Wii Virtual Console Reviews
Review Sonic Spinball (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
You spin me round, round baby right round
When Sega knew they had hit on their hands with the Sonic series they decided to take the same route Nintendo had done with Mario - basically to place their lead mascot in as many different games as possible. Mario crossed over to puzzle (Dr Mario), sports (Mario Golf) and racing (Mario Kart) games, and...
Review Galaga (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Classic blasting action
The NES version of Galaga is a almost perfect port of the timeless arcade classic. Like space invaders you control a ship at the bottom of the screen and blast away at oncoming enemies. The enemies in Galaga first fly in and line up in formation and then dive-bomb at you while firing sometimes in predictable patterns and...
Review Double Dungeons (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Double the dungeons, but half of the fun!
Dungeon crawlers became quite popular back in the early 80's on many of the personal computers like the Commodore 64 and Apple II series of computers. I actually owned an Apple IIc computer and played many of the popular titles like the Wizardry and Bard's Tale series myself. It's probably the main reason...
Review Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Grabbed by the ghoulies
Ghouls ‘N Ghosts was an arcade classic, and Sega Mega Drive / Genesis owners were undoubtedly over the moon to be treated to an almost arcade perfect conversion in 1989. When the Super Nintendo came out, it needed some games to compete with its rival; quite soon after its launch Capcom was kind enough to treat Nintendo fans...
Review Elevator Action (Virtual Console / NES)
Who would have thought that elevators got any action?
Originally released in the (very) early 80's, this spy action title was a real eye-opener for gamers of that generation. The premise is simple, yet instantly appealing; the player is dropped onto a series of buildings and has to make their way to the bottom, taking on evil agents and entering...
Review Sword of Vermilion (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
Get your revenge and defeat Tsarkon to free the world of Vermilion from evil.
Famously developed by Virtua Fighter creator Yu Suzuki, this was one of the first RPGs for Sega's 16-bit system and to be brutally honest, it shows. The graphics are basic and the sound is average so be prepared for a technically underwhelming experience. Thankfully the...
Review Chew Man Fu (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Fried rice and egg rolls are in danger!
This is no doubt a game that not many will be familiar with. I think an award should go for best named game 'Chew Man Fu'. The Japanese release was called 'Be Ball' so for once the western name is much more fun! Basically this is a puzzle game where you have to push large coloured balls around the screen; the...
Review Bio-Hazard Battle (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
An army of biogenetic mutants has gone haywire, terrorizing the world and putting the future of the planet in jeopardy.
Released as Crying in Japan, this horizontally scrolling shooter was largely ignored by western Megadrive owners due to the sheer volume of shoot-em-ups available on the console at the time. The unusual organic graphics probably...
Review The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - Close To Perfection, And An Absolute Must-Play
Just in time
This review originally went live in 2007, and we're republishing it to mark the arrival of N64 games on Nintendo Switch Online. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time did for the Zelda series what Super Mario 64 did for the Super Mario Bros. series. It successfully brought one of the most beloved game series in video game history into...
Review Streets of Rage (Wii Virtual Console / Mega Drive)
Sega's answer to Final Fight
It's tricky to review Streets of Rage and be fair to it in light of the high quality of its sequel. Nevertheless it laid the foundations for even more future greatness, so it is only fair to give the original game the respect it deserves. Basically, Streets of Rage is Sega's answer to Final Fight; the Axel character is a...
Review The Legend of Kage (NES)
This classic ninja-action game first appeared in arcades in 1985 and became instantly popular.
After the recent release of the sublime Kid Icarus you might have expected the quality of NES Virtual Console games to rise, but unfortunately The Legend of Kage is an almost catastrophic true drop in standards. No need for rose tinted specs here, retro...
Review Excitebike (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
This bike still excites
Excitebike will no doubt be remembered fondly by older gamers. After all, it was one of the original launch titles for the NES way back in 1985. Some might be dubious and question if a game this old is worth purchasing for the Virtual Console, but worry not — this classic game has somehow managed to retain its appeal...
Review New Adventure Island (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Move over Wonder Boy
The Wonder Boy and Adventure Island games have seen releases on just about every 8 and 16-bit console you can think of, not to mention a few remakes on some of the more recent systems. Having said that, if you want to play the best the series has to offer, you need only download New Adventure Island on the Wii Virtual Console to...
Review Ice Climber (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Ice Ice Baby
Ice Climber is another classic NES title for the Virtual Console — and thankfully, it's decent enough to be worth considering for download. Ice Climber is a fantastic little game, if somewhat basic. Graphically it's exactly what you'd expect an 8-bit game from 1985 to look like — simple. The premise of the game is pretty bizarre. A...
Review Kid Icarus (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Is Pit a hit?
Kid Icarus is one of those games that makes you think 'they sure don't make them like they used to'. Graphically it's very basic - this is from 1986 after all - but the charm simply shines through regardless. This is a game from an era where developers had to really make an effort and use what simple technology they had available to...
Review Kirby's Adventure (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Kirby's first adventure
Kirby’s Adventure was released in 1993 when many gamers had packed up their NES in favour of the shiny new Sega Mega Drive / Genesis or a SNES. Those who stayed faithful to the mighty grey toaster and picked up this game at the time would have been in for a real treat. It really pushed the boundaries of the NES hardware,...
Review Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
The black sheep of the family?
Zelda II: The Adventure of Link is often referred to as the black sheep of the Zelda family. Unlike the original Zelda games, the top-down perspective is replaced in favour of side-scrolling platform action, similar to that found in Castlevania. Perhaps more significantly than that, it is the only Zelda game to offer...
Review Super Mario World (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Simply superb
It was hailed as the greatest videogame of all time when it was released, and even after all these years it still has a pretty solid claim to that title. Super Mario World is without a shadow of a doubt one of our favourite Mario games, and when SNES was released some members of our staff played very little else until they'd discovered...
Brave the streets of New York City in this side-scrolling beat-'em-up
Essentially Vigilante is a modernised version of Irem's classic Kung-Fu Master. It's the usual damsel in distress routine. Your gal Madonna is thrown in the back of the baddies truck and whisked away. It is your job to go through various stages to finally rescue her from her...
It's the 31st Century, and science and technology have progressed to the point that the human race is approaching perfection.
Gain Ground started life as a largely unpopular 3 player arcade game. Surprisingly when taking into account the relative lack of commercial success it was ported to the Sega Megadrive/Genesis and Master System pretty swiftly...
Review Bonanza Bros (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
Grab the target items and head for the exit!
Bonanza Bros. harkens back to the early 80's arcade titles with their simple, yet addictive play control ideas. While there are obvious Keystone Kapers and Elevator Action influences throughout the game, the overall gameplay design is at least original enough to stand on its own two feet. The only problem...
Sketch Turner is an artist in New York City. One day while Sketch is drawing, there is a huge thunderstorm and a bolt of lightning hits Sketch's image, bringing it to life.
Released fairly late in the life of the Megadrive/Genesis, Comix Zone didn't exactly set the world alight in terms of sales but is now rightly regarded as one of the better games...
Review Mario Kart 64 (Virtual Console / Nintendo 64)
Mario Kart gets a 64-bit upgrade!
To say that the original Super Mario Kart was a huge hit for the Super Nintendo console would be a mammoth understatement. The game caught gamers by storm and kicked off a series that's still producing new titles some 17 years later. So when Nintendo released their Nintendo 64 console, gamers knew that it was only a...
Review The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
A Link to a Classic
To put it simply, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the finest RPGs in existence. Everything is perfect - the bold lines and subtle pastel-tones of the graphics, the triumphant rendition of the Zelda theme, the excellent yet simple combat system, the brilliantly conceived logic puzzles. Nintendo left nothing to...
Review Contra III: The Alien Wars (Wii Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Run 'n gun
Konami really went all out with this title, the third instalment to the Contra series (or Probotector to gamers in the PAL regions). The development team at the time must have relished the challenge of developing on the Super Nintendo as this is one of the more impressive games on the system; the experience is a good deal bigger and...
Review R-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES)
The Bydo Empire is back! More powerful and deadlier than ever, the Bydo are en-route to Earth.
R-Type III is an interesting title in many ways. Firstly, it was a console exclusive, which generated quite a stir when it was first published. Secondly it takes advantage of the Super NES 'Mode 7' graphics to bring rotating backgrounds into play. Thirdly,...
Review Xevious (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Golden oldie
Following its success with Pac-Man and Galaga in the arcades, it seemed that Namco was unstoppable. The release of Xevious only helped to cement this idea: it was first one of the earliest examples of a vertical scrolling shooter and innovative for its time. The action in Xevious takes place on two parallel plains; your spacecraft gets...
Review Gradius (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Konami's classic shooter series takes off
It's so hard to review a game like Gradius. This is a near-legendary title and has inspired a franchise that has sold millions, not to mention the spin-off series Parodius and countless other clones. But when reviewing classic retro titles, you have to judge if this game is still worth playing today...
A fun shooter in the Star Soldier tradition
One thing that can be said for sure is that if you owned a TurboGrafx console you would never be in short supply of shoot-em-up games! For anyone who is a big fan of the genre it is great news that Hudson has brought one of the most respected games of the genre to the Virtual Console. Soldier Blade is a...
The action in this racing game is viewed from above and features rotational controls.
Every once in awhile you come across a game that just makes you scratch your head and wonder what someone was thinking when they let a game like this actually get released. After the success of RC Pro-Am and Micro Machines on the NES, overhead racers began to gain...
