Thirty-eight Virtual Console games, three days early.
The first batch of Virtual Console games for the Japanese market popped up yesterday on the Wii Shop. Of course, most people will not have access to them until the launch on December 2nd. The first collection of titles only included games from Nintendo systems, but today the Shop was updated again with Mega Drive (Genesis), PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16), and third-party titles, bringing the total to thirty-eight, which is already more than we'll see stateside until sometime next year.
All Famicom (NES), Mega Drive, and PC Engine games are playable with the Wii Remote, Classic Controller, and GameCube Controller. Super Famicom (SNES) and Nintendo 64 games are playable with the Classic Controller and GameCube Controller.
All currently released games were given an "A" rating by CERO, which is the Japanese equivalent of an ESRB "Everyone" rating, except for Street Fighter II, which received a B rating (12+) due to violence.
Famicom games cost 500 points each, Mega Drive and PC Engine games cost 600 points each, Nintendo 64 games cost 1000 points a piece, and Super Famicom games each cost 800 points, with the exception of Zelda III, which costs 900 points.
Notably, the version of The Legend of Zelda being made available is the Famicom Disk System version, which featured enhanced sound compared to the NES version. Super Mario 64 appears to be the rumble-enhanced version, though as of now rumble is not supported.
While it is possible that even more games will be posted between now and launch, Japanese gamers should already be pleased by the launch availability. The full set of titles is listed below.
Game | System | Original Release | Publisher | Players |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ice Hockey | Famicom | 1988/01/21 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Akumajou Dracula (Super Castlevania IV) | Super Famicom | 1991/10/31 | Konami | 1 |
Urban Champion | Famicom | 1984/11/14 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Ecco the Dolphin | Mega Drive | 1993/07/30 | Sega | 1 |
F-Zero | Super Famicom | 1990/11/21 | Nintendo | 1 |
Gunstar Heroes | Mega Drive | 1993/09/10 | Sega | 1-2 |
Gradius | Famicom | 1986/04/25 | Konami | 1-2 |
Columns | Mega Drive | 1990/06/30 | Sega | 1-2 |
Gomoku Narabe | Famicom | 1983/08/27 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Golden Axe | Mega Drive | 1989/12/23 | Sega | 1-2 |
Soccer | Famicom | 1985/04/09 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Shadow Dancer | Mega Drive | 1990/12/01 | Sega | 1 |
Necromancer | PC Engine | 1988 | Hudson | 1 |
Project Altered Beast | Mega Drive | 1988/11/27 | Sega | 1-2 |
Street Fighter II | Super Famicom | 1992/06/10 | Capcom | 1-2 |
Space Harrier II | Mega Drive | 1988/10/29 | Sega | 1 |
Super Star Soldier | PC Engine | 1990 | Hudson | 1 |
Super Mario Brothers | Famicom | 1985/09/13 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Super Mario 64 | Nintendo 64 | 1996/06/23 | Nintendo | 1 |
Super Mario World | Super Famicom | 1990/11/21 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Xevious | Famicom | 1984/11/08 | Namco | 1 |
Zelda no Densetsu (The Legend of Zelda) | Famicom | 1996/06/23 | Nintendo | 1 |
Zelda no Densetsu: Kamigami no Triforce (The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past) | Super Famicom | 1991/11/21 | Nintendo | 1 |
Sonic the Hedgehog | Mega Drive | 1991/07/26 | Sega | 1 |
Solomon no Kagi (Solomon's Key) | Famicom | 1986/07/30 | Tecmo | 1 |
Takahashi Meijin no Shin Bouken Jima (New Adventure Island) | PC Engine | 1992 | Hudson | 1 |
Dungeon Explorer | PC Engine | 1989 | Hudson | 1-5 |
Tennis | Famicom | 1984/01/14 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Toejam & Earl | Mega Drive | 1992/03/13 | Sega | 1-2 |
Donkey Kong | Famicom | 1983/07/15 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Donkey Kong Jr. | Famicom | 1983/07/15 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Victory Run | PC Engine | 1987 | Hudson | 1 |
Pinball | Famicom | 1984/02/02 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
PC Genjin (Bonk's Adventure) | PC Engine | 1989 | Hudson | 1 |
Puyo Puyo | Mega Drive | 1992/12/18 | Sega | 1-2 |
Baseball | Famicom | 1983/12/07 | Nintendo | 1-2 |
Bomberman '94 | PC Engine | 1993 | Hudson | 1-5 |
Ristar | Mega Drive | 1995/02/17 | Sega | 1 |