I was always a Nintendo fanboy growing up. I had all the Nintendo consoles (I even owned a Virtual Boy once) and only arrived on the Sega scene as it neared its conclusion. But when I did, I arrived in style, as my dad gifted us kids with a Sega Genesis, Sega CD and 32X add-ons, one Christmas during my teen years. There were a lot of great Sega games I was able to play thanks to that, including Star Wars Arcade on the 32X (let the laughing commence!). But, I still managed to primarily play on Nintendo consoles.
It wasn't soon after that the N64 emerged on the scene and I found myself actually playing wrestling games. You remember those games, developed by AKI and Yuke's? WCW vs. NWO World Tour was probably the game I played most on the N64 (aside from Goldeneye, of course), but I couldn't bring myself to include it into my list. What did I include in my list?
Well, let's find out!
Lemmings - SNES
The Death and Return of Superman - SNES
Lemmings was the first game I ever got for my SNES and from the moment I popped it into the cartridge slot, I knew this was one of the best games I would ever play. It was so simple, yet so devilishly fun. Frustrating levels saw many a Lemming take a walk into the drink or drop from a large cliff, without so much as a sympathetic sigh from myself. The goal was to get as many as possible to the end of each level, but I would often trap one Lemming between two blockers before blowing him up or have him build ramps all the way to the top of the level only to fall to his death. What? Don't look at me like that!
Earthworm Jim - SNES
Earthworm Jim - SNES
Who wouldn't fall in love with a worm in a super high-tech body suit? He could shoot a gun, he could whip his wormy head all about and, most importantly, he could make you laugh something silly. And for such a silly game, there was plenty to explore, providing me with hours of entertainment in my younger years. One of the best chuckle-worthy games I've ever played, not to mention one of the most fun, Earthworm Jim was one of the easiest picks for myself.
Mario Paint - SNES
By now, you're no doubt starting to see a trend here. I can't even begin to tell you how many hours I put into making animations in this game, let alone the addictive fly-swatting minigame that was included. With an imagination as vast and odd as mine, this game let me come up with some very weird creations. With new enhanced Wiimote controls, I think this could easily be as good, if not better, than its original incarnation on the SNES. Please, Nintendo, make it happen!
The Death and Return of Superman - SNES
As far as guilty pleasures go, this game is near the top of my list. I'm a HUGE Superman fan and even though the side-scrolling beat-em-up is hardly a genre-defining game, I enjoyed it. Getting to play as all the Superman impostors, not to mention the Boy Scout himself, added some value to the game for me. I just wish it allowed for more than one player at a time ...
Virtua Cop 2 - Sega Saturn
Virtua Cop 2 - Sega Saturn
Using the Wiimote as a light gun would work incredibly well for bringing those types of games over to the Virtual Console. And, with this being my favorite of the Virtua Cop series, it was an easy pick. Seriously, wouldn't this be a great game to download on Nintendo's digital distribution service? The file size might be a tad large, but we all probably have SD cards to store it on.
Pipe Dream: There are plenty of ridiculous choices I could add here for dream games I want on the VC, but I'll instead pick one that is just a little ridiculous: Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. It's the second (out of five) entry in the series to reach North American shores and while I could use this whole space to express how upset I am that the others haven't ever made their way here, I'll just politely ask for the ability to purchase this title for my Virtual Console.
And there you have my picks. Of course, the other staff will be chiming in all this week, so be sure to come back every day to see what picks they come up with.
Pipe Dream: There are plenty of ridiculous choices I could add here for dream games I want on the VC, but I'll instead pick one that is just a little ridiculous: Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. It's the second (out of five) entry in the series to reach North American shores and while I could use this whole space to express how upset I am that the others haven't ever made their way here, I'll just politely ask for the ability to purchase this title for my Virtual Console.
And there you have my picks. Of course, the other staff will be chiming in all this week, so be sure to come back every day to see what picks they come up with.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-11-2007 @ 2:04PM
justin said...
WCW vs. NWO World Tour is still in my N64, I play it at least once a week. I love that game.
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6-11-2007 @ 2:08PM
Squashua said...
NES Solar Jetman
Lemmings was much better (and easier to play - with a mouse!) on the PCs than on any console.
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6-11-2007 @ 2:15PM
Chintz said...
I agree with Squashua - I grew up on the (I believe original) Amiga version. Playing on consoles after that was pretty painful. However, if the Wiimote could be used as a pointer, I'd be pretty satisfied. Unfortunately Sony absorbed Psygnosis long ago so it's unlikely we'll ever see a Wii version (or a DS one for that matter - talk about the two perfect systems for it, too).
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6-11-2007 @ 2:22PM
B-Ry said...
I would love to see earthworm jim make its way to the VC
For Free Wii Points http://www.ezyrewards.com/?id=161820
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6-11-2007 @ 3:50PM
3cubedminus3squared said...
Does anyone remember those Goemon games on N64?
The first one was pretty good and the second one had some fun side scrolling co-op.
If they had bothof those on the VC I would definitely buy them.
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6-11-2007 @ 3:52PM
3cubedminus3squared said...
Here's some links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystical_Ninja_Starring_Goemon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystical_Ninja_Starring_Goemon
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6-11-2007 @ 5:28PM
John H. said...
Good picks in general. SNES Lemmings is possibly the best version of that game, practically identical with the Amiga version (the AMIGA folks) and with better music.
Earthworm Jim isn't actually a favorite of mine, but is not bad. (The cartoon is a forgotten classic.)
Mario Paint could be very nice with the Wii Remote, which would really be necessary to play it. Don't know about the Superman game. I know a friend who really likes Virtua Cop who'd probably like to see it... if he had a Wii, that is.
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6-11-2007 @ 11:07PM
Matt said...
Wow, finally there are others. The first thing I said upon hearing about Virtual Console, and deciding to buy a Wii was "As long as I can play Mystical Ninja" (of course referring to the "Starring Goemon" iteration on the N64.
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6-12-2007 @ 3:14AM
JC Fletcher said...
Psygnosis was only the publisher! Lemmings was developed by DMA Design, who go by Rockstar North now, and develop some kind of driving game or something. Auto... Auto Thievin'? Something like that?
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6-12-2007 @ 9:07AM
Chintz said...
@ JC Fletcher
You're right, but I think nevertheless Psygnosis somehow owns the rights to Lemmings. Note that every Lemmings game since the beginning somehow involved Psygnosis (and how the past few involved Sony) but only half involve DMA. Also note that the past few Lemmings (for maybe a decade even) have all been either Sony system exclusives or PC games.
It's sad that one of the most widely-ported game series seems to be a Sony system exclusive.
Can you imagine today's DMA doing a Lemmings though? I can't.
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