(News)

Ubisoft's Rayman Legends was meant to hit Wii U exclusively late last year, but was delayed when the higher-ups decided to port the game to Xbox 360 and PS3 as well to land more sales. A few months back, it was announced that the game would also be getting a PS Vita port, and now they've added yet another platform to the mix: Rayman Legends will launch on PC on September 3rd along with all the other versions. People who preorder this version will get a free copy of Rayman Origins, the game's prequel.

(News)

In 2011, the original creator of the hit football simulation series, Madden, Robert Antonick, sued the publisher Electronic Arts. While EA holds rights to the Madden franchise, they supposedly had been using the same core coding for the entries in the series between 1990 and 1996 after Antonick had left the company without getting his permission to use his programming. The court ended up ruling the case in Antonick's favor, landing him $11 million.

So what's he gonna do with the money? Sue 'em again, of course! Antonick will now be filing a second lawsuit against EA, this time for the Madden games up to now since 1996. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out.

(News)

If you're planning on stocking up your Wii U eShop account with money soon, now's your time to do it. Nintendo is giving out an extra $5 of eShop credit to those who add $50-$99.99 to their account, and an extra $10 for adding $100. This deal is only applicable to the Wii U eShop and the funds must be in by July 28th (this coming Sunday). The codes will be given on August 2nd. Funds added from eShop credit cards also count towards the promotion. Click here to see the official informational site regarding the deal.

(News)

Club Nintendo has finally unveiled this year's Elite Rewards, and they're all very well worth it. All eight rewards are listed below in list and picture format. Keep in mind that some rewards are exclusive to Platinum members and you must be at least Gold to get any rewards at all. The list shows what the lowest tier is to be able to recieve the prize next to the prize name. You must also redeem your reward by August 15th before the offer expires.

• 2014 Club Nintendo Calendar (Gold)
• Super Smash Bros. (Wii VC [N64]) (Gold)
• WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase (WiiWare) (Gold)
• The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (3DS VC [GBC]) (Gold)
• Super Mario Land (3DS VC [GB]) (Gold)
• Sakura Samurai (3DS) (Gold)
• Triple Poster Set (8-bit Luigi, Pikmin 3, LoZ: The Wind Waker) (Platinum)
• The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Original Soundtrack (Platinum)

(Recommendation of the Week)

Sorry about the lack of RotW articles during the past month; I've been on multiple vacations and haven't had the time to try out any new games. However, thanks to the Steam summer sale, I've been able to get back to an old childhood favorite, Castle Crashers.

Created by The Behemoth, Castle Crashers is a crazy and adventurous 2D beat-em-up built with RPG elements and with a heavy focus on 4-player co-op. The game's story focuses on a knight or a set of knights, each with their own unique set of magical skills, going after an evil force who kidnapped their kingdom's four princesses across a massive world with a huge amount of levels all filled to the brim with insane enemies and quirky situations. Starting the game gives you access to the original four knights (shown above), each one representing a different magic element. As you progress through the levels by beating the crap out of every enemy you come across, you gain experience points and, after leveling up, get to add skill points to Strength (melee attack power), Magic (unlocking new/stronger spells), Defense, and Agility (running speed and arrow-shooting distance). Each knight's experience points are unique to itself, meaning players can max out the knight of their choice, then start fresh with a brand-new inexpereinced knight if they so desire, and unlockable characters are given out as you venture further. New weapons and animal companions (called Animal Orbs) give knights stat boosts or extra skills that help them through their quest. To master the game, players have to learn the combos knights obtain after leveling up that consist of alternating between the Heavy and Light Attack buttons while occasionally throwing in some magic. Don't let this scare you off if you're new to beat-em-ups; the combos are very simplistic. Items like potions, arrows, bombs, and sandwiches are thrown into the mix to add even more variety to the gameplay. While it's possible to play all the way through alone, it is definitely an experience meant to be played with friends; the four player co-op allows for some hectic fun traversing through the world and Castle Crashers is jam-packed with humorous moments best enjoyed together.

The boss battles and situations presented in Castle Crashers are absolutely insane, but in a good way. For example, as you progress through one of the first levels of the game, you hear a loud consistent thumping sound. The local animals in the forest hear it, too; in fact, they're so frightened by it that they literally start shitting themselves right then and there. The boss battle in the next level takes place on a river in which you and your friends are fighting a massive rabid Catfish. ...literally. It's a cat with a fin on its back. It spews furballs and everything. While beat-em-ups can get repetitive at times, Castle Crashers mixes it up with these boss fights, as each one of them has a special strategy to taking them down, and the aforementioned RPG elements keep it fresh as you go. Each environment is uniquely designed as well, which prevents the backgrounds from getting stale, and each level has its own set of enemies which shows off the game's very creative and unique art style. What's special about this game's soundtrack is that every single track was designed by a different person on Newgrounds, so every level has an individual musical piece to fit its individual setting. ...Not to mention the soundtrack as a whole kicks all kinds of ass.

Castle Crashers is some of the most fun you can have with you friend(s), and it's available on multiple platforms: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and, as of just last year, Steam. See if you can nab Castle Crashers at an insanely low price on Steam during the Summer Sale, or pick it up for your respective console if you want to. While the price on Steam will be varying within the next few weeks, the regular price is $15, as is the PSN version, and the Xbox 360 version goes for 1200 Microsoft Points.

(News)

The classic Game Boy Color game Shantae was planned to have launched on the North American 3DS Virtual Console earlier this year, but was delayed for unknown reasons. Doesn't matter anymore, because Shantae will now officially launch next week on July 18th. Judging by other GBC Virtual Console games, it will most likely be $6.

(Special Article)

Since I really don't have much else to do this summer, the fourth installment of The Remix Collection is now complete! No new franchises were included, however; in fact, some were cut in comparison to the last volume. To make up for it, though, each franchise featured has a full set of four songs each, making this the first RXC to do so, and this volume has four special mixes at the end. Check out the downloads page to nab The Remix Collection - Volume 4 and load it onto your music players!

(As always, the songs in the RXC are not made by me unless otherwise stated in the song description. The Remix Collection is simply a gathering of various remixes, medleys, and mashups across YouTube and Newgrounds. Every artist is given credit for their work; please go to their channel or page to congratulate them on their work if you like what you hear.)

(News)

Square Enix has announced the preorder bonus for the PS3 version of the HD remake of Final Fantasy X and X-2: and upgrade to the limited edition of the bundle that comes with a special art book. Final Fantasy X|X-2 HD Remaster doesn't have a definite release date yet, but it will launch by the end of the year for $40. This preorder bonus seems to only be in effect for the PS3 version, but the remaster is getting a Vita release at some point, only as two seperate games.

(News)

Shin Megami Tensei IV hits the Nintendo 3DS on July 16th, and as a promotion for both SMTIV's launch and the previously-announced crossover with Fire Emblem, Club Nintendo is giving out $30 eShop credit codes to those who have registered both SMTIV and Fire Emblem: Awakening on their account. While it doesn't seem like FEA must have been registered after a certain date, both games must be registered by August 31st to qualify for the bonus. The code given can be used for either the 3DS or Wii U eShops, and the code must be redeemed by December 31st, 2013 and aquired by September 30th. The promotion is aplicable to both the physical and digital versions of both games; just remember to link your Club Nintendo account to your 3DS before purchasing either game digitally. Click here for the official info page. The promotion kicks in on SMTIV's launch date.

(Review)

Mario VS Donkey Kong is a series that has evolved with every installment, and Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is no exception. This iteration, sold exclusively through the Nintendo 3DS eShop, brings in a new style of gameplay and many variations of it. The core is still the same, however: guide the Minis, a line of toys based on Mario, Peach, Toad, Donkey Kong, and now Pauline, to the goal of the stage while preventing them from getting destroyed.

The new main gameplay style featured in Minis on the Move revolves around placing randomly-generated tiles onto the stage, each tile guiding the Mini in a certain direction. The player must utilize the tiles given to him or her in a resourceful manner to guide the Mini to the goal while also making sure not to let the toy drop off the edge of the stage, into a spike pit, or run into an inescapeable dead-end, all while solving the puzzle within a predetermined time limit. In the main game mode, Mario's Main Event, you must also manage your tile reserve; if you have five unplaced tiles and a sixth one drops into your inventory, you must start the whole puzzle over. Trash can tiles and bombs help with keeping your inventory in check; they allow you to throw away stored tiles or destroy ones that are already placed. Strategetic tile placement can also increase your time limit, send you to a bonus game, or create trash can tiles. This game mode can get stressful after a while, however, so there are two other modes that have the same premise but a different control scheme. The first is the Puzzle Palace, my personal favorite. In this one, players are given a set amount of various tiles with no time limit and the player must use up every tile in their inventory to guide the Mini to the goal. Because this mode has a set solving method, it makes it a little less annoying due to the lack of a luck mechanic, but still very fun. The third mode is Many Mini Mayhem, in which you're given multiple Minis to manage, hence the name. This time, however, players are not given any reserved tiles; instead, they must utilize the rotating curved tiles or, in other levels, move and shift around the blue tiles on the stage to guide the many Minis into the goal in a set time limit. Bonus points are awarded if Minis are chained into the goal. A fourth game mode is present, as well - Giant Jungle - which functions exactly like Mario's Main Event, only with an absolutely massive map. Every game mode, with the exception of Giant Jungle, comes packed with 50-70 levels each, and completing them all unlocks even more levels, these ones being Expert Levels. Every level also has three colored coins scattered throughout; getting the Mini(s) to pick them all up on the way to the goal is part of the challenge of the game, and players are awarded with a Star if all three are collected. Stars unlock minigames to play and Minis to view in the gallery. Minis on the Move also comes packaged with a level editor, and custom levels can be shared between friends and on the internet. The only downside to the level editor is that you can only create levels in the Mario's Main Event style of gameplay; I'd much prefer to create levels based on Puzzle Palace. It's still a versatile builder, however, that I hope people will make creative use of.

Unlike previous entries in the series, Minis on the Move does not have a story of any kind, which would explain the replacement of "VS" with "and", which was a slight disappointment considering the original point of the series: to return Mario and Donkey Kong to their rival status. I really wasn't expecting a story to begin with, though, since this is just a puzzle game. The soundtrack to Minis on the Move hasn't derived much from the style of the DSiWare title Minis March Again!, but it still sounds great nonetheless, and it comes with a few little cameo songs, such as Princess Peach's Castle in Puzzle Palace and the Super Mario Bros. 2 overworld theme in Many Mini Mayhem.

The absolutely massive amount of content present in Minis on the Move could make it a full-price retail tile, but it can be purchased for a meager $10. This extensive and addictive puzzler is a steal at such a low price, so it is highly recommended even if you've never played the Mario VS Donkey Kong series. Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move is available now on the Nintendo 3DS eShop.