mega drive
Latest
VC Friday: A trip to the Fantasy Zone
After last week's fairly abominable update, Space Harrier is back to save us all. The last time we played Sega's classic rail shooter was in the arcades of Shenmue, and we seem to recall it feeling a bit ancient, but still being a bit of a hoot.Also appearing is Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition (which, rather ludicrously, is the third variation of Street Fighter II to appear on the PAL Virtual Console) and Mayhem in Monsterland, one of the very last of the Commodore 64's 20,000 or so titles, and a graphical stunner for the time. Footage of all three is past the break. Street Fighter II: Special Championship Edition -- Mega Drive -- 800 Nintendo Points Mayhem in Monsterland -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Nintendo Points* Space Harrier -- Master System -- 500 Nintendo Points
VC Friday: Thursday edition [Update 1]
And the Nintendo of Europe site leaks another morsel of info! Not long ago, news of Nintendo selling music appeared in our RSS feed weeks early, only to lead to a dead link after it was hastily pulled by Nintendo. And now another slippage has occurred, with Nintendo accidentally revealing (what we suspect are the contents of) tomorrow's PAL Virtual Console update: Earthworm Jim and Shining Force II.Once again, the news appears in our RSS feed (as seen here) while the story itself has been yanked from Ninty's site. All being well then, tomorrow's VC update for Europe and Australia should read something like this: Earthworm Jim -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Shining Force II: The Ancient Seal -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points These aren't set in stone yet, so we'll label this as a rumor, but it looks likely. Also: "Hurray!" for both of these.Update: And it's confirmed: those are your titles for this week, PAL people! [Thanks, Lanceh!]
VC Friday: A blue blur
A triple whammy of 500 Wii Point games this week, starting with the Master System version of Sonic the Hedgehog, from the days when the world loved and respected Sonic the Hedgehog. With the Mega Drive/Genesis version already available on the Virtual Console for 300 Points more, we suspect the Master System edition is for either Sonic completists or cheapskates. We fit both categories.Then there are a couple of ye olde classics from the Commodore 64: Boulder Dash and Jumpman. The name "Jumpman" is coincidental, by the way, though the game is probably similar enough to Donkey Kong to warrant suspicion. Sonic the Hedgehog -- Master System -- 500 Wii Points Boulder Dash -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points* Jumpman -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points* See all three doing their thing past the break!
VC Friday: Sequel week
Game sequels often suffer from a reputation of being weaker than their predecessors, but that hasn't stopped Nintendo whacking a whole pile of them on the PAL Virtual Console this week. The M-rated Splatterhouse 2 leads the charge, bloodied lead pipe in hand, and is joined by Samurai Shodown II, Pitstop II, and Ecco Jr. (okay, so that's not a sequel in the strictest sense of the term, but a spin-off for the kids). Here's what that little lot will cost you: Ecco Jr. -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Splatterhouse 2 -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Samurai Shodown II -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points Pitstop II -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points * * As usual, Australia misses out on the Commodore 64 game.Footage of all four is past the break -- try listening to six minutes of Pitstop II's engine effects without going insane.
VC Friday: A monstrous update
Maybe "monstrous" is overdoing it, but after last week's no-show for the Virtual Console, we're back to five games for this Friday's PAL region VC update. Hurrah! These range from forgettable spin-offs (Pac-Attack -- the first SNES title we've seen in over three months, bizarrely) to a Commodore 64 fan favorite (Cybernoid) to SNK's excellent King of the Monsters, which probably hasn't been bettered in the monsters-breaking-stuff genre since its release. Super Fantasy Zone -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Pac-Attack -- SNES -- 800 Wii Points Summer Games 2 -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points Cybernoid -- Commodore 64 -- 500 Wii Points King of the Monsters -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii Points We have some videos featuring some of the above for you, but you'll have to smash the break down with your giant monster limbs to access them.
VC Friday: More Hanabi Festival shooting goodness
This current Hanabi Festival is proving a treat for shmup fans. Of the ten games released so far under the Hanabi banner, half have been shooters, including the two released today, Japan-only pair Star Parodier (in which you can use Bomberman or a giant PC Engine as a ship!) and Gley Lancer. They're joined this VC Friday by Digital Champ Battle Boxing. Oh, and fun fact: the name Gley Lancer was (allegedly) supposed to be "Grey Lancer," but ended up as Gley Lancer due to a pronunciation error (the Japanese language can't tell the difference between the English "r" and "l" sounds). Either that, or we've just been duped into believing a rather racist joke. Gley Lancer -- Mega Drive -- 900 Wii Points Star Parodier -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 900 Wii Points Digital Champ Battle Boxing -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 700 Wii Points As usual, footage of all games follows the break!
Wii Warm Up: Through rose-tinted glasses
The appeal of the Virtual Console is obvious: nostalgia. The VC is jam-packed with memories from yesteryear, spilling over with wonderful software that defined our childhoods. But it isn't all lollipops and puppy dogs. Nostalgia can also be very misleading, and some of those packets of data you download from Nintendo's service can end up souring childhood memories. Personally speaking -- and this will probably sound like heresy in some quarters, so brace yourselves -- I was left disappointed by Mega Man 2, a game I adored as an eleven-year-old, but one that now seems slightly dated, with its repeated leaps of faith and enemies that like to spawn directly beneath you. On the other hand, a game such as Super Mario Bros. 3 still feels like a breath of fresh air, almost two decades after it was released. Thinking about this some more, we have three questions for you. One: which Virtual Console games don't hold the same magic for you as they once did? Two: have any titles aged better than you suspected they would? And three: have you ever held off from downloading a certain game, concerned that it may ruin one of those precious childhood memories?
VC Friday: Cho Aniki and the return of the Neo Geo
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!
VC Friday: The Hanabi Festival returns! [Update]
An immensely pleasing sight greeted our bleary eyes when we inspected the PAL Virtual Console this morning -- the revival of last September's Hanabi Festival! What does that mean? Simple: for the next few weeks, the VC will feature games that were previously unreleased in Europe or Australia, which we suppose justifies the slightly higher price tags.Best of all, we're promised that this will continue for the next few weeks. Wonder what else we'll get? Here are this week's trio: Columns III: Revenge of Columns -- Mega Drive -- 900 Wii Points Final Soldier -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 700 Wii Points Gradius II Gofer no Yabou -- TurboGrafx-16 -- 900 Wii Points As usual, make the jump for footage of all three.[Update: There's much excitement here, as further inspection of Nintendo's press release reveals that Speedos-clad TurboGrafx-16 shooter Cho Aniki will be one of the future Hanabi Festival releases!]
VC Friday: Phantasy Star III: Virtual Console update of Doom
Up on the chopping block this Friday is the red-headed step-child of early Phantasy Star games, Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom. Considered the weak link by fans, we suppose that directly following Phantasy Star II didn't help its case. Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii Points Don't forget to hop in the patented Wii Fanboy time machine and hurtle past the break for footage from the game.
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 4/14/08
You might have noticed a bit of a change to our video coverage of this week's Virtual Console games. You see, no more are we confined to off-screen recording of the Virtual Console releases. That's right, we've upgraded to technology widely available since 2004. We're so modern!Hit up the new video format above and then head past the break for the rest of our usual goodness.
VC Friday: VC Phriday
After a run of three weeks with only one title, this Friday sees two Sega properties up for the taking on the PAL Virtual Console. The first, 2D fighter Eternal Champions, should only concern the most ardent supporters of the company.Indeed, if our bastardization of "VC Friday" tells you anything, it's that this is the week of Phantasy Star II. Sega's RPG is rightfully a huge favorite amongst the Fanboy staff, and it should be high on your list as well. For 800 Wii points, on a machine with no notable RPGs to call its own, it's a pretty damn essential addition to your Virtual Console library. Eternal Champions -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Phantasy Star II -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points
Mega Drive Portable gets rebadged, available to order
It looks like that Mega Drive Portable we caught sight of a couple of months back is no longer exclusive to retro-happy gamers in Brazil, as a suspiciously similar-looking device has recently turned up for order at Play-Asia.com. As with the TecToy version, this one from AtGames is apparently officially licensed by Sega, and includes the very same line-up of twenty Genesis titles, including Golden Axe and Altered Beast, among other games with decidedly less hacking and slashing. Best of all, this incarnation the handheld is also a good deal cheaper than the TecToy, with it setting you back just $40. According to some early buyers, however, it seems that the emulation isn't entirely faithful to the originals, but at that price it's hard to complain too much.[Via technabob]
VC Friday: 800
The three games out this week on the Virtual Console for PAL regions all have one thing in common: they're gonna set you back 800 points. It's up to you to decide whether or not that's a good deal. We'll say one thing -- this week's offerings are not lacking in the action department. Cybernator -- SNES -- 800 Wii points Light Crusader -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Rolling Thunder 2 -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points
Brazil's TecToy cranks out Mega Drive Portable handheld
While Sega's Nomad handheld didn't exactly take off, Brazil's TecToy nonetheless looks to be ready to take its own shot at a portable Genesis console, although it's new "Mega Drive Portable" appears to be decidedly more limited than Sega's offering. The biggest drawback, as you might have guessed, is that the handheld drops the clunky cartridges in favor of twenty built-in games, including Altered Beast, Ecco, Kid Chameleon, and Sonic & Knuckles, to name a few. On the upside, it does at least appear to be a good deal more portable than the Nomad, and you'll also apparently able to hook the device up to your TV for some bigger screen gaming. If that's enough to put you in a nostalgic mood, you'll be able to grab one of these for about $110 when it hits Brazil on December 5th.[Thanks, Sapuca]
VC Friday: The Art of Sonic
It's another Friday, and lately, that means Neo Geo games! Plus, y'know, some other stuff, which is usually pretty pricey, as VC titles goes. But this week, European gamers get a little break with a release out there for only 600 points. On top of that, there's four games from which Wii owners may choose. Sometimes, it's good to be a Nintendo fan. Alien Soldier -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Art of Fighting -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii points Samurai Ghost -- Turbografx -- 600 Wii points Sonic 3D -- Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points
VC Friday: Hello there, Neo Geo
Nintendo of Europe isn't wasting any time -- when they tell you the Neo Geo is coming, they mean it. The first Neo Geo title, Fatal Fury, debuted today on the VC, along with four other games. That's quite a haul! We expect there are some wallets that are hurting today after the bevy of releases. Fatal Fury -- Neo Geo -- 900 Wii points Golden Axe 3 -- Sega Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Landstalker -- Sega Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Streets of Rage 3 -- Sega Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Super Thunder Blade -- Sega Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points
VC Friday: Beatdowns in space
Four new games up this week on the VC, and despite the fact that three of them are from Sega's Mega Drive, Nintendo still manages a fair amount of diversity in this week's selection. By diversity, we mean that they don't all involve outer space or badassery ... well, okay, you got us. These games actually are about space and/or fighting, because what the Virtual Console really needed was more beatdowns. In space. Alex Kidd in the Enchanted Castle - Mega Drive - 800 Wii points Shockman - TurboGrafx - 600 Wii points Virtua Fighter 2 - 800 Wii points Wonder Boy in Monster World - 800 Wii points
Funkotron Rage! Sega announces four new Virtual Console games
Sega has announced four new Genesis titles it will bringing to the Nintendo Wii Virtual Console. Historically, this means that all four titles will be available by the end of May. Side-scrolling beat-em-up Streets of Rage 2 and the funktastic Toe Jam & Earl 2: Panic on Funkotron are slated for release, as are Shining in the Darkness and Kid Chameleon. According to the press release, Genesis titles "start at 800 points" (US $8), though no game has yet surpassed that price point. The only two titles to break the standard price barriers are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (600 points for the NES game) and R-Type (800 points for the TurboGrafx-16 game).[Via Gamasutra][Update: Corrected utterly nightmarish (but incorrect) Virtual Console price.]
DIY wireless Sega controller for Wii Virtual Console
It's literally been ages since we've held a piece of Sega hardware in our hands -- even our trusty old GameGear finally made the trip to gadget heaven -- but we'll never forger the first time we picked up a Genesis controller and were floored by the future of gaming. Its name? Altered Beast. Well as we all know, Sega ended up getting lost in the shuffle during the 20th century console wars, and all that's left today is a steady stream of new games and some classics that have found their way onto the Virtual Console. Isn't it appropriate, then, to get into the Sega spirit by playing these retro titles with genuine Sega controllers? Well you ain't gonna find them on shelves anymore, but if you've got an old gamepad lying around like Daniel Hearn did, its not all that difficult to roll your own wireless pad. All the parts you need -- save for the controller body itself -- can be found at the Sparkfuns and and RadioShacks of the world, and the linked guide gives you all the programming / construction resources you'll need. Big ups to the first reader who combines this project with the Mega Drive controller MP3 mod, creating a DAP whose functionality even the iPod can't touch.[Via Wii Fanboy]
