madgear

This has got my attention as Shining Force 3 is one of the finest games I have ever played. There's nothing else like it - I've tried them all, every game people claim is similar (Final Fantasy Tactics etc), but nothing else measures up. Shining Force is such a fine mix of traditional RPG and incredible strategic battles.

I don't know exactly what I can do to help other than sending a letter I suppose. Whilst I'm a massive fan, I generally just play the games and don't get involved in other ways (with anything really). I might make an exception this time.

But then, if we don't get a new Shining Force game, I'd love to see the Shining Force 3 trilogy released on WiiWare complete with translation.

To be fair I think it might have just been Shinobi on the box but the title screen definately said GG Shinobi because I always used to wonder if the GG stood for Game Gear.

It was called GG Shinobi in the UK too - it was awesome. However I never managed to beat it, the last stage is incredibly tough. Sonic is great on the GameGear as is Castle of Illusion - I'm kind of worried we wont see that one, though.

When I was a kid, if you told me I'd have a handheld that was a GameGear and Gameboy combined I'd never have believed it. Think the only problem with this (and it's not exactly a problem) is LCD screen are so much better these days that all those little graphical artifacts on the GameGear screen will be lost - probably for the best.

Didn't know it was out to be fair. I kind of forgot about it actually - no idea when it was supposed to be released over here.

I'm interested in this. I've played the Bit Trip Beat demo constantly - yet have neglected to buy it. I guess I'll pass on that now and maybe get this.

I can tell the difference between HD and standard definition but can barely tell between real HD and standard through HD components unless I get really close to the screen.

It means I've still held off buying Blu Ray - my standard DVDs through HDMI look great. People always have a go at me for saying that but I honestly can't tell too much - just doesn't make that much of a difference to my viewing.

Get down everybody. G-g-get down everybody!

Careful, Sega - keep an eye on Activision. They'll buy you and then dump you like a cheap hooker the first chance they get!

Yeah I agree "sexy" gets used to much these days. I always preferred to refer to such gadgets as a "wank-fest".

I bloody hate points! Had some stuck on my Wii for months. They're ust not enough to buy a game meaning I'd have to spend more to use them up.

It's a ploy to get us spending more online. We want to use points we've paid for but, to do that, we have to pay for more. Just let us use cash and buy individual games!

I just have to point out, the Super FX chip is NOT difficult to emulate. Nintendo may be lazy and their current SNES emulator doesn't use it, but they're certainly not going to have any trouble emulating it.

I can play Starwing/fox on my nearly 4 year old phone, which was no doubt emulated by a kid in his bedroom. Prior to that, I've been able to play an emulated version on my PC for more than a decade. If kids can get it running on old hardware in their bedrooms, I'm pretty sure Nintendo themselves, with all their knowledge of the game, their access to the original game and hardware documents, their skilled programmers, some of the original programmers and their hardware designers can get it working on the bloody Wii!

Actually you're right there, Bass, they don't owe us anything and we shouldn't expect anything for nothing simply because they're a business. They'll just release something and we either want or we do not - if we want it we'll buy it and if not then we wont. It's that simple.

I agree - it's pointless to buy this to keep in its packaging to either 'collect' or to resell at a higher price.

For a start, what games are ever worth a lot of money? Rare or not - generally that most I've seen a game go for is around 100 quid. Hardly a life changing amount.

Of course there's also the very rare like that Nintendo Championship cart that would sell for more but would you actually sell it if you had it. Would you keep it until it goes even higher in price or just so you can say 'I have a super rare Nintendo cart'.

Actually I could just say that anyway: 'I have a super rare Nintendo cart! It's worth loads and hardly anyone else has one!' - see, no one cares. Just play the damn game.

I've barely logged onto the Wii shop channel in the last six months. Last year I only bought Super Mario Kart and Rondo of Blood from it. I hate to be one of those people who post every time there's no VC game but the download service is terrible at the moment. In the space of (over) a year I'd have thought it would have provided me with more than two games. If no VC then at least make the Wiiware games exciting, fun and memorable - Super Meat Boy comes to mind ... but where is that, eh?

@James Newton

"Compared to Sonic Unleashed's soundtrack, this one is pants."

Compared to Sonic CD, all soundtracks are pants (yes, I mean the UK one...).

I've picked up the game too and have to admit it is good - the only thing that bothers me with the 3D Sonic games is no spin attack. I'm used to pushing down to spin, especially in the 2D sections, and you can't do that any more - they really need to bring that back as it's an integeral part of Sonic's gameplay.

Still, it's a good game even if it doesn't really feel too much like a Sonic title.

Is this the same Mastertronic that used to sell c64 budget games? If so I'm surprised I haven't heard of them since then.

nah - this is a rip off plain and simple. It doesn't matter if it's a desirable, high quality product - what matters is they're selling the same product in other teretories for considerably cheaper.

They seem to think that we'll see it as a slightly lower price than the US one is if we all think the dollar is the same value as the pound. We're not that stupid.

I think one of the reasons for the region lock is it would be cheaper for people in the UK to import a US 3DS rather than buy one locally.

I wonder if it'll be a straight translation from $250 to £250 in the UK. If so then it's way too much - but if translated fairly it's probably not a bad price.

I'm still going to hold off on getting one, though. The region lock has put me off - I don't see the point of buying a console for travelling if I can't buy games when on the move.

Oh it will come out anyway. These things take time to translate and it's not even released in Japan yet. It might be a flop for a start - get bad reviews, low sales etc. They have to take these things into account before announcing it for other countries. I think it's a little early to be starting petitions.

Look at Tatsunoko Vs Capcom for a start - we thought it would never be released out of Japan but it did. Just took a bit of time and that's a way more obscure title than Last Story. Be patient - it will come.

geeks only seem to wear black and, as a result, geek t-shirts also only seem to come in black. If I was the guy making these t-shirts, I'd make them in every colour but black - that way we might get a new generation of brightly coloured happy geeks.

Whatever each comment says here - love it or hate it, it wont change my oppinion on the game. For me, it's my favourite Metroid title - I enjoyed it through to the end and I'm dying to play through it again some time soon. I personally can't see how people can dislike it but, even if they do, it'll always be one of my favourite Wii titles.

I wouldn't say I thought Melee hardcore - it's just a bounce around button masher of a fighter. Some things took a while to unlock, but they did in Brawl too - I clocked up hours trying to collect all the characters and stages in that one. Let's face it, it's hardly a Virtua Fighter game is it.

A phone add-on for the 3DS would be nice - so people can have to option to use it as such if they wish. The rest of us can just use it for games.

I don't see why we can't have both instead of having one over the other depending on what console you have. Besides, not only are we missing out on Marvel Vs Capcom 3 but also Street Fighter X Tekken and Tekken X Street Fighter so where is the logic behind that? We've had our VS game yet the other consoles get three plus Street Fighter 4?

Yeah - as great as the game is, I've never heard of Tatsunoko. It may as well have not been a VS game since these characters could have been created by Capcom for all I knew.

Anyway it's a poor excuse. The 360 and PS3 also have two versions of Street Fighter 4 on top of Marvel Vs Capcom 3. If we're only to get one VS game then at least give us Street Fighter 4!

I have to be honest - sometimes I think "I wish my fireplace had a virtual mode" so it's not too warm if I'm sat in front of it after having the heating on. However I always think that whilst watching TV or playing on the Wii so not a solution.

EdEN - "Emulation of games you don't own is stealing. Plain and simple."

Absolutely not. Take ScummVM for instance - you can download that along with Beneath A Steel Sky and it'd be perfectly legal (you can even download the game from Revolution's official web site). There's no official list of games that are considered abandonware but there are many out there. Check to see the legality of the title if it really bothers you - some can be found on official web sites, others not and some remain ambiguous. Use your disgression - you can either get it and enjoy it, or wait for an eternity for that faint glimmer of hope it'll be released again. You know, just incase someone actually decides to re-release that obscure Commodore 64 game you played on a cover disc 20 years ago.

Emulation really shouldn't be a taboo subject. The shelf life and availability of games is so small that, without emulation, some titles would be at risk of disappearing forever.

It's also the only way to play some games - they may have only been released in very limited numbers or a rare arcade system making it unlikely you'd be able to find a copy for sale, never mind get hold of it.

There's also the saying that you still don't have the right to download it as you don't own the copyright. That's also not always true. If you research, there are a lot of games that are now public domain - especially with the Commodore 64/Amiga/PC.

I am against people downloading a ROM of, say, Sonic the Hedgehog or some title that is readily available and still makes money. However, don't write all emulation off as bad is it's preserving history, which is very important for future generations.

I love these obscure Neo Geo fighters. They remind of when I was a kid and I'd come accross them in places like cinemas, airports or leisure centres. At the time you'd be obsessed with Street Fighter 2 but the competition was always fascinating. You'd never heard of them before, they looked pretty cool, end up being kind of fun and then you never see them again. Playing these types of titles is just what the VC is for.

I'd like to see this site do more to get Nintendo's attention with regard to PAL gaming issues. This site is based in England, right? It seems to be a popular Nintendo site so causing a fuss here from time to time might get Nintendo's attention at some point.

The main problem is some Virtual Console games not working at all through the component cables, never mind being in 60hz. I've bought several titles (and this includes popular ones such as Castlevania) that simply can't be run unless you connect with a scart lead - a complete pain and needs to be sorted asap.

Other M is my favourite Metroid game. I played through the Prime Trilogy, Super Metroid and then Other M pretty much back to back. I simply found Other M more addictive than the other games - no aimless wandering around guessing what to do, a good story, great graphics and just so much fun.

It's one title where I have no idea why people are negative towards it - I've heard the reasons, yes, but they seem trival to me when it's just so much fun and a great all-round package. I guess Samus talking really doesn't bother me.

Well I'll be buying it - just not this week. I'll more than likely get it before Christmas though.

I'm surprised to see Goldeneye selling so well in the rest of Europe - I thought you guys all hated the English.

A lot of people seem to miss the point of the swearing and, surprisingly, even seem to find it offensive. It's all part of the grindhouse movie style - the grainy footage, the over the top violence, the big breasted girl and, of course, the constant swearing.

It's a piss take of the old horror movies of the 70's - the swear words themselves arn't the joke, it's their excessiveness that's funny. This is particularly made clear in the end sequence where G points out that, despite Washington's continuous use of "mother ******", he never actually uses it when the context is correct.

I mean the title pays homage to a style of cinema that disappeared with the 1970s. Maybe many of you arn't old enough to appreciate that, maybe you kids today are too soft, but that's what it's doing rather than "trying to be hardcore". You need the grainy footage, you need the blood, you need the boobs and you need the swearing because if you take the latter out, you may as well take them all out. I guess House of the Dead 2 is fitting for you then.

oh my sweary comment has been deleted - to be fair I thought the site automatically censored posts so I guess everyone censors themselves on here. I'll post it again, with self censorship.

mother ******* yes! I mother ******* ***** ******** **** Wii ******* ***** mother ********* Overkill ******* ***** ****** mother ********* tea cosy ******* *****!

I bloody hope so (plus Final Fight)

That's cool - I still have the demos from last time and play them from time to time. Yet to actually buy the games, though - I'm more a VC gamer to be honest.

I've never been scared by a video game but I do think Resident Evil and Shattered Memories come the closest because of the ink ribbons in the former and lack of weapons in the other.

Usually in video games you are immortal (via continues, saves and re-starting) and armed to the teeth. Because the ink ribbons in Resident Evil are scarce, you try to go as long as you can without saving, which can lead to a lot of progress being lost if you make a mistake. Resident Evil has weapons, however, and Shattered Memories does not. There you're also not scared so much of the monsters themselves, but panic so as not to get lost, losing your life as a result.

I think these games also do well to give an errie atmosphere, but they still fail to produce fear as, say, a horror movie would where the character will have one life and you have no control over what they are doing. It's the "no, don't run up the stairs!" thing that's lost in games because you can literally just choose not to go up those stairs - or at least wait until you've stocked up enough ammo first.

I do have to point out that after playing Shattered Memories, I hope more games adopt the no weapons aproach. I love my shoot-em-ups, but I found exploring a eerie town with nothing but a flashlight to use much more interesting and exciting. Combat can sometimes take away from the exploration - you shouldn't have to fight in every game you play, it's nice to have a change.

damn - HMV is one of those stores that takes the game out the packaging and keeps it loose in a drawer behind the counter. Usually get my games from Tesco to avoid this but looks like I'll have to get it from their online store then - so much for getting it this weekend then.

Sabrewing - I own both the Dreamcast version and the GameCube version but I've failed to see any difference between them other than the fact the Dreamcast version is on two discs. Surely that makes the GameCube version the definative one?

@JesusSaves

No Nintendo arn't doing Mario Allstars in 3D as far as I'm aware. I just made the Mario Allstars comment becuase, at the time of its release, AllStars updated the games to SNES style graphics, which was modern at the time.

A little disappointing this says 2011 - guess that means no Final Fight until 2012 now

sigh

Let me get this straight - this is going to be a Sonic retro gaming compilation re-done with modern day graphics as in Mario Allstars? That's bloody awesome!

I hope they cover all the Megadrive titles and stick Sonic CD in there (however UK music tracks this time please!)

All three Streets of Rage games are pretty decent, obviously the second is the best, though. I'd say Final Fight 2 and 3 are kind of OK too. Guess we just have to wait for some to appear on VC Arcade now if we want anything decent in the genre again.

The Beastie Boys, or at least one or two of them, featured in the original NBA Jam too in one version of it. They didn't make it to the home ports but were in one of the arcade versions.

Also the Beastie Boys are hardly has beens - they're still going strong now, have tons of fans and have made a new album.

I'm glad we sometimes get games a little later - it gives me time to play through the big releases at my leisure and finish some other games first. Not Smash Bros Brawl, Ghostbusters or Shattered Memories late, though - they just damn right pissed me off them ones.

I think the only problem with patching is that people who buy these games in the future may be unable to play these games if they rely on a patch. The problem with games that require a download is that there will be a time when it is no longer supported or available. For the PC there are often websites that host old patches, but I've had one or two titles where I've not been able to find them - especially on a games console with limited download capability.

Anyway, I've finished Other M now and didn't encounter the bug. How far back is that save point? Is it like the previous room or a bit of a trek back?

I'm going to hold out for a disc release of all chapters - I can wait, I have plenty to play for the time being.

Yeah I can't believe there are only three flight stages and all the rest are all range or on foot. The flight stages (of which the first stage is one) are fantastic - it really gets your hopes up that this is going to be a great game but then you have to wait until halfway through the game for the next one and then at the end.

If the entire game was like the first stage, I'd absolutely love this title. The graphics are great and it plays just like the original StarWing/Fox - too bad the other stages are so dull and make up the majority of play. Shame.

Apparently this can be fixed with a firmware update. I'm not sure if I've passed this point yet or not - I take it, it's when you first go into Sector 3? After the monster bursts through that wall and you go after it in the desert room?