Three classic Sega Game Gear games head this week's Nintendo eShop update.
Sonic the Hedgehog: Triple Trouble, Shinobi and Dragon Crystal both launch this Thursday as downloadable games. Sonic costs €5 / £4.50, Shinobi costs €4 / £3.60, and Dragon Crystal costs €3 / £2.70.
On the Wii Virtual Console, Capcom's Mega Man 5 launches for 500 Wii Points. DSiWare puzzle game Hints Hunter launches on the 3DS eShop and the DSi Shop for €2 / £1.80 or 200 Nintendo DSi Points.
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The first two Game Gear titles to launch on the 3DS eShop will likely be Shinobi and Sonic Triple Trouble.
Some games age well, and some just age; take a look at Shinobi. The 1987 arcade game and its home console sequels are, in the memory, death-defying adventures through samurai death mazes, a precision gauntlet. But these days, Shinobi plays worse than the memory. It feels like an archaism rather than a forerunner.
Perhaps that undersells a series that has seen 12 (!) entries, including this kind-of-reboot for 3DS by Griptonite Games. Shinobi has dabbled in full 3D combat with the highly fiddly PS2 games, but here the depth is purely visual. This is a 2D platformer that wants nothing more than to hit the nostalgia button.
That's not to say the illusion isn't good. Shinobi's action may be 2D, but its locations have a depth of scenery and a neat eye for angle-turning tricks that, even now, is sadly uncommon on 3DS. The crisp cartoon reworkings of the 16-bit enemies jump out on these stages, lending the violent animations real hoof.
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Sonic Generations' 3DS version will launch in the UK on 25th November, Sega has revealed.
That date is three days after its 22nd November US launch and a couple of weeks on from the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions, which arrive on European shores next week.
Sega has also firmed up release dates for an array of other 3DS titles, including the handheld version of Mario & Sonic at the London Olympic Games, due 10th February in Europe.
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Given the number of delightful oddities that came out of Japan when the DS first launched, it's been rather sad to see such a conservative first wave of 3DS software. With that in mind, not to mention the relative paucity of announcements at E3 a few months back, this year's Tokyo Games Show was an important week for the handheld. Would developers finally step up with some serious support for the system, or would the industry place all its chips on Vita?
Sega has confirmed the delay of two Nintendo 3DS games.
Eye-catching Nintendo 3DS title Crush3d was due for release on 9th September. It will now launch in early 2012.
No explanation was offered.
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Following speculation earlier this week, SEGA has officially taken the lid off a Shinobi revival destined for 3DS this September.
Developed by Gryptonite Games, it's a 2.5D platformer that tells the story of Jiro Musashi, the leader of the Oboro clan and father of Joe Musashi, the protagonist of the first Shinobi game.
You'll need to get the hang of a brand new combo system, master melee, ranged and acrobatic attacks, and also use ninja magic to get Jiro out of tight spots.
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