Nintendo Wii Fanboy

We're just going to have to give up on this whole Bionic Commando thing. Capcom can't get it on Virtual Console, and, according to statements made by Christian Svensson, VP of Strategic Planning & Business Development, the downloadable Bionic Commando: Rearmed isn't going to happen on Wii either (though you can pretend it is, thanks to Mike!) He said on the Capcom forum that because of WiiWare's stringent file size limits, "It would not be an inexpensive process and I'm not sure the result would be completely satisfactory."

The same is true of Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, or, as it would be known on the Wii, Super Street Fighter II Turbo Remix: "It couldn't ever be Wiiware, even at 480p." Although Svensson offers the faint notion of a future disc-based release. "We'll see how it does on its current platforms and then maybe we'll see." That's a lot of seeing!

In the same info-tastic forum post, Svensson mused once more on the possibility of Street Fighter IV. "In theory, with reasonable downgrades in visual quality including resolution reduction, yes." He raised the very valid concern of how to map the traditional Street Fighter control scheme to the Wiimote and Nunchuk (Tatsunoko uses a different control scheme). Our answer: arcade stick bundle. Look at Wii Fit, Wii Play, and Guitar Hero: Wii games with bundled peripherals sell fantastically.

[Via Nintendo Everything]

"Let me tell you about the game I played when I was still young..." Growing up, I was familiar with the name Bionic Commando, although I'd never played it for myself. I've had lots of conversations with friends about old games, and they'd reminisced about some game with a guy that swung around on a grappling arm. Yet strangely enough, none of my friends could remember what the game was called. When it was announced that Bionic Commando was to receive a re-imagining, I finally was able to match that game my friends loved, with the title. With the hype for the new game, I caught my first glimpse of the old 8-bit classic in promotional videos, and I really felt like I'd missed out on something special. But my disappointment quickly turned to anticipation when it was later revealed that the game would also be remade in 2D for download on all the popular home consoles!

(raucous cheering)

But not the Wii!

(sound of crickets)

Long-time Nintendo fans love to remember the old times, but we don't hold dear the memories of being repeatedly snubbed out of multiplatform ports. With GlovePIE running and Wiimote in hand, I turned to the PC version of Bionic Commando: Rearmed.

This is a pretty juicy rumor. Apparently (as evidenced by the image to the right), Konami digs what Capcom's doing with reviving the retro. You know, Mega Man 9 and Bionic Commando: REarmed? Konami is all about it.

So, the rumor goes (from the rumor section of the September 2008 issue of EGM) that they're thinking about doing a little bit of reviving to one of their older 2D franchises. Talk around Wii Fanboy HQ has us leaning toward three different franchises that could get the treatment: Rocket Knight Adventures, Zombies Ate my Neighbors and Legend of the Mystical Ninja (Ganbare Goemon). Of these three, we're pretty much leaning toward Rocket Knight Adventures, although some of us would like to see Ganbare Goemon get some love.

What's your guess?

One of the many reasons we love Bionic Commando and want to see it on the Virtual Console so badly is for its awesome, 8-bit soundtrack. So, when Capcom released Simon Viklund's album for Bionic Commando Rearmed, which reworks the NES songs into a more modern-day sound, we had to have it.

We know that Rearmed isn't coming to the Wii, despite Wii gamers' pleas and petitions. Still, there's no denying the NES roots in Viklund's music, and just because we're not getting the actual game doesn't mean we should deprive ourselves of some great tunes, does it?

In fact, the folks at Capcom are releasing the soundtrack even though they think they'll lose money on it, simply because they love and believe in the music that much. After listening to it, we have to say that we can see why. If you're interested, you can get the full soundtrack on iTunes or at Sumthing Digital for $9.99 (or buy the tracks you like separately for $0.99).

[Via Capcom's Blog]