Japanese RPG games have always weaved a good yarn.The Last Story, while not actually going to be the last story, will indeed weave an intricate and interesting story for you.

Not only that but The Last Story is a reinvention of genre, there’s not only a huge single player campaign but also online multiplayer in which you can take your character from the single player game and battle it out with 5 other players. Here’s a trailer for you to check out. 

So thanks to the kind people at Nintendo Australia, we have 3 copies of The Last Story to give away, no drawing required on this one. Instead we want you to tell us a story. We want you to tell us about your favourite RPG in 200 words. Not just listing positive dot points but tell us a story (perhaps in third person) about your favourite times with your most favourite of RPG’s. It could be any RPG, from any console, from any time. The genre knows no bounds.

To enter send your story to the email address below.



We’ll need your name or forum username to enter; without either one of them, if you win, we can’t give you your prize!



- This competition commences immediately, and will conclude on the 20th of February. One entry is allowed per person. Three (3) main prize winners will be chosen with the most creative and thoughtful entries and will be notified via private message and/or email.

- Winners each receive one copy of The Last Story for the Wii. The games provided will be PAL region.

- The competition is open to only residents of Australia and New Zealand. If you don’t provide a username or return email, your entry is invalid, as we can’t contact you, so make sure you give us one.

- Vooks staff members (past and present) are ineligible to win. Vooks is not responsible for lost or damaged mail and the prizes are not redeemable for cash.


- We reserve the right to substitute any of the prizes, but will always do so for a prize of equal value. Vooks reserves the right to change the terms and conditions of this competition at any time.

- Destiny Awaits.

At last, another 3D Classic is upon us! However you might have it already as Nintendo is giving 3D Classics: Kid Icarus away for free, but if you can’t be bothered buying two other Nintendo 3DS games you can now pay for it. If you want to, of course.

3DS Download Software

3D Classics: Kid Icarus (Nintendo - $9.00AU) Just in time for Kid Icarus: Uprising is Pit’s first adventure from the NES. It looks great in 3D and if you haven’t gotten it for free from Nintendo, it might be worth picking up anyway.

Looks like we didn’t get this one, this week....

DSiWare new to eShop

Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon (Nintendo - $7.50AU) This one has been on the DSi Shop since all the way back in 2009. It never made the trip over to the Nintendo 3DS when the eShop launched and I know a few people who were upset by this. Fear not, Pinball Pulse is back. The pedigree behind this one is strong; it’s from the makers of Metroid Prime Pinball, and that was great.

DSiWare

Castle Conqueror — Against (Circle Entertainment - 200pts) The Castle Conqueror series continues. These games are quiet achievers, no one really ever says anything nice about them, but they’re great. At only 200 points too, who could argue with that?

WiiWare

TNT Racers (dtp Entertainment - 1000pts) The big 1000 pointers, they’re always hard ones to talk about. Especially when they were announced basically years ago now and have only just seen the light. Who wants to risk 1000 points?

Nintendo Video
- Magic Piano
- Kirby: Right Back at Ya! Episode I
- Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace 3D Trailer

At the end of last year, there was a frenzy over legendary Nintendo game designer Shigeru Miyamoto allegedly saying he would step down from his position at the company. It turned out to be a misinterpretation of comments made during an interview, but something we learned was that Miyamoto was more interested in nurturing new talent rather than being tied down to the lengthy development times of established franchises.

In a recent investor’s briefing, Miyamoto reaffirmed his new thinking, and it appears that taking a step back and allowing younger blood to take the reigns of Nintendo’s big hitters is proving successful. “We have already come to the stage where quality software titles with a high completion level have been developed without my active involvement,” says Miyamoto. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata reinforced these statements: “We are…observing what happens if we assign particular work to people who have never done such work before. So far, we have observed more solid results than originally anticipated.”

Now that Miyamoto has more breathing room at the company, he is more than ever looking for ideas for Nintendo’s next big thing. “I am spending more time than before on finding new ideas for new developments rather than focusing my energy on work in my (development) teams in order to solidify the contents of (existing) franchise titles. After all, developing big hit titles must be the solution. I am acting with the understanding that one big hit title can change multiple phases of a situation in the entertainment business, and I feel that finding such one big hit is my basic job.”

Do you think Miyamoto can come up with a new IP to rival Mario or Zelda?

Source: Nintendo Life

Nintendo’s new focus on actually making anything online and digital on the Wii U actually good also could lead to bad things. With DLC to be available on Nintendo’s next console that also means things like preorder bonuses, retailer exclusive codes and horse armour could invade our fair ecosystem.

Not that Nintendo would ever do it themselves, but third parties might do something silly. However, have no fear as Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has plans to make sure third parties are kept on a short leash.

"...We have a belief that our games should be a trusted brand for a very wide variety of consumers, including children and casual users who are not so familiar with the trends of video games," Iwata told investors last week. "Therefore, we would like to have regulations with a certain degree of strictness so that consumers will get a sense of reassurance from our games."

We’re glad this is one of those thing where Nintendo decides to do their own thing with regards to something online. While they might not get everything right they have for this one.

The developers best known for their Pokemon spinoff’s Genuis Sonority have a new game on the way. It’s on the eShop and it’s out next week in Japan. Nothing like a quick Nintendo launch on the eShop to build up excitement.

The game is a Augmented Reality based RPG called Denpa Ningen RPG and you’ll need to use the 3DS’s 3D camera to take on a giant demon king with the help of flying folks. The denpa ningen all have different statistics and elemental stats which mix up your team.

It’s likely that this will head outside of Japan eventually, it’s certainly cute enough if nothing else.

There hasnt been a Pokemon movie in Australian cinemas since 2000. Now 12 years later, Hoyts is giving the latest Pokemon movie a limited run, sadly it looks like there wont be any Pokemon cards given away with tickets this time.

This time its the brand new Pokemon The Movie: White Victini and Zekrom title which will be running in selected cinemas. There is only one screening on each pf Saturday the 18th of February and Sunday the 19th of February. So if you want in, wed suggest getting in soon.

Having not seen a Pokemon movie in some time (one in 12 years when I was 13 years of age) theres going to be some crazy nostalgia going on that weekend. reWhos in?

And now he’s right. Retailer The Good Guys is now selling an awesome little bundle here for the 3DS which doesn’t come with some shovelware game. Instead, it comes with Resident Evil: Revelations and a Circle Pad Pro. Let’s do the maths on that one, the RRP for a Nintendo 3DS at the moment is $249. Now most retailers have been selling it for less than that but still, if you take off Resident Evil and the Circle Pad Pro off that price ($69.95 and $24.95) you’re effectively getting a 3DS for $155. Which is $100 less than normal or $200 less if you had bought one on launch.

Of course this doesn’t help people who already have a 3DS (or three) so if you spot any other deals for Resident Evil: Revelations and/or the Circle Pad Pro let us know!

Via: Lasoo

Capcom has announced that Ace Attorney 5 is on the way. The game was announced at the Ace Attoerney 10th anniversary event in Japan, however Capcom declined to announce just what platform or platforms the games would be on. Not even the fancy logo offers any kind of clues.

The series has so far been on Nintendo systems predominately, with the series beginning on the Game Boy Advance and then continuing and making its breakthrough to the west on the Nintendo DS. Ports on the PC, WiiWare and iOS platforms also exist, so it’s possible other platforms are joining the fray.

The other big question is; Who is going to be the main star? Phoenix Wright? Apollo Justice? Or perhaps someone new?

Source: ONM

Nintendo Australia has announced that Tekken 3D Prime Edition will be heading to Australian shores on February 23rd, just under two weeks after the rest of the world. Very nice. This isnt the first time the Tekken Franchise has been on a Nintendo console. There was a Tekken game released for the Game Boy Advance in 2001, Tekken Advance. While that game wasnt bad, Prime Edition looks to be more feature packed.

The Wii didn’t sell as well as it usually does this December and Nintendo thinks it’s time for some new blood on the home console scene. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said today at an investors meeting that "the market is now waiting for a new proposal for home consoles". Not only has the Wii been down this year but also the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Iwata did admit that the Xbox 360 maintained "large momentum" over the whole year but December as a whole was down.

"Usually, the Wii enjoys high sales in December, but last year, even though ’The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword’ was highly acclaimed, we were not able to expand it sufficiently to our target audience, and although the Wii was the platform which sold the most software in December, we were not able to propose new Nintendo titles to our broad audience," Iwata told the meeting.

"Therefore, except for Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3 there were no Wii titles with huge sales in the year-end sales season. Along with effects from our trade marketing activities in December which mainly focused on the Nintendo 3DS, we were not able to sell the Wii as well as we usually do.

"However, not just the Wii, but the overall performance of home consoles in December was lower than the previous year, and I think that the market is now waiting for a new proposal for home consoles."

The Wii U is set to hit the market before next Xbox and Playstation with a launch of the system planned worldwide before the end of 2012. Microsoft is expected to announce its plans for the ’next generation’ at E3 2012 but when they would actually release their next console remains to be seen. The Playstation 3 will be around for a while says Sony.

So are you ready for a new console?

Source: Eurogamer

Nintendo and online, it’s a touchy subject. Theyre behind, they know it and now it looks theyre going to step up to the digital and online plate with the Wii U. 3DS owners dont feel bad though, this concerns you too.

At an Investor Meeting today, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has said that the company is still considering DLC (downloadable content) for their own software. However theyll never do DLC that make the customer think they have bought an incomplete game. Iwata told investors that "Nintendo believes that its packaged software should be sold to our consumers in a form so that the consumers will know in advance that they can enjoy playing the software they purchased just as it is." Any download content that Nintendo do provide will add "additional structure in which those who love the game will be able to enjoy it in a deeper way for a prolonged play time". He uses the example of Super Mario, in that if people get bored of a Mario game, Nintendo could offer extra stages in the meantime between releases. They plan to do this with all games though so that there is no stagnation periods between launches. Something we all have experienced.

Nintendo is also planning to open up more sharing on Nintendo platforms. Iwata doesnt have specifics, but this may include more social network integration or more programs like Swapnote (Nintendo Letterbox). Nintendo is impressed with the success of Swapnote and are considering more strategies to benefit from this social behavior. In other words, the more people talk and share on Nintendo systems, the better. However only about 60% of 3DS consoles are connected to the  internet so far, which is a bit of a shame because they really should be playing Pullblox.



Retail titles for download are also on the cards for the 3DS and Wii U however theyre not sure how to implement them yet as it does conflict with their main business of selling boxed retail games.

Nintendo is also working with third parties and online, theyll be allowed to sell items that cost to unlock on the disk. Nintendo doesnt want to do it but wont stop third parties.

This may be Nintendos worst financial year but when you put Nintendo in a corner it comes back fighting, theres some great potential above let’s hope Nintendo follow it up.

Source: NeoGAF and Nintendo

The headline says it all, and we mean all. Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has today announced that they are working in partnership with several new and previously unconsidered third parties. What they’re working on, who they’re working with and what will come out of it remains to be seen but it just proves that a scared Nintendo is the best Nintendo.

Come to Papa!

We know when Nintendo work with others, they pick good people. But since they’re picking new and unconsidered parties, who do you think they may be working with now?

Source: Nintendo

Nintendo is currently holding an Investor Meeting in Japan and out of it has come some new and interesting details about Wii U. Weve already learned that Nintendo plans to have individual accounts for the system, but also that Wii U will have NFC (Near Field Communication). You may have already used the technology with PayPass on your credit card, although the technology has not caught on as much here, as in Japan. The Japanese use NFC in their phones to pay for things out of vending machines, train tickets and more.

Nintendo plan to use NFC in the Wii U for micropayments; simply hold your phone up to the console and it will take the money off your account. They also say they will use the technology for figurine connections. The same technology that you see in the Skylander figurines. Pokemon NFC figurines anyone?

Source: Nintendo

At an investor meeting in Japan today, Nintendo dropped little bits of information about the 3DS and Wii U. While no logo was shown or name given, Iwata announced a "totally brand new" side-scrolling action Super Mario 2D title. Thats 2D in the vein of New Super Mario Bros on the Wii and DS, as it will feature stereo-3D like all 3D games.



The game will be out within the next financial year for Nintendo, so some time after June (most likely for Christmas). Expect to see more at E3!

Source: Nintendo

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has revealed a bunch of new information about the upcoming Nintendo Network, which is a completely new system for anything Nintendo online related. Its not a rebranding of Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

First what we know already. The Network will offer the "Communities" feature of Mario Kart 7 which is already in use today, and the ability for developers to start offering DLC which has already started with THEATRHYTHM from Square Enix. Iwata also reiterated that Nintendo plans to offer DLC in first party games soon.



However none of that is really new. What is new is that Nintendo plans to offer personal accounts for Wii U. This means downloads and purchases will be tied to an account on your Wii U, not to the console itself. Iwata say that "the ease of using a video game system when the hardware is shared by multiple family members, which has been a challenge we needed to tackle, shall be improved". Finally Nintendo!

Source: Nintendo

Nintendo has announced at a earnings conference in Japan today that the Wii U will ship worldwide before the end of the year. Australia was specifically mentioned alongside Japan, America and Europe. Nintendo CEO, Satoru Iwata announced the more specific date as well the promise of more heavy hitting titles on the Nintendo 3DS for the year ahead.

Iwata also said to investors that he hopes that Nintendo will return to profitability as soon as possible. Nintendo has dropped its forecast for earnings and sales as well as shipment targets for the Wii and 3DS.

Nintendo has hinted it will show more about the Wii U before E3 but wed still expect the lions share of information to come from that event this June.

Source: Reuters

At long last the R18+ for games in Australia will be put to Federal Parliament on February 7th. Its the first in a long set of steps for the rating to be introduced into Australia. However its a start.

It could still be years until the rating gets through, the bill has to pass through the lower house not once but twice with the house debating the topic. It then has to be voted on during a third reading. After that, the bill then goes to the Senate and if they make any adjustments to the bill it goes back to the lower house. Then after that, it goes from Federal to State Government where each state decides how they will adapt this new legislation. Yes, thats democracy at work, its got to be done.

Lets get the ball rolling.

Source: Gamespot

An unidentified retail source in the UK has generated rumblings that SoulCalibur V will be heading to the 3DS. Apparently the title is listed for preorder at a major store, however we havent yet heard a peep from publisher Namco Bandai regarding a 3DS release.

If youre looking for a fighting fix in the mean time, check out Dead or Alive Dimensions or Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition. Do you want to see SoulCalibur V on the 3DS?

Source: Nintendo Life

Slightly Mad Studios, the team behind Need for Speed: Shift and Shift 2: Unleashed has confirmed that its latest racing project will be heading to the Wii U, alongside the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC. Project CARS has an unusual development approach; it is directed by feedback from gamers who can not only access regular builds of the game, but also invest in it and be rewarded with a share of profits.

Features of the game include over ten game modes, including co-op with a friend as driver/co-driver, "Pit-2-Car" radio, and dynamic and localised weather. More interesting, however, are a cloud-based social network featuring leaderboards, teams and the ability to challenge each other, and user-generated content which can be shared online for free or even sold for in-game credits or real money.

Source: Nintendo Life

Nintendo Australia has announced that The Last Story will arrive on Australian shores on February 23rd, just under a month away. This means we get the game a couple of days earlier than Europe are thanks to our placement on the Earth. Hooray for time zones.

There’s no mention of the awesome collectors edition for the game that Europe is getting, but we’ve sent a email to ask Nintendo Australia to see whats up. The RRP for the game has been set at $99.95, New Zealanders sorry no pricing for you.

The Last Story is the latest action-packed RPG to come from Final Fantasy developer Hironobu Sakaguchi, and will be available exclusively on Wii from 23 February 2012.

The Last Story features time-honoured RPG gameplay and story elements but also adds modern twists to the traditional RPG formula. Customise your items and character and master the innovative combat system to succeed in this epic new universe.

During The Last Story you take control of Zael and from time to time his partners, a band of mercenaries in search of their fortune. You undertake a series of missions and explore Lazulis Island and its sprawling medieval capital Lazulis City, while trying to help Zael achieve his ultimate goal of leaving his life as a mercenary behind and becoming a true knight.

The Last Story features a high level of customisation for both items and characters appearance. There are two main ways of customising your party’s equipment including visiting blacksmiths to increase their abilities and using dyes to change their colour. By visiting the various blacksmiths who are situated within Lazulis City and within some dungeons, you can upgrade your weapons and armour.

Unlike many other RPGs, The Last Story not only features a thrilling single player campaign with an engaging story, but also Online Multiplayer options including Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Co-Op modes. Now you can battle against or alongside up to five other RPG fans using your own customised character from the Single Player game.

Nintendo has announced today that Nobuo Nagai, Senior Managing Director and Representative Director at Nintendo Japan has passed away. Up until the time of his death which was yesterday, he was the Senior Managing Director and Representative Director at Nintendo Japan.

Mr Nagai had been working at Nintendo since 1976, just short of 36 years, an amazing feat for anyone. In 2000 he become a Director at the company, and then a Managing Director in 2002. Just two years later he moved to Senior Managing Director and Representative Director roles. The names of the roles are very vague, however it means he was in charge of the division that develops handhelds. The Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, DS Lite, DSi and 3DS—he would have been the man in charge of all of them.

There isnt too much press about Mr Nagai; he seemed to be a shy person with his name only mentioned by President Satoru Iwata a few times. It really isnt too shocking; not every director of every company is in the spotlight.

Nobuo Nagai passed away aged 66. Its sad to say we dont know much about his work, but if he was in charge of the handheld division then we kind of know what his work resulted in and thats some good work.

After being simply forgotten last week with a grand total of 0 titles, Nintendo is back on board with not only some new things for the 3DS but something for the Wii Virtual Console. Remember when that was a thing?

Wii Virtual Console

Prince of Persia (SNES, Ubisoft, 800 points) - Someone should have told someone at Nintendo that normal human reproduction cycles dont apply to retro games on the Wii. It shouldnt take 9 months for the Wii to get another Virtual Console title. At least this ones a good one.

3DS Virtual Console

Prince of Persia (Game Boy Color, Ubisoft, $7.50) - No, not a typo but yet another Prince of Persia game for your consumption. Ubisoft have not only broken the drought on the Wii but brought a third party Game Boy Color game to the eShop.

3DS Demos

Resident Evil Revelations (Capcom, Free) - A brand new demo for your consumption and for the right price. Will make that wait just that little bit shorter. Thats until the 30 play limit is up.

Cooking Mama 4: Kitchen Magic (Majesco) - No need to joke, Im sure someone out there wants to play this one.

The first demos of retail games are hitting the European and Australian eShops in just a few hours. The Japanese version though has been out for some time. We sat down with the game and the Circle Pad Pro and walk you through the demo. Bonus points: I have a terrible cold so thats why I sound like Steve Urkel.

The Resident Evil: Revelations and Cooking Mama 4 demos will be up later tonight. Enjoy.

The Japanese release date for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance has been set. The game will release in Japanese stores on March 29th and will come in two versions, possibly three. The first is just the game by itself; the other is the game plus a limited edition (Cosmos Black) 3DS design with a Kingdom Hearts motif on the top. Pricing for the 3DS bundle wasn’t announced.

There is also a Kingdom Hearts 10th Anniversary Box that will be made available. What that will contain remains a mystery, as does the price. All versions of the game though will contain a special AR code to unlock an otherwise rare and hard to unlock Dream Eater.

Final release dates for Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance outside Japan have not been set, apart a very vague 2012. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait too long.

Source: Andriasang

Nintendo Europe has been on an announcement spree this morning, this time Wii owners get some of the fun. The Last Story which is due out on February 24th will also come in a special edition. The special edition will come with a steel book case, a CD soundtrack (it only has seven tracks however) and an art book all wrapped up in a nice shiny box.

So the next question you just asked yourself, is this coming to Australia? While we believe we’re getting the game (its been classified) there’s no word from Nintendo Australia officially. So if we are this special edition or something like it might be a possibility. Stay tuned.