We may not have recommended Alex Kidd in Miracle World for everyone, but many of us are still charmed by the colorful adventures of Sega's erstwhile mascot. The boss battles are one of the most adorable aspects of the game -- they're played out in the arena of rock, paper, scissors.
In theory, this is cute and quirky, but bosses based on random chance can get frustrating quickly. Good thing, then, the opponents' throws aren't random at all. The bosses are pre-scripted! There's evidence of an element of randomness: the bosses' attacks in later games will be different depending on what you throw in earlier games. But if you adhere to the following solutions list, you'll sail through the janken games. The two moves next to each name correspond to the two rounds involved in each battle.
Stone Head: Rock, Scissors Scissors Head: Scissors, Paper Paper Head: Rock, Scissors Stone Head 2: Paper, Paper Scissors Head 2: Rock, Rock Paper Head 2: Rock, Scissors Janken the Great: Paper, Paper
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.
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.
Japan's Virtual Console releases today are, literally, infinitely more awesome than our domestic lineup, because they exist. This week was Nintendo of America's turn to take a break from VC games to promote WiiWare, so any Virtual Console game that came out in Japan this week looks that much better in comparison to nothing.
Even without the easy advantage, the lineup is not bad at all. Bubble Bobble is a total classic, as is Alex Kidd in Miracle World. And Martial Champion, Konami's Street Fighter II-era fighter, is the kind of previously unknown oddity we love to see on the VC.
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?
Sega's one-time flagship game, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, was recently revealed as one of the planned May VC releases in Japan. According to an OFLC rating, it's headed to Australia as well, and from there ... the other regions, probably! The Sega Master System platformer was once built into SMS systems, and now thanks to the Virtual Console, it'll be built into Wiis as well. That's kind of an interesting historical parallel.
Alex Kidd is notable for pioneering the rock-paper-scissors style gameplay seen in many fighting games and RPGs, in which certain attacks are especially effective against certain opposing attacks or defenses. Except in Alex Kidd, instead of elemental weaknesses or high/low attacks, boss fights were literally rock-paper-scissors.
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*
This week sees another duo of titles available for play. One of them is N64 title Cruis'n USA, while the other launches a new system on the Virtual Console for North America. Hit up the video above for your usual dose, then head past the break for some added fun.
Looks like we've been fooled! If today is going to be any kind of indicator for the future, all Sega Master System games won't be the cheap 400 Wii Points per download we initially thought. Instead, the games will cost the same as NES titles. Eh, what's an extra dollar, right?
Today's Virtual Console releases are:
Cruis'n USA (N64, 1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Wonder Boy (Sega Master System, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
As usual, be sure to stop back later for our video wrap-up of this week's Virtual Console games.
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."
We're so glad Sega Master System support came to the Virtual Console, because now Australian Wii owners are going to have a chance to play ... another Wonder Boy game! Even better -- it's another duplicate game, too! According to a new listing on the OFLC ratings page, the first Sega Master System game to appear on the Virtual Console in Australia will be the original Wonder Boy.
If you like Hudson's Adventure Island, chances are quite good you'll like Wonder Boy -- because Adventure Island is the exact same game with a different character. It's great that Master System games are coming out in regions other than Japan, but do we really need another conduit for duplicateWonder Boy games? Really, we like the idea of releasing all kinds of variants and permutations, but let's get more original games out first.
Sure, Hokuto no Ken (aka Fist of the North Star, aka Black Belt on American Master Systems) isn't exactly a red-carpet debut for Sega's 8-bit system (that would be Phantasy Star or maybe one of the Alex Kidd games), but there are certainly worseways for the Sega Master System to make its first appearance the Virtual Console lineup. Hokuto no Ken is joined in Sega solidarity by a Mega Drive shooter called Gleylancer, made by Cho Aniki creators and frequent VC supporters Masaya.
Much like Hokuto no Ken is the big Sega news today, overshadowing Gleylancer, the PC Engine CD version of Military Madness, Neo Nectaris, is going to drown out any attention the Power Eleven soccer game was going to get. Which, to be fair, wasn't much. But even though one of them is a soccer game, it's worth noting that four games came out this week in Japan, without any contributions from stingy old Nintendo.
Hokuto no Ken (Master System, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)
When virtual console support for the Sega Master System was announced, this blogger jumped, screamed, and did some sort of "happy dance" around the room. After being told that this was an odd reaction to news about the Sega Master System, of all things, the celebration calmed down a little.
Was it odd, though, fellow video game aficionados? What was your reaction? Joy, indifference, or perhaps even repulsion are all possible answers (though that last one might make me shed a tear or two). Did you ever own the Master System? If so, what games are you most looking forward to? And if not, does that make you more or less excited to finally have the chance to play some old-school titles?
Also, let's not forget about the inclusion of Game Gear games. Not that we're trying to sway your answer here ... okay, we totally are.
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 Zonefor 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.
We may not have recommended Alex Kidd in Miracle World for everyone, but many of us are still charmed by the colorful adventures of Sega's erstwhile mascot. The boss battles are one of the most adorable aspects of the game -- they're played out in the arena of rock, paper, scissors. 
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.
If you think we've already forgiven Nintendo for totally neglecting the PAL Virtual Console 
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