Japan Gaming Guide

He’s-a-coming. Oh yes! The pipe diving one is on his way to Wii in Super Mario Galaxy, which now has an official Japanese release date of November 1st. The game is the true sequel to Super Mario 64, and will allow a second player to join in the action by manipulating on-screen objects with the Wiimote.

Naturally we’re very excited about this – we may go and jump on some turtles to celebrate.

[Read]

The official website for the sequel to one of the most cult games of all time has just gone live. Yes, the NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams site is up, with pictures, a movie and some fairy tale music. We absolutely loved NiGHTS here at JGG and are really hoping this sequel is a good one. For those that aren’t familiar with the original, Into Dreams cast you as a mysterious flying acrobat who flies through the air spinning through hoops and building combos to score points. The game was about getting big scores and perfecting your graceful arcs and spins – imagine the euphoria of Sonic’s early levels spread out through a game and you’ll understand. Journey of Dreams is due this winter.

[Read, via the Tanooki]

September is here, and we’re getting to the part of the year when the release schedules get busy. That doesn’t mean the Virtual Console has to start slacking though does it? Of course not – and Nintendo have added some Neo Geo action to the list to make sure it doesn’t. Here’s the release list for this month, with next tuesday’s releases marked with a star.

Famicom (500 points)
Battle City   *
Mach Rider   *
Bases Loaded
Tower of Druaga

Super Famicom (800 points)
Super Metroid
Gradius III

Nintendo 64 (1000 points)
Sin and Punishment

Megadrive (600 points)
Golden Axe III   *
Super Thunderblade
Land Stalker (700 points)
Atomic Runner

PC Engine (600 points)
Legend of Hero Tonma   *
Override   *
Salamander
Guyframe
Escape! Twinbee

Neo Geo (900 points)
World Heroes
Magician Lord
Fatal Fury

Eggy and Aleste on the MSX have been delayed until after autumn.

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If you’ve got 8610 yen to hand this November you might want to go picking up the Umbrella Chronicles/Wii Zapper bundle that’s coming out. It could make shooting those zombies that little bit more fulfilling.

[Read, via Codename Revolution]

Super Mario Galaxy is getting ever closer. A whole load of new screens just went up – check them out.

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Now that everyone has trained their brains with Dr Kawashima, gamers should be a pretty smart bunch. So now Nintendo is bringing out a chess game for Wii. We’ve just got a chess game on Xbox Live Arcade as part of Spyglass Boardgames, it’s going to see how Nintendo’s effort compares. Game specific friend codes anyone?

[Read (German), via WiiNintendo]

Aliens are always trying to take over the earth. Every time you switch on the TV or go to the movies, there they are. Giant robots, bug eyed monsters – they come in all shapes and forms, but they are always defeated. Robots can be smashed, monsters can be killed, but what the hell would mankind do if faced with a swarming hoard of giant flying butt cheeks?

We don’t want to think about how they’re going to attack us, but there is a way to repel them – point your Wiimote and open fire! The rear assault is a mere minigame of Jinsei Game Wii – which translates as ‘Game of Life Wii’, not ‘attack of the unclad posteriors’ as we were hoping.

The game is based on a popular Japanese board game – and features other minigames such as “Don’t blow up the balloon” and “Stick swords in the barrel”. How the butts from space translate to the living room is anybody’s guess.

You’ll be able to use your Miis in the game as well, if you’re willing to expose them to full on gluteal peril.

[Read (Japanese), via Kotaku]

D3 Publisher are bringing their ‘simple’ series of games over to the Wii, and they’ve just announced the first couple of titles. The Minna de Kart Race and the Minna de Bass Tsuri Taikai are out in Ocotber. Puzzle Quest is also expected to arrive at some point.

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The latest game in the Metroid series, Metroid Prime 3 has received a perfect score in Nintendo Power Magazine, according to Infendo.

Although Nintendo Power is a Nintendo owned magazine, they have a history of objective reviews, and they don’t hand out 10/10 marks easily – Twilight Princess didn’t get one, and neither did Ocarina of Time.

Prime 3 apparently stands out for having the first graphics on Wii that don’t look last gen, as well as flawless level design and good use of gestures. The game was pretty much a must have already, but this underlines it’s essential status.

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The official Super Smash Brothers website has been updating regularly with snippets about the game. The latest update shows off Link’s special moves. These include his sword spin attack as well as several equipment based attacks using the bow, clawshot boomerang and bombs. You can also use the clawshot to recover if you fall off ledges. The moves are based on Link’s repertoire from The Twilight Princess.

[Read, via The Tanooki]