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VC in Brief: Rygar (Arcade)

by David Hinkle { Oct 19th 2009 at 5:15PM }

Rygar (Arcade, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)
Rygar is a pretty intense title. Luckily, the quarter-munching gameplay of the arcade classic translates to the Wii very well. For one, you don't need to run out of quarters from dying -- oh, and you will die, believe it. Second, every time you die or even continue once you've run out of lives, you pick up right from where you left off. So, there's no replaying stages or sections of the game you've previously played as a result of dying. Have we mentioned how much you'll die?

You will die. A lot.

Every week, we like to check out what's new on the Virtual Console. We offer these videos as a sort of taste to help you decide whether or not you would want the game in question. We also toss in our own two cents because we're pushy jerks like that.

European Nintendo downloads: Rygar, Spaceball Revolution

by JC Fletcher { Sep 11th 2009 at 12:00PM }

This week, two Tecmo arcade games arrive on the Virtual Console in Europe, thankfully free of the rather excessive 800 Wii Point pricing standard Virtual Console Arcade games "enjoy" in Japan. Also available on WiiWare today: Spaceball Revolution, a game about tossing balls down a chute to light up spaces at the end, while avoiding various obstacles.

This week's DSiWare offering is 2-in-1 Solitaire, which made us feel really stupid when we looked up the number of players allowed.

Rygar (Arcade, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Solomon's Key (Arcade, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Spaceball Revolution (WiiWare, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
2-in-1 Solitaire (DSiWare, 1 player, 200 DSi Points)

Japanese Nintendo downloads: The Soldier of Argos

by JC Fletcher { Sep 8th 2009 at 2:30PM }

Two weeks in a row and no WiiWare in Japan. Did Nintendo of Japan hire someone on from Nintendo of America's WiiWare team? Whatever happened, the total absence of WiiWare throws attention on the two Virtual Console Arcade titles available today.

Rygar finally arrives on Virtual Console, giving gamers the opportunity to try the original, much more linear version of the classic NES game. It's joined by Dragon Spirit, the epic tale of a warrior who is transformed into a dragon, and then transformed again into a two-headed dragon, while being shot at by hundreds of flying monsters.

Argos no Senshi (Rygar) (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Dragon Spirit (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

[Image credit]

ESRB reveals Ninja Gaiden, Rygar, Solomon's Key on Virtual Console Arcade

by JC Fletcher { Aug 14th 2009 at 4:00PM }

If you, like us, were jealous of the Japanese release of the arcade Ninja Gaiden game on Virtual Console, you can dry your ninja eyes (just pull up the front of the ninja mask and dab with that). The ESRB reveals that Tecmo is planning a North American release of the arcade brawler.

Tecmo isn't stopping with Gaiden, either: further ESRB listings have appeared for arcade versions of both Rygar and Solomon's Key (which will be released in Japan next week). Oddly, the company's other upcoming Japanese VC release, Bomb Jack, is absent from the ESRB list.

At the very least, we can all be happy that these are video games that someone wants to release on the Virtual Console.

[Via Siliconera]

Retail and download releases for the week of January 26th

by David Hinkle { Jan 26th 2009 at 11:00AM }

This week, Wii owners get some new, quality titles to play. On the retail side, we've got three new games on offer. On the downloadable side, it's slim pickings again with only one WiiWare game and one Virtual Console game up for grabs. Plan on treating yourself this week? Let us know what interests you in the comments!

Gallery: Rygar: The Battle of Argus

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Rygar: The Nonsensical Story of Argus

by JC Fletcher { Jan 13th 2009 at 8:05PM }

"The kingdom of Argus where the lions of the sea live is now dominated by imperial Rome. Here is where the story begins." That explains why a shirtless guy with a giant yo-yo is fighting moving statues and the guy from Soul Reaver. Oh, no, wait, it doesn't at all.

Well, even if we accept that Rome would pull out their whole arsenal of mythical creatures to oppose a single guy with anime hair, we suspect that maybe releasing a trailer highlighting the storyline -- and voice acting -- of Rygar: The Battle of Argus wasn't the best way to show the game off. At least we could have seen some sea lions, or, barring that, more of Rygar swinging his cool Diskarmor around.

Gallery: Rygar: The Battle of Argus

[Via press release]

Rygar's battles finally begin this February

by JC Fletcher { Dec 9th 2008 at 2:48PM }

If the previous announcement of a December release date (deja vu?) caused you to put Rygar: The Battle of Argus on your gift wishlist, better find a substitute! Tecmo seems to have gotten into the habit of delaying the remake, and they're not ready to say goodbye just yet. We've received a press release announcing the latest date: February 3, 2009. We've got some more screenshots in our gallery at which you can stare wistfully.

1up editor Sam Kennedy, who found out about this after rushing through the game for review, suggests that Tecmo decided to delay the game to avoid getting lost in the holiday rush, rather than in the interest of any refinements. "... no changes are going to be made to the game in the meantime -- it's just being held for an extra two months."

Gallery: Rygar: The Battle of Argus

Rygar: The Battle of Argus delayed until February

by Jason Dobson { Dec 9th 2008 at 1:50PM }

Poor Rygar. It's taking longer than expected to remember where he misplaced his "Diskarmor." And let's face it, without his trademark weapon, Tecmo's mythical hero is just another muscle-bound oaf with bad hair. That's probably why the company has delayed Rygar: The Battle of Argus, with the upcoming Wii-exclusive now set to slice through retail shelves next February.

The delay is the second that the game, which was expected impact player's muscles this week, has suffered, and while no official reason was given, 1UP theorizes that Tecmo simply wanted to keep the title from being lost in the holiday shuffle. Tecmo is expected to make an official announcement soon regarding the delay. Until then, we suggest Rygar check the freezer (we've found our car keys in there more than once).

Nintendo conference screen mega-roundup!

by JC Fletcher { Oct 2nd 2008 at 5:40PM }

Click for full-sized image

Nintendo announced a lot of games last night at their Japanese conference. Many of them, like Punch-Out!! here, were brand new. Some, like Supan Smasher and Cosmic Walker, we still don't know anything about. But we've got screenshots. So many screenshots.

After the break, you'll find galleries of all the new games, along with new screens of some upcoming games we've known about for a while. Of special interest to us: the previously-announced Oboro Muramasa Youtouden, coming to the US as Muramasa: The Demon Blade, because it looks super hot, Karaoke Joysound Wii, which appears to have art by Parappa creator Rodney Alan Greenblat, and Takuto of Magic (Wand of Magic), which appears to be a followup to Taito's LostMagic on the DS.

Gallery: Punch-Out!!

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Two 'new' Rygar videos

by JC Fletcher { Oct 2nd 2008 at 11:45AM }

Want to see what Rygar: The Battle of Argus looks like, six years after the release of the game on which it's based, and more than one year after the remade version was announced? After the entire project was scrapped and started again? Certainly you'd expect a significant jump over the PS2 version. As these latest gameplay videos demonstrate ... not so much. But the good news is that Rygar on the PS2 looked pretty good anyway.

The "Minotaurs" (don't know why his name is pluralized!) boss fight is featured above, and there's a bit of platforming after the break. We've also included the PS2 Rygar trailer. If you want, you can pretend it's a new trailer for this one.

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Wii Warm Up: Rygar redux

by JC Fletcher { Sep 8th 2008 at 8:00AM }

So Rygar: The Battle of Argus is probably going to come out, after about a year and a half of not coming out. That's a long time to wait for a port. It makes us wonder if there's going to be an audience for it when it comes out. So we'll just ask.

Are you up for this Rygar? If so, is it because you wanted to play the PS2 version but never did? Or because you really liked the PS2 version and want whatever new content is attached to this one? Or general fandom of the Rygar arcade, Lynx (unlikely) or NES (more likely) game?

Cashing in on Rygar is harder than it looks

by JC Fletcher { Sep 5th 2008 at 3:20PM }

1UP's James Mielke is, in general, not pleased about the prospect of a Koei-Tecmo merger. He imagines the company's Team Ninja franchises milked incessantly in the manner of Koei's Dynasty Warriors games, with an annual release supported by endless Xtreme Legends and Empires versions and mega-multiplatform ports. Of course, that's taking it to the Xtreme. In the course of complaining about the two companies' venality, he drops an interesting bit of behind-the-scenes info about the development of Rygar: The Battle of Argus.

Apparently, the port was conceived as a cheap-to-develop game (surprise!), but ended up "so disastrous and unportable that Tecmo had to go back to the drawing board with it." That would certainly explain all the delays. Next time you complain about PS2-to-Wii ports, remember this! Companies are working very hard to bring you all those games from 2002.

Rygar remake coming out for real?

by JC Fletcher { Sep 3rd 2008 at 10:51AM }

Tecmo is either desperate to make some money or desperate to prove that they can still finish a game, because they've dragged Rygar: The Battle of Argus back from whatever development limbo they had been keeping it in. Tecmo announced that the expanded remake of the PS2 Rygar: The Legendary Adventure will ship to North American retailers in December.

We were certain this game had been quietly cancelled. Why else would over a year pass before the release of what is essentially a port? Maybe it's turned into less of a port in the intervening period. Check Kotaku for a bunch of new screens!

Tecmo returning to E3 this year

by Ludwig Kietzmann { May 9th 2008 at 7:00PM }

Last year's smaller and considerably more inconvenient E3 marked quite a dramatic change from the glitz and glare we had grown accustomed to. Gone was the inescapable nexus of pulsating lights and the deafening roar of booths competing to be the loudest, instead replaced by warmly lit hotel rooms and, of course, tastefully dressed women. No wonder Tecmo didn't bother to show up.

Jokes aside, the publisher has confirmed to Joystiq that it will be attending the E3 Media & Business Summit in Los Angeles this July, though it's unclear which games will be shown off. With Microsoft-published Ninja Gaiden II out of the way in June, we'll likely see more of Tecmo Bowl Kickoff, Rygar: The Battle of Argus and possibly some game about ninja babes slapping each other on the beach.

Virtually Overlooked: Rygar

by JC Fletcher { Feb 21st 2008 at 8:00PM }

Rygar is absolutely one of the best side-scrolling action games on the NES. It's also popular enough to have spawned one and a half sequels on the PS2 and Wii. It shouldn't be much of a surprise that I love the game, since my enjoyment of "Metroidvanias" is well-documented. I expect that everyone in the Virtually Overlooked crowd is at least familiar with the wonderful NES game, if not also the arcade game. So I won't waste any time outlining the basics of the game.

Instead, I'd like to present a list of five of my favorite things (that I could think of) about Rygar.

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