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‘Super Mario RPG’ joins Nintendo Wii U’s digital catalog

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Nintendo has updated its eShop multiplatform digital storefront with a Wii U version of its classic SNES role-playing game Super Mario RPG, among other newly released digital standouts.

Nintendo’s 3DS portable also sees a selection of new digital releases this week, including the puzzle-platformer Boxboxboy and the Zero Escape series finale Zero Time Dilemma.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, originally released in 1996, puts Nintendo’s franchise characters in a role-playing adventure that mixes isometric platforming and turn-based combat. The game was produced in collaboration with Final Fantasy series developer Square Enix, and serves as a predecessor to modern Nintendo-produced RPGs like Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and the upcoming Paper Mario: Color Splash.

Super Mario RPG won acclaim for its memorable characters and unique combat mechanics, which challenged players to carefully time their attacks in order to deal more damage to enemies. Now a rarity in its original cartridge format, Super Mario RPG hit the Wii Virtual Console in 2008, and is now available for download via the Wii U eShop for $8.

Also arriving for the Wii U via digital channels this week is Intropy Games’ color-matching puzzler Prism Pets and Invanoid, an updated take on the arcade classic Space Invaders.

Ninendo 3DS owners can visit the eShop this week to pick up Boxboxboy, a new puzzler from developer Hal Labs. A follow-up to 2015’s Boxboy, this week’s sequel introduces new gameplay mechanics and unlockables, including alternate character costumes, in-game music, and bonus comics.

The 3DS eShop additionally hosts the final chapter in Aksys’ Zero Escape series this week, giving fans a definitive conclusion to storyline elements introduced in 2010’s Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors and its sequel Virtue’s Last Reward. Other eShop releases for this week include a Wii U version of Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Battle Cats Pop, a feline-themed tower-defense game for the 3DS.

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Just like the Wii U and 3DS eShop closure that caused a ruckus earlier this year, this move is a blow to game preservation and will forever harm some games not available anywhere else. While it's understandable that Nintendo might want to move on from these systems' dated online infrastructure, it's still a disappointing move for those of us who spent a lot of time playing games offline and online on these systems.

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Release date

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Platforms

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