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Torrent of TurboGrafx-16 titles set for Australia's Virtual Console
Making up for its delayed arrival to Australia's Virtual Console, the TurboGrafx-16 will debut in the world's smallest continent next week with eleven releases! Hudson's VC site lists that over a third of the games will be shmups -- no big surprise there -- but classics like Dungeon Explorer, Military Madness, and Bomberman '93 are also set to appear at the system's opening ceremony.The US, having been spoiled with dozens of TG-16 releases since the Wii's launch, will receive only one PC-Engine title next Monday: Dragon Spirit, an impossibly hard, vertical-scrolling shoot 'em up in which you pilot a blue dragon. Check past the post break for Hudson's planned releases across all territories this July.
A first look at R-Type Tactics
If you haven't heard, Irem is working on a new R-Type game for PSP. R-Type Tactics looks to take the series in a bold new strategic direction. Tactics will feature all-new turn-based battles based on grids ... while retaining the series' trademark good looks and massive explosions.Check out the first direct-feed screenshots of the game in our gallery below. Then, visit the official Japanese website to find out more about the game (provided you understand Japanese).%Gallery-3448%[Thanks, Thien!]
R-Type Tactics makes shooting a strategic experience
Side-scrolling shooter meets ... turn-based strategy game? According to a blurry Famitsu scan, a new R-Type will attempt just that. R-Type Tactics features traditional side-scrolling shooting action confined to a turn-based grid system. Instead of cursing bosses for cheap kills and numbing your fingers slapping the fire button, you'll take turns attacking and plotting devious schemes with your enemies. Look for the strange mix of genres on the PSP in Japan later this year.[Via PSP Fanboy]
R-Type Tactics revealed in Japanese magazine
R-Type Final wasn't so final afterall. The latest issue of Famitsu reveals a new iteration to the once-dead R-Type series, and like so many other PSP exclusives, this also features Tactics at the end of its title. Unfortunately, due to the abysmal quality of the image, it's hard to decipher much about the game. For example, how tactical is it? Is Irem involved in any way? We'll try to provide you the details as soon as we get them.[Update: IGN has translated much of the information. "R-Type Tactics looks like a traditional shooting game, right down to the side-scrolling perspective, only instead of freely moving about and blasting enemy ships, you take turns with the enemy, making careful movements over a grid." Because Final was meant to be the last R-Type game, this strategic twist is meant to bring something "new" to the table. Do you approve?][Thanks, crithit5000!]
R-Type Delta adds to our Japanese PS1 envy
As if Sony were mocking Steve's latest blog entry, they've released seven new old PSone titles to the (still PS3-only) PlayStation Store, bringing up the downloadable catalogue up to 31. Each of these games can be purchased for a paltry ¥525 (US$4.33). Shanghai Dynasty (Success) The Drugmania (Hamster) R-Type Delta (Irem) Ore no Shikabane o Koete Yuke (SCE) Puzzle Mania (Hamster) Pet in TV (SCE) Yaku: Yuujou Dangi (Idea Factory) To compare, America has only received 11 games so far, at a higher price of $6. Of those 11, we've only been able to recommend 4 of those games. Please Sony, if you're not going to give us more releases, at least give us better ones.[Via Joystiq]
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?
New firmware coming in less than a week
Apparently, the PSone download title, R-TYPES, has some issues, freezing on the PSP. Sony's official Japanese website acknowledges this issue and Sony plans on releasing a new firmware to fix this issue.While this won't affect Americans at all, Sony will most likely release a new firmware worldwide. This isn't the first time Sony has released an upgrade for game-specific problems. In fact, 3.01 and 3.02 were both released within days of 3.00's release in order to fix issues in Japan-only games. For those of you that need to always be on the latest firmware, expect this update to hit PSPs before February 9th.[Via PSP-Vault]
Sub-par Virtual Console games on U.S. holiday
On a day most Americans have off, we get another lame assortment of VC games for the Wii. Xevious (NES, 500 points), R-Type III: The Third Lightning (Super NES, 800 points) and Moto Roader (TurboGrafx16, 600 points) are the titles Wii owners are expected to blow their cash Wii points on.Bring on the Metroid, even Super Metroid, Kid Icarus, or titles we've heard of. We know that some good games need to be saved for the rumored incoming Wii drought, but with an amazing library of games at Nintendo's disposal, we're getting some unimpressive and genre clumped offerings. The VC is not living up to its potential.
VC Friday: vampires and cities
To those in Europe: don't forget to check out today's Virtual Console updates, because there are some sweet games available now.SimCity (SNES) -- 800 pointsSuper Castlevania IV (SNES) -- 800 pointsBaseball (NES) - 500 pointsIce Hockey (NES) -- 500 pointsR-Type (TURBOGRAFX) -- 800 pointsSuper Probotector was scheduled for today, but we've heard it was a no-show. Not like you needed it today, not with that lineup! Planning on buying any of these? We definitely recommend Super Castlevania IV.
Christmas sees first VC price increase
Wii owners waking up this Christmas morning expecting to download some classic space 'shmup goodness might be a little surprised at what they have to pay to get it. R-Type, released today on the Wii's virtual console, is the first TurboGrafx-16 game to be available for 800 VC points instead of the normal 600.This didn't come as a total surprise: Nintendo casually mentioned last month that virtual console games merely "start at" the now-standard point levels (NES: 500, TG16: 600, SNES/Genesis:800, N64:1000). They also mentioned the R-Type price specifically in a press release last week, but our eyes glazed over and we misreported it at 600 points. Silly us... we thought the price used in six other TurboGrafx-16 games so far would carry over to the seventh.While R-Type is a bit more popular than a similar game like Super Star Soldier, we can't help but wonder why Nintendo chose this game to break out the first price hike. While a 200 point increase isn't too outrageous, we can only hope this does not represent the start of a trend in ever-increasing virtual console prices.
VC Christmas: Super Mario, four more, no hand outs [update 1]
[Update: The original post erroneously listed the price for R-Type at 600 points. More here.]Nintendo has confirmed five titles for the Christmas Day Virtual Console update, and it's quite an impressive release. Just as we thought, Nintendo is not giving away any titles. Instead, they are uploading five major titles to increase their profit margin. The titles are: Super Mario Bros. (NES, 500 points): Nintendo's flagship title is sure to sell like hotcakes despite already racking up 40 million in sales since its 1985 release. How many times can we repurchase the game? Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES, 800 points): Compared to the Xbox Live version, it's your choice whether you want online play or would rather pocket $2.00 in exchange rate difference (800 Nintendo points vs. 800 MS points). Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 800 points): One of the best in the series. Easily the best Castlevania title on the SNES, though it only had one other iteration (Castlevania Dracula X) to compete against. Toe Jam & Earl (Genesis, 800 points): Strong two-player action title, worth the price based on style alone. R-Type (TurboGrafx16, 800 points): One of the classic space shooters. We're excited by the list, even if our wallets aren't. Nintendo of America's Reggie Fils-Aime has talked about strategically releasing VC titles when there's a drought of first-party Wii titles. With all these delays recently announced, might we be seeing more great VC Mondays forthcoming? And when are we going to see Square Enix games or any Nintendo 64 goodies?Keep up on: Virtual Console Mondays
A very merry Virtual Console Christmas [update 2]
Hold on to your mistletoe, folks, Nintendo is dropping all kinds of radiological bombs come Christmas morning. Let's skip the preamble and just head right on in: Super Mario Bros. (NES) - Finally, is all we have to say. The defining "retro" title in video gaming history is finally up for grabs, and you might not have a soul if you don't pick it up. Street Fighter II: The World Warrior (SNES) - One of the most influential titles in the 16-bit era, Street Fighter II is revered by millions of angry, violent gamers worldwide. And Chun-Li is still hot. Super Castlevania IV (SNES) - The beginning of the modern Castlevania games, this title features more hot whip action than your mistress on Friday night. And unholy werewolves, too. Toe Jam and Earl (Sega Genesis) - We've been raving about this funkotronic title for weeks, and it's finally here come Christmas morn. Get your groove on and ignore your holiday dinner ... that's what we're doing, anyway. R-Type (TG-16) - An apparently famous shooter that we ourselves have not played. We hear it's quite the hit, though. Any takers? This is gonna be one hell of a Monday. Who said presents needed to be encased in paper and under a tree?[Thanks, Benny!][Update 1: Also, on January 1st, Nintendo will be releasing both Baseball (NES) and Urban Champion (NES). Not that it'll matter. We'll be too busy playing these games to bother.][Update 2: And no, none of these games are free. Cheapskates.]
New PSOne downloads in Japan, new PSP firmware everywhere
Sony has dropped nine more PSOne games into Japan's PlayStation Store. The process is still tedious, the files still only playable on PSP (and only downloadable with a PlayStation 3). A new PSP firmware update (v3.03) is required to play the newest oldies; and although the update is available for all to install, it's useless to those outside of Japan -- or those in Japan without access to PS3's PlayStation Network.Here's a rundown of the PSOne games you won't be playing on your PSP today: Dino Crisis Gekitotsu Toma L'Arc: L'Arc-en-Ciel vs Tomarunner Global Force: Shin Sentou Kokka Migi Hadari U-SA Migi Hadari USA Mr. Driller R-Type Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Taiyou no Shippo: Wild, Pure, Simple Life The Conveni: Anomachi o Dokusenseyo
More PSone titles... in Japan, at least
The dozen or so people that own both a PLAYSTATION 3 and PSP in Japan will be able to play new old PSone games tomorrow, using the newly released 3.03 firmware. The titles, all at a low price of 525 yen, include: R-TYPE Migi Hadari USA Tail of the Sun DINO CRISIS Global Force: Shin Sentou Kokka Gekisou Tomarunner Little Princess (Marl Kingdom) The Combini (Ano Machi o Dokusen seyo) Mister Driller Wasn't Mr. Driller supposed to be out at launch? I wonder what PSone games are heading over to the states (if any).[Via Games & Gadgets]
Free VC games for Christmas? Keep dreaming
There's been a surprising amount of chatter recently about some sort of "Christmas surprise" coming out of Nintendo on Monday, Dec. 25. The source of all this speculation, as far as we can figure it, is a Nov. 30 post on RumorReporter.com that coyly suggests "you might want to keep an eye on your Wii's WiiConnect24 service leading up to this Christmas. Nintendo's sending a nifty gift... a surprise."The only cited source for this information? "A friend of mine from Germany, who works for a very legitimate gaming production and publication." And really, if you can't trust some guy's unnamed German friend who works for an unnamed "legitimate" gaming company, who can you trust?The extreme sketchiness of this tip hasn't stopped the 'net from rampant speculation on what the big surprise might be. The current leading contender seems to be free Virtual Console games. As GamersReports notes, a little Firefox hacking can turn up Wii Shop pages for upcoming games Super Mario Bros., ToeJam & Earl and R-Type that list the price as "0 points / Free." The report is careful to note this as a rumor, but still holds out hope for "a real Christmas miracle, though."We don't buy it. As noted on the original hacking guide on Following Revolution, "any unreleased game says free for now, as it's just a placeholder for price" which will be set later. Some might say that the "free" message where the "download" button usually appears proves that the games are indeed going to be offered gratis, but it would be a relatively simple process for Nintendo to set that message as the default for any page with an unset price. At best, this proves that the virtual console has the functionality to offer products for free -- something we've long known was planned for the system's Opera browser.But the greatest argument against this Christmas surprise is that it's bad business. Giving away Super Mario Bros., a title that is likely to be one of the Virtual Console's biggest sellers, is not a smart move for a company that obviously values profits. The positive PR for the move likely wouldn't offset the hundreds of thousands of dollars lost to the free downloads.We suppose we could be wrong here, and that some huge surprise could show up on our systems come Christmas morning. Just don't get your hopes up, is all.
