- Wonder Boy (500 Wii points/$5)
- Fantasy Zone (500 Wii points/$5)
Posts with tag wonder-boy
Virtually Free: A masterful reminder
Virtually Free: Mastering the system
- Wonder Boy (500 Wii points/$5)
- Fantasy Zone (500 Wii points/$5)
VC Friday: 'Stay a while ... Stay FOREVER'
"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
VC Tuesday: WOW! YOU LOSE!
That's not a commentary on this week's new Japanese Virtual Console downloads, although if it had been it would have been a total burn. It's actually the famous game-over screen text from ASCII's remarkably ancient-looking Bokosuka Wars, seen above. Bokosuka Wars has been called the "worst console RPG in existence," which, combined with the enthusiastic text, makes it a must-buy for us if it's ever released here.
Volguard II is equally old and old-looking, though it's apparently a bit higher in quality. And Super Wonder Boy is just regular Wonder Boy, which is fine!
- Bokosuka Wars (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
- Volguard II (Famicom, I player, 500 Wii Points)
- Super Wonder Boy (Master System, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 3/31/08
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.
VC Monday Madness: Cruis'n USA and Wonder Boy
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)
April VC releases for Japan: Dracula X leads an awesome month
Other than the amazing Dracula X, there's actually a lot of really great stuff coming out in April. It has actually renewed our faith in the Virtual Console, which is why we're starting to think we're being fooled by a tragic April Fool's Day joke on Nintendo's part. Metal Slug and The Legend of Valkyrie are standouts, as is the incredibly vintage RPG Bokosuka Wars, if only because it reminds us of this shirt.
Famicom:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Sky Kid
- Volguard II
- Bokosuka Wars
- Famicom Detective Club Part II
- Heracles no Eikou IV
- Wonder Boy
- Musha Aleste
- Phantasy Star III
- Phelios
- Kirby 64
- Riot Zone
- Legend of Valkyrie
- Dracula X: Rondo of Blood
- Digital Champion: Battle Boxer
- Monster Lair
- Metal Slug
Wonder Boy and Fantasy Zone coming to North America
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."
Gallery: Fantasy Zone
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Gallery: Wonder Boy
[Via press release]
Finally! A Wonder Boy game on the Virtual Console!
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 duplicate Wonder Boy games? Really, we like the idea of releasing all kinds of variants and permutations, but let's get more original games out first.
[Via Aussie-Nintendo]
VC Tuesday: Adventure Mountain
This week brings another rare (not Rare) Nintendo 64 release, and a seasonally appropriate one at that. 1080 Snowboarding is making its appearance on the Virtual Console for the first time. When it hits the American download service, we look forward to playing it and pretending it's cold outside. Until then, we can just look at screenshots and pretend we're playing it and pretending it's cold outside.The other two releases are distant cousins. Adventure Island is a remake of Westone's original Wonder Boy game with a different protagonist (which, of course, spun off into its own series), and Monster World IV is part of a Wonder Boy spinoff series. It's ... a lot more confusing when they release two of them at a time like this. We're all familiar with Adventure Island, at least.
- Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima (Hudson's Adventure Island) (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
- 1080 Snowboarding (Nintendo 64, 1-2 players, 1000 Wii Points)
- Monster World IV (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
VC Friday: Give the gift of Wonder Boy this Christmas
We've already discussed how much of a holy mess the Wonder Boy series is, and today European and Australian folk will be able to sample a small part of the jumbled franchise, with the release of Monster Lair, as it appeared on the Turbografx-16 (a Sega Mega Drive version appeared a year later, though only in Europe).
Whereas Monster Lair is perhaps the highlight of this last VC update before Christmas, this blogger will admit to having fond recollections of the fighting sequences in NES ice hockey title Blades of Steel, while those of you with an "Extreme!!!" bent may wish to throw 500 Wii points in the direction of Skate or Die!
- Skate or Die! -- NES -- 500 Wii points
- Blades of Steel -- NES -- 500 Wii points
- Monster Lair -- Turbografx -- 800 Wii points
The VC Advantage: The Wonder Mess
There are a lot of games in the Wonder Boy series, but it's not always apparent which games are. For example, there are five Wonder Boy games on the American Virtual Console, a number beaten only by the Mario series and matched by Donkey Kong (according to our quick count). Of those five games, only one has the words "Wonder" and "Boy" in the title. The rest are just similar-looking (or not-so similar) side-scrolling action games, some of which have some light RPG elements. Two of the games on the Virtual Console are the same game. To put it succinctly, it's a big mess -- and one that, thankfully, has been explained for us already. We're just going to provide some codes for those of you who have dared to get into the series.
Wonder Boy on the VC makes us wonder what's going on
If you're a fan of the Wonder Boy series like ourselves, but want to make sure you buy the right game on the Virtual Console (and not two copies of the same game, which is possible), Chris Kohler over at Game|Life fortunately sheds some light on the situation. Hudson seems to enjoy messing with us, so if you're interested in purchasing one of these games, then it's worth checking out Kohler's little guide. Also, we're still waiting for the day that the VC supports the Sega Master System. Hear that, Nintendo? And make it snappy.
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