Phantasy Star IV is the final title in the "main" Phantasy Star storyline. After the somewhat subpar Phantasy Star III Sega decided to make IV a bit more like the second game - As a result, it's easily the best game in the series, and some would even argue it's one of the greatest RPGs ever made. PSIV has everything you'd expect from a classic RPG - Turn-based battles, random encounters, various character classes, tough bosses and more. The game also has cutscenes which are shown through a number of pictures, which look great for the Genesis.
There's no huge Christmas selection this year, but at least there's one fantastic RPG. Maybe NoA has a surprise in store for the final update of the year?
On WiiWare this week you can get two new games, both of which were already previously confirmed - Tiki Towers and Fun! Fun! Minigolf.
Comments 179
All I can say is, thank god I'm getting gifted Tiki Towers this week.
Well that's another disappointment for me (Don't like RPGs)
wow......merry christmas............sigh
:[
No. This game is on a compilation, which clearly means it sucks by itself. And since it DID get released by itself that also amplifies that it sucks. And it also killed my parents, so anyone who buys this is an accomplice to murder and Ill have you turned in. I know The Police. All of them.
It is ......at least......... a decent game. At one game per week it'll take years to beef up my VC library with higher quality classics, but it is at least an upward trend from Enduro Racer.
I shall download this very very soon, but any sort of enthusiasm I was pondering for a spending spree on a handful of other semi-wanted VC games just plain went away with yet ANOTHER 1 game week over a Christmas holiday. Compared to other game system makers, Big N is the Scroogiest.
Oh well. A great game. There is that.
Awesome.
And dammit guys, you're getting one of the best games ever made - games of this caliber are acceptable as solo releases.
"Maybe NoA has a surprise in store for the final update of the year?"
Whoa lets no go crazy there! I think NOA will play it real safe for the month of December. Anyway I'll pass I am not much for RPG's. I will say I expected an Interplay game today like Clayfighter or EJ 2
Nintendo says
" Merry Christmans North America.....Oh and were bumping your VC releases from 10 games a month to 5 this year Enjoy "
@ Adamant,
Not all of us like RPG's. For me personally it's by far my least favorite genre. So a "game of this calibre" means nothing to me.
Eh, I'm still playing Secret of Mana...
Ponderous. Slaggin' ponderous.
Um... NO games are suitable as solo releases.
Dear Santa: Please give Nintendo coal. Thanks.
Next week will be a single-game (better known as FAIL) week also. Guaranteed. And the next week. And the next week. And so on. Unless Nintendo gets slapped around enough. Way to be consistent, Nintendo! thumbs up
@Adamant:
You speak truth. I just wish we could get Big N to aim a little higher than "acceptable". People have been waiting decades to play some of the great classic NES, SNES, Master System, and Genesis games. Nintendo goes big by setting up a system to make dreams into reality and then.......... turns the spigot down to trickle. The word TEASE is too kind.
But Phantasy Star IV is certainly great enough to save the week from being an utter insult. Instead it converts to just a minor concern.
What can I say... I'm pretty stoked.
i honestly thought we MIGHT see an n64 title being released.
this update was predictable. it was just a catchup week. how unforgivable of nintendo. i guess ill just be dissapointed again, like pretty much this entire VC year
Well, at least the one game this week is good.
Still, I wonder why they haven't released PS1?
I want to play them in order, and the GBA version kinda sucks (stupid saving bug).
I was ready to post an EPIC FAIL, but I guess this is just a regular FAIL. Great RPG, great series, but still a single game week, which makes it bad for people who don't like RPGs.
Guess we're stuck with hit-or-miss weeks for a while...
In any case, this week is certainly better than last week with Enduro Racer.
No 2 VC game week? I don't even want it. Nintendo, you've gotta do better next year! Hopefully my secret santa will give me something to make up for it.
PS1 wasn't initially released due to it being a Master System game, and thus not supported by the VC when PS2 was released, but yeah, it really should be coming soon. It's amazing as well, probably my favorite Master System game.
Yahoo!! Another Nintendo letdown just like I was expecting!! Time to flick on a Sony or Microsoft machine.
whatever, im going to buy a 360, at least they have banjo-kazooie and stuff
Just get an N64 and buy GoldenEye too.
Aw, Man, I rented this game once, but never got around to finishing it.
I can't wait to buy it, it looks way fun! Tiki Towers is also a must-buy.
Here are my impressions when I first heard of the VC.
"Great now I can play all of those great games I never got too own on their original consoles. So now I can pick up Star Fox, Super Mario Kart and wait Sega Genesis games like Out Run can be mine once again! Oh Joy!!!!"
The cold harsh reality of 2009- at 60 games a year it will take a good 10-20 years (maybe a hundred) before I see some of those classics again Maybe Boogerman will hold me over till then
awesome
Although I had a feeling Nintendo would release a big first-party game, I wouldn't call this week a failure. Personally, I just got my Wii hooked up after a long semester sitting in a closet, so there are lots of games I still need to download.
OOooooo that's right Hero10x. I forgot about that game. I love Banjo-Kazooie. Nintendo is one letdown after another since this Wii. I don't know if their PR guys are on crack or if they are so arrogant in their confidence of the loyalty of the customers that they like to see how long they can piss on everyone before anyone starts to move out of their yellow rain.
Phantasy Star 4 is a great game if your a rpg fan. I own Phantasy Star 4 and it one the greatest rpgs during the 16 bit era.
The problem is it's already on the ps 2 and the psp on the Sega Genesis Collection. To make it worse, it will be on the 360 and the ps3 next year.
It is a rip off as a result.
I wonder if America will get Castlevania III next week... Oh, and not every Wii owner also has a PS2, PSP, PS3 or X-Box 360. Not quite the rip-off you think it is.
Oh come on, Nintendo! This just isn't cool anymore. I saw that Castlevania III was finally rated by the esrb last week and was actually fool enough to expect it today. Thank you, Nintendo, for making my holidays that much brighter.
Time to flick on a Sony or Microsoft machine.
If youre going to follow the Classic Games on those machines then youre going to be even more dissapointed with the month long or more intervals of updates.
People REALLY need to stop letting these one game weeks get to them.
>> The problem is it's already on the ps 2 and the psp on the Sega Genesis Collection.
Yes, I was considering a couple of the Genesis VC games when I discovered Sega Genesis Collection for PS2. It's a great bargain.
"You won't believe it...a lot of people were expecting..."
Er, YES we will and NO they wern't. Its quote obvious that Nintendo only now intends to release one game per week in the USA. There's really no need to act so shocked when it happens every Monday.
The shock would surely be if it released more than one game.
I'm not saying its a situation you have to be happy with, but the faux-disbelief is starting to get a bit old.
If three games is the norm now, you should sometimes get 2 VC and 1 WiiWare.
@Bass X0: I feel sorry for anybody who has a Wii and not at least ONE of those other systems as well.
But here's what Captain_Konami said:
"But Phantasy Star IV is certainly great enough to save the week from being an utter insult. "
Actually, I'd say that Phantasy Star IV IS an utter insult. Apparently, Nintendo thinks I'm stupid enough to drop $8 on ONE Genesis game when I'm already planning to pay $30 for a game that has FORTY Genesis games on it, unscaled to 720p, in just a couple short months. THAT is a direct insult to my intelligence as a consumer. Yes, not everybody here has a PS3 or Xbox 360, and I'm truly sorry for that, because of the great deal you're going to miss out on as a result.
Today's release didn't even need to be universally phenomenal to keep me reasonably happy, but they had to go and pull yet another "on a collection, so why the HECK would I download this?" release. NOT COOL, NINTENDO!
Frequent users of this site should know that I try to remain calm under such circumstances, but this has gone TOO FAR! I am severely pissed by the wasted potential of today's release. I'll try to hold out SOME hope for next week, but it's not looking very likely to be any better...
ZODA'S REVENGE! Come ON, people!
edit for new posts made while I typed this one
@Betagam7: No, I really don't believe it! It's three freaking days before Christmas, and Nintendo actually did another crappy release. First time in three years that the Christmas release was crappy. Let's see them surprise us with a release on Thursday, though. That would be AWESOME, not that I'm stupid enough to expect THAT...
@Bass X0: Yeah, that WOULD be nice, wouldn't it? But NOOOOO...Nintendo loves WiiWare too much to do something smart like THAT! >_<
At least this week is better than last weeks pile of garbage, but I don't like RPG's so I won't bother downloading it. Why can't Nintendo just give us Castlevania 3? Is that so hard!
Okay so its on a collection and everybody who wanted this game already would already have gotten the collection its on. But even so, its still better to get Phantasy Star IV than Enduro Racer even if the latter isn't on a collection. Well, I think so.
holyy cow, a good game! its a miracle!
Here is my comment from another forum i go to and it sums up my thoughts for this week:
Nintendo ruined any plans i had of buying a new VC Game for a while don't get me wrong PSIV is a great RPG.But Nintendo forgot what this coming Thursday is This Thursday also known as Christmas.
I knew something like this was going to happen when i said the following:
I say we will be screwed and Nintendo will forget that it is about to be Christmas in USA and we will get 2 WiiWare Games and 1 VC Game that people yes even including myself will complain about.
So as a line in Spy Kids 3 goes Yes you are Correct but you are also incorrect.So in a way i was correct about the 2 WiiWare Games and 1 VC Game and Nintendo forgetting that it's about to be Christmas as well.But i was wrong about thinking Nintendo would give us ClayFighter or ClayFighter 63 and 1/3 and them releasing an interplay game every 4th week since this is the 4th week now and no Interplay VC Game.
Any way we got a VC game that few will complain about but this week's WiiWare Games well since we have people complaining about the WiiWare service i will join in with them.
The WiiWare service needs a break or at least a demo of them like someone here said that way we can test out that game to see if we will like it or hate it that way we can give the devs releasing them some feedback and tell them not to give them to Nintendo for release until the bugs are fixed and the games are fully ready Lost Winds would come to mind here.
Next Week's VC Game Release or Releases better be as good as PSIV is for those who like it but also better be something that more people would want as well.
Post#6:
Awesome.
And dammit guys, you're getting one of the best games ever made - games of this caliber are acceptable as solo releases.
I disagree. I don't think ANY game is acceptable as solo releases. I'm not going to complain that much, as far more people have been looking for this title than the ones released in the past few weeks. As for one of the best games ever made.........not really. Hyperbole aside, it is good for fans of RPGs that don't have access to the Genesis collection. (which should be no one considering I think it was released in all regions.)
@ WarioFan63 - Not sure I follow your logic. The more one game weeks we get, the happier we should be? The less we should be annoyed? Hmmm.
As for today's release, I think it's mostly been cover in the posts thus far. But my two cents - As an rpg fan and someone who bought this game for $100 the day it released, I can say that if you are an rpg fan, and you don't own any other systems this game is an amazing value and an incredible play.
Having said that... It's another flippin' one game week, it's a game that is already on a compilation disk, and is soon to be available on another... this time in high-def (and, it seems, with achievements), and it is a game with a very specific and narrow fan-base.
I for one love the game, and I'm glad to see they took the time to release it. Yet even I won't be downloading it due to - no answer to the storage issue (in fact, they've insulted our intelligence with the SD Card BS), the afore mentioned compilations, and the fact that I still have my $100 cartridge.
Close, but not quite on target.
Edit - Oh...and Nintendo? Suck it grinch-ass yaaatches.
Acceptable week, but It's christmas, only one game, OMG!
finally a good rpg to download... still waiting for yoshi's island though....
@Mr Rod - If we had gotten Yoshi's Island, I would have been happy for the rest of the month!
Heck if we got Super Smash Bros or even Super Mario Kart the complaint i have for this week would not be as big but would have still been a complaint for not having 2 VC Games and 2 WiiWare Games that few will care less about.
We can only draw one conclusion from this.
...Nintendo hates Christmas.
Another one Virtual Console title week but it is a good one. Unfortunately I have Phantasy Star IV in a compilation so I won't be downloading this. If you like RPGs then this one should be downloaded immediately. Hopefully Phantasy Star (Master System) will be released in the future.
And hopefully NoA has a surprise for us Virtual Console consumers like NoE did for their base.
Heh. Too bad I already got this on four other formats:
Genesis cart, Genesis rom, and the Sege Genesis Collection for PS2 and PSP.
im sick of nintendo caring so much about the wiiware. i knew once i heard about wiiware, i knew it was going to be annoying for VC junkies like myself.
my whole view on VC goes like this.
when i heard about, i was so happy, i couldnt wait to start a digital collection of a bunch of classics. year one was amazing, dozens of good games, but year two, im afriad was just bad, with a few jems like mario rpg and kirby 64. but seriously, this is the end of year two and they refuse to go out with a bang? whats up with that?
for some strange reason i really thought nintendo was going to rival xbox and release donkey kong 64 on the VC. idk why, i just thought it would have been kind of a jab at microsoft
I find it interesting when people use one-VC-weeks as an argument to buy an Xbox360. Just a few facts: XboxLiveArcade is the equivalent of WiiWare, not VC, and usually they get one game a week - fewer therefore than the Wii. Banjo Kazooie is a rare (pun intended) exception. The closest approximation to VC would be the Xbox Originals, but those get updated about once every two months, with two or so games - a lot fewer than Wii, again (and as a trade-off for those, Microsoft seems to have stopped working on their leaky backwards-compability list). In other words Xbox360 actually gets fewer new games (and there are a lot of duds there as well).
Now, I don't wish to dissuade you from buying an Xbox360 or a PS3, but please do it for the RIGHT reasons. Banjo Kazooie alone isn't worth it
"Now, I don't wish to dissuade you from buying an Xbox360 or a PS3, but please do it for the RIGHT reasons. Banjo Kazooie alone isn't worth it."
No, but Banjo Kazooie Nuts and Bolts is. That game is incredible. Granted, Perfect Dark Zero appears to be incredibly lame, but Rare got their act together. The reason the VC is so important on Wii is because their back catalog games are more interesting than their current catalog ones. Would you rather play Wii Music or Earthbound? How about Disaster Day of Crisis or Super Mario World? Wii Play or Super Metroid?
Bummer to see another one-game week before Christmas, and the one game in question being one I have on the Genesis Collection for the PSP, but at least we get a good game today. I'm sure there's a lot of people here who are happy about this, but I'm just gonna go back to the Gamecube games I bought the other day. * Sigh *...
Edit: Actually, for some reason a lot of people are UNhappy about this. C'mon guys. We got DKC3 and Rolling Thunder 2 last Christmas, and they were good but not spectacular. Not to mention you've been whining about this game ever since Europe got it. I mean jeez, take what you can get.
Fantastic update for Christmas! Yay! Nice to get three good games for a change instead of one terrible one.
I love the hypocrisy. People are complaining that this game is on a compilation, yet they still buy the Mega Man and Metal Slug games in spite they are both in compilations.
Next they complain that Nintendo has always been doing one-game week releases through the entire year (most of the time), but they completely forgot the awesomeness that was the August and September months, especially with the most cried out game: Super Mario RPG.
Then there comes time when games were releasing two-three games; they cry out that none of them are of interest.
Then this game came out, heard lot of people were waiting for this to come out for quite some time, then everyone puts the "its only one game release and its compilation" excuse.
Anyway, I come here to read up all the news for VC and WiiWare titles, but most of you just make me sick. At least be happy Nintendo ever bothered to continue the service (though that would really make me pissed off if they did cancelled it) in favor of WiiWare (Do you know there are GOOD GAMES in that service that you could buy then wait for your favorites come out?), oh wait, mostly everyone complains about storage and not even thinking about emptying some space. Really unfair to those that took their time to make these games. Well enjoy your holidays bitching and whining for no good reason while I actually have FUN playing these games.
Trolling or not, I have my right to say what I want to say as much everyone wants to say that Nintendo sucks/rules. I am just pointing out that all the crying is really pointless cause Nintendo just really don't care since their new audience is giving them money after all, not all of you. It explains why Gamecube was in third in the race. Want to ban me, fine, doesn't matter this is my last comment I will ever make since all the comments I see anyway are the same damn thing even when its good releases or not.
57. Bass X0 - Yeah, I agree.
"I guess I'll be disappointed again, like pretty much the entire VC year."
So the Mega Mans, SMRPG, Secret of Mana, Ys I & II, Star Parodier, Vectorman, Fantasy Zone, Harvest Moon and Super Dodgeball have all been big, fat disappointments to you?
Boy, you're hard to please.
My only major complaint with the last few weeks can be simply described as follows: Nintendo is capable of releasing at least two games per week, yet, for no logical reason, they choose not to. There's no explanation given whatsoever for why are doing this.
Wesbert, you're right Banjo Kazooie alone isn't worth it.
However I find that the ARCADE (not console) perfect conversions, proper PAL conversions as well as the extras that are always added to even the lowliest port are MORE than worth it.
If you're going to give people the rundown on Live Arcade at least give the positives and not just the negatives. Oh and the arcade conversions are nearly always games that people actually want rather than NES volleyball etc.
I'd happilly sittle for one great game, properly PAL converted, with a bundle of extras and designed to run with optimum capacity on my TV than three 50hz megadrive ports with no extras and, as they are on the collection anyway, no incentive to download. Lets not even get started on the daftness of comparing the frequency of Xbox original releases to the frequency of NES ports.
The fact that I can download pretty much anything at any time on the Xbox without having to worry about "making room" is a further bonus.
The whole VC experiment, while a marvelous idea in principle has become a relative disaster. Any ideas people had about building up a virtual library to finally get rid of all those dust covered carts will surely have been abandoned long ago, while PAL gamers hoping to finally play the correct speed versions of there games also suffered dissapointment.
The storage situation, meanwhile remains a joke that Nintendo is not only not able to laugh at but seemingly unable to comprehend.
The only decent VC related thing Nintedo has done to shake itself out of its stupidity is to finally relealise that the import market isn't its enemy and that just because it once refused to release a game in a certian territiry it doesn't have to be like that for the rest of time (unlike its infuriating stance on the PAL conversion issue), however even then it cynically used it as a moneymaking opportunity to ramp up the price by and extra couple of hundred points!
Nintendo has blundered its way thorugh three years of this idiocy, for anyone to try and even attempt to promote the VC as a superior service to Live Arcade is frankly ridiculous in the light of what we've seen.
I think they don't have that many games to do more than one a week. We know there's hundreds of games yet to appear on Virtual Console but that doesn't mean Nintendo have all of them in storage just waiting to be put up on the shop. I assume it takes a while to negotiate with the various companies to get VC games (or those companies negotiating with Nintendo to get their games on the VC) and to have them ESRB rated.
Everyone, quit your whining.
Here's a list of the 5 star games that've come out this year:
Phantasy Star IV
Mega Man 3
Secret of Mana
Shining Force 2
Super Turrican 2
Mega Man 2
Super Mario RPG
Samurai Shodown 2
Ys Book 1&2
Samurai Shodown
Metal Slug
DoReMi Fantasy
Super Turrican
Harvest Moon
Lords of Thunder
Super Street Fighter 2
StarTropics
Most of these games were released during multi game weeks.
Phantasy Star IV - on a complilation already
Mega Man 3 - on a complilation already
Secret of Mana - still hasn't arrived in the PAL regions
Shining Force 2 - on a complilation already
Super Turrican 2
Mega Man 2 - on a complilation already
Super Mario RPG - had to pay "import tax"
Samurai Shodown 2 - appearing on a complilation soon
Ys Book 1&2
Samurai Shodown - appearing on a complilation soon
Metal Slug - on a complilation already
DoReMi Fantasy - had to pay "import tax"
Super Turrican
Harvest Moon
Lords of Thunder
Super Street Fighter 2 - would have been nice if hadn't been tricked into buying earlier version!
StarTropics
Only six of those titles emerge without justified criticism and I could add inferior PAL conversions to all but 2.
Merry &*%$'in Christmas everyone.
@Atlantis1982
I don't download games on compilations at all. There is no hypocrisy on my part since I don't download megaman or metal slug games.
I own a lot compilations on a ps 2, wii, and gamecube. The compilations on these system limit what games I download. It affected for the fact I didn't download a neo geo game yet.
Besides that, I don't download a lot of vc games due to the fact I own a lot of games on cartridges. I download mostly import games or turbo cd games
Crap.
Hard to argue with betagam7 guys he speaks unbiased truth there.
I wonder how many of the games on mega drive compilation coming out in the new year on 360 and PS3 that haven't been released on VC yet will make it onto the VC in the coming weeks to cash in.
you weren't tricked into buying an earlier version already. we all knew that Super was coming and those of who who had some sense saved our points until Super came before getting a Street Fighter game. 100 points "import tax" is hardly a huge complaint. Its a very small price to pay for gems like Super Mario RPG and DoReMi. And Megaman 2 and 3 aren't on a compilation already in England since we didn't get that here. We didn't get Turrican 2 yet and we know Secret of Mana is confirmed for release this week in Europe.
Phantasy Star IV - on a complilation already
Mega Man 3 - on a complilation already - which is out of production
Secret of Mana - still hasn't arrived in the PAL regions
Shining Force 2 - on a complilation already
Super Turrican 2
Mega Man 2 - on a complilation already - that is out of production
Super Mario RPG - had to pay "import tax" - not in NA
Samurai Shodown 2 - appearing on a complilation soon - but not yet
Ys Book 1&2
Samurai Shodown - appearing on a complilation soon - but not yet, also, you're wrong, it's already in a compilation.
Metal Slug - on a complilation already - with bad controls
DoReMi Fantasy - had to pay "import tax" - of $1
Super Turrican
Harvest Moon
Lords of Thunder
Super Street Fighter 2 - has more characters
StarTropics
Not to mention that there might be a few people who only want certain games on a collection, and don't want to bother with the others. There's a justified reason as to why people would download games that are on collections.
@Atlantis1982
If you want to talk about Hypocricy, you should note the fact that in your post you complained and whined as much as any other poster.
Plus its also pretty odd that you spend most of your posts complaining about other posters, then you have a right to say what you want and get pissy when people disagree with you.
@post#33: I can live with that. There's only four games on the coming soon list of wiiware game coming out that I want.
@ Wesbert - Whether or not XBLA is more like Wiiware or VC, I have to say I'm enjoying my XBL Arcade far more than the VC... and far FAR more than Wiiware. Add to that the fact that Nintendo and third party publishers haven't released any real 'must have' disc based games this holiday season, and you have the reason for the exodus. There were a lot of great games released in the last few months for the 360. And I play the hell out of Little Big planet too. Add to that actually having a HHD to store said games and many of the XBLA games being in HD with some sort of online play and achievements... yup. Me happy!!!
@ Atlantis1982 - If you were ever able to express an opinion without lashing out ignorantly, and insulting everyone when you rarely have the facts your comments would be welcome. But instead of engaging people in articulate debates, you rant on with half-witted commentary featuring gross exaggerations and pointed insults. Who the hell ever said that there was nothing but single game weeks this year? And MANY people voiced there disappointment with other games on compilations. The only reason anyone owning the Mega Man Comps still bought the VC downloads was because they didn't like the controller setup. Everyone here is aware of what games are available.
The Gamecube was last, in part, because Nintendo was arrogant and alienated many 3rd party developers with their policy towards newer tech and internet gaming. It was also due to Nintendo not understanding their audience, and positioning the system as a toy. The lack of DVD player hurt them as well. Not because people necessarily needed it, but because of the perception that the Cube was behind the tech curve in every way. Their refusal to discuss the systems' tech hurt them, because the system WAS more capable than the PS2 and could hold it's own and in some cases best the XBOX. There's more, but to assert that somehow Nintendo fans sick of being ignored brought down the system with opinions posted on a board somewhere is... well... dude... are you on meds?
You are an abrasive ass and you don't voice your opinion, you insult, preach, and spout absolute rubbish. That, not your opinion, makes you the flame target. Quit being an ass. No one here whines more than you do.
@ Betagam7: I wasn't giving a rundown of the Xbox360, nor was I promoting anything. I was merely stating different viewpoints.
Other alternate viewpoints:
There are very few actual ARCADE conversions (I believe less than ten). As for other conversions, I was annoyed by the omission of the movies in Symphony of the Night (I love it when Alucard just starts talking about going to the other castle, of which there is absolutely no indication now), and the Duke Nukem 3D port was lackluster. Banjo Kazooie was decent, but frankly didn't stand the test as time nearly as well as I had remembered.
The storage problem is present on Xbox360 as well, since all the files are bigger (I frequently have to erase old content, since I can't just relocate it to a SD card; and the Xbox360 memory units are a genuine joke).
I don't really care about the PAL speed-drop, and I am pretty sure most people wouldn't even be aware of it if they hadn't been told.
Again: If there are games you'd enjoy on Xbox360, then go ahead and buy it. But don't let yourselves get talked into it merely out of frustration. And now I'm going back to World of Goo..
EDIT: @ Manicfatty: Funny, it's the other way around with me, I prefer WiiWare to XboxLiveArcade. It's a matter of taste and opinion. And if you enjoy the games for the 360, then you have bought it for the RIGHT reasons. That was what I was hinting at.
Crap.
Another uninteresting week for me, I was expecting a Christmas miracle in the VC releases these holidays. Merry Hanukkah/Christmas all.
By the way...Who thinks they should release MSX games on VC(other than in Japan) sometime in the future? I just thought it might be cool.
Now I'm sure that NoA really understands that the consumers are hurting for CV3, but you have to understand something. The economy is bad. LoL.
I don't really see why the economy has anything to do with it.
"However I find that the ARCADE (not console) perfect conversions, proper PAL conversions as well as the extras that are always added to even the lowliest port are MORE than worth it.
If you're going to give people the rundown on Live Arcade at least give the positives and not just the negatives. Oh and the arcade conversions are nearly always games that people actually want rather than NES volleyball etc."
"The whole VC experiment, while a marvelous idea in principle has become a relative disaster. Any ideas people had about building up a virtual library to finally get rid of all those dust covered carts will surely have been abandoned long ago, while PAL gamers hoping to finally play the correct speed versions of there games also suffered dissapointment.
The storage situation, meanwhile remains a joke that Nintendo is not only not able to laugh at but seemingly unable to comprehend."
*Quoted for being entirely true and very well put. *
And on the idea that Big N can't get a hold of game licenses, thus leading to one game weeks, I'm pretty sure there are literally dozens of 1st party games that could supplement other titles into making for 2+ VC game weeks. Clu Clu Lad being a marvelous example of the at least semi-enjoyable 1st party games that could be released more frequently.
And while I don't find existence of compilations enough of a reason alone for me personally to avoid downloading a VC game (I value the above mentioned avoiding of carts/discs/etc quite highly), even the one-sided posters in this thread telling critics to shut up need to manifest enough sense to acknowledge the value difference between games that can't be obtained anymore and games that can be bought right now new and packaged with 5 or 10 other games included. I myself skipped VC Metal Slug expressly for getting around to buying it and SIX more Metal Slug games on one PS2 disc for only TWO times the price of Metal Slug VC.
But I encourage folks to continue RAH RAH RAHing the VC and utterly ignoring and stubbornly disregarding people's reasonable grounds for criticism. Just please STOP with the telling others what views they can express and where. Take that kind of arrogant dictatorship to someplace where people like others trying to play god toward them.
And based on the list of 17 high rated games that someone posted as absolute and complete evidence that no one can justifiably criticize the VC release schedule, even if people do like ya'll want and ignore reality, like some types of games being 5 star but not having a wide audience (the non-RPGers in this thread being a plain-as-the-nose-on-your-face example that you either ignored or failed to read before posting such) and other 5 star games that did not port well (due to PAL or whatnot) .....and you end up with AT BEST one GENERALLY great game per MONTH.
That is 17 great games per YEAR. Just how many YEARS do ya'll anti-critic critics think we have before the VC is no longer viable? Some of us don't have YEARS to spend making excuses for Nintendo and clinging to a vast potential that is utterly not being fulfilled.
You know what I love more than hypocrisy? Unrealistic and extreme one-sidedness. Honesty is grey. The VC has accomplishments, but it is also falling down on the job. Badly.
Bah, I should not wade in. The foolishness of ignoring negatives, and ordering others to do the same, is just too easy to show as bad form. The flaws don't even need to be pointed out, as they are numerous and without good solution beyond Nintendo just doing their work better.
Edit: @71. NintendoBrad: I think it would get exercised in only the first 50 or so posts if stubborn folks would not pick fights by taking an ill considered and timed argument describing the VC as "just fine". Certain people put gas on the fire and we end up with borderline flaming (get it? gas, fire, flame? That was clever. ). If people could speak their piece, the thread would probably settle down to game discussion sooner. But yeah, the negativity is getting old, almost as old as one game weeks for VC releases.
A good week but even so it's another 1 game that most people already have on PS2 collection. I hope this means we get SoM this week.
we will. didn't you see the topic below this on the news page?
@Bass XO
It's a joke dude hence the "LoL" at the end.
@Bass X0 I didn't spot it untill just now
Defiers of the Wii VC, prepare for your judgement!!!
Seriously, I' am starting to think that the grinch is running the VC.
I'm a collector, I love classic games, but I never though the VC service will deliver that many games, there are still many games I'm looking for in cartridges even if they came out on VC, actually there are games I wish for but I've never expected them to come out, so any little jewel that Nintendo releases is welcomed, and if nothing interesting pops out, fine for me, I expected the service not to be that good anyway; also I'd like to have a 360 because of its games and all the nice features I've read about here not due to disappointment; still, I understand why everybody who had big expectations on the service feels angry, you've been let down and that's awful, Nintendo should listen to you, I'm really hoping for a nice VC update next week, it would be sad to see how Nintendo disappoints many of you once again.
I WISH YOU ALL A MERRY CHRISTMAS, DON'T LOOSE YOUR FAITH JUST YET.
Has Shining Force 2 appeared on a compilation? I thought only SF1 did.
Genesis games like Out Run can be mine once again! Oh Joy!!!!
The Ferrari in Out Run could be a bit of an issue (that effectively makes it a liscenced game)...names will edited out of Tecmo Bowl, passwrods bokren in Kid Icarus but grpahics changed in Out Run or Bionic Comando...oh no that is "too difficult"
At least Europe got a Christmas suprise
Secret of Mana being held back for two months isn't a surprise but frankly an insult (lets not go into the 50Hz or the god-awful German and French translations...). They could have at least remembered they are yet to release Mario golf...
You guys are complaining about this way too much. Even if you don't like rpg's, Nintendo did decide to release one of the best ever made. They've been releasing mediocre titles for some time now, and it's a nice change of pace for them to release something this good regardless of what genre it is.
What the hell, is Nintendo just giving up on the Virtual Console or something? Because all it's been for the past 3 weeks is one game after one game and it's getting old!
I just wish they'd stop with the "One VC title a week" thing. Not gonna buy any of these though .
I'm planning on buying Simons Quest, and maybe Super Metroid. Any suggestions on some good games? Possibly with Co-Op or some other form of multiplayer? SERIOUSLY PEOPLE! SUGGESTIONS!
You guys should be happy. We finally get PSIV and Europe is scheduled to finally get Secret of Mana after all the complaints during the past couple months. So stop bitching and maybe we'll get Castlevania 3 soon.
I'm sure many of those people who are complaining about VC games being on a collection disc before don't actually own the collection discs they're on.
@ Shadx
Yes you need Simons Quest and Super Metriod. Also check out Final Soldier, Super Castlevania, Streets of Rage (any of them), Lords of Thunder, and Vectorman
This is a great game. Stop crying! I use to walk up hill both ways in the snow just to play pong. It's all good.
@Shadx:
As far as good multiplayer games, I have to highly recommend River City Ransom and Super Dodge Ball.
And Contra III is pretty good as well. Not quite as purely good as the original Contra, but with some nice weapon swapping abilities that #1 didn't have.
There is a nice set of multiplayer games under the N64 section of games. Wave Race is tight. Mario Kart is classic.
As for solo games, any Zelda, but especially the SNES one. Same thing goes for the Super Mario games.
Ninja Gaiden 2 is a top action game. And Mega Man 2 must be tried, as it is pure greatness. And F-Zero is plain yet classic racer.
All the unhappy americans should move to europe ftw.
@Atlantis1982: Right on brother.
As far as I'm concerned, this update completely and utterly sucks, although I'm not too surprised. I don't know why I kept on telling myself MUSHA was going to come out today.
Oh well, it's not like there's nothing else to buy. Speaking of which, I have 1500 points remaining, and I was planning on spending most of it on Alien Soldier for the MD, and put the remaining points towards a later purchase(probably a shooter), but I'm starting to think I should get Ys and Startropics instead.
So, what do you guys suggest: Alien Soldier or Ys? And incase you were wondering, my previous purchase was Final Soldier.
@ Mickeymac - Not exactly an easy choice, but I guess it would come down to your taste and fav genre. Personally, I would take PSIV over Ys, but that's just me and Ys is an awesome game. On the other hand, even if it doesn't have the longevity and substance of Ys, Alien Soldier is a great ride while it lasts. Ys=more bang for the buck... Alien Soldier=more bang period... lot 'o shootin'! If only you could trade in your old VC games when you beat them
@Tony: I already got Super Castlevania. Love it. And I own Sonic Gems Collection which has both Vectorman and Vectorman 2 on it. BUt I will looks into the others. thanks
@Captain_Konami: I own the original F-Zero cart, and I play it quite a bit.
I own Super Mario Worlds cart too.
I'm not a fan of megaman or ninja gaiden (I know, I'm corrupted).
Mario Kart is classic, but I think I'll just find a copy of Double Dash.
Wave Race looks great, but I'm not sure it's for me.
I have played Contra 3 before, and it was pretty fun, thats going in the maybe file.
Never played Super Dodgeball.
And River City Ransom is awesome, but I played it to death when I owned the original, so I'm not gonna download it for a while.
I played Zelda 1 to death on Animal crossing, though, now that I think of it, I might just download Zelda 1. Might.I found Zelda 2 incredibly difficult and I'm contemplaiting Link to the Past. It IS my favorite zelda. Thanks for all the suggestions!
ok, this was one of the most intresting updates here, but for the angry posting from everybody. guys i dont know how much you think they make by releasing a VC game,, sight,, we are not their market anymore; you should see what kind of TV shows they are advertising here in Mexico... is the first time ever i see a Nintendo marketing campaing for latin America like this.
The only thing I don't like about Mega Man 2 is its too damn easy. Especially if you beat Metal Man first.
I kinda wish there was a 5 hour return thing. So you could buy a game, and if you didn't like it, you could return it. But only within a certain amount of time. Ah well. guess you just gotta be careful.
Also, I decided I'm not gonna get A Link to the Past or Zelda 1. So that leaves Simons Quest, Super Metroid and Contra 3. How much is Contra 3 anyways? I forget what system it's for. Gonna get Gunstar Heroes, just sounds too amazing to pass up.
Metal Man = ownage
The ** has hit the fan...well...at least...um...okay this just flat out sucks.
@Shadx
Gunstar Heroes is pretty good, but it's better if you have a friend who will play it with you. Contra III costs 800 points. I'm personally vouching for Super Metroid, but that's because, IMO, every Metroid game is a masterpeice.
@Betagam7
"Nintendo has blundered its way thorugh three years of this idiocy, for anyone to try and even attempt to promote the VC as a superior service to Live Arcade is frankly ridiculous in the light of what we've seen."
Yeah, I can't argue with you. If it wasn't for the Red Ring of Death, I'd have gone with Microsoft this time around. Live Arcade is superior to the Virtual Console.
@Shadx:
Having the cart for F-Zero IS more satisfying. I lost mine some time back and absolutely was not content until I picked up another one.
As for looking to get Double Dash, good luck with that. I think there are still copies out there, but from the time I finally jumped into owning a Gamecube (which was a late as possible due to me not liking the darn thing much.......I'm a cartridge devotee........as of last year when support went away and I snagged mine for $50 day after Thanksgiving from Amazon) the used Mario games generally have refused to drop in price, and I refuse to pay the full Gamecube price for an out of print game that I already have on cartridge for the N64 that does it well enough.
@"every Metroid game is a masterpiece":
I was going to say that it's impossible to argue with truth like that, but then I remembered the sacrilege done to the concept by converting to a 1st person shooter............. and then I can't entirely agree with that. So I'll partially agree with that, with regards to all non Gamecube Metroid games.
@Captain_Konami
Well, everyone has their opinions, and that's why I inserted that little "IMO", which, last I checked, still meant "In My Opinion".
How disappointing and ridiculous. Remember the good ol' days? If I remember correctly, there was even a 4 game release week! Wow. It's shocking, isn't it? Everyone was pleased with the releases in 2007. Why did they stop? Honestly, I WAS expecting a Christmas gift or something. I never had a Genesis or any Sega systems for that matter but I hear this is a good game. However, I want the classic NINTENDO games. Hell, I can't remember the last NES game released. The SNES has had some good games coming out, I'll give 'em that. And for the N64... the last two games released were Mario Golf and Pokemon Puzzle League. Remember Pokemon Puzzle League? Back from like April I believe.
In these recent weeks, it appears that Sega took over. There's been a COMPLETE change of course in the way the Virtual Console has been managed. Sega and SNK have released numerous games recently. And Nintendo is just standing back and making WiiWare games. I HATE WIIWARE GAMES!!!!! All Wiiware games are flash games that can be easily found somewhere on the internet or at least something like it. Only Nintendo-based series like Dr. Mario manage to make semi-good games.
So in conclusion,
Nintendo should go back to the golden days of the Virtual Console. This one game a week (arguably one terrible game a week) streak needs to end.
The way I see it, it's carma: carma for the times I've complained about complainers, even though that made me a complainer, just because the game wasn't utter crap. Well now I'm seeing things from their perspective, because when all the games in an update, no matter how good they are, have absolutely no appeal to you, it just plain sucks.
@Mipsymoodle
Man, a Genesis or Neo Geo game would've totally made my day, so far all we've gotten are Master System games and Phantasy Star IV. And hell, where are all the TG-16 games? Have we really run out of those titles already? I can't even remember the last time they released a NES game!(edit that haven't been previously released on one or more compilations)
Oh well, as I've said before, I haven't run out of things to buy yet, and I'm still busy with my last couple of purchases, so I don't have too much to complain about, but still, there are a lot of games in the "Coming soon" list that are on the top of my wish list, and I'd love to see at least one of those before the end of the year.
I kinda wish there was a 5 hour return thing. So you could buy a game, and if you didn't like it, you could return it. But only within a certain amount of time. Ah well. guess you just gotta be careful.
If such a service were offered the servers would be even more overloaded becuase if it is free I must have it in my free time period that is assuming if it is a case of you get it free for 5 hours. If it was 5 hours of play time well...most games don't get that. Look at the Nintendo channel.
As for the releases. Hudson basically giving up on VC (shame as there are 3rd party turbo 16 games still possible, first party CD games and not to mention imports) is part of it and new systems failing to deliver quality and/or quantity. A whole system being eliminated from the lineup will basically reduce a game a week.
Plus the whole not bothering to work on the N64 emulator so no more N64 titles. Yeah there is Custom Robo as an 'import' potentially ready to go but Custom Robo doesn't sell at all.
In tihs position I would work out ways to get more games out...WiiWare effectively does that. This might have been some of the reason Nintendo took so long to come up with WiiWare inspite of it being something supposed at launch (I remember reviews of launch title Super Fruit Fall basically saying "this should have been a downloadable title" so the concept was there from that long ago), basically only now do they need WiiWare.
You could say WiiWare is a failsafe for uncoperative thrid parties (there are a couple more VC releases in Japan becuase of more 3rd parties).
@Starwolf_UK
Rats, they couldn't have quit after they released Sapphire? That's a real bummer, man.
Firebrand, the so called "red ring of death" should not be a reason to put you off.
I've yet to experience it and as a result, instead of tearing my hair out over Wii's disc based release shovelware, I've experienced the worlds of GTAIV and Fallout 3. If I get annoyed by the VC and the poor Pal conversions then I can just fire up the Xbox and enjoy perfect versions of Sensible World of Soccer or Rez HD.
Nothing I like on Wiiware this week? Then I'll lose myself in a bit of Braid or maybe download a demo and try out one of the new releases without worrying about wasting my points or having to delete half my library first.
Choice is the key, and "red ring of death" or not, give me the best of both worlds anyday.
Microsoft had a lot of work to do to win over gamers but for me its done it with this generation, innovating and showing a genuinely interested attitude that puts the lazy, sloppy work of Nintendo, once the gamers choice, to shame.
Far from being dissapointed with Banjo's appearance on the system I only hope it can secure more past classics. Maybe Nintendo might buck up its ideas a little.
sigh whatever >_>
@34. Stuffgamer1
I wouldn't want Nintendo to not release this just because it's on outside collections. But yes, the Genesis Collection is on several systems now, including the relatively cheap and having plenty of great games PS2. Odds are, most people will have a system that has the Genesis Collection.
(Although, 66. Mr. Cheez does make a good point about how many people will only really want a few games from such a compilation, which would potentially make the VC release a more worthwhile purchase.)
Still, you cannot deny that it's one of the greats. It just would've been nice if another VC game released with it. Especially with it being Christmas Week. Really, Nintendo, every other developer makes a big deal about Christmas. I'm sure you do, too. But you're sorta leaving the Virtual Console out of the rush.
Come to think of it, I just realized, nobody's releasing collection packs on Nintendo systems, anymore. Guess they see no reason to what with the VC existing. Either that or Nintendo won't allow it.
@50. yoda87960
Not to my understanding. Everything I hear about Nuts & Bolts says to me "not really a B-K game".
@69. Manicfatty
"The Gamecube was last, in part, because Nintendo was arrogant and alienated many 3rd party developers with their policy towards newer tech and internet gaming. It was also due to Nintendo not understanding their audience, and positioning the system as a toy."
You need to see this (warning: language): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9joAb4XMaUs
Make note of what he says starting at 5:42.
A more accurate statement is that Nintendo's Gamecube seemed like a kid's toy. (Seriously. Purple? WTF, mates?)
@107. Mipsymoodle
"All Wiiware games are flash games that can be easily found somewhere on the internet or at least something like it."
Wow. That's gotta be one of the biggest exaggerations I've ever heard.
Finally, I think people complaining about people complaining about this being a 1 VC game week are forgetting one thing: IT'S FREAKIN' CHRISTMASS WEEK! Okay, yeah, PS4 is a pretty great Christmas gift. But it's still only one gift.
I bought III, and IV came.
p=( - . - )
You know, I just remembered, I still need to get the Sega Genesis collection. Although, at this point, I'm better off waiting for the Ultimate Genesis Collection to hit, I mean, for G-D sakes, it's got the word "ultimate" right in the title.
@Captain-Konami. Yeah, Metroid Prime was a REAL tragedy. They completely ruined the series.
@Draygone. Yay someone here acknowledges my existence!
@Draygone: Wow, it sure took a TON of posts before somebody noticed me...
Anyway, I sort of CAN deny that it's one of the greats, or I can at LEAST deny that I think it's great. This is because I've never played it, and don't intend to until I can get my hands on Phantasy Star 1 FIRST (yes, I'm one of THOSE guys)! Even if it IS one of the greats, it's STILL on an easy-to-procure collection, which SHOULD automatically prevent a game from being the only release for a week, ESPECIALLY Christmas week.
Actually, Nintendo left EVERYTHING out of the Christmas rush. What did they release, retail or otherwise, that screamed "great for the Christmas rush!" to you? Animal Crossing? A great game, but not capable of holding up a Christmas rush single-handed. Wii Music? Nobody bought it, even though it is pretty fun, in an unconventional way. After those two, you run out of games to even CONSIDER as Nintendo's Christmas releases. So...they failed. Big-time.
You're probably right about collection discs on Wii. SNK was the last company to get one out, and I THINK they have another one coming, but Sega, king of compelation discs (that tend to have a LOT of over-lapping content), hasn't put one out for Wii. I'm sure they smell money, and $8 a pop instead of $30 for a collection racks up quite a bit more.
@Mr. Cheez: Actually I HAVE heard rumors that someone out there actually enjoyed Metroid Prime. I heard that person lives in some remote village in Nebraska or Alaska ...... one of those askas.
Seriously though, I can see how a good many folks went for it. I'm an odd one and I'll cop to it. I like my first person shooter franchises to be first person shooter franchises and I like my spooky platformers to stay platformers. Even when Castlevania II went all different, it was still a platformer.
Besides, I'm historically First Person Shooter unaccepting. When done JUST right, I'll love it to death (see: Goldeneye), but otherwise as gaming concepts go it's just not my cup of cake. Metroid being made first person would be like the Metal Gear Solid franchise going entirely First Person Perspective. Just not an upgrade by my taste.
@Stuffgamer1:
I noticed ya Stuffgamer1. I just don't know what to say. I think Phantasy Star IV is great enough to ALMOST prop up the week, if it weren't a Christmas week that is. I do indeed own it on the 28 game Sega compilation, and I plan on buying it for my VC as well. It saves me having to swap out whatever PS2 disc I've got in the machine, track down which of my half dozen PS2 memory cards I have my Phantasy Star game saved on, etc etc. And I'm JUST ....BARELY.....on this side of the boundary where I'll still reward Nintendo for it's better VC releases by buying them if can at all justify it based on my love of the game.
And I am INDEED one of those people without an alternative current gen system aside from my Wii (which I would not buy compilations for even if they wer coming out for it hand over feet......my Mega Man, Sega, Sega Genesis, Metal Slug, etc etc anthologies are all on my PS2. It avoids Wii control issues. It avoids the unimpressiveness of the Gamecube controller and it's button mapping shortcomings. But I will either manifest the money for an Xbox 360 soon, and the better driving weather to obtain one (Jasper model only thank you......Microsoft's laziness spawned Red Ring of Death can just munch my butt ), or I will have no options regarding this mega mega Sega release of the future.
So I do what I can, I appreciate one more quality game that I can add to the convenience of my Wii's harddrive........harddrive ......Wah hahahahahahahahaha.....ahem.........harddrive.
Stop whining guys. We're lucky to even have a Virtual Console. And if we didn't have one, you wouldn't be complaining so much.
If we didn't have one, I'd have never bought a Wii. And I'd have left my Big 3 classic Nintendo systems hooked up. And I would have been lucky enough to have invested my Would-Be-Wii Money in an Xbox360 and feel the slimy hand of Microsoft love rather than the icy grip of Nintendo disregard.
Sorry, but as far as the "we're lucky" concept........that dog just won't hunt. Or that's not cricket. Or.......fill in your own euphemism for "No Sale".
Thanks for letting us down for the upteenth time, NOA. PSIV may be great, but I was expecting more for Christmas.
And how do you guys know that you won't get something special for Christmas. Just wait and see.
@Kaptain Konami: I guess so, but we're expecting too much each week. Everyone here's always saying "Oh yeah we're gonna get CVIII this week' or "This game has been ESRB rated, so we're going to get it this week".
We all know Nintendo is spacing out their releases, so just enjoy what's already there and uh.... coughemulatecough... the rest.
@Captain_Konami. Ahhh, I see. You're one of those traditionalist types.
I can see where your coming from. No one could've predicted the game to be successful: It was developed by a no-name company, and it was a HUGE jump in genre, yet they still pulled it off with aplomb. It's the first FPS I ever played, and to this day, MP is still one of the few FPSs I truly like. It's just not a genre I was ever really big on. I guess I'll have to learn to cope with them now though, since I'm getting a 360 fairly soon.
@ Draygone - I'll have to watch that clip, but in the short time I have I'll just note that the form and color was deliberate. It was to position it as a toy for the same purpose that the created the Wii: to broaden their market and become the 'family system' Of course the cube didn't really make that happen... there are a variety of quotes I remember hearing from different Nintendo peeps, including Miyamoto-san that basically said as much. One of the conversations (and I'm really paraphrasing here) was basically about others taking game machines too seriously and that they were essentially toys/entertainment devices for children and a few adults. At the time they were still sold on the idea that the biggest gaming market was kids and teens. And I'm pissed I can't find the quotes/interviews! Dammit! Oh well. Doesn't matter
Edit: So I watched the vid and I can get behind a great deal of his logic but not all of it... and certainly not the apocalyptic extremes he reaches. The third party doom rhetoric in particular. But he kind of reiterates the Nintendo mantra, circa 'Gamecube era' that I was referring to. If there was such writing on the wall, Nintendo saw it but didn't know how to make the break themselves and they ended up with sort of an 'awkward tween' of a system that didn't really fit in anywhere. When they couldn't make good on the family system/kid recruit machine alone, they began to court the 'core' gamer. But by then the stigma was there and it was the 'toy' or 'lunch box' for life. Outside of the fanboys, and kids there were few believers.
One thing that he fails to mention in the vid. These 'M' games are appealing to and played by... KIDS! As frightening as it may seem, there are a lot of kids playing mature games... most with their parents blessing... or indifference. One only need to log on for some Call of Duty or Gears to hear the breaking pubescent voices dropping 'F' bombs. So the next gen is in place, if not what we are comfortable with or expecting.
@Big A2: True, there is the vague possibility of another release this week, I guess. This being based on the fact that games were released on Christmas day last year (in Europe, anyway), proving that Nintendo can change release schedules to fit their nonsensical schemes. Otherwise, there MIGHT be a truly amazing release next Monday, though I'm not EVEN stupid enough to expect either of those to happen at this point.
I'll happily jump on the Metroid Prime discussion and say that I really liked MP. I think it was the very first FPS I ever played (I didn't really care about the genre up until that point, but they persuaded me with Metroid). I would really like to know where (if anywhere) the series is headed now, though. Last thing we need is another 8-year hiatus.
Nntendo of America's christmas list: 1 virtual release, a pair of tube socks for all of the workers, and bubble gum, because everyone likes bubble gum. (Bubble gum not intended for being a free gift, $2.99 a pack with 8 pieces in each pack.)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM NINTENDO!!!!!!!!
Ughh...shouldn't have gotten my hopes up I guess... Seriously though, ONE GAME! Thanks once again Nintendo, for boldly giving me the middle finger.
@Big A2: I empathize with your perspective, and that's really why I don't set my heart on any one game. I'm pretty easy to please, so long as the game(s) are high quality and ones I like. Any of those will do......
@Mr. Cheez: YEAH....... life can be a burden sometimes. Enjoy that 360. Once I get my hands on one, I doubt it'll convert me to a hardcore 1st person gamer, but I'll probably dabble a bit more than currently. The graphics are just to great, and at high res output........ gotta give them a taste. And I will at least conceed, in spite of my preference, that Prime seemed to be a high quality product. I can fully see why it is popular.
@Manicfatty: I had that very same reaction to the idea presented that kids were just not playing the Mature games these days. It IS happening. It IS disturbing. And it IS probably having enough momentum to continue (so long as parents choose to care more about paying attention to things other than realistic environments that allow preteens to shoot or beat a realistic representation of a living being to a bloody pulp. Even freedom of experience has limits and can reach unhealthy extremes, and parents are the only saftey valve. But in terms of the presentation, I imagine the game and game system makers are probably not losing too much sleep over it. But Nintendo certainly found a magic bullet to embrace new young gamers, new elderly gamers, and even somewhat intrigue long term gamers (though I assume the VC was probably just simply their strategy for hooking the hardcore and old school gamers who might have been the most immune to the Wowy Zowy of the "new" motion controls) with reliable wireless motion control schemes.
@Stuffgamer1: I'm sure once Nintendo puts out some motion sensitive shoes, they'll put out an immersive Virtual Metroid. Either that, or go the Mega Man 9 route and step back to old school. But I bet on them upping the ante beyond First Person, if they ever get around to doing something with the franchise again.
Getting one good game is much better than getting two crap games so I dont know what you guys are complaining about. Even if you dont like RPGs at least Nintendo is making some progress in releasing one good game than one bad game.
@WolfLink22 - The WiiWare service needs a break or at least a demo of them like someone here said...
Um, no it doesn't. Nintendo just has to release FOUR games (2 VC + 2 WiiWare) every single week.
@Mipsymoodle - I HATE WIIWARE GAMES!!!!! All Wiiware games are flash games that can be easily found somewhere on the internet or at least something like it. Only Nintendo-based series like Dr. Mario manage to make semi-good games.
And all classic games can be easily found on the internet too, so what is the point?
Maybe Nintendo is just in the spirit of Chanukah and is planning on giving us a present each night...except they mistook "night" for "week."
Sorry, couldn't help it...
Boah, it gets more and more on my nerves to read the comments, and sometimes i really ask myself how old several people behind the texts are...
I might as well say this, since everyone is complaining and not about VC Releases.
One person put up a list of 17 VC games that are the only 5-stars of this year, and such list is treated as the list of the ONLY games available on Virtual Console! This is Europe (or, in my case the US/PR), not South Korea! (I wonder how South Korea handles that itsy, bitsy, teeny, weeny ammount of titles...
And what about North Korea?)
In all seriousness, DIFFERENT PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT TASTES!! (I may be ticked off, but not enraged. I just want you to get the idea.) Not everyone is going to buy the 17 5-stars, while there will be people who will buy at least one of the remaining 66! (As an example, I am not interested in buying Samurai Showdown or 2, but I would gladly buy Pokémon Puzzle League, and I already bought Phantasy Star III!)
Speaking of PSIII, I did not like the game much, since I fainted frequently, and Gyrostarr (WiiWare), while fun was not 100% satisfactory, so would I dump my Wii over the window angry about not being able to get a refund? No; I will enjoy these games as much as I can. What I did is done, yet I can change my attitude about the situation. At least Phantasy Star III had got good graphics and GyroStarr does not have an enphasis in shooting, only! (Besides, some grinding and better item usage and supply can help me with the mass fainting! Plus, I still only have the cyborg as my lone partner! There is still tons of the game left to play!)
Then again, I can be really conforming. If a product I have is unsatisfactory, I make do.
By the way, by "p=(- . -)", I mean that I want to shoot myself with an Evoker, like I want to do now with these anti-Nintendo comments. If you hate Nintendo so much, then why do you not simply throw out/sell all your Nintendo items and switch loyalites to Sony, Nintendo, Sega, Hudson, SMK, or C64?
On another point, if refunds were available from WiiShop, then people could just beat games for free!
Yeah Nintendo would NEVER do that.
Wasn't Hudson only dropping VC support for Europe? American Wii owners should be fine.
Oh, an the original Phantasy Star is on a collection, too - Phantasy Star Collection for the GBA, collecting the three first games in the series.
I dont understand why Hudson don't put Mario Party 1? Omg It's horrible .... For Phantasy Star, it's a good games but rpg are not my favorite....
I don't understand why More Sega games releases than the Nintendo Games? WTF.... It's not a Genesis Virtual Console, It's Nintendo.. Look 5 last weeks....
22: Phantasy Star IV (Genesis)
15: Enduro Racer (Master System)
8: Sonic 2 (Master System)
1: Metal Slug 2 (Neo Geo)
24: Boogerman (Genesis)
Wth??? Where Nintendo? Sega Hypnotize Nintendo or What?
@touffeboy I don't think Sega hypnotize Nintendo into releasing Genesis and Master System Games, I think it is just Nintendo's way of saying thanks to Sega for it's support. I mean two of the biggest hyped-up games for the Wii in 2009 (The Conduit and Madworld) are Sega titles, (although I don't care much about the Conduit, looks to much like every other FPS out there) not to mention that the Wii version of Sonic Unleashed is said to be the best version, according to Gamespot, Game Informer and IGN.
Many of the posts here are getting very large...
I really don't get the 1 game per week that's going on in North America. I've only started out the VC gaming and so to me it wouldn't be a problem if they started doing that in the UK as well. But it is really taking the biscuit making people wait rudiculous lengths of time when it's not necessary. Choice is a good thing and at the very least there should be 2 or 3 games to choose from. I happen to have downloaded Phantasy Star 4 and I think it's an amazing RPG even by todays standards. I can't believe it was made for the Genesis, the battles, storytelling, music, and visuals are all top notch. Highly recommended.
Tomorrow is christmas eve! HOO-FREAKING-RAY!
Alot of controversey on this subject right now. I am a little upset that we keep getting 1 VC title a week ... I can't think of anything positive to say ... go read MarkyVigoroth's post.
Also, thanks for all the help from people who gave me suggestions. I decided to get Gunstar Heroes and Super Metroid. I have not obtained a Wii Points Card yet, but I will no doubt be getting one wither tomorrow or on christmas. So, yeah. How difficult is Super Metroid? I beat the NES one (downloaded it because I used to have the original cart and loved it) and found it kinda easy ... excluding the bosses, those things we're little bastards! (sorry if I offended anyone with that). And finally, how long and difficult is Gunstar Heroes? Anyways, CAN'T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS!
@touffeboy: Screw mario party 1, bring us number 3! That game ruled! But, yeah, I would like to see all 3 mario parties on there some time next year. It's too bad we're all gonna die 2012 ... ah well, might as well ruin our lives well we have the chance! (lol, jk.)
@133: How does South Korea handle it? Piracy.
So, I hear Nintendo has sold an average of less than 1 game per console.
Super Metroid's not very hard to finish if you're not concerned with your end rating. The challenge comes from trying to get a 100% and/or fast win.
Definitely easier than the NES (probably the hard part on the NES is handling the duplicate rooms without a map. Neither issue is a problem in Super.)
You know what, though? I say (actually, a few people suggested it before) we save our anger for Nintendo. E-mail, send a letter, whatever. They might not respond, but if it adds up if may foster change. Let's make it a New Years resolution, if you will. Grumbling here is a good way to let off steam, but won't accomplish anything.
So, how about that Madworld? Pretty cool looking, huh? (just trying to change the topic)
@Shadx: I agree with what KingMike said about Super Metroid. If you beat Metroid on NES (something I've never managed to do), then Super Metroid should seem like a CAKEWALK in comparison. But it's definitely a lot more fun, and it's really more balanced than too easy. And you'll have to get really good at some tricky maneuvers to get 100% items (my brother stinks at wall jumping, something I excel at).
Here's an EXTREMELY interesting note for the comparison shoppers here (those who would say VC is good relative to other companies' classic game downloads). Sony is officially upping the releases of PS1 games, having put out TWO games last week (Castlevania Chronicles and Rayman 2), and one EXTREMELY RARE AND EXPENSIVE game today, Suikoden. Now THAT'S what I call a Christmas release! One game, but it's rare, valuable, not available on any collection, and only $6 for an entire PS1 RPG!
Just thought I'd post that in case anybody cared to know what VC is up against now. This push for PS1 games on PSN is supposed to continue for some time, so I hear. Could get interesting...
@Stuffgamer. Nice releases. Let me know when they release Bust a Move '99, FFIIV, and Xenogears! I might actually buy a PS3 then!
But to be serious for a moment, PSN might be gathering up steam now, but Virtual Console had better releases earlier, and Sony was really slouching on releases before.
@ Stuffgamer1 - Sony can't really compete with Nintendo and the Virtual Console. Yeah it's great they're (finally) pushing out PS1 games, but Nintendo has a huge library of games to choose from, while Sony has a pretty limited scope of (good) PS1 games to re-release. (Granted, I have a PS3 and will probably download Castlevania Chronicles.)
I honestly believe Nintendo doesn't care much about fringe gamers like us who download games like Ys Book I & II - games they released years ago are still in the top 10 downloads, so why should they? It's sad, but right now we're being outspent and outspoken by a bunch of casual gamers who download Super Mario 64 and then never sign on to the VC again. Just a thought anyway.
Someone else questioned the comment about Shining Force 2 being on a collection . . . I likewise don't know what collection that is (if there is one, I wouldn't mind being informed).
Also, why would Hudson "give up" on the VC? Thankfully they got the shooters out before realizing they (probably) weren't too popular, but shouldn't they give Rondo of Blood a go and watch the downloads go crazy before giving up? Sheesh.
Finally, as someone who is as hardcore a fan of Metroid possible from the very beginning. . . <gets out a big sword and chases Metroid Prime-haters> I thought that game had pretty much the best level design in a 3-D game . . . ever. It's sequels came out way too fast, for sure, but the original I can hardly find fault with (except that ridiculous, B-sci-fi soundtrack).
@Cally
"Also, why would Hudson "give up" on the VC? Thankfully they got the shooters out before realizing they (probably) weren't too popular, but shouldn't they give Rondo of Blood a go and watch the downloads go crazy before giving up? Sheesh."
Maybe Hudson is giving up on the VC because of Nintendo's insane release policy. It's not like they have a say in when their games come out. Maybe it's not worth their trouble.
I really wish Konami would just port the PSP Dracula X game for the Wii. Of course they won't, but that would the logical thing to do.
@ Stuffgamer1
Suikoden is awesome! A non-missable RPG. Suikoden 2 isn't quite as tight, but has my personal favorite story in a video game.
The PSOne's library is my personal favorite of any console. RPG heaven: Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, Xenogears, Chrono Cross, Lunar, Grandia. Also Resident Evil 2, Vagrant Story, Castlevania: SotN, Metal Gear Solid, Crash Bandicoot, Tekken 3, FFTactics, Mega Man 8, X4, Legends, the first Tomb Raider, Gran Turismo 1 and 2. Good times.
@Cally's "<gets out a big sword and chases Metroid Prime-haters> "
Bah! I'd just blast ya with my 2-D missle.
Actually, even a dislike of the concept could not overcome the quality of the presentation, thus I actually purchased a used copy of Prime right after I added a Gamecube to my collection. (But we all know I just bought it to play the original Metroid ..... ).
I sure wouldn't mind someone attempting to do a third-person 3D Metroid, now. I think it would be kind of cool with the Wii-remote, moving Samus around and maybe being able to blast anywhere like you could with star bits in Super Mario Galaxy . . .
That, AND a new 2D Metroid, of course.
The most awesome thing about a 2-D missile . . . the guy it's being fired at wouldn't be able to see it coming at him! XD (only everyone on the side)
@As an early X-Mas present to myself, I picked up DArk Night on Bluray and Castlevania Chronicles. It's gonna be a very PS3 X-Mas! I also just got an email about a code for a free XBLA game for X-Mas from M$! Yea! Good times.
I'll play PSIV on my Genesis, Secret of Mana on my SNES and give my Wii a holiday... a very long one.
Edit - Oh yeeaaah! Turns out my free game is Street Fighter II HF. I love HD gaming! Especially when it's free! Now, where's our free VC game again? Oh yeah...
"Super Metroid's not very hard to finish if you're not concerned with your end rating. The challenge comes from trying to get a 100% and/or fast win.
Definitely easier than the NES (probably the hard part on the NES is handling the duplicate rooms without a map. Neither issue is a problem in Super.)"
The NES version isn't very hard to navigate. The rooms are laid out in a very logical manner, and it's easy to keep track of your location. The sequel was worse, but had more closed-off areas you progressed through in a linear fashion, so it wasn't such a big deal there.
Let's face it: Ninty's priority is now on Wiiware. That's fine by me. (Dodges thrown objects) There's only 1 game I'm waiting for on VC and that's, of course, Earthbound. I'm not a classic gamer really, but I've long ago given up on seeing more than 1 game every couple months on VC that catches my attention at all. Hell, I've only downloaded 5 VC titles so far. A lot of games I'd like to see are N64 and import ones but those are increasingly rare. So, should this week have been better? Sure. Are most people still honestly shocked by single releases like this? A:________
PS: Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!
Castlevania 3 got an ESRB rating. Maybe our time will come soon
@"The most awesome thing about a 2-D missile . . . the guy it's being fired at wouldn't be able to see it coming at him! XD (only everyone on the side)"
Yeah! But can you imagine how hard it is to hit someone with a missile that's only one pixel/atom wide? It better be a homing missile and turn on rails...... but then that's why they gave us 2D Freeze Beam.
And a new 3D 3rd person Metroid and/or a new 2D would obtain my money sight unreviewed. Truly a potentially great application of WiiWare (assuming they could be fit within Wii storage limits ).
I didn't mean to suggest that PS1 games on PSN are now officially better than VC, only that they present a higher level of competition than they used to. If you had a PS3 and a Wii and had to choose between downloading PSIV or Suikoden, which would you choose? Logically, that's Suikoden because it's rare and yet cheaper to download than PSIV, and because having a PS3 means you'll be able to buy Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection in February.
@People wondering about Shining Force 2 on a collection: Not sure if it's happened yet, but it'll be on the aforementioned Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection. So that's enough to keep ME from downloading it, at least.
Metroid conversation: I'm not so sure a 3rd person 3D Metroid game would work so well...I think they made Prime 1st person for a reason, and 3D Metroid should stay that way. I'm all for another 2D Metroid, though. I still want to know why Metroid Dread was announced one month and canceled the next. We never even knew anything about it except that it was supposed to be 2D and on DS!
I absolutely loved the Metroid Prime games. I don't know where they will go with the series next (though I thought that 3 was supposed to be the last 'Prime' Metroid game....could be mistaken). But I think that a 3d third person Metroid could be really amazing if they could pull of the controls.....and the camera.....
Damn it, I'm literally a penny short of purchasing that Suikoden game.*
*edit: and it's a good thing, too, that game looks pretty boring.
@Stuffgamer1
Yep, and that's why I'm putting the UGC on my birthday list.
As rare as Suikoden is (sadly I used to own the original disc before it got stolen), Bonk 3 is probably even rarer. That game is 300 bucks right now on ebay, and we can get it for 6 on the VC
Actually, quick Q about Suikoden: how many long are you aloud to make your name in that game? If it'll let ya go as high as 9 or 10 letters, I might actually get it.
Suikoden is one of the most streamlined RPGs I remember playing. Incredibly fun, and always had a tight sense of direction. Suikoden 2 got rather aimless at some points but had a WAY more meaningful story. Both are unique among traditional RPGs for being war epics. Your mute dude ends up being the commander of an army, and a lot of the characters you recruit (out of 108) have various purposes around your base rather than just fighting in battles. It LOOKS like a dusty 16-bit RPG, but it definitely isn't.
@Sharecrow
Retro Studios (American developer) did the Prime games, and Japan is practically allergic to first-person action. The first Prime was incredible and (in my opinion) under-appreciated, but treating it like a sub-series after the original was strange to me . . . the "trilogy" is supposed to be done, now.
To everyone: Shining Force II was not on a Sega compilation. Back when Sega Smash Pack Volume 3 was rumored for PCs ('90s or 2000) it was rumored to be one of the games, but that title never came to fruition; hence why I bought the cart itself back then. (Still don't own the original Shining Force cart though thanks to Sega Smash Pack Volume 2.)
It'll be released in the Sega Ultimate Collection coming up though. Good times.
Damn it, I'm going to have to get both collections now, since Shadow Dancer isn't on the Ultimate Genesis Collection, unless it's an unlockable.
@ Mickeymac: Even if you can only make your name 2 letters, you should still get it. It's a great game
WOW, I checked out the Genesis Ultimate Collection. I had the PS2 collection before (Shadow Dancer IS on that one, but not "Revenge of Shinobi" for some stupid reason), so my redundant downloads are only six (thank goodness it wasn't more than that . . . I was about to download Shining Force 2).
First the Neo Geo, with collections, now Sega. What's safe to download anymore?
Um, Boogerman?
More seriously, between what I have on PS2 Capcom, Sega, and Namco collections, original NES, SNES, and N64 cartridges, just about the only things I've downloaded that aren't duplicated are WiiWare, TG16 games, Super Mario RPG, Startropics, Tennis, Mega Man 1, and Harvest Moon. I've made peace with duplication, for the sake of archival and convenience purposes.
I found this on GameFAQs. Its quite old but an interesting read if you haven't already done so.
http://seanmalstrom.wordpress.com/2008/08/05/did-third-parties-try-to-force-virtual-console-releases/
@Cally
Well, there's all those turbografx-16 & the JPN-only PC-engine games you can download once the T-16 section of the VC gets more games.
@brooks83
Meh, the only times that I really enjoy an RPG are when I get to make up my own story to iy. I actually had one in mind, but the main character's name is 9 letters long.
Isn't Revenge of Shinobi the one with Spiderman and a couple others?
Perhaps licensing issues have stopped it?
@172. KingMike
Yes. Sega made 3 different versions of revenge of Shinobi back during the 16 bit era for the Sega Genesis in North America. The final version had Spiderman and The Terminator, but not the other characters including Batman are not in the final version.
Licensing issues is a key factor. I know Revenge of Shinobi was on Sega Smash Pack vol. 1 for the Dreamcast.
The problem is Spiderman's value sky rocketed due to the 3 Spiderman movies after Sega Smash Pack and 2 more Spiderman movies will be filmed next year.
I think Marvel and any other party involved has to be asking for a lot of money due to the popularity of the Spiderman franchise since 2002.
I think another videogame company owns the rights to spiderman videogames right now.
@Cally - the first one was my favorite too. I don't know if it's because it was the first of the 'trilogy' that I played. But if I were to replay one starting today it would be that one for sure...
@Stuffgamer: I believe it was myself and Manicfatty talking about the retro releases last week on VC compared to Live and PSN. As great as Rayman 2 is I've heard from many people online (and a friend of mine with a PS3) that any of the classic titles in 3D just look plain horrible in HD. Having not experienced an old PS1 game on a PS3 I can't say so myself but if it were the case I couldn't imagine a lot of them being hugely popular (although the 2D Castlevania games they've released should be hugely popular)
@chunky_droid: Naw, man, that's simply not true. I have Spyro the Dragon on PSN, and it DEFINITELY looks better upscaled and smoothed on my PS3 than it did when I first played it on my PS2 on an SDTV a few years ago. Even so, if you have a PS3 with PS2 BC, you're MUCH better off getting Rayman 2: Revolution, as it's MUCH better than the PS1 version.
Right, so I bought Super Metroid like I said I would, love it. It's definately easier than Metroid on the NES. Just can't seem to get the hang of wall jumping. 2 days after christmas I bought Bomberman Blast. Very fun in my opinion, and thats saying alot as I'm not much of a bomberman fan. I also bought Brawl and Blast Works (heard it was good and it was only $19). Brawl was only $39. Guess I will get Sky Kid and Gunsta Heroes with my next card, though I'm not focusing on WPCs right now as MadWorld and The Conduit are coming out sometime Q1. Thank god for my $40 dollar EB games gift card. And my left over $10.
@Shadx
I'm glad you're enjoying Super Metroid, and I hope you get the hang of Wall jumping. I also hope you enjoy Blast Works, I sure did.
i think the ps3 psn has some good ps1 games. both vc and psn are very good. did download castlevania chronicles also but havent had a chance to play it properly. howd you get street fighter hd for free ffrm x3&0 !!! got it on ps3 though. back to mana. good times
but between xbla , vc and psn (jap,us ). id say i prefer vc and psn more. vc and old ps1 games are fun. but then again geometry wars etc was cool so dunno
178. Mickeymac: Not entirely sure about blastworks as of now, but that's cuz I'm busy with Brawl and Super Paper Mario, which has to be one of the top 5 mario games IMO.
Tap here to load 179 comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...