Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books Gets a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
- GDC Awards: All the Winners from 1996 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Wins “Game of the Year” at 2025-2026 GDC Awards
- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
- Shadow of the Colossus: An oral history – Design Room (2025)
- In 2005, games started rewiring our brains – The AV Club (2025)
Most Recent: 3DS
Nintendo Download: Donkey Kong Country trilogy, DK Land trilogy, Ironfall Invasion, more
It’s Donkey Kong Country Day on the Nintendo eShop as Nintendo has added all three Donkey Kong Country games to the Wii U eShop and all three Donkey Kong Land games to the 3DS eShop.
Donkey Kong Country, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest, and Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong’s Double Trouble were all released in the waning days of the Super NES in an attempt to stave off the then-new PlayStation and Saturn systems. All three games launched to widespread critical acclaim, helped bring Donkey Kong back to the mainstream, and showed just how beautiful 2D side-scrollers could be.
Meanwhile, the Donkey Kong Land series attempted to adapt these landmark titles for the pea-green Game Boy. They weren’t exact translations, but Donkey Kong Land, Donkey Kong Land 2, and Donkey Kong Land III were all well-liked in their own right.
Also available this week is Ironfall Invasion, a free-to-play 3DS eShop title that attempts to bring a Gears of War-like third-person shooting experience to Nintendo’s handheld.
More information on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Nintendo Download: Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Pokemon Shuffle, more
Kirby and the Rainbow Curse brings its claymation-styled side-scrolling to the Wii U eShop this week… tomorrow to be exact. The pink puffball (Can clay be puffy? Probably a question for another time…) is joined by Axelay, a Super NES shooter that is now available through the Wii U’s Virtual Console service.
Over on the 3DS eShop, the free-to-play puzzler Pokemon Shuffle is available today along with the Flappy Bird homage Flap Flap and a pair of RPGs: Excave and Adventure Bar Story (and yes, it’s about saving a local bar from a greedy businessman).
Finally, the DSiWare Shop makes a return with a brand new pair of match-3 puzzlers: Fishdom and 4 Elements,
More details on all of these games can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Kirby and the Rainbow Curse
Another clue points to Tom Nook, Pikmin Amiibos
My wife is currently volunteering at my son’s school book fair. While setting up, she snapped a picture of one of the Nintendo posters available for sale.
Notice anything different? Animal Crossing‘s Tom Nook and Pikmin‘s, well, Pikmin, are front-and-center on this Amiibo poster. That’s quite odd, as Nintendo hasn’t made any official announcements regarding any additional Amiibo releases outside of the Super Smash Bros. and Mario Party 10 lines. Does this mean these two characters are still in the cards as future Amiibos? And does this mean they’ll be announced soon?
Now, don’t go thinking that this poster acts as of these figures. Actually, the art is the same as this GameStop poster (via Reddit) first seen back in December. But with the final design of the new Mario Party 10 Mario figure added to the mix, one can’t help but wonder why these other characters haven’t been taken out of the image. As with any Nintendo-related rumors, take this one with the ol’ grain of salt until you hear it straight from the Big N, but I like my chances of picking up Tom Nook and Pikmin Amiibo figures someday.
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Mario Party 10, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker will be released on May 5
Atlus has announced that Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker will be released for the 3DS on May 5. Record Breaker is a remake of the original Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, which was released for the DS in 2012. In addition to an enhanced graphical presentation, Record Breaker will include a new chapter, “Triangulum Arc,” which will be available from the start and which Famitsu (via Siliconera) said will be as lengthy as a full RPG.
To give gamers a taste of this new scenario, Atlus has released a new story trailer for Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker, which you can view above.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2 Record Breaker
Level-5’s Yo-Kai Watch is officially coming to America
Make no mistake, Pokemon is still a major force in Japan and the latest games in the series, Pokemon: Alpha Sapphire and Pokemon: Omega Ruby, have sold millions of copies. But over the last few years, the franchise has had to compete with Yo-Kai Watch, an extremely popular 3DS game developed by Level-5. An ongoing manga series began in 2013 and an anime series launched last year. A 3DS sequel, Yo-Kai Watch 2, was released last year.
Recently, Hasbro has announced that they plan to bring the entire Yo-Kai Watch franchise to America (and Europe and Australia). It’s unknown when the games or the anime will make their way across the Pacific, but Hasbro said that they plan to introduce a new Yo-Kai Watch toy line in 2016, so we could be in for a long wait. In the meantime, this is what all the fuss is about:
With an imaginative plot, great characters, comedy and adventure, Yo-Kai Watch has become one of the most popular franchises of all time in Japan. The story centers around a young boy who gets a special watch empowering him to discover and summon mysterious Yo-Kai that help him solve problems in his daily life usually caused by other trouble-making Yo-Kai.
Yeah, definitely sounds a bit like Pokemon. To date, the Yo-Kai Watch games have sold more than 6.5 million copies in Japan. Will the franchise experience a similar sales surge when its released in America? We’ll just have to wait and see.
Posted in 3DS, News
Tagged Yo-Kai Watch
Dying Light parkours to the top of the best-sellers list for January 2015
Question… if only one major new title made its way to stores in January, should we be surprised when that game takes the top spot in the monthly sales rankings from the NPD Group? We probably shouldn’t be, and yet, I was still mildly surprised that Techland’s Dying Light was the best-selling game during 2015’s first four-week frame. It was followed by the two biggest titles from 2014… Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at #2 and Grand Theft Auto V at #3.
Minecraft, coming in at #4, continues to rise even without the holiday shopping season to bolster its sales rank.
Every other title in the top ten seemed to land in roughly the same position it held in December. NBA 2K15 held onto the #5 spot while Super Smash Bros. For Wii U / Super Smash Bros. For 3DS dropped two places to #6. Far Cry 4 was lucky number seven once more while the #8 spot was taken by Madden NFL 15 (which dropped five spots from #3). The final two spots were once again held by Destiny (#9) and FIFA 15 (#10).
While the best-selling software list was relatively stable (and saw a 5% year-over-year increase in sales), the PS4 reigned supreme on the console charts after a one-month hiatus. This turn of events was most likely due to Microsoft’s temporary suspension of the Xbox One’s $50 discount (it was reinstated on January 18).
If you’re looking for the full top ten from January 2015 in list form, you can find it after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Destiny, Dying Light, Far Cry 4, FIFA 15, Grand Theft Auto V, Madden NFL 15, Minecraft, NBA 2K15, NPD, Super Smash Bros. For 3DS, Super Smash Bros. For Wii U
Nintendo Download: Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D , Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, Breath of Fire, more
3DS owners will be very pleased with this week’s Nintendo Download as the forgotten member of the Zelda family, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask 3D, will be available to download through the 3DS eShop beginning tomorrow. Besides asking yourself if a Zelda game can truly be forgotten, Majora’s Mask is an interesting look back at how Nintendo treated one of their biggest franchises in the early 21st century. But even if you’re one of those people who didn’t think it worked the first time around (watch as I sheepishly raise my hand), every game should get a second chance like this.
Speaking of second chances, the rest of this week’s new 3DS games should also look familiar to gamers:
- Capcom is bringing an enhanced version of Monster Hunter 4 to the 3DS eShop tomorrow as Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate. Never-before-available in America, Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate will give players the chance to “tackle hundreds of quests and take down ferocious monsters.”
- Bandai Namco has slapped a fresh coat of paint on Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy as well as added Amiibo support to the aerial shooter. These additions have given it the new name Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy +.
- Finally, Sega is resurrecting one of their Genesis-era shooters exclusively for the 3DS as 3D Fantasy Zone.
Even though most of this week’s focus is on the 3DS, the Wii U got in on the re-release game too as Konami has added the well-liked SNES RPG Breath of Fire to the Wii U eShop.
More details on all of these games (and a few other new releases) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Did You Hear? Video Game Release Calendar Update #1
Don’t Forget! Warp Zoned’s complete calendar of release dates for 2015, 2016, and beyond can be found right here: Video Game Release Calendar.
Welcome to Warp Zoned’s first “Video Game Release Calendar Update.” We’ve collected all the latest announcements and date changes from the last six weeks and added them to one of the most accurate game release calendars out there.
The month of March is filling out particularly well…
- It starts with the March 5 launch of Mario vs Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars, Nintendo’s first 3DS and Wii U Cross-Buy game.
- And then there’s the March 6 release of Zombie Army Trilogy (PC, PS4, Xbox One) and its supernatural WWII shenanigans.
- A week later is the March 10 launch of the PC version of Assassin’s Creed: Rogue, which now features eye-tracking technology for camera control.
- A day after that, on March 11, the “Metroidvania” Ori and the Blind Forest will be available for the PC and Xbox One.
- Finally, the Borderlands: The Handsome Collection closes out the month with a March 24 release on the PS4 and Xbox One.
The Spring and early Summer is also beginning to fill up with the announcement that Xenoblade Chronicles 3D will be available for the New 3DS XL on April 10. Nintendo will follow their massive action RPG with the puzzle-RPG styling of Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition (3DS) in May, which will launch alongside Splatoon, a shooter for the Wii U. And in June, we’ll get the chance to try out The Elder Scrolls Online on the PS4 and Xbox One (on June 9) and Lego Jurassic World (which will be released for every system under the sun).
Speaking of Lego adaptations, Lego Avengers will be available this Fall. As will Skylanders 5, which is currently in development for unannounced platforms.
And lastly, Blizzard has said that Overwatch (PC) and StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void (PC) will likely launch in 2016 after each receives a beta test in 2015.
The complete list of updated release dates can be found after the break. (more…)