Here's NWR's opinion of the Christmas batch of Virtual Console games.
The weather outside is frightful, but those Christmas (and Thanksgiving) Wiis are ready for some Virtual Console love. Today's batch of games is definitely the best yet - there's something for everyone. Want to know which games to get? Read on.
Street Fighter II: The World Warrior
| System | Virtual Console - Super Nintendo Entertainment System |  |
| Cost | 800 Points | |
| Players | 2 | |
| Controllers | Wii Nunchuk,GameCube | |
| ESRB Rating | Teen | |
| Released | Year 1991 |
In ancient times, fighting games were mindless button mashers, wherein you just kept hitting A and B until someone ran out of energy and keeled over. Even the original Street Fighter was pretty much like that. One year, Capcom decided to try something different. Thank the stars that they did, because the result was Street Fighter II, the game that revolutionized the fighting genre with six attack buttons and special moves like the ol' Hadouken. The new arcade layout translated perfectly onto the SNES controller, as did the game itself.
What's that? You don't like fighting games? Maybe that's because you've been playing ones that aren't very good. Street Fighter II is a classic, and if you and your friends don't have a good time duking it out, you are a sad person.
Addendum added June 26, 2007: While Street Fighter II is still a great game, it has been depreciated by its SNES sequel, Street Fighter II' Turbo: Hyper Fighting. While we still recommend this game to everyone, we don't recommend you download it over the superior-in-every-way SFII'HF.
Super Castlevania IV
| System | Virtual Console - Super Nintendo Entertainment System |  |
| Cost | 800 Points | |
| Players | 1 | |
| Controllers | Wii Nunchuk,GameCube | |
| ESRB Rating | Everyone 10+ | |
| Released | Year 1991 |
Super Castlevania IV was the first game from the series to hit the Super NES. Like many games that made the transition from 8 to 16 bit, the visuals in Castlevania IV really stood out at the time. While primitive by today's standards, experiencing the great use of 2D technologies like Mode 7 can be a nostalgic and rewarding experience today.
Being a Super NES game, either a Classic or GameCube controller is required for play. The original game even features a way to manually change the button configuration. This helps overcome the non-traditional button layout of the GameCube controller so most players will be able to find a layout that works for them.
Super Castlevania IV is one of those gems that makes the Virtual Console such an incredible feature. The game consists of eleven levels that are packed with the timeless gameplay the Castlevania series is famous for.
R-Type
| System | Virtual Console - TurboGrafx-16 |  |
| Cost | 800 Points | |
| Players | 1 | |
| Controllers | Wii Remote,Wii Nunchuk,GameCube | |
| ESRB Rating | Everyone | |
| Released | Year 1989 |
R-Type is, of course, the "O.G." of side-scrolling shooters. Taking control of an R-9 space fighter, the game takes you through a gauntlet of eight levels filled with endless enemies to take down. Oh yeah, you need to avoid everything that gets shot at you, too. Expect to die a lot.
Though you can play the game with all three controller types, you may find that the Wiimote is the least capable of the three. Rapid-fire is set to the awkwardly placed B Trigger, so you may want to use the Wii Classic controller or dust off a GameCube pad for best results.
It's a difficult game and a premium price for a TG16 download. If either one of those factors turn you off, you probably won't think R-Type is worth the $8. If neither apply, you should probably get it. It's one of the classic shooters of all time, and one of the most satisfying to beat as well. If you want a challenge, here it is.
ToeJam and Earl
| System | Virtual Console - Genesis |  |
| Cost | 800 Points | |
| Players | 2 | |
| Controllers | Wii Remote,Wii Nunchuk,GameCube | |
| ESRB Rating | ||
| Released | Year 1992 |
One of the strangest games that gained popularity in the 16-bit age, ToeJam and Earl details the adventure of our titular heroes who become stranded on earth and must find the lost pieces of their spaceship so they can return home, (a la Pikmin). The game is a top-down actiony-adventure type thing that is easier to play than to understand. Gameplay consists of scanning various levels to find the spaceship parts, along the way using items and avoiding enemies.
Control is a bit stiff, and the game is best enjoyed with the Classic Controller or the GameCube pad as the Wii Remote's A Button is just not a good action button.
One of the top-selling Genesis games ever, most people will buy ToeJam and Earl for nostalgia alone. Those who haven't played it before shouldn't venture in as the game design is sloppy and only reaches great heights after many levels (and perhaps a White Russian). Those who have played it before don't need my recommendation.
Super Mario Bros.
| System | Virtual Console - Nintendo Entertainment System |  |
| Cost | 500 Points | |
| Players | 2 | |
| Controllers | Wii Remote,Wii Nunchuk,GameCube | |
| ESRB Rating | Everyone | |
| Released | Year 1985 |
It's the grandaddy of modern video games, a historically significant title for its narrative, length, and fun factor. It's also one of the first non-gamer games - more Moms, Grandpas, and Adult Family Friends have been sucked into the realm of controllable media through Super Mario Bros than any other game sans Tetris. And Super Mario Bros stands next to Tetris as an utterly simple, purely visceral, and ultimately landmark masterpiece.
It is quite simply one of the most fun games ever made. Nintendo has based much of their current game design philosophy on Super Mario Bros, meaning you're actually buying a history lesson. That this game wasn't available on Virtual Console until now is a shame - no other game needed to be on there quite as much as this one. If you don't have a copy of this yet, five bucks is a sweet price for never having to blow on a Nintendo cartridge.
