Kelvin

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES!

Brilliant. The MS was a neat little system with some great games on it, but outside of Europe it was overshadowed by the NES, so I'm pleasantly surprised to see it return.

Top games: Sonic and Sonic 2, which are very different to the Mega Drive versions, but just as good in their own right; Alex Kidd in Miracle World, a tough little platformer that plays very differently to Mario; Alex Kidd in Shinobi World, which is one of the best 8-Bit Shinobi titles; Phantasy Star, a blindingly good RPG; the best console version of Bubble Bobble (unlikely to see this with the NES release); Fantasy Zone, a crazy-looking and very playable shooter; Psycho Fox, another top platformer; Power Strike, a fiendishly difficult shooter in the Zanac vein; and the Metroid-esque Zillion.

Master of Darkness is a great Castlevania clone that we're sadly unlikely to see, and the MS had a brilliant conversion of Populous which I also doubt we'll see on VC, but you never know. It had some good licensed titles too. Alien³ was a great conversion, as was James Pond 2, and Mickey Mouse: Land of Illusion was a favourite with many fans (didn't like it much myself). And the MS got a version of Sensible Soccer, of course.

And if they could sneak in the snail game somewhere (as a free download perhaps), that would be fun.

One game, and it's a version of something we had already. Way to go Nintendo!

At least it's a fairly good one.

I was rather hoping that they were holding on to SNES Mario Kart because they were putting netplay in, but I know that's just wishful thinking.

Tides of Chaos, I'd say get Turbo, as the only real improvement this game brings is the addition of Cammy (and perhaps Fei Long, but I always preferred him in Tekken ). But that's a minority opinion. Most people prefer this one, I think.

I prefer Turbo to Super; I don't think the new fighters added much of significance, and the tweaks to the existing fighters added even less. Turbo was pretty perfectly balanced, I thought, and Super was just tweaking with no real benefit.

Still a brilliant game, of course, but not as good as its predecessor.

Jez, you're right that Nintendo never owned Rare outright, but they did own a substantial stake in the company, which was then sold, I believe, back to Rare, prior to Microsoft swooping in to snap up their shares.

That whole snowboarding phase in games never did much for me, so I'll probably be giving this a pass again this time around. Oh well. It just means I can save my Points for something really special.

Having seen the video, I think I'm calling "hoax". There's some weird lag going on, and it doesn't look like his Wii is even on (although the sensor bar is).

Weird. None of this rumour makes sense.

In theory, a VC game could be run off disc, as it's just a storage method, especially if there's some kind of VC launch program on the disc that circumvents the normal way of doing things.

Perhaps games that they're currently working on "converting" to VC are put out on disc for testing purposes, and that's what this is.

I haven't seen the video, but is he using the Wiimote as a pointer? That would explain the disc, as I don't think the VC supports that function as standard.

OR!

Perhaps they've created a patch that does allow pointer functionality, and that's on the disc along with the Duck Hunt ROM. Again, they might be testing the pointer code before releasing it as a system/shop update.

Never mind. It looks like NA is getting the short end of the stick now too. Parity is restored.

So it seems fair to you Steve that we get one, two or no games at all, while you get three games a week?

"I don't see why EU people are complaining about the number of games released."
Because we've been getting one or two games a week, sometimes *none*, while NA and Japan get their usual number. That's why.

It did occur to me that maybe it's because we'd somehow gotten ahead of the other regions, so they were slowing our releases until everyone else catches up, but we seem to be behind there too.

I wonder what's going on with NoE's release policy? It's really dropped off of late.

KewDrew, I don't have a 360, and I don't plan to ever get one, so this is bad news for me... if it's anything more than a rumour, that is.

They owe us three games a week if they're giving the other regions three games a week. Simple as that.

Tennant, it's not about not getting "great" games, it's about not getting games at all! If we're getting one or even *no* games when other regions are getting three per week as per normal, it doesn't seem so bad to complain, does it?

Yes, there are people who are never happy that a specific game hasn't come out, or whatever, and that's difficult to sympathise with.

However, a lot of people are complaining that we didn't get a game on the 27th, and only got one this week. Meanwhile, North America is still getting three games a week like clockwork. I think that is a legitimate complaint, as there's no reason for it.

It's not about buying three games a week. It's about having the choice from those three games. Maybe I'll get all three, maybe I'll get none, but it would be nice to be allowed the choice, as people in NA do.

Telling people to stop complaining when they have a legitimate concern is not helpful.

I'd be very surprised if North America doesn't get the full set of games on Monday.

Really great game, this, but it's disappointing to see only one release *again* this week. Is this a blip, or is it a new policy from NoE?

Perhaps we'll see International Karate or Bruce Lee somewhere down the line, although I don't think either came out on the VC systems.

Yeah, a good solid rpg, but not as accomplished as either the first instalment, or the fourth.

Yie Air Kung Fu! Cor, I remember playing that on my C64 back in the day. I wonder if it holds up today?

Good to see Phantasy Star II, er, too, although I do prefer the first one (Master System, please Nintendo!) and also IV.

That's more like it. Nice one Nintendo!

I think the point is more that Nintendo didn't seem to make much of an effort for Christmas. Given that we've seen special releases in the past, tying in with new games like Metroid Prime 3, or the Hanabi festival, a lot of people were expecting some kind of special event for Chrimble too. Perhaps next week, as Drake says.

Drake, yes, that's what I'm hoping; that we'll get the a really good Christmas update on the 28th. Fingers crossed...

Happy Chrimble, all!

Yeah, not the best Christmas present I've seen.

Other ways of getting Stars: I believe you get a handful just for visiting the site. So you don't have to spend money to get Stars.

No Eternal Champions! Waah! Still, a good selection, even without.

If this is anything like its Master System cousin, Power Strike, it'll be a good pick for anyone who fancies a tough challenge!

Great game this, well ahead of its time, and that didn't get the recognition it deserved due to the successes of SFII and MK. It's a must-buy for me if/when it comes to Europe. The Mega CD version is a bit better, but not hugely so, and this is definitely worth it.

Maxx, you'll find that the Mega Drive version of SFII Championship Edition had team battles before SSFFII was released.

I would have preferred Master System Bubble Bobble, but oh well!

Well, to be fair, one thing Nintendo of Europe has done well is the Star Points system. It's not as great as the Japanese Club, but it's better than the US equivalent. I wouldn't be surprised to see this pad turn up on the Stars Catalogue.

Many happy returns VCA!

Ross, buy both. Both are excellent games, among the best in the Mario series (along with Yoshi's Island).

KeeperBvK, you might also be interested to know that the Final Fight and Street Fighter games take place in the same universe as each other too. I believe Zangief and Mike Haggar were once wrestling buddies.

Yes, very disappointing behaviour from Nintendo. Are they still upset because the Master System outsold the NES over here?

River City Ransom! Yes! That's a must-buy!

Good news! I might get this one, but I'll need some time to think about it, so it's good that the game's not going away. Cheers Drake!

Are these going to be "limited edition" like SMB2, or can they be downloaded any time?

I'd rather get Yoshi's Island, really. Fantastic game, and much better than the lacklustre N64 follow-up.

I don't deny that Banjo is a great game, but to call it a "classic" just makes me feel old!

"...it's ultimately Nintendo's decision what gets released..."

It doesn't necessarily mean that Nintendo have the rights, but perhaps that Microsoft are willing to release the rights for a certain price, and Nintendo are left to decide whether they'll pay that price.

This is hopeful news, but I'm not holding my breath.

I never played Wave Race the first time around, as the subject matter doesn't really interest me. Maybe I'll give it a go this time.

Well I take your point, but there's only so many games I can mention while keeping a pithy turn of phrase.

Terranigma is an Enix game, so not counted, and I didn't include Lufia because it really didn't stand out enough for me; while it's a good solid rpg, it doesn't bring anything particularly new or memorable to the table. In my opinion. Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong though!

What, no Lunar Pool? It's good to see more rpgs appearing on VC, and perhaps once we've exhausted the NES Sports series (please let it be soon), we'll be able to get good stuff like Super Tennis, FIFA, EA Hockey, Sensi Soccer and California Games.

Paulymate, I must admit I overlooked those two titles, as they were published by Enix (although not programmed by them). Also, I've not played Illusion of Gaia/Time, even though it's one of the few rpgs that got released in Europe!

Ogre Battle on SNES is a very good game, but the map screens look a bit ropey. Great music and gameplay though, and the battle screens look the business.

Smile Guy, yes, as has been pointed out, SMRPG was a Square production, and Paper Mario's already out on VC, I believe. So that's why they weren't included, not because of any formula-breaking. If Earthbound is in the list, then I don't care too much about the formula!