Giana Sisters now available in North America!

The Great Giana Sisters was a platform game that came out for the Amiga and Commodore 64 computers back in the 80s. It borrowed heavily from Super Mario Bros, some boxes even having the tagline "The brothers are history". It wasn't long before Nintendo was made aware of the PC "homage" and forced them to stop selling the game, making it something of a sought after item for collectors.

Fast forward to two years ago, when the Giana Sisters made a surprise return, this time on Nintendo's own DS in Europe! However even with this more legitamate version, if didn't last long, and online prices for the European version often surpass $70. Then, in January of this year, an ESRB rating surfaced for Giana Sisters by Destineer, an indication that a North American release was nearing. A couple of months went by with no word of a release, when suddenly in the March issue of Nintendo Power they reviewed the game, giving Giana Sisters a respective 9 out of 10. Then once again not a word was said about the game, until now. Online retailers seem to quietly be getting shipments of the game in stock, specifically Wal-Mart and Newegg. At only $19.99, this quasi-sequal to a ripoff of Super Mario Bros can now be bought in the US. 

I just got my copy in the mail today and look forward to some old-school platforming action this evening. At the very least, it's something to satisfy my Mario craving until Super Mario 3D Land arrives later this month!