The highly anticipated sequel to the ambitious indie gem Retro City Rampage finally has a release date on Nintendo’s aging handheld. The title is due to hit the EShop on September 19th in North America and September 26th in Europe. While Shakedown Hawaii has already been released on other platforms, including the PS Vita, it must have taken some effort to port what looks like a beautiful 16-bit version of Grand Theft Auto to 3DS.
Rampage In Your Pocket
It’s really good news for 3DS fans that Shakedown Hawaii didn’t get canceled for the handheld as a few indie games have been. The Metroidvania Timespinner was scheduled to release this year on the 3DS but that game bit the dust, and Lunar Ray Games acknowledged it would have been a difficult port.
Shakedown Hawaii is similar to its predecessor in that it’s a top-down GTA style game where the emphasis is put on causing as much carnage as possible in order to rack up points. The new game boasts a much more detailed art style and if it wasn’t for some really cool special graphical effects the game could have probably been released on the SNES or Mega Drive (from a technical perspective).
Last 3DS Game?
I own the original Retro City Rampage on 3DS and I honestly think this type of game is suited to Nintendo’s handheld. It’s a lot of fun to blast your way through the in-game streets while on the run from the cops. There’s no word yet on if Shakedown Hawaii will use the 3D feature, but as the original didn’t it’s probably fair to assume it won’t.
The only major title left to release on the 3DS is Shovel Knight: King of Cards but who knows, maybe we’ll get another indie game or two.
What do you think about Shakedown Hawaii? Will you pick it up for 3DS? Please tell us in the comments.