Do you like free stuff? Of course you do, who doesn't? Well, we're giving away one copy of Wario Land: Shake It! for the Wii (valued at $50). Want to enter for your chance to win this great game?
To enter, simply leave a comment between now and Sunday, October 12th at 11:59PM ET, telling us what your favorite game featuring Wario is. It can be one of his own games, or any other he's in. You can leave one comment per day. We'll select a winner the following day via random drawing.
There are a few things you should know before entering. Entrants must be current and legal residents of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec) and at least 18 years of age or older. Read up on the rest of the official rules right here.
This week's press conference from Nintendo was like Reggie himself coming to your door, clutching a bouquet of awesome announcements, and saying "I'm sorry about E3." Indeed, I can't help but think that just one of the awesome titles announced in the past week could have prevented much of the animosity hurled at Nintendo following their ho-hum presentation at the summer exhibition.
But then again, Nintendo has always been one to surprise us. They've made good moves and bad, interesting decisions coupled with utterly clueless assumptions, and made us wonder what the hell they were thinking while amazing us with what they're capable of. Here's the Top 5 biggest surprises unleashed by the Big N.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
As you all well know, Nintendo's fall media summit dropped some serious megatons this week. In the wake of a fairly exciting press conference, the Internet is predictably bustling with skeptics reaching for a reason to be angry with Nintendo's business model. But to be fair, Tuesday's presentation sort of displaces the disappointment of E3. So how should we interpret this onrushing flood of Nintendo news? If you have any idea what this feature is about, you know where we're headed.
"But wait," we hear you ask, "is it healthy to filter all of our life experiences through a Mario-centric worldview?" And the answer, fair reader, is yes. Perfectly healthy. So let's begin: Aside from the obvious Mario & Luigi 3, how does our Super Bro factor in to Nintendo's recent news? Direct your attention to this week's gallery in which we process all of this hubbub in terms we know best.
It's-a Mario World is a weekly feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated: We'll incessantly ruminate about mustache wax, debate the curious whereabouts of the princess and covet the luminous power stars strewn about the galaxy. Check back here every Friday to find out what strange and wonderful thing has got us tipping our caps.
If you're a gamer, chances are you've heard of it, played it, loved it. While not quite as ubiquitous as Pac-Man or Tetris, which have spread like wildfire across practically every platform known to gamingkind, Lemmings is one of the most recognizable franchises of gaming history, thanks to the endearing titular characters, inventive design, and brain-straining puzzles.
Before the proliferation of real-time strategy games in the mid 1990s, DMA Designs (who would later assume the name Rockstar North and go on to develop a little-known game named Grand Theft Auto) unleashed the irresistibly cutesy lemmings onto the unprepared gaming scene. Their target? The Amiga. And from there the tide surged forth onto a dizzying number of platforms. Nintendo's systems have played host to the lemmings many times, but never before has a console offered the series a perfect control setup. Lemmings is this week's pick for the series that deserves a restorative breath of life courtesy of the Nintendo Wii.
Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Mega Man Legends, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
With there being only the one Virtual Console game this week, it had better be a good one, right? Well, Super Turrican 2 is a pretty solid title, but with the other great entries in the genre available on the Virtual Console, why should you check this one out? Well, hopefully the video helps answer that, otherwise we only have one thing to say: explosions.
Each week, we here at Wii Fanboy like to check out the latest Virtual Console releases in our VC Monday Madness feature, in the hopes that you can make the most sound decision possible regarding purchasing retro titles from the Wii Shop Channel. If you're looking for more retro goodness, check out Virtually Overlooked, which talks about games that should be on the Virtual Console.
Ugh, I'm so sick with the obsession over Mega Man 9. WE GET IT, IT'S A RETRO GAME. WHOOPEE. No, seriously, I'm sick of my own obsession with it. I still haven't picked up Wario Land: Shake It!, de Blob, or NHL 2K9. That's mainly because I've spent every waking moment enjoying the blue bomber's latest outing. My Wii Fit board is scolding me for its lack of use, my girlfriend is feeling neglected, and apparently my judgment is slipping. But there's something about the game that just won't let go of me. The thing should be illegal for its extremely addictive nature, right next to heroin and Harvest Cheddar Sun Chips.
I usually fall behind on discussing recent games, as I like to take awhile to fully absorb and process the arts and entertainment before I comment on it. But I think my Wii's play log will testify that I've made myself quite familiar with the title. The main quest is conquered, the event challenges are being slowly but steadily checked off the list, and I'm trying my best to climb the leaderboards of the time attack levels. Without any further ego-stroking, here's the top five things we love about Mega Man 9. Then we won't talk about it for a few weeks. Promise! ... maybe.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
We couldn't help ourselves--Mario fashion is so last Friday. In case you didn't notice, maybe because you were too busy getting domineered by the formidable boss roster of Mega Man 9, a little game called Wario Land: Shake It! landed at retailers on Tuesday. And you can bet we've been shaking it all week (besides listening to Charles Martinet ham it up, of course). What better way to welcome this momentous release than to dedicate our humble gallery to the big scoundrel himself?
It is appropriate that we have transformed this feature to accommodate Wario's oversized rear end. Transformations are Wario's speciality; whether he is provoked by status-changing characters or influenced by elements of his environment, Wario relies on his many forms to effectively navigate level design. Adopting forms that range from animal to mechanical, this rude evil genius is unquestionably a Master of Disguise. Let's take a look back at the numerous transformations Wario has undergone in our new gallery chock full of yellow, purple and poor manners.
It's-a WARIO World is a weekly feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's EVIL GENIUS is celebrated: We'll incessantly ruminate about mustache wax garlic pizza, debate the curious whereabouts of the princess MY treasure and covet troves of gold. Check back here every Friday to find out what strange and wonderful thing has got us tipping our caps shaking our butts.
Game controllers have come a long way since we were holding a box with a protruding stick and tapping a single button. Now they're so packed full of cutting edge (yet inexpensive) tech, I'd half expect to see a Wii Remote and Nunchuk in the cockpit of the space shuttle* as a cost-cutting measure. As advanced as the Wiimote is, a lot of us have found a thing or two that could be revised about its design. I've gone to the most extreme reaches of my imagination, and come up with a design concept that I believe is about as radical a step beyond our current Wiimote, as that controller is beyond every console controller that came before it. And just like Nintendo's own design, my perfect controller would be based around technology that is already being used today in different applications.
*Warning: The Wii Remote and Nunchuk's accelerometers will not work in space. NASA engineers, be advised to wait for the MotionPlus.
The retro-styled Mega Man 9 could easily have been a cynical cash grab from Capcom, a hastily-thrown-together game that was just good enough that the NES fans who bought it wouldn't be outraged. But, while it was no doubt conceived as just such a low-budget, high-profit project, Capcom and developer Inticreates went far beyond the Mega Man tribute album it could have been.
Instead of a pretty good game that reminds people of Mega Man, they've created a real Mega Man game that compares favorably to the very best of the series. For ten dollars.
Mega Man. Mega Man X. Mega Man Zero. Mega Man Battle Network. With over 40 games in these series alone, one thing is obvious: there's a lot of Mega Man out there. The diminutive blue-clad hero has shown up on an impressive number of platforms in the past two decades, and often one game led to another, and another, and another, eventually spawning a whole bucketload of sequels. However, when Mega Man took a turn into the third dimension, the predictable half-dozen follow-up installments never materialized.
In 1997, Capcom took Mega Man in a radically new direction with Mega Man Legends, a 3D action-RPG for the Sony Playstation (and the N64 under the moniker Mega Man 64). It's an all-new Mega Man sporting a familiar look, but the gameplay is significantly different -- dungeon exploration, item creation, and weapon upgrading are just some of the RPG staples present in Mega Man Legends. Despite its differences from classic Mega Man, Legends is a fun game that succeeds in shaking up the formula. And with the last game in the Mega Man Legends spinoff now eight years old, this particular Rockman is destined to be Reborn for Wii.
Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Punch-Out!!, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
While most of the attention is being lavished on the latest WiiWare release, don't discount today's Virtual Console offerings. Up for grabs are two very solid retro titles for the Sega Genesis and NES. Check out the video above, then cruise past the break for the rest.
You know, I told myself (and others) that I wasn't going to do this. But I can't ignore it. Today is the day that Mega Man makes his glorious return. Like a modern V-day, the blue bomber is coming home and completing his duty of pleasing the hardcore enthusiasts. With a rarely-seen level of excitement and anticipation being dispersed by the gaming community, we might as well have Mega Man slowly ride the streets through a ticker-tape parade seated on top of a convertible. I didn't want to stir the pot by declaring what the best Mega Man games are due to some sacred cows surrounding the topic. But ignoring honesty for the sake of peace and comfort would be committing a great disservice to us all.
We decided to take a look at the highlights of the Mega Man series. Any title in the expansive universe was acceptable. But let's be honest: there's only going to be games from the original and X series (as if Mega Man Star Force stood a chance). And with any luck, today's release will find its way onto this list.
Here's a heads-up: you might not agree with these choices. I did my best to provide arguments of why every game belongs on this list and in the order that it does. In the interests of intelligent debate, please do the same in your rebuttals.
The Top 5 is a weekly feature that provides us with a forum to share our opinions on various aspects of the video game culture, and provides you with a forum to tell us how wrong we are. To further voice your opinions, submit a vote in the Wii Fanboy Poll, and take part in the daily discussions of Wii Warm Up.
The workweek is nearly over, which means it's time again to rehash the delightful, if discontinuous, mythology of the Mushroom Kingdom and its many colorful characters. Last week we had you grinding the gears of mini-boss semantics while ogling the usual gallery-candy, and today we want to continue in a similar vein. But let's up the ante, shall we? Who are the real bosses Mario has battled? No more of this egg-spitting mediocrity and three-hit nonsense. Half-assed baddies, step aside.
The road has been long for Mario, and each of his victories have been marked with the defeat of a substantial villain, restoring order to various kingdoms and rescuing their fair and easily kidnapped damsels. The extended Koopa Troop family has long been a threat to the 'stache, but who are these other punitive powers that precede the credit screens? Let's take a gander at final bosses in a new gallery rife with heavyweight evildoing.
It's-a Mario World is a weekly feature in which the ubiquity of Nintendo's flagship character is celebrated: We'll incessantly ruminate about mustache wax, debate the curious whereabouts of the princess and covet the luminous power stars strewn about the galaxy. Check back here every Friday to find out what strange and wonderful thing has got us tipping our caps.
When both Capcom USA and Capcom Japan released their (very different) "box designs" for the downloadable Mega Man 9, they each drew on their own histories of packaging for the series -- Capcom USA commissioning a ridiculously over-the-top image with Mega Man rendered as a low-rent space ranger, and Capcom Japan creating a dynamic, cartoony splash portrait of Mega Man surrounded by Robot Masters. Capcom Europe doesn't seem to have done anything in particular.
With Mega Man boxart nostalgia more relevant than ever, we thought we would collect Mega Man boxarts in a handy annotated gallery. But this gallery doesn't feature every Mega Man boxart. Since Mega Man happens to be the most prolific game series ever, we had to put some stringent restrictions on what we would include. These restrictions are reasonably effective hints about just how many games there are:
No spinoffs. Including games not starring the original Blue Bomber would have meant hundreds more images. This is about Mega Man anyway, not those other jokers.
No handheld games. Sorry, Game Boy Mega Man fans! This also means no Game Gear Mega Man, no GBA Mega Man & Bass, and no Rockman Battle & Fighters. The only exception, as pointed out by reader Antonio: the PSP Mega Man: Powered Up, which has really great boxes anyway, and which we forgot we weren't supposed to put in.
No awful PC remakes. Enough time has been spent on those games. Which is to say, any amount of time.
No guest appearances. Sure, SNK Vs. Capcom Card Fighters Clash has Mega Man in it, but it's not a Mega Man game. Same with Cannon Spike and a hundred other games.
Don't worry, there's still plenty left to look at!
Sometimes you just have a bad day. It happens to the best of us; even video game bloggers are not infallible. And after a rage-inducing, hair-pulling bad day, you can go home, curl up in a ball and listen to The Wallflowers in surrender, or vent some of that anger. By punching people.
But hold up there, tiger. You can't punch real people. That's, like, illegal. Enter the Wii: the best simulation for punching people outside of the real thing. Unfortunately, Wii Sports Boxing does not offer the realistic experience of mashing in someone's face Stallone style. Worse, no other boxing game since the Wii's release has really delivered a solid boxing experience. That could change in the near future with Facebreaker K.O. Party, forcing me to eat my words like a knuckle sandwich from Rocky Marciano. But if its Xbox/PS3 counterpart is any indication, there's not much chance of that. The same goes for Don King Prizefighter. This shaky reliability just won't do. We need Punch-Out!!
Every week, Born for Wii digs into gaming's sordid past to unearth a new treasure fit for revival on the Nintendo Wii. Be sure to check out last week's entry in the series, Jet Set Radio, and for more great titles that deserve your attention, take a look at Virtually Overlooked.
If you're a gamer, chances are you've heard of it, played it, loved it. While not quite as ubiquitous as Pac-Man or Tetris, which have spread like wildfire across practically every platform known to gamingkind, Lemmings is one of the most recognizable franchises of gaming history, thanks to the endearing titular characters, inventive design, and brain-straining puzzles.
Mega Man. Mega Man X. Mega Man Zero. Mega Man Battle Network. With over 40 games in these series alone, one thing is obvious: there's a lot of Mega Man out there. The diminutive blue-clad hero has shown up on an impressive number of platforms in the past two decades, and often one game led to another, and another, and another, eventually spawning a whole bucketload of sequels. However, when Mega Man took a turn into the third dimension, the predictable half-dozen follow-up installments never materialized.
Sometimes you just have a bad day. It happens to the best of us; even video game bloggers are not infallible. And after a rage-inducing, hair-pulling bad day, you can go home, curl up in a ball and listen to 
Every week, 
