Speculation: Castlevania Wii Announcement Soon?

Finishing moving, unpacking, and cleaning usually results in some wind-down Metroid Prime action for me. Today resulted in reading the latest issue of Nintendo Power.

The July 2008 issue spills the beans on the recent title in the Castlevania series: Order of Ecclesia for the DS, a game hinted at by the previous issue. Something didn’t sit right while paging through the issue, however. There were too many squeaks in the pages, words that were taunting my mind with that “just you wait, we have something big we can’t tell you” feeling.

Starting with the Pulse section, devoted to letters from readers, I found two interesting tidbits. First came a reader named “Squi-G!!!” that picks his favorite games out of a hat, apparently. Talking about the idea of picking a personal Best Game Ever (BGE), Editor Chris Slate responds to the reader’s inquiry with “On this subject, keep an eye out for something really big next issue.”

“BJG93″ also wrote in asking about Nintendo’s devotion to the hardcore crowd and M-rated titles. Slate responded with “All I can say is… don’t miss next issue. And bring extra underwear.”

Aside from Slate’s need to pimp the oncoming issues of NP, something else is itchy here. Since the next issue is August 2008, the big post-E3 issue, we can assume some big Wii titles will be announced and detailed.

Other clues to lead us to rational speculation:

In the same issue, Koji “IGA” Igarashi guest writes about the Castlevania series thusfar. Reflecting on the PS2 versions, IGA mentioned that “while they feature some of the best work by [artist] Ayami Kojima and [composer] Michiru Yamane to date, the perfect 3-D Castlevania game is still ahead of us.” IGA brings up an interesting point: non of the next-gen home consoles have seen a Castlevania game. With the heart of the series being a 2-D platform/adventure, Konami has been focusing on the DS as Castlevania’s home for new games in vampire-slaying.

Seeing the massive success of slashing games on newer consoles like the Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry series (both bearing strong similarities to the imperfect 3-D iterations of Castlevania), one can imagine the direction IGA would like to go with the series.

Better yet, hear it from the man himself. IGN got a few words with Igarashi back in 2006, and squeezed this out of him:

“We still can’t think about anything other than this DS version because we are so busy, but of course we would like to think of something interesting and pleasant for Wii. I have some ideas for Castlevania for Wii.”

And since then, IGA has been thinking and brainstorming ways to bring the Wii an amazing, whipping-good time. Over a year and a half later, and he’s still thinking. MTV Multiplayer brought words from the series producer just this last month that he’s still… sorta unsure. At a recent Konami press event, Igarashi said, “In regards to using the Wiimote as a whip, I still think it’s going to get tiring after a while… But using the Wii, I have been thinking about different ways. I see it as a viable platform, the more and more I think about it.”

The more he thinks about it, over the years? Sounds kind of ridiculous for a visionary producer. To his credit, however, IGA loves to fine-tune his games, and any Wii game he will eventually make has to be better than good. It has to be “good + 1.”

Additionally, the new DS game’s detailing in this NP issue culminated in promising words. NP staffer Chris Hoffman explained that “regardless of the game’s extra trappings-and there are additional features we can’t yet discuss-at its heart lies a tried and true formula.” So many secrets!

If there’s one thing I miss in Nintendo’s systems, it’s connectivity. Knowing the DS and Wii can wirelessly connect, we can expect this to be a feature exploited in announcements at this year’s E3. Konami can really make it happen Metroid Prime/Metroid Fusion-style with new Castlevania titles on both the DS and Wii. All of it adding up to my speculation that the next big announcement gracing the ears of E3-goers and the pages of Nintendo Power will be an excellent, “perfect 3-D” Castlevania game for the Wii.

Of course, that’s in a perfect world. There are other possibilities for excellent M-rated games for the hardcore Wii gamers. Considering the same issue of Nintendo Power also talks about Mad World, it’s a safe bet that the big surprise for next issue isn’t that game. Also, this issue’s cover story was the new DS Castlevania title, so what are the chances that the next could be a Wii title in the series?

Enough banter; let’s speculate. What do YOU think the big announcements will be at E3? What could Nintendo Power staff be getting at? Are you sure it’s not butter? And if it is, how might butter make the Wii even better? Only time will tell…

$2 Million For Wii-hab?

The University of South Carolina recently received a $2 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, partly funding research on the rehabilitative effects of the Wii on stroke victims and their motor skills.

Debra Lieberman, director of the University of California Santa Barbara’s Health Games Research Center (you know, the UCSBHGRC?) said the researchers are “trying to find positive ways to use video games.”

The Wii-centric research will take a $200,000 chunk out of the grant money. The rest is devoted to other video game-centered research, including data gathering on players of an alternative reality game aimed at helping incoming college students fight the “freshman 15.” Hint: don’t drink beer.

Gaming masses have congregated online to loathe the research initiatives around the Wii, many of which are based entirely around the motion-sensing aspects of the console. We all win, however, when the rehabilitative properties of the leading home console spell good looks from the mainstream media.

Wish list: a hack n’ slash Doom-style Wii game that cures my arthritis.

In other news, typing “wii rehab” into google nets about 269,000 sites as of this writing.

Wario Land: “Shake” - New Details and Screens

Wario Land: Shake is the newest installment in the Wario franchise. The garlic-eating villain is largely famous for his mini-game bonanza known as Wario Ware, but this time he is going back to his old school, 2-D, side scrolling roots.

Many old-school gamers may remember the first Wario title, Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. In the game, Wario discovered that the Brown Sugar Pirates had stolen a precious statue of Princess Peach from Mario that was made out of pure gold. While Mario was out looking for it, Wario deviously decided to take advantage of this and attempt to steal it from the Sugar Pirates to keep it for himself. After a long journey, he almost achieves victory as the castle built around the golden statue crumbles. However, all of his hard work was lost as Mario swooped down by helicopter and airlifted the statue by using powerful magnet. As Mario flew away, he waved goodbye to Wario, smiling and oblivious to Wario’s evil plans. But the whole journey wasn’t a total waste: a genie built Wario a castle in exchange for the treasure that Wario had collected throughout the game. The more he had collected, the bigger his castle was.

The game was surprisingly succesful, and led to six more Wario Land titles with the most recent one being Wario: Master of Disguise , bringing the 2D Wario fun back to the Nintendo DS after taking a brief rest from Nintendo’s handhelds. Fans of the franchise are in luck, because Wario is back in Shake and better then ever. With an art style that is similar to Super Paper Mario on the Wii, the developers decided to keep Wario in the 2D world with hand drawn backgrounds and cel-shaded characters. You control Wario by holding the Wii-mote sideways (classic NES style) and move through an array of different motion-controlled actions including shaking and tilting the remote. Shaking the Wii-mote triggers a couple of different actions, including grabbing coins from enemies and unearthing new hidden areas.

Wario Land Shake is only a single-player adventure, but it does include 20 different stages ranging from jungle ruins, deserts, and even in the ocean! The game also includes various types of vehicular exploration, allowing for you to explore the ocean in a submarine or race across a desert with rockets. It seems like the game also supports the Wii-motes speaker, using it for different sound effects such as Wario jumping or exploring the seas in a submarine.

While the game was just announced, we already have a good amount of information and it’s looking to be one of the better games coming out on the Wii (hopefully) this year. Check out the screen below and feel free to leave a comment about this post or take it to the forums. Also, remember to keep checking back to My Wii News for more Wario and Wii info!