Tag: NES - Page 16
News US VC Releases - 5th May - Pokemon Puzzle League
So what wonderful games can you get your grubby mitts on this Monday? Prepared to be amazed as the Virtual Console is getting a new N64 game in the shape of Pokémon Puzzle League.
For those not in the know Pokémon Puzzle League uses the exact same gameplay found in the old SNES and Game Boy title Tetris Attack. You're given a Tetris-like field...
News Bionic Commando NOT coming to the Virtual Console!
Our pals at IGN, recently interviewed Capcom's Ben Judd on the upcoming PSN/XBLA remake of the original Bionic Commando Rearmed.
This might not be of great interest if you only own a Wii console, but interestingly the interview managed to open a can of worms regarding the possibility of the NES version of Bionic Commando coming to the Virtual...
News US VC Releases - 28th April - Double Dragon
Hot on the tails of River City Ransom from last week the theme of violence continues with the legendary Double Dragon on the NES punching its way to the Virtual Console.
The NES version is a fun adaptation of the original arcade classic however there is no 2 player simultaneous option in the main game which is a crying shame (even the Master System...
News EU VC Releases - 25th April - The Last Ninja
It seems every two weeks we get a Commodore 64 week now - No complaints from us, especially when it means that we get The Last Ninja, an excellent action platformer/puzzler hybrid featuring an agile ninja with a whole assortment of weaponry. The game was incredibly well-received in its day, being the number one selling original creation on the Commodore 64.
Accompanying it is World Games. In a fashion similar to California Games, it features a number of sports, only this time, from around the world instead of California. The game is not too special, but...
News US VC Releases - 21st April - River City Ransom
Fancy a bit of a punch up this week? Maybe embarking on an epic quest spanning several generations is your thing? If so you are in luck!
What better way to herald in the series of weekly NES beat ‘em ups than to begin with the mighty River City Ransom? Our North American readers were green with envy when Europe got this in their Wii Shop (entitled...
News US VC Releases - 7th April - Yoshi's Cookie
If you ask us, this is yet another rather uninteresting week for Americans. Yoshi's Cookie for NES is an OK game to waste some time with, but with so much better puzzlers already available on VC, and the SNES version of the game being better (A situation similar to Wario's Woods), we just can't highly recommend it.
Today's other choice might...
News EU VC Release - 4th April - Yoshi's Cookie
So what’s up for grabs on the European Virtual Console update this week? Well, sadly nothing other than a rather lonely looking Yoshi’s Cookie!
It is hard to get too enthusiastic as the VC already has an abundance of Nintendo puzzlers such as Mario & Yoshi, Wario’s Woods, etc but it is not such a bad thing that this has finally come out...
News OFLC Update - Another Konami Import Title
In an OFLC update today, three more titles have been rated for eventual Australia release (As always, this should most likely mean they will also come to Europe).
The only "new" game of the bunch is Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (Bio Miracle Baby Upa), a Kirby-esque game starring a baby called Upa. This baby would later appear in a few of...
News US VC Releases - March 24th - King's Knight
Normally we lead with our favourite game of the week but as the Sega Genesis choice isn’t going to blow you away we’ll lead with Square’s King’s Knight this week just because, you know, um, it was developed by Square. Think of it as a skeleton in Square’s closet! This is no Final Fantasy it has to be said.
Here at the VC:R we admit we do...
News US VC Releases - March 17th - Super R-Type
This week’s theme for the North American VC releases is frustration. After getting DoReMi Fantasy last week Nintendo must have been concerned that they had been letting gamers have an easy ride. Not so this week as both of the games on offer this week are devilishly fiendish by comparison!
Super R-Type on the SNES isn’t such a bad game and is...
News EU VC Releases - March 14th - Super R-Type
With the US releases of Do Re Mi Fantasy and Puyo Puyo 2 last Monday, and both having an OFLC rating already, you'd think that Nintendo of Europe would release them over here as well - Unfortunately, it's not the case this week.
Prepare for a pretty bad week if you don't like shooters - Then again, it's also not very good even if you do like them...
News EU VC Releases - 22nd February - Street Gangs
Two classic NES games join the European Virtual Console library today! First up we have Street Gangs (River City Ransom in the USA). This is a scrolling beat-em-up in the same vein as Double Dragon, but it is also much more! The characters are all in Japanese super deformed manga style for starters. It’s not as shallow as your average beat-em-up either, there are some basic RPG elements on offer here: you have an inventory, can buy and sell items, and you can learn new abilities and skills. The co-operative play is also really good in this game, so it comes highly recommended from the VC:R team.
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News US VC Releases - 18th February - Ninja Gaiden III
There’s a bit of a surprise this week for North American Virtual Console fans - seemingly out of nowhere comes Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden III.
We’ve already had the first two Ninja Gaiden NES titles and this release completes the trilogy, but sadly it also turns out to be the weakest of the three in terms of gameplay. This game is so frustrating it...
News US VC Releases - 4th February - Operation Wolf
You can practically hear the sound of a funeral march as this week’s North American Virtual Console releases slowly appear from out of the impenetrable mist…
Those of you that moaned about the solo-game weeks will be heartened to learn that you have two games to choose from today, but the bad news is that both aren’t really worth downloading...
News EU VC Releases - 1st February - Adventures of Lolo 2
The drought on new games coming to the Virtual Console continues for yet another week as Europe gets just one game today. We’ll try our best to smile because Adventures of Lolo 2 is a great game for anyone who likes puzzlers but we can’t help feeling a little disappointed at Nintendo’s lack of support for the VC of late.
Lolo and Lala are back...
News US VC Releases - 21st January - Super Street Fighter II
The second update to Capcom's legendary fighter Street Fighter II arrives in the US today - Super Street Fighter II introduces many new things (Including fan favourite fighter Cammy), but also removes some things from the first update - Street Fighter II Turbo. There's only one SNES Street Fighter game left now - Street Fighter Alpha 2!
It was a bit...
News EU VC Releases - 11th January - StarTropics
Once again, Europe does not get 3 or more games this week. And once again, Nintendo seems to try and make up for it by making one of the games they do release a great one (The other is ok). Well, at least it wasn't just one game again! The great game this time is StarTropics, the first of only two games in Nintendo's (unfortunately) dead franchise of the same name. It's a lot like the original The Legend of Zelda, with some improvements, leading some to refer to it as "everything Zelda II should've been". It's still a mystery why Nintendo killed this franchise off. Let's hope for StarTropics 3 someday!
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Movie Review The Wizard (1989)
Forget all you've been told. This film kicks all kinds of ass
In a world where everyone seems to have an opinion and they’re all too happy to force it upon others, it’s worth remembering that when judging something (be it a book, film or videogame) it all depends on your connection with that particular piece of media. For example, watching a...
News US VC Releases - 7th January - StarTropics
Two cult classics for the US today. First is StarTropics, the first in an (unfortunately) dead Nintendo series which spanned only two games. The game borrows heavily from Zelda, but is a lot more light-hearted and, according to quite a few people, more fun. The original game required a letter which came packed with the game in order to progress at one point - If anybody who played the game on NES can download it on VC and see for us how they fixed this, it would be appreciated.
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News US VC Releases - 31st December - Light Crusader
The US plays catchup today, as they get three games Europe's already had a while. All of them are good, though, so hopefully no complaining this time!
Leading the pack is Treasure's Genesis RPG, Light Crusader. This is to this day probably Treasure's only Western game, featuring almost no obvious Japanese influence. It's also usually named as one of...
News US VC Releases - Christmas Eve - Donkey Kong Country 3
Merry Christmas! Nintendo's gift for Americans is the final game in the DKC trilogy, Donkey Kong Country 3! The game was released late in the SNES's life, meaning a lot of people missed out on it. Now is the time to make up for that mistake, as it's a great game, although not as good as DKC2. Here's a secret - Enter your name on the file select screen as "MERRY" for a very Christmas-y experience!
Today's other releases probably won't cater to as much people, unfortunately. Blades of Steel is one of very f...
News EU VC Releases - 21st December - Blades of Steel
Our pals at Nintendo haven't exactly pushed the boat out this week with festive spirit sadly. Still it could be worse! We finally have Blades of Steel on the NES, even before North America! For those not in the know this is one of the best, if not THE best ice hockey game from the 8-bit era. Very often NES games feel tired with age but the gameplay is still as much fun as ever with this one!
Another NES game in the shape of Skate or Die is also up for grabs on the VC today. It's quite a fun skateboarding game but unlike Blades of St...
News EU VC Releases - 14th December - Mega Man 2
After already releasing Pokemon Snap earlier in the week, some people wondered whether Nintendo would release games at the normal time as well. Thankfully they did - And they included one of the greatest NES games in the update as well! Mega Man 2 is usually called the best classic Mega Man series game ever made (With heavy competition from Mega Man 3 - Which I personally find better). It's the only Mega Man game with an easier mode (Making it perfect for series newcomers), it's got an absolutely amazing soundtrack for the time, it's slightly less linear, and it's just plain fun! If you've never played it, do yourself a favour and do so now!
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News US VC Releases - 10th December - Pokemon Snap
The first Pokemon game hits VC in the US today! It's the strange but fun Pokemon Snap for Nintendo 64, where instead of capturing Pokemon in Pokeballs, you capture them on film. The game itself is good fun, but as an overall package it is a bit lacking. Still, if you're a Pokemon fan, better make do with this, because this will most likely be one of extremely few Pokemon titles to come to VC (We think the only other one will be Pokemon Puzzle League). Another thing worth considering is that this version of Pokemon Snap has a VC-exclusive feature!
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News US VC Releases - 3rd December - Eternal Champions
After last week's disaster, this week's releases are a bit more bearable. First up is Sega's answer to Street Fighter - Eternal Champions. Instead of having fighters from around the world, Eternal Champions has fighters from various time periods! This of course leads to wildly different movesets for each character. The formula has obviously been bettered nowadays, but if you like the genre it's still worthwhile to check out the game.
Hot on the heels of Eternal Champions for pick of the week is Zanac. You might be thinking -...
News US VC Releases - 26th November - Vegas Stakes
After last week's "big" releases for the Wii's one year anniversary, calling this week "underwhelming" would be an understatement. While it's a total of three games, we can't really seriously recommend any of them to everybody. The only good game this week is Vegas Stakes, a gambling simulation for the SNES. It's all well and good for gambling fans, but everybody else (Which is very likely a lot of people) would be better off skipping it unless they're really interested in finding out how the casino world works.
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News EU VC Releases - 23rd November - The King of Fighters '94
Only two games for Europe this week, but who cares? Both of them are fantastic games, each with their own cult following! First off, we have The King of Fighters '94, the first in a long, long SNK fighting series, which has yearly installments (It's still going!). The series combines characters and stages from various SNK series into one massive game, which provides tons and tons of entertainment. There's a reason it's loved by so much people!
Second this week, it's Taito's classic arcade game, Bubble Bobb...
News US VC Releases - 19th November - Wrecking Crew
The Wii's out a year today in the US, so to celebrate, have another Mario game! Wrecking Crew is one of the more unknown Mario games, frequently not even being mentioned in lists of his games. Despite this, the game has held up very well, and those who've played it agree that's it really fun. With 100 stages and a level editor it's more than worth the price.
Nintendo also apparently found it a good idea to release another Sonic game today. Great, right? Well, normally we'd say yes, but as it's Sonic 3D Blast we're not so happy. Download at your own risk, as it's probably the worst Gen...
News EU VC Releases - 16th November - Double Dribble
If you were expecting another hugely popular, great game today to coincide with the release of Super Mario Galaxy, you are, sadly, wrong. While the game (Yes, GAME) was indeed quite popular, I wouldn't quite call it good these days.
Today's ONLY new game is Double Dribble for the NES. It's another one of those games like China Warrior - The game...
News US VC Releases - 12th November - Axelay (+ Worldwide Mii Contest Channel)
Only one exciting VC game for the US today, but it doesn't matter too much - Super Mario Galaxy is out in the US today!
This week's great game is Axelay. One of the SNES's finest shmups (And one of the most loved ones of all time!). It has very unique 3D-esque effects which give it a unique style almost no other game has copied. This one's worth...
News EU VC Releases - 9th November - Super Mario Bros 3
Thankfully, Europe didn't have to wait long to get Super Mario Bros. 3 after America got it earlier this week. This game needs no introduction. It's easily one of the best games ever made (And according to many, THE best game ever made). If you haven't ever played it, you honestly have no idea what you're missing. Shame on you!
The other two games...
News US VC Releases - 5th November - Super Mario Bros 3
With the release of Mario Galaxy next week our pals at Nintendo have decided that the long wait is finally over. Today the North American region gets the sublime Super Mario Bros. 3 for the NES. This game will not need much introduction for most Nintendo fans. You'll have either played it back in the days, on a SNES with Mario All-stars or the GBA port. Either way you cannot afford to be without this. The best game on the Virtual Console to date! (Well next to Super Mario World of course!)
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Feature A Brief History Of The Light Gun On Nintendo
With the imminent launch of the Wii Zapper here at NintendoLife we've gotten a little nostalgic as memories of the NES Zapper and Super Scope are brought flooding back.
Light guns were around in the 1930’s beginning with Seeburg’s Ray-O-Light arcade shooter all the way back in 1936. The game involved a moving duck which must be shot in order to...
News US VC Releases - 29th October - Magician Lord
Two sequels and a standalone game today, the highlight of the bunch being the standalone one - Magician Lord. This is a great arcade-style platformer (And thus also the first non-fighter Neo Geo game) which features some pretty tough challenges. It's certainly not for the less skilled players! One could argue that it is currently the most arcady game on VC, so if you want that quarter-munching feeling of the good old days, this is for you.
To tie in with Halloween this week, the US gets the approp...
News TMNT increases in price for Europe
A strange development recently (We are unsure when), as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles now also costs 600 Wii Points in Europe (And Australia) instead of 500, just like America.
Not that this really matters, as the game's not very good. We sincerely hope that you don't download it now, why would you buy a stinker for an increased price!? Save your Wii...
News US VC Releases - 22nd October - Ninja JaJaMaru-kun
Nothing too grand for the US today - two average games and one that leans slightly towards the bad side. Still, you should check them out, as one of the games, Ninja JaJaMaru-kun, is a previously Japan-only game. It's a strange little arcadey platformer, in which you take out ever-stronger enemies through an infinite number of rounds in order to rescue your love, the princess Sakura, from the evil Lord Namazu Dayuu. As with all other import games, it comes at an increased price - 600 Wii Points.
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News EU VC Releases - 19th October - Castlevania II
A diverse selection for Europe today, as besides a shoot 'em up and a fighter, we get the strange sequel to the original Castlevania, Castlevania II: Simon's Quest. The game is a lot different from the original game, though the influence is still very obvious. Instead of fighting your way through linear levels, you've instead got a large overworld to explore, complete with dungeons and secrets! The game's been criticized a lot over the years, and has even been called "most disappointing sequel of all time", but this is honestly not doing it any justice, as it's a pretty good game. Just don't expect anything similar to the original!
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News US VC Releases - 15th October - Gate of Thunder
You only got Neo Geo games last week, but now it's time for another treat - The first TurboGrafx-CD game! Gate of Thunder is a stunningly good shoot 'em up that has the power to pretty much destroy any other shmup on VC. A fantastic soundtrack, great graphics (Check out the parallax scrolling!), and fair, fun gameplay (Nothing overly cheap!) all make this a great game to have for any shmup fan. Not one to miss!
Second today is the second title in most peoples' favourite NES ninja series - Ninja Gaiden II. It's a g...
News EU VC Releases - 12th October - Super Metroid
After many long, long months, the time has finally arrived for Europeans: The legendary Super Metroid is now available on VC! In the third Metroid game, Samus travels back to Zebes to dispose of the Space Pirates once and for all. It's one of her longest and greatest adventures ever, and if you haven't played the game before, you honestly owe it to yourself to experience it, as it is often classed among the top games in Nintendo's history. Also, this is the 150th game on the European VC!
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News US VC Releases - 1st October - Two Japan-only games
Apparently trying to imitate Europe's past couple of weeks, the US gets two previously Japan-only games this week.
First up is Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. This game was never released in it's original form outside Japan, no matter what anybody says. The All-Stars and Super Mario Bros. DX versions are both easier, and the SMBDX version even...
News SMB: The Lost Levels removed from EU Wii Shop
Sunday was the last day of September. As such, the Hanabi Festival has now come to an end, and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels has been removed from the Wii Shop. If you didn't download it, you might've missed it forever! Nintendo stated that it was a "collectors' item", which implies that it might not return for a second chance. Still, anything's possible, so if you did miss it, just hope for the best!
To clear up the confusion which seemed to exist - No, the other Hanabi Festival games are not gone. The Lost Levels is the only game that was available for a l...
News NES Music Man Does It Again
Ah the wonders of retro gaming, Alex Mauer has done it again, releasing his second album in the now popular-with-the-retro-junkies NES Cart format.
Alex Mauer, creator of the first Nintendo cart music album, has already come out with his second cart. The new album features more songs (10) and larger graphics (full screen stills). Songs on the new...
News EU VC Releases - 21st September - Ninja Week
As promised by Nintendo, this week is "Ninja Week", with two new ninja-related games and an unrelated Turbografx game. No real surprises here this week, I'm afraid.
First up is the NES platformer Ninja Gaiden. Originally released in Europe originally as Shadow Warriors, it's a fast-paced ninja platformer with loads of action. Blame...
News Hardware Focus - Nintendo Entertainment System
Fingerless gloves, in-ear headphones, Michael Jackson, The Cosby Show, Transformers action figures and the Back to the Future movie are just a few of the things people think of when reminiscing about the mid 80s.
Many things were fads to be forgotten forever, others live on as icons of the generation. The Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES to its...
News Music Album Released On NES Cartridge
Forget MP3. Forget CD and cassette. And don't even think you're retro by collecting vinyl. Alex Mauer likes to do things a little bit differently.
Well a lot differently actually - seeing as his latest album Vegavox is seeing a release on a NES cartridge. I'll quit the jibber-jabber and let you see/hear for yourself: Probably the coolest idea ever...
Recently on eBay a job lot of all 670 licensed NES games, with sought after accessories, went for sale. This auction was scheduled to end tomorrow- that is until a few sour grapes decided to spoil things...
Hijacking auctions is not a new concept, its plagued many legitimate auctions before. What happened in this NES auction was the simply case of a...
