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: Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse, Duck Hunt, Super Mario World, more
Exactly 26 years ago, I unwrapped an NES “Action Set” complete with the original Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt. This Christmas, Nintendo wants to recreate one of my earliest childhood memories by adding Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, a Game Boy Color port of the original Super Mario adventure, to the 3DS eShop and Duck Hunt to the Wii U eShop. Someone tell the Duck Hunt Dog that I will have the last laugh this year…
Two other Nintendo classics are now available to download today, both on the Wii U eShop. Mario Party Advance was the first Mario Party to be released for a Nintendo handheld. And Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 brought Super Mario World, possibly the greatest Super Mario game ever, to the Game Boy Advance when it was originally released.
Also available this week is the Wii U debut of WayForward’s strong>Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse. Already available for the 3DS, Wii U owners can now take control of the feisty genie in her latest side-scrolling adventure.
More information on all of these games (and a few others) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Duck Hunt, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, Super Mario Bros.
Hyrule Warriors Review: A Dynasty Warriors Mod, But In A Good Way
Ever since Ocarina of Time, the Legend of Zelda franchise has been near and dear to my heart. When the first trailers for Hyrule Warriors were released, I didn’t know quite what to think about it. It wasn’t quite a Zelda game, really, at least not in the traditional sense. However, as Link bombastically destroyed huge waves of enemies with increasingly over-the-top weapons, I found myself intrigued. Nintendo doesn’t often trust its most popular franchises to parties outside the company, although that has changed in recent years as Retro Studios continues to release solid titles like Donkey Kong Country Returns and Metroid Prime. However, aside from the much maligned CD-i games (that would eventually become fuel for countless YouTube parodies) and Capcom’s handheld entries, Nintendo has rarely trusted another company with the Zelda franchise. In that sense, Hyrule Warriors is a unique animal, and I couldn’t wait to try it out. (more…)
Posted in Reviews, Top Story, Wii U
Tagged Hyrule Warriors
Shovel Knight becomes a Knightrider in Road Redemption
This morning you got to see the whimsical side of Shovel Knight in the fan-made Shovel Knight Holiday Special. But the character also carries around a giant shovel and he can dole out a few good whacks when need be. So this is the perfect time for the wandering knight to mount a motorcycle and deliver some “Shovel Justice” on the open road in Dark Seas Games’ Road Redemption.
Dark Seas had this to say about Shovel Knight in the latest Kickstarter update:
It’s really a great game. It’s the kind of game that actually lives up to the rose-tinted memories we have of playing NES, which, of course, means it’s actually far better than those games ever were. I’ll take Shovel Knight over Megaman any day. Blasphemy? Prove me wrong Capcom. Prove me wrong.
The Road Rash-inspired Road Redemption is currently available through Steam Early Access and will be released for the Wii U and Xbox 360 next Summer.
Watch this fan-made Shovel Knight Holiday Special right now
In just a short time, Shovel Knight has captured the hearts of gamers everywhere. After being created by Yacht Club Games, the character has gone on to cameo in a whole host of games and will make the jump to the PS3, PS4, and Vita in 2015. But first, you should watch Shovel Knight’s Holiday Special, a fan-made animated short created by Wind-Up Dog Animation that features a special appearance from Shield Knight.
I gotta admit, I’d watch an entire series of animated adventures starring Shovel Knight. Especially one from this creative team.
Nintendo Download: Mega Man Zero, Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D, more
Nintendo is saving the majority of their eShop surprises for Christmas Day, but there are a few interesting odds and ends making their way to the company’s digital storefront today.
For example, Wii U owners can now tackle Mega Man Zero through the Virtual Console. Mega Man Zero was originally released for the Game Boy Advance in 2002 and is considered by fans to be one of the hardest games in the entire series. Retro gaming fans who own a Wii U might also want to check out Natsume Championship Wrestling, a Super NES game that was also added to the Virtual Console service today.
Elsewhere on the eShop, Konami has finally made Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D available to download. The 3DS port of Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater was originally released for the handheld in 2012.
More details on all of these games (as well as a few more) can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in 3DS, News, Wii U
Tagged Metal Gear Solid: Snake Eater 3D
The world rejoices… Mario Maker will let players share their levels online
When Nintendo unveiled Mario Maker during this year’s E3 Expo, everyone wondered if the slightly Internet-averse company would allow players to share their creations online. Mario’s creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, recently sat down for an interview with iJustine (embedded above), and it looks like we finally have our answer. It looks like Nintendo has listened to our pleas and will allow online sharing of player-created levels:
Miyamoto: “You’ll be able to see what happens when other people play your course. Or when you play other people’s courses there will be some popularity rankings for the most popular courses. Things like that. There’s a lot on the community side you can do.”
In case we didn’t get it, Miyamoto later added: “Yes, we will have the Internet ability to exchange courses as well.”
Mario Maker will be released sometime in the first half of 2015 exclusively for the Wii U. It will be the first salvo in what will surely be a big year for the Italian plumber as the original Super Mario Bros. will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2015.
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Super Mario Maker
Shovel Knight will be available on PlayStation platforms “early next year”
In a new update to their Kickstarter backers, Yacht Club Games has revealed that Shovel Knight will be released for the PS3, PS4, and Vita in early 2015:
Maybe you haven’t heard the exciting news, but Shovel Knight is branching out on to other platforms for adventure. Early next year, Shovel Knight will make his debut on Playstation platforms: PS3, PS4, and PSVita! Along with this extremely exciting development in the legend of Shovel Knight, a guest character that you are all familiar with will be meeting our stalwart, blue knight: Kratos from the God of War series!
Yes, that’s right. Steel will strike against steel as Shovel Knight’s Shovel Blade challenges Kratos’ Blades of Chaos in a battle for the ages. The team is also hard at work on the Plague Knight campaign, which will be available to all owners of the game as a free downloadable update:
The pedal is to the proverbial metal on Plague Knight! We are working full time on update content (Plague Knight, Body Swap Mode, and Battle Mode!), and it’s shaping up to be amazing. The Plague Knight campaign will be the first content released, and it’s feeling like a whole new adventure already! A new relic system! New characters and bosses! Remixed content! On that subject, we’re going to share a little detail. Mona, who runs the potion minigame in the village, will have a vastly expanded role…
There’s no ETA on when the Plague Knight campaign will be released, but you can head over to Kickstarter for a peek at a few design sketches featuring Mona.
Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse will be released for Wii U on December 25
For those of you who like to spend Christmas Day gaming, if you have a Wii U, you’ll be getting an extra special treat. WayForward Technologies has announced via their Twitter feed that Shantae and the Pirate’s Curse will be available on Christmas Day in North America. The game will cost $19.99 on the Wii U eShop.
I’m sure some of you will agree with the hashtag WayForward added to their tweet: #BestPresentEver!
Posted in News, Wii U
Tagged Shantae and the Pirate's Curse