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Just go buy Monster World IV
Welcome to Living in the Past, a weekly column about what's new in old games. Now get off our lawn. It is with no small amount of shame that I admit to waiting for a $1 sale before buying Monster World IV. It wasn't exactly intentional – I've been busy playing (and mostly reviewing) other stuff since its release, and just hadn't gotten to it yet. Then, last week, a PlayStation Plus deal dropped the PSN release of the Genesis game from $4.99 to $1.Of course I bought it for $1, just assuming I'd get a chance to play it later. You should do the same. Go buy it now, before the PlayStation Store updates again tomorrow and the deal goes away. Then you can share in the savings (and the shame).
NintendoWare Weekly: Monster World IV
While we wait for Sega's "Monster World Collection" to debut the previously Japan-only (and acclaimed!) Monster World IV on PSN and XBLA, Sega went ahead and deposited the game on Wii Virtual Console today, causing even more surprise than other, increasingly rare, VC releases.If you have the Wii Points kicking around, you can build a pseudo-complete Wonder Boy collection now – bolstered by Sega's simultaneous release of the arcade version of Wonder Boy in Monster Land. At least one version of each game in the series is available.In non-interactive news, Dinosaur Office returns to Nintendo Video tomorrow.
Localized Monster World IV bundled into downloadable collection
More good news about old Sega games! The downloadable release of the never-before-localized Monster World IV has resurfaced on an Xbox Live Marketplace listing, and it's not alone! It's now part of a bundle called Sega Vintage Collection: Monster World, which packs Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Wonder Boy in Monster World, and Monster World IV together in a single XBLA release.According to the Marketplace page it's due on April 25, but we're not putting too much stock into that. We're just happy to see more evidence of the release, and added value along with it.
Localized Monster World IV leads newest PSN/Virtual Console 'Sega Vintage Collection'
This is slightly confusing, but also awesome. We recently found an ESRB rating for the previously unlocalized Mega Drive/Genesis game Monster World IV, for release on XBLA and PSN. Today, Sega of Europe confirmed that it's bringing the game over -- but on PSN and Wii Virtual Console, as part of a new "Vintage Collection" being released late this year and early next year. The collection also includes Wonder Boy in Monster Land, Revenge of Shinobi, Alex Kidd in Miracle World, and Wonder Boy in Monster World, all of which have already been released on Virtual Console in North America. Super Hang-On is in there too, and has not been released on Nintendo's download service. None of these were already on PSN. Monster World IV is arguably the star of the collection, because it's never had an official console release outside of Japan -- and Sega is actually localizing it.
Sega's Monster World 4 coming to XBLA, PSN, and not Virtual Console
Yes, there have been a million Wonder Boy games re-released on Virtual Console and other platforms, so another one doesn't seem like it would be a big deal. But Monster World IV, originally for Mega Drive/Genesis (and despite the name, the last game in the populous Wonder Boy series), never came out in North America. Monster World IV, starring a green-haired girl and her long-eared spheroid partner, is also considered the best game in the series. According to the ESRB, Sega is finally preparing an American release of the game, on PSN and XBLA. Strangely, no Wii version is mentioned, despite the fact that Virtual Console is, like, the place for old games, and despite the fact that so many Wonder Boy games have been released on that platform -- including this one, in Japan.
VC Tuesday: Adventure Mountain
This week brings another rare (not Rare) Nintendo 64 release, and a seasonally appropriate one at that. 1080 Snowboarding is making its appearance on the Virtual Console for the first time. When it hits the American download service, we look forward to playing it and pretending it's cold outside. Until then, we can just look at screenshots and pretend we're playing it and pretending it's cold outside.The other two releases are distant cousins. Adventure Island is a remake of Westone's original Wonder Boy game with a different protagonist (which, of course, spun off into its own series), and Monster World IV is part of a Wonder Boy spinoff series. It's ... a lot more confusing when they release two of them at a time like this. We're all familiar with Adventure Island, at least. Takahashi Meijin no Bouken Jima (Hudson's Adventure Island) (Famicom, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) 1080 Snowboarding (Nintendo 64, 1-2 players, 1000 Wii Points) Monster World IV (Mega Drive, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
Coming to the Japanese VC in January: Not MSX games
Nintendo has announced their planned January Virtual Console releases for Japan, and some excellent games are in the lineup. The Miyamoto-developed Devil World is the most noteworthy game in the Famicom lineup, and it's being released just in time to remind everyone who that thing in Smash Bros. is. We're hoping that this Japanese release leads to an international one, of course. It'll be a good month for Sega, who is releasing the excellent Phantasy Star II and the currently Japan-exclusive Monster World IV, which is basically Wonder Boy VI. Hey, neat, more Wonder Boy (we're not being sarcastic.) As for Phantasy Star II, like many other Genesis games, we'd be a lot more excited about buying it for eight bucks if the Sega Genesis Collection didn't exist.People who are way into Turbografx-16 strategy games will be pleased to see Neo Nectaris, the TurboDuo sequel to the classic strategy game, and a Japanese exclusive. Maybe it won't be for much longer, either.Conspicuously absent are the two initial MSX games, EGGY and Aleste, which were listed as releasing in 2007 for all of 2007. In fact, Nintendo's VC web site still has them coming out in 2007. We shouldn't be surprised that they won't hit in January, but we thought it was worth noting that they have officially missed their release year.The full game list is after the break!
