NES News, NES Features - Page 9 of 9

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!)

...

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 achieve a point. Arguably this early arcade title..

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 appropriately themed Castlevania II. While not completely the same as the first Castlevania, it features m..

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...

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.

Another NES offering today comes in the form of Lunar Pool. T..

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!

..

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 great sequel to the already available original game, but don't expect it to be any easier! Damn..

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!

...

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...

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...

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 album were composed by Alex Mauer and Phlogiston (a..

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 Nintendo of Europe for working in odd ways, because for..

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 friends) is one such iconic figure, living on in..

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 for an album release and it's available for a mere..