Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #237 (January 2009)

By Joe Fourhman | December 22, 2008

As widely reported, there’s a new Ninja Turtles game coming next year, with the [frankly unbelievable] buzz that it could be the Smash Brawl killer. Nice cover though. The Turtles front a here’s-what’s-coming-in-2009 preview issue, which is something Nintendo fans have been waiting for since about August.

This January issue continues the NP tradition of a holiday gift. Although again, for what seems like the fifteenth time in six years, it’s stickers. Pokemon Ranger stickers. The mag’s new owners appear to have no plans to best the free Smash Melee orchestral soundtrack CD from a few years back. So sticker up your Trapper Keeper and read-a-long!

Issue #237, January 2008
featuring 2009 mega-preview, 2008 Nintendo Power awards (vote early and vote often!)

Part of what’s adding to the anticipation for this new as-yet-untitled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fighting game is that it’s being developed by various members from Game Arts (who worked on Brawl) and Team Ninja (Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden). That’s a lot of talent for a licensed game based on a property that really isn’t the hype machine it once was.

TMNT wants to top Brawl in key areas like stage design and online play, and with a release date somewhere around September 2009, you’d hope it to have some kind of improvement over Smash Bros. The look comes straight from last year’s CG film. The turtles themselves will carry a colored glow to help tell them apart while fighting. And so far, the team is concentrating on a Remote+Nunchuk control scheme, rather than supporting GameCube or Classic controllers.

So, Wii fans, excited? But let’s get realistic here. What are the odds that Ubisoft would position Game Arts/Team Ninja staff on a TMNT fighting game that is exclusive to Wii? I’m going to say nil. When asked about exclusivity, Ubi-producer Chris Ferriter says “I can’t really comment on that just yet.”

And as for besting Brawl? Well, the odds are stacked against that. Sure, Brawl’s online mode is dicey, but for depth of experience, crazy sidebar modes, and pure fan-service, Smash Brawl will remain the game of the hour. But let’s continue the preview…

You know what’s fun? Reading articles about new Sonic games and pegging the exact sentences that you know are going to break Sega fanboy hearts again and again. Here’s a sampler from the preview of Sonic and the Black Knight

• “…but there’s a much greater emphasis on combat this time out.”
• “…your sword happens to be a magical talking sword named Caliburn”
• “[Knuckles, Shadow and Blaze] become optional playable characters.”
• “If all else fails, you can block with Z.”

Where are we on the Sonic circle of disappointment for this one?

Check out this screen from Dead Rising: Chop Till You Drop.

I know it’s so July 2008 to bust on this Wii port being zombie-free… but when the screen is so un-populated by zombies that the main character actually eclipses the vicinity’s lone enemy, that’s pretty damn funny.

The first town in the sarcastic DS RPG parody My World, My Way is named “The First Town.” I hope this game turns out to be as good as it sounds.

Survival horror game Cursed Mountain will use the Wii Remote’s speaker as a walkie-talkie through which you’ll hear dialogue from in-game characters. Not enough games use the speaker!

Tenchu 4: Shadow Assassins maps shuriken-tossing to Remote waggle. Now that’s motion control I can get behind! And it seems T4 already has a name change; last issue it was referred to as “Art of the Ninja.” “Shadow Assassins” is probably the badassier North American subtitle.

My personal 2009 Wii/DS list is as follows: GTA Chinatown Wars, Little King’s Story, Wii Sports Resort (I want the Motion Plus attachment), Madworld, Klonoa, Deadly Creatures, Major Minor’s Majestic March, and Muramasa: The Demon Blade.

The box art for Solitaire Overload caught my eye.

But I think something needs fixed on the box art. Here we go, this seems better:

It’s time again for the annual Nintendo Power awards! Thankfully (?), this year we have no core Mario or Zelda game to run off with everything, so it should be an interesting fight. You can vote online at this Wordpress site (WTF). I won’t try to talk you into supporting certain games, just don’t vote de Blob in for Best Platformer, or Blast Works as Best Shooter/Action Game. Ugh.

Hudson bringing all-girl pit crews who clean toilets to WiiWare

“It all started with a dirty toilet at my place,” reminisces director Yasuhiro Kido. “It was so dirty that it was taking me hours to clean it. In the middle of that, a picture of pit crews working popped into my head, and I thought, ‘It would take them mere seconds to clean this up…’”

And lo, Kido-san did make the pit crew all girls, did expand the crew concept beyond mere race cars, and did create a WiiWare game out of it. And it was to be hopefully good.

With a bunch of cute chibi-girls scrubbing motorcycles, train engines and toilets, Pit Crew Panic sounds like the best thematic dressing for a multiplayer mini-game fest I’ve ever heard. Certainly beats the crap out of Rabbids. No word on when it will arrive for download, how much it will cost, or if it will be as sexist as it sounds.

Shop Channel Staff Picks: Strong Bad Episode 3 (WiiWare), Earthworm Jim (Genesis), Mega Man 3 (NES)

Top scoring Wii review: Rock Band 2, 9.0… half a point better than Guitar Hero World Tour! Suck it, Guitar Hero World Tour! (all scores out of 10)
Top scoring DS review: Big Bang Mini, 8.5
Lowest rated Wii review: Quantum of Solace, 5.0
Lowest rated DS review: Tony Hawk’s Motion, 4.0

The transition is coming: EIC Chris Slate mentions a brand new Nintendo Power.com that will offer high-res scans of articles and advance previews of upcoming articles. Should we prepare for NP to go the way of so many other games mags, as online or nothing?

Get over it: The DSi announcement comes along with the expected whining about the loss of the GBA slot. Too bad! You can’t have backwards compatibility forever! You know what you can find at any yard sale in the world these days? Working GBAs.

Occasionally, someone listens to me: EA Sports Active, coming this spring, may deliver on Wii Fit’s unfulfilled promise… customizable 20 minute workouts. Interestingly, the game does not rely on the Balance Board (although it does use it), instead focusing on a packed-in resistance band and thigh strap to monitor your activity.

Your Pokemon Ranger Wi-Fi missions are go: Nintendo currently has three Wi-Fi missions posted for Pokemon Ranger: Shadows of Almia. I knew about the one that gets you a Manaphy Egg and the one that gets a Riolu, but I think the one that scares up a Darkrai is new. All three missions are only available for download until January 31, 2009.

A DS game to watch for: Retro Game Challenge. Based on a Japanese TV show, this one takes eight fake retro games from multiple genres and takes you through goal-based challenges to unlock the full game in free play mode. Expect quirky only-in-Japan charm to turn this into something greater than it sounds. You even have to look through fabricated retro-enthusiast magazines for cheat codes! NP gave it a 8.0.

Next month in Nintendo Power… it’s all about RPGs! I’ll be looking for more about Muramasa and My World, My Way!