Wii Virtual Console News

April2008

  • Review Double Dragon (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Single Dragon

    Double Dragon is a classic NES game that was immensely popular in its day, so much so that it led to a string of sequels. Predictably the NES conversion of the arcade original made some compromises and changes to the game, so the question is whether it stands up well in the current day. In terms of differences from the arcade version,...

  • 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...

  • Review The Last Ninja (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)

    The evil Shogun Kunitoki has long envied the powers of the Ninja brotherhood and would do anything to acquire their knowledge.

    Critically acclaimed at the time, and still praiseworthy today, The Last Ninja sees you exploring several superbly detailed environments on your quest to defeat the evil Kunitoki. Picking up weapons along the way, you...

  • News Top 20 'popular titles' on the Virtual Console - April 2008 (USA)

    Following last month’s look at the top 20 popular VC titles for the USA it is interesting to see how things have changed a month later. There are no surprises really, Americans can’t get enough of the old classics like Pac-Man and Donkey Kong, they aren’t going anywhere!

    Games from non-Nintendo consoles are nowhere to be seen. Surely some...

  • News Sega Fans Rejoice: Alex Kidd In Miracle World Is Coming

    It was the news that Sega fans all over the globe had been waiting for ever since the announcement that Master System games would be available on the Virtual Console.

    Ok, maybe not all Sega fans, but we were certainly hoping it would come true, and it has. Alex Kidd’s finest adventure is inbound. Sega’s forgotten mascot may have already made his...

  • News Three Interplay-Owned Franchises Coming to VC

    Gaming news site Gamasutra has reported something which will no doubt please many - 3 franchises currently owned by Interplay are making their way to VC.

    After the recent relaunch of Interplay's website, there was some speculation on if there would be resurrections of the franchises shown around the company's logo. Well, these aren't exactly...

  • 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...

  • Review Phantasy Star III (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    As Rhys, the crown prince of the Orakian kingdom of Landen

    By the time Phantasy Star III was released the series was well on its way to becoming a solid favourite with Western Sega fans, having already become pretty famous in its homeland Japan. With the third game Sega decided to make some sweeping alterations, but the core gameplay fundamentally...

  • News Japan To Get Dracula X And Metal Slug Next Tuesday

    Even the most optimistic Nintendo fan would be hard pressed to deny that this week’s European Virtual Console update was a tad underwhelming. Just to make you feel even worse about it, not only is Japan getting four (count ‘em) games this coming Tuesday (22nd), but two of those releases are Castlevania Dracula X: Rondo of Blood and Metal Slug.

    E...

  • News EU VC Release - 18th April - Sega Week - Phantasy Star III

    After the 4-game blowout last week, some Europeans wondered if Nintendo of Europe had somehow completely turned around and would start to throw out multiple games every week from now on. This dream has been quickly shattered, because it's just one game again this week.

    Apparently not considering the two Master System games last week as a true...

  • News Super Turrican - Director's Cut Possibly Coming To VC?

    As you might know, videogame forum NeoGAF is quite popular among people in the industry - Various videogame developers and publishers post there. One individual, called Turrican, claims he works at Factor 5, and has given some information on Turrican's VC future in NeoGAF's Virtual Console thread.

    First up, if you downloaded Super Turrican, you...

  • News 3 NES Beat 'em Ups Coming To US Virtual Console Soon

    The North American Virtual Console is in for a treat over the next three Mondays as our pals at IGN have revealed that River City Ransom, Double Dragon and Renegade will be punching their way to the Virtual Console in successive weeks.

    Much to the annoyance of North American VC fans the rather excellent River City Ransom came out in February in...

  • News Wii SNES Controller Hits Japan

    We don’t get jealous often here at Virtual Console Reviews – we don’t need to, being the famous international playboys that we are – but when we spotted some shots of one particularly lucky chap unpacking his limited edition Wii Super Famicom (SNES in the West) controller, we couldn’t help but go a little green with envy.

    It was reported...

  • Feature Top 10 C64 games wanted on the Virtual Console

    Can you guess?

    Now that the Commodore 64 is firmly established on the Virtual Console (at least for Europe) it seemed like an opportune time to compile a list of C64 games that I feel deserve a home on the Virtual Console. All of these choices are influenced by games that I loved at the time, and, in my opinion, retain superb playability to this...

  • News US VC Releases - 14th April - Mega Turrican

    If you like blasting things then you are in for a treat this week as this Monday’s Virtual Console selection will give you hours of blasting pleasure.

    First up is Mega Turrican on the Sega Genesis. You might remember this as Turrican 3 on the Commodore Amiga. It's kind of a mix between Metroid, Contra and Gunstar Heroes but that doesn’t really...

  • Review Impossible Mission (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)

    During the past three days, key military computer installations of every major world power have reported security failures.

    Impossible Mission is highly regarded as one of the classic Commodore 64 titles, particularly impressive given that it was one of the earliest games released for the system. The considerable success of the game led to numerous...

  • News OFLC Update: Three New Neo Geo Games Rated

    Neo Geo support hasn’t been brilliant on the Virtual Console up to now but fans of the machine will be pleased to hear that three more titles have been earmarked for release. Predictably they’re all fighting games; as we know full well the Neo-Geo certainly had its fair share of those.

    Burning Fight is your typical Final Fight clone, with three...

  • News EU VC Releases - 11th April - C64 And Master System Madness

    You might remember that Europe got the first two Commodore 64 games two weeks ago. Well, this week two more games join them. But that's not all, because the Sega Master System also arrives, and also brings two games with it!

    As a new console is arguably more important, we'll list the Master System's games first - Fantasy Zone is a rather colourful...

  • Review California Games (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)

    California knows how to party.

    The fifth game in Epyx’s highly respected multi-event sports game series, California Games offered just 6 events, as opposed to the 7 or 8 of previous instalments. That’s not to say it suffers as a result, because some of the new events arguably have a lot more depth than, say, sprinting or weight lifting. As in...

  • Review Fantasy Zone (Virtual Console / Master System)

    Take command of the spaceship Opa-Opa and blast your way through various fantastical levels as you try to take out all the enemy bases in each stage.

    Fantasy Zone is one of those great forgotten franchises from the 8-bit/16-bit era that enjoyed lots of attention back in its heyday but tends to be ignored these days. Featuring the exploits of the...

  • News Wii to support BBC's iPlayer (UK only)

    An update is now available to allow Wii users to use the BBC's iPlayer on their Wii console via the Internet Channel. The BBC said a message would be sent to Wii owners to alert them to its availability. This appears to be for the United Kingdom only at present.

    The BBC's iPlayer video service will soon be available via the Nintendo Wii. The video...

  • Feature Top 10 RPGs We Want To Come To The Virtual Console

    RPWiis

    Role-playing games have always been extremely popular in Japan, but over the years they've become quite popular in other parts of the world as well. There's just something amazing about getting to take part in an epic story line and watching as it all unfolds in front of you. I personally own over 130 role-playing games at last count, so I...

  • Review Bases Loaded (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Not quite a home run.

    To herald the start of the new baseball season in the USA, it seems fitting that Bases Loaded should get a Virtual Console release. When this was first released on the NES twenty years ago there wasn’t really much that came close to it. The simple, yet innovative gameplay struck a home run with baseball fans all over the...

  • Review Yoshi's Cookie (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Mmmm, cookies!

    Another Mario puzzler? Say it ain't so! Like Yoshi (Mario & Yoshi in Europe), Yoshi's Cookie is less well known than Dr. Mario and Wario's Woods, mainly because, well, it's not that interesting. To its merit, it's not another falling block puzzler. In fact, this is one of the more unique puzzlers on Virtual Console. The objective...

  • Feature Will Sega CD Support Ever Come To The Virtual Console?

    Probably not

    Since the very welcome introduction of TG-16 CD-ROM games to Nintendo’s Virtual Console service we’ve seen a steady flow of requests for the same treatment to be given to Sega’s ill-fated Sega CD add-on (also known as the Mega CD in Europe and Japan). This much-hyped peripheral was rolled out in the early ‘90s (a few years...

  • 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 Another OFLC Update - Turbografx Imports Galore!

    The Turbografx is getting lots of imports - Recently, the OFLC rated Break In and Final Soldier, both of them imports for the system never released outside Japan. Those two haven't even been released yet, but Hudson already submitted four more games to the OFLC, and all of them are, once again, both imports and Turbografx titles.

    The strangest pick...

  • 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 Nintendo Power Poll - What Games Do You Want To See?

    American magazine Nintendo Power is running a poll to determine which retro titles Virtual Console players would most like to see on the service. Once the results are in the magazine will publish the Top 100 most requested titles.

    Here's the request as it appears in the magazine: What classic games do you want to see come to Virtual Console? Send...

  • Feature Why April Is A Massive Month For the Virtual Console

    If you count yourself as a hardcore gamer then you will have read our recent news piece about April’s Japanese Virtual Console games with marked interest. Sure, there’s the usual amount of filler in there, like Famicom Detective Club Part II and Bokosuka Wars (neither of which are likely to make the leap over to the US/Euro VC service), but there’s a trio of games that should cause your pulse to race uncontrollably – Dracula X: Rondo of Blood, MUSHA Aleste and Metal Slug.

    Dracula X is widely regarded...

  • Review Wonder Boy (Virtual Console / Master System)

    Small Wonder

    Wonder Boy was one of the first games I got for my beloved Sega Master System. Having played the original arcade game on seaside weekends of my youth it seemed amazing to have such a faithful conversion of the game in my bedroom at the time. The hero of the game, Tom-Tom isn’t known for providing in-car navigation, rather he is...

March2008

  • News APRIL FOOLS: Virtual Boy Confirmed for Virtual Console

    Ok, so we jumped the gun a little by posting this a day early but we did at least say the press conference was on April 1st! Sorry for getting everyone so excited (who would have thought Nintendo's biggest hardware failure would be so welcome on the Virtual Console?) and thanks for taking it in the spirit it was intended...look forward to next year, folks! ;)

    It may rank as one of Nintendo’s biggest mistakes but the ill-fated Virtual Boy is finally getting a new lease of life thanks to the company’s retro download porta...

  • News US VC Releases - March 31st - Wonder Boy

    Not to be outdone by Europe getting the first Commodore 64 games on Friday it turns out that the North American Virtual Console service is getting its first Sega Master System game in this week’s VC releases!

    For those not in the know about the Master System you can read up on the system in Damo’s hardware focus. Basically it was the 8-bit...

  • Review Cruis'n USA (Virtual Console / Nintendo 64)

    Put pedal to metal and hang on for a wild ride across the highways of America!

    One of the first games to be announced for Nintendo’s 64-bit console, Cruis’n USA was given a fair amount of attention when it was first released; for the 32-bit generation, driving games that had established the credentials of rival machines (Ridge Racer for the...

  • Review International Karate (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)

    It's karate time!

    You could almost hear the groans of disappointment when this game was announced for the Virtual Console, simply because the sequel, "International Karate Plus", is so legendary. But that's a disservice to the original, as it is a strong game in its own right. Those looking for a quick pick-up-and-play brawler will be...

  • Review Uridium (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)

    15 Super-Dreadnought ships have invaded your galaxy, each looking to steal a different precious metal.

    Uridium is a much loved classic amongst Commodore 64 enthusiasts. Well known for its fast-paced gameplay and unique game mechanics, at least some of that reputation is deserved. Designer Andrew Braybrook was known for his idiosyncratic but...

  • News Japanese Virtual Console list - April 2008

    After a somewhat subpar March, Japan's April schedule will probably blow you away. It includes a certain TurboGrafx-CD game everybody wants that was recently rereleased on PSP - Yep, it's Dracula X, the only Castlevania game to never be released outside Japan (It was ported to SNES, but with a massive music/graphics downgrade, and the PSP version just isn't the same!). See if you can spot the other classics on the list:

    Famicom:-Teenage Mutan...

  • News EU VC Releases - 28th March - Commodore 64

    If you like the number 64 you're in luck today - Not only are there three new games, they're all for the Commodore 64 and Nintendo 64! Obviously this also means there's now a new system on VC. Commodore 64 games cost 500 Wii Points each.

    As the C64 is arguably bigger news than a new N64 game (It's not that great of a game anyway), its two games are...

  • News Master System Hitting US 'Soon', 400 Points Per Game

    In a press release issued today, Sega has announced that Master System games will indeed be heading to the US Virtual Console. The games will cost 400 Wii Points each, 100 less than in Japan, where they're 500 each.

    The first two games will be Wonder Boy and Fantasy Zone. No exact date yet, but Sega says you can expect them "soon". No word...

  • Review Powerball (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    Who will be the powerball champ?

    This forgotten futuristic sports game by Namco undoubtedly takes some inspiration from Speedball 2, which was really popular at the time. The basic premise is that Powerball is a futuristic sport that takes the brutal elements of rugby or American football and mixes them with soccer. You can play as eight different...

  • Review King's Knight (Virtual Console / NES)

    In the kingdom of Izander, the fair Princess Claire has been kidnapped by a foul and insidious dragon, and it is the mission of four brave fighters to save her.

    Since the inception of the Virtual Console, fans have been waiting hopefully for many must-have titles; people usually have one game they’re especially fond of and would like to see given...

  • 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 Virtual Console Top 20 - March 2008 (EU)

    Below is a list of the top 20 most popular Virtual Console games for Europe as currently listed in the Wii Shop. As there is no exact time period specified for this list we can probably assume that these are the most popular games over the last month, not of all time.

    Much like the USA top 20 for March the Euro list is also dominated by first party...

  • Review Mega Turrican (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    The Machine has enslaved the galaxy under its tyrannical rule.

    I know what you’re all thinking: why have another Turrican title on the Virtual Console when we’ve only recently been blessed with the delights of the sublime Super Turrican – especially when you consider these 16-bit titles look very much the same? However, while it’s true that...

  • News EU VC Release - March 21st - Sega Week - Mega Turrican

    Tomorrow's Good Friday in most of Europe - Last year, Nintendo of Europe updated the VC a few hours earlier than normal because of this. Not this year though, the update was at the regular time!

    Super Turrican was only added 3 weeks ago - But now you can get the game that was originally released before it: Mega Turrican! This game's a bit more...

  • News Virtual Console Top 20 - March 2008 (USA)

    A quick glance at the top 20 most downloaded Virtual Console titles for North America in the Wii Shop shows that Wii gamers just can’t seem to get enough of Nintendo titles. In the entire top 20 this March, all 20 games are from the NES, SNES or N64 systems. Poor old Genesis, TG-16 and Neo Geo!

    There is no date range specified for the top 20...

  • Review Spelunker (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    Going underground

    Spelunker is a blast from the past. It started out life on home computers such as the Commodore 64 and was eventually ported to the NES. The game’s protagonist is tasked with working their way down a giant cave to find the great treasure that is rumoured to be hidden within the depths. Along the way, perils such as water, uneven...

  • Talking Point The State of Play of the Virtual Console

    How do you find things?

    Since the end of last year there’s been an unpleasant undercurrent of tension in the world of the Virtual Console. It all started when Nintendo’s VC releases began to strangely dry up, with the usual three-game weeks becoming a thing of the past. This controversial move then kick-started a tirade of anger, with each...

  • 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...

  • Review Super R-Type (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    The BYDO Empire is back!

    That naughty Bydo Empire! You would have thought they would have learnt their lesson last time when a solitary R-9 craft kicked their butt so badly. Alas, they are back and wreaking havoc wherever they go. Time for you to save the universe, again! Super R-Type was one of the earlier games released on the Super Nintendo. It...

  • 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 USK update - Four new Sega games: Phantasy Star, Gley Lancer

    The USK is the German equivalent of the PEGI, ESRB, OFLC and all those other rating groups. They have been known to rate VC games occasionally, however, they never add the ratings to their site. Sometimes, though, they slip up and accidentally add them as Wii games - This is the case today, as they've added four new games which are all published by Sega, and are all Mega Drive games. The games are as follows:

    Gley Lancer (Import): This shooter by NCS (The makers of Cybernator, among other games) never made it out of Japan, but still has...

  • Review DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    Doremi Fasol Latido

    If you ever read a list of the top 10 platform games on the SNES you will more likely than not see favourites such as Super Mario World and Yoshi’s Island hogging the top spots with DK Country following closely behind. Sadly, DoReMi Fantasy would rarely feature in such a list despite a modest loyal following in the gaming...

  • Review Puyo Puyo 2: Tsuu (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)

    More Puyo Puyo fun for the Virtual Console.

    We’ve already experienced the first Puyo Puyo title on the Virtual Console, although you may not have noticed as the western version was retooled as Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine. As far as laying down the foundations of the Puyo Puyo franchise, it’s not a bad game at all, but it was undoubtedly...

  • News US VC Releases - March 10th - DoReMi Fantasy

    Break out the sushi and sake because this week the Virtual Console is turning Japanese! Platform and puzzle fans are sure to be delighted with these two choices. Both DoReMi Fantasy and Puyo Puyo 2 never saw the light of day outside of the land of the rising sun, which is a crying shame as both are excellent. Finally Nintendo have addressed the balance and done all the legal business to get them on to the VC this week.

    DoReMi Fantasy: Milon’s DokiDoki Adventure is the sequel to Milon's Secret Castle on...

  • News EU VC Release - March 7th - Kirby 64

    Nintendo are back to their old shenanigans, as there's only one new game this week. That said, it IS a Nintendo 64 game, which somewhat merits it.

    Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards is the only 3D Kirby platformer ever released (There is another in development, but information on it is a bit scarce). Unfortunately, it's also frequently seen as the...

  • News Wii TV Guide channel available for Japanese users

    There is a new channel available from the Wii Shop in Japan. Hold on to your hats! It's a TV guide which will let you share information about your favourite programmes with your Wii buddies, and Nintendo. You can even change channels on your TV with your Wiimote.

    Aside from saving you a few hundred yen on TV Guides this is a bit of a waste of 135...

  • News Hardware Focus - Commodore 64

    In 1982, TIME magazine named the home computer as its annual "Man of the Year".

    It was a non-specific award, given to home computers in general, but looking back, it could be argued that the Commodore 64 deserved the accolade more than most; although TIME had no way of knowing it back then, the C64 went on to become the best-selling home computer...

  • News US VC Release - March 3rd - Super Turrican

    A lot of people were expecting Super Smash Bros. to hit the US VC, in preparation for the US release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl next week, but let's be honest here - That was a bit of an unrealistic expectation. Japan didn't get the game when they got Brawl, and the US already got a N64 game last week.

    What you did get, though, isn't such a shabby...

  • Review Super Turrican (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)

    You are Bren McGuire, on a United Planets Freedom Forces mission to save the peaceful planet Katakis from the Machine.

    Ever wondered what happens when a Western developer takes inspiration from the Japanese and decides to create a ‘run and gun’ game with flashy graphics, amazing special effects and killer gameplay? Well wonder no more, because...

February2008

  • News MSX to Hit Japanese Virtual Console in May

    The two upcoming MSX titles Japan was getting, Eggy and Aleste, had a date of "2007, after fall" slapped on them around last summer. When 2008 came creeping around the corner they still weren't released though! They actually kept that date throughout the first two months of this year as well!

    The MSX was extremely popular in Japan - The...

  • News Japanese Virtual Console list - March 2008

    You thought last month's schedule in Japan was underwhelming? Then you obviously haven't seen this one yet! There's not much variety this month - Only 4 systems get new games. The Nintendo 64, Mega Drive and Neo Geo all miss out this time. Only two potential new games for the rest of the world are revealed - Most of the others weren't released outside Japan.

    Japanese VC list - March 2008: Famicom: Metroid (March 3rd) Star Luster (March 3rd) City Connection Joy Mecha Figh...

  • News EU VC Releases - 29th February - Super Turrican

    Let's get this out of the way first - Sadly, there are no 3D games involving a pink puffball for Europe available this week.

    What is available, however, is Factor 5's SNES blaster, Super Turrican. It got rated long ago, in mid-2007, so fans of the series (Which has achieved cult status) were wondering where the heck the game was. Worry no more...

  • News First Official Images of the New Neo-Geo Stick for Wii

    SNK has published official images of the forthcoming Neo-Geo stick, and the good news is that it looks exactly the same as the original AES joystick we all know and love.

    The classic design, first seen with SNK's Neo-Geo home system almost 20 years ago, arguably ranks as one of the most iconic controllers in the history of videogaming. Back in the...

  • News Master System games hit the Japanese VC

    Japanese Wii owners will no doubt be rubbing their hands with glee as the first Sega Master System game is released in their region today.

    Sadly its not the greatest game to grace Sega's 8-bit wonder, Fist of the North Star (Black Belt to you!) wouldn't have been my first choice for the system! In celebration of this monumental occasion why don't...

  • News More C64 Details Emerge - Keyboard Input, Loading Times

    We've been contacted by a mysterious insider who insists he’s on the team that is currently preparing the new C64 channel, which was officially confirmed last week.

    Here are some of the things he's spoken about so far: Each C64 joystick port is individually mapped to each Wii device (be that Wii Remote, Classic Controller, or GC Pad) A popup...

  • Review Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards (N64)

    Not Kirby's finest hour

    Since the first Kirby game, we've seen our puffy pink friend in a series of high quality platform adventures (not to mention spin-offs) up until the release of Kirby 64 back in 2000. Despite predictably rendering Kirby's world in 3D for the first time, true to form for a N64 outing our pals at HAL Laboratories have retained...

  • Review Psychosis (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)

    This is a side-scrolling shooter played in a world created from the mind of a twisted demon.

    The PC Engine/TG-16 is a machine that is famous for its wide and diverse range of shooting titles, but Psychosis (also known as Paranoia in Japan) is one title that you might not be familiar with, despite the fact that it was deemed worthy of a Western...

  • News US VC Releases - 25th February - Kirby 64

    American NES fans were no doubt a little jealous at Europe for getting River City Ransom last Friday - But no worries, while you aren't getting RCR on Monday, you'll get something else that's also wanted by many people and isn't out in Europe yet.

    Japan got Custom Robo V2 as their latest Nintendo 64 game, so some people thought the rest of the world...

  • Review River City Ransom (NES)

    Big trouble in River City

    Street Gangs — known as River City Ransom in North America — is a strange game. It's one of many in the extremely popular Japanese "Kunio-kun" series, which started in the arcade and is still going strong today, with the latest instalment being on the DS. Every game in the series has the same main character, Kunio, but...

  • 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.

    ...

  • News Commodore64 Is Coming To Virtual Console

    I didn't really expect this. I bet you didn't expect it either, did you? Commodore 64 (the best selling computer model of it's time) is set to bring it's host of classic 80's video games to the Wii's Virtual Console. And you thought the Mario Kart Wii news yesterday was exciting.

    Bala Keilman, CEO of Commodore Gaming said: "The massive impact...

  • News Commodore 64 coming to Virtual Console

    Regular readers will remember that quite some time ago we reported on C64 games coming to the VC. We ended up with egg on our face as it turned out to be some sort of mistake on Nintendo's Norwegian website and no more details about this ever materialised.

    It is now the turn of Nintendo's Finnish site to break the news about C64 games coming to the...

  • Review Ninja Gaiden III: The Ancient Ship of Doom (Wii Virtual Console / NES)

    One sequel too many

    Ninja Gaiden is practically a household name now thanks to the fantastic Xbox title and the very promising (not to mention gory) next-gen sequel. The NES original is still fairly well known and fondly remembered, but the two 8-bit sequels are more obscure. If you’re one of the many people that weren’t aware of this third NES...