We don't see many features about individual Virtual Console games, which is kind of a shame. We love talking about old games, and we kind of thought other people did too. And since we can't download demos, it's beneficial for bloggers to talk up their favorite VC games and let people know what's good, or even what these games are.
That's why we're highlighting this article on Comix Zone over at GayGamer. While their recurring feature isn't always going to be about Virtual Console games (it's about comics-related games), we're happy to point you to it now that it is. And don't forget to check out our own Virtually Overlooked feature every Thursday for the best Virtual Console games that aren't Virtual Console games yet. And let us know if you've found some in-depth VC game features!
It seems that Square Enix isn't quite convinced about the whole Virtual Console thing. In an interview with Nintendo Dream magazine, Square's Shinji Hashimoto was dubious about the prospects for Final Fantasy games on the Virtual Console, stating that the Japanese audience (which is, of course, the audience that matters) needs physical media for their games. And like the responsible, friendly, consumer-oriented company that Square Enix is, they are happy to provide physical copies of Final Fantasy games. Over, and over, and over, and over again. Of course they don't want to sell a $5 copy of NES FF1 when they've got the PSP remake coming out.
We aren't that upset, since they've already released the best game in their library (in Japan and Europe, at least). Go ahead and argue with us. You know Actraiser is way better than Final Fantasy.
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.
Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode isn't exactly a great game. In fact, it's more like an awkward agglomeration of a lot of not-that-great games into one game that is mostly mediocre. But somehow, out of its many imperfect elements, it manages to deliver an impressively James-Bond cool story that motivates players to continue the experience.
Two superb Capcom fighting games are headed to the Virtual Console. Final Fight and the inevitable Street Fighter II Turbo Hyper Fighting have been spotted on the ESRB's list of rated Wii games.
The SNES version of Final Fight lacks co-op play and Guy, but has plenty of "Oh! My car" to satisfy us. Street Fighter II Turbo is just like Street Fighter II, but sped-up, with more moves, more characters, and some bizarre changes made to the color scheme. We aren't sure why we're explaining this, because everyone in the world has played enough Street Fighter II to know the different versions.
Oh, also new on the list was Tecmo's Mighty Bomb Jack. As obscure game advocates, we feel like we should be most excited about this one, but ... yeah, Final Fight is really, really awesome.
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.
This is the second time we've ended up following a theme from week to week in these features-- in this case, we wanted to talk about Ninja Spirit for the Turbografx-16, and didn't remember until we started researching that, like last week's Photograph Boy, Ninja Spirit was developed by IREM.
The best way to describe Ninja Spirit for people familiar with Virtual Console games is "The Legend of Kage, but good." And we say that as fans of Kage.
This week's games have been downloaded and we've given each of them a lengthy play, ready to make a verdict on which games are worth your money and which ones aren't. This week saw us receiving one well-known title, along with two less-known games. For you Turbografx16 fans out there, no luck as the Virtual Console didn't get any games for that system. So, without further ado, read on and see what we thought!
Ben Herman, who runs SNK Playmore USA, is almost as excited about Neo-Geo games on the Virtual Console as we are. In a recent interview, he discussed SNK's VC plans and Nintendo's operation of the system in general.
According to Herman, who, of course, can't give details, SNK expects to release "a certain limited number of titles per month," which is enough to have us cheering, because that's a lot more than the N64 is getting. It's also a much brisker release schedule than the Neo-Geo ever had. The best news, in our opinion? Herman is interested in the Virtual Console as a means of releasing lesser-known and niche games.
SNK isn't sure yet whether the Neo-Geo games on the VC will be the AES home versions or the MVS arcade cartridges. We had no idea there was a difference!
Of course, there has to be bad news, and it's kind of big: Herman says that Nintendo is not letting publishers add online functionality to games, VC or retail, and probably will continue this restriction throughout 2007.
Herman goes on to talk about Nintendo's console library, saying that Nintendo has all of the code for third-party NES and SNES games and needs only permission to release them. Which means Konami officially has no excuse for the fact that we haven't played Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse on the Wii yet. Konami, you're on notice!
[Update: added the sad, sad news about online games.]
The Virtual Console is reallystarting to heatup! We can't believe it, but it looks like American and European fanboys are going to get a great game before Japan does: Namco's gory Turbografx-16 brawler Splatterhouse. This is definitely one of the threebestgamesever about a masked parapsychology major trapped in a haunted mansion and forced to destroy lots of disgusting monsters with a board, and it's coming sometime in March!
We're also getting Double Dungeons-- but as Turbografx-16 lovers, we're trying to put a positive spin on this news article, and would prefer to talk more about Splatterhouse.
European Wii Shop users got a pleasant surprise: a secret area inside the Virtual Console section! To access it, follow these simple steps:
Be European (depending on your circumstances, this is either the easiest or hardest step).
Download the latest update.
Click on the little smiley emoticon.
So far, there's not much other than a blurb about Kirby (a "blurby"), but it's going to be a trivia channel about Nintendo characters! An encyclopedia of gaming! Between this and the Virtual Console, the Wii is on the way to becoming the premiere console for librarians.
Jump over the post break to enter GERMAN YOUTUBE DEMONSTRATION ZONE!
Now for a reminder of what gaming looked like when the Virtual Console was a collection of actual consoles: these scans of old Sears Roebuck catalogs almost have us printing them out, circling the TurboDuo, and sending the page to our parents just in case they still need any Christmas shopping ideas for Christmas 1992.
These catalogs looked cheesy to us back then too, but there's really a magic about them that is lost in game retail materials these days. Maybe it's just because the early 16-bit "system wars" were one of the most amazing periods in gaming history. Which side did you take in Genesis vs. Turbografx-16?
Welcome to our new weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.
This week, we'd like to talk about Snatcher, a Sega CD game from Konami released in the US in 1994. The game was also released in Japan for the MSX2, PC8801, PC Engine CD-Rom, Playstation, and Saturn.
Why the game hasn't been announced for Virtual Console yet: Not too long ago, the obvious answer to this question would have been "because it is a graphical text adventure." Luckily, however, the DS has changed that, bringing an era where graphicaltext adventures are the subjects of rabid fandom. What hasn't changed is that Snatcher is a Sega CD game, and Nintendo has made no announcements regarding support for CD systems. The size of the files may be prohibitive, although it would be possible to save space by compressing the sound and music.
ABC News' "Be Seen Be Heard" is preparing a segment about the Wii, in which they'll be interviewing Amber McCollum, a product tester at Nintendo. In a very lazy Web 2.0 move, they're asking viewers to send in videos containing questions for Ms. McCollum.
So if you have any questions about the Virtual Console, please send them in! And if you happen to accidentally, you know, say the name of the site, we wouldn't object.
We personally want to know about the development process: are the games basically dumped ROMS or do they have to be reprogrammed for the Wii? If so, why? These are the best questions we can think of, because repeating "RONDO OF BLOOD" over and over again while staring intensely into a camera isn't a question.
We recently brought you the news that Nintendo was still open to the possibility of bringing import Virtual Console games to the American Wii. In an interview with Eurogamer, a Nintendo UK spokesperson indicated that they're open to the possibility in PAL-land, as well. This possibility has added significance for European gamers, because it opens the door not only to Japanese and US games previously unreleased in Europe, but superior, faster NTSC versions of previously released games (PAL versions of which suffer fromslowdown even now on the VC).
So, European Fanboys, what would you like to see on the Virtual Console? Rondo of Blood? How about Dracula X? Or maybe that Castlevania game that only got released in Japan on the PC Engine Super CD Rom? The possibilities are endless.
Takahashi Meijin ("Master Takahashi") is the nickname of a longtime Hudson employee named Toshiyuki Takahashi, who became famous in Japan for his ability to tap buttons really, really quickly -- up to 16 times a second. This amazing power lent itself to videogames, naturally.
After making a few TV appearances, and becoming a Hudson mascot of sorts (along with that adorable bee), he lent his appearance to videogames, too. Specifically, the Adventure Island games, which were called Takahashi Meijin no Boukenjima ("Takahashi Meijin's Adventure Island") in Japan. When you play New Adventure Island on the Virtual Console-- which you should do, as soon as possible-- you're playing as a grass-skirted Takahashi Meijin.
Hudson's US branch has posted an interview with this legendary figure, which is not only interesting for the novelty of being an interview with a videogame character, but because he really knows his stuff about Hudson and their history.
We can't wait until they post an interview with Air Zonk.
In our fit of righteous anger over the idea of delaying Metroid Prime 3again, we missed an interesting aside Reggie dropped at the recent DICE conference -- the idea that old Nintendo Power content may turn up on the Virtual Console. While the idea of reliving some of our greatest memories of gaming journalism is intriguing, we're as yet undecided on how we feel about this one. We could go either way, depending on how it's offered. We are, after all, largely concerned with hoarding our money like the misers we are for games ... but if the price is right, we could throw down with some retro mags. How about you?
It seems that 
Welcome to our weekly feature, 
European 
Update: screens!
