Four new paid StreetPass 3DS games available in Europe and Japan

Nintendo has unceremoniously issued a huge firmware update for Nintendo 3DS. In this update, The Big N has rolled out save data backups and, in some territories, a handful of fresh StreetPass games.

In version 6.0.0-11U, Ninty has added the ability to back up save data for downloadable versions of Nintendo 3DS software and most Virtual Console games. That's handy.

For European and Japanese 3DS players, however, the real fun is to be found in the StreetPass plaza.

This app, which keeps a catalogue of all the people you have met through the 3DS's local communication function, now contains four more games: Battle, Garden, Mansion, and Squad.

Like in StreetPass Quest, you can progress through each game by meeting other players or spending Play Coins. As you work your way through the games, you'll unlock new hats and accessories for your Mii.

Lets take a look at each game...

Squad is a side-scrolling shmup, developed by Good-Feel (Kirby's Epic Yarn). You belong to an elite group of space police, and it's up to you to save the StreetPass Galaxy from the Gold Bone Gang.

Your Mii sits in the pilot seat of the main fighter ship, but every Mii encounter you make will power up your craft.

Collect two Mii friends and you'll be able to shoot in two directions. Collect ten and you'll be practically unstoppable. Plus: allies act as lives. So, the bigger your squad, the more hits you can take.

Squad features 12 different weapons, each corresponding to a different Mii colour. There are also ten different stages with boss fights, and an extra mode that is unlocked once you finish the game.

In StreetPass Garden (from Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D developer Grezzo), you'll move into a new house in Leafington and, with Mr Mendel's help, try to become a master gardener.

The more Miis you encounter, the more your plants grow. People who visit your courtyard will water your current plant and help it bloom. Sounds lovely.

This one comes from Spike Chunsoft (the team behind the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games), and is a world domination title in which strategy and luck are the keys to success.

You rule a remote country in a war-torn land and, with the help of your faithful butler Wentworth, you'll amass an army of Miis and battle other generals.

Every Mii encounter makes your army grow. The number of soldiers you get from another person is based on his plaza population. The bigger your army, the more likely you are to win.

As you build your army and start to take over the 20 counties, you'll need to observe your enemies, set up strategic formations, and predict what your foe will do in a game of rock-paper-scissors. You can also spy on your enemies and fortify your castle.

Oh, and if you meet someone via StreetPass who also owns StreetPass Battle, you can fight against him. If you win, you'll get more soldiers. If you lose, some of your troops will run away.

Finally, there's StreetPass Mansion from Prope (Ivy the Kiwi?).

In this one, you're cast as a detective on a paranormal investigation of some haunted old manor. You'll be aided by your fearless young assistant, Ella Mentree.

You'll face monsters, ghosts, and other enemies as you work your way to the top floor. To fight these creatures, you'll need quick reflexes. There are lots of weapons to find and power up. You can also team up with people you meet via StreetPass.

When you meet friends, you'll find new map pieces. You then lay these oddly shaped map tiles on the mansion floor to decide your own path through the house. The goal is to find the stairs so that you can climb to the next floor.

If map pieces of the same colour connect, they form a room. These rooms contain treasure chests and other handy items.

In the 3DS firmware update, there are also 99 more hats and two new puzzles (this time, based on Wii games The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and Xenoblade Chronicles).

The software update is a bit crashy, in truth, so hopefully a performance patch is on the way.

You can grab the update right now. Either head to the system settings or just load StreetPass Plaza to start the process.