Author Topic: Virtual Console Mondays: February 12 (Read 16210 times)

WindyMan · « **on:** February 12, 2007, 03:40:58 PM »

Three oldies-but-goodies from Nintendo's NES library make up this week's batch of releases.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/vcArt.cfm?artid=12982

Remember how everyone complained that Nintendo was holding back all the good stuff? After releasing some high-quality SNES games over the past few weeks, Nintendo starts this week with three of their own NES titles, including one that people have been clamoring for since the download service began. Which one is it? You should already know that by now.

This week's recommendations are from Mike Gamin and Jonathan Metts.

Kid Icarus - NES

Released 8/1987
1 Player
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube

Kid Icarus is one of the best games in Nintendo's catalog that has not received a bunch of sequels over the years. It is a platform game with a mythological theme where Pit, the winged hero, must make his way through several levels slaying enemies and collecting power-ups. It includes a mix of side and vertical scrolling areas, much like the first Metroid game, as they were developed using the same engine.

Recommended for Everyone Most people who have played Kid Icarus before remember it for its difficulty first and foremost. It is a tough game. The main goal is to get from point A to point B, much like Super Mario Bros., but doing so in a rush can make the later levels even more difficult. Take your time and discover the several power-ups that will make the journey easier. Kid Icarus is a classic game that is still challenging today. It has a lot of content when compared to many of the other NES offerings on the Virtual Console, and the price is right. If you haven't played it, check it out. You may find yourself begging for a sequel along with the rest of the game's fans. - Mike Gamin

Ice Climber - NES

Released 10/1985
1-2 Players
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube

It only took this game to make Nana and Popo popular enough to appear in Super Smash Bros. Melee. Ice Climber is one of the original NES games from back in 1985. It's a simple action game where the goal is to climb to the top of a mountain. This is done by using a hammer to create holes that your character can jump through. Along the way Topis (little, white, Yeti-like enemies) will try and fill in all those holes you worked so hard to create. If you're too slow, the dreaded Speedo wearing polar bear will make an appearance and knock the stage up a level, possibly killing you.

Recommended for Fans The best feature of the game is the two player mode. It's up to the players as to how they want to treat this part of the game. Some will take their time, making sure the other is staying alive. Others will climb as fast as they possibly can, leaving the other to die if they don't keep up. This simple cooperative mode gave the game exceptional replay value back when it was released. While the game itself is quite shallow by today's standards, fans of retro gaming and co-op modes in general will find a lot of fun in this quirky title. - Mike Gamin

Kirby's Adventure - NES

Released 5/1/1993
1 Player
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube

This game, one of the more sophisticated platformers on the NES, marks the debut of Kirby's copy technique. By inhaling, then swallowing certain enemies, Kirby can gain over a dozen special abilities. This feature, now a hallmark of the series, makes Kirby's Adventure a far more interesting game than the original Game Boy title.

As with most Kirby games, this one is fairly easy but still fun to play through. It can occasionally present a challenge if you go into a fight with the wrong copy ability. There are also some basic puzzles and secret rooms, mostly leading to extra lives you will never need. Aside from the many action stages, there are several types of mini-games which you can play between levels to earn even more 1ups. It's all presented through a hub world that was snazzy for its time.

Recommended for Everyone The graphics are surprisingly bland, with far less color than in later Kirby games (he doesn't even look very pink!), but the animation is great, and there are many distinct enemy types. This game plays perfectly with the Wii Remote, so there's no need to plug in anything else to get your Kirby fix. All in all, it's a fun game and a good value, being longer and more complex than many NES games. Okay Nintendo, bring on Super Star! - Jonathan Metts

Now that you're up to speed with this week's VC releases, it's about time we reveal the third code word in our Valentine's Day Nintendogs DS Giveaway contest. If you get the four code words, you could win a Nintendo DS Lite and a copy of Nintendogs: Dalmation and Friends. You can find the code words in select Nintendo World Report articles and and during episodes of Radio Free Nintendo, so make sure you get 'em all. We'll open our entry form on Wednesday, February 14 so you can submit your entry, so look out for that.

The third code word in the NWR Valentine's Day Nintendogs DS Giveaway contest is: fetch

Good luck!

Kairon · « **Reply #1 on:** February 12, 2007, 04:43:39 PM »

How can you recommend Kid Icarus for everyone when it eats newbie gamers for LUNCH?!?!?!?!

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

NWR_pap64 · « **Reply #2 on:** February 12, 2007, 04:44:57 PM »

Everyone as in every fan, retro gaming fan and hardcore gamer perhaps?

TMW · « **Reply #3 on:** February 12, 2007, 05:15:03 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Kairon
How can you recommend Kid Icarus for everyone when it eats newbie gamers for LUNCH?!?!?!?!

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

The same reason I'd recommend that someone read Riddly Walker. The book is nearly impossible to read at first, but well worth the work and effort you put into it.

Some classics you gotta work for.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #4 on:** February 12, 2007, 05:20:46 PM »

I agree with Kairon, it doesn't make sense to make Kid Icarus a game for everyone, it is more of a "hardcore" game for fans. For the most part Kid Icarus is more of a cult game, and doesn't have a huge following unlike the SMB series or even Zelda. Not only that, but its difficulty, like Kairon stated, really separates it from "everyone", I compare it more to R-Type or something like that where it may be a great game but is not for everyone.

Smoke39 · « **Reply #5 on:** February 12, 2007, 05:51:42 PM »

Were gamers masochists in the '80s or something? ):

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #6 on:** February 12, 2007, 06:47:26 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Smoke39
Were gamers masochists in the '80s or something? ):

You know, I think we were. I remember dieing frustrating deaths over and over again in games like Metroid, Rygar, and others but I did manage to come out on top. Sadly I probably wouldn't even come close to beating those games now!

Kairon · « **Reply #7 on:** February 12, 2007, 06:52:07 PM »

I can remember that I sucked just as much back then as I do now. That is to say, a lot.

~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com

Caliban · « **Reply #8 on:** February 12, 2007, 07:03:41 PM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Smoke39
Were gamers masochists in the '80s or something? ):

No. It's just that in this modern age, kids have their life made alot easier than we did. Today, kids cry if they didn't get an A+++ on a test because the test wasn't made to automatically get that A+++. I bet that the kids of old hardcore gamers will be learning our old ways. Survival of the fittest. We Win. Can I have my cookie?

TheYoungerPlumber · « **Reply #9 on:** February 12, 2007, 07:23:26 PM »

I have to disagree with this Kid Icarus rating. I can't stand that game's absurd difficulty. Seriously, recommended for fans AT BEST.

The Omen · « **Reply #10 on:** February 12, 2007, 09:59:24 PM »

Well, we were masochists to an extent. But also damn lucky to even have a game to play. There were no trade ins back then meaning you got what you got, and you had better get the full value from it.

nitsu niflheim · « **Reply #11 on:** February 13, 2007, 02:27:08 AM »

Kid Icarus was a game that me and my brother "borrowed" from someone and "never returned" and we played that game everyday during one summer until we finished it from beginning to end without having to cheat and use passwords that we didn't get from our normal playing. I watched a video of this last night and as soon as the music started for the first level it brought back so many memory.

I will have to get this just to play around with again.

Ceric · « **Reply #12 on:** February 13, 2007, 03:08:44 AM »

Quote
Were gamers masochists in the '80s or something? ):

Yes, and we liked it. (I beat Crystalis... It only took me 50 hours it seemed like to do it... *grumble*)
Actually those were the games I grew up with. I was driven to beat those more then modern games because they tend to contain more inside jokes and the like plus it was a badge of honor to say that you did.

Though I never got Kirby Adventure so I picked it up last night it is good. I don't know if I will pick up Kid Icarus. I enjoyed it for the Game boy/Gameboy.

Pale · « **Reply #13 on:** February 13, 2007, 03:26:00 AM »

I'm a Kirby noob for the most part. Should I still pick up Adventure if I own Nightmare in Dreamland for GBA?

Acefondu · « **Reply #14 on:** February 13, 2007, 03:56:56 AM »

If you have Nightmare, the only reason to get Adventure is convenience on Wii. It's my favorite NES game, I'm getting it.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #15 on:** February 13, 2007, 04:49:04 AM »

"Were gamers masochists in the '80s or something?"

I think it was more game designers making hard games and we put up with it because we didn't know better. Part of it is cheap difficulty to extend game length, part of it is sh!tty design (Acclaim's NES games were hard because they sucked), and I think a big part of it is that gaming was still mostly an arcade thing and arcade games are designed to be hard to get quarters out of the player. The concept of designing games specifically for home play was still a pretty new thing so the "game vs. the player" attitude was still there.

I say Kid Icarus is for everyone because it's one of the best NES games. If we start disqualifying games from "everyone" status because of difficulty then a whole lot of NES games are out. Legend of Zelda is pretty damn hard for someone used to the newer Zeldas but I think it's still a required play for any serious gamer.

Blue Plant · « **Reply #16 on:** February 13, 2007, 05:00:43 AM »

Wait until Roger Rabbit (hopefully never) comes to VC! Talk about agonizing difficulty. I never had a prayer of a chance...

Recommended for Everyone!

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #17 on:** February 13, 2007, 05:25:33 AM »

The key words being "serious gamer", personally I would agree that LoZ probably is not a game for everyone. It has not aged well, and Kid Icarus is about as newbie unfriendly as a game can get, so I definately would disqualify it as a game for everyone.

Ian Sane · « **Reply #18 on:** February 13, 2007, 05:33:41 AM »

"The key words being 'serious gamer'"

Serious gamers are the only ones who are ever going to use the VC. If casuals use it at all it will just be for games like Tetris or Super Mario Bros that they played years ago. For most of the world videogames are disposable entertainment. No one plays Madden 06 now that Madden 07 is out. The only people who really care about older games are serious gamers.

KDR_11k · « **Reply #19 on:** February 13, 2007, 06:50:40 AM »

LoZ has still aged better than Metroid...

Games back then were hard mostly because they should offer the gamer something for his money and if they were as easy as modern games (die less than 10 times over the course of the game on the first playthrough) you'd finish them in 30 minutes. Back then games were a challenge you overcame, not a pseudointeractive movie where the good guy wins anyway and all you choose is how he kills the enemies. Beating a game meant training yourself and pushing yourself to the limit, games were like a sport where you start out as a crappy beginner and have to work hard and accept many a failure if you want to get to the top. Many modern games can be beaten without much training or pushing, you just play through the allotted time and almost inevitably win.

The modern way is more accessible and provides more instant gratification but doesn't work for some genres and makes others completely unsatisfying (I haven't had the sensation of my heartrate slowly returning to normal while I shakingly hold the controller and watch the ending credits for quie a while now). Did anyone feel he really beat some kind of ultimate evil with all odds against him in Zelda TP? Or did it feel more like "I'm an unstoppable god, a little joke like Ganon can't even scratch me"?

JonLeung · « **Reply #20 on:** February 13, 2007, 06:58:09 AM »

As I mentioned in the other topic, I don't think we'll EVER see another Virtual Console Monday that has the VC debut of four (if you count the Ice Climbers, Popo and Nana, as separate) Smash Bros.!

Even SMB only debuted two (Mario and Luigi were previously in Mario Bros.) and LoZ only had three (if you count Ganon as Ganondorf).

(Oh, wait, I suppose the N64 VC release of Super Smash Bros. would debut five characters...Samus, Fox, Pikachu, Jigglypuff and Ness...that's the only single game that can beat this Monday's offerings in terms of Smash Bros.!)

So much Nintendo love.

vudu · « **Reply #21 on:** February 13, 2007, 07:02:22 AM »

You do realize you're comparing one game to three, right? That doesn't quite seem fair.

Ceric · « **Reply #22 on:** February 13, 2007, 08:32:49 AM »

I'm with KDR on this one. I'm not a great gamer but I prefer my game hard with a purpose for the most part. I like to feel like I accomplished something when I beat a game. I don't want to feel like my Wife could have done it after just learning the controls.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #23 on:** February 13, 2007, 08:37:11 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"The key words being 'serious gamer'"

Serious gamers are the only ones who are ever going to use the VC. If casuals use it at all it will just be for games like Tetris or Super Mario Bros that they played years ago. For most of the world videogames are disposable entertainment. No one plays Madden 06 now that Madden 07 is out. The only people who really care about older games are serious gamers.

Do you have any facts to back up your claim that only "serious" gamers will use VC? My younger sister enjoys playing some of the games, and she is definately NOT a gamer.

GoldenPhoenix · « **Reply #24 on:** February 13, 2007, 08:41:20 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11k
LoZ has still aged better than Metroid...

Games back then were hard mostly because they should offer the gamer something for his money and if they were as easy as modern games (die less than 10 times over the course of the game on the first playthrough) you'd finish them in 30 minutes. Back then games were a challenge you overcame, not a pseudointeractive movie where the good guy wins anyway and all you choose is how he kills the enemies. Beating a game meant training yourself and pushing yourself to the limit, games were like a sport where you start out as a crappy beginner and have to work hard and accept many a failure if you want to get to the top. Many modern games can be beaten without much training or pushing, you just play through the allotted time and almost inevitably win.

The modern way is more accessible and provides more instant gratification but doesn't work for some genres and makes others completely unsatisfying (I haven't had the sensation of my heartrate slowly returning to normal while I shakingly hold the controller and watch the ending credits for quie a while now). Did anyone feel he really beat some kind of ultimate evil with all odds against him in Zelda TP? Or did it feel more like "I'm an unstoppable god, a little joke like Ganon can't even scratch me"?

I really disagree here, most of the games back in the NES and SNES days were diffcult because of cheap level design, lives, and basically cheap deaths. Not only that but many of the older games relied more on reflexes more than anything else and were quite shallow. Now days there is much more strategy involved and don't rely on "reflex" based gameplay as much. I personally prefer the latter because I'd much rather use my mind and strategy then reflexes. Do reflex based games have their place? Of course, but I definately would not put them on a higher level than the variety of games we get today which can focus on different skills. Reflex is not the only skill people possess, and can be especially frustrating for those who don't have the best of reflexes.

In regards to the 3D Zelda games (I have no beaten TP yet), I have gotten a great sense of accomplishment in every 3D Zelda (well besides Majora's Mask) because I felt as if I had completed a long journey, almost like reading a book and finally getting to the end. But it is made much sweeter because I was the one who got it to the end. The ending battle in OOT and the ending were one of my most memorable moments in gaming.

P.S. I agree Metroid 1 has not aged well either, so I'd put that in "Recommended for fans" the same with the original LoZ.

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