This week in the Nintendo eShop: Zelda beckons Hylian heroes back to the wild, GoNNER tries not to lose its head, and two TurboGrafx-16 classics keep the Wii U on life support.
Mark your calendars, eShop enthusiasts: The Nintendo eShop has finally received its first Switch game discount! A sneaky Snake Pass sale is slithering through Nintendo’s online storefront this week, down from its original price of $19.99 to $11.99 through July 4th. We found it to be quite charming in our full review, praising the undeniable sense of reward that comes with wrapping your head around its uniquely serpentine physics.
SWITCH DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE
GoNNER (Raw Fury, $9.99) – GoNNER is a tough as nails procedurally generated platformer oozing with style and personality. Players control Ikk, a sentient water droplet with a penchant for losing his head (literally) as he embarks on a quest of friendship in search of the perfect trinket for a gargantuan space whale named Sally. Trippy stuff, indeed. Addictive score-based gameplay, melancholic melodies and a gorgeous neon, silhouetted aesthetic seemingly crafted in crayon give this spooky, yet oddly cute, platformer more than enough grit to hang with the best of the roguelike bunch. You’ll need to keep your head in the game (heh) should you wish to overcome its incredibly steep learning curve, though those with the patience to master its fast and frantic mechanics will find one of the most rewarding roguelikes on Switch to date.
Arcade Archives – Magical Drop II (Hamster Corporation, $7.99) – Magical Drop II is a bold and beautiful falling object puzzler released by Data East way back in 1996. Sporting simple and addictive gameplay, players match similarly colored balloons in typical Puzzle Bobble fashion either head-to-head vs CPU opponents or in a fast and frantic, high score chasing marathon mode. While it may not be the most original puzzle game ever crafted, fans of the genre looking to take a break from the fantastic Puyo Puyo Tetris will find plenty of block busting action to fall in love with.
SWITCH ADD-ON CONTENT
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wil – Expansion Pass DLC Pack 1: The Master Trials (Nintendo, $19.99 | available 6/30) – The wait is finally over! Zelda’s first DLC pack rides through Hyrule along with more new content and collectible treasures than you can shake a Deku Stick at. First up is the Trial of the Sword challenge: a gauntlet style arena of challenging puzzles and battles with the ultimate prize of permanently awakening the Master Sword to an unbreakable state. Rounding out the package is a new Master Mode difficulty, Hero’s Path mode for tracking up to 200 hours of footsteps on the map, a warp point inducing Travel Medallion, eight new armor pieces offering unique effects and an adorable Korok Mask for finding those last few elusive mischief makers.
Unfortunately, this content can only be obtained by purchasing the full $19.99 Expansion Pass, which also includes The Champion’s Ballad; the second DLC Pack coming this holiday season. Though let’s be honest — you already bought the full season pass back in March, didn’t you?
3DS DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE
Mighty Gunvolt Burst (Inti Creates, $9.99) – Don’t have a Switch, but still want to revisit the golden age of 2D action platforming complete with endearing pixel style graphics, catchy chiptune soundtracks, and more Blue Bomber references than you can shake a Mega Buster at? Inti Creates has got your back as Mighty Gunvolt Burst blasts its way to 3DS systems this week! More than just a sequel to 2014’s bite-sized 2D action game Mighty Gunvolt, Burst is a brand new full-sized game featuring a more expansive world, deep customization options and characters from multiple game universes (most notably Gunvolt and Beck). Basically, it’s everything you wish Mighty No. 9 was at just the right bargain bin price to avoid disappointment should it fail to meet your lofty expectations.
NEW 3DS DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE
6180 the moon (Turtle Cream, $3.99) – Named after the number of seconds taken to create the game’s first prototype, 6180 the moon is a stunningly simple platformer tasking players with guiding the titular dancing orb of light through a cosmic journey to restore the Sun to its bright, blazing glory. Levels are cleverly designed with tremendous verticality thanks to the dual screens of the 3DS, making navigation through the game’s retro dreamlike landscapes all the more fun and challenging. If that weren’t enough, a beautiful subdued score complements its minimal aesthetic perfectly, keeping the focus strictly on its tight, precision-based platforming. It’s pretty much the cream of the crop as far as bargain bin titles go, making this an easy sell for platform junkies with a couple hours to kill.
3DS HOME MENU THEMES
Pokémon: Look Upon the Stars – $1.99
Pokémon: Pokémon Pop – $1.99
WII U DOWNLOAD SOFTWARE
Preston Sterling and the Legend of Excalibur (MiracleBoxGames, $3.99) – Developed by a small independent studio in Germany, Preston Sterling is the first title in an intended adventure series. Gameplay-wise it’s essentially a point-and-click adventure game with the occasional puzzle thrown in the mix, though wonky controls and a very short run time keep it from being an easy recommendation. On the plus side, the story’s apparently fairly decent, especially if you’re into English folklore, King Arthur mythology and budget Nathan Drake types. Pick it up on Steam if you must, as it’s currently being offered there at half the price.
WII U ADD-ON CONTENT
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wil – Expansion Pass DLC Pack 1: The Master Trials (Nintendo, $19.99 | available 6/30) – The wait is finally over! Zelda’s first DLC pack rides through Hyrule along with more new content and collectible treasures than you can shake a Deku Stick at. First up is the Trial of the Sword challenge: a gauntlet style arena of challenging puzzles and battles with the ultimate prize of permanently awakening the Master Sword to an unbreakable state. Rounding out the package is a new Master Mode difficulty, Hero’s Path mode for tracking up to 200 hours of footsteps on the map, a warp point inducing Travel Medallion, eight new armor pieces offering unique effects and an adorable Korok Mask for finding those last few elusive mischief makers.
Unfortunately, this content can only be obtained by purchasing the full $19.99 Expansion Pass, which also includes The Champion’s Ballad; the second DLC Pack coming this holiday season. Though let’s be honest — you already bought the full season pass back in March, didn’t you?
WII U VIRTUAL CONSOLE
Bonk 3: Bonk’s Big Adventure (D4 Enterprise, $5.99) – The hard-headed hero returns for yet another side-scrolling adventure through prehistoric times. Rounding out the trilogy back in 1993, the Evil King Drool is up to his old tricks and it once again falls to Bonk to, well, bonk him back into fossil fuel. The game is typically praised for small tweaks to its gameplay while still maintaining the series’ tradition of excellent level design, vibrant cartoony graphics and catchy music. Most notably, the cranial caveman’s movement is much more fluid this time around, complemented further by a new two player cooperative mode that proves two foreheads of mass destruction are far superior to one.
Devil’s Crush (D4 Enterprise, $5.99) – Released on the TurboGrafx-16 back in 1990, Devil’s Crush is considered in many circles as the far superior sequel to the hit pinball game, Alien Crush. In fact, it pretty much ups the ante in every way imaginable. More realistic ball physics, stunning graphics, a larger table and killer soundtrack culminate into one of the most addictive video pinball games around. What it lacks in variety it makes up for in style, trading in its predecessor’s extraterrestrial theme for some medieval mayhem chock-full of cackling skeletal knights and fire-breathing dragons. Check it out if you’re a fan of the genre, especially considering the 16-bit system’s limited offerings otherwise.
SPECIAL OFFERS AND DEALS
[Switch] Snake Pass ($11.99 | 40% off) until 7/4
[3DS] Go! Go! Kokopolo 3D ($4.49 | 25%) until 7/13
[3DS] The Legend of Dark Witch ($2.99 | 25% off) until 7/13
[3DS] Witch & Hero ($2.99 | 25% off) until 7/13
[3DS] Witch & Hero 2 ($2.99 | 25% off) until 7/13
[3DS] Frontier Days Founding Pioneers ($4.49 | 25% off) until 7/13
[3DS] Cube Creator 3D ($5.99 | 25% off) until 7/6
[3DS] Squids Odyssey ($5.99 | 60% off) until 7/2
[Wii U] Runbow ($5.09 | 66% off) until 7/5
[Wii U] Shadow Puppeteer ($7.49 | 50% off) until 7/6
[Wii U] Blue-Collar Astronaut ($5.00 | 50% off) until 8/3
[Wii U] VRog ($2.99 | 40% off) until 7/20
[Wii U] Squids Odyssey ($5.99 | 60% off) until 7/2
[Wii U] Ohayou! Beginner’s Japanese ($3.99 | 20% off) until 8/11
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.
