Though the games range in quality, Nintendo's online storefront has fairly consistently been stocked with a wealth of new downloadable titles for both the Wii and DSi on a weekly basis. This week is a bit of a light one on all fronts, however, as a single game has been added to each of Nintendo's WiiWare, Virtual Console, and DSiWare shops.
Having seen its first North American release for the NES in 1990, the original Final Fantasy journeys to Nintendo's current console this week for 500 Wii points ($5). Square Enix and Hironobu Sakaguchi's classic turn-based role-playing game follows four warriors of light as they use swords and sorcery to save the world by defeating elemental fiends that seek to plunge the world into chaos.
As for original games, Digital Leisure's puzzler Word Searcher can be acquired for 500 Wii points ($5). As its name suggests, the game offers classic word-search gameplay, with 100 different themed puzzles in categories including anatomy, world cities, and US presidents. Notably, the puzzles are scrambled after every play-through, allowing for a measure of replayability.
Big John Games provides the DSi with its sole downloadable game this week. Thorium Wars can be purchased for 1,000 Wii points. A vehicular shooter, Thorium Wars features 12 different missions in which players control a number of mechanized weapons of war, including tanks, hovercrafts, gunboats, and jet fighters, both terrestrial and interstellar. The 3D shooter allows for both first- and third-person perspectives, as players attempt to save the world from an invading army of sentient robots.