Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Marble Saga: Kororinpa wouldn't be much of a saga without characters. The latest screens feature the game's unlikely (in that he's not a marble) protagonist, Anthony the Ant. The whole game is an effort to gather junk for the purpose of building more structures to reach the Golden Sunflower. If this game has to have a story, we appreciate the fact that Hudson has made it about such a cute little character in a beautiful forest.

Don't worry; over at Famitsu, there are more screens of actual gameplay, with, like, marbles rolling around and stuff.

Hudson just sent us a press release stating that Marble Saga: Kororinpa will be making its way to North America in the spring of 2009. The sequel to Marble Mania: Kororinpa, the game will feature Balance Board support (which we already knew about), Wi-Fi compatibility and lots of new levels to explore. On top of that, there's also 4-player local multiplayer to enjoy, as well as "customization features."

Hit up our gallery below for some new screens and if you want to see the game in motion, check out the GC 2008 trailer here.


[Via press release]

Along with Dewy's Adventure, Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, and the massively under-rated Mercury Meltdown Revolution, Kororinpa proved that the Wii was the only place to be for enthusiasts of rolling. And now it's rolling back! Konami just announced a sequel to its vowel-heavy game at Leipzig, carefully tilting a trailer and 20 screens in our direction. Finally, another use for our Ball Bearing Maze Special Salver!

Over 100 stages will feature in Kororinpa 2, as well as multiple difficulty levels (maybe even difficult levels of difficulty this time), a swish-looking course editor, multiplayer for you and three fellow rollers, and Mii integration (which is now as important and common as having graphics). So long as it also has a better camera, we're already on board. Oh, and boxart that is half as wonderful as that of the original PAL game. Like, seriously, how perfect is this? Expect it early next year.


[Via press release]

Hudson launched a site for a previously unannounced Wii game called Hataraku Hito (Working People), whose English name is translated as Hard Working People. It's -- we know, this is traumatic -- a minigame collection. But it's a really cute minigame collection about taking on various part-time jobs.

The three jobs revealed on the site so far give an idea of the 50 tasks included in the game: you'll work in a yakitori restaurant, making food and serving beer; you'll harvest vegetables as a farmhand, and you'll even press buttons in response to a list of commands in order to work as an interpreter. Unless we've translated it wrong, which is quite possible, and would be ironic and hilarious.

If you've managed to get this far in your internet life without running into Goatse, congratulations! Do yourself a favor and keep it that way -- trust us on this one.

It has been months since Chinese accessory manufacturers last entertained us with inane Wii remote attachments; we were beginning to fear that they had run out of wacky ideas! But here comes the Ball Bearing Maze Special Salver [sic] to cure our accessory doldrums!

With this handy, Kororinpa-branded product, all you need to do is drop your remote into that center compartment, and you'll have more exciting, immersive experience playing marble/labyrinthine games such as Kororinpa: Marble Mania and, uh, that's it. Similarly designed games like Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, Mercury Meltdown Revolution, and Dewy's Adventure all require easy access to the controller's buttons, so this accessory wouldn't work well with those.

Couple that limited support with the Maze Special Salver's pricing, $27.99 plus shipping/handling, and this attachment looks almost as unattractive as the terrible image its design alludes to. You would be better off taping your remote to a cafeteria tray!

[Via Go Nintendo]

Between the bookends of Sonic and the Secret Rings and Super Paper Mario, there lies a game of quirk. Cooking Mama: Cook-Off , the successor to the DS sleeper-hit, has arrived at your Wii's doorstep and desperately wants to entertain you. But should you give it the time of day?

Let's take a look:

• IGN (58 / 100) thinks the controls were far from spot on: "What really suffers in the game, however, are the actual cooking actions. Previously the core appeal to the game on DS, the moves needed to perform Wii cooking are a bit less defined."

• GamePro (65 / 100) feels as though the game has its moments, though: "At its best, Cook Off is an inherently fun experience; you'll probably invite your friends over, shove a Remote in their hands and say "You have to try this game." Unfortunately, for all its charm, the game is deeply flawed, and you can't help but wonder if it wasn't best served as an appetizer on the DS rather than as a main course on the Wii."

• GameBrink (63 / 100) is happy they at least added some multiplayer: "You each complete the same steps at the same time after which Hitler Mama gets pissed off and grades you. It's essentially the same thing as the normal mode but with a split screen and a score to beat. It will definitely keep those who like the game playing for many days to come."

Do y'all agree with any of this? Circle gets the square (kudos if you get the joke)!

Infendo has taken a snarky poke at the bevy of Marble Madness-y labyrinthine games gearing up for appearances on the Wii, and frankly, we too are surprised at the sheer number of such titles. Super Monkey Ball (obviously) already featured ball-rolling as one of the better parts of an uneven offering, and now three more upcoming games are centered around labyrinth puzzles.

You know, we love rolling balls as much as the next guy, and certainly the gametype suits the console on many levels; the controller and the games-for-everyone theme are both well-supported here. But four games in the first year seems a little excessive. The Wiimote is also really well-suited to pointing and shooting, but we don't need four simple shooting gallery games, either. Sure, each game has different features. In Dewy's Adventure, the "marble" can go vaporous or crystallize into ice. Awesome. Except at the end of the day, it's still all about rolling around from here to there. This is really a pretty simple theme, and there are only so many variations on it. How many labyrinth games are we really going to buy? Does anyone expect to own all of these?

A pair of anticipated titles from Hudson are set to release a little bit earlier than expected. With Wing Island and Kororinpa both set to release on the 20th of this month and retailing for $39.99 each, this should help quench the thirst of gamers who feel they are suffering from a gamer's drought.

So, who's going to be picking these games up? Getting both, or are you only going to get one? Could you care less about either?

[via WiiNintendo.net]

NoE put out a list of their upcoming games for the European market, and while it may not be quite as filled-to-bursting as the DS list there's certainly plenty to be excited about. Upcoming with a quickness is the exquisite Wario Ware and -- ooh! we're jealous -- colorful Kororinpa. Loads of titles undated as well. Check after the jump for the full list.

Where is Kororinpa? Sure, we're getting roly-poly blobs of mercury, but this is already out -- in Japan, that is. The Wii needs more marble-rolling action, and that's why this footage from Kororinpa is our Featured Friday Video. Watch it and shed a little tear for the game we don't have.