Pokémon reaches its 20th anniversary this week. In celebration, the first three Pokémon games – Blue, Red and Yellow – arrive on 3DS Virtual Console. They’ll set you back £8.99 a piece.
We recommend Pokémon Yellow over the other two – differences are few, but worthy, including redrawn sprites and additional splashes of colour. We doubt that the Surfing Pikachu mini-game will be accessible though, as this required the N64’s Pokémon Stadium. You can however now trade Pokemon online in all three versions.
The Nintendo DS’s Pokémon Ranger meanwhile heads to Wii U VC, again at £8.99. Released in 2007, Pokémon Ranger was another middling spin-off – reviewers were unimpressed by the lack of multiplayer and the decision to reuse sound-effects from the original games. Eurogamer’s review is still up, in which is was handed a mediocre 5/10.
Three translucent coloured 2DSs, each with the corresponding Pokémon game pre-installed, also launch this week. At £79.99 they seem a decent deal.
Another hit 8-bit series is making a comeback, this time in the form of Capcom’s Mega Man Legacy Collection. Featuring the first six NES Mega Man games, plus new Museum and Challenge modes, it’s due on the 3DS eShop tomorrow (Tuesday) for a reasonable £11.99.
The 3DS also gets Nintendo’s anticipated Bravely Second: End Layer (£39.99 or £35.99 for users who downloaded the demo). Those who opt for this digital version are also entitled to a promotional costume pack.
3DS owners have another two JRPGs to consider – Rising Star’s top-down SADAME (£12.99) – which sees demons attacking Japan during the historical Warring States period – and dungeon crawling sequel Excave III: Tower of Destiny (£7.19).
They’re joined by Circle Ent’s Toy Defence (£3.19), which resembles the XBLA hit Toy Soldiers in a shrunken, single-screen, fashion.
Minimalistic platformer 6180 the moon (£3.59) and the rhythm-action adventure Inside My Radio (£12.99) meanwhile make the jump from Xbox One to Wii U. Both received a mixture of 6s, 7s and the odd 8/10 upon release. GameSpot in particular enjoyed Inside My Radio. “If you’re wanting a game that is perfect for a chill evening where you want to relax with music and a video game, Inside My Radio is worth the spin,†they said.
Three other indie games are heading to Wii U – sketchy looking 2D arcade shooter Defense Dome (£2.29), in which the Wii U GamePad is used as a zoomable, gyroscope-controlled scope, Neko‘s time altering platformer REPLAY: VHS is not dead (£7.49 – screenshots and more here) and educational thing SMART Adventures Mission Math: Sabotage at the Space Station (£2.69).
As for discounts, recent release Joe’s Diner falls to £5.39 while SDK Paint (new demo also due Thursday) is slashed to £3.99. Then on 3DS Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars gets a cut to £7.40 (regular price £24.99), while Joindots’ Undead Bowling, Funfair Party Games, Crazy Construction and Jewel Match 3 can be had for £4.99 each.
Even with that hefty discount, mull over Conception II: Children of the Seven Stars long and hard – it arrived to a waft of 5/10s and 6/10s upon release.