This week in the Nintendo eShop: The Switch continues to prove a modern Neo Geo, mice manned machines get lost in the desert and the Wii U flatlines with a trio of disappointments.
Capcom’s cranking up the summer heat with a monster sale for many of its franchise favorites for the next week! Much like Scrooge McDuck himself, you can swim in your savings with steep discounts on DuckTales Remastered and Resident Evil Revelations. 3DS owners can stretch their pointer fingers towards several titles in the Phoenix Wright series, or be bucked by a wild Tigrex in Monster Hunter Generations for half the price. Be sure to check out all the deals at the bottom of this article (or in our dedicated Capcom Publisher Sale article).
SWITCH DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE
Arcade Archives – Last Resort (Hamster Corporation, $7.99) – Released by SNK back in 1992 for, you guessed it, the Neo Geo, Last Resort is an arcade shoot ‘em up heavily inspired by R-Type. Players pilot weaponized spacecrafts through a hailstorm of bullets Duke Nukem himself would be envious of, all in an effort to save Earth from a sentient computer virus. While gameplay is pretty standard fare for the genre — complete with an arsenal of groovy lasers, missiles and bombs at your disposal — it’s the synth-heavy soundtrack, beautifully detailed scenery and imaginative enemy designs that help differentiate it from the pack. After all, how many games have you played featuring a starship shaped like a paraplegic Terminator hell-bent on world domination? Gratuitous slowdown aside, give this star studded shmup a shot if tough as nails sidescrollers with stunning graphics and cool bosses gets you out of bed in the morning.
3DS RETAIL
Farming Simulator 18 (Focus Home Interactive, $29.99 | available 6/6) – Perhaps the largest farming simulator series in history that isn’t Harvest Moon returns! Adding a dash of fertilizer to the tried-and-true formula, players can now immerse themselves in a newly realized southern US environment with over 50 unique farming vehicles to harvest crops and transport livestock in. Admittedly, the genre’s an acquired taste without the glitz and glamor afforded by most video games, requiring an immense amount of agricultural interest and patience to get the most out of. It’s also not as pretty or robust as its console counterparts, meaning its main appeal is for niche veterans looking to get their crop dusting fix on the go. Considering the same exact game is a fraction of the price on mobile, be absolutely certain your need for wheat burns bright before stepping behind the wheel.
3DS DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE
Of Mice and Sand (Circle Entertainment, $7.99) – Of Mice and Sand is a bizarre mix of Mad Max meets Fallout Shelter meets… Pinky and the Brain? This unique strategy simulation game tasks players with ordering a crew of rambunctious rodents around a hulking desert ship on its journey east to El Dorado — legendary land of gold. You’ll help build facilities, assign jobs and grunge up food for breeding new recruits, all in an effort to establish a mobile society for your furry friends to dwell in not unlike that movie Snowpiercer (albeit with far less class divides, revolt and bloodshed). Beyond its attention grabbing concept and tongue-in-cheek title, I find the charming 8-bit presentation and clever use of touch controls endearing enough to warrant a download, especially in light of this week’s relatively lackluster offerings.
3DS ADD-ON CONTENT
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia – Season Pass – (Nintendo, $44.99) – Fire Emblem Echoes is set to receive an entire battalion of downloadable content in the coming month. For those who already plan on purchasing all five packs, Nintendo’s making a Season Pass readily available right out of the (Outrealm) gate. While that price tag may sound steep, consider the fact you’ll be saving more than 30% versus buying each piece of content individually. Not too shabby, if you ask me.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia – DLC Pack #4: Rise of the Deliverance (Nintendo, $12.99) – This third bundle serves as a prequel pack of four maps tracing the war waged by the Deliverance. It occurs shortly before the start of Alm’s tale: perfect for anyone already finished with the main story craving to delve back into Valentia’s fantastical world.
WII U DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE
COQUI THE GAME (Team One, $5.99) – If you were looking for a reason to retire your Wii U to the deepest depths of your bedroom closet, you found it. It doesn’t take much more than a brief glance at the game’s product page to understand why: conflicting art styles, shoddy animations and font inconsistencies leave an extremely sour first impression, and this gameplay video I dug up does little to prove otherwise. I mean, seriously, take a long hard look at that icon. Notice anything strange about our froggy friend? (Beyond the fact he’s an amphibian with luscious hair). Not only is he hovering above the ground, but his straw hat gained the inexplicable gift of flight as well. It’s also never a good sign when the single sentence used to market your merits is littered with excessive capitalization and grammatical errors, not to mention lists underwater levels and the ability to save progress as key gameplay features. The lily pad is definitely greener on the other side, folks.
SWAP BLOCKS (WizByte Games, $4.99) – As you probably guessed from the title, Swap Blocks is a fairly by the books match 3 puzzler about swapping blocks (roll credits) in same colored fashion for high score chasing antics. Its oxymoronic tagline — casual fun for hardcore puzzle fans — tells me the devs weren’t quite sure who to market this towards, making it difficult to wholeheartedly recommend for either demographic. Despite a crisp aesthetic and some catchy chiptunes, there’s also an absence of personality commonly found in even the most abhorrent games in the genre. (I’m lookin’ at you, Candy Crush.) It’s probably better you stick with Puyo Puyo Tetris for your block busting fix.
SPHERE SLICE (RCMADIAX, $1.49) – It’s National All Caps Day in the Wii U eShop this week. RCMADIAX returns with its latest genre knockoff, SPHERE SLICE. This time, Fruit Ninja’s been sent through the ringer as you swipe colored ink blots floating across the Wii U GamePad using your finger. The devs didn’t even try to hide their shame with this one, going so far as to bluntly dare consumers to unleash their “inner Ninja Warrior” in the product page’s description. With plenty of similar free titles built for toilet time on mobile, I’m not sure why anyone would be willing to pay a premium for the same luxury on a console in the tail end of its twilight years.
SPECIAL OFFERS AND DEALS
[3DS] Mega Man Legacy Collection ($5.99 | 60% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate ($7.99 | 60% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate ($11.99 | 60% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Monster Hunter Generations ($19.99 | 50% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trilogy ($14.99 | 50% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Dual Destinies ($10.19 | 66% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney – Spirit of Justice ($19.99 | 33% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Resident Evil Revelations ($9.99 | 50% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D ($6.39 | 68% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition ($11.99 | 40% off) until 6/5
[3DS] Retro City Rampage DX ($4.99 | 50% off) until 6/15
[3DS] Nano Assault EX ($7.49 | 25% off) until 6/15
[3DS] AeternoBlade ($7.99 | 46% off) until 6/22
[3DS] Demon King Box ($1.99 | 50% off) until 6/8
[3DS] Brunch Panic ($1.99 | 50% off) until 6/8
[3DS] Kingdom’s Item Shop ($3.99 | 20% off) until 6/22
[3DS] Adventure Bar Story ($4.79 | 20% off) until 6/22
[3DS] Adventure Labyrinth Story ($3.99 | 20% off) until 6/22
[3DS] Mercenaries Saga 2 ($3.99 | 20% off) until 6/22
[3DS] Conveni Dream ($3.99 | 20% off) until 6/22
[3DS] Castle Conqueror EX ($1.99 | 50% off) until 6/8
[3DS] Sword & Soldiers 3D ($3.99 | 50% off) until 6/8
[3DS] Color Zen ($2.99 | 25% off) until 6/22
[Wii U] DuckTales Remastered ($3.74 | 75% off) until 6/5
[Wii U] Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara ($3.74 | 75% off) until 6/5
[Wii U] Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate ($7.99 | 80% off) until 6/5
[Wii U] Resident Evil: Revelations ($9.99 | 75% off) until 6/5
[Wii U] Soul Axiom ($7.49 | 50% off) until 6/15
[Wii U] Cube Life: Pixel Action Heroes ($5.94 | 15% off) until 6/19
[Wii U] Cube Life: Island Survival ($6.99 | 30% off) until 6/19
[Wii U] Color Zen ($1.49 | 50% off) until 6/19
[Wii U] Wicked Monsters BLAST! HD+ ($1.59 | 80% off) until 6/15
[Wii U] U Host ($3.99 | 55% off) until 6/22
[Wii U] Blue-Collar Astronaut ($5.00 | 50% off) until 8/3
Check Nintendo’s website for the full list of deals available.
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.
