This Week in Nintendo History: June 27th to July 3rd
History can’t be erased. Once it’s happened it will always be a part of our timeline. Nintendo has released a huge number of games and had many things happen to them as a company. This week isn’t one of those weeks though. It’s pretty light on releases so let’s get right into things.
Meteos was released on June 27th, 2005 for the Nintendo DS. This game was developed by Q Entertainment. The games producer was Tetsuya Mizaguchi and the lead designer was Project Sora’s Masahiro Sakurai. The basic element of the game is a falling block puzzle and it has been compared to another game released by Q, Lumines. The basic premise behind the game is simple, stack three blocks of the same color either vertically or horizontally to remove them from the screen. If a stack of blocks reached the top screen then players received a game over. There are 32 planets that serve as the game levels and they each have different properties. Some of the levels have different size play fields, on others the blocks are different sizes and on one gravity is removed completely. The game was extremely well received and has spawned a sequel called Meteos: Disney Magic.
Pokemon has been a hugely successful franchise for Nintendo. It’s been so successful that it’s spawned a number of games outside the main series. Pokemon Pinball, released for the Game Boy Color on June 28th, 1999, is one of those. This game is based off of Pokemon Red and Blue and features two tables; one for each of those games. Each of these two tables also has different locations that determine which Pokemon you can collect. There are two different modes of play that can be activated. Catch mode, allows you to catch pokemon by making them appear on the table and then hitting them with the ball four times. Evolution mode allows you to choose a pokemon you’ve already caught and attempt to evolve it. It received mostly positive reviews upon release, but some people criticized it for not having enough elements of a true pinball game and that the built in rumble feature was a waste of AAA batteries.
Hiroshi Yamauchi was the President of Nintendo from 1949 to 2002. After that he was the Chairmen of their Board of Directors until he stepped down on June 29th, 2005. He did so because of his age and because he felt Nintendo was being left in good hands. When he left he also refused to accept his pension, valued to be between $9 and $14 million, because he thought it would be better put to use by Nintendo. I would say that it’s paid off and that Nintendo has used that money quite well.
June 29th, 2009 was Download Day in North America. On that date Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa, originally for the Sega Master System, was released. WiiWare received Reel Fishing Challenge, Silver Star Reversi, and Water Warfare.
The Internet Channel was released on April 11th, 2007 for the low, low price of free. June 30th, 2007 marked the date that the Wii’s Internet Channel was no longer free to customers. At this point in time if you purchased the Internet Channel it would cost you 500 Wii Points. It would later be announced that anyone who purchased the Internet Channel would receive a refund in the form of a downloadable title from the Shop Channel. Currently the Internet Channel is free to everyone.
June 30th, 2008 was Download Day, yet again, in North America. On this date Fatal Fury 2, originally for the Neo Geo was released on the Virtual Console. WiiWare received Magnetica Twist.
Our last major release of the week is Star Fox 64, released for the N64 on July 1st, 1997. This was the second game in the popular space combat franchise from Nintendo and came bundled with the N64 rumble pak, which plugged into the back of the controller. It was nearly universally praised for its smooth animation, detailed visuals, voice acting, and use of multiple gameplay paths. Much of the game, like its predecessor was along pre-determined paths, but some elements, like many of the boss battles opened up movement freely inside of a battle arena. The game featured an overworld map that had multiple branching paths that allowed the player to choose their ultimate way through the games storyline, and medals could be won during the levels allowing for multiple replays to try to obtain a better medal. To promote the game Nintendo teamed up with Taco Bell to release Star Fox toys in their kids meals. Nintendo Power subscribers received a promotional video for the game. It was the second best selling game of 1997 behind Mario Kart 64, selling more than 300,000 units in the first 5 days. It is consistently listed among the best games of all time. During E3 2010 it was announced that the game is being remade for Nintendo’s new handheld, the 3DS.
July 2nd, 2007 was Virtual Console Day in North America. On that date Super Mario Bros. 2 for the NES, Ecco: The Tides of Time for the Sega Genesis, and Dragon Spirit for the Turbo Grafix-16 were released.
So there you go. Those are the events that make up the coming week in history. If you know of anything that we missed or that you know is coming up and you’d like to see featured in the article please don’t hesitate to let us know. Before we go, though, we have to mention the games that came out in territories across the world.
June 27th
1991 – Barker Bill’s Trick Shooting (NES, Europe)
2003 – Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut (GCN, Europe)
2008 – Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii, Europe)
Final Fantasy Tactics A2 (DS, Europe)
June 28th
2007 – Donkey Kong Barrel Blast (Wii, Japan)
June 29th
2007 – Final Fantasy VI (GBA, Europe)
June 30th
2000 – Satellaview discontinued (Japan)
Perfect Dark (N64, Europe)
2005 – Big Brain Academy (DS, Japan)
2006 – New Super Mario Bros. (DS, Europe)
July 1st
1999 – R-Type DX (GBC, Europe)
2004 – Donkey Konga 2 (GCN, Japan)
2006 – Mario Hoops 3-on-3 (DS, Japan)
July 2nd
2004 – Kirby & The Amazing Mirror (GBA, Europe)
July 3rd
1992 – SNES (Australia)
The Great Friend Code Exchange
