WiiNintendo

The Wii menu screenshot is not mine. Not even I’m crazy enough to pay for Soccer or Wario Woods.

I don’t own any of my old systems anymore, except for an NES and a Dreamcast gathering dust at my mother’s house. Aside from, er, “other” means, the Virtual Console has become my gateway to relive all of my favorite gaming moments, with a kickass Classic Controller to boot.

Things brings me to a problem: between the Virtual Console games and the Channel downloads, I’m currently on screen three of the Wii menu, which maxes out at four screens.

I hope that this is something that can be fixed via a Firmware update. The way I see it, there are a couple of options.
- Simply extend the amount of available screens in the current fashion
- Allow games / channels to be run directly off of an SD card

I really hope that I don’t have to resort to archiving games on SD and loading them into Wii memory when I want to play them. One thing I love about the VC is being able to switch between games in an instant.

I currently have all the Virtual Console games that I want (see below), but if these weekly releases continue, I can see myself hitting the limit around summertime

Super Mario Bros
Sonic The Hedgehog
Super Mario World
F-Zero
Contra 3
Street Fighter 2
Zelda 3: A Link To The Past
Donkey Kong Country
Mario Kart 64
Zelda: Ocarina Of Time
Bonk’s Adventure
R-Type 3
Super Ghouls and Ghosts
Bomberman 93
Gunstar Heroes
R-Type
Super Star Soldier
Gradius

Retailers are speculating that the new Simpsons movie will have a game based on it, which will be heading to all major platforms, including the Wii and the DS.

It’s supposedly in development by EA, given the working title of The Simpsons Game.

The movie is set for a worldwide release on July 27th, so we’ll likely have more details soon enough. Stay cool Milly.

We all know how most movie games turn out, so lets hope this will prove our thoughts wrong!

Motor Kombat:

Mortal Kombat, Wiimote in action:

Motor Kombat, Scorpion VS Sektor:

Motor Kombat, Gory Fatality:

More at IGN

Excerpt from interview with Takeshi Iizuka:

Q: How did the idea of creating NiGHTS for Nintendo’s new console come along?
A: I’ve been interested in making this sequel for as long as I can remember, and the moment seemed perfect to start working on it. This game is ideal to take advantage of the Wii controller’s potential.

Q: Do you intend to take the inspired NiGHTS experience to other platforms?
A: So far, this new NiGHTS game is a Wii exclusive.

Magazine scans with screenshots of the game can be found here

Translated Interview, here

You are looking at a Wii Remote mounted on a robotically controlled swing. A second motor is used to trigger the bowling, by first Pressing the A button and left arrow, and then holding down the B button, swinging, and finally releasing the B button.

Source and More pics at BattleBricks

I got a hold of the new “I-Case” case mod from Total Console yesterday and was REALLY surprised.

I don’t know why but for some reason when I first heard about this case a week or so ago, I was under the impression that you would litterally put your current Wii inside of the I-Case and it would snap on over top of it.

That “cover case” reason I had in my head made me note too excited about the I-Case and thought it would just bulk up my Wii.

Well, I was wrong:

The Black Knight I-Case came in 14 pieces, each one identically matching the Wii’s case components.

They even went as far as to include black stickers for the screw holes and black stoppers for the bottom, very impressive (Pictured Below).

Click to Enlarge

The case itself feels just like the Wii too, the paint/gloss/texture on the I-Case plastic is a perfect match to the original Wii case. I was afraid that it might be to matte or sticky (like my own spray paint case mods in the past…).

The I-Case is VERY sleek, precise and I wouldn’t have been surprised if this came from Nintendo themselves, it’s a really well put together casing.

Installation:

I was surprised that they included the two screwdrivers needed to remove the Wii’s case with the I-Case. Included was a magnetic tipped Philips that worked perfect and the (oh so hard to find) tri-wing screwdriver, which alone would run you about 10$.

Complete installation time was about 30 minutes. The hardest part was removing what’s directly behind the front panel (where the power, eject, and reset button are), there are some wires and circuits to disconnect, but no biggie.

37.99$

Order at Total Console

Review 2, 2nd opinion (reefinyateef): I also recieved a copy of the case. It was very well packaged – everything fit inside of the Wii case itself, making for a small parcel size. The addition of the screwdrivers very, very user friendly. As hey_suburbia stated, it seems as if the I-Case is a Nintendo-made product. Total Console does a very nice job of not presenting itself as a lesser third party accessory maker.

The biggest fault with this product is the lack of any sort of instruction or manual. I was shocked that a product that requires you to literally pry off the screw covers doesn’t give you any idea of where there may be (some of the covers don’t hide screws at all). I had to keep my own record of what screw went where, since there were several different sizes.

Still, the installation went well, and the pieces appear to be high quality. I recommend this product, but be very careful as there is no guide or manual to refer to during the process.

This week saw a stellar release of VC titles in Europe: Punch Out (NES), Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES), and Dragon Curse (TG16)

Punch Out is one of the most celebrated games for the NES ever, which sees you as a rookie boxer, working your way up the ranks. It also features Mario in a cameo as the referee, NICE!

The Legend of the Mystical Ninja was a personal favorite of mine on SNES back in the day (1992). Playing as either Kid Ying or Dr. Yang, you’re on a quest to rescue a princess who’s been kidnapped. Two-player co-op makes this title extremely appealing.

Dragon Curse, after a run-in with a fierce dragon, you’re left part-lizard, part-man. This sends you on a quest to grab The Salamander Cross, turning you 100% human once again.

Hopefully, we in the states can get punch-out this Monday.

I made this little clip just as “eye candy” for this article.

The Wiimote model was created by WiiNintendo and can be downloaded here, so you can make your own stupid fun movies.

I’m hoping the game takes some feedback from the PC port and doesn’t make the same mistakes.

Precision Wiimote head shot, here I come!

Release date: June 25th, 2007

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UPDATE: The page on GameStop has been removed, here’s a screen capture form the site before it was taken down (April Fools joke?):

Gamestop

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UPDATE2: It appears two other large chains have this game listed as well, BlockBuster and GameFront

I don’t see this as something unlikely, but so close to April Fools,  you gotta wonder, I’m 85% confident that this game will be released, and the 30$ price tag is very appealing.