There's a big game released on Virtual Console this week, although the other two aren't slouches, either. One of them is sequel starring a dolphin, and another is a shmup where you play as a dragon. The third game? It features a frog that spits bubbles at you. That doesn't sound too glamorous compared the competition, but the fact that Mario is stuffing angry vegetables into its mouth kind of makes up for that.

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Any time you mention Super Mario Bros. 2 in the context of classic Mario games, the first thing that must be said is that this isn't the real Super Mario Bros. 2. Instead, it's really a Famicom Disk System game originally known as Doki Doki Panic ported down to the NES and retrofitted with Mario characters. America, and Nintendo lore in general, was better off because of it. We first learned in this game that Luigi was taller and a better jumper than his brother, and that wearing a princess crown apparently grants you the ability to hover for limited periods of time. Shy Guys, Ninjis and Birdo also made their first appearance in this not-really-a-Mario game, and now they're as common in the Mushroom Kingdom bestiary as are Goombas and Koopa Troopas. Thanks, Super Mario Bros. 2!

Oh yeah, the game is really fun to play. Though there are certain parts of the game where picking one of the four available characters is ideal, you can play through the entire game with a favorite if you so desired. There are some pretty good boss fights too, including the final battle against Wart. Whether or not you believe it's the real Super Mario Bros. 2, everyone can agree that for only 500 Wii Points, it's definitely something everyone can enjoy playing.

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Yes, this is yet another shmup for TG-16 ... but with a twist! This vertical shooter employs a fantasy theme instead of a space one, as you control a blue dragon on a mission to save the princess or something. You can grow up to three heads for extra firepower, and there are a lot of power-ups, including a few transformations into other types of dragons with different abilities. An uglier but easier version of Dragon Spirit was later released on the NES.

Still, Dragon Spirit is not a far cry from most other games of its ilk. It looks decent for a TG-16 game, the music is quite good, and the game is fairly difficult (partly due to the large hit zone of your dragon). As in Xevious, you can drop bombs on ground targets as well as shoot dragon breath shots at normal flying enemies. Be sure to play with the Classic or GameCube controller for better access to the turbo buttons, and check GameFAQs for some useful codes.

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Ecco is back for a second undersea adventure in The Tides of Time. As the subtitle implies, the story involves Ecco needing to fix up a time rift occurred after the evil Vortex Queen followed him back from the future. The gameplay is similar to the first, but new to the sequel is a 3D behind-the-back sequence in which you need to guide Ecco through rings to warp to the next location. You'll still need to use your sonar power to move crystal glyphs around, your charge move to defeat enemies, and your speed to clear large jumps and access new areas.

Ecco is one of those off-beat games that is very relaxing to play. That is, until you get to the hard parts. The Tides of Time is difficult, but improvements over the original make it more tolerable to go through. Regardless of difficulty, though, it's freakin' cool to swim around and do dolphin stuff. Because of its abstractness, however, be prepared for a little frustration.

Thanks once again to VG Museum for the screenshots!