Update - Details (and speculation) on Castlevania Judgement

The folks at IGN reminded me of one, crucial detail on Castlevania Judgement upon a second read-through of their piece on Castlevania Judgement:

The newest DS Castlevania title, Order of Ecclesia will be able to wirelessly connect with this new game to unlock bonus content, likely for both versions.

Considering this news on the Castlevania title for Wii is entirely new, a previous article in Nintendo Power did well to hint at the new Wii game.  It also led to the speculation that the DS and Wii games will connect in a Metroid Prime/Fusion style, unlocking bonus features between the two.

Let’s think further on Konami’s strange turn.

Considering the uproar of gamers on Konami abandoning their platforming ways even once in the series, it’s tough to imagine any addition to the game that will make up for the genre change here.

But other successful Nintendo games have used handheld/home console connectivity quite well.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles on the Gamecube allowed up to four players to navigate dungeons together by sharing information unique to their Gameboy Advance screen.

The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures let friends play a classic, cooperative Zelda adventure in a new, fun way (which I hope leaks into a new DS/Wii version).

The Pokemon series has already seen two games that lets the DS and Wii wirelessly connect.  With Pokemon Battle Revolution your Pokemon will fight on the large screen with better graphics and effects for attacks and spells.  Plus My Pokemon Ranch on Wii Ware lets you bring your Pokemon to a farm for… some reason.

Okay, so the Pokemon series could use a bit of help.  Regardless, there are many other cases where handhelds have connected well with home consoles, and the Castlevania series could lead the way in showing how to do it well with the Wii and DS.

I’m hoping that, in the least, Castlevania Judgement will offer an unlockable, classic 2d platformer.  Perhaps this will be our chance to really use our handhelds as controllers for the Wii?  Will Konami try to make a multiplayer platformer in this way?  Give us your guesses as to what some of these features for these anticipated titles will be!

We called it: Mega Man and Castlevania to hit Wii

I’m never usually one to brag.  But let’s say we made some guesses at the beginning of the month, and maybe even talked about some games that should see the light of day for the Wii back in April.  Could we do a bit of gloating if some of these ideas came to life?

But aside from serving my own ego, there’s a more important agenda here.  Two series that classic Nintendo fans have been dying to see on the Wii have been announced this week.

First comes that “perfect 3D” Castlevania title will be what Ehrgeiz was to the Final Fantasy series.  Castlevania Judgement brings characters spanning the entire series to the battlegrounds in a 3D fighter.  Not at all what gamers have been expecting, but as 1Up reports, players can make use of the environment in their battles, and the game will keep to the use of subweapons and hearts.

The game will bring favorites together like Alucard, Simon Belmont, Maria Renard, and Dracula.  Perhaps Leon, Richter, and Trevor Belmont, as well as Soma Cruz and Joachim will join them.  Considering their options, they basically have to. As the news was revealed in this month’s Nintendo Power (likely the news we were waiting for from the previous issue), classic monsters from the series will interrupt the motion-controlled battles and try to trip up players.

Could we be lucky enough to have a single-player campaign mode similar to games like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mortal Kombat: Armageddon?  We have few details on the game so far, but a guy can dream, right?

Next, Capcom announced through Nintendo Power as well that Mega Man 9, the first game from the original series in over ten years, will be hitting Wii Ware (and some other unimportant downloadable game services on unimportant consoles).

The best part? According to IGN, it will be keeping true to classic Mega Man tradition in a few ways.  Bosses are a bit more throw-back, with names like:

• Magma Man
• Galaxy Man
• Jewel Man
• Concrete Man
• Hornet Man
• Plug Man
• Tornado Man
• Splash Woman

Additionally, the game will be in its 8-bit glory, literally.  As seen in the screens, the game maintains the old-school Nintendo look that made the series great.  Mega Man 9 will be developed by Inti Creates, a team comprised of people that worked on the first three Mega Man X games, which is a very good sign.  I love the original series, but nothing hits the spot like X2, in my opinion.  Plus, it controls like Mega Man (Men?) 3-6, as speculated by The Mega Man Network.

So that’s two series down.  We will surely have more wonderful disc-based and downloadable game announcements for Wii that will grace us come E3.  Be sure to stick around for all the important info you need about these games, and I promise I won’t gloat.

Review: Mario Kart Wii

The Mario Kart series has always been a success story for Nintendo. Each game holds fond memories for party gamers. There have been many times when defining my weekend to someone meant simply saying, “Mario Kart 64 with friends.”

After Double Dash became one of the best games for the Gamecube, many wondered what Nintendo could possibly do next for the series. Mario Kart DS managed to bring the retro side back to kart racing, but the Wii version needed to top a this fan-favorite in every gameplay aspect.

I am very happy to say that this game is the best yet. The first time I inserted the disc and slid the remote into the Wii Wheel (more about that later,) I knew there was something special.

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Process of elimination: No hard drive means… something else

As the internet, and our friends over at GoNintendo, has fully exploited about recent chats with Laurent Fischer from Nintendo, it seems we aren’t getting a shiny new hard drive for the Wii.

Fischer says about the matter:

“Definitely there’s no plan to issue hardware, an external hard drive, but we know that we have an issue in that area. It’s very obvious and we’re perfectly aware of it, but there’s nothing we can say beyond this. This area is fully handled by the development team in Japan. It’s very linked to the overall strategy; that’s something they’re working on.”

If there isn’t a plan to issue hardware, then Nintendo will likely stick to their guns and encourage users to download and re-download Virtual Console and Wii Ware titles, with some sort of added interface. Maybe they’ll include added SD card support, but little else it seems (unless they use special Nintendo magic).
But that’s beyond the point. Something else should demand your attention. Since Nintendo recently posted a job opportunity for a tester to work with usb devices, we still can ask the question, “what usb devices?”

So what else can Nintendo spring on us, that isn’t a memory solution, that connects to the Wii’s usb ports?

So through a process of elimination, here’s my top three picks of devices that might have a usb connector in the works:

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German student’s thesis uses Wii Remote as virtual spray can

Martin Lihs at Bauhaus University in Weimar, Germany is using the Wii remote to do something, interesting, for his final-thesis work in Media Art and Design. Lihs, along with Frank Matuse, developed the first prototype of a Wii remote-turned spray paint can in 2007.

A rough translation of the development site WiiSpray explains the concept of the wiimote/spray can device, allowing you to “Imagine a virtual wall. Using your browser you select the background of your choice and start spraying with your digital spray can.”

Anyone interesting in graffiti tags can be excited about this project. The site urges users to “go for it! Everything is legal! Nothing will be destroyed or damaged.” Though a vast majority of the information on the project will remain unpublished until the final presentation, the foundation of the project is revealed (again, in a rough translation):

“The basic idea was to build a computer hardware interface which is similar to an existing analog tool. A new interface will force new experiences. Forget about keyboard and mouse: with WiiSpray we created a new human computing interface (HCI). The use of WiiSpray is similar to using a real spray can – without the color and the toxic smells…You don´t need to learn this device - just start spraying intuitively. The best part is, after finishing your grafitti you can upload it to our website and look at it at any time, from everywhere.”

WiiSpray utilizes Flash, a WiiFlashServer, and the technology provided by Nintendo in the Wii Remote.

Lihs plans on building a new spray can with additional functions and advanced software. Some of these added functions he hopes to include are different spray caps, colors, collaborative spraying options, and even the possibility of spraying online with a friend. Online spraying would connect artists together with, what else, video chat capabilities.

Seeing what he has accomplished now, there’s little reason to doubt these ideas. The only person that could top this is Johnny Lee himself. Here’s to hoping a developer picks up on this and collaborates with Lihs, and maybe we can see a Wii Ware application!