This week's games have been downloaded and we've given each of them a lengthy play, ready to make a verdict on which games are worth your money and which ones aren't. This week saw us receiving one well-known title, along with two less-known games. For you Turbografx16 fans out there, no luck as the Virtual Console didn't get any games for that system. So, without further ado, read on and see what we thought!
Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts - SNES - 1 player - 800 Wii Points
Wii Fanboy says: download it!
This game is an absolute blast and just as fun as we remember. A side-scrolling action game, the player takes the role of the noble knight Arthur and traverses a variety of locales, dispatching enemies such as vampires with a variety of weaponry, ranging from the starting weapon the lance on down to torches that lay down a line of fiery death in front of you. This is by far one of the best titles available on the Virtual Console to date.
Elevator Action - NES - 1-2 players - 500 Wii Points
Wii Fanboy says: do not download
Elevator Action suffers due to the game's constant monotony of riding elevators. You start on the roof of a building and ride various elevators down to the basement, all the while shooting at bad guys dressed in all black who pop out of the building's various doors. They'll even ride on other elevators as they constantly swarm toward you. However, due to the nature of the gameplay, it's easy to catch bad guys just popping out of doorways and, because of that, easy to clear each level. It's novel fun that wears off fairly quickly.
Sword of Vermilion - Sega Genesis - 1 player - 800 Wii Points
Wii Fanboy says: do not download
With some old-school RPG mechanics, at first sight Sword of Vermilion is a treat. It has a kickass story involving a kingdom being overrun and a baby heir being whisked away until he comes of age and must take up the sword against the conquering Cartahenians responsible for taking over his family's kingdom and killing his true father. But once you get into battle and see how clumsy it is, you'll understand why we don't think this game is worth the $8 US it costs to download. See, once in battle you control your character much like those SNES-era Squaresoft games like Secret of Evermore (see: real-time), but fighting multiple foes is often a death sentence and movement is very slow and awkward, meaning dodging enemy attacks is almost impossible.
Another week of Virtual Console releases brings us one worthwhile game and two that aren't very much up to par. Shame, really, as we would've liked some more RPG goodness in our life. As always, if you have any tips or rumors regarding Nintendo's Virtual Console service, be sure to let us know and come back next week when we take a look at the latest titles available on the Nintendo Wii.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-05-2007 @ 4:50PM
ghnvt said...
I wish that I could have permission to download all the VC games each week and then charge them to the company. Damn, you guys are so lucky. (No this isn't a plea to get a job with you guys). LOL!
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3-05-2007 @ 5:03PM
Brian Arnold said...
Elevator Action was a fun arcade title back in the early days. Much like Rampage, it doesn't really hold up to the test of time, but it's still quite amusing/interesting nonetheless.
I won't be spending $5 on it though. :D
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3-05-2007 @ 6:11PM
Ihar `Philips` Filipau said...
I'm sorry. But where are NEW games for Wii?
I'm not old timer - I do not care about all that sentimental 8/16-bit junk.
I want NEW games - games made for Wii. I do not know how it is in US, but in EU most of the games I was buying Wii for are delayed to summer/fall: Metroid & Elebits.
All I see now is the old "VC" crap pushed up - but no new games really. Where are the Wii games???
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3-05-2007 @ 6:24PM
JC Fletcher said...
Wanting to play old games is not about sentimentality. It's about Super Ghouls and Ghosts being INFINITELY more fun than Elebits, forever.
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3-05-2007 @ 7:08PM
meist3r said...
@3 (Ihar): I will agree with you to a certain degree. On the other side I love the VC/Backwards Compatibilty feature just because I can catch up on all the N64 and Gamecube treats I have missed out on through not owning any of the aforementioned consoles. I too am desperately waiting for some new games but why don't you sit back and finish OoT if you haven't already done so or try beatin that 150cc Cup in Mario Kart64 until something less dusty comes along. I mean yelling and insulting doesn't speed up development. Funding does...
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3-05-2007 @ 7:22PM
Jason said...
Sorry, but SGnG sucks. It had potential, but in my opinion, it may be one of the hardest games ever.
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3-05-2007 @ 7:25PM
ghnvt said...
Don't fuss Ihar, they will eventually add origional games for the VC, and good things come to people who wait.
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3-05-2007 @ 8:44PM
Charles said...
oooh, Secret of Evermore. I'd download that for 800 wii points, hands down.
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3-05-2007 @ 10:54PM
Andrew Hsieh said...
@6 (Jason): That's the point. :P It's a game to up your gamer pride.
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3-06-2007 @ 10:50AM
James said...
Man, SGnG was crazy hard -- I owned it for the thick end of a decade, and probably beat it like twice total in that time. It was the Ninja Gaiden Black of its time -- as the Penny Arcade guys said, "an unforgiving instructor that will either shape you or discard you". If you can get through the water level, you think you're pretty hot shit. Then you get to the castle at the end, and your world changes. If you can actually keep the gold armor all the way to the last boss, well... all I can say is that even when I played back through on an emulator and used saved states to make it easier, I gave up about 4 levels in because I just wasn't getting anywhere. Hard isn't always a bad thing, Jason.
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3-06-2007 @ 2:09PM
Stew said...
"It would be nice to see some sort of page where you list each game and your verdict. Perhaps you could throw in a link to the original review just to get fancy."
Stolen from a previous wrap-up and I agree. A master list of VC Games and your Verdicts would be invaluable to the reader!
I just bought my first VC game last night and man have I missed Sonic! (I got nostalgic after playing Secret Rings) Now I have 1200 to spend and I'm trying to decide on what! (SMB Here I come! but SGnG looks tempting!)
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