It is the Thursday after election night and a lot of us are in need of a salve. Thankfully, Thursday means it's a new Nintendo eShop and Virtual Console update! What has the House of Mario brought to us today?
Majora's Mask Descends Upon The 3DS Next Spring
The big release this week for the Nintendo Wii U is Disney Infinity 2.0. Spider-man, The Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy come to the popular figure-based title. Collect over 20 characters and import them into your Wii U, battle bad guys and build up your own levels with the new Toy Box 2.0. Your new obsession. $19.99 on the eShop. Figures not included.
The Swapper - an intriguing sci-fi tale from Curve Digital, the sidescroller puts you into an abandoned space station with an experimental technology that allows you to create clones of yourself to wend your way through the bowels of whatever nightmare you have found yourself in. The game is written by Tom Jubert, who also penned Faster Than Light. Surreal, atmospheric and $19.99 for the Wii U.
Pikachu's New Balloon At The Thanksgiving Parade
Sportsball - what happens when you take sports like Soccer (sorry, Football) and Joust and toss some birds into the mix? Sportsball. Grab four of your friends, take control of your four unique birds in order to flap, tackle, dive, and score their way into Sportsball history. Not feeling competitive, but want to join in on the fun? Use the Wii U GamePad microphone to announce the matches. Okay, that last one. That sounds awesome. $9.99 on the Wii U eShop.
This week's Wii U Virtual Console title is Super Mario Advance, which combines the game that started it all, Mario Bros with its bizarre sequel, Super Mario Bros 2. Remember, the sequel is all a dream, and Mario 3 is just a stage show. Admit it, it's just not a Nintendo system until you own the original (and still one of the best). $7.99
The Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console title is Pokemon Puzzle Challenge, because this November will be all about Pokemon. A match puzzle title. With the help of many favorite Pokémon, you will take on Gym Leaders like Jasmine, Pryce and Falkner on a quest to become the Pokémon Puzzle Champion. Use lightning-fast reflexes to form chains and combos that will help clear all the challenges that await you. More importantly, though, if you download this, you will receive a code for the Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire Special Demo Version. Aaaaw yeah. $4.99
Available on both Wii U and 3DS, the Pikmin are going to Hollywood. Join Olimar and the Pikmin in three brand new adventures, directed by the video game legend Shigeru Miyamoto himself. You can watch the three animated shorts, titled The Night Juicer, Treasure in a Bottle, and Occupational Hazards in HD on Wii U, or in 3D on Nintendo 3DS systems. No Pikmin were harmed during the making of this movie (which is quite surprising, actually). Head over to the official site for more.
Head on over the 3DS eShop and you can pick up the demo version of Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal. The full version comes out November 11. Play as Sonic, Knuckles, Tails and newcomer Sticks as you attempt a rescue mission against the new villain, Lyric. Hopefully, a return to what made Sonic such an icon back in the 90s.
To get you excited for more Sonic (gotta. go. fast.), Nintendo is also reducing the price of select Hedgehog-related titles:
Sonic Lost World for the Wii U and 3DS is now $29.95. In addition to the full game, you can also download Zelda and Yoshi themed packs for the Wii U only.
Sonic All Star Racing Transformed - SEGA's answer to Mario Kart. The line-up on the Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed grid sees SEGA favorites - including Sonic the Hedgehog, Dr Eggman and AiAi - return to battle against newcomers that include Gilius Thunderhead of Golden Axe and Vyse of Skies of Arcadia. Fully transformable vehicles. Oh yeah. Now $29.95 on the Wii U.
Also coming out this week:
Flapp & Zegeta - guess what game this is trying to be? $4.99 on Wii U.
Pier Solar and the Great Architects - sprite based RPG; $14.99 on Wii U
SDK Paint - drawing title that lets you share your work in the Miiverse; $2.99 on Wii U
Shuttle Rush - a retro 2D platformer, so obviously you have to buy it. And it's only $7.99 on the Wii U!
Kemonomix+ - play god, make beasts, assemble spaceship, then profit. $4.99 on 3DS
Safari Quest - new puzzle title that sends you on a search for the White Lion (not named Kimba); Available Nov. 11 on 3DS for $4.99
The hour draws closer towards the month's biggest releases. I would definitely say we should expect more Pokemon based sales and titles to be coming out next week before the release. Stay tuned! Thanks for playing.