Nintendo Wii Fanboy

The Legend of Kage seems to be almost universally reviled by gamers for its difficulty and for the fact that about 75% of your time in the game is spent sailing uncontrollably through the air into a fireball or shuriken -- some, like us, like it okay, but it's a hard sell. It's a mystery, then, why Taito thought that it would be a good basis for an unrelated game. Apparently they had enough faith in the high-jumping gameplay that they figured people might like it if they didn't realize it was like The Legend of Kage.

This year, is the 30th anniversary of Space Invaders' original Japanese release, and Taito has marked it with the release of Space Invaders Extreme on the DS and PSP, a significant upgrade to the original game with new powerups, music, and a beautiful new techno-rave sheen.

It's not the first time Taito has departed from the base Invaders formula. In 1995 (the less auspicious 17th anniversary of Space Invaders), Taito put out an arcade sequel to the primordial shmup that is every bit as visually divergent as Extreme, but in a totally different direction. Whereas the new handheld game goes for (and achieves) cool, Space Invaders '95 (known in Japan as Akkanvader) went in the wacky direction.

Space Invaders Get Even, Taito's flip on the Invaders concept in which players control an alien mothership firing pixelly Invaders at Earth's cities, is on track for a summer release in Japan. The good news is that there's a fairly low barrier to quick localization, because Taito has just revealed that it's a WiiWare game!

Square Enix (who owns Taito) has been hesitant about Taito properties in the past (Majesco picked up Cooking Mama, for example, and SE has passed on the paddle controller made for Arkanoid DS and Space Invaders Extreme), but their WiiWare Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles game has gone well for them. Plus, there's the fact that Space Invaders Get Even will be way cheaper as a download than as a disc.

Our gallery has been attacked by an invading force of screens, showing not only invasion gameplay, but plenty of shots outlining the hu-mans' pitiful defenses.

So asks the front of Super R-Type's box. Of course, you won't get the box when you purchase Super R-Type on the Virtual Console (you are purchasing Super R-Type ... right?), but we couldn't resist revisiting such a deliciously bad pun. You just don't get that kind of cringeworthy wordplay on today's boxart!

The NES version of Operation Wolf also makes an appearance today, and if you ask us it's one of the very few Virtual Console games that would actually benefit from added Wiimote functionality.

• Super R-Type -- SNES -- 800 Wii points
• Operation Wolf -- NES -- 500 Wii points

Don't forget there's footage to get all misty-eyed about after the break!

Just a few days after the first scan, Taito has released a few screens of the new Wii Space Invaders game, Space Invaders Get Even. In this "from the Invaders' perspective" game, swarms of glowing 8-bit Invaders take down 3D cities. The player uses the Nunchuk to control the elusive UFO, and the Wii Remote to direct 300 Invaders. The stages are broken into three areas each, and there are forest, city, military, and other types of stages.

We still don't know how the three types of Invader differ, but we can at least see that they can be directed at separate targets, even outside of their traditional formation. We also don't know if "DOOOOOOM!" is the sound of an explosion, or a description of the humans' fate, or if GIR is in one of the ships.

Taito has chosen the Wii for the followup to the brilliant-looking Space Invaders Extreme. A tiny sidebar in the latest Famitsu has revealed a new Space Invaders game for the Wii. Called Space Invaders Get Even, Taito's latest actually casts the players as the pixelated swarm, whose job is to destroy cities.

Just going on the screenshot, it appears that you'll have a stock of different Invaders who perform different functions, and who arrange themselves in the familiar 2D formation in 3D space. Unfortunately, other than this screenshot and a little blurb (which calls the game an "action game" and entreats you to "get your revenge"), nothing is known. We're sure we'll hear more soon.

Taito's collection of mostly classic-Taito-themed minigames, Furu Furu Park, is out this month courtesy of Majesco. For $19.99, if the versions of arcade classics like Bubble Bobble, Cameltry, and Arkanoid are actually good remakes, the game would be an irresistible value. That was exactly what MTV Multiplayer's Jason Cipriano had in mind when he took the game for a test drive. Maybe this unassuming value minigame collection has improved on the arcade classics!

Basically, it hasn't. As you may expect, the minigame versions of the Taito classics are not better than the arcade games, mostly owing to the fact that you can only play them for a few minutes at a time. No matter how awesome the one level of remade Arkanoid is, it's just one level. On top of that, Bubble Bobble has been simplified severely.

Surprisingly, there were a few cases in which the potential was there for the remake to be an improvement, or at least a worthwhile addition. Both Arkanoid and Cameltry benefit from motion controls, which makes the lack of content hurt that much more. As it stands, just pick up one of the Taito Legends sets for the PS2.

An update to the ESRB's search page has revealed two new upcoming games. Sega's Columns III is hardly a surprise, since it came out in Japan recently on the Virtual Console, and a U.S. version of the game exists. The other choice is somewhat of an oddball: Taito's Operation Wolf.

Operation Wolf is a military-themed arcade light gun game that came out on both the NES and the Japanese PC Engine. We're likely to get the NES version, as Hudson's VC releases page does not mention the game. In either case, it won't have actual light gun functionality.

This is hardly new for Operation Wolf. The NES version originally included the option for either Zapper or D-pad control, but the PC Engine version did not. The arcade game was also ported to the Taito Legends collection with no gun support. We won't go so far as to say it doesn't matter, but the game is still intense and fun when played by sweeping a crosshair around the screen. It's an unusual choice, but we like unusual choices!

[Via Siliconera]

Now it is the beginning of a fantastic story! This week, one of the iconic classic game experiences made it to the Virtual Console in its NES incarnation. Bub and Bob are synonymous with video games and gamer culture, for two unsurprising reasons: 1) they're really damn cute, and 2) Bubble Bobble is awesome. With that in mind, we thought we'd focus a bit on the cheating options available in the NES version of Bubble Bobble.

Now, Bubble Bobble is best experienced with two players, in which case progress isn't really as important as kickin' back and having a good time bubblin' up some baddies with your dino-pal. There's a whole host of level passwords for your single-player excursions, available where fine passwords are sold at GameFAQs.

More interesting than the plain level passwords, however, are the "special" passwords, that give you options beyond starting at a certain level. DDFFI allows you to access a level select mode for the "normal" Bubble Bobble levels, and HEAGD does the same for the advanced Super Bubble Bobble levels. BACCF starts you off with 99 lives. If you complete Super Bubble Bobble mode, you'll get access to a sound test. Of course, by that time you'll be so freaking tired of the music, you won't want to go into a menu and listen to it again. The music's totally great when you haven't been playing the game for five hours, though.

Should you decide not to employ the 99 lives code, then you and a friend can play cooperatively, or be huge jerks to each other, depending on your temperament. In two-player mode, when you die, you can pause the game and hit the Select button to steal a life from your friend.

[Jamie's awesome shoes found here]

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.

We love it when extraordinarily random game prototypes show up on eBay. We have yet to actually pull the trigger and start collecting the things, because we have become attached to our electricity and would like to keep enough money around to ensure its continued service.

It's hard to imagine a more random appearance than that of this Panic Restaurant prototype. Panic Restaurant is an NES platformer from Taito that stars a chef and takes place in a giant, trap-and-monster-filled restaurant. It falls squarely into the 'wacky midrange NES platformer' category along with stuff like Whomp 'Em. For some reason, the very middle-of-the-road-ness of this game is what makes a prototype of it so irresistible for us. Sure, everyone wants a prototype of a hugely popular game, or an extremely obscure game, but collecting rare editions of perfectly ordinary games sounds like exactly the kind of hobby we could blow our cash on. Plus, food-themed games are hilarious.

[Via GameSniped]

We haven't heard anything from Majesco's Furu Furu Park in a while, leading us to wonder if it had been cancelled. Apparently it continues to live, since Games Radar has posted a quick preview of the game. The gist is that even if you think minigames are passé, you may find something to love in the pure weirdness of the game.

One of the weirdest parts of the game is the "Love Challenge" mode. We have been curious about this since we saw it in Japanese screenshots (as pictured above), and Games Radar was kind enough to detail it in their preview. Basically, it's a two-player mode in which the goal is to perform at a similar level. Your similarity-- and thus, your compatibility, is then judged by the game's love expert, Afro Love.

We look forward to the stories of true love being discovered after short Arkanoid games. If Afro Love tells you it's for real after Arkanoid, you know it's for real.

Furu Furu Park, Taito's self-referential minigame collection, is coming to the US courtesy of Majesco. Normally, we're all GRR TOO MANY MINIGAMES. But this one's got Arkanoid bits in it, so it gets a pass.

In other words, Taito has figured out the winning formula for making us care about a minigame collection: well-designed gameplay making it look like old games. It may even be fun, with games like Super Karate (in which you waggle karate moves), Safe Cracker (The Wiimote becomes your, uh, combination lock dial!) and Bubble Bobble (which is Bubble Bobble!) Man, that version of Bubble Bobble looks sharp.

Cooking Mama: Cook Off is already out in shops starting this week, but Majesco's official launch event for the Wii game takes place at NYC's Nintendo World Store on March 31st, the Saturday after next. There will be a variety of competitions for gamers to take part in at the store's interactive stations. We hope that doesn't mean they'll actually be cooking anything themselves, as some 13-year-old kid is bound to burn the Pokémon Center down while trying to flambé.

The Nintendo World Store will have limited edition aprons for attendees and copies of the game for contest winners. If that isn't enough to bring you in, there will also be free food! Keeping with Cooking Mama's theme, an on-site chef will be fixing snacks for the party. If you're in the area, this is definitely worth checking out!

Wii players in Japan will have a shot at another minigame collection this April, when Taito releases their Furufuru Park. It will feature scaled-down dating games, adventure games, 3D fighting, and even a mech game set in the year 20XX.

If the idea of yet another disc of minigames doesn't grab you, then the cast of characters, pulled from Taito classics like Bubble Bobble, Arkanoid, Sonic Blast Man, and even the recent DS release Mawasunda!! might. And if the mention of Sonic Blast Man actually piqued your interest, then we are very concerned about the apparent theft of our identities.

Check after the post break to see some mini-screens of the minigames in mini-action, and check the homepage to see... the box art and not much else.

[Via GAME Watch]