Nintendo Okie

If a random post made in an iMDB forum is to be believed, there is a new game coming to the 3DS and Wii U based on the popular anime FLCL. It’s believed to be in development by Namco Bandai and that’s about all the information we have on the rumor. I’ve reached out to the developer to see if the rumor is true.

Of course, we’re gearing up for E3 and the rumors are going to be flying all over the place. I would imagine if this is true we’ll hear more about it at E3. Until then know that this is just a rumor.

When you think of falling block puzzle games, what’s the first one that comes to mind? If it’s Block Factory, you may want to see a psychiatrist. Block Factory is a game that is more of a chore than it is a game. Here’s the premise, “Hey dude, remember all those fun times you had playing Tetris? Well get ready to spend thirty minutes making something almost like it but not as fun!”

What You Need To Know

Block Factory was released on April 26th, 2012 and is a game where you design falling block puzzle games. The game starts in the main hub. From this main hub you can play the four predefined games or any other games you create or acquire. The aim of the games is to avoid filling the playfield to the top. When a block hits the top of the playfield, the game will be over. Blocks can be cleared by making lines in a Tetris-like fashion.

Read more…

The Wii U is set to launch later this year. Nintendo has experienced some hiccups with the last couple of systems they launched. The Wii saw shortages for months after it was released. The 3DS saw a great release with an immediate plummet in sales figures. That was attributed to a lackluster library and just a general lack of knowledge about what the system was.

Nintendo is hoping to avoid those mistakes with the launch of the Wii U. Our question today takes a look at that. “You’re in charge of the Wii U launch. What would you do to avoid problems and ensure the most successful launch for a Nintendo system yet?”

Gaz Says: If there is one thing to take from the 3DS launch it is that Nintendo systems launch best with strong, first-party content. Perhaps it was fortunate that Nintendo learned this lesson with the 3DS, a system that was always going to sell well thanks to the positive associations of the DS brand. With Wii U however, Nintendo have a massive challenge; not only do they need to launch a brand new system and get it selling, but they also need to throw off the negative connotations of the Wii name and bring back the alienated fans that have been turned off by the influx of casual games. Read more…

Well, in reality it’s one new title and an update to a current one. During a recent Nintendo Direct video, Nintendo of Japan announced they will be bringing an AR Pokemon game to the 3DS and they would be updating the Pokedex to feature all of the Pokemon currently available.

Today, Nintendo of America announced those games would be coming over here to celebrate the launch of Pokemon Black 2 and Pokemon White 2. Sometime this fall Pokemon Dream Radar and Pokedex 3D Pro will be hitting the eShop. The former uses the Nintendo 3DS cameras and allows you to catch Pokemon in real world environments. Those captured monsters can then be transferred into the RPG series. You’ll use the 3D camera and the gyroscope controls to shoot beams at pokemon in order to catch them. Nintendo even says there will be some very hard to find creatures so you’ll have plenty of incentive to capture them.

Pokedex 3D Pro is a paid update to the currently free Pokedex that will update it to include all 600+ pokemon that are currently available making it even easier to access the useful information. This pokedex will feature all of the characters in full 3D and will have comprehensive entries that will give you information on what they can learn, their strenghts and weaknesses. Best of all, every pokemon will be unlocked from the start with no need to revisit the software everyday to unlock more.

The release date and pricing of these titles have not yet been announced for North America.

Unchained Blades is going to be one of the first retail 3DS games to make the move to the eShop.  XSEED is publishing the game and I’m really looking forward to the release of this one.  It’s a dungeon crawler that looks like it’s going to use the 3DS stereoscopic screen to show off some nice looking environments.  Over in Japan the 3DS version of the game sold just over 5,000 copies in its first week.  Hopefully the move to digital will allow it to stay on people’s radar a little longer over here.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The eShop has a listing for Kirby’s Block Ball that shows the release date to be 5/17/12, which just happens to be next Thursday.  I’ve been buying up original Game Boy games on the 3DS left and right and will most definitely be adding this game to the collection.  I’ve never played the game, but it looks very interesting.

What Game Boy or Game Boy Advance games are you waiting for to show up in the Virtual Console?  Will Shelby keep his vow of not buying VC games until they’re tied to an account?  We’ll find out next week.

Long ago in the spirit world, the god Ketzal ruled with harmony and justice. Suddenly, the evil god Koruptal broke in and stole all of his power, countless numbers of hearts, and scattered them across the land wreaking havoc on the spirit world. Now Ketzal’s loyal servant Xolo has set out in search of the powerful guardians who can recover Ketzal’s hearts and bring harmony back to the spirit world. 

What You Need to Know

Ketzal’s Corridors is a puzzle game developed by Keys Factory and published by Nintendo, it was released as a digital download in the 3DS’s eShop on April 12th, 2012. This game has an “on rails Tetris” style of gameplay where you have to rotate and move your “guardian” (puzzle piece) through openings in a wall using the Circle Pad, face and R buttons. There are other elements to the gameplay like collecting hearts for higher scores and making “tricks” where you line up the piece in every available slot before passing thru the wall for multipliers. In most of the corridors that you will play through, there is a time limit to beat or you will fail that particular mission.

Read more…

What happens when we don’t play any games and there is no news?  We make a short show.  We barely manage to fill an hour this week due to the E3 drought and life keeping us from playing games.  During the news we talk about how games don’t make any money unless it’s called Call Of Duty.  Also, Micah almost ODs on food, Tony threatens to hurt his cats and I complain about bugs in my house.  Oh gad, is E3 here yet?

episode-115
Starring – Tony, Micah, Shelby
Run time – 1:08:41

If you have something you want to ask us, send an email to podcast@nintendo-okie.com.  The Question Block has returned so be sure to listen to that show.  You can also join our forum to talk to us.  You can follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook group.  Last but not least is our YouTube channel.  Subscribe.  Subscribe!

Call of Duty: Black Ops II was officially confirmed this week through a trailer that appeared during the NBA Finals.  It’s no secret that when November rolls around there’s going to be another game in the series.  This year it’s Treyarch’s turn to take the lead on the game.  The two platforms the game isn’t confirmed on is the Wii/U and the 3DS.  Activision has been asked about the game on those platforms, but won’t commit to anything just yet.

PressFire conducted an interview with Treyarch exec. Mark Lamia and asked him if they were going to be putting the game out on a Nintendo platform.  His response?

“Ah! We’re not.. we’re only talking about the other platforms at this time.”

That’s basically the standard answer for we’re working on it, but I can’t say that we’re working on it.  Is it a confirmation?  Not in any way, but it leads me to believe the game is coming out on a Nintendo system of some sort.  Want more proof?

“But here’s what I can tell you: Treyarch has a long tradition of working on the Nintendo platforms. A long tradition.”

That definitely leads me to believe the game will be coming.  Which Nintendo platform do I think it will come to?  I would wager to guess it will be Wii U.  I would think that Treyarch really wants to get this on all of the HD systems and do what they can to avoid the game being significantly different across all three platforms.  Typically the Nintendo releases have had some content removed for space and system horsepower reasons.  Treyarch doesn’t typically do the development on the handheld versions so it just seems to make sense.

I’ve liked Treyarch for a long time.  I thought they handled Nintendo platforms better than most of the development teams at Activision.  They actually cared about the fans on the system even though everyone knew the game wasn’t going to be as big as the 360 or PS3 versions.  They put out the games on Nintendo systems when Infinity Ward couldn’t be bothered, even if they came two years late.

Florida-based developer n-Space has been handling the handheld versions of the franchise for the last few years and if there was a 3DS version of the game, I think they would handle that development.

The digital rewards train continues for Club Nintendo members.  It’s a new month and that means new games available to redeem your coins on.  This month we get four new titles.

Art Style: Pictobits (150 Coins) (DSiWare)
Snowpack Park (150 Coins) (WiiWare)
3DS Classics: Urban Champion (150 Coins) (eShop)
Eco Shooter: Plant 350 (200 Coins) (WiiWare)

These new rewards should be available through May 31st when a new set will go up.  All you need to do is log into Club Nintendo and click on the picture of the game you want to redeem it.  It will give you a code that you can then put into either the WiiWare store or the 3DS eShop.  None of the rewards are available for DSiWare owners.

I think the Art Style game looks interesting and I might be willing to drop 150 coins on 3D Classics: Urban Champion.