This week sure has been a quite one for Ninty. Early prepping for TGS maybe? At any rate, there are still a few tidbits to be read in this week's recap, the biggest being Shia LeBeouf's anti-Wii comments that may have lost him a few fans and earned him a lot of flames. Catch that and more on this edition of the Nintendo Weekend Warrior.

Tingle is a Nintendo character first introduced in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. As a 35-year-old bachelor who loves wearing green full-body tights, he's -- to put it mildly -- weird. It's like people either hate him or love him. No middle ground. He's also starring in two new games.

Boy, Tingle sure does love rupees, doesn't he? He loved the red, sparkly stuff so much that Nintendo gave him his own dungeon-crawling, city-skulking title that has him going on his own adventure - with the main objective being to collect as many rupees as he can without getting trampled, beaten or eaten by the many critters and bosses in his way. We see all that and more in the latest trailer for Freshly Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland headed for the Nintendo DS.

In the video, we see Tingle going about his business, talking to people, a flying Rupee deity, and even participating in a massive boss battle that seems more fit for the likes of Link. Fortunately, Tingle has his own way of dealing with bosses - and that's by delivering a payload of bombs from above, with the help of a couple of balloons to keep him aloft. Awesome...ish.

No more spoilers from us, enjoy the video!

Somehow, we never expected a 35-year old man in tights to be the protagonist of his own game, but we suppose Japan has its reasons for unleashing such weirdness upon the world. Europe better get ready though, as Nintendo plans to unleash the rupee-loving fairy man on unsuspecting gamers.

In Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland, you get to play Tingle from his earnest beginnings as a normal middle-aged man to the untimely arrival of Uncle Rupee into his life and his being chosen to wear the mantle of Tingle, the rupee-lover. Uncle Rupee introduces him to a magical pool, which allows a tower to grow the more money is placed into it.

Needless to say, earning money is the main preoccupation in this game, and to do so, you have to fulfill the tasks given by others in the game world. Progressing through the game means completing sub-quests, exploring dungeons and selling maps he draws for money, which he can then use to feed the magical pool and access new areas.

Expect Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland to make big money in the game stores when it comes out on September 14.

Why must every attack on Japanese TV shows for kids (Ultraman, Kamen Raider, Bioman) or some old school anime (Voltes V, Daimos) have a name? Will "Rider Kick" be that much weaker without shouting it out? Is a laser sword attack not obvious unless you spell it out?

We may never know the answer, but we're certain how Japanese culture never fails to amuse the world. Japan's Club Nintendo from the fame of other innovations like the Game & Watch Collection and Tingle's Balloon Fight, will unleash Zekkyo Senshi Sakebrain come September.

Beyond the quirky title, the game will make use of voice recognition for players to declare their attacks. That's right, there are voice commands for your hero's every strike, which means you'd have to shout out "Kick!" or "Punch!" to do those moves. You get to play superheroes ala Power Rangers, so it looks like it'll work really well.

You will need at least another person to play (but not to save yourself from shame of shouting at your DS like a lunatic) and up to three can join forces to battle evil. Unfortunately, it is only slated for a Japan release on September. Lucky folks over the Land of the Rising Sun can grab the game for only 500 Nintendo points, but western gamers who can import will have something to brag about.

Learn more and watch a video on their official website by clicking on the Read link below.

And while Japanese gaming giant is enjoying breakneck sales in both the handheld DS or the new-gen console Wii, Nintendo Europe is still opening up a whole barrel of summer loving for Nintendo gamers in the region. While Asia and North America have already enjoyed some of the titles going to be announced here, they're hoping the highly acclaimed titles will also do well in PAL regions.

Touch! Generations' Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree leads the lineup for the Wii console, followed by Atlus' Trauma Center: Second Opinion. To close up the top three is Nintendo's spin-off from a spin-off of a spin-off, Super Paper Mario, landing finally in the UK.

And the top three of the Nintendo DS release list has the bestselling Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl from Nintendo leading the pack. Nintendo's Tingle's Rose Rupeeland ships Tingle with his own RPG title, separate from the Legend of Zelda franchise. Rhythm title Elite Beat Agents from iNiS rounds up the upper batch, carrying popular songs from the likes of Ashlee Simpson, David Bowie and Beyonce among some.

Click on Full Article for the full list of DS and Wii games slated for release by Q3 2007.

The Japanese sales numbers are in, and guess what? A PSP game is in first place! It's true! Check it out for yourself:

01. (PSP | Bandai Namco) Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition - 66,263 [NEW]
02. (NDS | Nintendo) New Super Mario Bros. - 53,011 [3,027,038]
03. (NDS | Square Enix) Final Fantasy III - 49,475 [598,476]
04. (NDS | Nintendo) A Fresh Picked Tingle's Rose Coloured Rupee Land - 32,792 [NEW]
05. (NDS | Nintendo) Brain Training 2 - 32,054 [3,151,912]
06. (NDS | Nintendo) Shaberu! DS Cuisine Navi - 25,458 [445,191]
07. (GBA | Nintendo) Rhythm Tengoku - 24,676 [148,108]
08. (NDS | Nintendo) Animal Crossing Wild World - 24,027 [3,205,762]
09. (PS2 | Sega) Phantasy Star Universe - 20,431 [140,633]
10. (NDS | Nintendo) Mario Basket 3 on 3 - 20,372 [288,136]

DSL: 113,831
PSP: 29,141
PS2: 19,882
GBASP: 2,104
GBM: 1,801
360: 1,094
DS: 1,058
GCN: 696
GBA: 13
XBX: 5

There's a PSP game in first, but the hardware sales are just the same as usual. What's interesting to note is that the DS Lite sells over a hundred thousand units every week. There's only been one week this entire year that the DS didn't sell over a hundred thousand units. However, Sony is only going to put out 100,000 PS3s on launch day in Japan! Expect to see massive damage in Japan. Massive.

Read more of the article after the jump!

What's weirder than "weird?" Well, we don't know exactly, but maybe this game could help us. Face it, Mogitate Tingle Bara Iro Rupee Land is simply bizarre to the utmost degree. And that's said with reservation. However, when we say Tingle is weird, doesn't that intrigue you? Doesn't it hold you in some mystifying way? Doesn't it capture you in some hypnotic, unexplainable way, that makes you feel that you. have. GOT. to get. this game?

Well, it does for us.

In the same way that LocoRoco is weird, Mogitate Tingle Bara Iro Rupee Land also is. And it is this very weirdness that we are finding quite appealing in the game. So, as a testament to this infectious weirdness, we give you... screenshots!Click the Full Article link to check out more of the screenshots!

 
   

  

Here's a couple of funny pictures of a guy dressed as Tingle as part of the promotional activity for the DS game Mogitate Tingle no Barairo Rupee Land, or simply Tingle RPG. Tingle has quite a following in Japan, so one might think that this kind of promotion isn't really necessary. But then again, not everyone knows Tingle, so this is one way to make people become more aware of the character.

Unfortunately, Tingle is not as well-received in the west when he made some appearances in some The Legend of Zelda games. So, it's highly unlikely the game would see the light of day in North America. Nintendo of America is trying to get some feedback from the public via a Tingle survey - a move that places the fate of Tingle RPG in the hands of the players.

Yes, the game has come a long way since it was referred to as "Tingle RPG." The commercial for A Fresh Picked Tingle's Rose Coloured Rupee Land shows off a bit more of the gameplay and cutscenes. You can see Tingle trading rupees with other people. You can see Tingle wandering around the world map. You can even see Tingle fighting bosses! The graphics for this game that was very well done was something I didn't expect. This is looking more and more like a crazy game that might just be fun! Will we see the game though over here in North America? I somehow doubt it...

The commercial also reveals that the Black DS Lite is set for September 2nd in Japan, even though Winning Eleven (which was set to debut alongside it) has been delayed.