Warsong, River City Ransom, and Shining Force II would be my Christmas wishlist for NA on Monday.
But absurdly lofty hopes and dreams aside, I don't see why people complain about the VC releases every week. Nintendo doesn't "owe" us a certain type of game, no matter how much revenue they reap off the VC. It's a moneymaking venture, and it's been pretty successful so far. As long as people will shell out the dough for something like Urban Champion, then they can release whatever games they want, and we should just be thankful for the rare gems we get.
Super Metroid alone is enough to make me tolerate 100 terrible VC releases.
I've never played a Metroid game, and I just downloaded this based on the excellent reviews. They're right. This is one of the greatest SNES games I've ever played. Very, very well-paced exploration game with some fun (and some frustrating) platforming and interesting puzzles. You'll keep returning to old areas of the map to find that one little thing you couldn't get to before.
Kevin, don't hold your breath for a MM1 release over here anytime soon. If it's released on Monday, I'll eat my Christmas stocking. Now, Bubble Bobble I think (hope) could be released over here before too long. Still, I'm not grudging on any EU players... it's the Japanese players I'm jealous of (Warsong, River City Ransom...)!
Mega Man games have already been released in the US on compilation discs. MM hasn't seen comp release like that in Europe, so they're making up for lost time. I wouldn't expect to see MM or MM2 in the US for quite a while, yet.
My thoughts echo those of darthmix above. I remember getting a NES for Christmas the first year they were available here and playing through SMB with my dad. Great memories. Classic game, tons of history, plus nostalgia factor are all things to consider, but down to the game itself and whether it's worth 500 points nowadays... maybe not quite. The platforming isn't as tight as it could be (of course not, it's 20+ years old!), some of the stage designs are repetitive, and replay value is pretty low (especially if you've already gone through it a hundred times like us old-schoolers).
I'm of the opinion that these ancient "classic" NES titles should be discounted to 300-400 Wii points. There's no way this game should cost as much as SMB3.
I remember playing this game as a kid! Man, the VC is bringing back all kinds of memories for me lately. Very fun little game, and the shapeshifting topped things off for me back in the day.
Speaking of Faxanadu, I wouldn't mind seeing that on the VC at some point, too!
It's a fun little multiplayer romp, but it lacks the replay value or gameplay depth to warrant anything more than 2 stars. It's not a terrible game, it's just a product of an earlier, innocent age.
This game is hard, but not in a "fun" hard way. It just gets annoying to play after a while. Other than the difficulty, the gameplay can actually be fun at spots, which is the only reason it gets more than one star from me.
A great game in its day (I used to play it all the time on my 31-in-1 multicart), but nowadays even the wonderful track editor doesn't do much to salvage replay value. If the editor's the only saving grace, why not edit better stuff with a better editor in a better game? This one would have been a solid 3 stars back in 1990 or so.
Best of genre, no question. Fantastic game, and will be an instant download for me. Great, smooth gameplay, fantastic music, very easy to pick up and play, fun two-player, and some apparent stat-building depth!
Combine bad tracks, bad AI, sketchy controls, and you have a game that's not much fun without lots of other people around. What's the point. Give me Super Mario Kart (where is it, anyway!?) or the upcoming Mario Kart Wii.
This game is simply brilliant. Huge, entertaining, and leaves you with a great sense of accomplishment after building up Link's collection of goodies. And when you're done, you can play it all again with everything in different locations!
I've definitely heard that licensing proper Tetris is going to be difficult/expensive. Too bad, too, because I'd like to see the NES and/or Gameboy Tetris games on the VC eventually.
This is one of the loved games from my childhood! I never made it very far as a kid, but it's certainly a lot of fun. Great music. Unique gameplay. People tend to dislike it because it's not the same as the first one. They're right, it's not the same, but this game stands on its own merits.
Unfortunately, this is the worst of Koei's SNES Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. Both II and III are more fun. This one is just kind of slow and depressing. Still a great game, and especially a treat for those VC gamers who enjoy empire-building turn-based strategy, but it would be phenomenal if they would go back and give us the previous games in the series.
I remember this game from way back when! It's not a good game at all... very simple, and even the simple controls don't control very well! I've played games that make me want to vomit even more, though. The police and the box art push this one up to a 2-stars from me.
Classic game, despite all of its crazy racist stereotyping. The music is really great, too. Solid gameplay. Replay value could be better, but I keep coming back to it because of the good memories.
If I remember correctly, there are also hilarious taunts in this game (the wizard character calls his opponent a "simpleton"). It was pretty fun in its time, but I don't know if it's aged as well as the Street Fighter games, for example.
Fun game, good characters, some fun little unique elements, but nothing spectacular. 4 star game bumped down to 3 stars because it's a bit dated.
Games like GoldenEye and Final Fantasy are apparently going to be insanely expensive to license for the VC. I'm not saying they'll never happen, just that we shouldn't hold our breath or save our Wii points.
They're releasing sequels to River City Ransom and Warsong in Japan, but we don't even have the originals yet. I'd mainly be happy to get those in North America over the next couple of months...
This is a great tactical RPG. Lots of good memories. Funny characters, entertaining (and some frustrating!) turn-based battles on a variety of maps, and a simple but interesting level/promotion system. The multitude of different party configurations will keep you playing.
Comments 324
Re: Japanese Virtual Console List - January 2008
Maybe DKC3 was your release for the week?
Re: EU VC Releases - 21st December - Blades of Steel
Warsong, River City Ransom, and Shining Force II would be my Christmas wishlist for NA on Monday.
But absurdly lofty hopes and dreams aside, I don't see why people complain about the VC releases every week. Nintendo doesn't "owe" us a certain type of game, no matter how much revenue they reap off the VC. It's a moneymaking venture, and it's been pretty successful so far. As long as people will shell out the dough for something like Urban Champion, then they can release whatever games they want, and we should just be thankful for the rare gems we get.
Super Metroid alone is enough to make me tolerate 100 terrible VC releases.
Re: Super Metroid
I've never played a Metroid game, and I just downloaded this based on the excellent reviews. They're right. This is one of the greatest SNES games I've ever played. Very, very well-paced exploration game with some fun (and some frustrating) platforming and interesting puzzles. You'll keep returning to old areas of the map to find that one little thing you couldn't get to before.
Re: EU VC Releases - 14th December - Mega Man 2
Kevin, don't hold your breath for a MM1 release over here anytime soon. If it's released on Monday, I'll eat my Christmas stocking. Now, Bubble Bobble I think (hope) could be released over here before too long. Still, I'm not grudging on any EU players... it's the Japanese players I'm jealous of (Warsong, River City Ransom...)!
Re: EU VC Releases - 14th December - Mega Man 2
Mega Man games have already been released in the US on compilation discs. MM hasn't seen comp release like that in Europe, so they're making up for lost time. I wouldn't expect to see MM or MM2 in the US for quite a while, yet.
Great update for EU gamers, though. Congratz.
Re: Super Mario Bros.
My thoughts echo those of darthmix above. I remember getting a NES for Christmas the first year they were available here and playing through SMB with my dad. Great memories. Classic game, tons of history, plus nostalgia factor are all things to consider, but down to the game itself and whether it's worth 500 points nowadays... maybe not quite. The platforming isn't as tight as it could be (of course not, it's 20+ years old!), some of the stage designs are repetitive, and replay value is pretty low (especially if you've already gone through it a hundred times like us old-schoolers).
I'm of the opinion that these ancient "classic" NES titles should be discounted to 300-400 Wii points. There's no way this game should cost as much as SMB3.
Re: Dragon's Curse
I remember playing this game as a kid! Man, the VC is bringing back all kinds of memories for me lately. Very fun little game, and the shapeshifting topped things off for me back in the day.
Speaking of Faxanadu, I wouldn't mind seeing that on the VC at some point, too!
Re: Mario Bros.
It's a fun little multiplayer romp, but it lacks the replay value or gameplay depth to warrant anything more than 2 stars. It's not a terrible game, it's just a product of an earlier, innocent age.
Re: Ghosts 'n Goblins
This game is hard, but not in a "fun" hard way. It just gets annoying to play after a while. Other than the difficulty, the gameplay can actually be fun at spots, which is the only reason it gets more than one star from me.
Re: Wii Gift feature out now in EU and US
Country lock or region lock? It'd be pretty crazy if Canada and USA couldn't gift games to each other...
Re: US VC Releases - 10th December - Pokemon Snap
There are still two more weeks before Christmas.
Re: The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
This is the best game in an incredibly huge series, hands down, no questions asked.
Re: Excitebike
A great game in its day (I used to play it all the time on my 31-in-1 multicart), but nowadays even the wonderful track editor doesn't do much to salvage replay value. If the editor's the only saving grace, why not edit better stuff with a better editor in a better game? This one would have been a solid 3 stars back in 1990 or so.
Re: River City Ransom
Best of genre, no question. Fantastic game, and will be an instant download for me. Great, smooth gameplay, fantastic music, very easy to pick up and play, fun two-player, and some apparent stat-building depth!
Re: Mario Kart 64
Combine bad tracks, bad AI, sketchy controls, and you have a game that's not much fun without lots of other people around. What's the point. Give me Super Mario Kart (where is it, anyway!?) or the upcoming Mario Kart Wii.
Re: The Legend of Zelda
This game is simply brilliant. Huge, entertaining, and leaves you with a great sense of accomplishment after building up Link's collection of goodies. And when you're done, you can play it all again with everything in different locations!
Re: Tetris Attack
I've definitely heard that licensing proper Tetris is going to be difficult/expensive. Too bad, too, because I'd like to see the NES and/or Gameboy Tetris games on the VC eventually.
Re: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
This is one of the loved games from my childhood! I never made it very far as a kid, but it's certainly a lot of fun. Great music. Unique gameplay. People tend to dislike it because it's not the same as the first one. They're right, it's not the same, but this game stands on its own merits.
Re: Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV
Unfortunately, this is the worst of Koei's SNES Romance of the Three Kingdoms games. Both II and III are more fun. This one is just kind of slow and depressing. Still a great game, and especially a treat for those VC gamers who enjoy empire-building turn-based strategy, but it would be phenomenal if they would go back and give us the previous games in the series.
Re: Urban Champion
I remember this game from way back when! It's not a good game at all... very simple, and even the simple controls don't control very well! I've played games that make me want to vomit even more, though. The police and the box art push this one up to a 2-stars from me.
Re: Punch-Out!!
Classic game, despite all of its crazy racist stereotyping. The music is really great, too. Solid gameplay. Replay value could be better, but I keep coming back to it because of the good memories.
Re: Eternal Champions
If I remember correctly, there are also hilarious taunts in this game (the wizard character calls his opponent a "simpleton"). It was pretty fun in its time, but I don't know if it's aged as well as the Street Fighter games, for example.
Fun game, good characters, some fun little unique elements, but nothing spectacular. 4 star game bumped down to 3 stars because it's a bit dated.
Re: Japanese Virtual Console List - December 2007
Games like GoldenEye and Final Fantasy are apparently going to be insanely expensive to license for the VC. I'm not saying they'll never happen, just that we shouldn't hold our breath or save our Wii points.
They're releasing sequels to River City Ransom and Warsong in Japan, but we don't even have the originals yet. I'd mainly be happy to get those in North America over the next couple of months...
Re: Shining Force
This is a great tactical RPG. Lots of good memories. Funny characters, entertaining (and some frustrating!) turn-based battles on a variety of maps, and a simple but interesting level/promotion system. The multitude of different party configurations will keep you playing.