Adamant

With it's 12 stages, it's one of the longer shmups out there.
There's several different difficulty levels that can severly alter the stages and the strategy needed, and you can always try using a different option setups for variety, so the replay value's definitely there.
Great game, absolutely give it a download.

I agree with warioswoods, WL4 was an excellent game. I personally hold WL2 to be the weakestin the series.

Yeah, I might have been a bit rude in my response.

It IS quite annoying to have the threads about Japanese released filled with this constant complaints about how the Japanese VC gets more games than the others, though. Everyone knew that was going to be the case, and it's not like Japan actually gets games we miss out on - the extra ones they get are mostly games that wouldn't be released here anyway.

Nearly everything online regarding the VC is filled with complaints about how the released games suck, Nintendo sucks for not releasing one of the two only games the posters want, lack of releases, etc. The Japan-release threads have brought in the complaints about how the number of games on the Japanese VC is higher than in other countries on top of that.

It's getting quite annoying, especially considering there really isn't that much to complain about.
The titles on the Japanese VC are the same as in other countries, just with a bunch of Japan-only games the complainers mostly haven't heard of anyway on top of that, the VC is still getting weekly games, and releases games faster than both it's competitors, the games released are usually rather good, but are written off as crap by people who haven't heard of them before, and people who only want a few particular can't logically expect those few games to be released every single week.

What happened to the positive attitude from back when the service was new? Yes, we're not getting quite as steady a stream of games, but te service is still running relatively strong, and theres tons and tons of great games already released. Why so much negativity?

No, that's not a shame. They get more games because they have more games to choose from, as more games were released over there. Developers shouldn't be forbidden from releasing Japan-only games on the VC just because some stupid Americans bitch on the internet about how the number of available games don't match up.
Guess what, Japan has more game than you for most other Japanese consoles, too.

You should've known this would happen when the service was announced, so why didn't you just buy a Japanese Wii right away so you could get all these VC games?

Seriously, stop ruining threads with this whining. It's annoying.

I agree, the score seems unnaturally high. I just finished my own review for N-club, and ended up at a 5/10, using a scoring system very similiar to the one Nintendolife uses.

@Cally: "I haven't tried the PSP versions yet. What's wrong with those?"

Same thing as the GBA games, pretty much. They're very similiar.

@Ricardo91:"Is the original particularly hard?"

No, not very. It's one of the easiest RPGs on the system.

Nice.
Hey, anyone know if Famicom controllers are compatible with the NES? If so, they should work on this.

@longtimegamer- Japan gets more games than us because they're getting the SAME games as us, plus the Japan-exclusive games we wouldn't get anyway on top of that. There aren't enough America/Europe-exclusive games being offered to make the numbers match up (and the C64 aside, they weren't terribly numerous on the VC-supported consoles either), so of course they end up getting more games. Look at WHICH games they're actually getting, not just the number of total games they have, and you'll see we're not missing out on much at all.
Are you suggesting that games released worldwide NOT be given a release on the Japanese VC because "it's unfair that their number of games is higher than ours"? I hope you realize just how ridiculous that idea is.

Games that were never released in Japan, I mean.
longtimegamer is whining about how Japan is getting games we're not, and says we should be getting games they aren't, when the library of such games that can potentially be released isn't very large, outside of C64 games.

"Also we have plenty of games from over here that we can be getting."

Oh? What may these games be?

@Longtimegamer: "You know why "I" gripe? It's because we should be getting more in Europe and the US than we do right now. We should be able to. Japan doesn't seem to be having any shortage of games, so why should we? I'm actually offended about the fact that we're treated so unequally."

This has to be the dumbest comment I've read here. We're getting the exact same games as Japan, with the exception of Japan-exclusive games you knew all along we wouldn't get. Nintendo is a Japanese company, most of the companies releasing games on the are Japanese, and they're offering their game libraries for the VC. These libraries contain both games that were released in Japan only and games that were released worldwide - Japan gets all of them, we get the games that were originally released here. Makes sense, right? So, what you're proposing is that either ONLY games that were released worldwide be released on the VC, or that Japan misses out on games that were originally released there for the sole purpose of some whiny internet kid wanting the number of games to be fair.
It's a Japanese console with largely Japanese-made games, of course the Japanese library is going to be bigger. You want those games, you buy a Japanese console, then start crying once you realize most of the games you "missed out on" are text-heavy games in a language you can't understand. Idiot.

It's not a practical solution, no, but come on - you must've been incredibly delusional to not know, from the point the VC was announced, that Japan would be getting more games than anyone else. The supported consoles each have massive libraries of Japan-only games, many of them text-heavy, that would never be released here. The non-Japan exclusives simply aren't that numerous (and they do exist - we got Star Tropics, for instance), so of course they're getting more games than us. Nintendo aren't going to NOT release certain games in Japan just to keep the number of VC games stable worldwide.
If it really bothers people so much that Japan gets more VC games than them, they should've imported a Japanese Wii to begin with, thus getting access to all these wonderful text adventures they can't understand.

Seriously, whining about Japan getting more VC games is just pathetic. Grow up.

Buy a Japanese Wii, then. Not that hard.

(Dammit guys, stop being angry at japan. Not only do they make the games in the first place, they also get pretty much the same games we get, plus some other Japan-exclusives you most likely wouldn't care about anyway. You're not missing out on anything)

Jidaigeki isn't really that good. It's an attempt at revamping the prequel and put it in a new setting, but it comes out as a pretty failed experiment. Look into it if the idea of a sequel interests you, but don't expect too much.

@GotWii: It's a somewhat heavy strategy game, and isn't really aimed at kids despite the cutesy package. Are you SURE you read the review? It doesn't really look like you understood what kind of game this is at all.

Getting it for your kids would be a mistake, especially when their age difference is so large. It's a battle of wits meant to be played by people who stand equal, your older kid would just dominate the game and make it no fun for your younger kid.

Get them Mario Party instead, that would be more on their level.

I feel the score ended up a bit lower than it should've been. This is a cheap and well-done version of the game, and while there are a few iffy design choices, like the very limited number of layouts, it hardly kills the game. Not perfect, but a decent enough adaption. 8/10 would be more fitting.

@Don: You can't emulate the lightguns just like that, they'd have to reprogram the game. Either that, or release lightguns for the Wii, which would be both terribly pointless and they wouldn't work on modern TVs anyway,

I'd like to say that I bought Tower Toppler, and am really enjoying it.

^What? No C64 release has sucked yet. They've all been quality games.

"Listen to the Animalese pronunciation of numbers when you press them"

...that's Japanese.

Nice, Tower Toppler. We needed more C64 games. Bring over Boulder Dash next week, eh Nintendo?

The Wiiware game is supposedly based off a quite popular board game, and could very well prove to be interesting.

The DSiware, once again, demonstrates how little a need I have to buy a DSi.

" Donkey Kong, for instance, has power but no speed"

Far from it, DK perfectly balances power and speed. He's my favorite character in the game.

@Gabbo: Thanks, I guess I'll give this one a download, then. RotTK4 completely overwhelmed me.

How does this stack up to Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV in terms of complexity and newbie-friendlyness?

^Most of Koei's games look a lot like each other.

Actualy, neither "Leaf", the DP rival or any of the three GSC characters have real, ingame names. All you have to go on are the alternatives the games suggest you giv them when naming them - "Leaf", "Gold" and "Crystal" do not appear in their respective games unless you choose to play as them, and "Silver" and the DP rival will always be named by you.

Hence, the only playable characters in the series to have actual names are Red, Brendan, May, Lucas and Dawn.

Of course you're not too old. Why shouldn't you find them enjoyable? The only reason i could think of was if you're one of those idiots who consider everything other than bloody FPS games and GTA clones to be "for kids", but given that you're posting on a site dedicated to Nintendo games, I doubt that's the case.

@Sean: Koei's games have never really reached Europe before, and they belong to a very niche genre, so I'm not so sure we'll ever see them. then again, this WOULD be a good opportunity to introduce them to people, given how cheap VC games are.

But I wouldn't keep my hopes up.

I love how you all get worked up about not getting one particular title today, when the VC is no doubt filled with a ton of great games you haven't downloaded yet.

Nobunaga looks interesting, are there any huge differences between this and RotTK4?

500 points for non-online-supportive card games when you can find the full Clubhouse for what, 15$?

Yeah, no. Enough with these demos already, Nintendo. I'd see the point if they were free.

@KingMike: "It seems that an English ROM of Youkai Dochuuki called Shadowland exists."

I've seen that as well, but it doesn't look like the game was ever actually RElEAED in English.
Why would anyone bother fan translating it in the first place, there's barely any text in the game.

I checked the Japanese Wiiware site for the name - it's "Makiba no Omise", which does indeed translate to "Farm Store".

Silly Google Translate. "Show me your meadow" is not a valid translation for this, unless the person who named the game is completely unaware of even the most basic grammar rules.

Maybe an idea to get someone who knows Japanese to go over the names before posting them? Can't be that hard to get ahold of someone.

Youkai Douchuuki is an awesome game, check it out if you haven't done so before.

(Kind of prefer the NES remake myself, though - the original is hard as balls.)

@Sohei_Fox: Well, the main character in Secret Command is still named Ashura.

"Bird and Beans" is a collection of two games from earlier Warioware releases. Nothing particulary interesting there.

I fail to see the logic in releasing a Shanghai game on the VC, rather than making a Wiimote-compatible Wiiware game.

@Bendover83: "Unless I'm missing something isn't Ninja Gaiden for the PC Engine not the NES version. Unless it plays exactly the same which I'm not sure."

Yeah, it's pretty much the same game, just prettier graphics. So, we technically do have it, and I'm sure people would complain about it taking the spot of something NEW had Nintendo released it here, anyway.

Secret Command is pretty damn good, guys. Check it out if you like the genre.

I never really "got" the original Pitfall. Sure, it was ridiculously huge compared to other games at the time, with 256 screens to explore, but when there's only 5 or so different elements that can be in any one stage, you end up seeing every notable combination very quickly. There not much appeal in exploring a massive world when there's nothing new to see anywhere, and the few stage elements there are aren't really anything amazing.

Games like Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr, Popeye, Jumpman and Miner 2039er may have been more condensed, but they were a hell of a lot more fun too (and yes, I know Pitfall came out a short while before most of these, and a good portion of these didn't get very good 2600 ports, but still).

It has been theorized that since Mega Drive games can be played with the Wiimote, and SNES games can't, releasing the Mega Drive versions of multiplatform games will make more people consider a purchase.

I completely agree with this review. I mean, what, it's 5$ for a program that allows you to draw and write a bit on the DS? It's markete as a "game" it provides instructions for, but there really isn't anything here you can't play with pen and paper.

Ridiculous.

What's next, a DS iteration of the game where one person draws some random lines on a paper, and the next person uses them as part of a picture?

商願2009-013574 goonies　wannabes

huh.
Chance of the NES Goonies games on VC?

Yeah, these are definitely good games, and the price is really cheap.
Already have them in their WW forms, though, so...

Was absolutely expecting a 10/10 here, yeah. One of the absolutely greatest games on the N64, on the VC, in it's genre, in it's series, and indeed, of all time.

And yes, it's better than OoT.

10/10 it is - if any game ever deserved that score, it's this.

@soniczelda dude. The NES port of Galaga is pretty damn close to the arcade original. You can just get that.

And yeah - while this game overwhelms you with all it's new innovations at the beginning, once you've played for a while, you see that they don't really work that well, and aren't really as awesome as they first seemed, making you want to go back to good old Galaga.

There IS something definitely awesome about the septuple ship, though.

(and Donkey Kong 3 is awesome in it's own right, and shouldn't be compared to this)

Sounds quite cool, actually.

@thewiirocks: "You flew all the way to the US just for the MGC?!?"

Haha, no, I'm staying in North Dakota for college at the time. Though it was a 13 hour train ride, so I'm obviously still rather screwed up
And sorry, no, I didn't see any of those things.

Did participate in the Sonic tournament, though, and was ranked #1 after the first day, but wasn't able to go there the second... are the results available somewhere? I obviously didn't win, but I'd like to see how far off I was.

@tkubas1: How can you even compare the two? One is a Blackjack game, the other is a poker game. Which one is "best" depends on which of the two card games you want to play.

@timp29: "Without spoiling it for me, is there actually some cool story elements?"

Majora's Mask has the most involving story of all the Zelda games.

" the famous "Pie Factory" level that fans of the game love so much"

Really? Nearly every comment I read on the console ports of Donkey Kong go along the lines of "yeah, they didn't include the pie factory, but it was the worst level anyway".
Yeah, you see some clamoring for it, but it's more "we want all the levels" than "we want THAT one level".

Oh, and Popeye is awesome. I picked up the Colecovision port at the Midwest Game Classic, and it's a great port. Very fun. Doubt we'll see it, though - if the licence wasn't a problem, we'd have had the NES port on the VC long ago.