Posts tagged Retro at Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Posts with tag Retro

Mega Man 9 looks great, sounds great, did we mention looks great?

Posted Jul 3rd 2008 3:30PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News, Screens, WiiWare

We're trying to think of words to describe how we felt when we saw the Mega Man 9 screens in the gallery below, but there's just too much emotion to articulate. As if the scans weren't legendary enough with their retro, 8-bit goodness, the screens just make us downright giddy. There's not much else to say, except that we're so in love with Capcom right now.

Games Radar has some delightful details on the game, too, which just add some extra oomph to an already oomph-tastic game. For one, beloved Mega Man designer Keiji Inafune was especially involved in the making of Mega Man 9, even creating the bosses this time around. As for the story, it still revolves around our favorite villain Dr. Wily, but this time he has the public on his side, convincing them that Dr. Light is the bad guy. Silly public.

That's not all, though -- according to Games Radar, this game is hard. Not this hard, but still difficult. We say, bring it. You know what else it has? A lot of music from Mega Man 2, also known as one of the best video game soundtracks of all time.

Lastly (but not least), Games Radar has the skinny on Mega Man 9's bosses, including one that's a woman robot named Splash Woman. Others include Galaxy Man, Jewel Man, Hornet Man, Tornado Man, Concrete Man, Maga Man, and Plug Man. Man alive, that's a lot of mans.

Now you can stop reading and look at the screens below. You might want to have some tissues handy, because they may just bring tears of joy to your eyes.

Gallery: Mega Man 9

[Via NeoGAF]

Mega Man 9 in Japan this September

Posted Jul 2nd 2008 11:00AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports

Famitsu's article about Mega Man 9 features the same beautiful screenshots we got in Nintendo Power last week, with one exception: the small image seen here, featuring a greyscale Mega Man next to the real one. The article wonders if this could be a playable character, although in the infobox at the top of the article, Famitsu identifies Mega Man 9 as a single-player game. It could be an alternate character, or just a costume choice, or a new weapon-based color scheme, or even an enemy!

The infobox also says that Mega Man 9 is scheduled for September. If this really does follow the NES games, then minimal translation will be necessary (and hastily done), so we can look forward to jumping through boss doors soon!

Neo Geo VC games to be redundant in Europe as well

Posted Jun 12th 2008 5:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News, Imports

Happy times are ahead for European gamers who bristle at the thought of spending 900 Wii Points each on Neo Geo games. Ignition Entertainment has just announced plans to release the SNK Arcade Classics Vol. 1 disc in Europe. The PSP and PS2 versions are expected in August, with the Wii release some time later.

If the mockup boxart seen here turns out to be what is really used, Europe is getting a way better package than we are in the U.S. Of course, it'll probably be more expensive, but still cheaper than buying the available games on the VC (all 11 of which are on this disc). There's still the matter of emulation quality -- hopefully this collection will get the ports right.

[Via press release]

Wii Warm Up: Passing it down

Posted Jun 9th 2008 8:00AM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Wii Warm Up

With the widespread availability of classic games on the Virtual Console (and other places), are you trying to pass down a love of retro? We're not just directing this at those of you with children, either; if you've got siblings, young nieces, nephews, or cousins, you too could be spreading a love of classic gaming. You've gotta get them early, before they start to expect textures and options.

The VC Advantage: Honda City Connection

Posted May 28th 2008 9:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: The VC Advantage

Here's something I didn't know until I went Wikipedializing: the comically squatty car that serves as the player avatar in City Connection isn't just a broad caricature of small cars. It's actually based on a real automobile, the Honda City. The City, went on to be known as the Jazz in Europe, as did its future models, but it was renamed in Japan in 2002 to the Fit. Which means that I have just discovered that I'm in the process of purchasing an updated version of the car from City Connection. Retro games are in my blood.

Personal anecdote aside, I wonder how Honda felt about the City's portrayal in City Connection. On the one hand, it is being used to destroy cop cars, and it crashes irreparably on contact with any cat. On the other hand, it handles really well in the game, and can jump.

Pretty much any time City Connection comes up, it's as an excuse to talk about the music. In that vein, enjoy the guitar version of the level one theme! I'm pretty sure you will enjoy it. And after the break, a vintage Japanese City Connection commercial!

Continue reading The VC Advantage: Honda City Connection

Wii Warm Up: Through rose-tinted glasses

Posted May 10th 2008 10:30AM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Virtual Console, Wii Warm Up

The appeal of the Virtual Console is obvious: nostalgia. The VC is jam-packed with memories from yesteryear, spilling over with wonderful software that defined our childhoods. But it isn't all lollipops and puppy dogs. Nostalgia can also be very misleading, and some of those packets of data you download from Nintendo's service can end up souring childhood memories.

Personally speaking -- and this will probably sound like heresy in some quarters, so brace yourselves -- I was left disappointed by Mega Man 2, a game I adored as an eleven-year-old, but one that now seems slightly dated, with its repeated leaps of faith and enemies that like to spawn directly beneath you. On the other hand, a game such as Super Mario Bros. 3 still feels like a breath of fresh air, almost two decades after it was released.

Thinking about this some more, we have three questions for you. One: which Virtual Console games don't hold the same magic for you as they once did? Two: have any titles aged better than you suspected they would? And three: have you ever held off from downloading a certain game, concerned that it may ruin one of those precious childhood memories?

For awesome NES mods, just add legends

Posted Apr 21st 2008 10:30PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Fan stuff

Thanks to its largely flat surface, the NES doubles up as an ideal canvas for those wishing to spruce up their consoles with a custom paint job. Of course, you also need artistic ability, which is where we fail hideously, and eBay user hellokitty11111111111 (yes) excels.

Well, "excels" most of the time, anyway. The quality of these mods does vary a little -- we're not big fans of the Kid Icarus design -- but we do absolutely love the Earthbound, Super Mario Bros. 3, and (highly topical) River City Ransom examples. Are they worth (up to) $149.99, though? At a stretch, we'd be tempted. There's more past the break, complete with auction links.

Continue reading For awesome NES mods, just add legends

We kind of want to buy Crazy Climber Wii now

Posted Apr 9th 2008 6:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Imports, Sales

At full price, the Wii remake of the fossilized arcade game Crazy Climber was a ridiculous proposition. But at $18.90, it's ... a ridiculous proposition that we're actually considering, which, we suppose, makes us ridiculous. Maybe even crazy.

But that's the situation Play-Asia has put us, and no doubt others faced with similar, uncomfortable feelings of casual Crazy Climber interest, into with their weekly deal. For this week only, Nihon Bussan's Crazy Climber Wii is marked down from $60 to $18.90. Of course, you'll need a Freeloader or a Japanese Wii in order to play this, so it's a bit less of an impulse purchase than it would seem.

DLC-enabled cartridge brings next-gen features, pricing to the NES

Posted Apr 7th 2008 6:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Fan stuff, Homebrew

RetroZone, creators of exceptionally wacky retro peripherals like the RetroUSB adapters (which allow you to use NES and SNES controllers on the Gamecube and Wii) and the PowerPak cartridge (a flash cartridge for the NES) have managed to one-up themselves in the "exceptional wackiness" category with their latest offering: Glider, based on the freeware Mac game.

What's so wacky about Glider, other than its monochrome look? The cartridge is designed so that new levels can be added via a USB CopyNES adapter. In other words, downloadable content. At $42 for Glider and $70 for the (quite useful-looking) CopyNES, that's some expensive fake retrogaming!

[Via Joystiq]

Virtually Free: Superstarzzzzz

Posted Apr 1st 2008 2:40PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Virtual Console, Contests / Giveaways

Wii Fanboy is happy to announce a new regular contest -- Virtually Free, where we will offer up a game or two from the Virtual Console to one lucky reader every other week. For our inaugural edition, we asked our resident retro fiend, JC Fletcher, to put together a pair of games, and he chose Phantasy Star II (Sega Genesis, 800 Wii points/$8) and one of this blogger's own favorites, StarTropics (NES, 500 Wii points/$5) His only stipulation? "Five zeds in the title, no more, no less." He just wasn't cool enough to say "zed." We editorialized a bit!

So what do you have to do to win? First of all, you have to leave a comment (with a valid e-mail address) on this post suggesting a game for a future edition of Virtually Free. It must be available on the VC in the U.S. at present. Second, you must be a legal resident of the United States with an American Wii (sorry, Canadians, we have to leave you out of this one; blame the gifting system and not us!) and 18 years of age or older. You may enter once per day between now and Sunday, April 6; the contest comes to a close that night at 11:59 PM Eastern time. Questions? Check out the official rules.

This is not, by the way, an April Fools' joke! The timing is purely coincidental. Well, maybe the title is.

We never thought Mario could be so sexy

Posted Mar 13th 2008 10:30PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: Fan stuff

Technabob described this corset best by calling it "fierce" -- we also appreciate the Project Runway reference -- and you know what? We actually like it. It's original, well-made, geeky, retro, and sexy. What's not to like? Then again, we're no Tim Gunns, and we could imagine the poor man being horrified by such a creation.

Unfortunately, the item is already sold out on Etsy, so if you were planning on buying it for yourself or a gal friend, it's too late. We've seen unique Mario fashions from TheVintageDoctor before, though, so hopefully there will be some more good stuff to come.

Gallery: Corsets by TheVintageDoctor

[Via Technabob]

Metroid Prime 3's Japanese boxart is Prime

Posted Jan 30th 2008 11:15AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Imports

Japan isn't getting Metroid Prime 3: Corruption until March, but Nintendo is making up for it (in a gameplay-insignificant way) by releasing the game with a boxart that looks nothing like Sonic Adventure 2's. We're not complaining about the tri-Samused American boxart, just stating that the Japanese boxart is quite nice -- the kind of thing we wouldn't mind having on a poster. The color scheme is unique among Metroid games, as is the decision to feature some characters that aren't Samus.

This (arbitrary) Boxart Victory is even sweeter for Japanese Nintendo fans, who have been subjected to some fairly rough Metroid Prime series boxarts.

Furu Furu Park's minigames vs. regular-size games

Posted Jan 25th 2008 2:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

Taito's collection of mostly classic-Taito-themed minigames, Furu Furu Park, is out this month courtesy of Majesco. For $19.99, if the versions of arcade classics like Bubble Bobble, Cameltry, and Arkanoid are actually good remakes, the game would be an irresistible value. That was exactly what MTV Multiplayer's Jason Cipriano had in mind when he took the game for a test drive. Maybe this unassuming value minigame collection has improved on the arcade classics!

Basically, it hasn't. As you may expect, the minigame versions of the Taito classics are not better than the arcade games, mostly owing to the fact that you can only play them for a few minutes at a time. No matter how awesome the one level of remade Arkanoid is, it's just one level. On top of that, Bubble Bobble has been simplified severely.

Surprisingly, there were a few cases in which the potential was there for the remake to be an improvement, or at least a worthwhile addition. Both Arkanoid and Cameltry benefit from motion controls, which makes the lack of content hurt that much more. As it stands, just pick up one of the Taito Legends sets for the PS2.

Dojo update: Masterpieces

Posted Jan 25th 2008 12:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: News, Virtual Console, Screens

Do not adjust your monitor. This is still the Nintendo Wii Fanboy Dojo update you know and love, even if today's dojo announcement falls squarely in the region of "Dubya. Tee. Eff."

Basically, Brawl will be shipping to stores with several "Masterpieces," disc-based trial versions of Virtual Console games. There's nothing too obscure in the selection revealed so far (Super Mario Bros., Ice Climber, The Legend of Zelda, Kid Icarus, Kirby's Adventure, Super Metroid, and Star Fox 64), but Sakurai has promised that more titles are on the way. Obviously, because they're trial versions, you can only play them for a limited time (though that may not deter some people).

You can view this feature in two ways, we suppose. Some will see it as a fitting tribute to the greatest videogame company of all time. Others might decipher this as a cynical piece of free advertising for the Virtual Console. As for us, we're just happy that new or younger players will be getting an insight into Nintendo's outstanding body of work. Just don't look at the games Japan is getting. That would make you angry.

Gallery: SSBB gallery three

Gallery: SSBB gallery two

Evidently, 2D Metroid on the Wii would rock our world

Posted Dec 7th 2007 11:00PM by Chris Greenhough
Filed under: Fan stuff

It's unlikely to ever actually happen, but have you ever pondered what a new 2D Metroid on the Wii would look like? Artist Alchemist Defined evidently thought long and hard about it, before committing his vision to canvas. The end result is ... well ... frankly, it's stunning, and if there really is some almighty, omnipresent deity watching over us all, there'll be a game that looks very similar to this in development now at Retro.

There's a selection of bigger, more wallpaper-friendly versions of this over at the artist's site, as linked below. Viewing them comes highly recommended.

[Via CVG]

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Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Mega Man 9 looks great, sounds great, did we mention looks great?

Mega Man 9 in Japan this September

Neo Geo VC games to be redundant in Europe as well

Wii Warm Up: Passing it down

The VC Advantage: Honda City Connection

Wii Warm Up: Through rose-tinted glasses

For awesome NES mods, just add legends

We kind of want to buy Crazy Climber Wii now

DLC-enabled cartridge brings next-gen features, pricing to the NES

Virtually Free: Superstarzzzzz

We never thought Mario could be so sexy

Metroid Prime 3's Japanese boxart is Prime

Furu Furu Park's minigames vs. regular-size games

Dojo update: Masterpieces

Evidently, 2D Metroid on the Wii would rock our world

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