Rexy

Oh no... if it was just SMRPG, I would have been puking my head off by now.
Thank God for The Lost Levels, in which I believe was taken off unfairly - I'm getting that as soon as possible before it gets taken down again!!

For the time being, I want to move to America to get away from this monstrosity of an RPG. I've stated my reasons for it, got bashed on reception, and I don't want to face that again .

@Bass, comment #82: It probably depends on the collection in question and how comfortable you are with the emulation/button configuration. Like, I have the Sega Mega Drive Collection on the PSP but for some reason I feel more comfortable playing some of those games with the Classic Controller over trying to survive with an eye-straining portable screen for more than an hour (particularly being the case with Phantasy Star 2).

On the other hand, I did hear some people were more satisfied with the Sonic Mega Collection when it comes to Sonic titles, and I appreciate their opinions there (even though I still need to get it myself). Besides, the whole thing about the VC being able to emulate Sonic & Knuckles' lock-on technology (read: I'd rather play it fused with Sonic 3 than the latter alone) seems to be nothing more than a pipe dream at the moment.

Yeah, I suppose this is what happens - different strokes for different people. To be fair, I wouldn't be all too impressed with Samurai Shodown 2 or SMRPG for that matter but as long as some of the complainers finally get to shut up once they come around, then that's good enough for me.

Surely after the high anticipation of Mega Man 1 on the American VC, there'd be no problems with this week at all, right? I find it weird that there's still some people who see it as one of those "meh" weeks, but even at that there's so few of them

@Kutlist, comment 87: I much appreciate your argument on the matter, and I too would potentially give for some kind of RPG to sink my teeth into, no doubt about it. But just for the record, I stated Hydlide because that's one of the most broken, unplayable and downright irritating NES games ever made. o_O

Yet Another RPG™. The trend's catching on, isn't it?

@Kutlist, comment #84: In other words, you'd rather play Hydlide over Axelay, R-Type, Fantasy Zone and the like? That sounds a little ambiguous if you ask me. I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with asking for RPGs at all, but seriously, there are plenty of people around here that see both SMRPG and Earthbound as a "YARPG" no matter how much they get brought into discussion.

@Falco, comment #55: I wasn't referring to any MicroSony (lol!) fanboys but rather some of the comments above, namely those that A: don't want any more shooters of any description, B: purely want Earthbound (even though that IS a great game), and/or C: still want whatever they were promised last week. After all the attention that Star Parodier in particular has received for the past few weeks I was kind of hoping it would at least face a much nicer reception.

@Ian, comment #59: No idea, but I've had "Pah-ROH-dee-uh" etched in my head for a while now. Some people might think differently though, lol.

Damnit, I wrote a long comment concerning my thoughts on the people squealing about their dissatisfaction for the weeks when clearly this is actually one of the better ones in comparison to the NeoGeo shooter/brawler weeks as of late (only to have my web browser window suddenly close itself down). People are never satisfied sometimes.

That said, this IS a great week, if Break In gets taken out of the equation (I'm not much of a fan of billiards but I bet there's some that are). I'm glad to see such a great Import title like Star Parodier hit the American shores at last, and the potential sign that a European release for Strong Bad's first episode is nigh has made me feel good for the Wiiware side as well. I say embrace the week well - you may not quite get anything quite like it in the few months ahead, trust me on this one.

How amusing; you call Pitstop 2 as "crud", yet for its time it was technically impressive and yet has the status of being a cult classic amongst the C64 scene. If you don't want to play any of this week's releases, then there you go, but just appreciate the fact that people like this sort of thing. Plus, it's neither a shooter or a fighter, so that just means that you want to disregard the C64 completely.

I do understand that Ecco Jr was intended for a much younger audience than anticipated, which is why after appreciating the other two Genesis titles I was rubbed shoulders the wrong way with this one. If people want to play something easy to play then they could have at least picked a franchise that isn't prone to having its name tarnished by a move like that - Kirby, for example.

This actually is a good week, if we take Ecco Jr out of the equation >.>
Relax, my fellow Americans. We might have got Samurai Shodown 2 first, but if you're anticipating it well, then surely it'll be a matter of time before it follows up in your home territory. Just be patient.

Where did you hear the rumor, Mike? Given the use of the Expansion Pak in the original it sounds like a pipe dream to me, but I could be proven wrong

@ el carberto, comment #25: Seriously, it was an underwelming week given everyone's expectations and I agree with that. But just for the record, I still think that Sonic 1 SMS and Splatterhouse 2 are very worthy titles and actually should have contributed to a better Wii week than the past few had hopes not been so high over Ys or Mega Man 1 in the first place. I'm finding it hard to comprehend the fact that you guys didn't get what you want and crap on the releases that came through instead (brown monday lol) regardless of quality.

I still don't think Nintendo did this whole thing deliberately though, otherwise you guys wouldn't have got the two Sega titles this week in the first place. I'd call that a blessing compared to most of the Neo Geo weeks you've had as of late.

But looking at it objectively, the VC may be a great selling point but it's not the ultimate selling point for the Wii now, isn't it? Nintendo have their own business strategies, no matter how harsh they are, and they need to stick with it if they need to actually maintain a prime position in the gaming market. Like I keep saying, if anything, it's Sony that's losing developers over the past few months or so. >.>

Someone else raised a valid point - the only way that we'd see a true slur of classics on a consistent basis is if Wii sales start to stagnate and it starts to see the end of its shelf life. Then last minute interest would spur in before focus would come into other systems. It's happened all the time with their handheld efforts - most of the best games come out near the end of their cycle, before moving onto the next generation of systems.

I say be patient. They'll come, and especially in the case of Ys, that's one step closer for you AND us Europeans to have the release dates for our regions closer in proximity

Rare's already on the VC - Donkey Kong Country trilogy. I bet they don't count because it's one of Nintendo's own franchises though.

@Tony, comment #122: I appreciate the recommendations and the variety of genres gone for, though I'm not really that much of an intense beat-em-up or racing fan. But yes, it is a possibility that Nintendo will be able to stretch the releases while keeping them at around the same price as the Genesis titles for sale. Yet, after what we've seen with the stretching of the Neo Geo library out here, will everyone else like this decision? o_O

I could be angry, but most of the time I'd tend to direct my anger towards people hating certain VC weeks altogether because it's not the games that they want, rather than the qualty of the games in question (the whole Bio Miracle debacle keeps coming to mind here >.>).

@ Lefty Noob, comment #191: You've got a good theory concerning the steak and chicken scenario, so I appreciate that. But in the past, I'd rather get hyped by seeing if a certain game I'd take interest in is on the VC, watching footage of it, understanding what it's about and still deciding to go for it a few days later. I know some people aren't like that at all, but it's just a way of seeing it.

Besides, wouldn't it be nicer if Ys at least got a PEGI/OFLC rating too, so that us outside the Americas won't have to linger in the dark over how it is?

@Bass, #115: 32X could be good, but the only game I'd want to experience through its catalogue would be Knuckles Chaotix. It didn't help that there's too little material there to take interest with on a long term basis.

@Mike: There's a reason for friend codes, and that is for online protection purposes. Without them, pretty much anyone can stalk your Wii or your gaming habits, and they'd screw up your game records before you know it. It's like welcoming everyone into your village in Animal Crossing with open arms - you wouldn't want to do that to wandering vandals, wouldn't you?

Mike got it right on the money. Sure, you guys didn't get what you wanted on Monday. But the fact that you still saw the two released titles as utter bullcrap (which Sonic 1 SMS shouldn't be in the first place), not to mention the blaming on Nintendo for deciding what games to release, still baffles me on the rash posting here.

I do agree however that the situation has become a little bit dire concerning Nintendo's releases. But honestly, do you really think that Sony or Microsoft could do any better? If anything, Sony's losing their developers' support faster as evidenced with E3. And do either of the other two companies get downloadable games on a frequent basis too?

No matter how dire the situation is, I'm still siding with Nintendo. There's still currently nothing provided by the other two competing home consoles to make them worthy to obtain at this moment in time.

I know that there are people that seem let down by this week, but if you ask me, I'd grab Sonic 1 SMS in a heartbeat. You can't call either game worthless just because you're hyped over a bunch of other games that you were expecting.

I'm not saying that any of the three main hyped games are bad - I have Mega Man 2, and I'm equally anticipating the Ys titles. It's just that it's one of those weeks, and unless we actually get a decent understanding concerning the VC's review schedule, then the routine is turning into a bigger algebra equation than once anticipated.

Excellent, you're all finally getting Mega Man 1 and 2! If this comes true, then yes, this WILL indeed be one of the best VC weeks in a long time.

Now, all there's left to do is petition for Ys to come out in Europe, and all will be complete <3

@Adamant: That's the stupidest style of rating I have ever, EVER witnessed around here. 10 and under? It's actually one of the TOUGHEST Mario RPGs out there, so I say people under 10 would actually be discouraged. Also, did they do the same to every other E-rated videogame out there? If they didn't, then yes, that's just about lame. There's no wonder why there are games like Halo and the entire Rockstar back catalog that seems to be getting all the media attention these days >.>

That's it. THIS is the reason why I want to move to America. All the Youtube footage is implying that the Ys series is meant to be an awesome experience all the way through, and I really hope it lives up to its expectations.

Bravo Hudson! And bravo Nintendo of America

Yeah, I'm more comfortable with the wheel than holding the remote on its own or with the nunchuk in play. I haven't tested it with the Classic Controller yet though.

Not very many in comparison. Heck, even Sony's starting to lose some of its third party support, so there we go.

It's good to see that Nintendo's starting to come in with their own properties to counter some of the dreary third party support as of late (even though we admit we've seen some good ones in the past year at least). The coming Wario Land title might be the only one that interests me at the moment, but as long as they do well for themselves all around, then pretty much everyone should be happy, including those soccer moms that call themselves "casual"

@Mario, comment #90: I wouldn't refer to them as diseases or anything - just alterations to one's personality that makes them weak in a certain area of communications or knowledge. I should know this because I blame AS for continuously being turned down for job interviews over the course of the past year. >.>
I'm still ok though, removing the AS part of you is like removing the fruit portion in its entirety from a trifle - even if you take it out, the result would look like a gooey mess.

@el calberto, comment #62: I suppose it can be said that way. It's been 40 years since we've been introduced to Pong, and as people grow, views on nostalgia are going to be completely different. Most people here have been around since the NES days and tend to reflect at around that era. Some people I know only just started joining in at the middle of the Nintendo 64's duration. Myself, I only just started in the early 90s, which is how I seemed to label 2004 as a threshold on how far back to end up going. I could say any system at least two generations behind can be seen as "retro" these days, but this view might be different from person to person.

@firebrand: Nothing to do with the Wii being a joke at all (even though I still feel it's not at that status just yet), but there's one more thing being forgotten here - die hard Sega/Hudson/SNK fans don't have anywhere else to go now that their respective companies aren't distributing their own consoles anymore. I might be a little more open-minded on the issue since I started out with Sega consoles and all, but I at least understand how Nintendo has built its reputation in the past.

I tolerate the fact that the releases across the board are lame, but again, what's with just sticking with Nintendo all the time? What happened to last week's Super Fantasy Zone and Gley Lancer? Consoles are just consoles - if the games are not very good, then they should rather be seen as bad games, not "bad games on inferior consoles" or something.

@PHANTOM93, comment #50: Valid point, except I'm too busy at my work experience placement to even care. Similarly I get more of the urge to curl up with all the old games (i.e. what I have that dates before 2004) that I still have, make a random selection and just let my mind escape from the whole thing. And yes, Mr Bean rocks

Let me answer this one

If someone's taken interest in Wii Fit and want to look at other Wii games, then it's fair to build them up slowly and steadily depending on what they appreciated the most about it.

If they liked the rhythm-based aerobics, recommend a fun rhythm action game (most likely Guitar Hero 3 despite the price tag).

If they liked the sports-based balance games, get them looking in the direction of some titles corresponding to the genre in question. So obviously, we're looking at Mario Strikers Charged if the heading becomes a big hit (even though I'm not impressed with the leniancy of the aforementioned title) or Winter Sports: The Ultimate Challenge if the snow balance games are a hit (it would be either that or We Ski... ewww).

The table tilt game corresponds to a simple puzzle title, and the Wii isn't short on those (heck, that was the first genre I started taking seriously). Boom Blox comes to mind here, as does Elebits (to some extent) and Zack & Wiki (also to some extent).

And that's as far as I can probably think for now. Once they try new stuff, they'd think "hey, this is awesome - I wonder what else I can do with this" and so forth.

Bear in mind that my observations were based on watching my aunt demonstrate her copy of the game two weeks ago, so it might be a little sketchy >.>

"And of all the racing games to release, why Chase HQ... Why?!"

Hey, it could have been worse. You might have had Rad Racer if Square was copping in more frequently, and we're already tortured enough as it is with SPOGS gracing the WiiWare.

But yeah, not a brilliant week all around. Usually I'd say "let's wait til next week" and so on and so forth, but with three weak titles all around, what the heck is going on with Nintendo of America?

Disregardation again. Carnival Games, and pretty much every other party title on the Wii, is pretty much seen as a non-game. A more precise casual title example would be something like Guitar Hero - welcoming to everyone without being so open about that statement.

As far as I'm concerned, the "core" status for the Wii is starting to decline with the focus to "non-games" (way too often mislablled as casual - that's saved for games that everyone can still play but without being too obvious about it). Even if there aren't as many hardcore titles on the Wii (and I refuse to see any of the four classic SNES titles mentioned to be hardcore either), the least we'd have to do is embrace what we've got and take them on board. I was still content enough with Super Mario Galaxy (and it took me a good month or so to obtain all 120 stars with both Mario and Luigi), and I really hope it won't be the peak in terms of the "core placements" out there.

If we're discussing upper-hardcore titles, mind if I throw in the Devil May Cry series for good measure? That received quite a lot of feedback regarding its generally high difficulty level.

I wouldn't call SMRPG "hardcore" at all, but that's not exactly the point, neither is it the original topic at hand. What happened to the thread overnight?

You still have the sword, just that you don't physically have to use it. Apparently the game code does all the slash and hacking for you, your success depending on the strength of the enemy in comparison to yours.

Then you're in dangerous territory. If your age spreads, there's a high chance of you being blocked until you're 13 (the proper age to use an Internet site).

To put it in simplistic terms, Sega owns the rights to Puyo Puyo. They didn't own the rights back in the day, so when the game came to other nations and other systems, a wider range of franchises were needed to attract everyone. Nintendo owns the rights to Puzzle League and with their focus on Yoshi and Pokemon respectively for their first two titles, they're most likely wanting to settle for the stronger release of the two unless they release any of their own remakes on the VC.

@donx, comment #71: Valid point concerning Puyo Puyo, but considering that Sega fully owns the franchise now, it's no question that the three "variants" of Puyo Puyo 2 were released out of haste and out of preference for those in favor of whatever separate franchise represented they would prefer (Sonic's enemy roster for the SEGA passionists, Kirby for Nintendo and Arle and co for the purists). Tetris Attack is fickle though - since Nintendo own the rights to Puzzle League, Pokemon and Yoshi, they're probably a company to think "just one release is enough", or something - the likelihood of them releasing Tetris Attack would only really heighten if they do release an identical port of another game they published, Mario All-Stars for example.

@Mario, comment #74: I don't know if sports personalities that do something other than track and field would be counted as "athletes". But you are raising your point - technically, a sport is a competitive activity where the physical capabilities of the person playing would determine the outcome, so in the case of a golf player we're looking at someone that would rely more on combining the accuracy of the swing with strength in one's arms. And that's how in spite of the slow pacing, golf is indeed considered a sport.

I'm on the side of the protesters regarding Jumpman. I had the game on an old floppy disc and I found it fun to play on back in the day (though hours of comprehensive playing showed that I adapt to gameplay through keyboard input slower than controllers, lol). And even though the name and the ladders had something in common, both of these games are entirely different beasts. If it was a ripoff, Nintendo would have gone to sue Epyx's hineys to death at the time of release, just like they almost did with Rainbow Arts regarding The Great Giana Sisters.

Given that Twinbee on the NES is showing up there, it's only a matter of time before any of the games show up in the west. Corbie's advice (was it Corbie?) from the Shmup thread meant that I've been taking interest in the series for sure.

Even so, there needs to be more N64 games out there - the library's so damn petite as of now

Oh my God, I envy you for swagging the Ys batch I hope that comes to Europe soon, that could very well be my first Turbographx purchase for a while if it does.

Go Hudson!

@Draygone, comment #79: I appreciate the argument concerning the status for Diddy Kong Racing, but even if it did have a DS release, the inclusion of Banjo and Conker would actually fuel tension between Rare, Nintendo and Microsoft if it should make its way to the VC. Cruel, I know, but it's the most likely scenario to happen

Oh lord, why did there have to be something so perverted within the first few comments? Thanks for the imagery, Smuck.

This is a mixed batch of a week, to be honest - I think the one thing it got going for it was International Karate +, and that IS one of the best C64 games out there. Not sure about the other two though - Citty Connection looks like one of those titles that require a good emulation before a purchase, and I'm not one for playing golf either in spite of its 4-star score.

I'm still ok with it. It's never a waste of a week if someone will be able to find something out of any of the three.

@Quimby: I remember Street Racer, similarly renting the Mega Drive version. I'm with you though, the Soccer mode was just insane XD

Eh, I did not say that the game was crap. I was just making a statement regarding its presentation; any opinions about the game content itself are practically nonexistant for me.

Plus, even if Sonic Drift DID apply such powerful technologies at the time, let's not forget that the Game Gear shared technologies with the Master System - trying to get something done right on an awkward portable to begin with isn't exactly that big of an accomplishment.

@Mario, comment #37: I can see that you're trying to make a point, but what makes your choice of examples so different than Tetris Attack is that they have completely different level designs, which basically affects how you would get from one end of the stage to the other, or (in the terms of F-Zero and SMK) navigate a multiple-lap circuit. They at least have had the priviledge of altered level designs and/or additional game mechanics in the past, and that's what distinguishes one from the other, thus making them much more likely to be picked up on by gaming enthusiasts.

Puzzle games are more fickle in this aspect - the design is revolved around the formula in question, and even in that sense there's rarely a distinct way to clear a puzzle stage; they require people to think quickly over how they should survive it. So it's safe to say that on a gameplay aspect, sequels to puzzle games are almost exactly the same as their predecessors. And given that Pokemon Puzzle League was just Tetris Attack with new gameplay mode additions, I can see where Adamant is coming from.

Tetris Attack only offers a difference in a cosmetic sense. From what I've seen, it bears a closer similarity to Pokemon Puzzle Challenge, give or take the theme differences and the lack of a "Garbage Mode" in the former. Timeless as it would also be, the formula has been improved a lot over the years and so it's pretty much made the original title a redundant one.

Concerning Bomberman, it's not exactly a puzzler in the traditional sense - more like a maze-based strategy title if anything. Even so, don't we already have Bomberman '93? Or is there something more specific that you want to see?

We'd most likely get the NES port of Qix if it ever comes at any rate, or if Nintendo doesn't want to bother with its own systems, us European folk would just have the Commodore 64 version thrown at us. I bloody well hope not though

I thought SMB2 was easier than that, even though it shouldn't really be counted due to us getting Doki Doki Panic with Mario's mug plastered all over it. But each to our own, I guess ^^;