Super Mario 64

It's that time again, North American gamers, and this week's Nintendo Download Update has some exciting treats following the Nintendo Direct shenanigans of 1st April. Nintendo 64 and DS arrive on the Wii U Virtual Console, while there are a whole load of new games and discounts across both the Wii U and 3DS. Let's get to the details.

Missed the European Update earlier in the week? Don't fret, the details - including a Nintendo Direct update - are right here.

Wii U eShop

Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (ScrewAttack Games, $9.99) - It's taken a while, but this apparently difficult AVGN action platformer has now arrived on the Wii U. You can expect plenty of retro game and AVGN episode references, and to die a lot - we'll bring you our review soon.

psyscrolr (Actos Games, $3.99) - With chunky and colourful pixel-based visuals, this is an adventure platformer in which you use a variety of powers to survive the challenges thrown at you. With a dramatic storyline and GamePad controls this seems promising, and we'll let you know what we think in a review.

Underground (Grendel Games, $20.99) - Software initially designed with specialist equipment to enable fun medical training, this puts you in control of two robotic arms as you try to assist your companion through a host of environments by solving puzzles. It's an intriguing premise, and we gave it a strong recommendation in our Underground review.

Mon Premier Karaoké (RingZero Games, $9.99) - A karaoke game with "some of the most popular children's songs of all time", especially if your child is French-speaking. It's about as niche as they come, but we gave it a recommendation for its target audience in our Mon Premier Karaoké review.

Bubble Gum Popper (Skunk Software, $1.99) - In the slightly bizarre trailer for this we see a somewhat chaotic matching game, with a large variety of round candies needing to be matched quickly as they tumble around in a bubble gum dispenser. It looks like it could be fun or a bit of a mess, but we'll chew over its merits in a review.

Wii U Virtual Console

Super Mario 64 (Nintendo, $9.99) - The iconic 3D platformer that helped to change the face of gaming, this finally makes its way to the Wii U eShop with some control scheme options as part of the N64's debut on the latest Virtual Console. Much-loved and widely regarded as a classic, we'll be taking it for a new spin on Wii U; in the meantime you can go truly retro and read our old Wii Virtual Console Super Mario 64 review from 2006.

Yoshi's Island DS (Nintendo, $9.99) - After a brief dabble in the past, Nintendo's truly kicking off its DS Virtual Console collection with this typically colourful Yoshi adventure. It has many of the standard features you'd expect of a Yoshi game, and we quite enjoyed it in our original Yoshi's Island DS review; we'll take another look on Wii U.

Wii U eShop Temporary Discounts

Citizens of Earth (Atlus, $9.99 from 6th April to 13th April, normally $14.99)

Gravity Badgers (Wales Interactive, $2.49 until 29th April, normally $4.99)

uWordsmith (CHUDCHUD Industries, $0.99 until 23rd April, normally $1.99)

Midnight (Petite Games, $1.49 until 16th April, normally $1.99)

Puzzle Monkeys (Log Games, $1.99 until 23rd April, normally $2.99)

3DS eShop

BOXBOY! (Nintendo, $4.99) - The latest title from HAL Laboratories, you puzzle your way through over 150 levels by creating and utilising blocks in various ways. It has a retro vibe and a variety of outfits for your boxey hero, though we only gave it a modest recommendation in our BOXBOY! review.

Excave II: Wizard of the Underworld (Bergsala Lightweight, $10.00) - It didn't take long for this sequel to make its way to the West, bringing more dungeon-crawling hacking and slashing to the 3DS. We quite enjoyed the original in our Excave review, so will see how this sequel stacks up.

3DS Retail Download

Story of Seasons (XSEED Games, $39.99) - For all intents and purposes a Harvest Moon game with a different name (due to licensing issues), this continues the formula with some evolution to the core gameplay. Some aspects of farming and the in-game economy are simplified and tweaked, all with a charming overall aesthetic. We gave this a solid recommendation in our Story of Seasons review.

3DS eShop Temporary Discounts

Citizens of Earth (Atlus, $9.99 from 6th April to 13th April, normally $14.99)

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor Overclocked (Atlus, 14.99 from 6th April to 20th April, normally $29.99)

Hazumi (Gamelion, on discount until 30th April)

League of Heroes (Gamelion, on discount until 30th April)

European Conqueror 3D (CIRCLE Entertainment, on discount until 23rd April)

The Legend of Dark Witch (CIRCLE Entertainment, on discount until 23rd April)

Tappingo (CIRCLE Entertainment, on discount until 23rd April)

Aqua Moto Racing 3D (Zordix AB, $3.99 until 9th April, normally $7.99)

Toys vs. Monsters (EnjoyUp Games, $2.99 from 5th April to 3rd May, normally $2.99)

3DS HOME Themes

Animal Crossing: New Leaf: Bunny Day

Rottytops Theme

Shantae Pirate Theme


That's the full update for North America this week. Let us know what you'll be picking up in the poll and comments below.

What will you be downloading first this week? (303 votes)

  1. Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures (Wii U eShop)10%
  2. psyscrolr (Wii U eShop)  0.7%
  3. Underground (Wii U eShop)  0.7%
  4. Mon Premier Karaoké (Wii U eShop)  0%
  5. Bubble Gum Popper (Wii U eShop)  0%
  6. Super Mario 64 (Wii U Virtual Console)37%
  7. Yoshi's Island DS (Wii U Virtual Console)4%
  8. One of the Wii U eShop temporary discounts2%
  9. BOXBOY! (3DS eShop)10%
  10. Excave II: Wizard of the Underworld (3DS eShop)  0.7%
  11. Story of Seasons (3DS retail download)1%
  12. One of the 3DS eShop temporary discounts3%
  13. One of the 3DS HOME Themes6%
  14. Nothing for me this week25%

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