Nintendo downloads: from fighting games to electronic keyboard simulations

by: Tina - posted: 7/12/2010 5:34:00 PM

If you were excited for a Virtual Console release this Monday, the list of Nintendo’s weekly downloadable games will have you disappointed. There are still a plethora of other titles to choose from nevertheless.

This week on the WiiWare, Toribash (1,000 Wii points) allows you to invent your own fighting style using motion controls. You can even record movies using the replay editor for ultimate hilarity/epicness. Otherwise, Balloon Pop Festival (800 Wii points) takes advantage of your weakness to pop circular figures on digital screens (why are these games so popular?), complete with respective graphical animations.

As for the DSiWare, games range from learning french with 4 Travellers - Play French (800 DSi points) to playing the electronic keyboard on Music on: Retro Keyboard (200 DSi points) to a connect-the-pieces game of Primrose (200 DSi points). You can also pick up Pop Island - Paperfield (200 DSi points) to play “Race for the flags” or “Capture the flag” under land, sea and air modes of transportation. If you haven’t gotten your fill of card games already available, you can grab 24/7 Solitaire (500 DSi points).

Read on for full descriptions of these games, as well as this week's WarioWare DIY game.

This summer season is anything but lazy for Nintendo fans, thanks to hundreds of action-packed game downloads available for Wii™ and Nintendo DSi™ systems. Starting today, you can get your adrenaline pumping with Toribash™, a brawny new fighting game for the WiiWare™ service. On the Nintendo DSiWare™ service, new attractions include the adaptable puzzle fun of Primrose and the freewheeling action of Pop Island – Paperfield.

We’ve also got new arrivals in the “Big Name Games” section of the WarioWare™: D.I.Y. series, which features downloadable microgames from some of the industry’s most talented figures. This week we have some new additions from the Treehouse, Nintendo’s game localization team. New “Big Name Games” will be added every Monday through July 26, all available to download for zero Nintendo DSi Points™ to anyone with broadband Internet access and a copy of either WarioWare: D.I.Y. for the Nintendo DS™ family of systems or WarioWare: D.I.Y. Showcase software for the WiiWare service. Visit the Nintendo Channel on your Wii system today to learn more about these games.

WiiWare

Toribash
Publisher: Nabi Studios
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: T (Teen) – Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence
Price: 1,000 Wii Points™
Description: Toribash is an online fighting game where you make all the moves. Use precision motion controls to create any move you want – the only limit is your imagination. Manipulate your fighter’s joints for maximum impact and take out your opponents with precise hits. Boost your joints for added speed and strength to hit harder, then grab your opponents and slam them to the ground. Fight online and challenge players around the world using Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection (broadband Internet access required). Want to make your own fight movies? Just jump into the replay editor. You can enter replays at any point in time and review your fight to catch that mind-blowing move you missed. When you’re done, share with your buddies through WiiConnect24™.

Balloon Pop Festival
Publisher: UFO Interactive
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Wii Points
Description: Balloon Pop Festival is a revolutionary puzzle game that’s suitable for all ages. Point the Wii Remote™ controller at the screen to aim and link a series of balloons to create satisfying combos. Watch as the festival is beautifully animated, releasing different graphical elements to represent each month. The goal of the game is to score as much as you can before balloons cross the line on the bottom. Each festival has different graphical elements, animation and character costumes. The more you do through the festival, the more you will unlock graphics for playing other modes.

Nintendo DSiWare

Primrose
Publisher: Sabarasa
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Take your time, set your own pace, establish your own goals and adapt your play style however you like. Primrose rules are easy: There are no time limits, no levels, no arbitrary objectives and no constraints. Just place pairs of tiles on a game grid and attempt to corral groups of tiles with pieces of a different color. Surrounded tiles disappear and surrounding tiles change colors, allowing chain effects to trigger combos for massive points. You can play long matches and try to keep up with increasing levels of difficulty, or just go all out on a huge single-move combo for millions of points.

Pop Island – Paperfield
Publisher: odenis studio
Players: 1-8
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) – Comic Mischief
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Discover a fresh, fun universe with easy pick-up-and-play control themes. Join your team and race, surf or fly on three new islands. Get a maximum of flags to win in the “Race for flags” or “Capture the flag” modes. With the new “Magic Shooters” team, take control of eight land, sea and air vehicles (including tanks, hovercrafts and planes) or animals (surfing penguins, eagles and black cats). An impressive graphics engine runs fast and smooth at 60 frames per second. In Solo Mode, rack up points and unlock new playable vehicles and maps. Use DS Download Play to share Pop Island – Paperfield and compete joyfully with up to seven friends. If you own Pop Island on your Nintendo DSi system, you can get three new maps and four vehicles, including a helicopter and a submarine.

Music on: Retro Keyboard
Publisher: Abylight
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Turn your Nintendo DSi system into a full electronic keyboard with a carefully chosen selection of sounds and rhythms from the mythic computers and consoles of the 1980s. Whether you’re already an expert or taking your first steps, Retro Keyboard will help you capture your inspiration wherever you are. Features include an ’80s-inspired interface and a selection of keyboard, console and computer sounds from the ’80s, plus rhythms inspired by the first generation video games. You can also enjoy an automatic accompaniment function with chord recognition, up to eight user-definable chords, a six-octave keyboard (two octaves visible), pitch bend function, 16 instruments, an integrated sequencer, metronome, recording and replay options.

24/7 Solitaire
Publisher: cosmigo
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 500 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: 24/7 Solitaire features 24 variations of the most widely known and best-loved single-player card games including Klondike, Freecell, Spider, Pyramid, Yukon and seven versions of Peg-Solitaire. Most games have custom game play options so you can enjoy the game with your favorite rules. On-screen instructions can help you learn new Solitaire variations. Statistics are available for players who love to track their wins. Save your game status at any time. The game’s style and interface have been designed for easy, intuitive operation with the stylus or the control pad. Sit back, relax and enjoy the endless challenge and fun of this Solitaire game collection.

4 TRAVELLERS™ – Play French
Publisher: AGENIUS Interactive
Players: 1-4
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Challenge your family and friends in a new digital board game while learning your first words in a new language together. Compete in a foreign hotel where the goal is to acquire objects, money and friends. Strategy and fast learning are essential. The game is suitable for players young and old, and no previous knowledge is necessary. The more you play, the more your French vocabulary increases. The game is perfect to bring on your trip, including more than 240 carefully selected words.