Remember this face?

It looks like the heady days of surprise Japanese Virtual Console releases are well and truly behind us as there's only one VC release scheduled for the rest of the month and it's not happening next week. Instead there's a pair of WiiWare titles, which were starting to get as rare as hen's teeth. DSiWare is sparse this week with another G.G. Series sequel in the cards as a solo offering – could it be development focus is already shifting to the 3DS?

WiiWare

Sonic the Hedghog 4: Episode 1 (1000pts, Sega) – Next week sees the relaunch of the blue buzzbomb in all territories so this isn't much of a surprise. It does look like Sega feels the need to woo Japanese gamers given the 500 Point discount being offered in that territory, though!

The Game of Life: Happy Step (1000pts, Takara Tomy) – This is actually the second WiiWare release based upon the classic board game, which is still massively popular in Japan. Unlike the first one, "Happy Step" looks less like a video game version of the board game and more similar to a "Sims" game, though you're still hopping on squares and going through the "Game of Life."

DSiWare

G.G. Series: Drift Circuit 2 (200pts, Genterprise) – Yet another sequel to yet another of the original G.G. Series games - definitely looks like we could be seeing a lot more of these, folks. We weren't terribly impressed with the original Drift Circuit, but sequels are a place to add improvements: in this case a second car choice and a turbo function, which just might add the necessary dose of excitement missing from the first game. Could well be worth a look for the import crowd and at 200 Point it's not going to hurt the wallet even if it's another dud.