| NRL Mascot Mania | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Wicked Witch Software |
| Publisher(s) | Tru Blu Entertainment |
| Series | Rugby League |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure Platform |
| Mode(s) | Single-player Multiplayer |
NRL Mascot Mania is a National Rugby League video game, developed by Wicked Witch Software for Nintendo DS. It was released in July 2009.
The games focus more on the mythology of the League's Mascots than on the sport itself. The central component of the game is the adventure the players Mascot will experience in the themed worlds. As such, it is aimed at the younger fans of Rugby League. [1]
Managing Director of Wicked Witch Software, Daniel Visser, says that, while the games share style and genre, they both have several unique worlds, trading card sets, and mini games and, of course, each leagues sports game to unlock. [2]
The game will bring NRL teams mascots to life in an action adventure. There are 48+ levels, 16 playable characters and numerous mini-games including an unlockable mini-game of Rugby League. [3] Each team has its own themed world, with 3 levels, including 1 boss arena. All the team mascots come with their own powers which you use to defeat the enemies. Abilities include fiery fists and ground smash. Your character will face other teams mascots in 'boss battles'. Players can also collect and trade NRL playing cards wirelessly in the game. As well as collectable cards, gold can be found around the game world to purchase the cards from an ingame shop. The cards are used to unlock players for the minigame. [4]
The first reviews for the game have been positive. Cyber Shack gave it a 4 to 4.5 out of 5 and Aussie Nintendo gave it a 7.5 out of 10. [5] Mascot Mania's sister title for the AFL, a tie-in game for its Mascot Manor on the same platform, received an independent review from, Just Kidding, a gaming magazine targeted at school age children, saying the game hits the mark and giving it 4 out of 5. [6]
The National Rugby League is a professional rugby league competition in Australasia which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand.
The Nintendo e-Reader, commonly abbreviated as e-Reader, is an add-on manufactured by Nintendo for its Game Boy Advance handheld video game console. It was released in Japan in December 2001, with a North American release following in September 2002. It has an LED scanner that reads "e-Reader cards", paper cards with specially encoded data printed on them.
Kirby: Canvas Curse, known in Europe as Kirby: Power Paintbrush, is a 2005 action-platform game developed by HAL Laboratory, published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. While Kirby: Canvas Curse is a platformer, it does not play like a traditional Kirby video game, as it solely requires the use of the stylus. A Wii U sequel, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, was released in 2015. The game was later re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in Europe and Australia in December 2015, in Japan in February 2016, and in North America in October 2016.
Metroid Prime Pinball is a pinball video game themed after the Metroid series. The game uses the graphical style and various story elements from Metroid Prime. It was developed by Fuse Games and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS in North America and Australia in 2005, in Japan in 2006, and in Europe in 2007. Metroid Prime Pinball uses the basic mechanics of pinball, along with typical pinball items. New mechanics are introduced, such as wall jumping and the ability to fire weapons. The Nintendo DS's touchscreen can be nudged with a finger to alter the pinball's trajectory while in motion.
Tru Blu Entertainment Pty. Ltd. is an Australian publisher that is a subsidiary of Home Entertainment Suppliers, who distribute their titles. It was founded in 1999. Their debut title was 2003's Sidhe Interactive-developed Rugby League which released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Tru Blu Entertainment specialises in sports titles, having released a number of rugby league, Australian rules football, cricket and horse racing titles.
Super Princess Peach is a 2005 platform game developed by Tose and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It was released in Japan in October 2005 and worldwide the following year. Super Princess Peach is the first game to feature Princess Peach as the main protagonist on a dedicated video game console and the second overall after Princess Toadstool's Castle Run released in 1990 on the Nelsonic Game Watch.
Mascot Manor refers to a fictional house in which the Australian Football League (AFL) club mascots live. Prior to 2003, each AFL club had mascots; however, in order to appeal to Auskick players, a common theme was decided upon for club mascots. Most clubs have an historical link with their mascots. The story begins with Toby "Torpedo" Coleman, a young, Northern Territory boy who dreams of playing AFL, stumbling across "Mascot Manor" where the 18 mascots live. Some clubs have since moved away from the Mascot Manor character to a mascot of their own choosing.
Tantalus Media is an Australian video game developer based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1994 by programmers Andrew Bailey and Trevor Nuridin. Since its inception, Tantalus has developed almost 100 games and has won multiple game awards. In March 2021, Keywords Studios acquired 85% of Tantalus Media for US$46.8 million.
Mario Party DS is a 2007 party video game developed by Hudson Soft and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the second handheld game in the Mario Party series, as well as the last game in the series to be developed by Hudson Soft, as all subsequent titles have been developed by Nintendo Cube. The game was re-released on the Virtual Console for the Wii U in 2016.
Space Chimps is a platform video game based on the film of the same name. It was published by Brash Entertainment and was released for the PlayStation 2, Wii, Nintendo DS, Xbox 360, and Windows in 2008.
MySims Party is a video game developed and published by Electronic Arts as a spinoff to Maxis' The Sims franchise for the Nintendo DS and Wii in 2009. It is the third game in the MySims series. It consists of 50+ mini-games which can be played with up to 4 players. The game was released on March 10, 2009, in North America.
The AFL video game series is a series of Australian rules football video games licensed and based on the VFL/AFL.
AFL Challenge is a sports game for the PlayStation Portable, based on the AFL. The game was developed by Australian games developer Wicked Witch Software, and was published by Tru Blu Entertainment and Sony Computer Entertainment. The games fixture is based on the 2009 AFL season and features all official AFL teams and a predetermined best 22 players for each team, whose positions cannot be changed.
Pokémon HeartGold Version and Pokémon SoulSilver Version are 2009 remakes of the 1999 Game Boy Color role-playing video games Pokémon Gold and Silver, also including features from Pokémon Crystal. The games are part of the fourth generation of the Pokémon video game series, developed by Game Freak and published by The Pokémon Company and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. In commemoration of the 10th anniversary of Gold and Silver, the games were released in Japan on September 12, 2009, and were later released in other regions during March 2010.
Rugby League Challenge is a sport simulation game for the PlayStation Portable based on the National Rugby League and the Super League. The game was developed by Australian game developer Wicked Witch Software and was published by Tru Blu Entertainment. The game is based on the 2009 NRL season and Super League XIV. It features all 16 NRL teams and 14 Super League teams.
Rugby League is a rugby league video game series developed by Sidhe Interactive, Wicked Witch Software, and Big Ant Studios. The first games was Rugby League, released on 9 December 2003. The latest game released was Rugby League Live 4, released on 20 July 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Combat of Giants is a series of video games published by Ubisoft, exclusively for Nintendo systems. It was called Battle of Giants in North America until 2011 when Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D was released using the original name.
AFL is an AFL sports game for the Wii and iOS. It was developed by Wicked Witch Software. It was released on 19 May 2011. Commentating is provided by Dennis Cometti and Brian Taylor.
AFL Evolution is a video game based on the AFL developed by Wicked Witch Software and published by Tru Blu Entertainment in 2017 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows. A demo containing player and team creation tools was released on April 5, 2017. The game was released on May 5, 2017 for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and Microsoft Windows via Steam on July 21.
