Nintendo's '8-bit Summer' Starts Next Week

In a recent Nintendo Direct press conference, Nintendo announced a summer promotion for 3DS owners that should make retro fans very happy. Dubbed the "Summer of 8-bit," the promotion will see Nintendo releasing retro Virtual Console titles on the 3DS eShop for each week in July. Here is the list of games and dates they've put out so far:

• The Legend of Zelda (NES) - July 5
• Kirby's Pinball Land (Game Boy) - July 12
• The Sword of Hope II (Game Boy) - July 12
• Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy) - July 19
• Tumblepop (Game Boy) - July 19
• Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (Game Boy) - July 19
• Sonic Blast (GameGear) - date TBA
• Sonic Labyrinth (GameGear) - date TBA  

Not too shabby of a list, and it's great to see not only NES games, but GameBoy and SEGA GameGear games as well on the list. For me personally, I'll be picking up Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters, Wario Land and both Sonic GameGear games.

Nintendo also released a trailer for the promotion, which you can check out below.

Gameboy Advance Time Machine

I really enjoy all the Famicon style designs Nintendo came out with in Japan back in the day. I loved the American version as well, but there's something really cool about these designs. The other really cool thing about early Nintendo in Japan is that they came out with all sorts of insane accessories. Later in the game, Nintendo actually created a "GBA Time Machine." I assume it was Nintendo and not a third party. It allows you to play your NES carts right on your GBA. Now, you can get a tiny card that supports micro SD slots to do the same thing via ROMs. But the fact that you can play your own carts and show off your coolness to all the other retro gaming nerds, makes me want one even more.

Retro Review--Donkey Kong (Wii Virtual Console)

Man, I love me some Donkey Kong. There are certain games from my childhood that are embedded in my brain permanently, both for their gameplay and their unmistakable sounds. From the moment the ominous intro music starts, Donkey Kong brings me right back to 1981.


Sadly, however, the Virtual Console version of Donkey Kong fails to fully complete my nostalgic trip back to my childhood, as the version available for the Wii is the NES version, not the arcade one.

 This is bad, because the NES version, for those that don;t remember, is missing one of the four levels (the conveyor belt one).  This game has only three levels, and it’s also missing the intro where Donkey Kong jumps on the girders before Mario starts making his way up to Princess Paulina.

It’s not all bad--the base mechanics and graphics are fine, and the signature sounds are all still there. This version also offers two levels of difficulty, for those that like their barrels to be coming fast and furious.

So, if you’re looking to take a trip down memory lane, you can download Donkey Kong on virtual console for five bucks. Just keep in mind, you won’t be able to go all the way down memory lane. But, a short walk is better than no walk at all.

3 out of 5 Incomplete Trips to the Past

That's right! Brian and I are back in action with NEW Cartridgecade segments. We'll be announcing the new episode soon. You'll be able to go check out the podcast by going to Secret Identity and downloading the latest episode, going to drivethrucomics.com to download or by streaming it via the link on the right column of this site. We'd like you to stop by our message board (RIGHT NOW) and tell us what games you want to hear us talk about.