VC Tuesday: Mario's Mysterious Gateball

Have any of you ever heard of a sport called gateball? It's some kind of Japanese croquet-like game for kids. It's also the basis for this week's most out-of-nowhere Virtual Console offering from Hudson. We can only say that because, over the years, we've gotten used to the other, objectively weirder game in which the protagonist throws his tethered head at enemies. The other games are both significantly less whaaa? than either of these: NES Open Tournament Golf and a classic Mysterious Dungeon roguelike.

• Mario Open Golf (Famicom, 1-2 players, 500 Wii Points)

• Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Shiren the Wanderer (Super Famicom, 1 player, 900 Wii Points)

• Dynamite Headdy (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)

• Appare! Gateball (PC Engine, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points)