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Wii U Virtual Console gets first Game Boy Advance games in April
GBA games are coming to the WII U Virtual Console this spring, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata revealed during today's Nintendo Direct livestream event. Metroid: Fusion, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3 will be the first GBA games to grace the Virtual Console. All three will be available in April. [Image: Nintendo]
Mighty Bomb Jack leaps to Wii U Virtual Console this week
An unexpected blast from the past hits the Wii U Virtual Console on Thursday in the form of NES cult classic Mighty Bomb Jack. Originally based on an arcade game of the same title, Mighty Bomb Jack is a relatively standard NES-era platformer. The game's protagonist uses the titular bombs as his main weapon, but most of the game focuses on precise jumping, seeking hidden treasure and that particular brand of video game weirdness you only see in Japanese games translated to English during the late 1980s. Nintendo did not announce Mighty Bomb Jack's upcoming re-release, leaving it instead for fans to find on the Virtual Console. As a result, we can't say for certain what price will be attached to the game, though if it falls in line with most other Virtual Console NES releases Mighty Bomb Jack should feature a $5 price tag.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Gradius, Chibi-Robo Photo Finder
Let's face it, the eShop is easing out of holiday hibernation. Just four new releases this week, and that's if you count a demo of 2D platformer Jump Trials Supreme. That said, 3DS owners can augment their household reality with Chibi-Robo Photo Finder, while Wii U types can augment any reality with arcade shoot-em-up Gradius. If you're looking for a bit more, Atlus games Code of Princess, Etrian Odyssey 4, and Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers are all on sale, along with Darts Up 3D and Aqua Moto Racing 3D.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Bravely Default demo, Mega Man X2
This week's eShop content will look largely familiar to those who follow these posts on a regular basis. Some of this week's offerings have already been live on their respective eShops in between the holidays. Save for Mega Man X2 on the Wii U Virtual Console and a demo for upcoming 3DS RPG Bravely Default, this week's content dump is comprised largely of stuff Nintendo announced last week – like Dr. Luigi (which launched two days ago), Super Punch-Out!! and Mario Tennis. The full version of Bravely Default launches on the eShop and at retail on February 7. There is also a limited-time sale on Atlus games to consider. From now until January 6 at 12pm ET, select games in the Shin Megami Tensei and Etrian Odyssey series are on sale, as is 2D brawl-em-up Code of Princess. Hop on past the break for the full list of this week's eShop content.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Castlevania, Streets of Rage 3D, Knytt Underground
Sega continues doing what Nintendoes this week, releasing updated 3DS versions of two more of its classics, namely Streets of Rage and Shinobi 3. In addition to these reworked Genesis games, the 3DS Virtual Console library expands with the weird urban track and field game, Crash n' the Boys: Street Challenge. The Wii U picks up a re-released classic of its own with the NES version of Castlevania on Virtual Console. The Wii U also grabs the interesting – though perplexing – Knytt Underground. If all of that isn't enough to warm up your winter, there's a sale running on the bizarre, oddly engrossing game about burning things, Little Inferno. You can buy it – and subsequently toss it into the fireplace – for just five bucks.
Mega Man X, Game Boy Mega Man $2 each on eShop through Wednesday
Starting today and ending December 18, players can pick up downloadable copies of Capcom's landmark SNES platformer Mega Man X and bite-sized Game Boy series entry Mega Man for $2 each from Nintendo's eShop. The sale discounts the Wii U Virtual Console version of Mega Man X (regularly $7.99) and the 3DS VC port of the Game Boy Mega Man (regularly $3.99). Note that these limited-time sale prices are only available via their respective platforms, as Nintendo does not offer the ability to purchase eShop content via PCs. This week's sale is apparently the first of several "2 Games, 2 Dollars each, 2 Days" deals planned for the eShop, though details regarding future sales have not been revealed. The sale price for both games will remain in effect through 8:59 a.m. PST on December 18.
Wii U Virtual Console games added to Club Nintendo Rewards
This month's Club Nintendo Rewards lineup offers up Wii U Virtual Console games for the first time, sunsetting the service's Nintendo Wii offerings in favor of Nintendo's latest console. This month's selection includes the classic NES Joust-alike Balloon Fight and notoriously difficult Japanese import Super Mario Bros. 2: The Lost Levels. The Wii U versions of these games offer additional features not found in their previous Wii Virtual Console releases, adding savestate support and configurable controls. Digital copies of all featured games can be purchased with Club Nintendo coins, which members earn by registering 3DS, Wii and Wii U software. The Lost Levels is available for 150 Club Nintendo coins, while Balloon Fight can be redeemed for 200 coins. Also up for grabs this month are the 3DS Virtual Console version of Mario's Picross (100 coins) and the 3DSWare tower defense game Starship Defense (150 coins). [Update: Players report that Club Nintendo is actually offering the Wii version of Super Mario Bros: The Lost Levels, despite what the Rewards page claims. Take note before spending your coins.]
Europe's eShop update Links to a Past Zelda on Wii U
Wii U owners in Europe can revisit a truly classic Zelda when CD-i great Link: The Faces of Evil arrives on the eShop later this week. Alright, no, it's really SNES entry The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and it'll be available via the Wii U Virtual Console on December 12, priced £5.49/€8. A word of warning, though: Nintendo's press release notes this is the European version of the game, indicating it may run at the slower 50Hz refresh rate. The Euro-arrival of A Link to the Past means it's likely to also venture to North America this week, and we've reached out to Nintendo to confirm just that. That said, it seems odd to bring A Link to the Past to Wii U a few weeks after A Link Between Worlds. Wouldn't it have made more sense to re-release it ahead of its 3DS sequel as a welcome warm-up? What's that? Don't doubt the wisdom of the Triforce? Oh, okay, then.
New Nintendo eShop releases: Wii Sports Club, Toki Tori, Wario's Woods, KORG M01D
There's a little something for everyone on the Nintendo eShop this week. The Wii U picks up Wii Sports Club (the epitome of "for everyone"), the original Toki Tori and the Virtual Console release of Wario's Woods. The 3DS also takes a trip to Wario's Woods, and it gets the eShop version of Kid Icarus: Uprising (which probably doesn't include that handy stand, for obvious reasons). If you're feeling a little more creative, you could try KORG M01D, a fully-featured music synthesizer program that lets you share your songs with other 3DS owners. You can even save the MIDI to the SD card so you can transfer it to a computer. And it wouldn't be a new week on the eShop without a sale on an Atlus game or two. From 9 a.m. PT on November 11 through 9 a.m. November 18, both Etrian Odyssey 4 and Code of Princess will be $10 off.
Super Castlevania 4 haunts Wii U eShop on Halloween
Konami's classic 16-bit platformer Super Castlevania 4 will hit the Wii U's eShop this Halloween, Nintendo revealed this week. Following up on a trilogy of 8-bit releases, Super Castlevania 4 brought the series to the Super NES in 1991 with multidirectional whip attacks, screen-filling boss encounters, and a boatload of showy Mode 7 background effects, as was the popular thing to do at the time. The Wii U version offers a series of upgrades over the game's 2006 Virtual Console release, including off-TV play, savestate support, and Miiverse integration. Super Castlevania 4 will be priced at $7.99 when it launches in the eShop on October 31. Players who previously purchased the Wii Virtual Console version can upgrade to the Wii U edition for $1.50.
Yoshi's Cookie being yanked from Wii's Virtual Console this week
Nintendo's 1993 NES puzzler Yoshi's Cookie will be delisted from the Wii's Virtual Console service on October 18, after which it will no longer be available for purchase or redownload. Though it stars Nintendo's franchise characters, Yoshi's Cookie was developed by Bullet Proof Software, the studio who brought Tetris to the Game Boy in 1989. It's likely that an expired license is the cause of the removal; several games have been removed from the Virtual Console service in recent years due to licensing issues, including Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Irem's R-Type, and the Donkey Kong Country trilogy. Currently, the Wii does not offer a way for users to recover delisted digital titles after loss or deletion. Yoshi's Cookie was removed from the Virtual Console service in Europe and Japan on October 11.
3DS Virtual Console queues up Donkey Kong, Wario Land 3, Super Mario Bros. 3, Tecmo Bowl
Nintendo has announced a batch of new old games are coming to the 3DS Virtual Console. First is the NES port of Donkey Kong, due on August 15, followed by the NES port of Tecmo Bowl sometime next month. Super Mario Bros. 3 is also on its way later this year, to both the 3DS and Wii U eShops. Finally, Nintendo assures lauded Game Boy Color platformer Wario Land 3 is "coming soon" to the 3DS. Both the Wii U and 3DS Virtual Consoles have been busy lately: Capcom just recently completed the Mega Man hexalogy on the 3DS, with more of the blue bomber arriving in the coming months. And, late last month on the Wii U Virtual Console, Nintendo finally re-released Earthbound.
Earthbound and children at play
This is Making Time, a column about the games we've always wanted to play, and the games we've always wanted to play again. Earlier this month, a friend on Twitter asked his followers to name a "perfect game." The resulting conversation was fascinating, as hordes of players listed games while also admitting that each had "flaws," or that the plot wasn't strong enough to be considered perfect. Some refused the notion that a perfect game could ever exist, or argued that it shouldn't exist, because perfection is unattainable. After spending time with Earthbound's recent Wii U Virtual Console, I've come to think otherwise. Earthbound is perfect. To be clear, it's not perfect because it's a flawless product, but because it expresses a coming-of-age adventure in every ounce of its code. At its roots, Earthbound (Mother 2 in Japan) is like a group of children at play, in a world much larger and darker than themselves.%Gallery-195204%
Game Boy Mega Man games headed to 3DS Virtual Console
After recently completing the NES Mega Man hexalogy on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console, Capcom has announced plans to bring six additional Game Boy Mega Man games to the Nintendo eShop in the coming months. The monochrome Game Boy versions of Mega Man II, III, IV, and V are next up in Capcom's 3DS Virtual Console schedule. The first entry in the series, Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge, hit the service back in 2011. Capcom additionally announced plans to release 3DS Virtual Console versions of Mega Man Xtreme and Mega Man Xtreme 2, both of which are built on remixed elements from the Mega Man X series. A recent ESRB ratings submission suggests that Mega Man's Game Gear spinoff may also be on tap for a Virtual Console release.
Earthbound launches on Wii U eShop
Earthbound has launched on the North American Wii U Virtual Console, Nintendo announced via a Nintendo Direct Mini video today. The port for the SNES game was first announced in April for North America and Europe. The game costs $9.99 on the Wii U eShop. Nintendo also announced that the original Earthbound strategy guide has been optimized for the Wii U GamePad and will be freely available for viewing on Nintendo's Earthbound site. "Unfortunately, we haven't figured out how to make scratch-and-sniff technology work on the Internet just yet, though," Nintendo's Bill Trinen said in the video, alluding to the smelly cards that came with the strategy guide.
Game Gear Mega Man listed by ESRB, hinting at eShop release
Mega Man fans may soon get a chance to play one of the series' lesser-known entries via Nintendo's Virtual Console service. A recent ESRB ratings submission suggests that the Sega Game Gear version of Mega Man is on its way to the Nintendo 3DS eShop. Developed by Freestyle and originally published by U.S. Gold in 1995, Mega Man's sole Game Gear outing mashes together elements from Mega Man 4 and Mega Man 5, with uneven results. If nothing else, the eShop release will be significantly cheaper and easier to find than a cartridge copy, as original Game Gear Mega Man carts are currently selling for around $40 on eBay. As of last week, all six NES Mega Man games are now available in the 3DS eShop. After the Game Gear version of Mega Man launches, Capcom may turn its attention to the remaining Game Boy entries in the series, following up on the 2011 Virtual Console release of Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge. Here's hoping that we'll see a port of Mega Man: The Wily Wars at some point.
Mega Man X coming to Wii U Virtual Console on May 30
Nintendo recently posted a trailer for Mega Man X to its YouTube channel showing the game in action on the Wii U Game Pad. The SNES game will launch on the Wii U Virtual Console next week, on May 30, to be exact. Meanwhile, Super Metroid is still 30 cents, the service will see more Game Gear titles and Earthbound is coming this year. We're just saying, the Wii U's Virtual Console offerings are looking pretty hot right about now.
More Sega Game Gear titles coming to virtual console
During this morning's Nintendo Direct, company CEO Satoru Iwata announced more titles from Sega's Game Gear handheld were on their way to the 3DS via the Virtual console service. We've placed the announced line-up after the break.
Get Super Metroid for 30 cents on Wii U Virtual Console right now
Super Metroid (SNES) is on sale for $0.30 through the Wii U Virtual Console right now, as part of the Trial Campaign promotion celebrating the Famicom. Super Metroid is fourth on a list of discounts that kicked off back in February – predecessors include Kirby's Adventure, Punch-Out!!! Featuring Mr. Dream and F-Zero. Super Metroid will be $0.30 for 30 days, until Yoshi comes in and takes over on June 12. The Virtual Console launched on Wii U late last month. The initial launch list included Balloon Fight, Donkey Kong Jr., Excitebike, Ice Climbers, Kirby's Adventure, Punch Out, F-Zero and Super Mario World. This week, Super Mario Bros. 2 will be available for $5.
Super Mario Bros 2 coming to Wii U Virtual Console next week
Super Mario Bros. 2 is coming to the North American Wii U Virtual Console service on May 16. The game will launch at $4.99. Super Mario Bros. 2 joins a fairly light list of games on the Wii U Virtual Console, including those that launched the service in April, such as Excitebike, Ice Climbers, Punch Out and Super Mario World. Earthbound will be coming to the service at some point this year as well.
