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VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 8/27/07
Wow, what a week for the Wii, eh? First, we're getting Metroid Prime 3 and now we get three stellar Virtual Console games?! Someone killed us and we're typing this from beyond the grave, is that it? Yup, that has to be it: we're dead.We'll say hello to Ghandi for you.
VC Monday Madness: Breath of Fire II, Ghouls 'n Ghosts, Super C
While Nintendo didn't gift us with a press release today, causing us to wait until this very minute to confirm the games available for download on the Virtual Console this week, we can't be too mad. It's quite the selection they have for us this week. Breath of Fire II (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Ghouls 'n Ghosts (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Super C (NES, 1-2 players, 500 Wii points) Anyone planning on picking up some downloadable content?
360 Genesis emulator in development
Ah the Sega Genesis. For many gamers, there are no fonder memories than the 16-bit days of yore. Altered Beast, Golden Axe, Sonic the Hedgehog. Hell, back then Sega even made decent RPGs (what the hell happened to those anyway?). Perhaps you find yourself in a similar nostalgic boat. Maybe you're sitting there with all of those incredibly legal backup copies of your old Genesis games and looking for a way to play them on your Xbox 360. If so, you may soon be in luck, as a CodePlex user by the name of GrahamStoneman is currently working on a Genesis emulator for the Xbox 360. The project is currently still in its early stages -- it doesn't actually play games at this point -- but GrahamStoneman hopes to create a fully functional and full speed emulator by the time the project is finished. Graham Stoneman is looking for collaborators, so you may want to check it out if you're interested.Our only question is how such an emulator will be executed on a 360? The project entry makes no mention of XNA (which has been used to create other emulators), so we're curious if the emulator is expected to run through Microsoft approved means or via an exploit.[Via DCEmu]
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 8/20/07
It took us a lot longer than we initially would have liked, but we finally bring forth our video for this week. As you can imagine, our minds are focused mostly on Super Metroid. But the inclusion of Shinobi III is a nice extra and not to be overlooked, either. All in all, great work as far as Virtual Console content goes.
VC Monday Madness: Super Metroid, Shinobi III and Neutopia
There are going to be three new titles you may download from the Virtual Console in little under an hour, and one of them is perhaps one of the best games ever made: Super Metroid. As far as the franchise goes, we can easily say it is our favorite entry. But, not to be outdone by Nintendo's Class A act of a SNES game, Sega's Shinobi III is also available. As for this third game, well we've never heard of it: Super Metroid (SNES, 1 player, 800 Wii points) Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master (Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii points) Neutopia (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii points) We can put you down for one download of Super Metroid, then?
Sega announces Shinobi III and Landstalker for VC
Sega has let the Virtual Console cat out of its bag again, revealing their intentions to bring Shinobi III and Landstalker to Nintendo's service. As for when gamers can get ahold of these titles themselves, only a time frame of "soon" has been reported. Also, no word on cost, but we're confident that the usual 800 Wii Points cost will be in effect for each title.
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 8/13/07
This is an epic week on the Virtual Console for us gamers in the states. We finally receive one of Nintendo's biggest franchises: Metroid. As the first title was released to us all earlier today, we have no doubt some of you might already have managed to get some good time in. And, yes, we're jealous.
VC Monday Madness: Meeeeeeeeeeetroid!
Finally, those who desperately craved the adventures of a female bounty hunter can have their fix with her first adventure this week. As earlier reported, Nintendo is making available the first Metroid adventure today, with Super Metroid releasing next week. This week's other releases? They include: Metroid (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Shining in the Darkness (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Cratermaze (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii Points)
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 07/30/07
The switch over to YouTube has been working out, wouldn't you say? We're glad to have our video up so quickly, not forced to wait the hours for it to compress over at GT anymore. Check it out above, then head past the post break for the rest of our coverage.
VC Monday Madness: Star Soldier, Dynamite Headdy and Drop Off
VC fans, prepare for another Monday chock full of new games to download. And, for us at least, it's a first as we've never played any of the titles available for download. Those games are: Star Soldier (NES, 1 player, 500 Wii Points) Dynamite Headdy (Sega Genesis, 1 playe, 800 Wii points) Drop Off (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, 600 Wii points) We're anxious to try the games out and see what they have to offer. As always, be sure to stop back later and check out our VC Monday Madness wrap-up video.
VC Monday Madness video wrap-up 7/23/07
As if last week wasn't enough pain and suffering, this week has just doubled it. Multiple times did we upload the file to YouTube, in its native AVI state, only to have a file with sound, yet no video, returned to us. Then, we decided to convert the file from AVI to WMV, but, again, we only got back a file of sound, no video. And, as we sat defeated and drained, none other than new recruit Mike Sylvester walked in and showed us how to fix it. Without him, we are lost.So, everyone thank Mike for making this week's video possible and be sure to head past the post break for the usual.
VC Monday Madness: Shining Force, Devil's Crush and Kirby's Dream Course
We told you to at least get 600 Wii Points ready for today, as you were going to need to download at least one title. And, we weren't kidding. That's exactly what you're going to have to do, so once the clock strikes 9am PDT, you better be prepared to download.Today's available VC downloads are: Shining Force (Sega Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points) Devil's Crush (TurboGrafx16, 1-2 players, 600 Wii Points) Kirby's Dream Course (Super NES, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points) Be sure to stop back later for our video wrap-up, where we promise we'll be uploading it to another video hosting service this week.
VC Friday: Is it sequel day?
Hope you're in the mood for sequels today, because if you're itching for a new retro title, that's what Nintendo's offering up, at least when it comes to Sega. A couple of today's titles were also released in the U.S. this week, which means you can check out the video wrap-up for a little game footage. Also, for some reason the format of the releases on the Nintendo Europe site seems to have changed, so let us know if these costs are not correct -- we're basing this off past VC pricing. Dragon Spirit -- TurboGrafx -- 600 Wii points Ecco: The Tides of Time -- Sega Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Golden Axe II -- Sega Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points Sonic the Hedgehog 2 -- Sega Mega Drive -- 800 Wii points
Virtually Overlooked Week: Eric's picks
Virtually Overlooked has taken over Wii Fanboy! All this week, members of the staff will be outlining their personal picks for future Virtual Console releases.It was 1994 when Ahmad poignantly rapped, "Back in the days, when I was young; I'm not a kid anymore, but some days, I sit and wish I was a kid again." If scientists could only harness the wasted enthusiasm of our nostalgia, our cities would never want for electricity.Remember the peanut butter and jelly sandwich lunches? Or the summer swims with the sun on your back, tanning your skin golden brown? The days you could set your heart on a girl you hardly knew at any moment, whether it be a winsome classmate or the clear-skinned brunette from Noxzema's hokey commercials? The nights when TGIF meant new episodes of Full House and Family Matters, and not after-work casual dining?Each weekly batch of Virtual Console releases is a reminder of my idle youth. Some games I recognize only from magazine previews I read with eager eyes over a decade ago, and others are familiar friends -- titles I've been meaning to catch up with to recount years past. The whole gang hasn't quite made it to the reunion yet, but that doesn't mean we can't trade old stories about them in the meantime. "Sometimes, I still sit and reminisce ..."
Sega Genesis wireless controller hack brings back that lovin' feeling
Seeing games like Streets of Rage and Gunstar Heroes released on the Virtual Console has been a dream come true for Genesis enthusiasts, but there's something inauthentic about playing these titles with controllers forged by Sega's former adversary. It's like getting back together with an old lover, only to find that there's something missing.You never close your eyes anymore when I kiss your lips.And there's no tenderness like before in your fingertips.You're trying hard not to show it. But baby, baby I know it...Daniel Hearn refused to let his relationship with the Mega Drive slip away, hacking an old three-button pad to work with the Nintendo Wii wirelessly. Using similar NES/SNES controller mods as inspiration, he pieced this together with PIC microcontrollers, an iPod mini replacement battery, and other electronic junk. The detailed guide and wiring instructions that Daniel posted are far beyond our limited abilites, but if you don't mind applying a bit of Weird Science to win your love back, this definitely looks worth trying!
Celebrate a rapper and the VC at the same time
Whether you're a fan of the rap music or not, chances are you've heard of Notorious B.I.G. Well, in the spirit of his song Juicy and its one random line "Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, when I was dead broke I couldn't picture this", this shirt has hit the internet for purchase. Personally, we'd buy it if we were paid in money (why did we sign a contract where our payment is pain?!), but figured those of you who love the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console service could also get a kick out of it.
Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who? gameplay trailer
myFlash = new FlashObject('http://www.gametrailers.com/umremote312.swf', 'swffile', 480, 409, 8); myFlash.altTxt = ''; myFlash.addVariable('mid', 13968); myFlash.write(); I've had a soft spot for Scooby-Doo video games after playing Scooby Doo Mystery on the Sega Genesis. It was a point-and-click mystery game that had all the charm of the cartoon and was an absolute blast to play. And just this week, Scooby-Doo! Who's Watching Who? was released, and I have to admit I feel bad about not giving it the attention any Scooby-Doo title deserves, so here's a nice gameplay video showcasing the game. While there hasn't been any reviews I've seen thus far, the game features: The ability to control the Mystery Machine for the first time; Original voice talent from the Scooby-Doo animated series; and Various styles of gameplay, including puzzle, driving and platform. Although most Scooby-Doo games this generation haven't received too many great reviews (Most range anywhere from high 60s to low 50s), this game seems like a lot of fun, and with it's budget-based price of $20, it makes my decision all the more easy.
Sega Mega Drive controller gets modded up
Just because NES mods get all the love doesn't mean we don't have a special place in our hearts for hot Sega mod action, and this new Sega controller MP3 player seems to fit the bill nicely. For extra cred, the hackers not only used a Sega Mega Drive controller (known as the Sega Genesis here in the States, you might have heard of it and its little blue mascot), but managed to toss in some acetate tape as well. As for controls, the A and B buttons manage volume, the d-pad skips tracks, and the start buttons starts and stops playback. We can't say their USB plug positioning is optimal, but we're also aware of who carries the soldering iron in this relationship, so we have little room to judge.
Relive your (something secret) days this November [update 2]
While at the Sega holiday event last week, one of the more promising titles I came across was the upcoming Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable -- due sometime in November. Normally, I shy away from these collection-type games, but Sega has a special place in my heart. Growing up with just about every console, my fondest memories are the ones with the good ol' Genesis. As for this collection, it pretty much will have the essentials. Not all of the 28 games included -- there will also be an additional three to unlock -- have been officially announced, but here are a few that were on the version I saw: Shinobi II Sonic the Hedgehog Golden Axe I, II, and III Virtua Fighter 2 Altered Beast Ecco the Dolphin Phantasy Star I've always wondered why Sega never released this kind of collection before, but it's about time they did. A Sega rep assured me that all the titles would be direct representations of the originals. So, no George Lucas-like revamps here. Are there any games missing from that initial list that you'd like to see included? ToeJam & Earl anyone?[Update 1: Due to a miscommunication between us and the good folks at SEGA, we didn't realize the information formerly contained in this post was under embargo. As a result, they've asked us to remove the content until the embargo is up on July 15th. Thanks for understanding; our apologies.][Update 2: Embargo is up, post is restored.]
Wii impressions: Virtual Console
The classic controller is a good fit, albeit unfamiliar, for a gamepad that supports NES, SNES, N64, Sega Genesis, and TurboGrafx 16. Part of the sacrifice though, is that the classic controller can't offer an authentic retro experience and, of course, leaves us wondering, why bother? It's no secret that all of these platforms and their games are readily available in emulated formats for computers and other devices. And it's easy enough to invest in a gamepad that's as generic as Nintendo's classic controller. For Virtual Console to succeed, it's got to be clean, easy, and cheap. That said, the E3 Virtual Console demo featured an elegant interface (the downloading process was not shown) and superb emulation software. The demo featured a sampling of beloved launch titles, including Super Mario Bros. (NES), Super Mario World (SNES), Super Mario 64 (N64), Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis), and Bonk's Adventure (TurboGrafx 16).
