Here are this week's releases on WiiWare, DSiWare, and Virtual Console!

Nintendo DSiWare

ZENONIA
Publisher: GAMEVIL USA, Inc.
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 800 Nintendo DSi Points™
Description: Classic RPG action returns with ZENONIA. Get ready for the endless journey of Regret, who is on a mission to find the reason for the death of his father at the hands of a demon. He begins his quest by choosing one of three classes: Paladin, Warrior or Assassin. Players can equip and customize using hundreds of different types of weapons and armor. There are tons of items to refine or combine from five different item classes: normal, magic, rare, unique and epic. There are even more astonishing features such as full skill trees which you can level up, along with stunning visuals and sound effects. ZENONIA offers extensive playtime with numerous main and side quests, plus good and evil storylines to choose from. Anime-style graphics and innovative real-life systems such as a day/night cycle and hunger/weight system make ZENONIA a unique gaming experience for everybody.

FIZZ
Publisher: DK-GAMES
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 200 Nintendo DSi Points
Description: Welcome to FIZZ, the explosive puzzle game. In FIZZ, you earn points by creating rings of energy. To do that, you must align identical colors and create links between the different nodes. The bigger your rings, the more points you earn. There will be outside events that get in your way, such as asteroids, meteorite showers and aliens who'll try to break your nodes. Magnetic storms and pulsars will change colors, and magnetic spheres will prevent you from using the nodes in the surrounding area. Exceedingly simple to understand but challenging to master, FIZZ is an inventive puzzle challenge that will have gamers on the edge of their seats.

WiiWare

Target Toss Pro: Lawn Darts
Publisher: Incredible Technologies
Players: 1-16
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)
Price: 700 Wii Points™
Description: Target Toss Pro: Lawn Darts is a new video game based on one of the nation's most infamous backyard games. There are four types of flying-dart action to choose from: Classic Lawn Darts, 501, Cricket and Poker Darts. Each game has a unique scoring method and strategy to keep players entertained for hours. Classic Lawn Darts involves throwing three darts at two circles with an escalating Red Dot Bonus bull's-eye in the center. 501 is similar to the classic pub darts game of the same name; throw three darts at a dartboard during eight rounds of play until all 501 points - and not one point more - are cleared. Cricket is another classic pub darts game of three tosses per round, challenging players to close out the bull's eye and the numbers 15 through 20 before their opponent. Poker Darts involves launching five darts at a deck of 52 playing cards while attempting to get the best poker hand and highest scores over three hands.

Astro Bugz Revenge
Publisher: Sudden Games
Players: 1-2
ESRB Rating: E (Everyone) - Mild Fantasy Violence
Price: 700 Wii Points
Description: Astro Bugz Revenge is an action-puzzle game with a retro vibe. Protect our solar system from astro bugz and blast them by matching three or more bugz. Pick up valuable power-ups and activate them to annihilate the incoming invaders. Flip to the other side in Revenge mode and play as the bugz. Test your skills against your friends by playing in Co-Op or Versus mode. This action-packed game will surely keep you challenged.

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Alright, Nintendo download!

*falls asleep*

Posted by

PabloXl5

on: 09/27/10, 15:57

Remember the virtual console? Those were good times. Maybe with the Wii's successor, Nintendo will launch the virtual virtual console, where we can play all those old virtual console games that they used to have for the Wii.

Posted by

HiredN00bs

on: 09/27/10, 16:31

Friggin' NOA.

Posted by

TriforceBun

on: 09/27/10, 16:49

Hm, that ZENONIA game on DSiWare sounds pretty interesting.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 09/27/10, 16:55

GameDadGrant said:

Hm, that ZENONIA game on DSiWare sounds pretty interesting.

I actually had my eye on that game ever since it was announced for the DSiWare. I'm definitely going to give it a try once it's available.

Posted by

shinriley

on: 09/27/10, 17:39

Zenonia!!!!!

Finally, lovely lovely lovely d-pad controls, oh you lovely d-pad!

*tosses d-padless iPhone in the trash*

Posted by

deathly_hallows

on: 09/27/10, 18:44

I'm kinda digging Zenonia's presentation. Kinda old-school, 16-bit vibe... but better. I likes it.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 09/27/10, 20:16

Edited:

03/25/12, 20:56

@GameDadGrant

Looks good! I wish I had a DSi, but alas I'm waiting to go from the original DS to the 3DS.

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 09/27/10, 20:24

@DrFinkelstein

Yeah, that sounds like the right thing to do at this point. There are finally some really, really compelling games to make the choice to "upgrade" to a DSi worthwhile, but the announcement of the 3DS kind of made that moot point for a lot of gamers. Why spend the cash to get the DSi when the 3DS can do everything it can, plus so much more?

It's definitely the smarter choice to wait until the 3DS. Especially in terms of DSiWare, where nobody (not even Nintendo) is sure we'll be able to transfer purchases from the old system to the new one.

Posted by

GameDadGrant

on: 09/27/10, 20:35

If you can afford it, the smarter choice is the DSi XL, IMO. But again, it depends on your budget and the value you place on playing these games on an optimal screen.

I've probably played the DS more since getting the XL than I did for the 2 full years that preceded the purchase, so it was worth it for me.

Posted by

Pandareus

on: 09/27/10, 20:43

Isn't Zenonia one of those games people bring up when they say that smart phones have games as good as the DS and PSP? So apparently this game is one of the best handheld games ever and we should all be super excited about it.

Or something.

Posted by

Zero

on: 09/27/10, 20:51

@Zero
It's a good game, nothing mind blowing, but I really liked what I played of it on iPhone, except for the horrible controls of course.

And anyone who says that iPhone games are as good or better than DS games is clinically insane. Graphics? Yes. Controls? Not so much.

Posted by

deathly_hallows

on: 09/27/10, 20:58

I'm talking more from a game design perspective. More specifically, people often bring up Zenonia whenever I say smart phones are lacking longer, deeper games with the core gameplay at the level of Nintendo's best.

Anyway, I'm not downing the game itself, it's probably pretty slick. I just sort of doubt that it is really at the same level as the best of the DS, and I think with it coming to DS now and actually having direct comparisons against DS games, it'll be tough for people to continue making that claim.

Unless it really is at the level of the best DS games. And then for $8 we would all be idiots to not buy it. (Except I don't have a DSi...)

Posted by

Zero

on: 09/27/10, 21:03

@Zero

A relevant question that's been asked before...

Posted by

Pandareus

on: 09/27/10, 21:10

@DrFinkelstein

Don't you have an EVO? Because it's on Android.

Posted by

ludist210

on: 09/27/10, 21:38

@Pandareus Hmm, I didn't even see that thread. Or maybe I did and didn't pay much attention because I don't have a DSi.

Either way, I just can't imagine many gamer gamers getting their handheld fix from an iPhone alone.

Posted by

Zero

on: 09/27/10, 22:14

@ludist210

I do! Hmm, I'll investigate that. Thanks Ludist. I'll hop into the marketplace momentarily and scout it out. Perhaps though I should look into the game in general more. It looks fun from the screens but I know so little about it.

What game(s) would you all say this is akin to? Something to give me reference.

Posted by

DrFinkelstein

on: 09/28/10, 00:21

I might be interested in zenonia, but I don't have a dsi. As usual, there's nothing interesting on wii this week.

Posted by

X-pert74

on: 09/28/10, 02:52