The time is upon us, once again, for the North American Nintendo Download update. This week brings a huge retail release on Wii U, a couple of high profile 3DS eShop releases and some other tempting options. Let's get to the details.
Missed the European Nintendo Download Update earlier in the week? Don't panic, the details are right here.
Wii U Retail Download
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Monolith Soft, $59.99) - An exciting arrival for many that enjoyed the Wii predecessor, this new entry sees an entirely new setting and cast on the impressive Planet Mira as a colony of humans strives for survival. It's a complex, demanding game that also rewards the many hours of time invested, with some familiar ideas and mechanics blending with new approaches; we gave it a glowing recommendation in our Xenoblade Chronicles X review. Available from 4th December.
Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends (Little Orbit, $39.99)
Wii U eShop
Trauma Team (Atlus, $19.99) - A popular Wii title from the era when motion and pointer controls were all the rage, this entry in the series allows you to choose from six specialities to treat patients with various ailments. We'll scrub up and bring you a review.
Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts
Citizens of Earth (Atlus, on discount from 7th December to 21st December)
99Moves (EnjoyUp Games, on discount until 7th January)
Abyss (EnjoyUp Games, on discount until 7th January)
Wii U DLC
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Disc version): Basic High-Speed Data Loading Pack - Impact: High (Nintendo, free)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Disc version): Enemy High-Speed Data Loading Pack - Impact: Medium (Nintendo, free)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Disc version): Player High-Speed Data Loading Pack - Impact: Medium (Nintendo, free)
Xenoblade Chronicles X (Disc version): Skell High-Speed Data Loading Pack - Impact: Medium (Nintendo, free)
3DS Retail Download
Kung Fu Panda: Showdown of Legendary Legends (Little Orbit, $29.99)
3DS eShop
Pokémon Picross (Nintendo, free) - This free-to-play version of the popular puzzle game comes with a Pokémon flavour, as you create images of 'mon and then utilise their skills and special buffs in follow-up puzzles. Our review will be with you later today.
Dementium Remastered (Renegade Kid, $14.99) - This is the second franchise that Renegade Kid has remastered from its DS retail days, in this case potentially filling a gap in horror gaming on the portable's eShop. This entry has new difficulty settings alongside various gameplay and visual improvements; we gave it a solid recommendation in our Dementium Remastered review.
3DS eShop Temporary Discounts
Shin Megami Tensei IV (Atlus, $14.99 from 7th December to 21st December, normally $19.99)
Citizens of Earth (Atlus, on discount from 7th December to 21st December)
Escape from Zombie City (Tom Create, on discount from 4th December to 18th December)
Ninja Battle Heroes (Tom Create, on discount from 4th December to 18th December)
Crash City Mayhem (Ghostlight, $4.99 from 7th December to 14th December, normally $19.99)
3D MahJongg (Joindots, on discount until 17th December)
Gardenscapes (Joindots, on discount until 17th December)
Darts Up 3D (EnjoyUp Games, on discount until 7th January)
Soccer Up 3D (EnjoyUp Games, on discount until 7th January)
3DS eShop Demo
Fantasy Pirates (EnjoyUp Games, free)
3DS HOME Themes
Hatsune Miku: Project Mirai DX "Carton Box"
Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival: Plaza
DSiWare
The Mysterious Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Joindots, 500 Nintendo Points) - Based on the literary classic, this is setup as a game of investigation; that means hidden object challenges and occasional puzzles. It's not bad for its genre, however, and we gave it an approving nod in our review.
That's it for this week, so let us know what you'll be downloading in the poll and comments below.
Comments 112
By tomorrow. The Earth, will be no more. Pokemon picross should be out today...And Trauma Team?!? All of my yes. Any Trauma center and future trauma center games on WiiU/3ds. Pleassssseeeee Atlus? I'll give you a cookie.
I voted Pokemon Picross but I'm also getting Dimentium; been waiting forever for that!!! This is a great week for once. Xenoblade will be in the near future- no time or disc space right now.
I'll be picking up Pokemon Picross. Never tried a picross game so I hope I enjoy it.
Wow. Not a single vc release...
3DS VC is officially abandoned.
@justinr Until pokemon Red/blue/yellow comes out....
RIP NOA. It was nice knowing you.
@Captain_Toad
$10 ea is a joke. they'll come out and the 3DS VC will still be dead to me. Heck, NOA is pretty much dead in general now
If Atlus is going to cozy up to the Wii U eShop, can we please get a downloadable version of SMT Strange Journey? Or some of the original Etrian games? We could be drawing maps on the gamepad, people.
Fairly good week! Xenoblade for me!
Not an RPG fan so not interested in any of this. Nintendo of America's mistreatment of virtual console and the eshop in general is so frustrating at this point that I can't even articulate how it makes me feel. Such stupidity at the helm of this region. I wish the new president would just swoop in, fire the entirety of the staff there, and start over.
Yoooooo. I've been meaning to get Trauma Team for years now.
NOA just let NOE take over.
Just the XCX download packs for me. That's all I'll need for the next few months.
Nothing for me this week. I plan to get XCX at some point, but I have no extra money to spend and I'm kind of burnt out on open-world games at the moment, having just finished playing Fallout 4.
@justinr Wii u vc is abandoned too.
Dementium!! YESSSSSS. Well, there goes my evening after work! Can't WAIT to play that again. Then this weekend will be dominated by Xenoblade, and next Tuesday is Earth Defense Force 4 on PS4... wow, what a great week in game releases this is.
what ever happened to robot jones? I mean zero mission
I downloaded the Xenoblade packs right after the Nintendo Direct, but I voted for that option anyway. It's a quiet week on the eShop, but we should expect that I guess with Xenoblade taking over the Wii U world tomorrow.
I highly recommend Trauma Team for anyone interested. It does the motion control really really well. It's not all about surgeries though. It has a detective game section that really brings the story to life. Plus it has co-op!
Would be great if we could get Trauma Team in Europe, we never got it.
The Xenoblade DLC has already been available for a while.
My moneys on Xeno X being playable at 7pm PST Hoping to get a few hours in before my graveyard shift.
I am really starting to think that NoA is just trolling everyone with their pathetic support of the Virtual Console. At least I will be starting Xenoblade Chronciles X tomorrow.
Nope. back to the Xbox One!
Be back next week for Fast Racing Neo.
@andrew20 (even tho the Wii does not count as VC) there always Trauma Team to get.
anyways, Xenoblade X for me, might get Trauma Team later on. (AND WHERE THE HECK IS XENOBLADE from Wii NOA?... please don;t make me have get a New 3DS and get digital version or find the wii version at a high price)
ppc for me
Nothing for me this week, gotta love how much NoA cares for there Wii U VC releases right? Anyways I will be get Fast Racing Neo hopefully next week if NoA decides to put it up on there eshop.
Outside of XCX,.....you almost can't make up how lame NA's Nintendo Download is this week.
Where's AC:WW? Metroid Zero Mission? Xenoblade Chronicles and RE4 on Wii VC??????
Well nintendo I guess my money once again will go to the ps4.why do I even wait for Nintendo's update anymore.
Where's the Wii U VC? I'm too busy with Earthbound to really care, but it's a bad sign nonetheless.
Getting X LE, Trauma Team and Pokemon Picross, hopefully the F2P is good enough.
Will definitely check out Pokemon Picross, and will take a look at that Hatsune Miku theme.
After those sales last week (I got A-Train and Inazuma Eleven), I'm glad this is a slower update! (I already lack time to play those two games, but the holidays are coming?)
Going to get those XCX packs for when it comes in the mail tomorrow!
@Spin I second that. Trauma Team ks a good game, even for those not so interested in surgery. Congrats to NoA to release a Wii VC after such a long time, by the way.
However. I have been waiting for Xenoblade Chronicles to get to the American Wii U eShop (yeah, the original as Wii VC) since its release in the European eShop some months ago. I didn't have a Wii (nor do I have a New 3DS), and it's really hard to find a Wii copy at a good price.
So, I'll wait until I can play the original Wii Xenoblade Chronicles before getting the new one. It's a shame that it could never happen. Nothing for me this week (I already own Trauma Center as disc).
Still no Spirit Tracks
That XCX "DLC" is a weird inclusion since you don't download it if you buy the game digitally, and nobody would describe installation of the disc game onto the system as DLC. Though I suppose that is technically what it is, but it's not how gamers define DLC.
I voted for it anyway b/c it was there, but I'm not downloading it for another week or 2 until I know it didn't cause any ptoblems. Issues seem likely.
Has anybody tried installing it to their internal memory while normally having a HDD attached? I'm wondering if it will work faster that way. I tried that with Hyrulem Warriors season pass but it always downloaded it again when I reattached the external HDD. I think internal would be faster, and much less noisy than my old clunky external.
Nothing this week. Just waiting for FAST Racing Neo.
Really bad week ignoring Xenoblade, of course. But who cares, that just means there's more room for Xenoblade to be played instead of other games!
I've already pre-ordered Xenoblade X's Special Edition, and will be picking it up tomorrow morning. I've waited three years for it, and I've never been as excited for a game as I have been for this one! Already downloaded all of the data packs (Did so yesterday, actually), but since I wouldn't really count those as my first download of this update, I'll have to say Pokemon Picross. X is easily the big release for me this week (or console generation), though!
I will be picking Xenoblade Chronicles X physically tomorrow but considering that I am due to receive my Xbox One in the mail tomorrow as well chances are that I will put it on hold while I try out my shiny new toy. Batman Arkham Knight is waiting for me!
No Wii U VC? I'll pick up XC later on though.
XCX looks great!!! Pokemon Picross should be pretty fun. The VC is just a real shame though. Some wasted opportunities for sure. A lot of region specifc stuff we haven't even gotten. SMRPG, Sonic Advance, Metroid Zero Mission just to name a few.
This week is all about Dementium....
Dementium! Finally! So excited!
I picked XCX, but then realized I would actually be downloading Pokemon Picross first since XCX is out tomorrow.
Pokémon Picross top of my download list since I already pre-ordered the LE version of Xenoblade Chronicles X at target for the extra goodies and 5% discount.
I love Trauma Team. If I didn't already have the Wii version, I would download this. I would kill (in-game) for a new Trauma Team/Center game for the Wii U that make use of the Gamepad as well as the Wiimote and nunchuk. Even a WiiU-make would be just as good.
I voted for Xenoblade even though I'm getting it physically.
Getting XCX physical. Otherwise, nothing else
Hurry..... Up...... Christmas.... Then X can be MINE!
I'm not getting anything.
The Mahjong game on sale now is really good, but there's an even better one that's just as cheap too if any of you're interested in getting it. It's called Best of Mahjong:
http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/lboBTD1CmhveixXCjV5LevxilEGDN3AD
It`s by far the best solitaire Mahjong game I`ve played on the 3DS. Excellent stuff and incredibly cheap.
Not to be confused with Best of Board Games: Mahjong. It's a totally different game.
http://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/Isqd4kCxMOzEvJx9FFK-QuhmJKjcLJuv
It`s not so good and the price is astronomical.
I figured Citizens of Earth would be discounted since it got a sale on PSN earlier this week.
In Trauma Team do you use the Wii remote + nunchuk or can you use the Wii remote by itself?
Has NOA ever talked about the absence of VC titles on the 3DS?
@Gen0neD Same here.
No Xenoblade Chronicles for Wii VC? Oh well, maybe next year. Maybe for best as I bought a few games this last week I hadn't planned on. Still I didn't see Trauma Team coming this week, great game, but I already have it on disc otherwise I would consider it. Still very excited for my copy of Xenoblade Chronicles X to arrive tomorrow!
It's Xenoblade Chronicles for me, along with the data packs. Waiting for my physical CE to come in the mail
I guess the Home Themes.
@grumblebuzzz I've been wanting that for awhile now.
@HeroOfCybertron Wii Remote and Nunchuck. The Nunchuck joystick is used for selecting your scalpel, suture, forceps and other items you then use by pointing the Wii Remote. If I remember correctly, it's the same control in both this and the earlier Trauma Center.
@Aozz Nintendo is starting to list the Wii games as VC on their website. They have both Trauma Team & Kirby's Return to Dreamland listed as VC, but none of the others. Don't know if that's a mistake, though, on their part.
I've got XCX pre-installed. Can't wait for 11 pm CST to start playing!
@rjejr Nice, just noticed your avatar was for the Isand of Misfit Toys.
What time is Pokemon Picross going to be available on the eShop? I keep checking and being disappointed when it still says "coming soon."
While I have Trauma Team for Wii since it was released 5 years ago, I would still download that digital release if I had a Wii U, the game is that good. Even disregarding the surgery and medical themes, there is a whole 'Phoenix Wright' style gameplay mode that takes hours to finish with more than 5 cases.
As for now, Pokemon Picross right now, and tomorrow Ninja Battle Heroes...I have waited a sale for that one since it was released, got a great review here and a very nice artstyle.
Not a bad week for NA. Only a couple of the XCX data packs for me. Pokemon fan that I am, I'm skipping out on Pokemon Picross.
@grumblebuzzz I hear ya man! There are many people feeling your pain. I was hoping for TurboGrafx VC for 3DS like they have in Japan and on Wii. Heck most of the games are already in English I thought it would be an easy switch over. Of course they have excuses that it's harder to port games to VC than we think. And they wonder why people go for emulators. They have also blown the Classic 3D section. If it were not for Sega we would have nothing. There should have been a Classic Mario 3d game the day the 3DS was released.
Data packs yo, finally something to download.
I always wished they would make a new Trama game for Wii U. The more accurate controls like on the DS would be amazing. The games on Wii are still great though.
@ThomasBW84
Is the patch to run X going to be out after midnight thursday in the same time zone the eshop goes by?
@SetupDisk If you mean the data packs, I believe they're already on the eShop.
@Nico07 I'm trying to get in the holiday spirit. And hide from a few people I was arguing with earlier in the week. My 10 year old son picked it out, he said it was time to change the old one.
Just received my copy this morning.
I know lots of gamers been wanting on Xenoblade and have fun but if it's not your cup of coffee then to me just another crappy week from the idiots at NOA!!! Again!!!
They need to follow noe practices!! Ugh!
@ThomasBW84
Sorry I meant the little bit of data that downloads on release data so you can actually play the game instead of the icon mocking you horrifically.
@SetupDisk Ah, ok. I imagine it'll be the same as other major retail releases where they've done pre-load. I'm in the UK so I'm not sure whether it's midnight local time in the US or 9pm Pacific / midnight Eastern. Maybe a fellow NA gamer can help with that one
@Trinexx Not a bad week? Really? Remove Xenoblade and it ranks with the worst.
@ThomasBW84
OK thanks, I am sure it was at midnight in the eshop timezone for Smash and a few others so I hoping that is the case.
@ikki5
Trama Team ia a good game and Dementium Remastered looks pretty good. There have been weeks with no VC games and no good eshop or decent retail games so this really can't be one of the worst.
It is a weak week for the first week of December but obviously X is the focus. Next week at least has Neo Fast Racing. Plus I thought there was a recent article about some game still coming out before the end of the year.
Edit Chasing Dead which looks quite fun actually.
I feel that this is a solid week. I'm probably getting nothing because I'm just now playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3D and Yoshi's Woolly World, but otherwise I would pickup "X" and Trauma Team.
I almost forgot, I'll pickup Pokemon Picross for sure. I love both series so it's a win-win for me.
I would love to know what is stopping NoA from releasing VC games, that Nintendo owns fully, and which it has already released in other regions - seeing as then there should be really little to no possibility for any or all either licensing or technical issues. Honestly, what the hell is going on over there? Oo It's almost as if they don't want to make money, and if they are trying to actively annoy folks who invested into their system by going like ... "sure, we could give you stuff, we own stuff, and we even give stuff to Europe and Japan, but we just don't feel like it: deal with it!"
@Ralek85 They just don't seem to care. That's the impression I got after dealing with NoA's customer service department & manager's. How does your repair team spend four month's "repairing" a new 3ds when the only problem was a defective sd card?
I'll get trauma team when it goes on sell
Is there a way you can revote ?
I had to delete so much stuff off of my Wii U to buy Xenoblade Chronicles X it's not funny. I hate how the size that the eShop says doesn't match up with how large the game actually is because it says it's 22.8 GB when in actuality it's only around 19.3 GB or so. Maybe the launch day patch to let me play it will make up the difference, but I doubt it. Did the same thing with Splatoon saying it was 4 GB but it's really about 1.5 GB in size, a little over 2 GB if you include the Update data.
Out of curiosity, is Trauma Team and/or Zac & Wicky the first third party Wii VC games?
Getting Pokemon Picross and XCX physically. Maybe get those themes too.
Trauma Team was never released in Europe T_T.
AWESOME. Trauma Team! I'm almost surprised they remembered that series.
@Discord_Inc Trauma Center Second Opinion was a Wii launch title but Zack & Wiki was not. Trauma Team, a different game in the series, came out in 2010.
I would love to know what is stopping NoA from releasing VC games, that Nintendo owns fully, and which it has already released in other regions - seeing as then there should be really little to no possibility for any or all either licensing or technical issues.
I think gamer attitudes are the main reason. It seems a lot of fans don't like to download game and prefer to buy physical games.
@Bass_X0 The NDF thanks you for your continued support.
Might look into Dementium. XCX is for Christmas... Fingers crossed. Still got plenty of other games to master. Heck; Zelda TFH just got a whole new section added last night. I'll never be happy with Virtual Console until we get Dragon Warrior games, and since I've made peace with that never happening... I've accepted that I shouldn't care.
I somehow feel Nintendo wants to move away from these Thursdays...
I'm not sure why NoA isnt matching up with other countries on releases. I think its utter crap, and I'm a devoted Nintendo customer with well over a hundred digital purchases on both systems. However, I guess I'm fated to enjoy the games they give us. Still enjoying Mario Maker, still enjoying both 3DS Zelda games from this year, still enjoying MH4U though its on break, and still enjoying Xenoblade 1. Just started Wooly World. Got a giant backlog. But. If they want more of my money, they'll put some legit games out. They can mock me with a snarky voice like that one guy did to many of us, but I buy games. I buy fringe RPGs. I buy Castlevania. I buy games I never got to play as a kid. Video games are like rock music, and devoted fans follow a legacy. One day I'll have all the time in the world to catch up with them all, so I'll build my digital collection until I'm dust from this earth. Then. Some child; hopefully underprivelidged, is gonna be really lucky.
Not angry though. Just stating the facts.
DSiware? wow.
Nintendo needs to put a quick access button to Wii shop in Wii U eshop.
Still no xenoblade cronicles.at least x is on there.
@ikki5 agreed! The closer we get to the holidays the worse the Thursday updates get! And worse yet I'm not even hot for Xenoblade so back to my ps4! Again!
@rjejr the Wii U internal storage is not that fast, probably no difference...
And this is the reason I don't have a Wii U anymore. As a 'big' week, this pales to most weeks Sony and Microsoft get. Mainly because those systems don't just get first party retreads and unnecessary sequels. Horizon Zero Dawn, No Man's Sky, Far Cry Primal, FF 15 , the Witcher 3 and Type-0 fill the gap more than enough. And when Wii U owners get tired of the subpar battle theme, incessant hand holding and subtle nudging, you can find something deeper elsewhere.
@Danrenfroe2016 Thanks. I will still probably try it though anyway just to see how it goes. Of course if I put it on my internal and the system is looking for it on the external how will I ever know, it didn't seem to make that much of a difference in the videos I watched. Does the disc game ask you to download and install them? Does it look for them?
Wow, you guys are something. Let's fire an entire branch because you aren't getting some classic games.
@rjejr I think you misunderstood me. Actually I was vague. I mean to say that the internal is not much faster than external hard drive. But the dlc pack def be faster than the DVD rom. I funny have the game so not sure if it will find them by its self, but I bet it will.
Bought Xeno X and trying to preload it since yesterday -_- Download errors happening and downloading restarting due to corrupt data. Gahh!
Hopefully it downloads by today, want to get in the game as soon as it does!
@LztheQuack I've said it before and I'll say it again. For me, my issues with NOA go far beyond vc releases. The branch is nothing but a pale shadow of the greatness it once represented. I'm sure Reggie and his team of managers are intelligent. I'm sure they understand how running a business works. But I'm convinced they have zero interest in the industry they're apart of. It's not that uncommon for an American business ( or anywhere else) to have some guy at the helm that doesn't give a crap. Compared to the efforts of NoE, it looks like NOA is not even trying.
At least Phil Spencer listens to fan feedback and gives off the impression that he enjoys gaming.
@SahashraLA
You're kidding right? Xbox/PS are the kings of unnecessary sequels, retreads and the innovators of hand holding in games.
Nintendo will definitely get my money this week as the Xbox offerings are awful, I didn't even bother with the Gold games. PSN had Super Star Wars last week but I didn't bother with it as I already have it for the Wii. Xenoblade Chronicles X will be getting my time this month and for the next several months; as it has hundreds of hours of complex gameplay without all the hand holding you get in the Xbox/PS efforts.
Damn it, the game won't install the patch to play!
@SetupDisk I FEEL YOUR PAIN BROTHA
My Digital Version of Xenoblade Chronicles X didn't unlock even though it's past midnight!
what? a DSi Ware game release? in THIS day and age?!
Pokemon Picross for me. I'll grab Dementium when It drops to less than $10.
It's too bad they stopped supporting the 3DS VC games. Lately, I've been finding the NES games more enjoyable on the 3DS. They even have scanlines, though it's kinda hard to notice due to screen size. Just going to pick up what I can and see what happens in the future.
Picked Xenoblade, but I'm getting a physical release. Someday you''ll mention that as an option Nintendo Life, some day...
@Danrenfroe2016 OK, thanks. I'm still not getting it until Christmas - Amazon said it will arrive on Tuesday - so I have plenty of time to mull over what to do.
Another week, another bucket of garbage for 3DS.
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