This week in the Nintendo eShop: Blue haired falchion wielding warriors join the fight for mobile supremacy, Yoshi adopts a pupper pal, and Konami reminds us it once made video games.

It’s another slow week in the sales department. A slew of Toki Tori games are still significantly discounted through next week. There’s also the very intriguing first person not-quite-a-shooter Swap Fire to consider for some intense multiplayer action. Other than that, there isn’t much to write home about. The Switch can’t come soon enough!

MOBILE

Fire Emblem Heroes (Nintendo, Free) – Joining Mario and Pokémon in making mobile history is Nintendo’s hit strategy RPG series Fire Emblem! Completely reimagined for smart devices, Fire Emblem blazes forth with series staple battle mechanics customized for touch screens and on-the-go gameplay. Though permadeath won’t be rearing its ugly head this time around, weapon triangles, grid based tactics, and fan favorite heroes and heroines all make a return for the series’ mobile debut. Given the sheer amount of game modes, characters, and additional content planned for release throughout the year, this looks to be Nintendo’s most robust mobile outing to date.

Keep an eye out for our first impressions in the coming days, written by our very own resident Fire Emblem expert Ben Fruzzetti. In the meantime, try not to spend too much gold on your growing pocket armies. You need to save up for when the Switch finally launches early next month!

WII U DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE

Lucentek Beyond (Lucentek, $3.99) – From the same developers behind the seemingly unfinished glitchy eyesore that is Lucentek – Activate comes a first-person RPG inspired followup that looks equally stuck in pre-alpha testing. To say the game lacks any sense of polish and charm is a gross understatement thanks to its lifeless character models, boring environments and insanely repetitive soundtrack. In fact, Lucentek Beyond is so visually repugnant that it manages to paint Superman 64 on par with the Mona Lisa by comparison. I mean, come on, the devs couldn’t even be bothered to spell check the eShop listing on Nintendo’s site! Stay in a galaxy far, far away from this disappointing sci fi space odyssey.

Star Splash: Shattered Star (Snails Animation, $3.49) – The endless runner offspring of Ecco the Dolphin, Star Splash tasks players with swimming, jumping, diving and dashing to save the world as an adorably acrobatic dolphin. The game certainly looks cutesy and polished enough to run with the best of them, but I can’t help but feel it would be better suited on mobile devices. The Wii U simply doesn’t feel like a platform that benefits from the pick-up-and-play nature and instant gratification elements associated with runners. At least this one’s got 30 unique stages and a two-player mode to help justify it. Give it a shot if it’s always been your dream to become a dolphin.

I C REDD (RCMADIAX, $1.49) – Funny. Red is exactly what I see too when a new RCMADIAX game is featured in the eShop. Truly the remoras of the great white gaming shark, no eShop update would be complete without RCMADIAX leeching off the success of better developers before them. As you’d expect by now, I C REDD once again combines terrible grammar and endless runner gameplay to create yet another shallow knockoff of better games gone by – in this case uniquely fantastic 3D puzzlers like Ketzal’s Corridors or Superhypercube. Stay away unless you actually do want to see red as the title so bluntly suggests.

WII U ADD-ON CONTENT

Yoshi’s Woolly World (Nintendo, Free | available 2/3) – Poochy fans rejoice! Yoshi’s lovable canine companion is trotting his way to the Wii U version of Woolly World. Alongside the 3DS port’s release tomorrow comes a free update for all Wii U owners adding brand new Poochy amiibo compatibility. While it won’t unlock the 3DS exclusive Poochy time trial levels, it does at least let players summon Poochy to their side on a whim.

WII U VIRTUAL CONSOLE

Bomberman ‘94 (Konami, $6.99) – Redeveloped in North America under the title Mega Bomberman, Bomberman ‘94 is a faithful port of the original Japanese PC Engine version in all its unaltered multiplayer mayhem glory. Interestingly enough, it was the first Bomberman title to feature the modern design of the white trigger-happy hero, not to mention several recurring characters such as female bombers and secondary villains. The game supports up to five players for intense arena based battles and contains a full single player adventure to boot, tasking players with restoring the five magical Spirit Pictures to save Bomber Planet from certain doom. If you ask me, it’s the perfect bite sized appetizer to whet your appetite as you patiently await Super Bomberman R’s Switch release next month.

Gradius (Konami, $6.99) – Released on the PC Engine in Japan back in 1991, this extremely faithful port of the 1985 Arcade classic shooter is about as good as the series (and genre) gets. Stepping into the cockpit of the transdimensional spacecraft Vic Viper, players battle wave after wave of deadly enemies in classically frantic side scrolling action full of deep power-up mechanics and frantic high score chasing madness. As one of the oldest and greatest Arcade games to ever grace the galaxy, you owe it to yourself to enlist today and download this masterpiece to your waning digital libraries.

WII U SPECIAL OFFERS AND DEALS

Check Nintendo’s website for the full list of deals available.

3DS RETAIL

Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World (Nintendo, $39.99 | available 2/3) – Prepare for cuteness! Yarn Yoshi is weaving his way to 3DS systems tomorrow. Experience the beautifully handcrafted world and clever side-scrolling action once again as you set out to rescue and unravel your woolly friends from Kamek and Baby Bowser’s villainous plot. For those who don’t know, Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World is an enhanced Wii U port containing all new stages starring the adorably loyal pup Poochy, not to mention a few Nintendo 3DS exclusive features. Though my personal favorite addition would have to be the bundle of new stop-motion videos chronicling the lives of Yarn Poochy and Yarn Yoshi throughout their adventure. Did I mention there’s even a Yarn Poochy amiibo to add to your growing collections? Download this captivatingly charming game immediately!

3DS DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE

Legna Tactica (Kemco, $9.99) – Kemco, the jacks of SRPG mobile games, returns this week with Legna Tactica. Why jacks instead of kings, you ask? Quite frankly, Kemco’s titles don’t quite live up to the unfathomable heights of such treasured genre gems as Final Fantasy Tactics or the Tactics Ogre series. Everything this game does has simply been done before, and in many respects, done better. That said, Legna Tactica is a well-crafted enough replica that’s far from being considered a bad game: a perfect handheld experience if you love Japanese-style strategy RPGs, like them fairly easy, and are sitting on a mountain of time. Though for some reason, it costs 60% more here on 3DS systems, so maybe stick with the mobile version if you’ve got that strategy roleplaying fever. Or you know, just download Fire Emblem Heroes instead. It is free after all!

NEW 3DS DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE

Lifespeed (Wee Man Studios, $5.99) – Perhaps the closest we’ll ever get to a new F-Zero release on handhelds, Lifespeed is a fast and frantic futuristic racer exclusive to new 3DS systems. Even cooler, the plot comes off as a crazy mashup of the Hunger Games and Mad Max, taking place a thousand years ago after a Great War threatened to engulf the galaxy where, instead of war, disputes about resources and survival are settled on the track. Players assume control of fearless space pilot Cypher Reid as he’s forced to compete for his planet’s survival the only way he knows how: by racing! Unfortunately, the game suffers from dodgy controls, infuriating AI opponents and a paltry length of just eight courses. Nevertheless, I’d say the game still deserves a recommendation for anyone big on the genre looking for something new and shiny to justify that New Nintendo 3DS purchase, especially if you’re a fan of the Wipeout series.

3DS SPECIAL OFFERS AND DEALS

Check Nintendo’s website for the full list of deals available.

AMIIBO

Yarn Poochy (Nintendo, $16.99 | available 2/3)
Poochy & Yoshi’s Woolly World + Yarn Poochy amiibo Bundle (available 2/3) – (Nintendo, $49.99 | available 2/3)

What games will you be downloading this week? Be sure to let us know in the comments!

Written by Matthew Weidner

When it comes to playing and writing about video games, Matthew aspires to be the very best, like no one ever was. Writing for Nintendo Wire and the thought of one day finally achieving a perfect, no death Super Meat Boy run fills him with determination.

eShop Update: Week of 2/2/17 (North America)

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