Mega Man Zero arrives in this week’s Nintendo Download

Oh my lord is this game hard. Mega Man Zero on the GameBoy (now on the Virtual Console) is the opposite of a pushover. If that’s too nail-chewingly tough for you, perhaps you’re more in the mood for a little old school grappling?

But back to Mega Man Zero for a second. This game kicked me in the ribs repeatedly when it first came out. I mean, I came dangerously close to tossing my GameBoy out a window. And I’m a vet of the MM series, having played every single one of ’em, so I was used to these games being tough. This one though, it was always packing a little something extra in difficulty. Maybe it was playing on the small screen of the GBA that gave me fits, who knows?

I also mentioned wrestling, and that’s because Natsume Championship Wrestling is also available now. Yeah, think it’s a slow week? Not to say that NCW is bad at all, it’s actually pretty good even though there are no licensed characters in it, but when a GameBoy Mega Man title and an old SNES wrestling game take top billing on the eShop, well, you know what time of year it is.

Past those two, there’s precious little else that is of any impact other than the Mega Man anniversary sale. Have a look at the full list of what’s new below though, you never know what might catch your eye.

• Virtual Console on Wii U
  • Natsume Championship Wrestling – Choose between 12 wrestlers, each equipped with dynamic moves, and jump into the ring for some fierce competition. Play solo, or compete with up to four players in exhibition, tag-team or round-robin matches.
  • Mega Man Zero – In this Game Boy Advance classic, after waking from a deep slumber, play as Zero in a fight for survival. Jump, climb and dash through an unstable world that struggles to keep peace between humans and Reploids. Upgrade weapons and collect helpful Cyber-Elves to conquer the destructive forces headed your way.

Nintendo eShop Sales:

• Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS
  • Celebrate a Mega Anniversary with a Big Sale! – The Nintendo eShop is celebrating Mega Man’s anniversary by offering up to 50 percent off select Mega Man games until 8:59 a.m. PT on Dec. 22. Let the Mega Manniversary Sale begin!
  • Art of Balance, Nano Assault Neo and many more games from Shin’en on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS are on sale until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 14.
  • SteamWorld Dig is 50 percent off on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 1.

• Nintendo eShop on Wii U
  • Little Inferno is more than 50 percent off (reduced from $9.99 to $4.99) until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 1 in the Nintendo eShop on Wii U.
• Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS
  • 1001 Spikes, VVVVVV and other fun games from Nicalis are on sale starting at 9 a.m. PT on Dec. 19 until 8:59 a.m. PT on Jan. 5 in the Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS.
• More Nintendo eShop Discounts
  • Check Out Deals on Other Great Games! – Head to the Nintendo eShop on Wii U and Nintendo 3DS and look under “Price Drops” to find out more about these great deals. Visit www.nintendo.com/eshop/offers for more information.

Coming soon:

• Duck Hunt (Virtual Console on Wii U) – Grab your Wii Remote controller! It’s duck season and your trusty hunting dog is ready to scour the open fields. Test your sharp-shooting skills as your targets take flight in this legendary NES classic. Be quick to knock them out of the skies, or your canine companion won’t hesitate to make you the laughing stock of hunters. Need a change in scenery? Best your score against clay pigeon targets instead. Duck Hunt will be available on Dec. 25.

Also new this week:

• 99Moves (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Art of Balance – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• BLOK DROP X TWISTED FUSION (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Cake Ninja 3: The Legend Continues (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Meme Run (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Plenty of Fishies (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• TOSS N GO (Nintendo eShop on Wii U)
• Asterix The Mansions of the Gods (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Cube Creator 3D – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Fairune (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• I Love My Horse (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• League of Heroes (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• Mes Comptines (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• METAL GEAR SOLID SNAKE EATER 3D (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• TOYS VS MONSTERS (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)
• URBAN TRIAL FREESTYLE – Demo Version (Nintendo eShop on Nintendo 3DS)

In addition to video games available at retail stores, Nintendo also offers a variety of content that people can download directly to their systems. Nintendo adds new games weekly to the Nintendo eShop on the Wii U console and the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, the Nintendo DSi^™ Shop for the Nintendo DSi system and the Wii^™ Shop Channel for the Wii console.

The Nintendo eShop is a cash-based service that features a wide variety of content, including new and classic games, applications and demos. Users can add money to their account balances by using a credit card or purchasing a Nintendo eShop Card at a retail store and entering the code from the card. All funds from one card must be loaded in the Nintendo eShop on either Wii U or the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, but can be used in either Nintendo eShop if the systems are linked to a single Nintendo Network account.

The Wii Shop Channel offers games and applications and uses Wii Points^™, which can be purchased via the Wii Shop Channel. The Nintendo DSi Shop offers games and applications and uses Nintendo DSi Points^™, which can be purchased in the Nintendo DSi Shop.

Remember that Wii U, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo 3DS XL, Nintendo 2DS and Nintendo DSi feature parental controls that let adults manage some of the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu or http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.