LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias hits WiiWare this Friday

Nintendo said this morning that LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias will release on WiiWare this Friday. Apparently it's the hundredth game for the service.

Frontier's David Braben's tickled pink.

“We launched the original LostWinds game on WiiWare with much anticipation, as it was such an exciting and new way to access games," he said.

"We are now thrilled to be able to mark the hundredth game launch with LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias.”

Get the rest of this week's WiiWare line-up after the break.

WiiWARE CELEBRATES ITS 100TH GAME WITH THE LAUNCH OF LOSTWINDS: WINTER OF THE MELODIAS

8th October 2009 – This week sees the launch of the 100th WiiWare game and to mark this momentous occasion, the eagerly anticipated LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias comes exclusively to WiiWare this Friday.

What makes this week so exciting is that the release of the original, award-winning LostWinds game marked the launch of WiiWare in May last year, so what better way to celebrate the 100th game than with the launch of the LostWinds sequel; LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias.

David Braben from the game’s creator, Frontier, says: “We launched the original LostWinds game on WiiWare with much anticipation, as it was such an exciting and new way to access games. We are now thrilled to be able to mark the 100th game launch with LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias.”

LostWinds: Winter of the Melodias offers a fresh, rewarding and explorative gameplay experience that makes exceptional use of the Wii remote, with quality to match the very best Wii disc games.

In the game, Enril the Wind Spirit protects and guides the game’s protagonist, Toku, powering his jumps, aiding his glides and smashing his enemies. However, an evil adversary binds the fate of Toku’s mother Magdi and the ancient Melodia civilisation.

To save Magdi, Toku and Enril must face new foes, enlist friends old and new, and wield incredible new powers. With the ability to switch the very seasons themselves, they will explore the diverse, richly interactive Chilling Peaks and Melodia City areas of the magical land of Mistralis.

Since its launch over a year ago, WiiWare has provided an innovative and exciting new platform for smaller game developers to reach consumers where they may have struggled before. WiiWare has also been the launching force behind a number of hugely successful games including the puzzling World of Goo™ and immensely popular new chapters of the FINAL FANTASY® series.

And if that’s not enough to get you excited, this week you’ll also be able to lead an army of monsters into battle in DRAGON QUEST® WARS™ on Nintendo DSiWare, combat dragons in Wonder Boy™ III: The Dragon’s Trap on Virtual Console and more!

WiiWARE - Happy Holidays Halloween

(505 Games, 500 Wii Points)

If you are planning a Halloween party and want an innovative and creative way to invite your guests, why not send fun Halloween cards with this unique WiiWare application?

Happy Holidays Halloween lets you make fun Halloween-themed e-cards and send them straight to friends' Wii consoles.

Choose a character and a costume, add decorations and even music and then write a message to friends registered in your Wii Address Book.

Try out this fun new software – you’ll be spooked at how easy it is!

NINTENDO DSiWARE – DRAGON QUEST® WARS™

(SQUARE ENIX, 500 Nintendo DSi Points)

Take control of a squad of monsters from the Dragon Quest series and wage war.

While the rules may be simple, you’ll need all your strategic skills to win the battles. You’ll need to be brave enough to lead your army of monsters into battle, learn their unique abilities, and plan your moves carefully to emerge the victor.

Compete in two modes: Versus and Survival; testing your skills against computer opponents in the single-player game, or battling against your friends in Nintendo DS Wireless Play. Or take the ultimate challenge and go online via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection and pit your Dragon Quest prowess against players across the world.

NINTENDO DSiWARE – Photo Clock

(Nintendo, 200 Nintendo DSi Points)

Photo Clock turns your Nintendo DSi into a photo frame with added clock and alarm functions. Choose from a range of clock styles and alarms and use the photo feature to display a slideshow of pictures from the Nintendo DSi Camera album.

You can opt for analogue or 12-hour/24-hour digital clock displays, and set up to three separate alarms with three different tones. Photos displayed on the top screen will either be chosen randomly from your album or chosen based on the stickers they were tagged with.

VIRTUAL CONSOLE – Wonder Boy™ III: The Dragon’s Trap

(SEGA MASTER SYSTEM, 500 Wii Points)

Get ready for the final Wonder Boy adventure on SEGA MASTER SYSTEM. Picking up where Wonder Boy in Monster Land left off, our hero is making his way through a castle to defeat the mighty Mecha Dragon. But beware - when Wonder Boy defeats a Dragon, a curse forces him to take the shape of a were-animal, such as a Lizard-Man or Hawk-Man.

Wonder Boy must travel throughout Monster Land in search of the Salamander Cross, which has the power to remove curses. But where is it hidden - and what form will you take next?

VIRTUAL CONSOLE – Final Fight™ 2

(SUPER NINTENDO, 800 Wii Points)

The Mad Gear Gang has emerged once again, and this time they want revenge! They’ll stop at nothing to bring Haggar and the entire world crumbling down. To prove they’re serious, they’ve kidnapped Guy’s master, Genryusai, along with his daughter, Rena, who is also Guy’s fiancée.

Now Haggar must travel far and wide to search for Genryusai and Rena. But he’s not alone - helping him are Rena’s sister, Maki, and Haggar’s apprentice, Carlos. Together, the three set out to take down the Mad Gear Gang once and for all!

Take control of any of the three heroes and make use of their unique techniques and abilities in a fast-paced adventure which will take you to locations all around the globe. And you're not alone, either - you can also have a friend join the heroic fight to bring an end to the Mad Gear Gang!

As the Wii Shop Channel is continually updated with exciting and refreshing games, make sure you keep checking the Channel and www.wiiware.co.uk for all the latest WiiWare news and releases. Visit ww.nintendo.co.uk for all the latest Virtual Console news and releases. Downloaded games can be saved to Wii’s internal memory or SD card and added to the console’s Wii Menu or SD Card Menu for anytime easy access.

Following the launch of the Nintendo DSi, the Nintendo DSiWare pipeline is also regularly being updated. Make sure you keep checking http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/systems/nintendo_dsiware_11853.html and the Nintendo Channel for all the latest Nintendo DSiWare news and releases.