As always, Europe, news of the download offerings coming to the region in this week's update are already here to start our week with a bang. While there are a few new additions, including a previously unannounced transfer tool, the main headline is the lengthy list of retail downloads becoming available. There are some surprising prices, too, showing that the 3DS eShop may be joining its Wii U brethren in offering some rather appealing deals; let's get on with the details.
Wii U Retail Download
LEGO City Undercover (Nintendo, €59.99 / £49.99) — After its arrival in North America last week, this exclusive Wii U LEGO title arrives in Europe, with its zany and unrelenting humour coming along for the ride. Incorporating a large open world and enough collectibles to keep the most compulsive of gamers happy, we think this is certainly worth picking up for Nintendo's latest system; check out our LEGO City Undercover review for full details.
3DS Download Software
HarmoKnight (Nintendo, €14.99 / £12.99) — After last week's rather entertaining demo of this rhythm action title, the real deal is set to arrive in the coming week. From the famous 'mon developer Game Freak, this has been high on some wishlists since it was teased in a Nintendo Direct broadcast last year. We'll have a review with you very soon to see whether it matches the hype.
Code of Princess (Agatsuma Games, €29.99 / £24.99) — Released at retail and on the eShop in North America, the developer self-publishes this as download-only in Europe, which at least means that we get the chance to enjoy the experience on offer. This is one to strongly consider for anyone that's a fan of 2D hack and slash games, while some RPG mechanics and online co-op / competitive play add some extra appeal. We were certainly fans in our Code of Princess review.
50 Classic Games 3D (cerasus.media, €4.99 / £4.49) — Having enjoyed life as a budget retail title in North America for nearly a year, cerasus.media takes on publishing duties to bring this game collection to Europe as a cut-price download only title. We can expect card games, chess and similar things besides, and we'll see just how "Classic" these versions are in our upcoming review.
Save Data Transfer Tool (Nintendo, free) — This app will apparently allow you to transfer save game data from a game card to its retail download equivalent; with some of the retail discounts and prices outlined below, it looks like this tool is part of a big campaign to get 3DS gamers downloading more games direct from the eShop.
3DS Virtual Console
Harvest Moon (Natsume, €4.99 / £4.49) — Announced during the 3DS Direct broadcast in February, this cult-classic farming RPG is the second of two Natsume Game Color titles confirmed for the platform. We rather liked Legend of the River King, and now we can indulge in this — arguably — better known franchise. We'll dig out some wellies and bring you a review soon.
3DS eShop Discount
escapeVektor (Nnooo, €5.00 / £4.49 until 11th April, was €10.00 / £8.99) — Released during the Holidays 2012, this handheld title from the Aussie developer follows on from the WiiWare first chapter and includes four chapters of content. Footage rarely does justice to how compulsive and intuitive this title is, and now you have a chance to pick it up with a meaty 50% discount for a limited period of time. We think you should strongly consider doing just that, and we explain why in our escapeVektor review.
3DS Demo
Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo, free) — While this title has rather quickly become the most successful entry in the series in North America, selling a pleasing number of copies for the big N, we still have a few weeks left to wait here in Europe. While we continue to chew our knuckles Nintendo of Europe is giving us this demo to get a taste of what's to come; it's free and it's one of the best games of the year so far, so there's no reason not to download this.
3DS Retail Download
Nintendo of Europe is bulking out the retail download list this week, with some eyecatching prices to tempt you:
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (Nintendo, €44.99 / £39.99) — After over a decade of waiting after his solo debut on GameCube, Luigi returns to his spooky quest. The first salvo of this Year of Luigi, this one has been critically acclaimed to date, with our Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon review explaining why we think this is a must-buy.
Resident Evil Revelations (Capcom, €29.99 / £24.99) — While HD entries in the series have had a particular action focus, this handheld title not only looks fantastic, but it brings some genuine horror. A HD remake arrives on Wii U soon, but you can see why the 3DS version is worth considering in our Resident Evil Revelations review.
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (Capcom, €9.99 / £8.99) — The first Resi Evil title on 3DS, this one expands on the home console bonus mode, and is all about action and high-score chasing. This week it becomes available for the same price as a download-only title. Worth considering if your expectations are in line, as our Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D review explains.
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D (Ubisoft, €19.99 / £17.99) — A 3DS launch title that had a bit of marketing behind it, the flashy adverts couldn't cover up what is a sloppy and poorly thought-out port, as our Splinter Cell 3D review makes clear.
Heroes of Ruin (Square Enix, €24.99 / £19.99) — This action RPG gives you the chance to master multiple classes, explore varied areas and tackle some nasty monsters; it also allows you to do this online with up to three other players, incorporating rather decent voice chat into the bargain. Even with a few rough edges, we certainly feel it's worth a strong recommendation; you can check out our Heroes of Ruin review for more details.
Nintendo Video
The Beet Party: Unidentified Flying Waffle (Redrover, €0.99 / £0.89) — The Beet Party is a series of 3D short videos available for download on Nintendo eShop. The two-minute interstitials target four to six year olds and follow the adventures of the five coolest beets around as they explore, experiment, celebrate and communicate with beat-boxing sounds when something new arrives in their fridge.
So, plenty to choose from on Wii U and, in particular, 3DS this week. Lots of quantity, but will the quality be taking away your funds this week? Let us know in the poll and comments below.
What will you be downloading first this week? (202 votes)
- LEGO City Undercover (Wii U retail download)
- HarmoKnight (3DS eShop download)
- Code of Princess (3DS eShop download)
- 50 Classic Games 3D (3DS eShop download)0.5%
- Harvest Moon (3DS Virtual Console)
- escapeVektor (3DS eShop discount)
- Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon (3DS retail download)
- Resident Evil Revelations (3DS retail download)1%
- Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (3DS retail download)
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell 3D (3DS retail download)0%
- Heroes of Ruin (3DS retail download)
- The Beet Party: Unidentified Flying Waffle (3D Video)0.5%
- Just the freebies for me
- Nothing for me this week
Please login to vote in this poll.
Comments 93
HarmoKnight, Heroes of Ruin (maybe) and Fire Emblem demo for me! What a packed week! ^_^ Also, RE for just 7 quids? I think that's a steal for a retail game!
wow, nice week for downloads.
i may pick up both resi evil games over the next couple of weeks.
Wow, what a week! Will be pretty expensive for me! ^^
It's a really good time to own a 3DS.
luigis mansion 2 for me might pick up mercenaries too awesome week, keep it up Nintendo
Luigi's Mansion II for me! Really looking forward to this one!
Finally good prices for games...
I bought RE: Mercenaries for 10€, now it will be 9€ in eShop
You are on the right way Nintendo.
I'll have to know more about that transfer tool. Does it mean we'll be able to rebuy our already owned retail games online for up to 5 € (if not for free, but I doubt it) and then transfer the data so we don't need to carry our carts anymore??
And wouldn't that be great if DS games were made available as downloads on the eShop and so were Wii games?
I'm getting Luigi's Mansion but not via download. I want that glow-in-the-dark case.
Retail Luigi's Mansion, download Haramo Knight. Can't wait!
I've got enough games as it is & Lego City: Undercover I'm getting as a disc with figurine Those are some very tempting prices on 3DS downloads though...
This is the best download week I've ever seen.
I'll be getting HarmoKnight, then, maybe, Harvest Moon. Code of Princess might have to wait. And then I'll download the Fire Emblem Demo.
Fire Emblem demo, Harmoknight demo (I haven't been able yet due to internet problems) and Escape Vektor.
RE: Mercenaries is very tempting for only 9€ and if I like Harmo's demo I will eventually get it.
It's great to get 3rd party games in the eshop and with reasonable prices.
are you sure you are correct with your pricing NL.
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (Capcom, €8.99 / £9.99)
That doesn't seem right but if it is correct then I can't go wrong for €9.
Been waiting for HarmoKnight for ages so really excited to download that this week.
Might also pick up Code of Princess too if I can spare the money.
This is a great week, Most of the retail titles never arrived in my region, I will be getting Heroes of Ruin & both resident evil titles............but I guess I have to buy a new SD card first
@Uximal get a 64GB version like I did.. large enough for +_ 50 games.. and make it a fast card.. saves time starting the 3DS.
Lego City.
WiiU - saved from the edge of the abyss.
and still no Mega Man 3
this is just awesome
it's the same.. every damn week
@Rockman
I am currently using an 8GB class4 and its slow, Will upgrade to 64GB class10
@Tsuchiya
Just barely.
Wow, Mercenaries and Heroes of Ruin are actually at a competitive price. This is a step in the right direction Nintendo Square Enix and Capcom, might actually consider buying retail download for the first time from the eShop.
Harvest Moon?! Finally.
Great news. I better lock my doors and prepare for my week of hard labour. >:3 (NOTE: no sarcasm present)
@LuigiMan200 - Am I doing that right? :3
This is the best week in a LOOONG time! Can't wait for Harmoknight!
Great price for escapeVektor, good thing I waited. Also some of those retail downloads are well priced. This will also allow me to re-buy Mercenaries 3D (shouldn't have sold it).
Also great to finally have the Data transfer tool. I can finally continue playing OoT on without the cart!
Luigi's Mansion is a retail purchase. LEGO City, Need For Speed, Code of Princess, Harmoknight go straight on the "To-buy list"
Revelations for download?! I hope they make it available in the NA eShop.
@SilentHunter382 I've double checked and, yep, those are definitely the prices for Mercenaries 3D. I might give that one a go myself at that price!
@ThomasBW84 Ok thanks. It was just weird to see that the euro price was cheaper then the pound but I am not complaining.
Where is Runner 2 ???
I will get EscapeVector and I will try Code of princess
Yay Harvest Moon
I don't own a 3ds so no joy for Wii u users, hard times when a Lego game is all that's on offer for us in a month where ps/x-box users got so many new games.....AGAIN!! There's not a single decent game for release on Wii u with a SOLID DATE this YEAR!! Q3 possibilities don't sell consoles,Nintendo need to commit to some solid dates on releases on their own games or others won't bother releasing their games through nintendo at all!?!
I picked up a copy of mercenaries the other day for $15 AUD, its dirt cheap every where. Dont know why, its a great game
Bring us Mega Man 3!!
@ULTRA-64 I think you forgot about Monster Hunter.
@ULTRA-64 - "There's not a single decent game for release on Wii u with a SOLID DATE this YEAR!!"
That is really a very very bad realisation and goes to show just how poor the WiiU has been handled by Nintendo so far.
I just don't understand what they've been doing since 2010 when the Wii died!? Their business decisions are completely baffling and I agree with Pachter that Iwata is a poor CEO.
@ULTRA-64 I was more referring to this sentence "hard times when a Lego game is all that's on offer for us in a month", but ya its is really poor.
Just because there has been a distinct lack of quality games for the Wii U doesn't mean you can label Iwata a poor CEO. They have been going through some troubling times in recent years but I Believe they've handled it quite well.
Besides, we don't have any Q3 or Q4 release dates because we're waiting for the next few major Nintendo Directs, of which one of the main aims was to bring release dates of upcoming software.
@Hunter-D Nintendo direct reveals nothing to anyone who doesn't already love Nintendo, achives nothing but hype and I'd quite happily lose them if we got the new Nintendo games even a week quicker...
I think iwata has allot to face up to, I personally would like a Thankyou/sorry for the poor marketing and release scedule testing die hard fans patience. I gave them my hard earned money(again) in a recession and all I got back was a 2d Mario game using the same engine as the original and a collection of mini games designed to make you buy further into franchises they won't release for a year.....maybe.....rumoured.... Still trying to understand why the Wii u has no relevant apps aswell, iPlayer, facebook, Twitter,instagram,,,,,you know,,,,the ones that billions of people world wide buy electronics every day for. Nintendo are behind the times which makes me sooo sad as they belive they are not =(
finally some third party retailgames getting discounted on the eshop!
resi mercenaries and splinter ceel could be mine....
Didn't take long for a 'captain bring down' to enter the comment section
@MadAussieBloke
Sorry, kinda burst the bubble there......
@ULTRA-64 - I agree. Well said.
If only Nintendo's business decisions were as good as their games, they'd be unstoppable!
Wow, where do you start. Fantastic week.
Great choice of 3DS games, tempted by both RE games.
I already have Escape Vektor and was a little underwhelmed. I thought it had a few really obvious problems which need patching i.e. having to permanently hold (why not toggle on/off) R because the camera is too close (the zoomed out view is still too close for comfort; this waas a real deal breaker and really spoilt the game for me. Also the leader boards fail about 95% of the time. I have no problems with other games with on-line leaderboards, just this one?
Stop!!!
Too much things at the same time @o@;
What a week!!!
99% going to buy Code of Princess and so many other things tempting me.
Only thing that is a big NO NO is harmoknight, look awesome, but I'm terrible at rythm game, the demo for me was impossible to beat >_<
I suggest to everyone who doesn't have it to download Resident Evil: Mercenaries, for that price each single euro is very well spent
Mega man3?????! Mega man2 came earlier to europe than america and america got mm3 few weeks ago!!!!!
Harnoknight, Code of Princess, DL tool ( very good idea), Fire Emblem demo (getting it anyway), Mercanaries 3D (actually bn waiting for a discount DL release). Brilliant week. Well done Nintendo
Free stuff,cause I'm cheaper than Easter Eggs in April
Since November, I've spent more money on Wii VC games than on eShop games so far
@ULTRA-64 have to agree with you there. When you compare the functionality of the other 2 consoles on the market selling for less with bigger hard drives and software libraries it's difficult to find the value in the Wii U, that's why i'm holding off cause at the moment my Wii and 360 cover all my entertainment needs and my 3DS is my current main gaming console
@SilentHunter382 Oh, that was wrong. Yikes!
I thought you meant the low prices, I missed the fact I had them the wrong way round. UK is lower than Euro as always, but the 8.99/9.99 prices are right. Apologies!
@DePapier I'd assume there is no discount if you want the digital version- itd be far too easy to rent a game, borrow a friend's, and copy it to your harddrive. Flixster has a service where you scan your DVD, and it gives you a legal copy saved to their cloud service. 500 netflix rentals later....
@ThomasBW84 awww you shattered my little heart to get it a euro cheaper. Ah well still a good price at a tenner.
MEGA MAN 3
WHERE ARE THOU?
Best download week ever!
@Viagro Ditto. Here's what I'm getting:
Since i'm in America i've already downloaded Luigi's Mansion 2 and hopefully going to pick up Harmoknight!! I got Mercenaries for $20 download, though I don't know how that compares to the your price.
wow RE: the mercenaries is available for £8
I'm going to bang my head on a table. I'm missing out on all of these games that I definitely need to download...! D:
Wont be much longer now, every game on 3DS will be download only. Prediction- 1 to 2 years there will be no more cartridges.
So is escapeVektor best on the 3DS or Vita anyone know ?
Wow, Mercenaries is cheap! I'm certainly downloading it at some point this week (as soon as my refund clears for that terrible Doctor Who Wii remote), as well as the discounted escapeVektor!
50 Classic Games 3D is just a reskin of 35 Junior Games btw (well, it's the other way round). Kind of wish I'd held out for the 15 other games :/
50 Classic Games isn't a download only title in the UK btw.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/50-Classic-Games-Nintendo-3DS/dp/B006VE4JKG/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1364230276&sr=1-1<br />
You can tell from the screenshots it's the Cerasus version.
@XyVoX Vita, because of the larger screens. Or 3DS XL.
@Geonjaha - Heh, hey, you're alright.
Definetely downloading HarmoKnight! Already have both RE games as retail copies, and gonna get Luigi's Mansion as a retail game as well. Downloading the Fire Emblem demo too of course, as well as the Transfer Tool- even though I'm not sure if I'll be using that.
If Mercenaries is a similar price in America, I know what my next eShop purchase will be!
@RetrogamerFan They should do a combo offer where you get both Resi games for £30 or something. I'd get that!
Can't decide, but sure as hell it won't be Heroes of Ruin. All of the localizing efforts that should have gone to Kingdom Hearts 3D went to that game instead, and the localization team went out of its way to have HoR even dubbed, while Kingdom Hearts 3D didn't even have translated on-screen text for Italy and Spain.
Seriously, it's one of the few games I'm actually wishing to bomb. It's ruffled my feathers the wrong way.
@C-Olimar sorry should of said i have a 3DS XL.
HarmoKnight all the way!! The demo was suuper entertaining.
Harvest Moon GBC? Nostalgia explosion.
I was considering the river king one but I'm glad I held out I think I'll go for this instead. It was the first Harvest Moon game I ever played, so it feels like THE version to me.
I think I'll get the physical copy of Luigi's Mansion.
Nothing else interests me. (I try to like HarmoKnight but rhyrhm games don't do it for me)
EDIT: Actually I think I mistook this Harvest Moon for Harvest Moon 2 (Harvest Moon 2 was the first harvest moon I played)
Actually wait....I think the first one I played was Harvest Moon 3. Geez I'm looking on youtube and all three look nearly the same. ._.
Wow bargain prices for both resident evil games
@MANIAC911 Like the avatar; Powerline has got the moves.
Ok, so europe got both Natsume VC games before america.
That's not very nice Natume.
HarmoKnight can wait. I HAVE to get Dark moon!
I'll definitely be getting Code of Princess and Rhythm Hunter: Harmo Knight at some point. They look like fantastic games, especially the former!
@XyVoX It should be good on 3DS then. All I need to know is whether the Vita version zooms out more or if it just blows up the image...
You can't really go wrong with either though.
@DePapier no, if you already have a retail game you can buy the game on the eshop for the normal price if it's available for download and transfer the saves over to it. The saves will be deleted from the cartridge and any save already on the system (from the download) will be overwritten. It allows you to switch your game library to digital without starting over with every game.
We're also getting harvest moon this week?!?!?
I'll get Code of Princess, Harvest Moon, Luigi's Mansion and I'll consider the discount Heroes of Ruin.
Good thing my week off is right around the corner
That is an absolute steal for EscapeVektor and all of you should get it immediately. Pretty good price for Mercenaries, Revelations is too high compared to retailers.
I'm interested to see how the save data transfer works.
It's stupid how much stuff is releasing on 1 day, personally picking up:
Code of Princess, Luigi's Mansion 2, LEGO City Undercover, Harmoknight, Fire Emblem Demo, and a bunch of Previously released VC games... so yerp that's around $200.
I said on my Wiiware topic about Escapevector that I considered to also download the 3DS version. And now that It's half the price, I'll think I will get it!!
@Henmii Do it, do it now.
This is the same price as chapter one yet has around 4 times the content. Get it damnit.
Also Heroes of Ruin sounds like it's priced decently compared to original MSRP, but is it even worth it then?
I am most certainly going to be downloading HarmoKnight in the future once I get some spare cash. I really enjoyed the demo and I am looking forward to play more of this game.
I chose HarmoKnight, but I will be getting RE Mercs and Code of Princess.
Luigi's Mansion 2 is on it's way retailwise. I will get HarmoKnight for sure and maybe Harvest Moon. Wait for reviews for this one.
I will download Harvest moon. But when is Harvest Moon, a new beginning coming to the UK?
"This is the same price as chapter one yet has around 4 times the content"
It was, but from 28th March till 11th April it's cheaper! I'll get it!
Ok, to me, this is the best eshop update EVER! I'll get Harmo, Code of Princess, Harvest Moon and Escapevector!
Does anyone if Code of Princess will be available at midnight?
So, when are these games going to become available for download? The day has come, but so far, I only see Heroes of Ruin in my eShop menu.
Don't see the Fire Emblem demo in the eShop?!?
So is Code of Princess coming out tomorrow then? It doesn't appear on the news post on the eShop.
In fact, the only thing I can find at all is HarmoKnight.
I guess we might have to wait a bit longer. I miss the days when you could enter the download shop at 7:00 AM and everything would be there.
Got harmoknight which is awesome but come on Nintendo I want fire emblem demo and maybe harvest moon. Fun times will be had by all.
downloaded Luigi's Mansion 2!
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