Most Recent: 3DS
Nintendo Download: Xenoblade Chronicles, Mini Mario & Friends, Sega 3D Classics, more
It’s a big day for the Nintendo eShop and it’s an especially big day for Wii U owners who may have missed out on Xenoblade Chronicles. Originally released as a GameStop exclusive for the Wii in 2012, Xenoblade Chronicles is a JRPG from Monolith Soft that features mechs, mystical weapons, and malevolent gods… basically everything you could ever want from a JRPG. People went so crazy for Xenoblade Chronicles that a group of dedicated fans even embarked on a multi-year campaign to get Nintendo to release it in North America. Which of course lead directly to last year’s launch of Xenoblade Chronicles X.
But if you’re not in the market for a sprawling JRPG today, Nintendo has a few other games ready for release. First up is Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge, a free-to-play title now available for the Wii U and the 3DS. As the latest entry in the popular Mario vs Donkey Kong series players will have to tap any Amiibo figure they own to get the Minis marching… and some even have special powers. And speaking of free-to-play games, Bandai Namco is ready to release the full version of Lost Reavers (Wii U), their four-player cooperative treasure hunter.
Finally this week, Sega will bundle together nine games from their “3D Classics” line in the Sega 3D Classics Collection. Just some of the Genesis and Master System favorites included in the package are Sonic The Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Galaxy Force II, Thunder Blade, Fantasy Zone II, Fantasy Zone II W, Power Drift, Puyo Puyo 2, and Maze Walker.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
New Retail Releases: Tales From the Borderlands, Pokemon Rumble World, Sega 3D Classics Collection, More
There’s just a handful of new games to close out the month of April, and we’ve seen a lot of them before.
Starting things off this week is a collected edition of Telltale’s Tales From the Borderlands. Bundling together all five episodes, Rhys and Fiona’s excellent Pandoran adventure will be available for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Moving on, this week also features a retail release of Pokemon Rumble World, which was previously available through the 3DS eShop as a “Free-To-Start” title. This new version of the overhead arena brawler will ditch the microtransactions while still including more than 700 Toy Pokemon.
Sticking with the 3DS, Sega has bundled together a number of their 3D Classics re-releases for the retail-only Sega 3D Classics Collection. The package features a ton of Genesis and Master System favorites including Sonic The Hedgehog, Altered Beast, Galaxy Force II, Thunder Blade, Fantasy Zone II, Fantasy Zone II W, Power Drift, Puyo Puyo 2, and Maze Walker.
Finally this week, NIS America will release Stranger of Sword City, a turn-based RPG, for the Vita; while Nordic Games will publish Battle World: Kronos, a turn-based strategy game, for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
We’ll be back throughout the week with a look at the newest additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Wii U eShop.
Dear Diary: Friday at PAX East 2016 I Played…
The Boston Convention and Exhibition Center has opened the doors for PAX East once again. And once that overwhelming feeling went away, I managed to pay a visit to more than a few indie developers on Friday. So here’s a quick look at what I managed to play on the first day of PAX East 2016… (more…)
Nintendo is bringing Kirby: Planet Robobot, Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE, Metroid Prime: Federation Force, more to PAX East 2016
Nintendo will showcase five upcoming games at this weekend’s PAX East convention… unfortunately, The Legend of Zelda Wii U didn’t make the cut. However, Star Fox Zero, which will also be available in stores on April 22, did.
Congoers will also have the chance to try out a few games making their playable debut including Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE (Wii U) and a trio of 3DS games. Fans of Nintendo’s handheld will be able to try Kirby: Planet Robobot, Monster Hunter Generations, and Metroid Prime: Federation Force on the show floor for the first time. And speaking of Metroid Prime: Federation Force, Nintendo also confirmed this morning that it’ll be released on August 19.
If you’re unfamiliar with any of the games in Nintendo’s PAX East 2016 lineup, more details are available after the break. (more…)
New Retail Releases: Star Fox Zero, Lichdom Battlemage, Zombie Vikings, More
Team Star Fox flies again with this week’s release of Star Fox Zero on the Wii U. In addition to piloting an Arwing, a Landmaster Tank, and two new vehicles (the Walker and the helicopter-like Gyrowing), players will also receive a copy of Star Fox Guard, a tower defense take on the series using the Wii U GamePad.
Also available on store shelves this week is Lichdom: Battlemage, a magical first-person game for the PS4 and Xbox One. Instead of firing shotguns and flinging grenades, players will employ elemental magic to take down their enemies and save the kingdom.
Speaking of saving the kingdom, Aksys will release Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei, a strategy RPG, for the 3DS. Players will use their tactical knowledge to explore three different branching story paths, leading to glorious victory or traitorous treason.
Finally this week, Rising Star Games will release Zombie Vikings, a multiplayer brawler, for the PS4.
We’ll be back throughout the week with a look at the newest additions to the PlayStation Store, Xbox Games Store, and Wii U eShop.
Rumor: The Pokemon Company is holding a “secret auction” for the rights to a live-action movie
Hold on to your Pokeballs, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter, The Pokemon Company is currently holding a “top-secret auction” for the rights to create a live-action film based on the beloved game series.
As of now, the bidders are said to include Warner Bros., Sony Pictures, and Legendary Entertainment, with a source saying that Legendary, which will release Warcraft this Summer, is the current frontrunner. However, Warner Bros. is also heavily involved in the competition as they released the animated Pokemon: The First Movie way back in 1999.
All three companies declined The Hollywood Reporter’s request for comment, but I’m sure we can all guess what Pikachu would have to say about this news.
Shovel Knight has sold over one million copies; Specter Knight and King Knight expansions will be finished by the end of the year
Yacht Club Games is in a rather celebratory mood this morning as they’ve announced that Shovel Knight has now sold more than one million copies. According to a blog post on their official site, the current number is actually over 1.2 million copies, with 200,000 sales coming from the game’s recently released retail edition.
For statistics nerds, this blog post is a treasure trove of information including a sales breakdown for each platform, region, and retailer, as well as sections for Steam User Stats, the Plague of Shadows expansion, and the Amiibo figure.
And speaking of expansions, Yacht Club has pledged that development work on the Specter Knight and King Knight expansions will be completed by the end of the year. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll launch by the end of the year, but they’re much closer to release than they were yesterday.
The developers at Yacht Club condensed a lot of this information into a great infographic, which you can find right here.
Nintendo Download: Bravely Second, Another Round of SNES Classics on 3DS, more
It’s a big day for the Nintendo eShop as more than a dozen new titles are now available to download through the digital storefront on the 3DS and Wii U.
Leading the way is tomorrow’s release of Bravely Second: End Layer, an RPG sequel from Square Enix that continues the story they began to tell in Bravely Default. Designed as a throwback to the turn-based RPGs of old, Bravely Second asks 3DS owners to rescue Agnes Oblige and save the kingdom of Luxendarc.
Speaking of throwbacks, Nintendo is flooding their Virtual Console service with new releases this week. The 3DS eShop is now home to a trio of certifiable Super NES classics… The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Metroid, and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. Meanwhile, Wii U owners can now download Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!, a DS game that took the world by storm back in 2006.
Finally this week, Bandai Namco’s Lost Reavers, a free-to-play co-op game for up to four players, is now available in a “Beta Test Version.” Wii U owners can put it to the test now ahead of its full release on April 28.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)