TR THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: OVERKILL

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 Shake Your
Booty 34
Old meets new in
Wario Land: Shake
It!, the amazing 2-D
action-platformer
powered by Wii
motion controls.

Date with
Destiny 42
We spend some time
with Time Hollow,
a classic-style DS
adventure with a
temporal twist.

Dead on Target 46 WARIO LAND: SHAKE IT!

Get your first
gruesome look at The
House of the Dead:
Overkill, Sega’s new
Wii-exclusive zombie
Zapper.

Reach for
the Stars 50
A star is reborn with
Kirby Super Star Ultra,
a feature-heavy DS
remake of the Super
NES classic.

The Big 15 54 Hm. a. 4

In this preview ч : £ : 9 Й
special, we present E А à ull :
the titles that will 3 =s THE HOUSE OF THE DEAD: OVERKILL
define Wii and DS
gaming this fall and
beyond.

THE BIG 15 KIRBY SUPER STAR ULTRA

02 NINTENDO POWER
 NE jtd| Gites Р
Vd quw y ⁄
K
^ Chant: YМое Chosen и
EXTRA PARTY Р

THE FIRST OF THE TRILOGY AVAILABLE

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008
http://na.square-enix.co
m/zenithia m 4

n".
 CONTENTS

Pulse Animal Crossing: City Folk (Wii)

Art of Fighting 2 (VC)
Avalon Code (DS)
Call of Duty: World at War (Wii).
News Judgment (Wii)
Order of Ecclesia (DS)

Wii Channels The Conduit (Wii)

Cooking Guide: Can't Decide What to Eat? (DS)
Crash: Mind over Mutant (Wii)
Cursed Mountain (Wii)

Previews de Blob (Wii)

Disgaea DS (DS)
Crash: Mind over Mutant Donkey Kong 3 (VC)
de Blob Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS)
Lock's Quest Duke Nukem Trilogy (DS)
Facebreaker KO Party (Wii
Master
oftheMonster Lair Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli (Wii, DS)
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 Gley Lancer (VC)
Onechanbara: Gradius ReBirth (WW)
Bikini Zombie Slayers Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (DS)
Samba de Amigo Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility (Wii)
The House of the Dead: Overkill (Wii)
Secret Files: Tunguska
King of the Monsters (VC)
Tornado Kirby Super Star Ultra (DS)
ultimate Band Lock's Quest (DS)
Luminous Arc 2 (DS)
MadWorld (Wii)
Major League Eating: The Game (WW)
20 Years of Major Minor's Majestic March (Wii)
Mario Super Sluggers (Wii)

Nintendo Power Master of the Monster Lair (DS)

Mega Man 9 (WW)
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 (Wii)
Ninja Commando (VC)
Power Profiles Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers (Wii)
Pirates: The Key of Dreams (WW)
SAMBA DE AMIG! Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia (DS)
Pong Toss! Frat Party Games (WW)
Playback Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation (DS)
Red Steel 2 (Wii)
Rhythm Heaven (DS)
Rune Factory Frontier (Wii)
Sweepstakes Sam & Max Season One (Wii)
Samba de Amigo (Wii)
Secret Files: Tunguska (DS)
Shadowrun (SNES)
Reviews SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 (Wii)
Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (DS)
Disgaea DS
Dragon Quest IV:
SPRay (Wii)
Chapters of the Chosen Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (DS)
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii)
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Super Fantasy Zone (VC
Pirelli (DS)
Tetris Party (WW)
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play (Wii)
Pirelli (Wii)
Time Hollow (DS)
Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility Tornado (DS)
Mario Super Sluggers Ultimate Band (Wii)
Pop Cutie! Street Fashion Simulation Wario Land: Shake
It!(Wii)
Wii Music (Wii)
Sam & Max Season 0ne
Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
Star Wars: The Force
Unleashed (DS)
Star Wars: The Force NINTENDO DS NEWS Ш
Unleashed (Wii) SUPER NINTENDO. CHANNELS
ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 All-Play PREVIEW В
VIRTUAL CONSOLE
FEATURE
Wii
: PLAYBACK В
Community WiiWare
REVIEW

Next Month
MARIO SUPER SLUGGERS

04 NINTENDO POWER
 тту ay
[LET ТЕБ б]
July's ЕЗ still has everyone buzzing about the games that were—and
weren't—shown, and recent Nintendo Power exclusives Mega Man 9 and
Sonic and the Black Knight continue to be a hot topic of discussion. This
month's question: which series would you pick to get a Mega Man 9-type
retro treatment? Send your opinions to the address on page 8!

CONFOUNDING CLUES Everyone, I want you to memorize

Old Made New

Why did you have to put that stupid what Tim and Beaks just said,
message at the end of Volume because it's the smartest thing
231?! I'm talking about this part you'll read all week. How cool
of your Next Month page: “..fit for would it be to get another NES-

As someone who is as aking. It's got a lot of heart. Just

Kidding...” | can't tell if you are
style Zelda, or a new SNES-era
RPG? The possibilities are end-
mr hooked on classic games as kidding or not, and that message less. Everyone buy Mega Man 9—if

гат on today's new block- drove me wild because I'm dying

for more info on Kingdom Hearts
it's a huge success, maybe other
game developers will take note!
busters, I'm absolutely loving 358/2 Days. Don't lead us on

this new trend of mixing old-school gam- another wild goose chase like your
last one (the one with the moon—
ing and new-school technology. Mega you know what I'm talking about!).
HOTROD409
Man 9 merges NES-style action with Heh, sorry, Hotrod—considering
WiiWare's modern download service; that our Next Month page is usu-

Wario Land: Shake It! uses Wii-powered ally written at 2am on the day of
our deadline, you've got to let us
graphics and motion controls to breathe enjoy ourselves a little. So far,

new life into 2-D platforming; this though, all of the clues we've
dropped on those pages have
For NES kids of the '805,
month's featured DS title, Time Hollow, had the simplest answers: the
Capcom's new retro-style Mega
Man 9 is like a time-machine
refreshes the classic PCstyle adventure moon hinted at Castlevania, and
the close-up of Sonic's back with
trip back to your youth.
genre; beloved RPGs like Dragon Quest the sword related to Sonicand

IV and Final Fantasy IV have been re- the Black Knight. That's why we COUPLE QUARREL
get a kick out of folks who over- 1was playing Super Smash Bros.
imagined for DS; and even a modern-day examine Next Month like it's the Brawl with my boyfriend when

classic like Wii Sports is set for a stunning Zapruder film. | mean, if we were
going to drop a bomb as bigasa
we started to argue over the
pronunciation of the Deku Nut.
makeover thanks to new superaccurate new Kingdom Hearts game, we'd Granted, it's the most pointless

Wii MotionPlus controls. just tell you, right? Or... would we?
Of course we would. I think.
item in Ocarina of Time, but is it
pronounced "Deh-ku" or "Day-
The innovative features of the DS and ku?" (I think it's the first.)
Wii—and sometimes even the limitations VIVA LA RETRO Ocarina of Time is my all-time
REVOLUTION favorite game. The first time 1
of these systems—have pushed game |just got a look at Mega Man 9 for watched my brother play it back

creators to, well, get creative. Ina Wii, and as soon as | picked my jaw
up off the floor, | ran to my com-
in the N64 days, it was magical. |
remember seeing Zora's Domain
market where you can’t simply take last puter to write you guys. Looking at and being amazed at how beautiful
year’s game and tack on HD graphics, MM? took me back to when games
were simple but a blast to play. |
the setting was. I'm currently
tryingtobeat the game with only
developers have to work harder and wish all of the other old franchises three hearts since I've played

smarter for success. This issue we spot- that are still around would go back
to the 8-bit style.
through it at least five times and
have everything memorized. Might
light the 15 Wii and DS titles that stand TIM as well up the challenge! Anyway,

to do the best job of pushing gaming, Mega Man 9-fantastic idea! Its
please help resolve our debate!
LAURA О.
and Nintendo’s hardware, into bold new retro design is revolutionary and Laura, you are indeed correct:

areas this fall and beyond. Turn to page should be taken further with many
more new games in the style of the
the famed nut is pronounced
“Deh-ku.” Coincidentally, it's
54 and get ready to be happy! classics. Let me be the first to offer a little-known fact that the
up the idea of another game that “Power” in Nintendo Power is
many fans would no doubt love to pronounced “Pow-WARRR!”, with
see: Super Mario Bros. 4. a kind of panther growl at the
CHRIS SLATE EDITOR IN CHIEF BEAKS end. Tell your friends!

6 NINTENDO POWER
 Animal Crossing: City
Folk and Wii Sports
Resort took center
stage at this year's E3
while Mario, Link, and
® samus took a breather.

gotten
new Zelda, Mario, Smash
How pumped are you about Bros ‚ Mario Kart, and Metroid
Animal Crossing: City Folk? The games~it’s simply too soon to ex
minute I saw the preview from E3, pect follow-ups. Despite what you
I immediately fell in love with it. thought of the press conference
I'm counting down the days until it (1, like many of you who wrote in,
comes out! What about you guys? think Animal Crossing: City Folk
AYANFE and Wii Sports Resort both look | Swear that Nin endo Power 15 turn-
Гуе been a Nintendo fan all my life
fantastic), there's a slew of great
Wii and DS titles on the way. (Turn
ing into Sega Visions [Sega’s official
and have been greatly satisfied to our “Від 15" feature on page 54 magazine in th e early '90s]. Volumes
with every one of its consoles.
At ЕЗ, though, I'm afraid that
to feel the love.)
231 and 232 ha d bacicto-back Sega
Nintendo was the only company covers for the irst time in Nintendo
that didn't really appeal to hard-
core fans like me. I mean, half of
| just got back From a Portland
Beavers baseball game, where,
Power history; that's three Sega cov-
the press conference was about along with, "Chaaarge!" and ers so far in 2008, and the year isn't
Wii Music and Wii Sports Resort,
with only a mere mention of Mario
"Let's go Beavers," the announcer
played two Mario songs! In the
over yet. (Shenmue Ill, anyone?)
and Zelda. | hope to see more fourth Inning, the speakers FEWELLJAY
games for hardcore Nintendo fans. blasted the underwater theme Hey, it’s a great time to bea Sega fan! After some ups and downs
JEFFREY M. from Super Mario Bros., and later, over the years, the company's game lineup has been getting bet-
Asa hardcore gamer myself, I justaftera player stole second ter and better. This year's three Sega covers—Sonic Chronicles:
would have loved to see a Mario- base, the invincibility tune echoed The Dark Brotherhood, MadWorld, and Sonic and the Black
or-Zelda-type game on stage throughout PGE Park! Do you guys Knight—highlighted three of the most promising new Wii and
at E3. But as Shigeru Miyamoto think this could possibly be linked DS games. And if we thought giving Se: ja another cover could
and other Nintendo reps said at to Mario Super Sluggers for the convince them to make Shenmue III, d certainly do it!
the show, those titles—while in Wii? GO BEAVERS!
the works—just weren't ready COUNT CATERPIE Chris Slate said that Sonic and Adventure an actual playable
to be shown. I think that's fair, That's pretty cool!
| doubt there's the Black Knight looks to further game for more than 10 minutes. So
considering that we've recently a connection to Super Sluggers; I cement the hedgehog's return to please tell me, what is this return
think it just goes to show how big glory. What return to glory was he to glory that Chris speaks of?
an impact Nintendo games have talking about? Did | miss it? I've ADAM O.
had on popular culture. Consider played all the recent Sonic games, I continue to be amazed at how
mea new Beavers fan! including Sonic and the Secret polarizing Sonic is among Гапз-
Rings (Wii), Sonic Rush Adventure many of you simply love him
(DS), and the putrid Sonic the or hate him. It's no secret that
Hedgehog (PS3/Xbox 360), and the hedgehog has been through
| would consider only Sonic Rush rough times, but since his disas-
trous PS3/360 adventure, the
Blue Blur has been on a roll. Sonic
and the Secret Rings was at least
good, if not great; Sonic Rush and
Sonic Rush Adventure were excel-
lent, Bioware's Sonic Chronicles:
The rk Brotherhood looks fan-
tastic, and both Sonic Unleashed
and Sonic and the Black Knight
look promising. (Sonic's brilliant
inclusion in Super Smash Bros.
Brawl gave him a nice bump, too.)
It seems to те that the guy has
definitely earned another chance.

I always see pictures of everyone

Three reasons hedgehog fans should be excited: Sonic Chronicles: The else's Nintendo tattoos in the Pulse
Dark Brotherhood (DS), Sonic Unleashed (Wii), and Sonic and the Black section, but do any of the Nintendo

OCTOBER 2008 7
 LS ae NINTENDO ===

Since when does a game need to Door because it was so different-l

especially liked the option to.
EDITOR IN CHIEF Chris Slate
be rated M to be hardcore? Twilight Switch partners because I like EXECUTIVE EDITOR Steve Thomason
SENIOR EDITOR Chris Hoffman
Princess, Metroid Prime 3, Super having different abilities at hand.
My least favorite is Yoshi's
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Justin Cheng
ART DIRECTOR Chris Imlay
CONTRIBUTING DESIGNER Rebekah Lane
Smash Bros. Brawl, and Super Mario Island. | have nothing against CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Chris Shepperd,
George Sinfield, Casey Loe, Tom Holoien,
Galaxy are all deep action games Yoshi, but it’s Mario’s franchise,
not his. |
just feel like he got a little
Amanda Glasser
COPY EDITOR Candace Cunningham
LICENSING MANAGER Frances Wall Jha
that provide a challenge. Does Wii too much of the spotlight. EDITOR-AT-LARGE Scott Pelland
AUSTIN J
need mindlessly violent games such BUSINESS
PUBLISHER Kelley Corten, 650-745-9225,
kcortenfafutureus.com
as MadWorld for hardcore gamers to My least favorite Mario game EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR David Cooper
646-723-5447, dcooperfafutureus.com
would have to be Mario Kart
take it seriously? I certainly hope not. DS. | wanted much more out of
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR - GAMES GROUP
Nate Hunt, 562-983-8004, nhuntfafutureus.com
REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR [Bay Area}
GORON OF LIGHT it-the graphics were lacking and I Christina Perez, 206-417-3315,

Iwouldn't disagree with you on that point, Goron—hardcore expected there to be bikes.
cperezfafutureus.com
REGIONAL SALES DIRECTOR [Southwest]
gamers look for more than just blood and guts in their games. ОГ My favorite Mario title would Isaac Uguy, 949-218-0981, luguyf@futureus.com
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE Benjamin Alessio
course, as much as I enjoyed every game that you listed, I'm also be Super Paper Mario for Wii—it's 650-238-2324, balessiofafutureus.com
DIRECTOR, CORPORATE SALES&MARKETING
pumped to play MadWorld. To each their own, as they say—that's So awesome. My sisters and | once Jim Schiekofer, 646-723-5410,
jschiekoferfafutureus.com
why developers make a wide variety of titles for every taste. played it until lam. With all of the
CORP. SALES MIDWEST MANAGER Jodi Sosna
fun levels, it's just what you want 212-217-1358, jsosnaf@afutureus.com
out of a Mario game.
CORP. SALES WEST MANAGER Nadine Weiss
Power staff have any wacky/awe- was such a deep experience, 323-493-5929, nweissfafutureus.com
some Nintendo-related tats? especially as a launch title for the RAYMOND AD PROJECT MANAGER Rhoda Ushijima
650-238-2474, rushijimafafutureus.com
THE LOST FANATIC then brand-new N64. There was What a diverse range of tastes! ADVERTISING COORDINATOR
Justin has a full-back image that always something new to discover. Sorry that we couldn't run all of
Arthur St. Germain, 650-238-2571,
astgermainfafutureus.com
works like a Mad magazine fold- Even after the game was finished the emails that you sent in, but MARKETING MANAGER Andrea Recio-Angy
arecio-angfafutureus.com
in: when he pushes his shoulder and I started it anew, it still felt as they would've filled the entire
PRODUCTION
blades together, it creates a full fresh as when | had turned it on for issue. If I had to pick my favorite PRODUCTION COORDINATOR Larry Briseno
map to the Lost Woods in The the first time. | love SM64 simply Mario game, I'd probably go with PRINT ORDER COORDINATOR Jennifer Lim
Legend
of Zelda. Or maybe Ijust because it never gets stale for me. Super Mario World...or Super CIRCULATION
made that up. You'll have to catch My least favorite Mario title Mario Galaxy, depending on what
GROUP CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Peter Kelly
NEWSSTAND DIRECTOR Bill Shewey
him at the beach to be sure! would be probably be any of the dayitwas. It's too hard to choose! ONLINE CONSUMER MARKETING MANAGER
Betsy Wong
later Mario Party games. The BILLING & RENEWAL MANAGER Mike Hill
YOUR FAVORITE AND series was a lot of fun in its early
FULFILLMENT MANAGER Angi Martinez
DIRECT MARKETING SPECIALIST
LEAST FAVORITE days, but it quickly lost its charm Alexandra Davydova
CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER Mike Manrique
MARIO GAMES as each sequel relied far too heav- NEWSSTAND COORDINATOR Alex Guzman

My favorite Mario game is ily on gimmicks to vary things up.

FUTURE US, Inc.
Mario Kart Wii. It has an original CRIMSONZEPHYR — 4000 Shoreline Court,
Ste 400, South San
selection of characters (including
Future Francisco, CA 94080
unlockable drivers like Funky Kong Super Mario World is one of my all- www. futureus-inc.com
and Princess Rosalina), original time favorite games. You get Yoshi
PRESIDENT Jonathan Simpson-Bint
tracks, a nice selection of retro and you get to whup Bowser and VICE PRESIDENT/CFO John Sutton
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHING
courses, and two great battle all of his little Koopa punks! | like DIRECTOR Simon Whitcombe
modes. When I first played it, | all of the Mario games except for
VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHING DIRECTOR
Stacey Levy
came in last because | wasn't used Super Mario Bros. 2; there's no one VICE PRESIDENT, INTERNET DEVELOPMENT
Tyson Daugherty
to Ше Wii Wheel, but soon | got a to save, so there's no point. And if PUBLISHING DIRECTOR/BUS. DEV. Dave Barrow
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/GAMES GROUP
good grip and it was awesome! Peach could kick butt in SMB2, why Stephen Pierce
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/MUSIC Brad Tolinski
My least favorite is Mario Golf: can't she defend herself in the rest DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES
Nancy Durlester
Toadstool Tour. It's still a good ofthe games? This one just throws PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Richie Lesovoy
game, but it can be hard and I'm offthe whole Mario thing! FUTURE PLC
not really a golf fan, anyway. JBOI DA GAMEBOI 30 Monmouth St., Bath, Avon, ВАТ 2BW, England
www futureplc.com
CHRISTIAN D. Tel +44 1225 442244
www futureplc.com
My favorite Mario game has to be NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN: Roger Parry
My least favorite Mario game is Paper Mario: The Thousand Year CHIEF EXECUTIVE: Stevie Spring
GROUP FINANCE DIRECTOR: John Bowman
Hotel Mario; it was really bad. (If Nintendo Power Customer Care
you don't believe me, play it for P.O. Box 5770
Harlan, IA 51593-1270
1-866-941-8368
yourself.) I think that Super Mario For Subscription Problems Only!
Galaxy is the best, although Mario nintendopowerfacdsfulfillment.com,
http://service futureus-inc.com/
Kart Wii might beat it. REPRINTS: Forreprints, contact Reprint
Management Services, 717.399.1900 ext. 100
(NO NAME GIVEN) Game trademarks and copyrights are propertyof
theirrespective owners, TM, ©, the Nintendo 05
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My favorite Mario game is Super © 2008 Nintendo.
ISSN: 1041-9551
Mario 64. I’ve lost count of the
number of hours that I've put Official
into that one over the years. It
Seal

8 NINTENDO POWER
 pOSH THE Rip,
ot

AVAILABLE "3 4‫گ‬ s ‫;‏‬

FALL 8002 2 | ‫‏‬ш
ls •Great $,
More Drawing Techniques vy & Puzzle Modes With Track с
New Line To10015 К “All New Characters, Sto aring

—| |
ки. ius "ees.
Вси PC
PC
EVERYONE

ESRB CONTENT RATING WWW.esrb.org (SOFTWARE

www.LineRider.com
Wi and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo, © 2006 Nintendo. Line Rider © 2008 InXile Entertainment. Artwork©2008 Genius Products, LLC. АЙ Rights Reserved. Distributed by Genius Products, LLC, 2461 Santa Monica Boulevard D-727, Santa Monica, CA90404. Advertising and promotional details are subject to change without notice.
 FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Only Pokémon Can

Prevent Forest Fires!
Wrangle up some new Pokémon and explore an all-new
region in Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia for DS.
For Pokémon fans seeking Pokémon has a special ability adventure, and over the course of
an action-packed spin on their that can help you overcome some the game you'll acquire additional
favorite franchise, Nintendo will challengeinthe game, such as Pokémon (one from each of the 17
deliver Pokémon Ranger: Shadows putting out afire that's blocking Pokémon types and each boasting
of Almia for Nintendo DS this your path, but since these helpful some special ability) that you can
November. This second Pokémon creatures are wild Pokémon, catch establish as your partner at any
Ranger title takes place in a bigger and release is the order of the day. time, giving you unprecedented from the Ranger Union as you
region—Almia is filled with plenty A welcome refinement over new ways to deal with the chal- ascend the ranks from Student
of wilderness in the forms of the original Pokémon Ranger is lenges you'll face. Unlike the wild Ranger status to the coveted title
forests, mountains, deserts, and that you can select your Partner Pokémon that join you for onlya of Top Ranger.
oceans to protect and patrol—with Pokémon at the outset of the limited time, your chosen partner Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of
more Missions than in its 2006 remains your faithful companion Almia was designed specifically for
predecessor, plus new Quests. through thick and thin. Nintendo DS, and like its predeces-
The even bigger news is that it While you explore the vast Sor, it combines stylus-based
features hundreds of Pokémon, Almia region and help people, action and story-driven depth for
including many from Pokémon Pokémon, and even nature, you'll an experience Pokémon fans won't
Diamond and Pokémon Pearl. The rely on friendly Pokémon at every want to miss. The title promises
Capture Styler lies at the heart of turn. Pokémon team members can acompletely new adventure for
the uniquely appealing Ranger use Field Moves to clear obstacles those who have already played
experience: rapidly circling a wild (as well as perform other helpful the original Pokémon Ranger,
Pokémon with the DS stylus allows tasks), and their Poké Assists help and a great alternative to the
you to befriend it so you can add you capture additional Pokémon. traditional RPG format and the
it to your team temporarily. Each Mission goals range from rescuing Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series.
folks lost in the woodsto deliver- -всотт P.
ing packages, and by completing
Quests you'll earn upgrades (which
provide greater energy or new
functions for your Capture Styler)

Fin a

10 NINTENDO POWER
An Illuminating Sequel
Atlus brings Luminous Arc 2 to DS with more strategy,
more witches, and a bonus soundtrack CD.

With its traditional strategic original tactical RPGs for

grid-based gameplay, deep story, the system. Now publisher
and memorable characters, last Atlus has announced
year’s Luminous Arc provided that the sequel
DS owners with one of the best is on its wayto
North America,
featuring the That makes sense.
same core
elements an apparently
that made the otherwise-peaceful
original game kingdom. Specifically,
а success, but the game takes place in the
adding plentiful Kingdom of Carnava, where a
improvements. once-docile witch named Fatima
Although Luminous Arc 2 has rebelled and thrown the coun-
doesn't pick up directly where try into chaos by initiating awar
the first game left off, it is set in known as the Witch Conflict. This
the same world, features some of is where you come in—as Roland, a
the same characters, and centers young squire who obtains special
around the same subject matter— powers, it's up to you and your
evil witches causing trouble for party to restore peace over the
course of 30 chapters and more
than 30 hours of gameplay.
Atlus promises that Luminous
Arc 2 will feature numerous even after you've seen the game's
enhancements over its predeces- multiple endings. Oh, and those
sor, including an improved wacky Kopin intermissions are
interface, better touch-screen back, too.
controls, and amore-challenging In addition, every copy
difficulty level. Yasunori Mitsuda's of Luminous Arc 2 comes in
(of Chrono Trigger fame) Procyon collector's-edition packaging that
Studio is back on board to com- includes a soundtrack CD featuring
pose another rousing soundtrack, music from the game (a first for
and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection DS in North America). Look for it in
online battles will keep you playing stores this November. -CHRIS H.

Back to the Big One

The greatest generation goes on display once again with
Call of Duty: World at War from Activision.

After a brief foray into modern just looks: new weapons such
warfare, the Call of Duty franchise as flamethrowers and larger
delves back into the battles of elements such as kamikaze attacks
World War II with Call of Duty: are justafew additions to this
World at War for Wii. The game installment. In addition to the
explores some of the final kinds of competitive multiplayer
important battles of WWII in both modes that have set the Call of
The Wii version
the European and Pacific theaters Duty franchise apart from other
from the viewpoint of American
of World at War
World War Il games, World at War
also supports the
marines and Russian soldiers. introduces a co-op mode allowing
Wii Zapper. It's
By buildingon Call of Duty 4's two players to work together
technology, developer Treyarch to execute tactical maneuvers.
nice to see that
lookstomaintain
the series’ World at War takes the Call of
more games are
making use of
reputation for top-notch graphics, Duty franchise once more into the
the peripheral.
but the advancements go beyond breach this fall. -CHRIS SH.

ocroser 2008 11
 | + Я!
The Prophecies
Were True!
Crack the Avalon Code to rewrite the future, one page at a time.

After toiling for years on the world around you. That book is the
excellent remakes of Final Fantasy only hope for re-creating the world
Ill and IV, the talented developers at after its impending destruction, but

Turkey à la DS Matrix are ready to reveal their first

original DS title. It looks every bit
that doesn’t mean you can’t have
alittle fun with it. As you record
as lovely as their games for Square data about your world you can doa
Nintendo's megahit digital cookbook is coming stateside
Enix, but swaps the turn-based little editing, weakening monsters
just in time for Thanksgiving dinner.
battles for real-time combat and or erasing deadly diseases from
replaces the linear RPG storytelling your friends, ensuring that the new
The DS culinary aid that new recipe ideas by looking
with a very imaginative hook. world turns out a little bit more to
found its way into a million up whatever ingredients are
Your hero begins the game by your liking. We'll see if Matrix can
Japanese kitchens is coming lying around in the fridge.
discovering the Book of Prophecy, pull off this very ambitious idea
to North America as Cooking I'll just have to hope that this
aninitially blank tome that can be when publisher XSEED deciphers
Guide: Can't Decide What to quarter-ton of homegrown zuc-
filled with information about the the Avalon Code for North
Eat? (That's a working title, by chini keeps until November....
American audiences in early '09.
the way.) Cooking Guide isn't —CASEY L.
—CASEY L.
merely a cookbook with more
than 200 recipes, but a full-on
cooking tutorial complete with
training videos, ingredient
checklists, nutritional informa-
tion, and a dozen other useful
reference materials. If you
don't want to get your DS dirty
while you cook, you can even
DE KORN |
set itdown and flip through
the pages of your recipe with 4
$
simple voice commands. Cooks КЫН |
|
can adjust the recipes to fit
their dietary needs and desired

Back]
quantities, take notes in the
£ 1000-10000
margins, and—best of all—find

Wii's Strange Harvest High-altitude

XSEED is prepping Rune Factory Frontier for
a U.S. release, flying whales and all.
Horror
Deep Sliver announced that
it's working on a Wii-exclusive
The Rune Factory series has grown from a
survival horror game entitled
Harvest Moon spin-off to a franchise of its own,
Cursed Mountain for a 2009
offering both turnip-cultivation with a magical
release. The game will take
twist and a healthy dose of old-fashioned monster- you please. Those with a taste for action will find a
place in the Himalayas and
slaying. Frontier focuses strongly on player whole island full of it, on the back of a mysterious
feature a gesture-based
freedom, allowing you to divide your time between whale that periodically flies through the sky.
combat system. Check back
farming, adventuring, and wife-hunting however The jump from DS to Wii has, not surprisingly,
Н : next issue for more details.
brought dramatic graphical upgrades to Rune 5 9 ea
Factory, but that's not the only trick the platform
has in store. You'll also be able to use the Wii remote
to pantomime a wide variety of actions, from tilling
the land to shaking your neighbor's hand. You'll
even use it to court your lady friends, although I'm
not sure | want to know how. Those who do can find
out when Rune Factory Frontier arrives in the first
quarter of the new year. -CASEY L.

12 NINTENDO POWER
Puke with Pleasure
Tecmo presents SPRay, a promising new Wii-exclusive
adventure sure to make you spew.

One of the few surprises at this year's E3 was SPRay, an original

action-platformer from Tecmo and developer EKO Software. The
game stars an eccentric hero named Spirited Prince Ray who can
summon a pair of liquid-squirting spirits. It's every bit as unset-
tlingasit sounds. Among the fluids toemanate from your com-
panions are water, oil, slime, antimatter, and of course, vomit.
Your viscous repertoire is used to both combat enemies (in
concert with Ray's sword) and navigate environmental puzzles.
Slime lets you sticktowalls and jump higher, for instance, while
vomit exposes invisible platforms. (Why slime can't also serve
that purpose is a question probably best left unanswered.) The
Wii remote's pointer is used extensively, not only for aiming your
liquids, but for lots of other little things such as drawing symbols
to open certain doors. In addition to the single-player quest,
Tecmo promises a bevy of multiplayer minigames. Consider us
both intrigued and moderately disturbed by this holiday 2008
release. -STEVE T.

EVERYONE

Comic Mischief
Mild Cartoon Violence
 Rubik's World The Game 10/08 Imagine Babysitters Ubisoft 10/08
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Runaway: The Dream of FocusHome — TBA econ 1се New York
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Dance Dance Revolution Konami 9/08 Meet Nance banal ЧЧ Ninjatown SowhPeak 10/08
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14 NINTENDO POWER
RED TEXT = TITLES ADDED THIS MONTH *TENTATIVE TITLE NOTE: RELEASE DATES OFTEN CHANGE
EVERYONE _
© Comic Mischief -
ESRB CONTENT RATING ШИШИ —
=

BANDAI
«M \/
 Е я ер. са
Нар Starting with an abandoned `
{ farm, a handful of seeds, апа `
ра Ше determination to start a new life,

'& b
|I want to be a great
№ LWE i į rancher. Does that sound
Í
VISA i || strange? 2
Serious Fun?
www:natsume:com

Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. ©2004 Nintendo. Harvest Moon, Natsume and Serious Fun are registered trademarks of Natsume Inc. ~ — eee
©2008 Natsume Inc. ©2008 Marvelous Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association
 Can you grow/crops;inurture
animals апа па a way;to restore
magic and natural wonders?,
Sow the seedsiof/destiny/inithis
first farming[adventure
for the Nintendo Wii! и

ЦИТАУД
| 2
Serious Fun?

EVERYONE |
Alcohol Reference |
Comic Mischief

CONTENT RATING wuww.esrh.org |

Wii and the Wii logo are trademarks of Nintendo. ©2006 Nintendo. Harvest Moon, Natsume and Serious Fun are registered trademarks of
Natsume Inc. ©2008 Natsume Inc. ©2008 Marvelous Entertainment Inc. All Rights Reserved. The ratings icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.
 <

Classic favorites are the stars of this month's Channels

section. Tetris is back in a big way, we've got more on
Mega Man 9, and even Gradius puts in an appearance.

In This

From Russia With Love

Section

TetrisParty

Mega Man The mother of all puzzle sames, Tetris, returns on

9's Hironobu
Takeshita WilWare with an unprecedented number of modes.
So you think you know modes as well, such as Field mode with larger, simpler multiplayer options; luckily,
Gradius ReBirth Tetris? “Sure,” you say—after Climber (in which you have to blocks is also on tap, and Tetris Party has that covered.
all, the classic Russian-born, arrange your blocks to allow a there's even a mode that lets Up to four players can
block-dropping, line-clearing little charactertoclimb to the you control your blocks with compete on one Wii console
puzzle game has been top of the playfield, collecting the Wii Balance Board—you (in either free-for-all or team
around for ages and is still flags along the way), Shadow shift your weight to the left or variations) and up to six
basically the standard-bearer (in which you use the blocks right to move your pieces in players can compete simulta-
in the genre. But Tetris Party to match the shapes of vari- the desired direction, squat neously online. Most modes
(coming to WiiWare this fall) is ous objects, such as an apple to rotate, and shift forward or are available in multiplayer
going to offer a lot more than or ahamburger), and Stage backward to drop your piece. variants, and you can turn on
the same old thing. Racer (in which you must It's crazy but it works. power-ups (such as smoke
Developed by Hudson and maneuver a block through an Of course, you can't put that blocks an opponent's
published by Tetris Online autoscrolling course without the word Party in a title view or
the line-kick item that
Inc., Tetris Party features getting stuck). A beginner unless the game has robust eliminates any five lines on
a whopping 18 modes of your or an opponent's field)
play. Marathon mode is your to add to the fun. If you'd
standard single-player Tetris rather make love than war,
game; you select your Mii then you can opt for a co-op
avatar, your background, and mode featuring an extrawide
your music (choices include playfield.
several classic Tetris tunes), Whether you knew Tetris
then use the falling blocks before or not, Tetris Party
to create and eliminate lines will get you acquainted with
through 15 increasingly the perennial puzzle favorite
difficult levels. in ways you never thought
But that's just the of.This just might be the
beginning-Tetris Party definitive console version of
features several all-new Tetris. -CHRIS H.

ART OF FIGHTING 2
CHASE H.Q.
DONKEY KONG 3
GLEY LANCER
As you can tell by the icon on the screen, you can
KING OF THE
MONSTERS play Tetris Party with the Balance Board. Crank up
NINJA COMMANDO the difficulty and give yourself a workout!
SUPER FANTASY
ZONE

18 oro rower
 Ec

||уx 3
ioe X

Build your own city. Play with it to make it perfect. Then crush it to bits.
Set loose the monsters. Call in the aliens. Summon the perfect storm.
And when there's nothing left but rubble, rebuild. simcity.com/creator

EVERYONE
Alcohol Reference
Tobacco Reference
7 | БИЧЕ ШӘ p S
Mild Violence
Iur Mild Language
ESRB
Wii Channels

Second Coming
Producer Hironobu Takeshita shares his thoughts on
Not content
with just
creating an
NES-style
Mega Man's WiiWare rebirth. game,
Capcom has
also сге-
When Capcom unveiled Mega Man 9—an all-new WiiWare Mega Man game
ated some
created in the style of the Blue Bomber's Classic NES adventures—you could
NES-style
practically hear the gasps of hardcore gamers around the world. For the
artwork for
Mega Man faithful it was a dream come true: their weapon-acquiring hero returning
Мера Мап
to his roots. And Mega Man 9 does more than look the part; it truly feels like a vintage
9. And by
Mega Man game, and it's got the insane difficulty level to match. (In fact, it's probably harder
NES-style
than any NES Mega Man release.) But that hasn't stopped us from enjoying the game. The
art, we
more we play it, the more we like it, and the more eager we become for the game's fall release.
mean it's so
If you read our article in Vol. 231 then you already know that Mega Man creator Keiji
intentional-
Inafune is heavily involved in the project, but he isn't making the game alone. We recently
ly bad that
caught up with producer Hironobu Takeshita (who was also the produceron Zack &Wiki:
it's good.
Quest for Barbaros’ Treasure) to learn more about Mega Man 9. -CHRIS H.

what appropriate to the NES style, so For me personally, what sticks out Wasit Gyroman?
exactly is your role on Mega we had to redo at least half of it most in my mind was playing Mega I think it was Gyroman, but I'm not
Man 9? because of that. And the character Man 5 and how |just played that so sure. I'm not sure if |can't remem-
im movements, the animation—it was much when I was younger trying ber it, or if my brain is choosing
the producer of Mega Man 9, so too good for an NES style, so we to beat it. One of the bosses-l not to remember the trauma!
basically I'm in charge of making had to redo that as well. can't remember which one it was
sure everything got done on the exactly, but |remember him giving Those old games were definitely
project, and more specifically 1 What has your personal experi- me so much trouble. | had to keep hard. So is Mega Man 9. I think
was tasked with making sure that ence been like, as a gamer, with trying over and over again to beat it's harder than any of the old
Mr. Inafune's vision for making an Mega Man? him. ones! What was your approach
NES-style Mega Man game was tothe difficulty?
kept and realized. Our aim with Mega Man was to
create something that emulates
How did the collaboration with the original series, specifically 1
Mr. Inafune work? and 2, because those were pretty
Working with Inafune on this, his challenging. From a controls per-
idea was to create an NES-style spective it's pretty simple; it's not
game. So for us, one of the first hard at all. The hard part comes
things we did was with the boss from the levels themselves and
design, and Inafune would come in the design of those levels. In each
and show us how you could create stage there are hints about how to
this simple boss character-and it get through the stage. The trick is
wasn't overly detailed or anything, you have to be able to find them...
but it looked really good—and he So you do one stage, you die 20
showed us how to keep it simple. times, the 21st time you finally
He came in and told us that most of succeed and say, “Oh, that's the
what we had was not right, wasn't way to go in this stage!"

Thereare items you can buy if

From lethal lava to shadowy clones, Mega Man
you get really stuck, right?
9% filledwith challenging hazards.
There are some items available
that will assist you in-game
and help make it feel a little bit
easier when you're playing it.
unfortunately, that's kind ofa
secret right now. I can't really say
much about that.

I just couldn't get past the part

in Jewelman's stage where you
have to get into the hole beneath
the pendulum in the room full of
spikes. Any pointers?

CONTINUED ON P. 22
20 sunrenvo rower
 LAUNGH
v А Cí

Paint t y and smash your way. Dodge ink cannons, flatten МАКС,
past Inky enemies to free your friends. tanks and outsmart Inky soldiers.
EVERYONE
D | IN STORES
Е Mild Cartoon Violence 9.22.08 (mobile game / FFU ; /
DEBLOB.COM bluetongue www.thq.com
Wii Channels
DOWNLOAD
STATION
CONTINUED FROM P. 20

Was that at the beginning of the stage this female boss.

or the end?
What can you tell me about Protoman
It was the end for me! It was the sec- beinga playable character?
ond set of pendulums. Ican't get into much detail about
Oh! That's pretty difficult. Actually, | Protoman, but we thought about him,
haven't got past that part myself! Maybe and he's connected to the game. You'll
it's not so good that I said that. just have to look forward to what we
have in store for you.
So where did the boss concepts come
from? Is there anything else you want to say
For Mega Man 9 what we did first was about the game or say to Mega Man's
come up with the stage designs and fans?
think about the game world itself and Mr. Inafune said, “Why are we doing an
what it's going to look like. Then for the 8-bit game? Because we want to bring
eight main stages you want to think of back that simple style of game that was
how they're going to be different and fun for everyone." And I don't want
then bosses that are appropriate for people to think of it as an 8-bit-graphics
each of those stages. The key is to make game, but as an artistic style. So this
each stage different and challenging game is a certain style that we want to
in its own way so it's not repetitious. do. And if it's successful, | hope we can
For the bosses specifically, Mr. Inafune do other NES-style games. That's what
came up with the idea of afemale boss our hope is at Capcom,so if you want to
[Splashwoman]. We thought it would be see more games like this, we need the
kind of a surprise to the players to see support of the fans!

Beds of
spikes, such
as this one in
Hornetman’s
stage, are
deadly to Grumble Grumble
the touch.
Overcoming
such treach-
erous obsta-
cles is part of
the fun!

A Classic Reborn
Capcom isn’t the only company that’s bringing a classic franchise to WiiWare with
old-school flair. Konami of Japan recently announced that Gradius—one of the titles
that helped define the side-
scrolling-shooter genre—will
be making the jump in the form
of Gradius ReBirth. Konami
hasn't revealed much about
the game yet or even officially
announced if it will be coming
to North America (although we
have a good feeling that it will),
but we'll bring you more details
as they become available.
—CHRIS H.

22 NINTENDO POWER
Virtual Console Virtual Console Virtual Console WANTED
Earthbound remains
Steadyasarockinthe
readers' top spot as their
most-wanted Virtual
Console game. Their sub-
sequent picks remained
predictable as well, except
CHASE Н.О. DONKEY KONG3 GLEY LANCER for fifth place, which saw

FIGHTING 2 PLATFORM: TURBOGRAFX16 PLATFORM: NES PLATFORM: GENESIS

The Legend of Zelda:
Majora's Mask overtake
PLATFORM: NEOGEO PUBLISHER: TAITO PUBLISHER: NINTENDO PUBLISHER: NCS
Chrono Trigger. Both the
PUBLISHER: D4/SNK GENRE: RACING GENRE: ACTION GENRE: SHOOTER
readers and editors have
GENRE: FIGHTING ORIGINAL RELEASE: 1992 ORIGINAL RELEASE: 1986 ORIGINAL RELEASE: 1992
remained loyal to their
ORIGINAL RELEASE: 1994
A pair of Crockett-and- Stanley the exterminator, Part of what makes this picks for the last several
With characters that show Tubbs-esque cops race the hero of Donkey Kong3, side-scrolling shooter months, so to shake things
damage апа ап interesting down endless stretches never went on to the fame stand out from the many up, next issue we're going
special-move mechanic of road to catch fleeing and glory of his monkey- others already available is to focus on the most-
(special moves consume criminals—it's a cool stopping predecessor, the amount of customiza- wanted titles for only one
energy, becoming less premise for a racing game, and with good reason-his tion it offers. You can system. First up: the Sega
powerful the more you use but the experience can be game isn’t nearly as good. choose how your two Genesis. What games do
them), Art of Fighting 2has pretty darn frustrating. Running back and forth on assisting gun pods operate you want from the house
some interesting ideas. You’ve only got 60 seconds a platform and shooting and you can alter your that Sonic built?
Sadly, the actual fighting to chase down your target bug spray up DK’s keister ship’s speed on the fly. The
fundamentals aren't as while trying to drive a simply isn’t as compelling cinema scenes are defi- READERS’ MOST WANT!
solid as they are in other sports car with poor steer- as jumping and climbing to nitely pretty, but the fact 1 Earthbound (Super NES)
fighting games—these ing while random cars, stop the big ape’s shenani- that you have to go into the 2 Mother (NES/Japan only)
characters are more fun litter, road signs, and other gans. DK3 does, however, Operations Guide to get 3 Super Mario RPG: Legend
to play with in King of obstacles impede your provide an interesting bit the English translation is of the Seven Stars
Fighters. -JUSTIN c. path. -JUSTIN c. of nostalgia. -CHRIS H. irksome. -JUSTIN с. (Super NES)
Grumble Grumble ( Recommended 4 Super Smash Bros. (N64)
5 The Legend of Zelda:
Virtual Console Virtual Console Virtual Console Majora's Mask (N64)

NP STAFF’S MOST
WANTED
1 Mega Man: The Wily Wars
(Sega Genesis/Europe &
Japan)
2 Castlevania: Rondo of
KING OF THE NINJA Blood (TurboGrafx CD/
MONSTERS COMMANDO Japan only)
3 Terranigma (Super NES/
PLATFORM: NEOGEO PLATFORM: NEOGEO
Europe&Japan)
PUBLISHER: D4/SNK PUBLISHER: D4/SNK
4 Super Punch-Out!
GENRE: FIGHTING GENRE: SHOOTER
ORIGINAL RELEASE: 1991 ORIGINAL RELEASE: 1992
(Super NES)
во гуу" 5 Pilotwings (Super NES)

SUPER FANTASY ZONE

Iwas a big fan of King of the You’ve got ninjas; you've
Monsters as a young lad, got commandos. How can What classic Sega Genesis
but I evidently had horrible you possibly go wrong? games do you want to see
PLATFORM: GENESIS • PUBLISHER: SUNSOFT
taste. Admittedly, giant Not easily—just ask G.I. come to Virtual Console?
GENRE: SHOOTER * ORIGINAL RELEASE: 1992
monsters duking it out in Joe’s Snake Eyes. Although Send us up to five picks at
the middle of a city is a win- Ninja Commando’s time- (SteveT’sPick) This 16-bit sequel to one of the Master vcpoll@futureus.com.
ning concept—especially traveling plot is decidedly System’s best follows closely in its pre- We'll print the results
when their repertoires goofy, the co-op character- decessor’s pastel-colored footsteps. The in an upcoming issue.
consist of pro-wrestling driven shooting is exciting, в» core concept is the same—destroy every Note: This is for polling
moves like backbreakers intense, and pretty darn E base іп а level before taking оп some purposes only. Nintendo
and elbow drops—but the challenging. Get ready bizarre boss (like a giant metal pumpkin). Power does not choose
controls are so clunky and to mash some buttons, As expected, though, the Genesis game looks and sounds the games that appear
the action so simplistic though-the faster you fire, significantly better, and there's a greater selection of ship on Virtual Console, and
that the novelty wears off the greater your attack upgrades available to purchase. In а sea of look-alike shoot- this poll will in no way
quickly. -STEVE T. power. —CHRIS H. ers, Super Fantasy Zone’s surreal charm truly stands out. determine future Virtual
=
Grumble Grumble ( Recommended ( Recommended Console releases.

ocrosen 2008 23
 CRASH: MIND ОУЕВ MUTANT 2 SECRET FILES: TUNGUSKA
DE BLOB PG. 2 TORNADO
LOCK’S QUEST 2 ULTIMATE BAND
MASTER OF THE MONSTER LAIR
NARUTO: CLASH OF NINJA REVOLUTION 2
ONECHANBARA: BIKINI ZOMBIE SLAYERS
SAMBA DE AMIGO PG. 24

Shake ItDown
PLATFORM: Wii» PUBLISHER: SEGA
DEVELOPER: GEARBOX · RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 2008

Grab those maracas and get rocking, because

Samba de Amigo’s ready to shake, rattle, and
roll right into the rhythm-game hall of fame. You
might've heard that eight years ago when Samba
dominated the Dreamcast, but you’re hearing it
again because Gearbox's resurrection of the game is
nearly pitch-perfect. All the good stuff from the old
гате 15 back, plus some stuff from the Japan-only
sequel, Samba de Amigo Ver. 2000, as well as all-new
content.
Like in the original game, you play by holding a
maraca (Wii remote) in each hand and shaking them Е
in time tomusic. The beats appear onscreen as little m àZ ® samba’sso cool, 7130
balls drifting toward high, middle, and low targets 4 Е š
ү i А 5 even Sonic wants in
along a circle. A sharp flick of the maraca is required
when a blue ball enters the target, while a line of red Е ч
balls signals that you should shake the тагаса соп- ` 2 i \ ^N
tinuously. Every so often a dreadlock-sporting stick
figure appears in the middle of the circle and you've
got to match his hand position to strike a pose.
Sometimes the stick figure waves one arm between
twotargets and you must follow the motion with
your тагаса to pull off adance move. All three game
modes—Career, Single Player, and Multiplayer-make
the most of the gameplay, but Hustle style is the
only way to play if you want poses and dance moves
thrown into the mix.
The addictive factor comes from the soundtrack.
With more than 40 songs in the game and plenty
of tracks promised for download, the beat won't
stop at samba-there's mambo, tango, '805 hits,
and "Theme from Rocky." With classic Latin
chart-toppers like “Оуе Como Va" and more-modern
mambos like *Mambo Number 5," there's bound to
beatrack for everyone—even the most metal of Rock
Band rockers. We especially liked a-ha's “Take Оп
Me" апа '505 song "Papa Loves Mambo" (which stuck
in our heads hours after we put the game down).
There’s still a ways to go with tweaking the
controls. We could have sworn we hit that high-right
note with a well-timed flick, but wait-was our
remote turned with the back facing the sensor bar, or
the front? Which way was it supposed to be facing?
Little things like that will make all the difference
between a feisty fiesta and the lamest conga line
ever. But so far, Samba de Amigo looks like it’ll be a
serious contender for a space next to Guitar Hero on
your shelf. -AMANDA G.

24 „ено rower
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| 2909059 DVESTI KON O9US] а (ОХОДО)

www.sonic-chronicles.com
 Deviant Art
BLOB
PLATFORM: Wii (ALS0 0N DS) ° PUBLISHER: THQ
DEVELOPER: BLUE TONGUE * RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 2008

When we first saw THQ's de Blob more than a year

ago, the unique, colorful action game was one of
the most promising original titles for Wii. Many
monthslater, it's still one of the most promising Wii
games-only now with а lot more polish. The premise
behind the game is simple: as Blob, the hero of
the Color Revolution, your mission is to overthrow
the evil INKT Corporation by returning color to the
monochromatic world. Splattering Chroma City with
paint and watching it spring to life (complete with
a dynamic soundtrack that becomes richer as you
add more colors) is enjoyable in and of itself, but
completing a variety of missions (painting, combat,
reconnaissance, and sabotage) is the key to earning
points and proceeding through the game’s 10 large
stages. Satisfying lock-on combat, the ability to mix
colors, and cool techniques-such as sticking to walls
add to the fun. Multiplayer enthusiasts won't be left
out, either; de Blob features eight multiplayer modes
for up to four players, including Blob on the Run (one
player paints while the others try to stop him), and
Blob Race (in which you must quickly paint buildings
as they become available). -CHRIS H.

Mental Mojo
» CRASH: MIND
OVER
MUTANT
PLATFORM: Wii (ALSO ON DS) ° PUBLISHER: SIERRA
DEVELOPER: RADICAL * RELEASE: OCTOBER 2008

Crash Bandicoot’s old nemesis, Dr. Neo Cortex, Mind over Mutant is equal parts platformer and
is up to no good again. This time he’s taking over action game. Crash has numerous attacks, and he
the minds of the Wumpa Islands’ inhabitants by gets stronger as you progress through the game.
way of the NV—an all-in-one cell phone/PDA-type | к»
device that's worn as a helmet. Even Crash's sister
Coco and their burly pal Crunch fall under Cortex's
spell. But as fans of the marsupial know, Crash isn't
exactly helpless: he can platform with the best of
them, апа it’s up to him to spin (accomplished by
shaking the remote), double-jump, wall-run, swing,
dig, and climb to free his buddies. The game also
features a robust combat system, complete with
easy-to-execute reversals that can confound even
the toughest opponents. But just as important as
Crash’s own skills are those of his foes; like in his
previous adventure, Crash of the Titans, our hero
can monster-jack his adversaries and use their
skills in combat and to solve puzzles. One beast can
freeze water to create platforms, for example, while
another can telekinetically throw other baddies
and activate switches. With enemies like these, who
needs friends? -CHRIS H.

OCTOBER 2008
 А Вапа Apart
> ULTIMATE BAND
PLATFORM: Wii (ALSO ON DS) ° PUBLISHER: DISNEY
INTERACTIVE * DEVELOPER: FALL LINE STUDIO
RELEASE: NOVEMBER 2008

With so many rhythm-based music games on the

market, what differentiates Ultimate Band? Aside
from the four-player co-op campaign and the
Flourishes (tricks that you can perform at any time
during songs), the game doesn’t use any peripherals:
all four of the band components-guitar, bass,
drums, and frontman—are controlled completely
with the remote and nunchuk. To play the drums,
for example, you use the remote and nunchuk like
drumsticks (à la the upcoming Wii Music), trying
to hit the notes as they cascade down the screen.
Guitar and bass have you holding the nunchuk like
the guitar’s neck (pressing C or Z when appropriate)
as you waggle the remote to strum. Since there’s
no microphone, the frontman becomes more of
a dancer; you shake the remote and nunchuk to,
Say, pump your fist in the air. There’s a DS version
of Ultimate Band on the way as well, and it has
interconnectivity with the Wii game: a fifth player
can use the DS game to affect the lighting and add
effects (smoke, flashpots, etc.) in the Wii game via
local wireless. -JUSTIN с.

Ishould probably watch out where I

am stepping. One fals
Cold Case
> SECRET FILES: TUNGUSKA
PLATFORM: DS (ALSO ON Wii) + PUBLISHER: DEEP SILVER
DEVELOPER: 10TACLE STUDIOS • RELEASE: OCTOBER 2008

Besides wars, few real-life events have been the

inspiration for game stories. Secret Files: Tunguska
centers on an occurrence that remains a mystery a
century after the fact. In 1908 an explosion leveled
6,000 square meters of forest in central Siberia.
Setiin the present day, the game follows heroine
Nina's attempts to find her missing father, and in the
bargain uncover information about the Tunguska
catastrophe. Though the title's style is termed “point
and click” in the PC world, you don't have to click on
the DS touch screen; just point at an object that you
want to investigate (identified by a magnifying-glass
symbol) in any of the more that 100 environments,
and you will either uncover a clue or learn how to
use the object оп your мау to solving the mystery.
As Nina and sidekick Max travel from Germany
to Russia, Cuba, China, and Antarctica, the item
manipulation grows increasingly complex and the
plot thickens. No one knows what actually happened
in Tunguska, but Secret Files will point you to one
possible explanation. -GEORGE s.

26 „ено ower
 FAMILY
PLAYTIME
SELES,
W PUZZLE GAMES

NINTENDOIDS

FreeCell * Klondike * Golf.

Pyramid * Yukon • Spider
AMES, ...and 95 тоге games!

ONECHANBARA: NINTENDO

BIKINI ZOMBIE SLAYERS

PLATFORM: Wii • PUBLISHER: D3PUBLISHER
DEVELOPER: TAMSOFT * RELEASE: EARLY 2009

Onechanbara is like the Cheerios of M-rated video

games: it’s got everything you need in one complete
package. Zombies? Check. A bikini-clad heroine?
Check. Samurai Swords? Check. Gratuitous arterial
spray? That's an affirmative.
As you could probably guess, the game makes no
pretense of moving the medium forward or engaging
the player in thoughtful storytelling. Onechanbara
is unabashedly and singularly focused on delivering
guilty pleasures. Cowgirl Aya and her younger
sister Saki slash through swaths of the undead via
the expected motion controls, covering everything
onscreen in crimson goo. That includes the sisters
themselves, and once they’re sufficiently drenched,
they go into a Rage state that allows them to dispatch
zombie-killing justice with even greater fervor.
Onechanbara is part of the value-priced Simple
2000 series in Japan, and though D3Publisher has
yet to settle on an exact number, the game will also i
carry a budget price tag in the US. -STEVE T. г OX Aa

веки EVERYONE | `
š RICO DEBRERK EDA!
BDI

Web site: www.telegames.com

 Revolutionary
PLATFORM: Wii + PUBLISHER: TOMY/
D3PUBLISHER > DEVELOPER: EIGHTING
RELEASE: 0CTOBER 2008

The Naruto: Clash of Ninja series has gone through

a few iterations, and until now they've all predictably
followed the storyline of the Naruto anime and
manga. With the anime currently running filler
episodes in the US, though, developer Eighting has
decided to take the series іп a new direction with
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, giving the game
an entirely new story and an expanded character
roster that includes original characters.
The story of Clash of Ninja Revolution 2
was written especially for this game, and
focuses on the Anbu, the Hidden Leaf Village’s
black-ops squads that until now were mostly
background characters. Set after Sasuke has
left the Hidden Leaf, two Anbu agents dis-
cover a small village that’s been completely
destroyed, and when Naruto and his buddies
are sent to investigate they uncover a plot to destroy
the Hidden Leaf and must race to stop it. The story
integrates nicely with that of the anime, and the
Anbu make great source material. Squad leader
Yugao (introduced briefly in the anime) and two new | Towa and his Anbu comrades are capable of
Anbu members, Towa and Komachi, feature heavily unleashing devastating special attacks.
in the story, and each have unique fighting styles and
abilities—Yugao is one of the fastest characters in
the game, while Towa runs chakra through his tattoo
to form it into various weapons and Komachi uses
the senbon needles that hold up her hair.
The developers have also updated
the gameplay for the series' second Wii
offering. The new Two Man Team mode
allows players to take two characters
into battle and swap between them at
will-even midcombo. When in the
Two Man Team mode,
your characters
can unleash a dual
Secret Technique to
cause massive damage to your
enemy. Some teams (such
as Anbu squadmates
or student-teacher
pairs) have unique dual
techniques, and witha
35-character roster you'll
have plenty of combinations
to play around with. Other
additions, such as Paper Bombs
that can be thrown at your enemy
or set around the stage as
proximity mines, add depth to
ап already deep system, and
we're excited to see the
final product. -TOM H.

8 NINTENDO POWER
 J I
| ⁄
ПУЛFASHION BATTLE!
An eclectic mix of Tokyo street style, cosplay, and
Les! ^ fashion design.
x А Q Y
“ща! : Manage a fashion boutique. Hire models and staff,
choose your shop's look, and place magazine ads.
Challenge a friend in fabulous Fashion Battles
using Nintendo DS Multi-Card Wireless Play.
Prowl the streets for inspiration. Gather ‘keywords’
to create clothes, accessories and hairstyles.
You may be the next fashion phenomenon!

Coming September 2008 ИЗЛАЗ

ии: кое сот/рорсийе Е
ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrb.org

EVERYONE NINTENDODPYS

Comic Mischief POP CUTIE! and the КОЕ! logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of КОЕ! Co., Ltd. ©2000-2008 КОЕ! Co., Ltd. EJ th,
All rights reserved. PREY THE STARS ©2008 KOEI CANADA, Inc. PREY THE STARS is a registered trademark or SS
ESRB CONTENT RATING [YT trademark of КОЕ! САМАРА, Inc. All rights reserved. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. @2004 Nintendo. The ratings KOEI5 Anniversary
icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are properties of their respective owners.
 |

MEFLY. PRESENTS

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m Halo Series — The perfect melee weapon. Pwned.

4. RCP90
007 Goldeneye — Your roommate still remembers it.

3. B.F.G.
DOOM Series — Annihilate everyone on the screen in
one shot.

2. RED TURTLE SHELL

Mario Kart Series — Tracking rocket-shell that
knocks out any target.

1. GRAVITY GUN
Half-Life 2 — Best. Gun. Ever. Where anything can
be used as ammo: a table, a shelf, a car or
Ph another human. LEET.
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Games Delivered.
 LOCK, YOU MUST CLEAR THE ROAD IF
WE HAVE ANY CHANCE OF HOLD ING OFF
PLATFORM: DS ° PUBLISHER: THQ THEIR ATTACK!
DEVELOPER: 5TH CELL • RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 2008

Part character-centered adventure, part real-time

strategy game, Lock’s Quest puts you in the shoes of
an Archineer in training and a member of Kingdom
Force; you’re tasked with fighting off an army of
Clockwork soldiers over the course of more than 100
battles. Young Lock splits his time between building
walls and weapons and battling enemies. During
the building phase, you learn to make nearly 20
new types of turrets, traps, and robotic helpers by
completing parts-matching minigames, then spend
“source” (the game’s monetary unit) on creating
airtight defenses. Once you've got the best support
that your money can buy, the battle phase begins.
Lock engages with enemies that you point to and
performs eight types of special attacks if you’re able
to tap out combinations quick enough. If the hero
is injured, he’ll recover after some time away from
battle. Developer 5th Cell has created a long story
that reveals the history of Lock’s world, along with
one-on-one scenarios for wireless play. -GEORGE 5.

PLATFORM: DS * PUBLISHER: IGNITION

DEVELOPER: SUCCESS » RELEASE: SEPTEMBER 2008

In whirlwind adventure Tornado you create a

twister by drawing circles with your stylus on the
touch screen, then pick up trees, people, cars,
and buildings by making it skitter across an alien
landscape. The more you make your tornado spin,
the more damage it will do. A little puff from your
lips into the DS mic will give your creation the gusto
to dash across the screen with gale force and really
eat up the scenery. Nine of the game’s 10 locations
are Earth cities transported onto another world by
an alien monarch. The last is the heart of the planet
itself. By ripping through the cities, you return them,
piece-by-piece, to their rightful place. The gameplay
is a fun as the story is silly. And it’s made even more
absurd by nonsensical dialogue delivered by catlike
Cats and x - creatures. In addition to mission-based Story mode,
tornados 4 the game offers Arcade mode, in which you return to
don't » 3 completed stages for open-ended destruction, and
usually р Battle mode for multiple-player blow-hard competi-
mix well, — £ tions viaalocal wireless connection. -GEORGE s.
but in this
game,
What's that?
Gina! anything
goes.
 GAJVIE€ СТ
—KÜF — 7 СЕДИ °
Weapon: Haide р 0 CASTING CALL
Armor: Maiden Helm /Maiden Halter /Maiden 8 1 H H += d
| Boots Priestess Ring

Can You Dig It?

PLATFORM: DS PUBLISHER: ATLUS
DEVELOPER: GLOBALA ENT. • RELEASE: OCTOBER 2008

Dungeon-crawlers are a dime a dozen these days,

but Master of the Monster Lair puts a twist on the
genre: you build the dungeons. The town of South Arc
is overrun by monsters, so the higher-ups’ plan is to
build dungeons for them so they stop running wild.
(And the mayor claims havingadungeon nearby will
boost the town’s economy—which proves true when
you visit the weapons shop and find that it’s sold Health0/119
119/119
out of almost everything.) With a magical talking WP 68/68
shovelin hand, you're tasked with digging tunnels КЕ Ith
that can be filled with rooms—purchased from your
town’s furniture store—to make your dungeons as
monster-friendly as possible. When you return the
next day, your dungeon should be bustling with
beasties that you can defeat for money, items, and
food ingredients. Along the way, you'll get tasks from
the townsfolk: the magic-shop owner has a craving | -
for Dry Slime (which you get from defeated Slimes), ў Show us how insane your
for example, so you have to build Trash Dump rooms = 3 4 У x
to attract the blobby green baddies. -Justin c. Å - love for GameFly is! Submit

те oe a video starring you dressed

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| 2-D console gaming isback їпa big way with Nintendo’s
Wario Land: Shake It!, fall’s premier Wii platformer
| BY CHRIS SLATE |
 SHAKE YOUR BOOTY

(мала | ee) Ф0000134

[Left] While the action can’t be displayed in full 16x9, wide-

screen TV owners will still get the benefit of seeing the stage's
bonus challenges and treasure chests listed on the sides.

ttendees of t cent Е 3 games expo found out what we reported last

month: that \ new Wii treasure hunt is worth its weig ht in gold. On web-
Sites, mesa; e boar S, d about the
game's fresh mix of old-sc D platforming and impressive Wii-powered
graphics and motion controls. While E left little doubt that Animal Crossing:
City Folk and VWii Music will attract the zest and broadest Wii audiences this
fall, Wario Land: Shake It! emerged from the show as Nintendo's top g amers' а
gegan пе. In a year when franchises like Mario and Zelda are recharg g, Shake It!
is your only shot at the publish 5 traditional mix of head-hopping action and head atching
puzzles. And now that we've waddled Wario from the opening tutorial through to the credits, cannons, pipes, and more to reach
we're happy to confirm that tt 115 game is as fun as its star is the forbidden booty. And while
it isn't necessary to grab every
IN WITH THE OLD impression and run back to the Still, this game is no pushover. last coin, after you clear an area
As іп the classic handheld Wario start of the level before time runs The challenge comes from solving you'll need increasing amounts
Land adventures, the primary goal out. Going straight through a stage the many side puzzles, which test of cash to purchase the maps
in Shake It! is tojump and smash is pretty easy—even late levels both your mastery of the game's that reveal the next set of stages.
through Mario-ish stages filled won't pose much of a threat to pro controls and the gray matter Inferior treasure hunters will have
with floating platforms and col- players who simply want to get between your ears. Tantalizing to replay previously beaten levels
lectible loot. When Wario reaches in and out as quickly as possible. moneybags, diamonds, and to amass the money needed to
the end of a stage (and in Shake It!, Most enemies can't hurt you, and if treasure chests tease you from move forward. Additionally, clever
frees an imprisoned critter known agiant metal crate falls on Wario's seemingly unreachable locations, explorers can reveal hidden maps
аз а Merfle), our rotund antihero head, he's comically squished but and players must work out how to to secret side stages by pounding
must pull his best Samus Aran loses no health. use surrounding platforms, vines, the ground in the right spots.

THE CAST
прасі on the g ameplay, but the fun characters

Wario Captain Syrup Merfle Queen Merelda The Shake King

Oldlightning'stachesprings This provocative pirate The Merfles, Queen Wario doesn't know much The Shake King is the tyrant
into action to fight on the tempts Wario into saving Merelda's loyal friends, about this damsel in dis- of the Shake Dimension, kid-
side of right once again, and һе Shake Dimension with have also been captured. tress, and he doesn't much napper of the good Queen
as always, he’s in it only for ^ irresistible booty-that is, One waits for Wario to free саге. When Wario finally Merelda, imprisoner of the
the money. the Biottomless Coin Sack. itatthe end of each stage, does free her, the scene that cute Merfles, and owner of
She also runs the shop. and will helpfully show him plays out is priceless. the Bottomless Coin Sack.
the way out of the level once He also has a beard, but
rescued. we're not saying that's evil.
OCTOBER 2008 35
 SHAKE IT!
Many of the game's motion-controlled actions are per-
formed by simply shaking the Wii remote. Shaking lets you
rough up a grabbed foe, free a Merfle, pound the ground,
swing on a bar, and open coin sacks.

Shaking while hangingon @ =) Most of War à [ : Once! d M Г Enemies can be grabbed

abar willpowerupaspin @ C collectedbypickingup Ё J Wa nds are fr | est M J andshaken down for
jump that will allow Warioto Щ and shaking moneybagsof Ë trig к ) #1 | lev akesa f health-restoring garlic, or in
reach higher areas. various sizes. — E 1 ison. this case, rid them of armor.

And for expert players who enemies, finding a certain amount spectacular and offer someof the discover appropriate counterat-
want an even tougher test of their of money, and more. Thankfully, game's toughest trials. The first tacks. Taking down each boss
Skills, each stage offers ahandful you don't have to complete a level's few aren't particularly tricky (until requires mastery of different skills,
of bonus challenges that can be set of challenges in one run, and you take on the game's challenge and all the bosses make a great
downright nasty. Common themes you can replay stages endlessly in to redefeat them under special first impression with massive,
include clearing a level within a pursuit of 10096 completion. restrictions), but later bosses superbly animated sprites and a.
tough time limit, not taking any The boss fights deserve will likely cost you many lives as rich arsenal of attacks. This roster
damage, dispatching certain special mention—they are truly you work to learn patterns and of stage-ending baddies is among

Smooth Moves
The ultrasmooth cartoon-like
animation in Wario Land: Shake It!
is second to none. Here's just one
example, shown frame-by-frame,
of just how detailed character
movements are.

36 sinrenvo power
 AKE YOUR BOOTY

TILT IT!
Tilting the remote triggers many of the game's special
maneuvers. Throwing a grabbed enemy, aiming a cannon,
and steering vehicles all use this method.

Some levels require Wario

(n
Tilting the remote while A light touch is needed to Once Wario is tucked Once enemies or other
to captain a submarine inthis jetpod aims the tilt this cable-riding cart inside of acannon, you objects have been picked
underwater, which is steered boosters to propel you in the inthe right direction without can aim it by tilting the up, they can be thrown after
bytilting the remote. desired direction. going too far, too fast. remote left or right. tilting the controller to aim.

Nintendo's best, thanks to much games ofold, but it simultane- polygonal 3-D worlds, it's startling cartoon. The environments look
longer and more engaging battles ously feels brand-new thanks to to see how much the extra muscle like they are composed of paint-
than the typical three-hops-and- its excellent use of motion controls of a modern-day system can ings instead of the repeated block
you're-dead wimps found in many and jaw-dropping graphics. We've enhance
а 2-D title. Most notably, textures used in 2-D handheld
ofthe publisher's other titles. rarely seen a 2-D game look the movements of Wario and every games, and a TV screen allows for
anywhere near this good. After other character are enhanced with much bigger worlds to play around
IN WITH THE NEW years of 2-D games being shunned so many frames of animation that in than the portable systems
Shake It! plays like the Wario Land by home consoles in favor of the game feels like an interactive that so often provide our 2-D fix.

OCTOBER 2008 37
 E а
@ 00146900 sta
2.22 222224 where he car 1
d-grabbing
hat he's
unlocke to jump Бас!
into the fray, he с;

Stages 66%
Treasure 40%
Missions 2%

00024770 magic telescope (which was given

—
to him by a sexy pirate lady) to visit
the Shake Dimension via a magic
globe, and.... You know, it really
makes sense only if you watch
the intro movie. Let's just say that
Wario sets off on a journey to
topple the Shake King and get rich.
Between stages Wario returns
to his map room to plot his next
move. From here you can choose
Having seen what the Wii can do and being flattened by a boulder movies. Produced by famed anime to jump to the next level, replay
with classic 2-D gaming, we'd love probably aren't a lot of fun for studio Production 1.6 (Blood: The a previous one, visit the shop to
to see the style become a trend for the grubby garlic-gobbler, but Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell: unlock new areas or buy heart
the console. will get him into areas that his Stand Alone Complex), these containers and recovery potions,
The game requires you to usual pudgy self can't penetrate. scenes show the rise of the Shake viewa collection of unique (albeit
perform certain tasks by shaking Luckily, though these forms may King, a dastardly, bearded villain useless) treasures found in each
or tilting the Wii remote, but the hurt his pride, they don't impact who has overthrown the good stage's three treasure chests,
motions are the icingon the cake his life bar. Queen Merelda and her cute-and- and listen to music from any
and are never overdone. Most colorful pals, the Merfles, to rule stage that is 10096 completed.
regularly, a quick shake triggers SETT ESTAGE the Shake Dimension. All Wario On the map-room screen, Wario
Wario's earth-rattling ground The action in Wario Land: Shake It! really cares about, however, is the shakes his rump back and forth
punch (which dazes bad guys and isn't especially story-driven, but Bottomless Coin Sack, which the їп а disturbingly rhythmic motion
jars objects in the environment) the game's wacky premise at least evil king has also taken. Greedy that's impossible to tear your eyes
and shakes dazed enemies or makes for fun intro and ending as ever, old Purple Pants uses a away from-likea lava lamp filled
moneybags that you’ve picked up.
Holding the 1 Button while tilting
the remote lines up a throw of a
held enemy. The gameplay's meat
and potatoes—running, jumping,
stomping, charging, etc.—is
handled via traditional button
and Control Pad presses with the
remote held horizontally like a
traditional controller. In special
situations, shaking ortilting come
into play to steer a one-wheeled
cart, swing on a bar like a gym-
nast, pilot asubmarine, fly a jet
pod, and more. In every instance
the special controls work perfectly,
are fun to use, and provide a nice
break from the usual action.
For even more variety, Wario
sometimes takes on different
forms to get ahead. Catching on
fire, rolling inside a snowball,

38 „гено rower
EXPERIENCE A DIGIMON’ REVOLUTION!
^2

CHAMPIONSHIP}

a ча
EG.
Э MASTER THE REVOLUTIONARY HUNTING
SYSTEM AND CAPTURE WILD DIGIMON!

Э TRAIN OVER 200 DIGIMON FOR BATTLE AND

NINTENDOIS

FIGHT FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP CROWN!

| PLAY AGAINST YOUR FRIENDS OVER

NINTENDO WI-FI CONNECTION OR DS
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS! лилав 8.27.08
22 Ө

* = (m c i FOR THE CARTOON VISIT:

> WWW.TOEFANIM.COM
FOR THE GAMES VISIT:
> WWW.DIGIMONWORLDVIDEOGAMES.COM

NINTENDOTIS.
C Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation © & © 1997 - 2008 Bandai. DIGIMON, DIGITAL MONSTERS, DIGIMON WORLD and all related logos, names and distinctive likenesses thereof are the property of Bandai/Toei Animation. DIGIMON DATA SQUAD and all related logos, names and distinctive likenesses thereof are
the property of Toei Animation. © 2008 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. All rights reserved. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2004 Nintendo.
Theratings icon is a registered trademark of the Entertainment Software Association.АЙather trademarks and copyrights are property of their respective owners.
 with something horrible. fans can enjoy it on a more basic
As you progress, you'll appreci- level. This action-platformer (Оойвобвво F
ate the tremendous amount of won't turn the world upside down
HESAN
variety between the game's five like Super Mario Galaxy, but its
areas (each split into four standard rock-solid gameplay, fun controls,
levels plus some hidden ones), and good looks should be plenty to
which keeps the action fresh and satisfy players looking for a classic
exciting. Even within stages that Nintendo experiencetocomple-
share similar themes, different ment the publisher's more-novel
gameplay elements keep you titles this fall. The game's late-
guessing as to what's coming September launch isn't far off, so
next. A set of stages might have practice your “heh-he-hehhh!” and
you running across a series of look for a full review next issue.
timed water-jet streams, hopping
between vanishing platforms
The game's stages showcase an impressive
that are visible only when lit by
amount of diversity, with varying elements
roving searchlights, raising sunken
such as conveyor belts and tilting platforms.
pyramids from beneath the sand,
working a giant slot machine, and
much more.

IT'S WARIO TIME!

The jury isn't in quite yet, but
Shake It! might be the tubby
tightwad's best non-WarioWare
title yet. It's got plenty of
challenge for die-hard Nintendo
gamers, yet amateur action-game

AT
ffer classic throwdown bach fight tes Пе|ayers’ wits ‹
gh, but thedifficulty ra nps up fast once yu reachthe m
adblocks to fortune and glory—don’t wort vont

ROLLANRAT . This giant stone warrior HOT RODERICK < Easily Wario's
uses the environment against you, but has a most unique fight, this high-speed chase
very obvious weakness. requiresyou totilt theWii remote to
move forward and backward.

CHORTLEBOT Things get quite a bit LARGE FRY Thegrowing throngs of ene-
tougher against this demonic clown head, which mies become a bigger threat as the fight goes
changes up tactics as the fight progresses. on, but could be the key to victory.

ДО ceno rower
 Gay nd Relexte

eiSh

al о е in fun!
EVERYONE
Cartoon Violence

J| ESRB CONTENT RATING _www.estb.org

‘©2008 Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., and its subsidiaries. Developed by Cat Daddy Games, пс. Carnival Games, 2K Play, the 2K logo, Cat Daddy Games, the Cat Daddy Games logo, Take-Two Interactive Softwar the A
ЕЩtrademarks and/or registered trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. in the USA and/or foreign countries, Wii™ is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2008 Nintendo. The ratings icon is a trademark ofthe Cp jrd
 DATE wilh DESTINYGet behind-the-scenes insight on Time Hollow, a unique
point-and-click DS adventure that lets you alter the past
to change the present.

42 NINTENDO POWER
 DATE WITH DESTINY

he point-and-click graphicadventure genre seems to be enjoying a resurgence thanks

to the popularity of the DS, but Konami's Time Hollow is unlike any other game of this
type that we've seen. In addition to talking to people, exploring areas, and using items,
you wield the power of the Hollow Реп—а stylus-shaped device that lets you carve a
hole into the past, thereby allowing уой to manipulate events that shape the present.

You play the role of Ethan Kairos, spot is essential. Using the pen also NINTENDO POWER Time
aseemingly normal high schooler consumes Ethan's life force (there's Hollow shares a lot of ideas with
whose last name just so happens to acost for meddling with time, after your 2001 PS2 game Shadow of
mean “right or opportune moment" all), so you have to make the most Destiny (which we're also big
in Greek. Except for his fascination of every opportunity. fansof). What is it about the
with watches, he's a pretty typical Although figuring out what time-manipulation concept that
kid—he lives with his mother, happened to Ethan's parents is appeals to you?
father, and pet cat Sox, has a solid the game's primary mystery, JUNKO KAWANO I get asked
circleoffriends at school, and is other sinister threats will keep this question quite often, but
the object of some of the younger you occupied. In the game's first to be honest there is really no
female students’ affections. He’s chapter (out of six), your friend's specific reason why |use this
also got an uncle, Derek, who's younger sister goes missing; later concept except that I like it. |guess
kind of a deadbeat. Before Ethan an acquaintance gets killed while that using this concept allows me
goes to sleep on the eve of his 17th riding her bike. It's up to you to to go beyond the norms and allows
birthday, his father promises to reach into the past to prevent these more creative freedom in the
tell him a secret the following day, events, but sometimes doing so can storytelling process and [gets] the
but he doesn't get a chance—when have unintended consequences— players more excited.
Ethan wakes up, his reality has for example, if you save one person
been altered; his parents have another might suffer, and who Why is the main implement in
evidently been missing for 12 years knows what will happen from an act Time Hollow in the form of a
and he lives under the supervision as innocent as saving a dog? A fairly
Коп! has a lot of secrets—like whether
pen? And what makes the ability
of his uncle. However, he also finds linear story means you can't usually
or not that's her natural hair color.
to make small holes in time а
himself in possession of the time- avoid the unintentional side effects, more interesting mechanic than
altering Hollow Pen. but it's interesting to watch them beingable to simply time-travel sible in the real world. Therefore,
At first, nothing makes play out-;just as it's interesting to different periods? we first came up with the idea of
sense-not only has Ethan's reality trying to determine who orwhat is To be honest, we came up with this using the stylus to create a circle,
changed, but his head is filled with altering the past and causing Ethan concept because we wanted to then the idea of that circle creating
memories he never previously had. so much grief. create a game that allows the users a hole that would allow you to see
However, by visiting the places To gain more insight into this to have fun with the DS stylus. into an alternate world that was
in his flashbacks and talking with unique graphic adventure, we We wanted the users to become in a different time. We limited the
people to flesh out the details, he spoke to the game's director, Junko immersed into the game world and things the users can do on the
learns to use the Hollow Pen in Kawano of Konami. have an experience that is not pos- other side of the hole. The user
specific locations to change the cannot travel through the hole;
past and put things back the way they can only see the outcome of
After you
they should be. Using the pen is as the changes they made in the past
gather
simple as drawing a circle on the by the changes that occur in the
enough
touch screen, but there are limita- present, which we felt would make
clues, you
tions on how big the hole can be; things more exciting.
opening the hole at just the right
can carve
а hole into
We like the fact that the story—a
{һе ра5ї
young man losing his parents
and interact
and then his friends—is very
with what-
personal. Why did you choose
ever'son
that rather than something
the other
broader (like saving the world or
side.

ocrosen 2008 43
 DATE WITH DESTINY

something in that vein)?

I chose a more personal story
because | wanted players to feel
that they are actually changing the
past rather than just watching it
objectively like a movie. | thought
changing the world would surprise
players, but if the story is not
personal, it would be difficult
for players to feel that what they
do actually changes something.
I wanted to focus more on how
people's feelings and fates are
changed by the actions of Ethan.

What do you feel makes Ethan a

[Above] Sox the game to Shadow of Destiny? Do
compelling protagonist?
cat isn’t just a cute
Ethan is pure and straightforward. you think of this as a spiritual
face—he helps restore
Since the user is playing as Ethan, successor?
Ethan’s life meter.
| tried not to make his personality | don't consider this title a succes-
too strong. With that said though, sor. To put it simply, this title is a
he is still a very righteous person repeatedly checked the plot. The What
do you think are the most more accessible version of Shadow
who will stay on the path of good, most difficult part was to adjust interesting time-altering sce- of Destiny.
even when people around him and confirm how much and what narios in the game?
have evil intentions. | also think his would be undone when the past is I think it's interesting when you Is there any special significance
hairstyle is cool... changed. | spenta lot of time on change something in the past and to the cats that appear in your
that. But still this genre tends to the changes it makes to the present games? Why did you use the cat
Who do you consider your favor- have some contradictions... (I think were unexpected. For example, in as away to restore Ethan’s life?
ite character in the game? For finding such contradictions is one Chapter 2, Ethan tries to prevent an People often remind me that |
me, it was Uncle Derek, since it ofthe ways to enjoy time-paradox accident by immobilizinga bicycle, love cats and it makes me want to
was hard to tell if he was a good games, though.) but this in turns ends up causing use cats somewhere in the games
guy or a bad guy. another accident. This is the type of | work on. In regards to Sox, |
1 like everyone, of course. But my plot | enjoy writing. thought the size ofacat would be
favorite is Kori because I struggled perfect to go though the time hole.
to develop her character. Despite the complex plot, Also, | wanted Sox to be one of a
the gameplay seems fairly few friends who understand Ethan
With all the time-alteration that straightforward. What are your (I think Sox does) even when most
goes on in the game, it seems thoughts on keeping the game people don’t even remember what
like it could be very hard to linear and accessible? he did in changing
the world.
write the story without causing Iwas thinking about making the
contradictions or paradoxes. overall game accessible. But the You seem to prefer making
How did you keep track of the plot got pretty complicated. Maybe games that focus on characters
complex plot? it is just fate for choosing this type and stories rather than action. Is
| set all the game rules before | of genre. Personally, | think the that something you consciously
started writing the story and | gameplay could have been a little strive for, and if so, why?
more difficult. The first game | worked on after
| joined Konami was Suikoden.
How would you compare the Maybe that's why I've gotten better
at making that type of game that
focuses on character and story
development.

What would you say is the over-

arching theme of Time Hollow?
The underlying theme is “What can
you do right now?" Although the
core part of the gameplay is chang-
ingthe past, the present is the

Tith
standard and it comes first. | think
Time the most important thing to take
out of this is that neither the past
Р
nor the future, but the present, is
Details
where you exist right now and is
what people should focus оп in life.
And "family love," of course!

44 NINTENDO POWER
 WINNER

YOUR Wii JUST GOT

A WHOLE LOT FUNNIER

Cartoon Violence
Crude Humor
qs Language
hol ү
Use ofТова En OO ADVENTURE
ESRB CONTENT RATING — www.esrb.org с
COMPANY
DEAD N TARGET
fN (31

The
House of the
Dead: Overkill.
 VIOLENCE.” of first-person games and we just
wanted to give some control back
f
N VoYUU ICTr e
VW to the player,” McEwan explains.
“You hear a sound over to the left,
you kind of whiz around to the
left and deal with that situation
then to the right, and then maybe
something starts dropping down
from above. It just feels more
absorbing that way.”
There’s more to the gameplay,
but it's not overly complex, nor
should it be. "The core experi-
“\үе have really turned the fran- always good fun, especially when press the B Button to fire, and ence is focused on great shooting
chise totally on its head," says Neil playing cooperatively. Those waggle the remote to reload. This feedback-cool weapons, cool
McEwan, producer at developer who played The House of the time, however, you can push the hit effects, tons of enemies,"
Headstrong Games. “The game is Dead 2 & 3 Return on Wii earlier reticle to the edge of the screen McEwan promises. “HotD games
heavily inspired by the B movies this year should be able to pick and move the camera around. are positioned very differently
of American cinema. This styling up and start playing; you aim at It’s still on rails, but “time has in the market to Resident Evil,
is conveyed in everything from the screen with your Wii remote, moved on and people play a lot Silent Hill, and other ‘survival-
our art style, presentation, gore, horror’ titles. Where they
and violence." More specifically, are suspenseful, gloomy and
McEwan explains, "the prevailing unpleasant, HotD is adrenaline-
style for Overkill is based upon fueled, fast, gory action.”
the 'grindhouse' movies of the This concept of an adrenaline-
"605 and '705.... These films were fueled shooter is further empha-
made on a tight budget and so the sized by the array of firearms
editing and film quality was often in the game. In addition to your
poor, leadingtododgy splicing, standard Desert Eagle-like pistol—
film scratches, color burning, etc." which, like all of the weapons,
As such, the onscreen action is is upgradable, giving you more
covered with a grainy, scratched- firepower
or a larger clip—you can
up filter. Dick Dale-style surf use a compact submachine gun,
music plays in the background, a grenade launcher, and other
contrasting with the images of
over-the-top bloody violence
«4333333 weapons
yet to be finalized. Even

onscreen. Suffice it to say this is

[Right]
a decidedly different take on The
Different
House of the Dead. But that's not
weapons
a bad thing in the slightest—this
have
new yet purposely weathered style
different
provides a refreshing and unique
reload
twist on the familiar formula,
times.
reinvigorating our enthusiasm for
the 12-year-old series.
[Below]
When
rescuing
survivors,
Aesthetics aside, however, the
don’t
gameplay remains distinctly
acciden-
House of the Dead. Why mess with
tally shoot
a good thing? Shooting zombies is
them.

OCTOBER 2008 47
 better, McEwan teases, “we'll have the environment. “We're focusing
dual-wielding as well.... Ifyou've a lot on the gore and dismember-
got two controllers you can go in ment of the zombies and what kind
with two weaponsin each level. of weapons are cool and can rip
You can change up the combina- zombies apart,” shares McEwan.
tion of the weapons on the 1 and
2 Buttons, so you can alternate
[between them]. You can go into Besides the undead-shooting light-
alevel with four weapons and gun action, the other constant in
dual-wield them." House of the Dead games is an
Sometimes the living dead can AMS agent named G. (None of the
get in your face, however, which is games in the series reveal what
where the grapple mechanic and AMS or G stand for.) Little is known
the pistol-whipping melee attacks aboutG aside from his penchant
come into play. When a baddie for riddling zombies with bullets,
grabs you,simply shake the Wii but Overkill will explore more
remote to dispatch him. As McEwan about his backstory. “Overkill is a
tells us, “The cool thing about the prequel to the previous versions of
Wii is the physicalness of it, so HotD,” McEwan reveals. “We join
we're trying incorporate ... that Agent G on his first assignment
into the game, and we just thought after leaving his AMStraining.
it was а really cool feature to be We've teamed him up with hard-
ableto pistol-whip someone into boiled Detective Washington...
submission when they get close to Together they take on Papa
you and see their head explode." Caesar, a criminal kingpin of Bayou
So obviously, Overkill is a very County. Caesar has acquired
gory game-certainly gorier than access to a mysterious chemical
prior iterations—and it becomes compound that makes individuals into the other games and whether and his colleagues are trying to
even bloodier when you use the both significantly stronger and it involves series villain Goldman make it as engaging and over-the-
many power-ups. For example, one particularly open to suggestion. remainsto be seen. top as possible: “You won't believe
power-up slows everything down, unfortunately, beyond a certain The storyissecondary
to the the plot when you see it unravel,"
bullet-time-style, making it much dose irreversible mutation occurs. action, of course—especially McEwan asserts. "It's just amazing
easier to target and blast zombies With the assistance of his biochem- in a series that's known for its and totally off-the-wall." And
apart. And we mean that literally— ist lackey Jasper, he plans to refine convoluted stories—but McEwan because the story has branching
you can shoot off the zombies" the chemical and paths, Overkill offers a lot of replay
individual extremities, and the master its proper- value. (The developers are aiming
undead will react to the gunshots, ties." Whether to make the game last two to
with their blood splattering onto the story ties two-and-a-half hours in the first
playthrough. While that sounds
short, it's actually longer than the
original arcade games.)
The Louisiana setting allows for

For the first time in series history, you

canturn to look and fire in any diri

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48 NINTENDO POWER
 £ ^ SPORE” БЕ.
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a good amount of level variety, the Dead: Overkill a top-notch
from a swamp to a prison to game worthy of the franchise's
a plantation house. The area moniker. Sega of Japan and
we experienced was a carnival original HotD developer AMI
where booths are burning, rides certainly sound impressed, giving
are exploding (in one of the the Overkill team at Headstrong
game's many scripted cinematic their blessing: "We've run all of
sequences), and the living dead our concepts and ideas past Sega
are running amok. You really get of Japan. They have been very
asense of the chaos of a zombie supportive and are really excited
apocalypse as you trek through about where we are taking the
the fairgrounds, dispatch zombies, game." Based on what we've seen
and attempt to rescue F-bomb- so far, so are we, which makes the
dropping human survivors. (Hey, wait until the game's spring 2009
if zombies were about to munch release all the more unbearable.
on you, you probably wouldn't be
able to keep your language clean.
Besides, Sega has its sights set on
a Mature rating.) Thankfully, even
atthis early stage, the voice acting
is a noticeable step up from the
infamously bad performances in
the previous games.
The developers are clearly
taking everything that worked
about the original House of the
Dead games and putting their
own spin on it. More importantly,
they're devoting a lot of time and
effort to making The House of

DIRECTING All previous installments of The House of the Dead were originally designed for arcades by Sega's acclaimed AM1 studio.
We sat down with longtime series director Takashi Oda to discuss the franchise's origins, the differences in developing an
THE DEAD arcade game and a console game, and the best plan for survival in the event of a real zombie apocalypse.

È T ^OWER First, can you detail for The House of the Dead is that rare arcade entertain the player. With creating arcade
us how The House of the Dead series came franchise that has endured after all these games, it also has the advantage of the machine
about? Where did the idea come from, and years. Why do you think that is? cabinet that goes with the game and being able
what were your sources of inspiration? We're very pleased to hear that fans still enjoy to create something that uses the cabinet and
AKASI A It started very simply-we the series and that it has stood the test of time. the graphics to create an experience.
needed to make an arcade shooting game. With We've tried to keep the game from getting
that we started looking at psycho thrillers that complicated; rather we have always thought What’s your favorite zombie movie and why?
were popular in Japan at the time and other to keep it simple with pick-up-and-play game The Evil Dead. It caused a lot of nightmares for
TV dramas. From there we got the idea that it mechanics while trying to deliver something, me when |was a kid. It is certainly the first thing
would be better to make a game that is horror even if it is one big thing, that really makes the I think of when someone mentions zombies.
based in something that had the possibility of player jump. The movie version of The House of
the Dead was
happening; rather than ghosts or monsters, we “special.”
wanted enemies that were humanoid in shape. What do you think is the key to makinga
good light-gun game? If the zombie apocalypse were to occur in
What would you say are the defining charac- The key point is the reaction to shooting and real life, what measures would you take to
teristics of the franchise? being shot; making sure that the reaction ensure your survival?
The ability to mix both fear and exhilaration in matches or exceeds the expectation. The other Run away like they do in all the movies. I’m not
gameplay. Also, having realistic enemies attack element is making sure that the pacing and going to stand up and be a hero like [in] the
you in a variety of ways; that keeps you on the tempo engage a player fully. games. I'd be beaten down really fast if | did.
edge of your seat. [Laughs]
How have you had to adjust your develop-
Theseries' main protagonist is mysteriously ment philosophies since Sega’s arcade Any chance you could give us a hint as to your
referred to as “б.” We've gotta know: what heyday? What are the main differences team's next project?
does G stand for? between developing an arcade title anda We're currently working on finishing up the
He continues to be referred to as "G" and his console game? Rambo arcade game, and as the title suggests,
history is still shrouded in mystery. The main philosophy hasn’t changed over the it is fully licensed. It certainly will provide differ-
years, and that is, it needs to surprise and ent types of thrills, so please, check it out!

OCTOBER 2008 49
 hough it was released 14 years ago, Kirby Super
Star is still considered one of the pink puffball's A condensed version of Kirby's
best, thanks in no small part to the fact that it original adventure, Kirby's
inc luded nine games on one cartridge, which Dream Land for Game Boy,
allowed for varied gameplay and hours of adven- Spring Breeze is intended to
ture. TheS ES original has been one of the most-requested give you a healthy dose of
games for he Virtual Console (a tip of the hat to everyone nostalgia while familiarizing
who voted or it in our poll), but Nintendo has done us one you with Kirby Super Star
better with Kirby Super Star Ultra on DS, a reimagining of Ultra's gameplay mechanics.
ЯШАЙДЫд
the origina that's slated for a September release. King Dedede's stolen all the
On 04 | vens 490005]
Kirby Super Star Ultra contains all of the games from food from Dream Land, and
the original Kirby Super Star, enhanced with beautiful new it's up to Kirby to get it back,
graphics an d animations, as well as touch-screen function- defeating the King and his
ality for some of them. On top of that, the game features minions in the process. With a
P nS
two brand-new adventure modes and two new arena difficulty of only one star and
modes, bringing the total number of subgames to 13. On the a play time of 15-30 minutes,
following pages we'll dig into all nine returning challenges Spring Breeze isn't very tax-
(and their d ifficulty levels; each game is rated out of seven ing; it's a good place to start,
Stars) as we Il as the brand-new touch-screen minigames. especially if you haven't played
any Kirby games before.

BY ТОМ HOLOIEN
50 NINTENDO POWER
 The giant armored bird named Dyna
Blade destroys Dream Land's crops,
The first game to offer a real challenge, Great Cave
and Kirby takes it upon himself to
Offensive comes in at four stars and introduces some
investigate. At three stars, this game
advanced enemies and environmental elements, such as
is atad more challenging and gives
wind. Unlike the previous two games, which had you playing
you a longer adventure than Spring
through a few stages to reach the final boss, the goal of
Breeze (offering five stages, compared
Great Cave Offensive is not to defeat an enemy but to collect
to Spring Breeze's four). By the time
as many of the 60 treasure chests hidden throughout the
you're done with it you should be pretty
On 04 | ws.ums game as possible. It takes multiple playthroughs and back-
comfortable with the game's controls
tracking to find them all, but it's worth it to discover gems
and mechanics. Though it starts slow, тасв 5, X
like a Koopa Shell from the Mario universe, a DK barrel, and
Dyna Blade is challenging at times, and
the Triforce from the Zelda series. Don't be surprised if you
it's a good idea to play through it before
spend hours on this one.
moving on to the tougher games.
(УСШ |

Think you have what it takes

to destroy the Halberd?
Revenge of Meta Knight has
four-star difficulty, and it's
not a cakewalk—especially
since you're racing a timer in
every stage, and if you don't
get through it in time you'll
lose a life. Moving stages and
stages with extreme wind
arethe norm, and the pace is
much more frantic than the
US IMETRIKNIGHTAR ON The final adventure game from the original Kirby Super
previous games. Meta Knight
Star, Milky Way Wishes offers a twist on the gameplay
and his subordinates' com-
you've gotten used to: rather than stealing powers from
mentary as you dismantle
Нарверр = enemies, Kirby must find the Copy Essences Deluxe that are
their ship bit-by-bit is price-

кл
scattered throughout each stage; they allow him to access
less, and the final swordfight
those powers at.any time through the touch screen or the
with Meta Knight is epic.
pause menu. With Kirby trying to settle a dispute between
This is definitely one of the
the sun and the moon, you'll travel to different planets,
highlights of the title.
each of which has a theme, such as fire, ice, or water, and
you'll face an appropriate boss at the end of each. Though
it's rated five stars, Milky Way Wishes is easier than it seems
since extra lives are plentiful and you can call on helpers at
any time using your Copy Essences, but that doesn't take
Gourmet Race feels more like away from its fun factor.
aminigame than a full-fledged
game. It pits you against King
Dedede (or another player over a
wireless connection) as you race
through three stages, gathering
as much food as possible along
the way. You get points for
reaching the finish line first and
for each food item you collect,
and whoever has the most points
at the end wins. At two stars,
it's not particularly tough and
it's over quickly, though it adds
replayability through a time-trial
mode in which you can set ghost
records and race against them.
It's a nice break between
adventures, but probably not the
mode you'll play the most.

ocrosen 2008 DÅ
 This classic minigame is a test of timing, and you'll
be tasked with pulling off three button presses
às accurately as possible in order to deliver the
most powerful blowtosome cement blocks (and
the planet underneath). As the only minigame that
isn't reaction-based, it's a fun change of pace, and
cameos from the cast of Mario in the crowd are a
nice touch.

Face off samurai-style

against increasingly tough
enemies (ora friend) па
quick-draw reflex game. Your
characters will face each
other, music will play, and
then an exclamation point will
appear, after which the first
person to hit a button wins.
Samurai Meta Knight (Meta
Samurai?) is particularly cool.

The Arena presents a supreme

challenge: face all 19 bosses
from the other six games back-
to-back, with only one life, a
helper character, and a handful
of Maxim Tomatoes to help you
along. Though you get a choice of
power-ups at the beginning, after
that you'll be offered two random
ones after each boss, which often
forces you to choose between
spending a healing item or taking
aless desirable power-up to keep
your helper character alive. This
one earns all six of its difficulty
stars, and it's definitely not for the
faint of heart.

WE WANTED TO REVEAL EVERYTHING there is to know about Kirby Super

Star Ultra, but King Dedede threatened to crunch our noggins with his mallet if
we didn't leave a few surprises. What we couldn't show you are the Revenge
of the King mode, the Meta Knightmare Ultra mode, and two new Arena
modes, which provide some of the game's toughest challenges. Kirby
Super Star Ultra is far from a simple remake—the new content alone could
have been a standalone release. The best part? The game is designed as a
title that everybody can enjoy; though it starts off easy, the last few games
present a challenge to even the most seasoned video game veterans.
Nintendo seems to have created a game with near-universal appeal, and we
can't wait to see the final product.

52 NINTENDO POWER
 AVAILABLE NOW

та?

www. 2ksports:ċom/games/mlbpp20084 ы.

KONAMI
Visit www.esrb.org
for rating information ЧІ PlayStation.2 NINTENDOS. Wi i
я = > as
All rights reserved. 2K Sports, the 2K Š
its are used with permission of Major
rs Choice on the web at www.MLBPlayers.com. © МВР 2008/ МИ
5 are trademarks of Nintendo. © 2006 Nintendo. The ratings icon is a registered trademark oí
The recent Electronic Entertainment
Expo (E3) gave publishers a chance
to show off the latest and greatest
games that are headed to Nintendo
systems in the coming months—some
new, some improved, and some com-
pletely unexpected. We sifted through
the cavalcade of titles to pick the top
15 games we're most excited about for
the remainder of 2008 and beyond.

BY JUSTIN CHENG, CHRIS HOFFMAN & STEVE THOMASON a

 0 | THE BIG 15

Facebreaker
КО Party When we first sible controls and engaging in a
saw the Wii knock-down drag-out slugfest.
version of Intuitive punching motions with
Facebreaker the nunchuk and remote let you
a few months throw high left and right jabs
ago, it looked at your opponent's face, and by
very promising. Now that we’ve holding down B while swinging
been ableto play it, that promise you can strike your opponent's
seems ever closer to being body. Other moves arejustas
fulfilled. Facebreaker KO Party (as simple—you hold A and swing for get fancy, you can block while wears good and evil sock puppets
it's now known) certainly delivers a haymaker, hold Z to block, and charging, which lets you parry an as boxing gloves), Sparrow (a
when it comes to pick-up-and-play raise either the remote or nunchuk opponent's attack. speedy female fighter pilot), Steve
arcade-style boxing—we had no over your shoulder to charge up. It all becomes second nature as (a self-taught fighter who learned
problem easing into the acces- for a powerful hit. If you want to soon as you step into one of the to compete by watching TV; he
colorful arenas and start slugging uses the Crane Kick from The
away with one of the game's 13 Karate Kid), Kiriko (a raver girl),
diverse fighters. We'd already seen and Tiki (a monkey).
a good chunk of the game's cast, As you pummel your opponent,
but it was our first time in the ring ameter fills up that lets you
with Socks (a mental patient who execute four levels of Breaker
punches, ranging from the
Bonebreaker to the Facebreaker
(which, although it uses your
entire special meter, instantly
KOs your opponent if it connects).
Our only concern about the game
is that throws (accomplished by
pressing the remote’s Control Pad)
seem a little cheap. Nonetheless,
we had a blast, and that's without
experiencing the full extent of the
multiplayer options-something we
intend to explore in depth as the
game's release draws closer.

Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood

lith its release just around the corner
ic's RPG debut seemsto be coming
ether quite nicely. The game takes a
aditional approach to the genre
listinctiveness of each character
in your party lendsitcons le depth
n v
hile explorin the rid and w ged in
X In typical Bi shion, yo >ot lots
ition options hen it comes ding your
зеса! moves your charac
learn to nurtu y critt
r fighters with various bon
that remains is how the story v 1 shape up, but €
optimistic given Bic "s track ecord and the quality of
the writing we've seen so far.

OCTOBER 2008 55
 Wii Music Wii Music isn't ple, you press the 1 and 2 Buttons
really a video (putting the remote up to your face
game-at to complete the simulation is up to
least, notin you). Don't worry about timing or
the traditional accuracy—just play for the fun of
sense. The it. Unlike games like Guitar Hero or domain tunes, licensed hits, and with a virtual drum kit. The latter
gameplay is fairly simple—just Rock Band, Wii Music is all about Nintendo game favorites. With 50 allows you to attach a nunchuk and
shake your remote or press the playing an instrument without the songs such as "Twinkle, Twinkle, hook up a Wii Balance Board to get
remote's buttons to start playing anxiety that comes with trying to Little Star," "From the New World," the full effect. By pressing buttons
your instruments (over 50 in all). perform as perfectly as possible. "Turkey in the Straw," "Yankee or hitting different directions on
It’salot like playingair guitar: It's an experience that all kinds Doodle," and “Super Mario Bros.,” your Control Pad or stick, you
you approximate the appropriate of people can enjoy (up to four there's something for everyone. select which drums and cymbals
action, even if you have no idea players at once). This accessibility In addition to jamming, other you hit, while steppingon the
how to really play the instrument. is further underscored by the modes let you ring handbells, Balance Board to hit the kick drum
To play the saxophone, for exam- track list, which includes public conduct an orchestra, and play or open and close the hi-hat.

Castlevania Judgment holy water), and unleashing melee

combos and special attacksto
send each other into the afterlife.
We didn't have a chance to get into
We know-the in head-to-head combat, and as the battles are basically bouts of
the nuances of combat, but this is
ideaofa producer Koji Igarashi predicted, controlled chaos as you and your
definitely not a shallow waggle-
Castlevania it was a natural fit to crack Simon's opponent run around the arena,
fest; blocking is essential. In fact,
fighting game whip or swing Alucard's sword by smashing open candles, collecting
that was once of our few criticisms
is kind of gesturing with the Wii remote. The power-ups, tossing subweapons
of the game in its early form—it
weird. But now action is amazingly fast-paced— (such as the cross boomerangor
seems to favor defensive players.
that we've had some hands-on
Beyond providing solid action,
time with Castlevania Judgment,
Judgment also offers some of the
we're fairly convinced that the
best visuals we've yet seen on
game is going to be a lot of fun,
Wii, and the inclusion of fantastic
even if it's not exactly what fans
remixes of classic Castlevania
of the series are used to. We put
tunes never hurts.
Simon Belmont, Maria Renard,
and Alucard through their paces

56 NINTENDO POWER
 EU
пазва =e
ic Se

The official website

of the internet
sus
m m zса ВОД m паm m
Major Minor's
Majestic March For thefirst whimsical locales and recruiting
set it as slowly or as quickly as
you like (within reason), but
you then have to maintain that
tempo as consistently as possible
giving yourself over to the game
difficult to resist no matter how
goofy you might look while play-
ing. If you mess up or your rhythm
time in more additional musicians along the way throughout the stage (an onscreen becomes unstable, your band will
than six for a more robust performance. metronome is there to help the start to get confused and certain
years, game Skeptical that such a game can rhythmically challenged). As you members may eventually drop out.
designer/ stand out in today's crowded march along, you'll come across Fortunately, your cavalcade has
musician rhythm genre? To quote the sage potential band members you can quite the sweet tooth, and you can
Masaya Matsuura and artist advice of a certain rhyme-busting add to your ensemble by flicking get them back on track by handing
Rodney Alan Greenblat-the canine, "You gotta believe!" the remote in their direction. out jellybeans you find along the
creative team behind PaRappa Having finally had a chance to Each new recruit impressively road. We told you it was weird.
the Rapper—have joined forces to take up the baton for ourselves adds another layer to the song in It’s also pretty simple at
bring us another delightfully weird at E3, we came away completely real time, and you can assemble this point, but the developers
music game. Due this holiday charmed. Each parade begins more than 50 performers with 15 promise to keep us marching
season, Major Minor's Majestic with you establishing your different instruments. The larger with more than 30 tunes from
March has players wielding the desired tempo by swinging the your procession, the more rousing around the world, as well as addi-
Wii remote like a conductor's remote up and down. You can the experience, which makes tional gameplay elements such as
baton, leading their marching obstacles that need to be avoided,
band through a variety of baton-twirling intermissions, and
two-player festivities. Now if only
they could include Wii Balance
Board support.

“Like PaRappa, Major Minor’s Majestic March isn’t exactly

a technical marvel, but Greenblat's whimsical art gives ita
certain visual appeal.

um „ТҮТТҮ
x

Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars

Arguably, the biggest bombshell dropped at Nintendo's pre-E3 press conference was that Rockstar is bringing
the insanely popular Grand Theft Auto series to the DS this winter. Details are still scarce, but we know that
Chinatown Wars is set in Liberty City (the locale made famous by most of the numbered entries in the series)
and boasts new characters and an all-new engine, along with the free-form gameplay that fans of the series
have come to expect. That's enough to get us—and millions of hardcore gamers—extremely excited.

58 NINTENDO POWER
 TEENITI
AMEDI

md
ii

~ Molar: bt
x Ong) VOL LPEE

Join Naruto and 50 Characters

onan All-New Mission!

Use Exciting New Squad Leader -

and Ninja Tag Systems

BuildYour UltimateSquad |
теп 8 \ hen Battle,
АШ Friends]

ЕМЕВУОМЕ
Сгифе Нитог
Mild Cartoon Violence
Suggestive Themes
ESRB CONTENT RATING www.esrb.org INaruto.Tomy-USA:.com D3PUBLISHER’
NARUTO ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO. All Rights Reserved narksofShueisha, Inc in the U.S. and other countries.This product is manufactured, distributed and sold under license from VIZ a, LLC, All Rights
Reserved, Game and Software ©2006 TOMY. PATH OFTHI j idits logo of TOMY. VIZ А nd its logo are trademarksofVIZ Media, LLC. D3Publisher an logo are trademarksof
D3Publisher of America, Inc. Nintendo DS is a trademark rere radertork of the Entertainment Software Association
Wii Sports Resort There's no the new Wii MotionPlus peripheral The gameplay
denying the that's included with the game (see couldn't be
immense Sidebar), you'll be able to perform simpler—after
popularity of actions that are more accurate and grabbing your
Wii Sports. true-to-life than ever before. Frisbee-style flying disc from your flick it forward to toss the disc in
Responsible Of the three events revealed pooch (who you might recognize the desired direction. Your puppy
for selling millions of Wii consoles, for Wii Sports Resort thus far, Disc from Wii Fit) with the A Button, you pal will rush out and attempt to
the original Wii Sports offered Dog is probably the most relaxing. simply pull your hand back and grab the disc out of the air; the
accessible, responsive pick-up- closer you get to your designated
and-play fun for casual and hard- target, the more points you'll earn.
core gamers alike. The sequel, Wii What impressed us the most about
Sports Resort, is primed to do the Disc Dog is how responsive it was;
same when it launches next spring. by mimicking real-life motions,
As its name implies, the game you can throw the disc any way
revolves around an island-vacation you want—even straight up or right
theme, and it offers more than 10 into the ground (but don't expect
fun-in-the-sun events with which to score any points that way).
you can test your skills. But Wii Also on display was Power
Sports Resort isn’t just more of the Cruising, a jet-ski racing challenge
same with a tropical tan—thanks to in which your goal is to success-

S A Cet
Š Val
ne I с.
8 NX

Wii MotionPlus

"E
 pm mnm m m PPG C ra020202El asas:
|

fully navigate a course through a

Series of checkpoints. To play the
game, you hold the remote and
nunchuk sideways like handlebars
and turn them to steer, and you
twist the remote like a throttle to
activate a speed boost. With the
lead programmer of Wave Race
64 working on Wii Sports Resort,
Power Cruising is full of potential.
The last (but not least) of the
events we tried was Sword Play, a we tired ourselves out with several
two-person sword duel in which minutes of relentless offense); it's
you wail on your opponent until about watching your opponent,
he plummets into the sparkling holding the B Button to block their
blue water below. Wii owners have attacks, and striking when you see
been hoping for a sword-fighting an opening.
game that features one-to-one These three events are just
responsiveness and reads every the beginning—several others
nuanced motion you make, and have yet to be revealed, including
Sword Play delivers—you can swing multiplayer events for up to four
at any angle, and your on-screen players. Some of the multiplayer
character will mimic the same activities won't require the Wii
motion. But Sword Play isn't just MotionPlus attachment, so your
about wildly attacking (as the NP “technologically impaired friends
staff learned the hard way after can still get in on the action.

Disc Dog really demonstrates the new level

of control afforded by the Wii MotionPlus
attachment. Go catch it, pooch!

Wario; Land: Shake It!' eg

‫“دو‬‎
With Nintendo focused primarily
on the mass-market audience at „> У
ЕЗ, Wario's latest hijinks didn't
get a lot of exposure. But we had
so much fun with this beautifully
hand-drawn platformer that we
decided to put it on this month's cover. By injecting
traditional side-scrolling action with inventive use
of the Wii remote, Shake It! offers a joyous blend of
old and new. For the full scoop, head to page 34.

OCTOBER 2008 61
 LER
E CD 0

Chrono Trigger
As soon as characters via the touch screen
we heard during exploration and trigger
that Chrono battle commands during combat.
Trigger, one of Ofcourse, if you prefer doing
the greatest things the old-fashioned way
RPGs ofall you can always just play with the
time, was coming to DS we were good ol' Control Pad and buttons.
thrilled; now that we've played it We're greatly looking forward to
we're even more so. Though it's reacquainting ourselves with the
onthe small screen, the game heroic Crono, his perky friend
contains all the detailed visuals, Marle, scientific minded Lucca,
deep gameplay, and compelling. and their memorable assortment
characters that made it so of allies in the months ahead.
legendary on the SNES. Even the
translation seems remarkably
close to that of the original (which
isn't a bad thing-the SNES version
boasts some of the best writing
of its era). Although these screen-
shots don't show it, the game also
makes great use of the DS's lower
screen-not only does it show a
map of your current area (not that
die-hard fans who've memorized
every inch of the game will really
need it), but it lets you move your

Rhythm Heaven
The greatest the stylus for just the right number
Game Boy of beats. If you messed up, the
Advance title other disgruntled chorus members
to never see would shoot you a dirty look. It's
the light of humorous little touches like that,
day on these combined with some brilliantly
shores was Rhythm Tengoku,a creative play mechanics, that
quirky and devilishly addictive made us fall in love with the GBA
piece of software from the folks original. And while it's too early
who brought us WarioWare. to tell if the DS version will live up
Fortunately, it looks as if Nintendo to those lofty standards, we're
is going to make it up to us by certainly encouraged by what
bringing the DS follow-up to we've played thus far.
North America later this year.
Like its predecessor, Rhythm
Heaven is a collection of rapid-fire,
music-themed minigames that,
while eminently simple, are
overflowing with personality. Of
the three challenges on display
at E3 (the full game will include
dozens), our favorite involved you
"singing" as the third member of a
chorus. You had to hold the stylus
against the touch screen until it
was your character's turn to belt
out a hearty “LAAAAA!” then lift

62 euo ower
 ick-üp
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EVERYONE 10+ ти.

Mild Violence

ESRB CONTENT RATING___www.esrb.org

 Animal Crossing: City Folk
The original as you see fit. You'll get to use in the city, the urban locales let NINTENDO POWER You
Animal tools such as a shovel, an axe, a you see what your friends are up to recently said that creativity
Crossing watering can, a fishing rod, and in fresh and creative ways. and communication were at the
proved to aslingshot, and thanks to the If you want to meet with other core of Animal Crossing. Can
gamers that game's real-time clock, you'll get players face-to-face, however, you you elaborate on that and how it
you don't need to partake of time-specific events can do that, too—up to four friends evolved into a game?
to save the world or rescue the (such as holidays) and make can visit each other's towns over
princess to have fun—you can have discoveries that occur only during Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. What's
a blast just decorating your home, certain seasons or times of day. more, you'll be ableto talk and
designing new fashions, buying Part of the joy of Animal Crossing hang out as if you were all in the e с
furniture, looking for seashells, is that there's always something same room since City Folk will be
catching bugs, or simply relaxing new to discover. the first gameto support the new
with friends duringa holiday get-
together. The latest installment
Of course, there's plenty of
new content as well. As you might
WiiSpeak microphone peripheral.
Not your speed? Maybe typing
^w)
of the hit series—titled Animal guess from the game's title, messages using the game's USB KATSUYA EGUCHI Oneofthe
Crossing: City Folk—returns to that there's a city that exists separate keyboard support is for you. And things that | was looking at when
simple and care-free premise, only from your town, and you can you can do more than contact coming up with the idea behind
with a host of all-new features that travel there by bus for a number of other Animal Crossing players— Animal Crossing was basically a
build upon the series’ underlying reasons: you can go to Harriett's you can send messages to friends’ situation where I had time to play
principles of creation, community, salon to get a new 'do or to put email accounts and cell phones, games or do activities by myself,
and calendar. your Mii's face on your character, and even attach pictures you've and then there were times with
Like in previous Animal you can check out the latest fash- taken (via City Folk's new in-game the family, but |needed a bridge
Crossing games, you're cast as ions at Gracie's, you can visit the photography feature) to show between the two.... |was looking
the newcomerin town, but if you auction house to bid on items put them what they're missing out on. to create some vehicle by which |
played previous titles in the series, up for sale by your friends, you can The potential of Animal could maybe create something and
you'll already feel at home as you catch Dr. Shrunk's comedy show Crossing: City Folk seems almost then they could go in and take a
engage in familiar activities that to learn new emotions, or you can limitless, so we spoke to the look at what I'd done, or we could
allow you to earn money, expand see the hottest interior designs game's producer (and series have a shared experience even if it
your house, associate with your atthe Happy Room Academy, creator), Katsuya Eguchi, to find wasn't at the same time.
neighbors, and beautify the town for example. Although you can't out what else he has in store.
interact with other players directly If you just sat down for the first
timeand started playing Animal
Crossing: City Folk, what are the
first things you'd do?
You start off on a bus. It's the same
beginning that you see in the other
[games in the] series in that you're

rightcitylightsbeckoninAnimal Crossing: CityFolk,with

placestosee,thingsto d , andcritters to meet.

64 „ень power
on your way into town. You're have visitors come to your actual
moving into town. It's what you'd town. Including yourself, you can
expect: you're on the bus, you get have up to four people wandering
asked a bunch of questions—you around the town.
know, what’s your name, where are
you moving, that sort of same initial Why do you feel that this is an
setup. You move in, you choose ideal title to come out simul-
the location of where your house taneously with the WiiSpeak
will be, you go to work for Tom microphone?
Nook-it’s the same initial setup Well, you know, one of the things
that you're used to with Animal about Animal Crossing is that you
Crossing. go to all of the trouble of designing
your home or laying out your
What would you, personally, do will interact with players within Academy. So the Happy Room village to the extent of [placing]
asa player once you're past that the city area is through the auction Academy will choose a room based your flowers and trees and whatnot
setup? house. The auction house is a place on the scores and they will display to customize your village. And
1 would probably travel to the city where you can go and you can take that exact room within the Happy when people come to visit, you
and I'd go into Harriet's, a salon, ап item that you wish to sell. You Room Academy showroom. So want to know what they think. And
and then I'd put on my Mii mask, go into the auction house and you you're able to go in and the person up until this point you could, of
and then | would come back.... Once give it to them and they place it up who's attending the showroom-it's course, send a letter saying, “1 like
I've done that, it's mine. | can take it on display. And then other players, Lyle, who was actually the insur- this,” but WiiSpeak allows you the
off, | can put it back on- depending as they visit, can go into the auction ance salesman in the last game—he opportunity to have that sort of
on what my mood was-and my house and they will say, “Oh, look! will say, "And today in the Happy feedback in real time.
feeling is that when my friends Here's item whatever-it-is! I've Room Academy Showroom we're And I'd consider Animal Crossing
came to visit, rather than my always wanted that!" And they'll featuring theroom from so-and-so to be a very relaxed, sort of infor-
Animal Crossing character, I'd put put a bid in. And other players as in Animal Town." So in that sort of mal experience. And, of course,
my Mii face on so | could play as me they come in, again, consecutively, way you can see what other people human dialogue can bejust that, in
with my friends. can go into the auction house and are doing with some of the more that without any sort of preparation
people can start a bidding war on a creative room-designing aspects of or anything like that you just talk
Sothe big new thingin City Folk particular item. the game. with people and tell them what
is obviously the city. What can And the other way that players [The city] is a place for people you feel and what you're thinking,
you tell us about it? can see what other players around who you have registered as Wii and WiiSpeak allows you to have
The city, the image that we've built the globe are doing is the Happy Friends—and those are ones that that really informal, spontaneous
this [game] upon, is a place where Room Academy showroom. And you are able to send messages interaction with people inside of
players go in, not at the same time, basically the showroom is a place through the Wii message board-if agame that embodies that same
but consecutively, not simultane- to display rooms that have received you both have Animal Crossing. sort of spirit. We thought it was a
ously. And one of the ways that they high scores from the Happy Room really good marriage between the
What parts of the game hardware and the software.
promote simultaneous player
interaction? Other than the new city content
As with the DS version, you can we've talked about, what other

OCTOBER 2008 65
 new activities can you do in the DS to one of the service areas and
game? download new content that way.
Well, |think one of the big things We're definitely moving forward
this time is the ability to take. with that in Japan.
photos inside the game. Now, of
course, you can take those photos How would you say City Folk
and you can attach them to letters compares to your original vision
and you can send them to your for Animal Crossing? Are the
friends. But you can also save them new features things that you'd
to an SD card and then take that SD wanted to do all along?
card over to your computer. You I think the original idea that started
can print out the photos that you've Animal Crossing and what we have
taken. Anything that you could do now are fairly different things. But
with information off an SD card now How will it take advantage of the launch that you could download once we actually created the first
you can do [with in-game photos]. the Wii controls? Will there be asthe game progresses. version of Animal Crossing, |think
Plus, you know, there are new motion-based fishing or digging? each iteration has been a natural
and/or returning events. Some As far as motion-sensor controls, Will it fall into the Pay & Play progression in that evolution of the
ofthe events that were in the we're still looking at some of the category or will it be free? franchise. So this time with Animal
GameCube version that we did not implementations of that, so right This is a free service. If you buy the Crossing: City Folk we've been able
put in the DS version are back. So now we don't have [anything to say software, we're not going to make totake some of the things like,
there are just a lot of things to do. about] what the motion control will you purchase anything else. for example, voice chat. Now with
We have Jingle, the reindeer, that do іп the game. Right now we have WiiSpeak we've been able to put
shows up in the winter holiday. two control schemes. One is with Will City Folk interact with Wild that in. Some of the more creative
Zipper T. Bunny is a rabbit that the Wii remote and the nunchuk.... World in any way? aspects—we want to make it easier
comes and visits, and he buries Or you can play with just the Wii Actually, one of the things you can to create different things. Well,
Bunny Day eggs [on] Bunny Day. remote...and that’s a point-driven dois, if you played the DS version of with the Wii remote functionality
And there's also a carnival event control scheme. Animal Crossing, you can actually and the ability of creating patterns
that takes place. We've got a new take the character that you played in different sections, all of these
character associated with that and Will there be downloadable throughout that game and have things are natural progressions and
new things that happen in town. I content? that character move in and be your ideas we've had every time, and it's
think some of these new events are That's a great question. |was character in the Wii version. One just now easier for us to do.
really a lot of fun... looking forward to that question! other thing you can do with the DS
We're thinking of having a service and Wii this time is—let’s say you're Isthereanything else our readers
Speaking of returning charac- where you can download new not connected to the Internet with should know about the game?
ters, is pretty much everyone furniture, new wallpaper designs, your Wii—you can actually take your You've pretty much drawn out
returning from previous games? new flooring designs, and that sort travel data and download it to your everything that | had! I can't
Yes, they're all back. There are some of thing. And that's not content that DS. Another thing you can do with really think of anything else at the
new ones as well, along with some is already hidden on the disc and the DS—we'd mentioned earlier moment.
ofthe familiar faces you've seen. must be unlocked; this is absolutely downloadable content, say, new
new content we'd be creating after furniture. You'll be able to take the

WiiSpeak

66 NINTENDO POWER
 THE BIG 15

Mega Man 9
We still can't believe we're getting an NES-style Mega Man sequel. Hopefully this
WiiWare title will be a massive hit, sparking other developers to follow in its foot-
Steps. How awesome would a SNES-style Super Mario World 3 be? Or a Sonic the
Hedgehog 4 based on Genesis specs? The mind boggles. To learn more about
MM9, check out our interview with producer Hironobu Takeshita on page 20.

Castlevania:
Order of Eccles la The Castle-
vania series
continues
to be one
of the best
reasonsto
own a DS. Producer Koji Igarashi's
team manages to crank out new
installments with remarkable
regularity, and while the games
may not abound with innovation,
they always deliver a top-notch
adventure. Orderof Ecclesia looks
to be no different.
In case you missed our cover
story in Volume 230, here’s a quick
recap. The game stars a raven-
tressed heroine named Shanoa, the core of Ecclesia’s gameplay and tion as rapiers, throwing knives, handheld, but Order of Ecclesia
charged by the titular Order with bestow Shanoa with myriad abili- flaming swords, humongous raises the bar further. The game
defeating Dracula in the mid 1800s. ties, including some that manifest spears, and something that looks boasts improved animation quality,
The reason Shanoa's the right themselves as weapons. What like a machine gun. Furthermore, more-detailed backgrounds, and
woman for the job is that she alone we've seen thus far hints at the certain Glyphs endow Shanoa anew artist whose painterly
can harness the energies of mysti- staggering armament variety with powerful magic attacks, from character designs are a far better
cal objects called Glyphs. These we've come to expect from the lightning bolts to giant cyclones fit for the series’ Gothic motif than
mysterious sources of power are at series. There are Glyphs that func- to barriers composed of revolving were the generic anime-style
Medusa heads. A recent trailer illustrations of the last two games.
even showed our protagonist using With a soundtrack by famed series
Glyphs to transform into a flying composer Michiru Yamane, the
succubus, as well as aslinky catlike game should be equally pleasur-
creature that could shred enemies ableto the ears.
with its claws. This classic series may not have
Previous DSinstallmentsin changed much over the past few
the series have been among the years, but like its iconic villain,
most visually impressive on the we're always thirsty for more.

ocroser 2008 67
 The Conduit When the Wii system's first year and a half can
|

controller was be counted on one hand. While the

first unveiled, genre still felt underrepresented
Nintendo prof- atthis year's E3, there wasa
fered that one shining beacon of hope in the form
ofthe genres of The Conduit.
to benefit most from the device During our all-too-brief demo,
would be the first-person shooter. it was clear that developer High
And we couldn't have agreed Voltage Software is putting forth
more. It's as close as you'll get aserious effort to raise the bar
to a mouse-and-keyboard setup for third-party Wii titles.Tobegin
while lounging
on the sofa. But for with, the game looks fantastic. As Washington D.C. (more on that in environments, the dramatic real-
whatever reason, the number of we battled through the war-torn amoment), we were consistently time lighting, and the bountiful use
quality shooters released in the streets of an alien-besieged impressed by the complexity of the of normal mapping onall of the
game's enemies and weapons. The
animation quality was excellent
as well, and the action typically
moved at a solid 30 frames per
second (the developers promise
that the occasional hiccups we saw
will be ironed out before release).
In terms of visual fidelity, The
Conduit demonstrates what the
Wii hardware is capable of when
placed in the right hands, and it
puts most other non-Nintendo
efforts to shame.

68 мнтеноо power
 THE BIG 15

The other areain which the

game truly stands out is the
controls. Everything is fully
customizable, including your turn
speed, cursor sensitivity, and the
size of your bounding box (the
area in which you can aim your
reticle without turning). Better
yet, everything can be adjusted
in real time; you simply bring up
agraphical overlay and make the
desired tweaks. Your changes are
reflected immediately, making
it quick and easy to find your
personal sweet spot. Few, if any,
console first-person shooters [Above]
Aswithanygreat first- —
feel this good, and anyone else person shooter, things blowup real|
developing an FPS for Wii would purdy
inThe Cond ў
be well advised to follow in High
Voltage's footsteps.
Not that The Conduit isn't taking
а few cues of its own from previous
behemoths of the genre. Most
notably, the game's sci-fi themes
give off a strong Halo vibe. With
Earth under attack by malicious
alien forces, you play a somewhat
mysterious hero tasked with kick-
ingasmuch extraterrestrial ass as and with plot twists around every
humanly possible.Toaccomplish corner. Fortunately for him, Mr.
that goal, you'll need to procure Ford has the All-Seeing Eye, a
weapons on-site, and you can powerful artifact capable of
wield a variety of both human and doesn't really have a comparable isn't
agenetically enhanced revealing otherwise-invisible
alien armaments (though only two experience. It's a void they're supersoldier. Instead, the man objects, including hidden traps,
atatime). The developers aren't eager
to fill, and if you're going to known only as Mr. Ford is a former Cloaked enemies, and the keys to
shy about the influence of Bungie's borrow, you may as well borrow Secret Service agent who's been many of the game's puzzles.
megahit series on their game and from the best. recruited into a clandestine Though it already feels like
are quickto point out that Wii At least the game's protagonist organization called The Trust. As it's pretty far along, The Conduit
you might expect from the involve- isn't due to hit stores until March
ment of a secret government 2009. High Voltage will use the
agency, the developers promise intervening months to polish the
astory steeped in conspiracy single-player game and work on
delivering the most robust online
offering available on Wii (their
current goals include supporting
16 players at once). The studio has
yet to sign with a publisher for
the title, but it has the resources
to finish development on its own,
allowing the creative team the
freedom to make the game they
want to make. And a game we
“Why can't more Wii gameslook — want to play.
this good? High Voltage has thrown
mthe ntlet.

ocrossn оов 69
 па а ВО ПО
MadWorld Core gamers
looking for
somethingto
latch onto, this
is it. A stylish,
gruesome,
hilariously over-the-top M-rated
action romp from the brilliantly
disturbed minds at PlatinumGames
(Okami, Viewtiful Joe), MadWorld and Jack even showed off a couple around one poor sap, trapping his far too vulgar to reprint here).
is the Wii title we continue to yearn of new WWE-inspired grappling arms to his side before planting The game really does a great job
for more than any other. Though moves, including a giant swing a signpost through the guy's of keeping things light-hearted,
the demo at E3 didn't reveal much and a leaping, over-the-shoulder cranium, then picking him up and preventing the subject matter
in terms of new information, it did backbreaker. hurling him at a wall of spikes. Hey, from ever feeling too disturbing.
reaffirm our belief that the game Of course, why settle for when dealing with bloodthirsty Nevertheless, if it’s not abundantly
will be completely awesome. exterminating
your adversaries thugs, you can never be too clear by now, this one’s intended
Perhaps what impressed just once? To really impress the careful. for mature audiences only.
us most is that protagonist audience and earn more points, We also got to hear a bit We can't wait to see more
Jack, who's a contestant on the Jack can string together all sorts more of the game’s play-by-play of MadWorld, and you can rest
brutal futuristic game show Death of grisly combination fatalities. We commentary, and many ofthe assured that we'll continue to fol-
Watch, went through an entire saw the gruff antihero slam a tire lines were genuinely
funny (though low the game closely in the run-up
level without dispatching any toits March release. On a system
two enemies the same way. We that prides itself on challenging
witnessed a staggering number the status quo, this title cuts the
of context-sensitive finishing status quo in half, throws it in a
maneuvers in just that one locale, dumpster, and lights it on fire.

70 „поо power
 EXPERIENCE & TEST DRIVE

SCENTER
NS L.A. CONVENTION

AN

WORLD EXPO ijo

EVENT
 1988 - 2008 j =

e e special art contests promoted creative

Portrait of the Artists engagement from time to time, and our
monthly Community column continues the
tradition while expanding the canvas to
VIDEO GAMES are surely the most interactive of all media, and the invita- include a multitude of artistic endeavors
tion to participate doesn't stop with playing games, and Nintendo fans in {гот cooking to tattoos. This month, we
particular, stay engaged in many ways, with fan art being one of the most doff our berets to the countless artists who
creative and long-lived expressions of their passion. Nintendo Power has turned their gaming interests into inspired
printed fan art in its pages over much of its history: the Player's Pulse col- art and then shared their work with us.
umn included both envelope art and other types of fan art for many years, By ѕсотт PELLAND

XëINVENTTHEULTIMATE
“ae VIDEOGAME

NINTENDO ===
OWER
THE ULTIMATE VIDEO GAME FAN ARTIST
In the November/December 1988 issue, NP's Howard Phillips invited readers to submit their
ideas for the "Ultimate" video game (1), describing it by virtually any means they saw fit:
written, audio, visual, or tactile. Jeffrey Scott Campbell's winning entry-Lockarm-included
a cornucopia of great art (2). So it was no surprise that Jeffrey went on to a successful career
creating comic book series such as Gen 13 and Danger Girl. To celebrate NP's 200" issue,
we invited Campbell to dish out a little more Nintendo fan art love, which resulted in this
Nintendo character family portrait (

72 NINTENDO POWER
MN EE NDOPSS
 T
—

ЕМЕВУОМЕ

изаа | NINTEN miu! D м"

© 2008 Big Fish Games, Inc. Big Fish Games™ and Mystery Case Files™ are trademarks or registered trademarks of Big Fish Games, Inc. Trademarks are properties of their respective owners. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. O TM т
 O
О F NINTEND—— x
POWER = =:
CLASSIC MOMENTS
mrm
mas- you Or eig yuu жеште ven co The official
call went out inthe
уз : November 1992 issue for envelope
lintendo Sorry, Venio
ату Papcout.MyideoритаБерпа | artthat NP would regularly print in
20d for- Insider’ В +
offered the magazine.
We can only surmise
earl!
‎‫وح‬ what local postal workers thought
кей about receiving thousands of
ne — decorated envelopes every month,
pataand but we expect it was pretty obvious
р
жесе ы ‫ا‬‎ GERE tothem that the colorful correspon-
dence wasn't headed to Redmond's
By NP's sixth issue, art was pouring into other high-tech giant; it's difficultto
the office, and we decided to give our imagine Windows users expressing
readers a peek. Matt Bozon's Legend of Ep es artistic praise in quite this manner.
Zelda-inspired art got the ball rolling.

By early 1996, не cine eger

the inclusion of ‚Ое * с
envelope art was я
50 entrenched
that NP dropped ы
the Envelope Art 4
Showcase label E
and selected art S
became more 13

integrated (nto Many artists took aim at pop culture, 1: pant

the Player's Pulse Ties e i š or
layout. spoofing films and television with a B ‘due
Nintendo twist. i ка!
3; ве
ie
Others had a unique Wrestle Mania
perspective on history. Whoa! finally found ере Л

Pushing the art into Player's Volume 185 debuted a

Pulse's margins beginning redesigned Player's Pulse
with the January 2001 issue (it became simply Pulse)
and highlighting notable sub- to test some of the ideas
missions in the new Artist's we were working on for
Gallery column gave exposure the overall redesign that
to even more artists. was to come. Fan art was
redirected to Nintendo.
com, where monthly
contests ran for both hand
GALLERY drawn and digitally-cre-
ated art. Winning online
submissions returned
in NP's redesigned July
2005 issue and were
shown each month until
November 2007 (Vol. 221).
Since then, various types
of fan art have appeared
in Community.

ocrosen 2008 73
 Power
Profiles

May 13, 1965

Chiba-ken, Japan

Manager, Software
Development Group
No. 1, Nintendo
Entertainment
Analysis and
Development (EAD)

Making kart
racing super

Sushi

“It’s a secret."

Hideki Konno
ILLUST
EMPED
CHRIST
BY

ТА eoo rower
 oshi's Island, Wind Waker, Luigi's Mansion, broad range of classic and been exposed to a lot
Nintendogs, Mario Kart—few game developers Nintendo franchises. of ideas working under
ave a resume as impressive as this month's Does any one game them.
Power Profiles subject. No, we're not talking or series hold special
about Shigeru Miyamoto, but Hideki Konno, a significance for you? Many of your games
manager at Nintendo's famed EAD Software Each title | was involved have prominently
Development Department. Konno has been at with in development featured new hardware
intendo for over 20 years; he learned the ins holds special significance innovations. How does
and outs of game development while working for me. Out of those, NES hardware functionality
on classic titles like Super Mario Bros. 3 and and SNES titles involved influence your approach
Super Mario World. He is perhaps best known much strife and new to game development?
as the driving force behind the superpopular Mario Kart series, most discoveries so they were We are always thinking
recently serving as pro ucer for Mario Kart Wii. From popularizing especially memorable. about how to provide
two-player splitscreen racing with Super Mario Kart to petting pups During the time of Super surprises and fun for
in Nintendogs, Konno has constantly revolutionized the way we play Mario Bros. 3 and Super our users. We constantly
games, a habit that we don't expect him to break anytime soon. Mario World, | wasn't rack our brains, thinking
very experienced in about how to come up
NINTENDO POWER: played games on Apple Il, started to think that work game development so with fresh and innovative
Can you tell us how you 1 was shocked by how fun involving creating games everything was trial and games. For example,
got into the video game it was. | tried out a variety would be enjoyable. When error for me. Also, at when I worked on Luigi's
business? of games including | went out job hunting around that time, game Mansion I was thinking
HIDEKI KONNO: 1 got adventure, simulation, a few years later, the production was all about how fun it would be if you
my start when | was and action games. After first place |went to was innovation. The game were able to accurately
16 and first became that, Nintendo released Nintendo. engines and basic library control the game using
interested in personal the Family Computer [also that are commonplace the two control sticks.
computers. During that known in Japan as the When you were a kid, today weren't available With Nintendogs, we dis-
period, | started to play Famicom, and in North what did you want to be to us during development covered the fun of being
with Japanese-made PCs America as the Nintendo when you grew up? back then. We also had to able to talk to your puppy
and Apple's Apple Il. At Entertainment System]. An astronaut. | wanted build the gameplay ideas through the mic and pet
the time, PCs had this It specialized in games to explore the stars in within the constraints of it with the touch screen.
image of "computers and was relatively cheap. aspaceship on my own. the hardware. | have been In Mario Kart Wii, we
can do anything" and Plus, the games were fun. But that dream was from working with [Shigeru] were able to implement
were advertised as 1 researched it and found when I was about 10. Miyamoto and [Takashi] intuitive controls using
such. But after trying out that it had the 6502 Tezuka since then. | have the Wii Wheel. Hardware
them out, they gave as its CPU, which was You have worked on a made a lot of discoveries innovation can be the
me an impression of the same as the Apple

"Hardware innovation can

seeming like they can do II. PCs cost hundreds of
everything, but not quite. thousands of yen while

be the driving force behind

Of course, it must have the Family Computer
been a revolution for the cost [14,800 yen]. Being

increased imagination in software

business world. But |was able to release that
16 so had no interest in product made methink

development.”
business programs like that Nintendo was an
spreadsheets. But when | intriguing company. |

With over two decades’ worth of Nintendo games under Hideki Konno's belt, it's impossible for us to include all of his hits here.
Suffice it to say, there are many more classic Konno titles where these came from.

(2100257228

ICE HOCKEY
1988, NES SUPER MARIO BROS. 3
DIRECTOR 1990, NES
SUPER MARIO BROS. 2 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SUPER MARIO KART
1988, NES 1992, SUPER NES
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR DIRECTOR

остовек 2008 75
 compatible with Nintendo Wii would have up to 12 development of the DS the Mario Kart DS
Wi-Fi Connection. Using players over Nintendo and we strived for that technique that fans
the Wi-Fi connection will Wi-Fi Connection from goal by trying many refer to as “snaking”?
allow you to play against the beginning of the different things. Our Some players consider
afriend who is very far development process. production environment itahighly skilled way to
away. We had a goal of We believed that if 12 did not change, but race, while others view
providing a safe and players can get together rather we reviewed and itas cheating—what is
seamless system for the from anywhere in the reestablished our goals. your opinion?
multiplayer modes so world, that, in itself, will And we continued on We did not expect such
that as many people as make a very heated race. at full speed, heading a huge difference in
possible can enjoy Mario We had a lot to work on, towards our goal. skill in regards to the
Kart. also think that it is such as improving the straightaway drifts in
important for many users matchmaking speed Which aspect of creat- Mario Kart DS. Ofcourse,
to be able to have fun and being able to join in inga video game do you considering itatechnique
with the Wi-Fi connection. during gameplay, but I enjoy the most? is bad for the overall
We will probably continue believe the final result Developing games has game balance because
to expand the possibilities turned out great. numerous hardships it would cause a huge
of gaming over Wi-Fi and but it is also extremely rift between those who
it will branch off into vari- More than ever, it rewarding. Generally can do it and those who
ous directions. However, seems that Nintendo is speaking, developing can't. For Mario Kart Wii,
it doesn't make sense acompany that thrives agame is not done by we incorporated the Wii
unless the single player on exploring new ideas. one person, but rather Wheel along with the
modes are also fun. How would you compare an entire group working mini-turbo technique.
driving force behind the creative environ- together. Each of the staff Making games with
increased imagination in What
do you feel makes ment within Nintendo members' personalities great gameplay is a high
software development. agreat multiplayer today with years past? tend to get reflected priority for us, and we
experience? The production in the game, and that want to keep challenging
Mario Kart DS and Playing with a large group environment is constantly process will go on while many different ideas. We
Mario Kart Wii have led can make games very changing. But a change we continue to dotrial want to provide games
the way for Nintendo exciting. The Mario Kart in the environment
for and error each step of with great gameplay that
with regards to Wi-Fi series puts great focus development does not the way until we finish. all users can enjoy. The
play. How important do on multiplayer modes necessarily mean that it | find it very exciting to feedback we receive will
you feel that Wi-Fi gam- and has continued to will cause a revolutionary see that while the game certainly be reflected in
ingis today, and how expand on that. SNES change in ideas. Nintendo continues to inch towards the next title.
do you see it evolving in had two players. GBA, had set a huge goal of completion.
thefuture? Nintendo 64, and GCN expanding the gaming Speaking of Mario Kart,
We have been expanding had four. DS allowed up population since the Are you familiar with please tell us: is there
the multiplayer communi- to eight players over the
cation aspect of the Mario wireless connection and
Kart series so the players up to four Mario Kart fans
can better enjoy the from anywhere in the
game with their friends. world with the Nintendo
Mario Kart DS and Wi-Fi Connection. We had
Mario Kart Wii are both decided that Mario Kart

MARIO KART 64
- 1997, NINTENDO 64
DIRECTOR

064

SUPER MARIO WORLD 2: YOSHI'S ISLAND

995, SUPER NES
DIRECTO

LUIGI’S MANSION
001, GAMECUBE
DIRECTOR
76 NINTENDO POWER
 “ „considering [snaking in Mario
game creators do you What is your favorite
most admire or respect, hobby or pastime?

Kart DS] a technique is bad for the

and why? My most recent hobby
That would be my boss, is biking. | even bike to

overall game balance because it

Miyamoto. | have learned work; road bikes are
so much working under lightweight and can

would cause a huge rift between those

Miyamoto for over 20 go quite fast so it feels
years. | have worked in really good. There are

who can do itand those who can't."

software development times that | bike 100km
longer than | was in on my days off. It’s a nice
school; this has allowed change of pace and it lets
any possible way to to narrow while you're “What would the player me to learn so many me relax. It gives me an
dodge the Spiny Shell in focusing on making a do in this scenario?” to things. Recently, my opportunity to put my
Wii or DS versions? game. | think it's impor- continuously build an position as a producer thoughts together. | really
In Mario Kart DS, you're tant to look at things from image of how the game has dictated that | be want to try biking in vari-
not able to dodge the the user's perspective should be. Miyamoto involved in the more ous places like America or
Spiny Shell. In Mario Kart and think things over. has always told us to do product development France. Japan (Kyoto) has
Wii, you can escape them But when coming across so. Of course, the tastes side of things. The range too many intersections
if you use the Mushroom a problem, I think it's and preferences of every of my job functions has and signals.
atthe right timing. Please important to look at the player out there won't be been broadened, and I
give it a try. cause, analyze it and cre- identical. But continuing believe that | still have If you weren’t making
ate theories as to what's to review things from the much to learn. games, what do you
Which era of video causing it and how it can user's viewpoint will help think you’d be doing?
games is dearest to be resolved. It's also cru- us keep things tight with Whose works in other 1 really don't know. But |
your heart, and why? Cial to analyze the cause the way our users view forms of media, such like to think up and create
It's difficult to define the and ask yourself why it our products and our own as film or literature, things, so | probably
best one. | have played happened. Then | ask vision of the products. do you most admire or would have gone into
games since Pong. Home myself what I should do. enjoy? some kind of develop-
consoles from the 8-bit Of course, I can always Do you have any person- There’s not one person ment work.
Family Computer to use my special final move, al goals within the video in particular, but | do try
the Wii console all have "Ask Miyamoto." game industry that you to experience various Finally, if you could
unique games that are have yet to achieve? works such as movies have one superpower,
special to that era. That is When creating a sequel As longas | am involved and books. | believe that what would it be?
what makes it difficult to toa popular game, with development at storing the information Any kind of power? It's fun
say which particular era how do you balance the Nintendo, my goal will be you accumulate in your to just think about it, but
was the best. views of the fans with to continue developing mental drawer is impor- I'm not that interested in
your own vision? products for as many tant. The quantity and a super power. | want to
When you're stumped We always make sure to people as possible in this density of what's inside experience a variety of
bya particularly dif- look at things from the world to enjoy. Being a those mental drawers things and gain overall
ficult problem while viewpoint of a user when- continuous goal, "achiev- really helps when you experience. I would very
creating a game, what's ever we create a game. ing" it will probably be are putting together your much like to experience
your process for work- We come up with theories very difficult. ideas or coming up with more things and lead a
ing through it? like “In this situation, how new ones. fun and happy life.
Your field of view tends would the player feel?" or What other games or

MARIO KART Wii

2008, Wii
PRODUCER
NINTENDOGS
2005, NINTENDO DS
PRODUCER
MARIO KART DS
2005, NINTENDO DS
PRODUCER
OCTOBER 2008 7 7
 REVISITING THE CLASSICS.

«PLAY
There'sa
whatinmy
head?

STILL CHASING
SHADOWS
Data East wasn’t the only
company to take a crack at
PLATFORM: SUPER NES
the Shadowrun franchise—
DEVELOPER: BEAM SOFTWARE
Sega published an entirely
PUBLISHER: DATA EAST
different Shadowrun game
RELEASE DATE: MAY 1993
for the Genesis only
afew
COVERED IN ISSUES: 45, 48, 50,
months later. With an over-
52,53,56
head perspective, open-
NUYEN TO RENT A SAMURAI: 800
world structure, and avery
cool first-person Matrix
interface, the Genesis ver-
Shadowrun opens with hero Jake
sion was every bit as good
Armitage kicking his way out of
as its SNES cousin.
a morgue's corpse locker, deter-
mined to find the gunmen who put
him there. That would make for
an unusually gritty opening even
today, but in the SNES era of light-
He's drinking iced tea. You could only take hardcore so far in 1993.
hearted fantasy, it was downright
shocking. Clearly the folks at
Beam Software didn't much care button, you guide a floating hand hacking scenes in which you enter
what everyone else was doing, as or crosshair to your target and acomputerized world known as
nearly every aspect of Shadowrun select actions from a menu. (That the Matrix (yes, long before the
broke from the prevalent Dragon system was clearly inspired by a movie) to disable enemy defense
Quest formula. Battles are fought computer mouse, yet annoyingly, Systems or steal money from
with guns and ranged spells on Shadowrun is incompatible with electronic bank accounts. But the
the same field map where you do the actual SNES mouse.) setting also has a splash of fantasy,
your exploring, yet conversations Much of the game's quirkiness mixing in races like elves and trolls
take place in a separate window comes from its imaginative plus an assortment of magical
Things went downhill
where you can select from lists of near-future Seattle setting, spells. Jake can master the game's
from there, however.
collected keywords to ask specific which was first detailed in the skills himself or hire hackers and
Japanese developer
questions. Instead of examining Shadowrun pencil-and-paper shaman to join him as Al-controlled
Compile made а Sega CD
objects and attacking foes by RPG. The game features heavy party members.
version in 1996, which was
approaching them and tapping a cyberpunk elements, including Sure, Shadowrun looks sort of
little more than a digital
ugly, and you'll frequently get stuck
comic with RPG-style bat-
when you fail to notice some tiny
tles. Far inferior to the pre-
note or key amidst the cluttered
vious games, it was never
environments. But when you're
given an international
racing against time to defuse
release. A planned PC title
abomb that's been surgically
wascanceled, and the
implanted in your brain, or raiding
series fell dormant until
skyscrapers by hacking security
Microsoft revived it for
systems and blasting orc security
a poorly received Xbox 360
guards in cubicle-maze shoot-outs,
shooter їп 2007. The video-
you won't miss the trite save-the-
game rights to Shadowrun
world plots and tired dungeons
are now held by Smith
settings of nearly every other RPG.
& Tinker, anew company
Shadowrun was one of a kind in
established by one of
1993, and amazingly it remains
thefranchise’s original
that way 15 years later. -CASEY L.
creators.

lI HAVE A FAVORITE CLASSIC GAME YOU”D LIKE TO SEE REVISITED?

l Send us your requests—we'll consider them for a future installment of Playback. nintendopower@futureus.com

78 NINTENDO POWER
 Ime ET
May contain content
inappropriate forchildren. - Р — n " E

Visit www.esrb.org for r age SM, До:

rating information. = NINTEN DODS. uf America аж —
=
www.NISAmerica.com SOFTWARE
© 2008 NIPPON ICHI SOF iC. © 2008 NIPPON ICHI SOFTWARE INC. /Hit Maker Co.,Ltd. © 2008 NIS America, Inc. Disgaea is a registered trademark, A Witch's Tale and Rhapsody are trademarks of NIPPON ICHI
SOFTWARE INC. All righ 4. Nintendo DS is a trademark of Nintendo. © 2004 Nintendo. The rating icon is a trademark of the Entertainment Software Association. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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f) PT
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Pr, Q Y AFTER А MYSTERIOUS COMET FALLS TO EARTH,
sss e STRANGE THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN IN THE
T ГА UNDERGROWTH. MUSHROOMS СОМЕ TO LIFE AND TAKE
I SIDES- GOOD VS. EVIL. CHOOSE FROM THREE UNIQUE
2 1 / CLASSES AND PROTECT YOUR VILLAGE FROM THE
ү / MUSHROOMS ТНАТ WOULD DESTROY P aud
YOUR WAY OF LIFE.

'OLUTIONARY COURSE OF THE EARTH. PAX, OUR

BOLETE HERO, MUST TAKE ON THIS JOURNEY BY
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ORIGIN OF THE MUSHROOM RACE? WILL THIS
KNOWLEDGE CHANGE THE COURSE OF EVOLUTION?
WILL THE MUSHROOM WAR FINALLY END?
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ESRBCONTENTRATING TEE © 2006 - 2008 Red Fly Studio and Zen Studios Ltd. © 2008. All Rights Reserved. Gamecock Media Group.

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Nintendo DS are trademarks of Nintendo. ©2006 Nintendo. All other trademarks and trade names
MUSHROOMMEN. COM
 IN-DEPTH REVIEWS OF ALL THE LATEST GAMES
We make Б ©
thecall
оп=

does itbring
the heat Ü
warm the |
bench? рада

pi Бука)

DisageaDS 88
Dragon Quest IV:
Chapters
oftheChosen 86
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo
Pirelli (0S) 90
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo
STAR WARS: THE FORCE UNLEASHED (Wii) Pirelli(Wii) ос
CREDITS 0:3. г CREDILSTO 4:
SNK ARCADE CLASSICS VOL. 1 89 Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility 9С
Mario Super Sluggers 6
Pop Cutie! Street Fashion
Simulation
Sam & Max Season
One
SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1
Star Wars: The Force
Unleashed (05)
Star Wars: The Force
Unleashed (Wii)
Tiger Woods PGA
Tour09All-Play
"EM vo г:
TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 09 ALL-PLAY DRAGON QUEST IV: CHAPTERS OF THE CHOSEN

EET
 D

—
===

The Quintessential Dragon Quest

that you'll use exactly once. In ment in 1992, but they're little While the developers
DRAGON QUEST IV: combat you'll choose between more than an annoyance now missed several opportunities
CHAPTERS OF THE Attack, Magic, Defend, and Item (fortunately, you can turn the to modernize Dragon Quest's
CHOSEN options. You'll usually attack. option off for most characters). gameplay, they put a lot of
You'll never defend. You'll learn Another innovation was the energy into updating the game's
PLATFORM:DS spells that raise or lower stats, ability to swap out active party production values. The battles
PUBLISHER: SQUARE ENIX and cast them only in boss members for ones waiting in may not be interesting on a
DEVELOPER: SQUARE ENIX/ fights. Any of this sounding your wagon, but that doesn't do strategic level, but they move
ARTEPIAZZA familiar? Of course, there's much to freshen up the game's quickly and the hand-drawn
ESRB: EVERYONE 10+ areason the standard RPG repetitive battles, because so enemies animate beautifully
formula shows up so often: it little differentiates the eight when they attack. Dragon Quest
Some games are so far makes for intuitive and satisfy- characters in your party. IV has always had a fantastic
ahead of their time that with a ing games, and Dragon Quest IV (In-game descriptions aside, soundtrack, even by the lofty
complete graphical overhaul is no exception. You may know everyone is either a wizard, standards of the series, and the
and a handful of mechanical exactly where you're going, but a priest, or a vanilla melee arrangements in this version
tweaks, they can feel as modern that doesn't take all the fun out fighter.) are clear and rich. Additionally,
as anything being made today. of getting there. the graphics have a nice clean
Dragon Quest IV, alas, is not one The one thing that remains look even when the towns and
of those games. Although this truly unique about Dragon castles look disappointingly
DS remake offers an attractive Quest IV isits omnibus similar to each other. The extra
polygonal world and plenty of structure. Each member of the real estate that comes from
usability improvements, it still game's supporting cast gets using both screens of the DS
feels very much like a product abrief adventure of his own comes in handy, particularly
of its time. before joining up in the game's when navigating complicated
Dragon Quest IV sticks so lengthy fifth chapter to support dungeons. And though the
close to the standard RPG the player-created hero on a game's story is a simple one, a
formula (which, to be fair, it quest to save the world. It's a flavorful localization makes the
helped create) that even if you fun idea, giving you multiple ext unusually fun to read.
haven't played it before, you'll perspectives on the story and Dragon Quest IV looks and
feel like you have. The villain several chances to enjoy the sounds good, and its rock-solid
is a demonic figure dead-set process of building up charac- quest offers a healthy 30-40
on eradicating humanity, and ters from level one. There's also hours of playtime. But those
the hero has been prophesied asixth chapter—exclusive to this ooking for the cream of the
from birth to be the only one remake-—that awaits at the end RPG crop will find it elsewhere—
who can defeat him. At first ofthe game. in Ше spectacle of Final Fantasy
you'll walk from town to town, Dragon Quest IV had a few V’s far more dramatic reinven-
then you'll sail, then you'll find other twists that marked its tion, in the unbridled creativity
a way to flyover mountains. place in history, but none of of The World Ends with You, and
You'll battle monsters in caves, them remain relevant today. hopefully in the remakes of the
dungeons, and castles as you Al-controlled party members more-ambitious Dragon Quest
search for powerful artifacts may have been an achieve- itles yet to come. -CASEY L.

86 NINTENDO POWER
 WI МНАТ"5 PLAYING NOW

Wisi 11
тър neu

Astar Wars game with Wii

MotionPlus controls would
i be cool, but using WiiSpeak
to make your voice sound like Darth
Vader would make it extra awesome.

Now that we've got an STAR WARS: THE FORCE

official Wii microphone, it's UNLEASHED
WE time for Phoenix Wright to

Plumbers in
come to console! And you could point in
` any direction with Wii MotionPlus. STAR WARS: THE
FORCE UNLEASHED

I love WarioWare, and I

can’t wait to see what zany
PLATFORM: DS
PUBLISHER: LUCASARTS
the Outfield
stuff they come up with for DEVELOPER: N-SPACE controls needed to make the
the next WarioWare using one-to-one ESRB: TEEN MARIO SUPER play. It can be overwhelming
motion and speech input. SLUGGERS for the first couple of hours,
As expected, the DS version of but each individual element of
The Force Unleashed is a stripped- PLATFORM: Wii the game works just fine, so
Wii MotionPlus has me down experience, retaining the PUBLISHER: NINTENDO practice will eventually make
frothing
for anew Trauma basics but lacking the polish of DEVELOPER: NAMCO BANDAI complex strings of actions
Center in which you can use the console version. In exchange, ESRB: EVERYONE second nature. Alternatively,
the remote as a one-to-one surgical the DS game takes advantage of you can turn on autofielding
instrument instead of just a pointer. the handheld's strengths, using You don't need to know much or trade motion controls for
the touch screen for minigames about real baseball tactics to aremote-and-buttons-only
and all combat actions. Simply tap enjoy Mario Super Sluggers, option to make things more
Pd like a new TMNT game an attack icon with your stylus, although there is a fun strate- manageable.
where you wield staffs and you'll be mastering the Force gic element to team-building. Super Sluggers is the rare
and katanas with Wii in no time. Dragging the stylus Over 40 Mario-series regulars Mario sports entry that puts
MotionPlus, all while ordering pizzas from iconto icontoperform a offer unique batting, pitching, serious effort into the single-
via WiiSpeak. combo is an interesting approach and fielding abilities for you player experience with its
to combat and adds some variety, to consider while filling your excellent Challenge mode, a
but I found myself mainly relying roster, and since characters full-on adventure game that
MotionPlus 1:1 swordplay in on slicing and dicing with the that have chemistry with each mixes baseball with story-driv-
Zelda is obvious, but I'd also lightsaber because combos often other can perform special en puzzles and exploration.
love to chat with folks and ate away my Force meter quickly. moves if positioned together, Mario Party-type minigames
It's unfortunate that the collision tweaking the perfect team pro- fill out the package; these
detection is spotty, though: you vides an engaging challenge. multiplayer time-wasters are
really have to make sure you're Batting and pitching are fun enough, but won't hold
Asa huge fan of obscure lined up with your target, which as easy as in Wii Sports (just anyone's attention for long.
classical-music game Mad can be an issue due to the fact swing the Wii remote like a bat In the end, Super Sluggers
Maestro, I'd love to see a that moving your character with or a pitcher's arm). When the offers a solid game of hardball
sequel in which you use Wii MotionPlus the Control Pad feels looser than ball is hit, however, playing with a decent amount of
like a baton to conduct the orchestra. I'd like. The DS version is certainly defense can get crazy: you depth. This baseball diamond
not the best way to experience The have only a second to locate loses some of its luster with
Force Unleashed, but the story is your nearest fielder and rec- occasionally confusing or
compelling enough to keep you ognize whether a jump, dive, clunky play (it's too easy to
playing to the end. JUSTIN c. or special move is needed to accidentally pitch or swing
make a catch, all while avoid- prematurely), but the game's
ing incoming turtle shells or simplified approach is great for
bombs, keeping track of base sports-curious gamers looking
runners, and remembering to avoid the complexities of a
the mix of button and motion real simulation. -CHRIS SL.

OCTOBER 2008 87
 TIGER WOODS
PGA TOUR 09 ALL-PLAY

0005
‘OUR 09 ALL-PLAY DISGAEA DS

TIGER W00DS PGA

TOUR 09 ALL-PLAY
DISGAEA DS
Dark Side Rising
PLATFORM: DS
PLATFORM: Wii PUBLISHER: NIS AMERICA considering that the game is
PUBLISHER: ELECTRONIC ARTS DEVELOPER: NIS STAR WARS: THE pretty linear and repetitive
DEVELOPER: EA TIBURON ESRB: TEEN FORCE UNLEASHED overall. (Sure, you can search
ESRB: EVERYONE for hidden widgets, but
Istruggled with my score for you're ultimately tasked with
EA's Tiburon studio is on a roll. Disgaea DS, and honestly, it was PUBLISHER: LUCASARTS zipping from point A to point
First they gave us a truly outstand- very hard to give it a 7.5. The game DEVELOPER: KROME STUDIOS B, wiping out everyone in
ing version of Madden for Wii, and looks and plays great, and it's ESRB: TEEN between.) Further offsetting
now they've taken the reigns of pretty astounding that NIS was the game's flaws is the story:
the Tiger Woods franchise from able to get the entire game onto Alongtime (12 years) ago in taking place between Episode
EA Redwood Shores and delivered a DS game card. dock it points a galaxy not so far, far away III: Revenge of the Sith and
the console's best golf game. The not because the game has issues, (ours), LucasArts released Star Episode IV: A New Hope, The
one-to-one swing mechanics are but because I've played this game Wars: Shadows ofthe Empire, Force Unleashed answers a lot
phenomenal and offer lots of before—five years ago, in fact, and which came in a package of questions and sets up the
customization options to cater then again last year оп PSP—and complete with a video game, events of A New Hope rather
to players of all skill levels. The there just isn't enough new to the а novel, a soundtrack, and nicely. (Let's just say the secret
game's incredibly deep, as well, DS version to make me as excited action figures. Now the house apprentice is much more than
with an epic career mode, robust as | should be about it. Though the that the bearded one built anancillary character, and a
online play, and a selection of Wii- original Disgaea merits an 8.5 at has another such event with couple of familiar faces pop
exclusive party-style minigames, least, most people who want to The Force Unleashed. So how up during the adventure.) The
Top it off with a stunning visual play it already have. If you haven't does the game, the crux of multiplayer mode provides
presentation, and you've got an played it and strategy RPGs are the entire shindig, fare? When some good (if short-lived)
effort worthy of the man for which your thing, though, it's hard to get it comes to the Wii version, entertainment—especially
it's named. —sTEVE T. much better than this. -том н. pretty well. As Darth Vader's since the roster includes
secret apprentice, you're given some fan-favorite "expanded
amultitude of tools to mow universe" characters—but the
down waves of enemies. You story, the always-excellent
can hack and slash with your Star Wars tunes, and the
lightsaber, which isn't as satis- Force-powered combat
fying as I'd hoped (it feels a bit are the real draws for fans.
like the waggle-heavy combat —JUSTIN C.
in Soulcalibur Legends). More
satisfying is picking up a
stormtrooper and chucking
him into his buddies like a mis-
sile, throwing in some Force
choking and Force lightning
for good measure. It really
makes you feel like a bona
fide Sith Lord, and it keeps
things fresh—which is helpful,

88 NINTENDO POWER
 D IZV! EWS DREAMERS WAN
ПА
IN шш WHAT'S PLAYING NOW

SAM & МАХ SEASON ОМЕ

SAM 8 MAX SEASON ONE SNK ARCADE CLASSICS VOL.1

too often feels overwrought or sim-

SAM & MAX ply falls flat. The series does seem
SEASON ONE to find its footing more and more
with each episode, however, and
PLATFORM: Wii by season's end, you'll likely grow
PUBLISHER: THE ADVENTURE attached to its unorthodox heroes.
COMPANY Besides, lots of great shows don’t
DEVELOPER: TELLTALE GAMES truly hit their stride until season
ESRB: TEEN two or three. -STEVE T.

Sam & Max is like a video-game

sitcom. Based on the madcap
hijinks of a canine gumshoe SNK ARCADE
and his depraved, rabbit-thing CLASSICS VOL. 1
partner, the game originated
as an episodic release for the PLATFORM: Wii
PC (where the series is nowin PUBLISHER: SNK PLAYMORE
its third season). The Wii disc DEVELOPER: SNK/TERMINAL
compiles all six episodes from REALITY
season one, and while this inau- ESRB: TEEN
gural offering suffers from its
share of growing pains, it’s pretty Forget for a moment that many
entertaining.
The gameplayis ofthe games included in SNK
old-school point-and-click adven- Arcade Classics are already avail-
ture with an emphasis on puzzle- able on Virtual Console or in other
solving and character interaction. compilations, and instead focus
Some of the scenarios are quite on what really matters: that this
clever—like playing through collection includes 16 uncensored
adream to get the desired arcade-perfect ports overflowing
з
SNIYNOL
MOHS
мощопаона
зазноза
:NI
H3LNdWOD
NOILVWINY
8TVLIDIC
NOISIG
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ТЕЕ
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итн
3WV9
<1мамаолалза
зманоззн
SLYV
psychological analysis from a with old-school NeoGeo goodness.
flaky therapist or taking on a Not every game on the disc is a
mechanized Abe Lincoln during must-have hit, but there's a lot of
a presidential debate—and the fun to be had-from tried-and-true
game's cast of oddball characters classics like Metal Slug and The
SCHOOL OF GAME DEVELOPMENT
is eminently likeable. Voice acting King of Fighters '94 to obscure
is top-notch, and the soundtrack gems like Shock Troopers—and you ‚_800:226 7625. 3300 University Boulevard * Winter Park, FL 32792

is a lively mix of jazz and inspired won't have to use up your quarters Financial aid available to those who qualify* Career development assistance * Accredited School, ACCSCT
thematic pieces (including an (or your Wii's internal memory) to
awesome up-tempo riff on the play them. Although the difficulty

пад
Soviet national anthem). settings tend to lean toward too
Asitcom is only as good as easy or too hard, the games
its writing, though, and in that are still highly enjoyable (espe-
regard Sam & Мах is frustratingly cially in co-op mode), and various
uneven. There are moments of achievement-style challenges will
genuine hilarity, but the humor keep you playing. —CHRIS H. Real World Education

fulls

© 2006 Full Sail Inc. АП rights reserved.

 5-3 ipi! Wwe
4 ЩЕ WS
` Шш WHAT'S PLAYING NOW

Thear that
The Tempest may
be holding an ДЗ)
HARVEST MOON: во concert FERRARI CHALLENGE
TREE OF TRANQUILITY TROFEO PIRELLI

HARVEST MOON. FERRARI CHALLENGE FERRARI CHALLENGE

TREE OF TRANQUILITY TROFEO PIRELLI TROFEO PIRELLI

from time to time, such as the slow be learned from the game, but it’s
HARVEST frame rate during thunderstorms one for Koei, not one for up-and- FERRARI
MOON: TREE OF and lousy collision detection on coming fashionistas. -CHRIS SH. CHALLENGE TROFEO
TRANQUILITY some of the terrain. Despite the PIRELLI
flaws, Tree of Tranquility is still
PLATFORM: Wii the addictive farming sim Harvest PLATFORM: DS
PUBLISHER: NATSUME Moon fans expect, if not neces- FERRARI PUBLISHER: SYSTEM 3
DEVELOPER: MARVELOUS sarily the “heartwarming” life sim CHALLENGE TROFEO DEVELOPER: CLIMAX STUDIOS
INTERACTIVE Natsume promised us. If nothing PIRELLI ESRB: EVERYONE
ESRB: EVERYONE else, it'll definitely keep us busy
until Animal Crossing comes out. PLATFORM: Wii Ferrari vehicles have frequently
Harvest Moon games sell —AMANDA б. PUBLISHER: SYSTEM 3 been absent from other racing
themselves by sticking to formula— DEVELOPER: EUTECHNYX titles, ostensibly so they can be
you're a cute little dude or dudette ESRB: EVERYONE highlighted with their own game,
who comes to town to be a farmer. such as Ferrari Challenge. The
To that end, you plant your crops, POP CUTIE! Fans of hardcore racing simula- decision to go it alone was a
raise your cattle, listen to villagers STREET FASHION tions finally have a Wii title they mistake, at least for the DS version.
whine, and play a dating sim so SIMULATION can sink their teeth into. Ferrari The meager number of tracks and
you can spawn a cute little child Challenge offers an authentic vehicles makes Ferrari Challenge
who will help you out on the ranch. PLATFORM: DS recreation of the titular race series, dreadfully short, as the developers
There's also an adventure storyline PUBLISHER: KOEI complete with ultrarealistic han- chose to maintain Ferrari brand
about reviving the Harvest DEVELOPER: КОЕ! dling (via either analog or motion identity in lieu of creating a solid
Goddess, but the main thrust of the ESRB: EVERYONE controls) and comprehensive game. Ferrari Challenge looks and
game is an endless grind of chores options for both tuning your car's plays nice while it lasts, however,
toraise healthy crops and animals On the surface, Pop Cutie! has performance and customizing its with sleek-looking cars and faith-
to earn more cash. the appearance of sheer fluff: you appearance. The game looks pretty fully recreated tracks (although
Tree of Tranquility doesn't get ideas for clothes from people good, to boot, and though limited the engine noise sounds more like
stray from the norm, despite on the street, then design and to a single automaker, it exploits a hornet's nest than like the sweet
being the series' big jump to Wii. sell them to those same people. that illustrious brand to the fullest. purr of a Ferrari V12). As a little
However, motion controls have On closer inspection, though, In fact, this feels like an interactive diversion, you can play a modified
been added to make the farming Pop Cutie! shows intriguing love letter to the "prancing horse;" game of war with trading cards
feel more "realistic," and there are depth, providing subtle lessons the moment the title screen featuring various Ferrari models,
minigames that make you swing, in economics such as supply and appears with an almost-sensual but this lone minigame can't save
flail, and flick the remote on your demand and staff management, close-up of a Ferrari accompanied Ferrari Challenge from being too
way to victory. These controls are educating the player without being by sweeping choral music, you can brief. -CHRIS SH.
twitchy at best and I'm really glad patronizing. The game's strategy tell the developers were passionate
the game lets you opt out with the is in determining what kinds of about their subject matter. There
Classic controller. clothes to sell and how many are a few bumps in the road—the
The problem is that the employees to hire, and watching difficulty seems uneven at times ALSO THIS MONTH
game feels phoned in, from the what the competition is doing. and changing your car's livery is We didn't get 'em in time to review
tacked-on motion controls to the The downside of Pop Cutie! is that strangely laborious—but if it's a 'em, but keep your eyes open for
scant tutorial system that assumes all of these duties are hard to serious racer you seek, this is the Namco Bandai's We Cheer for
you've already played every other accomplish due to an unbearably best ride in town. -STEVE T. Wii, THQ's Viva Piñata: Pocket
Harvest Moon game. A couple of clunky interface that makes simple Paradise for DS, and Electronic
other issues really wreck the fun tasks difficult. There’s a lesson to Arts's Spore Creatures for DS.

90 NINTENDO POWER
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РОЙ/ЕР Karaoke Revolution Presents
American Idol Encore
Konami

Kawasaki Quad Bikes Destineer

Kidz Sports: Basketball Destineer
Kidz Sports: Ice Hockey Destineer
rory we Kung Fu Panda Activision 230
LIVE VIEWS LEGO Indiana Jones:
The Original Adventures
LucasArts 230

LEGO Star Wars: LucasArts

The Complete Saga
Football Fever Link's Crossbow Training Nintendo
Little League World Series Activision
While there was a good mix of games reviewed Baseball 2008
last month, the one major standout was Madden NFL 09 All-Play Electronic Arts
Manhunt 2 Rockstar Games
Madden NFL 09 All-Play on Wii (9.0). With its Mario&Sonic Sega
improved graphics and great new Call Your atthe Olympic Games
Mario Kart Wii Nintendo
Shots feature, this year's Madden is pretty darn . Medal of Honor Heroes 2 Electronic Arts
awesome. Other high-scoring titles include MiniCopter: Adventure Flight Aksys
Bangai-O Spirits, New International Track and MLB 2K8 2K Sports
Field, and Guitar Hero: On Tour. All three DS MLB Power Pros 2K Sports
I recently played the original MLB Power Pros 2008 2K Sports
games earned an 8.0. . MX vs. ATV Untamed THQ
Cake Mania again, and |was
My Horse and Me Atari
SCORES REFLECT INDIVIDUAL REVIEWERS’ OPINIONS. blown away by how archaic My Word Coach Ubisoft
© INDICATES WI-FI COMPATIBLE
it feels next to its successor. Namco Museum Remix Namco Bandai
The controls in Cake Mania 2 Naruto: Tomy/D3PA
Clash of Ninja Revolution
Alone in the Dark Atari M are so much more responsive NCAA Football 09 All-Play Electronic Arts
Alvin and the Chipmunks Brash 224 E it feels like a different game. I Need For Speed ProStreet Electronic Arts
Backyard Baseball "09 N/A Atari 231
ы Still stand by my criticisms of Nicktoons: THQ
Baroque 3.0 Atlus 227 Attack of the Toybots
* Battalion Wars 2 7.5 Nintendo 222 T Cake Mania 2 (there's not much NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams Sega
Battle of the Bands 7.0 THQ 228 17 variety), but it delivers on its Ninja Reflex Electronic Arts
Ben 10: Protector of Earth N/A D3PA 223 Nitro Bike Ubisoft
с promise of fun, simple, arcade- Ubisoft
Blast Works: 8.5 Majesco 229 No More Heroes
Build, Trade, Destroy style baking action. -CHRIS H. Obscure: The Aftermath Ignition
Bleach: Shattered Blade N/A Sega 222 E Octomania Conspiracy
Bomberman Land 5.0 Hudson 226 E Okami Capcom
Boom Blox 8.0 Electronic Arts 229 E One Piece: Namco Bandai
Bully: Scholarship Edition 8.5 Rockstar 227 T unlimited Adventure
Castle of Shikigami Ш 70 Aksys 228 T Opoona Koei
The Chronicles of Narnia: N/A Disney Interactive 229 in Under the Knife 2 Order up! Zoo Games
Prince Caspian
Code Lyoko: Quest forInfinity М/А The Game Factory 223
Я isn't very different Pinball HallofFame:
The Williams Collection
Crave

Cranium Kabookii N/A Ubisoft 224 SE from the original, Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 Konami
Cruis'n N/A Midway 224 Е but! personally don Puzzle Quest: D3PA
CSI: Hard Evidence
Death Jr.: Root of Evil
N/A
7.0
Ubisoft 225 м mind. When а series Challenge of the Warlords
Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Ubisoft
Deca Sports N/A
Eidos
Hudson
230
229 Е works as well as this Resident Evil: Capcom
Destroy All Humans! 7.0 THQ 227 T one does, you don't The umbrella Chronicles
Rock Band MTV Games
Big Willy Unleashed
Dragon BallZ: N/A Atari 223
Е want to mess with the Rock Band Track Pack MTV Games
Budokai Tenkaichi 3 formula too much. Volume1
Rockstar Games Rockstar
Dragon Quest Swords: 7.0 Square Enix 226 T -JUSTIN C. Presents Table Tennis.
The Masked Queen and
the Tower of Mirrors Samurai Warriors: Katana Кое!
Dream Pinball 3D N/A Southpeak 228 Е10+ Sega Bass Fishing зева
Emergency Heroes N/A Ubisoft 230 Е10+ Sega Superstars Tennis Sega
Emergency Mayhem N/A Codemasters 228 T. Showtime Jack of All Games
Championship Boxing
* Endless Ocean 75 Nintendo 225 Е
© FIFA08 N/A Electronic Arts 222 Е
The Simpsons Game Electronic Arts
Final Fantasy Fables: 7.5 Square Enix 231 Е10+
Smarty Pants Electronic Arts
Chocobo's Dungeon Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity Sega
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn 9.5 Nintendo 222 Е10+ Soulcalibur Legends Namco Bandai
Furu Furu Park N/A Majesco 225 т Space Chimps Brash
Game Party N/A Midway 224 E Speed Racer Warner Bros.
* Geometry Wars: Galaxies 8.0 sierra 222 E
Interactive
* Ghost Squad 7.0 Sega 223 T
Summer Sports: Destineer
Paradise Island
Godzilla Unleashed 5.5 Atari 223 Е10+
Super Mario Galaxy Nintendo
The Golden Compass 4.0 Sega 224 Е10+ With EA Sports promising to put Super Smash Bros. Brawl Nintendo
Guilty Gear XX Accent Core 8.0 Aksys Games 222 T more effort into its Wii titles this Super Swing GolfSeason 2 Tecmo 224
* Guitar Hero: Aerosmith 7.0 RedOctane 232 Target: Terror N/A Konami
© Guitar Hero Ш: 9.0 Activision 222 б year, the company's gridiron
Legends of Rock
Thrillville:OfftheRails N/A LucasArts
offerings are a mixed bag. While
Harvey Birdman: 6.5 Capcom 224 Tomb Raider Anniversary 6.5 Eidos
Attorney at Law n NCAA Football falls squarely in Top Spin3 7.0 2K Sports
High School Musical: Singit! М/А Disney Interactive 223 E mediocre territory, Madden NFL Trauma Center: New Blood 8.0 Atlus
The House of the 7.0 Sega 227 M 09 is pigskin heaven. The game
Victorious Boxers: Revolution N/A XSEED
Dead 2 &3 Return WALL'E N/A THQ
The Incredible Hulk 3.5 Sega 231 T looks great, the controls are We Love Golf! 8.5 Capcom
Indoor Sports N/A Konami 223 E rock-solid, and the all-new Call WeSki 6.0 Namco Bandai
Indy 500 Legends N/A Destineer 223
s Your Shots option is the best Wild Earth: African Safari N/A Majesco
Iron Man 5.5 Sega 229 Worms: A Space Oddity 6.0 THQ
Jenga N/A мап 223 E thingtohappen to football since WWE SmackDown 6.5 THQ
Jumper N/A Brash 226 T Adrian Peterson. -STEVE T. vs. Raw 2008
WWII Aces 3.0 Destineer
Zack & Wiki: Quest for 9.0 Capcom 222 E Looney Tunes: Eidos 230
Barbaros' Treasure Cartoon Conductor
NINTENDO DS Lost in Blue3 Konami 227
Advance Wars: Days of Ruin 8.5 Nintendo 225 E10 Madden NFL 09 Electronic Arts 232
Alvin and the Chipmunks N/A Brash 223 Mario & Sonic at Sega 225
American Girl: N/A THQ 224 the Olympic Games
Julie Finds a Way Mario Party 05 Nintendo 223
Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney 8.0 Capcom 226 MasterofIllusion Nintendo 223
Are you Smarter N/A THQ 223 PORTRAIT OF RUIN Mega Man Star Force2 Capcom 230
Thana Sth Grader? Mega Man ZX Advent Capcom 222
6.5 230 With Castlevania: Order of
Arkanoid DS Square Enix Miami Nights: Ubisoft 225
Assassin's Creed: 75 Ubisoft 226 Ecclesia on the horizon, I Singles in the City
Altair's Chronicles
decided to revisit Konami's Mister Slime Southpeak 230
Balls of Fury N/A Destination 222 MLB 2K8 Fantasy All-Stars 2K Sports 228
Software previous Gothic adventure. Monster Jam Activision 223
Bangai-O Spirits 8.0 D3PA 232 What I discovered is that while The Mummy: Tomb of the Vivendi Games 231
Bleach: The Blade of Fate 8.5 Sega 222 Dragon Emperor
6.0 Portrait of Ruin looks and plays
Bomberman Land Touch! 2 Hudson 225 MX vs. ATV Untamed THQ 224
Boogie 7.0 Electronic Arts 224 great, I felt cheated by the My Horse and Me Atari 225
Brain Challenge N/A Ubisoft. 225 second half of the game, which Mysims Electronic Arts 222
Brain Voyage N/A Eidos 228 Myst Empire Interactive 227
recycles the environments
Bratz: Super Babyz N/A THQ 226 Mystery Dungeon: Sega 226
Build-A-Bear Workshop. N/A The Game Factory 223 from the brilliant first half. Shiren the Wanderer
Cake Mania 2 Majesco 230 Hopefully Ecclesia's world map. Ne Atari 228
Call of Duty 4: Activision 223 Nancy Drew: The Mystery of Majesco 232
Modern Warfare and distinct areas will provide the Clue Bender Society
Carnival Games 4.5 2K Games 231 better variety! —cHRIS H. Nanostray 2 Majesco 225
The ChroniclesofNarnia: Disney Interactive 229 Naruto: Ninja Destiny Tomy/D3PA 226
Prince Caspian Naruto: Path of the Ninja Tomy/D3PA 222
Civilization Revolution
Code Lyoko: Fall of Xana N/A
2K Games
The Game Factory
231
230
ARKANOID
05 Need For Speed ProStreet
New International Track
Electronic Arts
Konami
223
232
Commando: Steel Disaster N/A XS Games 229 This arcade classic is a and Field
Contra4 Konami 222 perfect fit for the DS's Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword Tecmo 227
Jack of All Games Ninja Reflex Electronic Arts 227
Corvette Evolution GT
Cooking Mama 2: Majesco
223
223
two screens, and is Ontamarama Atlus 223
Dinner with Friends nice to zone out with Orcs & Elves Electronic Arts 223
Crosswords DS N/A Nintendo 228 during short pick-up- Panzer Tactics DS Conspiracy 223
Gamecock 223 Petz: Bunnyz Ubisoft 227
Dementium: The Ward
Draglade Atlus 224 and-play sessions. Petz Wild Animals: Tigerz Ubisoft 227
Dragon Quest Square Enix 222 It isn't for everyone, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Capcom 222
Monsters: Joker but in my opinion, #5 Trials and Tribulations
Dream Pinball 3D N/A Southpeak 228 229
Drone Tactics Atlus 229 better than our 6.5 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon:
ExplorersofDarkness
Nintendo

Dungeon Explorer: Hudson 226 score suggests. Pokémon Mystery Dungeon:

Exlporers of Time
Nintendo 229
Warriors of Ancient Arts
—CHRIS SL. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008
Etrian Odyssey Il: Atlus 230 Konami 227
Heroes of Lagaard Professor Layton Nintendo 225
Final Fantasy Crystal Square Enix 226 and the Curious Village
Chronicles: Ring of Fates Puchi Puchi Virus NIS America 228
Final Fantasy IV Square Enix 231 Puppy Palace Ubisoft 225
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Square Enix 230 Puzzle de Harvest Moon Natsume 223
Grimoire of the Rift. Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 Ubisoft 223
Final Fantasy ХИ: Square Enix 223 River King: Mystic Valley Natsume 225
Revenant Wings
Front Mission Square Enix 222 Rondo of Swords. Atlus 228
Garfield Gets Real Destination 223 Sega Superstars Tennis Sega 227
Geometry Wars: Galaxies Sierra 222 The Simpsons Game Electronic Arts 223
Godzilla Unleashed: Atari 224 Soul Bubbles Eidos 230
Double Smash Space Chimps Brash 231
The Golden Compass Sega 223 Space Invaders Extreme square Enix 230
GRID Codemasters 230 Speed Racer Warner Bros. 229
Interactive
Guitar Hero: On Tour RedOctane 232
Hannah Montana: Music Jam Disney Interactive
Strawberry Shortcake: Jack of All Games 224
223 4 Seasons Cake
Harvest Moon 05 Cute Natsume 226 Summon Night: Twin Age Atlus 229
Harvest Moon: Island of Natsume 231 Super Dodgeball Brawlers Aksys 229
Happiness
Homie Rollerz Destineer 226
Tamagotchi Connection: Namco Bandai 230
Corner Shop 3
Impossible Mission Codemasters 223 Teenage Zombies: Invasion of ignition 228
The Incredible Hulk Sega 231 the Alien Brain Thingys
Indy 500 Legends Destineer 224 Thrillville: Off the Rails LucasArts 222
Insecticide Gamecock 226 REVOLUTION Top spin 3 2KSports 229
Iron Man Sega 229 I've never been the biggest fan Trauma Center: Under the Atlus 231
Izuna 2: The Unemployed Atlus 232 Knife 2
Ninja Returns ofthe Civilization series, mostly Ultimate Mortal Kombat Midway 223
Jackass: The Game Red Mile 225 because it was too slow for my WALL*E THQ 231
Entertainment Warhammer 40,000: THQ 224
Jake Hunter: Aksys 229 tastes. Though Revolution's Squad Command
Detective Chronicles Wordjong Destineer
smaller maps mean you'll 224
Kung Fu Panda Activision 230 The World Ends With You Square Enix 228
Left Brain, Right Brain Majesco 224 encounter your opponents
WWE SmackDown THQ 222
LEGO Indiana Jones: LucasArts 230 sooner, they also give the vs. Raw 2008
The Original Adventures game a more fast-paced feel, Yu-Gi-Oh! World Konami 224
LEGO Star Wars: LucasArts 222 Championship
The Complete Saga making them perfect for Tournament 2008
LifeSigns: Surgical Unit Dreamcatcher 223 someone like me. Even if old Civ Zoo Tycoon 2 DS THQ 226
Line Rider 2: Unbound Genius Products 232
Little League World Series Activision 232 games weren't your thing, give
Baseball 2008 Revolution a try-you might be
surprised. -TOM H.
 Dress to Impre
COSPLAY

For those who don't know, San

Diego Comic-Con is the biggest
comic-book convention in the world.
As such, it attracts all kinds of fans,
many of whom are dedicated enough
to display their fanaticism by dressing
up as their favorite comic-book,
movie, TV, or video-game characters.
So while there were an unsurprisingly
high number of Jokers and Naruto
ninjas and stormtroopers this year,
there was also a strong contingent of
cosplaying Nintendo fans. Here are
some of the best costumes we saw, Ah, Captain N, how we miss thee. Well, not
with comparisons to their inspira- really, but some of us-including Lyman
tions. -JUSTIN C. Johnson here-have fond memories of the
Game Master's adventures. We especially
like the fact that Lyman is wearing a Power
Glove. It's so bad (in a good way).

Brook Kuhn is definitely in character as Pit. But with so much

attention to detail to his costume, what's up with his footwear?

Kyle Wlodyga and Jennifer Renda stopped

Sarah Saad's Princess Peach is about as crowds with their Mario and Peach cos-
close to the original as you can get. It's Austin Hagerman (Snake) and Zachary Lytle (Link) were certainly tumes. Before you complain about their
the little details, such as the ruffles and ready for any brawls that may have broken out. We have to give short sleeves, remember that they may be
the pattern on her dress, that really make points for all of the accoutrements on Zachary's costume, but inspired by Super Mario Sunshine's Mario
Sarah’s cosplay stand out. maybe Austin should drop his bag next time. and Peach. (And it's hot in San Diego!)
ABOVE апа BEYOND FAN ART

Art, cosplay, case mods-if you've got it, we want it. Show Us
Send your pictures via email to community@nintendo-
power.com or via snail mail to Community c/o Future
US, 1000 Marina Blvd., Suite 510, Brisbane, CA 94005.
the Love `
Reader Kelsey Garlock, whose
We'll run the best stuff in this section.
dream has been “to draw
something that would appear in
your magazine,” sent us a letter
full of love and somefantastic
fan
art, which we're happy to present here. We're especially impressed
MOD JOB
with her picture of The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap's Vaati. Keep

Who Needs R.O.B.? up the good work, Kelsey, and thanks for reading! -TOM н.

Pixar's robotic protagonist WALL-E comes to life as a

case mod.

Disney/Pixar's WALL-E has many things in common with Nintendo's WRITE YOUR OWN CAPTION
GameCube console—both are adorably compact, durable, and
arguably outmoded by more-advanced technology—but we never
expected them to be one and the same.
Luckily, brothers Martin and Stefan Blass of Cologne, Germany-
based Babetech Custom Computer and Gaming Consoles had the
bright idea of modifying an old GameCube to look like the diminutive
animated hero after they saw a trailer for the film earlier this year.
“When we saw the teaser for the first time, we just fell in love with this
cute little robot,” says Martin. “There was no long discussion—just the
quick decision that we wanted to build something like that.” The duo THIS MONTH'S SHOT
began putting together the WALL-E case mod in January, plugging ¥ a
about 30 hours into the project before it was completed. As you can
see from the images, the project required quite a bit more than just
old hardware and a few tubes of paint-the brothers had to draw from
Several unique sources to find the materials needed for WALL-E's
trademark eyes, treads, and hands.
Building the eyes proved to be a multistep process, starting with a
wood base surrounded by a strip of PVC and topped with airbrushed
acrylic half-spheres and small Plexiglas tubes. The arms and hands
may look like metal, but they are actually composed entirely of
Plexiglas and assembled in a way that allows both the arms to move
and the hands to be opened and closed. Only the treads were lifted
directly from another object: a plastic toy bulldozer. Despite the com-
plexity of the modifications, the GameCube remains fully functional,
asthe lid can be popped like normal and WALL-E's nameplate can
be flipped down to reveal the controller ports. “That is always the
most important thing," Martin recognizes. "We don't want to destroy VOLUME 231'S SHOT
anything, just improve it and make it better."
Martin says the brothers have several other projects currently in
the works, including ahandful of PC mods, but WALL-E is unlikely to
be the last console mod to come out of the Babetech crew. “We're
currently in the planning/discussion phase for another console mod.
This time we want to mod a Wii," asserts Martin. “Our WALL-E needs a
girlfriend." CANDREW H.
 WEMBER 2008 = VOL. 23h

NEXT MONTH
In true Nintendo Power fashion, next issue's cover game is a doozy of an
exclusive. We don't want to let the cat out of the bag, but.... Well, okay—
here's a hint: somewhere on this page is a clue. Can you crack our code?
 Montes [кыш
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52903 IHL Ny 139 mov N: ‘SONU. ge ahovetheinflu
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 WEL СОМЕ ТО ТНЕ ULTIMATE PARTY HOUSE: YOURS.
Go bananas with your friends and shake, shake, shake the Wii controllers like x
maracas in crazy environments filled with zany characters! Get the party `
started with over 40 samba-infused songs and when you”re ready for more r
| music mania, download new songs to keep the fiesta jumping all night long.

gearbox позиВЕ
www.segamobile.com

"SEGA. All rights reserved. SEGA в registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, SEGA, the SEGA logo and SAMBA DE AMIGO are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SEGA vue ©2008 Gearbox Software, LEC.
All rights reserved. Gearbox Software and the Gearbox logo are registered trademarks of Gearbox Software, LLC in the U.S. and/or other countries. Wil and the Wiilogo are trademarks of Nintendo. ©2006 Nintendo.
 Майе уин! KONE) (97

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