Wii Wiikly: Story

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New Story and Single-Player Mode Details Revealed for Kid Icarus: Uprising

2012-01-19

Nintendo has revealed new details about the storyline and single-player game play in Kid Icarus™: Uprising, which will launch exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS™ system on March 23. More than 25 years after the launch of the original Kid Icarus game for NES™, Kid Icarus: Uprising brings the action and adventure of this beloved series to new heights.

Introduction: The game’s story begins with the return of the dark goddess Medusa and her Underworld Army. With the help of Palutena, goddess of light and guardian of the human race, the heroic angel Pit must combat the forces of darkness as he battles Medusa and her minions by air and by land.

Fiend's Cauldron: The Fiend’s Cauldron is an incredible new system that allows players to customize their play experience by adjusting the intensity level. Intensity ranges from 0.0 – 9.0 for each individual Chapter. As the intensity increases, players will be able to earn more Hearts and more powerful weapon drops from defeated enemies. Hearts also can be used to purchase new weapons. The standard intensity setting is 2.0, but players can precisely adjust it by increments of 0.1. In order to increase the intensity, players must bet by placing an increasing number of Hearts into the Fiend’s Cauldron. If the player is defeated during the Chapter, some Hearts will be lost and the intensity will be lowered.

Weapons: A wide variety of collectible weapons offers an extraordinary amount of replay value. With nine different categories of weapons, ranging from Bows to Claws, players can learn the unique characteristics of each weapon and determine which is best suited for each battle and their style of play.

Vehicles: During certain parts of his adventure, Pit will have access to special vehicles such as the Exo Tank. Pit can use the tank’s powerful drift ability to boost or defeat enemies with the tank’s ramming horn.

Stand: Kid Icarus: Uprising uses a control scheme designed to fit the game’s unique blend of flight, shooting and melee combat, and offers tremendous precision and depth for dedicated players. The left hand uses the Circle Pad while the right hand uses the stylus. Every copy of the game will come with a free stand that holds the Nintendo 3DS at an angle above any flat surface, providing players with a new kind of gaming experience.

Circle Pad Pro: Kid Icarus: Uprising is compatible with the Circle Pad Pro accessory, offering an alternate control scheme for left-handed players. With the Circle Pad Pro, players hold the stylus in their left hand and use the Circle Pad with their right hand. Left-handed play is also possible without the Circle Pad Pro accessory, by using the ABXY Buttons to control Pit’s movement.

Additionally, consumers who pre-order at select retailers will receive a bonus download code for the 3D Classics: Kid Icarus™ game, a re-mastered 3D version of the NES original. The download code will be delivered with the purchase of Kid Icarus: Uprising. A deposit may be required for pre-order. Kid Icarus: Uprising will carry a suggested retail price of $39.99 in the United States.

More details about Kid Icarus: Uprising will be revealed prior to its March 23 launch. For more information, please visit http://kidicarusuprising.nintendo.com.

Check out the new Nintendo 3DS Game Card Case on Club Nintendo—just 250 coins. Also starting today, you can download Mario Party 2 for your Wii console, or Art Academy: First Semester for your Nintendo 3DS system—each just 150 Coins. Offer ends 2/29.

Cave Story Now Available on DSiWare and as a WiiWare Demo

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2010-11-29

While the rest of your home might be cluttered with leftovers from a weekend of Thanksgiving revelry, this week's downloadable games from Nintendo provide a palate-cleansing mix of fun puzzles and challenges to start your week off right. The popular Cave Story makes its debut on the Nintendo DSiWare service, while a demo version of the game becomes available for the WiiWare service. Other Nintendo DSiWare games include the frenzied Frenzic puzzler and Spot It! Challenge, which tests players' ability to locate various objects. On the WiiWare service, travelers this holiday season will want to check out Airport Mania®: First Flight for a different perspective on the travel industry, while HB Arcade Disc Golf brings the popular outdoor sport into your living room. Finally, the classic 1996 NEOGEO game MAGICAL DROP II brings its balloon-bursting action to the Virtual Console service.

Nintendo DSiWare
Cave Story
Publisher: Nicalis
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Language
Price: 1,000 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Cave Story takes you into a rare world where a curious race of innocent rabbit-like creatures, called Mimiga, run free. You wake up in a dark cave with no memory of who you are, where you came from or why you're in such a place. Uncovering Mimiga Village you discover that the once-carefree Mimiga are in danger at the hands of a maniacal scientist. Their only hope rests squarely on the shoulders of a quiet, amnesiac boy who can't remember his own name. Take control and learn the origins of this world's power, stop the delusional villain and save the Mimiga.

Frenzic
Publisher: Two Tribes
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Frenzic is a unique puzzle game that dazzles the eye, teases the brain and keeps you coming back for more. It takes only minutes to learn, but months to master as you devise new, impressive play strategies to push your brain to its limit. Compete against your personal best and climb through seven levels of Devotion from Newbie all the way to Frenzic Master. Frenzic is a must-have for puzzle enthusiasts of all ages.

Spot It! Challenge
Publisher: Big John Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: In Spot It! Challenge, players race the clock to find the hidden objects in cleverly arranged scenes. The puzzles are based on the popular Spot-It book series published by Capstone Press. See how many objects you can spot in 10 different puzzles. Vibrant graphics make spotting objects fun and challenging. Players use the stylus to tap on the hidden objects and also to navigate the extra-large play areas. Spot hundreds of hidden objects in 10 themed puzzles, including Outdoor Sports, Board Games and Fun with Food. Players can compete against their friends using the "Pass Around Play" feature. Up to four players can race to find 10 objects hidden within a puzzle. Each player has to spot the objects and then pass it on to the next player. See who can get the best score! Find objects fast to score the most points. Three levels of difficulty (Easy, Medium and Insane) provide lots of replay value.

WiiWare
Airport Mania: First Flight
Publisher: Lemon Games
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Wii Points
Description: Pack your bags for a trip through the skies in Airport Mania. Travel through eight amusing airports while you land a variety of planes, purchase upgrades and avoid delays. Stay on your toes, as some planes carry precious cargo and will need to land in a hurry, while others might need a trip to the repair shop. But, with good planning, you're sure to make it to the gate on time. With unique challenges, whimsical characters and fun that'll put a smile on your face, Airport Mania is one flight you can't miss.

HB Arcade Disc Golf
Publisher: HB Studios Multimedia
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Comic Mischief
Price: 1,000 Wii Points
Description: HB Arcade Disc Golf re-creates the popular disc-flinging sport in the comfort of your own living room. Playing the game is as easy as tossing a disc around on a beautiful day. The goal of the game is to put the disc in the basket in the fewest throws possible. Disc golfers have three different types of discs at their disposal when out on the course: a driver, a mid-range disc and a putter. Also, there are three different types of throws available: forehand, backhand and the hammer throw. The forehand and backhand throws change based on the handedness of the player, and can be used to draw or fade a shot, while the hammer throw is less about distance and more about height. At the end of the round, scores are tallied and the player with the lowest score is the winner.

Cave Story (demo version)
Publisher: Nicalis
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E 10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Cartoon Violence, Mild Language
Price: 0 Wii Points; full version available for 1,200 Wii Points
Description: Cave Story takes you into a rare world where a curious race of innocent rabbit-like creatures, called Mimiga, run free. You wake up in a dark cave with no memory of who you are, where you came from or why you're in such a place. Uncovering Mimiga Village you discover that the once-carefree Mimiga are in danger at the hands of a maniacal scientist. Their only hope rests squarely on the shoulders of a quiet, amnesiac boy who can't remember his own name. Take control and learn the origins of this world's power, stop the delusional villain and save the Mimiga.

Virtual Console
MAGICAL DROP II
Original platform: NEOGEO
Publisher: D4 Enterprise
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) - Mild Suggestive Themes
Price: 900 Wii Points
Description: MAGICAL DROP II is a puzzle action game released by Data East in 1996. The rules are simple. Control the clown to pull in and throw back the balloons that appear on the screen. If you line up three or more balloons of the same color in a row vertically, they will burst. Some balloons feature unique characteristics. Special balloons, which come in all four colors, pop every balloon of the same color. Arrow balloons burst everything in the direction the arrow is facing. Rainbow balloons have the same effect as special balloons, but can be thrown against a balloon of any color. And then there are bubble balloons, which simply get in your way. Together, these provide you with great chains and combos that make a puzzle game so much fun. Choose between VS CPU Mode, full of battles with a host of comical characters, and Puzzle Mode, where you'll enjoy a one-player challenge. Both modes support player-versus-player action, meaning you can have a great time together with friends.

Note: Some demo versions do not support all game features, and players cannot save their in-game progress in demo versions.

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.

Remember that both Wii and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit Wii.com or NintendoDSi.com. For the latest WiiWare games, click here. Click here for a list of games available on Virtual Console.

Making its debut on the WiiWare service this week, Fluidity invites players to embark on an exciting hydro action adventure by controlling water in various forms.

The Wii Balance Board Story

It's now been just over a month since Wii Fit was launched in the United States and although response to the game has been mixed, overall it has been a huge success, showing once again why Nintendo continues to lead the video games market. In the run-up to the launch of Wii Fit, the Nintendo marketing machine went into overdrive and the buzz surrounding the game was phenomenal but what many people seemed to miss was the real innovation behind the game, namely the Wii Balance Board.

Described by some as a glorified bathroom scale, this amazing peripheral is as revolutionary as the Wii Remote was when it was first launched, and like the Wii Remote, it will have Microsoft and Sony playing catch-up as they try to bring the same functionality to their consoles. When the excitement of Wii Fit dies down, it will be the Wii Balance Board that's remembered as the device that took gaming to the next level.

But there's quite a story behind this seemingly simple piece of kit which took months to develop and went through numerous prototypes of various shapes and sizes before it became the slim white board that's found itself at home in living rooms the world over.

A Scale For Miyamoto-san

Before you can understand the thinking behind the balance board you need to take a step back to understand the original vision that resulted in the need for such a peripheral. That vision was thanks to Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo's Senior Managing Director.

As the driving force behind games such as Pikmin and Nintendogs, Shigeru developed a reputation for creating games based on his personal hobbies. Wii Fit is no exception as the original concept for the game came from his interest in weighing himself and recording his weight on a daily basis. This led to the start of a project called 'Health Pack' which was later to become Wii Fit.

From the onset, the challenge was how to take something as simple as weighing yourself, something he enjoyed but many would see as mundane, and turn it into an activity that could be fun for the whole family. This proved to be a major challenge for the development team which, at one point, was on the verge of being broken up.

Two Scales Are Better That One

Progress on the game was slow until one of the developers brought in two scales after seeing how Sumo wrestlers have to use two scales to weigh themselves and the team suddenly realised that it was quite fun trying to balance evenly on both of them. It was at this point that measuring balance became the central theme of Wii Fit and the team started to consider using balancing exercises as a means of keeping fit.

Initial talks with scale manufacturers received little support and the team soon realised that they would have to develop their own device. It would also have to be more functional than an ordinary scale and so the idea developed of it measuring balance on four points. At this stage the team started to realise that it could be more than just a scale but actually a game interface.

Circles, Squares And Octagons

Once the overall concept of the balance board had been decided and that it would contain four sensors, work began on figuring out the optimum shape and size of the board together with the way it communicated with the Wii console. This proved to be a long process of trial and error and a constant battle between cost and usability.

Initial prototypes of the board were circular, and then square and even at one point octagonal but it soon became apparent that these shapes were impractical especially when considering exercises like push-ups. Once again, the solution came from Miyamoto who realised that a person's natural stance before training was to stand with their feet at about shoulder width apart so it was decided that the board would become more rectangular.

The second major challenge was deciding how the balance board would communicate with the Wii console. Initially, to keep costs down it was decided that the balance board would actually connect to the Wii Remote but that was soon seen as too much of a pain and the idea dropped. Eventually it was decided to rebuild the Wii Remote's wireless component from scratch to create a wireless module that could be built into the board itself.

Once these two major obstacles had been overcome it then became a process of fine-tuning the design, making sure that the board was strong enough to stand on and that it was safe to use. The end result was the revolutionary new peripheral that we see today.

What's Next For The Wii Balance Board?

Several members of the Wii Balance Board development team admitted that at first, they never really understood Shigeru Miyamoto's vision for such a device. But as the board took shape they began to see it as more than just an accessory that could weigh players. Even before Wii Fit was launched globally there was talk internally of possible Wiiware titles and even the possibility of a balance board version of Nintendo 1080? Snowboarding.

Fortunately for balance board fans, developers like Namco, EA Sports and Ubisoft have already committed to releasing exciting new titles in 2008. In fact, Namco's We Ski was already available with the launch of Wii Fit. Games like EA Skate It and Shaun White Snowboarding have been confirmed and more games are in the works. One thing is for sure and that is that Nintendo's latest innovation, the Wii Balance Board, has a bright future.

Martin is a recent Nintendo convert and a big fan of the Wii Balance Board.

Wii Wiikly

New Story and Single-Player Mode Details Revealed for Kid Icarus: Uprising

Cave Story Now Available on DSiWare and as a WiiWare Demo

The Wii Balance Board Story

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