Nintendo Download: 15th March 2010 (North America)

Darn. Nothing for me today. Well I get my next card about next week so there maybe at least something good then.

Rondo=Not downloading. (You can't blame me. I never liked the Castlevania Series. Enjoy, Rondo guys and gals)

Crossing Fingers for The Return of Ishtar to get an ESRB Rating.

Well, you American Castlevania nuts seem to have finally gotten what you wanted. I hope you don't mind if it's all in Japanese.
Me, I'm still waiting for Zombie Panic in Wonderland ...
... and waiting...
...and waiting...

Whoa, NintenDude97's prophecy came true!!
And, sweet, Akumajou Dracula X Chi no Rondo.

"Whoa, NintenDude97's prophecy came true"

It was a lucky guess.

I am excited for Castlevania: Rondo of Blood, never got the PSP version and never will and I'm glad it's the original Japanese version too. I'm just one of the few gamers who appreciates a good game and I also read Japanese too so you bet I'm excited for RoB.

Its days like this when I love the Virtual Console. Castlevania!! And now hopefully we are one step closer to Bloodlines.

Rondo!

Gotta say, Rondo is nice but I was hoping for something a bit more surprising and awesome. Guess we get to wait another 50 VC games. As for WW, I'll be closely watching NL for the review of Gladiator.

Nothing for me this week. RotG seems a little overpriced. I'll wait for Cave Story next week.

Been looking forward to Rage of the Gladiator for awhile now, though the preview has me a bit worried this will be too much timing and not enough smashing so will have to wait for the final review. It's not for me but my boys who chewed up Sports Resort sword fighting (after admittedly way to many hours).

Great update today. Castlevania isn't my thing, but I'll be downloading Rage of the Gladiator as soon as I get home from college this afternoon.

@wiiplayer - no lucky guess is that accurate!
Still, here's hoping Europe will get a chance to experience Akumajou Dracula X Chi no Rondo as well.

"Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (900pts TG-16 - Konami) – Released nearly two years ago in Japan, many doubted this would ever see the light of day on the Virtual Console in other territories"

Europe gets gazumped by North America again. What a jib

Here's hoping it hits the European VC as well.

I might get rage of the gladiators.

How does the SNES version of Rondo of Blood compare to the Turbografix 16 version?

I'll be downloading Rage in about 40 minutes or so... I'll have to get Rondo as well but Im getting a huge backlog of games I need to finish so it may have to wait a week or two.

Here's hoping it hits the European VC as well.

You hope? Its already been confirmed to come this week or next week assuming we get consecutive weeks of games.

Castlevania... Sweeeeet...

But where is Shantae?!

@LinktotheFuture
The SNES never got Rondo of Blood. They got a chopped up port of it called Dracula X and, while I enjoyed it quite a bit, it is simply not anywhere near as good as RoB. There are balance issues with the difficulty (especially with Dracula) and the game just isn't as big or as beautiful.

So excited, but no point cards to be bought in town.

D:

so the language is still in japanese I assume. Can anyone confirm.

I hope we get Castlevania: Rondo of Blood this Friday. I'm really curious about Rage of the Gladiator but I need a review first.

castlevania makes the week epic but Rage of the Gladiator makes it sad week also

YES!!!! FINALLY!!! I've been waiting a long time for this day. Rondo is MINE!!!!!!

@#23 - Yes. The game is still in Japanese. No translation.

SWEET!!! I'm getting "Rondo" AND "Rage of the Gladiator". I hope ROTG playable without Motion + because I'm waiting for my Motion + when my Red Steel 2 comes in.

I'll wait for the review on Triple Shot.

Sometimes I don't know what to believe of some Wii "hardcore" fans.

People complain and complain that there are no hardcore games and its all shovelware but when good games do come out, where developers obviously put in some effort in, people don't buy them

Well Rondo is a awesome game. I have it on the PSP, but will buy it again just to play it full screen. Rage of the gladiator looks good as well, although I think I will wait for a review.

@Maniac Thanks for correcting me. I will have to download this version based on your recommendation.

Is it possible to play this game if you don't speak any Japanese? I don't want to use the points if I can't play the game.

Only two more Mondays in Quarter 1. I hope Shantae doesn't move to Q2 or later. D8

Pumped for Rage of the Gladiator, personally. i don't care what Nintendo Power says about it.

Imports return? Do want.

As for RoTG, some people better buy it after all the trouble they went through to have the price lowered. >:3

woah! 900 pts for Castlevania?! D:

ok ^_

Will be waiting for a score on Gladiator with interest... aside from that nothing else. Never liked Rondo, palls compared to C4 on the SFC and SotN on PS1...

well, glad that rage of the gladiator is finally here, but i dont know i think i will wait for cave story

Hey, why do the Americans have to pay less for Zoo Frenzy? They already pay less because $1.00 = €0.73. No fair

Thanks JayArr.

This was expected and im ok with it anyway as have finished the game like this before.

Finally Rondo . . . downloading now.

Waiting for the reviews of Castlevania and Rage of the Gladiator.

@Linktothefuture Have you ever really LOOKED at an early Castlevania, or most pre-1995 adventure games? They're kinda self-explanitory. I doubt you would ever NOT know what to do, especially since its in the earlier, more linear style of that they call the pre-"Metroidvania" games in the series.

Plus, this is a game LOADS of people love, so there's going to be lots of online help even if you ever do get stuck. Look at gamefaqs.com, they have three walkthroughs/FAQS right there for you.

I assure you though, i doubt you would get stuck too much. if the reviews are high enough, and you're interested, don't let the japanese scare you.

Nothing for me today, I was hoping we would get Yoshi's Island or Starfox (snes), but oh well. Maybe I can catch up on some old purchases, like Pilotwings and Kirby 64 this week.

Rondo of Blood?! O.O... Oh Yeah , as a fan of Dracula X, I've been wanting to try the, so called, better version. I hope to be able to get it next week, along with Cave Story.

I totally knew Rondo of Blood was gonna be the 350th VC game, I wonder why we didn't get a Nintendo title though.
Overall, good week.

I Hope Rondo of blood will come on friday to the European VC!!!!

Akumajou Dracula X Chi no Rondo is good.
Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, the sequel, imo, is better.
Both are such good games.

Yeah! finally im gonna get this today

Yes. RoB

Rage of the Gladiator it is then. Can't say no to more Punch-Out!! style gameplay.

Gimme Zombie Panic, dammit!! Or are they going to wait until I don't want that anymore either?!!

Oh mah gawd! What a great week! I wonder if the universe can hold together at such a great week? Is this the rapture? Do they have nintendo in the afterlife?

Wow. I'm shocked. Nintendo actually didn't release a game they didn't make as a milestone game. (Unless they weren't responsible for Harvest Moon. Don't remember who worked on that.) Anyway, great to see a new Castlevania game on the VC. Now the wait for Castlevania Bloodlines begins...and still for the original Contra!

Bloodlines is fun.

Natsume, Kevin. Natsume.

I wish I was as easy to please as you are, Junkface.

They can now stop adding games to the VC and I wouldn't care anymore.

I'll probably get Rondo of Blood sooner or later. I was hoping Kirby Super Star would be #350 since we'd get Rondo very soon anyways but whatever.

On another note, CAVE STORY IS FINALLY COMING NEXT WEEK!!!!

@Tsuchinoko Thanks for the info, since it is like Castlevania I and III, I have no problems about downloading it then. I was worried it was a MetroidVania game with a lot of reading.

@brooks83

If they stop adding VC releases. My heart would break. Because my favorite arcade game's sequel has not been released yet. Its taking too long.

@ suburban_sensei don't get kirby 64 its a waist of money and worst 64 game out

@suburban_sensei

Don't listen to Egg Miester.

Get Kirby 64. Most underrated game on VC.It plays like Kirby's Adventure. It has great mini-games and overall its an enjoyable experience.

It's worth every point.

I would also suggest Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom too its a great Text Adventure.

I'm happy with Rondo of Blood. Better late than never and keep up the good work Nintendo.

It's a great week for me! I finally get to play Castlevania: Rondo of Blood for the very first time. I am strongly considering getting Rage of the Gladiator as well depending on the Nintendo Life review. I just can't wait for Cave Story next week!

Personally, I think Kirby 64 is a great game. It's not for everyone though.
As for Kirby Super Star, I don't see that coming to the Virtual Console while there are still unused copies of the DS version that have yet to be sold.

I haven't played Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, but I think it's gonna be a good game.
The only way to find out is by playing it.

Nothing for me. Cave Story, here I come!

The save-load screen on castlevania rondo of blood the music theme say <<kyrie eleison>> is Greek words and its mean lord, have mery.

Ah, that explains the Kyrie Eleison song.
I completed the game 100% twice.

Nothing for me.

Rondo of Blood is my favorite Castlevania game after Symphony of The Night. I played it a bit a few years ago and really enjoyed it. The presentation is really good and the graphics are impressive for a TG16 game. Dracula X for SNES is good but this is better.

Yes starboy is ancient Greek words from orthodox ceremony,i can not wait for this game you are so lucky o lucky lucky

Saved by The Source, it's rondo time!

Man! Some of these comments are depressing. "Nothing for me..." etc. etc. even though this is actually a very good week for VC.

@MasterGraveheart, Super-Peach: Yeah, I'm really hoping that it doesn't slip into Q2, and yeah, they have two more Mondays until it may be sucked in release date hell.

Come on WayForward, don't be stalling Shantae's grand return!

Aside from that, I like this week's update but I won't be really getting any of these titles just yet. WiiWare fans can rejoice for Cave Story next week.

@morphballer

A very good week for VC. HA.

You know what would be a good week for VC. The Return of Ishtar, Thats what. Instead we get that Rondo of Blood garbage.

Damn Castlevania! No Kirby Super Star

A good VC Week was Princess Tomato in The Salad Kingdom on Feb 8th.That week was way better than this week.

@Zeke - you said in one of the threads if ADXCNR was gonna be released as the 350th VC game, you'd be destroyed. What exactly did you mean by that?

If you don't like the Castlevania series of games, then I don't mind. To each his own, as I say.

@WiiPlayer26: Thanks, yeah Kirby 64 has more of a nostalgic appeal than anything. I remember playing it years ago, and it was a lot of fun. I more excited to DL Pilotwings though, never got the chance to play it on the SNES, and I owned (and loved) Pilotwings 64.

I wonder if Konami plans to release Dracula X for the SNES now. Hopefully Bloodlines is up next.

Haha, Car Jack Streets. I wanna see the review of this one.

Also, what's the deal with the 350th VC game? That's kind of an odd number. 500th, now that's more like it!

@vio - hmmm, maybe. Long time no see. How've you been?

OMG!...Drooling over the release of Castlevania Rondo of Blood
And is it true that Turbo Grafx 16 VC games are alittle blurry looking?

Anyways Rondo of Blood, and Rage of the Gladiator are getting my sweet sweet cash.
But I still have a few more dates(if more) with Super Monkey Ball Banana Blitz. I'm on the 8th world....few more stages to go hehe.

And hopefully Bloodlines will be hitting shortly after, it's the only other Classic Castlevania game I haven't played besides Rondo of Blood.

@SilverBlacktail - 500th VC game? That won't be til about 2015 lol.

2015 is five years away.
I'm pretty sure the 500th VC game may be released slightly before we reach 2015.

@suburban_sensei Again, if japan hasn't gotten them yet, don't expect to get games like Star Fox or Yoshi's Island in other regions

2015???? if will we are alive

lolinator

Nothing for me this week.

Well, at about 50 games a year give or take, if you want to get technical it would be more like 2012-2013. Still, it's a long ways off

Well, you're right, brooks, that it'll take awhile before the 500th game appears [though I'm a little driven off by the sarcasm emoticon (am I the only one that sees the tongue straight out instead of curved weird?)]
I am not a fan of the way the sarcasm emoticon appears on NintendoLife (it'd be more convincing if the tongue was stuck out curved instead of straight).

I'll be getting Rondo of Blood and FFIV when I get my points card.

I put the tounge emoticon on there because my original comment about 2015 was basically meant to show that it will take a long time to get to 500, and wasn't meant to be a factual date. Wasn't meant to be mean or anything, just joking around. And now that you mention it, the emoticon does look a little strange lol.

It's just, the way I see it, it looks like it's sticking it's tongue straight out of disrespect.
When the emoticon sticks out the tongue in curve style, it actually looks like it's playing around (like in Backloggery's emoticon).

Is there anyone who know a release date or possible release date on Shantae Risky Revenge I keep checking the download list week after week and nothing. I thought it was going to be released in Dec 2009.

Curious question. I have Dracula X on SNES how much different or better is Rondo of Blood. Is it worth getting it since I already have X. Especially if it is in all Japanese.

@fxtek76

Yes. Rondo of Blood is much, much better than Dracula X. And I think everything you'd need to know is in english(except the options menu, they never translate that for some reason)

Anywho, nothing for me today, but I am glad that we finally got Rondo of Blood. Now people can stop screaming for it and enjoy that gem of a game!

Oh well, next week: Cave Story, Mega Man 10, Final Fantasy 4 and maybe Ironclad.

Looks like a pretty good update this week. Still no instant downloads for me this week. A little excited to see how Car Jack Streets turns out,as the IPhone version didnt look to impressive.
@ Slapshot82
I think its safe to say that Nintendo(NA) is the only ones who know the real answer to you question.

Just like Super Peach and others who have commented about Shantae, hopefully Nintendo doesnt pull a NO SHOW with this game. With only 2 updates left until the end of the 1st Q, I kinda expected Nintendo to wait to the very last update and surprise everyone.

I missed out on the Game Boy Color game Shantae. How is it? 's it fun?

Next week is Cave Story, so I'm saving my points up. If I wasn't, Rondo of Blood would be tempting...

Except I already have the EXCELLENT Castlevania Dracula X PSP title, which has it as an unlockable. It's an okay game, but the PSP remake really thrashes it. It's one of the best 2.5D games on the platform, and that's saying something since PSP also hosts Mega Man Powered Up, Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, Hammerin' Harry and Sonic Rivals 2.

Anyway, I still need to pick up Max & the Magic Marker:) I wish Nintendo either a)priced more things less than 10 bucks, or b)didn't force us to buy things in 10, 20, 30 dollar chunks at a time.

Shoot, just hit a bug in Rondo. Oh well, the music's rockin'.

I've been playing Rage of the Gladiator today.
I've played a little more than 4 hours so far, and I've finished nine of the fights on normal mode.

If anybody has any questions about the game, let me know and I'll be glad to try and answer them.

If you're wondering, I am really enjoying the game so far!

More disappointment for me. Oh well.

I miss the days you would get 3-4 VC games each monday. I guess since they've got Wiiware and DSiware (even though those mostly suck) on their hands they just can't do that anymore.

lets see, since it's been just about 10 months since the release of the 300th VC game (Majora's Mask) and 8 months before that was the 250th release of game #250 (Mario RPG) I'd say, 400th game arrives in January or February 2011, give or take. however, with 52 weeks in a year and an average of 1 game a week, it may not come until March 2011, and the other question is, what will that game be?

Rage of the Gladiator!