VC Tuesday: Attack of the clones

Nintendo of Japan is following the example of the American Virtual Console this week in two ways: by not releasing that many games, and by making one of them Donkey Kong 3. If you've never played Donkey Kong 3, it's certainly worth a look, because it's pretty bizarre. The concept also seems a bit backward and convoluted: the opportunity for Donkey Kong's creation came from a surplus of unsold Radar Scope (Nintendo's Galaxian clone) machines, and just a few years later Nintendo decided to follow up on their hit with ... a Donkey Kong-themed Galaxian clone.

On the subject of clones and clonable games, Yu Suzuki's Space Harrier was a very close inspiration for an early Square project, The 3-D Battles of WorldRunner. Except for the obvious influence of Samurai Shodown, and the general influence exerted by Street Fighter II on the entire fighting genre, we think Samurai Shodown II is safe from clone talk.

Nintendo's single WiiWare offering today is Hayazashi Syogi Sandan, another shogi game!

• Donkey Kong 3 (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)

• Space Harrier (Master System, 1 player, 500 Wii Points)

• Shin Samurai Spirits Haohmaru Jigoku-hen (Samurai Shodown II) (Neo Geo, 1-2 players, 900 Wii Points)