So, you may have heard that WiiWare launched yesterday. With it came a brand new Final Fantasy title, which naturally I had to immediately download and play. Well… maybe “immediately” isn’t the right word.

My first issue was with the Wii Shop itself. I could connect, but the connection kept getting dropped right as I was about to add Wii Points to my account so I could buy the game. Now if I were a smarter person, I would have saved myself the headache and Googled the error code before I did anything else. But I’m not. I’m an idiot.

So after attempting six or seven times to buy Wii Points and failing miserably, it (*cough*half an hour later*cough*) finally occurred to me that, gee… maybe my connection keeps getting dropped because my router is having some sort of emotional crisis or whatever it is that gets into those things when they stop working right.

Since yelling at the damned thing never seems to work, I decided to skip that step and try the age-old fix-all of unplugging it and plugging it back in. Well, that didn’t work, either. Now, I should probably, at this point, explain that I’m not a hardware person. If the issue is software-related I can usually figure out where the problem is, but when my hardware starts acting funny, my usual recourse is to format C:\ and cry myself to sleep.

As that solution seemed a little extreme for a router problem, so it was off to the Nintendo support website in the hopes that someone out there had the same problem I did. Handy thing that site. I was right… the problem was with my router. Support told me to try changing the broadcast channel from 1 to 11.

Except, since I’m not a hardware person, I had no idea how to do that. In the end, I decided to do the unthinkable… I referred to the manual. Funny thing is, my Wii always connected to the internet just fine before Comcast took over my service. Bastards. They forced me to read a manual.

Anyway, I guess the whole point of this post is to let you know that around 11:00 last night, I did finally get my hands on the WiiWare title Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (look for the review coming soon) and also if your Wii’s internet connection keeps getting dropped, save yourself some time and try your router on channel 11.

You may have heard me mention something about today’s launch of WiiWare (four or five times over the last week or so…). Well, since it’s finally available, how about we take a closer look at what it is and what it has to offer at launch?

First of all, you may ask (if you’ve been living under a rock for the past few months), what is WiiWare, anyway? WiiWare is a new addition to the Wii Shop Channel. Much like the Virtual Console, it lets you download games directly to your Wii in exchange for Wii Points.

Unlike the Virtual Console, though, WiiWare games are not simply ports of older games for older systems. WiiWare games are games designed specifically for the Wii as downloadable content. Some of them are entirely new IP (like LostWinds), and some of them are simply new renditions of older ideas (like Dr. Mario RX, which unfortunately didn’t make the starting lineup).

So… now that we all know what it is, lets take a look at what’s available.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King

Developed by Square-Enix (as if the Final Fantasy in the title didn’t give that away), My Life as a King is civilization sim in which you play as a king who must rebuild his kingdom. The game takes place in the Crystal Chronicles timeline, and by using the power of a great Crystal you find in your realm, you can place buildings and attract new residents. To use the Crystal you will have to amass Spirit Power, which can be replenished by sending out troops to explore dungeons and the surrounding lands and collect smaller crystals.

My Life as a King also makes use of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection Pay & Play feature, which allows you to download additional content (for a price) in the form of bonus stages, specialty items, costumes, buildings, and recruitable races.

Price: 1500 Wii Points
Rated: E
Players: 1

Lostwinds

From Frontier Development, Lostwinds is a platformer in which you control a boy named Toku who can wield the power of the wind. You must use this unique ability to control Toku’s jumps and glides, attack you enemies, and solve puzzles in order to release the curse placed upon the world of Mistralis and its people by evil Elemental, Balasar.

In LostWinds, you not only control Toku, but you must simultaneously control the speed and direction of the wind, making the game a challenging addition to the WiiWare launch lineup.

Price: 1000 Wii Points
Rated: E
Players: 1-2

TV Show King

TV Show King comes from developer GameLoft and is a game show-style trivia game. You can play by yourself or against friends and family. The title is a little misleading, in that you are supposedly on a TV Show… not necessarily answering TV-based trivia. Topics includes geography, literature, science, sports, entertainment, and history, and there are more than 3000 questions.

Players must answer timed multiple choice questions by selecting the correct answer on their screen with the Wii-Remote (faster selections get you more prize money), and can also take their chances for greater rewards by spinning a wheel between rounds.

Price: 1000 Wii Points
Rated: E
Players: 1-4

Pop

Courtesy of Nnooo, in Pop, you must pop bubbles to score points. The more bubbles you pop, the more time you have to pop more bubbles. The game has both a Casual level and an Advanced level and can be enjoyed solo or with up to four players.

In the end, Pop is all about popping bubbles as fast and accurately as you can. In multiplayer mode, items can be collected to hinder the other players, to add that extra level of aggravation to family fun night.

Price: 700 Wii Points
Rated: E
Players: 1-4

V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack

As the title implies, High Voltage Software brings a Blackjack title to the table (oy, that was a lame pun, wasn’t it…). The developer’s own description of the game labels it as “the most realistic blackjack game ever made”. I’m sure they’re just being modest.

V.I.P. Casino: Blackjack has both single player and multiplayer modes, as well as tournament play. So if you’ve ever wanted to bankrupt your older brother at the card tables, here’s your chance.

Price: 700 Wii Points
Rated: T
Players: 1-4

Defend Your Castle

From X-Gen Studios comes Defend Your Castle. The object of the game is to… well… defend you castle. You are in command, and you must stop the invading hoards from descending upon you and taking your castle for themselves.

There are several methods of accomplishing this task, including picking them up and throwing them, and attacking them with magic spells and arrows. Over time, power-ups and new weapons become available in the hopes that you’ll be able to hold the enemies off just a little longer.

This game is based on the original Flash game by X-Gen Studios, which you can try out here for free before you pay good money for the WiiWare version.

Price: 500 Wii Points
Rated: E
Players: 1-4

So there you have it. Personally, I’m looking forward to trying out that Final Fantasy title, along with LostWinds (which, naturally, are two of the most expensive titles on the list…).

There are only a handful of new physical, go-out-and-buy-the-disc titles out this week… But who cares? WiiWare launches today!

WiiWare

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King (1500 Wii Points)
LostWinds (1000 Wii Points)
Defend Your Castle (500 Wii Points)
Pop (700 Wii Points)
VIP Casino Blackjack (700 Wii Points)
TV Show King (1000 Wii Points)

For more info on WiiWare titles available today, check out my post on the subject.

Wii

We Ski - If you can’t guess what this is from the title, you need to pay more attention. We Ski, pretty obviously, is one of those sports games that try to be cute and family oriented. Bonus, if you’ve pre-ordered Wii Fit, the game is also compatible with the Balance Board. Of course, Wii Fit doesn’t come out until next week, so you’ll have to wait to try out that feature.

Deca Sports - Much like Wii Sports and Wii Play, Deca Sports takes a bunch of casual sports games and compiles them into one package. As the title implies, there are 10 sports to choose from, and up to four people can play. You have your choice of Beach Volleyball, Snowboarding, Badminton, Basketball, Curling (yes, seriously, Curling…), Figure Skating, Archery, Supercross, Soccer or Kart Racing.

Castle of Shikigami III - The laster in the Shikigami series, Castle of Shikigami III is a scrolling shooter that offers the choice of 10 characters and Dramatic Change Mode that lets you swap between two characters on the fly as you attempt to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the country of Alcaland’s people.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - Wii | 360 | PS3 | PS2 | Nintendo DS
Oh look… another attempt to cash in on a highly anticipated movie with a half-assed video game featuring the characters, environments, and basic plot of said movie. And it’s on every system known to man. Again. Yeesh.

Nintendo DS

Myst - The classic puzzle RPG Myst comes to DS. Not really surprising, but hey… Myst rocks. The DS version includes re-mastered video and audio, new music, and a new Arctic world, as well as an interface redesigned to accomodate the DS stylus.

Drone Tactics - This one is a turn-based tactical RPG. You used cybernetic mechabugs called Drones to save the world of Cimexus. Build, customize, and optimize your forces, and play against friends using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

PS2

Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure - This little guy was released on Wii WAAAAAY back in January. Now you can play it on your PS2, if you are so inclined.

The Nintendo Channel launched yesterday for the Wii, and not surprisingly, one of the videos showed off some of the titles releasing as WiiWare (most likely as U.S. launch titles for next week). Some of them I’ve known about for a while now (because I’m obsessed with Final Fantasy), others have been rumored, and a couple are news to me, so I thought I’d share.

Seen in the teaser video are the following:

Critter Round Up
With gameplay similar to the arcade game Qix, you control a farmer who must build pens for your livestock. Separate the species, avoid running into them, and keep them away from predators. Adventure mode consists of 50 levels, and Marathon mode features infinite levels and multiplayer. There are also minigames.

Defend Your Castle
In Defend Your Castle you must dispatch all enemies before they reach your castle. There are several methods of accomplishing this, including picking them up and throwing them, and attacking them with magic spells and arrows. The game is based on a Flash-based game created by XGen.

Dr. Mario Online RX
Rotate and move multicolored pills to destroy the viruses in the game area. You all know this game. Dr. Mario Online RX also contains a version of Brain Age 2’s Germ Buster mini-game, which uses the pointer function of the Wii Remote to move pills. The game supports co-op play for up to four people, and uses the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for online competition.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life As A King
From Square-enix, this is a city-building sim in which you create a kingdom from the ground up. By using the power of a great Crystal you can place buildings and attract residents. Use of the Crystal is limited by you Spirit Power, you can be replenished by sending out troops to explore dungeons and the surrounding lands and collect smaller crystals. The game also features additional downloadable content in the form of costumes, buildings, and recruitable races.

LostWinds
LostWinds is a platformer starring a young boy and Wind Elemental named Toku who must save his homeland from the elemental, Balasar. You must control Toku and simultaneously use the Wii Remote to draw paths on-screen that control the direction of the wind. Wind is also used to enhance Toku’s jumps, battle enemies, and solve puzzles.

WiiWare launches on Monday, so if you’ve been putting off buying those extra Wii Points, now might be a good time to do it. U.S. prices aren’t 100% confirmed, but Japanese prices have been in the 500 to 1500 Wii Point range.

Today marks the launch of the Wii’s new Nintendo Channel (5 days ahead of schedule, in fact). Not to be confused with WiiWare, which will debut in the U.S. on the 12th, the Nintendo Channel offers users the chance to view previews and trailers, download demos, and review WiiWare titles.

Joystiq has a guided tour, for those of you stuck at work or in class.

I got home from work today, and what do I find waiting for me on my Wii message board but a notice from the Mario Kart Wii channel. Seems a tournament has started! Yay!

The current competition ends on May 9, and demands the fastest time you can manage on the Mario Circuit course (my current record is somewhere around 2:04. Fear the might of Baby Peach!).

So I just happened to pick up a little game called Mario Kart Wii (Yeah, ok, fine… I had it on preorder for over a month). I’m still not convinced that the series will ever surpass the greatness that is Mario Kart 64, but Mario Kart Wii comes damn close.

Let’s start with the courses. There are lots of them… 32 of them, to be exact, not counting the battle mode courses. Not only is there a plethora of all new speedways, there are also revamped retro tracks from the previous games. Many of the new courses (and some of the retro ones) have “hidden” paths that can either help or hinder you position in the race, and I think there are more places to go careening into a bottomless pit than ever before. Either that or I’m just a horrible driver.

All the old favorites are back in the drivers’ seats, and so are a few new additions, including Funky Kong, Rosalina from Mario Galaxy, and baby versions of Mario, Luigi, Peach (my favorite right now), and Daisy. A number of them have to be unlocked by playing a certain number of races, or ranking high enough in a given cup.

In addition to the unlockable characters, there is also a host of unlockable vehicles, of both the kart and motorcycle variety. There are also some new items making their way onto the track, like the POW Block and the Thunder Cloud.

Things I like about the game?

For one, the Wii Wheel. I wasn’t sure about this when I first saw it, but after giving it a try, it actually makes steering a lot more intuitive. I’ve found myself a lot less likely to oversteer as I have in past Mario Kart Games, even though I’m sure I look like a complete idiot using the thing.

The mid-air stunts are a nice touch, too. Pull one off, and you get a small speed boast. You can also do wheelies on the bikes.

Oh, and the new version of the Rainbow Road track is truly awesome.

Things I don’t like?

Well, actually not much. About the only thing that really aggravates me is the frequency with which disabling items like lightning bolts, bloopers, and blue shells hit you in the solo grand prix mode. In fact I once got hit by all three literally one right after the other and was dropped back to 12th place on the final lap. *shakes fist at game*

I also had some issues with the online mode, but I have a sneaking suspicion that has to do with my wireless connection (which I hope to rectify soon, as apparently there is going to be an online tournament… anyone know why my Wii keeps dropping the connection after about 2 minutes?), not the game itself.

You definitely want to pick this one up. It may or may not have surpasses Mario Kart 64, but it easily blows Double Dash out of the water.

The Calgary Herald today has a story regarding a recent interview with Mike Capps, president of Epic Games (makers of Gears of War). In it, he is fairly adamant about Epic Games never releasing games on the Wii, because it it a fad and no one even bothers to turn the console on after two months.

I have to say I disagree with the guy. To be frank, that’s true of all consoles, for most people. I know I’ve gone two months without turning on my Wii. I’ve also gone two months without turning on my PS2. Even longer for some of the older systems I own. That doesn’t mean I’m not coming back to them at some point.

I’ve been on a Wii kick lately, having just picked up Guitar Hero III, playing Brawl, and waiting for Mario Kart’s release next week… but before Brawl came out last month, I was hooked on my PS2 (which hasn’t seen much action of late, thanks to the plethora of interesting Wii titles in stores) playing some older titles I hadn’t tried before that I grabbed on clearance (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy kicks ass, by the way).

It’s nothing to do with the console, and everything to do with the games. Every console seems to have dry spells. This is admittedly less true for the PS3 and 360, but that’s largely to do with the fact that they have massive third party support. Third party titles on the Wii are often ports seemingly released as an afterthought. Nearly all of Nintendo’s core series (Mario, Zelda, and so on) are first party.

I don’t think the Wii is a fad. It’s simply intended to appeal to a broader audience, rather than the “hardcore” gamers targeted by PS3 and 360 (and to be honest, I think any gamer who doesn’t play Wii just because it’s primarily family oriented can’t really be called a hardcore gamer, anyway). Only time will tell. It’s hard to deny that the Wii is gimicky, and obviously the motion sensing controls haven’t been fully embraced by third party developers. The Wii may have the staying power to become the future of gaming… or it may be ahead of it’s time.

In light of a recently revealed printing error on the cover artwork for Okami, Capcom is offering alternative artwork for the game. For free, which is always a good thing.

Three covers are available… There’s a corrected copy of the Okami Wii cover, one that has Amateratsu in a very similar pose to the one she held on the original PS2 cover, and one with a very dignified-looking Amaterastu surrounded by cherry blossom petals (I went with this one… it’s purdy).

I’m actually considering framing it and putting it up in my game room as a mini-poster, rather than applying it to the game case. We’ll see.

According to a press release from Nintendo (courtesy of Kotaku), Nintendo is forecasting shipments of 25 million Wiis this fiscal year. That’s a pretty significant increase from the 18.61 million they shipped during the last fiscal year (which ended last month). With the U.S. currently receiving 40% of the global supply, this could mean that you may actually be able to find one on store shelves in the near future.

Maybe.