Nintendo Download Update: Something for everyone

Whether youre into slaying vampires, playing with buff men, or wishing you were in a fighting game, this update is for you!

Its always lovely in Hanabi Festival time to get as many VC games as we can for a few weeks. In this update we received the game everyone was hoping for last week, Castlevania: Rondo of Blood. Its a PC-Engine CD title from Japan, costing 900 Points due to the import tax, that has only previously hit Western markets on the PSPs The Dracula X Chronicles. Even though its over 16 years old now, the CD release allowed for the inclusion of some very high quality music tracks. Unfortunately, like most import releases, this hasnt had any translation work done, but the (Japanese) text is by no means essential to playing this game anyway.

The other VC release is Milons Secret Castle, a 600-Point NES game thats been available on the NA service for close to three years, but honestly not something weve been missing much. Its notoriously hard, lacking such simple things as one-hit invulnerability, which makes the games maximum of one life no fun at all. Save your points and get the Super Famicom import Milons DokiDoki Adventure instead for 900 Points.

Oddly, WiiWare only sees one game this week with Muscle March, although it is one thats been in demand for some time. The gameplay centres around a group of bodybuilders (including a polar bear) chasing a thief who took their protein powder. The thief will crash through various walls in different environments and you have to strike a pose with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to fit the hole left. It seems more of a joke than a game, but for 500 Points you cant complain too much.

Those in Europe received five DSiWare titles this week, but we unlocky sods in Australia got just the two. First up is another Flips book for 500 Points, this time from Enid Blyton (of The Famous Five/The Secret Seven fame). Its The Enchanted Wood, the first novel in The Faraway Tree series. Just like with the Too Ghoul for School releases on the service, its probably best to give one of these a go and buy the retail collection for a much smaller price.

The second (and most interesting) portable download is Photo Dojo for a tiny 200 Points. Daniel posted some video impressions of the Japanese version last year and found the game quite enjoyable for the price. Using the DSis cameras and microphone, you capture frames and sound effects for your own fighting character. Two-player is present, but only on the same device – each person holds either side of the DSi to control it.

Virtual Console

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (TGCD, Konami – 900 Points)

Milons Secret Castle (NES, Hudson – 600 Points)

WiiWare
Muscle March (Namco Bandai – 500 Points)

DSiWare

Flips: The Enchanted Wood (EA – 500 Points)
Photo Dojo (Nintendo – 200 Points)