Almost exactly 10 years after its initial release, the popular Nintendo 64 game will become available on the Wii's download service.
Japanese Virtual Console buyers enjoy an advantage over their counterparts elsewhere: official release previews that can reveal titles up to a month in advance. The latest such preview has revealed that Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 64, the predecessor to last year's Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii, will soon become available for download.
This release may be designed to coincide with the ten-year anniversary of the first game in the Super Smash Bros. series. The Nintendo 64 game became available in Japan on the 21st of January, 1999. For reference, Super Smash Bros. was released in the American market on April 26, 1999.
The preview also revealed additional titles for Japanese Wii owners to expect, including four titles from the PC Engine (known as the TurboGrafx16 in America), three from the Famicom (NES), and one each from the Sega Master System and Mega Drive (Genesis). The preview lists one game from the little-known MSX platform, however this title isn't slated for January specifically but is labeled to-be-announced.
However, since this preview only concerns Japan, there are no official release dates for these titles in other territories. In particular, it is almost certain that games from the MSX will see never release outside of Japan.
The full list:
- Detective Saburō Jingūji: A Dangerous Duo (Part 1+2)
- The Legend of the Lunar Wind Demon
- ZOIDS Revelation
- Nintendo All Star! Great Melee Smash Brothers
- Fantasy Zone II: The Tears of Opa-Opa
- Wonder Boy III: Monster Lair
- Rastan Saga II
- Legend of Xanadu 2
- Spriggan Mark 2
- Champion Wrestler
- Relics
Famicom
Nintendo 64
Sega Master System
Mega Drive
PC Engine
MSX