MBF: Showcase Showdown

WarioWare D.I.Y. hits the DS this week, and with it comes WarioWare, D.I.Y. Showcase for WiiWare. Featuring 72 premade microgames (different from the 90 included in the DS game…. I think,) the real focus is on using Showcase to… well, showcase microgames made with the full DS game on a larger screen, which also makes sharing creations with a group of friends in your living room a bit more sociable than huddling around a DS or handing it off from person to person. It also lets lazy bastards who don’t think they’ll ever take the time to create microgames spend 8 bucks to be able to play the ones made by friends and whatever ones Nintendo decides to make available, rather than plunk down $35 for the cartridge. Right now there’s not much to it since the DS game isn’t technically even out yet, but it should be worth the 800 points in the near future when people start making things.

But wait, there’s more!

The popular PC game Diner Dash gets a port to WiiWare thanks to Hudson. I know very little about the game, but it sounds like Tapper on steroids. Perhaps I should go finally watch a video of it in action instead of remaining ignorant and typing out more ignorant things, thus putting my ignorance on display for all to see. Be right back.
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It’s like a sequel to Tapper, with depth. The WiiWare version boasts 4 player online play, which sounds just nifty. 1000 points. I’ve seen the PC version for as low as a dollar, FYI– but this is the guy who bought Cave Story last week for 1200 points when he’d already played it for free on PC, so what do I know? Thus concludes the two WiiWare options this week.

The Virtual Console gets an eventful release as well this week! Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber has the honor of being the first third-party published Nintendo 64 game to arrive on the Virtual Console. Back in 2000 it was published by Atlus here in the U.S., and this time around Square Enix is handling the publishing. I have no idea at this point in time whether they changed the logo splash screen to reflect this, but my guess is yes. As for the game itself, it’s a tactical strategy-type thing, much like Ogre Battle for the SNES before it. It’s also one of the rarer N64 cartridges, though not as rare as the first Ogre Battle, so the $10/1000 point VC release will be welcomed by many. This is what the VC is for.

DSi Ware gets 5 releases this week. Disney Fireworks involves Disney and fireworks in some fashion, and is 800 points. Save The Turtles contains 32 stages of turtle-saving action for 500 points, using the stylus to dig up turtle eggs on a beach and guide baby turtles to safety, and now I’m thinking of that episode of Ren & Stimpy with Ren as the host of “Untamed World.” Super Yum Yum Puzzle Adventures is an 800 point port of an iPhone game that apparently is very well-regarded in spite of/in part due to the hilarious name that fits in with all the other silly named stuff for Wii- and DSi Ware. Finally, Nintendo provides a couple of 200 point tools for musicians with the Nintendo DSi Metronome and Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner, which each feature 3 different themes to jazz up your time-keeping/tuning needs, as well as one minigame a piece based on timing/tuning, with the metronome featuring a Donkey Kong game where you leap over barrels with the proper timing, and the tuner featuring a Balloon Fight-themed minigame. Unlike the various themed clocks, these programs actually sound kinda useful!

Hey….. March ended up being pretty awesome for downloadable games across the board!