1P Start

Is it Monday already? Guess you know what that means. Another toss of the ‘ole Nintendo virtual console coin. Let’s see what memories Nintendo thinks we should relive this week!

• 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, 1-5players, 600 Wii Points)

Alright, not that bad of a week. Not great, but not that bad. Gradius III was probably the best Gradius in the entire series. I remember the graphics and gameplay for Gradius III were amazing when it came out. And I also remember the level design was very unforgiving. I have no clue if Battle Load Runner was a good game, but I think I played the NES version and wasn’t impressed (probably because it went from the TG-16 to NES)

What are your thoughts with this week’s release? Anyone plan on purchasing any of these games or are you all too busy with Super Paper Mario to care?

[UPDATE: I’ve officially gone crazy. I had the title 4/16/07 all day. Thanks to the diggers for correcting me.]

WII-KLY UPDATE: THREE NEW CLASSIC GAMES ANNOUNCED FOR WII SHOP CHANNEL
April 23, 2007 - Admit it. Somewhere deep inside, you’ve always wanted to go for the gold, take down Monster World, and have people call you Vic Viper. How cool would that be? Well, pay a visit to the popular Wii™ video game system’s Wii Shop Channel, and all those fantasies can now come true.

Three new classic games go live at 9 a.m. Pacific time. Nintendo adds new games to the channel every Monday. Wii owners with a high-speed Internet connection can redeem Wii Points™ to download the games. Wii Points can be purchased in the Wii Shop Channel or at retail outlets. This week’s new games are:

Gradius®III (SNES®, 1-2 players, 800 Wii Points):
Return as the pilot of the Vic Viper starfighter to battle the onslaughts of the Bacterion Empire. Blast through 10 action-packed levels in space, destroying everything in your path. Customize and power up your ship with weapons and upgrades including speed-ups, missiles, lasers, options, and shields.

Wonder Boy™ in Monster World (Genesis, 1 player, 800 Wii Points):
Monster World was a peaceful, happy place until one dark day when an army of BioMeka monsters invaded. As a young man named Shion, you’ve vowed to defeat the hostile foes and make the land peaceful again. You’ll attack enemies with swords and spears and guard against incoming projectiles with shields and armor. As you travel through the many different regions of Monster World, you’ll talk to the townspeople, collect money to buy items, and gather a large variety of weapons and magic. The further you venture, the more powerful your weapons and equipment, including suits of armor and boots, will become.

Battle Lode Runner® (TurboGrafx 16, 1-5players, 600 Wii Points):
This upgraded edition to the famous Lode Runner series includes a 5-player versus mode. Gold funds have been stolen from the Time Machine Research Center, and the group responsible used a time machine to escape and hide the gold throughout time. The center sends an elite team of “Runners” to go and retrieve the gold.

In addition to the familiar Puzzle mode, the game features Battle mode, where up to 5 players can compete, and Edit mode, where you can create your own original stages.

You can enjoy Battle mode in a number of different ways. Be the last one standing to win in Survival. Grab items from enemies and escape to win in Escape. With 4 players, you can separate into two teams to do battle in Tag Match.

For more information about Wii, please visit wii.com.