I think I need to make a spin-off thread about the Castlevania games alone. No idea where to even start with them. since holmes is telling me to try 'em.
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Let's look back at the Wii Shop pt. 1. - what are the best Wii Shop VC games?
- Thread starter maxcriden
- Start date
I think I need to make a spin-off thread about the Castlevania games alone. No idea where to even start with them. since holmes is telling me to try 'em.
Nocturnowl
Member
Max no selling my vania comments, I'm hurt.
I don't know the expression "no selling" 😅
But, I was thinking of you actually and not jholmes. Evidently he didn't even mention them.
TheMoon
Member
I think I need to make a spin-off thread about the Castlevania games alone. No idea where to even start with them. since holmes is telling me to try 'em.
I'm not a big Castlevania person but I'd just say go with Super Castlevania IV (SNES), Rondo of Blood (TG16) and the WiiWare game (Castlevania Adventure Rebirth).
Nocturnowl
Member
Now it all makes sense!I don't know the expression "no selling" 😅
But, I was thinking of you actually and not jholmes. Evidently he didn't even mention them.
You'll have to forgive me for my use of carny wrasslin' lingo.
Devilgunman
Member
Neo Geo VC on the Wii is amazing. If you're a fan of shmup, you need to buy Ironclad before Wii VC is gone. It's the only legit way to play this game other than spending $$$ on eBay.
TheMoon
Member
Well, there is only one possible candidate there and that's on Wii U VC (I guess all the Vanias are, if we include the NES originals) ;D
Wii U VC also was the first time they released the SNES version of Dracula X but that's a divisive one.
People often mention the music inside the shop channel but I always liked the music from the Wii Channel menu as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14lgkouxUs0&nohtml5=False
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14lgkouxUs0&nohtml5=False
What were your favorite VC games that you'd never played before?
Gunstar Heroes, easily!
-What were your favorite VC games to revisit?
Super Mario RPG!
-What are your overall recommended VC games that aren't available via 3DS's excellent NES emulation and Wii U's excellent SNES emulation?
Is this question a joke? The Wii U's emulator is very VERY bad.
Gunstar Heroes, easily!
-What were your favorite VC games to revisit?
Super Mario RPG!
-What are your overall recommended VC games that aren't available via 3DS's excellent NES emulation and Wii U's excellent SNES emulation?
Is this question a joke? The Wii U's emulator is very VERY bad.
Sorry if the question was unclear. Wii U has excellent SNES emulation and poor NES/N64 emulation, so I was excluding Wii U SNES games that are also on Wii VC.
There's definitely input lag, especially if you use the Gamepad.
Huh, I don't think I knew that. Do you have a link? I thought the visual fidelity of SNES, GBA and DS VC was supposed to be top-notch on Wii U, at the least.
The input lag is there on the gamepad to account for the difference in a frame between the gamepad screen and the tv screen, so if you're using the gamepad to play on your tv you'll notice the lag. Also if you have a bad tv it will add even more lag (I don't know if it's because of upscaling or not).
It's a weird statement to have to make but a wiiU pro controller is what you should be using for playing on the tv.
Good to know, thank you. But the image quality itself is better than on Wii, right?
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=799037&highlight=wii+u+virtual+console+lag
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=158978419&postcount=92
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=913969
There's a bunch more if you want to get more into it. The Wii U is really bad emulation, so the fact Nintendo charges to "upgrade" from the Wii is really gross, imo.
I see. Thank you. The DS and GBA (esp.) stuff is good, though, right? What with M2 on GBA?
Wii VC has a lot of great stuff you will never see again. I don't imagine Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber or Uncharted Waters: New Horizons are ever going to get re-released again.
There's lots of classics on Wii VC, but some of them are not as wel-known. Such a shame the whole VC concept dies on the vine.
There's lots of classics on Wii VC, but some of them are not as wel-known. Such a shame the whole VC concept dies on the vine.
I didn't realize Ogre Battle was even on VC. That's one of the first games I remember seeing for N64. At Blockbuster...maybe I even rented it.
What is Uncharted Waters?
sixteen-bit
Member
I remember having fun with Tetris Party when it came out
Sorry, forgot to link this one:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1040125&highlight=nintendo+emulation
Specifically this post from Gonzo (RIP):
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=162598399&postcount=66
Heck, even Gameboy and Gameboy Color have this problem:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=200366236&postcount=656
TheMoon
Member
Yes. Only bad thing about DS VC is no remappable buttons.
Open-world Age of Exploration Sim/Strategy with a touch of RPG. You pick a character at the beginning, most of them have a vague goal like "build a map of the world" or "become the best merchant ever". After you play their prologue, all of them have a ship, a light crew, and a tiny bit of guidance. From there you explore, trade, pirate, etc. as you see fit, sometimes within the bounds of their story. As you pursue your character's goal the story will gradually unfold.
It's sort of like Pirates!, but IMO it's better as it allows for trading and exploration and is less minigamey. (Combat, especially duels, can still be that way, but I generally avoid it until I'm pretty powerful). It can be a little intimidating to learn, but it feels rewarding to build your way up from a pauper with a tiny boat to a trade magnate with a half-dozen galleons and the cannons to protect yourself.
It has a ton of subsystems - like selling the same types of goods over and over in a port will flood the market and decrease your selling prices, so you may have to switch which goods you're trading unless you know what you're doing. You can invest in ports to try to get them to ally with your nation - which increases your nation's ability to fund a fleet and also gets you in good with the nobility.
TheMoon
Member
Uncharted Waters: New Horizons is on Wii U VC in all regions.
And bad colors/brightness
I am Christina Aguilera
Member
-MUSHA is pretty well-beloved, though as far as the Aleste series goes, I personally have more of a soft spot for Space Megaforce/Super Aleste, but I'm weird
-I understand Neutopia 2 to be good, with the diagonal movement setting it apart a bit more from being more of the same Zelda 1 ripoff that Neutopia 1 was
-Bonk's Revenge is clearly the best one, but I think that Bonk 3 is really underrated and pretty good too, plus 2-player is always nice. There's a little bit more of a learning curve to the controls in the series than there were with Mario and Sonic (e.g., learning how to flip in midair without landing on your head and leaving yourself an open target for a second), but when it clicks, it clicks.
-ActRaiser is a bona fide classic, the action scenes never *quite* felt Castlevania-level tight to me, but the overhead sections were fun and the overall package is a blast
-I've heard that the Aero series is reasonably good as 1990s Sonic-wannabe-also-rans go?
-Pulseman is hard, but it's got that Game Freak charm all over it and I'm sure that the Japan-only cartridge probably costs a fortune now.
-Sin & Punishment, you pretty much just Got Bonus
-StarTropics 1 and 2 have some unfair parts (you may want to check maps online for 1 to avoid the rooms where you fall to your death upon entering with no warning), but they're really pretty great otherwise. Keep in mind for ST1 that when the game asks you to soak a letter in water, that is not an in-game item or action -- you need to hit the Home button and go to the Operations Guide and find the section where you click an icon to "dip" a "letter"
or alternatively just enter 747 as the code when the game asks
So overall, I think you'll have a good time with all of those.
I back up that buying Castlevania Rondo of Blood (TurboGrafx version) on the Wii VC and Castlevania IV on the Wii U VC (or Wii VC) are good ideas if you're considering getting into the series. Castlevania IV was actually the very first digital purchase I made upon buying a Wii, and being able to play CV4 with a wireless-ish controller was actually one of the things that sounded really appealing to me about the console.
M2 rules, but to insert a data point, the only time I've ever heard a Windows emulator-style emulation audio hiccup in a VC release on any Nintendo platform, it was on the otherwise glorious Super Mario Advance 4 GBA Wii U VC release during one of the e-Reader ghost house levels.
TheMoon
Member
See those colors that were white back then? Now a dark off white or even gray.
That never matters to me in a real world setting because my TV is calibrated properly
That never matters to me in a real world setting because my TV is calibrated properly
So, if TV calibration is the issue, can the NES/N64 VC be fixed this way as well?
yes, I adjusted my screen which took less than ten seconds and it wasn't an issue for me.
In the case of sin and punishment for the 64 there wasn't any added smearing either. The remappable controls actually made the wiiU version preferrable to the wii version for that game in my opinion.
TheMoon
Member
NES' blurry mess is unfixable. But N64/DS/GBA all look fine if you have your TV/GamePad brightness up. Hence me posting in the DL thread a while back when Wave Race came out how it doesn't look like the dark screenshots on my TV at all. The only game that really looks fairly bleak and grey there is Paper Mario 64.
Man, Xtina, you are just a wealth of knowledge on this subject. Thank you. I wasn't aware of any emulation issues with the e-Reader levels so that's good to know going in for sure. As to the games you commented on, is Space Megaforce on VC? How does Super Bonk stack up?
ActRaiser is part of a series, right? How are the other games and are they available through VC? I didn't realize Pulseman was JP only. That's very cool. I do have a SFC system with Terrangima but I'm waiting till my Japanese is significantly better before using it. Thanks for the ST info as well, I'd heard about the letter but wasn't really clear on how it worked in the game.
Regarding CV, is Rindo of Blood a different game on different systems?
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Oh, and this is for everyone. What are the must have Adventure Island/Wonder Boy games?
TheMoon
Member
Rondo of Blood is Rondo of Blood. There is only the one game. Dracula X on the SNES is its counterpart. But they're different games essentially.
Let wikipedia learn ya sumn:
I am Christina Aguilera
Member
Thank ye! As a retro box, the original Wii has always just struck a chord for me with Virtual Console in a way that the Wii U and 3DS haven't quite seemed to recapture, though there are some pretty great VC exclusives on both of them.
On Super Mario Advance 4, the audio has only ever kind of skipped for me *JUST THAT ONE TIME*, but it really caught me by surprise, because my experience otherwise on emulation accuracy/quality for any other VC release I've ever seen (including the rest of the time I've played SMA4 on Wii U VC) has been pretty airtight/indistinguishable from the original cartridges. Don't let that deter you from picking up SMA4, the Wii U version is an incredible release!
Space Megaforce has never seen any kind of rerelease, unfortunately (maybe a rights entanglement since it was originally published by Toho?).
I've never gotten to play much of Super Bonk, but as I understand it, it kind of doubles down on the "wacky transformations" direction that Bonk 3 was taking the series and gets even crazier. I think I've heard that people like it! FWIW as of yet, Super Bonk 2 has never been released outside of Japan physically or digitally.
ActRaiser 2 is the only sequel that ActRaiser ever got, and it completely excises the town-building/sim/RPG elements in favor of being a pure action game, but they in turn improved the feel of the action portions a lot. It hasn't been re-released digitally to date. There was actually just a thread recently about how there haven't really been many games like the first one since, though if you squint really hard, Quintet's post-ActRaiser action RPG work on SoulBlazer, Illusion of Gaia, and your Terranigma cartridge (I'm super jealous BTW) could be seen as extrapolations of their "fix/build the world through your actions" action RPG elements from ActRaiser.
For Rondo of Blood, both games have been known as "Dracula X" at various points ("Akumajou Dracula X: Rondo of Blood" on PC Engine/TurboGrafx vs. "Castlevania: Dracula X"/"Akumajou Dracula XX"/"Castlevania: Vampire's Kiss" on SNES) and are kinda-sorta intended to be the same game with the same plot, but the SNES version is essentially a remixed (and even harder) downport due to lack of storage space. You lose the extra playable character, the animated cinema scenes, the non-linearity, the CD music, and a lot of the secrets. In other words, most of the features of Rondo of Blood that made the PCE game SO APPEALING and among the best in the series, those are gone in the SNES release.
Ignore the SNES game unless you've played Rondo of Blood/the TurboGrafx game to 100%, and then if you really like Rondo, consider the SNES game something like a DLC level pack for Richter. There's also a really nice 2.5D PSP remake of "Rondo" with everything intact that includes an English-translated and voice acted version of the PC Engine original and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as unlockables, but you'd be fine with the Wii VC TG16 release.
The thing about the Wonder Boy and Adventure Island series is that, even on Virtual Console, you have SO MANY OPTIONS to buy the same games, and the naming/numbering is incredibly confusing.
Off the top of my head, my inclination would be to say that Monster World IV and Wonder Boy III: The Dragon's Trap (that's Monster World II) are the Wonder Boy must-haves, and Adventure Island II (Wii U/3DS only, it's kind of where Adventure Island branched off more to be its own thing), Super Adventure Island, and maybe New Adventure Island on TG-16 are probably the best available Adventure Island games currently on the various Virtual Console platforms. Adventure Island 1/Wonder Boy 1 is the same game and it's a classic, but my gut says that it can get way too frustrating to recommend.
The Wii VC also has a TurboGrafx-licensed non-Wonder Boy version of The Dragon's Trap, called Dragon's Curse, and if I were buying Dragon's Trap again, I might be tempted to buy the TG-16 version instead.
Master System/Dragon's Trap on Wii VC has:
-Actual Wonder Boy series characters and graphics
-Audio switchable between stock Master system and the Japanese FM audio soundchip upgrade add-on
-30 FPS gameplay, which in practice feels pretty choppy
-Configurable buttons
-Passwords
-Straightforward English text
-240p video
-Apparently some kind of glitch where a suit of armor that is supposed to resurrect you when you die and then disappear never does disappear and allows you to just keep using it as many times as you like
TurboGrafx/Dragon's Curse on Wii VC has:
-Characters redrawn to be "different," generic but similar characters
-TG-16 audio
-60 FPS gameplay
-Non-configurable buttons
-Saving AND passwords
-Goofball slang-y English translation that doesn't take itself too seriously
-480p with bilinear filter
On the "this is otherwise super rare" tip on Wonder Boy, Wii VC Arcade also has a 1980s-made but previously unreleased arcade English translation of Wonder Boy in Monster Land (Monster World 1), which is supposed to play better than the Master System version, and Monster World 3 (the Genesis "Wonder Boy in Monster World" game) has an insect-themed TurboGrafx-CD equivalent called The Dynastic Hero that on disc goes for $300-800 used now, but is $8 on Virtual Console.
I didn't realize that at all. Thank you. I played CVII for GB as a kid. It was one of the first games I ever owned and I found it eerie and such but I never made a lot of significant progress in it IIRC. So is there a sort of CV recommended playing order out there? I guess this really does need to spin-off into its own thread at this point. Thanks again for the info!
TheMoon
Member
I don't think the order you play them in really matters if you stick to the generally highly regarded ones anyway. It's more those you can skip and those you should (probably) play.
But again, I'm definitely no CV expert or anything.Christina's summary of wonder boy is great.
To me, the TG 16 library is the big reason to dive into the wii VC. I never knew how much I liked shooters until I explored it.
There are tons of good games on the service for all the representative consoles. It does feel crappy though that the Genesis lineup didn't get Sega Cd or some of the Western releases (NHL94, Desert Strike) and that more foreign releases weren't included in the SNES lineup (square)
Still, great service. I'm in a rush to collect as much as I can before it goes off line (hopefully not soon)
To me, the TG 16 library is the big reason to dive into the wii VC. I never knew how much I liked shooters until I explored it.
There are tons of good games on the service for all the representative consoles. It does feel crappy though that the Genesis lineup didn't get Sega Cd or some of the Western releases (NHL94, Desert Strike) and that more foreign releases weren't included in the SNES lineup (square)
Still, great service. I'm in a rush to collect as much as I can before it goes off line (hopefully not soon)
I still have more I wanna reply to in here, but in the meantime...I'm reading RK128's awesome MM write-ups--http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1206450--and wondering, are there any MM games on WiiWare or Wii VC that are not available digitally through any other service?
P.S. hey Nocturnowl, you didn't tell me Castlevania has floating horse heads 😕 do you know me at all bro, that is way not something I'm down with in a game 😑
P.S. hey Nocturnowl, you didn't tell me Castlevania has floating horse heads 😕 do you know me at all bro, that is way not something I'm down with in a game 😑
I am Christina Aguilera
Member
Nahh, if anything, it's in the opposite direction -- there is a ton of duplication of availability of Mega Man/Mega Man X games between Wii/3DS/Wii U, with some Wii U/3DS VC releases that the Wii never wound up getting. Wii only got MM1-5 and MMX1-2, but Wii U and 3DS have gotten later NES, SNES, and GBA series entries as well. On WiiWare, Mega Man 9 and 10 don't have any releases on CURRENT consoles though, and the Wii is a perfectly fine (or possibly even ideal, due to the Wii Remote's NES-style layout) platform to play those on. FWIW, I believe that in spite of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection being taken down, the DLC on MM9 and MM10 is probably still available for purchase.
TheMoon
Member
Any WiiWare DLC was unaffected by WFC going offline.
Just who I was hoping would honor me with a reply here. Thanks Christina. I do have MM9/10 on PS3 so I think I'm all set for MM titles only on Wii (as far as Nintendo systems) then.
TheMoon
Member
Nobody reads things (expert opinion^^), title is too long
Question at the end.^^
Haha. I agree with you...I needed to just say "Best Wii VC titles?" and make a one-line OP. 😅
Donkey Kong Country 3 was my favourite game that I'd never played before. I hugely enjoyed Donkey Kong Country 1 and 2 back when they came out on the SNES, but I never did get around to playing the third game in the series. It was a nostalgic trip because it reminded me so much of playing DKC2 for the first time, but it was also different enough to qualify as a new experience. In the end, I think DKC2 is still the superior game, but I'm glad I got to play DKC3 in the end.
A close second is Paper Mario 64 - it's an absolute delight to play.
My favourite VC game to revisit was Majora's Mask. I already had the Ocarina of Time Master Quest disc, and it was nice to be able to experience MM with a sharper resolution as well. (To be honest though, I don't play either of them on the Wii now that they're on the 3DS with updated graphics.)
A close second is Paper Mario 64 - it's an absolute delight to play.
My favourite VC game to revisit was Majora's Mask. I already had the Ocarina of Time Master Quest disc, and it was nice to be able to experience MM with a sharper resolution as well. (To be honest though, I don't play either of them on the Wii now that they're on the 3DS with updated graphics.)
I don't think it's your title...Wii VC overall is severely under-appreciated imo. As a kid who missed out on snes (and gave away his Genesis), it was a godsend. First place I played Super Metroid, Secret of Mana, FFVI, etc. etc. Not to mention all the obscure, expensive, and import stuff that could now be had for cheap. I've definitely got plans to squirrel away $100-200 to pick up stuff before they end the service.
woopWOOP
Member
I really liked that the Wii VC had TurboGrafx stuff as well as Sega Genesis and Arcade games. WiiU is pretty lacking (in the West) in comparison.
The import stuff was pretty great too. Whenever I think Wii VC I think of Sin & Punishment and DoReMi Fantasy. Had a good time playing both of those.
Also Mappy and Twinbee, but that's because I'm a sucker for simple old school arcade games.
As for actually answering your questions:
- Revisited the Mega Man games, or atleast the once they bothered releasing during that time.
- It was the first time I played through Metroid and Super Metroid. Although the former's health system was kind of clunky, I really enjoyed going through that one. The latter really is one of the best SNES games.
The import stuff was pretty great too. Whenever I think Wii VC I think of Sin & Punishment and DoReMi Fantasy. Had a good time playing both of those.
Also Mappy and Twinbee, but that's because I'm a sucker for simple old school arcade games.
As for actually answering your questions:
- Revisited the Mega Man games, or atleast the once they bothered releasing during that time.
- It was the first time I played through Metroid and Super Metroid. Although the former's health system was kind of clunky, I really enjoyed going through that one. The latter really is one of the best SNES games.
