Nintendo's New Releases

We check out the latest from Nintendo.

Nintendo doesn’t often come to our shores, but when they do, they do it in style. The Wharf on Northcote Point, Auckland (yes, Suzanne Paul’s unsuccessful project), was the venue for their “Passport to Summer” game preview evening recently. Mary Lambie was MC and they even threw in a few Shortland Street-ers for good measure. Nice to see Nintendo branching out past the usual industry-only invites, with people from Idealog magazine and retail stores.

The Nintendo build-up to Christmas includes Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box and Wii fit Plus, Super Mario Bros Wii (released 15 November), Style Boutique and The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks (see our hands-on preview).

Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box for the DS is the second in this series of puzzle games. There are over 150 brain teasers in this game including riddles, mazes and logic puzzles. The main gist of the game is that Prof Layton and his apprentice Luke are trying to find out who or what caused the death of Layton’s mentor. While conducting their investigation, they encounter puzzles wherever they go – on the train, in town, when chatting to people, and checking out items by tapping on them with the stylus.
Some puzzles are a lot easier than others, but it’s something you can come and go from and save for another time if you’re not feeling it. New puzzles are available to download each week via Nintendo Wi-Fi for the first 33 weeks after the game’s launch (so roughly till about the end of April 2010).

Hours of fun, plus good over the summer holidays to keep certain people quiet.

Release date: available now.

Wii Fit Plus is getting serious about your exercise. But in a fun way. There’s 50 per cent more content and over 60 exercises in this upgrade to the original Wii Fit. New features include estimates of calories burned, the ability to customise work-out routines, weigh your pets or children, 15 new balance games (including an obstacle course, golf driving range, rhythm kung fu and Segway circuit), and new advanced muscle exercises and yoga poses. For those who already own Wii Fit, all saved data will transfer to Wii Fit Plus once the new software is inserted. The full package with balance board will also be available.
Release date: available now.

New Super Mario Bros. Wii is so much like the original Super Mario Bros (which I played to death on the old Super Nintendo) that die-hard fans will not be disappointed. Yoshi, gold coins, scrolling platform levels, naughty little mushrooms, pipes and more. This is the first true classic Mario Bros game designed specifically for the Wii.

A great new feature for this Mario is multiplayer mode. Play with up to four people, help them out, ditch them off the side or eat them up with Yoshi’s tongue. Extra players can jump into the game at any time.

Other new features are the propeller suit, which flings Mario into the air with a flick of the Wii remote, and the ability to change the little guy into Penguin Mario. If you get stuck on one spot enough times, the Super Guide feature pops up and Luigi can show you an easy route. For seasoned Mario players, there are the hidden tricks, power-ups and co-op techniques to provide the extra challenge.

Release date: 12 November 2009.

The game I was most interested in checking out was Nintendo Presents Style Boutique. This isn’t just a flimsy fashion game – according to Nintendo, it’s a “solid business proposition”, with an equally solid male fan base in Japan. The game starts off with you as sales assistant, choosing from over 10,000 items to stock in the clothing store. You also have to decide on the interior design and what music to play, all while managing the store’s budget.
Customers come in with requests and the amount of money they’ve got to spend and it’s your job to kit them out in a winning outfit. If the customer is pleased they may come back for more. If they’re not so happy they’ll walk out without a sale. The more customers you please, the more successful your shop will become, as you work your way up to owning your own store.

Release date: 19 November 2009

- By Kat Ryan