NintendoWare Weekly: Dr. Mario Express, Deep Psyche, Crystal Defenders, and Wonder Boy

by David Hinkle on Apr 20th 2009 10:15AM

Another week and another slew of content is available for your Nintendo consoles. DSi enthusiasts receive Dr. Mario Express, while WiiWare lovers can check out Square Enix's Crystal Defenders. Let's get to the full rundown, which you can find resting comfortably past the break.

DSiWare

Dr. Mario Express (Nintendo, 1 player, 500 Nintendo DSi Points): Sadly, this port of the classic puzzler features no multiplayer support like its WiiWare cousin Dr Mario Online Rx, but it's a cheap version of Dr. Mario on-the-go. Do you need more than that?
Master of Illusion Express: Deep Psyche (Nintendo, 1 player, 200 Nintendo DSi Points): Yet another Master of Illusion Express installment, this particular download asks you a bunch of questions and "reveals a startling truth." The truth is that you probably shouldn't have downloaded this.

WiiWare

Crystal Defenders R1 (Square Enix, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Originally a game for cellphones, Square Enix decided to release Crystal Defenders on some home consoles. It's already out on Xbox Live (and you can check out our video of it here) and is best described as a class-based strategy game that Final Fantasy fans will likely enjoy.

Virtual Console

Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points): Are you serious? How many versions of this game are on the Virtual Console?! And it's an extra dollar to boot. Wonderful.

Source

Tags: a-little-dr-mario, crystal-defenders, dr-mario-express, DS, dsi-shop, dsiware, master-of-illusion, master-of-illusion-express, Nintendo, nintendo-dsi, nintendoware, nintendoware-weekly, square-enix, virtual-console, Wii, wiiware, wonder-boy

Reader Comments (48)

LOL the posters annoyance with the new content is so obvious here.

I share their feelings though.

I'm being convinced more and more that Nintendo needs to rethink how they do DLC, especially when it comes to not letting us know what we're getting, and the all the games are crap part.
Will Nintendo consider this though? I doubt it.

I hope this Wiiware crap starts to tank. There are so many games that I want for the VC, but I'll never see them with this BS being released. Where are all the N64 games?

On another note, does anyone know the chance that Blast Corps has of making it to the VC? It was released by Rare, but I didn't know if it was a Nintendo game like Donkey Kong or not.

Sadly, the odds aren't good. :( It sucks, because it's one of my favorite N64 games of all time. So, I suggest you track down a N64 and a copy of that game and enjoy. I found a copy for under 10 bucks used.

Ya, it is on my top 10 of all time. Blast Corps and Pilotwings were the two oddball games that are on my favs list for some reason. I own them both for the N64, but my system is starting to age and doesn't always turn on. I would love both on a wii format so I can play them at will. I used to hate the N64, but as the years go by, it is becoming my favorite system.

There are certain *cough* emulation sites *hack wheeze* on the....*door busts down* that you can....*footsteps* and then....*gets dragged away* NOOOO!!! HEEEELP ME!!!! *voice trails off in the distance*

"In no way does Nintendo of America endorse or condone the actions and statements of this poster. Please go about your day."

Personally, I find that playing console games via ROM or emulation on a PC to be an exceedingly lame gaming experience.

It's not a very popular game, but I've been waiting for Mischief Makers for far longer than I care to. I love that game, and I'm not really even sure why that is.

Mischief Makers is one of my top anticipated games, too. Plus Illusion of Gaia.

i agree with markez. it's never the same.

No, it's not the same, but it can be very, very close. To be honest, there are some ways that it is superior, in that you usually get savestates and whatnot. It's also usually the only way to experience translated games that never came out over here.

That being said, I've always found N64 emulation to be rather flaky, and as such, haven't messed with it much. I've pretty much gotten everything I want for N64 at this point, anyway. Still, am I the only one that thinks regardless of where they put it, Jet Force Gemini with updated controls would be awesome?

I've been thinking for a while that Nintendo should use the "Everybody Votes" channel to let us pick what games are released for the VC. They should pick two games and let us decide which one we want more. It seems like an ideal way to find out what the consumers want.

Ahhh... so this is the promise that the new DSi Shop has to offer. Expensive and stripped down "classics" already done (and much better) and purchased on your Wii.

Yay!!!! Can't wait to see what else they have in store for the store :P

lol. I normally assume handheld offerings are of 'lesser' quality than their home console counterpart (if one exists). And I shudder when I look at what the WiiWare has, and what could be ported to the DSi now. There is some serious amounts of shovelware that would make Atari ET proud.

Ugh.... I didn't think of that.

A whole new platform for the crap games to come to.

At least it's optional :P

Still plan on getting a DSi though.... just won;t plan on making the shop a reason why.

I'll give the shop time, I mean it only open a little while ago.

Dr. Mario is half the price of the WiiWare version and portable is the way to go for puzzle games anyway.

Yeah... but with the DS, and DSi, being all about sharing the gaming experience, you'd at least think they could have added in some kind of multiplayer aspect. That is what sells these kinds of games.

You don't know what the "i" stands for, do you?

Lol.. good point. Guess I missed that bit on the marketing. Kind of the opposite of "Wii" then... my bad.

Maybe they should change it up with a theme song:

Godsmack's (DS) I Stand Alone.

When do dsiware games come out? Is there a regular day/time

I read a theory that they're probably holding Majora's Mask in North America for the 300th VC game something.

I think this week marks 297 or 298 now.

Come on now, I just want Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon already. Sure, the Super Nintendo Mystical Ninja game is pretty sweet, but I need my Impact fix; Nintendo, you can dash dash dash your way to hell for this whole "release one Virtual Console game a week" thing you've been doing for so long.

Also, for anyone that's interested in the gimped Dr. Mario for DSiWare, do everyone a favor and instead spend the points on Art Style: Aquia if you haven't already. Then thank me by sending cash.

Blame Reggie, it works in most situations.

Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon would make me cry tears of joy, but it's probably never coming. :(

What the hell are those "Art Style" things anyway? I haven't found an explanation of what they are yet.

@Roto - Yeah, the only game I want more than Mystical Ninja is Earthbound, but it's looking like neither will ever happen. If only my N64 cartridge hadn't been destroyed when my basement flooded.

@Silverwolf - I think the only unifying theme of the Art Style games (having only played Orbient and Aquia I can't say for certain) is that they're all meant to be simple games that take a single, relatively simple concept and roll with it. In the case of Aquia, it's a puzzle game, but its simultaneously chill and stressful atmosphere, amazing soundtrack and rather hard to explain gameplay all combine to make it an awesome one. And this is coming from a person who generally despises puzzle games (aside from Lumines).

Wow, Blast Corps. I haven't thought about that game is years. I remember getting a lot of play out of that one. They probably have that slotted for release on the VC sometime in 2019. Wonder if it's still sitting in my parents' basement.

Crystal Defenders is so freakin addicting, I love it

Is it the same Crystal Defenders as the one at the iTunes store?

Yes, and the same Crystal Defenders on XBLA (for a little more money).

I get a wiikly (har) email about new VC/Wiiware releases from Nintendo, otherwise I'd be a little clueless about what's new if it weren't for the extra info I get on Joystiq.

hey Nintendo - hows about Majoras Mask in NA already?

or hey...how about ZELDA BS being released on VC????????????? In game text is minimal, so no localization should be required. That would be something the core gamer would eat up, an unreleased Zelda in NA, a remake of the first for SNES. Get on it, if you can move around enough to make it happen in your leather suit jackets and golden pants.

this list of junk you're peddaling this wiik is....well....junk.

Knowing that there are games like Mighty Flip Champs, Moving Notebook, Korogashi Puzzle Katamari Damacy, and PiCOPiCT only makes the crap DSiWare releases sting that much more.

See above with Night Game, CaveStory, and all the other great games that may or may not exist (Lost Winds 2 anyone?).

"and is best described as a class-based strategy game that Final Fantasy fans will likely enjoy."

Surely it's better described as a Final Fantasy themed Tower Defence clone?

So two okay-looking games and one crap (Masters of Illusion). Not a bad week as NintendoWare (really?) goes, but not one in which I'm going to buy anything.

I haven't bothered to get DSi yet, this isn't making me rush out.

I actually like Nintendo's 'Surprise me! It's Monday!' release policy - and personally I don't give a shit about Majora's Mask or any other of the old games, so I don't get all stressed out about things not being released like other people here. But I do wish the nice surprises were a bit more frequent!

'Lit' was great, and Bit Trip Beat was amusing until you find out it doesn't have a save facility... Don't think I've got anything since then.

Bit.Trip Beat saves when you get a high score. Which is an infinitely stupid design choice, but it does save.

You could also do what I did and download a completed save file.

@Roto13: Aha. Thanks. Maybe I'll try it again sometime. I was like, 'great I unlocked the second part!' then 'oh no I didn't!' Not a great experience.

So we have Wonder Boy but where is Young Nasty Man?

Wonder Boy, what is the secret of your power?

You are awesome. +1

Another weak week.

I can't figure it out either...especially since NCL regularly releases as many as 6 VC games every week. They have such a huge catalog of games to choose from now they can't possibly be worried about running out of even just quality titles.

So is Dr. Mario Express basically Dr. Mario Online Rx without the multi-player functions? I never bought DMOR, and this seems like a much better buy in comparison.

Well... at least there is SOMETHING worth playing put out on DSi this week. I can't really complain about a $5 copy of Dr. Mario... and it beats the shot out of the last two weeks. But seriously, quality releases NEED to start coming out. I mean even WiiWare got a decent launch. Wiiware is shit nowadays but the launch got people excited. The longer Nintendo allows this tripe on DSi to dominate, the quicker the reputation of what should be a cool storefront shoots to hell.

Well, Dr. Mario is at least a real game. I'm using half of my free points on it just to vote with my wallet. Super Mario World anyone?

Between Excitebots for only $40, a new Dr. Mario for Dsiware (would only be $5 but I've still got some of those points from Nintendo, so it'll be free), and Final Fantasy Crystal Defenders (only) $8, i'm gonna have a good cheap week.

I'd be int'd in xbla lode runner too.. anyone know if that's hudson or someone else? classic or a new version?

I'm waiting for Art Style: Nalaku. That looks fun.

There's no way I'm paying 9 bucks for Wonder Boy III. Wonder Boy(girl) VI? definatley, but not Wonder boy III

I assumed the I stood for Idiot.
Dumb Sheepish Idiot. Buy a new one today!
Dont get me wrong, it might be a decent system.
I have no personal experience with one,
But Im not ready to trade in my GBA slot for Downloadable DSi games.
When some exclusives that look good are announced I may think twice.
So far nothing to spend $180+ on.
But there is promise

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NintendoWare Weekly: Dr. Mario Express, Deep Psyche, Crystal Defenders, and Wonder Boy

Reader Comments (48)

Posted: Apr 20th 2009 10:30AM hami83 said

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