If you’ve been casually browsing the eShop, it may not be immediately apparent that only two or three new experiences have been released for it. So what else is on the shop? Over 300 DSiWare titles, Virtual Console games, and a handful of 3D Classics all help to create the illusion that the eShop is a place full of hustle and bustle. As such, it would be lovely to see some new or more recent titles make the jump over to Nintendo’s latest download service – here are a few of my personal picks.
Scott Pilgrim VS The World (PSN/Xbox Live Arcade)Here’s a memorable little beat-‘em-up that never saw the light of day on the WiiWare service. It’s especially sad, because the game pays homage to retro and 8-bit games (complete with a chiptune soundtrack) in a way that might best be experienced on a Nintendo platform. The movie is over a year old at this point, but it appears that the comic’s popularity is still going strong. A guy can hope, right?
Animal Puzzle Adventure Sequel (iOS/DSiWare)
It may seem redundant to have a sequel when the original Animal Puzzle Adventure is readily available on the eShop itself, but it would be a blueprint for another solid brain-bending outing with Chilia and her mammal acquaintances. A sequel could add more depth to the experience by introducing more than simple obstacles along the way, or perhaps even ditching the grid system altogether for something inventive. Though perhaps an odd addition, I can envision Chilia in a world hub with adorable animals roaming free – in 3D.
Kyotokei (WiiWare)Released in the twilight of WiiWare (a download service largely neglected to begin with), I doubt that this intriguing shoot-‘em-up will receive the proper attention it deserves. Why not port the game over to the eShop and lure over those craving some bullet-blasting action? Interestingly enough, the developers have expressed interest in bringing either new games or perhaps even this one to the eShop, so this entry may in fact happen.
Super Meat Boy (Steam/Xbox Live Arcade)
The game that was supposed to be released first on the Wii soon turned into an Xbox 360 game, then a Steam game, then a hypothetical Wii disk release, and then skipped out Nintendo’s white box entirely. Why? WiiWare’s tight 40MB limit prevented Team Meat from squishing over 300 juicy levels in there. The true tragedy is that this one of the finest new-age platformers you can buy. Although regularly gruelingly hard, it never manages to feel cheap or downplayed by the high difficulty level. Due to the fact that the eShop has rectified the file size limit or at least significantly increased the cap, there’s nothing holding back this meaty (pun intended) adventure.
Akane the Kunoichi (Xbox Live Indie Games)What I expected to be little more than another modest “dollar platformer” is possibly the most fun I’ve had with a game this year. Best of all, this is one that would translate perfectly to the 3DS. The 360’s D-Pad leaves some control accuracy to be desired, and I’ve got virtually no quarrels with the one on the 3DS. There’s already an admirable amount of content available in the original, but the theoretical 3DS release could expand on that by offering more levels, weapons, trophies, and more. Even in its current Xbox state, it would make a terrific purchase – I’d like to see this kunoichi remembered for her quality outing.
These are my choices, but what are yours? Feel free to leave your picks in the comments below, or in our forum!
Interesting list you've got here. It would be really cool to see Scott Pilgrim and Super Meat Boy on 3DS. The other games I've never heard of but Akane the Kunoichi would definitely have my attention!
Interesting list you've got here. It would be really cool to see Scott Pilgrim and Super Meat Boy on 3DS. The other games I've never heard of but Akane the Kunoichi would definitely have my attention!
Love the list, Clark. Completely agree with all of them!
Love the list, Clark. Completely agree with all of them!
Seeing SuperMeatBoy on the 3DS would be so awesome in either download or retail. I have it on Steam and chip away at it with a 360 controller when I can. I believe they said they weren't opposed to the 3DS and may even have a dev kit, but I haven't heard anything since the first quarter of this year.
Another part of me wonders how it would feel on the 3DS as I recall the recent post here about the original mario bros not controlling well. Seems like it may work as the 4 ab/xy buttons are basically in the same diamond layout and they would probably let you use L/R triggers for run.
I haven't heard of any of the others, but like Glacier928, Akane looks good. Hopefully there's no exclusivity clause in their XBLA contract.