The latest issue of monthly US official publication ‘Nintendo Power’ has now hit the streets and this month contains a wealth of information on new, upcoming games for both Wii and Nintendo DS, including Mario Kart, No More Heroes and Advance Wars: Day of Ruin. Inside Nintendic has a summary of all the key points covered in the magazine.

Starting things off, there is news that despite Electronic Arts buying Bioware, it does not mean that Sega’s contract with the company for the proposed Sonic Role Playing Game has been cancelled. The highly anticipated game is still being worked on for the Nintendo DS. Also, according to UK newspaper ‘The Guardian’, Will Wright has once again confirmed his love of Wii, stating Spore is definitely coming to the system.

Next up are some updated release dates:

• Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (NDS) - February 2008
• Okami (Wii) – Spring 2008
• Sega Bass Fishing (Wii) – Early 2008
• Along in the Dark (NDS) – TBA
• Final Fantasy IV (NDS) – 2008
• Worms: A Space Oddity (Wii) – March 2008
• Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law (Wii) – January 2008
• One Piece: Unlimited Adventure (Wii) – Q1 2008
• Bomberman Land Touch! 2 (NDS) – January 2008

There is also talk of a few new games, the first being Teenage Zombies: Invasion of the Alien Brain Thingys on the Nintendo DS from Ignition Entertainment and developed by InLight. The game has the player controlling three zombies that are trying to save the Earth from the Alien Brain Thingys. Set in a platform environment, gamers switch between the three zombies, using each of their own abilities. It comes complete with a satirical take on Comics and retro science fiction. The other games covered are the PC point-and-click adventure Runaway 2: The Dream of the Turtle for DS, as well as the revival of Super Dodge Ball from the NES, Super Dodgeball Brawlers on DS, which is due out in Spring 2008.

Nintendo Power also lists a bunch of Virtual Console games that are apparently impending, although most have probably already hit the service:

• Art of Fighting;
• Magician Lord;
• Fatal Fury;
• Gate of Thunder;
• Golden Axe III;
• Lunar Pool;
• Metal Marines;
• Ninja Jajamaru-Kun;
• Castlevania II: Simon’s Quest;
• Samurai-Ghost;
• World Heroes;
• Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos.

Details on Mario Kart for Wii are discussed, with (seemingly old) word that the game will have Wi-Fi online races for at least twelve players. Also, executing a successful stunt gives you a ’sweet reward’; there are sixteen brand new tracks plus many older ones; motion control works well; and the game is still set for a Spring 2008 release. As for Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity, the motion controls have some issues but you can use the Gamecube controller to help iron these out.

Nintendo Power was the first in the media sector to play through the whole of Grasshopper Manufacture’s No More Heroes for Wii and thought it was completely crazy. When Travis needs money he can stop by the job centre to play minigames such as ‘mowing the lawn’ or ‘carrying coconuts’ to earn money. The game’s menu is like the Atari 2600 in graphics and sound. Travis is given/gives these words of encouragement before a boss fight at one point “You are the man! Eye of the tiger! Enter the red zone! Now, off to the garden of madness.” Whilst his battle cry is, oddly enough, “Strawberry on the Shortcake!”

As for how the game itself plays, it follows a set pattern, with Travis running around town doing odd jobs and assassinations until he can afford the entry fee for the next ranked match (in other words, the bosses). After he deposits the money he gets a phone call from Sylvia and goes to the match area. This is followed by fighting through waves of enemies until he meets the end boss, which after beating he gets a health boost, plus an update on the story. This process then just basically repeats itself. However, there is no chance of boredom setting in thanks to the stack of stuff to do in-between the bosses, such as upgrading your Beam Katana, improving Travis’ statistic by training, watching wrestling tapes to learn new moves and buying new clothes.

In the outside realm, all that players can really do is travel from one location to the next, since all of the action takes place indoors. The tiger in the HUD stays inactive until Travis enters a ‘dark mode’, at which point it stands up and walks across the screen, signifying the time limit for this mode. Those thinking of importing the Japanese version should keep in mind that it removes the blood and replaces it with a black spray, unlike the Western editions that will have a plentiful supply of crimson splashing around. There is a cat in Travis’s room that he can play with, although Nintendo Power could not find an actual reason behind this, other than just ‘for kicks’. Also, a nice little touch is that when Travis receives a phone call, the actual speaked on the Wii control will ring. The magazine concludes by saying No More Heroes is “one of the freshest and funniest games in years.”

Moving on from this, there is confirmation that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Ring of Fates for Nintendo DS is still on-track for an early 2008 release date, whilst Gearbox was very adamant to make a Samba de Amigo sequel, and were in fact the ones that kept on pestering Sega to do it! Apparently Gearbox’s forum users want a Samba de Amigo remake for the Wii more than anything else, which is why it has enlisted itself to do the job. And to keep fans happy, there will be a mixture of songs from the original and the 2000 version, as well new ones. It will also see the return of the ‘Hustle Mode’ from the 2000 edition. New additions will include something to do with Mii characters, plus the possibility of Wi-Fi multiplayer, if Gearbox can get it to work properly.

The magazine also has an in-depth look at one of the most anticipated DS games at the moment, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin, and below is a summary of what was said, courtesy of grandjedi6 from the NeoGAF forums:

• The main character is Will, after the meteorite hit and killed everyone, he spent weeks living on only canned bread while digging himself out of rubble and dead bodies;
• 26 main missions;
• 30 “training” missions can be unlocked as you complete levels;
• New “Bike infantry” unit, can move quickly and capture cities but does not have as much fire power as larger vehicles;
• “Flare”, a new tank unit that can lob a bright light at enemies that are concealed by the Fog of War;
• “Duster”, a crop duster aircraft that can attack any kind of aircraft or land unit, but it is not as powerful;
• “Mobile Cannon” units;
• Another new unit is a ship that can mesh smartly with existing units;
• Everytime a unit destroys another unit it gains a rank, which gives it added strength. This can be upgrade three times, then it becomes a “veteran” unit;
• CO powers are not as powerful as before;
• The CO rides with a unit of your choice, giving that unit “veteran” status and power. If the unit gets defeated, the CO returns to the base;
• As the COs unit destroys enemies, the CO fills the CO power gauge;
• The CO makes nearby vehicles more powerful;
• COs also have a “CO Zone” that gives units in the zone different power-ups based on the CO. For example, a CO could give units added defence or increase their visual range;
• Friend Code Wi-Fi battles are voice-chat enabled, just like in Pokémon Diamond & Pearl;
• Over 150 multiplayer campaigns available;
• You can create your own map that can then be uploaded to a server for all players in the world to try. People can also rank the uploaded map’s quality;
• Other COs include Isabella who has amsnesia and can only remember sensitive military details, and Waylon, a hot-shot flyboy who suddenly finds himself without allies.”

Sega Superstars Tennis on Wii will feature Sonic, plus fifteen other Sega superstars (including Amy, Eggman, Samba de Amigo, Ulala and Aiai from Super Monkey Ball. The game is due out in Spring 2008 and the courts are designed after classic Sega games, with around ten-to-twelve on offer.

Below is a quote from an interview conducted with Goichi Suda (Suda 51), the head of Grasshopper Manufacture:

“Suda started out as a scenario writer for Fire Pro Wrestling Special, in which he had the main character commit suicide at the end. He named characters in No More Heroes by rhythm and sound, not meaning. Hence “Travis Touchdown”. As for “No More Heroes”, it is a quote from a song by The Stranglers. However, also the assassins are like heroes to Travis, so if he defeats them all he will be ‘no more heroes’ anymore.

Nintendo Power: “Crazy question time: how would No More Heroes’ Travis Touchdown react if he went into a restaurant for a burger, but they were all out?!”

Goichi Suda: “That’s a funny question. Travis would say: ‘Ha! For Real? F**k! Wait a minute. What’s going on? Get a manager, Ben! I need to talk to the f**ker. He is a loser and just a f**ker. I can’t believe that burgers are all out in an American diner. I haven’t heard about that. What the f**k! Where is Ben? Ha…Ben is not here for a week because he is training at headquarters? F**K! F**K! F**K! What the f**k! What? You’re asking me for my order? I’m here to get a burger. You are a f**king dork! You’re asking me for my order? Well…can I have a cherry pie?’

…Travis is a kid trapped in a man’s body”

*Suda then describes his game as a “Punk Game” – a game with an edge.*

Nintendo Power: “When it comes to violence in video games, everyone seems to have their own opinion about what is acceptable and what is not. Whwere do you, personally, draw the line?”

Goichi Suda: “This is a difficult issue. Each country has a different perspective, and acceptance for the freedom of entertainment is different in each country. Currently in Japan, the measure of restrictions of overall expression, not only violence is strict. There is a saying “do as the Romans do”. It means that if you live in Rome, it’s better to follow the rules and customs of Rome. Therefore, I basically follow the restrictions that are established in the country. I have a special consciousness in respect to the Japanese restrictions. I am not sure whether it’s important to water down the expressions extremely for children. These days you see more realistic graphics, but when human characters are injured and do not bleed, some people take them as reality, or some people consider that they can do similar things in real life without hurting others. From the position of a creator, I always think about how scary it would be if players acknowledge this as a reality.”

Following these various features, Nintendo Power then promises that next month it will treat us to new details on Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney (the cover story), Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Mistwalker’s first DS RPG ASH: Archaic Sealed Heat, as well as Square Enix’s first Wii title, Dragon Quest Swords.

Stay tuned for even more updates here on Nintendic…