Nintendoji (which appears in my UK StreetPass Mii Plaza as just ‘Nintendo’) was released in early 2013 as a downloadable reward to all Japanese Club Nintendo Gold and Platinum members for 2012. Developed by Grounding Inc. who are better known for both Crimson Dragon and the 3DS title Sakura Samurai; Nintendoji shares a lot in common with Sakura Samurai, not least the protagonist: the androgynous red-haired Nintendoji (Nintendo boy).
The protagonist is not the only thing borrowed from other Nintendo titles as are many treasures found in the game including a Super Mario Kart green shell, a Donkey Kong barrel, a Mario red hat, a Legend of Zelda glass bottle, a Super Mario Bros. 2 turnip, R.O.B. and many more. The Kappa (a weird green duck man with a turtle shell and a nappy) from Sakura Samurai also stars as perhaps the most central character in the game.
Just like Sakura Samurai, Nintendoji looks very much like a Nintendo 64 game featuring dark and sharp edged polygons which are kinda charming in a nostalgic way, but being a DSiWare title: the colours (obviously) aren’t as sharp as the majority of 3DS titles but the minimalist music alongside the dark colours set the tone for the grimness and tension found in the game’s dungeons which are the main gameplay area in Nintendoji.
Essentially a dungeon crawling RPG which sees the player take turns in choosing a numbered card and moving directionally within the dungeon by the number of squares on the card. Moves have to be planned carefully with crystal balls gained, monsters avoided and the goal reached, but you cannot see too far in-front of where your character is currently standing which makes each move even more crucial strategically speaking.
After each dungeon is cleared, the player returns to the Kappa’s house where the shopping part takes place (there is an additional merchant who again looks like he’s from an N64 game) with purchases made via the money gained from the dungeony parts. The between dungeon levels involve a lot of Japanese text which are problematic (at least to myself) and probably contribute to the relatively lowly score of this otherwise sometimes excellent RPG.
6/10
