Post by: WindyMan on April 30, 2007, 06:58:55 PM
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/vcArt.cfm?artid=13390
It's another winning week for Wii owners. All three games in this update may be worth your time in one way or another. Also, two out of the three are from Konami, who has just about as broad as a classic lineup as Nintendo. Konami also has some all-time greats, and one of them makes an appearance here. You can check out the vital stats and recommendations from our staffers starting right now.
Shockman - TurboGrafx-16
Released 1992
1-2 Players
Cost: 600 Wii Points ($6)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube
This decidedly Treasure-like action game from NCS consists of eight stages in both action and side-scrolling stages. The action stages are similar to Mega Man with his trusty mega buster, while the side-scrolling levels are closer to Gradius or R-Type. Controls for the two nearly-identical characters are slightly sluggish in the action stages but acceptable using any of the three controllers.
While challenging, Shockman is not nearly as cruel as some other shooters, making it more approachable than many other old-school action games available on Virtual Console. Shockman does feature 2-player co-op and an amusingly shoddy localization, but the lack of a difficulty setting may disappoint hardcore fans of this game style. Even so, Shockman is worth the $6 entry fee. - Michael Cole
Castlevania - NES
Released 5/1/1987
1 Player
Cost: 500 Wii Points ($5)
Controllers: Wii Remote, Wii Classic, GameCube
20 years to the day, Konami puts the Castlevania that started it all on Virtual Console. The original has much of the same stuff that you see in modern series, like the whip (which must be upgraded for maximum vampire slaying), hearts, sub-weapons and candlesticks. Of course, the newer "Metroidvania" titles have more of an open and explorable castle, while the original line keeps things strictly linear. It's fairly short, with only six levels within the castle, but...
...it's another one of those NES games that are unbelievably difficult. The first level and a half or so will be a relative breeze, but once you hit the interior of the castle expect your butt to be the thing getting whipped. Since it's not an adventure for the unskilled, I'd only recommend fans of the series get the original right now. Still, $5 for a classic is a good deal for anyone, no matter how you slice it. - Steven Rodriguez
The Legend of The Mystical Ninja - SNES
Released 6/30/1992
1-2 Players
Cost: 800 Wii Points ($8)
Controllers: Wii Classic, GameCube
This is the game that started it all for our Radio Trivia hero, Goemon (a.k.a. Kid Ying in the English version). Konami's Mystical Ninja series is chock full of bizarre humor and a flood of Japanese cultural references. The graphics are nice by SNES standards, and the music is varied and always interesting. Gameplay is varied too, with isometric town sequences bookending pure 2D sidescrolling action levels. Konami also packed in a ton of mini-games, including a one-life version of Gradius. (Could this be the first Virtual Console game that includes another Virtual Console game?)
Mystical Ninja is a tough game, partially thanks to its awful isometric controls. The sidescrolling areas are more fun, to be sure. Newcomers to the series will have a difficult time at first, as the start of the game drops you right in front of oncoming enemies, and the "Operations Guide" included in your download doesn't explain much about the controls or the flow of the game. If you can get into the crazy Japanese style and get used to the sloppy hit detection, this is a worthwhile adventure. I'm more eager for the two N64 Goemon games to reach VC, though. - Jonathan Metts
Post by: that Baby guy on April 30, 2007, 07:28:54 PM
Post by: KDR_11k on April 30, 2007, 07:51:21 PM
I don't have ANY VC game that comes with a manual that explains enough so you know what's going on.
Post by: Kairon on April 30, 2007, 08:43:48 PM
~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Ages on April 30, 2007, 08:58:00 PM
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on April 30, 2007, 09:15:49 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ages
There's no way Mystical Ninja is just "recommended for fans". It was a crazy fun experience that everyone needs to experience. So much to do, so much humor. It's priceless I tells ya.
Nope, but Kid Icarus IS for everyone. Castlevania a classic, and Mystical Ninja a highly praised game are just for fans.
Post by: DAaaMan64 on April 30, 2007, 10:07:40 PM
Post by: Smoke39 on April 30, 2007, 10:55:09 PM
Post by: KDR_11k on April 30, 2007, 11:48:46 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ages
There's no way Mystical Ninja is just "recommended for fans". It was a crazy fun experience that everyone needs to experience. So much to do, so much humor. It's priceless I tells ya.
Games should get punished for difficult controls paired with useless manuals.
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on May 01, 2007, 12:05:02 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: KDR_11kQuote
Originally posted by: Ages
There's no way Mystical Ninja is just "recommended for fans". It was a crazy fun experience that everyone needs to experience. So much to do, so much humor. It's priceless I tells ya.
Games should get punished for difficult controls paired with useless manuals.
I had never played the game before and had no control problems.
Post by: Pale on May 01, 2007, 03:24:23 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenixQuote
Originally posted by: Ages
There's no way Mystical Ninja is just "recommended for fans". It was a crazy fun experience that everyone needs to experience. So much to do, so much humor. It's priceless I tells ya.
Nope, but Kid Icarus IS for everyone. Castlevania a classic, and Mystical Ninja a highly praised game are just for fans.
BANNED!
Post by: Kairon on May 01, 2007, 05:36:32 AM
~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Artimus on May 01, 2007, 05:50:39 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: GoldenPhoenixQuote
Originally posted by: Ages
There's no way Mystical Ninja is just "recommended for fans". It was a crazy fun experience that everyone needs to experience. So much to do, so much humor. It's priceless I tells ya.
Nope, but Kid Icarus IS for everyone. Castlevania a classic, and Mystical Ninja a highly praised game are just for fans.
But those latter two are HARD games. Kid Icarus is a cake walk! You know, like trying to walk over a lake with cake strapped to your feet. That kind of cake walk.
Post by: Ian Sane on May 01, 2007, 06:16:03 AM
Is there a reason why they can't just offer scans of the original manuals? Well aside from laziness or penny pinching. Though knowing Nintendo they probably don't want to offer that because they think people will get all confused that the manual talks about the NES controller instead of the Wii controller.
It's a shame that even though the VC is the best service of its kind it is still incredibly flawed. And as is Nintendo's trademark they all seem to be really obvious flaws that seemingly anyone with the slightest familiarity with videogames would avoid. Hell the flaws are often so odd that I question how anyone could accidentally stumble into them. Nintendo goofs often look like they took effort.
Post by: vudu on May 01, 2007, 06:39:00 AM
Post by: GoldenPhoenix on May 01, 2007, 06:41:05 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
Do you realize that a quality scan of an original NES manual would have a larger file size than the actual game?
Don't mind Ian, he just likes bashing the Wii, common sense went out the window a long time ago when it comes to his Wii hatred.
Post by: KDR_11k on May 01, 2007, 06:51:53 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: vudu
Do you realize that a quality scan of an original NES manual would have a larger file size than the actual game?
Do I look like I care? What do we have all those megabytes for?
Post by: Ian Sane on May 01, 2007, 07:00:55 AM
You're right. I didn't think of that.
Still why not make it an optional free download for those that care?Or they could just put more effort into the instructions. The original manual probably already has suitable wording so they could make a text-only version of the original manual's text. Hell that might even save time for whoever writes these things up since they just have to copy instead of coming up with the wording themselves.
Post by: Klapaucius on May 01, 2007, 07:04:15 AM
I never played Mystical Ninja on N64... I wasn't rich enough. X_X
Nintendo is being kinda slow in releasing N64 games on VC.
Post by: Artimus on May 01, 2007, 07:56:57 AM
Post by: UncleBob on May 01, 2007, 08:10:14 AM
Post by: Kairon on May 01, 2007, 08:12:32 AM
~Carmine "Cai" M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
