Wii Virtual Console - News
April2010
Talking Point The Virtual Console's PAL Problem
60Hz and the confusing state of Virtual Console emulation
“Many people don’t know what the difference between 50Hz and 60Hz is, but since most modern TV models support 60Hz it’s definitely worth finding out.” This interesting and illuminative statement, plucked readily from any number of Nintendo Wii game manuals, is fascinating in its...
Nintendo Download 16th April 2010 (Europe)
Mega Man, Mr. Driller, gladiators and more
There's a little bit for everyone this week, as all three services get at least one good to great title. DSiWare obviously steals the show again with the usual four releases, while WiiWare gets two and the Virtual Console gets its usual one. Keep in mind these games won't be available until midnight (Central European Time), Nintendo has just revealed the..
Nintendo Download 13th & 14th April 2010 (Japan)
Scribbling and monster fish for Wii, with a bit of zookeeping for the DSi next week in Japan
Japan's release schedule this year has calmed quite a bit from the dozen-plus release weeks seen last year, but even so next week is more akin to some of the droughts seen in Europe and North America in the past with only three downloads across both Wii and DSi next week; two of which are catch-up titles..
Nintendo Download 9th April 2010 (Europe)
More DSiWare madness, and a few Wii downloads too
Nintendo really seems to love DSiWare all of a sudden, because it seems to be getting more games than both other services combined every single week now. This time there's not four or five new games available for it, but a whopping six! The Virtual Console gets a classic long overdue in Europe, while...
Nintendo Download 5th April 2010 (North America)
Fish, learning and shooting for the Wii, more Game & Watch and Drilling action on the DSi this week in North America
The Virtual Console continues its streak of not being terrible lately with a lovely import that'll shoot right to the top of shmup fans' to-do list for the week, WiiWare goes educational and aquatic, and today's DSiWare offerings could only be more retro if they came with a..
Feature The Neo Geo Shooters We Need On Virtual Console
Come on SNK! Less fighting, more shooting!
While it's fairly common knowledge that the Neo Geo system sported a rather sizable library of fighting titles, many people don't realise that the system also featured an extremely impressive assortment of shoot 'em up releases as well. In fact, several of these games rank as some of the best shooters of...
Nintendo Download 6th & 7th April 2010 (Japan)
Plant barbering, plane piloting, kanji, colouring and adventuring next week in Japan
Next week is pretty much a catch-up week for Japanese Wii and DSi owners, with only a couple of brand-new titles for DSi, neither one of which is a game. WiiWareBonsai Barber (800pts - Nintendo) – It's hard to believe this plant-barbering simulator hasn't already been available in Japan considering it was..
Nintendo Download 2nd April 2010 (Europe)
The original Mario Kart! Oh, and some other stuff.
It took quite a while, but one of the most wanted Virtual Console games has finally been released in Europe, after hitting both North America and Japan last year. This week's WiiWare and DSiWare releases consist almost exclusively of games already released in North America as well, with just one...
News Virtual Console Confirmed for DSiWare
This was an April Fool's joke. It is not real.
It's been a long time coming folks: ever since the DSi launched in April last year Nintendo fans worldwide have been clamouring for the ability to download past handheld titles in a similar fashion to the Wii's Virtual Console feature. Time and again Nintendo denied the existence of the service, but we...
March2010
Review Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber
One of the N64's only strategy titles, but also the best
Last year, the Virtual Console brought us Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, the "fifth" title in the Ogre Battle series (although none of the first four chapters in the story actually exist.) An incredibly rare game, it was also one of the best strategy titles on the SNES, allowing...
Nintendo Download 29th March 2010 (North America)
Wario, cafe table waiting and medieval battles on Wii; fireworks, turtles, fruity puzzles and music tuners for DSi
Another Monday, another handful of games vying for your hard-earned Nintendo Points! The offerings are all across the board today with new DSiWare apps for musicians and a much-anticipated N64 release on Virtual Console. While not...
News Super Mario Kart Races to Europe on Friday
Virtual Console owners, start your Points cards!
It's been a long wait for European gamers to race around those classic 16-bit courses in the original Super Mario Kart: out in North America since November last year, and Japan since June, there's been barely a sniff of it outside those territories. The wait is nearly over though, as Nintendo has...
News Select Downloadable Games Available for Purchase on Nintendo's Web Site
Bypass the spacebucks for select titles
If you've done any game downloading on your Wii or DSi then odds are you've wound up spending more up front than what your game cost thanks to Nintendo's own Point currency. If you're not a fan of having spare points rattling around in your account, or perhaps just prefer having honest-to-goodness real money prices on your games, then Nintendo's latest..
Nintendo Download 30th & 31st March 2010 (Japan)
Bit Boy!! grows up and more MSX on Wii; Sims, role-playing and puzzling for DSi
Marvelous Entertainment continues its World Game Parade this week on WiiWare, and Virtual Console buffs who're into the import scene may want to check out the MSX titles on offer that have come out of nowhere (we do like VC surprises, yes we do). DSiWare is a bit light this week with three titles, only one of which is..
News Japanese Virtual Console list - April 2010
Great games all around.
It is once again the final Friday of the month, and that means Nintendo has revealed their plans for Japan's Virtual Console this coming month. It looked like there were no more games remaining for the final update this month (Next week), but Konami has generously provided two more MSX games just for it. Next month sees two Neo Geo and Super Famicom games, in addition to one..
Nintendo Download 26th March 2010 (Europe)
This Hanabi Festival's final game, with some nice things on WiiWare and DSiWare as well.
As previously announced by Nintendo, the Hanabi Festival wasn't over just yet. This week brings us one last import game, and it's quite a highly anticipated one, at that. They could've just left it at that and called it a day, but they've also added a second, non-import Virtual Console game, just to keep the..
News Ogre Battle 64 Hits Europe This Friday
One last Hanabi surprise.
Nintendo almost had everybody fooled. They only announced four games for release in this month's Hanabi Festival, and then proceeded to release all of them in two weeks, despite Hanabi Festivals usually lasting three or four weeks. But if you take a look at the Wii Shop Channel right now, you can see that they have one more...
A guilty pleasure for import PC Engine fans
You cannot be blamed for not having heard of Wonder Momo, a Namco arcade game from the mid-late 80s which was never released outside of Japan. It belongs in the box of "odd" Japanese games, being a beat-em-up with the unusual setting of a Super Sentai (Power Rangers to the gaijin amongst you)...
Nintendo Download 23rd & 24th March 2010 (Japan)
Frogs, romantic sagas, galactic brawling, shogi, mahjong, monsters and prison breaks next week in Japan
WiiWareFrogger Returns (500pts – Konami) – A Japanese catch-up title that's been out for a few months in North America and just last month in Europe. We thought it was good fun and a nice return to form for a franchise that has spent a lot of time trying to become a platforming game. Virtual..
Nintendo Download 19th March 2010 (Europe)
More Hanabi Festival, plenty of DSiWare and one lonely WiiWare game
Several people were disappointed Nintendo of Europe didn't start off the latest Hanabi Festival with a certain vampire-slaying game last week, but there's no need to complain any more - It's out now! It brings with it a rather tedious little NES import, which might also mean this is already the final week of the Festival, as there..
Review Castlevania: Rondo of Blood
The PC Engine classic finally arrives on the Virtual Console
The Castlevania titles have seen releases on a variety of game consoles over the years, but it's this PC Engine release that's garnered a lot of attention and focus among diehard game fans and collectors over the years. Since the game was only released in Japan, gamers who wanted to play...
Nintendo Download 15th March 2010 (North America)
Gladiators, vampires, shooting, dinos, zoos and golf this week
Fans of the classics will be pleased to see the TG-16 CD entry in the Castlevania series as well as a new take on the Punch-Out formula and a surprise target shooter on Wii, whilst the DSi gets a range of sim-style games: zoo, dino and gangster and a golf game for good measure. WiiWare:...
Nintendo Download 16 & 17 March 2010 (Japan)
Racing punch-up, Zombie Wonderland and karate
The Virtual Console Arcade gets a surprise release (always nice) and there's a couple of interesting WiiWare games to tide over Wii owners; add in some intesting titles on the DSi and you get a pretty good week for Nintendo downloading overall. WiiWare: Pokosuka Racing (500pts - Recom) – At first we...
Nintendo Download 12th March 2010 (Europe)
The Hanabi Festival kicks off, but sadly not with its most anticipated game.
It seemed quite likely that Nintendo of Europe would be starting the fifth Hanabi Festival with some Castlevania goodness, but as it turns out, this is not the case! At least there's two different import games instead, one of which is another highly recommended title. WiiWare gets the short end of the stick for once with..
Still a timeless RPG classic.
While the game was the second numbered Final Fantasy when it was released in North America back in 1991, it's actually the fourth entry in the series due to the second and third 8-bit releases remaining in Japan at the time. It marked the series debut on Nintendo's 16-bit console and added quite a few new gameplay...
News Last Ninja 3 Refunds Going Out Now
Keep an eye on your inbox
If you were among the unlucky people who purchased Last Ninja 3 on Virtual Console, you were no doubt quite annoyed that the game would, without fail, freeze after the first level, making any further progress impossible. Nintendo recently announced they would be removing the game from the Wii Shop, and have since done so. Commodore Gaming is now sending out apologetic..
News 5th Hanabi Festival Inbound
Featuring the mighty Castlevania Rondo of Blood!
While we speculated on the return of the Hanabi Festival recently, Nintendo were busy putting the finishing touches to the fifth instalment of their import spectacular, due to launch this Friday. Kicking off with the fantastic Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and taking in IronClad, Milon's Secret Castle and, er,
News Hanabi Festival 5 to Happen Soon?
Nintendo of Europe's site seems to suggest so
A handful of new import titles were recently given ratings by the OFLC, leading many to believe that Europe and Australia would be on their way to the fifth Hanabi Festival, and thus another nice batch of import Virtual Console games. Nintendo of Europe has now practically confirmed that this will be happening soon, as they've added four import titles..
Nintendo Download 8th March 2010 (North America)
Markers, Dracula, Fantasy and Spanish this week
WiiWare: Max & the Magic Marker (1000pts – Press Play) – The novel platformer makes its North American debut today. We thought it was a very good addition to the platforming line-up on WiiWare, so if that kind of game floats your boat get your points ready! Dracula: Undead Awakening (1000
Nintendo Download 9th & 10th March 2010 (Japan)
Capcom and Nichibutsu classics on Wii, Gameloft, G.G. Series and Kanji Training on DSi
DSiWare doesn't hold any surprises, but it's nice to see more VCA releases and of course Capcom fueling the retro-fires. WiiWareRockman 10 (1000pts - Capcom) — By now we hope everyone knows this is what we know as Mega Man 10 outside of Japan. We though it was a worthy successor to the franchise crown; no..
Is it really all that special?
There's no question that Fatal Fury 2 was quite a step up in quality from the original, but it seems SNK still wasn't completely satisfied with the game and decided to release an upgrade in the form of Fatal Fury Special. Rather than start from scratch, they basically took Fatal Fury 2, added in the ability to play as...
One for the history books, but not for everyone
In 1982 Sega made a little gaming history with Zaxxon: the first 3D arcade game to use an isometric perspective – even more shockingly, it used sprite-based graphics at a time when 3D games were pretty much all being done with vectors. Whilst Zaxxon got a lot of attention due to its flashy graphics...
News Ironclad Gets ESRB Rating, Shoots It
Shmup'ing its way onto the North American Virtual Console
The North American shoot-em-up crowd may have looked at the Japanese Virtual Console with some envy the past few months for having the Neo Geo CD release Ironclad ready and willing, but the jealous glare will hopefully soon diminish as the Entertainment Software Rating Board has put their stamp on it. The Neo Geo game has been rated Everyone..
Nintendo Download 5th March 2010 (Europe)
"Retro" delights from Capcom, along with plenty of other things.
There's quite a lot to downloads to pick from this week. The Virtual Console makes yet another return after being nowhere in sight the past two weeks, while Capcom has released not one, but two new "retro" games at once. Also finally available in Europe is the third installment in the Bit.Trip series, along with several..
News Nintendo Download 1st March 2010 (North America)
March is Mega Month!
This week Mega Man 10 debuts in North America, much to the delight of retro-gaming fans eager to get more 8-bit styled platforming goodness out of their Wiis. Of course let's not ignore the other WiiWare offerings or the fact that the NEO GEO is back on the Virtual Console following a short hiatus. DSi Owners have a couple of sporting games to choose from, some more adventure..
February2010
Nintendo Download 2nd & 3rd March 2010 (Japan)
Another light week for the Wii and the usual assortment for DSi to start the month off
Japan seems to have settled very much into a release schedule like other territories, which will hopefully send some green-eyed monsters off to bed (well, except Virtual Console fans). WiiWareAqualiving: Television de Nagameru Sakana Tachi (800pts - Nintendo) – Nintendo are finally getting in on the virtual..
News Japanese Virtual Console list - March 2010
Even Japan seems to be getting several VC-less weeks from now on.
Things are moderately bad for Virtual Console in Europe and North America at the moment, with each month having several weeks without a new release for the service. But now it's really time to worry - Even Japan seems to be getting several of these now. March only sees three new...
News WiiWare Market Grows to Nearly $60M USD in 2009
WiiWare sales are projected to overtake that of Virtual Console in the coming year. Games WiiWant? Apparently so
It's interesting to see how both the Virtual Console and WiiWare services have been utilised by today's gamers. The act of acquiring a game via download is something that was previously only common-place in a market like the PC. Now, all...
News Last Ninja 3 Pulled From European Virtual Console
Bye bye, broken Commodore 64 game
Bringing an end to a long-standing issue with the download release of the Commodore 64's Last Ninja 3, Nintendo has pulled the game from the European Virtual Console. A bug present since release was never fixed by Commodore Gaming, and those who have purchased the game will be receiving a refund. Nintendo Life had raised the issue with Commodore Gaming when the..
Nintendo Download 23rd & 24th February 2010 (Japan)
Another light release week, but a surprise VCA release takes us higher
This year Nintendo seems to be taking a more leisurely release pace than its overseas arms. Whilst this can be disappointing for importers, it certainly seems more fair and we have to think that game publishers will be happy to have less competition than in those massive release...
Lock-on, baby
It's widely known that Sonic and Knuckles (S&K) started out as the latter half of Sonic 3, but development constraints forced SEGA to split the game in two, putting S&K onto an innovative Lock-On cartridge that, when combined with Sonic 3, pieced the game back together into its original state. Now, with the announcement that...
News Nintendo Download 15th February 2010 (North America)
Phoenix Wright, Art of Balance, Spaceball, Sonic and more in another big update!
Nintendo of America is certainly putting out a lot of original content for the Wii and DSi this year. This week we have four downloads for Wii and five for the DSi, so hopefully you'll be able to find something of interest. WiiWare: Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney: JUSTICE...
Nintendo Download 16th & 17th February 2010 (Japan)
Japanese downloads go on a diet
There's still something being offered in each category next week, but this has to be one of the lightest Japanese download weeks we can remember with only four games on offer across both platforms. WiiWareDiner Dash (1000pts - Hudson) — Hudson is pretty good about doing worldwide releases close together so you should probably expect to see this restaurant game..
Review Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom
A Virtual Console vegetable medley
After making several appearances on various Japanese personal computers and then being ported to the Famicom system, Hudson decided to bring the unique vegetable-themed text adventure Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom over to American NES gamers. The game was obviously quite a change of pace from the majority of...
Nintendo Download 12th February 2010 (Europe)
Increasing the amount of games ever so slowly.
Nintendo of Europe's planned games for today seemed almost set in stone since last week, but over the past few days we suddenly got a handful of extra games to complement update, bringing the total amount of new things this week up to seven. Still not quite as much as elsewhere, but at least they're...
Nintendo Download 8th February 2010 (North America)
Another big update for North America: blasting, dancing, balloons, rockets and more this week!
The big North American updates keep on coming. This week there's four new WiiWare releases, five new DSiWare releases and a quirky NES adventure game. WiiWare: Blaster Master: Overdrive (1000pts - Sunsoft) -- The announcement of the original NES classic...
Talking Point Nintendo Arcade Games on Virtual Console?
Should these arcade wonders get a re-release?
While we've already seen four of these arcade classics released as NES titles on the Virtual Console, we've yet to see Nintendo bring their own arcade games to the Virtual Console Arcade, despite many third party companies already doing so. So why exactly is Nintendo dragging its feet on these arcade...
Nintendo Download 9th & 10th February 2010 (Japan)
A revamped PC Engine game comes to WiiWare, more Mega Man on the VC and a DSiWare gaming assault next week in Japan!
The Wii only has two downloads next Tuesday, but they're both hotly anticipated releases for strategy and retro fans. DSiWare is where the real download action is though, with no less than seven releases - all of which appear to be bona fide games this time! WiiWareNectaris (1000pts..
Nintendo Download 5th February 2010 (Europe)
Two anticipated titles finally arrive.
The Virtual Console seems to be in full swing in Europe again, after a rather lackluster period - We got Street Fighter Alpha 2 last week, and we're getting Sonic & Knuckles the next. The space inbetween isn't empty either, because Capcom has chosen to release two games in a row. Meanwhile, on WiiWare,...
News Sonic & Knuckles Coming to EU Virtual Console on 12th February
Sega due to finally complete the Mega Drive series
It's been a big day for hedgehog fans. Along with the Sonic 4 reveal today, Sega has also let slip that Sonic & Knuckles is now Wii-bound at long last. The 1994 title is a follow-on from Sonic 3 story-wise, continuing the journey of Sonic as he takes down the Death Egg, and Knuckles's path as he reclaims Angel Island after learning of..
Nintendo Download 1st February 2010 (North America)
Cards, golf, adventures and bug puzzles this week
Looks like the download scene in North America is ramping back up again with a hefty five new titles on DSiWare, and four downloads on Wii including a new Virtual Console release. WiiWare: Tales of Monkey Island: Chapter 5 (1000pts - Telltale Games) - The saga of Guybrush Threepwood comes to a...
January2010
Nintendo Download 2nd & 3rd February 2010 (Japan)
WiiWare catch-up, a couple MSX ports and a sprinkling of DSiWare in Japan next week
The slow start to the year continues to be slow, but at least there's some quality releases to be had. WiiWareExcitebike World Race (1000pts - Nintendo) – Better late than never for this well received update to the Famicom classic. Virtual ConsoleQuarth (800pts MSX - Konami) – Some gamers outside of Japan might..
News Japanese Virtual Console list - February 2010
Three big-name titles. And one slightly less big.
Things are pretty bleak on the Virtual Console in Europe at the moment, but that isn't stopping Japan from continuing to bring more awesome downloads to the table. It's pretty easy to guess what game is being released to build up hype for Mega Man 10, and Nintendo will be releasing the Super Famicom in their beloved war series. Meanwhile, Konami..
Nintendo Download 29th January 2010 (Europe)
One single Virtual Console game in three weeks. Again.
But don't feel let down again, because it's actually quite a solid week this time. With DSiWare still being almost completely taken up by Electroplankton rereleases, there's only one real "new" game for each service, but all of them are (or seem to be) good picks. Possibly to tie in with today's release of Tatsunoko vs. Capcom, Capcom..
Bustin' makes me feel alright, I suppose
When it came time to follow Zombies Ate My Neighbors, LucasArts decided to go with a third-party developer. Using basically the same gameplay engine as the one found in Zombies, the developer was able to successfully create a game that looked and played very similarly to the original release called Ghoul...
News Castlevania: Rondo of Blood ESRB Rated
The wait is almost over.
We just recently saw the release of Castlevania: The Adventure Rebirth in North America and now news has just leaked out that Castlevania: Rondo of Blood has just been ESRB Rated. Honestly, it can't get much better than this for Castlevania fans, and it would seem that Hudson's release of the game can now not be too far...
Nintendo Download 25th January 2010 (North America)
Cards, blocks, numbers and ghouls in this week's update
Looks like a decent update from Nintendo of America this week with three for WiiWare (including a long-awaited card game), three for DSiWare and another LucasArts title on the Virtual Console for good measure. WiiWare: UNO (1000pts - Gameloft) – A bit overdue perhaps, but finally you can play...
Nintendo Download 26 & 27 January 2010 (Japan)
More Phoenix Wright, more N64, more DSiWare anime photo frames!
It's still a small update, but after a mini-break WiiWare has returned along with the first new N64 game in nearly a year on the Virtual Console. Not to be left out there are five new releases for Japanese DSiWare -- though only two are games; one being a new puzzler from Nintendo...
Possibly the maddest shooter of all time
Thanks to Nintendo making imports available on the Virtual Console, you've probably come across Chō Aniki: a shooter on the PC Engine in the same mold as Gradius and other side-scrollers, but with some rather unconventional enemies and a lot of muscles. You may be less familiar with this sequel, which was...
Nintendo Download 18th January 2010 (North America)
Brawn, brains, twins, dogs, ninjas and platform games "risen from the dead" -- this week has it all!
A nice update for North America this week as we see a game many thought would stay in Japan, a new brain teaser and a catch-up title for the Genesis on the Virtual Console. DSiWare is no slouch though with a selection of strategy and platform games...
Nintendo Download 19 & 20 January 2010 (Japan)
Another light week for Japanese downloads.
Nintendo corporate seems to be imitating the European division when it comes to the Wii in Japan with a second week of VC-only downloads: only one title this week for the little white box. The DSi fares a little better with five new releases, some of which are actually games! Virtual ConsoleSalad no Kuni no Tomato Hime (500pts Famicom - Hudson) - Known..
Nintendo Download 11 January 2010 (North America)
Courtroom drama, temporal shenanigans, shadow play, billiards and board games this week.
Well, it looks like the release schedule in North America is starting out as slow as everywhere else, although three WiiWare releases and a Virtual Console add is pretty impressive even if it is smaller than the release weeks in December. The DSi offerings are a bit on the light side with a couple of games that..
Review Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi
Shinobi Joe is back, and this time he’s brought his dog
Shadow Dancer started out life in 1989 in the arcades as the sequel to the ever-popular Shinobi, which was a sizable hit for creator Sega. In the same year the company also released the rather excellent Revenge of Shinobi as an early title for the fledgling Mega Drive/Genesis. It strayed from...
Nintendo Download 12 & 13 January 2010 (Japan)
WiiWare takes a back seat, more MSX and the usual load of DSiWare.
Well, the WiiWare releases have been sparse recently and next week there will be none. Wii owners will at least get a Virtual Console update; though with a couple of Konami shooters that frankly looked better in other incarnations elsewhere, it will be small comfort. The DSi, on the other hand seems to be back to true form with six..
Nintendo Download 8 January 2010 (Europe)
Virtual Console returns!
After two weeks of very few interesting downloadable games, today offers us some potentially good titles. The Virtual Console gets one new game (And a good one, at that) while WiiWare gets two and DSiWare gets three. The first Virtual Console game in 3 weeks is Shadow Dancer: The Secret of Shinobi on the Mega Drive. Released...
Is the third time the charm?
Final Fight 3 came along fairly late in the Super Nintendo's lifespan, but that certainly didn't bother fans of the series who were looking for one more heavy dose of beat-'em-up action. Capcom decided it was time to spice up the gameplay some and the end result was something that would appeal to classic fans of the...
Nintendo Download 4 January 2010 (North America)
A quiet start to the new year.
Nintendo of America seems to have spent the last few weeks compensating for all those two- and three-game release weeks in the rest of the year recently, but for the first update of the New Year we're back to only a handful, some of which have already been released in Europe and Japan -- hopefully not a sign of a...
December2009
Nintendo Download 5th & 6th January 2010 (Japan)
A quiet start to the new year.
The Japanese Wii and DSi shops have seen some massive updates this past year much to the envy of 'net-reading Wii owners in other territories, but Nintendo are taking it easy at home with a mere handful of releases to start 2010. WiiWareBoku wa Plarail Untenshi (1000pts - Takara Tomy) -- This is an example of a gaming staple in Japan: the train driving simulator. As..
Nintendo Download 28 December 2009 (North America)
Ten new games to celebrate the advent of 2010!
Nintendo have updated their weekly North American downloads for the last time in 2009, and the year is going out with a corker of an update! Not only is Castlevania: The Adventure ReBirth out today but also PilotWings to boot for Virtual Console fans. This is in addition to eight other ones released...
News Japanese Virtual Console list - January 2010
More strong support in the new year.
Japan received a few high-profile Virtual Console games this month, but Nintendo's continuing their strong support in the east straight into next year - The first month will already bring them more great titles. Hudson finally shows some more NES support, while Quest is releasing the N64 sequel to their fantastic SNES strategy game Ogre Battle. Nintendo releases..
News Celebrate The Holidays With Cheaper Sega Virtual Console Titles
Select games marked down to 500 points
Sales are rare on the Virtual Console, so chalk this one up to a Christmas miracle. Starting Dec. 24 and running through Jan. 6 in both Europe and North America, Sega is knocking 40% off the price for its best-selling Genesis/Mega Drive Virtual Console releases. In space-buck terms, that means the usual 800...
News Castlevania: Rondo of Blood Getting Long Overdue Western Release
The OFLC delivers the goods once again.
It is because of today's daily OFLC update that we know two more import titles making their way to a Virtual Console near you sometime in the future. And one of them is none other than one of the best Castlevania titles ever crafted. Castlevania: Rondo of Blood was released on Virtual Console way back in April 2008. That is, in Japan - When asked about a..
Nintendo Download 21 December 2009 (North America)
Eco-shooting, arcade ninjas, Super Smash Bros., Dragon's Lair and more in this week's download offering.
Nintendo are putting out a decent number of titles in North America with the end of the year rapidly approaching, with a nice mix of new and catch-up titles on offer. Todays VC and WiiWare offerings mean that there's now 500 titles to choose...
Old school shooting fun on the PC standard that wasn't.
Don't feel bad if you've never heard of the MSX. It was an early-80s Microsoft-driven initiative to create a hardware standard for home computers to transform software development in the same way that the VHS standard transformed home video: by removing the need to develop for multiple hardware...
Nintendo Download 22, 24 December 2009 (Japan)
WiiWare catch-up and more MSX games for the Virtual Console.
The Wii gets the lion's share of Japanese downloads next week with four new WiiWare and three new VC titles. DSiWare gets a couple of games and two more Rurubu travel guides to round things out. Note that the DSiWare releases will be on Thursday the 24th rather than Wednesday due to the...
Nintendo Download Blobs, Fighters, Sumo, Magic, Pets, Starships and One Last Notebook (EU)
Finally more than one game for Virtual Console again.
This week's releases aren't too surprising, with many games that have been out in North America for some time. One game, however, that might be noteworthy, can be found on DSiWare. For Virtual Console, there's A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia, the game that inspired a recent, rather good...
It's a blast!
We saw a lot of legendary titles come out of the 8-bit era of gaming, but probably none quite as ahead of its time as Blaster Master. The game combined so many different gameplay ideas into one amazing adventure that offered up more playability than probably any other title of its kind at that time. There was platforming, exploration,...
Nintendo Download 14 December 2009 (North America)
A Sunsoft classic and wormy sequel on Virtual Console; cooking, sims, little pet shops, magic and Bejeweled on DSiWare; and puzzling, racing and retro arcade action on WiiWare this week!
Virtual ConsoleBlaster Master (500pts NES - Sunsoft) -- Regarded by many as amongst the best shooters on the NES, this is apparently the first of many Sunsoft titles to get re-release on the Virtual Console.
A rare Neo Geo CD gem comes to the Japanese Virtual Console
You can be forgiven for not having heard of Chotetsu Brikin'ger (often referred to as Ironclad Brikin'ger on the web) as it's one of a handful of Neo Geo CD titles that was never released in MVS cartridge form for arcades or outside of Japan (though according to message boards this VC...
Review Alex Kidd in Shinobi World
Does Sega's original mascot go out with a bang or a whimper?
Poor Alex Kidd. The pint-sized, big-eared wonder never really caught on as a mascot, although it was not through lack of trying on Sega's part. Alex appeared in a number of games featuring vastly different forms of gameplay and, with this last throw of the dice, Sega tried to pair the...
Nintendo Download 15-16 December 2009 (Japan)
The focus is on DSiWare this week
After bumper crops of WiiWare and Virtual Console titles on the Wii in Japan recently, this week will only see one for each service. The DSiWare service, however, will have a fairly typical seven releases to choose from. WiiWare: Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (900pts - Capcom) - Everyone's favourite trial lawyer...
News Sunsoft To Release Telenet Titles On Virtual Console
Resurgent publisher confirms acquisition of defunct company's catalogue
If the recent news of Sunsoft's glorious return to the west has whipped you into a frenzy then you might want to take a deep breath before reading the press release below. The company has confirmed that it has bought up the rights to Nihon Telenet's software library. While...
Stunning achievement or a conversion too far?
No company in the storied history of video gaming has tried harder to not create a true sequel to one of their hit games quite like Capcom did with the myriad releases that followed their hit fighting game Street Fighter 2. Not only did they create a number of tweaked releases of game itself, but they...
Exactly as promised.
The observant ones probably already noticed, but in a change of pace, Nintendo of Europe already updated their website with all of this week's releases over the past few days. The games in question make up the entire update, as there's no surprises this time. Alex Kidd in Shinobi World on the Master System was the last Alex Kidd game ever made. As you can guess, it's an attempt..
News Virtual Console Blaster Master To Spearhead Sunsoft Revival
Famed Japanese developer confirms impending release of 8-bit classic
It would seem that Japanese developer Sunsoft is about to support the Virtual Console in a big way. Former Working Designs big wig Victor Ireland is currently making big noises over at NeoGAF about some interesting projects he's involved with, and Sunsoft's resurgence would appear...
Nintendo Download Rayman, Notebooks, Stress Busting and Ninjas! (US)
Another bumper crop of downloads for North America
Nintendo continues to flood the North American market with new titles; amongst them a few catch-up releases. WiiWareFlowerworks® and MAGNETIS™ comprise the puzzle contingent on WiiWare this week. We'll be reviewing the former in due course; the latter was reviewed some time ago, so be sure to...
Nintendo Download 8-9 December 2009 (Japan)
Virtual Console and DSiWare hog the spotlight
A second week in a row with a solo WiiWare entry, but a bumper crop of Virtual Console goodness and a hefty helping of DSiWare downloads help make up for it. WiiWareChokkan! Balance Labyrinth (500pts - Gameloft) - Not a new title from Gameloft, but just them publishing Digital Leisure's The Incredible Maze. We weren't terribly impressed with this when..
Groovy!
After creating the excellent Earthworm Jim videogame and subsequently making an awesome cartoon based on it, it was quite logical that Interplay would not give up on the franchise just yet. Not too long after the cartoon, they released Earthworm Jim 2, which was intended to be even better than the original game. As Queen Slug-for-a-Butt was...
We are spared of another no VC week!
Nintendo of Europe already had all DSiWare and WiiWare releases for today listed on their site or a while, but curiously enough, there was no Virtual Console game. Thankfully, they've chosen to release one anyway! Earthworm Jim 2 offers more crazy platforming action with everybody's favourite worm in a suit, and it does so pretty well. However, the developers..
A beat 'em up that packs very little punch
There was a time when Technos ruled the beat-'em-up genre of fighting games during the 8-bit era with their Double Dragon and River City Ransom titles, but sadly the 16-bit generation wasn't as kind to the company. Once Capcom's Final Fight hit the scene, there was little room left for any other...
November2009
Nintendo Download Monkey Island, Zoos, 'Copters, Face Stealing and Puzzles! (US)
A mix of catch-up and new titles in another big update for Wii and DSi.
There's a mix of new and catch-up titles in the update this week including the penultimate chapter in the new Tales of Monkey Island series: Tales of Monkey Island Chapter 4. Copter Crisis and My Zoo were both recently released in PAL territories. Reviewer Tommy Bowskill...
Review Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye
A history lesson in the failure of PC-to-console ports.
Activision was the first to sell a mahjong solitaire (for lack of a better term) game for IBM PCs and Apple Macs in 1986 under the name Shanghai. They even got the programmer of the original game -- which was created on University of Illinois mainframes -- to do the programming and create...
Nintendo Download 1-2 December 2009 (Japan)
A light download selection next week after this week's mega releases.
This week's update was full to bursting, so it's just as well that next week is a little on the light side with only a few downloads for both Wii and DSi. WiiWarePonjan (1000pts - Tomy) -- The Wii counterpart to the DSiWare release of the kiddy version of mahjong (real mahjong -- not the matching game). Virtual ConsoleKing of..
News Japanese Virtual Console list - December 2009
Finishing off the year with some more big-name titles.
Nintendo of Japan just never seems to stop being awesome - They've got another eight VC games planned for release in December, with the large likelihood of Namco Bandai also having some yet to be announced titles in store. Part of the lineup are another Japan-exclusive, Nintendo-developed NES game, the SNES's best beat 'em up, and another great..
The Virtual Console does not bring us what most of us wanted.
After a week with no Virtual Console game, and the recent North American releases of Indiana Jones and Super Mario Kart, one would think that one or both of them would've been released in PAL regions this week - After all, either would've been the 300th VC game for Australia. Sadly,...
Review A Boy and His Blob: Trouble on Blobolonia
An innovative gameplay idea that's beginning to feel a bit dated.
There's no denying that the original NES release of A Boy and His Blob brought some fairly unique gameplay ideas to the table when it was released in 1989. David Crane, who'd already seen success with his Atari 2600 hit Pitfall, brought a few ideas from his classic and combined it...
Back to the good old days before the blue shell from hell
Less than a year after the Super Nintendo was launched, our pals at Nintendo had the bright idea of taking the Super Mario World universe and squeezing it into a kart-racing game. It sounded like a crazy idea at the time, but they managed to pull it off with style and create an almost...
Another mega update for North America.
Multiple games were already announced for release this week, but they don't even make up half of the total releases. Each service gets more than one new game, and almost all of them are (or seem to be) good. The Virtual Console steals the show this time though - Super Mario Kart on the SNES is the long-awaited...
News Nintendo Blocking Third Party Releases On Virtual Console?
If your title is in direct competition with a Nintendo one, you may be screwed
If you like to moan about the apparent lack of quality titles coming to the Virtual Console then you may wish to direct your anger at Nintendo itself rather than third party publishers, if this recent piece of news is anything to go by. A poster on NTSC-UK forum has replied to a thread about the upcoming release of Super..
News Super Mario Kart Hits Virtual Console on Monday
The wait is finally over.
Well Super Mario Kart fans have waited long and hard for the Super Nintendo classic to make an appearance on the North American Virtual Console service, but it seems the wait is finally about to be over. Gamespot has just announced that Nintendo has confirmed to them that Super Mario Kart will be released on the North American Virtual Console service on Monday, November 23..
