Spend 2010 playing the WiiWare versions of the entire Phoenix Wright library

By Joe Fourhman | November 18, 2009

phoenix_wright Although once an only-in-Japan punchline (WTF LAWYER GAME?!?!?), Phoenix Wright has become fairly ubiquitous here in the West. Even as the Ace Attorney DS series passed the lawyering torch off to Apollo Justice, Phoenix still seems to hold the giant OBJECTION finger of our hearts.

Today Capcom announced that the three Phoenix Wright DS games will arrive on WiiWare next year. January will see the four-chapter “Ace Attorney” for 1000 points, plus you have the option of getting the fifth AA chapter for another 100. “Justice for All” appears in March, and “Trials and Tribulations” is scheduled for May.

We’ve talked about this on the podcast once of twice, about Phoenix Wright being an odd little beast. A tad too trial-and-errory for me; a little too nonsensical for Haygood. But at $10, you could do a whole lot worse. Given that this series is much-loved on DS (and remember that the DS releases were ports of popular Japanese GBA originals), I’d say we’re getting a pretty ripe plum for WiiWare.

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Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #248 (December 2009)

By Joe Fourhman | November 10, 2009

np-248 Nintendo Power continues their holiday game coverage with a cover feature on Mario and another big list of reviews. You Shantae fans will want to search this issue out for the cool character design evolution chart. The rest of you will just have to imagine bikini-clad genie girls and read-a-long!

Issue #248, December 2009
featuring New Super Mario Bros Wii, Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing (Wii), Infinite Space (DS)

Nintendo announced a flurry of new games at E3 09, but only one was slotted to be this year’s big holiday title… and that’s New Super Mario Bros Wii. Nintendo Power is quick to point out the game is no watered down party minigame collection. In fact, it’s more of a watered-up version of New Super Mario Bros on DS.

As the first console-based 2D Mario title in eighteen years, NSMBW owes everything to the NES/SNES generation. The screenshots show rolling hills, card-matching minigames, an overworld map, and the usual allotment of tubes, coins and blocks. NP stresses that the game is a fully capable single-player experience, just in case you thought the levels were best enjoyed with the 4-man multiplayer.

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Nintendo already setting things up for next Pokemon release

By Joe Fourhman | November 8, 2009

arceus1 Arceus is your gateway pokemon to next spring’s release of Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver.

The rare, legendary, FINAL pokedex member is available this week at Toys R Us as a free Wonder Card download for any of the current three DS core Pokemon games. Not only do you get a level 100 monster, but you also get a little shove of interest to the next Pokemon games. Seems that Arceus, when traded forward into HeartGold or SoulSilver, will allow you to “witness the moment a legendary pokemon comes to be.”

Having Arceus on your team will allow you to catch – at level 1 – either Dialgia, Palkia or Giratina. You know, the three poster monsters for Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, respectively. Sure, pro Pokemon Trainers likely have all three of them already (legally, even.) But catching them at level 1 means you’re getting the beast in a far more malleable form. Like, you could train it to fetch sodas from the fridge or something.

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New Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Trailer

By Adam Englebright | November 6, 2009

spirittracks1106 Gametrailers has got a WORLD EXCLUSIVE!!! trailer for the upcoming Legend of Zelda game, the DS title Spirit Tracks. Amongst other things, the trailer reveals that (spoilers) Zelda will be with you throughout the game, albeit in spirit form. The trailer shows her posessing one of those annoying suit-of-armour demons (from the previous DS title, Phantom Hourglass) and you controlling it with the stylus, using its invinciblity to aid you crossing lava and blocking fire. It looks like quite an interesting addition – perhaps like those statues you could control in Twilight Princess. I’ll stop describing it and let you watch the trailer, just hit the jump.

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Ones to Watch: Wii and DS for November 2009

By Joe Fourhman | November 2, 2009

doclouisPO Those of us who made the Club Nintendo Platinum Elite may already be enjoying the first Wii release of the month, Doc Louis’s Punch-Out. The rest of you, read on and see what Nintendo has on their little white plate.

November 3
Academy of Champions Soccer – Ubisoft’s arcade soccer + Hogwarts game is finally out. This one made an initial splash for including characters from Ubisoft’s stable like Jade and Mr. Splinter Cell.

LEGO Rock Band – The multiplatform family-focused Rock Band title arrives. I still think it’s odd that the setlist isn’t true kids music from established kids bands, because what you are getting really isn’t appreciably different from a regular Rock Band setlist. 2009 seems to be the year that Harmonix finally squanders all that goodwill they’ve built up since the initial RB release. And speaking of that, Band Hero is also out this week. Both are also on DS.

Rabbids Go Home – The evolution of the Rabbids into a genuine gaming brand is complete as they get their first non-garbage-minigames game. Actually sounds pretty funny, if you can stomach the oh-so-zany Rabbid marketing. (Also on DS)

November 9
Excitebike: World Rally – Nintendo stealth-announced this new WiiWare title on the October 26th Nintendo Week show. Looks like a fair redux of the NES original, with some very familiar track layouts just at a new 3D camera angle. And it still has a level editor!

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Coming soon, the only legitimate way to catch Arceus

By Joe Fourhman | October 29, 2009

the_or10 Finally, after years of waiting, US Pokemon fans (including Puerto Rico!) will have a legitimate means to catch Arceus.

Nintendo Power revealed the news in issue #248; the Arceus distribution will be at Toys R Us from November 7 through 15. As with previous critter handouts, you’ll just have to show up and download it over the DS WiFi.

Arceus can change its type based on certain held items, which might make it a good pinch-hitter on your team. It is the last final absolute end of the Diamond/Pearl/Platinum generation Pokedex. And if the upcoming HeartGold and SoulSilver releases follow the remake trend and do not add any new types, Arceus could be our last new pokemon for quite a while.

Up until now, odds are that if you encountered somebody with an Arceus… it was a hacked fake. So it will be nice to get a legal version of this rare beast.

Club Nintendo post-play surveys now on 7-day delay

By Joe Fourhman | October 13, 2009

Nintendo has made a slight alteration to their Club Nintendo survey system, and it makes a Bowser-sized pile of size. You now have to wait at least seven days for taking the online Post-Play Survey. Shocking!

Before this change, you could take the Post-Play Survey immediately upon registering the game. In fact, Nintendo’s system sort of encouraged you to do so, what with all the ubiquitous reminders to take the survey and earn a bonus 10 points for your Club Nintendo account. Of course, taking a Post Play Survey when you’ve barely played the game is ridiculous. Now you have to wait… the survey won’t even appear in your To-Do list until a week has passed since registration. Hopefully you’ve played the game once or twice since then.

Incidentally, even though Wii Fit Plus retails for $20, you still get the full 50 point buff for registering it with Club Nintendo. Mario didn’t randomly cheap out on the points. We’re only four months into the current Club Nintendo calendar year and I’m already at Gold status.

Aeropodcast #102: We’re Late and British This Time

By Joe Haygood | October 7, 2009

A big apology for this podcast getting to press so late. Real life has been getting in the way of things for the last week and a half, but things are getting better. And believe me, beyond a technical issue for this podcast, it is well worth the wait. Why is that you say? Well, we had our writer from the UK, Vikki, making an appearance on the show. So for once, we have a really good English accent on the show, although a really bad accent shows up as well at one point.

Features in this podcast include shopping for good, not so cutesy DS and DSi games, and the Xbox 360 and PC Ones to Watch titles, so it was not a fanboy oversight that they were not on the site.

Music is provided by Revolution Void, and mixed as always by Stephen Munn.

Download the podcast from here or subscribe to the podcast using one of the services below: Also make sure to review us on iTunes.

Weekend AeroProTip: Nintendogs

By Joe Fourhman | October 3, 2009

GAME> Nintendogs (2005)
SYSTEM> Nintendo DS
SOURCE> Nintendogs trading card, 2005

This game is such a classic RPG. Find the party member whose class has a natural capacity for the quest. Grind up on low-level training to improve the skill level. Earn cool new buffs and items for your inventory or trophy room.

Happy Turok Child now knows what to call it

By Joe Fourhman | October 3, 2009

Thanks to the TV commercials, we now know the proper way to pronounce the DS Kingdom Hearts game subtitle is “three fifty-eight days over two.”

Do you have a moment of gaming elation for Happy Turok Child to communicate to the world? Send it to tips@aeropause.com with the subject “Happy Turok Child” and your mail might make Happy Turok Child happy enough to post it! Do you agree with Happy Turok Child? Write in comments!

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Spend 2010 playing the WiiWare versions of the entire Phoenix Wright library

Read-a-long with Nintendo Power #248 (December 2009)

Nintendo already setting things up for next Pokemon release

New Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks Trailer

Ones to Watch: Wii and DS for November 2009

Coming soon, the only legitimate way to catch Arceus

Club Nintendo post-play surveys now on 7-day delay

Aeropodcast #102: We’re Late and British This Time

Weekend AeroProTip: Nintendogs

Happy Turok Child now knows what to call it