Even without consulting the weekly popularity charts found on the Nintendo Channel, it's pretty simple to know whether a Virtual Console game was successful in 2008. Success on the VC was reserved for Nintendo franchises and the very biggest names in third-party releases, like Sonic, Mega Man, and Pac-Man. One delightful exception to the super-famous franchise rule: Super Dodge Ball has been in the Top 20 since release. People are clearly buying what they already love rather than exploring.

WiiWare, as well, is dominated by the same titles since release: World of Goo, Tetris Party, and (yes,) My Aquarium have been at the top of the charts since release. Other games that have had long stretches of success include, uh, Target Toss Pro: Bags, Pong Toss, Sudoku Challenge, and -- oh, good -- Mega Man 9. Some less popular games take a trip up and then back down the chart upon release. But some didn't even really do that, despite being totally worthwhile.

Join us as we browse through five Virtual Console games and five WiiWare games that you guys passed over for more Mario games and The Incredible Maze. To simplify things, we considered North American sales and releases only. If you're from outside North America, go ahead and assume people missed good games in your region too.

After having some quality time with a pair of imports yesterday, we got to wondering: what imports would you want to be able to download from the Virtual Console? With generations of consoles supported by the service, there's plenty of old school imports to ponder downloading. So, what will it be? We've already gotten some great imports in the past (Sin & Punishment, Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels), but what would you like to be able to play in the future?

Another Monday, another Virtual Console release filled with muscle-bound hunks shooting lasers out of their heads. Wait, what's that? The Virtual Console isn't known for its extensive library of games featuring beefy guys in Speedos? We must have it confused with ... something else. On to the games:

• Cho Aniki (TurboGrafx16 CD-ROM, 1 player, 900 Wii Points): Stop Bo Emperor Bill – the Great Galaxy Bodybuilding champion – from turning the entire galaxy into a protein factory by teaming up with the musclebound (and Speedo-clad) brothers Samson and Adon. Why do they have holes in their heads? Why, to shoot out of, of course!
• Final Soldier (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 700 Wii Points): You'll immediately notice a severe dearth of abs, Speedos, and headholes in this vertically scrolling shooter, the third title in the Star Soldier series. Why bother playing it at all, then? Because this Virtual Console release marks the title's first trip away from its home country of Japan.
  

This week, we've got a pair of new Virtual Console titles. And they're both imports! And they're both from the TurboGrafx16. And they're both shmups! And they're both good!

It's been a fairly long wait to see a hockey game hit the Wii, and we know many of you have been anticipating the sports return. Well, this week you get your wish, as NHL 2K9 hits retail shelves. Joining it are a couple of Virtual Console games and one new WiiWare game. Head past the break for the details.

The impending release of either of these games would be enough to prompt a paroxysmal announcement from a certain Wii Fanboy blogger (who is me), but Hudson is threatening my heart health by planning to release both on the same day.

Final Soldier is another entry in the Star Soldier series, which includes Star Parodier and a bunch of games used in the Hudson Shooting Caravan, as well as (sort of) Blazing Lazers. Accordingly, it includes the 2- and 5-minute gameplay modes that comprise the entirety of Star Soldier R. Like Star Parodier, it was never released over here.

Cho Aniki is ... a shooter about bodybuilding. And the ultimate test of Nintendo's willingness to surprise Hudson with a delay.

Nintendo has updated their Japanese VC website with next month's planned releases, including one extremely beloved game from general VC holdout Square Enix: Seiken Densetsu 2, otherwise known as Secret of Mana. Super Famicom fans will also have the opportunity to give Square Enix eight bucks for Space Invaders, which seems kind of high but also irresistably alluring. It does allow you to simulate the cellophane color bars from the arcade machine! Taito's Liquid Kids, a platformer about a hippo who freezes enemies with water bubbles, rounds out the Square Enix (and affiliates) releases.

We're particularly excited to see Capcom's shooter Forgotten Worlds and the PC Engine version of Super Dodge Ball. See the full list after the break, along with some upcoming US releases via Hudson. There's a surprise!

Do you know of Cho Aniki? The hardcore shooter crowd knows this notorious title because of its ridiculous premise: you play a motley crew of mostly naked men firing energy missiles at other enemies, also usually mostly-naked men. The upcoming PSP game seems to be based on the original PC Engine title, meaning the increasingly strange and homoerotic imagery found in later games will most likely be absent in this upcoming PSP game. It may be based on the most tame version of the series, but it will undoubtedly become another hit amongst the cult shooter crowd.

Read more on the series' legacy at Wikipedia -- and then for a more humorous take, check out Something Awful (content may be not safe for work). A video of the game, embedded after the cut.

We were already totally pumped about getting Cho Aniki on the European and Aussie Virtual Consoles, but our faces lit up when we saw what else was lying in store for us this morning. Metal Slug is the first Neo Geo game to appear on the download service since December 14th, but what a comeback!

From a value-for-money perspective, we'd still recommend picking up Metal Slug Anthology (especially now that it's so cheap), but it's great to see SNK's classic series represented on the VC (and this version even has Classic Controller support). Puyo Puyo 2 and TurboGrafx billiards title Break In complete this week's line-up.

• Cho Aniki -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 900 Wii Points
• Metal Slug -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points
• Break In -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 700 Wii Points
• Puyo Puyo 2 -- Mega Drive -- 900 Wii Points

Hop in your Slug and blast your way past the break to see all four in action!

Four more import games have now been rated by the OFLC, implying a Virtual Console release in that region and probably others. Those four games, all for the Turbografx-16, are: Gradius II GOFER no Yabou, Digital Champion Battle Boxing (which is just coming to Japan this month), Star Parodier, and ... Cho Aniki. This first game in the outrageous series starred the relatively normal Idaten and Benten (seen here), with future stars Adon and Samson as beefy support characters.

Under most conditions, we'd be freaking out about Star Parodier, which is a Parodius-like "funny" version of the Star Soldier games. But Cho Aniki! Outside of Japan! It's like a beautiful dream. We're buying Wii Points right now.

[Via Aussie-Nintendo]

• Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari (River City Ransom) (Famicom, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)
  
• Donkey Kong Country 2 (Super Famicom, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
  
• Dyna Brothers 2 Special (Mega Drive, 1-2 players, 700 Wii Points)
• Cho Aniki (PC Engine CD-ROM, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
• Raguy/Blue's Journey (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)