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. 3still 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?
Inspired by the profile of the insane EarthBound fan community Starmen.net, we thought we would ask our audience directly: Are you an EarthBound fan? If so, how did you come by your fandom? Did you get the SNES game at launch? Maybe you discovered the game later? Or did the constant Mother series evangelism on the Internet (including the work of Starmen) turn your eye toward the series?
Of course, there's also the (very likely) possibility that Ness's appearance in the Super Smash Bros. series ignited your fandom. That works too, as does love for Dragon Quest's gameplay.
We hope you have a fresh pair of underwear on, because you're about to suffer a heart attack: Earthbound has been rated by the ESRB for Wii. That pain in your chest? That's your heart exploding. Welcome the sensation. It's a sign of victory!
Now that the game has been rated by the ESRB, it's likely to show up on the Virtual Console sometime in the immediate future. We'll settle for no less than this Monday, but in all probability, we won't be that lucky. Stay tuned to Wii Fanboy in the coming weeks for an announcement on when you can spend your money on this Virtual Console game.
It's the little things in life. Like the simple design that focuses on the color scheme of the SNES above, as well as simple no-bull design of the unit overall. What we're not sure of is how using that d-pad is. This thing looks kind of thick, you know.
But, we have to say we dig the thing. We can see ourselves enjoying a game or two of some of our old favorites on this.
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.
Yesterday was a banner day for Wii homebrew. In addition to WiiPaint, a load of console emulators designed for Twilight Hacked Wiis were also unveiled, and DCEmu has rounded them up. They're all based on existing Gamecube-based emulators, but have been extended for the Wii to take advantage of features like the Classic Controller and the Wii's 480p output. Lopst's and RobertFC's ports of SNES9x even allow you to use the Wiimote! In case you always wondered what it would be like to have a really hard time playing an SNES game.
In addition to an SNES emulator, new PC Engine/Turbografx-16, Genesis (with Sega CD!), and Game Boy (which installs into a channel) emulators are now available.
While it's not unusual to be loved by anyone for hotels to include video game services, Japan used to do it arcade-style with coin-operated consoles (like the one shown above). 100 JPY (approximately $1 USD) would net you 10-15 minutes with a Famicom (NES), which means you'd have to lay down about $2 or $3 to for a satisfactory amount of this blogger's hotel staple, Punch-Out!!. The Super Famicom (SNES), though, was a bit more coin-hungry, and the $1 equivalent would only last five minutes -- yikes. Still, we're sure that if we visited Japan during the magical time that these boxes were hooked-up to hotel TVs, we would have let go of a few coins for some quick bouts of Mario and such.
You may have noticed that Virtually Free has moved to Wednesdays. Don't worry! It's not going anywhere! You'll still have your chance at free Virtual Console games every other week ... just now, we're a day late. This week, we've only got one game to offer up, but according to David Hinkle, who chose this week's prize, it may be all you need. Up for grabs? Legend of the Mystical Ninja (800 Wii points/$8) from the Super Nintendo.
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 Monday, April 21; the contest comes to a close that night at 11:59 PM Eastern time, and we'll select a winner in a random drawing the next day. Questions? Check out the official rules.
Have you put in your preorder for the Super Famicom Classic Controller yet? No? Well, you better do it quick, as the limited edition controller is a Japan-only Club Nintendo exclusive, and you likely won't be able to buy one months from now without spending some serious money on eBay. And by serious money, we mean wacky dollars.
Inside Games has received its SFC controller, and so far, it looks faithful to the original, with the added bonus of a wireless experience via hookup to the Wii remote. Alright, so it's not completely wireless, technically, but you should be used to the setup with the Wii Classic Controller. Hit the link below for unpackaging photos of the retro pad.
While not quite as ickle or adorable as the tiny clay NES that had Candace in full-on squeal mode recently, this papercraft SNES is still capable of melting the heart of the most unfeeling gamer. It's the work of deviantART user ryo007, who wisely points out that while otherconsoles have been rendered in paper, the SNES has, until now, been forgotten about by papercrafters.
Our favorite part of this? Those cute-as-all-heck tiny pads and game cartridges! If they had cheeks, we'd pinch them (and then probably crush them with our clumsy, sausage-like fingers).
Read: Papercraft sheet Read: Pictures of a completed model
This week shows another pair of titles hitting the Wii's Virtual Console service, providing gamers with some NES and SNES action. Sadly, we get another shooter, but the other title on offer is a fairly unique title. Hit up the video above, then head past the break for some more.
This week's Virtual Console releases include two titles on Nintendo platforms. One of the titles just released in Europe this past Friday and is a very competent shoot-em-up. The only problem is, the Virtual Console already has plenty of them already.
This week's releases are:
Spelunker (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Super R-Type (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
As always, be sure to stop back later for our video wrap-up of today's releases.
So asks the front of Super R-Type's box. Of course, you won't get the box when you purchase Super R-Type on the Virtual Console (you are purchasing Super R-Type ... right?), but we couldn't resist revisiting such a deliciously bad pun. You just don't get that kind of cringeworthy wordplay on today's boxart!
The NES version of Operation Wolf also makes an appearance today, and if you ask us it's one of the very few Virtual Console games that would actually benefit from added Wiimote functionality.
Super R-Type -- SNES -- 800 Wii points
Operation Wolf -- NES -- 500 Wii points
Don't forget there's footage to get all misty-eyed about after the break!
Just because the entire Nintendo-loving community is swept up in Brawl fever doesn't mean that we would neglect our duty of downloading the latest and greatest on the Virtual Console so you know what you're getting into. We try our best to make sure you aren't dropping money where it is not deserved. So, hit up our video above, then be sure to head past the break for the rest of our usual coverage.
Update: Oh, and JC suggested pointing out that these two titles are imports, which is pretty sweet. We always appreciate the import love, Nintendo!
Improving on last week's lone release, the Virtual Console offers up a double dose of downloads this week. Of course, many might be too busy with something else to notice this pair of retro titles ...
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.
While not quite as ickle or adorable as the 
