What's up with Pac-Man getting a low rating just 'cause it's available for less in another format? I thought you guys weren't taking that into account in your recommendations.

Hmmm. I for one don't really own a good version of Pac-Man--possibly one is decent in Pac-Man World 2. Is the NES VC release still not recommended for me?

For Pac Man, I recommend getting one of those little plug and play arcade sticks. It's an arcade-perfect version and you have a more true-to-form controller. The Wii's d-pad just doesn't treat me well for Pac Man.

Here are the two to choose from:
Pac-Man, Dig Dug and a few other games
Ms Pac-Man with Galaga and Pole Position

Ms. Pac-Man is a much better game than Pac-Man, but Pac-Man Vs. with three friends is always the best.

Remember that this is the NES version. While not botched as badly as Donkey Kong, it's still not the "true" version.

If Pac Man gets the gray X because it's available in another format for a better value, why didn't Galaga, released on the VC a few weeks ago, get the same treatment? Galaga is available in nearly as many compilations, including both Namco Museums in the link given in this article.

To me, having a classic arcade diversion such as Pac Man or (especially) Galaga available immediately upon booting up the console without worrying about having the right disc is worth the $5.

Easy: Galaga is a much better game than Pac-Man.
Ms. Pac-Man is debatable, but at this point in time, Pac-Man has not aged as well as Galaga has.

"To me, having a classic arcade diversion such as Pac Man or (especially) Galaga available immediately upon booting up the console without worrying about having the right disc is worth the $5."

Ever notice how as improvements in technology are made people will complain that something they used to have to do regularly is a huge hassle? Just yesterday at work someone was talking about some parents at his kid's school complaining about a cellphone ban because then they can't phone their kids in class to check up on them even though those very parents didn't have cellphones when they were kids and somehow they made it to adulthood along with, well, everyone who graduated high school in the 20th century.

These complaints of having to put discs in machines and having to store discs in one's house or find the correct disc fall into that category. Worrying about having the right disc? What the hell? Oh no it took me half a second to look at the disc! What a drag! Even a year ago no one complained about having to use physical media to load a game and now because of the VC that's considered a hassle. I can understand that keeping an old console connected to the TV can be a hassle but in many cases VC titles are available for cheap in compilations for the Gamecube. In other words these games are playable on the Wii so no other consoles need to be hooked up. It's really no different than, you know, actual Wii games.

Plus eventually VC enthusiasts are going to run out of space to store their games and sometimes need to redownload a game to play it which sounds considerably more time consuming then putting a disc in a machine.

With Pac-Man, you can probably find a free version to play on the Opera Internet Browser, so it's hard to condone paying $5 for it.

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Originally posted by: Ian Sane
"To me, having a classic arcade diversion such as Pac Man or (especially) Galaga available immediately upon booting up the console without worrying about having the right disc is worth the $5."

Ever notice how as improvements in technology are made people will complain that something they used to have to do regularly is a huge hassle? Just yesterday at work someone was talking about some parents at his kid's school complaining about a cellphone ban because then they can't phone their kids in class to check up on them even though those very parents didn't have cellphones when they were kids and somehow they made it to adulthood along with, well, everyone who graduated high school in the 20th century.

These complaints of having to put discs in machines and having to store discs in one's house or find the correct disc fall into that category. Worrying about having the right disc? What the hell? Oh no it took me half a second to look at the disc! What a drag! Even a year ago no one complained about having to use physical media to load a game and now because of the VC that's considered a hassle. I can understand that keeping an old console connected to the TV can be a hassle but in many cases VC titles are available for cheap in compilations for the Gamecube. In other words these games are playable on the Wii so no other consoles need to be hooked up. It's really no different than, you know, actual Wii games.

Plus eventually VC enthusiasts are going to run out of space to store their games and sometimes need to redownload a game to play it which sounds considerably more time consuming then putting a disc in a machine.

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Well, I agree and disagree. If you don't own the Namco Museum games on the GameCube, it's probably worth it, because if you wanted to play the games, you'd have to connect something new up every time, or have to search out for a used copy, so I can see the value there. Then there's the fact that kids grow up and move out, and getting an older Gamecube game may mean digging through a closet for even an hour or something.

To further your point though, I love Galaga. It is one of my favorite arcade games of all time, no kidding. Now, I've owned Namco Museum, and have had it for a long time. I refuse to buy these single-game NES ports, because I've got something much better. If they were to offer something of equal level, I wouldn't buy it because of the Wii's backwards compatibility. However, if Namco would actually figure out an improvement on the the release, I would buy it in a heartbeat, and take advantage on the convenience. That's pretty much my policy, though: I've I have it on the GC, I doubt buy a Wii version of it, unless it is clearly upgraded in a desirable way.

Now then, I would buy a DS compatible version of Pac-Man Vs. for the Wii in a heartbeat, though, just so I wouldn't need to drag around extra equipment when I take my Wii somewhere.

I also have to say that you may not understand how nice it is to be able to switch from game-to-game-to-game from the comfort of your couch, and if someone has an extra five bucks to spend, then I see no problem with buying the game for this purpose. It's up to everyone's individual sense of value. It isn't a huge hassle to switch discs, but realize it is great convenience to be able switch games like this. I just don't think it's worth it at all when the game in question is a terribly watered down port, like this one is.

I'd have to disagree with Ninja Gaiden's recommendation for everyone. This is coming from a hardcore Ninja Gaiden Fan. This game holds fond memories when I was growing up in Venezuela. Me and my sister were the only ones who knew English, so we were left with translating the cut scenes when they popped up.

Back on point, this game is HARD. Now with the Wii's save point some of the difficulty is negated, but don't fool yourself, some people will not beat this game, .

The final boss has 3 different forms, which demand razor precision, while you only get one life bar. 1 bar of energy while on the last boss and get hit? Too bad! Start over! From the area before the boss!

As they say: Buyer beware. Aside from bragging rights of 'owning' this game (See EULA), know that this will cause you to yell insane amounts of profane and language, and may cause you to chuck those controllers.

EDIT: Edited for clarity.

I may be wrong, but I believe the recommended for everyone tag has to do with the game's quality, not difficulty. By these standards, Ninja Gaiden is most definitely recommended for all.

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Originally posted by: TrueNerd
I may be wrong, but I believe the recommended for everyone tag has to do with the game's quality, not difficulty. By these standards, Ninja Gaiden is most definitely recommended for all.

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I still don't think balanced difficulty should come into play when recommending a game. Who cares if it's hard? That doesn't make it a bad game.

Have I mentioned this before?

Well, I have mixed feelings. Subjecting someone who has only played Wii Sports since 1987 to Ninja Gaiden or Kid Icarus may be a little cruel, if you ask me. I think there may need to be a "Recommended to Novices" and a "Recommended to the Experienced" to balance things out, since the way things ware going now don't seem to be meeting demands, but that's only something to take into consideration.

"Subjecting someone who has only played Wii Sports since 1987 to Ninja Gaiden or Kid Icarus may be a little cruel"

I think that's a little bit extreme. For someone like that tons of games would be too hard. Besides I doubt there is anyone like that who even visits this site. The Wii may attract non-gamers but I doubt a Nintendo fan site is going to attract many. NWR's audience in general is going to be more experienced.

Though I do agree that the Recommended for Fans rating is inconsistent. I think that rating should be more for games that have become a little dated but fans of the genre would appreciate or games that have quirky or complicated gameplay that has never been anything beyond niche. Good games that were considered must-play games at the time and have not become dated with age deserve to be recommended to everyone regardless of difficulty. Some games are hard because they're cheap and those I would consider dated but not games that are hard just because they require skill.