Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #231 (August 2008)

By Joe Fourhman | July 6, 2008

Yep, that’s MadWorld on the cover… there must be huge debates about cover games every month. Dark-and-violent or Wii-Mom-friendly? Lately they’ve been choosing “hardcore” topics no doubt so they visually compete with all the bald space marine junk that graces the cover of every other surviving games mag these days. So let’s get Mad and read-a-long!

Issue #231, August 2008
featured games: MadWorld, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Prince of Persia DS, Tomb Raider: Underworld, Castlevania: Judgment, Shaun White Snowboarding, WWE SmackDown vs. Raw, Sonic Unleashed.

So what about MadWorld? The six page article with creators Atsushi Inaba and Shigenori Nishikawa reveals that the M-rated gorefest will include boss fights, minigames (Man Darts!), Wii Remote motion controls, and sports-style color commentary. The duo admit to pulling inspiration from Frank Miller’s Sin City comic series. Inaba even cops to playing Manhunt 2, which probably makes him the only person in Japan to have done so.

Four “high profile” first party games are revealed as summer releases in Japan: Wario Land Shake (Wii), Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse (Wii), Rhythm Tengoku Gold (DS) and a new DS remake of the first Fire Emblem game. Not to forget third parties, NP mentions Tenchu 4 (a Wii exclusive!) and Rune Factory Frontiers (bringing the Harvest Moon-does-fantasy DS game to Wii).

Seeing Fatal Frame listed as a major Nintendo first party release just has my imagination running. With Nintendo handling the publishing duties for the Tecmo/Grasshopper Manufacture game, could this mean Fatal Frame characters in the next Smash Bros? At least in the form of stickers or assist characters or collectible trophies? Check back with me around 2014, when we’ll know for sure.

The regular Wii Channels section offers up an interview with Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune, pimping the instant retro-classic Mega Man 9, coming to WiiWare. In case you had any lingering doubts that MM9 was going to end up as a disaster on the scale of Bomberman Zero, be assured that this is, top to bottom, an NES game. Graphics, cutscenes, background music… all in nothing more than fabulous 8 bits. The only question remaining is will it have a $5 NES price?

Did Nippon Ichi leak a new DS hardware revision? Check out this ad for Disgaea DS… notice anything AWESOME about that DS? The dual widescreens, maybe? Of course this is just a lousy Photoshop, but it seems like a natural evolution for the handheld. Looks like it’s hell on battery power though.

Fans of Phantom Hourglass and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Spirits should probably check out Prince of Persia: The Fallen King on DS, as it will have similar stylus-based controls. It will also feature the franchise’s new anime look, straight from the upcoming PS3/360 Prince of Persia game. On the DS, it looks even more like Wind Waker to me.

The Castlevania Judgment article probably has more info on this unexpected game than any other source to date. Stephen has already covered Judgment here on Aeropause, so I’ll just say that the game sure does look like teh Soulcalibur.

Five Hype Sentences About Sonic Unleashed that Could Apply to ANY Sonic Game in the Past Ten Years: (all taken from NP’s interview with producer Yoshihisa Hashimoto)

• “It’s like nothing you’ve seen before.”
• “Sonic sets off on a journey to not only save the world but also himself.”
• “The sense of speed the player feels in very important.”
• “Dr. Eggman traps Super Sonic.”
• “We strongly intend to bring in good qualities of [both 2D and 3D gaming] and produce a more high-quality Sonic title.”

The first videos of Sonic Unleashed look amazing, but Sega has boned the blue blur time and time again so I can’t help but remain skeptical.

The key 20th Anniversary article is Nintendo Power’s picks for the Top 20 games for each Nintendo system, excepting the Virtual Boy, which only had 14 games total. All the usual suspects are present; you can probably make this article up on your own just listing every first party Nintendo game you can think of. The devil is in the details, providing such SHOCKERS as Elite Beat Agents rated best DS game, and Mario Galaxy placing higher than Smash Brawl.

I have a fun math project brewing for these lists, but I’m going to make it a separate post because it’s so great and this article is already long enough. Look for it soon!

Lightning Round
Virtual Console Staff Picks: FFCC My Life as a King (WiiWare), Metal Slug (NEOGEO)

Top scoring Wii review: We Love Golf, 8.5 (all scores out of 10)
Top scoring DS review: Final Fantasy IV, 9.0
Lowest rated Wii review: Incredible Hulk, 3.5
Lowest rated DS review: Carnival Games, 4.5

Is Anybody Talking About This?: Rock Band Track Pack 1 (Wii) hits stores this month, not too far after the game’s debut on Wii. You can send your hate mail directly to Nintendo, CC’ing Harmonix. You’d think more outlets would be interested in this, given Rock Band’s second-tier status on Wii.

Best Love Advice for Nintendo Characters from a Pro Wrestler: WWE tag-teamer The Miz suggests Ganondorf not turn into a boar on the first date, thinks Pit looks like a girl, and tells Luigi to “be the pimp that you are!”

Something Else for Your Already-Packed-Away Wii Fit Balance Board: Shaun White Snowboarding. But if you lack a Balance Board, the game has an alternate control scheme where you hold the Remote flat in your hand to simulate a mini-Balance Board. And that will suck.

So He’s Anime Now?: Cast yon peepers upon Nester 2008, appearing in a special 20th anniversary comic that kicks off this issue. He’s older - even has a kid - but he’s not much wiser.

Next month in Nintendo Power… the last page tease could be herald a new Zelda game, Kingdom Hearts (which we already know is coming to DS), or - in the ultimate fanboy disappointment play - merely a new Fire Emblem. Booo. See you next month where I cry.