Okay, maybe we're all doom and gloom about Konami's decision to take the Castlevania franchise into the fighting game genre, but we were fine with things just the way they were. We could play a billion Dawn of Sorrows and be content for the remainder of our days. Times change, though, and so do games.
Castlevania Judgment is a reality. But, beneath its graphics and long list of Castlevania alum that comprise the game's roster of playable characters, there are some things that just might surprise you. For one, the game is totally Wi-Fi compatible. You can take the game online for some head-to-head action. Also, the title will work with the upcoming DS title, Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia, to unlock "bonus gameplay content." And those motion-sensitive controls? Yeah, they were spot-on. You'll be attacking with gesture-based controls, utilizing both the Wiimote and nunchuk.
Castlevania Judgment will release this fall for the Wii.
We were really excited about the Wii Castlevania game. We imagined a nice-looking side-scroller with detailed 2D graphics, or possibly a PSP-Wii port of the Rondo of Blood remake (one time we'd be reasonably okay with a PSP-Wii port). What we didn't expect was a motion-controlled 3D fighter.
Castlevania and 3D have a rocky history together, and an overwhelming majority of fighting games are terrible (basically all of them not made by Capcom, Namco, Sega, or Arc -- and even some of those companies'). How faithful are you in Konami? Will the Castlevania fighting game turn out better than the homemade Soul Calibur III version seen after the break?
Consider this a sort of anti-VC Advantage, because it covers cheats that don't exist. If you're reading The VC Advantage and you own (or plan to own) the new VC release of Samurai Shodown, it's probably occurred to you to head over to GameFAQs and look for additional content that can be unlocked. If you've done so, you'd be pleased to find codes to unlock three additional characters.
You'd then be disappointed after trying them, because they're in error. The Shiki and Zankuro unlock codes originate from Samurai Spirits! on the Neo Geo Pocket Color, and the code to unlock the Kuroko judge character is from the Neo Geo Samurai Shodown II. It's easy to understand how the NGPC codes got mixed in: search engines and other automated systems wouldn't be able to tell between Samurai Spirits! and Samurai Spirits (the Japanese title for Shodown), making mixups easy.
You're free to use those saved five minutes however you please!
The VC Advantage is a weekly look at the secrets inside games -- not just cheat codes, but assorted trivia and oddities. We aim to bring back the feeling of the hint columns from game magazines, except when we do something else.
This week's Japanese Virtual Console releases are, unquestionably, awesome. Art of Fighting 2 may not be as awesome as the others, but just being the least awesome game in this week's lineup is still pretty great. Nintendo of Japan is just now getting around to offering Blazing Lazers, which we got in May. Japan is actually getting the U.S. version of the game; the Japanese version, Gunhed, was based on a movie license to which Hudson apparently no longer has the rights.
As great (and interesting) as Blazing Lazers is, the Famicom release, however, is the best of the bunch. It's Super Dodge Ball. It may be extraordinarily flickery and simplistic, but the gameplay still holds up.
Plättchen: Twist 'n' Paint was the first WiiWare game announced, back in July of last year. According to the ESRB, it's (at least eligible to be) twisting 'n' painting its way to the Wii Shop any time now, having been officially rated. Also rated: King of the Monsters, SNK's totally great Neo Geo monster fighting game, which was released on Japan's Virtual Console two weeks ago.
It's impossible to predict when these games will actually show up on the VC and WiiWare, but we're hoping that King of the Monsters will appear soon. It's been too long since we controlled a rock monster throwing tanks at a giant guy. Too long.
If you think we've already forgiven Nintendo for totally neglecting the PAL Virtual Console last week, you can think again, sunshine. Nope, Ninty is officially in our bad books, and no amount of sweet talk, flowers, weekends away, or singing telegrams can let the company out of the doghouse right now. Frankly, we've never felt so unwan -- eh, what's that you say? Five games? Two of which prominently feature ninjas? Oh, go on then.
Alex Kidd in Miracle World -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points
Fatal Fury 2 -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points
Ninja Combat -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points
Last Ninja 2: Back with a Vengeance -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points *
Nebulus -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points *
* Unavailable in Oz, we're afraid, but look at the bright side: footage of all five games is past the break! Actually, we're not sure how that's meant to console you, or how those two facts are even related. Ridiculous, really.
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.
Recurringrumors have been flying about for some time now concerning the possible release of Street Fighter IV on the Wii. It was never a long shot to hope the port would be made, but producer Yoshinori Ono pretty much summed it up speaking at Capcom's Captivate 08: "The fact of the matter is we haven't planned for a Wii version yet."
Plans? Since when is this planning thing important for game development? Well, Ryu's totally badass Shoryuken is always unplanned, and comes out of nowhere when you least expect it. Maybe when the time is right, we'll get a face full of hard-hitting SFIV Wii news. For now ... no plans.
Despite their ubiquity, the majority of Pokémon games manage to maintain a high standard, even when they abandon the more traditional Pokémans formula. Pokémon Puzzle League, for example, is one of the best examples of a Pokémon game that isn't a Pokémon game, and is comfortably worth its 1000 Wii Point price tag.
A pair of Eikichi Kawasaki-designed Neo Geo titles round off the week in Europe and Australia -- Samurai Shodown is one of the Neo Geo's best fighting games, while Burning Fight is another addition to the already oversubscribed (on the VC, at least) dude-smashinggenre.
Pokémon Puzzle League -- Nintendo 64 -- 1000 Wii Points
According to an apparently reliable, but unnamed, source, Vooks reports that Super Smash Bros. Brawl will be released in Australia on June 26. That's just one day before Europe's release (and still several months after both the U.S. and Japan, of course) but what a difference a day makes.
For that one glorious day, Australian Wii owners will be able to feel the pride of not being the last to receive a game. And it's such a big game! Of course, Aussie Wii fans got a taste of not-lastness with Mario Kart Wii, but timeliness is addictive.
Congratulations, Australia. That is, if it's real. If this turns out not to be true or if Nintendo delays Brawlagain, we can only say sorry, Australia.
We immediately cried out, "Bullshots!" when we sighted these screenshots released with Battle Rage: The Robot Wars' Wii press release today, but then we remembered that a PC version of the fighter is also in the works.
With a quick comparison comparing the image resolution with other screens for Wii games (and a bit of common sense), we were able to confirm our suspicions that these shots are, indeed, too good to be true. That said, if graphical detail isn't a primary concern for you, jump into the gallery for three new screenshots of the four-player arena combat game.
And, while the images might not be for the Wii release, there's no doubt that this European boxart is! The cover actually looks badass, you know, despite Data Design Interactive's out-of-place Popcorn Arcade branding.
Details about the actual game: 20 weapons, 10 arenas, 8 robots, special melee/ranged weapons for each robot, customizable robots, arcade mode, team battles, 2036 setting, yadda yadda yadda, convicts trying to earn their freedom by battling mechs for a bored society's entertainment.
Were you one of the easily offended, outraged souls who took umbrage with Zero Punctuation's more-than-scathing review of Super Smash Bros. Brawl? If so, then Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw has some feedback to your feedback. That's right: rather than dedicating this week's Zero Punctuation to the usual misanthropic, ranting reviews that we love so much, Yahtzee has answered the numerous critics of his Brawl review, which attracted over a thousand comments on the Escapist's site (and quite a few on here).
Hit the break for the full, NSFW version, and prepare yourself for a chilling insight into the minds of the most irrational fanboys.
The latest Nintendo of Europe release schedule contains fairly awesome news for the neglected continent, as there's finally a concrete release date for Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Nintendo's wildly popular fighter is hitting stores in the region on June 27th, and there's more happy tidings, with WiiWare and Nintendo Channel set to launch on May 20th and May 30th respectively.
There's little else in the list that both interests us and has a specific date (de Blob and Blast Works have both had a vague "Q2 2008" slapped next to them, though it appears that Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors will be out on May 9th), but heck, why are we yammering to you about this? Check out the latest European dates for yourself past the break!
Oh dear. This isn't going to be pretty. We're going to hazard a guess that Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw's opinion of Super Smash Bros. Brawl doesn't exactly coincide with the view taken by most of our readers -- frankly, it sounds like he hated every minute of Nintendo's scrapper.
But before you start punching out that hate-filled, trembling-with-rage email to the man, stop right there and hear him out, because you may just find yourself agreeing with some of his points -- even we had to concede that a number of his grievances have bugged us in the past. With that in mind, take some deep breaths and head past the break for one of the most venomous Zero Punctuation reviews to date, and the usual dose of NSFW language.
We know that Street Fighter IV is possible for the Wii, but it looks like at least one person has decided it's going to happen. Is it a typo? Wishful thinking? Someone with advance knowledge? There's no telling, but the game was listed as a Wii title on the back of what appears to be a promotional DVD packed-in with Japanese manga magazine Champion Red. There, in a list of other Capcom titles, are the words Wii owners may be longing to see.
We're not getting our hopes up over this one -- at least, not much -- but on the other hand, after what Capcom said about putting the title anywhere it will fit, a Wii release does seem likely. We just doubt this is the proof, so put your Classic Controller down and just be patient.
Any way you slice it, Konami bringing Castlevania to the Wii is big news. If you thirst for more, check out Born for Wii, in which Castlevania was the latest title to be featured. Konami also has some other Wii titles in the works, such as Lost in Blue: Shipwrecked! and Rock Revolution.
If you think we've already forgiven Nintendo for totally neglecting the PAL Virtual Console 
