Weekly Nintendo Shop Update for July 20th, 2009

Well, I hope you enjoyed last weeks two-game Virtual Console update, because the VC is missing entirely from this weeks update. If your points are burning a hole in your Wii, though, there’s Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord, a tower defense follow-up to My Life as a King, for 1000 points. That seems kind of low for a Square Enix game, doesn’t it? Where’s the Square Enix tax? Well, who needs a tax when there’s $57 worth of DLC available (at least in Europe, since the game hasn’t been released in North America yet)? Yep, if you want the game and all of the extras, you’ll have to pay a whopping $67. That’s much more than the cost of a retail Wii game.

DSiWare gets one new game today, but it’s an Art Style game, and that’s always a good thing. Art Style: Zengage is a sliding tile puzzle game with what seems to be a very relaxing asthetic. It might be nice if there was more than one DSiWare game this week, though.

As always, check past the break for more information.

DSiWare

• Art Style: ZENGAGE™ (Nintendo, Players: 1, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Nintendo DSi Points™)

WiiWare

• FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a Darklord (SQUARE ENIX, Players: 1, E10+, 1,000 Wii Points™)
• Battle Poker (Left Field Productions, Players: 1-4, ESRB Rating: E, 800 Wii Points)
• 5 Spots Party (Cosmonaut Games, Players: 1-4, ESRB Rating: E, 500 Wii Points)

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: ART, CARDS AND CRYSTALS HAVE GAMERS SEEING SPOTS

July 20, 2009

Looking for a big name to bolster your downloading agenda this week? We’ve got two words for you: FINAL FANTASY®. The latest additions to the ever-growing WiiWare™ game library include the new FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES®: My Life as a Darklord™, plus a fast-paced poker title and a brain-teasing party game that everyone in the household can enjoy. Also this week, the Nintendo DSiWare™ service welcomes a slick new installment in the Art Style™ series, mixing extraordinary sounds and visuals to create a captivating puzzle game.

WiiWare

FINAL FANTASY CRYSTAL CHRONICLES: My Life as a Darklord
Publisher: SQUARE ENIX
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) – Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Step into the royal shoes of the Darklord’s daughter as she installs traps and monsters inside her tower to fight back the endless waves of invading adventurers in this world-conquest RPG. Known as Artifacts, these monsters and traps are your only hope in keeping the adventurers from destroying the Dark Crystal on the top floor. Fly your tower across the land and conquer every stage on your way to dominating the entire world.

Battle Poker
Publisher: Left Field Productions
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Battle Poker is a family-friendly card game with up to four players battling against the clock to make the best five-card hand possible. Battles are played across multiple rounds, and points are scored for each round based on the quality of the hand. Each player uses a Wii Remote™ controller to point and click on a standard deck of cards on the screen. The first click flips the card over, at which point it can be grabbed by anyone else. You’ve got to have fast fingers and eyes to grab the cards you need before someone else snatches them.

5 Spots Party
Publisher: Cosmonaut Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Have fun with the entire family and compete in three different play modes. 5 Spots Party is a game of skill for all ages based on the popular game of finding five differences. The goal is to find the greatest number of differences in the pictures shown. In the party modes, you must compete with other players and find as many mistakes as possible. In the 1-Player mode, you must find the differences before time runs out in order to beat the game’s highest scores. How far do you think you can go?

Nintendo DSiWare

Art Style: ZENGAGE™
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Do you dream of relaxing with a great puzzle game? Art Style: ZENGAGE revolves around sliding cells (squares) to match colors with cores (beads) located on the board. Clear each stage by matching all of the cores and cells. As you progress through the game’s 100-plus stages, you’ll encounter cells with special characteristics, such as immovability, which further add to the challenge. To truly master ZENGAGE, you must keep your mind sharp and employ careful strategy to complete stages in as few moves as possible. Combining wistful graphics and mesmerizing sound, ZENGAGE creates a surreal world that should be experienced by all puzzle gaming fans.

Nintendo adds new titles to the Nintendo DSi Shop™ and the Wii Shop Channel at 9 a.m. Pacific time on Mondays. Users with broadband Internet access can redeem Wii Points or Nintendo DSi Points to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel. Nintendo DSi Points can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop. A Nintendo Points Card™ can be purchased at retail locations. All points from one Nintendo Points Card must be redeemed in either the Nintendo DSi Shop or the Wii Shop Channel. They are not transferable and cannot be divided between the two systems.