Rexy

Exactly. Since SMRPG's announcement in Australia, people kept putting up false hopes for it coming sooner than it finally did. I wish I can do the same for the EU releases for SoM and for Mega Man 3, but I can be happy to wait until their scheduled release dates, whenever they would be.

Also, I still need to play Shining Force II yet >.>

@Bass, comment #2 (lol, that's gone a while back): I was really corny when naming all my characters in emulating it. The boy got MY name (I know I'm a girl but my real name is suited for any gender), the girl got named Monica (I must have been watching too much Friends at the time) and the sprite got named Pepper (a great animal name IMO).

I swear, all those names were uber cheesy back then: if it ever sees the light of day in Europe, I'll change my naming strategy. >.>

That was fast - you guys got Secret of Mana faster than expected
Surely it won't be long until us Europeans/Australians get it too; emulated it, enjoyed it and I want to experience it all over again without the strain of using a keyboard all the time.

That's a ridiculous thing to be complaining about. I put it all down to the resolution of our TVs in comparison to the type of monitors Pixel developed the original PC release on.

Besides, Toroko looks better now IMO; the only time in which we would REALLY complain about this is if she A) received a complete color palette change, and/or 2) was drawn in a completely different style or rendered in 3D

I never got the chance to play Mega Man 3, but after loving Mega Man 2, I am so willing to embark on this one. This is definitely high on my wishlist now

I was not expecting Mario Golf; what a nice surprise for you across the pond As you may know, I have a dislike for videogame golf, but I still think it'll do great for N64 game sales here regardless of taste.

Enjoy your week

@Outrunner, comment #77: Assuming that the size limit for a Sega CD game is 500MB (almost as big as the Wii itself), these types of games on the VC seem to be unlikely as of now. It might be a consideration for the next Nintendo console though.

It's only a PAL conversion. Most of us Europeans have grown used to it anyways, and I seriously doubt the speed would do much wrong regarding how we play it.

Besides, if there's anything I want to swap from the Americans, it would be the weather

"Look up "Cave Story music" on a site such as YouTube and you'll get a couple hundred results, not just with videos containing the game's original music, but also remixes and arrangements."

If it's remixes and arrangements you're looking for, then yes, I feel proud of my contribution to the Cave Story Remix Project

But still, to see a game like this come to Wiiware will so easily be worth it. While it was still fun playing it on my old PC before it completely broke down, I feel it would be a lot more convenient to play it on an actual game system. Thank you Wiiware!

@Rootbeer, comment #50: You call Mega Man 9 "nothing"?
There were three Wiiware games, and I'm sure a fair chunk of us VC playing personnel were still all over last week's selection. I don't see this as a draught at all - from what we've seen from this week and the previous Wiiware week, we're in for a good gaming Autumn

Earthworm Jim?

Shining Force 2?!?

I dub thee "One Hell of a VC Week™". This has given me something to look forward to when I come home from work, indeed!

I won't be surprised. The only way to find out though is to just peacefully wait for another couple of hours or so.

Well shut my mouth!
I thought that with the lack of Game Boy Player support, links to the Game Boy library were out of the question but I understand where you all are coming from.

But like I said, Game Boy Advance games are fine because you can play them on the DS anyway without the need to download game data.

Even if these problems can be seen as "chances" per se, what are the chances of the ROM data for the original Game Boy game files being hacked so that they can actually DO support online connections in the first place? I can understand that the function itself might be able to work, but the real question is how to incorporate it into past games, if that ever DOES happen at all.

@timp29, comment #49: I don't think so, I can't remember seeing any ports for a GC-to-GBA cable on the Wii anywhere.
Even if the Game Boy line is considered, this would mean having to cut back on certain pleasures and all. As stated, multiplayer options (which seems to be the Wii's main focal point altogether) won't work unless there's a way to be able to link 2 Wii systems together; this would mean that the involvement of more than one players in a party game, or trading Pokemon, would be impossible.

@bash, comment #41: While easy to emulate for single player games, the Game Boy's long line of additional peripherals including the link cable and - as stated above - the Gameboy Camera to name such examples makes it difficult to incorporate the system's full set of functions, thus not necessarily technologically stable to be part of the VC catalog right now. Also, since the DS games can play Game Boy Advance carts anyway, there's no necessary need for that branch of the GB line through the Wii Shop Channel at all.

@Terranigma, comment #17: It's true that Mother 1 did get a prototype translation. But what are the odds of Nintendo still having the data now ready for distribution to other territories? Given that everything was stored on one single cartridge before being hacked open for distribution in ROM format, this availability concern should be something to think over moreso regarding any English release.

@Bensei, comment #26: From what I've read and understood through web searching, Ura Zelda was what the Ocarina of Time Master Quest was known as in Japan, and Zelda Gaiden was one of the early names for Majora's Mask. I would have thought that the Gameboy Camera feature stated to have been included there too could have been too hard to program personally, especially since it only prints out in black and white.

Wasn't Zelda Gaiden one of the prototype names for Majora's Mask?
But yeah - Mother 1 coming to an English-speaking VC nation, while almost impossible, would certainly make my day

The virtual boy's a different beast, though. Nintendo would probably want to shell out some kind of goggles-like peripheral to coordinate with it and make that feel more "authentic" (term used loosely given how awkward the VB was to begin with).

The whole SuperGraphx console history sounds interesting, shame that there was next to no support on it or anything. But it's good to hear that some exposure is coming through with the few titles that ever came on.

And yet, I can't help but wonder what the arrogant people that would potentially scream "we already got the Genesis version, huurgh" would think of this move O.o

@Wariofan93: Those seven games were 1941: Counter Attack, Aldynes, Battle Ace, Galaxy Force II (unreleased prototype though), Madouou Granzort, Strider (though that one's been rumored) and of course, Ghouls n' Ghosts.

It's Ema Skye from the Ace Attorney series, thank you very much.

I've heard of the Kirby Wii title coming at least, and I've been keeping an eye on it for any developments (and the complete sparsity thereof). But since Nightmare in Dreamland came out I've been pretty much let down on the platformer front so I can't say I feel all that optomistic about it at this time.

No, I don't plan to (on the case of finding the original too easy as it was)... and I never knew it was even out. O.o; Kirby can be good at times though, and I do agree, but I just wish that there'd be a future release out there that could even match Kirby 64 in terms of challenge.

@Serpent, comment #32: Everyone's "ignoring" Super Dodge Ball because that game hadn't been high in demand for the VC over the past few weeks, much unlike Vectorman since its arrival in Europe and Australia and the heavy promotions for Mega Man 9.
But I do see what you're saying - it's a fun and charismatic little title for the NES, so there we go

Have fun with Vectorman and MM9, fellow yankees

Lol, units is units: upon doing my gym subscriptions at University I always recorded my weight in kilograms rather than pounds. I hate to be speaking illwill to my own gender here, but that's really fussy if you ask me.

I hope my own theory turns out to be wrong too because you guys across the Atlantic and at the other side of the world have expressed a lot of interest regarding the C64 and its appearance on the VC. Like I said, I have no idea what kind of links the new Dutch-brand Commodore is like regarding licensing outside Europe, but I hope they'll be able to understand there's a high amount of interest outside its current home continent.

Hey, a fellow Net Yaroze player!
Of course, Rocks n' Gems WAS based on Boulderdash, which can be easy to make the connection.

I have enough issues with third party products as it is, so I'll pass. It seemed like a good idea on paper though, yet it sounds as if some of the issues with using the Classic Controller weren't properly resolved.

That's because I doubt that Nintendo of Europe cared about what to release for those milestones. It's a harsh statement, I know, but unless there were some stellar releases for any of the 50th-increment milestones out here, then it's fair to say that they don't see numbers to be as important as you do.

[EDIT: Actually, I think I made a mistake regarding my calculations: our 50th was Kirby's Adventure, 100 was F Zero X and 150 was Super Metroid; the 200th dawned on the unveiling of the C64 on the VC, so if they count the 200th might have been International Karate, otherwise the honor would go to Fantasy Zone. I'm still partially right in that they started to care less about numbers since the advent of some of the non-Nintendo systems here, though we could also think about whether to include C64 games since they aren't available in Australia.]

Cool, Street Fighter II brings back memories, even though it was with a friend's copy of the SNES version

Stop gloating - I'd take any of these three over your #250 any day and so will a few others.

Concerning C64 titles over the Atlantic ocean though, I put it all down to it receiving more popularity in Europe during its run (lasting until 1994 out here, four years after America stopped taking interest). At that time, Commodore filed for bankrupcy and was unheard of until the name was revived through Commodore Gaming; this new corporation resides in Holland though, so any links to its American market seem to be very unclear at this moment in time.

This is based on information that I've looked around based on the Commodore name in the recent past, so it might provide some insight to this matter O.o

I know, but since America and Japan will be getting it next week, us Europeans surely won't be left out in the cold.

@Objection_Master, comment #38: I don't see it as lessening, just in lesser qualities usually when it comes to hard drive space. Whichever, expectations are up for Mega Man 9 to arrive next week anyway so we can't say that Nintendo are retiring the service early.

I can't figure out which is game #250, they all have reason for in my book - Sonic SMS for being a fresh spin (no pun intended) on the original Mega Drive release (and yes, I am aware of them both being two different games), Boulder Dash for being an EXCELLENT addition to the C64 archives, and Jumpman for that nostalgia factor and connection to Donkey Kong.

It's a pretty sweet week, so kudos to that

@Atlantis, comment #62: Well, if the claims about the awkward control scheme for the Anniversary Collection are correct, then a VC release for the Mega Man series as we know it seems to be the ticket for some of us. On the other hand, there's no hope in hell of seeing lock-on technology on the Genesis side of the VC so if I want my Blue Sphere/S3&K fix, a collection's my only choice.

The point is, the demand partially comes by how comfortable people find their experiences with playing prior collections before going for the VC. I think Majora's Mask is another example of this, but that's best saved for another rant and rave assuming that 2009 doesn't get off to a flying start either o.O

Well, some levels seem tricky enough without certain "Items" too (especially those vanishing platforms in Heat Man's stage), but once you get enough stuff to help overcome such obstacles, it all becomes clean sailing.

I find it funny though - I had issues trying to get through Mega Man X3 in record time when I was younger, yet when I made the investment on Mega Man 2 out here nearly a year back, I cleared both difficulties in the space of less than a week. I bet the true difficulty lies more in trying to do the entire game without Game Overs though

Have fun playing Mega Man 2, fellow Americans! You have waited far too long for this one, I assure you

@deadbattery, comment #7: I'm assuming you aren't counting the two Wiiware titles released as stuff alongside it? I'm pretty sure there's been quite a good buildup concerning Potpourrii at least.

I knew the original NES Castlevania establishment had to be fulfilled eventually. Good stuff, methinks

Cho Aniki's medium of choice in its original PC Engine release was the Super CD. So, we'd say what we call the Turbo CD in this case.

@Mario: I couldn't resist the pop quiz, lol.

6.) Name me a "poorly done" platformer on the VC.

Ok - Alex Kidd and the Enchanted Castle? I don't have a VC copy, but two of my kid cousins have one of those plug-in-and-play videogame console joypads with Genesis games embedded inside. Not only did it feel unoriginal in comparison to Miracle World, but also there was something about the controls that felt awkwardly stiff >.>

Glad to see you finally got Cho Aniki I'm with deadbattery though, the amount of pressure in this game's demand shouldn't be proportional to the amount of people that want to chuck tomatoes all over it, lol.

I thought a setup like this would be too good to be true, but it HAPPENED anyway; I'm surprised In spite of Spelunker's presence, this is clearly the best Hanabi week around on quality alone, and now it's got me torn on whether to go for DoReMi or Ys first (!).

I'd rather see the PS3 to have more games based on real life events; I feel quite a fair chunk of its library does tend to consist of either shooters of some description, realistic racers, sports sims or GTA IV (and its follow-ups on the horizon). Like you, Sting, I couldn't see much that interested me in their current library for the price that's going now, in spite of the so-called "incredible bells and whistles".

Concerning the way of PS2 games still being common place, I see it namely because that since the PS3 is STILL the most expensive game machine on the market right now, some corporations may get some better profit on the Sony side by investing for PS2 releases for a little while. But seriously, I'd be laughing my skin off if the PS2 somehow outlasts the PS3

My brother has a PS3; he has a 60GB model obtained near the beginning of the run. He's won over by the technology applied to it, mind you, but I still need some convincing with the otherwise unvaried game library and conflicting price tag, not to mention that Sony intend to throw backwards compatability with the PS2 out of the window out here.

It seems ok from the little I managed to play, but Sony need to get their heads in the game if they want to become a serious market leader. They seem to care less about their consumers than their competititors >.>

Yeah, but you know it's only a matter of time before Earthbound/Majora's Mask/Yoshi's Island/whatever would do exactly the same thing.

Statistics mean nothing. If you like what you're playing, then that's fine enough.

@brooks, comment #194: Well, I've learnt about how the way things go around here over the course of the first half of the year, and I've managed to tone my arguments a little more due to this. If I ever came off as arrogant, then that's another means for me to just tone things down, so all is forgiven. We're all human beings

@Tony, comment #196: There's nothing wrong with liking Golf - it's your choice of appreciation at the end of the day. If that helps I have guilty pleasures with my old Game Boy pinball game collection, so there we go.

But you're right though - I generally come here to be informed of the latest VC fix, and there ARE a lot of sites that tend to be more hostile in nature (read: GameFAQs for one). Though my opinions may conflict from time to time, the staff here have done a lot to inform us of what can currently be seen as an under-promoted part of Nintendo's current game offerings, so for that I say a job well done.

@Mario, comment #178: Thank you. It gets really annoying when one's opinions results in one getting bashed as a person; that's why I almost considered leaving a few weeks back, and you know I didn't want to do that.

Still, putting it this way, I can't really imagine many games in Nintendo's current Wii library that tend to have some kind of lifespan beyond 20 hours excluding any online/multiplayer opportunities. I'm not saying that all games released have lifespans shorter than 5 hours - quite a lot of these actually have the incentive to go back and play again once you're finished, to be precise. Either way, I feel that this is another aspect to the whole financial investment in the long run.

And I find it funny when someone tells me to "get a life" when my playing habits intend that I already have one, thank you very much.

@Gitaroo_Dude, comment #165: How is my comment silly to begin with? Seriously, I've had my fair share of buying a few games and leaving them aside for a while, but that ends up primarily being related to having other tasks to plow through at the same time, and often times I forget that I even bought them in the first place. It's like any other work of fiction - if you're not going to play it at least within the first three months of obtaining it, then what are you doing with it at that moment in time?

And let's not forget something - Nintendo's cracking down on personal safety when playing videogames is another implication on opting for games with shorter completion times more frequently on the VC. They seem to already have had these "paternal" habits since including that health and safety regulations screen every time you want to play a game, but at the end of the day, they seem to be more thoughtful of their consumers than their competition (even though the screen does tend to get annoying, I agree ).

It's nowt to do with it being "yet another one", but rather us having problems playing the game because we're already occupied with another at the same time. RPG releases should be sparodic and a great treat for those that love to take a break from the world around us, no matter how great the genre is

Those wanting "weeks like this to continue":

Didn't we already have this marketing discussion close to SSBB's European release? If Nintendo releases multiple highly-profitable titles in close proximity, the titles won't get their maximum potential profit, you'd be stuck in a choice on what to play and unintentionally leave some games behind, and those so-called close releases could be ditched in favor of another Wii Series title or something.

Just be greatful that we've had three highly-profitable weeks in a row. Expect the whole marketing hoohah to calm down and you can play with your new toys well into the Autumn months

@Rapidash, comment #112: What's more profitable, you ask? One can arguably say Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest (at least in Japan), and even the Kingdom Hearts series is starting to kick up a lot of steam on a financial standpoint. Those three are Square's most major pillars at this moment in time at least, and I'm really sure that they might not throw in the time and resources to do another Mario RPG.

And now that we're thinking of it, MaxPlastic's comment (#115) similarly sums up Square's PR strategy in recent years - their character designs, no matter how popular they tend to be, have been getting from bad to worse and there's no thinking on what they'd do with Mario these days than make the franchise more emo than it should be and over-inflate the original-characters-with-corny-spiked-hair department. That said, Nintendo doesn't need Square to make a great Mario RPG - their first/second parties can manage just fine.

Well, given that they both share the exact same battle system schemes, I can't imagine them both co-existing at the same time (unless for some reason the Mario & Luigi sub-series gets scrapped altogether).

And even so, Square's a bigger company than it once was, with a lot more "pillars of entertainment" (lol?) to focus on; it's true that they have emphasised so much on the DS as of late, particularly with some of their own SNES title remakes as of late, but at the end of the day it's all about being strategic on what purchases would be more profitable at the end of the day rather than how many they unleash all at once. Given how long the DS has been out on the market (almost as long as the GBA was before a new handheld was announced), I think they've already found their feet regarding marketing strategies o.O

You're actually right there Bass; with 3D renders on the SNES, nothing beats the Donkey Kong Country series - a true pioneer of graphical technology at the time.

Still, there's no way that Square would contact Nintendo for a sequel to this regardless of how many virtual copies would sell - they're no longer a first/second party developer for them, so there's no way they'd be totally adept to make a followup.

Besides, what we are REALLY missing is a proper Paper Mario sequel. As I keep saying, The Thousand Year Door has a more developed combat and exploration system at hand there, and given the potential I want to see it being followed up properly, not in a spin-off fashion like Super Paper Mario was (albeit it can be a great recommended title for newbies to the series).