Most Overlooked Nintendo 3DS Games - Part Two

With hundreds of games released yearly and with the advent of digital games, there are now more games than ever, and it is so incredibly easy to have your game slip through the cracks and fade into obscurity. The latest edition of the popular Most Overlooked series of articles on SuperPhillip Central delves into five more underrated and overlooked gems on the Nintendo 3DS that failed to generate a high amount of attention, buzz, and/or sales (for Part One, click here). Will this list inspire you to check out a title you might not have been interested in? Let's find out!

Rhythm Thief & the Emperor's Treasure

In Rhythm Thief, you play as a young man who by day is Raphael, but by night he is the smooth criminal known as Phantom R (well, technically he can also be Phantom R during the day, but yeah...). Unlike most rhythm games, Rhythm Thief has a full-fledged story mode with an intriguing plot following Raphael's search for his missing father. The quest sends him all over Paris, clamoring for clues, solving puzzles, conversing with NPCs, and yes, participating in some rhythmic affairs. Such games include using the bottom screen to touch one four multicolored sections to have Phantom R strike the correct pose behind a statue, using gyro controls to dodge thrown objects heading your way with the beat of the music, or playing two odes to classic Sega rhythm games, Samba de Amigo and Space Channel 5. Rhythm Thief had the unfortunate luck of releasing in North America to only a select few retail stores, being caught shortly after Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, a much more hyped rhythm game, and being sent out with next to no fanfare by its publisher Sega. In Japan it was the top new title on the week of release which was encouraging, selling over 30,000 units. In Europe, the game completely bombed.

Tales of the Abyss 

This game is anything by abyss-mal, Tales of the Abyss is a port of a late generation PlayStation 2 RPG. However, this version of the game adds 3DS functionality like stereoscopic 3D (though the effect leaves a lot to be desired) and helpful information on the bottom screen. The greatest change to the PS2 version that the 3DS version contains is the reduction of the lengthy loading times the PS2 original possessed. Sure, the story isn't anything exceptional, and the characters -- especially at the start of the game -- can be downright obnoxious, such as the bratty main character Luke, but if you give the gameplay a chance, you will find that the battle system is fast-paced, frenetic, and fun, the world is teeming with interesting places to explore, and the challenge of the game is quite balanced. On a platform that is starving for traditional RPG games, Tales of the Abyss might not be a game tailor made for the 3DS, but it is one that I would like to see even more players warm up to outside of the 70,000+ at launch in Japan, because outside hardcore JRPG fans, Abyss received little buzz. Namco Europe stated it was satisfied with sales, but when it regards JRPGs in the West, having immensely lowered expectations is generally what the M.O. of a lot of publishers really is, especially with how few copies were initially produced of the game.

Crush 3D

Having the ill-conceived idea of making this PSP remake a GameStop exclusive cemented Crush 3D to sales mediocrity. Regardless, this twenty dollar game is certainly worth playing. Crush 3D's main claim to fame is revolving a third-person camera around four views -- north, south, east, and west -- as well as a top-down perspective. While the viewpoint is in one of these five directions, players can perform the namesake maneuver of the game and crush the level. All 3D parts of the level turn into 2D, giving off a 2D platformer-type feeling. Crushing helps in allowing faraway platforms in 3D to be reachable in 2D. Each level requires the player to gather as many marbles as possible in order to open the goal. New variables get added to the gameplay on a consistent basis such as timers, enemies, and obstacles. Thankfully, there are a plethora of checkpoints on harder, longer levels. If you are in the mood for a puzzle-platformer that has a more inviting art style than its PSP counterpart, Crush 3D is a "crush" course on fun.

Cave Story 3D

The original Cave Story was a freeware platforming game similar to Metroid and Castlevania in structure. The game was such a huge success for the developer Nicalis that the company put the game on Nintendo's WiiWare service with a price tag but with more content. With the Nintendo 3DS, Nicalis partnered with Nippon Ichi Software to remake the game with 3D assets on the system. The updated game brought with it new, upgraded visuals, a camera that would zoom in at certain points of the action, and an entirely new level. The problem with Cave Story 3D, despite it being a remarkable rendition of the classic Cave Story game, is that the original could still be downloaded for free while the 3DS remake cost a full retail price of $40 USD. Throw in that a most retailers didn't sell the game in their stores (only online), and you have a game that languished in sales. Whether it deserved to with that price tag is an argument for another day.

Tetris: Axis

Tetris: Axis was one of the final Hudson Soft-developed games created by the company before they were swallowed up by Konami. The game was published by Namco Bandai in Japan, but Nintendo published the game in North America. However, even with Nintendo's backing, the game failed to light up the charts. Tetris: Axis had a relatively basic but slick presentation, but it's not good to judge a book by its cover. The game contained 20 unique modes including Marathon, Computer Battle, Survival, Fit, Stage Racer Plus, as well as two augmented reality modes; 8-player multiplayer both off and online; and the ability to use a Mii. (Seeing your Mii encourage you as you clear lines is always a good time. Perhaps consumers were Tetris'd out. Perhaps consumers were satisfied with the Virtual Console's Game Boy Tetris. All that can be surmised is that Tetris: Axis did not light sales chart ablaze, which is disappointing as there was a lot of entertainment to be had from the game.

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Any 3DS games that you have enjoyed that you recall didn't receive much buzz, attention, or sales? If you are interested in other platforms which had overlooked titles on them, click on the SPC Feature Catalog, scroll down a bit to Most Overlooked, and go hog wild!

Tetris: Axis (3DS) Review

Ah, Tetris... Like an old friend returning after a long time away. The first experience I had with the franchise was with the Game Boy version, and the last time I played Tetris was on the DS with its Nintendo-themed visuals. Now it's time for Tetris: Axis, the 3DS installment. Let's see how well it stacks up (as if the headline doesn't already answer this question).

This version of Tetris stacks up pretty well.

Tetris by now is a household name. You can play it anywhere and everywhere from the Wii to the DS to the original Game Boy to the Nintendo Entertainment System. Each version brings with it new challenges and modes specific to the platform it is on. This is no different with the release of Tetris: Axis, the now-defunct Hudson Soft developed, Nintendo published game, Nintendo 3DS iteration of the popular puzzler. Is this new entry of the long-lasting Tetris franchise worth the thirty dollar price of admission?

For those of the uninitiated, what is Tetris? Traditional Tetris is a puzzle game where the goal is to place Tetriminos, differently shaped blocks coming in the varieties of S, Z, J, L, I, and square blocks, down and create horizontal lines across the board to clear them. The game ends when Tetriminos stack up to the top of the screen, so it's important to be fast, vigilant, and strategic when placing down the blocks. Players can rotate the Tetriminos clockwise or counterclockwise via the A and B buttons. At any given time a player can hold a Tetrimino in their possession and use it whenever they feel like it. This is great when the Tetrimino the player is given won't fit on the current board the way they like, so they can hold it to use later on for when it will. There's twenty modes total, far outperforming the DS version which only had six. They come in Featured and Party mode variations.

Marathon

The goal of Marathon is to clear as many lines as possible. After ten lines are completed each time, the speed of the falling Tetriminos goes faster and faster. The game is over once the Tetriminos stack up to the top of the screen or when the player clears 150 lines.

Computer Battle

Face off against ten AI-controlled battlers in a Tetris fight to the finish. As the player clears lines, the lines cleared move over to the computer's side and vice versa. The goal is to make the other player's board get filled with so many Tetriminos that they stack up to the top of their screen, making them lose. Items can be used (which I'll broach about later) to accomplish this task even more easily.

Battle the AI in one fierce fight for the ages!

Fever

The board in Fever mode is narrower than in a normal Tetris game. The premise here is to clear as many lines as possible within a sixty second time frame. Coins can be collected and exchanged for beneficial items.

Survival

Survival has players fending off lines coming up slowly but steadily from below while playing in a narrow board (or Matrix as the game calls it). The goal here is to clear as many lines as the player can while staying alive so to speak.

Jigsaw

To complete the many levels of Jigsaw mode (there's approximately twenty different puzzles here) a player must look at the bottom screen at the picture shown as a reference. On the top screen they'll receive different parts of said picture and must recreate the portrait shown before time runs out. An incorrect placement of a block will take away time from the clock. The first few puzzles are simple to complete, but they quickly become more challenging with differently shaped blocks, more complex and complicated pictures, and stricter time limits.

Shadow Wide

Fit Tetriminos against the shadow in the background to clear this mode (usually an object like a house or animal like a baby chick). Players can pass on a given Tetrimino only so many times, so it takes planning and strategy to get a 100% completion rating and a respectable time. Any piece placed outside the shadow will take off a percent point from the completion rating.

Shadow Wide is a fun, if not challenging, mode.

Fit

Place Tetriminos into gaps. As players reach higher levels, more blocks must be fitted inside the board, and the time becomes stricter.

Tower Climber

Place Tetriminos as stepping stones for the climber to reach the top of the cylindrical Matrix. Along the way he'll need to pick up heart icons to boost his stamina. Blocks must be placed in a fashion so that they act like a natural staircase for the climber. The climber can walk left or right and can change direction through the player's placement of their Tetriminos. Go for the best time.

Bombliss Plus

On certain parts of the Tetriminos are little bombs that will go off and create a chain reaction when more than one line is cleared at the same time. Clear as many lines as possible until the final block that flashes is cleared. Then the game will be won.

Stage Racer Plus

Rotate and guide a falling Tetrimino through a maze of blocks. Move too slowly and the block will touch the top of the screen, meaning the player loses. Players can collect jump tokens to allow their Tetrimino to hop over obstacles on their way to the goal. There's over nine different difficulties and labyrinths to play through. This mode is one of my favorite additions to Tetris: Axis.

Capture

The goal here is to cover both the front and back of stars on the Tetris Matrix to collect them. A player's high score is based on the speed in which this task is accomplished. To complete this, the board must be flipped occasionally.

Master Mode

The ultimate challenge recommended for expert players only. Tetriminos fall at the speed of light-- in the blink of an eye-- and it's the player's goal to survive as long as possible and clear as many lines as they can. Easier said than done with the swiftness that these blocks fall!

Sprint

The job here is as simple as clearing forty lines as quickly as possible. Going for the best time is the aim of this game.

AR Marathon

An augmented reality mode, place the AR card packaged with the player's 3DS to set up a digital board on a real time environment. Then they clear as many lines as they possibly can as they go for the top time and clear fifty lines.

The AR modes add a whole new
dimension to Tetris: Axis' gameplay.

AR Climber

Here the player moves around in a circle with their 3DS in tow to guide the climber in this augmented reality version of Tower Climber. The pair of AR modes are impressive to play, but I've had it where the 3DS is finicky about reading the card placed down on the screen. It's challenging to keep the camera locked on the card.

Players' high scores can be uploaded to the internet, and they can view their top times and high scores in comparison to the world or their group of friends. They can also hop online and do battle against seven other competitors, using items to trip up their opponents. Items include the Cascade which fills spaces that are open on the Matrix, the Color Change item that transforms every block into the same color, Color Bonus which puts check marks on individual boxes-- the lines cleared with check marks give the player a higher score than those without-- there's the ultra-powerful Switch item that exchanges a player's Matrix with another's, the UFO that deletes blocks from a player's board, and Fog which for a limited time obscures every enemy's Matrix-- to name several. When a player has lost, they can send out a message to everyone in the room.

Play locally with one game card or against the entire world!

Compared to Tetris DS, Tetris: Axis might be considered a bland alternative. Sure, one can assign their Mii to the bottom screen to boogie and cheer the player on as they stack Tetriminos in the various game modes, but that can't hold a candle to the Nintendo-themed modes of the DS iteration. The backgrounds of Axis are especially trippy from Town Lights to Black Hole to Layered Planet. The 3D effects are particularly impressive though they aren't used in some modes for obvious reasons like Jigsaw where the picture show is just a 2D image. The soundtrack while playing is made up of remixed classical tunes such as Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Waltz of the Flowers, Korobeiniki & Trepek (the main theme of the Tetris series), Flight of the Bumblebee, and Swan Lake.

Place your Mii into the game to
boogie as you stack Tetriminos.

Overall, Tetris: Axis is an admirable entry to the long-running franchise. If you don't mind the Nintendo aesthetics being replaced with Bomberman, Miis, and flashy generic backgrounds, then you'll find a lot to love about this 3DS version. This is the perfect "pick up and play" game. The online is smooth and enjoyable even if one particular item is overpowered, the twenty modes offer longevity, and the presentation is pretty nice. For thirty dollars you could do a lot worse than this installment of Tetris.

[SuperPhillip Says: 8.0/10]

Tetris Axis (3DS) New Trailer

Tetris is a puzzler that has seen a myriad of variations and versions. This Nintendo-published iteration with Mii and AR card support features a multitude of modes like Fever, Survival, Jigsaw, and Tower Climber, to name several. North American 3DS owners can get their puzzle on when Tetris Axis blockades store shelves on October 2nd.

No brain-busters here, just the direct link.