Nintendo has an online program called Club Nintendo, where you can register your games and consoles and fill out surveys on what you purchased. It’s probably just a clever marketing ploy to get gamers to help Nintendo keep track of sales, feedback, and other numbers. But the good thing is that nearly everything you do there earns you coins. And you can spend those coins on rewards. Most of these rewards I don’t have any interest in. Mario stationery, game case holders, playing cards? Nah. But when it comes to exclusive games you can only get through Club Nintendo, then I’m totally interested! So here are two quick reviews on the newest Club Nintendo exclusive games: Game & Watch Collection 2 and Grill-Off With Ultra Hand.

Game & Watch Collection 2

Around this time last year, I reviewed the first Game & Watch Collection, another Club Nintendo exclusive game. It’s just a selection of a few classic Game & Watch LED titles on your DS. The sequel has a tropical motif, as the two games on it are Parachute and Octopus. And just like the old Game & Watches, you can even set the clock and alarm!

Parachute

In this game, you move a guy in a rowboat left and right in three different spaces. Above is a helicopter and parachuters are jumping out of it. It’s up to you to catch them before they land in the shark infested waters. Three misses and you’re out. If you pick the more difficult Game B, sometimes the parachuter (not sure if that’s even a word) on the right will get caught in the tree, and will mess up your timing when he falls. It’s very simplistic, but keep in mind when these things were made.

Octopus

You’re a deep sea diver and must avoid the octopus’ tentacles in order to reach the treasure at the far end of the screen. Nab the treasure there and make it back up to the boat to score points. Just as in Parachute, the higher your score, the faster the game moves. On the top screen of both these games, there’s a flat sky screen that shoots fireworks when you earn a certain number of points.

Parachute X Octopus

This game combines the two titles together. On the top screen, you play Parachute. When the action pauses and there’s not any parachute guys falling down, you can dive down to the bottom screen and try to snag a few octopus guarded treasures to boost your score. But make sure to be back on the surface when the parachutes start falling again! Combining the games together doesn’t really add to the experience, though. Just gives you more ways to die!

Like the first Game & Watch Collection, the graphics, sound, and gameplay are as authentic as the old LED titles. But is it worth the 800 coins to play? Well, yes and no. No, because you’re spending a lot of virtual money for basically two simple games. But if you’re like me and enjoy collecting rare games like this, the first G&W Collection, or Electroplankton, then it might be worth it to you. I have to say that I was really surprised at how FAST I got my Club Nintendo reward in the mail, too! The new rewards have only been out a couple of weeks, and it was only days after I redeemed my coins and ordered my stuff before I got them in the mail!

Bonus stage: Cary’s Top Five Favorite Game & Watch Gallery Games

I don’t really have very many memories with the original Game & Watch games. I hardly ever saw them in stores and they were probably too expensive anyway. Most of my G&W knowledge and memories come from the Game & Watch Gallery titles for the Game Boy, GBC, and GBA. These were MUCH better games than the Game & Watch Collection from Club Nintendo. Not only did they have more games on each collection, they also had updated versions of each title with better graphics, more complicated (yet still simple) gameplay mechanics and hooks, and they all starred familiar Mario characters. Since I’ve already talked about the Game & Watch Galleries in a previous blog, I thought I would just list my top five favorites from all the Galleries. Plus I needed to fill out this blog a little.

Turtle Bridge

In the original game, you had to cross a river on backs of turtles before they would dip down under the water. In the updated version, you play as Toad and must deliver presents from Mario to Peach on the other side of the castle. Instead of turtles, you hop on goonie birds and must make sure you’re not standing on one before they dip down to pop a balloon. I liked this update because it starred Toad, my favorite Mario character, and the music was catchy and I was really good at the game.

Greenhouse

In the original game, you were a bug exterminator and shot spray at bugs before they got to the flowers. In the updated game, you are Yoshi and must spit watermelon seeds at Shy Guys before they squash the plants. I really enjoyed this game because it was the closest thing the G&W had to a twitch shooter, plus the music in the update was good. One of the few times where the original game was fun, too.

Donkey Kong

I didn’t like the original G&W take on this arcade classic, but the Mario update kept the feel of the original game as well as the G&W title and made it fun. And again, I was good at it and the music was slick in the update. Aside from the extra in DK64, it’s a shame that Nintendo has never really re-released the Donkey Kong arcade game in full.

Mario’s Cement Factory

Like Greenhouse, the original G&W game is just as much fun as the remake. I have a keychain game of the original Cement Factory. It’s similar to other G&W titles where you must keep tubs of liquid from spilling or overflowing. But Mario’s Cement Factory has a single screen, runaround platformer kind of feel to it. In the update, you’re not really at a cement factory, but a bakery making dough for Yoshi’s Cookies.

Spitball Sparky

This game never got an update, but it was an unlockable game on one of the G&W Gallery titles. But it’s my most favorite ORIGINAL Game & Watch game. You control a guy on the bottom and must break blocks on the top screen with a ball, similar to Breakout or Arkanoid. What’s cool about this game, though, is that you can push a button to blow into a peashooter to make the ball go back up to hit more blocks! Kind of like a proto-Shatter! Spitball Sparky also makes me think of Space Invaders, too, for some reason. If I ever wanted to buy a Game & Watch handheld, I think Spitball Sparky would be one I would try to look for!

What are YOUR favorite Game & Watch titles? Let me know in the comments section!

Grill-Off With Ultra Hand

The other Club Nintendo exclusive game I got was a downloadable WiiWare title. For only 80 coins, it was a much better buy than the G&W Collection, but it’s still a fairly simple game.

But first, a little bit of history behind Ultra Hand. Most Nintendo fans know that Nintendo as a company has been around for more than 100 years! During most of that time, they made Japanese playing cards. But starting in the 60’s and 70’s, Nintendo dabbled in toy making. One of their first most successful toys back then was called Ultra Hand. It was a plastic extended claw hand toy that you could extend and retract to grab things from far away. It kind of reminds me of those Extend-O Boxing Gloves you see in cartoons. Ultra Hand was also featured as a micro game from Nintendo fanboy 9-Volt in the first WarioWare game! And now Ultra Hand stars in his (or her?) own game with Grill-Off With Ultra Hand.

The game is basically like a Cooking Mama mini-challenge. Meat appears on grills and you must take the food off when fully cooked, but not let it burn or drop on the ground before bringing it back to the plate. There’s a two player mode as well, but I haven’t tried it yet. What’s neat about this game is the Wii motion controls work really well and feel very natural. Just extend and retract the arm by moving the remote and nunchuck toward and away from each other. Move the hand with the nunchuck stick and clasp down on meat with the A button to pick it up. Play control is VERY good, but it had better be because the game is also VERY hard! If you burn the food or drop it even ONCE, you lose the game. I would’ve liked to have a more traditional three tries before Game Over, but oh well. For a ‘free’ game, it’s still pretty decent.

Customer Service Conclusions

Finally I just have to give kudos to Nintendo’s customer service department. Recently I had a minor problem with a Nintendo product I bought (so minor it’s not worth mentioning). But it was big enough that I thought I should let Nintendo’s customer service know about it. The people on the phone I talked to were very easy to understand, and even though they said it would take a while to fix, they had my problem resolved in a matter of days! I work in customer service during the day myself, so I KNOW good customer service elsewhere when I see it. And Nintendo has ALWAYS had good customer service. Even back in the NES days before the Internet, as a kid I would mail Nintendo all sorts of dopey letters, and they would always respond! So if you ever have a problem with a Nintendo product you bought, I say, don’t hesitate to deal with their customer service. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

 So until next time, later! –Cary

Tags: Game Reviews