Darkain Arts Gamers

North American users of the Nintendo 3DS got a surprise on Friday morning with the update for Mii Plaza arriving on their systems.

After a brief system update, followed by the update within Mii Plaza itself, the plaza has been expanded and four new games have been introduced. Each of the four games can be purchased using funds from your eShop funds. The games are now available for purchase from within the application at $4.99 apiece, or $14.99 for all four.

All of the games are now within their own section of the Mii Plaza, which now allows for touch screen controls on the bottom screen.

Another addition is the Exchange Booth. Players who complete various accomplishments in the games earn tickets that they can redeem in the redesigned StreetPass Mii Plaza to unlock dozens of new outfits or hats for their StreetPass Mii characters. New outfit options include a full-body Luigi Costume, a Yoshi’s Egg Hat, a Super Mushroom Hat and a Super Star Hat. The selection of outfits and hats changes every day, and the old hats are still available by playing Find Mii.

Four new panels for Puzzle Swap will also be released at the same time as the update. Each Nintendo 3DS user will receive one random new panel and will have to interact with other Nintendo 3DS owners via StreetPass to receive the other three.

Take a look at a rundown of the new games below:

Monster Manor

Monster Manor sends you on a spooky paranormal investigation. You’re a detective trying to solve the mystery of a haunted house. With the help of your fearless young assistant, Iris Archwell, you work to uncover the truth with the help of people you meet inside. You’ll face many a foe as you try to make your way to the top floor.

In Monster Manor, you explore a huge haunted house. How, you ask? Well, you collect pieces of the haunted manor’s map. You also battle spooky monsters. That’s what this game is all about. For example, you pick which piece to take from each person you meet. You also pick where each piece goes. Your path’s totally up to you.

The pieces you set down create doors and hallways. By collecting plenty of pieces from your StreetPass visitors, you explore each floor of the manor bit by bit. You goal is to find the stairs so you can climb up to the next floor. When pieces of the same colour connect to make a square, instead of making a hallway, you make a whole room. Rooms contain treasure chests and other neat stuff too. You’ve got to be smart about where you set each piece. It’s a bit like a puzzle.

Other features: There are battles with all sorts of monsters, ghosts and creatures. You’ve gotta have quick reflexes to shoot and guard effectively. There are lots of weapons to find. As you use them, they power up! You can upgrade your favourites using weapons you don’t want. You can also team up with folds you meet via StreetPass.

What’s the manor’s dark secret? What’s waiting at the top floor? It’s a mystery.

Warrior’s Way

Warrior’s Way is a game that relies on both strategy and luck. In it, you rule a remote country in a war-torn land. With help from Wentworth, your faithful old butler, you build an army via StreetPass and battle other commanders. Your ultimate goal? To conquer the world!

In Warrior’s Way, a large army is the key to success. That’s where StreetPass comes in. As you meet people via StreetPass, your army gains soldiers! Oh, but here’s a tricky question for you to puzzle over…If you meet 10 people via StreetPass, does your army gain 10 soldiers? That’s not the case.

The number of soldiers received from a person met via StreetPass corresponds to that person’s current plaza population. In other words, if you meet someone via StreetPass who has 100 people in his or her plaza, your noble army gains 100 soldiers. Someone with a plaza population of 1,000 would give you 1,000 soldiers!

When you meet folks via StreetPass who also own Warrior’s Way, you can battle against them! If you win a battle, you’ll get soldiers. Careful, though…if you lose a fight some of your soldiers will run away. The most important thing is to make as big an army as you can. With a horde of troops behind you, you can try to take over the world!

Other features: there’s observing your enemies, setting up strategic formations and predicting what your foe will do, like in a game of rock-paper-scissors. You can spy on your enemies! Fortify your castle! There are tough opponents to face, too. Will you be able to conquer all 20 countries and take over the world? Will your army become thousands of soldiers strong?

It’s all up to you!

Flower Town

Flower Town starts with you moving into a lovely house in Florafield. There, with Mr. Mendel’s help, you try to become a Master Gardener. That means growing lots of plants with folds you meet via StreetPass. you also get to decorate your garden.

Meeting folks via StreetPass is very important in Flower Town. That’s because the more people you meet and garden with, the more your plants will grow!

Folks who visit your courtyard water your current plant. The more water a plant gets, the faster it grows. When a plant gets big enough beautiful flowers bloom! Once a flower blooms, you can harvest seeds from it.

If a visitor has a blooming plant of his or her own, those flowers can cross-pollinate with yours! You can find all sorts of breeds by crossing yours with others. You never know what your visitors will bring over.

Other activities: There’s a journal to become a Master Gardener. You can also decorate your garden plots with plants and accessories. Visiting Florafield’s shopping mall is fun too. Ms. Blossom’s there, and she’s always looking for help with jobs. The mall is also a great place to shop for new decorations. You can even invest in new garden plots.

Mii Force

In Mii Force, you belong to an elite team of space police. Your mission is to save StreetPass Galaxy from the Gold Bone Gang. With the help of your StreetPass squad mates, you take to the skies! It’s your job to preserve peace in the galaxy.

The game is a scrolling shooter.

The more folks you bring into the game via StreetPass, the more powerful your scout ship becomes. Your Mii character sits in the pilot seat. Collect two squad mates, and you’ll be able to shoot in two directions. Collect 10 squad mates and you’ll be practically unstoppable. The more squad mates you have, the stronger your defenses are.

If an enemy attack hits your craft, one of your allies has to retreat. That means you’ve got to be slick with your evasive maneuvers. As long as you’ve still got squad mates, you’re still in the fight. That means the bigger your squad, the more hits you can take.

There are 12 different weapons. Each corresponds to a certain shirt color. There are over 10 different stages to fight your way through. Plus there are bosses waiting at the end of each stage. There is also an extra mode that unlocks once you clear the game.