Tiny Cartridge - Nintendo DS, DSi, & 3DS News, Media, Videos, Imports, Homebrew, & Retro Junk

[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

“Sonic 5” from Dotstream. With Art Style: Light Trax releasing on WiiWare today, I thought it proper to dig out a track from the unofficial bit Generations soundtrack I downloaded years ago and share a song with you.

Dotstream, for those of you hearing that name for the first time, is Light Trax’s GBA predecessor, and it was a beautiful game with minimalist graphics, simple but addictive racing mechanics, and a bangin’ soundtrack.

I like what I’ve seen/heard from Light Trax so far, which doesn’t surprise me; it’s rare that Skip Ltd. lets me down. Check out the Lumina 3 track from the 600 point game:

This remake looks great, but I still wish it was a portable release instead of a home console game. Maybe there’s still hope for a 3DS follow-up? Can you picture it? Lines in three dimensions. Cross your fingers.

Here’s a random photo of Dotsream’s manual. I’m posting it for no other reason than it looks neat:

See also: “Sonic 4” from Dotstream

[Via NintenDaan, Rombocket]

tags / sonic 5 / dotstream / art style / light trax / bit generations / skip / ec / wiiware

/ permalink / / 1 year ago / Comments (View)

[Flash 10 is required to watch video]

Art Style: Boxlife ending song and credits (from the Japanese release). This starts off like the theme I posted a year ago, but there’s a lot more to it! There are sections in this track where you’ll hear vocaloid dialogue, but I’m unsure if that’s actually in the song or from the person who ripped this video.

One of Tiny Cartridge’s biggest failures (and we have many of them) is we didn’t convince enough people to care about, much less buy this wonderful DSiWare puzzler. If you or any other DSi owner you know still hasn’t bought this amazing game, please put down 500 points and grab this shiz. Your system deserves to have something magical in its life.

Preorder: U.S. Nintendo DSi XL/LL (Burgundy and Bronze)

Buy: U.S. Nintendo DSi (White, Pink, Black and Blue)

[Via NicoVideo]

tags / hacolife / boxlife / art style / skip / dsiware / ec

/ permalink / / 1 year ago / Comments (View)

Bit Generations-style boxes for WiiWare’s Art Style games (click for a larger version), including the recently revealed Light Trax and Rotozoa, by Stephen Gibson.

Gibson used the Dotstream title instead of Light Trax because he wanted to use the Japanese logos and titles for the covers. Nintendo hasn’t announced Light Trax for Japan yet, but it will likely use the Dotstream name for the title considering the marvelous GBA game it’s based on.

Gamespot has a video interview with Nintendo’s localization team that shows some footage of Art Style: Light Trax and some of its modes. It looks great on a big screen, but I’m disappointed this isn’t a handheld title — the original Dotstream is a perfect portable experience (especially if you have headphones on you).

Gibson also updated his Bit Generations-style boxes for DSiWare’s Art Style games to add Digidrive.

Preorder: U.S. Nintendo DSi XL/LL (Burgundy and Bronze)

Buy: U.S. Nintendo DSi (White, Pink, Black and Blue)

[Via Stephen Gibson]

tags / bit generations / art style / wiiware / fanart / stephen gibson / light trax / rotozoa / fanart / ec / skip

/ permalink / / 1 year ago / Comments (View)

Five tiny Nintendo DS/WiiWare news items you might have missed today

With a new Super Mario Galaxy 2 trailer, glossy Metroid: Other M screens, and an array of release dates all revealed at Nintendo’s Media Summit this morning, there were a few second / third-tier news items that you might have overlooked today. Since we relish in covering second / third-tier games, we’ve gathered several quick stories and trailers that caught our fancy.

1. Attract Mode will begin selling its limited edition Cave Story shirts alongside the game’s WiiWare release on March 22nd. Designed by James “HARVEYJAMES” Harvey and Mitch “spacesick” Ansara, these tees were approved by Cave Story creator Daisuke “Pixel” Amaya himself.

/ permalink / / 1 year ago / Comments (View)

“You will see more games from us on the Nintendo DSi soon – beginning with Art Style: Digidrive which is already out in Europe (but is called Intersect there). There are more games in the pipe.”

Q-Games’s Dylan Cuthbert confirming to Finalboss that the company did in fact return to develop the DSi version of its bit.Generations game Digidrive. I was wondering!

On that note, Skip ltd./Art Style fans should pick up this month’s issue of GamesTM (#89) for its four-page article on the DSiWare series. It includes an interview with several surprising revelations, like Skip once working on a Wii MotionPlus sports title! I wonder what came of that?

Buy: U.S. Nintendo DSi (White, Pink, Black and Blue)

Import: Japanese Nintendo DSi XL/LL (Natural White, Dark Brown, Wine Red) & Standard DSi (White, Black, Pink, Red, Lime Green, Metallic Blue)

See also: Art Style: Digidrive gameplay

[Via Lovedelic, GoNintendo]

tags / art style / digidrive / jc / q-games / dsiware

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Art Style: Intersect (Digidrive in the U.S.) gameplay. It’s not Dotsream or another inventive puzzle game from Skip, but it’s nice to see more of the bit Generations GBA titles brought to DSiWare and outside of Japan. It’s a shame we don’t get the fancy bit Gen packaging, though!:

This released in Europe last week, so perhaps we’ll see it out in North America soon, too?

Buy: U.S. Matte White, Pink, Black and Blue DSi

Import: Japanese Nintendo DSi (White, Black, Pink, Red, Lime Green, Metallic Blue)

[Via Nintendaan]

tags / art style / intersect / q-games / digidrive / dsiware / bit generations / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

DSiWare-bound: New Shantae, Fieldrunners, and Art Style: Digidrive

Nintendo unveiled a surprising collection of first- and third-party titles slated for its DSiWare service, and I think we can all agree that the most exciting title in the batch is Sparkle Snapshots, which I presume is actually Itsudemo Print Club: Kira Deco Premium.

Oh, and another bit Generations game, Digidrive, is receiving a DSiWare/Art Style port, but consider these details before you get too excited about the game:

The original GBA Digidrive kind of sucked (IMO)
Digidrive is the only bit Gen title not developed by Skip; it was created by Q-Games
It’s not Art Style: Dotstream

Also announced from Nintendo’s end: 10 Electroplankton minigames, Art Academy: Second Semester, Picturebook Games: The Royal Bluff (this weird thing), and Pinball Pulse: The Ancients Beckon (I’m curious about this!).

As for other developers, WayForward is finally releasing one of its many Shantae prototypes, Shantae: Risky’s Revenge, after years of fanboys demanding a new game for the genie. It’s the first release of a three-episode series!

Subatomic is also bringing its acclaimed iPhone tower defense title Fieldrunners to DSiWare (and PSP Minis).

All of the games mentioned above (with the exception of Second Semester, releasing September 28th), are slated for the fourth quarter of 2009. Yay!

Buy: U.S. Matte White, Pink, Black and Blue DSi

Import: Japanese Nintendo DSi (White, Black, Pink, Red, Lime Green, Metallic Blue)

tags / art style / digidrive / bit generations / sparkle snapshots / itsumedo print club / electroplankton / art academy / picturebook games / pinball pulse / shantae / q-games / subatomic studios / fieldrunners / wayforward / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Best Worst Game: BoxLife →

UK gaming radio show One Life Left hosts a semi-regular segment in which the entertaining Mathew Kumar elects a “Best Worst Game”, inviting listeners to try out interesting but flawed titles, such as Skip’s Art Style: BoxLife:

“When I was a student, fresh in my first year, I decided to get a job in a factory rather than somewhere sensible like at a Carphone Warehouse. The hours were longer, but I knew it was going to pay more.

So, when I went for the interview, thanks to my university education, I was given a job in quality assurance. My job was to open the boxes the factory produced, check them, then reassemble them. And so I did this for 12 hours a night, every night, all summer.

I never had the feeling that what I did had any point or any idea that the boxes were going to do anything useful. And all the money that I made was just frittered away on the pointless improvements to my life. They were just pointless. …

[BoxLife] captures everything about that one summer I worked in a factory and its sublime education in futility for the uninitiated.”

My transcription likely isn’t 100% accurate, as I couldn’t pick out a few words from Kumar’s thick Scottish accent. You can listen to the segment yourself in this week’s episode of One Life Left, starting around the 46:45 mark.

Buy: U.S. Matte Black and Blue DSi

Import: Japanese Nintendo DSi (White, Black, Pink, Lime Green, Metallic Blue)

tags / boxlife / art style / hacolife / skip / mathew kumar / podcast / one life left / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Boxlife Cribs: It’s like the Neverland Ranch up in this bitch.

As you can tell by the mansion, the pristine golf course, and the imported Javan tiger (thought to be extinct, but evidently not so), the box folding life has been kind to me.

Mock the minivan if you want, but don’t get angry with me when your girl’s jaw drops as I cruise by on 28-inch rims. Don’t complain to me when you can’t figure out how to describe your rage in 140 characters after seeing your soulmate and I share a bottle of Le Montrachet ‘78, right next to the very vehicle you’d teased earlier.

I’m just sayin’.

I know what you’re asking yourself — “What sort of job do I need to get an estate like that? Where did he find this car dealership that apparently sells droptop minivans? How can I be more like Eric and live my life like it’s golden?”

Well, if you picked up Art Style: Boxlife for DSiWare, you’d have the answer to all those questions.

Buy: U.S. Matte Black and Blue DSi

Import: Japanese Nintendo DSi (White, Black, Pink, Lime Green, Metallic Blue)

tags / art style / boxlife / hacolife / dsiware / dsi / ballin / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

Art Style: Boxlife on DSiWare

The biggest handheld gaming news this morning has nothing to do with GTA: Chinatown Wars migrating to PSP; it’s the North American release of Art Style: Boxlife (known as Hacolife in Japan) for DSiWare!

As I’ve previously proclaimed, I believe this addictive puzzler from Skip is the finest DSiWare experience you can purchase today (500 Points), even more so than PiCTOBiTS. Nintendo’s official product description:

“Climb the corporate ladder in the world of Boxlife using your wits and… paper? Use the Nintendo DSi stylus to cut and then manipulate the paper into a box shape. Be careful — if you’re not efficient with your cuts, you’ll waste paper and be penalized.

R&D mode teaches you new patterns and challenges you to complete various ranks, while Factory mode gives you the chance to earn money by making as many boxes as possible from an endless sheet of paper.

Success in each mode brings its own reward: Clear ranks to earn a promotion, change your character’s appearance, and use your earnings to acquire new items for your character’s miniature garden. With this game’s stylish graphics and catchy sounds, thinking inside the box isn’t such a bad thing.”

If you haven’t read it yet, here’s my enthusiastic preview of the game, in which I described Boxlife as “Japan’s interpretation of the American Dream”.

See also: “Hacolife Theme”

tags / art style / boxlife / hacolife / skip / dsiware / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

bit Generations-esque Art Style covers by Stephen Gibson (click for a larger version).

“The Art Style series on DSi is the perfect follow-up to the bit Generations series. The one thing that didn’t make the jump to digital distribution though was the stylish little boxes that each game came in. I decided to try and create artwork for each of the new games, following the same structure and style of the bit Generations boxes.

And yes, these are the Japanese logos. Since the original packages were Japan-only (and half of these aren’t out in the US and Europe yet), I decided to use those to begin. I’ll put together some Western variations soon.”

~~The deviantArt watermark is distracting, but other than that,~~ these are great, very much like the original minimalist bit Generations covers.

[Update: Stephen removed the watermark! Yay!]

In other Art Style news, apparently Nalaku released in Europe as Kubos last week. What’s the deal with Europe having five (out of six) Art Style titles, while the U.S. only has two? At this rate, autumn will arrive before North America receives Hacolife.

Buy: U.S. Matte Black and Blue DSi

Import: Japanese Nintendo DSi (White, Black, Pink, Lime Green, Metallic Blue)

tags / boxart / art style / bit generations / dsiware / nalaku / hacolife / picopict / pictobits / aquia / aquario / decode / somnium / import / ec

/ permalink / / 2 years ago / Comments (View)

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