Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Silent Hill, Dragon Quest, Skyrim, and More Announced as Finalists for the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Has Another Big Night and Wins “Game of the Year” at the 2025-2026 DICE Awards
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- The Game Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Racks Up Nine Wins, Including “Game of the Year”, at the 2025 Game Awards
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: Wii U
Nintendo Download: Super Mario RPG, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Zero Time Dilemma, more
Fans of games both new and old will find something to interest them in this week’s update to the Nintendo eShop.
Let’s begin by taking a trip back in time. Nintendo has added Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars to the Wii U eShop this week, giving gamers the chance to relive the classic RPG. Originally released for the Super NES back in 1996, Super Mario RPG is the only game to combine Mario’s platforming antics with Square Enix’s RPG expertise.
Before we move forward, let’s travel further back to… a long time ago. That’s because WB Games and TT Games will add Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens to the Nintendo eShop for both the 3DS and Wii U in a galaxy very close to ours. Players will be able recreate the film with Lego-ized versions of Han Solo, Chewbacca, Finn, Rey, and BB-8. But they’ll also get the chance to go on “New Adventures” that bridge the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens.
Finally on the Wii U eShop this week, Telltale Games has crafted the remainder of Minecraft: Story Mode for Wii U owners this week. Episodes 2-5 are now available to download, and players can unlock the mystery of The Order of the Stone.
Over on the 3DS this week, players will get the chance to download Zero Time Dilemma, the finale to the Zero Escape trilogy, and BoxBoxBoy!, another side-scrolling platformer starring the cube-shaped hero.
More information 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 Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Minecraft, Zero Escape Volume 3
Splatoon’s final Splatfest on July 22 will force players to choose between Callie and Marie
So it’s come to this. Nintendo has announced that Splatoon‘s next Splatfest will be the final Splatfest.
Set to kick off on July 22 and scheduled to run for 48 hours, the final Splatfest will ask players to make the ultimate choice… Callie or Marie?
The Splatfest’s final scores will be tallied using the results from all regions, but individual matches will be segregated. Players from Japan will only be matched with other players from Japan, while players from North America and Europe will be matched against each other. Splatoon owners will be able voice their choice for Callie or Marie at the Inkopolis Plaza kiosk beginning on Monday, July 4, at 10:00 PM (Eastern Time). Until then, keep checking your email inbox, because Nintendo is going to send out a survey asking players to choose the stages for the “Squid Sisters Showdown” Splatfest.
Mark it on your calendar, the final Splatfest will begin on Friday, July 22, at 5:00 AM (Eastern Time) and the Callie versus Marie melees won’t stop until Sunday, July 24, at 5:00 AM (also Eastern Time). Good luck to both sides and may the best Sister win.
Han and Chewie finally star in a Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens Character Trailer
As expected, WB Games saved the best for last and released one more Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens Character Trailer today, this time focusing on Han Solo and Chewbacca. There’s probably no deeper meaning behind a scene showing everyone’s favorite smuggler picking off a pair of Stormtroopers with a blaster, but it sure does look cool, doesn’t it?
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is available today for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
Tumblestone and its multiplayer action-puzzle magic will launch on July 12
If you’re old enough to remember the 90s heyday of multiplayer “action-puzzle” games, then Tumblestone should be on your radar. A match-3 puzzle game similar to Bust-A-Move, Tumblestone was by The Quantum Astrophysicists Guild, and it’ll be released for the PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Xbox One on July 12. Best of all, if you’re an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, you’ll be to download it for free as part of the Games With Gold program.
Tumblestone will include a massive Story Mode, online and local multiplayer modes, a trio of arcade-style modes, and a Quest Mode with hundreds of unique Quests to complete.
And be sure to watch Tumblestone’s “Cinematic” Trailer, it’s embedded above and absurdly fun. Though it doesn’t look so crazy when you compare it to the PAX East “Reactions” trailer, which is available after the break.
Warner Bros. will release the Minecraft movie on May 24, 2019
Are you excited for the Minecraft movie? I hope you can keep your excitement going for the next three years, as Warner Bros. announced today that Minecraft: The Movie will open in theaters on May 24, 2019. And if you need to really immerse yourself in Minecraft’s blocky world, the movie will also be released in 3D and IMAX.
We still don’t know much else about Minecraft: The Movie (and even that’s just a working title), but Mojang COO Vu Bui had this to say on the developer’s official website:
Yes, that might seem like a long time away, but it just so happens to be the right amount of time to make it completely awesome. And we all want an awesome Minecraft movie, right?
Rob McElhenney, Mac from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, has been tapped to direct the adaptation, so hopefully he brings the same sense of zaniness to Minecraft: The Movie.
Force yourself to watch this Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens Character Trailer starring Rey
Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released in less than 48 hours, but WB Games and TT Games are still cutting together new Character Trailers for the title, including the newest one starring Rey (with new dialogue from Daisy Ridley).
We still don’t know if her last name is Skywalker or Kenobi or Solo, but we do know that Rey has natural Force abilities, and you can see them all in this trailer. Watch as she uses her staff to disable a foe, blasts away at a few Stormtroopers, and gives Kylo Ren something to cry about.
Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens will be released for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on June 28.
New Retail Releases: Lego Star Wars: Force Awakens, Star Ocean 5, Grand Kingdom, More
We’re closing out the month of June with a big batch of new releases…
The biggest is most definitely the game with the planet-sized laser gun, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which will be available this week for the 3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. Players will be able to relive all the action from the 2015 space opera, as well as “New Adventures” that fill in details you may have been wondering about. (Just how did C-3PO get that red arm?).
A pair of RPGs will also be available this week to fans of the genre busy for a long time. Square Enix will launch the fifth game in the Star Ocean franchise, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, exclusively for the PS4, while NIS America has strategized a plan to release tactical RPG Grand Kingdom for the PS4 and Vita.
Players looking for something a bit off the beaten path may want to explore Zero Time Dilemma, the third and final entry in the Zero Escape franchise. The adventure game will be released for the 3DS, PC, and Vita, and takes place between the events of Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and Zero Escape: Virtue’s Last Reward.
Finally this week, Wii U owners will finally get the chance to try out Terraria, the side-scrolling crafting and exploration title from Re-Logic.
A complete list of this week’s new releases can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Grand Kingdom, Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Prison Architect, Star Ocean: Integrity and Faithlessness, Terraria, Zero Escape Volume 3
Nintendo Download: Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE, Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mighty No. 9, more
It’s a big day for the Nintendo eShop as three major new releases are joined by four classics of yesteryear through the storefront’s Virtual Console section.
Leading the way is Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE, an RPG for the Wii U that drops the medieval adventurers from a Fire Emblem-like adventure into a present-day version of Tokyo inspired by the Persona series. It’s joined on the Wii U eShop by Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the latest athletic battle royale between the two mascots, and Mighty No. 9, Keiji Inafune’s side-scrolling spiritual successor to Mega Man.
Also available this week on the Wii U eShop is a trio of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games. The three roguelike RPGs including Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team (originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2006), Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (originally released for the DS in 2006), and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky (originally released for the DS in 2009).
Finally, Capcom will add the Super NES classic, Super Ghouls N Ghosts, to the 3DS eShop. Chivalrous Arthur will battle demons, devils, and giant beasts to rescue his Princess from the evil Emperor Sardius. Still just as great today as it was in 1991.
More information 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 Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Mighty No. 9, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem