Preview the new #DisneyMagicalWorld2 by @NintendoAmerica #nintendo

October 4, 2016 by 1 Comment

This past weekend, we visited the Nintendo Store in NYC for the preview of Disney Magical World 2 Video Game. “Nintendo and Hollywood Records Recording Artist Olivia Holt Celebrate the Upcoming Launch of the Disney Magical World 2 Game, Launching Exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS Family of Systems.

Live your dream life alongside classic Disney characters in six Disney-themed worlds! Anyone who pre-purchases the title in Nintendo eShop or at select retailers will receive three in-game Frozen outfits free for characters like Elsa, Anna and Olaf. The game launches Oct. 14.”

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We were able to be among the first to try out the game, and there was a Disney costume party as well as jewelry, hair, and makeup stations.

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Here is a video of a demo- we will give you our review soon! (Sorry about the dude that kept walking in front of my camera- what can you do, manners are a lost art, LOL). Make sure you pre-purchace the title so you can get your freebies!

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Nintendo Select

September 19, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Nintendo has made some incredible games for the Wii U, but which ones are best? Since they aren’t cheap, you might wonder how you can get more then one game for the $60 price tag.  Nintendo helps people figure that out with the Nintendo Select line of games, which are specially packaged and branded as the best of the best in Nintendo titles. With titles like Super Mario 3D World, you can tell you aren’t getting the just the least popular games.  Also, there is the benefit of the lower price tag- the ability to get at least 2 games for $60.

We are going to take a look at the newest releases in the line which includes Super Mario 3D World, Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, and Pikmin 3- all for the Wii U.  There are also titles for the award winning hand held the Nintendo 3DS, including Zelda Ocarina of Time 3D, Donkey Kong Country 3D Returns, and Mario Party Island Tour.

First up is Super Mario 3D World, with the familiar plumber powering up and saving the world one flying turtle as a time.  This time with glorious 3D environments and  varied levels, they are easy to play but difficult to master.  Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze follows the familiar primate in a not so familiar environment of a frozen tropical paradise.  Pikmin 3 is a 3d puzzle/ RPG game where players toss about little plant/animal creatures called Pikmin, who do your bidding in a dangerous world full of harmful critters and obstacles all while trying to fix your space ship and find your friends.  (My son loves this game beyond reason, LOL.)

The 3DS includes two 3D remakes of incredible games; Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time and Donkey Kong Country 3D Returns.  Ocarina follows our hero Link in his adventures to save the princess and the world with new items, new game play, and shiny new graphics.  Last but not least is the action party game Mario Party Island Tour, which is a plethora of fun mini games to pit you against your friends or other characters in a race around a board game world.

As of now, there is also a special promotion going on where each of the mentioned titles are actually retailing for $19.99, so this is the perfect time to get some stellar games for an incredibly good price.

 

 

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Kirby Planet Robobot

September 16, 2016 by 4 Comments

planet robobot

Kirby and his pals have been in a plethora of games for many different Nintendo system, each time a new adventure with the same fun Kirby flavor. In his newest adventure, Kirby sports some kick butt robot armor to save his world from a resource-eating robot-based enemy.

The game Kirby Planet Robobot is a side scrolling platforming game where you control the cute pink fan-favorite Kirby. In this game, he has the ability to suck up and eat his enemies and absorb their powers or shoot them out as stars at others.

The game play is simple to master and makes for some fun puzzles and level designs which change Kirby into a fire wielding robot, a blade and saw slicing robot, and even a car or rocket ship.

Each level introduces a new play dynamic while keeping the player in a light hearted, fun adventure.  The game itself is easy to play, but there are tons of collectibles to grab along the way. These include stickers to customize your robot and digital cubes which open up secret levels in each land.  Each land has a general theme like water or desert, and take Kirby on a whirl-wind adventure culminating in a boss battle.  The boss battles can be difficult, but of course once the boss’s pattern is figured out they become easier.

Personally, Kirby has always been a favorite in our house, and with this game is no different. It is fun for the little guy and a challenge to collect all the perks for dad.  Included in the game are 5 game modes including the main story, Meta Knightmare Returns, The Arena, Team Kirby Clash, and Kirby 3D Rumble.  Each a separate and different game, the main story is a blast to play through.  Meta Knightmare lets you take on the role of one of Kirby nemesis Mata Knight, The Arena is a rush game where scores can be shared via street pass, Team Kirby is a light RPG game which is unsurprisingly a blast, while Kirby 3D Rumble brings Kirby game play into a 3D arena.

Kirby Planet Robobot also supports amiibo power ups which are activated when the amiibo is tapped on the 3DS. According to Nintendo, “Four new amiibo figures will be available in stores at a suggested retail price of $12.99 each. These include fun new models for Kirby, King Dedede and Meta Knight, as well as the lovable Waddle Dee, who makes his amiibo debut. While playing, tapping these new amiibo figures gives Kirby new looks and/or abilities. In fact, players can tap any amiibo figure to trigger something in the game. When using the Kirby, King Dedede or Meta Knight amiibo from the Super Smash Bros. series, Kirby will receive the Smash Bros., Hammer and Sword abilities, respectively, as well as a special body color. When tapping any non–Kirby character amiibo like Mario, Kirby will receive a random Copy Ability that is already in the game. Some of these abilities even relate to the amiibo itself, such as earning the Sword ability when tapping Link or the Poison ability when tapping Ganondorf.”

Kirby Planet Robobot is available now on both the eShop, retail stores nationwide, and at Nintendo.com at a suggested retail price of $39.99. For more information about the game, visit http://kirby.nintendo.com/planet-robobot/.

 

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The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Wii U

August 25, 2016 by 7 Comments

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Every so often a gem of a game comes along for a console.  The biggest problem is, that console will eventually be replaced by a newer better one, so how does one share a great game with a younger generation?  With a remake, of course.  Shinier graphics, updated character designs, improved game play, throw in a few extras and you have yourself a fun new-ish game to share with everyone.  This is exactly what The Twilight Princess is.  A great game from the beginning of the Wii now remastered for the Wii U.

Twilight Princess has the familiar Link hero character in an action adventure game where he must fight, solve puzzles, and explore his way through his adventure.  This time, the story line and art is a bit darker, but this doesn’t distract from the same Legend of Zelda formula we all know and love.  Link must find a way to save his world from the Twilight dimension and its evil king, Zant.  In order to do this, we meed some new characters like Midna, who teaches Link to change into his Twilight Wolf form as well as familiar ones like Zelda and Ganondorf.

As this is a remaster, you may be wondering what was added to make this a must buy.  Well, there is added Amiibo support which opens up a new Wii U exclusive dungeon as well as power up abilities with other Legend of Zelda Amiibos.  Your Amiibo also has the ability to carry over data into the next Legend of Zelda release planned for later this year.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is available now for the price of $59.99 and includes an exclusive Wolf Link / Midna Amiibo.  It is also available for download from the eShop for $49.99 but this version obviously will not include the Amiibo.

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eShop Fun for the Wii U and 3DS starring Noitu Love Devolution and Rhythm Heaven

August 10, 2016 by Leave a Comment

Check out these two eShop games for the 3DS and Wii U.

First up is a throw back to the 16 bit era of gaming with Noitu Love Devolution which is available for both the 3DS and Wii U.  This game looks and has the feel of the intense enemy battles of Gunstar Heroes and Metal Slug but throw in a  novel control scheme which gives the player a fresh perspective on the touch screen and motion on a game in general.  The story of the game revolves around a police force called the Xoda Rap who are sent to protect the city from the evil robotic aliens the Darns.  These enemies are smiley faced robots bent on destruction.  They do so by also throwing in time issues which in turn throw the player into new locales like feudal Japan and the wild west all while destroying plethora of enemies and gigantic bosses.  The game play in Noitu is one where instead of controlling your hero with direct button bashing you control where the hero is going to attack, by using a target on screen.  This target acts as a guide for the hero and his/her attacks.  This may not sound like an intuitive way to play a game but it works surprisingly well and is a fresh paint job on a fun genre of games.

Next up is the newest addition to the Rhythm Heaven series, Rhythm Heaven Megamix.  In this game you do various in game actions via button presses to the rhythm of the game to on screen zaniness like chopping wood as a bear, plucking hairs from an onion, and shaking your bottom as a frog dancer.  These are all set to some toe tapping songs and have a frenetic pace to them much like other collections of mini games like Wario Ware, but all of these are rhythm based.  The main story follows a boy trying to reach Rhythm Heaven by helping those along the way find their flow in rhythmic ways the cast of characters include a bee costume wearing bear, a car headed man, and a doughnut enthusiast.  In total there are over 70 mini games each unique to themselves.  This game features hits from previous games in the series as well as new ones we well as some not seen in the USA as of yet.

Overall both games offer a unique gaming experience and are a must for fans of action adventure or rhythm based games.

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Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games Wii U

July 8, 2016 by 1 Comment

Disclosure- this item was sent for review. Have Sippy Will Travel is a Nintendo Kid Ambassador. All opinions are our own and honest. For more, see “I Disclose”.

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Have you ever wondered who was faster?  Sonic the Hedgehog or Super Mario with star power? How about who is better at table tennis Yoshi or Eggman?  These questions and more could be answered with your won quick wits and faster thumbs in the new Wii U version of Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.  This game pits familiar Nintendo and Sega characters against each other in Summer Olympic events.  There are 17 events available, including full team sports: like soccer,  Beach Volleyball, and  Rugby Sevens.  This game was also released for the Nintendo 3DS but this version includes 4 x 100m Relay, Rhythmic Gymnastics (Clubs), Triple Jump and Rugby Sevens.

We like how each event is a separate event, with a ton of details and attention put into it.  This is less a series of mini games and more of a series of different events.  Each event is polished and fun to play, especially the Duel Events with add in themed obstacles and items from the Mario™ and Sonic universes for even more fun.

This game is great fun for gamers of all ages and bridges the gap nicely between younger players and older ones.  There is one draw back to this game.  The laughter and fun will keep going and the day will melt away into a giggling, competitive afternoon.

As a small tid bit, this is the first time the console version of a Mario Olympics game is available the same year as the Olympics games themselves.

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games for the Wii Uis available now across the country and retails for $59.99.

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Disney Art Academy

June 15, 2016 by Leave a Comment

When you are a beginning artist, it can be difficult to learn the skills needed to really make something memorable and special.  Art supplies are expensive, and art classes are even more so.  This turns away msny younger artists and parents of young artists, leaving them with the options of books and sub quality supplies.  But with the new game Disney Art Academy budding artists can have a Disney inspired artistic experience while learning and using the plethora of supplies at their stylus tip.  While learning how to paint, use pastels, and markers, artists from beginner through advanced can draw some of their favorite characters, ranging from Mickey Mouse to Buzz Lightyear.  There are 80 characters to draw, as well as letting your imagination run wild and going freestyle.  From shading to layering, this game is great fun for those willing to learn.  As long as you keep trying you will be amazed with your creations.

My youngest tried his best with this game, but after a few lessons he lost interest.  However, he continues to come back to it every so often.  This is the kind of game where you come back to it once it has planted the seed of what wonder and creative side of you it awakens.

I like how varied the art directions are, as well as the amount of skills the game teaches you. This is perfect for adults or kids who enjoy Disney and want to learn how to illustrate like a pro.

Once your creations are complete, you can share via Miiverse, social media or local wireless.  You can also save to your SD card then print out your creation to share a hard copy with friends and family.

Disney Are Academy is available now on both the eShop and at retail locations nationwide, it retails for $29.99

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Mario Tennis Ultra Smash for WiiU

June 10, 2016 by 6 Comments

Mario Tennis has been an evolving franchise since the Nintendo 64 and with each iteration the game gets prettier with slicker graphics and tighter game play as well as a few bells and whistles.  Mario Tennis Ultra Smash is the newest iteration in the series.

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The most prominent addition the Ultra Smash is the Mega Mushroom, which makes your character explode in size to tower over everything (at least triple your original size).  This can be both a blessing or a curse depending on how good you are in the game.  On the plus side, your character can really smash the ball, but on the minus side, you see a lot less court because of your size.  There are a total of 16 characters available in Ultra Smash some of which are unlocked through playing the game and completing specific tasks.  The game also sports the ability to level up your Amiibo to the best tennis partner ever, improving both their stats and giving them new skills.  In our house sports games are difficult to get into, but Mario Tennis has the fun pick and play game style while still being deep enough to get good at and trounce your friends.

Mario Tennis Ultra Smash is available now for the WiiU from both retail stores and in the eShop.  The game retails for $49.99.

 

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