Nintendo Wii Fanboy

Thanks to the Virtual Console, the Wii could become the best console for shmups since the Saturn, yet not many publishers have released original shoot-'em-ups on old-fashioned discs. To date, the exceptional Blast Works has been the pick of a small group that also contains Castle of Shikigami III, Monkey King, and Milestone's Ultimate Shooting Collection.

All of which means Ocean Commander will face a depeleted formation of opponents when it launches in Q1 2009. Set on a waterlogged Earth in 3011, the game sees you piloting the Ocean Commander ship, a dextrous craft that can change form, though precisely which forms isn't mentioned in the press release. The title uses the Wiimote and Nunchuk (which allows for 360° aiming), and there will be a dozen upgradeable weapons, 21 levels, and 30 stages. Of course, such stats can't compete with Blast Works' infinite number of levels and stages, but count us interested.


[Via press release]

After the craziness of E3, we were ready to get back to a bit of normalcy. And what could be more normal than some shmups being released on the Virtual Console? Nothing, that's what! So, hit up the video above for the games in motion, then be sure to head past the break for the rest.

You can certainly make an argument that the Wii doesn't need any more digital side-scrolling shooters, since a plethora of options are offered on the Virtual Console. Yet, we think when it comes to the Gradius series, you might be willing to make an exception.

Konami announced that Gradius ReBirth will hit the Japanese WiiWare service this summer. We really don't know much about the game, but the lone screenshot (above) shows that the classic sprites will be returning. What else do you need to know, though, other than that it's Gradius? As long as the price is right, this is likely a "must buy" for shoot 'em up fans.

[Via Arcade Renaissance]

If you're the type to never pay retail on anything, especially video games, the like-minded misers at the Cheap Ass Gamers community have found two worthwhile Wii deals for you:

• Bully: Scholarship Edition - $26.99 (Amazon)
• Castle of Shikigami III - $19.99 (GameStop)

If you haven't looked into shoot-em-up Castle of Shikigami III before, make sure you check out the videos we posted a couple of months ago -- there's a flying butler! Amazon also has CSI: Hard Evidence on sale for $19.99, but we have a feeling that not many of you will be too excited to pick up this video game adaptation of a poor man's Law & Order.

[Via CAG]

With the WiiWare update yesterday (not to be confused with the European and Aussie update), we decided that we needed to get our review on with Hudson's Star Soldier R. Of course, you all know that we fell in love with the title upon first seeing it and anxiously awaited its release. Now that it's here, is it worth your hard-earned money? Read on and find out!

Hudson must have been reading our diary, because Star Soldier R is coming to the WiiWare service in the United States. The news arrives via a press release that has just made its way into the inbox of our overlords at Joystiq and we couldn't be happier. We love to shoot stuff (in video games) and we can't wait to shoot stuff in Star Soldier R!

Star Soldier R will be releasing alongside the launch of the WiiWare service next month.

If you're anything like us, then the upcoming release of WiiWare is going to mean a smaller bank account total and less time on your hands. After all, there are several quality titles that will be available through the service, one of which is Hudson's Star Soldier R.

We don't know if it's the shmup fan in us or the interesting take on level structure (time-based challenges compared to the usual progression of advancing through a set stage), but we're completely smitten with the game. Thankfully, IGN uploaded some new videos to watch, which should help us deal with the waiting.

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.

Though its potential can't be denied, Nintendo's Wii Ware channel, an upcoming download service for new Wii games, didn't impress us much with the seemingly low-budget titles announced for it so far. Nintendo amended that worriment today at its Tokyo conference by revealing a lineup of impressive projects in progress, turning our "Excitement Level" knob to eleven, one measure greater than what we previously thought the mechanism allowed.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Little King and the Promised Land (1500 Wii Points, March), a "country-building sim," stands out from the bunch, promising an exclusive side story which takes place after the original GameCube game. This marks the fourth entry to the series and the second Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles title announced for the Wii. Square Enix has already made a teaser site for you to load up and immediately close once you've realized that there's almost nothing there yet.

Hudson, having kept things on and poppin' on the Virtual Console side for some time now, demonstrated its commitment to the new service by announcing new games like Bomberman, Star Soldier R, and Joysound, the last of which will be a karaoke title. Namco Bandai also chimed in with Mojipittan, a Japanese word puzzle game.

As for Nintendo's contributions to the Wii Ware channel, the company announced Dr. Mario (!!!), Pokemon Farm, Puzzloop for Everyone, and Maruboushikaku, all of which appearing to have some form of Mii integration. You can preview screenshots for those titles at the Famitsu links below.

Read - FFCC: The Little King and the Promised Land teaser site
Read - FFCC: The Little King and the Promised Land screenshots
Read - Star Soldier R screenshots
Read - Mojipittan screenshots
Read - Dr. Mario, Pokemon Farm, Puzzloop for Everyone, and Maruboushikaku screenshots

It's Sunday, and you know what that means -- a new edition of Promotional Consideration! Well, that's what it would mean were this post on DS Fanboy, but since the sign we're featuring is for a Virtual Console title, this will have to be a Promotional Consideration article only in spirit.

We haven't come across many Virtual Console advertisements in the states; in fact, we haven't come across any at all. We're reminded of this travesty every morning when we see the lines of blood soaked through VC fanatic JC Fletcher's shirt, traces of his nightly self-flagellation rituals wherein he begs his retro-video-gaming gods to deliver us more ads for classic titles.

The Gradius/Nemesis sign pictured above was found at the Musashi-Urawa train station in Saitama, Japan late last May. When was the last time you saw an ad for a shoot-em-up displayed in a public space? As much as we'd love to see Virtual Console advertisements and posters of enlarged screenshots from 2D games brought over to the US, especially for JC's sake, we doubt that Nintendo of America will ever follow suit.