Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Don't forget that the latest edition of Virtually Free is winding down to a close, and you've only got a few more chances to get your name into the hat! Want to win a couple of Sega Master System Games? Head over to the original post. Want to know what they are? Here you go:

• Wonder Boy (500 Wii points/$5)
• Fantasy Zone (500 Wii points/$5)

Get on it!

It's back to the good ol' Virtual Console for this week's Virtually Free, with a pair of games chosen by none other than Ms. Candace Savino. You know what Candace likes? The Sega Master System -- which means we've got two of those three currently available games up for grabs this week:

• Wonder Boy (500 Wii points/$5)
• Fantasy Zone (500 Wii points/$5)

One lucky reader is going to walk away with both games. Want to be that one glorious individual? 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 telling us which of these two you're more interested in. 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 calendar day between now and Monday, June 30; 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.

We've been drooling over the pictures of The King of Games' "Get Ready" line of t-shirts since 2006. Now we might have the chance to drool over an actual shirt! The company has announced that they're now selling the gorgeous t-shirts, featuring designs celebrating iconic Sega classics After Burner, OutRun, and Fantasy Zone, worldwide.

Unfortunately, shirts of this mindblowing quality come at a premium. KOG is selling the Fantasy Zone and OutRun shirts for 5040 yen ($50) each, and the After Burner design for 5775 yen ($57).

On an unrelated note, would anyone like to donate to the "Buy JC a Fantasy Zone shirt" fund? Don't mind the name -- the money goes to feed orphans or something.

You might have noticed a bit of a change to our video coverage of this week's Virtual Console games. You see, no more are we confined to off-screen recording of the Virtual Console releases. That's right, we've upgraded to technology widely available since 2004. We're so modern!

Hit up the new video format above and then head past the break for the rest of our usual goodness.

Following up Friday's releases for Europe, the North American Virtual Console receives a familiar title this week. On top of that, it's just more Turrican.

This week's Virtual Console releases are:

• Fantasy Zone (Sega Master System, 1 -2 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Mega Turrican (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

"Nintendo, with this week's four Virtual Console releases you are really spoiling us!"

We feel extra special this week, because kindly old Uncle Nintendo has lavished the PAL Virtual Console (or at least the European Virtual Console) with four new titles, including another two Commodore 64 additions (both of which are cracking), and the first Master System games to reach Australia. Unusually, all four are worth a look, but Impossible Mission has a special room all of its own in this blogger's heart. As usual, there's footage of all titles past the break.

• California Games -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points*
• Impossible Mission -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points*
• Wonder Boy -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points
• Fantasy Zone -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points

* Europe only, for now -- sorry, Aussies!

Upon reading the title of this post, some of you may have been bouncing off the walls like this blogger, while the rest of you probably shrugged and moved on with your lives.

If you don't realize how great these two games are, though, just trust us when we tell you that they are. We'd probably be excited for any Sega Master System games to hit our VCs, but these two happen to be some of our favorites. Our childhoods would have been empty, barren wastelands without them.

Granted, Wonder Boy came out ages ago on the Virtual Console in the guise of Adventure Island. Yet, even if you aren't incredibly biased like us to see the option based on the original arcade classic as the superior choice (elitist snobs that we are), Wonder Boy will cost you $1 less than the Takahashi Meijin-infused port. That's right -- in an incredible show of awesomeness, Sega is only charging 400 Wii Points for Master System games. (Note: Sega used tricky wording in their press release, stating that "prices start at 400 Wii™ Points for SEGA Master System titles." This means that the games announced today might cost more.)

Wonder Boy aside, though, Fantasy Zone is a must buy. The crazy stages and enemies alone make this game a memorable experience, but it's also a fun side-scroller with super-cool music.

Of course, take our opinions with a grain of salt -- sometimes it's hard to see through nostalgia-tinted glasses. But, what we really mean by that is buy Fantasy Zone.

No word on exactly when these games will hit North American VCs, but Sega promises "soon."





[Via press release]

Four games hit the Virtual Console this week in Japan, none of which cost more than 600 Wii Points. Some of them may even be worth those small prices! The Famicom's original 2D fighting game, Joy Mech Fight stands out; though we have no idea if the game's any good, we suddenly have an interest in Nintendo-developed fighting games. Fantasy Zone is, of course, one of the Sega Master System's best: a free-scrolling (Defender-style) shooter in a super-colorful, cute environment.

For us, however, the most notable title on the Virtual Console this week is City Connection, and not because it's a good game. City Connection was in my personal NES collection for just a short time before it got "temporarily" loaned out; however, even after having played it only for a week or two, and after 20 years, that incessant music is still completely fresh in my mind. It won't go away, ever.

• City Connection (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Joy Mech Fight (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Fantasy Zone (Master System, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
• Psycho Chaser (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

Nintendo has updated their Virtual Console page with the planned releases for March. The list contains 10 titles, meaning that we should expect two or three a week. Oh, well. There are some very cool releases this month, including a Japan-only Famicom fighting game from Nintendo (!) called Joy Mech Fight. Other high-profile games include the first Metroid, which will be the Famicom Disk System version and therefore feature even better music, and Fantasy Zone, the second promised Sega Master System games.

We're personally excited about the inclusion of Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun, not because it's a good game, but because it's a Virtually Overlooked game. We win again.

Famicom:

• Metroid
• Star Luster
  
• Joy Mecha Fight
  
• Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun
• City Connection

Sega Master System:

• Fantasy Zone
  

Super Famicom:

• Super Gussun Oyoyo

PC Engine:

• Psycho Chaser
• Bomberman: Panic Bomber
• Mr. Heli no Daibouken (Battle Chopper)

Awesome news for people who love 8-bit games, or just wonderful things: Sega Master System games will be offered on the Japanese Virtual Console starting in February, with other territories to follow. It looks like the base price for games will be 500 points, with the customary 100 tacked on for licenses. Sega Mark III games and even Game Gear games will be offered for download -- marking the first handheld games available through the VC, all thanks to the Game Gear and the Master System using identical hardware.

The first two offerings? Fist of the North Star for 600 points (yay?) and Fantasy Zone for 500 points (yay!) Neither Nintendo nor Sega have updated their Virtual Console pages to reflect this development, so we'll get to freak out again when that happens. For now we can just dream about what the future holds. Remember ALF? He could be back -- in Virtual Console form.