Nintendo Wii Fanboy

The obvious choice aside, we can't think of many game designers who are better qualified than Masahiro Sakurai to discuss how to make fun videogames. Which is a good job, really, because the Smash Bros. and Kirby creator has been booked by DiGRA, Japan's Digital Games Research Association, to deliver a talk on what makes games enjoyable.

Don't go getting excited, though. Sakurai's speech, entitled 'Game-ness,' will be delivered at the Fukutake Hall Running Theatre at Tokyo University's Hongo campus, and to an audience of only 150 people. If by some chance you are located near to the venue, know that DiGRA members get in free, while student non-members pay ¥500 (roughly $5) and all other non-members ¥1000 (approx $10).

We wonder what games he'll use to convey his message? Bringing up Brawl or Kirby might seem a little conceited, but those are two of the titles we would use.

[Via Develop]

Of all the gamers and non-gamers that the Wii is designed for, we think we've identified the audience that would be happiest with the system: people who love Wonder Boy. Specifically, people who love Wonder Boy and don't already have the games, either in their original form or the Monster World Complete Collection. If you're over-the-top crazy over Wonder Boy, the Wii is easily the best system that has ever existed. Monster Lair is just the latest Wonder Boy game to arrive in Japan.

Also up for download: Kirby 64, which everyone decided they didn't like anymore when it came out in the U.S., and Digital Champ Battle Boxing, the game about a brave pair of free-floating boxing gloves facing off against familiar-looking boxers.

• Kirby 64 (N64, 1 player, 1000 Wii Points)
• Digital Champ: Battle Boxing (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
• Monster Lair (PC Engine, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

You've got to admit, it makes sense. What would Kirby do when faced with zombies? It's a fair bet the puff would suck one down, and this is the incredibly tragic result. Zombie Kirby manages to be cute even when he's coming for your brains. How is that even possible?

The artist, TalonInTx, is no stranger to offbeat Nintendo art -- and is already planning another zombified sketch. We'll keep our eyes peeled (and the doors barred).

[Via That Girl's Site]

Just the one game on today's update, though that doesn't mean your Wii points will have it easy. Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards has become the twelfth Nintendo 64 game on the European and Aussie Virtual Consoles, and as such comes in at 1000 Wii points. It's not the lengthiest of titles, but it's still a worthy purchase.

• Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards -- N64 -- 1000 Wii points

As usual, skip past the break for footage.

The Internet has made it easy to find cheats for games, but we miss the tips pages from game magazines, when the discovery of a new code could inspire you to go back to an old game. These codes aren't exactly new, but oldness is the essence of the Virtual Console! We're bringing back the classic codes every week on The VC Advantage.

It can be hard work figuring out how to totally ruin surprises in games, as we like to do in the VC Advantage. Case in point: this week's highest-profile release, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, which is notable for being a good game on the Nintendo 64. Kirby games don't really have stories anyone cares about, and there aren't really any huge secrets to reveal. But there is one aspect of the game that invites experimentation and discovery and, thus, revealing Internet posts: the ability system.

What makes Kirby 64 great is that Kirby can inhale two abilities: if he inhales two of the same power, it's amplified, and two different powers creates a new power. It's really fun to go through the game mixing powers to see what kind of crazy stuff Kirby can do -- or you can just watch this video from YouTube user Cloud8745, which reveals every ability in sequence. Also it has some very excited narration.

In case you're wondering (and you aren't!) our favorite ability in terms of utility is Bomb + Cutter, and our favorite in terms of hilarity is Fire + Electricity.

With the impending release of Smash Bros. Brawl, we've had franchises on the mind lately. This game is pretty much guaranteed to be the best cross-franchise game ever made, including tons of folk that normally wouldn't be anywhere near a first-party Nintendo game.

Then, reader Chris sent in an email showing us his latest creation. It's a mash-up of Kirby and Travis Touchdown (you know, from that game we can't seem to stop talking about). It's quite a nice statue, if we may say so.

Now that you have franchise mash-ups (we hope hope hope No More Heroes will become a franchise) on the mind, what other pairings would you like to see? Mario in a Star Fox game? Yoshi stuck in Silent Hill? What do you think?

It's good to be back in the saddle. I've finished the video and placed it above for your viewing pleasure, checking out the duo of this week's Virtual Console releases. Hopefully, in failing to provide you guys with a video last week, I haven't lost my touch. And, by "my touch," I mean the ability to produce a video that only makes you want to vomit mildly.

Head past the break for the usual follow-up coverage.

It's Monday, which means that the Virtual Console provides us with downloadable entertainment. It's been awhile since we've gotten a N64 game, so color us excited about that. As for the other title up for for grabs, well ... we don't really have any experience with that one. So, we're looking forward to trying that out.

This week's Virtual Console releases include:

• Kirby64: The Crystal Shards (Nintendo 64, 1 - 4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
• Psychosis (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

And, unlike last week, you can definitely expect a VC Monday Madness video wrap-up later on today.

Nintendo of Japan just released a statement of their financial results (PDF link here) for the period from April to December of last year (spoilers: they did well) which includes a list of projected 2008 releases. Unlike the actual financial results, this bit contains some surprises! Seen above is the list for Japan.

Both Animal Crossing and some kind of new Kirby game have general "2008" release dates, as does a thankfully still-planned Disaster: Day of Crisis. Also basically new is Super Mario Stadium Family Baseball, a game about which we've heard absolutely nothing since October, and not really anything then, either. We're also quite happy to see Mario Kart Wii planned for a spring release in the U.S. and Japan, and a Q2 release in Europe.

[Via Game|Life]

There's a bumper Kirby update over at the dojo today, dealing entirely with the pink blob's "Inhale" move, a maneuver that allows Kirby to assume the identity and abilities of his foes by swallowing them whole.

The gelatinous one already has one of our favorite Final Smashes, and his patented special move looks every bit as excellent as that. Don't believe us? Just check out Solid Kirby! Or Samus Kirby! Or Bowser Kirby! Or heck, just check 'em all out.

At least, that's the statement that the UK's Official Nintendo Magazine is giving. When questioned about a possible upcoming Kirby game in the "Ask Nintendo" section of the latest issue, the magazine responded, "There are no plans right now for a Kirby game on Wii but there are plenty of Kirby fans out there, so in the meantime look out for Kirby in the upcoming Super Smash Bros. Brawl which will be released in 2008."

Well, it doesn't look good, Kirby fans. Hopefully Brawl will be enough to ease some of your cravings for the little pink puffball, but we all know it ain't nothing like the real thing, baby.

If you don't love Kirby, really, you're in the wrong place. The pink puff is not only adorable, but quite capable of kicking your ass, which makes him the ultimate in versatility. Thanks to Etsy seller bettydeath, he's now on a patch as well, along with Meta Knight. Though, are we alone in worrying that Kirby might just inhale the iron while we're affixing him to some sort of fabric? We're pretty fond of that iron ....

As we imagined, today's dojo update follows up yesterday's news of a new character in Super Smash Bros. Brawl in King Dedede. And, being the king of Dream Land, you can imagine what he has at his disposal. Aside from the devastating attack you see above, he can also toss around some of his minions to aid him in battle, as well as the ability to charge up his hammer to really knock some heads.

We'd be lying if we didn't say King Dedede wasn't looking awfully tough.

Today's dojo update is a huge one, as a new playable character is revealed in King Dedede. He's a big mofo with a hammer, so what's not to love? It'll be nice to have a new heavy hitter to take against DK and Bowser, that's for sure.

Yesterday's update involved a look at the Target Smash mode, which consists of five different levels. The neat thing is that you can record replay data and send it to your friends over Wi-Fi.



Read - King Dedede
Read - Target Smash!

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]