Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Hands down, Wario Land: Shake It! is the best game I've played so far here at E3. And, thanks to my persistence and rudeness, I was able to enjoy the game a lot longer than most others who've been fortunate enough to play it, not only enjoying some of the game's normal levels, but also taking part in an underwater excursion in Wario's badass sub.

So, I started out on the tutorial level, which shows you all of the in-game actions Wario can perform through some handy billboards sprinkled throughout the level. I was dashing through blocks, scurrying down pipes and doing butt stomps with ease, and once I got to the end of the level, I discovered its end creature, the Murpel (odds are, that isn't spelled right).

Do you want to know everything there is to know about Mega Man 9, or, uh, Neopets? If so, it's time to send hugs and kisses to Capcom. The company officially announced what it's showing at E3, and, guess what? Those titles made the cut. Now you have more reason than ever to try and get on Capcom's invite list.

For Wii owners, the Capcom Belle of the Ball is definitely going to be (a playable) Mega Man 9, a game that we just can't shut up about. Those of you who aren't impressed by the awesomely retro, 8-bit goodness might just come away from E3 feeling better about the project (/hypnotic stare). The rest of us who are already in love can commence happy dancing, as we wonder what Mega Mannish goodies will come out of the convention.

Oh, and Neopets! Can we get a woot? ... No? Okay, well, we tried.

Do we even need to say it? Wario Land: Shake It! looks so good. From the wonderful look of Wario (his animations look so clean and smooth), down to the big colorful environments and the fact that it's Wario Land. You have to be as pumped as us, for sure. If you haven't checked out the other videos available, we suggest you do so now.

If the trailer above doesn't give you your fix, then hit up Dengeki for a bunch of new screens.


Source - Screens at Dengeki
Source - Trailer

Here's a little confidence-builder for all those developers out there wanting to go in the opposite direction of technological progress. Huzzah, the entirely new Mega Man 9 for WiiWare is essentially an 8-bit game, with terrible graphics, sound and animation. And it's awesome. Evidence is right there in front of you -- the first "man, we totally want it" footage.

It's an uber-short video, and there's a giant Rockman 9 logo in the way, but we still get the gist of what's going on. Mega Man himself is jumping around, shooting stuff and just being generally mega. Sit back, relax, and let the blips and bloops of the soundtrack put you into a dream-like state until the game's Japanese release in September -- though we have high hopes for a short North American waiting list.
[Via Siliconera]

We're trying to think of words to describe how we felt when we saw the Mega Man 9 screens at Games Radar, but there's just too much emotion to articulate. As if the scans weren't legendary enough with their retro, 8-bit goodness, the screens just make us downright giddy. There's not much else to say, except that we're so in love with Capcom right now.

Games Radar has some delightful details on the game, too, which just add some extra oomph to an already oomph-tastic game. For one, beloved Mega Man designer Keiji Inafune was especially involved in the making of Mega Man 9, even creating the bosses this time around. As for the story, it still revolves around our favorite villain Dr. Wily, but this time he has the public on his side, convincing them that Dr. Light is the bad guy. Silly public.

That's not all, though -- according to Games Radar, this game is hard. Not this hard, but still difficult. We say, bring it. You know what else it has? A lot of music from Mega Man 2, also known as one of the best video game soundtracks of all time.

Lastly (but not least), Games Radar has the skinny on Mega Man 9's bosses, including one that's a woman robot named Splash Woman. Others include Galaxy Man, Jewel Man, Hornet Man, Tornado Man, Concrete Man, Maga Man, and Plug Man. Man alive, that's a lot of mans.

Now you can stop reading and look at the screens (just click on the "Source" link or post image, as per usual). You might want to have some tissues handy, because they may just bring tears of joy to your eyes.

[Via NeoGAF]

The official announcement of Castlevania Judgment has given us all kinds of mixed emotions. Change can be a good thing, but whatever happened to, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" We've pointed out before that only a minority of fighting games are actually good, as much as we love the genre. Then there's this whole 3D business that might cause some worry. On the other hand, though, we have promises of Wi-Fi battles, DS-Wii connectivity, and the neat idea of laying the smackdown with some of our favorite 'Vania characters.

What do you wish we were getting with Castlevania Wii? Something familiar, something new, or maybe just something new that's not a fighter? Cast your vote after the break.

Nintendo's resident psychopath Wario finally has a face for the shelves outside Japan, and it's a bit of a love-hate boxart. It's classic Wario stomping (well, shaking) his enemies all over the place and acting like a total badass. On the other hand, it seems a little ... brutal. Ostentatious even? This blogger loves any chance to use big words he doesn't even understand, so a debate over the quality of this box is more than welcome.

Wario Land: Shake It! has taken clearer form just recently, as we all bask in its beautfulness. It might be the title to return the series to its original pedigree of excellence, and the release date isn't too far away. The no holds barred violence on the case shouldn't discourage parents from buying this one for their tots, because a nice little E for Everyone is sitting right there from the ESRB. They are always right.

Brash Entertainment just shot over some new screens for their upcoming game, Space Chimps. It's based on a soon-to-be-released movie of the same name. Check out the boxart above, then hit up the gallery for some more screens. For a game that's based on a movie, it doesn't look all that bad.

If you want more, there's a video embedded past the post break, also.

Nintendo doesn't release sales numbers for VC or WiiWare titles (although stat lovers might be able to figure out some estimates). To give us a better idea of what's hot and what's not, though, everyone's favorite marketing guy Laurent Fischer reports that LostWinds is dominating Europe. The two games that "come close" to LostWinds' sales in the continent are TV Show King and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King.

Fischer also reports that WiiWare titles are enjoying a "constant flow of downloads," which makes sense in today's digital media environment. As for LostWinds, we're glad to see a game that's such a breath of fresh air get the recognition it deserves.

If you're looking for a new game to play, as well as a device that will eat up all of your batteries, then you've come to the right place. We're giving away 2 copies of Death Jr. (each retail for $40), along with one Nyko Kama wireless nunchuk (goes for $35). The grand prize winner will get both the nunchuk and a copy of Death Jr. for the Wii. The runner-up will only get a copy of Death Jr.

What do you need to do to enter our giveaway? Easy, just leave a comment telling us who your favorite character from the Death Jr. games is. Need some help? Hit up the official site here, or check out the Wikipedia entries for more. Simply tell us your favorite character, and you're entered.

Entrants must be at least 18 years of age or older and legal, current residents of the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). You may leave only one comment per calendar day, so leave any more than that and you'll be disqualified. The giveaway starts now and entries must be in by 11:59pm Eastern on Wednesday, June 18th. We'll select the winner the following day, via random drawing.

Best of luck to you all and don't forget to give the official rules a read.

The original source of this image is unknown, but Jeux-France seems to have found a tiny rendition of Wario Land Shake's (potential) Japanese boxart. It's small and blurry, but it's clear enough to see that, as they have in the game, Nintendo put aside their usual 3D renders of the Mario series cast. While the game relies on cel-shading, this looks like it could be original, hand-drawn art. We'll get a better look at it soon enough.

We may also get a good look at some English-language boxart soon, according to the new OFLC rating for "Wario Land: The Shake Dimension." We expected to hear about a localization eventually, but not so soon! Of course, it could still be forever before the game really comes out.

[Via NeoGAF]

Swedish developer ZOINK is partnering with Snapdragon Games to bring KORE to the Wii -- not to be confused with C.O.R.E., which we wrote about earlier today on our pretty little sister site, DS Fanboy.

There's a chance that you've heard of KORE before, only you'd probably remember it as The Kore Gang instead. It was originally being made for the Xbox, but when the previous publisher (UDS) went out of business, things got flipped around. In any case, this platformer is now Nintendo-bound.

The story revolves around three characters who are trapped inside a robot. This robot's abilities change depending on who's controlling it, which will be an important aspect of progressing through the game. It's up to these robot users to save the world from aliens, who are building a doomsday device in the Earth's core.

According to ZOINK's developers, this title is also going to be full of lots of humor and silliness. We're all about games that don't take themselves to seriously, so we'll be looking into this fun-sounding platformer as it progresses.

*Note: The screens and art shown here are from the Xbox version, as these are all we have to go on for the time being.

Without a doubt, LostWinds is like finding a diamond-encrusted Hummer in your box of corn flakes. Sure, the WiiWare launch line-up hasn't been as boring as corn flakes, but there are some titles we could do without. And, LostWinds is so good, we're wondering if there'll be anything besides Alien Crush that can stand up to it this year on Nintendo's download service.