Back to the roots!
Hudson has revealed the first screenshots of their upcoming new Adventure Island game for WiiWare, Adventure Island: The Beginning which you can see below in our gallery.
From the screens you can see that the game will have gameplay very similar to earlier games in the series, with all of the unique gameplay elements we've come to know and love such as the skateboard and the gradually decreasing stamina bar.
Totally new however are minigames - It seems there will be a number of them included in the game which give a unique twist on the gameplay, such as collecting as much fruit as you can within a certain time limit or riding through a completely 3D level on the skateboard! There will also be online rankings, presumably for both the minigames and your single player scores. You can also test your button mashing speed to try and beat Takahashi Meijin's (The man who Master Higgins is based on, as you might know) record of 16 presses per second, which earned him the nickname 16shot back in the day.
Can you challenge the 16-shot?
Adventure Island: The Beginning is perhaps the most surprising Hudson WiiWare game yet - The last main game in the series was Super Adventure Island II on the SNES way back in 1994, and since then there's only been a few Japan-exclusive mobile phone games! There was an Adventure Island game on the GameCube as well, but this was simply a remake of the original with updated graphics and music.
As such we quite look forward to this release - Judging by the title it will be a prequel, so it should contain only the main elements that made the other games fun without any unnecessary extra stuff (Aside from the minigames!).
1. Turkey Brutus
20 Feb 2009, 16:25 GMT
What a great game to have the first comment on.
09 really is shaping up to be a fantastic year for WiiWare. Kind of wish Master Higgins was a little fatter, though. I really miss the more rolly-polly version.
2. xesbeth
20 Feb 2009, 16:26 GMT
Ohhh nice! But I prefer Bonk, maybe for the next Hudson remake.
Also, a life bar? aaah well...
3. Drake
20 Feb 2009, 16:32 GMT
It's a stamina bar like in almost every other game, the only Adventure Island with actual life was Super Adventure Island II and that was more of an RPG
4. Dazza
20 Feb 2009, 16:45 GMT
Haha it's great to see Hudson's bonkers button mashing 16Shot device in Adventure island as a minigame!
Check out Hudson's Takahashi Meijin mad skillz in action!
5. Tides of Chaos
20 Feb 2009, 16:46 GMT
I was kind of hoping for a 2D game (2D > 3D FTW) but if this gets a good score, I'll be sure to take a look at it anyways.
6. Omega
20 Feb 2009, 16:57 GMT
What is Adventure Island? Is this similar to Wonderboy on the C64? (I hated it and it's terrible skateboard controls. Maybe it's just me.)
7. Corbie
20 Feb 2009, 17:20 GMT
This is one of my all-time favorite game series and I can't WAIT for this game on WiiWare. Now all we need is a new Bonk game to go along with it.
8. Nintendo-Naut
20 Feb 2009, 17:25 GMT
Ah, finally. I've waited too long. A simple side-scroller. (I can live with whatever this 3d skateboard thing is)
9. Djungelurban
20 Feb 2009, 17:51 GMT
Hudson keeps going on the franchise revival trail. Sweet! Here's hoping for some Bonk and perhaps maybe Neutopia... And is it crazy to dream that the first official English release of a game in the Far East Of Eden series will be a brand new WiiWare title?
@Omega:
The first Adventure Island was nothing more than a rebranding of Wonder Boy (which SEGA had exclusive rights to). I mean, apart from Master Higgins, everything was exactly the same. However, when the Wonder Boy series developed into more of an adventure series the Adventure Island games remained pure platform affairs. Good platformers though.
And no, it's not just you. However, the problem wasn't with the game per se, but rather with the C64 conversion.
10. Bahamut ZERO
20 Feb 2009, 17:57 GMT
Adventure Island? I've never heard of it, can somebody explain por favor?
11. Omega
20 Feb 2009, 18:10 GMT
@Djungelurban: Thanks for your explanations. This is very interesting. Then, I believe that the other versions of Wonderboy / Adventure Island are better than the C64 version. And this new WiiWare game can be quite different anyway. I hope they make it not too hard.
@Bahamut Zero: There is a review of Adventure Island on VC-Reviews. At least for the NES Version.
Edit: The japanese TG16 version of "Dragon's Curse" was also released as "Adventure Island". But this seems to be more like "Wonder Boy III" on the Sega Master System. I think this is something completely different.
12. Bass X0
20 Feb 2009, 19:30 GMT
I hope we see more Adventure Island games on the Virtual Console after this has been released.
13. EdEN
20 Feb 2009, 19:35 GMT
Still no price point? Looks like it should be 1000-1200 points.
14. cyrus_zuo
20 Feb 2009, 19:51 GMT
Wishing it were true 2D, the textures look blurry. I like the 3D mini-games, but have to say that the main game visuals in 2D perspective don't make me excited. Klonoa looks very sharp and makes these screen shots look a bit amateurish.
15. EdEN
20 Feb 2009, 19:59 GMT
But Klonoa is $40 and this probably won't be more than $12.
16. Shadx
20 Feb 2009, 20:19 GMT
This is some pretty good news. I liked the original Adventure Island but despised of Super Adventure Island ... I'll wait for a review first.
17. themortalangel
20 Feb 2009, 21:13 GMT
Just think if this does well and Sega takes notes. We could see a new Wonderboy or better yet a good Sonic game.
18. anthonyb
20 Feb 2009, 21:54 GMT
I've never played any games from this series. I hope this one's fun, it looks pretty hardcore for a WiiWare title. I love 2.5-D games.
19. chunky_droid
20 Feb 2009, 22:00 GMT
It is very confusing Omega
but check out this page http://hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/wonderboy/wonderboy.htm, it explains all the Wonder Boy games in detail and mentions the differences in the Turbo editions, which is usually sprite and name changes.
Personally I just find it less confusing to just get the Wonder Boy games, and get the Adventure Island games that aren't Wonder Boy ports
20. WiiwareFan09
20 Feb 2009, 22:11 GMT
this actually looks good
21. calculon
20 Feb 2009, 22:13 GMT
This game sounds awesome. Hudson are definitely getting back in their stride what with Onslaught and now this. My appreciometer has shot back up to 10 for them.
The graphics on this game look pretty good to me. The first couple of screens did look a little out of focus but the later shots get better. I can imagine everything will look fine in the end.
I'm also quite looking forward to the mini games - particularly if there's online leader boards. The skateboard survival game looks like it could be pretty good fun if they get the balance board control right and axe attack will probably wile away a little of people's time too. In fact all the mini-games look like good solid entertainment.
All in all, I'm really looking forward to this game! And no Wiiloveit, nobody's tied the real Calculon up in the basement before you ask
22. Egg miester
20 Feb 2009, 22:25 GMT
looks nice I can't wait
23. Scryble
20 Feb 2009, 22:54 GMT
I wonder if other third party developers are going to start focusing their attention on Wiiware now... SEGA? Konami? It wouldn't be a bad move, as I'm sure Nintendo is going to remove the memory cap on WW games once they release the SD update this spring.
24. Terranigma
20 Feb 2009, 23:01 GMT
I've been giving in to the Hudson WiiWare love recently, having converted enough star points for 500 Wii points, so i bought Pop Them, Drop Them, SameGame. Fantastic stuff for 500 points. Hudson games are the only WiiWare games i've bought so far outside MaBoShi. I'll certainly pay up whatever this costs and hope for more Adventure Island games in the future.
Out of all other Hudson games/series i hope they revive, hopefully on WiiWare but i wouldn't mind elsewhere except PS3/PSP, i hope to see (In no particular order)
A: Neutopia
B: Bonk
C: Nectaris
D: DoReMi Fantasy Sequel
E: Hagane
F: B.L.U.E
G: Star Soldier (A New One with Campaign mode)
-
Just curious but What happened with the Hudson interview?
25. Mik
20 Feb 2009, 23:01 GMT
I have the original on VC and I played it on its original console. Great game!
26. Dazza
20 Feb 2009, 23:26 GMT
@Terranigma - Onslaught happened and the interview suddenly became out of date!
27. Terranigma
20 Feb 2009, 23:31 GMT
@Dazza
I see. Thanks for clearing that one up. Did you guys actually interview them or did it just not happen at all?
28. Corbie
20 Feb 2009, 23:35 GMT
And for anyone looking for some Adventure Island goodness, you should check out the black and white GameBoy titles. They're both amazing! Having said that, I still think New Adventure Island on the TurboGrafx-16 is the best Adventure Island to date. I never get tired of playing it. I guess I can play it again while waiting for this new title to see a release.
29. Omega
20 Feb 2009, 23:39 GMT
@Chunky_Droid (#19): Yes, I find that really irritating. And I thought that the numbering of Final Fantasy 1-6 is complicated to understand. Anyway, thank you very much for the link. This is an interesting website, which make things clearer.
30. Dazza
20 Feb 2009, 23:41 GMT
@Terranigma - We did the interview about Onslaught, but by the time we got the answers back it had come out in Europe so most of it is a bit pointless now. We're going back to the drawing board!
Hopefully we can do a Adventure Island interview but it actually comes out
31. Terranigma
20 Feb 2009, 23:44 GMT
@Dazza
Hopefully indeed, as i'd love to know more about this game. Would you be able to post the Onslaught interview among the comments? Most of it may be pointless now but I'm always interested in interviews for games from great companies like Hudson. Is there anything that wasn't pointless now said in the interview?
32. Dazza
20 Feb 2009, 23:57 GMT
@Terranigma - We've revised some of the questions a bit so hopefully we'll have a complete interview to show you guys soon once Hudson get the chance to look over it again. Watch this space!
33. Terranigma
21 Feb 2009, 00:00 GMT
@Dazza
Good stuff. I'll keep watch over this topic.
34. tatemon555
21 Feb 2009, 01:02 GMT
Really shaping up. Hope it's as great as expected.
35. Objection_Blaster
21 Feb 2009, 01:28 GMT
This is looking solid. Nice worlds so far and the gameplay sounds decent. Wish I could say more but I don't know much about the series.
36. nintendo87
21 Feb 2009, 02:56 GMT
cant wait to get this looks really good!
37. Mickeymac
21 Feb 2009, 03:16 GMT
Might be alright. I keep on forgetting that the Adventure Island series no is no longer connected to the Wonderboy series; for some reason, I was expecting it to be more like the Monster Land/World games (I do hope we see a Monster World V someday), so I was a little disappointed to see that it's just bare-bones platforming, and that the charming graphics of the earlier Adventure Islands didn't really translate well to 3D. Still, this might prove to be enjoyable, and hopefully lead to more Retro-sequels(Shinobi Reborn and Monster World V, hopefully).
38. Cheezy
21 Feb 2009, 13:40 GMT
This I'm actually really excited about. I love Adventure Island. I'd love to see a Bonk remake, too.
39. ness
21 Feb 2009, 16:54 GMT
I would prefer a pure 2D game rather than a 2,5D one. On the one hand because of the 40MB limit and the length of the game, and on the other hand because I think the graphics would be better. For me the game doesn't look very good, hopefully it looks better in motion.
40. Mario maniac
22 Feb 2009, 01:03 GMT
I was never really keen on the Adventure Island series, but the news of this certainly has sparked something. Looking forward to it.
41. Terranigma
22 Feb 2009, 11:20 GMT
I wonder how long will it be before they reveal their next WiiWare games after Adventure Island. It doesn't seem that long ago that they revealed Onslaught and This.
42. Wiiloveit
22 Feb 2009, 11:59 GMT
Whatever it is, it will probably be amazing. Everyone seems to want a new Bonk, so that could be a possibility. I myself would love a new Chew Man Fu. Make it happen, Hudson!
43. KnucklesSonic8
22 Feb 2009, 15:21 GMT
Can't wait to try the Balance board incorporation.
Definitely getting this since I've always wanted to get AI band have been tempted to do so on more than one occasion (just like with Bubble Bobble Plus!) but waiting has been a great benefit cause now I can have my WiiWare fix.
44. Thomas
22 Feb 2009, 15:53 GMT
Looks cool so far. I'll keep my eye on this one.
45. Outrunner
22 Feb 2009, 23:22 GMT
I love New Adventure Island. It's one of my favourite VC games, so this looks like a must-buy.
46. Twilight Crow
23 Feb 2009, 06:52 GMT
I'm not such a big fan of the Adventure Island series, but the original game can be quite entertaining, I got a remake for PS2, I can say 2.5D graphics do not fit that game, but maybe they'll get them better on this one; also the minigames seem like an interesting addition, I'll be waiting for the review. Btw I'd love to see a new Bonk game too
.
47. ALDAWGZ
23 Feb 2009, 11:38 GMT
awesome cant wait 4 this 2 come out
48. Drake
23 Feb 2009, 18:36 GMT
One of Hudson's upcoming games is called Water Warfare, as it's been rated by the USK. We don't know what it'll be about though and Hudson doesn't want to reveal anything yet.
49. MrPoo6321
23 Feb 2009, 18:38 GMT
I never even knew about the Adventure Island games until the Virtual Console. If I was a fan of them back when I was a kid, I would be way more excited about this announcement. Although, I do like the idea of rebuffing old franchises or at least bringing them back into the spotlight, like Mega Man 9, Gradius Rebirth, and whatever that R-Type game is they came out with. Not that they're all good or anything, but I think they should continue the trend, and maybe come out with revamped hard-hitters like Castlevania, Donkey Kong, Metroid, Sonic the Hedgehog or even something that's been dead for a long time like Earthworm Jim or Vectorman.
50. Ricardo91
23 Feb 2009, 23:30 GMT
I was hoping for some hi-res 2D graphics, since the 3D ones here look way too blurry, but this is still looking really good! Yet another Wiiware game for me to look forward to...
@Corbie. I'd buy a new Bonk in a heartbeat! Suggest it to Hudson in your next interview!
51. kevenz
24 Feb 2009, 03:24 GMT
I have Adventure Island remake on the gamecube (it's a japanese only game)
It looks very similar to this one, I wonder if this just a port of the gamecube game? maybe.
There is also a Bonks remake on the gamecube, hope it's going to be released also for wiiware.
52. Atlantis1982
25 Feb 2009, 18:01 GMT
I never understood the hype for Adventure Island; I didn't really like the game, and this WiiWare game looks ugly.
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