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Virtual Console Mondays: December 18th

by Evan Burchfield - December 18, 2006, 10:34 pm EST
Total comments: 14

Our take on which games you should buy for Virtual Console this week.

We love the Virtual Console here at Nintendo World Report, but let's be honest: some of the games are just not worth your money. Variety is the spice of life, sure, but some spices are best left on the rack. That's why we've decided to offer our quick take on which games are worth your cash, every Monday night. Consider this your one-stop shop for Virtual Console details. The staff at Nintendo World Report are experts on retro games, so we'll be recommending titles based on our past experiences with them as well as our quick playtime with them on the Wii.

We have invented a three-tiered rating system for Virtual Console games to keep things simple. The ratings are:

Recommended for EveryoneRecommended for Everyone: For those games that anyone can enjoy whether they've played it before or not.

Recommended for FansRecommended for Fans: For the "cult-classic" game that may not be up everyone's alley, but is sure to put a smile on the face of 16 or 8-bit veterans, or those who played the game when it was first released.

Not RecommendedNot Recommended: Games that shouldn't be played by anyone, or games that are horridly over-priced for what you get.

And now for today's titles:


Tennis - NES

Tennis - NES

Released: 10/18/1985

2 Players

Cost: 500 Points

Controllers: Wii Remote, Classic Controller, GameCube Controller

The NES version of Tennis is one of Nintendo's first-generation sports games. The game features singles and doubles modes, five difficulty levels, and the un-heard-of ability to actually control your character's movement around the court. Take that, Wii Tennis!

Not RecommendedWhy would you spend $5 on an old tennis game when you already have a newer version that's more fun? Everyone has Wii Sports Tennis, making NES Tennis redundant. Don't bother with it.


Space Harrier II - Genesis

Space Harrier II - Sega Genesis

Released: 05/29/1988

1 Player

Cost: 800 points

Controllers: Wii Remote, Classic Controller, GameCube Controller

Fantasy-Land falls into crisis now. Space Harrier II is the sequel to the popular arcade game. For those who don't know, it's a forward scrolling shooter that is loosely similar to Star Fox. It features twelve different levels that are each selectable as soon as you fire it up. It controls fine with all three controllers as there is only one action, shooting. All of the buttons do this.

Not RecommendedIt's hard to rationalize spending $8 on a game like this. The main thing it had going for it when it was released was the interesting and almost unheard of use of semi-3D. In this day and age glaring hit detection issues and stale gameplay make it quite boring.


Military Madness - TurboGrafx 16

Military Madness - TurboGrafx 16

Released: 1990

2 Players

Cost: 600 points

Controllers: Wii Remote, Classic Controller, GameCube Controller

Billed by Hudson as the precursor to titles like Advance Wars and Heroes of Might and Magic, Military Madness is a retro turn-based strategy game featuring infantry and lots of tanks duking it out on the moon. Stats for each unit and the terrain play into the game's tactical play. The game controls fine with all three available controllers as only two buttons are used for in-game action.

Recommended for FansIf you like a good turn-based strategy game, you can't go wrong at this price. It's a lot more complex than you'd think, and includes an in-game manual with handy tips. Two players can duke it out as well.

Christmas VC Games Revealed

Finally, SNES games...and good ones, too! Plus: Super Mario Bros. (NES), Toe Jam & Earl (GEN), and more.

North Pole News: Special Christmas Treat on the Way for Wii

This year Santa is getting some competition from another jolly guy with a

big belly and a red cap. We're talking about video game icon Mario™, of

course. As a special holiday surprise for Wii™ owners from Nintendo, the

original Super Mario Bros. ™ game for the Nintendo Entertainment System®

will appear in the Wii Shop Channel and be downloadable for 500 Wii Points.

Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points to

download the game. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at

retail outlets.

The classic game will make Christmas morning extra special, just as it did

more than two decades ago. Super Mario Bros. reigns as perhaps the best-known

and most-played game on any video game system in history. More than 40.2

million copies of the game found their way into homes worldwide. In addition

to Super Mario Bros., other top-notch offerings available on Dec. 25 include:

  • Street Fighter® II: The World Warrior (Super NES®, 1-2 players,

    800 Wii Points): This game revolutionized the fighting-game genre with

    characters that had unique fighting skills, speed, special moves and

    unique endings.

  • Super Castlevania® IV (Super NES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points): Simon

    Belmont uses his trusty whip to fight the powers of evil on his way to

    Dracula's Castle.

  • Toe Jam & Earl™ (Sega Genesis, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): Two

    fun-loving aliens crash on Earth and must find 10 pieces of their

    spaceship so they can get back home to Planet Funkotron.

  • R-TYPE® (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points): This is a

    completely faithful port - right down to the character details - of the

    famous shooting-game masterpiece.

Games available on Jan. 1 include:

  • Baseball (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Play nine innings of

    fierce sandlot competition with classic NES graphics.

  • Urban Champion™ (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points): Don't let the

    big, bad bully of the neighborhood push you around! Players fight for

    the right to walk the street.

In just five weeks the library of classic games available through the Wii

Shop Channel has grown to 33 titles. Every Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific, Nintendo

adds more classic games to the channel.

Talkback

ArbokDecember 18, 2006

Just like to be the first to give the thumbs up on the rating system for the virtual console games, a great addition to these "VC Mondays".

ArbokDecember 18, 2006

Just like to be the first to give the thumbs up on the rating system for the virtual console games, a great addition to these "VC Mondays".

IceColdDecember 18, 2006

I'm with you - reviewing old games on a 10 point scale is lame. The "Recommended" system is the way to go..

IceColdDecember 18, 2006

I'm with you - reviewing old games on a 10 point scale is lame. The "Recommended" system is the way to go..

King of TwitchDecember 18, 2006

Finally an obscure AND archaic NES game to choose from. Bout time.

King of TwitchDecember 18, 2006

Finally an obscure AND archaic NES game to choose from. Bout time.

DAaaMan64December 18, 2006

Damn I love Space Harrier, but it is expensive.

DAaaMan64December 18, 2006

Damn I love Space Harrier, but it is expensive.

WuTangTurtleDecember 18, 2006

Thumbs up to whoever decided to go with the "Recommended" system.

Are u guys going to apply this to the current list of VC games?

WuTangTurtleDecember 18, 2006

Thumbs up to whoever decided to go with the "Recommended" system.

Are u guys going to apply this to the current list of VC games?

MarioDecember 19, 2006

Definitely getting Tennis. How such a classic goes not recommended is beyond me, it's hardly like Wii Tennis at all.

MarioDecember 19, 2006

Definitely getting Tennis. How such a classic goes not recommended is beyond me, it's hardly like Wii Tennis at all.

CericDecember 19, 2006

I like the Recommended System but I don't like the graphic for it. No offense but they horrible break the theme and make me think of the Red Light District.
(Also don't let 18Days see your non-transparent backgrounds.)

I was eying Military Madness. With the price of Turbographx games its much easier to take a risk.

CericDecember 19, 2006

I like the Recommended System but I don't like the graphic for it. No offense but they horrible break the theme and make me think of the Red Light District.
(Also don't let 18Days see your non-transparent backgrounds.)

I was eying Military Madness. With the price of Turbographx games its much easier to take a risk.

Quote

Originally posted by: Mario
Definitely getting Tennis. How such a classic goes not recommended is beyond me, it's hardly like Wii Tennis at all.


I think the problem is that Nintendo has released half a dozen better tennis games since Tennis. Not only Wii Sports Tennis but all the Mario Tennis games, too, and they're on nearly every platform.

Quote

Originally posted by: Mario
Definitely getting Tennis. How such a classic goes not recommended is beyond me, it's hardly like Wii Tennis at all.


I think the problem is that Nintendo has released half a dozen better tennis games since Tennis. Not only Wii Sports Tennis but all the Mario Tennis games, too, and they're on nearly every platform.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 19, 2006

Quote

Originally posted by: WuTangTurtle
Thumbs up to whoever decided to go with the "Recommended" system.

Are u guys going to apply this to the current list of VC games?


I agree, this would be pretty cool, having a section of the site set aside for the Virtual Console, then dividing it up between the systems, then listing the games and mini-reviews for each of 'em...

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 19, 2006

Quote

Originally posted by: WuTangTurtle
Thumbs up to whoever decided to go with the "Recommended" system.

Are u guys going to apply this to the current list of VC games?


I agree, this would be pretty cool, having a section of the site set aside for the Virtual Console, then dividing it up between the systems, then listing the games and mini-reviews for each of 'em...

CericDecember 19, 2006

...and a seperate forum as well so I can ask silly questions like do you actually need to collect all of the Triforce pieces to beat Legend of Zelda? I'm sort of thinking No. Though it's going to be a while till I can get a run though to verify my Hypothesis.

Next Zelda game should have Triforce Pieces again in dungeons.

CericDecember 19, 2006

...and a seperate forum as well so I can ask silly questions like do you actually need to collect all of the Triforce pieces to beat Legend of Zelda? I'm sort of thinking No. Though it's going to be a while till I can get a run though to verify my Hypothesis.

Next Zelda game should have Triforce Pieces again in dungeons.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorDecember 19, 2006

Ceric, I believe there is a room in the very beginning of the 9th dungeon (death mountain) that will only let you pass if you have the completed triforce.

PaleMike Gamin, Contributing EditorDecember 19, 2006

Ceric, I believe there is a room in the very beginning of the 9th dungeon (death mountain) that will only let you pass if you have the completed triforce.

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 19, 2006

What Pale said.

Also, regardless to what you may have heard, Zelda cannot be beaten without a sword... face-icon-small-smile.gif

UncleBobRichard Cook, Guest ContributorDecember 19, 2006

What Pale said.

Also, regardless to what you may have heard, Zelda cannot be beaten without a sword... face-icon-small-smile.gif

vuduDecember 19, 2006

Quote

Originally posted by: WuTangTurtle
Thumbs up to whoever decided to go with the "Recommended" system.
That would be 1up. face-icon-small-happy.gif

vuduDecember 19, 2006

Quote

Originally posted by: WuTangTurtle
Thumbs up to whoever decided to go with the "Recommended" system.
That would be 1up. face-icon-small-happy.gif

KDR_11kDecember 20, 2006

AFAIK there isn't even a way to break the game to avoid the Triforce. If there was LoZ TASes would be kinda like that LttP TAS. You can get to the last room without a sword but not kill Ganon.

KDR_11kDecember 20, 2006

AFAIK there isn't even a way to break the game to avoid the Triforce. If there was LoZ TASes would be kinda like that LttP TAS. You can get to the last room without a sword but not kill Ganon.

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