Wii Virtual Console News
October2008
PAL gamers rejoice - Mega Man 3, the third installment of the original NES Mega Man series is heading our way! We got Mega Man 2 way back in December, so it really was a no-brainer that this would happen sometime soon, but the OFLC has now confirmed our suspicions.
Strangely enough the game was rated on the 2nd of October, but wasn't actually added...
News Treasure: Buy Dynamite Headdy, You Fools
Highly respected Japanese developer Treasure has spoken about the Virtual Console service in a recent interview with 1up.com.
President Masato Maegawa said he was pleased with the commercial performance of titles like Gunstar Heroes and Sin & Punishment, but was sad to see that so few people had downloaded Dynamite Headdy – a game which holds...
News Weekly Virtual Console Round Up (8th Oct)
Nintendo's Virtual Console shop has 3 new releases this week, Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing (MD), Earthworm Jim (MD), Mario Golf (N64).
Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing: System: Sega Mega DriveRelease Date: Mon 6th Oct (US), Fri 3rd Oct (EU) It’s a dark and stormy night in the kingdom of Granseal when a thief steals two jewels from the Tower...
News USA VC Releases: Mario Golf and Shining Force II
Nintendo has dropped the ball on Hudson again! Digital Champ: Battle Boxing and Gradius II: Gofer no Yabou, both announced for release in the US today, have been pushed back in favour of two other games! When will they learn? It's not all bad news though...
You can finally stop complaining about the lack of recent Nintendo 64 releases - Mario Golf...
Review Earthworm Jim (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
A crow is chasing a worm named Jim, while in outer space, Psy-Crow is chasing a renegade ship.
If you were at all interested in videogames or cartoons in the early 90's you were no doubt a fan of Earthworm Jim. Originally appearing in this game, the unusual hero went on to star in his own cartoon and a number of sequels to the videogame. Earthworm...
Review Shining Force II: Ancient Sealing (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
It’s a dark and stormy night in the kingdom of Granseal when a thief steals two jewels from the Tower of the Ancients.
The original Shining Force was a massive success for Sega, granting the Genesis/Megadrive with a strategy RPG to rival Nintendo’s popular Fire Emblem franchise. A sequel of some description was inevitable and when it arrived the...
News EU VC Releases: Earthworm Jim and Shining Force II
A Sega duo hits the Wii Shop today. And it's not just any duo, as both of the games are extremely well-liked cult classics, which many Sega fans have been longing for.
In Earthworm Jim you take control of Jim, an earthworm who was lucky enough to have a power suit fall on top of him, thus giving him a body and special abilties normal earthworms...
News Virtual Console games to be directly downloadable to SD cards
At a press conference in Japan today, not only did Nintendo announce a barrage of new DS/Wii games and a new DS, they also announced something Wii fans have been wanting for a long time - A storage solution!
Sadly, it's not a hard drive like many people assumed. Instead, you'll be able to directly download games to SD cards. At the moment, the only...
News The DSi – One Step Closer to a Portable Virtual Console?
Nintendo has just unveiled details of a new handheld console called the DSi.
But before you get too excited and spill your Sunny D all over the keyboard, it’s worth noting that it’s essentially a DS with slight modifications rather an all-new machine. Improvements include larger screens (3.25 inches, up from 3 inches), two cameras (both 0.3...
News Weekly Virtual Console Round Up (1st Oct)
Nintendo's Virtual Console shop has 1 new release this week, Super Turrican 2 (SNES).
Super Turrican 2: System: Super NintendoRelease Date: Mon 29th Sep (US) As the last survivor of the United Freedom Forces, it is your duty to destroy the Machine’s forces that have devastated the galaxy. Fight through countless hordes of enemies using everything...
September2008
Review Super Turrican 2 (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
As the last survivor of the United Freedom Forces, it is your duty to destroy the Machine’s forces that have devastated the galaxy.
The Turrican series began life on the Commodore 64 computer and would soon see quite a few releases on the various personal computers of the time period. The series made its first appearance on a console with the Sega...
News USA VC Release: Super Turrican 2
Just one Virtual Console release this week, and it’s the second coming of everyone’s favourite death-dealing cyborg, Turrican. Based on the home computer original, Super Turrican 2 is a radically retooled sequel that takes advantage of the console’s unique capabilities. It retails for the usual 800 Wii points, so be sure to check it out should you be a fan of the first game.
Super Turrican 2 (Super NES, 1 player, Rated E for Everyone - Violence, 800 Wii Points): As the last survivor of the United Freedom Forces, it is your duty to destroy the Machine's forces that have devastated the galax...
Feature Hardware Focus - NEC SuperGrafx
In 1989 the PC Engine was still selling quite well in Japan, but Sega's 16-bit Mega Drive system was beginning to pick up steam and Nintendo's Super Famicom console was looming just around the corner. Sensing this, NEC decided that they needed a true 16-bit console if they were to have any hope of continuing their success in the Japanese console wars.
The successor to the PC Engine was originally planned to be an entirely new system with true 16-bit architecture, but somewhere along the lines NEC decided to instead go for a 'quick fix' and thus the SuperGrafx console was born. Instead of designing a whole new system, NEC basically...
News TurboGrafx-16 Releases - October
It's another case of catchup next month for the TurboGrafx-16. The US will be getting two games which Europe, Australia and Japan have already had for some time. Europe and Australia get nothing while they wait for the US to get up to date!
The two import TurboGrafx-16 games the US will be getting next month are: Digital Champ: Battle...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - October 2008
Next month's Japanese VC list isn't a pretty sight - You can easily see that even in Japan, the amount of released games is quickly decreasing. Only 9 games will be released in the entire month! There are some gems in the lot, but it's still pretty disappointing to see.
Their full list of upcoming games for October is as follows: Famicom:...
News Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie "Exclusively" on XBLA
If you were one of those hopeful types who thought that Banjo-Kazooie's Xbox Live Arcade announcement meant that it could still come to Virtual Console, it might be time to give up hope.
Earlier today, Microsoft published a press release containing Banjo-Kazooie's release date, saying that it would be coming to XBLA "exclusively". It's set...
Review Super Dodge Ball (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Not too dodgy
The characters from River City Ransom (of which the main character is known in Japan as Kunio-kun) are back for a friendly game of dodge ball. Or are they? If you've played the aforementioned game, you'll know that the Kunio series hilariously overdoes everything. You were able to smash enemies around not just with chains, but also...
News USA VC Releases: Super Dodge Ball and Vectorman
Don't just buy Mega Man 9 on WiiWare this week and ignore the Virtual Console - There's two great games up for grabs there as well!
If you've played the excellent River City Ransom, you'll probably think Super Dodge Ball looks strangely familiar. If you do, you're right, because it's another game in the Kunio series, which all share a similar art...
Feature Hands-on with Datel's Wireless Retro Controller
Going wireless
The Classic Controller is a great peripheral, modelled on the humble SNES controller of yesteryear with two analogue sticks and a few extra buttons thrown in for good measure to support N64 games - it is all you need to enjoy most of the retro games on the Virtual Console. The only downside is that it isn’t completely wireless...
Review Boulder Dash (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Oh Boulder Dash!
Boulder Dash is a fondly-remembered classic and was so popular back in the day that it spawned umpteen sequels and numerous ports and remakes which continue to appear even today. It was perhaps inevitable that the game would appear in some capacity on one of the Wii's download services, so how does the old classic stand up today?...
Review Jumpman (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Jumpman is a bomb disposal expert. He is called on to save the Jupiter headquarters after the evil Alienators invade it and booby-trap its 30 levels.
While the video game industry was crashing down around us, personal computers were beginning to invade households around the world. The Commodore 64 was one such computer and went on to become one of...
News PEGI and ESRB Update: Last Ninja 3, Enduro Racer and More
A double whammy today, as both the PEGI and the ESRB have rated some new VC games! And not only do they reconfirm already confirmed games, they also reveal two new games.
While there was absolutely no doubt Last Ninja 3 would be hitting VC (As the first and second game are both out in Europe) the PEGI has now confirmed our suspicions by rating it...
News Nyko Set To Release Wireless Classic Controller
Ooh fancy!
For those of you out there who have been searching for an alternative to Nintendo's Wii Classic Controller, you're search is over. Nyko is getting set to release their new Wing wireless classic controller this fall for the Nintendo Wii console. Not only does the Wing feature an ergonomic grip, it also features full wireless support for...
News EU VC Releases: Master System Sonic & Two C64 Classics
Today's releases include Europe's 250th Virtual Console game! We're not quite sure which of the games Nintendo considers to be the one, but all three of them are absolute classics.
Sonic the Hedgehog on the Master System is a remake of the Mega Drive game with the same name. While the basic gameplay remains the same (Collect rings, defeat Dr...
News USA VC Release: Mega Man 2
It's time for another catchup update: Today US Wii owners will be able to download what is almost certainly the most loved Mega Man game ever made: Mega Man 2. European Wii owners already got to rediscover its delights last December, meaning it's been a 9 month wait.
Mega Man 2 expands on the concepts of the first Mega Man - Aside from upping the...
News OFLC Update: Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES)
While many of us would probably prefer to see Dracula X: Rondo of Blood appear on the US and European Virtual Console services it’s looking likely that we’ll be treated to one of the game’s prequels first, because the Australian OFLC has recently rated the NES title Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse.
The final installment in the popular NES...
News USA VC Releases: Cho Aniki and Final Soldier
Something which many thought would never happen is occurring today: Cho Aniki is being released in the US! Accompanying it is another TurboGrafx-16 import shooter: Final Soldier.
Cho Aniki and its sequels have received both a lot of love and a lot of hate over the years. This is because the series' storyline is based mostly on protein and...
News EU VC Releases: DoReMi Fantasy and Ys Book I & II
Can you believe it? It's already time to say goodbye to the Hanabi Festival, as this is presumably the last week with imports. But it goes out with a bang - Not only are there two more imports available, they're accompanied by two Turbografx games, one of which is spectacular.
First, the new imports: DoReMi Fantasy: Milon's DokiDoki Adventure was...
News USA VC Releases: Super Mario RPG and Clu Clu Land
If you're one of those people who, for some reason, didn't care that great games like Ys Book I & II, Samurai Shodown II and Mega Man came out recently, and only care about Nintendo games, maybe you can finally stop complaining this week - There's not one but two Nintendo games available later today.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars...
Review Clu Clu Land (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Clu Clu a choo
First, a lesson in linguistics – ‘Kurukuru’ in Japanese means ‘turning around’. Why are we telling you this? Well, it neatly explains Clu Clu Land’s rather unusual title, and also gives some insight into the mechanics of the game. You assume the role of a funny-looking fish called Bubbles, who due to some cruel...
August2008
News Drake's Ratings Roundup - August 2008
You might remember back in June we posted a decently sized list of all games that got rated recently which had not yet been released. We also promised this feature would return every month - Sadly not too many games got rated in July, so for now we've decided to just keep it as a bi-monthly feature instead, meaning that it is now time to make another!
We already explained the various ratings board acronyms last time - If you've forgotten them, just check out the June list again! This time we'll list all games rated in July and August which have not yet been released in the region they were rated for: ESRB rat...
News TurboGrafx-16 Releases - September
It's the last Friday of the month, so Hudson has outlined their VC plans for next month. There appears to be a "game swap" of sorts taking place - The US is getting two games that Europe has had for a few months, while Europe is getting two games the US recently got!
The US can look forward to sampling the delights of two import shooters -...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - September 2008
Some big things in Japan next month. After taking a multi-month break, the N64 is finally back in action! Square Enix is also finally putting up one of their most wanted RPGs for the SNES (That isn't Super Mario RPG). It's obviously not Chrono Trigger, nor is it Final Fantasy. Look below if you want to know!
The full list of games to be released in...
News EU VC Releases: Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa and Dig Dug
Finally breaking the annoying pattern which has been going on the past few months, Nintendo of Europe has not only released WiiWare games today. They've released both Virtual Console AND WiiWare games!
On the Virtual Console you can now pick up two more imports. Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa is a platformer from the brilliant minds at Konami. It stars the...
News USA VC Releases: Ys Book I & II and Samurai Shodown II
American VC gamers hoping for Super Mario RPG today due to its surprise release a few days ago in Europe might feel a little disappointed today as it is not out this week in the USA unfortunately. Worry not, this week is still a stellar update for the Wii Shop as one of our other favourite RPGs is up for grabs, and one of the best 2D brawlers too!
Y...
Review Ys Book I & II (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Ys Book I & II chronicles the first adventures of Adol Christin, a young, red-haired swordsman on a quest to unlock the secrets of an ancient kingdom.
Even the most hardened TG16 fan will admit that the machine wasn’t exactly a massive success when it was released in the States. It struggled against the Genesis and SNES despite having some great...
News Hanabi Festival 3 Kicks Off
Our expectations have been confirmed - Today marks the start of the third Hanabi Festival. The Hanabi icons in the Wii Shop, next to the names of today's released games, Super Mario RPG and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels, should have already tipped this off to you, but Nintendo of Europe has now published a short press release on the matter.
Thi...
Review Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Virtual Console / Super Nintendo)
Mario + RPG = WIN!
What do you get when one of the best RPG creators in the world decides to build an RPG around one of the most recognizable video game characters in history? What you get is a video game that is considered one of the greatest ever made and an RPG that's not only unique, but extremely playable as well. Many were skeptical when the...
News EU VC Releases: Super Mario RPG and Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels
Exciting times for Europe today, as it seems to be the start of the third Hanabi Festival - That means that you can once again probably expect a bunch of import games the coming weeks!
The Festival starts off with a bang, just like the first one from 2007. Finally making its debut in Europe (After 12 years!) is the fantastic Square/Nintendo...
News USA VC Releases: Mega Man and Neo Turf Masters
The time has finally come! The Blue Bomber arrives on the US Virtual Console today after paying Europe a visit over a year ago! Accompanying everybody's favourite blue robot is the rather good Neo Geo golf game, Neo Turf Masters.
Mega Man really needs no introduction. After Mario and Zelda he was perhaps the biggest NES icon, and the Mega Man series...
News Bionic Commando Not Approved For Virtual Console
Way back in April we reported that Capcom’s Ben Judd stated that the NES version of Bionic Commando would not be coming to the Virtual Console.
Not content to leave it there, that old chestnut has been raised again as Bionic Commando Rearmed is due on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PlayStation Network and PC soon. Here’s what he had to say on the subject in...
News USA VC Releases: Star Parodier and Break In
If you were hoping for Hudson's TurboGrafx-16 import duo to be released two weeks ago (As Hudson "confirmed"), you were probably disappointed. Today, however, the disappointment will be lifted, as both games are coming out.
If you're at all familiar with Konami's Gradius series, you should know that it eventually got a...
News Goldeneye Locked In Legal Limbo
WAAAAY back in the mists of time we reported that Nintendo was looking to bring Rare’s N64 classic Goldeneye to the Virtual Console.
Soon afterwards it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen, and to make matters worse, it looked as if Rare’s new owners might bring the game to their 360 console via the Xbox Live Arcade service, albeit in...
News EU VC Update - Samurai Shodown II
Samurai Shodown II was supposed to be released in the US last Monday, according to SNK. Sadly, this ended up not happening. Europeans, however, are now able to buy SNK's fighter masterpiece on Virtual Console. It is flanked by a cult Commodore 64 game and two Mega Drive games.
Obviously, Samurai Shodown II is the pick of the bunch. We got...
Review Pitstop II (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Pitstop II is the first racing game that brings you the thrill of battling an opponent, the excitement of fighting for the lead out on the track and the suspense of struggling to be the first out of the pits.
Racing games, as a whole, haven't exactly aged as well as games from other genres over the years, but there's still something to be said for...
Review Samurai Shodown II (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
First released in 1994, this fighting game follows 15 samurai in their individual quests.
Let's face it, the majority of SNKs existence is based around their unrelenting quest to come up with a fighting game for their system that could stand toe-to-toe with Capcom's immensely popular Street Fighter II arcade game. Samurai Shodown has the unique...
News Publishers Remain Tight-Lipped On Black Monday Debacle
Boy, Monday was a real bummer, wasn’t it? There we all were, waiting in feverish expectation for the impending triple-whammy of Mega Man, Ys Book 1 & 2 and Samurai Showdown II, as we had previously been promised by the respective publishers of these games. Then Nintendo pulled the rug from beneath us and released Sonic and Splatterhouse II instead.
Feeling a sense of duty to the legions of Virtual Console fans all over the globe, we decided to get in touch with Capcom, Hudson and SNK Playmore to ascertain what the hell went wrong on ‘Black Monday’. Unsurprisingly, the response so far has been somewhat guarded...
Review Sonic the Hedgehog (Virtual Console / Master System)
Sonic's back in 8-bit style.
Following the undoubted success of Sonic The Hedgehog on the Mega Drive it seems only fitting that a version of the game was created for the Sega’s 8-bit wonder, the Master System which still had strong support in Europe at the time. This game was also something of a swan song to North American gamers who had took a...
News Nintendo Responds To US Release Date Queries
Following Monday’s US Virtual Console release debacle, Nintendo has responded to enquiries about how three different publishers were issuing statements claiming that their games would be coming out on the 4th, only for Nintendo to release two entirely different games instead.
Speaking to GoNintendo, the company had this to say: A number of...
News USA VC Update: Sonic (Master System) and Splatterhouse 2
If you've been keeping up with the news and saw our recent articles, you would've known that Capcom, Hudson Soft and SNK Playmore all "confirmed" that one of their games would be released on VC today in the US. These games would have been Mega Man, Ys Book I & II, and Samurai Shodown II, all classics and very well liked among retro gamers. Sadly, it appears that Nintendo of America is having none of that (Just like two weeks ago with Star Parodier and Break In) and has chosen to release completely different games instead.
...
Review Splatterhouse 2 (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
Rick, once again encounters the Terror Mask and must use its powers to rescue his beloved Jennifer.
Rick is back! After the Terror Mask from the first Splatterhouse comes back and tells him his girlfriend (Who seemingly meets an unpleasant fate in the first game) can still be saved, Rick puts on the mask again, and goes back to the remains of the...
News Mega Man Finally Out On Monday In USA
This Monday August 4th could be one of the best Virtual Console days since the very early days. Not only have we confirmed that the outstanding Neo Geo brawler Samurai Shodown II and the renowned TurboGrafx RPG Ys Book I & II are coming out on Monday, it seems there will also be an appearance from the blue bomber!
Yes that’s right, Mega Man...
News The Mascott speaks about the Virtual Console!
What would you get if you took every VC Reviews reader and combined them into one? Perhaps the closest thing we could ever get to such a grotesque amalgamation as this might be summed up in the unlikely guise of the trilby wearing Youtube buffoon known affectionately to his friends as The Mascott!
Despite his wayward appearance, the Mascott has...
News Ys Book I & II Released in US Next Week
After Hudson updated their VC site with their planned upcoming TurboGrafx-16 releases for America, and all games except Ys Book I & II had specific dates, people were assuming it would be released last. This has turned out to not be true however, as it's being released before the now remaining two games with dates (Star Parodier and Break In), meaning that it's coming out on Monday!
Ys Book I & II is really a must-play if you're even a little bit of an RPG fan. Consider the fact it was originally released in 1989 and then look at its features - CD-quality music, voice acting, anime cutscenes (...
July2008
News Samurai Shodown II Coming To North American VC In August
Widely seen as one of the defining fighting games of all time, Samurai Shodown II was today confirmed by SNK Playmore as coming to the North American Virtual Console in August - the 4th, to be exact.
That's right - next Monday you could be crossing swords with the best of them! We’ve already seen the sublime Samurai Shodown on Nintendo’s retro...
News OFLC Update: Wonder Boy in Monster Land
The OFLC has rated one new game today: Wonder Boy in Monster Land is the second game in the Wonder Boy series and the last game in the series we didn't have on VC yet (Not counting the Japan-only Monster World IV). The game ditched the original Wonder Boy's gameplay entirely, instead going for a more RPG-oriented gameplay style. Alongside simple platforming, you will also have to defeat enemies for money to buy better equipment, and experience.
Once the game has been released, we will have at least one version of each game in the series on VC...
Review Chase H.Q. (Virtual Console / TurboGrafx-16)
Let's go Mr. Driver!
Back in 1988 Taito released Chase HQ into arcades around the world. It took the driving aspects from many other racing games of the time period and coupled them together with the intense action of a high-speed police pursuit. While this offered a nice change of pace from the typical and often redundant racing experiences found...
News USA VC Update: Chase HQ and Art of Fighting 2
This week’s Virtual Console releases cater nicely for those of you that either enjoy chasing criminals in fast cars or beating the seven shades out of fellow human beings.
First up is Taito’s arcade classic Chase HQ, represented here by the TG-16/PC Engine conversion. Sadly, this isn’t a brilliant port of the coin-op original and even hardcore...
News RPG Action Comes to the US Next Month in Ys Book I & II
Following Nintendo of Japan's August schedule, Hudson has revealed their plans for the US next month, and they are quite good indeed! Sadly, it appears Europe and Australia will not be getting any new Turbografx games in August.
The US will start off by getting Chase H.Q. next week. This was the last listed game for July, and with the other two...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - August 2008
It's the last Friday of the month again, and you know what that means - Nintendo of Japan has revealed their plans for August. There are no big surprises this month, but there is one small surprise that everybody expected: Capcom has managed to sneak an extra release into July to milk out its main franchise even further! Aside from Nintendo releasing one of their more obscure classics, there is nothing too interesting to speak of here.
...
News EU VC Update - International Karate +
It seems this week is some sort of "arcade week" in Europe, as there are three new games which all have distinct arcadey gameplay. If you don't like karate, painting roads or golf, then this week is not for you!
International Karate + is the extremely popular sequel to the original International Karate. Aside from allowing up to 3 fighters...
Review International Karate + (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Karate fighting has never been so much fun.
After the original was released as one of the two debut C64 titles on the VC, we didn't have to wait too long for the even better sequel to appear. At heart the same game, the plus in IK+ refers to a key difference - a third fighter. Whilst you could previously compete against a friend or the computer one...
Review Neo Turf Masters (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Golf in Neo Geo style.
There are basically two good golf games available for the Neo Geo. Top Player's Golf was released in 1990 and is a solid and playable golf game in and of itself, but Neo Turf Masters, which was released 6 years later, is clearly a much more refined and enjoyable golfing experience. The game features some very playable game...
Feature Top 10 Racing Games We Want To Come To The Virtual Console
Outrun?!
Racing or driving games are sorely underrepresented on the Virtual Console. Why is that we ask? They’ve always been popular with gamers since Pole Position on the Atari 2600. In the vain hope that powers that be at Nintendo ever visit this site for inspiration, here are the driving games which we feel deserve consideration for the Virtual...
Feature Top 10 Puzzlers We Want To Come To The Virtual Console
Puzzling
Following the series of Top 10 lists we've already done, we've made a selection of puzzle games we would like to see! It should be noted that there's a bunch of great puzzlers already on VC - The likes of Puyo Puyo, Adventures of Lolo, Wrecking Crew, Solomon's Key and Pokémon Puzzle League are all top-notch and very much worth a purchase...
Feature Top 10 Shmups We Want To Come To The Virtual Console
Since I've been fortunate enough to witness all of the shooter love in the comments lately, I thought I'd take a moment to share the love with a new top ten list chock full of shoot 'em ups. Although there have already been quite a few outstanding shooters released on the Virtual Console, there are still a lot of great titles left between the various consoles. Today we'll take a look at ten of the best. No need to thank me, just enjoy the list. :P
10. Star Soldier: Vanishing Earth (Nintendo 64) - Here's the forgotten member...
News ESRB Update: Sonic the Hedgehog on Master System
If you've been keeping up with the news you might remember that "Sonic the Hedgehog" was recently added to the OFLC listings a second time. We speculated that this could be the Master System version of the game, but now the ESRB has confirmed that that is indeed the case.
The ESRB has been quite specific, calling the game "Sonic the...
News USA VC Update: Super Fantasy Zone and Gley Lancer
If you're desperately hoping for another TurboGrafx-16 game to be released soon, you might've noticed that Hudson's site listed Star Parodier and Break In to be released today. Sadly this is not the case, as in a strange twist of fate two different games have been released instead. Both of them are shooters, both of them are on the Genesis, both of them are imports, and both of them were already released in Europe quite a while ago.
Super Fantasy Zone is the last game in the Fantasy Zone series. It is quite...
News Datel Release Retro Controllers for Virtual Console
The Classic Controller is a lovely one-for-all controller for playing Virtual Console games, but if you’re like me you probably long for a small square edged controller to enjoy NES goodness. Seemingly reading my mind, Datel are releasing some retro style controllers for the Wii. We’d assume these will work on any VC games that support the Wiimote as a controller, but would be best suited for NES, Master System and TG-16 gaming.
...
Feature Retro Gamer Magazine Interview VC Reviews
Keeping it retro
Recently we did an interview with Retro Gamer magazine about the success of VC Reviews and our thoughts on the Virtual Console service so far. If you are interested to read it why not pick up the magazine (issue #53) and take a look for yourself? It is available today in all good newsagents such as WHSmiths in the UK. For our many...
E3 2008 Original Banjo Kazooie Xbox LIVE Bound
Nintendo are shunned, Rare's masterpiece original Banjo Kazooie is to be made available on Xbox LIVE later this year, tying into the new game Nuts & Bolts.
At its E3 press conference, Microsoft announced that Rare's original Banjo platformer will be released this year for the Xbox Live Arcade. The game will feature slightly upgraded visuals and the...
Review Donkey Kong 3 (Wii Virtual Console / NES)
Bug off
Poor old Stanley the Bugman, not only have all the bugs got into his greenhouse, there’s a big ape pestering him too. To add insult to injury, he would never feature as a playable character in another Nintendo game again and be forgotten forever, whilst Mario went on to international stardom. Donkey Kong 3 started out life in the arcades...
News US VC Releases - 14th July - Donkey Kong 3
Some people seemed to think that Nintendo would release a big-name title this week on the Virtual Console because of E3 (We ask: Why?). While you are getting a "big-name" title, it's probably not one of the ones you were hoping for.
Donkey Kong 3 is the final entry in the Donkey Kong arcade series, and if you ask us, also the weakest. The...
Review Art of Fighting 2 (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Garcia is back
The original Art of Fighting may not have threatened Street Fighter II in terms of gameplay but it certainly turned a few heads and stole some of the trade away from Capcom’s seminal 2D fighter. This second game takes the core concept of the first title and gently refines several aspects to create a far more enjoyable (but sadly...
News EU VC Releases - 11th July - Neo Geo Duo
If you were expecting five games spanning a variety of systems today you're unfortunately out of luck. Nintendo has decided to instead give us only two games (Basically meaning we waited two weeks to get just two games), and they're both on the Neo Geo. Just like 2 and 4 weeks ago, there's no new WiiWare games.
Ninja Commando, not to be confused...
Review Ninja Commando (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Ikari Warriors with ninjas - awesome!
Ninja Commando is often confused for Ninja Combat or even its sequel, but in fact, it's neither. Ninja Commando is basically an overheard run 'n gun game that feels a lot like the arcade classic Ikari Warriors at times, although it doesn't quite have the same level of playability. While the game is an earlier...
News Four More Virtual Console Games for South Korea
There still seems to be no real pattern to South Korea's Virtual Console releases. Upcoming games are added to Nintendo of South Korea's VC page occassionally but the actual release dates aren't really consistent.
That said, on the 25th of June, South Korea got F-Zero and Star Fox 64. Next week, on the 15th of July, Koreans can look forward to Super...
News US VC Release - 7th July - King of the Monsters
The pattern which was seemingly established the past weeks has already been broken - The US only gets one new VC game this week again.
King of the Monsters is a wrestling game for the Neo Geo in which you control giant monsters (Obviously inspired by King Kong and such) as they battle to the death on top of cities. Unlike most fighting games you can...
Feature Top 10 Neo Geo Games We Want To Come To The Virtual Console
The Neo Geo console was a lot like a Rolls-Royce.
It wasn't necessarily that much better than the other consoles on the market at the time, it was just a hell of a lot more expensive. Not only that, but if you managed to somehow survive the $650 price tag the console hit you with, you'd still have to shell out another $200-$300 per game if you...
News Mega Man 1 & 2 Coming To North America Soon?
Some of our American readers have felt a bit miffed that their European cousins have been enjoying Mega Man 1 & 2 on the Virtual Console for quite some time now.
For a long while we have heard such comments as “No fair” and “this sucks ass” in relation to this Mega Man delay. Well guys, it’s not just you who have been waiting, even the...
News Sonic on the Master System coming to Virtual Console?
If you don't know much about Sega and checked out the OFLC earlier today, you might have scratched your head wondering why Sonic the Hedgehog was rated again, after all, the Mega Drive version is already out on Virtual Console.
The interesting thing you might not know, however, is that there are three other games which are all also called Sonic the...
June2008
News US VC Release - 30th June - Fatal Fury 2
While Europe seems to be alternating five and zero Virtual Console game weeks, the US seems to have a pattern as well now. That pattern seems to be two VC games one week, then one the next, two after that, etc.
As last week the US got two games, that means this week there's just one. It's Fatal Fury 2 for the Neo Geo. The Fatal Fury series is rather...
News Drake's Ratings Roundup - June 2008
As we don't usually create a news article for each new game that gets a rating, we thought it would be a good idea to do a monthly roundup listing each game rated by every ratings board to keep you up to date.
Here is a quick explanation of the different rating boards which we track: ESRB rated: The ESRB stands for Entertainment Software Rating...
Review Summer Games II (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
The pinnacle of athletic achievement. The Summer Games.
The second Epyx sports title (and third Virtual Console release) provides eight entertaining events, of which half can be enjoyed split-screen with another player. As usual, you have a choice of which events to compete in (or practice) and how many players there are – each represented by...
Review Super Fantasy Zone (Virtual Console / Sega Mega Drive)
Take on the role of Opa-Opa, who is on a mission to avenge the death of his father.
Given that the original Fantasy Zone achieved quite a cult status in arcades and on the various 8-bit consoles of the time period, it's certainly no surprise that the game spawned a few sequels and spin-offs. Super Fantasy Zone represents what many fans of the series...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - July 2008
As it's the last Friday of the month once again, Nintendo of Japan has revealed their Virtual Console plans for the next month. There are some notable games here, including (finally) Donkey Kong 3, the first Space Harrier, another Fire Emblem, and Shining Force II.
The full list is as follows: Famicom: Dig Dug (July 1st) Chack'n Pop Donkey Kong...
Review King of the Monsters (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Monster mash
King of the Monsters is one of those titles that, despite being a very mediocre game overall, enjoys a fairly strong following around the gaming community. The game takes the classic "giant monster stomping through cities" made famous in the King Kong and Godzilla movies, and somehow builds a one-on-one fighting game around it. But...
News EU VC Releases - 27th June - Super Fantasy Zone
After this week, it is rather safe to assume that Nintendo of Europe is indeed following a pattern. There's 5 new VC games to pick from, and like two weeks ago, no WiiWare games.
The top pick might be argued about, but if you ask us, it's Super Fantasy Zone for the Mega Drive. The game plays pretty much exactly the same as the original Fantasy Zone...
Review Cybernoid: The Fighting Machine (Virtual Console / Commodore 64)
Federation storage depots have been raided by pirates, taking valuable minerals, jewels, ammunition and the latest battle weaponry.
Part shooter, part maze game, you are tasked to track down and retrieve stolen cargo from pirates, returning it to a storage depot at the end of each level (of which there are 3) before time runs out. Not that the...
News Super Mario RPG Released in Japan Today
It's a big day for Japanese Wii owners - Earlier today, Super Mario RPG was made available for download in the Wii Shop. The game costs 900 Wii Points (For some reason, a bunch of games in Japan, mostly RPGs, cost more than normal).
The game was recently rated by the OFLC, so it should be coming to Europe/Australia as well. As it was never released...
News US VC Releases - 23rd June - Alex Kidd in Miracle World
Not too bad of a week for the US today, especially if you couple it up with what was released on WiiWare.
The pick of the bunch is of course Alex Kidd in Miracle World, the first in the Alex Kidd series and arguably the best. The game is rather simple and fun to play, unlike its many sequels which mostly introduced new, not so good elements which...
News USK Rated: International Karate+ and Cybernoid for C64
Some good news for Commodore 64 fans today. Two aging classics have been rated by the German ratings organisation, the USK, so we expect them to be on the Virtual Console in due course.
International Karate+, or IK+ to its friends is rather obviously the sequel to International Karate which is also on the VC. It was released almost a year and a half...
Feature Secret of Evermore - Brian Fehdrau Interview
Developer of Secret of Evermore
Our resident reviewer Corbie Dillard has been busy securing some fresh content for his SNES fansite. He really struck gold with a recent interview which he did with Brian Fehdrau, the lead programmer on the Squaresoft USA team that developed the Super Nintendo rpg hit Secret of Evermore. At the present moment, Square...
News ESRB To Crack Down On Early Leaks Of Games
Since the very beginning of VC Reviews we have rounded up the latest games which should be headed to the Virtual Console on our coming soon list so you have the inside scoop on what games are coming up.
One of the primary ways we do this is by checking game content ratings on the ESRB website. Basically if a game doesn’t get rated there then it...
News EU VC Releases - 20th June - Epic Fail
Things are dire in Europe again this week. Those 5 releases last week must've been to throw us off-guard and then give us this: Absolutely nothing!
Yes, it's the same situation as two weeks ago: While there are (two) WiiWare games, there is not a single new Virtual Console game. One has to wonder what Nintendo of Europe is thinking with a strategy...
News Nintendo Channel Gets An Update
If you live in North America or Japan you can now view some more information on the Nintendo Channel. If you've looked around the channel in the time it's been out you can probably guess what this is - The results of all the data people have entered so far concerning their Wii, VC and WiiWare games can now be viewed.
This means you can see if the...
News US VC Release - 16th June - Samurai Shodown
The WiiWare push in North America continues, as Nintendo of America is releasing two WiiWare games this week while only giving minimal attention to Virtual Console, by releasing just one game. At least it's a good one!
Samurai Shodown (That's not Showdown, a mistake a lot of people make) was one of the first fighting games where characters used...
News N64 Controller Mod For Virtual Console
Although the Classic Controller is enough for most retro-loving Wii owners, there are some that crave a rather more authentic experience. There’s nothing like experiencing Virtual Console games on the controllers they were intended to be played on, and while Nintendo’s limited production of the Club Nintendo SNES pad will have satisfied a few, it’s going to leave a certain demographic out in the cold – namely those who love the N64 controller.
But fear not. A talented hacker called Raphaël Assénat and been tink...
News South Korea: Two More VC Updates
South Korea is slowly but surely catching up on the enormous back catalogue of Virtual Console games released elsewhere, as they didn't get the Wii (And thus VC) until last April.
On May the 26th, they got Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (River City Ransom), Super Mario Bros. 3 (Oddly enough skipping 2) and Donkey Kong Country. Last week, on the 10th...
Review Fatal Fury 2 (Virtual Console / Neo Geo)
Street Fighter 2 it ain't
Although the original Fatal Fury was undoubtedly one of the best challengers to square up to Capcom’s Street Fighter 2, many would argue that SNK’s franchise didn’t really get into its stride until the sequel was released. Improving on the first title in practically every way possible, Fatal Fury 2 was one of the...
