Ones to Watch for Wii and DS, February 2009

By Joe Fourhman | February 2, 2009

Some bugs, some girls, some zombies and a whole waisthigh stack of RPGs await your Nintendo gaming dollar this month! First up, the Ones to Watch for Wii…

February 3: That’s, like, tomorrow! Right now Rygar: The Battle for Argus and Tenchu: Shadow Assassins are on mothertruckin’ big rigs winging their way to retailers near you. IGN did not much care for Rygar (6.something, “passable”) and Nintendo Power seemed hesitant on Tenchu 4 (7.0 AWESOME), so your mileage may vary. At least Tenchu can net you a ninja bandanna bonus at certain outlets.

February 9: Billy Bob Thornton makes his triumphant return to video gaming with Deadly Creatures, the delayed arachnid adventure sim. NP did not have a review ready on this one, which may be some cause for concern.

February 10: House of the Dead: Overkill arrives replete with the new buzzword “grindhouse.” And on that same day, expect more zombie action with Onechanbara: Bikini Zombie Slayers. I’m proposing a new AeroPoll: Which Word Best Sells Onechanbara to You? A) Onechanbara, B) Bikini, C) Zombie, or D) Slayers?

February 24: It’s time to see what happens when a beloved 360 game jumps to the Wii. Dead Rising: Chop ‘Til You Drop has had the worst word of mouth since Facebreaker (which admittedly wasn’t that long ago), but now we’ll finally be able to see for ourselves if CTYD can stand alone as a good game in its own right. (My guess, probably not.)

And on the DS, it’s a veritable BURST LIMIT of RPGs…

February 3: My World, My Way will whine and pout its way into your hearts with a unique twist on the usual RPG stereotypes.

February 10: This one was delayed, but Legacy of Ys: Books I & II shows up next week. Right alongside a little-known sleeper title called Retro Game Challenge, which may be overlooked due to the nondescript meltaway name… but is actually a Japanophile hotbed of craziness.

February 16: Hey, Nintendo does still employ a games division! Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is finally coming to our shores, narrowly avoiding the “D. S.” subtitle abbreviation disease.

February 17: A day later, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride arrives, another decades-old RPG making the transition from Japan exclusive to worldwide DS release.

February 24: 360 RPG also-ran Blue Dragon comes to the DS in the form of Blue Dragon Plus, completing a trilogy of dragon-related confusion at your checkout counter. That same day Puzzle Quest: Galactrix shows up; remember all the buzz behind the first Puzzle Quest on DS, and how hard it was to find for a couple weeks?