Usually Nintendo spaces their sequels years apart, but that’s not the case for NES Remix 2. The £8.99 download is due to arrive on the Wii U eShop this week, almost five month exactly after the original launched.
With a stronger line-up of NES classics broken into bite-sized bits – including Super Mario Bros. 3, Kirby’s Adventure, Metroid and Kid Icarus – reviewers claim that it’s a improvement over the first NES Remix.
“NES Remix 2 feels like a step forward on most fronts, which almost seems more like a long jump considering where the series started†said Joystiq, who gave it a respectable enough 3.5/5.
Destructoid meanwhile felt that “NES Remix 2 is a solid follow-up with more “must have” games and a few extras to sweeten the deal. If you passed due to the ho-hum nature of some of the titles in the original offering, think about checking it out this time aroundâ€. They went on to give it an 8, whereas the original was given 7.5.
Japanese gamers have been treated to a retail release of NES Remix 1 and 2, complete with some rather appealing box-art. As much as we’d like to see it over here, there’s no word currently. With Wii U releases thin on the ground however there is a chance we could see it fill a void in the release schedule over the coming months.
The last of the announced Wii U GBA Virtual Console releases is also making an appearance this week – the evergreen egg-chucker Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3 (£6.29). Hopefully Nintendo will now open the gates for third-party GBA games. We’re pretty sure SEGA would jump at the chance to re-release the Sonic Advance trilogy on Wii U.
Over on the 3DS eShop nautical platformer Sayonara UmiharaKawase leads the way. If the name rings a bell then you sir have fine taste – the SNES original was a popular choice with importers. Like the original, this 3DS revamp stars a female protagonist armed with just a fishing rod. Rather than for fishing, the rod is instead used as a grappling hook to navigate the sea-creature filled levels. It’ll set you back £19.99. If that price strikes you as steep, just bare in mind that it was a retail release in Japan. Why the US name – Yumi’s Odd Odyssey – hasn’t been used in Europe is a mystery to us though.
Then there’s the peculiar looking Bit Boy!! ARCADE (£7.19), which is a sequel to the similarly peculiar WiiWare title Bit Boy. Reviews started appearing late last week and have been mixed. Nintendo Life said that it’s tough to recommend due to “confusing design choices, recurring glitches, and boredom that sets in far too quicklyâ€.
Nintendo Enthusiast on the other hand were rather taken by it: “The game offers a beautiful visual style, tight gameplay, tons of levels and worlds to explore, and some great writingâ€.
This leaves us with DSiWare title Sea Battle (£1.79) which appears to be a clone of Battleship and nothing more. It’s by Teyon who seem to be knocking out new eShop titles on almost a weekly basis of late.
There are some weekly discounts on the eShop too, but they’re pretty much passable – 3D MahJongg, Funfair Party Games, Gardenscapes and Secret Agent Files: Miami are all getting a price drop this Thursday. 3D MahJongg is the cheapest of these, falling to £3.29 until 8th May.