Nintendo:The Kingdom Enquirer

Welcome to the Kingdom Enquirer, a column that focuses on the news of Nintendo - from their games, their consoles and their supporters (i.e. third parties). If you find any news that's worth posting, then please do so! But if this is the case, remember to sign your post, add a possible link and of course a title! Images are welcome - but it's suggested that you just have one if any. And for those wondering, the name originates from a Nintendo Valiant comic way back in which there was a newspaper that reported on the happenings of the Mushroom Kingdom. Also note that this will replace separate news pages.

News archive

 * Nintendo: The Kingdom Enquirer/May-November 2008
 * Nintendo: The Kingdom Enquirer/November-December 2008

RUMOR: Dragon Quest IX to pull an Echoes of Time
December 3rd, 2008 By:

Square seems to really like multiplayer titles on Nintendo systems. We've got the Crystal Chronicles series and Dragon Quest IX for DS has been confirmed a while back to be the first game in the series to be a multiplayer title. Well, the new rumor is that the game will also head to Wii, much like Echoes of Time, which is soon to be released on both the DS on Wii. If this turns out be true, it'll be huge news. This is certainly going to be exciting if it turns out to be true.

Tidbits of information for December 2nd
December 2nd, 2008 By:

There was quite a lot of news today, so here's the rundown of some of the minor information:


 * Tommy Tallarico, one of the most appreciated western video game composers (and the creator of Video Games Live), personally confirmed that he is working on three of the tracks for Sonic and the Black Knight for Wii.
 * Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days confirmed for America.
 * GameStop plans on adding 200-300 new stores worldwide in 2009.
 * A new Wii Channel - Today and Tomorrow's Fortune Telling Lucky, has been released in Japan.
 * Sam & Max Season 2 confirmed for Wii.

Atari Live announcements (two new games)
December 2nd, 2008 By:

Two new games were announced at the Atari Live event in London, both for the Wii. First and probably most notable was the announcement of QJ for the Wii. It's a new title by Tetsuya Mizuguchi, who you may know as the creator of games like Rez, Space Channel 5, and of course Lumines. The game will be a music title, and I'm sure most of you are excited to see how this game turns out.

The second announcement was the return of Ready 2 Rumble for Wii. It'll be in development by the team behind WWF No Mercy for the Nintendo 64, which some regard as one of the greatest boxing games of all time... or something like that. It'll feature famous characters from previous entries in the series like Afro Thunder and Boris Knokimov. It'll even feature the voice of Michael Buffer as the announcer, who started the phrase "Let's get ready to rumble!!!!".

Nintendo announces 100 Classic Book Collection for DS
December 1st, 2008 By:

Ah, now here's a title that many of our readers will probably enjoy. Nintendo just announced that they are publishing a title called 100 Classic Book Collection for the Nintendo DS. It includes 100 classic novels by a variety of writers ( *cough*most of which you could probably get for free online*cough* ) including the likes of William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Jules Verne, Thomas Hardy, Jane Austin, Charles Dickens and more.

You'll be required to hold the DS like a book (hmm, I wonder why they come to that conclusion?) and you'll also be able to adjust the text size to your liking. You can flip the pages using the touch screen when you're ready to read the next page, and if you somehow are able to read all 100 novels, then you'll be able to download new ones via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection (10 in all). Later on I'll create a page for the upcoming title that includes a full list of books and authors. One of the weirdest things about this - it was developed by the guys who make the console Pokémon games!

Fatal Frame 4 confirmed for Europe
December 1st, 2008 By:

Europeans are probably going to rejoice now that they are being given another core game by Nintendo, and one that was highly anticipated (maybe even more so than Disaster). And as the title says that particular game is none other than Fatal Frame 4 - a joint effort between an allstar company cast that includes none other than Nintendo (the publisher), Grasshopper Manufacture and Tecmo. The game is for Wii and according to ONM the game should be released in early February of next year. Why hath thou forsaken us, oh Fis-Aime.

Dragon Quest IX to be playable at the Jump Fiesta
December 1st, 2008 By:

Square Enix has confirmed that their highly anticipated JRPG Dragon Quest IX for the Nintendo DS will officially be playable at the forthcoming Jump Fiesta, which we will of course cover here on the site. They also confirmed the inevitable that a new trailer will be shown.

Monster Games working with Nintendo once more
November 28th, 2008 By:

Gamers may remember Monster Games as the developer behind Nintendo published, Wii launch title Excite Truck. Well, while they would inevitably go on to create more games, they have just confirmed that they are making yet another Nintendo published title and that it has been in development for over 2 years! The 20 person team says that their project is nearly completed, and that it's SUPER TOP SECRET. So top secret, that they jokingly said that they have to dim the lights on the computer monitors when the bottled water deliveryman comes in.

Wii breaks 7 million mark in Japan
November 26th, 2008 By:

Nintendo just made another accomplishment - they have now sold 7,024,239, which as you probably know is over 7 million! The Wii and the Nintendo DS continue to be the dominating platforms in not only the land of the rising sun but in every other country as well. Nintendo is a force to be reckoned with - at the moment they seem unstoppable! In the past week alone the Nintendo DSi sold nearly 90 thousand units!

428 becomes Famitsu's ninth perfect video game
November 26th, 2008 By:

Congratulations to Sega on their new title, 428, which managed to nab four perfect tens from all the writers of Famitsu. The game is the ninth title to do so, the second on the Wii, and the fifth to appear on a Nintendo console. Other games that have been rewarded with this very rare score include the following:


 * The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Nintendo 64
 * Soulcalibur - Dreamcast
 * Vagrant Story - PlayStation
 * The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker - GameCube
 * Nintendogs - Nintendo DS
 * Final Fantasy XII - PlayStation 2
 * Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii
 * Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots - PlayStation 3
 * 428 - Wii

I guess it's time to make an article!

Nintendo officially changes logo
November 26th, 2008 By:

Nintendo has released a press release explaining that they've officially changed their logo. It's not a dramatic change - simply they've changed the coloring from red to gray. We've already changed the logo on the Nintendo page here, and Nintendo's asked everyone to change whatever is red to gray - I'm personally going to have to debate whether or not to change the logo in our logo from red to gray. Here's the official message straight from a Nintendo PR:


 * "Dear Media Partner,


 * For several years, a new generation of Wii and Nintendo DS games have adorned themselves with a new logo, in discrete grey.


 * In various publications the former logo, with red lettering, can still be seen. In the event that you have not already done so, we would like to sincerely ask you to now only use the current, gray Nintendo logo.


 * Yours sincerely,


 * "Your friendly Nintendo PR team."

I just died a little...

New Monolith Soft news
November 25th, 2008 By:

As you may or may not know, Monolith Soft is the developer of the sort of acclaimed title Disaster: Day of Crisis. Nintendo purchased the company a while back, probably due to their work on the Baten Kaitos series. Well, Cubed3 recently had an interview with the company, and with it new details were given on the company's future.

First of all, there is a possibility that the Disaster franchise will continue on. The director of the video game expressed his wish for the series to appear on the Nintendo DS, though seeing the lackluster sales of the first title, which were according to Nintendo less than expected (which couldn't have been good in itself!), it's unknown whether his wish will become a reality. Second, the company hinted at multiple Wii projects underway, and perhaps most importantly they are ready to further the Baten Kaitos franchise.

Echoes of Time DSi bundle announced for Japan
November 25th, 2008 By:

We just reported the Black Friday bundles below for North America, though now Square Enix and Nintendo are partnering once more to release the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time DSi bundle, which will be released in Japan on January 29th next year. The bundle will come with a specially designed Echoes of Time DSi, a copy of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time and a soundtrack sampler which will feature the following songs:


 * "infinite sky should"
 * "Ring of Fates Medley"
 * "Crystal Chronicles Main Theme"
 * "Echoes of Time Main Theme"

Two new Nintendo DS bundles announced for Black Friday
November 25th, 2008 By:



Nintendo has announced that in celebration of this year's upcoming Black Friday, they will release two new special edition Nintendo DS bundles that will feature a limited style of a DS Lite and a video game. The most notable one in this humble writer's opinion is the Mario Red DS Lite, which sports a classic "M" on the front and comes with a copy of the highly acclaimed New Super Mario Bros.. The second is a nice looking blue DS Lite which will come with Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day!. Both will cost an appropriate $149.99 USD and will be available in time for the formerly mentioned date this Friday. And seriously - if you haven't already gotten a DS - this is your chance!

''Edit: apparently the Brain Age bundle will also come with a light blue pack that you can place your DS Lite inside of. This is understandable seeing that the retail price for the game is about $10 cheaper than New Super Mario Bros.''