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Nintendo Downloads - February 2013

BooJoh

Member
I bought Runner 2 on a whim, and I'm really enjoying it. I just beat the first boss. Some stages are already pretty brutal on normal difficulty for me though. My only complaint is the unlockable playable characters (I've only unlocked one so I can only really go by their silhouettes atm) look a little uninspired, especially after seeing Meat Boy in the intro. But maybe the later ones will grow on me.

Runner 2 question.....

You should be able to just hold down the Power button on the Wii U gamepad to turn the system off, correct? I know I've done it in other games.

When I do this with Runner 2, the gamepad turns off but the system stays on and freezes. When I turn the gamepad back on, nothing works and I have to pull the plug on my Wii U.

I haven't had any issues with Runner 2, but I always hit the home button and exit to the Wii U menu before turning my system off.
 

backlot

Member
I've had my Wii U freeze twice now while trying to quit Runner 2. Once while holding the power button while the game was running and once it just froze when I tried to go back to the Wii U main menu. Pretty weird.
 

BooJoh

Member
Nintendo really needs to pin down these lockup issues. There's obviously something going on at the firmware level since pretty much every game locks up from time to time.
 

BooJoh

Member
Okay, now Runner 2 did lock up my Wii U upon exiting. It wasn't the usual screech of death lockup, but the system got stuck on the Wii U menu loading screen with the sound looping and couldn't be powered off.
 
Okay, now Runner 2 did lock up my Wii U upon exiting. It wasn't the usual screech of death lockup, but the system got stuck on the Wii U menu loading screen with the sound looping and couldn't be powered off.

My first WiiU lock occurred when re-downloading Donkey Kong Country today. The power button on my Wii U was worthless, so I had to unplug the system for the first time. I also just downloaded Runner 2 so I'll play it for the first time tomorrow.
 

Glass Rebel

Member
Finished Sakura/Hana Samurai: Art of the Sword, took me 5h 45m for the story plus the first boss on expert mode.

Neat game, albeit a bit expensive for what it ultimately was (~10$ on the Swiss store). If I had to describe it in one sentence, it's a slower, more tactical samurai Punch-Out!! against several enemies, a simple upgrade system and a world map. You basically evade hits and counter enemies which get stronger, faster and more varied as you progress to save princess Cherry Blossom (ignore the story).

Controls feel very good and I rarely had to fight them although it automatically locks on to the enemy who's trying to attack you. The only time this can get an issue is when there's two bow men on both sides and you try to get closer to one. There's free-run luckily but that's a bit messy since you don't have direct camera control and enemies take that opportunity to attack you. It's not game-breaking though and most of the time not necessary at all.

The highlight were the three bosses with their different and challenging patterns. Especially the final boss was pretty hard although I somehow got into the zone and only took one single hit when I finally beat him. If there were more bosses or a boss-rush mode with alternate patterns this could have become a real time-sink.

The dodging mechanic which is at the core of the gameplay includes a small risk-reward system with precision points. Basically, every time you pull off a close dodge, it adds one point to your total but if you get hit or blocked you go down to zero. If you can maintain the points you can trade them in one of the town shops for money. You can also participate in several cutting mini-games, which can get pretty difficult, to get stamps for prizes including new special moves but everything is optional.

What hurts a bit are the visuals. While characters are fine the environments are neither very varied nor that pretty. Everything looks a bit blurry which isn't an issue in fights but can be grating when walking through the pretty empty levels. It's a downloadable game but for the price I expected more in these areas. One thing I found surprising was that they didn't attach the Nazo no Murasame Jō franchise to this, it'd be a perfect fit but I didn't mind that much.

Ultimately, a very enjoyable game with room for improvement. If it's ever 33% off or more I think it's worth checking out.
 

Jackano

Member
Zelda Oracles games are available in Japan.
Price offer is simple 500 Yens for one game instead of 600. Not a deal when you buy the two, so it's cooler. The offer expires around the 20th in march.

I think they are gonna release it in march too everywhere else.
 
Japanese 3DS VC releases for March 6:

Ganbare Goemon! Karakuri Douchuu (Famicom) - 500 yen
Nekketsu Koukou Dodgeball-bu (Famicom) - 500 yen

Details:
http://search1.nintendo.co.jp/search/software.php?hard[4]=3dsVc

I'll pick up Goemon, as I love the series but never played the original Famicom game.

The first game is pretty weak. It's fun at first, but really repetitive. Think of the town parts in Legend of the Mystical Ninja, but you're stuck in variations of the first town the whole time with far less interaction and you have to find three passes that are often hidden in invisible tunnels or require loads of grinding the same dull enemies to get. There are no platforming segments.

I bought Ganbare Goemon 2 for famicom recently though, and while it's a similar formula, there is much more depth and humor. It introduced ebisumaru, 2 player gameplay, new enemies, larger levels (including some that don't need passes), some great bosses, and has a totally messed up ending that will really change your opinion of Ebisumaru. It's really fun and a lot better than the first one.
 
what day of the week is the Nintendo E shop for Wii U updated? I've been thinking it was monday but nothing new since last week.

I really hope nintendo releases a strong VC! I'd buy alot of games for it.. account system would be wicked too.

Oh yea update your UI for Wii U Nintendo.. waiting 10-15 seconds when quiting games to reload the simple white screen with a few still images is unacceptable. get your act together.. I'm sure Wii U isn't that weak that it can't load up a properly programmed UI quickly.
 

@MUWANdo

Banned
what day of the week is the Nintendo E shop for Wii U updated? I've been thinking it was monday but nothing new since last week.

I really hope nintendo releases a strong VC! I'd buy alot of games for it.. account system would be wicked too.

Oh yea update your UI for Wii U Nintendo.. waiting 10-15 seconds when quiting games to reload the simple white screen with a few still images is unacceptable. get your act together.. I'm sure Wii U isn't that weak that it can't load up a properly programmed UI quickly.

System updates that address the loading times are in the works--there's one coming in "spring", one in "summer".

The main eShop updates generally happens on Thursdays, but the Wii U also tends to get updates on Tuesdays for some reason, and retail downloads can appear on any ol' day.
 

hongcha

Member
The first game is pretty weak. It's fun at first, but really repetitive. Think of the town parts in Legend of the Mystical Ninja, but you're stuck in variations of the first town the whole time with far less interaction and you have to find three passes that are often hidden in invisible tunnels or require loads of grinding the same dull enemies to get. There are no platforming segments.

I bought Ganbare Goemon 2 for famicom recently though, and while it's a similar formula, there is much more depth and humor. It introduced ebisumaru, 2 player gameplay, new enemies, larger levels (including some that don't need passes), some great bosses, and has a totally messed up ending that will really change your opinion of Ebisumaru. It's really fun and a lot better than the first one.

Thanks for the input. I'll probably wait for Goemon 2 to land on the 3DS VC shop then. It should come along sometime in the future.

BTW I really loved Ganbare Goemon: Sarawareta Ebisumaru! (on the 3DS VC), for an early Gameboy game it was way better than I anticipated.
 
System updates that address the loading times are in the works--there's one coming in "spring", one in "summer".

The main eShop updates generally happens on Thursdays, but the Wii U also tends to get updates on Tuesdays for some reason, and retail downloads can appear on any ol' day.

thanks for the info! :) Much appreciated!
 

zigg

Member
The power button on my Wii U was worthless
This right here has to be the biggest oversight in the Wii U's design. It doesn't have hold-to-force-off (or, if it does, it's never worked).

I'm a bit antsy it might not be patchable, either, since it's such a low-level function.
 

Kerub

Banned
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Lame. I'll get it on Steam instead, since it's out now on that platform.
 

zroid

Banned
I just noticed the NA Wii U eShop finally has a demo category.

finally

Oddly, Runner2 is in the list of games with an ostensible demo, except it doesn't seem to be available to download yet. Guess it'll be put up tomorrow at the usual time?
 

donny2112

Member
When I got my 3DS I wondered why many retail games were missing from the eShop. Maybe it's just the PAL shop though...

eShop versions of retail games just started last summer, so they've been backfilling some of the previous retail releases since then. Pretty much all new releases since last Fall have had eShop versions, though.
 

Glass Rebel

Member
eShop versions of retail games just started last summer, so they've been backfilling some of the previous retail releases since then. Pretty much all new releases since last Fall have had eShop versions, though.

Really? I could have sworn that neither LEGO LotR nor Batman 2 have a digital version. I guess there are still a few exceptions. I don't think I'll purchase many games digital since I want to share with my brother but if they can give us good sales...
 

Chromie

Banned
eShop versions of retail games just started last summer, so they've been backfilling some of the previous retail releases since then. Pretty much all new releases since last Fall have had eShop versions, though.

Wish Kid Icarus was on the eshop. Does Nintendo plan to put their older 3DS titles on the eshop? I bought Shadow Wars digitally so I kinda assumed.
 

serplux

Member
Good to see Revelations coming on eShop too.

Woah, I guess Nintendo has stopped caring about download size. I thought that might have been the reason for not putting it on the eShop, but I guess this means pretty much any title will come now.

I just noticed the NA Wii U eShop finally has a demo category.

finally

Oddly, Runner2 is in the list of games with an ostensible demo, except it doesn't seem to be available to download yet. Guess it'll be put up tomorrow at the usual time?

It's about time. The list of games with demos was taking up waaaayyy too much space for my liking.
 

zigg

Member
They've never cared for the eShop. It was Wii that was the issue.
For completeness' sake: I neglected to mention DSiWare—that was also space-constrained, and there was never an SD Card Menu analog for it, just a system menu to manually move games on and off an SD card. That restriction carries over to 3DS, as a certain amount of internal Flash is reserved for DSiWare.
 

Chrom

Junior Member
14 hours I think?

Oh, so by the next update then. Thanks! I'll probably just download it tonight so I don't forget for whatever reason.

Wish Kid Icarus was on the eshop. Does Nintendo plan to put their older 3DS titles on the eshop? I bought Shadow Wars digitally so I kinda assumed.

Nintendo's already been doing that with their own games, actually. Not all of them are up yet, but personally I expect Kid Icarus to be put on the eShop sometime this year.
 

Roto13

Member
Neither the AR cards or the stand are necessary anyway. The game is fine without them. Just sell the digital version at a slightly reduced price.
 

serplux

Member
For completeness' sake: I neglected to mention DSiWare—that was also space-constrained, and there was never an SD Card Menu analog for it, just a system menu to manually move games on and off an SD card. That restriction carries over to 3DS, as a certain amount of internal Flash is reserved for DSiWare.

I thought RE:R wouldn't come due to consideration for our SD card sizes, not an actual hard limit, considering it would barely fit on the 4GB card the XL comes with. But I'm glad they decided to do it for people who want it on the eShop.
 

serplux

Member
ATV Wild Ride 3D releasing on March 7 for $8.[/URL]

I believe this is the same content as the $30 DS game, but with better graphics and online. It's also by Renegade Kid (Dementium, Moon, Mutant Mudds, Bomb Monkey) so I'm sure the core gameplay is good. :)

I believe the DS one was received pretty well, due to the controls or something like that. It still looks a bit rough, but for online play I'll try to pick it up. So, I'm guessing Nano Assult EX will arrive on the 14th in America then, and that definitely looks pretty awesome.
 
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