Strike a pose

It's Nintendo Download time again, North America, and this week all four of Nintendo's online platforms have content to choose from; you lucky gamers. Some are long-awaited and in one case probably already keeping some of you very busy, while others will no doubt also have an audience to snap them up. Let's get to the details.

Wii U eShop

BIT.TRIP Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Gaijin Games, $14.99) — This one arrived on Wii U a couple of days ago, so we suspect that a number of you are playing this right now. It's the much anticipated spiritual successor to BIT.TRIP RUNNER, with all of the rhythmic jumping, punching and ducking that you could wish for; we'll have a review with you soon as we ponder whether it's up to speed with the WiiWare classic.

Wii U eShop demo

BIT.TRIP Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Gaijin Games, free) — Because Gaijin Games really wants you to try its game, there's a nice little demo as a source of temptation.

3DS eShop

Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena (cerasus.media, $4.99) — Mahjong options aren't exactly sparse on DSiWare and the 3DS eShop, and some successfully take the basic match-two style of the famous game and turn it into an entertaining experience. Despite talking a good game about a storyline and exploration, this is ultimately a very basic, reductive version of the popular past-time, which serves a purpose but is outgunned by superior alternatives. If you want the full lowdown, then check out our Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena review

Coaster Creator 3D (Big John Games, $9.99) — This title promises to allow intuitive coaster creation, along with sharing options as well as the ability to ride the rails for fun or as part of a mini-game. There are career challenges and a host of environmental and coaster unlockables, so despite its premium price this could offer a fairly meaty creation tool. We'll make sure we're tall enough and bring you a review soon.

3DS eShop price discount

Fractured Soul (Endgame Studios, $7.99 until 7th March / was $11.99) — The second discount in the latest round of promotions on the 3DS eShop, this dual screen action platformer had a long and complex development history before its eventual arrival. It's a neat concept that's well executed, not to mention the fact that it gets rather difficult in its latter stages; check out our Fractured Soul review to see what we thought of it.

3DS retail demo

Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate (Konami, free) — Ahead of its arrival in stores and the 3DS eShop on 5th March, Konami is providing a free crack of the whip for you to try. This demo seems to have been pretty well received among European 3DS owners, and now you North Americans can see for yourself; we're also working on a review of this one for your pleasure.

3DS Retail DLC

Fire Emblem: Awakening (Nintendo) — The Champions of Yore 1 map is available as a free download only until 6th March, so be sure to visit the "Outrealm Gate" in the game soon to take advantage of this special offer. You can also keep the adventure going with the new EXPonential Growth map, the second instalment of the Golden Pack and said to grant tremendous experience to those who defeat the Entomed, a rare variety of Risen soldiers. The EXPonential Growth map is now available for $2.50.

DSiWare

Easter Eggztravaganza (Microvalue, 500 Nintendo Points) — It's a seasonal mini-game collection with a superfluous "z" in the title, so this one may be met with some trepidation. Clearly targeting children, there's a back story about painting eggs, visiting the shops and family before embarking on an egg hunt, so we can expect spot the difference and colouring-in games to feature. We'll be stuffing our faces with chocolate eggs and reviewing this in the not too distant future.

WiiWare

Retro City Rampage (Vblank Entertainment, 1000 Nintendo Points) — This one was on the "delayed for so long it'll probably be cancelled" list for a fair amount of time on WiiWare, and yet it now graces the Wii (and Wii U's "Wii Mode", don't forget) with its brand of pixel-based pop-culture old-skool GTA mayhem. Critically acclaimed by some on other systems, this WiiWare version will also include ROM City Rampage, a version of the game constructed as if to actually run on the NES. We'll start causing chaos on the streets in the name of bringing you our review.

So, a fair bit of variety on offer this week. Let us know what you'll be buying in the poll and comments below.

What will you be downloading first this week? (314 votes)

  1. BIT.TRIP Presents: Runner 2 Future Legend of Rhythm Alien (Wii U eShop)22%
  2. Mahjong Mysteries - Ancient Athena (3DS eShop)  0%
  3. Coaster Creator 3D (3DS eShop)4%
  4. Fractured Soul (3DS eShop discount)8%
  5. Fire Emblem: Awakening DLC (3DS retail download)13%
  6. Easter Eggztravaganza (DSiWare)  1%
  7. Retro City Rampage (WiiWare)14%
  8. Only freebies this week28%
  9. Nothing for me this week10%

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