Topic: Opinions on these VC titles

I've had the Wii since the day it was released but I think my VC collection is kind of lame. Up until now I've been really choosy about the games I buy. Here are the VC games I own:

Super Mario Bros (NES)
Pinball (NES): for nostalgia reasons. I have strong memories of this game for some reason
Super Mario Bros 3 (NES)
Super Mario World (SNES)
Harvest Moon (SNES)
Super Mario RPG (SNES)
Wild Guns (SNES): bought it on a whim, can't beat level 1... I clearly don't know how to play.
Paper Mario (N64)
Pokemon Snap (N64)
Star Fox 64

So I decided that I want to build up a nice collection of retro games. I'm going to get the Zeldas, Donkey Kong Country, Bubble Bobble, Princess Tomato, and a few others that I've played before.... but I need your help on games that I've never played.

TELL ME ABOUT THESE GAMES:

Breath of Fire 2, Phantasy Star games, Secret of Mana, Ys: Is there any reason to play these games today without the nostalgia factor?

Adventure Island games: I vaguely remember playing these as a kid but I don't know if they will hold my attention as an adult.

Mystical Ninja and Bonk's Adventure: I've heard a lot about these. Are they must-haves?

Bomberman '94: Can you also play against the computer in multiplayer mode? I like to play Bomberman games in short bursts by myself.

Metroid and Super Metroid: I normally only play easy, colourful, cute, light-hearted games so I've avoided Metroid in the past. I know these are loved games so answer this: how difficult are they? I have little patience for difficult games.

I know many people love a challenge but unfortunately I'm not one of them. I play games for the experience of the ride, not the challenge. Retro games tend to be difficult and there's rarely a difficulty setting. I don't have the time or patience to play a level over and over so if any of the above games are hard or cheap, please give me a warning.

https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/general_discussion/univers...
https://www.nintendolife.com/forums/virtual_console/recommendations_thread_portal

Should tell you all you need to know. If not, feel free to ask there.

But for a quick fix I'll say this:

Yes, because they're massively good games. Some of the best on the service, in fact.
Never played them
No, but they're good if you already have the must-have Platformers
Metroid's not your thing, but I always found Super Metroid to be disappointingly easy.

Adventure Island - Didn't like it at all, even as a kid. It's got unfair difficulty and the gameplay is boring. Played it somewhat recently and, yeah, I still didn't like it.

I'd never played any Metroid games, but I recently bought Super Metroid on VC and I love it. The creepy atmosphere is inspired by the Alien movies and it's great. The adventure platforming is lots of fun too. The difficulty isn't very high either (for me so far), you just need some platforming skills. The story and atmosphere should justify the "experience of the ride" for you, if you can appreciate the creepy isolation in the game. Which perhaps you wouldn't?

metroids are both good

I've been toying with the idea of getting Harvest moon for the longest time. I'm just afraid it would bore me to tears.
Ys is really good. If you like rpg's it's a must. The music is fantastic! Great story too. It even has spoken dialog for the cutscenes. I had no nostalgia for it what so ever and loved it!

• Adventure Island games: AI1 is kinda bland. I'd suggest waiting for the much better sequels (AI2 and AI3, as well as the SNES ones). They all start easy, but the later levels can become nightmarish. Good thing there's the VC's suspend feature to help with that.
• Bonk's Adventure: Bonk games can be a lot of fun, once you get used to their somewhat slow gameplay. They are easier than the average retro game too.
• Metroid and Super Metroid: Metroid is for hardcore players only. Super Metroid is too, but it's much more accessible and stood the test of time much better than the first game. Super Metroid is a masterpiece, and can be very immersive (and rewarding) if you are willing to invest the time it needs to explore its vast world. It was one of the SNES' killer apps (and a must-have) for a reason.

I'm really on the fence about Metroid. I'd like to like them, but I just don't think they're my genre. There's no harm in trying Super Metroid but I think I would rather tell people I've never played it then say I played it and hated it!

I think I'll pass on Adventure Island and Bonk's Adventure then. It doesn't seem like I'm missing out on much by not getting them.

Tell me more about Breath of Fire 2, the Phantasy Star games, Secret of Mana, and Ys I and II. I like RPGs especially Dragon Quest and the early Final Fantasy games.

NES Pinball is great

Secret of Mana is stil great today if you have two friends to play it with you. It's a three-player action-RPG. I have beaten this a few months ago with a friend. Lots of fun.

Ys Book I&II was a nice game. I have beaten it last year. It's 8-bittish but overall an interesting package.

No, forget about these clones and buy the originals - the much better Wonder Boy games - instead.

Mystical Ninja and Bonk's Adventure: I've heard a lot about these. Are they must-haves?

Mystical Ninja is fun if you put your time into it to grind for the best armor and all items. Keep in mind later stages can be challenging. You need some platforming skills and maybe some practice.

I don't really like the Bonk series. Unbalanced.

Get Super Metroid. It's of Zelda-difficulty. Metroid is too hard and retro for you.

Breath of Fire 2 is like Final Fantasy but with lots of little things that add to the experience (at least IMO), like fishing, hunting, every character having different abilities that can be used outside of battle and weird quests such as one where you might fall into the trap of an evil fry cook who tries to roast you alive! The story and characters are pretty interesting too.( again, IMO)

Phantasy Star 1 is a lot like the early Dragon Quests, but with first-person dungeons, a slightly better story, and more variety to its locations. It's my personal favorite in the series. Phantasy Star 2 is even more like Dragon Quest, but with a greater emphasis on story, no first-person dungeons, and IMO, a far worse battle system that's always on automatic unless you press a button. Phantasy Star 3 takes away most of the sci-fi themes. Phantasy Star 4 is more like Final Fantasy 2 but with gameplay more like that of Breath of Fire 2. It's got the best balance and the best story in the series, but personally I found it too generic compared to the other PS games to enjoy.

Ys Books 1 & 2 is a fast-paced action RPG that has an interesting gameplay mechanic that involves running into your opponent to attack them, making battles more about strategy and grinding than about skill, without being a detriment to the pace of the game. It also has great music and a decent story to it.

Adventure Island II and III did allow you to put weapons and dinosaurs into storage after each level. So you can give them up on early levels, when it's easy to get replacements, so you can take them out on harder levels so you can start with a power-up, making the difficulty a bit more reasonable.
I believe III also added a password feature so you don't have to do it all at once. (though I believe you have unlimited continues, so maybe that's less of a concern on VC, since you have the suspend feature) (though I think the passwords also save your power-up storage)
Hopefully, they'll release Super AI2 which is more of an RPG-style platform game. (the levels are exploration-based and there's better items to find so you can solve puzzles to move on)

Thanks everyone! I will buy Breath of Fire 2, Secret of Mana, Ys I and II, and Mystical Ninja. I will probably buy Super Metroid. I may get the Phantasy Star games down the road.

If you end up buying Super Metroid, at least think of it as $8 well-spent on putting a long-time curiosity to rest. If you like the game, all the better.

I 100% recommend Super Metroid. The game is of the perfect difficulty, has really solid controls, and (in my opinion) is the best game ever made. It definitely isn't a light-hearted, colorful, or cute game, but it's definitely fantastic. Even if you hate it, I'd still recommend you try out the experience.

I am with many of the users, Super Metroid is a game that should probably be in every gamers collection. I bought it and beat it to get geared up for Other M, and while Other M wasn't the best game, I am really happy I finally played/finished Super Metroid since it was a really amazing experience.