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Japan's November VC releases: Nuts
... and also Milk. November's Virtual Console outlook for Japan looks pretty excellent, with a lot of delightfully niche stuff. That includes King's Knight, the medieval-themed vertical shooter (!) from Square(!) that nobody likes but us ( ....) It will also bring Sega's Eternal Champions, the goofy Mortal Kombat-influenced fighting game that we poured hundreds of hours into. But it also includes stuff that non-us people will enjoy, like Panel de Pon, which, released in the U.S. as Tetris Attack, is the most popular version of the Puzzle League puzzle games. Light Crusader is notable for being an RPG from Treasure, and not much else.Of course, the big news for a lot of us is that SNK has turned the King of Fighters faucet on, ensuring a constant stream of fighting games with overdone storylines and ridiculous outfits for at least a year. Here's the full lineup for November, assuming some of them don't get bumped or pushed back into December (they will): Famicom: Ganbare Goemon, Balloon Fight, Makaimura (Ghosts 'n Goblins), Nuts and Milk, King's KnightSuper Famicom: Panel de PonMega Drive: Ecco Jr., Light Crusader, Eternal ChampionsPC Engine: Dynastic Hero (Wonder Boy in Monster World), Dragon Spirit, Take the A-Train 3, Kawa no Nushi Tsuri (Legend of the River King), Gradius II GOFER no YabouNeo Geo: The King of Fighters '94, Baseball Stars 2, Top Hunter
An ad for a Virtual Console release?!
It's Sunday, and you know what that means -- a new edition of Promotional Consideration! Well, that's what it would mean were this post on DS Fanboy, but since the sign we're featuring is for a Virtual Console title, this will have to be a Promotional Consideration article only in spirit.We haven't come across many Virtual Console advertisements in the states; in fact, we haven't come across any at all. We're reminded of this travesty every morning when we see the lines of blood soaked through VC fanatic JC Fletcher's shirt, traces of his nightly self-flagellation rituals wherein he begs his retro-video-gaming gods to deliver us more ads for classic titles.The Gradius/Nemesis sign pictured above was found at the Musashi-Urawa train station in Saitama, Japan late last May. When was the last time you saw an ad for a shoot-em-up displayed in a public space? As much as we'd love to see Virtual Console advertisements and posters of enlarged screenshots from 2D games brought over to the US, especially for JC's sake, we doubt that Nintendo of America will ever follow suit.
VC Tuesday: The Terror of Druaga
Many American gamers would consider today's Japanese VC update to have two winners: the isometric RPG Landstalker, and Konami's wonderful SNES shooter Gradius III. Japanese gamers, for whom, of course, this update is intended, would be just as likely to gravitate toward the Famicom version of Namco arcade "classic" The Tower of Druaga, which, uh, they can enjoy with our compliments. We keep getting fooled by Druaga's appearances in Namco Museum collections into thinking that it's really a good game and we're just missing something, but we really don't think we are. It's a brutally hard maze game with unresponsive controls and no point. It's part RPG and part action game and all arrrrrrggghhhh.This week's Japanese Virtual Console releases: The Tower of Druaga (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Gradius III (Super Famicom, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Landstalker (Mega Drive, 1 player, 700 Wii Points)
The VC Advantage: Getting it out of the way
The internet has made it easy to find cheats for games, but we miss the tips pages from game magazines, when the discovery of a new code could inspire you to go back to an old game. These codes aren't exactly new, but oldness is the essence of the Virtual Console! We're bringing back the classic codes every week on The VC Advantage.It would be impossible to write a weekly column about classic game codes and leave out the most famous code of all. It's the first code anyone thinks of when they hear about game cheats, and it's become an enduring symbol of classic video games. You know this code by heart; you may even have a t-shirt bearing its pattern. That's right, we could only be talking about one famous cheat code.The A, B, B, A continue code from Ikari Warriors II: Victory Road. Oh, or the Konami code. That one's pretty good too. There are actually only two games available on the American Virtual Console that use the Konami code, and they're both Gradius games.Gradius (NES): Pressing up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, then Start while paused gives you a load of powerups. All of them, in fact, but Speed Up and Double. Gradius III (SNES): Gradius III is significantly trickier about the code. Entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, rightB, A, Start will give you all the powerups and then kill you. You must use the L and R shoulder buttons instead of left and right on the directional pad. Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES) refers to the code in Zone IV, when a character informs you that "if you use the code 'Up Up Down Down L R L R B A', nothing will happen." He is correct.The Japanese VC has a few more Gradii on which the code works.Gradius (PC Engine): Pressing up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, II, I works just like it does in NES Gradius.Gradius II (PC Engine): Entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, II, I at the title screen enables all powerups, as usual. Gradius II (Famicom): The code has two uses in this game: entering up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A, then Start at the title screen grants you thirty lives, like in the beloved and missed Contra. Entering the code while paused enables powerups like in other Gradius games.There are plenty of other games that use this legendary button sequence, but right now on the VC it's the Gradius code. What's your favorite Konami-code-carrying game?
VC Tuesday: Much more of the same
Not only is Japan getting yet more shooters this week, they're actually getting a remake of a shooter that's already available on the Virtual Console. We never believed we'd be in a position to complain about too many scrolling shooters being released. We must say, in PC Engine Gradius's defense, that it is a gorgeous version of Konami's famous shooter. It's also important to note that Image Fight is pretty great, if really hard. Antarctic Adventure is not itself a shooter, but features a penguin protagonist whose son Pentarou would go on to fame in the Parodius series, as well as his own weight-loss-based platformer.Adventure Island is pretty confusing. This is not the Adventure Island we know in the US, the one about a guy in a red hat and a grass skirt collecting fruit and throwing axes. That series is called Takashi Meijin no Boukenjima (Master Takahashi's Adventure Island). This game, which, in Japan, has the English title Adventure Island, is actually Dragon's Curse, also known as Wonderboy III: The Dragon's Trap. The Wonderboy series is one of the great messes of international game renaming, and is tied up with the other Adventure Island series. This article at Hardcore Gaming 101 should help clear up which game is which. This week's redundant/confusing Japanese Virtual Console releases: Antarctic Adventure (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Crack Down (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) Gradius (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) Image Fight (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points) Adventure Island (PC Engine, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Wii Warm Up: Too many shooters?
The Virtual Console has made shooting games widely available for the first time in years. We like shooters, despite being categorically awful at them, so we're happy about this. But has the genre been disproportionately represented on the VC? There are so many, versus very few fighting games, and no role-playing games. Are you guys buying shooters? Are you happy with the selection? Are you all zap zap zap and pew pew pew at the bad spaceships?
BMG to distribute Konami's music online
The place may be overrun with deadly monstrosities and the overwhelming powers of darkness, but the tunes that echo throughout the hallways of Dracula's castle usually make the vampire killing ordeal worth it. Sensing that others might share the dark lord's fine taste in orchestral compositions, Konami has announced an agreement with Sony BMG Music to distribute its library of tunes through mobile service providers and online music retailers, including iTunes and Rhapsody. The deal encompasses soundtracks beyond those belonging to the obvious Dance Dance Revolution franchise, even catering to those that find the clanging pipes and grating gears of Silent Hill preferable to the latest Ashlee Simpson squealfest.Konami also promises to make its vast history of music available for purchase on its official website, though specific release dates have yet to be announced. [Via Konami press release]
Gradius III, Battle Lode Runner, Wonder Boy fight it out on the Virtual Console
Today's Virtual Console releases bestow upon our Wii systems a little Lode Runner action, more sci-fi space shooting, and a colorful side-scrolling action RPG. And because video games are indistinguishable from real life, soon you'll be overwhelmed with powerful urges to steal gold, pilot a spacecraft, and go on a quest to rescue a princess and fight a gigantic mushroom named Myeonid.The following games will hit the Wii Virtual Console at 9 a.m. PST, which is noon EST and 4 a.m. on the South Pole. Gradius III (SNES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Wonder Boy in Monster World (Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Battle Lode Runner (TurboGrafx 16, 1-5 players, 600 Wii Points)
Metareview: Konami Classics Series: Arcade Hits
In the mood for a little retro on the go? Konami Classics: Arcade Hits may be just what you need. The compilation is receiving solid reviews from most of the major outlets, and the word is that the set is lovingly constructed and filled with extras. IGN (80/100) feels this collection sets the standards for future retro compilations on the DS: "Like any classic compilation, the actual library can be its victory or its downfall, but there are plenty of strong Konami titles in this batch to keep interest high...even if there are the occasional (and expected) duds in the pack."Nintendo Power (75/100) found this title to be among an excellent example of a retro compilation: "The highlights ... are Contra, Track & Field, Time Pilot, and Gradius, all of which hold up remarkably well considering their age."1UP (69/100), found the game well done, but essentially flawed: But Arcade Hits suffers from a shortcoming, and a pretty serious one at that: The games in the collection aren't really worthy of the beautiful presentation ... Even worse: Most games collected here were originally manufactured with vertically oriented screens. "No worries," you say. "The DS has two stacked screens! I can deal with a gap in the graphics if it means high-fidelity presentation." Well, better worry after all: All games are restricted to the upper screen only, meaning everything is squished uncomfortably. But you didn't really want to see those little space bullets in Gradius, though. Did you?
Wii Warm Up: Shooting the core
The Virtual Console has, surprisingly, become one of the best venues around for classic scrolling shooters, or "shmups" if you prefer. Suddenly, there's a single console on the market where you can play games like Soldier Blade, Super Star Soldier, R-Types I-III, and Gradius, and you can download them all at impulse-buy prices. Soon, Gradius II, Final Soldier and Air Zonk will show up (in Japan, at least).Has anyone been brought into shooter fandom from a VC release? Or rediscovered the genre, which was lost to all but the craziest, die-hard fans since the onset of 3D gaming? Any new gamers out there surprised by how freaking hard old shooter games can be? Let's hear about your shmupping experience before and since the Wii.
AOU 2007: Konami shows Otomedius shmup
Konami's Otomedius, revealed today at Japan's AOU 2007, is the 21st Century successor to legendary 2D shoot 'em up series Gradius and Parodius. Otomedius is said to preserve the spirit of Parodius, which sounds pretty sexy, but it also introduces a brand-new touch-screen feature as well as networked multiplayer modes. We're just a bit hyped about the prospect of Otomedius, and we'll do our best to bring you screens/movies as quickly as you can enunciate "Jikkyou Oshaberi Parodius." (That is to say, you might have to wait a little while.) [Photo via Impress Watch]
VC Friday: Shooting and stealing
And to think, people assume Nintendo's all kid-friendly! Okay, okay, so sometimes the thug lifestyle is a little colorful when it's designed for the Big N. Still, this week's European VC lineup proves that Nintendo's all about being hard ... at least, when it's tongue-in-cheek or in outer space. Check out this wacky trio of titles up on the block today. Any of them strike your fancy? Bonanza Bros. (Sega Mega Drive) -- 800 points Comix Zone (Sega Mega Drive) -- 800 points Gradius (NES) -- 500 points
Import game releases for the week of 01/21/07
Your PSP plays import games and every week we let you know what's coming out from Japan. This week's game amount is huge, so without further delay, here's this week's list: Continued after the jump ...
Konami games cancelled, not so much
Thanks to a misprint inside Famitsu magazine, reports spread over the internet like fildwire (not wildfire) about the multitude of Konami games getting the can across multiple systems. We didn't hop on it instantly because it seemed way too fishy and for good reason. Konami came out and said the report is false and the games listed as cancelled in the magazine are still very much in production. Here are the games falsely reported as cancelled: Gradius Series (PS3) I nearly cried at this one. I love Gradius and refused to believe the lies. Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball (PS3) Oh, thank goodness... huh? "New Action Game" (PS3) Phew! "New Role-Playing Game" (PS3) Again, phew! These games sound new! "New Action-Adventure Game 2" (Wii) We knew the title couldn't end with such a cliffhangar... New Action-Adventure Game really deserved a sequel. "Role-Playing Game" (Wii) Apparently not as new as the others. That's really it. If you were worried about the mass-cancellation, don't. The unnamed games still have a TBA for their release date, as do the named games. But really, this was all a ruse for us to plug the awesomeness that will be Gradius Series and the fact that it's still coming!
Gradius lives: Konami denies 'cancellation' rumor
Yesterday's overblown rumor regarding a spree of "cancellations" at Konami's Japanese headquarters have proven to be quite untrue. Konami has stated that all the previously listed games, including Gradius and the Wii's eagerly anticipated "Action Adventure 2," are still in the works. The chopped release lists printed in the pages of Famitsu and Dengeki have been attributed to simple error. Unfortunately for fans of first-person shooters, Konami did not have a Phoenix Down to spare for Coded Arms: Assault.[Thanks DBX00, yimtaka.]
Rumor: Konami cancels PS3 Gradius, several others [update 1]
If the latest issue of Japan's Famitsu magazine is to be believed, Konami has quietly cancelled several of their upcoming PS3 and Wii projects. IGN reports that an updated release list for the company has been shortened by no less than six games, one of which was a Playstation 3 version of side-scrolling shooter, Gradius. Of course, since mere absence doesn't confirm outright cancellation, it would be best to treat this as a rumor for now. One potential explanation is that Konami has now made enough progress on some of these titles (if they were even in development to begin with) to warrant less ambiguous descriptors. If "New Action Game" turned into Castlevania: Polka of Purgatory, the publisher would likely choose a grander announcement than simply having it pop up on a standard release list.The removed titles are as follows: Gradius Series (PS3) Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball (PS3) New Action Game (PS3) New Role Playing Game (PS3) New Action Adventure Game 2 (Wii) Role Playing Game (Wii) Games still appearing on the release list include two sports titles, a music game and an "action adventure" for the Wii. Pro Baseball Spirits, Winning Eleven and Metal Gear Solid 4 are also still slated for the PS3.[Update: This rumor is bogus.]
This Monday on the VC: Gradius!
It's yet another Monday and you know what that means: more Virtual Console games! This week we're granted access, through the power of Wii Points purchase with real life monies, to a NES title and two TurboGrafx-16 games. Personally, we can't imagine halting our play time with the latest NES game to even give the other two TG-16 games the time of day: Gradius - NES (500 Wii Points) Soldier Blade - TG-16 (600 Wii Points) Dungeon Explorer - TG-16 (600 Wii Points) Gradius is easily one of our favorite NES games of all time and, quite arguably, the best side-scrolling, 2D shooter in existence. What say you, fine readers? Are you enjoying any of these VC titles released today? Could care less about each of them?
Dungeon Explorer leads trio of VC Monday releases
Apparently the "funky things" holding up the Wii virtual console release of TurboGrafx-16 classic Dungeon Explorer have been fixed. The game will be available for download today at 9 a.m. Pacific, along with the space shooters Gradius (NES -- 500 points) and Soldier Blade (TG-16 -- 600 points). In other virtual console news, the ESRB web site shows a listing for a Wii version of the SNES' Contra: The Alien Wars (E10+), adding to a sizable list of other ESRB-rated but yet-to-be-released throwbacks. While we're happy to consider these NES and TurboGrafx games, we can't help but wonder why there haven't been more Nintendo 64 releases on the virtual console thus far. True, there aren't many real classics for the 64-bit system, but let's face it, Urban Champion isn't anything to write home about either. Mario Tennis anyone?
Salamanders, TwinBees and more
Former blogger Rafael once said excited about Konami's classic compilation Gradius Collection: "We likey!" Well, it looks like Konami's planning to make Rafael likey for a long, long time, with new compilations of their other classic shooter series. The Salamander Collection and Parodius Collection will contain four titles each (with one bonus *secret* title for each compilation... ooh!). I'm personally psyched for Twinbee Collection, because it's by far the most recognizable of these hardcore shooters (it also has one more game than the other collections, for the budget-conscious).All three collections are planned to hit Japan in January for 4179 yen (less than $40), so importers should keep an eye out. Until then, educate yourself on these classic series by visiting Wikipedia.[Via 1UP; thanks, steve!]
Scramble now available on Xbox Live Arcade
Scramble is not Lumines Live. Now that we've accepted that, let's consider the once delayed 1981 shooter and why you might be inclined to spend 400 MS points ($5) on it. Clearly, its educational value with regards to the many dangers of spaceship travel (observation: everything is out to kill you) is unsurpassed, but the core gameplay is quite easily sussed out. Scramble is a very basic and very traditional shooter -- more than enough description for shooter fans to show interest and everyone else to write it off as old hat. As with Konami's other Xbox Live Arcade releases (like the excellent Time Pilot from two weeks ago), the download includes updated graphics and sound, online matches, achievements and scoreboards. Microsoft should be announcing the next round of Xbox Live Arcade Wednesdays within the next week. Hold on to your plummeting, musically inclined blocks until then.
