@romulo It's far superior to the Master System version....the Master System version looks the part but is hampered by some extremely dodgy collision detection in places making it far more fiddly and harder than it should be. This (the original arcade version) is still tough but the unlimited continues up to the last stage help significantly and it feels much more 'tough but fair' than 'tough and cheap' like the Master System port unfortunately is. Just my opinion though.

I must be really unusual in that I've downloaded quite a lot of WiiWare games and really enoyed the hell out of them...the Bit.Trip games, Blaster Master Overdrive, Hydroventure (Fluidity), Lit, FAST Racing League and Konami's 'Rebirth' games amongst others...but I do agree that it's been very poorly marketed and advertised, and Nintendo's DD service as a whole needs better structuring with regular 'Sale' offer games and the likes. Good interview. I'll be interested to see how the Wii-U DD service is.

Very enjoyable game (just like the first G&W Gallery) and very addictive, but the best is yet to come....G&W Gallery 3 is the best of the series in my honest opinion (and that include G&W Gallery 4 on the GBA). They're all worth getting though, you may not think you'll play these games much, but you will...you'll keep coming back to them time and time again to beat high scores. They're perfect portable pick up and play games.

@Bass I'm pretty much convinced that it was never released in the UK, as I had a Game Boy and the original Kirby's Dreamland back then, really wanted the sequel and searched everywhere for it but to no avail. I think it was probably like Space Channel 5 2 on PS2....released everywhere else in Europe but not here Very strange descision by Nintendo. I've played Dreamland 2 since, but only via emulation and it's a very good game...longer, has some of the copy abilities from the later games and a final unlockable world/proper ending for finding all of the rainbow drops in the other worlds. I'll definitely be downloading it next week.

@CowLaunch Any region games will work on a Game Boy, so it wouldn't have mattered if it was a European release or not

@paburrows Unfortunately, what you're taking about (pressing the HOME button) is the save state the review means. The Master System version of Wonderboy in Monster Land is brutally difficult and not made any easier by some really iffy collision detection in later stages. I've not even managed to fully complete it using an emulator and multiple save states....you'd probably be better off with the original arcade version (now also available) or the Turbografx port instead.

Meh, it's not as close a conversion of the coin-op as it first appears. Quite a few of the stages have been altered and made easier, and towards the end of the game, stages have been completely redesigned (you end up in the sky)...Adventure Island may not be perfect but it is a lot more true to the original arcade game, funnily enough.

Really glad to see this on the VC...the Master System version looks the part but it just doesn't 'feel' quite right and the collision detection is actually terrible in places (like a lot of Master System games unfortunately) and makes the game much harder than it should be, plus unlike the arcade game, there's no continues on the Master System version. I've never played the Turbografx version, mind. It's a superb game that deserves to be played as originally intended though. I'd also like to see the proper arcade version of the original Wonder Boy released too, as the Master System version was too easy and redesigned some of the stages completely (making the game feel butchered), and Adventure Island on the NES, whilst a very good clone, just didn't feel quite as good.

Have the people complaining about the controls never played the 007 Bond games, CoD games or even Metroid Prime Hunters on DS? Or the main combat sections in Starfox Command for that matter? The control scheme is nearly identical, and I didn't hear ANY complaints about control problems with those. Why have a lot of people decided having to hold the system with your left hand and the stylus with your right hand is a massive problem all of a sudden? The controls are fine and work perfectly, the stand isn't needed unless you're just looking for something to moan about, and it's a great game....get over it, whiners.

Might get Dr Mario just because it's got VC features (restore points, suspend save) and also the music sounds much better than the DSiWare version (sorry, but it does, a chunk of the 'Chill' music is missing on the DSiWare version ) More interested in giving the Pyramids demo a go though.

@Koops3 It's not published by an 'uknown' company though, it's by Nordcurrent who have so far put out games on DSiWare, WiiWare and even retail Wii. None of them have scored above a 6/10 on this site though, and most of them score well below that.....Nordcurrent aren't exactly a mark of quality.for any game.

@TrueWiiMaster Very Interesting points you make there, and I agree with some of them, if not quite all. One flaw in your arguement though is when say that with digital downloads, you could potentially be kept from your own property. Games are never your property, you only own the media they're on and have a license to play them on the system they were developed for. If you 'owned' the game itself, what would be to stop you from hacking the code, changing the graphics (say, swapping Mario for Sonic in Super Mario Galaxy) and then releasing the game yourself under a different title, with all proceeds going to you? Obviously you can't do that as you only own a license to play it. That's what copyright laws are for. So, in a situation where the physical media doesn't exist, you don't 'own' anything, therefore you can be forced to pay again and again and again with each console generation for the same game, if you wish to play your older games on newer systems.

Actually, that's pretty much how it works already. You say 'the Wii VC is different because you can still play the originals'. How so? There'd be absolutely nothing to stop Nintendo at any point in the future changing their online services for newer consoles so that things we download now couldn't be transferred to them in the future and we'd have to pay for them again.

What baffles me most though is how some people are actively welcoming a digital distribution only future and think it will lead to lower prices....you only have to look at the absurd prices that Sony charges for retail games on PSN (often higher than they sell for in stores complete with box and manual) to know that this won't be the case.

This is good news, Art Of Balance was good and FAST Racing League was awesome. Looking forward to seeing what they put out in the future.

'Some consumers simply place no importance on packaging or physical media, and it would be foolish not to accommodate this demographic.'

Um...a lot of consumers don't have or use the internet at all with their game consoles, it would be foolish not to accomodate that demographic too.

A future where if a game never gets released (online) in your region, you probably won't even be able to download it and play it on an imported or modded console? No thanks.

A future where a game can just be removed from sale forever (say if a publisher goes bust) and if you missed your chance to download it, tough...because you'll never be able to buy an old copy to play it on your own console? No thanks.

A future where all the game prices are kept artificially high even long after they were first released? (just look at the absurd prices on PSN)...no thanks.

A future where you buy a game and then have to wait hours for it to download before you can play it, and that's dependant on whether your internet connection/the server craps out or not? No thanks.

I like digital downloads and retail copies co-existing alongside each other but I fear the day when everything shifts completely towards digital.

@ 5 (Nintendoftw) That's one of the funniest troll posts I've ever read...er, it WAS a troll post, right?

As for Phil Fish, he's just pathetically trying to gain attention and exposure, nothing more....move along, nothing to see here. His upcoming game really must suck donkey balls if this is the way he's going about trying to get people interested.

He thought he was the best in Europe, but then all of his hopes and dreams were flushed away ...

....I'll get my coat.

I don't mind the lack of in game guidance, but the fact that many of the environments look identical, even the style of the platforms and walls, confuses the hell out of me and I just don't fine it fun to play.....it's the only Metroid game in the entire franchise I don't really enjoy much.

If it was remade as a 3D Classics game and had backgroud graphics that differentiated areas from each other (like the recent Kid Icarus 3D Classics update) however, then I'd be more than prepared to spend a lot more time with it.

In the meantime, I'll just stick to Metroid Zero Mission for my original Metroid kicks....it's vastly superior to this.

I bought the PS3 version not long after it's release but I've only had this Wii version since last week...and in many ways, it's better than the PS3 version....the whole design of the Wii game feels much closer to the original Sands Of Time trilogy than the HD game, and the storyline is much better....the creation powers also really add to the experience. And I for one didn't have a problem with the combat at all, I found it both simple and fluid, you just need to remember that you can use the Nunchuck to throw enemies as well as the Wii remote to slash at them The 'white lines' that appear to show you where you can jump don't ruin things either as they're only there to show you if a jump is possible or not, they rarely ever actually show you where to go, and on many occasions don't even appear until you've already started moving the control stick in preparation to make a jump anyway.

A superb game that shouldn't be missed. Definitely an 8/10 score for me too.

Conker the squirrel facing off against the Spanish Pokemon Team yesterday....

I like how people complain that the Wii lacked decent third party support, but then numerous fantastic third party games like Rabbids Go Home, Little King's Story, A Boy & His Blob, De Blob, Madworld and Silent Hill: Shattered Memories, along with numerous others I could mention, failed to sell in any great numbers. When I look at the 100 or so Wii games I have on my shelf (need to count them to get an exact number), I see a selection of games that easily matches anything I've got on the Xbox 360 or PS3 for entertainment value, and only around a quarter of them (or slightly less) are actually first party games.

@20 (MetalDragonZero) Maybe it's the fact that the HD collection offers 3 MGS games rather than just one for the same price? Maybe it's the fact that the PS3 version and the forthcoming Vita version allow you to play the game on the move, and then continue at home on your big screen TV? 'Herp-a-derpy-doo' indeed. I'm glad that this 3DS port of Snake Eater has turned out well, needed more original content to make it a worthwhile buy for more seasoned Metal Gear players in it's own right iMHO though.

Will definitely download Megaman X onto my Wii, and Punch Out and Kid Icarus: Myths & Monsters onto my 3DS. March looks like a good month (will be my birthday during March too)

Hope the game gets a release on this side of the globe...I enjoyed the GBC original much more than I've ever enjoyed Pokemon and would happily buy the remake.

@ 1 (BanjoKirby) My living room is like that, lol.

On the subject of download vs physical retail....download only will happen eventually....but it's going to be a VERY gradual process and not like some people seem to think, that's it's going to happen within the next generation of consoles or anything like that. I can't even see it happening in our lifetimes at this rate. But it will happen at some point.

^^ I do think of it as a handheld Master System. Which is precisely why I don't think it's awesome

I might have a look at Game Gear Shinobi, I might also have a look at Game Gear Wonder Boy if it shows up, the rest of the Game Gear's back catalogue isn't worth the time of day really.

@ Aviator I feel truly sorry for all the people who will lose their jobs, but that's no reason as to why I should go and shop at a store that (usually) offers lousy customer service, extortionate prices, and pulls stunts like this. Don't be blaming us as angry customers for not caring about Game's problems, blame Game's head office for allowing the company to get like this and develop the reputation it has in the first place. I got my Last Story Limited Edition through the post earlier from Shopto.net by the way, very happy with it.

A superb game this, much better than Mario's Game Boy efforts in my opinion. Love the replayablity of it...it's got 5 or 6 possible endings if I remember rightly, depending on how much treasure and coins you finish with, and the usual load of secret levels to find. Hopefully Wario Land 2 and 3 won't be too far behind.

The music on the original gameboy Dr Mario is better than the DSiWare version at least, they messed up the 'Chill' music on that and it misses a section out...always sounds odd to me when I hear it and know what it should sound like.

How many blocks does this take up? I'm considering it, but I've downloaded loads of DSiWare and VC games and I've got tons of stuff on my SD card at the moment (not least of all Mighty Switch Force at a hefty 1618 blocks!)

I don't see why anybody's complaining. Often, stores will reduce the price of games after a few weeks anyway and you can then buy a copy of a game brand new, including the content pass, for not much different than a used copy anyway. And sometimes you get lucky....over the last year, I've bought used copies of Dead Space 2 and Resistance 3 on PS3 and FEAR 3 on Xbox 360 and all of them came with the online passes intact (the previous owners hadn't used them)....the only real issue I have with stuff like this is that there's still a lot of people either without internet, or who never connect their consoles online for whatever reason....and they're being denied game content that they've paid for. Before anybody says 'But it's only online multiplayer modes'.....let us not forget about the Catwoman section of Batman: Arkham City being part of this scheme.

Was Kirby's Dream Land 2 actually realeased in Europe back in the day? I remember playing my mate's US import copy (thumbs up to the Game Boy for being region free ) but never seeing it on sale anywhere here in any of the normal outlets, otherwise I'd have likely bought my own copy as I had the original and Kirby's Pinball Land already.

Either way, ,I'll get this if it turns up on the 3DS VC over here.

Will get this, this and Kirby's Tilt N' Tumble are the only 2 Kirby games I've never played. I can't see Tilt N' Tumble getting a VC release though (although it'd be possible in theory...)

Funnily enough, this (along with Super Mario 64 DS and some other DS games like Okamiden) is much more playable on the 3DS thanks to being able to play it with the 3DS's Circle Pad. But then again, 3DS has it's own port of Rayman 2 anyway (Rayman 3D) which looks and sounds better, making this original DS port pretty much redundant now. Even back in the day with the thumb strap it wasn't easy to control at all on an original DS...bad idea, Ubisoft.

This is the best Rayman 2 handheld port (given that the original DS one was shoddy), it's just a shame that Ubisoft keep feeling the need to rehash Rayman 2 though and haven't thought about porting Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc as that was also a great game but had better visuals and not so many people have played it.

It's a lot of fun, this game. Although it doesn't have the same longevity as Smash Bros at all (fewer characters, fewer arenas), it's always enjoyable to beat the crap out of your friend's Michealangelo with Casey Jones

Meh, this isn't the first time something like this has happened. I've got Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games for Gamecube, and the spine for the first one reads 'Teennage Mutant Ninja Turtles', lol.

And does anybody else here own Okami on Wii? Look at that front cover picture closely and you can see the 'IGN' watermark still on it, lol.

Might get Balloon Kid just for the nostalgia alone (like I did with Alleyway)...yeah, I know it's not that good (I still have my original Balloon Kid GB cart ) and really hasn't aged well, but I'm transported back to a happy place in my mind when I play stuff like this and at least it'll have the suspend save feature that the original lacks, expecting you to complete it all in one go just like Super Mario Land. I much prefer the ability to dip in/out of Super Mario Land downloaded on 3DS and not lose where I'm up to, so I'm sure I'll get some fun out of this. It really is a 4/10 game though....first few levels are not only dull, they're extremely easy.

@90 (Pj1) When the EU Wii shop gets new games, they're not normally added on until 12am Thursday night/Friday morning UK time. Try again after midnight or tommorow.

@Link79 The biggest difference between Trip World and Kirby's Dream Land is replay value...Trip World simply has none, whereas Kirby (as with all the Kirby games) had a fair few secrets to find and an unlockable 'hard' mode (even though it wasn't that hard to be honest). Kirby also at least has plenty of action along the way....in Trip World, you can meet maybe 3 or four samey enemies in an entire stage. It's not awful, but the 6/10 score is justified...I bought it a couple of weeks back and was pretty much done with it all after barely racking up enough time to be allowed to leave a review on the e-Shop, whereas I can replay games like Kirby and Super Mario Land (even though admittedly I've blasted that for being too short and easy myself) and still feel like there's something worth returning to them for.

@93 (rejr) You're hating the game on the grounds that you have to use the accurate D Pad instead of (often not 100% reliable) tilt controls and calling it 'an embarrassement to videogame makers everywhere' just because you had to adjust your usual playing style slightly? Wow. You sound like one of those weird user reviews I saw on Amazon that rated Xenoblade Chronicles 1 star because it didn't control like Zelda. Have you actually even played any games on any other console asides from the Wii? For what it's worth, I think it's a really good game...maybe not a 10 but certainly a solid 8 and still worth trying/buying

Not sure what the fuss is...Sonic 4 Episode 1 sucked anyway. I got it on PS3 just over a year ago cheap during their Xmas 2010 sale and wasn't impressed by it at all....lousy music, terrible physics, levels ripped off almost directly from the older games and a last level consisting of a damn boss rush. I've really haven't got much hope for Episode 2 whatever platform it's released on, so it's not a great loss to the Wii. And yet despite that travesty, Sega have also give the Wii by far the best Sonic game of the last 12 years in Sonic Colours, which remains a Nintendo exclusive. There's more to thank Sega for than to hate them for.

@Future777 So basically each 500 point world pack is as lengthy as the original 800 point game? That doesn't sound so bad when put into perspective.

In fact, it sounds even better when you consider that I got 2 3000 point Nintendo point cards for only £7 each recently. I quite like what I've played of Bobby Carrot Forever so far, I think I might download the other worlds seeing as I'm getting the whole lot for only a little over £7

@1 (Mr_DSi) It's pot luck, you just have to keep playing and then hope for the best when you get a crack at the machine.

Excellent game this, they got the formula spot on with it and it controls perfectly.

I've played this more than any of the other Ambassador games so far, it's great fun. I had the Gamecube version but it's much more suited to a handheld, plus you get Dr Wario as well I've beaten it and unlocked all the minigames, just trying to get a high score on each one now to unlock the last arcade game (Pyoro 2, I think). My favourite in the series has always been WarioWare Twisted! though (still don't quite understand why it never got an EU release, I've got a US cart)....maybe that can also be ported in the future seeing as it could be played with the 3DS gyro sensor? I hope so.

@19 (Mowzie) You need to log into your account at www.nintendo.co.uk, then click on the 'Club Nintendo' tab at the top, then at the top right hand side you will see a box telling you to enter your email address (for them to send the code to). Otherwise, you're gonna be waiting forever for your code.

I agree, who actually gives a damn about the timeline when they sit down to play a Zelda game? Just play with the thought that every game is a different Link and different Zelda at a different moment in time, all are enjoyable separate stories, and to hell with having to have an order to it all.

Caption is wrong, it should read 'Soccer Bashi's sales figures are a load of censored'.

5 is right for this version of the game. The original console versions deserve a 7 or 8 maybe, but on the GBA/DSi, the camera is zoomed in way too much leading to leaps of faith, constantly respawning enemies and enemies lurking just off screen to harm you (that you would've been easily able to spot on the older versions). It's got impressive graphics and sound, I'll give it that, and all the levels are there, but people shouldn't let their love for the original game cloud their judgement here, it's a VERY flawed port. Oh, and to cap it all off, even being familiar with the original game doesn't help as they've altered the placement of quite a few of the Electoon cages in this port, for some odd reason.

Can't wait for the GBC version of Rayman. I already have the GBA version (which is pretty much the same as the DSiWare version) but it's virtually unplayable at times due to the sprites being so huge and not being able to see far enough ahead of you or above/below you to make proper judgements about where to go next.

I'll give this a go, though admittedly i've never heard of it. Sunsoft platformers are usually very well polished and extremely playable.