Agetec does some cool stuff on eShop

Every now and again a game will come out by these guys; games that would have the feel of something that's done really cheaply but something that's perfectly suitable. I love things that are done conservatively and do the job without any messing around. (an example of this would be Bill & Ted's Excellent GB Adventure)

One of their latest is Rabi Laby 2. One of my favourites is Magical Whip, a game that's a bit like a cross between Bubble Bobble and Tumblepop and you know straight away by looking at it that it's sensibly done, they didn't do anything too fancy, it's likeable enough and cheap to buy. They've even done Bloody Vampire; a game that's been described as a Metroidvania.

So next time you're on the eShop, do a search for Agetec and check out their stuff.

What the hell is Nintendoji?!

I've been watching this clip and I'm utterly confused.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riVLQBRS_q8

It seems to be some dungeon crawling puzzle thing? No fighting or anything, just collecting orbs and..... whatever else? What is it you do? Why's it called "Nintendoji"?

?

It's nicely illustrated with the ancient Japanese things but still...

?

Moving house to my new 3DS XL (in painstaking detail!)

As I type this there are Pikmin transferring the data from the old 3DS to the new 3DS XL I bought today! There are also Pikmin arranged to form the percentage number of the process that's complete but their job is to just stand there. I wonder if it's boring for them watching their group moving various bits and pieces to the new system? Or are they glad they got out of doing that arduous task?

So yeah I got a 3DS XL since NSMB2 came out. Good thing I waited too because I got a bundle in HMV for 229 Euro which includes the handheld, NSMB2 and a third party charger(the deal would've cost more if I didn't get the charger, funnily enough)

I keep hearing about GameStop offering to transfer the data for you as a service. I can't imagine how they'd be able to do it at all. First, you have to charge your new 3DS XL when you get it out of a box, then you have to go through loads of prompts and confirmations and you even have to connect online as part of the process. Then these little Pikmin have to transfer all this stuff to the new system. This kind of thing you're much better off doing in the comfort of your own home as it takes hours. In any case it really isn't something you can do while waiting at the counter in GameStop.

Ace Mathician looks pretty interesting!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZzIi3wOkVw


Ace Mathician just came out today on DSiWare/eShop and I've read into it a little bit. It's a simple non scrolling single screen platformer where you collect stars. Some platforms are impassable so you have to use geometric formulae in order to arrange their placement. It seems like a great idea!

Aura Aura Climber is great fun!

Got a bit more into this game today. It's nice to play with the basic climbing gameplay and on top of that, the power ups, level ups and bonus points for doing things. I really like it! There's an endless mode like Tetris Type-A and there's a stage by stage progression, each with it's own high score list.

So you can simply play it as a kick ass and challenging platformer from start to finish or play for chasing high scores. Try it out!

Aura Aura Climber is nice

One DSiWare game I tried out recently is Aura Aura Climber. It's a nice little game and it's very very cheap at 2 Euro. It's from Nintendo as well so it has those things going for it.

You're this little star who has to grab onto these little pegs and ascend toward the heavens from whence you came. It's a nice time killing score chaser.

Castle of Magic seems like an interesting DSiWare platformer

I've never heard of this game before but I came across it while rooting through old J2ME games. It has a DSiWare release and it looks absolutely lovely from what I've seen so I might check it out.

Four Swords in single player feels like being the only kid on the playground.

A playground full of different types of see saws. It makes you wish you had others to enjoy it with. I suppose that's where it succeeds. I wouldn't have been motivated to go through the hassle of finding someone to play it with otherwise. Having no wires or cartridges to deal with makes things easier too.

Now I know myself from playing Four Swords Adventures on the Gamecube that it can be lots of fun playing in single player mode. This remake of the original Four Swords is nowhere near as good as it. That's kind of to be expected really as Four Swords gameplaywise is really just a big bonus mode whereas Four Swords Adventures has a more satisfying single player campaign. The latter came out later as well so the formula got improved.

If Nintendo does something like this again they should strive to make it better than these two games put together. I was always a little curious of the GBA game that eluded me for years and now my curiosity is satisfied. Time to move on.

Zelda Four Swords Anniversary Edition (whew) is out now on DSiWare in Ireland & Europe!

Wow what a mouthful! Anyway it was made available today! I made sure to download it earlier. I haven't tried it properly yet but remember there's two things you should know:

-It's free to download for all DSi and 3DS owners for a few months.
-It's an enhanced remake of the original GBA game, now allowing for a single player option for the first time.

The free Zelda Four Swords on DSiWare will have a one player mode!

Here's the exciting trailer which shows new stuff that's being added:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKWYzJ7rdCg

Yes yes yes yesss! It's a really stupid idea to make a game multiplayer exclusive. Finally this wrong will be righted in the original Four Swords with this remake which they're calling the Anniversary Edition. It'll be released near the end of this month and will be available for a limited time. I can't wait!

Strategies you may develop if you play Kokopolo

After playing Kokopolo for a while you may feel the need to know what the levels are like before you go chasing around. You want to be somewhat ready to jump over spikes for example so it's good to take a little wander around to see what it's all like. The enemies usually stick to their own little patterns in their own little corners so feel free to do a little reconnaissance.

Let's say then that you get involved in a chase. You may not be fully aware of where you're going which can be dangerous so take advantage of the way the paths in the levels form roundabouts. The enemies that chase you form a sort of conga line so it's a good way of keeping the chase going while you glance at the map on the bottom screen for a way out or to get ready to deal with an obstacle. The 3DS' slide pad feels great doing this actually.

Hmmm... this is all making me think of Pac-Mania, which is one of my favourite Pac-Man games. Imagine an isometric Kokopolo? A Kokopolo-Mania as it were!

I completed Shantae Risky's Revenge!

Great game this! I played the first Shantae recently too so I can compare them.

Generally the sequel has a lot of technical improvements over the GBC version in almost every way except for the save system. In the GBC game you could continue with your status when you got a game over where as with this one you have to restart back at the last save point with all progress lost since you last saved. This forces you to save more often.

The music is amazing. Most are remixed tracks from the GBC game but there's a few outstanding ones like the Scuttle Town music. It's very impressive and you really feel like you're in a busy Arabian Nights themed town.

I don't care much for the dialogue or about the fact that Shantae is a half genie. Wonder Boy never spoke — I see Shantae as being like Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap — but at least you can skip the dialogue.

This sequel isn't as long or as difficult as the first game but it still achieves the high fun factor, which is the most important thing.

One nitpicky thing but it's something that really irks me and that is one of her expressions during the cutscenes, namely the sarky 'tudey raised eyebrow one. It's yucky and it's nothing like her other cute vivacious expressions. It's like some bored Garfield expression. She has an expression like this in the last game but she wears it with a bit of sass and banter and... well it's like I was saying, more vivacious!

Kokopolo is pretty good

I played a good bit of this DSiWare game on my 3DS yesterday when it came out. It's exciting when you get the enemies to chase after you and even more exciting when you get heaps of them in a row chasing you! There's a lot more points at stake you see and you have to navigate a maze without getting hurt or delayed on the way to the Snap Snap plant trap. This game's got some fantastic arcade values.

There's also this one funny part where if you jump on top of the Snap Snap plant it eats you!

The A button is for attack and the B button is for jump. I really hate when developers reverse the buttons like this but for some reason it hasn't affected my playing of the game so far. It would really annoy me though if it was a 2d platformer.

Go! Go! Kokopolo! is coming out in Ireland and the rest of Europe tomorrow!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_t0MHeJZ10

Check out this trailer!

I first read all about this game in NGamer magazine several years ago before the DSiWare service was even heard of (I think. I don't remember what issue it was.) There was this big feature full of lovely game artwork and screenshots for this game and it was all about the creator who researched Hudson Soft-esque games like Bomberman talking about this game and the game's development. He talked about stuff like how he discovered the hard way that in games like Bomberman where he will walk the way he's facing before turning around a corner in the desired direction so that you don't get stuck in your tracks on a tiny edge of the wall. (This was actually a big problem in the Goemon Game Boy game where Yae gets kidnapped)

Anyway, reading the feature and about the gameplay mechanics — which you'll be able to see in the trailer — made me so fascinated with the game I really wanted to play it. The author of the game was Keith Webb and I think he was looking for a publisher back then.

The game costs 800 points which is the exact amount I have left on my 3DS after downloading Shantae: Risky's Revenge. Handy!