A lot of interesting bits popped into the Nintendo block this week - from race-able Chocobos, re-imagined sountracks, to retrained cops. If you want to stay up to speed with the new DSi LL, there's an update in here featuring the new upsized portable. There's a lot more where those came from, so let's get clickin'.

Famitsu.com has broken the news on a new entry in Taito's Estpolis series. If the name doesn't ring a bell, the series was released outside Japan as "Lufia". The new game will be called Estpolis: The Land Cursed by the Gods and will be produced by the original game's development staff. Square Enix will be handling publishing duties.

It's been a while since we've heard of any industry-related job cuts, and for some time back there, it looked like everything was getting back on the right track. Then we get this. Square Enix Japan is being rumored to be getting ready to bring down the axe on some 200 to 300 jobs in their company.

Taito isn't done invading the Wii and the DS. As recently promised by Square Enix, they really are bringing more Taito Classics to the said platforms. Check out the list at the full article for the corresponding titles you may very well expect in the coming future.

There's more in store for you European gamers as Square Enix promises to send out more Taito classics your way, especially after the highly impressive outcome of the Space Invaders Extreme for the DS. Reports have it that you can expect the classics rollin' out your way this summer of 2009.

Ever wonder what a game would be like if a developer made it in one day? Try AEMIODA. Developer Alekmaul sure had some fun naming this, AEMIODA stands for Arcade Emulator Made In One Day: Asteroid. Changelog and info in the full article.


Download: AEMIODA v2.0

Pong Extreme v0.1 is the creation of rck for the DS, and it's essentially a homebrew Pong clone. According to rck, however, there's one thing that sets it apart: synesthesia. Learn more about it after the jump!


Download: Pong Extreme v0.1

PolyTouch is a DS homebrew graphics-manipulating application that allows you to play around with polygons and treat them as vector images - complete with nodes and all. Whether you find this useful in creating your own sprites for your homebrew project or maybe just something that can help bring out the artist in you, it's something that can have you occupied for quite a while.

Download: PolyTouch v0.1

If you love playing classic arcade games such as Arkanoid or Breakout, then you shouldn't miss out on their homebrew incarnations for the DS. Check out BlockBust, an Arkanoid clone for DS by homebrew developer Gungnir. More details in the full article.


Download: BlockBust

Square Enix has just released their planned game line-up for this year's E3. While Final Fantasy XIII didn't pop up anywhere in the list, Square's PR indicates that the PSP's two Star Ocean titles are due for an English port. Details are available in the full article.