vctuesday posts(Subscribe to this feed)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: My Life as an Available Game

by JC Fletcher { Jun 30th 2009 at 4:45PM }

Despite being loaded with content, this week's Japanese Virtual Console and WiiWare offerings are unlikely to excite, with one major exception. Square Enix's My Life as a King follow-up arrives in Japan this week, allowing players to run the tower fortress of their dreams! It's joined by a, uh, doll game, and ... a brain training game ... for kids.

Virtual Console this week offers one really cute Namco arcade game, and another Jinguuji Saburo detective game, which we'll never see.

Virtual Console:

Marvel Land (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Tantei Jinguuji Saburo: Toki no Sugiyuku Mama ni... (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Right Brain Kids Okigaru Right Brain (1-4 players, 800 Wii Points)
Licca-chan Oshare House (1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord (1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: That's Galactic Dancin'

by JC Fletcher { Jun 23rd 2009 at 11:30AM }

This week, Japan gets two arcade games -- both of which have titles starting with the letter G, and both of which are already available on Virtual Console as ports. Galaga '88, Namco's cute, brightly colored, fireworks-filled sequel to Galaga, is definitely something we'd consider double-dipping for. Both the arcade version and the TG16 port (Galaga '90) are great, and the port includes a bit of extra content. And is it okay to like Golden Axe? Because we like Golden Axe.

On the WiiWare front, Hudson launches its second downloadable FPS for the Wii. Unfortunately, it's the dire-looking Water Warfare.

Virtual Console:

Galaga '88 (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Golden Axe (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Bang Bang Kids (1-2 players offline, 2-8 online, 800 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Scramble!

by JC Fletcher { Jun 16th 2009 at 12:10PM }

This week, Japanese gamers will be able to download the new multiplayer Pokemon brawler (which is such a great idea!), but they'll have to pay for it. We admit to gasping a bit when we saw the 1,500-point price tag on Ransen! Pokemon Scramble, but we suspect we'll be spending that many of our American-style Wii Points soon enough. Pokemon Scramble is joined on WiiWare by a tambourine-based music game, and a cute-looking puzzle game about rotating objects to allow little creatures to move into a goal.

On the Virtual Console, Square Enix delivers the second Final Fantasy game in as many months. Final Fantasy II was designed by Akitoshi Kawazu, who we just happen to have spoken to at E3! The other VC game is Wonder Momo, a cutesy side-scrolling brawler from Namco that presents itself as a stage play. We're a little embarrassed about liking it.

Virtual Console

Final Fantasy II (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Wonder Momo (Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare

Fantagic Tambourine (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
Anata ga Mawashite Sukuu Puzzle Mochi Mochi Q (1 player, 800 Wii Points)
Melee! Pokemon Scramble (1-4 players, 1,500 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Super Mario Kart and ... streaming game music

by JC Fletcher { Jun 9th 2009 at 11:30AM }

We were all set to gush over Super Mario Kart and the promise of some charmingly retro party gaming (for two players at a time, of course, which we suppose is part of the retro charm), but Gust disrupted our plans by releasing something on WiiWare that is weird and ill-advised enough to demand our attention. Game Sound Station is a subscription-based music streaming service available on WiiWare -- almost exclusively for listening to Gust game soundtracks. If you'd like to pay for a week of unlimited Atelier and Ar Tonelico game music, here's your chance!

The other WiiWare game, peakvox escape virus, is sort of a Snake crossed with Geometry Wars experience. As a DNA codon, you pick up other DNA around a level to form a chain, carefully navigating your increasingly long chain around enemy viruses. The game has a variety of other modes, including one that turns it into a shooter.

Virtual Console:

Super Mario Kart (Super Famicom, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Assault (Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Game Sound Station (1 player, 1,000 Wii Points)
peakvox escape virus (1 player, 500 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Muscle Marches On

by JC Fletcher { May 26th 2009 at 12:10PM }

Under normal circumstances, by far the biggest news on the Japanese Wii Shop this week would be Final Fantasy. Square Enix actually delivered the game on time to Virtual Console, and didn't even take the opportunity to jack the price up. Even if it is ancient, 500 points for a classic RPG is a great deal!

But circumstances aren't normal this week: Muscle March, the game of posing a line of Speedo'd bodybuilders to run through walls in order to catch the thief who stole their protein powder, is out. Also on WiiWare, though less muscle-related: Arkanoid Plus!, a WiiWare release similar to the Arkanoid game for XBLA, and NEVES Plus.

Virtual Console:

Final Fantasy (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Splatterhouse (Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Arkanoid Plus! (1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Hamekomi Lucky Puzzle Wii (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)
３℃ (1-2 players, 700 Wii Points)
Muscle Koushinkyoku (Muscle March) (1-4 players, 800 Wii Points)

VC Tuesday: Cyber Deer Hunt

by JC Fletcher { May 19th 2009 at 11:50AM }

This week, the lone WiiWare release is a deer hunting game from Arc System Works. We would have expected such a game to come from an American publisher first, so we're a bit surprised to see ASW premiere it in Japan. Not surprised enough to pay that much attention.

Our attention is fixed, instead, firmly on the Virtual Console. Between the proto-strategy game Famicom Wars and Namco's arcade arena combat game Cyber Sled, it's a pretty awesome week to have a Wii in Japan. Even if we're pretty sure the Virtual Console Arcade version of Cyber Sled can't have multiplayer (since the arcade game used separate cabinets for each player).

Virtual Console:

Ninja-kun: Ashura no Shou (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
Famicom Wars (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
R-TYPE (Sega Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Cyber Sled (Arcade, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Shikagari (Hunting) (1-4 players, 500 Wii Points)

[Image via The Arcade Flyer Archive]

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Contra and more

by JC Fletcher { May 12th 2009 at 11:15AM }

Today's Virtual Console and WiiWare offerings in Japan are shockingly good. So good that if a release week like this happened outside of Japan even once every six months or so, nobody would complain about Nintendo's downloads. Even if we ignore the three WiiWare games that are already out in North America, it's wall-to-wall quality.

Well, we're kind of assuming that Contra Rebirth is quality. Even if it's terrible, we know we're in for a $10 download of an original Contra game when it shows up here. We know that the WiiWare Art Style games are fantastic, because we've been playing them since last year.

On Virtual Console, the PC Engine CD-ROM version of SimEarth and the arcade release of the brutal Tower of Druaga pale before Downtown Special, a Japan-only sequel to River City Ransom starring Kunio and friends as samurai.

Virtual Console:

Downtown Special: Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugo (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
SimEarth (PC Engine, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
The Tower of Druaga (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Art Style: CUBELEO (1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Art Style: DIALHEX (1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)
Art Style: ORBITAL (1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Contra Rebirth (1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Phantasy World of Goo

by JC Fletcher { Apr 21st 2009 at 11:00AM }

Today would be an incredible day on the Japanese Wii Shop even if World of Goo weren't debuting. In addition to one of the best games on Wii, the Virtual Console is updated with four high-quality titles. In fact, Phantasy Star alone would ensure that today was a winner. It's hard to imagine a better deal than Phantasy Star for just 600 Wii Points.

Other VC games available in Japan today include Castlevania 3 (awesome), the PC Engine version of the NES Ninja Gaiden (quite the curiosity!) and an arcade rail shooter from Namco Bandai. The other WiiWare game, and basically the only unknown property, is Hajitte! Block Rush, which looks like a radial Breakout in which the paddle is in the middle of the screen. We'd try that!

Virtual Console:

Akumajou Densetsu (Castlevania 3) (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Phantasy Star (Master System, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Ninja Ryukenden (Ninja Gaiden) (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Starblade (Arcade, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Hajitte! Block Rush (1 player, 500 Wii Points)
World of Goo (1-4 players, 1,500 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Out of Galaxy, into the Wii Shop

by JC Fletcher { Apr 14th 2009 at 1:00PM }

This week's Japanese Virtual Console releases aren't going to thrill anybody: another Langrisser strategy game that we're unlikely to see, and Mappy, which you can and should play on your North American or European system. But the WiiWare releases this week should prove pretty exciting -- to Japan. Except for Onitore, which is Drill Sergeant Mindstrong.

Out of Galaxy: Koshika is a new manga from Leiji Matsumoto, creator of Galaxy Express 999 and Space Battleship Yamato (as well as, yes, that Daft Punk thing). It's the first manga title to premiere on Wii, and it's a big deal! Also exciting: the return of Tecmo's classic Tsuppari Oozumo sumo wrestling series. The new 3D models are nowhere near as cute as the Famicom sprites, but we're still happy to see the game's return. Is WiiWare low-risk enough for a localized sumo game?

Virtual Console:

Der Langrisser (Super Famicom, 1 player, 800 Wii Points)
Mappy (Arcade, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Out of Galaxy: Koshika (1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Onitore (1-4 players, 800 Wii Points)
Tsuppari Oozumo Wii Heya (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Majora's Mask arrives in another region

by JC Fletcher { Apr 7th 2009 at 9:30AM }

On one extreme, this week Japan's Virtual Console offers one of the most technologically advanced games the service can support, on one of the first systems the Virtual Console emulated: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask on N64. On the other extreme, it offers a game that happens to be ancient for the brand new Virtual Console Arcade service.

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (Nintendo 64, 1 player, 1,200 Wii Points)
Space Invaders (Virtual Console Arcade, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)

As if Majora's Mask weren't enough, WiiWare is loaded with stuff, not all of which is Evasive Space! In fact, two welcome retro revivals make their debuts, hopefully hastening their arrival outside of Japan.

Evasive Space (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Adventure Island: The Beginning (1-2 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Puzzle Bobble Wii (1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Minna de Puzzle Taisen Shanghai Wii (1-4 players, 800 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: New first-party WiiWare and other things worth exclaiming

by JC Fletcher { Mar 31st 2009 at 2:30PM }

It's a very exciting day for game downloads in Japan! Not just because one of the Famicom's most infamously difficult games, Beat Takeshi's Takeshi no Chousenjou, is out, though that is exciting! Three new WiiWare games are available today, every one of which bears at least one exclamation point! In fact, Nippon Ichi's Let's Zenryoku Hitchhike features no fewer than nine!

Tecmo's Atsui 12 Games Furifuri Party is the Playshake prototype from TGS, made more adorable, but still based on furious shaking! Most exciting, however, is Asoberu Ehon Tobida-Suguroku! (Playable Picture Book: Suguroku Flies Out), a multiplayer board game from Nintendo itself, based on the same Monopoly-like board game as Family Pirate Party! There's a long trailer up on Wii.com that demonstrates the gameplay!

Virtual Console:

Takeshi no Chousenjou (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Samurai Ghost (Arcade, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Atsui 12 Games Furifuri Party! (Tecmo, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)
Let's Zenryoku Hitchhike!!!!!!!!! (NIS, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Asoberu Ehon Tobida-Suguroku! (Nintendo, 1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)

[Image via 4Gamer]

Majora's Mask, Phantasy Star on Japanese Virtual Console in April

by JC Fletcher { Mar 27th 2009 at 1:00PM }

Wow! This has been a really great week to be a Nintendo fan. It's been a really great week to be a Virtual Console fan in particular -- when was the last time we could say something like that? The week has just gotten a lot better with the release of the list of upcoming Virtual Console releases for Japan.

Why? Two reasons. First: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. Like Ocarina of Time, it costs a painful 1,200 Wii Points -- and like Ocarina of Time, it will probably drop to the usual 1,000 in North America. Second, and possibly even more exciting: Phantasy Star! The Sega Master System RPG masterpiece is also coming to the Virtual Console. Maybe it's not a big deal to those of you with Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection, but personally, it's awesome news.

We fully expect to see both of these games in North America soon. Neither SMS games nor N64 games seem to take long to make it overseas. Also of interest: Hudson's PC Engine port of the NES Ninja Gaiden. And the arcade version of Space Invaders, which marks the third time the "original" Space Invaders has been released on VC.

The full list is after the break.

Continued →

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Revenge of Clu Clu Land

by JC Fletcher { Mar 10th 2009 at 11:10AM }

It may seem like unimaginable luxury to us, but for Japan, a week with just two new games on the Virtual Console and one on WiiWare is light. The last time the releases were this sparse was three weeks ago, with an update that, coincidentally, also included a Sega franchise game (a franchise that also included a Shinobi game) and a WiiWare minigolf title. Spoooooky. We are quite jealous of The Revenge of Shinobi, which Japan gets this week as The Super Shinobi, and which we may never get.

Virtual Console:

Clu Clu Land (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
The Super Shinobi (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

WiiWare:

Okiraku Putter Golf (1-8 players, 500 Wii Points)

VC/WiiWare Tuesday: Rainbow Islands!

by JC Fletcher { Mar 3rd 2009 at 10:00AM }

Wow! Just a few weeks after the release of Bubble Bobble Wii, Taito just sneaked out a WiiWare version of its sequel, Rainbow Islands! As with Bubble Bobble, we knew that it was coming at some point, but we had yet to see any screens or gameplay information. Now it's out, and it appears to feature timed ascents up huge, vertical stages. Also out this week: a WiiWare version of The Game of Life.

Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure (1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)
Madsecta (Onslaught) (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)
Jinsei Game (1-4 players, 1,000 Wii Points)

In other Taito news, today marks the release of the second version of Space Invaders: The Original Game on the Japanese Virtual Console. This time, the PC Engine version of the ancient shooter is being released -- at exactly the same cost as the Super Famicom/SNES version, making the decision between the two basically a matter of platform preference. Unless silly anime-girl backgrounds make a big difference, in which case it's PC Engine all the way.

Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes II (Mega Drive, 1 player, 700 Wii Points)
Space Invaders: The Original Game (PC Engine, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points)

Gallery: Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure! (Wii)

[Screens via Inside-Games]

VC Tuesday: Mr. Driller World's world debut

by JC Fletcher { Feb 24th 2009 at 9:00AM }

Arc System Works finally brings the classic Double Dragon to Japan's Virtual Console today. In the US, we've been lucky to have the opportunity to be killed by those two Abobos who come out of the cave since April! However, our "victory" in the Double Dragon availability department is eclipsed by the availability of Wallaby!!, a kangaroo-race betting game that will most certainly remain in Japan.

Double Dragon (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)
Wallaby!! Usagi no Kuni no Kangaroo Race (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

Once again, WiiWare is the real attraction in Japan, with downloadable Mr. Driller and the second installment of Square Enix's Crystal Defenders series.