Now if only we could somehow combine these three games...
My selections may be fairly obvious for anyone who reads the site with any regularity. However, these gems could use a wider audience. Let's get right into it. Hey, Nintendo, you need to release the following games on the Virtual Console on 3DS, quickly.
Boomer's Adventure in ASMIK World may be the strangest of the selections, published by Amsik Ace Entertainment.
You probably think I chose it just because Boomer is a dinosaur. I'll have you know that Boomer is a fossorial dinosaur, thank-you-very-much. He wanders around over 100 top-down stages, digging pits and looking for the key required to complete each level. Meanwhile, he's being pursued by all sorts of nasty monsters, including an inchworm and a blog with a spiral shell for a hat. Boomer's best trick is that he can pit traps. When an enemy falls into it he can then fill the hole back in, thus subjecting his tormentor to the horrifying reality of live burial. You can see their pleading eyes as Boomer refills the pit.
Defeated enemies usually leave items behind, which you can usually use to kill other enemies using methods not so cruel, but also items that will help find the key. There are reasonably exciting, if not especially difficult, boss battles. The game was always imaginative and I'd very much like to play it again. However, we must ask ourselves whether the game will realistically come to the Virtual Console service, which we must realistically predict "no." But hey, a girl can dream.
"This seems awfully similar to the opening scene of Super Mario Bros. 2..."
Kirby's Dream Land 2 is one of the best games on the Game Boy and, from what I can recall, one of the first to support the Super Game Boy fully. Not only was color added to the game itself, but the boarder unique and colorful (see the above screenshot). After everything that little puffball learned in the original game and Kirby's Adventure, it was really time for him to learn how to ride hamsters, owls, and sunfish.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 was arguably a deeper game than either of its predecessors, as the animal friends had their own advantages and disadvantages, and used Kirby's powers in different ways. Take the Needle power for instance: Rick the Hamster's back fur bristled to create spikes, Coo the Owl merely held Kirby aloft as he bristled from below, and Kine the Sunfish bristled all over. These powers could be combined to gain access to Rainbow Drops, items mandatory for completing the game.
Kirby's Dream Land 2 also featured the first appearance of Dark Matter, who would become a recurring villain in the series. How likely is it that the pink puffball's second handheld adventure will make it onto the Virtual Console on 3DS? Pretty good, considering it is a Nintendo developed title.
Genies and pirates don't mix. Just ask these two.
You probably knew this was going to be on my list before you clicked over to my page. Yes, the original, beautiful, underappreciated (damn you, GBA!) Shantae needs to see a re-release.
In many ways superior to the DSiWare sequel, both in terms terms of longevity and variety, our girl gets five or six animal forms in this game as opposed to Risky's Revenge's three. There's also a DDR-like dancing minigame to initiate transformations. The world of the original Shantae is larger and more diverse, and while the pixel art is obvious a bit more dated, it's at least as charming as the recent sequel.
Shantae is a bit more Metroid than Mario, which is just the way I like my platformers. Busty dancers don't hurt, either.
What are the chances of seeing my favorite half-genie make her way to the Virtual Console on 3DS? Given the mere presence (and success) of Risky's Revenge, I can only hope her chances are pretty high!
