRadar.
Nintendo Download: Dot Arcade, Namco Museum, Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin, more
Six new games were added to the Nintendo eShop today and the two Wii U titles will definitely be of interest to anyone who loves retro gaming.
Dot Arcade is a Wii U compilation of three minimalist games (“Mr. Snake,” “Dodge Club,” and “Rally Driver”) that all take place in 8×8 light cabinets. While “retro” is a fair description, Dot Arcade is almost “pre-retro” in that it evokes the penny arcades of old. Also available for the Wii U is the Virtual Console re-release of Namco Museum, which was originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001 and includes Ms. Pac-Man, Galaxian, Galaga, Pole Position, and Dig Dug.
If you’re looking for something a little more modern, WB Games has added Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin to the 3DS eShop. The latest Lego Ninjago game pits the Ninjas against Ronin and his memory-sapping ancient weapon.
More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Lego Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin