The Wii’s cup runneth over this week with a whopping (yes, whopping) four games; three WiiWare and one Virtual Console. First is the eagerly-anticipated Eduardo the Samurai Toaster, a stylized sidescrolling action game, like many a Contra or Gunstar Hero before it. (It even features four player simultaneous multiplayer.) If samurai toasters throwing bread aren’t cute enough for you, there’s Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure, an update of the classic Rainbow Islands from way back in the days of the NES. Finally. the famously weird Let’s CATCH, from Sega, also makes its North American debut today. Apparently there are even special unlockables if you own Let’s CATCH and Let’s TAP. (You don’t, yet.) If you’re in the mood for something more retro, the Virtual Console has Space Harrier for the Virtual Console Arcade. Yes, it’s another SHMUP, but it’s a good one, with a fantasy theme and a 3D point of view.

Oh, and DSiWare gets a Super Mario Bros. themed clock and calculator. Better luck next week, DSi owners.

DSiWare

• Mario™ Calculator: (Publisher, Nintendo, Players: 1, ESRB Rating: N/A, Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™)
• Mario™ Clock: (Publisher: Nintendo, Players: 1, ESRB Rating: E , Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points)

WiiWare

• Eduardo the Samurai Toaster: (Publisher: Semnat Studios, Players: 1-4, ESRB Rating: E, Price: 800 Wii Points™)
• RAINBOW ISLANDS™: TOWERING ADVENTURE! (Publisher: TAITO, Players: 1-2, ESRB Rating: E, Price: 800 Wii Points)
• Let’s CATCH™: (Publisher: SEGA, Players: 1-4, ESRB Rating: E, Price: 1,000 Wii Points)

Virtual Console

• Space Harrier™: (Original platform: Virtual Console Arcade, Publisher: SEGA, Players: 1, ESRB Rating: E, Price: 800 Wii Points)

NINTENDO DOWNLOAD: MARIO CALCULATES THE TIME NEEDED TO CATCH TOASTED RAINBOWS IN SPACE

June 15, 2009

Nintendo’s downloadable content this week features the first-ever kitchen appliance with martial arts training. Throw in some rainbows and a game of catch, and you have a pretty interesting WiiWare™ lineup. But that’s not all: There are Mario-themed Nintendo DSiWare™ applications and a classic arcade game for the Virtual Console™. Let’s get to the details:

WiiWare

Eduardo the Samurai Toaster
Publisher: Semnat Studios
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Mild Cartoon Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points™
Description: Fight your way through 13 diverse locations on your own or with up to three friends in this frenetic and stylish side-scrolling action game. Play as Eduardo and his fellow toaster buddies as you fire an assortment of pastries at all kinds of dastardly food products. Hop onto laser-mounted scooters and fly across the screen in rocket packs, and learn to cooperate with your teammates or simply annoy each other in an awesomely fun way by throwing each other around the screen. The choice is up to you.

RAINBOW ISLANDS™: TOWERING ADVENTURE!
Publisher: TAITO
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: In Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure!, players control the rainbow-magic-wielding Bubby or Bobby as they climb the seven seamless areas of a tower reaching the heavens while defeating enemies with their rainbow powers. Bosses controlled by the scientific genius Dr. Crescent await players at the end of every area. Race through every area within the allotted time to meet the rainbow-colored Holly’s Comet. There are three game modes: Story mode, which tells the tale of Holly’s Comet; Challenge mode, where players attempt to climb as high as they can; and Time Attack, where players select an area and see how fast they can climb it. Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! is an exhilarating action game where you use rainbows to climb into the heavens.

Let’s CATCH™
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief, Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: Play catch with friends in multiplayer party games and compete for high scores using your Mii™ character and others. Choose from six different single and multiplayer modes such as Speed Catch, which tests your ability to catch a fastball, and Bomb Catch, an elimination party game for up to four players. Select from a variety of characters or use your Mii character to play other favorite catch games. Unlock special features when you own bothLet’s TAP and Let’s CATCH.

Nintendo DSiWare

Mario™ Calculator
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: N/A
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Mario and Luigi™ take a break from their normal adventures to dedicate their heroic talents to working with numbers. Mario Calculator features the full functionality of a traditional calculator, including a Memory key and the ability to display up to 13 digits, and adds a layer of atmosphere reminiscent of the original Super Mario Bros.™ Use the Unit Converter to turn one unit of measure into another (such as length, weight, volume, age and others), or track the history of calculations you’ve performed with ease. Listen to the Mario-related sounds and watch the coins fly as calculations are performed. Now, back to adding up those high scores…

Mario™ Clock
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Turn back time and enjoy a bit of classic game play based on the original Super Mario Bros. with Mario Clock. Help Mario and Luigi collect more coins than ever (POW block anyone?) while they run through a variety of stages. Gather enough coins and you’ll be treated to another scene bound to bring back fond memories for many. Mario Clock includes both analog and digital clocks that use the system’s internal clock or allow you to offset the time however you like. Program up to three alarms (with snooze functionality for those that need it) and assign them a Mario-related sound or use one created in the Nintendo DSi™ Sound application. You’ll find yourself thinking “Just a few more coins…” in no time!

Virtual Console

Space Harrier™
Original platform: Virtual Console Arcade
Publisher: SEGA
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Animated Violence
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: “Welcome to the Fantasy Zone. Get ready!” This is the greeting given to you as you start Space Harrier, but you don’t have much time to take this advice. Even as the words are being spoken, your Harrier warrior is already charging into battle. Toting a huge laser gun under his arm, the Space Harrier can either run along the checkerboard ground or freely fly through the sky. Either way, he’s always heading forward into the hostile 3-D world. As you progress, hordes of strange creatures and robots fly toward you. Fast reflexes are required to dodge their incoming fire. Environmental hazards can be a problem, too. Take care not to run into any trees or stone structures. If you need a bit of a morale boost, just defeat a boss, and the narrator will remind you that “you’re doing great!”

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.

Related Posts

• Weekly Nintendo Shop Update for June 27th, 2009
• Weekly Nintendo Shop Update for June 29th, 2009
• [UPDATE] Weekly Nintendo Shop Update for June 1st, 2009

It’s a relatively quiet download weekend in the PAL regions, you’d think this was the calm before a storm or something. Among the titles, though, is the classic arcade version of Space Harrier, and the equivalent of Art Style: SOMNIUM. Not bad for a three game offering!

DSiWare

• Art Style: NEMREM (Nintendo, 500 Points)

WiiWare

• Fish’em All! (Abylight, 800 Points)

Virtual Console Arcade

• Space Harrier (SEGA, 800 Points)

GoNintendo

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  PAL regions get Ogre Battle 64 as Hanabi Festival ends

Effective today, we’re getting another category of downloadable games for the Wii, with games that could potentially predate even those Commodore 64 titles on your system. The Virtual Console is going ARCADE.

Announced at GDC, the new Virtual Console Arcade launches with four classic titles not generally available for any other home console: Tecmo’s Starforce, and Namco Bandai’s Mappy, Gaplus, and The Tower of Druaga. On the way are Namco Bandai’s Solvalou and Sega’s Space Harrier, and all titles should be available at prices comparable to current NES and Master System games on the service.

You think they’ll try and release Donkey Kong again? Or even Pong for 500 dingers?

Gamers will be glad to have that additional storage space, as the Virtual Console will expand to include the arcade versions of classic third-party games like STARFORCE by Tecmo Ltd., and Mappy, Gaplus and Tower of Druaga by Namco Bandai Games Inc. starting today.

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Then again, this game was released on consoles from pretty much significant manufacturer, from Nintendo to Hudson, Microsoft to Sony, and even Atari and Commodore. I’ve not played those versions either, so you’ll have to decide for yourselves how the game is. Unless all of you want us to bring back the “Yay or Nay” feature where we’ll have someone play and review them all…do you?

• Space Harrier (Sega Master System, 500 Wii Points)

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

Nov. 3, 2008

Sometimes you feel like a pinball, bouncing from one thing to the other. Do you spend time blasting things in outer space or just spend a quiet afternoon at home, redecorating? Fortunately this week’s Wii-kly Update doesn’t force you to make those tough choices.

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

ALIEN CRUSH RETURNS™ (Hudson Entertainment, 1-4 players, Rated E for Everyone – Animated Blood, Mild Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): ALIEN CRUSH RETURNS is the ultimate incarnation of the popular TurboGrafx pinball classic, Alien Crush. Boasting innovative game and control features, this is one Wii experience that you don’t want to miss. With all the ball-blazing simplicity and flipper action thrills of standard pinball, ALIEN CRUSH RETURNS has all the visual and digital elements that you’ve come to expect in a video game, including grotesque, eye-stunning playfields as well as unique Action Ball gimmicks that redefine the fun and excitement of pinball. You can even nudge the machine with your Wii Remote controller. What’s more, you can connect via Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection to enjoy a variety of features such as four-player head-to-head action, high score competitions and Extra Stage downloads.

Home Sweet Home (Big Blue Bubble Inc., 1 player, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Picture this scene… You move into your new home, and every room is perfect. Every room, except one. Here is the blank canvas for your vision, but you lack the know-how. Who do you call? The Home Sweet Home team! Home Sweet Home will give you the chance to unleash your hidden talents as an interior designer. You choose the furniture, patterns and colors to create a masterpiece that will blow your client away. With simple controls, a fun graphical style and an easy-to-use interface, Home Sweet Home allows you to nurture your creative side. Remember, a house is not a home until it is a Home Sweet Home.

Virtual Console

Space Harrier™ (Sega Master System, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone – Mild Fantasy Violence, 500 Wii Points): Space Harrier was originally released in the arcade in the 1980s, developed by AM2, which also developed OutRun and Afterburner. Space Harrier is widely recognizable by many arcade fans due to its distinctive, colorful art design and its fast-paced action. The SEGA Master System version is considered a solid port of the arcade game, containing 18 levels of intense fun. As the “Space Harrier,” you must fight your way through “The Land of Dragons” and defeat the bosses at the end of each level to restore peace to the land. Are you prepared? Get ready!

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• PAL regions get Space Harrier this week!
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It’s Friday again. TGIF, right? We seem to be getting a new version of Street Fighter II every VC day, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Special Champion Edition is now available in Europe. And Australia. Two other 500-point games join it this week, but go figure – I’ve not played any of them before. If you have, feel free to share your experiences!

• Space Harrier (Sega Master System, 500 Wii Points)
• Mayhem in Monsterland (Commodore 64, 500 Wii Points)
  
• Street Fighter II: Special Champion Edition (Sega Mega Drive, 800 Wii Points)
  

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They must be running out of obscure games to put on the Virtual Console. Not sure about the rest of you, but I think I’ve come across Donkey Kong 3 maybe once before in my life. Thankfully, Nintendo is including it among the three games newly available on the Virtual Console in Japan this week. The full list is as follows:

• Donkey Kong 3 (NES, 500 Wii Points)
• Space Harrier (Master System, 500 Wii Points)
• Samurai Shodown II (NeoGeo, 900 Wii Points)
  

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