Over the past few years Nintendo’s online shop has developed a bit of a reputation. WiiWare once was looked at as a platform for indie developers and small studios to showcase their work. However, in reality, it’s something more akin to a dumping ground for sloppy, poorly made games that no-one really wants.

Despite that negative distinction, the service has accumulated a number of outstanding titles that clearly stand apart from cashgrabs and shovelware. Unfortunately for Wii owners searching for the next diamond in the rough, Zombii Attack just isn’t one of them.

Still interested? Well then, read on after the break for the full breakdown of the latest gem to join the Wii’s library.

Read more… »

Zombies are attacking Nintendo’s digital platform and the only way to stop them is…a massive slingshot apparently. This new shooting gallery title from Gamers Digital pits survivors against an oncoming zombie horde.

Players will need to launch everything from anvils to boxes filled with dynamite to stop the undead menace (and maybe destroy a few buildings along the way). Zombii Attack is now available on WiiWare for 500 of Nintendo’s moon bucks.

Worried that the looming specter of the Wii U is staged to make your favorite paper weight even more useless? Well, Reggie Fils-Aime is hear to quash all your fears, give you a pat on the head and lull you to sleep in those giant meaty arms of his. The Nintendo of America executive believes there’s plenty of room in the closet for both consoles.

“The consumer buying Wii hardware today is going to be a different consumer than the one who will be buying Wii U in the future,” said the beefburger boss. ”This is the first holiday that the Wii is available at $149.99 or below, so it’s an expanded demographic we’re reaching.

“We haven’t announced pricing for Wii U, but you can definitely expect that pricing is going to be different and that the games are going to be different,” added the tenderloin tycoon “We do believe that Wii and Wii U will coexist for some time. As we drive the install base of Wii, we’re really setting people up to take their gaming library and be able to transfer it over to Wii U.”

When asked about what will keep the Wii afloat heading into the future, the pastrami president touted Nintendo’s WiiWare and Virtual Console services and their weekly updates — funnily enough purchases that will likely not be making the transfer over to the Wii U thanks to Nintendo’s brilliant online program. See, there is a reason to keep the Wii around after all. And besides, with no Wii U GCN support, you’re going to want to keep that Wii around to play P.N.03 anyway.

Nintendo’s Reggie Fils Aime Talks Zelda, Future of Handhelds and Wii’s Big Holiday Push [Time]

It’s been a very exciting few years for Kirby fans.  Last year brought us the charming and innovative Kirby’s Epic Yarn, and just recently the equally inventive Kirby Mass Attack landed on the DS.  It would be inaccurate to call the more traditional Kirby’s Return to Dreamland a ‘return’ to its roots, since the game went through a very tumultuous development after initially being proposed once Kirby 64 was released.  Kirby’s Return to Dreamland nonetheless demonstrates that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel to bring out the qualities that makes Kirby so endearing.

Return to Dreamland feels like entering a time capsule.  The game channels the spirit of the older 2D Kirby platformers, most notably the excellent Kirby Super Star.  No yarn, no Kirby clones.  This is straight Kirby classic: Inhaling enemies, developing copy abilities, and using them to both navigate through differently themed worlds and access special areas.  The fittingly simplistic story chronicles Kirby as he teams up with Waddle Dee, Metaknight, and Dedede to assist a stranded alien named Magolor, who has crash landed on Popstar and whose ship components have flown across the world. Read more… »

Two years ago a colorful little Pong-like indie game took me by surprise and unexpectedly rocked my world. With its addictive gameplay and fantastic soundtrack, the charmingly retro Bit.Trip BEAT  introduced me to what has become one of my favorite series of all time. Over the last couple years Santa Cruz-based Gaijin Games’ delivered some of the best games of the generation in the last place you’d ever expect to find them — WiiWare.

Though that platform may have limited the series’ audience, most that are lucky enough to have stumbled across the Bit.Trip games have nothing but kind words to say. They helped remind me why I began to love games in the first place. Hopefully now that they have been compiled on physical media for retail release these games can reach a wider audience.

Read more… »

In its heyday, the JRPG was one of the the most well loved, paradigmatic experiences in the entire medium of videogames. Unfortunately, all empires must eventually fall and the the tale of the JRPG has been one of stagnation and decline. Rapid technological improvements brought many eastern studios into an uphill battle, where all too often gameplay suffered at the expense of modern graphics.

We are left with an aging genre where stories are often absurd and incomprehensible, combat is frustrating and needlessly complicated, and high-definition visuals are prioritized above all else. Luckily, Xenoblade Chronicles proves to be a rare exception.

Read more… »

[Update: LKS for PS Vita will be playable at TGS. The title is said feature full touch based controls, a new story, dynamic weather, and an overhauled visual style with more realistic proportions.]

Well, I guess I’m going to have to get a PlayStation Vita. Word comes from adriasang that a sequel to Marvelous Entertainment’s Little King’s Story will be reveled in next week’s Famitsu. Apparently, the game is called The King, The Demon King and the Seven Princesses: New King Story (translated) and will be heading to the PS Vita by way of Konami.

The Wii original was a fantastic experience, but I figured chances for a sequel were nil. Apparently, a bankrupt developer and modest sales aren’t enough to keep this one from spawning a sequel. I don’t really care how it’s happening, but I’m glad it is.

Xenoblade Chronicles landed on European shores last week, and so far it looks like the Wii RPG is performing pretty well at retail. The highly anticipated title is currently charting at number seven for entertainment software sales in the United Kingdom.

On the Wii-specific charts Xenoblade is second only to the ever-popular Zumba Fitness, which has enjoyed ten straight weeks in the top spot. Well that’s certainly exciting news. But if you’re still on the fence, our official review is on its way.

It’s official. All three titles under the banner of fan-campaign Operation Rainfall are being localized for Western release. Nintendo of Europe just released their Autumn/Winter software line-up, which includes The Last Story and Pandora’s Tower. Both titles will be joining the European Wii library sometime next year.

If you want a reason to turn on your Wii this year Monolith Soft’s acclaimed Xenoblade Chronicles is landing in European stores this week. Nintendo of America may want to keep you from playing great Japanese Wii games, but now that there are English translations in the works, that likely won’t deter ardent American Wii owners.

If you’re keen to actually play something on your Wii for a change and happen to live in Europe, then you’re in luck this week. The highly anticipated Xenoblade Chronicles is launching in Europe this Friday, August 19th. If playing with a Wii remote and Nunchuk isn’t exactly your thing, the title is also coming bundled with a red Classic Controller Pro. If you’d like more information on the well-received Wii RPG, Nintendo has launched a full website for the title in addition to the trailer seen above.

Nintendo of America is keeping a close eye on how this one does at retail in Europe, so hopefully people actually buy the thing. It’s not like there’s anything else coming out for the system any time soon.

Originally landing on the Wii in early 2008, No More Heroes was met with critical acclaim and has since become something of a cult hit for punk rock game visionary Suda 51 and his studio, Grasshopper Manufacture. The game has since spawned a sequel, a first for the studio, in 2010’s Desperate Struggle. Now there’s talk of a mobile game in the works, but first, Konami will be bringing Travis Touchdown to the PS3 later this summer with Heroes’ Paradise.

While I managed to get my hands on the game last month at E3, playing games in overcrowded rooms for hours on end doesn’t always make for ideal conditions. Now having played the demo in the comfort of my home today, I have some concerns for the impeding PlayStation 3 release of Grasshopper Manufacture’s celebrated Wii title.

Read more… »

From cult hits like Grasshopper Manufacture’s No More Heroes to first-party million sellers, the Wii has amassed a large library of superb titles over the past five years. Unfortunately, that long list of great games no longer seems to be growing. In the past few months the Wii has stagnated, showing little sign of impressive software heading toward the launch of the Wii U. Luckily, Gamer Limit has dug up a dozen great-looking Wii titles that have yet to see releases in the United States.

Join us after the break for a naïve wish list of games that will probably never see US releases, but could help the Wii go out in a bang rather than die with a lonely whimper. Read more… »