It may seem odd that a Virtual Console release headlines this week’s Nintendo eShop rooster, but Super Mario Kart isn’t your typical game – this is where Mario’s karting career began, quickly spawning countless clones. An outright classic, it’s one of the best multiplayer games of the 16-bit era…and beyond.
To celebrate its release on Wii U VC this week, Nintendo has arranged a special offer – buy before 30th June and you’ll receive £5.49 off the price of Mario Kart 8 when it arrives on the eShop. £5.49 is also the price of Super Mario Kart, incidentally, which means you’ll be getting it for free. The only problem is that Nintendo fails to mention how much Mario Kart 8 will cost to download. We presume £39.99 – just like Pikmin 3 was – but can’t be certain.
Professor Laytonâ„¢ vs Phoenix Wrightâ„¢: Ace Attorneyâ„¢ – trademarks left in for comical effect, there – is a good example of Nintendo’s wayward digital pricing. It’s set to cost £39.99 when it arrives on 3DS eShop this Friday, in order to coincide with the retail release. That’s around £10 more than it can be found for online. Ho hum.
There’s a handful of other VC releases arriving this week too. Tecmo-Koei are releasing Mighty Bomb Jack and Ninja Gaiden for £3.49 a pop on Wii U VC, while Master Higgins hops onto 3DS in Adventure Island II, priced at £4.49. All three are decent and well-remembered games. Mighty Bomb Jack in particular is well overdue a remake of some sort.
The only other new arrival is Skater Cat on 3DS, from Teyon. The trailer fills us with some encouragement – it looks fast and colourful, if nothing else – but we strongly doubt it’ll be the handheld’s answer to OlliOlli on PS Vita:
As for this week’s discounts, F1 Race Stars: Powered Up Edition – which launched on Wii U just a few months ago – is being dropped to £9.99 already, while Snow Moto Racing 3D and Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D fall to £5.39 and £4.49 respectively.
Snow Moto Racing 3D is apparently not too bad, while a Metacritic of 49% for Real Heroes: Firefighter 3D would suggest that it’s far from being hot stuff.