The Final Club Nintendo Rewards are Plentiful and Delicious

Nintendo has decided to end its Club Nintendo loyalty program with something on the opposite end of the spectrum from a whimper (that’s a bang). Over 100 games spanning the Wii, Wii U and 3DS are now available in exchange for the program’s coins, but act quickly, because it’s all coming to a close pretty soon. There are also a number of brand new physical goodies, such as a Majora’s Mask jigsaw puzzle or messenger bag.

No more games released by Nintendo or publishers who might have partaken in the program will be eligible for registration within the program, but if you have a game to register that released before January 20, 2015, your window has not yet closed. Until March 31, 2015, those games be registered for varying coin amounts just as they used to, and you’ve got until July 1, 2015 before the whole program shuts down for good and the redeeming of wonderful Nintendo goodies in such a way goes silently into the night.

The reason for all this, according to Nintendo, is the introduction of a brand new loyalty program. From Nintendo:

“In order to focus on planning for a new customer loyalty program for our fans, we’ve decided to wind-down the Club Nintendo program. We are deeply thankful to our members for being a part of Club Nintendo for all of these years…We will share details about our new program at a later date.”

Find the entire list of redeemable rewards right here. Be warned, the website is under considerable strain due to the feeding frenzy. Each system has a number of notable highlights, though, so we’ll naturally note them right here:

Wii U

The Wonderful 101 (600 coins) Here’s the most “video-gamey” full title on the Wii U’s list. It’s the other action-based adventure from Platinum Games exclusive to the console, and though it introduces a few odd frustrations with its unique, touch-based combat system, it’s also one of the most inventive games of its genre in the past few years.

Wii Fit U (600 coins) Personally, Wii Fit U isn’t my most exciting game on this list, since I’m prone to simply lying about my fitness rather than chasing my own physical superiority, but for anyone who already owns one of those original Wii Fit boards, now’s your chance to continue the adventure of self-torture.

Game and Wario (600 coins) The main issue with Game and Wario when it came out was that it cost money. It’s a pretty tiny mini-game collection, especially relative to the superior NintendoLand, but now it’s free for those who enjoy such a thing. The games themselves are pretty fun.

And now that the Wii U has built a substantial base of virtual console titles, many of those titles are currently featured as rewards costing about 200 coins apiece. From the rare Earthbound to the prolific Zelda, Metroid and Mario titles, now is the best time to dig into the oldies. If you want to go the lazy route, nab NES Remix for 300 coins and jump between bite-sized snippets of the classics.

3DS

Kid Icarus: Uprising (700 coins) Here’s the 3DS’s first great title, from Masahiro Sakurai, the dude behind Super Smash Bros. and Kirby. It’s a classically structured third-person adventure with an intuitive, Smash-inspired combat system and a sheer quantity that will keep you playing for hours.

Star Fox 64 3D (700 coins) Fox McCloud’s space-faring adventure is the single best argument for 3D games. The depth of field fundamentally improves both the visuals and mechanical soundness of an already stellar game.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (700 coins) The latest in the Paper Mario series is also the first one on portable systems. Happily, nothing was lost in translation.

Super Mario 3D Land (600 coins) This precursor to the excellent Super Mario 3D World on Wii U is a great little title on its own. Also, it’s actually in 3D.

Dillon’s Rolling Western: The Last Ranger (300 coins) I just put this game on the list to further promote my agenda of getting the game’s title character, the cowboy armadillo named Dillon, into the next Super Smash Bros. as a fully playable character. He’s just an assist trophy right now, which is like telling the Vice President he actually matters.

The 3DS’s own virtual console is also well represented on the list.

Wii

Mario Kart 64 (250 coins) A classic precursor to a series still relevant today.

Super Smash Bros. (250 coins) A classic precursor to a series still relevant today.

Paper Mario (250 coins) A classic precursor to a series still relevant today.

Super Mario 64 (250 coins) A classic precursor to a series still relevant today.

The Wii is a virtual console.

If this announcement makes you sad, don’t let it. Instead, think on the past as a classic precursor to a future still relevant today. Above all else, channel the Nintendo 64 kid, another classic precursor to a future still relevant today.

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