Is anybody else still reeling from the Switch and Fire Emblem Directs? Cause I know I am! I personally haven’t been this excited about Nintendo in a long while. Which is weird, considering how loyal of a fan I am. That said, there is some interesting and cool stuff this week on the Nintendo Download, including classic NES games, sales and more. Let’s check out what the Big N is distracting us with this week!

First a quick reminder. If you are at all interested in Fire Emblem Heroes, which launches February 2nd, then you should take advantage of the Choose Your Legends event going on now. This lets fans select their favorite from a huge roster and the most popular heroes will make it into the upcoming mobile Fire Emblem game. Pretty overwhelming number of options, but a nice contest nevertheless. You can find the details here.

Next up, the Pokémon Bank finally updated so that you can use it to transfer your beastly companions to Sun and Moon. I think I speak for every Pokémon fan when I say “finally!” It’s always nice to use our favorite Pokémon in battle, and now you won’t be limited to just those residing in Alola.

Nintendo Download | Flying Warriors

Ok that’s enough of updates and contests, how about some classic games? There are 3 that were released on VC this week, and the first one is Flying Warriors. I admit this one isn’t known to me, despite me growing up in the 90s when this was initially released. According to the description, it features two different fighting styles, four modes and “Mystic Spells”. Though it sure looks a lot like Ninja Gaiden, it wasn’t developed or published by Konami. Go figure. The next game, however, is very well known to me.

Nintendo Download | Kung-Fu Heroes
No joke, I still have this cartridge sitting right next to my TV!

Ah, Kung-Fu Heroes. This game I remember well from my childhood. Help Jacky and Lee save Princess Min-Min from ninjas, oni and more through 8 different castles. I loved the cartoony art style back then and I still enjoy it now. A fun and challenging game, and one I have yet to beat!

Nintendo Download | Little Ninja Brothers

Though I was familiar with Kung-Fu Heroes, I wasn’t with Little Ninja Brothers, which is strange, seeing as how it’s a sequel. Then again, I didn’t exactly have the ability to buy any game I wanted back when this was released, and I also didn’t have the benefit of the Internet then to guide me to more obscure games. That said, this one looks like a fun little successor to Kung-Fu Heroes, though with more RPG looking map exploration.

Lastly this week, I’m gonna cover a few worthy games that are on sale. This is a new sale from the January Digital Deals sale, so keep that in mind. It means there were far less games to cull through, but you can check out the full list here. The games I’m focusing on are just a small handful of those available.

Nintendo Download | Citadale

Firstly, Citadale is half off for $2.50. Granted, this looks a lot like a shameless Symphony of the Night clone, but since Konami got me hooked years ago on Metroidvanias, I need to satisfy that itch somehow (at least until Bloodstained comes out). Either way, for that cheap, it’s really hard not to recommend any game, let alone a Castlevania knock off.

Nintendo Download | Life of Pixel

You may have noticed I have a fixation on classic sprite and pixel based game art, and that’s why I’m recommending Life of Pixel. It looks like retro gold to me, plus it’s discounted now to $4.99. Considering it’s been sitting on my Steam wishlist for a while, I’m sure I’m going to get it sooner or later. If you like the look of it, you might want to follow suit.

Nintendo Download | Toys vs Monsters

Last but not least is a cute little tower defense styled game called Toys Vs Monsters. It’s pretty inexpensive at $1.50, and the art style is interesting if not super nuanced. But that’s really it for this week. The other games on sale are either not worth your time or have already been covered in previous Downloads, and the new games this week, called Candy, Please! and Word Search 10K, look like the most banal type of shovelware. So stick with my suggestions and you’ll be happy.

That’s it for this week of the Nintendo Download! Tune in to oprainfall next time for more Nintendo deals.

Josh Speer
Josh is a passionate gamer, finding time to clock in around 30-40 hours of gaming a week. He discovered Operation Rainfall while avidly following the localization of the Big 3 Wii RPGs. He enjoys SHMUPS, Platformers, RPGs, Roguelikes and the occasional Fighter. He’s also an unashamedly giant Mega Man fan, having played the series since he was eight. As Head Editor and Review Manager, he spends far too much time editing reviews and random articles. In his limited spare time he devours indies whole and anticipates the release of quirky, unpredictable and innovative games.