Following on from one of my previous posts about the 3DS Ambassadors program I would like to outline what exactly is in-store for us lucky early few. Well done for being a loyal Nintendo Customer!
The first ten games on the reward scheme were outline last week to give us an idea of what exactly Nintendo will be giving us for our hard cash. Overall there will be twenty completely free games that could only be provided by a company with such a great catalogue of games. It’s actually a very significant event; no other promotional stunt has ever been pulled in this capacity and of course this is one of the biggest changes to a marketing strategy ever.
Nintendo have decided to hold back on revealing all the games at once which could be down to a variety of reasons, but the five NES and five Game Boy Advance Games unveiled have left me in particular begging for more. You may well know these games inside out but to have them in your pocket is definitely a great idea and getting them for free is the icing on the cake.
NES
The Legend of Zelda
This has to be the NES game I am most looking forward to playing. I already have Ocarina of Time and with this and Link’s Awakening both downloadable I’m sure to be swinging my sword for many months to come (a free DSiWare version of Four Swords is coming in September too).
The Legend of Zelda for the 3DS Virtual Console will be a new port of the franchise's very first instalment, and the original game for Link almost 25 years ago. It’s a game that has inspired many and one of the greatest examples of open world gameplay.
The series centres on Link, the playable main character and protagonist. He is given the task of rescuing Princess Zelda from the evil Ganon once again within the magical world of Hyrule.
As of April 2010, The Legend of Zelda series has sold over 59 million copies since the release of the original version of this game. In fact The Legend of Zelda is the fourth best selling NES game of all time.
Super Mario Bros.
Nintendo’s original masterpiece is still considered one of the greatest video games of all time and deserves another encore. You will once again get to run Mario through a series of varying stages that have influenced almost every platforming game since.
This release will be the third time that Nintendo has made the 1985 classic, Super Mario Bros, available in portable form. The previous outings were on the Game Boy Colour in 1999 and Game Boy Advance a few years later in 2004. Both of these games had various visual tweaks to make sure they performed on each of the consoles but this new version will be the first time the game has been remade in is original resolution. For over two decades, Super Mario Bros. was the best-selling video game of all time (before being outsold by Nintendo's own Wii Sports in 2009), it has actually sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
Donkey Kong Jr.
This is another diamond of a remake and the first game to ever include Mario (name and all). This time Mario plays the villain and this game is also the brilliant sequel to the original Donkey Kong from 1981.
The apes quest to save is dad from Mario’s grasp has previously been ported to the NES in 1986 making this version of the game some what of a 25th anniversary addition. Donkey Kong Jr has been just as prolific as Super Mario Bros and has appears on other portable devices too. I personally treasure my own Game & Watch Version.
Balloon Fight
This game is a rare example of Nintendo’s wacky ideas that has helped produced many varying products. As IGN explained Balloon Fight is essentially a variant of Midway's Joust. Both games had you competing for survival in single-screen arenas full of foes, flapping your wings (or arms) to get airborne and flying around. Balloon Fight just used, well, balloons in place of Joust's ostriches.
This game was far more innovated then Joust with its competitive or cooperative two-player system. You may have to wait for the two-player mode though as Nintendo have already confirmed that the versions shipping into the eShop on September 1 won't yet have all these features implemented.
For those of you who don’t know you must defeat all of the enemies on screen to clear the stage. Enemy Balloon Fighters float around the screen and the player must hit their balloons to defeat them. The enemy can also fall into the water or be eaten by the fish while flying close to the water's surface. If an enemy is defeated or falls into the water, a bubble will rise up the screen which can be hit for extra points. As play progresses through the stages, the number of enemies and platforms increases.
Ice Climber
This is a brilliant game that was part of the NES launch line up in 1985. In fact it was the only game in that line up that had multiplayer aspects. One player controls Popo, the climber clad in a blue, while the other commands pink-wearing Nana.
You work together to reach the top of the game space or race up the mountain to see if you can leave your friend behind. It shows Nintendo it’s is best light but again will only support single player upon release to the ambassador program this summer.
So those are the five free NES games we know about so far. What others could we be getting? What about the original Metroid or Kirby? I’m certainly excited to find out what it up Nintendo’s sleeve. I will continue this article with the Game Boy Advance Games over the next few days. Maybe we will even hear what other games will be included for the 3DS Ambassadors.
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