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Turbografx primer part 2: the games
Racketboy's Turbografx-16 coverage continues, and continues to be excellent. We totally feel obligated to cover it, because it's about our favorite underdog VC system. This time, the focus is on the games that made the system so awesome. And also Keith Courage in Alpha Zones. Categorized by, among other criteria, storage format and by whether each is an arcade port or an original game, this list of "Games that Defined the Turbografx-16" covers a lot of the best games for the system. There's quite a bit of stuff on the list, like Alien Crush and Blazing Lazers, for you to go buy on the VC now, and other stuff like Devil's Crush that will ensure that the VC will be providing us with rich, flavorful content for quite some time.
VC Friday: Mega warrior?
MESSAGE FROM DR. LIGHT.MEGA MAN DOWNLOAD COMPLETED! GET YOUR WEAPONS READY!Need we say more? Today on the European VC: Mega Man -- NES -- 500 Wii points China Warrior -- TurboGrafx -- 600 Wii points
Turbografx-16 primer: required reading for Wii Fanboy fanboys
Of the systems whose games are currently available on the Virtual Console, the Turbografx-16 is the most obscure. It didn't seem that obscure to us, since we had one and played it frequently, but we recognize that most people went with the Genesis or SNES in the 16-bit console wars. That's fine, we guess.Now that the Virtual Console is making the games easily and cheaply available, you have an obligation to buy at least one and see what you've been missing. Okay, actually you don't, but we'd at least like you to read this article about the system so we can feel like we did something good for TG16 fandom today, even though it was retro historian extraordinaire Racketboy who did all the work. Then, if you happen to go download Alien Crush, that would be cool too.Do you know the difference between the TurboBooster and the TurboBooster Plus? Can you put the system cards in chronological order? Read all about it and learn what it was like to be a Turbo fan in the '90s. It was pretty confusing, in terms of hardware.
VC Friday: Shooting rubber balloons
At the very least, this is a great week for pricing on the Virtual Console -- all three of the games are near the lower end of the pricing scheme, and for gamers trying to collect 'em all (or at least, as many as they can!), that's usually good news. Don't think that limits the choices, however; this week, you can choose your poison -- puzzle, shooter, or ... uh ... Balloon Fight. It's fighting. With balloons. Which is, of course, awesome. Adventures of Lolo - NES - 500 Wii points Balloon Fight - NES - 500 Wii points Dead Moon - TurboGrafx - 600 Wii points
Australia to be Bonked
Australia never got an official release of the NEC Turbografx-16 system, so they never got the chance to ignore classics like Bonk's Adventure and Alien Crush like we did here in the States. Hudson, proving that they are good people, are going to start releasing Turbografx games on the Virtual Console in Australia, starting this July. They plan to release more than 60 games this year, which is 36 more than are currently available in the US. That indicates that not only will Australia be completely caught up with us, but that we'll all get a bunch more TG16 games this year!Does this mean that we'll get MSX games in the US? Please?
Wii Fanboy on the Wii Show
The kind fellows over at the Wii Show asked us to join them on their podcast-- obviously, this was before they heard my voice. We recorded a show yesterday, talking about the summer release schedule and the Virtual Console. I had a great time, and I appreciate the invitation.Although, considering that I mostly derailed the conversation to doubt Nintendo's online plans and talk about Turbografx-16 games, we think they were being polite by inviting us back.If you've got 30 minutes or so, why not have a listen? Burn it to CD or something and listen to some Wii chatter while you're on the highway.
VC Friday: Ninja Golf
This week, European gamers get a little variety with their Virtual Console releases. Whether you prefer a nice game of golf, or kicking ass in a dark forest, the VC has you covered. And all with only two games! The best part? Neither of them is particularly expensive.Today on the Virtual Console: NES Open Tournament Golf - NES - 500 points Ninja Spirit - TurboGrafx - 600 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
Ninja Spirit headed to VC, we take full credit
Have we mentioned recently how much we love Hudson? Not only did they make tons and tons of incredible games for the Turbografx-16 (and lots of other systems!), but they're better than anyone else about actually releasing their games on the Virtual Console. And now we have news that some of the best Turbografx-16 games are coming to the US in May! Also some stuff for Nintendo consoles in Japan, but we'll get to that. It finally happened. A game we profiled in Virtually Overlooked has been officially announced for the Virtual Console. Even though IREM's Ninja Spirit was one of the best and most popular TG16 games, we're going to go ahead and declare this as a victory. As if that weren't exciting enough, Hudson announced plans to release a personal favorite, Blazing Lazers, as well as Ordyne (excellent, adorable shmup) and World Sports Competition (we haven't played it, but we'll assume it's great because we're in a good mood). Nintendo of Japan also has some fantastic stuff planned, including Super Mario Bros. 2 and F-Zero X, either of which would no doubt be the headline if anyone else were writing this. That's Super Mario Bros. 2, the Japanese version, released here as Lost Levels. The really, really hard one, as opposed to the silly one about throwing vegetables.
VC Friday: Fights, battles and bombs
Looking at the Virtual Console releases has taught us one thing: if violent games really did create violent people, we'd all be fighting in the streets. The VC is packed with shooters and brawlers, but hey, that's how we roll, retro style. Not that we don't appreciate platformers, puzzles, and RPGs, mind you. We just really like anything with "up" in the description. We're not picky when it comes to choosing between beating 'em up, or shooting 'em up.This week's batch: Battle Lode Runner -- TurboGrafx -- 600 Wii points Final Fight -- SNES -- 800 Wii points Mighty Bomb Jack -- NES -- 500 Wii points
VC Friday: Gods and cavemen
And to think, people say bad things happen on Friday the 13th! Well, that's certainly not true if you're waiting for the news on today's Virtual Console additions. It's a good week to love classic games ... and we know a lot of people who are going to screech with delight at the chance to grab ActRaiser. So what do you think of the Virtual Console so far? Has it delivered, despite any grumbling about pricing? The good stuff just seems to keep coming!Available today: ActRaiser (SNES) -- 800 Wii points Bonk's Revenge (TurboGrafx) -- 600 Wii points Pac-Man (NES) -- 500 Wii points
Hudson Entertainment president talks about TG16 and Virtual Console
As you may have guessed, we're big Turbografx-16 fans here, so Brandon Sheffield's interview with Hudson USA president John Greiner, who was with the company through that system's lifetime, was an especially good read for us. The interview is long and detailed, and covers a lot of Hudson's lesser-known franchises like Tengai Makyou, as well as the fantastic Kato-chan and Ken-chan, which we got as JJ & Jeff. It also talks about how Hudson got into the Virtual Console biz.Here's the quote of the freaking millennium for us: "We're looking at...you know, eventually all Turbo Grafx games will be on the Virtual Console, because they're going to be emulations." Oh, no, wait, that's awesome, but here's the quote of the millennium: "We're going to work on the Turbo Grafx titles, but there were 600 some-odd PC Engine titles, and there were only 150 or so Turbo Grafx titles, so I think that if people tell us they want these games, absolutely." We cannot control our dancing. It is difficult to type at the moment.
Five TG-16 games coming to VC next month
Not to be outdone by Capcom's Virtual Console plans revealed earlier this week, Hudson has announced five TurboGrafx-16 games coming to the the North American shopping channel this April: Battle Lode Runner, Bonk's Revenge, Bravoman, Dragon's Curse, and Shockman.Bonk's Revenge builds upon the original adventure's headbutting formula, adding more complex levels and tightened graphics. Battle Lode Runner gets a similar visual upgrade from its Commodore 64 trappings, and it even features multiplayer action.Dragon's Curse, or Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap in Japan, should be available to purchase by next Monday. Players will be able to take on the forms and powers of five different creatures in this side-scrolling RPG, questing to regain their original human body. Bravoman and Shockman sound like Mega Man spin-offs, and you wouldn't be too far off with that assumption! They're both action-platformers overloaded with robots and larger-than-life bosses.All five of the Virtual Console games will be priced at 600 Wii points.
Hudson celebrates the 20th anniversary of the PC Engine
2007 is the twentieth anniversary of the PC Engine (the Japanese Turbografx-16) and Hudson, who co-created the console with NEC, is honoring the little console and its little HuCards in two ways this year: By releasing lots of awesome games on the Virtual Console, and By featuring a multipart PC Engine retrospective on their home page We're so happy to see the Wii bringing the PC Engine back into the limelight. It brought us a lot of games that deserve a second look, and deserve to be played by a new audience. Please, tip your hat to NEC and Hudson's masterpiece. Go check out the first part of the article, and then check out some Turbo games on the VC if you haven't already!
Virtually Overlooked: Ninja Spirit
Welcome to our weekly feature, Virtually Overlooked, wherein we talk about games that aren't on the Virtual Console yet, but should be. Call it a retro-speculative.This is the second time we've ended up following a theme from week to week in these features-- in this case, we wanted to talk about Ninja Spirit for the Turbografx-16, and didn't remember until we started researching that, like last week's Photograph Boy, Ninja Spirit was developed by IREM.The best way to describe Ninja Spirit for people familiar with Virtual Console games is "The Legend of Kage, but good." And we say that as fans of Kage.
For the authentic Virtual Console experience: old Sears catalogs
Now for a reminder of what gaming looked like when the Virtual Console was a collection of actual consoles: these scans of old Sears Roebuck catalogs almost have us printing them out, circling the TurboDuo, and sending the page to our parents just in case they still need any Christmas shopping ideas for Christmas 1992.These catalogs looked cheesy to us back then too, but there's really a magic about them that is lost in game retail materials these days. Maybe it's just because the early 16-bit "system wars" were one of the most amazing periods in gaming history. Which side did you take in Genesis vs. Turbografx-16?[Via NeoGAF]
Import VC games possible: Europe edition [update 1]
We recently brought you the news that Nintendo was still open to the possibility of bringing import Virtual Console games to the American Wii. In an interview with Eurogamer, a Nintendo UK spokesperson indicated that they're open to the possibility in PAL-land, as well. This possibility has added significance for European gamers, because it opens the door not only to Japanese and US games previously unreleased in Europe, but superior, faster NTSC versions of previously released games (PAL versions of which suffer from slowdown even now on the VC).So, European Fanboys, what would you like to see on the Virtual Console? Rondo of Blood? How about Dracula X? Or maybe that Castlevania game that only got released in Japan on the PC Engine Super CD Rom? The possibilities are endless.[Update 1: added a link to previous VC story.][Via Game|Life]
VC Friday: Puffballs and bikes
Sure, so you could pick up Excite Truck this week if you're in Europe ... or you could save a few quid and go old school with Excitebike on the Virtual Console! Sorry, sorry ... we just loved us some Excitebike back in the day, and we get a little extra bouncy when we have an excuse to talk about it. If jumping blocky hills isn't your thing, there's a lot more to choose from this week: Excitebike (NES) -- 500 points Kirby's Adventure (NES) -- 500 points New Adventure Island (TurboGrafx) -- 600 points R-Type III: The Third Lightning (SNES) -- 800 points Any of these rev your motor?
VC Friday: It's shopping time
Maybe you've been holding out on this whole Virtual Console thing. Maybe you just didn't feel like spending money on some older games. But this week comes complete with a huge shot of pure, unadulterated goodness, so maybe it's time you gave the Wii Shop channel a chance. We're not saying you have to ... we're just saying it may make your weekend that much better.This week: Super Mario World (SNES) -- 800 Wii points Vigilante (TurboGrafx) -- 600 Wii points Zelda II: The Adventure of Link (NES) -- 500 Wii points
Nintendo promises four VC games every Monday
After a bit of an inconsistent start, Nintendo has finally decided to standardize the release of classic game downloads on the Wii's Shop Channel. Starting this week, the company will make available four virtual console downloads every Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific time. The following titles will be available on Dec. 4: Donkey Kong Jr. (500 Wii points - NES*) Victory Run (600 points - TG-16) Columns (800 points - Genesis) Ristar (800 points - Genesis) While we're happy to see Nintendo add some regularity to the release of new content, we can't help but wonder why there have been so few SNES and N64 games announced for the virtual console thus far. Is Nintendo trying to hook new users with lower-priced, older games, or are they just reluctant to put out downloads that require a Gamecube pad or a somewhat-hard-to-find classic controller? Or neither. Or both. Or something else! Hooray for rhetorical questions!* - Mistakenly listed in the press release as SNES[Via Gaming Bits]
