You've already had the chance to examine scores of wonderful screens from new Wii games announced at the Nintendo Media Summit. This new post is dedicated to displaying thousands of more screens (squashed together to create videos) of some of the bigger titles that have been shown at the event.
We settled on placing Nintendo's official Punch-Out!! trailer at the top of this post, but could have easily led with some truly fantastic Sin & Punishment 2 footage, an impressive tech demo of The Conduit, or Yuji Naka's wacky-looking Let's Tap. Instead, all of those (and more) are past the break, and need to be viewed right now. Before you go, though, one final note: if any game released this year has a funkier soundtrack than Let's Tap, we'll be gobsmacked.
Update: Screen grab from Nintendo's media page, which has video of all these new games! Check it out right here.
Nintendo just unleashed a demo reel of upcoming third-party Wii games, including Taiko no Tatsujin Wii, a new Tsumi to Batsu/Sin & Punishment game from Treasure, a Wii version ofAnother Code (otherwise known as Trace Memory, the DS adventure game), Let's Tap (Yuji Naka's latest project, a.k.a. the game that even penguins can play), Sengoku Musou 3 (Samurai Warriors 3) and a new "mothership" title in the Tales Of series.
Will the internet regard this as the press conference that E3 should have been? We suspect so!
If Treasure is going to continue making Bleach fighting games -- Bleach: Versus Crusadeis the third, a very unusual occurrence for a developer that shuns sequels in general -- we're going to have to start learning things about the Bleach series. Right now it's "that one anime with the Treasure fighting games." Actually, now that we think about it, that's enough. We don't really care who all these people are; we're quite satisfied to know them only as cool-looking cel-shaded characters in this game, who often fight in tag teams.
It's possible that this game will play much like the DS Bleach games. Versus Crusade, according to this Famitsu post, supports both the Classic Controller and the GameCube controller. That doesn't rule out a continuation of the existing Wii Bleach style, but the Treasure involvement suggests otherwise.
We thought Bleach: Versus Crusade looked nice enough when we saw it yesterday, but it now looks completely awesome. What has changed? Nothing in terms of the look of the game. We've just learned that it's the work of Treasure, developer of the Bleach DS games, as well as -- lots of stuff. Most recently Bangai-O Spirits. This is no doubt one of the two Wii projects to which Treasure president Masato Maegawa has alluded.
Treasure's somewhat problematic history with 3D may be less of a problem now that we know the new game is a 3D version of one of their established series. Perhaps it will be like the DS games with different graphics. Or perhaps this will be, like Sin and Punishment, a good 3D Treasure game!
In an interview with CNet Japan, Treasure president Masato Maegawa revealed that the company, having finished work on the XBLA version of Ikaruga and the DS Bangai-O Spirits, is working on two new games for Wii. Being in a Treasure state of mind, our first impulse was to SET THE 68000 HEART ON FIREwith excitement.
However, our excitement was tempered by the news that these two games, which are designed to make use of motion controls, will be in 3D. Sin and Punishment is great and all, but Treasure's record is spotty at best in 3D games, as anyone who has played Stretch Panicor the merely-good Wario World will tell you. Maybe one of these is the rumored sequel to Sin and Punishment. That would be perfectly okay!
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.
Yeah, there aren't any Game Boy Advance games on the Virtual Console, and there probably won't be any time soon, but that's not important! This column is about games that should be on the Virtual Console, and this game should be everywhere.
Treasure is known for producing super-hardcore action games, from frantic run-and-guns like Alien Soldier and Gunstar Heroes to clever shooters like Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun. Between original releases, they sometimes take on licensed works, seemingly to pay the bills. One of their best games -- and possibly the best game on the GBA -- combines all of these aspects of Treasure's style. It might be slightly strange to say that a licensed game based on a kids' show is one of Treasure's best, but it absolutely is.
So, it's the final week of 2007 and what do we have to show for it? Frickin' Bubble Bobble is what we have got! It's enough for us, hopefully it'll be enough for you. But, on the other hand, the two titles available that don't have a bubble or a bobble in their name aren't that bad, either.
Today's dojo update has only exacerbated our dilemma. See, it's not so much that we really likeTreasure's exquisite N64 game Sin and Punishment (available on the Virtual Console now, as if we needed to remind you). It's more that we unconditionally love it, want to marry it, have its children, and settle down in the 'burbs with it for a life of rosy contentment.
Hence, the news that the star of that game, Saki Amamiya, will be an Assist Trophy in Brawl has put us in a right old tizzy. He sounds pretty useful, as well, with his Cannon Sword doubling up as both a sword and a gun, allowing him to slice and shoot his way through whoever's silly enough to get in his way.
Oh, you thought because there wasn't a formal VC Monday Madness post today that you would not be getting your dose of video goodness? Oh no, boys and girls, because as we needed to break the news of what was arriving today during yesterday evening (today had a big release, so we needed to inform you as soon as we could), we felt another post would be ... well, just a tad bit on the side of not needed. So, hit up the video above and be sure to check past the break for the usual.
And before you ask, that DVD in the lower left-hand corner is Braveheart. I felt a need to put it on today while I worked.
Heralding the release of Super Mario Galaxy this November 12th, Nintendo plans to deliver Super Mario Bros. 3, a title which many feel to be the NES's finest product, with this week's Virtual Console update. We've already pulled 500 Wii points out of our wallet, just waiting to hand the cash over to anyone who'll give us the game in return. We'll sleep tonight with the bills gripped tightly in our fists, smiling as we dream about spending the entirety of tomorrow ensconced in a giant green boot.
Treasure's classic run-and-gun boss-travaganza for the Sega Genesis, Alien Soldier, will also be available for download tomorrow, having previously appeared in North America only through the ill-fated Sega Channel. Hardcore gamers won't regret spending 900 Wii points on this one. And if they do, that speaks more to their character than Alien Soldier's qualities.
On the TurboGrafx-16 side, we'll have the option of buying Power Golf for 600 Wii points. Unfortunately for Power Golf, we've already resigned ourselves to only purchasing games which feature either a Tanooki Suit or a Seven Force robot this week. Sucks to be Power Golf.
If you shelled out the cash to buy Sin and Punishment on your Virtual Console, then you already know how awesome it is. If not, we've deployed some hypnotoads to find you and make you buy the game, so be prepared.
Now that we've sufficiently shoved the game down your throat communicated the brilliance of this game to you, excuse us while we squeal for a few seconds at the mere possibility of a sequel on the Wii. After all, we're only human (and part robot).
The source of our glee, you wonder? When asked about a possible sequel to Sin and Punishment, Treasure president Masato Maegawa told Nintendo Power, "When we were originally working on Sin and Punishment [for Virtual Console], there was some discussion utilizing Wii-like controls, and I think now that we're working more with the Wii, it is something we'd very much like to try."
We have just one message for you, Treasure: NOBODY LIKES A TEASE!
Treasure president Masato Maegawa spoke with 1UP before TGS started up, confirming that the company is indeed working on a title for the WIi. Coming from the developer's "action" team, he gave nothing else in the way of details about the secret project. Considering this same internal team was responsible for Gunstar Heroes, we can't say we're worried.
Looks like Nintendo has come up with a clever response to one Kiwi gamer's complaint. It sounds kind of silly to complain about a lack of releases when your region is about to get Sin and Punishment on the Virtual Console.
Treasure's Sin and Punishment is basically the Holy Grail of Nintendo 64 games: a shooter from a very well-respected studio, which was never released outside of Asia. It's the N64 game that even N64 haters will drool over. This OFLC rating makes an upcoming Virtual Console release a near-certainty, and an Australian release portends a release for other regions, as well.
Now we're going to go play every rail shooter we own in celebration of this great news. Although we think that's pretty much just Rez, so it'll be a brief celebration.
We're slightly disappointed by the levels in Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure. It's not that they don't look nice, but they're just incredibly cliched. You can see cute little representations up there on the world map: the Jungle Ruins, the Volcano Cave, the Ice Temple, and Barbaros' Castle.
Maybe the underwater level and the forced-scrolling motorcycle level are unlockable! Seriously, as much attention as this game is getting, we hope it's a little more creative than the levels make it seem. We're just going to assume that so much attention went into the puzzles that the level concepts kind of suffered.
Posted Jun 22nd 2007 1:55PM by JC Fletcher Filed under: News
We didn't know much about the story for Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasureexcept for the obvious ("Hey, treasure! Dude, let's quest for it!") Thankfully, Capcom detailed some of the plot in a press release about the game.
Zack & Wiki involves a young pirate named Zack who happens upon the talking skull of the legendary pirate Barbaros. And, like anyone who finds a magically animated skull, Zack decides to do what it tells him. Luckily, it tells him to go on an adventure leading to treasure, which is courteous for a hallucination/undead pirate.
The full press release is after the break. The skull says READ IT! And the animated skull of Matt Casamassina says BUY THE GAME!
