A trio of games this week for you lucky American Wii owners - although it's something of a mixed bag, it has to be said. On one hand we have the excellent (if a little crusty looking) Tecmo Bowl. Back in the days of the NES this was one of the finest representations of American Football money could buy, and thankfully the years have been very kind - the game is as much fun in multiplayer as it ever was! Until EA decide to bless us with the Megadrive/Genesis version of John Madden Football, this ranks as one of the best sporting options on the Virtual Console.
Sadly, the two other releases are very poor. Sonic Spinball is bound to catch the attention of all the Sega fanboys out there, but be warned - the game is something of a stinker, being a rather dodgy fusion of platforming and pinball that never really clicks properly. The PC Engine/Turbografx RPG Double Dungeons is awful and should be avoided in the same way you would shun an annoying relative.
About Damien McFerran
Damien has been writing professionally about tech and video games since 2007 and oversees all of Hookshot Media's sites from an editorial perspective. He's also the editor of Time Extension, the network's newest site, which – paradoxically – is all about gaming's past glories.
Comments 28
Boo...
Where is Zelda 2????????? Damnit
I'm not very happy with the games we got today. Tecmo bowl is pretty fun, but the other two? No thanks.
Is this some kind of sick Joke?
When I bought my Nintendo Wii I was expecting all of the games released to be crap. Why are we seeing 3 games at a time anyways?
Why not just a large dump of games and then buy the ones you really want? Is this some sort of sick marketing scheme where I, the customer am suppose to get so bored with my Nintendo Wii that I actually purchase Double Dungeons or Sonic Spinball?
Elevator Action?
In a way, yes. Nintendo would cannibalize their sales if they were to release all games at once.
Indecipherable, it would make little sense as a business to release all of the games at once. If they were to do that, many titles would just get ignored or lost in a sea of games. Doing it this way means that the games released each week are more likely to be given a look, especially the more obscure ones.
I can understand your frustration, as it can lead to poor weeks like this. But then, we've had good weeks *Hugs Mario Kart 64/Soldier Blade week*
sonic spinball! oh did i hate that game. Got it for xmas many years ago. Tried to love it. Didn't work though.
youch...that stings
After the highlights (for me at least) of Streets of Rage and Super Ghouls N Ghosts over the last couple of weeks, im not gonna lie, this is a bit of a let down.... but, like Jazzem says, the good weeks leave me with a goofy smile plastered over my face in euphoric retro love.
ah well...shouldnt be too long before Lylat Wars hits VC and then we can all sit back and comment on how players of Battlestation Midway dont know what they're missing out on when it comes to flight combat sims
Man, at least we can only get 2 of those. But all 3...
I must be the only person pleased. I absolutely loved Sonic Spinball and I think it's awesome that it got put on the VC. Tecmo Bowl was fun too.
Eww...
After these three bland releases over the pond, my expectation levels for the UK release on Friday are practically non-existant.
Well we have Double Dungeons already. Tecmo Bowl didn't get a European release on the NES did it? And I reckon Sonic Spinball is likely to be a U.K. game this week (if not then its got be some time this month). So you should raise those expectations a little.
I thought the whole purpose of "the virtual console" was to put yesterday's greatest video games back in action??!! That was Nintendo's statement!! Who the heck remembers "double dungeons?? I sure don't!! Where's Punch-Out, Joe & Mac, Revenge of Shinobi & games like that??!! C'mon Nintendo, These releases lately have been a BIG JOKE!! Sonic Spinball, Oh the Memories..........hmmmm
True, but like the review above says, a lot of people will download Spinball because it contains Sonic alone when it was in fact made by different creators and didnt do the hedgehog any justice at all. Ristar has been out for weeks and is a truly excellent game made by the creators of Sonic and it really shows. Get that instead of this anyday (for those who haven't already).
At least you americans got Zelda: A Link To The Past.
In Europe we havent seen even a sniff of it!
I'm getting a bit peeved with this whole VC thing, they've gone about it the wrong way
I have to disagree on your Sonic Spinball verdict, guys. It was slammed on release - presumaby because critics saw it as a cash-in - but I believe it's a very good unrealistic pinball game. Not quite as good as Devil Crash, mind, but still pretty neat.
I personally would like a better overall selection. More games should have been released by now instead of just a couple being released at a time. It's starting to get ridiculous.
I dont know about that ash. I have it with mega collection and I remember renting it when i was a kid. I really hated sonic spinball. Then again, I am really looking forward to Beyond Oaisis, Legacy of the Wizard, Milion's Secret Castle and Double Dragon (1 and 2), and Dragon Quest.
well, look on the bright side. once most of the crappy games are out there will be better games to come. next week will be better i hope.
I don't care what you guys think, I loved sonic spinball, always that lava level at the very end that got me. Always died, but now that i'm older and a better gamer I can finally beat that damn thing!
Just picked something up on wikipedia - Wonder Boy in Monster World has been slated. Loved that game! Anyone any idea when we can expect it? oh...and TMNT (NES) is also due to be released today alongside Splatterhouse (TGFX) (F*CK YES) and...ahem...Ice Climber (NES)
Haha when was the last time you visited our coming soon page? We're all up to date here boyo!
Well, about 3 hours from the time of typing this till VC late night Thursday here in the U.K.
Hope we get something good.
I wouldn't mind if we got a really poor selection of games, but also got ALTTP.
3 bad ones for one amazing is a great deal IMO
Haha... I didn't realise or I completely forgot that was there. *slaps head*
Guys, stop complainin. We got some great games like Zelda 1 and Donkey Kong Country and Kid Icarus and Super Mario 64 and OoT and MK64 and Super Mario Brothers, Castlevania finish em!
I would like to see more of the sport sport games such as Basketball, soccer, horse hockey,.these are games the whole family can get involed in,Thanks you
I would LOVE to see the first two Dragon Quest games (originally for NES.) My question for the VC experts is: Is there any chance these games will be coming out on the Virtual Console?
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