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NES classic Blaster Master returns on Wii U’s Virtual Console

Danny Cowan
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Sunsoft’s Nintendo Entertainment System classic Blaster Master leads this week’s digital lineup on Nintendo platforms, arriving on the Wii U alongside indie standout Tiny Galaxy.

Released in 1988, Blaster Master is a side-scrolling platformer in which players guide a four-wheeled tank through a series of alien environments. Upon finding enemy bases, players then leave the tank and engage bosses in overhead-view action sequences.

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Blaster Master is also known for its quintessentially 8-bit storyline, in which a teenaged protagonist searches for his pet frog after it encounters radioactive material and grows to tremendous size. The search leads the boy underground, where he naturally finds a massive tank and matching armored body suit.

Blaster Master saw a handful of sequels in the decades after its debut, but the original NES release remains the most fondly remembered among fans. Creator Sunsoft last returned to the series in 2010 with the WiiWare-exclusive Blaster Master: Overdrive.

The Wii U’s second digital release this week, Tiny Galaxy, presents an alternate take on the platformer genre. Similar in structure to Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy, levels in Tiny Galaxy feature a series of planetoids that players must traverse by using their gravitational pull. Tiny Galaxy features 60 levels across six distinct gameplay worlds.

Nintendo 3DS owners have several new digital releases to choose from this week, including pet sim I Love My Dogs, air traffic management game I am an Air Traffic Controller: Airport Hero Narita, and a pair of new arcade-style titles in publisher Genterprise’s G.G series.

Also premiering for the Nintendo 3DS this week is a demo version of Atlus’ upcoming dungeon-crawling RPG remake Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight. Atlus notes that player progress in the demo will carry over to the full version upon its launch next month.

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