This is contains one of my favorite abstracts I've written.

So, Kairon, how's the beach game?

Someone else has probably pointed this out but WiiWare has really hurt the VC.  We get only one VC release a week now and we used to get two or three.  Logically WiiWare should not eat up so much time and resources that the VC has to suffer.  They're completely different things.  One is new content, one is old.  I think Nintendo just realizes they can get away with less frequent VC releases because they group them together with WiiWare.  I get regular emails about what's on the Wii Shop Channel this week (it arrives on like Friday for some reason) and the way they arrange it it looks like there's a lot going on.  But it isn't really because they group WiiWare and the VC together.

It doesn't really have anything to do with WiiWare, back around August/September we were getting 2 or 3 VC games and 1 or 2 WiiWare games per week. It was a big string of really good VC releases and then Nintendo decided that we had enough good stuff and slowed it to about 1 per week about a month ago.

They're too busy not working on a storage solution to port NES games to the Wii

It's a 1st party game this week so only One is ok.
I did enjoy the abstract, but I would have liked "Kirby gets Crabs and so Can you this week...."

In general, 1st-party SNES games are very welcome additions.  I can't remember if I've ever played this Kirby, but I don't think I will download it since I recently went through Super Star Ultra (and didn't even think it was all that).

The sand castle game definitely sounds different.  I'll have to watch the trailer on Nintendo Channel.

Never gave Kirby's Dream Land 3 a whirl back in the day. Is this a traditional Kirby game?

I didn't play it back then but I recall from NP that it is the same type of game as Kirby's Adventure.I think it had 3 animal helpers.A fish,Owl, and something else. I also remember that player 2 could play as Gooey.I think thats his name.I only played Kirby's Adventure on the VC.

Yes, Kirby's Dream Land 3 is a solid Kirby's Adventure-esque entry. I've played it at a friend's house and am strongly considering this purchase. If I recall correctly, DL3 leverages the animal buddy system to modify power-ups. There were most certainly more than three animals, though. Maybe five. Each level also has an optional mission (that sometimes isn't very clear) to help some random person/thing at the end of the level.

All-in-all, I recall it feeling quite a bit like Kirby 64.

I had Kirby's Dreamland back in the day, and it was awesome. Traditional Kirby game. Animal Buddies. The game is quite easy, but still fun and there are some full aspects that will have you revisit a level with a better game plan for completion purposes... I think... I think I remember that.

Also, 2-player co-op. GOOD TWO-PLAYER CO-OP!!!

I'll get back to you. *pumps fist*

I've wanted Kirby's Dream Land 3 for some time now but the original SNES cartridge is kind of expensive. The collector in me demands I buy games on physical media... but this download costs four times less than the SNES cartridge. :(

Just start collecting downloads.

But there's always the fear that downloads won't keep. Collectors can protect their physical collections, but their digital connections are so fragile!

Awww, 4/10.

But is it fun?  Will I like it?

no

Kirby + Hamster = Win.

Anyone on the fence about Kirby's Dream Land 3 I have the original cartridge and it's a good game.  I think Super Star is the better Kirby SNES game but Dream Land 3 is still quite good.  It's typical Kirby though so if you're "Kirbied out" this game won't get you back in the series.

But one thing that Nintendo fans may like is that many of the seconday objectives involve cameos from other Nintendo franchises!  I won't spoil who shows up but when I first played it I had no idea about that and some of them were pretty cool surprises.

The BIGGEST mark I can think of against Kirby's Dream land 3 is that it's pretty easy. But really, Kirby was meant as a beginner's platformer. So *shrug*

Kirby was always fairly easy so yeah.

Dreamland 3 required me to think outside the box sometimes (and this was back in my grade four days). Best 1997 SNES release ever.

I can't afford Dreamland 3 right now, but I'm definitely buying it in the future.

meh. if your so paranoid you can copy it to SD card, than copy that to computer hard drive, than you can burn that on a CD. So you can have your precious physical media version of it.

Which can only be copied back to the same Wii it came from (without using homebrew--at least, last I checked they didn't have a computer-side encryption, just decryption). Hardly a salve, when "real" physical copies can be played on any system.

(Seriously, is authentication by account like iTunes or Xbox Live too much to ask for?)

After I complete the game, could I hug the download?
No.
If I lose repeatedly, could I hurl the download across the room?
No.
Can I be assured I can still play the download in ten years?
No.
If I'm building a block tower and am running low on blocks, can I substitute a game download?
No.

Anyways, considering I have a dearth of gaming skill I've no problem with Kirby games being easy. Dream Land 3 definitely sounds like a game I'd like, but I'm not sure if it'd be worth the money when factoring in the other things I could buy for that price. If I'm going to buy a downloadable game it has to be something not available elsewhere.

The Wii doesn't require an online connection to authenticate downloaded games on a per-play basis.  The license is saved with the ROM itself.  Therefore, if you download a VC game and back it up on an SD card, you can be assured that it will work in ten years.  Considering that was the only serious argument of the four you made, I think I've made my point.

On the contrary, that was the only point of the four which wasn't serious. :P

EDIT: Actually there is still a problem with that... downloadable games work only on the console they were downloaded to. From what I've seen of Wii I doubt very many Wii systems will still be functional in ten years.

As a classic game collector I consider the VC useful for import titles finally being released here and rare titles that I'm having difficulty finding a copy of for a decent price.  I have a Genesis.  I want Gunstar Heroes for my Genesis.  I bought it on the VC.  I don't regret this because the game is awesome and I want to play it.  If I ever found a physical cartridge I would buy it in a heartbeat and not care that I already bought the game on the VC.  The VC purchase is like paying a few extra bucks to play the game now before I find a real copy. 

Now something very common I would never bother with.  I didn't have an NES as a kid and I still don't have one.  But since my SNES game collection is such that I have most of the games I want and the rest are hard to find, I've been thinking of starting an NES game collection.  I'm not going to bother with Super Mario Bros on the VC because I know I can find that with no trouble.  If they put Dragon Warrior IV on there however it would be an ideal VC purchase.

So aside from import games a VC purchase isn't even one that needs to be "safe".  I will be upset if I lose it but that's not my intended permanent copy.

I wish they'd release more import games on the VC. ):

For Dragon Warrior/Quest IV you're stuck getting it on DS considering how square-enix is.

What you say Ian makes some sense. With something like Kirby's Dream Land 3, the VC download doesn't cost very much compared to the original cartridge. It's also a way to try the game out to see if it's actually worth owning the original.

Though I'm not really a collector, I still have collectorial tendencies that I can't break. I simply cannot bring myself to play a downloaded game, not even ROMs which are free (don't care about the legality of them). It has to be the original format, on the original system, with the original controller it was designed for, otherwise it just doesn't feel right. I also like to display my gaming stuff on shelves and such, and you can't really do that with a download. Lastly, downloaded games can't be brought to a friend's place without lugging over the entire system; I have a similar problem with games which have save files that can't be copied to an SD card.

Anyways, I guess what I'm saying is that the VC is great for the average gamer, but is of no value to the collector. Fortunately we're a rare breed.