A few thoughts on the two new 3DS StreetPass games and the Mii Plaza 'upgrade'

Now that I've spent a full week with Nintendo's latest pair of 3DS StreetPass games, I thought I'd take a few minutes to share my thoughts on them--and the Mii Plaza "upgrade" that was released alongside the aforementioned pieces of software.

OK, so I didn't spend the entirety of the last week with these titles--one of which is known in this neck of the woods as Battleground Z and the other of which is known as Ultimate Angler--but I did spend a few minutes with them each and every day (thanks to the handful of StreetPasses I nabbed during my commutes to and from work).

So, what do I think of these bite-sized efforts now that I've experienced at least a little of what they have to offer? For starters, I'll say that I'm enjoying Battleground Z a lot more than I thought I would before I downloaded it. Granted, the main reasons I was fairly ho-hum about this game in advance of actually playing it is that I'm no longer all that enamored with the undead and I've never much cared for the beat 'em up genre. Neither of those things have gotten in the way of me having an absolute blast with Battleground Z so far, though, so clearly the folks at Good-Feel did something right when they made it.

My favorite aspect of Battleground Z at the moment: the wacky weapons that StreetPassed Miis offer up when you save them. Flash-enabled cameras, superhero costumes and Wii remotes all have been handed over to me so far, and every one of them has proven its worth in battle--while also bringing a smile to my face, of course.

As for Ultimate Angler, I'm slowly but surely warming up to it after initially finding it a bit chilly. For whatever reason, my first few stints with it had me yawning. Maybe my expectations were too high heading into it? After all, I usually love fishing games--especially cute ones.

It's quite possible my main issue with Ultimate Angler early on was its reeling mechanism, which makes enough sense (spin your 3DS' circle pad to pull in a fish) in theory, but feels kind of awkward in practice. I think I'm beginning to get a handle on it, though, so hopefully my opinion of it will perk up in the coming days.

Even if it doesn't, I'll still consider Ultimate Angler a more worthy pick up than the Mii Plaza upgrade that's currently being sold for just under five smackeroonies (that would be $5). As far as I can tell, all this purchase provides 3DS owners with is the ability to collect and catalog (à la a game of bingo) the birthdays of StreetPassersby as well as the ability to move your favorite Miis into some sort of VIP room. Pretty exciting, right?

Seriously, though, despite my rather ho-hum response to the Mii Plaza upgrade, I'm pretty happy I handed over my hard-earned cash for Battleground Z and Ultimate Angler. Are any of you feeling the same way, or are you wishing you'd saved your dough? Let me--and others--know in the comments section below.

Raise your hand if you, too, are looking forward to the two new 3DS StreetPass games that are being prepped for release

I know not everyone loves the handful of StreetPass games Nintendo has released for the 3DS so far, but I'm guessing most of those negative feelings are born out of the fact that not enough folks outside of Japan regularly have their 3DSes "on their person," as the saying goes, to make playing these digital titles worthwhile.

Thankfully, I live in a city that's packed with enough people that I nab at least three or four StreetPasses (if not more) every day while commuting to and from work.

As such, I'm pretty darn smitten with each and every one of the StreetPass games that currently are available--and I'm also pretty darn stoked to buy and play the two new ones that will be made available in North America on April 16.



The trailer above offers a peek at both of them--one of which will be known here as Battleground Z, while the other will be known as Ultimate Angler--along with something called "StreetPass Mii Plaza Premium," an app I know next to nothing about at the moment.

It appears that Ultimate Angler was developed by the able team at PROPE, previously responsible for Ivy the Kiwi! and a number of other wonderful games, and Battleground Z was made by Good-Feel, which most recently showed up in the credit roll for Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.

Will any of you be buying any of the above offerings on day one, or even at some point down the road? If so, let me know which ones in the comments section below and also let me know why you're planning to buy them.

Animal Crossing + Endless Ocean = Yuji Naka's Fishing Resort

Up 'til now, my experience with fishing games has been limited to the enjoyably relaxing mini-games that were included in the Animal Crossing titles and in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

That shouldn't surprise me as much as it does, as I've fished just a handful of times (if that) in the 34 years since I was born. Also, the only fishing game that has even slightly piqued my interest since I began gaming as a youngster was the Dreamcast version of Sega Bass Fishing--and that was due, mainly, to me suffering from "Dreamcast fever" at the time.

Interestingly, the fishing game that may finally get me to bite into this genre has a connection to the company responsible for that wonderful little system. The title in question: Yuji Naka's Fishing Resort (Family Fishing in Japan), which will be released stateside for the Wii this fall courtesy of the folks at XSEED Games. (Naka, currently the head honcho at Prope, used to work for Sega's Sonic Team.)

Why am I so interested in this game? Watch the following (Japanese) trailer and see for yourself:



Don't worry if you couldn't make it through all three minutes and thirty-one seconds of the trailer. The following description should do a similarly bang-up job of helping you understand why a non-fisherman like myself would be intrigued by this title.

"Players are put in control of their own island vacation and free to do as they please--get up early in the morning and try to grab massive fish in the deep sea, or rent a bicycle and travel to a remote lagoon. Players are free to fish wherever there is water, and a variety of locales are available, from tropical ocean fishing on the high sea to ice fishing atop the island’s mountains. With over 20 fish-related mini games and over 200 varieties of fish available--not to mention four-player competitive modes and online leaderboards, which show players how they stack up against other anglers around the world--there’s plenty of content for both casual players and completionists alike."

Sadly, the "special controller" the folks at Namco Bandai created for the Japanese version of the game (check it out here) won't be accompanying Fishing Resort to our shores. It's hard to complain about, though, since it likely would have made the title more expensive--and thus less appealing--to a lot of potential buyers.