Wii Virtual Console Reviews
Review Ninja Combat (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Ninja Combat is a scrolling beat 'em up featuring, as the title suggests, ninjas.
One of the first releases for SNK’s Neo Geo console, Ninja Combat is unsurprisingly a little rough around the edges. Graphically it’s not really a massive leap up from the likes of the SNES or Megadrive/Genesis (bear in mind that when this game was first published...
Review Burning Fight (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
A poor mans Final Fight
In the early days of the Neo-Geo SNK tried its hardest to cover all of the potential money-making bases of arcade and home console gaming. Fatal Fury catered to the one-on-one fighting crowd, NAM 1975 was an Operation Wolf clone with a difference, and Burning Fight clearly looked towards Capcom’s Final Fight for...
Review Samurai Shodown (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
VICTOLY!
SNK became something of a fighting game factory in the early ‘90s, releasing titles like Art of Fighting and Fatal Fury to capitalize on public interest in the genre that had been kick started by a certain 2D fighting title from Cacpom. However, Samurai Showdown (or Samurai Spirits, as it was known in Japan) marked a real change of pace...
Review City Connection (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Driving round a bend
City Connection was a moderately popular arcade game in the early '80s. The game stars you as a rather strapping young man driving around the world to paint the roads white in order to prove he's been there. Doesn't make much sense to us, but hey, whatever floats his boat! While doing so you must watch out for cars (including...
Review Paradroid (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
The droid crew of a galactic space freighter have turned against their masters and eradicated every human crew member!
Legendary amongst C64 fans, and one of the highest rated games of the time, Paradroid’s depth of gameplay has kept it a firm favourite over 20 years later. Loosely categorised as a shoot-em-up, this description belies the subtle...
Review Sky Kid (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
We're not kidding
Sky Kid is a NES port of the arcade game with the same name. You play as the Red Baron or Blue Max, both famous World War I pilots. Your mission is to fly through hordes of enemy formations, pick up a bomb, and drop it on the enemy's headquarters or main weapon. It is noteworthy that in this game, unlike most shoot 'em ups, you go...
Review Gley Lancer (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
In the year 2025, a war breaks out between humans and a hostile alien race.
The Virtual Console certainly isn’t short of 2D shooters. We’ve seen some excellent (and not so excellent) examples of the genre come and go, but most of the games we’ve experienced so far are retro classics and will have been familiar to fans already. Gley Lancer, on...
Review Digital Champ: Battle Boxing (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Digital Champ Battle Boxing is a first-person-perspective boxing title that plunges players into the raw intensity of the ring!
When it was first released in 1989 Digital Champ caused quite a stir. Boxing games up to this point had been graphically modest affairs; Punch Out! was (and some would say, still is) the title of choice for prospective...
Review Star Parodier (Wii Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Cute'em-up.
Star Parodier is not only one of the best cute'em-ups ever created, it's also one of the best shooters ever made as well. Combining sugary sweet visuals, a stunning musical score, and some of the most responsive play control ever found in a shooter, Star Parodier proves that video game spoofs can be every bit as good, if not better, than...
Review Metal Slug (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Overthrow General Morden and win back the stolen weapon!
This game might be a bit redundant - seven of the games in the Metal Slug series were already released on the Wii in collective form as Metal Slug Anthology. However, none of the games on that disc allow for classic controller use, so if you desperately want to use it, then you have no choice...
Review Break In (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
A bit of a break from the norm of Naxat Soft's other games.
Break In could have been a great game where you could play a burglar trying to steal some precious jewels; instead it is pool game simulator. These games used to be ten a penny in the arcade halls of old so it is only fitting that some home conversions were made. I am no expert on the game...
Review Cho Aniki (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Idaten or Benten are celestial warriors who are out to bring an end to the tyrannical rule of the emperor of Planet Builder.
The Japanese are often accused of creating some seriously weird and wonderful videogames. While this reputation is often underserved (with games like Jet Set Willy, Western developers are just as guilty of producing bonkers...
Review Renegade (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
A beat-em-up best forgotten
Technos' Double Dragon became a household name and River City Ransom gained rave reviews from all and sundry, but people often forget that the company also released Renegade on the NES, forming what many fans deem to be a classic trilogy of 8-bit fighting games. Sadly, Renegade is easily the worst of this trio. Although...
Review Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Gordon the Gofer
This is an almost arcade-perfect port of the arcade version of Gradius II, which was also known as Vulcan Adventure. Konami made no compromises in choosing the PC Engine’s Super CD format to release this game on, and the music sounds better than ever as a result. Sadly this never made it to the west as a TurboGrafx-CD game, so...
Review Final Soldier (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Once again its your job to protect the Galactic Empire from an alien invasion using nothing but your trusty starfighter.
There were basically three Star Soldier releases for the PC Engine/Turbografx-16 system, not counting the cute 'em up spin-off Star Parodier. Two of those releases, Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade, saw a release in the US...
Review World Games (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Look out, world. Here we come!
After the well received Summer and Winter Games, Epyx turned their attention to various events from around the globe and brought us World Games. As before, you have the choice of which events to play, and can compete with up to 8 players (each picking a country to represent). Only two of the eight events allow for...
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,...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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 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...
