Happy Thanksgiving, everybody. Now, here is the Thanksgiving lineup for the week of 11/28/2013:

Wii U Virtual Console:

Contra III: The Alien Wars (SNES)
$7.99


3DS Virtual Console:

Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (NES)
$4.99



Also, on a side note: Sega released two of their arcade games as part of the system's 3D Classics series. Space Harrier and Super Hang-on. I find it funny how Nintendo basically discontinued the 3D Classics series after Kid Icarus Uprising was released, and now Sega is continuing from where Nintendo left off.

This week's Nintendo eShop temporary discount: Mario. For both the Wii U and 3DS, Super Mario Bros 1 and 2 is being sold at a special price of $3.49. On the Wii U eshop, Mario Bros is also being sold for $3.49 and Super Mario World is $5.59. On the 3DS, Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins is being sold for $2.79 while Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is being sold for $6.99. Oh, so wait, it looks like this eShop discount is not just limited to Virtual Console titles like the other two weeks were. Then again, the only other game they could have sold at the discount is the Four Swords Anniversary Edition, and I was lucky enough to get that game when it was sold for free.

Sequel mania continues. I don't recall ever playing the third installment of Ninja Gaiden. Was it any good?

I haven't played it myself, but I heard it wasn't as good as the second game. The storyline is a mess as Ryu Hayabusa was fighting robot spiders, mutants, and aliens. I also heard that the difficulty is sadistic, even though the series is known for it's difficulty. It also doesn't help that Techmo made the North American version more difficult than the japanese version. At least that version had restore points, the NA version is said to make you very frustrated.

I do, however, enjoyed the modern Ninja Gaiden games. I played through most of Ninja Gaiden II on the Xbox 360. I had a lot of fun with it, though I've never beaten it. Even though Ninja Gaiden III recieved terrible reviews, I am willing to try out the Razor's Edge version that was released for the Wii U.

Week of 12/5/2013:

Wii U Virtual Console:

Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES)
$7.99



3DS Virtual Console:

Donkey Kong 3 (NES)
$4.99


Ah... yes. Mystical Ninja, otherwise known as Ganbare Goemon in Japan. Here's hoping they release Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon and Goemon's Great Adventure once Nintendo starts releasing N64 games on the Wii U Virtual Console... if they ever get around to it that is.

Also, Sega released Sonic the Hedgehog as part of their 3D Classics series. I sometimes argue with my sister that "Nintendo re-releases games too much", but to be honest, I think Sega is even worse in the sense that we've seen about a thousand re-releases of the original Sonic the Hedgehog.

This week's Nintendo eshop discount: Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. is $3.49 on the Wii U and 3DS Virtual Consoles. On the Wii U, Donkey Kong 3 is $3.49, and on the 3DS, Game and Watch Donkey Kong Jr. on DSiware is $1.39 (normally $1.99). WAIT A MINUTE. How come the recent release of Donkey Kong 3 for the 3DS is not part of the sale? What the hell, Nintendo?

speaking of sonic, i don't think we'll ever get to see a port of the forgotten knuckles spinoff on the 32X, knuckles chaotix. i know it's one of those titles where you like it or you hate it, but i actually thought it was okay

You can play the original Sonic in more places than any Mario game, that's for sure.

For those of you who have the 3DS, Miiverse is now available for the system. I'm loving it so far on the 3DS, and have been posting on the Pokemon X and Y board. The downsides to it though, is that for some reason, the screenshot posting doesn't work for Pokemon X and Y, but it does for other games. Also, there's still no friend requests on there. Disappointing, I know. But it's understandable considering the recent Swapnote incident. I just hope these removed features are added to the 3DS Miiverse in the future.

Along with the Miiverse update, you can now connect your Nintendo Network ID to your 3DS. If you already own a Wii U, then you can use your regular username to connect with your Wii U. This now brings in a unified account system for both the 3DS and Wii U eshops.

One more thing... they changed the Wii U eshop music again, and I LOVE IT. I know that's a bit of a minor thing, but I just did not like the music used in the September 2013 update. It felt more lifeless than the eshop music from before that. But the one used in this recent update sounds a whole hell of a lot better. Though, it might just be used during the holiday season as it sounds very Christmas-y.

But enough about system updates, because it's time to look at this week's releases for 12/12/2013:

Wii U and 3DS Virtual Console:

Double Dragon (NES)
$4.99


Nice way to kick off the week of the new system update featuring a unified account system is by a simultaneous release of Double Dragon on both the Wii U and 3DS Virtual Console. Since I own it on the Wii Virtual Console, I can get the Wii U version at a dollar discount. Speaking of which, that's one of the things I wish they'd do for the 3DS Virtual Console. There's so many NES games I already own that I'd love to play on the 3DS, but I do NOT want to spend an extra $5 just to play them on the handheld.

Also released this week as part of Sega's 3D Classics: Ecco the Dolphin. Just like the other Sega 3D Classics, this one is done by M2. Apparently, this version of Ecco the Dolphin includes both the Japanese and American version of the game, as well as an invincibility mode.

Also, on a side note, A Link to the Past is on the PAL Wii U Virtual Console. I wonder if people will do the same thing they did with Earthbound, and post in that page's Miiverse community demanding an American release. Hey, it doesn't hurt.

yeah i saw that a video game journalist by the name of nintendomination posted a video of some 25 minute footage of link to the past playing on a wii u and there was already a bunch of upset comments about it not being in the U.S. eshop, along with other comments being about super mario bros. 3 still not being there either

Benjanime wrote :

yeah i saw that a video game journalist by the name of nintendomination posted a video of some 25 minute footage of link to the past playing on a wii u and there was already a bunch of upset comments about it not being in the U.S. eshop, along with other comments being about super mario bros. 3 still not being there either
-end quote

As far as Super Mario Bros 3 goes, that's said to come out sometime in the month of December, at least before the year ends. But yeah, I still don't understand why Nintendo didn't release a Link to the Past to coincide with the release of A Link Between Worlds. It would have brought them great money if they did show. That, right there, is one of the reasons why I think Nintendo really needs a new marketing team. I believe that makes it one of the reasons why the Wii U has been lagging in sales. Because they did a terrible job at marketing the system to the public.

and you'd think that with nintendo allowing nintendo IDs being able to connect with 3DS systems that whatever NES games you bought you'd get a discount on them in the wii u eshop and vice versa